Chapter Text
Look, when Remus said he wanted to get revenge and hurt Sirius he wasn’t joking. After all, the other boy had royally fucked up any chance of friendship - or relationship, for that matter - they might have in the future by telling Snape how to get through the Whomping Willow.
The thing is, Remus didn’t expect to befriend the Slytherins meanwhile. He didn’t expect, at all, to become friends with another Black, especially not after knowing the consequences of trusting one of them. But there he was, sitting on one of the green velvet couches in the Slytherin Common Room, next to Regulus Black, talking as if they had known each other and been friends their whole lives.
Of course, this bond didn’t happen instantly; it had been a long way to get there. Because at first, a week after the prank, Remus and Regulus barely tolerated the presence of the other one; either because Regulus was a Black, or because Remus was Sirius’ friend.
April 4th, 1977
The moon had been awful. Every inch of his body was hurting, and he was covered in new bruises, new cuts, and new wounds. No one had ever come to the Shack, and there was no one now with Remus in the hospital. His worries grew with each passing moment. Had he hurt someone? Had he done something to his friends? Still, none of his fears explained why their friends weren’t there the night before, or here now.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long for Poppy to kindly clarify everything for him. He immediately felt nauseous, a prickling feeling in his stomach making him want to throw up. But that feeling of sickness was nothing compared to the feeling of hurt he felt. The feeling of having been betrayed, because the one who was supposed to be his best friend used him as a pawn. And he also felt heartbroken, because that best friend was also the boy who held Remus’ heart in his hands, and he had crushed it in the worst way possible.
He really, really thought he could have something more than a friendship with Sirius. But Remus guessed that maybe the few kisses that they had shared didn’t mean anything. Or at least, they didn’t mean enough for Sirius to think about him before pulling the cruelest prank Remus could think of.
Now, all that was forgotten. Every ounce of love he could ever feel for Sirius Black was gone, vanished alongside the trust he had in his friend - if you could call him that. All that love and devotion had been replaced by fury, by rage. Replaced by the desire to make Sirius hurt the same way he was hurting right now.
So, Remus’ plan was to completely ignore him. He knew his words could cut deep, but nothing could hurt Sirius Black more than being utterly ignored by the person who used to give him his undivided attention. After all, Sirius had always been a sucker for attention.
He didn’t follow his plan. He tried, he really tried, but his anger got the best of him. He ended up shouting every profanity and insult under the sun to his former friend, only stopping when James intervened saying it was enough. Even though the anger hadn’t dissipated, he felt a kind of bitter pride at the sight of a tear sliding down Sirius’ face, giving him the satisfaction he needed.
Unfortunately, late at night, once the anger was completely gone, he was left with the feeling of consuming loneliness he had only felt the night he was bitten. It didn’t take long for the tears to come, and for the first time in years, Remus didn’t try to stop them. He cried silently, hidden by the curtains around his bed, hoping that James and Peter were too asleep to hear the poorly hidden sobs.
Remus had never thought he could bore so much hatred for one person. Oh, how fast things can change.
April 9th, 1977
Things didn’t get better. In fact, they got more tense every day, especially when the four sixth-year Gryffindors were together in the same room or class. Remus tried to avoid those situations as much as he could, and he even skipped his lessons and missed meals in order to stay away from Sirius.
Peter and James, who noticed how Remus was isolating himself, tried day after day to talk to him and spend time with him, swearing that they were on his side, but it hurt too much to only be three Marauders, knowing the reason why the fourth one wasn’t there.
Besides, Remus knew that Sirius was like a brother to James, and it was only a matter of time before James cracked and started talking to Sirius again. Trying to avoid getting more hurt, Remus distanced himself from them before they went back to Sirius. He knew that would happen sooner or later, so he wanted to be prepared by then.
He could not hang out with the girls either, because lately Mary and Lily spent too much time together (it had started to become suspicious), and Marlene spent her every free second on the Quidditch pitch, swearing that her team would beat the Slytherins this year.
So, Remus was alone most days, wondering why Sirius had to ruin the only good thing Remus ever had.
But even though he felt extremely lonely during the day, the nights were far worse. Remus couldn’t sleep, not when every time he closed his eyes, memories of the Marauders flooded his mind, making him want to rip his hair out. It was unfair, that Remus couldn’t even shut his eyes while Sirius was resting calmly on the bed next to his. Since he couldn’t bear to stay in the same room as Sirius, he wandered the dark castle hallways all night, trying to find new alcoves, new secret passages and new ways to forget that he and Sirius were ever friends.
