Chapter 7: Chapter 6: November 1980
Summary:
JEALOUS JAMES JEALOUS JAMES JEALOUS JAMES
BADASS REGULUS BADASS REGULUS BADASS REGULUS
Notes:
NEW CHARACTER UNLOCKED!!!!!!!! I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS I DO!!!!!!
Turns out I went tramping yesterday and so there was no chance of a Sunday update, but if you live in the USA then it's still Sunday for you so lucky you????
Anyways, I do hope you like this chapter, I had a great time writing it and I know you'll like the Dumbledore hating content I give you as well xx
Don't read the end notes before the chapter unless you want spoilers.
Next update maybe on Friday? Definitely by the end of the week :)))
Can't wait to hear your thoughts !!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
November 1980
James Potter can't stop thinking about Regulus Black.
They've been getting on well enough recently, today marks one week since Regulus' dramatic return, and in the past three days, he's only received two stinging hexes.
He doesn't think that this is how Regulus would describe them at all, but James would almost call them tentative friends. When he tried to explain this excitement to Remus though, he had simply winced and told him not to get ahead of himself.
In any case, James is just trying to move on from the war and move on from Lily.
And he's frustrated with himself because he's been imagining places that he and his friends could go now that the war effort is over, double dates that they can all go on together, but James just can't figure out why he doesn't want Regulus there.
Like he wants him to come, but for some reason, the idea of Regulus being with someone fills him up with some unidentifiable feeling of uncomfortableness and anger.
Maybe he and the rest of his friends can bring their dates, and Regulus can just, not?
But why? The idea of Regulus being alone forever also makes him sad, and he doesn't know why in any capacity and in any scenario, he just can't stop thinking about him.
Regulus is a snarky git with extreme murderous tendencies that manifest themselves best when he's angry, and he vanished James's mouth the first time he tried to talk to him.
He's hostile and erratic and unpredictable and fucking terrifying, and he seems to be constantly pissed off.
But he had also told James that he'd given him his brother, that he knew James had looked after Sirius, and he had called him warm.
And James can't get it out of his head.
His memories should be blurred with horror and panic, he should be trying to block out the feeling of looking into the mirror and seeing his clothes saturated with blood that wasn't his. Still, all that circles through his mind on a constant loop is Regulus, delirious from blood loss but evidently not too far gone to be able to stitch himself up as he murmured those three words.
You're so warm.
And the smile that came with it.
Where did it come from, and why won't it leave James' head?
He tries to push it out of his head, he tries to forget about it, but you're so warm keeps circling around his mind.
Coincidentally enough, the more he thinks about it, the warmer he feels inside.
The house is quiet, the sun hasn't yet risen, and everybody is asleep.
Regulus is sleeping in his old childhood bedroom on the third floor, Sirius and Remus are in one of the third-floor guest bedrooms, and James is sleeping in another.
There's been no drama besides Regulus bleeding out and him and Sirius fighting most days, but the week has been relatively calm, all things considered.
This calmness is shattered the moment the wards chime, and all four residents of the house shoot up in bed, confused and panicked; no one else should be able to get through the wards. The rest of the Order of the Phoenix is still removed; Sirius hasn't gotten around to re-adding them yet since tonight's meeting is being held at Hogwarts, and with a sinking realisation, he assumes that the only remaining people on the wards would be Blacks.
Is it Narcissa at the door?
Is it Bellatrix?
It's neither, as it turns out, as seconds after the wards sound, so does a male voice none of the marauders recognise, accompanied by heavy, furious-sounding footsteps.
"Regulus Black, you no-good two-faced backstabbing traitor, fucking show yourself, you prick. I know you're here."
James, Sirius and Remus rush out of their rooms in panic, wands raised. They're ready to fight, especially Sirius, who isn't prepared to lose his brother so soon, and they look instinctively towards Regulus as he comes out of his room, who is smiling?
They've seen him smile and laugh this week, but it's not usually over anything funny. It's usually when something dark and sadistic happens or is talked about that Regulus genuinely enjoys himself.
They've never seen him smile like this.
His whole face is lit up, and it makes his eyes glow; he looks sweet, like a little kid at Christmas, and he makes his way downstairs– not rushing, a Black never rushes, but he's definitely walking fast like he wants to meet? Fight? Talk? With whoever it is.
"I swear to fuck if you're not coming down right now, I'll curse you until you can't breathe, you double-crossing liar–"
James, Sirius and Remus are unashamedly following Regulus, partly for backup if a fight breaks out and partly out of curiosity to see how he treats this, friend? They don't recognise their voice, but they don't know many of Regulus' schoolfriends. Death Eater friends. Fellow traitors. Whoever they are.
