Regulus ran down the stone steps of the astronomy tower as quickly as he could, silencing his footsteps as he went. What had started with an overdue astronomy assignment ended with a front row seat to what would later be known as the Prank by Regulus’ brother and his friends.
Regulus made it to the hospital wing moments before James Potter and Peter Pettigrew carried Severus Snape through the doors. Snape was injured, badly. Large gashes tore through his robes, through to his chest where blood was already dripping on the floor. Madam Pomfrey let out a gasp and quickly levitated Snape to the nearest bed and vanished his outer robes.
“Was it…. Was he bit?” Madam Pomfrey asked without looking up, too busy attempting to close the largest of the wounds.
James stood there, shaking and staring at his blood soaked arms. Peter looked like he was trying not to throw up and avoiding looking at his shoe, which was covered in blood and looked like it had been bombarda cursed. Neither answered the question asked, but James shook his head. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“No, Madam Pomfrey. He wasn’t bit. He was attacked, but Potter and Pettigrew closed the tunnel and left with Severus as soon as they could,” Regulus said, surprising himself as the words left his mouth. James finally looked up from his crimson sleeves and into Regulus’ eyes, wondering how he knew so much. Regulus mouthed Astronomy Tower back at James and he looked mortified that they never thought about that being a possibility, someone seeing them.
“Regulus dear, can you please assist me in checking over Mr. Potter and Mr. Pettigrew for injuries? I’m a bit busy with Mr. Snape and I know you know what to do.” Madam Pomfrey said, not waiting for an answer before waving her wand and summoning Regulus’ tools for his Advanced Healers Training class he had been taking with Madam Pomfrey for the past eight months.
Regulus took a second to scourgify James and Peter before instructing them to lay on the beds furthest from where Severus was being worked on. If Madam Pomfrey was unsuccessful in healing him, Regulus figured she would want to keep him away from his schoolmates. Additionally, Regulus had some questions he needed answers to.
James seemed to have an actively bleeding wound from his chest that would take a while to fix, but since he wasn’t in danger of dying from it, Regulus quickly fixed Peter’s dislocated shoulder and vanished Peter’s shoe. Regulus was lucky he had a strong stomach because Peter was missing a toe, and two others were barely attached. The rest of his foot looked pulverized.
“Pettigrew, you’re missing a toe and I… I don’t know what to do besides close it up. I can reattach the other ones and heal the broken bones but… I don’t know what to do without a toe to reattach. Pomfrey would be able to fix it I’m sure, but with Severus… I don’t think there’s time.” Regulus avoided looking into Peter’s eyes, but he felt the shiver run through his body.
“Which toe?” Peter asked quietly.
“Pinky.” Regulus responded in a similar manner. Peter sat silently for a moment and then let out a breath Regulus hadn’t realized he’d been holding in.
“I can live without a pinky toe. Just do what you have to do, mate.” And Peter turned his head away from James, away from Snape, and braced himself. Regulus quickly set the broken foot and reattached the partially torn off toes. When he was sure he’d done the best he could do, he gave Peter a vial of dreamless sleep and a dose of Skele-gro, and soon the boy was asleep.
Regulus walked over to the bed next to Peter and gave James a vial he had tucked into his pocket, one he’d brewed in advanced potions class just that morning. James, assuming it was a pain potion, downed the potion quickly. Regulus began cleaning the wound on James’ chest. It was caked full of mud and leaves, like Regulus expected after watching the stag in the forest turn into the boy in front of him. A million questions were running through Regulus’ mind but one was at the forefront.
“Is Sirius alive? I didn’t see him come out of the tunnel behind you three… The werewolf… is my brother alive?” Regulus tried not to react to the look on James’ face as he glanced at the discarded glass vial, realizing that the potion he took wasn’t a pain potion at all but Veriteserum.
“Sirius is fine. He wasn’t there. He told Snape how to get into the shrieking shack because he was hoping to scare him with a… Werewolf… but I got there too late. Moony had already transformed and so I had to transform and stop Snape from killing him. I stood between them and Wormtail bit Moony’s paws and then Moony clawed his feet and Wormtail started to turn back into Peter so he threw Snape onto my back and I carried them back to the castle after Peter sealed the entrance. Then I turned back and we carried Snape here. But Moony… Moony is never going to forgive Sirius.”