It was on one of these night adventures, in mid-April, when he bumped into Regulus Black for the first time. The younger Black brother was sat in one of the alcoves in the Ravenclaw Tower, and it was impossible to see him unless you were paying attention or, in Remus’ case, had an exceptionally good hearing. In the quietness of the castle, Remus could hear Regulus breathe and the way his fingertips brushed the pages of the book he was reading. He looked up, only to find the Slytherin already looking at him.
“Black?”
“Lupin,” he greeted back, his tone harsh.
Remus knew they weren’t friends, they didn’t even get along as schoolmates, but he couldn’t control the urge to ask the other boy what the hell he was doing there, but the boy didn’t answer, he just returned to reading the book on his lap.
“Don’t you have a dorm?” Remus asked again, curiously.
“I could tell you the same thing,” he responded, not even glancing at Remus, as if he couldn’t stand the sight of him.
“I’m doing Prefect rounds,” he lied.
“You are not. Why don’t you continue planning whatever prank you are trying to pull, and leave me alone?” Regulus said, and at that moment Remus was thankful that the other boy wasn’t looking at him because otherwise, he would’ve seen the look of pure sorrow written on his face.
Remus decided to ignore Regulus’ accusation and the ache in his chest. “You haven’t answered my question, though. Why aren’t you in your dorm?”
“Why is it any of your incumbency?”
Remus just shrugged. It really wasn’t any of his business, but for some reason, it intrigued him.
When Regulus saw that Remus hadn’t moved, he sighed, placing the book on his lap again and looking at Remus with disdain. “Why can’t you be like any other of your friends and ignore me?”
“I don’t know, really. I was just curious,” he said.
Regulus rolled his eyes at his answer. “Is this some kind of prank? Has my brother put you up to do whatever this is?”
At the mention of Sirius, Remus went still and quiet. Unfortunately for him, this time Regulus was looking at him and noticed the way he frowned.
“Look, whatever you are doing, leave me out of it, alright?” The younger Black said, taking the book from his lap again and continuing to read it.
Remus took that as his cue to leave the Ravenclaw Tower. Regulus Black didn’t leave his mind; for the whole night, Remus kept wondering about the Slytherin boy.
April 17th, 1977
Less than a week after their first encounter, they bumped into each other again. This time, Remus was about to exit the library, but he was too deep in thought to pay attention to his surroundings. Regulus, on the other hand, was talking with a Slytherin girl Remus had only seen in Potions and Quidditch matches, so he wasn’t paying attention either. Their shoulders collided, making the books they were carrying fall to the floor and make a strenuous sound, earning them a glare from Madam Pince.
Remus blinked, confused and not fully understanding what had just happened, but Regulus' voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
“Watch it, Lupin,” he snarled.
“What? This was your fault as much as it was mine, you know,” he said.
“Whatever,” he said, bending to pick up the books from the floor, and then immediately leaving, not even glancing in Remus’ direction.
Remus watched Regulus go, astonished by the frustration in the other boy’s voice. Maybe, just like his brother, he wasn’t used to other people getting in his way, he thought.
“Bloody prick,” he said, now frustrated as well, when the boy was far enough to hear him. “Fucking entitled little-”
“Oi, don’t say that,” the girl who was with Regulus said. Remus had been too concentrated watching Regulus that he hadn’t noticed that the girl had stayed.
“What?”
“It’s just- a family situation. He’s mad because Sirius has been ignoring him, or something like that, and he just takes it on other people. Don’t mind him,” the girl explained. “Here, let me help,” she said as she helped him grab his books.
“Thanks.”
“I’m Dorcas, by the way,” she introduced herself.
“Remus,” he said, reaching out to shake their hands.
“I know who you are, Regulus spent the whole other night complaining about you. Something about you interrupting his reading or whatever,” she laughed.
“God, he’s so dramatic,” just like his brother, he thought.
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
They heard Regulus calling Dorcas’ name, followed by a loud shush from Madam Pince.
“Well, it has been nice meeting the boy who made Regulus get his nose out of a book for a while,” she said, waving goodbye as she entered the library.
“Bye,” he said, startled by the conversation with Dorcas.
