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limetimo · 3 years

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I Killed My Darling

A bit I wrote for Unfroggivable that didn't feel right posting as a part of the chapter/work

Uncle Cygnus wanted Ted Tonks dead. Heard him talking about it. With mother.

He didn’t doubt Regulus’ words. The little snake was often so quiet, people would forget he was in the room and talk freely around him. He also had the patience to stay and listen, unlike Sirius himself who quickly got bored of adults talking and would either get lost or get lost in his head thinking about new pranks to pull at Hogwarts. ‘You don’t know shit about shit,’ Regulus had yelled at him and - he wasn’t wrong. Regulus was much better informed about the relationships within the family, simply because he spent time with them and paid attention.

If he said mother and uncle might try to hurt Remus to get him out of the way, Sirius was going to believe him.

And he would burn the House of Black to the ground if they dared.

Prongs and Wormtail would help. And recent events gave Sirius hope that his little brother would be by his side too.

Back in the kitchen, Remus sat huddled close with James, who was whispering to him; probably reassurances. Sirius came up behind their chairs and slung his arms around their necks, his chin between their shoulders. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.”

“You alright?”

He gave his friends a squeeze and let go to sit down next to Moony, keeping one arm around his shoulders. He was there, safe, his. “Fine. Reggie yelled at me for a bit and then he passed out. Moms and dad are putting him to bed now.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Remus asked.

Sirius nodded. “He’ll be fine. Just needs some sleep, he didn’t catch a blink at the police station.”

“The where,” Prongs gaped, and Sirius’ grinned. He leaned forward to see his best mate properly, gleeful to finally tell his friends all about his little adventure.

“Prongs. My mate. It was glorious. I’m pretty sure Reggie broke into father’s office and did something because otherwise that mouldy bat would’ve dragged us back home already.” Neither boy asked if the ‘mouldy bat’ referred to his mother or house elf; they knew it was interchangeable. “He climbed out of my bedroom’s window and sneaked on a train without a ticket. Then he swindled this clerk in Cambridge into buying half his jewellery box for muggle money. Guys, I’m so mad we never roped him into helping us with anything. I’m telling you he could tell McGonagall the merpeople ate his homework and she. would. buy it! And then. And then. On the train, there was this little girl who thought he was a fairy prince! Like a prince of fairies!”

“No way! What’d he say,” James asked, also leaning as close as he could. Remus was sandwiched between them, long-suffering, resigned to his fate and happy to be there.

“Wait up, I’ll show you,” Sirius jumped out of his chair and rushed back to the bathroom, where Regulus’ duffle bag lay forgotten. He brought it to the kitchen and found Reggie’s journal, and the drawing tucked safely between its pages. “Here! That’s Prince Reggie, that’s Cake - the girl, and this is me.”

“Aaawww,” Prongs cooed and snickered, “Mister Ribbit?”

“We had to use fake names so our evil witch stepmother wouldn’t find us,” Sirius snickered. “And Cake’s mom knew so many frog jokes so horrible they were actually good. Like, what’s green and dangerous?”

“An apple scented dish soap,” Moony deadpanned without missing a beat.

“Close,” he grinned and pressed a small kiss on the back of Remus’ hand. The gesture filled him with an unexpected amount of joy and judging by the other boy’s blush, he liked it too. “It’s a frog with a hand-grenade.”

Prongs tried not to laugh and failed horribly.

“What’s green green green green green?” Sirius pressed on, grinning widely. He rummaged around the bag. He found a change of his own clothes and his toiletries bag…

“I don’t know, a frog on a carousel?”

Regulus’ everyday-wear robes, the biscuits Cake’s mom gave them, socks and underwear…

“No, that one goes a little different,” Moony shook his head. “Green green green green is a frog rolling down the hill; when it’s white and black and green it’s a frog on a newspaper. And green and red and spinning really fast is a frog in a kitchen mixer.”

