The Worst Mistake
A/n: Okay, here's the story: I have exams next week, so no updates then. Also, during the summer I have camp, Bethany Beach, service hours, Confirmation, and AP Psychology, so the most I can promise you is one update a month. (Winces) Sorry! So just look me up at the end of every month, I'll be there. Promise.
Sibbie was walking down to the dungeons to meet Sev and Reg Thursday evening. It was December first, only twenty-four days until Christmas and Sibbie was excited because she liked Christmas, but on the down side she had to go back to her home for the holidays. She knew that was because her family loved her and since she went to boarding school they missed her, but the tension Sibbie seemed to bring to her household would just dampen everyone's holiday. Besides, Reg and Sev were counting on her to be at Hogwarts for Christmas; she had been here last Christmas and they had had a lot of fun.
Sibbie took two steps into the dungeon when she heard her name. She stopped, having the horrible habit of eavesdropping, and listened to Sirius Black say, "Be realistic, Reggie. No one likes you and no one ever will."
"Sibbie does," Regulus said in an almost whisper.
Sirius let out his bark-like laugh. "Let me rephrase-no one worth it likes you."
"Sibbie is worth it. She's a lot better than you, she doesn't abandon her family!"
Sirius' smile left him. "You're not my family. The Marauders are the only family I've got!"
"Your family's your family whether you choose to recognize them or not."
"Well, I don't choose to recognize them."
Regulus narrowed his eyes angrily. "I hate you."
"What a coincidence, I hate you too. We match. And shouldn't you hate that muggle-born friend of yours? Because then we'd match even better."
Regulus just stood there for a few seconds. Then he punched his brother. Sirius, taken by surprise, blinked in shock for a few seconds, then he grabbed Regulus' wrists. "Let me go!" Regulus protested.
"You stupid kid," Sirius said, pushing him back. "I'm a head taller than you and a whole lot stronger," he said, pushing Regulus against the wall. Regulus struggled to get free, and failing, kicked Sirius right below his waist. Sirius immediately let Regulus go, but his back was to the wall and Sirius was in front of him, so he had no place to run. Sirius growled and kicked his baby brother in the shins.
Regulus buckled down and sat on the floor with his back to the wall, his older brother standing over him. "Reg-gie."
"What?" Regulus growled, panting.
Sirius knelt so he was more at Regulus' level. "You should know better than to hit your older brother, it isn't nice."
"You're no brother of mine," Regulus snarled.
"Oh no? I thought 'your family's your family whether you choose to recognize them or not'."
"You are my mother's son and nothing more to me."
"Well then. Since you've waived your right to baby brother-ness, I'm allowed to hit you, right?"
"It still wouldn't be nice," Regulus said a little desperately.
"Ah, but since when have I been nice?" Sirius asked, holding Regulus' chin in his hand to keep his head in place. Regulus whimpered.
"Sirius please! I'll be your baby brother. What do you want from me, I'll do it!"
Sirius shook his head. "You can't choose when you want to be my brother. And anyways, it's normal sibling rivalry. Don't worry though Reggie, this won't hurt too much," he said and punched Regulus a little to the left of his left eye. Then Sirius got up and walked away. "Have a nice life, Reggie."
Regulus leaned against the wall, covering the left side of his face with his hand. Fighting back tears, Regulus muttered, "You too."
Sibbie walked towards Regulus with a look of absolute concern on her face. "Reg, are you okay?" she asked kneeling down next to him.
"I'm fine," Regulus said, but he had to force it out through choked down sobs.
"Let me see," Sibbie said, trying to get Regulus to take his hand off his eye, but Regulus wouldn't let her. "C'mon, Reg," she said gently, but Regulus shook his head, silently hiccupping from the suppressed sobs. He tried to speak but all that came out were tears. "Shh, baby, it's okay," Sibbie said, putting her arms around him, and letting him cry on her shoulder.
Regulus sat sobbing in her arms for a good five minutes before he got himself together. "Sorry," he muttered.
"For what?" Sibbie asked, pulling away from Regulus. "You didn't do anything."
