Gryffindor Common Room
A week came and went, and Regulus hasn’t gone back to the Astronomy tower yet. After what happened with James, he couldn’t find the mental strength to go back. Which meant avoiding the Gryffindor. It wasn’t difficult, considering that they were in different years, so the chance they would see each other outside the Great Hall was quite low.
It was Saturday. The Gryffindor-Slytherin match was coming up soon enough and Regulus had been training what Pandora called too much. Regulus recounted Pandora ‘gently’ chiding him about it as he walked through the hallway. She had dragged him to the library after that and proceeded to talk about Evans for a full thirty minutes. Regulus didn’t think she stopped for more than twenty seconds.
“Regulus!” The all too familiar voice called him. Regulus sighed, turning around and looking upwards to see Remus.
“Remus,” Regulus greeted curtly. Remus did a once-over of him, before raising an eyebrow.
“How did you get- you know what, I’m not going to bother. But you can keep it,” Remus said, glancing left and right as he did so. Regulus looked down at himself. He had forgotten that he was wearing Remus’ jumper, paired with slightly too big sweatpants stolen from Sirius. Dorcas had commented on it, saying it made him look soft and fluffy while Pandora attacked him into a bone-crushing hug. Barty had simply nodded his approval while Evan was nowhere to be seen.
Come to think of it, whenever he saw Evan, Barty was not within 6 meters of him, and vice-versa. It was strange, considering how clingy Barty is and Evan’s possessiveness. He, Dorcas and Pandora had been sharing looks all week, but no one said anything. Regulus actively avoided the dorm as much as he could.
Regulus snapped back to the present as Remus began talking. “Thanks for your help by the way. I already chose seven muggle books to, you know, keep my part of the deal. It’s in the common room though,” Remus paused, seeming to be gauging Regulus’ reaction. Regulus said nothing, staring blankly at him. “Think you can come up for a minute?” Regulus took a moment to process this. The Gryffindor common room. He had never been there before. There was a chance of meeting Sirius, Pettigrew and James. He was practically walking into the lions’ den. But for the books, he found himself willing to do it.
“Fine,” Regulus replied. Remus lit up, clearly not expecting Regulus to agree so easily. “Any tricks and I’ll hex your teeth out of your mouth,” Regulus added as they started walking. Remus chuckled slightly.
They walked, ignoring the looks they got from other students. It wasn’t awkward, and Remus kept up the conversation, talking about muggle books. Regulus listened, occasionally commenting on it. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady soon enough. She stared down at them. “A Slytherin. Now why are you here?” She asked, a slight edge to her voice.
“He’s with me. Fortuna Major,” Remus added and the portrait swung open. Regulus stepped gingerly through, keeping his face a blank canvas. The Gryffindor common room was circular, decorated in, of course, red and gold. It was filled with sofas and there were fires lit all around. Circular staircases at the end led to the dorms, probably. Regulus caught sight of a bulletin board, filled to the brim with notes and posters.
It was full of Gryffindors. Most stopped to stare as Regulus followed Remus in, noting down little details of the common room. A hushed silence fell, compared to the loud chatter a few seconds before. Murmurs started to begin. Whispers traveled through the common room like wildfire. Regulus ignored them all, stopping at the staircase. Remus glanced back at him, gesturing him up. Regulus hesitated, and Remus grabbed his wrist, dragging him up.
“It’s fine, Regulus. It’s not forbidden or anything,” Remus said, releasing Regulus’ wrist. Remus opened a door. Inside, it was almost identical to Regulus’ dorm, aside from the fact that it was red and gold with four beds. And there was Sirius sitting inside, sprawled on what Regulus assumed was his bed.
“Moony!” Sirius leapt up, dashing over to Remus, coming to a halt when he saw Regulus. “Reggie. Wait, why are you two together? Are you two-”
“Calm down, Pads. I promised Regulus that I would lend him some books. I forgot about them here,” Remus cut Sirius off.
