You talkin' to me?(Sirius)

[brett]

Regulus Black wandered down the corridors of Hogwarts, his long black robes flowing behind him. The silver and green tie hung loosely around his neck. Regulus had never much liked the constricting feeling that a properly worn tie gave, so this was how he fixed the problem of having to wear one every day.

He glanced down quickly to the serpent emblem patched across the left breast of his cloak. Lately he had been feeling less and less deserving of the patch of the purebloods. He wondered why he hadn't been placed into a different house perhaps Gryffindor with his brother. Of course that was inpossible. Regulus had always pleased his pureblood parents every wish. It was odd to think that he was very much there son and also retained that he was very much Sirius' brother.

For example Regulus and his brother were similar in appears and both gave off a rather arrogant, but approachable appeal. Regulus also had his brothers sense of humor. That had been forged in there years of childhood and even when Sirius pulled pranks that Regulus knew better than to laugh at out loud he was hysterical on the inside. And yet unlike his brother he payed attention in class got good grades in all subjects, unlike his brother who only excelled in the classes he found interesting or useful.

[megazostradon]

Sirius grinned as he looked down into a textbook. Odd? Just a little bit. It wasn’t common to see one of the token miscreants of 7th year suddenly deciding to take an interest in classes so suddenly. Potions no less! Sirius Black’s least favorite subject. Perhaps he had had a change of heart? Maybe he was going to start to study and do his homework, rather than constantly copy and borrow from his sandy-haired, werewolf friend.

The slacking Gryffindor sported his usual attire, accented by a small, short-haired, gray cat which was perched on his right shoulder. He hardly ever tucked in his uniform’s white shirt into the gray pants. His tie was done up messily, and at the moment hung out over his red-and-gold trimmed Gryffindor sweater vest. The shoes he wore were comfortable ones he had bought while traveling out in the muggle world this summer.

He flipped a page, and another sheet of black-and-white comic book drawings came into view, featuring a man with a flowing sheet of black hair brandishing a long, shining sword against a pack of giant demon cockroaches. Sirius smiled as he watched the protagonist step back-to-back with his battle partner and lift his blade to block one of the demon bugs’ spear-like legs. If anyone else had just come out of Potions, they would realize now why Sirius had seemed to be so avidly studying in class. Then again, Indolence Infusions weren’t the most riveting topic to learn about. As if to agree, the cat chirruped and rubbed the side of his face with its furry cheek. He reached up and stroked its head as he turned another page.

[brett]

As Regulus returned his gaze to the corridor he noticed his brother Sirius approaching from the opposite direction, but something was different about him. It was hard to tell which had caught Reg's eyes first, the cat perched on his brothers shoulder or the book in his hands. Which ever had come first it was the book that held Reg's attention, perhaps his brother was actually taking interest in school for once. Regulus considered commending Sirius on his new found interest in knowledge, but first he would have to check the coast.

There seemed to be a few students coming from behind Sirius though they were far behind and didn't look like Slytherins. Upon a quick glance behind however Reg noticed a few of his housemates making there way up the corridor. Regulus had almost reached his brother now and he knew there would be no time for the siblings to exchange pleasantries. Instead Regulus lined himself up to run into his brother to please his housemates.

Regulus bumped his left shoulder into Sirius right, he hit him hard, hopefully hard enough for his brother to drop his book and perhaps even startle the cat into digging it's claws into Sirius' skin. As far as Reg was concerned this was payback for his brother leaving him and the rest of the family. Of course Reg understood the reasons, but all Sirius had to do was suffer through for another few months then Christmas vacation. It would have been easy, but god forbid Sirius put effort into anything, "Watch where your going you git," Regulus said talking down to his brother as though Sirius had meant to hit him rather than the other way around.

Regulus' anger was building towards his brother now. Reg had always had a quick temper and now it was showing. What had originated as a show of meaningless aggression to appease his fast approaching housemates had now turned to the very real feelings of abandonment Regulus had kept inside for so long.

[megazostradon]

Sirius didn’t see his brother drawing nearer, and as a result, lost every ounce of grace as he was forcefully pushed off-kilter. The Gryffindor boy glanced up momentarily, catching the colors of silver and green on Regulus’s uniform. He stumbled forward, taking quick steps to try to regain balance. The textbook slipped from his hands and fell onto the floor, and the comic book hidden within it was flung from the enveloping pages of potions text. It lay splayed beside the textbook, with a quite still image of the blue-eyed protagonist on the front cover.

