InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Where's my bunny?"

Sirius O. Black (pad_foot) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-11-17 15:00:00

Entry tags:

!closed, regulus black, sirius black

Who: AU!Black Brothers
What: Sirius is freaking out. Regulus is trying not to get hexed.
When: Immediately after this.
Where: The streets around the Library.
Rating: TBD. Probably high
Status: In progress.

Sirius sighed, knotting his hands together and settling down on the curb to wait for this person who claimed to be Regulus. Who very well could be Regulus, if all the mad crap people were coming out with was to be believed. A Regulus who, apparently, wasn't long dead and wasn't perfectly willing to hex him into oblivion. Sirius glanced up the street, partly expecting to see him. Partly expecting to see a suddenly-grown up Harry stroll around the corner. Mostly he expected a crowd of washed up Death Eaters to turn up. Merlin, perhaps they already had. Perhaps this whole thing was some kind of mad hallucinogenic charm. Of course, it wasn't a completely normal, but when had that lot ever done anything by the book? Their imagination was their one redeeming feature.

God, he needed to get home. Anxiety and worry twisted so hard in his stomach he nearly doubled over, felt bile surge up his throat. But instead he pressed long fingers hard together, knuckles standing out white. He'd have cursed every damn occupant of this city if it meant getting back to Harry right this second, but as everyone seemed to point out, that wasn't how these things worked. He had to wait. And Sirius was never very good at waiting. He had a sudden image of a little boy clambering out of bed and realizing he was alone, or worse, and immediately felt sick again.

"Fucking hell," he muttered to himself, bringing both hands up to cover his face for a moment, dragging them down and feeling the scratchy beginnings of a beard against his palms. It was cold on the pavement, and his breath billowed before him in clouds - seemed like it was Winter here as well as at home. Sirius sighed, dropping his hands and turning to look down the street again. And there was the figure he'd been looking for.

Slowly standing, the twenty three year old Sirius eyed the man who looked like his Brother. He didn't move towards him, just watched cautiously, eyes narrowing and automatically drawing his wand. Sirius felt the muscles in his back coil tight, his weight shifting onto his toes as he prepared to dart out of the way of an attack.

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arrogant_black
2010-11-17 03:53 pm UTC (link)

This was his brother, Regulus kept telling himself, another version, another with different experiences than the one he knew so well, and the one that had been here just the day before. And yet those experiences still painted Regulus the villain out to get Sirius, or one who just offended Sirius' sensibilities. This would be Monday all over again, and that had been difficult for Regulus to endure, coming as he had from a world where his brother would never dream of treating him like that.

But, he came back to it again, this was his brother, and Regulus cared about his brother in whatever form his brother took shape.

Regulus didn't leave Ariadne until Eames showed up; he, obviously, understood how this Sirius' words against her had affected her. They'd been friends before and hopefully if someone could intervene and keep Sirius' anger directed elsewhere long enough maybe after the ashed had settled they could just move forward.

It took some fiddling of the PDA device to figure out where Sirius was, the map had the Great Library on it, and having gone back to read previous postings on the device Regulus knew that was the source of the Knights Sirius was talking about. It had just been a matter of getting directions.

Regulus saw him on the curb, waiting, and he only slowed his pace when Sirius stood. It was the look on his brother's face more than the standing that made Regulus cautious - that wasn't a look he'd ever seen directed at him before. Seeing that made Regulus, for the first time since arriving, long to be home where people liked him and trusted him without reservations or telling him 'wow, you can be nice' or 'you are so different, I'll give you a chance now'.

He sighed, pushing his feelings aside, this was about calming Sirius down. When he was close enough for Sirius to have a clear view, he stopped.

"I told you I'd show you," he said and he pushed up the sleeve of his coat and shirt revealing a pale but unmarked left arm.

