This story is written for The House Competition by Moonlight Forgotten (Year 2).
Round 8
House: Gryffindor
Year: 4
Short Story
Prompt: Orange
Words: 887
The following story takes place somewhere during the Order of Phoenix when Sirius was stuck at Grimmauld Place.
Sirius Black was pacing around Regulus's room. He was uncertain about why he was there but something compelled him to visit his brother's room. He made sure Kreacher was nowhere around when he entered the room. Sirius looked around the room and saw the orange walls and orange bedspread. Orange was his brother's favorite color. Even when he was a child, whenever they went out clothes shopping, Regulus would gleefully pick out orange robes, sweaters, cloaks and pants. His parents would let him buy some of the orange clothing pieces he picked out, but they would firmly insist he also include other colors in his wardrobe.
Sirius' eyes fell on a fancy orange quill on the desk. He remembered giving it to Regulus as a 10th birthday present shortly before he went off to Hogwarts. They used to be close as kids and they had many shared memories together. Regulus used to be elated whenever the sky happened to be orange and he would enthusiastically drag Sirius out to watch the sunset during those evenings. Sirius didn't care about watching an orange sky but he used to love watching his brother's enamored expression whenever they did.
As kids, their mother used to punish them in abusive ways whenever they screwed up. Hence, he would often take the blame for Regulus to spare him from such punishments. Of course, Sirius himself was much more rebellious and troublemaking than Regulus. Regulus's screw-ups were mostly done by accident like when he accidentally broke Walburga's favorite vase. Sirius, on the other hand, would often rebel and talk back. He would daringly question Walburga, her rules and her beliefs. He refused to blindly accept everything she said or ordered him to do without proper reasoning.
Sirius and Regulus began drifting apart after he was sorted into Gryffindor. He spent all the holidays of his first year trying to convince Regulus to join Gryffindor. Regulus was torn between wanting to be with him and wanting to please their parents. His mother made it worse by constantly reminding Regulus not to get sorted into any other house but Slytherin and not to bring shame on their family like his brother did. In the end, Regulus didn't have the nerve to go against their parents and was ultimately sorted into Slytherin. They drifted even further apart after Regulus was sorted into Slytherin. To his immense relief, Regulus was never a fan of Severus Snape. Sirius had spent all his first year vacations badmouthing Severus Snape as a sniveling git, and to ensure Regulus kept away from Snape, he "reminded" him how their mother would not be pleased with him befriending a half-blood. He had nothing against half-bloods, but he had to pull out whatever cards he had to keep Regulus away from Snape.
He and Regulus often had arguments which sometimes escalated to blowouts when Regulus got deeper and deeper with a group of wannabe Death Eaters. Sirius would often try to talk sense into him, but it all fell on deaf ears as Regulus was only concerned with following their family tradition and pleasing their parents. The main incident that triggered Sirius to run away to the Potters was a huge row he had with his mother about Regulus. Sirius blamed her for leading Regulus down the wrong path. Walburga insisted Regulus was making their family proud and insulted him for being a shame to their family. His spineless father backed his mother up and Regulus insisted on continuing in his path to destruction. Walburga even went so far as to forbid Sirius from seeing his friends again, insulted the Potters for being blood traitors, and resolved to transfer him to Durmstrang.
Sirius had finally had enough. He wasn't going to be cut off from his friends and he sure as hell was not going to Durmstrang. So he ran away to the only place that felt like home. He partly felt guilty about abandoning Regulus, but Regulus never listened to him anyway. It broke his heart when he found out Regulus was a Death Eater. It felt as if their rift was permanently sealed. About two years later, Regulus passed away mysteriously. Sirius had never felt guiltier in his life. Regulus might have been a little shit, but he was his little brother after all. He cried over his brother's death but he made sure to do it in private. He knew Regulus was not a bad person but he was disappointed in his choices. He thought of his brother as a fool who was too soft to go against their parents. He nevertheless felt guilty about never having made up with his brother.
Sirius hadn't thought much about Regulus while in prison. His thoughts were mostly preoccupied with James's death, Harry, and that cowardly rat, Peter's betrayal. After he escaped from Azkaban, Regulus began to creep back in his thoughts whenever he saw the sky turning orange, so much so that he had also developed the habit of watching the sky whenever it was.
Sirius picked up the orange quill from the desk and looked at it reminiscently. He couldn't believe that Regulus had kept his gift all these years. Perhaps Regulus too had a soft corner in his heart for him, and perhaps Regulus too had regrets about their sour relationship.