II- Mad World
Regulus stepped outside the house to the bright sun that was beaming down on him with intense heat, or maybe that was his mother’s eyes. She had given him and his brother a talk, before the car got here to pick them up, and was staring at them from the upstairs window. Regulus felt that bubbling feeling again and held his breath, what if this was a trick? If it is, what's the point? What’s the gain? What if-
“Hey,” Sirius bumped his arm, pulling him out of his thoughts, “You ready to do this?”
He turned to look at his brother, he was only a few inches taller than Regulus so he didn’t have that look up much. He found his eyes and felt the comfort of them, so unlike their mother’s. He smiled, “Yeah,” he lied, “are you?”
“Yeah,”
“Let's go, losers!” Barty yelled from where he was next to the open car door. Evan had woken them all up so early that morning and was the first in the car, Basil wrapped around him the whole time. His mother had chased him and only backed off when the snake started hissing again. Gods did Regulus love that snake.
Sirius sighed and threw his bag in the trunk before climbing in the vehicle, Regulus following him. Regulus kicked Barty in the car and turned one last time to see his mother still staring at them. She narrowed her eyes at him in silent communication, don’t fuck up, he nodded in understanding before climbing in the car with his brother and friends.
Inside the car was more sweets than Regulus had ever seen in his fifteen years of living, filled with stuff he didn’t even recognize. Barty and Evan had already started trying everything, fighting over it even though there was more than enough for the both of them. Basil slithered over to Sirius, not liking the ruckus the other two were causing. Barty and Evan were always wrestling or arguing, though it was lighthearted and playful and always ended in Evan winning. It was entertaining to watch the different ways the blond wins, even though it was mostly just Barty fawning over his boyfriend.
Sirius grabbed a sweet that none of them recognized, it was brown and smelled incredibly warm, there was no other way to describe it. He broke it open and gave the other half to Regulus, inspecting it before trying it. The inside had different layers of wafer and didn’t seem dangerous, he felt his eyes widen as he popped the sweet in his mouth. It was incredible, salty and just all around delicious, he’d have to find out what it was.
His breath caught in his throat, he had an odd feeling, he turned around to see them driving straight for the broken bridge. He frantically tapped his brother’s shoulder, getting the attention of the other two as well. He pointed to what he was seeing and heard someone scream and arms wrap around him, holding him close and protected. His vision blurred and his ears started ringing, it was as if the world had suddenly stopped spinning. It’s a trap, he thought, it’s a trap and we’re going to die! He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see what comes next. He felt fear trickle up his spine and his throat, he felt it close up. Some sort of fight or flight response kicked in, he got ready to try and swim even though he didn’t know how. Then just as they should’ve hit the water, nothing. Nothing happened. There was no impact of the water, no one screaming, no drop off the bridge, absolutely nothing. He pried his eyes open ready to see a number of things, not one of them being what he saw.
A bridge had appeared, it was rainbow and reminded him of Bilröst from Norse mythology. Dangerously beautiful, sparkling in the early morning sun. He slowly moved out his brother’s arms to get a better look at the magical bridge. He could see the sea animals swim around freely in the water, breaching and interacting with each other. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, the water was so clear and beautiful with its own rainbows shining on top.
When he turned around he saw his friends doing the same thing he was, all silently watching the bridge and water. The rest of the drive was mostly quiet.
When they finally pulled in front of the school, Regulus saw a sea of people gathered in the lawn. They were waiting and watching for the Death Eater kids to arrive, whether by choice or because they had to, he wasn't sure of. The driver parked and got out of the car, making his way to their door and opening it, motioning for them to get out.
When he stepped out of the car the first thing he noted was just how much brighter it was outside the island. There were trees and grass all so green, nothing was dead or run down or dirty. The school itself was incredibly tall and covered in gold, it was the most fancy thing Regulus had ever seen.
