Do we even matter?

It had only been a few days since Sirius had convinced the Marauders to pierce their ears, and despite his initial hesitation, Remus now quite liked his new earring. The placement wasn’t perfect—Sirius had failed slightly—but there was something oddly comforting about it. A small, reminder of the night they had spent together.

As he walked through the crowded corridor, heading toward the Great Hall for lunch, he was already thinking about what his friends had planned for this night. Maybe they’d finally put their prank on Snape into motion.

But before Remus could take another step, someone grabbed him.

Slim fingers wrapped around his wrist, pulling him to the side and into an empty classroom.

For a second, he thought it was Sirius. The pale skin, the dark curls, but as soon as Remus looked up, he realized his mistake.

“Regulus?” he murmured, surprised.

The younger Black was leaning against the door, arms crossed. He looked calm, though his fingers tapped against the fabric of his robes.

"Hey," Regulus said, voice quiet. "Sorry for scaring you."

Remus raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t scare me.” He straightened his sweater. “What do you want?”

“Can you spare some time for me?”

"Uh—" Remus glanced at the door. "Not right now. I’m supposed to be at lunch."

Regulus startled at that, as if he hadn’t considered being brushed off. Purebloods, Remus thought. They usually got what they wanted. Regulus hesitated before finally reaching into his bag, pulling out a cigarette.

“I found out where my friends get their stuff from,” he then said, a weak smile creeping onto his lips.

Remus blinked. "Really? Thank you—" He reached for the cigarette, but before his fingers could touch it, Regulus pulled away.

"Under one condition.”

"Yeah?" Not homework again, please.

Regulus hesitated. Something flickered behind his eyes, something he clearly wasn’t sure he wanted to say. But then, after a long breath, he gave in.

“Tell Sirius to be less… less Sirius the next time he sees our parents. He won’t listen to me.”

Remus froze.

"Why?" he asked, his voice suddenly sharper. An idea formed in his mind, one he didn’t like at all. He knew something had happened the day after the full moon. Sirius had gone home for another family dinner, and when he returned, he hadn’t mentioned a word about it. Though, he had laughed too loud and talked too much.

“What did he do?” Remus asked.

“What he always does,” Regulus said, voice shaking. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Talked back, didn’t obey, it doesn’t matter—"

"Regulus," Remus interrupted, his tone harsher than intended "What did your parents do to him?"

Regulus inhaled sharply, and for the first time, Remus noticed the way his shoulders trembled. Regulus lips parted, but nothing came out.

Then he shook his head. "I can’t tell you. And you can’t talk to him about it either, please. He already hates me."

"Regulus," Remus said again, this time softer. He stepped closer, placing his hands on the younger boy’s shoulders. The fabric of Regulus’ robes was stiff beneath his fingers, but underneath that, he could feel the way the boy was shaking.

"He’s my best friend," Remus said, almost pleading.

For a split second, he thought Regulus might tell him. But then, he wiped his cheeks and straightened, looking at Remus with those familiar blue eyes. "Just take care of him," he whispered. "That’s all I’m asking for."

Remus let out a slow breath, frustration rising in his chest. "You know he won’t listen to me. Not even James. The only thing we can do to protect him is to get him away from your goddamn parents."

Regulus flinched. His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I know," he admitted. "He wants to leave next year."

"Then support him in that, Regulus," Remus pleaded. "Instead of trying to convince him to be someone he isn’t. That won’t save him" He sighed, finally dropping his arms and turning for the door. He grabbed the knob, but before he could turn it, Regulus spoke again.

"Remus."

He hesitated, glancing back.

Regulus eyes were wide, desperate. He swallowed once, hard, before whispering: "I don’t want him to leave me with them." His voice cracked. "He’s my brother."

Remus closed his eyes for a moment, trying to shake off his own anxiety He understood now. Regulus didn’t just want Sirius to behave—he wanted him to stay, stay with him.

And Merlin, that made things so much worse.

Because Sirius wasn’t staying.

Remus turned around. "You know he can’t stay. You know what they’ll do to him, better than me."

Regulus didn’t meet his gaze. "I know.”

Then, silence stretched between them. Neither of them spoke, but Remus didn’t leave either. Leaving Regulus alone like that wouldn’t sit right with him. So, without a word, he pulled a chair closer to the window and sat down. A moment later, Regulus followed, sinking into the chair beside him.

For a while, they just sat there.

Regulus pulled out the cigarette again, lit it with a flick of his wand, and took a slow inhale. He barely reacted to the smoke, before wordlessly offering it to Remus.

