Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling is the wonderful creator of this world and it all belongs to her, not to me.
I love the Black brothers. They are just so overwhelming, in lack of a more appropriate word. And I loved that fact that it was Regulus who turned out to be our mysterious R. A. B. And it's so insane that Harry Potter is over with. Most of us have grown up with Harry Potter and I find it an odd feeling that it's over. Anyway – read on.
Watch out for some mild swearing, I suppose. And a Macbeth quote, so cred to dear William.
Blood That Burns
"Out, damned spot! out, I say!"
Staggering his way home in the darkness had never really been Regulus's strongest feature. Sneaking out of the house after everyone else had gone to bed was neither something he usually did, but when he heard of what was about to happen, merely streets away, he could not stop himself from going there to have a look.
Being only the mere age of fifteen, he was not yet able to Apparate and thus had to travel by foot (like some common Muggle, he thought to himself miserably) but luckily, it had not been a very long walk. He had considered taking his broom – his new broom which his father had given him on his birthday (the Nimbus Racing Broom Company had outdone themselves yet again) – but he did not want anyone stealing his new broom. He wouldn't be surprised if as soon as Avery, or perhaps even Rosier, caught eyes on his new broom; they would try to nick it.
He opened the front door slowly, quietly and glanced down at his watch briefly, as he pushed the door closed softly behind him and he heard it lock itself. It was only half past three and he was sure that everyone would still be asleep in their beds and that was why he nearly jumped out of his skin when Sirius spoke from his side.
"Where have you been?"
Regulus glared down at his brother's dark silhouette, which was sitting on the floor and sloped against the wall behind him.
"What are you doing up?" he hissed, sure to be quiet as he did not want their parents to wake up. "Why are you sitting on the bleeding floor in the middle of the night?"
Sirius grinned at him and pulled himself up from his sitting position. He was taller than Regulus, by a few inches. When he spoke again, he did not speak as softly as Regulus, although his voice was slightly more hushed than it usually was, "I asked you first."
Regulus glowered at Sirius again, before starting downwards towards the kitchen, with no reply. Sirius toddled after him, close behind.
The kitchen was dark, except for the soft glow of the fire which was slowly dying. Regulus, mentally cursing again the fact that he was only fifteen, lit some candles by hand before he sat down at the table and took a large, red apple from the bowl on the middle of the table. Sirius sat down opposite him and glanced down at his brother's robes before giving him an odd look.
"What happened to you?"
Regulus, too, looked down at his green robes to find that they were no longer only green. He had dark spots across his chest and he swore softly as he jumped up and knocked his chair over in the process. He stood still for a moment, staring at his brother, as he listened but no sound came.
Their parents were still asleep.
He dropped the apple on the table again and as he walked over to the basin by the wall and tried to clean his robes of the dark stains, he could feel Sirius's gaze on his back. He ignored it as he tried to wash of the blood.
"What happened to you?" Sirius asked again, his voice surprisingly stern. Regulus glanced over his shoulder and saw that Sirius was wearing a frown and had his arms crossed over his chest. "Is it blood?"
Regulus met his gaze and sneered. "So what if it is? They deserved it."
"What have you been up to tonight?" Sirius said sharply and did not let his gaze flicker away from the eyes of his brother's, which resembled his own so much it was almost frightening. People always told them they looked alike (when they were younger "they could have been twins!") and none of them was ever too pleased to hear it. They had heard it too many times. "Did you kill someone tonight?"
Regulus was the one to turn away from the intense stare. He turned his back to his brother and continued his attempt to get the spots out. It seemed impossible. "What do you think?"
"It doesn't matter what I think," snapped Sirius, "for either you did or you didn't. Whatever I believe wouldn't change it."
There was no reply and for a short few moments, the only sound in the room was of Regulus's failing attempts of cleaning his robes.
"Well?" Sirius said finally. "Did you?"
Regulus's reply was quiet. "No. I did not kill anyone." As he heard Sirius let out what sounded like a sigh of relief he continued angrily, "I did, however, watch someone being killed."
