Walking on Glass
“You collect scars because you want proof,
That you are paying for whatever sins
You have committed.”
Remus had stayed true to his words. The dark-haired boy had come towards the tables after ten minutes since their second encounter. It had taken him some time trying to figure out what shirt would work with his outfit. White was not a smart color - it easily stained, and he did not want to ruin another shirt. The maids already had to deal with enough. Of course, he was using ‘what if it happens again?’ scenarios. He didn’t know what would happen through the next few hours. Remus surely did not know the series of events that would take a hold of him after this.
He approached the table slowly, fixing the collar of his shirt as he approached Regulus. The other boy had not refilled his drink yet which was something that made Remus a bit confused. He decided to take that up as something he could do. Humming to himself, he moved to grab two glasses. He placed one down on the table before turning to the drinks. Using one of the ladle-like spoons that sat in the liquid, he used to scoop some into each of the cups. Placing it down, he then grabbed both cups once more.
Deciding to make himself noticed now, Remus approached Regulus finally. He could feel the other boys' gaze find him and he nodded a bit in some sort of greeting. “Hello again, Regulus.” He spoke calmly before extending one of the cups forwards to the other boy. Regulus eyed the drink suspiciously. Remus watched for a moment before Regulus actually took the drink from him. It was as if he was debating his choices.
Remus smiled faintly and broke his own drink to his lips, taking a sip of it to show that it was not poisoned. He wouldn’t have time to do so anyways, and he would not even think about doing it in the first place. However, he knew that wouldn’t stop someone's thoughts.
“Thank you,” Regulus spoke up. Remus took notice of the French accent lacing his words as the other continued to speak. “And I truly am sorry about ruining one of your shirts. That was not my intention- I didn’t mean to spill the drink in the first place.” He finished off, bringing the drink to his lips to take a sip of it. It had not been poisoned - so there was no reaction.
“It’s alright,” Remus brushed the apology off without a second thought, “I have plenty of other shirts. It was bound to happen to someone here, turns out it was just me.” He let out a small laugh, trying to show that he really was not phased by the small incident. It was just a shirt. He was just thankful it wasn’t one of his favorite shirts. He didn’t tend to dress in clothes he favored when attending large balls. He never knew what would happen and if he would get it dirty.
“Are you sure?” Regulus asked calmly, raising an eyebrow as he swirled the drink around in his cup. Remus nodded his head a small bit, keeping his gaze on the other prince.
“I’m sure,” He promised, “You do not have to worry, Regulus.”
And for some reason, Regulus’ shoulders seemed to untense at those words. It calmed the boy in a sense, and he didn’t understand why. He was here to kill this man after all, not befriend him.
Why is it his parents always picked someone pretty for him to kill? It was unfair on so many levels.
“I’m not worrying,” Regulus stated bluntly, shaking his head a small bit. He didn’t need the other prince picking out all of the small mistakes he made.
“I’m not saying you are.” Remus reeled his words back in. He didn’t want to upset Regulus. He didn’t know how he would react - coming from an untrusting kingdom, after all.
“It seemed like you were.” The younger prince couldn’t help himself from shooting out. He was defensive, that was something Remus had picked up on. Was that just a common factor among everyone that found themselves associating with the Kingdom of Black? He didn’t know nor did he think he ever would.
“I wasn’t, I can promise you that.” Remus smiled kindly, bowing his head as a sign of respect. He hoped that would do it for Regulus, yet for some reason, he saw a blaze form in the boy's eyes at his first sentence. That made his eyebrows furrow a small bit, yet he knew he shouldn’t comment on it. The emotion seemed to fade away as quickly as it had come.
Regulus sucked in a breath, but he nodded after a moment. “Alright,” He began slowly, “I believe you. You do not need to promise anything.” Regulus didn’t know if he could trust anyone's promise anymore. After all, they only ever got broken. That was a recurring event for the young prince.
“I feel the need to,” The dark-skinned prince chuckled, “Since you feel the need to apologize, I feel the need to promise.” Those words made Regulus want to die. They made him want to finish his job and leave before he could get caught. He hated promises. He hated them.
