"All right, we meet here by dawn," said Callie after laying down the next plan she had been cooking for a while. "Pack your necessities. We won't be returning to Hogwarts after we destroy the cup. We would also need a charmed tent if you could find one. And bring the polyjuice potion I asked you for."
"Not to worry." Sirius winked.
A faint smile dawned upon her face. "Off you go. Bid your temporary goodbyes to your loved ones." Callie pertained to James. She knew going out of Hogwarts without any adult would edge them in danger. A near-death danger. She made sure James knew that and the possible consequences that included Lily. But he never backed down.
"It's better dying protecting Lily than not, right?" James said when she warned him.
Every strand of her hair stood hearing that. Images of him dying, protecting Lily and Harry flashed right before her eyes. Fear crept up next but she brushed it away. Callie kept reminding herself of the reason she chose to bring down Voldemort instead of looking for ways to go back home.
The Marauders walked out of the shack, the reality of actually defeating Voldemort slowly sinking in then that they have to go out the safe walls of Hogwarts. But Regulus stayed.
He remained standing in front of her, unmoving. He would've been a statue only if he wasn't breathing and blinking.
Callie didn't know what to do. Things still weren't clear with Regulus. Sure, he stabbed Voldemort and indirectly told her which side he was on. But she thought he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. She thought he didn't want to do a move that'd only bring disgrace to his family. She did try to think outside the box just like what Remus suggested to her. But there really was nothing else outside.
Oh, god. If Walburga and Orion discovered what he did against the Dark Lord... Fear crept upon her for Regulus' well-being. And Voldemort, oh no, he would've felt a part of his soul dying. And if he knew who did it... Crap, crap, crap, crap.
"Callie," he called that snapped her eyes to him. They were wandering around the floor.
"I would like to apologise. For what I've said and did that night." She understood which night. "It was a lie that I do not want us closer. And it was wrong of me to snap at you. To ignore and not pay attention to you then not give an explanation as to why. I'm sorry."
Callie blinked for a moment as she absorbed his apology. Then tears built up around her eyes. Regulus did not expect that.
"You're confusing me." Finally, she spoke to him. "I can't, I can't understand you anymore. I thought I had you all figured out. I thought we were already friends but then you just... you shut me out. And yeah, you're right to apologise because I deserve an explanation. I deserve to know why. Because I would understand whatever your reason was if you had just told me. But you didn't."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"And now, you're coming here. I thought we already parted ways because you don't want to befriend a muggle like me?"
"I never said that. I never accepted your goodbye. I never told you."
"Exactly why I thought of that. I kept asking myself why. If I did anything wrong, if-if your parents caught you befriending me or-or Sirius. Or maybe Voldemort found out what you're doing so he threatened you or if you really just love your family so much you are willing to trade a friend for them. You probably would. Because who am I? I'm just your friend--"
"You are not just a friend, Callie."
"Then what am I?! Please Regulus just tell me what I am in your life!"
"You're a companion. Not just a friend; someone more than that. Companion is not the exact word, but Callie I can't- I can't go on without you."
She stepped back and gasped a little in surprise. Regulus did not just say that and told her he had no feelings for her. That wasn't fair. She had accepted he would never like her the way she did and had trained her mind and heart to think so.
"Please don't say it like that," she pleaded like a kid.
"How am I supposed to say it? For sixteen years of my life, Callie, I had live not needing you. But now, I just lost you for days and I... I don't want to say goodbye yet. I don't want to let you go yet."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You have to know, Regulus! Because you're being unfair to me! You told me you don't like me back but now you're making me feel like you do!"
He couldn't speak after that. He thought so, too, that he didn't like her romantically one way or another. But now that Callie pointed that out, he couldn't justify himself.
"You're messing with my heart." Her voice broke, telling him how unfair it was.
"I'm sorry." Regulus couldn't dare look at her so he settled for the floor.
