V- Clockwork
Regulus woke that next Saturday from another nightmare, the third one that night. He was crying and shaking, so much so that even his breath was shaking. Regulus frantically looked around, making sure neither of his friends were awake and that he was alone. He was. He didn’t know what he would do if they were awake, they had yet to see his nightmares and he really did not want them to. If they saw then he would have to explain and then they would be worried and it would be another mess he wasn’t willing to be in. especially not right now.
The sun was starting to rise now, once again illuminating the green and silver dorm room with pink and orange. The air was still and suffocating, with the early morning flecks of dust scattered in the air beautifully but he felt like he was choking on them. The walls looked like they were closing in on Regulus, stealing the oxygen from his lungs. He needed to get out of the room before he started hyperventilating and woke up the other two.
Regulus opened the window as carefully as he could, not wanting to disturb the others, and climbed onto the roof. The cold air hit his skin like rain after a long drought, it filled his lungs as if he had never known how to breathe. He sat on the roof and focused on the way the trees moved with the wind and tried to imagine this feeling going with them. He took in deep breaths holding it in between, willing himself to calm down.
Regulus felt the heat of the sun hitting his skin, warming him from the cold spring weather around him. There was a distant sound of bird chirping and some rustling from other animals in the forest. It was peaceful to listen to the animals waking or going to bed, all listening to the sun. The weather in this kingdom was much nicer than the island, the air felt clean. There wasn’t any smog, unlike the island and everything just looked more clean. He felt as though he could really breathe here. Before, he would never go outside to calm down from something like he just had, anything like that would just make him feel worse. On the island, it was as if the oxygen was constantly being contaminated with the smell of an old overheated car, making him nauseous instead of calming him down.
Regulus was sitting with his knees tucked into his chest and his arms resting lazily on them when a blue bird landed on the top of his hand. He felt himself still when the pretty bird chirped at him, like it knew him. It was small and seemed young, though he had never seen this type of bird before so he could be its normal, full grown size. His mother had once told him that most birds carried diseases and that he shouldn’t ever touch them if he got close enough to one, but he didn’t care much. This bird was pretty and it felt as if it was helping him calm down or comfort him, which he knew was ridiculous, but it was a nice thought.
“Hi,” Regulus whispered to the bird, tilting his head so he could see the animal better. The bird chirped back, making the raven haired boy smile slightly. It hopped in his hand, moving closer to him before taking off again. Regulus felt the urge to wave to the animal, he didn’t because that was just weird. Maybe talking to it was also weird but waving at it was too far, he wasn’t insane just yet.
He sat and watched the sun rise for the rest of the morning before climbing back through the window and waking his friends.
****
The day passed quickly, though his brother seemed to disagree. Regulus guessed he was just nervous. He would be casting a spell on some random, unfortunate guard. He and Barty had been practicing since the beginning of last week but he was still afraid he would somehow mess it up. The spell wasn’t particularly difficult or advanced, but it was the first spell he would ever cast on an unknown person.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Sirius whispered as they sat down for dinner, “You’ll be fine, Reggie.”
**Regulus sighed and threw his brother a tight, but thankful smile. He knew he was most likely just overreacting, but he couldn’t help it, his fear and uneasiness. His anxiety haunted him, much like his nightmares did, most of the time there wasn’t a reason for it but when there was it was suffocating. Not only suffocating but drowning him in the ocean of what was his worries and, much like the ocean, barely any of it was discovered. It was unpredictable most of the time and incredibly unforgiving. He knew his brother went through this too but there wasn’t much either of them could do to calm this feeling. It’s not like their mother believed them when they tried to tell her about it, and even if she did, Knockturn island didn’t have anything to help them.
Regulus breathed in, then out. In. out. He was fine, this would all go according to plan and they would be out of here by tomorrow and they could go back to their normal routine. He went through everything that they knew. One, they knew where exactly the locket was. Two, they knew where the cameras were and how to take care of them. Three, they knew where the guard would be and how to take care of him -and it would go fine-. Four, they knew how to get to the village. Five, they knew how to sneak out and not get caught. They were fine, everything was thought out and planned for the most part. Regulus took in one more deep breath and smiled up at his brother, genuinely this time.
