The Story of Regulus Black - Years 5-7

II. Sirius Black's Escape

CW: suicidal thoughts

As the week progressed, Regulus could feel himself slipping.

It wasn't a steep decline, but it was a decline nonetheless. It felt almost as though he were going down the edge of a small hill, headed straight for the edge of a steep cliff and unsure when exactly he would plummet. But, there was always something holding him back, wasn't there? Something weighing him down - making sure that he didn't fall too fast.

Sirius.

At least he still had Sirius.

He pushed their parents - he pushed them a lot. But, he had only earned three doses of the Cruciatus Curse, which was very good in both Regulus and Sirius's books.

The brothers were spending more time together. Of course, it was almost always when their parents weren't home and almost always behind closed doors where their parents wouldn't catch them speaking, but it was nice. They weren't very open with one another - Regulus was keeping all of his mental issues to himself, and he suspected that Sirius was doing the same. But, they were able to hold basic conversations.

"Read any new books lately?"

"Done any of your holiday homework?"

"How were O.W.L.'s?"

"Excited for next year?"

"Have any plans for the summer?"

"Ever heard of this random and obscure muggle object that I know about for some reason?"

Would it have been ideal in any other situation? No. Was it ideal in Regulus's current state? Yes. He suspected that it was the only thing holding him back from falling into the deep end.

And, when Regulus wasn't speaking with Sirius or attending awkward family dinners (minus Sirius) full of silence, he was sleeping. For, luckily, he was still stuck in his state of constant exhaustion, lack of general motivation to get out of bed, and the want to sleep the rest of his life away.

He avoided thoughts of Christian at all costs. And, thankfully, due to the fact that his days were full of those very things, he did not have any time to spare Christian any thought. So, while his summer had already proven to be worse than the last, it was better than it could be.

On Friday, 25 June, 1976, Regulus Black was awoken by the violent opening of his bed curtains.

He kept his eyes closed, unsure who it was and unsure if he cared, either. Even if it was the Dark Lord himself coming to kill him for something wrong that he had done, Regulus was not entirely sure that he would care.

But, it was not the Dark Lord coming to kill him. Instead, the voice of his brother filled his ears and brought Regulus out of the clutches of the exhaustion that was trying to keep hold.

"Happy birthday!" Sirius exclaimed, his voice much quieter than it would normally be. He didn't want his parents to hear him speaking with Regulus; not to keep them from being angry with him, but to keep them from being angry with Regulus. After all, Regulus had had the Cruciatus used on him on his birthday once before, and Sirius wasn't intent on allowing it to happen again.

Regulus let out a small hmph and pulled his knees closer to his chest. He buried his face in the plush pillow, trying to maintain the darkness that had been ripped from him by the opening of his bed curtains. He didn't much feel like celebrating his birthday, in all honesty.

"Regulus, c'mon! Get up!" Sirius grabbed his brother's arm and tried to tug him out of bed.

Regulus wrenched his arm out of Sirius's grip and shifted his face so that his mouth was unobscured by the fabric of the pillow. "It's my birthday, so why can't I sleep in?" His voice was a deep, hoarse croak that was barely even audible.