Thanks for the review! Unless I add anything last minute, Hogwarts should be in the next chapter.
IAmTheMessenger- Thanks for the review! Canon wise, it's actually not clear how old she is. JKR made her birth year 1951, but if that's true, then she wouldn't have been at Hogwarts when Sirius was, and he specifically mentioned that Bellatrix was part of a gang of Death Eaters when he was at school. I chose to go with that, so she's about six years older in my version.
the reader- Thanks for the review! And you're absolutely right, at least that's what I tried/am trying to portray.
Chapter Four- The Letter
1971
Blacks didn't squeal with excitement when letters were delivered. Nor did they eagerly tear open the envelopes, spraying bits of parchment everywhere.
But Sirius did.
"Honestly, Sirius," Walburga looked at him reprovingly. "You're behaving like a common wizard." She and her husband had been sitting at the kitchen table with Regulus in between them. Sirius supposed that it had been silent with the exception of Orion rattling the Daily Prophet and Regulus crunching on toast. Until he had hurtled in, a whirlwind of noisy energy.
"It's his first letter, Walburga. Let the boy enjoy the moment," Orion said, setting down his newspaper to look at Sirius. His behavior was unusual; Walburga was the head of the household and Orion rarely questioned her. The little remark was enough for Sirius to pause, but only briefly.
"Dear Mr. Black," Sirius read aloud, his heart pounding with excitement as his eyes hungrily drank in the emerald ink. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-"
Walburga snorted. "As if they would dare refuse a Black."
"Can we get my wand tomorrow?" Sirius asked eagerly, too anxious to be bothered by her interruption. Bellatrix had taught him a few hexes and he was quite keen on testing them out. He had already promised to make Rodolphus Lestrange his first target.
"Don't be ridiculous," said Walburga, immediately dashing his hopes. "You'll be blowing the house up before we know it."
"I won't," Sirius protested more loudly than he meant to. He quickly bit his tongue. He had learned long ago that raising his voice never ended in his favor. Even so, that rarely stopped him. It was just one of the many things that he could not help.
"It's his first wand, Walburga. I'll take him to Diagon Alley tomorrow," Orion said, hastily continuing when Walburga's nostrils began to flare. "You can put it up until September."
Walburga looked as if she wanted to argue, but merely huffed. "I'll consider it."
Sirius didn't see much of his father. When Orion wasn't working, he was reading or writing or doing something that isolated him from the world. Tall and dark-haired, he was a man of few words. Sometimes he rebuked Sirius for talking too much, but his cloudy gray eyes twinkled when they did so. Even though he was his father, Sirius didn't know him too well. Suddenly uncertain, Sirius looked at him gratefully. "Thanks, Dad."
"Can I go too?" Regulus wanted to know.
Walburga looked as if she were about to explode.
But in the end, Regulus managed to wriggle his way into an invitation.
The light feeling stayed with Sirius for the rest of the morning. He was finally going to Hogwarts. He would finally have his very own wand. Already, his mind was working overtime, forming plans for the school year. He would need Bellatrix to teach him a few more hexes to complete at least half of them. Sirius had a feeling that he would spend most of his time in detention, but he didn't mind. He didn't expect to have many friends. After being forced in the company of nearly every decent pure blood witch and wizard his age, Sirius had learned long ago that he was more the independent sort.
Either way, it didn't bother him. He knew that he wouldn't be alone. He had family there, and Sirius knew that blood was thicker than anything. He bounded throughout the house, unable to restrain his excitement.
It wasn't until he saw Regulus that the light feeling went away.
Regulus was slumped in the corner of the library, quietly reading a book. From the looks of it, it was one of Orion's old volumes that covered the history of pure blood ancestry. Almost immediately, Sirius felt a prickle of resentment. Regulus was always the perfect Black, even when no one was watching. He was actually reading too, and not roughly flipping through pages like Sirius did.
Sirius wasn't sure why the sight bothered him so much. He knew that it shouldn't have, but that didn't stop him from stomping all the way to the top floor. He didn't spare Regulus's bedroom a glance; he didn't need to see that hideously perfect neatness, and stalked into his own room instead.
