Regulus sat as his desk. Sunlight from the nearby window gave his room a soft yellow glow, highlighting the green and silver Slytherin tapestries hanging around the room. Aside from the mess of papers sitting in front of him, his room was relatively clean, the bed neatly made and the floor properly swept, just how Regulus liked it.
The lighting in the room suddenly shifted and the sun grew closer to the horizon, causing light to reflect off the framed picture in the corner of the desk. Peering at it, Regulus picked it up and smiled. It was a picture of him and his two best friends, Damon and Paige. They were sitting next to the Great Lake, sprawled onto the muddy grass. Paige had her arms wrapped around the other two, and she was snickering over a joke one of them had said, her head thrown back in laughter. Meanwhile, Damon was looking at the two of them, his expression neutral except for a twinkle in his eye and the hint of his trademark smirk that Regulus came to know so well.
Regulus brushed his finger over the picture. Oh, how he longed to be back at Hogwarts, playing Quidditch in the field, drinking butter beer in the friendly atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks, or even just relaxing in the common room with his friends. But those days wouldn't be back for a while, having still a full month until Hogwarts resumed for the new school year, Regulus entering his fifth year.
A sudden creak interrupted his thoughts, and Regulus turned to the doorway, irritated. "Who's there?" he asked, puzzled when no face appeared. That is, until he saw a furry ear poking its way through the doorway.
"It is I, Master." A wrinkled house elf made his way into the room, bowing low as he turned to Regulus. "Supper is ready, and I recommend you join before the soup gets cold."
"Oh it's just you Kreacher. Tell mother I'll be there in a second." Regulus stood up, stretching, as Kreacher bowed again and left the room. He groaned. His brother and mother had been arguing the whole day, and though the screaming had subsided a while ago, it was only a matter of time till they went at it again. Knowing Sirius's bad temper, he was sure it would occur sometime during the meal. He already had enough problems as it was, and the constant screaming only gave him a headache, adding to his resolve of isolating himself from the rest of his family during the long break.
Resigning himself to the inevitable, Regulus yawned and made his way down the stairs, purposely drawing it out by lingering on each step. His efforts were in vain however, as it seemed in no time at all he had reached the landing, the entrance to the dining room to his right. Sighing, he walked through, going out of his way to avoid eye contact with anyone until he was properly seated.
Regulus could feel the tense atmosphere as soon as he entered, and he glanced up quickly, taking in his surroundings. His father, Orion Black, looked as calm and indifferent as ever, spooning onion soup into his mouth as he read the day's paper. The headline read:
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT DETAINED FOR SUSPECTED COMMUNICATION WITH HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED
A black and white picture in the corner showed the blinking photo of a stern-looking man, lights flashing in the background as he looked up at the camera.
Regulus turned away, looking at his brother instead. Sirius was glaring at the piece of steak in front of him, using one hand to hold the fork in place as he used the other to cut the steak into pieces, sawing into the meat aggressively. He seemed to be trying to deliberately ignore their mother, who seemed to be doing the exact same thing.
Regulus returned his gaze to his bowl and began to eat. Suddenly, his mother looked up, noticing him there for the first time.
"Ah, Regulus, I didn't even hear you enter! Where were you all day? I feel like it's been ages since I last saw you!"
Regulus caught a flash of movement in his eye, as Sirius quickly glanced up at him, then returned to his plate. "Oh, you know, just studying for the O.W.L.s. I want to come prepared this year." This wasn't entirely true, as Regulus has actually spent the majority of his day on meaningless pastimes, but it wasn't exactly lying, either. He had studied a bit this morning after all.
"Ever the studious one, aren't you," she said, smiling up at him. "It's nice to see that there is someone in this family I can rely on to bring honor to the great house of Black." Sirius frowned and started to cut his meat with more force than Regulus thought possible. He half expected the silver knife to cut through the plate itself.
"I suppose." He turned away to look at his father. "What's that say Dad?" he asked, leaning in closer to read the article.
