Chapter 6: And Then Life Happens
Chapter Text
After Christmas, Regulus decided to distract himself with classes and studying for the exams coming up. His grandfather wanted to meet with him, even though he couldn't even remember the last time he had seen his grandfather, and it was making him unnecessarily nervous over his every move.
The Marauders had made their mark on the school, quite literally. They had bowed after a prank they had done in the Great Hall and had also bowed to Regulus, which had been a little embarrassing as it told the rest of the school that he was also a part of their group. Whether that was a good thing or not, Regulus hadn't quite figured it out yet.
He was sitting by his spot on the lake, reading The Hobbit, trying to organise his thoughts about the upcoming weeks. He hadn't heard from his mother since the letter he had sent at Christmas, and he wondered just how bad things were going to be.
He would have to work on his mask again while he was at home, he thought. Even though he didn't want to do what his parents told him to, it didn't mean he could fight back. It didn't mean he could behave like Sirius did at home. He had a feeling he'd have to behave like a perfect Black would. It would only be for two months… he could do that, right?
He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to collect himself. It wasn't just going home that was worrying him. A lot was worrying him and he hadn't even touched the surface.
Someone tapped his shoulder and he jumped, closing his book, and turned round on the bench, to see James smirking at him.
"Can't I have peace and quiet just this once?" Regulus asked, looking up to the sky dramatically. His lips turned upwards into a smile when he heard James's laughter.
James sat down next to him. "No, you can't. You've been avoiding us—and me in the process," he said.
Regulus felt a little guilty about that. Yes, he had been avoiding the Marauders since their prank on the first week back after Christmas, but that was only because he was too embarrassed to be seen with them. Embarrassed by what, he didn't know himself. But something inside told him that he shouldn't be hanging out with them as much as he had before Christmas, and so, he was listening to his gut.
"I…" Regulus started, but James put up a finger to silence him.
"I don't want an apology. I want to know what was in that letter at Christmas. You had the same expression on your face that you had when you received a letter from your parents," James said in one breath with concern in his eyes, and Regulus opened his mouth only to close it again. He frowned; how long had James wanted to talk to him about this for? Why hadn't he spoken sooner?
Probably because you avoided them?
Regulus debated telling James; there was a reason why he hadn't said anything at Christmas. But… he felt like he could trust James. And he did need to get it off his chest.
"It was from my grandfather," Regulus said with a shaky breath.
James frowned.
"Your Grandfather? What did he say?" he asked softly. "If you don't mind me asking."
Regulus chuckled lightly. "Jamie, if I had minded I would have lied and said it was from the Malfoy's."
After James gave him a sheepish smile, Regulus chewed on his nails nervously before informing him, "He wants to talk to me, alone. About, well... All I know is that it's about the House of Black's future."
"That sounds official," James commented. Regulus nodded in reply; it was very official and very formal. "Did he say when the meeting would be?"
Regulus shook his head. "No, just that I'd know when. I mean, I'm not a mind reader, how am I meant to ' know ' exactly?" he questioned, running a hand through his hair frustratedly.
"Reggie, what if…" James trailed off not being able to finish the sentence and Regulus sighed.
"I know. I've thought of every scenario, I… What if he wants me to stop being friends with you… I mean, with you g-guys?" Regulus asked, stuttering at the end.
"Oh, I'm not letting that happen," James said determinedly. "You're friends with us whether your family likes it or not. Got it?"
Regulus let out a nervous laugh. "Understood," he replied. "What about if…"
"Alright. No. You need a distraction," James interrupted him, and Regulus was about to argue when James got up and grabbed him by his wrists. James doesn't need to drag me anywhere; I'd follow James willingly. Not that he would ever tell James that or admit it to anyone.
"Where are we going?" Regulus asked as they walked through the grounds and down a hill.
"You'll see!" James replied in a sing-song voice.
Eventually, he did. James was taking him to the Quidditch pitch. What was his plan?
There were a few others on the pitch, and he saw that it was shared practice. On some days, the Quidditch pitch was free for all houses to use, but Regulus had only been there to watch Ravenclaw and Gryffindor practice.
"Here," James said as they made it to the broom cupboard, and he handed Regulus a broom and took one of the spare Quidditch sets. "Let's play a good old game of who can catch the Snitch."
