[Chapter Eighteen]

Despite that, they were given duties to tend to their prefect rounds on the train, Regulus didn't dare disturb Éponine from her sleeping state. When it came time to walking to both ends of the train to see if any students were causing trouble, Regulus did it alone, letting Éponine remain in the compartment with Emmarentia. He needed a few minutes to stretch his legs, so walking up and down the train didn't come across as silly as he thought it was going to be. It was so quiet in the compartment with one girl asleep and the other just reading, clearly not wanting to partake in small talk. That was fine with Regulus but in the end, he found himself becoming incredibly bored. 

His only source of entertainment had been at one point while he was sure Éponine was dreaming about something, she was muttering while asleep, making all sorts of faces. He would have never guessed that Éponine was the type to talk in her sleep, but it bother him either, he actually found it rather cute and amusing. The way her face scrunched up, her nose twitched, and for a brief second, her tongue stuck out in just the slightest of ways, bringing a grin to Regulus' face. It only left him wondering what she was dreaming about.

He thought about it to himself as he walked down the train, glancing into compartments at random. Most of the Hogwarts Express was silent as the evening hours were rolling in and it grew dark outside. Plenty of the first year students were practically glued to their windows, wondering when they were going to arrive while a majority of older students had taken to following Éponine's idea of taking a nap. He recognised plenty of younger faces as well in passing. 

In one of the compartments, Regulus spotted Éponine's younger cousin, Elizabeth sitting quietly among the company of other girls. Very similar to her older cousin, Elizabeth looked uncomfortable, not daring to say a word, probably since her brother wasn't there as her shield. He had left Hogwarts the year before and whenever he witnessed Elizabeth alone at gatherings, she looked miserable. It seemed the Rosier girls shared plenty of common traits, even if they weren't close with one another. 

Further down the line, there was Roderick Lestrange, quite the opposite of what Regulus had witnessed prior, with his intended. It was announced not very long ago that Roderick would be married to Elizabeth when they were of age, his oldest brother had married Regulus' cousin, Bellatrix. It was an odd thing to witness or know that even though they were quite young, everything was already planned out for them. Regulus felt a similar way when he was told that he would one day, marry Éponine. Everything was planned so that he didn't have to do much or so he thought in his head. 

He figured that because she was intended to marry him that there wasn't much work to be done, there was no need for dating and everything tucked in between because it was practically already established. But his father told him otherwise if Regulus wanted to share in a happy marriage with Éponine, he was still going to have to put work into the relationship. As of that moment, there wasn't a relationship between him and Éponine, due to his own actions. They were just working on forming a friendship that would hopefully blossom into something further later on. 

"Regulus!" 

A voice called after him, bringing the boy to glance over his shoulder. For a moment, his body became stiff as he witnessed Sirius stepping out of a compartment and making his way towards him. There was no one in tow behind him, the other three of his "brothers" staying behind. Regulus wished Sirius had stayed inside the compartment as well, he really didn't feel like having another confrontation with his brother, they were much too painful and he could only keep a strong face for so long before he cracked.

He wanted nothing more than for Sirius to come home but he knew that Sirius didn't want that, so there was no point in begging him. From the time he was young, Sirius was always doing what he wanted to do with no regards for anyone else. It often led to the frustration of their mother, while their father tried to smooth things over. Their mother didn't make things better, but neither did Sirius. 

Often the boy would blame her for everything that went wrong, but for those inside of the home, Sirius wasn't so innocent either in his actions. He purposely said things, knowing it would set Walburga off and then he would get upset when she reacted, just so he had an excuse to storm away from her. Sirius always wanted things to go his way and if they didn't, he made sure there was hell to pay. He didn't understand that there were rules that did need to be followed, even if one didn't like them all the time. 

Sirius wanted to rebel against the world, but in the process, he had hurt plenty of people, including his little brother, who wanted nothing more than to look up to his brother while growing up. But seeing how much Sirius had torn their family apart, Regulus quickly realised that he didn't want to be like Sirius because he wasn't sure if his parents could survive losing another son. 

"What do you want, Sirius?" Regulus asked him, not making any sort of eye contact.

"Reggi...Regulus, listen to me," Sirius said as he approached him, getting close enough that he was able to grab him by the shoulders. "I spoke with James and after discussing it, we can get you out of there too. You won't have to go back to the Grimmauld Place, meaning you won't have to marry that Rosier girl-"

"Her name is Éponine," Regulus stated in a stern tone, " you know that, Sirius. Don't pretend like you suddenly don't remember her. She was meant to be your intended before you abandoned our family. Do not address her as the Rosier girl, she has enough decency to address you by your name, you could show just the slightest bit of respect for once! It honestly wouldn't kill you to show some respect to people who have done nothing to you."

Sirius seemed to ignore his brother's plea to address Éponine by her name as he continued on. "Didn't you hear what I said, Reggie? I could get you out of there. You won't have to go back to the Grimmauld Place come Christmas time. I spoke with James, he reckons his parents wouldn't have a problem with you staying with them as well. The house is more than big enough, you could come with us."