So, Regulus was mad at Sirius too. Well, that was some information Remus could use to his advantage. And so, his mind began to do what it did best: plotting. Because what could hurt more Sirius than Remus hanging out with his little brother, who he wanted nothing to do with since he had run away from home?
April 25th, 1977
Remus couldn’t help but keep repeating the morning after the full moon inside his head, and it was driving him crazy. It was late at night, so his mind was going places he did his best to avoid during the day by keeping himself busy. But at night, when the castle was silent and dark, his thoughts became louder, making it impossible for Remus to push them away, no matter how hard he tried.
Anger was blinding him. How could he have ever trusted a Black? After all, his name said everything he needed to know.
“Moony, you know I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through, I swear, hurting you was the last thing I wanted,” the boy begged.
“That’s the thing, isn’t it? You didn’t think of me. You didn’t think about Remus. You thought about the wolf, and you thought about it as a pawn for your silly game.”
“But I never wanted to hurt you!”
“But you did. You betrayed me.”
“No! No, I didn’t!”
“Really? Then what would you call this?” He said, sarcasm as well as rage clear in his voice.
“I- I didn’t- I wanted to hurt Snape, not you. He was saying awful things about you and he knew- he said you were-”
“I don’t care what people like Snape say, Sirius. I already know what he thinks of me. What I care about is what my friends think and say about me. Thanks for letting me know your thoughts, although they would’ve been more appreciated if you told me before befriending you, so I could’ve avoided this shit.”
“But I don’t think badly of you,” Sirius blurted out.
“No. You think of me as a weapon for you to use when you want someone you don’t like out of your way.”
“Moony-”
“Shut up. Don’t call me that, ever again. You don’t have the right to, not after the shit you pulled.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“And I’m sorry I couldn’t see you for what you really are, Black. Running away, being a Gryffindor, living with the Potters don’t make you less of a Black, Sirius,” he spat as if his name was venom in his mouth.
The part of his brain that wanted revenge watched Sirius’ reaction carefully, wanting to enjoy every moment of his suffering. He smirked when he saw the hurt in the boy’s grey eyes, starting to fill with tears. Good, he thought. Let him suffer.
“You don’t mean that,” he said in a barely audible whisper.
“Oh, believe me. I do,” Remus scoffed. “You are an entitled posh brat who throws a tantrum every time things don’t go the way you want them to go. You are a selfish, self-absorbed prick who does not think about the feelings of other people as long as it benefits you. If I look closely enough, I can see your parents in you, Sirius. I guess they did a good job at teaching you, didn’t they? A shame that you aren’t the Black heir now, but I’m sure that if you tell them what you did they’ll be willing to welcome you back.”
The worst part of Remus was pleased by the way Sirius’ face contorted, wanting to stop the tears from falling. A wide winning smirk was plastered on Remus’ face. But, what had he won?
Stop.
He needed to stop thinking about that, it was a waste of his time.
He got up, put a decent shirt on, grabbed the book he had on his night table and started walking towards his favourite place to hide: a very well-hidden alcove there was near the Transfiguration classroom.
“Are you stalking me, Lupin?” The voice of the younger Black startled him, he really did not expect to find him there.
“You again? God, why are you everywhere I go?”
“Me? In any case, you are everywhere I go,” Regulus said.
“What? As if I don’t have better things to do than follow you everywhere, for fuck’s sake.”
“Then why are you here?”
“This is my alcove! I always come here when I want to read in peace.”
“No, this is my alcove. It’s been my hiding spot since my second year, and no one ever has come here.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? That’s bullshite. God, you Blacks are always ruining my favourite places,” he complained.
“You are so rude and bad-mannered, you know,” Regulus said, clearly bothered by Remus’ presence.
“I don’t care, Black, you are such a posh boy.”
“Well, much better than being whatever you are,” he said.
“Between you and your brother, your mother must be proud, huh? She raised you to be intolerant shits, and that’s exactly what you are.”
“Oh, she is everything but proud of us, I can assure you that,” he said frowning at the mention of his mother. “Besides, Sirius? He is the rebel Gryffindor, so how can my mother be proud of that?”
There was something in Regulus’ voice when he talked about his brother. Was it resentment? Hatred? Remus couldn’t tell. He thought again of his plan to get back at Sirius; maybe he should ask Regulus and give it a go.
“Well, he might resemble your family more than you give him credit for,” Remus said, and that got Regulus’ full attention.
