A/N: The first scene of this chapter is a one-off from Reggie's point of view, I hope you enjoy it :)
Second-Year
Friday, 1st September 1972
Regulus huffed out an annoyed breath as the whistle sounded and the floor beneath his feet lurched. Mother had kept him on the platform until the last possible moment, and now the train was setting off before he'd even reached his seat. The last compartment right at the back of the train, Siri had told him—sporting the grin that always got him into trouble with Mother—furthest from the prefects.
Mother had forbidden him from travelling with Sirius and his friends, of course, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, and there were no close relatives left at Hogwarts to report on him now that Narcissa had elected to skip her NEWTs.
Reaching the last door at the back of the train, Regulus peeked inside. He was a little nervous about meeting his brother's friends if he were honest with himself. These people were important to Siri. So important, he'd endured weeks of punishment to keep them in his life. Remembering the sound of Sirius' screams when he'd entered the kitchen for a snack near the beginning of the holiday, Regulus shuddered. He'd avoided the kitchen for the rest of the summer. With a shake of his head, he pushed the memories away.
The point was, he wanted them to like him.
Sirius was closest to the door, but he had his back to it. The other three occupants—all boys, one with dark, messy hair and glasses, one plump and blonde and the last with long curly hair and a tired look to his eyes—were all listening to whatever his brother was saying with serious faces.
The boy with long hair glanced at the door and spotted him. His face morphed into a welcoming smile and he nodded towards the door. Suddenly, all four of them were looking at him and Regulus felt his face warm at the attention.
Sirius reached over and slid the door open. 'You made it! Come in, come in. James, grab his trunk, would you?'
'Oh, that's okay, I can manage,' Regulus said.
The boy with glasses grinned and climbed to his feet. 'Go on, sit down. I'll get it.'
'Alright, um, thank you.' Regulus moved into the compartment and Sirius slid closer to the curly-haired boy so he could sit beside him.
'Hi, I'm Peter,' the blonde boy said. 'It's great to meet you.'
'Sirius talks about you all the time,' the curly-haired boy said. 'I'm Remus.'
'And I'm James,' the boy with glasses said, turning back to him and holding out his hand to shake after stowing Regulus' trunk with the others. Regulus shook his hand. If this was James Potter, then the other two must be the mudbloods his mother was so furious about. They didn't seem stupid, dirty or ill-mannered. Well, maybe the last one; they hadn't shaken his hand after all.
'It's a pleasure to meet you all,' Regulus said, wanting to make a good first impression.
Sirius rolled his eyes. 'You don't have to act like you're at one of Mother's parties, Reggie.'
Regulus felt his face warm again and ducked his head. He'd messed up already.
There was a moment of silence and then Remus leant forward so Regulus could see him. 'Are you excited? I was so nervous on my first day, mostly because I didn't know what was going to happen. Has Sirius told you anything?'
Regulus glanced at his brother. Hadn't he told them they were kept away from each other all summer? Sirius frowned and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. No, then. They didn't know what Sirius had suffered for them. Maybe they weren't as close as he'd thought.
'Not really, no,' Regulus said. 'He wants it to be a surprise, apparently.'
'Do you want to know?' James asked.
'It would help to settle my nerves, I think.'
To Regulus' shock, Remus slapped Sirius' leg. 'I can't believe you'd let your brother be nervous and not tell him anything. Not cool, Sirius.'
Even more shocking, Sirius just laughed. 'That's what big brothers are for. You poor only children just don't understand sibling relationships.'
'Well, we're going to tell him everything,' James said. 'And there's nothing you can do to stop us.' He turned to Regulus. 'When we get there, you'll—'
James was cut off when Sirius launched himself across the compartment at James and smothered him with his hand. Though he continued trying to talk through it, his voice was too muffled to understand. Regulus let out a nervous laugh, but Remus and Peter seemed unbothered by this turn of events.
'You'll cross the lake in boats, is what James was going to say,' Remus said.
