Of Lynxes, Stormy Eyes and Wool Jumpers | 𝓢.𝓑. & 𝓡. 𝓛.

34 - My Baby, My Baby

| My Baby, My Baby |

James was livid. He truly was; he couldn't feel his fingers and his face felt burning hot. He felt like he was breathing fire. Regulus was sat in front of him, next to Diane, looking fragile and sunken in. Sirius, Remus and Peter were standing on either side of James, taking in the horrible news. Oh, James was angry.

"Give me your arm," James gritted. "Give me your left arm right now."

Regulus' face fell. "James, they didn't give it to me, I don't have the—"

Before Regulus could finish his sentence, James had grabbed his left forearm, yanking up the sleeve of the Slytherin's white button-up. A series of gasps ensued.

There was no Dark Mark. No, but there was something just as bad. Along Regulus' forearm, there were almost a dozen scars, thin and long, horizontally across his arm. They looked deep, calculated, practiced. James let go of Regulus' arm like it burned.

He chanced a glance at Sirius to his left. The older Black had gone pale, seeming almost ghostly. He just stared wordlessly at his brother's arm. James supposed the scar of what happened to him at the cursed house just last Christmas was too fresh. Remus tried to hover over Regulus so as to cover the sight from the older brother. He had also taken out his wand to heal the scars, but Regulus interrupted him.

"It won't work," he muttered, grey eyes shiny, as Remus pulled him closer by his arm. His voice wavered. "I tried and—and it w-wouldn't work."

Nevertheless, Remus persistently tried, but it didn't work. No spell he could come up with worked, and he knew many from throughout the years with Madame Pomfrey. The thin and long scars on alabaster skin stared back at Remus, unmoving, almost tauntingly. "Fuck. What the hell? It won't bloody go away. What kind of dark magic is this?"

"I swear to fucking Merlin," James finally spoke up. His shoulders were rigid and his voice seemed pained. "If I could leave Hogwarts right this minute, I would go to London and hunt your parents, even if it was the last thing I do."

Regulus stayed silent, his almost pale blue eyes staring up at the tanned, curly-headed boy forlornly. James' heart was physically breaking, he swore he could feel it, even if his anger was blinding. He looked towards his sister. "Lynx. You knew about this?"

"He told me yesterday," she whispered, the wind almost burying her voice. "I found him at the astronomy tower."

James' lips were pressed in a thin line, eyebrows furrowed and expression torn. "We can't tell anyone, obviously. Fuck. We can't tell anyone, can we?"

"No, we can't," Sirius muttered, eyes unfocused. He cleared his throat and stood up straighter. "All we can do is make sure Regulus never comes close to them or to any Death Eater from now on."

Silence ensued in the group as they stared around at each other, huddled together near the Black Lake. The tree leaves danced as the wind swayed the branches of nearby willows, filling the silence.