They see someone with light brown hair in the foyer to the entranceway, who is still yelling, they can't see his face, but he sounds angry, although Regulus hadn't seemed scared to meet him.
They're three flights of stairs away from each other,
Two flights,
One flight.
The marauders are readying themselves to see a heartfelt display of friendship, love, and emotion when the intruders' hands close around Regulus' throat.
Sirius gasps and rushes down the stairs faster, and they watch as the man shoves Regulus against a wall before Regulus punches him back and thumps him against the opposite wall so hard he makes a dent in the plasterboard.
Sirius raises his wand to curse the man away; he doesn't want to see him and his brother like this.
They're fighting.
Punching.
Strangling.
Shoving.
Kissing.
Kissing?
What the fuck?
Sirius is frozen in shock, and as James and Remus round the corner, they freeze too.
They're simply standing there, watching, as Regulus and the man seem to devour each other.
They still can't see his face, it's hidden by his hair, but he and Regulus are kissing like their lives depend on it.
It's not a sweet, loving, or tender kiss but rather harsh, brutal, and bruising. It's pure desperation, the first breath after being underwater, two burning flames that collide with such force that they make fireworks.
It's something that they've evidently done before, and eventually, they lean back against the wall laughing breathlessly with their foreheads resting against each other, grinning.
"Hey Reg."
"Hey Barty."
Barty pushes Regulus towards the sitting room and closes the door behind them before kissing him again, and then he breaks away, gearing up for a fight.
Regulus is happy to indulge him.
"Three fucking years I thought you were dead", Barty shouts, shoving Regulus against the wall and pushing him with every word. "Three fucking years and now you're alive, oh fuck, you're still alive," and then they're back to kissing until it's Regulus' turn to shove Barty away.
"What the fuck was wrong with you in the end, Barty? I interrogated so many Death Eaters, and they said you were in Bellatrix's league. How did you get so fucking unhinged? You would've almost gotten yourself killed, you fucking, you fucker, oh fuck –"
And the kissing continues.
The fighting also continues, and at one point, Barty has Regulus pinned down on the sofa, simultaneously straddling him, berating him, and snogging him so hard that Regulus feels dizzy and lightheaded.
The couch shifts and a lamp shatters, and Barty is laughing against his skin while he makes love bites on his neck when the door flings open. All of the marauders' faces are poking through the door to check that no one's died, the apprehension turning into borderline disgust as they see the marks spread across Regulus and Barty's chests and their flushed cheeks and dilated pupils.
Barty pauses to look at who's interrupted them, but Regulus just shoves his face back into his neck, and with his other hand, he waves it at the door yelling, "out!"
The door slams shut, and no one bothers them again.
It's one hell of a reunion, all things considered, and the kissing turns into snogging, which leads to clothes on the floor and stains on the sofa, and once that's over, they're lying over one another, basking in the afterglow.
"No one ever fucked me like you do, Reg. These past 3 years haven't changed a thing."
"I'd say these past 3 years have changed an awful lot, actually", Regulus replies dryly, which causes Barty to look back up at him.
"I'm fucked off", he says, always upfront with his emotions. "Not only did you not tell me you regretted joining the cause we signed up for together, you made me grieve for you."
Regulus knows this isn't funny, but all he can reply with is, "aww did you miss me, Barty?"
Barty shoves him violently into the couch in response.
"Yes, you prick, and so did Evan. Not that you evidently stayed alive enough to care about him, but he's missing. Or, he got arrested by aurors I think, but I don't know if they'll ever let him out."
"Evan?" Regulus asks panicked, "What did Evan do to get caught?"
"Gouged out Moody's face, think he lost an eye, but couldn't really care less. I know Dumbledore ordered his –"
Of course it's fucking Dumbledore, Regulus thinks.
He's still the same prejudiced arsehole as always, nothing more than a charade of all that's good, an absolute abomination as a leader of the light. He could live with the rest of it, but now he's apparently got Evan.
Yeah, that won't do.
"I can get him out", Regulus says. "I'm going to get Dumbledore to let him out –. "
Barty looks more furious than Regulus has ever seen him.
"Do not tell me you were working for Dumbledore this whole time Reg, I swear to merlin I will fucking murder you –"
Regulus flips them over, shoves Barty against the arm of the couch and presses on his windpipe.
"Don't you ever say that to me again", Regulus says back murderously. "I would never. That fucking prick owes me a favour for ending the war for him, which is the only reason I'm going to him in the first place and –"
"What?"
