The Marauders Era

Where's the firewhiskey?!

Regulus Black was the perfect son in the eyes of his parents, the one who never did anything wrong, the one who made the right friends, but most of all, the one who got sorted into the right house.

So one might ask themselves why on earth would he be following a well-known pair of Gryffindor twins out of the great hall.

Simple, he was their younger brother.

Slipping out of the great hall, he caught a glimpse of dark hair disappearing behind a corner. Speeding up his steps, he rounded the corner in a slight hurry but stopped when he met a pair of smiling faces looking right at him.

Cassie almost laughed at the surprise and slight fright that covered his face the moment he saw them. Seeing the conflicted look he wore, she immediately took him in her arms and hugged him.

Sirius looked at his younger siblings and felt a happiness that he couldn't quite explain; however, a slight sadness quickly overtook it. The fact that they had to go out of their way not to be seen together was heartbreaking.

"Alright, give the lad some air, or else you'll probably kill him."

Turning her head, she met Sirius's gaze, who looked at her in slight amusement. Reluctantly she withdrew from her younger brother, but not before giving him a warm smile.

"Suppose you'd wanna go first, then?"

Regulus gave his older brother an uncertain look, meeting his eyes before casting them towards the ground. He wouldn't blame Sirius if he did, not really.

He had always been a little envious of the courage his siblings had, the way they had no fear of being who they were. In truth, they were both leaders while he was just a follower, too scared to stand out among the crowd and the people they grew up with.

Although they hadn't written much during the summer, Sirius could remember in one of the last letters his sister had sent about how different Regulus acted. After Sirius had left, the younger boy had become more withdrawn and quieter than usual, sometimes going out of his way not to talk to Cassie.

Cassie told him later that she thought it had been too much for Regulus. With Sirius leaving, her engagement, which meant that she also would be gone soon. Sirius, however, suspected that there was more to the story than either knew.

He gently shook his head while a small chuckle escaped his lips and lunged forward.

Regulus was shocked, to say at least, when he felt his older brother wrap his arms around him and hug him tightly.

"I see you've become mental over the summer if you think I'd kill you."

The younger boy closed his eyes while he hugged back and allowed himself to let a tiny smile appeared. Regulus could feel the familiar burn in his eyes and wanted nothing more than to cry at the moment; it wasn't until now he truly felt as if he had taken his siblings for granted. It wasn't long until they both would be gone, which made him feel more alone than ever.

"I'm sorry."

He mumbled out as he felt his brother's hand gently clap him on his back. Sirius turned his head slightly, meeting the gaze of his smiling twin, who was looking at them almost like a proud mother would at her child.

"It's okay, Reg... it's okay."

The younger pulled reluctantly away from the embrace and kicked himself internally. He had come with the intention of just coolly congratulating the twins on their birthday, not hugging them while almost breaking down as he missed them.

Imagine what his parents would have said if they saw him right now. 

Pathetic.

Lifting his eyes, it surprised him a little when he saw a slight sadness that covered the twin's faces and thought he wasn't quite sure; he almost thought Sirius looked a bit regretful. However, a big smile covered his face quicker than Regulus thought was possible.