An: So I'm writing this fic called Fraternising is an Ugly Word, which is about Andromeda and Ted, and I really want to put Regulus in, but I can't, cause in my version of their ages, he's too young. So this is what happened. Enjoy.
Not a Trace of Him
"He's not here." Her voice was firm, as she snapped at her cousin. "Why would he come here?"
"Where else would he go?" He couldn't have been more than sixteen. He was skinny, but he didn't look malnourished. He was wearing a suit, which looked wrong on his young frame, but his black hair was a mess, like he had spent all evening running his hands through it.
"I don't know." She folded her arms. You could see the family resemblance; it was faint, but definitely there. Something about the haughty eyes, or maybe the way her mouth was set. She was in pyjamas, her hair only slightly tidier than his. It wasn't a surprise that she was in her nightclothes; it was past midnight. Over his shoulder she could see the students opposite peering out of their windows. She didn't want to have this discussion in public, but she refused to have him in her house. "And how did you know we were here?"
"You sent him letters." The boy shrugged, looking slightly ashamed that he had read someone else's post. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do."
The woman relaxed slightly. "Go home Regulus," she said quietly. "Go home and be the boy you always wanted to be."
His face crumpled slightly. "Andy, he's my brother."
"Not any more."
He flinched as she said it, but he knew it was true. There would be no trace of a Sirius Black on their family tree, just as there was no trace on Andromeda Tonks.
"If you see him…if he comes here…" He trailed off, thinking of all that he wanted to say. How much he hated him for leaving, how much he wanted him to not leave, how much he loved him for finally giving Regulus the chance to be the golden boy. He bit his lip as tears threatened. He would not cry. Especially not in front of the woman he hadn't seen since he was ten years old. "Tell him I'll miss him." His voice broke on the last word, and his cousin finally thawed, and pulled him into a hug.
"Reg, it's okay," she murmured to him. "You know Sirius would never play the part well. Least now you can show the world what it means to be Black."
He drew back; his eyes shining with unshed tears. "How can you say that? You gave it all up too."
She tousled his hair. She used to do it all the time. Back before she'd left. Left like Sirius had. "I miss the family. I miss having money and not having to be careful. I miss my sisters. I never stopped being Black. It's just… Ted is more important."
"I'd better go." He turned to leave, and she watched him sadly. He'd grown up so much, and now, to have this…burden thrust on him. He'd wanted it for so long, and now he'd got it. But at what cost? He may have just gained everything he'd ever wanted, but lost his brother.
Andromeda knew which one was more important.