Regulus was taking the steps two at a time as he headed up from the dungeons, making his way to the great hall for dinner.
"What's your hurry Black?" a voice asked from the shadows of a deserted classroom.
Regulus stood in his place as he recognized the voice of Lucius Malfoy.
"Just heading to the great hall," Regulus responded, plastering a grin on his face.
"You know you resemble someone," Lucius spoke, as he stepped out of the classroom and regarded Regulus curiously. "That grin that doesn't quite reach your eyes," Lucius continued, coming to a stop in from of Regulus.
"Is there a point to this Lucius, or are you about to tell me you want to take me into that classroom to snog?" Regulus asked.
"Now, now," Lucius laughed, holding his hands up in surrender, as he took a step back. "I'm just saying, you need to be more convincing," Lucius added, fixing Regulus with a pointed stare.
"More convincing? You're the one who's lurking in the halls, and ranting about my eyes mate," Regulus responded, shoving Lucius playfully.
"Didn't see you in Transfiguration," Lucius commented, as he fell into step beside his friend and the two began making their way to the great hall.
"Had a meeting," Regulus shrugged, as they exited the dungeons and began crossing paths with other students.
"Hope you didn't reveal too much," Lucius commented, as he snatched parchment from a first year as he ran by.
"I didn't tell Professor Dumbledore anything, he has no way of knowing we were there last night," Regulus whispered back.
Lucius hit Regulus on the back of his head with the stolen parchment, letting it fall to the floor.
"Bloody well tell the whole school Reg-" Lucius whispered back.
"Oi!" Regulus called, as he rubbed the back of his head with his right arm.
"I wasn't talking about Dumbledore," Lucius hissed, as he shoved a group of Hufflepuffs out of their path as they made their way down the stairs
"Well he asked me-"
"I was talking about Dunham," Lucius continued, glancing over casually to see Regulus's reaction.
"Dunham, I-"
"No bother denying it mate, got a secret rendezvous planned?" Lucius asked raising a perfectly sculpted blond eyebrow.
"How did you-" Regulus started, looking surprised as they came to a stop in front of the entrance to the great hall.
"I didn't, until now," Lucius grinned, clapping Regulus on the back, before heading towards the Slytherin table.
Regulus jogged a little to catch up.
"How did you-"
"Might've seen you talking to red today," Lucius answered, before Regulus had finished asking his question.
"Lucius it's-"
"You know," Lucius spoke, as he turned to face Regulus. "I remember who you remind me of," he said, grinneing as if he had just received top marks on his homework. "The way you smile when you're with her, it reminds me of your brother," Lucius smiled, patting Regulus on the back before filling the last free seat among their friends, causing Regulus to retreat further down the table,
Later that night Regulus sat in an arm chair by tge dwindling fire, his thoughts were on his brother. When he and Sirius were young; they were inseparable. They ran through the Black mansion and drove his parents and Kreacher crazy. The Malfoy balls that rolled around 4 times a year were a chance for them to interact with other boys their age, as for so long it was just the two of them.
When Regulus finally received his letter for Hogwarts as excited as he was, he was also upset. He didn't want to leave his little brother behind. For the week leading up to his departure Sirius refused to talk to him, and would lock himself away in his room, barely coming down for dinner. It wasn't until they all came to see him off on the platform did Sirius breakdown crying.
When Sirius was younger he cried over everything, but never because of something Regulus had indirectly done to him. It broke his heart to leave his best friend and brother behind, and although they wrote to each other regularly, something had changed when Regulus came back after his first year. When Sirius finally started at Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor, they tried to pretend that nothing had changed. Except it was suddenly clear what they had been trying to ignore.
Soon they were no longer friends and barely even brothers as Sirius only made appearances at dinner, silently sitting across from him as his parents constantly harped on his house and his choice of friends. The more Regulus defended him, the more conflict it would cause. Looking back Regulus could see exactly why Sirius left -turning his back on his parents, but it still stung that it was that easy to leave him behind.
As easy as Sirius had made it look, Regulus could never do it, he had years of family values and the importance of blood status drilled into him. Leaving that behind would be like leaving a part of himself behind, and he didn't have the courage to do that yet.
Although his family had values that hadn't been important to most of the wizarding world in a long time, Regulus couldn't help but believe a version of them.
He truly did believe that wizards were better than Muggles, a race that seemed strange to him, and one he knew very little about. Although he didn't carry out the hatred that his family did, he pitied them and their complex and magicless lifestyle. He didn't feel the need to destroy them, but he didn't feel it was fair to hand one a wand and invite them into a world where they didn't belong.
He could understand the fear and hatred towards a race that wasn't meant to mingle with theirs, but he didn't believe in the way Tom Riddle wanted to go about creating a better world. However when Tom spoke it was easy to believe him, and just like Ginevra they became putty in his hands when he handed them a task.