Winter In The Shade | Sirius Black x Female Ravenclaw Reader

XXXI

James just watched him, "You make funny faces when you're annoyed." he commented, trying his best to put on a serious face and then his best impressions of Regulus.

"You've always had a talent for being annoying." Regulus murmured, crossing his arms over his chest.

The sound of his chuckle echoed in the room, eyes lowered "You think?" James asked, looking up at him, "I think of it as charming. No, wait, you're the charming one. I am adorable."

Regulus rolled his eyes, "You're the only one who's ever called me that." he said flatly, "The world seems to strongly disagree."

James nodded slowly, arms resting on the counter "One day they'll see."

"Like you did?" Regulus asked, lifting his chin up slightly. "Like Y/N did?"

James limited to shrug, "Maybe all it takes is trying to defeat one evil wizard." he offered, drumming his fingers against the cold counter. "Can I ask you something?"

Regulus thought about it, blinking slowly as he lowered his eyes "I'm the one sitting in your kitchen, I suppose you can."

Shifting his weight, James got more comfortable, pressing his lips together before he looked down "What were you apologising for? Yesterday when you came here."

A silence fell over both of them, Regulus biting the inside of his cheeks as he lifted his eyes, finding James already looking at him. "Isn't Lily waiting for you? She is lovely, by the way. Beyond kind and caring."

James sighed bitterly, face turned sideways as he turned his back on Regulus. "Not what I asked," he muttered.

"You don't need it." Regulus said calmly.

"But what if I do?" he asked harshly, turning on his spot to look at him.

With one look, Regulus considered him, words on the tip of his tongue. But then his ears perked up, glancing at the door as James too looked to the door with a groan. "Someone's coming."

"Yeah," James said, marching to the door as he barely avoided clashing his shoulder with Sirius.

Sirius turned with surprise, watching his best friend go to the backyard all alone. "What did you say to him?" Sirius asked, his eyes hardened as turned to Regulus.

"Believe it or not, I did nothing." he answered, "Where is Y/N?"

Sirius walked past the stools, jumping on the counter to sit there. "Getting last minute lessons from Moony."

Regulus watched him carefully, how he sat on top of surfaces, how he moved around the house, recalling how Euphemia Potter had referred to him as her son. Was this what Sirius had always been meant to be, what he could have looked like if their parents weren't their parents.

"So it's Moony." he commented triumphantly, suppressing the grin rising on his face at the sharp turn Sirius' head took, "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs."

"What did you say?" Sirius flared, turning his body to face his brother.

"You're nicknames." he said, tilting his head "I'm sure they have a meaning. They all have an animalistic sound to them, something along those lines?" he asked, a mischievous look on his eyes "Do you perhaps identify with some animal? Some kind of dog?"

Sirius was holding back all instinct to not attack Regulus in that same spot. A pan to his right looking too tentative as he saw a target form in the side of his brother's head. Instead playing it cool, narrowing his eyes "You've been watching me all this time. Creepy, but I'll let it slide. You've always been obsessed."