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There were certain things that Sirius expected to see on a day to day basis. Remus was one, obviously. James was another usually, though recently with the war efforts reaching a peak he didn’t always have time to come over very regularly. An assortment of Order members usually also made their way through Number 12 Grimmauld Place daily, though none of them were here at the moment. He was alone in the manor house, something that reminded him of his childhood in sickening ways and he found himself avoiding all the creaky parts of the house.
A loud crack caught his attention as he was about to enter the kitchen for an afternoon snack and he paused for a moment, most Order members identified themselves when they apparated in to avoid a panic but there was nothing but silence. Frowning, he pulled his wand out of his hair and slowly headed towards the entryway. There was another crack and Kreature appeared just a foot in front of him.
That blasted elf, how did he get in? When Regulus had taken him with him to join Voldemort. They’d known they couldn’t trust that he wouldn’t use him to get into an Order base but he’d thought they had managed to put up strong enough wards to keep him out. “You.” His wand was half raised when the elf shrieked.
“Wait!” For some reason he hesitated long enough for him to blurt out: “Masters Regulus is telling Kreature not to say anything to anyone.” He stared at the elf.
“What?”
“Masters Regulus,” He said very slowly in a tone that implied Sirius was stupid. “Is telling Kreature not to say anything to anyone.” There was silence for a moment and he just looked at him, face blank. “And Kreature cannot tell you to go to the foyer, you must understand, because Masters Regulus is telling Kreature not to say anything.” Keeping his wand trained on the elf, he carefully skirted around him and walked to the front of the house. Kreature followed him and Sirius gave him one last suspicious look before entering the foyer.
A small horrified noise escaped him. Regulus, his Reggie, was curled on the ground and there was blood, too much blood. The legs of his pants had been shredded and he could see through the red what looked to be claw marks on his legs. Blood was visible in his hair and a small puddle was dripping on the rug by his head. Silent sobs shook his entire body, trembling visibly. Dropping to his knees next to him he tried to put a hand on his shoulder but the moment he touched him Regulus let out the most terrified scream he’d ever heard.
“Please, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please!”
“Reg, Reggie-” He managed to get Regulus on his back with a fair amount of force but his screaming and sobbing didn’t stop, even as he tried to snap in his face to get his attention. “Reggie, shh, you’re okay.” His eyes were glazed and he didn’t seem to hear anything Sirius was saying. Furious, he glared at Kreature. “What happened?”
“Masters Regulus is telling Kreature-”
“I don’t give a fuck what he said! Tell me what happened!” He could almost see the conflict going on in Kreature’s head. He was sure Regulus had gone through almost every possible option because he was always bright, he wasn’t even sure how Kreature had managed to tell him this much. “Don’t forget that as current Lord Black I am your Master too. Tell me what happened.”
“Masters Regulus is… he is going in a cave and he is drinking something that makes him remember bad things.” Sirius almost felt bad at the pain he could see Kreature was in at disobeying his orders. Almost.
Tearing his nearly shredded pants away from his legs he examined the cuts on his legs, definitely claws of some kind. Regulus screamed again as he rested a hand on his ankle and he ended up pinning his legs down to avoid him hurting himself with his kicking. “And the blood?” Kreature had to nearly shout to be heard over his sobbing.
“There is the people in the water. They is grabbing him and is trying to pull him in.” He frowned as he reached for his wand, already running through his mental list of healing spells.
“People can't do this.” Ignoring Regulus's cries, he carefully traced his wand over each wound, murmuring incantations under his breath.
“They isn’t all the way people.”
Pausing his spells for a moment, he glared at the elf. “Very helpful. Go fetch bandages, there's a first aid kit in my bathroom.” He was gone in an instant, the loud crack of apparition making Regulus yelp. “It's alright Reggie, shh, you're safe.” By the time he got the rest of the scratches on his legs to stop bleeding Kreature returned, holding out a roll of bandages. Sirius took them and quickly wrapped his legs, unsure if he should be glad Regulus was slowly calming down or terrified that he was running out of energy.
