Icarus and His Sun

The end of second year arrived much sooner than Regulus would've anticipated. The last few weeks of school were a blur, filled to the brim with studying and coursework and worrying over final exams. Through everything, though, there was one good aspect of it all: the Marauders' End-of-Year Prank.

Regulus and Barty had been recruited to assist the boys in carrying out said shenanigans. They were given all the information a month in advance to properly prepare and had gone over everything at least a thousand times.

The plan was simple: turn every corridor in the castle into a water slide.

Regulus had no clue what that meant, and when Remus first sat them down to explain the idea he thought the boy had absolutely lost his mind. Amongst many many other questions, the main one plaguing him was how in Merlin's name did muggles find hurtling through a river down a giant tube of plastic fun. But in the end it didn't much matter what did or didn't make sense to him as the others had already made up their minds.

There was a lot more planning and researching behind the pranks than Regulus had expected. That wasn't even mentioning the work they put into actually practicing and perfecting the spells they needed once they figured them out. In the end, Regulus concludes that even he underestimated the marauders's dedication.

As the last week of term drew closer and closer, Regulus began to regret his decision to take part in the prank. Only then, it seemed, did he really account for all of the ways things could go wrong and they could end up in severe trouble. Of course, all five boys seemed to have formed a pact to keeping him to his word, providing the same answer any time he voiced his concerns.

"Come on, Reg. Live a little. What's the worst that could happen?"

He didn't want to know the answer to that question.

—————————

Monday, 24th June, 1974

Aside from Madam Prince at the front desk and the table currently being occupied by the marauders plus two, the library was completely empty. This was excellent seeing as it allowed them to talk more openly about their plan without fear of being overheard.

"So we agree, we're less likely to get caught if we work our way down." Remus points to some kind of home-made map of the school spread out on the table as he goes over everything one final time. "We'll break off in pairs and meet each other at certain increments."

"And then where are we meeting after, again?," Barty asks.

Remus circles his finger around a classroom on the second floor. "Right here."

It's quiet for just a second. Regulus stares down at the map as if looking long enough will make his worries disappear. "And you're sure no one will catch us there?"

"They never have before," Peter claims. "Trust us, we've been doing this since first year."

"Now, the most important thing is that we stick to the plan." Sirius plants his hands on the table and leans forward. "No. Matter. What."

"Whatever you do, do not panic," Peter says.

"Do not bail," Remus cuts in.

"Or we are screwed," James finishes.

Regulus narrows his eyes at the each of them. They definitely practiced that.

"Okay, but what happens if your plan goes to shit?," Barty poses.

"It won't," all four of them announce in unison.

"But what if it does?"

They look back and forth between each other. Regulus and Barty watch in silent amusement as the boys attempt to form an agreement on an answer.

"Improvise," Remus provides with a smile.

Regulus crosses his arms, letting out a shaky breath. He stares down at the map even harder. One hand drifts up to his mouth, his teeth catching his nail in between them.

It's a dumb plan. It really is. If they get caught, Walburga will be absolutely livid.

But then...it's the last day of the year. What can they really do to punish them?

"Okay. Let's get this over with."

Barty bumps his shoulder against Regulus's. "Come on, Reg. Live a little. What's the worst that could happen?"

Regulus sucks his teeth, bumping Barty away from him with only a bit more force.

"So," Sirius claps his hands, rubs his palms together excitedly. "The real question is how are we going to team up?"

"I've done some thinking on that, actually!"

James lights up. All eyes are drawn to him as he grabs a chair and spins it around so that the back presses against their table. He sits just like that, the exact opposite direction he should be, and leans his elbows on the table. His hands change positions with almost every word that falls from his mouth.

"I've been taking notes on everyone's spell casting, and I've also put a lot of thought into how we each work, individually and as a group. We've all got our strengths and weaknesses, but I'm almost certain I've got these matches perfect."

He pulls out a piece of parchment from his back pocket and unfolds it. He sets it down in front of him, getting ready to read it.

Oh, Regulus thinks. Oh he actually took notes. He wasn't kidding.

"First off, we've got Barty and Peter working together on the top floors. The majority of the Professors will be near there and Pete's an escape artist, so if anything happens he can get them out."

