Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does

The walk to the dungeons of Hogwarts for the first time in over a decade felt colder than before. Instead of Regulus' housemates trying to get in his good graces, they ignored him. A heavyweight pulled at his heart, not light gleeful of assurance he felt in the past. His twin's reaction was not reassuring, would his family react the same? Nervous anticipation tugged him further down. Finally, they reached the Slytherin Common room entrance, a hush fell over the first years and the prefect leading them whispered, "Incontaminatus."

Looking down at the first years the prefect smiled, "Do your best to remember that firsties or you'll be locked out"

Regulus heard a few of his fellow classmates repeating the phrase under their breath determined. However, Regulus knew this would be one of the many first tests to figure out the pecking order amongst them. Bemusedly he wondered why Slytherins resembled chickens in that way. Thinking back about the chickens back home, he was the last one to enter the common room. As he walked in, he found an uglier and older version of Snape. For a moment Regulus thought Snape had a relative with an even more unfortunate face. But he quickly realized, this sallow man was the very same from his youth. Gulping and averting his eyes to Snape's shoes, he heard the same condescending baritone talk low to his new housemates, "Slytherin is an upstanding house who is unfortunately associated with certain Dark Witches and Wizards. This means other houses are likely to target us, I do my best to mitigate the problem, but you all know where the Headmaster's loyalties lie. Therefore, the older students and I do not tolerate any show of a house which isn't united."

Snape's sharp voice stated, "Have I made myself clear?"

The group of first years parroted back, "Yes, Professor Snape."

"Do well to remember that, the Prefects will give you more details." With that brief introduction, he walked away in a swirl of black robes towards his office.

The Prefects began giving more information and it felt like Regulus was underwater barely hearing and understanding what was going on. He was going with the flow of students and found himself among a group of two other boys. The dorm felt familiar with Victorian green wallpapers, an overabundance of drapes, and tasteful decorations which now felt cold. Unwelcoming. Like it was trying to keep him down, deep in the dungeons.

Regulus was staring at a particularly ornate snake candelabrum twisting around the candles as if trying to choke out the light. He then heard a surprisingly deep voice state in as if they were a soldier, "Name's Gregory Goyle. Malfoy is a friend of the family."

A cough of surprise came from Regulus' left as he brought his attention to the voices, "Well, a pleasure to meet you Goyle. My name's Theodore Nott."

Assuming his part Regulus nodded at both of them and replied, " And mine is Regulus Weasley. Should we decide on beds then?"

The gruff nod from Goyle and a sharp one from Theodore indicated to Regulus there wouldn't be much talking for a while. Goyle walked to the bed closest to him, while Theodore chose the bed closer to the one near a small watery window. Shuddering slightly at the window, Regulus chose the bed across from Goyle. Dread settling at the bottom of his stomach he wondered what tomorrow would bring.

Arising earlier due to being woken up by chickens regularly Regulus was surprised to see Goyle also starting to wake up. After they both were ready, Goyle nodded at him as if approving and turned a blank-faced look at the sleeping form of Nott. Regulus shrugged at him, and Goyle walked out with his book bag and supplies for the day.

Regulus thought maybe it's a good idea to tell his parents about what happened and hope they wouldn't be too disappointed. Pondering on the thought of that for a minute, it felt like time was dragging on the more he thought about it. Dreading the possible disappointment and maybe even a howler like Sirius had received, he instead decided to just send a letter to Ginny. She would likely receive the letter before lunch and maybe his parents wouldn't ask.

Settling down on his desk for a short letter to Ginny, and not knowing what to say. A few drops of ink fell from his quill. After a few seconds, he began knowing that Ginny was more likely to accept strange things in life considering her unique friendship with Luna.

Ginny,

I have some bad news and some good news. I'd rather not have the bad news reach Mum and Dad yet so could you keep it to yourself for a bit?