Regulus ignored them, wandering over to the bed Sirius had been lying on. He sat down on it, taking in the mess of the room. Sirius flung himself on the bed again. Regulus edged away from him, sitting towards the end of the bed. Remus had moved over to the other end of the room, furthest from the door, rifling through a drawer.
“Reggie.” Regulus kicked Sirius’ ankle at the nickname. Sirius yelped, falling off the bed. Regulus turned away, swallowing down a laugh.
The door opened again, and Pettigrew sped in. James tackled him, and Sirius jumped up to leap in. Seeing James, Regulus drew back. Dread crept up on him, and Regulus tensed up. “Prongs, Wormtail. Reggie’s here!” Sirius announced, jumping back on the bed. He poked Regulus, and Regulus hit his arm.
“Regulus! Didn’t see you,” Pettigrew stood up, dusting himself off. He proceeded to go to the bed at the other side of the room, starting to take off his shoes. James broke out into a smile (doesn’t he ever get tired of doing that?) and sat down opposite Regulus. On the same bed. Sirius leapt up, dragging Regulus with him to the last bed. Sirius lay down on it again.
Confusion swept through Regulus. “C'est le lit de qui (Who's bed is this)?” He asked. Sirius glanced over at him.
“Mine!” Sirius replied. Regulus’ cheeks began to heat up with mortification. He had just sat down on James’ bed without knowing. He stared pointedly ahead, pretending to take in the decor as he waited for the flush to swell down. “ Alors, tu en penses quoi de notre chambre ? Meilleure que la tienne ? (So what do you think of our room? Better than yours?)” Sirius asked smugly.
“Trop de rouge et d'or. Ça fait mal aux yeux. (Too much red and gold. It hurts the eyes.)” Regulus answered, turning to see Remus slipping books into a bag.
“Aie. (Ouch.)” Sirius tracked down his gaze. “Tu ferais mieux de ne pas sortir avec mon ami. (You better not be dating my friend.)” Sirius glared at him. Regulus shook his head in answer. “Bien. (Good.)”
“What’s good?” Remus asked, going around his bed to Regulus, holding out the bag. Regulus accepted it, counting the books inside. Seven. And he could see some titles, such as Little Women and Pride and Prejudice.
“Nothing. I’ll see Reggie out,” Sirius answered. Regulus looked around one last time, knowing Dorcas would drill him for details. That was when he saw James watching him silently. Regulus looked away, successfully willing down his blush. Why was James watching him anyway? Regulus didn’t acknowledge the answer to that, suspiciously said in Pandora’s dreamy voice.
Regulus slid off Sirius’ bed, following Sirius out, trying to ignore the two holes being drilled into the back of his head. When the door closed, he could hear Remus and Pettigrew laughing.
“ C'est seulement pour ça que tu es venu ici (That's all you came here for?)” Sirius asked, suspicious.
“Je ne vais pas te voler Remus si c'est ce que tu demandes. Pas besoin d'être jaloux. (I'm not stealing Remus away from you if that's what you're asking. No need to be jealous.)” Regulus answered easily, ignoring Sirius’ dramatic gasp as they entered the common room. It was as packed with students as before. Silence fell again as they watched the Black brothers walk through.
“Je ne suis pas jaloux! (I'm not jealous!)” Sirius yelped, offended, not that Regulus cared. They made it out of the common room with Sirius’ offended squawking. Regulus simply shot him the finger as he walked off, Sirius yelling after him.
Regulus made it safely back to the dorm. Dorcas, Pandora and Evan were there. “What’s this I hear about you dating Lupin? And going to the Gryffindor common room?” Dorcas asked. Regulus shrugged, explaining everything as he dropped off the bag by his bed.
“Fuck the Hogwarts’ rumor mill,” Regulus muttered after a chorus of ohhhhh. Right then, the door opened, revealing Barty. Regulus watched carefully as Barty saw Regulus, Pandora and Dorcas. But the moment he saw Evan, Barty slammed the door shut. There definitely was some kind of feud between them then.
Regulus shared a look with Dorca and Pandora. Then they decided to risk it.