Rotten To The Core

the past is past, forgive forget

the truth is, you ain't seen nothing yet!

Three days. His mother had kept him locked in his room for three days now. The only times Regulus saw the door open was when he was given food or had a toilet break. Apart from that he had been stuck in this tiny room for three whole days. Not that he wasn’t used to it, this was the classic punishment he got from his mother, the old Rapunzel treatment. But it was still annoying nonetheless. The worst part was that after all these years, he truly thought he deserved it. His mother had manipulated him into believing that this was an appropriate punishment for anything he ever did that was even slightly off. And he believed her. He didn’t know any better. And ever since Sirius left him alone, his mother’s patience grew thinner and thinner, now she turned to Regulus even if she was angry with herself, she would find a way to blame him for everything and punish him for it. And he never even protested. He was scared. He was scared of his own mother.

Today was different though. She came into his room and threw a cloak at him.

“I need something from the market. My wrinkles are coming back and I need you to get me something to stop it.” she said. Even when the things she used didn’t work, she was under the full impression that they did. All those years using Rapunzel to stay young has made her believe that anything will work. So, without complaining, Regulus put on the cloak and went to the market.

He was happy about it, it meant he could get outside at least for a bit and get some air. Once he got to the market, he took his time looking at each stool for something to help rejuvenate his mother, and when he finally found something, he did all he could to keep to himself as he bought it. Even when the saleswoman tried to engage in small talk, he said nothing, just paid and walked away with the little ‘potion’ which he was 99% sure was just piss.

When he finally got home, his mother was sat waiting for him.

“Where have you been?” she asked coldly.

“I went to get your potion, like you asked mother.”

“It shouldn’t have taken that long, so I’ll ask you again. Where have you been?”

“I told you mother, i only went to get your potion then came straight back.” Regulus replied.

“”You’re LYING” She shouted, getting out of her chair to get closer to Regulus. As scared as he was he couldn’t back away, that would only make her angrier. 

“What did I say about lying Regulus?” she said sternly. Regulus said nothing, he couldn’t. Nothing he could say would appease her so the only thing he could do was brace himself for the hit. 

“I said, what did I say about lying Regulus?!” this time she took out her pocket knife and made two slashes in his wrist. One for each time he didn’t answer her. Tears welled in his eyes as his wrist bled onto the wooden floor.

“Don’t cry, you’re not a child.” his mother spat. She was angry now. She grabbed his wrist, squeezing where she had just cut him, and started pulling him up the stairs to his room. 

“If you’re not going to answer me, you’ll just have to think of what to say in your room again. What were we at, three days? Make it a week. And don’t even THINK about trying to get out because I have the key to your door.” With that, his mother shoved him to the floor inside his room and locked the door. He was alone again. And now that he knew she couldn’t see him, he allowed himself to cry. He cried because of the pain in his wrist which still dripped blood onto the floor, he cried because of his mother’s cruel voice still playing over in his mind, and he cried for not having Sirius there to comfort him. At that moment there was one thing he wanted, his big brother. But since Sirius was too far away from Regulus, he decided to go find the next best thing. He wanted Remus. He walked over to the window, arm still shaking from the pain, and slid it open just enough so that he could climb out. That was one thing his mother always forgot when locking children in their rooms. The windows. Once he was out on the roof, he slid the window shut again and climbed down to the floor, and he walked. He left his mothers angry words behind him and walked towards the docks where they met every morning, wiping any evidence of the tears from his eyes before seeing his friends. His family.