Barty pumps his fists in excitement, then practically climbs on top of the table to high five Peter.

"Next," James carries on. "Sirius and Remus will take the middle most floors. They work the quickest and that's exactly what we'll need once we get into the thick of things."

Remus's cheeks flush, though no one else seems to notice. Sirius claps his hands on the other boys shoulders and shakes him up.

"And I'm guessing that means I'm stuck with you?," Regulus sighs. He raises a brow at James.

James holds a hand up to his chest, pretending to be greatly insulted. "Well, I was going to compliment you and say you're the best at the bubble charm, but now I don't think you deserve it."

Regulus makes a face that James mimics in response. Before he has the chance to protest anymore Remus declares it time for them to get started. They gather themselves and exit the library.

The final details are explained meticulously and they begin breaking off. Barty gives Regulus a double thumbs up before following Peter up the stairs to their post. The remaining four walk down another two flights to reach the next checkpoint.

"You've got this, Reggie!," Sirius says in an overly peppy voice. "Have fun. Listen to James. Don't get caught."

"The day I listen to James Potter is the day I die." Regulus pretends he doesn't see the rude hand gesture James gives him.

Suddenly, Sirius's hand comes up to Regulus's chest, holding him back. Remus and James continue to walk ahead, blissfully unaware. Confused, Regulus blinks at his brother.

"What—"

"Listen to James," Sirius whispers. "He knows what he's doing. Don't go against him just cause you feel like being stubborn, yeah?"

"That's rich, coming from you." Regulus pushes his hand away and starts walking again. "I'll do whatever I like, thank you very much."

"Don't act stupid!," Sirius calls. Regulus waves him off without turning, leaving him and Lupin to their station.

They catch one of the floating staircases and ride it down to the fourth floor. They settle in, seeing as how they'll have to wait quite a while for their friends to finish before getting started. Regulus stands quietly and waits with his hands behind his back, elegant as ever.

The same cannot be said for James.

He starts off alright, if a bit fidgety: bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking up and down the corridor, whistling a senseless tune that comes dangerously close to piercing Regulus's eardrums. After just two minutes, he takes up to pacing, strolling across the floor from left to right and back again. Regulus watches him dubiously.

He goes all the way down to one end, peeks around the corner, then loops back. He does the same at the opposite end of the hall. When he comes back this time he does so rather slowly, lining up his feet heel to toe very carefully. He keeps his hands out to his sides as if he's walking on a very high ledge and needs to keep his balance.

Regulus rolls his eyes, sighing inwardly.

James comes over to the wall Regulus stands near. He reaches forward, just barely grazing it with his fingertips. He looks up towards the ceiling. Then down at his feet. He kicks the wall in front of him.

The sound that comes out of Regulus isn't exactly a laugh, more of a half-snort half-cough. He shakes his head.

"You and Barty, I swear."

James tilts his head like a lost puppy. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Regulus just sighs and shakes his head again. He falls silent for a minute, listening to James bounce the toes of his trainers off the wall. The quiet gives him freedom to contemplate the conversation that had taken place only twenty minutes prior.

"So why are you here, then?"

"Sorry?," James asks. He nudges his glasses farther up his face.

"You said I'm the best with the bubbles. Why does that mean I have to work with you?" Regulus pauses for a second. "I don't see how that constitutes putting me lower on the floor plan either, actually."

"So now you're interested in my theories?" James looks incredibly smug.

"You know what, never mind. I refuse to give you the satisfaction."

Regulus looks towards the other end of the hall. He hears James laugh and and for a second he imagines knocking the wind out of him to get him to shut up. Instead, he settles for ignoring him. James doesn't take the hint.

"It's cause I'm just as good with the water, for your information. And obviously we want the most effective spells to be cast where they can do the most damage— hence, we cover the ground floors."

At his last comment, James leans into Regulus to elbow him repeatedly in his side. Regulus slides farther down the wall.

"I still don't see why we had to be together," he spits out, annoyed. "Barty does fine with Auguamenti. And we already work together seamlessly—"

"Which is exactly why I needed to split you up."

That interests Regulus enough to have him looking at James again. He gives a skeptical look and James goes on explaining as if it's all very obvious.

