“If my side knew about this meeting, I'd end up in some serious trouble” he said quietly when the man sat down in front of him.
“If my side knew about this meeting, I would be dead, so don't complain” the other replied.
The voice was what he remembered, but the appearance was different. He had the face of a boy more or less the same age, but black, with dark eyes and short hair, but he knew how to choose: he had a bodytype so similar to that of his brother that it allowed him to steal some muggle clothes that had been abandoned when the other had run away. Remus recognized without hesitation the Rolling Stones shirt and skinny jeans; he was pretty sure that the jacket had originally belonged to Prongs.
Remus had chosen the place, a small pub across the street from Mile End Park, the least magical place in all of London, almost impossible to reach comfortably with the Apparition, away from any attack by the Death Eaters. It was a place that saw a lot of casual patrons, but not big enough to be confusing, the floor was sticky, but the glasses were clean and the background music wasn't unnerving. Most importantly, the most magical thing this place had ever seen was a lava lamp.
A waitress quickly joined them and the boy in front of him hesitated a moment so Remus stepped forward and ordered a beer before the woman could get suspicious. Damn.
“I hope you have a good reason for this meeting, Black” he said glaring at him as he took a sip of his beer. Regulus had arrived ten minutes early, but Remus had been there ten minutes ago.
“Oh no, I missed your red and gold snout” he said sarcastically as he adjusted the flaps of his open jacket. He seemed almost willing to take it off, it was quite hot, but it was clear that by now he had lost the habit of being free to show his arms.
“So?” he pressed, ignoring his comments.
“Are you sure Sirius doesn't know anything about it?” he asked nervously.
“Yes and try to relax, damn it. You have no idea how to do these things, huh?”
“Why? Are you some kind of expert?” he answered sardonically.
The other shrugged and took a sip from his pint. His hands were steady, his forehead dry. Regulus, on the other hand, seemed on the verge of a cardiac arrest.
He took a deep breath and tried to relax. The waitress brought him a mug similar to Remus's and took a big sip and then licked the foam from the corner of his mouth. It was absurd how much of Sirius he could see in him.
“I discovered something extremely relevant, concerning... my boss” he scratched the inside of his left forearm quite deliberately and Remus refrained from scolding him. Merlin, he really sucked undercover.
“Why should I trust you?” he asked.
“Because I'm exposing myself in a very risky manner”
“What if it's just a trap?”
“To do what? To catch a lone wolf? You don't even have a pack, Lupin, get off the pedestal” he hissed at him and Remus froze.
“I thought Dumbledore had kept Snape from talking about it” he said quietly before taking another sip.
“Indeed he did, I understood it by myself. You weren't particularly discreet, yet I have never disclosed your secret, not even to my friends” he said, brushing his forearm again.
“I know what we're talking about, you don't need to pretend you have mange every time. What do you have for me?”
Regulus straightened up, grabbing the flaps of his jacket again, as if it were a smart suit, and took a deep breath. He wasn't even wearing the usual snake-shaped ring he'd always seen. The shoes were also right. Maybe he wasn't entirely incompetent.
“One word you will have to bring back to Dumbledore”
He took Remus's hand in his and brushed the back of it as if he wanted to remove a stain. The werewolf watched as a word appeared on his wrist in beautiful handwriting. He was there for only a few seconds, just long enough to read it and feel the blood freeze in his veins.
“Oh my God” he uttered spontaneously and Regulus nodded.
“Oh your muggle god”
“If what you say is true-”
“Of course it's true, Lupin, who did you take me for?”
“Your word isn't worth much, is it?”
“We both know I'm not your favorite Black, but I have more to lose here than you, Lupin” he told him in a cold voice, but with panic in his eyes. He had just begun to relax enough not to look suspicious.
“Okay, let's say I believe you. How did you know something like this? I thought you were among the newbies "
“And it’s true, it was a coincidence. The… boss asked me to lend him my… servant to help him hide it and Kreacher told me everything that happened. As soon as possible, I will go and recover ... the object, but if I don't survive, someone must know the truth. There could be others and they have to be found and… disposed accordingly” he explained and then took another sip. He had regained control, his forehead was no longer sweaty and his breathing was not accelerated. Remus could still hear his rather quick heartbeat, but he had managed to calm down enough.
“And you choose me?” he asked dazed.
“I certainly can't tell my brother, what do you think?” he asked sarcastically and tried to run a hand through his hair, but found it much shorter and very much curlier than he was used to. He snorted and scratched his head and then continued talking “And then your... condition makes you the most powerful Occlumens in the magical world. It’s since I entered that I've been trying to read your mind, but your brain speaks a language that humans cannot understand” It was something Remus already knew, Dumbledore told him, but he didn't even realize that Regulus had tried to read his mind.
