𝗜𝗩𝗬

𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘚𝘖𝘙𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎

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I wonder..
When did all of this start?

Perhaps..
At the very beginning?

And if so..
Have we been cursed before we knew it?

The sound of children's laughter filled the Great Hall. On the sides, there were people dressed in black robes, with colorful ties and pins and everything, but in the middle, there were plenty of kids who came to Hogwarts for the first time in their lives. Today was going to change everything. In a few moments, they were going to be assigned to their Houses and start a new chapter in their lives.

Out of all these kids, one stood out from the crowd. With his back so very straight and his dignified attitude, the little boy surely didn't fit in this setting and judging by the distance he put between himself and everyone else, he didn't want to fit in to begin with.

He was a pretty boy, with his black curls carefully cut, high cheekbones and eyes that reminded of clear ice.

Royalty, his looks screamed.

Respect, his posture demanded, even at his young age.

But that only made him the perfect victim in the eyes of a young and restless witch. As they passed through the huge door and entered the Great Hall, the girl slowed her walking pace and waited until the peculiar looking boy walked past her.

With a devilish smile on her face, she quickly caught up to him and tripped him up from behind, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Who dares?!" he said right after his body collided to the ground.

He was a little too tall, too proud for her liking. He held his head a little too high, it reminded her of the proper etiquette her parents tried so hard to teach her. Somebody had to bring him back down to the ground. Literally.

"Mr. Black, are you alright?" Minerva McGonagall asked, watching the boy as he picked himself up from the floor and dusted off, his cheeks burning red and his eyes now stormy as a tumultuous sea.

"I'm alright," he spat out, his eyes searching for the miscreant.

Then, he heard her. A faint laugh caught his attention and he was quick to spot her.

It seemed like the devil incarnated into this little girl, whose brown curls fell down her shoulders like waves. She had a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. It was already clear to him; whoever she was, he was going to stay as far away from her as he could. He didn't like trouble one bit and she reeked of it.

"Instead of keeping your nose so high up in the air, maybe you better watch your step," the girl said, trying to bite back another laugh but failed to do so.

Usually, Regulus would pay no mind to people like her. He knew better than to play a game he might not win, but for some reason, he couldn't let this go.

"What's wrong with you? Didn't your parents teach you it's rude to trip other people up?" he asked, scoffing.

And when he thought the girl's grin couldn't grow wider, it did.

"Oh, they tried, but I guess it didn't work," she said, shrugging her shoulders before laughing again.

Trouble, his instincts screamed. Trouble, trouble, trouble.

But they couldn't stop bickering. They were bought so caught up in whispering snide remarks to each other that they didn't notice the children ahead of them have already been sorted and it was their turn until he heard his name being called.

"Regulus Arcturus Black!"

Upon hearing his name, Regulus straightened his back again. He was about to walk up to the Sorting Hat, but he heard the girl chuckling again.

"Arcturus, unbelievable," she said to herself, not even bothering to hide her amusement anymore.

This time, instead of snapping back at her, Regulus just sighed. This was a battle he couldn't win, but that didn't mean the war was already over. She could have this one.

He walked up to the stool and sat on it, waiting for the Sorting Hat to decide his future. He was a little nervous, there was only one House in which he belonged, but what if he ended up being sorted into another?

No, he had to make his parents proud. He was not his brother, he didn't stray away from family. It was his duty, he had to follow in his parents' steps.

"Slytherin!" the Hat yelled.

Regulus almost let out a relieved sigh, but he didn't want to show he had been nervous. No, he knew he'd be sent to Slytherin. It was his destiny, after all.

Right?

Right?

The Slytherin table started to clap and cheer for him and he nodded politely, then started to walk in their direction, but his steps came to a halt when he heard another name being called out.

"Winter Antoinette Swift!"

So that was her name. He'd better remember it and walk the other way from now on every time he heard it.

Antoinette, funny, he thought. And she dared laugh at mine.

"Just Winter," she corrected Professor McGonagall right before taking a seat.

"Oh, how interesting!" the Sorting Hat whispered to her. "You've got the Gryffindor bravery, but what is this..?"

"Please don't—" Winter whispered back.

"Oh?"

"Whatever you do, don't put me in Gryffindor."

"And why wouldn't I? You'd make a great addition to the house. Your talent—"

"I want to be in Slytherin," Winter said confidently to the Hat.

"Little Miss Swift, your future is unclear to me. There are two ways life can go for you in Slytherin," the Hat started, "but it's only up to you to choose your path. You have the ambition you need, but do you have the strength to not lose yourself on the way?"

Winter parted her lips, but no sound came out. Was she convinced this was the best decision for her?

"Hmm, I guess only time will tell. Until then, Ms. Swift.. Slytherin!"

Once again, the Slytherin table started applauding for their newest addition. There was only a boy who didn't cheer when he heard the Sorting Hat and it was the same boy that didn't even get to take a seat because he was too busy paying attention to the girl who tripped him up only moments ago.

And when their eyes met, any trace of uncertainty vanished from Winter's mind. She quickly caught up to him—not that he made it very far—and when she walked past him, she flashed him one of her best smiles.

"From now on, you better watch your step, Regulus."

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for visual purposes, kaia gerber & timothée chalamet will portray the young versions of winter swift & regulus black during their hogwarts years! not really fitting for year 1 but you get the picture 😭

edit: i know i said i might make a spin off later but i decided to edit this chapter and only give you a part of their hogwarts story from now. you'll learn more about their past as the story goes, there will be more chapters like this in the future!

i wanna thank all of you for all the reads, the votes and the comments. it means the world to me to see you guys sending so much love to this story 🥺 i'm eternally grateful