Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is property of JK Rowling.
Falling off the fence
It's not easy to stay sitting in the chair but somehow, he manages it. And when he looks up at the dark figure towering above them all, he begins to understand why he doesn't get up. She is majestic. Her eyes glitter in the strangeness of the room and her voice caresses them all like a lover. They will do anything for her. He understands this now.
'Reggie.' The mass on the floor is croaking. 'Reggie, my... my wand.'
A hand sneaks out from the blackness that slumps on the floor. It pats the cold stones gently, stretching. Until her foot crashes down on that one last hope that this could end differently. Five small cracks shatter through the mania. A rush of air forcing itself through clenched teeth darts through the jeers.
And still, he doesn't get up.
She kicks the shape towards him now, each brutal hit bringing a satisfied vindictiveness to her mouth. She savours each gasp. And then, quick as a dart, she crouches down and her hand forms a fist, grasping at the hood of the cloak on the floor.
Sirius' face comes into view, fearful and fearsome in all its bloody glory. Her claws scrape at his scalp and drags another wince from him. With an awesome strength, she pulls him closer to her lips.
'Sirius,' she croons.
Reggie watches as his brother closes his eyes. He watches as his cousin slaps the defiance off Sirius' face.
'Sirius.' The whisper punctuates the silence. The laughter begins again. And still, he doesn't get up.
Bella taps Sirius' cheek with the tip of her wand, lets it slide down to his neck and spark angry orange tongues at him. Another muffled grunt as the mark finds a home.
'What is it today, Bella?' Even cloaked in the civility that society demands of such a well-bred family, the disgust cannot quite hide. Sirius seems to know this. It being Sirius, he probably orchestrated this tone to enrage Bella.
She pushes him away from her with terrifying force. He lands nose first at the feet of Reggie.
'We thought that you'd like to bow at the feet of the family heir, Sirius,' Bella simpers. She bobs low in a curtsey in front of Reggie, hiding her eyes behind her dark lashes as though inferior.
Sirius moves. His hands find the stone and he pushes himself up. He barely has his weight before a foot shoves him back down to the ground.
Bella giggles behind him. 'Now, now, Sirius. Is that any way to show your respect?'
His head is bowed, his shoulders slumped. He seems defeated. Reggie's hands flutter, unaccustomed to seeing his brother like this. But still, he doesn't get up.
The head rises, the chin juts out and the eyes look confidently into the familiar face before him.
'Congratulations, Regulus,' Sirius says coldly. The change is disturbing. Why is he talking as though he is speaking to Mother and Father? Reggie blinks, nods, unsure. Sirius snorts.
'Well, if that's all,' Sirius looks around him.
No-one moves. Bella stays in the background with that dangerous smile dancing across her face. Suddenly, Sirius is stood up.
'I'll leave you to your family meeting,' he nods deferentially in Reggie's direction but his eyes are mocking. As he turns to Bella, he bows, his hand waving through the air.
Narcissa cocks an eyebrow as Sirius reaches her. He brushes past her without seeming to notice. He doesn't seem to notice anything anymore. His feet are harsh as they pound the floor.
'Petrificus totalus!'
Bella's wand slashes the air and Sirius drops.
'You're not a Black anymore,' Bella reminds his prone form. 'You can't leave under your own steam, surely you realise that? Surely you see that your betters must leave the chamber first.' She circles him, her head leaning down to him, her spit falling onto him like rain.
'Regulus,' she sings now and she indicates that he get up. And now, he can. The others move out of his way, and he walks down an aisle of Blacks towards his brother. He is close enough now to see that Sirius is rolling his eyes.
'Release him,' Reggie says. His tone was supposed to be clear, assertive. It sounds more like pleading. It still works.
Bella shifts her wand and Sirius is stood again, rubbing the back of his head.
They look at each other for a moment. There is nothing as easy as black and white in this moment. There is only grey. Right and wrong are hard to fight for when your brother is walking away from you. It's even harder when you're not sure which brother is walking away.
The moment passes, the brothers walk away. Sirius, head high and back straight, breezes through the Slytherin corridors towards the main castle. Reggie heads into his common room, his fists clenched uselessly as he walks into a fight that began long before he became aware of it.
And Bella, the umpire, allows herself just one small smile that is laced with victory.