“What do you want in exchange?” he asked him and the other shook his head.
“Nothing, just do the right thing. For once” He was the brother Sirius had cried for and cursed in the corridors of Hogwarts too recently. Merlin, they were all kids, too young to hope they could survive everything that was going on.
“Dumbledore can help you, you know. If I could tell him how things are-”
“For me there is no hope, Remus” he said coldly.
“There is. If you are here it is because you want to fix things. Let us help you. Can you cast a Patronus?”
“Yes, but don't you dare send me one”
“Of course not. I only ask you to give me two days. Tonight I'll talk to Dumbledore and I'll tell him what you told me and I assure you he'll want to talk to you. We will meet here the day after tomorrow” He pulled out a piece of paper and a trigger pen and after writing an address with a time he handed it to him.
“Memorize it” he ordered and the boy read it a couple of times and then nodded and handed it back. He set it on fire with one of Sirius’s lighter that he always carried in his pocket and left it to burn in the ashtray on the table.
They both remained silent and watched the square of paper wear out.
“You're trusting me a lot, Remus. My brother would tell you you're wrong” he said after a while and then took another sip of beer. The adrenaline dried the mouth.
“Your brother is an idiot” he replied and the other grunted amused.
“You a certainly not wrong. How ... how is he?”
“I don't know, I haven't seen him for weeks” he answered honestly and the other frowned.
“What? And why? I thought you two-”
“Different missions, different nations and then I don't think we should stay here chatting, don’t you think?” he cut him off and the other nodded, almost chastised. Christ how much he resembled his brother, even with someone else's face.
“You're right” he admitted as Remus stood up.
“I am waiting for your Patronus the day after tomorrow that confirms that you will be there”
The boy nodded.
“And take a sip, your eyes are back to gray. Take care, Black”
“You too, Lupin”
-
Remus was waiting. He felt quite responsible for anything that might happen.
It was possible that it was a trap set for Dumbledore, or that Regulus had been telling the truth, but that it had been discovered and maybe they were both dead now.
“You should calm down” McGonagall ordered.
“I'll be able to when they get back. Maybe”
“If you have nothing better to do than vibrate on the spot, give me a hand” she said, pointing to a pile of exams to be catalogued and filed. Remus immediately got to work.
The meeting between Regulus and Dumbledore had gone as smoothly as oil. Remus had waited for him at the entrance to a harmless muggle apartment complex, a seedy place where no one asked any questions and the boy had turned up again under Polyjuice, the same borrowed face as last time, but he was wearing a Led Zeppelin shirt. Once this was settled, Sirius would surely want his clothes back.
He had guided him to the right apartment and had been allowed to be present at the conversation under Regulus' insistence that Dumbledore had granted him.
The headmaster of Hogwarts had proposed the use of Veritaserum and Regulus had accepted. She had asked him thoughtful questions about far more things than he might have expected, but there was a reason Dumbledore was Dumbledore. The last question was about the mole that the Order now feared to have in its ranks, but unfortunately Regulus did not know who it was. Only at that point he was asked to leave the apartment and Remus threw one last look at Regulus who hoped to be encouraging and left the building. He sat on a low wall in front of the entrance and waited for him to come out.
A quarter of an hour later the younger of the Blacks walked out at a brisk pace. He nodded his head and Remus motioned him to drink, his hair getting longer visibly.
They had made an appointment with Dumbledore to go and retrieve the Horcrux and Regulus had also let him know. The two had made a rendezvous at Hogwarts and the headmaster seemed rather surprised to find the werewolf with the young Death Eater, again with the same face and borrowed clothes, but with a Who t-shirt he had never seen on Sirius.
Regulus spoke privately for a long time with the headmaster, having been accompanied to the place where the horcrux was hidden the day before by the house elf. He had made some mention of it at Remus, but he had stopped him before he could reveal too much to him. The fewer people knew the hiding place, the better.
Remus had stayed at Hogwarts, wandering around the horribly empty school until McGonagall found him and put him to work to get rid of all the end-of-year paperwork.
A few hours had passed when the professor finally raised her head with a jerk.
“They're back” she announced before leaving the chair and leaving the office at a brisk pace. Remus followed her, concern growing more and more as he realized they were heading to the infirmary. The professor opened the door and Remus glimpsed the figure of Dumbledore on a bed, Regulus not far away completely panicked and drenched.
The werewolf was immediately upon him and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket.
“What happened?”
“Drink of Despair”
“What?”
“Drink of Despair! It's a horrible potion that had to be drunk to get to it, I offered to drink it, but he refused and then the Inferis tried to kill me and he saved us, but then he passed out-” he explained quickly and Remus calmed down. He hadn't betrayed them, that was the important thing. He was about to ask what would happen when they were kicked out of the infirmary by Professor McGonagall and sat down on a cold stone bench outside the door.
