Regulus A. Black's First Year

Alternate Universe

Part 3

Disclaimer

Me? Do you REALLY think I'm Miss JK Rowling?

You must be JOKING! I love her and her work but, sadly, I am not her but borrowing her characters. Either way I hope you are enjoying this story!

Replies

I know I have been replying to comments individually but I would like to thank the following readers who took the time to actually review my story!

Sarah0406 & Eric

The rest of dinner was much calmer in comparison to the way it began. We all ate slowly, each person seeming to be lost in their own thoughts. I was looking at Parkinson and Snape. The young blonde seemed to be asking the older boy something. Snape glanced over and caught my eye in his beady black ones. He smirked at me as if asking me why I was staring. I shook myself mentally and turned back to my food. I took a spoonful of mashed potatoes and ate it sullenly. I wasn't sure exactly what was ruining my mood. I had been having such a good time until the Slytherins started to bother me.

"Something wrong, Reg?" Sirius asked me with a look of mild interest.

"Hmm?" I said, barely hearing him. "Oh … Uh … No. Just thinking, I'm fine." I replied when his question sunk in. You sure are a genius, aren't you? Idiot.

I looked around the Gryffindor table and spotted the red-haired girl that Snape had spoken kindly too. She was talking animatedly with one of her friends and I studied her, she didn't seem like the type of girl who would be friends with a Slytherin like Snape, even if she hadn't been in Gryffindor.

"Quit your staring, Little Black, she's mine." James said suddenly. I turned to look at him, surprised.

"W-What?" I asked, not sure what he meant. I didn't have a crush on the redhead; she merely intrigued me with the way she could stand being around the greasy-haired Snape. I then realized that he was using the nickname that the Snape kid had used for me as though he had come up with it on his own.

"You heard me. She's mine. I've had my eye on Evans since last year and don't you forget it, Little Black."

"Would you stop calling me that? I have a name you know!" I snapped half-heartedly. Something told me that no matter what it was that I told him he wouldn't give up his stupid nickname for me. 'Reg,' now that was a good nickname because it actually was just shortened for my first name. 'Little Black,' on the other hand was just demeaning.

"Well, you look so much like Sirius that 'Little Black' is a bit more fitting than anything else."

"I am not like Sirius, though, no matter what you think! I don't want to be remembered just for looking like my brother!" I said, exasperated. My name meant 'little king black' or 'black little king' and no matter which way you said it, it was odd. I was proud to be named after the brightest star in the constellation Leo, however. It meant I had potential; that I could end up being somebody that mattered!

"Potter, honestly, do you have to bother everyone?" A girl's disapproving voice asked. I turned to see the red-haired girl was giving James a harsh look.

"What? I didn't do anything, Evans." James said, smiling in what he obviously thought was a suave way. She wasn't impressed in the slightest. She looked at me around Sirius and I smiled weakly at her. She smiled and waved.

"Hi, I'm Lily. Don't mind him, he's always an idiot like this." She told me before shooting James another look. I couldn't stop the smile and chuckle that followed after that. James was wrong; Lily most definitely was not 'his!'

"I'm Regulus. It's nice to meet you, Lily. I understand, though. Sirius is my brother." I explained. She regarded Sirius with distaste and then looked at me again.

"Well, you have more manners than your brother if that is any help." She assured me. I laughed and Sirius elbowed me, signaling for silence.

"Well, Evans, your sense of humor seems to have improved over the summer break." Sirius said with a smirk that James seemed to disapprove of. Peter, who was sitting beside Remus silently, seemed to be very interested in the conversation. I kept forgetting he was there and, as I watched him stare intently at James and Sirius, he suddenly turned to face me. There was a hard frown upon his face.

Stunned, I looked away. I noticed Nigel was still devouring his food, barely having made a dent in his mountain. Camille was watching Nigel with a sort of awe. I laughed at them, my friends.

"Nigel, I think you need to stop or you'll explode!" I warned him.

"Hey, Regulus …"

"Yeah, Nigel … ?"

"Well … I was wondering what a 'Mudblood' is." Nigel asked and suddenly the whole Gryffindor table fell silent, looking at the boy who'd said one of the worst insults for a Muggle-born. I looked around me nervously before taking a deep breath.

"I … Err … Well … Um, you see … a 'Mudblood' is … is a person who … who has Muggles for parents. It's-It's an insult. They say anyone born from Muggles has dirty blood." I said awkwardly as everyone stared at us. I looked at Nigel who seemed to have paled a little. He slowly pushed his plate away from himself and looked blankly at it. "Nigel?" I asked, worried.

