Objection
Pandora burst through the door closing it behind her “Reg! Reg!” Regulus emerged from the small living room adjacent to the kitchen “Oh Reg! You’ll never believe it! Lily’s asked me to be her bridesmaid! They’re planning a lovely little service next week! Just a small affair, nothing fancy, oh it's so lovely!”
“Yea, I’m sure it will be Panda…” There was a profound sadness in Reggie’s voice as he pictured the love of his life standing at the altar with someone else. Pandora clasped her hand over her mouth.
“Oh… Oh merlin, I’m sorry Reg… I was just so excited, I forgot.” She looked sadly at the floor. “He misses you Reg, a lot. They have photos of you all around. He has a candle, He lights it for you every night, he lights it and looks up, he finds your star Reg.” Tears were forming in both of their eyes.
“I… I wish I could tell him… I wish I could see him. Panda, I love him…” Reggie closed his eyes tightly willing the tears away. “I love him so much…” Pandora crossed the room to give Regulus a tight hug.
“He knows Reggie, he knows you love him but more importantly he has a hunch… He and I were talking one day, I never said anything but he gave me this sad look and he asked me a question, he asked if I’d ever had a nagging feeling that something was off with what everyone else had accepted and processed as true. I said I had, I told him about my father, how after his accident everyone believed that he couldn’t understand us I told him I’d always believed he could and as it turned out I was right. He… Reg, he looked me in the eyes and he told me that he couldn’t believe you were really dead. He told me he could sense that you were still out there, somewhere. I didn't say anything to him, I didn’t give him an opinion but, you should know, he knows, he doesn't know that he knows but he does, he can just tell.”
“R-Really…? He does?” Pandora nodded slowly. Regulus hugged her gently. “Thank you, Panda, that helps, a lot.”
The days passed and Pandora kept Regulus up to date with the goings on and preparation for the wedding. Finally the day came, Pandora showed up in her pale blue dress with one final update for him. “Oh Reg, I’ve just talked to Mary, she wanted to give me a heads-up so I could prepare… Reg, they’ve given you a seat, a reserved spot front and center, right in front of James, they’re setting up your photo…” She gave him a big hug. “He said he needed you there, said he couldn’t do it without you… you’re right next to his mother and father’s photos.” A tear formed in the corner of her eye. “It's beautiful really…” Reggie gave Pandora another hug.
“Have fun, Panda, I’ll see you later.” He smiled a soft sad smile as she waved and walked out the door. Once he was sure she was out the door he rushed to his room tears flowing freely, that settled it. Regulus ran straight to his closet and pulled out the old dress robes He’d had for family parties and eventually, meetings… A slight shiver ran down his spine as he got changed and his fingers slid through the air mere millimetres from the black image that would forever taint his left arm. Stepping into the bathroom Reggie wiped the tears from his cheeks, brushed through his hair parting it to one side the way James used to trying to annoy him. Reggie had always secretly loved the way it looked but would never do it himself as it gave James reason to play with his hair. His hand hovered over the tube of eyeliner, Sirius had taught him how to apply it and not have it turn out messy or get in his eyes.
Sirius… he’d surely be there, Regulus pondered how his brother would react… the last time they had spoken they’d fought over Reggie’s mark, but now, he thought he was dead, would that be enough for Sirius to be relieved or would he become enraged… It was hard to say but Reggie couldn’t stand idly by as the love of his life married someone else, especially so soon. Their decision had been due to the acceleration of the war Pandora had said, they were afraid of what could happen and so they decided it would be best to go through with it in case they only had a little more time. He gave in, grabbing the eyeliner and creating small subtle wings, Sirius’ voice in his head critiquing his technique all the while, Reggie couldn’t help it, his hand was shaking with nerves and anticipation.
Moments later standing at the door Regulus pulled on his shoes, took a deep breath and, for the first time in almost two months, he took the tentative first steps out of the safety of his protected home. As he shut the door behind him he took another breath, nothing felt any different now that he was exposed and vulnerable to the outside world, it was strange how normal it felt despite the knowledge he held of the danger he was in. Pandora had of course told Regulus everything he needed to know, they were holding a small quiet ceremony near their home in Godric’s Hollow. Regulus knew the area well enough and so he glanced around ensuring nobody was around, pictured the secluded area in the little graveyard James had taken him to where the stones of Effie and Fleamont sat side by side and with a silent spell, he found himself staring down at those very stones. He briefly knelt in front of them, placing a hand on each stone and whispered a plea.
