pain
Regulus heard Mother's shouts, about his House, of his grades, of his behaviour. Regulus felt just as scared as the last time, but this time, he felt something bubbling inside of him. Anger at Mother for harming his brother, for making him hurt. Rage at himself for not doing anything, because he couldn't, because he's too weak. Regulus sat on his bed, trying to calm down and wait for Sirius. Like winter, Mother immediately called Regulus to go to his skating. He grabbed his things, changing quickly, and walked to Mother, Side-Alonging with her to the rink.
Regulus laid in his bed silently, listening for familiar footsteps or the creaking of the door. It soon came, Sirius creeping into Regulus' room.
"Hey," Sirius said, smiling.
"Hey." Regulus echoed, grinning.
"Been lonely without me?" Sirius laughed.
"Yeah, it's been boring."
"You'll never believe what I did with James..." Sirius spent most of the time talking to Regulus about that James Potter. Regulus didn't know why, but he felt almost jealous of this James Potter kid. Almost like she was taking Sirius away from him. Regulus always told Sirius what happened, but there wasn't much to talk about. It was always the same thing. Skating, Mother yelling, Kreacher. Skating, Mother yelling, Kreacher. Skating, Mother yelling, Kreacher. So, Sirius more often entertained Regulus with stories of Hogwarts. As the summer went on, Regulus withdrew himself more and more from Sirius, hiding his emotions and thoughts. He felt more guarded. Like he couldn't trust Sirius anymore. Why? He felt replaced. As if Sirius loved him less. This James Potter kid sounded like so much better of a person than Regulus was, he understood why Sirius liked her so much. But he couldn't trust her. Not when he'd basically taken Sirius from him. Stolen him. To Regulus, James Potter was a monster. A thief. And Regulus hated her. Hated her with all he had.
Soon, the summer was nearing its end. Regulus would be going to Hogwarts this year, thankfully getting away from his house. He packed all his things, neatly folding all his clothes. He finished packing a week before September first, but Sirius packed at the very last minute. Regulus watched as Sirius shoved all of his things into his bag. Regulus winced at the messiness of it. Mother forced Regulus to wear his skirt and blouse, no matter how many times Sirius had protested against it for him. Mother used Lacero against Sirius. He was limping, when the two walked on the platform. As they walked towards the train, Regulus recited Mother's rules in his head. Stand tall. Back straight. Show no emotion. Stay calm. Do not show sadness, rage, fury, or anger. Do not smile. Do not frown. Hold your head up high. Do not, under any circumstances, make friends with any half-bloods, muggleborns, or mudbloods. We are in the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. Act like it. He played Mother's voice over and over in his head. Sirius waved Regulus to a compartment, opening the door.
Regulus walked toward the compartment, fully ready to hate James Potter. He peered around the compartment, examining the kids within. He immediately knew who James was, as she was the only girl in the compartment. He made no move to greet any and stared emotionlessly at them.
"This is my little brother, Reggie," Sirius said to the kids in the compartment, pointing at Regulus. There were two boys, and the girl. First was a shorter boy with sandy blond hair and blue eyes wringing his hands together. Once Sirius had mentioned that Regulus was his brother, his face scrunched in confusion but he thought better than saying anything. He looked nervous, and almost scared of Regulus. Next was a taller, lankier boy with mousy brown hair and brown eyes. He had a few scars about his face and hands and seemed bored. Lastly, a girl with jet black hair and round glasses. She had a large grin on her face and was waving furiously at him. Regulus thought the girl's wrist might snap off.
"Call me Regulus or do not address me at all," Regulus said, slightly embarrassed that Sirius had used his childish nickname in front of these kids.
"Say hi," Sirius said to the compartment, rolling his eyes.
"Er- hi," the shortest boy said in a small, squeaky voice.
"Hi!" the girl with glasses said joyfully. The taller boy said nothing, but Sirius didn't seem to mind.
"That's Peter," Sirius started, pointing at the shortest boy. "That's Remus," to the taller boy, "And that's James," to the girl with the glasses. As Regulus watched James, he waited to feel the rage, the hatred, the loathing towards the girl, but it never came. Potter continued her relentless waving, and Regulus couldn't help the corner of his mouth turning up just slightly. Regulus prayed she hadn't noticed, but his prayers were left unanswered. Potter seemed to have caught on and stopped waving, grinning from ear to ear. In turn, Regulus sent a deathly glare towards Potter, but her grin just widened, if that was even possible. "Wanna sit with us?" Sirius asked, taking a seat beside Potter. Regulus looked around at the group with disdain, then turned around and left promptly. Sirius rolled his eyes, but let him leave.