“Thank you for inviting us,” Regulus spoke up, changing the topic almost entirely. He couldn’t deal with the promises anymore. He tried to stray as far away from them as possible. He was always an amazing promise-keeper, he just did not have the best experience with them. “I know the reputation our kingdom upholds…I’m not the biggest fan of it myself.”
The lie fell from Regulus almost immediately. It was a believable lie, well he thought it was at least. Hopefully, the Lupin boy would believe it.
A smile formed on the taller prince's face, and he nodded in response to the thanks he was given.
“You’re welcome,” Remus began, “I’ll say though - it wasn’t me who invited you. I was annoyed at first- mainly because of the reputation your parents uphold as well as the rumors that come from your kingdom. Though…I don’t like judging people. Not entirely at least.” He explained, taking another sip of his drink to stop himself from talking.
The raven-haired prince believed those words. If the positions were switched, he would believe the same thing. Remus had every right to be wary of them, even if it made the job harder. Everything was making the job harder for Regulus. He wanted to be quick about this. In and out, unlike his parents who told him to take his time. He normally did, but he did not like social events. He was not the best with them. In and out was the best way for this.
“My parents do not have the best reputation,” He began to speak up, “I’ve been victim to rumors many times because of it. So thank you for not judging me so harshly.” He thanked Remus once more. His plan for the first part was to become friendly with Remus. Just enough so that the boy wouldn’t be wary of him. Not to where Remus trusted him fully, but just enough to know he wouldn’t hurt him.
The second part of the plan was getting close enough to finish the job.
That was more easily said than done.
He let his gaze drift back out to the crowd, looking for a certain individual. It didn’t take him long to find Barty moving about. He could already feel the other looking at him. Regulus didn’t give him any signs, but at least his friend knew that the plan was a go. After a moment, he let his attention be drawn back to Remus.
“You don’t need to thank me,” Remus smiled kindly. “It’s common courtesy, is all.” He added on.
Why was he so kind? Regulus wanted to kill him because he was being so nice. Was that an appropriate response? He doubted it was. He didn’t know how to communicate with nice people. There was only a few people he knew how to interact with - but only one of those people was lingering about. The other was back at his kingdom. The raven didn’t know how to interact with the taller boy. His normal was far different from Remus’ normal. That was just a given.
“Let’s just call a truce.”
“A truce?”
“Yes, a truce,” Regulus repeated, keeping his words slow.
“What for?” Another question.
“You ask so many questions, did you know that, Lupin?” The younger prince shot out, rolling his eyes just enough to be slightly noticeable by the other prince. “We should both stop doing things. You can stop making promises, and I’ll stop thanking you and apologizing to you.” He got out, biting on his tongue. A nervous habit he had picked up over the years.
Remus bit back a sigh but nodded either way. “Fine.” He spoke up, taking another sip of his drink to calm down. Regulus seemed to do the same. “I’ll call a truce with you, Regulus.” Unlike how Regulus used his last name, Remus wouldn’t use the others. It was too formal. At least for his liking, it was. This was meant to be a party and ball of friendships, and trust. Not one of fear and resilience. There was likely to be a ball for that in the future or a meeting of some sort. Though - that was a last-minute thought.
“Good,” Regulus spoke calmly now, though his voice seemed smaller…it seemed softer in a way, “A truce it is. Now- now find a different topic of conversation, please.” He added, his shoulders a bit tense now.
A truce.
Why was Regulus so stupid sometimes?
Both boys were quiet for a minute, debating on how to continue their conversation. Or it was more so, Regulus was yelling at himself in his mind and Remus was thinking of how he could continue their conversation without upsetting the other boy further.
“Whose the guy you brought with you?” Remus began once more. He was curious about him. It looked like this boy was his guard, but there seemed to be an underlying sense of something else.
Regulus’ eyebrows furrowed at the question, yet his friends were one thing he could talk about for hours. His eyes drifted back out to the crowd though, finding Barty almost immediately. The tawny haired boy was lingering closer now, but he was making his time by talking with others. Currently, he found Barty talking to a duo now. The dark-skinned girl from earlier as well as a blonde-haired person. Their hair was cut into a mullet, a few strands of color flooding throughout. He noticed how Barty looked happy. He’d have to ask the boy who they were when they left.
