Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter is not mine. It belongs to JKR.
Brother Mine —
I haven't been able to write in months. I'm sorry.
Ever since I saw you like that — beaten, bloody, but somehow still defiant — ever since that night, I haven't been able to write.
It was a few days later that you came into my room in the morning, while I was reading, and tried to make conversation with me. Tried to act like nothing had happened and you'd never gone to Hogwarts or anything. Of course, it didn't work.
First off, you apologized for slamming the door in my face.
This, of course, made me break into tears, saying, "I'm so sorry — I didn't know — oh, please believe me, I didn't know — I mean, I was mad, but — I'm so sorry —"
And you just kind of stood there awkwardly until I got myself together. Then you sat down next to me on the bed. You apologized for being a prat in your letters and all, and said you had missed me really.
I said I hadn't even written.
You didn't really reply to that, just started talking about your Gryffindor friends and how they'd made you see how wrong our family really was, how the anti-Muggle prejudice was really bad.
I was shocked. I kept protesting, but you just forged ahead. Then, you looked earnestly at me, and said, "Reg, you do know they're Dark wizards, right?"
"They're what?" I asked, completely bypassing the use of the hated nickname.
"Dark wizards," you repeated. "They practice Dark magic. Our family."
"Dark magic?"
"You know. Bad magic. Magic that's harmful. It hurts people, and makes them do things they don't want to."
"Oh." I paused. "I've never seen our family do anything like that."
You scowled and changed the subject, asking what I was reading. I showed you the book.
You flipped through it, and your eyes widened. You said, "Regulus, you aren't learning from this book, are you?"
"Well sure I am," I replied, confused.
Your mouth went tight and angry. "This is Dark magic, Regulus. The basics of Dark magic."
I just stared at you.
"Where'd you get this?" you asked, angry.
I told you Bella'd given it to me at Christmas and I'd been studying from it ever since.
"So you're one of them," you said stiffly.
"Who?" I asked.
"You know. Them. Our family."
"Well, of course. I'm a Black, aren't I? Like Mother and Father and you. And Bella and Andi and Cissy."
You just stared at me. "I thought you were better than that, Regulus." And then you left.
I still don't understand, not completely. I asked Bella, later on, whether she was teaching me Dark magic, because it certainly didn't seem bad to me. I wasn't hurting anyone, or making anyone do things.
Bella pursed her lips and told me that she was teaching me a more uncommon brand of magic, and that many people didn't understand it and were therefore afraid of it and prejudiced against it. She said that in Gryffindor, you probably heard about it from those who were prejudiced.
"There's a certain great man I am privileged to know," she told me, "who once said to me, 'Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, and spite spawns lies.'"
It makes sense, doesn't it? Those who don't understand how to achieve greatness through it are envious, and the lie about the magic, making it seem worse than it is.
You're being silly, and paranoid. There's nothing to worry about.
I've gotten off-track, though, haven't I? I don't mean to be talking about "Dark" magic. I was talking about you, and — well — I don't know. You.
It's just, there's a rift between us. I mean, I'm not as mad now, in July, as I was in the winter. You and I are getting along fine. It's just that we don't know each other like we used to. Our paths have diverged, so to speak.
See, I know that come September, I'll be Sorted into Slytherin. I know you don't know it, but I do. I know you don't want it, that you keep trying to convince yourself and me that I'll end up in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw or even Hufflepuff. But I don't see anything wrong with Slytherin. I want to be Sorted there, and I know I will. I even asked Phineas Nigellus, and he assured me that I looked like a Slytherin to him — and Phineas never lies to make people feel better. I'll be a Slytherin, and you'll be disappointed and probably angry. I don't know whether tha'll be the thing to finalize the rift between us, but I know it will be finalized. It's not that I won't miss you. I will. I do already. But I'm kind of — beyond that. It's not that I don't care. It's that there are other things I care about more, and I know that when it comes to what I value, you won't win out in the end.
I suppose I'd better burn this letter before you come in and find it, hadn't I?
—Regulus
Brother Mine —
Today we went to Diagon Alley for our school stuff. You were so happy — chattering on and on about Hogwarts and how much I'll like it. You deliberately avoided mentioning the Houses.
