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Regulus stood by the front door with Sirius and their parents, all of them dressed in their finest robes as always. Christmas was here and with it, the annual Christmas dinner, which was hosted by Aunt Druella and Uncle Cygnus this year.

It was Bellatrix who opened the door, welcoming them in. Regulus followed her to the sitting room, Sirius coming along as well. "You're a little early," she said as she sat doen on one of the chairs. Regulus settled down by the cackling fire, but his mood was sour. Narcissa wasn't here.

After a while of sulking quietly by the fire, he turned to look at his brother who sat next to him. "Do you think Cissy will be here next year?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. She might... or she might not."

"But she's our cousin, she's supposed to be here with us! It isn't the same without her!"

But Sirius just shrugged again. Regulus looked at his cousin Bellatrix, searching for answers, but she shook her head. "I don't know, sorry."

He got up, determined to get a better answer than that. He deserved a better answer than that! He left the sitting room in search of his parents, and ended up in the dining room where he found his father.

"Father," he started as he approached him. "Do you... do you think Narcissa will ever come back?"

His father looked up from what he was doing and turned to face him. "Regulus," he said with a deep sigh, "families are difficult, but just because your cousin isn't here with us now, doesn't mean she's never coming back, nor does it mean she isn't your cousin anymore."

"But she left us!"

"She did not. Regulus, come here," his father gestured for him to come closer, and Regulus obliged. "Your cousins are away at Hogwarts all year, aren't they?"

Regulus nodded. "Bit that's different!"

"Is it really?" His father asked. "It's all the same. They are gone for now, because there are more important things going on, such as education or building the future. But they're always coming back to us. They haven't left, not really."

Regulus frowned. "But some have left!"

"What do you mean?"

"Like... on the tapestry... the blacked out people... what if Narcissa—"

"Regulus, listen to me," his father held both his shoulders and stared intently at him. "Narcissa is a wonderful, talented witch who knows what is at stake. She's doing all she can, all that is expected of her. There is no need to worry about her, she'll end up in high places if she keeps doing what she's doing. Please, stop your worrying and enjoy this Christmas."

Regulus nodded. "I'll try."

"Good boy. Come on, dinner will be ready soon. We should get seated."

His father released him and held out his hand for him to grab, which he did, squeezing it tightly as they made their way to the table.
-
Sirius dragged Regulus outside the moment dinner was over, into the grand garden of the Black Manor. Their London home had no garden so Regulus always loved to come here, to spend time outside with his brother, and their cousins.

It was cold out, and the grounds were covered in snow as Regulus shivered in the wind. Thankfully it had stopped showing since they arrived, but the air was freezing. It was perfect out for a snowball fight, which was exactly what their cousins Bellatrix and Andromeda had had in mind—Regulus could see them throwing snowballs at each other in the back of the garden.

As Sirius dragged him towards the girls, Bellatrix noticed them and hit them full in the face with a snowball as she twirled towards them.

"Sirius, Regulus, come on, join us!" called Andromeda as she spotted them. Bellatrix grabbed Andromeda's hands and they spun around, both of them laughing loudly as they let go of any and all responsibilities they had.

Grinning, Sirius joined in, grabbing Regulus' hands in a similar way, and Regulus nearly lost his footing as his brother spun him around, his robes floating around him with each twirl and he couldn't help but smile.

It wasn't long before Sirius accidentally let go of his hands and Regulus fell back, sinking into the icy snow. He let out a yelp as he fell, his whole body growing cold in an instant as he wasn't dressed for this, but laughing at the same time, do hard his belly hurt from the fun he was having.

His brother helped him up from the snow and Regulus gratefully accepted his help as his cousins had stopped spinning as well, to check if he was okay.

"You know what we should do," Sirius said once Regulus was back to his feet.

"A game of snow-Quidditch!" Bellatrix filled in.

"You read my mind!"

"I'll get the brooms," Andromeda volunteered and she dashed off, Sirius following her to help her carry the brooms back outside.

As they disappeared back into the house, Regulus looked at Bellatrix, who looked back at him. "Are you okay?" She asked him. "It's a good think the snow softens the fall, isn't it?"

Regulus nodded. "I wish it was like this forever," he admitted after a little while. "That you didn't have to go back to Hogwarts."

"It's my last year," she answered, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "When I graduate, you can come here as often as you want and I'll gladly push you into the snow."

Regulus chuckled. "No, not that! I just don't want us all to break up again. I wish Cissy was here..."

"We all do, Reg. We all do."
-
Christmas break was over before they knew it and Bellatrix and Andromeda were back to school, with Regulus and Sirius again left to their own devices. Luckily, their parents filled the days with lessons in all sorts of things, which made it easier to not have many people to talk to. He still missed the fun they had together, though. Being being with his brother just wasn't the same.

Thankfully, April arrived quickly and with it, the Easter break from Hogwarts. Unfortunately, Bellatrix announced she would be staying at Hogwarts this Easter, to study for her N.E.W.T.s, while Narcissa was invited to spend Easter at the Malfoys because her Christmas stay had been such a success.

