Homeward Bound | Regulus Black

Chapter Eight

"You need to stop coming up to the bar. You're going to get yourself recognised and, subsequently, caught." Aberforth warned Esme as he set down two more Butterbeers on the table.
"Tsk." She tutted in response and folded her arms tightly across her chest as she settled back into her seat in the booth.

"Will you tell her?" Aberforth turned to Regulus, who was mostly masked from view by the large hooded black cloak he was donning.
The young man chuckled at this, took a sip of his drink, and then replied, "You think Esme listens to a thing I say?"

Aberforth grumbled something under his breath and turned away - returning to the bar.
Esme complained, "He said Lupin would be here by now. I don't like sitting here in the open for longer than necessary."

Regulus turned to Esme beside him and gently nudged her with his shoulder, "What's actually wrong? Because I know that isn't it."
She turned to him and then looked away and picked up her drink, taking a small sip of it before replying, "I... Honestly, I feel like I'm about to crash and I need to-to stay busy to stop that happening."

He could only really sigh in response. It was no secret between the two of them that Esme had her battles with mental health - which normally manifested periodically. Needless to say, over the years, they had come up with their own terms and techniques for easing the challenges of this.

"I know what you're going to say already, so don't bother." Esme set her glass back down and kept her gaze settled on the table.
"And I'm guessing your response is no?"
"You'd be guessing correctly."

Regulus shook his head, "We could come back here to find Lupin next week. This can wait if you want to go back... And rest..."

Esme took ahold of his hand underneath the table and gave his fingers a squeeze. "You worry too much." She pointed out as she then withdrew her hand and pulled her hood back over her head.
"I think I worry just enough for the two of us."

Esme was saved from having to further deflect Regulus' concerns as the door to the pub suddenly swung open. The wind of that afternoon caused the wooden door to slam against the wall, and both Esme and Regulus looked up to see who had just entered. Their gazes fell on a familiar figure, and one they had been waiting a long time to see.

Remus Lupin hadn't had the easiest time of it over the years, and that was clearly displayed across his face. His weathered face bore the toll of his permanent condition - scars layered over older scars which layered over even older ones.
As he stepped into the pub and the door closed behind him, his deep green eyes rapidly moving from one point to another, looking around the room in a state of wariness. His hair had also darkened over the years and was now light brown flecked with grey - a reminder of the stress he lived under.

Instinctively, Regulus grabbed ahold of Esme's arm just as she moved to stand up. "Don't give us away to the whole room." He warned.
"I can manage subtle." She scoffed.
"Can you?"
"Fine... You go."

Regulus chuckled lightly, and waited for Remus to move towards the bar before he made his own move. Esme turned to the side and lifted her feet up onto the bench so Regulus could slide past and out of the booth. He approached Remus, now leaning against the bar and waiting to be served, and lingered for a moment behind the man before making his presence known.
He cleared his throat with a cough, and that was all it took to catch Remus' attention - he then turned and came face to face with a man he had presumed was dead for the past twelve years.

"B-Black..." Remus immediately straightened up, then remembered where he was in the room and lowered his voice to a hushed whisper as he asked, "Regulus Black?"

"Regrettably." Regulus nodded.

"But... But you're..." Remus' words failed him.
"Missing? Dead?" He mumbled, "Let's move out of the way."
The younger and taller of the men gestured over to his booth in the corner of the room, and led the way for them to sit down. That was when Remus Lupin can face to face with another person he had thought was dead.

"You're..." He frowned slightly, the shock not quite having set in yet, "You're dead."
Esme looked down at herself and then back up at him. "That's news to me." She replied.

"I-I thought..." Remus looked between both of the hooded figures in front of him. They were definitely Esmerelda and Regulus. "Everyone thinks you're dead." He repeated, "I thought the Death Eaters had got you and... Everyone else thought you were Death Eaters..."

She turned to Regulus and stated, "I'm pretty sure we're not dead."
"It'd be quite a revelation if we were." He responded.

"What are you doing here?" Remus questioned, "There's Dementors everywhere; you'll get caught."
Esme shrugged, "They're not looking for us - we'll be fine."
"As long as you don't give us away." Regulus added.

That was when Remus finally put the puzzle pieces together. "Oh..." It dawned on him, "You're... You're here about Sirius."
"Obviously." Esme muttered.

Regulus placed a hand on her knee as he took ahold of the conversation. "Sirius is in the area. That much is clear. Have you seen him?"
Regulus knew very much what he thought, and was wondering if Remus was about to lie to him.

"He's not here to see me, if that's what you believe." Remus answered.

"For Harry, then?" Regulus asked. He knew the calculated reply from Remus perhaps hinted that he had come into contact with Sirius.
That was when Remus unveiled some very surprising information. He leant forward and dropped his voice even quieter to just a whisper. "Pettigrew is alive. He's hiding. He was the one who betrayed Lily and James."

Esme felt a course run though her whole body. She turned to Regulus, "Is that possible?"
Regulus' throat had suddenly dried up and he didn't know what to think anymore.

"He wasn't ever the secret keeper for the Potters. It was Pettigrew. He sold them out to You Know Who... Pettigrew has been hiding in his animagus form for years." Remus explain as he leant back in his seat and ran a nervous hand through his hair.
For a moment, Esme paused in thought. "His animagus was... It was a rat, right? Appropriate much?" She snickered.

Regulus took a deep breath and adjusted the hood masking most of his face from view before he said, "It... It kind of makes sense... I wonder what's pushed Sirius to escape now, after all these years..."

But Esme knew there were bigger, more pressing issues at hand. "Where can we find him?"
"He's-he's been moving around. The outskirts of Hogsmeade. The Forbidden forest. The Shrieking Shack." Remus explained, "He's-Sirius is manic."

"Was he not always?" She muttered to herself - knowing it would only annoy Regulus and distract Remus if she voiced her thought too loudly.

"Do you think..." Regulus paused to clear his throat, "Do you think he would want to see me?"

Esme and Remus both lifted their gazes to stare at the man. They both wore frowns etched over the features, though this was for different reasons. Esme was, quite frankly, surprised that Regulus had even thought that. The mere idea that anyone wouldn't want to be around Regulus seemed ridiculous to her. Remus, on the other hand, thought that Sirius was in no fit state to address the long-running fragile relationship he had with his brother, and Remus was trying to figure out how to delicately phrase this.

"If Sirius finds Pettigrew... I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to kill him. I don't think we could convince Sirius not to." Remus tentatively began, "He's lost all rationality."
Esme took ahold of Regulus' hand under the table as she quietly spoke, "I don't want to say this, but... It might be best if we just went back to Grimmauld Place."

Regulus turned to her in surprise, "And what if he gets caught again?"
"There's nothing we could do, is there? All we could do is get ourselves caught as well." She pointed out.

Remus sighed, and then agreed, "She's right. I can look out for him as best I can. If anything happens, or if you're needed, I'll write. I just worry this is the worst place for you to be - with the Aurors and Dementors on the prowl."

It was tough. They had come all this way and were finally facing up to the fact that they might have to leave empty handed. Regulus knew what it was like to be abandoned by his brother when he really needed him. He wasn't quite sure he could do the same thing now - not when Sirius was at such risk. But Esme did have a point. As much as it was annoying, she was right. Even if Sirius was caught, there was nothing they could do to help anyway.

Regulus turned to Esme, their hands still gripped together, and he squeezed her fingers. "Okay, alright... We'll try a different approach."