The day everything changed
Run
Just keep running
His thoughts are racing and his hand aches from gripping his little brother's hand so tight as they stumble through the streets of Londen.
The only thing that clouds his vision is the little voice in the back of his head telling him to run and never stop.
Until his brother's voice wakes him up out of his thoughts.
“Siri, please! I can’t run anymore, I'm tired.” Regulus cries while tugging on his arm.
“Alright alright it’s okay, Reggie. I think we’re far enough to take a little break, come on.” He begins walking to a nearby bench and drops down on it, he closes his eyes for a second and when he opens them again he sees Regulus slumped down with tears in his eyes.
“Hey..hey it’s okay Reggie, we’re away from that house alright? We will go far from here as soon as we catch our breath.” He sees Regulus nod in agreement and continues to look around the square that they’ve reached.
King’s cross station
He reads. Brilliant, they can just take the train anywhere they want.
“Are you okay to go Reg? it's getting dark now so we’ve got to move on." Sirius explains while taking his brother's hand again. “Where are we going? we can't walk far anymore.” regulus complains. “yeah, no i know but i have an idea that might work.”
So they keep walking to the direction of the station which is luckily not very far, sirius has never been on a train before but he has put some money in his pocket before they escaped just to be sure they wouldn't starve, he suppose that money will go to the two train tickets but that's fine by him. He spots a small cabin where a big man with a mustache sits, he knocks on the glass window to get the man's attention.
“Hello, lads. How may I help you this fine evening?” the man answers. “Which train is going to leave right now?” Sirius asks politely. “Hmm, let's have a look, shall we?” the guy turns to the big screen and squeezes his eyes at it. “I see, it's the night train to Scotland, Edinburgh to be precise.” “Two tickets for that train please?” "You sure? it's far away from here, sir. about a 7 hour ride.” He looks a bit concerned in the direction of his and Regulus intertwined hands. “No, it's perfect actually.” Sirius tells him quickly as he takes the money out of his pocket and slams it just a bit too hard on the counter before the man. “Alrighty tan, here you go lads, save travels!” the man says cheerfully.
They have to run a bit to make the train in time but when they're both seated and the conductor checks they’re tickets, Sirius finally relaxes.
The ticket seller-guy wasn’t joking about the long ride, which seems even longer because it's night and everyone’s supposed to be asleep. Sirius isn’t asleep. Shocker. No, Sirius is staring out of the window and watching every woman here in the train to check if it isn't his mother, no, Walburga, she isn't his mother anymore. Never was actually. Regulus is sleeping though, which honestly surprises him a bit, regulus most be fucking exhausted by the events of this day.
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It's a few hours later and Sirius has not closed his eyes once, but that's fine because in less than 1 hour they arrive in Edinburgh and start a fresh life. "Sirius? Why are we on a train again?” He hears the sleepy voice of his little brother. “Good morning, sleepy beauty. We're on our way to Scotland, remember?” he explains carefully. “Oh yeah, okay.” Regulus yawns and stretches out. Sirius was going to say something before he was interrupted by a very cheery voice calling out to them.
“Anything off the trolley, dearies?” the woman asks kindly. He looks at the food laid out neatly, his stomach rumbles at the thought of food right now but his pockets are concerningly empty. “Oh no thanks, I don't have any money on me.” “Oh dearie no, this is all included in your tickets. Never traveled so far before I assume?” She explains with a warm smile. Sirius is very relieved by this because he hadn't really figured out how to get him and Regulus fed. “Well in that case, what would you like to eat Reggie?” he points at the trolley.
The time passes quickly as they eat their turkey sandwiches, so Sirius is a little bit startled when the conductor announces that the train has arrived.
The train was filled with lots of people so naturally they get lost in the crowd as soon as they exit the train, they just walk along the street from the train station. After walking for a few minutes it starts raining and the two brothers begin to run hand in hand through the Edinburgh streets until they reach a small shop at the beginning of the main street and enter to shelter from the rain.
“Good morning, folks. How can I help you this incredibly early morning?” A voice sounds from behind Sirius. “Oh I'm sorry to interrupt, I hadn't even checked if you were open yet, we just came to seek shelter from the rain.” He explained to the redheaded woman, who seemed like she just woke up. “Of course, that’s alright. Can I ask your names? I've never seen you two around so you must be new here.” she asks kindly. “Yes, we just arrived from Londen, actually. My name’s Sirius and this is my brother Reggie.” “It's Regulus, Sirius. I’m Regulus, don't mind him, he's a bit hyper because he didn't get any sleep.” Regulus interrupts annoyed, he rolls his eyes at his brother but smiles sweetly at the woman. “Well I’m glad to meet you Sirius and Regulus. My name is Lily Evans, I own the flower shop here together with my girlfriend, Pandora. You'll see her around eventually if you plan on staying in our town.” Lily introduces herself.
