Disclaimer: Every single character in this story, except for the OCs I might make up, belongs to JK Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter.
A man and his closest friend, be it a person, an animal or a house-elf, share something extremely special. They share an understanding. They share a link. They share a connection. All of which grows and flourishes over time as the two begin to trust each other. They form a co-dependence that increases in strength as they face trials together. Always together, be it in mind, or in heart, they are always together.
Regulus grimaced as he downed the last, cold dregs of his tea. He took a deep breath and continued.
"Kreacher flew into a panic. He asked if there was anything I could do, but there wasn't. I wasn't nearly powerful enough or skilled in the Dark Arts to undo or battle the wretched Mark. I told Kreacher to leave me to die. He shouldn't have to watch me; it would be far too painful, for us both. I remember he looked at me in the most peculiar way, almost fondly, but with a hint of exasperation, as if I had missed out on something important. Then he sat down next to me and said, "If Master Reggie needs my help, he must simply ask" and continued wiping my head with a towel. Honestly Sirius, it was one of the strangest moments in my life."
Sirius huffed and murmured, "I'll say."
"However, at that moment, the pain became unbearable, and I cried out for Kreacher to make the pain go away. I couldn't take it any more. I desperately thought of ways to cure myself, but I knew it was hopeless. I just wanted it to end, even if it meant begging Kreacher to kill me. So I asked for his help. To this day, I have no idea what he did, but he just laid his little hand on my head and muttered something in a language I have never heard. Everything began to glow a bright green, and it eventually grew so bright that I had to shut my eyes. Even then, from behind my eyelids, I could see the glow. A small tendril of feeling started travelling down from between my eyes, almost like a piece of string was being pulled through my body. This curious sensation travelled down my nose, past my neck and split of into multiple little strings that slowly began travelling to the furthest points of my body. From the tips of my fingers to the bottom of my toes. And then it stopped. All feeling had left my body. I tried to move, but nothing happened. I tried to speak, but my jaw wouldn't open. I felt trapped, locked in my own body. I began to panic, until a creak of a voice said "Master, open your eyes". So I opened them. Instantly, a rush of green light flowed out of my eyes, my mouth flopped open and light flowed from there as well. I was lifted up of the bed; wind was rushing throughout the room, throwing everything around. An incredible feeling of bliss filled me and it was at this point that it all stopped. I went crashing down into the bed, but by the time I landed, I was already gone."
Regulus stopped, waiting for Sirius to say something.
"Bloody hell" was all Sirius could say.
Regulus grinned at his dumbstruck older brother.
"I know right? Pretty fucking mental."
"So what happened next?"
"Well…I woke up a few days later and the pain was gone. There wasn't even a sting. And when I looked down, the mark had faded to a grayish color, almost as if I had gotten it 10 years ago. When I finally found Kreacher and asked him what he'd done, he just smiled and told me he'd simply fixed me, like all I'd needed was a spare part or something. He told me that the Mark still worked, but I was in control of it, rather than the other way round. I could feel if the Dark Lord was summoning me, but he couldn't track me with it or kill me with it. It was no longer tied to my soul. It was like that Charm Mother had on the necklaces she used to put around our necks. The ones that burned like hell when it was time to come in for dinner. What was it called again? Something with a P."
"Protean. It was a Protean Charm"
"That's the one!" Regulus exclaimed, "So yea, it was basically like that."
"And I'm guessing the Dark Nutter found out?"
"Yes, and in the worst possible way too. I had gone by unnoticed for the next few weeks, doing small missions here and there, mostly gathering information. I was glad to only be a grunt; I didn't have it in me to kill, maim and torture. I was disappointed that I wasn't learning anything from him though. I mean, that was the whole reason why I joined him; I wanted to learn dark and forbidden magic. The allure was irresistible. So when he tasked me with a secret mission to go and retrieve something very precious from its hiding place, I instantly agreed. Not that I had a choice mind you, but I like to think that I decided to take the mission on my own terms. I had to go to an old forest in Romania, and look for a tree that was black, withered and dead. In the small hollow of the tree, I found it. An egg. A pitch black, slimy and leathery egg."
"10 Galleons it was a snake egg!"
"Well, whatever it was, when I gave it to him he praised me and told me to leave. So I did. I came back the next day, as I usually did, and met Snape. We were both spies so we would meet up periodically in the day and converse about the recent happenings. However today, he just looked at me in horror and asked me how I was still alive, which, trust me, is never a good thing to hear. Snape told me that after I had left yesterday, the Dark Lord had informed Snape of my death at the hands of the Mark. He'd wanted anything to do with that egg kept a secret, so he must have wanted me dead. So there I was, in his bloody Manor, surrounded by his bloody followers, all of which thought I was dead because of treachery. And then the Mark flared up and I knew that he knew I was still alive. He instantly appeared in the room and sent some sort of spell straight at my head, which hurt like hell and made me go temporarily blind and mute. I was taken to the dungeons and tortured for what felt like years. He would come down every once in a while to question me, asking how I had rid myself of the Marks influence. I kept telling him, I didn't know, and that was the truth. He tried everything. Spells that brought on such excruciating pain that I'm surprised I'm still sane. He broke my bones, melted my skin, pulled out my teeth and nails, everything. When he tried Veritaserum he got the same response. This continued for roughly a week. Then, one night, someone came into my cell and woke me up. It was Snape. He healed me as best as he could and handed me a key, telling me to wait for my moment. The next day, an explosion rocked the Manor, and I ran. I had barely made it outside the gates when an alarm went off, and I knew then that I was to be hunted. I hid out in forests for the next few weeks, keeping my magic usage to a bare minimum. I kept away from any large towns or cities, lived secretly in barns or any sort of shelter I could find, waiting for the right moment to run for help."
"So then I guess you went looking for Pete?"
"Yea, I finally managed to track Pettigrew to an ale house in Dublin through asking people if they had seen anyone with that ridiculous haircut of his. I told him this exact story, and asked him where you were."
"And here you are. How do you know that they wont track you here?"
"I don't. But you were the only person I could think of that could help me. He thinks I have somehow found a way to prevent the Mark from controlling me, so he perceives me as a very, very large threat. To him, I am the beginning of a potential mutiny. If his followers are not loyal on pain of death, he believes that they would not be loyal at all, and turn against him. He fears me, and this is why he is determined to take my life. He will only stop hunting me till my desiccated corpse lies in front of him. I need you Sirius. I need your help."
Sirius got up and walked towards the fireplace. As they were talking the fire had died to a low glow. He jabbed a finger at it and it flared up, causing sparks to fly. He stood there for a few minutes, simply staring into the flames while Regulus nervously fidgeted on the couch. He turned around and regarded his brother, a faint smile on his lips.
This whole situation reminded him of life in Grimmauld Palace. The two of them causing trouble together, but when it came to face their Mothers wrath, Siri would always protect Reg. However, in this situation right now, the stakes were a lot higher than a few crucios here and there. Sirius gave his brother one last look and turned back to the fire.
"I'll see what I can do."
AN: Thank you for reading.