James Potter Is Dead
Thursday morning, he was playing the piano to Billy Joel's chords, he knew Piano Man by heart and used to play it to release stress, faking his death left him alone and locked in Grimmauld safe in the blood barriers that had settled for generations of the Black house. Bellatrix had insisted after finding him half-dead in the living room, that she should remove her and Narcissa from the shields, so that the dark lord could not enter through them and thus began their forced confinement.
For a week he had felt restless, like a dog chasing his tail, with a heaviness sitting in his stomach that pulled his feet and stuck him to the tile floor. Since he was a child he could feel the magic of his loved ones running through his veins, when his owl died in his second year at hogwarts, he had stopped feeling it, and the previous Saturday he stopped feeling the connection of two people, until now he did not know who and he had no appetite to find out, he even felt that he could die with them. During the war he had lost more people than he could count and of all of them, he had only been able to feel the lack of magic of Dorcas and Marlene, he had been the second to find out —after the murderer— about their deaths, but for some reason he could not and would not identify those he had recently lost, probably because he already knew the answer.
Narcissa burst into his property on November 5th, agitated, frightened and with more facial expressions than in the last twenty years. Her two-tone hair fell everywhere, her hairstyle was damaged by running, and her expression denoted anger as well as concern.
She was the vulture he had been waiting for, the vulture that would carry him the remains of people who had left him.
"You got me out of the damn barriers!" she showed her left hand with a fresh cut on her palm, he was unfazed by the revelation just nodded slowly, his cousin cast a couple of protection and glamour spells on herself to fix her appearance a little, Regulus dedicated himself to looking at her with disdain.
"Well, are you here for...?" He left the question open waiting for her to answer, now her face reflected pure anger.
"It's really good that you took me out, the dark lord is not very happy with what happened," she spoke, surely thinking that he knew "what happened", he nodded slowly waiting for her to continue with her tantrum.
"You should be grateful to me and Lucius, he told the dark lord that you had died and so it is believed until now, the dark lord was looking for one of the Black brothers, and found Sirius first," the expressions of both faltered for a microsecond before composing themselves to continue with the story.
"So, Tom knew i were alive?"
"I don't know where you've gone the last two years, and I'm not interested, Bella asked me to protect you before she was put in Azkaban, and that's what I'm doing." He could still feel her heavy and filthy magic running through his system, at least Trix was still alive and soulful.
Narcissa tied her hair up with another spell as her chest rose and fell, Regulus called Kreacher to bring a glass of water to the eldest, she drank it quickly and the elf summoned a full bottle from the kitchens, Narcissa also drank it in one gulp.
"What I'm going to say, Sirius betrayed both sides, but since I'm not a supporter of either, I want to keep you informed," a dramatic pause filled the floor with silence and a half-smile adorned his cousin's face. "James Potter is dead and his whole family died with him..."
"I believe this is killing me," he thought, and narcissa's smile ran away from her face.
The first time he saw him was at Christmas, Sirius had taken his mother's orders very seriously; they were supposed to take a couple of friends to Christmas Eve dinner to introduce the 28 holy, but his brother had taken two traitors to the blood who studied with him in Gryffindor which had been absolute stupidity on his part. but to his credit, James Potter was a delight to look at — or at least his own — he had intense brown eyes that didn't allow you to look away, framed by dark-rimmed glasses that gave him a more diplomatic air, a kind smile full of warmth, brown hair that always somehow looked disheveled and that stupid aura that shone empathy. Regulus had taken the girl Carrow and Barty Crouch's son he had met at the ministry when Narcissa forced him to meet Lucius...
Well, that was the first time he had looked at him properly, because when his older brother had entered Hogwarts mother had forced him to accompany them to King's Cross, where she saw him for the first time. James had also been there with the Potters, Euphemia trying to fix her son's hair, failing in the attempt while he and Sirius laughed at them.
Regulus fell in love with James that Christmas Eve, when the great idiot's radiant smile landed on him. Somehow, that dazzling smile from ear to ear felt different from the ones he gave Peter or Sirius, that was only for Regulus.
