"I believe it would be best to involve your brother in the upcoming conversation as well," Arcturus said thoughtfully.
"Why do you say that?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Because my brother was a lot like your brother, especially a lot like the Regulus from your original timeline," Arcturus explained. "Also, I think it is only fair that he learns about his namesake."
"Yeah, you have a point there," Sirius agreed. "Do you want me to go get him?"
"That would be greatly appreciated," Arcturus responded. "Thank you, Sirius."
Sirius went back to Gryffindor Tower, finding his little brother surrounded by homework. He could tell he was doing Potions. "Hey, Reg," Sirius greeted him.
"Hi, Siri," Regulus replied. "If you're wanting to play a prank on someone, I'm doing homework at the moment."
"Nah, no prank right now," Sirius said with a grin. "Grandfather wants to see you. He's about to tell us about his brother, your namesake."
Regulus immediately snapped his textbook shut, suddenly looking very excited. "Alright, let's go!" he exclaimed, jumping up.
Sirius laughed as they headed out of the common room and back to the headmaster's office. When they got there, they headed into the headmaster's quarters.
"Hello, Regulus," Arcturus greeted Regulus. "Has Sirius told you what we're doing tonight?"
"Yes, Grandfather, he told me," Regulus answered. "And I'm ready!" Arcturus chuckled at Regulus' excitement.
"Alright," Arcturus said. "I believe it would be best if I showed you both some memories. That may be easier than trying to explain everything. We can, of course, have a conversation about it afterwards, and I can answer any questions at that time." Sirius and Regulus agreed.
Both brothers entered the Pensieve, and found themselves at Grimmauld Place. Sirius scowled while Regulus rolled his eyes. They saw Sirius II and Hesper talking to their children, who looked to be young children.
"The three of you will be ready to go precisely on time," Sirius II was saying. "And Lycoris, you will look your best. None of the childish clothing this time."
Hesper, seeing Lycoris' confused face, jumped in. "I'll help you out, Lycoris," she said kindly. The middle child smiled at her mother.
"Thank you, Mummy," she said gratefully.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Lycoris, to call her Mother?" Sirius II asked angrily. "Even Regulus is better than this, and he's younger than you! Isn't that right, Regulus?"
"Yes, Father," Regulus I said in a tiny voice. He was only six years old.
"I remember Mother being like that with us," Sirius said. "You learned pretty quickly to call her Mother, while I purposefully called her Mummy just to get her mad at me."
Regulus nodded. "Yeah, you did that until you were nine, I think," he said, remembering it well.
When Sirius II and Hesper left the room, Lycoris huffed in annoyance. "Daddy is mean!" she exclaimed.
"I agree, he is," Arcturus spoke up.
"You heard him!" Regulus I said. "It's Mother and Father, not Mummy and Daddy!"
Lycoris rolled her eyes while Arcturus, eleven years old, just sighed.
"Regulus, we know perfectly well what the expectations are," Arcturus said. "But Lycoris and I do not like being so formal."
"Speaking of FORMAL, why do we have to go to this stupid ball?" Lycoris complained.
"Because our family is full of monsters who think that going to these balls and talking blood purity for four hours is essential," Arcturus said bitterly.
"Do we HAVE to go?" Lycoris asked.
"I don't like going all that much, but you know it's important," Regulus I said, finally letting down his guard around his two older siblings.
"I don't think we have to go," Arcturus said with a thoughtful expression. "Perhaps we can stay behind."
"But they'll force us to go!" Regulus I reminded him.
"They can't force us to go if they don't know where we are," Arcturus said, his mind already working out a plan. "We will need the help of a house-elf."
"But Kreacher will give us away," Lycoris pointed out.
"Yes, Kreacher would, but Zippy wouldn't," Arcturus stated.
"Wait, Zippy?" Regulus asked, wide-eyed. "I didn't know she'd been with the family for that long!"
"Yeah, Grandfather told me that great-grandmother Hesper gave him Zippy when he turned eleven, so Zippy's been his house-elf for years," Sirius explained.
"Well, I'm going to the ball," Regulus I decided.
"But, you just told us you didn't want to go!" Lycoris exclaimed.
"I don't want Mother and Father to be mad," Regulus I said.
"That sounds a lot like how I was when we were living with Mother and Father," Regulus said. "I didn't want to get on the wrong side of Mother, and so even if I didn't want to do something or go somewhere, I would."