James spoke his words so fast, trying so hard to not give away anything but Regulus had been watching the four boys closely over the last few years and had already figured out that Remus, the most tolerable of the four, was a werewolf. As a person who also carried secrets that could change his life, Regulus chose not to even acknowledge what he knew, and just continued to spend his afternoons at the library, quietly studying with Lupin. Regulus didn’t speak to any of the boys, and actively avoided the presence of James and Sirius, but Lupin and Regulus would occasionally find themselves together in the library and gravitate towards one another.
“Potter, I’m not planning on telling anyone about Lupin. But if he’s alone, after hurting someone. If Snape doesn’t make it…. Someone needs to be down there waiting for him to turn back. And as Peter is going to be here for at least a week waiting for his foot to heal… I think it’s gonna have to be you.” Regulus waved his wand in a clockwise motion as he spoke, wordlessly closing the wound on James' chest. James looked at Regulus in horror as the thoughts crossed his mind that Regulus hadn’t said. That if Remus saw the blood, and that he was alone, he might hurt himself thinking he killed one of his friends.
“I can go, I’ll go. I don’t know if Pomfrey will let me but I’ll go down and meet him and walk him up here. I’ll go right now.” James said, standing up and then wincing. Regulus tossed him a pain potion and a blood replenishing potion, then a second one of each for Remus.
“Wait an hour before taking yours, those stitches hurt because they’re healing internally and a pain potion will slow them down. But I’ll be here when you get back, and if I’m waiting at the door… it means Severus didn’t make it. That way you know before he does.” Regulus opened the door to the hospital wing with his wand and waved his hand to let James know to get going. James gave Regulus a small wave and went on his way. Regulus walked over to where Madam Pomfrey was still working on healing Severus’ wounds.
“I healed Potter, a stomach wound, and sent him to wait for Lupin to wake up. I didn’t think he should be alone. Pettigrew had a dislocated shoulder and a mangled foot but I fixed him up as best as possible. He lost a toe, I didn’t know what to do without it, but he said he could live without it and told me not to bother you while you were healing Severus. Do you need a hand? I can grab a few blood replenishing potions?” Regulus was good in a crisis, likely because he’d never been not in crisis mode.
At home, it was a constant battle with his parents to be accepted. He wanted to be a healer, and while it’s unlikely he’d ever be allowed to practice, he figured if Sirius was the heir, he might be able to get away with the schooling, even if he never practiced. Until he could guarantee that Sirius was a worthy Heir though, Regulus found his joy in secret, but prepared for the worst at all times. This day, though? This was even outside of his abilities. His hands had begun shaking as he watched the diagnostic charm above Severus flash red and yellow, indicating that the damage was severe and that he still wasn’t stable.
“Oh Mr Black, yes that would be great. I’d say six more blood replenishing potions would be ideal. And as for Mr Lupin, I’m not even going to ask how you knew about his predicament but sending Mr Potter was probably for the best. I usually am able to walk down and meet him but I won’t be leaving this room for a while now. And as for Mr Pettigrew… that couldn’t be avoided. I wouldn’t have had the strength to regrow his bone either, after how much I’ve been spending. I couldn’t have done this without you, Regulus dear.” Regulus, not used to praise, just nodded and walked to the cupboard where the backup potions are held.
The next four hours were spent in anticipation as Regulus watched the diagnostic charm above Severus change from red and yellow to yellow and green and then finally settle on a green with one small yellow light where Severus’ magical core was centered. Around a quarter to six the door to the hospital wing opened again and Remus walked in, being held partly up by James.
Remus had clearly had a hell of a night. His face, normally the only unscarred visible part of his body, now bore a long, deep cut from his jaw, over his nose, and into his eyeball, which had a blown pupil. His ear was hastily healed together as though by accident, and his normal slight limp was now extremely noticeable. But worst of all were his eyes. The normal light that would flicker behind his eyes was gone, leaving behind a dull, almost lifeless gaze. His clothes were the only part of him unscathed, which Regulus realized was because they were probably carefully placed out of the way, as Remus couldn’t have expected his life to be changed so drastically in one night.
Regulus walked over to Remus and held out his arm, which Remus took quickly, refusing to look at James or Peter, but very aware of the bed at the end of the wing with the closed curtain.
“That’s Snape, isn’t it. I can… I can smell him.” Remus asked Regulus as soon as they were behind a curtain separating the two boys from the rest of the wing.
