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Chapter Text

"Never thought I'd say this," Barty sighed, staring into space. "But I want to stay in school."

"I do too," Regulus added, stuffing his robes into his trunk. "I mean what do I have to go home to? My batshit mother and non-existent father? I'd rather die."

Evan was sprawled across his bed, spinning his wand in his hand mindlessly, listening to both boys talk

It was the end of their fifth year at Hogwarts school for Witchcraft and Wizardry, they had completely their O.W.L's about two weeks ago, and when they were done with those horrible, mind numbing tests, they all realised they didn't want to go home.

To say their lives back home sucked would be an understatement.

Of course, they couldn't stay in school for this break, like you could with Christmas break. You were required to go home for the two months, no exceptions. Most people wanted to go home, see their families and all that. Not the Slytherin Skittles though.

Dorcas walked into the boys dorm with a heavy sigh, before plopping herself onto Barry's bed across the room. She was in there more often then she wasn't, it was practically her second dorm.

"Godric, I really don't want to get home," she said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I mean, dad's just going to be working all summer, as usual, and I'll just be sitting around all day. It's more boring the bloody transfiguration."

Dorcas Meadowes was about the finish her 6th year at Hogwarts, and was the oldest of the group. Evan saw her as their group leader, always cool, calm and taking the lead. Barty would probably argue with him about that, saying that he was, in fact, the almighty ruler of them all, and they should all listen to him. He would probably end up getting them either killed or arrested if they listened to him.

Barty Crouch Jr was a tall boy, with spiky brown hair, and thought his whole purpose in life was to be a complete nuisance to everyone. He was a little crazy sometimes. Alright, most of the time. He despised his father with every single bone in his body and only ever went home was to see his mother. She had since fallen ill, and Evan knows Barty hated seeing her like that. That was the reason he really really didn't want to go home this year.

Regulus Black was the strangest soul Evan had ever met. He was a beautiful, chaotic mess of a boy. He was heir to the Black family fortune, though only because his older brother Sirius has ran away last year, leaving Regulus behind to deal with the fall out. Evan knew Regulus didn't want to go home without Sirius, though he would never say it out loud. Regulus wasn't that type of person. He kept to himself.

Evan wondered what the group thought about him. He had his own opinions and personal facts about them all stored away in his brain, each one of his best friends personal identities locked away in his mind for his access only. Did they all have their own little version of that in their minds?

Dorcas and Regulus were deep in a conversation that Evan was not listening to, and Barty was still trying to fit all his stuff into his trunk. Somehow every year he has enough stuff that his trunk isn't able to close by itself, and Barty had to figure out what spells to use to make it all fit.

That's when Pandora, Evan's twin sister, burst through the door, wand on her right hand and a spell book in the other.

"I have an idea," she announced to the group, as they all gazed back at her.

"Evan, mom still has the beach house, doesn't she? She hasn't sold it yet?"

Evan nodded slowly, wondering where this is going.

"They aren't planning on selling it until next year, why?"

"Well, we all went to stay together this summer, don't we? Why don't we-"

"We can all stay at the Rosier beach house," Barty interrupted, bouncing on his bed excitedly.

Pandora smiled brightly.

"Exactly."

_______________

"There is no way I'm convincing my parents to let me go along with your stupid plan," Regulus huffed, arms crossed over his chest.

"We can try, Reg," Pandora said softly, putting an arm on his shoulder.

"I just asked my mum, and of course she said yes to her favourite son, dad's gonna hate this, I can't wait," Barty squealed like a girl.

"You're their only son, Barty."

"I know, which automatically makes me the favourite."

"But it also makes you the least favourite by default," Dorcas chimed in.

"Stop, we are getting off topic here," Pandora said, addressing the group.

"No offence Reggie, but it's not like we didn't see this coming," Evan muttered, looking into the boys sad eyes.

It was no secret Regulus Black's parents were terrible. I mean, your eldest son doesn't run away for no reason. Then Evan gets an idea.

"You could always run away," Evan grinned.

The room fell silent for a moment.

"I.. don't know, Evs," Regulus sighsled, looking defeated. "They're... They are still my parents. If they find me..." Regulus shuddered.

"Hey, it's ok Reggie," Dorcas consoled him, giving him a small smile. "I have an idea. I, like Pandora, have many good ideas."

Barty raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure about that, Meadowes?"

"Shut up Bartemius, are you guys in or not?"

______________

This may have been the stupidest plan Evan had ever heard, and he was around Barty Crouch Jr every day.

Evan hadn't realised how terrified Regulus was of him parents until now. He knew they were scary, and abusive pieces of shit, but he didn't think Regulus was fucking scared of them. It really upset him actually. He wanted Regulus to feel comfortable enough to talk to them, but Evan had known Reg for over 5 years now, and that's just not who he was.

When Evan's parents agreed to let them use the beach house for the summer, everyone was ecstatic to say the least. Evan knew Regulus was too, but they had one major obstacle to overcome, and they had cracked the code to avoid it rather quickly.

Evan knew this could only end badly, but he wasn't going to say so. They could, maybe, just possibly, pull it off. Or at least he hoped so.

Boarding the Hogwarts express was as chaotic as ever. People were running, pushing, shoving, spells being chanted all around, 7th years saying their tearful goodbyes.

The group managed to find a compartment they all fit in. Pandora, Regulus and Dorcas sat on one side, while Evan and Barty sat on the other side.

"Do you really think we can pull it off?" Pandora asked, biting her nails, a nervous habit of hers. She had also taken out a quill, and was doodling on herself, another thing she did quite often. She had drawn a window with flowers on the windowsill, with a ladder leading up to it on her wrist.

Phase one of the plan was simple. Pandora would get the keys for the beach house off their parents, while Evan , Barty and Dorcas got a cab that would take them to Regulus' house. Regulus just had to meet up with his parents and go home with them.

Phase two, Pandora would go back to the beach house when she got the key, while Evan, Dorcas and Barty waited until midnight to sneak closer to Regulus' house, where he would be wide awake, stuff packed and waiting for them.

Phase three included Dorcas, who would transfigure something into ladder which was something she was quite good at, and they would break Regulus out of his parents house.

Phase four, they would then take a train to the train station nearest to the beach house and meet Dora there.

What could go wrong?

A lot.

A lot could go wrong.

"So, I guess I'm running away for good," Regulus added, looking down at the ground. " Once I leave there is no going back."

"Are you ok with that?" Dorcas asked , trying to catch his gaze.

Regulus let out a shaky breath.

" Once I'm gone I will be. Might take a while. I need to do this though, I can't stay there much longer if I'm being honest."

"We'll help you the best we can," Pandora added.

"Yeah, you're stuck with us for the summer. You're never getting rid of us," Barty said with a wide grin.

"We're here for you Reg," Evan confirmed."And even though we don't say it enough, we love you, in our own weird way."

That makes Regulus smile. "I suppose I tolerate the lot of you," he smirked, and laughed loudly when Barty kicked his ankle.

When the train whistle sounds, they know they have no time to lose.

Phase one has begun.

Time to break Regulus Black out of his own house.

Oh this is not going to end well.

Chapter Text

The Slytherin Skittles met up with Mr and Mrs Rosier on the train station platform. While Mrs Rosier gave all of them lots of attention, complementing them, saying how big they've gotten, Mr Rosier handed Pandora the key.

"I'll send you both 500 galleons a week for you guys to live off of. Don't do anything stupid, you understand me?"

Everyone nodded. Dorcas thought Mr Rosier was rather scary. He was tall, with the same blonde hair as his children, with a matching moustache. His face was wrinkled and he was wearing a suit, probably only coming back from his ministry job to see his kids, which he didn't seem very happy about.

Mrs Rosier insisted on taking all their trunks, saying she would bring Pandora to the beach house, and all their stuff with her. Regulus was the only one with his trunk still with him.

"I have to go, Mother will be waiting," he said quietly, staring down at the ground. "See you guys later."

Dorcas felt a pang in her chest. Fuck. Dorcas really liked Regulus a lot. He was quiet and sarcastic and funny without even meaning to be. She hated that he had to go back home at all, even if it was just for a few hours.

Evan, Barty and Dorcas said goodbye to Pandora, and managed to get a cab to Regulus' house.

Dorcas usually never doubted her plans. She knew she was smart, logical and could manipulate people really easily, but this plan just seemed crazy and outlandish.

There were probably 100 better ways they could have done this, but this is the one they were going with.

"God, this is really fucking stupid of us," Evan muttered.

Evan Rosier had short blonde hair, and closely resembled his sister. He was smart, but also knew how to loosen up and have fun. He was the only one who could really keep Barty and his crazy antics in check.

"Have some faith in us, Rosie," Barty smirked.

"Oh, stop calling me that, you bastard."

Barty chuckled loudly.

The cab driver paid them no attention. Once they had given him the address to a hotel only five minutes away from Regulus' house he hadn't acknowledged them once.

Dorcas checked her watch. They had another five hours before midnight, so they would be mostly waiting about. The hardest part of the waiting would be to make sure Barty didn't get too bored and do something stupid and get them caught.

All Dorcas had to do was transfigure something into a ladder using her wa-

"Fuck," Dorcas cursed loudly.

"What wrong?" Evan asked, eyebrow raised.

"I left my wand in my trunk."

A moment of silence.

"Well fuck," Barty said, leaning back on the leather seat. "I did aswell."

Evan pulled out his wand, which was tucked into the waistband of his pants.

"I have mine, think you can use that?"

"No, it's really difficult to use a wand that isn't yours, I don't think I'll be able to pull it off. We'll have to find another way."

Evan frowned. "Since we have my wand there should be some spell we could use to get him down. Regulus has his wand aswell."

"Wait," Barty mumbled. "We aren't allowed to use magic outside of school. It'll alert the ministery."

They all glance at each other. The plan was already falling apart and it had barely even started yet.

"Well, I'm 17 in a month, so I'll be of age, but that really isn't helpful to us now," Dorcas murmured, more to herself than anyone.

"There has to be another way," Evan grumbled. "There has to be, come on we have to think of something."

Dorcas sighed. "We have five fucking hours to think of something. Surely we'll have something by then."

The other two nodded, though Dorcas could see how worried Evan looked and Barry's concerned expression.

The rest of the cab ride was in silence.

________________

It was 30 minutes until midnight, Regulus was counting on them, and they hadn't come up with a single solution to rescue him.

Well maybe rescue wasn't the right word...more like kidnap. Voluntary kidnapping.

Barty cursed, running a hand through his already messy hair. "Were we always this stupid? Come on, Dorcas you're a literal genius, you have to think of something."

"Hey, don't blame me," Dorcas said, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not the genius, Regulus is, and he approved of my plan, all of you did. This isn't on me."

"Stop it, let's not go around blaming each other. We have about half an hour before it's midnight, we still have time," Evan told them.

"We don't have enough" Barty groaned.

They were sat outside the hotel, leaning up against the wall and brain storming, but never getting very far. Rain was beginning to fall, though it was only a few light drops.

"How do we tell Regulus we've already failed?"  Dorcas whispered. She really didn't want to disappoint one of her best friends. He was depending on them to help him.

"He had no faith in us to being with," Evan mumbled.

"Hey, maybe if we don't think of something, Regulus will," Barty mused.

"He probably already has figured a way out before we get there," Dorcas laughed.

When midnight arrived, the group made their way towards the Black family house. Regulus had told them the address was Number 12 Grimmauld Place, though Evan said he'd been there before, as Evan and Regulus are distant cousins and their fathers were close friends and co workers.

"Here it is," Evan said, pointing to a wide, two story house on a muggle street. It was in different shades of grey, and the only light they could see coming from the house was an alliminated bedroom on far left.

Regulus seemed to have spotted them, and opened his bedroom window, peering down at them. He seemed to immediately realize they had already fucked up the plan most likely spotting they had no ladder with them, or anything with them at all, and rolled his eyes at them.

Dorcas opened her mouth to speak, but Regulus put a finger to his lips, symboling for them to be quiet, and turned back into his bedroom. The trio stood there awkwardly, not entirely sure what to do. 

Regulus appeared back at his bedroom window about five minutes later, and it appeared he was talking to someone, though Dorcas couldn't hear what was being said.

Then Regulus magically appeared in front of them, which caused Dorcas to yelp, and jump back in surprise. Barty put a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing, and Evan was grinning widely. Dorcas shot them both a dirty look, before turning back to Regulus.

There was a house elf. Kreature was his name, if Dorcas remembered correctly. Regulus often talked about him fondly, and scolded them about treating house elves with respect and dignity.

Regulus was bent down beside him, whispering to him quietly, Dorcas heard him say thank you and stay safe. The house elf , who seemed sad or disappointed, patted Reg on the shoulder and disappeared into thin air.

Regulus gestured for them to get a move on. Evan helped Regulus carry his trunk, grabbing on of the handles while Regulus gripped the other. Nobody spoke until they made it to the train station.

_____________

"So, your house elf aparated you to us, because he likes you?" Evan clarified, a wide grin still on his face.

Regulus nodded. "See, when you treat house elves with the respect and dignity they deserve it pays off. And just to spite my mother, I told Kreature to go to Hogwarts, wrote a letter to Dumbledore to let him work on the kitchens. He'd like it there."

Dorcas chuckled.

"You're quite the menace, Black. Well, now you're free of your family and all responsibility, and can spend the the summer getting drunk and high."

Regulus' face fell a little. "It'll take me a while to adjust, I think I'll take it easy for about a week, let the reality that I'm never going home sink in. I'll probably cry a bit, and then I'll get wasted."

Evan gave him a sympathetic smile. "Take all the time you need, ok? We'll still be here."

"You are never getting away from us now," Barty smirked.

"So you keep saying, Barty," Results smiled. "I'm getting a little worried your going to kidnap me and lock me in a cellar or something."

"I mean, we already did kidnap you," Dorcas added.

Their train didn't arrive until four in the morning, though they did expect this as Regulus knew the station time table off by heart, for some reason. Pandora was probably already at the beach house, with all their belongings. Dorcas was getting a little impatient about the waiting. They had bought their tickets and we're sitting on a very uncomfortable steel bench.

They all chatted through out the night, Barty eventually fell asleep, his head resting on Evan's shoulder, though Evan didn't seem to mind. 

Then an announcement was made over the intercom.

"All passengers on platform 5, going to the nearest beach, please note the train has been canceled due to bad weather, and won't be departing until tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience, there will be no ticket refunds, thank you."

Well shit.

They were so close to pulling this off, and now it was all falling apart. Again. Dorcas hadn't even realized it had started thunder storming some time throughout the night.

"Barty," Evan said shaking the boy by his shoulders. "Wake the fuck up."

Barty sat up quickly, and Evan filled him in on the situation.

"Well, we can't just wait," Dorcas cried. 

"My parents will start looking for me in the morning. I left a note, explaining that I'd run away for good, but they'll still look for me. I can't stay here," Results said, clearly on the verge of a panic attack.

Dorcas was internally freaking the fuck out. This could not be happening to them. They had come so far.

"Panda will get worried if we don't arrive, probably call our dad," Evan said, he had now started pacing, unable to sit still.

"I have an idea," Barty said, abruptly standing up.

"Oh, this is going to be good," Dorcas muttered underneath her breath.

"We steal a car. Drive down there, Evan you know the directions to the beach house, right?"

Evan nodded slowly.

"Then let's steal a car and drive down there right now."

