deeper waters

The galley was wet and humid, thick with old, unventilated air. The copper smell of Regulus’s own blood burned his nose, shot him back to the present. His head felt heavy and murky with the remnants of magic straggling in the cavities of his bones. Breathing was an exertion. Opening his eyes was nearly impossible. 

“Reg.”

Marlene’s high, insistent rasp was enough to pull him out of the dark. She sat cross-legged in front of him on the floor, her knees red and raw, tattoos swimming mercurially in Regulus’s haze. She helped him sit up and got him into a position where his head could rest against the wall, spine supported. Marlene reached over and carefully tucked his hair behind his ears so she could see his face.

“Here.” 

She passed him a canteen. Regulus took it, but didn’t drink. It was hard enough just to stay conscious. He noticed the bandages looped around her neck, swaths of cotton not yet soaked through. He gestured vaguely to his own throat.

“How can you talk?” His own voice was a hoarse whisper.

“Surface wound,” Marlene explained, “Lily patched me up okay. Turns out Malfoy’s even stupider than he looks. Used the dull edge.”

“Does it hurt…badly?”

“Eh. Not the worst ever.”

Regulus let out a coarse laugh.

“You’ll have a pretty neat scar though.”

Marlene’s eyes lit up. She became very animated.

“That’s what I was thinking! Remus whinged that I was being ungrateful about the whole thing, but I’ve said time and time again that his scars make him look totally badass all the time.”

“They do.”

“And look…”

Marlene wriggled her right arm out of the sleeve of her coat. Regulus’s old coat, with its rich dye now faded and a pink patch now sewn on one of the elbows. She flipped her arm to show Regulus the freshly tattooed skin. Regulus leaned in to get a better look, fighting a blackout.

Carved into the tan skin of Marlene’s forearm was the picture of a well-done throwing knife. It was smooth and artistic, dappled with shading, done by a practiced hand. On the hilt, she had inked the initials R.A.B. 

Regulus smiled small and leaned his head back again.

“Is that for me?” he asked.

Marlene nodded, “On my tossing arm. So I always remember to follow through. I had some time on my hands while you were out.”

“That’s very nice.”

“Of course it’s nice. I did it after all.”

“I meant the gesture,” Regulus chuckled, “But yeah. It’s great work.”

“Would you ever let me do one on you?”

“A tattoo?”

“No Reg, a shag. I want to do a shag on you. Yes, a tattoo, you moron . Would you let me do one?”

“Depends. What design do you have in mind?”

Marlene shrugged her coat back on and appeared to genuinely consider this proposal.

“Oh. What about a snake? Like a great big snake up your back. That would be fucking cool.”

“That would be fucking cool. Sounds like a lot of work though.”

“You’d have to pay me handsomely.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Deal.”

Marlene extended a hand to be shaken. Regulus went to clasp her hand with his own, but instantly met resistance. The jangle of metal around his wrists stopped him. Marlene realized her mistake only a second too late.

Slowly, Regulus looked down at his wrists. Iron cuffs, with a chain attached to a grate in the planks. He shook his hand. The chain clinked against the wood with a horrible rattle.

He looked back at Marlene. Her eyes were wide and wet, as if she might cry. But Marlene never cried. She swiped at her face.

“Marlene,” he said evenly, “What are these.”

Not a question. He knew what they were.

Marlene reached out to hold his hand, but he jerked away, the metal clacking with his movement, a grinding echo that sounded throughout the galley.

“I tried to stop them,” Marlene said quietly. 

“What…” Regulus swallowed, “What is this? Why did you do this?”

And all at once, he felt just as scared as he had been the first time he breathed air on Lady Lily’s deck. He didn’t know these pirates, these people. He couldn’t trust them. They wanted to hurt him, they wanted him contained…

Regulus’s body seized up suddenly, his body spasming against his will. It felt like being shot again, these twitches, a burst of burning cold that rocked through his veins before leaving him feeling dried out and spent. His chains shook. Marlene winced.

When the twitch passed, he could only stare down at the chains binding his hands. Not even rope , he thought miserably, chains. Like you would use for a dog.

“I told them it wasn’t necessary,” Marlene said, “I tried to tell them that you were fine.”

“Why did you do this?”

“I didn’t-”

“Are you afraid of me or something?” Regulus’s words choked in his throat, “Did I do something wrong?”

