Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Regulus walked leisurely through the crowd on the platform, his shoulders slightly hunched back, his hands in his robe pockets.

Younger students dragging suitcases, parents chasing after their children, little witches carrying owl cages—he walked through this chaos without bumping into anyone, nor letting anyone bump into him.

Baruch poked his head out of the inner bag, revealing only half of his spider head.

Sirius was grinning at James, the two of them with their arms around each other's shoulders. From a distance, they looked like conjoined twins. His gaze casually swept across the crowd, and he caught sight of a familiar figure. His smile froze for a moment.

He quickly prepared himself mentally, adjusted his facial expression, grinned, and raised his hand towards Regulus.

"Hey!"

The sound was loud and carried through the noise of the platform.

James looked in the direction Sirius was raising his hand and saw Regulus Black, the little viper of Slytherin, walking towards them.

His eyebrows furrowed sharply, and his eyes instantly became complicated, filled with disgust, resentment, and an unspeakable unwillingness, all of which were squeezed onto his face.

To be honest, he hadn't really suffered any setbacks in front of this guy, but it seemed like all the setbacks he had were because of him, or maybe not.

With his parents around, he felt very confident and became even more arrogant, always ready to curse as soon as he opened his mouth.

Charles Porter placed his hand on his shoulder.

James smacked his lips twice before finally closing them, but his eyes were still fixed on the direction Regulus had come from, and the corners of his mouth were turned down in a desperate smirk.

Charles followed his son's gaze, his eyes behind his square-framed glasses fixed on the boy walking towards them.

He wore a Slytherin school robe, had black hair, walked with a composed gait, maintained a proper posture, and showed no hostility in his eyes.

Regulus, Sirius's younger brother.

Charles immediately understood that this person wasn't there to cause trouble.

Euphemia Porter also saw it, her gaze lingering on Regulus's face for a moment before shifting to Sirius's.

Sirius's waving and smile at Regulus told her everything: the younger brother had come to visit his older brother.

Regulus walked up to him, his gaze skipping over James without even glancing at him, and landing directly on Charles Porter.

He had gray hair, square-framed glasses, deep wrinkles on his face, but was full of energy.

The curve of his nose is exactly the same as James', but his eyes are completely different—gentle and calm. Apart from that nose, he doesn't resemble his son at all.

Regulus extended his hand: "Mr. Potter."

Charles grasped his hand, his palm dry and steady, his gaze gentle, without a trace of condescension: "Mr. Black."

Regulus nodded slightly, released his grip, and turned to Euphemia Potter: "Mrs. Potter—"

He had just reached out his hand and hadn't finished speaking when Euphemia took a step forward, opened her arms, and pulled him into her embrace.

Regulus's hand hovered in mid-air, and he froze for a moment.

Euphemia, who was a little shorter than him, wrapped her arms around his back and patted him gently.

Regulus's hand hovered for a moment, then he lowered it. He neither responded nor pushed her away, but simply stood there, being embraced by a short, white-haired woman, his expression slightly uneasy.

I really didn't expect that.

Sirius Black, who was watching this scene, slowly opened his mouth wide, until it was as wide as it could go, and then he started to laugh silently.

Regulus, the guy who always maintained a composed demeanor in front of everyone, was delighted to see his most arrogant younger brother, who was now completely flustered and unsure of what to do with his hands after being hugged by Mrs. Potter.

James's expression grew even more indignant. Why? Why should this little Slytherin viper be treated like this by his mother?

Lupin watched quietly from the side, a faint smile on his pale face.

Peter's small eyes darted between the group of people.

Euphemia released him, took a half step back, and still had her hands on his shoulders. Her round face had a warm smile, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were all squeezed together.

"Sirius is coming to stay with us," she said gently, her voice sincere without a trace of falsehood. "Don't worry, he'll be well taken care of here."

Regulus looked at her face.

The Potters were indeed good people, and he always knew that.

That's how they raised Sirius as their own son, giving him sunshine, a yard, food, and everything a normal family should have.

Regulus's tone became sincere as he addressed the elderly woman: "Thank you, Mrs. Potter."

Then he gently swept his right hand to his side, and a silent soundproof spell spread out, enveloping them all.

People outside can see them talking, but they can't hear anything.

Regulus shifted his gaze from the Potters to Sirius's face.

Even though there was no emotion in his eyes and no expression on his face, Sirius noticed something. His mouth opened and closed quickly, and he knew what the guy wanted to do.

Regulus looked at him, his eyes suddenly becoming kind, and his voice softened, carrying the gentle warmth of an old father.

Sirius felt a chill run down his spine at this change, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Every time Regulus does something like this, what follows is a long string of explanations that he wants to refute but can't find an angle to refute.

He instinctively took a step back, but it was no use; Regulus had already begun.

"Get plenty of sleep, go to bed on time every day, and don't stay up late. You're at the age where you're growing taller, and you won't grow taller if you don't get enough sleep."

Sirius's lips twitched.

"When you're at someone's home, don't be too noisy at night. Be more reserved. You don't have to act like a stranger, but you should still show proper etiquette."

Sirius bared his teeth and opened his mouth to retort, but Regulus didn't give him the chance.

