Chapter 4
In the corner of the morning in the past
I would sit and blame the master first and last
All the roads were straight and narrow
And the prayers were small and yellow
And the rumour spread that I was aging fast
Then I ran across a monster who was sleeping by a tree
And I looked and frowned and the monster was me
Well, I said hello and I said hello
And I asked "Why not?" and I replied "I don't know."
So we asked a simple black bird, who was happy as can be
Well he laughed insane and quipped "KAHLIL GIBRAN"
So I cried for all the others till the day was nearly through
For I realized that God's a young man too
So I said "So long" and I waved "Bye-bye"
And I smashed my soul and traded my mind
They had ended up falling asleep, barely moving as they were tangled together until 08:35 in the morning.
As Regulus stirred awake, he smiled when he saw James' face close to his. His glasses had fallen off sometime last night and he looked beautiful with and without them.
Regulus blushed furiously, remembering the events from last night. They hadn't done it but did get bloody close until they realized anyone could walk in at any given moment. Regulus was thankful, he didn't want James to see the dark mark on his arm.
"Should have brought the bloody map after all."
"Fuck! James wake up!" Regulus nearly screamed, reaching for the few clothes they had taken off, while trying to shake James awake. He had overslept, he had never overslept.
"Huh? Oh, bloody hell what time is it? Don't tell me... I missed quidditch practice!" He practically screamed in disbelief.
"And we are also about to miss breakfast if you do not hurry up." He hissed back at him, grabbing whatever robe was nearest, hoping it was his as James' was too large for him.
They got dressed fairly fast, especially since it was another ten minute walk to the great hall if the stairs decided to cooperate with their needs.
"Slow down, we cannot walk in there at the same time." Regulus held James from running down another staircase.
"What? Why?" James questioned, a confused expression on his face.
"My overprotective brother seeing his best friends and little brother walking in together after he didn't sleep in his own bed. Yes, seems like a great plan, Potter." He frowned, expression blunt.
"Fine... What am I supposed to do then? Starve? Won't they question why I'm not there?" James seemed annoyed. Shit.
"Don't worry, I'll get you something. And no they won't, just tell them that you ate before Quidditch practice." Grabbing the elder's hand and giving it a sweet kiss with a sarcastic bow, before quickly walking off, leaving James standing alone, dumbfounded, a smirk forming on his own face.
He straightened his face and his posh posture before walking through the door, making sure all his robes were intact, but not looking down he had no time to waste and did not want people to get suspicious, especially his lousy brother and his stupid friends.
Mattheo and Pandora were still at breakfast, Evan and Barty most likely missed it again, the bloody bastards.
"Had a fun night, did you not?" Mattheo remarked, smirking the moment he joined the table. He was a year older than the rest of them as he had to redo a year since he had been suspended for the total of five months in the third year after some mudblood indirectly got killed by him. Luckily he was not the direct cause and was found innocent, only with a light punishment.
"What are you onto?" Regulus stared at him with a dead expression.
"Oh, nothing. Just heard from Barty that you weren't in your bed last night." He smirked again, walking off.
"See you in Potions, Black." He walked off in a confident manner, his robes intact, hand digging down his pocket and now a joint in his hand. Could he not be high for more than five minutes?
"How are you doing, love?" Pandora questioned, watching him eat as fast as he possibly could while still showing some manners. It might have been almost the end of breakfast but the house elves always made sure no one would go hungry.
"I'm doing alright, how are you? I haven't seen you in ages." He responded, only answering once his mouth was empty.
"Oh, I'm doing fine, just fine... you haven't seen Marlene or Dorcas anywhere have you? I've been looking for them all morning but it almost seems as if they have disappeared. They've been gone since the evening."
He shook his head, straightening his posture. She hadn't talked to him all year, not since the holidays anyways, she must have been incredibly busy.
He appreciated her not mentioning his physical changes, as his friend she must have noticed one way or another. Maybe not, he really did pass already before and his voice was quite deep naturally.
Maybe she was really just not that observant, Regulus did in fact notice that she had been a bit more quiet and seemed more distracted than usual. Maybe he just didn't know her well enough to judge over that, he'd ask Evan later.
He felt his face itch, that bloody scar. He knew he mustn't touch it, it needed to heal, but it was so tempting.
Quickly, packaging some food items he figured James would like in a napkin, he stood up and walked back to the bathroom on the second floor where the older one would meet him.
"Got your breakfast, Potter." He spoke, tone still cold as he usually was with most.
James accepted it gracefully, only for his smile to drop the moment he saw Regulus' face. He wasn't looking at him.
"Reggie, what's wrong? Is anything bothering you?" James asked, a worrying expression filling his eyes. James wouldn't admit it, but his face was so easy to read, the total contradiction of the younger's who's expression was usually cold and empty, as now. His eyes were empty again.
He simply held the first sandwich in his hand before placing it back on the napkin, he seemed distracted.
James noticed Regulus slipping into one of 'his moods' (as Sirius would describe them) more frequently recently, whenever he got a single second of free time to think it was as if he had left for another planet. Staring coldly out of his eyes, his lips in a pursed line.
"Hmm? Oh no, I'm alright. I have to go to class, meet me later, yeah?" He gave him a small smile before walking off, leaving James alone, worried again. Why did he always have to make him worried.
James stood alone in front of the mirror of the bathroom, confused. He'd try to cheer him up later, stop his thinking.
Only then he realized that he had a lesson to go to.