Chapter 183: 4-2
We ran into Slughorn. The old man, having thoroughly enjoyed a luncheon surrounded by his favorites and filled exclusively with his favorite delicacies, was contentedly stroking his glossy walrus mustache. That was when we appeared before him. Naturally, neither side had intended this encounter, leaving a strange air of surprise lingering between us.
"Hello there. Good to see you again so soon, my famous little twins of the moment."
""Hello, Professor Slughorn,"" we said in unison.
We replied dryly to the man who was smiling softly while shaking his plump belly. Slughorn nodded magnanimously.
"My apologies for today, borrowing Lily from you two. She is exceptionally bright, and dining with her is always so worthwhile that I tend to indulge myself despite my age. Ah, I constantly wish she had been in my House—Slytherin, that is. Don't you think green would suit both her red hair and her eyes remarkably well?"
"Lily looks good in any color. She’s a beauty, after all."
"Ah, quite right, quite right!"
The walrus chuckled heartily. Compared to Snape, he was far easier to talk to and much more reasonable, but I still spat bitterly in the back of my mind that he was a Slytherin through and through.
"What a shame, truly. So many shameful misses. Lily Evans, Sirius Black... It is tradition for children of the Black family to be sorted into Slytherin generation after generation, yet Sirius proved to be quite the exception! We managed to secure the younger one as usual, but—well, I really wanted the pair of them. Why on earth Gryffindor of all places... ah, well, no matter. Sirius is exceptionally brilliant. Regulus is brilliant too, of course, but he simply cannot match his older brother. James is a tremendously talented young man as well—and above all, he is the beloved son of that shrewd entrepreneur, Mr. Fleamont! It never hurts to be on good terms with him—though, naturally, being a Gryffindor, I didn't hold out hope for James from the start."
—What on earth is he talking about? As Harry stood there with a dubious frown, Slughorn’s jovial eyes darted down toward him. They were the eyes of a snake locking onto its prey.
"What about you, Harry? Care to be on friendly terms with me?"
In the end, this was the true point behind his ramblings: a guaranteed connection to Fleamont Potter, who had amassed a fortune with Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. That was what Slughorn wanted.
In that regard, Harry—supposedly Fleamont’s second child—was a prime target. Though in Gryffindor, he lacked his "older brother's" charisma and temper, and being young and seemingly impressionable, he appeared to be the perfect puppet.
Slughorn was not an evil man, but he was cunning and understood the power of networking better than anyone. In that realm, he showed no mercy.
"From what I can tell, you seem far more level-headed than your brother. I trust that when bringing me a small gift, you would be mindful of this old man's health and offer something soft on the teeth, yes?"
Smiling under the assumption that they had already heard about the Slug Club from Lily and James, Slughorn appeared worldly and deeply experienced. If Harry were truly the age he appeared to be, he might already be dancing on the palm of Slughorn's hand.
But he wasn't. And since he wasn't—just as Harry was about to speak calmly...
"Now, by the way, there is something I have been wondering about. As far as I am aware, Mr. Potter only has one child—and that would be Harry. For James to be the older brother and you, the second son, to be the heir, Harry... or should I say, 'Harry the Hero'?"
Harry was forced to shut his mouth. He seemed chilled to the bone, trying to digest the implication behind Slughorn’s "by the way."
I patted him lightly on the back. As Harry turned to look at me, I gave him an exaggerated, childish smile. It’s fine. Because this—
"...Well, let us not pry into this matter any further than necessary. It would only be stirring up a hornet's nest, I suppose."
Now, what do you say? As Slughorn pressed the question again with the overbearing authority of an adult, Harry finally forced a smile. I couldn't help but think that my brother—and myself—had a certain charm. Adults who dropped their guard around this face usually met a bad end. This man was bound to be one of them.
"I'll have to decline. I've already had quite enough, thank you."
—In the future, that is. I felt as if I could hear Harry's voice adding those words. Feeling like a child who had just pulled off a successful prank, I broke into a run, taking Harry’s hand with me. Glancing back, Slughorn stood there utterly dumbfounded, looking like he had been completely bewildered.
"Ahaha! Did you see his face?"
"If Fred and George were here, they would've hit him with a Punching Telescope too while they were at it."
"Unless those two traveled back in time like us, Bruise Removal Paste doesn't exist in this era—whoa, that would've been a total disaster!"
"No doubt! A panda-eyed walrus—Newt Scamander would be thrilled to discover a brand-new species!"
Giggling uncontrollably, we ran onto the lawn, and I dragged my other half down with me as we tumbled onto the grass. Children’s bodies are flexible, so we bounced right up, getting our robes dirty in the process. Lying on his back, staring up at the sky, Harry turned his head to look at me.
"Do you think Slughorn figured out what's really going on?"
"I think he just assumes Grandfather Fleamont had a love child. He was implying, 'If you don't want me digging any deeper...' Well, even if he did dig deeper..."
"...We're nothing more than illusions that don't exist."
I gasped. My breath caught in my throat. Harry’s eyes were the familiar shade of green—a beautiful green filled with resolve.
"Have you already made up your mind?"
"Yeah."
"Won't you be lonely?"
"I am lonely. That’s why... I want to see them soon. Everyone."
"I see."
Without a word, we both looked back up at the sky. Clear and sunny. How bright, peaceful, and natural it was. A sky where James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily—gentle people—could fly with smiles on their faces. A sky that didn't exist in our time.
A sky where Draco, Ron, Hermione, Ginny... no one was there.
"In that case... can I go see just one more person?"
"By yourself?"
"By myself. I want to meet them as Maria."
