Sirius clutched the silver necklace that lay in his fist, the glinting green of the snake barely visible from between his fingers.
He had found the locket, Slytherin's as he had later found out, in the ebony cupboard that no one ever bothered to open any more. Regulus had been the only one to use it before he disappeared. Sirius had seen him opening the cupboard several times, although Regulus had never seen him watching.
Sirius knew without a doubt that Regulus had placed the locket within that cupboard for reasons unknown. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to hide such a beautiful piece of jewellery though. Sirius was certain their mother would adore it.
Perhaps that was why Regulus had left it there. Regulus had disappeared a few days afterwards though. No one had heard or seen from him since then, although Sirius had spotted Kreacher ironing his hands, or otherwise punishing himself for what seemed like no reason, on several occasions since Regulus had disappeared.
Regulus had been the older brother who had tried, and failed. It wasn't surprising though, everything that he touched managed to fail in some way or the other.
He didn't know what it was that had caused him to open the cupboard and find that locket but it had seemed like it was calling to him. It had the same feeling that Sirius associated with being allowed out of Grimauld Place.
That didn't happen particularly often, and every single time it did he had to be under Polyjuice potion to ensure his squib-ness didn't embarrass his family. He hated being trapped within a single house, knowing every wall and floor better than the back of his own hand. The well-stocked library was full of spells and curses that were utterly useless to him.
Sneaking out of the house was extremely difficult due to the wards. Sirius still remembered the first time he had attempted to sneak out of the house and had gotten caught. His mother had locked him in his rooms for a week then. Only Kreacher had been allowed into his room, and then only to give him his meals.
Sirius had really doubted his parents actually cared about him. If he disappeared, as long as he didn't have any of the Black features, they wouldn't have cared in the slightest. He was nothing more than an annoying shadow to them, a mistake, and that was all he ever would be, Even in his own eyes.
Kreacher had taken pity on him, and often helped him sneaking out as he was the only person able to bypass the wards with his magic. Sirius was extremely grateful towards the little house elf for that, even though it may have been Regulus's suggestion that had caused the house elf to offer.
Today was one of the days when his parents were busy and Kreacher had transported him into an alley near the muggle entrance of Diagon Alley.
Sirius hadn't noticed, but it was snowing. Grimauld place had permanent charms to ensure that the temperature remained constant within the building. Kreacher, however, had thought further ahead and had brought Sirius one of Regulus' larger coats while Sirius handed him his cloak, revealing his muggle long-sleeved t-shirt beneath.
Sirius had to admit, he rather liked how everything looked when covered in white. It all looked so peaceful, like everything just fit in with each other. All the imperfections covered by the pure white. Sirius could even hear music coming out of some of the open doors, and even the faint sounds of laughter.
Sirius allowed his legs to guide him wherever they felt like walking. Kreacher would be able to find him no matter what when his parents got home so there was never a need to plan anything. He had only realised that after the first time Kreacher had left him in muggle London and he had gotten lost.
Glancing down at the locket again, Sirius wondered for a moment what was in it and why it always felt so warm. Regulus would have known. Regulus knew a lot, and had learnt even more at Hogwarts.
Sirius was forced out of his musings by someone who had run into him. The other, smaller, figure was dressed in black and fell onto the floor, wincing in pain that Sirius had barely managed to catch within those black eyes. He recognised that expression, those pained eyes, he had seen them all too often himself.
"S-Sorry," the other boy whispered fearfully, not moving from the ground until Sirius had finally offered the boy a hand to help him up, which was reluctantly accepted. The boy looked around Sirius' age, but had the same feeling his family had. There seemed to be a hint of recognition in the boy's eyes. Sirius assumed that he had known Regulus, or at least met him at some point in Hogwarts.
"You're a wizard," Sirius said flatly, disliking the boy immediately for that one simple fact.
The boy's expression turned terrified, his face turned an unhealthy white as he whispered, "D-don't say that out loud. My father will-will-"
Sirius raised his brow at the unfinished sentence. The boy was shaking badly and, had Sirius not known better, he looked like he was simply too cold to be standing outside at this time of the year.
"It seems he have similar problems, just in reverse," Sirius said thoughtfully. "That is, admittedly, an extremely strange thing for me to hear. My parents always praised people with magic believing them to be greater or whatever."
The boy's eyes widened. "You-"
Sirius nodded solemnly, before sticking his hand out in a way he had often seen muggle people do when they met each other. He didn't really expect the other boy to accept, no one had before, but he could try because it wasn't for him. This was for the boy in front of him who feared the gift he had been given. Perhaps he could help someone else the help he had never been offered.
"I'm Sirius."
The boy stared at his hand for a moment, contemplating both the hand and the owner. He had never met a person who had been ostracised for not having magic before. He had never expected anyone to understand how he felt either.
It hadn't mattered before. He had only ever been the freak.
"I'm Severus."
Note: for the sake of this story, everything that happened in canon to Regulus is pushed forward a couple of years so Regulus is older than Sirius in this fic.
Written for Game of Life Competition: pain; t-shirt; music
Written for Hogwarts One shot Wars: [Sirius Black] Character – Severus Snape; Prompts: Slytherin Locket (object), depressed (emotion), ebony (colour)
Written for AU Battle Competition: Squib!AU [Prompt: Winter]