She looked like an angel amongst all the white. To Sirius she was an angel - his angel.
He was starting to think that he may have to pull himself together better if she was going to keep acting like his Patronus, for too many times now, she'd leaped in front of him as protection. And the guilt that what had happened to her, should've got him instead, was still sickening. Sirius would've taken all of it, all of the pain, if it meant she didn't have to feel even an ounce of it, for it was his fault. It was his wretched relatives, it was his disobedience, it was his lack of strength over keeping Ellie at school.
James would kill him, he was sure; Remus and Peter would be mortified; Lily and Marlene would do everything in their power to keep her away from him.
Sirius wasn't even sure how Cyrus could look at him, how the father of the girl he'd practically fed to the wolves could stand to be in his presence. But Cyrus had not once blamed him. In fact, he seemed grateful, and when Sirius asked him why, he'd simply hugged him tight in reply.
"You got her out of there. You did everything you could." He'd said vehemently.
But sat in front of the beautiful girl now, clutching her hand tightly as she slept, Sirius couldn't feel any guilt, for peace flooded the whole room instead. He'd asked Clementine to help him bring some of the plants that lived in pots up to her room in the house because she couldn't be in the Orangery, and because he knew she'd appreciate it when she was awake properly. Camille had also sent beautiful bouquets from France, all full of the types of wildflowers Ellie loved, and so the room was a heady mix of all things earthy and floral. Calming and serene, it was just what both of them needed after how explosive their last minutes at Grimmauld Place turned out to be.
But that was three days ago now.
Ellie slept the rest of the day after Euphemia managed to heal her, and since then she'd been drifting in and out of slumber as she recovered. Now it was very clear that her wounds would never fully heal.
All up her right arm there were scars. From the tips of her finger and the palm of her hand, right to her shoulder - jagged lines that looked like crooked trails of water that flowed on top of her skin. Some white and raised, some pink and indentations. But the most noticeable were the ones on her cheek. Her face had taken the blunt of the spell Walburga had cast, and now there a collection of scars on the right side of her cheek. One stretched from the bridge of her nose, right down her neck, and other smaller ones were scattered around it like an abstract spiderweb.
Tracing the new patterns on her palm and up her forearm, Sirius studied them carefully, for he'd promised himself he'd imprint them on his brain. He knew everything about Ellie, and could paint her picture so vividly in his mind that sometimes his dreams only ever consisted of her. But now she looked different, and he needed to make amends to the figment of his imagination so that he always had a perfect mirror image of her.
She was his favourite person on the planet after all.
Not being able to speak to her, to apologise, was killing Sirius slowly and so he'd taken to spending every moment by her side. Every now and then, someone would come to try and drag him away so that he could eat, but they'd never succeed - Euphemia had now taken to bringing him sandwiches up in Ellie's room. He waited patiently as the hours ticked by for her to come round enough so that he could see those big sea green eyes of hers again. Sirius had never been patient like he was for her.
"Pa-foo..." Voice croaky and weak, Ellie's hand closed around his fingers where he was still tracing the scars on her palm.
Sirius shot forward in his seat immediately, eyes wide and expectant as she came round more than she had done for three days. Her head rolled around on her pillow a little and she grumbled incoherent words restlessly, chocolate waves falling everywhere. Reaching carefully to brush her hair out of her face, Sirius let his fingertips linger over the scars on her cheek, committing them to memory just as clearly. Shuffling around as her other hand gripped the bed sheets, he'd never seen her so frustrated in her sleep, almost as if she was trying to wake and her eyes wouldn't open. Brow scrunching together as her lips jutted out in a pout, she grumbled something again, but still, Sirius couldn't make it out.
And then, finally, her eyelids fluttered open.
Cringing away from the light at first, her hand that was gripping the bedsheets moved to rub her eyes, and this time she squirmed around in a way that was more familiar. It was the way she did whenever she'd woken from a good night's sleep, where she'd go on to tell Sirius about some crazy dream she'd had. He smiled lightly, relieved to see her coming round, and he let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding when her eyes finally found his.
"Mmm 'morning fool." She mumbled as a smiled tugged at the corners of her lips, wincing slightly when the skin on her cheek felt significantly tender.
"It's actually the afternoon, but I'll let it slide." Sirius replied swiftly, stormy grey eyes boring into hers.
