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In the Tunnel


Kreacher dropped them outside the Shrieking Shack, at Sirius’s request. First he brought Lily, leaving her on the stoop of the Shack. Then James, who was still carrying Maryrose’s body, his arms wrapped about her, holding her close to his chest, his hands shaking from the cold and the weight of her. And finally, Regulus and Sirius themselves. And the elf bowed low before his two masters.

‘Thank you, Kreacher,” Reguuls said, “Now go home before Mother notices you’re missing. Speaking to no one of what we’ve just done, no matter what. Even if you are directly questioned about the cave.”

“Yes Master Regulus,” Kreacher nodded eagerly… and with a crack, he had gone.

Sirius hurriedly turned to James. “We should leave the body here in the Shack and go and get Dumbledore or Minnie and tell them what’s happened. They’ll come and fetch it.”

Jame shook his head, “I’m not leaving her.”

Sirius looked frustrated, “We can’t very well go carrying a dead body into the castle. That’s madness. The rumors it would start!”

James said again, “I’m not leaving her.”

“I’ll stay with James,” Lily offered, “You two go ahead and tell Dumbledore and we’ll wait here for you.”

Sirius looked surprised. Lily Evans, volunteering to be alone with James Potter? On purpose? Would wonders never cease? He nodded, though, and he put his palm on James’s shoulder. “Is that alright, mate?”

“Yeah, it’s fine, whatever works,” James answered.

Sirius knew then that he was far too caught up in protecting Maryrose to realize the significance of Lily Evans’s offer.

Sirius opened up the front door of the Shrieking Shack. Regulus was the only one who had never seen it and his eyes were wide with nervousness. “What about the ghosts?” he asked as Sirius held wide the door for James to duck through with Maryrose. Reguuls stared at his brother with wide, questioning eyes. “They’re said to be particularly hostile…”

“Oh yes, very hostile,” Sirius’s mouth curved into a smirk. “Luckily, the ghost happens to be my boyfriend, so we’ll be alright.”

Regulus’s eyes were confused.

Sirius stared at Regulus, “C’mon. Don’t act like you don’t know about Remus. I know you know.”

Regulus blinked a moment, still confused, and Sirius pushed him through the door gently and closed the door behind them, relocking it from the inside. Regulus stumbled in over the dusty floorboards and looked around. There were great scratches through the wall paper and marks from claws and torn up blankets and with loads of fur matted into them. His stomach knotted. “This is where Remus changes,” he whispered to Sirius.

Sirius nodded.

Reguuls shivered. He was in the lair of a werewolf - the thought terrified him. He walked gingerly into the room, looking around at the dark fireplace with crumbling bricks, and the dilapidated staircase that was missing several steps and the old couch that sunk in the middle and was coated with a fine mist of fur - grey and black fur sort of mixed together and woven into the floral pattern of the couch’s fabric. Broken furniture about, and, peculiarly, great gouges in the wood in the ceiling. He pointed, “How did the wolf do that?”

Sirius looked up. “He didn’t… a, uh, dear friend did that.”

Regulus stared up, “What with like an ax or something? Why?”

Sirius stared at Regulus, and said, very levelly, “An ax? Merlin, no. His antlers.”

Before Regulus could ask anything more, Sirius stepped past Regulus to help Lily spread a blanket over the couch - one that had relatively fewer clumps of fur stuck to it, and James slowly lowered Maryrose onto the couch. James knelt beside her and gently smoothed her hair and Regulus stepped up tremulously and stared down at her from over James’s shoulders and his fingers climbed instinctively to his medallion and clutched the pendant in his fist.

Lily and Sirius both stood a bit away, letting the two boys say goodbye a moment before moving forward with their plans. This was probably the only chance they’d get to in private. They were by the staircase and Sirius sank onto the steps with a heavy sigh, covering his eyes as he did. Lily sat beside him and stroked his curved back gently with her palm. “Are you alright, Sirius?” she asked.

He nodded, though his throat felt constricted and thick.

“You were really brave, protecting Regulus like you did,” Lily commented.

“I had to,” Sirius replied. He glanced up at Regulus across the room, kneeling beside James at Maryrose’s side. Holding her hand in his own. Sirius said, “You would’ve done the same for Petunia.”

Lily nodded.

Sirius sighed again and rubbed his eyes.

“Maybe it’ll bring you two closer together, like you wanted,” Lily suggested.

“Maybe,” Sirius murmured.

