The world is very quiet without you around
Regulus
Regulus looks at his packed trunk, and bag at the bottom of his bed. He subconsciously picks at his fingers and bites his lip, a habit his mother hates. He’s about to leave for the train back to Hogwarts. He knows it won’t be the same. His life will never be the same. His brother was gone, and he was still in this house. This house with its molding walls and ripped wallpaper, with creaky floors so you can’t sneak around, padlocks on every door, big curtains drawn in each room, this house that suffocates him. It suffocated Sirius too, that’s why he had to leave, this place was killing him as quickly as his parents were.
‘Oh Sirius’ Regulus sighed up at his ceiling, Sirius had painted their constellations in case it was too risky to go out onto the roof and look at the stars. Sirius was always good at finding an alternative for horrible things, he found an alternative for his family, and his brother. It had been two weeks since Sirius had grabbed half his things and crept into the hall ready to leave with or without Regulus.
‘Sirius?’ Regulus whispered at the sight of his brother standing at the top of the stairs with a duffle bag in his hand.
‘Yeah?’ Sirius croaked back, he had been crying. His eyes red and bruises across his face from the argument he had with their mother that evening he gazed at the cut across his forearm that he healed with a potion, he hoped it wasn't as bad as it looked.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Reggie-, I'm sorry. I can't stay here. I'm leaving’
‘What are you talking about?’ Regulus asked far to loudly
‘i'm going to the Potters, i can’t live here anymore, Reggie it’s killing me, they’re killing me’
‘Sirius are you mad you can't leave. They'll come find you and bring you back. You can't leave, you just can't’
‘Reggie, i will kill myself if i have to stay here, you should come too’
"We can't both go, they need an heir.’
‘Fuck them!’ Sirius shouted not caring if his parents walked into the hall at any moment.
‘Shh Sirius please, mother will hear you’
‘Let her, she has ruined our lives and i can't take it anymore, Reggie you have to come with me, you're the only person I've ever loved’
‘No, that's not true, mother loves us well be okay here, i'm not going’
‘Reggie please, they don't love us, don't let me leave without you, i need you, i cant live without you, don't make me live without you, but please don't make me stay, i won't stay, i can't’
‘I'm sorry Siri, i can't leave, do you know what would happen if we both left, please don't leave me, i won't be okay without you,i love you too much, and don't say you won't be okay without me because we both know that's not true, you have your group of friends you have no problem ignoring me, just like you did when i got sorted into slytherin. So don't say you can't live without me because we both know that's not true, but i can't live, i won't live without you Siri, i'll go mad. You're the only person who's ever loved me, please don't go’ Regulus was crying now.
‘No, no, Regulus you can't say that, you can't make me stay. If you want be their perfect little son then so be it but i will not, please don't let me leave you’
‘Then don't stay, leave, go be with your perfect new family, forget about me. I hope James is a better brother than I am.’
‘Regulus I could never forget about you, I love you!’ Sirius was crying now too.
‘I hope you can see the stars from the Potters’ and with that Regulus walked into his room and sank down against his wall. He didn't say goodbye, he thought Sirius would walk in any moment now and give him a hug, say that he's sorry and that he'd never leave him, he didn't. It wasn't until he heard the front door slam shut that he realised that Sirius, his brother, his whole soul was gone. He never even said goodbye.
Regulus was startled out of his thoughts with a mumble from Kreature.
‘Mistress said master Regulus is to get going soon, no breakfast’
‘Thanks Kreature, are you bringing me to the station?
Kreature nods ‘I shall wait at the door for master Regulus’
Regulus sighs, he knows going on the train means possibly running into Sirius, he knows going to the great hall for the welcome back feast also means having to see him. Maybe he’ll just skip dinner. He hasn’t eaten the past week anyway, not on his own accord though, on his mothers. She was furious about Sirius leaving. That anger was taken out on him, she was terrified he would leave too, she made sure he would be physically unable to.
He grabs his bag with shaking hands and walks down the stairs, they creak, wincing at each step he takes. He sees his father in his office, he hasn’t talked since Sirius left, not like he talked to Regulus much anyway. His mother was waiting at the door beside Kreature, a sharp and cold look on her face.
‘I expect you not to talk to that traitor ever again, you know what will happen if you do’ she grabs his jaw with her bony fingers gripping harshly into his skin. ‘You’ve gained weight’ this was untrue Regulus had looked in the mirror this morning, his ribs poking through his skin, making his bruises more prominent.
‘Goodbye mother’ this is all he can manage to breathe out, he thinks if he says any more the lump stuck in his throat will crack and that is the worst thing to happen in front of his mother.
Kreature grabs his arm and bag and they disappear away from this pile of bricks he calls home. Hopefully he won’t see Sirius until the great hall, hopefully he doesn’t see him again. Sirius doesn’t seem to want to see him again anyway.