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marauders-peace · 3 months

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Moonlight To Dawn

Summary: A forgotten night is all it's gonna take to mess up a life. A forgotten warning is all it's gonna take to mess up everything.

Pairing: Sirius black x hufflepuff!reader

Warnings: past toxic friendship, past toxic relationship (not with the reader), insecurities, self conscious , fake dating

Masterlist Last Part Part 7

Wc: 4.2k

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the first game of this Quidditch season! And for the start, we have the most heated game of all! The golden heroes against the silver antihero! The big lion against the sly snake! Ladies and gentlemen, we are watching Gryffindor against Slytherin!" Loud cheering.

"The Gryffindor who played the moderator this time really had no taste. I mean 'sly snake'? 'Silver antihero'? Between the lines, he's saying we're the bad guys! What a jerk…" whispered Cassie. I tried to listen to her, but I couldn't.

I could only focus on what I was seeing right now. A little Black, glaring at his brother's 'girlfriend.' She stared back at him in disbelief.

How could I have overlooked all of this?

Ohhh, Sirius. You little jerk. You despicable, vile, loudmouthed, disgusting, scheming-

"Now that everyone is on the field, we should start soon! Our dear players must move on their brooms and rise into the air. Are you ready?"

Regulus Black knows his brother well. Even when I was with Sirius, he knew when our relationship was just a pastime. He was never mad at me. At least not that I knew of.

"One!"

He knows much more about me and my friends than I want. Sometimes he scares me.

"Two!"

Sirius and he have quite a few conflicts. They almost never agree. And even when I was with Sirius, they argued about it. But not about whiskey.

"Three!"

Why not? Because Regulus didn't know Sirius liked whiskey. Why didn't he know?

"Go!"

Because it's not real. Holy crap, Sirius.

