A split path
September 1st 1971
Sirius POV
The Hogwarts Express loomed like a crimson beast on the platform, steam curling from its maw and swallowing the chatter of the crowd. Eleven-year-old Sirius Black stood frozen, his battered trunk leaning precariously against his knee and an irritable owl shifting in its cage beside him. He tugged at his neatly pressed robes, a scowl threatening to creep across his face as his mother’s sharp voice echoed behind him.
“Do not embarrass us, Sirius. This is not just school. This is legacy,” she hissed, her manicured nails gripping his shoulder as if she could anchor him in place.
Legacy. The word dripped with all the weight Sirius had been carrying for as long as he could remember. House Black: Pureblood. Pristine. Unyielding. He bit back the retort perched on his tongue and instead shot a glance at Regulus. His younger brother stood to the side, eyes wide and reverent as he watched the older students board the train.With a fascination, a wanting to join his older brother.
Anxiety clear in Regulas’s eyes, he vouched to sent him a small reassuring smile.But truth be told as much as he wished to get away from his parents, Sirius feared for Regulas’s safety at home despite the fact that he had always been more obedient than him. His parents always found something wrong,an excuse to torment him- he hoped to cause enough of a distraction to avoid Regulus any harm or that they would even bother him at all while he read curled up in the corner of his room.
“I know, Mother,” Sirius said, pulling his shoulder from her grasp and bending to lift his trunk.
As he heaved his trunk up the steps of the train, he glanced back. Regulus was watching him, his expression caught between envy and longing looking at sirius. For a moment, Sirius hesitated.
“Don’t worry, Reg,” Sirius said, his voice softer than he meant it to be. “You’ll be here next year.”
Regulus didn’t answer. Their mother had already stepped between them, pulling Regulus close and giving Sirius one final, of her usual disapproving glare. He turned before she could say anything else, vanishing into the crowded corridor of the train. The compartments were alive with laughter, shouting, and the scraping of trunks against the floor. Sirius felt a grin spread across his face despite himself. This was it—the start of something new, something his parents couldn’t touch.
He couldn't ignore the buzzing of excitement in his chest any longer.He found an empty compartment near the back of the train and shoved his trunk into the corner. A moment later, the door slid open, and a boy with messy black hair and glasses poked his head in.
“Mind if I join you?” the boy asked, a crooked smile on his face. “Everywhere else is full.”
Sirius shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. “Suit yourself.”
As the boy dragged his own trunk inside, Sirius leaned back against the seat, letting the rhythmic clatter of the train’s wheels carry him forward. He had no idea what was waiting for him at Hogwarts, but he was certain of one thing: it was going to be better than what he’d left behind.