______________

Dorcas was sitting shotgun in a black 1977 Pontiac LeMans. Barty, of course, was driving, and well over the speed limit at that. Evan was holding on for dear life in the back, while Regulus just looked rather bored. Regulus' trunk was in the sit between them.

"Slow down, Barty," Evan exclaimed, as Barty took another sharp turn. "You're driving faster than I can give directions!"

"It is also thunder storming, and the road in really wet, you are going to crash this car and get us killed or arrested," Dorcas chimed in.

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on, I'll slow down."

He did, which honestly surprised Dorcas as Barty rarely listened to them. Evan was calling out directions. Dorcas wasn't sure how long they were driving for, or how long was left in their journey.

"When did you learn to drive?" Dorcas asked.

"You think this is my first time stealing a car? Cas, this is about the sixth car I've stolen."

"Disappointing your father at every turn," Regulus said.

"See, he gets it," Barty chuckled.

"Ok, take the next left, and we'll be about 20 minutes away. We should probably abandon the car there, so we're not suspicious," Evan explained.

"So what then? We walk for twenty minutes in a thunder storm" Dorcas replies.

"It'll be longer on foot, but we've gotta do we gotta do."

Barty drives the car into a park, twenty minutes away from the beach house. Evan and Barty carry Regulus' trunk between them, as the other two follow closely behind. 

The wind is howling loudly, and messing up Dorcas' hair, which greatly annoys her. The rain isn't as heavy as it was before, but still enough that by the time they reach the beach they're all soaked.

"Almost there," Evan called, leading them further down the beach. The ocean is a deep grey, and is crashing roughly against rocks. A row of colourful beach houses are elevated above the sand by a timber platform.

"This one," Evan exclaims, before banging in the door and yelling over the wind "Pandora! It's us!"

Pandora opens the door and gapes at them.

"It's only four o'clock now, how are you guys-"

"We'll explain later," Barty said, pushing past Pandora into the beach house. They set Regulus' trunk onto a the ground, before Barty collapses onto a blue couch in the middle of the room, and immediately falls asleep.

Chapter Text

Regulus went straight to his room when he arrived at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. It's not like his parents cared where he was anyway. He didn't want to see them right now, and is relishing in the fact that may very well be the last time he ever does see them.

He lay down on his bed, his stuff all still packed into his trunk. There was a few things in his room he wanted to bring with him, a few things to leave behind, but right now he needed a break. It was five hours until midnight. He had time.

He eventually got up. He couldn't lay around for ever. He scanned his room for things to bring with him. He stuffed his trunk with clothes, a lot of them infact. He wasn't coming back, he needed clothes for the summer. He had a large stash of money in his room, which he was bringing with him.

He had a yellow star teddy. It was a yellow star with a smiley face on it. Sirius got for him before he left for Hogwarts for the first time. Regulus hated himself for still having it. Regulus hated himself for putting it in his trunk and bringing it with him.

Regulus took out his wand, planning on using it to summon a glass of water when he remembered he wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school. He sighed in frustration. That's when he remembered.

Shit. Their plan involved using magic. Magic they weren't suppose to use outside of school. Merlin, why hadn't they thought of this? Why didn't they have a back up plan? Regulus wanted to scream. They would think of something. They had five hours to think of something.

Regulus gathered more things from his room he wanted to keep. A lamp, his pillow, blank notebooks he could still use, a few of his most treasured filled journals. 

He took out a quill and parchment. He wasn't going to leave without a note. He hated his parents, but for some reason wanted to give them some sort of closure. It might stop them from looking for him.

Dear Mother and Father,

I'm sorry but I have to leave.This isn't the place for me, I don't want to live this life.Its suffocating if I'm honest. I'm leaving, but by the time you read this I'll be long gone. Please don't look for me. This is my choice and it's what I want to do. I won't forget you, even if I wanted to.

R.A.B

Satified with the note, he left it on his desk for them to find. He wonders how long it will take them to realise, to come up to his room and read the note. He wonders what their reactions will be. He was there when Sirius left, but that was a long time coming. Regulus was going to leave and never return in a matter of hours.

He wonders who the Black family fortune will go to. There were no more sons once Regulus left. Most likely, it will go to Bellatrix or Narcissa. The Ancient and most Noble Black family was crumbling beneath his feet.

He wonders if he will be burned off the Black family tapestry. He wonders if his parents will look for him. He wonders if they'll find him.

Before Regulus realises what he's doing, he's in Sirius' room. It hadn't changed since last summer. Of course it hasn't. Sirius hadn't been here since last summer.

Regulus was angry at him. He was angry with Sirius for leaving him, leaving him deal with the result of Sirius running off. Leaving Regulus to deal with their Mother's wrath. Regulus would be heir to the Black family for approximately three more hours.

Regulus was glad he was leaving. It was for the best. He didn't want to be here. But it was kind of a bittersweet feeling. Regulus' mind raced with childhood memories, almost every single one included Sirius. His brother. Always his big brother.

Kreature found Regulus sobbing on the floor of his brother's room, and immediately put a reassuring hand on Regulus' shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Kreature," Regulus whispered between sobs. "But I've got to go. I've got to leave. I- I can't stay."

"Master Regulus," Kreature mumbled. "It's ok. Go back your room, Master Regulus. Kreature will be there in a moment."

Regulus nodded. "Thank you, Kreature. I'm sorry. I don't want to leave you, I really really don't."

Kreature said nothing as he turned to leave. 

____________

"Kreature," Regulus said, turning to his house elf.

Regulus had written a letter to Dumbledore about a minute ago to allow Kreature to work at the kitchens there. That way, Regulus knows Kreature is safe, happy and he can see him sometimes, when he is at Hogwarts.

"Yes, Master Regulus? What do you need Kreature to do?"

"Can you get me outside to my friends?"

"Of course, Master Regulus. Take Kreature's and, hold onto your trunk."

Regulus did as he was instructed. With a deep breathe, he took Kreature's hand. One moment he's in his bedroom, the next he's standing on the gravel outside his house, right Infront of Dorcas.

Dorcas yells, and stumbled back. Regulus already knew Barty and Evan would be stifling their laughter. 

Regulus knelt down to Kreature's level.

"I'm sorry, Kreature. I really have to go. You have been a lovely friend, and I am really going to miss you."

"Kreature will miss you too, Master Regulus, it's alright." 

"Stay safe, I hope to see you soon."

"Goodbye, Master Regulus. Kreature hopes to see you soon also."

Regulus gives the house elf a reassuring smile, before turning to his friends. Evan helped him carry his trunk, and the group stay silent as they walk towards the train station.

Regulus is still trying to process it all. He has just left the home he has known for 15 years, the place he grew up, the place his family lived. Well, not all of his family. He was never going back, or at least not without a fight. He will be disowned, scorned, and a  disappoint. Everything he swore not to be when he saw Sirius leave.

Results had become everything he swore he wouldn't, and he couldn't be happier.

_______________

The beach house was bigger than Regulus was expecting. He knew the Rosier's were rich, but not two story beach house they never use rich. There was a living room, a kitchen with marble counter, three bedrooms, two bathrooms , a dining room and a porch.

"Wait," Evan said, slowly. "If we only have three bedrooms that means we'll have to share."

"I call Pandora," Dora announced .

"That's not fair! I wanted Pandora!" Regulus protested, shoving Dorcas slightly.

"I already called her, fair is fair, Reggie."

"It's ok, Reg," Barty smiled." You can share with me."

"I would rather die, thank you."

"You can share with me, Barty," Evan said.

"Oh I knew you wouldn't be able to resist me, Evs."

"Shut the fuck up, wanker."

Barty's smile widens as he laughs loudly.

"Wait so I get my own room," Regulus cheered.

He was very glad about it. He liked having his own space to decompress and relax, even when he is around his best friends. He liked having some peace and quiet.

If he had to share with anyone here, he would have chosen Pandora. She was a lot like him in some ways, and completely different in other ways. She took appreciated having peace and quiet, but she could also be loud and messy. She was chaos, and Regulus loved her for it.

"We need to celebrate, start the summer off with a bang," Dorcas says, smiling widely.

"Yes, we must," Pandora agreed. "Any ideas?"

"I know!" Barty declared, cracking his knuckles. 

"We dye our hair."

"Oh god, you are crazy," Evan mutters from the couch. " But I'm in."

"Hmmm, I'll get pink braids," Dorcas mused, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger.

"I will dye the ends of my hair blue and pink. Oh, and I also want to cut my hair shorter, maybe just above the shoulder," Pandora said excitedly.

"I like the way you're thinking, Panda. I'm gonna get green streaks in my hair," Barty grins.

"I wanna do that aswell," Evan chirps from his spot on the couch. "We can do it together."

"Fine, but you have to admit it was my idea, and you want to twin with me because I'm your favourite," Barty teased.

All eyes were now on Regulus. He wasn't against the idea, infact he quite liked it. It felt like erasing the image his parents had painted for him, and reclaiming himself. He was free to do whatever he wanted.

"I'll get white streaks in my hair, like Narcissa did. I quite like the idea," Regulus said lazily.

"That's that then, now time to get everything," Barty declared.

"Wait until the bloody thunderstorms over, Merlin Barty," Evan said, his smile bright. "We are here for two while months."

"We also need to get groceries," Dorcas added. "My dad said he'd send me 50 galleons a week, so we have a lot to live off if with Mr Rosier's money as well."

"I have a stash of coins in my trunk. I don't recall the exact amount, but I think it all adds up to about 300 galleons.," Regulus tells them.

"Oh wow," Barty says. "We are rich, and there is nobody here to tell us how to spend our god damn money."

Evan laughed. "We certainly won't be trusting you with it Bartemius."

___________

Barty and Evan were on the hunt for hair dye, while Pandora and Dorcas went out to get groceries and other things they would need in the beach house. Regulus was left alone inside. He didn't mind. He had something he needed to do.

His mind kept on wandering back to Sirius. They had both escaped the Black family fortune, and Regulus...well he really wanted to tell Sirius he had done it. He had got out.

Pandora had a pet owl named Mouse (Barty named her, when he first saw the snowy owl he just started calling it Mouse, and it stuck.) that she let them all use to send letters. Regulus had a letter he needed to send.

Quill in hand, he stared at the parchment for a while, wondering what to write and how to write it. After about twenty minutes of staring , Regulus finally put pen to paper.

Dear Sirius

It's me. Your brother, Regulus. I'm writing to tell you something very important, though I don't expect I'll hear anything back from you. I ran away. I didn't do it by myself, like you did so easily. I had help from Barty, Dorcas, Pandora and Evan. I'm out of there now. I'm safe.

I assume you are still staying at the Potters. I'm with my friends, in Pandora and Evan's beach house I wasn't even aware they had.

I hope you are doing well. I really do. After every thing you have been through, you do deserve to be happy. I was mad at you for leaving me behind, but I get it now. You had to. I'm still a little mad at you, you'll just have to deal with it.

I think I just ended the Black bloodline. I was the only remaining son, after all.

Your brother,

R.A.B.

Regulus stared at the letter until he had it memorised. He wanted to send it, he wanted to reach out to Sirius, to tell him what he had done. He pit the letter in an envelope and taped it shut.

He wanted to send it. He wanted to tell his older brother he was ok and that he got out. After a bit of a mental back and forth, Regulus gave Mouse the letter and immediately broke down crying.

Chapter Text

" I can't wait to be green," Barty grinned, as Evan kept applying hair dye to the front of Barty's hair. Barty had already dyed Evan's hair for him, and the boy now had specks of green in his blonde hair.

" Who said I was dying to green? Oops, I accidently dyed your hair orange," Evan joked.

Barty gasped dramatically. "You wouldn't dare!"

"It's already done, you're a ginger, Barty."

Barty playfully tackled Evan to the ground. The pair rolled on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor, giggling and smacking each other lightly.

"How dare you make me ginger, Rosier! I expect compensation for this," Barty yelled, rolling on top of the blonde and pinning Evan to the ground by his wrists.

Evan looked up at him, completely frozen. Barty looked down at the boy, and into his blue eyes. Barty couldn't tell you what any of his other friends eye colours were, he never paid much attention to those little details. But he knew Evan's eyes were blue.

"Damn, are you ok, Evs?" Barty asked, standing up, still hovering above Evan, who was still frozen in place, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Evan said, propping himself up on the elbows. "Now, come on. Stop messing around, I need to finish your hair."

"You started it, I might add."

"Not important," Evan mumbled, as he stood up.

Evan added the last of the green to the pieces of hair that framed Barry's face, as Barty admired himself in the mirror.

"I get hotter with every passing day," Barty said, wistfully. "How do you resist my charm and good looks, Rosier?"

Evan let out a chuckle. "Oh, trust me, it's torture."

Barty threw his head back with laughter.

"Stop flirting, you two."

Barty jumps in shock at the sound of a sudden voice, and turned to look to the doorway. It was Regulus, stood arms crossed, usual annoyed expression on his face, but white streaks of hair at either side of his head.

"Ok, calm down grandpa, we weren't flirting. We're just two stunning people having a conversation," Barty grinned.

"Sure," Regulus said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you in here for a reason other then to admire my good looks,  Black?" Barty teased, ruffling Regulus' hair.

Barty would never admit it, but the white streaks really suited Regulus. Well, Narcissa was extremely hot after she dyed part of her hair white, Barty had told Regulus as much, but it somehow looked even better on Regulus.

"Oh, shut up, Bartemius, Cas told me to check up on you two, make sure you didn't burn anything down or kill each other."

"You look good, Reg," Evan smiled, resting his elbow on Regulus' shoulder.

"I guess you two look...the same," Regulus admitted.

For Regulus that was basically saying the looked like Greek gods, which made sense, because Barty was part greek.

"Oh my, Evan," Barty gasped, clutching his chest. "He thinks we're hot."

"He thinks we're dead gorgeous, Barty," Evan said, pretending to faint.

"You two are insufferable," Regulus rolled his eyes.

"Oh, Rosie, he thinks we're the best," Barty laughed, wrapping an arm around Evan's shoulder. "We must celebrate."

Ten minutes later, Bohemian Rhapsody, aka Barty's favourite song, much to the surprise to everyone, was blasting on a juke box Regulus had found in the room he was staying in. Barty and Evan were scream singing along, Barty doing air guitar and Evan singing into an invisible microphone.

Regulus was sat on top of the kitchen counter  watching them, a slight smile on his lips. He was pretending to act annoyed, but Barty could see right through him.

Dorcas walked into the kitchen, pink braids swishing as she walked. "What are you two celebrating?"

"Regulus thinks we are the best and stunning," Barty called.

"I did not say that," Regulus scoffed. " You're delusional."

"Stop feeding their egos, Reggie," Dorcas said, smiling.

"You're just mad that Reg prefers us," Evan teased.

Regulus rolled his eyes, before turning towards Dorcas. "Where's Pandora?"

" Washing her hair, she said she hates the smell of the dye or something."

Barty and  Evan went back to their singing, which was borderline just screaming now. They played the song on repeat for half an hour, and even Regulus had started singing along with them quietly.

Barty was already having the time his life and they hadn't even been at the beach house 24 hours. He was surrounded by his friends, out of school , no adult supervision and a shit ton of money.

Sure, he missed his mum a little. The only reason he ever went home was to see him mother, who he loved and adored with his entire heart. She had fallen ill after Christmas break, and Barty was sure she didn't want him to see her like that. Barty knew she was in and out of St Mungo's. He really hoped she'd get better. She had to, for him.

