Chapter 27: Regulus Black
It was dark by the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into the Hogsmeade station. Severus and Lily had finished their summer holidays pleasantly and were very keen to return to school and begin their second year. They had been joined by Quincey and Mary. Remus had gone to join James' social group and learn what he could about Regulus' visit.
The four friends saw Hagrid waving over to the first years to follow him to the boats. Severus knew that he and the others were due to go on the coaches this time, seemingly moving by themselves, but in fact were being pulled by Thestrals. Severus wasn't sure whether or not he would be able to see the Thestrals. He had seen many a death in his former life. Hell, he'd even encountered a lot of death-related events in his new life, such as Helena and the Bloody Baron's passing to Heaven, Lily Potter in the Resurrection Stone, the destruction of Voldemort's fragmented chunks of soul, Professor Reynolds' death outside the castle and of course, his own father's death in that cursed pub. But would any of these things, including the deaths he had seen and caused in his past life, affect his vision of the Thestrals now? He was admittedly afraid to find out.
Severus and Lily were led by Frank Longbottom, now a fifth year and to everyone's delight, a prefect, to the coaches. Severus rounded the bend and saw…nothing. He couldn't see the Thestrals. As far as he and Lily were concerned, the coaches would be moving on their own, as if by magic.
Severus felt some warmth and relief. Despite his memories, the magic of the Thestrals didn't affect him. This enhanced the feeling that he was being granted a second chance, very positively. But his relief was swiftly dashed by the future. He felt certain that one day, maybe sooner than he thinks, he will see death again…he could only hope that that death would be Voldemort's.
"Come on, Sev!" called Lily. She had gone ahead to board a coach, supported by the taller Frank.
Severus followed, politely rejecting Frank's help for a lift. Mary and Quincey joined the coach too, while Frank joined Alice whom was waiting for him. As Severus and Lily sat beside each other, quite comfortably, they were interrupted by the sound of arguing voices.
"Come and join us, Regulus." came the drawling voice of the now sixth year, Lucius Malfoy.
"Did you not hear me, Lucius?" snapped Sirius' voice. "He was quite comfortable with me!"
Severus inhaled deeply before leaning out the door and peering round to see Sirius and Malfoy in a stand-off, wands drawn. To make matters worse, James and Peter were sat with Remus on one of the coaches behind them, and James looked ready to pounce into action.
"I will not have Regulus be corrupted by you and your Muggle loving tendencies!" sneered Malfoy.
"He's my brother! Not yours! Back off!" shouted Sirius.
Malfoy disarmed Sirius and hit him with the Tickling Jinx, forcing Sirius to keel over trying not to succumb to the forceful laughter.
Frank advanced onto the scene and disarmed Malfoy.
"If Regulus and Sirius wanted to travel to the school together, then they should have been able to do so without your input, Malfoy!" said Frank severely, his wand still raised.
"Regulus is my family too!" snarled Malfoy, annoyed at being caught off guard like this.
"Sirius is his immediate family." replied Frank. "His elder brother, and did Regulus object to sitting with his brother on the train?"
"No, he didn't." panted Sirius, whom had recovered by now.
"Then I should say that's that." said Frank satisfactorily.
Malfoy went to collect his wand, but after doing so, he marched up defiantly to Sirius once more.
"He will be in Slytherin, Sirius." sneered Malfoy. "He's a good boy. He always has been, according to his parents. He won't be like you. He will be a perfect Slytherin, on the right course. The course that will lead the Wizarding World out of the Dark Ages and back to its full glory, above and beyond all of those filthy Mudblood folk-"
"Get lost, Malfoy, or it's detention!" insisted Frank. "And James, put that wand away. This doesn't concern you!"
James reluctantly stashed his wand away. Malfoy shrugged, and strode off to a coach, confident he got his point across.
"Oh, and by the way, fifty points from Slytherin for wrongfully attacking a student, as well as the use of a prohibited word." called Frank.
Malfoy's lip curled with fury before he boarded his coach and rode away.
"Bloody Malfoy." sneered Sirius as Frank checked him to see if he was okay.
"We'll teach him, Siri." assured James.
"Not on my watch." said Frank sternly. "Lucius Malfoy is a prefect and a sixth year. You two are only just beginning second year. And Malfoy won't hesitate with you over your age. He's already trying to estrange your brother from you, Sirius. Don't take the bait and push Regulus into choosing him over you to be close with."
