16

Chapter 15 Woes of a Black

By Wednesday of the following week, the gossip and hubbub surrounding Harry's outburst and the prank had finally died down. Harry had not enacted any of the wonderful revenge schemes he'd planned out, but he quickly discovered that just giving Sirius or James a disapproving look when their comments turned too harsh or their prank plans started turning into intimidation attempts put a rather abrupt stop to the conversation. James really seemed to be trying to do better. Sirius, on the other hand, would scowl and pout and not speak directly to Harry.

In fact, Sirius was still rather angry about Harry's intervention with the prank and didn't really speak to him anyway. And that hurt rather more than Harry had expected. Peter and James kept telling him that Sirius would get over it soon enough and to not let it get to him. But that wasn't as easy as they made it sound, and Harry already knew that Sirius was definitely one to cling to a grudge.

Wednesday morning when the post arrived, that became quite a bit more obvious. Owls swooped into the Great Hall with a sound of rushing wings, just like every morning. Harry rarely paid attention, seeing as there was no one he could either send or receive mail from. Occasionally he and Tonks would send notes back and forth just for fun, and they'd sent two joint letters back to Tom at the Leaky Cauldron, but that was it.

The other Marauders didn't often receive mail, either. Except for James, who wrote home weekly and always received a prompt reply. Remus only got a letter after every full moon from his mum, asking how the transformation had gone. Peter got a letter from home every few weeks. Sirius was happy enough to add his own post scripts to James's letters and read the replies, but he never sent any letters himself. Harry wasn't even sure Sirius had his own owl.

So, it was a surprise to all of them when a black, regal-looking owl swooped down and landed gracefully in front of Sirius. Harry and the others stared at the owl in shock. Sirius had gone slightly pale. Then the owl hooted impatiently and ruffled its feathers in annoyance.

"Isn't that…" James began.

"Your mum's owl?" Peter finished. Sirius nodded wordlessly.

Almost automatically, Harry glanced across the Great Hall toward the Slytherin table, just in time to see another owl that looked just as proper as the one trying to bite Sirius's hand land in front of Regulus. The younger boy's brow furrowed as he took the letter and scanned the return address.

"What could she possibly want with you now?" James said suddenly, full of righteous indignation. "I thought you were shot of her when you left over the summer."

"I thought I was," Sirius muttered, finally taking the letter and sending the owl off with a curse and an irritated shooing motion. His hands, however, shook slightly as he broke the seal.

Remus bumped Sirius's shoulder in reassurance. "At least it's not a howler," he offered.

"Only because Dumbledore banned them after first year," Sirius muttered again. He scanned through the contents of his letter, his knuckles whitening and his jaw stiff. "Bitch," he grumbled. Then suddenly he went completely white. He crumpled up the letter, slammed it down on the table, then left without a word.

"Should we go after him?" Peter asked worriedly.

There was a rustling noise. Harry looked up to see Remus smoothing out the parchment. His brow furrowed as he read, his eyes narrowing dangerously. There was even a hint of yellow in his slitted eyes.

"Give him some space," Remus finally said. "We can talk after classes are over." He was calm, but there was an undercurrent of anger there that Harry had rarely heard, and it made him nervous.

"Can I see that?" Harry asked. If it was anything like the last letter Sirius had received, he would be upset and angry all day. Harry wanted to know what the damage was this time.

Remus nodded and handed over the slightly crumpled parchment. Harry skimmed it over while Peter and James read over his shoulder. His anger grew with every line. It was a load of bull about upholding the Black family honor, representing their great and noble house. But that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was the thinly veiled insults and slights at Sirius that were so far from true it was awful. There was not a single mention of Sirius's birthday a short while ago. It ended with a firm demand that Sirius return home for the Christmas holidays—or else.

