Warm

“JAMES!” Regulus yelled frantically.

It was as if the scene happened in slow motion.

The werewolf – Remus – Moony – towered over an already injured Snape, bleeding heavily from his gut, his clothes soaked through. Moony raised an arm above his head, preparing to swipe down and end the boy’s life once and for all.

That’s when James – the stag – Prongs intervened.

The stag leapt through the air just in time to intercept Moony’s strike. Prongs collided with the werewolf at breakneck speed, sending them both tumbling off to the side and away from Snape.

It was reckless. It was brave. It drove Regulus to madness.

That’s when Regulus yelled. He couldn’t help it.

The werewolf’s attention was successfully diverted from Snape, but it’s – his full attention was now on the stag in front of him.

Moony growled menacingly and swiped at Prongs instead. The stag wasn’t quite fast or agile enough to twist out of the way in time, a large gash erupting open on Prongs’s – James’s torso.

“James!” He shouted again, more brokenly this time as he stared at the wound in devastated disbelief.

“He’ll be fine! Help me with Snape!” Peter yelled out and when did he become human again?

The blond boy was kneeling by an unconscious Snape, trying and failing to lift him up.

“James is hurt!” Regulus told him, unable to think of anything else.

“And Snape is dying!” Peter countered back angrily. “James can heal but Snape won’t if you don’t help me get him to the hospital wing!”

He was right, Regulus realised. Snape was bleeding out and could lose his life at any moment.

Still, he looked over at Moony and Prongs tussling. Every second that passed was a second more that James could get injured in.

The dog – Sirius – Padfoot – leapt onto the scene with a righteous bark, joining into the fray.

Neither the werewolf nor the stag seemed happy to see him.

They both growled at the dog – did stags even growl? It was a similar sound of displeasure, nonetheless. Even in their animal states, they both seemed to remember that they were mad at him for some reason. The werewolf turned his animosity on Padfoot, Prongs joined him easily despite the gash in his side, the fight becoming three-sided.

“Now, Regulus!” Peter screamed insistently. “I know you’re a prick but I swear to Merlin–”

Regulus didn’t let him finish. Even with the immense anxiety for James and for Remus and even for his brother swirling in the pit of his stomach, even with the cacophony of worry and sadness and anger and pain and confusion and so many other emotions it was difficult to stay upright, he rushed over to Peter and slipped his arms under Snape’s, hooking the boy’s upper body to him.

“You don’t have your wand either?” Peter asked solemnly as he moved to grab hold of Snape’s legs. Regulus shook his head in answer. “Fuck, okay, this is going to be a long journey. Lift on three. One. Two. Three!”

Together they heaved the boy up and started hurrying towards the castle, Peter moving backwards because he had less of the weight, while Regulus struggled to match his pace.

Despite all the chaos of the situation, Regulus could only think of two things the entire arduous, awful, panic-inducing way to the castle.

One: James. Merlin, he hoped he was okay. He hoped he would see tomorrow so that Regulus could apologise and beg the man to take him back.

Two: Snape was fucking heavy.

It was an inconsiderate thought to have while the boy was quite literally dying in his arms but Regulus’s brain seemed stuck on a never-ending loop of those two things.

He hoped James was okay.

Snape was heavy.

He hoped James could forgive him.

Snape was slipping in his grip.

He hoped James’s gash wasn’t too terrible.

Carrying Snape was so fucking uncomfortable.

He hoped James healed alright.

Why the fuck was Snape so heavy?

You get the picture.

Eventually, they reached the castle and for some reason it surprised Regulus when no-one was there to greet them on entrance. Just the cold, silent, stone hallways. Empty at this time of night.

He knew logically that there was no reason for anyone to be about. The professors had no way of knowing what had happened unless they had been spotted running in the hallways. Madame Pomfrey, Headmaster Dumbledore, all of them. They had no reason to suspect anything was amiss.

Still, Regulus felt like the world had shifted beneath his feet tonight, and it was bizarre to think that the shockwaves hadn’t caught anyone else. That this cataclysmic night was being spent by most in blissful ignorance.

They continued to carry Snape through the castle, out of breath and struggling more and more by the second. Regulus was tempted with every moment to give up and leave him to die.

