A/N: I have SO missed writing my favorite couple. I hope some of you old fans are still out there, and of course welcome to new readers as well :)
This is a bit of an unusual fic, as it's a rewrite of an RP between Zayhad & me (M3535). Of course major rewriting has been done to adapt the style, but still the structure is not quite as tight and well planned as my normal fics. As we were writing the RP we followed a set plot line but still with room for a good deal of improvisation.
While the fic is a Regulus/Remus slash, it is just as much about the brotherly relationship between Reg and Sirius. Since we're starting out when they are small children, the romance part will not start for quite a long time.
Zayhad will make an illustration for each chapter (will be published on Deviantart – check my profile for links).
We're planning to publish every Thursday from now on, and once in a while (when we're feeling generous) an extra chapter during the week.
Disclaimer: Characters and world belong to the awesome J. K. Rowling
Chapter 1 – "There's a Werewolf in My Closet"
12 Grimmauld Place lay dark and quiet except for the odd creak from one of the old floorboards when tiny bare feet stepped on them. The three-year-old moved slowly along the gloomy third-floor corridor, a few steps at a time, then stopped and held his breath, listening. He could only hear his own galloping heartbeat. The corridor was miles long and the walls towered up over the boy on either side, threatening to swallow him up. Finally, he dared move the last few yards to the door that was his target. He stopped in front of it, then stood on his toes so he could reach the serpent's head shaped handle and pull it down. The door opened slowly with only a faint creak and the boy slipped inside. It was dark in there, but the weak moonlight from outside lit up the room just enough for the boy to make out the large four-poster by the far wall. He tiptoed over there.
"Sirius?" he whispered. "Sirius, are you sleeping?"
There was a low mumble and a rustling from the covers, and then a head of black hair in disarray appeared. "Reggie?" the boy said sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing here? It's really late."
"There's a werewolf in my closet, Sirius," whispered Regulus, looking up at his older brother with big pleading eyes, hoping that he would be invited to climb into bed, because he knew better than to do it without an invitation.
"You sure it isn't just Kreacher finding your clothes for tomorrow?"
"It's not Kreacher," said Regulus. "It's big and I can hear it growl. It want to eat me."
Sirius tilted his head and sighed. He then pulled the covers aside and scooted over so Regulus could climb into bed with him. "I can't guarantee that the werewolf won't go in here too," he pointed out as Regulus hoisted himself into the bed. "But maybe it's just a boggart that likes your closet. Mother can take care of it tomorrow."
"You think?" asked Regulus a little nervously. "But... if it come in here you can kill it, yeah?"
"If it's a boggart it won't come in here, Reggie, and I doubt a werewolf would want to live in your closet. Werewolves run wild in forests and not in closets."
Regulus eyed his brother a little sceptically as he crawled under the covers, but then again Sirius was awfully smart and knew a lot of things. He could handle almost anything, too. Regulus was glad, though, that he didn't send him back to his room. Werewolf or no werewolf, it was scary in there when it was dark and Mother would not allow him to have a night light burning. She said big boys weren't scared of the dark, but Regulus didn't quite understand why he couldn't be scared. He wasn't a big boy, he was the smallest boy he knew.
Sirius pulled the covers over them and rolled onto his side to go back to sleep. It was becoming quite a routine that Regulus came up with an excuse to sneak into his room a few times a week to sleep. But Sirius loved his little brother so he didn't mind.
Regulus lay quiet for a minute but couldn't fall asleep. "Sirius?" he whispered. "What are we doing tomorrow?"
"What do you mean, what are we doing?" Sirius mumbled and turned to face his brother. "We can play some games or play tricks on Kreacher if we get bored. I don't know. What do you want to do?"
"I don't want to play tricks on Kreacher. That's cruel. But we can play games."
Sirius sulked a bit, as playing tricks on Kreacher was one of his favourite pastimes at the moment. "Well, I guess we can do that, then, or trap the boggart and hide it in Mother's closet so she will be frightened. That would be a lot of fun."