"That bitch," James growled. His wand tip sparked red, nearly setting fire to the tablecloth. Peter's hands shook, but his face was calm. Harry's ears were ringing. He wanted to march right over to Grimmauld Place and hex Walburga Black within an inch of her life. The Dursleys had been bad, but even they had never dared speak against Harry the way Walburga Black spoke against her son.

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Remus said after a moment—after the parchment in Harry's hands had burned down to ash while Peter and James looked on with grim satisfaction. That undercurrent of danger was still there in his voice, but his expression was calm and composed. "Come on. We'd better go if we don't want to be late for class."

The others murmured in agreement and got to their feet. They walked mostly in silence, with the occasional muttered insult. They arrived in the Transfiguration classroom with a few minutes to spare, but Sirius was nowhere to be seen. Finally, just as the bell rang, Sirius marched in. He was still a bit pale, but he looked more angry now than anything else. However, when McGonagall told him off for arriving almost late, he gave her a cheeky grin.

"Sorry, Professor. It'll probably happen again." Sirius slid into his seat beside James, grinning as McGonagall glared at him. Then she began class.

With end-of-term exams coming up, the professors were really laying the theory down hard. Even though Harry and the other Marauders had all but mastered the application halfway through the spring curriculum, the theory was another matter entirely. So they were forced to buckle down and pay attention. It wasn't until lunchtime that they were able to actually talk to Sirius about the letter. Predicting a difficult conversation that they didn't want anyone eavesdropping on, the group elected for lunch in the kitchens.

After a few moments of awkward silence, while the house elves bustled around preparing their food, James finally spoke.

"You okay, Padfoot?"

"Fine," Sirius grumbled, not even trying to hide his bad mood anymore.

"You know we don't believe you. Not in the slightest. We did read the letter after you left," Remus pointed out.

"You aren't actually going back there, are you?" James asked worriedly.

Sirius scoffed. "You read the letter, right? Did it sound like I had a choice?"

"You could always just not go," Harry said frankly. At least you have somewhere to go, he thought.

Sirius scoffed again but didn't reply.

Suddenly James slammed his hands down on the table. "I am not letting you go back there! Not after what happened last summer."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Prongs, but not even you can stand up to my mother when she wants something," Sirius said with a wry twist to his lips. "Merlin knows how many times I tried, and look where that got me," he muttered.

"Just…what did happen last summer?" Harry asked hesitantly. He knew Sirius had run away, and that it hadn't been a pleasant experience. But he didn't know the details, and for James to be so adamant…he had to be missing something.

Sirius's face closed immediately and the others exchanged uncomfortable looks. But before any of them could say anything, Sirius suddenly shrugged off his robes and eased his shirt off his shoulders.

"Is this telling enough?" he said bitterly.

Harry stared in horror at the scar on Sirius's shoulder where the words "blood traitor" had been branded into his skin. Another thick scar wrapped over his shoulder at the base of his neck and over his collarbone that couldn't have been caused by a werewolf's claws, like the thin, parallel scars that raked across his back. Harry's stomach rebelled. The Dursleys had been bad, but they'd only ever pushed him around and roughed him up a bit. Their neglect had left scars, but not the kind that could be seen.

"But—that—"

"You see? My dear old mum always gets what she wants, because when she doesn't, it hurts. A lot." Sirius pulled his shirt back on and his robe and didn't say anything else. For a long while, none of them spoke. No one seemed to know what to say.

Harry found himself watching Sirius. The bitterness from before began to drain away, leaving pure, unadulterated fear in his dark eyes. Just what did one have to go through to reduce someone as strong as Sirius to that kind of fear?

Suddenly the bell tolled, ending their lunch period. Sirius's mask immediately went back up—but that fear was still there. Well hidden, but there.

James squeezed Sirius's shoulder firmly. "We'll find a way to get you out of there. I swear."

Sirius gave James a shaky smile in return. "Thanks, Prongs."

Sirius didn't speak to Harry the rest of the day. Granted, he didn't speak much at all, in the aftermath of their conversation. But there was less anger and more uncertainty when it came to Harry. He wondered if Sirius regretted revealing so much to him.

