Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
"I wish I could go with you," Sirius said to his little brother, glancing at the train. It was the start of Christmas break and Reg was going home to their parents. He didn't want his brother to go, even though he knew his parents would put up a fuss if Regulus didn't go home.
"I'll be fine. They usually ignore me over the holiday break," Regulus shrugged. His parents didn't spend time with him unless it was to lecture him about the purity of the Black name or scorn those they thought of as blood traitors.
"Still," Sirius sighed. "You have your mirror?" He had given his brother one of the mirrors he and James used to talk to each other during detentions. He wanted Reg to be able to contact him at any time.
"Yes," Regulus assured him.
"Anytime you want to talk or if you need me, speak my name into it okay? Anytime," Sirius said.
"I will. Happy Christmas," Regulus gave Sirius a hug before boarding the train.
Sirius watched him go, resisting the urge to go and haul him off the train.
HP
Regulus sent down his duffel bag, looking around the room. He had just arrived home and his parents hadn't decorated for Christmas, not that usually did much beyond a simple tree. "No tree?" he asked, disappointed. He wished Sirius could be here. It was going to be a another lonely holiday.
"Honestly, Regulus. You're far too old to care about a Christmas tree." Mrs. Black said with a sniff. "You have far more important things to think about."
"Like what?"
"Another meeting with the Dark Lord," Mr. Black said proudly. "He has agreed to make you a death eater. You will take the mark tonight."
"Finally, we have a worthy son," Mrs. Black nodded. "You should be proud, Regulus. The Dark Lord usually does not admit one so young but for you, he has made an exception. Bellatrix is quite proud of you as well."
Regulus paled. He didn't want to be a death eater! "No." he blurted out.
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Black's eyes darkened.
"I – I don't want to take the mark." Regulus stammered. "I don't want to follow the Dark Lord." Silence. His parents just stared at him. "Please understand, that meeting I went to was horrible. I don't want to hurt innocent people and I definitely don't want to kill them!"
"You ungrateful brat," Mrs. Black hissed. "How dare you!"
Before Regulus could respond, his father backhanded him and knocked him to the ground.
"We already had one son betray us and now you?" Mr. Black kicked his youngest in the side. "This is how you show your loyalty to us? You will join the Dark Lord!"
Regulus resisted crying out after his father kicked him again. He had thought, in some corner of his mind, that his parents loved him. They had never hurt him before, not like they had Sirius. Of course, growing up seeing how they had treated his brother made him determined to be the obedient, dutiful son. He had gone along with everything they had said because he was afraid of them. He realized that now.
"You will do as you told," Mrs. Black looked down at him coldly. "Or you will be our son no more."
Regulus slowly stood up, ignoring the pain in his body. "So you will just toss me away like you did Sirius?" He spat out bitterly.
"Do not mention that traitor's name!" Mrs. Black screamed. "Both of you, filth dishonoring our house! Our blood! Crucio!"
Regulus screamed as the searing pain went through his body. He collapsed on the floor, panting when his mother finally lifted the curse.
"Have you come to your senses, Regulus?" Mr. Black glared down at him.
"Yes." Regulus whispered.
Mr. Black nodded and relaxed slightly. "Good."
"I won't become a death eater. I refuse." Regulus said and braced himself.
After being beaten by his father and crucio'd again by his mother, he had been forced to watch his name and picture be burned off the tapestry. He then, bloody and bruised, had been thrown out of their home along with his duffel bag.
"You are dead to us from now on." Mrs. Black said coldly before slamming the door.
Regulus lay at the bottom of the stairs, hardly able to move. "Kreacher?" he whispered.
Kreacher popped next to him. "Master Regulus!" The elf looked horrified to see his favorite member of the family in such a state.
"Can – can you hand me the mirror in my duffel bag?" Regulus gasped, starting to feel faint. He needed Sirius.
Kreacher did as he asked. "Kreacher should take you inside," he said worriedly.
"No," Regulus whispered. "I've been disowned. You should go back inside...before my parents realize you're out here with me." He didn't want Kreacher to get punished for helping him.
Kreacher looked torn. If Regulus was disowned, then he should have nothing to do with him. But Regulus was only person who had ever been kind to Kreacher. He pulled on his ears, not sure what to do.
"I'll be okay, Kreacher," Regulus said, grimacing from the pain. Everything was starting to fade. He heard Kreacher pop away as he spoke into the mirror. He wanted his brother.
HP
In the Gryffindor common room, Sirius was laughing at something James had said when he heard his name being yelled. He looked around the room in confusion for a moment before realizing it was Regulus, calling him from the mirror. He pulled it out of his pocket. "Reggie?" He held it up and his brother's bruised and battered face appeared. He gasped.
