"What do you mean the Doxies aren't coming?"
"Exactly what I said Prongs", Sirius shrugged. "The bloke chickened out at the last minute and refused to sell them." He chuckled at James's groan. "I know, mate. It's a bloody shame. I'd have liked to see the state of Snivelly's hair when they were done with it."
Remus sighed beside them. "I thought it was meant to be a prank on the entire house." He said long-sufferingly. "How does it always come down to Snape?"
"Cause he gets his big nose stuck into everything." Sirius sniggered and James snorted as well.
"Big, greasy nose." Peter added and the boys' laughter increased.
Remus just shook his head ruefully. "So anyway, I'm assuming that this means the prank is cancelled? If we can't get the Doxies?"
"Shelved, Moony. Not cancelled. It's too good a prank to reject." Sirius said with faux horror and the werewolf rolled his eyes.
"Precisely, Padfoot my man", James said solemnly, as if delivering sage wisdom. "Adjourned but never abandoned."
"Whatever you say, Prongs." Remus said, beginning to fold up the Marauder's map. "I'm going to bed then, if our midnight maraudering is not happening."
"Hold on!" Peter said, leaning over the closing map. "What's your brother doing out of bed during curfew, Padfoot?"
"Regulus? What would that goodie two-shoes be doing anywhere outsideSlytherin?"
He leaned over the smaller boy to look for the telltale name and sure enough, beside the footprints waiting in an abandoned classroom, was the elegant italics that read 'Regulus Black'. There were no other footprints anywhere beside him and for all intents and purposes it appeared that he was just sitting alone in an empty room for no reason.
"Maybe he fell asleep?" Remus suggested.
"He'd still have to have a reason to go to the room in the first place. There's nothing happening there and it's not even big enough to practice in." James pointed out, joining them in peering into the map.
"He could have been pranked." Peter said and Sirius ignored the heavy feeling that twisted his insides at that thought.
"Nah, as a Black, he's pretty popular. No one would dare to do anything." He said with a sneer, ignoring the sharp look Remus shot him. He smirked slightly. "Wanna go find out what he's up to?"
James jumped out of the bed with a whoop. "Come on, Marauders! We go adventuring tonight!"
He was met by two more warcries and Remus's annoyed groan. "We go adventuring every night. He's probably just meeting someone and got there early." He complained as he set his book to the side and hauled on a cloak. "Poor bloke's probably looking to snog a girl and is gonna get his date crashed by you hooligans."
He gave the portrait of the Fat Lady a rueful smile as she glared at them when they left the common room, and ducked under James's invisibility cloak. It was a good thing they all knew the Dissillusionment Charm because three nearly full grown boys and one brown rat did not fit easily under a single cloak. Truthfully, they probably didn't need the cloak anymore but it brought back memories of giggling excursions and pranks galore that he knew all four of them would miss and the discomfort was well worth it.
A glance at the still opened Map showed that Regulus still seemed to be alone, though the pacing of his footprints meant that he was at least awake and there out of his own will.
"Hey Moony, d'you remember the Slytherin prefects in Regulus's year?" Sirius whispered as they crept up the staircase.
"Nott and Greengrass, I think. Why?"
Sirius sounded grim as he said. "Cause then it means that the person Reg is meeting up with is Rosier."
"Evan Rosier?" James repeated incredulously. "I though he had a huge falling out with the rest of the house because his father voted with the Light side on the Magical Creatures Bill? Isn't that a good thing? He's probably the most Light inclined snake in that year."
Sirius snorted. "Everyone knows that he only voted that way because his eldest was half Veela." He lowered his voice as they passed a pair of snogging prefects but with the Muffliato charm, the most that they would hear was an irritating buzzing. "No, that's old news but the summer I... left, Mother mentioned something about them currying favour with You-Know-Who by bringing in more recruits."
"So that means..."
"If he's meeting Regulus in the dead of the night, in abandoned classrooms, it's most likely for a recruitment spiel." Remus finished grimly.
Sirius didn't reply but hastened his pace just enough that Remus had to jog slightly to keep up with his taller friend.
"-favour for a favour, yeah?" They heard from outside the closed door and the now human Peter nudged Sirius excitedly.
