TRIGGER WARNINGS: domestic abuse, abusive relationships, mentions of suicide and attempted suicide, mentions of rape, and probably a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember. Please don't read this if any of these things are triggers.

Before anyone reads on, I want to say that I have never been in an abusive relationship, nor have I ever seen anyone come out of an abusive relationship that was this bad. I apologise profusely if you felt I have poorly depicted this but I took narrative license (if that's what it's called) and created a story within my mind. Please don't read on if you think that I shouldn't be writing this and think that I have done an injustice to the struggle that people who come out of toxic/abusive relationships face. I also want to say that if you are struggling with any of this please reach out to someone.

Disclaimer: what you recognise almost definitely belongs to JK Rowling, Before You Go is Lewis Capaldi's

Please review and I hope you like it

Four months later, while I'm lounging around the flat, my phone rings. It's an unknown number, one I don't recognise at all – not even striking the very edges of my memory. 'Hello?'

'Is this James Potter?'

'Yes, it is.'

'Mr Potter, we believe you live with a Mr Sirius Black.'

'That's right.' I get up, wandering around the flat to try and find Padfoot.

'We've been trying to reach him, but I'm afraid that we don't have the correct contact details.'

'Why are you trying to reach Sirius?' I push open the door to his room. He's lying on his bed, his phone halfway across the room. The screen flickers on, revealing about three hundred missed calls.

'Earlier this morning, his brother – Regulus Black – was admitted into the hospital. He had suffered a near-fatal gunshot wound. We believe it was attempted suicide.'

Sirius glances up at me, a smile dropping off his face as he sees the expression on mine. 'What?'

'One second,' I say to the receptionist on the other end of the phone and pull it away from my face. 'Have you been getting calls?'

Sirius's eyes darken. 'From Regulus.'

'You didn't pick up?'

'It was Reg.' The answer would have been simple enough yesterday. Today, it breaks down.

'Regulus is in the hospital,' I say quietly.

Sirius shoots upright, fear clouding his face. 'What have I done?'

I extend my phone. Quietly, I say, 'They think he shot himself, Sirius.'

Sirius – the one who's always seemed so heartless – looks close to tears. He snatches the phone off me, apologising profusely and demanding to know what's going on. Knowing what to do next, I grab my keys off the table, knocking on Remus's door and quickly letting him know what's going on. Concern flashes through Moony's eyes, but he nods and agrees to tell the others.

Walking into the living room, I see Sirius pacing, hastily wiping his eyes every five seconds. 'Pads.' I get his attention, hold up my keys and gesture towards the door. Relief flickers through his eyes, and my best friend is out the door in a heartbeat. I have to run to catch up with him. He flies down the stairs, every step punctuated by a BANG as his feet hit metal.

Traffic seems to hate us. We hit every red light on the way, and Padfoot swears violently at every single one. Halfway there, the phone call ends, and I'm left with a stressful, guilty Sirius, who's desperate to reach his little brother.

I've barely parked before he's out of the car and running towards the entrance. Swiftly, I lock the car and head after him, shouting for him to wait. I don't know whether his parents are there, and – if they are – I know I should be there for the confrontation.

'My brother is here,' Sirius is saying desperately to the receptionist as I reach him, 'Please. My brother.'

'Regulus Black,' I explain to the poor lady, 'This is his brother: Sirius Black.'

'Oh.' Sympathy fills the woman's blue eyes. 'He's in Room 12.'

Sirius doesn't even try to thank the receptionist before storming away. I do it for him and follow. A doctor is standing outside Room 12, muttering to herself as she jots something down on a board. As Sirius strides towards her, she looks up. I jog to catch up, placing a reassuring (and restraining) hand on my brother's shoulder.

'Sirius Black?' the doctor asks. Her greying blonde hair is tied back into a ponytail, only a few strands falling into her eyes. Her eyes fix on Sirius with a soft sternness that could never be learnt.

'Yeah, that's me.'

'Doctor Pomfrey,' the woman says, extending a hand.

'Is Reg gonna be okay?' Sirius demands, shaking the hand with slightly too much aggression.

'He survived,' Doctor Pomfrey says bluntly, 'but he'll need counselling and lots of rest.'

