Les Misérables | Regulus A. Black [1]

Chapter Thirty

[Chapter Thirty]

Regulus didn't have an answer to Éponine's question right away because he honestly wasn't sure what he was going to do about the night before and what they had witnessed. The fact that she wasn't telling him to go straight to the Headmaster's office was something he was definitely taking into consideration. Despite the fact that she had been the one most in danger with how close she had come to the werewolf, Regulus would have thought that she would be the first one to suggest going to Dumbledore and seeing that Remus Lupin was removed from the castle grounds for the sake and safety of the students. Yet, this was also the girl that had found their disastrous first date as liberating and exciting.

He didn't know what to do because, at the risk of exposing Remus for his condition, he was also putting his brother at risk. He didn't care about James Potter or Peter Pettigrew getting in trouble, but he did care about Sirius. No matter how angry the brothers were with one another, Regulus had noted how Sirius had tried to protect him before Éponine arrived on the scene and Regulus simply couldn't ignore that. That was his older brother and even though as of late they shared only horrible memories, Regulus could still remember all the good memories he shared with Sirius as well.

All the funny memories they shared growing up in the Grimmauld Place before Sirius had gone off to Hogwarts, things had been so much more simple, neither one of them having a care about the outside world. But then growing up put a damper on things, Sirius was old enough to venture to school while Regulus had to wait another year and stay behind at home. He wondered if things would have been different if he had been there when Sirius was sorted. He would have been able to offer his support and reassure his parents that there was nothing to worry about. Sirius would have been able to turn to him instead of the likes of James Potter and the others and everything would have been fine.

At least, that's what Regulus wanted to believe in.

He also wanted to believe in the idea that one day, Sirius would realise his mistake and he would come home. Yes, his face had been burned from the tapestry, but Regulus knew his mother had only done it because she was upset and that she could easily restore her son's face if he chose to come home. And even if she didn't, Orion would gladly do so, just thrilled at the idea that his family was whole again.

But at the same time, Regulus reminded himself that he had to be realistic. As much as he wanted his brother home, Sirius was distancing himself more and more, Regulus was losing that connection with him. He had witnessed Sirius move out of the way and it had left Remus with the open position to attack Éponine. He had done this after Regulus told him that he was going to be the one to marry the girl and that he didn't have a problem with it. Since that moment on the train, it seemed Sirius was just upset that Regulus wasn't listening to him.

It all seemed quite hypocritical on the Gryffindor's behalf, seeing as he never listened to anyone else but he expected people to listen to him.