I don't think I'll ever stop writing for Regulus. I just have so much ideas and plotlines for him.
Also, this is platonic! The reader will he like an older sister/mother figure to Regulus.
House: Ravenclaw
Year: Fifth - After Seventh (Regulus will be a second year)
Blood Status: Halfblood (fits with the plot)
(P.S. Image above does NOT belong to me!! All credit goes to the original artist/owner!!)
___________________
Regulus remembered the day Sirius left as if it were mere moments ago. Which was a bit amusing since he was strangely enough never good at remembering things or events that occured in his presence, no matter how dull or traumatizing. And losing one's brother is traumatizing to an extent.
Sirius had been cast out of the family home on a winter night, a few days before Christmas almost five months ago.
The snow was particularly harsh that night but Walburga and Orion still decided to host a winter ball of sorts, inviting every pureblood family besides the Potter's.
As Sirius and Regulus got dressed, the younger Black felt something tugging at his stomach. Something wasn't right.
He had looked through the mirror, his gaze landing on Sirius' back.
"You're not planning anything stupid, are you?" Regulus questioned accusingly.
Sirius froze, his gaze slowly meeting his brother's through the mirror, blue lining with grey.
"Why would I do that?" He fiddled with his tye,"Besides, if I was, it's none of your business."
"It is my business if you're ignorance will be the gasoline that ignites mother's fury," Regulus buttoned up his green waistcoat,"And you should know better than anyone what that's like."
"I don't give a rats arse! I don't even want to be here. I could've been over at James'. Remus and Peter are there too!" He fumed.
Sirius was still a bit salty about this turn of events as he had planned to spend winter break at the Potter's Manor since start of this year. He was even more so excited since this would've been Remus' first year celebrating it with all of them.
But Walburga squashed those plans. Whether it was by chance or out of pure spite, Regulus would never know.
But he did know that Sirius' actions that took place later in the evening would be fueled by his arrogance and spite.
Why couldn't he just stand still and smile and be a Black?
___
Regulus snuck out of the drawing room, his blood running in his eardrums as he dashed to his bedroom.
Throwing open the door, he crashed into his desk at the end of the room, knocking over a pile of books and a jar of extra quills as he pulled out a piece of parchment the size of a handkerchief.
With quivering hands and ragged breathes Regulus scribbled as fast as he could, trying to block out the screams of Sirius on the lower floor.
He wrapped the parchment as neatly as he could before attaching it to an owl and sending it off.
Three hours had passed and Regulus had pressed myself to the corner of his bed, hands cradled over his ears and face buried in his knees. He hated the sound of screaming and crying, especially Sirius'. He hated it even more if he was forced by their mother to watch as Sirius got his punishments.
Regulus must've passed out because when he woke up, it was well pass three in the morning and his throat was dry.
Slowly opening the door and making sure everyone was asleep, he kicked off my shoes and tiptoed down the hallway and staircase to the kitchen.
There, Regulus met Kreacher.
"Master Regulus," he spoke in his croaky voice.
Regulus nodded in greeting, getting himself a glass of water. He stared into the void, lost in thoughts of whether he should check up on Sirius or go back to bed and forget about it, like he always forced himself to do. No matter how difficult or painful, he'd always forget. He made sure of that.
After a few long moments, Regulus brought the glass to his chapped lips, taking a short sip.
He looked down at the glass between his hands, circling the rim with an index finger.
"... How is Sirius doing?" He whispered.
"You didn't hear, Master Regulus?"
Regulus almost laughed.
He always heard everything in this bloody house. The fights between their parents and Sirius, between their mother and father, the screams and wails and pleads of Sirius for them to stop and that he wouldn't do it again; he heard it all.
"Hear what?" Regulus mumbled, bringing the glass to his lips once more.
"Master Sirius has been disowned. He's run away."
The glass slipped from his hands, nearly shattering if Kreacher hadn't caught it with a quick spell.
Disowned..?
Regulus looked over my shoulder,"W-what?"
He nodded.
"When- How-" he sputtered, crouching to his height.
"He used the fireplace. Your mother suspects he's at the Potter's." Kreacher responded.
He pressed myself against the cabinet, nibbling on my tongue.