Regulus blinked at him. "You're not even in your Quidditch gear, and I'm not on a team yet," he pointed out and James stared at him, but after a few moments, he replied, "Fine, let's reconvene in fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes later and James was back on the pitch, with a set of blue Quidditch robes and James in his own Quidditch gear.
"How'd you…" Regulus began and James just smirked.
"Ask no questions, hear no lies," James replied, making Regulus roll his eyes.
Regulus went to the Ravenclaw changing room to put on his borrowed Quidditch gear.
He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled; he'd definitely think about trying out for the team next year. Even if he probably wouldn't make it. He left the changing room and joined James on the pitch once more.
"Ready?" James asked, and Regulus nodded with a smile, already having forgotten what he had been worrying about.
"Ready."
Regulus loved flying, the breeze in his hair, and the view he got from it when he was high up in the air. James let the Golden Snitch into the air, and Regulus kept an eye on it, observing the small winged ball as it flew off down the other end of the pitch. He wasn't sure how good James would be at this, considering he was a Chaser and not a Seeker, but Regulus didn't think too much about that as he headed in the direction the Golden Snitch had taken.
He picked up speed and weaved his way through the random players that were practicing who were in his way as James caught up to him.
"Not bad for a first year," James said as he flew past with a cheeky smile and Regulus pulled a face as he tried determinedly to keep up, not far behind James.
I'll take that as a compliment, he thought as something shiny caught the corner of his eye. Regulus found the Golden Snitch and saw it was below them, flying by the bottom of the posts. Regulus pulled back and got away with a sharp turn, going back on himself and gaining speed as he kept his eye on the Golden Snitch.
The small winged ball was still there when Regulus finally reached the posts, and he was about to put his arm out so he could catch it, when the Golden Snitch moved upwards, once again. Regulus groaned in frustration, moving up with the ball.
He didn't know where James was, he thought the other Marauder was behind him, but he didn't really care. All he was interested in was catching the Golden Snitch; he didn't need any distractions.
Regulus caught up with the Golden Snitch and narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what the flighty little ball was going to do next.
The Golden Snitch didn't move from its place, which was near one of the stands and Regulus held his breath as he caught it with his left hand surprisingly.
He heard a cheer, and Regulus looked down to see James, clapping and whooping on his broom, hovering near the benches, making him smile as he flew back down to the ground, and James followed him.
"Did you give up?" Regulus questioned, a little out of breath, once they were both on the ground. James shrugged sheepishly.
"I didn't give up," James defended himself, "I just did a few laps, the snitch was more for you than for me. Besides, you had it under control."
"Mhmm," Regulus hummed with a smirk. He repeated teasingly, "You gave up."
"Alright, fine. I gave up, but if you tell anyone…" James trailed off threateningly, and Regulus put his hands up in mock surrender.
"I swear I won't," he said, trying to keep his laughter under control.
"Sorry to interrupt." Both boys turned their heads to see a much older boy, maybe fifth year, Regulus assumed, in Ravenclaw Quidditch gear making his way towards the pair.
"I couldn't help but notice you up there," he said, and Regulus frowned in confusion.
"I'm the Ravenclaw captain," the boy explained and Regulus's eyes widened in understanding.
"Oh," Regulus said. "Pleasure to meet you," he said politely and the boy nodded.
"Likewise."
Regulus blinked when James patted a hand on his shoulder. "This is Regulus Black, first year. It's why he isn't on your team," James spoke for him and Regulus couldn't help but look at him with a glare. He could introduce himself.
"Ah, I did wonder. Try out for the team next year. Seeker position will be up for grabs, and I think you'd be right for it."
Then, the boy wandered off again with a wave of goodbye, and Regulus stood there bewildered at what had just happened.
"Congrats, Reggie!" James said with a grin, squeezing his shoulder supportively.
"But… all I did was catch the snitch? It's not like that hasn't been done before," Regulus said, still shocked. He wasn't that good.
He heard James's laughter, "Alright, come on. Let's go to lunch, Sirius will want to hear about this!"
OoO
A couple of hours later and it was late evening. Regulus was reading in an armchair in his dorm room before thinking of heading to bed. His other roommates were in the common room leaving him be, which was just the way Regulus liked it.
Until he was suddenly disturbed by a loud pop.
