Sirius Black (Part 2)
A few weeks after the older Black brother entered Hogwarts, panic began to spread at The Black’s.
— That little obstreperous mad child. How dare he brake years of tradition?!
Walburga shouted as a complete lunatic. Regulus, who was sat on the same sofa as his father, next to some other members of the Black family, did not have a clue of what had caused this sudden family reunion, although he rapidly assumed that it had something to be with his brother. The letter his mother was holding had Bellatrix’s handwriting and a Hogwarts seal.
— It must be an error.
— Completely agree, they must have picked the wrong student.
— I Will talk to Dumbledore immediately!
Various members of the Black family were talking simultaneously, interrupting each other, all of them saying horrible things about Sirius. Regulus’s stomach dropped. Each comment was worse than the previous one, Reg wanted to shout at everyone in the room, but he knew he had to stay in character and be the quiet, good child.
— The kid was always a miscarriage, he reminded me of her cousin Andromeda, what were you expecting Walburga?
Regulus felt how his skin got paler. At Black’s nobody spoke about Andromeda Black, ever. She had been disinherited years ago for falling in love with a muggle-born. She was the disgrace of the family, only Sirius kept in touch with her through muggle mail.
Regulus threw a panic look at his mother, who seemed to completely ignore him. Sirius had always been really… well, really “Sirius” that was true, he argued constantly with both Orion and Walburga, but Regulus never thought he could end up like Andromeda.
No, he would never end up as their cousin. He stands up straight and tried to listen carefully to the conversation. He didn’t even know what the matter of the scandal was, he didn’t have to think of the worst possibility, not yet. All of the adults had been so busy cursing and blaming that they hadn’t talked about it properly so far.
That changed within some minutes when Regulus’s mother said the ultimate comment that made the little boy get even paler if that’s possible. All his nightmares were becoming truth. In reality, Reg was intelligent enough to have guessed that from the first comment he had heard, but he’d opted for not understanding it. Now he could not escape reality, he knew exactly.
— Blood traitor! — Walburga shouted finally, upright, serious.
Regulus knew then. Sirius had not entered Slytherin.
The next couple of months became a nightmare for him. Everyone shouted, especially his mother. She was always furious, even more than usual and that terrified the small nine-year-old. Regulus even got to think that if Sirius had been there, she would have killed him. Reg thanked Merlin his brother was not there. The bad part of not having Sirius there was that both Walburga and Orion would focus all their anger on the younger child, he endured it all with the utmost diligence that could be expected from a ten-year-old.
Regulus’s childhood ended there, but he wouldn’t realize that until years later.
Orion would give him deep stares and tiringly rough speeches about how he had to be ready in case they had to inherit in Sirius’s place. He made strong importance in the part of Regulus being a perfect Black. They had lots of conversations about how his first year at Hogwarts must be. Perfect grades, exceptional companies, just pure-bloods, zero detention, and a whole list of other must do and must not do. Regulus was feeling overwhelmed by everything his father told him, he didn’t want to disappoint his father, but he didn’t understand why he was anticipating so much, Sirius had almost been a couple of months out, everything would be fine.
Walburga in the other hand spent her time trying to sow hate in Reggie’s head. “You must not me like your brother” “You have always been more sensible than Sirius” “You don’t even cry anymore, well done Regulus” Constant comments against his brother, at any hour, he had to stare into those darkly blue eyes and nod to things he hated to hear. “You will be a Slytherin, you don’t have to worry about that, I know for a fact you won’t disappoint us like your brother did”.
Regulus had some of the worst months of his young life, he found really difficult to hide his tears, it was completely forbidden by Walburga, but he had always been too sensitive for that rule.
He would have given anything to talk to Sirius at that time. Hear his voice and understand what the hell was happening over there. Warn him about what he had waiting for him back at home. Maybe Regulus just felt lonely, he didn’t want to go through all that alone. He knew that the reputation wasn’t his but the simple thing of picturing them both together in front of their parents was the only thing that cheered him up. He didn’t want t to do it alone.