Those Hazel Eyes
Regulus ran fast while closing his eyes, scared that if he opened them he would stop.
“Reggie, you can open your eyes now,” He heard Sirius say beside him.
Carefully he opened his eyes and looked around. It was real, he really was here. He looked up at the sign: Platform 9¾. He looked around at the bright red train and all the kids with their parents. Ever since he got his letter he couldn’t believe it was true, but now he really was here.
“Regulus,” A cold hand snapped him out of his thoughts. “Make us proud, don’t disappoint us,” His mother told him, glancing at Sirius. She was always stuck on what house he would be in. Ever since Sirius got sorted into Gryffindor she became more anxious about Regulus’ house. Not to mention Sirius and his gang had been messing around, always getting stuck in detention. This angered his mother even more, so Regulus was expected to be on his best behaviour.
“Yes Maman, don’t worry,” He gave his mom a small nod before Sirius dragged him to the train.
“Reggie you have to meet them, I swear you're going to love them!”
“Yeah I’m sure I will,” Sirius would not shut up about his three friends. It was all he ever talked about. Regulus was excited to meet them but scared as well. What if they didn’t like him? Or they thought he was weird? The biggest problem was that they were all in Gryffindor, so what if Regulus wasn’t put in the same house as his brother and his friends. If he was in Slytherin would they even want to talk to him anymore? He was snapped out of his thoughts by a chatter of voices on the train.
“I think they aren’t here yet. This is our compartment, we’ll wait for them here,” Sirius said, leading Regulus into an empty compartment.
They both sat down next to each other. His legs were bouncing up and down, both of excitement and fear.
Sirius put a hand on his legs to stop them from shaking,”Reggie, don't be like that, stop worrying. They haven’t even met you but I know they love you already. Trust me you’re going to be okay, soit brave.”
“Yeah, I know Sirius, don’t worry je serai courageux,” He was being stupid, if Sirius said it would be fine, then it will be. He didn’t have to worry. Just then the compartment door opened. A short boy with blonde hair entered, followed by a tall-ish boy with chocolate brown hair.
“Hey Sirius, long time no see.” The blond one said.
“Yeah how was summer-” The brown haired one stopped mid sentence as his eyes locked with Regulus. “Oh hi, sorry I didn’t notice you. I’m Remus. You must be Regulus, Sirius doesn’t shut up about you,” Remus said while extending his hand. Regulus took it and shaked it.
“Merlin, my bad, I didn’t notice you. I’m Peter." The blond one said.
“Hi, yeah I’m Regulus,” He said while giving them a shy smile.
“Sorry about Reggie, he gets a bit shy.” Sirius pinched his cheeks while grinning.
“Hey! I’m not shy, stop it!” Regulus swatted Sirius’ hand away while Remus and Peter sat down.
“Whatever,” Sirius rolled his eyes,”Reggie is going to be in Gryffindor with us, he can help with our pranks and everything!” Sirius put an arm around Regulus. He was about to say more but was cut off by the compartment’s door banging open.
A boy with dark curly brown hair; it was messy and unkempt. His skin was sunkissed. Slightly tanned but perfect in every aspect. He had round glasses with a golden frame that matched perfectly with his face.
“Hey, sorry I’m late guys. Mum was getting emotional and- oh, um hi,” He focus turned to Regulus and he smiled at him.
His smile was so bright, it could light up cities. His smile would make the sun jealous and put it at shame. Regulus was looking at the sun, he wanted to continue looking for ever but his beauty made his eyes hurt. Not to mention his eyes that hid behind his glasses. Those eyes made his heart skip a beat. Those hazel eyes. They reminded him of the autumn leaves, gentle and soft. He wanted to be lost in them forever, and ever. But he couldn’t do that, he was waiting for Regulus to reply. Everyone was looking at him.
“Yeah, um hi. I’m Regulus, Sirius’ brother,”
“Oh Shit! I forgot your brother was coming this year. Shit, I’m such an idiot. Yeah, I’m James,” He tilted his head to the side, giving Regulus a wide smile, lighting up his world. He extended his hand, waiting for Regulus to shake it. But Regulus was still lost in his eyes that he forgot about anything he had just said. Only when his smile slowly started to dim, thinking Regulus didn’t like him, Regulus shook his hand quickly. James went and sat on Sirius’ other side.
The train started moving and the door opened once again.
“Anything from the trolley, my dears?” an old plump lady said standing by a huge trolley full of different types of sweets. They all got what they wanted and started to munch down on them.
“Remus pass me a chocolate frog will you?” Sirius extended a hand towards him.
“No, they’re mine, back off,” Remus was very protective over his chocolate.
