Chapter 1 - Sticker Residue

                                    

                                          

Regulus didn't wake to the sun, no, it was quite dark as he gained consciousness. 
His vision was foggy for a few blinks. 
He didn't move, he just laid there staring up at the canopy of his four-poster bed. 
Regulus' eyes focused on the glowing stars, Sirius had stuck to the wood. 
Once they'd been bright and full and now they were dim and torn. 
He remembered how angry he'd been when he tore at the pesky stickers. 
How angry he'd been at his brother- at life in general. 
The feeling had long since gone and all that remained were those stubborn bastards still clung to the cedar. 
If Regulus didn't move he could almost pretend he didn't exist- that the stars were the ones in the night sky. 
Hours had passed. 
The birds outside his bedroom window began chirping their morning tunes.
Still Regulus laid unmoving. 
He figured the only thing that would get him up was a apocalypse or- 
There was a round of taps on his door. 
That. 
A pop sounded and Regulus didn't even flinch.
"Master Regulus mustn't keep the mistress waiting." Kreacher muttered. 
Regulus didn't move for a moment longer and then he pushed the satin green sheets off him. 
His arms shook as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. 
Regulus' face was neutral, but the action itself had Regulus seeing stars. 
He never showed his emotions. 
Standing from the bed he wobbled slightly, before disguising it as he stretched. 
Kreacher was uninterested in Regulus' ruses, rather he made his way towards Regulus' trunk. 
"The mistress is waiting in the drawing room." Kreacher explained before disappearing with a pop- taking the trunk with him. 
Regulus followed after the elf, begrudgingly. 
He made his way down the stairs, the floorboards creaking from under him. 
When he strolled into the drawing room, his mother stood tall. 
Her face had always been in a scowl- which made Regulus wonder if she'd done it so much that'd become permanent. 
She had long dark hair that she'd tied up that morning, in a tight bun.
Regulus had never seen his mother look anything but intimidating, even amongst her own family. 
She had views on the world that Regulus had never grasped, and he didn't think he ever would.
His mother always had something to say, but this morning she was quiet. 
With a grasp on Kreacher with one hand and Regulus on the other, they popped out of the cold and dark home. 
Where they landed, people passed, dragging along trunks and animals.
The station was bustling that morning, with parents saying farewell and children ready for school once again. 
Regulus knew the families around him were having much different experiences. 
His mother wouldn't say goodbye, she wouldn't wish him a good year.