Sweet Dreams
Being cursed or hit by a Cruciatus Curse over and over as time passes by doesn't only cause pain; it also messes up with someone's head. No matter how strong or powerful a person is, there's a limit, and Regulus has reached his limits.
Getting hurt, abandoned, and betrayed over time can make someone crazy. Really. Some people say that when you get hurt, it teaches you how to be strong and to stand up once again. But when it happen to you every time? I guess it will also push you to give up and let everything go.
The brain is one, if not the most, complicated parts of the human body, and when the brain has reached its limit and then there's an overload in the brain where it cannot process all the emotions and thoughts a person has, it shuts down. A total shutdown, and the human body will sleep. Until when? Nobody knows.
And Regulus' brain shut down just after he talked to James Potter. And it was Barty who found him sleeping on his bed.
"Reg?" Barty tried to call his friend, who's sleeping so quietly that it scares Barty, especially when Regulus didn't move after he called him. Knowing that Regulus is a light sleeper, Barty tried to pinch Regulus to wake him up, "Mate? You gotta wake up, Pandora and the others are waiting for us in the common room." But to no avail, Regulus didn't wake up. And that hit Barty, something was not right. He shook and called for Regulus, but he wasn't waking up, so he ran to their waiting friends.
It was Evan who saw Barty sweating like crazy, and fear was written on his face, "Barty, where's Regulus?" he asked. Dorcas and Pandora looked at Barty, waiting for an answer. And it took an eternity before Barty spoke.
"H-He's not waking up." Barty stuttered, and he wants to cry.
Pandora stood up, and Dorcas held her right hand, "What do you mean he's not waking up, Barty?"
And Barty started crying, "I tried to pinch him and shake him, but he's not waking up. I assure you, he is breathing, but he won't wake up."
Before Evan and Dorcas could react, Pandora ran across the room, she pushed Barty aside and went straight to Regulus' room.
And there she saw Regulus sleeping peacefully, his face looked calm, and he was breathing. "Babe, it's time to wake up. We need to eat first, then you can go back to sleep once again." Pandora tried to talk to Regulus. He always answers to Pandora, "Love, don't ignore me." She tried to wake Regulus up, but silence answered her.
Pandora started crying, "Regulus! Wake up right now!" She shouted, but Regulus remained asleep.
"Pandora..." Evan called his sister, and she looked at him, tears streaming down her face.
"Evan, why won't he wake up?" Pandora asked her brother, "Wake him up, please." she begged.
Evan and Dorcas were the only ones who weren't crying, they remained calm and tried to wake Regulus up, but when he did move, they also started to panic.
Evan carried Regulus, who is so light because he hasn't eaten much these past few months, and they ran towards the hospital wing. Not caring who they bumped into, the four of them ran and ran, while the other students stared at them.
They were lucky that Madam Pomfrey was there, she welcomed them, and she immediately checked Regulus. After trying everything else, she stopped and looked at the four messy students.
"Did Mr. Black perhaps face a trauma recently, or did he get hurt? Both emotionally and physically." she asked, even though she saw the wounds and scars around Regulus.
Pandora nodded, "But he was getting better, he was fine this morning."
"Why won't he wake up?" Dorcas asked Madam Pomfrey as she hugged Barty, who's still crying.
"Because he is sleeping. Mr. Black is in a deep sleep." Madam Pomfrey answered, and she began putting a blanket over Regulus, making sure that he was comfortable in his sleep.
It was Evan who asked this time, "Then when will he wake up? We need to eat dinner."
But Madame Pomfrey remained silent. She just continued fixing the bed for Regulus.
"Madam Pomfrey?" Dorcas called her.
After a minute, Madam Pomfrey stopped moving, and she faced the four students. "He will wake up when his mind thinks that it is the right time for him to wake up." She answered honestly, and she saw how the students stopped breathing for a second.
"What do you mean by that? Do you mean that he might sleep for days?" Pandora asked, still not believing what Madam Pomfrey had told them.
"Yes. I cannot tell you when he will wake up, but I will call Headmaster Dumbledore to check on him again to make sure that he is really okay." She tried to console them.
But Pandora shook her head and said, "No! Wake him up right now." When she saw her not moving, Pandora broke free from Dorcas, and she went to Regulus, to wake him up, but Madam Pomfrey stopped her.
"Ms. Rosier, Mr. Black is not okay. I know that you know that. Waking him up won't do him any good. His brain decided to shut down for him to take a rest from the pain he's feeling. Sleeping is the only way for him to escape whatever his problem is and to protect him from anymore pain." Madam Pomfrey explained, "So, I suggest that you leave him here to rest and I will call you when he decides to wake up." After that, she pushed the students out of the hospital wing.
They all remained silent for a minute, processing what Madam Pomfrey had told them.
It was Barty who broke the silence first, they had been silent for too long. Not asking what is happening to Regulus, and he knows that his mother is not the only problem. Barty is tired of waiting for Regulus or Pandora to open up first, "What is happening to Regulus, Pandora?" He asked, and he saw how Pandora hesitated for a moment, "You better be honest, Pondora Rosier, because our next move will depend on your answer."
Pandora hesitated, especially when she saw Barty's serious face, and then she felt a hand on her back. It's Dorcas, calming her.
"H-He and James happened last year."