The year went on. Spring transformed into summer, and summer became autumn. And still, everything stayed the same. His parents kept going 'out', leaving them home alone. Even on Regulus' birthday, they were 'out' until dinner.
November crept up on them and Regulus couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like without Sirius. If Mother and Father kept disappearing like this, then he'd be home alone for most of the year after Sirius went to school. The thought of being home alone for months on end was scary, but he couldn't stop thinking about it, even as the third of November rolled around. Especially as the third of November rolled around—he even gave a little cry that morning, before he got up. He hated that he had an eleven-year-old big brother now, because having an eleven-year-old big brother meant that their days together were seriously numbered.
But today was a happy day. He was supposed to be happy. 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. They were brothers!
As he walked down the stairs, he felt the sadness slowly disappear and a bit of excitement took its place. Today was a birthday, and he had actually prepared for this. He had picked out Sirius' present all by himself.
"Good morning, Regulus," 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. Mother and Father had even made sure they had no 'business' to attend to.
He mumbled a greeting and sat down on a chair, swinging his legs back and forth. He couldn't wait for his grandparents to get here so they could get Sirius.
It was then that the flames in the fireplace turned green.
"Grandmother, Grandfather! You're here!" He jumped up from his chair and rushed over to his grandparents, who stepped out of the fireplace.
"Good morning, Regulus," Grandmother Irma said, eyeing him up and down. "You've grown a lot."
"An inch last month!" he bragged, exaggerating slightly.
She chuckled. "A whole inch? You're going to be tall someday."
She sat down on the sofa, her husband sitting down in a chair beside her.
"Yes, he's growing up faster than we expected," 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 before you know it."
Mother's eyes widened. "I don't think I could cope with that."
"Of course you can. It comes naturally."
She let out a 'hmpf' of disbelief and the flames turned green once more, 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? And 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 she 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 oh 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?—if he asked nicely, surely his parents would provide!
It nearly drove him insane. He had never been more relieved to see his parents and brother enter the room – Sirius looked over the pile of presents, a large grin plastered on his face – because now, it was Sirius' time to deal with the grandparents, with their birthday wishes and all the questions they could think of until 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... 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."
"Ew, no!" Sirius protested.
"Here's your first present," she said, ignoring him. "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!"
"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 (it was lighter than it looked) and read the title.
"The Pure Blood Directory? You got your own copy, Sirius this is brilliant! Now you'll be able to check on your classmates in school!"
"That was the intention behind it, yes," Father 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 heir to the House of Black, and forging the right friendships will get you far in life."
Regulus held out the book for 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, clearly not wanting to intervene (or show support for either side). Father was glaring at Sirius, but kept his mouth shut while Mother's eyes were already fuming with anger.
The anger was infectious. Why would Sirius throw away such an important gift, as if it was nothing?
So he got up from his seat and walked over to his brother, putting the book on his lap. He 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. See? He could make her happy, he could calm her down. It wasn't so hard to just accept your birthday presents. Even if Sirius didn't like it, he didn't have to show 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.
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. "I hope you'll like it, if you don't—you can always swap them for something that's more your taste."
Sirius stared at the package, neatly wrapped with an elegant, silver bow. He carefully untied the ribbon, lifting the lid. "What's this?"
He revealed a set of elegant black robes. Regulus bit back his comment of 'robes, silly'. How dumb could he get?
"The finest robes I could find," Grandfather Pollux said, clearly proud of himself. "You'll look so sophisticated at Hogwarts."
"Right. Thanks, they're lovely," he said, obviously trying not to sound too displeased with the gift, but failing.
He really didn't understand his brother's behaviour. It was as if the only thing good enough for him was 'something fun' whilst the gifts he had got now – a very useful book and a brand-new set of good looking robes – were much better and more practical gifts than anything 'fun' Sirius had in mind.
"Son, you may not like this gift either, but you better learn to appreciate what you're given and show some respect. Happy birthday." Father handed another book-shaped present over to Sirius, who scoffed, crossing his arms instead of taking the gift.
"What good is that if it doesn't make me happy?"
"Sirius Black," 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. "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 everyone else grew every second and the more gifts he unwrapped (and hated), the more insecure Regulus 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. 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. Yet Sirius wasn't pleased with any of this, no matter how much they tried to explain to him that gifts are meant to be much more than fun. It was childish, even Regulus could see that. So why couldn't he?
He was the last to give Sirius his present. Mother had promised him that his brother would love the gift back 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.
"What's wrong with all of you?!" Sirius shouted, slamming it shut. "Why do all my presents have to be so bloody boring?"
The room fell silent. Everyone was staring at Sirius, and Regulus was heartbroken, most of all because that gift was meant to be his brother's companion, his best friend in school for the year he couldn't be there. He had got him his very own puffskein, and Sirius hated it. He had hoped he'd fall in love with the cute little animal just like he had, or at the very least that he would appreciate the effort he had put into finding him the perfect gift. But nothing. Not even a smile, he barely even looked at the poor creature.
"You're so 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 you'd like, and you just-"
"ME, childish? Puffskeins are childish. They're fun pets for three-year-olds, but I'm eleven, Reg. Eleven!"
"Well I thought you might like it!"
He tried 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 (or Mother, for that matter) 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... he had to keep his anger down. He just had to.
"I'm sick of you, I'm sick of all of you!" Sirius stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
"My goodness," Grandmother Irma breathed, shaking her head.
He looked around the room at his parents, who seemed very embarrassed, and his grandparents, who mostly appeared 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. Mother and Father didn't even get the chance to persuade them to stay.
"We should be going as well." Grandmother Irma 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, Sirius had managed to ruin another perfectly fine day with his attitude – his own birthday even – and that was completely unacceptable.
It wasn't long before his parents left the room to talk to Sirius, leaving him alone in the drawing room with the pile of discarded presents. He got up and opened the box that held the small puffskein.
"Aren't you adorable?" He took the small, fuzzy animal in his arms, cradling it. "Well I think I'll name you Sirius, and you'll never ruin any day, and you'll be the perfect companion for me while he's in school... how about that? It's just you and me now, you and me against the world."