~ This story was written for @PloppyB’s writing contest ~ Sirius stood in front of 12 Grimmauld Place, his old house. He had just graduated from Hogwarts, and had arranged a meeting with his parents to say goodbye. After this, he’d never see or hear from them again. Sirius was a bit nervous, but also very happy to be rid of them. In truth, neither him or his parents wanted to see each other, yet it just felt…right. It’s true that Sirius hadn’t seen them in a while, since he moved out to live with James, so he hadn’t seen his little brother, Regulus, outside of school. Regulus must have been sixteen now, since Sirius was two years older. Sirius wandered the many halls of his old house, running his fingers across the many picture frames on the wall. They were dusty, which is a bit unusual. Oh well, Kreacher will get punished for it anyway. Eventually Sirius saw his old room in which there was a shiny silver sign that wrote ‘Regulus’. He must’ve moved into Sirius’ room after he left. He hated to say it, but he was glad Regulus got something nice out of this mess of a family. Sirius pushed on the door slightly, noticing the hinges moved smoothly and must have been charmed for Regulus, or by him of course. Either way, he knocked on the door to alert his brother. With a flick of Regulus’ wand, the door swung open, careful not to slam into the wall. The moment Regulus saw Sirius, his eyes widened. Of course they saw each other at school, but if they’d ever talk, it’d just be insults and hexes. Regulus swiftly pulled down his sleeves, although it was thin fabric so he pulled on a black jumper. This obviously made Sirius suspicious, but he was also in a nostalgic playful mood, so he wore a grin on his face. Sirius walked in and slammed the door shut, causing Regulus to flinch slightly, then jumped on the bed where he was sitting. Regulus smirked, trying to grab at the other’s precious hair, so Sirius turned into his animagus form, a large dog. While Regulus was surprised, he sat still for a moment, giving Sirius the chance to bite his left sleeve and try ti pull it up. Regulus managed to grab his brother’s black fur, making Sirius drop the sleeve and realize the attempt was futile. Although…it had been rolled up just enough to see some sort of black marking on the inside of Regulus’ left forearm. Sirius recognized it immediately and turned back to a human a moment after he saw it, having a sort of disappointed and bewildered expression on his face. Regulus noticed this and looked away, shocked. “Are you serious..?” Sirius asked, his breathing slightly uneven, “I thought you were different!” Regulus snapped back, “I’m just trying to make them proud! It’s a high standard, Sirius, that you wouldn’t know…” “Of course I know, that’s why I left!” Sirius tried to calm down, “I left this horrid place…I left our horrid parents…I left-” Reglulus interrupted, his voice breaking, “You left me…behind…” At that, the two began tearing up. It’s always a sad sight to see two people who used to be close grow apart, but in this case, the brothers couldn’t be closer together than now. Sirius threw himself onto Regulus, wrapping him in a tight embrace, tears streaming down their faces. “I uhm…” Sirius started though a calm voice, “I wish you the best…” Sirius then disapparated, causing Regulus to fall onto the bed, now having nothing to put his weight into. Regulus sniffed for a moment while lying down, upset to be alone. ~~~~~ Thank you for reading, have a good day ~~~~~