The train ride was pretty nice, I met two nice first years on the train. It was a boy named Neville Longbottom with a really strange toad and a girl, Hermione Granger, who I briefly discussed the particularities of Transfiguration. Eventually, the toad was lost and we had to find it, I forgot where we ended up finding it but the toad was safe and sound. I already forgot its name...It had weirdly expressive eyes like Attila the hen that gives you that look when you're coming for her. Anyways, that's enough about toads. I know you're burning with the question, I can already imagine you skipping the toad part of this letter. And yes, I did meet Harry Potter. No, he's not some weird dashing prince that carries a sword around to save the day. He seemed to have taken a liking for Ron but we'll see how the Boy-Who-Somehow-Lived-Even-Though-He-Was-Two turns out. He seems pretty nice but oddly quiet for a Gryffindor. And yeah I know what you're already thinking, 'Gryffindors can be quiet too! You and Percy for example." Um, bad news on that angle. I didn't get sorted into Gryffindor…

I got into Slytherin.

I don't know what to do Ginny, what do you think Mum and Dad will say? Ron already was giving me hateful betrayed looks from the Gryffindor table. After that, I tried to keep my head down. So thinking back I don't know what the others might have been thinking. I know that it won't be long before Mom and Dad find out if I get chucked out you must promise me to give me Mom's leftovers. We'll find a way to smuggle the food. I just have to find a way to convince Ron I'm not evil for being Slytherin.

Best,

Reggie

P.S. Slytherin was watery windows to the Black Lake and it's giving me the creeps.

Frowning over his letter, he decided it was probably the best he could do for now. He had truly forgotten the watery windows, and his return gave him a different perspective on the watery windows. Leaving the Slytherin dormitories, he made his way to the Owlery. Feeling a bit out of breath by the time he got to the top he was surprised to see Hermione from the train. Gathering himself to give a greeting, she seemed to have noticed him before he could. In a chipper voice, she said, "Good Morning Regulus! Are you excited for the first day of classes? I just had to send a letter to my parents about being sorted and the whole trip here!"

Smiling at her enthusiasm, he replied, "Hullo, good morning to you too. I'm also planning to send a letter about my sorting but I don't think mine will be received as well as yours."

She tilted her head at him, "Is it because you and your brother were separated? Or because you're in Slytherin? "

Regulus sighed, "Probably both, Ron and I planned to maybe take after our older twins, Fred and George, in pranking. They seemed enthusiastic about us doing stuff, but frankly, we're not as good as them at it. Ron's plans are always overly elaborate and I try to minimize the damage so in the end it, doesn't go so well."

Kicking a small pebble at his foot, Regulus continued, "It was supposed to be Ron and Reg, or Reg and Ron, whatever. Not, not…" A quick flash of jealousy about the possibility of losing a brother and he quietly said, "Not Potter and my brother."

He felt her hand on his shoulder, "I don't think Potter is going to be your brother's new... brother. Sure they might become best friends, but you're not the only one who has a sibling in another house. The Patil twins were also separated into different houses. But I don't think it means they're going to stop being family."

He looked at Hermione and smiled, she was looking kindly at him and didn't seem to have an ulterior motive in helping him. He jokingly asked, "Are you sure you shouldn't have been sorted into Hufflepuff? First helping Neville, now helping me cope being sorted into Slytherin. You're too nice for Gryffindor. I would know, my brother got in and he can be a right sod."

She removed her hand to cover her laugh. Her eyes were still smiling when she responded, "I like helping people, plus the sorting hat was torn between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Not Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

"Speaking of houses, we probably need to get our class schedules. You should probably go on. I know my way around." said Regulus as he turned to look at the school birds.

Hermione exclaimed, "Oh you do? Well, in that case, I'd rather stick with you than get lost part way to breakfast."

"Alright, suit yourself. Now, to get a bird to help me…"

Regulus and Hermione said their goodbyes after reaching the Great Hall, there weren't many people yet since it was still quite early. Only Goyle was sitting down for breakfast for the Slytherin first year section. After sitting down to start eating, he noticed Goyle had his eyebrows raised a minuscule more than his…usual blank look. If Regulus was an arrogant prat that didn't pay attention, then maybe he wouldn't have noticed and thought Goyle was a dolt that stared at people stupidly. However, Regulus felt more aware of his surroundings as soon as he reached the Great Hall. After all, Hogwarts did thrive off of gossip.

Goyle was still staring at him with the same raised eyebrows. A few more seconds passed. Regulus shifted a bit, uncomfortably. Goyle took a sharp, crunchy bite of his plain toast.