"Will you ever say I beg your pardon like a proper pureblood?"
"Reg shut the fuck up. What do you mean you ended the war?"
It only hits Regulus now that nobody but the Order and himself knows what he's done, and he doesn't know what secrecy vows they've sworn.
All of the people he interrogated were either oblivated or murdered or had their memories removed, and that's left the entire wizarding world, just, still at war? Do they even know it's over? Regulus doesn't know, but for some reason, the only way he can explain this is to laugh hysterically.
He's practically hyperventilating, crying with laughter, and Barty is staring at him like he's lost his mind.
Compared to when Barty last saw him, it probably seems like he has.
Eventually, he sobers enough to choke out "I killed Voldemort" before he sets himself off again.
He doesn't know if he'll be able to stop, and Barty doesn't seem willing to make him. Instead, he seems to curse out the heavens before looking at Regulus and saying, "I should have fucking known you'd do something like this. You never were the type to accept that you were lesser than anyone-"
"I'm not lesser than anyone."
"Oh, I didn't miss you one bit, you prick", and then they're kissing again.
That's the pattern they follow for the next couple of hours. One of them says something about the war, and the other either nods or lashes out in anger until they snog away the tension.
Yeah, it's definitely a nice reunion.
James, Sirius and Remus are sitting in the kitchen, and none of them are yet to say a word.
Regulus, Sirius' little brother Regulus, the psychopathic murderous war hero they thought was dead, and before that was the poster boy to purebloods throughout Britain, is also gay? For Barty Crouch? Who he just fucked on the same sofa he nearly died on a few days ago?
So many questions, literally no answers.
Regulus and Barty eventually leave the sitting room and go up to Regulus' bedroom, where they both shower to wash away the morning before they come downstairs into the kitchen where James, Sirius and Remus are still at the table.
"Fuck me", Barty says disappointedly, "I should have known they'd all survive."
Regulus ignores him, and Remus drops his head onto the table, muttering, "oh god, there's two of them now."
"There could be three tonight if Reg pulls some more strings", Barty says brightly, "wouldn't that be nice? One Gryffindor to every Slytherin, your side is all about equality after all."
Sirius takes a note out of Regulus' book and sends a stinging hex at him, and when Barty lifts his wand to retaliate, Regulus shoves him into the bench.
"Same rules apply, Barty. If you try, I'll vanish your cock."
"What rules?" Sirius asks at the same time Barty says, "You'd miss it too much", and he laughs even harder at the way Regulus' nose scrunches up in disgust but doesn't complete the spell.
"None of your fucking business", he says in response to Sirius, shooting a warning look at Barty to tell him to shut up.
Sirius frowns but doesn't push; he's learnt the hard way where that gets him.
"So, are you guys, friends?" James asks hesitantly, trying to make conversation. He doesn't know what he wants the answer to be.
"Exes actually", Regulus replies, ignoring Barty's raised eyebrows; this is the first time he's heard him acknowledge their old relationship after all.
"Ex-friends?" Sirius asks disbelievingly, "you seemed pretty damn friendly in the other room."
Barty and Regulus share a glance with each other and mutter "fucking Gryffindors" in perfect unison.
"Never pegged you for a homophobe, Black", Barty says coolly.
"Looks like you've pegged my brother enough, Crouch." he shoots back, and Barty just smiles, saccharinely sweet and says, "he reciprocated."
Sirius gags dramatically and sends another stinging hex at him.
James is in a bad mood for the rest of the day and doesn't know why.
He doesn't have bad days, he's a happy and optimistic person, and he doesn't know why it's today of all days.
It's Thursday which means there's an Order of the Phoenix meeting tonight, and even though they're usually filled with the sombre topics of war and murder, it's always a day where he can see his friends and socialise, which is something he's always been good at.
He's been stuck in this house for the past week. It's of his own volition, but he's here to support Sirius and to support Remus, who is also supporting Sirius as he deals with everything Regulus-related.
And then there's the part of James that isn't just here for Sirius; he's here for Regulus too.
James thought he could be a brother to Regulus, but he got rejected before he could even ask.
Then he thought he could be a friend, that they were making progress, but apparently this is how he treats his friends? Rough, brutal and violent. And he kisses them.
He doesn't want Regulus to be violent or brutal or rough with him, but he wouldn't mind if –
He wouldn't mind if –
He wouldn't –
Oh.
He wouldn't mind if Regulus kissed him.
It must be curiosity; he's never kissed a boy, after all. He's sure Sirius would happily offer him his lips, but he's not going to come in the way of him and Remus like that. Plus, it would be like kissing a brother.
