Chapter Twenty-Three: The Brothers Black

April marched on. The weather outside grew warmer and warmer until the first hints of summer had seeped, at last, under the magical barriers of Hogwarts. Flowers bloomed throughout the grounds, and every morning James could hear songbirds calling to him from beyond the walls of the tower.

The fact that he was now an Order member – at least, as far as he was concerned, he had already joined – had been something Lily and the rest of his friends were very interested in. James tried to stress the fact that he had joined by complete accident, but one look at Lily and Sirius's shared, exasperated glances told him that they knew he had made a complete fool of himself in front of Dumbledore and McGonagall.

They had taken the news surprisingly well. At one point Remus had asked whether the Order had a name. This was something James couldn't disclose (though, James thought, he hadn't received a word from Dumbledore ever since, so he didn't know what he ought to be doing) and decided to answer his friend by shrugging.

On the third Saturday of the month, the sixth-and-seventh years went down to Hogsmeade to take their provisional license exams. As it was 8 o'clock in the morning, and James usually slept in until well past 10, he trudged down the grassy path with his feet dragging behind him, trying to shield his eyes from the obnoxiously cheerful sun.

Lily squeezed his hand sympathetically. "Come on, you big oaf, you, we're nearly there."

"It's too early for an exam," mumbled James. Sirius and Peter grunted in agreement.

Lily only smiled and pulled him a little more firmly along. After a few moments, feeling sorry for Lily, James slipped his hand out of hers and snaked it instead around Remus's shoulders, who shot him an annoyed glance but looked mildly pleased as they entered the village.

It was quite crowded. It seemed as though everyone James knew decided to go to Hogsmeade today. The shops lining the road were full of students and villagers, as well as grim-looking wizards and witches in dark robes standing guard outside; everywhere James looked, he saw Ministry workers with quills and clipboards floating around their heads.

Before James could take a guess as to why they were there, Lily said, "Right! I'm meeting Mary down by Gladrags', I'll see you lot later."

"Bye," said James, untangling himself from Remus and choosing to bury himself in her hair. "Any idea where Marly and the girls are?"

"They said they'd be meeting you around the square," said Lily, extracting herself gently from him. "Anyway, good luck! You better pass, James."

"And if I don't?"

"I'm forbidding you from joining the Order," said Lily, her voice dead-serious. James yelped and glanced around. The people surrounding them were too busy to hear.

"Say that any louder, won't you?"

Lily appeared not to care. Waving goodbye at them, she left their group and wandered off. James watched her go until she was lost in the crowd. The four of them kept moving towards the direction of Hogsmeade's square, stopping once or twice to glance at the shops. Once they reached the end of the road, where it opened up to a large, spacious plaza with several bandstands set near the shops, they stopped for a minute and stared out. James could see the faint outlines of three girls standing close to one of the bandstands.

"Marlene, huh?" muttered Sirius darkly.

James glanced sideways at him. "What?"

Sirius scowled. "Nothing. Let's just get this over with."

Before Sirius could take a step, James pulled him back by the sleeve of his robes.

"Not so fast, Pads," said James. "What's going on with you two? Did something happen with Marlene? Did you break up?"

"It's nothing, honestly. We're both fine. Now stop being a git and –"

"You know, Sirius," said Peter thoughtfully, "James does have a point. I can't remember the last time you two had a conversation… you know, alone – together."

"Don't get started, Wormtail," growled Sirius.

Peter flashed him a boyish smile. "Only trying to help, Sirius, you know that."

"If you don't tell us, Padfoot," began James, "I'll use my all-powerful Head Boy status to send you back to school."

"You can do that?" asked Remus. "I feel as though that's a rule you just made up."

"Says who? Anyways," added James, wagging his eyebrows at Sirius, "it's your choice, Padfoot. Either you tell us what you and your little bird have been up to, or you can go back home with your tail between your legs."

"What kind of shitty ultimatum is that?"

"Just get on talking, won't you?"

