Chapter Text
‘Dear Brother,
I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know…’
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
The realization hits Sirius like a bag of bricks to the face.
This is why Regulus has been acting so weird all day, he's planning to… Sirius can’t even think the words in his head. But everything makes sense now; Regulus’s comments to Remus about taking care of Sirius, because he won’t be around to make sure his big brother is alright, his random public display of affection with James, how he stood up to Travers in front of the entire school, sassing Dumbledore straight to his face, refusing to be cowed by an authority figure. All very un-Regulus like things (sadly, the risking his life for a FIREPROOF bird is par for the course with Regulus, he’s just never had such an opportunity before).
“What’s wrong, Sirius?” Andromeda roughly shakes his shoulder. “The letter is blank, you must be the only one who can read it. But you’ve gone all pale, like you’ve seen a Dementor.”
“We need to… we need to find him, my brother, I need to… stop him, we have to stop him, before he... before he does that… but I c-can’t find him, our connection… he’s not there… what if it’s too late? Oh my poor Regulus… how could he think... fuck, Bella’s gonna k-kill me… and I will deserve it -”
Slap!
Sirius holds a hand to his stinging cheek. “Ow!”
Fucking hell, that is the THIRD time someone has slapped him today, and he is getting real bloody tired of it!
“It will be me who kills you, if you don’t stop freaking me out!” Narcissa shrieks, her face as red as he imagines his to be. “You’re making less sense than usual… you haven’t even looked for Regulus yet, what do you mean you can’t find him?”
Oh fuckity fuck… AGAIN!
Sirius is saved from answering when Andromeda adds to his trauma by jamming her hand down the front of his robes. Removing the vibrating enchanted mirror from the inner pocket he stored it in, she flips it open with a flourish he is NOT envious of.
“Sirius!" James’s worried voice fills the room. "Your brother… oh, hullo, erm… is Sirius there?”
“Where on earth did you get a two-way mirror?!” Narcissa cries enviously, scowling over Andromeda’s shoulder.
The older girl shakes her head. “Not the time, Cissa. Yes, Sirius is here, but he's seconds away from a full on breakdown for reasons unknown. What were you saying about Regulus?”
“He gave us the slip,” Remus responds, sounding slightly out of breath. “We thought maybe he was going back to his dorm, but I… I think he’s headed outside.”
“How could you possibly know that?!”
Without an ounce of shame, James snaps, “We’ve been following him since Dumbledore's office, obviously!”
The two girls glare accusingly at their Gryffindor cousin.
“I have trust issues,” Sirius shrugs. And this is precisely why! Thank Merlin he listened to his gut and asked them to tail Reggie for a bit. “Meet you in the Entrance Hall!” he calls over his shoulder, already halfway to the door.
Racing through the dungeons, Sirius arrives at his destination right as Remus and James are sprinting down the last set of stairs.
“We think he’s headed to the pier!” James blurts, skidding to a stop in front of him. Hazel eyes dart to the two Slytherins accompanying him, then back to Sirius. “Mate, I dunno, I’m sure everything is fine, maybe he’s doing what Madam Pomfrey said, or he’s going to fly for a bit -”
“In this disgusting weather, he better not be doing either of those things!” Andromeda tuts, right as there’s a boom of thunder so loud, they collectively flinch. "Point proven."
“Yeah," James winces. "So, now you understand the weird vibes we’re getting.”
“Honestly, does he have a death wish?!” Narcissa asks with both hands on her hips.
I know I will be dead long before you read this…
“YES” Sirius cries, bursting into tears. “He does -”
Sharp fingernails dig into his forearm, putting a swift end to his melancholy. “Explain to us what is going on right now, or so help me, Sirius Orion -”
“He’s trying to off himself, okay!” Sirius hisses to Narcissa, who at least has the decency to retract her claws. “I don’t know why, and I don’t have time to explain everything now, but he wrote me a letter.” He hurriedly tells them what the first line said. “So, you two can either help us, or piss off… and save your ‘we told you he was depressed’ speech for later!”
