"Go away, Reg, I'm not in the mood." Regulus wilted at his brother's words, but nodded.
"Okay." He pulled Sirius' door shut and sighed. Sirius never wanted to play anymore. He was always with their Mum or hiding in his room. It's been that way for two years; ever since Sirius turned nine.
Regulus hated it.
Walking out into the yard just outside the backdoor, Regulus kicked the grass and pretended it did something other than annoy him further.
"Stupid…" Regulus huffed, then he plopped down in the grass he'd previously tried to murder and tried not to be bitter.
Sirius had been so excited to go to Hogwarts that he hadn't even said goodbye before he left, and when he came back he'd immediately shut himself away in his room so he could 'owl his friends in peace'.
Being two years younger sucked, especially since Sirius was going off to his second year and Regulus wouldn't be able to go until Sirius was already a third year. Regulus was hoping that, once he was at Hogwarts, he and Sirius might have a chance to be real brothers again. But, quietly, Regulus was scared his brother would make such good friends that he'd leave Regulus behind. Sirius wouldn't do that though.
Would he?
"Hi." Regulus looked up in surprise to see a boy crouched a small ways in front of him, looking right at him curiously. "You're Regulus."
"How'd you know that?" Regulus blinked in surprise, "Who're you?" The boy looked about sixteen, and he had messy black hair with bright green eyes. Regulus didn't recognize him.
"I'm… a friend." The boy smiled, "What're you doing outside?"
Regulus considered lying, but he didn't see the point. Looking into the boy's spring green eyes, soft with genuine interest, Regulus found himself trusting the mystery boy even though he probably shouldn't.
"My brother is ignoring me again." Regulus admitted, "Ever since he got back from Hogwarts he won't talk to me at all. All he does is owl his friends and say he doesn't have time for me."
"And that hurts you." The boy sat down properly, and Regulus nodded.
"I think he hates me." Regulus whispered, and he didn't even know why he was telling some random kid but he knew just telling someone, anyone, would make him feel better. "Sirius hates our Mum. He hates her, and our family, and he's hated it even more since he got back from Hogwarts."
"I'm sorry, that sounds really tough." The boy murmured, and Regulus just nodded with a sniff. Was he crying?! In front of a stranger?! "Do you want a hug?"
"Yes." Regulus choked, and then he was clinging to the black haired boy and crying softly into his chest. The older boy gently carted his hands through Regulus' hair, saying nothing as he let Regulus cry. It was a little embarrassing, but it had been so long since Regulus had been hugged that he didn't care.
"Regulus Arcturus Black, get in here!!" Regulus flinched at his Mum's voice, and he pulled away from the boy to glance back at the house nervously.
"You're going to be okay." The boy whispered, "I'm going to make sure of it."
"How?" Regulus asked, looking up into unbelievably green eyes.
"No matter what happens, I promise to be here waiting for you." The boy smiled, and Regulus' eyes widened. "Whenever you're out here by yourself, and you want to see me, I'll be there. Alright?"
"REGULUS!"
"Okay." Regulus whispered with a tiny nod, and then he climbed to his feet and ran for the house. When he dared glance backward once he'd reached the back door, he was astonished to see that the boy was gone.
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Regulus picked at the grass and sighed. He winced, pressing his wrist to his chest. It was broken.
"Let me see." Soft hands gently reached out and caressed his arm, and Regulus sighed in relief as he looked up to see green eyes.
"You're here."
"I promised, didn't I?" The boy smiled at him, and then he looked down at Regulus' wrist. His smile turned sad. "I wish I could protect you." Regulus opened his mouth to reassure the mystery boy, but all that came out was a strangled gasp.
The boy ran two fingers down Regulus' wrist, frowning as he did, and it hurt. For a minute Regulus thought his wrist was breaking all over again and that the boy was trying to hurt him even worse, but then the pain was gone completely and the boy was smiling at him. Regulus blinked in surprise.
"... How did you do that?" He flexed his wrist and rolled it, surprised to discover there was no pain. The boy had healed it.
"I promised I'd always been here for you, and to help you." The boy reminded him, "I meant it. I'll do everything I can to make sure you're never without a friend."
"Thank you." Regulus whispered, and then he leaned forward and hugged the boy tightly. It was odd that he was ten and his new best friend was about sixteen, but Regulus didn't care.
