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They were still sitting on the same bed. Sirius' cheek rested on Remus' shoulder, his face covered in the dry trails of tears. His eyes were empty, yet deep, filled with sadness, pain, and fury.
"Moony?"
"Yes, love?" Remus' voice was so gentle.
"What... what if he won't wake up?..." The last words were barely audible.
And for a moment, Remus didn't know what to say. He knew the state James was in. He had seen him, still had his friend's blood on his hands, but he didn't want to believe that James was dying. At the same time, he didn’t want to give Sirius false hope.
"He's fighting... He always fights... He's our Prongs, for Merlin's sake. We need him, and he knows that."
And again, silence took over the hospital wing, the only sound being Madam Pomfrey casting spells and moving from James' bed to corners of the room to fetch potions.
***
Regulus sat in the Great Hall. Something felt wrong. His grey-blue eyes scanned the tables. They stopped at the Gryffindor table.
It was far from the full moon, and he couldn't see Remus. He was nowhere to be found. Sirius wasn't there, either. He couldn't see Sirius. God, where was his brother? And... Oh. Oh... Where was James? Was he okay? Why wasn’t his sun there? Jamie... Jamie... Jamie...
Regulus stood up and ran towards the Gryffindor table.
"Marlene!" She was the first person he saw and recognized.
"Regulus? What is it?"
"Where are Sirius and Remus? Where the fuck is James?!" His voice was shaking.
"I don’t know; they left the common room last night. I haven’t seen them since then," she replied, her voice surprisingly calm compared to Regulus'.
"Marlene, please... help me find them..." His voice was filled with panic as he begged her.
The blonde girl seemed to realize how panicked the younger boy was. Honestly, she was just as worried.
"Okay, Reg, look at me, yeah? Deep breaths." Her eyes were filled with concern. "We’ll find them. They can't have gone as far as Hogsmeade."
Regulus just nodded.
***
"James," Lily whispered when she finally saw her friend.
After a long night of stabilizing him, Madam Pomfrey allowed them to see him.
"Is he in pain?" Remus sounded like a child when he asked that, his gaze fixed on his friend's chest covered in layers of bandages.
"For now, no," the nurse answered. "When he wakes up, he might feel discomfort."
She didn’t say how severe the discomfort would be, but Remus knew it wouldn’t be mild.
"Prongs... I'm sorry... So, so sorry..." A lone tear appeared on Sirius' cheek.
***
Regulus and Marlene were running to the hospital wing. It was the first place they thought the biggest troublemakers in the school might be. As they stood in front of the massive hospital doors, Madam Pomfrey walked out.
"Are they here?" Regulus asked.
"Who are you talking about, honey?"
"Sirius, James..." he answered, "and Remus..." he added softly.
"Yes, they are here, but..."
"Let me in... let me in... let me in... let me in..."
The school healer looked at him with concern.
"But please, be quiet. He needs to rest." She didn’t specify who needed rest. It could be Sirius, James, Remus, or someone else.
Marlene and Regulus walked in, their hearts pounding in their chests so loudly. The sight that met them broke their hearts.
Regulus had never seen Sirius so sad. His eyes had never been so red—not even at 'home.' He had known him all his life. He had seen him at his worst, but this was worse. His big brother had never looked so depressed.
And then Slytherin's eyes landed on Remus. His eyes were red, too. His forehead was smeared with dried blood. And again, his eyes... Oh... how it hurt. They weren’t just red—they were empty, too. His beautiful hazel eyes, always so gentle and caring, were now devoid of emotion. Oh... Remus... He looked so tired, more exhausted than after a full moon.
Then he saw Lily and Peter. Marlene was hugging them now. Lily's hands were bloodstained, too. Peter's weren't, but that didn’t make him look any less broken.
Lily’s usually bright, red hair, which smelled like roses, now looked like the color of a sad, poor mouse. They both looked so hurt. They should be happy.
"Regulus..." It was Sirius' voice.
"Sirius..."
The older brother took a few steps closer to his sibling.
"Sirius..." Regulus hugged him with so much love and care. "What happened...?"
"Reggie..." Sirius' voice broke. "Reggie... I'm so sorry... so sorry..."
"W-what happened?"
"James..."
Regulus felt tears streaming down his cheeks. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t speak. He felt like he wasn’t breathing properly.
"Reggie... James was bleeding..." Everything was one huge blur.
And then he turned his head and saw him. He saw James, his James, his Jamie, lying in white sheets, his skin pale. It was hard to believe that this was real. It all felt like a terrible nightmare he couldn’t wake up from.
He walked towards James' bed and sat on its edge. He dug his long fingers into his boyfriend's dark, messy curls.
It felt like hours. Hours of painful waiting for James to wake up. For him to say something. To open his eyes.
Suddenly, after a day of long waiting, James finally moved his finger.
"James," Peter noticed first.
"Mm..." James mumbled.
"I'll get Pomfrey," offered Marlene.
"Jamie... Mon Soleil..." Regulus felt tears in his eyes again.
Everyone fell silent.
"Reggie..." James said without opening his eyes. "Hurts... to breathe..."
"I know, baby... I know... Can you open your eyes for me?" Regulus begged.
James' eyes, his beautiful brown-gold eyes, opened slowly. They looked so, so full of pain.
"Shh... I know it hurts, but please keep them open for me... Please look into my eyes, Mon Soleil..." Regulus' words were so comforting.
"Your eyes are pretty..." James' breathing was loud and sounded unnatural.
"Really? Yours are even prettier..."
Regulus stroked his hair to make him feel just a little bit less scared.
"Step back!" Madam Pomfrey arrived. Everyone did as she said. "James, darling, please drink this," she instructed, handing him a cup of potion. She helped him drink it. James' breathing was heavy, but slowly it began to sound more normal. Finally, he fell asleep.
"He is asleep for now," said the school healer. "He needs to rest. You should rest as well."
"NO! I can't just leave him here! What if he wakes up and... and..." Sirius shouted.
"You’ve been through something traumatic. I should give you some calming draught and a sleeping potion. You should also go and wash up," she said, looking at them supportively.
"Okay... Maybe you could give us those potions," Marlene suggested, sounding the most clear-headed. "We’ll go wash ourselves, then come back here, and you’ll let us sleep here."
Madam Pomfrey just nodded. "Go before I change my mind."
***
Sirius and Remus were asleep, hugging each other on the same bed.
Sirius saw James. James in blood. James in pain.
Sirius had a nightmare—a terrible one. Worse than the ones about his mother. Hot tears streamed down his cheeks.
James was bleeding. Oh... oh... James... James was bleeding... James was dying... oh... oh...
"Sirius!" It was Remus' voice.
"Moony!" Sirius shouted back, still trapped in his dream.
"Sirius, wake up!"
Then he opened his eyes. Everything was foggy.
"Moony..."
"Shh... I know... I know... Sirius, I know..." The other boy was whispering comforting words.
"James..."
"He's here... he's safe... he'll be alright..."
They sobbed. They both sobbed. They cried because, last night, their friend had been dying. Because they needed to save him. They were just children... Just children. They should be happy and carefree...