"You've already established a dynamic with each other, but not any of us. I figured it would help you both to get out of your comfort zones if you worked separately."

Regulus hates that he can see the sense in that.

He does try and come up with a rebuttal, but words seem to fail him at this moment. Every time his mouth opens it immediately snaps shut again, and with each cycle of attempted words James grows more and more proud. Eventually, he comes up with a response.

"Shut up."

Admittedly, not the most astute thing he could say, but who cares.

James laughs, adjusting his glasses for the hundredth time. "Please, no need to applaud. I know I'm brilliant."

"Well, at least you've got that going for you." Regulus glances to the end of the hall he expects Remus and Sirius to enter from. No sign of them yet.

"Oh no, that among other things." James starts listing them on his fingers. "Talented, kind, funny, charming—"

"Humble?" Regulus meets his eyes and gives a sarcastic, crinkle-eyed smile.

Much to his displeasure, James finds this funny. Regulus rolls his eyes and goes back to ignoring him.

They stand in a silence that's not really silent, thanks to James, for another twenty minutes before Regulus hears something that catches his attention. He looks up and finds that running down one of the few stationary sets of stairs is a thin river of water. He watches it for a few seconds before a different, much louder sound takes over.

"We're here! We're here! We're here!," Sirius shouts repeatedly as he thunders down the stairs. He doesn't stop, flying straight towards James and body slamming him to the ground.

As they scuffle, Remus appears and descends towards them as well. He doesn't seem fazed by their fighting and diverts his full attention to Regulus.

"We've got it sorted. We'll see you soon enough, yeh?"

Regulus hears a yelp to his left and jumps a bit. He turns to see Sirius straddling James on the floor, rubbing his hands all over his face and hair. James complains about his glasses breaking which only eggs Sirius on.

"Are they always like that?"

Remus sighs before lifting his fingers to his mouth and letting out a sharp whistle. Immediately, the other boys freeze and Sirius's head whips around. Regulus is briefly reminded of their own personal whistle and wonders if Sirius has ever reflexively responded with it before, or if he's already forgotten.

"Oi! Get on with it!"

He starts walking away and Sirius jumps up, abandoning James on the ground. He shouts more words of encouragement to Regulus as he follows Remus down the stairs and out of sight. Once they're gone, Regulus looks back at James and frowns.

"Well don't just lay there."

At once, James is on his feet, springing back to life.

They get to work quickly. The execution was fairly simple: one person was to charm the floor into spawning a never ending stream of water while the other made it so the walls would produce cascading waves of thick, pink bubbles. The bubbles would then fall and mix with the water, resulting in everything turning into one great big soapy mess. With the help of a few more spells, for precaution and to save time, they would have the whole castle slipping and sliding for the rest of the day.

They get through the first two floors of their section easy enough, succeeding in creating a raging war of water and bubbles. Occasionally James tries to joke with Regulus who steadfastly ignores him. Aside from that they mostly keep to themselves, each doing their respective jobs.

They're halfway through the castles second floor when Regulus realizes it's gotten a bit too quiet.

He looks to his left just in time to spot James expanding his charm, sending water far too close to where Regulus is standing. Regulus steps out of the way and glares at the back of James's head, seemingly oblivious to what he's just done.

"Pay attention to where you're pointing that, would you?"

James leans towards him, cupping a hand around his ear. "Sorry?"

"I said pay attention to where you're—"

Regulus cuts himself off when he sees James flick his wand in a way that's meant to be subtle.

"Hey!" He jumps back, just missing the jet of water that James sends his way. "You did that on purpose!"

James's face splits into a ridiculously massive grin. "I've no idea what you mean. Honestly."

He shoots another stream from his wand, this time aiming for Regulus's face. Regulus dodges, turning his own wand at the boy. He sprays him back and doesn't miss. James turns his face at the oncoming attack, holding up a hand to block it. In trying to protect himself he tips backwards, arms circling the air before he lands flat on his ass in the massive puddle of water coating the floor.

"Serves you!," Regulus teases, a small, triumphant smirk pulling at his lips.

James doesn't look bothered at all. In fact, he's laughing. He shakes his head violently, flinging water from his hair and causing it to flay out sporadically. Regulus leans away from him but that only spurs him on harder.

