#and then once reg is able to break away from Walburga he’d FUCKING IMMEDIATELY GO TO SIRIUS ALL FEELING BAD AND THINKING SIRIUS HATES HIM

[1-8oo-wtfbro]

so many marauders posts (esp ab the black brothers) can basically be summed up like ‘tell me ur an only child without telling me ur an only child’

#all those angsty headcannons ab sirius saying james’ bday when someone asks ab his brothers birthday #and just over all calling james his brother and ignoring regulus #BFFR. what does that spell? BE. FUCKING #FOR. REAL. #sirius doesn’t know ANYONES birthday #my man’s is over here getting bullied by all for not even getting Remus’ right. HE IS LITERALLY JUST A GIRL #idk i just find a lot of these headcannons v whumpy and unrealistic #siblings who grew up in an incredibly abusive environment where sirius was always trying to protect reg and throwing himself into the fire #to protect him? #LITERALLY HATE THE SIRIUS HATES/DOESNT LIKE REG AGENDA THAT IS SO UNTRUE #SIRIUS WOULD CONSTANTLY BE TRYING TO REACH OUT AND CONNECT AND REGULUS WOULD PUSH HIM AWAY BC OF WALBURGA BUT INTERNALLY WANT HIS BIG BRO #and then sirius would be heartbroken but respect regulus not wanting to be seen with him so he’d back off but watch from a distance #and then once reg is able to break away from Walburga he’d FUCKING IMMEDIATELY GO TO SIRIUS ALL FEELING BAD AND THINKING SIRIUS HATES HIM #BUT SIRIUS JUST HUGS HIM BC HIS LITTLE BROTHER FINALLY CAME BACK TO HIM #mauraders #marauders #the marauders #the mauraders #sirius black #regulus black #the black brothers

[useless-slytherclaw]

Chapter 4: Tear in the Veil

Regulus was lying in the grass, and Iset had her head on his shoulder.  The grass was soft and the weight of Iset against him was comforting.  They had talked for a while and walked down the road.  They had managed to walk away from the crossroads but had yet to arrive anywhere.  Regulus really didn’t mind.  He enjoyed resting in the grass with Iset by his side, and he enjoyed walking with her.  

They’d had time to discuss things they never had before, like their childhood memories.  It was somehow easier to talk about Walburga in this strange silent place.  Iset held him and stroked his hair.  When she looked at him it was with empathy and not pity.  She had her own stories about her father.  When she whispered about how she used to hide in her closet when she cried, he didn’t feel bad about being afraid of his parents. 

Everything wasn’t that heavy, though.  Sometimes they reminisced about their time at Hogwarts.  They remembered their time together and told stories about their other friends: Barty Crouch and Regina Lestrange mostly.  They even laughed about the handful of times they had aided the so-called marauders in pranking Mulciber, Avery, and Snape.  

Iset had also told him everything that had happened in the three years after he died.  He breathed a sigh of relief to know that the Dark Lord had fallen.  They discussed at length what sort of magic could have allowed a baby to defeat the Dark Lord.  But he couldn’t believe that his brother was in Azkaban.  It seemed incomprehensible that Sirius would betray Potter?  Then again, he’d already turned his back on his real brother, hadn’t he?  More than that, Regulus couldn’t picture a world where his brother supported the Dark Lord. 

They were taking a break again, and resting in the grass by the side of the road.  His mind was blissfully empty.  It was empty in a way that it couldn’t be in the real world. There was nothing in his mind, not even the sound of his own breathing or the temperature of the air.

Then suddenly, something changed.  Regulus sat up and Iset let out a startled noise and ended up with her head in his lap, looking up curiously.  

“What was that?”  She demanded.  Regulus just pointed.  There was the same strange warping of space that had occurred when Iset had arrived.  The pair of them jumped to their feet.  A figure was appearing, much much faster than Iset had.

Regulus rushed forward.  Who was this?  Whoever they were, they were falling.  A tall, dark-haired man solidified in time to slam into Regulus, who staggered.  

“For Merlin’s sake!” The man cried, pulling away from Regulus and almost knocking both of them over.

“Sirius?” Regulus asked incredulously.  Once he heard the voice it was obvious.  He looked much older than Regulus remembered, but it was Sirius, bloody Sirius.  Irritation flared, why did Sirius have to come here?

“Regulus?”  Sirius managed to get his feet under him and turned his head to look at his brother.  “That means--”

“You’re dead, yes.” Regulus’ voice was sharp.   

“Bullocks,” Sirius swore.  “Fucking Bellatrix.  I need to get back.  Harry needs me.”

“Sirius,” Regulus said, “You’re dead.  You can’t just ‘get back’.”

“Boys,” Iset’s voice interrupted whatever Sirius was about to say in response.  Sirius looked at her, confused.  She pointed at the place where Sirius had appeared, the space there was still oddly warped.  “It’s not closing.  Reg, maybe this is why we are in this place; this is what we were waiting for.  We aren’t ready to move on because we have to go back.”

Sirius looked from his brother to Iset and shrugged, turning back towards the veil.  Iset grabbed him.  “It might close when you touch it!”

“Well, I’ve got things to do,” Sirius snapped, “I’m not waiting around for you two to have a council.”

Regulus was frozen, looking at the warping space.  Back, he could go back.  He suddenly wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to go back.  What was there for him out there?  Was Iset right, were they in this limbo because they had to go back before they could move on?  He grabbed Iset’s hand tightly.  “Together,” he said.