Sirius and James nodded grimly, then they caught sight of Severus and his group watching and they called out, "Later."
If Frank was puzzled by this, he didn't show it. He simply shut the door on the Marauders' coach and let it ride away, followed by Severus and Lily's coach, and he joined Alice once more on her coach.
Severus was worried. If Regulus was sorted into Slytherin, he would be faced with countless amounts of people to bestow prejudice and Muggle-hating pride upon him, which would make him ultimately choose between his brother and what was expected from him.
He voiced these concerns to Lily, Mary and Quincey.
"But if things over the holidays went well, he'll have lots of positive things to counter the Slytherins' claims." said the latter.
"Exactly." said Mary. "We just need to keep Regulus close, and hopefully through him, we can make other Slytherins see sense and become a more fluid and agreeable House. Imagine that! House unity all round, all friends, well…nearly."
"That's the plan." agreed Lily.
Severus nodded. He still wasn't sure. His fellow Slytherins in his past life were so persuasive and so contagious, that he became too much alike with them; to the point that he used their language and prejudice to lose Lily. He had to make sure somehow that Regulus didn't make his mistakes with his brother.
Lily, Mary and Quincey were enjoying the ride up to Hogwarts on the carriages, though Lily missed the beautiful view of the castle from the lake, and she missed Hagrid's company. She hoped to get an invite to visit his hut later in the school week.
Severus was wondering if Dumbledore had any news for him that he didn't need Lily Potter's help with. He also wondered if he used the Stone as much as Severus does to contact his long dead family. He decided not to bring up such a sensitive subject unless the information was bestowed to him.
Soon, the Thestrals stopped outside the grounds and the students disembarked. They were ahead of the first years, who likely hadn't even gotten into the boats yet – Regulus among them.
Severus, Lily and the others were soon led by their prefects into the Great Hall after entering the castle.
The Hall was just the same as it had been the previous year, only this time, they would be watching the Sorting and not partaking in it. This relived a lot of stress for Severus and Lily, but they still were wondering how things would turn out with Regulus.
After being seated for fifteen minutes, the Great Hall door opened again, and the first years entered the Hall, whilst the Sorting Hat was put in place before them. Regulus was looking confident, glancing at the Slytherin table with evident keenness.
The Sorting Hat broke into song, and for a few moments, Severus, Lily and their friends smiled contentedly and listened to the cheerful song.
After the Hat's singing ceased, the students applauded, and the first years tried to hide their own trepidation. Regulus was looking more upbeat than the rest of them, but also glanced towards Sirius with some uncertainty.
Sirius could see the conflict in his brother's eyes, but he knew what to do in the worst case scenario: if Regulus is Sorted into Slytherin, then he will do his best to keep him close, and involve him with his friends. This would help them to retain their sibling bond, in spite of the bitter rivalry between the Houses.
McGonagall stood with her scroll of names, and the Sorting Hat sat beside her, ready to be placed on the first student's head. Severus paid little to no attention to the first two names, both of which were Sorted into Hufflepuff, but then Regulus' name was called.
There was distinctive hissing from the tables, but Sirius bellowed: "SHUT IT!"
The hisses and murmurs ceased, and the students recollected that at least one Black was in the 'decent' House, and not the notorious one. They silently wondered if Sirius was banking vainly on his younger brother being with him in Gryffindor.
Regulus tentatively stepped forward, growing all the more uncomfortable by the unwelcoming reception and the defensiveness of his brother. McGonagall placed the Hat on his head, and after a few seconds, the Hat called out:
"SLYTHERIN!"
The Slytherin table cheered, and Regulus, not exactly disappointed, paced over to join Malfoy, blissfully unaware of the conflict about him that took place in Hogsmeade.
Sirius looked sadly at his brother as he was patted on the book proudly by Malfoy, and wondered if his brother would be forced into becoming a lost cause. But then, as James rubbed his back consolingly, Sirius saw Regulus looking over to him, with a look that showed that he was hoping that this would not come between them.
Severus recalled that look, for the whole of his first year, Regulus hoped to regain his brother's care for him, before becoming fully embittered by Sirius' open hostility towards him and insults, such as "Snivelly's Snotty Friend."
But looking at Sirius now, Severus saw the second year wink softly to his brother, and in return, Regulus gave a tight, small smile, showing his appreciation that their relationship was still intact.