“My personal guard,” He explained. Despite how much he didn’t want to let it be seen, the corners of his lips quirked up into the faintest of smiles. He turned his attention back to Remus. “Barty’s also a good friend.” He kept his words as simple as he could, not wanting to make it known that the boy was one of his few weaknesses. He didn’t have many - but his friends were one of them.
“He seems to be having fun,” Remus commented, taking notice of the direction Regulus had looked. His eyes landed on the boy before talking to another heir and guard duo. Dorcas Meadowes and Marlene McKinnon. Dorcas was the heir to the Aurea Virga kingdom - a kingdom that was thriving in the colder parts of the country.
“He always liked parties,” Regulus spoke up with his small explanation, “Ever since he was a little. His birthday parties we always made big and it only fed into this more.” He wanted to chuckle a bit at the stories that flooded his head. He had countless stories from Barty’s birthday parties growing up. It was the two, Pandora, and a few others. He had enjoyed them when they were still as big as they were.
Remus could tell that was true. The guard seemed to be enjoying himself. Especially with the way he looked so relaxed. Regulus looked to be the exact opposite and that intrigued him.
“And you don’t?” He found himself questioning, now focusing his gaze back on Regulus. He liked looking at the raven-haired boy more. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
Regulus froze a bit upon hearing the question. He didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t like parties in general, but he didn’t want to be rude. Not when Remus was only being nice to him and asking him how he felt.
“I’m not a party person,” He responded after a moment. He tried wording his sentences in the nicest way he could. He wasn’t a nice person though, he knew that. “Never have been, and I doubt I ever will be. I genuinely would have not come here in the first place, but my parents wanted me to meet people and Barty desperately wanted to go when he heard it was happening.” His words were not a lie entirely. He knew Barty had been wanting to go to this party for a few years. This was the first time either boy was attending it. However, he was here for a job. He would have had to come here anyways.
“Would it be a bad thing if I said you don’t look like a party person?” Remus found himself questioning, a small laugh escaping from him. He was joking around with Regulus or at least trying. He wanted to see if he could get the boy to enjoy the party. It wasn’t obvious, but Remus was taking a liking to the boy. He was…he didn’t know how to describe Regulus.
Regulus’ eyes widened almost instantly hearing those words, and he shook his head. “I don’t think it would be a bad thing. I mean…it is the truth after all.” He agreed, taking a sip of his drink to stop himself from speaking.
“Good, good.” Remus continued on, placing his now empty glass down on one of the tables. His eyes scanned over the snacks. He took a moment to decide what he wanted to snack on before just grabbing one of the biscuits. “Parties are not my forte either.” He added on. That gave Regulus more thoughts.
Remus seemed to be enjoying himself at the party. It looked like he belonged there.
“Yeah? Then what do you like to do? You seem to be enjoying yourself just as much as everyone else.” He questioned, finishing the drink in his cup. That caught another laugh to escape Remus. Had he said something funny? He didn’t think he did.
“I actually prefer gardening,” Remus responded. He had That definitely surprised Regulus. Remus didn’t seem like the person in the garden. “And anything that I can do by myself really. I don’t like relying on others. Parties you have to rely on someone to talk with you - or at least continue a conversation you’re trying to start.”
Ah. That made sense. Regulus could understand where the other boy was coming from.
“Do you also like croqueting?” He couldn’t help but question. He motioned toward the other boy's cane. The black cane was wrapped in a croquet pattern of red and gold. Remus looked down and noticed the design before humming softly.
“Ah, I don’t think I have the patience to croquet.” He looked back up to Regulus, “A friend of mine from the village made it for me. She’s made quite a few different designs…this one I put on for formal events since it’s the colors to the kingdom.” He explained, leaning onto the cane a bit.
“I like it,” Regulus commented. He shouldn’t be speaking. He genuinely should not be speaking. And yet, that’s exactly what he was doing. He was doing everything he should not be doing.
Remus smiled immediately when he heard those words.
“Do you really?” He questioned, “I’ll let my friend know then. She appreciates all the compliments on them. I do as well. I sometimes even match the pattern I use to the outfit I’m wearing. I’m sure there is some pictures of proof hanging around the castle.” Remus added on, tapping his cane against the floor once more.
Regulus assumed it was a happy thing. A happy thing, a nervous thing, and probably just a reaction to everything. He had his own.
