"Reg?" you called.
His body froze mid step, and then he turned around.
His face remained neutral, not an emotion crossing his features until he saw you there, standing in the middle of the hall. He opened his mouth but closed it again, his eyebrows rising slightly. He didn't move from his spot, he just observed with doubt.
"Y/N." he said, voice infuriatingly even and calm "You shouldn't be out this late, you'll get in trouble." he took a few steps towards you, reaching his hand towards you, and you let him.
"It's not that late." you said, your usual light gone from your voice as you glanced slightly to your side, Sirius eyes pleading as he shook his head. You bit the inside of your cheek and gave him a subtle nod, his chest falling in relief as backed away, just seconds later he was gone from where you had hid together.
Your attention returned back to Regulus, his hand taking yours in a gentle grasp. He pulled you to his side and started moving through the same halls you always walked to get back to your common room, the opposite direction of where he had come.
The tension filled the air in a way it had never happened between you two, the silence uncomfortable enough to make you want to pull away from his arm and confront him, Sirius' face flashing back in your mind and the desperation in his whispered words. "Don't." a simple mouthed word that made your stomach turn. You would have to wait to find out what was really happening. You knew Regulus would never tell you the truth, not about this. He would deny everything you just heard and somehow you knew you would believe him and forget about it for the night. But you weren't the only one who heard him, his words would return to you in dreams and you would wake up with his voice not only inside your head but from himself, and you knew Sirius would be the same if not worse. There was not denying what you two heard that night.
"I thought you would be reading by now." Regulus said, breaking the silence and just like that you were back next to your best friend. For a simple moment the last couple of minutes were erased from your head and you were back a few months ago, forcing Regulus to sneak out of your commons rooms late at night to bake cookies and make him live a little. Just the sound of his voice, those little words coming out of his mouth while he ignored the fact you knew more than he intended to let you know, while he acted as normal as he always did, that simple fact made your heartbeat slow down and put your mind at ease. Everything was the same as usual.
But then his voice turned cold and calculated, his words on repeat inside your head.
Pure enough
"I got a little hungry." you lied, keeping your eyes in the distance as you kept talking "I got started with it but my stomach wouldn't let me focus and I took a little walk to the kitchens."
"In this direction?" he asked, and you turned your head to him, confusion written all over your face until you realized where you were.
"I think I need more sleep than I realized." you laughed, taking a look around you as if you were taking the castle in for the first time.
"Here." he said, shaking his head as he reached his hand inside his bag, pulling an apple from inside it "You didn't even get to the kitchens, did you?"
"Well, I was on my way when you pulled me in the opposite direction."
"You were the one who called my name, if I remember correctly."
You nodded, fidgeting with the fruit in your hand as you suddenly turned to a loud noise behind you. Regulus turned in time with you, his eyes narrowed as he squeezed your hand "C'mon." he told you, starting to walk again.
Your eyes lingered in the empty hallways of the castle, turning with the shake of your head "I was surprised to see you out after dinner." you said "You're always in bed or at least in your common room by now."
You noticed how he clenched his jaw, licking his lips as he thought for a moment "Class got really interesting, we didn't realize what time it was until it was too late."
You hummed in response, not giving him a particular answer as you reached the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room.
"You've never told me what this class is about." you told him, turning to him as you stood by the door.
For the first time that night he looked surprised, his silence more than enough answer for you.
"It's not really a class, just a study group for defense against the dark arts." he answered, taking a step back.
"I could use some help in that area." you murmured, loud enough for him to hear you.
He let out a chuckle, raising an eyebrow in your direction "You do not."
"How do you know?" you asked, crossing your arms over your chest in defiance.
"Because you and I have competitions. Most of the time we're even, no one ever wins."
"Yet." you said, looking at him with a smile.
"So you know I'll win." he said back, taking a more confident stance. "Good. You were never a good loser."
You gasped, covering your mouth trying to muffle the loud sound of your voice. "I hope you take that back in the morning." you said, dramatically turning around in your spot as you moved your robes to hit him. "Goodnight." you said, whispering the answer to the riddle and stepping inside your common room, the last thing you heard being him wishing you goodnight.
