Sirius entered the train, his eyes wide with wonder. Pulling his trunk behind him and breathing heavily, he walked until he could find an empty compartment. His mother's words echoed through his head.

"You'd better be in Slytherin, Sirius!"

With them came his thoughts about Reggie. Sirius' mother proposed a change in him. A large change. She said he'd make a better heir than he would.

It was Reggie. Was she insane? Just last night, she and father had been punishing - torturing - him for befriending a muggle. Now they thought that he would uphold the old pureblood prejudice.

Mother was wrong. Completely, utterly wrong. The only way Reggie would be like that would be if they turned back time and changed him when he was little. They could do nothing to him now that would change his views; he was too strong for that.

As Sirius sat there, silent, slightly scared and apprehensive, he almost didn't notice when another boy entered the cabin.

"Who are you?" he asked abruptly, seeing Sirius sitting there, alone. Sirius jumped, his eyes flashing with shock. The black, messy- haired boy seemed amused by his shock.

"I'm James Potter, and you are?" he asked again.

"I'm Sirius Black." Immediately, the boy froze. His expression became cold and angry.

"I'm finding a different compartment," he said, turning as if to leave. Sirius knew why. The Potters had been a light family for generations. The Blacks had been a dark family for centuries. The Potter kid didn't want to talk to him and assumed he was a pureblood fanatic.

"Why?"Sirius questioned with a smirk. Potter looked back at him contemptuously.

"Because you're a Slytherin! That's why!" Sirius felt surprise flash through him. The kid was already judging him for a house he wasn't in and didn't plan on entering.

"I was under the assumption that we hadn't been sorted yet, Potter."

"You're a Black. You'll be in Slytherin. That's the rule. Just like I'm a Potter, so I'll be in Gryffindor." Sirius was reminded unpleasantly of his mother.

You'd better be in Slytherin, Sirius.

Slytherin.

Sirius shook his head, effectively banishing any unwelcome thoughts.

"Rules are made to be broken." He found that he enjoyed making Potter a bit flustered. Perhaps he did have a Slytherin side?

"Those aren't!" James exclaimed vehemently. "You want to be in Slytherin!" Sirius frowned.

You'd better be in Slytherin, Sirius.

Was Potter truly arguing with him about what he wanted?

"No, I don't," Sirius said calmly, swallowing down his emotions as he'd been taught to.

"Are you saying you're a bloodtraitor?" James asked skeptically. He clearly thought it was some sort of trick. Sirius grinned and nodded.

"Yeah. My mother threatened to disown me if I'm not in Slytherin. She won't, though."

"Why wouldn't she?" James asked stupidly. It was clear that he didn't know what to make of Sirius. At this point, Sirius noticed two other kids entering the compartment. They sat on the other side of where Sirius was sitting. James was still standing.

"'Cause that'd make my younger brother -Reggie - the heir. And he's much more of a bloodtraitor than I am."

"Really?" James asked. He - finally - was setting his trunk down and taking a seat.

"Yeah. He was meeting a muggle and playing with him the whole summer! My parents found out yesterday. They were furious." It felt good to talk about Reggie like that. It showed off his bravery. He had to be the same, right? They couldn't force him to change. He'd be himself, just like always.

"Oh," James said. It appeared to Sirius that he had no idea what to say.

"What's your family like?" Sirius asked, hoping to make some conversation as the train started moving.

"Both my parents are aurors," James said, puffing out his chest with pride. Sirius tried to ignore how dumb it made the eleven-year-old look.

"Do you have any siblings?" Sirius asked, still trying desperately to keep the conversation going.

"No. What's your brother like?" Inwardly, Sirius winced. Reggie was one topic he'd been trying to avoid. He opened his mouth to give a couple tales of Reggie's bravery. What he breathed instead shocked them both.

"I don't know."

"What d'you mean?" James questioned. Potter seemed so innocent. It was clear that he hadn't quite made the connection between Sirius not wanting to talk about his family, and how he wanted to not be a Slytherin.

You'd better be in Slytherin, Sirius.

"He got... hurt yesterday. Mother's locked him in his room. I haven't seen him since."

"Hurt? Did your parents call a healer?" James asked. Mutely, Sirius shook his head. He didn't even want to reply to that. It was too far from the truth.

"Well," James said. "I'm sure he's fine." Sirius nodded and was surprised to find that he did believe it. Regulus would be fine; his mother was wrong. Reggie was way too strong to become the perfect pureblood prince that his parents wanted them to be.

With a small smile, Sirius relaxed and his worries left him, allowing him to begin to enjoy James's company.

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"Black, Sirius," the Professor called. She seemed slightly annoyed as she called the name. Sirius remembered her saying he was the head of Gryffindor house. That was probably why. She was preparing for seven years of him being in Slytherin. He'd prove her wrong, though. That he knew.

He could hear the calls of the other children, the whispers.

"Another Black?" He'll be Slytherin for sure!" There were other grumbles coming from the Gryffindor table, too. The Slytherins were calm as always, emotionless, cold. Merlin, Sirius hated them.

You'd better be in Slytherin, Sirius!

He didn't care. He didn't care if he was disowned or not. (He wouldn't be) He'd rather be a Gryffindor.

He clambered up on the stool, and he felt the hat being placed on his head.

"Ah. Another Black. A different Black. You don't wish to be in Slytherin. You'd do well there."