Still, he forged onwards.

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, the door was closed and locked, so Peter banged on it and started screaming for help as loud as he could. Regulus just tried his best not to drop Snape.

The door swung open.

“What in Merlin’s name– Oh my!” Madame Pomfrey cried upon seeing them for the first time. They must have looked like a right state, hair mussed, covered in blood and sweat, eyes wild with fear and desperation.

The Mediwitch didn’t waste a second on pleasantries. She immediately levitated Snape out of their arms and guided him over to the nearest bed, relieving the boys of his weight which caused Regulus to stumble after her exhaustedly.

“What happened?” She asked tersely, even as she bustled around, collecting this potion and that salve.

“Don’t you fucking say a word.” Peter cut in with a face like thunder, glaring daggers at Regulus.

The Slytherin realised two things at once. The first was that the Veritaserum in his system must have worn out because he wasn’t feeling compelled to tell the truth anymore. Either the dose had been small enough to last only a half hour, or the stress of the situation had helped to burn it out quicker.

The second thing was far more sinister.

Regulus suddenly realised the magnitude of what his brother had done. A student had almost died – might still die – because of Sirius’s actions. Sirius had known Remus was a werewolf, had known what would happen, and had still sent Snape there anyway. He was of age. He could go to Azkaban for this. For attempted murder.

And Remus… Hecate only knew what would happen to him if this got out.

“Concussion.” Regulus said instead. “Has been unconscious for approximately twenty minutes. Severe lacerations to the abdomen and chest. Lesser lacerations to the arms and legs. Has lost at least four pints of blood and is in immediate risk of going into shock, probably organ failure too. Significant amounts of internal bleeding, particularly with the intestines and stomach.”

“Good lad.” She said absently, immediately beginning to shoot spells with urgency, before moving to forcibly administer a blood-replenishing potion to the still unconscious boy.

“We need to go back.” Regulus burst out to Peter. “I need–”

“You need to fucking stay here.” Peter spat harshly. “I’m never letting you anywhere near them again. You Blacks are a fucking curse.”

“But he was hurt!” Regulus replied desperately.

“And you will be too if you get in the middle of them. Hell, if you keep talking to me, I’m going to put you in one of these beds.” Peter shot back unrelentingly.

“I can’t just wait here when he’s–” Regulus choked up on the words, his emotions starting to catch up to him. “What if–”

“Cry me a fucking river.” Peter dismissed with a sneer. “I’m going back to help and if you really want to make yourself useful, you can go get McGonagall or something.”

Regulus’s heart sank like a stone. There was no way Peter was going to let him go. Regulus certainly wasn’t confident he could take the blond in a physical fight right now.

“Fine.” He agreed reluctantly, because at least it would give him something to do. “I’ll get–”

“Shut up!” Peter brushed past him harshly before taking off into a run. He was gone before Regulus could argue.

Regulus went to get McGonagall.

*

He wasn’t quite sure what to say to the woman without incriminating anyone, but his bloodstained appearance seemed to do the trick – it caught her attention and alerted her to the seriousness of the situation without any words. He told her that there had been an incident and that she was needed in the hospital wing. He refused to say a word else.

It didn’t take long for her to summon the Headmaster as well as Professor Slughorn upon her arrival. They each questioned him but he remained stubbornly silent, pretending to be too overwhelmed. He couldn’t say anything until he had his story straight with the others.

Still, Madame Pomfrey seemed to have realised that it had been werewolf claws that had done the damage to Snape (who was already on his way to recovering thanks to the Mediwitch). Upon telling the other adults this, none of them seemed overly surprised and it became immediately clear that they had all known of Remus’s lycanthropy already.


Regulus kept his mouth shut anyway. Just to be safe.

The teachers seemed to decide that it was too dangerous and would make things worse if they tried to get involved. It left Regulus practically vibrating with worry. How could they just sit around calmly when three students were out risking their lives fighting a werewolf? Even if that werewolf was Remus.

They then tried to get Regulus to go to bed – if he wouldn’t talk then there was no use in him hanging around. He vehemently refused on that matter, insisting that he wouldn’t leave until the others returned. He couldn’t. Not with image of James getting slashed in the side repeating itself over and over in his mind.