"Shhh!" Sirius pressed his ear flat to the heavy oak door as he tried to make out the words being spoken.
"This is the original copy?" Regulus's smooth voice sounded, though Sirius could catch the faintest tremor in it.
"Of course." Rosier replied, sounding affronted. A collector's edition of 'The Purest Art of the Patronus'. It has everything you can imagine about how to produce Patronuses, though I'll warn you, nothing has been proven to allow a Dark Wizard to produce one."
"...And changing a complementary Patronus?" Regulus asked.
There was a long pause.
"I don't have the faintest inkling of why you would want to do that but if it has ever been done, it will probably be in that book."
The Black sighed minutely. "If it proves to be satisfactory then you will have my gratitude."
His housemate sniffed delicately. "A favour then?"
A faint snort and Sirius could imagine exactly how Regulus had stared at the other, brows arched and expression set in a condescending smirk. "I think you forget exactly who owes a favour, Rosier. Or do you need to be reminded about the event on October 4th again?"
Sirius could practically hear Rosier's teeth grinding from where he stood but the boy didn't argue back. He supposed if there was anything to be said about the Slytherins' tactics of fighting with words instead of spells, it was that at least it made for an easier cleanup.
"Then I will consider the debt repaid." Regulus said and the Gryffindors barely had the time to duck under the cloak before the door swung open silently and the two sixth years walked out. Tucked under Regulus's arm was an old, hand bound book in a deep maroon. Embossed on the frayed leather were the words, 'The Purest Art of the Patronus: A guide to defending with Light'. Unlike the books in the Black Library, Sirius couldn't feel the oily oppressiveness of Dark Magic. If the title hadn't given it away, the Magic definitely would have.
The book was pure Light Magic.
The Marauders remained silent, huddled uncomfortably until the two had left before James broke the silence. "Dunno about you mate, but it seemed a lot like Rosier is the most Light inclined among the snakes."
"Yeah," Sirius replied distractedly, mind whirling with theories and the faintest stirring of hope in his heart. "It did seem that way, didn't it?"
Sirius was subdued all through breakfast, barely eating and more or less ignoring the rest of the house. It elicited more than one worried glance at the food because surely if the Marauder wasn't eating then it must be because the food was pranked. However when first breakfast and then lunch seemed to go without a hitch, the general consensus was that the Marauders' prank must have failed and they were subdued at the failure.
After all, it wasn't just Sirius who was moping. Both Remus and James had shot the Black concerned glances throughout the meal and it wasn't until Sirius had pushed his plate away from him with a frown, that they had taken the hint and left their friend to a bit of solitude. Rumours of a Marauder split spread through the halls and even McGonagall didn't take points when the boy didn't even attempt to change the colour of his hair in Transfiguration.
It was when the three boys left Sirius to his brooding halfway through lunch that Lily stopped by the Marauder's seat, looking apprehensive. She kept a close look out for Potter, knowing that this could all be an elaborate prank that no one could see the point of as yet.
"Hey, Bla- Sirius?" She asked carefully.
The boy jerked in his seat at being directly addressed before glancing up at the redhead. He looked like he hadn't slept at all and his carefully styled hair was in a disarray. "Evans?"
"Are you... alright?"
"Just peachy." He said with a grin that was anything but. "Don't worry about me."
Lily eyed him warily. "Sure." She hesitated. "If there's anything I can do, let me know, kay?"
When Sirius opened his mouth with a glint in his eye, Lily backtracked. "As long as it has nothing to do with Potter!"
Sirius had the grace to look faintly embarrassed. "I wasn't going to ask about that. Though if you could give him a chance, we would all be grateful. I was actually wondering if you knew anything about... Patronuses?"
"As in the Patronus charm?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Lily frowned as she recalled what she had read. "Off the top of my head, it's a Light shield against Dementors, Lethifolds and Dark spells directed specifically against the psyche. In its most powerful form it's supposed to form an animal protector that is unique to the caster. More-"
"That." Sirius interrupted, looking far more awake than he had all morning. "The animal form. What's that?"
"I'm... not sure? I think it had something to do with the physical form of a protector or a relationship or something like that." She said slowly.
