Chapter 2
When James came down the following morning, Sirius was slumped in the armchair fast asleep and the bed before him was empty. To say James panicked was an understatement. He took about five seconds to wonder if perhaps he had imagined all of last night, but the evidence was before him so the next step he took was waking Sirius with a quick jab from his great grandfather’s wand which had been on display on the mantel piece for as long as James remembered. James wasn’t willing to risk his finger nor his own wand with the dreaded task of waking one Sirius Black, even if the situation were a possible emergency. In hindsight, he probably shouldn’t have risked a possibly priceless family heirloom either. However, James was just fast enough to save both himself and his great grandfather’s wand from the violent mess that was a half-asleep Sirius.
Upon being informed about the disappearance of his brother, Sirius became far more alert. He snapped upright and quickly rubbed at his eyes. Twice as worried as James who pulled him from the chair. Together, they pounded their way up the stairs yelling and making as much noise as only two extremely distressed teenage boys can,
“He’s gone!!” Sirius’ voice was hoarse, and he sounded close to tears.
“Mum! Dad! He’s gone!!” James’ voice was significantly clearer due to his wakefulness. A tired Effie stumbled out onto the landing at the top of the stairs.
“Boys! Boys calm down. Who’s gone?” Her voice wasn’t annoyed, just mildly exasperated at the volume her sons seemed to be permanently stuck at, like a jammed stereo. And yes, Sirius was her son. They may not say it out loud, but it was just a fact in that household, everyone under the roof was family. Even the thin, fragile, wet boy that had shown up at their doorstep the night before. The boy Sirius and James were now shrieking about being missing.
Effie, like Sirius, quickly snapped awake at the news. She bustled back into her room to grab her wand and James turned to Sirius,
“It’s okay Sirius, breathe. We’ll find him.” He grabbed Sirius’ hand and put it against the pulse point on his wrist. “Feel that?” Sirius nodded, “Breathe with me and focus on my heartbeat Sirius.” Sirius did, chest swelling with a deep breath in before deflating as he breathed back out. He maintained this pace, interrupted occasionally by hiccups.
Euphemia came back out and the two teens trailed behind her,
“Monty!” They reached the bottom of the stairs and Fleamont stuck his head around the corner of the wall separating the kitchen from the living room.
“Yes dear?”
“He’s gone missing.” Effie’s voice was measured, and James recognised the slight wobble to it as poorly concealed fear.
“Who’s gone?” Another voice asked from the kitchen, one James doesn’t know. Clearly Sirius does though as he sprints into the terra cotta tiled kitchen with tears in his eyes. James hurried to follow his best friend and he saw the widening of Regulus’ eyes as he realised the speed at which Sirius was approaching him. Sirius barrelled into his brother so hard he nearly knocked Regulus off the stool he was seated on.
“Regulus! Oh Godric. Merlin. I thought you went back. I thought- I thought you had gone back there. Fuck.” Effie didn’t even bother to swat him upside the head for the curse, she was too busy watching the brothers reunite. Regulus made a hissing noise in the back of his throat like a cat that had been dunked in a bath.
“Then you’re truly stupider than I give you credit for. I’m never going back there.” Regulus shoved at Sirius’ arms, trying fruitlessly to escape his brother’s embrace. Anyone who had been hugged by Sirius knew it was pointless. “Get off me you utter twat. You’re crushing me.” He flailed much to the Potters’ amusement.
Sirius released him reluctantly and James could see the faintly shining streaks on his cheeks where the light caught on tear tracks. He scrubbed at the dampness with the palms of his hands.
“Reg. You have no idea how glad I am that you’re here. Tell me how you are. Tell me everything.”
…
After a very long recount of the events of the past few months from Regulus’ point of view, interrupted by numerous tea breaks and several tears from Sirius, everyone was caught up. Euphemia Potter was halfway to ordering adoption papers from the Ministry so she could forcibly remove any other children from the Black family care, Regulus was having a shower so hot that the steam was waterfalling through the crack under the bathroom door, the Sirius was seated at the kitchen bench eating dirigible plum pancakes faster than Monty could cook them and James, who had been locked from the room alongside Monty and the family cat Binchi for most of the story was lying on the reverted couch was only certain of the fact that Regulus had left Grimmauld Place at least a week earlier but without his wand – which Walburga had snapped in the middle of an argument – he had been unable to travel far.
Regulus had no knowledge of muggle transport and hadn’t known the Potters’ address, so the Night Bus had been virtually useless until he had found a flyer for Sleekeazy’s which stated Fleamont’s address. Effie had been in a huff about this as she had specifically told Monty not to put their address on the flyers for privacy reasons. Fleamont had hurriedly assured her he would remove it before pointing out that it had actually done some good though, because without it Regulus would still be lost somewhere in London. Based on the address on the flyer, he had hailed the Night Bus and made his way across London on what had apparently been ‘the most harrowing ride of his life’ and ‘wizards should not be allowed to drive magically modified muggle transport’ which they technically weren’t but the Night Bus was an exception.