The rest of the Sorting dragged along, and after Georgina Zelner was Sorted into Gryffindor, the students waited impatiently for Dumbledore to announce the Feast.
As they dug into their meals, Severus' consisting of roast beef, with barbecue sauce and a sticky toffee pudding to follow, Lily nudged his back, where he had his back to her whilst eating.
"Looks like they found a replacement for Reynolds." she said quietly.
Severus looked up. Sat between Hagrid and Professor Flitwick was a woman with blonde hair and dressed in fabulously woven robes of grassy green. He recognised her, and recalled that she left Hogwarts after a successful year of good teaching. Unlike Reynolds, she left unscathed as she only agreed to teach for the one year due to needing to travel to North America to do research on vampires and hags there.
The woman was introduced after the feast.
"I would like to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for this year, Professor Millburn." announced Dumbledore.
The crowd applauded respectfully, if not a bit too enthusiastically: Professor Millburn was a very attractive woman.
Severus showed no interest, and surprisingly neither did Quincey. James and Sirius on the other hand were wolf-whistling amongst the applause, leading to Lily, Mary, Marlene and Rebecca to roll their eyes. Severus noticed that Rebecca and Marlene were also turning red and trying to suppress enraged and jealous expressions.
Later, Dumbledore sent the students off to bed, and Sirius and Regulus managed a quick embrace before being separated to go to their dormitories, and Malfoy gave Sirius a cold and triumphant smirk.
"Sod him." said James.
"Yeah, we'll show him that you and Regulus have a stronger bond." said Remus.
"And we can begin the companionship…thing." added Peter.
Severus and Lily smiled encouragingly too.
Sirius felt relieved by the support of his friends and hoped that Regulus would be able to see past the Slytherin and Black family's prejudicial views. Lily would be the hardest to get on with as she was a Muggle-born, as was Quincey. Nobody except James, Sirius and Severus knew about Remus, so that would be harder for Regulus to worry about.
The friends separated and went to bed, looking forward to a new term. Severus went to bed with Quincey in tow, thinking of how he would fare with not just befriending people from other Houses, but also of how he would progress with Dumbledore in taking down Voldemort. But if luck was on side, he would have news from Lily by Halloween.
The first couple of weeks back to class proved to be a challenge already. Severus, Lily and their friends found that the classes were a lot more difficult, and the homework had increased in word counts for their essays. McGonagall began showing them how to transfigure small animals, and Lily found to her dismay that by the end of the term, she would be expected to practice her Transfiguration skills on Gabriel.
Severus had to agree with the others that Professor Jodie Millburn was a very efficient teacher and helped them all to perfect the Tickling Hex within a couple of lessons. Even the likes of Mulciber and Avery proved capable under Millburn's teachings. Rumour from Frank and Alice suggested that most of the Slytherins in general approved of Millburn. But then, according to Alice, this was mostly due to her natural beauty and the poor professor was receiving a lot of jeers, notes and wolf-whistles from not just Slytherin boys but from Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws as well. This piece of news prompted James and Sirius to tone down their exaggerated passions, which at the ages of twelve wasn't really in earnest anyway.
Severus did note however that James was looking in Lily's direction a fair amount, but then he also did the same to Rebecca Castle, whom noticed most cheerfully.
As for getting closer to Regulus, Sirius visited his brother in the library after the first week ended, and in his rather uncharacteristic way that Regulus had noticed over the holidays, offered for Regulus to join him and his friends in a study session over the weekend. Regulus declined but asked if the offer would stand on the second weekend. Sirius heartily agreed.
And so, after the second week of classes ended, with Mandrakes being potted with Sprout, frogs being turned into sauce dishes with McGonagall, and the promise of learning the Disarming Charm from Millburn, the friends prepared to have their first combined gathering with Regulus.
Madam Pince frowned darkly as the whole group, consisting of Severus, Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Quincey, Mary and Peter entered the library. Initially, Marlene and Rebecca were invited, as were Nora and Elizabeth, but they all declined as they were busy with homework that needed individual attention. Lily understood in Marlene and Rebecca's cases, as they were both rather slothful with homework and tended to leave it until the last minute.
As the group sat amidst two long tables, they waited patiently for Regulus.
After five minutes, Regulus entered the room, but he wasn't alone. He was being escorted by another Slytherin student. Severus didn't recognise her. She was a girl with black hair, but with a shy expression and no hint of Pure-blood tendencies of smugness and superiority.
