Parallels

The first thing Regulus registered, through the haze of sleep, was the warmth. Not to say that his dorm was cold, but this was different. It felt comforting, safe in a way he didn’t really understand. The next thought he had was that it was too bright, that there was an unusual amount of light filtering in through his closed eyelids for the dungeons.

The moment he opened his eyes, any semblance of sleep left him when he saw the red curtains surrounding him. What the fuck, Regulus thought to himself deliriously, looking around in alarm. Then his eyes landed on the boy next to him and he froze.

His brain ceased to work for a moment. All he could do was stare at the image of James Potter fast asleep next to him, his body curled in Regulus’ direction with an arm reaching out toward him. James’ brown hair fanned around his head with strands falling onto his face and his mouth hung slightly open, chest rising and falling with his gentle breaths. He looked peaceful.

Regulus’ mind kicked back into gear and he shrieked, pushing himself upward and away from James, nearly toppling off the bed in a haste to make some distance between them. The peace that had painted James’ features disappeared as he was startled awake. James jolted upward, looking at Regulus in panic.

That’s when Regulus noticed that they were both in their underwear. James’ blanket slipped down around his waist, revealing an expanse of brown skin. Regulus’ eyes caught on a heart-shaped birthmark on a lower hip. He suddenly realized he was staring at James fucking Potter and tore his gaze away, looking up at his face. Regulus noticed that this was the first time he was seeing James without his glasses, which almost felt worse.

“Reg? What’s wrong?” James asked, clearly trying to shake off the sleep and struggling to catch up.

“What the-“ Regulus bolted up again, this time toward James. He shoved James back down so he was lying flat and pinned him down with one arm, holding his other arm to his throat. He almost reached for his wand when he remembered that he wasn’t wearing any bloody clothes to keep it in.

“What did you do?” Regulus hissed at James, pushing down harder on his neck. James blinked up at him slowly, eyes squinting without his glasses.

“Love, are you okay?” Regulus reeled back at the nickname and the concern in his voice. He looked around to see where he could have placed his wand, but found nothing. “Did you have a nightmare or something?”

“Don’t call me tha- where’s my fucking wand?”

James stared at him for a moment, then said slowly, “On the dresser,” like it was something Regulus was already supposed to know.

The minute the words left his mouth, Regulus leapt off of him and dashed off the bed, pushing aside the curtains to get as far away from James as he could.

“Reg, wait- “ James called after him, but Regulus ignored him.

He felt a slight ripple of magic around him as he found the dresser right next to the bed curtains and pulled open the top drawer. Silencing charm, Regulus registered as he rummaged through the drawer, pulling out his wand in triumph. He whipped around and pointed the wand toward James, who was staring at him through the now open bed curtains in horror.

“Regulus?” A voice screeched, and for the second time that day, his brain stopped working.

Regulus turned slowly to see Sirius and Lupin standing in the middle of the dorm room- a Gryffindor dorm room. Sirius was staring at him with his jaw dropped, a look of horror identical to the one on James’ face, and Lupin looked wide-eyed.

Regulus took a moment to appreciate the absurdity of the situation- he had woken up in James bloody Potter’s bed, of all people, and now he was standing practically naked in his older brother’s dorm room with no memory of how he got there and said older brother and his best friend staring at him. Barty was going to find this hilarious.

The moment ended, and Regulus sent a stinging hex toward Sirius before he could say anything. The hex hit him in his arm, making it swell and turn red.

“Ow!” Sirius yelped, glaring. “What the fuck, Reggie?”

At that moment, James stumbled out of his bed, pulling a shirt over his head. He had his glasses on now, which somehow made Regulus feel calmer. James without glasses was a concept he didn’t want to face yet, or ever. He tossed Regulus his school uniform, which he begrudgingly accepted.

“Prongs, what’s going on?” Sirius demanded as Regulus stepped aside to get dressed.

