Sirius Expelled

Sirius Expelled Part 14

Regulus clutched the letter in his hand tightly. He wasn't technically banned from the Owlrey but he also didn't quite have permission to be there. It was a detailed letter in Regulus's neat penmanship, about the attack. How they would attack, when and why, to Adomendra. It was their only possibility of saving her. Sirius's heart was pounding as he and Regulus padded silently up to the owlery. His nerves were going off as he made a wrong step and one of the stairs let out a small creaking noise. Regulus nearly leaped out of his own skin at the sound and gave Sirius a look. Shaking his head, he continued up the stairs.
"Alohomora." Sirius whispered, pointing his wand at the door.
He had to do all the magic because Regulus still had the Trace on him. The padlock opened and Sirius caught it in his hand. Carefully pocketing it, he slowly pushed the door opened and let Regulus through, before shutting the door behind themselves. He gave his brother a nod and Regulus began to attach the letter to an owl he knew wouldn't be remembered. But as he attached the letter to the owl's leg, the sound of footsteps appeared behind him. Fear and panic filled Regulus's eyes and he snatched the wand out of Sirius's hand. Muttering something under his breath, he frantically handed his brother his wand back and shoved the letter in his pocket. Sirius felt cold liquid drip down his back to his neck and realized a dissolution charm had been placed on him. He walked backwards, hiding as the door opened. Orion Black stood in the doorway looking furious.
"Regulus Arcturus Black. Just what do you think that you are doing?" he asked, his voice calm like the waves just before a storm. They were about to break and destroy anything in their paths but you never knew when they would fall.
The terror in Regulus's eyes filled Sirius with guilt but he couldn't stop his father.
"I-I, nothing. I just came to say hi to the owls." Regulus lied through his teeth but Orion didn't buy it.
"Don't think that I didn't see you. Hand over the letter." Orion said, holding out his hand.
"Dad-"
"Hand. Over. The. Letter." Orion snapped, giving Regulus a murderous look.
With shaking hands, Regulus slowly handed him the letter. Orion took it and unfolded it, slowly taking his eyes off his youngest son. As he read the letter, the anger in his eyes brewed. Regulus was frozen in terror as his father looked up at him. The cruelty and anger was terrifying.
"Go to your room." Orion said, his voice low and horrifying. "I'll be there soon."
"Dad I-"
"Go."
Regulus swallowed hard and nodded, dipping his head before ducking around his father and leaving the owlery. Sirius made sure to follow close behind and not let the door catch him as Orion brewed in fury.
"Reg," he whispered underneath his breath."Why would you hide me and not yourself?"
"Doesn't matter." Regulus responded but Sirius could tell he was trying to hide his fear. "I'll be okay. I don't want you in trouble."
"I can take it for you. I can blame myself for it."
Regulus shook his head.
"It's too late." he whispered. "Dad already knows there's nothing that can save me. I'll just take it by myself."
"Reg, I'm so, so sorry." Sirius whispered as Regulus opened the door to his room. "Do you want me to stay?"
At the offer, Regulus hesitated. The offer was intriguing but risky. After a moment of thought he shook his head.
"I don't trust you not to stop him if I'm in pain. And we can't blow our cover."
Sirius blinked in sadness.
"Right. Yeah. I'm sorry."
"Wand?"
Regulus held his hand out and Sirius pulled his wand out of his robes and handed it to his brother. In a swift movement, Regulus removed the charm making Sirius visible again and set off about eight or so harmless fixing and repair spells to cover their tracks.
"Go back to your room, before Dad comes."
"Reg-"
"Sirius, now. Go."
Regulus said before turning away. He needed a moment to recover and think about what was going to happen. With one last, longing look at his brother, Sirius turned and left, silently. When he walked into his room, his heart was pounding. Without realizing it, his feet brought him to his desk and his hands pulled out his pocket knife. Sirius held the blade in a shaking hand as he stared at his forearm. He wanted to cut and bleed but he also didn't. The pain was agonizing and he didn't know if he could do it. For several moments Sirius gripped the knife and didn't move. His mind was fighting itself on cutting or putting the knife down. He desperately felt the desire to slit his skin but he also thought he needed to be strong to help Regulus. Finally he put the knife down, his body trembling with fear. Mere seconds after he shut the drawer, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and instinctively winced. Unable to help himself, Sirius laid against the wall that connected to Regulus's room, willing his brother to be okay. The sound of a door opening filled Sirius with dread. He heard his father talking, his voice cruel but he couldn't make out the words. Regulus was silent and Sirius could almost feel his fear from the other side of the wall. The anticipation was tense and Sirius was sick with worry for his brother. Orion stopped talking and panic hitched in Sirius's stomach. The air was silent, tense and cruel as Sirius awaited Regulus's punishment with dread. Silence from his father was normal, but silence when he was mad was terror. And then it happened.
