"Sirius!" Regulus shouted across the crowded platform, ignoring the disapproving stare of his mother which promised later retribution.
Sirius looked up briefly, made eye contact with his brother, then turned back to the dark haired boy he had been talking to. Regulus frowned, disappointed, but decided to wait for his brother to come over to them.
"Mother," Sirius greeted coldly, when he finally made his way over. Regulus frowned. He didn't know much of what had happened between them over the year – only that Mother was angry, and so was Sirius, and they were both unlikely to back down – but he hadn't thought it would be like this. "Can I stay at James' for a couple weeks?" Sirius asked, not even looking at Regulus.
"James?" their mother snapped. "James who?"
"Potter," Sirius said. She seemed to think about it for a moment; Regulus hoped she would say no.
"When?" she asked, and Regulus felt his heart sink.
"His mum said I could stay with them for the first couple weeks," Sirius said. "And they're going to France at the end of July. They said I could come, too."
"But we always go to France," Regulus said. "Why d'you need to go twice?"
"So, can I go?" Sirius asked, trying not to appear too hopeful.
"You may go for one week," she said – Regulus thought she probably just wanted him out of the house, but didn't want to appear too lenient. "Not this week," she added when it looked like Sirius was about to run off. "I will not have come all the way down here for nothing," she snapped. Sirius looked disappointed, but it was nothing compared to the crushing disappointment Regulus was feeling.
Sirius grinned, though he quickly hid the gesture.
"I'll be right back," he said, turning and running back to his friend. Regulus could see the boys talking and laughing, but he couldn't make out their words. He wondered if they could ever go back to that, him and Sirius, or if things would be different between them now.