Barty despised his father. Not a single cell in his body didn't hate him. He was a strict, abusive piece of shit, and Barty wondered how his sweet and kind mother had fallen for such a man. Barty and his dad were polar opposites. Now Barty had an entire summer to disappoint his father.

He planned to get piercings, and a lot of them. He was talking nose rings, tongue piercing, ear piercings and maybe a couple tattoos. He had a fake muggle ID that he made last year that said he was 18, so he could go crazy.

He wanted a summer he would never forget. A one he could cherish and want to relive over and over again. 

Right now, he was happy. So so happy.

__________________

"They aren't too tight, are they Dorcas?" Pandora asked. She was sat on the bathroom sink, and was braiding Dorcas' hair for her. She was on the last one, and had asked Dorcas that question every three braids or so.

"It's fine, Dora, really. You're so gentle," Dorcas assured her, a wide smile on her face.

"Do you like it?" Pandora asked as she finished the last braid.

Dorcas stood up and looked at herself in the mirror, running a hand through the braids. "I love it, Dora. So much. You did so good."

Pandora smiled brightly. It was no secret that Pandora's friends meant everything to her, and she craved their validation. She was the only Ravenclaw of the group, and desperately wanted them to like her. She knew they did, she just needed to make sure sometimes.

Dorcas picked up a pair of scissors Pandora had found in her trunk. "Alright, show me where you want me to cut your hair, ok?"

Pandora grabbed a hair tie and tied her hair back, placing the hair tie just underneath where wanted it cut. Right now, her hair reached her lower back, and since it was the start of the summer and they were all changing up their hair. Pandora wouldn't have done it if she didn't want to though. She wanted a change. 

Pandora babbled about a variety of her interests while Dorcas began cutting her hair. She wanted it just above her shoulder, and the pink and blue hair dye sat on the bathroom counter top. 

Pandora hadn't cut her hair once since she was 11. She was now 15. Pandora liked picking at her split ends and randomly chewing on her hair when she was anxious. Pandora did a lot of strange things when she was anxious. Pandora did strange things a lot.

"All done," Dorcas said, and held up all the cut hair. 

Pandora looked in the mirror and didn't recognise herself for a moment. But she liked it. She really really liked it. 

"Wow. Cas I love it!" Pandora exclaimed, and pulled Dorcas into a hug. 

Dorcas chuckled. "I'm glad you like it. Do you want to add the hair dye?"

Pandora nodded quickly. "Yes, can we add it to my hair now? Just the ends."

"Anything you want, Panda," Dorcas smiled.

Pandora talked rapidly about this bird she saw a few years ago, describing it in extensive detail, Panfora was sure Dorcas found it super interesting, just like she did, and Dorcas began applying the hair dye to Pandora's hair. She added pink, then blue on the other side and eventually blended them to purple in the middle.

There was a knock on the bathroom door.Regulus walked in.

"Wow, you two look great," he said, walking over to them and admiring Pandora's hair.

Regulus had two chunks of white either side of his black hair. Pandora absolutely adored how it looked. 

"You look great too, Reggie," Pandora beamed.

"Why, thank you, Dora. Do you like your hair?" He asked.

"I love it, do you like yours?"

Regulus nodded. "I really do. More than I was expecting to, honestly."

Regulus watched as Dorcas finished off with Pandora's hair.

"Alright, all done, Dora. I need to clean up the mess in here. Reg, will you check up on the other two. Make sure they haven't killed someone or set the place on fire," Dorcas said, taking off the plastic gloves she was wearing that were stained with pink and blue.

"Sure," Regulus said, leaving the bathroom to go to Evan and Barty.

Pandora smelled the air and wrinkled her nose."Ugh, it smells horrid in here! I need to wash of the excess dye anyway, so I'm going to have a shower," Pandora told Dorcas.

The girl nodded.

"Alright, Panda."

Chapter Text

It was better to be seen and not heard.

That was Regulus' mother's favourite line. It has been screamed at Sirius, murmured to Regulus at family gatherings and demanded of both of the boys, no matter how old they were.

That is probably why Regulus always cried silently. He didn't whimper or gasp for breath in-between heavy sobs. He didn't yell, or punch things. He curled up on the floor of his bedroom and let the tears fall.

This is how Dorcas found him that morning in the beach house, curled up on the floor of the Rosier parents bedroom he was staying in.

"Oh, Reg," she sighed, closing the door behind her as she walked in.

Regulus sat up straight, and quickly wiped the tears from his face. Dorcas sat on the hardwood floor beside him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Let it out, Reggie, it's ok. I'm here. You're safe," she whispered into his ear, and Regulus broke down all over again.

He didn't like crying in front of people. He wasn't even properly sure why he was crying. It was so many things that it felt like it was nothing at all. So much had happened in the past week, so much change , which Regulus wasn't fully sure how to handle it all. He had freedom, he had friends, and it was all feeling a little surreal.

His small frame shook as he sobbed into Dorcas' shoulder. It wasn't quiet this time. It was loud, ugly sobs that left him breathless and all the pain seemed to seep out of him in form of salty tears.

He was safe, he had to keep telling himself. No one was here to scold him, beat him, silence him. He could cry as loud as he wanted, when he wanted, and no one would stop him or lecture him. He wasn't heir to the wealthiest wizarding family in Britain. He was just a boy, trying to survive.

That's all you could do sometimes, just survive .

Regulus wasn't sure how long they both sat their for. It could have been minutes, hours, days even. Oh merlin, he sounded as dramatic as bloody Sirius. That was another thing bothering him.

It had taken a lot of strength for Regulus to reach out to Sirius. It made him feel weak and vulnerable, but there was also a sense of clarity and closure to it. No matter what, Sirius was his brother. His big brother. It had been a week, and he still hasn't gotten a reply, and it was starting to weigh on him.

Regulus eventually emerged from Dorcas' shoulder, and looked right into the girls eyes. Her eyes were wide, big and brown, and full of kindness and concern.

"I- I'm sorry, Cas. I'm-"

"There is no need to be sorry, Reg," Dorcas reassured him, squeezing his shoulder. "Have you gotten it all out of your system?"

Regulus nodded slowly.

"Do you want me to stay?" Dorcas asked, pulling away from Regulus.

"No," he smiled. "You've done enough. I'll be out in a moment."

Dorcas nodded and stood up. She turned to leave, but then hesitated before she turned the golden door knob.

"If you ever need anything, whether it's to cry or just talk, we are all hear for you Reg," she said, looking in straight in the eye.

"I know."

"You're not alone anymore, Reggie. You have us full time for a few months now."

"I know."

Then Dorcas left, leaving Regulus standing there alone in his bedroom. It didn't feel like his, maybe it never would, but for this summer it was his.

He glared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, not quite recognising himself. He was changing. He wasn't sure if it was for better or for worse, but he was changing. Everything around him was changing.

And if Regulus felt like he wanted to drown himself in the shower, that was nobody's business. 

___________

Regulus was eating toast that Evan had made him the next morning, and he almost choked when Barty walked into the beach house.

"Good morning, gentlemen," he nodded to Evan and Regulus.

They were both staring at him, and the new additional metal he had added to his body. He had triple ear piercing on both ears, silver hoops hung from his ears and they glittered like the ocean outside. He had a scaffolding piercing on his left ear. He had a metal stud on the side of his nose, one of his eyebrows and when he talked Regulus could see he also got a tongue piercing.

"Is it even legal to get that all done at once at the age of 15?" Regulus questioned, eyebrow raised.

Barty grinned. "Jokes on you, they all thought I was 18," and the boy flashed what Regulus assumed was a fake ID. " And I went to three different places just to be safe."

Evan tutted loudly. "You should keep away from magnets and metal detectors from now on."

Barty laughed loudly, and smacked Evan in the back of his head. "Very funny, Blondie."

"Hey, if we ever lose you we can just get a metal detector , will lead us right to you," Regulus joked, finishing off the last of his toast.

"How humourous, Black," Barty said, he was still smiling widely.

"You get more insufferable with each passing day, Bartemius," Dorcas called from the couch.

"Oh, you love me, Meadowes, just admit it."

Regulus smiled. He was surrounded by his friends, in a beach house ages away from his house. He was safe. He was ok. He was surviving.

Pandora walked into the kitchen, hair desheviled, rubbing her eyes and yawning loudly. She barely glanced at Barty twice. 

"Reg, some owl arrived with an owl this morning, it's for you."

It took Regulus a moment to process that. A letter. For him. He refused to get his hopes up, but there was a chance. A chance it was a response from Sirius.

Pandora dropped the letter on the kitchen island, and Regulus glanced at it, quickly . He could recognise the handwriting. It was Sirius. Oh god, it was a letter from Sirius.

Regulus just stared at it for moment, before reaching out with shaky fingers for the ivory envelope. He couldn't draw his eyes away. Sirius had written back.

"I...I'm just going to my room," he mumbled.

Chapter Text

Dear Reggie,

Regulus rolled his eyes at the nickname.

I am really fucking proud of you. I get why you were and still are mad at me for leaving. I'm really sorry. You have every right to be. I won't lie I cried when I got your letter. I think James thought I was dying. I'm still staying at the Potter's, and I hope you know you can come and visit at any time whenever you like.

Going to a beach house for two months sounds really bloody fun. Wish I could join you. I mean I could, but you probably won't want me there, and that's ok, I don't mind.

Bet mother and father are going fucking mental! Well done Regulus.

Who knew ending out family's bloodline would be so fun?

Stay safe and I love you,

Sirius

I love you.

Regulus read those words over and over again.

I love you.

Did he? Did Sirius love him? Or was he just saying it? He didn't think Sirius cared. Sure, he had wanted a response from Sirius, but he wasn't expecting one. They hadn't spoken since last Christmas, yet Sirius wrote to him like no time had passed at all.

Regulus teared up a little bit. It meant a lot to him. Sirius meant a lot to him too. He would write back later, he promised himself. He shoved the letter into the dresser in the corner of the room, and walked back to the kitchen.

"Who was the letter from?" Barty asked. He was frying an egg ,or at least trying to. Regulus could smell it burning, and watched as Evan quickly took over. Evan was a surprisingly good cook, Regulus had found out.

"Sirius," Regulus responded, trying to sound nonchalant.

Nobody said anything. Regulus supposed he didn't make it easy for them to talk to him about Sirius. He either shut them down when the asked or avoided it all together. He didn't want to talk about now either , and was quite thankful for the silence from the group.

"Reg," Dorcas spoke up, turning to face him from her spot on the sofa. "You haven't left the house at all yet, why don't you go out and around the town? Or even just the beach?"

"Yeah Reggie," Evan chimed in. "Me, you and Barty will go out around for a bit, shall we? Need to burn off all of Barry's energy so he isn't too hyper this evening."

"Hey!" Barty yelled, in mock offence, before ruffling Evan's hair. Evan rolled his eyes, and smacked Barty in the back of the head.

"Sure, that sounds nice," Regulus agreed. 

He had wanted to go out. He wasn't entirely sure why he hadn't yet. Maybe it was because the beach house just felt so...safe. It was predictable, and they had all settled into a loose routine the past week, and he knew his friends would be there.

"I'm in aswell, I want to meet some muggle girls to shag ," Barty declared.

"Can you not think with your dick for five minutes, please Crouch," Evan grimaced.

"We all know he has no brain to think with," Dorcas added, and Pandora sniggered quietly.

"Play nice, you lot," Regulus rolled his eyes, but couldn't force back the smile on his lips. "Anyway, if we're going into town, we're going now. Chop chop, you two."

__________

 Regulus pulled off his shoes so he could feel the hot sand between his toes. Evan and Barty were wrestling playfully in the water, both already fully soaked and laughing loudly.

Regulus didn't feel ready to get into the sea yet. It felt unpredictable and unsteady. So he watched from the sand. It was rare that the weather was ever this good around here. It hadn't rained once in the past week, and stayed around 25°C. Usually Regulus would have hated this. He didn't like to get hot, and it meant he couldn't hide his body in baggy clothes or drink warm tea.

He didn't mind watching his two best friends having fun while he stayed on dry land. He was glad they were happy. The plan was to stay on the beach for a while, before getting lunch in the small seaside town they were only minutes away from, and then strolling around for a while, doing dumb shit Barty pulled them into no doubt.

He sat down in the sand, basking in the sunshine. His pale skin never tanned, so he was lathered in sunscreen, which Barty relentlessly bullied him for. 

"Come join us, loser," Barty called from the water, smiling brightly.

"No, I'm quite alright over here, dry and away from you two."

"You're no fun!" Barty protested.

"I really don't care."

Evan pushed Barty into the water again, catching him off guard, and making Regulus laugh loudly. "Leave him alone, asshole."

Barty grumbled as he crawled his way onto the sand, dripping all over, his tanned skin seemed to glow in the sun.

"Want to get lunch now, Reggie?" Evan asked, quicking Barty to make him get up.

"I thought you'd never ask."

They found a small café that overlooked the sea that wasn't very busy. They say outside on the metal green chairs and ordered the stuff they wanted, which Evan insisted on paying for. 

"You're such a basic bitch, Reg, I mean you ordered a fucking bagel of all things," Barty sneered.

"Oh, shut up Crouch, you just don't know what fine cuisine is."

"I know a fucking bagel isn't fine cuisine, for one "

"Barty, you don't know anything," Evan teased, quicking his ankles under the table.

"You motherfucker!" Barty cursed loudly. Evan chuckled.

Regulus rolled his eyes. He wasn't entirely convinced these two weren't in love with each other. They had found out over Christmas that Dorcas was a lesbian, and was dating a Gryffindor called Marlene McKinnon. She was in the same year as Sirius. They all took it quite well. It appeared to Regulus' like these two had a little something for each other, too.

Regulus wanted to tell them he was , well, quite gay. And that he had a gigantic crush on his best friends brother. He just wasn't entirely sure how. He was sure they wouldn't see him any differently, and he also knew they would relentlessly tease him, which he was used to by now. But he still hadn't. He had never told a soul.

It made him feel...dirty. Like something was seriously wrong with him. Maybe that was just because of all the stuff his mother had shoved down his throat for years. It was taking him a while to grow out of.

"Regulus?"

Regulus looked up quickly.

"Are you ok?" Evan asked, concern etched on his face.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine, just thinking is all."

Evan seemed to accept this answer, and gave him a small smile. Barty chattered, talking about muggle girls and various other topics, though Regulus wasn't really listenly.

Their food arrived, and he and Barty continued to bicker over bagels.

"I'm just saying, bagels are just bland doughnuts!" Barty yelled.

"Doughnuts are bagels in drag," Regulus deadpanned, which made Evan and Barty laugh loudly.

Suddenly, Barty had a wicked smile on his face.

Evan seemed to notice it too.

"Oh no," he mumbled.

"I haven't even said anything yet!" Barty objected. "At least hear me out!"

"Whatever it is , the answer is immediately no," Evan said, watching Barty sternly.

"Come on, it's not technically illegal!"

"So reassuring," Regulus rolled his eyes.

"You two used to be fun! What happened?"

"We heard one too many of your 'good ideas'," Evan said, crossing his arms.

"All I want to do is buy some alcohol, some fags, and maybe some weed," Barty shrugged. " I have the fake ID." He pulled the small card out of his pocket.

Evan and Regulus shared a glance. It's not like they had much of a choice. And Regulus didn't mind getting wasted.

"Come on," Barty said, excitedly, jumping out of his seat. "Don't be a buzz kill."