'Remus! What betrayal is this?' Sirius cried. 'Ew, James, gross. I can't believe you licked me!' He wiped his hand on his robes and glared down at James.
'And when you reach the castle—' James said. Sirius wrestled him to the floor and attempted to silence him again, but James managed to wriggle out from beneath him and gasped out, '—you put on the sorting hat and it tells you what House you'll be in!'
Remus and Peter were both laughing now, Sirius was glaring at James and he was grinning back. Regulus wasn't sure how to react.
Remus must have seen something in his expression because he leaned over and said, 'Hey, don't worry, they're always like this.'
Sirius heard him and jumped up, laughing. 'Yeah, I'm not really mad.'
'Which House do you think you'll be in?' James asked. As if nothing odd had occurred, he climbed to his feet and dusted off his weird, muggle clothes—gold trousers with ridiculously wide legs and a crimson, satin shirt.
'Slytherin, I expect.'
'You could go somewhere else,' Sirius said. 'You just have to ask the hat.'
'Is that what you did?'
Sirius nodded. 'Ask to be in Gryffindor with me.'
Regulus met Sirius' gaze and held it for a moment before he looked away. 'I'll think about it.'
And he did. For the rest of the journey, he thought about it. While they played exploding snap, he considered how furious Mother would be if he was placed in Gryffindor too, and as they changed into their school robes, he wondered if Mother's anger or Sirius' disappointment would hurt more. He was still undecided on which course of action to take when they arrived at the station and merely smiled when Sirius said goodbye and promised to save him a seat at the Gryffindor table.
As Remus had promised, he and the other first-years travelled to the castle by boat. It was drizzling, and he was damp and uncomfortable by the time they reached the other side of the lake. The two boys and one girl he shared a boat with were nice enough, but he didn't want to form any attachments to anyone until after the sorting, so he kept to himself.
They were shown into a small room by the giant man called Hagrid and then lectured by Professor McGonagall. Sirius had said she was nice, but she seemed rather stern to Regulus. Glancing around the Hall as they walked in, he spotted Sirius and his friends at the table beneath the Gryffindor banner—the rowdiest table in the room. All four of them smiled and waved to him; he would have immediate friends if he chose Gryffindor.
He turned his head to look at the other side of the Hall where the Slytherins sat wearing the familiar green and silver that adorned almost everything in his home. Hardly any of them were smiling. Or even talking amongst themselves.
He finally made his choice as the hat was placed on his head.
'Hmm, what do we have here, then? Another Black, hmm?' The Hat's voice echoed inside his head.
Please, I want to be in Gryffindor with my brother, Regulus thought, concentrating hard.
'Well, that seems like a brave choice, doesn't it?' the hat said. 'Your parents would be quite cross, hmm? But I can see you're making this request out of fear, and that's not brave at all.'
No, you're wrong, my parents will be furious but I don't care, I want to be in Gryffindor.
'You're more afraid of disappointing your brother than upsetting your parents, you think he would punish you more harshly than they. That's a cunning choice, not a brave one. SLYTHERIN!' The hat screamed the last word out loud, and Regulus pulled it off in shock. Sirius had promised the hat would listen, but it hadn't. And it had implied he was a coward.
He couldn't even look at Sirius as he threw the hat back on the stool and headed for the Slytherin table. He wasn't a coward. And he would prove it. Somehow.
'SLYTHERIN!' the Sorting Hat called, and Remus watched Sirius as he visibly deflated in his seat. He'd been tense since they left the train and only became more so when his brother's name was called. Now it seemed as if all the life had been sucked out of him.
'He didn't do it,' Sirius whispered. 'I was so sure he was going to ask, but he didn't.'
Remus felt for Sirius' hand under the cover of the table and squeezed it. 'He's still your brother. Him being in Slytherin doesn't have to change anything.'
'They'll corrupt him,' Sirius said, nodding his head towards the Slytherin table. 'Look, they've started already.'
