Chapter Text
The sounds of young boys chatting fills the great hall as Regulus walks in taking a seat on the bench near the middle of the room.
Walburga had insisted on him coming here this year, as it would not be proper for a young man to continue attending the co-educational school, so here he is at Hogwarts, an all boys school.
Hogwarts is not only an all boys school, but one of the most prestigious schools in the United Kingdom. Only the most wealthy families are able to attend here with the occasional exception for scholarship winners.
Regulus looks up, fixing his posture, the room has filled since they first sat down. Boys now sit with their parents in almost every seat with a few people still trickling in.
Once everyone has taken their seats the sound of bagpipes fills the great hall playing Scotland the Brave. All of the young boys stand and Regulus looks over to his mother for confirmation.
She glares at him and places a firm hand on his shoulder to urge him up. He listens to the silent threat and stands along with the other students in the room.
Looking over to the staircase at the end of the hall Regulus sees three young boys, no older than twelve or thirteen, followed by four boys who seem to be around his age holding banners.
The first boy– holding a banner that reads ‘tradition’ –is very tall with scars on his face and some visible ones along his hands and neck. He’s stood tall with sandy blonde hair and a neutral expression that Regulus can't quite read.
Regulus recognizes the second boy– whose banner reads ‘Honor’– as Bartimus Crouch Jr., his best friend. He is shorter than the first but stands with a sort of arrogance in his posture. His hair is short and looks wild compared to most in the room, but still put together. Regulus knows his father probably fought him on that choice.
The third young man has a rounder face and well kept blonde hair, he holds the placard ‘Discipline’. He looks kind and has the same neutral expression as the first.
The last student holds ‘Excellence’ and stands tall. His tan hands have a firm grip on the pole, his face mostly neutral, hiding a hint of merriment. The short brown curls fall on his forehead almost touching his eyebrows. He stands straight and follows in step behind the others.
Even though he's behind them, he looks as if he's a leader, knowing and sure of himself.
Once they reach the front of the great room, they all place the poles in the designated spots and take their seats.
The headmaster, Dumbledore, comes to stand at a podium in the middle of the small stage. He raises his arms, and everyone sits, “Tradition, honor, discipline and excellence. These are the foundations of which our school was built on,” the old man begins, “here at Hogwarts we expect the very best from every student,”
Regulus zones out as the headmaster is talking, but is pulled in when everyone begins shuffling out of the pews, signaling the end of the ceremony.
Once they reach the large doors Dumbledore is greeting each family, by the time he and his mother reach the headmaster Regulus has his well practiced smile on, “Mrs. Black, what a pleasure it is to have you here.”
“Professor, may I introduce my son Regulus," Walburga's cold tone strikes him as she takes the man's hand. Regulus reaches out his hand once the attention is on him and gives the older gentleman a firm shake.
“Ah, Regulus, I’ve heard many good things about you. I expect you to do what your brother could not, succeed.” he laughs at himself, but this statement makes Regulus’ jaw twitch, he keeps his expression unreadable.
“Well, sir, I do plan to bring honor to my family. Not shame,” Regulus says playing into the joke
It is quiet for a split second before Walburga speaks up, “Is he here, at the school?” She doesn’t need to use a name for both to know who she’s referring to.
“Yes, but I have made sure they are not roomed together. He should not be an issue for your family,”
Walburga accepts the answer with a curt nod and they move on to the forecourt passing a few more professors and eventually stopping in an unoccupied patch.
“Regulus, you know the expectations. Do not disappoint me. If you disgrace our family name we will not be afraid to give you the same fate as your brother.” Regulus’ mind shifts to that night five years ago.
His brother on the floor, half dead, barely able to make it to his room to grab his things and escape. “You will have nothing,” she continues, “we have done so much for you and we expect great gratitude in return. Do not disappoint us,”
Regulus nods, she adds, "Toujours pur.", before turning to leave.
He looks around and sees little boys hugging their moms, begging them not to leave. The moms don’t look angry, they are comforting the children, telling them how they’ll write many letters and it’ll be okay.
Before he can think too much about it he walks out of the forecourt to find his dorm.
As he’s walking through a closed off courtyard the student that had held the banner ‘Excellence’ jogs up to him, “Hey, I think you’re my roommate, Regulus, right?” The tall energetic boy sticks out his hand, and Regulus ignores the offer and just glares at the boy.
He retracts his hand and says, “Well, I’m James, nice to meet you! What brings you to Hogwarts?” He begins walking beside Regulus; he is very energetic.
“My mother believed it would be a better fit than a co-educational school, more proper,”
“Oh, what school did you go to before?”
“I attended Lycée Condorcet in France.”, James looks at Regulus like he's clinically insane.
“Your mother thought Lycée Condorcet was improper?” He butchers the pronunciation, but Regulus chooses to ignore it.
“Yes, it was co-educational, I believe I began with that reasoning,” for a second Regulus thinks he sees a faint blush roll across James' face before he looks away.
“Oh, this is our dorm building right here, we should be on the third floor” he says, leading the way up the stairs skipping every other step.
Once they enter the building, Regulus is quickly overwhelmed by all the people crowding the halls.