"Dorcas is going to kill us," Evan murmured, and he was probably right.

__________

The sun was beginning to set. Regulus was sat on the wooden porch of the beach house, a fag between his fingers, as he gazed out at the beach. There were other beach houses around, of course. There was a row of ten on this side of the beach. Some were unoccupied, one had an old couple Regulus watched for a while from his spot on the porch, a few had small families looking for a beach get away. None of them seemed concerned about the group of teenagers.

Regulus took a drag of his cigarette. There was a lot on his mind. He remembered the letter Sirius had sent. He was going to write back in the morning. Sirius was proud of him. He had made Sirius proud. It didn't feel real.

Inside Barty was blasting Starman by David Bowie. Regulus didn't really care for music, and Barty only seemed to like popular songs that could be heard on every muggle radio.

He tried not to think of his family. He couldn't help it sometimes. He wondered what carnage he had caused by leaving. He wondered how everyone had reacted. Sirius leaving was a long time coming, so was Andromeda's. But him leaving was out of nowhere. He had been a model son right up until he left.

The door to the beach house creaked open, and Regulus swiveled his head to see Pandora.

"Hey Dora," he smiled.

"You shouldn't smoke it's bad for you, Reg. Barty is a bad influence on you."

Regulus smiled fondly. "I know."

Pandora sat down beside him, sitting cross legged on the old wood. They say in silence for a while, watching the tide move in and out slowly.

"Dora?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm gay."

Regulus wasn't sure what had made him say it. Maybe the smoke was affecting his brain, maybe his walks were crumbling after being up for so long. But he had said it. He watched Pandora's face carefully. She meant so much to him. He would die for her. She was his best friend, above everyone else and everything else.

"Ok."

Regulus smiled.

"I know it took a lot for you to tell me that, Reg. But I really don't care or mind. I'm..I'm actually bisexual."

Regulus wasn't expecting that. But when he really thought about he, he shouldn't have been so surprised. It...made sense. A lot of sense.

"I know it took a lot for you to tell me that, Panda," he said, looking over at her. "And I don't see you any differently for it."

They both smiled over at each other for a moment.

Pandora and Regulus had a bonfire stringer than anyone else. They'd been best friends since first year, and knew each other than they knew their selves.

"We should go back in, it's getting dark," Pandora added, standing up.

"I'll be in in a minute. Night Dora."

"Night Reggie, come in before it gets too late."

_________

Dear Sirius

I wasn't expecting a letter back from you. But you really are full of surprises. Hey, I might let you come over here at some point, though I'll have to ask. Hope your summer is going well so far. Suppose you have James and other stupid friends to keep you entertained.

I really am enjoying myself out here. It feels weird and kind of surreal to finally be...free. Barty without adult supervision is quite entertaining to watc, I can't lie. I'm surprised he hasn't got arrested yet.

Hope to hear from you again,

Your brother,

R.A.B

Chapter Text

Evan and Barty had found a small playground in the corner of town. They were chasing eachother, laughing loudly and making jokes. 

"Watch this," Barty called from the climbing frame, and Evan watched as Barty climbed up and hung himself upside down from the climbing frame, hanging only from his legs. His hair and arms were dangling as the boy shrieked with joy.

"You're going to fall, dumbass," Evan joked, and ignored his racing heart. He wasn't sure why it was racing the first place. Probably from the adrenaline of it all.

"Nah, I have the power of Zues on my side," Barty smirked. Barty referenced Greek gods a lot, and knew a lot about Greek mythology aswell. It was probably because he was half Greek. 

Evan climbed up after him, and sat calmly in top of the climbing frame , and pulled out a cigarette.

"Oi, pass me one!" Barty exclaimed, pulling himself up.

"It's the only one I have on me, sorry B," Evan said, taking a drag of the fag.

Barty snatched it out from between Evan's fingers. "Sharing is caring, Evs."

Evan rolled his eyes, but let Barty take it, and they spent the next half an hour passing the cigarette between the two of them, and sitting in comfortable silence.

Silence was rare around Barty, but when it was just the both of them he really seemed to calm down and was able to relax. It made Evan feel special. He was the only one who could get through to Barty, get him to calm down, to actually think.

Barty was madness, chaos and hyper. He was the sea during a thunder storm. He was bright colours and disco balls. He was Barty, the one and the only.

Barty was actually quite smart. He could fly through exams without studying and was ahead of the whole year in potions. He just used his genius to create chaos. 

Evan didn't know what he would do without Barty. He was his person. Sure, he wouldn't feel like himself without the rest of his friends, but with Barty it was different. Barty was the stars to his night sky, the sun to his moon. They balanced each other out.

"I have an idea," Barty suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"Is it a stupid idea?" Evan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's stupid, but it'll be fun! Trust me."

Evan really didn't have a choice, not really. When Barty put his mind to something it was going to get done one way or another, and Evan really didn't have it in him to try change his mind. Barty swung off the climbing frame and was already running off.

"Wait for me, B!" Evan called, racing to catch up with the boy. Barty had a lot of stamina. He was beater on the Slytherin quidditch team, and was quite the athlete. He could run miles without needing a second to breathe.

Barty laughed loudly. "Not my fault your slow, Evs!"

Barty didn't stop running until the got to the edge of town, and Evan stopped beside him, wheezing and out of breath. He was keeper on the quidditch team, and wasn't entirely used to extensive running.

"Merlin...Barty...what are we....doing here," Evan gasped for breath in-between words.

 Barty smirked, before pulling both a screw driver and hammer out of his pocket. He showed them to Evan, who had an eyebrow raised.

"What's the screwdriver for?"

"Educational purposes," Barty said, his expression innocent.

"And the hammer?"

"Educational purposes aswell."

Evan, obviously, found that hard to believe. Mostly because the were standing in front of a sleek black car. Evan had no knowledge about anything to do with cars, they were a muggle thing and Evan didn't really care about cars all that much.

"Evan Rosier, I'm going to show you how to break into a car!" Barty declared, smiling widely.

"Nope, absolutely not, I'm not going to jail."

"Oh come on, Rosie," Barty pleaded. "I've done this loads of cars, and I've never gotten caught! I'm too smart."

"I find that hard to believe," Evan stated, shaking his head.

Barty's smile never faltered. "This," he said, gesturing to the car beside him, "is a 1960 Chevrolet Corvette."

Evan guessed it was a popular enough car, he had seen a few of them around, though he wasn't very interested in car brands or names. He already couldn't recall the name Barty had just told him.

"And we are going to steal it!" Barty announced.

"Why, though?"

"Because it's fun!"

"For you maybe."

"Just shut up and watch, dickhead," Barty snapped, playfully. 

Evan rolled his eyes, and leaned against the street lamp on the street. Barty raised the hammer up against the glass of the passenger seat window, as he explained.

"It would be more ideal to find one that already has a window open, but it's midnight now, so not many cars would. The next option is smashing it with a hammer, like I'm about to do."

When they had stolen a car back at the train station, Evan had waited with Regulus while Dorcas and Barty stole the car. Evan hasn't paid much attention to how he'd done it then, but he was watching and listening closely now.

Barty raised the hammer to the bottom corner of the car window.

"The weakest point of a car window are the corners, especially the sharp edge here. Stand back, glass gets everywhere when you do this."

"Won't it make a lot of noise?" Evan asked.

"The street is empty, it's late at night. Nobody is going to wake up," Barty assured him.

"If you're sure, I guess."

Barty slammed the hammer into the window three separate times until it shattered. He used the screw driver to pick off thick jagged edges, before standing back to admire his work.

"There we go," he grinned. "Now we just need to start it up."

"And how are we going to do that?" questioned Evan. Barty seemed in his element, and was doing this quickly and easily. He thought back to what he had said the night they had stolen the other car, when Barty had said he'd stolen a total of six cars. Evan wondered why he did it, surely there was more to it then just disappointing his father.

"Watch and learn, Evan. First we unlock the door."

He pulled up the lock on the windowless door, wiped off most of the glass from the leather seats and gestured for Evan to get in. Evan obliged, he was already too deep into this mess anyway to back out now.

Evan opened the driver's seat door for Barty, who scrambled in quickly, screw driver and hammer still in his hands.

"How are you going to start it up?" Evan asked, putting his feet on the dashboard.

Barty grinned at him before placing the screw driver against the ignition.

"This is the ignition lock cylinder, this is where the key goes, now if I place the screwdriver here and apply enough pressure it should break both the ignition and the steering wheel lock, and I should be able to drive the car easily."

He grabbed the hammer and put the head against the back of the screwdriver and using all his strength , hitting the screwdriver. Suddenly, the engine roared into life. 

Barty whooped loudly, and Evan couldn't hide his smile. Barty knew so much about cars - and stealing them - which honestly surprised Evan. It was clear Barty had a passion for cars. Evan wondered where he learned all of this.

"And that is how you steal a car!" Barty cheered loudly.

All of a sudden, the two boys heard sirens. And they sounded close. They shared a glance. Well shit. They were going to jail.

"Go!" Evan yelled, pulling his feet down off the dashboard and frantically looking in the rear view mirror.

Barty clutched the steering wheel and sped off quickly down the deserted street, yelling a string of profanities as he did so. That's when Evan saw them. A white police car, flashing red and blue lights and sirens blaring.

"Do you think it's for us?" Evan yelled loudly over the roar of the sirens.

"I'm not going to stick around and find out!" hollered Barty, as he turned the corner sharply.

The other vehicle was closing in on them swiftly, and Evan knew they were screwed. Barty kept turning corners, not indicating , no rhyme or reason to it. That's when they heard a voice crackle on a radio outside.

"We got a report about two boys attempting to steal a car! Stop the vehicle and get out with your hands up!"

Well fuck. Evan cursed loudly and Barty clenched his jaw, his eyes wild. Evan could feel the adrenaline coursing through him. There was no way they were getting away from the cops, no matter how many corners or streets Barty drives through. 

Evan heard Barty yelp beside him, and then he felt the impact.

They had crashed in a brick wall at the end of an alleyway. Evan thought for a moment he was dead. He didn't feel any pain. He didn't feel real. He opened his eyes, and saw the smashed windscreen and the smoke billowing from the engine.

"Shit," he cried, and looked over at Barty. The boy was staring back at him with wide eyes. He had a few scratches on his face, and blood was dripping from just below his eye.

"Are you ok?" Barty asked, frantically.

"I'm fine, you?"

"Fine. We have to go come on! We have to catch them by surprise. I have an idea."

Evan wasn't too optimistic about this idea, but Barty was already crawling his way out of the car via shattered windscreen. Evan followed him closely. They had to be quiet and move quickly. Barty grasped Evan's wrist and pulled him up onto the hood of the car. The sirens were still echoing from across the road.

"We need to climb over the wall," Barty whispered.

Merlin, Barty had gone crazy, Evan thought. More crazy then usual. But Evan had so much energy, he felt like he could merely float over the wall if he wanted to. He nodded, and watched as Barty jumped up , and grasped the edge of the brick wall, before pulling himself up. Evan did it aswell, though it took him a few tries and help from Barty on top of the walk before he got up.

They jumped over the wall, and they heard a police men yell loudly after them.

"Run!" Barty bellowed, and they both darted off, the seaside wind whipping in their faces. They jumped fences easily, and Evan ran as fast as his body would allow. They were going to get caught, he knew it. There was no crowd to get lost in, no shops or restaurants open to hide in. They couldn't go back to the beach house, they could be seen.

They found Regulus sitting on a bench in the local park, head buried in a book, and he looked up when he saw them run past. They stopped beside him, both gasping for air as he stared at them in horror.

"What did you two do!? I heard sirens. Oh god, Evan, you're fucking bleeding!" Regulus cried, sling his book shut.

Evan shook his head, still out of breath. "No time, cops, come on!"

He grabbed Regulus' wrist and they all started running. "Why are you dragging me into this, you idiots!" Regulus yelled, but kept running with them anyway.

The wailing of the sirens had faded into the background, but they knew they weren't safe. They just kept running. They had no where to go.

"Here!" an unfamiliar voice called, and Barty was dragged into a small apartment building. Evan ran in after him, and Regulus behind him. Evan looked up, and saw a girl. She was a bit taller than Regulus, and had long, brown hair and brown eyes. She had striking red lipstick on, and was objectively really pretty.

"You lot are bloody idiots! What happened to you?"

Barty was leaning against the pale blue wall, and smirked. 

"Me and Evan stole car, got chased by cops, crashed and ran."

"And you dragged me into it! I left my book on the stupid bench," Regulus sounded annoyed, though he usually did. "That was homework!"

"Piss off Reg, you can get it later, now who are you," Evan demanded, turning to the girl.

"That is no way to talk to the woman who just saved your asses. You would have been rotting in a cell by morning," the girl mused.

"Yes, thank you, mysterious girl," Barty smiled. "We are forever in your debt!"

The girl laughed, throwing her head back. "Yes you are. I'm Sab."

"Barty, this is Evan and that's Regulus."

"You lot sound right pretentious," Sab raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen you guys around before. Where are your folks?"

"We're all staying here for the summer, along with our other two friends. We're staying at one of the beach houses until school starts back up. Our parents aren't around," Barty explained.

Evan wasn't sure they should be telling this to some random muggle girl, but Barty didn't seem to care that much.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? You guys are lucky. Anyway, you should wait out the police upstairs, in my apartment. Should be alright to come out in the morning when the place is busy."

"Thank you," Evan said, "will your parents mind?"

"My parents aren't home. We need to sort out your ingurys too. Your lucky the crash wasn't worse."

Sab led them up four flights of stairs, before herding them into her apartment. It was small, with an old TV, a kitchenette, a leather armchair, and two doors leading into two other rooms.

The girl pulled out a small first aid kit. "I have some basic first aid training," she told them. "I can stitch up the bigger wounds and clean up the small ones."

Barty went first, since Evan insisted he felt fine. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, his face and hands were starting to sting and his feet burned. They really were lucky the crash wasn't worse. Evan didn't want to think about what could have happened.

Regulus sat quietly on the floor, and kept throwing glances at both Evan and Barty.

"I'm sorry, Reggie," Evan said, giving him a small smile. "We didn't mean to drag you into this."

"It's ok, Evan. I don't mind."

Evan nudged him. "Don't lie, dumbass."

Regulus rolled his eyes, and kicked Evan in the ankle.

"I'm not lying. I'm just worried about you two. I mean, you were just in a fucking car crash!"

"I suppose you have a point," Evan laughed loudly.

"Just don't get yourselves killed."

"We'll try our best."

Chapter Text

"So," Barty said, as Sab grabbed his wrist and started cleaning a particularly nasty cut, "is Sab short for anything?"

"Sabina," she mumbled, pulling a face.

"That's a pretty name," Barty smiled. "My full name is Bartemius."

Sab laughed loudly, and Barty laughed with her. He thought she was exceptionally pretty. Her hair seemed so perfectly fallen. And merlin, her eyes....

"That is an unfortunate name," Sab sniggered. "Your parents must hate you!"

"Oh, trust me, that's not the worst of it," he cried. "Bartemius Tobias Crouch Junior."

Sabina laughed even louder. She threw her head back and grinned widely. She reminded Barty of a Greek goddess, with her flowing hair and sallow skin. She was beautiful.

"Suddenly Sabina Reyna Leroy doesn't sound too bad, does it?" She joked, as she wiped some sort of ointment onto the wound underneath his eye. It stung a little bit, and he winced.

"I'm sorry, just trying to heal you up," she said, gently.