"I'm sorry, Master Regulus." Kreacher whispered, patting my shoulder before he exited the kitchen.
_____
Regulus didn't know if Sirius had the time to write to Andromeda, but he knew she had to know of what happened to him.
It was weird, considering he never wrote to her and she to him, but she deserved to know.
To be honest, Regulus was always jealous and envious of the relationship between Andromeda and Sirius. They were like two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly.
He was jealous that Andromeda was closer to Sirius than he was, always putting him above Regulus. He was jealous that she knew Sirius better than he did and he was jealous that she didn't seem to keep him in her thoughts.
She never wrote to Regulus or of him. She never checked up on him or asked him to spend a weekend at her home.
It was understandable to an extent; they both thought Regulus was a carbon copy of his parents; the perfect child. Unlike her and Sirius.
He was envious of Sirius because he had someone like Andromeda; a person who loved and cared for him unconditionally, a person he could run to when things got bad and saw the things in Sirius that she saw in herself and that their parents refused to.
Regulus didn't have anyone like that.
He had to hold himself up, reassure himself it would all be okay and he'd just have to hold on a while longer; things would better.
Regulus didn't have anyone to cry or vent to or to reassure him that he was not a bad person and that he was nothing like the home and family he was raised in. He didn't have someone he could run to without the fear of being outed to their parents for it.
Because as far as Sirius, Andromeda, Kreacher, his parents, his family and the rest of the twisted purebloods, he was fine; he was perfect little Regulus Arcturus Black, who spoke when spoken to, followed the rules without a fuss and danced to the tunes of perfectionism and silent warnings of disownment and fear of confrontation.
And if that's what it took to keep his place in this family, in this world and in this lifetime, he'd happily dance despite the audience of regret, shame and unhappiness following his every move while the shadows of hidden rage, disgust and misery tugged at his shoes with each flawless twirl and leap.
_______
Regulus choked on a gasp as he was suddenly shoved into a stone pillar, hoisted up and pressed against it by the collar of his robes.
"Unhand me-" his words died in his throat as he met the piercing, angry gaze of Remus Lupin.
His eyebrows tightly pulled together, nostrils flared and teeth bared in an angry snarl.
A question forced out between gritted teeth, but Regulus didn't hear it.
"Pardon?"
He pushed him harder, a hand enclosing around my throat.
"Why the fuck didn't you help him?!" He screamed.
He was talking about Sirius.
Regulus fought the urge to laugh, feeling it bubble in his chest - instead, he looked off to the side.
"I.. I tried.." he muttered, more to himself than him.
"I warned him beforehand that mother wasn't in a pleasant mood. I told him to lay low and just act like how she wanted him to for a few hours but he didn't listen." Regulus whispered.
He gasped as the hand around his throat got tighter.
"That's not help!"
Regulus found myself clawing at his hand,"Y-you don't understand.. I couldn't do anything!"
"You wouldn't! There's a difference!"
No. He was wrong.
Regulus helped as best as he could; maybe his best wasn't enough for Sirius, who expected him to leap infront of their mother's wand and take his punishment for him. But, that wasn't right.
If you did something wrong, you'd have to face the consequences and punishments of your actions.
That doesn't mean Regulus agreed with their parents ways of discipline or enjoyed having to watch his older brother be at the receiving end of them.
Regulus' vision started going hazy, getting lightheaded at the lack of oxygen. But, he found himself succumbing to it. He deserved this.
He was dropped to the floor, coughing as he heaved to regain oxygen, his hand rubbing at the throbbing and red skin around his neck.
"You're a coward, Regulus Arcturus Black." Was the last thing Regulus heard before he passed out.
______
When Regulus woke up, he was in the hospital wing and it was early afternoon. There was a dull throbbing at the back of his skull. He looked at the cabinet beside him and saw a glass of water. He slowly took it and began sipping on it to ease the pain and dryness in his throat.
"... I don't care, boys. That's assault and a violation of personal well being." A voice broke through in a harsh yet firm whisper.
At the entrance of the hospital wing you stood, arms crossed over your chest as you glared at the three boys infront of you.
"If you knew the situation, you would be just as angry," Remus defended.
