Next chapter! Once I started it this morning, I couldn't stop. :D Hope you enjoy! Just a quick note, there is some language- well, you know Sirius' temper.
Grace sat in the drawing room, her knees drawn up against her chest, staring at the tapestry of the Black family tree that hung on the wall. She hadn't truly accepted Regulus' death until that evening several years ago when she had been sitting in this very chair, reading a book. The flames in the grate were throwing flickering shadows across the wall, and a log had settled onto the hot coals, the sap in its bark igniting with a loud pop. Grace had jumped, looking up at the sound, and it was then that her gaze had landed on the tapestry. Where Regulus' portrait had once smiled out at her among green and silver threads, now a cream-colored skull grinned grotesquely at her.
She stared at the skull now, her heart wrenching. It had been fifteen years- why did he still have such a hold on her heart? She smiled to herself. Because Regulus had been the only one to show her any kindness as a child. And now, to hear of his sacrifice- his nobility- it just made the ache in her chest worse.
She fought back her tears, swallowing with difficulty as the door creaked open. Sirius' voice called out softly, tentatively. "Grace."
She turned away angrily. "Leave me alone," she spat. "All this time, you have been giving me grief over how much of a disappointment Reg was to you- and now the tables have turned." She shot him a glare. "He was a better person than you could ever hope to be, Sirius."
The older man frowned. "Why do you hate me so much?" he asked bluntly. "I know you were a Slytherin, and you supported Voldemort like a good little pureblood, but seriously. You can't still believe in that maniac."
"Don't you?" She turned away again.
Sirius came to stand beside her, reaching out and taking her chin in his hand, turning her face to look at him. "He can rot in hell," he said simply. "Him and all of his followers. They are nothing more than bloodthirsty, power-seeking fools- all of them."
"And the Potters?" Grace was almost afraid to ask. She wasn't surprised when Sirius' face contorted into an expression of grief.
"I didn't kill them," he said. "But I might as well have. I was supposed to be their Secret Keeper; I was supposed to keep them safe. But I was a coward. I thought Voldemort would come after me, and I was afraid- afraid that I wouldn't be able to withstand the torture I knew he would subject me to. I convinced them to use Peter instead. I figured no one would guess that a cowardly little fool like that would be their Secret Keeper." His features twisted, anger flashing behind his grey eyes. "And I was right- except he was already following someone else."
"The Dark Lord," Grace whispered, piecing the rest of the story together.
Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. "We all knew that someone was passing information along to him. More fool me, I thought Remus was the traitor. It took us some time to get over that once I escaped Azkaban."
"But you killed Pettigrew," Grace said softly, a question in her voice. "Surely that is a good thing."
Sirius laughed again, but there was an undercurrent of bitterness in it. "I thought I killed him," he corrected her. "He got away. Did you know that he is an Animagus? Turns himself physically to match the rat's personality he has."
Grace blinked. "What?"
"That's how Voldemort came back," he explained. "Little shit went sniveling back to his master and helped him right back to power. That's what we're dealing with now."
"But if he's alive- doesn't that clear your name?" Grace asked, confused.
Sirius snickered. "I don't plan on him turning himself in any time soon- and until that happens, who would believe me?"
Grace played with a string in her lap, biting her lip. "So, you're stuck here."
"I'm stuck here," he assured her. "But now that we know the truth, maybe we can stop arguing over Reg all the time."
Grace started to retort that he was the one who always got so touchy about the subject, but wisely decided to hold her tongue. She held out her hand. "Friends, then?"
Sirius grasped her small hand in his large one, smiling. "Friends."
"What about the Horcrux?" Grace asked.
Sirius' brows knit together as he thought about it. "Dumbledore," he said finally. "He'll know what to do with it."
That night, Sirius' cries woke her up again. She beat Remus to Sirius' bedroom door, frowning at how overwhelmingly exhausted he looked. Thinking to herself that she ought to send Kreacher for some Pepper-Up potion for him in the morning, she slipped inside.
The moon was nearly full, and its rays illuminated the room, casting silvery light across the bed where Sirius lay. He was tossing and turning, and beads of sweat stood out on his brow. Grace eased herself onto the bed and touched his bare shoulder lightly. He jerked away, still dreaming. "Lily," he sobbed. "James. Oh, Harry, my boy, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. It's all my fault." He began grinding his teeth. "I'll find you," he hissed. "You little shit- I'll find-"
Grace gripped his shoulder more firmly. "Sirius, wake up!" she commanded, and his grey eyes flew open. He scrambled away from her on the bed, his pupils wide with disorientation. "What-?"
"You were having a nightmare," she said simply. "I couldn't stand to hear your cry anymore, so-"
"A dream," Sirius breathed. "Another fucking dream." He dropped his head into his hands. "Every. Fucking. Night. If it's not Azkaban, it's James and Lily," he told her, his voice muffled as he spoke into his fingers. "I can't take this anymore." And to Grace's surprise, he started to cry.
She crawled onto the bed, pulling him close to her like one would a child, tucking his head into her breast. "Shhh," she soothed, rubbing his back in comforting circles. "Shhh, it was only a dream, Sirius. You're safe now."
"I know I am," he said loudly. "James, a-a-and Lily…"
Grace closed her eyes and continued to console him. "It's alright, Sirius. I know it hurts. Trust me." She tried not to think of Reg, the one she had lost in this terrible war, whose nearly identical older brother was now sobbing uncontrollably in her arms. How had her life come full circle like this?
Eventually, Sirius' sobs quieted, and she smoothed his black hair back from his face. "Feel better?" she asked, pulling back to look him in the face. His eyes were puffy, and his lip was trembling, but he seemed to otherwise be in control. He nodded, suddenly embarrassed.
Grace smiled softly, stroking his cheek. "It's okay, Sirius. I don't blame you. I cried every night for the longest time after Reg disappeared."
Sirius froze at his brother's name, sitting back suddenly. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said stiffly, looking away resolutely. Grace recognized the aristocrat in him struggling to hide behind the façade of formality. She decided it was best for her to leave. "Get some sleep, Sirius," she said curtly, sliding off of the bed and heading for the door. "I'll see you at breakfast." And with that, she closed the door.
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