Truce

14

Regulus-

It was hard to tell what had happened after the curse. Sirius had been screaming, sobbing at their mother. Then Regulus heard the curse again and soon Sirius was screeching in pain. The pain was still circulating in Regulus' body but he had somehow gotten the strength to stand up. He slowly opened his eyes to see Orion charging straight at Sirius and, without entirely thinking of the best strategy, jumped on his father's back, choking the older man in the process. Sirius watched in awe as Orion struggled against his younger brother, guilt choking any common reason he had left. Sirius quickly stood up and kicked his father in the stomach causing Orion to collapse on the floor. Although the two boys were biting back pain, fear, anguish, and almost certain death, Sirius hooked his arm around Regulus' bruised torso and the two ran up the stairs. Kreacher was sobbing in Regulus' room as the two quickly ran inside. A suitcase quickly appeared on Regulus' bed and Sirius started packing his brother's things.

"W-What are you doing?" Sirius didn't answer. Instead, he quickly stuffed ten sweaters into the suitcase. Regulus' breath came out in short puffs as he tried to stop his brother. "Sirius, please-,"

"Don't stop me, Regulus." There was a bang from downstairs which caused both boys to jump. Regulus bit back tears as he slowly took out Alice in Wonderland. 

"You're scaring me," Regulus whispered and Sirius' eyes softened. Sirius quickly cupped Regulus' face, giving the younger a small smile. "Why did you send the letter?" Regulus managed a straight face as he tore away from his brother's touch. "Y-You knew what would happen, you knew what happened last time. Why did you send it? Do you hate me that much?" Sirius quickly shook his head, tears flooding down his cheeks. 

"I-It wasn't my idea, it was James'. He thought Gene was a bad influence so-,"

"Do you hate me because I was playing with his hair? Please, Sirius, I'm so tired." Sirius merely shook his head, quickly gathering all of Regulus' Hogwarts things before scanning the room once more. "Where are you planning on taking me, Sirius?" But Sirius was already running to his room. Regulus quickly followed him, wincing while he stepped on his left foot. Their parents seemed to have run out of the house in anger meaning they had at least ten minutes alone. "Sirius-!"

"Probably James'." Regulus stopped cold in his tracks, his eyes colder than the sudden chill he felt run down his body. Sirius stared at his brother in sudden apprehension. He shouldn't have told Regulus. "Regulus, please-,"

"It was his idea, right?" Sirius winced, he knew that this wasn't going to end well. "Y-You just said that the letter was his idea. This entire thing was his idea. And you want me to stay with... with-with him? Him?" Regulus' voice began to rise as he tore out his hair. 

"Regulus, please-,"

"Are you bloody mental?" Regulus finally screamed, his throat aching as he took steps forward. "You want me to go to James fucking Potter's house?" He spat out the name as though it were acid. Sirius winced but stubbornly held eye contact.

"Jacob and Gene will be there," Regulus laughed sarcastically, wiping the blood that was gushing out of his nose.

"Bloody fantastic. Fucking excellent! Yes, let's go to the house where Jacob was starved last year! Oh, and to add on, let's go back to the person who you and James seem to absolutely fucking hate. Fuck. You," Regulus seethed, running back to his room before Sirius could stop him. There was no way in hell he was going to stay with the Potters. No matter how dangerous it was at home. He quickly started to unpack his bag but Sirius grabbed his wrists. 

"You can't stay here, they'll kill you." Regulus nodded his head slowly, his eyes not raising past his brother's chest. He knew Sirius was right, he knew that his parents would try something worse if he stayed. But there was no way in all of hell that he was going to yet another toxic house. No matter how much fake positivity there was. No way. Regulus smirked and finally met his brother's gaze.

"And who's fault is that?" Regulus repacked his belongings and quickly lifted the suitcase off of the bed and down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" 

"Away from here. Away from you. Away from the fucking Potters." Sirius tried to stop his brother but he tripped down the stairs instead causing his ribs to burn. 

"Regulus, please-,"

"No, sod off."

"Regulus-," Regulus' cold glare settled on Sirius' pathetic display of affection. Regulus' eyes filled with tears as he tried his best to not break down. He didn't need Sirius, he was fine on his own. Forever and always. Sirius slowly forced himself up, stumbling against his own weight. "Regulus, please think logically. You have nowhere else to go," Regulus paused, his hands hesitating when he reached towards the floo powder. Sirius took this as a sign to advance and he did so hesitantly. "They'll find you anywhere. You're already practically disowned, the only thing left is to go somewhere safe. And that would either be with the Potters or out of London, away from everything." Regulus grabbed a handful of the powder and tossed it in the fireplace. "Regulus, where are you going to go?!" Sirius yelled, attempting to reach for his younger brother. But Sirius was too late, Regulus was already in the fireplace and had muttered his location quietly. 

"Don't ever talk to me again," Was the last thing Sirius heard before the house was quiet. Regulus was gone and Sirius had little time. He wiped his eyes and ran back up the stairs. Regulus had stumbled into the Leaky Cauldron in the middle of a sing-a-long. All of the poor wizards stared at the Black heir in confusion before one of the older wizards offered the boy something to drink. Regulus slowly accepted before slowly sitting in with the other taverners. He slowly allowed the tears to fall into the cup of beer as he listened to the jolly songs echoing around the pub. The visitors upstairs either didn't mind it or chose to ignore the festivities. It filled Regulus with a sense of restlessness as he chugged down the beer and ordered another. 

"Happy Christmas!" One of the barkeepers told the boy. The barkeeper wiped his cheek in a teasing manner, reminding Regulus how bad his injuries were. Without another word, Regulus was given a room key and he limped up the stairs. When he reached the bed, he lifted the pillow only to discover that he had left his copy of Alice in Wonderland at the bar. He wanted to go back downstairs but his exhaustion hindered him. Instead, he closed his eyes, ignoring the throbbing pain echoing in his face, and thought of only one thing.

France.