"All right!" said Sirius, tugging his arm free from James and scowling at him. "If you must know it's…"

Sirius glanced at Marlene and the rest of the girls standing against the bandstand, and for a moment, he looked almost remorseful.

"It's been a complete nightmare, to be honest," said Sirius gloomily.

"What d'you mean?" asked James quickly.

"I'm a deadbeat bloke," said Sirius. "I don't even know if I can call myself that. Marls doesn't say it out loud, but I can tell she's thinking it, wishing that something more would happen… and I honestly don't blame her. Not once, Prongs, have I ever given her anything –"

And he turned now to face them all, almost pleading with them, as though he was trying to justify whatever he was saying.

"– gifts, affection… it's like I don't want our relationship to be… to be any more – I just know that Marlene…"

Sirius's mouth stayed open, but no sound came out. His eyes kept darting between the three of them, hoping, James thought, that one of them would speak up and disagree with him. James had a feeling that Sirius had been wanting to say this for a very long time.

"If that's what you think," said James, after a brief pause, "then you don't know Marly at all, Sirius."

Before any of them could speak, a loud whistle cut through their conversation. Looking around, slightly disconcerted, James saw Marlene, Alice and Emmeline waving at them.

They caught up with them rather slowly; Sirius hung back and tried his best not to be his usual rowdy self, but it might as well have been useless. Marlene beamed and threw an arm around him, firing rapid questions that made James dizzy from trying to take listen in.

In no time, Sirius had relaxed and looked only mildly uncomfortable with Marlene, huddled in the shade of the bandstand together. Useless topics floated around them both; he caught something about how the Wimbourne Wasps were sinking faster than they had ever sunk before, and how pointless it was to keep supporting them any longer. James watched them, noticing the slight tint of red on both of their pale cheeks.

I don't think you know what a deadbeat is, Pads, James thought, turning away from them. The girl's mad for you…

"What d'you reckon the exams will be?" asked Peter, his round face shining with anxiety. "You don't think there'll be a written part, do you?"

"You asked the same question last night, Pete," said Remus patiently. "It's only a practical, so there's nothing to worry about. Unless, of course, somehow you've been Obliviated and forgotten all the spells you learned."

"I haven't been Obliviated," muttered Peter.

A few minutes later the square had become crowded with students and dark-robed Ministry officials. Once everyone had calmed down a bit, one of the Ministry workers started to talk. He had long brown hair, a large nose and a rather wide mouth.

"Good morning, everyone!" beamed the official; he had a thick German accent. "My name is Siegfried Wagner, and I vill be overseeing zis examination. Sings here are a bit different zan ver I come from, but vee vill, of course, take precautions…"

There might have been something about procedures and safety, but after a while, James got bored and tuned out. This went on for a couple of minutes, by which time most of the students had already stopped paying attention.

James looked around. The last time he had been here, in the Hogsmeade square, was nearly six months ago. Several wooden buildings and cottages had been boarded up – a souvenir from the time the Death Eaters had come. There were entire gaps between the houses that James was sure hadn't been there a year ago.

To his left was the Three Broomsticks, still slightly crooked, but as crowded as ever. He'd passed Zonko's on his way to the square; judging by the small explosions that could be heard all the way from there, they weren't out of business just yet. But that wasn't what interested him – James suddenly remembered, at that moment, that they were standing on the grounds where a ritual had taken place, where black lightning had struck from the sky, and where the Dark Mark, taken from a train conductor and the ashes of a dead snake, had appeared overhead.

He remembered the black snow that had fallen on Theodore Plant's body.

"All right, James?" asked Remus in a concerned voice, looking at him. "You're all pale."

It took a moment for James to find his voice.

"I'm fine," he managed to croak out. Before he could say any more, Wagner had finished talking, causing everyone to shut up. Another official, this one tall and with a beard, took his place.

"You will now divide," began the Ministry official, "into groups of two, preferably a boy and a girl, and you shall duel. The exam will be graded by Aurors and Hit-Wizards of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We will take into account your reactions, the spells you use and, naturally, the winner. You have ten minutes."