It was like he was seeing her for the very first time and it was more difficult than usual to pull his gaze away. If Sirius wasn't convinced before that he was irrevocably in love with her, he definitely was now, and it was all that consumed his thoughts.
"I'm so, so sorry. Please forgi-" Before he could even spit out the words, Ellie had cut him off.
"It wasn't you." She said simply, squeezing his hand tight, "I made the decision to get in the way, 'cause I'd rather me than you."
"But I'd rather me than you too..."
"It's done now."
Sirius couldn't understand how she wasn't mad at him. In fact, everyone was so understanding. But it was all his fault, he was convinced it was, he knew it was, and he'd never be able to forgive himself. So how can they? How can she, when it was my mistake that got her hurt? Frowning at the beautiful girl, his thoughts swirled dangerously, even with her rubbing soothing circles on the back of his hand. Sirius was convinced he'd never shed this guilt, and he wasn't sure he ever wanted to, for it was a reminder of what sorts of consequences his temper had. But his hot-headedness wasn't necessarily a trait he could round out.
Seeing all the conflict behind his eyes, Ellie patted the space on the bed to her left, asking him to come and sit with her properly - of course, he didn't need to be asked twice.
"I brought you something..." Sirius half-whispered, reaching for something off of the floor before he climbed onto the bed.
Craning her neck a little, Ellie managed to spy a flash of dark grey, or perhaps black, but he pulled the thing out of her view. Not until he'd crawled under the duvet, settling on his side so that he could look at her properly, did Sirius reveal what he'd got, and Ellie's features broke out into one of the biggest smiles immediately.
"Snuffles!" She giggled enthusiastically as he handed over the stuffed dog, "Thank Merlin you remembered him."
It always made him laugh to watch how she was with his childhood best friend, for she acted as if it was a real-life puppy, all of her actions cautious and gentle. Never in a million years had Sirius thought he'd have anything to do with the stuffed dog that lived under his bed again, it was just something he grew out of as he got older, but now it seemed to bring even more joy than it used to.
"Well, I figured if I'm getting a second chance at a family, I thought he better get one too." The words themselves bubbled a giddy feeling in his chest, let alone the way Ellie was now beaming at him.
"We've always been your family Padfoot." She replied firmly, making sure he understood every syllable, "They say a dog makes a house a home after all."
Gasping dramatically at her teasing, Sirius brought a hand to his chest as if the words had physically hurt him, and Ellie giggled again. The sound was heavenly, melodic symphonies of his favourite tune, and it elicited his own chuckles that felt somewhat uncontrollable. Though he couldn't miss an opportunity to tease her in return, and he held up two fingers to her, wiggling his eyebrows. The subject of Patronuses and Animagi forms was one that had never not caused tension recently, but this time Ellie didn't even flinch.
"Three." She corrected, holding up Snuffles in the air like a new-born baby.
"Apologies pup." Patting the dog on the head, Sirius grinned even wider at her ridiculousness.
After days with the Blacks acting perfect and proper, being stupid together again was like a huge crushing weight lifted from their chests. The mischievous sparks behind their eyes came back and nothing but laughter flooded their veins. They may have been lying in the wake of something awful, something that would stay with them forever, but even then, nothing could put out their fires.
They raged together as their storm swirled once more, and they fell back into orbit with each other like things were supposed to be.
Now she was awake, Sirius knew that Cyrus would want to come and speak to her, that Euphemia would want to check her over once more and Fleamont would just want to see her smile again. But as ever, the handsome boy couldn't help but be selfish with Ellie. He never wanted to have her attention pulled from him; he never wanted to move from the spot they were in now, both curled up under her duvet.
It was obvious he was staring at her, but Sirius didn't care, and Ellie didn't complain either. Only when he reached out slowly to brush hair from her face, letting his fingertips linger on the scars on her cheek like before, did she say anything.
"How does it look?" Her whisper was laced with uncertainty.
"So beautiful Cubs."
There was never going to be any hesitation in Sirius' voice, and he was sure that they were the most certain words he'd ever said. Her beauty was unparalleled in his eyes, even to how she looked before scars, for now her beautiful soul could be seen too. Whilst Sirius wished she'd never been in a situation where she'd been left so brutally harmed, he understood her bravery, and he was so grateful for it. And so in awe too. No one ever fought for him like she did, he didn't even feel like he deserved it, but she was always there - his own personal Patronus.