“Shh, it’s alright Reggie. You’re alright.” He quickly turned his attention to his head which seemed to have mostly stopped bleeding. Regulus let out a terrified whine when Sirius lifted his head but didn't try to thrash again. The blood seemed to have come from a scrape on the back of his head that he was able to heal with a quick spell. Examining the rest of him quickly he didn’t see any more apparent wounds. Twisting his wand back into his hair so it was out of the way, he carefully picked Regulus up, cradling him against his chest.
“You.” He glanced at Kreature. “I’m taking Regulus upstairs. Do not leave this house, that’s an order.”
“Yes Masters Sirius.” The elf bowed stiffly. “Is you wanting Kreature to fetch anything?”
“No, I’m capable of handling this myself. Just stay out of sight, I doubt anyone else will let you be if they see you.” Without looking back at Kreature he turned and made his way up the stairs. It was quiet again, Regulus’s soft whimpers the only noises he could hear. His bedroom door proved difficult with someone only half conscious in his arms but he managed to shift Regulus enough to get the door handle.
Setting Regulus on the bed he let out a little sigh. “What am I going to do with you Reggie?” After a moment of consideration, he turned and rummaged through his wardrobe, pulling out a pair of shorts and one of his shirts. Tossing them onto the bed next to him, he began undoing the buttons on Regulus’s shirt. He let out a little whine of protest. “Shh, I know, but you’re covered in blood. It’s alright.” After a minute of careful work he got Regulus out of his ruined clothes and into the ones he’d pulled out, charming the rest of the blood away.
Settling in bed next to him, Sirius watched his steady breathing as he relaxed into the bed. Taking one of his hands, he ran a thumb over his knuckles, the feeling of his cool rings under his fingers so familiar. It’d been years since he’d seen his brother like this, since he’d been able to look at him without seeing the disgusted sneer he’d shoot Sirius whenever he caught him looking. The thought stung so he looked away from his face, studying the rings on his fingers instead. He had several bands on his hand but one caught his attention.
It was a Black family signet ring but it wasn’t Regulus’s, it was Sirius’s. He’d left it in the house years ago and now Regulus had it. Regulus had taken his ring and wore it. Letting go of his hand, Sirius laid down next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Maybe Regulus wasn’t as lost as he thought he was.
It was peaceful laying in the quiet with his brother, he’d drifted in and out of that borderland between sleep and wakefulness a couple times and the sun had dipped down to the horizon, sending shades of orange and red through the window. Regulus still showed no signs of waking but it was hardly surprising considering the state he’d been in when he’d arrived.
Several cracks resounded through the house and he frowned, wondering who would be coming to the house at this time of day. There was quiet for exactly ten seconds before he heard James call out “Padfoot!” He sounded scared and Sirius frowned as he called back as quietly as he could while still being heard.
“I’m upstairs!” Several pairs of footsteps made their way up the stairs and it occurred to him only seconds before they reached the door that they might not take kindly to seeing Regulus. Snatching his wand off the bedside table he sent a locking spell at the door right as someone tried to open it.
“Padfoot, why’s the door locked?” He hesitated, pushing himself up with his free arm.
“Who’s with you?”
“Moody, Marls, and Emmeline. Why does that matter?” He glanced at Regulus who looked entirely undisturbed by the noises around him.
“You can come in but they have to go.” Silence as he assumed the group outside the door tried to figure out what was going on.
“Alright, deal. On one condition. What was the first thing my mum asked you when you came to the house for Christmas in fourth year?” He blinked, unsure what exactly he’d done to trigger the question. It wasn't exactly unheard of for him to lock himself in his room sometimes.
“Are you referencing when she asked if we were a couple or if I was the reason she’d gotten letters telling her you were stealing school toilets?”
“I was referencing the one where she asked if I was stealing your band shirts or if you were giving them to me but that works too. Go away you three.” There was quiet for a moment before James spoke again, voice much softer. “They’re gone Pads, can you let me in?” He flicked his wand at the door and it unlocked with a click. James peeked in to examine the room, mouth making a perfect “O” of surprise as he saw Regulus. Stepping in, he shut the door behind him, locking it again. Sirius set his wand back on the bedside table and settled back in bed.
