Betrayal
Remus was a hurricane of feelings.
His emotions hit him like a tsunami, a flood beggining to form in his mind. The water clogs every single atom of his body. Maybe that's why his ears are ringing. Maybe that's why his eyes are now blurry. The water make its escape, and tears continuously fall down his face, making little thump sounds as they hit the pillow's surface.
He looks at James' face as if it's the last thing he'll ever see. He doesn't even realise he's shaking until James takes Remus' hand in both of his with a sad, exhausted frown.
Why would Sirius do that to him?
Why did he do that?
Why did he do it?
Why, why, why.
Remus trusted him. Trusted him as much as he trusted James and Peter. Vile, he thinks with a sob that breaks his heart into pieces, I'm disgusting. He might aswell be, because it makes Remus feel sick.
James is there to hold him when he breaks.
James is there to hold him in his strong, comfortable arms. If Remus wasn't crying his heart out, he would say that James is like a mother duckling, and James would laugh; and so would Peter and Sirius. Everything would of been okay.
But it isn't.
The thought just makes him cry more.
-
Remus walks in and out of dinner. He can't, won't, talk to anyone right now. How could he? After being utterly betrayed like that? He was just about to use one of Hogwart's glorious, god-sent secret passages when-
"Remus!"
He picks up his pace. He practically runs. He bumps into people and shoves them out his way, but it isn't enough. Sirius still manages to catch him. He doesn't want to. He doesn't- He needs to- What does he need to do? What does he do? He wants to get away but he can't-
Sniffing, Sirius quickly spills his good for nothing apologies. As if that'll fix anything.
"Remus! I-I'm- I'm so, so sorry! I swear I didn’t—" Sirius pleads, grabbing Remus' wrist.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Silence.
The corridor seems to freeze along with Sirius, who currently looks like a kicked puppy as he stares at Remus with pleading eyes.
He squirms at the feeling of eyes on him. He wants it to stop. Stop. Stop. It won't stop.
"Remus—"
Sirius reaches out. Remus punches him.
The sickening crack of Sirius' nose shouldn't have felt that satisfying, but it did. Good, a part of him thinks, teach him a leasson; make him feel your pain.
People gasp around him, murmuring to one another while watching Sirius clutch his broken nose, which was dripping with thick, red blood.
Before anyone can even begin to act, Remus makes his escape, shoving and pushing people out of his way.
Remus runs.
And he doesn't look back once.
-
Remus is sad.
So incredibly miserable that he lets himself drown in his own tears.
He didn't even bother going to his prefect duties, which started 10 minutes ago. Instead, he's being swallowed by his own sorrow.
His hiding spot was just as horrible. It was behind one of the metal guards in the corridors, and while passing by, one of then even pat Remus quickly on the head, before returning to it's inanimate state.
It had startled him at first, but if even Hogwarts is trying to comfort him, he supposes he has every right to be mad.
His spiral was rudely interrupted by approaching footsteps. Each stride clear and calculated.
The sound of heels against the floor gradually went up in volume as it reached his hiding spot.
Great, a prefect was going to find him crying his eyes out after curfew. Bloody lovely.
Remus squeezes his eyes shut as he hears the footsteps abruptly stop. When he finally looks up, he's startled at first by the similarities the person shares with Sirius, until he notices that it is none other than Regulus Black.
"Lupin." Regulus's blue eyes fall upon Remus.
He sniffs in response.
"Thought you could escape prefect duties, did you?"
"Fuck off, Black."
Regulus clicks his tongue while scanning the state Remus is in. He feels a bit embarrassed, crying so openly like this.
Remus feels naked, so he brings his knees closer to his chest and deliberately looks at anything other than Regulus. Shame starts to crawl up his throat, and his eyes sting with fresh tears.
Regulus must've grown impatient by now, because he reaches under Remus' armpits and pulls him up. It's funny how easily Regulus did that despite Remus being completely dead on his feet.
Remus wonders if Sirius would do the same if he was crying for a whole different reason. Would he be harsh and cold? Sweet and gentle? He doesn't know, and Remus finds that it's a dead end.
Surprisingly, he's not alarmed at the sudden contact. Regulus' hands aren't warm like Sirius'. They are, in fact, so cold that he could feel Regulus' freezing fingertips through his jumper.
Once he's fully standing, and completely oblivious to what is happening, Regulus begins to brush off dust from his figure, like a mother fussing over their child's first day of school.
Regulus apparently is satisfied, because he looks Remus up and down again, then proceeds to walk away.
"If you want to keep up, I suggest you put your legs to use." Regulus calls out. Remus splutters before jogging to reach Regulus.
At first, it's complete silence, and Remus doesn't know if he's grateful or uncomfortable.
Regulus doesn't say anything, he simply keeps his eyes straight forward, not once faltering. Remus is fidgety because he doesn't know what to expect from Regulus.
Finally, the silence is broken.
"Severus told me."
Remus' blood turned as cold as Regulus' hands.