The moment of silence shared between the two brothers was interrupted by the large double doors opening suddenly and a small group of teenagers entering the Great Hall. Amongst these kids was the boy with long dark hair and pale skin, Snape, he was glaring at the prince who was sitting at the Gryffindor table, talking with Lily. Potter was either plainly ignoring the boy glaring daggers at him or he didn’t notice, probably the latter. The Pettigrew kid, however, did take notice to Snape and sent him back a disgusted look and rolled his eyes. That was the most acknowledgment the boy got from that group of friends and Regulus wondered why.
“Y’know, I heard Snape has a crush on Potter,” Barty informed suddenly from where he was seated next to Regulus.
Sirius, who had been taking a sip of his drink, choked on said drink from the sudden comment. His cheeks were growing prink from coughing and some of the drink had apparently exited through his nose and his eyes watered with it, it was gross as hell. He sat coughing for a good minute or so with the three boys staring at him blankly before he spoke up, “I’m sorry,” he choked out, “What?”
“Yeah,” Barty grinned, “That’s what I heard.”
Suddenly, Sirius burst out laughing, grabbing the attention of more people than were already looking at them. He started shaking his head and dismissively waving his hand, his cheeks reddening as he continued to laugh. Regulus, Barty, and Evan all stared at him, urging him to elaborate on his reaction.
“Sorry sorry,” Sirius said, regaining his composure, “it’s just that, Snape is in love with Lily. That was the whole reason behind him and Potter’s rivalry, Potter had a thing for her too.”
“Does he still like her?” Evan asked curiously.
“No,” Sirius shrugged, “Lupin told me that after they became friends Potter realized they were better that way and he now only sees her as a friend.”
“Damnit, I thought I had a good story there,” Barty sighed dramatically, taking the defeat easily.
Regulus rolled his eyes and continued to eat his food, not really caring for the conversation they had moved on to. The food here was a lot better than what they had on the island, which was just seafood. Regulus made a promise to himself that he would never eat seafood again if he had the choice. He never liked fish, he hated the texture and flavor of the thing and he had gotten food poisoning from them far too many times to be comfortable with. He stuffed a spoonful of food in his mouth and sighed contently through his nose.
Regulus’s moment with his, actually good, food was ruined as Snape decided that he was going to talk to them. He walked right up to them, his eyes narrowed at Sirius. The two people he had walked in with were trailing behind him like a group of mean girls from the 80s.
“This is the Slytherin table,” said the brown eyed boy to Sirius.
“Is it really?” Sirius gasped sarcastically in return, “I had no idea, that must be why there are green and silver banners and why everyone is wearing matching ties! Thank you so much for informing me, I will let everyone know immediately.”
Evan and Barty snorted as Snape’s cheeks grew red with either anger or embarrassment. The boy clenched his jaw, “This table is for slytherin’s only, why are you sitting here,” he sneered.
Sirius lifted an eyebrow, waving his hand in front of his brother and friends, demonstrating wordlessly. Barty waved at Snape unkindly while Evan and Regulus gave him a plain look, waiting for the boy to understand that the Gryffindor wasn’t leaving.
Snape scoffed, “You’re not allowed to sit here.”
“Funny,” Barty commented, “That you think any of us would give two fucks about we are and aren’t “allowed” to do.”
Sirius rested his chin on the palm of his hand, still facing the annoying slytherin with a smirk. Regulus rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his food leisurely but annoyed still. Barty wore an obviously faux smile directed at the three boys in front of them, while Evan seemed to just be done with this interaction altogether.
“Fuck off, would you?” Evan spat, his tone indicating his clear distaste for the other Slytherins. The two boys standing behind Snape eyes flashed with fear as Regulus and Evan glared at them. They whispered something to the greasy haired boy who simply rolled his eyes in response.
“They won’t hurt us, you pussies,” Snape concluded.
Sirius barked out a cruel laugh, “and what gave you that idea, genius?”
Barty lifted an eyebrow, a wicked sort of smirk appearing on his face as the three boys reeled at what the older Black had said.
Regulus finished his meal and turned to his friends with a plain expression, “let’s go, I’m bored Et nous avons des choses à faire.” He collected his plate and stood, waiting for his friends to follow suit, and carried his things to the tray disposals once he watched the others move with him. They left the three Slytherins with nothing but that vague threat and exited the great hall for the dorms.
Once in the strange comfort of the silver and green room they let silence take over them completely. They all were moving around each other, seeing that they had everything they needed for their adventure that night. They had decided to leave well after curfew, just to be sure no one would walk into their dorm when they weren’t there and suspect something. The plan had been set and decided: They sneak out after curfew, go to the museum, They go to the security room, where the guard would be. Then, Regulus would cast altum somnum (the sleep spell) on said guard, Evan would do whatever it was he needed to do, Sirius would keep watch, and then Regulus and Barty would get the locket, and then they would get the hell out of there.
