Sirius was a nervous wreck. After spending more time thinking about it, he had decided to take Hermione's advice and reconcile with his brother. At the moment he was waiting in one of the unused classrooms with Pansy and Luna while Hermione went to fetch Regulus.
He wasn't sure what to expect from his brother and couldn't seem to stop twitching as a result.
"Quit your fidgeting," Pansy suddenly whispered in his ear. He shivered involuntarily before turning to glare at her. She was closer than he expected and he was suddenly met with a pair of beautiful forest green eyes that sparked with mischief. Sirius Black was an expert on mischief and just as he was about to make a witty response, they heard the sound of the door creaking open. Sirius froze in worried anticipation.
Hermione's head popped in with a grin before she pulled a bewildered looking Regulus into the room after her. His face seemed to clear in understanding when his gaze fell upon Sirius before settling into a hopeful wariness.
"Hello, Sirius," Regulus said in a formal sounding voice.
Sirius, already on edge as it was, took that to be a show of snobbery and hopped to his feet to swiftly head towards the door.
"I knew this was a bad idea," He began while running his fingers through his hair unconsciously.
Before he could make it past Regulus, a gloved hand reached out to grab his shoulder. He half-turned to see Pansy giving him a very serious look. It was somehow different from her usual expressions and it made him pause momentarily.
It was just enough time for Hermione to nudge Regulus forward encouragingly. Regulus cleared his throat nervously and did his best to drop the mask he had so carefully cultivated.
"Sirius." The boy in question turned towards his younger brother curiously. A million things ran through Regulus's head but he decided to just say what he truly felt for once.
"I've missed you."
Sirius's shoulders sagged as if whatever tension had been holding them up had seeped out. He looked at the face of his younger brother and saw the slight desperation there. Like a dam breaking, Sirius felt a rush of repressed emotions overwhelm him before swiftly closing the distance between them and enveloping Regulus in a relieved hug.
"I've missed you too," He mumbled.
The three girls quietly excused themselves from the room to let the brothers talk. Once outside the room, Pansy put up a few privacy spells to protect their conversation from the paintings or any other passersby.
Once secured, the three seemed to break from their solemn expressions into excited exclamations.
"We did it!" Hermione couldn't help but say. Things were going to surprisingly well that even she couldn't hold back such a reaction. It felt good to actually be reuniting people for once rather than seeing them torn apart from each other.
The three just grinned at each other widely for a few minutes while the euphoria wore off.
Slowly, reality crept back into their souls.
"But we still have 3 horcruxes left and the monster himself," Hermione concluded. They nodded to each other in grim determination.
"With the Christmas holiday coming up in a few days, we should have plenty of time to retrieve at least one," Pansy put in.
Luna was staring off into space again as she was wont to do.
Hermione continued on, knowing that Luna was still listening even if she didn't look like it.
"I think we should go to Malfoy Manor next. The locket most likely hasn't been placed in the cave yet if Regulus hasn't mentioned anything and breaking into Bellatrix's vault will take more information and planning," Hermione stated logically.
The three nodded as they began making their way towards the dormitories. Luna parted with them on the first floor and headed for the castle doors. Hermione and Pansy let her go without comment, knowing she was probably going to visit the thestrals.