Remus placed it between his lips and tried to suppress a cough. The cigarette seemed a lot more strong than the one Sirius had gifted him and the taste burned his throat, but Remus tried to keep a straight face as he handed the cigarette back to Regulus.

“You’re bad at this,” Regulus muttered with half a smile.

“You’re better than I expected,” Remus replied.

Regulus let out a quiet, dry laugh before taking another drag.

Then, he started to sob.

Soon, his shoulders started trembling, and the cigarette fell from his fingers, rolling onto the floor. Remus barely had time to process it before he did the only thing that felt right.

He wrapped an arm around Regulus' shoulders and pulled him in.

For a split second, Remus expected him to push him away, to snap or hide behind his stiff mask as usual. But Regulus didn’t. Instead, he clung tightly to the fabric of Remus' sweater, as if letting go would make him fall apart completely.

Tears soaked through the wool, making Remus Heart ache.

He didn’t know whether Regulus was crying over what had happened with Sirius or the fear of being abandoned by his own brother. Maybe both. Maybe neither. Either way, the weight of it seemed crushing.

So Remus held him.

He stayed With him through the whole break, letting Regulus cry near him. He smelled like Sirius—the same cologne their mother probably made them wear, and the same hint of parchment and ink in their scent. If Remus let himself pretend, he could almost believe it was Sirius leaning into him, vulnerable for once.

But it wasn’t.

And that made it all the worse.

Remus didn’t mention the entire thing to Sirius, of course.

Not that night, not the next day. Not even when Sirius climbed into bed with him and they listened to David Bowie together, their bodies pressed close in the quiet, safe darkness of their dorm.

He almost said something when he caught Sirius rubbing his shoulder, wincing slightly as he stretched.

But Sirius was laughing. He was fine—or at least pretending to be.

So Remus didn’t ask.

Days passed, and the scavenger hunt chaos took over Hogwarts and Remus thoughts.

The castle was buzzing with energy, students whispering strategies and making bets on which team would win. Even McGonagall seemed amused by the whole thing, though she was pretending she wasn’t.

Sirius, of course, threw himself into it with everything he had. He and Mary had somehow managed to sneak into Filch’s office and steal the next clue without getting caught, which seemed like a miracle.

James and Marlene had a much more dramatic approach, nearly starting a duel with Dorcas and Evan.

And Remus—well, Remus found himself enjoying it more than he expected.

Lily was clever. Very clever. Every time he thought they had hit a dead end, she figured out the next step. It was… nice, actually. Working with her. Slowly, Remus understood why James was so obsessed with this girl.

Remus sat hunched over a potions book in the library, his quill hovering above his notes while Lily sat beside him.

"Alright, we’ll need powdered moonstone, lacewing flies, and some —"

"Lacewing flies need three weeks to brew properly," Remus muttered, rubbing his forehead. "So we either have to steal some that’s already prepared or find a way to speed up the process."

Lily tapped her quill against her chin. "We could check the teachers storage in the potions classroom. I know Slughorn keeps pre-made ingredients there."

"So, we break into the storage, take what we need, and hope we don’t get caught," Remus mumbled, scribbling down notes. "What could possibly go wrong?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Come on, it’ll be fun."

Before Remus could reply, a group of Slytherins walked into the library. The moment they saw Lily, they stopped talking. They didn’t say anything to her, but the disgusted looks on their faces made their thoughts clear. Regulus was with them too.

Lily tensed beside him.

Remus clenched his jaw. His fingers curled into fists under the table. He had seen this happen before—pureblood Slytherins sneering at her because she was muggleborn—but it still made his blood boil every time.

Remus was about to say something when Lily placed a hand on his arm. "Don’t," she whispered.

His nostrils flared. "Lily—"

"Please," she said softly, her eyes pleading. “It’s no use.”

He let out a sharp breath and forced himself to relax. She probably was right. Nothing good ever happened when James or Sirius decided to start something, so it wouldn’t change anything now either.

The Slytherins walked past them without a word, but Remus noticed Regulus expression soften. Unlike the others, he wasn’t sneering. He wasn’t even looking at Lily. His eyes focused on Remus instead, just for a moment, but he turned, focusing on his book once more.

Then a piece of paper brushed against the back of Remus’ neck, seemingly getting caught in his sweater. He tensed, looking for the group of boys again, just in time to see them disappearing into the hallway. Regulus, however, was still looking at him. He moved his slim fingers, like he was pretending to bring a cigarette to his lips.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Pretending to scratch his neck, Remus carefully grabbed the note and unfolded it under the table, without Lily noticing.

Meet me after curfew. Owlery.