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pad_foot
2010-11-17 04:49 pm UTC (link)

Sirius hesitated, then craned his neck to examine his sort-of-brothers forearm from his vantage point. Smooth, unmarked skin, pale as his own and definitely lacking any kind of dark mark. But Sirius had fought in a war, had seen his best friends and Merlin knew how many others killed, and was suddenly the guardian of a small child. He knew enough these days to be cautious.

Sirius flexed his hold on his wand, jaw set and eyes sliding dangerously up to fix on the mans face as he took a slow, careful step forward. Then, before Regulus could do anything about it he grasped the offered wrist and ran his wand down the pale flesh, creating a warmth of magic as he cast a series of charms that would reveal anything that had been hidden.

Nothing happened.

Sirius stepped smartly back, almost falling off the curb, one hand flying to rub anxiously over his lips. "Right," he told him. His voice was embarrassingly croaky, and he cleared his throat hurriedly. "Right," he repeated. "You're... okay. Right. Shit."

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arrogant_black
2010-11-17 05:08 pm UTC (link)

Regulus instantly tried to pull back his arm, not knowing what this Sirius would do with that wand. "Hey, what the fuck-" he hissed. But try as he might his brother's hand held fast gripped around his wrist. There was nothing to do but let Sirius do this needless bit of magic. Never mind that it didn't hurt, it was still an invasion.

"Satisfied?" Yes he was irritated, just seeing his arm should have been enough, dammit. He was tired of all these people mistrusting him. Even after being shown reason enough they still demanded more. Godric did he have to stand on his head while riding a hippogriff through an obstacle course?

"Right," Regulus repeated back, a bit of a mocking sneer in his tone. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea he come find Sirius. "Alright," he forced his voice to be more neutral, "the flat's this way." He figured walking would be a good thing for Sirius, and himself.

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pad_foot
2010-11-17 05:24 pm UTC (link)

Sirius' mouth twitched in a shadow of a smirk, an echo of the slightly younger him flashing over his features. Perhaps this person was close to his dickhead brother after all, Dark Mark or not. "Sure," he shot back, "Whatever you say." He cocked an eyebrow scathingly, then shoved his hands into his pockets with his wand and that weird silver box he'd woken up with, falling into step beside the alternate-Regulus.

He couldn't help looking him up and down cautiously. Of course, he hadn't seen his brother since he'd left Hogwarts, but even he could tell that the likeliness was uncanny. If this was some weird, alternate version of his sibling, how different could things really be? Apart from the fact that his brother, apparently, liked him enough to offer to come find him... That was new. Sirius wasn't sure if he approved yet.

"How long do I have to stay here?" he asked, shooting the question across over the cold air. "Eames couldn't tell me."

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arrogant_black
2010-11-17 05:50 pm UTC (link)

That smirk, that raised eyebrow, that tone. Yes, Monday all over again, Godric, he was tired of this. Fuck what Morgana said about being able to talk some sense into this person. Regulus quickly formulated the fastest way of getting Sirius back to the buildings and off his hands. That meant intervention by someone else. He pulled his PDA out and quickly called up the network, finding his brother's post to locate that person claiming to be Harry.

"I'm not sure," he paused from his search of the PDA to glance up and watch where he was going, being distracted did wonders for keeping the anger out of his tone, "I've been here since Monday, before that there was another version of me here," he found Harry's response, "But it's hard to tell, there was another version of you that seemed to have been here for months."

"So," he started typing a message, with one hand, glancing periodically up at their path, "you take care of James' and Lily's son?" Message complete and sent.

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pad_foot
2010-11-17 06:05 pm UTC (link)

Months. He couldn't be here for months. He'd go crazy. And his couple of months in Azkaban had brought him close enough to that as it was. Sirius didn't react to the news, deciding to wait and take out his frustration when he was alone.

Almost-Regulus was typing on the weird muggle box, leaving Sirius to look around at the city, take in the buildings that towered above them. Typical city, really. Perhaps a bit dirtier and taller than he was used to, but not that much different to London. And from the sounds of it he had a flat, perhaps like the one he used to live in. And if it was anything like the place he'd woken up, it would be in almost exactly the same state. He turned, glancing at the younger man.

