too young, too thoughtless: a marauder's era fanfiction

chapter three

By the time Regulus agreed to return to his dorm for the rest of the night, it was nearing sunrise. Remus couldn't even think of facing Sirius so soon after the kiss, so he fled to the shack where he spent each month tearing himself to pieces as his wolf counterpart. He hated the place and hated the April weather even more, but it was the one area only he was meant to go. He was sure his friends would realize where he had gone after breakfast and would come here to find him, so he waited. As he sat on the chipped wooden floor, he wondered just why Sirius had kissed him. They had never been close, not since they were first years still trying to figure out who they were friends with. Their friendship hadn't lasted long, Remus hating the pranks Sirius and James played and the way they could often border on bullying. He had been good friends with Lily from the beginning and through her had become fast friends with Severus, Pandora, and Regulus. Since his second year, they had been as inseparable as James, Sirius, and Peter were.

The sun had only just fully risen into the sky when Lily came through the shack's entrance, brushing dust from her skirt as she did so. Behind her came the rest of their friends, all coming to sit with Remus on the dusty floor, covered in bits and pieces of debris. Severus and Regulus were used to it by now, only hesitating a little bit in disgust before they sat.

"Well?" Severus demanded after too long of quiet, "What did your father do this time?"

Remus resisted the urge to glare, but just barely.

"Oh, don't bother him," Lily said, "He may not want to talk about it."

"He was as much a dick as he always is." Remus admitted, adding, "That enough?"

Regulus scoffed, "Do you usually come back bloody, or was that just a treat this time?"

"Reg!" Remus snapped, immediately regretting it. He leaned against Regulus' side in an apology. He did feel bad for showing up in the middle of the night looking like he had been through it.

Regulus looked like he regretted saying it, which helped ease Remus' temper. Impulsivity tended to be a trait of the Black family, so this wasn't unexpected. Pandora, protective as she always was, reached for Remus to check for injury. He let her poke and prod for a minute before pulling away to sit against Regulus again.

"I'm fine, promise. He surprised me and I forgot to dodge, that's all. Don't worry yourselves. Catch me up on how you've all been without me. I'll bet there were less fist fights."

Lily jokingly shoved his arm.

"Oh, we love you and your anger issues, Remus," she promised, "We could have used them while you were gone, actually."

"Lily..." Severus warned.

Regulus pulled away from Remus' side as Lily shook her head at Severus.

"He would find out anyway, did you think you would lie to him?" she demanded.

"What happened?" Remus urged them, looking only at Regulus.

Regulus sighed and admitted, "My brother was being his idiot self, as usual. He wasn't getting humbled as much with you away."

Remus clenched his fist, using the other hand to grab Regulus' own. "What did he do? How hard do I have to hit him?"

Pandora smiled a little. She was a huge fan of Remus going nuts on anyone that bothered their friends. Often, she joined in. The Rosier family had taught her a thing or two about curses.

"No hitting," Regulus told him firmly, adding, "It was worse for Severus than for me. He only pulled on my hair and called me a few names."

"What did he do to you, Severus?" Remus urged again.