The night was long and restless for Regulus. He sat silently on an adjacent bed. Watching. Waiting. For the door to swing open and the Marauders to come stumbling in. He worried over each of them now that he had the time. Would Peter be injured in his exhaustion? His animagus form was so small after all. And Remus – all those scars – would he come back with more today? Then there was Sirius, who Regulus was so extraordinarily upset with. Still, he hoped he was okay.

He didn’t find out until after the sun had risen.

The door did indeed burst open, suddenly and out of nowhere. One second there was only the professors’ quiet conversation and Snape’s laboured breathing, then the next there was the frantic sounds of James and Peter dragging an unconscious Remus in, loudly calling out for Pomfrey.

All three of them looked more haggard than Regulus had ever seen them.

Peter was still covered in Snape’s blood, though there seemed to be some new stains in the mix. He looked relatively uninjured but he was caked in grime and sweat, and so tired he looked to be swaying on his feet even as he held Remus upright.

Remus was sandwiched between them, an arm being held over each of their shoulders and a leg hooked over each of their arms; it was as though he had begun the journey conscious but supported on either side, and ended up passing out somewhere along the way. He too was grimy and bloody, his clothes ripped here and there with large gashes. One on his chest. Another on his leg. A third on his upper back. One of his ankles looked nastily twisted. It made Regulus feel sick just looking.

And finally, there was James. The man looked like more of a wreck than the Slytherin had ever seen him and he longed to reach out and help. He was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood just the same way as the others. There was a massive gaping slash across the majority of his torso – starting up by his right shoulder and sweeping across to finish by his left hip. It looked huge and awful and in very real danger of being infected. It would scar no matter what happened to it now. Regulus’s throat felt like it was closing up and he struggled to breathe at the sight. The man had a couple of smaller gashes on his legs which didn’t help Regulus’s mental health and his right arm (the one not holding Remus’s weight) was hanging limply behind him at an odd angle. Regulus wanted to throw up.

And yet, James had a serious, determined expression, not looking slowed down at all by his injuries. This was his Gryffindor fire. This was the flame that kept him so eternally warm. The fierce and unyielding desire to protect the people he cared about. Though he must have been exhausted, he didn’t show any of the tiredness that Peter or the unconscious Remus were exhibiting. Instead, he looked wide awake and on full alert, ready to jump back into action on a moment’s notice. Regulus’s heart ached to soothe him.

“Merlin’s beard!” Madame Pomfrey gasped at their entrance before she quickly got herself under control. “Here, set him down in this bed. And Mr Potter I want you over here.”

James and Peter didn’t waste a second in hauling Remus over to the bed and placing him down. But James refused to get in a bed himself.

“Moony first.” He told her, stone-faced and uncompromising. “Always Moony first.”

The Mediwitch didn’t have the kind of time to be arguing with him, so instead she got to work on Remus, healing up his wounds with the kind of practiced ease that didn’t only showcase her talent as a Healer, but also that she’d treated this specific patient many times before.

Regulus, on the other hand, had plenty of time to fuss over James. He rushed forward, ignoring Peter’s glares, and hurried right up to James, his hand hovering over the gaping wound.

“Let me heal this.” He pleaded desperately. “Please let me heal you.”

“I thought I warned you–” Peter started but Regulus couldn’t let this go.

“It’s probably already infected!” He cried out, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. “Please let me help!”

James stared at him searchingly for a moment before he gave a tight nod, eyes not hesitating to return to Remus.

It was difficult without a wand but Regulus immediately got to work cleaning the wound; it was so incredibly deep and grave and definitely infected that Regulus didn’t even manage to finish. With the exhaustion of the night weighing on him and making everything more difficult, he was practically swaying on his feet from magical exertion but he only managed to get halfway.

It didn’t take much for Madame Pomfrey to push him out of the way and start treating James herself. Regulus watched with rapt attention as she healed him.

The slash was treated first, cleaned and closed up, leaving a fresh scar that imprinted itself onto Regulus’s mind forever. His arm was broken, apparently. A nasty break, not even a clean one. His shoulder dislocated on the same arm. And the gashes on his legs were deeper than they initially looked. It was terrifying and panic-inducing but Regulus watched from the side-lines as she healed him up. The Mediwitch tried to trick him into drinking a dreamless sleep potion but he caught on right away and refused to take it, pointing her in Peter’s direction instead to heal up his much smaller scrapes and bruises.

