Big Brother
Four-year-old Regulus crept down the hallway to his brother’s room under the cover of night, the light of familiar stars guiding his way. He reached above his head to grasp the doorknob and pulled the door open with a low creak.
“Siri,” he whispered. “Are you awake?”
The lump on the bed whined. Regulus padded across the room softly and pulled himself up on top of the covers, sitting atop the mass of blankets with a huff.
“C’mon wake up, it’s past midnight!”
Sirius poked his head out to squint up at the other boy. “Wha’s tha matter?”
Silver eyes gleamed with joy. “Happy birthday!”
“Wha?”
“Get up, we have to go outside!”
“Reggie,” Sirius whined, “It’s bloody freezing out.”
“It’s still autumn,” Regulus huffed. “C’mon, you have to!”
“I regret this tradition more and more every year.” The older boy moaned and wiggled his way out of the pile of blankets. “Let’s go, you little imp.”
The four-year-old scrambled after his brother and let out a small oof as a robe was thrown into his face. Knowing better than to argue, Regulus threw the fur-lined fabric over his shoulders and stuck his arms into the draped sleeves that were far too long for him. Sirius had already put on his own robe and grabbed the other’s hand, the two boys slipping silently through the halls. They expertly avoided any creaky boards and stuck to the soft carpets as they made their way out to the back door.
There was a heavy chill to the air in the modest garden behind the Black family home, but neither of the boys who frequented the space seemed to particularly mind as they settled onto a flat rock by the area where the perennials came in every spring. Sirius draped an arm around Regulus’s shoulders and pulled the smaller boy against his side. They sat in silence for a while, looking up at the night sky and simply basking in each other’s presence.
“I can see you tonight.” Sirius used his free hand to point at the faint light next to the moon.
Regulus hummed. “You’re far brighter though, I won’t be fully visible for a few more months.”
“Sorry, little star. I’m afraid I just shine too brightly for anyone else to be noticed.”
“Except Orion.”
“No one likes Orion, he’s lame.”
“Oh, look! There’s Andy!”
“See, princesses are way cooler than hunters.”
“Animals are better.”
“Couldn’t agree more, Reggie!”
The boys giggled and let the exchange drop off. They continued to sit comfortably and watched their families’ namesakes until their fingers started to go numb from the cold. The two of them had done this for every single one of their birthdays since Regulus turned one. They would wait until midnight and then sneak out to the garden to watch the stars together. Sometimes, they would make up different stories about the constellations and pretend that Leo was a man who had been cursed to become a lion after failing to be brave, or Aquarius was a mermaid lost at sea when her constellation wasn’t visible. It was fun, and they both looked forward to it despite any complaints that might be made.
“Let’s head inside, don’t want that nasty cold to come back.” Sirius nudged his brother and hopped off the rock. He held out his hands as Regulus scooted to the edge and swept him around by the armpits to land on his feet. The little boy laughed and grabbed the elder’s hand once he was stable, sending one final look upwards to Canis Major.
Happy birthday, brother. I hope we get to spend the rest of them just like this. He could’ve sworn the star shined a little brighter at his wish. An unwanted shiver took hold of his body and Sirius frowned, pulling on his hand to guide him closer to the house.
Regulus rolled his eyes. “Worrywart.”
“Oh, forgive me for not wanting you to get sick, how terrible of me to even think such a thing. Where did you learn that word, anyways?”
“Uncle Alphard.”
“Tell him to stop teaching you big words.”
“What, like megalomaniac?”
“What does that even mean?”
“I dunno, he was talking about Father and told Andy that ‘Orion is too much of a megalomaniac to do that, stop being such a worrywart.’”
“We should look it up, I bet it’s an insult.”
“I don’t know how to spell it.”
“With your big brain and my dashing wit? I’m sure we can figure it out.”
“I don’t think-” Regulus’s words got caught in his throat as his breath stuttered.
He was surrounded by water. Hundreds of hands grasped at him, sharp nails cutting into his skin as he was dragged down, down, down. He was so thirsty. There was too much water, in his hair, his ears, his throat. Regulus was drowning. He tried to scream but was just so thirsty, he had to keep drinking. One of the hands grabbed the side of his open mouth and a thin, frail arm slipped down his throat. It grappled for something to hold onto and ended up tearing through his esophagus for a better grip. He felt more water rush in through the new hole in his neck and just kept drinking. He was so thirsty.
“Regulus!”
Suddenly, the thirst was gone. Sirius’s face was hovering over him, twisted with terror as the sensation of hands on his body narrowed down to the two cradling him desperately close to his brother’s body.
“Siri-” he choked and pulled to the side, just barely managing to turn his head in time for a slew of murky water to come pouring out of his mouth.
“Bloody hell,” Sirius turned him sideways and brushed the hair out of his face, his other arm still keeping a protective hold around his torso. Regulus coughed and gagged as the last bits of liquid spilled from his throat onto the frost-covered grass. He continued to dry heave as he gulped down the fresh air, frantically trying to rid himself of the water in his lungs.
“You’re okay, Reg. Just let it all out.” Sirius was murmuring a gentle stream of sweet nothings, even as his trembling hands betrayed his anxiety. “I’ve got you, baby.”
Regulus started crying. His brother shifted his grip so that he was cradling the younger boy in his lap and placed a soft kiss on top of his head. They sat like that for a few minutes, the sobs eventually settling down into hiccups as he pressed his face into Sirius’s shoulder. A hand ran up and down his spine in a soothing manner.
“What the fuck just happened?”
“Language,” Regulus sniffled.
“Reggie, you were drowning. We were just standing in the garden and all of a sudden you were choking and there was nothing I could do and-”
“I was thirsty.”
Sirius looked down at him incredulously. “What?”
Regulus wiggled uncomfortably and the arms around him tightened imperceptibly. “I was really, really thirsty. There was water everywhere, and there were so many hands on me and in me and they were pulling me down and I just couldn’t-”
“Breathe, Reggie.”
He inhaled shakily. “I don’t know what happened, Siri. I just know that I was really thirsty, but I was also drowning, and then suddenly it all just stopped.”
Sirius took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, we’ll just - fuck - I don’t know. We can’t ask Mom and Dad, maybe Uncle Alphard could help? No, he’s shit at keeping secrets. Andy? No, Druella might find out and then she’d tell Mother. Alright, here’s what we’re gonna do.” He leveled his brother with a serious look. “You and I are going to scour the library for anything we can find on what the hell just happened, and then we’re going to make sure that it never happens again.”
Regulus nodded miserably and let his head fall back against Sirius’s chest. It was a pitiful solution at best, but what else could they do? Mother and Father already saw him as a screw up, the weak child that should have either died or been stronger. If they knew that he was getting strange drowning visions that were making him even more sick, they ship him off to some long-term care facility and pretend he didn’t exist.
Wait, visions.
Regulus gasped. “I think I have an idea of where to start.”