Money's not a problem (Rosekiller Fic)

⟦9⟧

~Barty~

As Evan started recounting the game, I settled back against the pillows, trying to ignore the dull ache in my head. I hated being stuck here, but hearing about how we still managed to beat Gryffindor without me brought a bit of satisfaction.

"So, Potter thought he had an easy win, huh?" I smirked, imagining James Potter's arrogant face after losing. "Bet that bruised his ego."

"Yeah, but not as much as his ribs after Ev sent a Bludger straight at him," Regulus half-laughed, leaning back in his chair. "He barely saw it coming."

I knew that laugh, it was a 'that was funny, but I have something else on my mind' laugh.

"You alright, Reg?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. I knew him too well, and something was still off.

He looked up, meeting my gaze for a moment before shrugging. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Sure you are," I said, not buying it for a second. "What happened with Sirius?"

That made Evan go quiet, his easy smile fading as he glanced between me and Reg. I could tell he wasn't eager to bring up the conversation, but I wasn't going to let it slide. I had a feeling something big went down between the two of them, and it wasn't just about me getting pushed into a wall.

Regulus sighed, his shoulders sagging a little as he pushed off the wall and walked over to the foot of my bed. "It's nothing, Barty. Just the usual fight with him."

"Doesn't look like 'nothing' to me," I pressed, my eyes locked on him. "You don't get like this over a typical spat with your brother."

He hesitated, his jaw tightening. For a moment, I thought he might brush me off, but then he looked down at the floor, his expression hardening. "I told him I'm done with him," Regulus finally said, his voice low, like he was trying to keep it from breaking. "He's not my brother anymore."

The weight of his words hit the room like a hammer. Evan didn't say anything, but his eyes flicked to me, like he wasn't sure how I'd respond. I didn't know what to say, either. Sirius and Regulus had always had a complicated relationship, but they were still brothers. Even with all the tension between them, I didn't think it would come to this.

"You really told him that?" I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.

Regulus nodded, his face set in stone. "I'm done pretending like he matters. He doesn't care about me, about any of us. So, I told him I don't care about him either."

I let out a slow breath, trying to process what that meant. Sirius was a prat—no one was arguing that—but he was still Reg's brother. They had history, shared blood, and now... Reg was cutting him out completely?

"Bart, it was bad," Evan said softly, finally breaking his silence. "Sirius was—" He stopped, shaking his head, like he didn't know how to explain it.

"Doesn't matter," Regulus cut in sharply. "It's done."

I looked at Reg, really looked at him, and I could see how much this was eating him up. He was trying to act like it didn't hurt, like it didn't matter, but it did. Of course it did. I hated Sirius for a lot of reasons, but I never wanted it to come to this.

"Reg," I started, unsure of how to even approach this, "are you sure? Like, really sure?"

Regulus's eyes flicked to mine, and for a second, I saw a crack in his armour, just a flicker of something—pain, maybe. But he shut it down just as quickly, his expression hardening again. "I've never been more sure of anything."

That silenced me. What was I supposed to say to that? Part of me wanted to tell him he was wrong, that he shouldn't give up on family, but another part of me knew that it wasn't my place. Regulus had been dealing with Sirius's bullshit for years, and I couldn't blame him for finally reaching his limit.

Evan, ever the peacemaker, leaned forward in his chair. "Look, Reg... if that's what you need to do, we've got your back. Always. But don't shut yourself off, yeah? You don't have to deal with this alone."

Regulus didn't say anything for a long moment, just stared at the floor. Then, finally, he nodded. "I know."

The tension in the room started to ease after that. Evan launched back into the details of the game, and I tried to focus on that instead of the heavy conversation we'd just had. Regulus stayed quiet, but he was listening, and that was enough for now.

Eventually, Madam Pomfrey came in and shooed them out, reminding them that I needed rest. Evan gave me a lopsided grin as he headed for the door. "Rest up, B. We'll catch you later."

Regulus gave me a small nod before following him out, and just like that, I was alone again.

I leaned back against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. My head still ached, but it wasn't the pain that bothered me. It was the nagging feeling in my gut that things were changing, and not for the better. Regulus cutting off Sirius was huge. And if he was willing to do that, what else would he be willing to do?

I hated seeing him like this—hollow, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. And part of me wondered if Sirius knew just how badly he'd messed up.

One thing was for sure, though. Regulus wasn't alone in this. He had me, and Evan, and the rest of us.

Sirius might've pushed his brother away, but we weren't going anywhere.