"There, our heroes rise into the air and battle for the balls! Gryffindor's Seeker James Potter searches the field from high above for the Snitch! Will he find it? Probably not, as the game has just begun!"

~~~

"Come on, it's not that bad! I'll take a glass, and you take the bottle, okay?"

She looked at me with wide eyes. It was just whiskey, after all. Why was she making such a big deal out of it? I smiled at her, hoping she would finally drown herself in the drink.

Carefully, she took the bottle and looked at me uncertainly. "Seraph, are you sure nothing will happen?"

I shook my head, laughing. "What could possibly go wrong, you silly? Maybe you'll feel a bit off for a moment, but so what? You'll have done it, and the experience counts, right!"

She stared at the bottle for a long time. Eventually, Damien whistled loudly. "Come on, or I'll take the bottle!"

He was a repulsive guy, way too loud, with too little empathy in his small brain. Leander, sitting next to him, looked at him frustrated and shook his head.

His hair shimmered in the light, and his eyes had that deep brown color I wanted to disappear into. His lips looked so gentle…

An uneasy feeling spread within me, and I took my glass and downed it in one gulp.

"Seraph!" the girl in the yellow uniform looked at me in shock. "Are you okay?"

My head seemed to spin. The face of this ugly girl spun right before my eyes as if it would never go away. I wanted to hit her. Push her away. I wanted to take the bottle and beat her to death with it-

"Of course!" I snapped at her. "And now, hurry up! If you don't have the guts anymore, it's okay, but say it so we don't have to drag this out unnecessarily!"

She flinched and stared back at the bottle.Her lips trembled and something shimmered in her eyes. I felt something like triumph when I saw her fingers turn white from the firm grip on the bottle. "I told you." Phina said after a while. "She's just too scared-"

With one gulp, she opened the bottle and drank. She paused occasionally and then continued. Until. The. Bottle. Was. Empty.

"Damn, she did it!" Damien laughed loudly, probably at my friend's stupidity. He couldn't stop laughing.

"Stop laughing, you jerk," grumbled Leander, looking almost concerned at her. The look in his eyes disgusted me and I wanted to push her out of there. Had he looked at me like that once? No, there was no need to worry about me. Somehow it still made me angry. I don't know why, but I wanted to hit him. I wanted to pull her out of here and never bring her near my friends again.

My little friend swayed and desperately grabbed onto me for support. "Oh my God, she's gone! I can't take it anymore!" Damien laughed even louder. His laughter rang shrill in my head, like a warning. Get out of here.

"Seraff, where are you? What elshe do I hashe to do?" she mumbled the words incompletely and swayed in my arms. Why was I even holding her?

"Let go of me," I snapped at her and pulled away. Her dirty hands seemed much worse than usual. Her eyes were glazed, and it dawned on me that she probably wouldn't remember this tomorrow. "Go to your house. Now."

Confused, she looked at me, as if nothing in her head was functioning. Slowly swaying, she moved toward the exit. I didn't watch her as she left the room.

"Come back tomorrow, 'Whisky'!" Damien shouted after her. "Dude, shut up!" Leander gave him a little slap on the head, but Damien just laughed.

"Why? The name 'Whisky' fits, right?" I wanted to kill him with my gaze. My head throbbed. I didn't know what was happening to me, but something in me sought satisfaction. Phina looked at me approvingly and nodded. Her smile revealed how much she was enjoying the situation. She looked at me with half-open eyes and that stupid smile, I could puke.

"Or don't you think so, Leander?" I challenged him. Agree with me. Now. Come on. Stop hesitating. You're always on my side, what's wrong? Agree with me. Please—

"Well, yes… But—" he looked away and fell silent. Something in me tightened at this 'but.'

"What 'but'?" I asked with a sugary voice. Come on. Say it already. What do you hate so much about me right now? What? Say it. Say it to my face. I want to hear why you're looking at me like that.

"Cassie also collapsed because of the alcohol. What if your friend collapses on the way to her house now?" he scratched his neck and didn't look at me.

Damien groaned loudly. "Oh, who cares. Then she'll miss the test tomorrow, no big deal."

Leander ignored my glances. He stared into the fire. I wanted to push him into it. He should finally say what I did wrong! What did I do?

"Phina, let's go to sleep." I stood up and finally turned away from this guy who frustrated me so much. "We have an important test tomorrow."

She looked at me bored. Then she looked back at Damien, and I saw out of the corner of my eye how they seemed to silently discuss me.

"Come on!" I said now with a firmer voice and went to the girls' dormitories.

"I'm coming already…" said a very annoyed Phina. I wanted to strangle her.

Phina followed me, and we closed the door to the girls' dormitories behind us. But I stayed for a second before closing the door.

"You guys are such assholes." Black. "Be quiet, kid. It's none of your business." Damien. "You should be expelled from school." Regulus Coward Black. "Where are you going?" Leander. "Somebody has to take her to the Hufflepuff house." Two doors slammed in response.

Late it was that evening when I left the Slytherin common room to search for the intoxicated girl. I didn't know her personally, but I somehow felt connected to her. She had been in our Slytherin common room on several occasions.

