Whispers of the Veil
Whispered Nightmare
"Regulus, don't move!"
A feeling of nausea washed over Sirius the moment he heard the sound of bone breaking, and he let go of his younger brother's arm.
Regulus also went limp.
More precisely, he'd flopped onto his left side onto his left arm, which was now at a strange angle underneath him. The sobbing also stopped, replaced by a strange silence as Regulus stared at the headboard of his bed as what just happened started to sink in, and the first words out of his mouth were a rather monotone, "It hurts."
Regulus started to squint, the fact he was hurting sinking in, and then—
"It hurts," Regulus' voice said, beginning to rise. "It hurts, it really hurts."
Sirius reached out with both hands, his mind knowing something needed to be done regarding his younger brother's predicament—one that resulted from his actions.
Regulus noticed him move out of the corner of his eye, his gray eyes darting to look at his brother with a definite look of fear. And to get away from what he was currently afraid of, the younger Black started to move, a slight whimper leaving his lips as tears welled in his eyes.
That was when Sirius yelled at his brother, telling him not to move, but the way Regulus froze—Sirius found himself greatly reminded of how Regulus would freeze when the younger was around their mother. And she was yelling, the few times Sirius managed to notice such things, yet the memory of Regulus reacting in such a manner wasn't something Sirius had ever thought he'd dredge out of that mind of his.
"Then again, I didn't expect to be brought into this particular nightmare rather than home with Harry."
Sirius reached for his brother then, both hands and Regulus moved slightly, ignoring what Sirius said about not moving and—
Inwardly, Sirius cringed, his stomach not improving at all at the sound of fear and pain coming from his brother, one that Sirius thought Regulus was trying to control simply because, as a Black, they were supposed to act in a dignified manner, one-hundred percent of the time.
Quickly, he moved and grabbed Regulus' shoulders so he could pull his brother up off the left arm before more damage could be done, with resulted in a cry of pain from Regulus and Sirius, wondering if he'd done wrong.
And the moment Regulus was pulled up, he attempted to continue moving away, only for Sirius to quickly pull his younger brother into an embrace, hugging his brother's small frame to him, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at Regulus' arm. At the same time, Regulus started to make an uproar, trying to wiggle free and yelling, the fright his younger brother felt being all too obvious to the older Black brother.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Reg!" Sirius said, quickly burying his face into the crook of his brother's neck. "I didn't mean to, honest." Regulus continued to cry, his small frame tense when he realized there was no escaping Sirius. "Why is he so much smaller than me? He's like, what? He's like a year younger than me, right? No, maybe almost two? But still…"
"Please," Regulus sobbed, his body remaining tense. "I'll behave. I promise I'll behave."
Sirius lifted his head to see that his younger brother's eyes were shut before sighing, hating Regulus's reaction while wondering how he'd never noticed. Sirius hugged Regulus tighter, whispering into Regulus' ear. "Promise me you'll stay still so I can take a look at your arm, Reggie?"
His brother nodded in response; his eyes closed tightly.
Keeping his right arm firmly wrapped around his younger's brother's chest, Sirius gently reached for the left arm and lifted it, resulting in him feeling Regulus arch his back as Regulus attempted to hold back, letting out a sound of pain. And then he was sobbing uncontrollably again, not that Sirius could blame him because Regulus' wrist didn't look right. "Bloody Merlin."
"Let go," Regulus muttered. "Please."
"Regulus, I'm not going to let go," Sirius said. "And I bloody don't know what to do with your arm." Sirius felt his younger brother tremble and saw the tears run down Regulus' face.
"She's going to be furious," Regulus muttered.
"With me, not you," Sirius said, letting a smile play across his face in case Regulus looked his way, although a part of his brain knew what he said just then was a lie—Walburga would be furious at both of them.
Regulus shook his head. "Let go, let go. Please let go."
"What am I going to do with you?" Sirius muttered, still holding Regulus' arm, only to drop it when Regulus tried freeing himself from his brother's grip. Both arms wrapped around Regulus to prevent the younger Black from hurting himself, only it didn't work—for Sirius dropping Regulus' arm resulted in a cry of pain.
And then, Regulus was sobbing; Sirius thought his brother was crying harder than before, something he hadn't thought possible.
"Shush, Reggie," Sirius said. "I'll figure out something."
"No, no. No, you won't," Regulus said. "Please, let me go!"
