Chapter 18
Sirius and the rest of the boys left the Great Hall under the watchful eyes of many.
"That felt a little too personal, Marlene." Sirius complained rubbing his cheek when they met up with their friend.
"Well, it was Sirius." Marlene confirmed. "I let out my frustration with you, I'm sorry? But I would do it again. So I guess not sorry."
Sirius sat down on the cold cobblestone ground. "Valid. But why the fuck did Evan do that?"
"C'mere." Remus squatted next to him, ignoring his question. " I'll treat ya." Carefully assessing what spell to use. Gently and carefully touching his face a bit longer than necessary, secretly admiring his features.
"So can anyone tell me what's going on?" Squeaked James after a moment of silence.
Marlene and Sirius started to explain.
"So as we said... Basically. The idea came after Marlene told me she shared with Mary that we shagged. There was a chance the rumor was already out, so I asked her to do this, all just to piss off mother. I just hope Reggie doesn't get mad at me." He shrugged his shoulders signaling he was done talking, more worried about his brother than the rumors that were spreading in the castle.
"Wait! You two slept together?" asked Pete.
Marlene rolled her eyes. "As if it wasn't obvious. Yall are just blind."
"And you didn't tell me, Sirius!" It was James acting offended. Then, suddenly, the students heard a loud bang coming from down the hall. The friends came running forgetting about everything they wanted to ask Sirius and Marlene and their relationship, trying to find its origin. The hallway was empty, besides two people. One of them was holding the other by the throat, pushing him into the wall.
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, EVAN!" Screamed Regulus at Evan's face. "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE SIRIUS ALONE, WITH YOUR SICK JOKES!" Regulus was getting in Evan's face, holding his wand at Evan's throat. His face red from anger and Evan's crooked in fear, fear of Regulus. He was screaming and shouting at Evan. It left Sirius in shock, he couldn't move. He couldn't understand anything Regulus was saying, the voices became muffled, his vision blurry. Regulus looked so much like their mother.
"Hey, Pads? You ok?" It was Remus, who blocked his view. Meanwhile, James had stepped forward to try and calm Regulus down.
"Reg, put your wand away," James said firmly, putting a hand on his shoulder and dragging him away from Evan. "We'll sort this out without magic, ok?"
Regulus hesitated for a moment, but then lowered his wand. He was still seething with anger, but James's calm demeanor seemed to help him regain some control.
"What's going on here, Evan?" James asked, turning to Evan.
Evan looked frightened, but he managed to stammer out an answer. "I...I didn't mean anything by it, Black. Just a joke, you know?"
"Just a joke?" Regulus repeated incredulously. "You think it's funny to make jokes about my brother's sexuality? To insinuate that he's gay? Do you know what will mother do to him?"
Sirius's stomach twisted at the words. Gay?
"Hey, Sirius!" Remus waved his hand in front of his face. "Are you listening to me?"
"Moony?" whispered Sirius weakly. "Can we go away?"
"I didn't mean it like that," Evan protested weakly. "I was just messing around - besides I know an act when I see one. I didn't think it would matter."
"Well, it's not funny," Regulus said sternly. "We don't joke about people's sexuality or their relationships. It's not cool." Evan looked like he was about to argue some more, but Regulus stepped forward and shoved him against the wall again. "Listen, Evans," he growled. "If you ever say anything like that again, I swear I'll hex you into next week. Got it?" Evan nodded quickly, looking scared out of his wits. Regulus released him and stepped back, his wand still in his hand.
"Well-" stated James awkwardly, releasing Regulus from his grasp. "I'm glad we got that sorted. Now-" He paused. "I think Sirius needs an explanation or an apology, or whatever. I'm still confused."
"You are right, Potter." Evan had his sight fixed in his own feet. A rare sight of Evan being ashamed, Regulus must remember this for future blackmailing.
"Where is Sirius?" remembered suddenly Lily, who was watching this whole thing. "He was just here a second ago with Remus..."
"Sirius?" Remus said softly. "Are you alright?"
Sirius sat down on the floor in a nearby alcove, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head buried in his arms. looked up at him, his eyes red and puffy. "I don't know, Remus," he said hoarsely. "I didn't know they were talking about me. I didn't know Regulus cared so much. I don't even know what I am. I know he didn't mean it but he looked so much like her. I-I-" He buried his head in his arms again, sobbing softly.