“What’s going on? Why’s he here?” James’s tone wasn’t accusatory or angry, just so very confused.
“Kreature brought him. Something about a cave and something he drank and people that tried to pull him into the water. I don’t know, Kreature couldn’t say much, he was just… he was covered in blood and sobbing.” James made his way over, sitting on the bed next to Sirius.
“You know this is dangerous-” Fury washed over him.
“He’s my baby brother! I wasn’t going to let him die because of some stupid choices!”
“Hey, Pads, just listen. I’m not saying he’s dangerous, you did the right thing by helping him. But there’s many people here that may not see it like that. They could be a danger to him, a danger to you. And we don’t know how well Voldemort can track his…” His voice trailed off, either unable or unwilling to finish the sentence.
Sirius tightened his grip on Regulus. “I’ll fight them.”
“Who?”
“Don’t care, anyone who tries to get him.” James stayed silent and something occurred to Sirius. “Why’d I get a question when I wouldn’t let you in?”
“Oh. There’s blood… all over the entryway. I… assume it's his.”
“Oh shit. I forgot to clean that.”
There were a few more cracks from downstairs and James stood. “They’re going to have a meeting over dinner, I think one of those should be Moony. I can tell them you don’t feel well and send him up if you want.”
“That’d be great, thanks Prongs.” He nodded and Sirius watched him leave to make sure the door locked before pressing his face into Regulus's shoulder. It was a little scary how still he was but in the silence he was able to hear his soft breathing.
After a few minutes there was soft knocking on the door. “Siri, it's me. Can I come in?” Reaching behind him, Sirius picked up his wand again and flicked it at the door, wordlessly unlocking it. The door opened and shut quietly, the bed dipping after another moment. Sirius just let out a soft sigh.
“Hi Moons.”
“Hi Baby.” Tucking his loose hair behind his ear, Remus pressed a kiss to his forehead. “You wanna tell me what's going on? Prongs just told me to come up here.”
“Kreature showed up with Reggie, he's hurt bad.”
“Yeah?” Remus kept stroking his hair. “You think he's going to be alright?”
“Decently sure. Screaming something bloody awful though, I don't know if his mind's all there.”
Remus grinned a little, tone light, probably in an attempt to soothe him. “I love you without all your mind being there, I'm sure he'll be fine.”
“Oi!” They both laughed a little, Remus more than Sirius, whose laugh was still tinged with nerves. Next to him, Regulus twitched ever so slightly and Sirius's attention instantly switched to him. Remus went to say something but he was cut off by a loud bang on the door.
“Lupin and Black if this door isn't open in the next ten seconds I'll blast it down and you will immediately follow it!” Alastor Moody's voice was sharp and both Remus and Sirius both snatched their wands just an instant before the door blew open.
“Incarc-”
“Protego!” A flick of Remus's wand blocked Moody's spell that collided with a crash and Regulus flinched hard, letting out a little yelp. James stood behind him, Marlene hesitantly holding his wand while her own was pointed in his general direction.
“Just calm down and bloody listen! I told you he’s just-”
“Potter, you're lucky I don't hex you right now. Keep your mouth shut!” Moody's face was a furious crimson and he raised his wand to cast another spell. Sirius raised his wand in return, his other hand grabbing Regulus's and squeezing.
“Stop!” Remus blocked Moody's next spell. “Would you stop it?” Next to Sirius, Regulus tensed, pulling his hand close to his chest with a terrified little noise. Moody just sent another curse their direction that Remus blocked again while Sirius turned his attention to Regulus who was trembling, eyes wide and a little frantic. After a second of scanning the room they landed on Alastor.
As he went to fling another curse Regulus yanked Sirius's wand out of his hand and pointed it at Moody. “Expulso.” A blast of blue-white light hit the ground in front of him and exploded, sending Moody back into the hallway. His head slammed against the opposite wall with a loud thud and he crumpled against the ground. Regulus's hand was shaking as he tried to keep the wand steady in the following silence.