"Could you find out?" Sirius asked urgently.
"That depends." She fixed him with a narrow eyed stare. "Are you going to use this to prank someone?"
"What? No!" He seemed taken aback at the notion and Lily sighed. "I swear! It's... It's actually important, Evans, please. I'll owe you one."
She sighed again, but this time it was in defeat. "I better not regret this, Black." She warned. "Meet me in the library an hour before curfew. I'll see what I can find."
A small smile spread across his face, not the mocking smirk she had seen him show Severus, or the broad grin he had when he saw a successful prank pulled off but something more genuine and Lily found herself smiling back. "Thank you. Really. Just... thank you."
As she turned to leave she couldn't resist the cheeky, "Don't bring Potter!" over her shoulder and grinned triumphantly at the wan laugh it elicited. It was probably the first time he had laughed in the day and it seemed unnatural that Sirius Black should go a day without a grin.
Maybe he wasn't all bad after all.
She shouldn't have been surprised to see that Sirius was perfectly on time, given how important the topic seemed to be to him, but she still started slightly when he tapped her shoulder. The table was covered in books, Defense and Charms textbooks scoured through for even a mention of the Patronus.
It had actually been a fairly interesting topic to study and maybe even attempt, if she got the time. The knowledge that it could provide a bit of extra credit in Defense only encouraged her interest.
She waved the boy over to a chair that was relatively unoccupied by the ancient tomes and he settled down with a glance at the piles of books.
"I'm guessing you found something then?" He asked.
"Plenty actually, it's really fascinating. The animal form is based on your magic not on personality like, say, the Animagus transformation. The Patronus can change when there is a sufficient shift in one's focus for magic."
"Hold on." Sirius interrupted. "My Patronus is a dog. Are you saying that my Animagus is not- um...will notbe a dog?"
The redhead hummed thoughtfully. "Not necessarily. Since normally, one's own self serves as the focus, it tends to be the same as the Animagus. Well, at least when a magic user is young enough." She frowned slightly. "This is where it gets a bit iffy. See, according to Wilhelmina Scrimgeour-" She flipped open a deep blue book, until she found what she was looking for.
"Aha! 'The changing of the Patronus marks the selection of a new focus for a magic user. It is usually steeped in emotion and as it is a Light spell, positive emotion is usually the trigger. The most common trigger has been documented to be Love, with one's magic moulding itself to their significant other's. This is seen only in the purest of emotions, which is not to say that Love without a Patronus change is insignificant but rather that Love demonstrated by the Patronus change is absolute and undeniable.'"
Sirius looked flabbergasted. "So you're saying that if someone has a dog Patronus, then they are in love with me?"
"I pity the poor girl who has your Patronus." Lily shook her head, "But no. The author goes on to describe that there are two kinds of Patronus changes that will result in complementary Patronuses- romantic and platonic. The first will result in a changed Patronus to be of the same species but different gender, a lion and a lioness for example. The second is a little more rare but it is still possible and usually between family members or very close friends. The Patronus change in this case is to identical creatures."
"But lots of-"
"By identical, I mean completely. Right down to the bent left ear or three dark stripes. It has to be the same animal."
"Oh."
Sirius idly fiddled with the pages in his hand as he considered that Regulus loved someone so unconditionally that his magic would change focus. It had to be someone the family wouldn't approve of, for why else would he want to change his Patronus without even talking to them? Idly he recalled Regulus helping the little Ravenclaw, Selene Delphi, who had been bullied by her housemates. Mother certainly wouldn't like her daughter in law to be from a light family and certainly not one as... odd as Selene. Then again, it wasn't like the Black Family were paragons of sanity and Selene was pureblood. Or perhaps it was someone from the same house as him. There would have been plenty of opportunities to meet and spend time with someone. Then again, if Regulus really was infatuated with a Slytherin girl, Mother couldn't object because there weren't any Muggleborns among the snakes.
He briefly entertained the thought that his brother might not be entirely heterosexual but then again as long as he was willing to sire an heir with a pureblood witch, Mother would likely accept even a homosexual relationship for her beloved Reggie.
