Portrait Between the Pages
Word of a Portrait

"Don't tell him that, Harry," Ron said. "He's a Death Eater, remember?"

"Which is something he regrets, remember, Ginny said firmly, glaring at her older brother as Hermione watched Regulus start to fidget uncomfortably, his mouth twisting into a frown, but something told her the person painted in the portrait was about to cry.

"And you!" Ron said. "I don't understand how you can be fine with this after what happened to you, Ginny, during your first year!"

Ginny glared back at him, folding her arms to indicate she wasn't backing down. Harry, on the other hand, frowned, a hand reaching out to pull the diary a little closer while Hermione held onto the other end.

"We should get rid of it before what happened before happens again. This time..."

"We might learn something from him, Harry," Hermione said quickly, interrupting Ron knowing her other best friend was going to suggest the same thing that happened to Ginny might happen to her, even though Ginny said it was different.

"This is different," Ginny snapped.

"How would you know?" Ron said."

"How would I know?"

"Hey!" Harry said, shaking his head and looking up at them before turning to Regulus, who still seemed agitated at hearing that Harry's parents were dead, but the arguing seemed to fluster him as well, making him rock back and forth. "Is Hermione right? Would you give us information?"

"Why would you," Regulus frowned, letting out a sniffle and wiping his nose unceremoniously on his sleeve, and then he said, "It depends."

"It depends."

"I will not, Mr. Potter, give you any information that I feel would put you, their son, in danger. Or that idiot brother of mine who always thinks before he acts, either."

Ginny let an eyebrow go up. "Well, he's quite honest, isn't he."

"He's a Death Eater," Ron muttered, going to lean against a wall. "A bloody Death Eater. Slytherin, I suspect as well."

"Really, Ron?" Hermione shook her head.

And then there was silence with Regulus fidgeting in his portrait, finally speaking up. "Well, are you going to ask me something?"

"Tuni? Who's Tuni?"

"Petunia Evans," Regulus said. "Lily's older sister who hated her for being able to do magic when she couldn't."

"My aunt Petunia?" Harry shook his head. "We must be talking about someone else because she hates magic. Anything out of the norm, actually."

"See. Can't," Ron started, only for his sister to walk over briskly and elbow him in the rib. "Ow!"

Regulus started making faces, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something, only to snap it shut, shaking his head. A few times, he reached up and tugged at his ears, almost as if something were making him anxious. He finally sighed. "I don't know. I only know what Lily told me." He shook his head, closing his eyes. "No. I only know what he imparted to me."

"He?"

"The real Regulus Black, the one who painted me. I can't think of where the error in logic is."

"Bloody," Ron said, his eyes widening, the irritation leaving his face. "He is bloody like you. Bloody logic."

"I noticed you call my mom by her first name and my dad by his last," Harry said. "Why?"

"Oh. Because Sirius would be pissed if I called Potter by his first name, I don't like making Sirius mad."

"I won't tell him."

"Yes, but that one might, and I don't trust him," Regulus said. "He's libel to throw me in the fire and be done with me."

"Don't tempt me," Ron said. "Though truth be told, I think we should."

"How did you meet my parents?" Harry said.

Regulus closed his eyes. "Potter—I met him on the Hogwarts Express on my way to my first year at Hogwarts, and Sirius told me to go away because I was being a nuisance. So I had to find Cissy to sit with instead."

Hermione watched Harry look up, a somewhat horrified look on his face. She shook her head, unsure of what to say regarding him finding out about his godfather's behavior towards his younger brother.

"And my mother?"

"Oh! Lily!" Regulus let out a laugh. "Sirius had told me I was a nuisance again or something like that. And like before, I was quite upset, but she found me and made me feel better. We both had older siblings that hated us, see?"

Harry's jaw dropped, and he looked at Hermione, obviously horrified by what Regulus said, before looking down at Regulus. "Surely Sirius doesn't hate you?"

"He does."

"Harry, Sirius hates his entire family, remember?"

"But his own brother?"