“Look, I can explain,” James began, sounding downright terrified. His voice trailed off like he had no idea what to say. Regulus would have found it funny if he wasn’t preoccupied with wondering if he was losing his mind.

“Then tell me, Prongs, why was my little brother in your bed?” Regulus paused at this, hands stilling over the buttons of the shirt he had put on. He hadn’t heard Sirius call him his little brother in years. Regulus decided not to think about that and instead wonder how the clothes fit him perfectly- why would James have his clothes?

“Pads,” James pleaded. Regulus briefly considered bolting out of the room while the others were distracted. He didn’t purely because he wanted an explanation. His attention was drawn back to James when he continued talking. “Just- can you listen, please? There’s a lot to explain, just hear me out before you get mad.”

Sirius leaned back against Lupin’s chest and crossed his arms, fixing James with a look.

“This isn’t what it looks like. I mean- it is, but- “ James swallowed and took a deep breath. “It wasn’t just a hookup, Sirius. Me and Regulus are dating.”

Regulus didn’t hear what he said next. A part of his brain registered Sirius responding. It felt like he was underwater, layers separating him from the rest of the world.

James was lying. James had to be lying, because there was no way Regulus would ever, in his right mind, date James Potter. The only memories Regulus had of James were occasional cold looks across the Great Hall, along with the glares and sharp barbs they shot at each other the rare times their paths crossed. It wasn’t possible. Why did James sound so serous when he said that, like he actually meant it? Regulus wondered if he was dreaming- either that or the Black family madness finally caught up to him.

He looked up at Sirius, who was glaring at James, saying something to him- no, he was yelling. Somewhere during the conversation, Sirius had started shouting at James. Regulus looked at Lupin, who had a hand on Sirius’ arm, but he wasn’t looking at Sirius. He was watching Regulus with a strange expression. Regulus could see the thinly veiled concern in his eyes.

“Stop!” Regulus shouted, cutting through Sirius’ voice. The room quieted and three pairs of eyes turned to look at him. “Can someone just explain to me what’s going on?”

The others just stared, seemingly not knowing how to answer that. Regulus groaned in frustration and dropped his head into his arms.

“Reg-“ James began, but then he was cut off by a voice coming from behind the curtains (red, again- was it necessary to make everything red?) of another bed.

“What’s with all the racket?” The voice called out, sounding furious. The fourth Marauder- Regulus recalled the name they had given themselves with distaste-  Pettigrew, stuck his head out of his curtains and glared at the four of them. “It’s seven in the morning, let me sleep!”

Lupin rolled his eyes and walked over to Pettigrew. “You need to get up, anyway, Pete.”

Lupin ignored his protests and pulled Pettigrew out of his made, making him nearly topple over. Pettigrew stood up and shot a glare at them again.

“Well?” Pettigrew asked, staring at Sirius. “Why were you wailing like a fucking banshee when I was trying to sleep?”

Sirius gasped at him, affronted, “I was not wailing. What you heard were the sounds of betrayal from my own brother and best friend.”

“Sirius- “ James began, but he was cut off again.

“Oh, did you finally find out?” Pettigrew asked, looking more awake now and a bit amused. “Took you long enough”

James, Sirius, and Lupin gaped at him. Regulus was too far gone to understand what was happening anymore.

“You- you knew?” James asked in a faint voice.

“Well, you and Reg haven’t exactly been subtle about it, have you?” Pettigrew said dryly. “I saw it ages ago, I’m surprised you didn’t, Padfoot.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Sirius screamed.

“Why didn’t you tell me,” James whined.

“Well, Moony knew, too,” Pettigrew said, pointing at Lupin accusingly. “James told him himself.”

Sirius spun around at shot daggers at Lupin. “You too, Moony?” He hissed.

Lupin stepped back, shooting Sirius a nervous smile. Over Sirius’ shoulder, he scowled at Pettigrew and mouthed traitor at him. Pettigrew just smirked and mouthed back sorry, not seeming very sorry.

“How did you even know about all of this?” Lupin grumbled.

