This fic is dedicated to my two lovely betas Mollie Malfoy and Lady Padfoot Black.

 

OotP, p104

 

“Regulus Black,” Sirius said, “…a much better son, as I was constantly reminded.”

 

“Was he killed by an Auror?” Harry asked.

 

“Oh no,” said Sirius. “No, he was murdered by Voldemort…from what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out.”

***

 

“Hey, Sirius,” greeted a young boy of about twelve. He opened the door of his brother’s bedroom to see what he was doing.

 

A dark-haired teenager looked up, turned his face to see Regulus, then rolled his eyes and said, “Get out!”

 

“Why?” Regulus queried, trying to get closer to Sirius by joining his brother, who was lying on his stomach.

 

Sirius automatically pushed Regulus off his bed; he landed on the floor with a type of bounce. “I’m reading,” he replied, holding his Potions textbook up.

 

“No, you’re not,” the grey-eyed first year said. “You’ve just been doodling.”

 

Sirius sat up. “How would you know that?” Regulus opened his mouth to speak. “Doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you get out!”

 

“But…but…” Regulus’ bottom lip started to quiver.

 

“But what?” Sirius yelled, sounding as though he’d been putting up with this for what felt like months.

 

“Mum said you’d play with me,” Regulus said quietly.

 

“Did she now?” Sirius said dryly, getting off the bed. “Guess what, I don’t care if she told you that – I’m not doing it!”

 

“You’re being really horrible…you’ve been horrible since the beginning of summer…” Regulus mumbled, giving Sirius a saddened expression.

 

A look of sincere concern escaped Sirius’ face. “Don’t give me that look,” he said. “I have to work.”

 

“But…but why?” Regulus whined.

 

“I’m going to James’ for the rest of the summer,” Sirius answered.

 

“Mum doesn’t know,” Regulus pointed out. “She’s organised for us to stay at Aunt Elladora’s for two weeks.”

 

“Very clever, Regulus. Can you guess why she doesn’t know?” Sirius asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

 

The small boy shook his head.

 

“Because she’d say no – the woman’s determined to make me miserable for the rest of my life,” Sirius said.

 

“She isn't!” Regulus protested. “She’d agree if you were a little nicer to her.”

 

“Maybe I don’t want to be nice to her,” Sirius spat. “Get out of my room – now!”

 

“No,” Regulus said firmly. “I’ll tell mum what you just told me!”

 

“You wouldn’t,” Sirius said softly.

 

After wiping his eyes, Regulus decided he’d try his luck with Sirius again. “Will you play with me?”

 

“No!” Sirius boomed. Regulus tried grabbing his arm but then Sirius slapped it hard. “Get off me! You’re acting ten years younger than you really are.” Regulus almost burst into tears. “Stop bloody crying!”

 

Sirius grabbed hold of his brother and literally threw him out of the room. “Don’t even think of coming back in!” he yelled, slamming the door, leaving Regulus to cry alone.

 

***

 

My brother, Sirius, is the least tolerant person you’ll ever meet, that is, if he doesn’t like you. He likes pure-bloods, half-bloods, Muggle-borns, and Merlin knows what else, just as long as you don’t disagree with him. If you do, then he punishes you for making a mistake; yells at you for disagreeing with him; and never admits it if you prove him wrong.

 

Just like mum.

 

My brother and mother were more alike than either of them will admit. That’s probably why they argued so much – they are the same. They had completely different views and both made sure the other knew it; both of them were so stubborn that arguments could last for months on end.

 

They weren’t always at war. They started arguing a bit when Sirius came back from Hogwarts after completing his first year. It got even worse after his second year and by the end of his third year, they were yelling that they hated each other. He started resenting me when I had done my first year at Hogwarts. Probably because my parents tried to make Sirius work harder by comparing him to me, saying that I was doing so much more than him. This, of course, didn’t go well with Sirius.

 

Nevertheless, I still looked up to him as my idol. He shouted at me, insulted me, and made me cry, but he was still my big brother. I suppose I was quite sensitive for a twelve year-old, to cry for the reasons that I did, but I couldn’t possibly understand why he treated me that way. It wasn’t until he ran away that I realised what Sirius was really like: selfish, arrogant, and idiotic. He didn’t passionately disagree with our parents’ views; he just wanted to be the big rebel. My mother and father were right about him. From that moment onwards, their word was law to me. I made their opinions my own, they wouldn’t dream of letting me down.

 

Unlike Sirius.

 

***

 

“Regulus, when will you be home?” I turned to my girlfriend. She was lying on the sofa, clutching a thick book with one hand. “Well?”

 

“I’m not sure,” I said, turning my back to the brunette, and then added, “This kind of business is always very unpredictable.”

 

“I wish you’d tell me what you were doing,” she said bitterly, as I was just about to leave the flat.

 

“You’ll find out all in good time,” I said with a sigh. This hasn’t been the first time I’ve left my girlfriend like this before, when I was just being considered for a Death Eater. I embarked on a series of tests, one of these was to prove you were able and not at all hesitant about using the three Unforgivables. The last test is to kill a random Muggle in front of them, using a curse of your choice.

 

I departed the block of flats and gave a shiver when the cold wind blew in my face. I nervously looked around to make sure that there were no Muggles watching me, and Apparated.

 

So here I am now, in some dark alleyway, shivering and waiting for my first real assignment. This will be a defining moment for my “career” as a Death Eater. When I do this, I will prove that I am totally dedicated to the Dark Lord, and nothing else. I was told by a fellow Death Eater, who had been working for the Dark Lord a couple of months longer than me, that this mission involved killing someone of their choice. This was a test – to see if I would be able to cope, if I were assigned difficult. Which I am, 100 % determined and committed to this.

 

I haven’t told my parents or my girlfriend what I’m doing. But I’m sure my parents will be nothing but proud; they always thought that the Dark Lord had the right idea.

 

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I almost jumped in shock. I turned around and saw that it was a small man in a cloak that was almost covering the whole of his face. “Regulus Black?” I nodded quickly. There was an envelope in his gloved hand which he gave to me; the gust moved the man’s sleeve revealing a small part of the dark mark. “We expect you to be completely devoted to this assignment. You have 56 hours in which to do this.” He then Apparated, leaving me to open the name of my victim in silence.

 

This is it. This will be my first assignment of the many that are to come. I opened the envelope carefully, so I didn’t rip any of the paper. Inside there was a small piece of parchment which I took from its envelope. My heart sank, it read:

 

Sirius Black