Chapter Text
“I’m leaving, Reg,” Sirius whispered late in the night, when they were huddling together in Sirius’ bedroom, a place Regulus absolutely wasn’t supposed to be. “You should come with me. You know you’re not–” Sirius broke off, biting his lip.
“Not wanted,” Regulus completed, for Sirius, his lips twisting into a pained approximation of a smile.
“Please come with me. Effie and Monty will take us both in,” Sirius said, and Regulus considered it for a long moment. “Please, Reg.”
“If I stay,” Regulus started, his voice shaking. “If I stay, they might accept that I am who I say I am. There needs to be an heir. They can’t–our ability to produce heirs isn’t limited by physicality,” Regulus’ voice broke. “They just need a son for the name . They could–”
“You don’t honestly believe they’ll change,” Sirius’ voice was flat, and he didn’t look impressed. Regulus pressed his lips more tightly together for a long moment. “I bet you fifty galleons that you’re wrong.”
“I’ll take that bet. I think if you leave, the family’ll be left with the choice of letting me transition or being left without an heir. And if I do become the heir, and then the Head of the House,” Regulus said, and hesitated. “I could change it, Siri. I could improve everything .”
“They’ll treat you how they treat me, if you become a son.”
“I can handle it,” Regulus said, firmly.
“ I can’t. Why would you be able to?” Sirius snapped.
Regulus didn’t look impressed, now. “Because anything they do to me can’t be worse than what they’ve already done to me, Sirius.”
Sirius exhaled heavily. “It’s different, when it’s physical instead of emotional.”
“At least if it’s physical to start with, I won’t have to take it out on myself.”
Sirius flinched, his eyes going wide. “Reg–”
“No. I’m not showing you. But they left scars. They just almost always… cornered me into using my own hands to make them, okay? I literally… It literally cannot get worse than living like this. If they… if they don’t decide that I should be allowed to be who I am, I’ll follow you, okay?” Regulus said.
“Promise?”
“I swear on our stars, Siri,” Regulus promised, squeezing his brother’s hand.
“Okay. Okay. I love you, Reg,” Sirius whispered.
“I love you too, Siri. Always and forever.”
“I’m glad you’re my brother, Reg,” Sirius’ voice was barely audible, and Regulus gave him a sad smile.
“I’m glad you’re my brother, too, Siri.”
In the morning, Sirius was gone. Regulus had known it was coming, but it still very nearly made him breakdown and cry.
“Where did your brother go, Vega?” His Mother’s voice was flat, but Regulus met her gaze unflinchingly.
“I don’t know for certain, Mother. But I’d assume, based on his friend group, that he went to the Potters’,” Regulus answered evenly. “And my name is Regulus .” His Mother’s lips pressed into a tight, angry pucker, but Regulus didn’t waver.
“Your name is Vega Algieba Black. I named you myself, I think I know my own daughter’s name,” Walburga returned.
“I’m not your daughter. I am your son ,” Regulus returned, just as evenly as he’d answered the question. “My name is Regulus Arcturus Black. And, with Sirius gone, I am your Heir.”
“You will sit down and stop this nonsense, Vega. You’re nothing of the sort,” Walburga snapped, hand twitching for her wand.
“No,” Regulus replied, quiet and steady, meeting his mother’s eyes. “My name is Regulus. You will recognize who I am.”
“This is your final warning, Vega,” Walburga said.
“Walburga,” Orion interrupted quietly. “Don’t act rashly. The tapestry burned . The tapestry changed .”
“Our daughter’s foolishness has gone on long enough!” Walburga snapped at Orion immediately. In the face of his wife’s wand, Orion immediately faltered.
“Your son . You can call it foolishness if it suits you, but I. Am. Your. Son,” Regulus enunciated it clearly and sharply, and before he could really process it, his mother’s wand was back on him, and the excruciating pain of the Cruciatus curse took over all of his senses.
When the curse was lifted, his parents weren’t alone. His Grandfather Arcturus was holding his mother’s wand, and his Grandmother Melania was holding a glass of water to his lips. “Water will help, sweetheart,” Melania murmured. Regulus blinked, but allowed her to help him drink the water, which was distinctly laced with an unknown potion. He trusted his grandmother enough to believe that it probably wasn’t poison.
“Never in my life have I seen such shameful behavior,” Arcturus’ disapproval was clearly displayed in both tone and expression. “The risks of such a curse–” He broke off, shaking his head sharply. “You never should have cast it on your own child. And you should have disarmed your wife instead of wasting precious time fetching me,” Arcturus rebuked Orion, who had the sense to look ashamed. Arcturus looked to Regulus, who had managed to sit up and looked pale and disconcerted. “How are you feeling, Regulus?” Arcturus asked, and Regulus blinked rapidly, because he was quite certain he’d never shared his name with his grandfather.
“Uh,” Regulus started. “Rather confused, but no worse for wear, Grandfather,” his voice was utterly destroyed, but answering his Paterfamilias was far more important than avoiding speaking from the pain.
