PLAYER NAME: Ryah CONTACT: plurk: whoiamwithoutyou | discord: whoiamwithoutyou#4048 | email: whoiamwithoutyou83@gmail.com INVITE STATUS: Chel invited me HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: I heard about it through Chel
CHARACTER: Regulus Arcturus Black CANON: Harry Potter CANON POINT: Post death
BACKGROUND: Walburga Black was a most unkind woman. Orion Black, her husband, distant and emotionally cold himself, did not care so long as she directed her attentions on anything but him. Their arrangement worked fine for them; however, it wreaked havoc on their two sons, Sirius and Regulus.
Regulus Black was born July 23rd, 1961 and, like his brother before him, was immediately placed in the care of the house-elves for looking after. And because of that, they, fortunately, did not die in infancy. Such was the (minimal) affection Walburga had for her children. Regulus grew up knowing who his parents were, his connection to them, what deference he had to pay to each, but caring more for the welfare of the house-elves than for either of his parents.
For as long as young Regulus could remember, he was attached to his brother, but squarely in Sirius’ shadow. Sirius was loud, whereas Regulus was quiet, and while Sirius was brave and bold, Regulus was reserved and acquiescing. Naturally, Regulus thought Sirius, by virtue of being older and so much more outgoing, was wise and worthy of his admiration. And so, Regulus followed his brother’s lead during their youth before Hogwarts. When Sirius thought up wild and impossible things to do, Regulus would comply with his brother’s ideas and wishes with surprising alacrity and innovation. Their playtime became their sanctuary from their mother’s anger and their father’s indifference.
Their relationship, however, wasn't without problems. It was easy for anyone to see Walburga favored her youngest son. And Orion did nothing to stop his wife's favoritism. Perhaps it was because Sirius was much like a firebrand, burning hot always and ready to ignite. And Regulus, on the other hand, was passive and still; but when in motion, accommodating, following the path of least resistance, like water. Regulus found it unnecessary to fight against their parents or the tutors their parents hired to teach them a basic education before Hogwarts (reading, writing, mathematics, the French language, and proper pureblood etiquette). Because the adults always won. Always. Or perhaps Regulus won Walburga's favor because he was just so much more malleable than Sirius. Regulus was quicker to tell his parents what they wanted to hear, quicker to learn when to not say anything at all. It was easier for him to not fight, than it was to fight, like his brother did.
That isn’t to say Walburga didn’t abuse Regulus, too, but her treatment towards her younger son was undeniably less severe than her treatment towards Sirius. Regulus was clearly the Golden Child, even if, when Walburga went off, anyone in her path would be her victim. Either way, Walburga was so apparent in this behavior (and Orion so absent and distant as a father) the boys noticed – how could Sirius not notice? And the effect of this disparity tended to pop up from time to time in the form of arguments and fights between the brothers. Though the boys usually made up quickly, as they needed an ally in that house. It was foolish to give that up for long. They had no one else but each other.
And so things went until they were old enough to go to Hogwarts, school of magic.
When Sirius went away to Hogwarts, he was sorted into the "wrong" house - Gryffindor. At that time, Regulus had few qualms about where his brother went, simply because, well, it was Sirius, his brother. The sorting was surprising, for sure. And ostensibly, Regulus understood that Slytherin was the better - or required – house. But at that age, Regulus simply accepted that his older brother was in a different house. And at first, he found the idiotic way his mother carried on about how this tarnished the family name to be entertaining, something he only relayed to his brother through the scant few letters exchanged that year.
But the novelty of Walburga’s indignation wore off relatively quickly when it became apparent to Regulus that he would now bear the brunt of her rage and abuse at every encounter while Sirius was away. It wasn’t until Sirius was gone that Regulus saw how much having Sirius around mitigated the threat of Walburga. Her cruelty was too much for one little boy to handle on his own, and Regulus found himself giving in more and more to his mother’s ways. Walburga had tried her hardest to instill in her boys the rightness of blood purity, but while Sirius had been around it was as if her teachings fell on deaf ears. Alone, however, Regulus crumbled. He learned quickly that if he just stayed quiet when his mother was in a rage, or if he just said what she wanted to hear, the quicker it was over.