"I-I'm not very hungry anymore." He mumbled; Camille and I exchanged concerned looks. Poor Nigel, he hadn't even been in the school for a whole night yet and he'd already learned how some witches and wizards felt about his kind. What do you care for? He is a Mudblood! A voice that sounded suspiciously like Mother's whispered in the back of my mind but, seeing Nigel's reaction, I ignored it.

I felt helpless as Nigel continued to be lost in his tortured thoughts. As though someone had flipped a switch, all talking within the Great Hall ceased and the food had disappeared. I turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing before the school.

"To the new students, I welcome you with open arms. To the old students, it is great to have you back. Now that we've all been fed I need to address some rules. Mr. Argus Filch would like me to point out that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students and the use of magic in the corridors is forbidden. Now, I'm sure all of you are hearing your beds calling." The man with the ridiculously long beard said and I knew we'd been dismissed.

"First Year Gryffindors, follow me." A boy about fifteen years old said. Camille, Nigel, and I – along with all the other Gryffindors in our year – stood up quickly and trotted along behind the Prefect boy. The Prefect girl, however, seemed to be preoccupied with another boy her age. I snorted and matched Camille's quick pace which left Nigel to practically run behind us. I tapped her shoulder and gestured to Nigel. She stopped and we waited for him to catch up. Once he had we continued at a reduced pace. The Prefect boy had strawberry-blonde hair but I couldn't tell anything else about him because he had his back turned to us.

"Did you see that," Nigel asked, "The paintings are moving! Did you hear that? That painting spoke!" He looked like a kid in a candy shop as he examined the paintings.

"Keep up, you three, or you may get separated by the moving staircases!" The Prefect snapped. Camille rolled her eyes and ran to be with the group. Nigel looked at me and shrugged then also ran ahead. I sighed, not wanting to run but now having no choice. I vaguely wondered where the Gryffindor Common Room was. I knew where the Slytherin one was thanks to my family but Sirius had never felt the need to inform me where his quarters were.

The group came to a sudden stop in front of a portrait of a rather large woman. I had lost count of how many stories we'd climbed and knew I would be terribly lost come tomorrow.

"Acta non verba." The Prefect said, indicating that this was the password. I thought back to the many hours Mother had forced Sirius and I to study Latin and sighed. The password meant 'Action not words' but, I supposed everyone would have understood that. It was impossibly close to the English meaning.

"Thank you." The plump woman in the portrait said as she swung backwards to reveal a large, round Common Room that seemed to be based on the colors scarlet and gold – which were now my House colors. As we all filed into the Common Room I noticed older students sitting in armchairs by a roaring fire.

"Boys' bathrooms and dormitories are on your left, girls' are on the right. If you have any questions come and find me." The Prefect said before sitting at a table with some other students. People were playing Exploding Snap, Wizards Chess, and many other wonderful games I loved to play.

"I'm going to bed. G'night boys." Camille told us before disappearing up the stairs on the right. Nigel yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"I think I'm gonna turn in too. You coming, Regulus?" He asked me. I glanced around, spotting my brother and two of his three friends. The only one missing was Remus.

"Uh … I'll meet you up there in a bit. There's something I have to do first." I explained, casting my friend a brief smile before approaching my brother. Sirius looked up as though he'd been expecting me and smiled.

"Hey, Reg." He greeted me.

"Hello." Peter said. He was focusing on the Wizards Chess game the others were playing.

"Nice of you to join us, Little Black." James teased, patting the cushion beside him. I sat down and looked at the chess match. Black was winning, which meant James was losing.

"Who's black?" I asked curiously, studying the board. With a jolt, I realized it was Sirius' old chess set. He'd forgotten it at the house last year and I'd spent my free time perfecting my game with Kreature. I'd made him actually try to beat me, not let me win. I hated to be let win. It wasn't a challenge then.

"Obviously me, little brother." Sirius explained. Sirius commanded one of his last few pieces to a spot that, to anyone who did not understand Wizards Chess, was a seemingly random and watched as the horrible realization hit James.

"No!" James groaned.

"Oh yes, Potter. Check Mate." Sirius said with a grin. I watched as James lost. The white king seemed to surrender and I couldn't help but shake my head at the pieces.

"Wanna play, Reg?" Sirius challenged with a suspicious glint in his eyes. I yawned and shook by head. I rubbed my right eye with the heel of my palm, exhausted.

"I'm going to bed. Good night, Siri." I said and, as I walked away, I realized what I'd just called my brother in front of his friends. I heard snickering from their general direction and glanced back to see them huddled close, whispering to one another. Closing my grey eyes, I ascended the steps. I obviously wasn't wanted around by my brother.

