Beath of Family (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Breath of Family

Breathe in.

Breath out.

The breath of air came out in a puff, drifting in the light cast by the streetlight.

Regulus watched the mist dissolve into the night, shivering as he did so. His hands were crammed under his armpits, and his gloves did nothing to keep him warm. He took a deep breath, sucking in the cold night air as he looked at the house, continuing to shiver as he tried getting up the courage to approach the home, his eyes on the glittering Christmas tree in the window and the warmth—the warmth his older brother had run away to.

His eyes closed, not paying attention to the puff that came out this time before shaking his head. "This is stupid. I was stupid coming here. I don't know what," he said, his eyes snapping open upon hearing the front door open. "I was thinking."

He stepped backward, trying to get out of the streetlight, pulling up the hood of his coat. His throat tightened, and there was a slight pounding in his chest. A shudder ran down his spine, alarm bells going off, telling him he should Apparate, get away from the figure in the doorway backed by the lights from inside the house when the shadow disappeared, and he felt something, or someone grab his wrist.

Regulus nearly jumped out of his skin, his head turning to look at the person seeing a wand pointed at him, pulling him into the light of the streetlight, using the wand to push back the hood so they could see his face and then a grin broke out on the person 's face. "You look like our Sirius."

"Your Sirius?" Regulus swallowed, the words stinging, the memory of Sirius leaving, of two Christmas already without his older brother, of feeling so lost without realizing until now how lost he felt.

"I—sorry," the man said. "Did I say the wrong thing?"

"No," Regulus said, turning, wanting to pull away from the man's grip. "I shouldn't have come."

"Wait. You're Regulus, aren't you?"

Regulus froze, turning his head as snow fell on top of his head, his mouth twisting in confusion before he turned back to the man, his mouth opening, the confusion growing. "How?"

"Well, as I said, you look like Sirius. You do know you're welcome here?"

"No, I'm not," Regulus said, pulling his hand away finally, but instead of Apparating away, he found himself looking down at his hand, tilting his head slightly, his stomach churning at the willingness to touch him. He lowered his voice. "You do know I'm one of them, right?"

"You mean the Black family," the man said. Regulus shook his head as that wasn't what he meant, nor did he feel like a part of that family. And then the man said, "Or do you mean you're a Death Eater?"

Regulus startled, turning his head. He turned to Apparate away so he didn 't have to look that person in the eye.

"Come inside, Regulus," the man said, the person who was to him a stranger.

"I'm a" Regulus sucked in his breath. "I'm a Death Eater."

"Do you have anywhere else to go?" the man asked.

The answer was no; he didn 't. Going home felt like a nightmare, as his mind couldn't reconcile with his family wanting him to be a Death Eater. He couldn't go—

"Then come inside."

"But...." Regulus felt his mouth twist. "But I...."

"It's Christmas. A time for family."