Motion Sickness

Everything's changed

When Regulus got back to his dorm that night Barty was waiting up for him, Evan wasn't in the room, he was most likely in the library or trying to convince Dorcas not to be too harsh at Quidditch practice for a while, so far he's been failing miserably. Dorcas has them practicing around the clock from Friday to Sunday's aswell as the occasional Wednesday. "Where were you today." Barty asked, Regulus let out a defeated sigh.

"I was around the castle." It wasn't a complete lie, he was technically around. "Were you waiting up for me." He already knew the answer, Barty wasn't great at being subtle.

"We have an assignment to finish." He said, Regulus fell onto his bed. "Being dramatic won't get it done."

"We still have until the end of the school year to finish it Bart, calm down please." Regulus tried but Barty didn't ease up.

"The Dark Lord won't be happy to learn of your intimacy with Potter." He said after five minutes of silence, Regulus looked up at him, his eyes filled with rage.

"He won't find out, and if he does I know who to blame." Regulus said, "Why does it bother you so much who I mess around with?"

"Because-" The door flew open to reveal Dorcas and Pandora carrying a semi-conscious Evan, they placed him onto the bed and Regulus rushed to check on him, Barty just left the dorm.

"What's his problem?" Dorcas asked as she checked Evan's forehead for a fever.

"He's been a bloody git for months now, I think his father finally cut him off." Regulus joked. "What happened to Rosier?" He asked.

"No idea, we found him passed out in the courtyard, Snape said he saw him fighting with the Gryffindors earlier." Dorcas told him, Regulus looked up at her.

"Which Gryffindors?" He asked, Dorcas shrugged as she conjured up an ice pack and placed it on his chest, Regulus didn't know what difference that would make but he didn't say anything. Right now his only concern was that Evan woke up, after that he could figure out a way to get back at whoever did this to him.

"I'm going to go find Barty and figure out what's got his knickers in a twist." Pandora said, Regulus nodded. He hasn't spoken to Pandora since she confronted him in the corridor at the start of the school year.

"You going to tell me what happened to your face one of these days?" Dorcas asked once Pandora left the room. Regulus shrugged leaning against the side of Evan's bed, Dorcas joined him, regularly looking back at Evan to make sure he was still breathing. "I saw Evan's mark Reg, I have no doubt you joined too, but for different reasons. Who?"

"Bella." He confessed, he had no reason to lie to Dorcas, he was painfully aware that the list of people who knew kept growing day by day. Pandora, James and now Dorcas. Sooner than later it would catch up with him and he could likely end up dead or in Azkaban, truthfully he would prefer death. Yet he couldn't tell her that the man who really gave him the scar died at his hands. Dorcas didn't say anything, she took Regulus's left hand into her right and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Come stay with me this summer." She told him after a while, when he didn't say anything she looked up at him. He was staring at the stained glass window in the corner of the dorm, "You're seventeen Reg, they have no legal right over you anymore."

"I have something I need to do."

***

Evan was unconscious for two days. The group decided to leave him in the dorm and treat him there instead of taking him to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing, they knew she'd ask too many questions and sound the alarm the second she saw Evan's left arm. When he woke up he was in a state of confusion, Regulus was getting ready to meet up with James when Evan cleared his throat.

"What day is it?" He asked rubbing his head, Regulus turned to look at him, a flash of relief evident on his face.

"Monday, Slughorn missed you in class this morning." Regulus tried to lighten the mood. Barty threw open the door and Regulus could have sworn he saw a scowl on his face when he saw him, but he did well to mask it.

"Rosier." He nodded.

"Crouch." Evan acknowledged, Regulus was uncomfortable so he excused himself and disappeared to the seventh floor where he paced up and down the corridor until the wall revealed an entrance. He opened the doors and saw James sitting in front of a chess table. Regulus was taken back to their first time in this very room, they had spent the day playing all sorts of games, wizard chess being one of them.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't come." James said as Regulus sat down opposite him.

"Evan woke up." Is all he said, James needed no further explanation, the two soon fell into a wordless game of chess, well as wordless as Wizarding chess could get. Once they finished James led Regulus to the couch.

"We need to talk." Regulus's heart started beating, those words only ever mean something bad was about to happen. "Calm down Reg, I'm not here to break up with you." He wasn't aware there was something to break up, as far as he knew they were still casual, no labels and no pressure.

"What is it you want to talk about."

"What do you think about becoming a spy for the order." He asked. Regulus froze. He had expected this at some point, James would try anything to get Regulus out from Voldemort's clutches but doing that could end up in more people getting hurt. The Dark Lord didn't like being deceived and anyone suspected of going against him was fed to that snake of his. Not exactly the way Regulus expected to leave the world.