Archive of Our Own ^beta

i. 

James wasn’t a great liar, for all that he tried. Remus would probably say that was why they got caught during their pranks so often, and he would probably be right. He nearly always was, the bastard. 

This being said, dating Regulus Black was the easiest and most difficult thing he’d ever done. Easy, because Regulus made him feel at ease in ways he’d never known he could. There was a lightness that filled his body when Regulus was around that he had yet to find anywhere else. His mum would probably tell him that it was love, and she would probably be right. She nearly always was. 

It was difficult, because it was a secret, and though James really, really loved having Regulus all to himself, it did complicate things a bit. Namely, when, where, and how they could meet up. There was also the issue of Sirius, who probably wouldn’t be incredibly pleased to know that James was dating his younger brother in secret. Partly because James and Sirius didn’t do secrets, and partly because Sirius was extremely protective of both of them. 

They were going to tell him at some point, really. They had to, if they expected things between them to last, but the prospect was terrifying enough that they’d agreed to keep things on the low until they could figure out how, exactly to reveal that they were together. 

Regulus was an excellent liar, which sort of turned James on, if he was being honest. It shouldn’t have, James didn’t really value dishonesty as a character trait, but there was something incredibly sexy about Regulus lying to people, right to their face, and never raising a single doubt. 

Still, Regulus couldn’t carry their secret on his back, though he’d been doing his best to. James had already failed miserably at convincing some of his friends he wasn’t seeing anyone, so now he was just trying to keep his head above water enough to make sure they didn’t find out who he was seeing. Sirius, thankfully, was not a part of this group, because he certainly wouldn’t have stopped until he found out every detail. As far as the others were concerned, there were enough students at Hogwarts that they wouldn’t figure it out right away, but not enough that they wouldn’t figure it out eventually.

Lily had already figured it out, actually, when they’d stumbled upon each other in equally compromising situations with a secret partner. James and Lily had shared indignant remarks while Regulus and Mary had exchanged terse nods of unspoken alliance, and none of them had addressed it since. James didn’t mind Lily knowing, though, because she was a better liar than he was, and, if it came to it, and he couldn’t convince the rest of their friends that he wasn’t seeing anyone particularly interesting to them, she could. Plus, Mary was an unexpectedly great ally, because she was a master at changing the subject, especially where Sirius was concerned. 

James and Regulus made a habit of meeting up in the quidditch changing rooms, because they tended to go unbothered after all the practices were over for the day. Most couples went to the Astronomy tower or an abandoned classroom, though the changing rooms were really rather well suited for a hearty snog. 

One afternoon, James mentioned this to Regulus, and Regulus gagged as he pulled away from James. 

“Please tell me you did not just say the words ‘hearty snog’ out loud,” Regulus said, aghast.

“You know what’s embarrassing?” James asked, ignoring Regulus’ exasperation. “The fact that I can say ‘hearty snog’, and you’re still turned on.”

Regulus dropped his mouth open, then shut it just as quickly, his pale face going bright red. James really loved nothing more than making him blush like that. If only because he knew Regulus would find a way to make him blush just as deeply in revenge. 

In the meantime, though, Regulus just tipped his head back, curls falling away from his face, and bit his lip, very clearly trying not to give James the satisfaction of being right. 

James trailed a finger along his Adam’s apple, enjoying how Regulus’ fingers tightened around his arm. Regulus returned his gaze to James, grey eyes dark and depthless as the night, and James met him with the smile he reserved only for him. James had a lot of smiles, and no one really saw him going anywhere without one, but Regulus was the only person that got to see this one. 

“You’re annoying,” Regulus said.

“You love it,” James said. 

Regulus ran his hands up the sides of James’ arms, bringing them to rest at the base of his neck, tangling in the ends of his messy hair. James settled his own hands on Regulus’ waist, liking, as always, how his slender but sharp frame felt within his grasp. “I do,” Regulus said.

James grinned as he tipped his head down for a kiss. Regulus wasn’t all that much shorter than he was, but he liked the few inches that he had on him. He felt like he could protect him better, curl Regulus into his arms and never let him go. Regulus pretended to be annoyed by it, but James knew that he liked it too. No one had ever cared for him the way James did, and though it made James’ heart break, he was honored to give that kind of love and care. 

As always, their kisses turned from soft to passionate in the blink of an eye. Off went their shirts, and then James had Regulus pressed up against the lockers, Regulus’ legs wrapped around his waist, and it was perfect, perfect—

That is, until the door slammed open, and James did the only thing he could think to do, and turned into a stag. 

(Thank Merlin Regulus already knew he was an animagus, otherwise this plan would have been even worse than it already was.)

Regulus sent him a pleading stare before turning to see who’d interrupted them and freezing where he stood. James, as a stag, did the same. 

Sirius obviously recognized James in stag form, but he would never assume Regulus did. Slowly, he asked, “Hey, Reg. Whatcha got there?”

Regulus ignored James entirely and grabbed his quidditch jersey from where James had thrown it onto the bench. “Jersey,” he said, lifting it up. 

Sirius blinked. “I sort of meant the deer.”

“Oh,” Regulus said, looking at James in surprise like he was just noticing him. “I think it’s a stag.”

James couldn’t drop his head into his hands, so he settled for poking Regulus with one of his antlers. Regulus shot him a glare, and Sirius looked like he was about to burst into laughter. Well, at least he’d believe James when he told Sirius this was some sort of prank later. 

“What is a stag doing in here?” Sirius asked.

“Maybe he wants to play quidditch,” Regulus said dumbly, and James took back everything he’d ever said about Regulus being a good liar. 

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “How do you know it’s a he?”

“Females aren’t called stags, and they don’t have antlers. You’d know that if you studied for once in your life.” Regulus crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows. “The ‘study session’ you spend with Remus once a week doesn’t count, because I know damn well that you two are not studying.”

Jesus Christ, the Black brothers were so easy to rile up. Sirius blushed just as furiously as Regulus had minutes before, but he didn’t look embarrassed by it. 

James was always a bit wary when Regulus and Sirius interacted, not because he was worried about Sirius finding out about him and Reg, but because he never knew what would send their recently mended relationship back into a tailspin. 

It was a whole thing, that Sirius had run away to James’ family back in fifth year and Regulus hadn’t come with him. According to Sirius, it was because Regulus refused to come, and according to Regulus it was because Sirius hadn’t asked him. They hadn’t spoken for months afterwards, until Walburga and Orion were sent to Azkaban for generalized awfulness, or something (James didn’t particularly care about the details), and Regulus had moved in with their cousin Andromeda and her husband Ted until he came of age. 

James and Regulus, who used to be sort of friends but had distanced quite a bit when things got tense with Sirius and Regulus had started to get close again in the period of time immediately following, and James had encouraged Regulus to reach out to his brother. He had said the same to Sirius as well, but it hadn’t happened until Andromeda had practically forced a family reunion during the winter holidays that year. 

Andromeda, Ted, their daughter Nymphadora, and Regulus had spent Christmas with the Potters and Sirius, and surprisingly, things had mended. James and Regulus had also kissed for the first time during that break, and the second, and the third, and so on, but it hadn’t seemed right to say anything to Sirius at the time, with his and Regulus’ relationship so precariously on the mend, and now four months later, they still hadn’t found the right moment. 

This, obviously, was also not that moment. 

Sirius didn’t get mad at Regulus’ jibe though, and flicked his hair over his shoulder. “No need to be jealous because I’m getting some and you’re not.”

“Maybe I am,” Regulus said indignantly, “I just don’t get all star-eyed about it.”