"No, it's alright. Thank you, we are really in your debt."

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're all done, Bartemius. Off you pop. But before you go, would you want to meet me here tomorrow? We could go to the park? Maybe get some lunch?"

Barty tried to suppress his smile and knew he was failing miserably. "Yeah, yeah I'd like that."

Sab smiled somehow brightened even more. Barty called Evan over, so Sab could tend to him scratches, he had a large gash on his forehead, that was still oozing blood. 

He sat down beside Regulus, who was sat on the beige tiles in the kitchen, and looked very tired.

"All good, Barty?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Barty's pleased expression.

"The girl just asked me out," Barty admitted.

"Poor girl has no taste," Regulus deadpanned.

"Ha ha, so funny, Black. You're just jealous all the ladies can't resist me. I mean, where's your girlfriend?" Barty teased, and immediately regretted it, when he saw Regulus tense up.

"Hey, I'm just joking Reg," Barty murmured, quickly, throwing him a quick glance. 

"It's ok, it's just...ummm.....well...never mind."

Barty frowned. "No, tell me. You can tell me, any of us, anything. You know that , right? It's important to me that you know that."

Regulus nodded, but stayed quiet, and Barty didn't want to push him, so he chose to stay silent too. They both sat there in silence for twenty minutes, waiting for Evan. Barty wasn't used to being quiet around Regulus, and it was excruciating. He couldn't sit still, and he kept glancing over at the boy. Barty had people he felt safe to be quiet around, and Regulus was pretty high on that list, but not in situations like this.

Luckily, Evan was done rather quickly, and Sabina also came back over to them, much to Barty's delight.

"Alright boys, it's two in the morning, get some sleep."

____________

They all chose not to tell Dorcas and Pandora about their late night escapade, and instead told the two girls that they had simply fallen asleep in the park. They believed them, of course, and when all that was settled Barty went back to Sabina's apartment.

"Why hello again, Bartemius," the girl grinned, and ruffled his hair.

"Good to see you again, Sabina," he smiled back.

"Race you to the beach!"

They both raced off, laughing loudly and yelling at eachother. Barty was faster than the girl, but she kept shoving him back, or holding onto the back of his shirt and running ahead. The beach wasn't far from Sab's flat.

Barty collapsed into the sand when he reached the beach. "First!" He called, laughing wildly.

"No fair!" Sab pouted, and sat down in the sand beside him. "You cheated !"

"I would never, Ms Leroy, I am a gentleman!"

Sab lunged at him, and pinned him against the sand before Barty could process what had just happened.

"Ha! You're no gentleman, you're just stupid!" Sabina teased, booping Barty on the nose.

Barty pulled Sab into the sand beside him.

"How dare you, Ms Leroy!" Barty yelled, gaspinging dramatically. Sab was in a fit of giggles beside him, and they lay there for a while. The warm summer sun was beating down on them, but neither of them minded. It felt really nice. Barty was able to slow down and have fun with this girl. They talked for hours, about their family and their lives, all plans promptly forgotten.

Barty found out Sabina's mum had died when she was 6, and she raised by her dad. He had some fancy city job, but he spent most of the money on his gambling addiction. She had a brother many years older than her, though she wasn't sure where he was. She was 15, like Barty. 

"Shit," Sab sat up suddenly. "I have to go! Dad said he'd be home early, I want to be there when he gets back. Does your fancy beach house have a phone?"

Barty nodded. He wasn't sure why the Rosier's had a telephone, but Barty had learned how to use one a few years back. Evan had said that the phone there worked, and Dorcas often used it to call her dad, and the phone number was stuck onto the wall beside it.

"Don't know the number though."

Sabina shook her head, fondly. "It's ok, I'll see you soon." And she ran off down the beach towards her flat.

Barty didn't get a chance to say goodbye, but was smiling after her. He jumped with shock when he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned quickly. It was Dorcas.

"You got a muggle girlfriend?" Dorcas raised an eyebrow.

"Not my girlfriend, just a girl," Barty shrugged, sitting back down on the sand.

Dorcas was wearing a green bikini top and grey shorts, her pink braids tied up in a bun. She sat beside him, hugging her knees, and soon Regulus joined them.

"Wanna go for a swim?" Dorcas asked eventually, turning to the two boys.

"Sure," Barty said, pulling off his t-shirt already. He really liked being in the ocean, it felt freeing. He loved swimming out as far as he could, even if his feet couldn't teach the bottom of the ocean. Some would call him reckless, he called it fun.

Regulus shook his head. "I can't swim," he said, bluntly.

"We could teach you," Dorcas suggested, but Regulus just shook his head again.

"Are you sure your not just scared of the water, Reggie?" Barty asked. He noticed how much Regulus avoided the ocean. He sat on the sand as far away from the sea as he could, and avoided being around the water as much as possible.

"Fuck off, Barty," the boy grunted, turning his head away from him.

Dorcas was watching Barty expectantly, but he just shrugged, and they made their way over to the water.

_________

Cas and Barty made their way back into the beach house at around ten o'clock, both of them dripping wet and in high spirits. They had swam for hours, and it was a lot of fun. 

"Well, Cas, that was a lot of fun, wasn't it?" Barty remarked, pulling on his dry t-shirt. Dorcas smiled at him in return, and was wringing water out of her long braided on the porch. Regulus had moved from his spot on the sand, to the front porch of the beach house, with a book.

"What book is that, Reg?" Barty asked, wiping sand from his damp shorts.

"Oh, it's a muggle book."

Barty raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you get a muggle book from?"

Regulus shifted slightly on his spot of the front steps. "There's a library in town. Got some books from it."

Barty patted him on the back. "Well, I hope you enjoy it, Reggie"

Regulus rolled his eyes, but had a small smile on his face. That's when Evan came storming out of the house.

"Where have you been all day?" He asked Barty, hautily, arms crossed across his chest.

"At the beach, why?" Barty replied, lazily, drying his hair with a towel Dorcas had passed him.

"With who? I saw you with...with some girl."

"Oh, just Sab."

Evan glared at him. Oh, he wasn't happy. Why wasn't he happy?

"What? What's wrong with me hanging out with Sab?"

"Off fucking muggle girls already?" Evan snapped.

Barty was extremely confused and failing to see the problem. And he hadn't fucked any muggle girls, not that it was any of Evan's business. Sab was a friend, and sure, Barty liked her and found her pretty, but that didn't matter.

"She's just a friend," Barty raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what the problem is, Evs."

Evan rolled his eyes, and stormed off into the beach house, slamming the door behind him.

"What the fuck was that?" Barty asked Dorcas.

"No idea," she mumbled, staring blankly at the front door. 

________

Barty snuck as quietly as he could into his and Evan's shared bedroom. They both took turns rotating between the bed or the carpetted floor, and it was Barty's turn on the floor, which wasn't entirely fair seeing as he hadn't even used the bed last night.

"Barty? Is that you?" A small voice came from the bed.

"Yeah, it's me."

Evan sat up, hair a mess, Barty could see strands of green sticking up from his blonde hair. He had bags under his big, blue eyes and he was shirtless. Barty's heart skipped a beat, though he wasn't sure why. Evan just looked so ....peaceful? Stupid? Angular? Barty couldn't find the right word.

"I'm sorry," the blonde mumbled, dragging a hand through his hair. "I shouldn't have reacted like that."

"It's ok," Barty whispered. He wasn't sure why Evan had reacted like that, but Barty only knew two things. One , he didn't care and two, he forgave him for it. What was the point in holding a grudge over...well it wasn't really an arguement. It was Evan yelling and being mad at him, and he wasn't sure why.

"It's just..." Evan murmured, as Barty lay down onto the floor, and pulled a blanket over himself. "I guess I don't want to be replaced, it's stupid. I'm sorry. We just spent every day here together so far."

Barty sat up, and looked Evan right in the eye. Now, he was frustrated at the boy. He was allowed have other friends, and fancy girls, but he always came back to Evan. He could never forget him, or leave him behind. He thought about Evan even when he wasn't around. He had told Sab a lot about Evan aswell. Evan was important to him. He was always the top priority, and Barty had thought he had made that clear enough. Clearly not though.

"She's just a friend, we can spend tomorrow together, ok? Me, you and Sab can tag along if she wants. Because you are both my friends."

Evan turned over in the bed, away from Barty, and didn't say anything else. Barty lay back down, but didn't fall asleep for a long time. His mind wouldn't shut off. He hoped he and Evan would be ok in the morning.

Chapter Text

Dorcas Meadowes wanted to tear her hair out. She had signed up for a summer of relaxing beside the beach with her closeted friends, not babysitting.

 So far, in the two weeks they had stayed in this beach house, she had taught Barty how to boil a kettle, which was harder then it sounds. She had got Regulus through six separate mental breakdowns, she had scolded Evan more times then she could count on calling Barty various insults- such as slut or whore - which had caused vicious arguments between the pair.

She went to Gringotts once a week, to change the galleons Mr Rosier sent into muggle currency, using floo powder to get back and forth between Diagon Alley.

It was her birthday in two weeks, and she was sending letters to Marlene almost daily. The girl was travelling to Ireland with Lily and her parents in less than a week for two weeks. They hadn't had a chance to meet up yet.

Dorcas called everyone into the sitting room. Evan and Barty weren't talking to each other, and no one was sure why, not even Barty. Regulus was overwhelmed by the sudden freedom he had and Pandora was her usual self, quiet and observant. Dorcas thought she seemed a bit distant recently.

"Are we in trouble? Cas I swear I didn't steal anything, it was probably Regulus," Barty rambled.

"No Bartemius, for once you are in the clear. I actually needed to ask you all something," Dorcas announced, sitting on the arm rest of the couch.

"You're not leaving us, Cas, are you? We wouldn't be able to function without you," Pandora remarked, walking into the living room.

"Nope, you're stuck with me," Dorcas grinned. "Anyway I was hoping to have Marlene over for a week."

She was met with silence, four pairs of eyes staring back at her.

"She's going to Ireland with Lily for a while, and we might not get another chance to meet up during the summer. I'm mostly asking Evan and Pandora, since it is their house, but I just want to make sure it's ok with all of you."

Pandora spoke up. "It's ok with me, Dorcas. I'd love to have Marlene over."

Evan nodded aswell from his spot on the hardwood floor. 

Dorcas let out a sigh of relief, barely containing her excitement. She was going to see Marlene. She was going to see Marlene!

"I don't mind," Barty added lazily, "not that you care, I can feel the excitement radiating off you."

Dorcas flipped the boy off, which made him laugh. She turned to Regulus'. She knew how much he valued his space and privacy, and didn't like meeting new people. Not to mention the past while had been quite hard for him. Dorcas didn't need his approval, but she still needed him to be ok with it.

"Sure," Regulus murmured over a bowl of cereal.

That was the best Dorcas could hope for.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Dorcas yelled, and ran straight to her shared room to write a letter to Marlene.

_______

Dorcas waited anxiously by the door all day, waiting. Barty had tried to pull her away to go swimming with him, Pandora tried to get her to play chess with her and Evan had chatted with her for a while, leaving when he realized he wasn't going to get more than short, clipped answers.

The McKinnon's didn't have the floo network. Marlene's dad was muggle, and while open to most of the wizarding world customs, found travelling through fireplaces a little too much, so Marlene was going by bus.

Dorcas was buzzing with a mix of excitement and nerves. None of her friends had really interacted with Marls, and she was worried that since they had spent a number of days apart for the first time since they had gotten together, they would be...different. Their dynamic would be messed up and they wouldn't be the same. Maybe, in the short period they had spent apart, Marlene had come to her senses and didn't want Dorcas anymore. Maybe they'd changed too much. 

She took a deep breathe. She was being silly, and she knew it. Marlene was her entire universe, and Dorcas hoped she was Marlene's everything aswell. Dorcas sat by the front door and waited. She wasn't expecting Regulus to sit down beside her.

"Afternoon, Cas," he mumbled, not taking his eyes off the book he was reading.

Dorcas hummed back in reply. She was too jittery to focus or think or talk. Regulus seemed happy to sit in silence beside her. Dorcas appreciated having him there. Regulus just had a grounding presence for her.

When the knock came on the door, Dorcas immediately opened the door to a startled Marlene.

"Merlin, Cas-"

Dorcas cut her off by throwing her arms around the girl and kissing her frantically. Dorcas didn't care if her friends were watching and nothing else seemed to matter in that moment. It was just them.

Marlene eventually broke away, laughing loudly. " Were you waiting by the door for me, you psycho !"

"Maybe," Dorcas grinned back, cupping Marlene's cheek. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too, babe. And it's a nice place your staying aswell, a fancy house by the seaside. Wanna show me around?"

Dorcas grabbed her pale hand and dragged Marlene inside the house, and straight to the bedroom they were sharing.

_______

Pandora had offered to sleep in Regulus' room, so Marlene and Dorcas had the room to themselves. With two horny teenagers who haven't seen each other in a while in the same bedroom, something was bound to happen.

Dorcas was curled up beside Marlene when she woke up in the morning. Blonde hair brushed against her face and she could smell the girls flowery shampoo.

"Morning, Meadowes," Marlene mumbled, twisting the bedsheets further around herself. Dorcas couldn't help thinking she looked really cute. Her face was bare of make up, which h was a rare but beautiful sight. 

"Good morning to you too," Dorcas chuckles, sitting up. A bony hand reached out and grabbed one of Dorcas' braids.

Dorcas watched as Marlene's eyes lite up."Your hair....it's pink."

"Glad you aren't colourblind, babes. Yes, it's pink, Pandora helped me with it. We all dyed our hair."

"I want to dye my hair!" Marlene exclaimed, sitting up quickly.

"I do have some left over hair dye from when I did Dora's hair," Dorcas sighed. "So, if you want some pink hair..."

"Yes!"

Dorcas watched as the girl jumped out of bed and ran out of the room, squealing with delight. She followed close behind, pulling on an old t-shirt , and grabbed one of Marlene's from her suitcase, so she stopped running around the house in her bra.

Surprisingly, Marlene found one of the bathrooms, even though the girl had no sense of direction. The beach house wasn't very big, but Marlene had a tendency to run around like a head less chicken sometimes.

"Ok, come here dumbass," Dorcas chuckled, tossing Marlene the old band t-shirt she had grabbed for her, one Dorcas knew she would be ok with getting stained. She pulled out the container of half used pink hair dye, and ordered Marlene to sit down on the cold tiles and point to the places she wanted pink hair. Marlene instructed her to colour the tip of her blonde bangs, two pink streaks either side of her head, much like Regulus had done with his hair, and pink all along the ends of her hair.

"How is Lily? And Mary?" Dorcas asked as she applied the hair dye to Marlene's bangs. Marlene often talked about both of her closest friends a lot, and it was obvious to Dorcas how much she valued her friendship with the other Gryffindor girls.

"I can't wait to go to Ireland with Lily! We are staying at her Grandmothers house, only downside is her crazy sister is also going to be there. Lily already finished all of her summer homework, which is mad, considering the amount we were given," Marlene rambled. "Mary is hanging out with another shady boyfriend, I think his name is Steven or something. He sounds like a complete asshole. She's happy to be with her family though."

"I'm glad they're well, now tell me how your summer has been so far, Marls."

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Danny hasn't shut up about quidditch all summer, he's driving us all up the wall. It's great that he got signed by the Chudney Cannons, but it's getting a bit excessive. Mum and Dad are fighting again, not sure what it's about this time - probably Dad's coworker Rosetta again. I've been mostly bored. How has yours been?"

