Riots and crying!
Once at the kings cross station, James and Reg parted ways. "Hey, Reggie, you're not a Gryffindor; come on," Barty laughed, calling Reg over. Reg rolled his eyes and left the group of Marauders.
Regulus loved his room at Hogwarts; the slight chill, combined with the constant nonsense Evan and Barty were going on about, made it feel like a proper home. "Hello, Betsy!" Evan exclaimed walking into their room. Betsy was what he named the room, of course. Regulus just laughed and lay down on his satin-covered bed. "Good to be back," Barty grinned.
His family was almost as bad as the Blacks. Besides the Crucio-ing, they were practically the same, with Barty being the big family disappointment. He might be ridiculously smart, but Barty Sr. did not approve of many of Barty Jr.'s choices, like the green streak in his hair or his fondness for Evan Rosier.
"So, what should we do this evening?" Barty asked as he threw things out of his trunk. "I got some new stuff; I say we try," Evan smiled. "Rosier, you never cease to amaze me," Barty grinned. Regulus then remembered what his mother told him to do. 'Go see Narcissa when you get there, or else she will tell me.' Her voice shrieked in his mind.
Reg frowned. "Sorry, guys, I have some family stuff to take care of," Reg mumbled. Barty shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Regulus made his way to Narcissa's room, which was currently vacant with just her inside. Both her sisters had graduated, so there was a new wave of first years filling her room, but all of them ran off clearly.
Narcissa did not mind; she was sitting on her bed crying. "Hey, Sissa, what's wrong?" He asked, running over to comfort her. "It's Alice; I have to break up with her. I'm being married off," she cried, holding out her hand to show Reg the thick-backed engagement ring with a glistening purple stone in the middle. "To who?" Reg exclaimed. "Malfoy," she said, wiping the tears from her red face. "What? But no!" Reg said shocked.
She nodded sadly. "I don't have a choice. The day I graduate, I will get married that evening," she confessed solemnly. "Oh, shit," Reg whispered. "Yeah, here I am crying over getting married, meanwhile, you have to become a Death Eater." She laughed, trying to stop her tears. "Yeah, seems like it sucks for both of us," Reg sighed. "Your mother told me everything about how I have to keep watch over you. I don't like this any more than you do, but I will do what I have to for this family." She said, trying to sound certain. "We have to do what is right for our family," she said once more, trying to convince herself.
"Well, what if I don't want to do it anymore? Be part of this family!" He exclaimed. Narcissa gasped. She quickly slapped his face. He was stunned; she had never been violent or extreme—that was Bellatrix's job. She looked just as shocked as Reg did. "I'm sorry, Reg, it's just we have to do this for the good of the cause," she said confidently, even if there were still tears in her eyes.
Reg went silent and just looked at his rings. "But," he paused. "If you keep it on the down low, I can allow you to sneak around with Potter until Halloween; then we have to get serious," she sighed. Reg's eyes shot up. Well, it was better than nothing. "And don't worry; I won't tell your mother. I don't want you dead. Do we have a deal?" She asked. He nodded. "Yes," he agreed.
He got up and left the room, feeling sick; his last hope was gone. He made his way to the empty corridor; he needed time to think.
Meanwhile, in the boys' dorm, it was a riot! Fleetwood Mac was on blast, there was a game of exploding snap in the corner, and Marlene (who had snuck into the all-boys party) was jinxing James's hair to turn different shades of orange.
In the middle of a chess game with Frank Longbottom, Sirius got an idea. He quickly flicked his wand at the record player, switching to the song "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy." He tied his Gryffindor necktie around his hair and jumped on his bed to sing.
He made eye contact with Remus and blew him a kiss. "Ooh, let me feel your heartbeat (grow faster, faster)," he sang dramatically, looking at Remus the whole time. "Wow, a real Freddie Mercury," Marlene said sarcastically. "You're lucky we let you in," James rolled his eyes.
Sirius got down on his knees to continue singing, unbothered by Marlene. "I'd like for you and I to go romancing; say the word, your wish is my command," he sang, holding out a hand to Remus.
Remus ignored the hand and pulled Sirius in by the neck of his shirt, kissing him. "Wooo!!!" James called. Frank clapped. "Shove it, Longbottom," Sirius laughed.
The night continued on; someone even snuck in vodka. Nobody really knew what happened, except in the morning, Marlene was asleep in the corner with eyeliner all smudged, Peter was hung by a chandelier (that was not there before), Sirius and Remus were locked out, and James and Frank fell asleep leaning against Pete's bed. There were ties everywhere and snack bags. "What the hell happened?" Marlene asked groggily, throwing a wand sitting by her (that did not belong to her) at James. "Ngh, why are you asking me?" He mumbled. Frank unlocked the door, letting Remus and Sirius back in. "Remus, how could you let this happen?" Frank said, rubbing his forehead. "How is it my fault?" "Well, you're the head boy; you should discourage this," Sirius said, laying face down on his bed. "Yeah, yeah, well, I suck," he mumbled, finding a half-full bag of pretzels on the floor. "Drink some water or something; we still have to go to breakfast today," he yawned.
Eventually, everyone made it down to breakfast, admittedly in the wrong clothes and shoes, and no one bothered to do their hair. "Oy, Potter, you look dead!" Barty laughed from across the room. "You don't look much better, Crouch," he called back. Barty looked very much disheveled and was wearing sunglasses. His shirt was only half-buttoned, and he had one green converse and one Doc Martin.
For breakfast, James ate pieces of white bread after white bread. Yep, it was good to be back.