"It's a war on, if you've forgotten. We're all in danger." But there's no fire behind it and he just breathes out slow and grounding, looking at Sirius with something indescribable flitting across his expression. He hadn't known if that had actually worked or if Sirius had just been that angry.

"A shielding charm," he finally admitted, "I couldn't do enough that it bounced off entirely, but I couldn't just let it happen without doing anything." His breath shakes. "I couldn't do anything else. But if I hadn't, she wouldn't have wanted to escalate and--"

His eyes are bright, full of tears that he's not quite shedding. He still blames himself, that much is clear.

"I'll try."

He means it.