a beautiful world | wolfstar

only they could

And so, the exams commenced. For about a week the castle was caught up in a hushed quiet and the scratch of pens against paper. If you walked through the corridors, you would see every eye heavy with dark circles. Every back was hunched, every footstep weary.

But exams must also end, and end they did. Eventually.

It was the Sunday immediately after that there was another Wolfstar meeting, late into the night. Sirius and Remus were asleep in their dormitory. James and Lily were catching up with each other.

Running her fingers through Marlene's hair, Dorcas yawned and leaned further back into the armchair. Her girlfriend snuggled further into her side. Peter was sitting on the sofa, next to Alice, who was texting Frank.

A lovely calm. But one which could not last.

"It's not fair!" Marlene bellowed suddenly.

"Jesus Christ!" yelled Dorcas.

"What's not fair, Marls?" asked Alice.

"Remus! And Sirius! Why the fucking hell aren't they together yet?!"

Alice bit her lip. "I don't know. But..."

"But?" Marlene persisted.

There was a pause, and Alice looked towards Peter, who smiled. "I think something's changed."

"What do you mean?"

"He means," Dorcas supplied, "that they've become more comfortable around each other now."

"Yeah," said Alice. "Like... like maybe not Sirius so much? Because I think he's still trying to move on. But - "

"But Remus seems to be trying more now," finished Marlene. Her eyes shone for a moment. "His performance was amazing, wasn't it?"

The others all nodded, smiling. "I'm so glad he won," Peter said proudly.

"Also, did you notice Sirius disappeared immediately afterwards?"

"Did he?" Dorcas turned to Peter, surprised.

"Yeah. And they came back together."

A quiet settled upon them. The two boys were not so much in denial now, it seemed.

And there had been some change. The way they held eye contact a little longer. The way the walked a little closer to each other. The way they both smiled when the other appeared.

It was frustrating. But perhaps... perhaps something might happen. Something wonderful.

Alice grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear. "They are so cute."

"They really, really are," Dorcas agreed.

As the silence fell back between them once more. Soon, they would be going to bed. But we shall leave them here, dozing on various pieces of furniture, while the night continued to darken.

***

Sometimes, when it was quiet, Regulus would think. Just think.

Maybe he would think of his parents, with their cold manners and medieval tendencies. Maybe he'd remember the taste of smoke in his throat. Or maybe he'd contemplate the peculiar beauty of manic brown eyes, when the light hit them just right. Of course, Barty wasn't allowed to hear his thoughts (although it might have made life easier).

But recently, he'd wiled away the hours thinking of his brother. And Remus Lupin.

Everyone who knew the two boys were certain that they loved each other. And yet, for some reason, they hadn't managed to come to an understanding over it. Regulus could see it so clearly. So why couldn't they?