Chapter 54: A Full Exchange of Views
The training room still hummed with residual magic. Rune-wards on the stone walls pulsed with faint red light; the floor was pitted and strewn with debris.
Regulus and Orion sat side by side on the ground, backs against the cold black stone, the air still thick with the post-collision scent of heat and damp.
Regulus was steadying his breathing, recovering magic. After a moment, he spoke first: "Sirius not coming home may not be a bad thing."
Orion's hand stilled. His eyes darkened, but he said nothing — waiting.
"He's comfortable at Hogwarts. James Potter and the others treat him genuinely. Gryffindor's atmosphere suits him."
Regulus's tone was measured, as though discussing someone unrelated to himself.
"His temperament is too fierce. The rules of the Black household, the politics of the pure-blood circle — he will never accept any of it."
He turned to Orion. "His choice, rebellious as it is, is actually the path best suited to him. Leaving Grimmauld Place, stepping away from the pure-blood wars — that's the only way he'll live freely."
Orion sat in silence, his mind suddenly flooded with fragments.