At Hogwarts, the end of May aggressively signaled two things: the highly anticipated Quidditch House Cup Final, and the suffocating, soul-crushing approach of the end-of-year exams.
"Black! Potter! Just what exactly do you two think you're doing in my library?!"
Madam Pince, the eternally sour-faced librarian, zeroed in on the two biggest point-losers in Gryffindor history the exact second they crossed the threshold. She made absolutely no secret of her heavily discriminatory treatment toward students with notoriously poor behavioral records.
"Good afternoon, Madam Pince," Sirius answered, his tone dripping with an uncharacteristically polite, honeyed charm. "It is the end of the term, after all. We have simply come to the library to study."
Since Regulus was strictly forbidden from entering the Gryffindor common room, they had arranged to meet him deep in the library stacks today to discuss highly sensitive, life-altering matters. They absolutely could not afford to get kicked out by the librarian before the meeting even started.
Seeing that Madam Pince's vulture-like gaze was still highly skeptical, Sirius simply deployed his ultimate weapon: he flashed her a brilliant, devastatingly handsome smile.
This child truly is far too handsome for his own good, Madam Pince thought, her internal defenses crumbling instantly. Her stormy attitude rapidly shifted from cloudy to sunny. She actually displayed a rare, terrifying hint of a smile. "Alright, then. See that you do. No eating or drinking in the library, and absolutely no loud talking."
As they slipped into the stacks, James leaned close to Sirius. "Are you absolutely sure it's okay for us to be seen meeting a Slytherin in the library?" he whispered.
"There's no school rule that says the two Houses can't study together," Remus pointed out logically, trailing behind them.
Deep in a dusty, completely empty corner of the library, shielded by towering shelves of ancient magical theory...
"It was Headmaster Dumbledore himself who came to my house," Remus whispered. He looked pale, staring down at his scarred hands. "He personally persuaded my parents to let me come to Hogwarts. But he also made me swear a magical oath—that I would never proactively tell anyone my true identity."
Remus took a shaky breath, recounting the horrific, abbreviated version of his childhood trauma. "As for why I am... what I am... well. Fenrir Greyback. To get revenge on my father for something he said at the Ministry, Greyback forced his way into my bedroom and attacked me just before my fifth birthday. And then... I became like this."
"We must destroy him—"
James and Sirius instantly clenched their fists, their hearts breaking for their friend. A furious, blinding hatred for the monster who had ruined Remus's life surged in their chests. But before they could start loudly plotting a completely unrealistic assassination attempt, a soft, incredibly calm, yet terrifyingly powerful voice cut through the tension.
Regulus's dark eyes swept over Remus, Sirius, and James one by one. It looked as though a cold, utterly ruthless flame was burning behind his gaze.
"We will kill that utterly wicked scum," Regulus stated flatly, as if discussing the weather. "For Remus, and to ensure he can never harm another innocent child again."
For a long moment, the three Gryffindors were completely stunned by the sheer, ice-cold lethality radiating from the twelve-year-old Slytherin. Then, Sirius's grey eyes narrowed in fierce agreement, and James's knuckles popped as his fists clenched even tighter.
"That... that Greyback fellow is unbelievably powerful, and he has dozens of werewolf helpers," Remus said sadly, shrinking back slightly. "A whole squad of highly trained Aurors once surrounded him, and they still couldn't capture him. I heard he's even joined some dark organization now..."
"We will grow up. We will become incredibly strong," Regulus said calmly, his determined gaze shining brightly in the dim light of the stacks. "We are drastically younger than our enemies, which means we have more potential to grow. We can gather like-minded, powerful friends. Time is entirely on our side, Remus. We can definitely hunt him down."
Regulus paused, seamlessly delivering another piece of completely fabricated philosophical wisdom. "As a great Muggle thinker once said: The opposite of success is not failure, but doing nothing."
(Muggle Chicken Soup for the Soul: +1)
In the deepest recesses of his mind, Regulus solemnly wrote the very first name into his mental Death Note: Fenrir Greyback. (Regulus's internal monologue: Seriously, System. I desperately need a real Death Note.)
"Right!" James hissed fiercely.
