Prologue
The noble and most ancient House of Black was the oldest and wealthiest pure-blooded family of Great-Britain.
They were one of the sacred twenty-eight. Practically royalty in the wizarding world.
They were also well-known and respected amongst the wizarding community, and not without reason.
When wizards had first begun to mix with the lower race, they hadn't strayed. When beings with tainted blood and weak magic had began to appear, they had remained strong, and pure.
"Toujours pur." Always pure.
The House of Black would remain, and just as their blood would be pure, their name would live on for generations.
It's for this exact purpose that Cygnus Black III is to be married to Druella Rosier, and so, a few months after the ceremony, and as it is expected, Druella Black’s stomach grows larger, and her pregnancy is quickly announced.
“ A new heir to the Black name. ” is often whispered with satisfaction by family members, but also by all pure-blooded wizards.
The murmurs fall silent when the child turns out to be a girl. Unable to carry on the family name.
The married couple try again, and again. Three girls are born.
The burden of having a male heir is placed on Orion Black, who is made to marry his second cousin, Walburga Black.
They do not like each other, and neither of them is happy with the arrangement. The snake and the bird that are always by their sides often snap at each other in the privacy of their room.
They do their duty.
Finally, an heir is born.
Sirius Orion Black III is healthy and strong, born in the autumn of 1959 along with his daemon. Aragon appears in the form of a mouse, with the infamous dark colour that is the pride of the Blacks.
A star and a stone, in the tradition of their House.
Regulus Black is born only a year after his brother, he is shortly followed by Diaspone. She appears for the first time as a small lynx, covered in white fur. A sharp contrast to his black hair and their Black name.
He is a spare, in case something were to happen to the heir.
Regulus Black is quiet, obedient, and attentive. Always attentive.
All of his other personality traits might come from the fact that he is so attentive. As Regulus quickly comes to learn, quiet and obedient are not painful. Disagreement is.
He learns this by watching his brother. Sirius, who can never stay silent, and always disagree with their mother when he should obey. Walburga screams, and hits him, hex him; and Sirius takes it all. Until he realizes that it isn’t him who can’t breathe, it’s Aragon, who has their mother's snake wrapped tightly around his throat.
Consequences .
Sirius relents, he apologizes. The anger in his eyes doesn't diminish. Aragon's teeth shine when Mother turn her back to them.
Regulus chose to apologize before Diaspone and him have to go through any of that. It’s much easier. Quicker. He pretend he doesn't see the way his mother's eyes land on Diaspone, and how her lips curl in distaste. He ignores the flash of hurt that come from his daemon at that. The color of her fur is not something they can change.
Sirius would say something. They’re not the same, Regulus and him. But they are in the same house, and they’re brothers, so they stick together. When Sirius and Aragon get hurt, Regulus helps his brother however he can, and Diaspone goes to lick away the blood on Aragon's fur or press herself against him in a pretence of comfort.
Sometimes Regulus wants to scream at him instead, he wants to shake Sirius and ask him why he can’t just say what their mother wants to hear and stay safe, that everything he does is useless anyway. But then Diaspone bites him lightly in warning, and he relents.
He asks her why one day.
“They already know.” She replies softly before giving his cheek a lick. It's the same pretence she usually gives Aragon, and Regulus understands why she does it then. It's nice to think himself protected and safe, even if only for a second, and even if he knows it's a lie.
Regulus is used to it, it’s their lives. He knows it’ll change one day though, when they go to Hogwarts. He knows it, but it doesn’t help when Sirius leaves him for the first time. It doesn’t wash away the feeling of dread he has. Sirius is the only good thing they have in that house.
Nothing is the same after that.
Regulus hears his parents have a shouting match the very next day Sirius leaves. His brother is a Gryffindor. Not a Slytherin, as he should’ve been.
Sirius comes back, and he gets punished.
He has stars in his eyes and stories of all kinds.
He tells Regulus about the three best friends he's made, about all the pranks he’s already done. Sirius makes sure to always add that it’ll be even more fun when Regulus comes with him of course, but the younger boy can’t shake the bitter feeling of jealousy.
