Work Text:
He sat straight up and looked around. Sirius was surprised to find himself in his old Hogwarts dorm, only it was all white. Oh, and he supposed he was also a little shocked to find himself as naked as the day he was born.
The last thing Sirius remembered was taunting Bellatrix before he fell through the veil. He remembered Harry screaming as he fell; remembered Remus holding Harry back to keep him from running in to catch him. He kind of wished he could forget.
"Okay Sirius, you're at Hogwarts. Maybe Pomfrey was cleaning me up. Yeah, and I'm naked because she had to check for injuries," he tried to convince himself.
Sirius faintly heard a snort. "What?"
"Do you really believe that?"
He froze. He'd recognize that sharp, sarcastic voice anywhere. But of all the people, why him? Why not James, or Lily, or Fabian, or Gideon, or Marlene, or Dorcas, or even his mother? Why the boy that had stabbed him twice, chased him around with knives as children, got them both arrested, tricked him into eating paper, put a dead mouse on his pillow, and countless other things? He almost would've preferred Voldemort.
"Regulus? Is that you?"
"No, it's the Grey Lady." Yep, definitely Regulus.
"You're dead."
"No shit, Sherlock."
"Does that mean..."
Regulus gave a sardonic smile. "Welcome to the afterlife."
"You know, you could be a little nicer. Maybe give me a tour or an explanation."
Pretending Sirius hadn't spoken, Regulus smirked. "You got old."
"You didn't," Sirius shot back.
"And I'm the rude one?" Regulus asked. "You literally just rubbed my death in my face."
"You were 18!"
"So?"
"'So'?! 'So', you were killed because you for the first time in your pathetic life, you couldn't kill someone!"
Regulus threw his head back and laughed in a way that sent chills down Sirius' spine. "Is that the story?"
"What do you mean, 'story'?"
"I mean I took some poison—willingly, might I add—and got dragged to the bottom of a lake by a horde of inferi. But sure, I guess not having the guts to kill a man is about the same thing."
"You did what?!"
"Oh, nothing."
Sirius closed his eyes. Why couldn't his brother ever just give a straight answer? Perhaps he liked frustrating others (a possibility). Maybe he enjoyed being cryptic (yet another possibility). But most likely, Regulus just liked driving people in circles until they snap.