Sirius releases a breath loudly, his hands trembling by his side. 'Thank you, Doctor.'

'You are very welcome. Just to let you know, we tried to call your parents,' Pomfrey discloses, 'but they refused to come.'

'Don't like Reggie anymore, huh?' It's a poor attempt at a joke… but at least Pads is trying.

Doctor Pomfrey raises a brow, but simply says, 'Regulus is not awake just yet, but you can go in and sit with him – if you want.'

Sirius glances back at me. 'I'll be fine, mate, go.'

'You're sure?'

A faint resemblance of his signature smirk flashes across his face, 'Positive. Everything's peachy.'

'Don't ever say that again.' I exchange another quick smile with him, nod at the doctor and head out of the hospital, glad to be leaving that place that seems to smell of death. You can almost see Death sneaking around, pouncing behind curtains to snatch people away and leave their families alone. (There goes that poetic side of me again. I really need to suppress that.)

The car ride home is quiet. I shove on the radio, just for some noise. Lewis Capaldi's Before You Go is playing. It's so ironic I have to snort out a laugh. A perfect ending to this wonderful expedition.

All of our friends are sitting in the living room when I walk into the house. Remus shoots off his chair the moment I come in. 'Where's Sirius?'

'With his brother. I don't know when he'll be back.'

'We can take turns being with Padfoot and taking him food,' Marley suggests, her face betraying how desperate she is to help. Everyone else looks just as despairing. Please, their faces seem to say Please say we can help.

'Sounds good,' I agree, 'and we can help Regulus as well.' I look around for the confirmations. 'If he needs a place to stay -'

'I'll move over to Mary and Dorcas's, and he can live here,' Marley interrupts, 'That's the way it'll work.'

'Really?'

'Yes, really.' Marley smiles, 'He's Sirius's brother: we can't do anything else but help and support him.'

And that's the decision made. Simples. As long as Regulus agrees… that's going to be the complicated bit.

Sirius – when Regulus is given the all-clear – tackles the task. I stand at the edge of the room, car waiting in the carpark, watching carefully as he attempts to persuade his brother. 'Reg,' Padfoot begins, 'you need a place to stay.'

Regulus eyes his brother suspiciously. 'I am well aware of that.' His grey eyes – identical to Sirius's – narrow. Although he's now in therapy and seeing a counsellor, Regulus seems to think he can run the world (or at least that's the act he puts on. It's the same act Sirius once displayed).

'We have a spare bedroom.'

It takes ten seconds before Regulus's hesitant answer comes through: 'You want me?'

A small smile flickers across Sirius's face. 'Surprise.' He nudges Regulus fondly, 'You're my brother, Reggie, of course we want you.'

Disbelief spreads across Regulus's face but he nods, agreeing to the proposition. Blinking in surprise, I pull out my phone and shoot a message to the group chat. Mare replies within seconds, the usual insult just making me grin.

'Ready to go?' Doctor Pomfrey stands in the doorway, eyes darting between the two brothers. Her usual board is clutched in her hands, and she holds it out to be signed.

'Yeah,' Regulus replies, scrawling down his signature.

'Your therapist will see you every -'

'Every Tuesday and Saturday,' he completes, giving a wry smile. I can't tell whether it's forced or real.

Doctor Pomfrey seems satisfied as she nods once, saying, 'I hope never to see you again, Mr Black.' She turns to walk away then pauses, 'That was meant to be a good thing. I apologise if that didn't come out right.'

'It's fine. We took it the right way,' Padfoot assures her. She nods once and leaves. Pads turns back to Regulus. 'Up.'

Rolling his eyes, Regulus does as commanded. The two of them follow me out of the hospital and towards the car. They snipe at each other as they walk – the usual brotherly things. At least, I assume it is (it's what the Marauders do anyway).

The welcome party at the flat is… quite something. Marley's clearly gotten to the paint, banners and just everything humanly possible that could be used to decorate the apartment. I hardly recognise the living room. Regulus almost faints when he walks in.

There's a huge banner across the room, displaying the words "WELCOME, REGULUS!" and bunting practically covers the ceiling. Balloons block the path in – some balloons reading "Happy Birthday", others saying "It's a boy!" or "50th Anniversary". As soon as the door is opened, Marley and Mare release a thousand streamers; Dorcas, Alice, Frank, and Remus look on in agony.