Regulus and Barty had evidently snogged before, it was obvious to anyone watching, so maybe that could be a new bonding point to try with him, although he doesn't know how well "hey Regulus, can you give me advice on how to kiss boys even though you never even want to talk to me?" will go over.
Maybe if Barty is the only person Regulus has kissed, then he might be curious to know what it's like to kiss a different boy too.
A mutually beneficial research project, that's how he'll pitch it to him.
There's no reason why he'd decline and no reason why it wouldn't work out.
For some unfathomable reason that James can't figure out for the life of him, the thought of the mere prospect of kissing Regulus almost makes him forget he was having a bad day at all.
Regulus is becoming sick of being cooped up in the house, so he decides to go for a walk and drags Barty along. Sirius seems unwilling to let Regulus go out without him, especially after the Greyback incident, but eventually, Regulus tells him if he can take down Voldemort, then a walk won't kill him. Sirius reluctantly agrees, but that doesn't stop him from worrying the entire time Regulus is out.
Unsurprisingly, Regulus returns unharmed from his walk through muggle London and is there when the owl arrives with today's edition of The Daily Prophet.
He doesn't know what he's expecting to see on the front page, more war stuff, most likely, and while he's not wrong per se, he's definitely not expecting to see his own face looking back at him.
ASSUMED DECEASED EX-BLACK HEIR DEFEATS VOLDEMORT AND SAVES WIZARDING BRITAIN
Regulus is too stunned to speak, and Barty has decided the best response is to howl with laughter.
"What the fuck" Regulus says. "What the fuck?"
"Just wait until your family reads this", Barty says through his laughter. "What are the Death Eaters going to do? What's Bellatrix going to do?"
"Yes, thank you Barty", Regulus replies shortly before dragging him back to the sitting room, where they read it together.
ASSUMED DECEASED EX-BLACK HEIR DEFEATS VOLDEMORT AND SAVES WIZARDING BRITAIN
Written by Rita Skeeter
Regulus Arcturus Black, youngest son and previous heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, was declared missing in June 1978 and presumed dead in August 1978. However, he showed up at a resistance group meeting against he-who-must-not-be-named last Thursday hosted by the esteemed Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, winner of the Order of Merlin first class and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. He shocked the nation with not only his apparent survival but also the dead body of he-who-must-not-be-named by solving the puzzle behind his extreme power and apparent immortality.
Several resistance group members, which cannot be named for security reasons, have stated that they are excited to work with Mr Black. They are joining forces to capture the remaining Death Eaters who completed work under he-who-must-not-be-named orders and prosper as a nation as we enter a new era of our lives as our society recovers from the war.
Mr Black is currently residing at his family home in London, and our reporters will be visiting him during the week for an exclusive interview on his successful efforts to save wizarding Britain from the reign of terror of he-who-must-not-be-named.
I know I can speak for everybody when we say you are our hero.
Regulus Black, wizarding Britain thanks you, and we cannot wait to meet you in person and hear your personal recount of the perilous journey you have undertaken.
For more details on the war recovery strategy, please turn to page 7.
Regulus finishes reading the article and is simply staring at the page in stunned silence while Barty is crying with laughter next to him.
"What the fuck?" he whispers to himself, "what the fuck?"
"You're my hero", Barty tries to choke out, but he's really laughing too hard to be able to talk at all.
"What the fuck" Regulus repeats, blinking helplessly at the page before he gets over his shock and keeps speaking.
"I'm going to murder Dumbledore one day," he says firmly, no joking in his tone. "I'm going to kill him, and I'm going to enjoy it because he is ruining my life. The Order being excited to work with me? Me giving an interview to the fucking prophet? I am genuinely going to murder him."
"I'll come with", Barty replies chirpily, "it'll be just like old times. You, me and Evan, if you get him out, murdering and causing destruction on our evenings off."
It's really not funny, but Regulus can't help smiling slightly and letting out a huff of laughter before a thought occurs to him.
"Hang on," he says, frowning at Barty. "How did you even know I was alive if this was the first published article? I doubt you're friends with any of the Order –"
"My mark disappeared", Barty replies, staring at him in an uncharacteristically serious manner. "My mark disappeared, and my two options were that the Dark Lord has decided to release us from a lifetime of servitude, or someone else has figured out how to reverse engineer it to disappear. You're the only one who could have been smart enough to manage it."
"And the fact that I'd been dead for two and a half years wasn't a flaw in this idea?" Regulus asks in disbelief. "You really thought that the only option was that I'd faked my death and had been hiding out and doing whatever traitorous things you thought I was doing?"