“Did you manage to get it?” he asked and Regulus nodded.
“I made a copy that I put in place of the original”
“How did you Apparate inside the school?”
“Before we started drinking, Dumbledore put this around my neck” he said, showing a pendant that Remus recognized immediately.
“Deathly Hallows”
“Mh, I really thought I was going to die there, Dumbledore screaming and those monsters trying to-” Remus put his arm around his shoulders and the boy started to cry.
“I should never have trusted my parents, Siri was right. I made the biggest mistake of my life” he grumbled and Remus cast a spell on him to dry his clothes and long black hair.
“Probably, but now you're trying to fix it; repairing one's mistakes requires great courage” he tried to cheer him up and the other raised his face hidden in his hands to glare at him.
“You spend too much time with Dumbledore, or with books”
“True, but doesn't mean that I'm wrong”
They sat there for a long time, until McGonagall opened the door and told him they could enter.
Professor Dumbledore was sitting quietly in one of the infirmary beds as if nothing had happened.
“Regulus, I have to thank you. Today you saved my life”
“I put it in danger first, Professor”
“These are the risks involved in a war. I think you have something for me” The boy nodded and took off the pendant the professor had given him and a large medallion he had hidden under his shirt.
“Ugh, it weighs a lot more than it might seem” he said, handing him both necklaces. Dumbledore quickly slipped on his own and stood looking at the medallion.
“It is the weight of the soul. Minerva, these guys need to have dinner and go home. When they are finished, accompany them to my office, I'm sure Remus will allow Regulus to pass through his house’s floo to get to London”
“Of course” Remus said
“Before you leave, I must ask you to take an Unbreakable Vow. If this information reaches the wrong ears, we will lose whatever advantage Regulus has given us”
The two boys looked at each other in shock, but Remus nodded and reached out his hand.
A few minutes later, the professor returned to the infirmary and began to accompany them to the kitchen when the werewolf turned to the witch.
“I know the way, there is no need, Professor”
“You and those Marauders” muttered the witch, but there was a hint of a smile in her voice.
“But I've always been the most polite”
“At least you never called me Minnie in the face” she muttered before retracing her steps.
They walked in silence to the kitchens and Remus timidly knocked on the entrance. When an elf opened the door, the little girl broke into an ecstatic smile.
“There is Mr. Regulus Black!” she announced and the others began to rejoice, surprising Remus.
“Hi Pheltine” greeted the other with a slight smile as she pulled him by the hand. The elves quickly cleared a corner of a table as they showered Regulus with questions, Remus watching the scene in surprise. Regulus Black in jeans, chatting amiably with Hogwarts house elves. Without the effect of the Polyjuice Potion, he had a bit of difficulty filling his brother's clothes, his seeker physique too thin. Christ how much he missed Sirius.
They both ate their fill, but it wasn't the food that changed Regulus’s mood.
When they were forced to say goodbye, some hugged the younger of the two who reciprocated. Remus shook hands politely with a couple of elves and the two were finally able to leave the kitchen.
“I really would not have expected this” he admitted.
“Should I have kicked some some to make you happy?” he said bewildered as he looked around. He was clearly exhausted.
“No, you just surprised me” he said honestly
“We Blacks are full of surprises” it seemed to hear Sirius speak, it was destabilizing.
“This is little, but true”
“Have you heard from him?” he asked after a moment and Remus shook his head.
“Nothing”
They were silent for a few seconds and then Regulus snorted.
“Now that I cried on your shoulder and therefore we are great friends, I can ask you: is there something wrong between you two?”
“Still not your business”
“I take it for a yes. It's a shame, you seemed happy”
Regulus was very different from what he would have expected, he had to give credits.
“Yeah, it's a pity that risking one’s life one day and also the next tends to destroy any relationship”
“I don't know what that degenerate could have told you about me, but I know my brother and he is not in the least able to manage his emotions”
“It could be because of the emotional trauma caused by your family” he said tense and Regulus agreed with a shrug.
“I don't doubt it, but you're the one in love with him, ask yourself some questions. With Sirius you can't hope for unspoken things, you have to clearly explain to him if something is wrong and at the same time find a solution because if you let him do it, he will feel abandoned and betrayed and start not trusting anymore” he explained bluntly. He certainly hadn't lied about knowing his brother.
“Ugh, are you all Slytherins like that?”
“You mean smart and charming? Of course not, or did you forget the Carrows?”
“I couldn't even if I wanted to” he said sarcastically and Regulus grunted.
They had reached the McGrannit office who, after nodding, accompanied them to Dumbledore's office. Without wasting any more time, the two slipped into the fireplace and reached the apartment that Remus shared with Sirius when the animagus remembered to return.
