woah , i think i just saw SIRIUS BLACK ! there’s been so much happening lately that i totally forgot about the PUREBLOOD but i am glad to see HE/HIM still around . they always had wanted to be A BAR OWNER , i wonder how that’s going. the last i heard about them was that they might be involved with ORDER OF THE PHOENIX , but i’m not sure how true that is. besides, they always seemed LOYAL and DETERMINED . although , now that i think about it they were also HOT HEADED and IMPULSIVE . still the GRYFFINDOR alum always reminded me of I KNOW WHAT I AM by BAND OF SKULLS and SITTING LOOK OUT INTO THE RAIN ON A COLD WINTER NIGHT, THE SMELL OF LEATHER AND CIGARETTES, A FORCED SMILE ON THE FACE OF SOMEONE TRYING TO CONCEAL A SHATTERED HEART AND BROKEN SPIRIT . i hope they haven’t changed too much !

WHERE: Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore’s Office . WHEN: 5 January 1980 . WHO: Regulus & Sirius Black . @ofhexes

Regulus huffed out a sigh as Dumbledore left his office, leaving him and Kreacher alone. Kreacher was mumbling to himself, clearly unhappy with Regulus’s decision to seek out the headmaster but what else was he to do? Regulus couldn’t have returned to the manor, to let Walburga and Orion see the state he was in along with the object he had acquired. He pulled it out of his long-coat pocket, turning it over in his palm. It was a normal locket, but he could feel the dark magic that clung to it.

So many questions ran through his mind along with fear. He could feel the Dark Mark burning, a sensation that never left him. Regulus’s hand clutched the locket, as if he could squeeze it into pieces. An anger also taking root within the fear and curiosity.

“What to do, young master?” Kreacher asked, glancing from the locket in his hand to his face. Regulus merely shrugged, not having enough energy to answer.

Shoving it back in his pocket, he afforded himself some much needed rest. He laid back, let himself slip down in the chair, and closed his eyes. He was to wait here until an Order member came and fetched him, to take care of him until… until he didn’t know. This was as far as he had thought, and he hadn’t even really thought this out.

Kreacher continued to try to converse with Regulus but it annoyed him more than anything. He did not wish to talk more about this at the moment, could only think about how he wanted the damn blood caked to his face off. Dumbledore had only commanded that they stay seated since they arrived, understandably not too trusting of a presumed Death Eater.

“Kreacher. Stop. Talking.” Regulus grumbled out, lifting a hand to silence the elf.

***

Rarely did Sirius listen to orders without so much as a simple question. But when Dumbledore had come to find him that evening and urgently told him to get to his office at Hogwarts there was something about the older man's voice that had him dropping everything. He vaguely explained that someone needed their help. A safe place to lay low and while Dumbledore wouldn’t give exact details the curiosity got the better of Sirius and he followed without any complaint. The fact he had come to Sirius was enough to

Yet he understood the second he walked into the office and saw his brother sitting there.

So many emotions flooded through Sirius at the one time that he didn’t know which to cling onto. Surprise at seeing his brother again after so long. Confusion about what he was doing there. Shame from having left without a world. Anger that Dumbledore thought that Sirius wanted to be involved in whatever his idiot brother had done. But under it all...concern. He supposed he would never be able to shake the fact that the boy in front of him was his blood. Even if he was no doubt blasted from their family tree and treated as if he were dead, he still cared.

And that made him feel selfish for reasons he couldn’t quite understand.

“What did you do?” No greeting, no niceties, just straight to the point. Because he didn’t know how to speak to the brother, he walked out on five years ago. And he couldn’t fully hide his confusion at seeing him sitting there in their old Headmasters office, but he quickly masked it into a neutral expression he had been taught to wear a long time ago. Some lessons were hard to forget it seemed.

