Chapter 4
Sirius sits on one of the windowsills of the Gryffindor common room and watches as the raindrops slowly run down the window. He is like that for a while now, not even joining the card game of his friends.
„Pads? Are you okay?“, James finally interrupts the pitiful look of his best friend. Sirius just shakes his head slightly. „Just thinking, Prongs.“
„Well, that would be a first“, a loud and raspy voice calls from the stairs to the girls‘ rooms. It‘s Marlene who seemingly just came down from her room to join the boys in their late game of Exploding Snape, an improved version of Exploding Snap that the Marauders invented years ago.
„She‘s right“, Remus agrees while he moves aside on the couch to make some room for their friend. „What makes you try something like that in your last year of school, you‘ve managed without it so far.“ Marlene who has made herself comfortable next to him, gives Remus a high five at that.
„All of you are terrible friends. You should support me.“ Peter throws a pillow at their melodramatic friend. „We can‘t support you when you don‘t tell us shit.“
Sirius, who has caught the pillow with ease and is now hugging it, nods at Peter‘s comment. „It’s nothing important, I‘ve just been thinking about my family a lot recently. About Reggie to be exact.“
„Oh Pads, you know, they don‘t even deserve a single thought from you“, James says and drops his cards to be able to hug Sirius. „I know you‘re right but I can‘t stop thinking about the night we meet him in the restricted section. I didn‘t want to believe it but he really turned to the dark side.“
„Maybe there is a harmless reason for him to be there. Who knows“, Remus tries to calm his friend while he secretly swaps some of the cards James left unsupervised with his own. A win is a win and Remus is not above cheating sometimes.
„Not saying there is not other solution but I think Sirius is right. It‘s most likely some dark magic stuff. Why else would he be in the section of the library that is restricted for a reason, if not for You-Know-Who?“
Remus just shakes his head. „Well, for once we were there too and last time I checked we didn‘t work for Voldemort, did we?“ Peter and James shiver at the name but seem to agree.
„Yes, why were you there in the first place?“, Marlene asks the boys.
„Oh wouldn‘t you like to know,“ Sirius flashes her a grin. The thought of their next prank seemingly lit up his mood again. „It‘s gonna be fantastic“, James joins in and gives her the same smile as Sirius. You could truly think they were brothers sometimes if it weren‘t for the obvious physical differences between them.
„We will flood the entire Dungeon with those giant indestructible bubbles, if everything goes as planned, Potions will cancelled for at least three days and in that time the Slytherins won‘t even be able to go to their rooms.“
Marlene laughs loudly at the prospect. „Please, this is perfect. Oh, Dean is going to love everything about this. You know, I think he would start to actual worship you.“
Remus plays his remaining cards and they explode in front of him. He smirks. "I just won, collwr."
„Ey, that's not fair, I just had the Snape of Spades. You cheater!“ James shouts at him. "Not my problem if you don't pay attention. Nid y byddech wedi ennill y naill ffordd neu'r llall. Anyway..." he starts shuffling the remaining cards again. "What's up with Dean? Why does he hate Potions so much?"
„Oh, you know. He sits next to Baby Black and even though he pretends to not give a fuck, I can’t imagine him not being bother by that blood supremacist.“ She takes the deck Remus has dealt. "Oh come on, you're deliberately shuffling the cards badly."
„But did he say something to Dean?“, Sirius voice sounds nervous. Not ready for what the answer would be.
Marlene shooks her head and Sirius looks as if a huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders. „I don’t think so at least. He would have told me. Or maybe he wouldn’t.“ She shrugs her shoulders. „He would probably not want me to beat the kid with my bat. He’s sometimes too nice for his own good.“
„So we basically don’t know shit“, Remus summarizes the conversation.
„We don’t, but I may have an idea to change that“, Peter, who was silently thinking the last few moments, suddenly squeaks in.
°°°
Dean McKinnon is just on his way to the Gryffindor rooms when he gets cornered by four boys. He obviously knows them, he doubts anyone at Hogwarts wouldn’t. The called themselves the Marauders and even though he considers it a bit childish now, he likes the guys.
They are close friends of his sister and sometimes visited the McKinnons for a few days during summer break. Especially when Dean was younger, those days felt magical to him. The Marauders were always the most popular kids in the entire school and them including him in their games of Quidditch or in playing pranks to his parents made him feel special.
He wouldn’t admit it out loud but his small crush on Sirius Black, which he had during his third school year was also a factor in his admiration for the boys. Luckily he got over the crush soon but you never forget the guy who makes you realize you are gay.
So when the four boys stand in front of him, he looks into Sirius‘s eyes. ‚Fuck, he still looks way too good in those leather jackets. I wonder if-‘, but his thoughts get interrupted by James Potter.
„So Dean, how is life treating you?“
Dean takes his eyes off Sirius to give James an irritated look. They may have spend some time together in the summer breaks but they were never close enough for random smalltalk in the corridors. He just knows the boys have some kind of own interest. Maybe help for a prank? Maybe something entirely different? Who knows with them.
