#the black brothers
“i fucking hate you.”
“you don’t mean that.” regulus said quietly, desperately clinging to the hope that he was right, and that sirius really, truly, didn’t.
“i mean every. fucking. word.”
“sirius, i-” the younger brother’s voice only cracked slightly.
there is a bittersweet pain in a brother’s betrayal, that sirius had seen coming all along. in a family of madness and secrets kept in the light of the stars, they were very few, the ones that came in the light of the sun.
and regulus had stayed in the shadows, where, seemingly, he belonged.
a single tear rolled down sirius’ cheek, that washed away the war’s pain, the traitorous act that regulus had done, the pain that had toughened them up, built them up, but at the same time, that broke them down.
family.
“mon petit frère est un traître.” sirius whispered, their voice shaking ever so slightly.
“non…” regulus trailed off. “sirius, s'il te plaît…”
and with the betrayal, the skull-headed snake marked in regulus’ skin forever,
the blood’s bond had been broken.
they could see london’s dim lights from the lampposts, giving grimmauld place an old, almost haunted look.
in the cold air of december nights, nobody dared to go outside. it was terribly cold, freezing even, and still, neither regulus nor sirius was dressed well as their feet dangled from the edge of the windowsill of the older brother’s room.
a cigarette dangled from their fingers, and they threw its butt down, sending it down slowly, blown away by the wind.
he looked at them with big, doe eyes, and they looked away quickly, a single tear slipping quietly from mercury grey eyes.
“you’re leaving.”
it wasn’t even a question anymore. it was a statement. regulus knew sirius was going to leave someday. he knew they wantedto.
they weren’t to blame, really. their parents had never been the best, his heart broke while admitting it, while it sunk in slowly, a truth regulus didn’t want to admit, and his older brother had always been the one to take the blame.
sirius invited him to come with them. he said no, bitterly. they needed an heir.
and sirius couldn’t be the heir they wanted,
so naturally, it was regulus who had to be the son they wanted.
“yeah.” sirius’ voice was hoarse with emotion. he avoided regulus’ eyes with determination, their eyes fixing on the void under their feet. “yeah. i’m sorry, but you heard them, you know what will happen if i don’t, i-”
“yeah. you don’t have to say anything.”
they sat in silence for a while, and when they looked at each other again, they looked not in each other’s eyes, but through the other.
they realized that they had slipped further than they had ever been before.
Walburga: I raised perfectly functional children.
Regulus: Do you have other children we don’t know about?
Sirius: Maybe some that you actuallyraised.
After the Black family portrait and the three Black sisters, I realized I only missed to draw the Black brothers, so here we go! Regulus and Sirius in a private moment of peace at Hogwarts, being their usual selves: one all smug and bold, the other full of anxiety and insomnia, probably (that’s how I see them at least).
I felt inspired by this concept and wrote a microfic about it! Let me know what do you think about it ♥♥♥
Under the cut for the microfic!
Sirius drew a breath from his cigarette and looked right in front of him. The low rustle of the leaves filled the air, giving the impression all was calm and serene. But he knew it was not.
<< We shouldn’t be here, Sirius >> said the young boy biting his lower lips, already scattered with small cuts, making obvious this was a habit of his.
<< Why not? >> he chuckled in response, << It’s such a lovely day, Reg, take a sit, relax! >>
Regulus shuffled on his spot for bit, visibly uneasy, his arms crossed so tight as if that was the only thing keeping him together.
<< It’s the middle of the day! We have classes right now! >>
<< That’s exactly why it’s all so calm and nice! There’s no one around! >> Sirius open his arms to show the empty hallways behind the arch of the courtyard. << No one in sight >> repeated again, going back to his position, sitting on the edge of the arched window, his back against the wall.
Regulus sighed deeply, knowing too well his brother to protest any further, but wondering to himself ‘why on earth does he had to drag me along?!’.
<< We should leave >> Sirius said all of the sudden, bringing Regulus back to reality.
<< Yes, we should >> he agreed with a sense of relief in his chest, taking a couple of steps toward the hallway.
<< No >> Sirius stopped him without looking at him. << We should leave that house, Regulus. >>
It took a few moments for Regulus to register what his brother was actually saying, what he really meant. When he did, he simply shifted in places once again, his head suddenly feeling too heavy to lift, and murmured: << We can’t. >>
<< Yes. Yes, we can. We must >> Sirius looked at him with steel eyes, his featured now hardened by his determination. << We will die if we don’t, Reg. You know it. >>
Regulus indeed knew. He knew what they had to call ‘family’ wasn’t in fact a loving safe haven to return to, and he dreaded and feared the moment they’d had to go back to them again. But he also knew they didn’t really have a choice. They never did in the first place. They belong to the most ancient and noble house of Black, and nothing would have change that, no matter how hard they’d wanted it to.
<< No >> he simply whispered again, his eyes now distant, << We can’t. >>
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ms black and ms lestrange, before she became mrs lestrange (seeing as walburga was always ms black…)
(WALBURGA STANS/APOLOGISTS DNI !!)