“We will continue this discussion formally at a later date. Regulus, you’ll return with us to the Ancestral Home. We have much to discuss. Your house elf has already moved your possessions, though I imagine we’ll need to correct your wardrobe post haste.”
Regulus blinked rapidly. “Am I hallucinating?” Regulus asked, and his grandmother gave him a soft, sympathetic smile.
“No, dear,” Melania assured him. “This is quite real. The portkey is going to be unpleasant. Are you ready?”
Regulus took a deep breath and then nodded. His grandmother had to help him back to his feet, and he didn’t manage to stay upright, or remember much between the portkey and being taken to a guest room and being put to bed. He was asleep the instant his head hit the pillow.
Waking up was painful. Regulus cracked an eye open and immediately regretted it because it made his head throb. Still, after a moment, he pushed himself to properly open his eyes and sit up. On the bedside table, there was a pain relieving potion that he didn’t hesitate before taking. Once he was able, he made it out of bed. Quickly, he located a set of robes with a note in his grandmother’s handwriting that they should fit. They were a dark, emerald green, and upon unfolding them, he realized they were men’s robes, which meant that it truly hadn’t been a hallucination, and somehow, without his telling them, his grandparents knew his name and actual gender.
By the time he had bathed and gotten dressed, his hair pulled back in a severe bun, Regulus didn’t entirely loathe his appearance, even if it still wasn’t right. It took several deep breaths before he could force himself to leave the safety of the room, heading for the informal parlor, and only hesitating slightly before joining his grandparents.
“Ah, Regulus. How are you feeling?” Melania asked, with clear concern.
“Much better, thank you, Grandmother,” Regulus answered, before hesitating. “Although I must confess, I’m still terribly confused,” Regulus admitted.
Arcturus gave a sympathetic smile. “I believe that several questions are best answered by viewing the family tapestry,” Arcturus said, standing. “Come with me, Regulus. I must say, I’m honored you took my brother’s name and my own.”
Regulus blushed, immediately. “I took Regulus for its placement in Leo, Grandfather.”
“For your brother,” Arcturus said, and it sounded incredibly gentle. Regulus nodded slightly. “And Arcturus?”
“That was for you, yes,” Regulus answered. “I doubt I’ve made it a secret that you are my preferred grandfather, Grandfather.” Arcturus looked amused at that comment.
As they approached the family tapestry, Regulus was immediately drawn to the burned spot that Sirius had previously resided. Unlike Andromeda’s spot, or any of the other’s disowned, Sirius’ spot was perfectly the shape of his face, and only barely singed, more a hole as though the tapestry had merely rearranged itself to omit him.
“It burned itself. As far as I can tell, it means that Sirius has disowned the family, rather than the other way around,” Arcturus said, very quietly. Regulus’ heart clenched, until he saw his own image, which he’d avoided looking at for nearly four years. Instead of his birth name, the name inscribed upon it was Regulus Arcturus Black. “That occurred on its own, as well, approximately four years ago. We assumed you’d tell the family when you were ready.”
“I told my parents four years ago,” Regulus whispered. “I picked the name five years ago.” Arcturus was silent for a long moment.
“I see,” Arcturus finally said. “I’m terribly sorry that your parents reacted how they did, Regulus. You should know that you aren’t the first in our family to have been misidentified at birth. He’s no longer on the tree, but here,” Arcturus pointed to the hole once displaying Phineas Black’s face. “Phineas was named Alya Black at birth. A sex changeling, like yourself.”
Regulus made a soft sound. “He was disowned for supporting muggle rights, no?” Regulus asked, very quietly.
“He was. His father Phineas Nigellus was… overzealous in his reaction, in part because he’d given his son his name mere days before Phineas declared his crusade.”
“And if I said I supported muggle rights?” Regulus said, even quieter. Arcturus smiled at him, looking amused, and rather like he was suppressing laughter.
“Regulus, forgive me, but you have supported the rights of House Elves since you were a small child. I’d expect nothing else from you. You are still my Heir Apparent. When you take over the House, it will be a new age, I’m certain of it. It’s about time this House changed, if we’re running off perfectly good scions. First Andromeda, then Sirius. It’s unacceptable.”
Regulus looked at his Grandfather with very wide eyes. “Heir Apparent?” he repeated.
“Orion isn’t fit to be Paterfamilias. Cygnus is too much like Walburga. You are, with Sirius scorning us so, the only option remaining.”
Regulus couldn’t help his grin. “Sirius owes me fifty galleons,” Regulus said, and Arcturus raised his eyebrows. “This was my plan, although I didn’t expect Father to be removed from the line of Succession,” Regulus confessed. “Sirius didn’t want to be Heir. He’s never wanted to be Heir. I don’t care about being Heir, I just want to be, well, myself. He bet it wouldn’t happen. I took the bet.”
“And now you’re owed fifty galleons,” Arcturus looked even more amused.
“Am I allowed to speak to him?”
“He disowned the House, not the other way around. You’re allowed to do as you see fit, and as he allows.”
