Chapter Seven
Sirius was grounded for a week. As he spent his days lying on the massive bed, he realized that he hated his cousins. It was hard for a five-year old to hate anyone. Then again, he was old enough to tell that his cousins were truly horrid. Well…Sirius reluctantly supposed that Andromeda was alright. She wasn't ever mean to him. She had also been the one to get their parents when Regulus had been trapped. Then again, she hadn't spoken up when Bellatrix had blamed Sirius. Bellatrix. Sirius truly hated her. For as long as he could remember—which, granted, wasn't very long—she had always been nasty. Sirius liked to pull pranks but Bellatrix was different. Her pranks hurt. And they often led to trouble.
Sirius realized that the one good thing about the wardrobe incident was that they probably wouldn't be visiting Aunt Druella and Uncle Cygnus for a while. He was wrong. Several weeks later, Walburga informed Sirius that he and Regulus would be going for a sleepover.
"But I don't want to!" Sirius immediately whined.
"Hush," Walburga snapped, "You're going. And you'll be on your best behavior."
Sirius heavily sighed and murmured, "Yes, Mother."
"Go pack," Walburga instructed, "And don't forget anything."
Sirius forgot his underwear, socks, pajamas, and toothbrush. It didn't matter. They wouldn't make it to the end of the night. They wouldn't even make it to dinner.
He dragged his bag into the corridor. Regulus was sitting on top of his own bag.
"Did you pack?" Sirius asked, slightly impressed.
"No," Regulus guiltily admitted, "Kreacher did."
Sirius blinked before murmuring, "Wish I'd thought of that."
Regulus didn't laugh. He was worriedly wringing his hands.
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked.
"I'm scared," Regulus whispered.
"Of what?"
Regulus swallowed and murmured, "The wardrobe."
"Don't worry," Sirius assuredly said, "You won't have to go in there."
Regulus didn't look too reassured.
"We'll play outside," Sirius continued, "They have a small garden."
It was a hot day in the middle of August and Sirius was anxious to get out. His brother finally looked relieved. The two staggered downstairs with their bags thumping behind them.
"Ready?" Orion boomed.
"No," Sirius muttered.
Fortunately, their father wasn't listening. He extended his arm and demanded that they take it. They apprehensively did so and Apparated from their foyer to the foyer of their aunt and uncle's home. Sirius gave his brother a kind smile, despite the fact that he was inwardly groaning. It was going to be a long weekend.
After a rather awkward welcome, which involved Regulus ducking behind him as they spotted their cousins, the children finally made their way into the garden. All except Bellatrix, who was recovering from scrofungulus. Sirius privately was glad that she was stuck in the house.
He picked up a twig and thoughtfully twirled it around, as if it was a wand.
Regulus also grabbed a twig and poked Sirius in the arm.
Sirius glanced at him and Regulus boastfully said, "I'll hex you!"
Sirius grinned and cried, "Not if I hex you first."
The two raced each other around, mumbling gibberish and tagging each other.
They eventually collapsed onto the grass, cracking up.
Sirius straightened up as he realized that his cousins had disappeared.
"Up here!" Narcissa called.
She and Andromeda had climbed up a large tree.
"Come on, Reg," Sirius gleefully cried, "Let's join them."
He put his foot on a small knot and climbed onto a branch. Agile and precise, he swiftly made his way up the tree. He could hear Regulus scrambling after him. Sirius finally paused, directly beneath the branch where his cousins were sitting. It was several feet away. They were much larger than him; they had probably reached the branch with little to no effort.
Unfortunately, in order for him to reach it, Sirius would have to jump.
"Sirius," Andromeda uncertainly called, "Be careful!"
Sirius took a deep breath and leapt forward. He caught the branch and gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. He managed to pull himself up, his chest rapidly rising and falling.
"Alright?" Narcissa asked.
"Fine," Sirius wheezed.
He glanced below. Regulus was hanging onto the lower branch like a koala. He finally pulled himself up, looking exhausted.
"Come on!" Sirius excitedly called.
Regulus obediently leapt. Sirius blinked and suddenly Regulus was slipping…falling…screaming…
"REGULUS!"
Sirius watched, numb, as his brother's body hit the ground. Fortunately, he ended up bouncing, like the colorful ball that Uncle Alphard had once given him. He and Regulus had bounced the ball around for hours, giggling as it went up and down. This time, Sirius wasn't giggling. He scrambled down the tree with Andromeda and Narcissa at his heels.
Regulus was sprawled on the ground.
"Reg?" Sirius squeaked, "Are you okay?"
"Regulus," Andromeda urgently asked, "Does anything hurt?"
"Are you alright?" Narcissa demanded.
