Chapter 24
Professor Slughorn walked in just as the Marauders were taking their seats at the back of the Potions classroom. The class was divided; Gryffindors stuck to one side of the classroom and Slytherins to the other, with a few Hufflepuffs sprinkled in on either side. Lily Evans was the only Gryffindor on the wrong side of the room, sitting next to her was Severus Snape.
She was still mad at them after the prank they pulled in the Great Hall. She refused to talk to them and openly glared whenever they looked her way. The other boys didn’t care much, it seemed like she was always mad at them for some reason or other, but Remus missed his friend. She was his only reprieve from the chaos that was Sirius, James, and Peter.
Remus had a plan, though. He had switched rounds with another prefect, so on Saturday night, he and Lily would be walking the halls together. He even made sure Lily wouldn’t find out until it would be too late for her to switch with anyone else. He couldn’t miss his chance to make things right.
Slughorn moved between the dividing aisle in the room and up to the chalkboard where he wrote in large letters with a squeaking piece of chalk. Amortentia, the board read. There were hushed murmurs coming from every corner of the room.
“Now class, who can tell me anything about this potion?” Slughorn prompted.
Lily was the only one to raise her hand, though Remus would bet that everyone in the class already knew what it was. He had grown up in the muggle world, and even he knew what it was.
“Ah, Miss Evans, go on then.”
“It’s a love potion,” Lily answered.
“Very good,” Slughorn nodded. He turned back to the chalkboard to write something else, but Lily continued.
“It is the most powerful love potion in existence and can cause obsessive infatuation in whoever drinks it.”
“Yes. Yes, indeed.”
“Are we going to brew the potion ourselves, Professor?” Lily asked.
“Oh heavens, no,” Slughorn said. “It’s much too dangerous. However, you will be writing 12 inches of parchment on the properties of Amortentia due next week, and there will be a question or two about it on your OWLs.”
The class groaned, though Slughorn just ignored them. “I would like you all to be familiar with the color and consistency of the potion.” He paused. “I would also like you to take special note of the aroma,” he added.
“But Sir,” Lily said. “Doesn’t it smell different to everyone?”
“That it does.” Slughorn smiled in a way that made Remus wonder if the timing was intentional. Most of the class had already turned 15 or would be very soon. There were rumors every year. Someone would smell the potion in class and it would lead to them discovering their soulmate. He had heard that was how Frank and Alice got together but he wasn’t sure if that was true.
Remus wondered what his would smell like. Sirius, of course, but it wasn’t just romantic love, right? It could be anything. Platonic love, familial love, you name it. For some reason, his palms were sweaty, and he wiped them on his trousers while James and Sirius talked with their heads together at the desk in front of him.
“Now everyone, I want you to form a line right here,” Slughorn instructed, and the class pushed up from their seats, stool legs scraping on the floor, and wrapped around the perimeter of the room. One by one, the class approached the cauldron, stirring the pearlescent liquid under the watchful eye of Professor Slughorn as he wafted the aroma into their nostrils.
“Smells like lavender and treacle tart.”
“Smells like laundry soap and mint.”
Marlene was next in line. She approached confidently and took a deep breath. “Wow, it smells just like butterbeer. I feel like I’ve just apparated to the Three Broomsticks.”
“Shove over, Marls, it’s my turn,” Mary said, pushing her friend away from the potion. Mary sighed, “Smells like home.”
Marlene snorted. “That’s real descriptive, Mare.”
“Well, it does,” she said and went back to their shared desk.
Lily went after them and Remus tried to listen to what she would say, but even with his werewolf hearing, her voice was too soft as she whispered the notes to Professor Slughorn. Remus didn’t miss the curious look he gave his favorite pupil, however. “Interesting,” the professor mumbled to himself as the next person in line moved to take her place.
The Marauders were at the back of the line. Peter was the first of them to approach the cauldron. He leaned in. “Smells like cinnamon and…” he leaned in closer and Slughorn reached out to prevent him from falling in. “….and something else,” Peter added thoughtfully. “Burnt toast!”
“Alright, very good, Mr. Pettigrew.”
James was next. “Mum’s samosas,” he said. He closed his eyes and looked as if he was trying to savor the moment. When he opened his eyes again, he looked surprised. “Oh, it’s kind of changing.” Slughorn nodded, encouraging him to continue. “Smells fresh, like…eucalyptus and…the Black Lake,” he finished, unsure of himself.
