tying you to me

James woke up the next morning and immediately used his hands to search for Regulus before his head lifted from the pillow and he reached for his glasses. A feeling of disappointment overcame him when he realised he was alone.

Regulus had slipped out without James even realising. The only evidence he had to know that he didn’t imagine Regulus there in the first place was the imprint of another body beside him.

He had forced himself out of bed and splashed his face with water, practicing his facial expressions in the mirror to prevent suspicion from his friends.

It was Sunday so he had no classes which was both a good and a bad thing. With Remus and Sirius going out together to Hogsmeade and Peter studying with Sybill in the library, James was left to mope around the castle.

That night while he was sitting in the Great Hall for dinner, aimlessly picking at his food and watching the door to see whether he would catch a glimpse of the boy who was driving him crazy. He prodded his peas on the plate as the busy chatter went on around him.

He knew deep down that as much as he tried to, he couldn’t hide from Sirius. He might have been able to hide his feelings but when it came to emotions— yes, there was a difference—Sirius could sniff them out.

So as James continued to push his food around his plate, Sirius turned towards him, eyebrows pulled down in concern.

“Is everything okay, Prongs? You have been acting distant these last few days. You were so happy and now you just seem…” Sirius paused, “lost.”

James forced a smile on his face. “No no,” he said, hoping the words came out strong and convincing. “I think the upcoming Quidditch game is getting to my head.”

“You’d tell me if something was up, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course,” James said.

“Good,” Sirius replied but James could see it on his face that his best friend didn’t fully believe him. “You know you can tell me anything? If something or someone is bothering you let me know and we will face it together. I’ll always protect you.”

James wanted to laugh, he really did. A part of him just wanted to look Sirius in the eye honestly and say I can’t tell you everything. Not this. And when Sirius inevitably asked why he would be forced to explain how he hurt Sirius’ little brother. The off-limits little brother that James had been pathetically pining for for Merlin knows how long. A fucking long time.

But James couldn’t do that. Not yet, at least. So he smiled at Sirius. “I love you, Pads. Always.”

Monday morning and Tuesday morning he woke up alone, a fading warmth in the bed beside him. It was enough to inform him that the curse was still in place, Regulus had just found his own way around it.

He never climbed out of bed immediately after waking up like he used to. Instead, he rolled into the space Regulus had occupied during the night, burying his face in the pillow and inhaling the musky smell that still lingered there.

He would then roll onto his back, staring blankly at the ceiling until Sirius eventually came calling for him to come down with the rest of them for breakfast. He dragged himself out of bed, forcing a smile on his face as he pulled open the curtain.

Regulus wasn’t at breakfast at the same time as him. He wasn’t at lunch or dinner either. James would return to his dorm room and remove the Marauder’s Map from his trunk, pulling his blanket over his head and lighting his wand with a lumos spell to search for the name Regulus Black on the map. And every time the boy was unreachable, his name hovered in the dungeons alongside Barty, Evan, Dorcas and Pandora. Occasionally, Regulus was alone but he never seemed to leave his dorm unless it was for classes. And even then, Regulus hid himself well, James unable to catch so much of a glimpse of him.

And he was suffering for it. He missed seeing Regulus in the Great Hall. It had become a routine for his eyes to search for him while he was sitting at the Gryffindor table. And now he was searching every corridor, every stairwell for him as well.

James had even followed Dorcas out of one of their classes, finding her quick on her feet as she attempted to evade him. He had broken into a jog, calling out to her that he just wanted to ask if Regulus was okay. But Dorcas simply turned around and pulled out her wand, casting a jelly-legs jinx that sent him to the floor.

By the time he had retrieved his own wand and recited the counter-spell, she was gone.

He came to the realisation staring into his dinner on Tuesday night that there was only one way to ensure he would get to have his much-needed conversation with Regulus. To get his questions answered, to apologise for his role in the tears that fell from Regulus’ eyes, and—if he still had the courage to do so—finally confess how he felt for the boy. Even if he knew Regulus wouldn’t react well he had to say it. He knew he did. He needed Regulus to know.

It was late on Tuesday and his friends had already climbed into their beds. James could hear Peter’s soft snores from across the room while Sirius and Remus were tucked away in Remus’ bed together.