Potions class was especially tense. Harry was lost in thought and barely controlling some measure of anger toward Sirius's so-called family, enough that Severus grew quite irritated with him.

"Oy! Watch it!" Severus exclaimed just as Harry was about to add the wrong ingredient to their partner-brewed Draught of Valor. "What's got your knickers in a twist?"

"I don't wear knickers," Harry retorted, trying to divert Severus's attention.

Severus's lip twitched, though Harry couldn't tell if it was in amusement or irritation. "Has it got something to do with Black running away crying from breakfast after a letter from his dear mum?"

Harry elbowed him roughly, his face darkening. "He wasn't crying, and that is none of your business," he said fiercely. "What did Regulus's letter from his 'dear mum' say?"

"None of your business. Talk to him yourself if you want answers."

Harry grumbled a little. "Fine. Tell him to meet me in the library after dinner tonight."

"Why?"

"So I can help him with homework, obviously," Harry drawled, hiding a faint smirk as he imitated his future potions professor.

"You're not going to offer to help me, too?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you needed help."

"I don't," Severus stated frankly.

"Okay then. So I won't see you in the library on Sunday when I help Regulus with his homework."

"Correct," Severus drawled, and Harry almost smiled.

After that, they finished their potion in comfortable silence.

"Ah, Mr. Carter, Mr. Snape. Yet another exemplary potion, as expected. Well done. Twenty points to each of you," Professor Slughorn declared with pride. Sirius scowled in their general direction and James shrugged sheepishly in apology—their potion had somehow wound up acid green, instead of a soft turquoise.

The rest of the day and most of dinner passed the same. Sirius was still in a bad mood, only worsened by Harry's apparent friendliness with Severus during Potions. It was clear to all the Marauders that he was also still dwelling on his mother's words.

About halfway through dinner, Harry glanced across at the Slytherin table and caught Regulus's eye. He gave a faint nod, indicating that he'd received Severus's message and would meet him in the library. Then Harry turned to Severus and nodded slightly in thanks for passing it on. Out of the corner of his eye as he turned away, though, Harry saw Regulus's face stiffen and his own brow furrowed.

After dinner, Harry slipped away to the library. He didn't really feel bad, even knowing Sirius's mood, because the Marauders would probably just spend the evening doing stupid stuff in the common room and getting into trouble trying to make him feel better. And after a while, Sirius would say he was tired, go up to the dorm alone, and then brood until he fell asleep. He and Harry were similar that way.

Harry found Regulus already in the library with books and parchment spread out across their usual table. Regulus looked up and nodded in greeting.

"How's that homework coming?" Harry asked as he took a seat, looking for an easy way to broach the subject.

Regulus scowled. "I want to throw it off the astronomy tower."

Harry laughed a little. "That bad?"

Regulus's scowl lightened to a frown. "Just Transfiguration and Runes. I'm doing all right in the rest."

"At least you can drop some of those classes after this year," Harry offered.

"I have to get through my OWLs first," Regulus grumbled. "Did you even take your OWLs? Even though you were homeschooled?"

Harry nodded. "I took them through the ministry." Well, two of them anyway. "It was a good thing my godfather was always tough on me when it came to my studies, or I probably would have had to repeat a year." Frankly, it was a miracle he'd passed any of his OWLs, let alone get the grades he got, considering the chaos of his fourth and fifth years. "But I got lucky; I only got one A. The rest were E's and O's. Well, except for History of Magic. I totally bombed that one," Harry added with a grin.

Regulus's eyes widened. "You? How did you fail one of your OWLs? According to Severus, you're in the top five of your entire class."

"Am I really?" Harry asked. He'd never been one to keep track of his ranking.