Another volley of twitches passed, curling Regulus’s body in on itself. He gritted his teeth and let the lighting bolt run its course. He stilled after a few long moments. 

When Marlene reached to take his hand again, he let her.

“You magicked him,” she explained, “No one knew if you were going to wake up in the same state, if at all. It was too risky.”

Regulus exhaled heavily and closed his eyes.

“What happened?” he said.

And Marlene told him.

She recounted how Malfoy had pulled him into a spell. He had pushed and pushed until Regulus had fallen. James and Lily tried to physically break Malfoy from Regulus, but it hadn’t worked. He only stopped when Pandora approached. He had only stopped when Pandora had gone to Regulus and told him that they alone could end things. He had only stopped when Regulus agreed and Pandora poured her magic into him. 

Malfoy had only stopped when Regulus became a vessel for Pandora’s intention. He had wielded ghoul magic against Malfoy and subdued him just as Remus had clambered up on deck with his sabre. With Malfoy dispatched and Regulus still stuck in a spell-state, Sirius had used the end of his rifle to knock Regulus unconscious. Worried that he would wake up still pulsing with magic and hungry for more, the majority of crew elected to keep him down in the galley while they took care of things. 

“What about Pandora?” Regulus said, “Is she alright? What happened to her?”

Marlene took a swallow from the canteen before handing it back to Regulus.

“She’s in the cargo hold.”
“What?” Regulus was stunned, “You put her in the hold? In the dark? Alone?”

“Believe me, Reg. She got off easy, considering pirate standards. She could have been tossed off the ship with Malfoy.”

Regulus was silent. He thought of poor Pandora, probably frightened out of her mind in the gloomy hold, dreams plagued by the skitter of rats and the drip of mildew. 

“You both got off easy. And not without some fighting.”

Marlene thoughtfully picked at her rings.

“Your friend Evan nearly took James’s head off when he realized what happened to you two.”
“Evan,” Regulus deadpanned, “Fought James?”

“Oh yeah. Pretty mean little spat. Sirius and Remus had to pull him off before it got bloody.” 

“How are he and Dorcas?”

“Is that the cute one’s name? With the braids?”

“Yes.”

“She’s fit.”

“She is, but-”

“Does she fancy girls?”

“Yes,” Regulus huffed, “Exclusively. But how is she? How’s Evan?”

Marlene shrugged, “Fine. Dorcas cooled him off. They’re probably waiting around for news from the captain’s quarters.”
“Captain’s quarters?”

“Crew meeting.”
“What for?”

“Like I said. We needed to take care of things.”

“What do you mean, ‘things’?” Regulus asked. His mouth felt swollen and dry. He took a small sip of water from Marlene’s canteen.

“Throwing Malfoy off ship, for one. Takes manpower,” Marlene said, “And there are decisions to be made. As a crew.”

Regulus didn’t even need to ask what they could possibly be deciding about.

“They’re up there taking a vote, aren’t they?” Regulus said, “About whether or not Pandora and I get to stay.”

Marlene wasn’t nice enough to lie to him. She nodded.

“Sirius is scared. Really scared. He thinks you’ll be better off away from the ocean, from other possible magic wielders on the waters.”

Regulus scoffed, “Of course. He steals me back and at the first sign of trouble he wants to cast me away again.”

“Funny, that.”
“Hilarious.”

“I think he wants you to be safe and all that sappy baby brother bullshit.” 

“He’s got a fucked up way of showing it.”

“You and I can agree on that.”

Marlene looked at him meaningfully.

“I’m on your side, Reg,” she said, “For what it’s worth. I want you to stay.”

“Thanks Marls.”

“I mean it. You belong here.” 

She gave his hand a squeeze. Regulus gratefully squeezed back.

“We’re the majority. I’m not worried about it.” Marlene took the cigarette perched on her ear and lit it, striking a match on the underside of one of her pendants. The flame burned orange in the dim before Marlene waved it out. She took a pull before holding it up for Regulus, who, with his hands bound, couldn’t reach up that far. 

Regulus exhaled, “Who else?”

“Is in favor?”

“Yeah.”

“In favor of staying, it’s been me and Lily. The whole time. She hasn’t wavered for you once, Reg.”

“That’s it?”

“Well,” Marlene huffed a cloud of smoke, “Mary refuses to vote. Which is probably best for you. You weren’t all that nice to her when you first got here.”