James, as a stag, snorted, because he knew that Regulus got very star-eyed indeed. It was honestly a shock no one had noticed it, but that was probably because they weren’t looking. Regulus Black, in love? With a Gryffindor, nonetheless? Blasphemy! 

Sirius’ eyes flicked over to James but he asked anyway, “Wait, really? Who’re you shagging? Why didn’t you tell me! Ugh— don’t say it’s Crouch.”

Regulus rolled his eyes. “I’m not shagging anyone, calm down. I’m just saying, I could be.”

Sirius’ excitement deflated. “Oh. Well, I guess I’ll leave you to it. Do you need the stag, or can I borrow him?”

“Why on earth would you need a stag?” Regulus asked, quite convincingly. Good liar cred, restored. 

“Prank,” Sirius said with a shrug. “So?”

“All yours,” Regulus said, pulling a jumper over his head and turning towards his locker. James didn’t miss the soft smile he sent his way before he did, though. If he hadn’t been a stag at the moment, James would have sent one back. 

“Alright then, come on you,” Sirius said to James, patting his legs exaggeratedly, luring him like a puppy. It would have been funnier to be stubborn about it, but James didn’t really want Sirius to question anything further, so he went with him willingly, sending one last look behind him as he went, love swelling in his chest at the sight of Regulus doubled over laughing silently beside his locker. 

ii.

After the changing room incident, Regulus and James had been more careful about, at the very least, keeping the map near them when they were together. The forbidden forest had, in some ways, become their sanctuary, despite the centaurs threatening them whenever they ran into them. 

On a Hogsmeade Saturday, however, James and Regulus found themselves up in the Marauders dorm under the guise of James helping Reg study for his OWLS. Instead, Regulus was laying on top of James, and James was playing with his hair, and they were settled into their bliss. 

Remus and Sirius were on a date, he thought, and Peter had been stolen away by the girls for something or other, which meant they pretty much had the whole day to themselves. It had been far too long since they’d had anything of the sort. 

“Jamie?” Regulus mumbled sleepily. 

James bit the inside of his cheek, knowing Regulus could probably hear just how much his heart rate picked up at the nickname. His parents had called him Jamie when he was little, but hadn’t for many years, and the Marauders never had, but James had mentioned liking the nickname once in passing— long before he and Regulus had even kissed— and Regulus still used it sparingly, but when he did it felt like he might explode with love. 

“Yes?” he replied, shifting his own head so he could look Regulus in the eyes. 

Regulus, however, was avoiding his gaze. “I have to tell you… well, I don’t have to, I want to, I suppose…”

“You’ve lost me,” James said with a small laugh. 

Regulus grumbled, burying his head deeper into James’ chest. He kept talking, but James couldn’t make out what he was saying in the slightest. 

He gently slid Regulus off of him and settled their bodies side by side, close enough that they were still tangled together, noses touching, but so Regulus couldn’t hide himself away. 

“What is it?” James asked softly. 

Regulus was red in the face, looking vaguely uncomfortable and embarrassed, but James had no idea why. 

He was silent for a long breath, in and out, and then he fixed those charcoal eyes on James, eyelashes long and inky black, just like the grown out hair that framed his face. James had made a point to mention how much he loved Regulus’ hair when it was longer and a bit unruly, and Regulus hadn’t cut it since then. 

“I love you,” Regulus said quietly. So quietly, in fact, that James, still distracted by his eyelashes, didn’t hear it. 

He saw panic fill Regulus’ eyes and realized he must have missed something important. “What?” he asked.

Regulus’ whole body was tense at this point, and James began to worry about what he’d said, but then he repeated, “I love you,” a little bit louder, and James melted, thinking that this would be remembered as one of the best moments of his life. 

His face split into a wide grin as he pressed their foreheads together, noses squishing. “I love you, too,” he said, with no hesitation, because it was something he’d felt for longer than Regulus probably realized. He hadn’t said it because he hadn’t wanted to rush things, or scare Regulus away, but now that he could? Oh man, he’d be saying it every minute of every day. 

Some of the panic subsided from Regulus’ eyes. “You do?”

“The heart of the lion,” James said, “That’s what your star is. And that’s what you are to me. You’re my whole heart, Reg.”

Regulus smiled slowly and let James peck him swiftly on the lips. 

“You love me,” James said giddily. “Regulus Black loves me .”

“Don’t look so surprised, as if I could love anyone else,” Regulus said, punctuated with an eyeroll like that wasn’t the sweetest sentiment in the world. 

Because the moment was so blissful, so amazing, naturally the doorknob jiggled.

James was very glad he’d had the foresight to lock it, but startled regardless. 

“Oi! Prongs! Why’d you lock the door?” came Sirius’ voice on the other side. They probably had about thirty seconds before Sirius remembered he was a wizard and could easily unlock the door, so James unceremoniously shoved Regulus off the bed. 

Regulus sputtered quietly as James apologized, “Sorry, love you, can you hide under the bed?”

“I thought you said they’d be gone all day!” Regulus hissed.

“They were supposed to be!”

Sirius knocked again. “Are you having a wank? Use the bathroom like the rest of us.”

“Merlin, Pads, I was— I’m coming,” James said, haphazardly throwing a shirt on and trying not to look like he’d spent all day in bed with someone. Regulus shot a hand out from under the bed, middle finger raised, and James bent down to kiss it before heading to the door.

Sirius and Remus were arm in arm, and while Sirius looked him up and down slyly, Remus looked suspicious. Remus was the one who’d pieced together that James was seeing someone, but he knew Remus wouldn’t say anything about it until he had all the details, which James did not intend on providing. 

“I was napping,” James lied. Not so bad. Maybe Regulus was rubbing off on him. 

“I thought you had studying to do?” Remus asked. 

“Why do you think I was napping?” James joked, sitting down at the edge of his bed. Regulus poked his ankle. “I thought you were on a date?”

Sirius snorted. “We were. We were gone for five hours.”

“Merlin, I’ve been asleep a long time,” James said, feigning surprise. Remus snorted derisively, but Sirius didn’t seem to notice. 

“Well, anyway, it’s time for dinner. You coming?” Sirius asked, rifling through his trunk for one of the many jumpers he’d stolen from Remus. 

James hopped up, stopping Regulus from prodding at his ankles. “Sure thing. You two go on, though, I should probably brush my teeth, I have sleep breath.”

“Ugh, gross,” Sirius said, throwing on the jumper and grabbing onto Remus’ hand, pulling him back out the door. 

James waited until he heard their footsteps fade down the stairs, then hopped back up on his bed, peeking his head down to see Regulus’ grumpy face underneath it. “I love you,” he said cheerily. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Regulus said, though his face softened, he shifted forward to kiss James, and James accidentally flipped off his bed in excitement. Regulus crawled out from under the bed, looking like a (cute) disaster. He held out a hand to help James up. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you’re Regulus,” James said. 

Regulus pushed him onto the next bed over, which happened to belong to Sirius. Before James could say anything, Regulus was leaning over him and kissing him into the mattress. 

“I fucking knew it,” said a tired voice from the doorway, and James and Regulus poked their heads in that direction in surprise and panic. 

Remus leaned against the doorframe, rubbing his temples. “Carry on,” he said, “Just get to dinner before Padfoot gets separation anxiety.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” James said, and Remus left the room, shutting the door behind him. 

“He won’t tell—” Regulus worried, but James shook his head. Regulus sighed in relief, then started to laugh. “We’re awful at this aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” James admitted, “But you love me.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Nothing.” James shrugged. “Just like the reminder.”

