Here's to the strong; thanks to the brave.
Don't give up hope: some people change.
Against all odds, against the grain,
Love finds a way: some people change.
-Some People Change (Montgomery Gentry)
Regulus' P.O.V.
"So how did our dear old mum react when she found it? Oh, did she send you a howler as too?" My brother asked excitedly. When Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor our mother saw it fit to send him a howler during breakfast the morning after the sorting. Her shrieks had visibly shaken and disturbed the majority of the students.
"I only came here, because Katherine said you wanted to discuss what to do with the house. If that's not what we're going to talk about then I will leave." I said through gritted teeth. Sirius smirked.
"Oh I do want to talk about the house don't you worry little brother." Sometimes it took all my self-restraint to not just smack that smirk right off his face. "I was just curious if there is a scorch mark where your picture used to be on the family tree as well?" He asked conversationally. I didn't really know how to describe the way that question made me feel. As much as I knew the pureblood mania was shit it wasn't as easy for me to turn my back on our family as it was for him.
"Well as Narcissa informed me there is." I told him quietly.
"Do you regret it?" Sirius asked his eyes examining me like I was the plans for one of his pointless pranks.
"I knew that what the Dark Lord was doing was wrong. I'm just sorry for dragging Katherine into this as well. You know what our family was like." I said. It was hard for me to say these things, but like Katherine told me Sirius knew what I was going through. Well, he knew better than anyone else did.
"Ah yes, Remus isn't too thrilled about that, and I can't say I am either." He said hopping up on the window sill. Did he think I was particularly happy about it? I had barely known this girl a month and all I wanted to do was protect her.
"It's hard to resist someone like her, but if I had known what danger she would be in I would have tried harder." I finally settled on saying with a sigh.
"Listen closely." Sirius said in a dangerously low tone that it seemed everyone in our family possessed. I was immune to it by now, but I could see how it intimidated others. "If you're just using her for one of your sick twisted games to get to me I will not hesitate in making you suffer." A scowl crossed my features.
"Despite what you may think I am capable of feelings and I would never hurt her. What I want to know is if someone were to hurt her why would that affect you?" I said speaking slowly, because I knew that drove him crazy when people do that to him. It's how Bellatrix always talked to him to antagonize him when he was younger.
"She means a lot to Remus and if something were to hurt Remus that would hurt me. He's like the brother I never had." I snorted. Those four were so close it was maddening; especially him and Potter. If Potter weren't always professing his love, very loudly I might add for Evans I would say there was something more going on between him and my brother.
"I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Now you and your friends can mind your own bloody business. We need to figure out what we're going to do with the house that's the only reason I'm here anyways." I told him. Sirius brushed his hair out of his eyes. Part of the reason I cut my hair was so people would stop comparing us. If it wasn't for the fact that I was a few inches taller than him we could almost pass for twins. It drove me insane.
"I want to keep it. The Potter's have been great, but I don't really want to intrude on them any longer." He said indifferently. This was just making things all the more difficult.
"I would like to sell it." I said. He rolled his eyes.
"You do realize you're homeless now right? Why on earth would you want to sell a house that was given to you for free?" He asked looking me in the eye. "Although I don't really fancy living with you again, maybe you can sell your half to me?" He did have a point for once, because I didn't have anywhere to go. It's not like the place was going to be complete shit anyways. I only remembered it vaguely.
"You know what I think I'd like to stay there over the holidays. Then maybe we can both decide what's best for us to do?" I suggested civilly. Of course the idiot brother of mine hadn't grasped the concept of civility yet.
"I already know what I want to do, but fine if you want to stay there over break I'll see you there." He snapped.