Yet, James remained wide awake, fighting off sleep while he waited for the moment Regulus appeared in his bed. His body was on alert, twitching with the thought of finally catching the glimpse of Regulus that he’d been craving for the past few days.

It eventually felt like hours had passed by and he was beginning to wonder if he had at some point fallen asleep and Regulus had already come and gone. His efforts seemed like they were going to be fruitless. Perhaps Regulus had found the solution in the last twenty-four hours. Maybe the curse was broken. Maybe he—

His thoughts cut off as he blinked and a body appeared in his bed, half on top of him and half on the mattress. It vanished every thought in his head and James went on autopilot, flipping them so he had caged Regulus in. He straddled Regulus, his hips on the boy’s waist while each of his hands were on Regulus’ shoulders, gentle but firm.

He leaned his face closer to Regulus, scanning the freckles on the boy’s face and taking note of Regulus’ surprise, his mouth open and his eyes wide as he stared up at him. James couldn’t hide the anger that consumed his voice as he told Regulus, “We need to talk.”

Regulus snapped out of his surprise, pure fury crossing his face as he bucked his hips up, trying to get James off of him. “I don’t want to talk to you,” Regulus hissed at him. “Let me go!”

This was not going as James had expected. Honestly, he had expected worse but hearing the hurt and anger in Regulus’ voice was painful. James just wanted to fix things. He wanted Regulus to let him fix things.

“Regulus. Regulus, ” he pleaded as he pressed his hips further into Regulus’ waist. “I need to talk to you.”

Regulus didn’t relent, continuing to thrash and buck his hips underneath James. “Potter,” Regulus spat out at him, “I’m tired and I need to go back to my bed.”

“Stay,” James said, feeling pathetic at how desperate he sounded. The word wasn’t a simple question, it was him begging, pleading with the boy. “Stay. Please. I just want to talk.”

“I don’t want to, James. Why can’t you understand that?” Regulus’ voice was small and shaky as the words left his mouth.

“I just want to tell you that—”

James’ mouth fell shut, his words dying on his tongue. He flinched as a jolt of pain ran through his body, a result of the wand that Regulus had pointed at him. During his reaction to the stinging hex, Regulus had taken advantage of James’ surprise to rearrange their positions, flipping them over so he was the one straddling James, his wand pointed at James’ chest.

The last thing he saw was the expression on Regulus’ face—a mix of determination and pain—before Regulus whispered the words to a body-bind, leaving his limbs paralysed as the Slytherin tumbled through the curtains.

He called out Regulus’ name but he knew it never reached him, a result of the silencing charm he had placed to keep their conversation between them. Even with his limbs immobile, his body did not relax. Closing his eyes didn’t bring him any closer to sleep, it only gave him images of the last look Regulus had given him.

On Thursday night, James lay awake in his bed, anticipating the arrival of Regulus. He wasn’t exactly hopeful but he wasn’t hopeless either. Surely Regulus would see that he was trying? Surely Regulus would tire of running? James was exhausted. He didn’t know how Regulus functioned between staying up late and going for early morning quidditch training. James didn’t realise how much he valued his sleep until last night, when he lost hours to his brain refusing to let him sleep once Regulus had left.

So, when the time came, Regulus teleported into his bed in a seated position. It was as clear as day that the Slytherin was entirely prepared to run for yet another night. To his shock—and a result of what was possibly Regulus’ miscalculations—the boy landed directly in his lap, knees on either side of his waist with a wand pointed at his throat.

He stared at Regulus, able to make out the equally shocked expression on his face at their position due to the glasses he had left on his face. Which was not a habit he wanted to keep for the long term—glasses were not a comfortable addition to his sleeping attire.

Another thing that came unexpected was Regulus’ immediate scrambling to move off of James’ lap, a torturous movement of his hips as he wiggled his way onto James’ stomach. He was unable to process or prepare for the movement. Unable to prevent the groan that slipped out of his mouth at his body—and brain’s—reaction to Regulus. It was enough for Regulus to freeze and look down at him in surprise. James paused, eyes wide and cheeks growing flushed in embarrassment at the noise that escaped him.

He was a breath away from opening his mouth to apologise to Regulus when he was hit with a body-bind spell. Again.

A blink and Regulus was gone.

Again.

On Saturday he wakes up alone as expected.