Arcturus stood. "If you're going, then I'll go as well," he decided.
"But Arcturus, we should use Zippy to get away, and let Regulus go," Lycoris said, giving her older brother a pleading look.
"I know, Lycoris, but do we want him to face all those monsters that are our family alone?" Arcturus asked.
Lycoris sighed. "Then I'll go too, but only to keep Regulus company," she decided.
"Oh, come on, you'll be talking to family members about what you're learning in History, Maths, and everything else," Arcturus said, knowing his sister loved to gossip.
Lycoris grinned. "True," she said.
The memory switched, and this time, Arcturus was sixteen. He was telling Lycoris about this girl he met at Hogwarts named Melania.
"Do you like her?" Lycoris asked with a knowing smile.
"We're just friends," Arcturus said quickly.
"Doubt it," Lycoris countered. "I know you, Arcturus. Come on, admit it! You like her!"
"If you like her," a voice said from the doorway. "Then you need to tell Mother and Father."
"I didn't say..." Arcturus began, but Regulus I cut him off.
"Especially because the Macmillan family are full of Hufflepuffs, and they are a questionable family," Regulus I continued. "I think Father should know about this."
Regulus glared at his namesake. "Really?!" he exclaimed. "I don't like my namesake!"
"He's trying to be the perfect child, so Grandfather and Aunt Lycoris don't have to," Sirius reminded him.
"Regulus, please," Arcturus said with a sigh. "Melania and I are just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. If, and I say IF, it turns into more than that, Mother and Father will be the first to know." They gazed at each other for a long moment before Regulus I nodded.
"Very well," Regulus I finally said, leaving the room.
"You see?" Sirius asked. "He didn't REALLY want to go tell on his older brother, so he dropped the subject pretty easily. He's just trying to act like the perfect child, but inside, he doesn't really want to get his brother in trouble."
The scene changed once more, and this time, Arcturus was standing in front of Sirius II and Hesper. Sirius II looked furious.
"YOU ARE DATING A MACMILLAN?!" he roared with outrage. "That family is too soft! You are going to become patriarch someday, and you'll be in charge of this family, yet you want to marry a weak Hufflepuff?! I will not allow this! Cruci…!"
"Father!" Regulus I exclaimed. Sirius II glared at him.
"What?!" he barked.
"Perhaps the Blacks could have a political alliance with the Macmillan family," Regulus I pointed out. "They are, after all, in the neutral faction. So that's not as bad as dating someone from a light family."
"Merlin's beard!" Regulus exclaimed. "He's defending Grandfather, in his own way!"
Sirius II thought for a moment. "Very well," he finally conceded. "Arcturus, you can date this girl, but make sure she aligns herself with the Black family."
"Yes, Father," Arcturus said. After Sirius II and Hesper left the room, Arcturus turned to Regulus I. "Thank you, Regulus," he said gratefully. "I was not expecting you to help me."
Regulus I sighed. "We are very different people, Arcturus, but you're still my brother, and I will help you wherever I can." He then smiled. "And just between the two of us, I hope you become patriarch soon."
Sirius and Regulus found themselves back in the headmaster's quarters.
"That was incredible!" Sirius exclaimed. "Too bad you didn't use Zippy to avoid going to the ball!"
"Not that time, no, but I did another time," Arcturus said with a smile. "And thankfully, since Zippy was bonded to me, not to my father, he could never get her to reveal things without my permission."
"My namesake was interesting," Regulus commented. "I didn't like his attitude at first, but in the end, he valued family above everything else."
"Yes, he valued family above all else," Arcturus agreed. "Trust me, when I was your age, I didn't always see that. There were days where I wouldn't talk to him because he would go tell on me and your aunt whenever we did even just one thing wrong. I even had days where I'd prank him, knowing that he was not a prankster type, so I knew I didn't have to worry about payback. He would just do payback in other ways, like getting me in trouble. But at the end of the day, family came first, and he was clearly struggling between being the child our parents wanted him to be, and the brother he wanted to be."
Before they could continue the conversation, an owl arrived for Arcturus. He read the letter, and looked up. "Andromeda wants to see your grandmother and I," he said, standing. "We will continue this conversation tomorrow. Head back to Gryffindor Tower."
As Sirius and Regulus walked back to Gryffindor Tower, they had a lot to think about after the memories they saw, but they were also wondering, what did Andromeda want to see their grandparents about?