Pensieve - Wolfstar Fanfiction

5

The great hall was full of noises. Sirius walked to the gryffindor table, head down and frowning, sat down in between Remus and Marlene, who seemingly didn't mind at all.
Remus opened his mouth to say something, but pressed his rosy lips back together as the dark haired boy looked like he'd completely fall apart by just a couple of words. So instead, as the boy's hand laid on the bench next to Remus' thigh, he gently set his tall fingers on top of Sirius' cold and shaking ones.
All of a sudden, they both felt really warm. Sirius had turned his head, to meet with Remus' eyes with a bit of shock. His cheeks were suddenly flaming red, heart bounding rabidly and his stomach felt like it was doing backflips. That's when Remus started to freak out about what he had done, about Sirius' reaction and was already moving his hand off as Sirius locked their fingers together. Now Remus wasn't just resting his fingers on top of his friend's, now they were actually holding hands, and if Orion Black was to ever see that happening, he'd most likely set the room around him on fire.
It felt a bit like that, actually.
Like the room was on fire.
It felt good.

Moments passed, sorting was over, the feast began, but the two boys didn't separate their fingers. Though Sirius' hands were sweating as he was nervous, Remus didn't mind. And for the first time, the brainstorm of worry had stopped for a time long enough for the tall boy to realise, the feeling in his chest that made his heart bound like a hammer, that sometimes made it impossible to breathe, was love.
That realisation scared him. He didn't really know why. 

At the same time, across the room in the Slytherin table, thirteen year old Regulus was staring at his older brother. He couldn't see the linked fingers of him and the tall boy next to him, but he could see the fading red on his cheeks. He could see the bruises. He could see, barely from behind James' back, that his plate was empty.
He felt sick in his stomach, because even though Sirius was a bit of a pain in his ass, even though they weren't that close and even though Regulus was extremely jealous of his brother's bravery, looks and the fact that he had a group of friends such as the marauders, he never wanted for him to get hurt.
The Black brothers, they loved each other. It just wasn't appropriate for them to show it, to say it out loud. Rules like that, they made the house of Black what it was. Cold and wrong.
Regulus had became his parents' favourite the second Sirius was sorted to Gryffindor.
Sometimes he wished he was a Gryffindor too, that he had the bravery his brother had. With that bravery, he could stand up for his father at home. Sometimes he thought, maybe if Orion had to hit both of his sons, they could share the bruises so Sirius wouldn't have to look so battered.
But Regulus wasn't brave. Or at least he didn't know it yet.