Remus followed his gaze, James and Peter both turning their heads to look too, and saw Regulus had the attention of several older Slytherins.
'They're probably just welcoming him to the school,' James said, turning back to their table. 'It'll be fine. We'll go find him tomorrow and show him around. Let him know he can still hang around with us, alright?'
Sirius nodded, but he still didn't look happy. He kept hold of Remus' hand, though, and Remus let him; he wasn't going to take it away if it was helping.
When the sorting was over, Dumbledore stood up and the low-level of chatter that had been ongoing throughout the sorting immediately silenced as all heads in the hall turned to face him.
'Welcome to all our new students!' Dumbledore smiled out at the rapt audience. 'And to those returning for another year, welcome back! Now, I'm sure you're all dying to avail yourselves of the delicious feast that has no doubt been prepared for us, but I have a couple of notices which I must impart before you are all too befuddled by the pleasures of food and good company. First, the east wing dungeon corridor is out of bounds until further notice, anyone caught trespassing in that part of the school will find all their free time inexplicably taken up by cleaning duties for the rest of the year.'
The Marauders all glanced at each other, that corridor held their old Defence classroom; it could not be a coincidence.
'Second,' Dumbledore continued. 'I'd like you all to give a warm welcome to our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Tenebris.'
As the students broke out into warm applause, Remus looked down the teacher's table and spotted the new face among the familiar. She had long hair that was so light it was almost white and it shimmered in the candlelight. Her skin was equally pale, but it only added to her beauty. Gazing at her as she waved hello to the students, Remus felt a shiver of revulsion run down his spine and all the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
He tore his eyes away and returned his attention to Sirius just as the plates filled with food. Sirius squeezed his hand and let go; they would both need them free to eat.
Despite Sirius' insistence on hanging around outside the Great Hall for the first-years to be led out by the prefects, they weren't able to reach Regulus among the throng of Slytherins and so they were forced to wait until morning to speak to him.
When they reached their dormitory (one floor further up the tower than the previous year), Sirius stomped over to his bed and fell onto it face first. He then screamed into the mattress.
Remus, James and Peter all exchanged glances and shrugs and head jerks, attempting to silently encourage each other to take the lead. Finally, Peter sighed and approached the potentially dangerous being lying prone on Sirius' bed.
'Um. You alright, mate?'
Sirius huffed, rolled over and sat up in a ridiculously graceful move that no human being had the right to be able to achieve.
'No, Peter,' he said, his voice calm and exceedingly posh—a clear sign he was upset. 'I am not "alright." I am the opposite of "alright." Allow me to explain to you why. My baby brother, whom I care a great deal for, is alone in the den of snakes and there's not a damn thing I can do about it!' Sirius' voice went from calm to shouting by the end of his miniature speech, and Remus winced.
Cosmo chose that moment to jump down from her position on the windowsill, saunter over and leap into Sirus' lap, nuzzling his hand until he gave in and stroked her, at which point she began to purr loudly and curled up into a ball.
'Why didn't he ask?' Sirus asked quietly after a moment.
'Maybe he's just not as brave as you?' Remus suggested. 'Your parents have given you a pretty hard time about it. He was probably afraid of getting the same treatment.'
'But he knows I'd protect him.'
'And get yourself into more trouble in the process?' James said. 'Maybe he didn't want to be responsible for that.'
Sirius was silent for a full minute, looking down at Cosmo while he scratched her behind the ears. Remus was on the verge of leaving him to his thoughts when he finally spoke again. 'What if he turns against me like the rest of them?'
James immediately sat beside him on the bed and put an arm around his back. 'You'll always have us, mate.'
Sirius allowed his head to fall onto James' shoulder. 'I know,' was all he said.
Remus and Peter retreated to their own beds to unpack, leaving James (and Cosmo) to comfort Sirius, and the next time Remus looked up, James was sorting through his own trunk and Sirius was sitting back against the headboard writing in his journal. Remus smiled; that was good. The journal would help him sort through his feelings. Remus returned to his task, sorting his books into three piles—school texts, further study texts and pleasure reading—before stacking them on his desk. When he turned around, he almost jumped out of his skin; Sirius was standing inches away from him.
