ch. 15 - Quidditch
The second Quidditch match of the term came up quickly. Mulciber had the team up at four each morning leading up to the game and had been especially cruel to Evan and Regulus - making them come early to set up, asking them to do extra drills, and overall pushing their limits. Barty had been immensely helpful, he’d taken notes in the classes they found themselves dozing off in and had even laid off the need for affection from Evan as the day drew nearer.
“Rosier! Black!” Mulciber shouted across the hall as the boys trudged in for their breakfast.
“What Mulciber?” Evan grumbled, veering over to where he sat with Snape and some other members of the quidditch team.
“I want you two down at the pitch early to do broom maintenance this game,” he sneered.
“Isn’t that the elves' job?” Regulus raised a brow, he didn’t think he could handle the smell of polish with the amount of sleep he was running on.
“We can’t afford to screw this game up Black,” he explained, his voice just condescending enough that Regulus wanted to reach over the table and wrap his hand around the other boy’s throat. “If we don’t win then we don’t have a chance at the cup, and trust me Black you don’t want to get on my bad side.”
Evan scoffed, “like this isn’t your bad side.”
“Oh, you have no idea what I could do to you two. Especially after I graduate, you’d better hope you don’t run into me in unfriendly circumstances.”
“Big talk,” Evan glared, but Barty touched his forearm gently and pulled him back.
“Get the job done you two,” Mulciber reclined back into his seat.
“Yeah sure whatever,” Barty answered for them and dragged his seething boyfriend away to an empty section of the table.
“I don’t think I can take the smell of polish right now,” Evan sighed as they sunk down onto the bench. “Or anything to be honest. I have no idea how he expects us to win today when he’s been killing us all week.”
“I’ll help with the maintenance and fill Bea in and I’m sure she can talk your other chaser into giving you a bit of a break Ev. Reg I’m sorry but I don’t think there's much I could do to help with the whole snitch situation… maybe I could get a bit of pepperup in you or…”
Regulus held a hand up to silence him and he took a sip of his coffee before speaking, “you don’t have to help me with anything Barty, I’ll just down a few cups and try not to fall asleep in the air.”
“I worry about you sometimes Reg,” he smiled sadly as he watched Regulus down the rest of his mug and refill it.
“Eh I doubt if I die today it’ll be from too much caffeine intake,” Regulus laughed gently. His head was pounding, he and Evan hadn’t gotten back until nearly midnight the night before and he’d run out of dreamless sleep so it was nearly impossible for him to stay asleep thanks to the nightmares.
“No it’d probably be from Mulciber,” Evan laughed dryly, spreading jam onto one of his slices of toast. “I can’t wait until you’re captain Regulus.”
“Me too,” everyone knew that Regulus would be captain after Mulciber left school. He had been on the team the longest, and he was certainly the most skilled seeker attending school at the time. He and Evan would joke about being Co-Captains sometimes, mostly because Regulus knew he wouldn’t want all of the authority, or responsibility and would need some encouragement.
“What time have you got to be down there?” Barty asked through sips of his tea.
“Game starts at one, Mulciber wants us all there by twelve-fifteen and it’ll take at least an hour for us to do all the brooms, so I suppose after we eat we should just head down there,” Evan sighed, ripping a bite of his off in anger.
“Slow down you’re going to bite your lip,” Barty scolded, Evan just rolled his eyes and flipped him off. “I’ll help with the brooms, I know the polish smells like shit, and maybe you two can get a minute to relax before the game yeah?”
“You’re a gem Barty,” Regulus winked, picking at his fried egg unenthusiastically.
“Oh I know,” he smirked as Evan shot Regulus a warning glare, “now eat your food so you don’t have to worry about low blood sugars on top of exhaustion.”
“Wow I didn’t know you could be so motherly,” Evan chewed on his lower lip.
“I’m a kind enough person when I want to be,” he shrugged. “It's pretty much exclusive to you two, Pandora, Dorcas, and Bea though.”
“What's exclusive to us?” Dorcas swung into the seat next to Barty, Pandora and Bea settled across the table and began filling their plates.
“Barty’s motherly instinct,” Evan said through his bite of bacon.
“I didn’t know Barty was capable of being motherly,” Dorcas snorted.
“I don’t think he is,” Regulus smiled.
“Oh well, then I suppose you two can do maintenance by yourself then?”
Evan and Regulus groaned and apologized in a hurry, grumbling to themselves as he beamed in success.