"Excellent it'll be just like old times." I said sarcastically. He gave me one last sneer and threw open the door walking god knows where. Not that I blame him. Christmas had never been what one would call a pleasant experience at the Black household. Sense our family was so old we were usually joined by relatives that smelled moldy and forced to pose in ridiculous pictures with each other putting on the act of a happy little family. Thinking of the holidays gave me idea. I made my way out of the empty classroom and towards the library. If everything worked out maybe this Christmas wouldn't be so terrible after all. Well, minus the fact that Sirius was going to be there.
Katherine's P.O.V.
I really hoped Regulus' and Sirius' chat didn't result with someone ending up in the hospital wing. I should have stayed, or at least taken their wands. Not that that would have helped considering the last time they resorted to fists. To distract myself I began writing a letter to my parents. I hadn't written to them in a while and I still had to thank them for the birthday present.
Dear Mum,
I miss you and dad terribly. My birthday was wonderful and you guys really didn't have to get me those earrings. I love them though, and have been wearing them nonstop. Remus got me this lovely picture of him and me at the beach this summer. I'm assuming you must have taken it with his camera. I got a couple more gifts this year too. I've been opening up and talking to more people. James and Lily got me this wonderful journal to write in. (Yes the Lily I've been complaining about for years. And yes the James that I've told you about that's been obsessed with Lily for years. They're finally together!) Also, I received this lovely necklace. You would absolutely love it. I know you're going to be kind of surprised, but this guy I just started seeing sent it to me. He's been so kind to me, and hopefully you'll get to meet him. His name is Regulus Black. Anyways, I've got to get back to this project for Defense against the Dark Arts. Tell Russell to write his favorite sister every once in a while or else I won't be sending him anymore chocolate frogs.
Love Always,
Katherine
I let out a sigh once I had finished. I knew my mum worried about whether I had any friends besides Remus. Plus she'd always been interrogating me about if I had a boyfriend. At least this would make her happy. My head whipped around when I heard a creak behind me. Saying I was a little paranoid now a days would be a major understatement.
"Hello there." Regulus said smiling down at me. I took in his appearance and noticed no new bruises or cuts thankfully.
"Hello yourself." I said smiling as he pulled out the chair next to mine. "How did your talk go?" I asked curiously. What surprised me was the fact that his smile widened and didn't tense up like it normally did when anything involving Sirius was mentioned.
"Pretty good. I'm going to be staying the holidays at this house to decide if I want to keep it or have Sirius buy out my half from me." He said with a shrug of his shoulders still smiling. It was kind of beginning to worry me. "What's that?" He asked pointing towards the letter I had just written.
"Just a quick note to my mum." I said and reached for it to stuff it into my bag. If we finished our work early with this Defense project I would run it up to the Owlery before curfew.
"Did you tell her about us?" He asked curiously. I blushed slightly and began idly playing with my lilac necklace; which is something I had made a habit of lately.
"Possibly." I said. His smile got wider if that were even possible. "Why are you doing that?" I asked nervously and pointed at his face. He looked bewildered for a second. Then realized what I was talking about and cleared his throat.
"Do you want to ." He blurted out really fast. Huh?
"Say that again?" I asked cautiously. Maybe Sirius cast some spell on him to make him sound like a complete nutter. He looked down at his feet then back up at me again.
"Do you want to join me over Christmas break and stay at my house?" He asked looking nervous. That was definitely not what I was expecting him to say.
"You want me to spend the holidays with you?" I asked surprised. He looked a little crestfallen and I immediately felt bad.
"You don't have too it was just a thought." He mumbled and looked away.
"Of course I would love too!" I said happily and reached for his hand. His eyes lit up at my answer.
"Really?" He asked excitedly. I nodded my head smiling. Then a thought popped into my head.
"I don't know how I'm going to convince my parents to let me though." I said a little sad. My father would have a heart attack, and I can't ever see my mum agreeing to something like this. Especially sense this letter would be the first mention they had ever heard of Regulus, and then they would want to talk to his parents. That would be a lovely conversation. Regulus furrowed his eyebrows for a second as though he were thinking hard and then his face lit up again.
