Warm

Regulus had been doing an excellent job of avoiding his brother the first few weeks of his fifth year at Hogwarts.

“And you! I do not need your judgement, you emotionless coward!”

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

“So, stop staring at me with that fake blank bloody look in your eyes and show some fucking emotion! For once!” Sirius ranted, eyes wild and venom lacing his words.

Regulus idly thought that he resembled their mother when he got like this.

“This kid – this eleven-year-old child – just got called the M-word and jinxed six ways to Sunday and you just stand there? You’re a bloody prefect for Merlin’s sake!”

Sirius was practically shaking with rage by this point and every instinct in Regulus’ body screamed at him to apologise and attempt to calm his brother down. He resisted, though. He knew better than to try.

“But of course, I should know better than to expect any modicum of goodness from you or any of your little sycophants!” Sirius spat, fury burning bright and hot in his eyes.

As bright as the star he was named for.

His brother turned his attention towards his own ramshackle group of rowdy Gryffindors whom he called friends, and involuntarily Regulus followed his gaze.

The Gryffindor Sixth-Years were out in full force. Potter was sat on the cold, hard stone floor, muttering soothing words at the sobbing firstie, seemingly uncaring of how he was rumpling and dirtying his clothes. Meanwhile, Evans was calmly reciting counterspells to the number of jinxes Mulciber and Avery had hurled at the kid. For all Evans seemed to reject Potter, they worked well as a team.

Lupin and MacDonald both had their wands out, pointed threateningly at the offending arseholes, a spare Expelliarmused wand in each of their hands. McKinnon seemed to be on crowd control, and Pettigrew ran off several minutes ago to fetch a professor.

Sirius, on the other hand, had decided that a psychotic rant on the depraved morals of Slytherin house would be a prudent addition, which had been mildly amusing until Regulus himself had managed to catch his brother’s eye.

“My house – my friends – would never let something like this slide! They are ten times better than you can ever hope to be!” He rounded out his speech with an ugly sneer but the effect was lost on Regulus.

What cut him the deepest was the words Sirius hadn’t said. For all his brother hated their family, he was just as well versed in double speak as the rest of them. So, Regulus heard his meaning clear as day:

I’d choose them over you any day.

What a shining example of brotherly love.

Sirius has been spouting that sort of bullshit pretty much since the day Regulus had been sorted into Slytherin. Making it crystal clear over and over again that Sirius had a family – Regulus just wasn’t a part of it.

But on some level, Regulus had still been convinced that they were on the same side. They were both stuck in that hellhole of a house but at least they had each other as allies there.

Until they didn’t.

This past Summer had been the roughest of Regulus’ life, largely due to the fact that only a week after returning from Hogwarts, Sirius left. He left and he didn’t come back.

Regulus hadn’t seen him at all until they were both back at Hogwarts, and even then Sirius was barely glancing in his direction and acting as though they were complete strangers. It left a deep ache in his chest.

For his part, Regulus had been avoiding contact. Just as Mother had instructed. He always did as Mother had instructed.

“You’re pathetic.” Sirius snarled before turning away completely.

A buzzing rose in Regulus’ ears as a haze of ice-cold wrath settled over him. His mind whirled, turning his brother’s words over and over again. His stomach roiled with nausea as a heavy pit settled there. A tingling sensation spread up his spine and he felt vaguely numb as his anger overwhelmed him.

In the back of his mind, he was vaguely aware of rolling his eyes and sauntering off to Charms, his ‘little sycophants’ (as Sirius had called them) in tow.

But his mind was stuck in place.

His friends were not sycophants. They were manipulative and cruel, yes, but only within reason. And they were certainly not sycophantic. Funny how when Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors support their housemates, they are called loyal, but when Slytherins and Ravenclaws do it, they’re sycophants.

And Regulus was many things but he was not pathetic. Sirius was the pathetic one – for all his fiery righteous anger and Gryffindor bravery, he was a coward. A pathetic coward. Running away whenever things got difficult.

Regulus never ran. Regulus stayed and he bit his tongue and he kept his tears silent and he moved around in the shadows unseen. He upheld his family legacy. He played his role. Of the Perfect Son. Of the Perfect Pureblood. Sirius didn’t seem to have the balls to do it but Regulus did. Regulus was stronger and braver and far from fucking pathetic.

So what if Sirius had found a new family? Regulus had chosen a family of his own – the very same wonderful people his brother had denounced as sycophants.

