I Can't Explain
Sirius was worried. He’d stayed up late that night, hovering over his little brother’s still form and waiting for him to wake up. Alphard forced him to go to bed after he fell asleep the second time, but he was plagued by nightmares of what had happened out in the field. He remembered looking back and seeing Regulus’s smile light up his whole face as joy surged through the older boy. They so rarely got to play together without worrying about their parents scolding them for participating in “frivolous games” that were supposed to be beneath them. The afternoons that they got to spend at Alphard’s country estate were priceless.
Those memories were now tainted by the image of Regulus going limp and slipping off of his broom, plummeting to the ground at a frightening speed. Sirius had just barely managed to catch him in time, but even once they were safely out of the air, the seven-year-old was completely unresponsive. His beautiful silver eyes that were always so full of life had gone vacant and unseeing despite the focus they had on his face.
Sirius could have sworn that it felt like a siren was going off in his head the moment that Regulus fell. There was this feeling of insistent panic that persisted throughout the night as he tried not to think about how far away he was from the younger boy downstairs. He drifted off in one of his uncle’s many guest rooms and woke with a start early the next morning, the thought of Reggie's dull eyes spurring him out of bed. He didn't even bother to wash his face before flying down the staircase and into the living room. The anxious tugging at his heart had only eased once he laid eyes on the small boy sleeping soundly on the sofa, no sign of having yet awoken.
This wasn’t the first time that Sirius had felt strange when Regulus was in danger. Three weeks ago he had cut his finger while helping Kreacher peel potatoes and the older boy had felt a faint throbbing in his thumb from across the house. Reg had slipped on a patch of ice last winter while they were walking somewhere and Sirius had whipped around to catch him before he even had the chance to cry out. He knew it probably wasn’t normal to feel so in tune with his brother’s state of well being, but it was damn convenient when said brother was both accident prone and liable to hide his injuries from everyone.
He ignored the fact that every time this happened, he could’ve sworn his finger glowed a little.
“Siri?” A quiet mumble snapped him out of his train of thoughts as Regulus shifted awake. Relief flooded through him at the sight of clear silver eyes staring at him in confusion.
“Hey, little star.” He reached over to brush the hair out of the younger boy’s eyes. “How are you feeling?”
Regulus frowned and lifted a hand to touch the bandage on his temple. “Did I hit my head?”
Sirius hummed and tried not to let his fingers shake at the memory of his head bashing against the side of the broom. “Yeah, but Uncle Alphard gave you some potions to help with the headache. Are you feeling sore at all? Any confusion?”
Reg sat up and let his brother help him scoot back to lean against the armrest. “No, I don’t think so. How long have I been out?”
“I believe it’s six, so around fifteen hours?”
Regulus’s eyes widened. “Fifteen hours?! Mother and Father are going to kill us!” He swung his legs off the side of the couch and tried to stand up but was stopped by a hand pressing firmly against his chest.
“Alphard flooed them and asked if we could spend the night so that we could meet some of his work associates at the luncheon he’s holding today. Mother was against it, but Father thought it was a good idea to let us start forming connections and preparing to better serve the Noble House of Black.” The older boy’s lip curled as he spoke that last sentence. “The good news is that they have no idea about your little attempt at flight, but the bad news is that we actually have to attend the luncheon.”
Regulus scrunched up his nose in disgust. Sirius huffed out a laugh and ruffled his hair. “Yeah, I know. You’ll just have to avoid any dramatic falls from the sky in the future so we don’t have to schmooze Father’s business partners.”
“Yeah, yeah, blame the Seer. I want to do another deep dive in the library when we get home to see if there’s a way I can gain some level of control over the visions. You’re not always going to be there to stop me from going splat.” Regulus rubbed the remaining sleep out of his eyes and smiled as Sirius scowled.
“Like hell I won’t be. Can’t get rid of me that easy Reg, though I do think it’s a good idea to try and figure out how to at least predict when a vision is coming.” He groaned in realization. “I can’t believe I have to read those damn books again.”
