It was one of those days when one couldn't tell if it was late summer or early autumn. The seaside was empty, with only few people walking on the wooden trail built over the beach. Further away a boy was playing with his shaggy dog.
A young man was walking by the restless sea, his hands buried deeply into his pockets and a slight frown on his face. He was far enough not to be bothered by the joyful shouts of little boy in the distance, but the biting wind wouldn't leave him alone. Impatiently, he pushed a lock of black hair away from his face and stopped for a moment to look at the ever rolling tide. Sunbeams gilded an occasional wave when they peeked behind the tattered clouds, turning the grey sea into bronze and the seagulls golden. In this moment of, gazing to the horizon and not bothering to keep his unruly locks away from his face anymore, he let the breeze whip his hair around freely. He was troubled, like the weather was restless, but it seemed that the steady beat of the waves was soothing him. However, even through the rush of the waves, he could still hear his mother's voice.
"Oh Regulus, I am so proud to have a son who meets the standards set to him. Surely, you will win the Dark Lord's gratitude and rise to be his most faithful servant!"
As it was late afternoon and the sun was already gliding towards the horizon, even the last couples headed back to their homes. Some of them found their way to one of the small, rustic teashops that served fresh biscuits and strong but sweet tea, located at the beach boulevard. Soon the shore was empty, save for the young man, though in the distance a dog still barked and told him that the place wasn't his alone.
He was pleased to get a moment on his own, since there hadn't been many moments like this during the past few years. There had always been someone telling him how to behave, how to think, how to act... and curiously enough everyone seemed to have a different opinion. Images from his past surged and filled his mind, as he blindly stared at the sea.
"Regulus! Come here, and see how things should be done!" his father with a deep voice called out from the garden, pointing his wand at a garden gnome, "It's not that hard. You just have to truly mean it!"
"Regulus! My dearest, I surely hope you won't turn out like that blood traitor brother of yours. We are, after all, the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black!" the voice of Walburga Black was already shrilling and whenever the topic of his traitorous brother came up, the voice of his mother gained new momentum, "My poor heart couldn't handle losing my little king."
"Regulus! There's something I must show you, cousin dearest" Bellatrix purred, eyeing Regulus beneath her heavily lidded eyes. The Lestrange brothers were behind her, Rabastan leaning against the wall looking bored and Rodolphus paying more attention to the dark young woman than anything else. "Look Regulus, isn't it magnificent? I got it from The Dark Lord himself."
It was no wonder he enjoyed his time alone, the few rare moments when he could be himself and did not need to account for his actions. Absentmindedly, he scratched his itchy left arm; he still wasn't sure whether it had been the right thing to do, to be branded like cattle. Now it was too late to reflect on that, however. There was no use crying over spilt potion, and there was nothing he could do to change the course of time. There was, though, a small window of opportunity to do something on his own accord. Not because it was expected of him...
"Oi! Yes, you!" a clear voice cut through the young man's musings before he would turn to look at its general direction. He saw a young woman walking towards him, her blonde hair waving behind her in the wind. Though he didn't approach her, he did not walk away either. She reached him in a few moments, her face slightly flushed.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I need some help! You see, my brother's puppy is lost and he - "
Regulus had trouble listening to her, his mind preoccupied again.
"Regulus, never ask for help! Never, you hear me? Only the weak ask for help and we are not weak. We are Blacks. Never forget that!" determined steps echoed away down the hall after this had been said, while a young Regulus was left alone in his room, with unshed tears stinging his eyes.
"And why should I help you?" his cold voice promptly cut her explanation short and he lifted a black eyebrow quizzically.
"I just needed some help, I didn't-" she stuttered, clearly taken aback by his coldness.
"I didn't ask you to repeat your request. I asked youwhy I should help. Didn't it occur to you that I might actually have something to do?"
"Oh I'm sorry; I see you are too busy looking at the birds instead of helping someone. You know, that is what's wrong with the world nowadays. No one is willing to sacrifice even a moment of their time to give a hand to somebody who needs help."
Regulus gave a sceptical look at the blonde girl in front of him, but she didn't seem to be bothered by his attitude and instead carried on her lecture.