Regulus expected relief to crash in then, vast and all-consuming, now that the three of them were here and healed and clearly going to be okay, but the pain in Regulus’s chest was not eased in the slightest. He worried where Sirius was. Was he okay too? Would James and the others ever forgive either of them? There were still too many things up in the air for Regulus to relax.

He did get a few answers soon enough when the professors descended upon the boys.

“What happened?” Professor McGonagall asked without preamble, her voice stern but gentle, betraying her clear fondness and concern for the boys in front of her.

“Yes, Mr Black would not say anything.” Professor Slughorn prompted further, his beady eyes flicking between them all nervously.

Neither James nor Peter spoke immediately which must have been a telling sign to all. Instead, they immediately locked eyes with each other and began silently communicating.

“Boys.” McGonagall reprimanded worriedly. “This is not the occasion for spinning tales. We need the truth.”

“The truth is indeed a guiding light to us all.” Dumbledore waffled, turning his falsely kind, grandfatherly eyes on them. “We must know it, if we are to see the way forward.”

The two boys didn’t pay them any mind, just continued staring at each other intently. An eyebrow raised here, a lip quirked there, a jaw clenched here, a flick of the eyes there. There was a long pause as the minutes stretched on and none of the boys said a word.

Eventually, the two seemed to come to an agreement, James seeming to come out looking more satisfied than his friend. Still, Peter was the one to speak at last.

“It was all a misunderstanding.” He burst out, upset colouring his tone and painting it with credibility. “It all just got out of hand so fast.”

“Go on.” McGonagall encouraged, still treading that fine line between firm and gentle. “Tell us everything.”

“We’ve known about Remus for some time now.” He explained with his voice wobbling, looking as though he was holding back tears and distracting well from James who was studiously looking away, trying not to give off any tells. “But we didn’t care – he’s our friend! We know he’d never hurt anyone on purpose! So, we promised him we’d keep it a secret.”

The teachers nodded along, seemingly buying the story, their attention focused on Peter who was lying like an absolute professional. Well, Regulus supposed this part at least had been rooted in truth, but Peter had masterfully twisted his true feelings for his friend into something that would appeal to the teachers. It was well done and Regulus probably only spotted it because he knew the boy well and he knew the full story or thereabouts.

“It was an accident, I swear!” He opened the next part and Regulus decided to add along to the believability, adopting a pained expression that he knew would do wonders in convincing Slughorn.

“Snape overheard Sirius talking – at least we think that’s what happened – but I don’t want him to get in trouble.” Peter pleaded, and that must have been the part they disagreed on. The blond must have wanted to throw him under the bus but James had refused. “He didn’t intend for this to happen at all!” Peter lied through his teeth. And quite convincingly.

“Snape must have heard something about the secret entrance at the Whomping Willow – the one Remus told us he uses.” That at least was true. Regulus wondered how they were going to get Snape to corroborate the story. He mentally started planning his threats because if this was the story James wanted, then this was the story he was going to get.

“And he went to check it out, but–” Peter cut himself off dramatically, looking positively distraught. The Professors’ faces twisted in sympathy. “Moony – Remus was there tonight, and he saw Snape as a threat and–” His chest started heaving and he brought a hand to his mouth as if the words were getting stuck in his throat.

“It was awful!” He burst out after pretending to collect himself. “By the time we realised what was happening, Snape was already hurt, and Moony was acting defensive and James just– he rushed in to help – that’s how he got so hurt!”

The teacher’s eyes all swayed over to James who had a hand over his mouth and his eyes downcast as if it hurt to hear this all being retold. It hid his expression well.

“Sirius rushed in to help too…” Peter dangled the carrot of their missing member to draw the teachers’ attention back on him. It worked like a charm. “…while Regulus and I got Snape back to the castle – neither of us had our wands on us and we almost didn’t make it in time. Is he okay?” He said miserably and all in a rush.

Madame Pomfrey softened. “Mr Snape will make a full recovery.” She assured him. “You did well in acting as fast as you did.”