“Yeah, he’s going to be alright though. He’s healing up really well and Madam Pomfrey said he just needs to rest to heal up his magical core and then he’ll be okay. He’ll have a couple scars, but he’ll heal. You didn’t mean to hurt him, Remus. My brother is responsible for his pain, not you. None of this was your fault.” Remus looked quickly at Regulus and then back to his hands, which were covered in little bites.
“Peter.. is he? Is he going to be okay? James said he wasn’t sure what happened to him..” Regulus slowly reached over and with his wand began healing the little marks on Remus’ hand.
“Peter is the bravest one of all of you, I’d wager. A rat? Trying to wrangle a werewolf? I always used to say it made sense for my brother and Potter to be in Gryffindor but I always thought Peter was too Hufflepuff. But then he comes in here and I tell him I can’t heal him completely. He lost a toe, and I was so scared to tell him. But then he just shrugs and tells me ‘he’ll live’. Like it was nothing. It was pretty badass Lupin, I’ll tell you that.” Regulus was nodding, and Remus glanced over at Peter’s sleeping form for the first time.
Remus felt his eyes start to water and immediately went to wipe them away, cringing as the salt hit the open gash living through his tear duct. Remus reached for his own wand, intending on healing himself, but Regulus batted it away.
“I’m in an advanced healer class Lupin, let me try to heal you up. Wouldn’t want you messing up and making it worse, right?” Regulus found himself standing in front of Remus and, with a steady hand, began cleaning and healing the large gash over his nose. With the painstaking accuracy and how slow he was going, it took twice as long as he would usually take, but by the time he was done all that was left was a thin, silver scar over the bridge of his nose, a slight dip in his lower lash line, a dark black fleck in the white of his eye where the claw had dug in, like a freckle.
Regulus reached out and touched where the wound had been and felt smooth skin, and slowly turned Remus’ head to heal his ear. As soon as he finished Regulus let out a breath and Remus opened his eyes at the sensation on his face, hazel eyes meeting a gray that Remus knew quite well, from both Black brothers.
“There. All done, and pretty perfect if I say so myself. But you be the judge, it’s your face after all. And let me know about your eyesight. I’m normally pretty great with eyes but let me know if I need to fix anything,” Regulus said, wordlessly summoning a small mirror from the wall by where Potter stood, causing him to jump. Remus held the mirror in his hand and turned his head slightly.
“I can barely tell I was even scratched. And my eyesight is almost better now! How did you do that?” Remus asked, finger brushing lightly over where Regulus’ hands were just touching.
“Ah, lots of practice. My family… let’s just say I needed to learn how to heal myself and my brother fast growing up in that house, and leave it at that.” Remus winced at the mention of Sirius, and Regulus internally scolded himself and changed the subject.
“So this is the first time we’ve actually spoken, you know. Been sitting with you to study for most of the school year, I’d have thought we might have spoken at least once before you’d trust me to do magic on you,” Regulus said, a slight blush to his cheeks at the idea of talking to Remus during their library study sessions. Remus smiled back, but a moment later the curtain was torn open and Sirius and James were standing there.
“Remus I’m so sorry, I told him not to come. I told him to go back to the dorm but he insisted he come anyway. Please don’t be mad I really tried to stop him but he grabbed my wand and-“ James immediately started talking, anxiously twisting his fingers together. Sirius, on the other hand, just stood there silently looking between Remus and Regulus before scoffing and stepping through the now open curtain.
“What are you doing here Regulus? You aren’t friends.” Sirius started to shove Regulus to the side but Remus reached over and grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.
“First off Sirius, I’m allowed to have friends beside you three. I hang out with Regulus at least twice a week. Second, Regulus quite literally has been here helping heal Peter and James all night, not to mention Snape who almost DIED because of you. And he’s here right now because I almost tore my eye out and tore up my face last night because you tried to turn me into a MURDER. So excuse me, but you’re not the Black brother I’d like to be around right now. Maybe go visit Peter, who lost a FUCKING TOE because of you. Or
Go APOLOGIZE to Snape who is going to be scarred up just like me for the rest of his life because you can’t do anything without taking it too far. POPPY GET THIS GIT OUT OF MY SIGHT,” Remus shouted, and Sirius instantly felt his feet slide back towards the door and the curtain surrounding Remus’ bed shut. Remus laid backwards, head hitting the pillow, and sighed.
“I didn’t want to see him. Why does James always do what he asks?” Remus whispered.