"How can you trap a boggart?" asked Regulus, both a bit scared and a bit excited. "Can you do it without magic?"
"Hmm... I don't know any spells, but it can probably be done in some other way. It sure would be a great prank to play on Mother. "
"She will be very angry when she find out," said Regulus, shivering at the thought. He knew Sirius wasn't afraid of her (he wasn't afraid of anybody) but Regulus surely was. Mother was terrifying when she was angry.
"Her face would turn scarlet, that's for sure," grinned Sirius. "You're too well-behaved, Reggie. It wouldn't kill you to disobey her once in a while."
Regulus hoped Sirius would forget about the boggart, because he wasn't so sure there was one in his closet at all. He hadn't actually heard growling, he could just imagine a werewolf in there, but if he admitted that, his brother might send him back to his own room.
o0o0o
Regulus was woken very early the next morning by Kreacher gently shaking him.
"Master Regulus must go back to his own bed," Kreacher said and shook him again. "Mistress will not like that Regulus is sleeping in Master Sirius' bed."
Regulus quickly slipped out of bed and followed Kreacher to his own room. The floors were cold against his bare feet and he quickly jumped into his own bed.
"You won't tell her I slept there, will you?" he asked the elf.
"No, Master Regulus," Kreacher croaked and shook his head. "Kreacher won't tell Mistress anything, even if she asks."
"Thank you," smiled the little boy.
Sirius was woken by Kreacher a few hours later. "What?" he mumbled grumpily.
"Mistress wants the little Masters to have breakfast with her. She wants them to bathe and dress. Master Sirius' bath will be ready in ten minutes," informed the house elf, his gaze silently telling Sirius that he had better be out of bed at that time.
Kreacher hurried into Sirius' private bathroom and started preparing a hot bath. When it was ready, Sirius had still not gotten up.
"Why is the stupid boy still in his bed?" muttered Kreacher to himself, but said aloud, "Master's bath is getting cold and Kreacher must also help Master Regulus."
"Fine, fine," Sirius sighed and dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom. He stripped off his pyjamas and crawled into the steaming hot water. He had to admit it felt rather good to start the morning like this, although he would rather just have stayed in bed for another hour or two.
"Does Master want Kreacher to scrub him?" asked the elf. "Then Kreacher must go draw Regulus' bath first and then come back."
"I'll be fine on my own," Sirius mumbled and sank into the tub so his nose was just above water. "Go help Reggie."
Kreacher hurried out of the bathroom, not sorry to have been dismissed so quickly. He much preferred helping Regulus.
"Master Regulus," Kreacher said as he walked into the dark bedroom. "Mistress says to bathe Young Masters so Kreacher will go draw Regulus a lovely hot bath."
Regulus slipped out of bed and followed the elf into the bathroom. He sat down on the antique stool next to the washbasin and watched Kreacher prepare the bath.
"What do Mother want? Are we going somewhere?"
"Kreacher knows not. Mistress just says to bathe and clothe Young Masters and then bring them downstairs." The elf turned off the hot water and smiled at the small boy. "Bath is ready, Master Regulus."
Regulus climbed in and happily let Kreacher scrub him. "Where is squid?" he asked, looking around for the toy. "I want to play with him."
Kreacher went over to a small box in the corner of the bathroom to fetch the little squid and handed it to Regulus before returning to scrubbing his back.
"Bella say there is a big squid in the Lake at Hawgswats," said Regulus, splashing around with his toy squid in the water. "She say it eat Mudblood childs sometimes."
"Kreacher would not know, Young Master. Kreacher has never been to Hogwarts or heard of a big squid that lives there, but if Miss Bellatrix says it then Kreacher will not doubt." He finished scrubbing Regulus' back and then started washing his hair.
"Do... do you think it eat pure-blood childs too sometimes? If they bad?"
"Kreacher does not think so. Surely not."