I pulled Harry up as I stood. Since the Slug Club luncheon was over, he had to be somewhere in Hogwarts if I looked. He might have already returned to his common room—but if so, I’d just break in. "I" know how to do that, after all.
"Who?"
—However, relying on the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map, the person I was looking for was found surprisingly easily. Dressed in green robes and bearing a striking resemblance to someone I loved dearly, he suited the backdrop of the Black Lake almost ironically well.
"Hello, Black."
"...Hello, Ginger."
He tilted his chin up with a haughty snort. Though his face closely resembled his older brother's, his pale skin—so characteristic of pure-bloods—basking in the sunlight gave him a delicate air that his brother lacked.
"You know about us?"
"Gryffindors aren't satisfied unless they're famous, are they?"
Hesitating over whether to sit next to him, I shrugged as he visibly recoiled, then sat down a person's distance away. At least he didn't run away. That was something. Because—Regulus Black hated everything associated with his brother.
"Including your brother?"
"Including the one who claims to be my brother."
"Do you hate Sirius?"
"I'm amazed. To think there's someone in Hogwarts who needs to ask about something so painfully obvious."
His tone was far too harsh for someone talking about family, bringing a bitter taste to my throat.
His words were completely genuine. That hatred in his eyes wasn't something a teenager not even come of age could fake to hide embarrassment. Seeing the irreparable rift between the brothers made me feel all the more heartbroken.
"So it's common knowledge."
"As obvious as knowing you can fly on a broomstick.—Ah, but perhaps a Mudblood like you wouldn't understand."
"..."
I was taken aback. Yet, his obvious provocation somehow made him seem more childish, bringing me a strange sense of relief. Seeing my reaction, Regulus furrowed his brows even deeper in annoyance and confusion.
"...You're not angry?"
"If you said that to my brilliant best friend, I would have drawn my wand. But since it's aimed at me, I'll forgive you just this once. Oh, or should I throw a punch Muggle-style? My best friend would have done that."
"How typical of savage Muggles pretending to be witches."
Imagining my best friend who stood strong and corrected the wizarding world despite being a target of prejudice, I couldn't help but chuckle. As the Snake spat those words with utter disgust, a familiar feeling washed over me. —Right. Draco. This was the exact dynamic I used to have with him back when we hated each other.
"—How can anyone forgive him? Because of his selfishness—because of his reckless 'courage'—the Black family was torn apart."
"────"
It wasn't that he was opening his heart to me, to Maria.
It was simply that the emotions dead inside Regulus, with nowhere else to go, had slipped out just a little.
"Mother won't stop her hysterics, Kreacher is depressed, caught in the middle of his loyalty to the House of Black, and Father is—"
Regulus cut himself off as if suddenly coming back to his senses, closing his eyes.
"Telling you all this won't change a thing."
"Yeah, it won't. I can't be someone who truly understands you, let alone meddle in the affairs of the House of Black."
"...I don't dislike people who know their place."
The words slipped out quietly.
Precisely because she was an unfamiliar girl—one whose name he might not even know—Regulus could leave behind the lingering dregs of emotions he had nowhere else to discard.
Perhaps it was precisely because Maria was an empty shell—that he was able to confide in her.
"Regulus. Was your family a burden to you?"
Regulus didn't answer.
"Did you... hate Sirius?"
Regulus...... did not respond.
"I hate him. I always have, I do now, and I always will. It's the same for him. If only he weren't around..."
"Would you have been Sirius, the brightest star?"
I pressed on. I couldn't let this moment slip away. It had to be now. Otherwise, without reaching even a single friend, your heart will sink to the bottom of the lake.
"You don't seem to like your name, Regulus. ...If I said I understood how you feel, would it offend you?"
"As if you could ever understand."
Seeing his handsome face twist in irritation, I relaxed my shoulders, accepting his response. The day would never come when I could fully understand all of his struggles—because I am not Regulus Black. However...
No matter what, I, Maria, could never become Harry. This regret and emptiness... this, at least, I could sympathize with.
"But you know, I like your name. Regulus—the one with the heart of a brave lion."
Regulus looked at me. The distance between his heart and mine was the width of one person—Sirius. —And that was enough.
"The reason I spoke to you today was because I wanted to ask a favor."
Facing the boy who was finally looking straight at Maria, the realization struck me again.
It wasn't the face of an adult. He was younger than Sirius, who himself still acted like a child. And yet—I prayed to this brightest star who would be the first to risk his life with the greatest courage.
"I want to take your name, Regulus."
For the first time, Regulus smiled.
"Not Sirius?"
"Sirius is already reserved. I want yours—Regulus Arcturus Black."
A faint breath escaped his thin lips. His eyebrows relaxed slightly. Despite looking so much like Sirius, his eyes narrowed with a needle-like delicacy that Sirius never possessed.
"Do as you like. It's an ordinary name anyway."
"A time will come when the world realizes that this 'ordinary name' is more precious than anything."
Thinking it was about time, I stood up. After all, the brightest star had already begun to make its presence known before nightfall.
"Oh, right. Just one last thing—will you answer me honestly, Regulus?"
Pretending to ask casually, I pressed further as he showed no sign of leaving the lake. It was driven, perhaps, by pure curiosity. I hadn't expected an answer from him in the first place.
"If Kreacher, your father, your mother—or your brother were to die tomorrow, and you were the only one who could stop it... would you sacrifice yourself?"
And yet, Regulus answered with surprising, almost anticlimactic ease.
"Of course not."
—Ah, naturally. Truly convinced by his answer, I left behind the lake where snakes gathered across time, feeling strangely refreshed.
Slytherins, honestly...
"They tell lies with such a straight face. Don't they, Draco?"
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