Author's Note: Another long chapter. Sorry! A lot has to happen though, to get them to be more like the adults they are in the books! Okay, in this chapter, Bella is 15, Andromeda is 14, Sirius is 13, Regalus is 11, and Narcissa is 9.
Chapter Four: Regalus' First Day
Regalus Black glared at his brother. It was his bloody fault that he not only had to listen to a long-winded speech by his uncle, but another one from his father, and then an even worse one from his slightly insane mother. Walburga was in the middle of the lecture, her eyes glinting madly as she hissed that Mudbloods were animals, etc, etc.
Regalus knew his family was only doing this to keep him from following the same path as Sirius. Also, Walburga had spotted Andromeda hugging a Hufflepuff boy when she was getting off the train last year. Further inspection had found that the boy, Ted Tonks, was a Mudblood. Regalus winced at the memory of his mother and uncle screaming at sobbing Andromeda. He looked at Andy now, who smiled at him. He smiled back and Andromeda returned her glance to the crowd of wizards. Regalus wondered who she was searching for: Ted or her Slytherin friends.
Sirius was also looking at the crowd, but it was obvious who he was looking for: his Gryffindor friends. Regalus had seen some of the letters they had written over the summer- they had the oddest nicknames! Moony, Prongs, Wormtail…and they called Sirius Padfoot! When Regalus asked Sirius about it, Sirius had laughed at him, telling him not to worry about "Gryffindor Business."
Bellatrix had noticed Sirius too. She hit him on the shoulder- rather roughly. "Can't stand to spend five minutes with your family without rushing off to see your friends?" she jeered.
He frowned. "Sorry. Didn't realize you were jealous."
Bella gasped. "I am not jealous! I just think it's rude."
"Bellatrix!" her father snapped. Bellatrix lowered her head and steamed.
After a minute, Sirius spoke again. "Don't worry, Bels, I still love you the most." He lazily grinned at her. She smiled sadly at him. They both knew everything had changed between them, no matter how much they denied it.
"All right, Regalus, do you understand what is expected of you?" Walburga asked.
Regalus nodded. "Yes ma'am. I'll be in Slytherin, I promise."
She cracked a rare smile. "That's my boy. Come here." She hugged Regalus. "Follow in Bellatrix's footsteps," she warned.
Regalus nodded again, suddenly nervous. Orion Black clasped his son on the shoulder. "Good luck, Regalus."
Regalus smiled. "Thanks, Dad."
Orion looked at Sirius. "You too," he said flatly. Sirius shrugged and Walburga sighed. "Try not to be a complete failure."
Sirius rolled his eyes. He looked at his uncle, who was somewhat reluctantly hugging Andromeda. Aunt Druella was talking to Bellatrix. Regalus was being smothered by his parents. Sirius looked at Narcissa, sullenly standing to the side. "So Cissy, you only have two more years."
Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Only?"
Sirius frowned. "Hey. I'm all alone in Gryffindor too, you know."
"It's not the same, and you know it!" Cissy snapped.
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "You should be happy. I'm in third year now, so me and your doting sisters will be sending you goodies from Zonko's and Honeyduke's."
Cissy giggled. " I do like peppermint crèmes."
"Expect some in the mail," Sirius winked.
Suddenly, Bella appeared. "Stop hogging my sister, Siri."
Sirius shrugged. "Sorry! She's just irresistible!" Bella rolled her eyes, but Cissy laughed, as a flush crept over her porcelain skin. She hugged Sirius and Sirius laughingly returned the hug, then smirked at Bella and backed away.
Bella glanced at her little sister. "I'll miss you."
Narcissa sighed. "If you missed me that much, you wouldn't be going."
Bellatrix frowned. "For Merlin's sake, Cissy, you've been saying this for five years. Give it up! You know I miss you."
Cissy giggled. "I know. It's just fun to watch you guys freak out and promise to send me stuff."
Bellatrix cackled. "You little sneak."
Behind them, Andromeda gasped and whirled around. "Cissy! You had me feeling awful!"
Narcissa smiled angelically. "Sorry." Bella hugged her baby sister, still chortling.
Andromeda hugged Cissy next and gave a crooked smile. "Please don't start screaming at me again."
Narcissa flushed and rolled her eyes. "That was two years ago," she muttered. "I haven't acted so un-ladylike since then."
Andromeda gave a smile that was laced with regret. "I've noticed."
Bella snorted. "You've become dreadfully boring, Narcissa."
