Being the spare Heir to the noble and ancient house of Black had always meant being in his older Brothers shadows. From the day he was born prematurely, till his brothers first Summer holidays when he realised his brother had replaced him, till first year when he fully realised the gap that was between them as his brother ignored or bullied him, till the Summer when he was just fourteen and Sirius ran away from home without uttering a word of goodbye to him, leaving him behind; he had slowly learned that his brother, whom he loved despite all the hurt he caused, didn’t care for him back. His brother saw him as the perfect son for his parents and somehow had managed to suppress that Regulus had received the same treatment he had, just with being ignored more. He had somehow suppressed that due to Regulus petite and fragile body any punishment hit him harder. He had somehow managed to kid himself into thinking that he wasn’t the son his Mother had always wanted, that he wasn’t the perfect Heir in her eyes no matter what he did, that it was Regulus instead.
Regulus had been informed of Sirius Departure by his mother’s screaming and curses she sent his way. He had cried on the floor, his body twitching from the after shocks of the cruciatus as he was informed that he would be marked in two years.
In Hogwarts away from his parents his Friends tried to protect him as well as they could. They tried to comfort him but something in him was hurt in away that didn’t disappear no matter what he did. No amount of distractions helped. He had tried studying, reading, Quidditch and other things before he had tried drinking and smoking. That helped to dampen it a bit. He was good at being overlooked so he only needed to hide his actions from Evan and Barty. Maybe that had been a bad Idea he thought as he woke up in the hospital wing. He felt terrible. He had been drinking and smoking last night, he could vaguely remember the beginning. He kept quiet as he blinked his eyes open against the light. Voices drowned to him. They where loud and where probably the reason why he had woken up. “-is needed, Poppy! Please see reason!” a male voice said. „Mr. Black was found passed out, bleeding! He has a concussion and I had to remove Alcohol from his Body as he had Alcohol poisoning! He was smoking too and high! I found traces of torture on him and he has been under at least five cruciatus in the past four month! He is malnourished too! He needs rest! I will not debate on his health! He will not return to his home as he was abused! I advised you to look into it when I treated his brother! And you dismissed it! He needs a mind healer! I will not have you punish him or bother him!“ Madame Pomfrey called out. She was glowering at Dumbledore who was in company of another Man. Sirius and his Friends where close by, Sirius was pale, eyes wide with emotions. Regulus looked away. So now he was worthy of his brothers attention. His eyes fell on Evan and Barty who stood on either side of his bed glowering at everyone in the room, wands out. Warmth spread through him and eased the pain slightly. He made a soft noise as he tried to reach for his Friends. Their eyes where immediately on him, he saw relief on their faces before he was looked over and examined. “Reggie you scared us” Evan whispered as he touched him more carefully then normal. Regulus hated that he was so delicate. “When we found you-“ he said and Regulus winced. He hadn’t wanted them to worry. He hadn’t wanted them to see him like that. “I’m fine” he said instead of the apology that was on his lips. “Sure you are” Barty said sarcastically. “Mr. Black you’re awake” Madame Pomfrey said and spoke diagnostic spells, before handing him three potions. “How are you feeling?” she asked. He raised an eyebrow in irritation. Wasn’t that obvious? Did she really expect him to share his problems with her. “I’m fine. I don’t need a mind healer. If you have contacted my Parents please inform them that there is nothing to worry about” Regulus said, sitting up despite his body’s protest. “Mr. Black-“ the Healer said sternly. It must work on her other patients, he gathered, as she seemed slightly irritated with his lack of response. “Mr. Black, I will do no such thing” she said sternly. “Reggie-“ “You have no right to call me that!” Regulus snapped at his brother. Barty stepped before him, hiding him from his Brother as Evan made him lean against the headboard. “Mr.Black who used the cruciatus curse on you?” the Man beside Dumbledore asked, Regulus recognised his Robes as Auror Robes. “What do you expect to archive with that knowledge?” he asked. “The person who did this to you will be taken in front of the court and sentenced to Askaban” the Auror said. “You think I wouldn’t have gone to the Aurors if it was that simple?” Regulus asked. “Now young Man we will certainly be able to help you -“ “I’m Regulus Arcturus Black, Sir. You’ve heard from us, I imagine. Let me give you a quick lesson. You see my Brother over there?” he asked. “He ran away this past Summer as you might have heard. The only reason why he is safe and can live a happy life is because they still have me. I know my fate and you can’t possibly think that you can win against the Black name. I apologise for what transpired here, it will not happen again” Regulus said. He looked away from the Auror and reached smiled slightly at Barty’s and Evan’s worried faces. Most people wouldn’t see their worries as well as it was hidden but he did. “Mr. Black I must insist! You would be protecting a criminal and this offence will be investigated with or without your participation!” the Auror insisted strictly. “Alright, I’ll tell you, if you meet certain requirements that make sure I’ll stay safe” Regulus said. “Name them” the Auror said, looking hopeful. How naïve of him, Regulus smile got bitter and cruel. “Alright. You need not only to prosecute my parents but also my aunt and uncle, as-well as my cousin Bellatrix and her husband and his family-you might have heard of the Lestranges. You’ll need to prosecute a few underaged students in Slytherin-those are a priority since my dorm is there, as-well as those in other houses, there are at least 5 in Ravenclaw, 7 in Gryffindors and 5 in Hufflepuff. These are connected to he-who-must-not-be-named and will make sure that there will be…accidents. Since their underaged it should be pretty difficult to find anything on them. Additionally you will need to convince our teachers and the headmaster to give a shit about Slytherins instead of ignoring or supporting when they’re bullied, abused, discriminated or someone commits a crime against them. That this happens will of course be denied and the people silenced so that they can’t accuse their attackers. Then you’ll need to make sure that I get the right kinds of guardians-which will be difficult as you can imagine. Maybe Cousin Andromeda would be willing- though that I don’t know as she likes to pretend I don’t exist same as my Brother. If you can manage all that and make sure I can claim the Lord Title, then I might just survive but I highly doubt that, Sir” Regulus said coldly. Leaving spluttering and speechless people behind. The headmaster and his brother and his friends seemed pale, though the Headmaster recovered quickly. “Now Regulus my boy, you shouldn’t lie. I’m sure-“ “I am not your boy. It is rather disgusting that a man your position in this School and age would say that about a minor. I have never spoken to you, neither you to me. I never allowed you to use my first name. You will call me Mr. Black or Heir Black. I will not let you disrespect me. You will not belittle my experience in this school, Headmaster. You can try to manipulate other people who will fall for it. I am not my brother. I am well aware that even though my parents are flawed, that they did teach me things. Many people might have forgotten but do you really think that we did? I don’t trust a man that was in bed with Grindelwald, figuratively and literally. I will not have you deny what you did to people of my house!-” Dumbledore was white as the sheets now “-I’m very observant, Headmaster. They didn’t tell me or anyone anything. Jet I could put things together.”
Blessed silence fell over the wing as everyone processed what he had said and revealed. “If you have pro-“ “I will not put myself in danger. I want to tell you but there is no way I can do that right now without getting hurt” Regulus interrupted the Auror quickly. Then he took his wand from the bedside table and levitated the separators around his bed after excusing himself. Then he let his friends help him lay down and softly indicated for them to sit each on one side of the bed.