"Yeah," Sirius offered, carefully, although anyone would be able to tell you that once he started Sirius could talk about Harry for hours. He almost smiled, before he remembered what was happening. "Harry. I.. He's lived with me a year now. He's two. And five months."

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arrogant_black
2010-11-17 06:22 pm UTC (link)

Regulus studied Sirius for a moment. The other man's voice had changed to something pleasant. He knew it wasn't for him, nor for the act of decent conversation, that was all readily apparent. But, good, Regulus had discovered a topic that would keep Sirius at least focused enough away from him.

He pointed in the direction they needed to turn, "That way now."

"Ya?" he asked, he didn't have to feign interest, there was a story there and he was interested in hearing it, people didn't usually give up their children, if it it would be to their best mate. "How'd that happen?"

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pad_foot
2010-11-17 06:35 pm UTC (link)

Sirius hesitated. Talking about Harry and talking about how he'd got Harry were two very different subjects. But it wasn't as if it was anything most people in his world didn't already know... He bit down on the inside of his cheek, turning the corner as directed.

"Erm..." He shrugged, fingers curling around his wand in his pocket, more for comfort than anything. "James and Lily were... they died. Voldemort killed them." He paused again, pushing back the memory of a broken house and a screaming child, of Hagrid and his own mind cracking. Sirius had gone after Peter that night, which looking back had not been the best idea he'd ever had. It had cost him nearly 3 months of Harry's life. And if Lily hadn't insisted they tell Dumbledore and Remus of the switching of the Secret Keepers... The idea made him shudder.

"I... Some people thought I'd done it, so I got put in Azkaban for a bit. But Dumbledore got me out eventually and I took him then." He didn't mention the sheer difficulty of extracting Harry from the Dursleys, where Dumbledore had placed him the months he'd been locked up. But Sirius was, in more ways than one, like a dog on a bone when he got an idea in his head, and he hadn't been about to let that particular issue go.

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arrogant_black
2010-11-17 06:46 pm UTC (link)

That story made Regulus soften a bit, but only a bit. He didn't like seeing his brother in pain, and he could imagine, losing James and Lily (they'd been Regulus' friends too) and then being placed in Azkaban, you didn't ever have to step foot in that place to know how horrible it was. But again, it was only a bit, he'd already learned not to let his guard down near whatever Sirius this place threw at him.

"That's horrible, that's-" He was cut off as the PDA in his pocket vibrated. He took it out, knowing it would be Harry. Harry would met them at Sirius' flat, good.

"Wow, Al said that happened in the history of his time line, too. It's not any easier hearing it for another."

He pointed down another street.

"Harry will be meeting us at your flat." Regulus offered the information, not daring to think that would make Sirius happy, but at least Sirius would have a heads up.

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pad_foot
2010-11-17 07:55 pm UTC (link)

"Al's... Harry's son?" Sirius checked, remembering his message on the strange muggle device. And this wasn't weird in the slightest. His two year old having a grown son. Perfectly normal. No, nothing off there at all. Sirius winced, running a hand over his slightly lined forehead to try and stave off what was threatening to turn into a blinding headache.

He was even fast forgetting the fact that he was talking to a man who claimed to be his brother. He was just a bloke, suddenly, one who happened to be walking beside him while Sirius tried to wrap his head around this. And not give in to his immediate reaction, which was either to hex everyone around him or go hide in a pub somewhere until he couldn't remember his own name, let alone where he was. The energy Sirius was doing his best to keep in check pulsed through him, causing him to pick up the pace for a moment, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Godric, this would be so much easier to deal with if he was still twenty and... well, mental.

His head snapped round at the next point, and his eyebrows rose hopefully. If he could just see Harry... Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. Sirius hadn't spent more than a night away from the boy in a year, and any sight of his Godson, no matter how different, was suddenly what he needed. "You know him?"