Regulus shrugged and wiped the tears form his eyes. "For breaking down like a baby."
Sibbie laughed. "If someone punched me like that, I would have screamed loud enough to wake the dead! I'm a coward with a capital 'c'. I'm surprised when I put on that Sorting Hat, it didn't say, 'Well let's just cross Gryffindor off the list right now.'"
Regulus laughed a little through his tears. "You're not that cowardly," he said. "and I' m not that brave."
Sibbie shook her head. "What were you fighting about anyway?"
"Sirius and I don't fight. We just play extremely violent games."
Sibbie laughed. "Well then why were you playing extremely violent games?"
Regulus shrugged. "Same reason as always-family."
"I didn't hear anything about family."
Regulus looked up at her and said, "How much did you hear?"
"I came in at Sirius attempting to give you a reality check."
Regulus laughed bitterly. "Well, the basic premise was family and loyalty. I'm not really loyal to our family, I just-I don't want to make things worse. There's been a lot of pressure for me to be perfect since Sirius left and I guess I don't want to let anyone down. I don't want to hurt anyone," he said, nearly crying again. "This is all Sirius' fault. Yours too, really. I'm so confused now, I don't know if I'm supposed to be like my family or Sirius. I want to be like Sirius, but-I don't know-I wish things cold go back to when we were little, before Sirius started falling out."
Sibbie shook her head. "You don't have to be like your family or Sirius, you just have to be Regulus."
"But I don't really know who Regulus is."
Sibbie sighed and stood up. "Well I'll introduce you to him," she said helping Regulus up. Sibbie gave him a hug and he let himself enjoy her warm embrace for a few minutes. Then Sibbie pulled away and said, "C'mon, let's go find Sev."
Review Responses:
Mizz Moony Luver: I was wondering worriedly why you didn't review, I thought you didn't like the chapter. Don't scare me like that, young lady! Mm, and how exactly am I supposed to wrap Regulus up and deliver him to you when he's in your basement?
And about those rhombuses. I think it's an interesting word myself. Jiggy's dad mixed up rhombus and Remus so there's kind of a connection there. By the way, if you haven't read the Jiggy McCue series by Michael Lawrence, do so now, I think you'd like it.
And don't worry, my mouth is shut, it's my pen you should worry about. Oh, and if and when you update Pureblood, mention that in your review or something, because I'm not aloud to have anything on alert due to nerdy brothers.
Tris-WannaBe: You get cake, ice cream, and lots of confetti, because-I know your friend. I like to be told something about me is cool, because I'm usually just a hopeless loser.
asian.marshmellow: I'm not poetic, silly. And you should be a writer, I bet you could write better than some people on this site. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter. I probably did a good job expressing Sibbie's emotions because they somewhat mirror my own, though right now I feel bad for disliking my sister who is sitting in the same Computer Lab as me write now coughing on me, giving me her cold-again.
Okay-WILL YOU PEOPLE STOP SAYING YOUR PRAISE IS INADEQUATE? It is praise for goodness sake, and the one thing praise can't do is be inadequate! And is that smiley (well, not really) face crying? Turn that frown upside down! You are making me very happy by reviewing, be happy that I am happy. If that made any sense...
P.S. (sniffs) That P.S. is like stabbing me in the heart with a pair of pinking shears. I can't feed my habit all summer! I want to, but I have too much to do! I'm glad you think I'm not pathetic, I feel like I'm pathetic. I think the main characters in my story and I just have a complex that makes us feel pathetic when we may not be. Maybe it's a strand of Loser's Lurgy or something...
Gabwr: I'm glad I have you to cheer me up; today I need some cheering up. I'm sick and tired and busy and everything else that is unhappy. I'd like to just sit here and listen to Hakuna Matata but my radio is broken! Curse it!
Oh, I'm so happy I made you want to hug Sev! One person down, the rest of the world to go. I specialize in making people feel sorry for the people they hate and I'm working on a story that makes me feel sorry for Mrs. Black and should make people with hearts feel sorry for her too.
Rachel E.B.