Marlene liked to ramble and rant to Dorcas a lot. Dorcas didn't mind, in fact she felt extremely special. Marlene told her everything, every inner working inside her mind. Dorcas felt like she knew the girl inside and out.

"It's been fun here. Evan and Barty are fighting about something, though none of us are sure why, least of all Barty. Pandora had been a little off this past while, though she's insisting she's fine and Regulus is still getting used to having freedom, and he even reached out to Sirius."

Marlene gasped loudly. "Really!?"

Dorcas turned her attention to the few strands of hair the framed Marlene's face, dyeing them pink on either side.

"Sirius is going to be delighted!" Marlene smiled.

Dorcas knew Marlene was over the moon for Sirius. The two were very close, bonding over their punk rocker aesthetic, Marlene showing Sirius how to do eyeliner and their time on the quidditch pitch, both of them being beater, though Sirius has been kicked off the Gryffindor team last year with no explanation as to why. Marlene had been severely disappointed.

"Alright I'm done with this the front, how do you like it?" Dorcas asked, stepping away from Marlene and helping her to her feet to view her hair. Marlene gazed into the mirror, and squealed with excitement, before throwing her arms around Dorcas' neck.

"I love it!" She implored, pulling away.

Dorcas chuckled. "Then let me finish it, idiot. I still need to dye the ends."

__________

The two girls were back in their room, Marlene sitting in front of Pandora's vanity and doing her make up and admiring her hair. She was singing Dorcas' praises all morning, and immediately sent a letter to Mary and Lily about her now partially pink hair.

Dorcas had started some summer potions homework, much to Marlene's dismay. The girl wasn't exactly known for her smarts, being an average student, Marlene confessed to Dorcas that she had a hard time sitting still and focusing in anything academic. She was brilliant at potions though, and really wanted to be a healer when she left Hogwarts.

"I wish we could play quidditch," Marlene sighed as she applied bright red lipstick. "Shame we're in a muggle town. I won't be able to play quidditch in Ireland either, all of Lily's family is bloody muggle."

Dorcas closed her potions book. She was also missing quidditch. She was captain and chaser on the Slytherin quidditch team. Evan, Barty and Regulus were all on the quidditch team aswell, but only Regulus shared Dorcas' obsession with the sport.

"Sorry, babes, I know how much you love quidditch. I miss it aswell."

"I'm hungry," Marlene stood up, stretching. "Let's get some breakfast!"

"We only have toast and cereal for breakfast, it's all any of us eat for breakfast. No pancakes, I'm afraid."

Marlene rolled her eyes, as she pulled on the battered leather jacket she had found in some muggle charity shop that Dorcas adored. "It'll have to do, I suppose."

The pair walked into the kitchen. Barty was sitting on the counter, talking loudly with Pandora, who was eating a bowl of cornflakes. Regulus was probably still in bed, he hated early mornings. Dorcas could see Evan outside through the window, laying out in the heat of the summer sun.

"Morning, folks," Marlene said, and started opening random cupboards, shoving various things into her mouth.

"Good morning, Marlene, I love your hair," Dora greeted warmly. Barty gave her a nod.

"Marls, stop raiding our cupboards, and eat something proper," Dorcas scolded, and Marlene popped her head out from one of the cabinets, mouth full of bread.

"Bread is good enough for me," Marlene said as she munched on the bread, smiling broadly.

_________

Dorcas grabbed Marlene's wrist and pinned it up against the wall as a deep blush flooded Marlene's cheeks. Dorcas smirked at her, before pushing her head back and kissing Marlene's neck. The girl still smelt of flowers.

They had walked around the village all day, Dorcas showing Marlene prominent spots, and where the meals were cheapest. They had gotten back quite late.

Marlene gave a small whimper as Dorcas cupped the side of her face, still kissing her neck, leaving small marks in her collarbone. Marlene protested when Dorcas pulled away.

The girl stood on her tiptoes to reach Dorcas' lips, dark red lipstick stained Marlene's neck and collarbone. The met in a passionate kiss. Marlene placed a hand at the back of Dorcas' neck. Marlene's lips were warm and damp, and Dorcas opened her mouth. Marlene's tongue slid in seemlessly.

Dorcas reached for the blondes bra clasp, undoing it and practically tearing it off the girl. Marlene moaned softly into the kiss, before pulling away and clamping her lips onto Dorcas' shoulder.

"Fuck Marlene," Dorcas whispered, causing Marlene to nip her shoulder, making her shudder.

Marlene worked her way down Dorcas' body, from her shoulder, to her tits, her stomach and then her hips, trailing little kisses as she went.

Dorcas pulled the girl up to her full height and moved her hand to Marlene's thigh, slowly snaking her long arm up the girls thigh, before pulling her leg up and twisting so Dorcas' back was against the wall.

Their lips met again and Dorcas slowly moved Marlene backwards until they both collapsed onto the bed, their lips never breaking.

Dorcas moaned quietly, being mindful of her sleeping roomates and trying not to be too loud.Dorcas pulled Marlene on top of her, making Marlene smirk.

"This is going to be fun."

______

A few days later, Dorcas and Marlene were sitting at the oak table in the open space of the beach house when Barty abruptly walked through the front door, brown and green hair dishevelled, wearing the same clothes he had the day before. There was a strong smell of alcohol off him.

Regulus looked up from his spot across from Marlene and Dorcas at the table, and looked Barty up and down.

"Where have you been?" Regulus asked, eyebrow raised.

Barty gave him a crooked smile, stumbling as he walked towards them. "Sab and I got drunk. Like so drunk. I'm talking a case or two deep in beer. We fucked, it was soooo good. Muggles fuck better than witches, though I bet Evan would be better than anyone at fucking! Sab is pretty though, she's soooo hot."

There was silence in the kitchen. Regulus looked completely shocked, and Dorcas and Marlene glanced at each other. Had they heard him right? Thankfully Evan was still in bed, he had been very reserved recently, avoiding everyone but Barty specifically. Dorcas didn't want to think about what would happen if he had said that Infront of Evan.

Regulus stood up, and grabbed Barty's arm, tugging him out of the room. "Come on Barty, you better get to bed."

It was just Dorcas and Marlene at the table. Marlene's mouth was pressed in a straight line, as she watched the hall Regulus and Barty had walked down.

"That-"

Marlene was interrupted by Pandora and Evan, who walked into the open space chatting together.

"Cas, one of us better get to the shops, we are running out of food," Pandora mused. "I thought I heard Barty, where is he?"

"He didn't come back last night," Evan grumbled, the concern clear on his voice.

"He just came back. He's wasted. Spent the nice with someone called Sab, I'm guessing that's the muggle girl he's been handing out with," Dorcas told the pair.

Evan's face went pale.

__________

Friday was the second last day Marlene and Dorcas had together. Marlene had to leave Saturday evening, to go back to her parents house and that Monday she was meeting Lily and her family. Dorcas had the perfect idea about how they could spent their final full day together.

"Grab your broom, babes," Dorcas said to Marlene, who was sitting by Pandora's vanity, brushing out her hair.

Marlene gave her a confused look. It made Dorcas flush slightly. Marlene was so pretty.

"Why would I need my broom? We can't play quidditch here."

"You're right," Dorcas agreed. "But we can play quidditch somewhere else."

Marlene looked at her sceptically, eyebrow raised. "Well, then where do you suggest we go?"

Dorcas grinned.

An hour later both girls were in a deserted field thirty minutes away from the nearest town, brooms clutched in their hands. Marlene looked wonderful with her blonde and pink hair tied back in a ponytail, her hair swaying in the warm summer breeze .

"Oh merlin," Marlene breathed, before breaking out in a wide smile, and kissing Dorcas on the check, her pink lipgloss leaving a slight stain.

They got on their brooms, and raced through the air, doing fancy tricks on their brooms and laughing with pure excitement and joy. They had a quaffle, and passed it between them, before using trees as hoops and Dorcas beating Marlene by a long shot.

"It's not fair!" Marlene grumbled as her feet hit the grass. "You're a chaser, of course you were going to win! I'm a beater, I don't score goals!"

"Sounds like someone a sore loser," Dorcas teased, her pink braids swishing in the wind.

Marlene rolled her eyes, but smiled fondly at Dorcas. "Just you wait until the Slytherin and Gryffindor match next year, we're going to beat you easily. We have James Potter after all, the best quidditch player in Hogwarts history!...don't tell him I said that."

Dorcas laughed, throwing her head back, before quickly turning serious and staring daggers at the girl. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," Marlene put a hand on her hip, and flipped her hair.

Dorcas ran towards her, and tackled her to the ground, before they both dissolved into giggles. Dorcas rolled off the girl, and grabbed her cold hand as they stared up at the blue sky. They watched as puffy white clouds drifted past and the bright blue turned to a light orange.

_________

Dorcas hugged Marlene tightly on the wooden porch of the beach house. It was Saturday evening, about 6pm. Marlene had to take the bus back home. Dorcas had offered to walk Marlene to the bus stop, but Marlene had refused.

"Promise you'll write," Dorcas mumbled, never letting go of the girl.

"I already told you I would, Cas. I'm only going to be in Ireland, I'll give you updates every day I promise."

Dorcas' eyes prickled with tears as she pulled away and looked Marlene in the eye. Her brown eyes shone in the evening sunlight, and her perfect eyeliner framed her eyes beautifully. Everything about Marlene McKinnon was beautiful.

"I love you, babes," she smiled.

"Love you more, Cas," Marlene placed a hand on her shoulder, and kissed her quickly.

"Your going to miss the bus," Dorcas murmured, scanning over Marlene's face, making sure she wouldn't forget a single part of it, as if she would ever forget her.

"Mum is going to freak out when she sees my hair," Marlene smiled. Dorcas laughed quietly.

"I'll see you in September, ok?"

"Of course, Cas. See you then."

"Goodbye, Marls. Enjoy your trip. Don't run off with any Irish girls."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Meadowes."

Chapter Text

Pandora didn't know what was wrong with her. But something was definitely wrong. She didn't feel like herself. She stared in the mirror and saw someone....but it wasn't her. She felt a fraud, withdrawing from her friends and closing herself off. She was terrified her friends would look at her and... know. They would know she no longer felt like Pandora Rosier, and someone else had taken her place.

She was sitting at the table, Regulus beside her, reading a muggle book he had gotten from the local library. He consumed everything muggle recently, trying to rid himself of the hate he was taught, and forcing away his parents ideologies to become someone he was proud to be. Pandora was happy for him, she really was. She wondered if he felt the same as she did.

Her anxious tendencies become much more prominent, she bit her nails down to the wick, she tugged at her now shoulder length hair, her hands would shake. She couldn't stop it, no matter how hard she tried.

Mouse swooped through the open door of the beach house, and plopped a letter down Infront of Regulus. The bot immediately perked up, dropping his book on his lap, not even bothering to mark what page he was on.

Pandora watched as he scanned the letter, and a flurry of emotions flooded over Regulus' face.

"Who is the letter from?" Pandora asked.

"Sirius," the boy mumbled, standing up and wandering to his room. Pandora didn't feel like being alone right now, and got up and followed him. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts right now.

Regulus let her into his bedroom with no hesitation. She sat on the edge of his bed, not wanting to invade the boys space. He tore open the letter eagerly, and his face flashed with about ten different emotions at once. He read it quickly and hungrily, and then again, slowly and analyzing every word, every stroke of the quill, every punctuation mark.

Much to Pandora's surprise, he passed her the letter, looking away anxiously.

Dear Reggie

My summer is going well, and I'm glad yours is too. Enjoy yourself, you're free motherfucker!!! The Potters are as lovely as ever, and you are welcome to stay at anytime you like. Keep your mates out of trouble, but if any of you do get arrested, give me a call and I'll bail you out, for a small fee of course.

Yours,

Sirius

Pandora smiled down at the letter from the eldest black brother. Pandora was glad Regulus had him, even if it had taken him a while to reach out to him again. They were all going into 6th year, and Pandora felt like the years were speeding by and she hadn't had time to catch up with it yet. She handed the letter back to Regulus.

"You're lucky to have him, Reg," Pandora told the boy.

Regulus nodded. "I know."

They sat in silence for a while, Pandora didn't feel the need to talk. Silence was always comfortable between the pair. They understood each other on a different level. It was like they could peer into each others soul, and Pandora was horrified to think about what Regulus saw in hers. If her soul was tainted, or falling apart or just fake, like Pandora felt.

 She took a deep breathe. She was too in her head, she needed to let go and ignore all the noise that filled her brain. She was overthinking it, she was fine. Dandy. Great. She was Pandora Rosier, and she didn't feel like she was falling apart.

"What's wrong, Dora?" Regulus spoke up eventually, just like she knew he would. "You aren't yourself."

Pandora knew there was no point in lying to him. He was her best friend, he could read her like a book. "I...I don't know Reg, it feels like there is something...wrong inside me. Like I'm not...myself I suppose."

Regulus stayed silent for a long moment.

"Be brave, Dora. It'll get better."

_________

Barty whooped loudly, water rushing over his body from the waist down. His chest was tanned and his hair was messy. Dorcas crossed her arms beside him, wearing a pink bikini op and denim shorts. Evan was standing beside Dorcas, looking annoyed, his blue eyes shining as bright as the ocean.

Pandora had always thought her brother was the prettier twin. In a way, Pandora wished she looked like him. Maybe she wished she was him. Evan just had this superior energy over her. He was the golden boy of the Rosier family. He was the one they wanted.

Pandora pushed those thoughts aside.

The girl Barty had been hanging out with for the majority of the summer, Sab, was being carried by Barty. She giggled and squealed as he picked her up, her long, brown hair brushing against his arm.

Regulus didn't want to go into the water, and Pandora was sure he had a fear of it. She wasn't sure why. She kept him company on the sand, both of them laying out in the heat.

"Who wants ice cream?!" Barty yelled, still carrying Sab in his arms.

Everyone immediately got up, and raced towards the nearest corner shop. Evan had won, and was bragging about it smigly, before Dorcas slapped him up the back of his head. Barty had let the brown haired girl down by now, grinning broadly as he licked his sprinkle covered ice cream.

"You've got a bit on your nose, Sab," Barty pointed out, before lucking the ice cream off the tip of her tanned button nose. Evan made a loud gagging sound, much to everyone's amusement.

Evan had confided in Pandora about why he was avoiding Barty, and being rude to him for the past few weeks. He said he felt like he was being replaced by this girl, that Barty preferred her. That Evan wasn't important anymore. Pandora had tried to knock some sense into him, but he wouldn't listen, preferring to mope around.

They all sat on the edge of the elevated wooden panels the beach houses were on, eating ice cream, talking and messing around and Pandora knew. She knew that no matter who she was, no matter who she loved and no matter where she was her friends would always be there for her. 

Chapter Text

Regulus glared at the brass doorknob. He was outside of Evan and Barty's shared room, the oak door looming over him. Dorcas had tasked him with 'getting Evan out of the house' and Regulus was quite sure she'd asked him to do it to get him out of the house aswell. 

Regulus was still unsure about what he was meant to do with his life without his parents always telling him what to do, and found that following other people's orders made him feel like he was still worth something. He could do whatever he wanted, he just didn't want to. So he was going to do what Dorcas told him to do.

Regulus knocked twice.

"Evan, it's me, let me in," Regulus called through the old door. There was a rustle of fabric and Regulus could hear the boy shuffling around behind the other side of the door, before opening it after a minute.

