There was a sudden flash of a long forgotten boyish grin, but it was quick and gone almost just as quickly. "No, mostly I just hate letting you think you've won an argument."
"What news precisely do you think I wanted to keep up with, Sirius? That he'd killed everyone I cared about, that the home I grew up in had been destroyed, that I'd sent myself into hiding for nothing? I made myself a life, Sirius, that didn't involved killing and hurting other people, that was quiet and orderly and safe. Why the hell would I seek out anything to ruin that? " He shrugged. "Eventually, it caught up to me, and I couldn't ignore it any more. What the hell else do you want me to say? I missed you? You'd never believe if it I did."
He scoffed. "If I had it on my person this whole time, I'd be stark raving mad. It carries a piece of His soul, Sirius, and it wants to devour anything near it, just like He does. I hid it away, before I left. Somewhere safe. And no, I'm not handing it over to you."