“Croqueting takes a lot of time. I tried learning, but it hurt my hands too much for my liking.” Regulus explained. He decided making conversation about their hobbies would be the easiest thing. He had a few hobbies he could talk about if the topic was switched onto him. It was also an easy getaway conversation. He could leave at any time and make a viable excuse.
“Oh I know,” Remus agreed. “She often complains about the cramps it gives her…but she enjoys doing it so I’m not going to stop her. So what do you do? What do you find interesting?” Remus found himself questioning, hand moving down his cane a bit to fiddle with one of the loose strings on the pattern.
Regulus was quick to answer. It was like he had been preparing his answer the whole night.
“I play piano.” He stated calmly, “And I write, and study. That’s about it.” He finished off. Remus seemed to perk up at those things and he nodded in thought.
“What do you write?” Remus wanted to get to know Regulus a bit. Just a small bit. He wanted to be able to trust the other. For some odd reason, he wanted to be able to trust Regulus. He knew he shouldn’t. He knew the Black families history. He knew it all to well from the stories he heard from older royals. Yet, he couldn’t help himself.
“I write everything. Poetry, short fiction - flash fiction. Anything really. If I have time, I’ll even work on longer pieces. Oh- and I’ve written music before. Lyrics and notes for piano.” Regulus found himself answering.
“Do you sing?” Remus questioned. Regulus did not look like the type of person to break out into song. Was there a way those people looked though? He didn’t think so. Regulus just didn’t look like he would sing. Nor did he mention it being one of his hobbies. Surely if you’re going to write lyrics, you would have a singing hobby.
“No.” Ah. His response might have been blunt, but the raven-haired boy could not bring it in himself to care.
“Then why write lyrics if you’re not going to sing them?” Why did Remus have to ask so many questions? He did not have the social battery for this.
“Someone else sings.” It wasn’t him, nor would it ever be. He had only sung a few times, just to put a few low parts into songs when it was needed.
“Who sings?”
“My friend.” Regulus found himself finalizing lastly. He wrote his keys for piano, and then he’d sit in the stables for a few hours. He would sit as Pandora attended to the horses. The duo worked well together. They thought almost the same, but Pandora talked a bit more than Regulus. She was the one who sang the songs. He wrote, xe sang. He played, they wrote. It was how their friendship worked, but he wouldn’t change anything about it.
“Anything I’d like?” Remus questioned once more.
“I don’t know what you like?” Regulus pointed out with a smark comment, motioning a hand through the air as he talked. Remus chuckled, deciding to continue to question Regulus.
“What do you study?” Remus found himself questioning once more. It was like he couldn't stop. He had too many questions.
“The stars,” Regulus answered immediately once more. That was the question he was waiting for. Though, he knew he shouldn’t answer it anymore. Not when he had seen his sibling at the gates alongside Remus. He knew the two knew one another. That just made everything ten times funnier.
“Our family is named after them…I’ve always been interested in space. So it’s what I study when I have the time.” He continued on, letting himself ramble once more. He knew he shouldn’t. He knew he shouldn’t indulge, but Remus would be dead soon enough and neither of them would have to remember this conversation.
“That’s cool,” He spoke up. “What’s your favorite star…if you don’t mind me asking, of course?” He questioned curiously, tilting his head. Remus didn’t know much about space, or the sky. Which was ironic. Their kingdom was named after the moon after all. Someone would think he knew some information about space after all.
He couldn’t say his favorite star. He couldn’t, and yet he let himself indulge. Just this once. Remus wouldn’t remember it after all.
“The Sirius star.”
『-』
Sirius had been standing guard. It was his job, and that’s exactly what she was doing. He had escorted Mary back to their wing so that the girl could get ready. He had even helped the girl in picking her dress due to how indecisive she had been. They eventually settled with a red dress that flowed out at the bottom - the sleeves were transparent and it showed one of the tattoos she had on her arm.
He had escorted her back out to the party after a bit of time though.
“Be safe, okay? And if you need me, you know where I’ll be.” He promised the curly-haired guard. She chuckled softly and nodded, pressing a friendly kiss to the boy's cheek.
“Don’t worry, Sirius, I’ll be fine. I’ll come to you if I need you.”
