Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to JK Rowling. For information on Caradoc Dearborn see A/N at end.


The Perfect Friendship

Caradoc Dearborn and Regulus Black were unlikely mates, but if the casual observer were to look closer at their relationship they would not be surprised. Both were pureblood wizards with black hair and clear, grey eyes. They were thin, wiry, strong, powerful and intelligent wizards. They were more alike than their brothers by birth. Caradoc was the seeker for the Ravenclaw team. Regulus was the seeker for Slytherin. Regulus was the top student in their year while Caradoc was a close second. Often one would be the top in one class while the other would be the top student in another. The fact that Caradoc was a Ravenclaw made it possible for him to remain Regulus' friend when it would not be possible if he were a Hufflepuff or worse a Gryffindor. Being the youngest of their families, they grew up with the knowledge that they would not be the heir. They often discussed what they were going to do with their lives after they finished their school years.

Caradoc and Regulus were seated on a bench in the courtyard below the West Tower and Owlery. It was a blustery day and besides their cloaks they had the appropriate colored scarves and mittens on. They also wore earmuffs for warmth, not for Herbology. The snow had been cleared from the bench and a warming charm had been cast on the wood. (Both boys knew that warming charms did not work well or long on stone benches.) This was where they often went to visit and be away from the general school populous.

"Too bad we're not muggles," Caradoc stated. "The second son often immigrates to Canada, Australia or another of the Colonies where they make a fortune and a name for themselves."

"To begin with, we are not muggles," Regulus argued. "If we were, nobody would be having this big discussion about my brother and his being sorted into Gryffindor, then becoming more Gryffindor than Godric."

"At least we don't have to become priests or monks!" Card countered.

"Well, they do wear robes," Reg replied, "They just don't get the birds." He thought a moment and added, "I wonder if they all die virgins."

"I'll bet not. I bet they screw around, shag all the skirts they can, then pledge celibacy."

"I'd even bet they weren't celibate, but I'm certainly not finding one to ask," countered his friend.

"Speaking of non-celibate men, I wonder what your brother is up to …," Card nodded over Reg's shoulder at the approaching Sirius Black.

Regulus rolled his eyes before turning to greet his older brother. "What's up, Sirius?"

"Just checking to see if you were going home for the winter hols. Can't see why Mother can't send you an owl, too. Turns me into a carrier pigeon instead, she frosts me!" Sirius ranted.

Regulus let him rant. It was easier to let him blow off steam. "I will owl back that I will be there. What are you doing?"

Sirius sneered, then said, "Same as usual. Go home. Say something. Get yelled at. Yell back. Get threatened. Leave and spend the rest of the holidays with James' family." As an afterthought he added, "Can you tell HER I will be there?"

"Will I please tell Mother you are coming?" Reg corrected. "Why, yes Sirius, I would be ever so glad to inform her of your plans." The sarcasm was dripping from his words like honey from a dipper. He stood, picked his book bag off the ground, and slung a strap over his shoulder. "Want to come with me?" he asked Caradoc.

Caradoc stood and gathered his things. He looked after Sirius who was storming away. "There is a man whose life is planned and does not want it," he observed.

Reg snorted, "He could never be a priest. Good thing he's the first son."


The winter holidays were going exactly as Sirius had predicted only this time it was different. Sirius had turned sixteen in November and now Regulus would be fifteen before they went back to school. Sirius was downstairs being called on the carpet for something he probably had done by their mother. Regulus was in his room. Their voices were getting louder and what they were saying was clearer even though the door to his room was closed. "FINE! AS SOON AS I GET MY THINGS YOU WON'T HAVE AN IMPERFECT SON ANY MORE!" Sirius shouted and apparated up the stairs to his room. There was a whirl of sound coming from there, then silence. Suddenly he heard his brother in the parlor again. "LEAVE MY THINGS EXACTLY AS THEY ARE!"

