note: Okay, this is essentially a rewrite of my old Regulus fanfiction, Disenchanted. I quite liked Disenchanted, only when I went back to read it a few months ago, I realised how horrible it is. Hopefully my writing has improved since I was fourteen. As for the title, I decided to stick with song titles from My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade, as I still feel like that album can largely fit Regulus (or at least my interpretation of him). "House of Wolves" seemed to fit best (aside from "Disenchanted", but FF dot Net wouldn't dare let me name two stories with the same title). And so here we are: four years later with what is hopefully a much better version of the same story.
House of Wolves.
I remember the day that Sirius left for Hogwarts with almost alarming clarity. Mother and Father allowed me to go to King's Cross with them; at the time I thought that it was an act of kindness, but now I realise that the real reason was that they didn't trust me home alone with Kreacher. Either way, I was nothing short of miserable. Sirius had, for so long, been my only real friend (Kreacher didn't count, I reasoned, as he was more like a pet), and now... he was leaving. Not for good, certainly not. I knew that he'd be back for Christmas but still, the thought of three months apart from my brother, whom I adored, was more than I could bear.
I told him repeatedly that I'd miss him, to have him ruffle my hair and shoot me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, Reggie," he'd said. "I'll be back before you know it." Reggie. That had been his nickname for me – only Sirius had been allowed to address me by that name, and he used it often. That is, until...
No, I've got more to cover until I get to that.
I said my tearful goodbyes to Sirius and we promised to write each other at least once a week, and then... Mother, Father, and I left. Sirius boarded the train and it went off to Hogwarts, carrying my best friend with it.
That night, I couldn't sleep. I'd tried just about every trick, but it wasn't working. I missed my brother. I knew that Sirius, with his naturally charming personality, had probably already made new friends at Hogwarts. Miserable and lonely, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen, to see if perhaps Kreacher could make me something to help me sleep.
Mother and Father were in the kitchen – strange, really, since Sirius and I were the only ones who really ever went down there. They were focused intently on a sheet of parchment, Mother visibly furious. I stayed in the shadows, afraid to move.
"Gryffindor," Father muttered.
"It's disgraceful," Mother growled. "How dare that boy..."
Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor. I was shocked beyond belief; Sirius never struck me as a Gryffindor, and, what's more, he'd seemed rather pleased at the prospect of becoming a Slytherin. I wondered what could have happened to change his mind so entirely. Unless... perhaps his mind wasn't changed. Perhaps he really was a Gryffindor. But... Gryffindors and Slytherins are rather alike, really, two sides of the same coin. Of course, I didn't realise that then. I was horrified that my big brother – someone whom I'd idolised – had disgraced the family so.
I quietly hurried back to my room and huddled under my blankets, unsure of whether to scream or cry.
Sirius came home for Christmas. He spent as much time with me as possible, which thrilled me at the time, but... in retrospect, I realised that he was primarily trying to avoid our parents. They wouldn't yell at him in front of me, he discovered, and so he spent all of his time with me. Pretty shrewd for a Gryffindor.
When it was my turn to go to Hogwarts, I was sorted into Slytherin. I was initially quite pleased; I had done well, I'd brought some pride back to my family, but... Sirius was disappointed in me. It wasn't like I could have helped it! I was ambitious, cunning, and resourceful. I was never evil like his friends seemed to believe all Slytherins were. However, I could never quite convince Sirius of that fact.