This girl could be a symbol of how not all Slytherin students can be so bad, as well as Regulus, thought Severus.
Regulus and the girl sat down.
"You don't mind if Melody joins us?" asked Regulus to Sirius nervously.
"No, I don't think so." reassured Sirius, looking to the others.
"Not at all, Melody." said Lily kindly. "All students from all Houses are welcome. But perhaps we should explain why this has been arranged, aside from studying and doing our homework."
Regulus and the still nervous Melody sat down. Regulus now looked suspicious at the ulterior motives.
"We're here…" began Lily, "…to try and form a group and eventually a regular routine across Hogwarts in maintaining unity between the Houses."
Melody looked up, with a hopeful twinkle in her chocolate brown eyes.
Regulus raised an eyebrow, glancing at his brother, whom only nodded to him with a firm lip.
"It was my idea, originally, so perhaps I should start with the introductions." said Quincey, feeling nervous about taking a leader-like step, but as a second year, he did feel slightly more responsible over Regulus and Melody.
"Go ahead." said Severus to his friend encouragingly.
"Okay, um…my name is Quincey Arnolds. I'm a second year in Ravenclaw House. I am Muggle-born and-"
"WHAT?!" bellowed Regulus.
"Reg. Don't be an arse. Just sit down!" barked Sirius roughly, back to his typical self that Regulus had been used to the previous year.
"Why?" snapped Regulus. "So, you could try and use your friends to make me a disgrace to Mum and Dad, just like you? I should have known that you didn't care about me enough!"
"That's not how it works at all!" yelled Sirius in denial.
"Regulus…please just sit down and we will be honest." said Lily as kindly as possible. But she was restraining herself from getting flippant at his clear signs of blood racism.
Regulus scoffed, but then noticed that his friend, Melody looked horrified and upset.
"What is it?" he asked. "You're not…a Mudblood sympathiser?"
"DON'T EVER SAY THAT AGAIN!" bellowed Severus and Sirius in furious unison.
Regulus recoiled and turned back to his brother.
"Is this why you invited me to the Potter house? You told our parents that they shared the Black family's views and then I saw that they were more friendly about them than you made out…you were trying to turn me into a Mud- Muggle lover!"
"We want you to not be like them!" said Sirius earnestly. "You see how they act. Shrieking about how filthy and perverted and unworthy Muggles, Muggle-borns and Half-bloods and half breeds are! Do you really not see anything wrong with that? I see the way you look at that forsaken elf, Kreacher when he is punished. If you can't stomach seeing a house elf suffer, how do you think you'd like to see a human being, no matter their bloodline, being tortured, enslaved or killed by the people our parents approve of? People like Voldemort!"
Regulus frowned at the most recent memory of the torturings of the house elf mentioned. His favourite elf in the House of Black at Grimmauld Place was Kreacher, and he sometimes made mistakes. The most recent one was jumping in surprise when his master, Orion Black bellowed at Sirius suddenly for neglecting a chore out of spite, and he accidentally dropped Walburga Black's morning coffee. He was resultantly beaten by Orion personally. Regulus played witness and he was horrified. He had a close friendship with Kreacher and he was powerless to help him.
"See?" said Sirius. "You don't like the treatment of house elves…you and I aren't that different, Reg. I don't like how our parents speak of Muggles and witches and wizards lesser than pure blood. I truly can't imagine you condoning Voldemort's plans for them. House elves are one thing, but people, Reg. Think of that! Do you really want to watch them suffer like that? Worse than what Kreacher gets?"
Regulus knew deep down that Sirius had a point, a valid one for once. But he still couldn't face the idea of associating with Muggle-borns immediately.
"Just let us introduce ourselves, Regulus." said Severus calmly. "Then maybe once you get to know us, you can surpass the whole elitist thing going through your head right now."
"Are any of you Pure-bloods?" asked Regulus desperately.
"I am, as you know." said James. "Your brother and I are best friends clearly, but we associate with other people who aren't Pure Blood. Mary here is also Pure-blood, but she and her family are, as you would likely call, blood traitors. Not that we agree on that term. Peter is too, and I don't know about you, Remus?"
"Yes, I'm Pure-blood…or…"
Remus couldn't continue, knowing he was no longer pure, but was rather a Dark half-breed. He didn't want the others to know. James, Sirius and Severus understood, but Regulus had a suspicious expression at Remus' hesitation.
"And the rest?"