"I met her on the train, I didn't know she would be a Gryffindor," Regulus confessed to him as if that would relieve him of his un-Slytherin sins.

Another bite was taken.

"She should have been a Ravenclaw honestly, but the stupid hat placed her there."

He took another bite.

"So…" Regulus felt a nervous sweat building up, "It's not weird."

Goyle took a sip of his black tea and stated, "So it's not weird."

"Nope"

Goyle squinted his eyes at him, "Sure, Weasley."

The uncomfortable silence for Regulus fell over them again. Regulus wasn't sure if he saw a flash of laughter in Goyle's eyes before he agreed with Regulus. Eating his breakfast, he waited for them to receive their class schedule. Growing up in a loud household for the past eleven years let him grow accustomed to flowing conversation. Vastly different to now.

After receiving his schedule from Snape, he saw his brother Percy approaching. His brother indicated that he wanted to talk outside the Great Hall. So Regulus left the table to speak with him. After closing the Great Hall's door he brought his attention to Percy, fully expecting angry or stern eyes. He was surprised to see his brother at him exasperated.

"You're still our brother you know, just because Ron's being...rude, doesn't mean all of us are angry. Fred and George literally don't care, they see it as a way to get possible hints on how to better infiltrate Slytherin and not much else really."

Regulus eyes were wide, "But⎼"

Percy put a stop hand up, "I'm not done. Sure there's been mostly Weasleys in Gryffindor, but do you think Weasleys only marry Gryffindors? No, they don't. You're not breaking any rules by being a Slytherin Weasley. Think of it as forging your own path, which is quite a brave thing to do."

Regulus tried to interrupt again, "But Mom and Dad⎼"

He kept his hand up, "There's nothing wrong with trying to forge your own path, after all, Bill and Charlie didn't follow Dad's exact footsteps did they? No. Mom will be fine, and so will Dad. They'll be happy as long as you're a good person, they want you to have good morals and convictions, they might express worry that Slytherin will expose you to things that go against their morals. But I'm sure you'll do fine because you have us to knock you upside the head if you get too much of a big head. You know Fred or George has had to do that once or twice to me and I'm a Gryffindor. And sure, I'm planning to go into the Ministry as well but that doesn't mean I'm trying out my own path⎼"

Regulus rolled his eyes, "Percy you're ranting."

His brother dropped his hand and paused, "Oh, my bad. I just wanted to help you adjust. I didn't have to do much for Fred and George. You looked bad yesterday after Ron gave you petulant looks."

Regulus smiled, "Thanks, I needed it. They looked more like hateful looks of betrayal to me though."

Percy scoffed, " Regulus, you're eleven. There's nothing intimidating about eleven-year-olds."

Regulus gave a mock offensive glare in return.

He then brought down his hand to ruffle up Regulus' curls in a brotherly fashion with a smile, "Okay, you seem better now. Be sure to let me know if there are firsties out there giving you trouble."

His older brother left to the Great Hall and Regulus decided to was probably time to start going to class. Looking down at his sheet, Herbology with Ravenclaws. At least they probably wouldn't get in the dirt on the first day.

Autumn began to settle in, the colorful decaying leaves giving way to bare trees as the days passed. Eventually, it was a misty Halloween morning. Looking out the library window, Regulus felt that the moon looked ominous. Regulus had spent most of his days in the library trying to avoid both most of Slytherin and his twin brother. They still hadn't made up and it was eating him up inside.

Regulus was finding Hogwarts in his first year to be considerably less enjoyable the second time around. Not only was the material dreadfully boring, but he also had to pay attention to know the small details of the basics to get to the next level. Regulus already knew the foundations of magic, of course, it was just different to know something well but not be able to demonstrate it perfectly because of decade-old knowledge or his wand acting up because the wand liked Bill more.

After sending his letter to Ginny her reply of reassurance of a great escapade helped him feel better. Ultimately his parents got word of his sorting, and they didn't send a howler as he feared. Instead, they sent him homemade fudge after hearing how Ron was acting. Which actually didn't really help matters because Ron loves food. Regulus had tried to send some Ron's way but he never found out if it worked out. Things still seemed a bit tense between Ron and Regulus and their parents. Regulus' stomach started forming a ball of nerves, as he hoped he could help solve things over winter break without his brother giving him looks. And to reassure his parents he hadn't gone dark.