"Didn't you tell them you were considering staying at Hogwarts?" He asked.
"Yes, why?" I asked not sure where this was headed.
"Well, just tell them you've decided to stay here and then come with me." He said looking at me hopefully. It was times like these I noticed why Regulus was in Slytherin. He had a very cunning personality. The only problem I had was that I had never really lied to my parents before, but it's not like I wanted to go home and deal with my sister. Besides they would never find out.
"Okay." I said after a minute of thinking it over.
"Great then it's settled!" He said excitedly and began to pull out his Defense book.
"Yeah I guess it is." I said with a small smile. Regulus looked down at me and gave my forehead a quick kiss.
"Would you mind terribly if Regulus joined us today in Hogsmeade?" I asked Remus at the Gryffindor table during breakfast a few weeks later. It was the last Saturday before everyone left home for the Holidays. We only had one week left of classes after this. Remus spat his pumpkin juice everywhere including on me. Lovely, thanks Lupin.
"Are you being Serious?" He asked as he handed me a napkin.
"No I'm Sirius." Sirius said as he sat down next to Remus at the breakfast table. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes I'm being serious." I told him. "Don't even think about it." I said silencing Sirius as he opened his mouth to say something I'm quite sure was stupid.
"Why though?" Remus asked sounding irritated.
"I know it's asking so much of you, my best friend, to try and get along with my boyfriend." I snapped not really in the mood to deal with this. Remus looked hurt.
"Well, I'm supposed to be tagging along with Remus today, because James is going with Lily. I for one don't want to hang out with him." Sirius said shooting me a dirty look.
"Mind your own business Black." I said angrily.
"What's going on?" A voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Regulus approaching the Gryffindor table.
"I was just trying to get Remus to go to Hogsmeade with us." I told him biting my lip nervously. I hadn't exactly consulted him about this. He looked momentarily confused before speaking.
"I thought we were going shopping for Christmas decorations for the house?" He said looking down at me.
"We are, but I thought Remus could come along and you guys could get to know each other." I said hopefully. I knew it was a long shot but it'd be nice if they could get along.
"Why though?" He asked sounding a bit irritated. It was like fucking déjà vu from not even a minute ago.
"How come I wasn't invited it's my house too." Sirius cut in and began to whine. I knew he was trying to get underneath my skin and it worked.
"Enough." I said angrily and stood up. Regulus looked apprehensive, Remus looked concerned that we were going to fight again, and Black just smirked like the annoying prat he was.
"Calm down McEwen." Sirius said clearly enjoying my outburst.
"No. You and you," I said pointing my wand at Regulus and Remus. "Are both going to Hogsmeade with me and you will get along." I told them narrowing my eyes. They both nodded their heads quickly.
"Who am I supposed to go with?" Sirius butted in. Again.
"How about Mary." I suggested with a smirk. He narrowed his eyes at me but I continued to talk before he could. "Let's go now before the stores get crowded." Regulus nodded his head and Remus stood up. So did Sirius. This was going to be interesting.
"You only want green ornaments, because there Slytherin colors." Sirius sneered at his brother. We were in a little shop that was only open during the Christmas season and it was gradually beginning to fill up. We were getting quite a few curious stares; mainly, because people never thought they'd see the two Black brother's Christmas shopping together. You would think they were fucking Voldemort from all the nervous looks they were getting. It's not like they were going to start throwing out unforgivables at each other in the middle of a store. Well, actually…
"No that's not why you prat. Green is a Christmas color." Regulus shot back. I looked at Remus pointedly. They had been bickering all day and it was beginning to get old. Earlier when we were in the Three Broomsticks they were fighting over which booth would get better sunlight. It was the middle of the damn winter there wasn't any sunlight! I wasn't sure at this point if I could survive the holidays with them. They'd probably be fighting over whose presents were wrapped nicer.