"Sirius," Regulus whispered.
"What happened? Where are you?" Sirius stood up, shock and panic covering his face. "Who did that to you?"
"Mother and Father." Regulus began crying.
James stood behind Sirius and gasped at Regulus's face. "Where is he? We'll go get him."
"Outside Grimmauld Place," Regulus choked out. "They – they disowned me."
"Reg?" Sirius stared in the mirror. His brother didn't speak again.
Sirius and James used the floo in in the common room to get to the Leaky Cauldron, from there apparating to Grimmauld Place and they quickly found Regulus unconscious at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the house.
"Reg," Sirius said in a broken voice, kneeling next to his brother. "Little brother," He whispered, putting his hand on Reg's pale cheek.
"We'll take him back to Hogwarts," James said, taking the boy's hand. "Pomfrey will help him." It made him sick that someone could do this to their own child.
Sirius gently picked up Reg and they quickly headed back to Hogwarts.
"Merlin," Pomfrey gasped as Sirius gently laid his brother down on a cot and quickly explained what he knew about Reg's condition. She immediately began running diagnostics. "Bruised practically everywhere," she muttered as she read over her findings. "Cruciatus Curse, dislocated shoulder, bruised ribs, broken nose, broken fingers..."
Sirius just looked at his brother, feeling completely helpless. His little brother was lying battered on that cot because Sirius hadn't protected him. He shouldn't have let Reg go home to their parents. "Will he be okay?"
"Physically, yes." Pomfrey said as she cast healing spells and summoned a bruise balm. "Emotionally, I don't know. His parents did this to him?"
"Yes," Sirius whispered.
"How could they?" Pomfrey breathed. "Why would they?"
"I told them..." Came Regulus's weak voice.
"Reggie?" Sirius took his hand.
"I told them I didn't want to be a death eater. They wanted me to take the mark tonight." Regulus whispered. "Father beat me and Mother cast the Crucio." Tears filled his eyes. "They burned my name on the tapestry in front of me."
"Oh, Reg," Sirius ran his hand through his brother's hair. "I'm so sorry."
"I thought – even though they treated you so badly for some reason I still thought they loved me," The tears fell down Regulus's cheeks.
"I love you," Sirius whispered. "I'll take care of you, I promise."
After being treated by Pomfrey, James insisted on taking Regulus to his parents house. The Potters were horrified at Regulus's condition and immediately said he could stay as long as he needed to. Sirius tucked him into bed in the guest room, his heart hurting for his brother. He had potions he had to take every few hours but Sirius had been assured that he would be fully recovered by the next day. After setting wards to let him know when Reg woke up, he went downstairs where the Potters, James, Lily and Harry were sitting in the living room.
"That poor child," Mrs. Potter said, fury in her voice. "How dare his parents do that to him? I just don't understand it."
"He went against them," Sirius said, gazing out the window. "They would never stand for that, especially as they considered him their only son now."
"Disgraceful," Mr. Potter said, anger in his eyes.
"He had planned to tell them he didn't want to be a death eater during the summer," Sirius said after a moment. "I planned to be there or at least nearby, just in case. But when he arrived there he was told that he would take the mark tonight. He refused."
Mrs. Potter gasped. "He's just a child! What kind of parents would want their child to take the dark mark? He's only fifteen!"
"The important thing is that he is away from them and safe," Lily said, her heart hurting for the teenager sleeping upstairs. She ran her hand through Harry's hair as he slept on her lap. "He can now heal, he can now have a life with someone who loves him and cares for him." She gave Sirius a gentle smile.
"I hope I can do a good job caring for him," Sirius sighed.
"You will," James said with certainty. "And you'll have us to help you."
"True, you'll have to give me parenting tips," Sirius teased.
"Well, buy lots of toys and make sure he eats his vegetables," Lily joked.
"And know when he is awake yet pretending to be asleep," James said casually.
"What?" Lily looked down and Harry opened his eyes, looking sheepish.
"How did you know?" Sirius wondered out loud, looking at James.
James chuckled. "I know my boy. I also know he knows eavesdropping is not a nice thing to do." He eyed Harry pointedly. "This is becoming a habit, Son." Disapproval was in his voice.
"Sorry," Harry said, sitting up.
"It's your bedtime, love," Lily said softly. They were all staying overnight at the Potters, wanting to be there for Reg and Sirius.
"But I just woke up," Harry protested as he yawned.
"If you stay up, then you and I are going to have a talk about your eavesdropping," James spoke up.
Harry's eyes widened. "No, I need to go to bed." he said quickly.
Lily laughed. "Come on. I'll help you get ready for bed and read you a story."
"Two stories?" Harry asked sleepily as Lily lifted him up.