That left Regulus with only Sirius and Andromeda at Uncle Alphard's Easter brunch, and it made him feel very lonely. It was as if his support system was crumbling beneath him, because up until now, none of his cousins had ever failed to come home during break. In all honesty, he was mostly afraid of how Sirius would be when he was at Hogwarts but Regulus still too young to go. Would Sirius write him often? Would he come home for break?

The brunch was an incredibly dull event and Regulus was one of the first to excuse himself after everyone had finished eating. He wandered around the modest house, exploring the rooms he had seen so often to see if his uncle had done anything new to the place, although that was never the case.

In one of the rooms, however, he did find Andromeda who seemed to have grown tired of the tense silence in the dining room as well.

"Hi Andy," he greeted her as he walked into to the room.

She looked up. "Oh, hey."

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you in the dining room?"

Andromeda sighed. "I'm not in the mood... These have been difficult times for all of us, haven't they?"

Regulus nodded. "I still miss Cissy... And now Bella is gone too... Do you think they'll be here next year?"

Andromeda closed her eyes briefly, then met Regulus's gaze. "I'm certain they will," she said. "Now if you'll excuse me..." she walked past Regulus without another word, leaving him all alone again.

Now it was Regulus' turn to sigh as he leaned against the wall. The only cousin who was here preferred to leave him alone. Yes, he had always been closest with Cissy and Bella, but Andy was still family.

Determined to seek out the company of his brother instead, he left the room and made his way back to the dining room, only to find it was empty except for his cousin and his father.

Regulus walked in and approached them both, interrupting their weather talk with his own question, which was much more important. "Do you think Narcissa is happier with the Malfoys? Happier than she would be with us?"

"Regulus, mind your manners. We are talking," his father reprimanded him.

"It's okay," said Andromeda, turning her attention to him. "You know her. She's always so proper, she will be a true Malfoy. She's probably wearing fancy dresses and attending tea parties right now," she said with a smile. "I'm sure she'll be alright."

He looked at his father, who nodded in agreement.

"But what if she's lonely or sad?"

"She will be okay, son," his father offered. "You need to learn how to let go. Don't worry about others all the time."

His cousin agreed. "You have a big heart, Regulus. Perhaps too big for your own good."

Regulus gave them both a sad smile, and his father put a hand on his shoulder as his cousin made her way out of the room, once more leaving him.

"Why do you have to worry so much?" His father asked.

"They're stealing all my cousins," he mumbled.

"Speak up, son. Who are stealing your cousins?"

"I don't know..."

His father let out a sigh and got down to his level. "That's because there is no 'they', my dear. You're young, much younger than your cousins. They're simply getting on with their lives. You'll understand when you're older."

"But I want to understand now!"

His father got up again and his face hardened. "We don't get what we want in life, Regulus. It's time you learnt that."

And with that, he, too, left the room. Regulus hurried after him, but his father had already disappeared by the time he had reached the hallway.

Turning a corner to search for his father, he saw Andromeda once more, standing there with Uncle Alphard, silent tears streaming down her face. He strained his ears, listening in on the conversation.

"I'm in love with someone... someone they would never approve of," he heard Andromeda confess. "What am I supposed to do?"

Uncle Alphard looked left and right, then whispered something to Andromeda. Regulus couldn't make out exactly what he said, but he heard something about consequences.

"This isn't what I want," Andromeda suddenly cried out. "I am miserable, can't you see that?! You're as bad as the lot of them!"

Uncle Alphard turned around to see if anyone had heard her outburst, but Regulus was too slow to hide and his now furious uncle had grabbed him by the arm within seconds, dragging him into the first room he could find, shutting the door behind him.

As his uncle released his arm, and Regulus rubbed the now sore spot he had held him.

"What did you hear", his uncle demanded. It wasn't a question, his uncle knew he had been eavesdropping and there was no way he could lie his way out of it.

"I didn't—" he didn't mean it. He didn't mean to overhear something like this.

"Don't lie to me," his uncle said very calmly, but his voice was dripping anger. "I will find out the truth either way."

Regulus gulped. It was a little scary to see his uncle like this.

"A-Andromeda, she's... she's in love," Regulus said. "But she's miserable? I really don't know anything else, I promise!"

Uncle Alphard stared at him for a good minute as Regulus stared back, trying to look innocent, to be believable. Eventually, his uncle let out a weary sigh. "You're far too young to be burdened with these things. Please, promise me you won't speak a word of this to anyone. Let us handle this matter."

"You want me to lie about it?"

Uncle Alphard corrected him gently. "Not a lie, my boy. Just don't mention it. Keep it a secret. Secrets aren't lies; they are sometimes necessary for the sake of protecting those we care about."

Regulus nodded reluctantly. "I won't say anything, Uncle. I promise."

His uncle nodded and held open the door for him. "You may go now."

Regulus hurried out of the room, and as he left, he still wasn't sure what had happened. He wasn't sure about what he had overheard, nor why it had to be kept a secret, but he was determined to keep his promise.