He's shaking now, biting his nails anxiously as he awaits for more, awaits disgust.
Regulus is looking at him now, not a hint of anger on his face. His family are all purebloods, they're quite openly against muggle-borns, half-bloods or whatever that isn't fully human or magic. Everyone knows this. Remus is expecting the worst. Regulus will probably leave him right there and then, hexed and cursed on the corridor floor.
But he doesn't.
"I personally think Sirius is in the wrong." Regulus says, sounding as if he's discussing something as simple as the weather.
Remus falters.
"What?" He says, rather stupidly.
"Sirius is in the wrong." Regulus repeats. Regulus is quiet for a moment, before looking directly at Remus' soul.
"You didn't deserve that."
And just like that, Regulus fled.
-
Remus had slept in the girl's dorm, but he didn’t really feel comfortable there. Obviously, they treated him kindly; not even knowing what exactly had happened between him and Sirius, and picking his side anyway.
He was extremely grateful and he loved every single one of them, but he felt a bit out of place. Don't get him wrong, he loves their company, but he felt like he was invading the girls' space.
He tried sitting at the far end of the table at breakfast, but Sirius keeps pestering him and it's driving him absolutely mad.
"Remus, I'm sorry!" This.
"Remus, I didn't mean to!" That.
Over and over and over again.
He stands up abruptly, shoving Sirius away from him discreetly yet angrily with a low growl. He didn't want a repeat of last time.
Before Sirius could react, Remus put his wolf instincts to use, quickly scanning the house tables for somewhere to sit without Sirius apologising for one second.
He saw Pandora, god-sent; beautiful; absolute miracle Pandora, who catched his eye and waved him over. He power-walks torwards the Ravenclaw table, and he notices that she was sat with her back to the Slytherin table. Of course! Remus thought, delighted, She's friends with the Slytherins!
2 nights ago, Regulus found him crying behind a metal guard. 2 days later, he began to watch Regulus more, and he, surprisingly, became quite fond of Regulus' little group. Obviously he wasn't in their crew, or any audible conversation, but just by watching and listening he managed to create an image of each one of them. And to put it simply, he liked them.
Barty Crouch is like a Slytherin version of Sirius, but 100% more cooler and radical. He has various piercings scattered across his face, complimenting his hair; which has bright green streaks sprouting from his roots. His laugh is contagious, and he always seems to lift everyone's moods up. He was constantly seen bickering with Evan.
Evan is a tan, vicious boy with blonde, wild curls, and he has the sharpest, fastest tongue Remus has ever seen. He was all bark and no bite, but the bark was quick to send someone packing. Which was probably why him and Barty were always arguing.
Then came Pandora, Evan's sister. Remus knows her, since she is commonly seen with Mary and Lily. She is a few shades than Evan, and she has long, blonde curls (little sections of it being braided) that went down to her waist. She has brown, droopy eyes and a patient and understanding personality. In conclusion, Remus' current life saver.
And then there was Regulus. Regulus was hard to figure out, but Remus knew one thing for sure. Regulus was handsome. Sharp jawline, shiny, silky, black hair that went down to the nape of his neck and eyes that are an icy blue, dark and brooding. Regulus was, in shoet, hypnotising. Sirius was pretty too, sure, but Regulus' genes represented the Black Family beautifully. He could easily be compared to a porcelain doll.
However, Regulus is anything but fragile.
And that is what makes Regulus so... entrancing.
He sits down beside Pandora with an audible sigh. With a soft smile, she pats his shoulder, and Remus immediately relaxes. Finally, no Sirius and his stupid apologies.
"Running from the Gryffindors now, are you Lupin?"
Remus looks over his shoulder, and he sees Regulus doing the same with a smirk. However, this smirk packed no real heat, but only playfulness. Remus grimaces with an exhausted chuckle.
"You could say that."
"It's okay, I run from my brother all the time as well."
Was Regulus... Having a civil conversation with him? That's, well, unusual. Obviously, Regulus would talk to his friends, but Remus didn't expect for it to be aimed at him. Remus huffs, exasperated. Barty over hears this, and he cackles loudly.
Pointing at Remus with a mischievous grin he beams, "Finally know yer worth, eh Loon— I mean. Lupin?"
Regulus face palms at the slip-up. Remus finds that he doesn't mind. It's domestic and comfortable. He's reminded of Sirius once more, and his face darkens with a furrow of his brow.
"Shit, you know I didn't mean it like tha—"
"No. No, yeah, I know! It's just, Sirius."
Barty raises a single pierced eyebrow, but continues to munch on his peanut butter and jam toast anyway.
He looks over at Regulus, who's still watching him. Remus feels his breath hitch in his throat, his heart pound at his chest and his mind race. Regulus' icy blue eyes practically scan him, noticing each movement, each breath that Remus takes. Regulus meets his gaze for a second, before narrowing his eyes and looking away.
Remus wishes he would look at him again. He wishes to have that piercing gaze trail over him again.
Regulus is something else, something completely unknown.
And Remus is willing to discover.