After some heated bickering, their group agrees to split in two; the three Gryffindors approach on one side, with Sirius leading, while Narcissa and Andromeda go around to the opposite end in case Regulus tries to make a break for it into the Forest. Howling gusts of wind spray them with a fine mist of chilly lake water. In their haste to reach Regulus, they didn’t think to cast any charms to prevent the skies from drenching them to the bone, but Sirius has bigger problems to deal with right now.
They find Regulus pacing back and forth across a section of the pier, looking irritable and damp, but still whole.
“Hey, Reg,” Sirius calls, slowly creeping towards his brother. The lake is so choppy, he’s not entirely confident Remus could stay afloat, extra abilities and all. “Good day for some coffee and a book, don’t chya think? Inside, in case that wasn’t clear.”
Regulus stares at him with deadened eyes. “You shouldn’t be here… none of you should be. Go back, brother, and take your friends with you.”
“Yeah, can’t do that, little star. You see, I got your letter -”
“I worked that out for myself, thanks.”
A sassy combination of words, but both Regulus’s tone and expression are unnaturally blank. Sirius’s shiver has nothing to do with the freezing rain. “We’re here because we care about you.”
“Which is why I ask that you leave.”
James lets out a strained, anguished sound. “Please, Regulus… you don’t have to do this. Please don’t do this.”
“This isn’t a choice, James,” Regulus snaps, hiding his trembling hands in his pockets. “There are some things even the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black cannot avoid. Death is one of them.”
Sirius’s laugh sounds crazed even to his own ears. “Maybe not avoid, but we can delay Him. We certainly don’t need to invite Him to our doorstep, regardless of how good-looking he is!” (He can feel Remus side-eyeing him, but ignores it.)
“I know you’ve had a really difficult time lately,” James says, his voice tight with emotion. Standing a step behind Sirius, the Chaser’s grip on his shoulder is bruising, but grounding. “No one disputes that. But we can face the future together, yeah? You’re not alone.”
“By the fates, you Gryffindors always make things more difficult than they need to be! Go back -”
“Not just Gryffindors,” Andromeda murmurs, approaching from the other side of the pier.
Flinching at the sight of their cousins, Regulus scowls at his brother, as if Sirius betrayed him by telling the girls about his letter, pfft. “This is ridiculous, Sirius!”
“I concur, little star. Let’s go inside, yeah?”
“Would you get ahold of your boyfriend, Remus?!”
Standing on Sirius’s left, his body angled as if he's expecting to leap into the water at any moment, Remus shakes his head. “Afraid I’m with Siri on this one.”
Even in the raging storm, the tears flowing steadily from Narcissa’s eyes are visible. “Please, cousin. Let us help. I know we let you down before, but give us another chance… please, Regulus, we’ll make it up to you, I... I promise.”
“There might be a brief period of adjustment,” the younger boy says emotionlessly, his gaze fixated on the rippling lake. “But you’ll move on, all of you, and your lives will be better for it.”
“How dare you say that -"
“Before this year,” Regulus continues, as if Sirius never interrupted, “I was no one. I barely had friends, no romantic interests, I wasn’t popular, or even liked. And soon, I will be no one again, no one at all, the way it was always meant to be. I’ll be nothing but a mere blip in your existence. I’ve made my peace with that. I ask that you do the same.” He nods to himself, like he fully believes he’s said enough to convince them to leave.
“I will NOT make peace with that,” James vehemently retorts before any of the Blacks can formulate a rebuttal. “I could never! What… what about Wylan? You promised to look after him, I heard you, Regulus.”
For the first time, Regulus’s eyes light with an emotion other than numbness or irritation. “You… you can help him, James, please look after -”
“I am NOT a replacement for you, that kid and his friends would never tolerate it!”
In the blink of an eye, Regulus's grief is gone. “They’ll manage just fine without me. As you all will.”
“How could you say such hogwash?!” Throwing caution to the wind, Sirius surges forward and grabs his brother’s hands. “Listen to me, Regulus Arcturus, and listen closely… you have never been no one, not to me. You’re my brother, by blood and by choice, my first best friend, the person who taught me what it means to be a decent person, how to love someone separate from myself.” He cups the younger boy’s cheeks, forcing their gazes to meet. “You matter, little star. So, if you’re going to go through with this, then you’re going to have to take me with you. I… I won't live in a world without you in it, Regulus. I refuse.”