"There's no squid that eats children," Sirius' voice sounded. Both looked up, spotting him in the doorway, naked and soaking wet. "It's just something Bella made up to scare you."
"How do you know?" asked Regulus. "You never been to Hawgswats."
"Master is getting the floor wet! Water all over!" exclaimed Kreacher horrified. "Sirius must go back to his bath! Now Kreacher must clean the whole floor."
"Well, that will keep you busy, then," Sirius said and turned his attention back to Regulus. "If it was true I'm sure Mother and Father would talk more of it. They would be thrilled."
"That they eat bad childs?" asked Regulus horrified. "Sirius - you must not be so bad, then!"
"I mean if it ate Mudbloods, silly. Anyway, I'm not afraid of some squid that lives in a lake. I'll be a great wizard and it will be the one to fear me."
o0o0o
Half an hour later the boys entered the dining room, nicely dressed. Mrs. Black was already waiting for them.
"About time," she said. "Kreacher - serve the breakfast."
"Yes, Mistress Black," said Kreacher, bowing deep, and disappeared.
Sirius sat down next to Regulus and looked around the room. "What is the occasion of us having to be dressed so fancy?"
"Is having breakfast with your mother not enough occasion?" said Mrs. Black stiffly as Kreacher poured her tea. "You're a Black, and you should look like one, not some common half-blood. Or worse. Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella are arriving this afternoon. They will be staying the weekend," she announced when Kreacher had served the breakfast. "So I want you both on your best behaviour. No pranks, no cheek," she continued, eying Sirius for a second. "You will address the adults madam and sir."
Sirius tried to hide his contempt for the news. He was absolutely not looking forward to them coming for a visit and especially not for a whole weekend.
"Yes, madam."
"You address your aunt madam and me Mother as always," Mrs. Black corrected him with an irritable look. "Listen properly when I'm speaking. You will also remember your table manners; say thank you and please, and don't leave the table until you're excused."
"Yes, Mother," said Regulus.
Sirius mumbled a few words before speaking again. "Yes, Mother!" he replied and sat back in his chair, pushing the plate away.
"Sit up straight, young man, and finish your breakfast. And remember, I'm keeping an eye on you. You're the most important. You're the heir to the House of Black, and you must live up to that honour."
"Where… where am I going to live, then?" asked Regulus.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean - if Sirius get the house where am I going to live?"
"Probably with some dumb girl that you get to marry," Sirius mumbled, not sitting up straight even though being told to.
Regulus' eyes shot wide open. "I don't want to marry a girl!"
"You're going to. Me too because that is what Mother says we have to. Right, Mother?"
"Enough with the attitude, Sirius!" said Mrs. Black, sending him a warning look.
Kreacher came in to deliver the Daily Prophet.
"Put it on the stand, Kreacher, I will look at it later."
Regulus leaned in and whispered to his brother, "Can I still live here with you when you get the house?"
Sirius looked at his brother and nodded. "Yes, you can. I won't just throw you out like Mother and Father will after they marry you off. "
o0o0o
When their aunt and uncle arrived at three o'clock, Sirius and Regulus were standing straight in matching clothes in the hallway, ready to welcome them.
Regulus' stomach sank when he saw that all three cousins were there. Bellatrix, the oldest, was obviously home for the Easter holidays. Regulus was scared of her. She could be mean and would tease him and Sirius in very unpleasant ways. The other two, Andromeda of 10 and Narcissa of 9, were much nicer and Regulus liked them both. They thought he was the cutest thing and would spoil him with sweets and attention, although sometimes it was a bit much.
Sirius eyed the three girls and tried to think of pranks he could play on them. Especially Bellatrix, although he was sure she would not hesitant hexing him.
The parents greeted each other and Mrs. Black said, "Sirius, Regulus - welcome out guests."
Regulus obediently went over to one at a time, gave them his hand and said, "Welcome," addressing each person correctly. Sirius, however, just waved and muttered, "Hey".
