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I. The Escape

Chapter Notes: very quickly before we get into this, if you are a new reader i highly suggest that you read "The Story of Regulus Black - Years 1-4" on my account; this is a spinoff AU that branches off during chapter 2 of "The Story of Regulus Black - Years 5-7", so all of the vital information is in the first book. it is, of course, up to you, but i'm afraid that there will be a lot of characters, plot lines, etc. that you won't understand if you don't read that first!! i hope you enjoy the AU, i'm very excited to share it with all of you!! <3

Bright sunlight was streaming through a thin gap in his curtains, hitting him directly in the eyes and blinding him. He clapped his hands over his eyes as soon as he was able to process the pain of the bright light, and he let out a small groan. At first, he was a bit confused as to what, exactly, had woken him up. He was still exhausted, and he knew that his body had likely not woken him up of its own accord. But, here he was - wide awake and wishing that he wasn't.

When a loud thud emanated from Sirius's bedroom, Regulus suddenly understood what had woken him up. He rolled over onto his other side so that his back was facing the window, and he tried to fall back asleep. However, when yet another loud thud came, he groaned and buried his face into his pillow. What the hell was Sirius doing?

Another noise came, and Regulus's irritation bubbled over the edge.

He rolled onto his back and threw the blankets off of himself, sitting up straight and rubbing his eyes roughly with his fists. He just wanted to go out onto the landing and tell Sirius to shut up so that he could go back to sleep, but he couldn't seem to force his legs over the edge of the bed. He was telling himself to do it - telling himself that it wouldn't even be that difficult - but he just couldn't seem to manage.

When a bang and a string of shouted curses came from the landing, Regulus's irritation was finally able to present him with the motivation that he had been desperately seeking out. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, having to grip the bedpost as his legs wobbled a bit beneath him. When Regulus gained his bearings, he crossed the bedroom and swung his door open.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" He demanded before he had even fully taken in the scene before him.

"Getting my stuff together, obviously. Are you blind?" Sirius grunted, dragging his trunk out of his bedroom and dropping it into the pile of luggage beside his door.

Regulus looked at the pile and furrowed his brow slowly, rubbing his eyes again to not only be rid of the tired stinging but also to be sure that the scene was real and it wasn't just all inside of his head. "Where are you off to?" He asked, his eyes turning back to his brother with wariness flickering behind them.

Sirius paused for a moment, hesitating. He knew that he and Regulus had made progress lately, but he also wasn't entirely sure if he could trust him with the information of where he was going; not yet. So, he sniffed and straightened his posture, giving the vaguest answer possible. "Away."

This was enough to make Regulus's blood run cold. For, it was the very answer that he had been terrified to receive. After all, the pile of luggage and the frantic nature of his brother was quite obvious, and Regulus wasn't stupid enough not to be able to put two and two together.

"Away where?"

Sirius hesitated again, and it made Regulus's heart drop. "I can't tell you." Sirius didn't trust him.

"For how long?!" The panic was clear in Regulus's voice, and it brought the smallest amount of guilt to Sirius. However, he suppressed this; he was doing what was best for him, not what was best for Regulus.

"Forever." His voice held a note of finality which told Regulus that there was no changing his mind.

He didn't think that it could hurt to try.