Disclaimer: Characters owned by J K Rowling.
Summary:
Castle of Destiny – 1971
If You Haven't Got a Penny
It was early afternoon of the seventeenth of December, and four young Gryffindor boys were out frolicking by the shores of the lake. A thick layer of snow covered the ground, and ice as deep as a man shone on the surface of the lake. It was to this that they had headed for, bottles of blue-coloured fire hanging around their necks for warmth in the subzero temperatures.
Over a month had passed since Sirius's birthday, and he and James were friends again - much to Remus' relief. James and Peter had packed their trunks and were taking advantage of their final hours left at school, for they were headed home for the Christmas holidays. Remus knew that his father would not want him home, so he had signed up to stay at school. Thankfully, so had Sirius.
The four friends were gathered excitedly by the lakeshore, gathering around Remus as he cast a complex spell on all of their shoes. Within a few seconds, silvery blades shone on the soles of their shoes; they were all going ice skating on the lake while they still could.
Remus was the first onto the ice, despite never having tried this before. This was his spell, after all, and he trusted himself to adequately test it out. If he had cast it right, then it should be impossible for any of them to fall over. And he had, indeed, cast it right; a sense of support suddenly settled over him, and he knew that he would not fall.
"It's w-worked, guys!" he called out, grinning widely as he pushed himself to skate faster. "C-come on!"
-----
Sirius whooped in delight and shot out onto the ice. He had been given many professional ice skating (as well as dance) lessons, that allowed him to feel completely at ease balancing only on a thin blade of silvery metal. He executed a perfect pirouette, ignoring James cries of 'fairy boy!' and 'Sirius' is a ballerina!', and skated over to Remus, zooming in circles all around the taller - but younger, as Sirius always pointed out - boy.
The ice was sparkling, the sun was shining, and the sky was a clear, cold blue, the same colour as the magicked fire round their necks. A perfect day, as far as anyone was concerned.
-----
emus laughed as Sirius skated around him in circles, literally running rings about him. "B-bit posh, isn't that, S-Sirius?" he snickered, skating over to him. Another change had come about Remus in the last month; after finally reconciling with Sirius (and regaining his confidence along the way) he was back to standing tall, and his stutter had begun to recede even more quickly than it had before. At the last full moon early in December, the trio had accompanied him to the Entrance Hall again (despite Professor McGonagall's warning not to) with the excuse that they were heading for dinner, and they wished his mother well before leaving him to set off. That moon had been easy on him; there were no broken bones, for once, so the only bandages he wore were hidden from view. They were none the wiser, for he had managed to disguise his limp perfectly.
Now, confident and happy, he laughed again. "C-come on, I'll race you b-back to the shore!" he grinned. "Ready, s-set... GO!" And then he set off, practically flying across the ice thanks to his lycanthropy. Today could not get any better.
-----
Sirius laughed, and skated smoothly after Remus. He may not have been as naturally fast as Remus, but years of technique gave him the speed to catch up, and they were soon skating neck and neck. Sirius collapsed on his back in the snow-covered grass, and was promptly joined by James, who after stuffing ice down Sirius' robes, legged it back to the castle to finish packing along with Peter.
Sirius stood up, shaking melting snow-y slush out of his hair, still grinning, his face pink from the cold, and managed to speak through chattering teeth. "T...This really w...was one of y...your better ideas, R...Remus! We sh...should do it...t ag...gain - like every y...year. Make it a t...tradition of s...some sort!"
-----
Remus laughed, too, stumbling over to Sirius after James and Peter had gone inside. He gave a second wave of his wand and muttered the counter-jinx, allowing the blades on their shoes to disappear so they could walk normally. "G-glad you liked it, S-Sirius," he answered, smiling as he pushed a lock of hair from his face. "And y-yes - every year w-we will come sk-sk-skating on the lake! You can t-teach us all some m-moves!" He grinned broadly before bending down to scoop up a handful of snow, moulding it into a ball and throwing it at Sirius. Laughing as it smacked into his torso, he turned and yelled, "Catch m-me if you can!" before he made his escape from any attacks.
-----
Sirius let out a hoarse bark of laughter, and dived after Remus. He hurled a ball of snow at his laughing friend - but instead of hitting him smack in the back of his tawny-head, it hit the person who suddenly walked out in front of them - bang in the face.
Sirius blinked, and then his face paled as he realised who he'd just hit in the face with a snowball. "Professor McGonagall! I... I'm terribly sorry, Professor! I didn't see you there..." He trailed off lamely, and looked at the floor, stifling his laughter. When he dared to chance a quick look upwards, he was surprised to see his stern Professor's lips twitching - as though repressing a smile. Shyly, Sirius let himself smile properly, and was adequately rewarded with a short nod from the Professor.
"That's quite alright, Mr. Black. I should know by now not to walk around the grounds during the winter months without adequate shielding. Anyway, we have more pressing matters to discuss. Such as why you are not on the train with your classmates! The Express departs in under an hour, Mr. Black!"
