“Mother, NO!!” A familiar voice yells.
There is a loud crack and a scream, then silence. Sirius’s vision turns black.
“You… you killed him.” Regulus whimpers, shocked. Sirius can still hear but… why can’t he move? Why can’t he see?
“Nonsense, Regulus. He’s alive. Just weak. No son of mine-” The last few words were hostilely spat out. “Shall be weak.” Madame Black turns towards Regulus, eyes staring down without even a hint of care. “Dear Regulus Acturus, you were always my favorite. Never causing trouble…” Her long, boney fingers grab his brother’s chin. Regulus shivers. “Do not take after this… mistake.” Madame Black leaves the room, making her descent to the lower floor.
Once the boys are sure she’s gone, Regulus rushes to his brother. Sirius, slowly gaining consciousness, was shaken fully awake by his younger brother. Without saying a word, they silently and quickly get upstairs to Regulus’s room.
“I-I’m fine, really Reg-” A hand flicks his forehead and he stops talking.
“Sirius!!” The younger whisper-yells. “You know damn well you could have fought back and won. Why didn’t you? Why?!” Tears form in his eyes, partially from frustration and partially from fear for the older’s life.
The tears nearly shatter Sirius. “Listen, Reg. I’m a strong fighter. I’m skilled with my wand, we both know this. But I..” He pauses, trying to find words in his foggy mind. “I’m fourteen. You’re about to go into your first year of Hogwarts. I just- I don’t want things to be worse.”
There’s a moment of silence. Sirius wants to hug his little brother, hold him tight away from their parents, and protect him. But Regulus hates being touched when he’s sad. He just wants to protect his little brother.
Regulus is the first to speak.
“Can… can you tell me another story?” he says shyly. Regulus always loved to hear about Sirius’s friends and their pranks. Sirius loved telling the stories.
“Yeah!! So this one time…”
—---------------------------------------
The next morning, Regulus and Sirius receive their letters from Hogwarts. As soon as Madame and Monsieur Black are sure both boys got in, they’re sent to Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley alone with just each other, empty trunks, and ten sacks of golden, sliver, and bronze coins mixed with various colorful gemstones.
“Hey Padfoot!!!” A voice yells. Sirius whips his head around.
“PRONGS??” He turns, grabs Regulus’s arm, and starts making a mad dash through the early crowd of shoppers to find the voice.
Regulus is the only one outside of the marauders who knows their nicknames. He always thought “Prongs” sounded the least silly. He had never seen any of them, though- Sirius couldn’t keep pictures of them.
They stop abruptly and Sirius runs at someone, arms open- a boy. He’s a bit taller than Sirius- making him a good 6 inches taller than Regulus. Freckles were splattered against his tan, caramel skin. He has dimples- Regulus is stunned by this boy, standing there shyly with wide eyes.
“Uh- Sirius, who’s this?” The tall boy peaks over at Sirius’s younger brother.
Sirius looks puzzled for a moment, then his face lights up. “Oh, that's right, you haven’t met yet!!” He slings his arm around his little brothers neck. “This fine and dapper gentleman here is my brother, Regulus-Reggie-Reg Acturus Black!”
The younger turns a bit pink. “Its Regulus.” he turns his head away.
“Ah- well… it's nice to meet you!!“ James said politely.
Regulus just nods.
Sirius stands there for a few seconds before gasping loudly and yelling. “MOONY, MY MAN!!” He runs over to another boy, jumping into his arms and nearly knocking both of them over.
Remus regains his balance, before hugging Sirius back.
—-----------------------------------
Regulus twists his sleeves nervously, the fabric suddenly feeling very tight against his arms. He watches Sirius as the boy laughs with his friends. How can he laugh after what had happened the day before? Would Regulus ever be able to do that?
The younger boy shakes the thought from his head, trying to reassure himself that he was very lucky. He had not endured what Sirius had, of course he couldn’t understand.
Regulus was yanked from his thoughts when he felt a soft touch on his arm. He looked up to see Sirius tapping his pointer and middle finger to his cheek, then his mouth, then his chest with a questioning look. This was their way of communicating in public without Regulus having to speak. Regulus tapped his head, signaling that what was overwhelming him was probably his thoughts. Sirius nodded, then spoke.
