A/N: The Black Family has a history we need to know more about. So I've decided to write a series of one shots on the entire Black Family. And first is Regulus, Sirius' brother. This is set before the books, spanning over when Regulus was ten years old to when he learns about the Death Eaters (about sixteen.) I tried to be as accurate as possible with the timing of things, such as Andromeda's marriage, Sirius running away, and Voldemort's rise in power.

"Always Pure" is the Black Family's motto, translated from French (Toujours Pur.)

Just for reference: Bella is Bellatrix; Cissy is Narcissa; Ann is Andromeda.

Disclaimer: I do wish Regulus was mine, but alas, he, and all other characters in this fic, belong to the genius JKR.

Regulus Arcturus Black

Always Pure

You were never sure whether to despise her or to adore her. Sirius had never like your cousin; he snarled when she was in the room, and the words he had said about her later, in the dark of the night, were scathing. His hatred of her, you could never understand—did she not always come bearing gifts for the two of you? Did she not smile charmingly, and wasn't she graceful, and captivating, and the very embodiment of what Mother said a woman should be? You didn't argue with him though. He was always the more articulate of the two of you, so why bother? If you had said anything, he would have been angry, and your brother was, in those innocent days of childhood, your best friend. He was older, wiser, you thought. So you listened, because you respected him; you trusted him. Even though he was little over a year older than you, he seemed to have that confidence and skills that you lacked. And, to your great relief, he didn't even care that your parents favored you over him.

But over time, you gained your own opinions. You changed. Sirius would have called it cowardice. You called it reality.

Bella, your eldest cousin. Beautiful Bella. She was a goddess; you had worshiped at her feet when Sirius was gone. While you were still a child, she was a woman who had seen the world, and knew of its wonders and horrors—something that Sirius had no knowledge of. It intrigued you, these rare and new ideas. You hungered for more.

And Cissy—you could never forget Cissy in Bella's presence. Despite Ann's seniority, Cissy held the power after Bella. But they couldn't have been more different: where Bella was full of surprises, Cissy was predictable. Where Bella was serious and sometimes grim, Cissy's laugh filled the house. Where Bella bore the striking features of the Blacks, with her dark hair and eyes, Cissy was as fair as a fairy.

And you knew Cissy hated it. You could see it in her eyes—she was intelligent, and against her desperate wishes for power, in this family, you had to act and look the part. Cissy was a light, happy girl—Bella was a dark, frightening witch, who looked as if she should be an evil witch from the medieval era. The black robes she wore throughout the year, and the dark lines under her eyes added to the image.

It fascinated and horrified you.

Uncle Cygnus's middle daughter, Ann, was Sirius' favorite. You never said anything about it, for you couldn't comprehend why he chose the oddest of your Uncle's family to befriend. You knew, instinctively, that to rise in the family, you would have to ally yourself with the most powerful of the next generation: clearly Bella.

One incident stood out in your mind. It was Christmas Eve, the last one with Ann, and all the Blacks in the country had come. You'd just finished helping your mother clean off the large table in the formal dining room. Sirius had said, in the middle of the meal, that all the green decorations made him sick. Mother had gritted her teeth, but forced a smile onto her face. Still keeping her composure, she had turned to you, and asked in a slightly strained voice if you were excited to go to Hogwarts next year. Recognizing that you were needed to divert a potentially violent argument, you complied with your mother's silent pleas, and spoke loudly of your new robes.

Bella had turned her head, and grinned at you. The smirk seemed feral, almost, and even at that age, you'd known that Bella was not one to be messed with.

Mother had still been complaining of Sirius' lack of respect as she flicked her wand when you heard a loud bang. Mother, exasperated, had told you to go and see what all the noise was. Obedient as always, you wandered off in search of your brother, for he alone could be responsible.

In the parlour, however, you found a very different scene than you had expected.

Bella had her long, pale fingers around Ann's throat, and Cissy's wand was out, pointing its deadly end at her sister's heart. It must have been serious, because Cissy wasn't even allowed to use magic outside of school yet.

And you heard such strange words coming out of Bella and Cissy's mouths. It was about something over your head; the strange, exotic words they used sounded unusual in your mouth when you tried them out later.

The Dark Lord. Death Eaters. Blood-traitors.

Others were not so foreign, but still they sounded odd from Cissy, whose voice was like the angels. Right then, she sounded like the Devil.

Mudblood, muggle-lover.

These were awful things, you knew: Mother had always warned you of those who tried to steal the magic from the purebloods who deserved it.

But why would Ann be associating with them? She was a Black—practically royalty.

Still, there were those other words, the ones you didn't understand. You wondered at their meaning, but when you brought them up to Sirius he yelled at you, telling you the words were nothing, and where did you hear them?

It was after that you decided Sirius was not to be trusted. You must use your own cunning. Then Ann married a muggle. Your mother screamed when she heard the news. She grabbed a candle, cursing Ann's name. Your mother raced over to the family tree, and you saw your cousin's name erased from the wall. Ann was no more—she had never existed.

You asked Bella when you would see Ann again.

"Never," she replied, "There never was an Andromeda. I have only one sister." You never did see Ann again.

Three years later, after Sirius ran away, and he was burned off the family tree as well, you snuck into your mother's things, to find out what you can. Bella caught you at it.

Looking surprised, she asked you what you were doing.

"I want to learn," you replied. Bella smiled. "What do you want to learn?" she asked.

"Dark magic," you whispered. Bella offered to help you. And she became your queen. You listened to her, you took her advice, you did as she bid. You studied with her, you heard stories of a man, called the Dark Lord, who would help purebloods. She said you would be helping your family, and the entire wizarding world. You begged her to teach you everything. You pleaded with her to make you one of them. You had seen the Mark, and you ached to be in this group. Sirius, you knew, was a traitor—he was a Gryffindor, and he didn't care if you died. He hated you when he saw you with Bella. So you hated him back.

And that's when you knew you were in way too deep.

The next chapter will be Walburga Black, Sirius and Regulus' mother.

And reviews are always appreciated!