the secret of Erised {s.b.}

chapter 41: house of Black

"Are you ready ?" Esmeralda asked Sirius.

They were outside Grimmauld Place. Esmeralda had never seen a more cleverly bizarre house, and she hadn't set foot inside yet. The early autumn wind blew lightly against their cheekbones, scarves covering the bottom half of their faces. Before Esmeralda could begin to walk up the steps towards the entrance, Sirius pulled her closer to him. She looked up at him, expecting him to be looking at her, but his eyes were set on the door to his childhood home. Although they were both standing still, Esmeralda could feel Sirius's pulse increase as the minutes passed outside Grimmauld Place.

Sirius squeezed Esmeralda's hand and finally took his eyes from the dark door.

"Ready," he said.

As soon as the couple walked inside the house, the shouting began.

"How dare you come to my house ?" Walburga practically yelled.

"Blood traitor !" Bellatrix continued.

"Mistress Walburga doesn't want you here," Kreacher said weakly, peeking from behind the doorway to the family room.

Esmeralda felt her ears ring and couldn't make out what the rest of the guests were saying. Sirius did not attempt to respond to any of them, he knew better than to start a fight during his father's funeral.

After a couple more seconds of screaming, the Black family finally began to quiet. Their eyes were still filled with rage. Sirius looked at Esmeralda and took a deep breath.

"I'm just here to pay my father respect," he said, "Let us please put everything between us aside for an hour."

Walburga opened her mouth, but someone standing behind her beat her to a response.

"Father would not have wanted his funeral to be a battlefield," Regulus said, emerging from behind his mother's figure, "Physical or verbal."

He looked at his mother with pleading eyes. She reached towards his younger son's face and stroked his cheek lightly. Esmeralda could see his red eyes from across the hall, he had been crying.

 "You're right," Walburga said, "Let us have peace for one hour, but after the hour passes I want both of you gone."

The crowd dispersed and went back to the conversations they had been having before Esmeralda and Sirius arrived. Judgemental eyes still lingered on the young couple as they walked across the hallway towards Regulus. Once they reached the younger Black brother, Sirius engulfed him in an embrace.

Esmeralda looked at the siblings as they sobbed lightly. They were so alike but so different at the same time. Sirius was taller and stronger, while Regulus looked feverish and malnourished. She wondered if Sirius would've looked like that too if he had never left. She could tell the younger Black was not sleeping, deep and dark bags hung under his sad eyes. He had always been pale, but Esmeralda worried as she saw the purple veins in his forearms as he hugged Sirius. She was sure it had been years since the siblings shared a hug, she did not like that they had finally hugged under the circumstances.

There was something behind Regulus's eyes that worried Esmeralda. They had not been the best of friends while at Hogwarts, but she had grown to care for him even if they were on opposite sides of the war.

Something caught Esmeralda's attention once the brothers released their embrace, a gold chain wrapped around Regulus's neck.

That's new, she thought.

"Father is in the family room if you want to see him," Regulus said weakly, "No one is there right now."

"They probably don't want to be near me," Sirius said with a chuckle, "I don't blame them."