“What? I hope he doesn’t hear you say that,” Regulus said while he laughed.
“Don’t worry, he already knows what I think of him,” Remus explained easily, and Regulus looked bewildered.
“I- I don’t understand?”
“Let’s just say that your brother is not very… trustworthy and empathic. Does it come with being Black or is it just him being a tosser?” He asked, rhetorically.
“Oh. I take it you are not friends anymore?”
“We are far from being friends right now.”
“Good for you, then,” he said. “It was about time you realized what a wanker he is.”
“A shame we didn’t see it earlier,” Remus sighed. “I heard you are having problems with him as well?”
“What? Who told you that?”
“Well, don’t blame her, alright? But the other day in the library, when we bumped into each other, you were kind of rude, you know. So your friend, Dorcas, who is much nicer than you, I might add, told me not to ignore you because you were having some family problems.”
“That girl talks too much.”
“But are you mad at him, then?” He asked. He needed to know where Regulus stood regarding his brother, so he could put his plan into action.
“Why do you care, Lupin? Are you trying to make me say something bad about him so you can run to Sirius later and tell him?” He asked, suspicious of Remus’ behaviour.
“No, I was being earnest when I said we aren’t on speaking terms.”
Regulus squinted his eyes at him, still not fully trusting him. “Well, if you must know, yes, I am mad at him, but I still don’t know why you care about that.”
“Why?”
“Why all this curiosity, all of a sudden? We haven’t talked during the five years we have spent at Hogwarts, and we are certainly not friends. So, tell me. Why do you want to know this?”
“Because I may or may not have a plan to get back to Sirius, so I need to understand your level of anger so I can know how far can I take it.”
“To get back at him? What did he do?”
“Nah-ah. You have to answer first.”
Regulus looked reluctant to tell him his reasons, and for a hot minute, Remus thought he wouldn’t have the revenge he had planned.
“He has been ignoring me since he ran away. Well, it’s not like we talked a lot when we were living in the same house, but now that he lives his perfect life with Potter, it’s like he wants nothing to do with me, even though he knows the reasons why I had to stay there.”
“You had reasons to stay there? ” Remus blurted out, surprised. “Sorry, not my business. Continue.”
“He knows I don’t agree with what our dear mother says, but he still chose to ignore me completely.”
And oh. Because Remus didn’t know that. He had always thought Regulus agreed with his parents’ point of view when it came to blood purity and those things. He believed everything Sirius told them about Regulus. To be honest, Remus never thought of Regulus as his own person, he always thought of him as the other Black brother, an extension of Sirius. The brother who was on the wrong side. Maybe, the only person who was wrong there was Sirius.
“Surprised, huh? I bet you thought I was a blood purist,” Regulus said as if he had read his mind, and Remus felt his cheeks grow red from embarrassment. “Yeah, all the Gryffindors think that about the Slytherins.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry, it’s like a requisite to be a true Gryffindor,” he laughed as if he didn’t mind Remus thinking such things about him. “So, what was the plan you were talking about?”
Hearing Regulus say that made Remus smirk in a way that you knew they were planning something.
“I don’t think you’ll like the idea, but the thing is, we both would get something out of this. I get to ignore your brother, and he won’t be able to ignore you anymore.”
“Talk, Lupin,” he said impatiently.
“Well, I was thinking about us spending time together.” Regulus looked at him weirdly. “ Not like that. Just pretending to be friends, or whatever.”
“And how’s that supposed to anger Sirius?”
“Think about it. What would Sirius hate more than us being friends? The boy he desperately wants attention and forgiveness from, being friends with the brother he is trying so hard to ignore. He would have to choose between either leaving me alone or stopping ignoring you,” he explained.
“Are you sure this would work? It doesn’t seem as good of a plan as you made it seem to be.”
“Do you want to get back at him or not?” Remus asked.
“Why do you want to get vengeance so desperately?”
“He broke my trust. He almost made my worst nightmare become true. He knew it was what I feared the most, and he still did it.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“No. Maybe, when we are friends, I will tell you the rest of the story,” he said, smirking.
“I don’t want to be rude or whatever, but I don’t think he cares that much about any of us to be bothered by this plan.”
And maybe Regulus was right. Because if Sirius had ever cared about him, he had a very strange way of showing it.