“Is Mulciber making you guys do the dirty work again?” Bea raised a brow as she sipped her juice.
“Yeah, he’s all pissy for some reason today,” Evan rolled his eyes.
“Isn’t he always?”
“True.”
“We’ve got to get going Evan,” Regulus sighed as he poured the rest of his coffee down his throat, sliding the mug across the table as he stood.
“Alright,” he grumbled, dragging himself up and snatching the last piece of toast from his sister’s plate.
“Dick,” she stuck her tongue out. “Don’t bother with my broom I don’t want you to fuck it up,” she teased.
“Gladly,” Evan chuckled, ruffling her hair slightly as he walked away with Regulus and Barty.
The sun felt nice on Regulus’ face as the trio walked through the grounds. It’d been raining for the last week straight but the sun had decided to make an appearance for the match. It was still chilly out but the sun made the idea of the match much less excruciating, neither Evan nor Regulus could have handled rain on top of the exhaustion.
“Alright, where’s the care stuff?” Barty asked as they reached the changing rooms where their things were all kept.
“Back closet,” Regulus sighed, collapsing down onto one of the benches and lying back.
“Alright I’ll get started, you two try and relax a bit yeah?”
“Thanks, Barty,” Evan leaned over and kissed him quickly before laying down across a bench like Regulus.
“You two owe me for this by the way,” he smiled down on his best friends as he began working.
“Of course,” Evan replied sleepily, “whatever you want love.”
“Whatever I want?” Barty asked, and Regulus could practically hear him smirk.
“Keep your dirty little thoughts to yourselves please,” he mumbled, crossing his arms behind his head.
“Oh please,” Barty snorted, “I was just going to say I’d like a repeat of the other night in the shower when-”
Regulus covered his ears and hummed obnoxiously, drowning out the second half of Barty’s sentence. If he had to know anything else about Evan and his sex life Regulus thought he might hurl. He closed his eyes and let his mind go anywhere except the conversation he knew was transpiring between his best friends.
He must’ve dozed off because when he woke up Evan and Barty were panicking, they’d gotten almost everything done but of course, he could hear people making their way down to the pitch outside, which meant the rest of the players would be in the locker room any minute and Mulciber would be beyond pissed off if they hadn’t finished.
“Oh great you’re up,” Evan glared as Regulus sat himself up. “Help me finish this or I swear to Salazar I will tell Mulciber you slept the whole time,” he shoved a rag and the tin of polish into Regulus’ hands as he turned back to helping Barty with the last of the trimmings.
“You could’ve woken me up,” Regulus mumbled, getting up and starting to work on the last broom.
“We tried,” Barty gave him the side eye, “you hit me.”
“Sorry,” he pursed his lips, vaguely remembering Barty’s voice and his hand connecting with something in his unconscious state.
“I think that's the first time all week you’ve actually slept without your dream potion,” Evan remarked.
Regulus just shrugged, he’d been trying to be as discreet as possible with the potions, he was healing from what had happened over the holidays but sometimes the dreams just felt too real. He could almost feel the potion in his throat again, he could feel his lungs screaming for air as the world went dark, and he could hear Sirius sobbing and screaming for him. It was too much most days. So he drank the potions at night and went on with his life during the day, it worked.
“Black! Rosier!” A sharp voice cut through the air and all three boys groaned slightly before looking over to where the rest of the team had begun to file in.
“We finished,” Evan spat, elbowing Barty a bit in the side as if to tell him to get lost.
Mulciber just laughed, “good. Everyone get ready then we’ll talk strategy.”
Everyone murmured in agreement and went around the room to their assigned lockers to collect their gear.
“I’ll be cheering for you,” Barty whispered to Regulus and Evan as he turned to leave.
“Don’t get in trouble with McGonagall, you know she doesn’t like favoritism,” Regulus reminded him.
“Oh don’t worry about that between Lupin and me there definitely won't be any favoritism at all,” he rolled his eyes and slipped out the door. Evan gave Regulus a knowing look as they moved to their lockers, Barty had been the quidditch announcer at games since second year. It’d actually started as a punishment for him and Remus fighting in the corridor one day but they’d become quite the pair in the booth. Especially when it was Gryffindor v.s Slytherin.
The boys changed quickly and sat around the chalkboard while everyone else was finishing. Bea came in a few minutes later and joined them on the bench, she’d gotten permission to use the other locker room on game days so long as she didn’t attempt to cheat off the opposing team. She was the only girl on the Slytherin team, and nearly half of the Gryffindor’s players were girls so she felt more comfortable around them than she did the boys.
