A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And to the anon who asked, this isn't going to be an AU. I can't say anything else because of I don't want to spoil anyone.

And to everyone who got an e-mail a couple of days ago about an update, and then they couldn't find it, sorry about that. I had a last minute decision and decided that that chapter should be the third and not the second. So, to make it up for it, I'm going to post two chapters today. Hope you like it!

Warning: mentions of domestic violence.

II.

1974.

The wind rustled around Regulus as he watched his brother mutter something under his breath, waving his wand.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then Sirius started to become shorter as black thick hair slowly came out from every inch of his body, his limbs shaking and twisting. Soon, a dog stood in his place, his tail swinging lazily as moonlight shined on his soft fur.

The dog sniffed and then suddenly froze. In a moment that Regulus could have missed had he blinked, Sirius was back to his true form.

Sirius turned around. "Who is there?"

Regulus put his hand on his mouth, making sure not to make any sound as he watched his brother look around, looking for him.

Sirius took his wand out of his pocket and raised it. "Regulus?" He called.

Regulus poked his head from where he was hiding. "Hey."

Sirius lowered his wand and put it back in place. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"

"I could say the same thing about you," he said as he reached where his brother stood.

"What are you doing there?"

"Watching you. I heard your footsteps as you tried to sneak." He smirked. "You were never good at it."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, Kreacher didn't catch me, and that's what is important."

"So, why are you training to be an Animagus?" He had read about it before, but he had never seen anyone turn completely in front of him like that.

"What? Can't I try and improve myself?" Sirius asked innocently.

Regulus raised his eyebrows. "You can, but you usually don't try at all in the summer, and you don't sneak at midnight to do it."

"I just want to be able to do it." Sirius shrugged. "And Mother never agrees on anything I want to do. She would probably say that I should focus on something else, something more 'useful', as she always says."

"Is it because of that werewolf?" He asked, having had enough of Sirius evading what he was really talking about.

Sirius' eyes widened. "How did you-"

"Oh come on, brother. Did you think I wouldn't notice?" He asked. "Remus isn't careful enough. You are lucky I am the one who saw him sneaking, and not another student like Snape."

Sirius snickered. "Snivellus can't do anything."

Regulus shook his head. "I never understood why you two hate each other."

Sirius pursed his lips. "Because he is a wanker."

He laughed. Sometimes he felt as if he were the older one. He turned around to make sure that Kreacher wasn't listening before continuing. "Where did you learn that?"

"I found a couple of notes written by Professor McGonagall." He winked. "After that, it isn't that hard if you know where to look. Remus might have helped."

"How long have you been practising?"

"A couple of months. This was the first time that I transformed completely." Sirius grinned, his silver eyes shining excitedly in the moonlight.

"And what do you plan to do?"

"Remus is dangerous when he turns, but only to humans," he said. "We will accompany him through the transformation, make sure he doesn't hurt himself, and be back before school starts."

"That's risky, you don't know how wolves are," Regulus said.

"But I know Remus," he stated. "Once his wolf gets used to us, nothing will go wrong. I will have James and Peter with me."

"Is that supposed to reassure me?" Regulus questioned.

"I will be fine," Sirius said. "I will have my wand, and I know a couple of spells for werewolves. Remus taught us himself. I can stop him if needed, but I won't have to."

"Someone will catch you."

"We will manage."

Regulus shook his head helplessly. "Always so confident with yourself," he said. "And whose brilliant plan was this?"

"Mine." Sirius grinned.

He snickered. "I should have known." He shivered as a cold gust of wind passed by. He sighed. "It is late and we should get inside. Mother will be up as soon as Dad comes. You know she is waiting for him."

Sirius' grin vanished.

Noise erupted from downstairs. Regulus leaned closer towards his brother. Sirius wrapped an arm around him.

Regulus could barely see anything in the dark cold room. They were hiding in Regulus' room, as they were used to whenever their father got pissed or drunk or in this case, both.

He lay his head on Sirius' shoulder, breathing his scent. "Do you think he will find out that we are here?"

Sirius shook his head. "He will be too busy with her."

Regulus tried to hear what they were talking about, but whatever they were arguing about this time was lost between their shouts. Regulus hoped that Kreacher had the sense to stay away from them, and dreaded what would happen to the elf if any of them called for him.

"Do you think he will..." He paused. He didn't want to say it out loud. It would make it all real.

"No," Sirius answered. The shouting increased. "Maybe. If she doesn't calm down soon."

Regulus looked up. "We need to do something. Stop him."

Sirius let out a bitter laugh. "And how will we do that?"

"I don't know. Tell someone."

"Who? No one cares," he stated. "And she would never want anyone to know anyway. She cares too much about the perfect reputation for this family." He snickered. "Imagine her reaction once she finds out. Or his," he spat the last word. "And he will find out, you and I both know that."

Regulus didn't answer.

Sirius was right, he knew, but that never stopped his mind from going in endless circles on how to fix it, because he needed to. He couldn't just watch as his family fell apart. He hated feeling so helpless, but he didn't know what he could do.

It seemed like it all started all suddenly, but maybe it was always there, just beneath the surface, and he was too young and naive to figure it out in time.

They tried talking to their mother, but it didn't end up well. They always reached out for her, but she never reached back.

Regulus intertwined his fingers into Sirius', holding on tightly, praying that this summer would be over soon. Despite that he wasn't in the same house with his brother and Sirius being constantly surrounded by his friends, he didn't feel the need to hide away there as much as he did in his own home.

A shattering sound and a scream echoed from downstairs. Regulus squeezed his eyes shut. He felt as if something was clawing at his insides, slowly tearing him apart.

"How long will this continue?"

"Until we leave this house," Sirius murmured, as he rubbed his back soothingly. "And we will leave it, Regulus. I will make sure of it."