Sirius' heart thundered as he watched his brother stumble to his feet. Regulus was surprisingly calm. Had Sirius been older, he would have realized that his brother was in shock. And yet, he was only five-years-old…and therefore was quite surprised when Regulus' face became red and pinched. Several tears leaked from his eyes and he abruptly began to cry.
"Oh…" Andromeda gasped.
She was staring at Regulus' hand. He had scraped the palm against a branch. Sirius watched in horror as a small stream of blood trickled towards his fingers.
Regulus also looked at the cut. His eyes became glossy. His mouth hung open and his head bobbed, as if he was trying not to fall asleep.
Sirius reached out and whispered, "Regulus?"
He then screamed as his brother crumpled into a faint.
"MUM!" Andromeda shrieked, "DAD!"
Tears clouded Sirius' vision. He dropped down next to his brother and tightly hugged his limp body. He could hear Regulus' heartbeat. Good. He wasn't…
Sirius didn't even want to think about it. He tightly held onto his brother, his cheeks becoming raw as the tears escalated. What had he done?
oOo
Sirius couldn't stop crying. His entire body shook with sobs. Andromeda had an arm around his shoulders but it did nothing to ease his misery.
The two were sitting on a hard bench in the hospital corridor. The ceiling, walls, and floor were blindingly white. The overhead lights rhythmically buzzed. Healers barked orders and matrons anxiously raced about. Sirius' jaw trembled as he anxiously waited for somebody to talk to him. And yet, nobody gave him a second glance. Andromeda continued her feeble attempt to comfort him. Narcissa was on the floor, nervously biting her nail. Bellatrix had remained at home. Uncle Cyngus and Aunt Druella were with Regulus. Sirius desperately wanted to be with him but the matrons had stated that he wasn't old enough.
"It's alright," Andromeda whispered, "There there."
Sirius continued to weep.
"It's okay, Sirius."
"N…no, it's n…not!" Sirius gasped, "It…it's my f…fault!"
His tears escalated and he buried his face in his hands.
It was his fault. He had told Regulus to jump. His fault. But he didn't know…he didn't know that Regulus was going to fall…it was an accident! Yet, Sirius still felt responsible.
And now, he couldn't even comfort Regulus. He felt so helpless. He wanted to be with his brother. He wanted to comfort him. He wanted to rest his forehead against Regulus' and assure him that everything was going to be alright. He wanted to take the pain away.
"Sirius," Andromeda soothingly whispered, "Please…stop crying."
He couldn't.
"Please," Andromeda repeated, "You have to be brave…be brave for Regulus."
Sirius' chest rose and fell as he gasped for breath. His jaw continued to tremble but he managed to calm himself down. He needed to be brave.
"I know how it feels," Andromeda gently said, "It's hard being the older sibling."
"Isn't Bellatrix older than you?" Sirius asked.
"She is," Andromeda agreed, "But I'm older than Cissy. And when we were younger, she fell out of her high-chair. I was inconsolable."
Narcissa looked up and muttered, "I don't remember that."
"You were too young," Andromeda replied, "Anyway, Sirius…I know how it feels. The worst feeling in the world is when your sibling is hurt and you can't do anything about it."
Sirius nodded in agreement. Then again, maybe he could do something. He wiped his eyes on the back of his arm and leapt to his feet. He spotted a Healer standing next to the water-cooler and remembered what his father always said about money. It could get you anywhere.
Sirius raced over and cried, "Excuse me!"
The Healer gave a start and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Sirius replied, "My brother isn't."
"Ah."
"Can you do me a favor?" Sirius asked, "I don't have a lot of money. I have twenty-two galleons and seven sickles. I also have over fifty chocolate frog cards. Kreacher counted them for me the other day. You can have all of them…err…except Circe. I like her."
The Healer chuckled and said, "Go sit down. Your brother should be fine."
"'Should be'?" Sirius worriedly repeated.
"Go on."
Sirius groaned and muttered, "Fine. I'll give you Circe. Just fix my brother."
"Please, sit down."
Sirius sighed and retreated to the bench. Andromeda patted his arm.
"WHERE'S MY SON?"
His mother stormed up the corridor, practically breathing fire. His father marched after her, looking dangerous. Next to him, Andromeda tensed.
"M…Mother," Sirius croaked, "F…Father…"
And suddenly, he was crying again.
His father grabbed his elbow and pulled him to his feet.
Sirius' tears escalated as Orion growled, "What happened?"
"I…I…I'm sorry," Sirius blubbered, "H…he…f…fell…f…from…a…t…t…tree."
Sirius broke off, frenziedly weeping.
"HE FELL?" Walburga shrieked, "HOW DID HE FALL?"