When James and Regulus had had time alone with the body, enough time as they needed to say goodbye, Sirius went over and gently put his palm on Regulus’s shoulder. “C’mon, little brother,” Sirius said, “We have to go and get Dumbledore.”

Regulus nodded, then stood up and he tore himself away from looking at Maryrose, his heart breaking at the thought that he wouldn’t ever see her again.

“Be safe,” Sirius said, and he hugged Lily Evans and petted James’s head. James swatted him away like he was a great gnat or something, and Sirius looked at Lily.

“We’ll be okay,” Lily said to answer the imploring look in Sirius’s eyes.

Regulus was numb with the loss and so he allowed Sirius to steer him to a trap door in the floor and was surprised to find stairs leading down into darkness. “What is this?” he asked, looking up at Sirius. It looked like a grave.

“It’s the way back to Hogwarts,” Sirius replied, and he jumped down into the tunnel. “Lumos,” he said and his wand flashed bright, illuminating the packed-dirt walls of the tunnel. Regulus reluctantly climbed down into the tunnel and looked around, unable to see the end from the beginning.

Sirius guided Regulus along, his arm over his brother’s shoulders like Regulus had seen him do to his Marauder friends many times, wand held aloft to illuminate their path. Neither brother knew what to say, both of them walked along in silence. Then, finally, Sirius spoke. “Snuffles is your patronus.”

Regulus nodded.

Sirius looked at Regulus for a quick glance. “I didn’t think you remembered him.”

Regulus glanced up at Sirius, “Of course I remember Snuffles. I thought it was you who had forgotten him.”

Sirius looked away, at the path ahead, “I did,” he admitted.

“I wish that Snuffles was real,” Regulus said.

Sirius looked at him for a long moment, then turned forward, “I’m sure he is, somewhere.” His fist tightened ‘round his wand.

Regulus looked around. “So is it scary, being in love with a werewolf?”

Sirius shook his head, “Nawh. He’s brilliant. The best human being I’ve ever known in my entire life.”

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll change in front you?” Regulus asked, “And bite you?”

Sirius shook his head. “No.”

“I would be,” Regulus said.

Sirius didn’t answer.

Regulus was quiet a long time, they were nearly to the Whomping Willow before he said anything more. He suddenly stopped walking and Sirius looked down at him. “What is it?” he asked.

Regulus looked up, “What am I gonna do, Sirius?”

“About what, Reg?”

“About the Dark Lord,” Regulus whispered, his voice shaking. “If he finds out what I’ve done, he’ll kill me and put me in that cave, too.” His eyes were red and the edges rimmed with tears. “I don’t want to die, Sirius, I’m scared of that water. I’ve had so many nightmares about that cave, I can’t sleep at night. I’m always falling forever and ever and drowning.”

Sirius took a deep breath and he said, “I won’t let him lay a finger on you. I’ll fucking fight him with my bare hands before he’ll touch you.”

Regulus shivered.

“It’ll be alright, Reg,” Sirius said.

Regulus wished he believed that as fiercely as it sounded like Sirius did. He wished he knew things would be okay, but they just seemed so bleak, so dismal, so empty.

He knew that every time he closed his eyes, he would see Maryrose’s still, pale face as she’d looked laying there on the couch just now. He wished he could remember her smile or her laugh instead… but those things were replaced, burned away by the horror of the almost sad expression her face had held in death just now.

Sirius’s arm fell away from Regulus’s shoulder as he reached for the lever that would open up the knot at the bottom of the tree and Regulus recognized it as the place that Kreacher was meant to seal up the year before and he suddenly felt quite ashamed at the things he’d done and been involved in for Voldemort. He felt sick. All those things, all leading to deaths, to people losing people as he’d lost Maryrose. Good people and bad people alike, all the people were daughters and sons, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers… They were cousins, aunts, uncles, best friends, boyfriends, girlfriends… They all had stories to tell whose endings would never come, had been stolen away by the greed of one man’s quest for eternal life and absolute power, a man whose cruelty allowed him to do these things without a hint of guilt, who allowed him to create such monsters as the inferi out of people as pure of heart, with souls as beautiful as Maryrose had been everyday of her life.

Regulus followed Sirius across the grounds, running up the path to the castle doors, and he vowed as he ran that whatever it took, however long it took, if it was the very last thing that he ever did, he would avenge Maryrose. He would make the Dark Lord pay for what he had done to her.