Peter sniffled pitifully. “After we got him here, Regulus went to get you all and I went back to help. By the time I got back, Sirius was already gone – I think he got too scared and ran off, but I don’t think he’s injured.” At least Peter got a small dig in. “James managed to get Moony to calm down a bit and from then on it was pretty much a wait until dawn… because, because we couldn’t just leave Moony when he looked so wretched.” He looked up at the teachers with young, wide eyes. “He’ll feel so guilty when he wakes up but none of this is his fault! He didn’t want this to happen! None of us did!”

“Of course not.” McGonagall said, looking thoroughly convinced. “This was clearly an accident.”

“I must ask why you didn’t just say so in the first place, my boy.” Slughorn asked Regulus now and he really had to sell this.

He started to shake slightly and let the tears well in his eyes, blinking as though he was trying to hold it all back. “It was just so awful!” He told them, echoing Peter’s earlier words. “I couldn’t– I was so–” He choked on his words. “And I didn’t, I didn’t know if they were all okay!” His voice cracked on the last word with very real emotion. “I couldn’t–”

He shot an obvious glance at Remus, lying still and pale in the bed beside them, and then at each of the others in turn, letting the teachers fill in the blanks of his fearful facade themselves. They clearly judged him as traumatised by the night’s events and gave him sympathetic looks.

“I believe that the night has been fraught enough.” Dumbledore said then. “We can discuss this more after you all have gotten some proper rest. I will look for the other Mr Black but for now, I think that healing should be the priority.”

“Quite right.” Pomfrey agreed approvingly. “They’re all exhausted to the bone. A good sleep will do them well.”

She ushered them each to a bed as the teachers dispersed. Regulus tried to talk to James but the man just shook his head at him.

“I need time.” He told Regulus, barely audible at all and avoiding eye contact. “I need to think.”

Then he slipped into a bed right alongside Peter, much to Madame Pomfrey’s disapproval, and turned his back on Regulus, burying his face in Peter’s neck.

*

After staying up all night, Regulus slept through half of the day and the others must have too. When the Slytherin came to, he immediately noticed Peter and James standing over an awake Snape’s bed.

“You keep your mouth shut and we won’t say a thing about you stealing school supplies to spike a student’s drink.” James seemed to be recapping, his tone hard and eyebrow raised.

“Do we have a deal?” Peter said harshly and Snape glared at them both but he nodded.

“Good. They’ll be here any minute.”

They turned out to be Dumbledore, McGonagall, Slughorn, Pomfrey and a haggard, tired-looking Sirius. A second round of interrogations happened, more overt this time, now that some time had passed. Peter and James stuck stubbornly to their story causing a miserable Sirius to nod along, agreeing with everything they said, and a reluctant Snape to do the same. For his part, Regulus stuck to the story too. Remus seemed to be the only one who wasn’t questioned, though, to be fair he wouldn’t know anything.

James and Peter slipped behind Remus’s closed curtains at one point, after getting permission to break the news to him. Regulus wondered how he would react – Peter would most certainly tell him everything that had happened last night – from the potion, to the revenge plan, to Snape, to Regulus, to Sirius. He would surely be devastated. Regulus wasn’t privy to his reaction but he did hear crying and harsh whispers which he tried his best to block out.

After getting everyone’s story, the adults seemed convinced of its validity. (Except perhaps Dumbledore but he seemed happy to go along with it anyway.) The rest of the day was spent in a flurry of meetings.

It was decided that the whole thing should be kept as quiet as possible and the boys were sworn to secrecy on Remus’s behalf. They each agreed easily, other than the bed-bound Snape whose agreement seemed rather reluctant.

Effie and Monty were called to the school, as well as Remus’s Mother, Hope Lupin, and Snape’s dour-looking Mother. The situation was delicately and discretely explained to them as a fight between the boys, and without Remus’s lycanthropy being revealed (though Regulus was starting to suspect that the Potters already knew). Effie and Monty fussed and hugged them all (minus Snape) but they seemed to sense the tension in the group. None of the boys explained despite their prodding, not even a sullen James. Regulus feared the moment it finally came out – he would surely be kicked out when the Potters knew what he’d done, particularly to their only son.

