Lockdown
Regulus is having a bad day. The Basilisk doesn’t seem to be.
I smell pain, it hisses. Regulus is once again perched on top of the statue's head, leaning against the far wall. Staring at the giant snake and brainstorming.
Yeah. That’s your fault, by the way.
Mm. Good.
It wasn’t as bad anymore. His ankle stings slightly when he walks, and his ribs are sore, but both are tolerable. His cheek… is making things difficult. The bruise hasn’t healed with a spell, or dittany, or any of the many potions Regulus forced down his throat. It’s stubborn. It remindeds him of Walburga’s magic, fiery and dark, there to stay. In a way he’s kind of grateful that sort of magic was recognizable: he knows how to deal with it. He’s practiced at this. He can manage. .
What do you want? The basilisk is turning in slow circles in the middle of the chamber. Regulus considers his question.
Nothing I can easily get. He crosses his legs in front of him.
You remind me of my master. My boy.
It isn’t the first time the Basilisk has mentioned his master. It seems to be a frequent topic of conversation.
Was your master Slytherin? Salazar himself?
The Basilisk just hisses in response. No answer.
Regulus lets his head fall back against the wall. What did your master want that he couldn’t get?
The Basilisk rises up, giant head level with Regulus. The sun.
Right. Well. Regulus doesn’t want the sun.
He sounds insane.
You’re talking to a snake, little prince. Him no more than you.
The basilisk made a fair point, actually.
Regulus thinks about James, a broom closet, and wide eyes. He feels a little insane in that department too. James’ gaze on him, full of concern. Genuine, actual concern. He’d reached out- touched him- and Regulus had felt like he was on fire. Burning up. Like he needed to get out of there, back to the water where it was safe and familiar and cold, or he’d be incinerated.
You’re thinking again.
Tends to happen. Regulus watches the Basilisk curl around again.
Its giant tail reaches almost to the other side of the chamber. About the sun.
No.
Don’t lie, little prince. I can smell its warmth all over you.
There’s always the fear that the Basilisk will forgo sight and just kill him. Strike out, make it quick and painful. Sometimes the snake lunges forward, and for a second, Regulus worries he’d been wrong. About everything. But his test held, and the basilisk stayed back.
For a few visits, the basilisk wouldn’t come out. It’d stay in its tunnel, far away from Regulus and his curses. But eventually it’d slither out, dutifully accepting the pain of blindness. Regulus asked why once.
You could hide. Why don’t you?
The Basilisk seems to consider. Your blood just smells too good. I can’t help it. It’s been decades.
Sometimes Regulus thinks it just likes the company.
---
Regulus has no strong opinions on Remus Lupin. He’s… fine. He’s not as annoying as Sirius or Potter, and he's not as naive as Pettigrew.
And fine, yes, Regulus cursed him, but what choice did he have? He was right to do it, it seems. Lupin couldn’t go 3 seconds without running to tell Sirius and his friends about their meeting in the library.
He’d left the book in the astronomy tower that night. It was unfortunate, but not the end of the world. He assumed Potter brought it back to Lupin. It was fine. Regulus got what he needed- which was more time with the basilisk. More information.
Yet now, watching Lupin stalk down the hall towards him, Regulus finds himself slightly uneasy. Lupin’s tall and broad, and looks angry.
Lupin stops just short of Regulus who lifts his chin and does his best to stare him down. “You fucker. You had to curse me? You couldn’t just take my word for it?”
Regulus raises one brow. “Apparently I made the right call.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You tried to tell my brother and your friends. Like- immediately.”
Lupin seems to consider this. He nods in reluctant admission. “Well-”
“Then you sent Potter after me? Really?”
Lupin glances up, startled. “James? I didn’t tell James to do anything. He actually went to see you? I thought he was just angry.”
Regulus says nothing, re-evaluating.
“And either way,” Lupin continues. He’s nothing if not persistent. “Why were you looking for that snake? What did you say to it? I feel like I’ve earned the right to know.”
“Why were you looking for that Werewolf?”
Lupin stares at him, brows furrowed. “I-”
Suddenly, a loud boom shudders through the castle. Both Regulus and Lupin flinch back, glancing around. A voice, amplified, rings through the halls. Dumbledore.