James felt a tug on his sleeve. Turning around, and expecting it to be one of the boys, he was surprised to find that it was Marlene who was trying to grab his attention.

"What?" asked James.

"Partner with me," said Marlene, sounding agitated.

James looked around for Sirius. He found him standing not too far away; Remus had decided to take him as a partner. Most of the people in the square had already started dividing into groups.

"Fine," said James. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what this was about. "Let's move a bit…"

They found a place near the front of the crowd, where they were all huddled around a large wooden stage watching as the Aurors and Ministry workers cast spells around the square; James guessed that they were Protective Enchantments. He stepped back a bit to avoid getting struck by the wildly-swinging wands of the Ministry workers. Once they were done, they eyed the students impatiently, as though they couldn't think of a worse way of spending their time than to order around a bunch of teenagers.

"Volunteers?" asked Wagner hopefully.

Most of the people took a hasty step back; James and Marlene followed. He scanned the students behind him. There were hardly any six years, he realised now, and the seventh-years that had signed up were all familiar faces. None of the usual Slytherins had taken the course – at least, none from Snape and Avery's group.

He felt another tug on his sleeve. Looking down, he saw Marlene staring straight forwards, a slight smirk on her face.

"We're going first," said Marlene.

"No, we're not," said James quickly, scowling at her. "Don't you dare do it, Marls."

Now fully grinning, Marlene raised her hand; the Ministry officials instantly took notice. James sighed.

"Excellent," said Wagner, waving a hand towards them. "Step forvards, please. Up zee stage."

James shuffled behind Marlene, his mood dampening by the second. He could feel the eyes of twenty-something sixth and seventh years on him, and there was a sudden, vivid image in his mind of gigantic judges looming down at him from a row of high seats.

"Zees vill be short," said Wagner to James as they took one end of the stage; Marlene took the other. "No more zan five minutes. It matters not if you veen or lose, just try not to hurt each ozzer badly. Good luck, Meester…?"

"Potter," said James dully.

"Meester Potter," said Wagner, flashing him a smile. "Best of luck to you."

Another ministry official was talking to Marlene, no doubt giving her the same sort of pep talk James had received. He found himself going over spells in his mind – what should he use first? Regardless of what Wagner had said, he wanted to win.

His eyes wandered towards the crowd, where he saw Remus and Peter give him a thumbs up. He looked past his friends and tried to search for Lily and the Healer's group – she'd mentioned she was going to Gladrags', but he couldn't remember which one that was.

"Ready yourselves!" shouted a voice. "On zee count of three – one, two, three…"

James looked wildly around; he hadn't been paying attention. It took him a second to realise what was happening; the silent crowd, the grim-faced Aurors and Siegfried Wagner watching safely from a distance were all jarring to him. Marlene whipped her wand and thrust it in his direction.

The end of her wand exploded. A jet of blue light flew towards James like an arrow. Raising his wand, he grasped his mind furiously for a spell that could counter it.

"Protego!" bellowed James.

Marlene's spell hit the Shield Charm and burst into a magnificent blanket of orange flame, scorching the stage between them. Even from behind the Shield, James could feel the heat.

Quite a few people in the crowd yelped. Marlene stood triumphantly with her wand held firm in her hand, and she was grinning at him – something he did not return.

James looked at the Ministry officials – surely, that was a bit too much? To his surprise, they were surveying the whole thing with keen interest, and one or two had their clipboards out and were writing quickly with their eyes on Marlene.

"Oh, vonderful!" cried Wagner, safely from behind the Ministry's shields. "Displodo to start zings off – simply marvellous!"

Too late, James realised: he should have been paying attention to Marlene. Something shot out of the end of her wand, long and solid like a rope. It wound itself around his legs, locking them tightly. Marlene flicked her wand again, and something hit the back of James's head like a saucepan; he fell forwards and barely managed to avoid landing on his face.