Almost every door is blocked and there's only a very narrow crooked path through the already slim hallway.
They walk up to one of the last rooms in the corridor and James reaches into his pocket to pull out a pair of keys, they walk in.
One half of the room has already been claimed, judging by the clothes, papers and shoes on that side, so that just leaves the left side to Regulus.
“I moved in earlier today, so I hope you don't mind the left side,” James says, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.
“No, it really isn't that important, I have this weird habit where I prefer the left side of things anyway,”.
Regulus sets his luggage onto his bed and begins pulling out his things to put in his small wardrobe near the door.
There's a silence that Regulus finds comforting, until someone is banging on the door, “Jamesssss” a familiar voice claws its way into Regulus' ears burrowing behind his ribs, settling like a violent dog coming back from a hunt.
Regulus whips his head around to see him, his brother, the boy who saved him. The boy who took the hits, the one who used to make a scene to get Regulus out of trouble.
His hair is longer, pulled into a messy half ponytail, he wears a leather jacket over his blazer and has black painted nails with black combat boots on his feet.
He looks alive, he is alive. Regulus realizes he’s staring when Sirius turns to him extending a hand.
“Hi, I'm Sirius,”, he takes his hand and gently shakes it, eyes still locked on his estranged brother. “This is Remus and Pete," it's only then does Regulus notice the two other boys that have walked in.
They are the others that he did not recognize holding the banners at the ceremony.
Regulus extends his hand to them, giving a polite nod and turning back to Sirius. “Regulus,” he says, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible.
Does he not recognize him? It would make sense, a lot has changed.
“Nice to meet you, Regulus, the name’s a bit pretentious, don't you think? Being named after a star and all.” he says in a joking tone.
Guess not.
“Says the one named after the brightest star in the night sky.” James chimes in, “Ignore him Regulus, he's just jealous he's no longer the only star at Hogwarts.” he slings an arm over Sirius' shoulders, “What is the cause of this unexpected, but greatly valued visit?” James says trying to sound as posh as possible.
Sirius slaps a hand to his chest, “Prongs, you wound me, do you wish me beheaded?” he moves the hand to his forehead imitating distress.
“Would it get you to shut up?” James quips back without hesitating, this extracts a loud gasp from Sirius.
Some things really never change.
They argue like brothers, the thought makes Regulus' chest ache. Has Sirius forgotten about him? They grew up together, but no longer know anything about the other.
“I just wanted to see my friend on my way to my room, is that such a crime?” Sirius leans into James as the taller boy laughs.
“I guess not, but considering your room is at the beginning of the corridor it was not on the way,” James teases
“Oh, piss off, since I'm clearly not welcome here, I'm going to use the loo, lovely to meet you Regulus,” Sirius is clearly joking, but storms off anyway.
“Regulus, was it?” the tall boy with scars asks him, Regulus nods, “you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost” he says with a chuckle. He might as well have.
“Oh, yes I'm fine. He just reminds me of someone, that's all,” Remus looks as if he doesn't quite believe what Regulus is saying, but doesn't linger on the topic.
“Well Sirius can be quite a handful, but he’s got a big heart,”
“So, James, study in your room tonight?” the boy introduced as Pete asks while pulling out a pack of cigarettes, waving them in the air like he's trying to lure a dog in with a treat.
“Peter, you know I quit this summer, it's quite frowned upon for doctors to smoke. With all the health effects and everything,” Peter just shrugs and lowers his hand.
A knock sounds from outside the door and Peter rushes to put the cigarettes back in his pocket before James calls for the person to come in.
Walburga opens the door and Regulus feels himself stiffen, “Mother, is everything alright?” Regulus asks.
Her icy expression makes him immediately nervous, “Regulus, I have decided I do not want you to continue taking the astronomy class”
Regulus’ face drops and he takes a step toward the woman, “Mais maman, I already signed up! They even said I could write for it in the school papier.”
She glares at the three boys standing silently in the room behind them, “Would you— gentlemen— give us some privacy please?” They all make a quick exit and close the door behind them.
Not even a second after the door closes a sharp hand connects to Regulus’ face, the sting causes him to draw his fingers along his cheek.
Walburga snatches his wrist and pulls him to look her in the eyes, “Ne prenez pas ce ton avec moi, especially in front of others. You are lucky your friends are right outside that door." her voice is low, but her words do not waver, "You will drop astronomy because you have no choice. Do I make myself clear?”
Regulus nods, not making eye contact afraid he might look at her in a way that does not help her anger. She pushes his wrist away and flattens her skirt before walking out.
James walks in alone, quiet, Regulus makes sure to wipe the tear rolling down his cheek before James can see.
“Where did the others go?” Regulus asks, voice bland and hiding the emotion.
“They went to their own rooms, is everything alright?” James asks cautiously, looking at his face that more than likely has a red mark blooming on the cheek.
“Yes, I'm fine” the words come out sharper than he intended, but he cannot take them back now.
The rest of the evening is quiet, James goes to dinner while Regulus stays in the dorm.
By the time James is back, Regulus has gone to sleep.