The third of November came quickly that year, and was especially significant because his big brother was turning eleven that day. Having an eleven-year-old big brother meant that their days together were numbered. On the first of September next year, they would have to separate for the first time in their lives. Of course, they weren't together literally all the time, but time spent apart was limited to four or five days at a time—Hogwarts would mean he wouldn't see his brother for months.
Of course, this was depressing to think about, but Regulus couldn't help it. It was on the back of his mind the whole week leading up to the birthday, but on the day itself, he had to have a little cry before he could get to his feet. Why couldn't he just be happy for his brother? September was months away, and it was only for a year—he would start Hogwarts the year after, and then everything would be back to normal again!
He smiled a little to himself as he focused on that. It wasn't like Sirius was leaving him forever. As he walked down the stairs, he felt the sadness slowly disappear and a bit of excitement taking its place.
"Good morning, Regulus," his mother greeted him as he entered the drawing room. The big party would be tonight, as per tradition, but this afternoon there would be an opportunity for them and their grandparents to give Sirius some gifts.
"Good morning, Mother." He sat down on a chair and started to swing his legs back and forth. He couldn't wait for his grandparents to get here so they could get Sirius. He had picked out the gift he was giving all by himself!
It was then that the flames in the fireplace turned emerald green.
"Grandmother, Grandfather!" He jumped up from his chair and rushed over to his grandparents, who stepped out of the fireplace and faking their arms around him.
"Good morning, Regulus," his grandmother said when they let go of him. "You've grown a lot."
"An inch last month!"
"A whole inch? You're going to be tall someday," she said as she took her seat on the sofa.
"Yes, he's growing up faster than Orion and I expected," his mother chimed in, shaking her head. "You think they stay small forever but before you know it, they're going to Hogwarts all year..."
"Och, cheer up," said grandfather Pollux. "It's all part of having children, they grow up, start their own lives... You'll be Grandmother Walburga soon."
His mother's eyes widened. "I don't think I could cope with that."
"Of course you can. It comes naturally."
His mother let out a 'hmpf' of disbelief when the flames turned green once more, revealing his other grandparents stepping out.
"Ah, it is good to be back here," Grandfather Arcturus said as he put the presents they brought on the desk with the others.
"Where's the birthday boy? Where's Orion?" Grandmother Melania asked as she sat next to Grandmother Irma on the sofa.
"Orion's getting Sirius, or he should be—neither of them are morning persons," Mother explained. "I think I'll check if they didn't decide to have a lie-in together."
As soon as his mother had left the room, Regulus was bombarded with questions from all four of his grandparents. How was he feeling? How tall was he now? Did he know he was growing up so fast? Was he excited about Sirius' birthday, what did he think about the fact that he'd be all alone soon, would he want another sibling to compensate? It nearly drove him insane, and he had never been more relieved to see his parents and Sirius enter the room. His brother's eyes had a mischievous glint to them as he looked at the small pile of presents, a big from on his face.
Now it was Sirius' time to deal with the grandparents, with their birthday wishes and all the questions they could think of until their mother cleared her throat.
"We all wish Sirius a very happy birthday, of course," she started, looking at her son, "eleven is such a wonderful age, life really, truly starts for you now, my son. Soon, at Hogwarts, you'll make friends, learn more about magic than you ever could have dreamed about, perhaps you'll even meet a nice girl to marry."
"Mother!"
"Here's your first present, son. May it help you on your journey through Hogwarts, in making friends—or more." She handed him a carefully wrapped present, which shape betrayed it to be a book.
Sirius grabbed the present and tore the wrappings off in excitement, but once he read the title the smile disappeared. "But this isn't fun!" He complained.
"What is it?" Regulus asked, unable to see the title from where he sat. It was a thick, dark, leather-bound book and Sirius threw it at him nonchalantly. Regulus caught it and read the title.
"The Pure Blood Directory? You got your own copy, Sirius this is brilliant! Now you'll be able to check your future classmates in school!"
His parents smiled. "That was the intention behind it, yes," his mother said, looking between Regulus and Sirius. "It might not be a 'fun' gift, but you're getting older, Sirius, and with age comes responsibility. You are the their to the House of Black, and forging the right friendships will get you far in life."
Regulus held out the book first Sirius to take, but he shook his head. "Keep it, since you're so excited about it."
"But it's your gift..."
"I don't want it!"
Regulus looked around the room, trying to figure out what to do. All his grandparents sat still, quietly watching the scene and not wanting to intervene or show support for either side. His father was glaring at Sirius, but kept his mouth shut while his mother's eyes were already fuming with anger. That was his cue. Regulus got up from his seat and walked over to his brother, putting the book on his lap. Sirius glared at him, but didn't say anything.
Slowly, he turned around, glancing at his mother as he walked back to his chair. Seeing her small nod of approval made him smile slightly to himself as he sat back down, he knew he made the right decision in giving his brother his gift back even if he didn't want it. It was rude to give away things you had been gifted, and it wasn't as if Regulus couldn't get his hands on a copy of his own sometime, preferably before he started Hogwarts.
Grandfather Pollux was the next to give Sirius a present, he had already jumped to his feet to get his package before anyone could say anything. He handed it over to Sirius. "I hope you'll like it, if you don't... You can always change them in for something that's more your taste."
