Andromeda Tonks was displeased. Nay, not displeased. Displeased was a word for lesser mortals. Andromeda Tonks was pissed. First thing she did after this was hunt down Bellatrix and kill her. Then—then—she would deal with the others.
"Andromeda, you are my sister, and I love you, but you are wearing the Bella-expression," Narcissa mentioned warily. Andromeda did not cease in her expression of Bellatrix. No, the expression was imperative for terrifying the unexpecting or unworthy. Like Bellatrix. And Sirius, who needed to write or communicate in any form with Andy more often. And the brat, who she was going to yell at for extended periods of time. Extended periods of time.
"They will pay," Andromeda decided. Really, they had made her life hell for how long? If it wasn't bad enough that Bellatrix was up crazy creek without a paddle, Sirius was currently in an ocean of guilt or despair or whatever he fancied himself mired in these days. The brat, of course, just caused problems by existing. Up until recently, he caused problems by not doing so. "Oh, they will pay," Andromeda repeated, narrowing her eyes.
Narcissa looked about as wary as she had been mere seconds ago, but she knew that Andromeda in a fit of anger was about as bad as or worse than Bellatrix in a fit of batshit. Everyone assumed that just because Andromeda was intelligent enough to escape the madhouse she wasn't as crazy as the rest. They would be wrong. Hesitantly, Narcissa suggested, "Well, Andy, you should not be too harsh on the boys—"
Andromeda turned to glare at her sister and demanded, "Why not?" Calming herself somewhat, Andromeda explained, "Cissy, I understand that you're able to take all this in stride, but not everyone can. Christ, you just told me that bloody idiot not only isn't dead but is trying to do what almost killed him in the first place! Next, Sirius, of whom I expected better, is doing jack-shit to stop him. How am I supposed to stay calm?"
After a sigh, Narcissa said, "Regulus only wants to do what he thinks is right, Andy. They both do, but did you honestly think either of them really want to rip open old wounds?" Looking down at the kitchen table, she continued, "They may agree now, but…"
Andromeda let it drop. Her tea was getting cold. For the time being, she would just have to send a proxy to yell at her cousins. A rather important thought flitted through her mind. "Narcissa? Why the hell did you call on me? Why didn't you send an owl, like you normally do?" she asked, suspicious. This break in habit did not bode well.
"I am frustrated, and Lucius is under the impression that I am here to try to convert you again," Narcissa replied simply, taking a sip of her tea.
Andromeda arched an eyebrow and corrected, "You mean Lucius will tell anyone that's what you're doing." She shook her head and mentioned, "Bella will see right through that."
Narcissa's grip on her teacup became far tenser. With a deep breath, she admitted, "Andy, you are the only one I trust to talk to about this. You need to warn Sirius. Bellatrix knows I want to speak with him, so I could not owl him. Mail can be intercepted. People can be overheard, but I know she will not breach your wards. That is why I apparated directly here, into your kitchen. I do apologize for being rude, but there wasn't any other way."
Andromeda was curious. Yes, she had been mildly annoyed when her little sister had apparated right next to her while she had been washing the dishes. Yes, she had wondered why Narcissa had deigned to inform her about Sirius and the brat's melodrama. Now, she wondered if she really wanted to know. "What doesn't Bellatrix want you warning him about?" she asked.
"She knows the truth," Narcissa said. "And there's a rumor that Rudolphus and others are planning on…" She broke off. Andromeda knew her little sister was scared. Alive or dead, the boys had always been near the heart of every disagreement in the family. Andromeda would have been spoken to after a decade or so if she hadn't dragged Sirius down with her in the eyes of the family. The split between Bellatrix and Narcissa had been because of the brat. Narcissa had always been close to the brat, Merlin knew why, and he looked up to her for some bizarre reason. In the end, Andromeda blamed her aunt and uncle. They hadn't paid attention, so Sirius ran, and Regulus had stayed on the beaten path for fear of disappointing everyone.
"Is Bellatrix of like mind? Or is Rudolphus alone in his crusade?" Andromeda asked.
Narcissa shook her head, looking far more upset than Andromeda expected. "Andromeda, Rudolphus and the others are concerned with preventing the Dark Lord from taking out his displeasure on them for failing to recognize a manifold traitor," she explained. After a moment, she continued, "Bellatrix—she wants to kill him, too, but only after Merlin knows what. She confronted me about him, to make sure." A little hysterically, Narcissa mentioned, "You know, she copied Sirius. When he decided he was right, he asked me, but Reggie can't go to the next meeting, not with half the Death Eaters after his blood. He would be lucky if he were only missing for a week this time. I don't know what he's trying to do, and I don't care, but I have no hope that he would walk out of there alive."