Sirius’s cat screeched as its stability was disrupted, and its claws sank through the Gryffindor boy’s robe and the skin of his shoulder, ripping downwards as the feline slid out of place. He drew in a sharp breath as he felt its claws rake downwards and quickly lifted his hands to catch the cat before it could tear all the way down his chest. It was small enough to be easily caught in his arm. The dark, orange-gold eyes in its gray face flashed angrily, despite the gentle hand that came down to stroke its head. It leapt away from Sirius, kicking his chest with its sharp back claws and tore down the hallway.

Mirroring the anger in his cat’s face, Sirius spun to face the cause of his discomfort, his rage stroked by the knowledge that this person was from Slytherin. “What the hell was that, you vile, belly-crawling bastard?” He glared at the back of the sixth year, but his expression changed in an instant as he realized who his searing insult had been thrown at. Surprise, remorse and confusion spilled onto his handsome face. “Regulus!” It was true, they argued, but this had been so out of the blue. Sirius’s fury redoubled. That little punk! Cat scratches hurt! Who did he think he was?!

[brett]

Regulus turned a satisfied smile crossing his features. The Slytherin boys who had been approaching were laughing now and high-fived Regulus as they passed. The high that came from his peers appreciation masked any remorse that Regulus would have felt normally. After all Sirius had brought the attack on himself by being careless as he always was.

"Maybe if you did have your head in your books I wouldn't have bumped you," Regulus said making his way back towards his older brother. He kicked lightly at the book Sirius had dropped, realizing it was a Potions book. Sirius hated potions and there was no way he would be reading the book, though Sirius seemed like a stranger since he left Grimmauld. It was then that Reg noticed the comic book, which no doubt was what his brother had actually been reading.

Regulus gave a dry laugh as he picked up the comic book. "And here I thought you might actually be attempting to cram some knowledge into that thick skull of yours," Regulus said with a feigned disappointment in his brother. The Slytherins had long passed now, turned down another corridor, but it didn't matter. This had become personal.

[megazostradon]

Sirius felt his blood boil as he watched his brother laugh along with the Slytherins and accept their praise. So that’s what a brother is good for? A cruel turn for a few laughs? Sirius recognized several in the group of chortling Slytherins giving his brother high fives. They were a few of the individuals that spent far too much time hanging all over Lucius’s words. Was this what Regulus had become? Was he no different from them?

As his eyes crossed over the faces of Regulus’s audience, he spoke. “Yeah? Well I have enough spare time to read and play, since I don’t spend half my life licking elitist purebloods’ shoes,” Sirius sneered loudly, clearly hoping they too would catch his words.
He knelt down to pick up his two books. Sirius’s eyes lingered on the page that the comic book had fallen open to. The protagonist was battling a large snake that was wrapped about one of his allies. With a sardonic smile, he carefully tucked away the muggle comic book inside the text once again.

The Gryffindor boy straightened up and set his gaze upon his brother’s face. He gripped the textbook in his hand rather tightly as he fought the desire to chuck it straight into his younger brother’s face. Regulus didn’t look even the slightest bit remorseful! Everything in Sirius’s expression was controlled, save for his eyes. His silver eyes—so often alight with mischievous joy—were blazing with rage, giving his young, handsome face a hard, steely look.

[brett]

"Hmph," Regulus snorted at his brother's attempt at a comeback. Regulus was far from licking anyone's shoes. The other Slytherins turned back to Sirius glaring at him for a moment, but Regulus looked back at them and smirked letting them know he could deal with his brother. "So do you count this muggle drivel as reading or play? Because honestly Sirius this trash doesn't seem worthy of either," Regulus said once again condemning his brothers choice in reading material. Books with pictures that can't even move? Only a muggle could find such a thing entertaining.

Regulus held his older brothers gaze. When they were boys they would have staring contests. his contest however carried more emotion and anger than any of the childhood games. There was no remorse in Regulus' eyes nor in Sirius.' If he ever hoped to break the glare Regulus knew he would need a comment that would take attention away from the fierce stare. "Sirius Black," Regulus said a smirk forming across his mouth as he spoke his brothers name. "It is still Black isn't it? Or is it Potter now?" he asked bitterly.