"Exactly!" Sirius agreed, his eyes practically glowing in the dark.
The sheer righteousness of their newly established purpose carried a massive, infectious weight. The young wizards were suddenly filled with highly emotional adrenaline, completely swept up in the sudden, intoxicating sense of a life-or-death mission.
"However," Sirius said softly, bringing them back to reality, "right now, before we start hunting Dark creatures, we desperately need to find a way to help Remus survive the full moons inside the castle. I think we should start researching advanced spells, specialized potions, or... maybe we could ask a Professor for theoretical help?"
"It's best not to ask any of the Professors," Remus said, immediately shaking his head in panic. "I don't want Professor Dumbledore to find out that my secret has been revealed. He might expel me to protect the other students."
"I'll write home and casually ask my dad!" James offered eagerly. "I'll just say... it's research for an extra-credit Defense Against the Dark Arts paper!"
The four boys immediately leaned in over the table, excitedly discussing their options in rapid, overlapping whispers.
"We need to act very cautiously. If anyone else discovers this, Remus is done for."
"We need to start finding some highly powerful attacking spells and practice them in secret!"
"We also need a reliable, hidden way to communicate across Houses, and a secure meeting place that isn't a public library."
"Alright. Let's all go back to our dorms, think individually, research our respective House libraries, and when we meet next time, we'll formulate a master plan."
"Summer vacation is coming up soon! We can also meet up outside of school!"
"I can ask our Uncle Alphard to chaperone us in London," Sirius suggested. "He doesn't care about the rules. That way, we can practice casting spells outside of school without the Ministry's Trace triggering!"
Listening to them fiercely plot to protect him rather than abandon him, Remus's amber eyes became overwhelmingly moist. He blinked rapidly, staring down at his scarred hands.
Eventually, the intense, conspiratorial discussion naturally wound down.
"So... what should we do now?" James asked, buzzing with excess energy and clearly wanting to continue plotting their illegal activities.
"Well, since we're already sitting in the library," Regulus said, casually spreading his hands on the table, "we should probably actually do some homework and review for the exams. After all, I still have a massive Transfiguration essay to write for McGonagall."
"Ah. Speaking of reviewing for exams..." Remus sniffed softly, wiping his eyes. He reached into his battered satchel and shyly pulled out a thick stack of meticulously organized, color-coded notebooks. "These are my complete study notes from last year. I... I think they might help you, Regulus. If you need them, I can also write out all the specific final exam questions they used last year from memory."
!?
"Thanks, mate," Regulus said, deeply moved. He extended his hand across the table, offering Remus a firm, respectful fist bump. Internally, he wanted to scream: Who in the entire world DOESN'T love Remus Lupin?! The boy is an absolute treasure!
"Remus's notes... mate, that's practically cheating," James sighed, looking at the pristine notebooks with deep, unvarnished envy. "Remus is our Gryffindor's top academic student, second only to Lily Evans... If I had possessed those notes last year, my mother wouldn't have grounded me for a month..."
The gentle, brilliant morning sunlight painted Hogwarts Castle and the surrounding Scottish mountains in a layer of breathtaking, golden brightness. The massive stained-glass windows of the castle shone like scattered jewels against the stone.
The final, highly anticipated House Cup Quidditch match of the season was held exactly as scheduled. Under the crushing, collective psychological pressure of the impending final exams, the violent sporting event became the absolute perfect emotional outlet, instantly igniting the fierce, tribal passion of the entire student body.
On the morning of the match, the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall perfectly mirrored the pleasant, cloudless sky-blue weather outside. Regulus and a small group of Slytherins strode toward their table for breakfast and immediately noticed the aggressively lively, nearly chaotic atmosphere in the Hall.
The Gryffindor table was violently decorated. Everywhere you looked, there were massive explosions of gold and scarlet ribbons, banners, and magical confetti. Nearly every single Gryffindor student, whether they were walking around the hall or aggressively shoveling eggs into their mouths, was wearing loud, obnoxious clothing or face paint in their House colors.
Their opponents for the final match this year were Ravenclaw. In stark contrast, the Ravenclaw table was elegantly and tastefully adorned with sweeping drapes of rich blue and bronze silk.