"Yes", Barty says simply before gesturing at Regulus and raising his eyebrows, "and was I wrong?"
Regulus purses his lips but says nothing in response which makes Barty smirk triumphantly.
"So did you remove everyone's, or am I just special?" he asks.
Regulus rolls his eyes, "just you, me and Evan, the others can crash and burn for all I care."
"So you do care about me", Barty sings. "Do you looove me –"
Regulus throws the lamp they didn't break while having sex at his head which unfortunately misses and shatters to pieces on the floor.
James comes in the door shortly after, assumably having heard the glass, and when Regulus looks up, he's surprised to see the usually ridiculously happy James Potter, glaring at them?
He doesn't know what he's done to make him angry, but he's assuming there's a reason, not that he really cares to know what it is. He's not like Regulus where glaring is his natural facial expression; it looks strange on Potter like it doesn't belong, but what's the reason?
Oh, it better not be –
"Do not tell me you're glaring at us because you're homophobic", Regulus says, glaring right back at James and raising his wand in a silent threat, and relishing in the way Potter takes a literal step back, his eyes widening in shock.
"No", he replies, genuinely horrified. "No, I'm not a – I'm, no, it's not that. I'm literally pan, I do not have a problem with that, I promise, I, no."
"Ah, an equal opportunities kind of bloke, I'm the same", Barty says, nodding once in approval before smirking menacingly. "You know Potter, you've still got that fit quidditch body I remember from school, so –"
The rest of his sentence is cut off as Regulus elbows him in the ribs so hard his forced exhale of breath is heard by all of them.
"I'm sure you're lovely, Crouch, truly, but I just don't think –"and then James also doesn't finish his sentence as Barty bursts into laughter.
"I'm sorry, was that a joke?" James asks, frowning.
"No", Barty says at the same time Regulus firmly says "yes," and then they seem to have a glaring match with one another.
"C'mon Reg, I'm not being a very equal opportunities bloke if I'm not giving everybody an equal opportunity to shag me", Barty protests.
"Why would I care?" Regulus replies bluntly.
"Look, I'm sure you got plenty of dick throughout the war, which is good for you, especially because I did the same, but I'm not going to settle down with you yet."
"I'm not going to settle down with you at all", Regulus says appalled. "Plus, who would I have slept with in the war when one side I was betraying and the other side wanted me dead. Neither scenarios are particularly erotic, would you believe."
"I bet we could have made it work –" Barty begins grinning, and Regulus shoves him off the couch before walking out of the room.
"No need for jealousy, Barty", he calls over his shoulder, "you're still my one and only."
I want to be your second and only, James thinks before his eyes widen in alarm. Where do these thoughts keep coming from?
Unbeknownst to him, who is watching Regulus go with a strange sense of longing, Barty has a knowing smile on the floor as he looks at James.
Oh, I can have fun with this…
They're having dinner in the kitchen, all five of them, which makes for a very strange group however you describe their demographics. Three Gryffindors and two Slytherins. Three members of the Order, a traitor and a Death Eater. A pureblood, two soon-to-be-disowned-if-they're-not-already Blacks, a half-blood werewolf and the son of a politician.
Remus cooked the meal, simple spaghetti bolognese because Sirius and James would have burnt the house down, Regulus either would have done the same out of spite or only cooked for himself, and he had a slight suspicion Barty would have poisoned them for being Gryffindor's.
So, Remus cooked the meal, and now they're sitting around the table, eating their pasta and trying to find conversation topics that last longer than one simple question and answer.
Surprisingly, but also not, Barty is the one who breaks the ice. He was only talking to Regulus really, but it was a topic that everyone could participate in.
"So Reg, is your brother still the same stupid prick he was at school?"
"Hey!" from Sirius
"No", from James
"Yes", from Remus.
An amused smirk from Regulus, and then "he was worried I was going to die on Sunday," which Barty laughs at?
James, Sirius, and Remus are all missing the joke if there is one.
"You would never die in winter", Barty says, still laughing.
"That's what I said!"
"Hang on, why won't he die in winter?" Remus asks confusedly, to which Barty simply replies, "Oh, Reg hates winter, so he just refuses to die in the season on principle."
"That's not how it works", Remus counters, but Barty is unswayed.
"If you don't think Reg would keep himself alive until one second past midnight on the first of march just so he can say he didn't die in Winter in the afterlife, then you clearly don't know him at all."
