Chapter 1
Sirius was 14 when he finally got him and his brother out of the prison that was 12 Grimmauld Place. They were placed into the foster care system, and when their first home lasted for 3 months before they were running again, they were labeled as troubled children.
After that, the social workers felt it was better if they split up Sirius and Regulus from each other. They didn’t realize that there wasn’t anything that was going to separate the brothers from each other.
That’s how Sirius and Regulus found themselves in a social worker’s home they never bothered to learn the name of. Regulus is gripping onto his older brother’s arm for dear life, and Sirius is in too much of a shock to worry about the fact that he might have a bruise in the shape of a hand slightly smaller than his own on his lower arm.
“You’re not serious,” usually Sirius would comment that he was, but now he just stared at the man in front of him, begging him to say it was all a cruel joke.
“No, I am. You two cause too much trouble when you are together,” the man replied.
“Well, maybe if they weren’t going through Regulus’s things and trying to hit him, we wouldn’t cause so much trouble,” Sirius retorts. Regulus is frozen next to him, his grip tightening at every word his brother says. Scared.
“You were meant to contact me if you felt you were ever in harm's way,” the social worker said in a voice way too calm for the matter at hand.
“I don’t think you understand that I didn’t have access to a phone! How was I meant to contact you?!” Sirius almost got up in his anger before Regulus pulled him back down.
“C-can you just get Sirius a good home, please?” Regulus asked, tears pooling in his eyes.
Sirius’s head moved so fast to face his little brother. “Regulus, stop, okay? We are going to be in the same home. Don’t talk like that,” The social worker sighed.
“Fine, we have a temporary placement that is open to taking siblings anyway. I’m giving you a second chance, but this is the last chance you get. In the real world, there are no second chances.”
“Oh, fu-”
“THANK YOU!” Regulus stepped in before Sirius could somehow lose this home for them. “Thank you so much. We are going to make this home work; we swear it.” Sirius grunted next to him in annoyance and sat back with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed.
The man wasted no time ushering them out and into the guest room of the house before shutting the door firmly. Sirius immediately turned towards Regulus, furious, but his face softened as he saw the relief on his brother’s face. “Listen to me Regulus, it is not your responsibility to make this work. Don’t say we’re going to make any placement work when it’s never our fault they’re abusive pieces of shit in the first place.”
“Fine. I won’t pretend like it’s our fault anymore, if you don’t protect me from hits by taking them yourself. You said earlier that the reason we left was because they threatened to hit me, except they never actually did hit me. They hit you,” Regulus said. And for a 12 year old, Sirius had to admit he was pretty smart, but this little speech he had just come up with was plain stupid.
Sirius sighed and pulled his brother over to the spring filled bed, that was probably going to be a pain to sleep in. “I will never not protect you, Regulus,” Regulus tried to stop him from continuing, but Sirius quickly prospered. “Like it or not, you are my baby brother. I practically raised you in that house, and you know that. Whenever you need me, I’ll be here, and whenever you’re in danger, I’ll be there.”
Regulus grabbed his brother’s hand, with a much softer grip than earlier. “You need someone too. You have to let me help you sometimes. You’re not invincible.”
Sirius laughed, “why can’t you just be the 7 year old that used to run to me for everything? Why did you have to grow up?”
Regulus quickly pushed his brother away from him, “I hate you.”
“Awwwww, I love you too, Reggie.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
Regulus’s mood dropped again. “You think this placement will work? I really don’t want to be without you.”
Sirius smirked, “we’ll just have to make it work then?”
“Hey, how come you’re allowed to say that and I’m not?” Regulus said, sounding so much like a child, despite never having outbursts like this when he was younger. Sirius liked that he felt comfortable enough to act like his age now.
“Cause I’m older and better, obviously,” Sirius flipped his hair, tilting his head back and shaking his head side to side so it could swish even more behind him.
“Now go to bed,” Sirius began, “we might as well try to make a good first impression tomorrow morning if this is our last chance at a house together. No being snarky, unless I’m snarky first.”
“Why are you telling me that like you’re not the only one ever causing problems?”
“Cause I know deep down, Reggie, that you’re a rebel just like me of course.”
“You wish you were a rebel,” Regulus rolled his eyes, “let’s just shut up and go to bed. It’s rare that you have a good idea, so let’s not let it go to waste.”
“Awwww, Reggie!! You liked my idea!”
“Sirius, I swear to god, shut up right now and go the fuck to sleep!”
“Geeze, fine. Can’t even have some fun around here.”
Silence filled the bedroom, but both brothers remained awake, trying to hide the fact that they were from one another. Tomorrow, they were going to be in a new home, enrolled in a new school, with a new family they knew nothing about, but they knew they had each other in the end. That’s the thought both the boys clung onto as they eventually fell into the most peaceful sleep they had in a long time.