Once everyone had gathered around Mulciber began going over ‘strategy’ which mostly consisted of different variations of ‘don’t fuck this up.’ They were a good enough team, Evan, Bea, and Darrian Flint were great chasers, Bea and Evan could almost communicate with one another through their minds and Darrian seemed to know what he was doing well enough to communicate with them almost as effectively.
Avery and Nott were decent enough beaters that no one had been accidentally knocked off their brooms by them, though they had a bit of a mean streak when it came to the other teams.
Ironically Mulciber was the worst player on the team in Regulus’ opinion, if it weren’t for their chasers - who kept the quaffle far away from the hoops - the other team would have no problems scoring. He lacked any kind of coordination, but he also had quite a large bank account and a much nicer broom than he needed for school league quidditch.
Regulus wasn’t cocky, he hated drawing attention to himself in most situations, but he also knew he was the best player on the team. He took risks and criticism beautifully, and he knew how to handle himself - so much so that he’d made the team as a reserve his first year and hadn’t even been considered to leave since. He caught the snitch every game he’d ever played save for once in his third year when his broom had been struck by lightning moments before he’d caught the snitch. If Slytherin won the cup this year it would be because of him.
“Black!” Mulciber snapped a finger in front of Regulus’ face and he popped back into the moment. Evan gave him a sorry look as he draped his eyes up to meet the older man’s. “Did you hear what I said?”
“You want me to catch the snitch only after you’ve scored enough points to insure that we make it into the finals,” Regulus guessed, and by the scowl that spread across Mulciber’s face, he was correct.
“Nobody fuck this up,” he growled.
“Yeah,” Flint nodded, he was always eager to make Mulciber happy. “It’s our last year, Nott’s too, we want the cup.”
“Oh please,” Bea scoffed, and both Regulus and Evan elbowed her in the side. Mulciber had limited reasons to keep her on the team and they didn’t want her pushing too far. “We haven’t lost a game all year, we can beat the lions easily.”
The boys all glared, but they also knew she was right, so they kept their mouths shut. Madam Hooch’s whistle sounded once from the field - the two-minute warning - and everyone grabbed their brooms and slipped their gloves on.
“Good luck you two,” Regulus smiled at the siblings as the team filed from the locker rooms and fell into formation under the bleachers next to the Gryffindor team.
“Not like we need it,” Evan rolled his eyes and shoved his arm slightly before there was a long blow of the whistle and the players all kicked off from the ground.
Cheers erupted from the stands as everyone made a lap around the stadium, Barty gave him a thumbs up as he glided past the announcer's box, and Remus rolled his eyes and made a snide remark that got him a slap upside the head by the younger boy.
He noticed the Gryffindor team soaking in the applause, James gave the eager first-years high-fives as he flew past their outstretched hands, and his brother pumped his fist up in the air as if the world was staring. Though Regulus knew that in Sirius’ mind, it was.
Secretly he loved the applause. It made him feel alive like there were people who were actually rooting for his success and not his downfall. He beamed as he found Dorcas and Pandora’s faces in the crowd, both of them were sporting green jumpers and Pandora had even enchanted her hair to have emerald green streaks littered throughout it.
He never felt more alive than he did on the field, he came close whenever he was with James but there was something so intimate about their relationship that he still found himself slightly terrified when he thought about it too long.
“Alright I want a nice clean game today,” Hooch warned, her eyes trained on a select few players. “Captains if you would,” she raised a brow as James and Mulciber flew up to one another and shook hands. James was smiling like the fucking sunshine boy he was, and Mulciber was sneering like a fucking storm cloud on an otherwise clear day. “Keepers,” she nodded and both players shot up to their posts. She pulled the snitch from the chest and held it in her palm for a moment before it spread its wings and zipped into the air, taunting both Regulus and Marlene as it circled them before disappearing. They kept their eyes trained on one another, it had been an unspoken rule since McKinnon had made seeker two years ago. They didn’t watch where the snitch went after it made its rounds, and they didn’t try to look for at least fifteen minutes - to at least try and make the game interesting for the spectators.
The single short whistle sounded and Regulus peeled away from the center of the pitch where he’d been floating and flew up to the corner to observe the game for a while. He needed to wait for the points to go up before he could even attempt to find the snitch anyway. Evan had possession of the quaffle once he’d settled in a spot next to the Hufflepuff spire.
