Devil Town
L̶i̶f̶e̶'s̶ a̶l̶r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ i̶n̶ D̶e̶v̶i̶l̶ T̶o̶w̶n̶
When he opened his eyes, Regulus found himself in a dark, creepy room that he was oh so used to see after waking up. It was his room at Grimmauld place, a room that held many memories. Some good, most bad, but all of them were linked with the abuse of his parents.
Suddenly, the door opened and a crying Sirius stepped in, followed by a very worried looking Regulus, both of them very young. Sirius was about 10 years old, Regulus 9. Downstairs, you could hear Walburga screaming after them.
Y̶e̶a̶h̶, r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶,
n̶o̶ o̶n̶e̶'s̶ g̶o̶n̶n̶a̶ c̶a̶t̶c̶h̶ u̶s̶ n̶o̶w̶
They both sat on Regulus' bed where Sirius continued to bawl his eyes out on his shoulder while the younger brother hugged him. Whispering comforting words, trying very hard to not cry.
Just then, something clicked in the real Regulus' brain and he could remember that day perfectly well. Sirius had knocked over a vase and of course, Walburga was furious and started hexing the life out of him, insulting and hurting him. Regulus had stood beside him, watching helplessly, wishing he could help.
Y̶o̶u̶ s̶a̶i̶d̶ s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ d̶u̶m̶b̶ a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶
Just as the older version of him did now, some things never seem to change. He looked in the face of his old self, immediately stepping back, shocked.
He looked so young, yet so... used to this. Comforting his brother, watching and "making" their mother do unspeakable things to her own children. And he realized: He was. Had been since he was 9. That was not normal. As the scared brothers were sitting and, well, the other Regulus standing, they heard stomping.
No weird stomping, no unusual stomping. A traumatizing one instead. One that predicted pain and conflicts, that meant them perking up and preparing for what was about to come, that, as horrible and conflicting as it might sound, meant home to them.
S̶h̶e̶'s̶ m̶a̶d̶, a̶t̶ l̶e̶a̶s̶t̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶'s̶ w̶h̶a̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶y̶ s̶a̶y̶
Just that home for them wasn't like home for others.
For others, home meant comfort, love and freedom. For others, home was a good word. A good thing. A place to be appreciated, to be accepted with no conditions. A place with good and lovely memories. Something so pure and pleasant, something magical.
As for the Black brothers, it meant the complete opposite. It meant torture, pain and crying. It meant never being good enough, never being loved, nothing being appreciated.
M̶u̶m̶ a̶n̶d̶ d̶a̶d̶d̶y̶ a̶r̶e̶n̶'t̶ i̶n̶ l̶o̶v̶e̶
The best you could have at the Black mansion was when Walburga and Orion ignored you. Though, none of the brothers ever had had that luxury for more than maybe a few minutes, since there was always something imperfect about them, something to make better, to make more worthy of being their child.
Especially for Regulus, it had been hard. The less liked child, the second solution. The worst that could happen to them. Walburga was never satisfied with him, Orion not interested. With Sirius, he could have debates, while Regulus had kept to himself, not bothering to contradict. Why should he? It had no use, he would be hexed again.
D̶e̶v̶i̶l̶ T̶o̶w̶n̶ i̶s̶ c̶o̶l̶d̶e̶r̶ i̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ s̶u̶m̶m̶e̶r̶t̶i̶m̶e̶
I̶'l̶l̶ l̶o̶s̶e̶ m̶y̶ m̶i̶n̶d̶ a̶t̶ l̶e̶a̶s̶t̶ a̶n̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ t̶h̶o̶u̶s̶a̶n̶d̶ t̶i̶m̶e̶s̶
When Sirius still had been there and they were at Hogwarts, each summer, they were scared to go back. It was no vacation to them. It was going home, and going home meant the most horrible thing for them, it always had. But they knew they had to go back, until one of them hadn't. Oh, how much Regulus envied Sirius each summer, going somewhere that wasn't home. Somewhere their parents weren't. Somewhere that wasn't their house. Somewhere where James was.
Maybe, they could build their relationship again, be brothers again and never leave the other one behind ever again. Just like it had been when they both had been in the house, just like it had been before Regulus had denied Sirius' request.
H̶o̶l̶d̶ m̶y̶ h̶a̶n̶d̶ t̶i̶g̶h̶t̶, w̶e̶'l̶l̶ m̶a̶k̶e̶ i̶t̶ a̶n̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ n̶i̶g̶h̶t̶
But how would James and his parents react? Were they still so welcoming? Will they hate him after a few days? Hell, will they even say yes? What if they didn't, what if he had ro go back home? He couldn't stand that another time. He knew he couldn't.
But Sirius would be there, and he had sworn to make it up to him, right? He had sworn to make it better, to get Regulus out of there. To make sure he was better form now on. But what if that wasn't possible?
No, this was Sirius. He kept his word. He would protect him. He always did.
I̶ s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ g̶e̶t̶ a̶ l̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ s̶c̶a̶r̶e̶d̶ o̶f̶ s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ n̶e̶w̶ B̶u̶t̶ I̶ f̶e̶e̶l̶ a̶ l̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ s̶a̶f̶e̶r̶ w̶h̶e̶n̶ I̶'m̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶ y̶o̶u̶
The stomping had gotten louder, and Regulus took one last look at the scared brothers. He knew, they would be fine. In their way, they would. As they always were. Just as the door opened to reveal a fuming Walburga, he blinked the last time and woke up.
So, this is what he was going to do now? Follow in his brothers' footsteps? Finally break free from the hellhole he had called home? It seemed like it. Laying in his bed, in the dark, Barty and Evan snoring in the other beds, he smiled. For the very first time in a long time, he finally had hope. Hope for a better life.
With his brother.
F̶a̶l̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'t̶ f̶e̶e̶l̶ s̶o̶ b̶a̶d̶ w̶h̶e̶n̶ I̶ k̶n̶o̶w̶ y̶o̶u̶'v̶e̶ f̶a̶l̶l̶e̶n̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶ w̶a̶y̶ t̶o̶o̶