“He didn’t disown me , so long as I don’t become a blood supremacist in his absence,” Regulus said, meeting his grandfather’s eyes, and Arcturus managed to mostly hide the slight recoil he suppressed.
“I imagine asking you to change on that front would be about as effective as asking a dragon to change its hide.”
“Yes, it would,” Regulus confirmed with a small smile.
“My tailor will be arriving tomorrow morning to entirely correct your wardrobe,” Arcturus changed the subject. “Do you wish to keep your hair long?”
“No,” Regulus said, immediately, without a single moment’s hesitation. Arcturus nodded.
“Your grandmother has scheduled an appointment with a healer for this afternoon, both to deal with the aftermath of the extended Cruciatus and your transition. For now, let’s get you breakfast.”
Regulus blinked in surprise at how casually it was discussed, but nodded his head agreeably. “I need to owl Sirius,” he said, after breakfast. His grandparents both smiled.
“Feel free to use any of the family’s birds,” his grandmother said, and Regulus nodded and headed off on his task, keeping the note short and to the point.
S.O.B,
You owe me 50 galleons. I’ll see you on 1 Sept.
Much love,
R.A.B.
The remainder of the summer passed before they were reunited, and when Sirius finally saw Regulus again, he very nearly didn’t recognize his brother. His hair had been cropped short, and even with robes on, Sirius could see that his entire body had subtly changed.
“Reg!” Sirius called, once they were both on the train. Regulus turned and immediately a grin broke across his face.
“Siri,” Regulus breathed, striding towards him with a confidence he’d never had before. The hug that Regulus pulled Sirius into was tight and strong, and Sirius could feel that his previously muscular frame had filled in even more.
“Gods, you look good, Reggie,” Sirius breathed, pulling back to look at his brother properly. “Were you right?”
“I was sort of right. Let’s grab a compartment and I’ll tell you about it,” Regulus said, and Sirius blinked.
“Are you allowed to do that?” Sirius asked. Regulus’ lips turned up into an impish smile.
“I’m really rather allowed to do whatever I want,” Regulus answered. “Orion’s been taken out of the line of succession.”
“What?” Sirius barely breathed it.
“We need to find somewhere semi-private,” Regulus said, and Sirius nodded.
“Can my friends know?”
“Sure,” Regulus said immediately. Sirius blinked.
“You don’t have protests on the grounds that they’re a bunch of blood traitors or half bloods?”
Regulus snorted. “I’ve freed three house elves in the last week, who now all work for Grandfather Arcturus earning a wage. I have more pressing concerns than blood status. You knew this about me, Sirius.”
“I expected it to change. I expected you to change, to be the Heir.”
“Have you seen me?” Regulus deadpanned. Sirius rolled his eyes.
“You look like you , Reg.” That earned a soppy smile from Regulus.
“Thank you, Siri. But no, I told you. I’m getting the House to change.”
“Right, okay, we’re over here,” Sirius said, and Regulus didn’t hesitate to follow him into the compartment. “You lot remember my brother,” Sirius said, flippantly. “Regulus, these are my friends, I’m sure you know all of us. We’re rather famous.”
“Mm, I believe you mean infamous . The Marauders , no?” Regulus’ tone was distinctly teasing. All of the Marauders took a long moment to match Regulus with the quiet younger sister that they’d met several years previous, before Regulus and Sirius had publicly parted ways with Regulus’ sorting into Slytherin.
“Right, Reg’s going to fill me in on the drama I missed while I ran away and he became Heir instead. You’re allowed to listen, because he knows I’ll just tell you anyway,” Sirius said, as he tugged Regulus down, automatically linking their fingers. “So how’d you get Orion out of the line of Succession?”
“Well,” Regulus started, and then paused. “It turns out that Grandfather Arcturus is rather against corporal punishment.”
“What did they do?” Sirius asked immediately.
“Just the Cruciatus, nothing I couldn’t handle,” Regulus dismissed.
“Merlin, Reg. How long this time? Was it Cygnus?”
“Believe it or not, no. Our mother. Two minutes and thirty seven seconds that Kreacher saw,” Regulus answered, waving it away. “Regardless, after the two minute mark, Father tried to intervene. When Mother wouldn’t listen, he fetched Grandfather Arcturus instead of disarming her. Apparently, Grandfather believed Father should have been much more aggressive and more prompt in acting. To learn that it was far from the first time, and that it was essentially the reason you hated our entire Family…” Regulus smiled slightly. “I may have played up that hatred a little bit, for emphasis. However, given that you disowned the Family more than it disowned you, the tapestries actually burned themselves. Grandfather Arcturus was already focused on that issue when Father fetched him.”
“I didn’t know that was possible,” Sirius breathed.
“You really hate them. Magic works in mysterious ways,” Regulus shrugged. “Returning to the story,” Regulus refocused, squeezing Sirius’ hand slightly. “The tapestry outed me four years ago, apparently. Grandfather Arcturus thought I was waiting to tell anyone, and was quite irate to learn that it was our parents’ preventing me from being myself. It apparently corrected itself when I told you my name.”
