Running in the dark

Chapter 60

Regulus had seen James several things, mostly happy, not often sad but never angry until now. He wasn't as detached as Sirius was he seemed to be flooded with both anger and sadness.

"I thought you were better than them," he croaked out and then he began yelling about how it was a horrible thing, and then he was crying again and Regulus couldn't move, he was stuck in place just watching.

"Do you remember in the fifth year, when I got drunk after a match," James then blurted and Regulus was sure that maybe he was talking nonsense but nodded back.

"You said you'd always be here, I guess I was wrong, I don't know who you are anymore," James said, tears pricking his eyes all he could think about was that mark, there was no Regulus, not anymore.

"James please," Regulus begged the words slipping from it, he could feel he was losing James and he wanted to try anything to stop it. But James was out the door by then, just after he had dared to speak.

Peter was rather confused when he walked into the dorm to find Remus sitting on the floor with Sirius in his lap sobbing loudly and his confusion only grew when James came in his eyes red and new tears spilling down them and walked straight past them locking himself in the bathroom.

Sirius was a sobbing mess and James wouldn't get out of the bathroom, soon enough Remus was pulling Sirius up and telling him he had to go because of the moon, Sirius then tried to perk up and tell him he'll be there and Remus told him not to.

''But without us, you hurt yourself more," Sirius said, this came out as a bit of a sob too.

"It'll be fine Sirius, rest and James is going to need you if he comes out," Remus said slowly planting a kiss on Sirius' forehead.

He then turned to Peter who had been sitting by the door of the bathroom occasionally murmuring things to James who wouldn't respond. "Don't let him come, I'll be back as soon as I can," Remus said and he was off.

He was a bit later than usual to Madam Pomfrey but had enough time to take the potion and get to the hut. When he was in the silence of the room he found himself beginning to cry, he'd kept it all pent up for Sirius and James' sake but now it was silent, he hated what Regulus has done and knows he was now lost one of his closest friends, and he was scared, for James and Sirius and for Regulus. He transformed with that fear and it didn't have good consequences.

When he awoke he was in pain. It came at him all at once and his eyes stung with tears, he wiped them awake to see his whole right kneecap was sticking out, he couldn't see his face but it hurt and he could feel it was wet with blood and he knew there was a new wound there.

It didn't take long for Pomfrey to come to his rescue, she fixed his face up but she told him there would be a new scar, it dragged from his forehead to his cheek. She was able to put the bone back in but he wouldn't be able to walk on it for two weeks. His clothes were put back on with magic and he didn't even have the chance to refuse a stretcher.

When they got to the wing she gave him a potion for the pain and it was then that he realised something was different, she was never pleased about him getting hurt but she seemed even sadder towards him. She gave him two crutches and then he realised by now she would have given him a sleeping potion but then she answered the curious question in his head.

"McGonagall wants you in her office now, it's important but as soon as you're out you should come back here and get some rest," she said and he nodded saying goodbye, he was sure she most likely had an argument with McGonagall about it but McGonagall must have had a good reason that led Remus to now have to walk up the stairs in a very annoying way using the crutches.

He finally found his way to her office and was knocked on the door, she called softly and when he walked in a sign of pity was on her face, Merlin something was wrong, something was dreadfully wrong.

"Have a seat, Remus," she said softly and he did after closing the door, he even gulped, he was much more used to calling Mr Lupin by her, something was wrong.

"I'm sorry to inform you but last night your mother was killed by your father, it was heard by some passing neighbours and he was trialled and sentenced to Askaban in the early hours of this morning," she said softly.

No. It was crumbling down upon him, burning him into pieces, he wanted to break, he wanted to sob to cry out for it not to be true, but he couldn't hear, he loved Minnie but the thought of crying in front of her felt dreadful. He nodded and she excused him and told him her door was always open.

He was out and dashing down the corridor and out of sight. The Gryffindor common room was so close but he couldn't go there, he wanted to support them, not the other way around. So he rounded the corner and fell against the wall, his head leant back against it, sobbing. It was only when his eyes cleared that he realised someone was in front of him, only when he saw who it was he dropped the crutches, his whole weight falling onto Regulus Black, neither seemed to care about this. Regulus began to cry but softly, not heard by Remus, it was obviously for different reasons, but they clung to each other.