Laughter rippled from the crowd – James was losing badly. Aiming his wand at his feet, he thought, Diffindo! and the ropes ripped as though a knife had cut through them; leaping up, James glared furiously at Marlene, who was preparing another spell –

You want to play with fire? thought James furiously. Don't blame me, Marls.

James was faster this time. Sweeping his wand over and around his head, he conjured fire: streams and lassoes that danced in the air, growing larger and hotter, before rocketing towards Marlene like a tidal wave.

This time the Ministry officials stepped back. The heat was such that it charred the enchanted stage, carving the wood black with ash. James kept his wand trained on Marlene, willing the flames to become stronger, but even as he did Marlene swept her wand similarly to him; the fire went around her and shot back towards James, turning blue as they grew hotter and more intense, ripping through the air like dragon breath.

"Fantastic, Meester Potter!" shrieked Wagner, clapping and grinning like a maniac. Then he froze. "Slow down! Both of you –"

Crimson and indigo crashed into each other, like waves against a rock. The flames rose into the air, up and up so that he could no longer see Marlene; the heat slapped him in the face, far hotter than anything he had ever experienced, and for a moment he wanted to cry out, to stop, but he kept his wand steady and willed his flames to barrel through Marlene's.

But it was no use, for his flames turned on him again; Marlene had the upper hand, and James felt his energy draining. If he kept this going, he wasn't sure if he would be able to block any longer –

Then he thought of something, something ridiculous, but if he could pull it off, it would be brilliant – a Patronus! If he could just think of a happy memory, he'd be able to bend the flames to his will, he'd be able to control the fight –

But if he took his mind off the fire, it would only take a matter of seconds for Marlene's spells to reach him; he had no energy to think of a memory, and slowly the image of the Patronus faded from his mind, burned away by the fire that licked the edge of his wand –

"No, NO!" screamed Wagner, smile gone, his whole face white with fear. His voice sounded far away."Ihr Hurensöhne! Wahnsinnige! Stop this now!"

The stage was an inferno. Any hotter and the spells would turn into Fiendfyre. James didn't dare take his eyes away from the duel, but he knew that Wagner was right: they were going too far, and this was getting much too dangerous. He flicked his wand to the side, releasing the spell, hoping Marlene was doing the same.

For a second the fire stayed in the air, getting smaller and smaller as it overlapped with itself, a globe of red and blue brighter than anything in the square, like a second sun, before it burst in a small explosion that burned a hole through the stage.

Shreds fell like paper around James – the remnants of the Ministry's protective enchantments, he guessed, melted and torn by the heat of his and Marlene's spells. They had done their job well; no one in the crowd seemed hurt or burned, but he didn't know if he could say the same for himself.

He felt as though he'd been bathed in hot steam. There was an odd, funny smell coming from his robes that he doubted could get washed off easily, and his face felt like it had been slapped repeatedly, but he stood there, panting, his wand loose and dipped towards the ground, unwilling to fight any longer. Marlene stood opposite him, red-faced and smoking, the ends of her sleeves charred and in tatters, staring back at him dazedly.

There was a BANG to his right and he jumped; Wagner had his wand held up to the sky like a torch, and sparks were flying off the end.

"I zink zat is enough," said Wagner slowly, lowering his wand and scowling at them both. "Please exit zee stage and follow zee path to zee infirmary. And don't forget, Meester Potter, to tell zee Healer to fix your face."

"Your eyebrows are gone, by the way."

James opened his eyes slowly. A girl was leaning down, looking at him, her blonde hair nearly brushing against his burnt nose, her expression shaky as though she was trying hard not to laugh. A bandaged arm was reaching out to touch his face. James swatted it away.

They were in the infirmary, James remembered. He was seated on a bed, trying not to move his face as the Salamandra gel worked to cure his burns. He gingerly lifted an arm; to his horror, he found that, where his eyebrows usually were, there was only a patch of dry skin.

