Disclaimer - Usual.
Chapter 50
"Thank you," James tentatively tried to talk to the very angry-looking Lily.
"Ha! Now I have to explain to Hayden why he has detention. All thanks to you!"
"Well," Remus jumped in, "we all really do appreciate it. Thanks."
"Yeah. Thank you," Peter concurred.
After a moment's silence, James elbowed Sirius. "Huh? Oh yeah. Thanks."
Lily glanced around and saw the genuineness on their faces and her expression softened. "You're welcome."
The rest of the trip to the common room was in silence. When they arrived, they took up their usual seats. Gillette met Lily as she walked across the room and they started whispering quietly. Gillette covered her hand with her mouth. To someone who didn't know her, she looked like she was being very sympathetic, but she was in fact trying hard not to laugh at the idea of Lily crammed in a cupboard with Hayden for three hours – to avoid James, of all people. The girls headed up to their dorm room shortly after the chat started.
Sirius sat staring at the fire for a while before standing abruptly. "James, can I borrow your cloak?"
"Sure." As Sirius started to walk away, James called, "Do you want company?"
Sirius thought about it, then answered, "No."
He made his way quickly and quietly to the hospital wing, and waited until the hustle and bustle died down and Madam Pomfrey had dimmed the candles before entering. He crept to his brother's bed and watched him sleep. He couldn't remember his brother looking so frail before. He was pale and had bandages on his arms, and that was what Sirius could see.
"What happened, little brother?" Sirius whispered. He knew it was stupid, but part of him still saw Regulus as the nine-year-old that used to idolize him.
At around midnight, Regulus had a nightmare. Sirius reached out and gently prodded his shoulder. "Wake up. You're all right. You're safe."
Regulus groaned and woke up. His head lolled to the side and his eyes widened when he saw Sirius sitting next to him.
"Hey, Little Leo," Sirius smiled slightly. He really didn't know how Regulus would react to his being there.
"What are you doing here?" Regulus asked and, for as tired as he was, Sirius was still able to easily hear the anger in his voice.
Sirius sighed and looked down at his hands. "I wanted to make sure you were all right."
"Yeah right! It's your fault I was out there."
His eyes snapped back up to his brother. "Regulus… It wasn't us. We had nothing to do with that stunt."
"Whatever," Regulus' voice was full of incredulity. After a moment, he asked, "Who do you think did it?"
"I don't know. I think Snivellus was involved though."
"And why would you think that? He's not exactly known for pranks, let alone for attacking his fellow housemates."
Sirius sighed again. Not wanting to argue, he changed the subject. "What happened out there?"
Regulus looked away. "I tried to warn them, Sirius. A group of first years. I told them not to step in the puddle, but they did it anyway. So I followed. We were all heading out of the forest together when something attacked us."
"What?"
"I don't know. I couldn't really see it. It had fangs and claws, though. Could have been a… a bugbear for all I know. But… some of the older kids just took off, leaving the first years behind…"
"You stuck around… to help the first-years?" It was more of a statement than a question. Regulus nodded. Sirius smiled. "Look at you – big damn hero." He reached out to pat his brother's arm, but Regulus moved so Sirius couldn't touch him and he felt a stab of pain at his brother's withdrawal. "I'm sorry you got hurt. I really am. But you've got to believe me – it wasn't us."
"Why do you even care? I thought you hated me."
Sirius' throat constricted on him and he had trouble speaking. "I never hated you."
"I don't believe you," he said stubbornly.
"Would I be here now if I did?"
"What about last year?"
Sirius breathed heavily and hung his head. "Last year was an accident."
"You told mum and dad you hate me."
Sirius was getting frustrated now. "I did what was necessary so they wouldn't hurt you any more! You are such an idiot sometimes."
"Go away," Regulus said, as tears started coming out his eyes.
"You believe me, right? I wouldn't hurt you. It wasn't us." Sirius desperately wanted Regulus to believe him.
"You don't get it! It's still your fault. If it weren't for you and your stupid prank war, Snape wouldn't have tried so hard to get you expelled. This is still your fault!"
Sirius felt guilt gnaw away at him, but it turned cold in a flash of realization and he stood up suddenly. "You knew! You knew what Snape was up to. That's how they got James' glove. You snagged it from the Quidditch changing room. And that's how you knew to warn the first years about the puddle. It wasn't bravery or some sense of honor that sent you after those kids. You felt guilty... And you didn't stop him!... We could have been expelled. Those kids could have been killed… And you're blaming me? And to think I felt sorry for you." Not waiting for a response, Sirius turned on his heel and headed out of the hospital wing. Once in the corridor, he put the cloak back on and headed quickly back to the common room, his anger building with each step.
He stopped before entering the common room to take off the cloak, then stormed in and headed for the stairs.
"Sirius! Sirius?" James called after him. "Whoa, wait up." James grabbed his arm to stop him from going upstairs. "What happened? How's Regulus?"
"He's fine!" Sirius snapped. "Stupid git."
James gently pushed Sirius over to the couch were Peter and Remus were still sitting. The common room was all but empty and only two other students were there, engrossed in their classwork and not paying any attention to the guys.
"So he's okay?" Remus asked.
"Yes." Sirius had not sat down, and now he started pacing. "He knew about it. The prank. He knew Snape set it up." It was a mark of how angry Sirius was that he used Snape's real name, but he also didn't tell them about the glove.
"Wait… Snape?" Peter asked. He was so used to lagging behind that it no longer bothered him to ask for clarification on certain things.
"Yeah," Remus joined in. "How do you know Snape was behind it?"
