A/N: Would that I were JKR.
I searched for him on the train platform, my eyes roving over the many families gathered there beside the steaming, waiting scarlet train. I barely noticed the stares and sneers—those I'd grown accustomed to quickly, years ago. No, that day, the only thing I was concerned about was finding Regulus.
And finally, find him I did. I stowed my trunk into an empty compartment at the end of the train with the help of an older girl—she must not have known who I was, else I doubt she'd have given me a hand—and set off along the train, looking into compartment after compartment in search of my long-lost friend. I stumbled into one filled with older boys and tripped gracelessly, falling over their feet and nearly hitting the ground before a pair of hands grabbed my arm and yanked me up. I found myself staring into a pair of familiar grey eyes. Grey eyes I knew well, so well. Grey eyes that stared back at me in surprise.
The wrong grey eyes.
"Sirius?" I asked, startled to see him, though I suppose I shouldn't have been. I'd been so focused on finding Reg that I'd virtually forgotten the other figures from my past who I would bump into at school—Sirius must be starting his second year.
He frowned at me. "Phaedra?" He hadn't laughed when I'd tripped, none of the boys had. That should have been the first sign to alert me to how different he was from the young, snooty boy I'd known.
I nodded at him and tried to get my bearings. There were three other boys in the compartment looking on in interest. One with unmanageable black hair and spectacles, one who was sandy-haired and rather thin and weak-looking, and one a bit squatter with very dirty blonde hair.
"Haven't seen you in awhile," Sirius was commenting dryly.
I tried to seem like I had some idea of what I was doing and stood as straight as I could.
"Sirius, you know her?" The black-haired one asked.
"Yeah, I…" Sirius looked at me strangely. "This is Phaedra Aldebaran. Phaedra, this is James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew," he explained, waving his hand at his friends.
"Aldebaran?" The blonde one echoed. "Like, Insane Echidna and the Axe of Doom? That Aldebaran?" The other two looked at me curiously, the Potter boy's eyebrows rose.
My cheeks colored at the phrase; I was more than familiar with it due to its propensity to pop up in the Daily Prophet.
"That's none of your business!" I snapped at the dumpy boy. I turned to Sirius, sticking a piece of hair behind my ear. "Look, Sirius, I was just looking for Regulus. Could you tell me where I can find him?"
He was still frowning. "He's a few compartments down, I think. But—Phaedra, I dunno if it's a good idea—"
"Why not?" I retorted. "Like you'd even know. Last I heard, you can barely call yourself a Black anymore."
He bristled at that. "Fine," he said, waving a hand at the door. "Fine. Knock yourself out. But things have changed, Phaedra. Go find out for yourself."
I turned and left. What did he know, anyway? I'd never liked Sirius much. He'd always been a right arse. He must not have changed so drastically, after all. I caught a comment from one of his friends—Potter, I think—as I exited their compartment. "Fiery, that one," he'd said with a laugh.
I shook myself and continued along until I found what looked like the right compartment. I slid the door open to find a few boys of varying ages, and looked over them all. And there he was. Sitting in the corner, laughing at something someone had said.
Regulus. He looked different—he'd shot up a few inches, and his hair was longer than he used to keep it—but I knew him right away.
I felt suddenly overcome at the sight of him, and considered backing out, but it was too late now. They were already looking up, challenging me with their eyes. None of them looked particularly nice. There was one boy, four or five years older, with brown hair and cruel black eyes. Another who looked around Sirius's age and was greasier than anyone I'd even met. And another big, bulky boy who looked liked he'd never strung two thoughts together in his life.
"Yes?" Said the one with the cruel eyes, as if I'd trespassed on sacred ground.
"Er—could I speak to Regulus for a minute?" I chanced a glance at him and was startled to find him staring—no, glaring at me.
"As if he'd want to talk to you," the greasy one sneered. "Aldebaran, is it?" I nodded, blushing fiercely. "Thought so." His sneer grew, and the other boys laughed unkindly. He turned to Regulus, who hadn't laughed but still glared at me. "Well, Black, what do you say?" The boy sized me up with his eyes. "Not much to see, is there? But obviously those Aldebarans will do it with anything. You could try her out."
Never mind the fact that we were only eleven. I grit my teeth and looked to Reg, pleading at him with my eyes. But a stranger looked back at me.
"Who'd want to try that?" He scoffed. "Filthy guttersnipe. How can you even bear to show your face?" He looked up at the others, who were chuckling. "I knew insanity ran in the family. Wasn't aware stupidity did, too." He glanced again at me, coldly, as if daring me to respond.
Which I couldn't. I stood there for a moment in horror, my mouth wide and gaping like a fish, gasping, out of water. And then I fled.
I was a brainless, naïve little child then. I banked—even after those years of nothing but rumors and odd looks and cruel laughter—still, I banked on the goodness of others. No. Not of others. Of Regulus. I knew he wasn't always kind. But I'd also known that he wasn't all bad, either, and I gambled on the good side I'd seen break out every once in awhile when we were children. I gambled on him remembering our years of friendship, and wanting to recapture them as feverishly as I did. I gambled, and I lost.
But now I've changed, as well. And I'm not that little child anymore.
A/N: Please review!