Starchaser Week prompt 4: Animagus Forms
Regulus was extremely proud of his accomplishment, especially after the first time, but really it was a constant boost for his ego every time he turned back into his human form.
Not only had he manged to become an Animagus at an extremely young age, no, he had also beaten his brother in age. Sirius and his friends had managed the transformation during their 4th year, Regulus third. He knew because he had stalked observed them. Sue him! He´d known they´d been up to something. And he was right, as always.
He had discovered Lupins secret in his 2nd year already.
But that´s beside the point.
He had used all of the break between his 3rd and 4th year to research the process at home, which had been a rather quick thing to figure out. The more difficult part had been the actual process, especially that disgusting leave he had to hold in his mouth…
But he had been successful and now, in his 6th year he had never been happier to have kept that little secret to himself. With his families’ expectations growing and his decision to stay with them to join the Dark Lord, he had widened the preexisting gap between him and his brother, but even worse, he had destroyed any chance he had ever hoped to have with James.
Back in his 4th year, all the way through the 5th, James had made sure he was okay. Sirius had run away, the brothers not speaking to each other. But James, James had been there. Had asked how he felt, had stargazed with him, had gone on secrets walks around the grounds… Regulus had dared to hope for more, eventually.
But as summer came and went and his decision formed, he knew it was hopeless, James would never betray his morals by dating a Death Eater and Regulus, h could never follow through with his plan if information about his feelings for a blood traitor reached the Dark Lord´s ears.
So, he had broken it off before it could begin. Before it would cause even more pain. James had fought for him, at the beginning. Until Regulus had said things he couldn´t take back, things that had shaken everything James believed to know about him. It was the one thing Regulus excelled at, the Blacks ability to destroy absolutely everything with a few, pointed words.
He had made James bleed out, metaphorically, and left him to die that night by the lake. The darkness hiding his own tears.
Regulus was a masochist though, a masochist and a hypocrite.
Every other day he would make his way around the grounds or towards the Gryffindor Tower, he would miaow, scratch the portrait, do anything to be let in. Once there he would go straight for a certain bespectacled Gryffindor.
James was the only one who was allowed to pet the cute little kitten that had taken to find it´s way to their common room or followed him across the grounds. It was an inside joke already, his friends teasing him about being a cat whisperer as well as a dog whisperer, seeing how devoted a certain dog was to him.
But James couldn´t care less about the jokes. All he cared about was the tiny, black ball of fur, currently nestled on his chest, lulled to sleep by his heartbeat.
And if one of the reasons for why he loved the little guy so much was the fact that it was the only thing distracting him from his heartbreak over Regulus…. No one had to know.