• Regulus Black •

„All the memories
come back,
but he never does."

Regulus had stared at Sirius in horror at what he had said. They had all stared at him in horror, including their parents who had been standing at the door, obviously listening to every word. Threateningly, Walburga and Orion Black stood up in front of their eldest son and at that moment it seemed as if they had lost all patience.

"No, the only ones who will die are you. Your blind fanaticism will bring you to your grave one day. You have no one, I have true friends, a real family."

The words echoed in Regulus' head. Sirius had long since stopped calling him his brother, for he had long since replaced him. The certainty made his fingertips go numb, as did his thoughts, and so he didn't even flinch when his father slapped the older boy so hard his cheeks turned red.

Sirius stormed out of the room, his raging mother following behind. The latter was shouting so loudly, despite the guests, that they could hear every word clearly in the drawing room. "YOU CALL THESE FREAKS YOUR FAMILY?"

There was no reply to this, only the sound of rumbling footsteps could be heard. "You are not going anywhere! You stay here and you listen to me!"

Regulus, meanwhile, avoided his cousins' glances, especially Narcissa's. He didn't want to see what disappointment would lie in that one, for he knew how much she had wanted a quiet evening. How on earth had he thought Sirius would stick to that? His grey eyes lingered instead on the black grand piano that stood polished to a high sheen in the middle of the drawing room. He was pretty sure he had never heard any of his family members play it before.

He tried to cling to this petty thought, for it kept him busy from the cruel words exchanged in the doorway.

"Your father and I are disappointed, no we are ashamed, that a child of ours could go astray like this! You have dragged the honour of the Blacks in the mud! You are friends with blood traitors, half-breeds and mudbloods! You should be ashamed of yourself! We have tolerated this for far too long."

"Stop insulting my friends!" it shouted back thunderously, causing the plaster to crackle off the walls and Narcissa's petite body to visibly shudder.

"You are an embarrassment to us all, with your useless frie-"

"Stop it! My friends are better than you'll ever be!"

Regulus closed his grey eyes, expecting disaster. He could see in his mind's eye his mother's face contorted with rage and the anger in his brother's eyes. But were they still? After all, he himself had said that he now had a new family. New brothers.

"Are you insulting me?" his mother asked in an unusually calm tone, though one that contained a clear and distinct threat.

Her older son snorted audibly loudly. "No, that was a compliment."

"I forbid you sarcasm towards me!" she screeched, and Regulus thought he knew that at that moment she was waving her bony index finger threateningly in front of him. It was downright frightening how intimately he knew the routines of the numerous arguments by now.

"I've had enough of you and your behaviour!" she continued shrilly. "We have gracefully accepted that you have come to Gryffindor bu-"

"Truly gracefully, I remember the broken crockery and also the ruined paintings. Not to mention the howls to the teachers asking if there was a mistake!"

"Anyway, interacting with vermin is not acceptable!" she yelled back, to which Sirius yelled back, "This family is vermin!"

Regulus held his breath, convulsively trying not to let on in front of his assembled family that a stab had just passed through his heart like the blade of a knife. He looked into the eyes of his aunt and uncle, who looked as if they were ashamed of a child who was not even their own. They looked downright outraged to share blood with someone like that.

"You are a disgrace," it sounded from the other side of the door in a more subdued tone, as if Walburga Black had used the time to bring her trembling voice under control. "Look at your brother Regulus, he has honorable views, he is a born heir. Yet you are nothing but an embarrassment to our family."

This time Regulus' heart stopped a sentence. He had never heard his mother speak of him in such a way. Had she actually meant what she had said? For he had always believed he was merely a substitute for Sirius. The consolation prize because the original had quirks.

"Shut up!" roared Sirius abruptly one room away, bringing his younger brother back to reality. "I've had enough, I'm leaving."

Footsteps rumbled up the stairs, drowned out by the woman's shouting alone. "You haven't been cleared to leave yet, boy!"

Regulus' eyes darted to those of his father, who returned his gaze. With long strides, the latter had reached the younger and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look what has become of your brother."