"You don't listen, Sirius," Regulus shook his head, " you don't listen to anyone but yourself. It's about what you want, not what others want. I don't want to leave the Grimmauld Place, I love my home. I love our mother and father and I have absolutely no interest in being stuck in a home with a bunch of blood-traitors during Christmas."

He practically growled the last part, leaving Sirius speechless for a moment. 

"Don't pretend that you care about me now, Sirius," he said, "because you don't. You always claim that Mum and Dad were the ones that didn't care, but Mum was the one who cried all night when you left and Dad was the one that searched the entire night for you to bring you home. "

"N-No, they didn't," Sirius shook his head, " that's a lie. Mother didn't cry, she took to blasting my name off the wall, didn't she?"

"Because you didn't come back!"

"Father didn't search for me-"

"How would you know? You were gone!" Regulus yelled at him. "You were long gone and you didn't bother to look back. You didn't bother to approach me afterwards. You didn't reach out to me until today, so why should I believe that you care at all? I'm sure the Potters let you do whatever you want when you're in the house, don't they? They let you and their son get away with it all and you absolutely love that. No rules for Sirius Black, that's what you wanted, right? That's what you always wanted, well know you have it."

"Regulus-"

"But I am not you, Sirius. I wanted to be like you when I was younger, but I realise now that it's not the case. I don't want to be like you, I like rules. Maybe I don't agree with all of them, but I do like having some structure in my life. I like knowing where I'm actually going to go in my life, rather than being like you."

It was a cold argument between the brothers, but Regulus wasn't through with Sirius yet. HIs older brother had placed him through some unimaginable pain with his departure and he wanted to make sure that Sirius felt it too. 

"You can go back to the Potters during Christmas, take all your brothers with you. Me? I'm going home, with Mum and Dad. Éponine will be there too and Kreacher, we'll have a wonderful time without you. We'll have a nice Christmas where Mum doesn't have to yell at you because you thought it would be funny to ruin the Christmas roast. Dad won't have to save your arse for the millionth time when you insult a relative to their face. I won't have to worry about listening to Mum and Dad trying to reason with you. Kreacher won't have to worry about you kicking him out of your own frustrations when you don't get your way and Éponine, she will be able to enjoy herself, knowing that she doesn't have to marry the likes of you!"

The commotion of the argument had led to others poking their heads out of the neighbouring compartments to figure out what was going on. To see the two Black brothers standing before each other, looking enraged, it was enough to cause a few to fall back into their compartment, not wanting to get involved in any bit of the confrontation. However, one person stepped in to interfere and then two.

Regulus was surprised to see Éponine make her way past Sirius and towards him, she gave a nervous side glance in Sirius' direction before standing in front of Regulus, offering her hand. 

"We should finish the rounds on the train," she whispered to him, a disguised plea for him to end the argument and follow her. For a moment, Regulus stood in shock, probably more surprised that Éponine was there in the first place because the last time he had seen her, she was sound asleep. He shot one last look at his brother before nodding his head in the slightest and taking her hand. 

She went to lead the way back towards the compartment with Emmarentia, but Sirius blocked their way.

"Regulus, don't do this, I'm trying to help you."

"I don't need your help! You need help, Sirius. I need you to leave me alone!"

It almost looked as though Sirius was going to reach out and grab Regulus, causing Éponine to flinch from the sudden movement, only before Sirius could, someone stopped him. It wasn't James, Peter, or Remus that pushed Sirius back, it was a girl, that took to stepping in. She didn't look in the direction of Regulus and Éponine, she wasn't even looking directly at Sirius either. She seemed to just take it upon herself to become a barrier that would allow the argument to finally come to an end. 

Regulus wasted no time as he walked away with Éponine walking beside him, leaving the commotion behind. She wanted to ask what had caused the scene, but she didn't dare, even when they returned to the compartment. Emmarentia had made a joke that they had returned quickly, but Éponine gave her a look that told her that it wasn't the time to joke around. For the rest of the train ride, Regulus sat by the window, staring out of it quietly. 

When the Hogwarts Express arrived at the Hogsmeade Station, the train came to a stop and as instructed before in the prefects' compartment, Regulus and Éponine had to make sure that all the first years were off the train and made their way towards Hagrid. Most of the younger students travelled in newly formed groups as they attempted to navigate their way, making it easier to find them and point them in the right direction. Once it seemed that Hagrid had all of them with him, the prefects were free to move on, finding a carriage to take them up to the castle.

Still, Regulus had yet to say a word to Éponine and she found herself worried. She had heard the yelling on the train, it had stirred her from her sleep. Emmarentia had informed her that the last she knew that Regulus was tending to the rounds on the train, letting her sleep. Éponine didn't even know that Regulus had joined their compartment, believing that he was going to spend his time with his friends. 