“We could try. Just sit at the same table in the library, or study together in the Great Hall, and if we don’t get a reaction, we don’t have to talk again. Just think about it, alright?”
Regulus stood quiet for a minute, thinking about the proposition Remus had handed him. “Fine, I’ll think about it. Now, piss off and find another place to hide, because this one is mine,” Regulus said.
Remus did what he was told, not wanting to lower the chances of Regulus participating in his revenge.
April 28th, 1977
“Remus?” A strained voice asked. “Remus? Please, stop ignoring me. I don’t care what you do but stop ignoring me,” Sirius begged, once he entered their dorm, returning from dinner.
Remus didn’t answer, determined to ignore the other boy until he got tired of begging and shut up. But Sirius didn’t seem to have a sense of embarrassment, because he kept asking for Remus' forgiveness.
Remus kept his act of disregard, until Sirius said, “Remus, I’m trying. I really am trying. What do you want me to do?”
“I need you to stop this. Don’t you understand? I don’t want anything from you, and there’s nothing you can give me to earn my forgiveness. You have to be able to handle the consequences of your actions,” he spat angrily. “You did what I told you I feared the most. There is nothing you can do to change that back.”
“I know what I did! Stop reminding me! I know, and I’m so sorry for it!” Sirius said desperately, still imploring Remus to forgive him.
“Well, I’ll keep reminding you as long as Snape keeps reminding me that I almost killed him. Seems fair, doesn’t it?” His voice was harsh, and his tone bore so much hatred that it surprised him.
Sirius looked at the floor without saying another word, ashamed because he knew Remus was right.
The silence was too loud and tense, and it was starting to suffocate Remus, so he decided he had to go outside to breathe fresh air.
“Don’t talk to me again,” he said, and before Sirius could answer, he was already exiting the dorm.
Remus, feeling more hatred than ever, needed Regulus to agree to follow his plan, wanting to hurt Sirius as much as he could. But he was starting to lose hope, thinking Regulus had decided he didn’t want to bother that much to get back at his brother. It had been three days since the offer, and the younger boy hadn’t said a word to him, so Remus needed to find another way to get his revenge.
The thing is, you can’t plan revenge when you are blinded by anger, because it will most likely hurt you more than the person targeted. So, in an attempt to cool off before planning another way to get back at Sirius, he dived into his Ancient Runes homework he had due next week.
After an hour into his homework, he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat, and when he looked up from his book he saw none other than Regulus Black.
“Black,” he said doing a slight bow with his head.
“Lupin. I’m in.”
“Actually?”
“Yes. Only one thing,” Regulus said. “We are not friends, Lupin. We are allies. However you want to call it, but not friends. Is that clear?”
“Sure, sure,” he said, not really caring about that as long as he could get what he wanted. “Is that all?”
“I think so. So, where do you want to start?”
Again, a smirk appeared on Remus’ face, and this time, it was on Regulus’ too.
April 29th, 1977
The two boys were sat at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall - Regulus’ pride couldn’t take sitting in the Gryffindor one - and they were discussing all the aspects of the plan, trying to know what would draw Sirius’ attention more.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Regulus asked.
“I think so. We just have to pretend we are studying together, it is not that hard.”
“Ugh,” Regulus said, as if the idea of spending time with him was disgusting.
“God, you don’t have to be so clear. I get it, you don’t like me. But for fuck’s sake, at least pretend to while we are working together,” Remus said to him.
“I’m already starting to regret it,” he sighed.
“Well, you have time to back down until your brother sees us.”
“Are you calling me a coward?” Regulus asked offended.
“Hey, you are putting words in my mouth now, Black,” Remus held his hands up in defence.
“I’m still wondering why I accepted this,” he shook his head in disapproval.
“Because you despise your brother more than you hate me?” Remus offered.
“Yeah, that might be true. You are the most… acceptable one out of your group.”
“Really?”
“Yes, well. My brother is definitely worse than you, and Potter is an insufferable git who believes that everyone kisses his feet. And Pettigrew… I don’t know enough about him to have an opinion, but I’m sure he’s just as bad as the other two.”
“So you don’t think I’m intolerable, then?”
“Oh, no. You are. Just slightly less than the others,” he said, smirking.
Remus scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Has anyone told you that you are a pleasure to be around?”
“Yes, actually. My friends think highly of me,” Regulus answered to the obvious rhetorical question.
