"Where do you think you'll be sorted, Regulus?" James asked, still shifting a little as he spoke to the youngest Black. The boy was still wary of Regulus, remembering what he had said to James and how disgusted he had been to 'learn' that Sirius had resorting to talking with Bloodtraitors.

Regulus tried to ease James's concern with his own easygoing humour, but he found that the boy was still untrusting of him. Regulus supposed he should get used to it.

This was the way he'd always be.

Divided. With two voices speaking in his head at once.

"Gryffindor, for sure!" Sirius exclaimed. James looked at Sirius, unsure and shifting.

"I don't know," Regulus protested. "Two years ago – definitely Gryffindor. Last year – certainly Slytherin. Now I'm just a mess, and who knows where I'll end up."

"You sound like you'd be okay with being in Slytherin," James said, narrowing his eyes. He spat the word Slytherin like a curse that was foul on his tongue.

"I'll be okay with any House – as long as I belong in it," Regulus said, truthfully. "Well, maybe not Hufflepuff." He tried to joke, but the three other boys seemed serious.

"That's true for me as well," Alex added. "I'm just happy I'm going!" Regulus smiled back at Alex.

"You'll be in Gryffindor," Sirius promised both of them. He turned to Regulus. "That's where your heart is – the rest is just the spell!"

"Is it?" Regulus asked. "I'm not so sure. After all, if it was just the spell, then shouldn't the spell have been easy to remove?"

He laughed, bitter. James looked a little scared over how Regulus's was acting, but neither of the brothers seemed to remember he was even there.

"Reg, you aren't evil, and you aren't their heir. You are yourself and whatever you make of yourself. I know you. You'll be a Gryffindor."

"Alright, Sirius," Regulus said. He wasn't so sure.

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"Regulus Black," McGonagall called, her posture stiff as she stood next to the stool. The stool held the hat that would determine his future at this school. Whether he would be ostracized by most of his family.

Or by his brother.

"Good luck," Alex whispered, and Regulus swallowed hard.

Regulus knew, as he walked towards the stool, that he didn't know which House he wanted. He knew which his parents. He knew which Sirius wanted.

But did any of that really matter?

The hat would decide.

He wasn't really a part of the decision making process.

He sat on the stool, his eyes meeting Sirius's glowing face, looking up with pride at his brother.

"We'll be okay, Siri," Reggie said, the natural leader comforting his older brother. "We'll get to Hogwarts. To Gryffindor. We'll be stars, and we'll play Quidditch, and we'll be friends.

"We'll make it, Sirius. I promise."

He had been a leader, but now he was lost, astray, unsure of where to go, unsure of how to turn. There weren't too many paths. No, the problem was the opposite.

Regulus couldn't seem to find any.

The Sorting Hat was laid onto his head. Immediately, Regulus could feel its touch in his memories. It hurt. He gasped in pain, trying to prevent it from being obvious to the other students.

"A memory charm!" he heard an outraged voice in his thoughts. "How dare -?"

"Your father erased your memories?" the hat asked.

"Yes," Regulus thought. "He did."

"And he tried to remove it?" the hat said. Regulus felt slightly exasperated – the hat could see his thoughts and memories. Why was it asking him these questions?

"Yes," Regulus thought.

"You have a lot on your mind – more than you should, and I'm not referring to the spell. You want to please many people. Not for your benefit – but for theirs. You feel angry and betrayed – by your father, of course, but also by your brother.

"Most of all, you are unsure. Unsure of who to be loyal to. Not your parents – no, you are not loyal to them, not anymore, not ever again. You don't know to be loyal to yourself or to your brother."

"The memory charm," Regulus thought. "Can you remove it?"

"No," the Hat admitted. "No one can. Not anymore. However, you cannot keep thinking of it as a spell. It is you, and you are it. What you feel are not two different voices inside of you. It's one voice, your voice. You are the one who can connect the dots, discover who you really are.

"You have key. Now, you just need to find the locks."

"To get rid of the fake side of me?" Regulus asked, confused.

"There is no 'fake' anything in you. It is you. You think of yourself as two different sides, two different people. You are one person. The memory charm did only so much. But now, it cannot be removed because it forced open a locked door, allowing a side of you – a side that's always been you – onto the outside. And you refuse to slam that door again. Your thoughts, your feelings. They are yours. The spell just cracked the right lock."

"So what am I?" Regulus asked.

"That's up to you. Not to Sirius, not to your parents. Who are you?"

"I – I don't know," Regulus thought.

"You aren't a Hufflepuff. Loyal and hardworking, yes, but you do not specialize with those qualities – they are secondary."

"I'm not a Ravenclaw either," Regulus thought. "I've never been too interested in facts or learning."

"Very true," the hat said. "Which brings us to the real question – Gryffindor or Slytherin. Tell me – logical or reckless? Open or deceptive? Who are you, Regulus?"

"I –" Regulus thought. A picture of Sirius flashed before his eyes.

"No, do not think of your brother," the Hat reprimanded. "Think only of yourself."

Regulus weighed his options. He was brave, yes, but he also thought through his bravery. He no longer made stupid plots – he hadn't since long before the spell. They would have only caused his father to beat him.

He was logical. He had to be, to survive as a Black. Sirius wasn't.

He was sly – half of his life was spent sneaking around his parents's backs.

Regulus had hardly even realized his decision before the Hat was proclaiming it aloud.

"SLYHTERIN!"

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Hey everyone! Obviously, I decided on a House… I hope you like my reasoning behind it. At the end, I felt it was the only House that really fit him.

Please review!

Thanks to all reviewers!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!