Evan was currently typing away on the stolen laptop, though Regulus didn’t know what he was doing. Even though he was curious, he was busy making sure they had everything put together, going through the steps in his head over and over. He knew he could cast the spell, he’d done it almost everyday for the past two weeks, but it didn’t make him any less nervous. This was all of their first real mission, Remus had been right when he said they couldn’t have done more than a few misdemeanors - they hadn’t. And even those weren’t actually ‘missions’, just things one of their parents told them to do or something they had thought would be fun. There wasn’t much you could get in actual trouble for on the island, all you would really do was piss people off.
Barty had been the one to break their on going silence, “so what is it that you’re doin’ there, Ev?” he asked, voice laced with curiosity.
Evan hummed in acknowledgment, though it took him a minute or two to actually respond, “Trying to tap into the museum's security system.”
“Why?”
“So that I can record footage and edit it to the amount of time we’re there, then replace the footage of us there with what I recorded to erase the evidence that it was us.” the blond elucidated, not once taking a break from typing or even looking up. Regulus thought it was a little pointless since it would be obvious they had stolen the thing when they hand the thing to their parents, but he didn’t say anything. If something were to go sideways and they didn’t get the locket, Evan’s clever work would prove useful.
“Always one step ahead, huh, Ev?” Sirius grinned, throwing an arm around the blond.
“Someone’s gotta be,” Evan returned, an easy and teasing smile evident on his face.
Regulus scoffed fondly, turning his attention back on the spell book in front of him. He was anxious for this mission to happen already but also for the potential it has for it to go wrong. While he tried not to think of the negatives, something in the back of his head nagged at him to listen to what it was saying, and he was only so strong. He weighed out the statistics of something going wrong vs. it works out just fine, he gave it a 75% chance something goes wrong. Maybe 80%.
Their group worked tremendously well together, which is why he added the five percent, but sometimes things just go wrong and they argue the whole time. Evan and Barty are usually the source of the arguing, they love each other but fuck they act like an old married couple half the time. Even so, they can normally pull it together for a mission if it’s important enough. Regulus loves the guy, but Barty can be a bit of a dolt sometimes, not always understanding how things work or their consequences, which can make for a bit of an issue during things like this. He always tries to make a situation light and funny, Regulus understands that it’s a reflex and he doesn't do it on purpose but it can still take the importance out of a situation.
On the other hand, they were all crazy focused on getting this right and not staying here any longer. This past week had been driving them all off the edge, they were being bothered by everyone brave enough to talk to them and stared at by everyone who wasn’t. It was like people were trying to piss the death-eater-kids off. Regulus needed a breather.
“I need a breather, I’ll be right back,” Regulus tossed loosely as he opened the window to climb out of. Dinner had most likely just ended and, even if it wasn’t, Regulus didn’t want to run into anyone. He needed to breathe, not try and keep up with a conversation with someone he doesn’t know or like.
He stepped up on the slanted roof, the shingles sparkling prettily in the now setting sun. The tint of orange and pink hues filled the sky and a light breeze blew past him in the cool spring evening. The clouds were thin and wispy, moving in the flow on the wind in a way that was calming. The trees in the nearby forest whistled and sent fresh oxygen into Regulus’s lungs as he closed the window behind him. He felt instantly better, not so enclosed in the warm dorm with his brother and friends. Regulus let his legs dangle over the side of the small roof and they swung slowly as he willed his thoughts to clear.
He took in a deep breath, taking in all the air he could and he felt the chill of it make its way down his throat and into his lungs. Regulus closed his eyes sensing the scene around him, practically feeling his heart slow to the pace of the wind. He knew the others would leave him alone out here, they always respected his need for distance. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in another deep breath and watching the sky grow darker as the time passed.
Regulus didn’t know how long he had been outside but it was significantly darker now and he felt better. He turned back towards the window, opening it and slipping back into the viridian green dorm room. Evan was packing a bag, slipping his laptop in the largest pocket along with some other equipment, Regulus guessed, the blond would need. Sirius was throwing on an all black outfit with tons of pockets and room for him to move around efficiently for the mission. Barty was already changed, and was now helping his boyfriend get the things he needed or handing things for the older Black to hold put in one of his pockets.
