Growing Up

Part 51.

'Date night' was a term not often used in 12 Grimmauld place. It was commonly a dysfunctional substitute for the setting of a quiet living room in the dead of night, where even the bugs were silent and resting in their homes. The thought of being out somewhere was exhilarating and daunting at once. They would go to a restaurant, a bar, someplace they were treated like real people. People whose backstories were unheard and uncared for.

Sirius got dressed earlier than appropriate, hardly concealing his beaming excitement.
"I'm excited for this, Moony." Sirius spoke from the bathroom, combing through his jet black hair.

"Yeah," Remus answered, a smile softly painting itself across his face.
"Me too."

He watched Sirius from the bathroom as he did his hair, using his fingers as a comb and water to tame the frizz. Remus had dull brown hair, curled by only genetics and the way his pillow was positioned the night before. He loved to watch Sirius' like it was his own, staring as he grabbed each product off the counter. He finally turned and reached for his coat, throwing an arm clumsily through the sleeve before feeling Sirius' eyes burning into him, raising the hair on the back of his neck. He drew his hand over the nape of it and looked back.

"What?"

"I was thinking about teaching Harry french."

Remus almost expected him to giggle and profess his joking manner, but that moment never came.
"You still speak french?"

Sirius' first language was french, and still carried the light accent under his heavy english one. During school, it was the only language he spoke to his mother and Regulus. When he spoke it the most was during a state of panic.

"You don't forget a language, Moonshine."

Remus smiled. "Well, of course. But you never speak it?"

"Not to you." He laughed. "It's the only way I speak to Reg."

***

"tu vas bien, Reg?" Sirius sneered at his brother across the hallway.

Regulus turned around, his face still for a moment, his eyes darting to each corner of the hall. He looked behind him and watched.

"Parler librement. Maintenant ou jamais." Sirius said to him, his face curling in anger.

"Tu me manque. Rentre à la maison, juste une fois" He said quietly. His narrow eyes watched the ground as his arms folded.

"Tu sais que je ne peux pas. Mais tu me manques aussi." Sirius hissed.

He looked back at James and Peter who were staring in horror, James' face riddled with deep sympathy. Remus stood away, his face poking out from the corner. They would be talking about this interaction for days, grazing through french dictionaries for any hint oh what he was so upset about. They would never understand that he wasn't.

"Ils pensent que nous nous battons, c'est normal de parler."

"Mes amis sont gentils. l'un d'eux me fait penser à toi. Il est courageux, plus que moi. Il a tes yeux aussi. Tes amis ont l'air sympa." Regulus finally yelled, his hands pushing his brother in anger. A suppressed smile was caged behind his snarl, a stifled laugh coming across as a sound of anger.

"Elles sont. Mais ils ne sont pas meilleurs que toi." He shoved Regulus back and walked away with a smile on his face.

***

"I remember that!" Remus said, abandoning his previous productivity. "
That was all James could talk about for a week. You never did tell us what that was about."