“Together.”  

Sirius stepped through the veil, pulling Iset along as she refused to let go.  Regulus stepped through after her.   

The first thing Regulus realized was that he had a body again. His heartbeat sounded incredibly loud, and he could both hear and feel his breathing.  The second thing he realized was that he was soaking wet.  His clothes and hair were dripping.  He opened his mouth and water spilled out.  Luckily though, there didn’t seem to be water in his lungs.  He put his free hand up to wipe his mouth and looked around.  

He was in a large rectangular amphitheater type room.  The light was dim enough that Regulus couldn’t see the top of the room.  The air was chill and he could feel the draft against his skin.  The three of them were standing on a platform in front of a crumbling arch with a gentle shifting black curtain in it.  He immediately sensed that was where they had come from and stepped away from it.  

“Where are we?” Iset’s voice echoed around the room.  Regulus turned to look at her and felt his skin go suddenly hot.  Regulus has hardly seen her in anything other than robes, but now, she was wearing silk pajama shorts and a tank top.  She hadn’t been wearing that before had she?  For some reason, he couldn’t picture what she had been wearing. He looked away, first at the ground, and then at the ceiling. Merlin save him.  He could feel his heartbeat accelerating in his chest.  They must have returned how they were when they died. He had been drowning, and she must have been asleep.  

“Inside the Ministry of Magic,” Sirius' voice broke through the rush of Regulus’ thoughts.  He’d momentarily forgotten that Iset had asked a question.  “We’re in the Department of Mysteries.”  

“Great.” Regulus gritted his teeth.  Three people who were supposed to be dead, one Death Eater, and one convicted murderer stuck in the fucking Ministry of Magic.  His heartbeat was still so loud.

“They probably have anti-apparition wards,” Iset said.  

Sirius turned on his heel and swore.  “Seems like it.”

“I might be able to do something about the wards if I had a wand.” Iset was worrying her lip between her teeth.  “I wish I had that book.”

When she said ‘wand’ both Regulus and Sirius reached for their pockets.  Regulus found his wand at the bottom of his pocket, it was soaking wet, but it was there.  Sirius was swearing and double-checking his pockets.  

“Must have flown out of my hand.  I’m going to kill Bellatrix next time I see her.”

Regulus offered Iset his wand, and she took it with a smile.  She gave it a few experimental flicks and fountains of silver sparks showered from the end. Taking a deep breath, she set her jaw and then started to move the wand in a complicated pattern.  Regulus watched her, and he loved it all. The glint in her eye, the confidence with which she cast the spells, the way she looked in those shorts.  But now was really not the time for those thoughts, so he forced himself to turn away.  Regulus had never been as obsessed with girls as his dorm mates and had often been uncomfortable with their explicit discussions, but right then, with Iset half-dressed right in front of him, he understood.  He forced himself to turn away and look at his brother.

“Can you really break through the Ministry’s spell work?��� Sirius asked Iset, his face was skeptical.

“Maybe,” she said without looking up.  “It’s doable.  Dumbledore bends the ones at Hogwarts sometimes.”

“Yea but he’s--”

“Dumbledore, order of merlin first class, yes, yes, yes.” Iset said, her voice sharp.

“How long is it going to take?” 

“Longer if you keep bothering me.  Since I’m not Dumbledore, I have to do this the hard way, and I can hardly think over the sound of my own heartbeat.”  

Regulus knew the feeling.  The conversation between Sirius and Iset was underscored by the rushing sound of his own blood and the soft sound of his breath.  And the room- the chill felt like it was clinging to his skin… or maybe that was the water.  

Sirius had turned away from Iset and was frowning. “I don't understand where everyone went.  I was only on the other side for less than a minute.”

“Time flows differently there,” Regulus said.  His brother was about to open his mouth, so Regulus headed him off. “We can discuss it later.  We have a lot of things to discuss later,  but right now we need a plan.  Where are we going once we can leave?”

“Grimmauld Place,” Sirius said immediately and Regulus raised an eyebrow. Sirius wanted to go to Grimmauld Place?

“But mother,” Regulus started.

“Dead,” Sirius told him.  “Both dead and good riddance.  It’s my house, err, our house now.”

Regulus blinked.  He felt his breath hitch in his chest and heard it too.  So, his parents were dead.  His parents were dead.  Later, he would deal with that later, once he was out of the Ministry of Magic.  But he hadn’t seen them in the afterlife, so why Sirius?  He pressed his fingers to his temples.  There was so much to process and he didn’t think he could do it right now.  

“Okay,” Iset’s voice broke the silence and both brothers turned to her.  There was a glowing blue line on the ground in front of her.  She handed Regulus his wand. “You’ll have to do the apparition and take us side along.  Stand on the line.”

For a second, Regulus considered giving Sirius his wand and asking him to do it since Sirius hadn’t been dead for who knows how long.  But Sirius was frowning at him, and Regulus wasn’t sure if Sirius was doubting his ability, or just annoyed with  him.  Either way, Regulus stood on the line where Iset pointed.  He closed his eyes and focused with all his might on Grimmauld Place.  He’d never had problems apparating before, but the last thing he wanted was to splinch them because he’d been dead for years.  He turned on his heel and vanished into the tight vacuum of apparition.

keep reading on AO3

#good slytherins #regulus black #regulus deserved better #sirius black #ancient and most noble house of black #regulus lives #sirius lives #harry potter #fan fiction #ao3 #ao3 link #sibling drama #chapter 4 #multichapter