Once again, everything changed in the summer of 1976. Regulus had returned home from his visit to Malfoy Manor, where his cousin Narcissa now resided, to loud shouts and screams coming from the dining room. He heard his mother's screechy voice yelling at the top of her lungs, Sirius' own screams matching hers in volume. Regulus inched closer to the room. Just as he reached the open door, he heard something he never thought he would.

"Crucio!"

And Sirius went down like a sack of potatoes, hitting the floor as he writhed in pain. His screams echoed as tears ran down his cheeks that were littered with scratches and bruises. Regulus didn't know how long his mother tortured his brother, he was shell shocked. His mouth hung open as his brother tried his best to contain his screams, his body contracting into a rigid position. He barely registered the insults flying out of Mother's mouth. When it was over Walburga stormed out of the room, not even noticing Regulus by the entrance. There was silence for a few minutes before a loud bang could be heard from the drawing room above.

Sirius picked himself up, walking shakily to the door. Only then did Regulus snap out of his stupor, rushing to help his older brother up the stairs. It took both boys a good 20 minutes to get to the topmost floor, where both their bedrooms were located. They passed by his room, which was marked by a sign barring entry to anyone else, and moved on to Sirius' room. His older brother's door held a simple sign with his name, plain and undecorated.

Regulus scrunched his nose as he took in the decor of Sirius' bedroom when the boy opened his door. Whilst Regulus' room was neat and clean, Sirius' was loud and messy. The older boy's room was glaringly red, with pictures of muggle vehicles and girls stuck to the walls. Every cloth in the room seemed to be red or attached to something red, except for the wine-coloured velvet curtains that were the norm in every room in Grimmauld Place. Large Gryffindor banners were stuck at every corner and over the bed, as if Sirius had placed them there with the sole intention of mocking their mother. The older boy looked at Regulus, his grey eyes filled with pain and unsaid words. He muttered a quick "I'm sorry" before he shut the door in Regulus' face.

Regulus did not think too much on it, his brother probably wanted some time alone, especially after what happened. He returned to his room and frowned slightly. He did not like how disorganised and bold Sirius' room was, but at least it was his. Regulus' room was very.. Black. His room had the same wine-coloured curtains, but his sheets were green and grey. Emerald and silver hangings were tastefully placed all around his room, and above his bed was the Black Family crest - large and painstakingly hand painted, with the family motto "Toujours Pur" painted in elegant script below it. Everything in his room had been a product of Mother's suggestions. All he had for decoration on his walls was a single picture of the Slytherin Quidditch Team that had been taken the previous year, with Regulus, as Seeker, in the middle.

It was only later, at dinner time, when Regulus' gut feeling that something was terribly wrong was proven true. Mother carried on with her daily routine as if Sirius hadn't existed, and the empty seat beside Regulus had always been empty. Her eyes were puffy and an occasional sob would escape her thin lips, but any emotion was quickly replaced by the perfect pure-blood mask that Regulus had seen so often on his fellow Slytherins. Father didn't say much, but he kept his eyes downcast, only once glancing up to share a sad look with Regulus. Sirius was nowhere to be found. After dinner, Regulus walked up to the drawing room - he had an inkling of what the blast from earlier in the day meant, but he really did not want to believe it. He slowly stepped into the room which held the old tapestry detailing the Black ancestry down to the 13th century. He traced the line down from Phineas Nigellus Black to Sirius II to their grandfather Arcturus and Father. He stopped at his picture with his name painted in a ribbon just below it, staring at the burn mark beside it that once used to be a painting of his brother's handsome face. Now, all that was left was a black hole and a gold ribbon painted below holding Sirius' name.

Regulus gasped. Mother had disowned Sirius. He rushed up to the top floor and knocked on Sirius' door. Regulus pushed it open when there was no reply. The room was still as obnoxiously loud as it had been earlier that afternoon, but now it was empty. The clothes and robes that littered the floor and chairs were gone. The bed was made, as it so rarely ever was, and the velvet curtains were drawn, revealing the sheer drapes behind them. Regulus slumped to the floor, his black curls hanging low on his face. Sirius was gone, and Regulus did not think he would ever be back. Tears rolled down his face as he confronted what this truly meant - with Sirius gone, there was no buffer between mother and him.