“Well. This is just smashing isn't it?” Marlene tilted her head to the side slightly, studying Regulus. “I was never very fond of him but I suppose attacking him technically makes you a threat.” Regulus's eyes went to her and his hand twitched in her direction ever so slightly.
“Reggie.” Very gently, Sirius squeezed his shoulder. “It's okay, you can put that down.” For a moment there was silence and Sirius squeezed his arm again. “Reggie.” After another second his eyes flicked to Sirius and he let the wand drop to the bedspread.
“There you go, you're alright.” Sirius gently pulled Regulus into a hug. He immediately climbed practically on Sirius’s lap and after a moment of surprise, he tightened his arms around him. “It's okay, you're safe Reggie.”
“Well, I suppose without Moody screaming at me I can give James his wand back.” Marlene passed his wand back while tucking hers away. “Anyone want to fill me in?” Both Remus and James looked to Sirius for an answer but he ignored them. After a moment of silence Remus spoke softly.
“Perhaps we should let them be. We'll be downstairs if you need anything Siri.” He quickly herded the other two out and shut the door behind them. Sirius stayed there for a few minutes, just letting Regulus calm in his arms.
“What happened?” His voice was soft and Sirius let out a little sigh at how scared he sounded.
“Kreature brought you here, I don't know anything else.” It was quiet for a moment. “Do you want to tell me what you were doing?”
“I… Is he still here?” He nodded and Regulus quickly moved from his lap and scooted back a little. “Kreature!” There was a crack and the elf appeared at the foot of the bed.
“Masters Regulus! I am very pleased to see you awake.” Regulus gave him a stern look.
“We'll discuss your blatant disregard for my orders later, for now-”
“Masters Regulus asked for Masters Sirius. Kreature was only following directions.” Seeing the look of Regulus's face he hastily added a bow. “Kreature meant not to disrespect you Master Regulus, only to bring you to safety.”
“Do you have it?” Nodding, Kreature straightened and pulled off an amulet from around his neck. Regulus held out a hand and he placed it in his palm. After a short moment of examining it, he put it around his neck.
“Thank you Kreature, that's all.” He bowed low and with a crack he vanished again. Regulus slowly tucked the amulet underneath his shirt before looking back to Sirius. “Do you know what a horcrux is?” He shook his head.
“It's a powerful bit of black magic. Someone can divide their soul into pieces and store one of those pieces inside of an object. For example…” He paused for a moment and Sirius suddenly felt ill. “A piece of jewelry. The Dark Lord has six, not including the part of his soul still in his body.” Eyes flicking to the chain around his neck for a moment, Sirius looked up to see Regulus nod.
“This was hidden and protected where no one was supposed to be able to find it. But I did and I thought even if I could rid the world of a fraction of his power I should. Kreature was supposed to leave me there and destroy it.” There was a long stretch of silence.
“You were going to let yourself die for this.” It wasn’t exactly a question but Regulus nodded anyway. “For a… a necklace and an insane bid that Kreature could somehow figure out how to destroy it?” He stayed quiet, just staring at the bedspread. “Reggie-”
“I know what you’re going to say and I don’t want to hear it.” His voice was surprisingly angry and Sirius sighed.
“Reggie, that’s… that’s scary, please don’t tell me to ignore it.”
“We’ve all made sacrifices for the war.”
“That’s not a fucking sacrifice! Telling Kreature to leave you there and not tell anyone that could help you isn’t a sacrifice, it’s suicide!” Regulus looked up, tears threatening to spill but glare still somehow intact.
“So what? No one cares! In case you forgot, I ruined my life when I took the mark! I fucked around and ruined it. You fucking-” His voice cracked but he continued. “You fucking disowned me. You said you didn’t have a brother anymore. The last person I love hates me, I don’t have anything left.”
Reaching out, Sirius grabbed his hands, voice cracking with desperation. “Reggie- Reggie I was angry, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean any of it. I tried to find you the next day to talk but you were gone. I just thought… I just thought you left and didn’t want anything to do with me. You said you’d made your choice I didn’t think… I didn’t think to doubt you.” Regulus studied him for a long moment, eyes searching his face for some hidden meaning in the words.