"Come on, Reg! A little water never hurt!" He leans forward, scooping his hands up to splash water and bubbles into the air.

Regulus skips back as if he's afraid of getting burned by it. He scrunches his nose. "You're a child, do you know that?"

"Hah!" James looks up at him, adjusting his glasses. "Of course you'd say— oh fuck."

Regulus gives him a questioning look. James's eyes are fixated on a point just past his shoulder.

"What—"

"Shhh!"

James is on his feet, pushing Regulus across the floor. They enter a hall on their right and abruptly stop again. James lays a hand flat on Regulus's chest, holding him up against the wall as he does the same.

Regulus's confusion only deepens. Staring at the other boy, he finds wide, unblinking eyes that still refuse to meet his own.

"Potter, what—"

James brings his other hand up to his mouth, repeatedly slamming one finger against his lips. Regulus raises a brow and goes to respond, annoyed at being shushed in such a way, when a new voice cuts through the air.

"What in Godric's name—" The person stops, speechless. The sound of water splashing under footsteps comes from a few feet away.

Regulus's blood runs cold. His head whips around in the direction of the voice, half expecting the caretaker to be right in front of them. His view of the hall remains the same, seemingly empty other than the absolute tidal wave of water and bubbles rushing past them.

Regulus doesn't even realize he's inching towards the edge of the wall until he starts peeking around it. Slowly, the man comes into view.

Filch stands in the middle of their makeshift river. He's stopped right in front of the conjuring point for the bubbles, being assaulted by the pink suds. Much like James, the ends of his trousers are soaked, shoes completely submerged in the water.

Regulus feels a hand come down gently on his shoulder and he knows that James is leaning over him to look on as well.

They watch Filch trudge closer to the wall producing the bubbles. He leans into it, placing his hands all along the surface to try and feel for something attached to it. When he finds nothing, he leans down towards the floor, getting on his hands and knees to search there.

The bubbles multiply incessantly. They cover Filch head to toe, soapy clumps sticking to his clothes and skin. He splutters, shooing them away from his face, and in the process looses his balance. He falls face down into the water underneath him. Splashing and flailing in disgust, he tries to right himself but slips and land in the pool again, succeeding only in drenching himself entirely.

James snorts rather loudly.

Filch's head snaps up, eyes going directly to the two boys. "You!"

"Shit!"

Regulus yelps as James's hand takes hold of his wrist, yanking him away from the wall and down the corridor.

His shoes are coated in wet soap and bubbles and James is dripping from head to toe, so it's less of a run and more of a haphazard slipping and squelching to get away. He'd be more panicked if Filch wasn't in a similar, if not worse, state as them. As it stands, he's more focused on not skidding into a wall than anything else.

"You little devils! Don't run from me!" The threats are accompanied by more sounds of Filch falling over himself.

James drags him around a few corners until he's opening a door and shoving Regulus inside, squeezing in next to him.

It's dark and cramped, shelves protruding from the walls and pressing into any piece of Regulus they can reach. The addition of another person in the confined space doesn't exactly help his comfort much. Both boys make noises of protest as they shuffle around each other awkwardly.

"Excellent work, Mr. Potter." Regulus pushes him away, barely avoiding an elbow to his chest. "Pick an even smaller cupboard next time, why don't you?"

"Oh shut up, will you? Didn't see you suggesting any bright ideas."

"Well maybe if I had had a second to— Ow!"

Regulus's foot kicks up reflexively from being stepped on, only for the back of his ankle to hit the edge of a shelf behind him. He winces, immediately trying to lean down and grab his leg. Instead, he pitches head first into James's chest, knocking him off balance. James tries and fails to grab something on the way down, sending several unrecognizable objects off their shelves and onto the floor. They rain down with a horrible, drawn out crash, and judging by the sound James makes Regulus thinks one may have hit his head.

"Motherf—" There's movement underneath Regulus as James cuts himself off.

"Now you've done it."

"Wha— me?" James's voice cracks. Were Regulus not currently laying over top of him he would've laughed at the high pitched screech. "I didn't fall over! What'd you fall over for?"

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

"So that means it's my fault?"

