Smile When You Dive In

Chapter 32

If James melted in the summer, Regulus froze in the winter. The land that once laid fruitful beneath James' feet as he pranced in the sun's golden rays now laid barren as Regulus trudged back and forth from the castle to the owlery in order to send the letters that he wrote in the last remnants of daylight. Sometimes to his mother and father, but mostly to the Dark Lord. When he first began writing to the man, the sun would usually be setting as Regulus headed out to visit Germana, not yet dark as it usually was now. The last warm winds of the year breezed past him, until one day he noticed small icicles hanging from the windows of the owlery. It seemed fitting, the frigid air and iced lake reflecting his isolation back to him.

Most of the students at Hogwarts were content with the daily post in the Great Hall over breakfast, and so rarely trekked as far as the towering owlery if they could help it. It was unusual for Regulus to bump into anybody there, unless it was the day of a Quidditch game, or some other school event that people might want to write home about. It was more unusual still for Regulus to bump into multiple people in the owlery, or to hear voices coming from inside as he climbed the steep stairway. So when Regulus did hear voices, and indeed familiar voices, he stilled and listened carefully.

No matter how still he kept, even as he held his breath, he couldn't make out what the voices were saying. He peered over the top of the last step so that he could see, and immediately recognised the back of the person facing away from him. Sirius was blocking Regulus' view of his companion but he was beginning to hear snippets of the conversation. His brother told the hidden person that he'd smoothed things out with 'him', that he had explained and they were in the clear. Regulus didn't understand what he was hearing, assumed it was just another of their ridiculous stunts until he got a closer look. When he first heard Sirius speaking, he assumed the 'him' in question would be Slughorn or another professor threatening detention. The truth only dawned on Regulus as he climbed through the doorway and fished out his letter, excuse for intruding safely in hand.

If he had lingered in the stairwell for just a moment longer, he would have decided against it. As Sirius and his companion came into full view, he could see that they were not only talking. The other person sat on the windowsill, with Sirius' hands resting on their thighs. Scarred hands clasped at the back of his brother's neck, revealing to him the person's identity. The first time that he had laid eyes on Lupin, Regulus had wondered how he came by so many scars at such a young age. Now that he knew the truth, it seemed no less worrisome. Before Regulus could decide to turn and scurry away, Lupin looked over Sirius' shoulder and met shocked eyes with fraught ones. Regulus had been seen, and there was little point in pretending otherwise.

"Pads." Lupin breathed, jabbing a hand into Sirius' shoulder to get him to turn in the direction of the intruder. When he did, Sirius swallowed and detached himself from Lupin. The brothers stared at one another for a long moment, seemingly stuck. Regulus was trying to decide if he could get away with turning and leaving then, while Sirius was obviously trying to decide how much Regulus had seen or heard. The younger Black brother moved first, deciding to stick to his guns and walking straight over to his owl, completely ignoring the scene he had walked in on. "Sirius!" Lupin hissed again when neither brother spoke.

"Yeah, yeah, alright," Sirius tried to calm Lupin before turning to face Regulus, "you didn't see anything, Reg."

After sending Germana on her way, Regulus raised an eyebrow to the two of them. Perhaps before, Regulus wouldn't have seen it. He would have overlooked the way they lightly touched each other, or the way their bodies moved together even as they focused on him. But having felt that way about somebody, it was all that Regulus could see.

"If you say so."

And if it had just been the two of them, Sirius probably would have ignored Regulus, known that he was only trying to wind him up. But unaware of the intricacies of their relationship, Lupin was not satisfied with that.