He thinks it’s the first time he ever sees Sirius trying to be accommodating, when he stop talking about his friends and tells him in a sad voice,
“Only a few more months Reggie. A few months, and you’ll come with me.”
Those months finally pass, and after standing on the platform while his parents explain once again what is expected of him, his mother’s nails digging painfully into his shoulder, Regulus gets to meet the three people he heard so much about.
He doesn’t really know what to think about them.
James Potter is too loud. Not in a sense that it makes Regulus anxious, thinking that Mother wouldn't like it, no, it simply hurts his ears. He makes grand gestures with his hands when he speaks, and his daemon changes forms too quickly, jumping from a rabbit to an owl, and yapping happily as if he forgot that he needs to form words in order to be understood.
Diaspone shows him her teeth when he tries to approach her. Aragon rolls his eyes.
Regulus decides that he doesn’t like James Potter, and his daemon even less.
Remus Lupin is a little better. He’s certainly more quiet, and his daemon as well. The wolf doesn’t change at all, and her yellow eyes only looks briefly at Regulus when his human waves his hand at him.
Regulus wonders if she’s settled already.
Peter Pettigrew is his favorite, because he seems as uneasy as Regulus around them all. So he sits next to him for his first ride on the train, and Diaspone peers curiously at the little mouse who stays in Pettigrew’s hands the entire ride.
She settles when Regulus puts a hand on her head.
Hogwarts is beautiful. Grand in a way that Regulus hadn’t even imagined despite all of Sirius’s stories, and his brother laugh loudly when he sees the castle for the first time, whispering a smug I told you so, in his ear before pushing Regulus toward the boats where all the first years are already gathering, a big smile on his face as he waves at him to go.
The next time Regulus sees his brother is when he is on a stool in front of a hundred people, with the sorting hat on his head. It doesn’t last long, but he already has sweat on his back from the nervousness.
His expression is a cool mask of indifference, because he’s a Black. Diaspone stands proudly at his side, a great white wolf who regards the crowd with a predatory gaze, daring anyone to say anything.
People whisper about the white daemon in the Black family.
The hat screams, “Slytherin!” After only a second.
Regulus, who’s eyes only just found his brother, sees the bitter disappointment on his face when it falls, as well as he sees the way Aragon turns away from them.
Diaspone nudges him with a growl. He doesn’t know if it’s directed at him, but gets up and goes to sit at the Slytherin table without further probing. Everyone applaud.
He tries to find Sirius after the feast, but he only catches a glimpse of his back before his brother is disappearing up the stairs, a black shape curled around his shoulders.
Regulus feels a strange mix of numb and painful all at once. He wants to run after Sirius and explain. Because this wasn’t his fault, the hat chose the House according to the personality, as well as the qualities that are most valued. Regulus didn’t choose this. He didn't choose to be a snake like their parents, he doesn't want to be like them.
“You wouldn’t have chosen him either way.” Diaspone says, tightly curled around his shoulders as a snake. It's fitting, he suppose. Her voice is colder than he ever heard it when speaking to him.
Regulus blink back the tears, because he knows it’s true, and because she’s always been the bravest part of him, he asks in a quiet voice, almost hoping she won’t hear:
“Would you have?”
She looks at him with sad blue eyes, and replies in a defeated tone, “Sirius won’t hurt us for that. Mother would’ve.”
Regulus knows it’s true, and it makes him want to shred his skin off like the snake his daemon looks like, because it shouldn’t work like that and some part of him knows it. They shouldn’t choose the family that hurts them. It’s not fair to Sirius.
But on this, he doesn’t have a choice, so he stops talking and follows his peers to the Slytherin dormitories.
It’s after this, that the relationship between Sirius and Regulus starts to deteriorate.
Sirius never really says anything. There are jokes on slimy snakes to try and defuse the tension, but Regulus sees how his brother avoids him sometimes. He avoids his eyes when Regulus talks about his house or his Slytherin friends, and Regulus knows he only does that because if not he would glare, but that only makes it worse.
It makes Regulus grow bitter. Because his house isn’t bad. Sure, Slytherins are cunning, ambitious, they have strong survival instincts and would rather be caught dead than apologise most of the time; but they also can be just as clever as Ravenclaws, as loyal as Hufflepuffs and as proud as Gryffindors.
