Diptych

Chapter 34

Potter beat him by the smallest fraction, long arm outstretched and pointed as he landed the very tip of his finger against Alphard's garden wall. He curled in against it, not slowing at all and almost toppling right over it. If he had, Regulus thought very much that he would've brought the thing down with him; the brickwork was loose and covered in ivy, had been for as long as Regulus remembered. It seemed he was held up by ecstasy alone, a smile spread across his cheeks and laughter, albeit breathless, pouring from him like water bursting from a dam. Regulus slowed to a stop, knowing that it was ridiculous to be disappointed by his defeat under the circumstances and being disappointed all the same. By that point, Sirius had fallen a few paces behind them both, and neither one of them looked back to await him. Potter jabbed at Regulus, poking him once in the stomach as he continued to laugh.

"Ha! Knew I was faster than you both!"

It seemed impossible for him to be as content as he was, to be so bright and full of life in a landscape so barren. Even in the depths of winter, Potter reminded him a little of a wood nymph, spritely and mischievous. All at once, he pictured the boy's bronzed skin transformed into bark, imagined that amber moved through his veins; flowers sprouted from his hair, nestled deep in there and hanging from the longer tendrils. He brought life to their otherwise dead surroundings, and it suited him. Regulus wondered what he might be in that case.

"Afraid to knock, are you?" Sirius asked between gasps as he held fast to the wall, finally catching up to them and stealing Regulus' attention.

"Just waiting for you to catch up, mate." Potter told him, still smiling in his direction. Regulus' cheeks were burning, from exercise or the bite of the cold he didn't know, but he was sure it fuelled the amusement playing at Potter's eyes.

"I wasn't that far behind! I'd have beaten you as Padfoot." Sirius grumbled. He barged ahead of them both and let himself in through the low, green gate that swung on one hinge. It clattered against the wall behind it as soon as Sirius allowed it to leave his light grasp, and if Alphard had been anywhere close to the door, Regulus was sure he must have been aware of their presence already, but Sirius still knocked on the door.

The gaze that met theirs when the door opened just a crack was a suspicious one, and the relief at seeing him safe and alive was clouded by doubt. His shoulder-length hair had grown completely grey since Regulus last saw him, and there were spectacles pushed up into it that he didn't recall his uncle needing. He was still wearing the same draping clothes that Walburga had always hated, though Regulus hadn't understood why as a small child. Suspicion turned quickly to something else, something more pleasant, as his eyes lingered on Sirius.

"Gods, how tall you've gotten!" Alphard exclaimed, pushing his way out of the door and immediately enveloping Sirius in his arms. Potter glanced at Regulus with some excitement, obviously pleased about meeting the one relation of theirs Sirius hadn't cut all ties with. Chin flush with Sirius' shoulder, Alphard finally noticed that Regulus was also standing there, and detached himself. He didn't embarrass either of them by pretending that he had the same desire to embrace him, but he did touch his worn fingers to Regulus' shoulder, adding, "you must be as tall as your father is now."

"Uncle Alphard, can we come in?" Sirius asked.

"You're quite sure that you're alone?" Alphard asked in return, looking beyond them for the first time, scanning the perimeter of his home.

"The last time we saw anybody else was about nine hours ago, and we haven't stopped walking since," Potter told him earnestly. Alphard gave him one look, and then flipped his head back to Sirius.

"Is this..."

"James, yeah."

"James Potter! I've heard a lot about you, lad! I certainly hope that's mutual." There was a playfulness behind his eyes, even cornered as they were by wrinkles not unlike their mother's.