“It’s ok Sirius, you can have some of mine,” James tossed Sirius one of his whilst smiling.
“So Regulus, Sirius is sure you’re going to be in Gryffindor. So don’t disappoint us.” James said to him, winking.
To say Regulus’ heart shutdown would not fully describe the way he felt at the moment. He really didn’t understand why he was feeling this way. James was a guy for god's sake!
“Yeah, hopefully.” Regulus said
“Don’t worry Reggie, I know you don’t have that Slytherin in you,” Sirius smirked at him.
They all started chatting amongst themselves. What if he wasn’t in Gryffindor like they all expected? What if he really had the Slytherin in him? He has never been as brave and rebellious as Sirius was. He was so scared he was going to let him down. He was sure of it. He just didn’t have it in him. He was going to let James down. Why did he care though? Something about seeing James’ upset and disappointed eyes would have broken him, so he was going to try his hardest to make them all proud. Make James and Sirius proud.
Eventually the train got to a halt.
─── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ───
“My name is Professor McGonagall, I am the head of the Gryffindor house. When we enter the Great Hall, I will call your name then the sorting hat will be placed on your head. Then you will be given your assigned house for the rest of your time at Hogwarts. There are: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff.” The tall female Professor announced to them.
The kids burst into chatter, excited about what house they were going to be in.
“Hey, I’m Barty. What’s your name?” A kid with messy brown hair extended his hand towards him, smiling.
“I’m Regulus,” He said, shaking his hand.
“What house do you think you’re going to be in? I want to be in Slytherin!”
“Umm, well I don’t really mind,”
“Well, either way, let’s be friends. Yeah?” Barty said to him.
“Yeah, sure. I’d like that,” Regulus smiled at him. Pleased to already have made a friend.
Their conversation was cut off by Professor McGonagall beckoning them inside the hall.
The hall was huge. All eyes turned to them, students whispering; hoping that some of them would be in their house. There was a huge table at the front where the headmaster and the teachers sat. The four tables of the four houses were arranged across the hall. Above there was a huge chandelier. It was grand and bright, lighting up the huge hall. The large windows that were meant to show the outside were pitch black. In front of all the houses, right in the middle was a chair. On top of it rested a hat. It was old and looked like it was going to break at any second.
The hat’s mouth opened and it went into a song:
'Glamourous is not a word
That people use for me
But don’t let that fool you, as most
Will eat their words, you see.
You can keep your witch hats pointy,
Your fedoras black and slick
For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
I’ll cut them to the quick.
There’s nothing you can hide from me
I can read your mind
So try me on and I will tell you
What I therein find.
You may do well in Gryffindor,
Where courage is respected
Their bravery and daring
Are only to be expected.
Or perhaps it is in Hufflepuff,
You’ll find your real friends
Where hard work and loyalty
Are the beginning and the end.
You might belong in Ravenclaw,
If you possess and value wit
Intelligence, knowledge, learning–
That’s the place for it!
Or perhaps it will be Slytherin,
That will form your truest home
Their cunning and ambition
Lends them great renown.
So put me on! Don’t be afraid!
Don’t get your knickers in a knot!
I’ve Sorted many, I’ll Sort you
I’ll give it all I’ve got!'
Everyone clapped and before he knew it the names were getting called out.
“Felix Alderton!” McGonagall called.
A slender boy with messy brown hair stepped up and sat on the chair. All the houses were waiting eagerly.
“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat exclaimed as the Gryffindor table burst into cheers.
“Claudia Alton!” A short girl sat on the stool, ready to be sorted.
“HUFFLEPUFF!” She walked over to her cheering house as they all congratulated her.
“Regulus Black!” Professor McGonagall announced. The hall went quiet, everyone anticipating what house he would be placed in.
“Good luck mate!” Barty tapped him on the back as he walked towards the chair and hat.
He looked around for Sirius’ face in the sea of students. He locked eyes with him as Sirius gave him a huge grin and a thumbs up. He sat down and the battered old hat was placed on his head.
“Ahh… another Black I see. I can sense exceptional greatness from you, more than the ancestors before you. You have the potential to change a lot of things. I also sense your similarities with your brother. What do you think?” The hat asked him.
“I want to be with Sirius, but what if Maman and Papa get angry at me? I don’t know, why are you asking me? Isn’t it your job to sort me into my house?”
“So you won’t mind if I pick the house that will lead to your greatness?”
“If you think it will be best, then that's that.” His anxiety was building up. His eyes found Sirius again. Behind him James was looking eagerly.
