Chapter 260: Sirius Wants to Talk
Regulus nodded. "Then let's talk."
After receiving Bellatrix's letter, the one dripping with accusation, and sending back a reply that dripped with indifference, he'd noticed something shift inside himself.
He knew exactly where the change came from. Strength.
Over a year of work had built a kind of ease in him, a steadiness that made things he once couldn't be bothered with feel like they were worth a few words, a small effort, a moment of his time.
Before, he'd thought talking to Sirius was pointless. Sirius wouldn't understand. They'd talk past each other, so why bother?
He still thought that, mostly. But now he felt like he could try. He couldn't explain why. The steadiness was just there, and with it came the willingness to see where a conversation landed.
They walked to the end of the corridor, climbed a staircase, turned one corner, then another.
The torchlight grew dimmer. The corridors grew quieter.
On the seventh floor, Regulus turned into a side passage and stopped at a window alcove. The arch was stone, the sill recessed into the wall, covered in a thin film of dust.