jokes and letters
James
The Great Hall is bustling with students, the clatter of cutlery and murmur of conversation blending into a chaotic symphony. It’s almost Christmas now. Just a few more days of school. At the Gryffindor table, James buttering his toast while Sirius Black leans back, smirking at the world.
James is always a little wary when Sirius gets that particular glint in his eyes—nothing good has ever followed it. But still, he can’t help but feel intrigued.
Sirius suddenly turns to James, eyes glinting with mischief. "Hey Prongs, want to see a butterfly?"
James pauses, eyebrows raised. There’s a split second where he considers saying no, but curiosity wins out. "Yeah."
"No," Remus warns, already sensing danger.
Too late. Sirius picks up the butter dish and flicks his wrist, sending the butter flying across the table. It sails through the air in a slow-motion arc—until it lands with a splat right on Lily Evans’ shoulder.
James tries to suppress a snort of laughter, because that was an amazing joke and honestly, it’s kind of impressive how far the butter flew. But then he sees Lily’s face and knows they’re in for it. Her expression goes from shock to pure rage in a heartbeat.
"Sirius Black! You are such a dick!" she yells, storming over. Mary and Marlene follow behind her, both looking curious.
James braces for the explosion, but Sirius just smirks, unfazed. "Well, you are what you eat."
James freezes, his brain taking a second to catch up. Did Sirius just... say that? Out loud? In the middle of breakfast? He feels the corners of his mouth twitch up despite himself. Of course Sirius would just announce it like that, no buildup, no context.
The entire table goes silent. Marlene’s eyes widen, and then she bursts out laughing. "Knew it! Called it months ago."
Lily blinks, her anger momentarily forgotten. "Wait, you’re—gay?"
Sirius shrugs. "Yeah."
Mary’s jaw drops. "So... you and Remus?"
Sirius grins and slings an arm around Remus’ shoulder. "Yeah."
Remus turns pink but doesn’t protest. James can feel himself smile; it’s nice to see his friends being open about it. He glances around to see how the others are reacting, but everyone just seems pleasantly surprised, not upset. Sirius and Remus have been hinting at telling the girls for a while now and… Well, that’s one way to do it.
Lily looks from one to the other, clearly processing. Then she shakes her head, half amused. "Well, that’s actually... kind of cute."
Marlene punches Sirius lightly on the arm. "You owe me three Sickles, by the way."
Sirius snorts. "Fine, fine. Worth it."
James just laughs, raising his glass. "Absolutely majestic as always, Pads. Both jokes."
Sirius bows and Lily shoots him a glare. What an amazing way to start the day.
Unfortunately, they still have classes and with NEWT’s coming up this year, they’re harder than ever. Right now, he’s in his transfiguration class sitting next to Peter and listening to Professor McGonagall talking about some difficult transfiguration involving a house plant. James does not understand what he’s supposed to be doing. Peter hastily writes his notes next to him.
“Your handwriting’s terrible mate”, James tells him, because it is and he’s bored.
Peter glares at him, “I wanna see you try writing down everything Minnie’s saying in a nice handwriting, Prongs. She’s speaking way too fast. And now don’t distract me, this is important for NEWT’s.”, he whispers.
“Fine.”, James huffs.
After a few minutes of silence, James is bored again.
“Hey Wormy, what’s the king of the school supplies?”
Peter looks up from his notes, confused. “What?”, he asks.
James smirks, “The ruler”.
Peter just looks at him for a second, then looks away and starts writing again. James can’t have that. He looks out of the window and thinks of another joke he can make to get Wormy to laugh. It’s snowing outside. The transfiguration classroom is on the first floor so he can see directly into the courtyard. There’s a snowman. James smirks. Time for a more inappropriate joke.
“Why did the snowman suddenly smile?”, James grins.
“I don’t know James”, Pete tells him in an annoyed, distracted tone, “Why did he?”
“He could see the snowblower coming.”
Silence. And then:
“Oh my god, James!”, Peter hisses, his cheeks slightly pink, “that’s disgusting!”
“Mr. Pettigrew, what’s so disgusting?”, Professor McGonagall asks him, making Peter blush even harder.
“Nothing, Professor. Sorry.”
Minnie raises her eyebrows slightly, but moves on with her lesson. James laughs silently and gets kicked under the table for it. Peter continues writing his notes.
“What’s the difference between a snowman an-“
“No, James. Not again.”, Peter groans, “Pay attention to the lesson if you’re so bored”.
“But that’s why I’m bored!”, he exclaims, frustrated.
“Mr. Potter!”, Minnie looks at him sharply. James winces. She shakes her head and continues her demonstration with the houseplants.
“Ok.”, James whispers, “What’s the difference between a snowman and a snow woman?”. Peter doesn’t even spare him a glance. Prick. James tells him anyway.
“Snowballs.”, he says, silently shaking with laughter at his own joke. Peter looks unbothered. That makes James laugh even more. His face turns red from trying to keep his laughter in. That makes Peter grin and suddenly, they’re both shaking with laughter.
Professor McGonagall takes house points for that. James doesn’t care. He really tries to stop laughing but the fact that he really shouldn’t be laughing and the sound of Peter’s donkey-like laugh makes him laugh even harder. Thinking back, the joke was awful. That makes it even funnier, somehow.