Remus knelt down next to him and put a hand on his back. "It's okay, Sirius," he said soothingly. "You don't have to know everything right now. You can take your time to figure things out. And you have us, your friends. We love you no matter what."
Sirius sniffled and looked up at him again. "Do you really mean that?"
"Of course, Sirius," Remus said firmly, with a look of sadness in his eyes. "We're your... friends, remember? You can't change who your family is, but friends always sticks together."
Sirius nodded slowly, a small smile creeping onto his face. "Thanks, Moony. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Remus smiled back at him. "You'll never have to find out," he said, standing up and pulling Sirius to his feet. "C'mon let's head to class. We must not miss the aftermath of our genius plan."
As the day wore on, the true effects of the prank began to reveal themselves, it was a success. Students who had drank the Chortle extract found themselves unable to stop laughing, even hours after the prank had been played. They giggled uncontrollably in the hallways, during classes, and even at meal times. Professor McGonagall was not amused. She sternly warned the students that such behavior was unacceptable and would not be tolerated. But despite her threats, the effects of the prank persisted. Even some of the professors couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of their students unable to stop laughing. The Marauders were proud of themselves, today was a good day... mostly. There was a party planned after all. But Remus and Sirius didn't get to attend. Some student speculated it was because Sirius was ashamed of himself and didn't want to be asked questions about his affairs. Other were playing with the theory of him being grounded. But Pete and James were the once who knew the truth. And even though the girls tried to cheer them up, they couldn't. It was the full moon after all and Sirius was accompaning Remus during his transformation for the first time. He had been planning this for months, and Sirius was determined to be there for Remus during his transformation. He couldn't bear the thought of his friend going through it alone, not when he knew firsthand how painful it was. James tried to talk him out of it, to wait to not do it alone, but Sirius insisted. He couldn't leave Remus alone. Especially not after what he did for him today.
"James, Pete." Lily tried to get their attention. "Are you guys alright? You seem a bit off."
"Oh yes, we are alright." Pete tried to calm her down.
"NO! Don't lie. I'm sick of it." said Mary. The reaction was quite unexpected since the girl hadn't been very talkative since the beginning of the year. "I fuckin' hate this. You guys are suffering. I can feel it. Just let it out, ok? It's ok. Tell us what your worried about."
James and Pete looked at each other, confused. How did she know?
"I know because I have the ability to perceive the mental or emotional state of another person. And ever since you guys met up with Sirius, you've been horribly worried. So what is it?" She looked at them with expectation in her eyes.
"That's a new one." Commented Marlene. "I guess I'm not the only one who has secrets?" She smiled at Mary, who shyly looked away.
Mary shrugged it off. "Not the point. I wanna know what's been bothering them."
"It's Remus and Sirius." James stated. "Sirius... He's been acting so fucking wierd. It's like something in his head switched. We just want to make sure he's alright, but he never lets me in."
"Even I can tell something is wrong with him, and that says something is very wrong." Added Pete. "And now they are off with Remus..." Pete stopped himself before revealing something he shouldn't have. "We just hope everything will be alright in the morning..."
"See? Was it that hard?" Mary rolled her eyes. "You talked about it and now you feel better, don't you? That's why communication is important." She smiled at hugged them.
"I think you should tell that to Sirius." James laughed as he hugged her back.
Mary started grinning. "Well, now that we are getting things off our chest... Is there anyone else who would like to share something?" She looked at Lily, who shook her head in disagreement.
Lily's face flushed in embaressment "Nope." She looked at Marlene.
"Also nothing on my part!" She smiled. "Let's get the two grumpy dogs out of our head for a bit and enjoy the party! Mary can talk to them about the importance of communication tomorrow!"
Mary rolled her eyes knowingly. She has a lot of work to do on her two girlfriends. But she decided to postpone it for a little while it was time for a party after all! Marlene grabbed Lily's and Mary's hands and they entered the room together. The colours were flashing and the party was in full motion. "C'mon guys!" She shouted at James and Pete. "Let's enjoy the party!"