Chapter 6
"He better be here!" Evan shouting briefly woke him up, but he just closed his eyes again.
"Sirius!" Was that Regulus?
"Oh Merlin." He was being shook awake. "Please tell me that bottle was not full when you started." Barty pleaded.
"Guilty." Sirius mumbled.
"I should have gone looking for him last night." Regulus murmured. "Let's just get him inside."
"To be fair, you thought he was with us, we thought he was with the Gryffindors." Evan hauled him off the ground. "Come on mate, let's get somewhere safe."
"What even is this stuff?" Regulus asked as he picked up the almost empty bottle.
"Strong." Barty said, supporting Sirius in-between himself and Evan.
"What happened to his hair?" Regulus asked as they began to walk up to the castle.
"Your mother, I believe." Evan replied.
"He really went home." Regulus sighed. "I didn't think he'd actually go."
"Where did you expect him to go Reg?" Barty asked, pausing to see if Sirius was awake. He was. "Stay here in a room full of people who hate him?"
"It would be worse at home!" Regulus argued.
"Reg, he lost everything else, of course he was going to go to the one thing that's certain in his life." Barty shook his head.
"I told them the truth."
"What?" Sirius mumbled.
"That explains why they wanted to talk yesterday." Evan added as the reached the Slytherins common room and began hauling Sirius up the stairs.
They sat Sirius on the end of Regulus' bed.
"Sirius? You with us?" Regulus asked. Sirius nodded.
"What did they say? Was it bad?" Evan asked.
"They forgive me." Sirius murmured. "Just like that."
"Because Reg told them the truth?" Barty sat down beside him.
"They wouldn't listen for weeks and then as soon as they know the truth they think it's all going to be fine." Sirius explained. He was staring at the floorboards as though they would come alive if he looked away.
"So you got a bottle of..." Regulus trailed off. "What is this?"
"Tequila."
"It smells horrible." Regulus put the bottle in the bin.
"That's the point." Sirius shrugged.
"Why didn't you come here?" Evan asked.
"I didn't want to be perceived." Sirius replied. "Excuse me." He ran to the bathroom and promptly threw up. Thank Merlin all dormitorys were laid out in the same way.
"You okay?" Regulus crouched down beside his brother. He'd done this before, held his brother's hair back, only now there was not enough to hold. "You went home."
"I'm sorry." Sirius rested his head against the cold porcelain edge of the toilet. "I shouldn't have gone back."
"Why did you go?"
"They were sending me letters, every other day, I..." Sirius paused to throw up, he hadn't eaten a lot recently so there was little more than tequila and bile coming out. "I wanted something that made sense."
"Home makes sense?"
"It's always the same." Sirius shrugged. "It makes sense."
"Do you regret leaving over summer?" Regulus asked.
"I'd regret it if I left you." Sirius replied. "But no, I don't. You made the right choice Reg, I'm sorry I wasn't supporting you on that."
"I shouldn't have let her go so far." Regulus sighed. "I thought she killed you."
"I said I'd never leave you." Sirius replied.
"You better not go back on that."
"I'm a man of my-" Sirius cut himself off by throwing up again. "Word."
"You're disgusting."
"Love you too Reg." Sirius paused. "Where are we?"
"Our dorm."
"If you two wanted me in your bed you could have just said." Sirius called to Barty and Evan, who were in the doorway.
Barty cackled. "So you did like it when I slapped your ass."
"Move over Sirius, I'm going to be sick." Regulus pulled a face at Barty.
"Feeling better?" Evan asked after they sat in silence for a while. Sirius nodded. He had stopped hugging the toilet bowl and was sat leaning against the cool tiles of the bathroom.
"Sorry, you probably have better things to do." Sirius mumbled.
"Nah, didn't really want to go to Herbology today." Evan shrugged. Sirius stared at him.
"You're supposed to be in Herbology too?"
"We're in the same year, I just don't hang around with Snape and Mulciber." Evan pointed out, Sirius sighed. He had forgotten it, being so used to seeing Evan with Regulus and Barty that he had assumed they were all in the same year.
"Why don't you take a nap?" Regulus suggested.
"I don't want to go back right now." Sirius sighed.
"Stay here then." Regulus said. "We don't mind."
"Really?"
Regulus rolled his eyes and helped his brother up and into his bed.
"So who's going to tell me a bedtime story?" Sirius asked from where he was tucked up in his brother's bed. "Your beds are comfier than ours."
"Are they, or do you just not have to deal with Potters snoring?" Evan laughed.
"He does snore." Sirius nodded. "So story?"
"You want a kiss goodnight as well?" Barty laughed.
"If you're offering?" Sirius puckered up his lips. Regulus kicked him.
"Go to sleep." He ordered.
"You're so mean Reggie."
"We should have left you outside." Regulus replied.
"Nah, you love me too much."