“ATTENTION STUDENTS. WE’VE JUST RECEIVED WORD THAT BEAUXBATONS ACADEMY OF MAGIC HAS BEEN ATTACKED. WE WILL BE ON LOCK DOWN UNTIL THE THREAT IS CLEARED. PLEASE FIND THE CLOSEST ROOM AND STAY IN PLACE UNTIL THE LOCKDOWN IS OVER.”
After a second, the message begins to repeat.
Around them, students begin to flood into classrooms, doors snapping shut and magically locking behind them. Regulus’s head is swimming. Beauxbatons had been attacked? He didn’t know that was going to happen. They hadn’t told him. What was the Dark Lord doing? What was he expecting to get out of attacking children? Surely they wouldn’t go after Hogwarts? Surely they would at least warn Regulus first? Besides- almost all of Slytherin house was on the Dark Lord’s side. There’s no way they would risk it.
Right?
Lupin snaps Regulus out of his spiral by grabbing his arm. “We need to get to a classroom. Now.”
Regulus glances up, shoves Lupin's hand away. “Which one?”
They spin in circles, looking. Doors were closing all around them. Both Lupin and Regulus are smart enough to know they won’t open again until the lockdown is over.
Then, under them, the tiles of the hallway begin to move, sending Lupin and Regulus stumbling. It’s as if the castle itself is trying to get them to safety: rolling beneath their feet, pulling them across the hall. The door to a broom closet they’d assumed was locked slams open and they’re ungracefully deposited inside. The door shuts behind them.
Regulus glances around. He’s starting to get really sick of broom closets. Across from him, Lupin’s already tugging on the handle. Regulus opens his mouth to tell him it’s pointless when the door opens violently. Lupin stumbles back with the force of it.
On the other side, Sirius watches them both, mouth slightly open. He keeps one hand on the knob.
Regulus closes his eyes.
Then the floor tiles shove Sirius in with a yelp, and the door slams shut behind him. For good this time.
For a moment, everyone stays silent, staring at each other. Regulus notes the frosty look Lupin gives Sirius. That’s… new.
And then the ice breaks, as it often does beneath Sirius’s anger, and Sirius is glaring daggers at the both of them. “Of fucking course. Merlin.”
Remus stalks forward. “You think any of us wants to be here? Not our bloody fault the death eaters attacked Beauxbatons is it?”
Sirius narrows his eyes. “Maybe not yours. Hey Reg, could’ve at least given us a warning, huh? Could’ve brought some cards or something to pass the time.”
Regulus sits down against the far wall, still limping slightly. His ribs give a small twinge as he lowers himself, but compared to the last time he was injured in a closet, he’s doing fine.
Silently, he curses his luck. Why did it have to be Lupin and Sirius? There were hundreds of kids in this school. Why not Pandora or Dorcas or Barty or Evan or… well. Actually. This might be preferable to Potter.
“Oh, so now you won’t even look at me.” Sirius’s voice cuts through his thoughts. Naturally, Regulus does look at him, passive and cold. Bored. Everything Sirius hates. He’s perfected it over the years.
“Sirius. Just sit down.” Lupin sighs, sinking down across from Regulus. “We’re gonna be here for a while.”
Sirius sits with a glare, loud anger obviously bubbling beneath his skin. Regulus can almost feel its heat.
Regulus tips his head back against the wall, still swimming with questions. He tries to think things through. It’s obvious why the Dark Lord chose Beauxbatons over Durmstrang- the Scandinavian school was widely known to focus it’s education on the dark arts. As a result, most of the Dark Lord’s international allies hailed from the northern part of the continent. Beauxbaton, on the other hand, was allied with Hogwarts making it an easier target.
Still- why children? The Dark Lord had no sizable enemies from the French school.
Maybe it wasn’t about the enemies. Maybe it was about the children.
Maybe he was trying to send a message. Regulus unconsciously rubs his shoulder, a habit he’s never been able to shake. It aches, sometimes. Still.
“-egulus?”
Regulus straightens. He’s missed whatever Lupin has just said.
“Do you… um. Do you know anything about what’s happening?”
“Why would I?”
