Sirius smiled as he listened to Tonks tell him all about her day. He had spent weeks dealing with the aftermath that was the horror of the World Cup. All those deaths, and all of the fear that they caused — sometimes he didn't know which was worse. The only good thing, and he felt horrible for thinking that something good came out of that night of hell, was that Tonks was doing better. Having to push her pain aside to help people had actually made her feel like her old self. The World Cup, and then going back to her job as an auror, had truly helped her.
"—needless to say, we had him in a holding cell by day's end," Tonks finished her story with a grin.
"That sounds like some day," Sirius said, sounding like a proud father or uncle.
"It was," Tonks agreed. She dug a spoon full of purple ice cream out of her cup and took it all in one bite.
"Sometimes I wonder if I should go back to being an auror," Sirius said offhandedly.
"That would be awesome!" Tonks grinned. "Although, it's still hard for me to believe that you were ever an auror."
Sirius puffed out his chest. "I was an excellent auror."
"I dare say, excellent is much too strong a word," a cold voice said.
Sirius' body went rigid. He watched as Tonks' entire demeanor changed, her shoulders hunched in defensively and her eyes narrowed into slits. Sirius hadn't heard that voice in more than thirteen years. He had known the day would come when he'd hear it again, he just hadn't planned on it being so soon. Sirius looked to the right and he had to force down a growl.
"Hello, Sirius," Regulus Black said coolly.
"Regulus," Sirius glared at his brother.
"Is this what you've been doing since you're…release?" Regulus asked mockingly, and Sirius' eye twitched at the word "released." They both knew he'd still be in Azkaban had he not escaped. "Eating ice cream and living in the past?"
"What I do with my time is none of your concern," Sirius snapped.
"Concern? Oh, no, you misunderstand me," Regulus said smoothly, a condescending smile on his face, "as concern implies I'm worried or anxious, you could not be farther from my truth. I'm merely surprised that given the current state of things in Britain you're spending your time relaxing. Shouldn't you be preparing yourself for what's to come?"
Sirius felt a surge of hatred so strong that it threatened to obliterate all thought.
"Are you threatening me?" Sirius asked, his voice deceptively calm.
"Have you ever known me to make threats?" Regulus asked. "No. I'm merely attempting to engage in friendly conversation."
"Nothing about you is ever friendly," Sirius said. "So why don't you go to hell, and take the rest of our," he spit the word out, "supposed family with you, starting with Bellatrix."
Regulus smile vanished and his face contorted into something inhuman. A spark of something feral appeared in his eyes, and a chill ran down Sirius' spine. For a moment, Sirius thought he was looking at a demon from another world.
"I'm sure that one day I'll find myself in hell, but not anytime soon," Regulus said coolly. He glanced at Tonks and his smile reappeared. "Hello, Nymphadora." Tonks scowled. "Rabastan says hello."
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.