The people were different too, as he looked around he didn’t see a single person who looked like they hadn’t showered in weeks. They were wearing uniforms with black robes and different colored ties. He’d never seen so many people, even though the Island was full of them. He suddenly felt crowded and like they all knew something about himself that he didn’t. There had never been so many people looking at him at once and he wanted, so badly, for them to just all stop.
He heard a grunt behind him, gathering his attention once more, and he turned to see his friends wrestling. Everyone else had gone silent upon seeing them and Regulus rolled his eyes, huffing out a sigh. Sirius kicked them both, getting them to stop and look around them, Evan had the decency to look embarrassed. Basil was wrapped tightly around Evan’s forearm, so still you wouldn’t notice them if they weren’t such a vibrant color against the boy's dark clothes.
“Hello boys,” an old voice said, breaking the silence. Regulus looked around to see a very tall old man staring down at them. He was smiling kindly and looking over half moon glasses. His hair was white and so long it reached his waist, his beard matching in length. He waited for them to take everything in before continuing, “I am Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster at this school, it’s nice to meet you.”
It clicked. Albus Dumbledore was the one who captured just about every one of the people on the island and put them there, including his parents.
“Holy shit,” He heard his brother say, staring up at the headmaster with wide eyes. Dumbledore chuckled and asked him to not use such words around him.
“Hi,” said someone next to Dumbledore, “I’m James Potter.”
Prince James Potter, Regulus noted, looking curiously at the boy in front of him. He had tan skin and jet black hair that stuck up in all directions, for some reason making him more attractive. He had wonderful hazel eyes under circular glasses, Regulus could see why so many people fawned over him. His tie was red and gold and he had a unique smirk on his face that was somehow incredibly genuine. He walked up to each of them and shook their hands, stopping abruptly when he reached Regulus. His smile faltered and something in his eyes sparkled as he looked at him, searching his eyes. Regulus had to give him a bemused look for him to continue to his brother.
Once he was done he explained why exactly they were there, something their parents failed to do. He told them that, as his first act as king, he’d give the children from the island a chance to live normally. Regulus blinked at that information, but not completely faltering, and turned to his brother to receive a shrug. Their friends, who were worse at hiding their emotions, gave a look of blatant confusion. When he was done speaking, Dumbledore started to explain school rules and curfews.
“..and I think that’s it,” Dumbledore concluded, that funny smile never leaving his face. He raised his hands and Regulus threw his arms around his friends as his brother stepped in front of him. They didn’t even think about it, it was like breathing, going to protect his friends. Barty’s hands had immediately jumped with one moved to Regulus’s wrist and the other holding his boyfriend, protectively. James and Dumbledore blinked at them, a sad sort of confusion taking over the prince’s face. They realized that the old man meant no harm and quickly moved back to standing next to each other. Their movements were small and barely noticeable but had been noticed none the less. Dumbledore cleared his throat and carried on, “Mr. Potter here will show you around, classes start on Monday.”
Dumbledore left then and the prince jumped into action, pointing to where they were meant to go first. Not daring to mention their immediate reaction to the headmaster simply raising his hand. Maybe he didn’t care, Regulus hoped that was the case.
****
They re-entered the main hallway that led to every direction of the castle, James stopped in the middle and turned to the four friends. When they came to a stop James yelled out to another student,
“Moony! Over here!” He was waving a boy over.
The boy, “Moony”, was also wearing a red and gold tie. He had coffee colored hair and beautiful amber eyes. His face was scared, the most apparent one dragging from his jaw to the other side of his face, just under his left eye. Moony was incredibly handsome, he had fair skin and his lips were turned up slightly. He approached them like they were just any other students, maybe he didn’t know.
“Hey, are these the new students?” He asked casually, looking over each of them and stopping when he reached Sirius. Much like James, he faltered but unlike James it was only for a split second. His cheeks flushed as he turned back to the prince, possibly from embarrassment.
James nodded, “I, unfortunately, have detention, would you mind showing them to their dorms?”
Regulus found that almost laughable and honestly insane, they gave the crown prince detention?
Moony didn’t seem very shocked, just smirked and asked, “Minnie still gave you detention when you have to show the new kids around, huh?”