"YOU WILL TAKE YOUR FILTH WITH YOU IF YOU LEAVE. IF YOU STEP ONE FOOT OUT THAT DOOR, YOU ARE NO LONGER A PART OF THE FAMILY!" Regulus shuddered. The only person who could yell louder than his brother was his mother. Walburga Black had a powerful set of lungs and never needed to cast sonorous to be heard.

He remained in his room. First he heard the door slam. That was followed by the smell of burning wool. The steps on the stairs were not the light, dainty steps of a lady. His mother was marching up to Sirius room. She cast spell after spell to open the door finally she grabbed the knob and turned it. Regulus snickered at the thought that Sirius had not locked the door but had slammed it. A string of curses and spells were being cast to remove the pictures of the muggle motorbikes and scantily clad women from the walls and ceiling. He snickered again because he knew that his brother had invented a sticking spell that required the caster to read backward the passage from Shakespeare's Macbeth where the witches are around the caldron. Not only did they need to read it backward, but they had to stand with their backs to the objects they were unsticking.

"He might be an idiot and a Gryffindor, but damn, he could be creative in the spells he had come up with," Reg thought. "No wonder he gets along so well with Flitwick." Reg would never reveal to his mother the secret unsticking charm. She could have the sticking one she had found in Sirius room and tried to use it. The other part of the charm was that you could never put anything over the top of an object that was stuck with the charm. It was similar to encasing it hermetically in glass that had a film on it that would not allow anything to adhere to the glass.

Walburga finally gave up and moved down to Regulus' room. "You no longer have a brother and his name will never be spoken in this house as long as I am alive. I have disowned HIM!" The final word was spoken with so much venom that the listener wanted to check for fang marks.


"Sirius," Regulus nodded in greeting to his brother, but moved to an empty train car for the trip back to the castle.

"Hey, Reg," Caradoc greeted. "Was your break good?"

"Exactly as predicted," Regulus answered looking over his shoulder at his brother who was moving down the aisle.

"Your brother?" Card asked leaving most of the words unsaid.

"Disinherited."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not now."

The two sat in silence until a couple of first year girls looked in and then left without saying a word. The trip back to the castle was in complete silence except for when the lady brought the trolley by and asked if they wanted something.


Sitting on their bench in below the Owlery, Caradoc and Regulus were deep in thought.

"You know Mother wishes for me to follow tradition and Lord Voldemort now that Sirius is really gone."

"I know," Caradoc answered the unasked question, "and you will follow. Do you believe all the things that he teaches?"

"Not all of it, but it makes sense in a way. We are being forced to hide because of muggles. Who will be ruling us next, trolls?" Regulus shook his head. "I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens, won't we."

"You know that even if you follow him and I go my way we still will be mates."

"Yeah, but we just won't be as close." As an afterthought Regulus said, "When this war is over, since I don't have to become a priest, want to go find birds?"


Three years later at the memorial service for Regulus Black, the silence of the day was broken by the fluttering of wings and nineteen white doves flew in and settled on his grave. From the back, under a disillusion spell a figure silently wept for his friend and the needless loss of life in the name of family pride. Two years after that there was no one to notice, but there were twenty-two white doves that lit on the grave marked by the name "Caradoc Dearborn". It was another memorial service for a cherished friend.


LL Quidditch Round 1, Reserve for Beater 2

Task: Write of an inter-house friendship.

A/N: Caradoc Dearborn was one of the Order of the Phoenix identified by Moody in the picture of the Order. He says that Caradoc disappeared six months after the picture was taken. Marlene McKinnon died two weeks after the picture was taken in July 1981. This puts his death about December 1981 or January 1982. (OP9) This is all that is known about him. For the purposes of this story I have put him into Ravenclaw and the same year as Regulus Black who was a Slytherin. Regulus was the seeker for Slytherin because Harry points out that the seeker always sits in the center of the front row of team pictures. Regulus was born in 1961 and died in 1979 (OP6), though until Harry questioned Kreacher nobody knew how he had died, just that he had disappeared (DH10).