Upside Down Mirror: Granger Yet

Black Domain

"And what made you decide to make yourself at home on the couch rather than your own bed?" Walburga said.

"Not my own bed," Regulus muttered.

Sirius was louder. "To purposefully irritate me!"

"Sirius," Regulus said, wanting to say something about his head hurting. His mind—he couldn't erase the image of the infiri clawing their way out of the lake from his head.

"Fine!" Walburga said, which made Regulus grimace, thinking she now didn't care so long as what he did irritate Sirius. "I'm sure, though; you're not wearing Muggle clothing to irritate that filthy runaway?"

Regulus winced, realizing he 'd touched the back of his head with his hand. "Does it matter?"

"Of course, it matters! Start acting like a respectable Pureblood!"

His nostrils flared as he took in a deep breath. "What I do with my life is none of your bloody business."

Sirius ' response was to suck in his breath, but Walburga—his mother, let out a screech. "It's absolutely my business. It's absolutely my prerogative to know what Wizard my son's been staying with these last sixteen years!"

Regulus felt his left hand continue to tremble, though he chose to block it out with how his head hurt. "No. No Wizard."

Only she grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her while Sirius did nothing. Her eyes were dark, angry. "A Witch? Have you been staying with a witch? You filthy salope . "

He knew the word that particular French word, and his eyes widened as he stared at her, mouth agape. Sirius, on the other hand, actually responded. "Woah. Woah. And that didn't didn't pop into your head when you thought he was staying with a Wizard friend?"

"What?" Regulus stared, confused, as Walburga suddenly turned on Sirius.

"You!" She pointed her finger at Sirius, which Regulus saw because he turned his head too fast. "How dare you! How dare you suggest such a thing?"

"Not that you're any different," Sirius snorted. "Plus, there was that Ravenclaw back at school, although I don't remember..."

"Shut up!" Walburga snapped, looking at Regulus, who simply wanted the yelling to stop as it worsened his head. "And you! What were you thinking!"

"Not a Witch," Regulus said, leaning against the back of the couch while trying to cradle his head.

"A squib! How dare you sully yourself!"

"Says the woman who just called her son a slut," Regulus muttered. "And no, not a squib."

"If not a squib..." Walburga frowned; the confusion was too evident, which Regulus found irritating.

"Seriously. I thought you were smarter than that," Regulus muttered.

"Don't talk to your mother like that, boy!"

"Muggles," Regulus said. "Did you figure it out from the clothes?"

"Yeah, right," Sirius said.

"You, you!" Walburga pointed her finger. "You've been hiding among filth! Salope! Putain! Pute! You little..."

"And having lived among Muggles, I have to ask something," Regulus said despite knowing he was stepping on what the Muggles referred to as a land mine. "What exactly is your problem with them? Muggles."

He watched Sirius ' jaw drop, his arms crossed as if his older brother thought he'd gone mad, and perhaps he had. Walburga snapped. "You know full well what it is, you brat! You filthy brat! "

"No. I know what most Purebloods' problem with them happens to be, but you—it's different. Because of most Purebloods..." He didn't get the chance to point out that Purebloods were willing to take ideas from Muggles when convenient.

"You're not a parent, so you wouldn't understand," Walburga said, looking at him in disgust.

"Excuse me!" Regulus stood up quickly. "Excuse..."

At that moment, his headache got the better of him, and someone reached out to catch him. At first thought it was Sirius, but then his mother yelled out, "Let go of him, you filth!"

Lupin helped him to sit back down as his head spun. "He's a head injury, Mrs. Black. So, please. The yelling going on here can't be helping."

"And neither one of you've given him a potion for it?" Walburga snapped.

"What potion?" Sirius said, not at all phased by what she said.

"What potion? What bloody idiot doesn't know that there's a potion for head injuries! And let me guess, you're the one who destroyed him?"

"He sustained it from whatever bloody magic you used to keep him from leaving this place!" Sirius said.

"Really?" Walburga puffed her chest out. "He bloody deserves it, running away as he did." She let out a sniff. "And don't worry. I couldn't care what you do, as you've already considered of no consequence to this family or the rest of Pureblood society, shaming us the way you did."

"So you're sticking me with him?" Sirius snapped.

"You could always leave. Oh, wait. You have nowhere else to go, do you?"

"Please stop yelling," Regulus said.

"Ah. Yes," Walburga said, lowering her voice, acting as if she'd managed to win the exchange, which would make Sirius a pain to deal with. "I'll have the potion you two are incapable of making ready by this afternoon."

"Don't you dare step foot into my home, old hag!" Sirius snapped. "I've already told you not to!"

"I don't need to do anything so

menial as that when I can just send the potion here, but you 'd better give it to him, Sirius. It's the only thing you're good for."

And then she was gone, Apparating away, having taken away Regulus ' freedom to leave out of spite while—Regulus wasn't sure about Sirius.

"Bloody Merlin! I hate that woman!"

"Sirius," Regulus muttered, both hands in his lap.

"What!" Sirius snapped.

"Could you stop yelling?" Lupin said, handing Regulus the glass, making him wonder where Kreacher had gotten to. He almost couldn't swallow the water as Lupin steadied it. And when he was done, he helped him lie down.

"Still," Sirius murmured. There came a pause as if he were thinking about what to say, and then he said, "Do those Muggles you're hiding among know you're a murderer?"

Regulus flinched, sucking in his breath, not wanting to rise to Sirius bait, his entire body stiffening.

"Well?"

"Sirius, knock it off," Lupin sighed. "You've already been told Moody and Dumbledore will be handling that."

This meant that Sirius was still on the other side, the side Regulus could never be a part of, yet that made no sense given how Sirius was back in the house, let alone how Sirius came to own said house. Regulus closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he attempted to clear his thoughts.