I saw it all. Seraph, who always dragged her along, or rather, the one who always followed her. Damien, who mocked her. Leander, who felt pity for her but was too captivated by Seraph to do anything. And Phina, who didn't care about anything as long as there was some drama.

It was disgusting to watch them.

I walked through the corridors of the grand castle, wondering how far she had gotten. But certainly not far, because it was dark, and she had a massive amount of alcohol in her system.

Holding my wand high with the Lumos spell, I hoped not to be discovered by teachers as I heard labored breathing. I scanned my surroundings, but there was no one. No corners, no closets to hide in. Yet, I heard that breathing. What the hell?

Soft steps echoed through the corridor as I turned around, trying to find the origin. Was I going mad here?

I turned around and saw a silhouette at the corner of the corridor and was about to run towards it when—

"Regulus, what are you doing here?"

Sirius.

Startled, I turned to my brother, who looked at me inquiringly.

"How did you—? You—Just a moment ago, there was no one there!" I looked at him suspiciously as he gave me a feigned look of confusion.

"What are you talking about, Regulus? I just came from the Gryffindor tower," he said, grinning crookedly. "What are you doing out so late on a full moon?"

"I could ask you the same thing." His gaze hardened a bit. "Besides, it's none of your business."

I turned back to the silhouette, but it had disappeared. Sighing, I continued, disappointed that my slightly older brother was following me.

"Well, I think I have a right to know what my little brother is up to at this late hour," he murmured as he walked behind me. "My little brother wandering around in the middle of the night… What if something happens to you—"

"Shut up, Sirius," I snapped at him, hoping he would lose interest. I looked around, but 'Whisky' was nowhere to be seen.

"Or…" Sirius grinned now. "You're looking for something." He looked at me triumphantly. "I can help—"

"I said, 'shut up, Sirius!'" I listened carefully to the steps, and it seemed like I could faintly hear them.

"What's actually going on with you? Lately, you hardly talk to me! I'm really worried about you, Regulus. Has something happened?" his voice behind me became somewhat harsh. "Did your parents say something?"

"No, they didn't." Lie. "I just find you insufferable lately." Truth. Recently, he basks in his popularity, constantly putting himself in the spotlight and enjoying the attention, with many girls chasing him like little dogs.

I hated how he acted with his 'friends.' Their 'jokes' were just disgusting. I couldn't understand the senseless joy in it. But how could I.

"Hey, what do you mean-"

"Shush!" I signaled for him to shut up. It was very quiet, but you could hear it. A muffled sob.

"Do you hear that too? That-" I couldn't hold back anymore; I punched Sirius lightly to make him understand he should be quiet. "Hey-!"

Very quietly, I took step after step towards the crying. I was almost at the corner of the corridor when-

"What are you doing here anyway?" A. Much. Too. Loud. Sirius.

The crying immediately fell silent. Now it was dead silent. I flipped my brother the middle finger before turning the corner. An empty corridor awaited me. But unlike just now, there was a small cupboard here. A suffocating little cupboard.

Sirius followed me, but before he could say anything, I knocked on the cupboard. "What are you doing there?" he asked, but I ignored him.

"Hello?" I inquired.

Silence.

I knocked again, but this time slower. "Everything okay in there?"

Silence.

"Do you think someone's in there?" Sirius stood behind me with crossed arms, as if I were the dumbest person in the world. He probably never had to hide in school before.

"Sirius, for the last time, please shut up!" I couldn't hear him anymore. "No one asked you to follow me!"

Sirius just shrugged. "As a big brother, it's my duty to annoy you. Besides, I have to be there when you get yourself into trouble."

"That's funny coming from you. As if you've ever fulfilled your duties as a big brother." He was really getting on my nerves.

"Hey, I've made a real effort in the last 2 years to annoy you properly! Nothing that makes you uncomfortable or anything…" He briefly looked out at the shining moon. "But I also had to take care of other things. But I'm trying!"

"Oh yes, you're really busy not doing your homework and annoying other students with your jokes that sometimes go too far!" He infuriated me. How he stood there as if he understood something. As if someone like him understood how I feel and why I don't want anything to do with him.

He is the one who is leaving me alone.

"Okay, Regulus, I have the feeling that you, how should I put it, are angry. Mainly, that's probably due to the absence of your humor, but that can be fixed, don't worry." He came closer. "Next time, you can join us in Hogsmeade. If you want, we can also come up with a prank together!"

"I don't want to participate in one of your bad jokes, really! I'd rather have detention with Professor Binns, and that says something." His smile disappeared. He looked at me almost desperate. For the first time tonight, he said nothing. And that's why I heard it.

"Pffff-"

Laughter.

Sirius pushed me aside, went to the small cupboard, and pulled out his wand. With a slightly tense voice, he said, "Alohomora!" and with a very exaggerated aggressive jerk, he opened the cupboard.