The scars she had now were very much like Remus', for they showed a courage and strength unmatchable in anyone else. Sirius knew she should be proud of them, and to him, they'd only made her even more gorgeous.
"Yeah? 'Cause they still kind of sting."
The handsome boy retracted his hand away as soon as the words fell off of her lips, not wanting to put her in any discomfort, and her brow crumpled as she shut her eyes tight.
"Kiss me..."
Sirius wasn't sure he'd listened correctly at first, he was convinced he was hearing things. But then her eyes stayed shut tight, and she didn't say anything else, and he knew those words had actually been spoken. His heart thumped violently in his chest, so hard he was convinced she must be able to hear it, and a stuffy heat rose up the back of his neck. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt.
But not like this. Not when she was suffering. If they were going to kiss, Sirius never wanted her to regret it, and so he grabbed a hold of her hand and placed a gentle peck on her palm instead.
"Not what I meant." Ellie grumbled, opening her eyes, and despite the slightly sunken feeling in his stomach, Sirius found that a smile was tugging at the corners of his lips. He shook his head at her as she still waited patiently, "I know you don't like me like that, but kiss me... Kiss me and make me feel better like you always can do... Please."
The desperation in her tone was almost enough to make Sirius crack, almost. He'd dreamt about kissing her, fantasised about it when he wasn't paying attention in class, and he was itching to grab her face and crash his lips to hers. But he wouldn't, this time he couldn't be selfish. Because he knew if he did kiss her, by the time she felt better, she'd regret it. Sirius wouldn't do that to her, and he couldn't deal with the rejection himself either.
"That'd be taking advantage of you." He whispered in reply.
"Not if I asked for it..." But it was very clear that Sirius wasn't going to concede, "Then don't let me go."
Shuffling to get herself as close to him as possible, Ellie tangled her legs around his as she squished Snuffles between them. Sirius was warm and smelt more strongly of old leather and bonfires than he ever had done, and she tucked her face into his chest as she shut her eyes once more. He wrapped his arms around her, smoothing out chocolate waves onto her back as she clutched onto his t-shirt, making sure to squeeze her tightly the whole time.
They were impossibly close, but that was perhaps how they were always meant to be. How they always had been, they'd just not known it.
And Sirius didn't let her go as she asked.
He thought about writing to James to explain before they returned to school, but Sirius struggled to put into words what had happened, and so eventually decided against it. It would perhaps be easier to talk about face to face, with the others too, so that everyone knew at once. However, that put him at a loss of what to do whilst Cyrus was talking to Ellie in her room. Sirius had left to give them space, returning to the Potter's, but it felt odd being there without James. And so he set about distracting himself by sorting out his new trunk.
It was shiny and smelt of polish, brought for him by Euphemia and Fleamont just the day before - but instead of the initials 'S.B' on the end, it now said 'Padfoot' in bold capitals. When he'd explained that all of his things were in Ellie's trunk because there would've been no way to cart two of them and the beautiful girl out of Grimmauld Place, they'd insisted on getting him a new one of his own. Sirius protested, saying that he didn't want them spending their money on him, and that he could afford his own...
But could he? Orion had made it clear that him leaving was it, that he had landed himself the same fate as Andromeda, and so what did that mean for the wealth he was set to inherit?
Sirius wasn't materialistic in that way, he didn't care for being rich, but not having any money of his own felt incapacitating. How was he going to pay for new school supplies? All the books for his N.E.W.T subjects? He had a roof over his head, but that was it, he couldn't expect the Potters to just pay for everything for him. Do I have to get a job? As free as he felt, Sirius wasn't burden-less, and he decided to write to Andromeda as soon as possible.
Sitting by his daughter's bedside and seeing her smiling was enough to make Cyrus happier than he ever had been. The thought of losing Adelaide and Ellie in such a short space of time had been unbearable and it had slowly started to drive him mad over the three days she'd slept.
But now, Ellie was awake and rambling enthusiastically about the stuffed dog she'd acquired, and Cyrus was able to appreciate just how precious she was.