James sighed, “I know right? You have detention too tomorrow by the way.”
Moony waved him off and turned to the other four, “I’m Remus Lupin, by the way. Follow me.”
He took them upstairs to the second floor of the building. The hallway was long and decorated with green and silver details. There was a banner at the end of the hall that read ‘Slytherin’. Under the banner was a door with a sign next to it, it was too far to read what it said. Remus didn’t start talking again until they’d all moved to the side of the hallway in front of a dorm.
“So, I do have some unfortunate news,” he started, holding a book and folder tight to his chest, “Uh, which one of you is Sirius?”
“I am,” Sirius answered, a curious look on his face. Fear lining his eyes, hidden to everyone but his brother and two friends.
Remus flushed again, “So for some reason Dumbles decided to put you in Gryffindor house, while your brother and friends are here, in Slytherin. Meaning you’ll be separated.”
“ What?! ” All four of them said in unison, eyes widened in shock. Regulus felt a horrible feeling settle in his chest, he would’ve rejected it immediately had it not been for the fact that he was being separated from his big brother.
“I understand if you have an issue with that, the only solution I have for you is to talk to the old man.” Remus shrugged, his features softened at the horrified look on Sirius’s face. He looked down the hall, as if someone would overhear, “But, listen, I do have a way to get you into the Slytherin common rooms without getting caught.”
They all perked up for a number of reasons, but mostly so they could hear how Sirius could get to them.
“You can’t tell anyone but,” Remus’s lips quirked up, “The house common rooms are back there.” He pointed to the door underneath the banner, “Now, no one but the people in such houses are allowed in their common rooms. But if you go in there, there’s a large portrait to the left, and if you move it, there’s a secret passageway behind it that goes from Slytherin to Gryffindor.”
A smile appeared on each of their faces, Barty’s quickly turning mischievous. He looked Remus over before questioning, “and how do you know that?”
“Who do you think found it?”
“And how’d you find it?” Evan asked, matching his boyfriend’s smirk.
“When you’re a small first year at a school full of rich assholes, you look for hiding places.” He informed, a smirk evident on his own face. Regulus narrowed his eyes at him, as if trying to read his mind.
“You’re not a rich asshole?” He asked, crossing his arms over his chest confidently.
Remus hummed, “I’m an asshole, just not a rich one,” He winked. He reached into the pockets of his robes, pulling out four keys. He handed them each a key, a gentle smile when he gave one to Sirius.
“So if I’m not in this house, why do I get a key?” His brother asked, inspecting the key like it'll explode on impact.
“Prongs printed you an extra one,” Remus said, looking down at his folder, “also, the common rooms have passwords that you should probably know, they change weekly.”
They nodded, when Remus said nothing more, Evan asked, “so are you going to tell us?”
“It’s furball ,” he replied slowly, side eyeing the boys next to him but still not looking up at them, “But I’m not technically supposed to know that, prefect or not, so you didn’t hear it from me.”
“Then why do you?”
“Because the guy that makes your passwords is incredibly unimaginative, plus I have a friend in this house.” Remus smiled, knowing and mischievous from where it was hidden under the curtain of his curly hair.
“So, you’re a troublemaker?” Regulus interrogated, taking a sudden interest in the amber eyed boy.
“I’ll leave that for your interpretation,” Remus finally looked up, holding out a paper for him to take, “These are your schedules. The old man put you in different houses but he gave you the same schedule.”
They each took one from Remus who put the folder to his side and smiled at them naturally. Regulus examined his schedule, taking a particular note of the last class.
“Foundations of morals ?” He read. “New class?”
“Wow, wonder how you guessed that.” Remus said sarcastically, as if annoyed by the class himself. So he knew who they were, just didn’t care. Why was this boy so odd?
“I like you,” Regulus admitted, earning a smirk from the taller boy.