Interestingly enough, during this same period that Regulus began to be indoctrinated with purist ideology, he also started developing an interesting kind of empathy. Before now, the house-elves were just the "help" that he and Sirius ignored because they got in the way of play time or seemed to be extensions of their parents. But Regulus started noticing them now. It was an organic development, difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when the relationship between Regulus and the house-elves shifted, but slowly, that year, Regulus learned that if he was kind to the house-elves, they were kind to him in turn. And as he helped buffer them against his mother, in the small ways a ten year old could, they did the same for him, in the small ways house-elves could. With his father distant and cold as ever, Regulus' only allies during this period were the house-elves.
When Sirius came back for the summer holiday, Walburga made a point of showing even more favoritism to Regulus. And by then, Regulus had started parroting things their parents would say. Here, the fissures in the brothers’ relationship started spreading. Sirius would tell Regulus off for saying despicable things, but Regulus didn't understand why because he was just saying what everyone in their family was saying. And for the first time, Regulus was jealous of Sirius – Sirius had had all these adventures with new friends, and he talked about them constantly. It seemed as if there was no room in Sirius’ life for Regulus anymore.
That summer was awkward for the two brothers, who knew things had changed between them but they just didn’t know why, or how to fix it.
That fall, the two brothers left for Hogwarts, stepping forward onto different paths.
The whole trip from the Hogsmeade station to the school was one stressful ordeal after the other for Regulus. School, while it was said to be amazing, was still far away from "home," and Regulus had never been away from his family before. Hagrid was huge and looming, and not nearly as endearing to Regulus as he was to Sirius. Once inside the Great Hall, Regulus tried to catch his brother’s eye and wave, but Sirius was too engrossed in what James was saying to look. This only disheartened Regulus more. When the hat was placed on his head, he had a choice: please his terrifying mother or his fast-becoming-distant brother. Regulus chose to mollify the scarier of the two and took his seat on the opposite side of the Hall from his brother, at the Slytherin House table. Regulus mouthed a silent apology, but Sirius, who was now finally paying attention, understood the act to be one of treason and silently declared war.
Walburga was delighted at Regulus’ sorting and took full advantage of the situation, redoubling her efforts to raise at least one "good" son. She sent Howlers to the "disappointment" and treats and encouragement to the son she was proud of. This just made things worse between the brothers. There was no patching things between the brothers now.
While the start of school was a bit rocky, navigating a new relationship with his brother and all, Regulus soon found his place amongst his Housemates. He caught the eye of Professor Slughorn right away, due far more to his lineage than his disappointing potions abilities. But it was enough to be inducted into the Slugclub. (Later, Regulus would prove his scholastic aptitude in other subjects and thus maintain his place in Slughorn’s honored group.) Naturally curious, he thought most of his classes were intriguing. He found the kitchens right away and made friends and allies with the House-elves, thus always having a safe haven at school, and plenty of treats on his plate at mealtimes, or even in between. In his second year, Narcissa (who, previous to now, had a reputation to maintain and couldn’t take him on sooner due to his First Year newness) took her young, promising cousin under her wing and proudly showed him off to all the “right” people. This chilly closeness would last the remainder of Regulus’ life and would endear Cissa to Regulus as his favorite family member. He also, as the years progressed, formed friendships with his house-mates his age - Barty Crouch Jr. and Evan Rosier. And also with Severus Snape, even though the other boy was a year older. Theirs was a relationship that perhaps started due to their mutual dislike of Sirius.
It wasn’t long before Regulus was rather popular in his own right. Most subjects were a breeze for him, save for the ones he didn’t care about, primarily potions and divination being among the latter category. He was a rising star in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. He earned very respectable scores in Charms, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. One could say he had an uncanny ability in the Dark Arts, or the defense of them, as they were taught in Hogwarts. And he really enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures (which his mother forced him to drop after O.W.L.s because it wasn't necessary for his already proscribed life after Hogwarts). He tried out for and made the Quidditch team his third year, landing the position of Seeker. No need to lie, Sirius did get the better looks, but Regulus wasn't far behind and he had a smile that was disarming. He was a member of one of the most pureblood, richest magical families in all of England, and that bolstered a charisma all its own. He learned to move with the ease of privilege. The further he fell into his social circle, the easier it was to start espousing the rhetoric and propaganda that Slytherins, and outside of school, the Death Eaters, were infamous for. There were pureblood wizards, and then there was everyone else. And Regulus was the poster child for all things magically pure. A certain notoriety was bestowed upon him, and he readily accepted the mantle. He lapped up the attention and bought into the ideology without reservation. It was all but official that he would one day join that special organization of those trying to return witches and wizards to their rightful place in the world. His mother was so proud.
