The First Day
When Regulus was little he planned out what his first day of Hogwarts would be. Sirius and he would walk on the train together and find a compartment to themselves. Maybe a few of Sirius’s friends he had made the previous year would join them, but it wouldn’t matter. Sirius would spend the train ride telling Regulus all about what to expect and how there isn’t any reason to be scared. Then, they would get to Hogwarts, and, like everyone in his family, the hat would immediately sort him into Slytherin. He would take his place next to his smiling brother, who would probably tease him about something before going back to watching the rest of the sorting. The feast would be amazing, watching his brother talk in his dramatic and loud way that seemed to make many gravitate towards him while Regulus took the time to soak everything in. Then, they would go to the common room and he would get to unpack his things and end the day happy.
That plan was ruined when Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor. On the platform, rather than his mother’s usual kind mask she put on while in public, it was just coldness. A threatening silence that told Regulus that if he didn’t make up for his brother’s failure, then the punishment Sirius faced over the summer would seem merciful in comparison to what he would have to face.
The train wasn’t any better. Sirius let Regulus sit with him and his friends, but he definitely didn’t seem thrilled about it. When Sirius’s three friends first joined the compartment, they were nice enough. They each introduced themselves, but the awkwardness was crushing. They quickly forgot Regulus was there and talked about all the things they did last year and their plans for this year. For about an hour Regulus sat there in uncomfortable silence, barely able to keep up with the conversation, much less think of being able to add anything to it. Finally, after being crushed into the window one too many times by Sirius’s huge gestures he always made while talking, it all became too much. Regulus got up and pushed his way through the other boys’ legs and out of the compartment. The moment he got into the hallway of the train, the weight on his chest lightened and he was able to breathe.
Of course, his luck did not allow this to last long. Only a second after he stepped away from their compartment, the trolley lady came in sight, yelling loudly about the sugary snacks she held and followed by a crowd of people coming out of their compartments to buy something. The noise was overwhelming. Regulus started walking as fast as he could without displaying his panic down the hallway, trying to find an empty compartment. Before he knew it he was at the end of the train car. All the other compartments were completely full. The last one however, only had one person, a somewhat familiar looking girl around his age with long, wavy blond hair. Regulus didn’t care what she looked like, though. The only thing that mattered to him was that she seemed to be peacefully reading. He opened the door of the compartment. He knew he should introduce himself, but he couldn’t get himself to talk. Instead, he just sat down on the seat opposite her and looked out the window. She looked up from her book for a second, smiled at him, then went back to reading. Regulus leaned his head against the window and watched the passing landscape, calming down his thoughts. They spent the rest of the train ride in this peaceful silence.
~~~
After everyone had gotten off the train, Regulus followed the huge grounds keeper and his fellow first years to the boats situated on the great lake. The entire time, he and the girl from the train had stayed next to each other, yet they still hadn’t said a word to the other. As everyone started boarding the boats, the girl looked at him.
“Would you like to be on the same boat?” she asked, her voice airy and quiet.
Regulus wasn’t used to quiet voices, and he didn’t realize how refreshing they could be. He nodded in response to the question, and started walking towards a boat in order to claim it.
Again, they spent the first part of the boat ride in silence, something that Regulus really appreciated. He had never been much of a talker, and, frankly, he never really had the need to do so. At home, it wasn’t like he had anyone to talk to, with his parents either ignoring him, lecturing him, or working. The only person he ever really talked to at home was their house elf, Kreacher, but even those interactions were rather scarce due to the fact Kreacher was a house elf and Regulus was the second in line to an immensely powerful pureblood family. Despite the numerous social gatherings his parents brought him too, it didn’t improve his social skills either. Sirius always talked for him, and when Sirius wasn’t there it was like Regulus was invisible. He liked it though, it had made him really good at observing.
This didn’t mean he was incapable of talking. His parents had trained him since birth to talk very elegantly, and so when he did talk it was with all the sophistication expected of a high status pure blood. He just only talked to the people he was comfortable with, and when he got really stressed he found himself unable to talk. Thankfully, though, after the hour of comfortable silence on the train and then the continuation of the silence on the boat ride, he was able to answer the girl when she finally broke the silence with another question.
“My name is Pandora, by the way. Pandora Lestrange. What is yours?”
