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“Here, Master Black”, the house elf croaked bowing his head as he held out a piece of parchment to his master.
“What is that?”, Mr. Black asked eyebrows raised.
“Kreacher just found this in the desk of young Master Sirius. You should have a look at it, Sir.”
“Give it to me.”, Orion snapped, causing not only Walburga but also Regulus to look up from his plate. He already had a vague idea what this piece could be.
The head of the Black family quietly read every little word that his oldest son had written down in his hasty, scraggly handwriting. He closed his eyes for a split second, clenched his other hand into a fist so that his knuckles stood out, and let out a shaky breath between his teeth.
Regulus automatically tensed his shoulders. Their father now knew about everything and is going to show their mother. He will be furious, especially since Sirius didn’t show up for dinner.
“Regulus.” The young boy looked up. “Dinner is finished, go up to your room. Your mother and I need to have an important discussion. Go on, leave already!”
“Very well, father.”, the young boy whispered, got up and crept up the long staircase as quickly and quietly as possible until he reached the last hallway, which only contained his and his brother’s room. He quickly scurried inside, closed the door, and sat down on his bed. There he hugged his pillow so tightly that for a second, he was afraid the dark green cover would burst, causing feathers to fly around the room. Fortunately, nothing of that sort happened, so he grabbed a book from the nightstand – ironically, it was the muggle book ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, which Andromeda had secretly given him – and soon disappeared into this strange, unreal world.
In the meantime, Mrs. Black had also read her eldest son’s plan word for word. Disgust, disappointment, anger, and horror shone in her eyes.
“He went too far this time.”, she hissed.
Beside her, Orion was silent again, staring rigidly at the imposing grandfather clock. “I will take care of it.”, he suddenly replied.
Walburga looked at her husband in surprise. He usually did not concern himself with their sons, especially with disciplining and teaching them. He always referred to it as a “women’s taks” while ensuring their wealth and reputation through his work and influence in the ministry of magic.
“You should not have let him go.” Orion added and gave Walburga a reproachful look.
“He just left. Snuck out of his room.”
“Then you do not have a tight enough grip on him.”
“You should try to tame such a wild, naughty and cheeky brat.”
“Believe me, I will be able to handle it. I will tame him, teach him that he must show us respect. He lies to us, disrespects the family. I will not tolerate such behavior in my house. You are too soft with him, with Regulus too.”
“Regulus is a wonderful boy!”, Mrs. Black responds immediately. “Sirius only poisons everything.”
“That is exactly why I will take care of him.”, Mr. Black replied, giving his wife a sharp look. “Do not disagree and talk back to me.”
“You weak, foul, lustful, vainglorious man.” Walburga whispered and finally looked away. She couldn’t bear to look at the man she once loved, who was now a completely different person.
The minutes dragged by.
Another house elf, whose name neither of them bothered to remember, entered the dining room, and carried the plates and pots of the now bitterly cold dinner back into the kitchen. The ticking of the clock drilled itself deeper into the couple’s heads until Kreacher finally shuffled back into the dining room.
“Young Master Sirius has returned. He landed on his broom through his bedroom window. Apparently, he’s been at the Potter’s.”
“Where else would he have been?”, Orion snapped at the small creature, rose to his feet, and left the room, not without roughly pushing Kreacher away.
“Thank you for this information.”, Walburga tried to make up for her husband’s rudeness. She kind of liked the little elf for reasons she couldn’t quite understand. Maybe it was because of the infinite, honest loyalty he showed their family.
“Can Kreacher serve Misses some tea?”
“Yes, Kreacher. A strong tea, please.”
“Very well.”
Walburga got up as well and crept into a small, adjoining living room – her only retreat.
Regulus heard his father’s footsteps long before he had even begun ascending the staircase to the last floor. As if struck by lightning, he jumped off the bed and scurried to the door. He opened it just a crack and caught sight of his father climbing the last few steps and heading straight for his older brother’s room.
Regulus immediately closed his bedroom door again and quickly crouched under the bed, where he covered his ears, trembling.
Without knocking, Orion stormed into his son’s room and pulled out his wand without hesitation. “Where have you been during the last few hours?” Of course, he already knew the answer, he just wanted to give Sirius one last chance to give honor to the family name and stand his ground.
Said boy stood with his back to his father and didn’t dare moving an inch. He knew full well that his secret wouldn’t remain undiscovered for long. Why was he so stupid as to leave his plans lying around in the open?
He swallowed hard before finally facing his father. “I haven’t been anywhere, father.”, he murmured, eyes downcast.
“Do not dare lie to me!”, Orion snarled, stepping closer to Sirius until he felt the tip of his want touching his neck. With satisfaction he felt his eldest son’s racing, anxious heartbeat vibrating through the magical wood. “You have been hanging around the Potters again, am I right?”
