Where: The Black Lake With: @silveredblack
The winter holidays usually brought with them unbridled excitement and a jittery energy that could hardly be contained. But, this year, they had only brought with them a sense of dread, of guilt that sat heavy in his stomach. It was going to be his first Christmas spent away from Grimmauld Place, away from Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa, away from his parents, from their family. It was the first Christmas away from Regulus, and therein laid the guilt.
There was a bite to the air as Sirius made his way out to the Black Lake, cloak tugged tightly around himself to ward off the chill. With exams over, he couldn’t rely on schoolwork to distract himself, anymore. So, his restless energy drove him out into the crisp December air, hoping to at least find some relief from the thoughts swirling around in his head.
He hadn’t spoken to his brother since he’d left Grimmauld Place and moved in with the Potters. It had been far easier to avoid the younger boy - a task that had proved easy enough in the large castle, for the most part - than to face him. So, Sirius ran from his problems, pretended they didn’t exist, pretended Regulus didn’t exist. After all, it was far easier to pretend that James was his only brother now than to face the fact that he had left his real brother behind.
Sirius sighed as he moved to sit beneath a tree, the ground hard beneath him, his back pressing against the trunk. It was quiet enough, but he didn’t register the soft sounds of footsteps approaching.