“I think Prongs is in love with the giant squid,” Sirius whispered to Remus, causing a surprised laugh to escape his lips.
“Mr. Lupin, why don’t you give it a try,” Slughorn intervened as James stuck his tongue out at both of them and went back to his seat.
“Alright.” He focused on stirring the potion for a moment, but the smell was inescapable. He smelled the dorm, the fireplace in the common room, Mrs. Potter's cooking, a faint trace of vanilla body lotion. The smells all mixed together to create something indescribable, though it quickly faded, and something else was left in its wake. It was overpowering.
And it was all Sirius. It was the smell of musk and sweat that clung to his skin after quidditch practice, his breath on the mornings they woke up in the same bed, his hair when it was freshly washed and conditioned, the product he put in it to make it look the way it did.
“What does it smell like, Mr. Lupin?” Slughorn prompted.
“Chocolate,” he said quickly. It was one of the first things he had smelled when he approached the cauldron. It was safe. Slughorn waved his hand for him to continue. He tried to pick out something else, something that wasn’t related to Sirius. He very well couldn’t say it smells like the bloke standing right behind me, could he? He opted for something innocuous. Anything that would satisfy Sluggy enough that he could go back to his seat already. “And something that smells like firewood, but sweeter?”
“Sandalwood?” Sirius offered from behind him.
Remus nodded. “Yeah, sandalwood,” he confirmed. Wait, how did he know that? James snorted somewhere in the room, though Remus wasn’t paying any attention to him. He looked back at Sirius who was now sporting an amused smirk on his face. Then it hit him. Every time Sirius grabbed him for a hug, every time he stood too close, every time he brushed his hair from his neck. It was the scent of his cologne, the same one that he had had since they started school. He guessed he had stopped noticing it after a while and, mixed in with all the other smells that were so blatantly Sirius, he didn’t think to attribute it to him.
But Remus had seen the vial of it in their shared bathroom. It said santal on the label, not sandalwood. How was he supposed to know they were the same thing? Remus didn’t say anything, just turned and walked back to his seat as the blood crept up to his hairline. He could hear James snickering and he was glad the rest of the class was too busy chatting about their own experiences smelling the love brew to question it.
He chanced a look at the front of the classroom, where Sirius was the last one standing in front of the potion. He was leaning in close but his eyes were already on Remus. Sirius smirked again as they made contact. “Tobacco and marijuana,” he said loud enough for the whole class to hear. "Is this stuff making anyone else hard, or just me?"
“Mr. Black,” Professor Slughorn sputtered. “There is no need to use such foul language in my classroom. Two days of detention and 5 points from Gryffindor.” One-half of the class groaned, and Sirius sauntered back to his seat next to James, who flicked the shell of his ear.
“Way to go, Padfoot, we’ll never win the House Cup at this rate.”
Sirius ducked out of the way and shot a glance back at Remus. Worth it, he mouthed, and Remus buried his head in his arms that were propped on the desk.
…
Saturday was the first game of the season. Actually, that wasn’t true since Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had already played against each other, but it was the first game that mattered to Sirius. It was an important game for them. They were playing against Slytherin, so they had to make sure they put those snakes in their place. Especially after that disastrous game at the end of last year that landed Slytherin the cup. James shook him awake at the ass crack of dawn and the two of them got dressed in silence so they wouldn’t wake up Remus and Peter. They brushed their teeth together, taking turns spitting into the sink, then they each donned their jumpers and robes and trudged down the stairs.
“I’m surprised I didn’t find you in Moony’s bed, mate,” James teased after he closed the door behind them, half of the marauders still sound asleep behind it.
“Not so loud,” Sirius hissed, poking him hard. “And I’ll have you know that I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, no idea my ass,” James shook his head. “I’ve heard you sneak into his bed.”
“Only when I have nightmares,” he said, purposely ignoring the concerned look James shot him. “And besides, I started doing that way before we got our soul marks, so don’t make it weird. I would crawl into your bed too, if you didn’t snore so loud.”
“I don’t snore,” James argued.
“Trust me, you snore.”
“Fine, that’s not my point, though.”
“What is your point, then?”
“My point is that you two already act like a couple, why not make a move already?”
“I told you, Prongs—”
“I know, I know, you’re waiting. But Padfoot,” now James was gripping his shoulders like his life depended on it. “He smelled your cologne in the Amortentia!” Sirius couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face. James wasn’t done, though. “And you’re literally wearing his jumper, right now.”
