For Reasons Unknown Chapter 5

Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Remus/Regulus
Genre: Romance, Drama
Rating: R (overall)
Disclaimer: Characters and world belong to J. K. Rowling
Authors: M3535 & Zayhad


Chapter 5 – “Welcome to Hogwarts”

Finally, the day came where Regulus had to leave for his first school year. Sirius was very excited to go back. This summer had been much too long and not having Regulus to talk to as he used to, he didn't feel home at all.

Regulus said goodbye to Kreacher in private before they left. He was the only thing he was truly going to miss. "I'll... I'll see you at Christmas," he said, his throat thick. 

The elf nodded. "Master Regulus have a good half year at Hogwarts and make lots of new friends."

Regulus hugged the little elf tightly and couldn't hold the tears back. "I'm going to miss you…” he sobbed. 

Kreacher gently patted the boy’s back and sniffed a couple of times before croaking, "Kreacher will miss Young Master also, but Kreacher knows he will be happy and successful at Hogwarts."

Regulus took a moment to compose himself and dry his eyes before going back up to the entrance hall where the others were waiting for him. He caught Sirius looking at him, clearly noticing his red eyes, and Regulus sent him a glare, warning him not to say anything.

Sirius just shook his head as he picked up his rucksack and went to the door.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Regulus stayed close to his parents as they entered King’s Cross Station. At Platform 9 3/4 he stood a little by himself, clutching the cage with his handsome hawk owl, Lyra, close to his body as if it were some kind of shield. 

When the four Marauders had finished greeting and hugging, Remus noticed the small boy clutching the owl cage and sent him a friendly smile. "Hello, Regulus.”

Regulus swallowed and gave Remus a quick nod without meeting his eyes. He didn't want any Slytherins to notice and think he was friends with Gryffindors.

Regulus said good-bye to his parents and boarded the train. He walked through several coaches, not knowing where to sit and with whom to sit. He was very nervous and uncomfortable. He had never socialized much with other children except for Sirius and occasionally his cousins (although they barely counted since they were so much older than him), and he was reserved, not at all the social "look at me" type Sirius was. He wished he could turn invisible. He ended up finding an empty compartment where he sat down by the window, placing Lyra's cage on the seat next to him so no one would sit there. He hoped that whoever might come and sit in the same compartment wouldn't be somebody horrible. 

o0o0o0o0o0o

They arrived at Hogsmeade around dusk and everyone got off. Remus had suggested to Sirius that he ask his brother to join them since he had seen him sit all alone, but Sirius had just waved him off and said that Regulus thought he was better than them and wouldn’t socialize with them anyway. Remus spotted Regulus get off the train and sent him a smile as he caught his eye, but the boy quickly looked away and followed the other first years over to Hagrid.

Like most of the other first years, Regulus couldn't help but ogle the huge man. He had never seen someone even remotely as big, and Regulus felt like a baby elf next to him. He wrapped his cloak tightly around himself as they crossed the rather upset lake. The wind was harsh and it was very cold for a summer evening. The huge, magnificent castle cast light over the lake’s dark surface. Regulus was excited to get inside and see how everything looked. Not to talk about the grounds in the morning. And the Quidditch pitch. 

When they reached the shore they were lead inside through solid oak gates and were met by an elderly, strict looking lady with her dark grey hair in a tight bun. She eyed them for a moment until they all went quiet.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she started. "I am Professor McGonagall. In a few moments I will lead you through these doors and you will all be sorted into your houses and thereafter join your new housemates at their table. As you probably know, there are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The Sorting Hat will tell you where you belong. Now form a line and follow me."

Everybody in the hall turned to see the new students. Regulus felt like everybody was staring at him, although he knew that was probably not true. They would be, however, when he was put on the chair to get the Hat on.

"Regulus Black!"

Sirius sat straight up and looked over at his brother who stiffened by the mentioning of his name.  "Now he gets his precious Slytherin," he mumbled to James.