"What do you want Regulus? I'm busy."

Regulus raised an eyebrow. "Doing what? Sleeping?" Evan stared at him, looking bored, so Regulus tried again. "Dorcas said we should go out for a while. You know, since it's sunny and all that."

Regulus wasn't entirely sure how he was going to get Evan out of the house but he had enough common sense to tell his current approach wasn't working. Without saying a word, Evan went to close the door, but Regulus stuck his foot out so he couldn't.

"Come on, just for an hour at least. We can go to the library for a while, maybe one of the cafés nearby. Just long enough to get Dorcas off our backs."

Evan sighed, before rolling his eyes. "Fine, but we aren't going to any dumb libraries,we aren't in school." The boy grabbed a green corduroy jacket that was hanging from the bed frame, and closed the door behind them.

Evan had told him he wanted to sit at the nearest cafe for a while, since neither of them had had breakfast, and Regulus was happy to do what he was told. They sat in awkward silence for a while, outside the blue café, which had a nice view of the beach and had blue metal chair outside, which all the places that overlooked the beach seemed to have.

They could talk for hours back at their dorm room about nothing much at all, but here it was... different. Things and people had changed a lot in the past month. So much had changed in so little time, and Regulus hated it. Maybe this beach house had been a horrible idea in the first place and they should have sucked it up with their family back home. Regulus decided to get straight to the point.

"What's been up with you lately, Evan?" He asked, sipping on a cup of tea the waitress had delivered to their table. Evan stared back at him, looking a little surprised, and glanced down at his feet.

"Nothing."

"Don't play dumb, Evs. I know something is wrong," Regulus pressed.

Evan looked back up at him. "You act like you don't have any problems Black, when we both know that isn't true. What's been up with you, huh?"

Regulus was a little taken back by Evan's response. He was usually calmer and more collected than this. He wasn't one for a scene. Regulus sighed deeply."Just dealing with the affect of leaving the only life I have ever known for good. There's no going back now, no matter how badly I want to. And... I'm not sure if I want to. It's been very confusing for me lately. Now it's your turn, smart ass."

The waitress, a tall girl with long, wavy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, dropped their food on the table they were sitting at, and gave them a bright smile.

"Thank you," Regulus mumbled, and turned back to Evan. But he wasn't looking at him, he was looking past him. Regulus raised an eyebrow, and followed Evan's gaze. And there was Barty, with that muggle girl he was always with, Sab. Everything clicked in Regulus' mind, watching Evan's face contort into a look of envy and anger. Regulus remembered what Barty had said the other morning in the kitchen with McKinnon and Dorcas about Evan. They liked each other. Evan was jealous. It all made sense.

"Oh merlin, Rosier. You like Barty."

Evan immediately looked aghast and offended, spluttering in response.

"I'm not fucking gay, Regulus. That's... bloody disgusting!"

Regulus wasn't sure what came over him in that moment.

"Well I am. I'm gay. Am I bloody disgusting to you, Rosier?" Regulus replied, completely deadpan. He didn't wait for a response, just got up and left and Evan sat there, shocked and left to pay their bill.

Regulus was extremely hurt and confused, playing over what Evan had said over and over again in his mind. Bloody disgusting. He walked back to the beach house slowly, wanting time to calm down and think all of this over. Bloody disgusting. Is that what his parents would think of him? What about Sirius? Dorcas and Barty?

He clambered onto the wooden porch of the beach house, where Dorcas was sat on the steps, smoking and writing what looked to be a letter, probably to Marlene. 

"Cas, I'm gay," Regulus said, with no hesitation, leaning against the timber railing.

"And I'm lesbian, Reg, incase you forgot. Fuck who you like, I guess. I'm glad you told me though," the girl chirped, looking up from her piece of parchment.

Regulus hesitated for a moment. "I told Evan. It didn't go well."

Dorcas looked stricken. "But...he was fine with me liking girls? Why is it different for you?"

Regulus shrugged helplessly, before strolling into the warm beach house, and collapsing into his bed.

______________

The last thing Regulus expected to happen that evening was for Barty to barge into his room, completely wasted, with a case of beer in hand.

"Barty?" Regulus sat up. He was reading a book from the muggle library - Carrie by Steven King - and wearing an oversized t-shirt with shorts. Barty looked a mess, as he often did drunk, but his eyes looked red, as if he had been crying.

"Wanna get drunk?" Barty exclaimed, his words slightly slurred.

"You're already drunk, Barty," Regulus pointed out and Barty laughed loudly. 

"Oh, come on, Reggie!"

Regulus did quite like the idea of getting sloshed and it was about time he had some real fun.

"Alright, pass me a beer, dumbass."

Barty passed him a bottle of Carlsburg beer, and Regulus pried the bottle open with his teeth.

"That's the boring way of opening it, Reg. Here, watch." Barty grabbed another beer and smashed the top of the bottle off the old vanity that sat in the corner of the room, that had belonged to Mrs Rosier, and was covered in brown peeling paint, and had a stash of cigarettes in one of the shelves Regulus had been taking from. Glass covered the hardwood floor, and Barty laughed. 

Regulus raised an eyebrow."You can clean that up, B."

"You're so grumpy, Reggie," Barty grinned, and pushed the shattered glass under the vanity, and took a swig of his drink.

Regulus was three drinks in, and he could not handle his beer. He felt like he was floating, and had the urge to break out in song. Sirius would have called him a lightweight if he could see him now, and Regulus thought that was extremely funny.

"What are you laughing at, Reggie? I didn't say anything," Barty slurred.

Regulus laughed louder. "What if Siri could see me now, I've never seen Siri drunk before."

The pair talked and drank well into the night. They talked about school, and their friends. They whispered about their families and laughed at nothing at all. Regulus and Barty had always been great friends, they had met on the train to Hogwarts in first year and their friendship had really stood the rest of time. They knew each other better than anyone else, except maybe Pandora, but she was always amazing at reading people.

Regulus wasn't sure how it started, but at some point during the night, Barty's lips were on his. He felt the warm pressure of Barty's hand on the back of his neck, and how it felt to tangle his hands in Barty's green and brown hair. Regulus knew what it felt like to run a hand down Barty's bare chest, and how to felt to be tangled in bedsheets with him. Regulus' soft sighs and Barty between his thighs. How it felt to have Barty's warm body against his.

Regulus woke up in the morning with a terrible head ache and completely naked. He shot up in bed, which was a mistake. It made him feel even more woozy then he already was. It took him a moment to realize Barty was in his bed. Barty Crouch Junior was in his bed, shirtless. Fragments of the night came back to Regulus in a blur. Now Regulus was sure he was going to be sick.

He jumped out of bed, and pulled on underwear and pair of pajamas pants that were discarded on his floor, and went into the en suite bathroom that was connected to his bedroom, and promptly threw up. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he stood up and looked at himself in the mirror above the sink.

Fuck.

Out of all the outcomes that could have happened during this trip, losing his virginity to Barty wasn't on the list of things Regulus thought was even possible. He liked Barty, he really did, but not in that way. Not in a I-want-to-hook-up-and-lose-my-innocence-to-you way. Godric, he was so stupid. He might have just ruined his longest friendship with one of his best friends because he was drunk and stupid. Oh, what would Barty think? Would he react like Evan had? Bloody disgusting. Did Barty think he was disgusting?

Regulus ran his hand through his hair, and took a deep breathe. He splashed cold water on his face, and walked out of the bathroom. Barty was awake, and fully clothed, much to Regulus' relief.

"We don't have to talk about it, Reg," Barty mumbled over his shoulder.

"It meant nothing, right?" Regulus said, his voice surprisingly steady.

"I thought it would... But no. No it didn't."

Barty looked like he was going to break down in tears. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and Regulus sat beside him.

"Reg... I'm not sure what I am. I don't know what I want or, or who I want. I just-" he took a deep breathe. "I just don't know anymore."

Regulus have him a sad smile. "Now feels like a good time to tell you this. I'm gay, Barty."

"I know."

That was not the response he was expecting. How did he know? Was Regulus that obvious about it? He looked Barty in the eye, though he felt like running away. He hated talking about this. Why couldn't he be like everyone else?

"Don't worry, Reg. I support you. We are still friends."

Regulus let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding.

"Yeah, we are still friends, Bartemius."

Barty laughed, and elbowed him in the shoulder.

"Shut up, Reginald."

____________

Regulus did not expect to see Barty back in his room that very evening, with another case of beer. The boy was already hammered, and he gave Regulus a droopy smile.

"Alright, if I'm going to get drunk with you again, it is not going to be in here. We don't want a repeat of last night," Regulus concluded.

"Or maybe we do," Barty replied, raising his eyebrows suggestively, and grunted when Regulus punched him in the stomach. He grabbed a beer from Barty, and sipped on it as they left the beach house and went into the surrounding town. Which turned out to be a big mistake.

After a few beers from the case, Regulus was equally, if not more drunk then Barty was. He skipped down the empty road, Barry cackling alongside him, clutching yet another bottle.

"Come with me, Reggie," Barty yelled, grabbing Regulus' wrist and tugging him along. 

"Hey!" Regulus protested, but Barty didn't slow down. They eventually stopped outside of the local police station, which confused Regulus greatly.

"What are we doing here? You coming to turn yourself in?" Regulus uttered.

Barty reached into his pocket, and pulled out a key. "Ha ha, Reggie. No, see this here is a key!"

"Well no shit," Regulus interrupted, arms crossed over his chest.

Barty gave him a sharp look. "It is the key to one of these police cars." He hesitated for a second. "Sab nicked it off one of the cops a few nights ago, she gave it to me. We are going to take one of these cars, easy peesy."

Sober Regulus would have objected, and left Barty there by himself, refusing to be apart of his schemes. Drunk Regulus, however, thought this was the best idea anyone had ever had.

The duo went to each of the police cars, there were three in total, and tried each of them to see if the key would unlock them. The second one was a perfect fit, and Barty grinned widely.

They got in, Barty in the driver's seat, Regulus in the passenger seat beside him. Regulus wasn't sure where or when Barty learned to drive, but one thing was for sure, Barty liked to go fast. Soon they were speeding down the deserted roads, windows down and radio blaring. Regulus put his head out the window and cheered loudly, cool air hitting his face. He had never felt so alive.

"Should I turn on the sirens?" Barty called over the music.

"Sure!" Regulus exclaimed, having the time of his life.

"Which button is it?" He heard Barty mumble. He turned on the windscreen wipers, the head lights, and blinker before he turned on the siren and it's accompanying red and blue flashing lights. They both shrieked with joy, singing along the music on the radio and yelling cuss words out the windows for no reason.

The fun came to a stop when an actual police car started tagging them.

"Shit!" Barty yelled, but he slowed the vehicle down.

"Why are you slowing down!" Regulus yelled, grabbing at the steering wheel in an attempt to speed them up again.

"We'll get in more trouble if we speed off. We are drunk off if our minds right now."

Right.

That.

Well, fuck.

Two officers approached them, in full uniform, and holding other equipment Regulus wasn't entirely sure how it worked.

"You two are under arrest for robbing a police vehicle. Get out of the car with your hands up. We also need to give you both a test for alcohol."

They didn't have a choice. Barry grabbed the keys, solemn faced, and they both got out of the car and were put in handcuffs. The cold metal felt tight against Regulus' wrists and they were hauled into the back of a police car. In the back of the car, Barty and Regulus were made take a breathilizer test for alcohol. They, of course, both tested positive for having alcohol in their systems. They were well and truly screwed.

When Regulus woke up in the morning, tied to a steel bench in a police station next to Barty, he couldn't remember much else of the night before. They probably questioned them, and tried to identify who they were. Regulus wasn't sure if he had told he truth or not. Barty was tapping his foot against the grey tiles.

"Ah, you're awake," Barty announced. "You fell asleep in the back of the cop car. No one could wake you up, you were out like a light! Don't worry, I took care of everything."

Before Regulus could respond, an officer made their way to them. She was female, the only female cop in the station it looked like, and she looked particularly nervous.

"Rejulus and Barmy, morning boys."

Regulus raised an eyebrow at Barty. He forgot they were both extremely drunk last night, and Barty's spelling was awful to begin with, but he made up for it by having flawless handwriting. Regulus was feeling queasy, the alcohol was catching up to him.

"Since you are both underage, we have called your parents. Since the night shift crew got lazy, they were only called this morning. You both have one phone call each, so use it wisely, the phone is just over there. I'll uncuff you both while you make those calls, but I'll be with you at all times. Am I understood?"

Regulus froze. They called his parents. His parents knew where he was now. Blood roared in his ears, and he wasn't sure he could stand. Regulus was glad for the night shifts cops incompetence, it bought him some time. Barty nodded in response to the cop, but kept giving Regulus concerned looks.

"Reg, I'm -"

"Shut up, Barty. Not your fault."

The officer led them over to where the phone was. They would have usually used floor to call someone, but Regulus knew how to use a phone, Sirius had shown him using one of those public phone boxes when they were younger, before Hogwarts. How Sirius learned, Regulus wasn't sure.

"Who do we call?" Barty voiced, leaning up against the bland wall of the station.

"Not Dorcas, we'll never hear the end of it."

Barty nodded in agreement. "And not Pandora, I dont know if her anxiety could handle it."

They stood in silence for a moment.

"Please not Evan, I'm not even sure he would help us," Barty mumbled. Regulus secretly agreed. He didn't want to hear from Evan right now."Then who does that leave?" 

Regulus got an idea. In his last letter to Sirius, he had asked if the Potter's have a house phone, it felt important to him in that moment. Sirius had responded only two days ago, and if Regulus' was right....

He reached into the back pocket and felt around for the piece of parchment. Yes! It was there. He pulled it out and smoothed out the creases.

"What's that?" Barty asked, glancing over at the parchment.

"A letter from Sirius, he gave me the Potter's phone number. If we want to be bailed out, we will need an actual adult to bail us out, Sirius could ask one of Potter's parents."

The number was sprawled in Sirius' handwriting, and he called it out to Barty who entered it into the machine, before stuffing the letter back in his pocket. The phone beeps, and was picked up after a few seconds.

"Hello?"

Regulus recognized the voice of James Potter, and his heart gave a little leap.

"Potter?"

"Regulus? Is that you?"

Regulus heard a loud crash in the background, and James said something incoherent on the other end, and then he heard Sirius.

"Reggie? What's up?"

Regulus took a deep breathe, glancing over at Barty.

"Well, Barty and I may have been....arrested-"

"I'm sorry WHAT!?"

"We got a little drunk-"

"DRUNK!?"

"And stole a police car and got arrested, but umm could you come over here with an adult and bail us-"Regulus was cut off by Sirius' loud laughter.

"My, my, Reggie. I didn't know you had it in you! Arrest!? My baby brother! Those stupid little friends of yours are bad influence on you!"

Barty defended himself to Sirius, but Regulus wasn't really listening. He was more surprised by the fact that Sirius would be willing to drop everything and come to his aid just like that. All this time Regulus had been mad at him, and for what? For leaving their awful parents behind? Merlin, he had been so daft.

"You have a minute left, boy," the officer warned.

"We have to go Sirius, just be quick. They called Mum and Dad, they'll be here soon."

"THEY DID WHAT!? OH I'M GOING TO KILL THEM!"

"Just get here, ok?"

"I'll be there in a jiffy! See you soon, Reggie."

"Bye, Sirius."