Sirius blinked. "Oh, no, I'm not going home, Professor. I'm staying here, with Remus!" Sirius watched in bewilderment, as instead of being reassured, McGonagall just seemed to get even more worried.
"But Mr. Black, your parents specifically requested that you return home! I gave you the letter weeks ago, did I not?" Sirius wordlessly shook his head, his good mood melting like the snow that was now dripping down the back of his neck. McGonagall looked at his pale face, and his suddenly blank eyes, and sighed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black. But your parents demanded you return home, so I'm going to have to insist that you go and pack. You have 45 minutes." She looked over at Remus, and Sirius could see pity in her eyes. "Make the most of it."
Sirius stared after as she turned and left, and let out a sigh. "I should've known," he breathed. "It was just too good to be true."
-----
Remus could almost physically feel his heart sink as Professor McGonagall regaled the sad news. Not only was he now going to spend his Christmas alone, but Sirius...
Sirius was returning to a house filled with people who wanted to kill him, and Remus had never been more scared for another person since the death of his mother.
He watched Professor McGonagall until she was out of earshot, and then he finally turned to Sirius. "S-Sirius," he whispered, "you c-c-can't go! Y-you just c-can't, th-th-they'll kill you!"
-----
Sirius
stared after McGonagall, his heart somewhere in his
boots. I.... Remus... I'm
sorry. I didn't want to leave you all alone!
He sighed, and muttered, "Remus. Think about it. They can kill me there, kill me here, it makes no difference. Besides, I don't think they want to kill me, really. I mean..." He whirled round to face Remus, his face pale, and his eyes shining with tears and desperation. "They can't want me dead! Not really! I'm their SON, Remus! I'm their SON! They should... They must, they MUST love me! Even just a bit, they have to... They have to..."
-----
Remus looked at Sirius's face is despair, wringing his hands in agitation. "B-b-but you're th-there, c-c-close to th-them! It j-j-just m-makes it easier f-for them! Even if th-they d-d-don't want to k-kill you, j-j-just... j-just..." He trailed off, running to Sirius in an instant and grabbing his shoulders. "P-please, Sirius, y-y-you have t-to do s-something, anything, t-t-to d-dissuade them from k-killing you!" He looked up at him, meeting his tearful eyes with his own.
"I c-can't l-l-lose you, S-S-Sirius!"
-----
Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair, staring up at the slowly darkening sky. Suddenly, he took a couple of steps forwards, and gave Remus a brief, awkward hug, moving quickly out of the way afterwards, and blushing brightly, looking determinedly at the floor.
"You won't, Remus. Even if- No, you won't lose me, I promise."
I promise.
-----
Remus was stood stock still, suddenly feeling... warm. He had just been hugged for the first time in eight long years. He finally looked up from the ground only to see Sirius looking there, too, his stance awkward and closed off. He merely ignored it. If he could feel this warmth from a hug, then Sirius could too. So he slowly stepped forward and wrapped his thin arms around the smaller boy, closing his eyes tightly to stop himself from crying.
"I trust you," he said sincerely, dearly hoping that Sirius had felt loved - if only for a second - before he stepped backwards. Finally opening his amber eyes, he looked anywhere but Sirius.
"As m-m-much as I d-don't want you to g-g-go, you m-must," he said sadly. "Y-you need t-t-to pack."
And with that, he turned and walked slowly towards the castle, finally letting his tears fall.
-----
Sirius watched him go, before flopping back into the snow, letting it block out all the noise from the castle, and stared up at the sky.
There... There
I am... Sirius... And Regulus, the Heart of Leo
the Lion... Reggie... I'll be home soon.
But... You don't even want me there. You
don't... You said so. You hate me. All
of you. All of you.
-----
Regulus lay awake, squirming excitedly. It was finally Christmas, and Sirius had come home! Despite the letter Regulus had written, his brother seemed no different - still defiant, loud, and opinionated. Still his brother.
I'm
so glad doesn't hate me. I... I should never have written that
letter! I thought it would keep him safe, but... Well, mother and
father weren't serious - they couldn't have been...Regulus
sighed, and wriggled about a bit more. I
want to get up, and go and open presents with Siri! Hurry up and
rise, sun!
His words echoed deafeningly
around the empty room. Regulus stood perfectly still, staring at
Sirius' empty bed. He...
He must've just gone to the bathroom - or the kitchen! He
must've!
It was cold. Regulus turned his head slowly,
letting the breeze from the open window play with his
hair. He's
really gone! He's really gone and, and... Left me. He's
left me. On Christmas Day! I thought... I
thought you loved me! I thought I was your brother! Why
would you leave me, Sirius! Why?!
He's...
And as his mother muttered soothing words, and stroked his hair, Regulus realised something.
Mother
and Father... They love me. They'll never leave me. They
love me better than Sirius does. As long as they love me
- I'll never be alone.
Author's Note: Okay, sorry for the delay! Idiosyncratic-Silence, who normally posts these up has gone on holiday, and I'm not the most organized of people… I'll be posting a few of these up by the hour, I think, to make up for the wait!