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[wunderkind]

STUFF GOES IN HERE

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[jurisimpudent]

I know.

[And that's not just paying lip service to the idea; he does know; it is stupid. And yet he can't help but think it would be right. In some small way.]

But if they knew...They would hate me. Far and away more than they'd even hate someone like - like Malfoy. Because I never helped them. Wouldn't they?

[doggedly]

What would you have done?

[Somehow, he's ended back in a role that's nearly-- well, it isn't comforting. It's more a part of challenge, answering Edgeworth's misgivings with a steadiness that maybe he ought not to give.]

You couldn't even help yourself. What were you going to do for them then? If they're dwelling in the past, that's not your problem either--and you shouldn't be dwelling in it either.

[jurisimpudent]

[And a small, unhappy nod. Because, again: he is correct. A quiet moment, and then:]

I'm sorry. It wasn't my intent to make you into my...confessor.

[doggedly]

[He snorts, sitting back in his chair again and putting his cigarette back to his lips. It's nearly finished, but there's a bit more to it yet.]

Should've thought of that before you got yourself into my head, then.

[jurisimpudent]

Right. Well. That wasn't exactly my original intention when I first saw you.

[He draws a hand over his eyes, letting out an unhappy sigh.]

This is what comes of smoking.

[doggedly]

This is what comes of smoking.

[This being accidental brain-links and knowing all of each other's secrets--though he doesn't say that; it's too much to actually acknowledge it.]

Sorry I led you down this path, then. You'd think what I did for you would outweigh the vice.

[jurisimpudent]

I was...trying to be funny.

[He says that awkwardly, and then looks up, suddenly all painful earnestness:]

And you have done a great deal for me. I - ought to have acknowledged that.

[doggedly]

Shut up.

[He says it, gruffly, hunching over himself as he digs his watch out of his pocket. It's a heavy silver thing, made in the same style as his lighter. Compulsively, he rubs a thumb over its surface before he pops it open.]

I was being sarcastic. Guess I'm as shit at expressing myself as you are. How long are they going to keep us in here?

[jurisimpudent]

[A shrug with one shoulder; his brows are furrowed together with embarrassment at that rebuke.]

I...don't know. What time is it?

[doggedly]

Quarter after eleven. We'll be into the next day at this rate.

[He sighs, hugely, and leans back in his chair again, shoving his watch back into his pocket.]

Can you imagine going back to Hogwarts after this?

[jurisimpudent]

[That elicits a scoff - almost an unhappy laugh - after a slight delay.]

God. No. I can't even imagine how the other students would react.

[doggedly]

[He snorts. For a moment, they're on a very similar level, if not the same.]

Ah, you forget. You defeated the Dark Lord. They're going to have a parade for you.

[jurisimpudent]

[That earns an open scoff.]

I'm not certain if you've noticed, Black, but most students there would sooner disembowel themselves than give me the time of day. Let alone throw me a parade.

[He shakes his head.]

A peek into the secret world of the Gryffindors: they don't like those who tell on them.

[doggedly]

I hate to break it to you, Edgeworth, but that's not exactly a secret. None of it is.

[Gryffindors, man. He rolls his eyes a little.]

Not to stray too far off topic, but I still can't believe you're in with them.

[jurisimpudent]

Well.

[He looks away and hopes this won't earn him any wrath.]

I still can't believe you're in with the Slytherins.

[doggedly]

[There's no wrath. Instead, Sirius' mouth twists, and he looks down at the floor, jams the heel of his boot against the tile.]

Yeah. Well. Doubt I will be, after this.

[jurisimpudent]

[And Edgeworth looks over, his foul mood for a moment forgotten in the wake of his curiosity.]

That's the part of what I said that you took issue with?

[doggedly]

[He looks over at him--or, more, glares over at him, defencively.]

Should there have been something else?

[jurisimpudent]

[And, steadily:]

Most students would resent being told they do not fit in well with their House.

[doggedly]

Well, as this entire day has really been about me betraying my fucking family and more or less burning all of the bridges I've got, I'd say I'm not really in a position to be fussed about being told I don't fit in with a load of wankers I never really liked anyways.

[He finishes that, clipped, and shoves his watch back into his pocket, trading it for a new cigarette.]

[jurisimpudent]

[And that shuts him up quite neatly.]

I - right.

[A pause, though, and because he can never leave well enough alone - ]

I still don't...It's not truly betraying them, though.

[doggedly]

[Of course he still doesn't shut up. Sirius huffs a grim laugh, as he lights his cigarette.]

It's not. So what is it, then? I mean, it was more or less the eradication of all of the shit that they believe in, since it at least throws a bloody bubotuber into their precious system and society--but tell me, how that wasn't a betrayal.

[jurisimpudent]

[He gives an uncomfortable half-shrug. This is a weak argument:]

You hardly swore allegiance to their beliefs. And I cannot really think that...prejudice and hatred are some central tenants of their belief systems.

[doggedly]

[He doesn't answer, at first--just gets out his watch and holds it out to Edgeworth, closed. It's a heavy silver thing, much like his lighter, and the front is etched in the Black family crest. The motto runs along the bottom, in tiny block letters: TOUJOURS PUR.]

My father gave me this in first year. It wasn't even my birthday. He came to Hogwarts because the Board of Governors was meeting and he summoned me afterwards and gave me this watch--because I needed reminding, he said.

Toujours Pur. 'Always Pure'. That's the bloody center of their beliefs, and everything they are.

[jurisimpudent]

[What a strange, sad thing that is, he thinks as he looks down at the crest. He has a watch as well, back in his room in the Gryffindor Tower; it's silver as well, and burnished, but lighter. The inscription on it, on the inside of the cover, is To my dearest Gregory. He's been given lessons, as well, lessons that he's carried to the present day even if at times he forgets them: to be honest, to be forthright, to follow the rules, to treat others as he wants to be treated. To not presume to stand in judgment over a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. To treasure kindness. That no matter what happened, no matter what calling he found in life, he would always be loved.

Always Pure is what Sirius Black got.

It's a strange, sad thing.

He raises his eyes to Sirius' again. And he asks:]

Why did he think you needed reminding?