Chapter Thirty-Eight
"Regulus, come on!"
Both Sirius and Regulus jumped at the booming voice.
Sirius looked past his brother and saw that his friends—Avery and Mulciber—were standing at the edge of the corridor. Sirius immediately knew that they had the mark as well.
"We're leaving this school," Avery boomed.
"Good riddance," Mulciber added, spitting on the floor.
Sirius was slowly beginning to realize the severity of the situation.
He glanced back at Regulus and saw, for the first time, not his brother but a Death Eater.
A Death Eater that was backing away, to join his fellow soldiers.
Death Eaters were at Hogwarts.
And for the first time, Sirius truly began to understand the most upsetting part about this entire ordeal. For months, the Marauders had been talking about joining Dumbledore's secret army—the Order of the Phoenix. Even the Headmaster had said that four spots had been reserved for them. In just a few weeks, upon their graduation, they would spend their days fighting Death Eaters. Only now, it looked like the wait had been significantly shortened. And even worse, instead of a faceless enemy, he was looking at his brother.
The seconds ticked by, each one more tense than the last.
His eyes darted around. The other Marauders had stayed but a majority of the crowd had dispersed at James' earlier shout. Good, Sirius thought. Less people to get hurt.
"What do we do?" Remus whispered.
"James," Sirius pointedly said, "Isn't Mr. Potter an Auror?"
James glanced at Peter and jerked his head, silently ordering Peter to contact him. The plump boy raced off to the nearest classroom, pulling out a bag of Floo Powder.
Regulus continued to slowly back away.
"Regulus," Sirius quietly said, stepping towards him, "Listen to me…I don't want to hurt you…I can help…"
"Come on!" Avery roared.
He slashed his wand and Sirius screamed as he was blinded. From the shouts of his friends, he deduced that James and Remus were hit with the jinx as well.
He heard Regulus running away.
He shouted his brother's name, to no avail.
Then, a new set of footsteps.
"What's going on?" Professor McGonagall shrieked.
"Death Eaters," Sirius gasped, rubbing his eye, "They're Death Eaters. Stop them!"
"What…what do you mean?"
"THEY'RE BLOODY DEATH EATERS!" Sirius roared.
His vision cleared in time to see Regulus sprint around the corner. Professor McGonagall had lifted her wand, though she had frozen at the thought of hexing one of her pupils.
"You can't hex him, can you?" Sirius quietly said, straightening up.
Professor McGonagall's lack of an answer was enough.
"Yeah," Sirius muttered, "That's what I told myself, too."
Without warning, he grabbed her wand and raced after his brother.
The Marauders ran behind him, ready to apprehend the Death Eaters.
They reached a fork in the corridor. Avery and Mulciber ran left and Regulus turned into the courtyard.
Sirius raced in after him as Regulus ran towards the opposite doorway. Sirius slashed the wand and flames leapt up in said doorway. Regulus screeched to a halt, staggering slightly. He turned, his eyes widening in shock.
"Regulus, listen to me," Sirius softly said, "Let me help you…"
He tried to make his voice as gentle as possible as he said, "I know that this isn't what you want. I know that you were scared and you made a mistake. You can still fix it."
"I can't exactly take the mark off with water," Regulus spat.
"Then, we'll run away," Sirius coaxingly said, "You and I. You don't have to go back to Voldemort. We can start a new life. Together. I'll protect you…just like I always have."
Regulus hesitated before croaking, "No! Don't you see? It's too late!"
Sirius took a deep breath before reluctantly nodding.
He slashed his wand again and a roaring flame appeared behind him, in the doorway that he had just entered. He moved his arms and both fires spread around the perimeter of the courtyard, eventually colliding with each other. There was no escape.
On the other side of the fire, James roared, "Sirius!"
"I've got this, mate," Sirius called back.
He took a deep breath and added, "We've been training for this for years."
Regulus raised his eyebrows and lifted his wand. Sirius tensed but he saw that his brother was merely burning a line in the ground. Sirius' shoulders sagged and he stepped towards it. Regulus did the same and the two bowed.