“So, this is the lovers’ nest” commented the other looking around. He lifted a leather jacket that had been abandoned on an armchair and tried it on.
“Do you at least know where he is?” the dark-haired boy asked him while he looked at himself in a mirror near the entrance. It was Sirius' tightest jacket, but on him it still was a little big on the shoulders.
“Somewhere around Bulgaria” not because Sirius had told him, of course “Do you want something to drink?”
“No, thank you. I have to go home, I've been away too long” he said without making a move to take off his brother's jacket and holding the one he had taken off. Remus didn't tell him to return it.
“Walburga will be worried” he commented honestly and the other let out a sarcastic laugh.
“By now she's already drunk, but Kreacher will be freaking out”
“I didn't know she drank”
“It’s a recent development, it started when Sirius ran away and has gotten worse since my father died.” the other explained and then looked at him and rolled his eyes. “Don't look at me like that, Lupin, you give me a rash”
“Shut up Black, it's called worrying about your friends”
“Oh, so we're friends now?”
“You better think so, asshole”
Regulus smiled heartily and brushed his hair off his face exactly as Sirius did. Remus got lost a moment looking at him and the other noticed it.
“Wrong brother, Lupin”
“I'm sorry. Godric, you will think I'm a psychopath”
“Nah, you're weird, but I'm in no position to judge anyone. Make sure you sort things out with that boor of my brother and if you see him tell him he'll never get his jeans back”
“He still fills them better than you”
“I'll remember this, Lupin and I'll also keep the leather jacket”
“Make sure to survive, Black”
“We all do what we can”
-
Remus was sleeping when the apartment door opened and he jumped off the bed, wand in hand. He walked out of the room carefully, a shield already in place, when he recognized the shape.
“Sirius” he called and the other jumped, looking almost shocked.
“You're home” he emitted surprised. His eyes were blank and he wandered around their kitchen / hall / living room in the dark. Remus could smell blood.
“Of course I'm home. You look like shit”
“I feel like shit, so I'm not very surprised” He dropped onto the sofa and let out a tired sound. He tossed his jacket as he took off his shoes.
“Are you hungry?” he asked him and the other shook his head.
“No, I've already eaten. With Dumbledore”
Great, starting a fight after less than a minute when they haven’t seen each other in over a month was remarkable for them too.
“Mh”
“Yupp”
“So he already told you-” Remus tried in a gentler tone, but Sirius cut him off contemptuously.
“That while I was away you became all chummy with my beloved Death Eater little brother? He mentioned something”
It was too early and too late to start making a scene, but Remus didn't want to be the good guy.
“Regulus contacted me because he trusts you, but you don't trust him and he thought that you trust me instead, what an idiot he is”
“Have you spent a lot of time together?” began accusingly and Remus was quickly losing his cool.
“Just enough to think he's probably not lying. Regulus risked dying to recover- Ahhrg !!” his wrist began to burn dangerously, the vow that Dumbledore had made him make began to saw off his joint, just in warning.
“An Unbreakable Vow? For real?” Sirius asked honestly surprised, all trace of anger gone. He got up with difficulty, approaching the other and taking his wrist in his hands. He healed the wound with a spell, but the vow scars were still there, barely recognizable among the others.
“And this is only because I know what Regulus did for the Order. What he gave to Dumbledore… could reverse the outcome of the war” his wrist pricked again, but Remus stopped talking.
Sirius looked at him for a long time, any fervour completely gone. He was just a tired and traumatized boy.
“Do you trust him?” he asked after a while.
“So far he hasn't given me reason not to” he admitted with a shrug. “He's very sorry” he added a moment later and Sirius snorted.
“I wish I could see that” he said as he ran a hand through his dirty hair and then regretted it soon after, rubbing his fingers against his palm. He looked around, the only light coming from the street lamps. He was tired and needed a shower, but he was there and he was alive. Before he could think about it too much, Remus hugged him and felt him melt in his arms and inhale in his shoulder, his arms wrapped around his waist tightly but loosely.
“I'm so tired of arguing with you, Rem” he muttered after a while against his shoulder.
“Me too. I miss you”
“I'm here now” he said obviously and Remus shook his head.
“I know, but I want you on my side, not against” he explained and the other nodded. He took his face in his hands, looking at the dark circles and a stain of blood on his forehead. He could also smell the metallic scent coming from his hands. “Whose blood is it?”
“Fabian is dead” he told him “They were waiting for us, they already knew, the Muggle family was already dead. I had to take his body to Gideon”
“Pads”
“What if someone brings me your body one day? Or James's? How could I handle such a thing? Try to move on?” Remus gave him a kiss on the temple and squeezed him tighter. It was everyone's nightmare, to see loved ones die around him and be alone in the midst of destruction.
