One of Us | Jegulus

Seven

The first time he dared to come downstairs was at some point in the evening. It was his hunger that eventually grew bigger than his desire to stay as far away as possible from anybody in this house.
So he descended to the hallway downstairs and made his way to the kitchen.
It was next to the living room and to his horror filled with chatting and laughing people.

He stood in the doorway, hesitating, when Sirius suddenly caught his eye and went silent. This reaction made the other three boys turn around. The sudden attention from everyone made Regulus very uncomfortable, so he just remained where he was, staring back.
"We've got lasagne, want some?", Lupin offered eventually, slightly smiling at him.
Though he could think of a thousand things he'd rather do than joining this group at the table, the thought of a delicious pasta dish was too tempting to resist.
So he sat down on the empty chair between James and Pettigrew and helped himself to a serving.
There was an extremely uncomfortable silence and knowing too well that his presence has interrupted their amusement, Regulus felt horribly out of place.

"Do we still have butterbeer? For tonight? Or do I need to go out and fetch some before it gets dark?", James broke the silence and smiled around his friends.
"What's tonight?", Pettigrew asked bewildered.
"First night in weeks we all got off, we're gonna celebrate our freedom!", Potter grinned and then turned to Regulus.
"Do you wanna join us?"
Regulus arched an eyebrow. "I wouldn't know of any freedom I could celebrate."
Sirius snorted.
"Yeah, poor little Regulus and his unfair life."
"Fuck you."
"Sirius, why don't you go looking in the cellar?", Lupin suggested, clearly trying to prevent another escalation.
"Go look yourself if you-"
Regulus couldn't see with what kind of expression Lupin was glaring at Sirius but it made his older brother fell silent in an instant. Not only that, but suddenly Sirius seemed quite taken aback and he bit his lip as he stood up and left the room.

Okay? That was weird. It was not how he knew Sirius at all.
Regulus turned his eyes back on James, who exchanged a grinning look with Lupin and then continued eating.
He rolled his eyes and focussed on his plate again. At least Sirius was gone now and if he hurried up he could perhaps avoid him completely for tonight.

He spent the rest of the evening reading in his room but was constantly interrupted by the sounds of clearly drunk people having the time of their lives downstairs.
It annoyed him to the point where he had to put down the book as he couldn't concentrate on the story anymore.
He wished he had some music to play. At home, at Grimmauld Place, he had never been allowed to play music. There wasn't even a record player, though he once found one hidden in Sirius' room. But there was no chance his parents had known of this.
The only option was the old piano downstairs or the violin he was forced to play until perfection when he was younger.
It was in his years at Hogwarts when he could listen to calming music in his dorm room whenever he needed it. One of his room mates owned a record player and it was nice to simply enjoy the sound of music without being the one playing it.

There was actually some music playing right now but he could only make out glimpses of it in the rare moments when nobody was shouting or laughing. And the bits he heard he didn't recognise. It appeared to be a completely different type of music than to what he listened to at school.
It actually made him curious and for a moment he genuinely considered going downstairs - maybe he could even inspect the house without them noticing? Surely they would be too distracted.
But he had a feeling that James would catch up with him, somehow, like he always did somehow, and he really wasn't keen on another confrontation with that cheerful douchebag.

He sighed frustrated and slid off the bed before walking to the window and staring outside into the night.
The moon shined brightly, illuminating the neat garden beneath. It must be a full moon soon. Regulus liked the full moon, he found it fascinating and mysterious. His house elf had always told him stories about creatures of the night when he was younger. Some of them genuinely frightened him but those about vampires and werewolves were always his favourites.
Only until he found out that these monsters actually existed, of course. In reality they weren't mysterious and intriguing at all - he had learned everything about their treacherous and disgusting nature when his mother found out about his and Kreachers' nightly stories. She had been furious and insisted on teaching him everything about those beasts until he had nightmares of the frightening illustrations of terrible half-breeds lacerating wizards.

But the full moon would always remind him of those nights cuddled up in his warm sheets as a young boy, carried away with supernatural stories told by his closest friend.
He sighed and let his eyes wander around the dark landscape.
It was a nice place, he had to admit that. He could peak into the small garden of the Potter manor, which was really neat and simple with a little pond and a couple of trees and bushes.
Beyond the hedgerow that enclosed the property there was a small field and behind that a forest that seemed to stretch for miles. If there were other people living close by, they weren't visible from this
sight.

The panorama calmed him in spite of the disrupting noises from downstairs. He grabbed a pillow and one of the books and made himself a comfortable place on the windowsill.
It was almost too dark to read but he didn't mind. The moonlight sufficed and he didn't want to turn on any lamps as it would have destroyed the relaxing atmosphere.
He'd already almost finished the whole pile of books Lupin had brought him. It was the only thing he could kill time with that would distract him for a while. Tomorrow he'd have to ask for more, or find some by himself. He doubted that the Potters had a library like he had back home, but maybe some book shelves downstairs in the living room?

He'd have to inspect the house sooner or later anyway, either to find his wand or to discover another way to get of of there. He wouldn't give up just yet.