Punishments were also doled out – all of them except Remus were given detention for being out of bounds after hours, though James, Peter and Regulus were praised for their ‘quick and heroic action’. James was even awarded points for his direct intervention and bravery.

Sirius, as the biggest scapegoat they had, was stripped of his position on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and banned from playing, which seemed to appease Mrs Snape and devastate the boy further.

The harshest, and seemingly unnecessary, punishment (at least to Regulus) was Remus’s. The poor boy was stripped of his Prefect rank, which also helped in satisfying Mrs Snape, but Remus just sank further into himself at the news. To rub salt in the wound, James was given his Prefect badge soon after. He tried to decline but Remus numbly told him to accept.

Regulus didn’t get a chance to speak to any of them privately and was eventually ushered off to his own dorm. Barty and Evan were there, beside themselves with worry as to where he’d been for so long and his appearance upon arriving, but when they asked Regulus what happened he just fell into bed and cried. It wasn’t until the next morning that he haltingly explained a heavily edited version of events. That Sirius had made a trade with Snape and drugged Regulus with Veritaserum. That the Marauders all knew about the plan now. That a prank had gone wrong and Snape, Remus and James ended up hurt.

He had exams after that.

It was god-awful. The whole day. The whole week. The whole exam period.

He numbly went to all his tests. Tried his best to focus and not waste all of his hard work but he knew he wasn’t at his best.

He continued trying to talk to James but to no avail.

His friends asked him what was wrong and he emotionlessly repeated what he had told Barty and Evan. They were all at a loss as to what to do too.

The Gryffindor-ish horde came to him too, brimming with questions.

“What on earth happened?” Evans asked, looking frantic and worried out of her mind. “The boys have all shut down!”

“Closed ranks, more like.” Mary said, equally anxious. “They won’t breathe a word to anyone but each other.”

“They’ve even shut Sirius out.” Marlene added. “And he won’t speak either.”

Regulus couldn’t bring himself to tell them. His friends didn’t answer in solidarity, not even when Marlene pleaded with Dorcas.

The girls were right, though – they had closed ranks. James, Peter and Remus moved through the school in a tight huddle, not leaving each other’s sides except for exams. They refused to speak to anyone. They sat by themselves. They clamped down on each other and wouldn’t let anyone else in. They all looked wretched and miserable and numb but they didn’t let up on their defences, even for a second.

It was unnerving to see.

And not just for Regulus or their friends. The change in dynamic seemed to ripple through the school in uneasy waves. People whispered as they turned their heads at the normally happy-go-lucky group in clear shut down. Around this time of year, the Marauders tended to be a big feature, playing harmless little pranks to lighten the heaviness that exams brought and generally lifting spirits and moods with their joviality.

This year, the Marauders looked like ghosts of themselves.

Sirius had indeed been shut out too. He sat miserably on his own, refusing to speak to anyone. It wasn’t uncommon to see tears starting to dry on his face. Regulus thought it would give him satisfaction to see but all he felt was empathy.

Because the Marauders had shut him out too.

Still, he didn’t give up. He tried his best to get close, even with Peter and Remus blocking his way protectively at every turn. They seemed to have decided that Regulus wasn’t allowed near James, even though the Slytherin caught him sending longing glances his way on multiple occasions. This just spurred him to try harder.

Eventually, he made it right up to them at the Gryffindor table one day without getting hexed for his trouble.

“James.” He breathed when he got there.

James’s head snapped up, with an expression somewhere between hope and longing on his face. “Hi.”

“No.” Peter cut in, standing up from his seat and physically pushing Regulus back. “I told you to stay the fuck away.”

“Peter–” James tried to say but Remus wasn’t having it either.

“No. This is for your own good, James.” He said firmly even despite how pale he looked himself. “If you won’t grow a backbone, we’ll do it for you.”

“Leave.” Peter finished, glaring at Regulus.

“Please.” Regulus begged desperately. “I’m so sorry. James, I never meant–”

“Save it.” Peter interrupted. “Jamie, don’t believe a word he says.”

“No, I really mean it. I’m not lying–”

“This time.” Remus bit out venomously. “But all those months. You were lying to him – to us – through all of that. Peter’s right, piss off.”

“It makes me sick to think I encouraged you.” Peter shook his head, eyes burning with barely restrained rage. “How Em can stand you, I’ll never know.”

