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"What do you want?" Sirius spat.
"I just want to say goodbye," Regulus answered quietly.
"Goodbye? What are you on about? We haven't seen each other in years, you never said goodbye the first time around. Why now? But whatever. Bye, Regulus." Sirius shut the door, but Regulus was quicker and put his foot in the door.
"If I remember correctly, it was you who left without saying farewell." There was a hint of amusement in Regulus's answer, and if the situation had been a different one, Sirius would have grinned and rolled his eyes.
Instead, he repeated, "What do you want?"
"I said -"
"Cut the bullshit, Reg, and get lost. I can do without Death Eaters visiting my place."
"I'll be gone in a minute, Sirius. I – I left. I left the Death Eaters. They're after me. I know it's dangerous and I probably shouldn't have come, but I wanted to say I'm sorry, for everything – for not defending you in front of Mother and Father, for being an idiot – everything." Regulus said all this in a rush.
Sirius stared at him, then said in a dangerously quiet voice, "You have Death Eaters on your tail and you come here?! Are you insane? Get out of my sight! And don't you dare come back here!" Sirius kicked Regulus's foot out of the doorway and slammed the door in his face.
Regulus sighed, thinking, Don't worry, brother, I won't ever be back. I won't be alive for much longer ... before Apparating away.
- - -
Remus wordlessly shoved the Prophet towards Sirius. One glance and Sirius cursed, "Shit!" His brother Regulus was looking up at him from the page, gloomily staring into space underneath the caption 'Death Eaters kill one of their own'.
Sirius stared down at the page for a long time. Finally, he looked up at Remus, lost and in shock, and whispered, "I never said goodbye …"