Fuck him.

Regulus didn’t need him. He didn’t want him. Not anymore.

What he wanted now was revenge.

Cold, sharp, Slytherin revenge that chips and chips away at Sirius so slowly he’ll never even see it coming.

Regulus remained in that hazy state of pure frozen fury for the rest of the day, mulling over his brother’s words and concocting a series of elaborate revenge plots in his mind to soothe himself. It wasn’t until the evening, however, when one of his ‘sycophants’ broached the subject.

“Please tell me we can kill him.” Barty burst out when they were all lounging in the Fifth-Year boys’ dorm after dinner.

“I’ll help you hide the body.” Dorcas agreed, nodding at Barty in approval.

“I know six different spells to dissolve the body.” Pandora added, her tone full of false cheer.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be murder; we could just maim him a bit.” Emmeline suggested, a nasty gleam in her eye even as she hung precariously off the edge of Barty’s bed.

Evan flopped back on his own bed in an undignified manner. “What I wouldn’t give for you to drop the rule.” He sighed dramatically.

The rule in question was one Regulus had given to Barty and Evan in their very First-Year at Hogwarts. And as their group expanded, Regulus had instituted the rule again to each of them.

The rule was that none of them were allowed to harm Sirius or his friends (the ones who called themselves the “Marauders” specifically) in any way.

No killing. No maiming. No hexing. No slipping him potions. No spreading rumours. No manipulation. Nothing at all.

And in return, Regulus and his friends were exempt from the majority of the Marauder’s pranks. This unspoken deal between the brothers had saved them countless times, seeing as Slytherins were the Marauders’ primary target.

Regulus’ friends hated the rule.

Regulus loved them for it.

But now…

Ice crept up his spine and clawed its way into his heart.

“I’m dropping the rule.”

There was a moment of shocked silence in the dorm before a flurry of movement erupted.

Evan bolted upright and whipped his head around. Barty’s wand clattered to the floor. Emmeline nearly fell off the bed in her surprise.

“WHAT?”

“YES!!!”

“I’m sorry. What.”

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Salazar’s. Saggy. Tits.”

Regulus took a moment to centre himself, walls slammed up as far as he could manage, even though he was sure his friends could see right past them.

“Sirius has made himself quite clear.” Regulus forced himself to say, after swallowing thickly. “I am simply…” He paused, searching for the right wording. “… returning the favour.”

“An eye for an eye.” Dorcas breathed excitedly. “I love it.”

“I have been WAITING FOR THIS!” Barty pumped his fist in the air joyfully. “I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS!”

He shot to his feet and summoned a notebook from his trunk, flipping through the pages as he began to pace the room.

“We could cut off his dick and feed it to him!”

Regulus blinked.

“We could remove all the buttons off every clothing item he has! We could gouge out his left eye!”

Regulus probably shouldn’t have been as amused as he was, but warmth began to seep back into his being as Barty continued.

“We could spread a rumour that he has a third nipple! We could take turns using the severing spell on each of his fingers!”

Okay, this definitely wasn’t supposed to be endearing. Maybe the Black Family Madness got him after all.

“We could tell the Prophet he set up an illegal gambling ring! We could send him anonymous howlers every day for the rest of the year!”

That last one was actually tempting.

“We could piss on him in his sleep!”

“Piss on him?” Evan burst out, looking at Barty rather fondly. Ah, at least Regulus wasn’t the only one oddly endeared. Although, that fond look could also be because Evan was madly and unknowingly in love with Barty who was equally oblivious to that fact.

“In his sleep?” Emmeline added, looking rightfully disgusted at the notion.

Regulus couldn’t help but think it might actually be quite funny.

“You have a prepared list of incredibly specific and largely violent revenge ideas just ready to go?” Pandora asked, half impressed, half exasperated.

Barty stopped pacing and looked her straight in the eye.

“Yes.”

Her lips raised in a reluctant smile. “Okay, then.”

Dorcas, on the other hand, was practically beaming. She put a hand dramatically in her heart. “I’ve never been prouder, Crouch.”

He grinned back at her just as manically. “I learned from the best.”

Regulus decided to cut in before they worked themselves up too much more.

“As inspiring as those suggestions are,” he drawled with a small smirk, his features tinged with a subtle gratefulness that Regulus was sure Barty caught, “I’d like to go in a different direction.”