“Magic really does work in mysterious ways,” Sirius commented, with a soft huff. “So Orion was taken out for being too weak, and you’re Heir Apparent. And you’re freeing House Elves?”
“It’s my more well known crusade,” Regulus shrugged. “Grandfather Arcturus is mostly humoring me on that front, and it’s forcing me to learn the nuances of magical contract law, so really, it advances his interests for a rather small fee. He outright suppressed laughter when I asked what would happen if I said I supported muggle rights like Phineas Black did. Apparently I’ve been transparent since my youth. He’s supportive of a new era for the House of Black, given that the previous era has resulted in two of five of our generation leaving the family.”
“Okay,” Sirius said after a moment. “You… are terrifyingly brilliant, Reg, and I’m sorry I doubted you,” Sirius seemed wholly genuine. Without Regulus prompting, he added: “I really did not think I’d be paying you, but I honor my bets,” Sirius handed over a pouch of galleons.
“Thank you kindly. Never bet against me when I have a plan,” Regulus advised, with a grin.
“C’mere, kid,” Sirius said, pulling Regulus into another tight hug. “Gods, I really, really can’t believe how good you look. I was sure you’d turn up looking as dead as always.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” Regulus quipped, with an amused smile. Sirius exhaled and shook his head.
“ Definitely not a disappointment, Reg,” Sirius whispered. “I haven’t seen you genuinely smile like this in years .”
Regulus’ smile turned a little bit sad, when Sirius pulled away, but his brother immediately ruffled his hair, and he was laughing instead. “Siri!”
“What? It’s short! It’s my brotherly obligation to mess it up, now!”
Regulus couldn’t quite get the laughter to stop when Sirius joined him in it, elation clear in his expression. “I need to actually go, well, cause chaos, although I’m merely going to the prefect’s meeting,” Regulus said, when they’d finally stopped laughing just so they could breathe again. “We’ll talk again soon, though, yeah? I want to see you other than when we face each other on the quidditch pitch.”
“We’ll talk again soon, Reg, I promise,” Sirius said, and Regulus pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“See you, Siri. Goodbye, Marauders ,” Regulus’ tone made clear that he was not using the title entirely kindly, but he was still smiling, so it didn’t land as mean, merely unimpressed .
“I’ll walk with you,” Remus said, and Regulus raised his eyebrows but nodded agreeably.
The instant the compartment door closed, James admitted: “I really want to go spy on Slytherins’ reaction to this,” James said, and Sirius snorted.
“We’ll have a chance to sort of spy over the Welcoming Feast,” Sirius said. “And Remus will fill us in.”
Regulus and Remus didn’t actually speak on the walk to the prefects’ meeting, but Regulus also didn’t move away from Remus, making a point of sitting next to him, and he smiled charmingly at Lily when she sat next to Remus. Regulus’ posture was casually powerful, with a level of poise that Sirius had never shown. He took neat notes during the meeting.
“Black, you’ll pair with Evans for rounds,” Headboy Frank Longbottom said, in what was very clearly a test of Regulus’ character. Regulus looked at Frank and smiled slightly when he found Frank’s expression full of unspoken challenge. He nodded. Frank waited.
“If you’re expecting a protest from me, you’ll have to wait for quite some time,” Regulus said after a full minute of tense silence had passed, his expression becoming unmistakably amused. “I have no quarrel with Evans.”
“You know who I am, right?” Lily asked, and Regulus looked at her with the same amused expression.
“One of the most brilliant witches Hogwarts has seen in years. It’ll be an honor to be your Rounds partner,” Regulus answered easily. There was a round of quiet gasps from the Slytherins. “Was I supposed to note something else about you?”
“Black,” Shafiq hissed, with wide eyes. Regulus’ smile dropped away, tilting his chin up as his expression became cold and imperious.
“Shafiq,” Regulus returned, coldly.
“Your reputation–” Shafiq started in a whisper.
Regulus’ smile returned.
“Ah, reputation ,” he dismissed it with a slight wrinkle of his nose. “I’m aware of my reputation, and the weight of the reputation of my house. I’d recommend you stick to worrying about your own .”
“Right,” Frank said, after a long moment, and continued through the list of Rounds partners.
“I knew your brother was a blood traitor. I had no idea you were too,” Shafiq told Regulus when the meeting ended. “I bet the Rosiers are glad to have your betrothal contract ended with whatever…” Shafiq paused, evaluating Regulus clearly. “This display is.”
“Mm. I’ll let Evan decide how he feels about that,” Regulus said, with a smirk, his expression deceptively pleasant. “All actions I take, I take with my Paterfamilias’ support,” Regulus added. “As I am Heir Apparent, it is only appropriate that I consider what he would disapprove of.”
Shafiq’s eyes widened, and Regulus’ smirk grew. He rapped his knuckles once on the table, the weight of the Black family signet ring clinking against the table, and then Regulus stood.