That wasn't quite true, because Sirius had always been like that. Regulus merely swallowed and tried to withstand his counterpart's piercing eyes as he hinted at the hint of a smile. "You, on the other hand, are proof that this was not our fault at all. You have proven that we in no way deserve to be condemned because of a failure. You are our true son."

The corners of Regulus' mouth twitched with insincerity. For so long he had wished to hear those very words from his parents' mouths and yet now it sounded so wrong. As if he didn't deserve it.

The focus was taken off the younger boy and back on Sirius, as those remaining in the drawing room began to discuss loudly what had just happened. Regulus took no part in it. His brother's words rang in his ears. "I'm leaving."

Going where? To his room? To another country? A nasty premonition crept up on him, so he stealthily stole out of the room. No one cared about him anyway and at that moment he was glad to be invisible in most eyes. In the entrance area, Regulus could hear his mother loudly shouting curses. The latter had moved into the room where the legacy of the Blacks was kept alive. A magnificent family tree that stretched back to the Middle Ages. Earlier, Regulus had not been able to get enough of the numerous names and dates. Now he could only stare at the scattered ugly burn marks and wonder what names had been behind them. Would Sirius end up the same way? Like Andromeda and Alphard?

His heartbeat quickened. His mother was certainly in that room for a reason. Taking two steps at a time, Regulus sprinted up the stairs. He couldn't let it come to this!

The sight that met his eyes made the young Black pause. Sirius' room door was wide open and its owner was in the process of throwing all his belongings into a huge bag. His face was grimly contorted, but relief was also reflected in his distorted expression. The red and gold, which was so different from the other rooms, just glowed at him and made Regulus swallow. In an instant, he had thrown all his plans to get Sirius to apologise and set things straight out of the window.

Slowly, the Slytherin approached with deliberate steps. Sirius had never belonged in this family. Wasn't it rather selfish of Regulus to try to get him to stay? At the doorway, he paused. "I guess that's it," he said quietly, and had been almost certain that his counterpart hadn't heard those words at all. But that was not the case.

"Yep," Sirius replied as he pulled on his shoes and the younger boy was amazed that he managed a weak smile even considering the situation. "You're free."

"Come with me, you don't have to stay here, Reg," he replied carefully with a pleading look in his eyes. The suggestion surprised Regulus, but he still had a clear answer immediately. "I can't."

Sirius nodded as if he understood him. It was the first time in all their years as brothers that he had suggested understanding of his situation. They couldn't all be so brave, after all. With his broom shouldered and a suitcase in his other hand, Sirius squeezed past him. It would be the only thing he would take from his childhood home. The house he had grown up in. Was it really that easy for him?

Regulus believed that Sirius must have been planning this for some time. But what had stopped him before? Would he stay if he asked him to? Because even though both brothers had become increasingly estranged in recent years, Regulus didn't want him to leave. The Slytherin had to suppress the urge to make an attempt, for deep down he knew it would be merely selfish to keep his brother from his happiness. So instead he asked, "Where are you going?"

"To the Potters," he answered as a matter of course, taking a step towards him to pat him on the shoulder. "Then I guess it's farewell for now."

Regulus swallowed and nodded, resisting the urge to be hugged by him one last time. It wasn't goodbye forever. They would probably run into each other at Hogwarts for a while. But that was different, because there they behaved like strangers. Like two people who didn't share the same last name. At that moment, the entire house was shaken by a loud explosion and one of the Quidditch posters in Sirius' room sailed to the floor.

"She's trying to blow your name off the wallpaper," Regulus breathed, eager to see Sirius' reaction, but he merely grinned. "About time," he said with a shrug of his shoulders before he began to descend the stairs.

Alone, Regulus stayed behind, resisting the lingering urge to stand in his brother's way. It was better this way, he tried to tell himself, and so he stopped at the banister of the stairs as Sirius called out a final, "Goodbye, Mother!"

He still hadn't moved from the spot when more explosive noises rang in his ears and his mother screeched, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! LIVE ON THE STREET LIKE YOUR RABBLE!"

And he was still just standing there when the front door finally crashed shut.