They're not inherently bad, at least he thinks so. He hopes he isn't.
But Sirius won’t listen. He continues with the jokes, and then they turn into something else.
Regulus is aware that they are falling apart, but he doesn’t know how to fix it. Because Sirius won’t listen , because he can’t change , and because their mother won’t stop screaming at Sirius and then tell him how Regulus never needs to be corrected like he does.
She’s hurting him, and Regulus doesn’t help anymore. If it were only up to him he would even ignore his brother and remain safely in his room.
Diaspone makes sure it isn’t up to him. She hisses, and argues, and when that doesn't work, when he turns his back to her in clear dismissal, Regulus feels a wave of hatred he never felt before, not even under the eyes of his mother. It makes his entire body tense.
Then Diaspone is walking away from him, and he can only watch, bewildered, until he feels their bond beginning to stretch, beginning to hurt .
He arrives in Sirius’s room with his jaw clenched to hide the pain.
Diaspone goes to curl up against Aragon, smearing her white fur with blood, and ask Sirius if he needs anything.
Regulus goes to sit on the bed, and doesn’t talk to anyone.
He wishes his daemon would be as angry as he is. He wishes she would growl at Aragon instead of pressing against him.
Diaspone never growls at Aragon. Regulus wonders what it says about him, that his own daemon won't even chose him.
That night, he goes directly to bed, put his back to his daemon for the second time of the day, and ask coldly, his fist clenched at his sides,
“Why do you do it? They hate us. I don’t even talk with Sirius anymore.”
Diaspone sits in front of him, she’s a hedgehog.
“I don’t talk to Aragon.” She replies quietly. “But we need them, you and me. If you won’t talk to Sirius, I’m the only proof that we don’t hate them.”
“We don’t need them.”
Diaspone’s spines bristle. “I’m angry at them. Believe me, If I was alone, I would be sulking just like you are. But I know you need Sirius too. You’re just too selfish to try.”
Regulus doesn’t deny it. He doesn’t try to change it either. He just closes his eyes and goes to sleep.
The next day, Diaspone drags him out of his room again.
Regulus wishes she would growl at Aragon. She goes to curl up against him.
Something change in their house during that time.
Mother gets more angry.
She’ll snap at them over the littlest things, even at Regulus. Sometimes, meetings will be held in the house, and every time, Sirius and him are confined to their rooms until it’s over. Their cousin Bellatrix is here more often.
Of course, Regulus has heard the rumors at school. A dark mage is rising amongst wizards, getting more and more supporters and promoting violence against muggles, as well as pure-blood supremacy.
He doesn’t actually think it’s him that has their parents so on edge- or maybe he simply doesn’t want to think it- until Sirius tells him that he’s overheard a conversation between their mother and Bella, gazing at him with a worried glint in his eyes.
Well, Regulus is used to the kind of people that Voldemort is.
That’s what he thinks, but his parents alone terrifies him. More than usual. Walburga once screams at him for leaving a book on the table while they had guests, and before Regulus can even say that yes, Mother, it won’t happen again, he’s already screaming on the ground.
Diaspone tries to get the wand away from him, but then she have a snake around her throat, and teeth deep in her shoulder.
They scream.
Even Orion, who had never lay a hand on Regulus before- because he doesn’t care about him, he’s not the heir- gets angry at him for something, he can’t remember what it is, but his kestrel daemon gets his talons in Diaspone’s back, and then Regulus is backhanded to the floor.
Consequences, consequences. He doesn’t know for what, but he won’t do it again.
They get even more quiet after that.
Regulus knows, while he points his wand at Diaspone’s bloody form to heal her, that they both have to be perfect, because when one does something, both are punished. And Regulus can’t see her get hurt.
There is nothing more terrible than feeling pain and then realizing that it’s not his. That she has it worse.
Sirius and him drift even further apart. It’s only natural at this point, Sirius and Aragon are loud, and loud is dangerous.
Regulus doesn’t want dangerous for Diaspone.
Diaspone doesn’t want dangerous for Regulus.
They stay quiet.
Regulus feels his brother’s eyes on him sometimes when he talks.
“Yes mother.”