Regulus let out a soft breath, looking over his book of Written Accounts of Ancient Runes in Practice, he had found himself distracted again about the tense relationships in his family. He hoped that reading about the practical applications of Runes would take attention away from that. Between studying, going to class, and small tutoring sessions here and there for the other first years, there was still a lot of time in a first-years day. Especially when there weren't many friends to fill the time. Or brothers… In particular, a twin brother. Regulus felt a pull in the pit of his stomach bringing his mood down.

It's not like he didn't have friends, he was in a casual formal acquaintance with his roommates. He wasn't directly antagonized by his classmates outside of the Slytherin lair, however, inside he made sure to stay away to avoid Malfoy's comments about Regulus and his family. With the rest of the Slytherin first years in the upper power structure tooting Malfoy's horn for him, it wasn't exactly easy to gain friends.

'It's almost like the opposite position of power I was in last time I came to Hogwarts,' thought Regulus, 'At least I'm not muggleborn, or I'm sure it would be worst. I would be an even worst outcast, like Hermione.'

Granger, Hermione Granger was an interesting person, to say the least. She's the Gryffindor least invested in tribal wars between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Therefore she interacted with him freely, making her an outcast in her own house. If that wasn't a crime on its own, she didn't care about pointing out others' mistakes. Well from what Regulus had heard she didn't care about telling Ron that he was being a tool for ignoring his brother for being in another house. Regulus thought it was pretty nice of her to try and maintain some type of friendly interactions with him considering Neville seemed afraid to approach him. Regulus had tried to talk to Neville but he would mumble about needing to do something and shuffle away. Maybe he thought Regulus had Malfoy around the corner and could pop out at any second.

Regulus shrugged sadly at himself and checked the time, it was almost dinner time and Hermione hadn't visited the library yet. Frowning a little in disappointment he figured that she already went ahead to dinner.

Halloween dinner was filled with candy and many pumpkin flavored foods. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin casserole, pumpkin bread, and of course, pumpkin juice. Regulus thought adding a small pumpkin for each candle to make jack-o-lanterns floating above them was a bit much. If there was one thing Regulus could count on Dumbledore to do, it is to go overboard on decorations.

While eating pumpkin bolognese, he overheard Bulstrode and Goyle across from him arguing about the importance of cats during Halloween.

Bulstrode was slowly eating a slice of squash murmuring to Goyle, "Cats add to a witch's ability to sense and use magic around herself, it's why intelligent cat familiars are so prized, like Kneazles or Half-Kneazles."

Seeing Goyle nod in agreement, she continued, "And since the veil is thinner during All Hallows' Eve, it only makes sense that cats could help with magic to sense things beyond this world."

Goyle frowned slightly, "No, Kneazles are only able to sense intentions. I don't see how that's useful for ritual or spellwork."

Interested in their conversation, Regulus said, "Perhaps because Kneazles are bred specifically only to sense intentions. After several generations of breeding Half-Kneazles towards specific magic they could be used as an aid. Half-Kneazles are known to have more temperamental magic which varies cat to cat."

Bulstrode hummed in agreement, "Yes, that is true. Few Half-Kneazles are known to able to apparate at will to different locations. Which helped reclusive witches during the Witch Hunts."

Goyle raised his eyebrows slightly, "I see. But―"

Suddenly the Great Hall's doors burst open, Professor Quirrell screamed out in a single breath, "TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS!"

Regulus didn't hear what else was said because there was a sudden loud panic passing through the students. Looking around him he saw the other young students glance at each other with fear, the older years were looking at Professor Snape for cues on what to do. Regulus then felt dread go through him as scoured the Gryffindor table for Hermione since she was missing earlier from their study session. She wasn't there and the Troll was bumbling around looking for human flesh.

Feeling the panic rise and hyper-awareness of the situation, the Headmaster then announced everyone to go back to their dorms under the guidance of the Prefects. Regulus noticed his twin brother have an almost guilty look towards the seat Hermione usually sat at and felt a sense that maybe Ron and Hermione had another argument. Knowing the troll was in the dungeon, Regulus decided to break from the group of Slytherins gathering at the front to leave and followed Ron at a distance. It didn't make sense to go to the Slytherin dorms when they were also in the dungeons. Regulus noticed Ron and Harry broke off from the Gryffindors and began following them down the corridor.