Andromeda was honestly struck by how worried Narcissa seemed. "Cissy, are you sure? From what little I could gather back in the day, Regulus routinely buggered up everything. If he's acting anywhere near subtle, wouldn't he be less suspect? Less likely to be thought of as a traitor? Or, wouldn't they try to use him as a spy?" Andromeda asked, trying to think of a way to calm her sister. Narcissa in a funk was not something one liked to bear witness to. Andromeda further asked, "Wouldn't they try to blackmail him first? Use someone he—does he have a family?" She couldn't quite believe she hadn't even thought to ask the last until now, but that was mostly because she had issues imagining her cousin in his mid-thirties, let alone married.
Tentatively, Narcissa murmured, "He married a half-blood. They have a son and a daughter." Halfway between angry and worried, Narcissa continued, "Bellatrix knows. She's already tried to kill his wife. He reacted as well as you might imagine."
Andromeda could only stare at Narcissa. Regulus married a… Managing to shake herself out of her shock, Andromeda asked, "What degree of half-blood? But, really? How—I thought—Cissy, he was about as conservative as you are. Accept non-purebloods, yes, but… Marry?"
To the first question, Narcissa replied, "As far as I know, the second strictest sense. The tale is even more fantastic. You may remember that apprentice medwitch, that American—"
"You mean Anderson? Or Davies? There were a number on loan at the time. I assume you're talking about when Regulus was—" Andromeda broke off. "Oh, my God. You mean White," Andromeda realized. Temporarily dumbstruck, Andromeda tried to process what Narcissa just implied. "She's back at St. Mungo's, but I assumed—her husband? Merlin, her husband! How could I have not noticed? Yates still tells that bloody story about White valiantly rushing to the aid of the idiot first-year who fell down the staircase."
Staring at Andromeda blankly but unwilling to admit her confusion, Narcissa raised an eyebrow. "The time Reg failed to notice a flight of stairs," Andromeda supplied before Narcissa hurt herself trying not to look interested. Narcissa nodded knowingly then winced. She clearly remembered that story just as well as Andromeda did.
Annoyed, Andromeda resumed her stream of consciousness and continued, "I don't really work in the same division as White, but I've seen her around. I wouldn't really have noticed her if Yates wasn't such a royal pain in the arse. Dammit, I was even called in to figure out what the hell was wrong with him yesterday! I thought he looked familiar, but I didn't think that he—Narcissa, how the bloody hell can he think he's capable of fighting? Right now, he's even taking an immunosuppressant! How long do you think he can put off meeting with Lucius and the rest? Right now, Regulus is barely able to remain conscious, let alone defend himself."
Narcissa's face had turned white as a sheet. "What's wrong with him?" she asked weakly.
"The usual. Bellatrix. Random viral infection—the flu, this time—that should have gone away by now but was complicated by pneumonia. And then the immunosuppressant is an antidote for a severe case of poisoning," Andromeda replied, trying not to think about it. Oh, Merlin, what she'd thought earlier… How could she have been so cold? The prognosis wasn't good, and he could not be taken off the antidote potion. He wasn't exceedingly ill, and Andromeda had suggested a combination of various potions and Muggle remedies (antibiotics, as most people liked to call them). Andromeda suddenly felt a wave of pity for her cousin's wife and commented, "Narcissa, White's an absolute saint. Not only has she managed to convince him to go to St. Mungo's, but she managed to keep him under house arrest for three weeks."
"Three weeks? She has gone up in my estimations," Narcissa decided. She looked a little less upset now. Andromeda wondered how much of that was because she had conveniently not seemed too upset about the new information. "What did Bellatrix do? I did not think she had been in an altercation with him since late January."
Andromeda had acquired a murderous look on her face. "Since?" she asked. Not giving Narcissa time to reply just yet, Andromeda answered her question, "Our dearest elder sister is the reason Regulus is undergoing treatment for poisoning right now. She dosed him with a hemorrhagic poison with a long half-life. I suppose it's also her fault that he's almost scarred beyond recognition?"
"Andy, he has been speaking out frequently. He suffers more punishment for lesser crimes because he is under the guise of a half-blood. Bellatrix almost killed his wife to keep him in line. He has been suspected since the fall, and his real identity will in all likelihood be the final straw," Narcissa tried to explain. "Regulus had to have been spared for a reason, so that he isn't dead means that in the first war he did far more than spy."