He came to the decision that he couldn’t deprive his body of any more sleep. Especially considering he had a quidditch match to play against Regulus and the Slytherin team. The last thing he needed was to doze off on the pitch and fall off his broom. Which had almost happened at training the day before.

As much as he wanted to stay up and hope for another (likely failed) opportunity to speak with Regulus—because he was becoming quite disgruntled by Regulus’ evasive tactics—he knew he needed to put his health and safety above it.

Besides, how could he win Regulus over if he was in a magically induced coma? Or dead?

James was down at the Quidditch pitch considerably early. He hid his intentions under the guise of talking game strategy—which Marlene took charge of as James’ eyes kept sliding to where the Slytherin team should appear. So far it was only the two of the Slytherin chasers and one beater that had made their appearance in the vicinity of the pitch. No Regulus in sight.

It was close to 9am when his team took to the air to warm up for the game, James heading off with the two other chasers to practise passing a quaffle back and forth between them, working on the accuracy of their passes. It was enough to keep his brain occupied, putting all of his focus on the movement of the quaffle instead of watching and waiting for a certain dark-haired Slytherin to appear.

Just after nine that morning, James turned to Marlene, waving his hand as a signal to alert the rest of the team to land and continue their discussion of strategy and observations of the Slytherin’s warm-up. As he was flying over to the meeting area, he pulled up on his broomstick until he was hovering in midair above a student standing off to the side in the Slytherin quidditch uniform. Regulus’ body was angled towards where his team were in the air, watching the movement of the keeper and paying no attention to where James was hovering above him.

James didn’t even think it through, one second he was frozen looking down at Regulus and the next he was on the ground, dropping his broom and striding towards where Regulus’ back was to him. He was a few metres away when Regulus turned around, eyes scanning his face and looking a second away from breaking into a state of pure panic.

He made sure his voice was soft as the boy’s name fell from his tongue on an exhale. “Reggie.”

He watched as Regulus took a step back, raising his hands in front of him in a sign to prevent James from closing the gap between them.

Regulus didn’t respond and James was at a loss for words, the two of them standing in silence purely studying the face of the other. He wanted so badly for any flicker of emotion to cross Regulus’ face, to reveal the thoughts inside that marvellous brain of him. But Regulus’ face was closed.

His lips parted, intending to break said silence before he paused. Barty Crouch Jr. had landed behind Regulus and was walking up to him with a casual stride and a wide smirk on his face. The prat. James’ face pulled into a scowl, watching how easily Barty threw an arm around Regulus’ neck. “Potter,” Crouch said, cocking his head to the side and narrowing his eyes. “Are you trying to fuck with our seeker?”

“What? No!” James said immediately, the words much louder than he intended. “I just wanted to talk…”

His words trailed off as his eyes were drawn to Regulus’ shoulder, where Crouch’s hand was now toying with Reg’s hair. His eyes narrowed and something inside his stomach sank when Regulus leaned further into Crouch’s embrace.

One of Regulus’ hands pointed to something off to the side but James didn’t follow the gesture, too fixated on the movement of Barty’s hand. He barely caught the end of whatever Regulus was saying, his uncontrollable fury blocking out the noise around him.

“...Over there in case you forgot.” Regulus finished and James looked at the Slytherin’s face, briefly making eye contact before Regulus became interested in the grass beneath his shoes.

“One more thing Potter,” Crouch hissed at him, forcing James to tear his eyes away from the top of Regulus’ head. “Don’t look at Regulus, don’t talk to Reg, and don’t touch Reggie. Capiche?”

Crouch angled his Beater bat at his chest but James’ brain was in a spiral. The familiarity in which Crouch used Regulus’ nickname—mocking James’ use of it earlier—had fucked with his brain. At this point, he didn’t even want to go on the pitch. He just wanted to go back to his dorm and tuck himself up in his covers.

Of course the only thing that could make this situation worse was currently calling out from behind him.

“Oi Crouch!” Sirius shouted. “Get the fuck away from my brother.”

James couldn’t help but take his own small step back away from Regulus, remembering his conversation with Sirius a week ago. Regulus was off-limits to everyone at Hogwarts. He looked back at Regulus’ face, who had finally glanced up and was fixed over his shoulder at Sirius.