The hair at the nape of his neck rose with a feeling of being watched. Pausing, Regulus turned around. He almost screamed from surprise to see Longbottom half a meter away from him. Longbottom lunged at him and covered his mouth and whispered, "Shhhh! Sorry to scare you, I was just wondering why you were following Harry and Ron. Are you going to fight them? I only noticed them leaving because you were behind them."

Moving Neville's hand off, Regulus replied quietly, "Merlin, why were you so close? Don't you know anything about stealth?" Longbottom sheepishly shook his head. Regulus then answered his question, "Oh, I think Ron knows where Hermione is. That's why I was following them. Come on, we need to get moving so I don't lose them."

Neville walked quietly behind him and whispered, "I heard she was crying in the lavatory because of something that happened in Charms today. Why do you care about Hermione? Aren't you a Slytherin?"

Shaking his head, Regulus murmured, "She's my friend… The rest of my Slytherin classmates seem to only tolerate me whenever Malfoy isn't around. And considering my brother hates my guts right now, I'm not exactly the Prince of Slytherin."

There was a pause as they walked a minute in silence, then Neville quietly said, "Sorry for avoiding you lately. I thought you were going to start treating me like Malfoy did in society functions. Like an expendable asset."

Raising his eyebrows in surprise at Neville's insight to Malfoy, he turned around, "I understand, here I thought that maybe you were scared of me." Taking out his hand, he offered it to Neville, "I promise to not treat you like a tool, casual acquaintances?"

Neville rolled his eyes, "Slytherins made all those different layers of knowing someone informally didn't they? I'll shake on friends."

Regulus smiled, "I'm alright with that."

They shook hands and then heard a scream.

Both jumped in surprise and started running towards the scream. They passed a shocked Harry and Ron looking dumbfounded at the locked door. Regulus barely paused to open the door when he heard Harry yell out, "Wait! The troll is ―"

The stench of the troll had Neville gagging behind him, Regulus yelled out to Hermione who was by the sinks, "Get out! If you hug the walls you won't be near his path!"

It was of no use, Hermione stood pressed up against a mirror in fear of the troll. Regulus began to press up against the walls to reach Hermione but the troll lunged towards him and Regulus had to run around the troll. He turned his head to the group of boys near the entrance to say, "One of you distract the troll, we need to get Hermione out!"

Neville ran towards him to help him move Hermione. Ron began throwing chunks of broken stone to the troll, while Harry was making loud noises to get the trolls attention. The troll was lumbering towards them while Regulus and Neville were pulling Hermione from the spot she was at. The two boys had to run into the hallway to keep the trolls attention while Regulus began looking for a closet to hide Hermione from the troll. He saw one near the other side of the corridor, Regulus pointed it out to Neville, "There! We can put Hermione there for a second and help Ron and Harry."

Hermione began to get a hold of her senses as they were walking. She began to lean on them less and turned to Regulus to whisper, "Go help your brother Regulus. I'll be fine." Regulus looked at Neville, and he nodded back to assure Regulus it was fine.

He ran down the opposite side of the corridor to help his brother and Harry. He continued running towards the yells when he found them at a dead end corridor with Harry and Ron looking at each other in concern.

Regulus yelled to the lumbering troll, "Hey! You big lumbering brute did your mother never teach you to wipe your arse!?"

The troll roared out, "NO! HURT! MUMMY!" They took large steps towards Regulus with their club ready to swing.

"Oh, shite." whispered Regulus, "Maybe that was a bit much." He pulled out his wand and aimed at the trolls feet, "Tarantallegra!"

The troll wobbled a bit but continued to lumber towards him, as Regulus began to jog backward and cast the same spell with a bit more power as the wand would allow.

"Tarantallegra!"

One of the troll's feet moved and the troll and landed in a lunge. The club was dropped to his side as Regulus heard another spelling being cast, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club floated up until it was right above the trolls head. The troll looked up in confusion. Ron cancelled the spell and the club dropped on the troll's head. The troll swayed for a bit and then fell forwards. Regulus pumped his fist into the air as Ron grinned at him for their success.

