OOC
GAME: Alternate '78
DESCRIPTION: Harry Potter AU RPG, c. 1978.
DATE: December 2006
PB: Kevin Zegers
JOURNAL: regs
IC
Name: Regulus Arcturus Black
Student/Alumni: Seventh year student.
House: Slytherin.
Things of Note: Prefect.
Age/Birthdate: Seventeen. Born July 13th, 1961.
Family: Father Orion, mother Walburga, brother Sirius (Gryffindor, class of '78).
History: Little did the Blacks realise the uncanny accuracy they employed in naming their sons. There was a certain lack of creativity in the names of the Black brothers — there had, after all, been several Siriuses and Reguluses in the history of the family. But Sirius, the dog star, one of the brightest stars in the sky, has constantly outshined the smaller and more demure Regulus. Ever since birth, Reg was innately aware of his position as second-born. He was not the heir. He had no right to the family lands or possessions. And even so, the Blacks meant everything to Regulus — to a boy raised in such a stifled, loveless environment, his greatest desire was to fit in as well as possible and become one of them. And fit in he did, becoming the polite and well-bred son of nobility that Orion and Walburga always taught him they were. "To be Black is practically considered to be royal." Toujours purs they have been and so they have always tried to remain.
In ways, Regulus' life has always revolved around his older brother — in their childhood, Reg looked up to his brother almost as if to a god, and tagged along with his daily misdemeanours. If Sirius committed an atrocity around Grimmauld Place, the younger boy was quick to step in and claim responsibility for the deed — nothing hurt him more than seeing Walburga in one of her hysterical fits, let alone when her mad caterwauling was directed at Sirius himself. Regulus took on the role of martyr, of peace-maker, of the quiet boy in the corner who came up with innovative (though futile) ideas to mend everything within the family.
That is, until Sirius went to Hogwarts and committed the greatest crime of all: Being sorted into Gryffindor. This was something Regulus could not blame himself for, and was instead the event that tore the already-distant family apart. Even four regular months without Sirius would have broken Reg's heart, so used to spending every waking moment in his brother's shadow. But here were four months that he spent alone at home, with only darkness and the colour black: His mother's poison, his father's frostiness. They bombarded him with tirades of how Sirius had disgraced them, of how the heirship was called into question.
When Sirius returned, Regulus had turned cold and distant.
Fast forward five years. Regulus finally joined his brother at Hogwarts, but despite his secret hopes that this might fix the breach between them, the school simply made it worse. Slytherin and Gryffindor were constantly at odds with each other, and if Regulus had any expectation to fit in with his peers at all, he had to hate the lion-hearted house with every fibre of his being. Which he did, eventually. Not so much for any aspect of the house itself, but for the people within it who had changed his brother so, who had torn him away from the Blacks. Regulus developed an intense hatred of James Potter, which only darkened when Sirius ran away from home in his fifth year… never mind the fact that Sirius had invited his younger brother to come along; and torn in half, Regulus declined, helplessly defending a family that lacked in love and was filled only with hatred. Neither of the boys truly belonged in Grimmauld, but Sirius was the only one brave enough to do something about it.
Any semblance of normalcy that the brothers had managed to maintain up until that point (a surprising amount, in fact — it consisted of light-hearted teasing at school, of long and serious conversations, of good-natured pranks against each other, of messy limericks written on spare parchment) was shattered.
Reg spent the next two years alone, determined not to speak to Sirius and determined to ignore him in the hallways. Now he is in his last year at Hogwarts, attempting to keep his gaze and attention trained upon the school, but he finds himself drawn outside it. He is growing increasingly aware of the escalating war, and though he hardly ever shows it, he wonders what in the world will happen the moment the safety of Hogwarts is revoked from him.
Personality: Regulus' zodiac is Cancer, and it shows. After years of the cold and hostile purist environment, Regulus has crafted a shell for himself that consists of sarcasm, heartless behaviour, and a cool, flippant exterior. He surrounds himself with the opinions of his family and peers, and uses it as a sort of armour: As long as he has the typical purebloodist facade to lurk behind, his own heart can remain secret. His standard defense mechanism to most uncomfortable situations is caustic words, striving to dig and hurt and wound as much as possible. In fact, most of the time Regulus understands others more than he understands himself — if anything, Sirius taught him to be human, and he has grown skilled at pinpointing the weaknesses in others.
Yet underneath his shell, Regulus is a giant gaping mass of weakness. He has been poisoned — psychologically and emotionally — by Grimmauld Place, and more specifically, his mother. She's more than a bit on the insane side, and this has bled over into Regulus in a bad way. He possesses horrifically low self-esteem, but compensates for it with an iron-clad surface of arrogant narcissism. He has learnt from his female cousins precisely the type of arrogance to wield in purebloodist society, and he has learnt from Sirius exactly how to carry himself with confidence and panache.
All a lie, of course.
It's more than convenient that his namesake is the cori leonis. The star named the lion's heart. Regulus is brave, so very brave it hurts (how in the world did he work up the courage to say goodbye to the very brother he loved more than anything else?). A lion trapped in the serpent's house, he simply does everything he can to adjust, while secretly thinking to himself that perhaps his brother had a point all along.
Regulus constantly reins in his temper and reins in his true opinions. For the sake of keeping up appearances, the phrase "mudblood" might casually fall past his lips every so often amongst the right society. Yet you'll never catch him saying it in mixed company. For the sake of diplomacy, Regulus cultivates conversations with half-bloods and yes, even Muggleborns.
Sample RP: There was a calculated caution in Regulus' movements. Sitting in the library, piles of books scattered around him — he was no Ravenclaw, but according to his cousins' jokes he was well on his way to becoming one — he kept half his attention on the study material, the other half on the students around him. Regulus paid attention to them. He watched, he listened, and he hardly noticed what he himself was doing.
Defense Against the Dark Arts. History of Magic. Charms. Transfiguration. He was clever at all these subjects, but what exactly was the point of studying them?
Sample entry: I'm tired in so very many different ways. Essays, NEWTs, constant owls from home — I don't know what's worse, this nagging or the total silence. If anyone would like to study together, simply let me know.
And if any family would like to see me, also let me know. Bellatrix, I haven't heard from you in a while. Keeping busy with all your social deeds, I imagine?