It all boiled down to the fact that unless Regulus had somehow found himself a Muggleborn beau, the Black family would co-operate, if only to keep their last true heir loyal and he was fairly certain he would know if his brother was dallying with a Muggleborn what with the amount of time he spent 'checking up' on him with the Map.
So why on earth would Regulus want to change his Patronus?
"-Sirius! Earth to Sirius!"
He jumped. Lily was waving her hand in front of his face, a worried frown scrunching up her face. "What's wrong?"
He forced a sheepish laugh, jumping up from where he had almost torn the page he had been fiddling with. "Must have been lost in thought, sorry! Thanks a lot for your help Lily, seriously. I owe you one!"
Lily didn't look convinced but she didn't push. "Don't worry about it. I enjoyed the research and since it's apparently extra credit on the NEWT, I might even try it so if you could give me a couple of pointers then, it would be great."
"You got it. Just lemme know when. Thanks again." He winked at her cheekily before turning on his heel and jogging out of the library.
"Prongs?"
James looked up from the essay he was completing. The slight frown on his face cleared up immediately when he caught sight of the boy who called his name. "Padfoot!"
He didn't ask if he was feeling better or even why he had been so down even if he could guess. They had reached a point in their friendship where it was more or less instinctive to protect the other and cover for their bad days. Regulus had always been a touchy subject for the Black, first when he had been sorted into Slytherin and proceeded to completely ignore Sirius and then later after Sirius had run away to the Potters. It was the latter incident that James recalled then for the younger Black had sent a letter with a single line-"How could you?"
James still remembered how broken Sirius had been after that particular message. It hadn't been the endless vitriolic Howlers that Walburga Black had sent or the coldly acidic threats that Orion had given, no, those had been burnt or torn up with great pleasure but the single accusing phrase had sent Sirius into a state that had James genuinely frightened for his friend's mental health. Even know, he knew that whatever the reason and result of Regulus's new foray into the Light Arts, the boy would have to answer to him before he let him anywhere near his best friend again.
Still he was cautiously optimistic about the situation if for nothing else, because Sirius had always been a pretty good judge of character and he had always held a soft spot for his brother that didn't seem to be entirely borne out of filial duty. But more than anything he hoped that it was good news because it meant that Sirius would be happier and honestly, that would be enough for James.
"What do you need, mate?" He prompted when Sirius made no move to continue.
"Uh, can I borrow your cloak? And the map?" He asked.
James smiled softly. "It's yours mate. That's Marauder property. And even if it wasn't, it'd be yours as family."
"Thanks, Prongs." Sirius said, clearing his throat as the telltale red crept up his ears.
"D'you want us to come with you?" He asked carefully.
"No!" Sirius rushed to say. "No. It's just..." He hung his head. "I don't even know if I'm going to talk to him. For all we know, I'll probably just stare at him from behind the cloak. And even if I did, he definitely wouldn't hear me out if he thought I'd brought you along to back me up in preaching to him." He sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. "I found out why he's probably changing sides, though."
"Oh?"
"He's probably in love with a Muggleborn that the family would never accept."
"He'swhat!" James repeated incredulously. "Mate, that is more unlikely than You-Know-Who deciding to give up on his plans and become a Muggle."
"No it's not!" Sirius protested. "He could very easily have met a girl that he had common interests with that everyone overlooked."
"Padfoot. Your brother is literally known as the Ice Prince. His common interests include quidditch and studies. He has shown no signs of respect towards Muggleborns, calling Lily a you-know-what the other day. No self respecting girl will date a guy who calls her people by a slur."
"There's no other reason!" Sirius snapped. "His magic has found a new focus. That doesn't just happen without a reason!"
James just shook his head. "You know your brother best, Pads. If you think that's the reason for his behaviour then so be it."
"Sorry." Sirius muttered. "I've been touchy all day."
James grinned slightly at that. "Believe it or not, I noticed that." He said dryly. "It's alright. If you want to rant at me, you're most welcome to."
Sirius gave a weak chuckle as James handed over the silvery fabric of the invisibility cloak. "Thanks mate."
"Anytime." He heard as he headed out of the common room and he threw a grateful smile back at his friend.