Everything was going fine — great, in fact — until it was time to buy robes. You didn't need new ones, so you were standing around while Mr. Twilfitt pinned mine for me and Mother was off somewhere else in the shop.
Twilfitt was nearly done when Mother came back. She said, "Here, Regulus, I've gotten you a Slytherin scarf," holding it out to me.
You cleared your throat. "Mother, wouldn't it make more sense to wait until he's been Sorted, and mail him the appropriate scarf?"
Mother looked angrily at you, and then turned to me. "It's your choice, Regulus."
I looked at you, then back at her. "I'll take the scarf now, Mother. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you."
Later, when we were alone, you told me I should stop submitting to her, I should stand up for what I wanted.
That made me blow up. I started yelling at you that maybe that was what I wanted. That just because you're my brother doesn't mean I have to share your opinions on everything. I said that maybe I would be a Slytherin, maybe I wanted to be a Slytherin.
When I was done, you were perfectly silent. Then you asked if I was still studying from That Book, with capital letters that were audible. You hadn't mentioned it all summer.
I didn't answer, I just walked away. But I'll tell you now. Yes, I am. And I don't think it's bad. I'm enjoying it. I like it.
I'm going to like Slytherin, too.
— Regulus
Brother Mine —
Well, Bella's engagement party was today — you sure didn't seem happy about coming. Of course, she and Rodolphus aren't getting married until next year, but couldn't you at least pretend to be happy for them? She is family. And no matter what you say, family is important.
She talked to me specially today. With all the people there, she drew me aside and talked to me alone in a little chamber off the hall in Uncle Aldebaran's house.
She asked me if I remembered when she'd told me what a great man she knew had said about envy. I said yes, and quoted it for her: "Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies."
She was pleased to hear I'd remembered it. Then she told me about this man.
His name is Lord Voldemort, she said, but you shouldn't call him that, because his title is 'the Dark Lord'. When I asked why, she told me that it's because he uses Dark magic, and reminded me that Dark didn't mean bad.
Then she told me that he's a really powerful wizard, even more powerful than Albus Dumbledore. She told me that he's found a way to make himself immortal. "He can't share those arcane secrets with us," she added sternly. "But we know that he's done more to ensure his immortality than anyone else in history. We know that he is immortal."
I was impressed, but I didn't know what to say. Finally, I asked, "What do you mean by we?"
She smiled. "His followers. Perhaps when you're older you can be one of us." She explained to me that he's a great man with great ideals, and he wants to implement those ideals. She and Rodolphus have joined him on that quest.
Then she rolled up her sleeve and showed me a tattoo on her left forearm that I'd never seen before. It was a jet black depiction of a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth like a tongue. "It's his sign," she told me. "It's called the Dark Mark. All his followers have them now."
"But what does it mean to be his follower?" I asked. "What are his ideals? What's he doing?"
She looked at me for a moment and then said, "There are some secrets I want to tell you, Regulus. But first I need you to take a vow for me. It's called the Unbreakable Vow, and once you've taken it, I know you won't betray us. All right?"
I consented, not entirely sure what she was talking about or why this was so secret. She told me to wait for a moment while she went nad got Rodolphus to be our Bonder, whatever that was.
So I waited, and she was back in a few minutes, with him at her side. She told me to kneel, and I did, as she kneeled across from me. "Now, I'm going to grasp your hand like so —" she did it — "and Rodolphus is going to put his wand up against our clasped hands. Now, I'm just going to ask you one simple question, all right? You just need to say 'I will' in reply."
"All right," I said.
She nodded. "Good." Rodolphus put his wand to our hands, and she asked, "Will you, Regulus, keep the secrets of the Dark Lord and not tell a soul unless I or he himself has given you permission to tell that person?"
"I will," I said (after all, why not?), and a little tongue of fire shot out of Rodolphus's wand and wrapped around our hands. The heat of it was a little uncomfortable, and after a moment it sank into our skin, which hurt. Bella released my hand. Then Rodolphus left, and she explained.
