Chapter 8
"I'm never trusting you bastards again," Jem rumbled halfheartedly, currently puking up the concoction of potions Regulus had handed him.
Not one of them took it seriously, "How do you feel?"
"Terrible," he muttered leaning into the hands that lightly grazed his shoulders.
"No physically, Merlin, anyone who drank that mess would feel terrible, but can you still feel it? The oath? The bloodlust?" Jem paused accepting the cup of water Evan offered and leaning into Regulus when he pulled him against him, taking small sips from the glass.
"I..." he paused and the boys watched as his eyes turned from silver to green. "No." A whoop of accomplishment went through Evan and Barty as Regulus just smiled. "You did it, whatever it was that you did. Now I have a migraine." A chuckle, "Thank you."
"We did it Barty!"
"Of course we did, Evan, we have Regulus the resident potions master, I mean besides Snape but he's been grumpy." Barty smiled none the less. "You've been freed!" He said easily gaining Evan's attitude towards the whole thing. "We're badass," Evan high fived Barty and Jem watched with a smile.
"Is he gonna know?"
"Whoever you were bound to?" They hadn't told them, but Jem nodded. "I doubt it, I mean with how messy it was it'd be surprising if he even noticed when Regulus fucked up and yanked a bit too hard on one of the charms." Evan yawned, Barty almost immediately did the same, genuine and tired after using so much magic. "Well we're going to bed, night Jem, night Regulus." They both walked off leaving Jem and Regulus on the floor.
"I was a dick and you helped me."
"You needed to snap. From how Lupin described it, I thought forcing you to let some of it out would make you a decent person to talk to."
"You could've gotten hurt."
"A risk I was willing to take. Come on, now that we've made you sweat through your nice clothes, how about something more comfortable?" Jem nodded closing his eyes against the lights that suddenly seemed too bright. He huffed out a chuckle as Jem half laid on him as he unbuttoned what was left of the buttons on his shirt, "What is with you and silk?"
"Easier on the skin after a change. Regular t-shirts feel like sandpaper." Jem muttered shrugging off the smooth fabric and accepting the warm, soft sweater, "Your clothes are nice." He mumbled into the pillow he was currently lying on face down.
"Oh?"
"Mhm, smell like you too, dog likes it." He had to have been out of it Regulus decided, he had never referenced his animagus form as another being and seemed to be far more open to answering questions as he shrugged out of his jeans. "Hey I could ask you the same thing about silk." He pointed to the bed with the silk bed sheets and pillow cases.
"I refuse to answer that."
"Not a good reason?"
"I don't actually have one," Regulus admitted laying down as well and smiling at the arm that found it's way over him. "You said you had a migraine, need a tonic or something for it?"
"No, no more tonics or potions, I'm gonna sleep this one off." Regulus smiled but settled down running his fingers through the loose curls, soft under his fingers, "Thank you."
"Of course."
- - -
Regulus woke up first, running his fingertips up and down the scar tracing Jem's spine. The movement got a shiver that had Regulus smiling before the Gryffindor moved a bit closer, face still in the pillows just his side a bit closer to Regulus's. "Wanna go get breakfast?"
"Mhm, head hurts, 5 more minutes." It was muffled and mumbled and Regulus barely caught the words.
"Still hurts?" A nod, "You're staying put today," a low huff of disagreement, "I'm gonna get a tonic from the nurse for your head and I'm bringing back food. You're going to take it and eat."
"Reggie," it was a wine of protest and he tucked his face into the crook of Regulus's neck making the other smile.
"Food and the tonic, then I'll let you sleep."
"Promise?"
"Promise." He nodded and finally let Regulus up. "Stay, I'll be back in a few minutes." Regulus got off the bed watching Jem move, he didn't get up, his shoulders just rolled, arms tightening before he relaxed.
He hadn't noticed the scar that went from the base of his spine to the top, not within the last few weeks, but stretched out shirtless with his back to the room he looked oddly vulnerable. Soft curls covering his face, scars on display, almost like he didn't care that he was in the middle of a Slytherin dorm, that anyone could walk in, they wouldn't but really the door was never actually locked, something about being there for the first years or whatever.
Regulus closed the door as quietly as he could before heading towards the nurse first. When Regulus walked back into the room he couldn't help the smile, a first year was curled up under Jem's arm, her face hidden in his chest.