“Effie, Monty, please understand what I have to do… I don’t mean to hurt him but it may, I know I am not able to be with him the way he would like but… knowing he still holds onto my life when no one else does, I just can’t let him go. I know I should and I apologize for holding your son back but love, it makes you do things you know you shouldn’t sometimes. I'm sorry.” he remained kneeling a few seconds more before standing and making his way to the small chapel next door.
Regulus paused by the window and peered inside, the guests were standing in the pews, no more than half a dozen, The bright red hair of Molly Prewett and Arthur Weasley caught his eye as he glanced over the crowd making his way to the altar. At the right of the aisle stood Alice, Panda and Mary, Regulus purposely averted his eyes when he reached the altar following the ceiling to the other side to see, as expected, Peter, Remus and his brother.
He finally allowed himself to look directly at the altar and see James, he looked so amazingly handsome. Regulus watched as he nervously adjusted his glasses, smiling at the boy from school, the boy he loved. Regulus’ smile slowly faded as he watched the astonishment cross his lover’s face, looking down the aisle he saw the girl in the long, elegant white dress being escorted down the Aisle by the longbottom boy, no doubt a stand-in by default as he was already there with Alice being that he was closer to Peter and Remus than James or Lily. She was gorgeous, there was no debating that, the sight of her almost had Regulus reconsidering returning to the safehouse and allowing James to be unequivocally happy until, as he followed Lily down the aisle he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, James was no longer looking at her. He had glanced down to the front row, the place directly in front of him, exactly where Panda had told him his picture was supposed to be sitting.
At first, he shook it off, surely James was looking at the pictures of his mom or dad but then Regulus looked to Pandora, she was now looking at James with that sad sort of look she got whenever she badly wanted to tell you something but had promised someone else she wouldn’t tell anyone. Regulus’ resolve steeled, he pried his gaze away from the window and made his way to the front door.
He took a breath as he paused outside the inner doors of the chapel that were now closed, the moment he opened them he would not be able to go back, at that instant James, Lily, the remaining five members of the wedding party and the five or six additional guests he’d seen would know he’d faked it, Regulus went over the list in his head. He had no worries about the wedding party aside from his brother though that was for different reasons but who else had been present? He'd seen Molly and Arthur of course, they weren’t a threat, Dorcas had been across from them, with a girl he assumed must be Marlene, though he didn’t know her well he figured Dorcas would make sure she kept quiet though from what she used to say he didn't think that would take much. That just left the Longbottom boy, Regulus didn’t know a lot about him but Pandora was close with Alice and as far as he knew the two of them were still together so that shouldn’t become an issue either.
Regulus realized he had run out of reasons to stall, and time for that matter, if he didn’t act soon he would be too late. He steadied himself and burst through the door. As expected all eyes were on him in seconds “I object!”
“Reggie!?” James and Reggie cried out at the same time and in seconds the room was silent. As the sound of James’ voice rang out through the air Reggie’s eyes filled with tears as he repeated himself, quieter this time.
“I object to this marriage.” Regulus finally allowed himself to glance at the reactions of the gathered guests, scanning the bridesmaids he noticed Mary had suddenly become very fidgety and was looking all around the room at anyone and anything other than the two standing at the altar. He continued, scanning the faces of the guests, some looked at him with confusion while others gazed sadly upon the couple who he’d just stopped mid-ceremony. He then studied the faces of the groomsmen very intently, Pete appeared completely shocked, Remus had tears forming in the corners of his eyes no doubt confused, sad and happy to see his old friend all at once and then, Regulus didn't want to look. Sirius had walked to the edge of the raised platform on which they stood and sat on the edge, his head was in his hands and his hair obscured his face but Regulus was sure he could see his brother’s shoulders shaking. Regulus took a deep breath and turned back to face James once more, he began walking slowly towards him.
“Reg…” James’ voice broke as he spoke. “Is… is it really you?” Regulus nodded struggling to free the knot that had formed in his throat.
“It’s me, James, It’s really me, I’m sorry. I… I can’t let you go… I’ll always love you.” at those words, Regulus saw James crumble, and, much to his surprise, so did his brother. Suddenly from her spot next to Lily Mary spoke up.