“Promise?”
“Swear it. I could never hate you.” The room was quiet for a tense moment before Regulus nodded slightly.
“Okay.”
Sirius almost laughed in relief. “Yeah? We good?”
“We’re good.”
More cracks echoed from downstairs and both looked towards the door. Quiet discussion floated up the stairs as someone passed the lower floor's landing. Regulus pulled his hands away to wipe his eyes.
“They're expecting you at the meeting.”
“They've learned not to expect punctuality or obedience from me.” Regulus rolled his eyes but a small smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Can I ask something?”
“What do you want?” Despite his mock annoyed tone Regulus didn’t seem frustrated.
“I want…” A beat of silence passed as he considered how to phrase it. “I want you to tell the Order about the horcruxes.” Frowning at Sirius, he tilted his head almost imperceptibly.
“After Alastor Moody just tried to murder me while unconscious and you lectured me about not going into situations that can kill me?”
“I didn’t lecture-” Sighing, Sirius just let it go. “I won't let anyone lay a finger on you. Moony and Prongs would fight for you too.” There was a long silence before Regulus sighed.
“Sounds like a bloody great time. Help me up, I'm not entirely sure I can walk.” Sirius quickly helped Regulus to his feet. After a brief detour to his own room to change into clothes that “don’t look like they belong to a degenerate,” he followed Sirius down the stairs. Kreature appeared at the landing, bowing low under Regulus’s glare and remaining silent. The two brothers paused outside the dining room, arguing clearly audible from within.
“He's dangerous!” There was a loud bang that Sirius could assume was a hand slamming onto the table. “I will not allow a Deatheater to remain here!”
“Sit down Moody! You've already attacked two Order members this evening and threatened a third, watch yourself!”
“And he could attack us all! Throw him out at least if you refuse to do anything about it!” Without waiting for the group inside to say anything else, Sirius shoved the door open. It hit the wall with a bang and everyone around the table jumped.
“While you are in this house it would do you good to remember that I am in charge. If anyone is being thrown out tonight it will be you Moody.” Alastor scowled from the other side of the table, his fist still on the table. After a moment he sank into his chair, fuming.
An assorted dozen or so Order members sat around the table, most looking confused. James and Remus were standing at the head of the table and Marlene was sitting next to them, pouring herself a glass from a bottle of fire whisky. The group all looked to Regulus as he stepped in behind Sirius, head held high and Kreature at his side.
Remus gave him a gentle smile. “Welcome back Baby Black.” Regulus responded with a curt nod and took a seat next to where Sirius was settling.
“Marls, mind pouring me a glass?” Marlene just passed him the rest of the bottle with a “you're going to need it” look. He raised it slightly in gratitude and after she raised her glass in return he took a long drink. After a momentary silence, Alice leaned forward, a polite but concerned look on her face.
“Alastor brought up some good points, Sirius.” James took a breath to retort but she held a hand up to stop him. "I'm not saying to throw your brother out but I would like to understand what's going on.”
“What's going on is that Black’s gone mad!” Moody pointed at Sirius, then to Regulus. “He's gone mad and let this murderous lunatic in! It's the Black madness, I'm telling you-”
“Enough!” Sirius slammed the bottle down on the table with a loud thunk. “One more word out of you Alastor and I'll have you on the doorstep before you can blink.” Even Remus seemed taken aback by the amount of fury in his voice but Regulus just studied him for a moment before taking the bottle for himself.
“Out onto the doorstep where I'm sure there are Deatheaters swarming, called by your blasted brother!” Sirius reached for his wand but Regulus set a hand on his arm, shaking his head ever so slightly. With a scowl, he sank into his chair, picking at his nails. “And now you're bloody obeying him like some kind of trained dog!”
Remus walked over, yanking Alastor's chair back. “Okay, Moody, you're done. Let's go.” His mouth fell open in shock as he stared up at Remus. “I said let's go, I'll let you use the floo but you need to leave.” He was quickly dragged out of the room and his shouting muffled as the door shut.
Marlene laughed. “About bloody time!”
