Chapter Text
The term beings on September 1 st, your books, extra robes, spare quills and ingredients have been ordered and will arrive in two days' time.
Walburga
Of
The Noble and most Ancient House of Black
*~~~~~~~~*
Looking around the room for the final time, Regulus sighed in relief. The brown curtains that hung over the bay window with the school crest on top, the walnut bookshelves that lined the dark blue walls above his perfectly made bed, the matching desk, chair and a wardrobe walnut set that lined the opposite side, were his no longer. The room was empty, devoid of any colour that wasn’t dark brown and blue. The books had been boxed away; clothes packed neatly into the trunk. Any personality had been stripped away, any impression that the room had been lived in (which it hadn’t) was lost to the emptiness. Taking one last look around at what had been the resemblance of a home for Regulus for the past 4 years, he stepped out into the candle lit hallway.
He walked down in silence. No-one was around. Very few people had come back for the summer intensive academic program, even fewer were leaving to go home. Most were staying the final week at Beauxbaton before the term started on the 3rd September. Not Regulus. The rustle of Walburga's latest letter addressed to the ‘Young Miss Black’, yet labelled ‘Regulus’ reached his ears from where it was placed in the pocket of his trousers.
A pair of eyes, one blue one grey, blinked as he passed the hall, a white streak peeking out from the mass of black curly hair. Mike Bespoke, a now second year, nodded at Regulus timidly as he walked down the hall. Regulus nodded back, allowing his face to form, not quite a smile, but fill with a bit more warmth than he would normally allow. The kid smiled back timidly before shutting the door to his room again.
*~~~~~~~~*
In regards to your previous letter I have decided that we will
discuss this issue further once you are home.
*~~~~~~~~*
He exited the school building through the main entrance. The grand mahogany doors with gold detailing opened out into a large path that seemed to run from the school onto the main road. The students only ever entered and exited the school on the first and last days of term, the rest of the time the doors were shut.
How ironic he thinks he spent his time here mostly in silence, without much acknowledgement, lived at home in the same way. Fitting that there were no teachers that were there to see him off. Just one second year who he helped with homework.
He spots the carriage to his left, clearly waiting to take him to the student collection point in Devon. He sighed quietly, already dreading the long journey home alone, left to his thoughts whilst dreading his return back to that house. Climbing into the carriage (his trunk had been taken a few hours before hand and was already loaded) he nodded to the driver, and settled himself down to read ‘Song of Achilles’.
*~~~~~~~~*
It has been decided that you will take over as the perfect heir and
in future, The Patriarch of the family.
*~~~~~~~~*
It takes 2 hours 38 minutes and exactly 24 seconds to get from where the school is situated in France to the location in Devon. While yes, they could technically of apparated, there were two reasons to not. One, there were so many students at the school that would not be old enough (Regulus included) that the amount of time it would take, not to mention how dizzy the teachers would be, was simply not worth it, and two, Regulus did not wish to get home that fast.
While, yes, he had always been treated slightly better than his brother, it did not mean that he did not recognize the fact their family was, well, shit. And especially since his previous letter to Walburga, he was dreading his return even more. Not only did he declare a name and gender change, through a letter, to his definitely homophobic and transphobic family, he also was defiant for the first time, well, in his whole life.
“Sirius would be proud,” he muttered to himself as he flipped the page. His brother ex-brother had always had a knack for getting on their parents' nerves. He was just always so unapologetically, himself.
*~~~~~~~~*
You understand the
consequences of displeasing me and your father.
*~~~~~~~~*
Putting the book away –there were only 2 chapters left- he watched as the carriage pulled into the point. For an outsider, it just looks like a boring forest, but if you go past the charmed barriers, the wood melted into a tree tunnel.
Black arches –with climbing roses and plants trailing over them in a stylized yet overgrown manner- twist over a smooth black road lined with alcoves. The trees are a mix of green, orange and yellow, creating the perfect hollow turning the top of the arch into a golden mist above.
Checking to see if the book was hidden in his brown school satchel (his parents did not care for him reading as mythology expands his learning, but they certainly would mind as it was homosexual), making sure that both straps locked into place with a ‘click’, he closed his eyes and breathed as the carriage grinded to a halt. Opening his eyes, he climbed out the door that the driver was now holding open. Looking around, his eyes landed on a small elf.
Nodding at the small figure, who bowed back, he took his trunk from the back of the carriage, and walked over to the small figure.
“Hello Kreacher,” he said to the house-elf. No smile, it was not safe to smile, to show care, but his tone was warm, and he knew that Kreacher would understand.
“It is good to see Young Master Regulus again, sir. We must make haste, Mister and Mistress Black are out for 2 hours yet Young Master, and Mistress Black commands that Master Regulus be unpacked and ready to be in attendance when called for dinner when they are back.” The elf bowed again.
Regulus felt a trickle of cold fall down his spine at the mention of his mother, a reminder of what was to come, since he had written that letter. ‘Master Regulus’ was not a new title, Kreacher had called him that in private for a very long time, so he still felt uneasy. The letter in his pocket rustled seemingly louder as he moved to hold the Elfs hand, to be pulled into a black hole that tightened his chest, constricting it.
*~~~~~~~~*
You also understand what is at stake here. We know
you will not disappoint us.
*~~~~~~~~*