UNFINISHED VERSION

1.9

It was Christmas Eve, and just like every Christmas Eve before, Regulus Black was sat in his room drowning in silence as he messed with his shirt cuffs.

The home was usually quiet despite the occasional screaming matches of his parents or the loud out bursts of his brother.

This year, there would be none of that and he didn't know how to feel about it.

On one hand, there wouldn't be the echo of curses and spells traveling up the halls. He wouldn't have to lock himself in his room, begging Kreature to put up a silencing spell as he cried with a pillow shoved against his ears. On the other hand, there would be no Sirius. There wouldn't be the happy boy running around in his leather jacket and sliding down banister rails. No crude jokes that he could crack a smile at or suppress a laugh to during the annual Christmas ball.

Regulus was alone now. He tried to be happy for Sirius at first, the firecracker leather jacket clad boy was free, it was just hard to be happy sometimes when he knew that as sirius ran away to his freedom, Regulus' chance of gaining it left with his brother.

The one upside to Christmas, was the one thing he looked forward to for the past four years. He just hoped that his ugliness hadn't pushed her away.

Most purebloods didn't celebrate christmas like the others.

They had pure blood only balls and parties, a chance to socialize with the 'elite' in uncomfortable formal clothes. The celebration of warmth, love, and family shown in muggle advertising was not how they celebrated. In fact, those things rarely found their way into pure blood culture. Christmas instead was cold and distant.

There was a tree, but it was decorated by the house elves in pristine silver and emerald green. The tree topper was diamond encrusted to catch the candle light and sparkle through the room. There were no lights on the tree, his mother thought it would be tacky and take away from the classiness the tree was decorated in.

No christmas cookies, there were no reason for it after all, every witch knew not to wait for santa to arrive. Walburga also claimed that there was too much sugar in those treats, and she would not be caught dead with them on her spread. Instead, the table had charcuterie boards not plates of cookies.

All that was 'normal' about his christmas, is that it was spent with family. It wasn't laughter and close knit, but it was still technically family, right?

He received one present a year, that what he was currently pacing his room for. It definitely wasn't because of his crippling social anxiety and that the boy was dreading going downstairs into the hoard of fancy clothes and old money that awaited him. It was because he didn't want to be tardy for the owl that surely would arrive soon.

He never wrote back, and he never returned a gift, but the beautiful brown owl that came to his window twice a year always put a smile on his face, just as the girl who the bird belongs to did.

he whipped around to face the glass at the telltale sign of a letter, the tapping of a beak. Regulus rushed across the room and leaned across his desk to open the window and welcome in the Potter owl.

It flew straight in, dropping the small box onto the desk as it usually did, as it flew torward the boy, landing on his shoulder and pushing its feathered face into his cheek and curly soft black hair.

Before laying a hand on the package, Regulus sat in the desk chair and opened the right hand drawer, pulling out a treat and giving it to the brown owl perched content on his shoulder.

He smiled wide when he saw the familiar handwriting on the box. A large, warm, and childlike smile that no one got the pleasure to see. The kind that brought out his dimples, the kind he only shown when certain he was alone.

Inside the box, was the yearly supply of Honeydukes she usually gave him. He mentioned once how his parents forbayed candy and rarely condoned sweets in the home, and Violet took it as her own personal responsibility to make sure Regulus always had a stash in his room. She claimed once that was why he was so sour and strict, and she always knew that walburga and orion were trying to suck the fun and sweetness from everything.

Next, was a few prank supplies. She knew he'd never use any of it, but Violet sent it to him anyway. It was a way she knew how to have fun, maybe there'd be a day when he'd want to try it too.

Lastly was an outfit, muggle clothes mostly. She wanted him to have something comfortable in his closet. Violet knew he couldn't wear them at home, but she wanted him to have a soft sweater and comfy pants for Hogwarts. Then he wouldn't have to spend the weekends in the same stiff pants and pressed shirts he adorned all the time.

Pressed to the side, the last thing in the box, was a letter.

Reg,

Merry Christmas! Here is your yearly stash of things that can (hopefully) fill your time. I don't know if you keep these things or if you're even reading this right now, but since we're friends or at least sort of friends, i feel the need to give you something for the holidays.

You can throw this out like you probably have for the past few years, but on the off chance you actually do care about this box and are seeing this, here's a little update i guess.

I know you claim not to care about sirius anymore, but i know some part of you still does. I want you to know he is ok, except for how much he sends worrying about you.

He's ok here, he's safe, i promise.

Well, nevermind. he might not be safe as i thought- i just heard him and james screaming followed by a large crash.

My guess, is they've knocked over Mothers bookshelf again.

Mom, Dad, Sirius, and James wish you a Merry Christmas as well.

I hope it's not really as bad as Sirius says over there, and that he's just being his usual dramatic self about it all. If it is, please always remember that you always have a place here at the Potter home. We'd be happy to house you here as well.

Stay safe, please.

Always,
Vi

Regulus smiled at the words. Hearing from her always seemed to boost his mood and his confidence, even if he hated that it did that.

The boy carefully wrapped everything once again and placed each item back in the box, moving to hide it underneath his bed. Then he trailed back to the window releasing the owl as he always did, empty handed but with a second treat in his beak.

Once the window was sealed shut, he made his way to the stair case. Leaving the room that was previously filled with all Christmas could be and all the young boy wished it was, and descended down into the lions den, that was his Christmas reality.

Still no computer :(
so once again, sorry for any weird spacing/errors, I'll edit it whenever my laptop is actually fixed