memories
When Walburga finished her search she handed Regulus his bag back and left him to gather his belongings off the floor. Regulus quickly gathered his things and went to his room. Regulus laid on his bed and closed his eyes in an effort to think of happier times. He thought back to the beginning of the summer when he was so flustered by his crush on James that he refused to talk to him for the first few weeks of his stay at the Potter’s. He remembered how James, being the sweet naive boy he was, thought that Regulus hated him and tried to make amends with him by bringing him cookies in the middle of the night. He remembered when James followed him into the library and they ended up falling on the floor together. He thought back to when James showed him the band ABBA for the first time and sang over every lyric and danced like an idiot. He remembered the moment that he and James had shared their first kiss while "Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA played in the background. Regulus would give anything to be back at the Potter’s house again and feel the safety and warmth he once did.
Suddenly he heard a knock at his door and he stood up as fast as he could. Being back in Grimmauld place had Regulus on edge. “Who is it?” Regulus asked in a concerned tone. “Master Orion sent Kreacher to fetch Master Regulus for his punishment.” Regulus heard Kreacher say on the other side of the door. Regulus opened his bedroom door and saw Kreacher standing at the door. He knew that Kreacher had always liked him better than Sirius, which is why he could also tell that Kreacher didn't like having to see Regulus be punished, especially when it was Kreacher's fault that Walburga and Orion had found out in the first place. Regulus knew that Kreacher didn't like having to tell Walburga and Orion about something that he knew would result in Regulus being punished, but he also knew that Kreacher didn't have the luxury of being able to keep secrets from the 'Master of the house'. Still Regulus could sense that Kreacher felt guilty about telling Regulus's parents about everything. "I don't blame you for what they do to me, you know." Regulus said with a blank expression on his face. "Kreacher does not care whether or not Master Regulus blames him. Kreacher's only purpose is to serve the noble and most ancient house of Black." Kreacher replied. "Well, even though you don't care, I still don't blame you for the actions of my parents." Regulus said with a small smile on his face. Even though Kreacher said he didn't care, Regulus could tell that he did, and now he could see that Kreacher felt better about it. Regulus took one last look at his room before closing the door and telling Kreacher to lead the way.
Regulus could feel his heart beating out of his chest as he followed Kreacher down the hallway. He was never usually this nervous before being punished, Regulus figured his heightened scenes were likely due to him not having Sirius to calm him down. Regulus didn't quite know why he was so scared, after all it wasn't like they could really kill him. If they were to kill him their only option for an heir would be Sirius and since they had disowned him the night he ran away Regulus doubted they wanted him to be the heir. Regulus began fidgeting with the hair tie around his wrist. He liked this hair tie in particular because it reminded him of Sirius. He thought back to when Sirius had "given" it to him. They had been sitting in the library when Sirius shot it at Regulus. "What did you do that for." Regulus had said, picking the hair tie up from the ground where it had fallen after hitting Regulus in the face. Sirius only shrugged his shoulders in response. "I'm bored." Sirius explained. "Well, this is mine now." Regulus said, using the hair tie to put his hair into a ponytail. "Hey, give that back!" Sirius yelled. "No! By shooting it at me you forfeited all claim to it!" Regulus yelled back.
"Regulus." He heard his mother say, pulling him out of his daydream. Regulus quickly glanced around himself. Kreacher had led him to the library where his parents were waiting for him. Then Regulus looked at his mother. Her eyes looked soulless and her face looked calm. "Not only did you attempt to run away from home, but you also went to live with your brother and his blood traitor of a best friend, befriended all of the bad influences that had corrupted your brother in the past, and you were spotted kissing James Potter!" Walburga yelled angrily. Regulus hadn't realized the extent to which his mother had been watching him until now. He figured that she knew about him running away and possibly knew about him becoming friends with Sirius's friends but he hadn't realized that she had found out about him and James's relationship. Now he knew that his mother was not planning on holding back at all with her punishment. Regulus gently closed his eyes and prepared himself for what he knew was about to happen.
Regulus woke up on the floor of the library. He wasn't sure how long he had been on the floor, all he knew is that it was now completely dark outside. Regulus tried to get up but as soon as he sat up he felt a surging pain shoot through his back. Regulus cried out in pain. The only thing he could think about was the pain, it consumed his thoughts. Suddenly an idea popped into Regulus's head. He wondered if turning into his animagus would alleviate the pain at all, or at least allow him to walk again. Regulus quickly transformed into his animagus form in order to at least let him think about anything but the pain. Becoming a cat helped the pain a little or at least enough that he could walk around without feeling like he was dying.
Once Regulus stopped thinking about the pain a new thought crept into his mind and consumed him. Now all he could think about was James. He thought about how James had to tell Euphemia that Regulus was going back to Grimmauld place. He thought about how angry Euphemia must have been at Walburga and Orion when she had heard about what they did. He thought of how James would've had to stop Euphemia from trying to come after him. He had always admired how Euphemia would always fight to protect someone who was in danger even if they were a total stranger, but in this moment he wished that she wasn't so willing to help those in need. In this moment he wished that Euphemia didn't want more than anything to save Regulus from his parents because having to turn down her kind offer hurt him more than the many curses his mother had put on him.
Regulus slowly made his way to the bathroom and changed back to his human form in order to dress his wounds. In the cabinet he didn't find much he could use, Walburga and Orion never really stocked Sirius and Regulus's bathroom with first aid supplies, but what he did find was a few bandaids and a washcloth. Regulus took the wash cloth and held it under the running faucet for a few seconds to wet it. Then Regulus began cleaning his cuts with the wash cloth. He started with the few cuts he had on his arms and face and then attempted to clean the cuts on his back but he was unable to reach them. Now that he had cleaned his cuts he put a few small bandaids on his smaller cuts and left the bathroom. Now that he had addressed some of his wounds he felt a little better but there’s only so much a washcloth and a box of bandaids can do. He walked back to his bedroom and laid down on his bed. Since he was feeling less pain now the only thing he could think about was James. Regulus closed his eyes and wished there was some way he could go back to the Potter’s house even for a little while, and then he got an idea.