He was angry. At Regulus of all people, Regulus who was his closest friend. It didn't make any sense, but Sirius didn't care. He was sick of trying when Regulus didn't have to try it at all. It wasn't fair. With that recurring thought, Sirius kicked the wall, satisfied to see a black mark blemish the silvery gray wallpaper. But that wasn't enough. He had a sudden desire for his room to reflect exactly what he felt.
Without a second thought, Sirius went for the bookcase that stood in the corner, brimming with dusty, untouched pages. With a sudden spark of fiery resolution, he began yanking out the books, as fast as he could, watching in grim satisfaction as they tumbled to the floor.
But that wasn't enough. He went for the curtains next. They were a rich velvet, reeking of pure Black finery. With a vicious twist, he tugged them down, and down they fell, a victorious tearing sound audible as they crumpled onto the floor, nothing but a puddle of sumptuous fabric.
For a minute, Sirius stood back to admire his handiwork, breathing heavily, whether it was from anger or exertion, he didn't have the faintest idea. The satisfied feeling only intensified as he took in the chaotic mess. It felt like him. It suited him.
"Sirius?"
Sirius spun around, his lips already parting to shout out, desperately wanting to echo some of the resentment that he had been feeling for so long. But when he saw Regulus in the doorway, he pressed his lips together, that almost frightening rage evaporating at the sight of his fearful looking brother.
"What did you do?" Regulus sounded awed and terrified all at once. He was still standing in the doorway, as if he didn't dare come in.
Sirius looked at the room again, impressed yet a little horrified at what he had done, not unlike Regulus. But instead of showing it, he shrugged. "Just moving some things around. Redecorating."
He was about to dismiss Regulus and slam the door for privacy, but something in his brother's expression stopped him. He had never seen him look so glum. Brotherly instincts won over bitterness. "Are you going to come in or just stand there?" Sirius asked impatiently.
Regulus scampered inside and Sirius kicked aside a few books so that he could sit down on the floor, knowing that since it was Regulus, it could be a while. Regulus stood there uncertainly, scanning the room for an empty spot, but when finding none, he too, shoved aside a pile of books and plunked down.
"What's wrong with you?" Sirius asked finally when Regulus said nothing.
"Hogwarts," was the plaintive reply.
"What's wrong with Hogwarts? Mum told everyone you're going to be Slytherin Head Boy. Never mind that you haven't even received your letter yet."
Sirius managed a little laugh at his own words, and to his horror, it sounded horribly forced. He knew that it wasn't Regulus's fault. His wasn't his fault that everything seemed to work out for him. That everyone seemed to praise him for the smallest of coincidences.
To his relief, Regulus didn't seem to notice. His chin was nearly drooping to his chest and he didn't bother to lift his eyes. "I just realized that you're going away," he said dully.
"You just realized that?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Let's hope that Mum doesn't mind a Hufflepuff."
Regulus looked up in alarm, his brown eyes finally meeting his older brother's gray ones. Sirius laughed again, but it was a genuine one. "Joking, Reg. Every Black has been in Slytherin. Not even I can mess up that tradition."
The corners of Regulus's lips lifted slightly. "It's going to be weird not having you around. I want to start this year too."
"Oh," Sirius said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We can always sneak you in."
"Mum would find out."
Sirius fell silent. He was right. Walburga always did.
"It's only one year," Sirius said finally. Truthfully, he hadn't given the matter much thought until Regulus had brought it up. He may have annoyed him more than occasionally, and he may have made him look bad the majority of the time, but Sirius would miss having Regulus around. All in all, he wasn't a terrible brother. "We'll both be in Slytherin and it'll be as if nothing changed. Except we won't have that annoying house elf around."
"I like Kreacher!"
"Of course you do," Sirius grimaced. His face suddenly lit up with inspiration as a new idea struck him. A new idea that was certain to take Regulus's mind off Hogwarts. "Want to go to the attic? Great- Uncle Lycoris's portrait told me that there were Mudblood skulls there."
Regulus's eyes were round.
Maybe Sirius wouldn't be the perfect son, but he could be the somewhat decent brother.