"Yes. So how in Merlin's name did you fail one of your OWLs?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly and trying to push back the memory hovering at the edge of his consciousness. "Well, to be fair, I took that one right around the time my godfather died. I couldn't focus and ended up not finishing. And, well, it was History of Magic. I probably would have failed anyway. Luckily it was my last exam."

Regulus nodded, then opened his mouth, then closed it again. Harry smiled a little.

"You can ask. I won't be offended."

Regulus nodded. "How…how did your godfather die? And why was he tutoring you? Usually it would have been your parents, right?"

"Well, my parents were both killed by Death Eaters when I was still a kid, so…my godfather raised me—me and my sister," Harry added. "Then…at the beginning of the summer…there was a battle and…a Death Eater killed him, too." Harry's voice cracked unexpectedly. He cleared his throat and blinked hard a few times. He hadn't realized that wound was still raw.

Regulus looked both sympathetic and uncomfortable. "I…didn't realize. Why doesn't everyone know? That would usually be all over the school."

Harry smiled sadly. "I try to keep it quiet. Most of my Gryffindor yearmates know, or at least guess. But…I've never had a reason to tell anyone else."

Regulus nodded. For a few minutes, though, he didn't seem to know what else to say. Finally, he cleared his throat. "So…what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Harry took a deep breath. "You got a letter from your parents today, right?"

"Yeah. So?" Regulus retorted, suddenly defensive.

Harry raised his hands in surrender. "Easy. It's just…Sirius got one, too, and it wasn't friendly, belated birthday greetings. I just wanted to know if yours was similar."

"Why does it matter? It's my private correspondence. Why would you care?"

Harry sighed. This wasn't going as smoothly as he'd hoped. "Honestly? Because Sirius has been torn up over it all day. I read it after he was done, and no mother should talk to or about her son that way," Harry said fiercely. "So frankly, I'm worried she's treating you the same."

A strange expression crossed Regulus's face, gone before Harry could place it. There was a moment of silence, then Regulus spoke. "She just wished me an early birthday, and…requested I come home for the holidays."

"That's it?"

Regulus nodded shortly, and Harry sensed he wouldn't get anything more from him on the subject. So he changed it.

"So…when is your birthday then?"

"December 3. But don't you dare prank me like you did Sirius," Regulus said suddenly, fiercely. "I will murder you with my bare hands."

Harry chuckled a little. "I swear I won't prank you like I did Sirius."

Regulus narrowed his eyes. "I don't want you to prank me, period," he clarified. "That's a loophole a Slytherin would exploit," he added pointedly.

Harry grinned. "I told you I almost went to Slytherin. And pranksters are always looking for loopholes."

"Then you all must be closet Slytherins," Regulus grumbled.

"Maybe we are." Harry then hesitated. "Regulus…what would happen if Sirius—if either of you didn't go home?"

Regulus shrugged. "She'd lecture me quite severely, but ultimately nothing. Sirius, though…she'd probably hunt him down and give him a piece of her mind," he declared with some satisfaction. "She was furious when he left over the summer." Unconsciously, it seemed, Regulus's hand moved to cover his left shoulder. "Of course, he'll probably still be at the wrong end of Mother's wand even if he does go home like she wants," he added in an undertone.

"Regulus…" Harry began carefully. Knowing what he now knew of Sirius's scar, he was immediately concerned with that unconscious movement. "How often are you at the wrong end of her wand?"

"What in Salazar's name makes you think I ever am?" Regulus demanded, his voice rising. His hand, however, tightened over his shoulder. Then he seemed to realize it and he dropped his hand, his fists clenching at his sides instead. "I'm Mother's perfect heir. She'd never dream of hurting even a hair on my head!" he declared. "So go give your sympathy to my traitor of a brother instead!" He stood abruptly, swept his papers into his bag, then stalked away and didn't look back.