“Didn’t James say he took his wand? I’m sure he wouldn’t have let him-“
“James had his wand in his pocket. I saw it as soon as he said that. He was lying, I’m sure a lie Sirius came up with. James always twists his fingers when he lies.” Remus said emotionlessly.
“Oh. I’m… That’s pretty shit, Remus. I’m sorry.” Regulus said. “My best friends, Evan and Barty. They’re like those two. I’m certain they love me, but it’ll always be them, and then me. They’ll never lie to each other, they’ll never betray each other, but they would me if they had to. Sometimes I think my brother and James are dating with how codependent they are. And my roommates are the same. So I do get it, Remus.” Regulus says, squeezing Remus’ hand when he realizes he’s still holding it.
Remus squeezes it back and stands up. “Well time to face the music, eh?” Regulus follows Remus, letting his hand slip from Remus’ as they walk to Snapes bed. Regulus pulls back the curtain and goes in first, wanting to make sure Severus is okay with seeing Remus.
Severus is sitting up in his bed, bandages wrapped around his chest, reading a novel. He looks up when he sees Regulus and relaxes.
“Hey, what are you doing here? Did Pomfrey have you come help with all of this last night? I can’t believe your brother would do this. Betray one of his best friends like that? Disgusting excuse for a person if you ask me.” Severus spit those words out like venom.
“Yeah I was here for everything. Actually, Remus wanted to see you. See if you’re okay? Is that okay? He’s really been worried…” Regulus sighs lightly, thinking about how the first thing Remus said after finding out everything was asking about Severus. Snape looked anxious for a moment but cooled his expression and instead of answering Regulus, just told Lupin to come in.
Remus entered the little curtained off area slowly, hands tucked under his armpits like he was hiding himself. Snape looked at Remus, but Remus wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“Lupin look me in the face. You’re a Gryffindor for fucks sake, don’t be a coward.”
Remus looked up into Snape’s eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Severus. I can’t believe I did that to you,” Remus choked out.
“Lupin, you didn’t do anything to me. You were locked up, in a safe place. Your boyfriend told me how to get in, not telling me what would happen. Your boyfriend let me get hurt. You can’t help what happened. It wasn’t your fault. If anyone is at fault, it’s your bloody boyfrien-“
“He’s not my boyfriend, Severus! Just… Stop. We never got together, it’s never going to happen, just stop.” Remus glanced at Regulus and found the boy to be looking down, studying the toe of his boot as though it were the answers to an advanced ancient runes exam, clearly pretending not to be listening. Severus rolled his eyes and continued.
“Clearly, Lupin, he wants to be. I can’t even be mad at your other two little friends because Potter and Pettigrew almost died saving my life tonight. But Black… I want him to suffer.” Severus spoke to Remus the same way he would speak to any of his friends. No condescending tone, no animosity. This would be refreshing, except right then all Remus wanted was to crawl back in his bed and disappear.
“So it’s decided, you won’t tell anyone about Lupin’s condition, and we won’t get in the way of any payback you choose to enact, as long as it isn’t deadly. You can’t kill the Heir to the House of Black, Snape,” Regulus said after watching Snape's eyes narrow. “If you kill Sirius I’ll be forced to take over and I won’t be able to get out. And I NEED to get out.”
“Sirius said it was safe for you there. That they didn’t hurt you, that he protected you,” Remus responded, speaking softly as to not sound as though he is arguing with Regulus, clearly just wanting to understand.
“Sure, they don’t crucio me like they do Sirius. Instead they Imperius me at least twice a week when we are home. They make me their errand boy, running around showing what a ‘good Black son’ looks like. But that’s the thing about the Imperius curse. You have to be strong to cast it, because you are in control of everything the person under does. My mother forgot once to let me use the restroom, for two days. My father forgot that I needed sleep for almost four days and when he remembered, he told me to go to sleep and left on a trip. I spent nearly a week asleep before he returned. Sometimes I can’t talk. Can’t eat. It’s not torture the way Sirius is tortured, but it feels like it.”
Severus looked horrified, not having been exposed to Sirius’ stories, but Remus looked at Regulus with tears in his eyes.
