Timeless

Regulus

Being invisible was oddly liberating as I no longer had to worry about being the representative of the Black household. Nobody could see me, no one even knew I was still here, making my way through the Leaky Cauldron after Remus.

And then there we were – on a muggle street in London. It was… so damn restless. It had definitely been more low-key the previous time, the only other time I had ever found myself on a muggle street. 

It wasn't raining but the sky loomed above us in different shades of grey and the air was brimming with a possibility of rainfall as well as different scents of the city, most of which were erroneous, to say the least. Other than that though, I didn't find it much unlike Diagon Alley or other wizarding streets. 

After a bit of walking when we'd made it far enough from the Leaky Cauldron I took off the cloak behind a building corner. Nobody knew who I was here. 

“Come on, hurry up now, it's 'bout to rain,”

I rushed my step, “How do you know that?”

“I- I sense some stuff. Not gonna bother you with 'em details. Lamb and Flag pub work for ya? It's just 'round the corner and I ain't wanna get soaked when the waterworks start.”

“Sure, anything works as long as there's decent food.”

The pub was hidden in a corner-alley and appeared exactly as I expected a muggle pub to look, although perhaps a bit more cramped. 

While the exterior didn't give off any particular era it was clear within the walls the place was not a newly established taproom but rather one of the oldest muggle ones there likely was, if the Latin poem on the worn beam was any indication that is. 

Meum est propositum in taberna mori Vinum sit appositium morientis ori. Tunc cantabunt venerint angelorum chori, “Deus sit propitius huic potatori!”

(It is my purpose in the shop of the dying Wine to be the opposite of the dying mouth. Then the choir of angels will sing, “May God be more propitious to this drinker!”)

It was a familiar quote, which I found odd for it was a muggle place and I was not familiar with their matters, except, of course, what Sirius had forced upon my knowledge once upon a time. 

Remus headed for the stairs, which I realised before he'd even opened the door which hid them. This made no sense. I couldn't have known that. Unless-

No…

“How'd you know?” I ran after him as I'd fallen distant after freezing for a moment as the memories resurfaced.

“Huh?” 

“How'd you know to bring me back here?”

“So it is the place Sirius took you. For a moment there I thought I'd messed up something,”

“He told you? Did you plan on running into me??” was this a setup?

“Yup, you and Pads are both definitely made of the same wood,” he chuckled as he slid into a seat behind a table in the corner of the room, “If I'd planned this do you really think I wouldn't have recognised you instead of you goin' 'round callin' me scar-boy?”

“Considering the other arse turned up uninvited and did not recognise me, plus how foolish Sirius himself is, your little band doesn't have the best reputation intelligence-wise, so,”

“Oi! Sirius and James are one of the sharpest lads I've ever met,”

“I'm sorry?”

“They're brilliant,”

“No, I heard, I'm just sorry. For you. Seems to me like you might be the best out of three and not even realise it,”

“Believe me, I'm not,” his finite way of saying it prompted me not to ask further and silence washed over us. I took a seat opposite him anyway and we both went on to examine the menus in front of us as if they were the most extraordinary pieces of literature ever known to man. 

One issue was still up for discussion, though – while I was likely the richer of the two of us, the amount of muggle money to my name remained nonexistent, “I cannot pay for any of this, unless they take our money,” I vocalised my thoughts before my stomach could protest again.

“I'll pay,” Remus put down his menu, “how else am I to impress my future sibling-in-law? One condition though, I pick the food for you as well.”

“Fine. As long as it doesn't bite me back I think anything will go down right now,”

“Muggle food never bites back,”

“Really? How mundane,”

“You just said- Know what? I don' care. I'll go order,”

After he returned I heard Remus mumble a spell of muffliato for the second time that day and expected him to say something, waited for him to get onto what he really wished to speak with me of. 

“I hear you ain't coming to the wedding?”

“Well, yeah. Couldn't if I wanted to. Which I don't.” 

“You sure bout that?”

Absolutely not. “Yup,” 

“You're lyin',”

“Excuse me!?”

“C'mon, smoke's basically flyin' out your arse. Be real now. Why is it you really won't be coming?”

“How'd you know I was lying? Even I wasn't sure of it,”

“I can detect lies. Now back to my question.”

“Fine. My parents will not be allowing it and I've been under house arrest for the past several months already. Don't think I'll be getting much freedom around the wedding of my brother who I must not associate myself with under any circumstances,”

“Oh shit,” was all Lupin got out just as our meals arrived and we switched conversing for eating instead. Best meal I've had in my entire life. Called roast dinner apparently.

“But if you got out, would you come then?”

“What?”

“To the wedding,”

“Oh,” I wasn't sure, “why do you want me to be present so badly anyway? You had not even met me until today.”

“Sirius won't admit it, but he's been a bit heartbroken about the wedding ever since James' return with the news of you declining. Think he misses you, is grieving, in a way. And well, I love him, so I'm gonna do my best to make him happy,”

I wasn't sure what to say. Oftentimes I missed Sirius too, even if it was usually easier to be mad at him for leaving. 

“Look. I can't come. If I could maybe, just maybe, I would. But it won't be possible. Maybe if your wedding was sooner. Or later. But it's just before-” I cut myself off before telling Sirius' fiance about my arranged marriage. The last thing I needed was for Sirius to find out and start meddling.

“Before?”

“Nevermind,”

“Regulus, may I call you that?” I nodded, “The hell is going on? You look as white as a sheet. So unless there was a ghost here I somehow missed, you gotta explain to me wha's goin' on?”

“Why? I don't owe you an explanation,” He shut his mouth. He knew I didn't. And there was no reason for me to trust him. So my secret would stay just that – mine. “Look, Remus, I get that you're marrying my brother and all, but I don't know you or yall's relationship. And there are some things I do not wish Sirius to know for he will start involving himself in my business and well.. yeah.”

“If I tell you a secret of mine that, if you shared with anyone, could cause me harm, would you trust me not to tell yours to Sirius?”

I inspected him. Would Sirius do the same thing for me? Without a second thought. But I was not Sirius, I was Regulus. And most of the time I wasn't even sure who, exactly, he was. Something in me, however, told me he would do this, he would be the kind of guy to meet his future brother-in-law in a muggle restaurant and sell his own secret for theirs. So I nodded, “Alright, let's hear it then,”