"Well you don't fix a situation by retaliating with the same methods that started it. You only make it worse for yourself, Lupin." You responded tightly.
"And if this is a 'family situation' like Potter over here claims it is, then you two should stay out of it and let Sirius deal with it himself," you added.
James opened his mouth.
You raised a hand, silencing him,"No exceptions."
You faced Sirius, the boy had his head lowered the majority of the time.
"Sirius,"
He looked at you.
"Don't send your friends to do your dirty work,"
He gaped like a fish,"But I didn't! Remus stomped off and I couldn't stop him."
"Wouldn't," you corrected, not noticing how Remus flinched at that.
You straightened,"Now, I'm going to inform Dumbledore and McGonagall of what happened here. Verbal and physical abuse won't be tolerated or taken lightly."
You opened the door,"Now leave and think about what you did."
They slowly trudged out, heads lowered.
"Sirius," you call out before he could fully exit.
He looked over his shoulder,"What?"
"Stay out of trouble, yeah?"
He blinked, nodding slowly before leaving and shutting the door behind him.
"She's mental that one." You heard outside the door before the footsteps retreated.
You sighed, rubbing the back of your neck.
"I know you're awake," you sang.
You began walking to the end of the hospital wing, stopping Infront of the drawn curtain.
"May I come in?" You politely asked.
A few seconds passed before a voice rasped out.
"..yes.."
You pulled the curtain back, seeing the occupant in the bed sitting upright against the pillow, a half full glass of water in his clasped hands as silver eyes stared up into your own eyes.
You sat down on the chair beside his bed, folding your hands in your lap.
"How're you feeling?" You questioned gently.
He nodded,"A-alright, I guess," his hand came up to rub at the red handprint around his neck,"Throat still hurts a bit."
You sighed,"Yeah, well Lupin has a strong grip and that mixed with his short temper.." you shook your head,"That doesn't matter right now. You're throat will feel better in a few moments."
Silence fell between the two of you and you decided to break it.
"Do you remember what happened?" You questioned.
"Remus slammed me up against a wall and choked me," he mumbled slowly, hands tracing the marks around his neck.
"Do you know why?"
Regulus flinched. Of course he knew why.
Whenever he was on the recieving end of things - his parents and families punishments - he always knew why and how he ended up there. He either couldn't keep his mouth shut, spouting sentences so fast as tears pricked his eyes, or he kept his mouth shut and took it.
Regulus always looked so much into things that involved him - in his family and at school -, always overthinking and nitpicking; it was impossible for the boy to never not know when he did something wrong. The guilt and disbelief always knawed at his mind.
You're a coward, Regulus Black. Those words echoed in his mind
Maybe he was a coward; always keeping his mouth shut, always turning a blind eye, always keeping quiet in arguments to not anger his parents or Sirius or family more than they already were. That sounded pretty cowardly now that he thought about it.
"Hey,"
He looked at you through his lashes.
A look of concern crossed your face at how pale his face had gotten, his eyes out of focus as his fists trembled in his lap from the sheer force of his grip.
And he despised that look.
"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," your assured him.
Your voice was so soothing and soft; it almost made him feel sick.
"Don't look at me like that," he hissed.
Your eyebrows shot up slightly.
He glared at you, scowling,"And don't talk to me like I'm a child."
"You are a child-"
"No I'm not!! I'm twelve in a few months!"
Your eyes widened at the hoarse and gravely edge to his words. Had you said something wrong to make him snap?
You caught your reflection in a goblet on the night stand beside the bed.
Don't look at me like that.
You opened your mouth but you never got to speak as the hospital wing doors opened and Madam Pomphrey walked in.
She was immediately at Regulus' side, questioning you about a few things.
"He woke up a few minutes ago, Madam." You stood up,"And I'll be on my way to inform the headmaster and Professor McGonagall about this,"
"Thank you dear," she smiled.
You returned it, picking up your bookbag and tossed it over your shoulder.
"I'll see you around, Regulus. Try to stay out of trouble 'til then."
Regulus huffed, rolling his silver eyes as he watched you leave. The odds of the two of you seeing each other again were as certain as Sirius coming back home.
Never…