Andromeda shook her head. "He was always far too bloody scared to commit to what he knew was right, but when confronted with what was wrong, he reacted how he should have in the first place," she said bitterly. It may have been a bit harsh toward her cousin, but she had rarely known him to stand up for himself.
Andromeda decided to pursue a safer topic and resumed the previous thread of the conversation. She said, "In any case, Regulus is still weak from what Bellatrix has done to him in the recent past, so he was at a higher risk to contract pneumonia. That the Elixir suppresses the immune system during treatment has compounded the problem. In any case, his prognosis is pretty bad. He had been taking cough-suppressants, so it hadn't been as readily clear how bad the lung infection is." Taking in Narcissa's worried expression, Andromeda reassured her, "Don't worry. He'll be right as rain in no time." Andromeda figured it was better to tell her a white lie than the truth. It was highly unlikely that their cousin would recover quickly. Barring any more complications, he would likely recover, but he would be more or less grievously ill for at least one more week but likely a fortnight.
Narcissa folded her hands in her lap and asked, "How long can I legitimately tell Lucius that Regulus is grievously ill? Andy, if there's a meeting—"
"A month," Andromeda cut in. "Even if he is fine before then, he will still be at risk for a relapse during that time. Besides, I'm sure Sirius would be able to talk some sense into him."
"Regulus may listen to Sirius, but he doesn't follow orders when they're contrary to his interest," Narcissa mentioned. Andromeda wondered how well they could really psychoanalyze their cousins now. Regulus could be completely different, and Andromeda had no doubt that Sirius had changed. From what Nymphadora had said, Andromeda couldn't tell if it was for the better or worse.
"That's all well and good, but—" Andromeda began.
There was a door opening. Then a crash. Then: "Mum, I broke that ugly vase again!"
Narcissa had enough tact just to raise one eyebrow and inquire, "The one Aunt Walburga sent you as a wedding present? With the horrid floral design?" She paused for a moment then added, "Please say you did toss that. I might lose all faith in humanity if you didn't."
Andromeda sighed. Why her? Why? "Nymphadora, please be a bit more careful next time," she called to her daughter, who was in all likelihood struggling to take her boots off. Andromeda added, "And watch the table to your right!"
Narcissa winced as there was another crash and a great deal of swearing. "Is my niece still fashion-deprived?" she inquired, continuing to ignore the ever-worsening stream of profanity. There were a couple of charms to fix whatever was broken thrown in, but most of it was swearing, all the way from four-letter words to phrases the sisters had only heard their mostly disreputable cousin say. "I told you no good would come of letting Sirius baby-sit her."
"Would you have?" Andromeda inquired pointedly.
"No, but Regulus could have pretended to be a perfectly decent role-model."
"He was a self-destructive teenage Death Eater who was in a punk rock band so he didn't go completely off the rails. That's exactly who I wanted Nymphadora to emulate," Andromeda reminded her sister. That said, she had taken him up on his offer to look after Nymphadora a couple times. He had appeared to be the responsible apprentice medwizard when he had wanted, even if he had dyed his hair blue once. "Of course, the manic-depressive Auror with a motorcycle wasn't much better, but at least Potter and Lupin had their heads on straight."
"Did someone mention Remus?" Nymphadora cut in as she popped into the kitchen and sat down between her mother and aunt. She looked between the two other women before she did a double-take. As polite as ever, Nymphadora demanded, "Why are you here?"
Narcissa stared at her niece placidly before she asked Andromeda, "Did you mean to raise her to be uncouth or is this another unfortunate side-effect of exposure to our cousin?"
Andromeda did not deign to answer. To her daughter, she said, "Nymphadora, you are twenty-two years old and should know better than to say such things to a guest. Unless said guest is your cousin. That's acceptable."
"She doesn't mean Draco," Narcissa added for clarification, calmly sipping her tea.
After a moment of looking back and forth between Andromeda and Narcissa, Nymphadora asked suspiciously, "Did Sirius do something again? I mean, the last time you had any sort of tea or lunch-like activity with her—" Nymphadora gestured at her aunt. "—Sirius went and got himself thrown in prison."
Narcissa looked offended and gently corrected, "No, I was acquiring an alibi." Nymphadora could only stare at her aunt in great confusion. Andromeda wished that it was Ted's side of the family that had the unable-to-process-information gene, but she—alas—knew it was hers. Her family was the one that produced Sirius and Regulus, even if it had produced Andromeda and Machiavelli reincarnate in Narcissa. Said rival to Italian statesmen then continued, "But, yes, Sirius is an idiot, and there has been a catastrophe of sorts."