He smiles sweetly at James as he says this, which makes Regulus narrow his eyes in suspicion, and James clench his hand tighter around his fork, annoyed for another unknown reason.
"So, are you going to, uh, stay the night?" Remus asks Barty, who simply smiles at Sirius who is staring him down in silence.
"Yeah, I'll bunk in with old Reg over here –"
"Like hell you will –"
"You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to your wards, Reg", Barty sings, pleased to have won another argument, and James takes it upon himself to talk next.
"Why do you get to go into his room, but I can't?" he asks, trying not to sound petulant. "I thought they were blood wards."
"Yeah, me too", says Sirius frowning, "but I've known our family tree since I was four, and you're not on it."
"They're sentient wards", Barty says, ignoring Regulus' facial expressions, which are telling him to shut up. "He invented them in fourth year and probably developed them over the war. They're all about intent and play off his emotions."
Twin expressions of confusion are shared by James and Sirius, but Remus seems to understand and be reluctantly impressed.
"Don't you fucking dare, Barty –" Regulus begins, but Barty simply gives him a smug smile, pushes his hand away, which is trying to cover Barty's mouth and keeps talking.
"They play off his emotions like I said, so it's about wants, what he wants, as in does he want you in the room. If the answer's yes, you'll be let in, and you'll be allowed entry until he truly changes his mind. He can't control it; it's subconscious desire, after all."
He's clearly said his piece, successfully ruined a bit of Regulus' heartless and emotionless image, who glares at him and says, "you're not making it through the wards tonight."
Barty just smiles, unperturbed.
"Whatever you say, darling."
James grips his fork even tighter.
Barty smiles again.
Sirius checks the time on the clock above the mantelpiece and sees that it's coming up to seven thirty; nearly time for the weekly Order meeting to start.
It's at Hogwarts this week; he assumes it's partly as a courtesy to Regulus and partly because everyone's afraid to come back to Grimmauld with him, and he hopes he's not going to get hexed as he voices his next question.
"Reggie, we got an Order meeting tonight, and Dumbledore wants to know if you'll –"
"Oh, I'll be there alright", he replies instantly, a threatening undertone coming through in his voice that Sirius just decides not to unpack.
"Okay", he replies slowly, "well, it starts soon, so if you're coming then we've got to leave soon. I think Dumbledore wants to hear your side of the story, so if you have anything –"
"I couldn't give a shit about what Dumbledore wants", Regulus interrupts. "I'm going for one reason only, and unless anything else presents itself as a reason to stay, then I will be leaving after I've got what I wanted."
"Do I want to know what you want?" Sirius asks suspiciously.
Regulus smiles blandly and says, "you'll find out soon enough."
"What about me?" Barty asks, almost pouting, "are you really going to leave me here alone?"
"I left you for three years, a few hours is nothing", Regulus says dismissively, which makes the marauders wince, but Barty appears amused.
"Maybe I'll have a snoop around the house, find a few cursed objects to send off –"
"I will tie you to the chair you're in."
"I do so love it when you tie me up –"
"Oh, for fucks sake."
They're going to take the floo into Professor McGonagall's office, and the others all step back and gesture to let Regulus go first, assuming that's what he wants. Instead, he just looks at Sirius until he gets the message and goes before him.
James and Remus assume he wants Sirius to get hexed first if there turns out to be an enemy in the room.
Regulus represses every part of his brain that doesn't want to be alone at Hogwarts without his brother; he's never done it before and never really wants to.
Professor McGonagall is there to meet them all and direct them to the staffroom, an amused look crossing her face as she sees the marauders who call her Minnie and chat and try to fist bump her to no avail. Even though Regulus is making no moves to be polite and probably gives off extremely hostile and unfriendly vibes, she still nods at him and says, "Mr Black, It's good to see you again."
It doesn't sound like she's joking, but Regulus doesn't know why she'd be telling the truth, so he bluntly says, "you don't need to lie to make me feel better, Professor," before walking out of the office.
He hears Sirius muttering quick apologies before rushing after him, and of course James and Remus follow in their wake.
More and more portraits recognise him as he walks down the corridor, and the whispers follow him with every step he takes.
"I will burn every single portrait in this hall if you don't stop talking", he threatens, and this returns the corridor to stunned but blissful silence.
"Reggie!" Sirius hisses at him, who simply raises a single eyebrow in response which makes Sirius huff in frustration but leave him alone.
It's roughly 7.25pm, the Order meeting is about to start, but people are still talking and chatting amongst themselves.
Excited waves and smiles are given as the marauders walk in, and when Regulus walks in behind them, the room cuts instantly into silence.