Flames are coming out of Regulus's head. He pinches James's side hard between his finger and the nail of his thumb. James shouts, shoving Regulus's hand away. In retaliation, he grabs Regulus's shoulder and presses his thumb down until Regulus is desperately trying to shake him off. Regulus grabs his fingers and twists as hard as he can.

James yanks his hand back. "Wanker!"

"You started it!"

"I literally didn't!"

Regulus gives a dramatic sigh, his voice rising in volume each time he speaks. "This is absolutely incredible! You're a proper idiot, do you know that?"

"Enlighten me, oh wizened one." Even now, James can't sit still for more than three seconds.

"Gladly. First of all, you're not nearly as charming as you think you are. You're actually quite loud and obnoxious and I have no idea why more people don't call you out on it. Second, you devote what smarts you do have to ridiculous and childish matters such as these."

"I think you're forgetting that you're also part of these childish matters?"

"Because of you! I didn't ask to be dragged into a bloody broom cupboard with the great James 'Bad Idea Central' Potter!"

"My apologies, your highness. I wasn't aware that you—" James pauses in the middle of his insult, going completely silent.

Regulus scoffs. "Having trouble there, Potter? I see why you're not a Ravenclaw."

"Shut up."

"Excuse me? Don't you dare tell me to shut up! I'm not required to—"

"Regulus, stop talking."

Before he can yell again, a hand comes around the back of Regulus's head and another clamps over his mouth.

The audacity that James Potter must possess. This idiot has got to have a death wish.

He's about to rip the boys hands away when he hears a soft squishing noise coming from the hall outside. Regulus freezes. His brain finally puts all of the pieces together and he chastises himself for getting wrapped up in their petty argument. Merlin, they've been yelling at each other this whole time, how did Filch not find them sooner? He listens for the sound again.

Filch grumbles incoherently, shoes squeaking on the flagstone as he paces back and forth. He draws close to their hiding spot and Regulus swears he stops breathing. Eventually, he carries on down the other end of the corridor. Regulus waits a full thirty seconds after the footsteps disappear to make sure they're in the clear.

His sigh of relief is muffled by James's hand.

It's only now that Regulus realizes his eyes have adjusted to the darkness, his vision being somewhat restored. He looks back down at the boy underneath him.

James's eyes are already focused on Regulus, practically falling out of his head, though his gaze falls somewhere lower than Regulus's eye level. His lips are parted slightly, eyebrows rising up from their usual resting place. Pressed this closely, Regulus can feel the stillness of James's chest. Every part of him is still, really, and it's incredibly unnatural.

James really is on a rudeness streak today. Didn't anyone teach this boy not to stare? He could at least close his mouth; that seems just a bit over dramatic, not to mention gross.

Regulus shifts uncomfortably, wishing he was absolutely anywhere else. The movement catches James's attention. He glances up and their eyes meet.

Regulus hears James take in a sharp breathe as he blinks a couple times. Suddenly, he's back to his senses. James's hands bounce back and he scoots himself up into a sitting position, clearing his throat. Regulus moves in the opposite direction, the two separating as much as possible in the small closet. They sit with their backs to the shelves, facing each other.

It's dead quiet for an awfully long time.

Regulus cracks first. He feels like he's done something wrong when he speaks, as if he's broken some kind of unspoken rule.

"I suppose we can head back now."

James gives a weak smile, though he refuses to hold eye contact for longer than three seconds. Regulus can practically feel the heat radiating off of him. "Yeah. Probably."

Despite agreeing, he makes no motion to exit the cupboard. Regulus is confused. He won't allow himself to give in again, though, so they remain stranded in their shared space for quite some time.

The longer Regulus watches James the more he grows to hate him for getting them into this situation. It was him and his friends who had roped Regulus and Barty into their shenanigans—hell, James was the one who chose to work with Regulus. If he wanted things to go exactly as planned, he should've picked someone more experienced as a partner. It's hardly Regulus's fault that things went south, and now James wants to try and punish him by giving the silent treatment? What a prick.

His legs start to loose feeling. The silence stretches on forever, becoming more and more impenetrable as the minutes rack up. He's not sure what would be worse: having to live in this silence forever or trying to speak now that they've been quiet for so long already. It's quite unsettling really and James continuing to stare into his own lap isn't helping.

Finally reaching his wits end, Regulus snaps out a harsh whisper.