'What in Merlin's name is going on?' Sirius shouts over Marls and Mary's cheering.

Remus groans. 'Marley wanted to throw a "fabulous welcome". It went wrong.'

'It did not go wrong!' Marley protests, picking up a pillow from the sofa and chucking it across the room. Remus snatches it out of the air and hurls it back towards her. Just like that, a pillow fight ensues.

I duck a pillow thrown by Mare then lunge to grab it before Dorcas can get her hands on it. We reach it at the same time and a tug of war begins. My glasses slip down my face as I pull backwards, almost falling on my butt. Dorcas grimaces as she fights to gain control. But this is my cushion, and I will fight for it with my life. She's facing a master at this. I wait until she looks slightly off-balance, then jerk the pillow, tumbling backwards as I do. However, she's let go of the pillow, and my master plan is complete.

Springing back up, I begin to pummel Dorcas with the cushion, demanding, 'Surrender!'

Underneath the pillow, Dorcas squeals in indignation, trying desperately to get away. 'Prongs!' she cries, her voice slightly muffled.

'Surrender, Dorcas!'

She screams once, curling up tighter in a protective ball. 'I yield! I yield!'

'Yes!' I release her, grinning at the sight of her dishevelled hair and glare. 'What was that again?'

Emitting a shriek, Dorcas pounces, tackling me to the floor and desperately trying to get the pillow from me. 'Give. Me. The. Pillow. Prongs.'

'Never!' I screech, 'Sirius! Remus! Save me!'

Answering my call, Dorcas is pulled off me and a pale hand is offered. Regulus rolls his eyes, pulling me up. 'Is this all you guys do?'

I grin. 'This and lounging around watching films.'

He cracks a smile. 'Sounds perfect.' Suddenly, he yanks the pillow from my hands – my sweet, innocent hands – and spins it just to show off his new weapon.

Eyes widening, I take a running vault over the sofa, falling onto a squealing Marlene. 'Get off me!' she squawks, shoving me away. Her blue hair is chaos, spiking up and creating the impression of bed hair. 'Merlin, you're heavy,' she complains the moment I roll onto the floor, 'I feel like I can't breathe anymore.'

'Rude.'

Marls props herself on her elbows, looking over at me with raised brows. 'James,' she ducks a flying pillow, 'you go to the gym at least three times a week. You're stinking heavy.'

'"Stinking heavy"?'

'Oh, shut it.'

'I would but – Ow!' In my enjoyment of Marley's slipup, I completely missed seeing Padfoot's chucked pillow, and it hits me on the side of the head, knocking off my glasses. 'PAUSE!' I yell over the noise. Unfortunately, because I'm no longer wearing my glasses, I can't see whether anyone listens.

'What, Prongs?' Remus asks (at least, I think it's Remus. The blurriness resembles him slightly. Oh, and I know his voice but that's totally beside the point).

'Glasses.'

'Got them.' Someone pushes the glasses onto my face, and the world clears once again. I smile at Alice in thanks.

She grins, mischief twinkling in her eyes. 'You're welcome, Jamsie.'

I narrow my eyes. 'Alice?'

Laughing, she reveals a cushion from behind her back. Without waiting for my cry for help or mercy, she launches it at me, grabs it and hits me again. 'Yield!'

I'm about to surrender when the hitting stops. Opening my eyes, I see Alice held tightly by Frank. She's yelping in indignation in between laughs. Frank, ever the devoted boyfriend, is kissing her cheek whenever it's close enough.

Sirius gags in the corner. 'I call end of the fight to get away from these two lovebirds.'

'Yeah, get a room!' Mary calls.

Frank pulls away from Alice just long enough to blow a raspberry. 'Shove off, all of you. Just because we're in love, and you're all loners.'

Everyone but Alice boos. 'You shove off!' Dorcas retorts.

I glance up to see Regulus's reaction. A small smile is inching across his face as he watches the chaos. In that moment, I have a feeling he's going to be okay. He might have been suffocated where he was, but here… here we're going to work to help him get better.

And, who knows: if we can do it for him, who says we can't do it for her?

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this, even with all the Regulus bits. Please review and tell me what you think