A plan had already begun forming in his mind as the day had progressed, all he needed now was their help to pull it off.

Barty tilted his head curiously, inviting him to go on.

“I don’t want Sirius to die – that would be too quick. And public humiliation is thinking too small.” He began, looking around at the room of intrigued faces of his friends.

“What I want is to hurt him. As much as he hurt me.” Regulus said, a cacophony of painful emotion swirling in his gut. “Physical pain is too easy. I want to hit him where it hurts the most.”

“And where would that be?” Pandora asked.

Regulus forced his turmoil down and focused on the ice settling in his bones.

“What’s the most important thing in his life?”

Regulus watched as comprehension dawned on their faces.

“His friends.” Emmeline whispered, anticipation shining in her eyes.

“How awful it would be, then, if I stole them.”

His words hung in the air for a few moments.

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun.” Barty cackled as sly smirks crept onto each of their faces.

*

The plan was simple enough. It essentially boiled down to this:

Divide and conquer.

Regulus would be doing most of the work because the primary aim was to switch the Marauders’ loyalty from Sirius to himself. Meanwhile, the other Slytherins would mainly be buttering their targets up and helping to facilitate Regulus’s plans where possible.

Their unconditional support kept him warm like a hearth fire in the midst of a Winter storm.

Regulus’s first target was the weaselly one. The weak link. Peter Pettigrew.

Pettigrew may well have fit in just as well in Slytherin in another lifetime. While he was just as brash and reckless as the rest of his housemates, he liked to feel included, to be in the know. He could lie with the best of them – as evidenced by all his misdirection of the teachers when his little gang were planning a prank. He was also widely known as a gossip monger, a thousand secrets tucked up behind his squirrely eyes.

Evan was Regulus’s way in here. He had a network of informants spreading throughout most of the school and carefully cultivated over the years. It was the main source of social information for Regulus and his friends, but more relevantly, it was a way to get to Pettigrew without raising too many alarm bells.

Evan and the Gryffindor met up at irregular intervals to exchange information, and occasionally one of their respective friends tagged along. So, after a few uneventful days of careful scheming, Regulus accompanied him to the South Courtyard of the school and nonchalantly settled in with a book a few paces away from the pair.

“–Eloise won’t be too happy about that, I imagine.” Peter commented drily in response to some cheating scandal.

“Didn’t you hear?” Evan drawled with a slight smirk. “Nott cheated first.”

Pettigrew’s eyes widened excitedly. “No! Was it with that Ravenclaw guy? It was, wasn’t it?”

Evan examined his nails idly. “Christopher Clearwater, I believe.”

“I fucking knew it!” Pettigrew whispered.

“How? They certainly kept that quiet?” Evan asked casually. Regulus inwardly perked up, listening for his cue.

“Goldstein said that Smith saw them looking cosy in the library.”

“Smith, as in Aaron Smith? What was Smith doing in the library?” Evan raised an elegant eyebrow. He already knew, of course, but he was setting the stage for Regulus seamlessly.

“No clue.” Pettigrew shrugged. “Maybe Bell managed to drag him off the Quidditch pitch.”

“He’s fucking Greengrass.” Regulus cut in smoothly, feigning interest in his book as he idly flipped the page.

Pettigrew’s eyebrows shot up and his head whipped towards the other boy. “He what?”

“Smith and Greengrass are fucking. That’s why he’s suddenly so interested in the library.” Regulus slowly brought his gaze up to the Gryffindor.

“She does practically live there.” Evan mused falsely.

“There’s no way.” Pettigrew brought his hand up to bite at his nails. “She’s Sacred Twenty-Eight, there’s no way she’d be caught dead with a Muggleborn, let alone a Hufflepuff Muggleborn.”

“That’s why it’s a secret.” Regulus said, rolling his eyes. “If you don’t believe me, ask Bell, he saw them together last Thursday.”

“Last Thursday.” Pettigrew repeated, eyes widening impossibly farther. “And on Friday morning Smith came to breakfast without a bloody tie!” Regulus could practically see the cogs turning behind the boy’s eyes. “But why would Bell tell you?”

“He didn’t.” Regulus lied smoothly. “I saw them in the library on Thursday and when I turned around, Bell was also there, gaping like a fish.” In truth, he hadn’t seen shit, but he trusted Evan’s info.

“Godric.” Pettigrew swore, sitting back in his seat. The new information was visibly settling into his mind, connecting to a hundred other related strings of gossip. He glanced over at Regulus appreciatively. “Nice one, Baby Black.”

