A week later we sat in Defense against the dark arts, I'd only told Marlene about what happened that night in the Astronomy tower. Sirius still wouldn't tell me who his secret crush was. That same week Regulus enchanted a notebook that we could both write in and be able to see so we could stop passing notes. Marlene was quite fed up with being treated like an owl.
"Sirius, Regulus come with me please." Mcgonagall ordered as she walked into the Defense room. I looked over at James who was already looking at me. I turned to Remus, then Pete but no one knew what was going on. Remus leaned over and whispered something about a family member potentially passing or falling ill. Marlene placed a hand on my back from behind me with a sad smile. I looked back at James.
"We're going right?" I asked, he shook his head.
"Minnie wouldn't pull them out if it wasn't private. Sirius will tell us, s'not like he cares about the lot anyways." James muttered. I nodded and flipped my notebook open.
all good?
I wrote, I knew Regulus wouldn't see it right now but I hoped he would later. Our Professor walked to the front and smiled kindly.
"Alright, today we will be going over the unforgivable curses. Never to be used." I tuned out after that, I worried about Sirius and Regulus. More than anything I worried about the two of them being in a room together with only Minnie to stop them.
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"Where'd you disappear to earlier?" I asked Regulus as I plopped down beside him in the astronomy tower.
"I'd hardly say I disappeared. Mcgonagall made quite the show of pulling us out." He replied. I shrugged.
"Is everything alright?" I asked, he nodded. I grabbed my papers. "Well, I took notes if you want them." He laughed bitterly.
"Trust me darling. I don't need notes about the unforgivables, plenty of experience."
"What do you mean? How did you know-?" I asked as I gulped. He looked at me confused. I grabbed his hand as he looked away from me.
"I forget, Nova Potter never so much gets yelled at by her perfect parents, in her perfect family, in her perfect world."
"Regulus, what the fuck?"
"Y'know you're probably one of the only pure blood families that doesn't know from experience." He got up and started to pace. His voice rose with every word, but it also broke at the end.
"Slow down. Stop yelling at me. I haven't fucking done anything." I replied confused as I hopped up after him. I grabbed his shoulders. His body gave way under the weight and he hugged me. He began to cry and I stroked his hair. We stayed like that for a long while. I held him while he cried, truth be told it was the first time I'd ever seen him this vulnerable. He finally pulled himself off of me, wiped his tears and sat back down.
"The cruiciatus curse," He bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying again "I didn't know that was an unforgivable until today. I always forgave her for it." I knelt down next to him, he laid his head on my shoulder again.
"That's not your fault, honey. You didn't know."
"I always fucking forgave her, even when she hurt Sirius. I thought it was tough love." He laughed a little at the end. I cradled his head. "You know, this is the first time me and Sirius have been close enough to touch with both of us being conscious in over a year? Since he left."
"He didn't leave you."
"Yeah, he did. I made him. I pushed him out of the door one night, promised I was right behind him, sent him to you lot. I was never coming with, I couldn't come, someone had to deal with what I'd done. It was the one time I actually protected Sirius, and he hates me for it."I pulled him closer as I thought back to the night Sirius appeared on our doorstep.