Harry lingered, watching him go and then watching the path he'd taken for several long minutes afterward. From Regulus's sudden and uncharacteristic defensiveness, he'd all but confirmed that Sirius wasn't his mother's only victim. And it was clear that it hurt, beyond just the physical. And that last declaration sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

Harry sighed, his heart aching for the younger boy he was beginning to see as a little brother. Hopefully he hadn't just ruined their friendship. Harry sighed again, then gathered his things and returned to Gryffindor tower.

He returned to find it just as he'd predicted—the unpleasantly familiar stench of a dung bomb lingered in the common room, especially near the fireplace, partially burned scraps of parchment littered the floor, and there were blobs of green slime from gobstones all around where three of the four Marauders sat, bent over a parchment. Sirius had already gone up to bed.

"Hey," Harry said as he sat beside Peter.

The three boys looked up. "Hey," they repeated almost in unison, uncharacteristically serious.

"What are these?" Harry pointed at the parchment on the table in front of them.

"Escape plans," James said with a dark edge to his voice. "There's no way I'm leaving my best friend with those torturers any longer than twelve hours."

Harry's face hardened. "Count me in."

The others nodded and they spent well into the evening discussing ways to break Sirius out of Grimmauld Place.

When they returned to the dorm, it was to find what looked like the entire contents of Sirius's trunk thrown onto the floor. His curtains were drawn, but his usual light snores were absent. The others exchanged a look and decided it was probably better to leave Sirius alone for the time being.

The next two days passed slowly. Sirius was still in a mood, though he did a good job of hiding it from everyone but his closest friends. When it was just them, Sirius was unusually quiet and a little jumpy. Harry's heart ached for his friend, but he really didn't know what to do. So he left it alone.

Thursday evening, Harry snuck into Hogsmeade via the One-Eyed Witch passage, relying on his morphing ability to avoid getting into trouble as a student off-campus without permission. He picked up a copy of A Compendium of Runes (Not One of Those Useless Dictionaries) from Flourish and Blotts, Hogsmeade division, and two chocolate bars from Honeydukes. He had both gifts wrapped, and then asked a house elf to deliver it to Regulus in the morning for his birthday.

Regulus still wasn't speaking to him come Saturday. Harry began to despair, but he at least hoped Regulus hadn't thrown out his gift without even looking at it.

Just after lunch, Harry was in the library with Remus, Lily, and Tonks. They were working together on their homework, since the other Marauders were wreaking havoc in the common room. They'd been there just under an hour when Harry spotted a familiar figure weaving through the stacks, heading toward the back of the library. Harry excused himself and followed.

He found Regulus sitting alone at their usual table, thumbing idly through a brand-new, very familiar book.

"Hey," Harry greeted lightly as he approached.

Regulus jumped, then scowled instinctively. Seeing it was Harry, though, his expression stiffened and he shifted awkwardly.

"Is that book any help?" Harry asked, trying to draw him out.

"I haven't really looked at it yet," Regulus answered with a shrug. An awkward moment passed in silence, then he cleared his throat, suddenly shy. "…Thanks, by the way. For the book, and the chocolate."

Harry smiled. "Pretty good for such short notice, right? I hope you appreciate it—I snuck into Hogsmeade for you."

Regulus rolled his eyes. "Of course you did."

Harry chuckled. "I'm glad you've stopped ignoring me. It was getting terribly uncomfortable," he said, affecting a posh accent. Then he said apologetically, "I'm sorry for asking such an insensitive question. You had every right to react like you did."

Splotches of red appeared on Regulus's cheeks. He cleared his throat, not quite meeting Harry's eyes. "No…I'm sorry, for leaving like that and…ignoring you."

"No, you were right. But if and when you decide to tell me more, I'll listen. Until then, I'll leave it alone."

"…Thanks," Regulus mumbled.

A moment passed in silence, then Harry spoke again. "Do you still need help with your Ancient Runes project?"

"Merlin yes." Regulus said urgently. "I cannot make any sense of this."

Harry laughed. "Well, me, Joselyn, Remus, and Lily are studying here right now. You can join us if you'd like, and then we can all help."