"How is you new family? Your new 'brother?'" he said spitting the word brother as if it were poison on his tongue. Sirius had a family and a brother that he had abandoned in favor of a new one. It wasn't fair that James was more of a brother to Sirius than Regulus was.

[megazostradon]

“Great, thanks,” Sirius replied with a smirk, perfectly aware that the comment would enrage his brother more. “James’s mum sent us cookies. Peanut butter ones. My favorite. Nice, huh? Our mother never remembered I liked them best. She fawned over your favorites, though, didn’t she?” Jealousy joined the emotions roiling within Sirius, as he recalled the many times he had been denied something in favor of Regulus’s choice, from the flavor of the gallon of ice cream bought to the color of the candles in the hallway. “Well, I liked the James’s mother’s present much better than back-to-school gift I got from that woman you call a mother.”

Their mother had sent Sirius a box on the day after school had started. It had been delivered by his family’s large eagle owl. James and Remus had been there in the common room when it arrived, and Sirius tried to disguise the hope that the parcel brought him. In a vain wish, he thought it might contain sweets and a letter from his parents with the sentiment, ‘We will love you, no matter what path you choose to follow.’ To his disappointment, and mortal endangerment, it had contained several large, very poisonous purple scorpions. “Did you help her pick it out?”

Really, it wasn’t fair of Sirius to assume his brother had a hand in this ‘gift.’ Regulus was at school when it had been sent. However, at the moment, as he glared back at his brother, Sirius believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Regulus had personally suggested it to his mother. “If you wanted to kill me, you should have just asked for a duel instead of sneaking around like a coward. I’d be only too happy to oblige!”

[brett]

Regulus could feel his blood boil as his brother described his new life. What had Regulus expected? That his brother would somehow be worse off? The truth was Reg never blamed his brother for leaving, not until this moment when he was blinded by feelings of abandonment. The truth was that it wasn't even there mother that did most of the things Regulus preferred rather it was Kreacher who did all the cooking and most of the care taking that Walburga Black could never seem to be bothered with. Regulus envied that his brother now had a 'mother' who actually cared, rather than passing off duties to a house elf.

Regulus raised his eyebrows at hearing that Sirius had received a 'gift' from their parents. Regulus himself had recieved a care package from home not to long ago. Clearly this was also complied by the house elf though it carried his parents signatures. Anything that looked like it took any effort was usually Kreachers doing. It was strange that the little was more nurturing and caring than Regulus' own mother.

"Sorry to say I had nothing to do with your 'gift' but I must confess if it was something intended to harm you I'm saddened that it failed to do so," Regulus said feigning remorse. He was more putting up a tough front now. Knowing that his parents had sent Sirius a potentially lethal package made him forget some of his anger. Still the moment held intense feeling and he had been challenged. "Your right about one thing though, if I wanted a fight I should have just asked," Regulus smiled as he pulled back his fist and shot a punch towards his brother's face hoping to catch him off guard.

Normally Reg wouldn't lower himself to this sort of physical muggle fighting, but the resentment towards his brother and his new loving family was flowing through him and the only way to relieve it seemed to be with a punch. That was the one thing Sirius never seemed to understand. Regulus got everything he wanted from his parents, everything, but the only thing that really mattered...love.

It was the reason he tried so hard to please them because when he did he could convince himself that they actually cared about him. That they loved him and would always care about him no matter what. But Sirius was a constant reminder, that the truth was quite the opposite. As long as Reg pleased his parents they respected him and took pride in him, but if he ever took to following to much in his brothers footsteps he would be disowned just as quickly.

[megazostradon]

This is what Sirius had been hoping for, and he was ready for it. He lifted his textbook quickly to block his brother’s fist from making contact. The Gryffindor boy smirked and kicked upwards in an attempt to knee his brother in the stomach. This was a chance to vent his frustrations towards the Black family, and Sirius welcomed it. He shoved the book forward to push his brother back.

Swiftly, lifted the strap of his bookbag from his shoulder and dropped it carelessly onto the corridor’s floor, then tossed his potions textbook on top of it. With a cocky grin, he turned back to his brother and took a stance to prepare for the fight. Memories flooded into Sirius’s mind. He and his brother must have scrapped half a million times prior to this, like two puppies as children, growling and wrestling to test their strength. However, now, it was different. Now, it was time to put all that practice to the test.