She told me that the Dark Lord's a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself. Then she asked me if I knew the story of Salazar Slytherin. Of course I did — doesn't everyone? When Hogwarts was founded, Muggles were in the middle of their persecution craze. There were so many of them and so few of us that despite their lack of magic, they still posed an enormous threat. Hogwarts was built as a place to train young witches and wizards away from the threat of Muggles, but the other founders wanted to allow Muggle-borns into the school. It was converse to all logic, and Slytherin said as much — what were the chances that they would not be betrayed, at some point, by one of their protégées? Slytherin quarreled with Gryffindor on the topic, and he was driven from the school.
I told the story for Bella, and she looked proud. "Exactly," she said. "Salazar Slytherin's mission was to protect the wizarding world from Muggles, and that his descendant's mission, as well."
"But Muggles don't know about us anymore."
"Some do, because Dumbledore lets their children come to Hogwarts and hardly imposes any security at all. That's the rest of the problem. Of course, there are more issues with allowing Mudbloods into wizarding society than just security."
"Yeah, I know." I listed some — they don't understand us like those born to our way of life, they haven't grown up in our culture. Letting such people into our midst is a sure way to cause the degradation of wizarding society. Besides that, their blood is so much pure — when they mix with proper wizards, it increases the likelihood of squibs.
Bella nodded, approving of my recital. Then she told me that the Dark Lord's trying to do something about it. He aims to purge our society of Mudbloods.
I asked how, but she smiled and told me we'd had enough secrets for the night, and my family was probably looking for me.
So now I'm sitting in my room at home and writing all this down. The Unbreakable Vow is a funny thing — I think it knows no one will read this, although I do get a bit of a funny twinge as I write. Then again, I'm not sure how it keeps you from breaking it. I think I could — I don't think my throat would close up or anything — but I have this feeling of intense dread at the very thought of breaking it. I don't think I ever will, simply because I can't stand the idea. It's a strange feeling. A very strange feeling.
— Regulus
Brother Mine —
Well, the Sorting was today, and you know now, just like I always did.
I'm a Slytherin, through and through. The hat didn't even pause when I put it on, just yelled it out. Cissy and Andi are both proud, although I don't think either is as proud as Bella. I just got a letter from her a few minutes ago. I don't know how she found out so fast.
My dorm is pretty good. There's Rabastan Lestrange, Rodolphus's brother, and Evan Rosier, and Gordon Goyle, and this weird shy little kid named Francis Branstone. Apparently his family's been in Hufflepuff for ages. Bella says not to bother with him.
She told me stuff about each of my dormmates, you know. She thinks I should befriend Rabastan, of course. Apparently, his brother recommends him highly. He seems pretty quiet, but dangerous. When Rosier and Goyle got into a fight, he just stepped in, grabbed Rosier's shoulder with one hand, and dug his fingers into this spot in his neck with the other, and Rosier went rigid and stopped trying to fight. Later on, when he'd gotten them both to agree not to fight ("we're in the same dorm; we've got to stand together"), he showed us all how to do it. Apparently, their are several spots you can do that with; they're called pressure points. He says he learned it from Rodolphus.
Rosier's interesting. He's from a pure-blood family, but they haven't got much money or social standing. He's got a wicked sense of humor and a really quick temper — when Goyle said something snide about his family, he replied by launching himself at the kid and was actually beating him up, for all that he's twice his size, before Rabastan stepped in. Bella says he's an unknown quantity, and that I should keep an eye on him.
Goyle's not too smart, but his loyalty could certainly be useful for intimidating or beating up various people. Bella recommends that I try to get him loyal to me, but otherwise I shouldn't bother.
She also says not to tell anyone what I know about the Dark Lord, or to let on I've been studying the basics of Dark magic.
It's getting late, and I'm tired. I'm off to bed.
— Regulus
P.S. I haven't seen you since the Sorting.
I'm not sure what'll happen when I do.
A/N: Well, I finished this today and I've been working on and off to get it typed up. Hope you like it. I intentionally had Bella leave out a fair bit when explaining things to Regulus; he'll find more out later. And he's going to realize what an Unbreakable Vow does, too. Anyway, I might have another chapter written when I get back from the Adirondacks next Thursday. For the time being, please review — I'll be eternally grateful.