“They take your autonomy, Regulus. That’s a crime. I’ve told Sirius for years to get out, and he never listens. Said they wouldn’t let him leave, they couldn’t lose their Heir. If that’s true… Regulus you need to leave. You can come stay with me and my parents when you turn fifteen in a few months, you’ll be able to emancipate yourself for safety, I’ve already done the research for your brother. I live in a small village in Wales. I’m sure they won’t think to look for you there. We don’t even speak, you said it yourself. Please, don’t go back to them, okay?” Remus begged, grabbing both of Regulus’ hands in his. Snape nodded slightly, whether agreeing with Lupin or processing, one couldn’t be sure.
Regulus wanted to leave, he’s always wanted to leave. But could he? Could he really give up his future like that?
“I’ll consider it. We still have a few months left before summer. We can talk about a plan over the next few months and see if it’s even possible. If we do this though, no one can know. I can’t allow you to be at risk for me, Remus. You barely know me.” Regulus pulls his hands back and pulls at his sleeves anxiously.
“I think if I got to know you we might get on. You like to read, you’re smart. Your sardonic sense of humor is like a twin to mine. I don’t know Regulus, I think it’s worth it to not have to go back there. I’m not promising we won’t fight, or that we’ll be the next ‘James and Sirius’ with how inseparable we will be. I’m just promising to try, and to keep you safe.” Regulus looked Lupin in the eyes, and nodded.
“Okay, Remus.”
Four months later
The floo from Professor Dumbledore’s office to Remus’ cottage in Wales was the best choice for Regulus’ departure. The paperwork had been filed and Regulus Black has been his own guardian since he turned fifteen. The only person who knew every detail of their plan, aside from a reluctant friend they found in Severus Snape, was Dumbledore. He allowed Regulus to use his floo for multiple visits to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, where Regulus would meet with Barty’s father and they were able to build a case of child endangerment and abuse for Regulus and, incidentally, Sirius.
With the help of Professor Dumbledore, Regulus was able to free his brother as well. Though the two never spoke about the work Regulus put in to make this happen, Remus heard through James and Peter that Sirius would be able to keep his title as Lord Black and the homes belonging to the Black family, with the evidence against their parents leading to a life imprisonment in Azkaban. Regulus was alright with this, as he wasn’t wanting the Black family legacy any longer. All he wanted was to start a legacy of his own, and to own his future. Although the allocation of his inheritance into his Gringotts vault would definitely help with that.
Regulus stood in the office alone, with a handful of floo powder. He could’ve taken the train, but no one at school was aware yet of the arrests that had occurred and Regulus was certain that rumors would spread like fiendfyre if he was seen going home with Remus after break. While the two were growing closer, he didn’t want to risk Remus’ privacy or his secrets by dragging him into the spotlight, and dozens of reporters wouldn’t help.
Regulus dropped his handful of floo powder over his boots and, as the green flames covered his body, he shouted for the Lupin Cottage, where he had already been once before to drop off his belongings from Grimmauld Place. Until Regulus reached seventeen, he would be required to live with an of-age witch or wizard, and continue his education at Hogwarts. This was more than fine with the Lupins, who had always hoped for a brother or sister for Remus, but had decided against it after Remus turned.
Remus stepped out of the floo in the sitting room and dusted off his shoes. Glancing around, Regulus saw that the time was still early and the Lupins were likely on their way back from London, driving home from picking up Remus. Regulus headed outside to the hills behind the cottage to wait. Pulling out a small paperback book Remus had given him to read a few weeks earlier, Regulus sat down on Hope Lupin’s small wooden swing and began to read.
In no time at all the sound of the Lupin’s car tires pulling up the driveway interrupted his reading, and Regulus ran down to greet them.
“Regulus, my dear! You beat up here! I’m so glad to see you, come here and let me get a good look at you!” Hope ran her hands gently down Regulus’ arms and squeezed his hands. Regulus felt so comfortable with Hope, as she was the opposite of everything Walburga stood for. Hope was a muggle woman, with long, wavy, tawny hair. She kept her hair pulled back and twisted up with little decorative hand carved wands, which always made her husband laugh. She was constantly finding some way to offer comfort to those around her, and this was how her husband Lyall Lupin fell in love with her, and that ability to love is what made her so eager to take Regulus in.
Lyall Lupin was a little harder to convince, albeit once he was certain that Orion and Walburga were in Azkaban, most of his protesting subsided. He was a quiet man with a history of being loud, making noise. Ever since Remus was attacked though, Lyall had found how much his words can affect others and chose his words more carefully. Which is why Regulus found his eyes watering when Lyall walked over to where he stood and squeezed his arm.
“Welcome home, son.”
In that moment, Regulus knew he was safe.