Interviews
"Ok then let's start this interview, shall we?" Remus said once the boys had left. James had taken to sitting in the centered chair, so he could look at Remus while they spoke.
"Let's!" James said enthusiastically
"Do you have any siblings?"
"Nope, Sirius and Peter have been my best friends since secondary school. And we met Severus two years ago. Regulus is Sirius' younger brother though."
"Ok then." So Regulus was Sirius' brother. "Would you say that you all have songwriting capabilities?"
"Not all of us, I know Regulus can but he's kind of shy. Peter and Severus are great instrumentalists but they're not the best writers. Me and Sirius can write well so we usually do that together and then ask Regulus to edit it." A grimace settled over his face before he said "Which is usually just throwing it away."
Remus smiled and held back a giggle at that. "Do you have any of the song drafts with you?"
"Of course!" James said like he could barely hold it back. He reached into his bag and pulled out a few crumpled pieces of paper with small cursive handwriting in red pen at the top. Remus took the papers as soon as he was handed them and began skimming the lyrics. Regulus wasn't wrong to throw these out. At all. They were really bad. Except for one. The only one that didn't have writing at the top. Remus read this one over, it had potential. Maybe some word changes to fit the song a bit better. But it's really good. It looks more like poetry, wait
"Is this Regulus'?" Remus asked holding up the last piece of paper
"OH NO, YEAH" James looked panicked "yeah it is I wasn't supposed to take it"
"Don't worry, it's really good. It just seemed more like poetry than a song"
James visibly relaxed
"Oh ok good, I had a heart attack right quick," James said smiling. He had a nice smile. It looked like it had never known pain. It was nice to look at.
"Ok then, Regulus has a lot of songwriting potential. As for the ones you and Sirius wrote, I'm not so sure. With a couple of workshops, I'm sure they could be great but these aren't the best."
James just nodded along as Remus spoke "Do you have any that you would recommend we look into?" James asked taking out a pen and pad
"Not at the moment" Remus replied solemnly "I think I'd have to get to know you boys a bit better before I say any of that."
"Of course, that makes sense," James said completely understanding
"What would you say the drinking habits of the other boys are?"
"Water or alcohol?" James asked, completely serious
"Alcohol first we'll talk about hygiene after," Remus said trying not to laugh at James' response.
"Ok, well Regulus doesn't like drinking he says it reminds him of his dad. Sirius loves drinking, he'll get drunk every other night if me or Regulus don't stop him. Severus kinda has a permanent stick up his ass so he doesn't do anything fun. Peter likes to drink but he doesn't really get drunk, he can hold his liquor well enough but he just doesn't like being drunk in public. As for me, it's just super hard for me to get drunk, and most of the time when we go out I'm walking Sirius home."
"Ok then, how about hygiene or self-care?" Remus asked genuinely concerned for how this question was going to be answered.
"Well Severus doesn't even know what skincare is, and he washes his hair like once every two weeks. Regulus takes care of his skin and he usually drinks a lot of water. Sirius doesn't get acne and he'd much rather drink a diet Dr. Pepper than water. I'm usually good with water I'll forget sometimes but I usually drink enough. Peter, always somehow has a full water bottle but he's constantly drinking out of it."
"Ok then," Remus said having expected much worse than that "are any of you on diets or taking any medication?"
"Regulus is, but I'm sure he'd rather tell you. As for diets, Peter eats whatever, Sirius doesn't gain weight ever, Regulus either, Severus and I just eat at meal times."
"Alright then, you all have stable living situations, yes?"
"Yea me and Sirius have flats right across from each other. Severus lives a bit farther but he's in the same neighborhood as Pete. As for Regulus, he lives in the building across from Sirius and I."
"Ok, and how do you guys get your income now?"
"Me, Peter, and Severus work in downtown at a 9-5 desk job. Regulus and Sirius may never have to work a day in their lives with the inheritance they got from their parents."
"That actually makes a lot of sense," Remus said
James laughed at that "They hated their parents but after they died the boys were both still in their will. So there was really nothing they could do, but use it when they need it."
Remus nodded along as James spoke. He expected the inheritance but now he was curious, what happened between Sirius, Regulus, and their parents.
"Are the boys open to sharing what happened with their family?" Remus asked curiosity clouding his judgment
"Not really, they don't talk about it. I've told them both that talking can help but they insist that they're fine." James said dismally like he just remembered an unpleasant memory.
"Alright well now to the final question, were there any band names that you specifically liked?" Remus asked trying to steer the conversation away from depressing
"Not really," James said seemingly glad to have gotten off the last topic "We've looked at a lot but none really fit right"
Remus nodded and stood up shaking James' hand. James shook his hand back as Remus started saying
"Well, then that's that I guess. If you don't mind sending Regulus in that'd be a big help. I'm just gonna go have a smoke before I lose my mind." laughing at the end
"Of course," James said with a beaming smile walking out and toward the boys.
Remus stepped out with his matchbox and some freshly rolled cigarettes, he preferred the ones he rolled over the store-bought ones for some reason, and as he put the cigarette to his lips a door opened somewhere around him. He looked around and found Sirius standing in the door frame of the door Remus just walked out of.
"Hi," Remus said cautiously and avoiding eye contact as he lit a cigarette
"Can I get one?" Sirius asked and pointed at Remus' hand. Remus contemplated giving him one but apparently, that took too long because then Sirius said "A fag I mean, I don't need one I just don't want to go and grab mine" laughing slightly at the end
Remus sighed and handed Sirius a cigarette "Thanks!" Sirius said excitedly taking the cigarette before realizing "Um, Remus do you have a lighter, mine stayed with my cigarettes" Remus nodded and handed Sirius the lighter. The lighter though for some reason wasn't working and Sirius made this very obvious "Damn it, why isn't this thing working??" He'd said frustratingly trying to light his cigarette. This went on for about five minutes, and Remus had had just about enough so he grabbed Sirius' face and used what was left burning of his cigarette before he put it out to light Sirius'.
Sirius just stared in shock and froze with the cigarette in his mouth staring as Remus lit another cigarette, trying to compose himself before saying "Uh thanks" before quickly finishing his cigarette and rushing inside. 'That might not have been the best idea' Remus thought to himself as he flicked away the remains of his cigarette before going inside.
He walked into the waiting room and asked Regulus to come to his office. As he did he noticed Regulus pull his shirt forward and slump his shoulders, a position Remus had found himself in many times. Remus and Regulus walked to his office and sat in the chairs opposite one another. The moment Regulus sat down it clicked in his brain what Remus had identified.........