firecracker ???

Harry wasn't trying to find her.

Not really.

He told himself that as he pulled the Invisibility Cloak tighter around his shoulders and slipped out through the portrait hole, heart steady, steps careful. The map in his hand shimmered faintly in the low torchlight, ink lines crawling across the parchment like veins. He tapped it once with his wand, whispered the words without thinking—"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good"—and watched the castle come alive.

It wasn't the first time he had done this.

He told himself he just needed air, needed space, needed to walk somewhere without Ron snoring or Hermione worrying. Maybe he'd pass her by—accidentally. Maybe she'd be leaning against a balustrade or watching the stars again. Maybe she'd say something dry and cutting and cold, and he'd pretend not to like it as much as he did.

His shoes made no sound against the stone as he turned the corner toward the eastern stairwell. He was about to head toward the Astronomy Tower when a name on the map caught his eye.

Regulus Black.

The name hovered in a small chamber just past the old Arithmancy classroom, unmoving but not alone. Another dot was there too, tucked closely beside it.

Sirius Black.

The map nearly slipped from his fingers.

Harry stood frozen in place, heart leaping into his throat. His fingers tightened on the parchment. It had to be a mistake. Or someone else. Or—

But there it was.

Clear as ink, two names.

Regulus Black.
Sirius Black.

They were in the same room.

Harry stopped walking.

The air felt sharper, colder against his neck. He stared at the map, at the two dots so close they nearly touched, his heart suddenly loud.

Sirius Black had broken into the castle again.

And Regulus—his brother—was with him.

Harry's feet were moving before he decided to go. He kept to the shadows, careful, not breathing too loudly, not letting the map out of his sight until he reached the right corridor. The room wasn't far. One of the old classrooms in the east wing, disused and heavy with dust.

Light flickered beneath the door. Harry pressed himself against the wall and leaned in, holding his breath, waiting.

Inside, two voices.

Sirius, low and rough. "You didn't have to come looking for me."

Regulus. Cold, composed, but quieter than usual. "Yes, I did."

"You didn't even know if I was innocent."

"I didn't know anything." A pause. "Because I didn't care to, back then. Not until I saw your name in the Prophet, and remembered everything we didn't say."

"You tracked me down after Azkaban," Sirius said, something unreadable in his voice. "Why?"

"Because I knew something was wrong," Regulus replied. "And because I had something to confess."

Silence.

Then Sirius said, "You told me everything. About the cave. The Horcrux. The Dark Lord."

"I'm still doing things no one knows about," Regulus said. "Still pretending. But not for him. Never again for him."