“I had just been kidnapped.”

“Kindness doesn’t kill, mate. Anyway, Sirius is strongly in favor of dropping you home. So are Evan and Dorcas.”

“I’m surprised they even get a vote.” Regulus took another long pull. Marlene batted at the smoke in the air
“They don’t,” Marlene coughed, “They’re just loud about their opinions.”

Regulus released the smoke through his nose, letting it linger and heat his face in the dank galley. 

“What about James?” he looked Marlene hard in the eye, “What does he say?”

Marlene finished off the cigarette and stubbed it out on the floor, viciously rubbing a burn mark into the planks. She gave Regulus a smirky, sidelong glance.
“Don’t play dumb, Reg,” she said, “He wouldn’t leave you for the world.”

Regulus couldn’t help but smile, teeth peeking out hesitantly through his parted lips. 

“And neither would I,” Marlene continued, gestured for the canteen, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You’re a pirate. Now and forever. Don’t let Sirius try to bully you out of where you’re meant to be.”

A knock came from the galley door. James’s bespeckled face poked through the doorway. Regulus just stared at him.

“Whelp, I’m off babysitting duty it seems,” Marlene patted Regulus on the knee and stood. She playfully punched at James’s shoulder as they passed and closed the door when she left.

The galley was painfully silent and mercifully warm with smoke. And James. The man was like the goddamn sun with his body heat. 

James took Marlene’s abandoned seat on the floor. Crossing his legs, he slid off his captain’s coat. His skin was damp and flushed underneath. 

Regulus refused to cower away from this, from him .

He who made Regulus a prisoner, not just on the ship, but to his wiles. Perhaps Evan was right about James; he was a seductor, a man who smiled constantly, laughed more often than not, always with a hand on a shoulder and a wink to spare. He was kind, he was giving, and he was better than Regulus deserved. That should have been his first warning. But he did not expect James to be so cruel as to give into the Regulus’s so obvious desires, for him to entertain the barest of affections, for him to hold with such hands and kiss with such longing, just to kill it all like this. Regulus must have missed the subtleties; the hitch in James’s breath when Regulus slipped a hand up his shirt, his gasps of surprise, his hums of approval. There must have been more to it, Regulus reasoned; something hidden behind the glow of his eyes, the smoke between their mouths, the urgency in their crashings together. 

“I must have missed something.”

Regulus didn’t realize he had said the last part out loud until he did. Still, he waited until James looked away first before he jerked at his chains. James jumped at the noise and immediately looked guilty for doing so.

“I must have missed something,” Regulus repeated hardly, clattering the iron, “I must have missed some fucking little sign in you.”

“Reg-”
“No. Shut up. You don’t get to make excuses.”

James shut up. It all felt too dreamlike to be real. Regulus was reminded of his visions of James in death, a ghoul himself. What a cruel joke, for them to meet again like this.

“How could you do this to me?” Regulus snarled, “How fucking dare you. I trusted you, James. I trusted you when you said I wasn’t a prisoner.”

“You’re not.” James said quietly.

“Oh yeah?” Regulus threw his body forward, catching himself on the cuffs. He sank to his knees not an inch from James.

 “Then why am I chained up like a fucking animal? Answer me that, James,” Regulus panted, “Look me in the eyes and answer me.”

James, silent. Regulus tried to lunge forward again, straining at his bonds, not caring about how badly they dug into his wrists.

“ANSWER ME!” 

The spasms took over again and Regulus groaned, falling, folding over until his forehead fell into James’s lap. This spell was the longest one yet, his muscles twitching and ticking relentlessly, his teeth clacking together with the force. He felt James’s hands come up into his hair and tried to focus on the way his fingers grounded him to reality. He felt too weak to fight anymore.

Even after the twitches subsided, James held him. Regulus could feel his hair grow damp where James’s tears struck.

“I’m so sorry,” James wept, kissing Regulus’s hair, his forehead, his brow, “I’m so sorry, Regulus. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to hurt yourself. I’m so sorry.”

Every press of his lips of reverent, devout, aching with love. If James was religious to any capacity, Regulus was his false god, his fallen angel. James kissed him like a believer worshipped a statuette; white-knuckled, fearsome, unrelenting. James kissed him like he would rather be martyred a thousand times over for another second with Regulus. 

