Chapter 21
Regulus woke up to a very human but bleeding Jem pressing a kiss between the orange ears. Jem smiling when the orange cat purred as he picked him up off the floor and cradled him to his chest as he relaxed into the collection of pillows and blankets the Marauders had stashed in the shrinking shack. "Pretty kitty." Jem purred out the words and Regulus shoved his head into his chest before continuing to purr.
He cooed to the animagus while Regulus contently stayed curled up between his chest and legs. A black lab came padding in with a very clumsy fox tripping while following. The dog curled up by Jem's side and he ruffled the dark fur, the fox yipped and shoved his nose into Jem's legs which got a laugh and a ruffle of the smaller animal's fur before it curled up as well.
"So this is us." He smiled softly. "You," he picked back up Regulus smiling as the orange tabby meowed in defiance of his new predicament. "You will be Crookshankes silly kitty." He set him back down against his chest lightly petting through the soft fur on the black and orange fox, "Vixen and...." he looked at the lab who lifted his head and set it in his thigh, "Bandit." Evan's tail thumped against the floor a few times and Regulus took the moment to just think.
They were good. They'd done it. Jem was mostly in one piece and the were sitting in peace. Nothing was wrong. For a split moment in time, that would probably never happen again, nothing was wrong.
Reg leaned against the doorway, smiling at the sight in front of him. The werewolf was laying on the bed, bandages covering the scratches and bright eyes opened, "Hey little wolf."
"Hey silly kitty." Regulus huffed out a laugh walking over when Jem reached out a hand. He yawned and Regulus laid down beside him.
"You okay?"
"I think so."
"Lupin said I should expect some possessive streak and you being clingy. You feeling possessive little wolf?"
"Feeling cuddly. Exhausted. Sore." Reg pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head as he yawned again and settled for using the Slytherin as a pillow.
"Madam Pomfrey gave me a tonic I'm supposed to give you in the morning. It'll help with the pain."
"'m not in pain little one. I'm just...tired."
"Tomorrow she said it'll hit. She said you'll be hungry and hurting."
"What a great combination for a werewolf to be in." Reg let him cuddle in a bit closer, "I love you." That made him pause, they hadn't said that much, it was always a surprise, and Reg smiled at how tired Jem was it made him lose lipped.
"I love you too, little wolf." He felt Jem's lips pull up slightly into a smile.
"You love me."
"Yes, I do."
A soft huff of a laugh against his neck, "You're gonna be the death of me Regulus Black."
"Not for a long while I hope."
"Not for a long while." Jem echoed softly giving Reg's cheek a light kiss before tucking his head back into Regulus' neck.
Reg smiled as he felt Jem doze off, they'd done it. They'd made it through their first full moon and the worst of the injuries was Barty's sprained ankle because he tripped over a log and Jem's scratches. All things considered they hadn't done too bad.
- - -
"Mr. Black please inform Mr. Potter he will be given detention if he shows up to any of his classes today." He nodded in answer to Slughorn. "Same rule applies to you, Mr. Black."
"Yes sir." He nodded and walked away from where Regulus was making tea in the common room.
"What was that about?"
"He threatened to give Jem and I detention if we go to our classes."
"Only the head of the house can give him dention right?"
"Maybe it was her order."
"Minnie did it Moony too." He murmured and the group of boys looked up at Jem who was holding onto his side. "We have a tendency to overwork ourselves and she doesn't like getting calls that we passed out in the middle of the corridor because of it."
"You should be in bed." Regulus murmured watching him carefully.
"I refuse to be looked after like a sick dog."
"Go to bed you fucking idiot." All three looked to Remus Fucking Lupin who raised an eyebrow at Jem holding his glare. "Go. To. Bed." Jem exhaled harshly through his nose and Lupin cocked his head, "Bed. That's an order."
"Moony-"
"Bed, you stubborn wolf." Jem half huffed half growled and turned on his heel walking back towards the room.
"How the hell did you get so scary?"
Lupin glanced at Evan who was hiding behind Barty. "So you have the dog animagus."
"How'd you do that?"
"Just cause he doesn't listen, doesn't mean he's actively trying not to. You have to understand, the Jem that would listen now has a wolf in his head telling him not to. You tell him to go to bed, the wolf says no, be awake."
"How did Sirius ever deal with you?"
"He learned some things needed to become demands instead of requests. Now Jem might need something different. I know his time....it made him take badly to certain tones, but he's just like us now. A little lost, little confused, but there's something in his head yelling at him to do what he's not supposed to."
"Is that how it is with yours?"
"No, the wolf and I have come to an unsteady truce. As long as he doesn't hurt Sirius or the others, I don't care what he does. He doesn't argue with Sirius for no reason and we're on good terms, mostly. It's something that takes time to get used to Regulus, sadly it's not something that changes overnight. You have to adapt and set boundaries, it takes time."
"How'd you do it?"
"I had Sirius, he never gave up. And we had the Marauders, we were a group of ridiculous trouble causing assholes, but we are a family. And that is more important than you would expect. Wolves are pack animals Regulus, that's why Greyback thinks he can take him, solidify a pack before he gets the chance or we're all screwed."
"What happens then?" Evan asked quietly, slowly peaking out from behind Barty.
"Greyback only wants him because he couldn't get me. I had the wolf and maybe 3 months later I had the Marauders. He didn't have time. With Jem, he has you but not in the way he needs. Grey could take him like this, because he's wolf. The fact Jem listened to me instead of fighting back shows as much."
"But he trusts you."
"Jem trusts me. The wolf was listening to someone stronger than him. You need to cross a line where both Jem and the wolf will talk back to someone stronger than them because it's protecting you. It doesn't matter if he's going through hell or having the best day of his life, the wolf needs to understand that you three are pack and that is the number one priority. Because if not, Greyback could take him and if Greyback has him, he has an animagus with the temper of a werewolf and the ability to shape change whenever he wants. Because that's what Jem can do, with the right amount of time he can figure it out on his own. But Greyback will force that discovery on him, it will destroy Jem and all that will be left is the wolf, the wolf isn't afraid to fight or get blood on his teeth."
"What do we do?"
"You don't back down when he snaps, you teach him you can be trusted, and you don't leave. Or if you do, you always come back. And until you know the wolf sees you as pack, you keep him as far away from Greyback as possible." He picked up a pastry and tossed the group of three a smile, "Now I'm going home, to wake up Sirius and start the day. Good luck and remember I'm only a call away."