fatal love

Chapter 21

Sirius was in the dining room, sitting with his family for the first time in months, eating dinner. He sat stiffly, with his back straight, and was careful to use all the manners he'd been taught as a child, that he never bothered with at Hogwarts.

"So, Sirius," his father said, breaking the tense silence, "how did your exams go?"

"I was top of the year, Father," he replied politely, "and third in Potions this time."

His father stared at him. "That's better," he said eventually, "but you should still be working harder, if you're only coming in third."

Sirius nodded, silently breathing a sigh of relief.

"And you, Regulus?" his father continued.

"I was, um, fourth in my year," Regulus muttered, looking down.

"Very well," his mother said, "just try harder next year. I know you're smart."

Sirius' hands clenched around his cutlery. What, he did badly in one exam in his First Year and he was thrown across the room, but Regulus? No, his parents loved Regulus, he was the perfect son, they could never get mad at him.

Once the meal was over, Sirius went straight to his bedroom, burning with anger, and dug through his trunk until he found his Gryffindor banner. Regulus could be the favourite, he could be the good little Slytherin, Sirius didn't care. He didn't want to be their perfect son anyway - he was a Gryffindor, and he wasn't going to pretend he wasn't, just to try and please them. That was Regulus' role, they'd made that very clear. He held the banner up to the wall next to his bed, so it was immediately visible to anyone who walked in, and stuck it there using one of Remus' Sticking Charms.

He stood back, surveying the effect. Good, he thought, but not good enough. He'd read the Fourth Year Transfiguration textbook by now, though, and he knew about the Colour Changing Charm. It took him a couple of tries, but he changed his green bed sheets red, and his pillow gold. That was better - his mother would have a fit when she saw.

The next morning, Sirius was eating breakfast with Regulus when their mother strode into the room.

"I want you both in the library in ten minutes," she ordered, not bothering with any hellos, "bring parchment and quills."

"Yes, Mother," Regulus said immediately, and Sirius nodded. That was definitely odd - unless his mother wanted to show off the Heir to other people, she generally liked him to stay out of her way as much as possible when he was home.

Maybe she was going to talk about Voldemort, he thought suddenly, and tell them about the war. If she was, he'd have so much to tell Dumbledore, he'd have to write everything down so he didn't forget something important. A bit of purpose shimmered over his drab summer, and he finished his plate quickly, running up to his room to grab things to write with.

When he entered the library, his mother had moved two desks to the middle of the room, and was standing in front of them. Sirius took a seat at one of them, and a minute later, Regulus entered as well and took the other seat.

His mother wasted no time. "You have both started Hogwarts now," she began, her voice sharp and rehearsed, "and have a rudimentary understanding of magic. However, the House of Black has long believed that important areas of study are missing from the Hogwarts curriculum, that every Black must be well-versed in.

"This summer, I will begin teaching you both how to use Dark Magic. It is crucial you both pay attention - skill in the Dark Arts is a proud tradition for our family, and a lack of knowledge will cause you problems when you are older."

"Hang on," Sirius interrupted, "you actually want to teach us Dark Magic? Isn't that illegal?"

His mother turned to look at him, glaring. "That sort of idiotic question, Sirius, is exactly why these lessons are necessary. Dark Charms are separated into three groups: jinxes, hexes and curses. I hear you are rather keen on jinxing people in your year, is this illegal?"