Regulus never really got into trouble at school. This was due primarily because of his mother - even in Howler form she was terrifying. A few of those from her in his first year and Regulus learned to be cunningly subtle about rule breaking. One didn't need to be bombastic in their adventures outside the lines of right and wrong. This was where he learned the power of decpetion and decite. If his mother never knew what he was doing, she couldn't chastise him for it. Regulus also never really felt compelled to be an outright bully, like some others in Slytherin House. Sure, once in a while he'd pick on a student, to keep up appearances, or - more usually - because the other student annoyed him in that moment (this is, essentially high school, after all). But a pattern of being openly hostile and cruel wasn't his brand. Thanks to his mother, Regulus understood the importance of subtlety a little more clearly than others in his house. And he'd learned by now that position was power. He tended more towards using his popularity and high societal status as a weapon or a largesse: cross him and he could ruin you, gain his favor and he could make you. And he'd much rather liked people owing him favors than be the one handing out punishments. Honey attracts more flies than vinegar, as the saying goes, and it was much easier, not as exhausting. Though of course, with him, there was a purist taint to his generosity, he clearly favored others who fit in with the movement more than anyone else at school. The Hogwarts house-elves were one glaring exception to this rule, though usually no one noticed his kindness towards the elves because usually no one noticed the elves to begin with.
His brother’s leaving Grimmauld Place hit Regulus hard. Regulus was 14, almost 15 that summer. He and Sirius had not gotten along for four years at that point; their views on the world had drastically diverged from the innocent playtime of boys in the back garden. But Sirius was still his brother, had still endured in that house with him. Now Regulus was completely alone. And Regulus resented Sirius for leaving him there. The last conversation they ever had, rife with insults and pointed jabs, was the day before Sirius left. After that, they might have hexed or jinxed each other at school, they might have shouted insults at each other, but they weren’t, thanks to a burn on a tapestry, "brothers" anymore.
Regulus Black | Harry Potter
CONTACT: plurk: whoiamwithoutyou | discord: whoiamwithoutyou#4048 | email: whoiamwithoutyou83@gmail.com
INVITE STATUS: Chel invited me
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: I heard about it through Chel
CHARACTER: Regulus Arcturus Black
CANON: Harry Potter
CANON POINT: Post death
BACKGROUND: Walburga Black was a most unkind woman. Orion Black, her husband, distant and emotionally cold himself, did not care so long as she directed her attentions on anything but him. Their arrangement worked fine for them; however, it wreaked havoc on their two sons, Sirius and Regulus.
Regulus Black was born July 23rd, 1961 and, like his brother before him, was immediately placed in the care of the house-elves for looking after. And because of that, they, fortunately, did not die in infancy. Such was the (minimal) affection Walburga had for her children. Regulus grew up knowing who his parents were, his connection to them, what deference he had to pay to each, but caring more for the welfare of the house-elves than for either of his parents.
For as long as young Regulus could remember, he was attached to his brother, but squarely in Sirius’ shadow. Sirius was loud, whereas Regulus was quiet, and while Sirius was brave and bold, Regulus was reserved and acquiescing. Naturally, Regulus thought Sirius, by virtue of being older and so much more outgoing, was wise and worthy of his admiration. And so, Regulus followed his brother’s lead during their youth before Hogwarts. When Sirius thought up wild and impossible things to do, Regulus would comply with his brother’s ideas and wishes with surprising alacrity and innovation. Their playtime became their sanctuary from their mother’s anger and their father’s indifference.
Their relationship, however, wasn't without problems. It was easy for anyone to see Walburga favored her youngest son. And Orion did nothing to stop his wife's favoritism. Perhaps it was because Sirius was much like a firebrand, burning hot always and ready to ignite. And Regulus, on the other hand, was passive and still; but when in motion, accommodating, following the path of least resistance, like water. Regulus found it unnecessary to fight against their parents or the tutors their parents hired to teach them a basic education before Hogwarts (reading, writing, mathematics, the French language, and proper pureblood etiquette). Because the adults always won. Always. Or perhaps Regulus won Walburga's favor because he was just so much more malleable than Sirius. Regulus was quicker to tell his parents what they wanted to hear, quicker to learn when to not say anything at all. It was easier for him to not fight, than it was to fight, like his brother did.
