I Will Follow You Into The Dark || Jegulus

57. You're Gonna Go Far

James couldn't sleep. For some reason, he found himself pacing back and forth in his room. Around one in the morning, he went down to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He stood in the kitchen, looking out to his darkened living room when he heard a frantic knock on the front door. Confused, he went to answer. 

At his doorstep was a bloody Regulus Black, barely conscious and being held up weakly by... "Remus?" James asked, practically running out into the snow to help his best friend, putting Regulus's arm around his shoulders. Remus helped James lay Regulus down on the sofa before sitting down on an armchair, injured, but not nearly as bad. These were what James thought were the most unlikely people to be seen together in such a state in the middle of the night, but James knew better than to ask until they were ready to talk about it. 

James crouched down beside Regulus, brushing a few of his bloody curls away from his beautiful face, "Reg, love, would you be alright if I call everyone, or should I just get my mother?" James wasn't sure what to do or if Regulus was ready to see his brother yet, but he would do whatever Regulus wanted him to do. 

"Just your mum," Regulus muttered weakly though pained breaths.

James nodded and stood up almost frantically, eyes darting between his best friend and boyfriend. "I'll be right back, love." James placed a kiss on Regulus's forehead before practically sprinting to his parents room as fast as his uncoordinated legs would take him. 

"Mom, Mom, wake up!" He shook her awake, she looked annoyed for a moment until she saw his face. 

"What's wrong Jamie?" She sprung out of bed, faster than she thought her old body would let her. 

"It's Regulus." He pulled on her arm, words not forming in his panicked state. Hearing those words seemed to fully wake her up, and she had an idea of what happened. Likely something similar to what happened with Sirius before. Back when he showed up on their doorstep, not nearly as beat up as Regulus was, and James thought Sirius was in a bad state - Regulus was practically dying. 

The two ran out to the living room, Euphemia looked around to see Regulus, and surprisingly, Remus, who she hadn't expected. He went home earlier that night when she had last seen him. 

"Oh gods boys! Are you okay?" Effie asked, rushing to Regulus's side, who everyone knew was in more urgent need of help. His blood was seeping into the couch, staining it a dark red. 

Regulus was nearly unconscious and began mumbling nonsense when he noticed the extra presence in the room. 

"Shh, you'll be alright, I'm here." James ran a hand through Regulus's tangled hair as his mother cast spells to stop the bleeding, "I'm going to check on Remus," He whispered and headed to the armchair where his friend sat. This was the first time James was able to get a look at him. He was covered in blood too, but most of that seemed to be Regulus's, but the cuts and bruises covering him him didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you okay Moony? I would ask what happened but I think it's best to wait for Reg to be in a stable state." James mumbled a short spell to clean the blood off of Remus. 

"I'll be fine. It's Regulus you should worry about. He's been through a lot the past - fuck, how long as it been?" Remus squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Sorry, I have a migraine. Could you - give me some space please? I promise we will explain everything later." Remus said. James nodded and went back to check on Regulus. 

"Is it alright if we remove your shirt? It'll be easier to heal you. I have some ointment we can put on the deeper wounds," Effie asked the younger boy. 

Regulus shook his head and mumbled something unintelligible. 

"How about I roll up your sleeve to get a better look at what's going on here?" She asked. James looked over to see the sleeve of Regulus's arm being arguably the bloodiest spot.