They lay there together, sick and crying, hands tangled in hair and limbs, for an infinite, silent moment. James’s touch was constant, solid and cathartic, smoothing his fingers over Regulus’s ticking cheekbone, the muscle just near his eye jumping as he slowly stopped shaking. 

Regulus whispered in the dark.

“Was this your idea?” he asked James. 

“Yes,” James admitted, “Yes, it was.”

“Why?”

James breathed deeply, “Because I knew you would forgive me over anyone else.”

Regulus squeezed his eyes shut as the aftershocks hit him. James held on through the storm.

“Was I right?” James said, “Would you forgive me?”

Regulus gasped as his body prickled with pain and then cooled again. His chest collapsed.

“I don’t know how to feel about you, James.”

“That’s fine,” James said after a long moment, voice shaking, “I deserve that.”

“No you don’t,” Regulus protested gruffly, “You deserve someone who would have just said yes.”

“I don’t want that.”

“Everybody wants that.”

“I don’t.”

“Then you’re lying. Everybody wants easy. And I’m not easy, James. I am the farthest thing from easy . I am probably the most difficult person on the seven seas to get along with. You were stupid, beyond stupid, to pick me to try and fool.”

“Is that what you think?” 

“Yes.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Sure.”

James tilted Regulus’s face up to his. 

“You’re wrong,” he repeated sharply, defensively.

“You’re a liar,” Regulus growled, “You’re a fucking liar.”

James leaned forward and caught Regulus’s mouth in his own. He tasted like salt and life and amnesty. It was a short embrace, deep and permissive, and Regulus settled his head back down.

“Was there lie in that kiss?” James asked. 

“Every time you touch me, you lie,” Regulus said acerbically, “You tie me up and take me back and you lie to me with everything you have.”

“And what, exactly, do I lie about?”

“You lie with your love. It is not mine. It will never be mine.”

“It will always be yours.”

“Stop it.”

“Regulus, I love you.”

“Shut up.”

“I love you.” 

Three words. Three useless, meaningless words, and James made them sound real again. Made them sound as if they meant something.

“I love you,” James repeated into Regulus’s hair, his breath warm, “And you’re right. I’ll spend everything I have until you believe it. Because it’s true. It will always be true and it will be yours.”

Regulus’s chest heaved as the combativeness in him left fully, racing by magic that never would.

“Don’t believe me today,” James mumbled, “Believe me tomorrow. And all the days after that. I don’t care that you’re not easy. I don’t want that. I don’t care about that. I’d rather have you fighting than not at all.”

Regulus relaxed into James’s hands.

“There might not be a tomorrow,” he reminded James, “Not if my brother has his way.”

James kissed Regulus again, and tomorrow might as well have not mattered at all.

“We’ll have to see.”

James unlocked Regulus’s cuffs, the chain rattling against the grate one final time. The two of them managed to scale the stairs up to the deck and then even further up to the captain’s quarters, which had been no easy feat given Regulus’s random bouts of ghoul twitches. After he left the galley, the twitches had lessened slightly, as if appeased by the fresh air.

When James threw open the door, everyone else was already there. 

Lily sat in Mary’s lap on the loveseat off to the side of the closet, murmuring in her ear. Marlene was balanced on the edge of James’s desk, Sirius standing close by her, one of his hands on the back of Remus’s chair in the center of it all. Evan was standing, his arms slung around Pandora and Dorcas, a united front in of themselves opposite to the desk.

Pandora looked at the door before it opened. She knew Regulus would be coming in. She could feel it. The second her intuition was confirmed, she rushed to his side. As they embraced, their bodies fit together the way soulmates often do. 

James was caught slightly off guard, caught in the collision, but Pandora pulled him in as well. They all broke apart after a moment, but only enough so that it was proper. Regulus’s arm remained around Pandora’s waist, James’s hand tucked into his. 

Remus looked better, still slightly pale and clearly tired, but much better than he had hours before. He and James met eyes across the room

“Have you reached judgement?” Remus asked him solemnly.

James shook his head.

“My loyalties are to Lady Lily . Regulus died defending her. He has every right to stay.”

“And Pandora?”

James did not waver.

“She may stay, if she likes. If not, I’m happy to escort her home.”

“She’s a necromancer ,” Sirius said tightly, “Are we all forgetting that? Regulus died defending Lily . He drowned.”

Regulus flinched, but if Sirius noticed how his words stung, he did not care.

