Let the Light In

Chapter 3

Regulus entered the gloomy house behind Sirius, his brother blocking the corridor with his body in what Regulus could only assume was an unconscious protective habit. They crept down the dark walkway, crowded on either side with old portraits, tapestries, and a rather obnoxious suit of armour. Regulus was pleased to see the dent in its helmet was still there from when he and Sirius had used it as target practice with their bludgers. He could still hear his mother's shrill voice screaming at the two young boys when she found them in the corridor. Sirius standing protectively in front of his younger brother, even then. Despite his knobbly knees and scraped elbows, the small boy had met his mother's stare straight on, small chin tilted up in defiance.

This was going to be worse than he thought, Regulus realised. Every corner of this old miserable house held memories, most of them including two scared little boys trying to teach each other what unconditional love meant.

"Draco, stop behaving like a buffoon. Sit quietly" came a voice from the formal sitting room. Sirius exchanged a glance with his brother, took a deep breath and opened the door. Lucius Malfoy was standing at the fireplace, flicking through a pile of parchment he most certainly had no business looking at.

"What are you doing in our house Malfoy?" Sirius snapped; his aristocratic drawl more pronounced that it had been in years.

"Sirius." Malfoy replied slowly. "Regulus" he continued with a curious glance at them both. "I am terribly sorry to hear about your mother. Dreadful news."

"Yes, we're positively devastated" Sirius retorted sarcastically. "Now tell me what you're doing in my house."

"Of course, you weren't there to see how she declined in the end. If anything, it was a mercy it wasn't drawn out much longer. She must have been so terribly disappointed that her only two sons couldn't find the time to visit their poor dying mother."

Sirius rolled his eyes dramatically and swaggered over to where Lucius stood, grabbing the parchment out of his hands and peered suspiciously down at the paper. Regulus, who had almost at once regretted this whole excursion scanned the room. It probably looked the same as it had when he was a boy, but he couldn't be sure. Children weren't usually allowed in this room; he could only remember a handful of times he had been granted access. The most recent of those times being when the Dark Lord had stood right by the large hearth in the centre of the room. Regulus heard a gentle sigh from beside him where he suddenly realised a woman, Narcissa, was perched on the antique settee. The small boy, Draco he heard Lucius call him, pulling at her robe.

"Now Lucius, there's no need for any of that. How are you Regulus? It's been a long time." She looked up at him with a surprising sincerity in her gaze.

"Yeah- um, I'm okay thanks." Regulus replied in a quiet voice, unnerved with the apparent benevolence in his cousin's voice.

"My wife and I are here to examine her new house." Lucius said pointedly towards Sirius. "As Walburga left no legitimate heirs the house belongs to her."

"Like fuck it does" Sirius snapped back.

Lucius expression flickered only momentarily before sauntering over to a wide oak table where an array of parchment had been laid out. "No, I think you'll find that it is the case. See here, can you see any children in Walburga's family line?" Sirius moved over to inspect what looked to be an intricate family tree, much like the tapestry Regulus knew was upstairs. It struck Regulus that his name was probably burnt out of it too, as Sirius' had been. He didn't know why it hadn't occurred to him before and he felt his stomach lurch with an uncomfortable pang. As Sirius and Lucius began mumbling to each other over the papers, Regulus moved to take a seat on the sofa opposite Narcissa. He looked up to see that both she and Draco were watching him with the same wide grey eyes.