"Dad..." Perhaps diving straight into deep topics wasn't something that necessary, but the beautiful girl had something on her mind that wouldn't be forgotten, "Did mum know Orion?"
Cyrus visibly paled and Ellie no longer knew if she wanted the answer to her question. Her mind had been swirling with the worst possible scenarios, ones that churned her stomach and threatened to rise bile in her throat. If the answer was what she thought it was going to be, she wasn't sure she'd be able to face Sirius again, not with her feelings for him.
"What? How do you- Did he say something?" Uncharacteristically flustered, her father stammered for a reply. This didn't settle Ellie's nerves.
"Sirius' grandfather, Pollux. He asked Orion about how he was 'attached' to mum for a while. What does that mean?" She tried to keep her voice as steady as possible, but the waver in her tone was more than noticeable, and Cyrus ran a hand down his face as he prepared to explain.
"When we were at school, about your age actually, your mother was quite friendly with Orion."
"Friendly?" Ellie asked for some form of elaboration, but Cyrus' features hardened.
"Yes, friendly..." He purposefully didn't answer her question, "Your mother and I were also friendly at the time, and I'm quite embarrassed to admit it now, but I wasn't very good at handling my jealously. Though, Orion was arranged to marry Walburga of course, and so for a while things became very messy. Eventually sides were formed and your mother cut all contact off with Orion, and well... you know the ending." Cyrus flashed his golden wedding ring as he watched Ellie carefully for a reply.
A lot of things made sense now, and a relief washed over the beautiful girl as she sighed. Whilst if she'd thought about it carefully enough, her speculations couldn't have been plausible, that hadn't made them any less rational in her mind at the time, and so she was glad to hear that all the situation was, was teenage drama at school. Walburga's very obvious dislike for her mother now seemed to have a reason, as did her accusing Adelaide of being a 'tart', though Ellie still thought this was probably an angered over-exaggeration. And Orion's defence of her, she figured, was because she looked the spitting image of Adelaide and so he probably couldn't see very far passed that - which was probably why all of the Blacks sort to bring her up.
Ellie didn't really know what to think about knowing that Adelaide had clearly liked Orion in the past though, for she couldn't see anything but a cold-hearted man who didn't bat an eyelid at abusing his son. He was evil in her eyes. How could her mother have ever associated with someone like that? Though that didn't override the solace she found in knowing that her previous suspicions were far from the truth.
"I thought for a moment that-" She began but Cyrus cut her off by raising his hand.
"You thought for a moment that you and Sirius might be related?"
There was a flash of hurt in his eyes over the fact that she'd even entertained the thought that he might not be her father, or that Adelaide had had an affair, and Ellie felt more guilty than she ever had done.
"I'm sorry... But if it makes it any better, I would've been mortified to find out we were." She bowed her head, shivering at the thought, "I mean, I've kissed Regulus for starters."
"Ah, yes, that would've been very bad." Thankfully, Cyrus didn't seem too fazed, and his chuckles made Ellie feel a lot better, "Though it does seem that you've inherited her... fondness, I suppose, for the Blacks." He was just teasing, but this time it was his daughter's turn for her features to grow cold.
"Not the Blacks." She spat quickly before realising how harsh she'd been with her father and mellowing herself out, "Just Regulus."
"Not Sirius?"
"He's not one of them anymore." Ellie pulled at the fur on top of Snuffles' head, making it stick out like a lion's mane, "He never really was in the first place."
"I said that we'd have him, we've got more than enough space, but I think he'll prefer it with James. Though I just can't help but feel like-" Cyrus paused briefly and his daughter waited patiently for him to continue, her sea green eyes that were just like his watching his expressions carefully, "He brought you back from there, did what he could to keep you safe, and I feel like I must repay him some way."
"Buy him a motorbike, or just let him get a tattoo... He knows how much you care dad." Reaching forward to grab his hand, Ellie smiled warmly, though she had a feeling that he might take her seriously.
"There's another matter I wish to discuss with you." Cyrus replied vaguely, "I believe Dumbledore spoke with you a while back, and I wanted to ask how you felt about what he told you." His grip tightened on her hand a little as he searched her features for a reaction, and Ellie nodded solemnly.