Father, angry, demanded that the blood traitors leave his house, or he would call "the dark lord" whom none of the Black brothers located at the time. It was fun for them to challenge Orion, but for his guests it was terrifying to have an adult freely threaten to hand them over to a person who until now was unknown to everyone — except adults
Cissy inspected him from top to bottom and her expression changed, she knew something he didn't.
"And the child?" for him, it was difficult to accept that the love of his life was dead, he had not been there, and he refused to believe it, he did not know how, when or where, if he was not there, it had not happened.
The magic of his system said otherwise.
"Oh, nothing is known about him and the dark lord yet, I didn't think you minded." The eldest's eyes wrote it up and down once more with her frown and she proceeded to complain disdainfully "I guess Albus should know something about it, or that boyfriend of Sirius, the werewolf."
A light bulb went on in his brain processing the new information, Remus must know something about it and surely Pandora too.
"When?"
"On Samhain" the. bloody. saturday.
His eyes filled with tears, if he cried here, he knew she would comfort him like when they were children, but he had defied the dark lord and he should act like one, not like a damn tantrum child. He has decided and accepted the consequences, probably this was one of them.
He took his cousin's hand and appeared for them at Malfoy Manor, left it there and went to Muggle London, where he had for the last time a letter from Sirius. He inspected the alley, and okay, maybe he must have come out in some Muggle clothes because he looked stupid dressed in a suit and robes when people were barely wearing a torn sweater and shorts, without paying any more attention to his appearance – like something out of a movie – he climbed the stairs of the old building. If he remembered correctly, the ninth floor belonged to the lovebirds.
He ascended the old stairs that creaked beneath his feet, he could hear the melody of an old piano rumbling throughout the building and quickly identify it as Beethoven's Flur Elise chiming on a clock.
Ten o'clock.
Remus would probably still be sleeping or would no longer live there. He decided to find out on his own. The melody continued to play and filled his senses with anticipation.
He knocked on the door a couple of times, he could feel stares resting on him, paranoia was harassing him, no one opened the door and exasperated threw an alohomora at it, on the other side of the threshold someone threw a damn sectusempra at him that bounced off his shield, fuck, Remus was there—or maybe Severus?, they were the only ones he knew who cast that curse before he spoke— he backed away while listening to a couple of hysterical laughs, he threw a muffiato as soon as he heard footsteps going up the ladder, Muggles were a danger he didn't want to face right now, a couple of whispers flooded his ears.
"There's a ghost out there," a voice began.
"Can ghosts do magic?"
"Fuck, I don't know"
"Rem, are you sure it's a ghost?"
"I don't know, Amelie, he's been dead for about five years!"
As the whispers dimmed in volume, Regulus quietly entered the house still feeling watched, Sirius and James always praised him for his silent walk, like a ghost. He cast a tracking spell without using words and two figures summoned by magic appeared in the hallway, a petite woman and a man taller than both, Remus looked very old. Their mouths opened in amazement as a wandless, wordless expelliarmus ripped the weapon from the largest mage.
"Who are you?" the woman spoke.
"The dead brother of my old roommate," replied the werewolf, the shortest one clicked his tongue, it was not pleasant to be related to a treacherous piece of shit that had led to the death of the love of his life.
"Regulus Black, and I'm très vivant," he commented disdainfully, his French accent coming out for a moment thanks to anger. (very alive)
Their counterparts looked at him in amazement, his heart vibrated with anticipation. He could feel pure magic running through the halls, he hoped that Remus' wandless magic would still be as bad as it was at school, he didn't want to duel with him, but his fierce gaze told him that sooner or later they would end up sharing his arsenal in front of the Muggle girl who wouldn't leave the apartment. In front of him he raised a shield without using words so as not to give the enemy an advantage— Remus— and waited patiently for the older to speak or cast a curse at him, he was about to lose his patience until the woman spoke.
"Remus, you should ask him about your friends," the older tense even tighter if it was possible, and his eyes flashed with menace.
"No, he's from the other side," Regulus rolled his eyes, fed up with the situation he decided to take a step forward, Remus sent him a piercing spell that almost ended his shield, for a moment he had forgotten how soon the full moon had passed, so the elder's magic was stronger. He staggered back a little, maintaining his stiff and demanding posture, as an act of good faith, he returned the wand to the original owner.