Hearing her name made the feeling of familiarity he had when he first saw her make sense. She was also from a pureblood family, one that had been becoming close with his cousins. He had definitely seen her at several of the gatherings he had been at with his parents.
“My name is Regulus Black,” he answered simply.
Her eyes widened, “Oh you are Bellatrix’s youngest cousin aren't you! No wonder you seemed so stressed, I’m sure you have so much pressure on you for your sorting after your brother. I’m stressed and my family hasn't had any sort of scandals like that,” she said, then added quickly, “My brother is dating Bellatrix. I swear I’m not a stalker.”
Regulus offered a slight smile at the last comment. It was somewhat comforting having someone understand the stress he was in, but also made him on edge. He didn't like people reading him so easily.
~~~
Regulus thought that he could at least count on the sorting to remain consistent with how he thought his first day would go. He was wrong. The moment the hat touched his head he could hear its voice in his mind.
“Interesting,” it muttered, “another Black. Should I sort you with the rest of your family? But no, you would do great in Ravenclaw I should th-”
Hell no you aren’t putting me in Ravenclaw, Regulus thought back. He knew he should be polite but he was not taking any chances. Maybe if Sirius had been sorted into Slytherin like he was supposed to, Regulus would be okay with Ravenclaw, maybe even happy with it, but now he only had one choice.
“You know, sometimes the choice that appeals to those closest to you isn’t always the best suited for you,” the hat replied to his thoughts. Regulus hated the fact it could hear even the thoughts that were just meant for himself.
Every second the hat sat on the hat the more stressed Regulus got. He stole a glance towards his cousin, Narcissa, who sat at the end of the Slytherin table. Even from afar he could tell she was biting her lips, something she only did when stressed. Narcissa was always the cousin he was closest to, being significantly more sane than her oldest sister, Bellatrix, and the only one of his cousins who cared even a little about his well being. She knew fully well what would happen if he wasn’t sorted into Slytherin. He looked away from her.
I don’t care. You need to sort me into Slytherin. It's not like I don’t fit in, you can see my thoughts, you know I have their traits.
“You aren’t wrong, you do have some of the traits for Slytherin, but you fit much better in Ravenclaw. Your intelligence is astounding.”
Regulus rolled his eyes, Slytherins can be smart. In fact most of them are. Put me in Slytherin.
“Hmm.”
Regulus looked at Sirius. He was the exact opposite of Narcissa. Every second the hat stayed on his head the more hopeful he looked. A little bit of him wished to be sorted into Ravenclaw, just to appease his brother, but he squashed that thought right away. If he was put in Ravenclaw it was a death sentence for both of them.
“If you insist,” the hat conceded, finally yelling out, “SLYTHERIN!”
Sirius's face was a portrait full of shock, sadness, and disgust. Regulus couldn’t bare looking at him any longer. He took the hat off, handed it to McGonogall, and headed towards the Slytherin table, who were cheering. He didn’t care. The look Sirius gave him was clear. They would never be close again. Sirius would never see Regulus as his little brother again. To him, Regulus was now just a smaller version of their parents and Sirius would never forgive him.
As he sat down he made eye contact with Narcissa. Her smile was the only thing that made him feel even slightly okay. At least him and Sirius were safe now, even if Sirius didn’t appreciate it.
~~~
The end of the day wasn’t that bad, in comparison, though that wasn’t saying much. The tour was pretty boring. Pandora ended up being sorted into Slytherin as well, so they stood together throughout it, still barely speaking. Regulus spent most of the time observing her. It's only fair, he thought, that I can observe her and learn about her if she already knows so much about me. She was also just an interesting person in general. She seemed to live as if in a cloud, her movements smooth but quick and her voice light and soft. It was very comforting to be around. She was very different then her two brothers, who Regulus had met on several occasions, who seemed to be incapable of walking without stomping their feet and whose voices were deep and booming.
After the tour they went to their dorm rooms to unpack and meet his fellow first year Slytherin boys who he would be living with for the next seven years. He didn’t dislike any of them, which was good. Evan Rosier had the bed next to his. He was a very talkative boy, and had decided that all of them needed to at least be acquainted with each other. He made all the boys introduce themselves to each other and started talking about interests. As the other boys talked, Regulus sat against the wall on his bed and listened. Evan was quite interesting to listen to and didn’t pressure Regulus to engage in the conversations, so it worked out. For the first time Regulus thought that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.