Chapter 13
James and Remus still didn't like what Sirius had done. After all, Regulus didn't know them very well, and he had essentially left him defenseless against them, in spite of their attempts to pull Regulus into their fold. Now knowing the reason behind it though, they may not like it even still, but they couldn't really fault Sirius for it either. They had no idea what Regulus felt about the Death Eaters or Voldermort and they were not really eager to ask about it. Instead, they would rather put it behind them, dumb as that may be. They could understand Sirius' actions, and Regulus himself had stated that he knew Sirius had a good reason even if he did not know what it was. They were not sure if they should inform Regulus about what was going on. If they did, what use would it give them? A bit of insight on Regulus, or what? They didn't need it, and they had other things to worry about. Namely, Regulus had his wand again, and they were taking Sirius' word that Regulus would not leave just because he was told not do so.
"Are you sure you want to keep him in the dark about it?" Remus asked, tilting his head slightly, his voice gentle to the casual observer. Sirius could hear the tone under it, the worry. Now that they knew what had been going on with Barty, something that had seemed somewhat protective, but relatively innocent in the grand scheme of things, they all had to worry just a little bit. Sirius wondered if Narcissa knew what was going on, and if she had he would then be forced to wonder why she had not said anything to him. He knew why, though, and that was because she probably assumed he would already know. Sirius knew everything about Regulus...
Except he was beginning to realize that he honestly knew nothing about him at all. How long has it been since they had a sit down? A dinner? A conversation that did not involved shouting and raised voices and Sirius shutting Regulus down, or Regulus locking himself in his room? He could not really remember, and wasn't that just tragic. They had once known everything about the other. Had once gone everywhere together. It was Sirius' fault though, even if Remus was trying to claim it was only their parent's. He knew better. Sirius could have reached out to Regulus, he could have tried to talk to him, even if it was just in secret, but he hadn't. Beyond even that, he had not bothered to even explain his reasonings. Regulus only obeyed, as always.
He ran his hands over his face, trying to wash away the irritation and frustration curling through him, but it was a useless thing. "No, I don't." Sirius groaned. "But now isn't a good time either, and I still need to have a conversation about Crouch." Sirius swore under his breath as he stormed upstairs, undoubtedly to talk to his brother. James moved to follow, but Remus quickly snagged his arm to stop him.
IT was not a good idea to get involved in the Black Brother drama. It never was, and never had been. The two fought legendarily, and more often than not it left scars on anyone who watched what was going on. In spite of their recent developments, they had to trust Sirius to figure things out with REgulus, figure out how to talk to him, and how to get through to him. Beyond the fact that neither of them had siblings, neither of them were really raised to be the type of pureblood heir that Sirius had been. James was a pureblood, and an heir, but he was not pushed into the role as severely-or from such a young age-as Sirius. And it still wouldn't help that he had no idea how siblings really worked. James saw Sirius as a sibling, of course, but Remus knew that there was just something else about a blood bond, even if nobody could ever truly explain it.
"I can't believe I let that kid in my house." James grit out under his breath, his fingers clenched in fists. "The audacity..." Remus pat his back awkwardly. He still was having a hard time wrapping his own head around what had happened. It had though, and there was really no going back now. What mattered was trying to continue to get Regulus to like them, and feel comfortable with them. They still had some time before hogwarts. At, hogwarts, though, would be a different story, and there was going to be so much more issues.
How could they keep Regulus away from Barty at hogwarts, for instance. They shared a dorm room, shared all their classes, they shared a common room. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, they were all a year older, so it was not as though they could escort Regulus, and even if they wanted to, Regulus was a Slytherin and they were not. They wouldn't be having all the same classes. That was just the one issue. The other remained, and that was how the hell were they supposed to keep both of them away from the Bitch as Sirius so aptly calls her? So many questions, and yet the answers all fell through their fingers.