Even though Sirius was only three years old, he was a very smart and observant child. He had learned at an early age how he was expected to behave. There were times though, when he didn't behave as he was supposed to. He was only three after all. He was a toddler and toddlers were prone to misbehaving at times. Despite all that though, Sirius still saw and understood things that other children his age didn't.

It hadn't taken Sirius long to figure out that his parents didn't love him or even care about him. They barely looked at him and only rarely would one of them talk to him. When that happened, it was usually his father that spoke to him. Sirius had the feeling that his father cared for him a little bit more than his mother did. Because of the way his parents treated him, Sirius had simply assumed that all children were treated the same way he was.

That was why when Sirius saw his mother going into the room he knew to be his brother's nursery, he was instantly curious. In all of his three years, his mother had only visited this wing of the house a few times and only because Lucille had summoned his parents. Sirius tried to sneak over to the door to see if he could see what his mother was up to. Tried being the operative word. He hadn't taken more than two steps when Lucille appeared in the doorway of his own nursery.

"Sirius, come back here. You know you're not supposed to be wandering off without me."

Sirius considered throwing a tantrum to get his way but quickly realized that was not a good idea with his mother so close. Sighing, he turned back to his nursery. He made sure that his face showed exactly how unhappy he was at not being allowed to do what he wanted. Of course, it never worked on Lucille. While she did give him what he wanted most of the time, she would never give him something that went against his parents' wishes. Lucille pointed at his miniature desk and Sirius sighed as he sat down and began to copy the sentences she had written out for him.

It was a good half hour later before Sirius got over being grumpy enough to ask Lucille why his mother was here.

"Lucille?" He asked.

"Yes Sirius?" Lucille said, looking up from her book.

"Why is my mother visiting Regulus' nursery?"

Lucille frowned. "What do you mean, Sirius?"

"I saw my mother going in Regulus' nursery."

Lucille continued to frown as she considered why Walburga would be visiting her youngest son. Regulus was too young to be learning anything so the nanny wouldn't have summoned her for that. Perhaps the child was ill and Walburga had come to see how he was faring? That was possible. Sirius, in the three years he had been alive, had never once taken ill so there had never been an opportunity to see if that was a possibility.

"Perhaps your brother is ill." She said at last.

Sirius' eyes widened. "I have to see him."

Lucille had to smile at that. Though Sirius didn't get to see his brother often as all Regulus did was sleep most of the time, Sirius was still very protective of him. It was cute watching how Sirius would stand protectively over his brother in his cradle and watch him with a look of awe.

"Let me talk to his nanny first Sirius. He may not be sick. I don't know for sure." She compromised.

Sirius looked put out at that but conceded with a nod. He turned his attention back to his copying and Lucille went back to pursuing her book. Sometime later another servant knocked on the door and Lucille opened it. The servant entered the room carrying a tray loaded with afternoon tea. Sirius eagerly dropped his quill and scampered over to the table. He ignored the pot of tea and reached straight for the cookies he could see on the plate behind the pot. Lucille smiled at that as she poured Sirius a small glass of milk from the pitcher on the tray.

While Sirius was busy stuffing cookies in his mouth and washing them down with milk, Lucille took a moment to have a conversation with the servant.

"Is everything alright with young Regulus?" She asked.

The servant appeared startled by this information. "He was fine when I saw him an hour ago. Why do you ask?"

Lucille frowned. "Sirius said he saw Lady Black entering the nursery not too long ago. I wondered if perhaps Regulus had taken ill and his nanny had summoned Lady Black to see him."

The servant shook her head. "No Miss. I believe young master Regulus is as healthy as he could possibly be."

"Very well then. Thank you for the tea. You may return in an hour to collect the tray."

The servant left and Lucille took her seat next to Sirius at the table. Seeing the mess her young charge had made, she quickly took a napkin and set about cleaning him up. When that was done and Sirius had turned to playing with his top, Lucille was able to take a small break and have her tea.

An hour later, after the servant had returned for the tray and Sirius had been put down for his nap, Lucille stole across the hall to Regulus' nursery and knocked on the door. The other nanny opened the door moments later, knowing that Lucille would usually visit during this time to give her advice.

"How is master Sirius today?" Faith asked.

"He is as full of energy as ever." Lucille answered.

Faith smiled. The first thing she had learned about Sirius besides the fact that he was the oldest child and heir of her employers was that he had boundless energy.

"And young master Regulus? How is he?"

Faith's smile grew. "Very well. He has started trying to roll over and if you put him on his stomach in front of a few toys he'll use his arms and legs to push himself over to them."

Lucille had a soft reminiscent smile on her face as she remembered when Sirius had first started doing that. The look of happiness on his little face whenever he accomplished had always made her smile. Then she frowned as she recalled why she had come to visit.

"Has Lady Black been here to visit her son?"

Faith smiled proudly. "Yes, she's been by to visit him a few times. She doesn't stay long but she always stays at least a few minutes."

Lucille's frown deepened and she quickly hid it, not wanting the younger woman to realize that that was odd. Lady Black had never visited her eldest unless Lucille had sent for her and her husband to see what Sirius had learned.

Lucille remained a while longer, chatting with Faith and advising her to let Regulus learn to roll over in his own time. When she felt she had stayed long enough that it would not be odd if she left, Lucille bid the other nanny goodbye and made her way back to Sirius' nursery.

As she sat in her rocking chair and gazed at her young charge, Lucille thought about what Faith had told her about Lady Black visiting Regulus and the possible reasons for her doing so. For the longest time, nothing came to her. Lucille had known from the moment she met her that Lady Black was not the nurturing type or the type to care about what happened to her children after they were born. So it made no sense that she would suddenly take an interest in her youngest child and visit him randomly.

After a while, Lucille began to wonder if it was possible that Lady Black favored her younger son over her elder. There was no reason for her to. After all, Sirius was the one who would carry on the family name. But it was the only thing she could come up with that fit.

Before she could consider it further, Sirius yawned and began to wake up. As she stood up to get Sirius up from his bed, Lucille resolved not to tell her young charge that his mother favored his younger brother over him. She didn't know what she would tell him. Only that she wouldn't tell him the truth.

AN: Alright, someone had better give me a good reason as to why I shouldn't kill Sirius. The mangy mutt has pulled the emergency brake on my train of thought no less than twenty times this week and stole the plot monkey at least twice. It has made getting this chapter done very difficult. So if you want him to live, you had better give me a good reason as to why I should let him.

On a different note, I finally sat down and read through Outcasts the way you guys saw it. Going through it like that, I have to say it turned out better than I thought. I spotted a few minor mistakes that I will be correcting here sometime soon so you can expect to see Outcasts jump up your updated stories list.

While still on that subject, I've nearly finished the first one shot that will go with that particular story. Hopefully it will be done soon. I make no promises as I've got a busy day tomorrow and I have a five page paper due on the first that I haven't even started.

Since I got more reviews, I'll hold off on destroying whatever feels you may have at the moment. That could change though. Instead, I'll move onto the game I mentioned. (At least I think I did.)

Anyways, you have the opportunity to invite seven characters or actors to have dinner with you. All of you are eating dinner at the same time and the same table. The table is a round one. The chair you are sitting in is chair number 1. The chair immediately to your right is number 2 and so on around the table ending with number 8 on your left.

Which characters or actors would you invite and where at the table would you have them sit?

To clear up any confusion you may have, the characters and actors can be from any fandom you choose. It can be seven characters, seven actors or a mixture. Whatever you want. Don't forget who you invite and where they sit as you'll need it next chapter. I'll also reveal my table next chapter as well. I'm looking forward to seeing who you invite.

Until next time.