This Time, the Parents Are Playing

Regulus walked through the crowd on the platform with a relaxed gait, his shoulders slightly hunched back, and his hands in his robe pockets.

Younger students dragging suitcases, parents chasing after their children, a little witch carrying an owl cage—he walked through this chaos without bumping into anyone, nor letting anyone bump into him.

Baruk poked his head out of the inner bag, revealing only half of his spider head.

Sirius was grinning at James, the two of them with their arms around each other's shoulders, looking like conjoined twins from a distance. His gaze casually swept across the crowd, and he caught sight of a familiar figure, his smile freezing for a moment.

He quickly prepared himself mentally, adjusted his facial expression, grinned, and raised his hand at Regulus.

"Hey!"

The sound was loud and carried through the noise of the platform.

James looked in the direction Sirius had raised his hand and saw Regulus Black, the Slytherin's little viper, walking towards them.

His eyebrows furrowed sharply, and his eyes instantly became complicated, filled with disgust, resentment, and an unspeakable unwillingness, all of which were squeezed onto his face.

To be honest, he hadn't really suffered much setbacks in front of this guy, but it seemed like all the setbacks he had were because of him, or maybe not.

With his parents around, he felt much more confident and became even more arrogant, always ready to curse as soon as he opened his mouth.

Charlus Potter placed his hand on his shoulder.

James smacked his lips twice before finally closing them, but his eyes remained fixed on the direction Regulus had come from, his lips twisted downwards in a desperate grimace.

Charlus followed his son's gaze, his eyes behind his square-framed glasses fixed on the boy walking towards them.

He wore a Slytherin school uniform, had black hair, walked with a composed gait, maintained a proper posture, and showed no hostility in his eyes.

Regulus, Sirius brother.

Charlus immediately understood that this person wasn't there to cause trouble.

Euphemia Potter also saw it, her gaze lingering on Regulus's face for a moment before shifting to Sirius's.

Sirius's waving and smile at Regulus told her everything: the younger brother had come to visit his older brother.

Regulus walked up, his gaze skipping over James without even glancing at him, and landing directly on Charlus Potter.

He had gray hair, square-framed glasses, and deep wrinkles on his face, but he was very energetic.

The curve of his nose is exactly the same as James', but his eyes are completely different—gentle and calm. Apart from that nose, he doesn't resemble his son at all.

Regulus extended his hand. "Mr. Potter."

Charlus grasped his hand, his palm dry, his grip firm, his gaze gentle, without a trace of condescension. "Mr. Black."

Regulus nodded slightly, released his grip, and turned to Euphemia Potter: "Mrs. Potter— "

He had just reached out his hand and hadn't finished speaking when Euphemia took a step forward, opened her arms, and pulled him into her embrace.

Regulus's hand hovered in mid-air, and he froze for a moment.

Euphemia was a little shorter than him. She wrapped her arms around his back and patted him gently.

Regulus's hand hovered for a moment, then he lowered it. He neither responded nor pushed her away, but simply stood there, being embraced by a short, white-haired woman, his expression slightly uneasy.

This was completely unexpected.

Sirius, who was watching this scene, slowly opened his mouth wide, until it was as wide as it could go, and then he started to laugh silently.

Regulus, the guy who always maintained a composed demeanor in front of everyone, was completely flustered by Mrs. Potter's hug, unsure of what to do with his hands. Regulus was more than happy to see this.

James's expression grew even more indignant. Why? Why did this Slytherin's little viper get to be treated like this by his mother?

Lupin watched quietly from the side, a faint smile on his pale face.

Peter's small eyes darted between the group of people.

Euphemia released him, took a half step back, and still had her hands on his shoulders. Her round face had a warm smile, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were all squeezed together.

"Sirius is coming to stay with us," she said gently, her voice sincere without a trace of falsehood. "Don't worry, he'll be well taken care of here."

Regulus looked at her face.

The Mr. and Mrs. Potter were indeed good people; he always knew that.

That's how they raised Sirius as their own son, giving him sunshine, a yard, food, and everything a normal family should have.

Regulus's tone became sincere as he addressed the elderly woman. "Thank you, Mrs. Potter."

Then he gently swept his right hand to his side, and a silent Muffling Charm spread out, enveloping them all.

People outside can see them talking, but they can't hear anything.

Regulus shifted his gaze from the Mr. and Mrs. Potter to Sirius's face.

Even though there was no emotion in his eyes and no expression on his face, Sirius noticed something. His mouth opened and closed rapidly; he knew what this guy was up to.

Regulus looked at him, his eyes suddenly becoming kind, and his voice softened, carrying the gentle warmth of an old father.

Sirius felt a chill run down his spine at this sudden change, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Every time Regulus does something like this, what follows is a long string of explanations that he wants to refute but can't find a point to refute.

He instinctively took a step back, but it was no use; Regulus had already begun.

"Get plenty of sleep, go to bed on time every day, and don't stay up late. You're at the age where you're growing taller, and you won't grow taller if you don't get enough sleep."

Sirius's lips twitched.

"When you're at someone's home, don't be too noisy at night. Behave yourself. You don't have to act like a stranger, but you should still show proper etiquette."

Sirius bared his teeth and opened his mouth to retort, but Regulus didn't give him the chance.

