What You Can't See (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Unexpected

"Regulus, what are you doing?"

Sirius watched as his younger brother turned as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, although he did see Regulus' eyes blink in confusion and his mouth open like a fish. Regulus responded in his usual calm way, saying, "Sirius?"

And Sirius didn't know how to respond, what to say regarding the strangeness of having arrived at his flat to find the door to his flat unlocked, remembering how he'd slipped his wand out, knowing the only person who should be there was his younger brother unless, of course, a Death Eater was there, lurking and waiting to kill him, only for him to relax once he heard the water running, his first thought was that no Death Eater would be using the restroom unawares of the flat's owner coming home.

Unless, of course, the Death Eater in question was Regulus.

Sirius took a deep breath, wanting to yell at his younger brother to get out of his life and out of his flat, as he found himself eying the Dark Mark that his younger brother had just been scrubbing. At the same time, his mind also tried wrapping around Regulus, leaving the bathroom door open when he knew Regulus' preference for privacy. Yet, nothing came out.

In the silence, Regulus turned, turning off the water while still rubbing his cheek for some strange reason. At the same time, his sleeves were still rolled up, the Dark Mark peeking out from under the left sleeve as Regulus leaned backward against the sink as Sirius' younger brother muttered, "What am I doing?"

"That was my question," Sirius muttered, wishing he'd not become accustomed to the strangeness of his younger brother showing up out of the blue while also expecting he'd not given Regulus a key to his flat in hopes of avoiding his younger brother breaking in using underage magic. He lifted a finger and pointed, swallowing as he did, unsure what to do with a definite Death Eater in his flat. "What's with that?"

Regulus' eyes blinked, and one hand, his left and dominant hand, shot up to touch his cheek, his head tilting in confusion. "What? This?"

"Not," Sirius sighed, reaching out and grabbing Regulus' left arm, yanking Regulus' arm down. "This, Regulus! When did you get the Dark Mark!"

He watched his younger brother's gray eyes blink, his head tilting down to look at the Dark Mark without batting an eye, while his other hand absentmindedly reached up to touch his cheek while he continued to stare. "That?"

"Yes, that!" Sirius said, hissing. "I should...."

"You mean Bella's birthday present," Regulus muttered, disinterested in the Dark Mark, let alone what that meant.

"Birthday present?" Sirius said, his grip tightening.

"Sirius, that hurts," Regulus muttered.

"Yeah. And I've got a bloody Death Eater in my home," Sirius said, only for Regulus to look up, his head tilting while not making eye contact as if he were off in his world, nor was he phased by what Sirius just said.

Finally, Regulus said. "And what does that have to do with anything?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sirius shook his head. "Regulus. Don't you understand what this means?"

"No. I've other things to worry about," Regulus muttered, looking away, the fingers of his right hand pressing into his cheek.

"Other things to worry about?" Sirius tightened his grip again.

"Hey. That hurts. Why..."

"Regulus! You're a bloody Death Eater! What could you possibly be more worried about?" Sirius asked, watching his younger brother's eyes widen, his mouth opening then closing. After his mouth shut, Regulus turned his head away and sighed. "Regulus."