His father grabbed him by the arm and hissed into his ear. "You will behave and greet our guests properly!" When he let go, Sirius rubbed his arm and went over to his aunt and uncle, greeting them with 'madam' and 'sir'.
"Druella, you must see my orchid garden," said Mrs. Black, smiling at her sister-in-law. "I have had such good fortune with three rare species I had imported from Brazil."
"Oh, I would love to."
Sirius stuck a finger in his mouth and stuck out his tongue as if he were about to gag.
Both Regulus and the girls saw it, and Narcissa scrunched up her nose. "That's not polite. And it's childish too!"
"I'm five years old," said Sirius. "Of course I'm childish."
Mrs. Black left with Druella and Mr. Black took Cygnus with him to the library. It left the five children standing in the hall.
"So, Bella," Sirius started and looked at his oldest cousin. "Learned any new spells, have you?"
"I know more spells than you can count, little boy," she said, smiling sweetly,
"S-Sirius can count to a thousand," objected Regulus, but as soon as she looked at him, he regretted calling attention to himself. Even though she smiled at him, there was something mocking in her smile.
Sirius smirked and crossed his arms. "Yes I can. Do you know more than a thousand spells?"
"You can't count to a thousand, you little shit," said Bellatrix, her smile gone. "I know enough. Care to be my guinea pig? I know some new curses that could do with some polishing off."
"Bella, be nice to the boys," said Andromeda. "And you know you aren't allowed to use magic outside of school."
"That stupid rule can't touch us here, Andy," retorted Bellatrix. "You know uncle Orion has anti-detection wards up so the Ministry can't see we're doing it."
"Still, it's wrong."
Sirius bit his lip and then took Regulus' hand. "Come on, let's go play. You want to join us, Andy? Then Cissy and Bella can play guinea pigs or whatever they want to do. I don't care."
Andromeda looked at her siblings but then agreed to go with Sirius and Regulus. Narcissa followed, although Sirius had not invited her.
Bellatrix headed off to go exploring in the house. Orion and Walburga had so many exciting dark magic artefacts, and she was really too old to play with children.
o0o0o
"Now that we lost crazy Bella what do you all want to do?" asked Sirius when they had reached his room.
Narcissa shrugged. "Exploding snap?"
The others agreed, except Regulus, who looked down at his feet. He didn't understand the rules of the game. It was funny when a card exploded, but he didn't want the cousins to know that he couldn't play for real.
"I think it's a boring game," he said, trying to sound like it didn't bother him. "I think I'll just watch."
Sirius suddenly remembered the boggart that he suspected was hiding in Regulus' closet, and the others followed him into the room curiously.
"Is it true? Is there really a boggart in there?" asked Andromeda as she eyed the closet. "I've never seen one."
"I... I don't think it's there anymore," said Regulus. "Maybe it escaped."
"Really?" Sirius said, eying his little brother suspiciously. "I thought it would stay in there and get all cosy and such." He knocked on the closet door and listened for a moment. Nothing happened.
"M-maybe it wasn't a boggart at all. Maybe it was a real werewolf and it turned into a human because it's day," said Regulus.
"I doubt that a werewolf went into your room to hide in a closet. It would have eaten you then," Sirius said.
Regulus shivered. Now in the daytime the thought of a werewolf wasn't quite as scary, but in the night-time... What if it came back tonight and really did eat him? "M-maybe you should check," he said, trying not to sound scared.
Sirius grinned and swung the doors open. He was already pretty sure that nothing was in there and he wanted to act like one of the big kids. He wasn't afraid of anything and he was going to show them that he wasn't. Regulus gasped and grabbed a tight hold on Andromeda's arm.
Sirius turned to face them with a satisfied smile on his lips. "See? Nothing there!"
"What would you have done if there had been a boggart?" Andromeda asked.
"We would have fetched Bella," said Narcissa. "A boggart is easy for her."
