The Winner Takes It All
Sirius’ heart twisted painfully when he found his little brother sitting on the floor outside the infirmary, staring at the opposite wall with a detached expression on his face, bloody knuckles clenched tightly. Remus squeezed Sirius' shoulder, giving him a gentle smile and nod of encouragement, "I'm gonna grab some stuff to clean you two up and get an update on James." He whispered, eyeing Regulus' blank face before sliding past him to enter the infirmary. Pomfrey had a huge soft spot for Remus and has since he was 11, he was the best bet to get answers on how James was doing. Sirius smiled at him gratefully before coming to stand in front of his little brother, a worried frown tugging on his lips.
“Pomfrey kicked you out?” Sirius asked quietly, nudging Regulus with his shoe when he still didn’t look at him. Regulus nodded silently, leaning his head back on the wall behind him, a blueish bruise blooming on his jaw where he collided with James. Sirius slid down the wall to sit next to his brother, shoulder to shoulder. “Did she say anything about James?” He added when Regulus still didn't say anything, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice.
“She just said we’d be able to see him soon and that head injuries can look worse than they are, but they’re serious and she needs space to work,” Regulus answered, exhaling a shaky breath, spinning the blood-stained ring on his finger over and over. Sirius covered his brother’s hand with his bloody one, Black blood mixing. They sat like that until Remus came out of the infirmary, bearing a pain potion and a wet washcloth.
“Here,” He said to Regulus, bending down to hand him the potion, “Pomfrey said to give you this, she’s gonna call you in to get a look at you soon.” Regulus nodded faintly, placing the potion next to him untouched.
“James?” Sirius questioned, sitting up straighter and tightening his hold on his brother's hand.
“He’s got a nasty concussion, cracked his skull on the bludger, but he’ll be okay with some time in the infirmary and a bone regrowth potion,” Remus explained calmly, though the tightness around his eyes betrayed his anger. Regulus deflated, dropping his head onto his brother’s shoulder, disheveled curls hiding his face. Sirius brought a hand to the back of his neck, squeezing gently before combing his fingers through the tangled curls.
“Tout va bien maintenant, petite étoile, il va s'en sortir.” Sirius murmured, turning his head to press a kiss into Regulus’ hair. “You should take the potion, Reg, it’ll make you feel better.”
“I feel fine,” Regulus insisted, sitting upright again and scrubbing at his face, smearing blood on his cheek, “I just want to see James.”
“And you think him waking up to his boyfriend all bloody and banged up will make him feel better?” Remus inquired with a raised eyebrow, settling on the floor across from the two brothers. Regulus glared at him, mouth opening and closing in silent argument. Remus chuckled lightly, “Look, let us clean you up a bit so you don’t scare the life out of James when he wakes up. You look like a mess, Black,”
"I- Whatever, fine." Regulus threw his hands up in exasperation.
“Here,” Sirius said, grabbing the washcloth from Remus’ hands, “Moony’s really good at healing spells, he can help heal some of the minor stuff so you don’t have to spend as much time with Pomfrey,” He offered, taking Regulus’ hands and gently wiping away the blood while he talked. Regulus relaxed against the wall, resigned to accepting their help, staring at the ring James gave him for their first anniversary as Sirius scrubbed at the red stains crusted on it. He let Remus episkey his split knuckles, zoning out to the sound of his brother and Remus talking about nonsense, distracting themselves to pass the time.
Remus was finishing with healing Sirus’ knuckles and face when Mulciber walked by, face bruised and nose clearly broken. Despite his bloody face he smirked at Regulus, calling out in a taunting voice, “How’s the boyfriend, Black? I knew you were a blood traitor, but I didn’t know you were a fa-” Remus was up in an instant, pinning Mulciber to the wall, his forearm pressing hard against his throat, as he let out a choked sound of surprise.
“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you,” He growled, wand clutched in his right hand. Mulciber held up his hands in mock surrender, fresh blood sliding down his chin.
“You wouldn’t kick a man while he’s already down, would you Lupin?”
Remus leaned in like he was about to tell him a secret, teeth bared, “I wouldn’t hesitate,” he snarled, pressing down harder on his throat, and smiling cruelly when Mulciber let out a choked huff of air. “If you knew what was good for you, you wouldn’t test my patience on this. If you ever hurt one of my friends again, I will drown you in the lake myself.” He shoved Mulciber back against the wall again before letting up, Sirius and Regulus standing behind him silently, both their wands drawn.
“You wouldn’t," Mulciber sounded almost unsure, "You’d be expelled and you’re too much of a teacher’s pet for that,” He spat, trying to sneer, but it fell flat when he looked at Remus’ hard eyes.
“It’d be worth it.” Was all Remus said in response, drawing himself up to his full height to stare down at him. Mulciber looked mutinous but seemed to understand he was outnumbered, clenching his jaw and striding into the infirmary without another word. Remus turned around to ask Regulus if he was okay when he was met with Sirius’ wide grin.
“What’re you grinning about?” Remus inquired, lips twitching up in a smile against his will.
“You’re really hot when you’re threatening people, Moons,” Sirius said cheekily, flushing bright red. Remus rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were flushed too, suddenly finding himself unable to meet Sirius’ bright eyes.
~
James cracked his eyes open and immediately groaned as the searing bright lights of the infirmary burned his eyes and made his head throb painfully. He heard a quiet spell uttered and the lights dimmed immediately, allowing him to open his eyes fully. James blinked several times, trying to clear the blurry edges of his vision when they finally focused on a familiar face hovering above him, the elegant slope of a nose, scrunched eyebrows, and a small bruise on his jaw.
“Reg?” James mumbled, lifting a hand to his face only for it to be caught in Regulus’ grasp, threading their fingers together easily. Regulus moved to sit beside him on the bed, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead, right next to the bandage above James’ brow.
