Some Day | Wolfstar

Seven

"Tell me, Sirius. Have you ever seen this before? At least something like it?" Dumbledore asked gently, peering at him through his half moon spectacles. Sirius hesitated, then shook his head.

They were seated at Dumbledore's desk.

"Perhaps we should give the boy some time, headmaster," Professor McGonagall interjected, and Dumbledore sighed. He nodded his head, "Do you suppose you could excuse Mr. Potter for today?"

Professor McGonagall consented. She escorted Sirius back to the Gryffindor common room. "You will not be expected to return for your lessons today. I will inform your teachers of this. Mister Potter will be here soon." She gave him a small smile.

Before she could exit the common room, Sirius called her. She turned around. "Yes?"

"Will he... Regulus..."

"We will fight for his life. No child is worthy of such a fate, Sirius. I will personally look into the signs. We must find out what could have caused this first."

Sirius wanted her to stay. But he watched her leave, and realised that never before had he felt so helpless.

***

When the lessons were finally over, Remus' first thought was to find Sirius and James. Then he remembered Peter. He ran to the North Tower, just in time to catch Lily. "Hey, Remus. Where's Sirius? Is he in trouble?"

"I.. don't... know," Remus panted. "Came to find Peter," he looked beyond her shoulder, trying to spot his friend. But the corridor was empty.

"Peter left as soon as the lesson was over. I stayed behind to clear some things up." Lily frowned. Remus nodded. He bid her a hasty goodbye and ran as fast as he could into the Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady screamed after him, asking him why he was so rude to her, but now was not the time.

The common room was already full of Gryffindors, but there was no sign of any of his friends. He rushed into their dorm. Empty.

Remus huffed, and dropped his books on his bed. That's when he saw the note pinned to his pillow. He unfolded it in a hurry.

Shrieking Shack. Hurry.

It was James, no doubt. Remus tucked the note into his pocket and ran out of the tower, bumping into a fifth year on the way. "Sorry!" He yelled, but didn't stop running. He ran and ran and ran, out of the school and into the grounds, further and further away until he reached the Whomping Willow.

The massive tree wailed and swung its branches wildly. It was almost as if it could sense him there. He pointed his wand at the roots, and a jet of blue sparks flew out of it. They struck a small knob at the base of a root, and the tree stilled.

Remus dove into the opening under the tree, and landed on the wooden floorboards of the Shrieking Shack.

"Remus?" It was James. "It's me," Remus panted. "Come on up!" James yelled, and Remus ran up the stairs. He stumbled into the first bedroom he found, and let out a soft gasp.

Sirius was curled up by the window, his hair falling forward in messy curls. His knees were pulled up, arms wrapped around them. He raised his head when he heard Remus walk in. James was sitting on the floor next to him, and arm around Sirius.

When Sirius' eyes met his, Remus wanted to break down sobbing. He looked so sad, like a little boy. A very, very sad little boy.

"Sirius," he mumbled, rushing to kneel in front of him. Sirius bit his lip, and Remus knew it was because he was trying not to cry.

"What happened?" Remus asked, tearing his eyes away from his best friend to look at James. James sighed. "I'll tell you later tonight. For now, I think we should just be with Pads," he gave Sirius' shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Ignoring the curiosity burning in his mind, he crawled next to Sirius and leaned against the wall. He wanted to ask where Peter was, but decided against it.

As soon as Remus settled next to Sirius, James could see how they subconsciously leaned towards each other. Despite the gravity of the situation, he was touched by the sight. On any other day, he would've pointed it out, but he knew that right now, it was best to give Sirius what he needed. Love and comfort.

James stood up. "I think I'm gonna pay Honeyduke's a visit. Get us something to eat... something to drink..." he smiled at his two friends. Sirius watched him leave, and Remus watched Sirius.

As soon as James was out, Sirius leaned himself against Remus, whose arms were made to hold him. They held each other tight, more for comfort than for warmth. It took a few minutes for the silence to be broken.

"Can I try doing your hair?" Remus whispered. He felt Sirius lift his head, and their eyes met. "You know how to do hairstyles?" A ghost of a smile played at Sirius' lips, but his dark eyes were still empty.

"Well, I'm sure I can tie a better bun than you," Remus smiled lightly, but Sirius was not amused. "Will it make me look nice?" He asked after some thought. "You always look nice, Pads."

And that's how Remus' fingers found their way into Sirius' unruly curls, threading through them, searching for and eliminating any knots. After several botched attempts, Remus had managed to pull Sirius' hair into a neat bun at the back of his head.

"Too neat," Sirius shook his head, and pulled at the roots of his hair a little to loosen it. "Better now."

Remus stared for a moment, reached into Sirius' pocket, and pulled his wand out. He carefully poked it into Sirius' hair. "Now it's perfect." He smiled.

"Regulus was attacked by someone." Sirius spoke up after some time, his voice catching on his brother's name. Remus felt his stomach drop. "What? What do you mean attacked? When?"

"I don't know... no one knows. Hagrid found him in the Forbidden Forest today. He... It's got to be some kind of curse, Remus. It was like his blood was turning black. It started at his shoulder, and it was spreading down his arm and up his neck... like... like veins. Dumbledore says he's never seen anything like it. No one's ever heard of it... and... what was he even doing in the forest?"

Remus frowned. "A curse? It must be dark arts. Obviously. But if Dumbledore himself has never seen anything like it... then..." he trailed off.

"Madam Pomfrey says it's spreading. Hagrid swears there was no black marks on his neck when he found Regulus. Madam Pomfrey said that no matter what, we can't let it get to his heart, but it's... It's so close and I don't know if I can... I don't know.." Sirius looked down, fists clenched and chest heaving. He didn't want to cry.

"It's okay. Just cry it out. It's okay." Remus held him a little tighter.

Sirius didn't want to cry. But the tears fell anyway.

And once they started, there was no stopping them. They came in broken streams, rolled down his cheeks and blossomed into dark patches on his shirt once they fell from his face.

They didn't stop, not when James walked in with a bag full of sweets and three bottles of Butterbeer.

And when he sat down beside them and held them both, they only fell faster. The three boys ended up spending the night there. Even if all else went up in flames, they would always have each other.