One of Us | Jegulus

Fourteen

"Wake up, you idiots!"
Regulus stirred and opened his eyes, just to close them again, annoyed, when he saw his brother standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed.

James next to him groaned and threw a pillow across the room at Sirius, who caught it and laughed.
Regulus heard him getting up eventually and pulled the blanket closer to his face.

"You too", came it from Sirius and seconds later the same pillow hit him on the head.
"Why?", he asked sulkily and turned around to glare at his older brother.
"Because I say so, you brat."
"What a stupid reason", he muttered, turning his eyes away and watching James rummaging through a cupboard before disappearing in the bathroom, instead.
"No, seriously. Andy and Dora will be leaving in a few and Dora wants to say goodbye to you."

This news made him sit up straight. They were leaving? He'd forgotten they were only visiting temporarily. Of course they wouldn't stay forever. But still, he couldn't help feeling disappointed. He hadn't seen Nymphadora the last couple days, well, since the arrival of the Longbottoms.
She'd always been able to light his mood up. He would miss that.

"Frank and Alice left, you can go downstairs for a minute", Sirius added.
"They left??", Regulus repeated excitedly and threw back the blanket to get out of bed. Finally he wasn't locked up in this room every minute anymore, finally he could at least walk through the house freely.
"No you idiot, they're just out for... well, they aren't on holiday here, not like you. They still got responsibilities, for the Order. But they'll live here as long as they need, understood?"
"Mhh", Regulus mumbled, scowling. He stood up anyway and collected some of the clothes he borrowed from James and waited for him to leave the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later he finally stepped out of James' bedroom and made his way downstairs. Andromeda was in the hallway, smiling at him when he approached.
"Hello Regulus, how are you feeling?", she asked and pulled him into a hug. He reciprocated it halfheartedly and stepped back again, only to shrug as an answer and ask instead, "Where's Dora?"
"Oh, she's still in the garden, playing."

Regulus nodded and walked into the living room towards the back door on the other side of the room. He'd never paid much attention to it because he knew it was locked anyway, but now it was slightly ajar.
Excited, he pushed it open. This might be his way out. Obviously he didn't have his wand back but at this point he doubted he'd ever get it back and came to the conclusion that there was also the possibility of obtaining a new one. Even though he hated this idea, of course. Wands were more than just a tool to wizards.
He peered outside and discovered Nymphadora laughing and playing with a big black dog. What the hell?! Where did that animal come from? He didn't like to see it with the little girl, at all. Suddenly very concerned, he called out her name.

Both Dora and the dog looked at him.
"Dora, you better get away from that dog, it's not safe, okay?", he called and stepped forward.
"Why? That's Padfoot!", she explained as if it was totally obvious but for Regulus it didn't clarify anything.
"Can you just come inside?", he tried again and smiled relieved when she nodded, stood up and walked away from the dog, over to Regulus.
"Your mum is in the entrance hall, I'll come in a minute, okay?", he said and watched her run into the house before he turned back to the opened door.

The black dog just stood there and watched him vigilantly. It made him feel kind of uneasy, he didn't like dogs and this beast gave him a somewhat strange feeling.
Nevertheless, he turned his eyes away from the animal and skimmed the garden. It was enclosed by a hedge which was high enough to prevent people from peeking into the garden but he'd still manage to climb it.
Hesitantly, he stepped over the threshold.

The second his feet touched the grass, the dog suddenly started growling and approached slowly.
"What the fuck?", Regulus muttered, not daring to take another step. Was this some guardian dog they kept? Why hadn't he seen it before, then?
Did the Longbottoms have a pet that they brought? Probably. Because he couldn't think of a way how a stray dog could enter the property without them noticing. James has told him about all the protection charms.