“- Slytherin’s star chaser duo is now in possession of the quaffle!” Barty’s voice echoed through the stadium and if Regulus really listened he could hear Lupin scoff behind him.
“Finally!” there was a scuffling sound over the megaphone and Remus’ voice filled the air. “Gryffindor chaser James Potter takes possession and zooms down the field toward Slytherin goals… Fuck yeah! -shit sorry professor,” Regulus laughed to himself as he heard Barty snort as McGonagall scolded them.
“Alright now, let's see… Oh, Evans got it again! Great pass to Beatrice as they make headway down the field-”
“The score is 0 : 10 for Gryffindor,” Remus interrupted.
Regulus never quite understood how they’d become friends. Though that’s probably what Barty would say if he ever found out about James, at least he and Lupin weren’t fucking. That was more his brother’s job than Barty’s. James seemed clueless about Sirius and Remus, whenever they’d talk about Sirius he’d never once said anything about his secret relationship with Remus. Or Regulus assumed it was a secret, if James didn’t know then there was a very slim chance that anyone else did, or at least they hadn’t told anyone directly.
“How you holding up Reg?” Evan shouted up to him, Regulus gave him a thumbs up and a tired smile.
“Evan!” Bea shouted, underhanding the quaffle to him and spinning around underneath him just in time to catch the ball again as she turned upright.
“Beautiful pass by the Rosier siblings!” Barty cheered.
“Mediocre at best I mean I’ve seen way cooler from the two of them,” Remus cut in.
“Boys,” Mcgonagall warned and they both went back to the game.
Another hour or so passed and the score was still in Gryffindor’s favor, Evan was tired, and Bea couldn’t communicate with Flint as well as she could with Evan.
“Gryffindor scores again… which brings the score to what Lupin?” Barty huffed over the speakers.
“20 : 50 to Gryffindor,” Remus smirked as Barty rolled his eyes. Regulus had begun keeping a close eye on Marlene, she’d been circling the pitch looking for the snitch for the last five or so minutes and he had to be ready in case she caught sight.
A blow of the whistle cut through the air and everyone stopped mid-flight.
“Looks like Hooch is calling a time-out,” Remus narrated. “Team Captain Mulciber is calling his players down - likely to strategize their plays-”
“Enough from you two,” Mcgonagall snatched the speaker and Regulus raised a brow at his friend as he glided down towards the ground. The sun was nice on his face, he’d been quite enjoying just floating up near the sky, it felt as calming as could be. But as soon as his feet hit the ground that peaceful feeling fled Regulus’ mind.
“The hell is going on up there?” Mulciber demanded, mostly directed towards his - typically stellar - duo.
“Maybe we’re just having an off day,” Bea shrugged, obviously bothered by their performance as well. “Or maybe you worked us all too hard this week and we’re tired.”
“I am so close to you kicking your ass off the team Rosier,” he snarled, taking a step closer to her. She straightened up and Regulus moved instinctively closer to her side in case he tried anything.
“Oh please, you need me. Evan, Regulus, and I are the only reason this team doesn’t suck ass. Get your own shit together and start guarding the fucking hoops, we only need four more goals and then Regulus can catch the snitch right?”
“You screw this up you’re all gone,” he threatened again, pointing to the three youngest members.
“You need to stop pushing his buttons Bea,” Evan warned as they mounted their brooms again.
“He needs to stop pushing mine,” she snapped, pushing off the ground and flying into position.
“She’ll be fine, he makes empty threats,” Regulus assured him gently as they followed the angry brunette.
“It's not quidditch I’m worried about,” he said quietly, letting the statement die in the cool air. The whistle blew again and Regulus made sure to stay near Marlene as she swept the pitch for the snitch.
“Wow okay whatever the Slytherin captain said to his team it seems to be working,” Remus’ voice sounded again. “Number 16 Rosier in possession, she sets up, and… that’s a win for the Slytherin team!”
“Oh yeah, Bea! Suck it Lions!”
“Mr. Crouch-”
“Sorry! That loves brings the score up to 30 : 50 still in Gryffindor’s favor,” he added the second half quietly enough that it was mostly drowned out by the cheering.
Regulus sped up a bit, still tailing Marlene as she swooped and swerved to try and lose him.
The wind had started to pick up as they came up to the two-hour mark, the sun still beating down on the pitch.
“And chaser James Potter back with the ball, he shoots and oh-” Remus hummed into the speaker, “Mulciber actually stops the ball for once-”
Scattered laughs broke out through the pitch, and Regulus couldn’t help but smirk.