“I thought you were in Bulgaria” he said after a while and the other nodded.
“I came back this afternoon and went out directly with Fabian, Prongs and Lily”
“How are they?”
“It was close, but they managed to escape. There was also the Dark Lord”
“Good God”
“Let's talk about it tomorrow, please, now I just want to wash up and sleep”
Remus nodded and went to fill the bathtub. He helped him wash his hair and wrapped him in the softest towel they had.
“Do you want to be forgiven for fraternizing with Reg?” the other said jokingly while Remus rubbed a towel on his head.
“As if I could be satisfied with your lesser copy” he said jokingly and Sirius puffed up a little, like the peacock he was. Godric, the size of his ego.
“Mh, I knew I liked you for a reason”
He put on a pair of boxers and finished drying his hair with a spell. When they went to bed, the clock’s hand on the bedside table was on the four. Sirius hugged him with all four limbs and buried his face in his jugular, but Moony was fine with it.
“I don't know if I want to see him” he whispered after a while, as if they still had James and Peter sleeping next to them and had to be careful not to wake them. Remus began to play with his hair to make him relax and managed to have the desired effect.
“He asked me several times about you and how you were”
“What did you tell him?” he mumbled, already half asleep.
“The truth, which is that I had no idea. He also tried to convince me to fix things with you”
“Ugh, I hate it when he's right, but we'll work on it tomorrow”
“Tomorrow” he conceded and was about to go to sleep when he remembered something “Pads?”
“Hmmm?” the other emitted, his eyes already closed.
“Reg has your leather jacket, the tight one”
“You're an asshole” he sighed and Remus kissed his head.
“I missed you too”
-
They were both in the kitchen. Sirius was flying the breakfast plates back to their places in the cupboard and Remus was reading on the sofa, but in truth he was looking at his boyfriend in his underwear, illuminated by the open window, his magnificent black hair, slightly blown away by the current, looked even softer. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
They had talked for a long time after they woke up, they had continued talking while they were having breakfast (a little after noon) and a little more when they had sex on the sofa that Remus was still sprawled on.
The werewolf tried to imprint in his memory every detail of that morning, the peace and warmth that had spread in his chest as he watched Sirius smile at him, his gleaming eyes of that unnatural shade of gray. This was a "Patronus moment," as James called it.
He Accioed the Polaroid that Lily had given Sirius for his seventeenth birthday and took a picture of him. Before the photo had time to develop, Sirius jumped off the back of the sofa and straddled his legs. He took the camera out of his hand and took a photo of him as well.
“Patronus moment” announced the tattoed wizard before kissing him. He put the camera down on the ground and laid there enjoying that moment of peace.
They were still like that when a ball of blue light entered the room and they both watched it approach and expand into a lion.
“Bella filed something very important at Gringotts. I'll see what I can find out, in the meantime warn him” said Regulus's voice before the lion disappeared into thin air.
Sirius was gaping.
“My brother can cast a Patronus and it's a lion” he announced shocked as he sat up. Ugh, end of the Patronus moment.
“Yeah”
“This is because I always made fun of him for his name, damn it. Good Godric, karma is a bad bitch” he snorted, but it was more for the scene than for real irritation. Remus had also been envious of Reg's Patronus when he first saw it.
“You are just envious, we are Gryffindors”
“Moony is a beautiful Patronus” he tried to cheer him up, but Remus ignored it.
“Mh, wait for James to know. Do you remember how he was convinced that his Animagus form would have been a lion?”
“ ‘A deer? My Patronus will change after I start roaring, wait and see” Sirius made a phenomenal imitation of his best friend and Remus couldn't help but smile.
“So now Regulus is a spy for the Order?” Sirius inquired as he lay back on Remus.
“It would seem so” he said as he began to play with his hair.
“If Bella learns that Reg is keeping an eye on her for us, the smartest thing would be to commit suicide”
Remus was surprised. He knew that Sirius loved his brother, but he also believed that there was much more resentment between the two.
“You are worried about him”
“Rem, my brother is on our side. I'm proud and terrified”
“Would you like to be there at the next meeting? I don't think Dumbledore will let me or him tell you what he's doing, but maybe you could talk to him”
“I think I'd like that”
-
The next meeting was held in another apartment complex, different from the previous one, but no prettier. Regulus always had the same loaned face on and was wearing the Led Zeppelin shirt again. Remus waited for him at the entrance and then led him to the small apartment where Sirius and Dumbledore were waiting for them.
Regulus first had a long conversation in private with the professor who then left, recommending not to do permanent damage. By the time only the three of them remained, the Polyjuice Potion had stopped working and Regulus was himself again, in his brother's clothes. He had also worn the recently stolen leather jacket.