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arrogant_black
2010-11-18 06:37 am UTC (link)

Regulus was suddenly struck by jealousy. It was stupid. Harry, to this Sirius was just a boy who needed someone to look after him, it was unfair to feel anger and resentment for such a child. But the stark contrast this Sirius exhibited in his reaction to seeing Regulus to his reaction to learning he'd be meeting Harry was hurtful. Godric, he just wanted someone who was happy to see him, he wanted to be back with his brother.

"Ah?" he focused his attention on back on his PDA to send Harry a quick message, this sufficiently deflated any harshness from his tone, "no, like I said, I only got here Monday, I've not met everyone yet."

"In my time line James and Lily'd just gotten married, er, two months previous," or was it three? Regulus didn't have the moment to stop and think of the exact date, "and either she'd not told anyone yet or she wasn't pregnant."

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pad_foot
2010-11-18 09:40 am UTC (link)

"You know... knew them?" Sirius was instantly back on guard again. If he'd been in another form his hackles would have raised. It was just that this person, claiming to be his brother, was so different to the Regulus he had known, and that automatically threw up a lot of questions. Of course, he could have changed. Chronologically it had been five years since he had seen his actual brother, and seven since they'd had anything close to a conversation. But then again, his Regulus was dead. And so were James and Lily. His chest hurt a little.

"Harry was born July 31st," he offered, hesitantly, trying to gauge for some reaction. "1980." Sirius watched carefully, still partly hoping for a slip in this... persons carefully constructed facade. Because he could cope with some hair-brained Death Eater plot intended to send him round the bend or to get to his Godson. He didn't know if he could cope with being plucked from his reality and being tossed in here, like a bag of rubbish. Even if he wasn't the only one to suffer. The turned a corner, and Sirius noticed a pub, sending it a longing look before dismissing it.

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arrogant_black
2010-11-18 10:35 am UTC (link)

"Yes," Regulus worked hard to keep the exasperation from his voice. He'd already said he'd been part of the Order, was it so much a leap to conclude he'd known the other Order members? He wondered how many more times was he going to be forced to go through these introductions. "He'd been one of my best mates since I started at Hogwarts."

The buildings were finally visible in the distance and Regulus inwardly sighed in relief. A few more blocks and he could go find something else to occupy his time. He'd been thinking about a way to return prank Juno, involving that candy she'd gone on about the previous day. And while his company for the museum was currently toying with dark magic ideology he could still always go alone. Godric, just anything other than subjecting himself to this paranoid, caustic, ass version of his brother.

"That sounds about right then," doing some quick math in his head to count down the months, "if she were pregnant now and just hasn't told the rest of us." Regulus offered the information without any idea that Sirius might be looking for a way to trip him up.

Regulus noticed the way his brother looked at the pub, another thing that never changed about his brother apparently. "The building is just ahead."

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pad_foot
2010-11-20 11:24 am UTC (link)

One of Sirius' arched eyebrows climbed suspiciously, before he shook his head a little and lapsed into silence. This... 'version' of Regulus was too weird for him. He wasn't even completely sure he believed he was a version of Regulus. It was easy enough to change a persons appearance, after all. But it didn't matter. Sirius had decided already that the best course of action would be to find whoever was in charge and threaten them at wandpoint until he got sent home. But that didn't seem to be an option. So he'd just wait. Sit and wait and hope that it didn't last to long. Even the idea of it made anxiety shoot impatiently down his long spine, filling him with restless energy.

But Lily had got pregnant very soon after the wedding. It had been the source of an amazing amount of taking the piss out of James once Sirius and Remus had worked out the maths...

Merlin. This was giving him a bloody headache. He needed his bed. Or just a fucking good sleep. Perhaps this was a dream.

Following his 'brothers' gaze, Sirius noticed the building towering above them. "Yeah... alright." They reached the door and Sirius hesitated by the entrance, looking the man beside him up and down thoughtfully. If he still smoked, he'd have ripped this blokes bloody arm off for a cigarette about now. "You coming?"

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