Chapter 2

Sirius

I'm watching James struggle to butter slices of bread when there's a knock on the door.

"It's Moons," James says immediately.

"Definitely Moons," I agree as I get up from the couch. And sure enough, I nearly hit Remus in the face when I open the door. "Moony! Come in. We're making dinner."

"I just came for some sugar. I ran out," Remus says, following me up the bus stairs. I've only seen him stand straight when he's stretching, and even though there's plenty of headroom in here, he still stands with hunched shoulders.

"You ran out of sugar? When was the last time you went shopping?" James asks as he clicks the stove on.

Remus frowns. "Um. Well. It's been a couple weeks."

I turn from rummaging in a cupboard and gasp. "Remus! Do you have any food left?"

"Yes." Remus rolls his eyes and drops onto the couch. "I do. I'm going to go to the store tomorrow. But I need sugar for my coffee in the morning."

"Stay for dinner." James gestures at his stack of buttered bread and slowly warming pans on the stove. "We're having grilled cheese and tomato soup."

I try to count the slices of bread and get lost around fifteen. I would bet the majority of my inheritance from Uncle Alphard that James already decided to make Remus a couple sandwiches. Remus looks two seconds away from letting him down easy and going back to his van to eat chili out of a can, so I jump in.

"Yeah, Re, stay." I flop down on the couch next to Remus and throw my feet over his lap. "We can play some poker after."

Remus levels him a look. "I am not playing poker with you again."

"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad."

James chuckles. "You stole all of his fancy chocolates."

"I won them, James. Won them fair and square." I fold my arms across my chest. "If Remus was better at poker, he wouldn't have lost them."

"Oh, low blow, Pads," Remus mutters, chuckling. "Alright. I'll stay. And we'll rematch. And I'll bet my chocolate because I'm that confident that I will not lose it."

An hour and a half and a stack of grilled cheese later, James cackles and throws down his cards. "Ha! Pay up, Moons!"

Remus groans from where he's sprawled on the couch across from us. "I hate you. Truly. Deeply." He grapples for the battered backpack he grabbed from his van and pulls out a chocolate bar.

"I told you," I tease. Remus has the worst poker face I've ever seen.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Remus chucks the candy at James' head. Fortunately, James retained his goalie reflexes from high school, and he snatches it out of the air.

My phone starts buzzing insistently on the table next to me. I consider ignoring it but check the caller ID in case it's one of the girls. I have to stare at the name for several moments for the name to really sink in.

Regulus is calling me. Regulus hasn't called me in years.

"Sirius?"

I hold a hand up and swipe into the call. "Reggie?" Remus bolts upright, jaw dropping.

"Sirius." Regulus' voice is shaky, and I take a deep breath to steady my own.

"Reggie, are you ok? What happened?"

Regulus takes a shuddering breath. "I...I ran." He swallows. "I ran away. I couldn't stay. I couldn't do it anymore."

"Ok. Alright. Breathe. Where are you?" My head is spinning. Regulus ran away? Regulus...left?

"The park near the Potters' house. I didn't know where else to go."

"Ok. Ok. I'm going to text Effie. I'm going to put you on speaker." I pull my phone from my ear and make brief eye contact with James and Remus. Both are staring at me with matching looks of concern and confusion. "James is here with me. And our friend Remus, ok? Just so you know."

James leans forward slightly. "Hey, Regulus."

"Hi, James," Regulus murmurs.

I type a message out to Effie and get an answer almost immediately.

"Reg? Effie's home. She said you're welcome to stay there tonight. Do you remember which house is theirs?"

There's muffled shuffling. "Yeah."

"Good." Another message pops down from Effie, and I huff a laugh. "Effie is making tea and warming up food for you."

Regulus laughs and sniffs. "Ok." He sniffs again. "Will you - Will you stay on the phone with me? While I walk?"

"Of course." I switch off the speaker, press my phone to my ear, and make my way back to my room. Well, it's really just a bed, but we put a curtain up for a bit more privacy. I don't think I've ever used it before now.

"Where, uh, where are you? California, right? I think I saw that on your Instagram." He clears his throat.

"Yeah. California." I stare at the bit of caulking coming off the window. "I'm sorry I'm not closer. I'd be there in a heartbeat."

"I know you would." Softer, he says, "That's why I called you."

I shuffle until I'm pressed against the wall that separates my bed from James'. "What happened?"

Regulus is quiet for so long that I almost ask again. When he does speak, it's nearly impossible to hear him. "Mom... Mom was mad. Again. What else is new?" He puffs a breath. "I don't even really remember what we were arguing about. School probably. A class she wanted me to take that I didn't want to. She... She compared me to you. Said I was throwing my life away just like you were. And I lost it."

"Reg..."

"She's talked about you a million times. I don't know what it was about this. I just snapped." His voice cracks. "I didn't know what else to do. I grabbed what I could, and I left."

"I'm proud of you."

Regulus sucks in a deep breath. "I'm here. At the Potters'."

"I'll stay on the phone as long as you want me to."

"Ok." There's a pause. "Ok."

I listen closely to a knock, the creak of the front door, and Effie's soft, "Oh, darling. Come in. Come in. Monty!"

Monty's voice echoes distantly. "Coming. I'm coming. Ah, Regulus, my boy. Welcome."

Regulus stays silent.

"It's alright, Reg," I say softly. "They'll take care of you."

"Is that Sirius?" Effie asks. "Can I?" There's a rustle and then, "Sirius, darling?"

"Effie," I gasp, eyes burning.

"Oh, it's alright. I've got him. We've got him."

The sob that bubbles over is nearly painful. "Effie."

"Sweetheart. Oh, my... where's James?"

I suck in a breath and blow it out, willing the lump in my throat to go away. "He's, uh, he's out with Remus. In the living room."

"Why don't you go get him, love? I've got Regulus. I promise. He's safe with us."

With a sniff, I clamber out of bed and into the living room. James perks up from where he's packing up the cards, dropping them in lieu of crushing me in a hug. In some strange tangle of hands, Remus ends up with my phone, and I half listen as he chats with Effie and promises to call her if we need anything.

I cling with all I have to James as he clings back. "He's safe, Sirius. Mom's got him."

It's something I wasn't actively aware that I was so worried about. If I think about it for even a second, of course I was. I worry about Regulus all the time. I worry about his safety and mental health and what he's doing. But it's such an overwhelming amount of relief to know that he's out of that blasted house. That he's with Effie and Monty. That he's safe. I feel like I'm floating and drowning and shivering in my room at Grimmauld Place with Regulus tucked into my side.

James brings me back to the now by pulling back and taking my head between his hands. "You're ok, too, Pads. You're here. With me. And Moons."

"Yeah," I gasp, sucking in a breath through his nose and letting it out through his mouth. "Yeah. I'm here. I promise."

"Good. Good." James breathes in exaggeratedly. "Breathe."

I pull another breath in and focus on my surroundings. The wood grain of the countertop and table. The faded blue of the couches. The soft brown of Remus' concerned eyes. That pulls more air into my lungs.

Remus smiles. "So. He's with the Potters."

"Yes." The relief turns to joy, flooding through my veins and making my hands shake. "He's out. He's...wow."

"You should bring him out here," James suggests, resuming his task of packing up playing cards. "I bet he'd love the beach."

I raise an eyebrow. "Regulus? Love the beach? Have you met my brother? Talked to him? He's more of a recluse than Moony."

"Hey!"

"And twice as grumpy."

"You don't know until you try," James says, raising an eyebrow back at me. "He's on summer break from school, right? Even if he hates the beach, the two of you can spend some time together. It would be good for both of you."