Regulus is an awkward boy. Thirteen, with moles and freckles and glasses thicker than James'. He wears an outer robe over a sweater vest over a sweater over a buttoned-up shirt and primly tied tie — lots of layers in other words. His black hair tickles his ears and his fringe falls across his glasses. His lips are bitten, chewed, and scabbed. And he's pale; dear lord, he's as pale as a ghost.

They're in the library. He tries to sit quietly in the chair across from Remus but it squeals under his wait and his flinches. He sets his books on the table in a neat stack and sits with a deep slouch. Remus isn't sure what to make of this boy, and his bloodline, behavior, and intentions.

"You do it too?" he finally asks. It's clear that he's forcing …show more content…
(Except his lungs, weak from the Black family inbreeding, can't handle it and he's coughing like a taxi in New York honks — often and loud and irritatingly.)

Remus halves his calorie intake and continues as normal. (Except he's weak and woozy and dizzy.)

Regulus doubles his smoke breaks and continues as normal. (Except for the smoke cloud that follows him everywhere and the way his coughing sounds like he's hacking up one of his weak lungs.)

Remus refuses pain-relieving potions after the moon and continues as normal. (Except for the blood that seeps through his white shirt in the middle of Transfiguration.)

Regulus burns himself with his cigarettes and continues as normal. (Except for the dark circles on his skin and the way he jumps when someone even barely touches his forearms.)

Remus eats every other day and continues as normal. (Except for that time when he fainted in potions... and that time during the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match, and that time during Transfiguration, and that time during a Hogsmeade trip, and that time, and that time, and that time...)

Regulus disobeys right in front of his family and continues as normal. (Except now he knows what Crucio is