“Can't you afford muggle clothes?” Sirius began with the tact of a bulldozer.
“Of course you do, but it's a lot more fun to put yours on” he had also transfigured the jeans to better fit his smaller hips. He looked like a random Ramones, but with nice hair. Indeed, it was also the style Sirius usually aimed for.
They were seated facing each other, Sirius with his arms crossed and one foot sprawled on a free chair on the side, Regulus with an ankle resting on the opposite knee, fingers crossed on his abdomen.
The two stood looking at each other in awkward silence.
“If you want, I'll leave you alone” Remus suggested after a while.
At the same moment, Sirius said “Yes” and Regulus said “No”.
“He's my emotionally supporting werewolf” the younger joked, winking at him trying to dampen the tension, but his brother blanched.
Hell, he hadn't told Sirius that Regulus knew about his lycanthropy.
“If you dare to threaten-”
“Calm down, I've known for years. Rem already knows” the former Slytherin said with a shrug and Sirius got even angrier.
“Rem? Rem ?!”
“Salazar, Sirius, I'm trying to be complacent” he snorted, rubbing his temple.
“This is the first time he's called me Rem, I swear” Remus justified him, hands in full view.
“First you make a quiet reference to my boyfriend's lycanthropy, then you call him 'Rem', do you really miss being cursed by me?!” Sirius snapped, jumping to his feet, ready for a fight as usual.
“Yes” Regulus said quietly and the older brother stopped.
“what?”
“I miss you, is that so absurd?” he told him honestly and Sirius sat down again “I miss my brother who I haven't been able to get along with since I was ten and now I'm trying to fix it as much as I can. I know it's unthinkable to hope to be able to pretend nothing happened, I don't want to pretend nothing happened, but I'm trying”
“Reg” Sirius said, honestly shocked by his brother's honesty.
“You were right. About everything” admitted the younger with defeated shoulders and tears in his eyes.
“What I had to do, for them, for-” Sirius hugged him tightly, stroking his head. They stayed so long, Regulus sobbing and Sirius holding him.
“We'll fix everything, okay?”
“I can't undo what I've done. We do not depart from those people”
“And then we'll have to win the war and get them all out of the way. I will not leave you behind anymore Reg, never again”
“You didn't leave me behind, I was the-”
“But yes, I should have kidnapped you and locked you somewhere until you started to think” Regulus pulled his brother away from him, his hands in his older brother's jacket.
“If I had gone away, I couldn't help out now, know what I know and find out more” he said, lifting his chin proudly and Sirius nodded and tugged at the flaps of his brother's stolen jacket.
“Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix”
“Thank you”
“And I want the jacket back”
“Not a chance”
“Little bastard”
“big-headed moron”
“Godric, how much I missed you” he said and then hugged him again and Regulus smiled and then sniffed. At that moment Remus was finally able to see what Sirius had rarely told him about, the relationship of complicity that existed between the two brothers and that Walburga had carefully tried to destroy. She had come very close, but she hadn't taken into account that Sirius was waiting for nothing but a good reason to forgive his brother.
“And now?” the younger asked after the two had gone away. Sirius smiled at him and shrugged.
“Now we win a war”
-
November 4th, 1981
“They should be here soon” Regulus repeated for the umpteenth time. His brother was a big bastard, it was nothing new, but it was Remus who let him down.
“Don't worry, I have no special commitments this afternoon” the Headmaster of Hogwarts reassured him as he ate one of Andromeda’s iced cookies. He had received her owl the day after his contribution to the cause was made know to the rest of the Order, a tin box full of cookies and with a note that said “Welcome to the outcast club!” and with an invitation to his home for the following day.
His mother had cried, but not even Regulus could tell if it was from shame or relief. Or maybe it was Sirius's jacket, it was getting harder and harder to interpret. For safety he had temporarily moved to Sirius and Remus' now empty apartment where Kreacher would join him at least three times a day.
“How is Severus?” he asked after a while, honestly worried about his friend.
“I thought you had talked” Dumbledore replied surprised.
“No, not yet. It felt like he needed some space”
“In my opinion, at this moment he would most of all need a friend”
“Tomorrow I'll try to contact him” he nodded to himself and the man took another bite from the biscuit.
Finally the fireplace came to life and Remus and Sirius with Harry in their arms entered the living room of their old apartment.
“Sorry we are late, we were having lunch with Ted and Andromeda and lost track of time” Remus said. Sirius didn't seemed particularly sorry. His brother had told him that contacting their cousin was the first thing they'd done after picking up Harry. There was no other term: Sirius had taken the baby out of Hagrid's arms, jumped on the motorcycle with Remus, and ran away. It was the most sensible choice he'd ever seen him make. Along with getting help from Andromeda to raise the baby, of course.