Regulus walked to the opposite end of the train, finding an empty compartment and taking a seat. He placed his trunk on the seat beside him and casted a quick locking charm to the door. He was about to open his trunk, when there was a sudden ruckus from just outside of his compartment. A boy was pulling on the door handle of his compartment aggressively. Another boy came up behind him, a Rosier, Regulus realised, as they were in the Sacred 28. The Rosier boy was followed by a girl, presumably his sister. He cast a simple Alohomora, opening the door and sending the other boy flying backwards. Boy Rosier walked in sitting across from Regulus. The girl sat beside Regulus, pushing over his trunk, and the other boy had gotten up and was halfway through the door, when the Rosier boy cast a wordless spell, causing the door to close on him. The other boy kicked the door, jamming it into the wall. He flopped himself into the seat beside the Rosier boy.
"Hello friends," The boy said, looking around.
"Hello," The Rosier girl said, smiling kindly.
"Get out," The Rosier boy said irritably. The other boy shot him two fingers and sat stubbornly. The Rosier boy rolled his eyes and diverted his attention to Regulus. "You must be a Black, correct?" He asked. Regulus inclined his head slightly.
"And you are Rosiers. Your names?"
"I'm Evan, and that's my twin sister Pandora," The Rosier boy said, nodding towards the girl.
"And who might you be?" Pandora asked the boy, smiling slightly.
"Barty Crouch." Evan's face twisted in what could be best described as disgust. "Junior, of course," He added. "Don't worry about me, I'm just here to disappoint my father." Although Evan refused to even look at Barty at first, he later deigned to speak to him, and they clicked instantly, chattering about. Regulus read his book, ignoring everything around him, but about ten minutes into reading, Pandora started speaking to him, starting conversation.
"Hello. Nice to meet you," She started. She continued her light rant throughout the train ride. Normally, the only person he would let talk to him as much was Sirius, other people irritated him quickly. Pandora was different. He liked listening to her. "...and others. Have you seen them before?"
"What?"
"Oh, that happens sometimes to me too. It's good to think. We're arriving soon, I think. We'd better dress into our robes," Pandora said, handing Regulus his trunk and placing it on the floor beside him. Soon everyone in the compartment was ready, and the train stopped. "We're here," she called out cheerfully, picking up her bag and walking out. Regulus stepped off the train, hearing a voice boom over the platform.
A unusually tall man was leading all the first years to the dock, where a group of boats sat. He looked at the small rickety boats with disdain, but sat in one nonetheless. He cast a cleaning charm on the boat and a bubble around him to prevent any water from splashing water on him. Evan looked at him weird, and Barty just laughed. Pandora sat beside him, and they began the boat journey to Hogwarts. They were there soon enough and Regulus cancelled the bubble charm, stepping onto the dock (which, by the way, looked like it was about to collapse). The man, which Pandora said was named 'Hagrid,' ushered the first years towards the Great Hall. There they met Professor McGonagall, who gave a lengthy speech about the House system and whatnot. They were then led into the Great Hall, and Regulus caught Sirius' eye for just a second before looking away quickly and focussing on the Sorting. Regulus looks at the dirty, tattered Sorting Hat, not wanting it to touch his hair that he'd spent hours styling that morning. He was soon called up to get Sorted. He sat down on the stool, realising how anxious he really was. He heard the voice of the Hat considering the houses, but could only focus on how Sirius and Potter's eyes bore into him. Presently, the Hat made it's decision.
"SLYTHERIN!" it shouted. Regulus could see Sirius' face visibly fall. Regulus walked to the Slytherin table numbly. He didn't know what he was expecting. Of course he was going to be in Slytherin, he knew that, so why was he so, so surprised? Barty got sorted next, landing in Slytherin with him. He heard him shout something about his father. After a little while, Evan was Sorted, also into Slytherin. Pandora got Sorted immediately after, into Ravenclaw. Regulus felt a spot of joy for Pandora, for not having to be in Slytherin. It was too loud. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't do anything. Regulus looked at his feet trying to ground himself. His breathing was heavy. He tried to calm himself. He couldn't. He couldn't do this. Before he knew it, the world went black.