Chapter 4
It takes a while for everyone to calm down and find a seat. They go over the stories again and again, piecing together the fragments of what they know, and here’s what they learn:
Ragged Remus came from two years ahead—1981. He was living with Sirius, the war was raging, and most of his time was spent on missions.
The weight of his words hit them hard since they’d all spent most of the school year trying not to think about the war. But the horrors didn’t stop there; The McKinnons were dead—a revelation that devastated Marlene. Mary and Lily had moved closer to her, wrapping her in a tight hug, both on the verge of tears.
Regulus was dead too. Apparently, he and James had dated when they were at school. Remus didn’t elaborate much, only mentioning that the breakup had been bad. James and Lily had gotten together afterwards, eventually marrying and having a child—a revelation that left the young couple visibly shaken.
The first Regulus seemed to share similarities with Ragged Remus’s world. He had dated James during their time at Hogwarts, but their relationship ended when Regulus took the Dark Mark. He had remained at his parents’ house and fought in Voldemort’s army, even after Sirius begged him to run away—this struck Sirius deeply, as it was a bit too close to his experience with his own Regulus.
Eventually, this Regulus had begun to question Voldemort’s motives, growing suspicious of the Dark Lord. That’s when he discovered Horcruxes (something he didn’t care to elaborate on). Apparently, he had tried to destroy one, accidentally died in the process—or thought he had—and ended up here instead.
The second Regulus came from 1976. In his world, he and Sirius had been adopted by Effie and Monty during Sirius’s first year. In his world, abuse was taken seriously by the authorities, and as soon as Effie filed a report about the unsafe conditions at Grimmauld Place, both boys were removed. This made both the first Regulus and Sirius furious as they listened.
Second Regulus was also dating James, and because he’d never been forced to take the Mark, they were still together. His arrival had been far less dramatic—he’d been in his dormitory when he suddenly blinked and found himself here. He ended his story with an apology to James and Lily for the earlier misunderstanding, which they graciously accepted. First Regulus was clearly not a fan of any of it.
Despite piecing together these stories, the group remained at a loss as to why or how any of this was happening.
“Okay, okay, okay,” Sirius says, breaking the tense silence. He points at the two Reguluses. “If you guys aren’t from here, then where’s my brother? Where’s my Reggie?”
“Forget your brother! Where’s my James?” First Regulus snaps, glaring at Lily, who tightens her grip on James’s arm.
“Calm down, Red,” First Regulus sneers. “I’m not after your man—he’s obviously straight.”
“I am,” James nods earnestly.
A loud CRACK fills the air. Yet another Regulus appears in the room.
“Oh, sweet Jesus,” Ragged Remus groans.
The new Regulus barely gets to open his mouth before a jet of green light hits him square in the chest, and he collapses, lifeless.
All eyes dart to First Regulus, who’s slipping his wand back up the sleeve of his robe like nothing has happened.
“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, REGULUS?” Mary shouts, her voice trembling.
Both Remuses and James look horrified. Peter has tears in his eyes, and Second Regulus is just staring at the body and struggling to breathe.
Sirius storms over to his not-brother, jabbing a finger into his chest. “ You ,” he hisses, “are more insane than my actual brother. You’re deranged .”
“You don’t know what it’s like dealing with another version of yourself!” First Regulus snarls back.
“I DON’T CARE WHAT IT’S LIKE! YOU CAN’T JUST KILL PEOPLE!” Sirius yells.
“You killed him,” Second Regulus whispers, his voice trembling. His gaze snaps up, furious. “You killed us ! You killed us!”
First Regulus rolls his eyes. “Yeah, and I’ll kill you too if you’re not careful.”
“That’s it!” Sirius shouts. He steps between them, holding out his hand. “Wand. Now.”
“What?” First Regulus scoffs.
“Hand over your wand,” Sirius demands.
“I’m not giving you my wand!”
Sirius smirks dangerously. “Regulus, if you don’t give me that wand, I’ll tell everyone what happened on October 10th when you were thirteen.”
Second Regulus’s breath catches.
First Regulus’s eyes widen, then narrow. “You wouldn’t.”
“Wanna bet?” Sirius eyes him, then clears his throat for the room to hear. “When Regulus was thirteen, he and I—”
“NO! NO! NO!” First Regulus shouts, shoving his wand into Sirius’s chest. “Take it! Take it!”
“Thank you,” Sirius says sweetly, twirling the wand in his hand.
“WHAT HAPPENED WHEN HE WAS THIRTEEN?” Marlene asks eagerly.
“Sorry, Marls,” Sirius grins. “A deal’s a deal. Maybe next time he misbehaves.”
“You should’ve just killed him,” Second Regulus mutters to First Regulus.
“Bollocks. Why didn’t I think of that?”
Another loud CRACK echoes, and this time it's a Sirius Black—but not just any Sirius; this one is wearing red trousers, a sheer women’s blouse, a leopard-print jacket, and a black electric guitar slung across his back.
Everyone stares, but no one stares harder than the two Remuses.
The new Sirius pulls his sunglasses off and surveys the room. “Oh, I really need to lay off the drugs,” he mutters, collapsing into the nearest chair.
The original Sirius storms over. “And what the hell are you supposed to be?”
The new Sirius spreads his arms lazily. “You guessed it—I’m Sirius Black.”
“ You’re not Sirius Black. I’m Sirius Black!”
“Mate, please. Take a picture, grab an autograph—whatever you want. Just let me sleep off this trip.” He smirks, winking at the Remuses. “Hello, gorgeous.”
Both Remuses blush furiously.
“MOONY!” Original Sirius barks.
“I wasn’t looking!” Original Remus snaps, but his face is red.
“Shame,” Rockstar Sirius says with a wink, making Remus choke on his spit.
“Okay, clearly he’s on something,” Marlene mutters.
“On it,” Lily says, casting a Sobriety Spell.
Rockstar Sirius jolts upright, his eyes wide. “Where the fuck am I?”
“You’re at Hogwarts,” Original Sirius says flatly.
“JESUS! You look exactly like me…” He glances around the room, now taking it all in with clear eyes. “And you and James—what the fuck is this place? What is happening?”
“Wait, wait… you mean you don’t know where you are?” Lily asks.
“No, Lily,… Where is my manager Les? I need to talk to him. Moony, get Les,” he says, in a panicked tone.
“Okay,” both Remuses sigh in unison, momentarily distracted by the sight of Sirius Black in tight trousers. This earns them simultaneous smacks from the Reguluses on either side of them.
“So… you don’t know Hogwarts, but you do know everyone in this room?” Lily asks carefully, trying to piece things together.
Rockstar Sirius is still panicking. “I mean, yeah, but there’s usually only one of each!” he exclaims.
“Interesting…” Lily murmurs. “Mary, pass me that parchment.”
Mary hands it over, and Lily scribbles furiously before looking back up at him. “Sirius, we are at a magic school—NO! Don’t freak out! If you stay calm, I’ll explain everything to you.”
Lily proceeds to explain everything: magic, Hogwarts, and the bizarre situation they’ve all ended up in.
Rockstar Sirius does freak out—that was to be expected—but, in the end, he takes it relatively well.
“We need to find Dumbledore,” Lily announces firmly. “Immediately.”