“A horrible decision, really,” he teased, chuckling lightly and casually. Regulus wondered how he could be so casual and unbothered when interacting with Death Eaters. Their parents caused so much harm on others, no doubt affecting Remus himself. Maybe the tall boy didn’t understand just how much harm their parents had really done. Sure, Remus wasn’t faced with their parents but they were raised by them, so they’re like them, right?
Basil then made a noise from where they were around Evans' forearm, gathering Remus’s attention. Regulus expected him to jump back or for his face to drop, or really any other reaction than the one he gave.
“Hello there,” He said, formally addressing a snake, “What’s their name?”
“Their name is Basil,” Evan said cautiously, looking at Remus like he was crazy, he probably was. “Are you scared of anything? Like at all?”
Remus only laughed, “Of course I am, just not four teenagers who couldn’t have committed more than a few misdemeanors with a cute snake as a pet.”
“Our parents are literal Death Eaters,” Sirius added, now just as confused as his friends.
“So? We’re not our parents,” Remus countered, sounding oddly experienced for someone who couldn’t be over a year older than Regulus.
Silence fell over them as they stared at the scarred boy in front of them. What could he have seen that would cause him to not be scared of them or their parents? Is that what gave him those scars? As if Remus could read their minds, he rolled his eyes and told them that he had to go make sure their other roommate hadn’t set fire to the dorms again.
“Do you want to see where your dorm is, Mr. Kid of a death eater?” Remus called, already walking away from the group. Sirius smiled and waved his brother and friends goodbye, with the promise he’d be back that night.
“I’m betting ten pounds right now that those two end up together,” Evan said as soon as Sirius and Remus were out of ear shot. Barty snorted and opened the door to their dorm, holding it open dramatically.
The dorm, much like the hallway, was green and silver. There was a large, green carpet in the room with the image of a silver snake in it. The decor in the room was mostly green, like the bed covers, curtains, and a small sofa at the edge of the room. There were three beds, all made, and their luggage already placed on each bed. The lighting was dim and yellow, Sirius would hate it.
Regulus started unpacking his things almost immediately, keeping busy to try and come up with a plan. Their parents trust them to be able to pull this off, they can’t fuck it up. He doesn’t know what will happen to them if they fail and he doesn’t plan to ever find out. He wants to please his mother, he wants to see her smile at them, he wants to hear her say that she’s proud of him and his brother, and he wants her to tell them she loves them. He knows that might be too much to ask but still, selfishly, he wants it. The point in being a death eater is to be selfish though, right? So he’s not doing anything wrong by wanting to be selfish, nothing wrong by his mother’s standards anyways. He thinks the people at this school would probably have an issue with his selfishness.
That feeling in his stomach hasn’t gone away, he doesn’t like being without his brother. He’d now realized how close they’d been, being unable to remember a time in his life that he was without his brother somewhere near him. This new arrangement felt wrong, he didn’t want to be without his brother. They’d always been there for each other and always tried to protect one another. This felt unsafe and hostile, like Sirius was being separated from them with a purpose behind it. What if the old man wanted them to feel unsafe, for the environment to be hostile. Why the hell else would you take one of them away from the group? He couldn’t wait to get the locket and leave.
He jumped when a hand was placed on his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. He whirled around to see Evan, with a concerned look on his face, trying to get his attention. He must’ve zoned out, otherwise he would’ve heard his friend walk up to him.
“You alright?” He asked, “I was calling you but you didn’t move.”
“Yeah, sorry, just zoned out I guess.”
“Well it’s time for dinner apparently, you can finish unpacking later.”
The three of them found their way to the great hall, where they were informed meals were held. Upon entering Regulus spotted the different banners above the four tables, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. He looked at the Gryffindor table trying to find his brother, thinking he’d probably be with James and Remus.
The doors behind them opened, a loud voice entering which he recognized. He turned and saw James talking animatedly to his brother, Remus, and a small blond boy —probably their other roommate—. Sirius was the most quiet Regulus had ever seen him, he was quietly listening to what the prince was saying. When he spotted Regulus and the others he smiled and pointed to them. The three his brother was with followed him over to them. The quiet and reserved figure, his brother was displaying, disappearing as soon as he reached them.