Orion began talking without looking up from the paper. "It looks like now our own officials are finally starting to realize what we stand to gain by siding with the Dark Lord."
"About time, too," interrupted Walburga. "The rest of the Wizarding World is living oblivious to the danger those things pose on our society." She took a sip from her glass. "It's quite a noble thing, in my opinion, what the Dark Lord and his followers are doing. At least they are willing to use their brains."
A sudden noise caused Regulus to jump. Sirius had slammed his goblet down on the table a bit too hard, water sloshing over the rim. He was glaring at the table, and red was slowly creeping into his cheeks, his face flushed in anger.
Walburga continued as though she hadn't noticed, though Regulus could tell that she was enjoying this tremendously. "Speaking of which, did you know that our noble house of Black is now also contributing to this cause?"
"What do you mean?" asked Regulus, glancing at her, puzzled.
She looked at him now, not even bothering to hide her glee. "Why, your dear cousin Bella entered the Dark Lord's ranks not a week ago. So proud, she tells me!" Her eyes then lit up. "Perhaps the two of you can even follow in her footsteps one day. It would be the greatest honor!"
"Enough." Sirius's voice cut through the air. He was standing, his fists balled and his whole body shaking with fury.
A sudden tense and eerie silence overtook the room. Nothing could be heard but the quiet ticking of an overhead clock.
"Excuse me?" Walburga's voice was ice, and Regulus shivered. He clenched his spoon, preparing himself for what was to come next. But what happened was even worse than he would've ever thought.
"You heard me woman." Sirius glared at her, his expression darker than Regulus had ever seen it before. "I said enough. In fact," he pushed his chair farther back and stepped away from it. "I've had enough. Enough of your belittling of anyone who's not of pure blood like you. Enough of you acting as though the torturing and killing of innocent people is a good thing. And now you have the nerve to tell us to become the murderers?
"I'm done with you. I'm done with all of you." Sirius looked at his mother once more. "I hope I don't see you ever again." He turned away from them and strode out of the room, his footsteps echoing in the dark hallway.
For a moment the room was silent. Regulus stopped for a moment to make sense of what had just happened. Then, suddenly, the true gravity of the situation hit him in full force. Sirius was going to leave.
He jumped of out his chair, hurrying in the direction Sirius had gone. His mother said something to him, but Regulus ignored her, making his way up the steps. "Sirius wait! What d'you-" He stopped short as he reached the doorway to his brother's bedroom and took in the scene before him.
The room was in chaos. A single trunk sat in the center of the room, nearly full with clothes, textbooks, and some of Sirius's personal belongings. Clothes were haphazardly draped over the bed, desk, and chair, with more thrown on the floor. Sirius was sorting through everything, tossing some into the trunk and the rest onto a pile in the corner. What surprised Regulus most of all, however, was the fact that the trunk's contents were for the most part neatly packed.
"You were already planning to leave," he whispered. Then he raised his voice. "Why, Sirius? Why now?" His voice cracked. "Where are you going to go?"
"Anywhere but here." Sirius slammed his trunk closed, then picked up his wand. His expression hardened when he saw Regulus blocking the doorway. "Get out of the way, Regulus."
Regulus flinched. His brother had only called him by his full name once before, and it was not a moment he liked to remember.
He had just turned eleven that summer, and he and his brother were browsing through the shops in Knockturn Alley while their mother shopped for his new Hogwarts robes at Twillfitt and Tatting's. They were looking through a shelf of old worn-out books when Sirius suddenly turned to Regulus, face lit up.
"Hey Reg, I have an idea. How about we sneak into that new ice cream parlor on Diagon Alley? I heard their ice cream's amazing."
"I don't know," said Regulus, biting his lip. "Mother will be furious if she finds out. Remember what happened last time?"
"Oh, come on, that was only one time! We'll be gone and back before she knows it. What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
"Fine," said Regulus. "But you better be quick. I don't want to get in trouble." In truth, Regulus had wanted to try that ice cream for ages, and Sirius was fully aware of that. Regulus pretended to be mad as Sirius smirked and dragged him toward the colorful building.