Regulus went over and sat on the stool. He was so small that his legs were dangling inches from the floor. He cast a glance at the Slytherin table where the students were looking expectantly at him, and Narcissa, now a seventh year and Head Girl, smiled and waved at him. The Hat was placed on his head and was quiet for a very long time. 

"What's it waiting for?" mumbled James. "How hard can it be?”

“Maybe it's considering Ravenclaw,” suggested Remus. “He's quite smart, isn't he?"

"He is," Sirius nodded. "And a right swot.”

Everyone watched impatiently as the Hat mumbled to itself. 

"Gryffindor!" It finally shouted and Sirius' jaw nearly hit the table.

The Hall went dead silent and Regulus sat as petrified. What had the Hat said? Gryffindor? That couldn't be right! When he showed no intention of leaving the stool, professor McGonagall said, "Mr. Black - go on now. Move to your new table.”

"But... But... There's been a mistake!" he said in a lowered voice so the whole hall didn’t hear him. "The Hat... it's made a mistake! I'm going to Slytherin!"

"No, you're going to Gryffindor. The Hat is never wrong. Now please move down to your table, Mr. Black."

Regulus didn't move for a few more seconds but then the imperative look on the professor's face made him get up and slowly head towards the Gryffindor table. The silence was finally broken as his new housemates erupted in cheers and applause. 

Sirius smiled and moved aside so Regulus could sit down. Although the two had not exactly been on friendly terms the whole summer, Sirius was glad to have his brother in Gryffindor. Maybe this would get him off his high horse and bring back the old Regulus, and even better – knock some of the pure-blood nonsense out of his head.

Regulus hesitated but realised that the other students would find it strange if he didn't sit next to his brother, so he did. He barely registered Sirius giving him a hug. The others sitting near them were friendly and interested in Regulus. 

"So, I guess things have taken a turn for your family," said the girl sitting opposite him. "First Sirius and now you.”

Regulus didn't say anything. He was still in shock. 

"Did you see the Slytherins' faces?" laughed a boy a little further down the table. "Priceless! They were sure they were getting him!"

Remus thought he would welcome his new housemate and make him feel welcome so he leaned over the table and sent him a smile. "Welcome, Regulus."

When there was no reaction Remus sat back and bit his lip. He felt a little sorry for the small boy who seemed so alone and misplaced even though his brother was sitting right next to him.

“I’m proud of you Reggie,” said Sirius a little later and wrapped an arm around Regulus’ shoulder.

“I don’t want you to be proud of me!” snarled Regulus and pushed his brother away roughly. “I’m not like you! I don’t belong in this stupid house and I don’t need you!”

Sirius gaped at him for a second and then narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Suit yourself, you little drama queen.”

As soon as they were excused, Regulus hurried over to the teachers' table where he found Professor McGonagall. He pleaded with her again. To let him switch to Slytherin. To let him try the Hat again. That there had been a mistake. 

"I’m sorry, Mr. Black but that is out of the question. The Hat has sorted you into Gryffindor and that is final."

Narcissa came stalking over at that moment with Professor Slughorn, Head of Slytherin, in tow. She was very upset and started arguing with McGonagall. 

"Miss Black," McGonagall said. "There is nothing that can be done. Young Mr. Black is from now and until he graduates, a Gryffindor."

"Professor Slughorn!" Narcissa said, desperately turning to her Head of House. "You must be able to do something! It is obvious that Regulus belongs in Slytherin. Sirius is an exception - he has always hated our family and values, but Regulus is a good, loyal Black!"

"Now, Miss Black," said Slughorn, obviously very uncomfortable. "You heard Professor McGonagall, and she should know - she is the Deputy Headmistress, after all. The Hat must have seen some hidden qualities in your cousin."

"It's my name!" said Regulus suddenly. "It must be my name! Because Regulus is the star in the heart of Leo. But it's just a name! It doesn't mean -"

"I will hear no more of this nonsense from any of you,” said McGonagall with finality. “You’re in Gryffindor now, so I suggest you make the best of it.”

