Year 1 - The Hogwarts Express
Regulus had not attended Sirius’ first year-send off. He had not expected the casual pandemonium of platform 9 ¾. 12 Grimmauld Place was nearly always perfectly silent, save for Mother calling upon Kreacher to fetch her tea. The sounds were harsh to his ears, and the smell of train smoke and half-bloods caused his nose to wrinkle. Regulus watched his “peers” milling about the platform, their faces blotched red as they clung to a parents’ sleeve. He held the smooth leather handle of his trunk securely in both hands.
“Regulus, fix your face.” Mother reminded him in an even tone.
“Yes, Mother.” He looked to his parents. Orion and Walburga Black were always rather stoic individuals, but he could sense what he prayed was satisfaction in their cool, dark gazes. His father cleared his throat to call his attention.
“You will learn much at Hogwarts, Regulus Arcturus Black.” Father always regarded him by his full given name. He bore the name of powerful wizards – the Great House of Black. “It is not the institution it once was, but it is where we have been taught for centuries.” He said in a tone that held the pride of a pureblood lineage.
“Work hard and make us proud, Regulus.” Mother brushed a dark curl from his face, fixing it neatly behind his ear. “And keep an eye on your brother.” Her tone became slightly grim at the mention of Sirius. Everything was always about Sirius.
Regulus nodded obediently. Unlike Sirius, he would not disappoint his parents. He would not fail the House of Black. Mother smiled sweetly and patted his cheek in approval. Regulus stood a little straighter, though he could not help but feel weighted. The sharp cry of a train whistle caused Regulus to jump. Mother shooed him towards the departing train.
Upon boarding, he immediately entered an empty compartment near the back of the train and set his trunk on the bench to his side. He glanced through the glass, searching for his parents among the others. Despite the countless waving arms and teary eyes, he did not find them in the crowd. Instead, his gaze landed on a terribly familiar face. His brother’s tall and slight frame was easy to pick out, for he shared Regulus’ dark hair and pale skin. He hadn’t seen or heard from Sirius all summer, all because the elder had opted to stay with some other boy’s family. The very boy, James Potter, had an arm around Sirius’ shoulders as the two walked to the train, joined by two other boys Regulus could not name. One was tall, like Sirius, with scars scattered across his complexion; the other was a stout, nervous-looking blond, whom Regulus had a hard time keeping track of in the crowd.
A knock at the compartment door tore his attention away from his brother. The door opened, revealing a pair of children. They looked to be around Sirius’ age, though perhaps he was simply poor at guessing the ages of children he was unfamiliar with.
“Is that seat free?” A cheerful girl with startling blue eyes and a long blonde plait asks, gesturing to the bench opposite Regulus.
After no consideration at all, Regulus responds, “No.”
Ignoring his response, she slipped into the compartment, pulling along the other child and some luggage before closing the door. Regulus stiffened and narrowed his eyes, his mouth was already open to protest their intrusion into his privacy. Before he could get a word out, she spoke.
“My name is Pandora Rosier. This is my twin, Evan.” She said, gesturing to the boy while taking a seat near the window.
Regulus heard the name ‘Rosier’ and knew to shut up. He’d memorized the name of each pureblooded family in Great Britain a thousand times over. Father had ensured that he could recite them by heart. Father had also told him that Hogwarts was a place to make allies. Regulus cleared his throat before responding.
“Black, Regulus Black.” He responded in a low yet clear tone.
The girl, Pandora Rosier, had already dropped her attention from Regulus, staring through the window as the train let out a wheezing huff and began to move. Regulus found the action to be somewhat rude, and this time, couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“Did you hear me?” He asked in a slightly frustrated tone. Rosier didn’t look as though she did. He rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Regulus turned his gaze to Evan Rosier, who was shoving their matching trunks into the luggage rack above the bench. The second he sat, his eyes were closed, and it seemed that the boy was trying to sleep through the train ride.
At least they aren’t going to pester me. Regulus thought to himself, leaning back with a heavy sigh. Following a few seconds of boredom, he looked to his trunk. It had been a sending off gift from his father – a perfectly practical leather trunk. He pulled it onto his lap, feeling the weight of all he was to possess for an entire school year. After opening the metal clasps and flipping the trunk open, he finds a specific wooden box, containing a twisted black wand. He removes it from its resting place, letting his fingers run over the letters engraved onto its handle: “Regulus Black .”
The Regulus of this wand was not himself, but rather, his lineal namesake. He’d seen portraits of the relative who had died far before he was born. Merlin knows how badly he had wanted to visit Ollivander’s as every other first year did to find a wand perfectly suited for his character. However, Father had reasoned that “every mudblood these days thinks they can waltz into a shop and buy themselves into being a real wizard,” and had therefore forbid Regulus from doing so. Regulus supposed it was perhaps best not to mimic those of spoiled blood. He frowned in thoughtfulness while studying the wand, tracing over the rough cypress wood.
“What’s that?” Pandora Rosier broke Regulus’ focus once again, nearly causing him to drop the wand. Evidently, he’d been zoned out for quite some time, as the scenery outside of the window was completely different. The bright light of high noon covered the rolling green hills.
“Nothing.” He stated curtly, returning the wand to its box and snapping his trunk shut.
The slam of the trunk closing was louder than he’d intended it to be. The boy across from him stirred for a moment, grumbling something unintelligible. A quiet knock then came at the door. Before Regulus could stop her, Rosier moved from her seat to open it. A tall-ish boy with a mess of brown hair entered his compartment. It was growing rather cramped rather quickly.
“Good afternoon, Pandora.” He greeted her in a smooth voice, stepping into the compartment.
“If it isn’t Barty Crouch Junior. Did Dorcas expel you from her company?” Pandora asked in an almost teasing tone.
“Close enough to it. She wanted to sit with that Lily Evans and her lot, and that compartment was absolutely stuffed as it was.”
Regulus was less focused on their conversation and more focused on the fact that it seemed every pureblooded student on this side of the channel was congregating in his compartment. He sighed yet again, which seemed to draw the attention of the girl.
“Barty, this is Regulus Black. He’s a first year, I think.” She said, taking the liberty to introduce Regulus to this new company.
Regulus fixed his posture and expression to be courteous to this stranger. Crouch winked. He winked . The surprise nearly showed on his face. Regulus had expected more from a fellow pureblood. To be completely honest, he had expected more formality from everyone in this compartment. Perhaps it was best to lower his expectations from now on.
Barty threw himself onto the bench the twins had been sharing, his legs over Evan Rosier’s lap dramatically. Regulus was internally disgusted with such a display. He crossed his arms over his chest, almost as a barrier to the others in the compartment, as if their vulgarity could transfer to him. Pandora shifted to sit next to him to give the sleeping boys more room, much to his utter dismay. He shifted as close as he could to his side of the bench, allowing her to have the seat by the window. He placed his trunk to his side, vertical like a wall.
Suddenly, there was tapping at the compartment door yet again. Regulus buried a groan as another girl entered the compartment, waving goodbye to someone down the hall and giggling loudly. Barty Crouch Junior greeted her sourly.
“Dorcas, I thought you were gossiping with Evans and her posse.” He said in a curious tone.
“Wh…What?” The boy Rosier asked in a sleepy tone, rubbing his eyes.
“Not ‘ Evan ,’ I said ‘ Evans .’” Crouch explained. The tired boy stared at him for a moment in confusion before promptly closing his eyes once more.
Regulus could not believe such a display.