Sirius did not say anything and Regulus knew he waited for him to go on and he knew he ought not to speak of it, but he couldn't help himself. The words just slipped out of his mouth as though they did it on their own accord. Maybe, he mused, he was trying to frighten Sirius, but he knew Sirius would not be frightened. He never seemed to be scared of anything – especially not their mother, who sometimes terrified Regulus, despite how much he loved and cared for her.
"I received a letter from Evan a few days ago," he started quietly, still with his back turned to the room and to his brother. "Told me there was something going on a few streets away from here tonight and that I could not possibly miss the chance; it being so close and all. So I did as he said, I went to have a look and it turned out to be a small alley where–"
"I don't want to hear it."
He turned to face his brother, "W–What?"
Sirius was shaking his head. "They killed Muggles, didn't they? That's what's on your robes; blood from Muggles."
"It's filth," Regulus said calmly, "and I need to get it out."
Sirius glared coldly at his brother and said, so quietly it was barely audible, "I honestly don't understand you at all. What is wrong with you? You sneaked out to kill Muggles?"
"I told you, I didn't kill them, it was–"
"I don't ruddy care who it was that killed them, do I?" snapped Sirius, his voice suddenly loud. "It was wrong! You can't just strut around and kill people at random, Regulus! That sort of idea doesn't work!"
Regulus scowled, "Shut up, will you? Don't wake our parents."
"I hate this family," Sirius blurted unexpectedly, just as loudly as before, and he jumped to his feet, "so I don't care who I wake up! I hate you lot!"
Regulus didn't reply, only stared at his older brother's unusual outburst. Despite being known in the family as the black sheep and for going out of his way to make their parents angry, Sirius never said things like that. Not to Regulus, at least.
"You know what?" Sirius said, suddenly a hint of an odd smile on his face, "I've had it. I can't take this anymore."
Regulus looked at him worriedly, bloodstains forgotten. "What do you mean?"
"I'm leaving," Sirius said simply and walked towards the door. "See you at school, little brother."
"Oh, don't be a twat," said Regulus, somewhat anxiously. "You can't just bloody well leave in the middle of the night! That's just stupid! Where are you supposed to go anyway?"
"Away from you lot," Sirius said bluntly, before moving through the door. Regulus scrambled after him.
"Sirius!" he hissed, still trying to keep his voice down. Sirius stopped in his urgent pace and turned around. He suddenly looked very resolute and it scared Regulus, he didn't think Sirius could be quite so severe. "Don't be stupid, Sirius. Where are you going?"
Sirius shrugged and his voice was suddenly pleasant and very Sirius-like again, "I dunno. I'll just pack my bags and then I'll be off. Our mother will be very happy to see the back of me, don't you think?"
"Sirius," Regulus started, "don't be a simpleton."
"Cheers."
"I'm serious!" he exclaimed and received a grin from his brother. "Oh shut up, you know what I mean! You can't leave, alright? That's the most stupid idea you've ever had!"
"Oh? And sneaking out in the middle of the night to watch some Muggles getting murdered is a brilliant idea, is it?" Sirius said sarcastically and glared at his brother. "See? This is why I'm leaving."
"You're leaving because of me?"
"I'm leaving because of all of you," was the soft reply and he added, "I'm sorry."
Sirius left the hall and Regulus heard him go up the stairs all the way to his room. Slowly, Regulus made his way up to his own room and took off the gory robes, letting them drop in some random place at the floor. He crawled up in his bed and stared at the ceiling. He heard footsteps outside his door and knew that it was his brother.
It wasn't as though he'd never see him again, Regulus thought reluctantly, but it was still an odd feeling. It felt as though they'd never see each other again despite the fact that they still attended the very same school and would see each other every day in the Great Hall.
When the footsteps faded and he heard a door close downstairs, he closed his eyes.
Strangely, he could feel tears burning behind his eyelids.
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