Finally, finally, Regulus’s eerily void expression shatters. Keening low in his throat, his brother buries his face into Sirius’s neck. “I don’t… I don’t want to die, you understand that, right? Sirius, please tell me you understand that. I know I joke about it a lot, but I don’t want to. I told you this wasn’t my choice, and I meant it.”
“I don’t understand,” Sirius admits quietly. “What are you doing out here, then? Don’t tell me you have to, Reggie, because that wouldn’t make sense either.”
Regulus says three words that cause Sirius’s blood to freeze in his veins. “I saw him.”
It's impossible to see anything further than their little bubble, since the sky is busy drenching the world below in a relentless cascade of rain. But Death is pretty hard to miss, both because he’s an imposing figure and freakishly beautiful.
Yet there’s no sign of him.
“Who?” James asks when his best mate doesn’t.
“The Grim.” They must stay silent for too long, because Regulus sighs so loudly, it’s perfectly audible over the raging winds. “You don’t know what that is, do you? Bloody hell, how can you be in fifth-year Divination, and not know what the Grim is?!”
“Okay, listen…”
“Do you even own the textbook?”
“James and I share one.” Little Reggie, the swot, looks horrified at the admittance. Sirius doesn't have the courage to tell his brother that neither of them read it. “Heh, Remus knows what the Grim is, though.”
“The Grim is an omen of death, reputed to bring about the demise of the person who encounters it,” Remus says succinctly. He stares at his boyfriend like he’s trying to silently communicate something with him, but uhh… Sirius's brain isn’t operating at its best right now, okay?
“Regulus, the Grim isn’t real,” Andromeda gently rebukes. “Is that what all of this has been about?”
“Yes it is! I saw him this morning, right over there.” Regulus points towards the castle. “Big beast of a thing, staring at me with gleaming eyes, just like in the stories. As any knowledgeable person would, I took it as an omen, the worst kind of omen.”
Hmm, okay, context clues, context clues. Some sort of creature, quite large, made Reg think he’s about to die, called the Grim, Remus asking this morning if his brother is superstitious, then staring at Sirius as if… oh fuck.
There’s no second guessing. Sirius steps away from his brother, waves James back to ensure he has enough space, then lets the transformation wash over him.
“Woof!”
Yuck yuck yuck, being soaked as a giant furry dog is worse than being soaked as a human. He feels so heavy and bogged down, but ooh, what if he jumped in that puddle -
“I KNEW YOU WERE A BAD INFLUENCE, JAMES POTTER!”
“Me?!” James holds a hand over his heart, looking offended. “Me?! A bad influence? I believe you have me mistaken -”
The Chaser falters when Regulus points a wand in his face. “My brother would never do something so… so dangerous, so utterly reckless, on his own volition! I’m sure this entire thing was your idea!”
“It was his idea,” Sirius admits, returning to two legs… and bugger, being soaked in this form is still miserable. Nudging Regulus’s arm down, he sends a mental apology to James for thinking he was leading his baby brother astray, oopsie. “But I did years of research, gathered all the ingredients, and made all the plans myself. So, your anger is directed at the wrong person.”
Regulus gawks at his older brother, open-mouthed. “How… why…” Gray eyes narrow into slits. “Have you been stalking me, Sirius?!”
“Sure have, little star,” he confesses unabashedly, making a concerted effort to NOT look anywhere close to James’s direction. “Only this morning, though. And, erm… I am SO sorry, like super-duper extra extra sorry, for making you think you were on Death’s doorstep.”
“Again,” the brothers sigh in unison.
The storm guaranteed no one in the castle, or even on the edge of the lake, could have seen him, but Andromeda and Narcissa definitely know his secret now. “Cousins, may I have your word you’ll keep this between us?”
Narcissa’s gobsmacked expression would be satisfying if he weren’t so anxious to hear their responses.
“You do… but I can’t decide if this makes you competent for accomplishing something so challenging at such a young age, or wholly incompetent for being foolish enough to attempt such dangerous magic without adult supervision,” Andromeda confesses in an awed voice.
