A/N: Sorry for the short delay. I needed to organize the story. Hope you enjoy! Keep reviewing!
Chapter Six
In the end, Sirius wasn't quite sure how he and Regulus managed to survive the harsh winter.
The days were long and the nights were cold. The brothers managed to find several homeless shelters, staying for no more than two or three days, at a time. Charities were very benevolent, giving the brothers much needed supplies. Average civilians, however, turned their noses to the air, whenever they saw the duo.
Sirius and Regulus were often hungry, and often had to resort to thievery to obtain food. The shelters that tried to help them could only give so much. The things that they did give were closely inspected by Sirius. Sirius realized that living on the streets had caused him to become slightly paranoid.
One day, he woke up, and was shocked when Regulus wasn't next to him.
He jumped off of the park bench, that they had been lying on, and looked around.
"Shadow, find Regulus!" he cried, frantically.
The dog lifted his head, yawning.
"You useless mutt," Sirius sighed, running down the park path, "Regulus?"
He spotted his brother standing next to a fountain, talking to another man.
Sirius's heart plummeted as he saw that the man was in uniform. He realized, with horror, that it was a Muggle policeman.
"Reg, no!" Sirius cried, pulling his brother away.
When the officer raised his eyebrows, Sirius said, quickly, "I'm sorry, sir. I hope that my brother hasn't bothered you!"
He didn't wait for the man to answer. He grabbed Regulus's arm, pulling him as hard as he could.
"Sirius, wait!" Regulus cried, but Sirius didn't stop.
He grabbed Shadow's collar, and the four raced away.
Regulus tried to protest, and Shadow lapped at Sirius's ankles.
Finally, when they were over a mile away, Sirius dragged the three behind a slushy snow pile, ignoring Regulus's weak punches.
"What are you doing?" Regulus wailed.
"Are you an idiot?" Sirius roared, "What do you think you were doing, talking to a police officer?"
"He…he seemed nice," Regulus said, in a small voice, "He said that he wanted to help us."
Sirius threw his hands into the air, "He was going to help by shipping us off to an orphanage or back to Grimmauld Place! We'll end up being separated!"
Regulus stumbled backwards, sitting down on the cobblestone street.
Sirius continued, angrily, "Is that what you want? Do you want to be separated? Answer me, Regulus!"
"No!" Regulus burst out, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Oh, don't you dare start crying!" Sirius snapped, viciously.
Regulus took several shuddering breaths, trying to calm down.
Sirius softened, but was still short when he asked, "Why the bloody hell did you start talking to him, in the first place?"
By now, Regulus was hopelessly confused, "I thought that I could trust him."
"Regulus, we live on the streets," Sirius sighed, "You can't trust anyone."
Regulus nodded, turning away from Sirius. Sirius was certain that his little brother didn't want to see him crying.
Sirius suddenly realized something, "Ah no! I must've left my satchel back in the park. Come on, we need to go get it."
Regulus didn't answer.
For a second, Sirius thought that he had fallen asleep. He then realized that Regulus was merely ignoring him.
"Come on, then, Reg!" Sirius urged.
Regulus muttered something.
"Come again?" Sirius asked.
"You said that I shouldn't trust anyone," Regulus reminded him, "Why should I trust you?"
Sirius groaned, "I meant to not trust strangers. You know who I am. I'm Sirius Orion Black, your brother, and the only person you have left."
Regulus merely blinked up at him.
Sirius sighed, realizing that he had been acting irrationally, "I wouldn't trust myself either, Reg."
He turned around, his adrenaline burnt. He felt his eyes burn, and a lump rose in his throat.
Someone put a hand on his shoulder. Sirius turned, and felt himself being ambushed by a hug from Regulus.
Sirius hugged him back, smiling, "Come on."
They retraced their steps, until they reached the park.
The satchel was still beneath the park bench. Sirius sighed, relieved.
He leafed through it, pulling out nonperishable foods, a safety blanket, a change of clothes, Regulus's book, a can of dog food, several potions, and a sneakoscope.
The sneakoscope and potions had been stolen from his father's study, shortly before Regulus and Sirius had run away.
Regulus took the book, asking, "Can you read to me?"
"Fine," Sirius smiled.
Shadow curled next to them, as they snuggled on the bench.
Sirius opened to a random page, and began to recite:
NO! That's not for you! Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying You'll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you'll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
Sirius broke off, thoughtfully.
Regulus yawned, staring up at him, "What's wrong?"
"I was just wondering," Sirius mused, "What do you think Dr. Seuss meant by all of this?"
Regulus thought for a moment, before whispering, "There is no meaning. That's what makes it such a good story."
Sirius slowly nodded, "Come on. We best be moving on."
Regulus was already sound asleep.
Sirius chuckled, gently picking his brother up. He piggybacked Regulus across the city, with Shadow at his heels.
A/N: Sorry if this sounded so dull. This was really a filler chapter, so that I didn't jump right from Christmas to springtime.
I was asked if someone was going to help the boys. Why, yes! In fact, that certain someone will be appearing in the next chapter.
There's still more to come. Keep replying! (;