Pettigrew shrugged. “I pay attention.”

The room lapsed into silence for a moment. Not knowing how long it would last, Regulus started talking before anyone else could.

“Could one of you please explain what the fuck is going on?” Regulus huffed out. He felt as though he were seconds away from losing any sense of sanity he had held onto.

The four Gryffindors turned to Regulus, various ranges of confusion in their faces, Sirius still glaring. Regulus wanted to scream. The world seemed to have gone insane, yet they were looking at him like he was the mental one. Lupin’s look of concern returned.

“Is something wrong, Regulus?” Lupin asked.

Regulus let out a laugh that sounded a bit manic. “Are you all demented? What am I doing here? Why are you acting like this is normal? Why are you-“ this part was directed toward James “-saying that we’re- we’re together? And how do you two-“ this was for Lupin and Pettigrew “-both know about something that never happened? Why aren’t I in my dorm?”

There were a million other questions he wanted to ask, but the others were staring at him like he had grown a second head, so he closed his mouth, breathing heavily.

“Um, Regulus,” James said, voice laced with worry. “Did you hit your head or something?”

Regulus growled at him, raising his wand to shoot another stinging hex. Would it help the situation? Probably not, but it would at least make him feel better.

“Okay!” Pettigrew said loudly, walking over to Regulus and pushing his wand back down. “No need for that, Reg. We’ll figure out what’s wrong, okay? Could you maybe be more specific about what’s got you in a strop at seven in the morning?”

Regulus glared at him. Pettigrew met his gaze, unflinching. “Why am I here? Why aren’t I in the Slytherin dorms. And why are you acting like all this is something that just happens?”

He was met with resounding silence again. His wand hand itched to break something, but Pettigrew was still holding it down.

“Why would you be in the Slytherin dorms?” Sirius asked, voice sounding funny. “You’ve only been in there for pranks, haven’t you?”

Regulus gaped at him. His bran refused to process what he was hearing. He still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Sirius was actually talking to him. “Because I am a Slytherin?”

Pettigrew laughed at this. Regulus frowned at him. “Oh,” Pettigrew said. “You’re serious?”

“Well actually-“ Sirius started to say, but he was cut off by Lupin rolling his eyes and jabbing him in the ribs with his elbow. Not the time, he muttered to Sirius, who scowled and swatted his hand at him.

“Maybe he did hit his head,” James suggested, frowning.

“Why do you keep saying that?” Regulus demanded, starting to lose his patience.

“You’re not in Slytherin, Regulus,” Lupin said quietly. “You’re a Gryffindor.”

Regulus stared at him for a beat. Two beats. Then he laughed, voice coming out strangled. He backed away from the others, his arm slipping out from where Pettigrew was still gripping it. He shook his head, his laughs cutting off abruptly.

“No. You’re wrong,” Regulus choked out. “You’re fucking with me, aren’t you? I’m in Slytherin. My bed is in the dungeons, and I’ve never been up here before, and Barty and Evan are probably wondering where I am- “ His breaths started to speed up. He couldn’t seemed to get enough air in fast enough.

“Reg- “ James began, stepping forward. Regulus backed up even faster, his back hitting the wall behind him. Being cornered made it even harder to breathe.

“Reggie, calm down,” Sirius said. He tried to step closer, but seemed to realize that only made him panic more. “Try to breathe, okay?”

Regulus shut his eyes, taking in huge gulps of air. It took a moment, but he eventually opened his eyes again to see the other four standing in the same place they were in before.

“Let’s think about this logically,” Lupin said. “maybe James is right, or maybe someone might have messed with his head, that could be why his memories are all wrong-“

“My memories aren’t wrong,” Regulus said sharply.

“Right,” Lupin responded with a grimace. “Well, clearly something is wrong, clearly.”

Regulus gritted his teeth. “Clearly.”

“Wait- so,” James cut in. He fixed Regulus with a devastated look. “You don’t remember anything? Not- you- you don’t remember me?”