“Hey Jamie,” He answered, keeping his voice low and brushing his cheek with his thumb. “How are you feeling?”
James gave him a tired smile, trying to reassure his worried boyfriend, “‘M okay, my head hurts,” Regulus nodded, turning away to reach for something next to James’ bed, the bruise on his jaw reflecting off the dim light. James poked at it with a finger, frowning a little, “When did this happen?”
“Pain potion first, then I’ll tell you,” He promised, helping James lift his head so he could swallow it, sighing in relief as he laid back down on the pillow. Regulus leaned down to kiss him lightly on the lips, humming contentedly before pulling away, “Don’t be upset,” He started, trailing off when James’ frown deepened.
“Telling someone not to be upset is immediately an upsetting thing to say,” James pointed out, poking at Regulus again lightly, “Just tell me what happened, love.”
“When you got hit, you fell off your broom and I was close enough, so I tried to catch you but I kind of just crashed into you instead,” He sighed, waving a hand at the bruise, “Then we ended up crash-landed on the sand.”
“How fast were you going? You could’ve gotten really hurt, Reg,” James admonished, sitting up in his bed to get a better look at his boyfriend. “Did Pomfrey get a look at you? Did you break anything?” He ran his hands down his boyfriend's arms like he was making sure everything was in the right place.
“As I’ve told a million people already, I’m fine. Pomfrey checked me over a few minutes ago, I’m the picture of health, mon soleil, don’t worry about me.” Regulus replied in an exasperated tone, letting James inspect him to make sure he was being honest. "I'm more worried about you." He added, resting a hand over James' heart.
“I'm okay, love, tell me what happened after we landed,” James prodded gently.
Regulus grimaced and looked away from his steady gaze, “Ah, I was with you, trying to wake you up, and Sirius was flipping out on Mulciber. He, uh, was the one that hit you with the bludger. He stole the bat from Barty and aimed it towards you, nobody was fast enough to stop him. As soon as they were on the ground, Sirius was trading punches with Mulciber.”
“Is Sirius okay? He’s not in the infirmary too, is he?” James made to stand so he could find him, but the curtains around his bed prevented him from seeing anything. Regulus just shook his head and pushed his shoulder down onto the bed again.
“Relax, Jamie, he’s okay, Remus healed him up and they’re waiting outside to see you. Anyway, Mulciber looks much worse, he’s somewhere in the infirmary, I think. I might have gotten a punch in myself. I think I broke his nose, actually.” Regulus admitted a little sheepishly and James raised an eyebrow at that.
“You punched- wait, never mind, you broke someone’s nose?!” He asked incredulously, sitting back against the pillows and blowing out a breath. “Look at you, defending my honor like my knight in shining armor," James teased, Regulus rolling his eyes fondly.
"I didn't defend your honor, I broke school rules and will probably be in detention for life," Regulus said, trying to keep his voice light, but the anxiety bled through anyway.
James softened, sensing the anxiety behind his tone, "Did any of the professors say anything to you? You've never been in trouble before, I'm sure they won't be too harsh,"
“I don’t know, Madam Hooch was pretty upset but I just ignored everyone and followed you to the infirmary. All I could think about was you being hurt, I could barely process anything around me. But... there’s something else, too.” Regulus said without looking at him, spinning the ring on his finger, now clean of the blood that stained it before.
James slid a hand under his chin and raised his head so that their eyes met, James’ eyes were honey brown and warm as ever, giving him an encouraging smile. “We’ll figure it out, love, whatever it is.”
Regulus took a steadying breath, closing his eyes and exhaling softly. “Pretty sure the whole school knows about us, now. If it wasn’t obvious enough from how I acted when you were hit, Mulciber made sure I knew he knew and he’ll make sure everyone else does too. I’m sorry, Jamie, I didn’t know what else to do, I was so scared for you I didn't think.” He opened his eyes hesitantly when James didn’t respond, gnawing at his lip anxiously. James just smiled at him sadly, wrapping his finger around one of Regulus’ curls and watching it bounce back.
“It’s a shit situation, but it’s not your fault, love. I would’ve reacted the same way but I agreed to keep us a secret for your sake, not mine, I don't care who knows." James murmured reassuringly, "Are you okay?" He asked gently. Regulus only gave him a wobbly smile before slumping forward so that his forehead rested on his boyfriend's shoulder, James' hand coming up automatically to hold him. "That's not really an answer, love."
"My parents are going to find out, now. And I don't- what if they do something? What if-" Regulus rambled into his shoulder, fumbling for the words to describe his fears.
"It's okay, love, listen, you're not there anymore. Walburga and Orion’s opinions of you don’t mean shit, they can’t do anything about it, and if they tried, they'd have my mum and dad to go against. Not to mention, me, Sirius, Remus, Barty, Evan, and everybody who loves us, wouldn't let a thing happen to you. We'll find a way to deal with Mulciber if we have to." James pressed a kiss into his hair, and tightened his arms around Regulus, rubbing circles on his back. They stayed like that for a while, James humming The Winner Takes It All as he held Regulus close, a quiet peace surrounding them. That is, until Sirius came bursting into the room towing Remus behind him.
“Prongs! You will not believe everything that happened while you were out!” Sirius bellowed, far too loud, earning several protests from everyone else in the infirmary, including Mulciber. Sirius flipped him off with a grin before turning back to the pair, wiggling his way onto the bed so he could join them.
“ Sirius,” Regulus grumbled, “Get your bony arse off of me.” Sirius ignored him, launching into his play-by-play of everything that went down, exaggerating his fight with Mulciber, Regulus’ punch, and Remus threatening him, punctuating his sentences with grand hand gestures. James grinned even though his head still hurt, relishing having all his favorite people close.