****
“So,” Regulus said, collapsing on the sofa in their dorm, “do any of you have any idea where the locket is and/or how to steal the damn thing?”
They’d all sat at the Slytherin table, putting up with weird looks and stares all night. The food was the best thing any of them had ever tasted so they were pretty preoccupied with what they were eating, instead of the people whispering around them. They couldn’t ignore it forever though and ended up all leaving as soon as they could, uncomfortable and annoyed with the other students. Sirius had gone back to his dorm with the promise of coming down as soon as Remus showed him the passageway.
It’s been an hour since they left the great hall and Sirius had yet to show up. They’d all showered and changed so Regulus figured they would get to plotting and fill him in when he did get there. Regulus had been thinking about this the entire day, just trying to come up with a decent plan for when they found the locket. The issue is that he couldn’t come up with a half decent plan until he knew where the locket was.
Barty and Evan both shook their heads, letting him know that they were in the same boat. They’d all quickly learned silent communication with each other before they could be even left unsupervised. Being in a place like Knockturn island you had to know what someone was saying without them speaking a single word. They had to learn how to do this because of their parents, in case there was something they couldn’t say out loud. It would probably come in handy once they’ve figured out a plan. For once Regulus felt grateful for their parents.
He was laying on his bed sprawled out and staring at the ceiling, with zero clue where to go from here. His brain was trying to figure out a way they could find any information, asking someone would raise suspicion so that isn’t an option.
“Wait. They have a library here right?” He recalled, swearing the old man said something about a library.
“Yeah, it closes with curfew at ten though, so if Siri walked in the door right now we’d only have an hour.” Evan informed, taking a seat on the bed, next to Regulus.
As if he was being summoned, Sirius walked through the door quietly. He had changed into a black and navy sweater and a pair of loose black pajama bottoms he stole from their mother, his long hair was wet so he’d probably just showered.
“Sup queers,” Sirius greeted, moving to sit on the lamp lit desk in the corner.
“Hey, whore,” Barty returned with the nod of his head, earning a grin from Sirius.
“Siri, we're going to the library to try and find more information on the locket,” Regulus told his brother, jumping off his bed and heading for the door. He turned to make sure his friends were behind him before continuing on down the stairs.
Luckily it didn’t take too long to find the library, being fairly close to the great hall. Upon walking in, the librarian immediately shushed them, despite the fact that they weren’t making any noise. She looked relatively young, maybe in her mid-thirties, her hair was tied in a tight bun. her eyebrows were pulled together and her lips were turned down in a frown, giving her a crossed look. She probably was cross.
They found their way to the back of the library, seeing a computer to possibly help them locate the locket. Regulus nudged Evan with his elbow and gestured to the computer, he’d always been good with this sort of thing. A lot of people tended to look over Evan seeing as he was more quiet and his mother wasn’t as well known. He was also the shortest of the four —he could probably pass at the same height as Regulus though— and he was only ever noticed for his good looks. Regulus didn’t think this bothered him though, he knew he liked working well and silently without too much attention on him. Barty was athletic and built up, Sirius just stood out as a person, and everyone knew Regulus because of his mother. Evan was seen as less important, though that always pissed the others off as the blond was just as capable as the rest of them, if not more so.
Evan understood immediately and jumped into action, clicking the computer on and typing into the search bar. They all crowded around him, trying to see what their friend was doing to find information. He was scrolling through many book recommendations quickly, focused and determined. At some point Regulus noticed Barty had given up trying to understand what Evan was doing and opted for staring at his boyfriend fondly. It was almost sickening how much they loved each other. Almost. Anytime either one of them did anything slightly impressive the other would give them this look, like they’d crafted each star, planet, galaxy, and everything good and beautiful just for them.