"Hark who's talking," James shot back, trying to cling to his pride. "Where'd your pony go? Seems it fancied a ride with your eyelashes."

"Killed your eyebrows on the way too, it seems."

James opened his mouth to retort, but Marlene cut him off.

"Relax," said Marlene. "Lily and the Healer interns'll be here soon. They'll fix you right up."

James grunted in understanding.

"Did you see the look on the Ministry's faces?" asked Marlene, plopping down next to him. "Bet they weren't expecting like that. That Wagner looked like he'd just seen his wife with some other bloke."

James mumbled something vague.

"Good thing the Ministry's protective enchantments saved them," she went on, her tone laced with sarcasm. "They burned so quickly, it was a miracle none of them were hurt… right, James?"

Not waiting for his answer, Marlene fished around her half-burnt robes and pulled out a chocolate frog.

"Go on, then," she said, offering it to him. "Sirius gave me a couple. Fingers crossed this one didn't turn to goo like the others."

James took it dully, unwrapped it, and nibbled on the malformed frog head. "Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?" asked Marlene.

James raised what would have been an eyebrow at Marlene's bandaged arms, then he winced. "It was just a stupid test. We could've coordinated beforehand, did something that would've gotten us both a pass. Instead we're in zee infirmary, and I haven't regained the physical capability to get mad at you."

Marlene shrugged. "I had to get you alone somehow. Wanted to talk about Sirius."

"And you couldn't have done this in a way where we aren't horribly burnt?" asked James irritatedly. "Because right now, I'm more than willing to talk about my best mate with someone who nearly killed me."

"Excellent," said Marlene happily. "Glad we're on the same page."

Before James could object, Marlene lifted her feet from the floor and sat crossed on his bed, turning fully to face him. Feeling uncomfortable, James scooted a bit to give her space.

"Now, to start," said Marlene, in a voice much lower and more serious than before, "What did Sirius mention about me? Before the exam?"

"How'd you know we were talking about you?" asked James. Then he wanted to kick himself. Had he really just said that?

Marlene cocked her head. "Sirius looked awfully upset to meet us. Figured something was wrong."

James let a sigh escape him – he was beginning to think that this was what Remus must have felt like, whenever he'd listen to James whine about his problems. There were two ways to go about this, he decided: either to lie outright, and say that Sirius thought things were all fine and dandy, or tell Marlene the truth.

James studied her. He hadn't had a good look at her in a couple of weeks – he'd forgotten how pretty she was. Or rather, James conceded, she would be pleasing to look at, had she not lost most of her front hair along with her eyelashes.

"He…" James hesitated, then shook his head. "I dunno how you're going to take this, Marls. D'you really want me to continue?"

"I do."

James tried to raise his eyebrows again. "All right, but don't go on a witch-hunt after I tell you. Sirius said… that he doesn't feel as though he does enough in your relationship. That he… doesn't deserve you, I guess? That's basically what I got from it."

"That's it?" said Marlene incredulously. "All that fuss, just to hear that Sirius wants to try and do better?"

"That's not what I said," muttered James.

"Whatever." Marlene stretched out her legs. "Besides, that's bullshit. Sirius does plenty. He just doesn't realise it."

"Really?" said James. From what he could remember, Sirius had never asked Marlene to go out and spend time alone together, except perhaps for their little excursions to the Astronomy tower after curfew. He was pretty sure that didn't count as a date.

"Yeah," said Marlene. The corners of her mouth twitched. "Don't go sounding all surprised. Our relationship isn't exactly… you know, ideal. But it's enough for me."

"Then he really is an animal, isn't he?" said James, unable to stop himself.

Marlene scowled, which looked odd with her hair in a reverse mohawk. "You didn't need to say that, you git. I just mean…" She took a deep breath. "Look, I get where you're coming from. And I get why Sirius might be feeling that way. I've never hinted at wanting anything more than what we have. It's just… this thing, between me and him. I know what he's truly like, under all that rebellious-bollocks and cool-bloke attitude. He's a real sweetheart, and the feeling you get when you're able to bring out that side of him, or see it when he's with you or Lily or any of the others… It's stuff like that that drives me to him. It's almost magical, James."