'Merlin's saggy underpants! Don't sneak up on me like that!'
Sirius grinned. 'Sorry, Nerd Boy. Wanted to ask if I can borrow Reika? I've written to Andy like you said I should.'
The sound of the nickname had Remus let out a relieved breath; Sirius was back to normal. 'Yeah, of course. You want to sneak down to the owlery tonight, or wait until morning?'
'Tonight, obviously.'
Remus rolled his eyes. 'Yes, how stupid of me, why do something during legal hours when one could break the rules?'
'Now you're getting it.' Sirius spun around on his heel. 'Can we borrow the cloak?'
James looked up from stuffing his underpants into a drawer. 'Course. Should be at the top of my trunk.'
Sirius walked over and pulled it out, waving it in the air triumphantly. 'Ready?'
After Sirius had tucked the cloak into the inside pocket of his robes, they left the dorm and strolled through the common room as if they were doing nothing wrong—Remus found if you behaved as if you were allowed to do something, people took far less notice of your wrongdoing—and made it out of the portrait hole without a hitch. They dashed around the nearest corner before donning the cloak. It wouldn't do for the Fat Lady to see. Although she wouldn't tell unless specifically asked, it was a risk not worth taking.
'So, how was your summer?' Sirius asked as they crept down the Grand Staircase.
'I already told you everything at James' and on the train.'
'No, you told me the James and Peter friendly version. You know what I'm asking. Don't act stupid. It doesn't suit you.'
'Oh,' Remus said, only then realising what he wanted to know. 'It was actually fine. Mum wrote to Dumbledore to ask for help and he sent two people to build something for me. You'll never guess who it was.'
'Who?'
'Fab and Gid.'
'No fucking way?'
Sirius was staring at him under the cloak, his face was deadly serious when he asked, 'Were they… alright?'
'They weren't prejudiced dickheads, if that's what you're asking.'
'You know that's what I'm asking.'
'And what exactly would you do if they had been?' Remus asked with a chuckle. 'You've had one year of schooling and they've graduated.'
'I would… write them a very angry letter,' Sirius said with a firm nod.
Remus snorted. 'The gesture is appreciated, but not necessary. They were great, actually. Not as great as you,' he hastened to add when Sirius frowned at him. The addition made him grin. 'but they were really nice about it. Promised not to tell anyone.'
'Did Moony like the new…' Sirius waved his hand in the air, trying to find a word.
'Lunar Lodge,' Remus said. 'That's what they named it.'
'They're good sorts,' Sirius said, nodding with approval.
'And yes, he liked it. It's this huge monstrosity of a thing. They built it with logs so it smells all natural. The floor's dirt and they filled it with plants and stuff. The first month, he dug a massive hole in the ground and I woke up the next morning covered in mud.'
Sirius laughed. 'Brilliant! I wish I'd seen that. I bet you looked adorable.'
'Yes, well,' Remus said. 'The second month, he'd thankfully given up on the idea of digging his way out. Not sure what he got up to, but I wasn't hurt. Nor the third one either. Thanks for the shirt, by the way, that really helped.' He smiled at Sirius.
'You're welcome. I was worried the scent might wear off before the moon. I'm glad it didn't.'
Remus blushed. 'No, it was still strong.'
'You're blushing. Why are you blushing?' Sirius' voice was gleeful. 'You put it on, didn't you?'
Remus refused to look at him.
'You did, I can tell. Did you wear it all day?'
'I don't know why you're making this into a thing,' Remus said, trying very hard to keep a hold on his dignity. 'Yes, I wore it. Are you happy?'
'Delighted,' Sirius confirmed. 'And I'm making it into a thing, as you put it, because I found another way I can help you. You can wear my t-shirt under your school robes when you're feeling moon-sick.'