“Well… it better be… SLYTHERIN!” The hat's voice boomed across the hall as the Slytherin table jumped up, cheering and urging him to join his house. He could see the immediate disappointment that covered Sirius and James’ face. He felt his heart drop. He had let down his brother. He let down James. He let them all down. He stood up and started walking towards the Slytherin table.
“Congrats Black,”
“Of course he was going to be in Slytherin, he’s a Black after all!”
“For a second I thought he was going to follow after his idiot brothers footsteps,”
He could hear a chatter of voices congratulating him and patting him on the back. He found his place next to this girl with dark hair in lovely braids. She had a warm feeling about her compared to the rest.
“Hi, I’m Dorcas. You doing okay? You look shocked,” Dorcas gave him a warm smile.
“Yeah, sorry. Must be the nerves or something,” Regulus laughed.
“Regulus, congrats. Your parents are going to be so proud,” He looked up and saw Narcissa sit beside him.
“Hey Cissa,” Regulus smiled at her. She was in her sixth year of Hogwarts, Bella and Andy had already graduated. He was glad she was in Slytherin, he would be able to recognise someone at least.
“Bartemius Crouch Junior,” Regulus looked up and watched as he prayed Barty would be with him.
“SLYTHERIN!” Barty walked over and sat next to him.
“Hey, it seems like we’ll be seeing each other more often Reg,” Barty smiled. Barty has already come up with a nickname for Regulus, solidifying Regulus’ first friend at Hogwarts.
“Yeah, I guess we will,” Regulus turned back to watch the sorting
“Evan Rosier,”
Regulus was sure he had seen him before. Probably at one of those pureblood gatherings.
“That’s Andre’s son. Remember that old man that’s my mum’s brother, yeah that’s his son.” Cissa whispered in Regulus’ ear.
“SLYTHERIN!” A blond-haired kid walked over. Barty waved at him to come sit with us.
“Pandora Rosier,”
“RAVENCLAW!” His sister walked over to the Ravenclaw table, smiling.
The rest of the sorting continued, until all the students were finally placed in their respective houses.
“Hey, I’m Dorcas. I'm a year higher,” Dorcas extended a hand to both Barty and Evan. They all continued chatting while eating, but Regulus was too lost in his thoughts to make an effort to join their conversation. He was hoping that Sirius would walk over and comfort him. To tell him everything was alright and that he wasn’t mad at him. But Regulus couldn’t shake the terrible feeling that he indeed was mad at him. It wasn’t Regulus’ fault. How was he going to control what a stupid old hat was going to say? Well on the bright side at least Maman and Papa would be happy.
Eventually dinner came to an end and all the first years followed the prefects to the dungeons. They stood in front of a large brick wall.
“The password for the next few months is Dragon, please don’t forget that, otherwise you will be locked out. You will be informed every time the password is changed so don’t worry about that.” The Slytherin prefect led us inside. They all went to their dormitories. Regulus was in a dorm with Evan and Barty. Normally there were four or five a dorm, but since there weren't that many students this year some dorms were able to have three. Regulus found his trunk underneath his bed and started to unpack. He looked up to his bed and saw a black cat comfortably laying there. It was his cat, Aidoneus. Maman was very reluctant to let him have a cat, but after a lot of negotiations he was finally able to have him. Barty and Evan weren’t finished unpacking by the time regulus was done. He sat down on his bed and pet his cat, waiting for something to break the silence.
“I can’t believe we’re all in a dorm together. Honestly, our luck is amazing!” Barty turned to look at them.
“We better stick together, I don’t want you guys pulling some evil shit on me, alright?” Evan pointed a finger at both of them smiling.
“Don’t worry, just sleep with one eye open and you’ll be alright Evan,” Regulus laughed.
“We should get to know each other, considering we’re going to be stuck in a room together for the next seven years. I’ll start, I'm named after my father. He’s a real bitch, works in the ministry and shit,” Barty sat down in front of Regulus.
“Umm, let me think. Oh, yeah, I have a twin. Pandora, she’s going to be chilling with us by the way,” Evan came a joined them of Regulus’ bed
“Yeah we don’t mind. Okay, Reg, your turn,”
“Well, I know a lot of languages: French, Italian, Greek and Latin. Maman says it’s necessary.” Regulus rolled his eyes, thinking about how strict she had been with them about this. They continued to talk for hours until their eyes couldn’t keep open any longer. Eventually, Barty and Evan went to lie down in their beds. Regulus thought about how happy he was to finally have some nice friends. He thought about tomorrow, and how he would have to talk to Sirius. He was praying everything would stay the same and nothing would have changed between them.
As he was slowly drifting off to sleep, he thought of something. He remembered James. And his smile. But the thing Regulus couldn’t get out of his head were his eyes. Those hazel eyes.