Chapter 6
Sirius and Y/N were already awake, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong. The house was too quiet, and after a moment, they both heard voices—raised, sharp, and too familiar.
Sirius motioned for Y/N to follow him as they crept to the top of the stairs, listening in.
"She’s got these genes from Sirius, doesn’t she?" Regulus’s voice was low but tinged with anger.
"Don’t you dare blame my Sirius for this, Regulus," Remus snapped. "We all know where she gets it from."
Y/N clenched her fists, glancing at Sirius. He didn’t look back at her, eyes fixed on the scene below.
"That’s low, even for you." Regulus said, his voice shaking with frustration. "Don't even try to suggest that my wife made her... like this. Cassie's not a child anymore. She’s got... she’s got her own issues to deal with."
"We’re all just trying to handle this," Remus countered, his tone bitter now. "You think I don’t see it? You think I don’t recognize the same damn thing in her?"
The silence between them stretched, and Sirius and Y/N shared a tense look. They didn’t speak. They didn’t move.
"Enough," Regulus finally muttered, his words like a sharp exhale. "This isn't about you or me. It's about her."
Sirius, heart pounding, turned to Y/N. Their gaze was heavy with the knowledge of how close to home these words hit.
"Should we...?" Y/N began, her voice soft, but Sirius shook his head.
"No," he muttered, eyes still fixed on the darkened space below them. "We didn’t hear anything."
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Sirius
I never thought I'd be here, having this conversation with my brother's wife.
The night had been too quiet—far too quiet for someone who had just been reunited with family. I couldn’t shake the feeling of the words I’d overheard, the accusations, the sharpness in both Regulus and Remus’s voices.
I knew Cassie. I knew how she was—bright, bold, but always hiding something beneath the surface. But hearing Regulus and Remus tear at each other, blaming one another, it felt wrong. It felt like too much had been unsaid for far too long.
"Is she... s'she like me, d'you think?" Y/N mutters, her voice somber.
"Don't say that." I say back, trying to stay optimistic.
"Cassie- she's like us. I know what she's done." Y/N says, her tears glinting in the darkness.
"No... no, no, no, no. She isn't, Cassie is a bright, beautiful, brilliant girl with parents who love her and she couldn't- she wouldn't- not so young." I felt tears prick at my eyes as well.
"But we can't protect her from everything, can we? It's in her nature." Y/N chuckles bitterly- and a pang of fear goes through my heart. "I can't fix her. I can't. I can't even fix myself. Neither could you. I can see it in your eyes sometimes. I know that we'll never be whole again."
"But not her. Please, not her. She's not meant to-"
"Shut up. You don't know what she's meant to do. She's like me. I see it in everything she does. And I would've died a million times to not be her mother, if it would make her happy again. But I can't. I look at her and I can see everything, her future, her past- everything. Time isn't linear for me- never has been. I know-"
"Merlin- are- you're not high, are you?" Y/N's lack of a response was enough for me. "You're high." I say, my voice dripping with disgust. "What the fuck do you think you're saying to me? Time isn't linear, is it? Listen to yourself. You aren't damn Doctor Strange, Y/N! What the fuck have you taken?" and she just looks at me with her eyes all glassy. "Answer me, Y/N. What the fuck have you taken? Who the hell do you think you are? Telling me 'time isn't linear- I can see the future and the past at once'. What the hell do you think you sound like? You sound like a damn junkie, that's what. Do you think you sound intelligent like this?" I say, tears rolling down my eyes. Had she been high this entire time?
She blinked, the fog of confusion still hanging over her, her words slow and slurred. "Sirius... I'm fine... really." She giggled, but it was hollow, fake. "You don’t understand. I—I can see everything. It’s all... all connected, all at once, like—"
"Answer me, Y/N!" My voice trembled, the panic starting to rise. "What the fuck have you taken?"
Her eyes were glassy, unfocused as she swayed slightly. "I told you," she mumbled, her words dragging out, "I can see the past... and the future... all at once..."
I grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently, desperate. "You are high! Don’t tell me you’re not. This isn’t you—this isn’t normal! I'm taking you to Reg, right now."
She sobers up at that. "Nononono. Please, no. He's no fun. C'mon, we can jus' stay here... be happy for a while." She giggles again at this, I didn't know if she thought this was compelling me to not tell my brother that his wife was high off her mind.
I grabbed her shoulders tighter, my frustration boiling over. "Y/N, stop it. You're not making any sense. You're high—why the hell do you think this is okay? Do you think this is some kind of joke? You can’t just hide behind these fantasies to get through the pain."
Her expression flickered with something dark, but she only giggled again, swaying unsteadily in my grip. "I’m fine, Sirius... we’re fine... we just need to... stay here... like this..."
I shook my head, feeling the tears rise in my chest. "No, Y/N. No more lying."
Her glassy stare softened, and she mumbled, "I just... I just don’t want it to hurt anymore."
I was too tired to even try to play along with her delusion. "You aren't making any sense." I repeated, like a broken record. "We're going to down to see Reg, now."