“We didn’t want to hurt either of you.” Regulus said unthinkingly. “We–”

Peter froze. “We?” He reared up. “WE?” He stepped right into Regulus’s space. “Did she know? DID EM FUCKING KNOW? MERLIN, DID SHE HELP YOU?”

Regulus couldn’t help his eyes widening. “Of course not–” He tried to lie but Peter was on a rampage.

“I don’t believe a word you say!” He yelled, stalking off in the direction of the Slytherin table, the hall falling silent upon his screams. Regulus could only watch in horror as he rounded on Emmeline. “Did you know about this?” He shouted harshly, waving vaguely in their direction. “DID YOU?”

Emmeline faked confusion. “About what?”

But Peter knew her too well. He took a stumbling step back, looking as though she had just slapped him, as though she had forcibly ejected the air from his lungs. “You did.” He said numbly. “And you helped too, didn’t you?”

Panic was settling into the girl’s features, though she did her best to pretend otherwise. “Pete, let’s just talk about this–”

“Was any of it real?” He asked, his voice cracking.

“Peter–”

“I don’t believe you.” He said, looking devastated by this fact. “I don’t believe anything you’re going to say to me.” He took another step back. “Fuck, I’m done. I’m done with you! I’m done with all of you! Fuck it all! Merlin’s fucking tits!” He threw his arms up emotionally and turned tail, running out of the hall.

James and Remus were on their feet in a second, dashing after him without another word.

“James!” Regulus called even though he knew it was useless.

Emmeline stopped speaking to him too after that. He didn’t blame her.

*

It was only a matter of time from there, before Peter would spill some details to the others. Only the next day, Marlene came storming over to the Slytherin table.

“Did you know?” Marlene asked, the fire in her expression a volcano which could erupt at any moment. “Were you fucking part of it?”

Dorcas slipped an amused facade on. “Reg had a crush and we figured it was the only way to get him to pursue it. It’s not a big deal.”

It was a well-executed lie but she had her head tilted to the right slightly. It was her tell for when she was bluffing. Marlene knew her well enough to spot it too.

Venom flooded the blonde’s features. “Don’t you dare lie to me!”

“I’m not–”

“YES, YOU ARE!” She screamed, uncaring of the scene she was making. “YOU MAKE ME SICK! ALL OF YOU!”

“Come on now, Marley.” Dorcas tried desperately. “It worked out in the end – they got together. What does it matter how things started?”

But Marlene was shaking her head in disgust. “We’re over! I can’t believe you think this is okay!”

“You don’t understand–”

“No, you don’t understand!” The Gryffindor roared, jabbing a finger at her. “I’ve known James since we were three! We ate worms and played in the mud together! I’ve seen that boy shit his pants and lose his teeth and I was there the first time he got on a bloody broom! That is my brother!” She yelled, her voice cracking on the last word. “And you used him! In some sick revenge plan that you knew would hurt him in the end!” Her eyes started to get watery and Regulus felt like he couldn’t breathe. “You used him like a pawn in your fucked up game but he is not collateral damage! He’s a fucking person! He’s my Jamie! My brother! Sunshine fucking incarnate and the best person I’ve ever known!”

She took a step back then, turning her fiery gaze right on Regulus as her volume turned dangerously low. “So you’re going to stay the fuck away from him. Do you hear me?”

Regulus opened his mouth to protest, to ask just to speak to him. But the girl didn’t let him get a word in.

“No. You stay away. You don’t get to talk to him. Never again. Merlin, if you even look in his direction again, I’m going to fucking murder you.” If looks could kill, he would already be dead.

“I know that the second you bat your beady little eyes at him, he’ll take you back, so you’re going to stay away.” She told him, her voice like stone. “It’s for his own good. Because we both know he’s too good for you. And he doesn’t deserve an ounce of this shit.”

Salazar, she was right. Well, James probably wouldn’t take him back but she was right about him being too good for Regulus. And he definitely didn’t deserve any of this.

“Stay away.” She finished firmly.

“Marl–”

“You too.” The Gryffindor glared at Dorcas. “Stay the fuck away from me.”

With that she left, leaving Regulus feeling number than ever.