All Of Us Are Ghosts Here (Jegulus / Wolfstar Fic)

Fourteen ~ The Rays Of Light

Regulus~

No TW, I don't think :D Like I said, a mostly happy chapter this time.

Regulus Black was many things, and apparently, insane was one of them.

He should have said no to the invitation. Clearly, he'd lost his damn mind during that meeting with the headmaster, because he found himself wanting to make things better with his brother.

It hit him, during that meeting, how close to death he had been. When Dumbledore asked about the dark lord, it finally sunk in just how dangerous his life had been. How close his parents had been to killing him.

Regulus didn't want to die with regrets.

...

The brothers walked side by side from Professor McGonagall's office to the Gryffindor common room, Sirius trying to make small talk as they went.

"So, we're playing muggle games tonight, if that's alright. You might be a little out of your element, but they're not all that hard to-"

"I've played a few, not often though." Regulus interrupted, before realizing just how rude he sounded. "Do you know what ones? Maybe I've heard of 'em," he asked to make up for his snappiness.

Regulus didn't look over at his brother, but he knew that if he had he would have seen a grin on his older brother's face.

"Er- We're gonna play Trouble, I think. Jenga too. Maybe Monopoly, but if we do, Remus'll win. Remus always wins at Monopoly."

His brother kept going on about his friend for the rest of the walk, and it made Regulus smile, just a little. He was glad his brother was happy.

He pushed away the feeling of abandonment, of being replaced. For one night, at least, Regulus would try. The anger could come back tomorrow.

His smile disappeared as they stepped through the portrait hole into the common room and he was face to face with James.

There were so many things he wanted to do. Punch him, for one. Or kiss him.

He couldn't do either in front of his brother. So he settled on a nod before passing him.

He hadn't been paying much attention when he passed through the room earlier. Now, he looked at the cozy room, full of light and laughter, and he felt... safe. Or, as close to safe as he'd ever felt.

"Glad you came, little Black," Remus said from a spot on the floor. He had a stack of cardboard boxes in front of him, almost as tall as Regulus was.

"Have you played any board games?" Asked the boy next to Remus.

"Oh, a few," He said, fighting a grin when James snorted.

"Right, what's first?" Sirius asked, clapping his hands.

And Regulus thought that maybe that night wouldn't be so bad, after all.

...

It was half-past three, and Remus and Regulus were staring at each other over a Monopoly board. Peter was snoring on a couch while James and Sirius watched the game with wide eyes. Peter went bankrupt nearly an hour earlier, and the other two tapped out soon after.

Regulus was determined to win. And whether Remus had accepted it or not, he had.

"I thought you said you didn't play board games," the scarred boy groused as counted his money again.

"I said I didn't play often," he corrected. Glancing over, he noticed the grin on James' face.

Remus sighed, rubbing his face with a hand. "Fine, you win. But I want a rematch soon, got it?"

"Sure," He said, and he meant it. He'd enjoyed spending time with these boys, once he got past the initial awkwardness.

His brother yawned, stretching his arms above his head.

"Reg and I'll clean up," James said. Because of course. "One of you wake Wormy, would ya?"

Regulus didn't pay much attention to the three boys as they made their way upstairs. No, he focused all his attention on sorting the Monopoly money, very desperately trying to avoid the conversation that was coming.

"Thanks for coming, Reg. Really. It meant a lot to Sirius."

And he tried, he tried to swallow down his words. "It wasn't just for Sirius."

Silence. And then, "Oh." Regulus didn't dare look up. Seeing James' face would make it real again. He couldn't let it be real again. For James' sake, if nothing else.

So, they finished cleaning up in silence. And when Regulus turned to leave, he felt James grab his hand.

Merlin help him, but he didn't pull away.

"Listen, you can talk to me, you know," James said, looking down at him with those hazel eyes. "I know you don't want me as- I want to be your friend, Reg."

He swallowed. Nodded. "Friends. Okay, I can do that." Honestly, he wasn't sure he could. But he just couldn't bring himself to push James away again. Call him weak, but he couldn't do it.

"Friends." James pulled his hand away, and Regulus mourned the loss of his warmth. "Okay. Goodnight, Regulus."

"Goodnight, James." He wasn't stopped when he walked away that time.

So he was talking to his brother, beat Remus at Monopoly, and was just friends with the boy he was in love with.

He couldn't identify the feeling in his chest as he began the trek down to the Slytherin dorms, careful to avoid the prefects and Filch. All he knew was that it was warm, and strange, and felt a little bit like hope. 

((I wrote this while fighting my sleep medicine, so I'm sorry if it makes no sense. 

Bets on how long Reg and James can stay "Just Friends?" 

Also, it's been a while since I've played Monopoly, so I probably got some stuff mixed up.))