“Evans, I’ll see you for Rounds. Lupin…” Regulus paused, and gave Remus a genuinely amused smile. “I hope your reign of terror continues uninterrupted. I always delight when my brother gets caught executing your plans. They’re the most daring ideas you lot come up with.”
Remus’ eyes widened in horror of that revelation, which from Regulus’ growing smile, was precisely what he’d hoped to achieve. Regulus’ back was straight and his head was held high as he left the prefects’ compartment.
Lily and Remus were the last to leave. “Okay, what… was all of that? I didn’t know Sirius had a brother,” Lily said, and Remus cringed slightly.
“Regulus was misidentified as an infant. The wizarding world calls them sex changelings. The muggle world calls them transsexuals,” Remus explained very softly. Lily’s eyes went wide as she processed that.
“Okay,” she said after a moment, nodding firmly. “Okay. So… we probably need to be prepared for that to come with some issues, don’t we?”
“Uh. Yes, probably, though I doubt Regulus would take kindly to us interfering on his behalf. But it’s about fifty-fifty on if it’s accepted in the Wizarding World.”
“And it’s really not common or accepted in the muggle world,” Lily muttered, looking concerned. “I wouldn’t have known.”
“Hopefully most people won’t. His house is going to know, and all the Purebloods are going to know, and well, Quidditch fans will know, but…” Remus trailed off with a slight shrug. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
“So how did Regulus end up as… what did he say? Heir Apparent? Wouldn’t Sirius come before him?”
“Sirius disowned his family over the summer,” Remus explained. “He left home, completely disowned them, it’s a whole… mess,” Remus sighed.
“Wow. Wow, okay,” Lily said, with wide eyes. “I didn’t know that could happen.”
“Regulus’ explanation was ‘magic works in mysterious ways’. I think we’ll probably see a lot more of Regulus. He and Sirius are allowed to be as close as they like, now, which I get the sense is a lot closer than Sirius has ever let on.”
“Right. Okay. Should make for an interesting year. Please don’t take his encouragement on pranks seriously, Remus, I depend on you being sane.”
“Oh, Lily. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you’re years late on that,” Remus said, as they parted ways.
“Regulus!” Barty said immediately upon Regulus entering the compartment. Barty was grinning. “Regulus Arcturus Black!”
“That is, in fact, my name,” Regulus replied, with a smirk.
“Yes!” Barty exclaimed.
Regulus met Evan’s eyes with slight nervousness but Evan was grinning too.
“You look good, Regulus,” Evan said, quietly.
“Not disappointed about losing out on your future wife?” Regulus asked and Evan snorted.
“You hated the idea of getting married, Reg,” Evan retorted, and Regulus broke into a brilliant grin at the nickname. “Although, I’d still marry you if you wanted,” Evan winked.
“I’ll pass,” Regulus said immediately. “You’re both far too much like my brothers to marry either of you if I can avoid it.”
“And now we’re your roommates!” Barty was beaming, and Regulus’ grin widened, before he faked a somber expression.
“You should both know I’m suddenly a blood traitor,” Regulus said as seriously as he could manage. Barty’s hysterical giggle broke him immediately.
“No fucking shit,” Evan said flatly, with an eyeroll. “We’ve met you, Reg. We’ve been your friends for four years. We know you’re a weird softie.”
“Who is more than capable than kicking either of our asses, don’t piss him off, Ev,” Barty chastised immediately. Regulus finally took his seat, looking between his friends with a fond expression. “Do we hate your brother?”
“Fuck no,” Regulus’ response to Barty’s question was instantaneous. “Essentially, Sirius just entirely scorned the idea of being Heir–he removed himself from the line of succession. We’re allowed to publicly be friendly, now. So, we will be.”
“Okay, so we like your brother, got it,” Evan nodded firmly.
“If they kick me off the Quidditch team, I’m going to be pissed off,” Regulus said, after a moment.
“They’d be fools to kick you off the team, blood traitor or not,” Evan assured him. “You’re the best seeker in the school, Reg.”
Regulus smiled brilliantly. He couldn’t entirely squash it even as they arrived at Hogwarts and headed for the Great Hall, even with all of the attention on him.
News of his encounter with Shafiq had apparently spread, and Slytherin was abuzz with the news. He turned to a rather wide eyed second year. “Feel free to confirm that the House of Black has indeed adopted a muggle-neutral policy,” Regulus said, with a cold expression. The terrified second year nodded quickly and moved away from Regulus, who did his best not to start laughing again. To his surprise, Emma Vanity sat across from him, her expression serious.
“What should I call you, Black?” She asked, intently. He didn’t bother hiding his surprise. “I have to know how to refer to my seeker.”
Regulus’ lips turned up into a slight, though guarded smile. “Regulus Black. He/him/his,” Regulus answered and Emma nodded firmly.
“If anyone gives you shit, Regulus, I’ve got your back. Us changelings have to stick together,” Emma said, and Regulus’ smile became more genuine, though it was still nearly imperceptible. “There’s a group of us, actually, if you’d like to meet up with us. We meet on Wednesday evenings.”
