Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters or places.
A Shining Light
Introduction
The halls were filled with the sounds of student rushing to the Great Hall. No one wanted to be late to the Halloween Feast for fear of having the best food snatched by a housemate. It didn't matter that none of the food would even appear until after the headmaster gave his speech. No, a large part of the fun of the feast was the hustle and bustle of it all. Groups of friends hurried by; their voices raised in excitement and cheer as they discussed the sweets that would likely be available. Everywhere you looked there were smiles of ecstasy and anticipation. Except for on one Regulus Black's face which was twisted into a sneer of disgust. 'If there's anything I hate more than those damned perky Gryffindors, it would have to be the whole fucking school acting like dimwits.' If at all possible, his sneer deepened.
Regulus was headed to the feast as well, but not with a group of his friends; he was making his way toward the Great Hall alone. It wasn't that he had no friends; in truth he had a large group of acceptable allies that he could have gone with, just as any true and proper Slytherin had, but Regulus had left the Common Room earlier in the evening, intent upon being alone with his thoughts. He had walked out of the dungeons and begun walking with no actual destination in mind. It had been no surprise to him when he had found himself in the astronomy tower though; it was a spot he frequented whenever he needed to think or to be alone. In this instance, he needed both. For hours, his mind had spun thought after thought through his mind. Foremost was the parcel he had received from his mother just that morning, the one containing the gold ring bearing the Black family crest. Along with the ring had come a short message of explanation, but Regulus hadn't needed any. He knew the ring, had seen it everyday since he had been five, first hanging on a thin gold chain from his older brother Sirius' neck and then on Sirius' right middle-finger. It was the ring that was traditionally given to every Black heir, the Black family signet ring, and now, it was his. Now, he was the Black heir because Sirius had abandoned them, had betrayed their entire family, had left him behind. He shook his head violently to rid himself of the thoughts. 'You idiot, he's already forgotten you. Why don't you do yourself a very large favor and forget about him?'
All thought of the ring now adorning his middle-finger and how and why it was there flew from his mind when he rounded the corner. Loud, raucous laughter and taunting voices filled his ears; the voices were very familiar to him, especially one that stood out above the others, forever on top and never silent. He stopped a few feet away from the small group of Gryffindors and ducked behind a suit of armor to observe. It was no surprise to see James Potter and Sirius Black at the center of all the commotion; on the sidelines stood the coward Pettigrew egging them on as usual. They had apparently cornered Severus Snape on his way to the feast, alone.
"On your way to the feast, Snivellus?"
"He can't possibly be, Sirius; he's not dressed right for a Halloween feast."
"We'll just have to fix that. How about some green hair to go with that oversized nose of his?"
James grinned and stepped toward Snape brandishing his wand. As soon as Snape saw James' wand, he drew his own.
"Expelliarmus!"
With that, Snape's wand flew into Sirius' hand, leaving him defenseless before the two Gryffindors. 'I guess that's my cue.' He drew his own wand and slipped it discreetly into his sleeve where it would be easily accessible, if needed, and yet out of view.
"Ah, here you are, Severus; I've been looking all over for you."
"What do you want, Black? If you hadn't noticed, I'm a little preoccupied right now."
Instead of answering his housemate, Regulus turned to his brother.
"Give him back his wand, and move on, Sirius."
"What makes you think I'm going to listen to you, Reggie," he asked, his tone derisive.
"You may not have to listen to your brother, but I believe you do however have to listen to me, Mr. Black, now, return Mr. Snape's wand, immediately," ordered a new voice.
Sirius thrust the Slytherin's wand into his hand and pulled his hand back as quickly as he could, and then stood glaring at both the Slytherins.
"For dueling in the halls, I'm taking ten points from each of you; now all of you get to the feast before I start handing out detentions as well."
Regulus and Severus counted themselves lucky and left; of course, giving the Marauders looks that promised retribution at a later date.
"Ten points, professor, that's crazy! Those gits…"
Sirius' outburst was cut off when James elbowed him in the ribs, hard. He smiled winningly at their professor and pushed his best friend to the side. James knew well the look on her face, and whenever she had it, it usually didn't bode well for one or more of the Marauders, often either James or Sirius.
"Don't listen to him, professor; Sirius is just umm…hungry. Ten points each is very fair."
"I'm glad you think so, Mr. Potter; now the three of you should join your classmates in the Great Hall."
James and Peter each grabbed an arm and dragged their aggravated friend away before he could earn them all detentions.
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