Another Sirius and Regulus bonding story!

If you like Sirius and Regulus bonding stories, please check out my other stories called Who Knew? and Brothers Know.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

WARNINGS: CHILD ABUSE

"I'm not even kidding, James. It is dead boring here," Sirius muttered as he looked into the two way mirror at his best friend.

"Are you sure your parents won't let you come over to my house for the rest of the summer?" James asked.

"Well, they certainly won't let me, but they won't be able to stop me when I sneak out Regulus's window tonight while he is in the shower," Sirius laughed.

"That's my little rebel!" James cheered.

There was a sudden yelp from the other side of Sirius's door.

"What was that?" James asked.

"I don't know," Sirius replied.

Another shout sounded, and the voice wasn't deep enough to be his father's, but it was undoubtedly male, so it had to be Regulus. And it sounded like he was in pain…

"Uh, he probably just-" Sirius began. Regulus probably just dropped something on his foot. Twice. It wouldn't be the first time it happened.

Another yell sounded, and this time, it was definitely the yell of someone in pain.

"Three strikes, and you're out," Sirius murmured. "I've got to go check that out. I'll call you back later."

"Why call me when I'm going to see you in a few hours?" James asked.

"Good point," Sirius responded. "I will be at your house later tonight or really early in the morning. See you then."

Sirius ended the call, and he stood up, approaching the door of his bedroom to go see whatever was going on in the next room.

Sirius opened his bedroom door and intended to cross the hallway and enter Regulus's room on the other side of the hall, but a series of sounds made him pause.

Loud thwacks, followed by sobs and yelps and sounds that generally indicated someone being in pain.

Sirius recognized those thwacks, but it didn't seem possible. Their father may beat Sirius from time to time, but he'd never harm a hair on precious Regulus's head.

Would he?

Sirius leaned against the door and listened, intently.

"Father-" Regulus murmured, and he sounded so weak, like he didn't even have the strength to breathe, much less talk.

"Get up," his father muttered.

"Father, please don't-"

"You should've expected this!" his father growled, and there was another thwack, followed by a cry of pain. "You should've known better than to help that Muggle girl."

"I was just helping her carry her groceries. It's not like I kissed her!" Regulus defended himself before he groaned. The sentences had clearly taken more out of him than he'd expected.

"Don't back talk me," their father spat. "And sure, it starts with little things, like helping people with their groceries, but before you know it, you'll start acting like that blood traitor across the hall."

There were several thwacks in a row, the sounds only interrupted by Regulus's sobbing, and that did it for Sirius. He twisted the doorknob and threw the door open harder than necessary. It banged against the wall and got the attention of his father and brother.

Regulus was kneeling on the floor, shirtless; his back was covered in bloody welts, and he was holding out his hand to try and defend himself against the harsh blows. Their father stood over Regulus, holding his belt in his hand (holding both ends so that it formed a loop). A droplet of Regulus's blood dripped off of the leather and splashed against the floor as all sound in the room stopped. Regulus stared at Sirius in relief and fear (probably more of what his father would do than Sirius himself) and… was that shame? Sirius met his father's shocked and angry eyes with a hard expression.

"What… is… going… on… here?" Sirius hissed, his voice dangerously quiet.

"I was just punishing your brother," his father replied. "Leave, Sirius. I'm almost finished."

His father raised the belt again, and Regulus flinched, turning his head away.

His father jerked Regulus's head up by his chin.

"What did I say about showing fear?" his father hissed before he grabbed the belt in the center of the strip of leather. He raised it high above his head, the metal buckle about to come crashing down on the terrified Regulus's back.

Sirius was in motion before he could register the fact that he was moving. He grabbed the belt in mid air, stopping his father's hand, and Sirius watched as his father's already angry eyes blazed with fire. The man looked prepared to turn the belt on Sirius, and the older brother knew that his father would start beating him if he didn't keep his mouth shut and leave the room that second, but Sirius didn't care.

"You can hit me all you want," Sirius said, looking his father hard in the eye, "but you will never let a hand on Regulus again."

"As long as he stops helping Muggles," his father spat, ripping the belt out of Sirius's grip, "I won't have a reason, too."

Seemingly surprised that Sirius- that anyone- had the nerve to stand up to him, his father stormed out of the room with what was left of his pride.

Sirius stared after him for another few moments before he turned back to Regulus, who cringed when Sirius turned on him.

Sirius slowly knelt beside Regulus and placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder while Regulus avoided his eyes.

"Reg?" Sirius murmured.

"I'm sorry," Regulus whispered. He wasn't sure why he felt sorry, but he did.

"For what?" Sirius asked. "It's not your fault. You did the right thing helping that Muggle with her groceries. You did a nice thing."

"Then why do I feel so lousy?" Regulus asked.

"Do you remember when I came home after first year and dad beat me bloody?" Sirius asked.

Regulus nodded.

"I felt guilty for getting sorted into Gryffindor, but I returned for my second year and I realized something… I love Gryffindor. I have great friends; I have fun; and most of all, I'm happy. I realized that if Dad couldn't accept my house, even though I was happier than I had ever been, that's his fault, not mine. In my heart, I knew that it was better to blaze a trail with a bright future instead of following our family deeper and deeper into darkness," Sirius explained. "When someone tells you something enough, especially someone you love, like Father, you start to believe it, and when they tell you that you did something wrong, you automatically feel like you did. But whatever you did, it didn't give Father the right to beat you like this."

