A/N: You guys didn't actually think that I was going to let Regulus grow up in an orphanage, did you? Welcome to the climactic chapter. There's two more small ones after this, but this is the biggest one!
Chapter Nine
Sirius ran until his legs collapsed.
Even then, he managed to stumble up the steps to a grimy orphanage.
This was the fourth orphanage that he had visited, and he had all but lost hope.
Sirius knocked on the door, attentively.
An intoxicated woman threw open the door, "Go away!"
"Hi," Sirius said, clearing his throat, "Is there a child named Regulus Black, here?"
She thought about it, swaying on the spot. Finally she nodded, "Yep. That little brat came in, last night. Nasty little brute; knocking on my door at three in the morn'."
"Right," Sirius said, relieved, "He's my brother. I really need him to come home, with me."
"Well, I just called your parents," she chirped, "They seemed quite glad that he was safe. They said that they would be by, in the morning."
"No!" Sirius cried, "He can't go back there. I need him to come with me!"
"He ain't going nowhere, 'less your parents are here,"
Sirius went to protest, but she slammed the door in his face.
Sirius hit it, fiercely.
"Sirius?"
Sirius spun around, hopefully, and was surprised to see that it was not Regulus, but James.
"James? What're you doing here?" Sirius asked, hopping off of the stoop.
"My mum wanted me to donate some old Muggle clothes," James held up a bag, "I won't be needing them. I got my Hogwarts letter, today."
For a second, Sirius was distracted, "That's great, mate."
Sirius had completely forgotten about Hogwarts. He didn't turn eleven, until next month. Even if he did get his letter, there was no way he'd be able to go.
After all, who would take care of Regulus?"
"Sirius?" James cried, pulling him out of his thoughts, "What're you doing here?"
"Regulus and I had a fight," Sirius groaned, "He ran off to this place, and they're not letting him go."
"What should we do?" James asked, immediately.
"I don't know," Sirius sighed, miserably, "I don't even know what room he's in."
James stroked his chin, before saying, "Hide in the shrubs. I'll be right back."
"Where're you going?" Sirius asked, ducking down.
"I need to donate these clothes," James called over his shoulder, as he knocked on the door.
The woman answered, and immediately let James in.
Sirius remained hidden for a quarter of an hour. He was just about to give up hope, when James came bursting back outside.
"Where have you been?"
"Scoping the orphanage," James breathed, restlessly, "Regulus is in the fourth room from the left, on the third floor!"
"Brilliant," Sirius said, "We can't do anything now, though."
James agreed, "We'll have to wait, until it's dark."
They sat down, beneath the bushes, and waited for the sun to set.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did your parents die?" James finally asked.
"Who said that they were dead?" Sirius asked, looking at him.
James's eyes widened, "I'm sorry. I just assumed…"
"We ran away," Sirius said, quietly.
James stared at him for a moment, before whispering, "Why?"
Sirius sighed, "I'm surprised we didn't run away, sooner. Our parents believed that physical pain was an excellent punishment for disobedience. If you spoke up without permission, you got cuffed over the head. If you didn't finish your dinner, you'd starve for the rest of the week."
"That's horrible," James whispered.
Sirius shrugged, "Regulus was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, and follow their beliefs. He acted like the perfect son, in order to avoid as many beatings as possible. Or sometimes, I'd take his beatings for him."
James swore, "No wonder you left."
Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Oh, no. That was just the tip of the iceberg. My parents were also huge followers of the Dark Arts and Voldemort."
He was impressed when James didn't flinch, and continued, "One day, during breakfast, our parents announced that they were going to send Regulus to a special camp. Now, he was too young to understand, but I wasn't a fool. I had heard them mentioning it, in the weeks before. It's literally a camp to train Death Eaters. They want to reel them in, while they're young, I guess. There are only two ways to exit, once you enter the camp: as a Death Eater, or in a body bag."
He shuddered, before saying, "I couldn't let Regulus face that. So, later that night, I snuck into his room. We packed anything that we could carry, and snuck out the window. That was a year ago, and we haven't looked back. I promised him that I would always be there for him."
He broke off, staring up at the stars that were beginning to come out, "I didn't keep my promise, though. I was the only one he trusted, and I let him down."
"But now you're here to make things right," James pointed out.
Sirius nodded, before saying, "Something's not right. The woman said that she had called my parents, but they've never set a hand on a telephone before."
Sirius suddenly sat up straight, "I've seen her, before! She's been at parties, that my parents have hosted!"
He jumped up, "I'll bet you anything that my parents sent their allies to different orphanages, just in case we showed up."
"Is that good?" James asked, uncertainly, "I mean, maybe they miss you two?"
"No," Sirius said, rubbing his temple, "It's more like they're hunting us."
He looked up, "We have to move, quickly."
James nodded, "Right. Let's go."
Sirius sighed, "This is risky. You don't have to do this, you know."
James shrugged, "I don't have anything else to do."
A silent conversation passed between the two. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
"It's dark enough," Sirius said, touched, "I suppose it's now or never."
James nodded, "There's a tree, with a branch that comes near the window."
They slowly made their way up the tree, using the darkness of the night as their camouflage.
When they finally reached the window, Sirius gave it a harsh rap.
Regulus came running over, looking frightened and shocked. Upon seeing Sirius, his face lit up with a grin. The two brothers attempted to open the window, before realizing that it was locked.
Sirius made up his mind, smashing his hand through the glass.
An alarm sounded from somewhere below.
"Sirius?" Regulus whimpered.
Sirius pulled him onto the branch. The three jumped, landing on the ground, with sickening thuds.