Sirius and Lily continue talking while Regulus goes exploring the lovely shop. He likes how homey it feels in here and stops to look at the yellow tulips when he hears his name being called.
“Reggie, I just fixed us a place to sleep!” Sirius yells. “I’m literally right next to you, idiot. You don’t need to scream.” Sirius laughs at that like it’s some weird thing to say. “Anyway, as I was saying. Across the street is an old cottage where Pandora used to live before she moved in with Lily where we can stay.” Sirius announces.
So there they are. Their new home.
That is if they can make it livable.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Sirius it’s a wreck of a house!” Regulus says annoyed. “listen kid-” “Nope, ain’t gonna pull the older brother card on my today” regulus interrupts. “alright then, listen to me ‘Regulus’ it's not that bad, the ground floor is quite alright so we can sleep downstairs while I fix the first floor, okay?” Sirius explains excitedly. “I guess. It’s beautiful though.” he admits.
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Regulus
“You should visit Lily today, Reggie. You’ve been inside this house for days, go do something and explore the town.” Sirius says after a few days, Regulus has indeed been sitting around, reading the one book that he took with him over and over again. He just doesn’t feel like meeting people, he feels overwhelmed still from the stock of leaving his home. It was a toxic and abusive home but a home nonetheless. He misses his parents, or he misses what his parents could have been. Sirius is being extremely gentle with him but Regulus knows he’s struggling too.
“Maybe, Lily is nice so maybe I will.” he says while standing up from their new couch, it’s october and the temperatures are dropping very quickly so Regulus grabs his new trench coat before walking outside. As he crosses the street he sees Lily chattering with some of the customers at the little stand with flowers before the shop.
“Hiya, Regulus! How are you doing, sweetie?” Lily yells as soon as she spots him walking towards her. “I’m okay, just getting used to Scotland I suppose.” He says. “It’s a small town isn’t it? you must be getting bored here, there aren’t many people of your age around here i’m afraid.” Lily worries. “Nah, it’s perfect I ain’t a big fan of socializing either way.” he jokes.
“Well, you’re always welcome to help with the shop, god knows I could use some extra hands here.” Regulus thinks about it, it actually seems like fun, he likes flowers and lily is very nice. “Oh that's a great idea! When can I start?”
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Sirius
He’s glad that Regulus finally left the house, not that he doesn’t want him around. it’s just that Regulus has been closing up on himself again, he needs some distraction. Also, Sirius wants to buy Regulus a present so it’s good to have the house for himself.
A few minutes after Regulus left, Sirius himself goes to grab his coat and walk through the town. He views a few shops until his eye falls upon a bookshop, that's absolutely perfect, due to their hasty exit they both couldn’t pack their belongings except clothes so Regulus has been reading the exact same book since the train ride.
He enters the small and cozy looking bookshop, and goes to find the ‘poetry’ section, he knows his little brother loves that sad shit. He’s hunched over to read the title of books when he’s startled by a voice behind him. “Good morning, sir. Can I help you with something?” The voice sounds amused to find Sirius so invested in Poetry titles. “As a matter of fact, you can. I’m looking for some kind of Shakespear or some-” He cuts himself off when he stands up and looks in the most beautiful eyes ever seen by human kind. Like literally the whole man standing in front of him is gorgeous. He doesn’t know what to say anymore, what to think or what he’s even doing in a for gods saken bookshop. He just knows that he must get to know the guy, who is currently very much amused by his gestamel.
“Shakespear you said? I think we might have some of that in the back, I’ll be right with you.” The bookshop guy says with a subtle wink. But Sirius definitely saw it, that might be why his face is currently as red as the carpet that lays underneath a fluffy couch. He takes awhile to reinstate his breathing and hope his face has gone back to the pale color it should be. He sees the man walking back to him with 3 books in his arms, he’s wearing a very old-looking sweater, almost grandpa-like. It suits him and his aesthetic though. “Here you go, I grabbed a few so you can choose yourself.” The voice wakes him yet again out of his daydreaming. “Thank you so much, my brother will love this. We just moved here so he’s feeling quite bored.” Sirius explains, his voice faltering just a bit. The stare that just man possesses is quite intense alright. “I see, can I ask your name?” The bookshop guy answers.
“Oh, of course. It’s Sirius, Sirius Black.”
“Well nice to meet you, Sirius Black. I am Remus Lupin. Pleasure.”
Sirius thinks he might actually faint.