"Really?" Nymphadora asked, looking a little puzzled. "All I've heard from Sirius is that he's really pissed off at this one guy in the Order, 'cause he's way too dedicated. Most everyone thinks the guy's batty, though, but Sirius deals with him for some reason."
Narcissa could only stare at her niece, and Andromeda wished she didn't have an idea of what her sister would say next. "I think we need to interbreed with the Muggle-borns more often," Narcissa decided. "This is getting ridiculous. I am apparently the only sane one in this family aside from your daughter. Draco doesn't count. He's a dear, but, well, Lucius."
Before Nymphadora had started to think too hard about what Narcissa said, Andromeda broke in, "Well, that's all well and good, but we were discussing certain topics that are not appropriate for certain people with pink hair for various reasons."
Pensive, Narcissa cocked her head to the side and mentioned, "No, Andromeda, I do believe that this may be quite fortuitous. Unless, of course, you would rather pass on the message yourself. I understand that completely, as I would prefer to do so as well."
Andromeda was initially unsure but decided firmly, "No. I don't want more people than necessary mixed up in this business. I'll tell Sirius."
Narcissa nodded, understanding. The last thing Andromeda wanted to do was put Nymphadora in more danger than she already was. Nymphadora, on the other hand, was far less understanding and demanded, "What's going on? What'd I miss? What's with the secrecy? Why am I always left out of the loop?"
"Because you are young and not to be involved in matters of great import," Narcissa replied smoothly. Andromeda had the feeling that her daughter was not going to take that quietly but could not bring herself to be angry with her sister. After all, she did not want Nymphadora involved in this mess. "It is far better not to think on what we must do. Unfortunately, your mother and I are already invested in the situation. You need not be."
Nymphadora stared at her aunt before switching her attention to her mother. "Mum, what in the world is she talking about? And what does this have to do with Sirius?" she demanded.
Andromeda quickly planned a course of action. Hesitantly, she admitted, "I need to talk to him about inheritance issues. Narcissa was kind enough to mention that Sirius probably hasn't reinstated me in the family because he forgot, so gently reminding him might be a wise idea."
"He cannot keep track of what he is doing for more than ten minutes," Narcissa agreed.
Andromeda refrained from wincing and continued, "Really, Nymphadora, you don't need to worry. All this is just silly things. Nothing to get too worked up about." Realizing Narcissa had said the opposite just moments ago, Andromeda revised, "Well, nothing you need to worry about. These particular family affairs aren't anything that would directly affect you."
Nymphadora stared at her mother and aunt. Slowly, she said, "I'm sorry. I must have fallen through a rift in the time-space continuum. What?" Neither sister said a thing. That Andromeda and Narcissa were colluding was clearly disturbing Nymphadora far more than she was comfortable with. Hence, Nymphadora declared, "Fine. That's it. I'm going to go back to work or find Do—er, a friend and eat lunch with her. Yes, that's it. That's what I'm going to do."
"Say hello to Ms. Meadowes for me," Narcissa mentioned lightly, taking another sip of her tea. Andromeda wondered how her sister managed to pull off nonchalant so well. Bellatrix wouldn't know nonchalant if it was labeled and repeatedly hitting her in the face, and Andromeda had as much of a grip on her emotions as Sirius, which was to say not at all.
Fairly certain that Meadowes was one of Sirius's undeceased friends (the name sounded relatively familiar), Andromeda mentioned, "Oh, and could you get a message to Sirius that I would like to have lunch with him sometime this week? Thank you, dear."
Nymphadora stared at her mother and aunt once more in shock before disapparating on the spot. Narcissa smiled and commented, "I had forgotten how much I did enjoy family reunions. They are so amusing." She then resumed sipping her tea.
"Remind me again why I thought it was a good idea to let you around Crouch at all?" Sirius asked Dorcas as he started to feel a headache coming on. They were having a couple drinks after dinner.
"Because the two of us have mad-crazy ideas of doom? Also, I keep him from doing bad things, like opening watches and blowing things up. Oh, and there was that one time with the sentient pepper pots and the—"
"Dorcas, I know you really want to believe that the random duplicate Tonks ran into must have been your hero's former mentor, but I'm fairly certain we would have noticed by now if Crouch were in two places at once, much less an alien."