A laughing girl, seemingly out of her mind, looked out at us. Sirius still pointed his wand at her when she -

"AHHHHH!!!" she screamed and blinked against the presumably very bright light. "DON'T EAT ME!"

"Did you hear all that-; Wait, what?" Sirius lowered his wand in confusion and looked at the girl bewildered.

She looked at him as if he were the devil; he had apparently scared her. But his confused look was priceless. I had to chuckle slightly, I admit it. Sirius glared at me and now completely put away his wand.

"Who are you, what are you doing here, and why are you hiding from us, and why in a cupboard???" With each question, he got closer to her, and eventually, his head was half in the cupboard. "Let her breathe; she really doesn't need your breath in her nose." I grinned at him this time and took full advantage of his confusion.

The girl laughed again. Sirius backed off from her and looked at her almost scared. "I don't have bad breath! Or do I?" She laughed even more but shook her head. He grinned at her oddly. "Come on, that wasn't so funny?"

Somehow, I wanted to puke at the sight of the two. "Just let her out already." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. But then he grinned at the girl in the cupboard again. "I'm sorry. Here, let me help you out." He held out his hand to her. She looked as if she were thinking about it, like only a drunk person could.

"No, thanksh. I can manashe on my own getting out of here; after all, I manashed to get in. Besidez, I don't trusht you yet! It could be that you actually want to zell me to Professor Shlughorn so he can make a potion out of me!" She slipped out of the cupboard and sat swaying on the floor.

Sirius looked dumbfounded at her. He looked between me and her. Eventually, he looked at me utterly bewildered, and I had to laugh. She seemed not to understand him and shook her head. "You think I'm weird, don't you? No, you're jusht not direct enough; what do you want from me?"

"Me? I haven't done anything! What's your problem, anyway?" Sirius still looked at her confused, but he also started to look really worn out. "Seraph said that every good-looking guy who comes to me just wants to take advantage of me! So, what do you want?" The girl glared at him, and now she also looked at me. Slowly she began to speak normally. "And how did you know where I was hiding-"

"Wait, wait, who is Seraph? And more importantly, you find me good-looking?" Sirius tilted his head and grinned at her. I felt increasingly nauseated. "You can go now." I raised my voice again, eager to take her back to her house.

"No, you're right! Where did you know she was?" He looked at me confused. I sighed loudly. "We heard her footsteps, and the cupboard was the only option where she could hide."

"I mean, why did you go out in the middle of the night and look for her?" He looked at me skeptically.

"How did you come out of nowhere? You can't fool me; you suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind me! How?" Now I looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"You just imagined that."

"Then you imagined that I knew where she was. I was just taking a walk and happened to find her."

The girl looked between us and chuckled again.

"What?" we asked simultaneously.

"Sorry." she fell silent and looked at the ground. She stood up, swaying, and tried to walk away but didn't get very far due to the swaying.

"Hey, hey, hey, we must take you back to your house; where do you want to go so late?" Sirius stood up and went to her. I sighed but nodded. "For once he's right; you shouldn't go alone."

But then she took Sirius' hand and pulled him behind her. "Hey, don't you think it's a bit too early for hand-holding?" Sirius asked with that disgusting tone. Confused, she stared at him; alcohol must have taken her mind for flirting. "Where do you want to go? The Hufflepuff common room is in the other direction." I said and pointed her in the right direction.

Uncomprehendingly, she stared at me. "But we have to go to the hospital wing first." She just pointed in the other direction. "And it's over there."

Sirius laughed softly. "Maybe you really belong in the hospital wing, but I don't think you want to be caught there because of alcohol consumption, believe me."

"Not because of me. You're injured." She said to him, looking at him questioningly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked since I didn't notice any injury on Sirius. "His arm. He has a wound there. That's why his uniform is so messy." She shrugged and tapped on Sirius' right arm. He flinched in response to this touch.

Sirius looked at me, attempting to appear confused. "I think we should take her away quickly before she collapses from the alcohol."

"You're much more likely to collapse." She said, smiling at him. "Come on, you don't have to act so tough. Just let yourself be taken to the hospital wing." Again, she walked off, pulling Sirius along with her.

"Is that true? Where did you get that wound?"

"You're not really interested anyway. Anything related to me doesn't really matter for you." Sirius muttered. "You're just on our parents' side anyway."

I glared at him. "Now you're just talking nonsense to wallow in self-pity again."

"Hey, no more arguing! He's injured; that's more important now!" 'Whisky' looked at both of us angrily. Sirius looked at her almost guilty. "Sorry," he said, but she just shook her head. "Apologize to him, not me. He was just worried."

