"Golden child,
Lion boy;
Tell me what it's like to conquer.

Fearless child,
Broken boy;
Tell me what it's like to burn."

Kira sighed as she stepped onto the train behind Ava, ready to leave Hogwarts for Christmas break.

She hadn't told Ava where she would be going yet, she planned to tell her on the train so she couldn't talk her out of it.

Regulus had sent a reply to his mother saying that she would be spending Christmas with them. She wasn't too excited, especially with the stories she's heard from Sirius about his parents. Regulus never speaks about them so she had no choice but to believe Sirius.

Oh and if Sirius found out she was spending Christmas there he would go ballistic. Which is why she led Ava to the front of the train, knowing the Marauders had a specific compartment right at the back.

Ava didn't question it at first and they arrived at an empty compartment on the far end of the train.

"Why'd we walk so far? There were plenty of empty compartments we walked past," Ava stated looking genuinely confused, though she supposed she was used to Kira's odd behaviour.

"Avoiding someone," Kira muttered.

"Who?" Ava said as she sat down, narrowing her eyes at Kira.

"No one in particular." She said and gave her a smile.

"That's your 'you're not telling me something' smile," Ava pointed out, narrowing her eyes as she did so.

"I won't be going home. I'll be spending the break with Regulus Black."

Ava was about to squeal when Kira shot her a look which refrained her from making a sound.

"By invitation of Mr and Mrs Black. Don't go getting any ideas."

Ava sighed, visibly deflated. "Why would his parents want you over for Christmas?"

Kira shrugged. She had been going over options since Regulus told her as to why they invited her. If it wasn't her father then it had to be something else.

"What if they want to set up and arranged marriage?" Ava gasped.

"I doubt it." Kira immediately pushed away from the idea. She had thought of it a few times but it was highly unlikely.

Besides, why would they want a Ravenclaw to marry their son? They were big on Slytherins only and whatnot.

The train slowed to a stop as it pulled into the train station. Kira took a deep breath of air and stepped off the train, looking for Regulus.

Ava found her parents and said goodbye to Kira, who gave them a wave and a smile. She was now left on her own.

She spotted Sirius and James with her aunt and uncle. She quickly ducked behind a few people so that they didn't see her and ended up bumping into someone.

"Kira?" A familiar voice asked.

She looked up to see Regulus. "Ah, there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere. Let's go." She rushed out her words, not caring if she spoke too fast for Regulus to understand her.

She looped her arm with his and with a furrowed brow he led her to his parents.

She greeted them with a soft smile and shook their hands, then they apparated.

Sirius Black swore he saw one more person leave with his parents, but brushed off the thought and left with the Potters with a smile on his face.

The four arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place. They were greeted by a house-elf who took their bags to their rooms.

"Kira, it's so nice to see you," Walburga Black said with a smile far too sweet to be genuine.

Putting on her mask, Kira smiled back, thanking her for her hospitality. The Pureblood facade was one she used often, one that felt all too familiar.

Regulus led Kira to her room, leaving her to get used to it. His room was one the floor above hers. On the way, they walked past a wall covered in elf heads. Kira was horrified at the sight but Regulus pulled her away quickly.

Her room consisted of a queen-sized bed with dark grey bedding and drapes that were black with a green undertone. Her curtains are the same as the drapes around her bed. There was a fireplace with black marble surrounding it. It also had a balcony.

The room was beautiful, but she found herself missing the light blue, white, and gold colour scheme of her own room.

Regulus found her, later on, to give her a tour of the house, showing her to the library, where he knew she would be spending most of her time.

"Why is there a wall with house-elf heads on it?" She asked. She couldn't help it, she needed to know why they had such a horrific thing in their home. She wasn't a Ravenclaw for nothing, and sometimes she cursed her curiosity because it would always end up with her in trouble.

He sighed, "it's the old house-elves that used to work for the Black Family. When they die, their head gets put up there. I hate it." He truly did hate the wall. He had to walk past it every time he went up or downstairs.

"It's horrifying." She muttered, still not able to comprehend such a terrible thing.

"I know," Regulus whispered as he led her into the library.

They sat there for an hour just reading, before Kreacher, who Kira learned was the house elf's name, called them down for dinner.

They walked downstairs, Kira making sure to avoid looking at the wall. Regulus even stood on the side closest to the wall so she wouldn't have to which she was immensely grateful.

They got to the dining room where Orion Black sat at the head of the table and Walburga sat next to them. Regulus pulled out a chair for Kira which was next to his own across from his mother's.

The house-elf served them all drinks while they waited for their food.

"So, Kira," Walburga started, "how has the school been?"

Kira offered a polite smile and replied, "Quite well."

"We've heard about your mother, and we wanted to offer our condolences," she said with a sombre look, one that actually looked genuine.

"Thank you. I wanted to ask if I could visit my sister for a day, maybe on the 24th." She asked, putting on a sad look. She wanted to see how her brother and sister were doing.

"Of course." Walburga said, "I'm sure Regulus told you that we're going to the Malfoy's after Christmas." She finished, shooting a stern look at her son who looked down to the table.

Kira nodded and turned to her food which had been placed in front of her.

They had been silent for the remainder of dinner, which got Kira thinking. Were they always like this? When she was with her family they were always talking. Even in the presence of her father, he acted like a cheerful man in front of the rest of the family.

She looked at Regulus, who seemed to keep his head down for the entire dinner. He sat up straight, tense. His movements were strained and stiff.

He looked scared.

Kira was confused. Why would he be scared? Maybe he wasn't, maybe he was stressed. Or anxious.

But why would he be anxious in his own home?

She knew his parents were vile people, she had been at The Potter's with Thomas when Sirius showed up bloody and bruised the summer before her fourth year. She had helped Euphemia clean up the cuts and wounds and clear up the blood.

It was that night when she brought the oldest Black brother some water that they sat together and he told her how his parents hurt and abused him. All because he was a Gryffindor that didn't share their beliefs.

It was that night that Kira showed him a bruise of her own, to let him know he wasn't alone.

Why would Regulus be scared? As far as she knew he had never been touched by his parents. He was treated like a golden child, never once shouted at. If he did something wrong, it was a stern scolding before his mother turned her anger towards his brother.

So why was he acting like this?

_________________________________________
#blacklivesmatter

Let's stand together to put a stop to racism, or at least bring attention to the unfairness people face because of the colour of their skin.

If you have ever faced racism, know that you are important, you matter, you are not inferior, you are amazing.

Your race does not define you, stand above it, but most of all, stand above those who want to push you into the dirt, who want you to fall, to burn.

Rise above those who want to see you fall.