"Never too nice? My, Professor, it almost sounds like you don't agree with everything my brother does," he said. "It might just change my entire world view. But to answer you, he was cruel without a reason. We are better than most and that comes with responsibilities, including to our house elves. Something that he's never understood. Kreacher is more family than Sirius will ever be." He didn't care if people considered house elves as slaves. Kreacher had never been that.
Reaching over, he traced the shell of Remus' ear. "Hiding certain things. It makes me wonder if the flush goes much lower."
Regulus shrugged. "Whoever needed to know knew, but it wasn't something that could get out, not once my parents disinherited Sirius and I was the only Black son, and there weren't many, for that same reason."