"Quincey and Lily are Muggle-born." continued Sirius. "And Severus is Half-blood, but his mother is from the Prince family."
"The family that have gone bonkers about blood rights?" asked Regulus with interest.
"Not bonkers. They were enlightened!" snarled Severus.
"Enlightened how?" asked Regulus doubtfully.
Severus took this opportunity to introduce himself properly, and explained about his mother and father, how his father died, but he did not elaborate the major details about it or their backstory. Then he told of how his mother reunited with his grandparents, and how the reunion made Septimus and Desdemona see sense that Muggles and Half-bloods weren't all bad and how they befriended Lily's family. Lily then introduced herself properly and spoke of her background too. The cycle continued. Regulus listened patiently, but couldn't help twitching at Quincey and Lily's introductions, and he felt certain that Remus was hiding something.
Severus could tell that Regulus had suspicions, but he was saved by another revelation during Melody's introduction.
"H-hi." she said timidly. "I'm Melody…and I'm…I'm…"
"Yes?" asked Mary encouragingly. She found it odd to be talking nicely and encouragingly to a Slytherin.
Melody was looking at Regulus in fear. Regulus didn't understand why, but Severus did in his shrewdness.
"You're a Muggle-born?" he asked.
Sobbing now, Melody nodded.
"But that can't be!" cried Regulus. "You said you were from the Rowle family!"
Melody shook her head miserably.
"I'm a Royale." she said. "R-O-Y-A-L-E. I'm from a Muggle London family. You assumed it to be one of those Pure-blood family, Rowle. R-O-W-L-E. I took advantage of that cos nobody else on the table seemed to want to talk to me, and you were so nice…I heard on the train about how Slytherin House hates Muggles like me and want to…to pulverise them. I had to lie about who I am to be safe in my own House. When I was Sorted into the House which is famous for hating anyone below pure Wizarding blood, I was so scared…"
Severus felt bad that he hadn't noticed Melody's distress at the Sorting, but clearly nobody else did either. Except-
"I assumed you were nervous, like me." said Regulus dimly. "I was afraid too. So, I spoke to you and then we hit it off…and now…"
Regulus looked at Melody with shame. She was crying, looking pale and beyond terrified that he was going to reveal her true identity as a Muggle-born to their fellow Slytherins. He felt ashamed that he frightened her so much.
"I'm sorry, Mel." he said quietly.
Melody and Sirius looked to him in surprise.
"I cared enough to speak to you…and we have really hit off since then. These past two weeks may not have been so great without you around." he admitted.
Severus suddenly saw a lot of himself in Regulus at this moment. Melody was a much more emotional parody of Lily, but their relationship was almost mirrored. Severus hoped that Regulus would not lose his new friend because of the prejudices of blood purity being too strong within him. He would make sure he didn't, along with Sirius and Lily by his side.
"I'm sorry." continued Regulus. "I'll try to…I'll try to be okay with it…but I've been raised this way for so long. But I don't want to end our friendship! I swear, you're a great friend, and you still are despite my finding out about your blood status."
Melody shook her head.
"You won't see me the same…we're too different now."
"Give your friendship a chance, Melody." said Lily sweetly. "If Regulus is willing to join our group of friends with you, despite what he's learned…maybe you can help him see the benefits of Muggle-borns. You, me and the others can show him what we can do! We will make him proud to call you his friend…all of us."
Melody wiped her tears, sniffled and nodded, and Lily kindly hugged her.
"We'll be your friends too, Mel." she whispered, as though she were addressing a little sister.
Severus had almost forgotten how mature Lily could be when helping out a friend in need, despite her short temper, and to see his new Lily portray that wondrous quality now, it warmed his heart and he smiled.
"What ya say, Reg?" asked Sirius. "Willing to give our group a shot?"
Regulus paused, glancing at his new friend hugging Lily and how welcoming the others looked, then addressed his brother after inhaling deeply.
"Well, I suppose so. After all, I don't trust Mel in the hands of someone like you, big brother."
James laughed, and Sirius poked his brother's chest.
"Showing a sense of humour? I'll take that as a compliment!" he retorted.
Severus smiled. Not just one, but two Slytherins were now part of their social group and with their slowly but growing friendships, they were a step closer to bringing House unity to Hogwarts.
(Chapter 27 done! Sorry for the long wait! Chapter 28 hopefully coming sooner. Please read and review! Thank you!)