Magical. Of all the words James would have used to describe Sirius, he wouldn't have chosen that one.

"And Sirius doesn't know?" asked James. "Of all that disgusting bollocks, I mean."

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Oh, he tries to figure it out, tries to get me to tell him why I like him. I'm not telling him. This stays between us, all right?"

James held her gaze. He really felt as though he was channelling his inner-Remus spirit.

"Yeah, all right," said James quietly. "Sirius can be a prick sometimes, but he's serious about his friends. I reckon he considers you a bit more than that. He likes you more than what he can admit to himself."

Marlene finally smiled and, for a moment, James felt as though he'd just eaten a warm slice of treacle tart. He'd never really felt what it was like to have siblings – except for Sirius, who was more than a brother to him – but Marlene had filled that sister-shaped hole in him. She made him feel warm and content.

"You're a good friend, James," said Marlene. "And I'm sorry for burning off your eyebrows. I know how much they meant to you."

"I'm praying to Merlin you don't ever get your eyelashes back."

"Oh no, my eyelashes," said Marlene sarcastically, plopping down on the bed as though it was hers. "I won't ever be able to bat them at Sirius anymore, acting all flustered-like! You'll have to do it for me, James."

"Please," said James, nudging her bandaged shoulder with his elbow. "Just get off my bed, Marls."

The late-afternoon sun shone on the back of Sirius's head as he trudged back towards Hogwarts. For the first time in a long time, he wanted to be alone.

The day's events passed through his mind quickly, as though his brain had forgotten something. He saw his short duel with Remus – impressive enough to warrant them both a pass, he was sure of it, but he'd also made sure that he was the winner. He remembered the worry he'd felt when Marlene and James had exploded the stage – were they trying to kill each other? But he felt secretly relieved when they both left, leaving him free to drop his cheerful act.

He broke off the main path once he reached the school gates and wandered instead towards the grounds. He'd left Remus and Peter behind, ignoring their questions as they were swept by the crowd. There was someone he wanted to see, someone he wanted to talk to.

The grounds were packed, as they should be, for it was a Saturday. Students of all years milled around Sirius, laughing and joking and studying and whatever other bollocks they were up to. Sirius gritted his teeth from shouting at them – couldn't they see that he wanted peace and quiet?

Tick-tock. The clock-tower loomed above him, facing the wooden bridge. He had mixed feelings of the place – once, in his third year, he'd nearly pushed Snape off it. But he marched on, down towards the base where the courtyard was located.

There he was, standing with another bunch of six years, near one of the pillars of the clock-tower courtyard. Sirius glanced behind him, making sure none of his friends had followed – but even if they had, what could they say? They'd tell him to turn back, that it was a bad idea, and Sirius would probably have agreed with them.

But Sirius longed for his brother, for Regulus, and despite the imaginary warnings, he took a deep breath and stepped towards the group.

The chatter instantly died. Some of the Slytherins looked scared, some defiant, but Sirius searched for Regulus – he was never in the middle, never the person of attention. He just followed along, something Sirius could never understand.

Regulus's face betrayed a hint of surprise, but he quickly saw how the other Slytherins were acting towards Sirius. It wouldn't be entirely shocking if they started hissing right then.

"Reg," said Sirius, thrusting his hands in his coat pockets. "It's been a while."

The Slytherins all turned to look at Regulus, who glanced at them, before he turned his grey gaze on to Sirius.

"Right," said Regulus coldly.

They stared at each other; Sirius waited for Regulus to back down, as he knew he would, for there was unease in his eyes and haste in his features, telling Sirius that he wanted it over quickly.

Finally, Regulus said, "Leave us."

The Slytherins looked at each other, then back at Regulus, then shrugged and made their way back towards the castle, past Sirius, as though he wasn't there – as though he had never been there in the first place. Sirius and Regulus watched them go.