He stayed outside the tower until curfew, keeping an eye on the moving footprints marked Regulus Black as they left the Slytherin common room and headed to the same classroom as the previous night. Settling the cloak comfortably, he crept through the halls, reaching his destination a few seconds before his brother.
He watched as he pulled out the tome he had received from Rosier and began reading through it. He must have been reading it the whole day because he was nearly done with the book despite his size. Why he wasn't reading in the Slytherin common room was another matter altogether though Sirius assumed that studying the Light Arts there was the equivalent of studying the Dark Arts in any other house. He wasn't complaining though, not when it allowed him the chance to confront his brother.
It was fairly common knowledge that Dark wizards couldn't cast the Patronus, if they even attempted it, they would be swarmed by maggots emerging from their wand. This warning generally kept Dark wizards from even trying it out. The fact that Regulus had attempted and succeeded in casting the spell filled Sirius's heart with a traitorous hope. However, the fact remained that Regulus had always been self-serving, so even if he wasn't Dark, he could still side with the Blacks simply because they were the safer option.
Once upon a time, Sirius had dreamt of escaping with Regulus from the hellhole that was his childhood house, but when Regulus openly snubbed him after the year he had spent alone at home, he had been forced to give it up. No doubt an uninterrupted year without Sirius to refute the words of their parents or protect Regulus by acting out, was plenty of time for them to sway the young boy. At that time it had made him angry, furious that despite all he had done to get Regulus to see things from both sides, he still followed their mothers teachings as absolute.
Now as he watched Regulus show more aggression towards the book than Sirius had seen in nearly seven years, he just felt sad. When had it gotten so bad that he had started accepting his Ice Prince demeanour? He, who had known the tantrums Regulus threw and the jokes he had made and giggled at. When had he forgotten his brother so much that he had given up on him?
He hoped desperately that Regulus's mysterious lover was enough to shift his allegiances because if they weren't then he didn't know anyone else who could. Surely if they had made an impression powerful enough to shift his entiremagical focus, it would work?
With an almighty thud, Regulus threw the book down in anger, startling Sirius enough that the cloak slipped slightly before Sirius tugged it back into place.
"Goddamn it!" The Slytherin swore, glaring down at the book in distaste. "Bloody useless piece of literature! Unconditional love, my arse." Much to Sirius's horror, he sank to his knees, cloak spread around him like a shroud and burst into tears. "I don't want it! I don't! There is no bloody way I love him anymore!I hate you, goddamnit!I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" His sobs were dry and painful sounding, ripped out of his throat with the force of every declaration and Sirius was frozen in position as he watched his brother break down in front of him. His own cheeks were wet with tears and his arms burned with the force of his nails digging into them.
"Expecto Patronum!" Regulus screamed and immediately averted his eyes from the beast as if he was burned. "Why are you here?" He begged softly as Sirius just gapes in shock. "Youleftme. Abandoned me all alone. I should hate you. You should hate me. Why are you here... Sirius?"
The silvery grey Grim didn't answer, merely putting its head in its paws when it realised it's summoner didn't want it. It emitted a soothing aura, as all Patronuses do but Regulus seemed anything but soothed by it, curling up as far as he could from the Patronus and sobbing into his arms the way Sirius remembered he used to do when they were kids.
Unbidden, Lily's words from that evening rang in Sirius's mind, 'Love demonstrated by the Patronus change is absolute and undeniable'. Identical, she had said, right down to the bent left ear and three dark stripes. As he stared at the Patronus that couldn't be anymore identical to his own, he felt his breath catch in his chest. With an easy loping gait, he felt sure he could reproduce, the Grim,Padfootshuffled slowly towards the corner he was sequestered in, close enough for Sirius to see his own eyes peering out at him from his brother's Patronus.
"Why... why did you leave me?" Regulus whispered, loud in the quiet, and far louder than Sirius's thundering heart and Sirius didn't even take a moment to think before replying, "I didn't."
The silence stretched between them as Regulus turned to look at Sirius, who had removed the cloak. Then "Siri?" He whispered, sounding painfully young. The return of the old nickname made something in Sirius's chest clench.
