Regulus Black's Love |Year 6| (Jegulus) ON HOLD

First Day Back

TW: INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, THE PRANK™, IMPLIED ABUSE

Regulus' POV:
The next morning, when I got to class, everyone was staring at me. Barty got up and ran over to hug me.
"Reg!" He exclaimed. "You're ok!"
I tried to escape the hug. "Yeah," I laughed awkwardly. "Except for the fact that I can't breathe. You're crushing my lungs,"
"Sorry," he moved away. "I'm just happy that you're ok,"
"Class is starting," I changed the subject. "Let's go sit down,"

I barely listened to the lesson, I was too worried about what everyone else was thinking. I couldn't tell if it was my imagination, but I saw some of my classmates whispering to each other and looking over at me.

They're all looking at you Regulus. They know what happened, and they're judging you for it. Everyone here hates you.

My breathing started to quicken, and I felt tears starting to form. I was trying to take notes, but my hand was shaking too much for me to write.

Barty noticed this and stopped writing his own notes. "You ok?"
"I'm fine," I answered.
He noticed that I continued to stare at the blank parchment. "Do you want help writing the notes?"
I shook my head. I didn't want to be in this classroom anymore. There were too many people here.

Everyone is watching you. They see that you're going to cry. Poor baby Regulus. Crying because he's around people.

I buried my head in my arms and let the tears fall. I sat with my head down for the rest of class.

When the class was over, Barty and I started walking to Transfiguration together. We didn't talk, but he handed me the notes from the last class and smiled at me.

~~~~~~~~~
Still Regulus' POV:
After classes, I regretted listening to my brother. I should've just stayed in bed. If I did that, I would've never cried in class, and I would've never embarrassed myself like that! Why did I ever think that Sirius actually had a good idea‽

I went over to sit by the lake and started skipping rocks. I don't know how long I sat there before Sirius came up to me, but it was starting to get dark.

"Hey little brother," he smiled.
I threw another rock. "Hey,"
"How was your day?" He asked. "Did you like being back in class?"
I shook my head. "I hated it. I ended up crying in my first class of the day,"
His face changed into one of understanding. "Have I ever told you about the worst prank I've ever pulled?" I shook my head. "It almost cost me my entire relationship with all of the other marauders,"

I skipped another rock. "What happened exactly?"
"I'm getting there," he laughed and looked to see if anyone was listening to him. "So, one day in my 5th year, I was really mad because I had just gotten a letter from Mum after I ran away. I decided to go outside to try and calm myself down, but... I saw Snivelus. He was saying the stupidest things about James. I can't remember exactly what he was talking about, but I know that it made me more annoyed.

"I decided to tell him how to get past the Whomping Willow which leads to the Shrieking Shack. I'm sure you know what that means?" I nodded, knowing about Remus going there each month. "So, he decided to try to get past it one full moon. Moony almost attacked him. Luckily though, James saved him by getting him out of there. When they found out that it was me who told him, they were the most angry that I have ever seen them.

"Remus' reaction was the one that hurt the most. None of them talked to me for weeks, but when I saw Remus, he looked... hurt. I don't think he ever actually forgave me, and I don't think he should. It was one of the dumbest things that I could do, and I actually had a choice," he looked at the ground. "You never had a choice. You never wanted to become a Death Eater. And James does understand this. He just wants to keep both of you safe. He doesn't want you to have to have information tortured out of you because they figure out that you're dating him," he explained.

"I thought that he was just mad at me for it," I said, messing with my sleeve.
"He was just surprised and confused. He was never mad at you, he just wants to keep you safe," he responded. "That Dark Mark," he pointed at my sleeve, "is part of your story. It shows that you are so brave. You know that this does not mean that you are evil. The world is not split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are,"

"But... I chose to get the mark..." I didn't understand what he meant.
He sighed. "You did not choose that mark. Walburga chose it for you,"
"You said that it proves that I'm brave... How?" I asked. "I was scared and that's why I got it. That doesn't seem brave..."
"It is brave. It shows that despite all the struggles you have gone through, you are still here. Even though you didn't feel like you had anyone to help you. You have to deal with shit from our parents every day of your life, and you have stood up to them before. That's bravery,"

I smiled. "Thanks,"
"I know that it sucks to go to class, but can you please go back to class tomorrow?" he asked. "People will stare, and they will talk about you, but you just have to ignore them. No matter what they say, you are perfect. You are enough. Now, come on, lets go to dinner,"

Word count: 996