Remus found he couldn't respond for a moment. He had thought Sirius was making fun of him, but he hadn't been at all. It wasn't the first time he'd misread Sirius' motives; he really should stop jumping to conclusions.
'That… would be amazing. Thank you,' he said finally. Sirius beamed at him.
Sirius was back in the cellar of Grimmauld Place, chained to the wall, burning. And screaming.
'Obey!' his mother screeched at him.
'No!' Sirius screamed back.
'Promise to cut ties with the mudbloods, or I'll increase the heat!'
'No, please, don't,' Sirius sobbed.
'Say you'll obey!'
'Never!'
'Then so be it. Remember, you asked for this.'
The heat against his feet flamed hotter and Sirius screamed again.
'Wake up, Sirius.'
He knew that voice. Sirius looked up and saw him hovering in the corner of the room, staring at him with sad eyes.
'Wake up.'
'Moony, help me, please!' he begged.
The figure in the corner of the room nodded at him, 'Wake up, it's just a dream,' he said, before arching his back and morphing into a wolf. The creature bared its teeth and pounced on his mother, ripping her to shreds with its claws as she continued to berate him.
Sirius sat up in bed, gasping for breath. Someone was stroking his hair; it felt nice.
'It was just a dream,' Remus said. 'You're okay now. Safe.'
'I'm always safe with you, Moonbeam,' Sirius whispered. 'Will you stay with me?'
'Of course.' Remus laid down next to him, and Sirius lifted his arm so Remus could snuggle up against his chest.
'Do you want to talk about it?'
Sirius shuddered. 'No.'
'Alright. Night, Sirius.'
'Night, Moonbeam.'
With his nose buried in Remus' hair, Sirius fell back to sleep quickly and didn't wake again until James yanked his bed curtains back in the morning.
'Hey, have you seen… Never mind,' James said. He looked over his shoulder. 'He's in Sirius' bed.'
'What's he doing there?' Peter asked, joining James in ogling them.
James shrugged. 'Beats me.'
'I had a nightmare, alright?'
James scratched the back of his neck and then pushed his glasses up his nose. 'Huh, sorry, mate. I guess I slept through it.'
'Don't worry about it,' Remus said, lifting his head from Sirius' chest and yawning. 'It was about time I took a turn, really.'
'Is sleeping with me such a hardship?' Sirius asked, feeling more than a little insulted.
'Well, you do get a bit clingy sometimes,' James said.
'You kick too,' Peter agreed.
'I didn't mind it,' Remus said.
'Well, you're Sirius' designated teddy bear then,' James said. 'Don't see why Pete and I should suffer if you enjoy being suffocated by him.'
When Remus shrugged and agreed to that arrangement, Sirius' stomach did a backflip, which was entirely because Remus was the best at keeping away the nightmares and not because he really liked cuddling with him and might, maybe, want to kiss him again. Because Sirius Black was not gay and did not want to kiss Remus Lupin. It had all been a big misunderstanding, he reminded himself for the hundredth time. He had just needed something to get him through the summer and thinking about Remus had worked. But that was over now, and he didn't need it anymore. He liked girls. And Remus thought it was unnatural, anyway.
'We should get going if you still want to catch Reg at breakfast,' James said, startling Sirius out of his thoughts. Realising Remus had already left, and he hadn't even noticed, he climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
Half an hour later, they were sitting in their usual spot in the Great Hall, dining on eggs and bacon, and watching for Regulus to appear.
'I assume we're not letting the little threat of never-ending detention get in the way of our plans?' James asked, a contagious glint of mischief in his eyes.
'My dear James, that just makes the adventure all the more enticing,' Sirius said.
James grinned. 'That's what I thought.'
'There may be obstacles,' Remus said.
'What's your point?'
'I was wondering if I could rig up something to help, like the snitch-o-scopes, but to detect enchantments.'
'Brilliant,' James said. 'You had me worried there for a moment. I thought your Marauder heart had failed you.'