„Good. But that’s not what you wanted to chat about, right?“, Dean raises his eyebrows. „Not really, no. We have a plan and we may need your help for it,“ Remus Lupin explains. „You need me? Now that sounds interesting. Go on.“
The four boys give each other a look that Dean cannot interpret in the slightest. He takes his cigarettes out of his pocket and and puts one between his teeth to light it. This could be interesting.
„You want me to do what ?“ Dean McKinnon looks disbelieving at the boys in front of him. „That is madnesss, why in hell should I do it?“
„Because you are a nice person and want to help us?“, James tries to give him a reassuring smile while Dean just takes another puff of his cigarette.
„But why? This is nuts, how am I even supposed to do this? Black is not exactly known for his welcoming personality.“
„Marlene told us that you sit next to him in Potions, so let’s work with that. We don’t expect you to become his best friend. Just find out how much his thoughts are infiltrated by his parents and if he works for Voldemort?“
„Oh, is that it? Yeah, just befriend the maybe or maybe not death eater kid with fascists as parents and just hope for the best. And don’t get me wrong, I‘m not scared of the bastard, it’s actually really fun to annoy the shit out of him. I just don’t see why I should try to „befriend“ him or whatever.“
What he says is true, he's not afraid of Black and yes, he finds it amusing when he can get on his nerves and fluster him. Otherwise he wouldn't have sat next to him in Potions or questioned him in the dungeons. It was a game, nothing more. But actually trying to get close to him, maybe even befriending him to spy for his brother was just wrong and simply not possible. Dean knew what Regulus thought of him and his family.
„Please think about it. And like we said, we don’t expect you to become friends. I don’t think Reggie is capable of having them. Just try to find out if he is actually a death eater or just some kid with a big mouth. You know“, Sirius looks him directly in the eyes:“I worry about him.“
Dean lets all the information run through his head. It wouldn't really be immoral, he'd just be helping Sirius stop worrying, wouldn't he? And he would have a reason to seek contact with Regulus, he doesn't know why but somehow he finds this argument in particular very convincing.
„Okay, let‘s pretend I willing in. What is in for me? Like I said, Black is not known for being a nice guy to spend time with. If I‘m supposed to collect information about him, I want something in exchange for it.“
„Whatever you want“, Dean could hear the desperation in Sirius voice. He really wanted this.
Dean looks at him challengingly. „I'll do it, but you owe me a favour. No matter what, as soon as I need something from you in the future, you have to listen to me. Is that a deal?"
A wide grin forms on Sirius face. „That is a deal!“ He offers him his hand and Dean shakes it. "I'm happy to do business with you."
°°°
Late at night, Dean is rolling around in his bed sleepless. He cannot stop thinking about his deal with the Marauders. Should he have declined? How is he even supposed to do it? What if Regulus somehow finds out about it? Too many thoughts like this are keeping him awake.
So he does the only logical thing, puts on jacket and makes his way up to the astronomy tower for a smoke. Luckily it‘s a Friday night and no one should be up there.
He sits down on his favorite spot, lights his cigarette and blows the smoke in the air. It wasn‘t the first night he spend up there and it certainly wouldn‘t be the last. He started to smoke in the break between his fourth and fifth school year when he and his friends sneaked out to visit a muggle pub.
He couldn‘t remember all of the night, just that between many beers and his first cigarette he also had his first kiss. It was with a random boy, he doesn‘t even know his name and could only barely remember his looks. Black hair and the most beautiful eyes he has ever seen. He smiles at the memories.
But his peace is not for long. Just as he has stamped out his cigarette on the floor, someone clears their throat behind him. „I didn‘t know you smoke“, the person points out.
„There are a lot of things you don‘t know about me, Black. I also didn‘t expect you to know what a cigarette is.“
To Dean‘s surprise Regulus not only comes closer but also sits down next to him. With enough distance between the two, but still surprisingly close.
„There are also a lot of things you don‘t know about me, McKinnon. If you spare me a cig, maybe you could even learn something.“ Dean looks at the other boy. This entire situation confuses him, why would Black willingly start a conversation with him? For a cigarette? Why would someone like him even do such a muggle thing?
Regulus catches his look and rolls his eyes. „Spare me the surprised look and just give me a cigarette. Yes, I smoke. Occasionally but yes. And yes, I Know it‘s a muggle thing but I couldn‘t give less of a fuck right now.“
Dean, still confused, holds his packet of cigarettes out to him. „You probably won‘t tell me how you even got your hands on cigarettes, no? I bet mommy and daddy don‘t know about this.“ Regulus takes one of the cigs and Dean can't help but notice how elegant his fingers look.
„It doesn‘t concern you in the slightest what my parents know and what not.“ Regulus takes a drag. „Oh god, I missed this“, Dean hears him mumble.
For a while the two boys just sit next to each other in silence, both aware of even the slightest movement of the other.
„Couldn‘t sleep?“, Dean suddenly breaks the silence. He doesn‘t actually expect an answer of Regulus, knowing that he will most likely ignore every attempt of a conversation now that he got what he wanted but he gets surprised one more time this night.
„Not really but that‘s nothing new. I come here often, you know?“
Dean nods. „I feel you. I spend many nights here, just thinking. It‘s a great place to relax and to let go of all your thoughts.“ He can hear the other boy hum in agreement.
Maybe this whole deal wouldn‘t be as complicated as expected.