Regulus only met the green eyed boy twice, and he'd already done more for Regulus than anyone had ever done.
"You're welcome." The boy said simply.
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Regulus glared at the floor, his cheek stinging.
"If you end up in Gryffindor like your brother I'll make you beg for death." His Mum seethed, "Sirius will take you to the platform in twenty minutes. Get out of my sight." Regulus obliged her, stalking out of the room and shoving the back door open.
"Please." Regulus whispered, squeezing his eyes shut, "Please."
"I'm here." Warm arms wrapped around him, and Regulus melted into the hug.
"I'm leaving for Hogwarts today." Regulus whispered, clinging to the boy's shirt.
"I'll be here for you when you get back." The boy said, "I promise."
"Thank you." Regulus sighed in relief. He stepped back to give the boy a fragile smile. "Thank you for always being here."
"Of course." The boy smiled.
"Regulus! We're leaving!" Regulus whipped around as his brother pushed the back door open, and he panicked briefly. The green eyed boy was still here! "Come on Reg, we'll be late." Sirius didn't say anything about the boy.
Regulus glanced behind him in surprise, and he saw that there was nothing there.
"Yeah… coming."
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"I'm back." Regulus said. His eyes were wide open, hoping to catch the boy as he appeared, but then he heard a soft laugh behind him. "How do you do that?" He asked as he turned around.
"Magic." The boy's eyes glowed with amusement. "You're taller." Regulus preened a little.
"Two inches." He said proudly, and the boy smiled fondly.
"How was life at Hogwarts?" The boy sat down, and Regulus sat down across from him with a sigh.
"Well, I'm in Slytherin." Regulus admitted, "Good news, Mum isn't going to kill me. Bad news… Sirius hates me now."
"I'm sorry." Regulus expected pity, but he only saw understanding sadness in the boy's eyes.
"It's fine." Regulus said, looking away. "I have a few friends in Slytherin, I guess, but none as good as you." The boy was smiling fondly when Regulus looked back at him.
"I'm glad you're making friends. Are they good to you?"
Regulus happily babbled to the mystery boy for several hours, and he only went inside when Sirius was yelling that it was time for dinner.
He had missed the green eyed boy while he was at Hogwarts. He'd only met with the boy a handful of times, and yet being without him for an entire school year felt like he'd lost a part of himself. It was scary at first, because Regulus didn't know what he was missing, but then understood.
The green eyed boy was his first friend.
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Regulus limped into the garden, and he collapsed into the grass. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe, wincing harshly.
"It's okay now… I'm here…" Regulus exhaled shakily as gentle hands touched his shoulders, and he laughed breathlessly as his bones shifted and pain followed every motion the green eyed boy made. But then it was all gone, and Regulus' leg didn't hurt and his back wasn't screaming and his head wasn't pounding. "What happened?"
"A parting gift." Regulus exhaled, the cold breeze feeling nice on his sweat sheened skin. "I leave for Hogwarts in the morning. Mum says my grades in second year better be top notch or else."
"I see." Was all the boy said. Regulus sat up and ran a hand through his hair, breathing deeply.
"Mum is angry with Sirius, he's been rebelling a lot." Regulus shut his eyes. "I think… I think he doesn't even see me anymore. I'm just another slimy Slytherin to him."
"I'm sorry." The boy said softly, squeezing his hand.
"I just wish we could be brothers again." Regulus frowned, "I don't care he's a Gryffindor, why does he care that I'm a Slytherin?"
"Because bravery creates blindness." The green eyed boy told him, and his voice carried a weighted sadness Regulus did not understand. "You weren't given the chance to carry that blindness the way he does, and I won't say that's a bad thing, Regulus. Being a Slytherin is nothing to be ashamed of."
"Thank you." Regulus whispered, and the green eyed boy smiled at him. "I'm glad you're here." He said after a moment, "I… I don't know where I'd be without you."
"I'm glad I'm here too." The smile he gave Regulus held a rueful sadness, and Regulus moved the conversation along.
He'd seen enough sadness in those green eyes in one night to last a lifetime.
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Regulus laughed brightly as the green eyed boy walked into a tree.