That isn’t to say Walburga didn’t abuse Regulus, too, but her treatment towards her younger son was undeniably less severe than her treatment towards Sirius. Regulus was clearly the Golden Child, even if, when Walburga went off, anyone in her path would be her victim. Either way, Walburga was so apparent in this behavior (and Orion so absent and distant as a father) the boys noticed – how could Sirius not notice? And the effect of this disparity tended to pop up from time to time in the form of arguments and fights between the brothers. Though the boys usually made up quickly, as they needed an ally in that house. It was foolish to give that up for long. They had no one else but each other.
And so things went until they were old enough to go to Hogwarts, school of magic.
When Sirius went away to Hogwarts, he was sorted into the "wrong" house - Gryffindor. At that time, Regulus had few qualms about where his brother went, simply because, well, it was Sirius, his brother. The sorting was surprising, for sure. And ostensibly, Regulus understood that Slytherin was the better - or required – house. But at that age, Regulus simply accepted that his older brother was in a different house. And at first, he found the idiotic way his mother carried on about how this tarnished the family name to be entertaining, something he only relayed to his brother through the scant few letters exchanged that year.
But the novelty of Walburga’s indignation wore off relatively quickly when it became apparent to Regulus that he would now bear the brunt of her rage and abuse at every encounter while Sirius was away. It wasn’t until Sirius was gone that Regulus saw how much having Sirius around mitigated the threat of Walburga. Her cruelty was too much for one little boy to handle on his own, and Regulus found himself giving in more and more to his mother’s ways. Walburga had tried her hardest to instill in her boys the rightness of blood purity, but while Sirius had been around it was as if her teachings fell on deaf ears. Alone, however, Regulus crumbled. He learned quickly that if he just stayed quiet when his mother was in a rage, or if he just said what she wanted to hear, the quicker it was over.
Interestingly enough, during this same period that Regulus began to be indoctrinated with purist ideology, he also started developing an interesting kind of empathy. Before now, the house-elves were just the "help" that he and Sirius ignored because they got in the way of play time or seemed to be extensions of their parents. But Regulus started noticing them now. It was an organic development, difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when the relationship between Regulus and the house-elves shifted, but slowly, that year, Regulus learned that if he was kind to the house-elves, they were kind to him in turn. And as he helped buffer them against his mother, in the small ways a ten year old could, they did the same for him, in the small ways house-elves could. With his father distant and cold as ever, Regulus' only allies during this period were the house-elves.
When Sirius came back for the summer holiday, Walburga made a point of showing even more favoritism to Regulus. And by then, Regulus had started parroting things their parents would say. Here, the fissures in the brothers’ relationship started spreading. Sirius would tell Regulus off for saying despicable things, but Regulus didn't understand why because he was just saying what everyone in their family was saying. And for the first time, Regulus was jealous of Sirius – Sirius had had all these adventures with new friends, and he talked about them constantly. It seemed as if there was no room in Sirius’ life for Regulus anymore.
That summer was awkward for the two brothers, who knew things had changed between them but they just didn’t know why, or how to fix it.
That fall, the two brothers left for Hogwarts, stepping forward onto different paths.
The whole trip from the Hogsmeade station to the school was one stressful ordeal after the other for Regulus. School, while it was said to be amazing, was still far away from "home," and Regulus had never been away from his family before. Hagrid was huge and looming, and not nearly as endearing to Regulus as he was to Sirius. Once inside the Great Hall, Regulus tried to catch his brother’s eye and wave, but Sirius was too engrossed in what James was saying to look. This only disheartened Regulus more. When the hat was placed on his head, he had a choice: please his terrifying mother or his fast-becoming-distant brother. Regulus chose to mollify the scarier of the two and took his seat on the opposite side of the Hall from his brother, at the Slytherin House table. Regulus mouthed a silent apology, but Sirius, who was now finally paying attention, understood the act to be one of treason and silently declared war.
Walburga was delighted at Regulus’ sorting and took full advantage of the situation, redoubling her efforts to raise at least one "good" son. She sent Howlers to the "disappointment" and treats and encouragement to the son she was proud of. This just made things worse between the brothers. There was no patching things between the brothers now.
