The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Falling Apart

James lowered a corner of the duvet to peek out at Sirius, secretly hoping that he was there in pursuit of a reconciliation of friendship... He peered over the edge of the fabric, his eyes roving over Sirius's stance as he stood there before them, clutching his wand.

"I'll survive, Rey..." he looked down and saw James peeking at him and he said coldly, "You're here."

Peter looked between the two in disbelief. "What's going on?" but nobody bothered to answer him.

"Yeah, I'm here," James replied from under the blankets, "Where else do you reckon I'd go?"

Sirius shrugged, but he muttered something that sounded like Slytherin, perhaps, where all the traitors go.

James rolled over and sat up, "Don't make me bleedin' hex you."

"Don't make me hex you," Sirius replied.

James rolled his eyes.

"Neither of you will hex the other," Remus said, "Now stop it."

"Whatever," James muttered and he flipped back over and pulled the duvet back over his head.

Sirius turned back to Remus, "I couldn't stand that ward another second."

"I understand."

"You know me, I like space, I like to be able to move about."

"I know," Remus nodded.

Sirius stood there, staring at the lump on James's bed.

Remus raised his eyebrow.

Peter bent over his bed and pulled out the box with the stash of sweets from beneath. "Licorice wand?" he offered Sirius. Sirius shook his head and he turned to look at the lump on James's bed. "Prongs -- licorice wand?"

"No."

Sirius paced relentlessly for sometime before finally Remus suggested he turn into Snuffles and settle down and he finally did, but it was very conspicuous when he climbed up on the bed across the room - the one that had gone untouched all year - and slithered under the covers so that he, too was nothing but a maroon lump. Remus looked over with a hurt expression on his face, but it was late and they were all bloody exhausted and run down, and it seemed a horrible idea to disturb the illusion of peace that had fallen over them. At least nobody was fighting or crying or anything and so, for the first time in a very very long time, Remus rolled over and fell asleep alone.

 Next morning, in the hospital wing, Regulus had another anxiety attack as the potion from the day before wore off, and he lay wheezing in his bed until Madam Pomfrey was able to mix a new one, staring blankly at the bed across the ward that had held his brother the night before.

The door opened to the ward and Pomfrey looked up. "No visitors, Mr. Potter. It's far too early. Run along and come back after lunch."

"It'll only take a second, Madam Pomfrey," he said gently. "Please?"

She made a face. She was busy mixing the potion, though, and it would be rather helpful to have somebody in there keeping an eye on Regulus, so she sighed and nodded James through. He went on through the doors and Regulus looked up, his face pale from lack of oxygen as he breathed rather sporadically and loud through his nose. He couldn't catch enough air even to speak and so he stared at James as he came closer.

"Look, it's probably for the best you can't scream at me, it'll give me a chance to say what I've got to," James said, and he slid onto the stool beside Regulus's bed. "I didn't mean to leave Maryrose at Grimmauld Place. I never, in a hundred-trillion years, would have done it on purpose, Regulus. I may have broken up with her, but I'll never stop caring for Maryrose. She was my first real girlfriend and I know you know how that feels 'cos she was yours, too..."