Regulus had a lot on his mind. He always hated the awkward good-byes when he left for Hogwarts. His mother and father showered him with hugs and kisses but Regulus couldn't remember the last time his parents said "I love you" or "Good-bye" to Sirius. He felt bad for his brother, even though he never would think of showing it. His relationship with his brother was never great, Regulus was always the "favorite" and Sirius was just a let down according to his parents. Regulus hoped that someday he and his brother could be closer but he didn't see it happening in the near future.

He entered the train and walked down the hallway. He slid open the door to an empty compartment. He wasn't in the mood to talk to his friends at the moment but he knew that sooner or later his best friend Aleron Radu, a fellow fifth year Slytherin, would find him and he hoped he would be in a better mood then. He put his trunk away on the overhead luggage rack and sat down on the red leather seats. He really loved going to Hogwarts, it was a nice break away from his family. His only problem was that he still had to follow his family's narrow-minded rules. He didn't really care about who was a Pureblood, Half-Blood, or Muggleborn, but his family sure did. His parents set him strict rules before he left for Hogwarts in his first year, including that he was not allowed to be friends with Muggleborns, or as his parents would say, Mudbloods.

He was so lost in these thoughts that he didn't hear the compartment door slide open.

"Ummm... Do you mind if I, uh, sit here?" said a small looked up.

He had never seen this girl before. She looked about his age with long black hair, sky blue eyes, and a small fragile frame. "Uhh...Sure!"

"Wow," Regulus thought, "She is pretty cute."

Not wanting to be rude, Regulus stood up and took her luggage. He put it on the rack beside his.

"Chivalry isn't dead yet," said the girl with a laughed.

Regulus laughed, his laugh was identical to his brother's bark-like one. He held out his hand and said, "Regulus Black. Why haven't we met before?"

"The girl shook his hand. " I'm Aaralyn Doves. I think I've seen you around, you're in Slytherin, right?"

Regulus sat back down and ran his hand through his messy black hair. "Yeah," he said with a grin, "I'm in Slytherin. What house are you in?"

Aaralyn took a seat opposite to Regulus. She was a little nervous about talking to him because of all of the things she'd heard about him, she thought he seemed nice enough though. "I'm in Ravenclaw," she replied.

"Oh," said Regulus. He never really talked to people outside of his house. He usually would not have given a Ravenclaw the time of day but he found Aaralyn intriguing. "What year are you in?"

"I'm in my fifth year. You?"

"Same here."

They sat silent for a little while. Regulus couldn't help but look at her. She had a heart-shaped face that was framed by her long, straight, dark hair. The contrast of her hair and light blue eyes was striking. There was something about her that made him nervous. It wasn't arrogance though, it was more like knowledge. It wasn't like he was shy around good-looking girls, Xyris Avalon had been pursuing him for quite some time. She was really popular and pretty but for some reason Regulus wasn't interested.

"So, do you like Quidditch?" Regulus asked. He always talked about Quidditch when he couldn't think of something else to say.

"Yes," replied Aaralyn, "I go to all of the matches." She blushed, then said, "You're a really good flier."

Regulus looked up at her and smiled. He thought she was quite cute when she blushed. "Ahh, thanks," he said. "It is one of the few things I am good at."

At that moment the trolley rolled to a stop outside their door. An old witch leaned in and asked, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Regulus looked at Aaralyn and then at the old witch and said, "Anything that she wants is on me. I'll have a Chocolate Frog, please."

Aaralyn blushed and said "No, no, I'll pay for mine." She reached into her small blue handbag for her money.

"No, Aaralyn, I insist," Regulus said with a blushed again when he said her name. She didn't usually care for her name but it sounded so nice on his smooth, confident voice.

"Well, if you're sure. I'll have a Chocolate Frog, too, please."

"Here you go, dears," said the witch with a smile, "Have a good day."

Regulus handed the witch the money and passed one of the chocolates to Aaralyn.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that, though," she said shyly.

"It's fine, I don't mind buying a pretty girl something," he said with a grin.

She blushed once again. Regulus was thinking how cute she looked when she blushed as the compartment door slid open.

It was Aleron Radu. He was tall with perfect messy golden hair and forest green eyes. He, like Regulus, was a Pureblood. Unlike Regulus' parents though, his parents didn't overly flaunt their blood status.

He walked in and sat down beside Regulus. He turned to face Aaralyn and his face broke into a grin. He leaned forward to introduce himself, "Hello, there, I'm Aleron Radu."

Aaralyn smiled and took his hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Aaralyn Doves."

Aleron winked at her and said "Doves...Doves, you must be related to the Lestranges!"

Aaralyn's face dropped, she knew that this would come up sooner or later but she was hoping that she could of got to know Regulus better before it did."No," she said slowly, "I'm Muggleborn."