Harry looked past Regulus in dismay, as they heard the loud swishing of multiple professors walking towards them. Ron's grin disappeared as their moment of victory swept away.

"Oh, Merlin! Why are you all not in your dormitories?" Demanded Professor McGonagall as she looked them over for injuries.

Professor Flitwick and Quirrell were inspecting the troll, when Flitwick exclaimed, "Looks like the club was dropped on the troll!"

Ron nodded and said proudly, "I cast the levitation spell."

Professor Flitwick grinned, "Ah! Wonderful job Mr. Weasley, 20 points to Gryffindor! For using new knowledge to defeat the troll."

Professor Snape then ground out, "Perhaps we should hear first why three first years were fighting a troll, Professor Flitwick?"

"Oh, of course, it just good to see students applying their knowledge past academia."

All the Professors then turned their attention to the first years, sans Quirrell who was staring at the troll in fright.

The two Gryffindors were looking at each other, when Regulus began talking, "Um, I was trying to speak to my brother because we've been arguing recently. Since the troll was in the dungeons I thought it would be fine to talk to him up here." She was looking at him, trying to decipher the truth from it. Regulus then tacked on, "Harry came along to keep Ron safe, just in case, you know."

She turned to her two Gryffindors, "Is this true Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter?"

Harry nodded, "Yes Professor, Ron and Regulus were talking when we first became aware of the troll." Looking at the troll, Harry grimaced, "Or rather smelt him."

Ron just nodded in agreement, while looking at Regulus with slight hope.

Professor Snape was frowning at them, while Professor Flitwick nodded sagely.

There was an exasperated sigh as Professor McGonagall said, "Well, you best all return to your dormitories then. No dilly-dallying! We'll deal with the troll." She turned to Professor Flitwick, "Could you please alert the others the threat has been neutralized?" He nodded and walked off.

The three first years began walking quietly towards the corridor where Hermione and Neville were. After being far away enough from the teachers Ron said, "That was pretty heroic, for a Slytherin." Harry tried to nonchalantly walk a few paces behind them.

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? How about heroic enough to be your brother?"

His brother crossed his arms, "You'll always be my brother, I just don't want you to go dark. And Slytherin won't stop you from doing dark shite."

Regulus whispered, "I'm not going to be a Death Eater."

Ron sighed, "Oh alright, I supposed I've been an arsehole. Ginny and Percy have been driving me barmy. Just make sure you don't shack up and become mates with Malfoy, alright?"

Regulus smiled, "What if Malfoy becomes the leader of Light and cures the world of all its problems."

His twin scoffed in response, "I'll eat my own hand if that ever happens."

Harry shuffled awkwardly and asked, "So are you two alright now?"

Ron squinted at his brother, "Maybe."

Regulus rolled his eyes in response, at least his own brother didn't hate him anymore. He then grinned and whispered to Harry, "He has accidentally begun to chew his hand while sleeping before. If you ever see this, do not worry. Just slowly replace the hand with a snack to minimize damage."

A mockingly indignant Ron yelled out, "Shut up!"

Later on, the rumor mill at Hogwarts churned out a story about Harry locking Regulus and Ron in a closet with a troll to save someone until they reconciled by bonding over fighting a troll. The someone sometimes changed between Harry himself, Hermione, or their magical third twin. Regulus found it hilariously ridiculous but was glad that at least he and Ron were talking again. And because that issue was fixed, Regulus could finally focus what to do about being in Slytherin instead of just reacting.

A/N: I updated because I got an email about this story from a guest reviewer over the weekend and it's been niggling at my brain in guilt for not coming back to this. Sorry Bobby, Dobby's evil twin. I feel bad but at the same time, I don't want to story to be bad.

I really love Neville's toad btw. I want incorporate them in the story more.

I think giving this story more structure will help me complete this. This would be the first chapter of year one. I guess if I really don't like the way it turns out at the end of the story I can always write a second fanfiction that fixes my mistakes. I think the worst is when I reread it and find a spelling issue and then despair because I've failed the poor people reading this story.