The Other One | Sirius Black

Chapter 44 - Content

Remus was reading his copy of the Daily Prophet. The images of the Aurors that killed Voldemort's followers were moving under the headline, "Death Eaters Evan Rosier and Iain Wilkes face a punishment greater than Azkaban".

"About time they got caught," Sirius pointed at the newspaper with disgust.

"Well they got more than caught, they're dead," Remus noted.

Sirius shook his head, "Potato, potahto. They've killed plenty more innocent people simply for pleasure. And they were completely intolerable at school."

Jo merely hummed in agreement as Sirius continued, "Thought they were above everyone even when they lived in the dingy dungeons. Never stopped taunting the girls. And all that confidence because they formed a part of this exclusive club."

Remus mentioned, "Sounds a lot like you mate."

Jo laughed at the comment making Sirius playfully nudge her in response.

He responded, "No... it doesn't."

"You're right. You didn't live in the dungeons," Remus nonchalantly quipped.

"Alright I was an arse back at school, but I didn't use dark magic on a couple of muggle-borns to tickle my fancy," Sirius reasoned.

Jo added, "That was horrible. Lily was scared for weeks."

"That greasy git Snivellus didn't care to stand up for her when Rosier bugged her in potions," Sirius recalled.

Remus sighed, "We've seen where he is now, I'm sure he was already deep into that fanaticism by then. Lily's friendship meant nothing to him."

Sirius exclaimed, "Even when she defended him against us! I mean, she stopped talking to you two for how long? A month?"

"Yeah. I mean dangling him upside down was a bit much. And James giving Lils that ultimatum certainly did not help," Jo answered while Remus flipped to another page of the paper.

Sirius countered, "It was hardly an ultimatum, and that toerag insulted her right after he slashed Prongs."

"I think we get the point, Pads -- considering we were all there when it happened," Remus pointed out.

"It just makes my blood boil. It's not until now that those blokes are getting what they deserve," Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"We all feel that way, Sirius," Jo revealed.

Remus echoed, "I think we're all a little on edge right now."

Sirius questioned, "A little? I'm way past the edge. Because of people like my own bloody brother, my actual family has to hide during one of the best moments of their life!"

"Sirius..." Remus cautioned.

Sirius ranted, "Regulus betrayed Jo. Then he got himself killed because he was probably too scared to grow up like the rest of us. And it's all my fault."

"It's not--" Jo got interrupted.

Sirius persisted, "Yes, it is. If I had tried harder... I shouldn't have left him at that wretched place, I could've brought him with me."

"You couldn't have known he was going to turn out as he did," Remus disagreed.

Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose, "Oh please, don't kid yourself. My parents drilled that pureblood mania into our heads since before we could talk. Of course, he would end up like that."

Jo replied, "You didn't. And you couldn't expect him to be a carbon copy of you."

Sirius sarcastically chuckled.

Jo explained, "Besides with your logic, it would be just as much our fault as it is yours."

Remus winced at her observation. The few memories he had with Regulus were already becoming faint. And he hated feeling content with forgetting them. But he could remember one.

Remus sat alone in the library. James and Peter seemed to be running late. He was hunched over, deep in thought reading a copy of Advanced Treatise in Herbology with other articles sprawled all over his workspace.

The doors opened letting in one person who decided to sit in front of Remus.

"Took you long enough," he sighed.

Jo remarked, "Well I didn't know I was being clocked in today!"

Remus looked up at Jo, "I thought you were your brother. I'm supposed to help him study."

She scooted her seat closer to the table, "For what? Herbology exam coming up?"

"Charms," Remus answered.

"Then what's all this you've got here?" Jo started picking up the articles.

"Research paper. I fell behind because Sirius decided to prank Snivellus during free period," he grumbled.

"Hmm, sounds like him," she chuckled.

After the doors opened again, Jo noted, "Look what the cat dragged in."

Remus didn't bother to look up this time, he didn't want to break focus from his work.

A low voice mumbled, "Very funny. Have you started the charts Vector assigned?"

Jo asked, "I haven't looked them over, why?"

The voice explained, "They're awfully complicated. I've had to rewrite most of the notes from last class."

Jo groaned before standing up to go to the Arithmancy section, "I left my textbook on my bed, let me just find one here and we can start with that then."

A few moments later, the same voice casually whispered, "How were you able to find the latest version of that? I thought they were sold out."

Remus finally looked up to a pair of grey eyes. But they didn't belong to his friend.

"Sprout lent it to me. I need it for an assignment," he quietly replied.

Regulus opened his mouth but no words seemed to come out as he stuttered.

Remus had a feeling it wouldn't look good for Regulus to be seen with one of his brother's best friends. At least he doesn't know I'm also a bloody werewolf.

But despite the feeling, he inquired, "You like Shook's work?"

Reg stated, "Yeah. I read the Elementary Treatise all in one night."

Remus shifted his body to face the Slytherin, "Me too... Have you asked Sprout to show you how to extract the snargaluff pods?"

"We have those in the greenhouse?" Reg asked.

Rem nodded, "Yeah, they're rather gnarly but their anatomy is really interesting."

"You'd have to show me sometime," Reg said nonchalantly before turning his attention to Jo walking back with a thick textbook in hand.

Remus replayed those words in his head. Regulus couldn't possibly have meant it. But Remus could still picture the hints of a small smile that crept up on Regulus's face when he mentioned the snargaluff pods. Surely no one would want to be with Remus, especially not a Slytherin. Especially not one that was already dead.

Instead of reading the herbology book, Remus was blankly staring at the headline of the newspaper once more, not even noticing when the conversation with Jo and Sirius had changed topics. He shouldn't hate himself for being content with forgetting those memories. 

A/N: Ahhh this was so cute and also heartbreaking to write. Does anyone else like a little Regulus-Remus action? Xx 

I never really thought of them together until I read it in another fic and immediately shipped them (so credits to cantbelievethis420 for the inspo, her story is One Step Ahead)