“Stay out of my business,” Regulus snarled angrily, suddenly more tensed than ever. “What rights have you to say anything about me?”
“You’re my dear disinherited brother. I don’t want you dead.”
“Brother?” Regulus spewed as much venom possible on the word. “I’m not your brother, remember? I’m the one you can hex, the one you can taunt because I belonged to Slytherin like the rest. Potter is your brother, Sirius. You should advise him, save him from sure death, for he is soon going to be destroyed by the Dark Lord like his muggle loving parents.”
“Leave James out of this.”
“Fine. Stop pretending to show concern then, you were never there when needed.”
“Reg, you’re smart enough. Don’t get involved in the schemes of a megalomaniac murderer,” Sirius barked out in frustrated anger. He could see his mother approaching them, a few yards away, flanked by two of her close family friends.
“Sirius, go. Now. Please.”
Sirius laughed. “See, you couldn’t even bear mother’s confrontations with me.” He continued in a low whisper, “He’ll tell you to kill, Reg. Don’t do it.”
“Please go. You are not wanted.” Turning back, he hurriedly added, “Come Mother, Uncle Perseus, Bilius, I’m sorry, let us not delay anymore,” trying to steer them away.
“Who is this person, Regulus? Do you know him?”
Sirius lowered his hood and stepped forward. There were sounds of indrawn breadth and the atmosphere seemed to chill around them. The tall young man with exceptional good looks twisted his lips in the semblance of half a smile and half a grimace and spoke clearly in a low yet clear voice, “Hello, Mrs. Black. I came to rejoice at the death of your tyrannical husband and to lure your son away from you.” He immediately faced three raised wands.
“HOW DARE YOU? Go away before I kill you.”
“How dare you hurt your mother this way, young man?”
“Apologize to Eleanor immediately.”
Sirius laughed. His mother made a slashing movement with her wand and a golden light shot out. Sirius sidestepped with remarkable agility, causing the curse to hit the tree behind him etching a deep gash on the bark. The two men tried to calm Eleanor Black by making her step back from Sirius. Regulus, who had moved further away from the tree in a vain attempt to stop his mother meeting his brother, noticed another young wizard emerge from air. Almost as tall as Sirius, this young man had his wand out pointing towards Mrs. Black and her companions. Cloakless, he stood shivering in the mist, pocketing something silvery in his dark robes. Regulus was distracted as another sharp whip like crack and whitish light announced that Mrs. Black had attempted to use another hex on her disinherited elder son.
“You can’t kill me, Mrs. Black. I’m too clever to die,” Regulus heard Sirius tauntingly yell.
“Have you no respect for your mother, young man?” shouted the man without the umbrella, while attempting to restrain the widow.
“No, it doesn’t work that way, Perseus. She says I am no son of hers and I say she is no mother of mine. But you are as obtuse as your sister, aren’t you? Do you think Andromeda still considers you to be her father?”
The next curses made Sirius lift his wand.
“Protego!”Another voice made him turn to see the new tall wizard defending him standing by his side.
“Prongs, didn’t I tell you not to come? Get out of our silly little family squabble.”
“Mrs. Black, please lower your wand. Sirius, go.”
“But…”
“Just go.”
Sirius gave his mother a glare, walked up to Regulus and nodded at him carelessly. Taking a step forward, he looked back at his brother and said “Remember what I said,” and disappeared into thin air.
Perseus Black in the meantime addressed Sirius’ friend.
“Tell me young man, if you can control my nephew, why do you let him go astray?”
“He doesn’t need Potter to go astray, Perseus. He was a born a blood-traitor.”
Without answering or acknowledging the four people around him, James Potter moved forward, probably in order to Apparate.
“Are you really going to marry the Mudblood, Potter?”
James turned towards the cold, haughty widow and answered quietly,“Yes, Mrs. Black. I’m going to marry Lily.”
“Obviously you have not given it much thought. How can you pollute such an old pureblood family? Why, your children will be half-bloods!”
James smiled slowly.
“I love Lily, Mrs. Black and I’ll love my children and protect them. But you won’t understand all this, will you? Only purity of blood matters to you lot.”
And he vanished on the spot in front of them.
The elderly trio moved forward, discussing heatedly the need for eradicating wizards with no proper wizarding pride.
Regulus stood still in the empty graveyard. What is this love, he wondered. What is this feeling which he saw in Potter’s eyes when he talked of Evans? Kind, vivacious Evans who was fair even when dealing with the Slytherins who abused her all the time. Is she really in love with Potter? Was Potter’s protecting Sirius also love? And Sirius' obeying him? No, nobody’s ever been my brother, Sirius, while you always have the Marauders, he thought. Maybe, if I join them…Rabastan said He has promised us the world…and all I want is a friend, someone who will explain the meaning of unconditional love, that I will never find in the House of the Blacks…
After the funeral by bluebottle
Chapter Notes: This is where the action is.There is a spoilsport visitor though