James was still completely unaware of what had led Regulus Black to run away as apparently it was ‘none of his business’ and Regulus would tell him if he ever decided James had a right to know any of it. This had put James in quite a strop. Monty had been informed on what he had missed as soon as the door was unlocked because apparently, he was needed for legal action at the Ministry revolving around this situation. So now James lay on the sofa which had now been reverted to its original state with Binchi kneading his stomach. Monty entered the room to ask James if he wanted pancakes, edging around the cat who turned a slit eyed glare on James’ father. The two had never gotten along, Monty and the cat both shared a fondness for salmon and Effie’s affection which resulted in jealousy from both. The cat tended to dislike anyone that wasn’t Effie or James to be perfectly honest. Binchi had hissed at Sirius the first time they met but that didn’t surprise James, Sirius was a dog at heart.
James who now realised he was truly quite hungry lifted the cat and placed him back on the couch where he settled after a series of indignant mews. He entered the kitchen to see Sirius and Regulus chatting about something and, though he knew it was selfish and he felt awfully guilty for it, James felt the stabbing pang of jealousy in his gut. James had no siblings; he would never know a bond like theirs. The closest thing James had to a brother was Sirius and now he had his real brother back. He swiped a plate of pancakes, noting that Regulus’ hair was tied up in a bun around his wand like Sirius often did and he was clad in one of Sirius’ too large band shirts which slipped off his shoulder to reveal extensive bandaging that reached to his collar bone. James was unsure how far down it travelled but it looked serious.
The thud of Binchi hopping off the couch, followed by the ringing of his bell and pattering footsteps caught James’ attention before he could say anything about Regulus’ injuries. Which was probably for the best. From what Sirius had told him about Regulus, James didn’t think he would take to kindly to being questioned about something so private. What shocked James was the way Binchi headed straight for Regulus when he entered the kitchen, completely passing Effie with barely a head bump of greeting. Regulus greeted the tawny furball like they had known each other for years.
James grinned at the sight, a bubble of warmth swelling in his chest. Regulus wasn’t quite smiling but James could sense his joy. Sirius had told him at some point that their parents had never allowed pets and suddenly James was so glad his parents were who they are, he was so relieved that he had befriended Sirius that first day all those years ago so that him and Regulus could have a proper home. The pure bliss of the moment overwhelmed James for a second and he just breathed in pure delight. He also breathed in part of his pancake which caught in his throat and James began to choke.
Sirius noticed his sudden lack of air and thumped him on the back to dislodge the food in his throat. James coughed and everyone else seemed to look on in confusion until they realised, he was suffocating. The world slowed around him and began to panic. Sirius was still violently hitting him before deciding it wasn’t working and he should try a different tactic. This included moving to wrap his arms around James in a poor imitation of the Heimlich manoeuvre, something they’d learned about in third grade which Sirius had never mastered. He’d apparently also forgotten that they were permitted to perform magic so long as they were on private property, a detail that Regulus had not forgotten. Regulus stood, startling Binchi and whipping his wand from his hair – an act James found ridiculously attractive considering the circumstances (it was probably just due to a lack of oxygen, that was Sirius’ little brother after all).
“Anapneo.” Regulus murmured, performing the necessary wand swish and James felt the offending piece of food vanish. He slumped in Sirius grasp, relief sweeping through him. Then he began to laugh. Imagine if Regulus hadn’t been there to actually think things through. Of course, James had no doubt at least one of his parents would have helped save him but there had been a moment there where he had panicked, thinking that was how he would die. He could imagine the headlines, ‘James Potter Dead, Suspect: Pancakes.’ It was, quite frankly, rather embarrassing. Not that there would have been headlines. That was what he found more concerning, that he hadn’t even had a chance to make an impact on the wizarding world, he would have been remembered as the boy who choked on a dirigible plum pancake.
Regulus looked at him in slight horror, but James calmed himself enough to thank him. Regulus had merely nodded, settling down so Binchi could climb back into his lap. Sirius squeezed James tighter than was absolutely necessary.
“Oh, thank Merlin. What would I have done without you Jamie?”
“Don’t thank Merlin, thank your brother.” James grinned. He felt something shift in how he saw Regulus, as if a glowing halo had appeared over him. “My hero.”
“Well done my boy.” Monty clapped Regulus on the back before withdrawing his hand with a hasty apology when Regulus flinched.
James opened his mouth to ask if he was okay, but Effie interrupted his line of thinking by chastising him for eating so quickly.
“Just breathe between bites James. Nothing is going to happen to your pancake while you’re chewing. Except Sirius.” Sirius was already reaching to snatch a piece of pancake of his plate.
James slapped his hand away with a laugh. Regulus shook his head at the two of them. Regulus reminded him of Effie quite a bit, or the way Remus acted when Sirius was being stupid. James watched as he pulled his hair up again, stabbing his wand through the bun to somehow hold it in place. Regulus’ hair was starting to dry in curls that were tighter than Sirius’ shoulder length ones.
When undone, his hair hung low, James could swear it almost reached his butt. Not that he was looking at Regulus’ ass, but the point was his hair was extremely long and James wanted to plait it. He had learned how to plait curly hair in second year when Mary had needed it pulled back for a Quidditch match and James had said he knew how to braid. Since then, he was constantly being called on for last minute hairdos that got more extravagant as time wore on.
While James had been distracted by the swift, almost brutal way Regulus had swept his hair back, Sirius had nabbed more pancake and James looked down to see a near empty plate. He turned to thump Sirius.
“Bad dog.” Sirius practically whimpered, hanging his head dramatically and James laughed so hard he nearly fell from his stool. Before the others in the room could fear for his mental state, flapping sounded, and an owl swooped in to drop mail on the centre of the counter. Sirius lunged for the one addressed to him in Remus’ looping scrawl.