Sirius was too hysterical to answer.
"Aunt Walburga," Andromeda spoke up, "It was an accident!"
"HOW DID MY SON FALL?"
Sirius weakly stammered. His father was still tightly holding onto his arm.
"It was you," Orion coldly said, "Wasn't it?"
"I…I…I'm…s….s…"
"You caused your brother to fall."
"I…I…I'm sorry," Sirius blubbered, "I'm so sorry!"
His mother's hand abruptly came down and struck his cheek.
"AUNT WALBURGA!" Andromeda shrieked.
Sirius felt as though his legs were made from jelly. He crumpled against the bench, touching his stinging cheek. His tears continued to spill.
"What is going on?"
The Healer was racing towards them.
Sirius' mother drew herself to the fullest height before screaming, "MY NAME IS WALBURGA BLACK AND I DEMAND TO KNOW WHERE MY SON IS!"
Sirius cringed at his mother's harsh tone.
The Healer stopped, caught off guard, before stammering, "Ah…B…Black, Regulus?"
"That is correct," Orion hissed, "Where is he?"
The Healer swallowed and murmured, "I'm afraid that you cannot see him right now. We need to perform further evaluations."
"AND WHO ARE YOU TO REFUSE ME TO SEE MY SON?"
The Healer fumbled and replied, "I am Healer Jones. Your son has some injuries that appear to be unexplained. We are conducting a further investigation."
"Unexplained injuries?" Orion furiously repeated.
Walburga's eyes were blazing green as she shrieked, "Are you insinuating that we are abusing our son?"
"It's just a formality," Healer Jones explained.
"I have never touched my son!" Walburga screeched.
Sirius noticed that the Healer's eyes briefly flickered towards him. A woman had appeared at Healer Jones' side.
She gave Sirius a warm smile and said, "Would you mind coming with me, dear?"
"Who are you?" Sirius whispered.
"My name is Rachel Benson."
"Can you take me to my brother?" Sirius desperately asked.
"Eventually," Mrs. Benson promised, "But first, I want to talk to you."
She held out her hand.
"Sirius," Orion growled, "Don't you dare—"
Sirius hesitated. He really wanted to see his brother. And so, he apprehensively took her hand. She took him down the corridor and they entered a small office.
Sirius looked around, expecting to see Regulus. Unfortunately, the room was empty.
"Sit down, dear."
Sirius sat at one side of the desk and she sat on the other.
"I'm an official from the Ministry for Magic," Mrs. Benson explained, "I just want to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"
Sirius frowned and mumbled, "I suppose."
He really wanted to see Regulus.
"Just to be clear," Mrs. Benson declared, glancing a chart, "Your name is Sirius Orion Black? Your birthday was just last week—April 22nd? You live at 12 Grimmauld Place?"
Sirius nodded.
"Would you like a drink?" Mrs. Benson cheerfully asked.
Sirius hesitated before whispering, "Do you have any pumpkin juice?"
"Sure!"
She waved her wand and a glass appeared on the desk. After a questioning glance, Sirius picked it up and began to sip.
"How's your cheek, dear?"
"It's okay," Sirius mumbled, reflexively touching it.
"Has your mother ever hurt you before?"
Sirius flushed and stared at the rug. He had certainly been punished before. However, his mother didn't usually prefer physical punishments. She would normally scream at him and send him to his room. That was punishment enough.
Sirius' flush intensified as he remembered her once saying that he should never trust any official from the Ministry. They were all a bunch of traitorous hacks.
"No, ma'am," Sirius replied.
She stared at him for a long minute before saying, "Are you sure, dear?"
"I'm sure," Sirius firmly said, "Can I see my brother?"
"Just a few more questions—"
"I want to see Regulus," Sirius groaned.
He was tired, hungry, scared, and miserable.
"The Healers are finishing their investigation," Mrs. Benson patiently said, "And then you can see him."
Sirius groaned and brought his knees to his chest.
"Just a few more questions, Sirius."
"No."
"Come now, just a few more…"
"No!" Sirius groaned.
He buried his face in his hands and began to cry once more.
"Sirius?"
"I'm not answering any more questions!" Sirius blurted out.
"Do you want some more pumpkin juice?" Mrs. Benson coaxingly asked, "Or perhaps some candy? I have some chocolate frogs in my bag?"
"No," Sirius whined, "I don't want pumpkin juice and I don't want candy and I don't want to answer any more questions!"
"Well then, what do you want?"
Sirius sniffed before whispering, "I want Regulus."
Author's Note: If you've ever had a sibling who was sick or injured, then you know exactly how Sirius feels and how Andromeda felt. It is the worst feeling in the world.