“I don’t know what a kitchen mixer is and I think I’m too afraid to ask.”

And in a side pocket a velvet pouch with their wands. Sirius took them out, his ebony and phoenix a comforting weight in his hand. Regulus’ hawthorne and unicorn mane was familiar to him too; when they were younger they would sometimes swap, for fun. Sirius’ wand was reluctant at best in Regulus’ hand. Sirius could use Regulus’ wand easily - except for that time he tried to jinx his brother with it and lost his eyebrows when it backfired. He rolled the wands between his palms like drumsticks.

“Sirius,” Remus scolded.

“Sorry.”

Prongs plucked another picture from the pile of leaflets, receipts and tickets Regulus had accumulated in his journal across the country. “What’s this?”

“That’s my mugshot,” Sirius said proudly. “Do you think we could go back and get Reggie’s too? I’d like to frame them and put them on the mantelpiece.”

“Why did they take your mugshots? He’s underage and you were an amphibian,” Moony frowned, even as he pulled the photograph closer to inspect it.

Sirius shrugged. “He was trying to get a room in this really seedy place - imagine Hog’s Head, but it’s a hotel and there are no goats. The lady at the counter must’ve thought he was some sort of a delinquent-”

“Ha,” Prongs laughed, “your brother, a delinquent. Did he even have a detention ever?”

“Um, yeah, he did,” Sirius wracked his brain, “that time he kicked Diggory in the face, remember?”

“That was Quidditch, doesn’t count. Diggory was just a big baby about it.”

None of them could recall any details about the scuffle where the Slytherin Seeker (a third year at the time) allegedly broke the Ravenclaw Chaser’s (sixth year) nose, but they remembered a great deal of other Quidditch and/or injuries related shenanigans; and for a while, the events of the last days were forgotten.

Then the adults returned and with them, the harsh reality.

“He’s all tucked in and sleeping like a baby,” Mia reported with a smile as she sat down across Sirius. Monty made the beeline for his abandoned teacup and Hope threaded her fingers through her son’s hair. James got up to offer her his seat, as there were only four. That put the moms on one side of the table and the boys on the other, which… for the conversation that was to follow didn’t feel right. Sirius pressed his lips to Remus’ shoulder before he got up and took James’ seat, so that Remus and Hope could sit together; Hope facing Mia and Remus facing Sirius. “Did you write to your friend that you’re alright yet, love?”

“Uhm what friend?” Sirius asked, just as James slapped his forehead.

“Evans! Yeah, no, we didn’t.”

“I’ll get you something to write,” Remus jumped up.

“Oh right, Evans! So the letter arrived fine? I honestly thought Snivellius would throw it away. I honestly thought Snivellius would throw it out.”

“Just about fifteen minutes before you two,” Remus confirmed, setting a binder with stationery and a fountain pen in front of his beloved. stationery and a couple different muggle pens in front of his… boyfriend.

“What would you do if he did throw it away?” James wanted to know.

“No idea,” Sirius admitted and took the pen, then paused and turned to Prongs. “Should I write it or do you want to write it?” he grinned. He has just gotten his happily ever after, what kind of a friend would he be if he didn’t help his best mate have his?

“Ooh, I’ll write it!” Sirius vacated the seat and rested his arms on James’ shoulders, so that he could read as James wrote. Or that was the plan, but he got distracted by Fleamont.

“So, lads, did you decide if you’re going to write to your grandfather or not?” the man asked, taking another brownie. Much like his son he couldn’t keep still to save his life, and fiddling with and nibbling on baked goods was a good way of channeling the restless energy.

“Yeah, yes, we… decided it was worth a shot.” He glanced at Remus, then back at Monty. “What do you think? You’re like, his nephew or something, right? Do you think he’ll… I don’t know, support us?” Despite Reggie’s reassurances he wasn’t quite sure he believed it.

Monty sighed. “I haven’t seen uncle Arcturus since mother passed,” he reminiscented.

