The Son of Lord Voldemort

Chapter 110

Tonks went rigid, and a faraway look entered her eyes. Sirius knew all about what Rabastan had done to his cousin, and the fact that his brother was so far gone that he would throw it in Tonks' face made bile rise in his throat.

"You bastard!" Sirius jumped up.

Sirius' hands clenched around Regulus' throat, but the younger Black didn't try to get away. Sirius could faintly hear screaming in the background, but a rushing in his ears was all he could focus on. His lips curled back, and a low growl escaped his throat. He wanted to watch the sadistic light in Regulus' eyes fade away, until his eyes were nothing more than two empty orbs.

Sirius felt intense pressure in his stomach a second before he flew backwards into a table, which toppled over, sending several glasses to the ground. The sound of glass shattering pulled him back into the moment, and a rush of noise assaulted him.

"He went mad," a woman muttered.

"Did you see that?" A loud voice asked. "Who does he think he is, a muggle?"

Sirius felt himself get pulled up, and he looked into the angry eyes of a man in red auror robes.

"You're coming with me," the auror said coldly. "Assaulting a Lord in public—"

Before Sirius could speak, Regulus cut the auror off.

"It is quite alright," Regulus said smoothly. The auror looked at him as though he sprouted a second head. "My brother hasn't been right in the head since his time in Azkaban."

"You're brother? Azkaban?" The auror sounded confused. The young man looked at Sirius and shock filled his face. "You're Sirius Black."

"Yes," Regulus said, "and as I said, he isn't right in the head. It was a momentary lapse in his judgment. I'm sure it won't happen again."

"I'm not the one who isn't right in the head," Sirius growled.

Regulus looked at Sirius as though he had merely said something in jest, and Sirius felt the urge to once more put his hands around his throat.

The auror looked between the brothers, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. He looked at Sirius as though he wanted to ask him a question, but he looked at Regulus and thought better of it.

"Of course, Lord Black," the auror said. He looked at Sirius. "This is the only warning you'll receive."

Sirius didn't spare the auror another glance, and instead glared at his brother. Slowly, the few people who had gathered to watch walked away. Sirius continued to glare at Regulus who looked perfectly poised, as if he hadn't been choked five minutes earlier.

"You'll pay for this," Sirius said. "You'll pay for everything you've ever done."

"What's that famous muggle saying?" Regulus asked. "You love the filthy creatures so much, you should know it. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Regulus' eyes darkened. "You too have much to answer for Sirius, and I hope to Merlin that I'm there to witness you pay for your sins."

Regulus turned on his heel and disapparated without a sound.

Bloody hell!" Sirius spluttered.

Sirius coughed as icy water continued to rain down around him. He wiped his eyes and looked into the furious eyes of Remus.

"What the hell, Remus?" Sirius yelled.

Remus flicked his wand, and the miniature cloud above Sirius' head vanished. Sirius shivered as his soaking wet bed sheet stuck to his body.

"Care to explain this?" Remus asked.

Remus held up a copy of that morning's Daily Prophet. On the front cover was a giant moving photo of Sirius wrapping his hands around Regulus' throat. The title of the article read, Did Azkaban Drive Sirius Black Mad? Sirius' stomach sank as he snatched the article from his best friends hand. He read the first few lines and couldn't stand to read anymore. He through the newspaper to the ground.

"Blood, Rita Skeeter," Sirius snarled. "I didn't see her anywhere yesterday. How did she get that picture let alone all of that information?"

Remus ignored him, and instead pointed him with a disappointed look.

"Imagine my surprise as I'm sitting at the Head Table and all of a sudden this gets dropped on my plate," Remus said, his voice deceptively calm. "You can imagine the reaction the students had, and don't even get me started on Severus."

Sirius' head snapped up. "What the hell does that slimy snake have to do with anything?"

"That isn't the point, Sirius," Remus said with a sigh. " The point is that everyone at Hogwarts is talking about this. You can only imagine that it's worse outside of those walls. You know that there are those who think you're crazy after all that time you spent in Azkaban, so what in Merlin's name possessed you to attempt to strangle your own brother?"

Sirius scowled. "Regulus is no brother of mine."

Remus ran a hand down his face. "Once again you miss the point, Sirius." Remus sat at the foot the bed. "That article makes you sound unhinged. That's not something you can afford right now. You know what Dumbledore said, you're supposed to be subtly trying to get old friends to join the cause. No one is going to take you seriously if they think you've gone mad."

"They won't—" Realization hit Sirius like a train. "That was the whole point." Sirius jumped out of bed and ran a hand through his hair. "Regulus baited me on purpose, well I knew he had, but it was bigger than I thought. He knew that by taunting Tonks I would snap, and he did it in public. He had to have known that Rita would be somewhere watching, hiding where I couldn't see her." He threw his hands up. "I'm an idiot."

"Yes, you are," Remus sighed. "You're going to have to do a lot to make up for this, because as much as I hate it, public perceptions matters. Now more than ever."

"I know," Sirius admitted grudgingly. He paced around his bed. "When I get my hands on him…"

"Sirius," Remus said warningly. "Now isn't the time for personal vendettas."

"It's more than a personal vendetta," Sirius said bitterly. "Regulus is a Death Eater. You know that as well as I do."

Sirius could still vividly remember the day his brother joined Voldemort. Sirius had begged his brother not to do it, he had told Regulus that he had options, but Regulus gladly took the dark mark. From that moment on, Sirius had felt angry and betrayed by his brother. He also felt disgusted and horrified, after all, he knew what it took to be able to take the dark mark.

"It doesn't matter, Sirius," Remus said calmly. "I understand why you hate your brother. I was there the night he ran off to join Voldemort, but you need to get used to seeing him. How you haven't run into him before now is shocking."

"I can't be in the same room as him, Remus," Sirius said. "I'll kill him."

"At least try to act normal in public," Remus said sympathetically. "You can't afford to look like an insane escaped convict."

Sirius barked out a laugh, half in amusement, and half because he felt that if he didn't laugh he would burst into tears. Tears for the anger he felt, and tears for the little boy Regulus used to be.