In a gloomy house with dark gray walls and black wood practically predominating throughout, a young boy was calmly having his breakfast at a black wooden table.
His small figure, seated at the end of the long table, seemed almost comical, if not lonely, in that silent house.
Rigel Cygnus Black.
That's the name he received in this new life.
Rigel was reborn into this world as a baby after dying due to a concrete roller falling on his head. He was working on a construction site, and someone hadn't secured the equipment properly, in the end, the roller fell on top of him. He didn't even have time to say anything when his eyes widened as the object approached his head.
When he woke up, he discovered that he had turned into a baby, although he had never seen his mother or father, he had been raised by Kreacher for as long as he could remember.
It was only later that he understood, he is the son of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, yes, Lestrange, not Black, but he would explain it later.
Bellatrix had asked her aunt, Walburga, mother of Sirius and Regulus Black, to take care of the child, that is, him.
His aunt agreed, so Rigel was sent to the Black household, ironically.
What followed was in accordance with the original story, his mother and father were arrested, and he ended up staying with Walburga permanently, but Sirius was also arrested, and Regulus disappeared, meaning there was no heir for the Blacks.
So Walburga went to Azkaban and made a deal with Bellatrix and Rodolphus, letting Rigel assume the Blacks' name. It wasn't difficult, perhaps Bellatrix or Rodolphus never took this child seriously. Even Rigel's name was given by Walburga.
Of course, the complications in Rigel's life had only just begun. At age 4, he found a small snake in his house and wanted to call Kreacher to get rid of it, but imagine his surprise when he heard the snake speak.
Thus, Rigel discovered that his father was never actually Rodolphus, but our beloved dark lord, Voldy.
Rigel wondered if his 'father' knew about his mother's extramarital affairs, but that really wasn't his problem, with both of them in prison and his real father half-dead, at least for now, Rigel was doing well.
At age 5, Walburga died of illness, leaving Rigel alone with Kreacher.
Lucius Malfoy tried to claim guardianship with his aunt Narcissa as a parental link, but Rigel refused, jokingly, he had endured years of Walburga's shouting about blood supremacy, he didn't want to continue with that.
The first thing he did when Walburga died was to order Kreacher to get rid of all the magical portraits, placing them as far away from him as possible.
Kreacher was not happy, of course, but he was already bound to Rigel, who is now the new lord of the House of Black, although his young age would not be enough to legally assume full control of his inheritance, but for Kreacher, he was the new master, so he had to obey.
The following years were the six best years of his new life, without Walburga, only Kreacher, who, although unhappy with him getting rid of Walburga's portrait, still respected him because of his heritage.
The Kreacher cleaned, cooked, and took care of everything for him, so he could concentrate on magic.
He learned what he could from the books in the house, although he avoided most of the books on black magic and always had Kreacher by his side when he practiced, after all he didn't want to accidentally set the house on fire.
He focused on Occlumency, which is obviously important in this world, and subjects that required less magic, such as history, potions, runes, astrology, herbology...
Not that he didn't want to do magic, there were many usable wands in the house, heirlooms from deceased Blacks, but he soon discovered that trying to use magic before the age of eleven is much more complicated than it seems.
Before the age of 11, all the magic inside his body felt like a skittish goat that would rebel at every touch, and could even hurt him if he weren't careful.
A spell of light made a hole in the wall like a focused beam of heat, a levitation spell pulled the poor Kreacher's clothes into the air, and Rigel almost wanted to wash his eyes with bleach.
In the end... he improved over time, but realized it was better to wait for his magic to stabilize, or it could cause unpredictable accidents.
He felt his magic calm down shortly after turning 11, in the last few months he had practiced diligently, happy to finally be able to use magic with ease.
But while he was eating, thinking about the day's tasks, a slight crackling sound was heard beside him, he didn't even blink, having long since become accustomed to it.
"Sir, your Hogwarts letter has arrived." Kreacher said softly, his voice hoarse and shrill, handing over the letter without looking up.
Rigel stopped moving his cutlery, looking at the letter Kreacher handed him, placing the cutlery on the table and taking a napkin to wipe his mouth. He finally took the letter from the house-elf's hands, but as soon as he touched it, his eyes widened.
A book, with a smooth black leather hardcover, appeared out of nowhere, floating in front of him.
Shocked, Rigel dropped the letter from his hand.