"Why don't we switch?" The boy put a hand on his hip, and Regulus imagined he was raising an eyebrow. "You put on the blindfold, I'll give incorrect instructions to purposefully make you walk into trees."
"We can switch, but you wouldn't do that to me." Regulus snickered, jogging up to the boy and taking the blindfold with a grin.
The boy opened his eyes, blinking into the light after having the blindfold on, and Regulus was once again reminded of just how green his eyes were.
"We'll see about that." The boy grinned at him, and Regulus slipped on the blindfold.
"It's my birthday though." Regulus grinned, unable to see a thing.
"But you're a teenager now," Regulus heard the boy's voice say, "and thirteen years old is definitely old enough to tank a hit from a tree."
Safe to say, Regulus didn't walk into a single tree.
He did, however, trip over a hole in the ground and fall face first in the dirt while the green eyed boy cackled.
The laughter was enough to make it worth it.
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Regulus stared into his brother's empty room and couldn't even summon tears. Sirius was gone. Sixteen years old, heading into his sixth year at Hogwarts, and apparently he'd had enough.
Sirius had been so unhappy, so rebellious, and he'd thrown Regulus' blood and House in his face every time he tried to reach out to Sirius. Because he was a Slytherin he must want something. Because he was a Black he must want Sirius to do evil things. Because he was a Slytherin he must be tricking him. Because he was a Black–
On and on and on.
The house was quieter without Sirius in it. Their Mum seethed silently, usually, and then she screamed and raged whenever she was reminded of Sirius. If his Dad was in the way, his Mum would take it out on him. If Regulus himself was in the way, he was the target.
It didn't matter who was or wasn't in the path of her destruction. Both men were fitting replacements to punishment in place of Sirius.
Regulus ended up outside with his eyes closed before he even knew he was walking.
"He left." Regulus whispered into the night air. "He left me behind just like I knew he would."
"It wasn't your fault." The boy wrapped his arms around him from behind, and Regulus immediately turned around and clung to him harshly. "Your brother never meant to hurt you; he's just on a very different path than you are."
"How am I supposed to face him?" Regulus' voice shook, "He won't want his fourteen year old younger brother that he abandoned tagging along behind him while he's at school."
"You should do what you think is best for you." The green eyed boy pulled back to put his hands on Regulus' shoulders and met his eyes seriously. "If that's pretending he doesn't exist, or going up to confront him, or maybe even cursing him between classes, you should do what you think will help you the most."
"But what if I do it wrong?" Regulus chewed his lip anxiously, "What if I make things worse?"
"Who's to say what's worse and what's better?" The boy tilted his head, "If it makes you happy, or it feels right, then that's what matters."
"... Y'think?"
"Definitely." The green eyed boy was smiling at him, and Regulus felt his heart skip a beat.
Oh.
Oh.
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"You know what I noticed?" Regulus asked as he looked up at the sky, laying on his back next to the green eyed boy.
"What did you notice?"
"You're not aging." The boy said nothing, and Regulus smiled. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me, but I realized that… you should be about twenty one by now, and you still look like the sixteen year old boy who found me in the garden beating up grass."
"As I recall, you were pouting." The boy teased, sitting up a little so he could face Regulus and lean on his elbow. "Pouting and rather unsuccessfully beating up grass."
"Wow, I'm being shamelessly slandered." Regulus grinned, and he blushed when the boy laughed brightly. "However, I can't deny that."
"I know." The boy smiled, "If it makes you feel better, I'm sure I'd be unsuccessful at beating up grass too. It has a lot of advantages."
"Even over teleporting and immortal green eyed boys?" Regulus raised an eyebrow and the boy laughed again.
"Even those."
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Lucius called him a coward.
Regulus ground his teeth and stared at the back door. He wasn't a coward, he just wasn't sure if it was the right time! Was it ever going to be the right time? Sure, Regulus was sixteen, almost seventeen, but the green eyed boy was immortal! He could be a hundred years old and Regulus would never know!
Taking a deep breath, Regulus shoved the door open.
"You're anxious." A hand slid into his, and Regulus' heart skipped a beat. "Did something happen?" The quiet concern in his voice made Regulus swallow thickly.
"I… Lucius called me a coward." Regulus said. He looked away and desperately hoped he wasn't blushing.
"Well you're definitely not a coward." The boy laughed, "But what's the topic?"