Regulus nodded. "Thanks for standing up to him. I don't know how much damage he would've done if you hadn't come in."

Sirius shrugged. "You don't need to thank me for protecting you, baby bro. Now, let's go clean you up, and then, we're going on a little trip."

"Where?" Regulus asked as Sirius helped him stand.

"James's house," Sirius answered. "Reg, I know you don't want to leave, but I've seen the kind of damage our parents can do, and now that Father's turned on you… I need to protect you. I need to protect both of us."

Regulus, too exhausted and afraid of their father to even attempt to argue, nodded as they walked into Sirius's room.

Sirius pulled a first aid kit out of his closet and sat beside Regulus on the bed.

"This is going to sting, okay?" Sirius mumbled before gently pressing a gaze doused in alcohol against one of Regulus's welts.

Regulus barely flinched, and Sirius wiped away some of the blood before a frown marred his features when he saw a deep, wide, ugly scar. An older one that could've been a month old, maybe even older.

"Reg," Sirius breathed, "has Father… beat you before?"

Regulus didn't respond, which was basically an answer in itself.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sirius asked.

"I didn't think you'd care," Regulus replied.

"How could you think that?" Sirius demanded.

Regulus swallowed, but he remained silent.

"Regulus, answer me. How could you think that?"

Regulus shrugged. "We've barely said a handful of words to each other since you went to Hogwarts. You make fun of me and embarrass me at school. You insult me all the time. I thought all of that meant you didn't care."

Guilt consumed Sirius in a matter of seconds. Sure, him and Regulus weren't the best of buds, and Sirius didn't always like him, but had he really made his brother feel like he didn't care? Like Sirius didn't love him?

Sirius turned Regulus around to face him.

"I love you, Reg," Sirius told him. "You're my baby brother, and I don't want you to ever feel like I don't care. I may not always like you, but we're brothers, and I will always love you and protect you."

Regulus smiled. "Thanks."

Sirius nodded. "Now. Let's finish bandaging these wounds, and then, we will be going to stay with James for a while."

Sirius finished cleaning Regulus's wounds and bandaged his back before him and Regulus packed a backpack each and grabbed their trunks.

"How are we going to get there?" Regulus asked.

Sirius withdrew a coin from his pocket with a JP drawn on it in blue.

"It's a Port Key," Sirius explained. "James told me if I ever needed to get away from my family, especially in a hurry, I should use this, and it will take me to the edge of the Potter property. Hang on," he ordered, holding out his arm.

Regulus grabbed Sirius's hand, and Sirius flipped the coin into the air and caught it easily in the palm of his hand. The brothers rose into the air with their trunks and bags, and after a brief moment of hovering in the air, they tumbled down.

Sirius rolled across the grass on the edge of the Potter property, the coin gripped tightly in his hand. His backpack and trunk crashed to the ground beside him.

Sirius sat up and grabbed his bag and trunk.

"Reg, come on! We're here!" Sirius exclaimed. Silence greeted him. "Reg?"

Sirius's eyes landed on his brother, and his eyes widened.

"Reg!" he cried out, crawling across the grass until he was at Regulus's side.

The fourteen year old was lying on his back on the grass; he was pale and sweaty, and his face was twisted in pain.

Sirius leaned Regulus up and pulled up the edge of his T-shirt to look at the boy's back.

The bandaged were completely drenched in blood. When Regulus's back hit the ground, it must've opened the wounds.

"Reg," Sirius yelled, beginning to panic as his brother's eyes began to glaze over with confusion. "Reg, what's wrong? Reg, speak to me!"

Regulus stared blankly ahead of him.

Blood. He'd lost too much blood. The bandages had slowed the flow of the blood down, but the wounds had obviously been deeper than Sirius thought.

Leaving their trunks and bags in the yard for now, Sirius lifted his baby brother in his arms and stumbled towards the Potter Manor.

Sirius, without the use of his hands, kicked the door loudly and shouted James's name.

Moments later, the door opened to reveal a tired looking James standing there in his pajamas, but he woke up real quick when he noticed the person in Sirius's arms.

"Mom!" James cried as Sirius walked inside and laid Regulus on the couch.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter rushed into the room and noticed the boy on the couch; neither panicked, like Sirius currently was, and the woman knelt in front of the couch and began unraveling Regulus's bandages while Mr. Potter went to get a first aid kit.

"What happened?" James demanded.

Sirius, swallowing hard, rattled off the story about his father beating Regulus and the reason why, and by the time he finished the explanation, Mrs. Potter was finishing up with Regulus.

"Is he going to be okay?" Sirius asked, nervously.

Mrs. Potter smiled and nodded. "He will be. He just needs to rest for now."

Sirius nodded and knelt beside the sofa. Regulus looked so peaceful, his face more relaxed than Sirius had seen it in years.

"I won't let this happen again," Sirius murmured, brushing a hand through Regulus's hair. "I haven't always been there for you, but that's going to change. From now on, I will protect you. I will make sure you know how much I care about you, baby brother. I love you, and I'll always be there for you from this day forward. I promise."

I didn't think it was as good as my other stories Brothers Know and Who Knew? but I thought it was still pretty good. Leave a review to tell me what you thought!

Thanks for reading! Have a great day! Bye, everyone!