“Oh! Reg, you alright now?” Barty questioned, a light tone of voice but his eyes flashed with concern for his friend. The brunette handed a water bottle off to his boyfriend before walking over to the raven haired boy by the window. Regulus nodded with a short smile, then turning to his brother with a questioning look,
"You took your earrings out?” he asked, Sirius almost always had earrings in so it was odd to see the boy without any.
“Yeah,” Sirius confirmed, “they just didn’t seem really practical since this is a stealth mission and they make noise.”
Regulus made a noise of understanding, his brother was right, they would make a lot of noise and they were trying to be quiet. He patted Barty on the forearm, giving him one more reassuring look before moving past him to get changed himself.
Regulus grabbed a long sleeved black shirt, a black leather vest that had more pockets than he would need pockets, some black pants Sirius had made him for missions - this also had tons of pockets - , and a black mask that would help cover his features and make him a little less noticeable. He made his way to the bathroom and locked the door behind him (force of habit) and placed his clothes on the counter before starting to change with his back facing the mirror.
Regulus took in a deep breath, slipping his binder off - he was probably going to be running around so he couldn't wear the thing - and putting on a tight sports bra, then putting on the rest of his clothes as quickly as possible. Then there was a knock on the bathroom door, making Regulus jump back into reality and yell out, “What?”
“Are you done changing? We need to come in like right now,” Sirius said in a low voice, against the bathroom door.
“Yeah, I'm done..” the younger boy confirmed curiously and unlocked the door. Both his brother and Barty came into the bathroom then, only keeping the door behind them open a crack.
“Quickly start arguing with me about something insignificant while Barty tries to get us to stop, someone’s at the door and Evan is the only one not changed yet so we need a cover.” Sirius explained quickly, glancing back at the door minutely.
Regulus nodded, “Why did you take my favorite shirt, you un-eesome fucking slubberdegullion!”
“What do those words even fucking mean!?” Sirius snapped back, “Speak like a normal human being, crétin!”
“It’s not my fault you’re too incompetent to understand me, maybe open a book every once and a while!”
Next to them, Barty was trying not to laugh, “Okay you two, cut it out, it’s not a big deal.”
“Oh? And how would you feel if a grotesque dog-like being wore your clothes without asking?” Regulus threw at his friend, a small smile forcing its way on his face.
Sirius’s mouth fell open, he was clearly trying not to laugh at the argument now at hand. He looked like he couldn’t tell if this was the funniest thing to him or if he should be offended. Behind them, outside the door, Regulus could hear Evan talking to whoever knocked on their door. It sounded like the prince, of course it was, who else would come to their dorm right as they were about to go on a mission? He couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying over he and the other two’s arguing but it sounded like Evan was explaining that ‘this happens a lot’ to the other boy.
Potter must have been insisting to help because Evan proceeded to yell, “Kinderen! Shut up, and share your shit!”
At that moment Regulus said, “Fais-moi, Rosier!”
The older Black threw his arm around his brother and started ruffling his hair, Regulus scoffed trying to get the other off him. Barty barked out a laugh, “Amore! We need you in here!”
“Get off me you twat!” the younger yelled, failing to push his older brother away. He knew he told his brother to get off but, and he would never admit this, he wouldn’t trade Sirius’s affection for the world. He loved his brother more than anything and the fact he had that ‘brotherly’ love reciprocated made him incredibly happy. He held back his smile, though it cracked at the corners and continued to pretend to push Sirius away from his side.
Outside the bathroom, there was a loud sigh and a tired Evan telling the prince he had to go take care of “those fools” before closing the door on a concerned James Potter. The guy clearly had no siblings. As soon as Evan walked into the bathroom and shut the door, the four boys burst out laughing.
****
It was late now, very well past eleven at night and the four boys had just locked their dorm room and moved the small desk in front of the door. They were all filing out of the small window in the corner of the room as quietly as they could, which was pretty damn quiet given they all had shoes that were made to be light on noise and their extensive training on being sneaky. Regulus went out first because he knew how to get down, then Evan went, then Barty, and finally Sirius. Regulus helped them all down, making sure to keep a lookout in case someone decided to come for a night walk. Evan was looking at the top of the building, in case someone opened their window and saw them sneaking out in weird outfits heading towards the village.