He set the phone down, his heart beating a hundred miles an hour. Sirius had to hurry, he didn't want his parents to find him. He'd get back to the beach house, and not leave for a week. It was Dorcas' birthday tomorrow, and they were planning something for her, he could afford to stay inside for a while.

Barty didn't feel the need to call anyone, and Regulus could tell he was nervous. His dad was probably going to come to the station, and that was a shit show waiting to happen. They were lead back to their spot on the steel bench, that was really uncomfortable. They were handcuffed back down, and they realized they were the only people there, besides an old man sleeping in the corner, he must have been homeless because he had a blanket and tattered jacket with him, and a small bag on his lap. Regulus wasn't sure what story Barty had told the cops, but it was probably the truth. Drunk Barty didn't know how to lie.

About ten minutes later, Regulus spotted them. Sirius, in doc martins and a leather jacket, his hair tied back in a loose ponytail. He had brought James, much to Regulus' dismay his heart skipped a beat when he saw him. He bit the inside of his cheek to shut his brain up. Behind them was a talker man, same brown skin and messy hair as James, though his dark brown was riddled with shades of grey. It must of been James' dad, Regulus wasn't sure of his name.

Sirius have him a big reassuring smile, which calmed Regulus' heart and mind a little. The trio approached the front desk, and the secretary and James' dad seemed deep in discussion, all of them occasionally shooting looks at them.

The female officer came over to them, flashing the key to their handcuffs. "Ok, boys. Your bail has been paid. There are a few provisions to this, if you are arrested again, you will be facing jail time, since the car was found intact you will only have to pay a small fine and all charges have been dropped as of now. I don't want to see you two in here again."

She untied them both, her blonde hair brushed against Regulus' cheek as she bent down. Regulus ribbed his wrist when they were released, he hadn't realized how tight it was.

Sirius immediately engulfed him in a big hug and Regulus hugged him back without complaint.

"You bloody tosser," Sirius murmured, a wide grin on his face. 

James' dad gave them both a bright smile, not seeming very angry.

"Thank you, Mr Potter, you really didn't have to do this for us."

"Nonsense boy, you are family to Sirius, so you are family to me. And Fleamont is just fine, Regulus, I don't much care for Mr."

Regulus gave him a shy smile. He had called him family. Sirius thought he was family. Regulus refused to look over at Potter, the younger one that was. He thought about him enough, he didn't need another interaction to think about.

The doors to the station opened again, and in walked Mrs Crouch. Regulus didn't expect her to come, and from the look on Barry's face, he didn't either. She didn't look much like Barty, but she had his tanned skin. It was obvious she was where he got his Greek ancestory from, which he loved to brag about. Her hair, a light brown, was tied back in a low, wispy bun. Regulus knew she had been sick, had heard about how she was constantly in and out of Saint Mungo's, but the woman Infront of him was small and frail. She had dark bags under her brown eyes, and Regulus thought that if he touched her she would topple over.

The secretary spoke up. "You must be Hebe Crouch, yes?"

"I am," Mrs Crouch smiled.

"How are you, Mum?" Barty asked, walking over to her.

Regulus saw this as their cue to leave.

"Come on, Sirius. Since you are here I'll show you the house. I don't want to run into Mum and Dad."

Chapter Text

Sab and Barty weren't dating yet. They were close friends who had fucked a few times, not a big deal. Barty could do casual, he had done it many times before. Something was different here though. Barty just wasn't entirely sure what. Sab, she was brilliant. She was strong, independent, smart and Barty felt drawn to her. She was the sun, and he was just a helpless plant, who needed her attention to survive. 

Another thing was, Barty had never had a girlfriend. He had never had anyone. He had fling, after fling, after fling, but he'd never been somebody's someone. He did casual, he had never been in love. Until now, it seemed. Something was different, maybe live was on the air, something about the seaside was drawing this side out of him.

He had invited Sabina down to the beach again with him, it had become a recurring thing now. Every Thursday they met up outside of Diggory's, a small blue café that overlooked the sea, and walked down the beach together. The rest of the day would be chaos, just as Barty liked it. Chaos was good. It was distracting and time consuming and he didn't have to think. Barty could do chaos.

"Morning, Barty."

He looked up from the concrete ground, and smiled. There was Sabina, hair tied back in a loose ponytail, wearing a mini skirt and sandals. She slung an arm over his shoulder and pulled him towards the beach.

"Well, come on then, Crouch, you said you wanted to talk to me."

Yes, he did. He has stayed up all night, worrying, which was very unusual for him. He always had a go with the flow, fuck it attitude but when it can to Sab, she seemed to being out different sides of him. He led her along the sand, they chatted as they walked. Sab was a great listener, she always knew what to say, when to say it and when not to say anything at all.

She was the prettiest girl Barty had ever seen.

And he hated her so, so much for it.

But this is what it felt like he had to do.

And maybe, deep down, he knew he didn't want to do this.

He knew how much it would piss off his dad to know he was with a muggle girl. Not an ounce of magical blood in her veins. Merlin, it made him feel alive. Free, even.

They sat down on big dark rock that marked the end of the sand and beach, and wrapped completely around the bottom off a tall cliff. They had sat there many times before, Sab had brought him there a few days after they had met. It was quiet, which made Barty restless every time they came down there.

Sabina's brown hair whipped around in the coastal wind and she had the brightest smile on her face. Barty returned the grin, as they both sat down on one of the flatter rocks around them.

"What did you want to ask me, Bart?" Sab asked, gazing over at him. He was sat right beside her, and their hands grazed for a moment when Barty leaned back. If Barty was paying attention to her, he would have noticed the furrow of her brow, her anxious demeanour and the restraint in her smile. But he wasn't seeing her. He was looking but he wasn't seeing the girl in front of him. For a second, he thought her eyes were blue. Must have been a trick of the light, he thought.

"Well," Barty started, before clearing his throat. "I, well. I, um... Sab I wanted to ask you if, you know, you wanted to, go out with me. But, as my...my girlfriend.."

Barty felt awkward and embarrassed, two feelings he really wasn't used to, especially not around Sab. He looked over at the girl, and he already knew his answer. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"Oh, Barty," Sab sighed, a sympathetic smile on her face. "I'm not the one you want."

Barty looked up at her, surprised. 

"What?"

"I'm not the one you want, babe," she repeated. "It's never been me, that much is obvious. It's always been him."

Barty flinched. Him? He had just tarnished his friendship with Sab, he knew he would never be able to look her in the eye again, and he could tell Sab felt the same. And now she was talking about him?

Barty wasn't gay. He knew this. He'd had crushes of plenty of girls throughout his life. But who was him? Barty stood up quickly, and dusted the specks of sand off his jeans. He barely glanced back at Sab as he muttered a goodbye. His eyes were stinging, but he wouldn't cry. Not on a beach with someone he used to be close with, a relationship he had just destroyed. Not back at Hogwarts, somewhere he couldn't wait to return to. Not back at the beach house, with his friends. Oh, merlin. Barty felt sick to his stomach.

Don't cry, Barty told himself. Men don't cry.

Him had to be someone he knew. The only other people he knew around were his friends. Barty took off his shoes and down the beach, feet in the water, not bothering to roll up his trousers, not caring if the end of his jeans got wet.

He didn't want to think. He wanted to shut off his brain. He wanted to bang his head against a wall. He wanted to cry. Merlin, he wanted to cry.

This was supposed to be the summer of his life. He was with his best friends all summer, they had money and tons of opportunity for fun and trouble, he had made a great new friend. 

But now, Evan was pissed at him, and Barty had no clue why. He hadn't done anything to him, and yet Evan treated him like he was nothing more than the dirt under his feet. Dorcas had a cool girlfriend she loved more than her friends. Pandora walked around like she had just seen a ghost. Regulus had gotten out of his abusive household and was in contact with his brother. He had just ruined everything with Sabina. He was sad. So, so sad.

He walked into the beach house just in time to see Evan curled up on the floor, shaking.

"Evan!?" Barty exclaimed, throwing his shoes down on the hardwood floor and making his way towards the blonde. 

Evan looked up quickly, his face splotchy and tear stained.

"Fuck off, Barty," he yelled, standing up extremely fast. This wasn't unusual talk from Evan recently. Barty wished nothing more to have his best friend back. He wanted to go back to the playground they had smoked in, back to the night of the car crash. Back to the night he met Sab. It felt like years ago, though it had only been two or three weeks.

"Evan, what's wrong? Just talk to me!"

"I said fuck off, Barty. What part of that is so hard for you to comprehend?"

Evan moved into their shared room, which Barty usually found unbearable to be in. He had slept at Sabina's place a few times, when Evan was being particularly mean. But Barty was done with this shit. He wanted Evan more than anyone else right now. He followed him into the bedroom.

Evan scoffed when Barty walked in, closing the door behind him.

"For fucks sake, Barty!" He yelled, balling his hands into fists, turning towards the window, not daring to meet Barty in the eye. Barty had never seen him like this before.

"Just talking to me, you wanker. You've been avoiding me for weeks now, and I want an explanation. I'm tired of this, Evs!"

Evan's scowl somehow deepened. "It's none of your business."

Barty leaned against one of the cream coloured walls. "It's affecting me, so it is my business."

"Barty, I'm not doing this with you right now," Evan turned to face him again. "This is clearly just a plea for attention, run back to your little girlfriend, why don't you?"

A wave of anger engulfed Barty in the moment. It felt like he was drowning. He grabbed a hairbrush, one Barty has stolen off Pandora, from the small cupboard beside him, and he threw it directly at Evan's face. The boy gasped, and ducked quickly. There was a loud crash, as the brush smashed an old mirror behind Evan.

"What the fuck, Barty!?" Evan cried, but Barty didn't stick around.

________________

Barty smoked a cigarette as he walked through the small town. He was wandering. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going. He felt sick, and he wanted to shut his mind up. It could be so loud inside his brain sometimes. He pushed aside all thoughts of Sabina and Evan aside. He didn't care about them, he told himself. They were nothing to him.

He wasn't sure how long or how far he walked, but he stopped outside of a small newsagents around the outskirts of the seaside village, and bought a case of beer. He wasn't picky with his alcohol, anything to get him drunk was enough. Barty immediately downed a bottle, feeling the warm flush in his cheeks afterwards. 

Sipping on a second beer as he walked the exact path he had came from, a thought came over him. He didn't want to be alone right now. Usually, when he was feeling like this, he would find Evan, but that wasn't an option anymore. For the past few weeks, he would seek out Sab, but that was also crossed off Barry's imaginary list of safe people. 

Regulus seemed like the best bet right now. 

So, already quite intoxicated, he made his way back to beach house a little faster. The evening sea breeze felt refreshing, but after a few minutes it felt almost suffocating. His thoughts continued to spiral further. What was it Sab had said? It wasn't her that he wanted, it was him? But who was him? How did Sab know what he wanted, and he didn't. That didn't feel very fair to Barty.

He was going to see Regulus right now, wasn't he? Maybe... Maybe him was Regulus? Yeah, that made sense. Regulus was the prettiest boy Barty had ever met, though that was just Regulus' genes. The Black family DNA. Barty remembered in third year, when he looked up to Regulus and every single aspect of him as a person. His heart flutter, he blushes. But he had pushed it all aside. What if....

His throat felt tight all of a sudden, and his head hurt. Barty noticed his hands shake and eventually, everything became too much. He violently and spontaneously kicked a metal bin over in the street and screamed. He yelled and cursed and then he slumped over and cried. 

______________

Barty woke up the next morning in Regulus Black's bed, and was all too aware of what had happened last night. Barty felt like he was going to vomit, whether from the alcohol or the memories of the night before, he wasn't sure. He had gotten Regulus drunk, and he had fucked him and Barty had enjoyed it. If he was being honest, it was probably the best sex he had ever had and it had been with a man, and not just any man, but his best friend.

He quickly swung his legs out of the bed and sat there. He could here Regulus shuffling around the bathroom. Barty noticed he was shirtless, and he shuddered.

And that's when he realized.

Him wasn't Regulus. Maybe when he was younger, he had a slight crush on the boy. But not anymore. Barty was sure of that now. So Regulus' was ruled out as being him. It left only one person. 

Evan fucking Rosier.

Barty didn't want to believe it. There was no way he was in love with Evan. Not a hope in hell.

Barty heard the bathroom door open and he remembered where he was. 

Then his thoughts sped up all over again. Did Regulus think he was gay? He wasn't. He was only realising in that moment that he wasn't gay, but he was some strange in-between. He liked girls. Definitely. And.... he like boys to some capacity. Barty sighed.

"We don't have to talk about it, Reg," he mumbled.

"It meant nothing, right?" Regulus asked, and Barty bit his lip.

"I thought it would... But no. No it didn't."

His face felt hot. Don't cry, you idiot. "Reg... I'm not sure what I am. I don't know what I want or, or who I want. I just-" Barty rambled. "I just don't know anymore."

Regulus have him a sad smile. "Now feels like a good time to tell you this. I'm gay, Barty."

That was the moment Barty realized something else.

"I know."

It all made sense, didn't it? All the pieces clicked into place. The way Regulus looked at a certain Potter for the past few years, the way Regulus insisted he never had a crush on any girls when Dorcas pried. Barty almost kicked himself for not coming to this conclusion sooner, but he had. Subconsciously, he knew. He always knew. Barty tried to reassure the boy.

"Don't worry, Reg. I support you. We are still friends."

Regulus let out a breathe and Barty felt like he had said the right thing.

"Yeah, we are still friends, Bartemius."

Barty laughed, and elbowed him in the shoulder.

"Shut up, Reginald."

Regulus Black was a very dear friend to Barty. He didn't know what he'd do without him.

_____________

"You must be Hebe Crouch, yes?" The secretary in the police station asked, and Barty felt faint.

"I am," Mrs Crouch smiled.

"How are you, Mum?" Barty asked. He was barely processing the events of the past 24 hours. Getting drunk with Reggie. Getting arrest with Reggie. Sirius, James and his Dad showed up. Regulus' parents had been called, and it had been completely Barty's fault. Now his mother was Infront of him. Weak, fragile and very ill, but she was here.

"Come on, Sirius. Since you are here I'll show you the house. I don't want to run into Mum and Dad."

They left quickly, Barty didn't even say goodbye, still in complete shock.

"Getting arrested Barty? Really?" His mother sounded disappointed. "Your Father would freak if I told him."

Barty put on a smirk. "But you're not going to tell him, are you?"

"Don't test me," his mother said, but she was smiling.

The police made her sign some papers, and the secretary told them that Mr Potter had already paid his bail. It wasn't as of they were poor, but Barty was extremely grateful. If his father noticed any money was missing, his mother would take the blame for it.

Once they were out of the station, she hugged him tightly. It wasn't the same as it was before. Her arms were bony, she was cold to the touch and Barty craved the usual warmth of such an embrace, but it never came.

"I'm sorry, Mama," he mumbled.

"I know, honey, I know. I have to go again, ok? Keep out of trouble Barty."

Barty looked his mother directly in her eyes. They were still kind and bright. She wasn't gone yet. 

"You're getting better, aren't you?"

She patted him on the shoulder. "You should get going, honey. Your friends will be wondering where you are. I love you."

"I love you too, Mama."

And in his head he begged her to stay around a little longer. He couldn't lose her. It was them against the world, that's what his mother had always said when they were younger. He wished she would get better. He wished, and he pleaded, and he begged.

Then he walked back to the beach house alone. His mother had left in a hurry.