"How about you get both Green and Red ornaments guys?" Remus suggested sounding tired with the whole situation. They both shot him a dirty look. He held up his hands in defeat and I figured it was time for me to step in.
"Look those blue and silver ones are pretty." I said pointing towards a set that were shaped like snowflakes and very sparkly.
"Those are Ravenclaw colors. Why would I want Ravenclaw colors?" Sirius whined. Regulus clenched his jaw as though he was trying to hold back from saying something that would start a fight. I appreciated the effort.
"They kind of remind me of the ones my family uses." I said quietly. I personally didn't give enough of a fuck to argue about what house colors they were.
"Alright, let's get those then." Regulus said looking at me with a soft smile. Sirius went to say something but I cut him off.
"We can get red tinsel and a gold star to put at the top of the tree okay Sirius?" I asked hoping to Godric that that would be enough for him. His eyes lit up and took enough to begin to look for a star. At least he was momentarily distracted.
"See compromise!" Remus said happily now that Sirius had been satisfied and went off to help him.
"Sweet Merlin." I said and began grabbing several ornament packages and placing them into a shopping basket.
"I'm sorry that he's like that. Hopefully Potter or Lupin will distract him most of the time over the Holidays so he doesn't drive you completely crazy." Regulus said apologetically. I let out a small sigh and then reached for some of the green ornaments.
"You liked these ones right?" I asked softly. He nodded his head and laughed.
"He's going to have a meltdown when he sees those hanging on the tree." I shrugged my shoulders in response.
"Do you think we could work on my occulmency lessons over break?" I asked hesitantly. I knew he wasn't big on the idea of it, but he had told me he'd help.
"So you really want to learn. You're sure?" He asked as we continued to walk down the aisle.
"Yes I think it'll be very useful." I told him. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but stayed silent for a few moments.
"Alright then." He said and then stopped suddenly; he put his hand lightly around my waist pulling me closer to him.
"What?" I asked curiously. He pointed upwards. Mistletoe. I felt a faint blush taint my cheeks and looked up at Regulus who was smiling lightly.
"It's tradition." He said and leaned and pressed his lips against mine. I dropped the shopping basket and wrapped my arms fully around him. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip and it sent pleasant shivers down my back. After a few seconds of snogging that probably wasn't entirely appropriate for a public audience he pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine lightly.
"I think we definitely need to get some of that." He whispered and I couldn't help but smile.
"I agree and sense it's your house it's up to you to find a nice secluded spot to put it." I told him wiggling my eyebrows suggestively; making him laugh. It still boggled my mind that I was so open around him, and never felt like I was embarrassing myself.
"Trust me I have the perfect place in mind." He said giving me a wink and throwing some mistletoe into the basket.
"We're in public do you think you two could refrain from doing that?" Sirius snarled approaching us with his arms full of decorations. The best approach to dealing with Sirius when he was being an arse was just to pretend like you didn't hear what he said. Regulus had his eyes narrowed, but thankfully didn't say anything.
"Where's Remus?" I asked a still disgruntled Sirius as he threw all of his stuff into the shopping bag.
"I'm right here. Are you guys ready to check out?" He asked me.
"Yes let's go." I reached for the shopping basket but Regulus beat me too it.
"I've got it don't worry." He told me smiling down at me and began walking towards the register. Sirius was closely following behind him yelling about the green ornaments he had just noticed, while Regulus clenched his jaw shut. I rolled my eyes and made to walk after them to intervene if need be, but Remus touched my arm gently to stop me.
"You know Black, I mean Regulus, he's different around you. He's not how he used to be in the past." He told me quietly. I looked into his brown eyes for a minute; knowing this was as close to Remus' approval as I was going to get.
"Yes well people can change." I said and walked towards the register.
Author's Note: I wanted to do more of a calm chapter that wasn't as dramatic as the other ones. Remus' approval of Regulus does mean a lot to Katherine. I also wanted to show Regulus and Sirius together without so much tension. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think!
