Y'all Know I Like Regulus Morally Gray, Prejudiced, Etc. If You Didn't Know That (hi, New Followers!),

y'all know I like Regulus morally gray, prejudiced, etc. If you didn't know that (hi, new followers!), now you do. But I also like him redeemable. I'm all for dragging that boy out of the lake, forcing him to live, and making him deal with the fallout of realizing he was on the wrong side.

But... why Regulus?

By that I don't mean why Regulus and not [insert other morally gray character here], because I don't do the "only my problematic fave is valid" thing. More like why Regulus and not Random Death Eater #5? For a character with such a small role in canon, what makes Regulus specifically so appealing? Because I do think there are reasons he's gotten to be so popular.

First of all, he's not a complete unknown. He's Sirius's brother, and Sirius is a popular character. Also, because he's Sirius's brother, we know a whole lot about his childhood and family. Several chapters in books 5 and 7 are spent in the house where he grew up, and we even see inside his bedroom. There's nowhere near that amount of insight into the backstories of Mulciber, Avery, Rosier, etc.

Being raised by Orion and Walburga probably wins him some sympathy points, as well. While he was apparently the favorite son, it still can't have been pleasant to grow up around such unpleasant people.

When Sirius discusses his family, he is critical of Regulus, but he speaks about him in much softer terms than their parents or Bellatrix. He calls him an "idiot" for joining the Death Eaters and suggests that he was influenced by their parents' ideology. He notably doesn't call him cruel or evil, and given how blunt he is about the rest of the family's shortcomings, it wouldn't seem out-of-place if he did. I know I'm not the only one who interprets his description of Regulus as being just a little bit affectionate, in a begrudging sort of way.

By the way, what did Regulus actually do as a Death Eater? We don't really know. He definitely 1) joined, 2) expressed blood purist views, 3) loaned Kreacher to Voldemort, and 4) betrayed Voldemort. Other than that, anything goes. Which also means that he didn't necessarily kill anyone, use the Unforgivable Curses, etc. Each individual fic writer can pretty much pick and choose to what extent they want him to be guilty of typical Death Eater crimes. (My Regulus is pathetically bad at the Cruciatus Curse for exactly this reason.)

Also, he's not just a blood purist and a Death Eater; he's given positive qualities, too. He's courageous, clearly. He's willing to die rather than keep serving Voldemort after losing his faith in him. He's got a bit of hubris in thinking he could handle the Horcrux all on his own, but it's oddly mixed with humility, realizing that he won't be the one to kill Voldemort and being content to simply make it possible for someone else to do so.

And then there's Kreacher. No, I don't think Regulus was some sort of proto-SPEW activist campaigning for house-elf rights in between Death Eater meetings. But he did drink the potion himself rather than ordering Kreacher to do it. He brought Kreacher along to the cave because he couldn't do it alone, but he did the worst, most painful part himself and made sure Kreacher would survive. This is emphasized when the full story is revealed, with Harry initially assuming he did make Kreacher drink the potion, only to be corrected. There are very few characters who show any amount of decency toward house-elves, so it stands out.

There's another little moment from earlier in the same chapter that I think also does a lot to make Regulus seem more human. And that's the photo of the Quidditch team. It's such a small thing, but the kids in that photo are described as smiling and waving, which is very atypical for Slytherin students. Usually, they're shown scowling, sneering, glaring, and otherwise being unpleasant. A picture of Regulus smiling and waving with his teammates, especially just after they saw his Voldemort collage and the family crest painted on his wall, softens those details somewhat and shows a different side to him.

Oh, and speaking of Quidditch, let's talk about parallels to Harry. Because there are a lot. They both play Seeker, yes, but more importantly, they're both 17-18 year old boys who go to (what they believe will be) their death, hoping to destroy a Horcrux so that Voldemort will be made mortal. Neither of them expects to live, or to kill Voldemort themselves, just to make it possible for someone else to do so. I have criticisms of how Regulus's death is portrayed in the books (namely: redemption-by-heroic-sacrifice kind of falls flat when it doesn't accomplish anything), but his trip to the cave does parallel Harry's walk into the forest in a very poetic way.

And, of course, I think this goes without saying, but he does turn against Voldemort. Whether or not he fully abandons the ideology that led him to join the Death Eaters, it's not what he prioritizes in the end. He turns against Voldemort, presumably knowing that Voldemort's downfall would be a setback for the blood purist cause. Because Horcruxes are a step too far? Because Voldemort hurt his house-elf? Because being a Death Eater isn't all it's cracked up to be? Whatever the reason, there's something that matters to him more than his own life and more than his loyalty to the cause.

And if he survived, what then? How does he move forward? Does he somehow remain a Death Eater? Go into hiding? Join the Order? Does he cling to his prejudice or allow himself to be de-radicalized? Does he regret the things that he did? In a more peaceful world after Voldemort is gone, what sort of man might he grow up to be? How would the events of his youth shape him, for better or for worse?

There's so much to explore.

Again, I'm not saying he's better or worse than any other morally gray character. But he's not just some random first war Death Eater with an attractive fancast. Even with what little bit of characterization exists in canon, there's so much potential to craft an interesting character out of it. He has a backstory, he has hints of a personality, and he's portrayed with a degree of sympathy and nuance that the other background Death Eaters don't get. He's pretty much tailor-made for redemption arc potential, which makes sense, because the story of his death in canon is pretty much framed as a redemption arc. I'm not sure I agree - I think it's more like the beginning of one, cut short before it really gets going - but maybe the feeling that it's not quite all it should be is another thing that makes him so appealing as a fanfic character. After all, a lot of fic comes from a place of "no, canon didn't get it quite right - I'll do it myself."