He yelped at the sharp flick to his forehead. “Reading is good for you, Siri. You only have two more years before you go to Hogwarts, you really ought to start parsing through the first year books to learn the material.”
Sirius gave him an incredulous look. “Reggie, the whole point of going to Hogwarts is to learn. Why the hell would I read the books now when I’m just going to be assigned them later?”
“It’s better to get ahead than to fall behind.” The younger boy stated resolutely.
“You’re such a swot,” Sirius bemoaned.
“A swot that really needs to brush his teeth,” Regulus smacked his lips unhappily and slipped his bare feet across the floor to stand. He swatted at the nervous hands hovering around him as he took the first few steps towards the bathroom. “I’m fine, stop worrying. Why don’t you go and see if breakfast is ready while I wash up?”
Sirius frowned but lowered his hands and watched as Regulus stepped into the hallway bath, shutting the door behind him. He loitered in the living room for a few minutes to fuss over the rumpled fabric on the sofa before deciding to head into the kitchen.
He pushed open the wooden door smoothly and was met with the sight of Limpy, Alphard’s house elf, humming happily at the stove.
“Master Sirius!” Her ears flicked in surprise at the sight of him. “You is needing some breakfast, sir?”
“Yeah, thanks Limpy. Could you make up a plate for Regulus, too?”
“Of course, sir! Little Master is too small, he is needing lots of food to grow big and strong, yes he is.” Limpy puttered around the kitchen whilst muttering incessantly about growing young masters. Sirius slipped out when her back was turned to head towards the bathroom. He wasn’t being paranoid, he just hadn’t washed his face yet and ought to do so now that Regulus was awake. That was it.
Speak of the devil, the youngest Black stepped out of the washroom in fresh robes right as Sirius was raising his fist to knock. He dropped his hand and raked his eyes over the boy’s form, ignoring the glare that he was given in return.
“Seriously, Siri,” Regulus scowled at the unintentional pun. “I feel fine, quit staring at me like I’m about to keel over.”
“Merlin forbid I be concerned, Reggie. You fell out of the bloody sky yesterday, it’s not even been twenty-four hours.”
“I get that, but if you keep looking at me I’m a dog you have to put down then you’re going to make others suspicious. We’re already going to have to deal with Alphard asking questions, I don’t want to make excuses to his associates about why my brother won’t move more than three feet away from me this afternoon.”
It was a valid point, as much as Sirius might’ve resented it.
“Alright, I’ll reign it in. But, I reserve the right to coddle you at home until you’re fully recovered from your head injury. Deal?”
Regulus gave a long-suffering sigh. “Deal.”
. . .
The luncheon was just as bad as they expected. After a full three hours of stuffy formal wear and equally stuffy middle-aged wizards, the Black brothers bid their uncle goodbye and flooed back home. Orion summoned them to his study before they even had the chance to remove their shoes and they spent the next thirty minutes giving him a full debrief of who they met, what they talked about, et cetera. The meeting went on for long enough that they were forced to join both of their parents at the dinner table immediately after for the evening meal.
Finally, after hours upon hours of upholding the duties of their noble house, the boys were released to their rooms for the night. They trudged up the stairs and Sirius didn’t even question it when Regulus followed him into his own room only to flop face first onto the bed. He slipped out of his suffocating robes before collapsing alongside the younger, neither of them keen to start a conversation after talking for so long.
As they lied there, Sirius reflected back on his brother’s behavior throughout the day. He had been more reserved than normal, his smile tight and eyes pinched in discomfort. Normally he would blame the headache that the other likely still had, but this didn’t feel like it was caused by that. Regulus was hiding something, something that bothered him greatly and that he didn’t want to share with anyone. Sirius knew from prior experience that pushing him would only lead to anger, but he could chip away at the issue until the boy finally caved and confessed what was upsetting him. It would just take a bit of time. As much as the older Black lacked patience in some areas, when it came to Regulus he would find the forbearance to wait.
After all, they had the rest of their lives together.