"Reggie?" Sirius asked, gaping at him spectacularly.

"Yes?" he asked darkly, not turning to face Sirius.

"Why are you – what happened?" Sirius burst out.

"What are you talking about?" Reggie's voice was cruel. No, actually, he took that back. Reggie's voice wasn't cruel.

It was cold.

There was no emotion in it. Before his voice would drip with anger or happiness.

Now, it seemed so fake – so hidden.

So unlike the Reggie he knew.

Was this even truly the Reggie he knew? He was believing this too quickly. It was a trick – from his parents.

They had tricked him and Reggie.

Soon enough, there would be something that went wrong with their plan, and Reggie would be all right again.

Right?

After all, they would never beat Reggie.

No matter what.

Reggie always won against them. Always. They never won and never would.

That was a promise that Reggie himself had made.

For his parents to make him like he was acting now, they would have had to break him.

Reggie couldn't – wouldn't – break. That was for sure because he was stronger than that. This was some sort of trick. The last time he had seen Reggie being punished, Sirius's father had cast the Cruciatus curse. Who was to say that they hadn't used the Imperius curse?

They could be controlling Reggie right now. That was why he was acting like that.

Soon, however, Reggie would wake up and overpower it – Sirius was surprised it had worked at all.

"You've changed," Sirius said. He couldn't let his parents know that he knew what was going on. If they knew he did, then they would try something else, and Reggie would be in more danger.

"I've realized our… superiority… as Blacks," Reggie said with a smirk. For a moment, Sirius gaped at him. Then, desperate for the Reggie he remembered to overpower the spell, he asked about something familiar.

"How's Alex?"

"Why would I talk to that filthy mud –" Reggie began.

"Because he's your friend!" Sirius protested angrily, interrupting his brother. His anger wasn't truly at Reggie; it was at his parents for doing that to him.

"I have better friends. And even you could do better than that, Sirius." Once again, Reggie used that stoic, calm voice that grated against Sirius's nerves spectacularly.

"Are you implying that Alex isn't a good friend?" Sirius asked through gritted teeth. He tried to calm himself.

It's not really Reggie. Be angry at my parents, not at him. It isn't his fault. Don't take it out on Reggie. He can't control what he's saying…

"He's weak," Regulus scoffed. Finally, an emotion showed through his voice. Disgust. "Even for a mudblood. He was ten when he showed his first sign of magic. That's pathetic."

"No, it isn't! And how do you know that it was his first time?"Sirius said heatedly.

"His muggle mother nearly went crazy when she saw it," Reggie sneered.

"So?" Sirius asked coldly. "Just because that was the first time she saw it doesn't mean it was the first time at all."

"I should've expected you to side with the mudblood; you are a Gryffindor, after all."

"And proud of it," Sirius said quietly. Regulus frowned at him angrily.

"You are shaming the Black family –" he began. To Sirius's disgust, he noticed that his parents were watching Reggie with pride. It was the first time he'd ever seen them look at him like that. It made him furious, and he clenched his fists at his side.

"Like you care about that!" Sirius said loudly. He noticed that people were beginning to watch them, but he truly didn't give a damn about that. In fact, let them watch, he thought, let them see that the Black family is petty and cruel.

Of course, his parents did care.

"I do care about that!" Reggie protested. Finally, he seemed actually angry instead of emotionless. Sirius snorted and was about to reply when his mother spoke.

"Stop!" she commanded. "Regulus, Sirius, stop fighting – it is dishonourable."

"Like I give a damn," Sirius snarled. Even more heads were turning to listen. Sirius's father stepped forward, close enough to hiss,

"If you don't stop now, then, once we're home, there will be –"

"Punishment, I know," Sirius snapped. "Will you do what you did to Reggie to me?"

"I hope so," Regulus said. "It's clear you need it. Do you realize people are staring?" His voice was mocking, and it tore into Sirius.

Did Reggie just say that he hoped their father would beat Sirius?

Sirius really hoped he didn't because that was just wrong. No matter how strong the spell controlling Reggie was, saying that just was cruel.

It shouldn't have come out of Reggie's mouth, especially when he couldn't control what was being said. Sirius felt another wave of anger run through him – directed at his parents, of course.

"What did you do to him?" he whispered harshly, his words seeming to crackle in the air. Other people were talking, but Sirius didn't hear them. His gaze and his hearing were solely focused on his father.

"Opened his eyes," his father said with a smirk.

"That's not a real answer," Sirius said. He could hear his father's voice echoing from past memories.

"No son of mine will be a bloodtraitor!"

"You are betraying the house of Black!"

"You are nothing – worthless! You will never be the heir!"

"What did you do to him?" Sirius ground out again.

"They did nothing, Sirius," Reggie said. He began to walk back to where they'd flooed into the station.

"Then why have you changed?" Sirius hissed.

Reggie turned to him with an almost comical look of confusion on his face. He had finally lost the mask he had been wearing.

He truly was confused; Sirius could see that. But why?

It wasn't like their parents had erased his memory; that would have been so dangerous…

It was impossible to do that without the one they casted it on going insane.

There were too many years – too many incidents – to forget. Sirius remembered Reggie in the past, always brave, always cheeky, always nice.

This boy – for he truly was only a kid – only ten – was confused. Sirius promised himself that he'd find out why Reggie changed. He could see a few hints of the old Reggie.

This Reggie was… proud like he had been before. It was just in different ways.

Reggie seemed to be struggling with an answer. Sirius could almost see it running through his head.

"Then why have you changed?"

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Reggie stared at his brother – the bloodtraitor.

Then why have you changed?

He didn't change; this was how he always had acted.

Right? (Then why have?)

His parents had (have you changed?) told him that his brother would try something like this. Sirius wanted him to be in Gryffindor, they told (changed?) him.

Sirius was acting like he (why have you changed?) had once acted differently. But he never did.

So, why was his brother (you changed?) acting like he had. Sirius had seemed almost shocked by his behavior. Reggie, however, was acting how any honourable Black would.

Then why have you changed?

Reggie looked at his brother, meeting his eyes. Sirius's eyes were determined but also sad. They spoke of something Reggie didn't understand.

He and Sirius had always fought – why did Sirius expect him to not fight now?

Did he expect Regulus to say that he had missed him and his bloodtraitor ways?

"I never changed," he said finally.

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Hey, guys! I know it's been a long time since I've updated, and I'm sorry about that. I wanted to finish another one of my fics.

So, tell me what you thought. Especially on Regulus' POV. The repetition I used is actually used a lot in Stephen King's books. I thought I'd try using it.

Please review.

Thanks to all my old reviewers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.