Sirius stared at the package, neatly wrapped and with an elegant, silver bow. He carefully untied the ribbon, lifting the lid. "What's this?" He remarked as he lifted a set of elegant black robes.
"The finest robes I could find, Sirius. You'll look so sophisticated at Hogwarts."
"Right. Great. Thanks, they look great," he said, obviously trying not to sound too displeased with the gift, but his furrowed brow betrayed him.
Regulus didn't understand his brother's behaviour. It was as if the only thing good enough for him was 'something fun' while the gifts he had gotten now—a very useful book and a set if brilliant robes—were much better and more practical gifts to give a pureblood heir about to venture into the wide world. Sirius was already a rebel at home, and Regulus dreaded to think what Hogwarts would turn him into. These gifts were their last chances to set him straight and give him the handles to work with.
"Son, you may not like this gift either—but you better learn to appreciate what you're given and show respect for your heritage. Happy birthday." And with that, their father handed another book-shaped present over to Sirius, who scoffed, crossing his arms instead of taking the gift.
"What good is heritage if it doesn't make me happy?"
"Sirius Black," their mother chimed in. "You will open that gift, and all the gifts that follow, or you'll never get anything from us again. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Mother," Sirius mumbled as he unfolded his arms, taking the book.
"And don't mumble."
Sirius tore open the paper and read the title aloud. "Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. Perfect. Just what I need," he said through gritted teeth. "Thanks a lot, Father."
"You're very welcome, son."
The tension between Sirius and the rest of the people grew every second and the more gifts his brother unwrapped, the more insecure he got about his own gift. He had spent ages looking in every shop in Diagon Alley with his mother and he really thought he had picked out something his brother would love, and something he could use for years to come. But after he saw the way his brother reacted to other gifts...
Grandfather Arcturus gave Sirius a silver pocket watch, complete with the Black family crest and all. Grandmother Irma got him cufflinks—also with the Black family crest—to go with her husband's gift of robes and Grandmother Melania got him a brand-new quill-and-ink set, but Sirius wasn't pleased with any of the gifts, no matter how much they tried to explain to him that gifts are meant to be much more than fun. It was childish, even for him.
Regulus was the last to give Sirius his present. His mother had promised him that his brother would love the gift when they picked it out, but he wasn't so sure anymore. He slowly handed the present to his brother, his heart pounding in his chest as he watched him open the lid, taking out a fuzzy ball.
"What's wrong with all of you?!" Sirius shouted, throwing the ball back into the box, slamming it shut. Why do all my presents have to be so freaking boring?"
The room fell silent, and everyone was staring at Sirius. Regulus was heartbroken, most of all because that fuzzy little ball was meant to be his brother's companion, his best friend in school. He had gotten him his very oen puffskein, and his brother hated it. He had hoped his brother would have fallen in love with the cute little animal just like he had, ir at the very least that he would appreciate the effort he had put into finding him the perfect gift.
"Sirius, you're being childish," he blurted out, staring right at his big brother. "All of these gifts have been really great, and everyone here really tried to find you something meaningful."
"Me, childish? Puffskeins are fun pets for three-year-olds, I'm eleven, Reg. Eleven!"
"I thought you might like it!" Regulus bit back years as he turned around and went back to his chair, trying his best to control his emotions. Sirius was the impulsive one, he was the one who always said whatever he thought, did whatever he wanted. Regulus was there to compensate, to be quiet when his brother was noisy, to control his own emotions when his brother was making a fuss again. In short, to be the complete opposite of Sirius—to be the responsible son, the obedient son, the good son, the perfect Black heir... if not for Sirius being older, he was everything a heir needed to be.
"I'm sick of you, I'm sick of all of you," Sirius yelled as he stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
"My goodness," Grandmother Irma breathed, shaking her head.
Regulus looked around the room at his parents, who seemed very embarrassed, and his grandparents, who were mostly shocked by the whole ordeal.
"I assume the celebrations this evening are cancelled?" Grandfather Arcturus asked after a few moments of silence.
Father cleared his throat. "Yes, yes, they are. We will be having a firm talk with our son about his behaviour today."
"Talk? Some discipline wouldn't be out of order," Grandfather Arcturus muttered as he rose from his seat, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Parents these days... they've gone soft."
"But... You're not leaving, are you?"
Grandfather Arcturus had already reached the fireplace, Grandmother Melania with him. "We are, yes. This is a private matter and we wouldn't want to disturb anything." And with that, they left.
"We should be going as well," Grandmother Irma said as she got up from the sofa. She and Grandfather Pollux gave one last wave at Regulus before they, too, left through the fireplace.
Regulus looked back to his parents, now the others were gone. He wanted to say something, but at the same time, he had no idea what to say. He just knew that somehow, his brother had managed to ruin another perfectly fine day with his attitude, his own birthday even, and that was unacceptable to him.
It wasn't long before his parents left the room to talk to Sirius, leaving Regulus alone in the drawing room. He got up and opened the box that held the small puffskein. "Aren't you adorable?" He mumbled at the small creature as he took it in his arms, cradling it. "I'll name you Sirius, and you'll never ruin any day, you'll be the perfect companion for me while he's in school, how about that? You and me, against the world."