"Look, Remus, I'm not here for you or me, I'm here to look for Harold, James's son," he changed his posture to lean against the wall next to him, looking directly at the older man, who was inspecting his wand devoutly. "And I know that you are part of the order of the phoenix, so you must know where him is"
"Amelie, you can leave" Remus quickly dismissed his friend, forcing her to leave the house and when he accidentally brushed against Regulus, she looked at him with fear, as if he was going to eat her, he laughed sarcastically nodding to the woman.
When Amelie left the apartment, Regulus went to the living room and slumped into an armchair with a disinterested attitude. He was tempted to turn on the TV, but that would give away his knowledge of Muggle gadgets and he still needed to be seen as a radical purist blood. Remus sat down in the armchair in a square in front of him and began to speak angrily.
"I wanted to stay with him, but Dumbledore said that Lily and James had left in their will that Harry should stay with Petunia and Vernon."
With that, Regulus considered himself well served, took his wand that rested in the bag of his robe, and got up from the old sofa. A bony hand grabbed his wrist, and an electric and magical current filled his senses.
"Wait, the blood barriers Lily left behind will prevent you from entering, you should talk to Snivellus," his face was grieving from losing the traitor just a week ago, he almost felt sorry for him.
"Severus," he corrected, "don't worry, I know how to knock it down."
And without further ado, he left the place leaving the werewolf alone with his loss. His journey through the halls felt like exposure to the world, as if there were hundreds of people watching his every move, every moment he walked through the building, every thought that went through his head.
At the Samhain of 1972 the marauders had thrown a spectacular party at Gryffindor, and Regulus had given his first kiss.
Their first kiss was beautiful, James had smashed them against the nearest wall while he joined their mouths and took all the air out of his lungs, his soft lips made inexperienced movements on his, while the dark-haired man's hands were held to the edge of his shirt and his own to the elder’s messy hair. In the excitement of the moment, he had dropped James' mask and had broken a pole from the blow, at that moment he could feel stares, the looks of his companions judging him for sharing saliva with a Gryffindor and traitor to blood.
"James Potter is dead, and his whole family died with him"
The purist blood party— a masquerade ball— of Samhain was taking place in the common room of his house, the Slytherin Skittles had stayed up all night inviting people and preparing the venue for the party, trying to win over more people than the Gryffindor. Regulus, Severus, and James went back and forth from the common rooms, being at both parties. In Gryffindor there was firewhisky and worldly booze, David Bowie flooded the room— courtesy of Sirius, surely— and everyone wore Muggle clothes or their house uniforms. Him and Severus were the only ones in fancy robes, and they were also the only Slytherins in the place, it was fun to come and go at both parties, enjoying the worldly nuances and the supposed upper class.
Instead, the masquerade ball opened with a French-style five-course dinner— without the onion soup because it's honestly awful— Boulevardier and Mimosas cocktails without much alcohol thanks to the fact that most were under sixteen.
He agreed to a dance with Barty just to play with James for a while, but Barty was a horrible dancer, having stepped on his feet about three times in less than two minutes. The brown-haired man had angrily snatched him from the Slytherin's arms and kissed him. That had been the best pure-blood party he had ever attended in his life.
At some point in the night, he had told James that he loved him, he was an idiot.
"James Potter is dead and his whole family died with him"
Narcissa's voice filled his head, pulling him out of his thoughts. He attempted to appear down the hallway on the first floor, but apparently Remus and Sirius had put anti-apparition blood barriers in the building.
He went for a walk through the alleys hoping that his problems would magically be solved, his eyes were full of tears as he tried to track down Severus, he could still feel eyes watching him, but it was more the adrenaline and magic he felt. He circles the building and enters an old, unkempt alley full of trash and dead stuff that was disgusting, but at least no one would go into it. He appeared on the outskirts of Bloomsbury following the trail of magic that Snape left in his wake, his magic felt like Muggle toothpaste and smelled of dittany and cauldron, the scent grew stronger and stronger as he approached an old-fashioned looking café, his presence still didn't fit so he cast a glamour spell that transfigured his clothes into a Muggle tuxedo, it still gave him a powerful air, but he was not so eccentric. He entered the place ringing the bell that announced his arrival, there was something else there with Severus, a heavy and archaic presence, the old man of Albus was with him. He sat at the bar and ordered a cappuccino to go, he decided to wait for Severus outside to talk to him when the old man was off the radar.