“Incompetent,” her sister huffs, lifting her nose in the air. Sirius would like it to be known that the haughty/superior effect she's aiming for doesn’t hold well in the pouring rain, ha! “And again, I question whether he’s fit to run our family… clearly, he's as mad as he could possibly be!”
“I’ll fit right in,” Sirius boasts, though his smirk falls when he realizes that would also mean he’s a bigot with no sense of fun. Hmm… he should probably throw them a bone if he wants to escape this unscathed. “No need to be jealous, ladies, I’m sure in a few years time, you’ll be able to manage it. I believe in you!”
“You’re going to teach me,” his brother interjects, stubbornly jutting his chin out. “Or I’m telling.”
Sirius rolls his eyes. “You really expect me to believe you’d let me rot in Azkaban if I don’t agree to teach you? Because despite what you seem to might think, I am aware of the penalties for being an unregistered Animagus.”
OH MERLIN, wait wait wait. Didn’t Regulus draw him in Azkaban? Is this why Sirius gets arrested?!
“Obviously, I won’t tell a teacher or an Auror!” Oh phew. “I’m going to tell Grandmother.”
Whelp, that’ll do it.
“I’ll help you," Sirius holds his hand out, "but that means you need to stick around for at least another century.”
Scrunching his nose up, Regulus reaches for Sirius’s hand. “Eww, do you hate me that much, brother?”
“Actually, I love you very much… and you shook on it, so no take backs!”
“I told you that lake was cursed,” Sirius pouts, chivalrously letting Remus pull him into his embrace. “Look what it did to my hair!”
After he agreed to mentor his brother in the Animagus transformation (an irony that is NOT lost on him), they made their way back to the castle without incident… minus the teeny tiny one where a particularly violent gust of wind knocked Sirius clear off his feet, sending him straight into the turbulent water. Remus, the ‘Black Savior’, as Regulus dubbed him, fished his boyfriend out of the lake and swam them to shore before Sirius could even process what happened. But he SWEARS he heard Death’s haunting laughter, the same haunting laughter from the first time he met the immortal figure eight-ish years ago… but there was still no sign of the bloke, so it’s quite possible (highly likely) it was all in Sirius’s head. And isn’t that just a dandy thought?
Following a whispered conversation with James, Narcissa and Andromeda left for the Slytherin dungeons, though not before squeezing Regulus half-to-death in something they tried to claim was a ‘hug’ (to Sirius’s annoyance, his best mate refuses to divulge what the girls wanted to discuss with him). Unwilling to part ways quite yet, the four boys linger in the Entrance Hall. James, who mastered Drying Charms in second year thanks to Sirius’s fastidiousness about their dorm/lavatory being tidy, made sure they wouldn’t be told off by the caretaker, Filch, for tracking water into the castle, while Remus deftly vanished the mud away. To Sirius's immense pride, Regulus took care of the warming charms all on his own.
“Your hair is fine, darling.” Remus drops a kiss on the top of Sirius's head. “Might need a wash, though, it kinda smells like the lake.”
Regulus’s shoulders hunch. “Merlin, can’t imagine what mine smells like after the buckets of rain.”
“Let's find out." James, the weirdo, sticks his nose in the younger Slytherin's hair and inhales deeply. "Ummm... it’s definitely not as bad as Siri’s, I’m sure.”
“Gee, high praise.” His brother heaves his customary angst-ridden sigh, and Sirius quickly blinks away his tears, I can’t imagine a life without that sound. “Guess I know what I need to do now. I’ll, uh, see you all later? At breakfast tomorrow?”
“I got this new shampoo I think you’ll like," the Gryffindor-Black timidly says, looking everywhere but at his brother. "It was just delivered, wanna come try it out? We can sneak you into the tower, piece of cake... and then tomorrow I'll walk you back, so I can finish packing." Should Regulus agree, Sirius is going to borrow the super fancy shampoo and conditioner set he bought for James last year, the one his best mate uses only on 'special occasions', whatever that means. So, it's a lie, but also not really!
James’s eyes brighten. “Yeah, it’ll be fun! And since Sirius’s clothes probably won’t fit you, given how short and skinny he is, not an ounce of muscle to be found, the poor thing, you can borrow some of mine.”
