A/N: Dumbledore delivers the news of Regulus' death to Sirius. RxR. FxF.
Submission for:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): Care of Magical Creatures Assignment #5 - Write about a character who's lost a loved one, specifically either a child of someone or a sibling.
Greek Mythology Mega Prompt Challenge: Demeter – Write about loss.
The "As Many As You Want" Competition: 'All is not lost'
Open Category Competition: Angst
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
"Sirius, please sit down for me," Dumbledore said calmly as he gestured to the chair across from him.
He had woken up late this morning, not even putting on a shirt before walking into his kitchen to find the old headmaster sitting at his dining table. Sirius was a bit shocked to see the white-haired wizard there, much less ordering him around in his own flat. He wasn't sure how the man let himself in - Sirius' flat never had a fireplace, but he chose not to think about it. The rules never really applied to Albus Dumbledore and he respected the wizard too much to question him.
Sirius took the seat across the small table, running his hand through his messy hair to at least look a bit presentable before the man. "Good morning, Professor. What seems to be the problem?"
Dumbledore chuckled but then his expression grew grim as he said, "I haven't been your professor in more than a year, so you can call me Albus. But I come here not for idle chit chat. Something has happened."
Sirius leaned across the table desperately. Had something happened to James, Remus, Peter, Lily?! "What?"
Dumbledore steepled his fingers and said, "My sources have told me about a loss within Voldemort's circle of Death Eaters."
Sirius flinched a bit at the name, almost ashamedly. He wanted to be braver than that but he still hadn't gotten used to saying or hearing it. But they had lost a man. "Isn't that a good thing?" Sirius asked in confusion.
"Under normal circumstances, yes. It's another person that won't be fighting against us, but this loss was never truly a threat to us. It feels almost like it is a loss for our side as well. I always believed that he could be redeemed, that he wasn't as bad as he seemed," Dumbledore said sadly.
Now Sirius was looking down at the table. He had a feeling he knew who it was now. He too thought he could be redeemed at one point.
"It's him, isn't it?" Sirius said quietly, looking away from the headmaster. Dumbledore said nothing, confirming Sirius' suspicions.
Regulus was gone. His brother who he had grown up trying to protect from the evils of the world and the tyranny of his parents was gone. Some had said that he was already gone when he joined that sadistic cult, but Sirius liked to believe that the same Regulus from his childhood, the same one who needed him to scare away the monsters of the dark, was still inside somewhere. But he was gone now and all hope of redemption had been dashed.
"How did he die?" Sirius asked. He wasn't sure he wanted know if his brother died in an explosion while killing thousands of muggles, was hit by a wayward spell intended for another, or even killed by the madman himself in an irrational fit of rage, but he had to.
"That, my source is not sure of. Voldemort just informed them all that the dead weight had been removed," Dumbledore said.
Sirius' hands clenched into fists at that. Even the man he had put his faith in, given his life and family up for, didn't care if he lived or died. He and all the other Death Eaters were simply pawns. "My brother was more than dead weight!" he shouted, knocking his fist on the table.
If Dumbledore was surprised at his outburst, he didn't show it. He simply said, "I'm sorry, Sirius, but all is not lost. Even with this news, we cannot lose sight of the end goal. We need to look at the big picture and know that death, on both sides, will not stop until that man is defeated." Dumbledore rose from his chair and said, "I'll see you at the next Order meeting," before he walked out of the kitchen and disappeared from the flat with a soft pop.
Sirius sat there for awhile, stuck in his own mind and ignoring the world around him. He was stuck in the memories of his brother, wishing they had repaired the bond between them years ago. Maybe he could have been Regulus' redemption. Without Regulus, Sirius felt a hole in his heart widen, one he never even knew existed. Dumbledore may have said all was not lost, but it certainly felt that way to Sirius.