Chapter 1
“Sirius! Sirius wake up! Did you hear?” Peter yells bursting open the train compartment door, wincing slightly as his body slams into the wooden side. The aforementioned Sirius was currently draped across James and Remus, his long black hair flopping onto his face as he grumbles. Despite the relaxed position, he looked incredibly aristocratic for sleeping.
Sirius lifted his head and cocked it to the side, grinning blearily at Peter. “What’s up mate - where on earth have you been?”
“I have news, I was chatting with some Ravenclaws and they heard some very interesting information.” Peter rushes out as if he’s worried that Sirius will suddenly stop him. Sirius just lifted an eyebrow at him, a small but significant fire of curiosity in his blue eyes. “Alright give it up then, it’s got to be good if you’ve rushed over here to tell me.”
Peter nods, looking grimly excited. “It’s about Regulus.”
A small hitch of breath escapes Sirius before he squashes it, sitting up straight and removing his limbs from the two boys. “What about him?” He asks coolly, his face no longer mischievous. Peter grinds his teeth nervously, pausing for the first time.
“He ran away”.
“What!” James yells, looking straight at Sirius in shock who just sat there blank numbness in his eyes. It wasn’t surprising James was shocked, all that the three boys had really heard about Regulus was how much of a snake he was, thriving in the hell house that Sirius used to call home.
“Do you know where he lives now?” Sirius finally asks, his eyes resting on Peter's, who looked slightly upset for him.
“I’m sorry Sirius I don’t know, all I heard was that something happened over the summer and that he ran away” Peter takes a deep breath, “there’s something else too… he’s got a bunch of bruises, I mean they are everywhere Sirius and apparently some pretty deep gashes other places.”
Sirius looks even more surprised at this news, a pained expression twisting its way onto his face before once again it’s shut out. “I’m going to go find him.” He bluntly announces standing up to which James quickly follows as both boys exit the compartment.
Remus sighs as Peter slumps down next to him in the place of the two boys. “Something strange is going to happen this year Wormy, I can feel it.”
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“Oy reggie!” A voice cuts across the compartment that Regulus Black and Pandora Lestrange were currently residing in. Regulus sighs in annoyance, snapping his book closed as he looks up, a displeased look painted on his angular face.
“It’s Regulus, Barty and you know that.” He hissed at the boy who looks incredibly pleased as he enters with another sandy haired boy.
Regulus, ignoring Barty’s grin, nods genially at the sandy haired boy, “Evan, how was your summer?”
Evan stares back, “um mate don’t even bother asking that when the real question is how was your summer? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me beforehand, I literally had to hear from Auntie Druella!” He spat the last word out as if it was a sinful act to even verbalise the name.
“Hear what?” Barty perked up as he always did when gossip was involved.
“Our dear Reggie here ran away this summer, Barty. Ran away and didn’t tell us. His best friends.”
Regulus smirked, “Pandora’s my best friend” before opening his book and continuing to read.
Barty and Evan look at him in matching faces of betrayal. Evan cuts in, “okay whatever but seriously are you okay?” He scans Regulus, his eyes narrowing at the slight shimmer that seemed to surround the boy. “Revelio” he whispers pointing his wand at Regulus.
Regulus glares at him as the glamour is pulled back revealing the extent of his injuries. The damage was shocking. Purple marks bloomed across his entire face, tainting his alabaster skin and making a mockery of his features. There were miniature cuts that were littered everywhere, some that looked deep enough to scar. But the worst of it was a large jagged scar that ran down the side of his face that was unmistakably the product of a sharp knife.
Pandora, who had been quiet, lost in the bracelet she was making, took a sharp gasp when she saw Regulus’s face. Setting the bracelet down, she took his face in her hand making sure to be gentle like she was with everything, and turned it, studying it properly. “Oh love, why didn’t you show me earlier?” She whispered mournfully, looking at Regulus with crystal blue eyes. Regulus, for the first time, looked upset. “I’m sorry Panda, I just didn’t want you to worry” he mumbled slightly as he looked back at her, their mixture of cool blue and harsh grey meeting. Pandora shakes her head at him before pulling him into a tight hug almost maternally.
Barty and Evan who had been watching all of this looked extremely confused at this strange display of vulnerability but wisely chose not to say anything, mostly due to the glare they knew that Regulus would give. “Seriously mate are you alright? I mean what did that bitch do to you… it looks like she tried to kill you,” Barty broke the silence hesitantly as he continued to scan Regulus’s face.
Regulus scoffed as he pulled away from Pandora. “Oh trust me, she tried” he chuckled dryly, wincing from the pressure on his ribs. “I don’t want to go into detail about it but she found out that I'm gay, tried to get me to ignore it and marry a woman, I refused, and this was the result of my disobedience,” he gestured to himself.
