Bewitched | wolfstar au

Sixteen

"Alright, what the hell happened?" Regulus practically throws Remus on a the couch. He sits down in front of him, one leg on top of the other. James squeezes in between Remus and Mentos. The cat momentarily lifts her head to give James a how dare you look, then goes back to licking its belly. James inches a little closer Remus, who's practically vacuuming his lip into his mouth.

"Did he fight with you too?" James asks in a much quieter voice, a comforting hand on Remus' back. Remus shakes his head, looking at the scars on his hands. "Then what happened? Did he yell at you? I swear, I'll kill him-" Regulus is cut off by Remus speaking,

"He didn't."

He looks at Remus for a minute and lets out a loud sigh. "Then what? He kissed you?"

Silence.

"Shit," Regulus rises from his seat. "You two kissed?"

"Ha, I told you so," James scoffs at Regulus. "I know you did, Potter. I just didn't think it would happen so soon."

"Well, it did, so you better pay up. Ten galleons, Reg. Come on," James grins, holding his hand out. Remus looks up in horror. "You bet on us kissing? What the hell, James?"

"We bet on you kissing this month," James shrugs. He ruffles Remus' hair. With a pout, Remus moves away.

"Well, it doesn't matter. He didn't like it anyway." He says quietly.

"Wait, what?" Regulus frowns.

"He said we shouldn't."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" James yells, throwing his hands up. Mentos jumps into the air with a hiss, and disappears under Remus' dining table. "Great, now you've scared the cat," Regulus rolls his eyes, sitting back down.

"Fuck the cat," James mutters, wrapping an arm around Remus. "We know that Sirius is practically Remus-sexual by this point. We have to find out why he-"

The all-too-familiar hum of Sirius' motorbike puts an end to their conversation. "This conversation is not over," Regulus says, just in time for Sirius to walk in. He doesn't meet anyone's eyes.

"Right," Remus stands up. "Let's go outside, then."

***

"So? Maybe I just don't want him," Sirius says nonchalantly, not even looking up from his book. Regulus cups his mug of coffee, letting its pleasing warmth spread from his fingers and up his hands.

"You know you do, though," he takes a sip. Sirius doesn't say anything, just keeps his eyes focused on his book. "Sirius," Regulus calls. Sirius looks up, "What?"

"You can't run away from your feelings forever,"

"Maybe I can't. But I can try." Sirius turns back to his book.

Regulus bites his lip nervously. He wasn't expecting that. "But why? What's wrong with Remus?"

"I don't like him."

"Yes you do."

"I said," Sirius says slowly, "I don't like him."

Regulus watches him with widened eyes, not quite used to that bitterness in his voice. "You're going to regret this, Siri," he says softly, taking another sip of his drink. "I don't care," Sirius shrugs.

"But you do, Sirius," Regulus' lips quirk up in a small smile. "This is bothering you. Isn't that why you've been reading the same page since I put the kettle on?"

***

Magical is quite a mundane term for a wizard who dabbles in the arts every passing day of his life. For a wizard, it doesn't really carry the same awe or delight it would for a Muggle. But it's the one word Remus can use to describe watching the small shop slowly transfer into the real world from rough sketches of ink on parchment.