labryinth [regulus a. black]

004 : pawn in the game

Josephine had never forgotten the hardships Sirius Black had endured his entire childhood.

Before she became friends with the group, she remembered sitting by the window in the Gryffindor common room, watching as they all whispered to each other while she did class work.

Lucky for Josephine, the boys were all terrible at whispering.

Gossip about the Noble House of Black was everywhere, especially because of the rivalry between the brothers.

By the time Josephine became friends with them, she knew more about their family drama than most of the school.

She had heard all the stories about their elitist pure blood views. They believed that anyone with even a trace of muggle blood was not considered as worthy as those who came of a pureblood family line.

Their beliefs only hardened when Sirius came back as a Gryffindor one year, completely going against everything he had been raised to represent.

She recalls hearing how badly he was punished, leaving to heal his own wounds as an extended punishment.

Sirius had told her about the nights he had to sneak around the house when it was dark, trying to find bandages for himself, hoping to fix whatever his mother had broken.

He'd move quietly, hoping the creaky floorboards wouldn't give him away as he desperately searched.

If he was lucky some nights, he'd find the medical supplies still in their usual spot, unlike most times when his mother had them hidden them away from him.

She always remembered the way Sirius' face would light up when it was time to talk about his brother in his childhood stories.

It was evident how much he missed Regulus, but everyone knew how impossible it was for the two brothers to reconcile their sibling relationship after the downfall.

James had welcomed in all of his friends to his home one Christmas when Sirius broke ties with his family.

One minute they were all lounging in the living room, laughing and absorbing each others presence, and the next, they were inspecting Sirius' broken body in the hallway,

Sirius was barely conscious, only able to murmur about his family's actions, when Euphemia summoned McGonagall and Dumbledore to the house.

He had taken enough of his family's torment and had to leave.

Despite Dumbledore's protests, Sirius stayed in bed for days. His condition worsened throughout the night as the dark magic from his parents lingered.

James was sitting by his side when Sirius had finally woken up, and Euphemia immediately rushed over, doing her best to provide comfort and care.

However, her efforts were cut short when Dumbledore insisted on asking questions while Sirius' memory was still fresh.

The rest of the group had gathered around the door, trying to catch anything that could help them figure out what had happened, when Euphemia spotted them.