He beckoned to his brother, reaching out with one hand and curling his fingers twice in quick succession. With his typical arrogant air, Sirius was inviting another attack. He was trying to gauge just what to expect from his opponent, and trying to block out the fact that he was fighting his brother. Concentrating on the colors of Regulus’s tie, his smirk widened with a wicked enthusiasm. “What’s the matter, little mommy’s boy? You scared?”

[brett]

Regulus's hand made contact all right, but it was not the satisfyingly pleasant connection with his brothers jaw as he had hoped. Instead he was met by the hard, unyielding cover of a potions book...Sirius had always been good at finding alternate uses for his books. Before Reg even had time to recoil his now aching hand he was met with a knee in his stomach and tossed back by the book, still connected to his fist. Instinctively nursing his hand, Regulus glared at Sirius.

It was no longer his brother he was staring at, it was an adversary that was to be dealt with. And not to be underestimated again. Afraid of showing pain or weakness, Reg quickly dropped his hand and let it throb at his side. It wasn't broken, just a little sore. Regulus had always been a bit fierce when it came to fighting, his quick temper tended to make sure of that.

Regulus' mouth turned up in a smirk at Sirius comment. Momma's boy was it? He'd keep that in mind while he was wailing on his brother. Without a second thought or hesitation Regulus charged his brother full force lowering his shoulder so he was even with his brother's waist. He thrust forward wrapping his arms around the back of his brothers thighs and pulling them up to knock him off his feet. This would provide Reg with an advantageous position.

[megazostradon]

Sirius expected his brother to engage in a few experimental attacks in order to test his opponent. He hadn't anticipated such a brash, impulsive attack immediately following taking damage. Sirius had forgotten how easily his brother lost his mind to rage. Regulus did not share Sirius's ability to keep a sangfroid mind to strategize in the face of such galling situations.

Sirius felt his brother's arms wrap about his torso and their combined weight pulled him off his feet. Instinctively, he stiffed and braced himself before hitting the corridor floor. Several gasps met his ears, and for a moment he caught a glimpse of several Hufflepuffs in the end of the hallway. He ignored their mutters, and the sound of footsteps quickly hurrying away, and focused on his brother’s face.

The force of the stone against his back and his brother against his chest forced the air out of his lungs. His calmness risked being overthrown with wild calamity. Being on floor was an extremely precarious position. Before Regulus had a chance to fasten his hold, Sirius would have to break free. The Gryffindor boy pulled his legs up, and like a cat, tried to kick his brother off of him.

[brett]

((Should I have Wyatt come in and break this up now or do you wanna keep going))

[megazostradon]

((Professor should probably come in soon, if not next post then the one after that.))

[wyatt]

Wyatt had been walking through the corridors headed back to his classroom/office to make up lesson plans for the week. He had tried doing the first lessons by ear and found it rather difficult. He was determined to have a nice plan of things that needed to be done each class...of course there was always room for a little deviance. He wanted his class to be fun, but not particularly easy, especially seeing how talented the students were. They needed a challenge, but that didn't necessarily mean lots of papers to write and books to read.

As he walked Wyatt he saw a small crowd of Hufflepuffs. There was only one reason students crowded like that...fight. Muggle or Magical, when you had this many hormonal teenagers in the place fights were bound to break out every once and a while. And it didn't help that the students had wands and most knew how to use them. As he came upon the scene however he found two students fighting 'muggle style' with one having taken the other down, meeting substantial resitance from the one on the ground.

"Break it up," Wyatt called stepping forward pulling the time boy off about the same time it seemed he would have been forced off. Hooking the boys arms to restrain him he met little resistance. He saw Sirius' face first, looking up from the ground. Releasing the other boy revealed that it was Regulus who had been in the quarrle with his brother. Reg gave a look that let Wyatt know he was displeased, but made no attempt to try attacking his brother again.

"You lot get back to the commonroom," he ordered to the group. As hufflepuff head of house he received no objection as they scattered down the corridor. "You two can come with me," he added pointing Regulus down the hall and offering Sirius a hand up. Reg rolled his eyes, but remained silent. as they began the dissent to Wyatt's office to discuss punishment.