"Do you mean the Death Eaters and mum?" Her father's silence was confirmation enough, "I guess it doesn't scare me necessarily, but I was concerned that Dumbledore seemed to be completely dismissive about the subject. He practically told me that our lives are in danger just whilst sipping his tea."
"That's his way, sweetheart." Chuckling, Cyrus patted her hand in his reassuringly, "I'm glad it doesn't scare you though. But for now, there isn't much we can do, for we don't really understand the situation fully. We're just going to have to be careful..." He paused tracing one of the scars on the back of her hand, "Even more careful than we have been already."
"It's all to do with the sword isn't it. The replica Sword of Gryffindor that got stolen- that day."
It was something Ellie couldn't quite understand, what the significance of the sword was. Dumbledore had even had to talk to Godric, a painting, to see if he had any more information, and the fact no one was filling her in was beyond frustrating. She found it easy to push to the back of her mind, because there was lots of other things going on, but that didn't mean that it wasn't an itch she couldn't scratch. Someone was going to have to tell her before it drove her mad.
"Ah yes. Godric told me you asked after it." Her father looked slightly uncomfortable, but he sighed, knowing that Ellie would push for answers if he didn't given them to her directly, "Dumbledore and I have suspicions that someone-"
"Lord Voldemort?" Ellie cut in abruptly and Cyrus winced.
"Yes, him... Dumbledore and I have suspicions that he may want it for something, though what that thing is, is obviously a mystery. Clearly he is not informed enough to know that it is stored in the Sorting Hat, but you can understand why he sent someone to us first. It'd make sense we had it, and I don't doubt that your mother put up a fight to protect the fake one after she realised the real one was so desperately wanted. She was always clever your mother, and by making them think that they had the proper Sword of Gryffindor has probably brought us some time to figure out what is needed of it before he strikes again."
If her father's words hadn't been so poignant at the end, Ellie would have laughed at how bluntly he called one of the darkest wizards the world has ever seen stupid. All one had to do was read up properly on Godric Gryffindor and the founding of Hogwarts to know where the sword was kept, it really wasn't a difficult task. However, that meant as soon as Voldemort figured out the sword he was in possession of was fake (something he'd probably done already), it wouldn't take him long to find the location of the real one. Ellie had no idea what would happen if he decided to storm the school, though she had a feeling he probably wouldn't dare whilst Dumbledore was headmaster.
This didn't settle her worries though, for there was still the question as to why he wanted the sword in the first place. Not to mention the looming prospect that he could come after her or her father any moment for a second shot at retrieving what he truly desired.
"The sword isn't anything really special though, is it? It's just a magnificent looking sword with a few magical qualities. Surely it's more efficient to 'cleanse' the wizarding race with spells that are quicker and easier than hand to hand combat with weaponry." Ellie still had thousands of questions, but all of them were ones Cyrus didn't know the answer to.
"I don't pretend to understand the minds of deranged individuals, and neither should you." Standing up and brushing down his robes, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips, "Though I wouldn't go gabbing about how un-special the sword is very loudly. I have a feeling that if Godric got wind of your opinions he'd call it high treason."
And with that, his kissed his daughter's forehead and left her to mull over his words, expecting that Sirius was probably itching to see her again anyway.
The rest of the Easter holidays was spent with Ellie resting, making sure she had her strength back so she could return to school. And she really did want to go back, for she'd missed far too much in her time at Hogwarts already. Cyrus had reservations about her going back so soon, not entirely convinced she was fully healed, but Euphemia reassured him that as long as she was careful, Ellie would be fine - that meant no Quidditch for a little while though.
However, even with her desire to go back to school so eagerly, that didn't mean that the beautiful girl wasn't completely terrified too. As if students didn't already have enough to be talking about Ellie Gryffin for, but now she'd be returning from the holidays looking as if she'd been secretly battling the Whomping Willow. Her scars didn't bother her, she knew why she had them and what she'd done to protect Sirius, and so far they didn't bother anyone that knew about them either.
But the school would bother, just like they bothered about Remus Lupin's. It wasn't everyday people became mysteriously mauled, and there weren't a lot of circumstances where magic couldn't heal scars. But nothing could get rid of the marks of dark magic, and Euphemia had tried her hardest.