Safe to say, they get kicked out of the classroom so they don’t distract the others. Sirius and Remus look at them curiously when they stumble out of the classroom; still laughing. It’s fine though. The class would have only lasted for five more minutes.
Overall, this was fun morning.
---
James had an amazing day. Joking with his friends, quidditch practice, a hot shower and a game of exploding snap with Mary and a very nice dinner. Now, everyone is out and about somewhere. Being winter, it’s already dark outside so chances are, they’re inside somewhere. James can’t go to the dorm because… Well, it’s rather, ah, occupied at the moment with two of his best mates and James loves them dearly, but he does not want to be in the same room with them knowing they’re doing…stuff.
Peter is likely with Dezzie and the girls wanted girls time, whatever that’s supposed to mean. So James is alone in the common room again and he’s kinda bored. He also kinda wants to talk to Regulus again. They’re getting along way better now, after James apologized and they started with the silly questions. James finds himself smiling thinking about how Regulus asked him to lean his head on his shoulder. That was really adorable and also a little out of character for him. Not that James minds. His hair really is softer than he expected.
So James pulls out the map and looks for Regulus. He finds him quickly but unfortunately, he’s not alone. He’s in his dorm with Crouch, Rosier and Pandora. James puts the map back in his bag and can’t help but be a little disappointed. He knows he shouldn’t. It’s good that Regulus isn’t alone.
James knows that Regulus is going to spend the upcoming break with his parents. He really doesn’t want him to but he’s learned his lesson. Regulus can choose for himself and he shouldn’t push him too hard or make choices for him again. He still wants to help in any way possible. Maybe he could get him a present? No, there’s not enough time and maybe Reg would find it weird. They’re not exactly friends are they?
So… Something else then. Something to make him feel less alone in that house. But what? James thinks really hard. It takes a while but an idea starts to form in his head. Ok, he needs parchment and a quill right now. Eagerly, he starts running up the stairs to their dorm, stopping in the last second. Merlin, he almost would’ve barged in on his best mates doing it.
So he has to wait then. Fine.
---
The day before the holidays, after dinner in the Great Hall, James sprints out of it after seeing Regulus getting up to leave. This is his last chance. He runs out of the hall with an envelope in his hand and looks for the younger Black. He finds him walking down the corridor to his right, not far from him. Before the courage leaves him, James walks down the corridor in quick strides.
The corridor is quieter than usual, most students already bustling around with holiday excitement. James swallows hard, nerves prickling under his skin. He’s been holding onto the folded parchment for what feels like hours, overthinking every word he wrote. Is it too much? Too personal? He almost turns back, but then Regulus shifts, and the urge to just get it over with takes over.
“Regulus!” he calls out, louder than he intended.
Regulus turns, brows furrowing slightly, and James is momentarily struck by how his dark hair catches the light—glinting like obsidian—and how his sharp, elegant features give him an almost statuesque presence. It’s unfair, really, how effortlessly beautiful he is. Not that James is thinking about that. Not on purpose, anyway.
He takes a shaky breath, fingers fidgeting with the letter. “Regulus,” he repeats, softer this time, because he doesn’t trust his voice to stay steady.
“What do you want, Potter?” Regulus asks, his tone both tired and cautious.
James steps closer, but his eyes stay fixed on the parchment. “I, uh... just wanted to—” He clears his throat, frustration boiling at his own hesitation. “Look, I know you’re leaving for the holidays. Back to, you know... home.”
He watches as Regulus stiffens, and James hates himself a little for bringing it up, but he can’t just walk away now. He shifts his weight awkwardly. “I just... wanted to give you this.” He thrusts the parchment forward, almost like it’s burning his hand.
Regulus hesitates, eyeing it with suspicion. “What is it?”
James bites the inside of his cheek. “Just... something. For when—if—it gets... too much. At home. You don’t have to read it now. Just... when you need it.”
Finally, Regulus takes the letter, fingers brushing James’s for a fleeting moment. The touch is almost nothing, but it’s enough to make James’s heart race embarrassingly fast.
“What’s your angle?” Regulus’s voice is softer than usual, almost hesitant.
James forces himself to look up, his gaze meeting those piercing gray eyes. “No angle. Just... I know it’s hard. And if you won’t leave that place... I just want you to have something that makes it a little better. If you want.”
He doesn’t know what reaction he’s expecting, but when Regulus quietly says, “Thank you,” it almost knocks the air from his lungs.
James blinks. “Yeah?”
Regulus shifts, almost like he’s embarrassed. “Yeah... James.”
Something flips in James’s stomach at the sound of his name in Regulus’s voice. A ridiculous, warm feeling blooms in his chest. He can’t help the small, hopeful smile that creeps onto his face. “You... you called me James.”
Regulus rolls his eyes, but his lips quirk just slightly. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
James laughs, quieter than usual. “I won’t. Just... good luck, Regulus. With... everything.”
Regulus nods, slipping the letter into his pocket. “You too.”
James leaves first, unable to keep the stupid grin off his face. He doesn’t dare look back, because he knows if he sees Regulus one more time, he might just blurt out something even more foolish. But he can’t shake the lightness in his chest—or the way Regulus said his name.