Once they were all safely on the ground, they hurried down the hill and into the forest, out of sight from the other students and staff members. Barty kept turning his head back, just in case, but they were lucky enough to not get any more interruptions. The forest was almost pitch black with an eerie sound coming from, what Regulus hoped, was the wind flowing through the trees.
The four boys stayed silent the entire walk to the village, communicating only via looks and signals. They all knew the plan like they knew the consequences if they get caught doing anything they are doing.
They reached the museum quickly and without any trouble, sans almost getting lost one time after leaving the woods. The street was dimly lit and completely empty with the stores all closed and the only places still open being the pubs. With the museum being on the isolated and on the other side of the village, getting to it without being seen was easy, the issue was getting in. Evan waved the other over to a small side door that had no camera and faced the forest. He pulled out his laptop and started typing away using the other three as his cover.
“Alright,” He whispered, “I’ll go in first with Sirius following and you two,” he pointed at Regulus and Barty, “will come in behind us watching our backs. We head to the security room and take the guard out and take it from there, got it?”
All three nodded, with the blond putting the stolen electronic back securely in the bag before turning to the older black. He gestured to the door, kicking Sirius into work to unlock it with the bobby pin the guy always had on him, just in case. The raven haired boy knelt in front of the door and started working his magic. One click later and Sirius was standing up and opening the door for the blond with a dramatic bow.
They all filed into the building in the order Evan had ordered, stopping at the bottom of the staircase.
“The security room is on the third floor, this stairwell opens up right next to the security room but the doors each have windows and cameras right outside of them so we gotta be careful,” Regulus reminded the others quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
“And this well has two cameras, one on the second and another on the third. I set them to look like they did two minutes ago but it only lasts for three hours so we have to make sure we’re out by then.” Evan whispered back just as quietly.
They nodded once, making their way up the stairs as silently as they could and running under the windows on the doors. They stayed in their single file order until they reached the door they were leaving out of, then they all sat crouched in front of it. Evan pulled out the laptop again – messing with the cameras again – and Regulus pulled out his spell book and turned it to the page he would need. He felt his hands begin to tremble at the anxiety of casting this spell again, but hid it by closing his index finger inside the book and focusing on the blond’s screen.
Evan turned to look at him, then his brother, then Barty, giving them all a once over and making sure they were ready. They all confirmed in various ways before the blond opened the metal 'employees only’ door as quietly as he could. Regulus followed behind him, making sure the other two were right behind him before he opened the book once more and stared at the oblivious security guard.
He took a deep breath, “ altum somnum ” he whispered, moving his hand in the direction the book told him to.
Suddenly, the security guard was stretching and leaning back in his chair lazily, taking his headset off and setting them down on the desk. Then, as if by some miracle, the spell worked and the man was snoring loudly.
Regulus grinned, turning to his friends who were all silently cheering for the short raven haired boy. After a moment, he stepped out of the way of the door for his brother to unlock with the black bobby pin. The older Black understood immediately and swiftly knelt down and worked at picking the lock on the door. It clicked only after a few seconds and Sirius swung the door open, entering the dimly lit room with the sleeping guard.
Evan pulled out a large pair of noise canceling headphones from his bag and slipped them on the man gently. He moved the chair and grabbed two ear pieces, handing one off to Regulus,
“This way I can tell you what's going on around you and tell you where to go.” he explained, putting his own ear piece in and connecting his laptop to the security rooms’ computer. Evan continued, “Alright, I changed the cameras already so you guys are just in charge of getting the locket.”
Regulus tossed a look at his brother before grabbing Barty’s arm and exiting the room, leaving their safety up to the blond. He had full faith in Evan to get them to where they needed to go and not run them into any trouble, the rest was just up to them. The locket was on the third floor so they, luckily, wouldn’t have to go too far from the room in case something went wrong.
The museum was dark, only being lit up from display cases and the outside street lamps. Their steps were soft and quiet on the carpet as they hurried to the ‘magical artifacts’ section. The room was separated from the rest of the artifacts and all were enclosed in glass cases. They had to find a way to get the locket out of the glass without setting off the alarm, and Regulus had no idea how they were going to accomplish this. Normally Regulus would pour all his time into figuring out every detail of the plan and he did try but it has been difficult to do with the prince and co. always somewhere nearby. Regulus also had to do things without electronics since he didn’t know how to work them and they had a trace on them so there was a possibility that someone could see his suspicious history and stop them. Doing things manually wasn’t as hard on the island because the library was a lot smaller and he practically lived in it, he knew every book in that place. Unlike the island though, this library was huge, and while he did love the new knowledge he could consume, it wasn’t very practical for trying to find specific information in a timely manner.