"Shall I just sit here and watch you pout until Filch comes back, then?"

James finally looks at him again, shock evident on his face. "I'm not pouting."

"I beg to differ."

"Then beg."

Regulus scowls. James's fire sparks back to life, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

"Who's pouting now?" He leans to the left, pushing Regulus's legs with his own.

Regulus rolls his eyes before squinting again. "Ridiculous."

James gives a fond laugh. He pauses just long enough to make Regulus think he's going to drop the conversation. He takes a breath as he gets ready to speak again when suddenly the cupboard door flies open.

"Oh, thank Merlin!"

Peter's expression is equal parts worried and relieved. Just behind him, Barty clings to the arm of his robes excitedly.

"You never showed up to the classroom and we saw Filch roaming around. I thought you two might have been caught!"

James holds a hand to his chest, clearly offended. "Me? Get caught? Do you have absolutely no faith in me, Pete?"

Peter chuckles. Barty is practically on top of him, leaning over his back to frown at Regulus.

"Why are you in a broom cupboard?"

Regulus kicks James in the thigh. He boosts himself up, stepping back into the hall. He starts to usher Barty away when a pair of arms wrap around his body, lifting him up off his feet. He squeals, kicking and wiggling to no avail.

"Put me down!"

"Can't do that, mate. I'm under strict orders to not let you bunk off." James changes directions, following Peter down the other end of the corridor.

"Whose orders? The bloody Minister of Magic?" Regulus can hear Barty laugh from somewhere behind them.

He manages to scrape the ground with his toes only for James to bounce him back up, lowering his grip to keep Regulus from slipping out.

"Not quite, but I'm sure he'll be pleased that you think so highly of him."

Regulus doesn't give up, doing almost everything in his power to get away. Barty refuses to help, far too amused at seeing his friend try to pry off the hands tucked into his sides. For a full two minutes Regulus is dragged around the castle against his will until they finally enter an empty classroom.

Well, almost empty.

"What the fuck?" Remus erupts into laughter.

To be fair, Regulus is certain he looks like hell after all the struggling he's been doing, and the sight of him being manhandled into the room by a still dripping James Potter would probably be entertaining were he in Lupin's shoes.

However, he is not, and so he fails to see the humor in it.

The door closes behind them and James finally sets him down. Regulus immediately turns around and starts smacking James's arms.

"Ow! Ow, hey! Sirius, control your brother!"

"Oh, don't you start!" Regulus whips around to argue with Sirius instead. "Mister Listen to James, He Knows What He's Doing!"

"Don't be rude." Sirius clearly thinks this conversation is a joke.

"This fool had us locked in a broom cupboard for at least half an hour!"

"The door wasn't locked," James points out. "You technically could've left whenever you wanted."

Regulus is about two seconds away from punching him in the face. It doesn't help that everyone is smiling or laughing at him as if his ranting is a show for them.

He marches up until he's practically nose to nose with Sirius, hissing at him through his teeth.

"I have had enough of you roping me into all of your nonsense. You've always been so determined to drag me down with you and I'm tired of it!"

"Don't make me the bad guy here," Sirius says pointedly. "I've never once forced you into doing anything for me. I've always given you a choice."

"And every time I don't get involved you hold it against me! It's always 'Reggie doesn't like fun' or 'Reggie puts the blame on me' when literally nothing good has ever happened when I agree to help!"

Barty wedges his way in front of Regulus, looking significantly less joyful than he had previously but still remaining neutral. He places his hands on Regulus's shoulders, pushing backwards a little.

"Alright, take it easy mate. Let's just be on our way, yeah?"

Regulus's feet stutter as he attempts to keep his ground. Barty, however, is insistent that they leave right this second. He keeps a firm grip on Regulus as he forces him away.

Unfortunately, Sirius does not seem to be done with the conversation. He's not laughing anymore.

"Well it's the truth. Can't you let loose every once in a while?" He scoffs, rolling his eyes. "You're so worried about getting in trouble and it actually makes you really fucking boring."

"Well not all of us can be the great James bloody Potter." Regulus is actively fighting against Barty now. He's not entirely sure how, but he feels if given the opportunity he could kill Sirius in this moment. "If he's so perfect, why not have him be your brother instead?"