“Don’t call me that.” Regulus said on instinct, but he was fighting back a smile at how smoothly the plan was going.

*

Lupin was simultaneously much easier and much harder to get to.

As the most studious member of the Marauders, he could often be found in the library – a place Regulus frequented a considerable amount too. However, the two of them had come to a silent agreement to stay out of each other’s way there; the library was neutral ground and over the years they had come to the mutual impression that it was not a place for Sirius-related drama.

As such, it was highly unusual when Regulus casually dropped his books at Lupin’s table.

Lupin had all but claimed a large table in the East corner of the library, even laying claim to a few smaller tables immediately surrounding it for several reasons. The first was that Lupin was a regular there, and all the regulars tended to respect each other’s’ space claims. Regulus himself had snatched up a small nook in the West wing of the library, largely tucked away from view. Noone ever sat there but Regulus and his friends. Secondly, Lupin had a rather large group of friends who joined him periodically. Most often, Evans could be seen at Lupin’s table or spread out on a nearby one. The third reason was that Lupin ran a coveted study group every Saturday morning for the academically inclined. This event tended to take up the whole of Lupin’s large table and the area surrounding it. If it hadn’t been for the Sirius of it all, Regulus would have been quite tempted to snag an invitation to said study group himself.

Now though, Regulus dropped his books several seats down from Lupin, settling into a chair as he began his Arithmancy homework in silence. He studiously ignored the periodic feeling of Lupin’s eyes on him as he worked.

Regulus found himself surprised by how ridiculously nice the space was to work in. The chair was squashy and comfortable, and the desk itself was the perfect height. Light streamed through the high windows of the library without getting in Regulus’s eyes, giving the space a light and airy feeling. They were far enough away from the main seating of the library to feel secluded but the area was large enough to feel open. And while Regulus did not feel the same comfort as working in his dark little corner, he had to admit that Lupin had pretty excellent taste.

When he finished, he decided to move onto his essay for Ancient Runes, pushing himself to standing so he could fetch some more books. On his return, he took the opportunity to glance at Lupin.

Lupin, who was already staring up at him.

After a few seconds of heavy eye contact, the older boy simply raised his eyebrow at Regulus in question. Regulus could appreciate his restraint.

Returning to his new seat, he dropped the books gently on the desk before answering. “My spot is occupied.”

“By who?”

“Vance and some Ravenclaw.”

A curious glint crept into Lupin’s eyes but he visibly restrained himself from further questioning. “I see.” He said, returning to his own work.

As Regulus cracked open a new book, he forced back the smirk threatening to make itself known.

*

“How’d it go?” Emmeline asked, bouncing a little as she threw herself down onto Barty’s bed beside Dorcas. Her lips were red and her was mussed from her library escapade.

Regulus hadn’t thought that it was entirely necessary for her to actually make out with some Ravenclaw in his precious library spot but she had insisted it would “add credibility to his story”.

“He didn’t kick me out.” Regulus allowed himself a small victorious smile.

“I’m counting that as a win.” Evan grinned.

“This plan is so slow.” Barty complained as he flopped down on Evan’s bed, practically laying on top of the other boy. Without missing a beat, Evan hauled him up to rest the boy’s head more comfortably against his chest. Barty shot him a quick grin of thanks before returning to his pouting.

Regulus still couldn’t believe they were so oblivious.

“It will be worth it,” Dorcas rebutted, “when it works. We’re in this for the long con, remember.”

“The long con is boring. We need more drama.” Barty insisted, wagging a finger in the air. Rolling his eyes, Regulus chose not to dignify that with a response.

From where she was perched beside him on his bed, Pandora leaned forward. “So, phase one: establish contact. Pettigrew and Lupin are down. What’s the plan for Potter? He’ll certainly be the trickiest.”

“Definitely.” Evan hummed consideringly. “He’s the most loyal to Sirius.”

“I’m more interested in how you’re going to go from talking once to befriending them.” Emmeline jumped in.

“Pettigrew and Lupin will be fairly easy.” Dorcas dismissed with a wave of a hand.

“How? I mean Pettigrew, sure. Everyone can see from a mile off he just wants to feel included and valued – we can do that no problem. But Lupin? Isn’t he dating Sirius?” Barty questioned.