He was now the true Heir and his every move would be watched with greater interest. Whilst he'd been treated as such for quite a few years now, Regulus knew that Mother always held on to the hope that Sirius would come around. Despite their disagreements, he knew that Mother had always had a soft spot for her eldest son, which probably explained why she'd let him stay on for that long. Regulus had no doubt that had he been the one sorted into Gryffindor, spewing muggle-loving values all day, Mother would've disowned him in a heartbeat, the moment she received that dratted letter the day after his sorting. But he could no longer avoid his mother's words by hiding behind Sirius' mistakes. No, Mother had been pushing him to follow his cousin Bellatrix, but he'd always avoided it by turning her attention to yet another of Sirius' misdemeanours. Now, he'd have no reason not to heed his mother's words and bend the knee to that crazed megalomaniac. He'd be forced by his mother and served on a golden platter by his deranged cousin to receive that godforsaken mark on his arm, and then there'd be no turning back.

Regulus wished he was brave like his brother. He wished he could endure the abuse and torture that Mother had put Sirius through. He wished he had said something earlier. Regulus' decision to follow his mother's wishes had led him to this. He never knew why Sirius had left, why Mother had disowned him and why that argument even started. He'd always assumed it was because Sirius did yet another thing to showcase his love for muggles. Now, he think he knew why. He teared up as he knelt, arm outstretched, gritting his teeth as the Dark Lord painfully etched his mark into Regulus' pale skin. He wished he was different, but Regulus knew it was too late. He was hurtling head-first down a dark path that he was sure could only lead to his death.

The youngest Death Eater to date, Regulus Black returned to Hogwarts in 1977, extremely conscious of the mark on his left hand. It'd been a year since Sirius had left and Mother had forced Regulus' hand in several matters. As the Heir of House Black, Regulus was introduced to the family's numerous businesses and was often forced to spend time at the Black Mansion with his grandfather Arcturus. Regulus often found himself wondering how his brother was, and if his demeanor at school was anything to go by, he was much happier than he had ever been before. A tiny part of Regulus' heart felt angry that his brother had left him to deal with the aftermath. Between Mother's uncontrollable temper and her fits of sobs whenever she thought of her oldest son, Walburga Black had become an unstable woman that could be set off by the slightest of things, like a ticking time bomb. But Regulus could not begrudge Sirius his newfound happiness. One look at the older boy and Regulus could tell that his move to the Potter's mansion had lifted years off his shoulders. The crease that used to almost permanently mar his forehead was gone, and his crooked smile reached his bright silver eyes when he mingled with his friends.

The final wave of reality hit Regulus in 1978, when Sirius and his merry band of friends finally graduated from Hogwarts. Regulus remembered walking through the halls on his brother's last day of school with a single thought in mind: he was never going to see Sirius again. It wasn't something that he would normally be certain about, but as Regulus recalled the paths that Sirius and him had chosen, the realisation that they were both going into a brewing war at opposing sides hit him hard. Sirius had signed up to train with the Aurors along with James Potter, whilst he was a part of the Dark Lord's inner circle despite having done absolutely nothing to deserve it except having been born in the right family. Sirius was being assigned patrol duties, watching out for Death Eaters attempting to attack Muggles or Muggleborns whilst Regulus was busy brewing potions and practising dark spells at the personal request of the Dark Lord.

It was on the last day of August in 1978 that Regulus Black made the first major change of his life of his own free will. Regulus who had, for as long as he could remember, been compared to Sirius and the rest of the Black family for having the same dark curls that framed their thin faces, decided to cut it off. He re-emerged from his room an hour later with short hair that barely covered his ears. It fell in disarray across his forehead and highlighted his angular chin. Now that his hair no longer fell to his shoulders, Regulus finally noticed the differences between himself and Sirius Black. His face was sharper and his features more pointed. He was slightly shorter and slimmer than his brother, and though his lips were fuller, their ends were turned down in a permanent sneer unlike Sirius, who was always a laugh away from a smile. He had the typical Black dark grey eyes that hid the small flecks of green that could only be seen up close. Regulus didn't think he had the elegance that came naturally to Sirius, but his heavy lidded eyes gave him a haughty, arrogant look that Mother greatly approved. And whilst both brothers held the same aristocratic features that defined the Black family, Sirius' seemed to have become softer, making him look far more approachable compared to Regulus.

Mother almost cried when she saw Regulus' new look the following day, but thankfully he didn't have to stick around to hear any of it. Regulus turned back to watch his mother wave goodbye to him as he left for Hogwarts for his final year.