Alright, Alright, Alright
Oh, I've been thinking about my life
What's been wrong and what's been right
Some say that and some say this
Some say no and some say yes
Alright, alright, alright
25th March 1973
Regulus Black had so far throughly enjoyed being at Hogwarts. Firstly, if he ignored how massive it was and how small it made him feel; the youngest Black could enjoy the architecture of the old castle. And it was fun having to hop between moving staircases on the way to classes. He even liked every class he had, perhaps save for DADA. Only because the Professor didn’t actually know how to teach.
The twins and their friends were always waving at him in corridors - inviting him and his friends to their Common Room to play snap in the evenings. He was even beginning to understand why his sister spoke about Pandora so much; the odd blonde was somehow one of the most truly comforting presences he had ever felt. She was often by his sister’s side, along with the redhead from the train. And the three always had time to say hello.
The best part, he had to say, was his House mates. Especially the boys he dormed with. His cohort was unevenly split; only three boys in their year compared to nearly ten girls!
David Moon had clung to his side since the start of term; the two exchanging cultural knowledge, better understanding the worlds they did not grow up in. He liked comics, like Peter - always tossing Reg some new issue his older brother had sent in the post, grinning as Reg gawped at the illustrations. Whenever Regulus wasn’t with his siblings, he would be found with the blond boy. Usually joined by Henry Jordan; the boys outnumbered dramatically by the giggling female cohorts of Hufflepuff House at the Hufflepuff table, every mealtime. At least Celeste Williams and her twin sister Eva weren’t as silly as the others - rolling their eyes as the other girls giggled at the boys, batting their lashes and trying to fluster them. Celeste was not afraid to use stinging jinxes to get her dorm mates to behave.
Henry Jordan was lithe and playful, always switching Slytherin students potion ingredients in class or spelling rugs to be uneven so people would trip. He was a ball of mischief and brightness; always up for a long and bizarre discussion about whatever popped into his head. On Sunday mornings, they took to the fields behind the Quidditch pitch. Sometimes David joined, but it was less than likely. As the sun slowly rose, they practiced their flying. Both desperate to be on the Quidditch team once old enough; Henry having heard stories from his older brother in Gryffindor.
It was peculiar, in a way, to be so close to boys his mother would hit him for even speaking to. To be a Hufflepuff Black, the only of his kind.
“What are you up ta for Easter?” Henry asked Reg and David as he spread butter on his toast. The Great Hall was abuzz with chatter, students donning casual clothes as they discussed their plans for the break. Only a few hours until the train departed and they would no longer see each other every day.
“I’m off to my nans.” David grinned, helping himself to a second serving of bacon and eggs. “She’s Catholic, so we’ve got mass and all that but after she makes the best lamb roast.”
“I’ve never been a fan of lamb.” Regulus mused.
“Lucky you’re not going then.” David stuck his tongue out, elbowing the dark haired boy. “What about you, Reg?”
“Ara, Sirius and I are visiting with the Potters.” He explained happily. “Apparently James’s aunt is a Black by blood, so she might be able to help with Ara’s… you know.”
“I hope she can.” David replied with an easy and reassuring smile; Reg pinking under the kindness his friends exhibited. “I swear, though, you’re related to half the ruddy school.” He jested.
“You’re probably right.” Reg agreed. “I’d need to check the tapestry to confirm, but I think we’re at least related to the Prewetts and possibly the Crouchs.”
“If you’re not stuck with your parents, does that mean we’ll be able to send you letters?” Henry queried hopefully.
“Better than. James said his parents would be pleased if I invited friends round.”
“Brilliant.” He grinned, slapping Regulus on the shoulder. “We can practice our flying.”
“Is that why you keep him around?” David laughed. “The promise of a fancy wizard house to fly around the garden of.”
“To be fair to Henry, Potter Manor has an entire meadow behind it supposedly.”
“You’re kidding.” Henry deadpanned.
“Explains why Potter is so up himself.” David grinned. “Got a Manor to go back to.” He spoke dramatically, the other boys chuckling with him.
“What’s your house like?” Henry pondered. “I live with my mum and brother in a flat, near Croydon. Not a Manor, but we’re right next to the Tube line.”
“Tube line?”
“Muggle trains.” David elaborated.
“Well, I don’t know if my house is near any trains. It’s wedged between some muggle houses, actually I live in London too.”
“Brill.” Henry grinned. “Easy for me to sneak you out and take you home.”
“Only if we grab David on the way.”
“I live in Ipswich.” The boy deadpanned.
“Do you have a fireplace?”
“Why?” He narrowed his eyes.
“You could get someone from the Ministry to attach it to the Floo network. Ara was researching it last month, so Evans could be able to travel to visit quicker too. She’s from Cokeworth.”
“Blimey.” David shuddered. “Poor girl.”
“At least she doesn’t live in Suffolk.” Henry sniggered.
“Plonker.”
“And yet, you still invited me to visit.” Henry replied, sticking his tongue out childishly.
Reg rolled his eyes brightly, finishing his cup of tea as he looked to the Gryffindor table; his siblings situated to face him. They waved upon spotting his eyes, Ara miming several gestures that only Regulus understood as asking if he would be going down with them or if he’d meet them on the train.
He pointed to his friends, miming a train car. With her thumbs up, he looked back to his friends - rejoining their conversation.
“My brother says the new Pink Floyd came out yesterday.” David spoke between bits of his toast. “Do you think your sister would like it?”
