Gryffindor Black brothers

Chapter 16

Apart from pranks, Sirius and James had also begun to get into more trouble for hexing and dueling other students in the corridors. Of course, they'd done this infrequently before, but with the rising presence of Voldemort in the wizarding world, there had also been an increase in offensive slurs being tossed around at Hogwarts, and James and Sirius were having none of it. Remus tried to stay out of it, turning a blind eye to his friends' actions when he could, but in the presence of a professor—or Lily—he was forced to give them detention.

"Come on, Moony," Sirius had whined after Remus had given both James and Sirius double detention for hexing a Ravenclaw in their year. "He called Jane a you-know-what yesterday!"

"I know that," Remus replied, sighing. "I agree he fucking deserved it, but you hexed him in the middle of a corridor with tons of people around! I couldn't not give you detention. Anyway, do you really think doubling the size of his head is going to stop him from calling people that word?"

The tension in the Gryffindor common room was palpable. Sirius paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, his agitation evident in every stride. Regulus sat on one of the plush armchairs, his arms crossed, trying to reason with his older brother.

"Look, Sirius, I get it. I really do. But you can't just go hexing people in broad daylight, especially not in the middle of a crowded corridor," Regulus continued, his voice low and measured. "We're already on thin ice with the family. Do you really want to give them another reason to crack down on us? Forget our parents what do you think Bella is going to do? You know she's in league with them, Mother and Father also believe in that shit."

Sirius stopped pacing and turned to face Regulus, his grey eyes blazing with frustration. "And what do you suggest I do, Reg? Let them get away with it? Pretend like it doesn't matter?"

"No, of course not," Regulus replied, trying to keep his own temper in check. "But we have to be smart about it. We're not going to win this by being reckless. You know what our parents are like—they'll use any excuse to drag us back into their world. And if they find out we've been dueling in the corridors, they'll say it's proof we can't handle being away from them."

Sirius's jaw clenched, the anger simmering just below the surface. He hated the idea of being cautious, of letting the insults and slurs go unanswered. But he knew Regulus had a point. Their parents would seize any opportunity to reassert control, and if Sirius got caught doing something as blatant as hexing another student, it would give them all the ammunition they needed.

Before Sirius could respond, the portrait hole swung open, and James stepped in, looking just as agitated. "Moony gave us double detention, can you believe it? Just for a simple Engorgement Charm. And it's not like the bloke didn't deserve it."

Regulus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "James, you too? Honestly, do you two have a death wish? You can't keep drawing attention to yourselves like this. Not with everything that's going on."

James raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Since when did you become the voice of reason, Reg?"

"Since I realized that we need to be smarter if we want to survive this," Regulus shot back. "It's not just about getting even. It's about making sure we're still standing at the end of it. The last thing we need is for the professors—or worse, our parents—to come down on us."

Sirius scoffed but didn't argue further. He knew Regulus was right, even if he didn't want to admit it. The attacks on Muggle-born students had been getting worse, and the tension in the school was reaching a breaking point. But if they were going to fight back, they needed to be strategic, not reckless.

James flopped down on the couch, running a hand through his messy hair. "Alright, alright. We'll be more careful. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop standing up for people. If those Slytherin scumbags think they can get away with throwing slurs around, they've got another thing coming."