"Now, brother," said Regulus, forcing the last word so viciously it was painful to hear, "Let us talk."

Sirius wished he could tell Regulus that he would rather not go to the wooden bridge, but Regulus didn't seem to care. He walked in front of Sirius, in silence, for Sirius did not dare break it – a single wrong word could undo it all, and send whatever was left of their relationship toppling off the bridge.

Sirius thought they were going towards the garden at the end of the bridge, but Regulus stopped suddenly and turned to face him, his handsome features stony.

"I thought you should know," began Regulus, still in that cold voice, "that Mother's removed you from the Family Tree."

Sirius wanted to laugh. Were the words meant to hurt him? "That's old news, Reg. I've known for months. Ever since Bella and her little gang of murderers went on a little trip to Hogsmeade."

"Then you know that you've been officially disowned as well?" asked Regulus, arching his eyebrows. "You're no longer a Black. Not to Mother, anyway."

The way he'd phrased that sounded strange to Sirius. He let the words sink in for a moment, then said, "And to you?"

Regulus was already turning away from him when he answered. "We're brothers, Sirius. Nothing more, nothing less."

They made for the Sundial garden; according to it, it was nearing four in the afternoon. The sun slanted in through the green trees and plenty: springtime was coming to an end. Nobody else was around, and for the first time that day, Sirius felt relaxed.

They sat on a bench overlooking the lake. Hogwarts was in the distance, casting its tall shadow down upon the giant squid, who was wading near the coast. Even from there, Sirius could hear all the sounds of talking and laughing coming from the grounds. He wondered if James was back, and if he was looking for him.

"So?" came Regulus's voice, sounding far away. "You wanted to talk, Sirius?"

Sirius didn't immediately answer him. He expelled a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, then turned to Regulus.

"You know, I'm surprised at you," said Sirius. "You never agree to talking. Why now?"

Regulus shrugged. "Caught me in a good time, I suppose. Why'd you ask out of the blue?"

"That's not a good answer."

"Stop making a big deal about it," said Regulus, a tone of impatience in his voice. "I agreed to talk. Don't make me regret this."

Silence fell between them, and Regulus waited – waited for an answer Sirius did not know, an answer Sirius didn't even know the question for.

Finally, Sirius asked, "How's Mum?"

The question seemed to take Regulus by surprise. "I don't know. She was furious when she lost the trial, but she sounded fine in her letters… why?"

Sirius didn't answer him. In truth, he didn't care. His mother could have gotten eaten by a dragon and he would have merely raised an eyebrow.

But now the beginnings of a question was starting to form in his mind. Regulus had mentioned the trial, and it had reminded Sirius – that there was a world outside of Hogwarts. He'd been so busy the last couple of days he'd forgotten that they were currently in open war.

"A few weeks ago," started Sirius, speaking carefully, "Voldemort took Dover. Did… you know, Bella – I mean, our family, as a whole… did they have anything to do with it?"

Regulus's voice hardened. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because," said Sirius uncomfortably, trying to think of a reason, "you're the heir. Mum and Dad're bound to tell you what's going on in the family."

At the word 'heir', Regulus's face had darkened.

"Trying to justify your hatred for us?" said Regulus harshly.

"What? No!" Sirius yelped. "I just –"

Regulus stood up so quickly Sirius flinched. His silver eyes looked like slits as he stared down at Sirius.

"So this is what you wanted to talk about," said Regulus. "Our stupid family."

Sirius stood up as well. His arms spasmed – he'd just stopped himself from grabbing hold of Regulus's shoulders, like he had when they were little; instead, he shoved them into his pockets.

"I wanted to talk because I know you're going to join Voldemort," said Sirius defiantly.

"Who says I haven't joined already?" asked Regulus.

A chill ran down Sirius's spine. It was possible, naturally, but he had to convince himself that there was still a chance: that Regulus had not yet gone down that path.

"I know you better than you think," said Sirius, lying through his teeth.