Ellie didn't want to be subjected to people's curious questions, for there wasn't an easy answer. She saw how uncomfortable Remus became when anyone brought his up, even if his friends would then shout at the person until they left, and the beautiful girl didn't want to give the school any more reasons to be talking about them all. What were the chances that two people in the same friendship group just happened to gain scars that seemingly pop out of nowhere?
It'd only happen to the Marauders, Ellie always thought with a sigh.
Though she wasn't going to cover her scars up to avoid people talking about them, instead, she'd just have to learn to ignore people's wandering eyes. They were a show of her loyalty in her opinion, and so she slipped on the lilac dress she'd been obsessed with in the summer to go back to school in - it was a beautifully warm day after all.
Clementine helped haul her trunk downstairs, making sure Snuffles was safely tucked away inside. Everyone was waiting for her in the entrance hall, and she pushed chocolate waves out if her face with a huff when she finally got off of the bottom step. Cyrus and Fleamont were taking Ellie and Sirius to King's Cross, and whilst Euphemia had wanted to go too, it didn't really need all three of them. However, that meant the beautiful girl was scooped up into a bone-crushing hug as soon as she was with the group, making her giggle when Euphemia pulled away to kiss her cheeks.
"Now, you two be safe and don't leave each other's sides until you're back in the castle okay? Merlin knows the world is not a nice place anymore." Ellie nodded in agreement before turning to see Sirius doing the same.
Just the sight of him made her beam even wider than she usually did. Adorn in drainpipe jeans she was sure he'd stolen off of James and his 'The Black Sheep' t-shirt from his favourite cousin; his combat boot back glued on his feet and leather jacket in situ - Sirius had never looked so handsome, his huge grin making his eyes sparkle. Even the way his hair was falling around his face perfectly made Ellie's insides squirm, and if he shook his head around just right, you could see the flash of silver from the tiny hoop earring. Stood next to his knew 'Padfoot' trunk, she could've stared at him all day, and her cheeks flushed pink when she realised that she'd been looking far too long.
"Are you ready fool?" Ellie asked to cover up her gazing.
"So ready, Cubs."
And with that, the four disappirated to King's Cross, the rest of the school year awaiting.
Amongst all of the chaos of the holidays, there had been one person that had been almost completely forgotten. Not by all, for he was the golden child after all, but forgotten by the people he wanted to care about him the most.
Regulus watched his uncle Cygnus step out of the green flames of the fireplace in the drawing room. Only about an hour had passed since his brother had fled with the beautiful girl, and there was still blood staining the chair and carpet where she'd been.
After the incident, he'd never seen his family in such a flap - there wasn't a stiff posture or stony-faced expression in-sight, instead everyone seemed to be panicked. Even Pollux. Who knew what would come of them now they'd hurt Ellie Gryffin, who knew what would come of the beautiful girl? Walburga had sent for Cygnus straight away, Orion had been missing ever since, and Regulus was just left stuck in the middle of it all.
He'd tried to stop this happening, he'd tried to prevent Ellie getting hurt, for he knew she was going to get herself in-between his mother and Sirius at some point. But never had he thought she'd end up that hurt. Her gaping wounds and lifeless eyes was a picture burned onto his brain, and he was sure he'd never forget the overwhelming feeling of dread as his brother carried her out of the room so swiftly. At the time, all Regulus could think about was rushing off to help, he needed to know she was okay, but it was as if his feet had been glued to the floor. All thoughts and feelings slipping away as his whole body went numb. He still felt somewhat numb, for he had no idea if he'd lost her forever.
Walburga had sent him to his room as soon as his Uncle arrived, a disgusted look on her face, and Regulus knew he was in trouble. She'd be furious that he tried to help, regardless of how things turned out, but he refused to be pushed out this time. This time he was going to find out what was going on, and so he hovered on the staircase, listening carefully to the raised voices in the drawing room.
"I told you about Lucius, about the job he has been given!" Cygnus roared suddenly, and Regulus' ears pricked up.
"No, you said it was that boy Crouch who was responsible." Walburga retorted.
He was confused how this was anything to do with the mess he'd also found himself caught up back at Hogwarts. The silent conversation that Lucius tried to have with him over the dinner table yesterday had been nothing about his parents, Regulus wasn't even sure they knew that the blonde was a Death Eater. Though, clearly he'd underestimated their knowledge, and his stomach churned to think that his family might be involved in trying to get to Ellie too.