“I’d like that very much,” Regulus confirmed, quietly.
“Wait for me after dinner, I’ll take you to our meeting room,” Emma said, with a genuine smile. “By the way–don’t even bother with try-outs. You’ve got the spot. I just want you to show up and practice the whole time, okay? Show off your feints.”
“You got it, Captain,” Regulus replied with a lopsided grin.
“Huh. Not sure I’ve seen you smile before. It’s a good look on you, Regulus.” Regulus’ smile grew.
“Thank you, Emma,” he murmured, for much more than just the compliment. Emma moved, to sit with the other seventh years. With her approval, though, there was a drastic tone shift from his housemates, because Quidditch truly was the one unifier in their house.
“He looks genuinely happy,” Sirius said, as he shamelessly leaned around people to catch sight of his brother.
“He’s very confident,” Remus said. “It’s impressive. He handled Shafiq like it was child’s play.”
“Reg? Really?” Sirius asked, with surprise. “Huh. Makes sense, I suppose, but it’s still going to be a tough adjustment. He was a silent kid. I’m not sure what to do with the fact that he’s clearly on friendly terms with Crouch, Rosier, and Vanity. Oh, oh he’s grinning. I haven’t seen him grin like that since he was ten years old!”
“Okay, you’re getting a little obsessed, Padfoot,” James said, gently redirecting. “Which is okay, but also… Maybe let him have a little breathing space without his older brother literally staring at him across two entire tables?”
“Right, you’re right, Prongs,” Sirius said, and settled into a more casual position, forcing himself to take his eyes off his brother. “It’s just–nice to see him look happy.”
James’ expression softened. “I know, Pads.”
“He’s able to tell who plans which of our pranks, I think,” Remus commented, after having tried and failed to come up with a different way of bringing it up. “He told me he hoped my reign of terror continued because he finds it amusing when you get caught for my plans, which is… all of the times you got caught last year.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew,” Sirius shrugged. “The thing about Reg is that he watches everything. He’s like that muggle detective you read stories about.”
“Sherlock Holmes?” Remus raised his eyebrows.
“That’s the one,” Sirius nodded. “Proper genius. He just generally downplays it so he can use it to his advantage more easily.”
James looked incredibly intrigued for a moment before he seemed to shake himself out of it. “Speaking of pranks…” James started with a devious smile. “I had an idea.”
The Marauders were immediately redirected into attempting to covertly plan their first prank of the year.
Regulus and Emma were the first to make it to the room she called the Come and Go Room. He immediately told her the story of how he’d learned about it from the House Elves, and how he called it the Room of Requirement. They were chatting and laughing like they’d been friends for years by the time that the door opened and Marlene McKinnon and Dirk Cresswell stepped in. Both immediately faltered slightly, as they took in Regulus’ appearance.
“This is Regulus. He’s joining us from now on,” Emma said, and Marlene nodded after a second.
“You look freakishly like your brother,” Marlene said.
“I can tell you why that is,” Regulus deadpanned. “It’s the historic incest in our family tree.” Marlene immediately snorted.
“Oh you joke about your messed up family like him too. Freaky .”
“Sorry, I have to know, of all the names in the world, you picked Regulus? Willingly?” Dirk asked, and Regulus carefully kept his expression neutral.
“Of all the names in the world, you picked Dirk? Willingly?” Regulus returned the question with exactly the same intonation.
“Nah. I asked my mum what she would’ve named me,” Dirk said instantly. Regulus allowed a slight smile to show at that answer.
“Regulus is in the Leo constellation. It’s called the heart of the Lion. It’s family tradition to be named after stars, and to be named after family members. I named myself after my brother, in a roundabout way,” Regulus answered. “And, it turned out to be… startlingly accurate.”
“How so?” Marlene asked immediately, with curiosity. Regulus’ smile grew properly, as he drew his wand. It was rewarding to watch Marlene and Dirk both tense, while Emma stayed perfectly relaxed.
He pulled on the memory of seeing Sirius see him properly, remembering how widely his brother had grinned, and then uttered: “Expecto patronum.”
A massive, silvery lion leapt from the end of his wand, bounding around the Room of Requirement before he ended the incantation. Marlene managed to last an entire second before she doubled over in laughter.
“Oh my g-d, Walburga must be so disappointed. One son in Gryffindor, and the other has a fucking lion for a patronus.”
“Oh, she’s livid, but she’s also utterly irrelevant,” Regulus replied, brightly.
“Like, properly?” Marlene asked, with raised eyebrows. Regulus shifted so that he was sitting with one leg tucked up under him, putting his wand away again.
“Orion’s been removed from the line of succession, which means my mother will never be Lady Black, as she’s always aspired to be–that’s why she married my father, naturally.”
“ Naturally,” Marlene repeated, with a good-natured smile to let him know she was teasing.
“It’s also one of two ways for women born into the Black family to remain Blacks,” Regulus added as an afterthought.
“Three,” Emma commented, with a grin. Regulus paused, and then granted it.