"Eat slowly. Every time I see you stuffing food into your mouth in the Great Hall, the whole of Gryffindor is watching you. Nobody is going to take it from you. Chewing slowly is good for your stomach."

Sirius finally seized his chance, his voice suddenly rising: "Nobody's watching me!"

"How long has it been since you last serviced your wand?" Regulus ignored him and continued, "The wand core can't get damp. The tip of your wand is all dull, and the shaft is covered in scratches. It's obvious it hasn't been cleaned in months. Clean it every two weeks with special wand polish. Don't think it's too much trouble."

Sirius opened his mouth, then closed it again, wanting to refute, but his wand had indeed not been maintained for a long time, and he couldn't argue with that.

Regulus's voice came again: "Now that we're at someone's house, don't just leave after you finish eating. Clean up and do the dishes. Don't expect them to wait on you."

Sirius's face began to undergo a series of complex changes, from a grin to a pout, from a pout to a bared smile, from a bared smile to rolling his eyes, and from rolling his eyes to wanting to refute but not knowing where to begin.

"When you and Potter were waiting for someone in the hallway—"

Regulus glanced to the side, then his gaze fell on James's face, and he stopped talking.

James was watching with great interest.

Sirius Black is completely under his brother's thumb, a sight that will keep him laughing all summer long.

For once, I didn't find this Slytherin so annoying, and then that gaze turned towards me.

It came without warning, like a spell thrown in the wrong direction, hitting him squarely in the face.

His smile froze, and his neck and above began to turn red at a visible speed.

No, you can talk about him, why are you talking about me?

I didn't say a word! I didn't even open my mouth! I was just standing here listening to you lecture him, and you're trying to pin this on me?!

Sirius almost burst out laughing, but quickly held it in.

Regulus looked away and continued speaking to Sirius: "Don't ride a broomstick in someone's garden until dark. If you get hurt, don't try to tough it out. Talk to them if you need to, so they don't have to worry about you."

"That's enough!" Sirius finally snapped, yelling at the top of his lungs, "I'm not a house-elf!"

Regulus gave him a familiar look: "Do house-elves need to be taught by humans?"

Sirius choked, his mouth opened wide, then closed again, glaring angrily at Regulus.

He stared for a moment, but couldn't keep it up. His lips started to turn up, and he tried hard to hold it in until his face turned red. In the end, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Charles's gaze softened considerably.

He watched as the thirteen-year-old Slytherin boy in front of him, speaking in a tone completely unlike that of a thirteen-year-old, meticulously instructed his older brother on what to do at the Potter household. Seeing Sirius Black baring his teeth, grimacing, and stomping his feet in front of his younger brother, the corners of his mouth curved upwards.

This child doesn't match the little Slytherin snake his son described at all.

Euphemia laughed so hard her eyes almost disappeared, one hand on Charles's arm and the other covering her mouth.

She looked at the two brothers, one rambling on about their daily life, the other grinning but not uttering a single word of argument, radiating warmth from head to toe.

The sight of two Blacks standing with the Potters was quite striking on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Several adults from pure-blood families watched from afar and moved closer, wanting to hear what they were saying.

They got closer, but couldn't hear anything. They took two more steps closer, but still couldn't hear anything. Unconsciously, the group moved closer and closer until they reached the edge of the soundproof barrier.

Regulus turned his head, glanced at them, his face expressionless, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

The group froze instantly. Someone quickly moved aside, turned around, and patted the shoulder of a complete stranger, pretending to be his son.

Some people took a couple of steps before realizing they were going the wrong way and turned back. Others stood there awkwardly for a moment, then pretended to be looking for their child, tilting their heads back and calling out a name into the crowd. When no one answered, they left.

Charles and Euphemia witnessed this scene and exchanged a glance.

James's eyes flickered.

He had glared at Regulus earlier, and now seeing several adult purebloods intimidated by a single look, his feelings were extremely complicated.

Sirius grinned again, a smug smile spreading across his face.

That's about all I have to say. The people on the platform started to disperse, and the station became increasingly empty.

Regulus looked at Sirius, then raised his hand, patted him on the shoulder, and paused for a moment.

That's all the instructions I need to give. I've said everything that needed to be said.

Releasing his grip, he nodded to Charles and Euphemia: "Thank you both."

Charles shook his head slightly: "No trouble at all."

Euphemia smiled and said, "You're welcome to come anytime."

Reples gave a slight bow, then turned and left.

Sirius stood there, watching his younger brother's retreating figure.

The black school uniform stood out in the crowd. A person walked towards the platform exit, surrounded by groups of families and students waving goodbye.

The light from the platform shone from the side; the June evening sunlight stretched long, casting his shadow across the platform's stone slabs as he walked further and further away.

Sirius looked on, his mouth still grinning, but his smile slowly faded a little.

Euphemia placed her hand on his shoulder, while Charles stood on the other side.

James was staring at him with an expression that said, "I'll eat your food for the rest of my life because of what happened today," his gaze full of malice.

Lupin and Peter were a little further away. Peter was gesturing to Lupin about something, probably talking about the purebloods who had been scared away by Regulus's glance.

Sirius looked away, glanced at James, and rolled his eyes.

"Walk?"

"Walk."