Whispers of the Veil
Middle Names
"Regulus, have…."
Sirius stiffened, turning at the sound of the familiar voice.
"Sirius Orion Black!" Walburga's voice rose, making Sirius' head dart over to the bed where his younger brother was asleep, his breath drawing in sharp. "What the bloody…."
"Not so loud," Sirius said, catching Walburga off guard. He kept his voice low, speaking sharply. "He's sleeping."
"And why is that?" Walburga snapped, her head turning to look at Regulus.
"Please." He felt his voice strain. "Don't wake him."
"Oh?" Walburga sneered. "Because you don't want me to know what you did, Sirius Orion Black? Although, should I be surprised, what with your attempt at luring one of your fellow years into getting attacked by a werewolf?"
Sirius felt his eyes widen. " Oh yeah. That 's what she was yelling at me for. Albus Dumbledore promised to keep it under wraps for Remus' sake, only for Phineas Nigelius to rat on me. Bloody family portraits. " He let out a deep breath. " At least I don 't have to deal with hers yet, " he thought. He remembered all too well the greeting he received from his mother's portrait as she looked like a rabid dog trying to attack him. " She never stops being a force to be reckoned with. "
She sniffed as of on cue and tilted her head to indicate Regulus' desk where Sirius now sat. "And isn't it too late to study, given your abysmal OWLs? Really, I…"
"That," Sirius said, taking a deep breath, remembering the other thing they'd argued about before he'd run away. He looked over at the desk.
"Yes, that, Sirius. You are the family heir, yet the scores you received on your OWLs," Walburga hissed, her voice raising, only to startle when a Regulus let out a mummer, obviously agitated in his sleep by their mother's raised voice. "And what…."
Sirius raised a finger to his mouth.
"Are you—did you just shush me?"
"Yes," Sirius said. "He's sleeping."
"What did," Waluburga closed her eyes as Regulus stirred slightly. She then turned somewhat and stood in the doorway, her finger pointing. "Out."
"Wait," Sirius said.
"Now," Walburga said firmly, keeping her voice low for once.
"But then, Regulus has always been her perfect little angel." Sirius stood up, his mind trying to think of how he could return to the room to keep his promise of not leaving Regulus until his younger brother came to. "And I certainly don't want to leave him under her gentle care."
"Funny how you did," the older voice of his said in the back of his head. "You do know there is nothing gentle about Walburga Black."
He stepped out, hearing the door close behind him, and braced himself against the wall. Walburga folded her arms across her chest. "What, pray do tell, Sirius Orion Black, do you not understand about being grounded to your room?"
"I," Sirius started to say, his hands forming fists at his sides. His eyes were focused on the ground.
"This certainly wouldn't have happened if you'd just stayed in your room as told," Walburga snapped, not seeming to care that her voice was rising.
"It's not my fault he," Sirius started to say, his voice rising, only for his throat to tighten, his eyes widening as he looked at her, having raised his head in defiance. He let out a curse, quickly muttering a silencing spell, one to do the reverse of the one Regulus had cast earlier, this time to keep sound from getting into the room.
"What kind of game are you playing at, Sirius!" Walburga said, grabbing his arm suddenly, her nails digging into his arm. "Are you trying to accuse your brother of something you did?"
"Regulus didn't do anything wrong!" Sirius snapped, not holding back. "So just lay into me, not him!"
"You've just accused your brother of going into your room, that he'd done something to incur your wrath?"
"No!" Sirius said.
"Then you were out of your room? You were trying to lie?" Walburga said.
"My door was open!" Sirius said. "And he didn't do anything wrong!"
"But you still decided to take your anger at me grounding him out on him, didn't you?" Walburga said with her grip tightening. "What spell, Sirius Orion Black, did you use on your brother!"
"A Calming Drought!" Sirius blurted out. "He's just under the effect of a Calming Drought!"
Which he hadn't wanted to say.
"Because you know, she'll come down on him if she finds out about his meltdown, so do something, young Sirius Black. Don't abandon him again," the older voice said.
"You what?" his mother said, her tone of voice lowering. "Why would you ply your brother with a Calming Draught?"
"Because he wasn't calm!" Sirius said, his head darting up. "But as I said, he didn't do anything wrong!" Yet, in the back of his mind and from the look on her face, Sirius knew she felt he'd done something wrong.
She took a deep breath. "He wasn't calm?"
"I said the wrong thing to him, alright!" Sirius said. "And I tried fixing things, so…."
"So you were out of your room?"
"Bloody," Sirius cursed. "My door was open! He said something…."
"To incur that temper of yours?" Walburga snapped, making it all too obvious where Sirius got his temper from.
"Yes! Fine! If that gets you to leave Regulus bloody alone! If I say, he said something ad nauseam that I didn't like!" Sirius said, nostrils flaring. "I'll take full responsibility."
He watched his mother turn her head, looking at Regulus' door, her hand still gripping Sirius' arm, her grip slightly lighter than before. "You're lying."
"I'm not lying," Sirius said.
And then he received that look she gave him whenever she didn't believe him. "You gave in too easy, Sirius. What did you say to your brother?"
For a moment, he considered yelling out to her that he'd broken Regulus' arm and that was why his younger brother wasn't calm, but then—something told Sirius that wouldn't work, might make things worse. He muttered. "Something to make me angry?"
She glared at him, her fingers tightening. "So now, after all this time, you decide to show familial loyalty to that brother of yours?" She sneered. "I thought you didn't care about this family, Sirius. If I remember correctly, you clarified that when I sent you to your room." She lowered her face to his. "What did you say to Regulus?"
"Don't," the adult voice said.
"You mean to call him a bloody murderer because his mommy wants him to join the Death Eaters?" Sirius said, sneering.
"I see," Walburga said. She let go of his arm and started down the stairs leaving him to think he'd had the final word. Still, then, "If you're so dead set on taking responsibility," she said, making him turn to look at her and see she was glaring up at him from one of the stairs leading up to the floor of his and Regulus' rooms were on. "Then you're responsible for getting him to dinner on time, at six o'clock. But if he doesn't show, if either of you don't, you're the only one who will be in trouble."
Sirius stared, his jaw clenching as she continued down the stairs.
And then she stopped further down, turning to look at him again. "And I know, Sirius, that you are still lying to me." Her words made his jaw drop. "I figured I'd reward you for showing family loyalty for once."
"Bloody Merlin!" Sirius spluttered, heat flushing his cheeks at what she said, angry she'd used the words she did.
"And you're still grounded, but I'm amending it to the top floor of the house outside of meals and activities your father and I approve."
Sirius clenched his fists together, swallowing. "I bloody hate her!"