“We haven't seen him since about grandma Melanie’s funeral,” Sirius confessed. “He pretty much became a hermit afterwards.”

“Well, for all it's worth, he loved your grandmother very much. Perhaps seeing how happy you two make each other… not to forget the curse. Unless he names Regulus his heir in your stead but then he might just as well give you two his blessing anyway.”

Sirius didn’t even blink at the jump from point A to point E, used to it from Prongs.

“I believe Lord Black will let himself be swayed,” Mia smiled, a flash of mischief in her warm eyes, “after all I have yet to meet anyone who could say no to Remus.”

Sirius barked in laughter and clapped his friend’s shoulder. “Reggie said the same thing! He thinks you’re ‘quite likeable’,” he quoted, snaking his arms around Remus’ neck, talking against Remus’ blushing cheek. It was almost the same as all the times he teased his friend; the joy of making him smile, the flutters in his stomach when he managed to make Remus blush…

How obtuse had Sirius been to not have noticed the difference between his feelings towards Remus and the rest of his friends? At this rate, he might even have to thank his mother for cursing him.

“Wow, the highest praise,” Remus said dryly, relaxing back into Sirius’ chest.

“I call dibs on being Sirius’ best man,” James called out. Duh, that went without saying.

“You can have Wormtail, Moony,” he said magnanimously, and pulled Prong’s half finished letter closer to read it. “Also dibs on Marls as my bridesmaid.”

Hi Evans,

Thanks again for Baby Black’s letter! We found them by the way, Baby Black missed his stop and they ended up at Remus’ today around noon. Sirius is fine, his crazy mom only cursed him into a frog-

“A toad,” Sirius corrected, taking the pen away from James.

-cursed him into a frog toad, I’ll tell you all about it at school. Him and Remus are getting married, do you want to be Remus’ bridesmaid?

“You do know that this raises more questions than it answers, right?” Remus asked because one could not be sure with Jamie.

“That’s a good thing, she’ll have to talk to him this way,” Sirius reasoned. “Also bold of you to invite your crush to our wedding.”

“Moony doesn’t mind, right, Moony?”

“No, I like Lily, I’d love her as my bridesmaid. But you’re forbidden from annoying her.” Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. “And we’re - engaged, not getting married yet, at least not until after graduation. Merlin.”

(The adults in the room heaved a collective sigh of relief.)

“What do you mean we’re engaged?” Sirius asked, affronted. “We’re not engaged until I get on one knee, mister. And that’s only happening after I find just the right jewelry to propose with. Until then we’re promised to each other. Wait, here,” he took off his signet ring and, thanking Merlin that the silver thing was a myth, slipped it on Remus’ long, slim finger.

“There. That’s our promise ring. Now everybody will know you belong with me,” he grinned and planted a small dry kiss on Remus’ cheekbone.

“Oh fuck me,” Remus muttered, a blush spreading over his cheeks.

James gasped in pretended shock and Sirius was so torn between quipping “With pleasure,” and a scandalised “Not before the wedding night!” that Mrs. Potter beat him to it.

Remus hid his face in his hands. “I’m canceling the engagement,” he declared, “enjoy being human while you can.”

“It would hardly have been a really serious engagement if it hadn’t been broken off at least once,” Hope quoted cheekily, but rubbed her son’s back in a quiet display of support.

“Not engaged, promised,” Mister Potter reminded them all with a chuckle. “It would be improper to get engaged without respective families’ blessings. Which brings us back to, Sirius, would you like my help with writing to your grandfather?”

“Ah, yes please,” Sirius grimaced. He had no idea how to talk to the old man, as his grandson or as his heir.

With a nod, Mia took a blank paper from the pile of stationery Remus brought over, and one of the fountain pens. “Let’s see… Dear grandfather, I am writing to you in a matter of great importance and even greater joy…”

#unfrogivable curse #my writing #bad jokes

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