“I suppose three. However, if I wasn’t who I am, the familial magics wouldn’t have modified the family tree, and I doubt I could have convinced my grandfather if the family tree hadn’t changed well before he was told about my gender. Just as Sirius would still be the heir if the family tree hadn’t shown his disownment of the family.”
“Wait, Sirius disowned the family, not the other way around?” Marlene clarified, and Regulus nodded.
“And for the muggleborns in the group…?” Dirk asked. “What are familial magics?”
Regulus paused, and focused on Dirk. “So, you know how you have an internal source of magic, yes?”
“My magical core,” Dirk nodded.
“Precisely. Essentially, the very old families–and this isn’t even true of all Pureblood families, it’s a relic of a much different age–have a shared magical core that each individual can draw from in addition to your own personal magic core. Our family surname comes from the nature of our familial magic. It is entirely dark magic.”
Dirk and Marlene’s eyebrows flew up.
“Dark magic isn’t inherently evil,” Regulus added, hastily. “It’s simply a more… wild form of magic. In essence, rather than domesticating the magics that became familial magics, as families like the Weasleys or Peverells did,” Regulus sighing. “Oh, that is going to be a much longer lecture than I intended it to be. But in essence, Dark Magic, in its purest form, is like the magic that House Elves have. Its rules are different, and in a lot of ways, it is rather unpredictable. Basically, my ancestors, all the way back to oh… probably Aesculapius, who was a Roman Senator,” Dirk’s jaw dropped. Regulus hesitated slightly before merely deciding to continue. “Sort of built a wall around existing wild magic, and did a bunch of things that are now extremely illegal to tie that magic directly into the blood of all of those born into the Black family. The very old rumor of our family’s origin indicates we aren’t actually purebloods at all, and that the Dark magic in question came from marrying and producing children with a very specific type of elf that no longer exists. We preserve that magic within the tradition of our names.”
“Are you supposed to tell people this?” Marlene asked after a long moment. Regulus smirked.
“Oh, absolutely not, under my father’s regime,” Regulus replied. “But I’ve been given more or less carte blanche to shape the Family as I see fit.”
“And you want to spread the rumor that you aren’t purebloods at all?” Marlene asked, and Regulus shrugged.
“It makes our most recent translation of the family motto rather amusingly ill-fitting, and my Grandfather Pollux hates the myth, despite the fact that we have… eight or nine ancestors with grimoires who indicate full faith in the myth.”
“Right. Okay. So,” Marlene said, leaning forward slightly. “I have just learned that you are more prone to chaos than Sirius, and I did not know that was possible.”
“Oh, not more prone,” Regulus returned immediately. “Just prone in a slightly different way. Sirius likes causing physical chaos. He wants to make a scene, preferably one that qualifies as pandemonium. I prefer social chaos. I want to make a change . Whether for better or worse is usually irrelevant. I just like to see what happens.”
“It’s a good fucking thing you weren’t in Gryffindor. McGonagall would die,” Marlene said, and Regulus huffed a genuinely amused laugh.
“Would you like to know a secret?” Regulus asked.
“It better not be that you were supposed to be a Gryffindor, I swear to Salazar–” Emma started, and Regulus sat back with a grin. “No. You’re lying.”
“Now, Emma,” Regulus said, with feigned hurt. “You’ve known me for four years. You should have realized by now that I don’t tell lies. I may omit things, and I may manipulate the truth with my words, but I don’t lie . Life’s more entertaining that way.”
“Holy fuck, does Sirius know?” Marlene asked, and Regulus’ smile dropped off. He shook his head.
“I didn’t want to disappoint him with the knowledge that I chose them over him,” Regulus admitted, ruffling his hair. “Because that’s precisely what I did. I didn’t want to deal with the consequences. And there would’ve been… horrific consequences. They were laid out plainly to me on August 31st, and I still have scars from that particular lesson.”
Marlene flinched back. “Shit. Sirius–” She exhaled sharply.
“I imagine he won’t love that I just confirmed what I know he tried to hide,” Regulus said, wrinkling his nose slightly.
“I won’t tell him any of that. We’ve got an unspoken oath of silence about anything said in this room,” Marlene said, instantly. Regulus immediately relaxed in relief. With very little grace, he set about trying to get to know Marlene and Dirk, instead of talking about his family. Thankfully, they were both kind enough to allow him to do so.
“Did you have fun?” Barty asked immediately upon Regulus walking into the fifth year boys dormitory.
“Shockingly, yes.”
“Are you going to tell us who else is in your super secret club?” Evan asked.
“Nope,” Regulus answered. “If they tell you themselves, that’s one thing. I don’t out people.”
“Stupidly, weirdly soft,” Evan muttered, but Regulus knew it was in jest.
“I’m just more moral than you, Rosier,” Regulus replied, as he sat down on his bed and grinned at his friends.
“Moral, sure. If that’s what helps you sleep at night, Reg,” Evan replied, with a roll of his eyes.
“It is,” Regulus chirped. “So does my change in sleeping arrangements,” he added, and Evan and Barty’s expressions both softened.
