Chapter 3
Dinner was a tense affair with false platitudes going around the whole table. He did not know how things worked here, but it would seem as though theyjust went at the food like savages, and Regulus had to admit he had found himself rather baffled by the attitude towards the food. He had no idea how to even begin to plate food with everyone just launching themselves towards everything. Even Sirius was doing it, and that alone was not as surprising a sight as Regulus supposed it should be. All it did, though, was reinforce just how alone he was. It was...unfortunate, at best. There was absolutely no way that he would be able to force himself to just...ravage the table in search of food.
Luckily for him, it would seem that Remus, of all people, noticed his difficulty, hesitation, and general distrust of what he was supposed to be doing, and graciously fill his plate for him, rather than just expecting him to grab anything within reach with no decorum. It was surprising, considering that he would have expected a sense of hostility, and it would seem as though that was not the case. Particularly since he had attempted to escape the other whilst trying to get back to his parents' house. What will Mother say, when she finds out I failed? The thought only brought more dread to him, and left him feeling unsettled. He pushed the food around, sighing softly to himself, and allowing the talk to fade to the background. Mother was going to be furious, father even more so. It would probably be the worst session he had in the study...ever. The depth of his failure was beyond what he could comprehend. Orion would definitely not be pleased, and Walburga-well he was lucky if his mother did not immediately tie him down and drag him to the basement. Truly, he was well screwed, and it was as usual all thanks to Sirius and his inability to keep his problems to himself!
He waited, but it would seem as though...everyone just left when they wanted to? He saw James get up and toss his plate in the sink before slinking out of the dining room, and it left him baffled. When he saw Sirius do the same thing he realized one did not have to wait for the elders to finish and then wait to be permitted to leave the dinner table. It made him feel stupid, and even further left footed. His training had not taught him how to handle this sort of thing. Slowly, he stood, taking great care, and somehow managed to vanish the food left on his plate in peace, without being seen, and slide to his room silently.
Shutting the door behind him he collapsed against it, tension leaving him ever so slightly. This was going to be the absolute worst summer in the history of summers. He had no idea what to expect being here. Sirius was the only one that he could even begin to anticipate, and he was just like their mother-tempermental with the habit of doing something that will leave you feeling as though you'd been upended. It was the temper that Regulus was most worried about. Sirius' temper was legendary, almost as bad as their mothers, with the main difference being he preferred the casual manhandling to the curse book instead.
He would just have to deal with it though. The floo powder was nowhere to be seen, and he had attempted to discreetly look about. He would not be surprised if they had gotten rid of it entirely simply to avoid his escaping. What was he going to do? Things would only get worse the longer that he stayed in this infernal house, and while he doubted that mother or father would admit the news, they would try desperately to configure it into something positive for their reputation if they did admit it at all, behind closed doors would be a very different story. Hell, even going back to Hogwarts left him in immense danger. Particularly if his parents decided to release the information that both sons had left the house for the summer. It would not take much time to weed out the respectable purebloods, leaving only unrespectable ones. Anyone that his parents associated with would know as well, that it was not them, which would cause more problems among his status at school.
The entire thing was going to be a bloody mess, quite literally, and he was not looking forwards to attempting damage control all year. All thanks to Sirius' stupid impulsivity that had he even attempted to curb would have landed Regulus in a very different situation, and one more temperary than lingering. As it were, Regulus was aware Sirius was doing this solely to get back at their mother. Their relationship seemed to hang on what would piss her off more at the moment. It was why Regulus had attempted to avoid speaking or interacting with his brother. It helped that Sirius had done most of the work himself.
He was well and truly screwed. The best thing would be to try and avoid Sirius, avoid everyone. He doubted Sirius would care if he seperated himself, after all Sirius only dragged him here to add extra spite to their parents.