“Where are you living now Reg?” Pandora said, still looking at him with concern.
"Uncle Alphard’s. They won’t be able to get me and technically even though Alphard is filthy rich, he has been removed from the Black family tree because of his sexual preferences so I should be safe.”
“Good, Regulus, you really had me worried, okay? When Auntie Druella told the family, I had no idea how to contact you and I knew it must have been something really bad to get you to finally leave,” Evan semi scolded, “you know I’m in full support of whatever ‘fuck you’ to the Blacks, I just wish you had told me first.”
Regulus had the decency to look slightly apologetic, Evan Rosier and Regulus had practically grown up together and had a friendship unbroken by Hogwarts, since they were 3. “I’m sorry Evan I should have told you, I knew that you were likely to hear it from our family and I didn’t consider how stressful it would have been to hear it secondhand.”
Evan relaxed, some of the tension now leaving his body as he smiled genuinely at Regulus who, never one to actually smile, offered only a small quirk of his lips back. That seemed to be enough for Evan though, as he moved his attention away from Regulus.
Their peace was short lived as only a couple of minutes had passed with Evan and Barty messing about while Pandora and Regulus chatted softly about his injuries, Pandora trying to convince Regulus to go to the hospital wing with her. There was a loud knocking at the compartment door before it was pulled open to reveal Sirius and James. Their eyes widened as they took in Regulus, without glamour.
“What the fuck did that cunt do?” Sirius ground out, borderline hysterically as he continued looking at Regulus and the obviously sadistic nature of his injuries. Regulus only glared back at him, his eyebrow raised with a supercilious look on his face. “Oh please, you don’t get to act as if you care now.” he spat back venomously at Sirius who teetered back as if he had actually felt the physical force of Regulus’s hatred.
“Piss off Black,” Barty growled, standing up to match Sirius, before his eyes slid onto the silent figure behind him, “and you too, Potter, Regulus is fine without the both of you.”
Sirius scowled at him, his eyes narrowing, “he’s my brother Crouch and he doesn’t need someone else fighting his battles for him, though that is usually his way.”
At this, Regulus stood up, as still as a marble statue and eyed Sirius even more angrily, “Get out Sirius. Now. If you are just here to call me a coward like you have been for the past 16 years of my life, then I might as well go back to Maman as that would hurt less.”
Sirius looked wounded after this, his blue eyes furrowing together sadly, “I’m sorry Reggie I shouldn’t have said that, I mean you’re obviously not a coward if you have run away, I just mean… I never thought you would.”
Regulus actually laughed out loud after this, though it wasn’t a pleasant sound, short and icy. “You never stopped to give me a chance, besides just because I’ve finally done something in a way you can understand, doesn’t mean you can decide I am now worthy of your love.” Throughout the entire conversation, Regulus’s face had been void of emotion but at the last line, his mask cracked ever so slightly to reveal a pained expression.
At this, Pandora stood up and surveyed Sirius coolly. “Sirius, I think it’s time you go.” Sirius started to protest until Pandora fixed him with a look so withering that he quietly nodded exiting the compartment in a very different fashion to the way he entered, like a dog with his tail between his legs.
James paused at the entrance studying Regulus, “I know you guys have a difficult relationship but I really do think you should talk to him, Sirius doesn’t express his love in the best ways but he really does love you.”
Regulus sneered at him, “Thanks Potter but I don’t need advice or information about my own brother, especially not from my replacement.” James looked even more saddened at this but he furrowed his eyebrows and nodded, stepping out of the room.
Regulus collapsed back next to Pandora, leaning his head on her lap and took a deep breath. She ran her fingers through his hair, “you okay Reg? Sirius really didn’t handle that well but for what it’s worth, I think James is right and you should talk to him. I know you miss him and this could be a second chance for you two.” Regulus huffed but didn’t say anything and just closed his eyes letting Pandora continue to caress his locks.
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James was frowning as he followed Sirius in silence back to their compartment. Regulus had looked so hurt. Both physically and emotionally. The only time he had ever seen someone look so bad was Sirius the night he had run away, but even then his injuries were nowhere near Regulus’s, that scar alone looked incredibly painful. The emotional pain had been worse though, for a brief moment James had seen past that mask that Regulus puts on and he just looked so sad, more sad about Sirius then his parents, that’s for sure. That was all James needed to prove that Regulus still cared about his brother and if there was one thing that James Potter loved to do is help his friends. His mission for his seventh year was to get Regulus and Sirius back together as brothers… oh and pass his NEWTS.
“Hey guys, how did it go?” Remus questioned as they walked back in. Sirius only stared ahead before throwing himself into the corner and curling up to look out of the window.
Remus looked to James questioningly who just shrugged and shook his head. The rest of the ride passed by in silence, the only thing on James’s mind being Regulus Black.