“I thought it was mine,” Sirius said, but James obviously didn’t believe him.
It actually was his though— or it was the one Remus had given him before they left school last term, at least. He wasn’t sure if Remus wanted it back, so Sirius had taken to leaving it on his bed whenever his smell began to fade from it, though it always ended up back on Sirius’ bed by the end of the day, smelling faintly of cigarettes and Remus.
“Just leave it, Prongs, we’ll figure it out when the time is right. On our own.” What he left unsaid was all the times they had come so close to doing something— to taking their relationship further— all of the almost kisses, the almost hand holding. He kept it to himself because if he told James, then he would have to tell him how he had chickened out every time. Remus made him nervous in a way he had never felt before, not even before a big game.
“I would be such a good wingman, and you know it.”
“He’s already mine,” Sirius reminded him.
“Right, lucky bastards.” James had a smile on his face, and in no way did his words sound bitter, but Sirius could imagine how he must feel. It must be hard to share a room with two blokes with matching soul marks when you were no closer to finding your own, especially when those blokes were skirting around each other like they were.
“Hey, we’ll find your—“Sirius started to say but stopped midsentence. They were on the pitch now, walking up to the locker rooms. Most of their teammates were there already, waiting outside the locked doors until Madame Hooch came by with the key to let them in. The Slytherin team was there too, strangely enough, since the Gryffindors had booked the pitch for a last-minute practice before the game started. Though they shouldn’t be surprised that they would do something dirty like that before the game. The two captains squared off, staring into each other’s sneering faces and daring the other to back down.
That wasn’t what made Sirius stop, though. Regulus stood amongst the crowd of green and black, his broom clutched awkwardly in his hands. He was looking down at his shoes, shiny and black, and pointedly ignoring Sirius’ gaze.
“Step down, Captains,” Madame Hooch yelled as she jogged over. “You lot can share the pitch. Lions take the North-East goals and snakes take the other.”
“But we reserved the pitch,” Heather Johnson, the Gryffindor captain complained.
“I didn’t see your name on the schedule,” the Slytherin captain countered with a devilish smirk until Johnson lunged forward and gripped the front of his shirt in her fists. He gulped. Her face was only an inch from his as she stared him down, until Marlene pulled her away by the back of her robes.
“Easy tiger, you're going to make us have to forfeit,” Marlene chided.
Madame Hooch pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s too early for this mess,” she grumbled. Then, with authority in her voice, “Share the field or the game is canceled.” The two teams grumbled, but agreed, nonetheless, and each team filed into the respective locker rooms.
James had to nudge Sirius forward when he didn’t move, but it wasn’t until Regulus disappeared into the Slytherin locker room that Sirius budged. “James,” he whispered. He sounded like his world was falling around him.
“I know, mate.”
“Fuck, I didn’t know he made the team.” Sirius brought his fist to his mouth and chewed on the end of his fingernail. “I knew— he told me he was going to try out, but I never asked. I should have asked, Prongs.”
“It’s okay, Pads. We’ll find him after the game, alright? We can find him on the map.” James rubbed his hand across his back, right between his shoulder blades in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Sirius looked hesitant, but a moment later he nodded and ducked into the locker room to change into his game day kit.
Sirius kept his eye on his little brother throughout the pre-game practice, and even as the stands began to fill up with students and staff, and even as the whistle blew, and the game began. He was the Slytherin Seeker now, and Sirius realized, regretfully, that he must be a damn good flyer if he was given the position in his first year on the team. There was so much about his brother that he didn’t know. Sirius only looked away from him once, just long enough to wave at Remus and Peter when they plopped down in the first row of bleachers to watch him and James play. Even as he played, he had one eye on the bludgers that rocketed around the pitch and one eye on Regulus.
“10 POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR,” the voice of the announcer boomed around them as Frank scored a point for their team. The crowds cheered and booed. Then one of the Slytherin chasers scored and Sirius did his best to tune out everything else around him.
Gideon called his name, and he turned around in time to smack a bludger head-on with his club right before it hit him. “Nice one, Black.” Sirius nodded to the redhead and searched the sky for his brother once again.
His eyes scanned the pitch, but he couldn’t find him. The bludger he had hit had found its way back to him and he hit it again, nearly knocking a Slytherin off his broom. The crowd erupted and Sirius turned toward the goal in time to see James had scored a goal and was now doing a victory loop on his broom.