“Come and get it, Potter!” Evan taunted from above him, Regulus peeked up and saw James hot on Evan’s tail as he raced across the field. Bea was waiting for him near the hoops to swoop in, it was their specialty. For a moment James looked down and caught Regulus’ eye, taking his eyes off the sky just enough for a bludger to scrape the end of his broom - sending him spinning a few years before he could right himself.
“Alright, James?” Sirius called.
“Yup all good,” he smiled back, looking down at Regulus for one more moment and winking slightly as he shot off after Evan and Bea.
Shit.
There it was, the slippery golden ball, right next to where James had just been. He needed two more goals, he needed to distract Marlene enough so it could be lost again…
“Merlin’s- Merlin…” Barty stopped himself, “Chaser Evan Rosier scores for Slytherin again, bringing the score to 40 : 50.”
One more goal. And the snitch hadn’t moved, it was like it was mocking Regulus. ‘Catch me. Isn't that what you're supposed to do?’ Unfortunately for Regulus, the announcement had caught McKinnon’s attention as well, drawing her eyes towards the ball.
“Flint in possession-”
A blur of red robes and blonde hair flew past Regulus as the snitch finally moved, zipping away from the other player.
“Seeker Marlene McKinnon seems to have spotted the snitch,” Remus shouted.
“Well fuck,” Regulus muttered to himself as he leaned forward and shot off after her and the snitch.
“Black in pursuit,” he could hear shouts from his teammates telling him to wait.
“Come on Ev,” he whispered silently, his ears were consumed by the whistling of the wind and he caught up with Marlene.
They glanced at one another once before the snitch made a ninety-degree turn upwards, Regulus pulled himself up immediately, giving him the split-second head start he needed as he chased the ball up into the sky.
“Rosier sets up…”
He closed his eyes.
“He shoots…”
His fingers outstretched as he rocketed up.
“ROSIER SCORES!”
His fingers connected with the freezing metal and he closed them triumphantly.
“HOLY SHIT GO REGULUS!” Barty’s voice boomed.
“Mr. Crouch!”
“SLYTHERIN’S GOING TO THE CUP!”
The cheers filled Regulus’ ears as he made a lap around the pitch, screams of joy and disappointment felt like music to his ears. He beamed as his feet connected with the grass, Mulciber didn’t look like he was going to bite their heads off and that was enough for him.
“Good work,” he said shortly, and Regulus smiled.
He could hear the Gryffindor team cursing behind him, he turned and smirked at his brother and James. Waving the snitch around like it was his gold star, and really it was. His parents controlled almost every aspect of his life, including what classes he took, what grades he achieved, and what friends he had. But quidditch was something that was entirely his own. Any achievement from Regulus was a win for Walburga and Orion, but they really didn’t care about the sport. To him, that was about the best feeling, being somewhere where he was free of his parent's judgment.
Sirius scrunched his face and flipped up his middle finger, and James smiled wickedly at him. His smile was brighter than the sun in the fucking sky to Regulus.
Part of him wondered what would happen if he just walked over and kissed him right then, in front of everyone, in front of Sirius, in front of Evan and Barty, in front of tons of kids who would easily sell that information to his parents. It wouldn’t be worth it. But one day he would do it, he would kiss James in front of everyone. Whether it be next year or in ten years. It would happen. He swore to himself. James would be more than worth it.
“That was wicked!” Evan punched his arm lightly, he looked like he was on the brink of passing out, but he was smiling.
“You two were amazing up there,” Regulus nodded to where Bea was laughing with Pandora and Dorcas in the crowd behind them.
“It was all her today, I could barely stay on my fucking broom,” Evan rolled his eyes, his eyes scanning the crowd for Barty.
“Don’t sell yourself short loverboy,” Regulus teased, and as if on cue Barty appeared in the crowd behind them and jumped onto Evan’s back.
“You were fucking brilliant,” he smiled in his ear.
“Get off my back Barty,” Evan groaned, though a pink tint coated his cheeks like icing on a cake. “You really have to learn how to be discreet,” he whispered as Barty climbed down.
He just shrugged, “I did this kind of stuff before we started fucking,” he continued in a low voice. “No one will think anything of it.”
“I guess,” Evan sighed nervously, glancing around to make sure no one had overheard. “I’ve got to go and shower before we go back to the dorms.”
“Oh we’re throwing a rager,” Barty smirked, “otherwise I’d most certainly be joining you in that shower-” Eva’s hand clamped over his mouth as someone walked a bit too close.