Feeling himself on the verge of tears Regulus stalked off, not wanting to cry in front of anybody. He hurried into a bathroom and locked himself in a stall, sat down on the seat and started crying. What was his parents going to do? They had blamed Sirius when he was sorted. Would they also blame him? Of course they would. That wasn’t even a question.

Remus had seen Regulus go into the bathroom and when Sirius just walked off with James he felt a little sorry for Regulus. Why didn’t Sirius have a talk with his brother, who was clearly very upset? Remus decided to stay behind as the prefects gathered the students and showed them to the dormitories. Regulus would get lost on his own in this huge castle.

Regulus sat there for a good while until he had stopped crying and collected himself. Then he went out of the bathroom and stopped dead in his tracks when he nearly walked into Remus.

"Hello," said Remus, smiling kindly. "I wanted to show you to the common room. And you will need a password to get in."

Regulus' first impulse was to get away from Remus, but then he realised he was right: Regulus had no idea where to find Gryffindor or how to get in. "Um... Well, alright," he mumbled.

Remus sent him another smile and led him to the staircase. "You have to watch these. They tend to change."

Regulus didn't say anything. He was too busy thinking about his new desperate situation. That was until he suddenly stepped onto a step that wasn't there and fell in to his hip.

Remus looked at him in shock and grabbed his hand to pull him up. Regulus weighed very little but he was stuck rather firmly so Remus had to pull hard at him. When he was finally up again, they stood very close. "Er… you have to watch your step."

Regulus quickly moved away from Remus, feeling very embarrassed. "Well, that's stupid. They should get somebody to fix those bloody steps."

“They should," agreed Remus.

o0o0o0o0o0o

The common room looked welcoming and cosy, nothing like any room in Grimmauld Place. It was full of squishy armchairs and a fire was burning merrily in the fireplace. The room was full right now with students of all ages. 

"Hey, look what Remus dragged in," said James, elbowing Sirius in the side. 

Sirius turned his head to see his brother walk in with Remus and then looked back to James. "A lost puppy, it would seem," was all he said. He had tried to be nice to Regulus and he had just snapped at him.

Regulus stopped, hesitating for a minute, and then followed Remus over to the others, not knowing what else to do.

"Hey, Sirius," grinned a stocky boy, eying Regulus. "I didn't know you had a little sister." A couple of the other boys laughed and Regulus felt his face grow hot as he glared at the boy furiously. 

"Someone with an ugly mug like yours shouldn’t comment on others’ appearance, Jacob,” barked Sirius.

“I’m not offending her,” said the boy. “She’s very pretty.”

Sirius called him some names that would have made McGonagall go through the roof. He might be mad at Regulus himself, but that didn’t mean he liked it when others were offending him.

Regulus didn’t want his brother to defend him. He wished he knew a good hex so he could pull out his wand and make this Jacob regret what he had said. He looked around, wondering where he was supposed to live. He didn't want to be in the common room with all these people, many of them eying him with curiosity.

Then a girl with long braids raised her voice. "New girls, gather here! And boys, go to Lawrence," she continued, pointing at a lanky black boy.

Regulus shuffled in the direction of Lawrence but Jacob stopped him. "The girls go with Miranda, didn’t you hear?" he laughed and pointed to the prefect girl. 

Regulus narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, considering for a second to attack the boy, but then realised it would look stupid because he was twice the size of Regulus. "Shouldn't you be in the troll house? I saw a hut down by the forest. That might be it," he growled instead. 

Sirius snickered and watched Jacob with a satisfied look on his face. At least Regulus was capable of defending himself. 

"Regulus Black?" sounded Lawrence’s voice. "You come with me."

Regulus quickly followed him and the other boys upstairs. He and four others were shown into a round room. He found his luggage standing by one of the beds.

"My owl. Where's my owl?"

"Your owl is in the owlery," said the prefect. "They only come into the dorms when delivering letters."

"But I want her here!" demanded Regulus. "I need some decent company!"

"Then I suggest that you get to know your new dorm mates,” said Lawrence, crossing his arms.

Regulus pressed his lips together but didn't protest. Lawrence was a much older prefect and - unlike Sirius - Regulus had always had respect for authority.