The hurt in his voice settled in Regulus’ chest with an unfamiliar weight. Regulus didn’t like the way it felt. He ignored it and looked at James with a blank face, pretending they all hadn’t seen him panicking only a moment ago.

“I remember you, Potter.” James flinched at the last name. “As far as I remember, I don’t particularly like you.”

James swallowed, staring at him. He nodded, then said, “Okay then.”

Regulus blinked. “Oh… okay?”

“We just need to get your memories back,” James said with a small smile. “Then you’ll remember.”

“I have my memories,” Regulus shouted. All four of Marauders drew back at the sudden outburst. “None of you are a part of them.”

“What- “ Sirius stammered. “Not even me? I’m your brother!”

Regulus stared at him coldly. “You haven’t been my brother for years, Sirius.”

Sirius stared at him slack-jawed. The hurt was evident in his eyes, but at the moment, Regulus couldn’t care less. He almost believed it when he told himself it didn’t matter.

“Maybe it was Snape,” Pettigrew said thoughtfully.

“Snivellius,” both Sirius and James spat out at the same time, saying the name like a curse.

“If he’s responsible for this, I swear on Merlin,” Sirius began.

“None of you are listening to me!” Regulus cut in. “I’m not missing anything. I have a life, I didn’t forget it! I’m in Slytherin, my dormmates are Barty and Evan, my best friend is Pandora, and you and I- “ he gestured toward Sirius “-haven’t talked since you left for Hogwarts!”

Once again, the room was filled with silence. Regulus didn’t know what to say next, and none of the others seemed to want to say anything either.

Regulus decided that he had put up with whatever this was for long enough. He pushed off the wall and stalked toward the door, but Pettigrew stood in front of him, blocking his way out.

“I will curse you, Pettigrew, if you don’t get out of my way right now,” Regulus threatened.

“Try me,” Pettigrew shot back.

“Reg, don’t leave,” Lupin called out. Regulus let out a sharp sigh and turned back around. “You’re right, maybe the problem isn’t you, but there is a problem. If you don’t want to believe that your memories are wrong, then you have to believe that ours aren’t either.”

”You know what this reminds me of?” Pettigrew mused. “This book I read once during my Muggle philosophy phase.”

“What are you talking about, Pettigrew?” Regulus snapped. If he had thought his patience was wearing thin earlier, he was practically a fuse waiting to be lit at the moment.

“Right, I’m not sure if you remember this since your memory’s all wonky,” Pettigrew said, and Regulus opened his mouth to protest, but he cut him off before he could say anything. “Or not wonky, whatever. But I had a Muggle philosophy phase back in sixth year. Lasted about a month. You’d be surprised what they come up with without the use of magic. Pretty genius, actually.”

“Your point?” Regulus gritted.

“Yeah, so I found this one book on the theory of parallel universes and interdimensional travel. The things Muggles say is so insane sometimes, but this time our Reggie might have just proved them right.” Pettigrew beamed at this like he had struck a revelation while the rest of them stared with blank looks on their faces.

“Wormtail, if you don’t get to your point within the next five seconds, I will hex you,” Sirius warned.

Pettigrew rolled his eyes and stayed silent for a few seconds with a smug smile on his face. Regulus wanted to throw a book at his head, but he figured that would be counterproductive.

“Parallel universes,” Pettigrew said, drawing out the words. “Basically, our universe, as in our world, is only one of many. There’re countless others, some nearly identical to this one, and some so backwards that a Gryffindor could have gotten into Slytherin.”

Regulus laughed. “But- that’s just theory, right? I mean, weren’t the Muggles just guessing?”

“It does make sense, doesn’t it?” Lupin asked, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Everyone quieted at once. There was no way Pettigrew was right. It just wasn’t possible. Just because some Muggles said something doesn’t make it true. Everyone was just messing with him, Regulus decided. Sirius had finally snapped and decided to get revenge on Regulus in the most fucked up way possible.

