What You Can't See (Harry Potter Fanfic)

On the Counter

Sirius arrived back at the flat feeling elated, flopping onto the couch, folding his arms behind his head, and looking at the ceiling while he smirked. "It felt good helping Reggie out." He let out a laugh, speaking out loud to nobody in particular. "And he's absolutely adorable when he gets flustered."

The appearance of an ethereal stag resulted in Sirius sitting up so he could catch the message from James sent with his Patronus asking if they—the Marauders—could meet up for some drinks to do things not involving the Order of the Pheonix reminding Sirius he and Regulus were on opposite sides of the war. He sighed and sent an ethereal dog, letting James know he'd show.

He started heading out, catching sight of his counter on the way out, stopping as he did so upon catching sight of a school bag on the counter. Sirius let out a sigh. "He left his bag," Sirius said, forgetting he'd Apparated his younger brother without checking to ensure he had everything on him. "He'll return to get it either tomorrow or the next day."

Sirius headed out, thinking of mentioning Regulus' visit to James as they'd already discussed the fact Regulus was stopping by his flat during school breaks; James was the only one he'd told, yet any chance of telling him was lost because there wasn't a single time they were alone, leaving Sirius to head back home and collapse on the couch again face forward. His hand hung down as snow escaped.

A tapping sound on the window stirred Sirius. Groggily, he sat up and blinked his eyes at the clock, noticing it was almost lunchtime the next day before shaking his head and rubbing his neck, going and opening the window, and letting himself in.

A red envelope fluttered to the coffee table, a Howler which—

Sirius let out a sigh, closing the door and waving his wand to cast a silencing spell knowing full well what a Howler being sent meant and knowing if he didn't cast the spell that, he'd draw the attention of his Muggle neighbors. He lifted the Howler, knowing exactly who sent it, not understanding why, given he was no longer the family's problem. His fingers ripped the red envelope open and—

"HOW DARE YOU!" Walburga's voice boomed out as Sirius closed his eyes. "HOW DARE YOU ENCOURAGE YOUR YOUNGER BROTHER TO MEET UP UNDER MY NOSE!"

"Oh," Sirius said, suddenly thinking Regulus was right about his plan not being alright, although he wasn't sure how Walburga managed to find out.

"ENCOURAGING HIM TO LIE. INFLUENCING HIM WITH YOUR FILTHY MUGGLE-LOVING WAYS!" She continued to yell as Sirius kept his eyes closed, feeling a headache coming on. "STORIES ABOUT BUYING POTION SUPPLIES FOR AND LOSING HIS BOOK BAG IN THE PROCESS! I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON, SIRIUS ORION BLACK, BUT I WILL FIGURE IT OUT. STAY AWAY FROM HIM, YOU FILTH!"

The yelling stopped, and Sirius opened his eyes to see the envelope start to disintegrate. He took a deep breath. "Really? That's the story you came up with, Reggie?"

He sat on the couch, the satisfied feeling he'd felt the night before at dropping Regulus off, of helping his younger brother out. Sirius sat there on the couch, muddling over what happened, wondering if he should have gone ahead and helped his younger brother out, given what kind of trouble Reggie ended up being, only for his mind to keep coming back to what Regulus said about how things wouldn't be alright.

"I told you so," he could already hear Regulus saying, even though Sirius couldn't remember the last time Regulus had said those words, instead giving him a look that said everything.

He waited, hoping that Regulus would return for his bag, not wanting to believe Walburga sending the Howler would mean not being able to see his younger brother again, mainly when, at the back of his mind, there was the worry of their being an even worse punishment in store for his younger brother.

Yet Regulus never came, leaving the school bag on the counter for more than a few days. A few days later, Sirius sat on his couch, looking over the back at the counter and the school bag, thinking about what he would do, with James' voice in the back of his head. "Are you sure you want to get involved with your younger brother rather than telling him to back off? Because he may drag you back into that family of yours if you're not careful."

"Not my family," Sirius remembers responding when he told James about the visits. "There isn't anything that would ever drag me back into that family, and you know it."

James gave him a look back then that said, "Yes, there is something, and it's Regulus." What he said instead was, "I get it. He's your brother. Just be careful."

Sirius finally stood up, putting his plan in motion, his mind still worried about what kind of punishment was being placed on Regulus' shoulders because Walburga caught wind of Sirius bringing his younger brother back to Grimmauld Place. Potions were bought, put into the bag, and the bag swung over his shoulder before Sirius let out a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm doing this for him."

And then he was there, just outside of Grimmauld Place, looking at the front door. Sirius took a deep breath, knocking on the door before stepping right in, just in time to hear Walburga Black screech at the top of her lungs, sneering at him. "What are you doing here? What happened to you saying you'd never come back here, you filth?"

Sirius pulled the school bag off his shoulder and held it out. "I'm returning Regulus' book bag. You know, the one he left at Diagon Alley when I dropped him off near here a few days ago. You weren't supposed to know we'd run into each other."

"Sure," Walburga said. "That's what was going on."