- PENSIEVE - regulus black

III. IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN A HOUSE

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III. IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN A HOUSE
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1&2 September, 1972
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
The Great Hall/Charm's corridor

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

ELOISE DRAGGED her newfound friend towards the boats by his hand. Regulus was trying his hardest to keep up with her fast pace while simultaneously keeping himself composed. At one point he nearly tripped over his own feet, and only then did Eloise realize that maybe she needed to calm herself a bit, and slowed her pace.

The castle was absolutely breathtaking, and the Great Hall just as much so. There were four, long tables for each of the houses, and at each of them sat many students dressed in their respective House robes. The ceiling of the Great Hall was mesmerizing, or at least to Eloise it was. It was bewitched to look like the night sky with it many clouds and stars.

You see, Eloise Potter loved the sky from day to night, because to her, it was one of the most fascinating sights. It was also quite calming, an escape, almost. The young girl found herself entranced by the skies for as long as she could remember.

Soon enough, the stern-looking witch who earlier had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, strolled up to the stool with the hat, announcing that the Sorting would begin.

Regulus's name was the first to be called.

Eloise gave him an encouraging smile, before nudging him towards Professor McGonagall.

"Go on, Reg. You've got this," she whispered.

He nodded, putting on a calm mask, and silently made his way up to the stool.

The girl watched on nervously, but her nerves were quickly settled after the hat called out "SLYTHERIN!" shortly after it was placed on his head. She was glad he got into Slytherin, otherwise Merlin knows how horribly his parents would treat him.

After some more names were announced, Professor McGonagall called, "Potter, Eloise." The hat was placed on her head, and from the Slytherin table the younger Black brother watched on with hope that his new friend would get into the same House as him.

From the Gryffindor table, a group of four boys watched on eagerly.

"She's gonna be a Gryffindor," James said confidently.

Remus hummed thoughtfully, "No, I think she'll be a Hufflepuff."

"Five galleons?" James bet.

"Alright."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Whー not fair!" James slumped, handing five galleons over to his beaming friend.

Eloise hurried to sit with her new housemates, who welcomed the girl warmly, all while Regulus Black watched on, the feeling of disappointment filling him.

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THE NEXT MORNING Eloise, clad in her new Hufflepuff robes, marched over to a glum-faced Regulus Black.

"What's with the sad face?"

Regulus glanced up at Eloise, then back to his plate of food, "I'm not sad. I just thought I might have finally made a friend."

Eloise blinked, "Are you daft?"

"What?" Regulus stared at her in offense.

"You're moping because of that. Why on Earth wouldn't I still be your friend?"

"Because you're in Hufflepuff. I'm in Slytherin. It could never work," Regulus said, as if it were obvious.

Eloise snorted, "I really thought that you were smarter than this, honestly. It's going to take a lot more than some House labels to keep me from being friends with you. That House rivalry stuff is a whole load of rubbish," she paused, eyeing him. "Unless you don't want to be friends . . . ?"

"No!" he denied quickly. "No, I do."

Eloise smiled warmly, "Brilliant. I'll see you in Charms, yeah? I've got to go meet with my brother."

And she was off, leaving Regulus with a small smile on his face.

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"WHAT ARE you hanging out with Sirius' brother for?" asked James.

"Regulus has a name, you know," Eloise corrected. "And he's my friend."

"Your friend?"

"Yes," she turned to fully face her older brother. "Do you have a problem with my friend?"

"Well, he's—"

"If you say 'a Slytherin' I will not hesitate to kick you."

"Fine!" James huffed. "But if he starts going all weird, don't expect me to just sit back and not say anything!"

"I don't know what you mean by 'going all weird', but alright. Whatever floats your boat, James."

"I'm being serious!"

"No, I'm pretty sure you're James."

James glared.

"Fine, fine," Eloise sighed. "But I'm telling you, Regulus isn't a bad person, really."

"Nobody really is at eleven."

The brunette huffed irritably, "Is there a point to this conversation? Because if you're just here to try and talk me out of my friendship, it won't work. I accepted him as a friend when we sat together on the train ride here, James. So you can bugger off if you've got nothing nice to say."

Unbeknownst to both of them, Regulus overheard the entire conversation, and that was all it took for him to decide Eloise Potter was worth the risk of being friends with.