Once the door closed you rested your entire weight against it, letting out a heavy sigh as you covered your face. "Merlin, help me." you muttered, sliding down to the floor.
*******
The next days were just like you remembered, like nothing had ever happened. You woke up and had breakfast with your house to then go to find Regulus and start the classes for the day. It wasn't difficult to act like everything was just as it used to be, because nothing had really changed and you weren't acting. If it was the case you had problems believing what had happened that night. Sometimes it felt like a bad dream, like Sirius' words got tangled inside your head enough to affect your dreams. But it wasn't a dream and the only person who shared your secret seemed to be doing his best effort to avoid you.
You hadn't seen Sirius since that night, his worried yet relieved face the last you saw of him. You had been looking discretely around the castle, keeping an eye out while you changed classes or while being at the Great Hall.
Is this what he felt when you locked yourself inside the Ravenclaw common room? The constant drop of your heart every time you saw someone with the slightest resemblance to him only to find it was another student with black hair or messy uniform. The worst came when you actually found black hair and grey eyes, the live image of Sirius drawing a smile on your face only to find green colors instead of scarlet red.
For the first time in your life the look of Regulus Black looking back at you with a smile didn't get the same reaction from you, instead your own smile dropped while you sighed.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, taking hold of his broom.
"No," you lied, placing a hand on your chest. You blew out a breath while pretending to breathe heavily "Just out of breath. I ran all the way here."
He looked at you with the raise of his eyebrow but said nothing, the rest of his team walking past him as they got out on the field. His eyes followed them for a second. "I have to go now," he told you, "I'll look for you after in your spot, okay?"
"Right." you said with a smile, holding him by his shoulders and pushing him out "Good luck." you said, giving him a pat on the back just as he walked away.
Defeated, you walked to your usual spot in the bleachers. Sitting down and dropping your bag beside you. You didn't feel like reading at the moment and the Slytherin practicing had never been able to capture your attention but now you stared with curiosity at Regulus. He had tried to explain the game to you before and though you understood the rules you didn't understand the game. What was the point? He already had so many things to do and he wasted time playing?
Maybe he needed a cover.
You can't think like that, you chastised yourself mentally.
But what if you were right?
A cover for what genius? you asked yourself.
Whatever he's planning, whatever he's doing.
He's still your best friend, he didn't suddenly turn into an evil villain.
You let out a heavy sigh, covering your face with your hands as you groaned. You needed to find Sirius.
*******
"I don't think it's a good idea." Peter whispered. He was the one leading the Marauders to the kitchens, walking on the front of the group under the invisibility cloak. The other just kept mumbling and trying to keep quiet. They knew at first sight no one would be able to see them but if they paid enough attention they would be able to see four pairs of shoes walking with no bodies around Hogwarts. The cloak was big but not big enough.
"Don't give much thought to it, Peter." James said, patting his friend on the back "Think of all the food we'll have by the end of our little adventure."
"Chocolate." Remus whispered, his mouth watering just at the thought.
They were just outside the kitchens, the Hufflepuff common room door somewhere near but that wasn't their goal tonight.
Peter stopped suddenly, making the three boys crash on each other's backs with low complaints "There someone here." Peter muttered, holding his hand up to indicate the other to stay put.
"Probably some of the elves." Sirius offered, trying to move past Peter when he was told to be quiet and pushed back to his place. Like it had always been there he started to hear it, a low hum coming from the kitchens as things were moved around. He knew that voice.
"C'mon," James said, all of them moving together until they quietly entered the kitchens.
The place was warm and the aroma that filled the air reminded each boy of different things: home, sweet, chocolate, warmth. The low hum was now a consistent song, the words a little out of tune but still beautiful and filled with no thoughts. Just a melody to fill the void of the late night hours.
Still they all froze at the sight of the person standing there cluelessly in their presence.
A hard nod from his head and they were all moving back, taking step after careful step to the door when a single spoon dropped to the floor, the little sound capturing your attention immediately.
