Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That honor goes to the delightful J.K. Rowling.

"What are you doing?"

Sirius Black looked up. His brother was there, leaning in the doorway. His arms were crossed and he had a rather sour expression on his face.

"What does it look like?" He was in no mood to deal with Regulus right now. He turned back to the open trunk on his bed.

"I heard what happened, you know," Regulus said. "The yelling."

Sirius snorted. "You would have had to be deaf to not hear it, Reg." he started searching the desk drawers for forgotten textbooks.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

"Yes." He'd had enough. This hadn't been the worst fight, but it had been bad. Sirius knew he couldn't spend another day here without killing someone.

"Why?"

The question startled Sirius. He turned to look at the fourteen year old boy in his doorway. He had always assumed Regulus knew everything. Didn't he?

"I can't take it anymore," Sirius said. Regulus bit his lip and nodded. He didn't ask anything more. The two brothers looked at each other in silence for a moment.

Sirius turned away first. He shut his desk drawer and walked back over to the bed. He closed the lid on the trunk and latched it. The sound of the latch clicking had a sort of finality to it. He wasn't sad to be going. No, he had looked forward to it for years. He couldn't wait to be out of it.

But at the same time, he had grown up here. He would be on his own. No home, no money, no family. No, he told himself sternly, you have a family. Moony and Prongs and Wormtail will always be there.

Sirius stowed his wand in the back pocket of his jeans and picked up the trunk. Regulus was still in his doorway, watching him.

"Where will you go?" His brother looked concerned. Sirius had never thought his brother actually cared about him. Maybe he did? No. He was his parents' son. He wouldn't really.

"I don't know. I'll find a place." He would see if James could let him stay first. Then he'd find a place to live on his own somewhere. "Will you move now so I can get through?"

Regulus stepped back into the hall without protest. Sirius maneuvered his trunk through the door and started down the stairs. He was almost free.

"Sirius?"

He turned back to his brother with an eye roll. Why did the boy have to choose right now to be a pest? "What now?" he said.

Regulus gave him a half-smile. "Good luck, brother."

Thanks for reading. Review please? ~esin