Diptych

Chapter 17

Regulus faltered, knowing that it was too late to turn back unseen, but having no good reason to explain his presence at the foot of Remus Lupin's sickbed. If that alone wasn't bad enough, they had clearly both seen him and yet neither were looking at him. Sirius' eyes had darkened in the moment that they found his, but then he promptly looked away, arms folding and turning petulantly in his chair to instead face Lupin. As for Potter, his eyes were glued to the diary screaming out in Regulus' hand, thick lashes barely enough to hide the greed and wonder Regulus knew would be playing at them. In theory, he could have simply turned on his heel and fled; neither one of them had yet spoken to him and trapped him there with their words. But he knew that if he had done that, it wouldn't be the end of it.

The silence that stretched out as Regulus waited for somebody to speak was unbearable. They all knew that it wouldn't be Sirius who broke first. He'd have rather thrown himself from the Astronomy tower than willingly spoken to his brother. But between himself and Potter, he had no idea who would crack first. Potter's mouth never seemed to stop moving when he watched them across the Great Hall, so his silence even in a moment like that one was surprising; but Regulus could already feel the muscles in his own throat, tight as though fighting off the words already working their way up, desperate to be let out. In the end though, it was Potter, as he might well have predicted.

"She's not here." He said, obviously wrongly assuming that Regulus had been looking for Madam Pomfrey. In fairness, it was a more logical assumption than the one that he had been planning on hiding his most prized item in the bed of a total stranger, lest their headmaster seek to find it.

"Alright," Regulus said, not wanting to say any more when he had nothing truthful to say. Though Sirius had been content to glower to himself and ignore his brother's existence, hearing his voice seemed to snap him out of it. The harsh lines of his brow and mouth softened minutely and his eyes flickered to where Regulus stood. His gaze didn't drop to the diary, and Regulus wondered if that meant that Potter really hadn't told him about it. He still didn't trust the boy, but it was impressive nonetheless that he'd managed to keep it to himself when he'd been so clearly interested in the magic he suspected the diary held, and when Sirius had always claimed there were no secrets between himself and his friends. Under their scrutiny, Regulus was uncomfortable and tucked the diary further into his side. He still hadn't come up with an excuse as to why he was there, but also couldn't take the diary back to his dorm when for all he knew, Montague was currently in Dumbledore's office being given orders to steal it away. After several moments of equally awkward silence, he looked to the door of Madam Pomfrey's office, willing her to come back out so that he could ask her for a potion he didn't need and be gone.

"Whoever or whatever it is, it's pretty obvious they're going around at night looking for students on their own," Sirius said, and Regulus didn't know at first if he was speaking to him or to Potter, but he was still glaring at him, and Potter didn't seem surprised by what he had said, and nor did he respond.

"Um—"

"All I'm saying..." Sirius interrupted, clearly not planning on having much of a conversation with his brother, even if he was going to talk at him, "is that you shouldn't..." His jaw was clenched, and if Regulus thought he was about to voice some kind of concern for him, warn him not to walk about alone after dark, he was clearly mistaken. "Y'know, if you're... Why don't you go and have a look around for it and leave me alone?" He asked, demeanour changing in an instant and waving a hand at Regulus as though dismissing him the way their mother often would. Even when Sirius was being intentionally hurtful, it wasn't a comparison Regulus would make out loud. If he did, it would only invite further comments about how much Sirius hated them all, about how unlike them all he was, and how happy he'd been since he'd left. Regulus knew it by heart, and he'd rather not have heard it again.