“You two are going to be so lucky if we leave Hogwarts without someone finding out about this,” Regulus scoffed.
“Oh we’ll be fine,” Barty assured a now very paranoid Evan. “I promise.”
“Alright,” he smiled back slightly, “now I really do have to shower.”
“Alright,” Barty smiled, squeezing his forearm slightly and slapping Regulus lightly on the back as he walked away. “I’m proud of you two!” he called back over his shoulder before disappearing into the sea of people.
“He’s crazy,” Evan laughed as they snaked their way into the locker rooms again.
“He just wants us all to be happy,” Regulus shrugged. He loved how much Barty cared for his friends, and he loved how much he lived to make him and Evan smile every day.
Evan gave him a tired smile before pulling the curtain of his shower closed and turning the water on, the steam made it hard for Regulus to pull his robes from his body. And as he stepped under the stream of water his body screamed, it always hurt for the first few seconds. Regulus had the tendency to turn the temperature all the way up and bathe in the scalding water. His skin stopped burning after a minute and Regulus felt his shoulders relax as he worked the water into his curls. His skin turned a bright red as the water continued to rise in temperature, though now he only felt a tingling sensation as the drops hit his skin.
“Reg?” Evan called after a minute, he always seemed to take the quickest showers.
“I’ll meet you back in the common room,” he replied, Evan made a slight noise of protest before another shower curtain opened and he retreated without another word.
Regulus sat for a while in the water before actually cleaning his body, he massaged the shampoo into his hair carefully and stepped out of the stream of water to allow the conditioner to set. He scrubbed his body as he waited, his fingers tracing each of the scars that littered his body.
The largest of which was the silver mark that ran across his chest from his right collarbone to the middle of his left ribcage. Walburga hadn’t healed the wound properly after Sirius had run away, she knew that he had something to do with his disappearance, and she knew Narcissa did too, but it was far too late for her to take control of her life, so she’d have to settle for Regulus alone.
His favorite scar was the one on his leg, it was one of the few he’d managed to get all by himself as a child. He’d thought it would be a brilliant idea to try a nosedive once when he and Sirius were playing Quidditch in the back gardens of their aunt and uncle’s estate. He hadn’t been able to pull up soon enough and had fallen right into his aunt Druella’s rose bushes and sliced his leg open on a branch. Sirius had run inside and told the adults but they hadn’t done anything to help, claiming that it was his own fault and he had to live with the consequences of his own actions.
It took a few more minutes for Regulus to come back to reality, and he’d realized the water was going cold. So he washed away the soap from his body and hair before turning the knob on the shower and stepping out. The rest of the room was quiet and assumed he was the only one left, so he pulled back the curtain with only a towel wrapped around his waist, he’d left his change of clothes in his locker so when he went to the main room it caught him by surprise to see his brother sitting patiently on a bench near his locker.
“Reg,” he stood up, he and Regulus were nearly the same height, though Sirius was still beating him by a few centimeters.
“What are you doing here?” Regulus questioned, keeping his eyes trained on his brother while he opened the locker and withdrew his trousers and shirt.
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing… you seem….”
“Happier?” regulus offered, yanking the turtleneck over his head and adjusting the collar.
“Yeah,” Sirius smiled, “you made new friends too.”
“I made more friends,” Regulus corrected him. “Barty and Evan are still my favorites.”
“Well if they make you happy that’s all I want,” he smiled softly, and Regulus returned the gesture.
“Sirius?”
“Yes?”
“Turn around so I can change yeah?”
“Oh fuck yeah sorry,” he laughed, spinning around so he was facing the opposite wall.
“I am happier by the way,” Regulus said as he stepped into his trousers. “I’ve been trying, I mean sometimes it spirals but it’s been better.”
“Do you remember everything yet?”
“No,” he sighed, doing up the button. “I don’t really think I will. I don’t really want to.”
“Okay,” Sirius nodded.
“I’m done,” Regulus mentioned as he sank to the floor to put on his socks and shoes.
Sirius spun back around and walked over, sitting across from him on the concrete floor. “James wants us to be friends,” he said after a minute.
“What?” Regulus raised a brow.
“I think he likes you,” he shrugged, obviously not meaning it in a romantic sense.
“I think he’s full of himself,” Regulus rolled his eyes, not exactly lying. He’d just left out the part about him loving James’ undying confidence.
“He is,” Sirius chuckled, “that’s why I think you’d like each other.”
“Is that meant to say something about me?” Regulus teased.
