The Story of Regulus Black - Years 5-7

X. The Same Page

Chapter Notes: all italicized dialogue is being spoken in french (aside from at the end when regulus is speaking)
CW: self-harm & emetophobia

Things at the Potter household - since Sirius had settled in and told the story of what had happened - were quite tense. They were not tense in the way that the Potters did not wish Sirius to be there, but they were tense in the way that they were wishing Sirius had been joined by another.

Of course, Euphemia and Fleamont Potter did not let this tenseness show. They had met Regulus Black at the New Year's Eve party, and they had seen how much he seemed to dislike them, likely due to the conditioning of his parents more than anything. They did not want to push Regulus, and they did not want to push Sirius, so they left it alone. They didn't mention Sirius's brother to him and instead focused on how grateful they were that Sirius was with them at all.

James Potter was less subtle.

He would often look at Sirius over dinner with a look on his face that suggested that he didn't exactly agree with the fact that there was not a second Black sibling beside him. It wasn't that James Potter thought that Regulus Black was the most amazing person in the world - he certainly had his flaws. However, James still did not think that he deserved to be abandoned in the home that Sirius had escaped from.

He had odd feelings about the whole situation, really. James was happy that Sirius was out of the house - thrilled, even. He was over the moon about the fact that his best mate was living with him now and out of the clutches of his awful family. The fact that he didn't exactly agree with Sirius's abandonment of his younger brother did not change that fact in the slightest.

Though, sometimes he would be overcome with the all-consuming question of why? Why had Sirius simply left his brother with the very people who he had had to run away from in the first place? Why had he not tried a bit harder to get Regulus to come with him? Why?

Sirius could see the question on James's face, and he never knew the answer. A few times, he had thought about answering - just blurting it out and hoping that what came out of his mouth was accurate. However, he just... never could. Perhaps it was just the desperate need to get out of Number 12 or the knowledge that Regulus might already be too far gone. But, whatever the answer was, it did not change the way that Sirius felt to be out of that god-awful family; relieved.

It was a night only a few weeks into July that James finally asked the question.

Sirius had snuck into James's room as he often did. Sirius had his own room down the hall, of course, but he always preferred to talk with his best mate late into the night just to have that comfort of knowing that he was, indeed, finally out of the harmful grasp of the people who he used to call his parents.

Somehow, the topic had moved to Regulus.

"Who d'you think the Prefects'll be?" Sirius asked, hands laying on his stomach and eyes trained on the dark ceiling above.

James shrugged. "I don't know much about the fifth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but I would guess probably Stone and Burton for Gryffindor. Scott has to be the girl Prefect for Slytherin since she's the only one after... you know..." What had happened to Constance Selwyn was rarely talked about around the school. In fact, most people had probably forgotten that she had existed at all. But, when she was brought up, it was uncomfortable and everyone longed to change the topic just as soon as it had been brought up. "Regulus could be the other one."

Sirius scoffed. "You think Regulus is going to get Prefect? I mean, don't get me wrong, I hate that little Crouch kid. But if anyone's going to get Prefect, it'd probably be him and not my ickle baby brother."