MAROON

LXVI. The War: The Opposing Team

"Good. Cause he doesn't like you."

"Yeah, I noticed. It does sting less though knowing it's cause he's gay and that there isn't just some other girl who is prettier that he likes. How long have you two been together?"

"Since the beginning of April," Evan answered. That sort of marked the end of their conversation and the three of them put their masks on.

They explored the woods in silence. The three of them ended up splitting up to find the aurors faster. About thirty minutes into his search, Evan heard yells and the sound of spells. A twig snapped behind him and someone grabbed him from behind, slamming his face against the nearest tree trunk. He felt blood trickle down from his nose. It hurt like hell but he fought the cry of pain.

The person grabbed his wand out of his pocket before shoving him to the ground and pinning him down with their boot. He felt his breath catch in his chest because the person was Pandora. She stared at the wand in recognition and confusion before looking back down at his masked face. "Evan?"

She reached down to take his mask off and he wiped some of the blood away. "Hey, sis."

She didn't say anything and she just grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to where all the action was happening.

Barty was kneeling on the ground. Regulus was standing in front of him with his wand pointed at him. James was standing behind Barty. Remus was holding onto Zahara and Kian was hovering beside Regulus.

Panic coursed through Evans veins. "Please don't hurt him, Regulus."

"He hurt me," Regulus stated sounding so conflicted and broken.

"Please, Reg. I'm begging you. I need him, I can't lose him." He then turned to his twin. "Please, Dora. Back me up on this."

Pandora just stared at her feet. "You aren't good people anymore, Evan. You killed people."

Evan felt his breath catch in his chest. "You know about that?"

"Regulus saw you and Barty kill the Hobbs twins. Tanya and Timothy are dead because you killed them," Kian explained.

Evan gave Pandora a pleading look. "Please, Pandy. I had no choice you have to believe me."

"You had a choice. You chose him," Pandora stated firmly and emotionless but Evan could see the pain in her eyes.

"Barty only joined the death eaters because I did! Sure maybe he fucked up with the outing you guys thing but that doesn't mean you should hurt him! You are better than this, Regulus. You are better than your parents and Bellatrix. They want you to crack. Don't give them what they want."

"You are only saying that all because you don't want your boyfriend to get hurt! You don't give a shit about Regulus. You two only care about him when your life depends on it and I'm fucking sick of it!" Remus confessed. "Pandora and Regulus don't deserve you two. They deserve people like Xenophilius and James who actually care about them."

"That's not true," Evan quickly corrected but the words didn't seem true as he said them and it terrified him. He was becoming a monster like his father.

"Also you fucked up telling me about you and Barty," James stated. "How about I give you two the same treatment you gave us?"

"You wouldn't dare," Barty stated from his spot on the ground, sounding terrified.

"Of course I wouldn't because I'm a good person," James agreed. "Do whatever you want, Reg. They've put us through enough shit that I think a small little curse is justified."

Evan watched the moment Regulus Black cracked and he cast the torturing spell. Evan covered his ears trying to drown out his boyfriend's screams. He didn't remove his hands until the red light died out. The aurors were all gone and only the three of them remained.

Evan rushed to Barty's side. His breathing was shaky which gave away the fact that he was having a panic attack. "Look at me, Bee. Your dad isn't here. He isn't going to hurt you. You are safe with me." Barty still didn't meet his gaze. "Come on, Bee. I need you to look at me."

Evan pressed a quick kiss to Barty's lips which finally gained Barty's attention. He told Barty to match his breathing and after a couple minutes, Barty's breathing was back under control.

Barty folded himself into Evan and started to sob into the croon of his neck. Evan wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. He met Zahara's gaze. She looked concerned and upset.

Barty pulled away after a bit and looked him in the eye. "I- I did that to him, Ev. What I did destroyed him. I- I killed Regulus. James too."

Evan felt his heart shatter into a million pieces and he pulled Barty back into his arms. "They were never going to make it out of the war the same."

"Regulus is fucking seventeen! I've always been fucked up but he hasn't always been. I outed him because I was a fucking idiot and now he's never going to be the same again. Dumbledore has him working as a spy and the fate of the wizarding world pretty much sits on his fucking shoulders. He never would have agreed to do any of this if I hadn't killed some part of him and I hate myself for it. I hate myself for going to Rita."

Zahara squatted down next to them and she wrapped her arms around both of them. Evan truly didn't know what to say.

He didn't know how many more people he would kill. He didn't know how long it was before he hit the point of insanity. He didn't know what he believed in. He didn't know who he was anymore.

The only things he could still identify within him were his love for Barty and his desire to kill Alastor Moody.

***

I'm posting the Aidan fic after I publish this chapter. Anyone who is interested can definitely read it now. Except if you are interested in reading it and you don't want to be spoiled for everyone's future kids, I would skip the prologue.