Nowhere Boy (Wolfstar)

Bright Morning Stars are Rising

January 1969

Sirius and Regulus stood in the kitchen with their heads bowed and knees trembling. Their mother walked slowly back and forth in front of them, trying to decide how best to punish her sons. The only sound was the boy's ragged breaths and her heels clicking and echoing off of the stone floor. Walburga Black tapped her wand thoughtfully against her thigh, deep in contemplation. When she eventually spoke, her soft voice was barely above a whisper, "Did you really think you could hide it from me, Regulus?"

Sirius stole a glance at his mother. She always looked the height of propriety in her high-necked Victorian dresses, her kohl-black hair pinned neatly on top of her head. She was undeniably beautiful with her alabaster skin and high cheekbones - strong features which each of her son's had inherited. But Walburga Black's beauty was only eclipsed by her cruelty. Her cold grey eyes darted towards Sirius and his gaze quickly fell back to the floor. Regulus' breathing quickened but he remained silent.

"I want to know," she said carefully. "Where you got it."

She placed the offending item carefully onto the kitchen table so that it was eye-level with the brother's - it was a toy car. Sirius recognised the make and model immediately because he wanted one so much - a red mustang convertible with two white stripes up the bonnet.

"Well?" she asked again expectantly, almost sweetly. "Where did you get it?"

Still, Regulus said nothing. Sirius knew fine well where that car had come from; he'd stolen it from a Muggle corner shop before Christmas and been careful to keep it hidden beneath the floorboards under his bed, only taking it out to look over late at night before stashing it away again and dreaming of having a real one for himself. Regulus must have found it while Sirius had been out playing. Now thanks to his younger brother's carelessness, they were both in a world of trouble.

"I-" choked Regulus. "I found it outside."

"Lies," she hissed, her grip tightening on her wand. "You've been playing with the local mudbloods, haven't you?"

"No!" he cried, looking desperately up into his mother's eyes. "No, I wouldn't do that."

"If you didn't find it, and you didn't get it from a mudblood, then you must have stolen it," she reasoned. Regulus choked as she pressed her face close to his, "Thievery is on par with blood treachery in this house, boy. I will not have marauders and blood traitors for sons."

She straightened to her full height, looming over them both, "Your punishment will need to be severe to dissuade you from this sort of tomfoolery in future."

She raised her wand and pointed it at Regulus and he stiffened, readying himself for the first wave of pain.

"It's mine," Sirius admitted suddenly. "I brought it into the house. It's my fault, Mother."

Walburga lowered her wand and smirked at her son, "I already knew it was yours, Sirius. I just wanted you to admit it. Still, you saw fit to bring this Muggle contraption into our house. You might not think it much to be concerned over, but this is how it starts, boys - this is how the mudbloods get beneath your skin. They shower you in gifts and praises, they gain your confidence and then when your guard is down they strike."

She slammed palm down hard onto the kitchen table making Regulus jump with fright and the toy bounce into the air. It clattered back onto the table and began to slowly roll away, but Walburga took no notice of it. Sirius didn't react; he'd heard all of this many times before - mudbloods and their conspiracies to wipe out the purebloods. When he had told Frank Longbottom what his Mother had said, he'd laughed. Sirius thought it was nonsense too, but he didn't find it as funny.