Chapter 17
On Thursday evening, after spending three hours attempting to buy Christmas presents for the Potter family, Regulus slunk into the bookshop nearest the campus. He needed something new for the train, he supposed. He wandered, as slowly as possible, procrastinating going home and actually packing, down the rows of shelves. He was in the mood for fiction, although the selection wasn’t great as he continued his stroll.
He was staring at the horror section when he felt the tap on his shoulder. He slowly turned, coming face to face with Dorcas, who beamed. “Regulus!”
“Dorcas!” He smiled back. “How are you?”
“I’m good, I’m good! How are you?” She frowned ever so slightly as if she remembered who she was speaking to. “I didn’t have your number to check on you after the other night… Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” he assured, shrugging slightly. “I’m just doing my last bit of Christmas shopping.”
“Of course, are you looking for a book for someone in particular?” He realised that she was wearing a name tag. She obviously worked here. He felt a bit stupid for not realising that before, but he supposed his head wasn’t with it.
He shook his head slightly, looking back at the shelf. “No, no, just me. I need something to read on the train to James’ tomorrow.”
“Oh, you’re still going to James’?” Dorcas questioned. He nodded slowly, eyebrows raising slightly. “Well, y’know, none of us have heard from him since that dinner.”
“What?” He asked.
“Well, after you left, James and Sirius really got into it, and Remus joined in. I mean, a lot of swearing, a lot of drama. None of us really knew what to do, so we just listened to them fight it out. Apparently, Sirius is very protective over both of you, but the idea of you two enjoying the company of one another makes his little head explode,” she shook her head. “So, Remus finally drags Sirius out of the room, telling him to sober up, and stop being, and I quote, a ‘whiny spoilt bitch’, and then James and Lily get into it.”
“James and Lily?” Regulus felt nauseous all of a sudden.
Dorcas shrugged slightly. “Well, after what Sirius said…”
“What did he say?” Regulus questioned.
“Well, when you were there, he insinuated James not only knew about the… crush, but that he was playing into it… And when you left, well, he was horrible. He made it seem like he was just dragging Lily along like he didn’t even like her. He said it was sad to see his brother being a pathetic pining mess, but at least he wasn’t practically cheating on his girlfriend over sexuality he won’t admit…”
Regulus watched her as she spoke, trying not to frown as he listened to her recount her story. “So, well, they had a fight. She wanted to know what he meant, and he said that Sirius was obviously insane. But Lily wasn’t sure, so they went down to his room, and continued their fight, and she won’t really tell us what was said, but they haven’t spoken since.”
“Seriously?” He gaped.
“Seriously. She won’t talk to us about it, and James apparently isn’t talking to Sirius at all, and won’t really speak to any of us either. Or, well, he hasn’t given us the chance to speak to him. He basically keeps his phone off. Marls and I went over the other day, and Peter said he wouldn’t come out of his room. You’re probably the only person he’s spoken to since the dinner,” she shrugged.
“Oh,” was all Regulus could think to say. “He didn’t mention any of that.”
“He probably doesn’t want to worry you,” she patted his shoulder, tentatively. “You seemed a bit… Well, you looked as if you’d seen a ghost when you left us. He probably didn’t want you to overthink anything. It’s not your fault you’ve got a crush on him, and I think he gets that. But Sirius acts like its a personal attack against him, and I just think Lily is so in love with James, the idea of anyone else holding his attention is a bit soul-crushing for her.”
“Yeah,” he lamely replied. She squeezed his shoulder, awkwardly.
“Do you need a hand picking out a book?” She asked, smiling slightly, obviously attempting to move the conversation along.
He looked back at the shelf, grabbing the first thing he could. “No, I’ll just take this.” She looked down at the book, eyebrows raising.
“IT?” She questioned.
Regulus looked down at the book, frowning. “No, actually.”
“I’ll give you time to choose,” she decided, backing away.
He turned back to the shelf, shuffling down another aisle. He ended up with a copy of Gone Girl, which he dropped onto the counter, fishing his wallet out of his pocket. “Good choice,” Dorcas smiled, scanning the back of it. “Do you need a bag?”
“I’ve got space in here,” he shrugged, holding up a bag that contained a new apron, embroidered with her initials, for Effy. Dorcas nodded, pushing the scanned book across the counter, smiling. He tapped his card off the reader, flashing her another smile. “Well, I’ll see you around.”
“You will! Enjoy Christmas!” She grinned. “And.. Tell James we’re all asking after him, okay? No matter what’s going on with Lily, we still care about him, okay?”
Regulus nodded, slipping the book into his bag.