Sirius turned to me. "I'm sorry, Regulus." She nodded at him and now looked at me expectantly. I sighed loudly but finally gave in. "Sorry, Sirius."

Acknowledging, she nodded at both of us. "Good, now let's-" But then she blushed. She looked at Sirius for a long moment and then at her hand that was holding Sirius' hand. Startled, she let go of his hand and looked at him in confusion. "Are you Sirius Black?"

"Would that be a problem for you?" he asked, looking at me questioningly. I just shrugged.

"No, of course not," she whispered softly, putting some distance between Sirius and her. "You can tell the truth; no one would blame you. I would understand it very well!" I said, grinning at Sirius, who just looked annoyed at me.

"Who are you, anyway? Do I know you?" he asked, looking at her hesitantly. But she just shook her head. "No, don't worry, of course not. I'm nothing without Seraph, so it doesn't matter anyway-"

"Who the hell is Seraph? You mentioned her twice, and again, she doesn't seem very likable to me," Sirius said. I laughed at that. "A bitch. She's a bitch. But an interesting one."

Sirius looked at me confused. "Aha." He turned back to her. "Why are you drunk wandering around the castle in the middle of the night?"

"Seraph," I just said, and that explained everything. Sirius apparently didn't understand this simple explanation. He now looked accusingly at me. "So, you did know why she's here and went looking for her!"

"It's not that important now; you need to go to the hospital wing!" a very confused Hufflepuff said. "You're injured!"

"And you need to go to your bed!" Sirius looked at her just as accusingly. "You've apparently drunk yourself to passing out! Probably because you haven't gotten over your friend or something, right? Well, let me give you a tip, drinking doesn't help at all!"

She looked at him somewhat frightened. "That's not how it was… I just did it for Seraph, that-"

"Seraph really seems to be a bitch," Sirius said. I nodded. "Yeah, she's perfect for you," I added.

"Hey!"

"He's right."

Both of us looked at her confused. She looked down. Sirius laughed nervously. "Hey, I didn't mean to be mean or anything-"

She looked at him in shock. "No, no, that's not what I mean! I just mean… she's so nice and beautiful and funny and -" she took a deep breath. And then breathed out again. "She's amazing. And she really just wants to help me."

Sirius looked at me confused. This time I looked just as confused back. "What the hell do you mean-"

"You know what? We should really take you to the hospital wing now!" she quickly changed the subject and went back swaying towards the hospital wing. I followed her, gesturing for Sirius to follow. She probably wouldn't go back to her house until Sirius was treated.

"Hey, what's your name?" Sirius looked at her curiously. She looked at him confused. "(Y/n)"

We stood in front of the hospital wing. When Sirius turned to her again. "Well, (Y/n), firstly, your laughter is really cute, and secondly, I already like you more than Seraph." With that, he disappeared behind the door.

A very confused (Y/n) stood next to me. But upon closer inspection, she seemed to be blushing. Wait, what?!

"Uh… I should probably go to my dorm, right?" she looked at me hesitantly. I just couldn't imagine someone like her… No, that was just wrong.

"Yeah, let's go. I'll take you." I finally said. Awkwardly, we walked down the corridor while my mind was racing.

"What year are you, by the way?" she asked eventually, smiling at me crookedly. Her way too innocent face was killing me.

"Third. Are you in love with my brother?"

Silence.

"How, what, why do you think that???" She looked at me with a red face.

I looked at her for a long time, but I had to sigh. "I don't care about that, but I just want to warn you. My brother is not really known for serious and lasting relationships."

She looked at me for a long time. Then she smiled one of those sad smiles and looked ahead. "I know. It's not like I think I could ever be in a relationship with him."

We walked in silence for a while. Outside, the full moon was slowly going down while the sun seemed to be rising. "That's not what I meant. I just want to tell you that you have to love yourself first. And you have to finally let go of Seraph. By now, you must see that yourself."

We stood in front of the Hufflepuff entrance as she looked at me hurt. "You can go now."

I looked at her for a long time. "Otherwise, you'll always remain 'Whisky'."

I saw her tears and left.

~~~

In the end, I don't know what happened that night. Whisky couldn't remember herself, probably because of the alcohol. I only found her exhausted outside the Hufflepuff house the next day. She didn't come in, must have forgotten the password. We had a test that day.

Everything seemed normal with her, but she was a bit wobbly on her feet. At some point Sirius Black came to her and asked if she was feeling better. At that moment, I was confused as to why he was even talking to someone like her.

"She's fine!"

And then she pukes on her test. Since then, teachers have been looking more at students who look like they have been drinking.

And now this boy, who looked after her that evening, had this mad look in his eyes as he went up into the sky.

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#marauders era #the marauders #marauders #dead gay wizards #harry potter #sirius black #sirius black angst #sirius black x reader #regulus black #Regulus black is down with his brother #why do i even bother

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