“Why?” Reg drawled, his friend’s cheeks tinging pink as he looked to him with a raised brow.
“I just… I… she likes music.” He babbled, face beet red.
“Do you have a crush on Reg’s big sister?” Henry grinned, leaning his chin on his palm - his other hand pushing his locs away from his eyeline.
“No! No I don’t!” David spluttered, completely avoiding Reg’s eyes.
“It’d probably cheer her up, if you did.” Reg shrugged upon Henry’s pointed look. “It was a nightmare when Sirius got all those cards on Valentines.”
“I don’t get it.” Henry mused, looking to the Gryffindor table with deep brown eyes; the shade perfectly matching his hair. “Out of the two of you, you’re definitely the better looking brother. Your face has so much more character.”
“I have a single mole.” Reg rolled his eyes, pointing to the brown mark below his eye. “Beyond that, the three of us are identical.”
“Ara does not look like you!” David blurted in horror.
“Take away the longer hair, and the scar over her nose, it’s the same face below.”
“I hate you.” David groaned, covering his eyes.
“No you don’t.”
The three boys made their way from the castle to the trains, soon after the Great Hall had emptied.
They meandered through the halls; heavy trunks in hand as students bustled around them - all headed to the same destination. As they passed the school gates, a voice called out behind them, heads spinning the find the source.
“Regulus?” Narcissa Black stood alone, donning sweet blue robes as she rang her hands - smiling awkwardly at her youngest cousin. “May we speak?”
“Give me a minute?” Reg turned to his friends. “I’ll meet you by the train.” He promised, his friends nodding cautiously at him. Henry’s eyes narrowed as he looked to Narcissa - a scowl nearly forming on his kind face.
“What do you want?” Reg spoke the moment his friends had drifted away, arms crossed over his chest as he glared up at the eighteen year old. Nearly an entire year at Hogwarts, and she hadn’t bothered to speak to him before. Not until they were about to head away, students rushing to their side towards the train.
He’d be lying if he said he weren’t bitter. For all those years they’d spent together as children, he’d never expected her to be so calloused to him. Perhaps if he’d been a Slytherin, she might have forgiven him his love of his siblings. Still, even then.
“To wish you well. The next time we’ll see each other will be my wedding.”
“Who is it you’re marrying again?” Reg asked with false innocence. “That man that first wanted your baby cousin?”
Though she bristled, Narcissa did not rise to the bait.
“S’il te plaît Regulus, don’t act like you hate me.”
“I could never hate you, Cissa.” He sighed. “And I am happy for you.” He begrudged.
“Merci. J’ai toujours été fier de toi, Reg.” Narcissa smiled. “And loathe as I am to admit it, you make a finer Hufflepuff than you would Slytherin.”
“Thank you, Cis.” He replied stiffly.
“Don’t tell your siblings I spoke to you.” She warned him with a stern look, though her love for him leaked through too much for it to be legitimate. “Just because I love you, doesn’t mean I don’t hate them.”
“Why?”
“C’est notre affaire. Va t’asseoir avec tes amis et oublier ce qui ne vous concerne pas.”
“No, Cissa. It is my business.” He shifted his shoulders to puff his chest; false bravado that startled his cousin. “She’s the only person to ever protect me. Above her own safety too. Whatever reasons you have to hate her are far outnumbered by kind acts she’s done for me and everyone else in our stinking family.”
“Regulus!” She admonished.
“You know I’m right. I’m not blind, and I’m not a fool. I was there, Cissa. I was in the house the whole time. You think I don’t know how rotten our House truly is?” His voice shook with emotion, but his words were strong.
Because Merlin, that day had ruined them all. One woman’s wrath being the first nail of the coffin; the first hit to splinter their family. Dwindling contact in the years after. No more shared Christmas dinners. Fading holidays in France. All washing away more and more with his mothers acts.
He wasn’t stupid.
He knew they were doomed. But dammit, he wasn’t a Hufflepuff for nothing. If he could save just some of them… if he could protect his siblings and cousins, he would be satisfied.
“You never speak of it.” Narcissa commented quietly.
“What’s there to say? Mother locked me out when I tried to see what was going on. I waited in the classroom until help came.”
“How long?”
“What’s the point of this, Cissa? Do you actually care, or do you just want to know how much pain was experienced that day to soothe your guilt?” He seethed, ignoring her flinch. “It was two hours. She started screaming. I spent the first hour trying to open the door, and failing miserably. I spent the second huddled in a ball under a desk, begging for someone to come help. I was four. I didn’t know how to help her, myself.”
“Merlin.” She breathed, a pained expression. “I knew it was… bad.”
“But you never took the time to think about it properly.” He finished for her. The guilt in her eyes confirmed his words. “You scarred her, Cissa. You scarred her and then you left us behind.” He shook his head with disgust; the expression so out of place on a twelve year old.
“I know.” She grit out.
“Then take accountability. You’re eighteen. It’s time to grow up.” He tutted. “My sister just gave up her freedom for mine. Did you ever wonder who she learned that from?”
He did not leave her room to talk any further, to try and justify her action or question what his riddle meant. Instead, Regulus pinned her in place with a look that could only be described as disgust; spinning on his heels and stalking down the hill towards the platform. Bumping into Evan Rosier and walking alongside him, discussing plans and homework casually.
Narcissa did not dare move from her frozen state. Not until the yellow of his scarf was a dot on the horizon.
And she thought of curly dark hair.