I climbed up and up the stairs, not seeing the door that said 'First Year Boys' until I was nearly to the top of the tower. I gingerly turned the knob and tip-toed into my dorm. It was dark and there was only one bed left open. It was near the window where the full moon shone brightly through. I didn't understand why they would give me this bed which, at first, seemed like the best. When I climbed into my four-poster, however, their reasoning became clear. Even with the curtains shut the light of the moon shone through, almost blindingly bright.

"Thanks guys." I muttered to my sleeping dorm-mates. I rolled over so my back would be toward the moonlight and then buried myself in my blankets. I didn't even bother changing into my pajamas. It wasn't worth it.

I soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

Sometime during the night I was awoken by the sound of thunder roaring overhead and a howl – that I wasn't entirely sure was the wind. I bolted upright, panting. You're not a child anymore, Regulus. You're eleven years old! Act like it! I scolded myself as I tried to make myself release my hard grip I had on the blanket. It's just a little storm. I told myself, wanting to believe it was fine enough to fall back to sleep.

BANG!

I yelped, hugging my legs to my chest. I heard heavy footsteps outside of my dorm and peeked out of the curtains. The door was opening slowly but, as it widened and shut with a soft click I couldn't see anyone standing there.

"Ow, that's my foot!" I heard a familiar voice whisper. I knew it wasn't any of the boys from my year speaking.

"Which one do you think is Regulus'?" A voice I'd know anywhere replied just as quietly. It was Sirius and I'd have bet a hundred Galleons that Potter was with him.

I opened my curtains and crossed my arms.

"Sirius, James, what do you want?" I asked sternly but quietly. I didn't want to wake the others. Suddenly the two Second Years were standing before me, James holding what appeared to be a cloak. "Is that-?"

"An Invisibility Cloak?" James finished with a smirk. "Yes. Yes it is, Little Black, and you must tell no one about it."

"What are you guys doing in my dormitory?" I hissed, as the boy in the bed to my right groaned and moved. I waited until I was sure he was still sleeping then turned back to my brother and his idiotic friend.

"Well, Reg," Sirius began, "You seemed to have slipped a little something into my trunk by mistake." Sirius then tossed me something I was horrified to see.

My journal.

"H-How-? W-What-? W-Why-?" I spluttered, unable to make a coherent sentence. Sirius laughed. There was a flash of lightning that made my eyes go wide. The thunder that followed made me flinch. Sirius watched me curiously but James wasn't paying much attention to us.

"You go on ahead, James, I'm gonna stay and have a talk with my brother for a bit." Sirius told James. James nodded silently then put the cloak over his head, disappearing from our view. The door opened slightly then, like before, closed softly.

"So … What do you want to talk to me about?" I asked nervously, avoiding looking at his face. Thunder rumbled again and I hugged my knees. I felt the bed move as he sat down beside me.

"Are you still scared of storms, Reg?" Sirius asked.

"No! I'm not a baby, you know!" I snapped.

"I'm not making fun of you. It's just a question." He assured me, his voice soft. I was reminded of the many stormy nights when I would seek him for comfort as a child. I had been a fairly small child. Father had called me 'frail.' Mother had called me 'weak.' My own fears had been bigger than I was! I'd been afraid of spiders, heights – which Sirius had nearly beaten out of me when he insisted I learned how to fly a broomstick – but most of all, I'd been terrified by thunderstorms.

"I'm fine, Sirius. I'm just … not used to this place yet. I-I'll be fine." I said weakly. There was another flash of lightning, this one seeming to be brighter, and the wind howled. I waited and a moment later the thunder was ear-splittingly loud. While I was trembling Sirius seemed unfazed.

"Regulus, I'll stay in here if you want." He offered.

"No, Sirius. I'll be ok." I told him, trying to sound confident even though I felt nervous still.

"Are you sure?" He asked doubtfully.

"Yeah. Thanks, though." I smiled weakly at my older brother. He ruffled my hair as he stood back up.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I'm the best." He said with a smirk.

"I never said that." I pointed out.

"No, but it was implied." He countered before heading toward the door. "Night, Regulus."

"Night, Sirius." I called back. I yawned and curled back against my pillow, feeling suddenly calm despite the horrible storm.

I was out before the door was even closed.

Author's Note

Well … I hope you liked that because it took a lot of work to come up with it!

I have to admit Reg's fear of the thunderstorms is borrowed from a few stories I've read because, well, isn't almost every child scared of those? So … Yeah. You can thank other Reg-writers for that.

Anywhosers, thanks for reading!

It means a lot to me!

Hermione Weasley133