Sirius felt a drop of rain land on his hand that gripped his broom in front of him. He hadn’t noticed the gray clouds before and figured they must have gathered during their shared practice that morning. He looked up to the sky and a stray droplet landed near his eye. He blinked it away and as he opened his eyes once again he caught a glimpse of pale skin and black hair blur past him.
Regulus was neck and neck with Johnson as they trailed after the golden snitch high up in the sky. They were crouched low on their brooms, holding on with one hand as their other stretched out in front of them, reaching. Heather pulled forward and Sirius cursed before he had too much time to think about why he was rooting for the rival team.
“Oh, shit,” he heard James yell as he abandoned the quaffle and zoomed past Sirius, towards the two seekers. Then Sirius noticed the bludger. It was on path to make direct impact with the two.
A second later, Sirius was jolting into action. He flew so fast that the wind pulled the skin on his face backward and made his hair whip out behind him. He passed James. His beater’s club fell from his hands, falling through the air, but Sirius didn’t go back for it. He held onto his broom with both hands, getting lower and lower as he urged himself to fly faster.
He collided with Johnson. “What the hell, Black?” She yelled but pulled up sharp to break when she saw the bludger.
Sirius pushed his brother out of the way. Regulus spun, his broom out of control, until he caught himself a few meters away. Their eyes met; Regulus’ were wide with panic. “Siri—”
He heard the crack. The force of the bludger knocked the wind out of him as it flew into his ribs. He was falling. He closed his eyes.
When Sirius opened his eyes, he had one arm slung around James and another slung around Remus as they carried him into the castle. “What happened?” he asked. They seemed to be surprised he said anything.
“You blacked out there for a minute,” James said finally. Sirius just hummed, then groaned when he realized how much it hurt just to breathe.
“Alright there, Pads?” Remus asked gently. Sirius wondered why he was there, carrying him to the infirmary when he had been all the way up in the stands.
Sirius ignored the question. “Who won?” he asked instead.
“Erm, Heather caught the snitch,” James mumbled. “So, I guess we did.”
“Oh.” Neither of them questioned why he sounded so disappointed. None of them said anything else until they were in front of the hospital doors.
Madame Pomfrey must have been expecting them because she was ready for them when they came in. McGonagall must have sent her a message from the stands. Her voice was calm and sure when she instructed the boys to set Sirius down on one of the closest cots, then used her wand to vanish his jersey and undershirt.
Her glowing hands hovered an inch over his chest as she scanned his body. They all recognized it as something she would do to Remus after the full moon; probably looking for broken bones. “I’ve told Albus time and time again, quidditch is just too—” She paused when her hands scanned over his soul mark. A flint of recognition sparked in her eyes, though she didn’t act on it. Remus and James wouldn’t have even noticed if they didn’t already know. “Dangerous,” she finished.
“Merlin, Remus, how did you get down the stands so fast?” They all looked over to the door as it burst open and Peter walked in. He was breathing heavily.
Pomfrey tutted. “Pettigrew, Potter, why don’t you two wait in the hall?” James nodded and started to unwind Sirius’ arm from around his shoulder.
“Why doesn’t Remus have to wait outside?” Peter asked as James helped Sirius lean into Remus’ side so he wouldn’t fall back and hurt himself even more.
Pomfrey tutted, ignoring Peter as James pulled him into the hall. “Just what I thought, two broken ribs. Here, drink this,” they heard as the doors closed behind them.
James sat down just outside the infirmary doors with a huff and geared up to wait for Pomfrey to finish healing Sirius. He patted the space next to him for Peter to sit down but he did not.
“Let’s go to the kitchens while we wait,” Peter suggested. “It’s close to lunchtime.”
James shook his head. “I’m not going to be able to eat right now,” he said, the leftover adrenaline from the game was starting to make him feel antsy.
“Well, I’m hungry, so—” Peter trailed off.
James waved him off. “Go on ahead, then.”
“I’ll bring something back for you.” He was gone before James had a chance to tell him not to bother.
The silence stretched on once Petter had left. Why was it taking Pomfrey so long? Surely, she was a pro at mending broken ribs by now. James took off his riding gloves— he was still dressed in his quidditch kit— and rubbed the leather between his fingers as he waited and tried to keep his mind from wandering back to the quidditch game, though he wasn’t successful. The entire match was flashing before his eyes, every play, every goal, until that moment when his breath caught, and his heart stopped as Sirius flew in front of the rogue bludger and almost fell into the crowd.