Cissy shrugged. "It's just how it is. You should take note."
Bellatrix smiled indulgently. "All right, Cissy. Are you too grownup for candy?"
Narcissa paused. "Well, no, but if you wanted to send me a new cloak or something…." She trailed off delicately.
Bella rolled her eyes and affectionately ruffled her sister's hair. Cissy looked irritated but let it go and gave Bella and Andromeda each one more hug. Then she turned to Regalus. "Well, you're leaving me too, I guess."
Regalus nodded sadly. "I'll miss our adventures."
Narcissa's blue eyes filled with tears. "Me too." The two hugged and Cissy sighed. "Have fun at Hogwarts, Reggie."
Regalus grinned at her, surprised at the maturity. "Thanks!"
"On the train! Now!" Cygnus snapped at his daughters and nephews.
Bella gasped. "It's getting ready to leave. Shit!" Druella frowned, but before she could reprimand Bellatrix, the girl was running to the train, Andy, Sirius, and Regalus right behind her. When they got on the train, it immediately began motion.
Regalus sighed in relief. "Will you guys sit with me?"
Andromeda, Sirius, and Bellatrix exchanged glances. They didn't usually hang out at school, despite their promises to be inseparable. "Uh. Sure," Andromeda said cautiously, steering the family into an empty compartment. The quartet sat down, Sirius leaning on Bella, like old times. As the four began joking and talking, the door opened. Three guys stepped in.
"Padfoot!" the one with shaggy black hair yelled.
Sirius jumped up. "Prongs!" He looked at the other two and grinned. "Moony! Wormtail! I missed you guys!"
Bella frowned. How terribly rude of them to barge in here. Sirius seemed to sense her displeasure. "Guys, meet my family. This is my brother Regalus, he's just starting Hogwarts." The guys waved at Regalus, who timidly waved back.
The pale boy with the shabby clothes smiled at him. "What house are you hoping for?"
"Slytherin," Regalus quickly answered. Bella smiled, pleased, as the boys shifted nervously.
Sirius broke the rapidly-forming awkward silence. "And this is my cousin, Andromeda, she's a fourth year." Andromeda smiled politely at the boys, who eagerly smiled back.
"And this is Bellatrix," Sirius said fondly. "She's a fifth year. And my best friend."
Bellatrix smiled graciously at Sirius and then glanced at the boys. The black-haired one Sirius called Prongs looked irritated, while the short, chubby one called Wormtail looked terrified. She smiled to herself. He must have known her not-so-nice reputation.
Sirius turned to his family. "Guys, these are my Gryffindor friends- James, Remus, and Peter." The boys waved as their names were called and Peter and James plopped down on the seat.
Remus rolled his eyes at them. "Mind if we sit here?" he asked.
Sirius and Andy shook their heads. "Of course not!" Sirius boomed. "Right Reggie?"
Regalus shrugged.
"Bels?"
Bella shook her head. "I don't mind at all. Now, tell me, what are your last names?"
"Potter." "Pettigrew." "Lupin." Bella smiled in relief. Although she had never heard of this Lupin, Potter and Pettigrew were purebloods. Not the best, of course, except for- "Peter. I believe your parents have come to a few of my parents' parties."
Peter nodded nervously. "Yeah. They're friends with your parents. And uh, Sirius' parents."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Poor them." The compartment fell into awkward silence.
James laughed nervously. "Bella, I feel like I know you. Sirius talks about you so much."
Bella smiled in satisfaction. "I wish I could say the same for you. But I never even knew you existed until today." She looked at Sirius, silently punishing him for befriending these people. James, Remus, and Peter also looked at Sirius.
He shrugged. "Sorry! We're just too busy over the summer to talk about school!" James still looked hurt but Bella and Peter laughed. Remus' attention had drifted over to Andromeda.
"Yeah, who has time to think about school when you're battling sphinxes?" Bellatrix cracked.
Sirius roared with laughter. He looked at his friends. "My little cousin- their sister-Narcissa, convinced us that there was a sphinx in the attic. So we all got our wands out and everything and we go up to the attic, convincing a sphinx or something. And this kitten jumps out! Regalus screamed so loud…" He trailed off, still chuckling.
Regalus blushed. "I thought it was a sphinx!" he protested. "And Andromeda was scared too."
Andromeda laughed. "Yeah, Cissy was pretty convincing. Just like when she convinced you, Sirius, that Severus was really a vampire."