“I’m surprised anyone would put up with that attitude of yours, but if they are all Slytherins then I think I might understand why you have friends.”
“So we are talking about Houses now? And for your information, I do have a Ravenclaw friend.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Pandora Lovegood.”
“I don’t think that counts. That girl is high at all times, I don’t think she even realizes who you are,” Remus laughed.
“Merlin, I think you might be even more insufferable than Potter. Do you ever-”
“Shut up,” Remus interrupted quickly the moment his eyes saw the raven-haired Gryffindor boy walk into the Great Hall.
“Excuse me?” Regulus looked offended by the way Remus had cut him mid-sentence.
“Your brother just came in, just pretend we are having a great time,” Remus whispered.
“I’ll try my best,” the other boy said dramatically.
So, they pretended they were studying together, even though they weren’t even in the same year. A few seconds later, they heard the strenuous sound of dishes and cutlery falling on the floor and breaking into a million pieces. The two boys raised their eyes, finding a very confused and hurt Sirius Black staring at them, his jaw almost hitting the floor.
At the sight of that, the only thing Remus could do was smile devilishly at him, and then he raised his eyebrows as if he was asking ‘what are you looking at?’
Not even a minute after that, Sirius was storming out of the Great Hall. Regulus looked at Remus surprised, like he hadn't expected their plan to work.
“Shit. I didn’t think we had that effect on him,” Regulus sounded shocked.
“I told you it would work,” Remus said proudly.
“Do you think he will ask you in the dorms?”
“Uh… I think that’s highly improbable,” he said, remembering the argument they had yesterday. “Most likely he will ignore it happened, at least until he sees us again. Then, I don’t know what will he do.”
“Whatever he does, you have to tell me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll tell you.”
“Perfect. Now, go away, I want to finish my assignments without you bothering me.”
“Are you always this rude?”
“Go. Away.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll see you soon enough, I guess,” Remus said, as he got up from the table and walked out of the hall, earning a few disapproving glances both from the Slytherins and Gryffindors along the way.
“Rumor has it you are hanging out with little Black,” James asked him later that day.
“I’m not. We are just studying together.”
“You are not even in the same classes?”
“Yeah, but I needed help with my Astronomy assignment.”
“Why not ask Sirius, then,” James blurted out before thinking, his eyes widening when he realized what he had said. “Shit, sorry. I didn’t think.”
“Clearly.”
James sighed. “Look, Remus. Lately you’ve withdrawn from us, and we miss you.”
“Do you miss Sirius as well?”
“This is not about him.”
“Everything is about him, James. That is the problem. I can’t hang out with you knowing that sooner or later, you’ll want your brother back, and you’ll forgive him. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, I really do. But I can’t put myself out there when I know that you’ll go back to him.”
“But I won’t. I promise I’m on your side,” James looked hurt. He felt like the worst person in the world for hurting him, but sometimes, you need to be selfish and think about yourself before others.
Remus smiled at him sadly. “James. I know. But you and Sirius are like brothers. He is not himself without you, and you are not yourself without him. I don't care about him, but I care about you, and I want you to be happy. And I guess it’s better to lose a friend than to lose a brother, isn’t it?”
“But you are my best friend, Remus. I- I won’t forgive him until you do. I promise.”
“You don’t have to do that, Prongs. I won’t forgive him, but I know I can’t make you do that. And I’m not asking you to. He didn’t do anything to you, after all.”
“You… you don’t think you’ll forgive him?”
“How could I?”
“Ever?”
“James, he ruined everything. I could’ve been expelled. I could’ve become a killer. Then executed, or sent to Azkaban. Only because he felt like he wanted Snape out of his way. I can’t forgive him,” he said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
“I know, I know. Sorry,” he sighed. “Are you really friends with Regulus, then?”
“We are not friends, we just were revising. But he is nice, though.”
“I don’t think nice is the word to describe him.”
“Really? He’s been alright with me,” and Remus had to fight the urge to burst out laughing when he said that.
“When did- How did it even happen?” James asked, clearly confused.
“Library. We both enjoy that place quite a lot,” he lied.
“Oh. That’s nice, I guess.”
There was an awkward silence. That was Sirius’ fault too, because it never happened before the prank.
“I think I’m going to bed, then,” James said.
“Good night, then. And Prongs, forgive him when you think it’s time to. Don’t wait for me to do it, alright?”
“Alright.”