"Master Regulus, Master Arcturus Black wants to meet with you now."
Regulus glanced up from his book, startled. "Now?" he questioned and was confused when the house elf held his hands as Hogwarts Castle faded away. It was replaced by dark green wallpaper, and a large bookshelf with a desk and an old man reading a newspaper. He was wearing very smart, dark blue wizarding robes. The man looked up as Regulus gasped, a knot twisting in his stomach.
"Try not to throw up," the man said, "it will take ages for Bissy to clean."
Regulus held his breath and pulled himself together, ignoring the comment. He knew his grandfather was lying; it would take the House-Elf seconds to clean. But he used his well-crafted mask not to roll his eyes, and his expression remained neutral as he nodded in greeting.
"Hello, Grandfather."
"Regulus," Arcturus said, nodding, closing the paper. "We have a lot to discuss."
Regulus started to chew his nails nervously as Arcturus stood up and walked closer to him. Well, he didn't walk, it was like he glided across the room. He went past where Regulus was standing, to his bookcase. He then pulled a book that was placed about halfway up on the tall bookcase, and Regulus blinked, surprised when part of the bookshelf moved.
"Don't just stand there," Arcturus said as he waved Regulus through. Regulus walked along a thin corridor that led to a medium sized circular room, with a round table that had a few chairs round it, while the walls were covered from head to toe in books.
He sat down in one of the chairs and Arcturus sat opposite.
"You may be wondering why I wanted to meet with you."
No, I was just wondering how anyone had this many books, Regulus thought somewhat sarcastically, trying to focus on his grandfather, nodding in agreement.
"Your mother is making a mockery of the House of Black publicly and I will not allow it to continue," he stated and Regulus stared, not knowing what to think or say to that. "But, we have to be smart about our next move."
Regulus listened, fidgeting with his robe as he did so. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like the sound of this, not one bit. Whenever he had heard of his grandfather before when he was younger, he would often hear about how much of a true Black the man was. This was considered a bad thing in his parents' eyes. His mother didn't like him, and his father didn't disagree with her.
The rants he had overheard (accidentally, of course), about not getting on the wrong side of him… on how she wished he'd die already, so Orion could take up the Black's family inheritance and name. It's something he shouldn't have heard at a young age, yet… now. Now his grandfather was turning to him. Why?
"I'm going to teach you Occlumency, Regulus. And then, I have a plan set for you that you won't like."
Regulus straightened up in his seat and tried not to pull a face of dismay. "What do you need me to do?"
"Play spy for the Dark Lord, of course," he said like it was obvious. Regulus's heartbeat quickened considerably, his breathing was getting shorter as he looked at his grandfather with nothing but worry.
No. Not this. Anything, anything, but this.
"How is that going to work, Sir? I went against my parents to avoid the Dark Lord! There must be something else, anything else! Why not Sirius?" Regulus cried desperately. Not caring how broken he sounded.
"Because, young one. No one would believe him, and it would be too obvious. There's nothing else, I've gone through every plan that might have worked. This is the one that'll keep everyone happy -"
" - Apart from me!" Regulus interrupted, trying not to raise his voice. "I'm friends with Sirius's friends, Sirius is my brother again, I can't just turn my back on them!"
"I'm not asking you to, what I'm asking is for you to distance yourself from them and start spending more time with the Slytherins you do like," Arcturus replied cunningly. "Get on the inside, get them to like you. Soon enough, things will fall into place. Your mother will stop bad mouthing the Blacks, and I'll be able to set to work on the next stages of the plan."
"What if I don't agree to this?" Regulus questioned, trying to wrap his head around what he was being told, what he had to do.
"Then the Black line will perish and it'll be on you. The name of my family and the future of the family rests on you, son. You have to understand, this is for your own safety. For Sirius, and for the Dark Lord's downfall."
Regulus sat back in his chair, rubbing his forehead in frustration. He was trying to decide if this was worse than what his mother would have in store for him, or better. Well, it definitely wasn't better.
"Goodnight, Regulus. You'll know when to hear from me again, and take this book from the Black library with you," Arcturus said, passing him a book which was titled The Art of Occlumency. "Oh, and I don't need to tell you not to tell anyone."
A pop later and Regulus was back in his armchair with a heavy heart.
It didn't seem like he had much of a choice this time.