You looked up, eyes narrowed as you walked closer to the source of the sound. You cleaned your hands with a small towel but still your face and some parts of your hair were covered with flour, you didn't seem to care. Not giving it much thought you picked up the spoon from the floor and put it back in place, looking around you suspiciously before you shrugged your shoulders and went back to the task at hand.
"I need sleep, I need sleep and I need more sleep." you mumbled with a breathless laugh "And what am I doing in the middle of the night?" you asked yourself, holding a wooden spoon in front of your face as if it was listening to you "Baking."
"They do say Ravenclaws are clever." you continued, holding the spoon correctly as you started mixing again. "Not me, though. Oh no, I leave everything until the pure pressure of deadlines makes me do it, I know things but not important things. I do read, but not what I'm supposed to read because honestly, who wants to read twelve pages of a single spell when all I need to know is what it does and how to point and shoot."
They tried, the four of them really tried but in the end Remus couldn't keep it in and he let out the smallest of laughs, covering his mouth the minute they saw your face shot up again. Sirius didn't even think about it, his hands on Peter's back as he pushed him with all his force.
Peter stumbled out of the cloak and its refuge, the noise masking the gasps from James and Remus as they stared with wide eyes at Sirius, then at Peter and finally at you. James wanted to laugh again at the sight of your face, the only way to describe it being like a deer caught in headlights.
"Peter!" you gasped, letting your body fall back as you supported your weight on the counter behind you "Where in Merlin's name did you come from?" you asked, voice higher than usual as you moved to take a look around, making sure no one else was around.
"Hello." he waved awkwardly, turning to look behind him and then back at you "I am just hiding." he explained.
You nodded your head even if you didn't believe him at all. "I didn't hear you, you really are quiet." you told him with a smile, "And what brings you to the kitchens on this lovely night? Other than hiding, of course." you added, taking a look in the oven before you closed it back and turned to Peter.
He smiled tightly, looking around as he scratched the back of his head "Midnight snacks..." he murmured, earning a laugh from you as you nodded.
"You and me, both." you said "Hey, this batch of cookies will be ready in five minutes, do you want some?" you said, never dropping your spoon as you pointed it at him.
"Really?" he asked, before he shook his head "No, I can't take your cookies."
You smiled, looking around at all the trays with already made cookies cooling off "I think I have enough to share."
He waited in silence, seeing you work as you pulled the hot trays from the oven. Making sure they were all done before you put the newly made trays inside, closing the oven and letting out a huff in relief.
You took a small bag you had ready, taking some of the cookies and placing them inside "Peter," you called, not looking at him and focused on your task "Can I ask you something?"
Peter swallowed hard but made a sound as a positive answer, something like a hum you had never heard from him.
"Have you seen Sirius lately?" you asked him, your voice calm but a hint of desperation slipping through your words "I've looked for him the last couple of days with no luck. I really want to talk to him and I can't help but feel like he's avoiding me."
"He 's not." He was quick to assure you, raising his hand in the air as a way to keep you calm. Or maybe keep himself calm. "We've all been busy lately. I'm certain it has nothing to do with you."
You gave him half a smile, lifting the tray of cookies you had just taken out of the oven. You took some of the cookies, a dark beautiful red color with chocolate chips on top filling the bag as you walked towards Peter.
"I hope you're right." you said, handing him the bag "Here, those are really special." you pointed inside, his eyes following you "It's my grandmother's red velvet cookies recipe. It's a big secret so I hope you enjoy them."
His smile was bright when he looked back at you "I'm sure I will." he said with a nod of his head.
Once he said his goodbyes he left, walking carefully around the kitchen until he got to the door. You were certain you heard murmurs once he dissapeared from your sight and you smiled to yourself. Should I go after him? He's probably right outside. You give it a quick thought before deciding it was better to leave it be for the night.
The conversation waiting for you was a difficult one and you knew it. Sirius knew it, probably being the reason behind his sudden disappearance. Better leave it for a time when you both are ready to face the truth of the situation.
"Goodnight, Sirius." you muttered to yourself, completely unaware of the boy standing just beside you in the shadows of the invisibility cloak.
The ghost of his voice reached your ears, a warmth filling your chest as you were certain you heard him answer.