"It doesn't matter! Don't you see? If he finds out that you intervened, that you potentially jeopardised everything, it'll be all of our necks. The Dark Lord doesn't like people who interfere!" Just the sound of his uncle's voice was flustered and panicked, but Regulus froze stiff when he heard footsteps coming down the corridor.
Retreating quickly out of view, the curly haired boy poked his head over the banister to see his father striding back towards the drawing room, running a hand down his face before squaring out his shoulders. He looked exhausted and the slight sway in his steps told Regulus that he'd been drinking - a lot. It had been clear that his father hadn't wanted his mother to be so violent with Sirius, but he had no idea why. He'd never cared before.
"They're gone." Orion announced as soon as he opened the door into the drawing room.
The simple words both relieved and terrified Regulus all at the same time. Ellie was going to be safe, Sirius would get her to someone that would be able to heal her. But he wasn't coming back... How he knew, Regulus wasn't sure, but he just had a gut feeling. He knew this was the last time his brother would ever step foot in Grimmauld Place, and a wave a dread washed over him as everything he ever feared materialised itself.
Regulus was alone.
The curly haired boy excused himself from the table with Lucius and Narcissa, exiting the train carriage as swiftly as possible. His stomach felt queasy, but he figured that was the lack of food, and whilst his head was slightly dizzy, Regulus knew exactly where he was going. It would take a little time searching, but that was fine, for it'd give him a chance to formulate what he was going to say.
What he was going to say to his brother now that he'd abandoned him.
Ellie's melodic laughter was what he heard first, the sound loud since the train wasn't very full, even with the door to their compartment shut. It completely caught him off guard, having expected to just find Sirius - the beautiful girl's wounds hadn't seemed like something that would heal so quickly. But there she was.
Regulus could see her from where he half hid in the thin corridor, her legs up on the seat beside her and a huge grin stretched across her features. Undoubtedly, Sirius was spouting something stupid he couldn't hear, but that's not what he cared about. Even from where he was stood, Regulus could see the change to her skin, the huge scar that ran from the bridge of her nose and right down her neck. His heart leapt into his throat and suddenly all the confidence he had to confront his brother dissolved.
The only thing he'd been concerned with, the one thing that had gotten him involved with the sick group of students in his house, had been Ellie's safety. She was the one person that Regulus truly cared for besides himself now, and he'd not done enough to keep the promise he made.
His lingering in the corridor had drawn attention to himself, and Ellie felt eyes on her as she sat listening to Sirius' rubbish jokes. When her gaze flicked to the compartment door, she caught a glimpse of black curls just hiding out of view, and she strained her neck to try and get a better look at who it was. But of course, with hair like that, it could only be one person.
When he knew his cover had been blown, Regulus had no choice but to make himself fully visible, and he clenched his jaw right, trying to remember why he'd gone in search for Sirius in the first place. But before that, he needed to speak to the beautiful girl.
Sliding their compartment door open with a bang, he strode inside and stopped right in front of where Ellie was sat, completely ignoring Sirius for now. She looked surprised to see him, and when her eyes met his, Regulus could no longer be angry - not when he felt all-consumed with guilt for not doing enough to shield her from the wrath of his mother. His hands itched to reach out to her, but he kept them bolted to his sides, brow furrowing in sorrow.
"Have you- Are you okay?" Regulus cursed himself for sounding so pathetic, but she just sent him a kind smile in reply.
"I'm fine now Reg, really." Her voice was so silky, and he felt his knees go weak. But then her gaze shifted to Sirius briefly and the anger he'd had earlier returned in an instant.
"You left." Regulus rounded swiftly on his brother, catching Sirius off guard.
"There wasn't much I could've done, Cubs was-"
"No." Concern dissolving into frustration quickly, Regulus' voice was taught, "That's it then? You're never coming back?"
"Orion made it very clear-"
"I bet you're so happy with yourself." He was barely letting Sirius speaking, scoffing his words in indignation, "Finally you've plucked up enough Gryffindor courage and left."
"Hey!" Sirius snapped quickly, refusing to be made the villain in this situation. His own frustration bubbled just as quickly as his brother's had, and soon they were scowling at each other menacingly, "Don't start, you know I couldn't have stayed much longer. And there was no way I was going back after what they did to Cubby."