"Had to be," James reasoned. "We don't know too many other people who could pull off a prank like that. I'm surprised at his creativity, but I'm guessing the puddle was some sort of potion. And no one else would put so much effort into framing us and trying to get us expelled. But Regulus knew?"
Sirius had stopped pacing while James was explaining why he and Sirius assumed it was Snape. Starting to pace again, he nodded. "He knew the whole thing. Probably even knew the kids would be transported to the Forbidden Forest."
"So… how did he end up there, then?" Remus asked.
"Guilt... I don't know. But he knew the plan was to get us expelled. He knew the dangers of the forest and didn't do anything to stop it. He's such a coward."
"I don't know," Remus said tentatively. "He stepped in the potion, knowing where it would take him. Whether it was motivated by guilt or … whatever… He did what was right in the end."
"Yeah. Except he won't come forward and tell anyone Snape was behind it."
"But he knows what Snape did, and sometimes that's enough," Remus consoled.
"What does that mean?" James asked, smirking at Remus. Sirius stopped to listen.
"I'm just saying… You never know when that piece of knowledge is going to come in handy."
"Whatever," Sirius muttered. After a moment, he started pacing again, "And somehow… it's all my fault. He blames me. For him getting hurt, for last year, for not caring, for…" Sirius huffed and dropped his head. When he lifted it again, the anger was gone, and he was just tired - drained. "I'm going to bed."
The next morning there was a quiet intensity about Sirius that made the other Marauders uneasily cast furtive glances at him. Potions, which was one of the classes Gryffindor had with Slytherin, ended and all the students poured into the corridor. Sirius quickly passed through the small crowd of students and came up behind Snape. He grabbed one of Snape's arms, bent it behind his back and pushed him hard into a wall.
"Sirius!" James yelled and ran up to his friend to try to pull him off.
Sirius glanced at James, who found the look in his friend's eyes a little frightening. He backed off, but stayed close by. Sirius leaned in on Snape, putting pressure on his arm and shoulder, while pushing him painfully into the uneven stone wall. "Next time you want to pull a stunt like that... Make sure my brother's not involved," he said quietly but menacingly.
Part of Snape was scared. He couldn't get to his wand to defend himself. On the other hand, he really didn't think Sirius would do anything to him. Sirius was a Gryffindor, and they were stupidly noble. He also knew that Sirius would never use any spells or curses that would actually cause him lasting harm, at least he thought so. "Or else what? What are you going to do? Pull a prank on me?" he sneered. "That would be something new."
Leaning closer still, Sirius whispered so only Snape could hear him, "Or you'll find out how much I've actually learned from my family." Snape paled slightly at the threat. After another small shove, Sirius stepped back from Snape and released him.
Snape spun to face his attacker, who was leering back at him with a look that reminded him of Bellatrix. It sent a shiver through Snape as he realized that Sirius might not be as different from his family as everyone pretended.
James stepped between Sirius and Snape, placing a restraining hand on Sirius' chest and, with his other hand, he took hold of Sirius' arm and pushed him further away from Snape.
Sirius turned his icy-grey eyes to James. With a small frustrated push, he moved away from James and strode, fuming, out of the corridor.
Snape rubbed his wrist and rolled his shoulder. Feeling slightly more confident now that Sirius had walked away and he could get to his wand, he spoke to James, "You might want to get a stronger leash for your dog there, Potter. He seems to have forgotten his training." Snape thought himself very clever for his play on Sirius' name.
James turned slowly to face Snivellus. "You think you're smart, don't you, Snivellus? How long did it take you to brew that potion? Better yet… who came up with that little prank of yours? Because you certainly couldn't have thought of that on your own."
Snape looked incensed by the insult to his intelligence. "I'm warning you, Potter. He's not as safe as you think."
"Perhaps you should heed your own warning, Snivellus."
Professor Slughorn walked up to the small crowd of people. "Everything all right here?"
"Yes, sir," James said quickly. "We were just leaving."
The professor eyed James and Severus but, since he saw no wands and no indication of an actual fight, he nodded and waited for the crowd to disperse before returning to his office.
When the guys next saw Sirius, he was sitting in the common room doing classwork as if nothing happened.
"What was that all about?" James asked angrily.
"Nothing," Sirius answered shortly.
"You try to pick a fight and you say it was 'nothing'?"
"It was nothing. Let it go."
"'Let it go'?" James parroted.
Remus stepped forward. "James." When James looked at him, he shook his head, indicating James should drop the topic.
"Fine," James huffed.
The three guys sat down at the table with Sirius and worked on their assignments as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.
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A/N Thank you to all of you who so faithfully take the time to review this story. I really appreciate it. So, I want to give a little shout-out to y'all (sorry if I miss anyone) – J.A. Carlton, SWAddict, Vikertee, cackles the witch, reeltreble1031, Nonair, Vaime, MilyMB, hydraspit, the youngest was the mostloved, SetTheTruthFree, Gemini Willow, Puffy Marshmallow, -Xany-Insany-Xenia-o-Awesome. I know there are a few others who have popped on from time to time. I thank you much for making writing and posting this story so much fun. Thanks for the tips. Thanks for the honesty. Thanks for sticking with this very long journey. Y'all rock! Thank you, too, to my beloved Mom, mei mei, and J.A. Carlton who have all helped make this story so much better. Thank you.
Nonair - Thanks again for the review. You do pick up on details and, as a friend of mine once said, that makes putting them in very worthwhile. Thanks again for letting me know the story is both believable and consistent with what Rowlings has already established. Thank you.