“Oi!” Sirius cries, glaring at the smirking pair. “I am taller than both of you, I’ll have you know!”
“For now,” Remus mumbles, the traitor.
"Barely, brother."
“And I have enough muscle to kick both of your arses!"
“I genuinely do not believe that,” Regulus scoffs. “But fine, I’ll come up for a bit, since I know you’re dying -”
“TOO SOON!” Sirius and James shriek in distress, while Remus lets out a Sirius-esque bark of laughter. Worse, the two morbid sons of bitches high five at the terrible joke!
“... to show off your abode, even though I’ve already seen it.”
James knocks loudly on the door to their dormitory. “Petey, we have guests!"
“Technically only one guest," Remus swiftly corrects.
"Are you decent?” Without waiting for a response, he opens it a crack and pokes his head in.
“Shouldn’t you wait until he says something if you’re so concerned about that?” Regulus chastises under his breath, holding tightly to James's hand now that they're away from the prying eyes of the Gryffindor Common Room.
"He's only doing it for your benefit, little star. Petey doesn't have anything we haven't seen before." Removing the Disillusionment Charm he cast on himself, Sirius returns his brother’s robes back to their rightful Slytherin colors. “And congrats, Reggie, you can pass as me.” Feeling disgustingly sentimental, he boops his brother’s nose, then nearly collapses into a pile of emotional-goo when he senses Regulus’s irritated fondness thrumming down their bond.
“Yay, just what I always wanted. My life goal is complete, so that means now I can -”
Sirius smacks a hand over his brother's mouth. “I know, right? Who wouldn’t want to be me… you three are haters!” he hisses at the skeptical faces reflected back at him. Not wanting to overwhelm his brother... or risk him breaking out the stabby-stabbies... Sirius skips into the room. “One guest, because I actually live here.”
“Sirius!” Peter beams, holding his arms wide. “The king doth return!”
“Petey!” Lifting the shortest Marauder off his feet, Sirius spins them around and around until they tumble to the ground, too dizzy to stand. “Silly me, I am being rude, aren’t I?” Sprawled out on his favorite plush carpet, he gestures to where his brother is standing rigidly in the doorway. “Peter, this is my brother, Regulus. Regulus, this is Peter, the fourth Marauder.”
“Hi!” Peter squeaks, raising a hand up in a half-hearted wave. “Erm, nice to meet you… officially.”
Regulus doesn’t respond, doesn’t blink, doesn’t even look like he’s breathing.
“Uhh… should we be worried?” Remus asks, while James moves his hand in front of Regulus’s eyes… again, no reaction.
Sirius shrugs. “Nah. He’ll snap out of it on his own.”
There’s no telling what’s going on in Regulus’s head when he gets like this. It doesn’t happen often, but this definitely isn’t the first time he’s just gone all glassy-eyed out of nowhere. Best Sirius can figure out is it has something to do with his Seer abilities… either that, or it’s some strange manifestation of his social anxiety. Mayhaps both?
Just as Sirius predicted, Regulus returns to reality… with a freakishly adorable sneeze.
“‘Scuse me,” he mumbles, wiggling his nose. “Sorry, hi, it’s nice to meet you, too.”
It’s enough to melt the tension in the room. Beside him, James coos, which leads to Regulus blushing, and then the cheeky brat turns to Sirius, demanding the shower he was promised.
“A brilliant idea.” Sirius playfully scowls at his super beautiful boyfriend. “Sorry, no couples allowed in the showers, but we would be much obliged if you could fetch us some food.”
“I think you’re the only one here who fetches, darling,” Remus laughs, lightly shoving his arm. “Up for a kitchen run, Pete?”
While Regulus scrutinizes their bookshelf, Sirius picks out clothes and towels for both of them (because despite what James said, the big meanie, he has plenty of things that will fit his lean, petite brother). Shuffling towards the lavatory, he almost drops the bundle in his arms when he crashes into someone lingering in the doorway.
“I said no couples!” Sirius growls at his best mate. He’s not tolerating any funny business when it comes to his little brother, especially after the trauma Reg’s recently endured. “Is this you admitting you don’t listen to me, mate? I am heartbroken, truly.”