Of course Regulus still had an idea to get the locket out efficiently, he was just unsure how well it would work. He had found a spell in the book his mother had given him but he hadn’t had the chance to practice it and it might backfire. He planned to first ask Evan if there was a way he could disarm the alarm on the locket safely before attempting the risky spell.
They made it to the room without running into any trouble and quickly made their way over to the locket. They both stopped dead in their tracks in front of the ugly thing, staring at it and almost forgetting to breathe. Regulus’s gut twisted inside him and a feeling of nausea took over him but he had to ignore it. He took a deep breath and heard Evan speaking to him in his ear,
“Guys, you need to hurry before this spell on the guard wears off.”
The raven haired boy shook his head and before he could process what was happening, Barty was walking closer to the glass case. The burnett's hand was out stretched and there was a nervous grin on his face. He was going to take the glass off the locket and set off the alarm.
“Barty, wait!” Regulus rushed out starting after his friend, going to pull his hand away before his touched it, “Don’t tou-”
The brown eyed boy fell back from the force of the charm and the alarm blaring in both boys' ears. The alarm was so loud Regulus could’ve sworn he could feel the floor vibrate with it, he felt like he was on the verge of a panic attack and quickly covered his ears. It was too loud and he needed it to stop so he could hear his thoughts. He could feel his heart beat in his chest and he wanted to get away from the loud noises.
Suddenly he remembered where he was, what he was doing, and zoned in on getting the fuck out of here. His eyes snapped open and his eyes found Barty’s, he ran to his side and grabbed his arm, pulling him up. They both bolted out of the room, rushing to the security room where they knew the other two were. Regulus heard talking in his ear over the sound of the blasted alarm, but the blond wasn’t talking to him.
“Yes, sorry there was a malfunction..” he was talking to some worker? Didn’t matter, Regulus could barely hear him anyways and they were trying not to get caught by another security guard. Luckily the guy under the spell shouldn’t wake up so long as those headphones stay on him, Regulus had found a way to enchant them so they were completely soundproof. Soon, the alarm stopped and all was quiet again, leaving just the soft sound of the two boys' shoes touching the ground as they ran across the museum's third floor.
Once they made it to the security room, Sirius and Evan were waiting for them outside of it looking not too happy. Regulus also wasn’t happy but they didn’t have time for that at the moment, they had to get out of here quickly. Even if the other boy had managed to get the alarm to stop, there were other security guards in this place who were probably on their way to check the situation out for themselves. If they didn’t get out now, they ran a high risk of being seen and they had been extremely lucky so far.
The younger Black expressed his thoughts through a look that the others seemed to understand through their exasperated sighs rolling eyes. The four of them swiftly made their way to the stairs and down the stairwell, not looking behind them, just making sure to not get caught by the cameras. They ducked under the windows of the doors and rushed out the back door as fast as they physically could, not risking getting seen by someone.
Even after they were all out safely, they didn’t stop running nor did they say something until they were in the woods, out of sight of anyone in the village. They finally slowed and rested next to a tree, catching their breaths before heading back to the castle. Apparently they felt comfortable speaking, because at that moment Evan smacked his boyfriend in the back of the head lightly beforeing saying, “idiot.”
Barty had nothing to respond with, his face was scrunched up with distraught and guilt as he curled in on himself. The blond boy seemed to regret his actions immediately after acting them out, he pursed his lips and took a small step closer to the brunette. He interlocked their fingers without saying another word, silently comforting his boyfriend even if he was upset with him.
Regulus sighed, closing his eyes and willing his heart to stop beating out of his chest, “We can find another way to get the locket, okay?”
“But-” Barty argued, not seeming too confident in his friend’s words, “but what if that was the only way, our only chance.”
“Look Bart, worst case scenario we try again in a month or two after we’re sure there's not another way. It’s not that big of a deal and we can even spend more time figuring out how to get the ugly locket out of the case.” the younger Black said softly, kicking the bottom of his friend’s shoes to get him to look up. He knew they would be able to find a way to get to it, Evan had made the alarm seem like an accident and there wasn’t any evidence that they had been there.
“Exactly, so don’t beat yourself too much, how were you supposed to know there was a magical fucking force field around the lockt anyways?” Sirius continued, “It wasn’t something that was obvious nor stated anywhere.”
