Chapter 1
"REGULUS ACTURUS BLACK!" Regulus flinched as he heard his mother's voice screaming from downstairs. It echoed through the damn house, and her voice was screeching, grating on his nerves. It also meant that...That was her run as fast as possible before she blows up voice. Then again, the blowing up had been happening more and more often this summer since Sirius left. He was a shame to the family, Regulus knew that was what his mother and father thought. Perhaps Sirius was enjoying his time at his lovely Potter friend's house. Who knew. He was probably happy to have managed to piss off their family so much that they finally disowned him. No regard for what that meant for him. No care, no desire to aid him, no nothing. He had not even asked Regulus to come with him when he left. Evan had informed him that it was dangerous to continue to be so upset, but a part of Regulus could not help the growing anger and resentment. The hatred towards his brother reluctantly grew the more that the days went by. His mother's already volatile anger seemed to get worse, and his Father had become near hateful just looking at him.
Regulus flinched once more as his Mother came careening towards him the moment he landed at the end of the stairs. He felt paper flutter against his right cheek as his mother loomed over him. "What is this?" She hissed. Regulus swallowed, not quite able to force himself to speak. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to breathe at least a bit easier to try and mitigate the panic that was currently flooding his body. Whatever it was, it clearly pissed his mother off, and he was not sure he could get himself out of what it was that had engaged her anger so thoroughly. The paper was pulled back, letting him read the letters that curled gently on the paper. He felt his heart flutter slightly, before condemning himself for it.
"Why is he writing here?" Regulus questioned. "Did not...He return to his precious little Potter?" Regulus couldn't quite help that annoyance and anger in his voice. Walburga huffed, her eyes watching him carefully. "Mother, I do not know why he would dare write to us after the incident." His mother seemed to figure that well enough, and hummed, pulling herself up to her full height. At the very least it meant that he was out of the immediate danger zone. He was unlikely to be cursed this time. He had always been good at regulating his mother's volatile emotions, but he had not realized how much easier it was to do when Sirius was not around purposefully instigating her.
"Very well, then you won't mind much should I do this?" She questioned, her fingers lighting with fire at a whispered spell. Regulus felt his heart ache, but ensured his face did not show the heavy feeling that overtook his chest at the sight and merely shook his head. The other should have known that writing here would not work. He could not believe Sirius, or Potter which ever one, could have been so horrifically stupid.
"He should not be writing here anyways. It is more than he deserves." He muttered out softly, leaving his mother to smile maliciously at him. He felt her hands caress his cheek and fought against the instinct to flinch away from her touch. The uncharacteristically gentle feel quickly turned cruel, nails digging into his flesh on his face.
"As you very well know. I do not want to hear you have been consorting with that lowlife at Hogwarts, do you understand?" Regulus whimpered softly but quickly covered himself with a high pitched 'yes mother' which was forced through his squished cheeks. Not that easy, to be honest. "Good. Good. No speaking to that lowlife nor any of his friends. I don't care much for what you do as a general rule, and you can...see whoever you want to see," Walburga huffed. "Just as long as they are of good standing I hope you know this?"
"Yes, mother," Regulus whispered, his eyes slightly widened in fear. Does she know that I have a slight...? No, if that were the case I would be held under cruciatus certainly. Walburga had viciously opposed Sirius' relationship with Lupin. Regulus knew, it was the main thing they kept arguing about over the summer. Lupin was not suitable. Not just because he was of low standing and a muggle born, but also because...well the rumors would state well enough. Their identity was of little concern to their parents as long as an heir was produced somehow and someway. Magic made many things possible, and as such the identity of the partner was of little concern, provided they were of good standing. However, Regulus knew he would be different. He was always different. Despite Sirius' thoughts otherwise, he was held to quite a high standard by their parents. It was difficult, and without Sirius here, he was more vulnerable. Far more vulnerable.
"Good. I am glad." She said huffily, turning stiffly she walked back towards the kitchens leaving Regulus to sigh imperceptibly in relief and fear mixed together. "Quickly now, Kreacher as made you lunch, and you are too late for breakfast. Grab your things, dress, and be swift about it!"
and whose fault is that? Regulus wondered. To be honest, he was lucky Kreacher remembered to feed him most of the time, because his mother and father would go on this hunts and tirades. They would be out of the house for hours on end and he had no idea where they would go, but when they got back he saw their eyes glow with the gleam of darkness, and he knew wherever they were and whatever they had been doing, it had been nothing good.
Moments later Regulus felt his mother's fingers clutching his right shoulder painfully, and his father's tapping against his left. They were at Kings Cross in another flurry and he felt the lurch, feeling almost sick. He ignored the feeling standing stoic along with his parents, before moving forwards and steadily making his way to the train. It was not until he was out of their sight that he allowed himself a breath of air. It was a dangerous thing, Regulus knew, moving before he was allotted, but to stay any longer would have looked improper, and he could deal with the consequences later. He would, make no mistake.
He entered on of the first compartments in the last car, levying his trunk up easily and closing the door with a whisper and a wave of his hand before dropping into the benches. He placed his head in his hand, fingers curling through his dark hair as he tried to figure out what he was going to do. He knew Evan and Barty would find him. They always did. He winced inwardly as he thought of that. They were his actual friends, and he was grateful for them in many ways. Not that he did not have friends, or at least allies amongst the other slytherins. He did, and he got on well with most of them. It was just...different with Evan and Barty. They were actually his friends, he could count on them for no reason other than they wanted to aid him out of whatever was left of their hearts. It was not so for the others.
Pulling a book from his cloak he propped it up on his knees as he opened it, but reading...reading was difficult, as it always was after threats from his mother. He knew what would happen if she, or his father, found out he was anywhere close to Sirius or his friends. Not that he wanted to be, but Sirius had this bad habit of being close to a parasite. Not that Regulus wanted to talk to him anyways. He left me alone, and did not bother to once look back.
The memory would likely haunt Regulus forever...and he found that he was not overly fond of that realization, but also knew that there was little to be done for it. It was too late to question such things, and he knew that it was far too late to do anything about it. He was stuck, Sirius had condemned him, and had known he was doing so and just did not care...had not bothered to even try to think about the consequences of his actions but then again when did a Gryffindor ever think things through? Regulus should have seen that coming long before it did. Now, Sirius was gone, Regulus was the Heir, and he had even more expectations to uphold, and he would forge himself through the path that he needed. Whatever it took.
Yes, Regulus thought to himself, his eyes blindly scanning the same sentence over and over again. whatever it takes.