He glanced back at Evan who had rounded the corner. "She was feeling a little homesick, someone told her to go to the Prefect's room. She found Jem, and lets just say that Gryffindor of yours is a bit more welcoming than a half asleep Slytherin. Even with a headache and his dark mark out in the open, she cuddled right up to him when he lifted his arm. What's with the bottle?"
"Tonic," Regulus slipped into the room setting the food and the tonic onto the bedside table. He ruffled Jem's hair and then they were off to class.
When Regulus wandered back in it was about lunch time, Jem much to his surprised had listened and sat on the bed a guitar in his hand and a notebook in front of him, a pencil was behind his ear, wand holding his hair up. He hummed under his breath while messing with the knobs on the guitar.
"I'd be the voice that urged Orpheus when he body was round, hey, yeah. I'd be the choiceless hope in grief that drove him underground, hey, yeah." Regulus smiled, just watching and listening. This was the first song so far he'd heard from Jem that wasn't fast paced or with an electric guitar in that background. "I'd be the dreadful need in the devotee that made him turn around, hey, yeah. And I'd be the immediate forgiveness in Eurydice. Imagine being loved by me."
His fingers moved and pulled at the strings with a kind of grace Lupin didn't have the other night, "I won't deny I've got in my mind now, hey, yeah. All the things I would do so I try to talk refined for fear that you find out, hey, yeah." Regulus walked over sitting down beside Jem getting a smile, "How I'm imaginin' you, I'd be the last shred of truth. In the lost myth of true love, hey, yeah. I'd be the sweet feeling of release mankind now dreams of, hey yeah."
Regulus moved a bit closer resting his chin on Jem's shoulder watching his hands move along the guitar. "That's found in the last witness before the wave hits marveling at God, hey, yeah. Before he feels alone one final time and marries the sea, imagine being loved by me." Regulus hummed getting a grin, "I won't deny I've got in my mind now, hey yeah. All the things I would do, so I try to talk refined for fear that you find out how I'm imaginin' you."
"Oh?"
He nodded with a grin, "No I won't deny I've got in my mind now, all the things we could do. So I try to talk refined for fear that you find out how I'm imaginin' you."
"Can I kiss you?" The guitar was quickly discarded, firm hands pulling him from behind Jem to in his lap where the guitar had been.
"I'm not stopping you." He wasn't going to push, he seemed content simply waiting for Regulus to decide what he wanted to do. But he took that moment to lean back, actually look at him in the light, a gold lion was tattooed over his left shoulder and a bit of his chest. Paw prints followed the scar along his back. Momento Mori was written on his right hip and over his heart was; Through love anything is possible.
"Didn't these hurt?"
He shrugged, "It was a pain I could control, I never had the chance to do that with...him." A grumble and Regulus laughed when Jem darted forward and lightly bit Regulus's shoulder.
"Jem!" He chuckled it was a low rumble and this one held amusement as he straightened back up some giving Regulus the space back. "Wait," Jem raised a eyebrow, "Julian, just tell me why he calls you that?"
"Because nobody else does. It's a person I was and I hate with a passion." He sighed letting Regulus lead his head to rest against his shoulder, "When I was in Paris I threw myself from one fight to another hoping someone would knock me down and I wouldn't get back up. I couldn't get out of the Death Eaters alive so I hoped someone would save me the trouble of doing it myself. I couldn't tell James, he knew something was wrong but he couldn't help, not in the way I needed it..." His voice trailed off, "About three quarters of the way through the trip I gave up, I quit it all, the fights, I answered James' letters, I met up for tea and talked with Remus who was there researching something, I can't remember now. Sirius swung by to bother Remus and it was okay, things were good." He sighed with a soft chuckle, "I totally just ruined the mood, I'm sorry you don't need me telling you about all of my st-"
Regulus cut him off then, guiding his head back with the hand he had in his hair and then kissing him. Jem hummed softly and Regulus could feel his jaw tighten as the younger Potter brother did his best to resign to the other wizard's pace. Regulus knew it frustrated him ever so slightly, felt the hands that slipped under his sweater press against his back in a subtle urge for him to move closer. "Stop talking and don't apologize when you have nothing to be sorry for."
"Yeah, yeah, okay," he whispered the words as he let Regulus kiss down his jaw, head tilting back. Slowly lying down when Regulus pressed on his shoulders. "Merlin, what are you doing to me Black?"