"Eat slowly. Every time I see you stuffing food into your mouth in the Great Hall, the whole of Gryffindor is watching you. Nobody's going to take it from you. Chewing slowly is good for your stomach."

Sirius finally seized his chance, and his voice suddenly rose. "Nobody's looking at me!"

"How long has it been since you serviced your wand?" Regulus ignored him and continued, "The wand core can't get damp. The tip of your wand is dull, and the shaft is covered in scratches. It's obvious it hasn't been cleaned in months. Clean it every two weeks with special wand polish. Don't think it's too much trouble."

Sirius opened his mouth, then closed it again, wanting to refute, but his wand had indeed not been maintained for a long time, and he couldn't argue with that.

Regulus's voice came again. "Now that we're at someone's house, don't just leave after you've finished eating. Tidy up, do the dishes, don't expect them to wait on you."

Sirius's face began to undergo a series of complex changes, from a grin to a pout, from a pout to a bared smile, from a bared smile to rolling his eyes, and from rolling his eyes to wanting to refute but not knowing where to begin.

"When you and Potter were waiting for someone in the Corridor— "

Regulus glanced to the side, then his gaze fell on James's face, and he stopped talking.

James was watching with great interest.

Sirius was completely under his brother's thumb; this scene would keep him laughing all summer.

For once, I didn't find this Slytherin so annoying, and then that gaze turned towards me.

It came without warning, like a spell cast in the wrong direction, hitting him squarely in the face.

His smile froze, and his face began to flush red at a visible speed.

No, you can talk about him, why would you talk about me?

I didn't say a word! I didn't even open my mouth! I just stood there listening to you lecture him, and you're trying to pin this on me?!

Sirius almost burst out laughing, but quickly held it in.

Regulus looked away and continued speaking to Sirius, "Don't ride Broomstick in someone's garden until dark. If you get hurt, don't try to tough it out. Talk to them if you need to, so they don't have to worry about you."

"That's enough!" Sirius finally snapped, yelling at the top of his lungs, "I'm not House-elf!"

Regulus gave him a familiar look. "Do House-elf need to be taught by humans?"

Sirius choked, his mouth opening wide, then closing again, glaring angrily at Regulus.

He stared for a moment, then couldn't hold it in any longer. His lips started to curl upwards, and he tried hard to suppress it, his face turning red. In the end, he couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

Charlus's gaze softened considerably.

He watched as the thirteen-year-old Slytherin boy in front of him, speaking in a tone completely unlike that of a thirteen-year-old, meticulously instructed his older brother on what to do at the Potter family. He watched Sirius grinning, stomping his feet, and baring his teeth in front of his younger brother, and a slight smile curved his lips.

This child doesn't match the little Slytherin Little Viper his son described at all.

Euphemia laughed so hard her eyes almost disappeared, one hand on Charlus's arm, the other covering her mouth.

She looked at the two brothers, one rambling on about their daily life, the other grinning but not uttering a single word of argument, radiating warmth from head to toe.

The sight of two Black standing with the Potter family was quite striking on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Several adults from Pure-bloods families watched from afar, then moved closer, wanting to hear what they were saying.

They got closer, but couldn't hear anything. They took two more steps closer, but still couldn't hear anything. Unconsciously, the group moved closer and closer until they reached the edge of the Muffling Charm.

Regulus turned his head, glanced at them, his face expressionless, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

The group froze instantly. Someone quickly moved aside, turned around, and patted the shoulder of a complete stranger, pretending to be his son.

Some people took a couple of steps before realizing they were going the wrong way and turned back. Others stood there awkwardly for a moment, then pretended to be looking for their child, tilting their heads back and calling out a name into the crowd. When no one answered, they left.

Charlus and Euphemia witnessed this scene and exchanged a glance.

James's eyes flickered.

He had glared at Regulus earlier, and now seeing several adult Pure-bloods intimidated by a single look, he felt extremely conflicted.

Sirius grinned again, a smug smile spreading across his face.

That's about all I have to say. The people on the platform began to disperse, and the station became increasingly empty.

Regulus looked at Sirius, then raised his hand, patted him on the shoulder, and paused.

That's all the instructions I need to give; I've said everything that needed to be said.

He released his grip, nodded to Charlus and Euphemia, and said, "Thank you both for your help."

Charlus shook his head slightly. "No trouble at all."

Euphemia smiled. "You're welcome anytime."

Reples gave a slight bow, then turned and left.

Sirius stood there, watching his younger brother's retreating figure.

The black school uniform stood out in the crowd. A person walked towards the platform exit, surrounded by groups of families and students waving goodbye.

The light from the platform shone from the side; the June evening sunlight stretched long, casting his shadow across the platform's stone slabs as he walked further and further away.

Sirius looked on, his mouth still grinning, but his smile slowly faded a little.

Euphemia placed her hand on his shoulder, Charlus stood on the other side.

James was staring at him with an expression that said, "I'll eat your food for the rest of my life because of what happened today," his gaze full of malice.

Lupin and Peter were a little further away. Peter was gesturing to Lupin about something, probably talking about the Pure-bloods who had been scared away by Regulus's glance.

Sirius averted his gaze, glanced at James, and rolled his eyes.

"Walk?"

"Walk."