He was startled, some time later, by a tap on his shoulder. He hadn’t even noticed the sound of the footsteps approaching him, but he knew they must have been deafening in the silence of the hospital wing. He lifted his head. “Hey,” he said, his voice came out hoarsely. “Here to see your brother?”
Regulus nodded.
“He’s alright, a few broken ribs, nothing too serious.”
Regulus looked relieved.
“Go on, I’m sure he would love to see you.”
Regulus didn’t look so sure, but he did anyway. He was about to push open the large double doors that led into Pomfrey’s infirmary when James stopped him. “Hey, you didn’t tell me you made the team. You were really good.”
Regulus shrugged, as if to say it was not a big deal, but a bashful look overtook him, and he looked down at his shoes to hide the blush that crept up his neck.
It made James smile. “Hey,” he said again. “I have a big Astronomy assignment due next week and I have no idea what I’m doing. Maybe you can help me again?”
Regulus nodded.
“Alright, thanks. Tonight? Does that work for you?”
Regulus nodded again.
“See you tonight then,” James said, and Regulus pushed into the room and shut the doors behind him.
A moment later, Remus walked out into the corridor. “Alright?” James asked.
“He’ll be okay,” Remus assured him. “Let’s give them a bit of space, yeah?”
“Sure,” James said and followed Remus towards the first staircase that would lead them up to Gryffindor Tower. They took the stairs slowly, the adrenaline was finally draining from his body, and nearly missed their connecting flight when it decided to change directions.
“Where’s Pete?” Remus asked suddenly, almost like he just realized they were missing someone—an afterthought.
“Oh, shit,” James cursed, turned on his heels, and hauled to the kitchens to pick up Peter before he went back to the infirmary looking for them.
…
Regulus snuck out of the dorm as soon as the lights were out and bedcurtains had been shut for the night. His bed was the closest to the bathroom, so he had to walk by all seven beds that lay between him and the door. Good thing he was good at being quiet.
He really only had to sneak past Barty and Evan; they were the only ones bold enough to question him, or at least the only ones who would bother. His other roommates tried to suck up to him when they first came to Hogwarts. Their parents had probably told them to befriend the youngest member of the Black family. Networking was probably how they put it. They gave up, though, once they figured out Regulus didn’t talk.
Getting to the Astronomy Tower was a piece of cake. He never had any problems sneaking around the castle after curfew; it was like he was invisible. Half of the portraits were empty, and the other half were snoozing against their frames. The only person he had to worry about was Filch, but he was easy enough to avoid if you weren’t an idiot.
James was already in the Astronomy tower when he reached the top of the stairs. He was looking over the edge, off into the distance, but stepped over to the bench when he saw Regulus come in. Regulus followed him. “Hi,” James said. “I have some parchment, if—”
Regulus pulled his moleskin from the inside pocket of his robes and waved it in front of James’ face.
“Oh, nice,” James said, pushing his glasses up higher on his nose.
Regulus opened to a blank page. Hello Potter, he wrote.
James smiled. “Good game, today,” James said, but Regulus shook his head. He didn’t want to talk about their loss that morning. It had been his first game, and he had really hoped— “No, I mean it,” James continued. “You fly really good, and seeking isn’t an easy position to play.”
Thank you
“It’s bad luck about that bludger, though,” James shook his head. “You guys should have beat us.”
It wasn’t luck.
“What do you mean?”
Carrow was aiming for me.
“You think so? But you’re on the same team?”
Regulus shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about how some of the team had started giving him a hard time in the locker room when he made the team a few weeks back. He was the youngest on their team this year and, while some were afraid of the Black name, others were desperate to prove how little it meant to them, desperate to prove how much better their family name was. The Sacred 28 families were all the same.
Where is your homework?
It was an obvious attempt to change the subject, but James didn’t seem to mind. He rubbed the back of his neck. “About that...”
You don’t have any homework, do you?
“Well, no, I kind of finished it all last night. I needed something to get my mind off the game.”
Then why did you ask me to meet you here?
“Because I wanted to see you!” James laughed like the question itself was ridiculous.
Why?
“We’re friends, right?”
No.
James’ face fell and Regulus quickly added something else.
You don’t know me.
“Well, I would like to get to know you. Can I ask you some questions?” Regulus thought about it for a moment, then nodded, reluctantly. “Erm, what’s your favorite color?”
Regulus huffed, a breathless, silent laugh at the question and tapped on the fabric of his green jumper.
