Black Hole
The Astronomy Tower. From here, Sirius could see the moon- crescent shaped. What time was it? Sirius looked at the night sky, velvety blackness dotted with stars like pearls on fabric. He taught himself how to tell approximately the time with only the sky- midnight in some minutes. The soft Hogwarts night bells would confirm this depending on when they rang.
Merlin and Morgana, the moon was like a knife to his heart...
Remus...
Mere thoughts of Remus' hate nearly led Sirius to jump right then, but he restrained himself. Why? He didn't know. He didnt know anything. That's what led him to do that stupid, stupid thing in the first place-
"It was a joke I swear I promise guys-"
"A JOKE, SIRIUS??"
James yelled
"James please-"
"No shut it Sirius you dont get to 'james please' him"
Peter snarled
"Pete..."
"You bastard look what you did"
he continued
"It was a joke it was a jo-"
"You nearly made Remus a murderer, and you're saying it was a JOKE??"
James had screamed
Memories of that awful day cane flooding back.
He shook the thoughts from his head, then immediately regretted moving. His head was still dizzy, spinning from the Firewhiskey. Merlin, he was pathetic! Sirius Orion Black, heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, couldn't even stand.
The ledge. Right there.
Sirius walked slowly towards it, the glass bottle of Firewhiskey clinking, discarded behind him. His mind threw him into the memory of the first time he came up here to jump, and how Remus had stopped him before he even got to the ledge. The taller boy had held Sirius in his arms for a long time, eventually asking what happened in soft, loving tones. They had walked back to the dorms together, and Remus had kept him in a tight embrace until morning.
Now there was no Remus to stop him. Nothing to prevent him from jumping off the edge.
Cigarettes no longer numbed the pain.
Muggle drugs no longer made him happy.
Alcohol had become water to him.
"Forgive me, Lily and Peter. James, you will be my brother forever. Regulus, be safe."
Sirius whispered into the night, hoping that somehow the dark would carry his messages.
"I love you, Remus."
And then he jumped.
Falling, sinking, almost gracefully. The regret building up in his stomach would be gone soon, Moony would forgive him. He would no longer be a burden to them, they would be free to live as they liked, without constantly taking care of Sirius and his bloody issues.
'Remus' his thoughts murmured.
The ground was hard.
And for the first time in his life, the mind of Sirius Black was silent.
— POV: Professor McGonagall —
Professor McGonagall walked outside, grateful for the balmy air of night. She was still concerned about her dear Sirius, who was becoming increasingly scarce- the huge bags under his eyes from sleepless weeks, most likely, his scarcity at meals, how evident it was that he and Lupin had broken up. All the teachers had their suspicions on the two, which were promptly confirmed when she had caught the two with their tongues down each other's throats in an abandoned classroom. It was quite scandalous at first, but Albus and Silvanus had paid her and Poppy two Galleons for it. All these thoughts stopped when she saw a figure, lying broken on the floor.
Her very heart stopped when she saw the signature messy, curly black hair of Sirius Orion Black. The only student who she addressed with their first name, because she had overheard what happened to him at home- not that Albus had done anything. Not that she could do anything.
The professor rushed over, seeing his twisted body and- oh Merlin- broken bones and -
barely alive pulse.
and so.
many.
cuts.
"Oh Merlin... Sirius-" her voice croaked out. He needed the hospital wing. Now.
She cast the feather-light charm on the boy, and hurried him through the castle into the Hopsital wing.
"POPPY!!" She cried, practically slamming open doors if that was even possible.
Madam Pomfrey walked out from the back of the wing, muttering something about sleep.
"Goodness Minerva, what possibly-"
She stopped when she saw Sirius' unconscious body.
"oh Merlin..."
— POV: Regulus Black —
'BORED' was the only thing going through Regulus' mind during History Of Magic. If Barty cast another love-stricken look at Evan during this lesson, Regulus was going to hex him for being annoying. Just then, a confused looking Ural owl flew through the window and landed on his desk, with a letter addressed to him. For a minute he froze- dreading it being a letter from his mother - but no, this wasn't her handwriting. He opened the letter and started scanning the page. It read:
'Dear Mr Black
Please come to the hospital wing as soon as this owl reaches you, it is a matter of absolute urgency regarding your brother. Do not worry about leaving lessons, Madam Pomfrey will vouch for abscence.
Signed:
M.McGonagall'
'Oh merlin what had Sirius done now?' Regulus thought, packing away his stuff with an unhurried pace.
Then it struck him.
Why would McGonagall send him a letter if it wasn't something severe?
Regulus ran through the castle, shoving open doors and getting many scandalised looks from random portraits. He nearly flew into the hospital wing, out of breath and ready to kill a child.
"Mr Black, thank Merlin. Your brother, he-
I'll let you see for yourself."
Sirius. Lying in a hospital bed that looked like a casket, the smell of Firewhiskey still coming off his breath, arms slathered in neat rows of red lines.
"Si- Sirius..?" he asked tenderly, kneeling by his bed. Madam Pomfrey left with a sad expression.
"Siri- what happened to you?"
Sirius stirred slightly.
"Sirius? Brother please what happened?"
"mmph- Il fait pleut," mumbled Sirius, sounding almost annoyed. He was right, it was raining heavily- typical weather.
[mmph- It's raining,]
"Brother? Pouvez-vous m'entendre?" Regulus asked.
[Brother? Can you hear me?]
"Oui- où suis-je, putain?" Sirius mumbled again, causing Regulus to laugh slightly. Trust his brother to use profanity mere seconds after waking up.
[Yes- where the fuck am I?]
"Pouvez-vous parler anglais? S'il vous plaît?" Regulus asked again.
[Can you speak English? Please?]
"You're also in the Hospital Wing, by the way."
"Shiiiit- how come i'm here?" groaned Sirius, obviously unaware of what got him here yet.
Regulus said nothing, but Madam Pomfrey returned and saw them talking.
"Sirius! You're okay, thank Merlin. You're free to go whenever you wish, and you don't have to attend classes for another week- I wrote to Dumbledore. Regulus- could I speak to you for a bit?"
Regulus walked over to her, eyebrows raised in question.
"Look after your brother. Take him to the Slytherin dorms, maybe- I really don't think hanging around any of the Gryffindors will do him much good."
"Yes Madam Pomfrey. Don't worry."
While the two brothers were walking to the dorms, Regulus asked what had happened. He had guessed a suicide attempt because of a letter from Mother- but the true story was so much worse. Three teenage boys had broken his brother in roughly a month, when Wallburga hadn't managed to break him like this in over a decade of trying.
Pettigrew, Lupin and Potter.
Regulus' mind was forming a plan as Sirius wept on his bed, nearly screaming in anguish over those three boys.
Pettigrew, Lupin and Potter.
Regulus had a plan.
And they
would
repent.