While Regulus would have preferred to blame his actions on the fault of being under the Imperius Curse, he knew it wasn't true. The influence that hovered over him was much stronger, in the form of Bellatrix. She had made herself very clear that Regulus needed to follow her every word or there would be consequences beyond the punishment he was already going to suffer through. Regulus didn't know what it would involve, but when she made mention that Sirius was going to arrive at the Grimmauld Place shortly after they did, it was enough to make him nearly collapse in fear.

Sirius and James had been outnumbered from the start, the Death Eaters using the darkness of the night to their advantage to hide amongst the shadows. Sirius thought they were going to go undetected, but everyone was already anticipating their arrival. It only showed Regulus that there were eyes and ears listening everywhere as Bellatrix had warned him. He begged her to punish him and him alone, but Bellatrix decided to up the ante that if Regulus didn't do as she said, not only would Sirius suffer, but so would Éponine.

She threatened to feed Éponine to the wolves, insinuating she would allow the disgusting predators among the group to have their way with Éponine, and Regulus couldn't bear such thoughts. But it didn't mean that he wanted to attack Sirius either, however, Bellatrix promised that Sirius wouldn't be killed, it was just meant to serve as a warning or a lesson as she put it.

Regulus wished his parents would show up at the Grimmauld Place, knowing that no matter how angry they were with Sirius or even Éponine, they wouldn't allow Bellatrix to get away with such behaviour. He wished that Kreacher had been present as well, believing his house-elf would remain loyal to him above all and they would have been able to escape. But Bellatrix had lined everything up, leaving the home quiet with the exception of the two of them standing there, until Sirius arrived.

Bellatrix, with the use of her wand, opened the door and Regulus wanted nothing more but to disapparate from the scene, grabbing his brother and disappear into the night. But down the street, he could hear the other Death Eaters attacking James, who had, of course, accompanied Sirius that evening. And with Bellatrix standing off to the side, wearing a wicked grin that he despised so much, Regulus lifted his wand and aimed it at his brother's face.

I'm so sorry, Sirius, he thought as Sirius turned to face him, looking not shocked but disappointed. You don't understand how sorry I am. You're going to hate me even more after this, but maybe one day you'll understand why I did it. You were right to leave home and I should have gone with you. I should have listened to you and listened to Éponine sooner. I don't know how to make this right without either one of you getting hurt or killed at this point. Please, forgive me, not today, but one day.

"Regu-"

Sirius went to call out his little brother's name, perhaps in hopes of reasoning with him, but it was too late.

"You shouldn't have come here, Sirius," Regulus said, " You should have stayed away."

Please look after Éponine, she's going to be absolutely devastated. But she deserves better. I thought I could be that person for her, but it's clear I was too late. I'm too weak. Just look after her, make sure she stays safe. I know she's strong and she can look after herself,  but she's been through so much already. I only want her happy, I only want happiness for both of you.

Suddenly, before Regulus could cast any spell, Bellatrix took it upon herself to get things started. She didn't dare to start off with a gentle warning either as Regulus heard her cast "Crucio!" before Sirius was struck back.

And if Regulus thought his punishment was going to be watching his brother suffer before him, believing he had been behind it all, he was sorely mistaken. The Dark Lord was forgiving according to Bellatrix, but he was not that forgiving.

Once Euphemia and Fleamont had healed any superficial wounds, they immediately brought Sirius and James to St Mungo's, where Éponine accompanied, leaving Toulouse back at the Potter home. The Healers took both Sirius and James, placing them in separate rooms. And while Euphemia and Fleamont went back and forth to check on their sons, Éponine remained in Sirius' room for the majority of the time.

Since James had told her that it was Regulus behind the attack, Éponine felt her mind spinning to the point where she felt dizzy. She didn't know what to say after he had said such a thing, but there was no need for her to speak since James didn't remain conscious for very long. However, it didn't stop the overwhelming feeling of guilt that weighed heavy on her shoulders. Part of her didn't want to believe that Regulus had done such a thing, that it was all a misunderstanding of some sort.

But she couldn't keep making excuses for Regulus, she couldn't keep holding onto such hope especially if he had been the one responsible for the attack. Everything lined up to well and it seemed Sirius had called it from the beginning, making her hate herself even more for leading them into a trap.

Settled at the side of Sirius' bed, Éponine reached out a hand and grabbed one of his. She squeezed it, hoping to get even the slightest bit of reaction out of him. She wanted him to wake up so she could tell him that she was sorry.

Thankfully, the blood that had covered his body had been cleaned away, the cuts and bruises were gone, and the Healers were sure that his body had just gone into a state of shock due to the pain he had been placed under. He looked peaceful and that was the only comforting factor out of the entire scenario.

"This is all my fault, Sirius," she whispered to him, "I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you back in Hogsmeade because it looks like you were right. I didn't want to believe it, I wanted to give him a second chance, just like how you gave me a second chance. But you were right. I thought I had everything figured out but I guess I'm still naive to how the world works. Maybe it's more black and white than I think. Maybe I forgive too easily or maybe it's just that I'm so easily manipulated. I thought I was passed all of that..."

She paused as Euphemia poked her head in the room to see if Sirius had wakened yet, but as Éponine spotted her, she gave a shake of her head.

"Nin, sweetheart," Euphemia called to her, " it's incredibly late. You've already had a long day of travelling and everything else, you should go home and get some rest. If anything changes, Fleamont or myself will come home to tell you-"

Éponine continued to shake her head. "No, I won't be able to sleep anyways, not until one of them wakes up again. I'd like to stay here, please."

