the reckoning
The summer before her fifth year is the summer it all falls apart.
There is an explosive altercation between Sirius and their parents. He refuses to take the Dark Mark, the sign of allegiance to the Dark Lord, who, as the Slytherin crowd whispers, is growing in power.
“You’re already an atrocious heir!” Walburga screams. “Don’t make this any harder for us.”
“I’m not turning back on my friends to bow down to a lunatic!” Sirius retorts.
A volley of insults emerge from Walburga’s lips, and then, silence.
All of a sudden, Blair hears the lashing of a whip, and then another crack, and another crack, and - and another.
Blair whimpers and runs to Regulus’s room. While Orion and Walburga are not wary of using corporal punishment on their children, their attempts to do so dwindle once the three go to Hogwarts. Walburga is ashamed, Blair supposes, to be thought of as a horrible mother, and she stops hitting them in an attempt to keep up the appearance of a perfect pureblood family.
Sirius enters Reg’s room an hour later, bloody and beaten to a pulp. His left eye is swollen and he is covered in bruises, but mercifully, he has no broken bones. Blair runs to embrace him, ushering him onto Reg’s bed and stroking his hair. Reg feeds him healing potions and a calming draught. Sirius whimpers when they touch him, but falls asleep soon after. His breaths are steady.
The three of them fall asleep later, cuddled up on the bed, limbs tangled. It feels like they are children again. Blair’s magic snakes across the bed to Sirius’s form, sending tendrils of comfort. She can feel Reg beside her, his magic doing the same. Sirius relaxes.
Blair lets out a sigh of relief. Sirius has protected them; he always has. Sometimes, they need to take care of him too.
-
A few days later, Sirius sits the two of them down and tells them that he is escaping. “I can’t stay here anymore. I’m running away to the Potters. James has already agreed.”
Blair tenses.
Sirius turns to Regulus. “Reg, you’re honestly the better son. You deserve to be the heir. Please, take care of Blair.”
Blair explodes. “Sirius Black - how selfish can you get?! You’re leaving the two of us alone with Mother and Father? What kind of an eldest brother are you?”
Reg tries to placate her. “Blair, Siri already has been through so much…”
“And now he’s trying to put us through it too?” Blair grows increasingly hysterical.
Sirius throws her a dark look. “Is this all about your self-preservation, Blair? I have friends too. Friends I want to protect from an ideology you adhere to,” Sirius spits out bitterly. “At least Reg admits that Mother and Father are wrong.”
“How dare you, Sirius! You are my brother and I love you. I love you so much, Siri.” She throws her arms around him.
She bursts into tears. The three of them sit in a reflective silence for a while.
Blair’s sobbing subsides.
“Besides - besides, I don’t buy into the pureblood mantra now,” she says in a rush.
Sirius stills. “What changed?” he asks gently.
“Dan Humphrey,” Blair says, looking at her hands. “And seeing Lily Evans in Defense Club I suppose.” Sirius grins at this.
“But mostly being involved with Humphrey,” she says quietly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Siri, Reg.” She looks at both her brothers. “I was scared. Besides, he got tired of hiding, so that’s over now. But my feelings remain.”
Sirius embraces her. “Oh, Blair. I knew.”
It is Blair’s turn to be shocked. “You- knew?”
Sirius barks out a laugh. “You do realize I have the map, right? I saw you sneaking out every night to see Humphrey. Until you stopped, that is.”
Blair’s eyes widen. “But you didn’t hex him or scare him away or anything. Like you did with Vito Warrington.”
Sirius runs a hand across her hair. “Darling, Vito Warrington is a right shite. Dan Humphrey, on the other hand, I trust to respect my little sister.”
Blair grins at that and throws her arms around Sirius once more. “Oh, Siri.”
Regulus joins their embrace. “Can’t believe our older brother found out that you were dating my best friend before I did, twin,” Reg says cheekily. “But I guess he had help.”
They burst into laughter. Sirius’s magic wraps around all three of them comfortingly.