A small crowd was standing outside, eager to get a taste of the famous ice cream. "Look," said Sirius, pointing to the front of the crowd. "There's the genius himself. Florean Fortescue."
Regulus stood on his tiptoes and craned his neck, attempting to peek over the growing crowd. "Oh, it's no use," he huffed after a moment. "I can't see a thing."
Sirius laughed. "You'll see soon enough. We're almost at the front of the line already." And indeed they were. Despite his old age, Florean sure could work fast.
At last they were the second people left, only a small boy about Regulus's age standing in front them. He seemed to be having trouble paying.
"I'm sorry sir," he was saying. "I don't know how to get those weird coin things. This is the only money I have." In his fist was a small wad of Muggle cash.
"You need to go to Gringotts and they'll exchange the money for you. Do you know where that is?"
"No sir." The boy shook his head. "This is my first time here. I only found out I was a wizard last week. I don't understand anything here." He looked anxious and embarrassed, cheeks reddening.
Regulus snorted loudly from behind him. "Mudbloods," he said, rolling his eyes.
A couple people gasped behind them.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sirius hissed into his ear.
"Now, now, young man," said Florean, shaking an angry finger at him. "No need for that kind of language."
"We're extremely sorry sir," said Sirius, bowing his head. "We'll leave now." Sirius dug his nails into Regulus's arm and dragged him back the way they'd came. He stopped at a narrow alley between two rickety building and shoved him into the wall.
"Was that really necessary? It was none of your business, so why did you have to butt in? And with that word of all things!"
"What's your problem?" said Regulus, scowling as he rubbed his arm. "You would've done the exact same thing a year ago. You just came back from your first year a month ago and suddenly you're a completely different person. You care about our parents' teachings that little?"
"Our parents are wrong, Reg," said Sirius. "About everything. I've spent time with Muggle-borns and they're just like us."
"Oh, I see how it is," scoffed Regulus. "You spend a year with a bunch of Mudbloods and now you want to be one."
"Shut up Regulus." Sirius's voice was hot and full of anger. Regulus had never seen his brother like this before, and it scared him. Sirius shoved Regulus against the wall again. "And don't use that word ever again."
This memory came to him at that moment, the situation so similar yet so different. Back then, Sirius was still his brother, a member of his family. Regulus never once thought that that would ever change. Yet things do change. Regulus did, and so did his brother. And now this. Here he was, standing right in front of him, moments away from leaving forever.
"Regulus, move out of the way," Sirius repeated.
"So you're going to leave us, huh?" said Regulus. "Do we mean that little you? Do I mean that little to you? We're you're family, Sirius! How could you leave us?" Regulus realized that he had started crying, a tear streaking down his cheek.
Suddenly, Sirius strode over to him, placing a hand on Regulus's shoulder. Regulus flinched, but Sirius only placed a rough kiss on his head, then turned away. "I'm sorry Reg." Now Sirius's voice cracked. "But I can't stay here anymore. I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry." He picked up his trunk and made his way to the door. Regulus stepped back numbly, allowing him to pass.
Regulus followed his brother as his trunk thumped down the stairs, then reached the landing. Sirius pulled open the door, and Regulus shivered as he was hit with a gust of cold air. He could feel his parents' gazes on his back, but they made no sound, watching silently.
Sirius turned back one last time, meeting Regulus's eyes. His expression was now one of determined resolve. "Reg, listen to me." Regulus clenched his fists, staring back. "Don't turn into the monsters our parents have become." He turned back to the doorway. "Goodbye, Regulus." He stepped out in the cold night air, then shut the door behind him.
Regulus could do nothing but watch as his only brother left him, getting farther and farther away with each passing second. He could feel his heart shattering into pieces as his longest friend abandoned the very home in which they grew up in. The home that now felt colder and lonelier than ever.
Regulus could still feel the door's vibrations long after they had faded.