Date: Night of the 24th August[backdated] Location: Grimmauld Place Characters: Sirius Black and James Potter (and Remus is welcome to hop in!) What's going on?: Sirius wants to hurt his brother for withholding certain facts. Rating: Angry Sirius language.
Of course, they were brothers, shared experiences bound them and had torn them apart. It had been those things which had all but removed the tendrils of mistrust and even dislike between them. The letters, the assumptions and the lies that passed between parents and relatives.
The meaning behind this discovery seemed all too clear - Regulus was exactly like Peter, slipping from one protector to the next. Why had he fallen for the act? Of course Regulus had reconciled with him; the real Death Eaters wouldn't have him, and this had probably been happening right from the start. It might even be part of some wider plan. There was no possibility that Regulus didn't know Bella had returned. She had been at Malfoy Manor, they had even danced together!
At the bottom of the stairs Sirius balanced himself against the wall. He was glad that he'd cast further protection against the place the previous night, and before he left he would strengthen them further. Any Black (current or former) other than himself and Andromeda would find themselves cursed strongly if they passed further than the doorstep. The protective wards were flung harshly at the house, and Sirius' mother was screeching again nearby. But the house could take it, it had taken many twisted and dark spells in its time.
If pausing to protect his home had been a subconscious attempt to calm himself it had failed. Breathless, hair in disarray, Sirius was angrier than before. Hadn't Regulus promised that there'd be no secrets this time? Hadn't they celebrated that there were no manipulating relatives to break them apart?