A new week of classes was to begin and the Marauders were up to their usual antics; Peter was shovelling scrambled eggs into his mouth, and Remus was reading his charms textbook to prepare for their lesson that morning, James ate his usual breakfast of strawberry jam on rye toast and a tea with plenty of milk and sugar and discussed with Sirius the possibility of pranking the Slytherin's by turning their hair bright red for the rest of the week.
"Hey Moony! What do you think? Should we do it?" Sirius asked, Remus perked up from his book, fawn brown hair sticking up in every-which-way from a restless night of sleep.
"Uh, yeah Padfoot, great idea." Remus replied unenthusiastically. Sirius blamed his lack of excitement on the upcoming full moon, however, that was not the case. Remus had a particularly upsetting run-in with a certain Regulus Black the previous night while out patrolling for his prefect duties. Regulus ran from the Slytherin common room gripping a letter, clearly distraught. While Remus couldn't say with certainty what the letter contained, he had some idea, knowing Sirius and all.
"What's gotten up your arse today Moony? Is it..." Sirius began to whisper with a slight smirk, "your furry little problem?"
"Oh come off it Padfoot," James spoke, "He's just cranky because he got an E on his last charms assignment. Godric forbid he get anything less than an O!"
Remus rolled his eyes.
"You lot should be more concerned about your marks! I can't remember the last time you all handed an assignment in on time without my help." The messy haired boy replied, his tone dripping with condescension. "It's almost time for class, you all go ahead. I need to talk to someone."
"Oh! Moony's got a girlfriend!" James called out while packing up his belongings into his backpack. Peter joined in the teasing while Sirius stayed silent, his eyebrows furrowed. Remus saw this reaction and quickly came up with a lie.
"I actually wanted to talk to Slughorn... about the upcoming exam... feel free to tag along." He hoped his lie was boring enough to dissuade the boys from joining.
"Oh Moony, such a try hard." James replied, Peter snickering.
"I'll catch up. See you all in class." Remus said, slowly packing up his belongings as the boys walked out of the Great Hall.
Remus got ready to leave, watching Regulus from across the hall at the Slytherin table. The younger boy looked like he hadn't slept for weeks. His usually perfectly curled dark hair looked dull and frizzy. His eyes hollow. Remus stalked up to the boy.
"You have it, don't you?" He asked, in a hushed tone. The tired boys head snapped up to meet Remus's kind eyes which were full with concern.
"What's it to you Lupin?" Regulus replied in a calloused tone.
"You don't have to become one of them," Remus took a deep breath, "you don't have to do whatever they have asked of you Regulus-" He was cut off.
"It's Black to you Lupin," Regulus's voice quivered, almost as if he was considering his words but using his harsh demeanor to attempt to mask his true feelings. "And what's it matter now. I have the mark. I can't become one of them, I am one of them. Not that it's any of your business."
"I know nothing I can say can change anything. That doesn't mean that you are too far gone..." Remus sighed, looking for the right words, "Sirius misses you, he misses his brother. Not whoever you are becoming. There is time to change for the better. From what Sirius has told me, you aren't like them. If there is even a seed of doubt in your mind about anything you were taught growing up, meet me by the Black Lake tonight at eleven. Please." Remus pleaded, his sweaty hands fidgeting with the seam of his slightly oversized and faded sweater. He wasn't exactly sure what he would say tonight, but he knew he needed to come up with something quick.
----
As eleven approached, the Marauders were all ready for bed, with the exception of Peter who had already fallen asleep while writing a herbology essay. Remus pulled his covers over his body to conceal the Marauders map and jacket as he rolled to his side and watched the clock. James and Sirius were bickering from their beds over who was to turn off the light, seemingly forgetting they were in fact wizards. Remus groaned.
"Bloody hell! It seems you both are absolute baffoons! Have you forgotten we are wizards?" Remus called out in annoyance but his tone was still light and joking. With a flick of his wand, the four boys were plunged into darkness, with Sirius, James, and Remus all chuckling to themselves.
"Night Moony! Love you!" James called out into the dark room. Remus grunted.
"Yeah, Moony... love you." Sirius called out. Remus pretended to be asleep.
He waited fifteen minutes before he heard the chorus of snores ringing through the room. He quickly cast a spell to muffle his footsteps and crept out the door. Making his way down to the lake, he mentally prepared himself, silently praying that Regulus wouldn't be there. It was selfish, he knew that, but he was worried he would screw up entirely and end up leaving Sirius without his brother.
When he arrived, he was alone. Not a soul in sight. The lake reflected the stars and the nearly full moon, making him scrunch his face in disgust at the thought of his next transformation.
His thoughts were broken when he heard a twig snap from behind him.
"I'm scared." He heard a voice call out behind him. He turned, coming face to face with the one and only Regulus Black. "They want me to kill Dumbledore."
Remus felt as though he had been punched in the gut. Dread set in and the true weight of the situation had set in. He knew it would be bad, but Regulus is just a kid.
"I won't do it, I can't, but if I don't, he'll kill me, he will kill Sirius." Tears filled the younger boys eyes. Regulus took a moment to articulate his thoughts. "Look, I'm sorry for how I've treated you. It was wrong, but I am good as dead. I am a lost cause Lupin. As much as I appreciate you reaching out to help, it will be in vain." Regulus took a step away, turning to go back to the castle.
"If you were a lost cause you wouldn't be here, with me, right now."
Regulus stopped, dead in his tracks. He turned around to face Remus. For once in his life, Regulus Black didn't have a snarky comeback or quick witted reply. Instead, he walked towards the boy infront of him, wrapping him in a tight hug as he began to cry.
To say Remus was shocked would be an understatement. He slowly wrapped his arms around Regulus. Thinking about how he would do everything in his power to make sure he would be safe.