"Harry. His brother's a Death Eater. How many times do I have to remind you three?" Ron said.

"Sirius isn't a bad person," Regulus piped up. "I mean when he wants to be."

"Regulus, you're not helping," Hermione said. "And that didn't exactly answer Harry's question. He wasn't asking when you first met, but when you became friends."

"Oh. We weren't friends," Regulus said, not paying attention to how Harry stiffened, nor could he see how Ron rolled his eyes or Ginny's mouth dropped. "Truth be told, I didn't have any."

"But surely," Harry said, still looking down at the diary. "You didn't make any friends in any clubs?"

"I couldn't get relationships past the acquaintance stage like Sirius can," Regulus said. "Although Potter and Lily were more than just acquaintances. Friend, I think isn't the right word, though."

"So you knew them from the clubs you were in?" Harry asked. "That's how you got to know them?"

"One could say that," Regulus said, then nodded. "In Slugclub, I could freely associate with Lily without anybody asking, but I was pleased when I learned Potter found our Quidditch matches just as thrilling as I did."

"Wait," Harry said, becoming excited. "You played Quidditch against my dad? I'm on the Quidditch team as well."

Regulus, who'd become quite serious upon learning that James and Lily Potter were dead—even looked like he was pretty upset at the news, suddenly brightened, becoming bubbly again. "Oh? Are you a Keeper like your father?"

"No. Seeker," Harry said.

"Oh! Like me," Regulus said, suddenly grinning ear from ear. "I like being invisible."

Ron frowned. "Wait. The Seeker's not invisible. They're the most popular player on the team."

Hermione watched Regulus throw a glare in the direction Ron spoke from. "Chasers are the most popular player on the team. And Potter was amazing! I'm not, although Potter was nice enough to say otherwise. He was always kind to me. Lily as well."

"What years did you play?" Harry asked.

"Huh?" Regulus tilted his head, a look of confusion on his face.

"Harry started playing his first year," Ginny said. "What year did you start?"

"Oh! Me too, me too," Regulus said. "Although I didn't get to play in the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, it was amazing with Gryffindor winning."

Ron let out a sigh. "This is useless."

"Ron," Hermione said, frowning, as Harry's head shot up.

"Come on, Hermione. He's just parroting back things. There's..."

"Wait? Hermione?" Regulus said, tilting his head slightly. "Your name is Hermione?"

"Yes," she said, sitting up a bit straighter. "What of it?"

"As in The Winter's Tale?"

"Shakespeare's play?" Hermione asked. "Yes, that's where my parents got my name from."

"Oh, oh," Regulus bit down on his lip, although Hermione was sure, as a wizard painting, this wouldn't hurt him. "I see. I see." And then, he asked. "Is your mother a Muggle?"

Hermione frowned. "Yes, I'm Muggleborn, if that's what you're trying to ask."

"Muggleborn. I see," Regulus said, and then he was gone.

"Wow," Ron said. "I'm sure nobody is surprised that a portrait of a Pureblood Death Eater just took off on you, Hermione, when you told him you were Muggleborn." He shook his head. "You should burn it, Harry, before it becomes a problem for Hermione as it did Ginny."

"It won't be a problem," Ginny said as Hermione closed the diary with a sigh, "Because it's not even remotely the same thing.

"You can't know that," Ron said, turning his head.

"Yes, I can," Ginny said. "Because I was the one who was possessed, but that thing—no, that diary doesn't have the same feeling as Riddle's diary. So don't compare the two, but if anything happens to Regulus, Ronald Weasley, I will never forgive you."

Hermione watched Ginny turn to leave.

Ron frowned. "She's gone batty."

"But Ron," Harry said.

"What?"

"He spoke favorably of my mother," Harry said.

"And?" Ron frowned.

"She's like me," Hermione said. "Muggleborn."

Ron's eyes blinked. "Oh. Then why?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "We do need to think on this a bit."

Hermione quickly tucked the book into the bag, feeling there was nothing to think about.