"Sirius!"

He spotted his brother first. He was already in his Hogwarts robes, his Gryffindor scarf thrown carelessly around his neck, and stood near Mother and Father on the platform. He held his head down in a very uncharacteristic manner.

Regulus looked back at his grandmother who stood next to him with his belongings and nodded, so he sprinted towards his parents and brother without another word.

The days of summer had been dragging by even if he had been allowed out of the room after he had gotten his Hogwarts things (though he spent most of his time in there anyway, reading his Hogwarts books and trying some simple spells). But if just wasn't the same without Sirius. Seeing him and his parents again, even if they had to say goodbye soon, was like a dream come true.

He came to a stop just before his parents and Sirius, remembering his manners right on time or he'd have hugged them all right here, and that was inexcusable. They were in public!

"Hi," said Sirius, not looking up.

Regulus caught a glimpse of his face and took a step back in shock before looking back at his parents. Their faces were unreadable as always, but he caught his mother's eye. She nodded to him.

"The platform is filled with scum as per usual," she said, "since that's the school we're sending you both... I question myself every day, Regulus."

She sneered at a family in Muggle clothing walking by. "Disgusting. I don't want either of you mingling with that, understood?"

"Of course," said Regulus, appalled his mother would even think he'd do something like that. "I would never."

"Good boy. Your brother would do well to learn from you," she said, glaring at Sirius, who was staring at the train, lost in thought.

"Sirius," she snapped, finally getting his attention. Regulus could properly see his face now, he was sickly pale, his eyes were puffy with dark circles and he seemed slightly shaken.

"If I hear even one bad thing about you this year..." her voice trailed off, but Sirius nodded solemnly.

"Get on with it, then," said Mother, gesturing to the train. Regulus turned to Father, who kept quiet.

"I'll miss you both," he said, but his parents remained stoic.

Anger welled up inside him at the way his parents were acting. Fine, he thought, figure out life by yourselves, then. He stormed off and went back to his grandmother to grab his trunk and then he'd go find Sirius. Mother and Father had lost it, his brother was his only hope now.

"Regulus, dear, what's the matter?" His grandmother asked as he grabbed his trunk.

"Nothing," he bit back. "Simply off to school, that's all. Bye."

He dragged his trunk behind him as he made his way over to the train, ignoring his grandmother's pleas to get him to tell her what was wrong. She could choke in her questions for all he cared. This summer had been the worst ever, and she hadn't even bothered to give him a proper birthday!

He pulled his heavy trunk along as he pressed through the crowd, until-

"Reg! Over here!"

He stood face to face with his brother, who was half hanging out of an empty compartment. Relieved, he hurried towards him, pulling his trunk with him. His brother helped him lift the trunk up the stairs and put it away.

They sat down by the window, opposite each other.

"You look terrible."

Sirius laughed. "Thanks a lot."

"No, I mean it, you do..."

"I know you've been stuck with them all summer but even you've got to know that's not a nice thing to say to someone."

"I just mean-"

"I know what you mean."

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Why did you-"

"So this is where you've been hiding!" The compartment door opened and James Potter (the boy whose parents had tried to take Sirius, and now he kind of wished they had) stepped inside. "We've been looking all over for you, thought you'd died or something."

"Still alive," mumbled Sirius.

"What's up with Sirius Junior?" Potter asked as he gestured over to Regulus. "Why's he here?"

"He's my brother."

"Yeah, figured that much. C'mon, Remus and Peter are waiting. Unless you'd rather stay with Junior, of course," he laughed.

Potter left the compartment again, clearly expecting Sirius to jump up and follow him out, but Sirius stayed put, much to everyone's (but certainly Regulus') surprise.

Potter stuck his head back into the compartment. "I can't believe you, you know. First you run off to them at the platform, then you never even write me back, it's like you're not even Sirius anymore. You're- you're a Black, that's what you are! And if you think we're still friends, well... well you're wrong!" And with that, Potter stormed off along the train corridor.

Regulus looked at his brother, who was staring out of the window onto the platform, deliberately avoiding his gaze.

"Sirius..."

"What?!"

"You're-"

"I'm what?! You're all on about how weird I am, how strangely I act. I don't want to fucking hear it."