“Because you’re a fucking death eater, Reg.” Sirius crosses his arms.
Regulus wants to punch and kick and scratch the door down. Anything to get out of here. Away from these people. He wants to go back to the Chamber.
He reaches down and yanks up his left sleeve, holding up his bare forearm for them both to see. He notices Sirius’s eyes don’t leave the pure skin even after he drops it.
“I don’t know a thing.” This seems to be enough for Lupin, who nods and sits back. Sirius, not so much. He leans forward, glancing between the two of them.
“But you do know something, Reg. You might’ve cursed Moony over here, but you can still tell me what happened.” His expression’s triumphant, slightly mocking. Regulus was beginning to wonder when he’d bring that up.
Regulus considers the way Lupin’s jaw tightens.
So that's what happened, he thinks. They’ve fought because Lupin couldn’t (didn’t?) tell Sirius about his and Regulus’s library encounter. Despite himself, a small flame of satisfaction and gratitude for Remus Lupin ignites in Regulus’s chest.
“I cursed him for a reason.” His eyes flick to Remus only slightly apologetically. Remus waves it off.
“So you won’t tell me.”
“I won’t tell you.”
“Coward.”
Regulus ignores him.
The time passes slowly. Regulus keeps his eyes closed as much as possible. It’s the closest he's been to Sirius, physical proximity wise, in almost a year. He shivers with… something. Repressed emotions, maybe.
After a while, he tunes into the quiet, hissed conversation between Sirius and Lupin. He wonders how much of it he’s missed. He really needs to work on listening better.
“You could’ve told me. Or tried to.”
“Sirius, sometimes I need you to trust me. Some things are personal. Some things I can’t tell you.”
“But-”
“Sirius.”
Regulus keeps his eyes closed. Maybe they’ll shut up. Do they think he’s asleep?
“Moons, I’m fine with you keeping secrets. You don’t tell me things! Hell, I have secrets. James definitely has secrets. Probably. It's just… with him?”
Regulus doesn’t have to look to know Sirius is nodding in his direction. He opens one eye. “If it helps, we aren't mates. We don’t even like each other.”
Remus puts a hand over his heart in mock hurt. “Speak for yourself! And here I thought we were getting somewhere.”
Regulus smirks and closes his eyes again.
Sirius does not like this. “Remus, please- I just- I want to know what happened.”
“And I told you, no. Respect my trust enough to not ask again.”
“Why don’t you respect all the things I’ve told you about my family enough to not go running around with my death eater brother?”
And, well, rather pathetically, the word ‘brother’ settles in Regulus' stomach, nestling its way in. He wants to vomit it up.
“He’s just shown us, he’s not a death eat-”
Sirius shoots to his feet. Regulus flinches slightly, straightening. Sirius is fuming.
“You’re making excuses for him? You want to tell me that you know him better than I do? You weren't there, Remus.” He points at Regulus. “You don’t get to tell me he’s not a fucking blood supremacist piece of shit, because you don’t know.”
Remus stands up too, and Regulus raises himself a bit off the ground, ready. He can feel his wand in his pocket. He resists the urge to at least put a hand on it.
“I’m sorry, Sirius. I really am. But what you’re asking of me isn’t fair.” Remus looks angry now too, and a little sad. “I honestly don’t even know what you’re asking- or why. I can’t tell you. Physically. Regulus made sure of that. Why isn’t that the end of it?”
“Because you didn’t even try, Remus.”
“I didn’t want to.” Remus spits. “I have secrets, so do you, so does he. We’ve covered this. Let it go.”
Sirius opens his mouth to respond, but before he can the door gives a click then swings open. Regulus is on his feet in an instant, leaving them behind.
“Not gonna stay and finish this, Reg?” Sirius’ voice is cutting. Regulus pauses on the threshold. He doesn’t trust himself not to do something rash if Sirius calls him a coward again.
On a whim, he turns and shuts the door again, trapping them inside. He pulls out his wand and mutters a locking charm, one not easily undone. Maybe it’ll be good for them. He can hear Sirius banging on the door from the outside.
It’ll wear off in an hour or two and Regulus has things to do.
---
He finds Evan back in the dorm, hunched over his desk scribbling a letter. Regulus slumps down in a chair next to him. Evan glances up.