Callie nodded as she wiped the fallen tears away with the back of her hand. "If you really are willing to help us, then you are welcome. You should prepare too. I'm going to get rest." She turned around to climb up to her bed.
It was his turn to nod. "I shall wait for you to accept all my apologies." And Regulus exited, not noticing how she froze hearing that.
She just realised she didn't accept his apology. None of his sorry's. Callie didn't want to plant hard feelings for anyone, especially him. But she also couldn't bring herself to accept them. She was hurt. And she was more than glad to make Regulus well aware of that.
Though he hoped she'd forgive him. He already found the person who wouldn't judge him for everything he had done, for understanding every bit of him. And he had made the grave mistake of pushing her away. But he was glad not to keep that going for too long. As soon as they meet once more, Regulus will do everything in his power to keep her. Though there was something he had to understand first: his feelings for Callie.
He was so sure before it was nothing sort of romantic and just gratefulness. Albeit after Callie mentioned earlier that he wasn't being clear, he found himself lost in his own maze of a mind.
So he resorted to looking at a different perspective. Through asking his friends. Although Regulus didn't know how to start. He had no idea how to ask his friends, Evan Rosier and Barty Crouch Jr., if whatever he was feeling was romantic or not.
He rolled his eyes at himself. The downside of not knowing how it feels to fall in love. Sucks.
Maybe the idea was bad. They'd just ask questions he didn't want them to. It would be a long explanation. Another thing, he'd have to mention his betrayal of the Dark Lord that both his friends looked up to.
"You're awfully quiet," Evan pointed out at dinner across from Regulus at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall.
Regulus barely touched his food. He was still trying to figure out his feelings. Stupid feelings.
"Isn't he always?" Barty retorted beside him.
Evan rolled his eyes. "I meant a different kind of quiet." He turned to their friend who had begun eating. "Does it have anything to do with your conversation with your brother?" Oh, they did hear the unexpected event between Regulus and his brother that morning at breakfast.
"None."
"You may be great at lying to anyone. But we know you, Regulus, to know when you're lying," Barty chimed.
"Then, you may not know me well enough to know when I'm telling the truth and not," he retorted.
"It does not have anything to do with you brother but it has something to do with someone else," Evan deduced. He noted the slight, yet still visible sudden halt of Regulus' movement. "Am I right?"
His mind panicked to pick an answer hence it took him a few seconds to answer and not stutter. "No."
"That's lying," Evan nonchalantly declared as he took a spoonful of his food.
Barty smirked for their blond friend was right. He put his utensils down and rested his forearms on the table, leaning forward to their friend. "There is someone and we didn't know? From which family is she from? Which house is she in? What's her name? And more importantly, what did she do to thaw the heart of Slytherin's prince, Regulus Black?"
Regulus rolled his eyes. "There is no one."
"You're breaking our hearts." Barty dramatically held his chest and faked a pout.
"You look disgusting," both Evan and Regulus said at the same time.
"Well, isn't he?"
"Please stop."
The trio rolled their eyes at the same time for different reasons. Regulus and Evan were exasperated and Barty was because of their reactions.
"There's no use lying to us, Regulus," Evan said as they went back to their plates. "We know you well enough to know if you're hiding something. And you have been, for weeks now. Do you think we're fool enough not to notice your frequent disappearance?"
He sighed. Fine, he was caught. And as Eavn said, there was no use hiding too much anymore. "Fine. I am hiding something from you. And I am hiding it because I don't want you to see it yet."
He didn't even know when he'd let his friends meet Callie. They too were devotees of the Dark Lord and were planning to get the dark mark the next year or after graduating from Hogwarts. He was the first to make a move after his parents hinted they wanted the mark on him earlier than his peers.
Regulus had no idea how they will react after knowing that the something he was hiding was a person intending to destroy the Dark Lord. Furthermore, he had no idea what they'd say after knowing he, too, was making moves against the person they look up to the most.
"When are we going to see it?" Barty asked.
"I don't know." Maybe when the Dark Lord was gone, he wanted to add but that would only raise suspicions. He didn't want that.