Dorcas stared at Sirius and explained reasonably, "He's a 900-year-old Anglophile from outer space. I would assume he could blend in if he wanted."
"There is literally no point to trying to talk to you rationally about this, is there?" Sirius inquired as Dorcas began to channel-surf.
Dorcas shrugged in reply. The two of them were silent for a while as the television kept flipping channels before Dorcas finally demanded, "What are you trying to find a way to tell me? This isn't a repeat of the Event We Shall Not Speak Of, is it?"
Sirius cringed at the memory and said, "No. Nothing related to that. Nothing at all. Don't worry." He shuddered for emphasis.
"Hmm," Dorcas said, idly resuming her channel surfing. "I guess that means you're trying to figure out a way to tell me you know about Terry, then?"
Sirius choked on his drink. Dorcas let him flail before hitting him once or twice on the back for good measure. "What?" Sirius demanded, hoping he sounded surprised, confused, or a fusion of the two. After all, Dorcas could be talking about practically anything, right?
"Don't play dumb with me, Black," Dorcas ordered him. "I see through your pathetic attempts to hide the truth from me. Well, yours and those of your idiot brother, because he seriously can't hide anything for shit, you know that?" She gestured with her beer bottle before switching channels again. Apparently, she wasn't taking the conversation very seriously.
"Reg is a crap actor? I had no idea," Sirius snarked back. For some reason, he felt more relieved than angry that Dorcas was so nonchalant. Of course, that may also have been because he didn't have to make a long, drawn-out explanation of the situation.
Dorcas sighed and turned off the television. Turning to Sirius, she said seriously, "I'm just glad you've left the Land of Denial. When are you going to tell him, by the way? He probably really needs to know he can drop the act. Have you visited him recently? Barty said Reg was on the brink of death or something similarly melodramatic."
"Vesta mentioned he was ill," Sirius said.
Dorcas raised an eyebrow. Apparently deciding to change subjects, she suggested, "So… Firewhiskey and a mindless action movie? I rented some Harrison Ford flicks that look particularly interesting. One of them even has Sean Connery!"
"Really," Sirius commented, wondering if Dorcas was going to drop the subject completely and blather on about popular culture or if she was trying to throw him off balance.
"Yes. And we shall partake of the firewhiskey after you explain to me why you haven't told Reggie about the whole 'Oh, by the way, little brother, I am aware you are in fact my younger sibling, so you can stop acting like a spaz' thing. I would very much appreciate it if you follow everyone's advice for once and just tell him, 'kay?" Dorcas said, picking the stack of videotapes up off the floor and spreading them out on the coffee table. "I say we watch the one with Tommy Lee Jones first. What do you think?" she asked, clearly trying to derail the conversation and thus completely confusing Sirius. Did she want him to answer the damn question or was she trying some bizarre new technique to try and make Sirius tell the truth?
"Er, yes and yes?" Sirius guessed.
"Is that a 'I'll tell him tomorrow but I mean in a year' or a 'I'll go there tomorrow, because you're going to drag me there kicking and screaming'?" Dorcas inquired innocently. She was using her reverse-psychology voodoo on him.
"You'll have to drag me kicking and screaming," Sirius replied, deciding to beat Dorcas at her own game. She would more than likely realize what he was doing, but momentary confusion on her part was better than having to seriously talk about things.
"Lovely. We can go now, then?" Dorcas responded cheerily. Well, that clearly backfired.
Sirius stared at her in shock. She wasn't supposed to say yes! "Please tell me you don't really intend for us to go now?" he started.
Dorcas laughed maniacally, took a swig from her beer, and then said seriously, "No, I wasn't. However, we are going tomorrow. I talked to Vesta the other day, because she's epic, and we both decided that you two brothers have serious issues. I mean, we could write a TV show based on how dysfunctional you two are. We could call it something catchy, and you could travel around doing epic stuff, like protecting people from the things that go bump in the night."
"I'm sure someone's already written that," Sirius commented, fairly certain Dorcas was trying to convince him to do her bidding by confusing him. She had a habit of doing so back when they were in school and Sirius was purposefully acting obtuse.
"Irrelevant. They could base it on you," Dorcas insisted. "Besides, she's already told Idiot #2 that you're visiting. Can't very well let him down now, can you?" Sirius made a face. This fake-out of hers was seriously unfair. "Oh, quit whining in your damned internal monologue."
"I do not have an internal monologue!" Sirius protested.
