Chapter 2
January 2nd 1977
It is 9 days after Regulus ran away from home and still no one has managed to get a reason for his leaving out of him. Dumbledore had payed a visit a few days back. The news of the new heir to the noble house of Black's disappearance is apparently spreading quickly through many other noble family. Still, no one has answers. Not even from Walpurga Black herself.
Since Christmas Regulus has been socialising with the others in the house. He had instantly taken to Mrs Potter when he arrived but is now growing closer to Mr Potter. He had been keen to talk to Regulus about potions after Sirius brought up that that was his strongest subject at the dinner table one evening. There conversation led to Mr Potter taking Regulus to his potions lab which Regulus was and still is very grateful for. Over the last few days he has been able to clear his mind by expanding on his potions knowledge beyond school level.
Mrs Potter has been slowly trying to pull answers out of him. She is a lovely woman and he is positive she wouldn't judge him or change her view of him over the truth, but he is still ashamed of it anyway. He doesn't care that his mother no longer wants to associate with him for it but he doesn't think he could bare to disappoint Mrs Potter. Although Regulus has only known her personality for 9 days he would rather die than loose her in his life.
She is the perfect statue for a mother Regulus never had. He finally understands why Sirius left him for this family. He would leave himself for it too. There is so much love. So much joy.
They go back to school in less than a week and Regulus is dreading leaving this little bubble of joy that is the Potter house to face his new life at hogwarts.
He is sat on the sofa reading one of Mr Potter's potions books. Everyone has left to go to diagon ally and buy some new quills and other essentials for the 3 boys to go back to school. Or at least he thought everyone left. He is rudely startled out of his reading by someone bursting into the room. His whole body goes stiff at the sudden break of the quite atmosphere that the room had before. He snaps his head around to see who it is. Brilliant, Regulus thinks, Sirius is standing in the door way.
"Oh, its you." Regulus say in a monotonous voice with a straight face. "What do you want?"
"Hello dearest brother," Sirius responds in a very mocking tone.
"Sirius what do you want? Im reading."
"I can see that," Sirius says taking a seat on the one of the armchairs next to the sofa. "I want to know why your here, the same thing everyone else wants to know. Your supposed to be their golden boy, their hier. I didn't think she'd let you off this easy, i thought the she-devil would've come running after you by now." Regulus doesn't think he's ever heard his mother described more accurately 'the she-devil'. "Tell me Reggie, why ARE you here? What happened?"
"No." Is the only response that comes out of his mouth. He shuts his book and makes direct eye contact with Sirius.
"No?" Sirius asks.
"No. Im not doing with you." He stands up and grabs his mug to return it to the kitchen, book under his arm. "And dont call me that," he says walking towards the door.
He rolls his eyes as he hears Sirius following him. "Reggie wait! We go back to school next Friday, alot of people are going to have questions."
"Incase you forgot, im very good at ignoring people." He replies slamming his mug down next to the sink, hard enough to make Sirius jump at the noise but not hard enough to break it. "Now leave it, and me alone!" He pushes past Sirius to head for the stairs.
"You cant just run away forever! Will you stop beingsuch a prick and just tell me!" Sirius yells following Regulus upstairs.
He stops dead in his tracks and swivels on the spot, nearly making Sirius fall backwards. "Im the prick?! You're the one harassing me while i was just trying to read a fucking book!!"
"Oh im sorry! Am i not allowed to be concerned about my own fucking brother!?" Sirius screams back.
"Oh please. You weren't that concerned for me when you left me there last year alone to deal with her wrath. Do you really think it got any better when you left?! You may have been the most miss behaved and you may have gotten the worst of it when we were younger Sirius. But who do you think she took her frustration out on when you left?!" Sirius just stared at him blankly. "Me, Sirius. It was fucking me! So don't give me all this 'cant i care about my brother' bullshit." With that he turns around and begins walking up the stairs again.
"Nothing stopped you coming with me! Dont act as if it was my fault you couldn't stick up to her and leave too!" By this point they have reached the top of the stairs and Regulus spins back around on his heals, now face to face with his brother.
"I wasn't aware that was an option Sirius! You made it pretty clear you wanted nothing to do with our family. Even if i wanted to leave i had no where to go and no good reason she wouldn't just drag me back. The only reason she didn't fight for you to come back was because she had me as her back up. I didn't run away becausei was protecting YOU!"
"So what fucking changed why isn'tshe huntingfkr her little prince?! And dont refere to them as 'our' family. The only thing i share with them is a last name."
"I told you. I'm not fucking talking about it to you!" With that he turns around to head for his door.
"Reggie stop!" He grabs Regulus' arm. "Please just tell me!"
He pulls his arm from Sirius' grasp. Blind with rage he just snaps.
"Im gay! Is that what you wanted Sirius. I turn 16 this year and she wanted to marry me off the secondit was legal. She told me that and i said no. When she asked i simply told her i like cock and have no interest in marrying a woman and making her grand babies. With that she cursed me, beat me, called me a filthy queer and told me to get out of her house." Suddenly he's crying, he doesn't care. This is the first time he has said it outloud. "I didn't run away Sirius, i was disowned. Thats why she hasn't even told anyone why im gone." He shouts through a sob. "Shes ashamed of me." He says quietly, tears streaming down his face.
Sirius just looks at him then throws his arms over his brother. Regulus drops the book he's been holding all this time and just stands there in his brother's embrace for a moment before bringing his arms up to hug Sirius too. It feels like the world stops spinning for a moment. Just 2 brothers crying in eachothers arms until Sirius let's out a small laugh. Regulus pulls away, and offers a puzzled expression at Sirius.
Sirius burst out laughing in Regulus' face. "Sorry, sorry," he says through laughter "its just... shes managed to raise two queers for sons." He bursts out laughing again.
"Im sorry what?" Regulus says, voice slightly raspy from crying just moments ago.he is completely and utterly confused. Did Sirius just come out to him?
"Im dating Moony, hes my boyfriend." Sirius says, laughter finally settling.
"Who?"
"Oh yeah, sorry, Remus."
"Your dating Lupin? Your gay too?"
"Well, bisexual but yeah!"
Regulus just bursts out laughing. Much like Sirius did minutes before and sets Sirius off again. The front door opens and Sirius hugs Regulus again. "She'd be so disappointed in us right now." Regulus says.
"I know, its bloody brilliant!" Then they are both just laugh crying in eachothers arms again. Finally brothers again after a year apart.
There is footsteps coming up the stairs but neither of them care, they just stand there making up for lost time. It's Mrs Potter coming upstairs.
"Well this is lovely," she says before noticing they are both crying. "What happened here?" She asks as both boys pull apart. Sirius looks at Regulus, not really sure what to say, and with that Regulus tells the lovely woman infront of them everything. She just stands and listens while Regulus talks through his tears. Once he's done he meets her eyes.
"If you don't want me here anymore i understand." The tears stream down his face even harder and he drops his eyes. Ashamed of himself.
"Nonsense love, you will always be welcome here. Come here," she wraps Regulus in her arms and just let's him sob. "You to darling," she ushers Sirius over with one arm.
It really is something quite magical. Two brothers, abused as children, being embraced by a mother they never had. No matter there flaws.
This, Regulus thinks, this is love.