“Hey you blokes, train leaves tomorrow. Let's get a few rooms in that tavern thing over there, yeah?” He yells at his friends. They nod and Sirius grabs Regulus’s hand gently, trying to reassure him before pulling him to the tavern.
They enter the small, homey tavern; Very different from what Regulus knew. He had only ever stayed the night in his own room in the Black Manor. He looked around, taking in the surroundings. The place smelled like pumpkin pie and campfire, that was what he noticed first. The tavern was called The Seven Stars, and the interior decor matched the name. To his left was a large room with big blue leather chairs, a brown coffee table, and a rug that changed with the rotation of the constellations even while it was day. There was a large, glass dome cut out in the ceiling. To his right were dark wood tables and chairs and a bar with a tavernkeeper conversing with a fae and a goblin. In front of him was a desk. Behind said desk was a boy- he looked incredibly bored and a bit snobbish. He reminded Regulus of his older cousins. Regulus did not like him.
The boy looks over at the group, sighing dramatically. Just then, James laughs.
“There is no way- No BLOODY way Snivellus Snape is working HERE on his summers.” James laughs brightly again.
Regulus looks between the two, then back at Sirius with a confused expression. The older is snickering with the others, leaving Regulus even more confused.
After a while, they get two rooms. Sirius and Remus are sharing a room, leaving Regulus with James. Apparently, there would be another boy joining them on the train the next day, but he was staying with his family until then.
Regulus was terrified of James, but he could tell how close Sirius and Remus were to each other all day and had his suspicions about them. He wasn’t sure about Remus, but the way Sirius smiled around Remus was enough of a reason to let them be together. So, he swallowed whatever protests he had and accepted the room because he needed to be out of that room. The smell, lights, sounds, and faces were overwhelming him; the moment he steps into the quiet room, he takes a deep breath and begins te feel a bit better.
That relief quickly fades when he sees the room. Its nice, cozy, and quiet; but there is only one bed.
Just fucking lovely.
—-------------------------------------------------------
“Err.. so- well it’s nice to meet you! I’ve heard a lot about you.” The older boy attempted to make conversation but it was no use, regulus was uninterested at best.
“I’ll take the floor.” Regulus said in a hushed tone, setting his bags neatly in the corner of the room. He intended to take up as little space as possible, just like at home. That’s how you survive; in the shadows.
“Oh no, it’s alright. We can share the bed, it’s plenty big enough for both of us. I mean look at it; Have you ever seen a bed so bloody large? Whats the use?” James rambled on, not remembering the point of the conversation. He kept talking as he tossed his bags to the side and arranged his things in drawers.
Regulus didn’t see a point to this, they weren’t staying long and its better to plan for a quick escape if they needed too. Of course, he kept his mouth shut on the topic.
“Regulus? Regulus, did you hear me?” James’ voice snapped him out of his thoughts, leading him to notice that james had grabbed his hand. He wore a worried look on his face.
“Hm?” Regulus squeaked, unsure of how to react to the situation.
“You alright? You were staring off into space, i tried to ask if you wanted to go explore the alley with me but you just kept staring.” James’ worried expression deepend.
Regulus was utterly confused. He surely would not have noticed if James was doing such a thing, so why did James notice?
“Mate, you’re doing it again. Am i seriously just so breathtakingly beautiful that you cant speak?” James joked.
Regulus spoke. “Oh-Er, sorry. Did Sirius ask you to invite me or something? He doesn’t have to-”
James cut him off with a laugh. “No, no, nothing like that. Well, between you and me, I think there's something going on between Padfoot and Moony so it's best to leave them alone. Besides, we have to get stuff for our classes. Your list must be super long, yeah?” James chuckled again. “I remember when I got my first year letter. I could barely find all my things- Come on, I’ll help you find it all. Been around here a few times.”
So that was what his brother had meant when he called it a ‘James Potter Smile.’ Regulus stiffened. The thought of wandering around an unknown place with a boy he just met made his hair stand on edge- but he did know the boy, he knew more than the other did because of Sirius’ stories. Plus, Sirius trusted him. How bad could he be?
“Well? What do you say, mate?” James waited for regulus to answer.