Regulus was proud of them for every moment they spent together as a couple. It’d taken so long for them to realize just how much they meant to each other. He figured it was the fear of falling for your best friend and possibly ruining everything they had. They all knew that nothing could destroy the relationship the two, or even four of them, had. Once they’d both realized this information it was only a matter of how to go about it, asking the other out. In the end Evan had been the one to ask Barty, although the taller boy did try but just got too nervous.
Suddenly, Evan clapped his hands together in excitement, “I got it!”
Evan turned to Regulus, then Sirius, then Barty and took off to get the book. They all followed him excitedly and hopeful, they’d be able to formulate a real plan soon! Evan was pulling out an incredibly thick book when they reached him, he was struggling to carry the weight that he clearly wasn’t expecting.
“Here,” Evan set the book down and pointed at the title, Artifacts of Hogwarts. Regulus wondered briefly about how many artifacts there were to earn a book this big. Evan continued in a whisper, “let’s check this out and head back to our dorm.”
They all nodded in agreement, making sure to shut off the computer and check out the book. Hurriedly returning to the dorm to try and just know more. They didn’t even know what the significance of this locket was or why it had so much power. Regulus was itching to know more, he always had to know more. The more he knew the more he could help, and he wanted to help. He wanted to help his mother, he wanted to help his friends, but most of all, he wanted to help his brother. He wanted all of them to be happy, to finally be happy. He wanted to be the reason they were happy, but he’d never admit that to anyone.
They had to sneak their way to their dorm, with it being a few minutes after curfew. All the lights in the building were dim so you could barely see a thing. Regulus felt lighter, knowing that they’d soon be gone, knowing that they could make a plan and make their parents proud. They can finally prove to their parents that they’re capable and just like them.
The hall was empty and quiet, almost making the place seem abandoned. It was comforting in a way Regulus couldn’t even understand himself. There was something drawing about empty, abandoned places to him that he couldn’t explain. It gave him an ecstatic feeling, like how your hair stood up after the friction of a balloon on it was a feeling.
Luckily, they had made it to their dorm without seeing a single person. Barty —who had the job of carrying the book— set the book down on the desk and turned on the lamp. Regulus opened it to the page titling the chapters, hoping for one indicating a locket.
“Can you find anything?” Evan asked, standing closely behind Regulus.
“Hold on,” he was skimming the thin pages of the book, flipping to the next page, “I think this is it!”
He turned to the pages of the book to the chapter titled, the Locket of Salazar Slytherin. Under the chapter name was a sketch of the locket, it was oddly shaped and seemed rather large (that could just be the sketch though). On the front of the locket there was a large S engraved on it, presumably his initial.
“Is it just me or that really ugly,” Sirius joked, looking down at the sketched locket with humor.
“Nah that shit is chunky as hell,” Barty agreed, snickering like he had been thinking the same thing (he probably was).
“I’m pretty sure it’s magic, it doesn’t have to be cute.” Regulus rolled his eyes at the stupidity of them both, but unable to hide the way his lips quirked up.
“But you agree.” Sirius observed, not missing his brother’s tell.
“Yeah that’s the ugliest piece of jewelry I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen that Femie wears on nights out,” He admitted, refusing to miss the chance to offend Evan’s mother.
“Please never stop insulting my mother,” Evan pleaded, barking out a laugh along with their friends.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Regulus smirked, flipping to the next page of the book. He was only skimming the pages, trying to find some indication of where the locket may be kept. He hadn’t had any luck yet but there had to be something in this book that said where this damn locket was.
Ten minutes turned to thirty and then an hour and he had looked over everything chapter that had any mention of a locket in it. He’d done all this to come up with nothing, not a single clue on where it could be. He let out a sigh of frustration, why couldn’t there be a single word about where a magic fucking locket is being kept?!, He thought.
“Reggie, come to bed, we can continue tomorrow,” Evan begged, once again in the past twenty minutes.
“But-“
“No, he’s right, you won’t be able to think properly if you're sleep deprived.” Sirius cut him off, walking over to his brother and gently grabbing his hand.
Regulus sighed knowing he wouldn’t win this argument, he stood up and agreed to try again tomorrow.