Glancing nervously between the two best mates, Remus sports a cute frown that momentarily distracts Sirius from his litany of woes. “James, why don’t you come with us?”
“I’m good,” James mumbles. “I heard you, Siri, but I haven’t showered since yesterday, and I feel disgusting.” He looks over Sirius’s shoulder. “I can wait until you’re done, though, if showering with friends makes you uncomfortable.”
“You can do whatever you want, Potter, it’s your dorm.” Oh, Sirius can hear the hurt in his brother’s voice. “Evan and I shower together all the time, so…”
Even so, it takes him an embarrassingly long time to understand.
“Right, silly me.”
Under the guise of grabbing the towels from Sirius’s pile, Regulus whispers, “Let it go, brother. Please. It’s alright.”
“IT’S NOT ALRIGHT, AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!” He shoves the clothes into Regulus’s arms as well. If he doesn’t receive a satisfactory response, he might need both hands free to punch James in the face for however long it takes until he sees sense. “Two days ago, you looked me right in the eye and confessed you liked my brother… did you lie?”
“Ummm… no?”
Using the hair tie on his wrist, Sirius gathers his long locks into a secure bun at the top of his head.
James takes a large step back. “Whoa, hang on a minute, mate, I think there’s a misunderstanding here -”
“My brother bravely came out in front of the entire school this morning,” Sirius snarls, unclasping his dangly earrings, “but that’s not good enough for you? What’s a bloke gotta do to be boyfriend material in your eyes, huh? That’s what I don’t understand!" He tucks the jewelry into Regulus's pocket. "Or are you just looking to have a good time, no strings attached?”
James opens and closes his mouth before sputtering out, “Are you… are you serious?!”
“Of course,” Sirius and Regulus say at the same time.
“They're SO annoying when they're together,” the Chaser grumbles to himself. Louder, he says, “Of fucking course I want to be Regulus’s boyfriend! But he never said anything about it, so I didn’t want to be presumptuous!” He points an accusing finger in the brothers' general direction. “Plus, I DO listen to you, Sirius, and you were very clear that I could not date Regulus until he turned an unspecified age you’d inform me of once you ‘thought it over for long enough, because we don’t make rushed decisions in this house’… which was confusing in and of itself, because that’s pretty much how ALL the decisions are made in this house!!”
…
Oh fuck.
“Change in circumstance,” Sirius shrugs with faux-nonchalance.
Regulus quirks an eyebrow. “You realize this means you’re all but encouraging me to threaten to off -”
“I MEANT,” he raises his voice to drown out what is sure to be something that’s going to send him into a fit of rage/despair, “that given the snogfest in the Great Hall, I presumed that was my little star telling me he was blatantly ignoring my wishes for him to court his special friend,” Regulus closes his eyes as if he’s in pain… hmm, mayhaps with another Day of Ordeals under his belt, a trip to Madam Pomfrey is in order, “for the next decade, and there was nothing I could do about it.”
“To be fair, I thought I was marked for a rapidly-approaching date with death, so there was no specific intention to my actions, other than doing something I wanted to do. However, not only did I snog you in front of the entire school, James, I ALSO told you how much I liked you, and since I am evidently not marked for an assured, untimely death, I assumed that meant… erm, something.” Faltering at the end of his rant, pink spreads across Regulus’s cheeks.
“Something, as in…”
“As in we would be dating like Sirius and Remus, okay?! Sorry for assuming.”
Sirius grabs his brother’s wrist, preventing him from leaving. “Mate?”
James blinks owlishly. “Oh… please hold, processing here. All my dreams are going to fruition, and it’s overwhelming.”
Yeah, figured as much, Sirius sighs in his head.
“You break him, you fix him!” Remus calls from the opposite side of the room. “We’ll be back in a bit. Please don’t kill each other while we’re gone, or start any fires, yeah?”
“That was one time!” Sirius and James whine in unison.
Before the door closes, Remus scoffs, “You only got caught one time.”
“SIRI GUESS WHAT!!!!” Without warning, James leaps into Sirius’s arms, and only Regulus’s steadying grip on his brother’s shoulder prevents them from falling over. “I have a boyfriend, I have a boyfriend, me, can you believe it?!”