“Good, Macdonald. Now go find yourself a girl or boy for the night.” He joked, nudging the other.
Mary let out a laugh, pushing her hair back. “I’m not trying to find someone, Potter, watch your mouth.” She warned playfully. “You and I both know I have someone waiting for me back in the village.” She pointed out, smiling fondly at the thought of her girlfriend.
“Ah yes, I know I know. I think Lils would have my head if I told you to find someone else. It’s all jokes, Macdonald. I know you both are trying to find your third together.” He smiled reassuringly. The girls had been looking for a third to join their relationship, yet they haven’t been able to find anyone. Their tastes were so similar, yet both were picky and there were barely any girls in the village who liked girls. He knew that from experience.
He didn’t hesitate after that. Sirius moved to nudge Mary more into the sea of people. It didn’t take long for the waves to grab her and pull her in. Sirius watched her go and sucked in a breath. He moved about the room to the best of his abilities, finally positioning himself by one of the tables nearby.
His mind was racing though, more than she thought it would. They had been with Remus throughout the other greeting all of the guests. They watched everyone enter, and she watched as Fabian and Gideon escorted others up to the doors.
He hadn’t seen his sister, but he had seen a guard he knew all too well. Obviously, Barty was different now. He was taller, taller than Sirius at least. His hair was grown out just a bit, but it had been pushed back and he assumed that was due to the party. And the boy with him was not someone Sirius knew. Or, she didn’t think she knew him at least.
The boy - Regulus - shared the same grey eyes that seemed to haunt everybody who was born in the House of Black. He shared the same raven-coloured hair - though, Sirius’ was more leaning towards kohl. He was shorter than Barty, maybe an inch or two shorter than himself. The outfit he wore screamed ‘Look, I’m posh and someone in the Kingdom of Black.’ Regulus was his name.
Regulus.
Regulus.
Regulus.
He had to fight to figure out where he knew that from.
They dazed out for a moment, eyes going foggy as he tried to dive deep into his brain.
That’s when it dawned on him.
Everyone - mostly everyone - born into the Kingdom of Black was named after a star. That was tradition. Even she was named after a star - the Sirius star. The brightest in the sky, at least to the human eye.
There was a star called Regulus. It’s found in the Leo constellation - one of the brightest stars in it. Besides his star, it was another one of the brightest stars in the sky. Especially towards the colder months. It had been Sirius’ favorite constellation. He was referred to as a lion by his brother when they were younger - when they knew nothing of the harshness of their world. He was the lion, his brother was the snake. It was their thing.
It dawned on him.
That was still his family. Regulus was still his family. He was just his brother now.
Oh he was smart. That was so smart. It made memories flood back into his mind. Sirius loved the Leo constellation, of course, his brother would choose a star from it. He was a little shithead, that’s what he was. It was like his brother wanted him to know that he was hurting. It was like Regulus had planned this all perfectly. Like it was some game to him.
His brother was here. Regulus was here. As much as she wanted that to be a good thing, it wasn’t. Regulus most likely would have noticed them almost immediately at the doors. He had been referred to as a Potter. And then- his family did not have the best reputation. He hadn’t been there for some time, but he had a feeling that his family had roped Regulus into being the perfect weapon. They had gone through the same training after all. They had been trying to rope Sirius in, but she had left. He had left, leaving that burden to fall onto his brother.
Her eyes scanned the crowded sea almost instantly at that thought. Their brother wasn’t here for the party. He wasn’t here for the party, especially if he had brought Barty along with him. Before he had left, the Crouch family had been some of the best guards in the Kingdom. And despite Barty's age, he was just as good as Regulus. It had been time after that - they had to have gotten better. She knew it.
His brother was here on a mission. Nothing about that could change his mind. Why else would Regulus be here? No other ideas came to her head.
His mind was racing now. Regulus was here to kill someone. He was here to finish a job for his parents. He didn’t know who, but he needed to find out. They could corner Barty, and force it to give out as much information as he could. Yet, that would cause a scene. He couldn’t cause a scene.
What if Regulus and Barty were here just to enjoy the party?
Was he overreacting?
Was Regulus actually finishing a job?
He hoped not. Everything would be so much easier if he wasn’t. He would be able to get in touch with his brother again.
Would Regulus want to even be in touch with him?