Regulus grinned. “Go to dinner.”

“I love you,” James said.

“Yeah, love you too.”

iii. 

The abandoned girl’s bathroom was nothing if not good for a clandestine snog. About a week after their close shave in the dorm, Regulus and James had refrained from meeting up for any extended period of time, but still stole as many small moments as they could. Including now, during James’ History of Magic class and Regulus’ free period.

Their ties had been discarded and their robes were on the ground, shirts unbuttoned at least three buttons more than was decent. 

“You can’t keep skiving off class if you want to pass your exams,” Regulus said, his breath hot on James’ neck. 

“Can this conversation happen when we’re not snogging?” James asked. He shivered as Regulus placed three kisses along his jawline.

“I’m just saying,” Regulus said. 

James brushed a thumb across Regulus’ cheekbone, separating their faces enough to give him a knowing grin. “You’d rather I was in Binns’ class right now, hm?”

Regulus rolled his eyes. “I didn’t say that —”

“I know everything anyway,” James assured him. He probably didn’t know as much as Regulus, who literally knew everything about everything, but he was one of the best students in his year, only behind Lily and Sirius, who were actual geniuses in the same way Reg was. Only difference was that Lily studied like it was breathing, and Sirius had never studied once in his life. Remus could beat James too, most times, but he’d laid off trying to to be the best once he realized it wouldn’t matter much anyway, given his furry little problem. James resented this notion, but Remus attuned his genius to planning their pranks now, which James and Sirius agreed was a much better use of his time.

“Do you know who led the 18th century Goblin revolution?” Regulus asked.

“Urg the Unclean, baby,” James answered, pulling him back in for a kiss. 

Regulus giggled into it— oh what a heavenly sound that was— and said, “I do love it when you talk dirty to me.”

“If only everyone knew what an absolute dork you are,” James said dreamily against Regulus’ lips. Regulus mumbled something back that sounded a bit like ‘Gryffindork’, but James kissed him through it before Regulus could try to distract him with trivia again. Though, maybe he should suggest some sort of raunchy study game… it seemed to work for Remus and Sirius, in any case. 

Regulus was a dork, though. He was quite witty, this much most everyone who spoke to him knew, and he used a lot of big words in long sentences, and he rarely smiled, and he had the most upright posture James had ever seen, and that was Regulus Black, certainly, but it wasn’t the only side to him. The side James knew made horrible jokes but thought they were extremely funny, giggled instead of outright laughing, had a tendency of dropping his wand when he performed spells (and had, incredibly, developed an affinity for wandless magic because of it), had never once used the prefect bathroom because he hated baths and was afraid of drowning, and loved harder than anyone James had ever known, Sirius included. 

Regulus actually said very little in general, though he spoke the most when he was with James, but that only meant he chose his words more carefully than everyone else. James often got a sense that there were twelve different conversations happening inside Regulus’ head at once, and he took his time to carefully craft responses to each one. James, whose mum had told him to think before he acts more times than he could count, could very much not relate. James thought it made them work, though. They were like fire and ice; sure they might work fine separately, but didn’t the excitement come from them being mixed together? James was never worried about Regulus’ ice, and Regulus had finally stopped worrying about being burned. 

James wrapped his arms around Regulus’ thighs and hoisted him up onto the sink, determined to do nothing but kiss the everloving shit out of this incredible boy of his for as long as humanly possible.

Which, of course, wasn’t long at all. 

Minutes later— could have been an hour, really, but to James it felt like the blink of an eye— Regulus tugged the collar on James’ shirt and pulled back from his embrace. 

“I have to go,” he said, “Charms.”

“Booooo,” James said, articulately. 

“As compelling as that argument was,” Regulus said, lazily waving his hand. His robes and tie were summoned to his hand in an instant. James stubbornly stayed where he was, one hand on Regulus’ thigh, doing his best impression of Sirius’ patented puppy dog eyes. 

Regulus picked up James’ discarded uniform items and held them out to him. “Valiant effort, truly.”

“You can skip one measly little Charms class,” James whined. 

“How would I explain that absence? Apologies, Flitwick, I was busy snogging my golden boy, I’m sure you understand,” Regulus deadpanned. 

James raised his eyebrows appreciatively. “Honestly, I think ole Flitwick would respect it.” Regulus shoved James with a nudge of his foot. “Wait,” James continued, “Your golden boy?”

The tips of Regulus’ ears went pink, but he held his ground. He hopped off the counter and took James’ tie from his hand, doing it up more swiftly than James had ever seen. Regulus Black everyone, annoyingly good at everything even when he wasn’t trying to be. 

“Aren’t you?” he asked. “Mine?” 

James wanted to taste the words on his tongue. 

Before he could make a move, though, Regulus stalked out of the bathroom without another word, likely grinning to himself while also steadying his rapid heartbeat. James whispered, “Fuck,” to himself and splashed cold water on his face. 

Twice. 

He finished buttoning up his shirt and threw his robes on, deciding to skip glancing in the mirror. He knew he had the distinct look of someone who’d been thoroughly snogged, and he didn’t care. No one had to know it was Regulus, but James liked the idea of people looking at him and seeing Regulus all over him. Lily would roll her eyes, and the other Marauders would have questions, but James was too lovestruck to be a bad liar at the moment. 

He waited a few minutes before following Regulus out, though the map had told him no one was around. He did it as a courtesy, just in case. And because strolling into Transfiguration fashionably late was simply a part of his daily routine. 

Sirius nodded at him when he showed up, lost in conversation with Peter about something James was sure he’d hear about later. Remus was laid up in the post-moon hospital wing, which was probably for the best, because he didn’t need to see Remus’ look of disapproval at the wrinkled state of his shirt and his mussed up hair. 

Remus had remained mum about the whole situation, not even bothering to inquire about it further with James on his own, though he surely wanted to. Maybe he was waiting for James to come to him. He would, he probably should have right after Remus caught the two of them together, but for now he’d let it lie. No reason to have Remus talk sense into him about telling Sirius when he was doing such a good job at avoiding the topic so far. 

James slipped into the seat beside Marlene since Sirius and Peter were still talking and Mary and Lily were sitting together. She gave him a smile in greeting, then did a sharp double take. Damn, Regulus must have really messed him up good. 

“Why are you…?” she trailed off, then shook her head. 

He furrowed his brows. “What?”

“What the bloody hell have you got that tie on for?” Sirius asked, finally turning around towards him. 

Had Regulus messed up tying it properly? He was about to ask what Sirius meant by that when he glanced down and— oh. Oh shit. 

How had neither one of them realized they were wearing each other’s ties? 

James blinked, like that would magically correct it, but no. Where red and gold usually sat was silver and green. It even smelled like him. Oh, god, was Sirius going to be able to smell it too and figure it out?

“You were wearing the right tie before you ditched us in History,” Peter noted, unhelpfully. 

“You’re right,” Sirius agreed, cocking his head to one side. 

“Prank,” James said, and Marlene snorted at his side. She didn’t know , but James had a feeling she knew something. He gave her a swift kick under the table. He wasn’t the only one dating a Slytherin, after all. Everyone knew all about her and Dorcas Meadowes. 

Sirius considered him. “I’d believe you if you didn’t look like someone just fucked the life out of you.”

Kudos, Regulus. All they’d done was kiss. 

“Your secret girlfriend is a Slytherin?” Peter gasped loudly. 

“Don’t have a secret girlfriend,” James said, words coming easily because he wasn’t technically lying. 