They scrambled to their feet, running as fast as they their legs could carry them.
A mob of angry and suspicious people followed.
James, Sirius, and Regulus raced into a side-street, halting as they reached a tall, barbed-wire, fence.
James and Sirius started to climb, but they weren't strong enough to get to the top, let alone to pull Regulus.
They fell back down to the ground, where a crowd was waiting.
A popping noise suddenly emitted from somewhere on the grounds. It was a fairly common sound, yet James, Sirius, and Regulus knew that it was the sound of someone Apparating.
Two people pushed their way through the crowd.
Regulus screamed, and Sirius pulled him into a tight hug.
"Boys, there you are!" Walaburga Black hissed, a triumphant smirk planted on her face.
Orion turned to the crowd. Sirius could see him slip out his wand, "Thank you for bringing us our sons. You may leave now."
As if in a trance, the crowd slowly dispersed, until the five were the only ones left.
Regulus gave a small sob. Sirius continued to hug him, "Don't cry, Regulus. Remember what I always told you."
James put a hand on each brothers' shoulder.
"Regulus, son, come with us," Orion said, calmly. He stepped forward, and the trio stepped back.
"NO!" Sirius jumped in front of his brother, "You can't take him!"
James slowly reached into his pocket. He grabbed something, and suddenly chucked it at Orion and Walaburga.
The Dungbomb exploded, sending a gust of yellow smoke billowing through the alleyway. It was a perfect distraction, and the boys quickly pushed past the two adults, running as fast as they could.
Orion and Walaburga raced after them, their wands out.
The three boys skirted around a corner.
"In there!" Regulus cried, pointing to the magnificent tower of Big Ben.
Before Sirius could stop him, Regulus wrenched a door open, and ran inside. James and Sirius scrambled after him.
The three made their way up the chambers, until they were climbing the inner mechanisms of the clock. They clambered on top of apparatuses and pulleys, praying that the bell would not start ringing.
At one point, Sirius's shoe slipped off. He watched, horrified, as it fell between two gears below. The gears were close enough together, that as soon as the shoe landed in between them, they ripped it apart, mercilessly.
Sirius swallowed, "Don't lose your grip!"
A burst of red light suddenly hit James in the chest, causing him to fall.
"James?" Sirius whispered, frightened.
He looked down, and saw that James had, luckily, landed on a platform.
"I'm okay," James stood up, just as Walaburga and Orion rushed past him, their wands hissing from the spell that they had just emitted.
James stood his ground, but it was evident that the two were not coming for him.
Walaburga shot another spell, which came dangerously close to knocking Regulus off of a whirling gear.
"Get away from him!" James roared. He tackled Orion, knocking the man to the ground.
The two wrestled, fiercely. Orion was thrice the age of James, and nearly thrice as tall, but James was filled with pure adrenaline.
James managed to wrestle the wand from Orion's hand. He fell back, panting, pointing it at Orion.
"You wouldn't," Orion sneered.
"Stupefy!" James roared.
The spell did little to knock Orion back, and the man stepped forward, smirking.
All of a sudden, the clock tower was filled with bursts of bright light, as Ministry Officials suddenly appeared.
"James Potter," a woman said, formally, "The use of a wand, under the age of seventeen, is prohibited. As such…what the…?"
The woman, as well as the others, seemed to suddenly take in their surroundings.
"Help!" Regulus cried, from above. By now, he had reached the pendulum, and was desperately trying to hold on as he swung to and fro. Sirius was right behind him, and Walaburga was bringing up the rear.
"Arrest these parents, at once!" the woman roared, pale.
Orion suddenly shot forward. He seized his wand, thrashing it. Several Officials fell, pools of blood emitting from them.
Someone raised their own wand, binding Orion. They then turned to Walaburga, who had almost caught up with the other
With a roar, Walaburga slashed her wand. A red light shot towards Regulus, hitting him square in the back. The young boy crumpled, falling off.
"No!" Sirius roared, "Regulus! REGULUS!"
The Ministry Officials were too busy dueling Walaburga to help. Before anyone could stop him, James leapt over the platform railing, catching Regulus in mid-air.
Sirius gave an anguished cry. James dangled from the platform, holding onto the railing with one hand, and Regulus with the other.
Regulus dangled below, looking terrified, "J…James?"
"Don't look down!"
Yet, as is common with that expression, it only made Regulus glance below.
He let out a horrid scream, as he saw the gnarling gears.
James bit his lip, before saying the first thing that came to mind,
So be sure when you with care and great tact and remember that
Life's a Great Balancing Act
Regulus blinked up at him, before whispering the rest of the page,
Just never forget to be dexterous and never mix up your right foot with your left.
James managed to pull himself onto the platform, bringing Regulus with him.
By that time, the Ministry Officials had successfully defeated Walaburga and Orion.
Sirius slid down the mechanisms, joining them.
He barely glanced at anything else. He didn't notice the Ministry Officials, who were tending their wounds, or the ones who were staring at him in awe. He did not notice his parents, lying in a crumpled heap.
All he could see was Regulus He took his brother into a tight, heart-wrenching, hug, and began to cry.
"You came back for me," Regulus whispered, tearfully.
"Of course I did, Reg," Sirius said, tears streaming down his face, as he held his brother tighter, "I promised you that I would never leave you."
James made a weird sound, that almost sounded like a sob.
Sirius looked up, his face shining with gratitude. He and Regulus then threw an arm around James, and welcomed their third brother into a hug.
A/N: I get way too attached to these stories! So, what'd you guys think? I told you that James would be back! And guess what? He's here to stay!
Please review!