There was no sense in arguing as both women could agree they wanted to be there when Sirius or James woke up. Despite the Healers reassuring them that they would be okay, it would only count when they could see it for themselves. With a nod, Euphemia left the doorway, more than likely returning to James' room. As soon as they were alone once more, Éponine returned her attention back to Sirius.

"I promise that I'm going to do better," she said, " I won't make the same mistake again."

For the next half hour, there were no changes, and even though she was anxiously awaiting for Sirius and James to wake up, Éponine found herself succumbing to the exhaustion of the day. She remained by Sirius' bedside, every so often when she started falling asleep, she would stand up and walk to James' room where Euphemia and Fleamont would exchange any information given but it was usually the same thing.

When she returned to Sirius' room, she sat back down and grabbed his hand again with a yawn. Immediately, her eyes started to feel heavy and her head slightly bobbled but just as she was about to actually fall asleep, she felt Sirius' fingers squeeze her hand. Suddenly, her tired state evaporated and her eyes opened wide.

"Sirius?"

Sirius let out a groan as he attempted to start moving around in his bed, but his eyes fluttered open, as a happy cry escaped from Éponine's lips.

"You're awake!"

She jumped up to her feet, catching Sirius off guard in his confused state before she pulled him into a sitting position so she could hug him. Although perhaps her movements had been too aggressive and maybe she had hugged him just a little too tight as Sirius let out a small yelp.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just-" She went to pull away, only to feel his arms wrap around her.

It was comforting to see that he was upset with her, knowing how things had ended the last time they had spoken with one another. But to feel his body tremble in her arms didn't comfort her in the slightest.

"You're still in pain," Éponine whispered, "let me go get a Healer. It'll only take a second-"

But Sirius didn't allow her to leave, not loosening his hold in the slightest as she sat back down. He shook his head before his chin came to rest on her shoulder and Éponine had no other option but to remain still. However, she came to realise that his body was trembling because he was crying.

"Sirius, what happened? James said-"

"James?!" His head lifted up. "Where is he? Is James-"

"Shhh," Éponine rubbed his back with her hand, " he's alright. He's here too, he's with Euphemia and Fleamont in the other room. We've just been waiting on you two to wake up. Sirius, I....James told me it was a setup. Is that...is it-"

"He was there when we got to Grimmauld," Sirius told her, " Regulus wasn't alone. James was the lookout and he was ambushed and then...then Regulus attacked me, along with Bellatrix. They put me under the Cruciatus Curse."

She pulled away, her eyes widened in shock as she stared at Sirius. She wanted to shake her head in disbelief but couldn't bring herself to do so as Sirius went on.

"I've never felt such a pain in all my life," Sirius whispered, " I thought I was going to die. Every time it was lifted, they just kept telling me all of these horrid things. How it was a shame that you weren't the one that didn't go back to Grimmauld with Regulus because the men that attacked James weren't there for him, they were there for you. They were going to punish you-"

Sirius couldn't even finish what he had been told, obviously too disgusted by what they had said. Éponine appeared to be frozen in horror, her lips parted and her breathing staggered to hear such a thing. An ambush waiting for her as a punishment? She felt the coldest of chills run down her spine.

"No, Regulus wouldn't do that to me," she said, " he wouldn't let them touch me. He knew how I felt about that...I told him...he knew...he knew because I told him...."

"The Regulus you thought you knew, the Regulus I thought I knew, he doesn't exist anymore, Nin. He's gone."

Standing in the centre of a dark room, Regulus felt his legs shaking beneath him as he struggled to stand. No one had approached him or said anything in the last several minutes but the anticipation was enough to kill him. After Sirius and James had managed to get away, Regulus discovered his punishment was not over as Bellatrix grabbed him and brought him to another unknown location. He was told to stand there and wait until the Dark Lord arrived.

He had no idea what the Dark Lord was going to do to him but he knew it was going to be horrible and he already felt sick to his stomach after what he had put Sirius through. He had been forced to attack his brother, torturing him with hexes and jinxes because he couldn't bring himself to use curses such as the Cruciatus Curse as Bellatrix did. Instead, he had to stand there like he was part of the whole thing, reciting what Bellatrix told him to say. He hated himself, he wanted to die, but he was too much of a coward to turn his wand on himself.

Suddenly, there was the sound of movement in the darkness that surrounded him and Regulus peered around until he spotted several masked Death Eaters closing him in a circle.

"Luck keeps siding with you, Regulus," Bellatrix's voice echoed in the room, " the Dark Lord does not wish to deal with you personally to make you earn his forgiveness. Fortunately, for you, he's leaving it up to us."

Regulus didn't even have to ask what that meant for him, only to be struck by the Cruciatus Curse seconds later by one of the Death Eaters. He hit the floor, landing on his back that knocked all the air out of him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he was suddenly overwhelmed by the burning sensation of being stabbed all over his body. And the entire time he received his punishment, he didn't call for mercy or beg for help.

Regulus could only think of Éponine, hoping she was safe.

A/N:

I couldn't even bring myself to make a meme for this chapter because like, damn, I hate hurting my characters. But you know, drama. But I was thinking, but imagine if the Cruciatus Curse wasn't just the same for everyone that felt it but more personal based on the person who cast it. I think it was mentioned that in order to cast the Unforgivable Curses that you really have to mean them. So think of the Death Eaters like Bellatrix casting the curse of what they deem to be "torturous." For her, her idea of torture is being stabbed repeatedly, for another, it would be being lit on fire, perhaps drowning. The curse itself would make you feel those sensations although not causing you bodily harm.

That would be some horrifying shit.

Oh well, thanks for reading!