“Couldn't get him to shut the hell up.” James agreed with a grin. “We've got another handful of people on their way for the meeting Pads.” He nodded a little.
“Dumbledore?”
“Busy, he sent an owl earlier that he got held up. Minerva and Benjy too.” Another series of cracks echoed through the house. “That's probably the rest then, we can get started after they come in.”
Emmeline drummed her nails on the table. “No offense Sirius but should we really have your brother listening in on a meeting?”
“Reggie has something to say.” The group all looked at Regulus. He just took a long drink of his stolen bottle, before setting it down. It was quiet for a moment until the door opened. Cardoc and Fabian were laughing at something as they headed in, doing a double take when they spotted Regulus. Behind them, Peter was talking to Remus.
At that moment, a lot of things happened at once.
There was a light tug on Sirius’s hair as Regulus snatched his wand from him. Peter looked up to see Regulus and his face went deathly pale in the span of a second. Regulus's first spell missed, crashing into the wall where his head just was.
Sirius attempted to snatch his wand back but Regulus jumped out of his chair. “Reggie!” Wormtail scurried away but barely made it outside the door before Regulus's next spell hit him dead center. He was flung into the ceiling before dropping down to the ground again with a thunk. His animagus form melted away, leaving him groaning softly on the ground.
“Reggie!” He seemed to notice that the rest of the Order had drawn wands as he looked around and he lowered Sirius's wand slightly. “What the bloody hell was that about?”
Regulus glared down at Peter. “Show them.”
“You're insane!” He sent another spell at Peter as he tried to get up that made him yelp and crumple again.
“Baby Black, put the wand down.”
“I will when he shows you! You've had a leak for ages and I foolishly believed you knew about him but clearly you don't. So show them or I will.” Glowering, Peter pushed himself up into a sitting position before yanking his left sleeve up.
The dark mark was clearly visible and an assortment of shouting echoed through the room as wands switched from Regulus to Peter. James stormed over in utter fury, yanking Peter to his feet. His wand was quickly confiscated by Remus who dropped it to the ground and stomped on it hard.
“What do we do with him?” Tightening his grip on Peter, James looked around for suggestions.
Cardoc raised his wand a little higher. “Kill him.”
“That seems a tad extreme.” Emmeline was looking at Cardoc with an expression of alarm but no one else seemed to share the sentiment.
“We're in a war.” Marlene scowled at Peter as she made her way over. “He decided to play a stupid game, that sort of thing tends to end with stupid prizes.”
“Prongs, Moony, Pads, please. We've been friends since we were kids, you can't throw all that away!”
“You did.” Holding his hand out to Regulus, Sirius took back his wand, twisting his hair up again. “You threw away that friendship, not us.”
“He's getting more powerful by the day! If I didn't he was going to kill me!”
“Then you should have died! Any of the rest of us would have! We're here because we're all willing to die for this!” He shrank back from Remus, looking terrified. Regulus cleared his throat and the room went quiet as they turned to him.
“If I may, the cellar has been magically reinforced. If you lock it from the outside there's no getting out. I suggest you throw him in there while you make a decision.” Sirius pulled a face at the mention of the cellar but the rest of the members were nodding slightly.
“Cardoc, Fabian, do you want to take him down?” The two men nodded and James handed him off to them. Peter made one more attempt to plead but the group just turned away or ignored him. Several Order members slumped into chairs, looking defeated.
“Peter?” James's voice cracked. “I mean… we've been friends for ages.”
“Fear and greed can both do strange things to people.” Regulus sounded almost sympathetic. “The times we live in aren’t great places for relationships.” There was a sigh and Remus sank in the chair next to where Sirius had just been sitting, letting his head fall onto the table. The brothers joined him, Sirius reaching over and placing his hand over Remus’s. They fell back into silence until Fabian and Cardoc returned, faces grim.
Once everyone had sat, Sirius stood. “Well, that went horribly. Since we’re all here we can start. Regulus? You want to go first?” He nodded, slowly rising to his feet. Taking the chain from around his neck he pulled it off and gently set it on the table in front of him.
“Has anyone here heard of a horcrux before?”