"Or he still didn't want anything to do with 'slimy snakes'," Regulus says bitterly, thinking of how the Marauders would torment Slytherin students... "We hadn't really been that close since my first year of school. The first day, really. He'd been sorted into Gryffindor, and most in that house hate anyone who's been sorted into Slytherin... And it's usually mutual. I'd like to set that old hat on fire... House rivalries did almost as much damage to my family as the Dark Lord did."

"He'll find out how wrong he was when he inherits, if he lives long enough. My parents publicly disowned him, but not legally... they just named me the heir instead. Even my mother couldn't go that far. She was angry, yelled a lot... even blasted him off the family tapestry. But not that. The last time I was home, his room was still just as he'd left it."

"I hope he survives what's left of the war. He has to. There isn't anyone else left to carry on the name. It's not like I'd count, now, since I'll never be able to return."