He took a second to actually look Regulus over and noted the blood on the younger boys face that had Sirius clenching his fists at his side, the only true sign of emotion that he allowed himself to show. What the hell had Regulus gotten himself into?

~~~

“Alright, just don’t blame me if you fall asleep pouring the firewhiskey,” he said with a smirk, obeying the command and sitting back down.

When he finally got a good look at Sirius, Remus’ smile faded slightly. He liked to think he knew his friends better than he knew himself, and he could tell when Sirius’ very charming smile was just a little too much, like he was pushing too hard. Still, he figured he’d answer his questions before calling him out on his bullshit.

“You know those nights when you’re too tired to sleep?” he asked with a poorly disguised sigh. “I made it home before deciding I’d join you down here for a bit before closing. I was too late, obviously, but that was what I was trying to do.” 

Remus tried to suppress the warmth he felt hearing Sirius say he did give a shit. He obviously knew that already, but it was nice to hear. He then shrugged. “It was a rough day, but now I’m more concerned about yours,” he admitted. “Dealing with some troublesome kids is par for the course for me, but you seem a bit down yourself. You spend all day asking everyone else how theirs was, how about I turn the tables on you?”

***

“Oh don’t worry I won’t do that. I wouldn’t do anything to risk spilling some good stock. Shit costs far too much.” Sirius laughed and slid Remus’ drink across the bar towards him. 

He nodded knowingly at his friend's explanation. Sadly, Sirius knew those nights all too well. Lying awake at night was almost normal for him at this point. And he didn’t mind it really. But when it came down to his friends feeling that way he was instantly concerned. Or maybe that was just him caring a little too much. “Better late than never, eh? If you hadn’t come down I most likely wouldn’t have seen you at all. So, I’m not going to complain. Even if you are here past closing, I’ll let it slide.” 

The laughter died from his face when Remus called him out. He should have known that Remus would have seen through him. And yet it still surprised him enough that he struggled to keep the smile from falling from his face completely and keep a shadow of the mask he wore intact. Sometimes he forgot that he couldn’t fool everyone no matter how hard he tried. 

“I’m fine. I’m just...tired.” It was a poor deflection, but it was almost true. He was tired of so many things that he wouldn’t even know where to begin. But more importantly there was that need inside him to never give his friends a reason to worry about him. Especially not Remus. “I’ll finish up quick here and then we can go home, yeah? Seems like we both need some sleep.” 

Remus truly loved his job. Teaching was something that he’d always wanted to do, and Dumbledore had given him the opportunity despite his… condition. It was something Remus was incredibly thankful for, and he would never complain about it.

But.

Not every child was a saint, which Remus should have known due to his own experience with his closest friends for seven years of school. But being on the other side was different. Sure, Remus was a prefect, but being a professor in training was a completely different experience. Some days, classes were harder to get through than others.

And today was one of those days.

It was a semi-rare occurrence, Remus coming after hours to relax and have a drink with his roommate and best friend. Though, right now, he could tell that Sirius was tired the second he sat down. Remus shook his head, an equally tired smile on his face. “It’s alright, Padfoot,” he assured him, getting back up. “You’re tired, I’m tired, we can just go home. Do you need any help closing up?”

***

“Sit down, Moony. Serving one more drink isn’t going to make me collapse.” He said dismissively and even as he spoke, he was already moving to get a drink for Remus. A few extra minutes of work wasn’t really all that much in the grand scheme of things. And Remus looked as though he needed one. Out of everyone that could have possibly walked through that door he could force himself to be glad that it was at least one of his friends. He even managed to put a smile on his tired face. He has had plenty of practice in masking how he really felt it almost came naturally at this point to lie.

“What are you doing here so late?” It wasn’t asked in an accusatory tone. more like a curious one. He had expected to have found Remus already asleep in his room by the time he got home, not turning up at his bar this time of night. “Do you want me to do the typical barkeep act and ask if you’ve had a rough day? I’m getting pretty good at it. And I won’t even need to pretend I give a shit since it’s you.” 

who: OPEN 

It was one of those days where Sirius just couldn’t wait until he could get home and instantly fall into his bed. Something he could already have done if he hadn’t sent everyone else home already and chose to close up alone since it had been a fairly quiet night. A decision he now regrets as it’s almost 1am and he can barely keep his eyes open. Something that has become a regular occurrence for him. Was it his fault by throwing himself into the bar and Order duties so that he didn’t need to deal with the thoughts he had when he had a moment to actually sit and think? Maybe.

But that didn’t stop him from instantly becoming annoyed when he heard someone coming in and sitting themselves behind the bar. He paused to take a breath and fight the urge to send them flying back through the door. That wasn’t very welcoming of him. Though right now he was so tired it was hard to care.

“Bar closed at least ten minutes ago. Hense why all the lights are currently off. Although maybe I’m making it too obvious. The door was unlocked so that’s my bad I guess.” He said with a slight sign behind his words before he turned around, glass in hand and rag in the other, to see who had disturbed his peace and quiet. And his rush to leave. “Though you look sad enough sitting there all alone that if you’re nice I’ll let you stay and have one drink while I finish cleaning up.”