Orion could perform wordlessly and wandlessly, his curses dark and foreboding. There was a quiet cracking sound, like a quill snapping. But it wasn't as simple as a quill. Regulus let out a wail of agony and Sirius could hear him sobbing as he tried to fight it. The sound made Sirius's cold heart ache with pain as his brother whimpered from the other side of the wall. The cruel voice of their father kept talking as the sobs continued. He talked and talked as Sirius's panic kept growing. Why wouldn't his father just leave? Sirius needed to help his brother, help his little Reggie. Sirius's legs were shaking in terror as he used every last ounce of his effot to fight. Finally, after nearly an hour the voices stopped. Regulus's door opened and Orion left the floor and headed down the stairs as Sirius counted his steps. Once he reach thirty four, Sirius knew the coast was clear. He opened the door silently and rushed over to Regulus's room. Gently opening the door to his brother's room, a horrific scene awaited him.
Regulus was hunched over on the floor, his left hand cradling his right. He was sobbing, silently, as he held his arm. As he heard the door open, he visibly flinched and moved away from the door, before seeing his brother. His face was twisted into a look of agony that he tried to fight it off. A whimper broke through his voice as he tried to speak.
"He-he shattered all of my fingers." Regulus cried, wincing at every movement. "Said I won't be able to write or spell until the attack."
He was trying to fight the pain but it wasn't stopping.
"Oh, Reg. I'm so, so sorry." Sirius whispered.
"Please, please do something, Sirius." Regulus whispered, the tears pouring. "It hurts, it hurts so badly."
"I-I can't. You know the only person who can remove it is Father." Sirius said, wishing that he could help. "But I would do anything to help you."
"Anything, please. Find a new potion or spell or something. Please." Regulus begged. "You know how he works."
"He lets his victims be in agony and suffer until they beg for death and even then, he doesn't deliver it." Sirius finished.
"I can't bear it. It hurts so much."
After he said the words, Regulus dropped his gaze. Tears were dribbling over his face and he couldn't breathe. His body was trembling uncontrollably as he tried to cope with the agonizing pain in his hand. Sirius was at a loss for words but fury sent adrenaline down his bloodstream. Pulling out his wand, Sirius stood and headed to the door.
"Sirius, please don't leave me." Regulus pleaded with his brother.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to fix this, I promise." Sirius said.
There was a fire in his chest that burned in anger. Sirius headed down the hallway, shaking with a thirst for vengeance. How dare his father do this? Torture for himself was one thing, but torturing his brother took it to a whole new level of cruelty. He walked silently to his father's office, prepared to fight. After taking a breath outside of the office, Sirius straightened his back, ran a hand through his hair and set his expression to a bleak, monotone look. Raising his left arm, he knocked on the door.
"Enter." Orion said, his tone blunt.
Sirius opened the door and stepped inside, dipping his head respectfully as he looked down at the ground.
"Father," he whispered, trying to control the rage in his voice.
"Speak." Orion said, still not looking up from his desk.
There was a moment of silence in the office before Sirius whipped out his wand.
"Imperio!" he snapped.
A green light shot out of his wand and caught his father. For several moments both sides began to struggle. Sirius was powerful, but, like every Black, Orion had been trained in occlemancy. The two fought for control, but because of the anger and thirst for revenge, Sirius won it over. Orion's head snapped up and he looked up numbly, his eyes clouded over.
"You are going to come back with me and fix Regulus's hand. Once you do, you will forget everything. You won't remember about the letter. You won't remember breaking Regulus's hand or why you did it. You won't remember me coming into here or using this spell on you. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Orion said blandly.
He stood up from his desk and began to walk. Orion headed down the hall and Sirius followed, his wand still raised in anger. Opening the door, Orion walked in slowly. Regulus jumped in panic when he saw his father. His eyes flicked to Sirius in fear.
"I've got it, Reg." Sirius said.
Orion looked down and wordless and wandlessly, he sent his magic out. There was a sharp clicking and suddenly Regulus's hand shifted back into place. Regulus took a deep breath and his face visibly relaxed. He slowly clenched his hand into fists and spread them out.
"Leave." Sirius said to his father. "Once you get back to your office, you'll forget all of this."
Without another word, Orion left the room. As soon as he was gone, Sirius ran forward and threw his arm around his brother.
"Reg, are you okay?"
Regulus looked up, his eyes full of relief.
"Thank you." he said, his voice breaking. "Thank you, Sirius."
"I'm so, so sorry that happened to you. It was all my fault. I'm so sorry, Reggie. That wasn't supposed to happen."
Deep down, Sirius knew that Regulus wouldn't say anything. It was the same as him being unable to forgive his brother for the torture over Christmas Break. He wanted to say that he was okay, but he couldn't.
"I know how you feel. You don't have to say anything." Sirius whispered, stroking his brother's hair. "I don't know what's going to happen but it's going to be okay. We're going to get through this again. I swear."
"I know. I know." Regulus whispered.
"I've got you now. I'm never going to let you go." Sirius promised. "I'm never going to leave you. I swear."
"I love you, Siri."
"Love you too, Reg."

End of Part 14