"Sirius could have did it," said Regulus. "He can always make monsters go away."
"Yes, I could," Sirius nodded smugly.
"You don't know the spell to banish a boggart," Narcissa said. "Bella knows. She learned at school."
"So? I could still have done it," Sirius insisted, shooting out his jaw.
"You don't even have a wand!" said Narcissa. "You're always such a show-off!"
"So what! Who needs a wand? I can do it without a wand."
"Oh, yeah? What's the incantation?"
"It's... Well, it's... I'm not going to tell you, because you don't know it and I am not going to teach you!"
"HA! You don't know it!" crowed the blonde.
"I do too!" Sirius yelled, getting red in the face.
"YOU'RE A LIER!" screamed Narcissa.
Regulus had backed away, discretely hiding behind Andromeda. He hated when people got angry and yelled. Even Sirius, who was his favourite person in the whole world.
"I am not!" screamed Sirius back. "You're just jealous because if you met a boggart you wouldn't know what to do and then it would eat your face!"
"You're a nasty little liar! I'm telling Mum!"
"Go ahead! The boggart will eat her too!"
"Now, now," Andromeda said, stepping between the two raging children. "Why don't we just play the game like we planned, instead of fighting?"
"I don't want to play with him!" declared Narcissa and jutted out her chin. "Let's go somewhere else, Andy." She grabbed Regulus' hand and headed for the door. "Come, Reggie."
Regulus looked over his shoulder at Sirius as he hesitantly let Narcissa drag him off.
Sirius stood for a second, unable to decide whether to go with them or not. He didn't want to play with Narcissa either. She had called him a liar. Technically he was, because he had no idea how to handle a boggart, but he had not wanted Regulus to know that. He bit his lip and headed after them.
"Wanna go to the pond and look for treasure?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
"I said I don't want to play with you!" said Narcissa and marched on.
"Well, you can go then, but leave my brother with me so we can go treasure hunting," Sirius demanded.
"Come on, Cissy," said Andromeda. "Let's go with Sirius. I want play by the lake. The weather's beautiful today. We can ask the house elf to make us a picnic basket. It will be fun!"
Narcissa looked very sour still but let go of Regulus and crossed her arms. "Fine. But I'm not talking to Sirius!"
"Suits me just fine," said Sirius. "KREACHER!"
"Yes, Master Sirius?" said the elf, Apparating right in front of him.
"Make us a picnic basket," Sirius ordered. "We're going down to the pond to hunt for treasure."
"Yes, Master," said Kreacher. "Do the little masters and misses want tea?"
"Of course we want tea," said Narcissa. "What did you expect us to drink? Firewhiskey?"
"No, Miss Narcissa, of course not," croaked Kreacher, bowing his head.
"And some biscuits," continued Narcissa. "With lemon, perhaps. But not too sour. I don't like that."
Regulus did not like when people spoke to Kreacher this way, but he didn't dare say anything that might anger his cousin.
"Yes, Miss Narcissa. Kreacher will fix it right away."
o0o0o
"So what are we going to do here?" Narcissa asked Sirius when they had all arrived at the lake. Apparently she had already forgotten that she wasn't speaking to him.
"Look for treasure, of course," Sirius said and parted some grass with a stick. "There are all sorts of funny things lying around." He picked up a rock and stuck it in his pocket.
"A rock?" snorted Narcissa. "You call that treasure?"
"I enjoy the little things," snapped Sirius and looked through the grass for another thing he could put in his pocket.
"Look - there's a frog!" said Regulus, pointing at a waterlily leaf in the middle of the pond.
"Why don't you try and catch it?" Sirius suggested. "It would make a great pet or you can just play around with it until it gets boring. That would be your treasure of the day."
"But... but it's far out in the water," said Regulus apprehensively. "I can't swim..."
"It isn't that deep."
"Mother will be angry if I get my clothes wet."
Sirius looked at Narcissa who stood close to the edge of the pond and got an idea.