The train whistle sounded loudly as the train prepared to take off, and Regulus leaned his head against the window, hoping that he'd catch some sleep so they'd be at Hogwarts soon. He never understood why they couldn't just Floo there.

Just as he was certain he'd fall asleep soon, the compartment door slid open again, the sound waking him from his near-dreams. This time a small plump boy with sandy hair stood in the opening, wearing something that could only be Muggle clothing. Gross. "Get lost," he scoffed, but the tiny boy stepped inside.

Regulus groaned but the boy turned to Sirius. "S'appening? James said you're here," he said. He spoke very fast and his words were nearly unintelligible because of his thick accent. Regulus strained his ears to hear what this boy was saying to his brother.

Sirius didn't answer. Regulus was tempted te shoo the boy out of the compartment, but he went on. "Sure, this is it. James said you'd 'gone mental'... 'course, I just had to see for meself, so I did."

"Well, I am. Happy now?"

The boy sat down next to Regulus and Regulus desperately tried to crawl into the window to avoid touching the boy.

"What's happened with ya?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you," a new voice said. Regulus turned to see yet another boy standing in the doorway. It was a brown-haired boy, already dressed in his Hogwarts robes. Behind him stood James Potter.

The boys ignored Regulus and he tried his best to ignore them as he leaned back against the window, closing his eyes, listening to the boys arguing about whether or not Sirius had lost it. He had to agree that he thought Sirius was acting quite strange, but at least he didn't press on like these boys did. Some 'friends' they were.

Sirius changed to topic to what the other boys had done for the summer after they had insisted on staying for the fiftieth time, though Regulus wished his brother had hexed them out of the compartment.

"I've been practising my Quidditch skills," one of the boys said and Regulus peered through his eyelashes to see Potter bragging about how his parents had bought him a new broom, the newest, fastest model, and how he'd "totally beat everyone" once he was on the team.

The boy in robes said he and his parents had been busy moving houses whilst the small, fat boy in Muggle clothing said he just sat around all summer doing nothing but watching a 'telly'.

"What's that?" Potter asked the question burning on Regulus' tongue.

"Oh, err... It's a Muggle thing."

"You know, sometimes I forget you live with Muggles."

Regulus' stomach turned as the boys laughed, even Sirius let out a chuckle.

"We don't have one," the boy in the school uniform said. "Mum's a Muggle but she says watching the telly too much will make your eyes go square."

Regulus felt himself get dizzy, the very idea of him sitting in a compartment with people related to Muggles made him sick, he wanted, no, he had to get out. He jumped up from his seat and rushed towards the compartment door, leaving his trunk behind. As much as he hated having his stuff around them, he had to get out as quickly as he could before he'd be sick all over the compartment.

He managed to slide open the door and he ran along the corridor, stumbling here and there as his head was spinning with the information on the boys in his brother's compartment.

There were compartments filled with students, some in robes, others in Muggle clothes that made Regulus pick up his pace, but all of them excited. Older students seemed happy to be back, the younger ones were excitedly chatting away, making new friends...

He rushed past an apartment which was mostly empty aside from a blonde girl reading a book and he was two compartments on before he realised he recognised that blonde girl. He was related to that blonde girl. That blonde girl was Narcissa.

He walked back to the compartment and slid open the door, clearing his throat to get her attention.

She looked up from her book and smiled at him. "You can sit here if you like."

"Thanks," he said, closing the door behind him as he stepped inside, sitting down opposite her. "Why are you sitting alone?"

"I used to sit with Lucius..." she shook her head and closed her book, putting it down on the seat next to her.

"What about your other friends?"

"I haven't any."

"What?!"

She shrugged.

"But... you're really nice..." if people didn't even want to be friends with Narcissa, all hope would be lost for him. His mind went back to the boy at Madam Malkin's. He, at least, had seemed interested in him... but if that was the best he could do, he'd rather not have friends at all.

She smiled briefly. "That's kind of you to say. It's just hard to make friends when you're..." she shook her head, looking out of the window.

"When you're what?"

"When you're a Black," she said, still looking out of the window. "First rule the other students are taught: don't befriend Blacks."

"Why would the teachers-"

"Oh no, you misunderstand," Narcissa let out a humourless laugh. "Not the teachers, Regulus. The parents. Forget everything your parents told you about being a Black because none of it is true. The 'Noble and Most Ancient House of Black' is a joke."