“My brother drowned and yet he lives because of her.” Sirius bit out, growing agitated.

“And are you not grateful for such a service?” Evan interjected.

“Not by means of magic,” Sirius said.

“You would rather I be dead than a ghoul?” Regulus asked Sirius alone.

 The brothers locked gaze. Sirius’s eyes, grey and sharp, held hurt behind them. It clouded his true wishes.

“I would rather the woman responsible not be around to hurt anyone else. And I would rather you be somewhere safe.”

“What, home?” Regulus scoffed, “Home is not safe. You, of anyone else, know that best.”

“It’s better than out on a sea of greedy magic wielders.”

“Hardly.”

“Reggie.”

“Don’t ‘Reggie’ me,” Regulus spat, “You wanted me here once. Remember that.”

“I want you safe.”

“You want me gone.”

“Moony,” Sirius turned, “Could you please settle this?”

“James is captain,” Remus said passively.

“ James is biased,” Sirius argued. He asked James, “Aren’t you?”

James agreed, “It’s only fair Remus. If it were up to me alone, he’d stay, against any majority.”

“But Sirius is first mate. It should go to him.”

“You know that wouldn’t be right.”

Remus’s teeth worried at his bottom lip. It was a tense moment before he spoke. He unsheathed his sabre and set it on the desk, an old sea gesture of justice. 

“Regulus Black and Pandora Lestrange,” he began, slowly, “You may make a case for yourselves before a vote is taken and a decision is reached.”

Remus’s amber eyes bored darkly into Regulus. His soul burned through his gaze. 

“What have you to say?”

Regulus broke away from Pandora and James, daring himself to stand tall and alone in the center of the room. Let them look , he thought, let them look and deny me with their eyes open .

“I will not dishonor you all by saying I deserve to be here,” Regulus started, his voice strong, “Because in all fairness, I do not. I have known you all for very little a time. But I am grateful for every second. You have taught me more than what it means to be a pirate, but also what it means to be a person. I did not know that before. And I don’t want to stop trying to know it better.”

Regulus willed himself to stand still, but he couldn’t help the tremor that came over him. James automatically reached out for him, but Regulus stopped him. This was his to face, alone. This was his to live by, forever.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that Peter is missing. He was the one who gave our position away to Malfoy. The both of them confirmed it to me. He died on Narcissa’s Revenge . He died a traitor and a ghoul. ”

The twitch passed. He finally got the courage to press his fingers to the reopened wound on his head. His fingers came away red, shining and still human. Such a solace gave him the strength to continue. 

“I will only ever be one of those things, should I stay. The hurt that I felt…when he told me…was unlike anything I’ve known. I was angry. I was betrayed. I didn’t understand how someone could do such a thing and I don’t think I’ll ever, because I cannot ask him. Neither can any of you. The dead do not speak any longer, and I know it’s just my word for you to believe. I don’t expect you to believe me. I just hope you hear me out.”

“I cannot claim humanity because I’m not sure I still possess any. But as long as I am on this ship, I am more alive than I will ever be.”

The room itself ceased to breath. Regulus stepped back.

“That is all I have to say.”

Remus cleared his throat. He motioned for Pandora to approach. 

She curtised, comically similar to the way she had done when she and Remus had first met. Regulus noticed Remus’s smile at the gesture, soft and familiar, as if he and Pandora were old relatives.

“I do not have much to add,” she said, her voice small but clear, “Only that I hope you can forgive me, Sirius.”

Sirius' head shot up.

“I hope you can forgive me,” Pandora echoed, “for what I did. I just…I care for Regulus so much. Not as much as you do, but as close as one can be, I suppose, without being blood. The two of you have made a home here…”

Pandora stepped towards Sirius. Kindly, she put her hands to his chest and bowed her head against his sternum. Sirius was completely still.

“Do not let it go in fear,” she begged at last and stepped away. 

At the sudden lack of Pandora’s magnetism and the strength of her words, Sirius stumbled back into the desk, shaking the papers. Only the waves could be heard in the pocket of quiet.

“Well that was bloody beautiful,” Marlene remarked loudly. A collective sigh issued throughout the room, the romanticism cut short. It served, ironically, to ease the tension in the room.

“What?” Marlene said defensively, “It was! Goddamn poetry I would say.”

“Let’s just call a vote, if that’s alright,” Remus interjected calmly.