“Really, green? That’s so stereotypical.”
Regulus rolled his eyes.
What’s yours then?
“Red, of course.” Regulus glared at him, though there was no real heat behind his eyes. “Alright, alright. I see what you mean. What’s your favorite quidditch team?”
Puddlemere
“What? The Cannons are so much better, though.” James smacked his forehead, his glasses going askew, and dived into a rant about professional quidditch. Regulus held his own, scribbling counterarguments to all of James’ points.
It almost felt like they were having a real conversation. Regulus willed himself to speak; he opened his mouth several times, but he couldn’t make anything come out. His cheeks would go hot as he went back to writing his responses in his journal.
Regulus lost track of the time, but it must have been after midnight when they were eventually interrupted. Someone’s coming, Regulus mouthed. Again, no words came out, he couldn’t force them out, but he knew James didn’t need them to understand. They could both hear the footsteps now and Regulus could see the fear on his face reflected in James’ own wide brown eyes.
“Don’t ask any questions, okay?” He whispered and pulled a heap of fabric from his bookbag. He threw is over Regulus’ head; it smelled slightly like cigarettes and mothballs. Was James daft? Did he really think Filch wouldn’t see him sitting there with a blanket thrown over him? Regulus started to panic. He would get detention and Slughorn would have to owl his parents. He had never had detention before, so who knew what would be waiting for him when he went back to Grimmauld Place for Christmas holiday?
Regulus was surprised to find that he could see through the fabric. Funny, the material had seemed so thick when he pulled it out of his bag. He cursed James in his head. What was he thinking? Now he wasn’t only a sitting duck under a blanket, he was a sitting duck under a sheer blanket.
The door was pushed open, and he heard James heave a sigh of relief next to him before he allowed himself to relax. It wasn’t Filch. Instead, two prefects walked through the door, even though they should have finished with their rounds hours before. Regulus recognized them both. It was Sirius’ soul mate—Lupin, his brain supplied—and that red head Potter and Snape were both obsessed with. Lupin had his arm rested around her shoulder and Regulus would have absolutely glared at the two of them if he wasn’t currently under a blanket.
“Moony, Evans,” James greeted them. “Nice night we’re having, isn’t it?”
“What are you doing up here, Prongs?”
Regulus waited for one of them to address the elephant in the room— him. Neither of them even glanced his way, though. He was confused for a lot longer than he would like to admit, before he realized how they always seemed to get away with all those pranks they liked to pull. He was invisible.
“Just getting some air.”
“You do know we’re prefects, right? We can give you detention for being out past curfew.”
James shrugged, a cheeky smile playing on his lips. “Are you going to give me detention, Evans?”
“No. She’s not,” Remus said quickly before she had a chance to.
“I guess not,” she glared at Remus. “Just don’t get caught by Filch.”
“Does this mean you’re not mad at us anymore?” James asked, hopefully.
“I’m not mad at Remus anymore,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Regulus thought he heard James mumble something under his breath. Something about Lupin being the mastermind, but Regulus didn’t stick around to hear any more of it because Evans had left the door open behind them, and Regulus took the opportunity to escape.
Regulus didn’t remove the cloak until he was in the dungeons, standing outside the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Barty and Evan were sitting on a settee when he returned and looked suspiciously like they were waiting up for him, though he was sure they had been asleep when he left. Evan looked like a concerned mother with his plush cream-colored robe tied around him as he hugged himself against the chill of the dungeons. Barty looked like his complete opposite, wearing a pair of low-slung pajama pants of green plaid and no shirt or socks. He had one leg thrown over the back of the chair as he dug under his fingernail with a pocketknife.
“Where were you?” Evan asked as Regulus attempted to bypass them and head straight up to their dorm.
Regulus didn’t answer.
“What were you doing?” he tried again.
“Who were you doing?” Barty added, laughing until Evan elbowed him in the side.
Regulus flipped him off and didn’t bother to stop as he headed up to their shared dormitory. He could still hear Barty laughing and Evan chastising him when he closed the door. It was like they wanted to wake the whole house up.
He stowed James’ cloak and his robes away in his trunk and climbed into bed without bothering to change out of his clothes. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the game, or Sirius, or James, and was almost successful.
He had just started to drift when he remembered. He leaped right out of bed, ran to his trunk, and dug into the pockets of his robes. Nothing. His journal was gone, left on the seat of the Astronomy Tower bench, with James Potter.