I Will Follow You Into The Dark || Jegulus

78. Ode to Sleep

The summer flew by way too fast. Regulus felt like he barely spent any time with the people he loved, and now he had to leave half of them. He still had Barty and Evan, and Dorcas and Pandora. But his brother was gone, and Remus, practically his therapist, was gone, and worst of all, James was gone. And now James was practically having a baby with Lily! (Obviously that wasn't the situation, but Regulus liked to get himself worked up over nothing)

Saying his goodbyes was one of the hardest things he'd ever done, and then he watched the train roll away from the platform as everyone waved at him through the window.

Regulus sighed, "It sucks being a year younger than everyone. We have to go to school while they are off fighting the war. We should have dropped out." He leaned his head on the cold window.

"Things could be worse. You also wouldn't have gone to Hogwarts this year if you drowned in that lake" Barty said.

Regulus frowned. He still had weekly nightmares about that night with Remus. Barty wouldn't know that. Regulus didn't have much time to confide details like that to his friends over the summer with how busy they all were. 

"Anyway. Changing subject... You're having a bloody child!?" Evan exclaimed. "As in. You're going to be a father by the time you graduate."

"That's disgusting. You're still a minor" Barty said.

"No I am not! You think I'm American, asshole." Regulus crossed his arms, "Besides, we haven't had sex or anything. James is giving DNA to a lab, and they're going to inseminate it into Lily."

"I know how having babies works Regulus. You're still going to be a father whether you've shagged him or not"

"Anywhoooo Changing subject again." Evan leaned against Barty, "how does it feel being head boy? First your boyfriend, now you. You're the First Slytherin head boy in years." Evan said.

"I can't believe it. I wonder if James accidentally left anything in the head boy dorm. I don't know if I'll ever use it. I'd miss you guys too much. I don't think I could imagine not being your roomate." Regulus said.

"You're just saying that to convince me to cuddle you like we used to" Barty said.

"Maybe," Regulus smiled. As lonely as this year would be without Sirius, James, and the others, he was glad to spend time with his best friends. That won't be an issue next year once they're able to move out. They will probably rent a flat together and annoy Regulus and Pandora every day.

"Where is Pandora. I thought she would sit in here with us since the majority of her friend group is gone too. It's just us five now." Regulus frowned.

"She's probably flirting with her boyfriend or crying with Dorcas." Evan rolled his eyes. "My father hates Xenophilius, more than me. And that's saying something. He thinks he is too 'hippie' and 'muggle loving' for Pandora. He forced her to break up with him, but she is lying to him now. That's the ballsiest thing I've ever seen that girl do. Usually it's me breaking the rules, like when I was banned from seeing Barty." Evan grinned. 

They talked and ate candy from the trolley the whole ride. At some point, Dorcas and Pandora did show up. Pandora immediately pulled Regulus into a hug.

"You and I don't hang out enough Reggie. I'm totally kidnapping you more often since you have more free time." She smiled cheekily.

"She had another vision." Dorcas said, completely changing the mood. "She was just laying on the seat for half an hour. I was about to go find someone for help when she finally came to and started spewing things about... the war."

"What did you see?" Regulus asked, looking at Pandora. She still looked unbalanced and woozy, but otherwise fine. It was best not to push her too hard.

"This one is very hazy. I saw James. Wearing antlers. I think it was Halloween. A Baby. His wand on a table. Him unconscious on the floor. Red hair. A lightning scar. Like a Lichtenberg figure etched on skin. An explosion. A finger, and dementors. Dumbledore with a baby. And - and - I don't know. It's hazy." She held her head in her hands.

Regulus pulled her closer and let her lean her head on his chest. "Don't work yourself too hard."

She nodded. "I watched you die again. I can't keep doing this. First I saw you drowning. Now this. I see you in front of a crib when you get knocked down, and just like that, you're gone." She began to cry softly, but it quickly turned into sobs.

"I won't die. Dora, I won't die. I promise. Me and James are going to move off the grid. Only those close to us will know where to find us. You can come visit every day if you're worried." Regulus offered a smile, but gave up and just ran a hand through Pandora's hair. On the outside he tried to seem unphased, for pandora's sake, but on the inside, he was freaking out. Him and James dead. James couldn't die. He couldn't. Sirius needed him. Remus needed him. James was the sun, and without him, the darkness would take over. 

"The only person I'm sure lives is Remus. I saw him on the Hogwarts express again. Much older. Sitting next to a boy who looks like James, and a Weasley. He was eating chocolate."

"What about Sirius?" Regulus asked.

"Azkaban. He looks... scary. Insane. Obsessive. Stalking a family. The Weasley boy and his friends. He escapes, and the world is in a frenzy" she explains.

How could all this happen? It made no sense whatsoever. Especially not Sirius. It made sense for Regulus to get put in Azkaban. He was a death eater, he had been there before, the only thing keeping him away from it was the fact that he mutilated his arm. But Sirius? He would never do anything to put him in there. But Pandora saw him. Her visions were never completely accurate, possibly because the future is never fully set, but all those things could possibly happen. Regulus needed to stop it.

He thought back to that prophecy Snape told him about.

Those who thrice defied Voldemort?? Only one can live while the other must die? What else was there? Regulus couldn't quite remember.

But he just hoped, desperately, that one day, Voldemort didn't search for him. That Voldemort let him go, and thought that he was insignificant despite everything he had done. 

𝄽

Sorry for the delay guys. I was a little bust just adjusting to classes, and I've just been sick. Yesterday my sister in law gave birth to my nephew, so a lot has been happening. but WE ARE SO BACK 

So how do we feel about the visions??? (Screaming crying sobbing)

Right before I was going to publish this, I made the mistake of going on tiktok for like two seconds and saw the WORST batfamily angst about Dick Grayson and now I wanna write a fic about him having to watch bad things happen to all the robins and blaming himself for creating that legacy even though ITS NOT HIS FAULT, im sobbing.   

Anyway the song choice for this was due to the sun/moon references
"I don't want to be the one Be the one who had the sun's blood on my hands, ill tell the moon, take this weapon forged in darkness, some see a pen, I see a harpoon"
That is just so Regulus coded.