“Nothing to worry about, Regulus and I were having a pleasant conversation about the value of friendship”
Ah, today Dumbledore didn't seem willing to go around conversations. Regulus watched as Remus, who usually was always hunched slightly forward trying to look harmless, suddenly straightened his spine and dropped his shoulders to show his considerable height, ready for battle. Good.
Sirius sat down in the chair and put Harry on the ground who was delighted to observe the headmaster of Hogwarts.
“Come on Harry, say hello” Sirius urged as he ran a hand through his hair trying to fight the losing battle that was pulling down his dark locks.
“Hello” the boy said shyly and the man greeted him in turn, smiling at him.
“The wound has healed, but the scar will surely remain” Remus sighed as he sat down on the arm of the chair occupied by Sirius. He pulled a dragon puppet out of his jacket pocket and enchanted it to fly in circles over Harry's head and the boy started running after him as he laughed.
“Did it have obvious repercussions?” the professor asked.
“He lost both parents, of course it had repercussions” Sirius replied curtly and Remus put a hand on his shoulder.
“He calls his parents while he sleeps and every time we use the Floo we have to use a little spell that changes his perception of colors because he's terrified of anything green that glows” Remus explained.
“Otherwise it's all pretty normal” added Sirius who seemed to have calmed down.
“Paut ook!” the child exclaimed happily, showing the godfather the plushie he had managed to catch.
“Very good” Sirius encouraged him with a smile and then charmed the little dragon again. He watched the baby for a few seconds and then sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“I know the way we behaved was abrupt, but when Regulus warned us that Peter was the mole we both ran to Godric's Hollow and it was too late anyway. I had to climb over the corpses of my best friends to reach him and I was ready to leave him with Hagrid, but then he looked at me and recognized me” He had clenched fists and tears in his eyes, Remus' hand seemed the only thing that still kept him sitting in the armchair.
“I couldn't leave him” he continued “He needed me”
“We talked to Hagrid. He knew we only had the best of intentions” Remus added as Sirius tried to regain control, eyes closed.
“The next day we talked to the Aurors about Peter” Sirius snarled at the name, but Remus ignored him and kept talking “and we are grateful to you for confirming the Animagus story”
Regulus had been very surprised by the whole Animagus thing, especially since he hadn't catched it before. Remus' absences from school would have been obvious to anyone who had paid any attention, but the other three had always been extremely careful, perhaps not to get caught by McGonagall who would have noticed at the first hint.
To prevent Sirius a good trip to Azkaban as an unregistered Animagus, but still let the Aurors know that Peter was able to transfigure at will, his brother had stated that he had embarked on the Animagus path with his friends after finishing their studies at Hogwarts and that it was a plan to help the Order of the Phoenix, that Dumbledore was aware of it, and that they had already decided to fill out the registration form as soon as the war was over.
It had worked, especially since Dumbledore had corroborated his statement, but now they were indebted to the sorcerer and had to play their cards right.
“We just want Harry to be safe with his family” added Sirius who had finally managed to calm down. Still, he had a tear running down his cheek that Remus wiped away with the back of the hand that had anchored him to the chair.
“And that was exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. The way Harry survived- ” the headmaster began, but Remus cut him off gently.
“It's because of Lily's sacrifice, we know” and the hand returned to Sirius' shoulder.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly.
“Such a sacrifice is very powerful and will continue to protect Harry for years as long as he stays with his blood relatives”
Regulus had warned them about Dumbledore’s theory and just hoped they were ready.
“Professor Dumbledore, if I may”" Remus began politely and the professor gave him his full attention.
“When we understood the dynamics of what happened, we did some research on the concept of consanguinity in the magical world. I don't know if you know about it, but between Lily and her sister Petunia, her only living relative, it runned, pardon the joke, bad blood. Indeed, at Lily and James's wedding the woman publicly repudiated our friend, shouting that if she had to continue with this nonsense, she might as well not have a sister at all.
“Now, as we have been taught, intentions have a huge weight when it comes to magic and Petunia has severed her connection with Lily, we have checked”
“Checked?” Dumbledore asked in surprise.
The Animagus stood up and Remus made a complicated gesture with his wand, creating a delicate silver thread that wound around itself and disappeared into Siris's sternum and then began to unwind before their eyes and split into three. One thread reached Remus 'chest, the second Regulus' chest and a third, the thickest of the three was for Harry. The child looked at the spell with his beautiful green eyes wide open, looking at the other end of the spell and ecstatically shouting "Paut!".