A small, freckled boy sent Regulus an eager smile as he went to sit down on the bed next to him. "Hi!" he beamed. "I’m Nigel, Nigel Hamilton. Nice to meet you! You're Regulus Black, right? I remember you from the sorting. Quite a scene you made! Everyone is still talking about it," he blurted and swung his legs back and forth. He was almost as small as Regulus, his feet not reaching the ground when sitting on the bed.

“What's that to you?" snapped Regulus, already disliking the freckled boy. He had an annoyingly happy face and an equally annoying voice. 

Nigel ignored Regulus’ hostile reply. "You have a brother who goes here too don’t you? Me too. My brother’s name is Miles. He says I'm annoying, but I know he doesn’t really mean it and I'm so happy I got sorted into Gryffindor along with him."

"I bet he does mean it and that he's a clever bloke," mumbled Regulus as he started unpacking. Just the thing he needed. An annoying, jabbering neighbour. At least it would be temporary. He was going to move out soon. He had to.

The three remaining boys came into the dorm and introduced themselves as Antonius Shawcross, Wilson Brown and Brandon Johnson. Regulus recognised Brown as a pure-blood name (both he and Sirius had been taught the names of all the still pure wizarding families in the country). The other names he didn't know. They were probably half-bloods or, God forbid, Muggle-born. 

o0o0o0o0o0o

The next morning Nigel caught up with Regulus in the hallway heading for their first class. "I didn't see you at breakfast, "he said, hugging his books to his chest as he walked next to Regulus.

"That's because I wasn't there, you pillock," sneered Regulus.

Nigel looked slightly hurt for a moment. "I think you will be happy in Gryffindor even though you don’t act like it."

"No, I won't!" snapped Regulus. "And stop following me!" He sped up and reached the Charms classroom before Nigel could catch up. 

A couple of students turned their heads to watch him as he entered the room. They started whispering to each other and a few girls giggled. Clearly, they had not forgotten the scene at the sorting. Regulus pretended there was nobody else in the room and just sat down and stared up at the blackboard and Professor Flitwick. 

The lesson had not lasted more than ten minutes when there was a knock on the door and a Ravenclaw prefect stuck her head in. "I need Regulus Black for a moment."

"Can’t it wait until after class, Miss Jamison?" asked the tiny professor. 

"No, sir. He is needed in Dumbledore's office."

Everyone turned their heads gawking at Regulus again. "Uh-oh, Black," a thin boy grinned. "Looks like you’re in trouble. Or maybe they will actually move you to Slytherin. As you said - you don’t belong in Gryffindor."

Regulus felt his stomach knot up. What did Dumbledore want? Was he really going to let him move? Or was he maybe going to throw him out? He got up and followed the Ravenclaw out. 

He could hear raised voices before he even reached the Headmaster’s office. His parents. Mrs. Black's shrill voice rang all the way down the corridor.

"I demand that you move my son to Slytherin! That is where he belongs! He is a real Black!" she roared as the Ravenclaw knocked on the door.

When the door opened Mrs. Black stopped her tirade and marched up to her son, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him so violently that he dropped his bag and his hat fell off. "DID YOU DO SOMETING TO TRICK THE HAT? DID YOU? DID YOU?" She shook him again. 

"N-no!" squeaked Regulus. "I didn't do anything! It's not my fault!"

"Now, now, Mrs. Black. I can assure you that young Regulus did nothing. The Hat simply saw something else in him than you expected," Professor Dumbledore said.

"Do you really believe that a dumb old hat knows more about our son than his own parents?" said Mrs. Black. 

"I certainly did not say so, Mrs. Black," said Dumbledore, peering at her over his half-moon spectacles. "But the Hat has never been wrong and I am not one to doubt it now. I am sure young Regulus has the qualities for Slytherin, but perhaps even more for Gryffindor, as is the case with his brother."

"Regulus is nothing like his brother!" said Mr. Black, hammering a fist into Dumbledore's massive oaken desk. "Regulus has always honoured our traditions and values!"

