house of black

chapter 4: the dog, the king and the wicked witch.

Grimmauld Place, 1966

"Come on!" Sirius yelled, his feet echoing on the wooden stairs as he hurried as quickly as he could from the bottom of the house to the top. In his hands he held a loaf of bread and some raspberry jam- which had been tucked in the back of the pantry up high in hopes that the seven year old Black boy would not find it.

His accomplis and brother, Regulus ran behind him, peering over his shoulder in a concerned manner, but not allowing his own doubt to stop him from following his brother.

"Sirius! You said we were allowed to have this! You said Kreacher told you-" he called but was quickly cut off.

"Hurry! Do you want some or not? We've got it now, let's eat it!" Sirius yelled out to him. Regulus nodded, feeding off his brothers adrenaline and racing up the stairs. They got to the room they knew they would be safe in, at least for a little while. The attic crawl space. They both crawled in and closed the door behind them, snickering.

"Reg, watch this." Sirius said. "I've been trying to practice- I can do it sometimes.."

Sirius pushed some of his long, dark hair out of his face and looked intently at the candle they kept for feasts just like this. Nothing happened for a minute or two and Sirius gritted his teeth before the flame spluttered to life.

"Ah-ha!" he laughed, gesturing to the candle with his hand. "My magic is coming through!"

"Woah.." Regulus said, darting his finger through the flame. "You're going to be such a powerful wizard- maybe even a warlock!" he said.

"They're the same thing Reg. Just one is fancy and the other is normal." Sirius said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well, mother says that you're going to be the most powerful wizard and I'm going to be the most powerful warlock." he argued. "That's what she said-"

"That's what she said to stop us from bickering over our dinner. I'm older so it only makes sense for me to be the most powerful." Sirius said, puffing his chest out slightly. His arrogance had to come from somewhere, and his mother at this time was very much a contributing factor. Regulus didn't mind. He just enjoyed being included on Sirius' little games and adventures. It wasn't as if either of the boys had anyone else to play with (that is without their cousins here).

"Can you pull a corner off for me?" Regulus asked to change the subject, pointing at the loaf of bread. "I want to try and open the jam myself."

Sirius nodded and grabbed the food as Regulus struggled with the jar. Sirius, despite how much he wanted to step in and open it himself resisted and allowed his brother a chance. After a few minutes of tiresome struggles, the lid came off with a 'pop' and Regulus' face lit up in delight.

"I did it!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "On my own!"

Sirius clapped for his brother and put a hand on his shoulder before taking the knife, scooping out a dollop of the jam and spreading it on the bread. He then handed this to his brother.

"I knew you could do it." he told him. "You're getting stronger every day."

Regulus nodded and started to eat. Sirius tore himself off a piece and also ate, reclining lazily on his elbows.

"One day, when I'm a proper wizard and I have my own house, you can live with me and we can eat jam for every meal." he said. Regulus nodded eagerly. "And we won't have to hide up here while we do it." he added.

Sirius hummed thoughtfully before he sat up. "Reg, we have to promise right now, if mother comes screaming at us, we didn't take it." he said seriously. "If one of us breaks, she'll beat the other one worse than if we both say nothing."