As James Potter—already wearing his crimson Quidditch uniform and carrying his polished broomstick—arrived at the Gryffindor table surrounded by his adoring teammates, the entire lion House erupted in deafening, enthusiastic cheers. He was undeniably their most notable, terrifyingly talented young Seeker in decades, boasting an absurdly high catch-rate and a limitless future in the sport.
James grinned happily, soaking in the adulation. But almost instantly, his hazel eyes darted away from his fans, drawn like a magnet to a specific figure who had just entered the Great Hall.
It was Lily Evans, walking arm-in-arm with her best friend, Mary Macdonald. They were both wearing their standard House robes, but they had clearly spent the morning carefully styling their hair and pinning exquisite, magically blooming red rose rosettes to their chests in support of the team.
Lily's dark red hair shone like literal fire in the morning sunlight. It was tied back with a magical, enchanted golden hairband that continuously flowed with shimmering, liquid light. Her bright, almond-shaped green eyes were full of fierce spirit and brimming with lively, infectious vitality. As she walked down the aisle, she constantly stopped to warmly greet classmates; she seemed to be universally beloved, intimately familiar with dozens of students from both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Her smile was incredibly friendly, completely approachable, and her white teeth practically sparkled when she laughed.
Following Severus Snape's intense, gloomy gaze from the Slytherin table beside him, Regulus found himself staring at the Gryffindor girl as well. He was genuinely stunned.
Beautiful. Truly, stunningly beautiful! Good-looking. Ridiculously good-looking! If she looks like this at twelve... what on earth is she going to look like when she actually grows up?!
Regulus, entirely unused to being struck dumb by a pre-teen, felt a complete loss for words.
At the exact same time, he also noticed that a massive, giggling gaggle of young girls from various Houses had purposefully migrated toward the Gryffindor table solely to openly stare at his older brother.
Sirius was just sitting there amidst the deafening noise, casually eating his toast. He radiated an aura that was exactly three parts lazy arrogance, three parts aristocratic elegance, and four parts utter, devastating nonchalance...
Regulus stared at his brother's effortless, magnetic charm, then looked down at his own reflection in his silver goblet. Were we... really born to the exact same parents?
(Do not ask. If you ask, there will only be bitter tears of genetic injustice.)
Across the hall, James awkwardly, desperately tried to greet Lily as she passed. He received a polite, friendly response that treated him exactly the same as she treated everyone else in the room. Yet, it was painfully clear that James, much like half the boys in his year, was absolutely over the moon just to be acknowledged by her.
Beside Regulus, Severus Snape scowled deeply, aggressively and violently stabbing his silver fork into his innocent egg pudding.
For Slytherin House, the current Quidditch situation this year was highly stressful and incredibly specific. Their overall House points were currently neck-and-neck with Ravenclaw's. If Ravenclaw managed to win the Quidditch Final today, Slytherin would almost certainly lose the House Cup entirely.
But for the proud, deeply prejudiced Slytherins to actually openly pray for Gryffindor to win the match... it was pure, unadulterated fantasy. They would rather swallow glass. So, the vast majority of the Slytherin table desperately attempted to display a mask of faint, detached, aristocratic indifference.
But internally? They absolutely, desperately needed Gryffindor to crush the eagles.
The deafening clamor of the hall, the overlapping, excited conversations, the bright bursts of laughter, the sharp clinking of silver knives and forks against ceramic plates, the soft, ambient sound of glasses being filled with pumpkin juice... Surrounded by the incredibly lively atmosphere, the vibrant colors, and the sheer, overwhelming wave of positive human emotions in the Great Hall, Regulus suddenly felt an unprecedented, bone-deep sense of reality anchor him to this timeline.
This wasn't just a story anymore. These were real people. And he suddenly realized, with absolute, terrifying clarity, exactly what was at stake in the coming war.
I have to protect all of this, Regulus thought fiercely, his grip tightening on his goblet. (Seriously, someone please just hand Regulus a Death Note already!)
He took a deep breath, letting the resolve settle in his chest. He reached out and firmly patted Severus Snape's tense shoulder.
"Come on, Severus," Regulus said, his voice cutting through the noise. "Let's go watch the match."