"The fact that I'm in love with you and want to kiss you but I've been way too scared to tell you because you're the only thing in my life that's good and I don't want you to leave because you don't feel the same." Regulus said it all at once, rushed out, not even looking at the boy. He inhaled sharply when soft fingers touched his jaw to turn his head back towards the green eyed boy.
"Well I think that you're brave." The boy said, eyes bright. "What else might you do if you were brave enough?" His eyes flicked to Regulus' lips for a moment, and Regulus gulped.
"I might kiss you."
"Well then… how brave are you?"
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"I'll be here for you when you come back." The green eyed boy said before Regulus could even open his mouth, "So don't say goodbye, just say: See you later."
Regulus swallowed, looking down at the ground.
The green eyed boy wouldn't understand. Regulus figured he was a ghost, or maybe some artificial life, and he was most likely tied to Grimmauld Place. As such, he wouldn't understand why Regulus had to leave. He didn't understand Regulus wasn't coming back.
"See you later." Regulus whispered, blinking back tears as he kissed the top of the boy's head. It was odd how Regulus was taller than him now. It was probably because he was now eighteen, and his green eyed boy was forever sixteen.
"We'll see each other again." The boy said firmly, looking up at Regulus with stern green eyes, "We will." Regulus didn't have the heart to tell him.
There was no coming back after taking the Dark Mark.
"I'll miss you." Regulus replied, and the green eyed boy smiled at him. It was a sad sort of smile, like he knew what Regulus meant, and like he knew exactly what Regulus had done to himself. Who he'd been forced to follow.
Maybe the green eyed boy did understand, and was just determined not to acknowledge it. Maybe he wanted to part with Regulus hoping for a miracle, and was ignoring the truth. The thought made Regulus smile.
"Yeah… maybe we'll see each other again." Regulus kissed the boy softly, and he felt tears spilling over as soft fingers grazed his cheek. Despite the boy's insistence that there was no need to say it, the kiss felt like saying goodbye.
Regulus left Grimmauld Place and went to join the ranks of Lord Voldemort, just like his parents wanted for him, and he left the beautiful green eyed boy behind.
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Regulus clawed at the hands dragging him under, desperately holding his breath and trying to get free of the many many Inferi that were dragging him steadily deeper down into the cavern's lake.
At least Kreacher was safe.
At least the Horcrux was hidden.
Hopefully Kreacher could destroy it, and hopefully Regulus won't have died for nothing.
His vision went dark as he ran out of air, and the Inferi were all around him. He hoped dying didn't hurt. The only thing he regretted was not telling the green eyed boy that he loved him. If only his green eyed boy were here with him–
"I am always with you."
Regulus opened his eyes and found himself standing… at home? The house was behind him, and this was definitely his backyard, but everything was white. Literally, there was no color anywhere but himself.
"Hello?" His voice echoed, ringing through the white expanse in an ominous and disconcerting way.
"Regulus." He whipped around and immediately melted in relief as he saw the green eyed boy standing behind him with his arms open.
"You're here." Regulus laughed, clutching the boy tightly. He still wasn't used to being taller and older than the boy he loved. Regulus had reached nineteen, and the green eyed boy was still sixteen. Even after all this time.
"I told you we'd see each other again." The boy said.
"You did, didn't you?" Regulus couldn't help laughing again, both in disbelief and surprise.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you." The green eyed boy stepped back from the hug, suddenly serious, and reached up to stroke Regulus' cheekbone.
"You did save me." Regulus disagreed, but the boy smiled sadly.
"No, I didn't. Don't you know where you are? Don't you know what that means?"
Regulus knew. The Inferi had him, and Regulus drowned. There was no refuting that. He wasn't alive anymore. He was in some sort of… limbo? Afterlife? Either way, Regulus didn't care.
"You did save me." Regulus said again, "I'm here with you now, aren't I? I'm safe now."
"I suppose…" The boy seemed thoughtful, and then he smiled. "I guess I should introduce myself."
He stepped back and held out a hand for Regulus to shake. His eyes were lit with mischief, and it made Regulus raise his eyebrows.
"Hello, my name is Harry Potter, and I am the Master of Death." He said, and Regulus' breath caught at how those green eyes glowed. "Nice to finally meet you, Regulus Arcturus Black."