#fiercely

Wolfstar April 9, word count 509

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The next morning wasn’t much better. Lyall kept making barbed remarks at both Remus and Sirius. Monty had taken Effie for a walk around the grounds to keep her away from him. All in all, the castle was suddenly a lot less fun. 

“Er, Mr Lupin, could I have a chat with you?” Sirius asked after a disastrous lunch, where Remus had actually left the room when Lyall had commented on how much he was eating. 

“Why?” Lyall grunted, taking a sip from his large glass of brandy. “Only good thing about being stuck in this godforsaken place. The drinks can’t be matched.”

“I just wanted to explain what happened and how we ended up with Remus,” he added Regulus to the conversation, as Lyall had repeatedly left him out, and it was getting on Regulus’s nerves. 

“I know exactly what happened,” Lyall started, sitting up and giving Sirius his full attention. “You saw a way out through my son and took it.”

“That’s not what happened,” Sirius said a bit too forcefully. 

“Well then, do open my eyes,” Lyall growled, relaxing into his chair again. 

“I just wanted to be his friend. I’d never had a friend before, and Remus was so kind and funny. I would have been content with calling him on the phone and the occasional meet-up when I was allowed out of the house. It was Remus’s idea to move in together. I told him no at first. I couldn’t leave Regulus alone with them, but Remus already had a plan for that. He said we could both move in and that it was up to me where I slept.” He probably didn’t need to add that part in, but right now, he didn’t care. “If I had known how much trouble mine and my brother’s running away would cause… Well, I’d probably still do it all over again because my parents really are the most horrid people alive. I told Remus that Regulus and I would leave, to keep him safe, but he refused to let us go.”

“And then you dragged the Potter’s into it,” Lyall scoffed. 

“And then I dragged the Potter’s into it,” he admitted, letting his head hang a bit. 

“No, you didn’t,” James said fiercely. “It was my offer, and Mum and Dad wouldn’t have it any other way. They would have helped them even if Remus wasn’t involved because it was the right thing to do!” 

“I just want my son safe!” Lyall spat back. 

“Well, he’s not, none of us are, but we’re doing the best we can, and that’s all we can do, so stop making it harder on everybody.”

Something like regret flashed in Lyall’s eyes, and he nodded slowly. 

“Fine, I’ll give him a chance,” Lyall said, jutting his chin at Sirius. 

“Good, and you can start with less of this,” James plucked the brandy glass from Lyall’s hand and took the bottle with him as he left the room. 

“So, Sirius,” Lyall said, his attention on Sirius again. “Tell me about yourself.”