“Transferring his loyalty will be difficult but gaining his friendship is certainly achievable.” Regulus explained. “I’ll just have to be the perfect study partner.”

“And the moment he gets an invite to Lupin’s study group, we’ll know for sure we’re on the right track.” Emmeline said, catching on.

“That means we’re going to need information.” Pandora began, looking at Evan. “What he’s studying currently. What he’s interested in. What projects he’s working on.”

“Easy.” Evan nodded. “I can get that from Pettigrew. Two birds one stone, really.”

“And I can pitch in too, seeing as we’re in the same year.” Dorcas added.

“Speaking of two birds one stone. I have a crazy idea.” Barty said, sitting up suddenly, a calculating look in his eyes. Evan sat up too, looking at him cautiously.

Barty locked his eyes on Regulus, who immediately felt cautious too.

“Do you still have the hots for Potter?”

Regulus couldn’t stop his eyes from widening momentarily. He desperately attempted to school his features.

“I never had the hots for Potter.” He said glaring at Barty.

“Yes, yes. Whatever.” Barty waved a hand dismissively. It’s not exactly like Regulus’s small crush on the Gryffindor was a secret from his friends, it was just something they normally knew better than to mention for fear of Regulus actually murdering them. And it’s not like it was a real crush anyway; sure, Potter was hot, Regulus could admit that to himself, but his personality left much to be desired. It wasn’t like his heart skipped a beat every time that gorgeous prick stepped into a room. That would be ridiculous.

Still, Barty forged on unrepentantly. “What if you could get both the guy and revenge on your brother?”

There was a near visible pause in the room.

“Steal his friends and shag his best mate?” Dorcas threw out cautiously.

“It does have a sense of poetry to it.” Evan admitted, equally hesitant.

“Poetry?” Barty exclaimed. “It’s not poetry, it’s drama! This is perfect! I’m a genius and you can thank me now or later.”

Regulus felt like he was in some sort of fever dream. “I can’t just shag Potter.”

“Well, you could date him too, if you wanted. I don’t know why you would possibly want to downgrade from me to him, but I’ll support you nonetheless.” Barty returned slyly.

“No.” Regulus hedged. “I can’t just shag Potter.”

“Why not?” This time, the comment surprisingly came from Emmeline.

“Well, for one, he’s straight.” Regulus said emphatically.

His friends all scoffed and smirked at that.

Pandora shook her head at him. “No, he’s not.”

“He’s checked out one too many guys in their quidditch uniforms for that to be true.” Dorcas started.

“Definitely.” Emmeline nodded in agreement. “And his little crush on Longbottom was absolutely not just hero-worship.”

“I heard his first kiss was Lupin. And that he made out with Pettigrew at a party once.” Evan added.

“He’s definitely into girls, sure, but I can tell he likes guys too. I have a sense for these things.” Barty grinned, tapping his nose twice.

Regulus felt like he had stepped into an alternate universe. True, Barty had sniffed out Regulus’s flaming homosexuality the first out of all of their friends, but he was still under the impression that poor closeted Evan was straight as a board, so Regulus wasn’t entirely convinced of his judgement. The others on the other hand…

“You’re telling me that Potter, who has been in love with Evans since first year, isn’t straight?” Regulus said dumbfounded.

“Yes.” Dorcas responded bluntly. “Though, you’re right, Evans could be an obstacle.”

“An obstacle to what?” Regulus glared at her challengingly.

“Your seduction of Potter, obviously. Keep up, Black.” Dorcas shot back, meeting his gaze with a smirk.

“I’m not seducing Potter.” Regulus insisted.

“Why not?” Barty was grinning wildly by this point, looking far too pleased with himself. “It’s a win-win. You get Potter’s arse and Sirius’s tears!”

Regulus wasn’t proud of it, but the mention of Potter’s arse made him pause, just for a moment, as he considered the idea. It was barely a second, but the momentary slip was just enough for the rest of his friends to jump onboard.

“Okay, that settles it!” Evan announced.

“No.” Regulus tried.

“We can multitask and get you a man at the same time.” Emmeline continued.

“No.” Regulus tried again, but his resolve was already crumbling. He actually would quite like the opportunity to fuck Potter into the ground. And if Regulus’s friends thought he stood half a chance, it might just be achievable. Besides, it wasn’t like he had to date the Gryffindor to shag him.

“So,” Pandora began, reading the reluctant agreement on Regulus’s face. “How does one go about seducing a Gryffindor?”