"But I am not asking for something impossible, like saving the world. I just need some help to get my brother's mongrel out of trouble. Surely it won't take more than five minutes of your precious time. There's no one else here I could ask for help, so I just had to bother your admiration of the sunset."
"You are quite obnoxious, aren't you?" he pointed out, mildly amused by her attitude. Much to his entertainment she blushed and cast her eyes down to the tawny sand.
"I'm sorry I bothered you," she muttered, before she abruptly turned around and started heading back towards the cliffs she had come from. A fainted memory of the times he was just a boy suddenly appeared.
"Don't be a fool, Regulus. It was just a Crup and a bad one at that. It couldn't even scare a Muggle properly. We'll get you a prime albino hound next, won't we Orion? There's no need to get sentimental over something as inferior as that mutt."
Regulus felt disgusted by his behaviour.
"No, wait!" in a few strides, he was by her side, "I'll help you find the dog."
She threw a quick look at him, as if to see whether or not he was serious, but his expression remained sober as ever.
"This way then. Eddie said that they were playing on the cliffs when Spot went missing. I think it fell into some crack in the stones, but as it's getting dark I thought we'd definitely need some help finding it."
He only nodded at this and together the two youths climbed onto the smooth cliffs, where they could see a young boy running to and fro frantically, calling for his dog.
"Anna! Did you find Spot?" there was hope in his voice when he ran towards his sister, as fast as his bandy legs allowed him.
"I didn't—," the girl called Anna began, but as she saw the little boy's lip starting to tremble, she quickly carried on, "But don't worry! I found someone to help us, this is…"
She stopped, only now realising she didn't have the faintest idea who she had recruited to help her.
"I'm Regulus, Regulus Black" the young man said, solving the nettlesome situation for her.
"Regulus is a funny name," the little boy stated in bright tone, examining the young man in front of him.
"Edward! Mind your manners!" Anna hissed at her brother. For a moment, Edward looked a bit guilty, but in the end, he didn't back down.
"But it is a funny name! I've never heard anyone called Regulus before, but I want to find Spot now," he commented and then sprinted away, trying his best to whistle for his dog every few paces.
"I'm terribly sorry about that. Edward is just five and tends to say what he thinks," Anna explained to Regulus, looking quite apologetic. A wry smile appeared on his lips.
"I won't hold it against him. After all it's quite evident that it runs in the family," he pointed out, causing Anna to blush a second time, "Now then, what sort of dog are we looking for? I have special experience with black mutts, but I'm quite sure that won't be all that useful now."
"Well, Spot is a beagle, I think. Or at least part of him is beagle. Eddie found him in our yard a few weeks ago, scavenging through the litterbin, and decided that he wanted to keep the dog. I've never seen or smelled anything as foul in my entire life, but the puppy is actually quite adorable," Anna chattered animatedly.
Regulus had found the Crup wandering around their vast garden, barking at Kreacher who had attempted to drive the famished puppy away. Orion had frowned and was ready to get rid of the dog as well, but Regulus had scooped the animal from the ground and taken it as his pet. His father hadn't had much to say to this, because Walburga, as usual, had supported her youngest son.
"The history is very nice, but what is the dog really like, save for being at least partially beagle? I still have no idea what to look for. I assume he has a spot of some sort, but unfortunately I've seen only very few dogs that wouldn't have one of those."
"You must think I'm quite a daft, don't you?" She asked, her voice gaining a chilly edge to it, "I told you already, I'm sorry I ever bothered you. I'm sure we can find the dog on our own."
"Now, now, Anna. I said I'd help you. Just tell me what to look for."
"Humph… As I said, he looks a bit like beagle. His fur is sleek and he has big white spot over his left eye. Other than that, he's black and tan, with white feet. Does this answer your question?"
"Very well," Regulus replied and started walking along the cliff, "I'll call for you if I see him."
Anna stood still for a moment, looking after the black haired young man, her eyes narrowed. Then she spun around and started looking for the dog herself. She hadn't taken more than ten steps before a boyish voice mixed with excitement and worry, echoed from a shady cleft in the reddish rock.
"Anna! Anna! Come quick, I found Spot!"