He took his order, got up gracefully from the stool, gave them a small glance and left the way he entered, again he went to an alley and stood watching the only entrance and exit waiting for the pair.
"James Potter is dead..."
Albus went out first, taking heavy steps to a car, it was funny to see him in Muggle clothes considering that his long beard almost reached his waist, it was a mockery of the style. Severus exited after the old man looking at both sides of the street before crossing straight into him. Regulus finished his coffee and smiled at an old friend.
Snape looked older, his sharp features had become bony, and his gaze lacked the gleam of ambition so characteristic of him. It seemed that during the absence of the last Black out of prison, all his acquaintances had aged a decade, the eldest passed him aside without noticing, he took the opportunity to touch his shoulder and appear in Grimmauld. As soon as they touched the room, Severus threw a damn sectusempra straight into his face, which Kreacher quickly blocked.
Fuck, today they really wanted to kill him.
"No one is going to kill Master Regulus in the presence of Kreacher, Master Severus."
The older one swept it away with his gaze and hid his surprise under a raised eyebrow and a disdainful grimace.
"The awakening of the dead." He commented sarcastically, "It's not a pleasure to see you again."
Regulus nodded, it would not be a pleasure for him to see his lying friend who had faked his death for being a coward, and he dropped on one of the sofas, inviting the opponent to do the same, the older one looked at him for a long time inspecting him as if he expected him to transform into boggart or something like that. Finally, when he took a seat in front of him, he gave a deep look to his eyes waiting for him to read them, it was a kind of code that he had invented with his brother and had taught his friends for easier communication. If their faces were expressionless, their eyes were the opposite.
Severus quickly understood, his face disfigured into a grimace of sadness, and he suppressed a sob.
"Lily is dead." The eldest finally spoke, his tone low and sharpened by five tenths, his soul hurting "Euphemia too."
“… y toda su familia murió con él"
En algún momento, después de recuperar la compostura, Severus se ofreció como voluntario para armar un plan y sacar al niño del nido de víboras donde había terminado. Continuó defendiendo su posición como miembro de la orden y del lado de Dumbledore, pero antes de él, su lealtad era a Lily y al niño que había llevado nueve meses en su vientre y 15 más en sus brazos.
Severus no había llorado, pero su semblante se había vuelto azul rápidamente, él y Lily estaban muy unidos a pesar de estar en lados diferentes, todavía la amaba, aunque ella amaba a James. Su viejo amigo apareció en Pet Drive después de insistir en saber la verdad, Regulus inicialmente se había negado a decirle la verdad a Snape, por lo que había optado por decirle la verdad a medias; Él y Kreacher en la Cueva de los Inferi, él está a punto de morir, Bella lo encuentra medio muerto en Navidad y ellos fingen su muerte.
Era relativamente cierto, pero se cortó a la mitad.
Ahora, podía sentir mucha magia en la calle donde estaban, dos casas antes que los Dursley, había una mujer squib observando el movimiento en la acera, tres casas más adelante vivía una criatura mágica no identificada y finalmente con los Dursley había una magia más nueva, probablemente la de Harold.
—Eso es todo —dijo el mayor, pasándose una mano por el pelo—. "Dumbledore necesita que me reúna con él en Hogwarts, tú obtienes el resto".
Él asintió, sacando su varita, sabiendo que el comandante se había convertido en un espía de la orden de los Mortífagos, por Lily, seguramente, al igual que sabía que había un espía de los mortífagos en la Orden del Fénix. Severus metió la mano en su túnica y de ella sacó una daga ceremonial que había sido un regalo de Bellatrix y se la tendió.
—Lo vas a necesitar —dijo, sacudiendo la cabeza hacia la casa de la mujer Squib—, y yo me encargaré de ella.
Tomó la daga de sus manos y observó cómo el comandante cruzaba la calle con su túnica y su cabello ondeando dramáticamente detrás de él.
Eso fue una ruptura con el estilo.