"And yet he was placed in Gryffindor," said the Headmaster in a calm but resolute voice.

Regulus stood with his head bowed, listening to his parents rant and rave. It wasn't that he disagreed with them, but it was so embarrassing how they yelled at the Headmaster.

"Well, there is nothing that can be done," Dumbledore said. "The decision is final and I believe there has been no mistake."

"This is not over," promised Mr. Black. "We will go home and discuss this. Perhaps consider moving him to Durmstrang! There, at least, they have the right values."

Regulus' head snapped up and before he could stop himself, he blurted, "No! I don't want to go there!" He didn't care about the values. Durmstrang was cold and dark and far away from Britain. Regulus would rather be in Gryffindor than be sent to Durmstrang. 

Both parents' heads snapped around and stared disbelievingly at their son. "We will discuss that later, Regulus," said his father in a forced calm voice. 

When they had left Dumbledore's office, Mr. Black backed Regulus up against the wall. "How dare you embarrass us like that in front of the Headmaster? Showing that kind of disrespect?"

"I - I... I'm s-sorry," stammered Regulus, feeling his heart hammer in his throat. "I didn't think..."

Mr. Black took a quick look around to check that no one was watching, and then backhanded Regulus hard across the cheek. "Maybe this will make sure you remember to think before you speak in the future!"

Regulus held a hand to his burning cheek, struggling desperately to hold the tears back. His mother watched him for a moment. She had the same distant look that she had when she looked at Sirius. A cold gaze as if he meant nothing to her. Without speaking a word she turned on her heel and marched down hallway. 

"Dry your eyes this minute! You’re not a baby," said Mr. Black before he too left, leaving Regulus standing alone. 

There was a sound from behind and Regulus spun around to see Dumbledore standing in the door to his office. He studied the boy for a moment and then stepped aside. "Come in, Regulus," he smiled. 

Regulus stood glued to the spot for a moment but then did as Dumbledore said. He was the Headmaster after all.

Dumbledore closed the door behind him and went over to look at some books for a moment, giving Regulus time to settle. Then he turned to look at him. “Have a lemon drop,” he smiled and placed an open box of the yellow sweets in front of the boy.

To be polite, Regulus took one.

"We all want to please our parents, young Regulus, but what our parents want isn’t always the right path for us. The Hat is an objective evaluator and for reasons that you may not understand right now it saw Gryffindor as the right path for you."

"I... I belong in Slytherin, sir," said Regulus in a quiet voice. "It's my own wish."

"I believe you, but I am sure you will come to find it pleasant in Gryffindor as well." Dumbledore smiled and sat down behind his desk. “I’m confident that your family will come to accept it in time when they see how well you’re doing there.”

Regulus bit his lip. Dumbledore obviously knew nothing about his family if he truly believed that. "May I go now, Professor?"

"You may. And you may come back to talk to me some other time if you feel the need."

Regulus went into the first bathroom he passed to get a look at his face. Damn. There was an unmistakable bruise forming on his left cheekbone and it looked like what it was. He considered skiving off lessons the rest of the day but realised that would just get him into more trouble, so he walked very slowly back to the Charms classroom, hoping nobody would notice the bruise

Luckily, no one noticed him slip in, but Sirius noticed the bruise as he passed him in the hallway after class.

"What happened to your face?" he demanded.

"Nothing. Bumped into some stupid suite of armour. They're standing everywhere."

"I don’t believe you. You’re not that clumsy. It looks like someone hit you."

"Well, if you absolutely must know, Mother and Father were here. They weren’t pleased."

"I reckon they came to yell at you for being sorted into Gryffindor. No doubt you're the favourite son since they didn’t bother to come here and complain when I was sorted," Sirius muttered and crossed his arms.

"Well, are you jealous of this?" snapped Regulus, pointing at his cheek. 

"Not at all. What did you do to earn that?"

I didn't do anything! But they couldn't very well hit Dumbledore, could they?"

"I guess not…" Sirius studied Regulus for a moment, his expression turning a little concerned. "Are you okay?"