Sirius shrugged. "It's not that far off." He grinned at James, who grinned back.
Bella laughed. "And when Severus came over for dinner, you were freaking out!"
Sirius smirked. "Who wouldn't if Snivellous was at their house?"
Peter and Remus laughed, but James' expression was one of horror. "He came to your house?"
Sirius nodded. "Unfortunately."
"You invited him? Wanted to play with a pure, Slytherin boy?" James' voice rose in anger. Remus and Peter shrugged at Sirius, who frowned.
Bella shook her head, secretly loving this. "He came to dinner with his mother, Potter. His mother is somewhat of an acquaintance of our parents. I don't know why, seeing as she married a Mud- a Muggleborn, and is now living in a shack, but…."
James snorted. "Because Muggleborns are filth, right Bellatrix? Slytherin prick…"
Sirius jumped to his feet. "Watch it, James."
James smirked at him. "You love your little Slytherin cousin? That's funny, I thought you said you hated all your family!"
"What?" Regalus cried, staring at his brother. Andromeda gasped and Bella turned away from Sirius.
Sirius shook his head wildly. "I was referring to my parents! And Uncle Cygnus! Not you guys!"
James gasped mockingly, the hurt evident in his dark eyes. "So when you said you wished you could stay at Hogwarts, or with my parents, instead of going home to your "bloody family" you were lying?"
Sirius glared at James. "Why are you doing this?"
James looked ashamed for a second. "I- I'm sorry. That was totally a Slyth- a Snivellous move of me. It's just…I thought I was your best friend."
"You are," Sirius said unthinkingly. Bella's head jerked up. Sirius groaned. "No, no, Bels. You guys are both my best friends. Can't a guy have two best friends?"
James shrugged. "I'm going to go find Longbottom. I'm really sorry. See you in the Great Hall." Sirius nodded, staring at Bella who was avoiding his eyes. Remus and Peter followed James out.
As soon as they were gone, Bella exploded. "How could you talk about us like that? Sirius, I'm never going to forgive you, ever!" The train jerked to a halt, and the cries of the students drowned out Sirius' protests. Bella stalked out of the compartment, refusing to look at Sirius.
He felt his eyes well up with tears. "Do you think she means it?"
Andromeda shrugged. "Who cares? She's just part of your "bloody family," right?" Andromeda threw a withering glance at Sirius from behind her shoulder as she walked out of the compartment.
Sirius desperately looked at Regalus. "You know I didn't mean that stuff, right Regs?"
Regalus shrugged, looking down. "I gotta go," he muttered. With that, Regalus walked away, leaving Sirius all alone.
---
Regalus stood in line, waiting to be sorted. He caught Bella's eye and waved. She waved back and nudged Andromeda, who grinned at him. Reggie felt Sirius trying to get his attention, but Regalus wouldn't look in his direction. Finally- "Black, Regalus!"
Regalus scampered across the hall and pulled the hat over his head. He could feel the hat smile and heard, "Hello Regalus. I've been expecting you."
"You- you have?"
"Certainly. I'm very interested in you Blacks. You all have such fascinating minds. Tell me, how is Sirius doing in Gryffindor?"
"Uh, he's fine. Apparently he tells his friends he hates all of us though."
"I can't imagine he'd mean that. He had a very strong bond to all of you two years ago. His bond with Bellatrix…remarkable."
"I dunno."
"Well, enough about him. Let's move on to you. Hmm….Ravenclaw is a no, you're smart enough but I think you lack the wit. No offense," the hat chortled.
"None taken. Please, don't put me in Gryffindor!" Regalus pleaded.
"Gryffindor…no. I don't think you have nerve, chivalry, or courage to be required to be a Gryffindor…yet."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll find out in due time." Now Hufflepuff would be a good match for you. You are loyal and hardworking."
"No, I want to be in Slytherin!"
"Really? Slytherin isn't the best for you. You're not cunning or ruthless. I like Hufflepuff."
"Please! I can be cunning! And ruthless!"
The hat was quiet. "I see that you could be. All right. Perhaps I'll regret it, but- SLYTHERIN!"
Regalus stood up, his legs shaking. He handed the hat to Professor McGonagall and practically ran to the Slytherin table. Andy and Bella grinned at him. "Great going, Reg!" Andromeda chirped. Bella nodded. "That's everyone in the family, so far!"
Regalus almost asked, "What about Sirius?" but something in Bella's eyes stopped him.