He jumped from his seat. "That's a lie!"

Narcissa remained calm, which somehow stopped him from actually doing anything—he mostly couldn't believe she was actually serious about what she said. It was just so... wrong.

"It is not a lie. Think about it. Have you ever been treated like royalty? Anywhere?"

He thought back to every trip he had made with his parents, or other family members, to Diagon Alley or elsewhere... he though hard about the interactions he'd had with other people there, but had to come to the shocking conclusion that ge hadn't really noticed a difference between them and other customers. In fact, Mr. Ollivander in particular seemed rather... annoyed by them... Slowly, he shook his head, and he didn't like where this was going at all.

"Most of the wizarding world despise us. They speak of the Black Madness."

His frown only deepened as he tried to remember if he had ever heard anything about it, not wanting to seem too big an idiot to his cousin. However, he ended up having to ask what that was because no matter how much he pained his brain, he couldn't remember anything about it.

"I don't know who came up with it or when, but it's been a problem for a while," she said solemnly. Finally, she turned her head back to look him straight in the eye. "Have you ever been around this many people before?"

He shook his head again. "Not if you don't count Diagon Alley..."

She nodded. "We grow up without friends, without anyone who isn't family, in fact. The other families think that's extreme. They think that's 'madness'. Of course, they're perfectly fine with marrying into our supposed 'madness' for the sake of purity—there's no denying that—but befriending us?" She shook her head.

He just stared at her, her words on repeat in his mind. Madness. They were considered to be insane by... by whom? Everyone? It seemed like it. Everyone that mattered, at least, he thought as he remembered the boys in his brother's compartment.

"Do you think that's why Sirius is friends with half-bloods and... and..."

"Blood traitors?"

He nodded. He had wanted to say mudbloods, but realised he didn't actually know if that fat boy was one. He shouldn't risk it, for his brother's sake. And even Sirius wouldn't have sunk so low, would he?

"It may very well be. I suspect it's why..." she bit her lip and looked out of the window again, staring at the green lands they passed.

"What?"

"Nevermind that," she said, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"Andromeda," he whispered. "It's why she left, isn't it?"

"I believe it played a role in her... befriending that mudblood, yes."

-

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. He managed to get that much-needed nap and Narcissa woke him with only half an hour left of the journey. She was already wearing her school robes, and he quickly changed into his, washed his face and combed his hair. First impressions were of utmost importance.

Regulus got off on the platform on time, and bid his farewell to his older cousin, who made her way over to a string of carriages pulled by terrifying-looking horse-like beasts. She told him he'd be travelling by boat.

Only problem was, he wasn't sure where these boats were.

It was chaos on the platform, with students scattered across, nothing there to guide him, until he spotted a huge man waving a lantern, calling for the first years to follow him.

Though the prospect of following a man who he was certain had giant blood in him was... unappealing, at best, he stepped forward, sneering at the giant as he caught his eye, before quickly looking away. It would not do to look murderous creatures in the eye like they were his equals...

He waited patiently for the other first years to gather, before hurrying himself into one of the empty boats, hoping that the three students that would share the boat with him would be more acceptable than that creature that guided them.

"Hullo," a boy greeted him as the boat started to get crowded. Three boys climbed in, and he faintly recognised the boy who had spoken to him. He offered him a curt nod, ignoring the boy's attempt to conversation.

Narcissa's words echoed through his mind as he stared at the three boys sharing the boat. He couldn't afford to chat up with random wizards, no he wouldn't end up like Sirius, fraternising with halfbloods and blood traitors and Merlin knows what else.

The boats rowed themselves along the lake under the giant's guidance. Regulus' boat mates let out audible gasps as the castle came into view, but Regulus didn't react so impulsively. He was impressed by the school, yes, but not enough to actually let out a gasp. It was as if these boys had never seen grand mansions and castles before!

The boats came to a halt and Regulus climbed out, though he was pushed aside by the boy he had recognised before. He stumbled back into the boat, nearly toppling over but he steadied himself just in time. "Watch where you're going," he spat as he scrambled to his feet again, but the boy was already out of sight. He shot glares at the few giggling students who had seen him trip, but he doubted he looked very intimidating. He made a mental note to ask how Bellatrix managed to look so menacing one moment and so sweet the next. He had a lot to learn.