Marlene snorted again. Ok, she definitely knew too. Blimey, did everyone? Except Sirius and Peter, apparently. James really didn’t care in all honesty, he sometimes thought he wanted the entire world to know, but he would keep things low key as long as Regulus needed. They didn’t have to shout anything from the rooftops, even if that was James’ go to. Change could be a good thing. 

“Or a boyfriend,” Sirius said, narrowing his eyes. 

“You’ve got me,” James said with an exaggerated sigh, “I’m sleeping with Snivellus.”

The suspicion on Sirius’ face cleared in an instant. “Wanker.”

“How’d you know my pet name for him?” James cooed, and Sirius and Peter crowed with laughter. 

McGonagall, from the front of the room, swished her wand to shut them up. James was so used to it by this point that he took advantage of the silence to shout, “I’m in love with Regulus Black!” 

Nothing came out except for air, as per usual with the silencing charm, but James smiled to himself regardless. He ran the silky tie through his fingers and resisted the urge to bring it to his nose once more, inhaling the scent that embedded itself into his pillows, his jumpers, his bones. Sirius had even asked if he was using a new shampoo, for all that he and Regulus smelled like one another these days. 

I will be scouring the Slytherin table for a Gryffindor tie, just so you know, Sirius wrote on a piece of paper and slipped it to him. 

Best of luck!! James wrote back. He knew Regulus wouldn’t be stupid enough to wear the tie to dinner, but he hoped that he kept it, and that he couldn’t get enough of its scent either.

“He’s going to fucking kill you,” Marlene murmured to him under her breath as James felt the silencing spell wearing off. 

He wasn’t sure if she meant Regulus or Sirius, but regardless of her intent, he smirked and said, “Cheers.” 

Later that night, at dinner, which James had corrected his tie for, folding Regulus’ carefully into the drawer beside his bed, all the Slytherins were craning their neck towards the Gryffindor table, as the Gryffindors were doing the same to them. 

Regulus, tieless in his seat, met James’ eyes across the hall and shook his head with something that looked like fondness. Sirius, oblivious to James’ right, simply asked James to pass the pudding, not noticing that his brother was the only Slytherin without a tie. 

iv.

Somehow, Regulus and James had convinced Sirius that they hated each other. It wasn’t James’ fault that he’d thrown the quaffle at Regulus during the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match (landing him a penalty), it was Regulus’ fault for taunting him from across the pitch. 

It had been a thrown quaffle of love, but of course no one knew that but the two of them. Regulus had started crying; he'd laughed so hard after the match. And yes, it was incredibly endearing, but it didn’t soothe the sting of Slytherin beating them. Regulus was easily the most talented seeker James had ever seen— in his totally unbiased opinion— so it had probably been a doomed match from the start, but Gryffindor had only lost by ten points in the end, so at least James had pulled his weight the rest of the way. 

Regulus had been quick to point out that if James had gone for a goal instead of throwing the quaffle at him, they might have won, which was very much not the encouragement he needed to hear, but coming from Regulus it didn’t sound so bad. 

Needless to say, Sirius had reamed James out later, once he’d gotten back to the common room. At first, he’d been extremely confused, having just spent the last hour making out with Regulus, but then he remembered and had to fight to retain a neutral expression.

He had to say, he thought it was sweet to see Sirius protective over Regulus again. They didn’t hang out too much, but they tried for once a week if they could, and though Sirius and Regulus had both told James that it was awkward as hell at first, things were getting better day by day. Sirius had offhandedly mentioned inviting Regulus to the next party they had, and Remus and James had met each other’s shocked expressions over Sirius’ head.

James had expected Sirius’ stern words to be the end of it, forgotten about in the morning, but Sirius surprised him by dragging him out of bed and down to the Great Hall for breakfast, sitting him down, then going to drag Regulus over to their table as well. 

Regulus looked panicked, and James tried to convey that Sirius didn’t know about them, he actually thought the opposite. Based on Regulus’ darting eyes, he did a poor job. 

“Prongs, apologize,” Sirius said stubbornly. 

Lily and Remus, who were already sitting at the table together, had their heads huddled together. James knew exactly what they were talking about, and he was unamused. 

“Sirius, I was the one who—” Regulus started, and James cut him off before he could say anything damning. 

“—threatened to throw a quaffle at me first,” James said, widening his eyes once more for effect. Regulus furrowed his brows, but followed James’ lead. 

“He’s right,” he said, “I just didn’t think he’d have the balls to follow up on my threat.”

Very funny, Reg. It took every ounce of James’ self control to not make some sort of sex joke, because he knew hiding their relationship would be a lost cause after that. Even Sirius couldn’t be that oblivious. “To be fair, I wasn’t actually trying to hit him,” James said to Sirius.

“You don’t have to pretend to save face, Potter, I know your aim is just that poor,” Regulus said. When he said Potter, he meant Jamie, and James heard it loud and clear.

His smile was genuine, and he tried to morph it into something more like a smirk. “I’d worry more about your teammates' aim. If you hadn’t caught the snitch, the loss would have been embarrassingly bad.” That much was true. 

“Do I hear a compliment in there somewhere?” Regulus asked.

“In your dreams.”

“Alright!” Sirius clapped his hands. “That’s enough of that. Quidditch is over for the season, so there’s no reason to hate one another, right? I can have two brothers, and they can get along just fine, maybe?”

James fixed Sirius with an unamused stare. “This talk sounds familiar. When did you become the paragon on who can hate who, again?”

“Prongs,” Sirius warned. 

“Fine, fine.” James raised his hands in surrender. “Regulus, I don’t hate you.” Regulus hummed noncommittally and James scoffed. “You could say that you don’t hate me!”

“I could,” Regulus agreed. 

Sirius threw up his hands. “Ugh! This is bloody annoying.”

James didn’t dare point out the irony, when Sirius and Regulus had both been incredibly annoying in their distaste for one another. If he wasn’t going to be self aware about it, good enough that he got a taste of his own medicine. 

Sirius grabbed one of each of their arms and placed them on the table. They were sitting across from one another, so their fingers ended up inches apart. James saw Regulus’ hand twitch, an infinitesimal gesture to reach out to James. James ached to do the same, close that gap.

Surprisingly, Sirius had the same thought. 

With a flick of his wand, Regulus and James’ wrists were tied together with a bright red tether. James’ mind screamed to him about a red string of fate, but he kept that to himself. 

“The fuck, Sirius?” Regulus asked, sounding appropriately alarmed. 

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the holidays,” Sirius said darkly. 

In James’ defense, the event Sirius was referring to had been before he and Regulus had kissed, and he’d thought the idea was funny. He’d charmed the two of them into a big sweater that said ‘This is our get along shirt’, and hadn’t given them the countercurse until they’d gone to bed that night. It had been a hit with his parents and Andromeda and Ted as well. Regulus hadn’t spoken to him for the whole day afterward, but it was sort of worth it. 

“I have things to do, I can’t spend all day dragging him around,” Regulus said. 

James snorted. “‘Things to do’. You’re just going to be in the library studying.” Regulus glowered at him. “Am I right or am I right?”

Sirius tuned out Regulus’ complaints entirely, too satisfied with himself to notice that James hadn’t complained once. Remus had his head down on the table, which James thought was a bit dramatic. 

“I’ll undo it at the end of the night,” Sirius said, “But in the meantime, maybe you should use the time together to get over your stupid quidditch thing and behave like friends—”

“Who told you we were friends?” Regulus asked.

“—which you will be, because I say so.” Sirius sighed. “Look. I love you both, I really do, ok? And I want… I want to get a chance at a future I thought I’d never have, with both of you in my life. It would be helpful if you two got along, is all.”

“Oh, fine, you sap,” James said, planting a kiss on his cheek. Regulus rolled his eyes in what was probably jealousy rather than annoyance, but Sirius looked pleased, even as he pretended to bat James away. 

James continued, “Only one problem.” He lifted his arm, taking Regulus’ with him, and glanced down either end of the table, of which they were situated in the middle. “How do you expect us to get out of here?”

“You could shuffle along with your arms over your heads,” Remus suggested. He looked caught between thinking this was the funniest thing in the world, and wishing ill will on all three of them, which James was honestly used to. 

Lily stifled a giggle and added her own two cents, “One of them could climb across the table. Leap into each other’s arms, that sort of thing.”

“Absolutely not,” Regulus said dryly. One of his fingers played with the slack line of string connecting them. 

James had no such qualms about climbing over the table, so he did, intentionally knocking over Sirius’ pumpkin juice in the process. Nearly every eye in the Great Hall was on them, but no one was stupid enough to inquire about what the hell was going on. They’d learned long ago that it was best to leave the Marauders to their own devices. Regulus didn’t look pleased to be lumped in with their group, but it made James giddy in ways he couldn’t describe. 

“Where to?” James asked breathlessly, plopping down beside Regulus. He locked their ankles together under the table and smiled slyly at the redness that rushed to Regulus’ ears. Regulus used his free hand to untuck his hair from behind them to cover them up, knowing exactly what James was grinning at.

“Since you suggested the library…” Regulus said. 

“Killjoy. I wanted to try flying around like this.”

“How are you not dead yet?”

“Things worth living for,” James said, pressing their elbows together. 

Regulus stood abruptly, banging his knee on the table. If he felt any pain or embarrassment, he didn’t show it. “Let’s see if you feel the same after eight hours in the library.”

James allowed Regulus to pull him up from the table like a ragdoll because he liked it when Regulus was in control and stumbled along behind him as Regulus strode away from the table without another word.

“Don’t kill each other please!” Sirius yelled after them. James turned enough to shout back, “No promises!”

Regulus kept on his path, not looking at James once until they were sequestered in a secluded alcove of the library. Then, in an instant, he turned on him and pressed his back up against the bookshelf, lips hot and hungry and desperate. Just how James liked them.

“Whatever will I do with the great James Potter, all to myself, all day?” Regulus asked. His fingers were playing with the bottom of James’ untucked shirt. 

“Whatever you want,” James said. He held up their connected wrists and reached out for Regulus’. He held it to his chest, then kissed it. He could have sworn he felt a surge of something pass between the tether connecting them. He shook his head, in as much awe of Regulus as he always was. 

He repeated, “Whatever you want,” and Regulus did just that. 

v.

James had taken to tracing along his wrist where Sirius’ charmed string had rested for twelve glorious hours. Most of the time he didn’t even notice he was doing it, until Remus had pointed it out to him. 

It was odd, when Sirius had countered the spell, he could have sworn he felt it, deep in his chest. He knew that a magic string wasn’t indicative of his relationship with Regulus in any way, but it had felt like a tangible way to hold onto their love, and James had to admit that he missed it, even if all the love was still there. 

They’d sufficiently convinced Sirius that they were getting along, though, which was both good and bad. If he thought they hated each other, it was a lot easier to actually play pretend, especially because James lived on a bit of teasing banter, and Regulus was always ready with a good comeback or two. It was good, though, because Sirius had indeed invited Regulus to a party in their common room, and Regulus had shown up, and he and James could just relax and enjoy the night without worrying about having to pretend to despise one another. 

The party was small as far as parties went, since exam season was looming, but there were still a fair few of them around to have a good time. The Marauders were all present, of course, as were Lily, Mary, Marlene, Dorcas, Regulus and a smattering of other students from their year, the one below, and the one above.

James was pleasantly buzzed on firewhiskey lying on one of the couches. Marlene was attempting to paint his nails on one of his hands, but she was drunk as well, so he could only assume it was going horribly. Regulus kept looking over at him, pretending he wasn’t. James knew this because he was doing the same. 

Remus’ enchanted turntable was playing Fleetwood Mac, which meant that Lily was currently in charge of the music. James didn’t mind, he liked the band, and their music was just the right tempo for his current state of drunkenness. 

Sirius stumbled over and laid down on top of James. “I’m bored.”

“How are you bored, we’re having a party?” James asked as Sirius smushed his face into James’ chest. Across the room, Regulus was gripping his cup tightly. James grinned. 

“Everyone’s being boring,” Sirius said, “What happened to dancing on tables?”

“It’s exam season,” Dorcas answered, coming over to sit beside Marlene. “I think everyone’s too tired to be interesting.”

Sirius booed, snuggling in deeper to James. James used his free hand to brush the hair away from his eyes. They were the exact opposite of Regulus’, a light almost silvery grey, like starlight was shining out of them. “Why don’t we play a game?” James suggested. 

Something flickered behind Sirius’ gaze, and then he smiled with renewed exuberance. “That sounds like an excellent idea, Prongsie.” He attempted to get up, instead falling off of James and onto the floor. This did not temper his excitement. He hopped up and announced to the room, “Circle up! We’re playing truth or dare!”

“I only finished one hand,” Marlene whined, lifting James’ hand up to her face to admire her handiwork. James followed her gaze and choked back a laugh. Ah, well. He’d get Mary or Lily to fix it later. 

The group sat in a big circle in the middle of the room, and James sat with Sirius on one side and Peter on the other. Remus was beside Sirius, making eyes at James who was discreetly making eyes at Regulus, who sat directly across from him sandwiched between Dorcas and Benjy Fenwick, a Ravenclaw from his year. 

“Who’s starting?” Mary asked slyly, “Because I have an excellent dare on hand.”

“Go on, then,” Sirius prompted excitedly. 

She whispered something to Lily, who giggled, then turned her attention to Peter. “Pettigrew, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Peter said, because he was a Marauder, and Marauders never picked truth in truth or dare.”

“I dare you to sweet talk the Fat Lady. Bonus points if you convince her to go on a date with you,” Mary said, eliciting many cheers from the group.

Peter sputtered, “I’ll feel bad if she agrees! What am I supposed to do, stand her up? What if she stops letting me into the common room?”

“Guess you’ll have to find out, won’t you?” Mary said. 

Peter groaned as everyone started chanting his name, but stood up like a soldier on a mission. Everyone was deadly silent as he slipped out of the portrait hole, leaving it ajar so they could hear him. His attempts were laughably bad, and James shook with laughter as Peter finally took his shot at asking her out and she shrieked so loudly that she woke up all the nearby portraits. 

Peter’s face was redder than the room’s decor upon reentry into the common room, and everyone was laughing raucously. “Not a word,” he said miserably, and James patted him sympathetically on the shoulder as he sat back down. 

“That’s true Gryffindor bravery right there,” James said, which made Peter look slightly less miserable. 

“Alright, alright,” Peter said eventually, voice more steady after the laughter subsided. He looked across the circle. “Dearborn, truth or dare.”

“Truth,” Caradoc answered, and Peter requested knowing whether he’d ever had a sex dream about a professor. (The answer was yes, but he refused to tell them which one. James had his money on their fourth year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. What a looker he’d been.)

A few more rounds passed without incident. Emmeline Vance was dared to sing the Hogwarts school song backwards, Marlene admitted to shoving the Hufflepuff seeker off their broom in one of their quidditch matches, Remus let Dorcas pierce his nose, and Lily successfully snuck in and out of Slughorn’s private quarters and stole a bottle of mead. 

Passing it around victoriously, Lily turned her attention to Sirius. “Truth or dare?” she asked needlessly.

He grinned. “You know the answer to that, Evans.”

“That I do,” she said mischievously. It reminded James of why he’d had such a crush on her. She was much more of a Marauder than she pretended to be. “I dare you to take a jog around the castle.”

Sirius tutted. “That’s all? How tame.”

“Naked,” Lily added, which had surely been her plan all along. Everyone whooped and hollered, expecting Sirius to be put off by the task, but James knew that this was the best dare Sirius could have asked for. He loved being the center of attention, even if he had to be naked to do it. He was also incredibly conceited, and most definitely wanted them all to ogle how fit he was. 

Remus rolled his eyes as Sirius grinned and stood up, easily shucking his shirt off. He handed it to Remus, who held it to his heart in an exaggerated show of love. James saw Sirius shirtless and/or naked quite often, sharing a dorm, so he wasn’t surprised in any way by the smattering of tattoos that ran up and down his skin. Remus and Sirius had made up a spell to do them magically back in fifth year, and Sirius probably gave himself a new one every day. He’d only gotten one of them the muggle way, which James had also done, after Sirius had run away from home. James had a small pawprint on his bicep, and Sirius had a pair of antlers on the back of his neck. 

Regulus, clearly, had not seen Sirius’ tattoos, aside from the ones on his arms that were almost always visible with his rolled up sleeves. Regulus had seen James’ tattoo, of course, and had been a bit confused by the concept of getting a needle poked into your skin to draw a picture there permanently. James couldn’t gauge the expression on his face at the moment, didn’t know whether it was disdain or longing. 

Sirius was down to his briefs, which definitely belonged to Remus, when he asked Lily, “Take these off now or once I’m outside?”

“Outside,” she said definitively, “None of us need to be traumatized with a close up view of your dick.”

Sirius smirked and opened his mouth, eyes drifting lazily to Remus, who tripped him before he could say whatever god awful sex joke he’d been about to say. Sirius popped back up, albeit slower than usual on account of the alcohol, and muttered, “Killjoy.”

Everyone at the party followed Sirius out the door, sneaking through the corridors behind him until they split off so they could all go to the Astronomy tower to watch his jog, since it had a perfect three sixty view of the grounds. Sirius saluted them all over his shoulder and went in the opposite direction. 

Regulus sidled up beside James, taking care to keep his face uninterested as he said, “I didn’t know Sirius had so many tattoos.”

“Yeah,” James said. There wasn’t really anything more for him to say about it. 

Regulus bit his lip, peeling away some of the skin there. It was a nervous habit of his, and he stopped once he noticed James noticing. “There’s a lot,” he continued, and James nodded, still unsure what he was supposed to say. “I thought you said they hurt?”

Oh. Was Regulus worried about Sirius? That was incredibly sweet, but James decided not to say so because he didn’t want to get shoved off the Astronomy tower. He reassured him, “The muggle kind do, but he and Moony made up some spell to do them with magic ages ago. They don’t hurt a bit.”

“Oh,” Regulus said. The wrinkle between his brows softened. “How do you know they don’t?”

James shrugged. “That’s what they tell me. The girls have corroborated.” Except Lily, because she was Jewish. 

“You haven’t done one?” Regulus asked. 

James raised his eyebrows. “You’ve seen every inch of my body. Don’t you think you would know?”

Regulus turned away from him, but James saw that blush of his creeping through. No one else noticed in the darkness, but James was well attuned to every little thing about him. 

James thought their conversation was over when Regulus asked, “Do you think he’d teach me how to do it?”  

“You want tattoos?”

Regulus shrugged. “There’s something quite beautiful about turning your body into a work of art.”

“Your body is already a work of art,” James whispered into his ear. He caught Lily’s eye and shifted away from Regulus, ignoring her smirk. “But I’m sure he’d be happy to teach you. It’s one of his favorite things to do.”

“Other than Lupin,” Regulus said, and James choked back a laugh. 

A burst of whooping cheers interrupted them, and they turned their attention to the ground with all the others, seeing a pale figure emerge from the darkness. 

“Can’t even see his dick from all the way up here,” someone complained loudly, and Regulus groaned the way only a brother could. 

Sirius sprinted quickly, throwing a smile up to all of them occasionally. They all stayed mostly quiet so as to not wake any of the professors or alert Filch of their activities. 

James thought there was a thin line between brilliantly courageous and brilliantly stupid, and that Sirius Black was that line. He also thought that was one of the best things about him. 

Sirius circled the castle twice, because of course he did, and everyone rushed from the tower once they saw him jogging back to the entrance of the castle to greet him as he reached the common room.

He had his briefs back on and a windswept look that probably wouldn’t have worked for everyone, but it did for him. Remus was clearly a fan, because he had a look about him of someone who was extremely sexually frustrated. 

Sirius pulled him in for a brief kiss as everyone shuffled back through the portrait hole, and he emerged through it looking much more satisfied. James could relate, he’d been dying to kiss Regulus for hours. A mere brush of their arms had set his entire body on fire. 

Sirius put his shirt and pants back on, grinning at James as he sat back down. “Prongs,” he said, “Dare.”  

“Dare,” James agreed. 

He grabbed the firewhiskey bottle and put it in the middle of the circle. “I dare you to spin the bottle. Whoever it lands on, you have to snog them for thirty seconds. With tongue.”

James glanced over at Regulus, whose body was stiff, then back at Sirius. “Ok. But I’m not going to make anyone kiss me…”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine, can I get a yes from everyone in the circle that they consent to this dare?”

Affirmations were muttered all around, and James groaned internally. Best case scenario, it landed on Remus, because Sirius probably wouldn’t let that happen, and even if it did, Regulus would know better than to be jealous about it. 

He reached forward and spun. Everyone was silent, tracking the motion. He couldn’t help but wonder who was hoping it would land on them, and who was hoping it would land anywhere but them. 

It finally stopped spinning, and oh fuck . 

Regulus’ spine got even straighter, if that was possible, and he opened his mouth but nothing came out. James looked at Sirius, sure he would intervene and get it to spin again.

He had a frown on his face, already looking at James, but shrugged in defeat. “Rules are rules.”

Blimey, he must have been drunk off his ass. At least this meant there was a possibility he’d forget about it in the morning. 

“Well, come on, Little Star,” James said, crawling across the circle. Everyone looked incredibly stunned at this turn of events, barring the few who knew about the two of them. Actually, scratch that. His friends who knew all looked incredibly stunned as well. Remus kept looking at Sirius out of the corner of his eye, like he was waiting for him to have a meltdown. 

“Don’t call me that,” Regulus said. It was what James had called him for the first few years of knowing one another, before he and Sirius had stopped talking. 

“What would you rather I call you?”

“I’d rather you not refer to me at all,” Regulus said brightly.

That was all James needed to lean in and kiss him. Regulus brought one of his hands up, gripping the front of James’ shirt, and James clenched his hands at his sides to stop him from cupping Regulus’ face as he tended to do. Kissing him was so easy that he lost track of time, and he knew that he probably should have been making more of a show of how annoying this was to him, but Regulus Black was his weakest spot, and he couldn’t do any pretending otherwise. 

James didn’t know if everyone was quiet as they kissed, or if it just felt that way because James had ascended to a plane of existence where they were the only two people on earth. 

Sirius’ voice brought him jarringly back to reality. “That’s thirty,” he said, something in his tone that James couldn’t pinpoint. 

James pulled back quickly, but Regulus lingered, his hand still on James’ shirt. Someone coughed awkwardly and Regulus dropped his hand, sinking back into his place in the circle. James crawled back stiffly to his own spot, avoiding Sirius’ eyes, because he was worried about what his own might give away. 

“That was kind of hot,” Marlene whispered to Dorcas, who shushed her. 

The game ended shortly thereafter, and James still refused to look Sirius in the eye. His infatuation was written all over him, he was sure of it, and he wanted Sirius to be too drunk to remember before he had to do damage control. Regulus avoided his eye for the rest of the night as well, except when he slipped off to his dorm with Dorcas and he threw one glance back at James, eyes softening, a hint of a smile that he hid in his collar. 

James went to bed quickly, pretending to be asleep before he could field questions from Sirius (or Peter, who had been hopelessly confused). Christ, that was close.   

+1 

Sirius was going to lose his mind. He’d done everything he could possibly think of to get James and Regulus to admit that they fancied one another— including making them kiss, quite passionately— and still nothing. He didn’t generally believe in lost causes, but he was coming to terms with the possibility that this might be one.

Remus was no help, refusing to get involved in any of Sirius’ plans. Something about it being immoral to meddle in his friends’ love lives, as if all of their friends hadn’t meddled in theirs a time or two. 

He’d known something was different for a while now. James often got a dazed look in his eyes, but Sirius had quickly noticed that he was no longer looking at Lily, but at the Slytherin table. The only Slytherins they were on good terms with were Dorcas and Regulus, and Sirius had grudgingly admitted to himself that one option was more likely than the other. 

He wasn’t totally thrilled about the prospect of James fancying his brother, but if he couldn’t have Sirius, Regulus was the next best option. 

He’d written it off at first though, because James Potter could fall in love with a doorknob if you let him, and he’d gone about his business, sure it would amount to nothing more than a weeklong crush. 

It was a month later that he realized the crush may not have been one sided. Regulus and Sirius had been spending the day together, trying to get back to being something more than what they’d allowed themselves to become over the last few years. Sirius hadn’t been open to it at all at first, but they’d had a long talk over the holidays, and while Sirius disagreed with Regulus’ view on how his running away had gone, he could acknowledge that Regulus hadn’t wanted him to go. And that he hadn’t really hated him, but envied him for being the person he thought he’d never be. Sirius understood this feeling quite well, because he’d felt the exact same about Regulus as long as he could remember.

Regulus had spent practically the entire day trying to convince Sirius to sneak into the Gryffindor quidditch practice to spy on them. Regulus, bless his heart, had definitely thought he was being discreet about it, but he very much was not. Sirius finally gave in, because it was just one practice anyway, and it had quickly become clear that Regulus had not wanted to spy at all, but to watch James. 

Sirius had never seen his brother looking wistful and/or infatuated, and it was quite the shock to his system. He’d been so surprised, in fact, that he hadn’t brought it up at all, not even to make a joke out of it. 

He had screamed about it to Remus, unsure what to do with the fact that his best friend fancied his brother and that his brother fancied his best friend back. When had they even had the time to decide to fancy one another? Remus had suggested taking a sedative and leaving it alone, but Sirius would do no such thing.

At first, he’d been completely against it. Not only would Regulus steal James from him, but James would also be stealing Regulus, and Sirius had only just gotten him back. 

Months down the line, he’d been worn down. Simply from the excessively hopeful and desperate looks the two of them shot each other when they thought no one was looking, or the casual touches they thought no one could see. James never smiled around anyone like he smiled around Regulus (and he smiled around everyone), and Sirius had been convinced Regulus would turn permanently pink for how often he blushed when James was around. 

Feeling very much like the creator of his own demise, Sirius had henceforth dedicated his time to convincing the two of them to admit their bloody feelings or die trying. All of their other friends were convinced James had a secret lover, but Sirius knew that wasn’t true, because he would have been obnoxious about it, even if he’d been trying to keep it a secret. James Potter didn’t do anything halfway, especially not love. 

When he’d found James as a stag in the quidditch changing room next to a shirtless Regulus, he’d been sure one of them had been on the verge of making a move, but James had said he’d meant to prank Marlene and hadn’t known Regulus would be there. He seemed embarrassed by the mishap, so Sirius was inclined to believe him, especially because James was a rotten liar at the best of times. 

Then, James had used studying as an excuse to get out of going to Hogsmeade with Peter and the girls, but when Sirius and Remus had arrived back at the dorm earlier than he’d expected, James had just been napping. A whole day free to go confess his feelings and what did he do? Sleep. Bloody idiot. 

Sirius still didn’t know what to make of James coming to class with a Slytherin tie on. His best guess was that he’d been trying to impress Regulus, or something, but Sirius had kept an eye on Regulus that night at dinner, and he hadn’t seemed to notice James at all. Maybe that was when they’d gotten into the fight that had James chucking a quaffle at him in the cup final. How the two of them couldn’t realize their banter sounded more like flirting than actual insults was beyond him.

Neither one of them had thought anything of his spell to bind them together, either! Remus had chided him for it, saying it was way too obvious, but James and Regulus hadn’t even blinked, totally oblivious. It wasn’t a common enchantment, sure, but they had to have heard of the red string of fate, tying you to the object or your affection? It had been all the rage when they were in their third year, and James had even made a joke at the time about trying to tie himself to Evans. Only thing was, it didn’t work unless the feelings were mutual. And it had worked on James and Regulus. 

He’d been lost after that, unsure what else he could do to get their heads out of their asses, when the perfect idea struck on his naked jog around the castle. He thought he’d struck gold, enchanting the bottle in truth or dare to make them kiss, but neither one of them had so much as spoken in the weeks following, and they had both pretended to be too drunk to remember what happened. 

Now, he was infuriated by their stupidity, and if they wouldn’t get their shit together on their own terms, he’d bloody force them to do it. 

All three of them stood in the Potions classroom, a large cauldron on the table with Sirius standing beside it and James and Regulus standing warily in front of him. The distance between the two of them was tense and careful, and Sirius took that as confirmation that they did indeed remember their kiss at the party. 

James rubbed at his wrist, looking at Regulus, then at Sirius. “Er, what are we doing here?”

“James, Reg, you’re both the best at Potions in the year,” Sirius began.

“Evans is much better than me,” James interrupted.

“I’m not even in your year,” Regulus added. 

Sirius carried on, unperturbed, “I just need you to tell me if this smells right. I’ve been going crazy for days, and if I don’t nail this, Slughorn will finally kick me out of his class.” (Not true. Even with their parents in Azkaban and Sirius disinherited, Slughorn was still intent on kissing his ass.) “So please, help a pal out.”

“What’s it supposed to smell like?” James asked. 

“Just tell me what you smell and I’ll tell you if it's right or not. I don’t want to bias you.” If nothing else worked, Amortentia would have to do the trick. He’d enlisted Lily’s help in brewing it, because she was the best, and she hadn’t even asked what it was for, thank Merlin. He’d known he was growing on her, but he thought they might actually be friends now. 

Regulus and James both stepped up to the cauldron warily, like this was a test. They probably expected it to be enchanted to blow up in their faces, which was a classic move, but not his current goal. 

“Can’t bloody smell anything,” James said. He threw a look at Regulus. “Your perfume is clogging up my nostrils.”

Regulus scoffed and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t wear perfume and you know it. However, I will not apologize for using hair care products, because some of us actually enjoy making an effort. Better than smelling like sweat and your broomstick, which you no doubt came straight from making love to.”

James sniffed himself indignantly. “I do not smell like sweat! I smell like peaches and loveliness.”

“Sirius’ potion smells like peaches, not you.”

“No, it smells all minty like those leaves you chew on,” James shot back. Sirius didn’t bother asking how James knew Regulus chewed on mint leaves. People with crushes were entirely off their rocker. He could say this, because his crush on Remus had been extreme, even by his standards.

Regulus narrowed his eyes. “What potion is it supposed to be anyway?” he asked Sirius, “I can’t really help if I don’t know what you’re brewing.”

Sirius smirked. “Amortentia.”

It was almost comical, how the color drained from both of their faces simultaneously. They took nervous steps apart, and James immediately began sputtering, “Oh, that’s why I smell lilies, then, like Lily. Uh, Evans. Who I love.”

“You haven’t loved her since fourth year, Prongs,” Sirius said. He had never seen James look so panicked. 

“Listen,” Regulus blurted. His face was blank as it usually was, but his dark eyes were wide, the only giveaway that he was as uneasy as James was. “I can explain. It’s my fault, I was the one who kissed him—”

“No you weren’t,” Sirius said with a laugh, “We were all there, James kissed you.”

Regulus looked confused. “What? You— you were there?”

“He means during the party, Reggie,” James said. 

Sirius lifted his brows. Reggie, huh? Then his brain backtracked to what Regulus had said. “Wait. When are you talking about?”

“The party,” Regulus said. 

“James?” Sirius asked, because James couldn’t tell a damn lie to save his life. 

“Holidays,” James said quietly.

“What was that?”

“Holidays,” he muttered again, a bit louder. Regulus shut his eyes like he’d seen his fate and was awaiting the final blow. 

But see, now Sirius was confused, because what holidays were they talking about? Regulus had kissed James during the holidays? And neither one of them had ever mentioned it? “You kissed James. During the holidays.”

“I kissed him back, to be fair,” James said. Regulus banged his head on the table beside him. 

Sirius threw his hands up in the air. “Well then why the bloody hell have you two been dancing around each other for months like you’ve never had a crush before? Surely a reciprocated kiss means something !”

Regulus blinked his eyes open. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you and Prongs and your ridiculous crushes on each other! It’s been obvious for months, and I keep trying to get you two to confess your feelings for each other— even charmed you with the bloody red string of fate and made you snog— and you’re still too dumb to get it!” Sirius exclaimed. 

James and Regulus blinked at Sirius, then at each other. The corner of James’ mouth quirked up like he was about to laugh, and Regulus groaned, shaking his head. “Jamie, no, don’t—”

“I’ve been dating Reg since the winter holidays. He kissed me, and I kissed him back, and then we spent days being ridiculous about it, and then we kissed some more, and then I asked him to go on a date with me once we got back to school. We did, we decided to make our relationship official, and we’ve been together since,” James explained. 

Sirius dropped his mouth open. No, he was lying. But James was such a bad liar. He turned to his brother. “Reg?”

Regulus shrugged, defeated. “I’m not sorry about it. You don’t own him.”

“Bloody hell!” Sirius exhaled. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve been spending so much time trying to get you two together and you’re already together ? Does everyone know except me? Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“We thought you’d be angry,” Regulus said, “And I didn’t want to lose you again.”

“Fucking—” Sirius ran a hasty hand through his hair and opened up his arms. “Come here.”

Regulus glanced at James, ignoring Sirius’ arms. Sirius sighed. “Come here you little arsehole. Give me a hug.”

He didn’t wait for Regulus this time, just pulled him in by the arm and folded him to his chest. “You won’t ever lose me again,” he said softly into Regulus’ shoulder, “I promise.”

Some of the tension left Regulus’ body as he hugged Sirius back, a bit awkwardly. They weren’t used to doing this. “I’m sorry for not telling you.”

“It’s ok. I— I understand why you didn’t.” He did, even if he was a bit fucking pissed about it. He let Regulus go and held him by his shoulders. Regulus was roughly an inch taller than him, and it aggravated Sirius to no end. He brushed Regulus’ hair behind his ears (when had it gotten that long?) and smiled at him. “Are you happy?”

Regulus peeked at James out of the corner of his eyes, going brilliantly red. “I… yeah. I am.”

Sirius turned to James, who opened his arms for a hug. Sirius crossed his own arms. “My fucking brother?”

James wiggled his fingers, inviting Sirius in. “You’re gonna give me this talk and not him?”

“We tell each other everything,” Sirius said.

“I did tell you,” James said, “Eventually.”

Sirius sighed. “You love him, don’t you?”

“I’m right here,” Regulus said.

“Of course I do. More than anything,” James said, not missing a beat. 

“Oh, bloody hell,” Sirius repeated, stepping forward and letting James hug the life out of him. “You two are going to be insufferable now, aren’t you?” Sirius asked once James released him.

“Have you met yourself and Remus?” Regulus asked. 

“Touché.”

“Have you really been trying to set us up?” James asked.

Sirius huffed out a breathless laugh. “Like you wouldn’t believe. I’m driving Moony insane. He thinks you two are a lost cause.”

Regulus laughed, and James and Sirius both raised a brow at him. “Sorry,” Regulus said, “Just, he knows. About us.”

Sirius’ jaw dropped for the second time that day. “And he didn’t tell me?!”

“He’s a good friend,” James said with a shrug. 

“I’m going to kick his ass,” Sirius decided, strutting from the classroom. James and Regulus didn’t follow behind him, and Sirius knew exactly why. They were all stupid beyond measure, weren’t they? 

He found Remus in the library with Lily. “You bloody knew?” he asked, with no preamble. 

“Hello, Padfoot. How was your day? Mine was alright, Lils and I were just finishing up Transfiguration work,” Remus said, not even looking up from his parchment. Lily snickered to herself. Remus glanced up through his lashes. “To answer your question: yes. Why didn’t I tell you? Not my business to tell. How’d you find out?” 

“Are you talking about James and Regulus?” Lily asked. 

Sirius scoffed in exasperation. “She knows too?!”

“Not by choice,” she said. 

“How’d you find out?” Remus asked again, finally setting his work aside.

Sirius plopped himself down at the table, folding his hands on top of it. “So I brewed up some Amortentia, right?” Lily coughed, and he amended, “I decided to brew up some Amortentia, and Evans did all the heavy lifting because she’s the best, and then I asked them to smell it without telling them what it was at first to get them to finally admit that they fancied each other. Then when I finally revealed the nature of the potion, Reg got all panicked and said he was the one who kissed James, over the holidays, and I’m like ‘The holidays? You kissed all the way back then and still haven’t gotten your shit together?’ and then Prongs was all ‘We’ve been dating for months dimwit’ and I debated strangling both of them, but instead gave them hugs, and then Reg told me you knew all about it, so I came here.” 

“Did Potter actually call you a dimwit?” Lily asked. 

“Of course not,” Sirius said. 

“What did Potter do?” James asked, strolling into the library with the biggest grin Sirius had ever seen. Regulus was beside him and their hands were tangled together, even though it appeared Regulus was doing his best to look like he’d wandered in completely separate from James. 

“Woah, cool it with the PDA,” Lily said, shielding her eyes. 

James took that as a challenge, and leaned in to give Regulus a short peck on the lips. Regulus was fighting a smile so hard it almost looked painful, but Sirius had always known that James would do the smiling for both of them.

“Still glad they sorted their shit?” Remus teased quietly as they sat down at the table with them and engaged Lily in conversation.

Sirius watched them, his brother and his best friend, felt the happiness and love radiating off the two of them and decided, definitively, “Yeah, I am.”