"And yet you know nothing," said Regulus, scowling. "Did you ever stop and think, just for a moment, how you leaving would affect the whole family?"

Sirius opened his mouth, then closed it, puzzled. Where was this going?

"Mother went mad," said Regulus, a slight tremor to his voice. "Almost, anyways. Father… I don't know. He's more indifferent than he used to be."

"You think I care?" demanded Sirius, and this time he did laugh. It was not a good laugh; it felt almost forced. "They never saw me as anything more than a failure after I started making my own decisions. And you – you became the heir, right? It's everything you ever wanted –"

"You abandoned us," hissed Regulus. "Abandoned me. And then you come back to Hogwarts acting as though nothing's happened, and I hear you've found a new home at the Potters' – as though you couldn't wait to replace us. Ten years we were raised together, Sirius, and you – you –" Regulus seemed to be struggling with himself, "you threw it all away!"

His voice had risen to an angry shrill. Sirius wanted to shout back, but Regulus wasn't finished.

"Do you know what I've had to deal with ever since I became heir?" snapped Regulus. "Father grew more and more distant every day, so it fell on me to do all the work. Our family name, Black –" Regulus all but spat the word, "you've been dragging it through the mud ever since you started Hogwarts, but now we're all seen as a big fat joke. Just once, you could've apologised, explained things to me, but you're too busy having the time of your life with your friends –"

"You think I have it easy?" demanded Sirius, clenching his fists inside his pockets. "You think I want to be living like this – like some sort of outcast?"

"You could've pretended you cared!" exclaimed Regulus. "You could've at least done more for the family! And now we're no longer kids, and I'm the heir now." Regulus's eyes softened, but to Sirius, they looked almost resigned. "I'm the heir now," he repeated, as though he was trying to convince himself.

Regulus's features hardened again. "How could you ever understand? You didn't see what our parents were like after you left. You weren't there the night Mother lost the trial. You weren't there when –" he took an unsteady breath, lowering his voice so no one could hear, but there was no one around, "when Bella and Lucius started cornering me, telling me to join or to die or be labelled a traitor, or whatever sick thing they had planned."

A gentle breeze blew around them, causing Regulus's long hair to float and tangle. He brushed his fingers through it furiously, not taking his eyes off Sirius.

When Sirius finally spoke, his voice was quieter than he'd meant for it to come out.

"So that's why you're joining?" asked Sirius. "Because Bella and Lucius are threatening you?"

"I'm joining because I care about my family," snapped Regulus. "Because I can't stand seeing Mother and Father like that. I don't give a Hippogriff's arse about what happens to the Muggles –" Regulus scowled, "if it meant that our family could regain its honour, then I'd see them die – and help the Dark Lord kill them."

"You fool," said Sirius softly. "Can't you hear yourself? Can't you see how fucking ridiculous this all is?"

"I don't care," said Regulus stubbornly. "Perhaps, if things weren't so complicated, if the last seven years hadn't happened, you could've convinced me. Perhaps I would've asked you to protect me from the Death Eaters."

"Then ask, Merlin!" said Sirius angrily. "I know people, I know Aurors who can –"

But Regulus shook his head. "If you know how powerful the Dark Lord is, how truly incomparable he is, then you'd know that no one in the world can stop him. I don't want your protection, Sirius. I want our family to rise, and I want you to stand with us once we do."

Sirius's heart sank. Here he was, listening to his brother talk about joining a mass murderer – and he knew, right then, that he wouldn't be able to convince him to turn back. There was a low fire in Regulus's eyes, daring Sirius to challenge him.

"This is it, then?" said Sirius. "Are we going to stand on opposite ends from now on?"

Regulus drew himself up haughtily and brushed some more hair out of his face.

"We've always stood at opposite ends," said Regulus. "It's only now that I'm realising what that really means."

And with that, he turned his back to Sirius and strode past the benches, past the Sundial garden and its trees, all the way towards the wooden bridge without ever once looking back. Sirius did not follow him.