Upside Down Mirror: The Man-Who-Lived - Patience

"It's as if I'm facing a Bogart," Slughorn muttered to nobody but himself.

Pomfrey said something from where she bustled about putting away the ingredients. "I actually know what you mean." Slughorn turned his head in response. "...seeing one of the students here like this.

Slughorn turned his attention back to the young man in the bed so he might get a good look at Regulus. He felt slightly alarmed at the knowledge Regulus was paler than when he'd met the boy his first year, but he remembered how the opportunities spent outside helped bring color to the boy's features over the years, particularly after joining the Quidditch team.

He'd encouraged the endeavor, having watched the silver-grey eyes of a small boy grow in size while watching his older brother and Potter playing keeper for the Gryffindor team, yet also knowing joining the team would push Regulus to socialize with the others in his house more, although he remained quiet and shy with those in his peer group.

The bright smile Slughorn saw on the child's face slowly over the years became replaced with a rather haunted look, yet Quidditch seemed like the one place the smile remained. Quidditch was also the one thing Regulus chose for himself, as Slughorn simply encouraged the boy to pursue something he'd fallen in love with and at least see if he enjoyed playing as much as he enjoyed watching.

"Let's get this potion into the boy and hope for the best," Slughorn muttered.

"Yes." Pomfrey walked over and gently lifted their patient's head while Slufhorn approached with the first potion they planned on administering. When he got closer, he saw Regulus looking at him through half-lidded eyes which seemed slightly aware he was there.

For a moment, he froze.

Shaking his head, he stepped closer and lifted the potion to the young man's lips. The silver-grey eyes rolled backward, a sign another seizure was beginning to start. "As I thought." Slughorn let out a sigh. "The anti-seizure potion was the best place to start."

Slughorn waited until the seizure stopped before gently tipping the potion into his mouth. He watched a small portion of the potion drip from the corner of the boy's mouth, but thankfully Regulus swallowed rather than gagging on the concoction, so he went and fetched the second one. Again, Regulus reacted to the potion being brought to his lips, yet this time around he only twitched a few times.

When they were finished, Slughorn took the time to wipe away some of the potions along with a lock of black hair. Letting out a sigh, he pulled over a chair, completely prepared for a long haul, only to notice the House Elf watching. "Thank you."

"Kreacher was only doing his duty to Master Regulus."

"Well, you're a good House Elf then, aren't you?"

"Yes. Kreacher is..." The House Elf stopped. "Kreacher disobeyed an order. Now that Master Regulus is taken care of, he must punish himself as he said he would."

Much to Slughorn's dismay, the creature started banging his head on the wall, which resulted in the sound of thunderous feet coming in the direction of the room and the door slamming open. "What the bloody hell is that House Elf doing?"

"He's..." Pomfrey flinched. "He said something about punishing himself because he disobeyed an order."

"What bloody order did you disobey, you bloody..."

"Kreacher saved Master Regulus after Master Regulus told him not to," Kreacher returned, making Slughorn's stomach churned.

"Stop!" Sirius bellowed. "Stop punishing yourself now!"

Kreacher stopped, glaring at Sirius. Slughorn cleared his voice. "Well, if I know Regulus as I do, he wouldn't want you to punish yourself for that, but shouldn't you at least wait until he wakes and hears what he has to say on the matter."

The House Elf pulled away from the wall. "That is reasonable, Kreacher thinks."

"You think? You don't..." Sirius snapped. "No. The one time you do think for yourself, it's the very reason my brother is alive, isn't it? You..." Sirius hesitated. "You did a good job Kreacher."

"Kreacher doesn't want praise from the filthy runaway."

"Yes, well, I'm not the only one who's glad he's alive am I, but I think you know who I'm talking about."

"Mistress and Master Orion," the House Elf muttered.

"Well, the only person who's allowed to punish you or order you to punish yourself for disobeying Regulus is Regulus himself," Sirius muttered. "And I doubt that idiot would."

"Kreacher needs to tell Mistress and Master Orion."

"Stop!" Sirius' voice strained. "I gave you an order..."

"Not to tell them where you went, but you said nothing about telling them that he's been taken care of, that Master Regulus is recovering."

"That..."

"It would stop them from going around looking for him, but..." Slughorn took a deep breath, turning his attention away from the rapscallion oldest Black sibling to the House Elf. "You might want to tell them to be careful what they say to anyone if they want their son to remain alive. Only those they feel they can trust."

"Yes. Yes of course." With that, Kreacher disappeared from the room.

"Thank goodness he's gone," Sirius muttered. "I hate the damn thing."

"Come now..."

"Did they tell you why Regulus decided to switch sides all of a sudden and nearly get himself killed?" Sirius stated, not paying any attention to the hissing sound coming out of Slughorn's mouth from hearing confirmation of what he didn't want to be confirmed. "He did it for that damn House Elf!"

"The House Elf?" Slughorn turned so he could get a good look at Regulus. "That's just like him, isn't it?"

"That..."

Slughorn stood up, deciding to shift himself to Regulus' left side, pulling a different chair up and taking the boy's left arm, knowing Pomfrey could now start to treat the injuries, so if Regulus woke up the boy might realize just how Slughorn felt. He turned to look at Sirius, who had a different coloring to his silver eyes. "It shouldn't matter why he turned, but instead it should matter the decision he's made, right?"

"That..."

Pomfrey sighed. "Look. I know that you're upset. He is your younger brother after all, but I still need to change the bandages and I'd prefer not to have someone in here who will rile up my patient if he were to waken. That includes House Elves and overprotective older brothers. Do you understand?"