Flinging the cloak to the side, Sirius dropped to his knees beside his brother and forced him to look him in the eye. "I didn't. I swear I didn't want to. They were using the Cruciatous. I couldn't... They were going to kill me, Reggie!"
"You promised me." Regulus said, hoarsely. "You swore that we would leave together."
"I know. I broke it but you were happy." Sirius replied desperately. "I couldn't take that from you. They weren't hurting you, I made sure of that, so I thought you would be happier."
Regulus's face suffused with rage and he pushed himself out of Sirius's hold. "Goddamn it Siri, there are more ways of hurting someone than just physical!" He pushed himself to his feet, away from Sirius, looking down at him with a sneer, the Slytherin Ice Prince all over again. "You were headstrong and cocky and reckless and you could afford to earn their ire! I couldn't! I was in Slytherin! And just because you automatically assume that everyone from my house is a budding Dark Wizard doesn't mean that it's true! I had the same ideals before I came to Hogwarts and I bloody well had the same after! It was you who assumed that since I was in Slytherin, I was Dark and evil and exactly like them!" He stopped to take a breath, chest heaving with the force of his accusations. "Why was it even a surprise? You knew I was a coward, always hiding behind your back when they punished us. I was never going to get into Gryffindor anyway! Still I was ready to come with you or even stay if you told me to as long as I knew you still had my goddamned back like you used too! It was you who shunned me after the Sorting! Didn't-"
"I didn't," Sirius interrupted, pale and heartbroken at the tirade. "I didn't shun you after the Sorting. I came to Slytherin to meet you. Malfoy and Crouch refused to let me in. I swear I left a message with them to give you! I wouldn't have just left you like that. When you didn't come to meet me, I thought you had been swayed to their side in the year I was gone. I'm sorry I left. I swear I didn't mean to leave you. I'm so so so sor-ry." His voice broke in the end and he looked at the ground unable to meet Regulus's accusing glare.
It had been a misunderstanding. That or somehow the Blacks had got most of Slytherin to push them apart. Or maybe the Blacks didn't even have to do anything. For all he knew, the intentional isolation was exactly how Slytherin worked. Either way it was his fault for thinking the worst of Regulus. He ought to have had more faith in his baby brother. Hearing the accusations from Regulus's mouth felt like a dagger to the chest. Hadn't he sworn to protect him always? Why had he just assumed that he was strong enough?
A cool touch on his shoulder made him look up and he saw the Patronus laying it's silvery head on his arm. "Hey Padfoot," he whispered, letting the bittersweet emotion well up inside him. It felt like Regulus's magic, something he hadn't felt in years and a few more tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Sirius." Regulus said softly.
"Yes?" The boy replied.
"Not you." Regulus mumbled in embarrasment. "The Patronus. I refuse to let my Patronus be associated with those inane nicknames your idiotic friends call you. That's Sirius not Padfoot."
Sirius let out a surprised laugh. He cleared his throat to speak,"I reckon it's a bit odd for me to call it Sirius but whatever floats your boat."
He felt more than saw Regulus walk over and sit beside him as he resolutely stared at the canine Patronus but he definitely saw the delicate hand that rested gently on its flank and felt his head rest on his shoulder.
"I'm getting my own place when I leave Hogwarts." He said quietly. "With the inheritance from Uncle Alphard. It'll always be open to you. Whichever side you choose. I swear it."
"You really are a fool, Siri." Regulus replied. "Which side did you expect me to choose? Even in the worst moments, I had already chosen my side. Even when I thought you left me and wanted to hate you, I knew where I stood. Even if this hadn't happened and I had been forced to the Dark Lord, I wouldn't have budged. Stubbornness isn't exclusively Gryffindor, you know?" He sighed softly.
"I've always been on your side, Siri."
AN-
So. Patronus discussion.
In canon, the only matching Patronuses shown are Snape and Lily, James and Harry and later when JK confirmed it, Fred and George. Both of the latter are family members.
Every other matching Patronus has been complementary ones, from Lily and James to Ron and Hermione (look it up if you didn't know, it's pretty cute).
So my theory is that complementary Patronuses imply romantic love or the 'perfect fit' some couples have while familial affection is indicated in sharing a Patronus form.
Just a headcanon!
~Teaspoon.