Sirius didn't, his mouth pressing together as his mind thought of all the options, knowing full well that sending a letter to their father or even grandfather, let alone anybody other than Walburga in the family, would likely result in Walburga still learning what was going on. And then, Sirius took a deep breath. "Kreacher!"
The sound of the family House Elf Apparating was loud and resulted in Regulus crying even louder. The House Elf looked at the scene before him with even bigger eyes than usual, his big bat-like ears twitching slightly before the creature coldly said, "What has young master done this time? Mistress will not like to hear about this."
"You will not tell her!" Sirius blurted out, his entire body stiffening at the thought of the House Elf telling their mother, only to relax upon remembering something important. "And now you can't because I've ordered you not to."
"Ohh," Kreacher said, the creature's eyes narrowing in that unpleasant way Sirius was all too familiar with. "Why does Young Master have to be so nasty? Kreacher has a mind to tell mistress anyway. Kreacher can punish Kreacher accordingly after the fact. Kreacher can."
Sirius' eyes widened, realizing Kreacher could, in fact, be a break from the tradition of not following orders. And then his eyes narrowed. "Yes, but as much as you would like to get me in trouble with mother, do you want Regulus in trouble with her as well? After all, you see what a state he's in, right?"
He watched the House Elf's eyes widen again. "Master Regulus? He'd be in trouble as well?"
Regulus continued to sob and mutter over and over for his older brother to let him go, every so often muttering that it —his arm—hurt. Sirius held Regulus close. "Reg, you need to calm down. Please. So I can see to your arm. Kreacher's here to help. You like Kreacher?"
"Why doesn't the young master seek help from a mistress?" Kreacher asked.
"Because we'd both be in trouble," Sirius said. "And we can't rightly ask someone else as word would get back to her."
"Master Sirius only wishes to preserve his own skin in this matter," Kreacher stated firmly, glaring at Sirius and reminding the young wizard why he hated the House Elf.
Sirius felt the color drain from his face. "Well," he started to say, then a thought crossed his mind. "I can deal with mother, Kreacher. Regulus can't, particularly after," and then came another pause. "Is there a way to calm him, then treat his arm to mend the break?"
"What was young master doing," Kreacher started to say, only to stop, focusing now on Regulus, who was still in hysterics. "Kreacher will fetch a Calming Draught for Master Regulus."
And then he was gone, and suddenly Regulus was screaming, repeating the word no repeatedly as Sirius tried calming him down. Kreacher returned with the potion in his hands, frowning, and Sirius realized he couldn't give his brother the potion on his own. "Kreacher, I need your help. Please!"
"No, no. Please, no," Regulus said, still trying to squirm from Sirius' grip.
"Apologies, Master Regulus," Kreacher said, Apparating from the floor to the bed. "An order is an order, and Kreacher must obey."
Sirius frowned as his brother continued to please, never remembering when Kreacher would offer him an apology for some of the orders their mother gave. Still, soon, despite Regulus' protests, the potion was shoved down the younger Black's throat; all the while, Sirius wondered if he'd handled the situation correctly.
A quick glance at Regulus' arm and, " I think I did. He was libel to make his broken wrist worse, given he did not want to stay still. " Sirius took a deep breath, loosening his grip around Regulus' letting his younger brother continue leaning into him as the sobs were now just a few tears falling down Regulus' face. "There, there. We're going to get you fixed."
"Does young master know healing magic?" Kreacher asked.
"Well, no," Sirius said, now taking Regulus' hand gently in his arm.
"Kreacher didn't think so," the House Elf said.
"Kreacher! I'm already aware I've no plan!" Sirius said. "Care to help me think of one that will prevent Regulus from getting in trouble? Because I don't care if I get in trouble with this, but if she finds out she's been crying like this…."
"Does Kreacher have permissions?"
"What?" Sirius asked.
"Does Kreacher have permission to use magic?"
"House Elf magic?" Sirius asked. "Wait? You could heal Regulus with House Elf magic?"
"Kreacher can only use magic when permitted to do so," Kreacher said.
"Then do so! Use your magic to heal Regulus! Please! I really didn't mean to! I was just trying to calm him down, and I honestly don't know why he was in such a state beyond knowing I said or did something that set him off. So please, Kreacher."
"Master simply had to order Kreacher to do so," Kreacher said, gently picking up Regulus' arm. He looked at Regulus before saying, "This will hurt, Master Regulus. Kreacher is glad of the silencing spell placed on the room."