“I…” she cleared her throat, “I agree with Regulus, you’ve barely been together three months, I know there’s a war but… relationships need to grow, you can’t rush them.” her words were just loud enough for those in the immediate area to hear, had there been anyone further back than the current guests they likely wouldn’t have heard. “I’ve seen the two of you, you care deeply for each other but, even you know, deep down, this marriage, it’s not what either of you want right now. James, you hardly gave yourself any time to heal from the breakup before you were dating Lils. And Lily, Lils, you went from girl's nights every weekend to stressing over every mission, every development, sure they stressed you out before but you haven't come to girl's night in months when you never used to miss a minute of our nights.” With these words, Mary looked around at the crowd. Regulus caught her gaze for a moment and deep in her eyes he saw it, a looming sadness. “We’re still young guys, there may be a war but that doesn’t mean we have to rush through our lives and forget to live.”
Many of the guests had teared up at Mary’s passionate speech but the young girl had not taken her eyes off the bride since her final words. Regulus recognized the longing in every inch of her body, it was the same thing that was now pulling him to his lover’s side. Before he even knew he'd begun to move Regulus was at James’ side. He pulled James into a gentle hug whispering to reassure the boy “I’m so sorry, I promise I can explain everything… I didn’t want to leave you…” Regulus turned to his other side whispering to his brother now, James still wrapped in his arms. “Or you, really, I didn’t. Panda and I can explain everything.. If you’ll hear me out”
Regulus felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as his brother punched his arm. “Of course I will ya bastard but that doesn’t mean I can’t be bloody pissed at ya for making your older brother and your bloody boyfriend mourn your death together.” Regulus let out a soft chuckle.
“I suppose that’s fair.” He turned his attention back to James. “J-James.. I… you were in danger.. Bella was close, she’d almost found out about us. I… I couldn’t risk her finding you, I hope you can understand. Breaking up with you was the most difficult thing I’d ever had to do…” James cut him off with a soft kiss.
“I understand Reggie, you don’t have to justify it. I understand now and I understood then, we were on opposite ends of the war, even if you didn’t want to be, we couldn’t sustain it.. No matter how much it hurt..” Regulus nodded, he should have known that James understood, James always understood, Regulus was convinced James understood Regulus more than he understood himself.
“I.. I can't risk raising suspicion, I have to remain hidden… if he.. Well lets just say it won’t be pretty if anyone outside of this room finds out I’m alive.” Regulus raised his voice to address the whole room. “Please, I beg of you, all of you, as far as anyone not in this room is concerned, this never happened. The wedding went off without a hitch, Lily and James,” His voice nearly caught in his throat as he prepared to call lily by the name that should be his. “Potter… are happily married. It was a lovely little ceremony… Perfect.” He gave his beloved a sad look and lowered his voice once again. “We’ll have to be discreet my love, talk to Panda after the ceremony, she’ll bring you and Siri to me. I’ll explain everything, but for now, I have to go, I’m vulnerable here, unsafe. I love you. Goodbye.” With tears welling in his eyes Regulus gave James a final hug, exited the chapel and returned to the safehouse. He paced the small home for what felt like hours waiting for the arrival of his best friend, his brother and his lover.
Suddenly the door swung open, Regulus stood from his chair as his hand snapped to the handle of his wand only for his arms to be crushed against his torso in a very tight hug. Eventually Regulus managed to pry his brother off of him, the shoulder where his head had lain soaked with tears and James staring at them from across the kitchen. Regulus took a deep breath and after gently coaxing them both to sit he began his story. He laid everything out on the table from the moment he had heard about the cave to the moment he had burst into the chapel watching the expressions of the two most important people in his life all the while. When he finished there were tears and laughter as they brought Regulus up to speed with what had happened while he had been ‘dead’, Regulus and James set up a plan for their relationship and Regulus and Sirius addressed their previous meeting.
Finally it was time for the young men to say their goodbyes, tears flowed freely and hugs were shared all around, none of them wanted to be the one to leave first. Days passed and as weeks turned to months the relationships grew stronger, Lily and Mary grew closer and friends turned to lovers and James and Regulus exchanged promise rings as wishes for a future where they would finally be together. When the war was almost won and after many conversations an agreement was reached, soon Lily would carry a little boy, one who the four of them would raise when the war was finally won.