When Time Collides

They Know

this is short, ik, but ive been really busy and i wanted to get something out for you guys so here we are

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"And that one's my star," Sirius whispered, using his wand to point to the sky.

"I thought you weren't good at Astronomy," Harry whispered back.

As the weeks passed, the Marauders grew closer to several people. Sirius and Harry sparked a bond over past trauma (unknown to Sirius) and their nightly visits at the Astronomy Tower. It wasn't uncommon to find Remus, Hermione, Blaise, and sometimes Draco huddled together in the library reading a book or sharing notes. Ron and Pansy were often found with James, who also included Luna, Ginny, and Neville as they talked about random things. 

"My family has a weird fascination with Astronomy. Almost everyone was named after something related of the sort.  I was forced to memorize it. Now I just pretend I'm bad so I don't give them the satisfaction," Sirius smirked. 

Harry sighed. "Families are so complicated." 

Sirius frowned. "Is everything alright with James and Evans? I know Prongs can be a bit much at times — the lunatic starts decorating for Christmas when it's September. Who does that? — but he really loves her a-"

"No, everything's fine with them," Harry cut in quickly. He couldn't bear to think about what life would have been like had they been alive. "I'm speaking about it generally."

"And you're not just saying because I can't know anything about the future, right? Because if they are having problems, it's something I want to not happen." 

"It's not, I promise." 

Sirius let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Speaking of families, how's Reggie? I know you can't really say anything, but I kinda left Regulus on his own after I ran away and he has the tendency to please my parents."

"Um." Who was Regulus? Harry heard the name often, especially from Sirius, but he never got around to figuring out who this person was. 

Luckily, Sirius cut in before he could get around to asking. "I mean, I know I shouldn't have left him there. We always did everything with each other, dealt with our family together, attended those stupid parties together, wanted to go to Hogwarts together; it was kind of our thing — the Black brothers, y'know? I hate that he didn't follow me that night. I begged him to come with me." 

Harry swallowed thickly. He knew Sirius had a brother. Well, he'd only known until Dumbledore had said it, but he never heard of him until now. But if Sirius never mentioned him, then something bad must have happened to him.

"Regulus is alright." The name felt foreign on his tongue. The words that left his mouth tasted metallic and bitter. He could be lying and he wouldn't know himself. He hated how he had to tell Sirius this. He hated how he didn't know if he was telling the truth. "Regulus is fine, you both made up." 

Sirius sat up and let out a shaky breath. "I knew it. That arsehole couldn't live without me." He wiped his eyes and grinned. "Look, there's his star." 

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The two slumped down at the breakfast table. This scene was vaguely familiar from last time, except now, Sirius or Harry couldn't be bothered stay tired. 

Hermione and James were both at the table. To Sirius' surprise, Remus was as well. 

"Prongsy, how'd you manage to get Remy up so early?" Sirius asked, hugging Remus from behind. 

"Oi, quit that," Remus snapped. 

"Still moody then. Here you go, Remy," Sirius said. He looked over at James and began laughing. "You're hair is still covered in glitter! It's been there for weeks!"