"AND WHAT ABOUT WHAT THEY DID TO ME?!"
There was silence.
Never had Regulus been so explosive, never had he let his emotions burst out of him so violently. There wasn't an ounce of composure left in him, body shaking and tears threatening to overspill. Sirius' scowl melted into a blank expression as he searched his brother's eyes carefully, but nothing could be deciphered despite the emotions that seemed to be flowing out if him. Left witnessing Regulus' tense posture from behind, catching glances of Sirius' confusion now and then, Ellie didn't feel like she could intervene this time. No one knew how to deal with the youngest Black in this state and she didn't want to make this worse. Not when she knew Sirius leaving Grimmauld Place was partly because of her.
"She locked me in my room for the rest of the holidays for interfering- for trying to help... Kreacher had to sneak me food behind their backs." Regulus wiped at his face, trying to rid his eyes of tears, but it was no use now they'd began to fall.
"She did?... Look Reg, I'm really-" Still Sirius wasn't being given proper chances to speak, for his brother was far too worked up to think rationally.
"But that's how it's going to be now isn't it? She's not got her punching bag anymore so it'll be my turn, and dad will just watch like he always does."
"Leave too. Please. Don't stay there." Sirius stood swiftly when Regulus turned his head away, grabbing for his brother's shoulders.
"Unlike some people, I understand what family loyalty is."
Shoving Sirius off violently, Regulus backed towards the door of the compartment, mind too cloudy to think properly as his eyes stared absently at the floor.
"But we're still brothers, Reg. When we're at school-"
"You are not my brother anymore."
The words permeated the carriage with a sickness. Something that attacked them all, draining life from their souls and festering in their minds. Nothing had ever been so despondent, so overwhelmingly full of defeat. But Regulus was done.
Done being always put second by the two people he believed would never give up on him, the two people that he thought would always be there for him regardless of circumstance. He and Sirius may argue a lot, but they were blood, family. They were more family than him and James Potter, but the messy haired boy was always more important; they were more family than him and Ellie Gryffin, but the beautiful girl always soaked up all of Sirius' attention. His brother and the girl he was so desperately in love with but could never have, they'd both left him in Grimmauld Place to rot. Sirius had fled without even a thought cast to who he was leaving behind, and Ellie would never be his, even if he'd loved her longer than his brother.
It wasn't fair. It was all so unfair.
How had Regulus Black, the golden child that could do no wrong and had been doted over by their family all of his life, end up the one with nothing? How had he lost the battle that was the brothers scrabbling for freedom? Sirius was always going to be the one held prisoner, for he was the one they tried to mould and beat into the perfect son. But Regulus was already perfect in their eyes, so how had he ended up the one still in shackles, risking everything for the beautiful girl who didn't even love him?
"If you were my brother, you wouldn't have left me to live in that house alone." He mumbled, all his anger dissolving into a skin-crawling sense of loss.
Loss of family and friendship, loss of hope, loss of all light in his life.
Head dropping once more as he stumbled backwards out of the carriage, Regulus couldn't meet their gazes. They'd made it clear they didn't care about him, for even if Ellie hadn't done anything specific, she just always took Sirius' side - she facilitated the happy life his brother now would lead, whilst he decayed into the floorboards of Grimmauld Place like every miserable ancestor of theirs before him.
Regulus stopped just before he was about to walk away forever, hand gripping the handle to the compartment door.
"And she burned you off the fucking family tree if you wanted to know."
He knew he'd seal his fate with his next words, images conjured themselves in his mind of what sorrow was to come now he'd been left to fend for himself. It'd be colluding with Malfoy and his goons; wandering the castle grounds alone; having his soul sucked out of him by wicked Walburga; and conforming to what was required of him as the only male heir to the Black name.
Sirius would never have him back after this, all hope of the brothers' relationship stabilising itself over a common interest being discarded like food scraps. But Regulus had been discarded like food scraps, so why should he ever want the person back who did that to him? All he had for Sirius was anger. Anger and so much jealousy. For Ellie would never forgive him either, not with how he'd spoken. She's his anyways, Regulus reminded himself bitterly, she's always been his.
"You're as good as dead to us all."
And the compartment door slammed shut with such force, the glass cracked.