While the start of school was a bit rocky, navigating a new relationship with his brother and all, Regulus soon found his place amongst his Housemates. He caught the eye of Professor Slughorn right away, due far more to his lineage than his disappointing potions abilities. But it was enough to be inducted into the Slugclub. (Later, Regulus would prove his scholastic aptitude in other subjects and thus maintain his place in Slughorn’s honored group.) Naturally curious, he thought most of his classes were intriguing. He found the kitchens right away and made friends and allies with the House-elves, thus always having a safe haven at school, and plenty of treats on his plate at mealtimes, or even in between. In his second year, Narcissa (who, previous to now, had a reputation to maintain and couldn’t take him on sooner due to his First Year newness) took her young, promising cousin under her wing and proudly showed him off to all the “right” people. This chilly closeness would last the remainder of Regulus’ life and would endear Cissa to Regulus as his favorite family member. He also, as the years progressed, formed friendships with his house-mates his age - Barty Crouch Jr. and Evan Rosier. And also with Severus Snape, even though the other boy was a year older. Theirs was a relationship that perhaps started due to their mutual dislike of Sirius.
It wasn’t long before Regulus was rather popular in his own right. Most subjects were a breeze for him, save for the ones he didn’t care about, primarily potions and divination being among the latter category. He was a rising star in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. He earned very respectable scores in Charms, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. One could say he had an uncanny ability in the Dark Arts, or the defense of them, as they were taught in Hogwarts. And he really enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures (which his mother forced him to drop after O.W.L.s because it wasn't necessary for his already proscribed life after Hogwarts). He tried out for and made the Quidditch team his third year, landing the position of Seeker. No need to lie, Sirius did get the better looks, but Regulus wasn't far behind and he had a smile that was disarming. He was a member of one of the most pureblood, richest magical families in all of England, and that bolstered a charisma all its own. He learned to move with the ease of privilege. The further he fell into his social circle, the easier it was to start espousing the rhetoric and propaganda that Slytherins, and outside of school, the Death Eaters, were infamous for. There were pureblood wizards, and then there was everyone else. And Regulus was the poster child for all things magically pure. A certain notoriety was bestowed upon him, and he readily accepted the mantle. He lapped up the attention and bought into the ideology without reservation. It was all but official that he would one day join that special organization of those trying to return witches and wizards to their rightful place in the world. His mother was so proud.
Regulus never really got into trouble at school. This was due primarily because of his mother - even in Howler form she was terrifying. A few of those from her in his first year and Regulus learned to be cunningly subtle about rule breaking. One didn't need to be bombastic in their adventures outside the lines of right and wrong. This was where he learned the power of decpetion and decite. If his mother never knew what he was doing, she couldn't chastise him for it. Regulus also never really felt compelled to be an outright bully, like some others in Slytherin House. Sure, once in a while he'd pick on a student, to keep up appearances, or - more usually - because the other student annoyed him in that moment (this is, essentially high school, after all). But a pattern of being openly hostile and cruel wasn't his brand. Thanks to his mother, Regulus understood the importance of subtlety a little more clearly than others in his house. And he'd learned by now that position was power. He tended more towards using his popularity and high societal status as a weapon or a largesse: cross him and he could ruin you, gain his favor and he could make you. And he'd much rather liked people owing him favors than be the one handing out punishments. Honey attracts more flies than vinegar, as the saying goes, and it was much easier, not as exhausting. Though of course, with him, there was a purist taint to his generosity, he clearly favored others who fit in with the movement more than anyone else at school. The Hogwarts house-elves were one glaring exception to this rule, though usually no one noticed his kindness towards the elves because usually no one noticed the elves to begin with.
His brother’s leaving Grimmauld Place hit Regulus hard. Regulus was 14, almost 15 that summer. He and Sirius had not gotten along for four years at that point; their views on the world had drastically diverged from the innocent playtime of boys in the back garden. But Sirius was still his brother, had still endured in that house with him. Now Regulus was completely alone. And Regulus resented Sirius for leaving him there. The last conversation they ever had, rife with insults and pointed jabs, was the day before Sirius left. After that, they might have hexed or jinxed each other at school, they might have shouted insults at each other, but they weren’t, thanks to a burn on a tapestry, "brothers" anymore.