“Perhaps it is little brother,” he ruffled Regulus’ hair as they both stood. “I’m happy for you. Really I am, I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost this part of you.”
“I’m sure you’d survive,” Regulus pursed his lips, his mind flashing to the agreement he’d made with Bellatrix.
“I don’t know if I would,” Sirius replied, he met Regulus’ eyes, and just for a moment, it felt like nothing was wrong between them. Then both of them remembered the hatred they had for one another sometimes, the way their stomachs would twist in knots the other would do something stupid, the way their mother had pitted them against one another for years. No, they couldn’t be perfect after all of that. But this was a start, not fighting every time they were in the same room was a start.
“I’ll see you around yeah?” Regulus smiled as he pushed his locker shut.
“Yeah,” Sirius grinned, waving over his shoulder as he made for the door. Hesitating only for a second before turning back to the younger boy. “We’re going to kick Slytherin's ass in the finals by the way,” he winked before slipping out.
“I’d like to see you try!” Regulus called after him, smiling as he pulled his cloak on and made his way back up to the castle.
…
By eleven o’clock the Slytherin common room was in full swing. Everyone at Hogwarts assumed that the Lions threw the best parties, that is until they found themselves with an exclusive pass into the Slytherin common room on nights like these. Fourth-year kids and below were sent off to their dorms and quite literally spelled in so they couldn’t get fucked. Regulus, Barty, and Evan had managed to get access once last year because Evan and Regulus had been a big part of Slytherins’ win against Revnclaw in the finals. Barty had been a technicality because wherever Regulus Black and Evan Rosier were Barty Crouch Jr was there too.
Now they’d acquired a few new members to their party, Pandora and Dorcas had been smuggled inside once everyone was either high or drunk enough to not notice. Bea was finally old enough, and now the six teenagers were piled on one of the couches that had been pushed into the corner of the room. Pandora was lying on her back looking at the enchanted ceiling, Dorcas was sitting in the middle with Pandora’s legs draped over her lap, and Barty and Eavan were practically straddling one another on the end - not that anyone was in a right enough state to make a comment. Regulus and Bea were perched on the back of the couch resting up against the wall, their legs crossed over the others.
The common room was too loud to talk, and Pandora and Dorcas seemed too high to even think, and Regulus wanted another shot. The whole room smelled of weed and everyone was at least somewhat up in the clouds, and there was enough alcohol that everyone had had something to drink.
“Want to get us shots?” Evan leaned his head back into Regulus’ lap and put on his best pair of puppy eyes.
“He’s too tired to move,” Barty added, obviously happy with their current positions.
Regulus groaned but scoot off the top of the couch and made his way into the depths of the common room. Most of the seventh years were enjoying one of their last ragers before leaving school, and he was Mulciber laughing with a group of his friends in the corner by the table full of bottles, he wanted to avoid him at all costs, something about that guy rubbed Regulus the wrong way - past being a total asshole. He acted like he knew something that he didn’t, and Regulus hated being left in the dark.
He found a bottle of whiskey and a round of muggle-style jello shots sitting on top of the piano and pilled the drinks into his arms before turning back to his corner.
“Black,” someone said into his ear, he jumped and nearly dropped a couple of the crystal shot glasses.
“The fuck do you want?” Regulus did his best to keep each word pronounced enough as he faced Snape. The longer he focused on his face the more the world around him spun around slightly.
“Are you drunk?” He raised a brow at the assortment of beverages in his arms.
“I just won us a place in the fucking finals,” Regulus snapped. “I’d say that I deserve to celebrate my successes.”
“I suppose you do,” he said plainly, turning away.
“Really? No making demands? I mean I get why you want an in, I mean I’m sure that becoming a murderous prick would make Evans oh so much more attracted to you,” he smirked, watching as Snape’s face twisted as he said her name.
“I’d watch your fucking back,” he snarled before storming away and going back to sulking around his dormmates.
Regulus felt bad for anyone who had to share a dorm with the man. Though he was curious to see his hygiene habits, the boy either didn’t wash his hair ever, or he was using the wrong products. Either way, he had an ongoing bet with Barty about how many days he typically went without showering.
“You’re a saint Reggie,” Barty blew a kiss to him as he grabbed two of the shots from his hands. For a moment Regulus couldn’t help but see James’ face in his place. James was supposed to call him Reggie.