“Did you know there was a barrier there?” Barty questioned, though it didn’t seem like he was talking to anyone in particular.
“I assumed there was but I didn’t know for sure,” Regulus answered, “and I didn’t voice that thought either, so that’s on me.”
“I didn’t, and in hindsight we should’ve looked a little more into that.” Evan said, shrugging and not taking his eyes off the boy in front of him.
“I didn’t even think about the possibility and I probably would’ve done the same thing you did.” Sirius responded, his arms crossed casually as he leaned on the tree the other two were sitting at.
There was a glimpse of a smile that formed on Barty’s face in the silence that followed. The only sound now was that of the crickets hidden in the bushes, the night was still and dead. This brought a form of comfort to the four teens as they sat around this tree, regaining their energy and calming down from the experience they just had.
After a minute or two of silence they all decided they should get back to the dorm and get to sleep before someone noticed them missing. They weren’t super far from the castle so they stayed quiet for most of the walk, just listening to the nature around them.
There were distant sounds of rustling in the trees and bushes from the wildlife in the forest. The comforting scent of the growing leaves and flowers surrounded the four of them and Regulus felt calm. This was shocking due to the overstimulation he had just encountered, but nice nonetheless. He almost had the urge to close his eyes and just listen to the quiet around him but he dismissed the thought quickly, as it might cause him to run into something. Maybe he’d come out and listen to the forest another night.
As they came near the edge of the woods, Regulus’s chest tightened and his intestines twisted, he really hoped their absence wasn’t noticed. The light wasn’t on in their room from what he could tell, and the field leading to the castle was completely empty from every direction in sight. The tightness in his chest loosened up just a bit upon this observation, making it a little easier to breathe, but he knew it wouldn’t go away until they were in the dorm alone for a few minutes without interruption.
With one more look around, they ran across the field, Barty and Evan in front hand in hand and the brothers close behind them. The two boys in front of Regulus were so grossly in love it made him want to gag even though his heart swelled with joy every time the two even exchanged a look. He remembered all the years they spent dancing around each other in fear of hurting one another and ruining the life long friendship they had. It had hurt Regulus just watching them hurt one another while trying so hard to do the exact opposite. He knew they had always loved each other, even before any of them knew what romance was, and he had a feeling these two would last.
Regulus had noticed all the small smiles and longing stares and for a while he didn’t understand it, but after talking to Sirius about it he realized how gone the two were for each other. Sirius had apparently been trying to get them together for a while without meddling too much but after that talk, they decided it was best for the two boys to figure it out on their own. Even if Evan and Barty broke up – which would never happen because they are soulmates (if such things exist) – their closeness with one another would never end. The four had known each other almost their whole lives and they would always be close and that meant the world to all of them.
They soon reached the small wood box and, one by one, they made their way into the dark dorm room. Regulus let out a sigh of relief when the room was empty and silent, no one was waiting for them in their room, ready to throw them back on the island. There wasn’t even a light coming from the hallway, which made sense as it was probably around midnight now if not later.
“I’m gonna shower,” the younger Black whispered into the dark room, feeling gross and sweaty.
He heard small noises of acknowledgement from his friends as they all moved to get ready for bed. Regulus grabbed an old t-shirt and his usual pajama shorts before heading into the dorm's bathroom, locking it behind him. He sunk to the ground and listened to his friends outside as they changed and did the rest of their night routine. He heard Sirius say that he was going back to his dorm, asking the other two to tell Regulus and quietly closing the door behind him.
It was silent for a few minutes after that, other than Evan’s quiet whispers to Basil and rustling where Barty was moving into his bed. The two weren’t talking to each other but the raven could feel their stiffness from behind the door, he wished for them to talk. And as if Barty could hear his thoughts, he whispered into the darkness,
“Ev?”
“..Yeah?” Evan asked, matching his boyfriend’s volume.
“Can we,” Barty stopped, taking in a breath, “can we cuddle?”
“Of course we can, Lieverd.”
Regulus heard the footsteps of the blond crossing the room and stopping at the foot of the bed, he assumed the two were kissing or sappy shit like that (the losers). It was quiet for another moment - they were most definitely kissing - and then Regulus heard rustling of sheets once more. Evan and Barty started saying things to one another under their breaths, too quiet for him to make out. Though he thought it was about time he stopped eavesdropping on his friends and showered so he could get to bed too, after all, they had quite the adventure ahead of them.