Of Pinstripes And Potions

Hours Six - Twelve

He can't resist it for long. There's no other company, and nothing else to focus on but his homework. James kept to that for as long as he could, but the words swam before his eyes and Regulus is sitting up and reading now, brow furrowed and giving the occasional sigh that piques James' curiosity. The homework isn't going to go away if he ignores it, but his head is still sore and Madam Pomfrey has told him not to make himself sick with it. That's as much of an excuse as James needs to allow his attention to be diverted. He tilts his head to try and see what the book is, is met with a frown and Regulus' hands turning the book so that the cover is concealed. James rolls his eyes, knows that it's unlikely to be anything interesting, probably his own homework. Regulus just wants to be mysterious in that way all Slytherins do, and James won't indulge him by letting his intrigue show. What he will do is silence the niggling little voice in his head that reminds him of the things Sirius said, of the delight he always takes in insulting his brother, and the look in his eye when he does it.

"He doesn't mean it, you know?"

"Who doesn't mean what?" Regulus asks, sounding bored. James doesn't know if he really doesn't know what he's talking about, or if he's just feigning nonchalance to save face. It's been a little while since Sirius left, they've both eaten lunch since then and it's the first time they've spoken since the early morning, so Regulus could possibly be forgiven for not immediately connecting the dots. But he was surely just as bored as James was in their confinement, and what else was he thinking about, if not his broken relationship with Sirius?

"Your brother." James clarifies. "He knows you're not like the rest of them, really."

He doesn't know why he says that last part. Sirius has certainly said nothing of the sort, even when he's suggesting its the case, it's never in a positive light. When he's suggesting that Regulus is somehow different from his peers, it's in a demeaning way that puts him below even the most annoying of the Slytherin students. But James senses it. He knows it from the way Regulus keeps himself so separate from the rest of them, from the way it's always Sirius that starts the fights they get into and not the other way around. He sees it when Regulus looks over at him then, and though Sirius didn't really say it, he still doesn't regret pretending that he did if it will ease his brother's mind at all.

"I don't care what he thinks." Regulus says, which James doesn't think is true, but he knows it's not his place to say so.

Later, closer to dinnertime, Madam Pomfrey is back. She's taking temperatures, and kicking out some of the other students, the ones she deems fit to return to classes. James is jealous, looking around the quickly emptying hospital wing and wondering once again how bad his injury could possibly have been for him to have to stay so much longer than all of those people. Realistically, she's probably hurrying some of them along so that there are as few witnesses to Remus' mid-month check-up as possible, which isn't a concern when it comes to James. She doesn't kick Regulus out yet, though. The potion must really be doing a number on him, and James wonders what he could have possibly done to mis-brew it so severely that it would land him in there for days. Thankfully, he doesn't have to wonder for long, because Madam Pomfrey leaves no mystery about it whatsoever. When she returns to collect their empty glasses and to pour fresh water for them, she scoffs at him.

"Really, Mr. Black. Whatever possessed you to add lobalug venom to a pepper-up potion, I'll never know. And as for how it came to be in your possession, well..." Her lips are pursed, and James knows what she's thinking, can almost see her recalling all of Regulus' relatives that have passed through the halls of Hogwarts before him, and the company they kept. "That's a matter I'll leave to Professor Slughorn."

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey." He mutters, doesn't even look at her as she crosses his bed to James'. She says nothing more, just shakes her head softly as she walks away. James waits as long as he deems necessary, as long as seems polite, before asking,

"Lobalug venom?"

"Funny, I don't recall anybody speaking to you, Potter."

"Did you steal it from Slughorn?" He asks. If Regulus has, he's in a lot of trouble. James remembers in his fourth year, he and Sirius 'borrowed' some potion supplies from Slughorn's classroom, thinking that he wouldn't even notice their absence, and they wound up in detention for three weeks. That hadn't even been anything particularly dangerous, flubberworm mucus and the root of some plant so boring James couldn't even recall with any degree of accuracy now. But lobalug venom was different. He wasn't even sure it was used in any potions taught to the seventh years, was probably from Slughorn's personal supply, supposed to be under lock and key. It would be embarrassing to the professor to have to admit that he'd left it accessible to his students, and would probably put Regulus in detention for at least a year to compensate. At the question, Regulus seemed conflicted. He didn't answer right away, was clearly giving it a lot of thought as to whether he should at all.

"Yeah." He says eventually, and James nods. He doesn't understand why Regulus would do that, but he nods all the same. If he wants to hear any more about it, he'll have to get Regulus to see him as an ally, or at least a neutral party.

The next time it seems a good idea to speak to Regulus about the potion is when they're both brushing their teeth before sleeping. The first and second year students that remained in the hospital wing after Pomfrey's discharges had prepared for bed hours prior, when Regulus had still been stuck in his book, and James waiting for the very moment to arise. As soon as he sees Regulus rise from his bed, he does the same, earning him a glare over the boy's shoulder. He can't even bring himself to care, is too giddy at the prospect of his latest endeavour coming together so quickly. He hasn't even had a chance to write to the boys about it, to ask Sirius his opinion before wading into business that was very objectively not his. Instead, he just follows Regulus into the bathroom and stands at the porcelain sink right beside him.

"Can I help you?" Regulus asks, making no attempt to mask his annoyance.

"Why would you put lobalug venom in a potion you were going to be drinking?"

"Would you prefer I put it in a potion somebody else was going to be drinking?" He asks, and rolls his eyes. If it had been somebody else, one of Sirius' cousins or another Slytherin, James might have been made suspicious by that. The possibility might spring forth in his mind that the intention had been for somebody else to drink it, and that Regulus' drinking it had only been an unavoidable consequence of a poorly constructed plan. But James gives that no thought, can't think of a reason Regulus would want to poison somebody. Again, if it had been Snape or Bellatrix, he might have assumed the intended recipient of the potion was a muggleborn, and that this had been some kind of foiled attack. But when he came to think of it, James couldn't recall one instance Lily or any of their other muggleborn friends had complained about Regulus specifically, which made that seem less likely.

"Did you know what it would do?" He asks.

"I'm not discussing this with you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's none of your business." James watches as Regulus goes about the motions, washes his face and brushes his teeth, runs a hand through his hair, far smoother than James' will ever be. He only gives one self-conscious glance to James' reflection in the mirror when he notices him watching, and then huffs, pushing past him.

"Were you trying to end up in here on purpose?" James asks, knowing the thought won't subside if he doesn't ask if in the few moments they have left alone together. Regulus is at the door, but his hand pauses on the doorknob.

"If you really want to know, you're going to have to tell me something in return. I'm not telling you anything that you'll run back and tell my brother without insurance." James is taken aback by that. Of course, he's known that Regulus is a Slytherin for as long as he's known Regulus, but he'd been so busy convincing himself that Regulus was different from the rest of them, that he was more like Sirius, that he'd never stopped to consider the reasons he'd actually ended up in that house.

"What do you want to know?" James asks. He won't tell Regulus anything that Sirius wouldn't want him to. The potion is none of his business, and it's not worth spilling any secrets over. But still, as he stands with his hands braced against the bathroom counter and watches Regulus, his mind buzzes with the questions he could possibly ask, the information he could possibly demand.

"I don't know yet," he says instead, shrugging, "I'll think about it."