Chapter 12
"Regulus! Wait up!" James raced down the corridor behind the Slytherin student, who paused to frown at him.
"What?" He asked. He hadn't spoken to James much since he revealed the truth about Sirius and Snape's conversation. He'd found James' reaction ridiculous, how his emotions had snapped so easily back to love for Sirius.
"I need your help."
"With what? If this is some stupid way to get me to talk to you-"
James cut him off. "it's Sirius, I need you to heal him."
"What happened?"
"Moony was not happy last night." James replied.
Regulus' eyes widened. "Is he bit?"
"No, broken bones mostly."
"Alright, where is he?"
Regulus followed James to the gryffindor tower, the elder pausing at the door to the dormitory. "He can't get himself to transform back." He warned. Regulus sighed.
"Were you even going to tell me?"
"I... I didn't know how." James winced.
"Considering I know your little secret, and I knew Sirius was an animagus before that, I don't think it would be hard."
"I-"
Regulus sighed and opened the door. Peter was sat on Sirius' bed, Padfoot resting his head in his lap. "How's he doing?"
"I mean not that he really can, but he's not complaining." Peter replied, looking up from the standard book of spells grade six, where he was searching for healing spells.
"He's had worse." Regulus replied, sitting on the bed. "I'm going to use a reversal to change you back, if I heal your bones like this it might fuck them up when you change back." Regulus paused, looking his brother in his eyes. "It's going to hurt."
Padfoot nudged his leg with his nose to show his understanding. Regulus nodded smiling at his brother. He cast the spell, the bright light enveloping the dog, his body twisting as his limbs elongated and his face shrank.
"Sirius?" Regulus asked.
"Reg?" Sirius murmured. "what you doing here?"
"Someone had to help." Regulus replied. "Can you tell me what's hurt?"
Sirius blinked, clutching his head. "Ummm, my legs, my ribs and my head."
"Okay, broken bones are pretty easy." Regulus said, "both legs?"
"He did have a bone sticking out, I don't know whether it moved when he transformed." Peter supplied. Regulus frowned at his brother's bare ankles. The bone was still there, blood pooling on the bedsheets.
"This will hurt, but It shouldn't take too long." Regulus said.
"S'okay Reg, I know you wouldn't hurt me." Sirius murmured. James took a sharp intake of breath. "You okay Prongs?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Regulus got to work, Peter doing his best to distract Sirius from the pain. It was quite scary how Sirius wasn't reacting to his bones being fused back together, but he'd faced so much pain in his life it was nothing compared to what Walburga and Orion had put him through.
"And then Sybill said-" Peter was cut of by Sirius.
"Wait, who is Sybill?"
"Trelawny."
"Oh, she takes divination too?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, and she's weirdly good at it.' Peter nodded. "Anyway, she thinks you're the grim."
"What?" Sirius laughed, but stopped abruptly at the pain it caused.
"She saw you in your animagus form at some point." Peter explained. "She looked me dead in the eye and told me that the grim is at hogwarts."
"She's not wrong." Sirius grinned.
"You're not the grim, Pads." James chimed in, he had been weirdly quiet for a while.
"We don't know that." Sirius replied.
Regulus finished another spell and looked over at him. "We do." He said firmly. "Let me see your ribs."
Sirius carefully pulled up his shirt, revealing the bruises on his torso and the deep, still red scars on his side.
"Well, thats healed decently." Regulus murmured, mainly to himself.
"Is that a scar?" Peter asked. "What does it say?"
"Toujurs pur." Sirius replied as Regulus waved his wand, the bruises disappearing.
"Isn't that your family motto?" Peter asked, remembering a conversation from a few years earlier where Sirius explained a few things about the sacred 28 to him.
"Yep, lest he forget it." Regulus replied.
"I dunno, it's kinda hard to read from here." Sirius said. Regulus laughed, he was the only one who did.
"You're not helping." He cast one more spell before putting his wand away.
"I thought you were here to help." Sirius replied. "Thanks Reg, these buffoons would have had me healing like a Muggle."
"We would have figured it out!" James defended them.
"You came to ask me for help, you definitely had no intentions to do so." Regulus replied, standing up.
"Reggie! No hug for your ailing big brother?" Sirius pouted.
"You still need to rest, just to make sure the spells stick." Regulus replied. But he went over to his brother and let him wrap his arms around him. "Shall I let them know you won't be at the lake tonight?" He added with a whisper.
"Thank you." Sirius whispered back. "For everything." He added.
"I would have come anyway." Regulus replied. "I'll see you later?"
"See you Reg." Sirius nodded.
"Bye Regulus." Peter gave him a wave.
"Thanks, for helping him." James added.
"He's my brother." Regulus replied, but he met James' eyes. "Remember that." And then he was gone.
"How are you feeling Pads?"
"Tired." Sirius murmured.
"Sleep if you need to, we'll be here when you wake up." Peter assured him.
"Where's Moony?" Sirius asked as he manoeuvred himself to the pillows and lay against them.
"Still with Poppy." James replied. He moved to lie down beside Sirius, "I won't let you get hurt Sirius, I promise."
"I know James." Sirius replied.