Shattered Masks, Unbroken Vows - Jegulus

Chapter 6

The room was quiet now. After weeks of unconsciousness and the tumultuous reunion with Sirius and James, Regulus had finally been left alone. The lingering tension in his body slowly ebbed as the silence enveloped him. His mind, however, remained far from quiet.

Leaning back on the stiff hospital bed, Regulus stared blankly at the ceiling, the soft light casting a pale glow on his face. His body ached, not just from the physical scars but from the weight of all the memories he had buried for so long. His thoughts began to drift, carrying him back to the moments that had led him here.

Flashback

He could still feel it—the sharp, burning pain of the Basilisk venom coursing through his veins. Regulus had been certain he was going to die. His body was failing, his strength fading, and all he had left was the knowledge that he had destroyed one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. But at that moment, when he had nothing left to give, his mind hadn't been on the victory over the dark artifact.

It had been on them—Sirius and James.

As the venom spread, his thoughts spiraled into his deepest fears and desires. The pain was unbearable, but in his final moments, his mind clung to the faces of the people he loved most.

His older brother, Sirius. The boy he had once admired, envied, and missed every day since their estrangement. Despite their differences, despite the years apart, Sirius had always been the one Regulus looked up to. And now, in what he thought were his last moments, all he wanted was to see his brother one last time.

Then there was James Potter.

James, whose presence had haunted Regulus throughout his school years. They had been on opposite sides, or so it had seemed. Regulus had convinced himself that James hated him. And Regulus, in turn, had buried his feelings deep beneath layers of pride and duty. But those feelings had always been there—undeniable, unspoken, and burning like a secret flame.

As Regulus had felt the life slipping away from him, his mind had conjured James's face with startling clarity. His laugh, his reckless smile, the way his eyes sparked with determination. There had been no place for such feelings in Regulus's life, not when he was bound to the expectations of his family and the darkness of the Death Eaters. But now, in the face of death, all of those buried emotions came surging to the surface.

I never told him. The thought had broken through the haze of pain. I never told him that I loved him. That I still love him.

With his body weakening, Regulus had closed his eyes and surrendered to the venom. But somewhere, deep within him, a fierce longing took hold. It was more than just the longing for survival—it was the need to be near the people he loved, even if they didn't love him back.

James. The name had echoed in his mind like a mantra. Sirius.

He had been certain he was dying, but instead of fading into darkness, something had pulled him—an instinct, a desperate hope. And in that moment of vulnerability, Regulus had somehow summoned the strength to Apparate, driven by his heart's deepest desires.

Now, back in the sterile hospital room, Regulus's chest tightened as he recalled the memory. He hadn't expected to survive. And he certainly hadn't expected the first face he saw upon waking to be James's.

The shock of seeing James again, after all these years, had hit him like a tidal wave. All of those feelings he had tried so hard to forget came rushing back—his unspoken love, the regret, the fear that James would never look at him the same way.

Why was James there? Regulus wondered, his brow furrowing. Why was he the first person I saw?

The sight of James standing by his hospital bed, worry etched into his features, had been almost too much for Regulus to bear. He had pushed him away, acting cold and distant, because that was all he knew how to do. But the truth was far more painful.