'You should have more faith in me, James.'
'Quite right, please take this apple as a token of my apology,' James said, handing Remus the fruit, before turning to Peter. 'Pete, my man, how goes the planning for the potion?'
Peter hastily swallowed the food in his mouth before answering. 'We'll need to pick up a couple of things from Hogsmeade, but I thought we should check the den first, see what's there?'
'Good thinking. We'll do that after Sirius speaks to Reg. Speaking of, is he here yet?'
'He came in five minutes ago,' Sirius said. 'He's sitting at the end, next to Snivellus.'
James whipped his head around to look. 'No! What's that ugly git think he's doing?'
'Getting revenge, I imagine,' Sirius said through gritted teeth. The bastard was trying to take his brother away from him, and he wasn't going to let him get away with it.
'So we'll be adding "show Snivellus the error of his ways" to the to-do list then,' James said.
'Ah, you know me so well, James.'
As soon as they were finished eating, they left the Hall and hung around outside waiting for Regulus. When he emerged, he was thankfully alone.
'Reggie!' Sirius called, beckoning him over when he turned at the sound of his name.
'What do you want, Sirius?' Regulus asked, ignoring the others.
'What happened?'
Regulus didn't even pretend not to know what he was talking about. 'I was placed where I'm supposed to be.'
'What the hell does that mean, Reggie? Why didn't you ask to be with me?'
'Perhaps I just wasn't brave enough, brother. I have to go, don't speak to me again unless it's important. I'm being watched.' With that, he spun on his heel and disappeared down the dungeon staircase before Sirius could even blink.
'Being watched by who?' Sirius asked, not really expecting an answer.
'The other Slytherins I expect,' Remus said. 'They'll give him a hard time if they see him with you because you hang around with mudbloods.'
'Don't call yourself that,' Sirius snapped. He stood there for a moment, staring angrily at the point where his brother had disappeared, before suddenly bursting to life again and marching towards the stairs. 'Let's go to the den.' He needed a distraction from the pain of his breaking heart.
James pulled the penknife from his pocket when they reached the black door and slid it into the gap between the door and the frame, running it down past the latch. There was a quiet click, and the door cracked open. James led the way inside, the others following closely with Sirius at the back. He closed the door behind them, before looking around.
The room looked a lot different from the last time they'd been there. The desks were clear of papers and the quill holders on the top were empty. There were no plans or diagrams on the blackboards, and the lab area was clean. A few ingredients were still stored in vials and jars, and there was a generous amount of polyjuice, but not much else.
'Wow, they really cleared this place out before they left,' Peter said, already rooting through the store cupboard. 'They left most of what we need for the potion to animate the suit of armour, though. We'll just have to collect some daisies, they have to be freshly picked on the full moon. I'll check when it is.'
'Three weeks,' Remus said, flicking absently through a book he'd found in one of the desk drawers. Sirius glanced at James and Peter. James was frowning at Remus, but Peter looked completely unsurprised that Remus would know such a random fact off the top of his head. No one said anything for a moment. The silence made Remus look up from his book, and then he must have realised what he'd said because he rushed to explain. 'I saw it last weekend.'
'That's a pain,' Peter said. 'It's one of the last ingredients, so we can start the potion before we have it, but I'll have to time it just right.'
'We have every faith in you,' James said, slapping him on the back. 'Could use some decoration in here, though. Sirius, what do you think?'
Sirius eyed the walls with interest. 'It could definitely use some colour. I'll see what I can come up with.'
'Well, if I'm not needed here, I'm going to head to the library and see what I can do about making a magic detector,' Remus said.
Sirius watched him leave and then, realising he was watching, he purposefully looked away. 'Do you need me to do anything for the Niffler hunt or do you want me to get started on designs for this room?' he asked James.
'Draw up some designs. I can't bear to spend time in such a plain space.'
'What are you going to do?'
James' eyes grew several shades darker and Sirius shivered. 'I'll be making plans for our dear friend, Snivellus.'