Realising how they would enter the world of Death Eaters, Regulus opened a topic. "Are you certain about getting the... mark?" he whispered the last word. Even though rumours had been going around about him having the Dark Mark himself, he'd rather still keep it a secret.
"Of course," Barty shrugged.
"Why? Scared of the missions yet?" Evan teased, unbeknownst to him just how dark the dark side is.
"I'm just asking. You should understand what you'll do before doing it." Wise words for someone who had done the said mistake. He'd like to save his friends too from the Dark Lord.
"I'm sure we know what we're doing," Evan said with little care. "Right, Evan?"
Evan just nodded.
"See? Stop worrying. Or I'd think you're not Regulus but just someone pretending to be him after drinking a polyjuice potion."
He forced a smile at Barty's remark.
°°°
"Lily," James muttered like a kid. His lips pouted as he sat down on the couch beside his girlfriend who was busy reading an essay she had written for their homework. His right arm snaked around her waist but Lily still paid no attention to him, checking for possible mistakes in her work.
It was late at night. Everyone was on their bed but them. The Gryffindor common room was void of any noise. As if its occupants who usually had the energy of the sun had dimmed like how stars would when they die. And even on the cold night, the fireplace kept them warm.
He nuzzled his face on her neck to further get her to notice him. He even brushed her skin with his lashes to tickle her and his hair on her face to annoy her. And it worked.
"James!" Lily finally complained. "What is it?" She put her parchment down and looked at him.
James stared at her. "You know I love you, right?"
Her forehead wrinkled at his randomness. But then again, he was James Potter. "'Course I do."
"And that no matter what happened, I will always love you, right?"
Lily's heart was beginning to race. She wasn't liking his affections. They seemed to have another meaning beneath that. She broke free from his embrace to face him. James sat better to face her with worry yet determination in his eyes.
"Why are you saying that?" she asked with suspicion.
But James denied it with a shake of his head. "With everything that's happening with You-Know-Who, I'm afraid I'll never see you again."
Her creased forehead didn't cease but a silly smile formed on her lips, stopping a chuckle. Though she could still feel her fast-beating heart in her throat. "Why would that happen?"
"I don't know. All I know is that I'm scared to lose you."
Lily reached for James' hand and clasped her fingers with his, staring at every difference between them with all the love in her eyes. She shook her head. "You will never lose me." She looked up at him. "And I will never lose you. Right?"
James nodded though uncertainty bugged him on his back. "Yes."
All that racing heart and cold fingers and anxiety washed away with James' voice like the ocean brushing away the little sands on the beach. Her eyes stared at her man with all the love she had. Lily never thought she would ever love James "that bloody nitwit" (her insult to him) Potter the way she did. And James never expected he would ever get the heart of Lily "the bonker muggle" Evans.
They were too deep staring into each other's sea-deep eyes to realise how their face are inching closer.
Closer... and closer...
Until James' lips brushed against Lily's.
Until his soft, plum lips pressed against her chapped ones.
And their eyes shut.
Lily melted. Her back fell on the couch's. Her arms wrapped around his neck.
James took the lead. His right hand held her cheek and jaw, caressing her face, tracing her features.
That was both their first kiss. And James hoped it wouldn't be their last.
°°°
A/N: Lily, Barty, and Evan were not in the original outline... they just appeared out of nowhere! I just thought it would be nice to show some people who are closely related to the Marauders so I picked James and Regulus. Since James has Lily and she may or may not lose him here... And these days I'm getting into Reg, Barty, and Evan as Slytherin's trio so I gave them some cameo.
Anyways! Speaking of outline, we're already halfway through it! I want to finish this before this year ends because... I've been writing this for more than a year so... yeah XD. And I have a lot of drafts to finish and stupid ideas I want to write but I can't because I'm busy with this and another one and another one.
And we're at 27k+ reads?! What?! You guys are so amazing, you have no idea! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! It means the world to me so much!
Have a good day or night!