“Disgusting, you’ve made us just as sappy as you are, Black,” Evan said, after a moment of smiling softly at him. Regulus laughed, bright and happy.
“Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the human emotion of empathy!”
“Turn us back,” Barty demanded, and Regulus shook his head.
“Can’t unlearn that one, boys,” Regulus stood, and gathered his things to get ready for bed. He gave Evan and Barty both kisses to their foreheads.
“You’re horrifying, stop it,” Evan demanded, wiping his forehead, but he was badly hiding his smile.
“I, for one, am honored. Remember when he wouldn’t even sit within arms reach if he could avoid it?” Barty asked, and Regulus firmly shut the door to the water closet, because he didn’t want to revisit the painful memories of first year.
True to his comment about wanting to cause social chaos, the instant his older brother and his group of friends appeared in the Great Hall at breakfast, Regulus was swapping from his place at the Slytherin table to a place next to his brother.
“Are you allowed to do this, Mr. Prefect?” Sirius asked.
“It’s perfectly admissible,” Regulus answered brightly. “Nothing in the code of conduct says that we can’t sit with other houses.”
“Huh,” Sirius said. “And you’re doing it, why exactly?”
“Because I can,” Regulus answered, just as bright and cheerfully. Sirius huffed.
“Alright, then, Lionheart. Welcome to the best house,” Sirius said, and Regulus nodded solemnly.
“If that’s what you need to tell yourselves,” Regulus said, after a moment. Sirius reached out and ruffled his hair in annoyance, which got Regulus to squawk and try to bat his hands away.
“Baby Black!” Marlene said brightly.
“I hate you, Marlene,” Regulus said immediately, as she sat next to him and slung an arm around his shoulder.
“Well, Regulus the Viper just doesn’t have the same ring,” Marlene explained.
“I hate you less,” Regulus decided. He’d been trying to get rid of the nickname ‘Vega the Viper’ since it started when he joined the Slytherin Quidditch team.
“I think I shall dub you… Leo, temporarily,” Marlene decided. Sirius snickered.
“And I’m back to hating you full force,” Regulus said, and Sirius poked his cheek.
“I see you fighting a smile, Regulus Arcturus. He’s lying to you, Marlene.”
“He doesn’t lie,” Marlene said, immediately.
“Okay, more accurately, since apparently you know my brother better than I realized, he does hate you, but he likes you far more than he hates you. Which for the record, is exactly how he feels about all of his friends, including me, so…”
“Sirius, you are my least favorite brother.”
“I’m also your most favorite brother, by virtue of being your only brother,” Sirius rolled his eyes.
“I’m starting to see how the not-lying works.”
“Exactly how I said it did,” Regulus said.
“When did you two become friends?” James asked, his hazel eyes wide with curiosity.
“Last night. We’re part of the same super secret club,” Marlene replied, with a smile. “It’s great for inter house cooperation.”
“We need a Hufflepuff,” was Regulus’ only contribution to that idea.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and one of the firsties will be eligible.”
“What kind of club is this?” Peter asked, and both Marlene and Regulus stopped and looked at him.
“What do we both have in common?” Marlene asked, after a moment.
"You're both seekers?" James asked in confusion.
"The other thing, Prongs," Sirius said, looking exasperated.
“ Oh. Right,” Peter and James realized at the exact same moment. “Sorry.”
“The number of times I’ve heard ‘Oh, right’ in the last twenty-four hours is alarming,” Regulus said, and Marlene snickered.
“That gets better. Until people forget, and then it comes back, case in point,” Marlene said, and Regulus stopped fighting the arm around his shoulder, relaxing slightly into it.
“It’s nice to know they will eventually forget,” Regulus commented, and Marlene made a sympathetic sound.
“James already forgot two other times this morning,” Sirius said, and when Regulus looked at James, he flushed brilliantly, but gave a slight shrug and nod.
“That’s cute, Potter,” Regulus decided, and James’ flush worsened.
“Oh, fuck no. You will not be calling my best friend cute,” Sirius declared.
“Spoilsport,” Regulus pouted at his brother.
“No. Nuh-uh, nope, I forbid it. Go flirt with Rosier if you have to be horrifying.”
“Evan’s still willing to marry me, you know,” Regulus said. “I said no.”
“Shocking, given that you’ve told him no at least a dozen times.”
“He’s joking. Mostly. Well. I guarantee he’d marry me, but mostly because at this point he wants to take my surname.”
“It’s good to know you’re queer, kiddo,” Marlene said. Regulus blinked.
“Was I passing as not queer? Because if so, please tell me how to fix that,” Regulus demanded, and Marlene laughed.
Regulus caught James’ eyes accidentally, and mostly to see what happened, winked at James, who promptly flushed vermilion and looked away, but was clearly suppressing a smile.
Noting the interesting response and setting it aside to explore at a later date, Regulus set about seeing just how much he could annoy his brother before he got sent away.
The limit was not discovered before it was time to collect their schedules and part ways for classes.