Upside Down Mirror: Free Falling (Harry Potter Fanfic)

All the Pieces

The rather large wingback chair practically enveloped the young wizard. Regulus nestled himself into the inside wing of the chair while one thin arm pulled his knees to his chest.

Arcturus took a deep breath from where he sat in another of the large chairs, remembering all too well how only a few minutes before his youngest family member was on his floor bleeding out. He saw everything, from the way the Infiri clawed away at everything including the accursed Dark Mark on Regulus' left forearm, to the hand-shaped bruises on his arms and legs from where they pulled at his bone-thin frame.

There was so much wrong with the picture in front of him, Arcturus didn't know where to even begin beyond the fact they were to blame – the entire Black family. His old bones ached, yet there was no getting around the fact, as Arcturus' old fingers twisted around the top of his cane, that his grandson was likely hurting more, and not just physically. There was, after all, no denying the way Regulus pulled into himself in that chair.

Of course, the next step of the treatment was negating the effects of the vile potion Regulus for some reason decided to drink of his own volition, but Tonks gave an order to Arcturus' personal House Elf, sending them away to fetch a specific potion from Ted's personal stories that the man thought would help alleviate whatever side effects the unknown potion was having on Regulus.

When the creature returned, Ted's gently lifted the young man's chin, only stopping briefly when Regulus visibly flinched at the touch, the boy's eyes focusing in on the potion as if it posed some kind of danger. Ted's tone of voice remained calm, eventually convincing Regulus that the potion was safe to take. This didn't stop his face from twisting in disgust, his eyes clenching shut even tighter, followed by a gagging sound indicating he found the taste of the potion disgusting.

For a few minutes after administering the potion, Ted watched, making sure the potion stayed down. He pulled his wand out, intending to clear Regulus' lungs of the fluid, but then paused, turning his head so that he might look Arcturus in the eye. "Arcturus, may I have permission to speak as a healer regarding something that has me concerned?"

"Yes."

"I'm a little concerned with how thin your grandson is, but I've got the feeling you've noticed yourself."

Arcturus' fingers twisted even tighter around the top of his cane, having seen all too well how thin Regulus had become, how the boy's ribs stuck out ever so slightly not to mention how easy it was for Ted Tonks to lift the eighteen-year-old up into the rather large chair by the fireplace. Whatever the reason for Regulus' current state of health, there was no escaping the fact the Black family was to blame. "I noticed."

"I know you're not fond of Muggle treatments, but..."

Regulus' eyes opened up, "I'm right here."

"I see you're finally speaking in English," Arcturus said as his grandson looked him in the eye. Under his gaze, Regulus fidgeted slightly but then settled, his mouth twisting into a frown as he continued leaning into the chair as if it provided him some level of safety. As such, Arcturus felt fine keeping his tone of voice stern with the young man. "What the bloody hell were you thinking?"

Regulus' mouth twisted in disdain, his eyes narrowing as his forehead rested in one palm of his hand. "Just have maman blast me off the tapestry already and be done with it."

Arcturus' nostrils flared slightly, finding himself for once frustrated with the younger of Orion's two children. "And you say you're nothing like your brother."

"Well, haven't I done worse by the family standards?" Regulus didn't flinch as he spoke, his eyes still making eye contact with Arcturus. His voice rose in level as well. "Who'd have thought I'd be the worst child? I mean, what with everyone telling Sirius he should be more like me! Don't you dare think I didn't know there would be repercussions for what I've done that none of you will like, but don't you dare underestimate me just like everyone else does!"

If Arcturus were Walburga, the boy's mother, his response would have been immediate, uncalculated. Instead, he leaned back, letting himself take Regulus' words in carefully. "Why did you join?"

"Isn't what you mean to ask is why I joined when I didn't believe in the cause? Or do you mean to ask what changed my mind regarding my beliefs," Regulus pushed himself up slightly while his breath came in a ragged manner. "Believe me when I say..."

"Hold on a second." Ted cleared his throat. "I've not actually finished your treatment as there is still fluid in your lungs that I need to get out."

"At least let me say my beliefs have never changed, that I didn't realize everyone else's beliefs were so different from I own when I'd always thought it was just Sirius with whom my beliefs weren't aligned!" Regulus broke into a coughing fit.

Ted let out a sigh while Regulus' eyes closed again. "Stop speaking, at least until I get the fluid out." The healer clicked his tongue when Regulus opened his mouth to protest which made Regulus stop long enough for Ted to complete the task. "Now the two of you can tear into each other."

The glare from Ted let Arcturus know he wasn't to overdo it. "And why do you think our beliefs don't align?"

He watched Regulus' nostrils flare, the anger in the young man's silver eyes, so much like that of his older brother yet so different. His legs tucked in tighter while his hands gripped the armrests of the large wingback tighter. "Why? You want to know why?"

It was then that Regulus did something even Arcturus didn't expect. One of his eyebrows lifted up. "Did you just give me the middle finger?"

"Well, we certainly know who he learned that one from," Ted sighed, looking far from amused. Arcturus knew well enough the man was referring to Sirius and the possible bad influence his eldest grandson was having upon Andromeda and Ted's daughter.

Regulus started to babble in a mixture of French and English, the tears welling in his silver-colored eyes. The words were fairly incoherent, yet Arcturus got the gist.

In front of him was a young man who wanted to please everybody yet felt like he could please no one. In front of him was a child who was desperate for the approval of his parents to the point of not wanting to disappoint them as his older brother did, yet, despite this he couldn't go along with becoming a killer, so he'd decided to effectively give everyone particularly Voldemort the middle finger.

Then, before Arcturus could say anything about being finished with his tantrum, Regulus said something else. "I'm finished. I apologize for my outburst. It won't happen again, but feel free to punish me how you see fit."

"Isn't that the problem though?" Arcturus spoke in a calm voice, watching Regulus swallow, a few tears streaking his face. "You don't even bother letting people know how you truly feel until something like this happens. And here I was thinking you'd finally come to your senses about this whole Death Eater thing when in reality that's always been the case, hasn't it?"

"I..." Regulus' eyes blinked.

"Regulus, when I asked what you were thinking, I was asking why you didn't come to me for help."