"Goodnight sweetie," Mrs. Potter said, getting up to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Night Grandma. Night Grandpa." Harry said.
"I'll be up to say goodnight in a moment," James said as Lily took him up the stairs.
"I should check on Reg," Sirius said worriedly.
"The wards would have told you if he was waking up," Mr. Potter reminded him.
"I know, I just...I want to sit with him for a while," Sirius admitted.
Mrs. Potter smiled. "Then go on."
HP
Regulus felt someone gently run a hand through his hair and he opened his eyes. "Siri?"
"Sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to wake you," Sirius said apologetically, sitting beside him. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. Still a little sore," Regulus admitted.
"Do you want to talk more about what happened?" Sirius asked gently.
"It was awful." Regulus said in a whisper. "I thought they would kill me."
Sirius pulled Regulus into a tight hug. "You're safe now, Reg. I'll take care of you, protect you. I promise."
Regulus felt relief fill him at his brother's words. He wasn't alone, he had Sirius. "They wanted me to take the mark tonight. I couldn't do it. I didn't want to do it. They looked at me with hatred, Siri. I don't understand, why don't they love us?" Tears filled his eyes.
"I don't know," Sirius said. He had wondered the same thing so many times. "It's them, Reg. They're the ones in the wrong. I promise, things will be better now. You have me and my friends. And the Potters. They're the best people, Reg. They showed me what having loving parents was really like."
"Will they mind me being around?" Regulus asked softly.
"Not at all. They care about you already," Sirius said honestly.
"Really?"
"Really."
HP
A couple of nights later, everyone was seated at the dining table. Regulus's physical wounds were healed but he was still struggling emotionally and stayed quiet most of the time.
"Dinner was delicious," Mr. Potter said, patting his stomach.
"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Potter smiled. "I have Treacle Tart for dessert, as soon as everyone finishes."
"I'm done," Harry said, eager for dessert.
"Harry, you haven't finished your dinner," Lily pointed out.
Harry frowned down at the Brussels sprouts on his plate. He made a face. "I don't like them." He whined.
"They are good for you. Now eat up," Lily said firmly. Harry was usually pretty good about eating his food but he did shy away from vegetables.
Sirius cleared his throat and pointedly looked at Regulus's plate, which also still held Brussels sprouts.
"Um, I'm full," Regulus said, wrinkling his nose at the Brussels sprouts. He wasn't a big fan of those either and his parents had never cared if he ate his vegetables or not.
"Me too," Harry said quickly.
"So no dessert then," James said, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I'm full of dinner. Not dessert," Harry insisted.
"No Brussels sprouts, no dessert," Lily said firmly.
"But mum -"
"And no arguing about it," James spoke up.
"Now dear, just try them," Mrs. Potter urged. "They're good."
"Doubt it," Harry pouted.
"Then you can just sit there until you change your mind and eat them," James said. He saw his father give him an exasperated look. "What? You did that to me when I was little and I wouldn't eat the green beans mum made."
"Yes, and remember how it turned out?" Mr. Potter asked dryly.
James grinned. Oh yeah. He had been so adamant that he wouldn't eat them, that his accidental magic kicked in and the green beans vanished from his plate. The next day, his dad had found them in the desk drawer of his study. His dad hadn't been too amused but James and his mother had been.
"Come on, pup. Reggie will eat his too," Sirius encouraged. "Right Reg?" He glanced at his brother.
Regulus sighed. He supposed it would be childish to refuse the stupid vegetables. But he really didn't like them. Grudgingly, he picked up one and took a bite. "Mmm." he lied. "Good."
Harry watched him shrewdly. "You're lying. You hate them." He accused.
Sirius hid a grin.
"See? Regulus is being a big boy and eating his Brussels sprouts," Mrs. Potter said cheerfully. "Are you a big boy too, Harry?"
Harry stared at her incredulously. So did Regulus.
"Harry, either eat them or no dessert. Decide now," James said, a note of sternness in his voice.
"Harry, let's just eat them. I bet the Treacle Tart will be worth it," Regulus encouraged. He didn't want to see the kid get into trouble.
"All right," Harry munched his way through the three Brussels sprouts, still not liking them. "There. I'm done." He pushed his plate away.
"Now was that so bad?" Lily slightly admonished.
"It wasn't that good," Harry said honestly.
Sirius barked a laugh. "Out of the mouths of babes." he said teasingly.
Mrs. Potter let out an amused huff. "Well, I say."
"Sorry Grandma," Harry said sweetly.
"Aww, such a dear," Mrs. Potter said affectionately, patting him on the head as she walked to the kitchen to get the dessert.
James snorted. "You've got your grandmother fooled, you rascal," he winked at his son.
Harry giggled.
TBC: