James tugged absently on his hair, the frown still very much in place. The bellowing of the troll was starting to die back as they moved further away, which made thinking a little easier. "I'll help you dump the body in the lake," he finally replied. "Its probably been ages since the giant squid had a snack." It was easier to joke about it, even if the levity didn't quite meet his eyes. The idea of Bellatrix Lestrange arriving here wasn't one he wanted to entertain too long. "But you'll drive yourself mental if you try and work out what her reasons were, Pete. She's insane, and she's the one who we should be chucking in the lake. You were just... caught out."
"Not above," James chuckled diplomatically. "Maybe equal. I'm a very accomplished bloke, I'll have you know." His smile remained, dimming only somewhat as he glanced across at Peter, watching the familiar profile as they walked together. He almost told Peter it was fine, that they shouldn't worry about it - it was just a knee jerk reaction to seeing that expression on his old friend's face. But it wasn't fine, as much as he wished it. It was better, but it wasn't fine. The second part of his speech, however... well, that he could work with that. "Thanks Wormtail," he replied, his tone soft but genuine.
James hesitated, unsure about whether to answer that or just wave it off. It would be easy to do - this whatever-it-was between him and Pete was new, but it was fragile. He didn't think either of them wanted to push it. But then who could he talk to about it? Not Sirius - it was still too raw for that, even years later. Not Remus any more and definitely not Lily. He was very aware that, like Snape, Regulus Black bought out a side of him that his wife probably wouldn't appreciate. So who did that leave?
"You didn't see him," he finally said, gruffly. "That night Sirius ran away, when he turned up in our hallway. He was..." He shook his head, making a conscious effort to relax his jaw where it had set in a harsh, angle line. There was a sudden tension stretching across his shoulders, winding him tight. Maybe they could go back and fight that troll after all. "I've never seen him like that. He was bleeding. They fucked him up, Pete. That whole bloody family treated him like absolute shit and Regulus is his brother. Where was he? He didn't bloody stop it, so where was he? Up in his room, pretending not to hear? Fucking watching?"