“No father.”
“I apologize."
“It won’t happen again.”
“I will remember it.”
Sirius doesn’t want him to say these things. The thought makes him scoff. Sirius would get them killed if he listened.
Diaspone is quiet, dutifully at his side. She doesn’t show her teeth when Hemati slides onto her back to get to Mother.
Regulus wants to stay away from Sirius. He doesn’t know why anymore. He’s ashamed, he doesn’t want danger, he doesn’t want an argument.
Diaspone goes anyway, and he has no choice but to follow.
He sits on the bed. Keeps his eyes fixed on his daemon even when he can feel Sirius’s glare on the side of his face.
She goes to curl up against Aragon. Then she raise her head and asks Sirius,
“Do you need anything?”
“No.” He replies after a moment, his eyes are still on Regulus. “Thanks.”
Regulus doesn’t say anything, and when Diaspone finally gets up to leave, he’s the first at the door.
It’s the next night that everything falls apart. Regulus is reading, and Diaspone is a cat, fast asleep on his lap, when Sirius barge through the door.
They both jump at the sound, and Regulus doesn’t even have time to think to tell his brother off for coming into his room without knocking before he freezes.
Sirius looks half dead. Pale, body shaking with tremors and smeared red with blood. At his side, Aragon doesn’t look better. His dark fur is also wet with blood, and he keeps one of his paws off the floor. Probably broken.
Neither Diaspone nor him have time to react before Sirius is in front of them. He takes Regulus’s arm to pull him in a standing position, almost touching Diaspone in the process. She hastily jumps away, a startled hiss leaving her.
“Come with me.” Is the first thing Sirius says to him. His breathing is loud, coming out in short pants.
“What?” Regulus gets out a single word, still startled by his brother’s appearance.
“To the Potters, we’re going to the Potters.” Sirius explains, already walking away.
“Why- What?” Regulus stutters, he grabs his brother’s arm. “What happened? Sirius?”
“I’m not staying here!” He shouts, pulling his arm away but coming back to face Regulus. He looks unhinged. He looks like their mother, and for the first time in his life, Regulus is scared of his brother. “I’m leaving, right now, you either come or you stay, but I’m leaving!”
Regulus stares.
Sirius backs out to the door. Then he holds a hand out for his Regulus.
Sirius is leaving him, that’s all he can think about, in a numb sort of way. He knew this would happen. He thinks he always knew, since the first time Sirius embarked on the train to Hogwarts and waved him goodbye.
Well, maybe since he heard how much his brother loved James Potter. His best friend. Since he felt a pang of jealousy and told himself it was nothing.
Regulus deflates when his eyes focus on his brother’s bloody hand again.
Sirius is leaving him. Sirius is staying alive. Safe. Isn’t that what Regulus always wanted?
“Well,” He says, schooling his features to an indifference he definitely doesn’t feel. “Go on. Leave.”
Diaspone never growled at Aragon before.
Diaspone growls at Aragon.
Regulus wishes she didn’t.
Aragon and Sirius both stare.
Regulus feels a strange sense of defeat, but on Diaspone’s side, there is anger. Hatred.
Aragon whines.
“Go.” Diaspone says. “Before I finish what she started.”
Sirius takes a shuddering breath. He glances at Regulus, eyes wide, and then turns to leave.
Aragon looks at him then, begging him to say something. To grab Diaspone and go with them. Regulus does none of those things.
Then Aragon changes into the biggest dog Regulus has ever seen, all black. He shoots one last, sad, look to Diaspone, before following Sirius.
Regulus feels something break inside of him, and when he looks at his daemon, he thinks it’s just them. They’re broken.
Mother comes into his room later that night. She’s furious. Regulus is punished. He takes it all, screams so much he worries a potion won't undo the damage to his throat this time. Diaspone stays silent, even when she feels her leg break. When Walburga is done with Regulus, she also casts the Cruciatus curse on her.
Consequences, consequences, consequences.
When Regulus goes back to school, there are whispers everywhere. About the disowned son, and the new heir.
Regulus doesn’t listen. He stands tall and proud, like his mother beat into him. A white wolf at his side, like that day of the sorting, when they were alone against the world.
. . .