I rarely write Sirius as a sweet, gentle person. He can be, but that’s not who he is at a core level. Sirius is both entitled and traumatised. He lashes out and hurts others when he’s hurting or afraid. He has a defensive, impulsive, and volatile personality. Even with Harry, arguably the person he cares for the most post-war, he can be cruel when he doesn’t get what he wants.
It’s interesting how Draco parallels both Black brothers at different points. I think JKR intended for him to parallel Regulus, and he does in some ways, but his reactions during/after the war are far closer to Sirius’s. Draco grew up in a close-knit, protective family. His parents were strict, but not abusive. Regulus grew up in an abusive family and bent to their will to avoid that abuse. That upbringing nurtures two very different personalities.
Draco is confident, entitled, and self-absorbed. He believes he’s superior not only because he was told so, but because he was treated as superior by everyone around him. A truly spoiled, rich kid, whose narcissism and visions of grandeur were encouraged. He takes pride in his intelligence, his looks, his family’s wealth and status, showing off as much as possible. It takes being exposed to the violence of the Death Eaters and threats to his family to wake him up, and still he doesn’t fully switch sides right away. He simply steps back and disengages from actively hurting people, shutting down. Why? Because recovery from deep held beliefs takes time and intentional effort!
Regulus has to prove his loyalty to his family and their beliefs because he faces abuse if he does not. He is functioning from a place of self-preservation, which is a trauma response. His brother found supportive friends at Hogwarts, so he was strong enough to leave and had a safe place to go, but Regulus doesn’t. Sirius calls him “soft enough to believe (their parents)” which likely means he saw him as easily manipulated, but also makes it clear that Regulus’s pureblood supremacy stems from forceful indoctrination, not a place of validated superiority.
Regulus is also surrounded by people who re-enforce that belief at Hogwarts, illustrating the power and influence of pureblood status without experiencing it for himself. It’s pretty clear that Regulus was flying under the radar at school and doing the bare minimum to keep his parents happy. This is why, when he discovers the purpose of the horcrux and Voldemort’s violent intentions, he switches sides so quickly. Regulus isn’t a true believer, he is still looking for validation when he joins the Death Eaters. When Voldemort’s facade breaks down, so does he.
At his core, Regulus wasn’t a self-confident or violent character. There is no mention of him hurting anyone but himself. He wanted his parents’ praise and pride, as well as avoid their anger. He is mentioned by only one of his teachers in passing, so he clearly didn’t make much of an impression even though he was the Seeker on his house quidditch team and was in Slughorn’s Slug Club. There are no awards shown with his name or mention that he made Prefect. He’s not even mentioned as part of Snape’s gang of future Death Eaters by Sirius. Even Slughorn doesn’t gush over him like he did Lily and Sirius.
Instead, it’s Kreacher who tells his story. His house elf is Regulus’s only trusted confidant and that speaks volumes! He had no one else to turn to for help and clearly didn’t believe his parents would support him, so his redemption and sacrifice were kept quiet and private.
Draco couldn’t do that. However by the choices he makes post-war, it’s obvious that he’s trying to reverse course, if only for his son. He has to dig much deeper and unpack far more than Regulus did to turn himself around, but he does! That matters. It is an important aspect of his character arc that JKR didn’t give much time to in the books.
izzy806
jacobvanloon
ellievsbear
jbbartram-illu
origamiaround
blakekathryn
pixelskylines
kianamaiart