Marlene blew out a dismissive breath of air.

“Fine. But just know that I think this whole thing is moronic.”

“We know.”

“Regulus is a pirate for God’s sake!” Marlene flounced off of the deck, “He’s one of us! And that’s not going to change, no matter how you vote. You can feel bad knowing you turned away one of your own kind.”

She aimed that last bit particularly at Sirius. She threw her hand up in the air.

“But fine. I’ll entertain this dumb little show. I vote that Regulus stays. All in favor?”

James raised his hand. As did Lily. As did Pandora. Mary shook her head, abstaining from voting. That left Sirius, Evan, and Dorcas, all certainly for Regulus returning home with his companions. 

Remus had to break the tie. He nodded for everyone to put their hands down. As if commanded by his dead magic, they did. He stood at the desk.

“Regulus,” he said, brassy and sure, “A vote has been made. It’s a draw. Therefore, your fate remains in my hands.”

Remus stepped around the desk to face Regulus. Regulus looked up at him, back straight, eyes firm. He would take it as it came. 

“I risked my life to save you,” Remus declared, loud enough for everyone to hear. He rested his hands on Regulus’s shoulders and Regulus did not feel even the slightest urge to twitch.

“And I would do it again if given the chance. You’re a pirate. You stay, until the sea herself decides she’s ready for you to return to her. That is the only way. That is the right way.”

Regulus released a long-held breath.

“In fact,” Remus cleared his throat, “Everyone is staying.”

“What?” Evan barked.

“Welcome to Lady Lily . I’m making you all crew.”

Sirius laughed; a short, disbelieving sound. 

“Oh God. This is going to be good,” he leaned over and kissed Remus on the cheek, “This is going to be good .”

“I don’t want to stay,” Evan bristled.

Remus shrugged, “Too bad. You’re staying.”

“Remus, what-” Regulus started to interject, but Remus held up a hand.

“I’ll not hear a word against it. It’s settled. Evan Rosier, Dorcas Meadowes; you are now considered prisoners of war and suspended into the care of Lady Lily indefinitely. And all know, Lady Lily doesn’t take prisoners. Do with that what you will. Pandora Lestrange…”

Remus offered his hand to Pandora, who was beaming with pride. She eagerly took it, blushing as he pressed a playful kiss to her knuckles.

“You, dear lady, are included. Do you accept this vessel as your home and your lifeblood?”

“I do.” Pandora promised.

“Do you swear to defend her with your life, among your new brothers and sisters?”

“I do.”

“We are happy to have you.”

Pandora giggled and threw her arms around Remus before quickly moving on to Sirius, who this time, was ready for her embrace. 

“Dora, you have to be joking,” Dorcas sputtered, “You can’t be considering this.”

“I’m staying with Reggie,” Pandora said, rushing up to Dorcas and hugging her as well, “And so are you. You heard him. We’re all staying.”

Dorcas accepted this fate much easier than Evan did, who made a failed swipe for Pandora’s arm as she flitted around the room like a butterfly, joyfully introducing herself to Lily and Mary. Dorcas, just as quickly, if not more so, approached Marlene. Marlene winked at Regulus as Dorcas offered her hand in greeting.

Regulus laughed to himself. Evan stared, shell-shocked. 

“Reg, I…” he began, but lost the words halfway through. Regulus laid a hand on the small of Evan’s back.

“We leave together, or not at all.” Regulus said nostalgically, “I hope you meant that, when you said it.”

Evan swallowed hard and straightened his shoulders. 

“Of course I meant that,” Evan said, “I just never thought…”

“You’d have to follow through?”

“I never thought that the last time I left home would be for forever.”

Regulus nodded empathetically. His leg twitched and he leaned into Evan a bit for support. Evan did not think twice about holding him up.

“Neither did I,” Regulus sighed and looked Evan in the eye, “But I have built more than I left behind. There is something beautiful in that.”

Evan’s head shook mindlessly, as if he were trying to convince himself despite better wishes. He noticed Regulus’s twitch had moved up to his shoulders and cast him an anxious glance.

“Are we going to be okay here?” Evan asked. He did not hide his nerves.

The twitch passed, quicker than it had came. Regulus watched as James whispered something to Remus and Sirius before bringing them close, and he smiled knowingly, mostly for his own benefit.

“Yes,” he said finally, “Yes. I believe we will be.”