"As you say, oh, He-Who-Soliloquizes," Dorcas replied nonchalantly. She decided on the film with Tommy Lee Jones and put it in the VCR. As she was trying to get the contraption to stop blinking 12:00 and instead play the tape, Dorcas sighed and explained, "Look, Sirius, I know you don't want to say anything, and I'm sure both of you have got this idea into your heads that you'd be hurting each other if either of you dropped the act. However, putting this off is as stupid as that idea you had in sixth year to put off apologizing to Remus for half a bloody year."
Finally conquering the VCR, Dorcas sat back down next to Sirius on the couch and admitted, "Barty thinks it's a better idea to keep things as is, but I've recently come around to the opinion that you and Reggie need to sort things out. I mean, it's also probably better to break the news when he's a captive audience and already a bit emotionally distraught, so at least later you two can blame the circumstances on any awkwardness. Worked the last time, didn't it?"
Sirius grimaced but asked, "Which last time?"
After taking a swig of her beer, Dorcas reminded him, "The time James and I covered your ass for not arresting him after the Battle of Renton Way."
Sirius frowned as another preview played, but once the next began, he conceded, "Dorcas, I'm not saying you're right, but you might have a good idea. I just—I don't know. Reg isn't going to react well if that happens, and I really don't want to piss off his wife. She probably has a gun and a shovel and would have no reservations in committing premeditated murder."
Dorcas laughed and had thankfully not been drinking her beer. Sirius had no interest in cleaning up Dorcas's beery snot. "Tell me another one!" she exclaimed. "Seriously, Sirius! Have you talked to the poor woman lately? She's been wigging out because she's kept the secret that—okay, you know what, I'm not going to describe this nonsense suffice to say that you're a loon, your brother's a loon, and you both need to act like some other sort of animal, because while being loons suit you, it's bloody obnoxious for everyone else involved."
"Already descended to the animal-themed insults, Dorcas?" Sirius inquired, wondering why he was egging her on. He really should have diffused the situation and not added fuel to the fire. He was dealing with Dorcas, after all.
Dorcas set her beer down on the table and glared at Sirius. "Look, here, Black. We're friends. That is currently the only reason why I haven't beaten the shit out of you for how you're treating your brother. I've stood silent the past couple months simply because I was under the delusion that you might have been right about keeping this secret, but honest to God, you've finally gone too far. I know you've been aware of what's going on since at least January, and keeping this secret may be one of the shittiest things you've ever done," Dorcas explained as calmly as she could, clearly dropping her feel-good act.
"Thanks for finally cutting the crap, Dorcas," Sirius replied stonily. "Look, if you knew, then why the fuck didn't you say anything earlier, huh? I know you love being off in your delusions with your imaginary friends, but we are fighting a war here."
"Maybe I like putting on a mask because it's easier to deal with fucking idiots like you!" Dorcas shouted, standing.
"I thought it was because you killed Jamie and can't deal with the fact you barely batted an eyelash!"
"Oh, you're playing the friendly-fire card? That's real mature, Black. At least I didn't remind you that everyone didn't put it past you to murder thirteen people in cold blood," Dorcas shot back acidly. After making a disgusted snort, Dorcas continued cuttingly, "Or, for that matter, murder your brother."
Sirius stared at the carpet in front of him. He had no idea why he had started this, but he knew he had to calm down. If he kept sniping at Dorcas, he would only receive the same treatment in return. Sirius murmured, "They expected no better of me. Of you, everyone did."
Dorcas's anger subsided after that comment. With an exasperated sigh, she sat back down on the couch and declared, "Well, don't throw yourself a pity party. I'm still pissed off about all this, but I guess you have your reasons for being a bloody idiot."
Sirius knew that was as close as he would get to an apology. "I deserve that," he admitted. His reply was met with silence, so he chanced continuing, "I really don't know what to do, Dorcas. I know I put Vesta in a really awkward position, and I hate myself for doing that. The thing is that I really don't know if Reg could handle this right now."
Dorcas shrugged and said, "Fine, then, but I'm holding you to your word. You have to be a decent human being and tell your brother the truth. Tomorrow. I am going to drag you kicking and screaming if you don't go willingly."
"All right. We'll go tomorrow," Sirius relented, wanting at least temporary peace.
Dorcas seemed to take that as acceptance and said, "Good." After a moment, she grinned and declared, "Now that that's sorted, let's watch Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones." She reached behind the couch and came back with two bottles and a huge bag of crisps. "Beer?"
Coming Soon: Remus and Auriga lament the state of inebriation, and Hermione reminds Harry why they can't have nice things.
