Chapter 21
James
James isn’t sure if he did the right thing. He isn’t sure if he should have gotten between the brothers, he kind of expected Sirius to have told Regulus about his own nightmares, but the quick flash of surprise on Reg’s face said otherwise. James knows the brothers’ relationship has been tense the past few years, to say the least, but everything he told Regulus is true. Sirius never said a word about his brother, and always expressed disdain and annoyance when Regulus was mentioned, but James is good at reading people, he always has been. It’s so clear that Sirius never stopped loving his brother.
James is still sitting up at the kitchen table, drinking tea spiked with just a bit of firewhiskey when Sirius and Remus return.
Remus looks exhausted and absolutely beat. He’s leaning on Sirius a bit and favoring his right leg.
Sirius looks tired, too, but also wired with the kind of energy one can only get from a wild night out.
“Hey Prongs, mind if I?” Remus tiredly waves a hand in the general direction of the sofa.
“Yeah, of course Moons. I’ve put out some pillows and blankets already, do you need anything else?” James asks, standing from his chair to help Sirius get Remus to the couch. James hates how much the moons hurt Remus. It used to be worse, when Remus was alone. He’d tear himself apart. Now, it’s mostly just aches and pains from having his body twisted and extended in horrible ways, but it still looks pretty miserable.
James desperately wants to ask how the mission went, but since they’re both here and not freaking out about anything, it must have gone okay. Judging by the glint in Sirius’s eyes, Sirius will likely fill him in while Remus rests, anyway.
Once Remus is tucked in on the couch, Sirius makes a beeline for the fridge, digging out a leftover curry and eating it cold.
James casts a quick muffliato so Remus can sleep.
“It was brilliant, James!” Sirius exclaims in a whisper. “We spent the whole night racing through the forest, wind in our hair, trees whipping past. I’ve never felt so alive!”
James smiles at his friend. Sirius needed this. “And the mission? Did you find the other wolf?”
Sirius swallows a lump of slimy chicken. “Yes and no. We never actually saw the wolf, but we were hot on their scent the entire night. It was like a game, really, trying to figure out which way they went. Remus is an excellent hunter; he’d see a twisted branch or quarter of a paw print and off he’d go!” Sirius takes another bite. “But I don’t think the other wolf is working for Greyback, they didn’t seem interested in the town or livestock or anything. We found some rabbit bones, but that’s it. We’ll try again next month, but until then, there’s no reason to suspect foul play.”
James nods. “That’s a rare bit of good news.”
Sirius starts rooting around in the fridge for something else to eat. “How’d it go here? How’s Reg?”
James sits down at the kitchen table. “Right. We need to talk about that.”
Sirius whips around, leaving the fridge door open. “What? What do you mean? Is he okay?” Sirius starts to take off down the hall to check on Regulus.
“No! Wait!” James calls in a hushed tone. “Regulus is fine! He’s sleeping, it’s just, he spoke, tonight.”
Sirius’s eyes widen. “He did? What did he say? Is he okay?” He asks again, sitting across from James at the kitchen table.
James frowns uncomfortably. He’s saying it all wrong. “Well, he didn’t speak, exactly, he more…erm… screamed.”
Sirius’s eyes bulge again, and a protective anger fills his face “What? I swear, James, if something happened you better spit it out right now or I’ll—”
James waves him off. “No, nothing like that. He had a nightmare, and I heard him screaming so I woke him up. As soon as he was awake he stopped screaming and calmed down.”
“What was he dreaming about? Did he say anything?” Sirius is half standing half sitting, now, as if unsure what to do first: get the rest of the story from James or go see Regulus.
“I don’t know what he was dreaming about. I didn’t ask. And like I said, he stopped screaming as soon as he was awake, didn’t say a word. Point is, whatever is wrong with his voice, there’s nothing wrong with his voice. It works perfectly fine, he just isn’t using it.”
Sirius sinks back into the chair. “You mean, there’s something wrong with his brain.” Sirius whispers defeatedly.
James frowns to see his friend so sullen. “Not wrong, per say, just… I don’t know. But now we know it’s not that he can’t talk, he just doesn’t want to. That’s a good thing, right?”
Sirius chews his lip, thinking.
James lets him sit in silence for a second, mulling over the new information.
Then, Sirius stands from the table. “I’m going to go check on him.” He says before disappearing down the hall.
James sighs and watches Sirius go. If only he could do more. If only he could fix things.