The Gryffindor didn’t make a sound, instead avoided the cold gaze of the man before him.
“Look me in the eyes when I talk to you!” Instantly, Sirius flinched, as if being slapped across the face. “I forbid you this interaction and relation! My son does not associate with blood traitors!”
“Well, it’s already too late for that.”
As soon as he said it, Sirius regretted having said that phrase out loud. Crying out, he fell to his knees as he felt the all-too-familiar pain coursing through his entire body.
“Shut up, you pathetic little bastard!” Orion simply shouted.
Next door, Regulus gritted his teeth and tried to recall the whimsical adventures Alice had in wonderland, desperately whishing himself away.
Panting, Sirius wiped the tears from his cheeks.
“Just look at you!”, his father spat, “You are supposed to be my son, the heir to the noble House of Black, a small and insufficient weakling?!”
“Your plan to show me that a man must control all his emotions doesn’t seem to have worked, father. I’m not a petrified, old, dried-up monster like you!” Sirius croaked and finally looked his father in the eyes.
For a few seconds, they fought a silent battle until an eerie smile appeared on Orion’s lip. “So, do you really think you are smarter and cleverer than me?”
There was a mean, ominous glint in his eyes as he called for his youngest son.
“No father, leave Reggie out of this! I made the mistake, I-”
“Shut up, be quiet! Crucio!”
Everything in the second-year student was reluctant to leave his safe haven and follow his father’s command. At the same time, he knew that if he didn’t follow suit, he would only make things worse. Thus, he bowed to his fate, crawled out from under the bed and trotted into the other room.
“Did I give you permission to speak?”
“Father, please!”
Again, Sirius reared up, screaming, until he fell to the ground whimpering.
“Just look at him.”, Orion said unimpressed, waving Regulus closer to him. “He wanted to run away. Very secretly, during a late-night operation, as only cowards do. Are you a spineless coward, Regulus?”
“N-No, father …”
“Then do not follow his example, always stay on the right path. A path that your ancestors created for you, whose legacy we must protect and carry further into the world; a legacy that must always be pure and sincere.”
Slowly, very slowly, the head of the family’s wand changed its target. It no longer pointed at the trembling Sirius, but to his little brother.
Regulus froze in place. Goosebumps spread like a tidal wave all over his body.
“Let me be very clear, Sirius Orion Black: you will never try to run away again, ever! Neither of you will do that! Not as long as you live under my roof, in my house and are a part of this noble family! Especially you, son, should finally realize that you must not tarnish the name of this family with your lies!”
“Father, no!”
“Crucio!”
The flaming lightning struck Regulus’ body like a shock wave. He immediately shouted out and fell to his knees. Tears welled up in his eyes, the pain seemingly endless.
“Crucio!”
Everything inside of him seemed to tear apart; the magic ran through his limbs like thousands upon thousands of small needles. Regulus couldn’t stop screaming. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to even hold himself upright. But he wanted to prove his father that he could take it, that he wasn’t a coward, not weak and frail.
“Enough! ENOUGH!”
Then suddenly the pain was over.
Regulus finally fell to the side like a ragdoll. His vision blurred, everything hurt. He dimly noticed that Sirius had somehow managed to get up and throw himself at their father, who immediately pushed him away and slapped him across the face.
“Never do that again!” Orion growled before hitting Sirius again, knocking him to the ground. He then strode out of the room, stepping over his eldest son as if he was trash, if not despicable garbage.
-
Sirius jolted upright, drenched in sweat. He looked around in panic. His heart was racing, blood was rushing in his ears, he felt dizzy.
“Regulus?”, he whispered breathlessly into the darkness. No answer. He looked around trembling. Where was his brother?
His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and he realized that he was lying in his bed in the Gryffindors dormitory. He just had another nightmare.
Sirius looked around the room again. His three best friends James, Remus and Peter were still fast asleep. No wonder; as soon as the new term had started, the fourth graders got a huge pile of homework that they had been working on until a few hours ago.
Sighing, Sirius took off his shirt, carelessly throwing it onto the chair next to his bed and laid back down.
It was just a nightmare that couldn’t harm him. He was here now, at Hogwarts, far away from his family and the cage that was Grimmauld Place. He should try to forget everything. Or maybe he should talk to James tomorrow instead. Should he even try to talk to his brother? A few months ago, even before the holidays, their relationship began to crumble. And as the big brother, he should take the first step, right?
Caught up in all these thoughts, Sirius closed his eyes and this time fell into a – thankfully – peaceful, dreamless sleep.
Although he was probably never able to banish the image of his brother lying motionless on the floor in front of him with big, pained eyes from his memory.