“Hey. You’re the first one back. I assume you heard that classes are canceled for the rest of the day.”
Regulus nods. “What’re you doing?”
Evan grimaces. “Writing home. I know mum will freak out about this. Dad’s fully committed to everything the Dark Lord does but I’m pretty sure she secretly has her doubts. She’ll hate that we had to go on a full-on lockdown.”
“She has her doubts? What do you mean?”
Evan frowns slightly. “She just… is always trying to make sure I'm ok. She doesn’t like me getting too close to all the action. She nearly took my dads head off that one time he tried to bring me to a meeting.”
“Oh, right. Yeah.”
“I mean.” Evan looks suddenly nervous. “It is a little dangerous. It’s normal for her to have… doubts, right?” He looks up at Regulus, and for a second, something seems to tip, balancing on an edge.
It’s just them, Regulus realizes. No Barty, or Mulciber, or Snape. It’s just him and Evan. He nods. “Yeah.” His voice stays even. “It is.”
Then it’s over, and they both seem to remember that those thoughts, however truthful they might be, have no place there. They can’t.
Regulus turns away, stares at the ceiling. A second later he hears Evan continue to scratch away at his letter.
“So, where’d you get stuck?” He breaks the silence.
“Charms classroom with a bunch of kids. Barty was there. Literally couldn’t tell you a single other person’s name.”
“That’s not the worst.”
“No, definitely not. What about you?”
Regulus sighs. “Lupin. Broomcloset.”
Evan whistles under his breath. ”The whole time?”
Regulus sends him a look. “And my brother.”
“Oh shit.”
Regulus nods. They stay silent.
“What- um. What do you think it means? Attacking Beauxbatons like that? Did you get any warning? Cause I heard nothing.”
Regulus rubs his eyes. “Me neither. I’m not sure.”
Just then, the door bursts open and Barty and Dorcas flood through, arguing loudly. Evan gets up to calm them down, and Regulus sighs. He grabs his wand and cloak and heads out, turning to call some excuse about going to the kitchens.
---
On his way to the Chamber, he manages to navigate through the crowd of students actually rushing to the kitchens, having missed lunch.
Once he gets through and makes it to the second floor, everything seems to quiet down. There aren’t as many kids here. He rounds the corner towards the bathroom and nearly runs headlong into Potter.
“Regulus!” James comes to a halting stop, staring at him. “Where are you going?”
Regulus glares at him. Fuck his life, really. “None of your business?”
James’ face cracks into a grin. It's infuriating. “I was gonna go find Sirius and Moony, actually. They’ve been in the same closet since the lock down. Which, you know, normally I’d support, but I’ve gotten kind of worried.”
Regulus frowns. “How do you know they’re there?”
James raises a brow. “I have my ways. Also noticed you were in there with them the whole time. You don’t have anything to do with the fact that they’re still there, do you?”
Regulus keeps his face expressionless. James shakes his head. “Honestly can’t really blame you, having to be stuck in there with those two for that long sounds rough.”
“You can’t imagine.”
James looks him over. “Your bruise… you couldn’t heal it?”
Regulus glares. “No.”
“Nothing worked? Spells, dittany, anything?”
“Obviously not.”
James suddenly looks suspicious. “Wait- where are you going? Actually? Because that’s the direction you came from yesterday and-”
“Potter. It’s none of your business. Leave me alone.”
“But-”
“Potter.”
“Fine.” James relents. “Also- I thought I should apologize for the other night in the astronomy tower. I was pissed and it was late and I was more angry than I should’ve been. I shouldn’t have yelled before you explained the situation.”
Regulus furrows his brow, confused. “But I didn’t. Explain the situation, that is.”
James looks hopeful. “There’s still time.”
Regulus just shakes his head. “Go find Lupin and Sirius, Potter. Pretty sure they’re talking about the same thing.”
James groans. “..and they have been for days. Merlin. If they’re still fighting I swear to Godrick…”
Regulus roles his eyes. “Good luck.” And then he pushes past James, continuing on his way. Once he rounds the next corner he waits to make sure James isn’t following him, then slips into the bathroom and locks the door.