"What do you think? I'm in the wrong house! The Gryffindors hate me and the Slytherins think I'm a traitor!"

"You’re not in the wrong house. Besides, Slytherin are evil brats so why would you care what they think, anyway?"

Regulus didn't bother to answer. They had had that discussion a million times. He just mumbled something illegible and headed for his next class: Potions. 

o0o0o0o0o0o

Potions was no more fun than Charms had been, perhaps even less so because they were sharing the subject with Slytherin. Several of their students made mocking comments and sent rude gestures at Regulus when Slughorn's back was turned.

Regulus ignored them, staring into his cauldron, stirring in it like crazy. Afterwards he packed his things slowly so he didn't have to walk with the other students. When the last student had left, Professor Slughorn came over to him.

"I must say I’m sorry that you weren't sorted into my house, Regulus. I have had all your cousins as well as your parents, and I was most disappointed when your brother was placed in Gryffindor. Can you imagine? Missing the heir to the Noble House of Black..."

"Well, Sirius isn't sorry," said Regulus. 

The old professor sighed. “Well, I suppose it’s obvious that he fits well in Gryffindor. But I had certainly counted on getting you, Regulus. What a pity.”

"Well, there's nothing to do about it, obviously," said Regulus moodily. 

"Sadly not," sighed Slughorn. "But I am sure you would have been a good Slytherin."

"Of course I would."

o0o0o0o0o0o

Regulus did not go to lunch either, although he was getting very hungry. He just couldn't get himself to go in there again, having everybody stare and talk about him. 

There was a knock on the door and Remus stuck his head in, smiling amicably. "I brought you some food, seeing you didn’t come down for lunch."

Regulus looked up, very surprised. Remus had noticed that he hadn’t been there and brought him food? "Um... Thank you," he said, hearing his stomach growl. This was great - now he didn't have to go down for dinner either. 

Remus sat down on the edge of Regulus' bed, and although uninvited, Regulus didn't comment on it. 

"How come you don’t come to the Hall for meals? People will start talking. Believe me, I know what that’s like. I get ill very often, and some people find it weird."

"Well, they're talking already, aren't they?" mumbled Regulus and bit into a cucumber sandwich. He took a couple more bites and then swallowed. "Why do you get sick so often?"

"I have a weak immune system," Remus said. "It has been a problem since I was very young. So rarely a month goes by without a trip to the hospital wing."

"Oh. That's too bad. Is it because you grew up so poor, you were malnourished or something?"

Remus looked little taken aback. "No. It isn't because I’m poor. I always had all life’s necessities. My parents are loving and caring as well, so I consider myself lucky."

"Really? You were never upset that you are poor?"

"Not at all. I have good parents and everything I really need," said Remus.

"But your robes and things... Isn't it embarrassing that people can tell? Everybody I know look down on poor people. Especially when they look it. And especially if they aren’t pure-bloods."

"People do look down on me but I try to not care. I have some good friends and it matters more to me what they think than everybody else." Remus sent Regulus a tentative smile. "Do you also look down on me because I’m poor?"

Regulus looked at him and then shrugged. In a way he did, but Remus had been so nice to him that he didn't like to say it. 

"You know… It doesn’t matter what other people think, only my friends. And you shouldn’t care what others think or say either. They don’t know what they’re talking about."

"No, obviously you don't know what you're talking about," said Regulus, putting down his sandwich. "It means a lot how people perceive you when you're part of an old noble family. I've shamed my family and I don't know how to make up for it."

"Well…" started Remus, sounding a little hurt. “I just think you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself and that you should get some friends. Everything gets easier if you have friends. I would like to be your friend if you want.”

"Whatever," said Regulus and rolled his eyes. Remus didn't understand, and how could he? He had grown up away from pure-blood society and anyone who was important. 

Remus figured that maybe he should just lay off. "Well... I won’t bother you anymore, then. I hope you will be okay."

Regulus didn't say goodbye. Remus was starting to annoy him so he was glad to see him go.

oOooOo

To be continued...