“Honestly, no, not really.”
“You know what, that’s valid. But not only do I have a boyfriend, he is the prettiest -“
“NO!” Regulus screeches out of nowhere, startling the shite out of the two Gryffindors. “Do not finish that sentence, James Potter!”
“But -“
“Sirius is the prettiest,” his sweet baby brother says in a voice laced with malice. “Sirius is the most beautiful, the handsomest, most attractive, and anything else even remotely in that area. There is no debate, NONE.”
“Well,” James drawls, readjusting his glasses. “I guess this is a prime example of what they mean when they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Sirius tries to dump the other boy onto the ground, but James refuses to unlock his arms from around his neck… so they land in a painful heap on the stone floor.
“I’m telling Remus you’re trying to kill me!” the Black heir growls, before giving into temptation and biting James’s earlobe. Blimey, he really missed being weird as fuck with his best mate in the privacy of their dorm room.
“Owww, you prick! And I’m going to tell him you’re putting your teeth where they don’t belong!”
“I swear, you two are children -”
A sharp knock reverberates through the room, cutting off Regulus’s admonishment.
“Fuck, Regulus, hide!” James whispers in a panic, but no one has a chance to move before the door is flung open.
“We need to talk,” one of the Prewett twins declares from the doorway. Thankfully, his stupidly broad shoulders block the view of anyone who might be passing by their room. “... what the fuck are you two doing?”
“A great question,” Regulus murmurs, helping James to his feet. Shockingly, he offers Sirius a hand too, but that might be so his brother doesn’t miss the judgmental look on his face. “Hi, Fab.”
“Hi, little star cat… got something for you, but Gid has it.” Turning his head to the side, he shouts, “GIDEON, I FOUND THE PUMPKIN YOU WERE LOOKING FOR!”
Sharing a split-second look, Sirius and James each pinch one of Regulus’s cheeks.
“Little star cat,” Sirius murmurs, as James coos, “Pumpkin!”
Swatting their hands away, the Slytherin hisses at them… well, he hisses at James. He straight up bites Sirius.
“Brat,” the Gryffindor-Black mutters warmly, clutching his hand to his chest.
Once Gideon enters the room, his face devoid of its usual friendliness, Fabian shuts the door behind him.
“Evening, gentleman,” James greets, standing proudly beside his new boyfriend. “How may we be of service?”
Clearing his throat, Regulus steps forward, angling himself in front of the two fifth-year Gryffindors. “Might I begin?”
“Of course,” Fabian nods, the redheads smiling softly at their Slytherin buddy… buddy, not brother, because Regulus is Sirius’s brother, and unlike Sirius, the Prewett twins have another sibling!... an older sister, but still, they can piss off with that madness.
Gesturing behind him, Regulus says, “This is my boyfriend, James.” All four of them wince at James’s excited squeal, the excited squeal he doesn’t bother disguising as anything but what it is.
Sirius is… perhaps… having some regrets about his change in rules already, though he holds his tongue at the absolutely smitten expression on his brother’s face.
The twins sweep the younger Slytherin into an embrace that he tolerates with more grace than a majority of his actual brother’s hugs. Unbeknownst to Regulus, however, the older Gryffindors alternate shooting shrewd looks at James, who (smartly) gulps in terror at the vicious threat brimming in their gazes... Sirius takes a wide step away from his friend. That is James's problem to sort out on his own, Sirius is rooting for him, go team!
“We’re thrilled for you, pumpkin, never doubt that.”
“So, it pains us to ruin the mood like this.” Gideon removes something from his robes.
As one, the twins finish with, “But we think you lot need to see this.”
The latest edition of the Evening Prophet is placed in Sirius’s hands. Heart rate picking up, he unrolls the paper, discomfited by the somberness in his usually lighthearted teammates. Thanks to the bold headline taking up half of the front page, there’s no question as to what the twins wanted them to see…
“MINISTRY OFFICIAL LUCAS TRAVERS CONFESSES TO MURDER OF MISSING WIFE!”
"Mate, you don't think -"
James doesn't have a chance to finish his question. Behind the four Gryffindors, a body hits the ground with a thud.