"Great, you're all quiet. Now you can fucking listen to me", Regulus says without preamble. He's still fuming about the article, and they're all about to know it.
"First of all, what was that article I read in the prophet? I am not working with you, I am not your hero, and I am not going to give an exclusive interview with the prophet. So, who came up with those lies and more importantly, who the fuck do you think is going to believe them?"
An auror whose name he doesn't know stands up and says, "look Black, this group is a cooperative. If you're not going to be civil and participate, then you can leave; nobody is stopping you."
"Now why would I do that?" Regulus asks lightly. "I thought you were all so excited to work with me, that's what the Prophet article said, after all."
The auror narrows their eyes but doesn't comment further, having noticed the corner he's been backed into.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore does as he says, "Mr Black, might I enquire as to why you are here if it is not to work with us?"
"Oh, I'm so glad you asked", Regulus says sardonically before he looks resolutely at Dumbledore.
"I want something, and you're going to give it to me. Call it a token of appreciation, a war prize, whatever you like, but you're going to give it to me."
"And what might you want, dear boy?" Dumbledore asks kindly, even as everybody feels the tension growing exponentially between the two.
"It's not about what I want; it's about what you're going to do", Regulus says firmly. "And you're going to let Evan Rosier go from Azkaban and clear him of all charges."
Whispers break out at this, but both Regulus and Dumbledore ignore them.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, my boy," Dumbledore says gravely, like it's a great cost to him. "He was an asset to Voldemort and to many brutal attacks to both wizarding and muggle populations."
"He wasn't an asset to anything", Regulus argues back, knowing full well he's lying through his teeth.
"He was an asset to getting rid of my eye", Moody barks out, to which Regulus flatly responds, "If he hadn't done it, I would have."
He looks back at Dumbledore, but Moody clearly isn't done.
"Death Eaters belong to rot in that prison, as do you, boy."
Regulus sighs and raises his eyebrow, "yeah, I destroyed 6 horcruxes and killed Voldemort because I was such a good Death Eater, wasn't I?
"The mark on your arm condemns you."
"Oh, this one?" Regulus asks, smiling wickedly, and he rolls his sleeve up to show his scarred and bruised but obviously Dark-Mark-free forearm.
"As you can see, I don't have one, and neither does Evan Rosier."
"So the Dark Marks got removed when Voldemort died?" Dumbledore interjects, looking interested.
"No, we never got them at all", Regulus lies. "If you look at Severus here, he still has his though," and he savours the way Snape's eyes turn on him and glower.
They got their Dark Marks at the same initiation.
Regulus ignores him and continues, looking at Dumbledore. "You're going to get Evan Rosier out of Azkaban and be grateful that I don't begin a full ministry inquiry, not only as to why he got thrown in there when he is obviously innocent, but also why the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot let it happen without a trial. And you know I'll win.
I'm going to be at Azkaban at 8am tomorrow, and there will be an auror who will let me in and show me to Evan Rosier's cell, where he will be released and cleared of all charges. Otherwise, I will walk into the Ministry of Magic and find every reporter there who will publish the true account of the war and who I am now working with, which is absolutely no one.
And piece by piece, I will tear apart every last aspect of the charade you hide behind and expose you for the person you really are. I destroyed Voldemort, and I can just as easily destroy you by bringing down everything you have worked for and everything you have worked to hide. And we both know what I'm talking about, don't we?
So what will it be?" Regulus finishes coolly.
"Is that a threat, Mr Black?" Dumbledore asks, seemingly unphased, but there's a storm brewing in his eyes that his clouds of happiness can't entirely hide.
"Not at all", Regulus says, smiling politely, before his body language shuts down, no trace of warmth to be found anywhere in him as he enunciates clearly,
"It's a promise."
It turns into a staring contest. Neither of them are using leglimency, they both know the other would be able to block it, and eventually, Dumbledore concedes.
That's right, Regulus thinks.
"Shacklebolt will be there to release Mr Rosier as requested, Mr Black. Might I suggest myself coming with you to ward off the dementors?"
"What so you can push me inside a cell and throw away the key?" Regulus asks derisively, "I don't think so. Plus, if you ever stopped being such a prejudiced bastard," Regulus continues furiously, ignoring the shocked looks from around the room, "you would know that just because you never gave the Slytherins patronus lessons at school because you thought we from too dark of a family to be able to cast such a light spell, it doesn't mean some of us didn't learn it on our own."
