Regulus Arcturo Black
Being back after what happened was strange to say the least, he felt as if everyone around him knew, even though no one there actually knew. The marks from that night that still covered his body were hidden by a heavy black fabric. And the fear and anguish in his soul were covered with the usual icy and superior eyes. "No one can know that you have become this monster, Regulus, don't shame our family name any more than you already have or you will regret it", his mother warned him, threatened him, before he left the house. An empty threat in his opinion, after that night there was nothing left in him to be taken away or broken. Everything had been destroyed and he didn't even have the freedom to give up anymore, he wanted to be able to give up more than anything, but his parents had found a way to control even that.
"Black" is the cold and dry greeting, from both parties. His voices coming out at the same moment, with equal disgust and his shoulders hitting each other hard, were enough to hide the small note passed from one brother to the other. They both walked away and went on their way without looking back, Sirius knew his message had been delivered and Regulus would think about whether he would respond or ignore it.
Finding an empty cabin at the back of the train, Regulus entered and sat there, closing the door and the curtain freed Salem, his old and currently only companion, from the cage. Allowing the cat to stretch before curling up on the owner's lap.
"Meet me at the astronomy tower at midnight. We need to talk and I need to make sure you're okay.
- the most beautiful Black"
Upon reading his brother's note, Regulus thought about going, but knew he couldn't. They really needed to talk in person, in the middle of the holidays his brother had run away from home and gone to live with the Potters, he had promised he would come back for Regulus. They secretly exchanged letters throughout the summer, but even so, he knew Sirius and knew that he needed to see for himself that his brother was okay. But Regulus knew he would have to ruin this, what they had built, Sirius was happy and he was fine and Regulus knew he couldn't stay in his brother's presence without telling him what had happened to him, so he would be selfish. He tore up the paper and burned it with a simple spell, deciding to leave it behind. He would rather end it all there, he would rather be ignored and know that his brother was upset than deal with the anger, contempt and disgust that would be directed at him if he found out.
The trip was normal and without many interruptions, when Rosier and Crouch appeared to irritate him he accidentally ended up letting slip his most recent discovery that Snape was now a prefect, which made the couple get up and go looking for their friend to pester. him in his new role. After being left alone Regulus took the opportunity to rest while petting Salem. Upon arriving at Hogwarts, he sat with his housemates and let them talk, without really paying attention to anything. After dinner he just wanted to go to bed.
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"Regulus Arcturo Black" the reprimanding tone in his voice made the Slytherin flinch slightly, as he looked at the nervous boy in front of him "Why did you tell Crouch and Rosier about me being a prefect? Do you realize how torturous my trip was? "
"I couldn't care less" the cold response leaves his lips without even realizing it
"I missed you in the summer too" pointed out the boy in front of him "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine" he replied automatically "I was just tired yesterday, nothing big"
"Are you sure? Don't lie to me, you seemed apprehensive yesterday at dinner" Serverus insisted, worried about his friend. Anyone who saw Regulus would say that the boy was as fine as he always was, the mask of indifference on his face and the coldness in his words. But not for Severus, he knew the little Slytherin since he entered Hogwarts and for him the small dark circles that formed under his eyes and the boy's habit of biting his nails when he was nervous or anxious did not go unnoticed. .
"Dammit Snape, stop being naughty, nothing happened. I'm fine, if you missed acting like a puppy during the holidays, go find your little Gryffindor friend and stop bothering my patience. Now get out of the way and leave me go to my class" the youngest said irritably and walked ahead without even waiting for a response or reaction from his housemate.
During the whole way he was silent, he decided not to have breakfast that morning, his stomach was still upset by the recent events and he was sure that if he ate it he would end up spilling everything. He saw his brother passing through one of the corridors going up to the east tower towards the transfiguration room, he only looked at him for a short time enough to notice the half smile that formed on his face in clear sadness for not having gone to meet him. with him yesterday. But looking away, Regulus just continued on his way as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't even passed his brother.
He had returned to Hogwarts to cut ties with his small group of people close to him, which was limited to two people, he couldn't risk anyone noticing and he knew it wouldn't be very difficult, no one knew him well enough to realize that as he walked away I was screaming for help. It would start with Severus, he knew how to hurt his friend's ego, which would result in an argument and the end of the friendship, with Sirius it wouldn't be much different, equally easy, but a thousand times more painful, the only way to push his brother away would be to hurt him deeply, that is , looking like his parents. He hated everything his parents defended, the blood purity nonsense irritated him, but when he was a child before he understood things he supported them so it wouldn't be too difficult to pretend he had gone back to his old ways.
When he arrived at the classroom he sat at the front, as it was Professor McGonagall's class, no one who sat at the front would dare to open their mouth. When he arrived, the room was empty, but little by little it filled up and when all the seats were occupied, he didn't pay attention to anything during that class, no matter how much he tried to focus, his mind always stopped him, going far lost in thoughts and memories. Since he couldn't let his grade point drop, he wrote down the class topic in error and then went to the library. The only thing that registered was the teacher's voice warning that the pairs formed that day would be permanent pairs until the end of the year, when he looked to the side Régulus was met with a huge smile and blond hair, he didn't bother. smile back or say hello, just looked at him and got up ready to go.
When he was about to walk through the door heading towards his next class, Professor McGonagall called him and asked him to wait, as she needed to talk to him, when he tried to argue saying that it was the first day and that he couldn't miss classes, the teacher told him he reassured by saying that even if the conversation was a little long, his next teacher had already been notified. And apprehensive, already imagining what the subject of the conversation would be, he did as requested and waited, when everyone had already left, the teacher guided him to the principal's office and the whole way he was wondering what would happen to him, if he would be expelled or locked up. in a cage, now that they clearly knew. He was also trying to imagine who would have told him, since his parents wanted more than anything for it to be kept a secret, it just didn't make sense.
He didn't realize when he arrived at the Director's office, nor when he entered the room, he heard the voice asking him to sit down and then he was taken out of his stupor when he realized that there was another student there in that room, unbelievable...