Regulus had never seen anything like it. He tried to touch the thread, thin as spider’s silk, which connected him to his brother and felt a sensation of heat on his fingers, but it did not break. For more than two years the relationship between him and Sirius had begun to heal, but he did not expect to be able to have proof if not tangible, at least visible.
“I have to admit this is the first time I've seen something like this” said Dumbledore surprised as he looked at the spell.
“It's a little-known spell with extremely limited use. I can't do it directly on Harry because it could damage his magical core, being still so small”
“Of course” the principal conceded.
“When James and Lily chose Sirius, they effectively made him Harry's third parent, the magic trail of both of them is clearly double tied to each other," Remus explained as the headmaster looked closely at the third strand. He tried to touch it carefully but he retreated his hand hastly, as if burned.
“Lily's sacrifice recognizes us as blood relatives, staying with us is simply the best option for Harry” Sirius added. Harry looked at him and ran up to him giggling, leaving the stuffed animal on the ground.
Sirius bent down to pick him up and the child wrapped his legs around his side sighing "Paut" in admiration.
The two ex-Gryffindors looked at the headmaster with their best innocent expressions, Harry in the middle doing the bulk of the work and not even Supreme Big Shot Albus Dumbledore could argue.
“And this is the story of how a wayward traitor and a werewolf silenced the great Albus Dumbledore” said Sirius, laughing in shock as he dropped into his chair. The headmaster of Hogwarts had just flooed away and everyone present was quite exhausted from the conversation. Everyone except Harry who after his timely exploit of sweetness, had returned to his stuffed dragon.
“You two... are impossible” Regulus conceded as he laughed openly.
“Oh no, we're just very persistent” Remus said with a shrug.
“Resilient, I dare say” Sirius offered leaning towards his companion who opened into a sharp smile.
“Excellent adjective, Monsieur Padfoot”
“Thank you, Monsieur Moony”
“To me you just seemed very little Gryffindor” Regulus commented and Sirius glared at him while Remus grunted, getting a dirty look in turn. The two looked at each other for a few seconds and the werewolf's smile widened.
“He helped us, you could at least give him this satisfaction” Remus suggested taking a second glare, even worse than the first.
“What are you talking about?” Regulus asked. Sirius growled and Remus laughed in his face.
“Come on Sssssiriuss, be a good brother”
“I do not believe it. The hat wanted to put you in Slytherin?” he deduced shocked and Remus started nodding as Sirius rolled his eyes.
“Just because I'm a Black, he corrected himself pretty quickly”
“You threatened him, Pads” Remus corrected, taking yet another vitriol glance.
“Since when are you the mouth of the truth? Shut up”
“If nothing else, we have something in common” Regulus shrugged, leaving the other two speechless.
“You in Gryffindor?”
“The heart of the lion, Siri” he said smiling as he looked at his brother still with his mouth open.
“Little ass-licking bastard”
“And with this I would say that we can end the most stressful tea of my life. I really feared Dumbledore would pulverize you on the spot” he said, throwing a handful of dust into the fireplace and calling for “Lilies Cottage”. Since the two had effectively kidnapped the baby, they had moved to a cottage left to Sirius by Uncle Alphard which they had renamed and placed under Fidelius. Only the two of them and Regulus knew where it was.
It was a place big enough for the three plus all of Remus' books, and had the great advantage of being quite out of the way, allowing the werewolf to pass the full moons running around in peace. Regulus had already offered to keep Harry for them once a month.
“Are you kicking us out of our own apartment?” Sirius asked in shock.
“Better to leave now that we haven't started fighting yet, so we are all finish with a nice memory” he said sarcastically.
“I am exhausted, we have not slept since the thirty-first to be able to find something that convinced Dumbledore. Do you have something interesting to do?” Remus asked as he picked up the baby.
“As it happens, yes, there is someone waiting for me and I should get ready”
“Do you have a girlfriend? Boyfriend? Or are you talking about Kreacher? Please tell me you are not talking about Snivellus, I might throw up” Sirius said as he picked up Harry's puppet and Regulus glared at him.
“He's my best friend, don't start any bullshit”
“Now I'm seriously going to vomit” he added miming a retch.
“Enjoy your date, Reg” Remus said as he pushed his partner towards the fireplace.
“Thanks Rem Rem” he said winking at him and making his brother growl again. It had become one of his favorite pastimes.
“Bye Ulus!”
“Good bye to you too Harry, please keep an eye on those two” he said, ruffling his hair more and the boy nodded convinced.
Sirius saluted him with a wave of his hand without turning and then disappeared into the fireplace and the other two followed him.
The war was far from over, who knows how long it would take to find all the Horcruxes and destroy them, but for the first time in what seemed like years, he had the feeling that he had time, not having to win an impossible race against time. .
They had time to heal, to build their lives, they who were still lucky enough to have them.