The giant led them up some stone steps towards huge double doors. He knocked on the doors and they swung inwards, revealing a stern looking witch in emerald robes, who took them from the giant and led them through the entrance hall.

Again, there were loud gasps from the students around him as they marvelled at the grand staircase, the marvellous high ceilings, and whatever other mundane things they thought worthy of their awe.

They were left alone soon enough, and the girl next to him nudged him, pointing at one of the paintings. "Is that one moving," she asked in disbelief.

He took a step away from her, ignoring her question as he hoped the emerald robed witch (Professor McGonagall, she called herself. He did not recognise the name McGonagall) would come back soon. He already hated Hogwarts with all its students who seemed so overly excitable and so foreign to him. Walking amongst people in Diagon Alley was one thing, being surrounded by strangers his own she who seemed set on interacting with him was another.

Soon, the topic of conversation became the Sorting. Several wild theories were thrown up as possibilities.

"We'll have to fight a troll," one boy said.

"No, a dragon!" Came another.

"A troll and a dragon!"

Regulus would have laughed at their idiot ideas if he wasn't so nervous about the Sorting himself. Not about the method—nobody had ever tried to hide that from him. No, he worried about Houses. Sirius stood here last year, shat had gone through his mind? Had he been as nervous as he was? Had he known he wouldn't end up in Slytherin?

Professor McGonagall came to fetch them after only a few moments, leading them into the Great Hall.

Again, those annoying gasps and exclamations of "look at the sky!" Came from many of his fellow first years as the entered the Great Hall. Regulus, on the other hand, caught Narcissa's eye as they passed the Slytherin table. She gave him an encouraging smile, and he smiled back.

They passed Ravenclaw and took a turn, walking between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Regulus stole a quick look at the table behind the Ravenclaws, the Gryffindor table, the table his brother sat on—there he was, unmistakably a Black and yet... his Gryffindor scarf was an eyesore.

His brother wasn't looking at him. He sat with the boys from the train, and he was poking Potter with his fork for some reason. Best not to question their antics on a day like today.

He, and the other first years came to a halt. There was a dirty old hat on a stool placed in front of them, and a boy next to him whispered something about how his mother wouldn't dream of having that at home. Regulus found himself chuckling in agreement when the hat started to sing a song Regulus was sure it thought was very clever. Regulus, on the other hand, thought it was the worst thing he'd heard in years.

His thoughts wandered back to what Narcissa had said on the train about nobody wanting to befriend them, and he wondered if everyone who had tried to talk to him so far would still want to talk to him after he was a Black. In Slytherin. Of course, he had no interest in talking to people if they wanted nothing to do with him being a Black—it was who he was, and he wouldn't deny it.

His head jerked up when he heard his name being called by the professor. He hadn't even realised the Sorting had started yet, and now the entire Great Hall was staring at him.

He gritted his teeth. 'Black Madness', ha! He'd show them, he thought as he walked towards the stool, sat down and put the hat on his head. The hat barely touched his head: "SLYTHERIN!"

Loud applause erupted from the Slytherin table and he handed the hat back to McGonagall before making his way over to the Slytherin table, a wide grin on his face. He'd done it. He was the better son—this was all the proof he needed.

He sat down next to a boy who glared at him as he walked over. He didn't seem very nice.

his back towards the rest of the Hall. He knew Sirius wouldn't want to look at him now, so there was no use in looking in his direction. He also really couldn't care less about the Sorting Ceremony. He stoically stared at the wall ahead as the Slytherin students started to fill up the table.

The first was an ugly girl, Bullface or something. She did look like a bull-face, Regulus thought to himself and he nearly laughed at his own joke. After her, another girl joined the table, and then a boy—the boy from Madam Malkin's! What was it McGonagall said his name was? Fudge?

Three other girls joined the table, one by one, but Regulus really couldn't bring himself to care. Girls were weird, anyway. Except for his cousins, of course.

Then there was another boy, who looked vaguely like one of the boys from his brother's compartment, and then another girl followed by two other boys. Why did this sorting have to take so long? His stomach was growling and there were still dozens left to go through.

He put his arms down on the table, in front of the golden plate and rested his head against them just as the table erupted into loud cheers. And again, shortly after, but Regulus was already starting to doze off. It had been a long day, and it was downright cruel to expect them to sit through this for hours on end.