When she stepped out of the compartment to see what was taking place, she had caught the last bit of Regulus' words. 

"...and Éponine, she will be able to enjoy herself, knowing that she doesn't have to marry the likes of you..."

It left her feeling plenty guilty when she thought back to the day when the two of them had argued in Diagon Alley. The way she told him that she would still rather marry his blood-traitor of a brother. At the time, there was probably a part of her that meant it, although most of it was just fueled by anger. But looking back on it at that moment, it wasn't true. Sirius was handsome and when she was younger, he had made her laugh once or twice but there was nothing there. If it were the case, she would have found herself with a longing feeling when she saw him earlier but there was none of that.

What gave her feelings was when Regulus held her hand and when she found out that he had joined their compartment rather than spending the ride with his friends. Her heart jumped in her chest when Regulus had gifted her with hand-picked flowers and she blushed like a mad woman when it came to just the idea of running her hands through Regulus' hair when Emmarentia made the suggestion. 

As they sat in one of the last carriages, it was just the two of them. No Emmarentia or any of Regulus' friends, just the two teens, just how it had been all summer. Regulus was looking out the window as it was beginning to drizzle outside.

"I'm sorry for falling asleep earlier,"  Éponine said, finally deciding to break the silence. "If  had known that you came to the compartment, I would have woken up."

"Don't be silly,  Éponine," Regulus replied in a scoffing tone, "you were tired and you needed sleep. There's no reason to apologise. It's foolish."

"Right, sorry."

He flinched at her second apology, it seemed all she ever did was apologise for something she really didn't do. However, it was probably his tone that made he believe that he was upset with her. 

"What did you dream about?" He asked, changing the subject abruptly. "If you were dreaming about anything while you slept."

"O-Oh, um, well, I don't know why, but I dreamt about one Christmas where my mother made this white chocolate soufflé," she answered, " not a big deal or anything. But I ended up offending her greatly because I told her that it tasted like cheese. She kept insisting that it was white chocolate and I wasn't arguing with her, it was just what I tasted at the time. Why do you ask?"

"Are you aware that you talk in your sleep?" Regulus smiled. "And that you make all sorts of faces?"

Éponine looked down at her hands. "Well, I was aware that I spoke in my sleep, my father pointed it out. I nearly sang the entire alphabet in my sleep once when I was younger. Wasn't aware that I made faces."

"It's alright, nothing to be shameful about, they're actually quite adorable."

The girl let out a squeak of a noise while Regulus became still realising what he had said. The two of them were completely red in the face but luckily, the darkness of the night concealed it very well. But it was exactly what they needed in order to fall back into that comfort zone they had developed over the summer once more. Éponine wore a smile on her face until they reached the castle and so did Regulus.

When the carriage did come to a halt, Regulus stepped out first, noting that the light rain had already brought about some mud, making things slippery. He held out his hand for Éponine to take, warning her to be careful. She figured once she stepped out that he would let go, but instead, Regulus held her hand as they walked through the Entrance Hall all the way to the Great Hall. 

As they entered, Éponine felt the same fear develop when she thought that Regulus was going to bring her over to where his friends were sitting at the centre of the table. She could already see them waving him over, but instead, Regulus spotted Emmarentia first as the girl was sitting near the end of the Slytherin table and guided Éponine over to the bench. 

She didn't dare look over in the direction of Avery and Mulciber, sure that they looked offended that they had been ignored, but they probably wouldn't say anything to Regulus about it. Emmarentia wore a content smile as all the students turned to face the front as Professor McGonagall walked in with the Sorting Hat and a trail of first year students behind her.

She set the Sorting Hat on the stool and within seconds, the Sorting Hat greeted them all with a new song to start off the year.

Welcome dear students to another year,

I have a story to tell you, so lend me your ears

You're all far too young to have met the Great Four

But I was created by them to ensure the best when the time came that they were no more

My life began by viewing the world upon Godric's head,

but he made sure to find me purpose long after he was dead.

You see, dear students, the founders cared about you long before your arrival,

They wanted to make sure that you found the right house to thrive in without trial

The four gathered around me and blessed me with their wisdom in decision-making

It would be up to the Sorting Hat to set students up for opportunities for the taking

As I sit upon your head, I decide

In which of the four houses you will reside

For the next seven years

of your schooling careers

So that when you finally leave, you will find success

As the founders wished their students all the best

So whether you are brave at heart and find yourself in Gryffindor,

the home where the mighty lions roar,

or find yourself in Ravenclaw, the home of creative and witty

where the eagles soar.

Perhaps you will be a badger under the guidance of Hufflepuff,

the house known for its kindness, but be aware they can be tough

Or maybe you'll find home in the house of the cunning, the house of Slytherin

as the snakes known for their powerful ambition.

No need to worry as you sit upon the stool,

take a load off, let me see inside that head of yours

and set you in the right house to get you ready for school