"Why don't you go get it for him," he snickered and gave her a little push, making her lose her balance and fall into the pond with a loud splash. Sirius couldn't help but laugh when Narcissa shrieked and cried as Andromeda pulled her out.
"He pushed me!" screamed Narcissa. Look what he's done! Look at my dress! I'm telling Mother!"
Mrs. Black and Aunt Druella, who had been fairly close by, looking at the orchid garden, had heard the screaming and came running.
"What on earth is happening here?" gasped Druella, seeing her youngest daughter soaked. "Narcissa?"
"He did it!" she sobbed, pointing at Sirius. "He pushed me!"
Sirius quickly wiped the grin off his face and put his hands behind his back. "Well, she wanted to be nice to Regulus, seeing he is her favourite cousin, so I just told her to go get the frog for him, and I just gave her a little pat on the back and she jumped in, I suppose," Sirius tried to explain, looking as innocent as he could.
"You LIAR!" shrieked Narcissa.
Mrs. Black did not believe him either, because she rushed up to him, grabbed him be the ear and marched off, dragging him along.
"What did I tell you about behaving?" she snarled. "Why must you always be such an insufferable scamp? Just you wait until our guests have gone home!"
"But Mother," Sirius begged, following her unwillingly. "I didn't mean for her to fall in. She just tripped. Honestly!"
"Lying to my face?" she hissed. "You better keep your tongue! I will not hear another peep from you today! You will stay in your room and Kreacher will serve your dinner there tonight!"
"What? No, Mother! I was supposed to have a picnic with the others," Sirius begged but was just pushed into his room and the door closed in his face before he could argue further.
Kreacher appeared at the pond with the picnic basket just as Aunt Druella had escorted her crying daughter inside. "Here is your basket, Masters and Miss," he croaked, bowing low. He spread out a blanket and Andromeda sat down on it.
"Come sit with me," she smiled at Regulus.
Regulus sat down, peaking shyly into the basket. He liked Andromeda, she was always so kind, but he was still a little shy. Especially when Sirius was not there.
"Anything special you're looking for?" asked Andromeda, looking into the basket as well. "Ooh, those look good."
Regulus nodded without looking up at her and took a lemon tart from the basket.
"Does Master Regulus want Kreacher to pour tea?"
Regulus nodded happily and Kreacher served tea for both children.
Andromeda took a biscuit as well, eating it with delight. A light breeze caught her hair, caressing her face lightly. "Perfect weather for a picnic."
Regulus nodded, peering at her for a second, then cast his gaze down again. He didn't know what to say to her.
"So," she smiled and put down her cup. "Have you and Sirius found many treasures out here?"
"Er... yes... Sirius always find things. Inside too. But sometimes he play with things we're not allowed to, and... Mother get angry."
"Yes he does get in trouble a lot, I think. I've never been on a visit here without it happening. Too bad for him."
Regulus shook his head. "He don't mind."
Narcissa came back in a new dress and sat down to join them. When they had finished their tea, she said, "Come on, let's go inside and play. We can play dress-up!"
"Dress-up?" Regulus gulped. He knew the girls loved dressing up as classy ladies, but he didn't know what he was supposed to wear.
"Yes, we brought a whole bag full of clothes and I'm sure we can borrow some of Aunt Walburga's make-up!"
"Oh yes, what a good idea," beamed Andromeda and got up. "Won't you play along, Regulus? We'll make you look so nice. You have such a pretty face and hair."
"Um... ok," said Regulus. Maybe they had brought boys' clothes as well. Unlike the last time.
o0o0o
"This will look good on you," Narcissa beamed, showing Regulus a pink dress and a tiara.
Regulus eyed the dress and bit his lip. It was very girly and he did not much like the idea of wearing it, but the girls were excited and nice to him so he didn't protest.