Various glances are shared by the mostly Gryffindor members of the Order of the Phoenix, and the few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws look a mixture of displeased and chastised. Snape is the only Slytherin in the room, besides Regulus of course, and he just looks like he'd like to disappear.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to have surprised you", Regulus continues, enjoying the damage to Dumbledore's reputation that he's leaving behind him. "I suppose being able to cast a patronus isn't very Death-Eater-like of me, would you prefer I come in my mask and robes next time to make you feel more comfortable?"
And enjoying the silence that follows the question, Regulus sits down with a smug smile on his face.
He thinks he's reached his peak of the night; however, a question about thirty minutes later sends an immense sense of vindicative pleasure.
Dumbledore is going through the missing people list and says, "Fenrir Greyback's disappearance has been reported, along with twenty-eight members of his pack left dead around a pile of bones presumed to be Greyback's."
Three shocked glances flit to Regulus. 29 kills in one day, and all he got were 10 scratches? They were deep, of course, and had the potential to be deadly, but they were easy enough to fix with the right spells and medication and then he'd been up again the same afternoon.
Most people can't even cast one killing curse successfully. Even the most experienced dark wizards should have been prone to magical exhaustion after five, vulnerable to collapse after ten.
28 plus whatever transfiguration spells Regulus had cast on the rocks on top of literally bleeding out should have been impossible, but that sort of seems to be his new thing.
Making the impossible possible.
Dumbledore is still talking, "Does anybody have any information on this? If it was a Death Eater attack, then we need to proceed with caution if they are turning on their own side. However, if it was members of the Order, we will rule it as self-defence."
That prejudiced motherfucker, Regulus thinks, before casually saying, "And if it was me?"
He's bold and calm and looks every bit as powerful as he did last Thursday when he dragged Voldemort's corpse through the door.
Dumbledore looks towards Regulus, and his eyes seem to narrow, which makes Regulus smile.
Good. You should know you can't control me.
"Who would you have worked with if it were to be you who did this?" Dumbledore asks hypothetically, even though everybody knows there's nothing hypothetical about it.
"I don't need a babysitter", is all Regulus scoffs in response.
"Nobody can cast that many killing curses in a row, bar perhaps Voldemort himself", Dumbledore counters, but Regulus is winning this fight.
"Evidently, I can, given the situation. You affirmed that I killed Voldemort last week, and funnily enough, I don't actually want to bring him back from the dead."
"So you admit that you murdered 29 people? That's life in Azkaban at best, Mr Black."
"What happened to ruling it as self-defence?" Regulus taunts, but Dumbledore simply repeats, "do you admit it?"
Dumbledore looks pleased, like he can finally get rid of Regulus once and for all, and Moody seems to be vibrating with something near to excitement with the prospect of locking away another Death Eater.
Regulus ruins their plans quite nicely.
"Oh, not at all", he says smiling, "it was accidental magic."
"My arse it was", Sirius mutters as Regulus continues.
"Accidental magic is not a punishable offence by law, especially if one was provoked and attacked, which I was. Looks like that won't hold up in the court," before he looks condescendingly at Dumbledore and continues haughtily, "and you're supposed to be Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. How embarrassing."
Sirius elbows him hard in the ribs and glares at him, clearly asking what the fuck was that? But Regulus just smiles at him, looking far too pleased with himself.
Dumbledore looks like he's swallowed a lemon, but he figures the best option is to move on and hope that Regulus doesn't speak up again.
The meeting drags on for another hour, however, Regulus doesn't want to leave incase he misses any new information, and then when it's over, Sirius tries to drag him along to talk with his friends.
Regulus isn't having a bar of it.
"Come on Reggie, come meet my friends –"
"Sirius, I will set this place on fire if you don't let me go right now –"
"Fuck, you could have just said no."
"Why would I do that when I could watch this place burn instead."
"Chill the fuck out, alright? Go home then, don't burn either place down, and I'll see you later."
"I don't need you to tuck me in", is all Regulus replies before he walks over towards the doors.
Conversations die down, and everybody watches as he goes and carelessly throws over his shoulder, "8am tomorrow, or I'll prove to you next Thursday just how many killing curses I can cast in a row."
He turns around as he reaches the doorway and gets out one more sentence before disappearing down the corridor.
"And Dumbledore," he says, without an ounce of humour in his tone,
"I'll start with you."
Notes:
I LOVE BARTY WITH ALL MY HEART, AND BLISFULLY OBLIVIOUS YET DEATHLY JEALOUS JAMES.
And Evan has been mentioned even if he hasn't made it into the story yet (the post-prologue story).
Jegulus has begun even if neither of them know it yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could talk about this chapter for dayyyyyyyyys!!!!