"I wish he bloody was!," Sirius bellows, and the room goes quiet.

Regulus stops resisting, every muscle in his body clenched tight in anger. Heat comes off his face and neck in thick, palpable waves. He's so focused on trying to murder Sirius with his gaze that he doesn't even realize Barty is also stock still, having stopped trying to drag him away.

In unison, every eye in the room goes directly to James.

He looks beyond uncomfortable; his thumbs grazing over the rest of his fingers balled in fists, his mouth clamped shut and his throat working as he swallows. He's looking at Peter with his brows drawn and for a second Regulus thinks he's going to cry.

What reason does he have to cry? He steals Sirius away and he's fucking crying? If anything, Regulus is the one who should be crying. But he isn't. And he won't. He refuses.

James's gaze slides over to Sirius and then finally, finally lands on Regulus.

And Regulus can see the effect his stare has on James.

Almost instantly, his face shifts from discomfort to pity. His shoulders drop, and his lips part as he lets out a barely audible sigh. He shakes his head, never once looking away from Regulus. As if maintaining eye contact will somehow make the rest of the room disappear, will wash away the lasting scar of Sirius's words.

He starts to move forward. "Reg—"

"Back off." Barty shoves James away far more forcefully than he had with Regulus.

James nearly falls backwards. Despite being visibly taller and stronger, he shrinks away from Barty. He looks back and forth between Barty and Regulus, unsure of what to do.

Regulus steps forward and takes Barty's arm just as Sirius does the same to James. They stare each other down. Regulus wonders if the color in his eyes is still lively, or if they've faded to that cold and lonely grey he sees before him.

"Well then. I see I've become irrelevant."

Sirius doesn't reply, and that's the only answer Regulus needs.

He turns quickly, dragging Barty back out the way they came. The door of the classroom slams without either of them touching it and they're both too wound up to really notice. The air around them is electric as they storm through the halls.

"Fucking shit," Barty huffs. "Honestly, who the fuck does he think he is?"

Regulus barely hears the words being said to him, focused more on ones he's already heard.

He's like a brother to me, Reg. He just gets me, y'know?

"As if he doesn't already treat you like rubbish, putting James on the spot like that? Unbelievable."

The sound of Regulus's shoes against the floor is no match for the overwhelming pounding of blood in his ears.

You're a coward! You hear me? A coward! I hate you!

"I was ready to tear him apart myself for that. Bloody hell, he should learn to be— to appreciate you more!"

Still, Barty's words seem to float through him rather than actually sticking. He doesn't care though; it doesn't matter much. Nothing really matters, other than his own rage.

Fucking Potter. Stupid fucking Potter and his stupid fucking personality drawing his stupid fucking brother away from him. Stealing Sirius and running off to be with those stupid fucking lowlife, halfbred, blood traitorous—

"I swear, if he even thinks about...where are we going?"

Regulus stops in his tracks, feeling jolted by the sudden knowledge that something around him has changed. It takes him a second to look down and when he does he realizes the flagstone floors of the castle have given way to crisp green earth all around. He turns back to look at Barty, incredibly confused, standing on the steps of the castle's main entrance.

"Uh..." Regulus pauses, glancing around at the open air. His breathing is heavy and rushed, the effects of nearly sprinting his way through the castle without really meaning to. "Ah...the quidditch pitch."

Barty's brow furrows. "Quidditch."

"Yes."

"Now?"

"Fucking hell, Barty. Yes, now, please!" His lungs can barely stand yelling when he's already out of breath.

Barty blinks; it's one of those rare occasions where Regulus is the one who isn't making sense. He stays frozen like that before eventually shaking his head a bit.

"Alright. Yeah. Sure." He walks the rest of the way down the steps, joining Regulus in the grass. "If that'll help."

"It will," Regulus exhales. The promise of getting to fly— soaring all the way up into the air, where nothing and no one can reach him— already begins to ease some of his tension.

"Good. Let's go then." Barty throws an arm around his shoulders, dragging him off with a breathy laugh. "You know, you talk funny when you're angry. Wasn't gonna make fun of you at the time, but I'll do it now."

Regulus beats him until he breaks into a sprint to get away, then tears off after him.