Regulus made a face. "Now why would I want help from a bunch of Gryffindors?"

Harry smiled wryly. "You asked me for my help, and I'm a Gryffindor." He pointed at his red and gold tie. "Besides, Remus and Lily are way better at Runes than I am. I'm only as good as I am because I've studied ahead."

Regulus hesitated, then sighed dramatically. "Fine. At least you picked the four Gryffindors I can tolerate."

Harry grinned, then led the way to where he'd left the others.

"Reg! Welcome to the circle of nerds!" Tonks quipped with a grin as the pair came into view.

Regulus scowled. "Is there something wrong with my name that you both insist on shortening it?"

"Nope," Tonks replied, popping the "p" and grinning broadly. Remus looked amused at their interaction; Lily looked askance. "I just give everyone nicknames. Right, kid?" Tonks added, now grinning at Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Jos. Anyway, Regulus needs help on Ancient Runes beyond what I can help him with. Would you mind?" He addressed Lily and Remus.

Lily blinked in surprise. Remus smiled in welcome.

"Not at all. Harry's barely scraping an A in Runes right now; you wouldn't want him helping you anyway," Remus said to Regulus with a smile.

"Hey! I'm still a year ahead of him!"

Tonks shook her head in mock despair. "Keep telling yourself that, kid."

Regulus was stiff, obviously uncomfortable with the teasing byplay and surprised at Remus's casual way of talking to him. Lily was watching the conversation like one would watch a tennis match—half a step behind but still intent on the outcome.

"Sorry about them," Harry finally said. "But, you know, they are Gryffindors."

Regulus glanced at Harry, then finally sighed in resignation and took a seat at the table. "Why did I let you talk me into this?" he muttered.

"Because you'd fail if you didn't," Harry supplied with a smile, sitting beside him. He then resumed work on his own assignments while Regulus took out his materials.

After several moments of working in silence, Regulus asked Harry another question about his Runes assignment. Harry smiled and casually referred the question to Remus, who gladly began to explain. Harry smirked at how easily and eagerly Remus slipped into "teacher" mode and vowed to tease him a bit about it later.

After about ten minutes, Remus drew Lily into the discussion, and before long the three of them were working together to help Regulus decipher his work. Harry hid a smile as he continued his Herbology essay. Tonks provided the occasional commentary that kept them all in good spirits while they worked, her own Charms essay laying half-finished and neglected in front of her.

After a while, the group finished up their homework to their satisfaction. Regulus was the first to stand after gathering his materials.

"I should go, then. I'm not sure my housemates would understand why I'd want to spend a whole Saturday in the library, let alone with a bunch of Gryffindors," he drawled, his lips turning up in a faint sneer. But to Harry, he seemed regretful to have to leave their company. He'd relaxed quite a bit around them after the first hour or so, and had even made his own comments in response to Tonks's regular quips that both startled and amused.

"If they give you any grief, just come to us. They'll wish they'd made better choices," Tonks said flippantly, her eyes full of steely determination.

Lily nodded in agreement. "And you now have two sixth year prefects on your side, so don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it."

"Thanks," Regulus said with a nod, though he didn't have any intention of asking for help from anyone—it wasn't the Black way. Homework was one thing. Personal issues and inter-house disputes were something completely different. "See you around," Regulus said again, then he left without another word.

When Regulus had gone, Lily turned to Harry in surprise and awe. "First Snape, and now Regulus. What are you doing to Slytherin house?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm just being friendly and concerned. The rest of the houses might try the same thing."

Tonks stood up behind Harry. "He's got a point. Too many people see green and silver and automatically jump to the worst conclusions. But there are Slytherins that are genuinely good people. Every house has its good and bad. Our job is not to judge until we know them."

Harry nodded. "I'm not trying to change everyone's mind about Slytherin house. I just want to make sure they know that at least one person outside their house will fight for them."