"One," Regulus whispered.
"Two," Sirius murmured.
They both cried, "Three."
Unlike the wretched duels in their confined attic, Sirius and Regulus both gave everything that they had. Gargoyles and stone pillars smashed around them as they sent hexes and jinxes back and forth. They would dive to the ground, only to leap up and attack once more.
Adrenaline fueled them, along with a great deal of anger.
Oddly enough, neither one of them brought up their defensive charge. They didn't need them. Their hexes were powerful and merciless. Even though neither one was hit, they could feel the power as the spells whizzed past them, missing them by mere inches.
Sirius finally crouched down, catching his breath. He could hear shouts and the sounds of running footsteps. The Aurors had arrived. They would end this.
Sirius hesitated.
They would take Regulus to Azkaban.
Or worse.
He thought back to one of the many lessons that he had with his parents. His mother had screeched that Aurors had been given the ability to use the Unforgivable Curses. Knowing his parents, it had probably been all lies. Just like everything else.
Still…
He couldn't take that chance.
Sirius straightened up and faced his brother.
Regulus raised his wand and Sirius raised his own.
He abruptly stomped his foot twice.
A cue.
Time seemed to slow down.
He saw Regulus' eyes widen as his brother understood the gesture. His mouth twitched and for a fleeting second, it looked like he was about to smile.
Sirius raised his wand and roared, "STUPEFY!"
His brother was ready and shrieked, "Protego!"
The spell rebounded and Sirius was thrown into darkness.
A few moments later, he felt somebody tap his cheek.
He croaked Regulus' name, only to realize that it was a different brother.
James was kneeling next to him, his face shining with worry.
"Did he get away?" Sirius whispered.
James nodded and helped him to his feet. The flames had diminished. Several Aurors and professors were inspecting the damage.
"They all did," James mumbled, "Avery and Mulciber conjured a Portkey. We tried to stop them but they were too fast."
"And Regulus?" Sirius urgently asked.
"He summoned his broom and flew away," James mumbled, "As soon as he was on the outskirts of the Hogwarts boundaries, he Apparated."
Sirius tried not to show his relief.
"Sirius, what happened?" James quietly asked.
Sirius hesitated and simply said, "I suppose he just…overpowered me."
James stared at him for a moment before skeptically saying, "Yeah…"
Sirius returned the long look, daring him to say anything else.
Finally, James whispered, "I know that you've spent your entire life protecting him. But you can't…you can't keep doing that!"
"Why not?" Sirius calmly replied, "He's my brother."
"Sirius, he's a Death Eater."
Sirius took a deep breath and mumbled, "I know…but he's still my brother."
Author's Note: So, obviously a lot of emotion in the last three chapters. And a lot of you are probably wondering why Sirius and Regulus seem to be so inconsistent, as far as giving and receiving help goes. One minute, Sirius is refusing to help, the next he's pleading with Regulus to let him help. One minute, Regulus is begging for help, the next he's refusing it. I promise that I'm not bad at continuity! I wrote it this way on purpose. Why? Because they are confused and emotional and caught between two sides. On the one hand, no, Sirius doesn't want to help. He feels as though he's spent his entire life helping Regulus, only for Regulus to end up becoming a Death Eater, the very thing that he's supposed to be fighting in a few weeks. But on the other hand, Regulus is his brother. Above all else, Reg is his brother. And so, of course Sirius will try to help. Meanwhile, Regulus is caught between wanting help and realizing that it's too late. Much like Draco, he doesn't know what is right and what is wrong and he ends up making a lot of bad mistakes because of it. He may regret those mistakes but he knows that it's too late to undo them. The damage has been done. Speaking of that parallel, last night, I thought of a great idea for an A/U featuring Regulus visiting Draco so keep an eye out for that! I'm also in the process of writing a much happier (I promise!) A/U where the Potters adopt Sirius and Regulus at an early age. But until then…we have a few hard chapters coming up. The story will have a bittersweet ending…but…it's still going to be pretty bitter. Just think, it started off with Sirius curled up next to his brother in his crib as they listen to a children's story. And now…