Regulus was average yet he was a very capable liar. He had a talent of making anyone believe every word that came from his lips – honestly, he believe it was his only talent. But there is one person that he lied to protect. In the end, Regulus got too caught up in his lies to realize that the one person he wanted to protect hated him.
;~;
"Another Black, I see," the hat whispered in his head. A few a more seconds of searching his brain, the hat spoke again. "I'm going to offer you something I don't offer every student. Would you like Gryffindor or Slytherin?"
Regulus looked around the room at this question. His eyes met his brother's and he knew his answer. "Place me in Slytherin." And the hat did just that. From his seat at the Slytherin table, he saw his brother look away from him. No matter how much it stung, Regulus couldn't take back his choice. It was helping Sirius in the end.
Before the end of the year, Regulus stood in the Headmaster's office. He pulled the hat down from the bookshelf. "May I help you, Regulus Black?" the hat asked.
"Why did you give me the choice?" he demanded.
"I gave your brother that same choice. He chose Gryffindor because he was hoping to become a better person. When he ended up in here from playing pranks, he demanded I give you the same choice," the hat replied.
Regulus knew at that moment, it was the first and only time his brother had tested him for loyalty. He wouldn't get another chance to gain his brother's trust back. No matter how much he told himself that he was a coward, he knew that this choice would save his brother from the darkness that his family was consumed in. And to him, that was all that mattered.
;~;
Regulus looked into the eyes of his cousin, Bellatrix, "I will always serve the Dark Lord faithfully until the day I die." His hands didn't sweat nor did his heart race. He was calm as he hid behind his face of indifference; it was a face that he had mastered at a young age.
Bellatrix studied Regulus for several long moments, judging his honesty. "The Dark Lord will be pleased by his gain in followers," Bellatrix replied shortly, when she could find nothing to prove dishonesty. She knew Regulus would be the pride and joy of his family.
So Regulus stood amongst his family and took the dark mark. The pain was no worse than that of the Crucio. He saw the tears in his mother's proud eyes and couldn't feel anything but regret. This was definitely the worst thing that he could do, he knew that well enough.
;~;
Regulus knocked on the door, loudly. When it took a few seconds for the person to open, he started to realize that it was a mistake to come here tonight. The door opened and revealed a person. Regulus shoved passed him into the flat, not bothering to mind his manners. "What the hell?" the figure demanded.
Regulus took the hood of his muggle jacket off and turned around, "I knew you wouldn't have let me in otherwise, Sirius."
Sirius stood there, shocked. He looked exactly like Regulus last remembered – shaggy hair to his shoulders, light gray eyes, and still dressing in those muggle clothes. "Regulus, what are you doing here?" Sirius asked, drawing his wand.
"I wanted to tell you something," Regulus replied, sitting down. "I know that you don't trust me and you have every right not to. But you have to believe me. I never wanted to do any of this. I never believed in the Dark Lord's cause."
"You're right, Regulus. I don't trust you nor do I believe you. After all, you seem to have a talent for lying," Sirius growled at him. But Sirius still lowered his wand.
"Yes, I do. That's what has gotten me this far. I can't turn back now. I am so close to figuring out how to end this war," Regulus nodded.
"You want nothing of the sort. You believe Purebloods are still better than Muggleborns and Blood-traitors," Sirius spat. "That's why you joined."
"That is where you are wrong, brother. I didn't join because I wanted to – I joined because I had no choice. It was a difficult choice, believe me. Either they were going to torture you until you agreed or I could join," Regulus replied, calmly. Calmness was a trait that Sirius seemed to be lacking. "I did it to protect you."
"You're lying," Sirius accused. He tried to look anywhere but his brother. He was supposed to protect Regulus, not the other way around.
"I've never lied to you, Sirius." It was true; Regulus never said anything he didn't mean to his brother and Sirius knew it.
"So, why are you telling me this?" Sirius asked finally.
"I came to make things better. I know it will never be the same since I am still a monster and you still fight for the right cause. But I can hope that you will understand that the night I got the dark mark that it was a mistake," Regulus stated after a couple minutes. "But I wouldn't have changed a thing except protecting you better."
"Regulus–,"
"Not protecting you better is the biggest mistake in my life, Sirius. I try to protect you. I lead the off your trail, but they are getting suspicious. And even though I am very good at lying, they will find out soon," Regulus interrupted him. "When they find out that I'm trying to help you, they will kill me."
Gray eyes met and Sirius realized that Regulus has seen many horrors because of him. Sirius' has never felt guiltier. "I was supposed to be the one protecting you, Regulus. I'm sorry I failed," it was the most honest Sirius has been with his brother in ages.
"I'm the one that should be sorry. You believed in me. You protected me. You offered me a way out, to take me away from there and shelter me from the world. And I denied it. What you don't understand is that I did it because our parents would've searched high and low for me. We both know that. They would've killed you for taking me," Regulus whispered. It was different from his confident voice that he usually possessed. If Sirius was being honest, it scared him.
"You were protecting me by not going?" Sirius asked. Regulus just nodded. "You were protecting me all along! You should've told me. I hated you because I thought you wanted to stay."
"I never wanted to stay. I was always haunted by the memories of how you were – strong, loud, Gryffindor. If I could go back, I would've chosen Gryffindor when the hat offered me it," Regulus finally said.
"I was disappointed in you. Actually, it was the biggest disappointment I had in you," Sirius muttered. "Not choosing Gryffindor, I mean. I wasn't even that disappointed in you when I found out that you had taken the mark."
"Why?" Regulus asked curiously.
"Because you not choosing Gryffindor meant that you would become one of them."
Regulus stood and headed for the door, "I will die, Sirius. This mission that I have taken upon myself to complete is a suicide mission. It will help your cause in the end. But all I ask is that you find it in yourself to mourn me." Before Sirius could reply, he left with a pop.
;~;
Regulus died alone in the cave. But somewhere in the world, Sirius mourned the brother he always tried to forget he had.
A/n- Okay, I know this is slightly confusing. This first part about him being sort is the biggest disappointment in his life – not to him, but to Sirius.
Please, please don't favorite without reviewing.