'No!' Sirius thought. 'Not Slytherin!'

"Yesss," the hat breathed thoughtfully. "I can see that you would not be fit for Slytherin. Much too brave, much too caring. You're worried for your brother, are you not?" Sirius nodded, once again becoming nervous about Reggie.

"Will he be alright?" he whispered to the hat, hoping for a response. The hat did not answer, instead calling out,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

All thoughts of Reggie replaced with a sudden happiness, Sirius sprang up from the stool, not noticing the sympathetic glance the hat sent him as he walked to the Gryffindor table.

He was so happy that he never even noticed the glares sent at him from the Slytherins, nor did he notice how the Gryffindor's reactions were late and some didn't clap.

All he knew was that he had done it. He was a Gryffindor! Sirius knew that he would be in the same house as Reggie would be when he got to Hogwarts.

There was no one clapping. Well, almost no one. Dumbledore was clapping, but he did that for every student. All the other teachers were too shocked to do a polite clap.

Another one of the few people clapping was James. He knew how important that had been for Sirius.

The Gryffindor table was silent, not clapping except for s few muggleborns that had never heard of the Black family. They paused and faltered as they noticed no one else was clapping. Then, one prefect, who later introduced himself as Frank Longbottom, began to clap. After a few seconds, the other prefects clapped too, and then most of the table started. Some didn't clap, but that did not matter to the newest Gryffindor.

James, the girl that sat with them on the train, and a few other students joined him in Gryffindor.

After the feast had taken its course, Sirius and the other new Gryffindors were led to the Common Room. Sirius went up to the dorm, and immediately grabbed out some parchment and a quill. Scrawling (to his mother's displeasure, his handwriting was terrible and near impossible to read) a letter to Reggie.

Reggie,

I'm a Gryffindor. A Gryffindor! I'm not a slimy-snake-Slytherin! The dorm looks great, and its nothing like mother said it would be. Remember when she told us that the Gryffindors don't even get beds because they are so worthless? The beds here are more comfortable than back at home!

How are you, Reggie? I'm worried. I didn't get to see you before I left. Please, don't get caught doing anything bad. I don't want them to hurt you.

Tell me if you need me to come home for Christmas. I don't really want to, but if you need me to, then I will.

I met this one kid - James Potter. You'd like him. I can't wait to introduce you guys, actually.

Write back soon!

Siri

P.S. Don't tell mother that I'm in Gryffindor. I'll send her a letter.

Sirius closed the letter. Reggie would likely tease him for sounding so caring, but he didn't care. Reggie had to be safe.

They could kill him. The only reason they hadn't before was because Sirius had always been on the edge of being a bloodtraitor. His parents would think either that Reggie was too big of an influence, or they would think that they had to try harder to convince Reggie to follow the example they set.

Perhaps they would go easier on him because they might need him to be the heir. Sirius doubted it. It was more likely that they would try harder to change him.

Mother thought they already had succeeded. Father had used the cruciatis curse on Reggie. Was that enough to change him? It couldn't have been...

But Sirius couldn't even imagine what that would have felt like. It must have been terrible. No, worse than terrible. The curse was illegal. His father used it on Reggie.

His father... used... Reggie.

The words made no real sense in his mind.

The unforgivable curse used on Reggie. It was known to drive people insane.

It had been used on his brother.

And all he had done was play with a muggle. No, not even a muggle. A wizard that just had two muggles as parents.

Suddenly, Sirius thought of Alex. Reggie had promised to send him a letter. He doubted that their parents would allow Reggie to send any letter. After figuring out that Reggie snuck out so much, Sirius could imagine his parents baring Reggie's window. Grabbing another piece of parchment and one again dipping his quill into the ink, he wrote.

Alex,

I know you probably thought Reggie would be sending this letter, but mother and father have been a bit angry with him. I'm at school. I'll be here until Christmas or maybe even longer. It depends on if Reggie thinks I need to be home.

I doubt Reggie will be able to come see you much. Mother and father won't let him. If you do see him, then make sure he's okay and tell me if he's not.

Write back soon,

Sirius

P.S. Just give the letter back to Ary, my owl. Don't worry: he doesn't bite.

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Alex responded a couple of days later, saying that he hadn't seen Reggie. Regulus never responded to his letter. Sirius, of course, had gotten a howler for becoming a Gryffindor. He wondered how his parents had found out; he had forgotten to send that letter.

Reggie wouldn't have done something like that because Sirius had asked him not to. So if Reggie hadn't told them, and if Sirius had not sent that letter, then how did they find out?

Sirius worried about his brother, but after receiving no letters and growing closer to James, Remus, and Peter, Reggie was soon forgotten.

In fact, Sirius never even sent another letter to him that year.

He spent both Christmas and Easter at the Potters. His parents didn't ask for him to come home.

Alex and Sirius continued to write, and Sirius slowly described things about the Wizarding World.

Neither saw Reggie, and neither heard from him.

Sirius truly understood what that meant when he was boarding the train to return home.

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Hey, guys. I'm sorry for not updating this fic for so long. Life is completely crazy. I actually wrote this on an airplane. I apologize for any typos or grammar mistakes. I did edit this; I'm just really tired.

So, tell me what you think.

Personally, I didn't like this chapter. It sounded rushed and didn't flow right.

Did Sirius sound too old? I thought he did.

Please read and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Thanks to all my reviewers from the last chapter.