But- but Regulus looked at everyone in the room, and he wasn’t sure what to make of them. Pettigrew’s expression was inscrutable, he was the hardest for Regulus to understand. He had never paid attention to Pettigrew that much to begin with, but he knew that people often thought of him as the charity case of the group. Lupin, however, was looking at him like he was actually worried about him, like he actually cared, which he had never known him to do before. He was never really cold toward Regulus, unlike Sirius and James, but he was loyal to Sirius. Sirius said stay away, so he did.

Although the other two weren’t acting cold at the moment. Sirius was staring at him with a mix of alarm and concern, and this was the first time in years that regulus could meet his eyes and not find any hostility there. If this was all some elaborate prank, he had to have been really a really to pull this off. Regulus had never known him to be a very good liar, he knew quite personally how Sirius had always worn his heart on his sleeve. How he had to pay for it over and over again growing up.

In the end, it was the way James looked at him that convinced him they weren’t lying. He could practically see the distress radiating off of him in waves, the heartbreak clear in his eyes. If Sirius wore his heart on his sleeve, James handed it out to the world on a silver platter. All this, just for Regulus- but the James he remembered hated him almost as much as Sirius did. Of course he did, the only way he knew about him was through Sirius, and Regulus was positive Sirius hadn’t been singing his praises for the past five years. But this James, this one looked at him like he was someone he cared about. Like he was looking at someone else.

Regulus’ head spun, and he could feel the start of a headache coming on. He blamed it on all the bloody red in the dorm room. He groaned, tossed his hands up, and turned to Pettigrew again.

“Fine,” Regulus said shortly, “Let’s say you’re right about the- the universes, or whatever. What does that mean?”

“You can’t actually be believing this?” Sirius asked, horrified. Regulus was about to respond, but Lupin answered first.

“Why not?” Lupin retorted. “It’s what makes the most sense, isn’t it?”

“It’s ridiculous,” Sirius argued. “If whatever Wormtail said was a thing,” (“Parallel universes,” Pettigrew muttered unhelpfully) “then we would have heard about it before.”

Pettigrew snorted. “What, you think we would have been learning about interdimensional travel in Transfiguration? Can you imagine the chaos that would cause?”

“I- I don’t even know what that is,” Sirius admitted.

“And besides,” Lupin added, “If it’s just a Muggle theory, then chances are a lot of witches and wizards never heard of it.”

“Exactly,” Sirius said. “It’s just something the Muggles made up! Regulus probably just hit his head, like Prongs said, and that’s why his memories are messed up.”

Regulus let out a cold laugh. There wasn’t any humor in his voice when he spoke. “You never did believe me, did you? I don’t know why I would expect you to start now.”

Sirius gaped at him. He seemed a bit annoyed, and oh, here’s the Sirius I know, Regulus thought. “What are you talking about- “

“Hold on,” James interrupted, speaking up for the first time in a few minutes. He locked eyes with Regulus, gaze intense yet somehow looking a bit defeated. Regulus squirmed, itching to look away but unable to. “So you’re- you aren’t my Regulus?”

Regulus wanted to snap back, throw another barb, but something in James’ voice made him stop. If Pettigrew was right, if he was choosing to believe this- Merlin help him- then this wasn’t the James he knew. This James had never hurt him. In fact, it was starting to look like it was the other way around.

“I’m Regulus,” he says, and he doesn’t mean for his voice to come out that soft, but it does. “Regulus Arcturus Black. But I was never yours.”

Hurt flashed over James’ face before he schooled his expressions into something calmer. James swallowed, nodding, then turned to the others.

“He’s telling the truth,” James said, voice horse. Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew all stared at them a bit shocked. In all honestly, Regulus was also surprised that James had believed him so easily, especially since they technically didn’t know each other.

“Um,” Lupin interrupted with a worried glance. “I hate to say it, but it’s getting late. We need to go to breakfast now if we’re going to make it to class.”

At that reminder, the panic that had been simmering in the back of Regulus’ mind returned with full force.