Sirius peeped out the door of his room and seeing that the coast was clear he stepped out and tiptoed down the hallway. He heard giggling coming from Regulus' room so he opened the door. Just as he was about to ask if he could join in on the fun, he stopped dead in his tracks, spotting his baby brother in the pink dress.
"What have you done to him? You're turning him into a girl!"
"So what? We're just playing dress-up! And Regina is such a pretty girl," said Narcissa, watching Andromeda combing Regulus' half-long hair.
"His name is Regulus and he is a boy!" Sirius protested and stomped his foot. "Back away from him before he turns into a girl! I don't want a sister!"
"Take it easy, Sirius," said Andromeda. "We're just playing. Regulus doesn't mind, do you, Reggie?"
Regulus looked at her, then Narcissa and back at Andromeda. He didn't really like it, but he liked the girls and he didn't want Sirius getting into another fight, so he just shook his head. "I don't mind…"
Sirius stared at him for a moment. "You're going to turn out weird if you let them dress you up in girls' clothes," he mumbled and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'll just keep an eye on what they're doing to you."
"What do you want to do with his hair?" asked Narcissa, turning her attention back to Regulus.
"We could braid it?" suggested Andromeda. "Or maybe it's not long enough..."
"We could cut it. Just shorten his fringe. Do we have some scissors?"
"N... n-no," said Regulus with a shaky voice. He didn't want his hair cut. He wanted it the way it was - like Sirius'.
Andromeda looked at him and smiled. "But you will look so pretty with a shorter fringe," she said and got up.
"He told you no, so don't cut his bloody hair!" Sirius protested and got to his feet again. "Come on, Regulus. Let's go play something boyish and leave the girls to dress up."
Regulus looked from the girls to Sirius, not sure what to do.
"No, it's okay, Reggie. We won't cut your hair, then. But let's go find some of Aunt Walburga's make-up!" said Narcissa and took Regulus' hand, dragging him out of the room.
About five minutes later they returned and Narcissa sat Regulus down and produced a lipstick. "This looks like a good colour for you!"
Regulus eyed the lipstick hesitantly. "It... It's pink," was all he could think of saying.
"Yes, it will go nicely with your dress!"
"Next you're going to tell him he needs to marry a man, aren't you?" Sirius commented.
"Don't be silly," said Andromeda.
"Yes, he should marry a prince!" cheered Narcissa. "He's a pretty little princess!"
"N-no," protested Regulus. "I'm a prince. My name says so."
"Your name is a star," corrected Andromeda.
"Yes, but it means little prince, isn't that right, Sirius?"
"I don't know - I mean - yes it does! So you can't play dress up with him anymore unless it's boys' clothes!" Sirius said, crossing his arms.
"You can join the game too, Sirius," Narcissa grinned. "You're named after the dog star so you can be Princess Regina's lap dog."
"I'm no one's lap dog!" barked Sirius.
A vicious laughter sounded from the door opening. "Are you having fun, girls? Ickle cousin Reggie looks so pretty, and what about Sirius? You're an ugly girl. Where's your dress and make-up? That should improve your looks."
Sirius glared at Bellatrix who stood watching them with a curled smile on her lips. "Why don't you jump into the pond and wash your face with mud? That should improve your looks!"
Bellatrix whipped out her wand and waved it at Sirius. A large purple bow appeared in his hair and with another wave his eyelashes started growing longer and longer, until he looked like a Disney princess.
"What did you do to me?" he screamed, looking into a mirror. "Revers it!" he commanded, pointing at her with a shaking finger.
Andromeda and Narcissa giggled.
"Oh, I would, but..." Bellatrix said in a sugary voice. "Using magic outside of school is not allowed. Too bad. You'll just have to learn to live with it."
"You just used magic!" Sirius yelled and stomped his foot. "Remove it or I'll tell Uncle!"
"Ooh! The little baby's going to tell on me?"
Sirius could feel tears of rage threatening to spill. "Do it!" he screamed and ripped the bow out of his hair.
"Come on, Bella," said Andromeda. "Undo the spell."
