Pensieve - Wolfstar Fanfiction

25

The house was cold. The walls were creaking, air dusty. Walburga marched inside first, heels snapping against the floor.
"Kreecher!! Get Regulus' trunk to his room, NOW!!"
She roared, for some reason she seemed even scarier than usually.
"No, mum, I can do it myself. Thank you."
Regulus just said calmly, looking at the expression on his mother's face.
"Sure darling."
She sighed and walked on.
"Make sure to keep quiet, your father has some important quests in his study."
She added as she disappeared to the kitchen, not even glancing at Sirius. In a way, he was glad. Morherly love was just a bunch of bullshit in his opinion, and the way she added 'darling' to the sentence was purely just to make Sirius feel bad. She didn't care for Regulus, not really. It was all an act.

That night, it was a trainwreck. As Orion got down for dinner and saw Sirius, he lost every last bit of self control.
"You broke Lucius Malfoy's nose?"
He asked, though he knew the answer. His voice made Sirius feel sick.
"Huh?!"
Sirius was too scared to answer. The dinner table had that tension on it again, the one that always ended in someone crying or bleeding.
"Could we not do this in the dinner table, darling..."
Walburga's voice wasn't at all snappy and mean as she spoke to her husband. It was quiet and timid. Almost like scared.
"Shut up!"
Orion roared and slammed his fist against the table. A glass of wine dropped on the floor and broke. Kreecher ran to clean it up, seemingly terrified of his master's angered mood.
"Abraxas was very angered with me. You know what he said? He said Orion, your eldest is the kind of scandalious young wizard, who would not just shame his family name by being sorted into Gryffindor, but to get involved with muggles. He said that to me. And from what I have heard from my little birds around Hogwarts, you've grown quite fond of that Lupin boy. I asked about this from Lyall, and he confirmed to me that all that his werewolf, half-blood son speaks of is you. Do you have any idea, Sirius, of how bad you makes this family look?"
Orion was yelling so loudly that the old china tableware trembled. Walburga's eyes were closed, it looked like she was praying. Regulus bit his lip so hard it was almost bleeding. And Sirius, his glazed eyes just stared at his plate, the half eaten steak that laid there already cold. He didn't feel a thing.
"You are a burden, a perversion, not worthy of your family name!"
Orion's voice was rocky and loud. And he got up from his chair, took a step to Sirius and pulled the chair the teenager was sitting on from under his body.
"A stain in the noble family tree!"
He yelled as his fist slammed against Sirius' cheek. And he hit again and again, creating new bruises on the ones Malfoy had caused, the ones that hadn't even faded yet. The boy hadn't even gotten up from the chair as his father beat him down on the floor. He only heard his own heartbeat, blood in his mouth. He was too scared to move. Shaking of fear as the old man raised his fist high in the air once more.
"Stop!! Father, please stop!"
Regulus' voice yelled from across the table. Walburga looked petrified, almost angry at his younger son for speaking up.
"What did he ever do wrong? It's... it wasn't in his power to choose to become a Gryffindor!"
The boy was so brave. At first he felt good for finally doing something about the situation, but then his mother got up from her chair. Her high heels snapped against the floor, the noise was sharp and mean. Her face was terrifying, angry. Furious. Disappointed. And she hit Regulus in the face with the back of her hand, leaving a bright red mark on his cheek from the wedding ring that had been on her finger. But the boy didn't cry, he didn't even shed a tear. He just stared at his father, deep in the eye, waiting for an answer.
"Your brother... your brother is homosexual."
Orion finally said it out loud, the tone he used was one none of the four people in the room had never heard before. So disgusted, so ashamed. Sirius felt sick, he couldn't cry. He couldn't speak. He felt the meal climbing back up his gullet, his hands were cold as ice. And he threw up on the floor, right next to Orion's fancy, shiny leather boots.
It was quiet for a moment. Inside Sirius' head, his heartbeat hit against his eardrums like a hammer.

This is it, he thought. The last straw.

And he closed his eyes as he laid on the floor, the taste of vomit and iron on his tongue. Praying to whatever god there was to spare Remus from his father's rage. He didn't pray for himself, because he knew that there was no force powerful enough to stop Orion Black from getting what he wanted. Right now, Sirius believed that what his father wanted the most was to get rid of him. Permanently.

It was quiet, as Orion reached for his wand that laid on it's place in his fancy jacket pocket. Sirius squeezed his eyes shut harder, trying to remember every detail of Remus' face inside of his head. But his mind was blank. He was too scared to think. To do anything.

There were big, warm tears falling down Regulus' face as he watched how his father took his wand.
He watched how the man glanced down at Sirius with dusgust. He watched how his wonderful, brave, handsome and good big brother laid in Orion's feet, hair on his face, stained in vomit. Face full of fresh bruises. Waiting.

Orion flicked his wrist.

Everything was silent.

"Scourgify."

The vomit vanished from over his shoes. Regulus could barely breathe. Orion raised his eyes despisingly from his son, put his wand back on it's place in the pocket, and walked out of the room. Walburga hid the relief well, but Regulus noticed the way her muscles relaxed again as her husband left the room. Even she was afraid of him.

They had all expected a green flash of light. Instead, there was just a heavy silence.

Walburga made sure Orion was gone and in his study before walking to the sink and pouring a glass of water. She put it on the edge of the dining table, right next to where Sirius was laying. And the look in her eyes, it was almost like she was sorry. More than that, she too was afraid.
"Drink."
She commanded, voice sore but cold. Sirius took the glass in his shaking fingers, looking at his mother in disbelief.

It was the first day of Christmas holidays. And Sirius was already bleeding on the floor.