“Bring that over here Black,” Dorcas slurred, reaching her hand out for a glass. Regulus didn’t argue as he climbed back up into his spot and handed both her and Beatrice a chalice before tipping his own back and letting the jelly slide down the back of his throat.
“I’m tired,” Pandora whined, her eyes still trained on the ceiling as if she was in a kind of trance.
“Go up to my dorm,” Bea suggested, “I can guarantee that Emma and Liza won’t be back tonight, and Zelda is chill, she won’t mind if you crash for the night.”
“Help me up,” she groaned, propping herself up on her elbows. Bea hopped down, surprisingly agile for how much she had to drink, and hoisted the blonde girl up and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.
“Wait I wanna come,” Dorcas cried, looking to Regulus who just sighed and climbed down again to help her up.
“Where are you going?” Barty cried as the four started walking away.
“Sleep,” Regulus said simply.
“You going back to our dorm?” Evan questioned, his eyes pleading.
“I’ll sleep on the floor in the girl’s dorm,” he sighed, and both Evan and Barty smirked at one another. “Stay off my bed you two,” he warned as they trudged towards the stairs.
Dorcas was supporting him just as much as he was supporting her when it came to the stairs, they didn’t fall all the way to the sixth floor where the girl's dorm was.
There was a long hallway with a few doors and Bea led the way down to the end and knocked. No one answered which made her push the door open and call out, “Z I’m bringing friends in!”
No answer.
“Maybe she’s getting laid,” Dorcas snorted at her own comment as they advanced into the dorms.
“Good for her,” Regulus said dryly, silently cursing himself for not grabbing pajamas to change into.
“I’ve got some of Evan’s jumpers if you want,” Bea offered, almost reading his mind as she sat Pandora down on a bed with light pink sheets.
“Thanks,” he smiled. Dorcas lifted her weight off of him and collapsed next to her best friend on the pink bed.
“Alright you two can have Emma’s bed, Reg you don’t really have to sleep on the floor. I’ll steal Liza’s bunk for the night and you can have mine if you want,” she shrugged, opening a drawer and pulling out a few oversized jumpers.
“No it’s alright,” he smiled, catching the quidditch hoodie she threw his way.
“You two want to change?” She asked Dorcas and Pandora who were now cuddling on top of the duvet. They both shook their heads sleepily, and Pandora mumbled something about being ‘comfy’. Regulus had no idea how girls were ever comfy, especially in dresses like they were in now.
Pandora had on a green dress with a pink floral pattern and bell sleeves - Dorcas had bought it for her over the summer and given it to her earlier in the year. Dorcas had a sparkly orange dress on with swirls and an open back. Bea had been in a tight black dress with mesh sleeves and a straight neckline, now she was sporting one of her brother’s Puddlemere Quidditch jumpers over the black dress.
“How are girls ever comfortable?” He wondered aloud and Bea laughed.
“We aren’t,” she smiled.
“Being a girl seems hard,” he sat on the edge of Bea’s bed and unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it off his shoulders and discarding it onto the floor.
“It is,” she smirked. “Honestly I’m so glad Ev made friends with you and Barty again. When he was hanging out with the older boys it was torture, I don’t think I talked to him for a week I was so pissed he was hanging around with that Mulciber creep.”
“What makes Barty and I better?” He asked, pulling Evan’s quidditch jumper over his head.
“You aren’t constantly trying to get with me,” she rolled her eyes, “And you’re nice, you don’t treat me like a child which is nice. And It’s pretty much guaranteed that neither of you are into me romantically.”
“I used to like you,” Regulus snorted. “A long time ago. I honestly just thought you were cool.”
“You’re cool too,” she smirked. “Not as cool as Viv however.”
“Viv?” Regulus raised a brow.
“Oh shut up, you’re the only one I can talk to her about. I love Barty but he’s always with my brother.”
“I think I love him…” the words slipped from Regulus’ lips before he even processed them. James hadn’t left his mind all night, he was like a presence, like the light in the room. And hearing and seeing his two best friends all night had only made it worse. He loved James Potter. He wanted to love him like Barty loved Evan, he needed to love him. Of course, he’d fallen for James, of course, he’d fallen for the most consequential person he could have ever loved. He loved James and he would pay for it. But James was worth it. James was the sun.
“You love Barty?” Bea blinked slowly, sitting up from where she’d collapsed on her mattress.
“No,” Regulus laid back next to where she sat. “I love my sun.”
“Okay Reg,” she laughed, lying back down. “Get some sleep okay?”
He hummed and closed his eyes, his head filled with images of James Potter. His sun.