But Bellatrix just laughed and left.
"Come here, Sirius," said Andromeda and steered him into Regulus' bathroom where she found a small pair of scissors. "We'll just trim them. Hold still."
Sirius sat as still as he could and sniffed a few times. "You sure you know what you're doing?" he mumbled.
"Yes, just hold still," said Andromeda as she brought the scissors frighteningly close to Sirius' eye.
"M-maybe we should go to Mother," suggested Regulus, suddenly scared that his cousin was going to stab his brother's eye out.
"Oh, don't worry," said Narcissa and stroked Regulus' hair.
The result was less than satisfactory. The lashes were not straight and on one eye there were barely any left.
"How does it look?" Sirius asked as his cousin put the scissors down.
"Um... fine, I guess," Andromeda said, tilting her head.
Sirius jumped over in front of the mirror and looked at himself. "You... you almost cut all of them off on one eye!" he cried and let a finger run over his missing eyelashes. He took a deep breath and tried to act cool. "But I guess it's better than those long lashes I had before."
Narcissa giggled. "Bella is right – he is an ugly girl!"
"Shut up, Cissy!" Sirius said and stuck his tongue out at her. He swore to himself that he would get Bellatrix back for this one day. He was the master of pranks so he would think of a brilliant one. One she would never forget.
"Uh-oh," said Andromeda suddenly.
They all looked at Sirius' eyelashes that were now growing back to the extreme length Bellatrix had jinxed them to be.
"We have to get an adult."
"Reggie, you go," said Narcissa, giving Regulus a gentle push out the door.
Regulus hesitated out in the hallway, not at all fond of having to be the one to tell. Then he sighed and went downstairs and into the parlour where he found his mother and aunt having tea with their husbands. He stopped in the doorway, the words getting stuck in his throat when he saw that Bellatrix was also there.
"Yes, Regulus? What is it?" asked his mother.
Regulus was afraid to speak. What if Bellatrix got mad at him for squealing? What if she turned him into a frog or something?
His mother looked at him and put her cup down, eying the outfit he had on. "Did you kids play dress-up again? I do say your daughters like to dress up little Regulus," she chuckled, looking at Druella. She then turned her gaze back to Regulus. "Was there something that you wanted?"
"Er... Sirius' eye hair magicked long," he whispered, glancing nervously at Bellatrix out of the corner of his eye.
"What are you saying? Speak up!" his father ordered.
Regulus repeated himself a little louder.
"I told that boy to stay in his room and he disobeyed," Mrs. Black muttered. "Orion, dear, will you handle this while I have Kreacher tend to dinner?"
Orion sighed and got up as he grumbled, "That bloody boy..."
"It... It wasn't Sirius," said Regulus in a small voice. "He didn't do it."
"Then who did?"
"Um... I... S-someone else. I didn't see who…" stuttered Regulus.
Bellatrix sent him a nasty smile.
Sirius was sitting on the bed when his father came into the room and bit his lip nervously when spotting him.
"What have you done now? Didn't your mother tell you to stay in your room?"
"I haven't done anything! I just went here to watch them play dress up and Bellatrix put a hex on me. You can ask Regulus if it isn't true!"
Mr. Black sighed. He didn't have to ask Regulus to know that Sirius was speaking the truth. Bellatrix was the only one of the children who had a wand and could do controlled magic. And even with uncontrolled magic, his son was unlikely to do something like this.
"Well, you probably asked for it," he grumbled while restoring Sirius' original eyelashes with a flick. "Now, I don't want any more trouble for the rest of the day." He stopped in the door. "And get Regulus out of that. He looks like a clown."
They stood in silence for a few seconds before Sirius elbowed Regulus in the ribs and grinned. "Told you you looked ridiculous."
"Well... you looked stupid too with your eyes and bow," mumbled Regulus.
A/N: Remember to check the illustration for the chapter on Zayhad's deviantart. Link on my profile.
