Disclaimer: This characters and this universe belong to J.K. Rowling a.k.a Our beloved Queen. If they were mine, Sirius would still be alive, laughing and being the smart-ass he is. Also, my bank account after publishing this story remains the same as it was before, ergo, non-existent. Enjoy!

Blood and Candles

He looked out of the window. The big full moon could be seen peeking through the clouds and diluted fog on the beautiful night sky. He sighed. Full moon. Werewolves. Lupin. He wondered what that crazy boy and the so-called "Marauders" would be doing that night together. Yes, he knew their secret. And frankly, he couldn't care less. One day, Snape approached him very abruptly and infuriated and told him. Perhaps he believed that such disclosure would cause him feelings of anger or disappointment. Actually, he did not care.

What surprised him the most, though, was his brother. Animagus. A massive black dog, as Snape had said. Black. Sirius Black. How ironic, he thought. Although he was aware that his brother was a good magician, he would have never imagined, not in a million years, that he could reach the point of becoming an Animagus. Never, ever. Another thing to add to the "things I do not know of Sirius Black" list. Because, despite the fact that he completely ignored him and had a really cold attitude towards him, he cared. They were brothers, after all. Same blood. And he did worry about him. So, when he thought about what had happened today, he could not believe it. But it did. It happened...

He woke up at eight o'clock. It was Saturday, but he could not sleep anymore, so he got up. He was turning 16. Frankly, the age itself was not important to him, but now, he was only a year away from being adulthood; from being 17. He craved that. When he became a legal adult, he would finally be able to join the forces of the man he admired the most: the Dark Lord. He desperately wanted that. He wanted to feel like he belonged somewhere, that he wasn't completely alone.

He showered like every other day, got dressed and went to the Great Hall. "There will be absolutely no one yet", he thought. And that's what he took for granted. For that reason, he was surprised to see someone sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table. He did not approach them. He had no clue about who could that be, so he ignored their presence. He sat at the Slytherin table and began to have breakfast, as usual. While tasting some delicious toasts, he wondered if anyone would remember his birthday. He supposed that Snape would, and maybe even Avery and Mulciber. Although the latter would definitely not dare to congratulate him Cowards. He was not expecting many gifts, at much his parent ones, but he would appreciate if someone remembered his special day, even if it wasn't very exciting for him.

He was lost in his thoughts when an owl arrived. It brought a letter and a package for him. It was from his mother, of course. He opened it and started reading:

Dear Regulus,

Happy birthday, my son. Your father and I are very proud of you. We hope you have a great time on this special day. We have some news. Your cousin Bella told us that the Dark Lord is interested in you. You should feel very flattered by this. Therefore, tomorrow you will attend, along with Mr. Snape, your first meeting. Be there. With this letter, I attached a present. It is a locket. This object has passed thorough many generations in our honourable family, so I hope you carry it with immense pride. We have engraved your initials on it and from now on you will refer with them in all your following letters for us and for any of your friends.

R.A.B

Once again, Congratulations. Your father and I love you very much, son. Do not forget that.

Lots of love,

W. B

Those words were stuck on him for a few minutes. The Dark Lord demanded him. In his world, that was the biggest honour. He thought that when the time arrived, he would be jumping in excitement, ready to serve him. However, that could not be further away from the truth. He was not excited at all. Not even content. Now, he had to abandon everything he loved and cared about. And, though the list of things that meted said requirements wasn't long, he wanted to enjoy them for a while.

All of a sudden, he felt a hand behind him touching his shoulder. He turned around, hiding the letter, to see who it was. No way. No way. He could not believe his eyes. In the Great Hall there were only two people. The mysterious boy who sat alone at the Gryffindor table and him. And the first happened to be his brother, who was standing in front of him.

- Bloody hell. What do you want? – He asked in disgust.

- I think, if I remember rightly, that today is your birthday, Reggie. You should be very cheerful.

- I'm not in the mood for your nonsense, Sirius. Tell me what you want and get out.

- Looks like you woke up on the wrong foot, right Reggie? Just came to give you this-. He gave him a package- Hope you like it. Happy Birthday, brother-.

He then left. Regulus was speechless. Sirius remembered. His older brother. The one who had left home, the black sheep of the Black family. A blood traitor who had turned his back to his world. He remembered.

He took the package and put it away. He was not willing to give Sirius the satisfaction of opening it quickly. He finished his food and headed back to his room. He locked himself in there and opened the gift. He was expecting anything; from a bad joke to a simple note. Anything but that.

It was an album. A photo album, to be precise. Their photos. Together. Sirius and Regulus. No labels, no hard feelings. Only the two of them. Happy. Playing together. In his first birthday. On his first trip to London. Unintentionally, Regulus shed a few tears, which he rapidly wiped away. For the first time in his teenage years, Regulus felt that he loved his brother. Because despite everything, they shared blood. -

It was midnight. Time had flown. Some people had congratulated him and, against all the odds, Snape was one of them. He guessed the reason behind him doing that was that now the two of them were soon-to-be Death Eaters. Death Eaters. 24 hours ago it, those words would have meant the world to him. But not now. He loved his brother. He loved him, and that realization couldn't have been more off time. Despite his denial, all of their fights, all the bad words and curses. He cared for him. And now that he had discovered that, he did not want to let him go.

He gave a second look to the album. On the hard cover, some initials engraved on the back could be seen:

S.O.B. & R.A.B

Instinctively, he touched the locket hanging from his neck. Those two gifts symbolized his family. The family he daydreamed about. And now that he had it, he had to let it go.

He lay on the bed and sighed. Tomorrow, everything would change. EVERYTHING. But, at least, that day had been the best birthday of his life. Because, despite all the hate, resentment and curses, they loved each other. As two brothers. Like the two birthday candles slowly melting slowly on his desk. Like two drops of blood.

And voilà! Hope you liked it. I wrote this oneshot nearly 2 years ago so, yeah... Also, there's the Spanish version of this little story on my profile, just putting that out there. Reviews, criticism, insults and so moree on the comments section. Please. A little comment saying you loved it or hated it would make my day :)

All the love.

Irma Potter Black. (I have to change my name, too childish don't ya think?)