But he watched Regulus’ face harden, completely wiping all traces of hurt and emotion off of his face. His eyes quickly looked at James and then back at Sirius before he reached a hand out to grip Barty’s arm, which was still pointing the bat at his chest. Regulus spun him and Barty away from them and James felt relieved when he watched them release their hands from each other and walk side-by-side back to their team.

“What was that about?” Sirius asked from beside him, throwing an arm over James’ shoulder.

“Nothing,” he replied. “Just quidditch talk.”

“You don’t think Reg’s with Crouch, right?”

“Merlin I hope not,” James spat, freezing immediately after at the realisation of who he was speaking with.

“You hope not?” Sirius frowned.

“It’s just that I know someone who fancies Crouch. I wouldn’t want to break the news to them,” he lied easily.

He turned to Sirius and watched a sour look cross his face. “Someone fancies Crouch? Who? Why?”

“I can’t tell you, mate. I solemnly swore I wouldn’t tell anyone.” He started walking back towards his team, Sirius quickly matching pace beside him.

“You solemnly swore? Is that a clue? Is it Pete? No, it can’t be Pete, he has much better taste than that. Is it someone in Gryffindor? In our year? Give me something James.”

James didn’t reply, letting his friend vocalise his train of thought as they crossed the distance to their team.

Usually James found the quidditch pitch a place of freedom, even in matches against the other Hogwarts houses. There was something about being in the open air, adrenaline coursing through his body as he dodged bludgers and other players. How perfectly he and his team worked in tandem to move the quaffle across the pitch, scoring point after point. Even in those moments that would be considered intense, James felt himself grounded.

But today his brain was scattered and he could tell that it was affecting his performance. His movements weren’t as fluid and his reactions weren’t as fast. And to be frank, Slytherin’s score should not be that close to theirs. Against any other house, they wouldn’t need to worry about the other team catching the snitch, but right now with the score at 310-160 the game was almost anyones. He didn’t doubt the ability of Aubrey—Gryffindor’s seeker—but Regulus had never not caught the snitch in a quidditch game.

Between James’ remaining exhaustion and his conversation with Regulus and (begrudgingly) Barty, he was finding it difficult to focus. To add another level of stress, Sirius and Barty were swinging bludgers back and forth between each other, purposefully ignorant of Hooch’s orders for them to stop. James’ eyes were continuously flitting towards Sirius, on edge and waiting for the moment he would need to dive on his broomstick to catch his falling best friend.

The quaffle was currently in possession of the Slytherin captain, moving across the pitch while James and his fellow chasers moved with them, waiting for the opportunity for an interception. Aware of his team’s movements, he watched from the corner of his eye as Aubrey flew off suddenly toward the other end of the pitch. Moments later the commentator announced over the microphone, “Seems like Gryffindor seeker Aubrey Stone has spotted something! Could it be the snitch?”

James didn’t even need to look to know that Regulus had immediately followed Aubrey’s direction. It wasn’t just a race to the snitch, it was a race to win the game. And as of right now, Gryffindor was behind.

He pushed forward faster, his fellow chasers—Caroline and Daniel—keeping up and remaining in their formation as they pushed towards the Slytherin chasers.

He called out “Split!” as the Slytherin’s formation broke and his chasers left their formation, speeding up in the open gaps between their chasers. James hung back, trusting his teammates and their training.

It appeared that Sirius had overheard James’ call and was right where he needed to be—finally slamming the bludger away from Barty and towards the player in possession of the quaffle. The Slytherin captain dodged just in time but immediately looked to pass it towards his teammate on his left. That moment of panic lost his team possession of the quaffle as Caroline easily intercepted the pass and arched her broomstick in the air, heading back towards James.

James called out, already moving down the pitch as Caroline passed the quaffle to him and took her place at his side as they flew towards the goal, the Slytherin players held off by the bludgers behind them.

He flew towards the Slytherin keeper, arm raised up by his shoulder with the quaffle propped skilfully in his hand. Throwing the quaffle into the hoop was as easy as breathing. The resounding “GOAL!” that followed over the speakers was a pure delight to hear.

A heartbeat later and the commentator was already confirming a Gryffindor victory. “REGULUS BLACK CATCHES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE FINAL MATCH! SCORE OF 320 TO 310! WHAT A CLOSE AND THRILLING GAME!”

James flew to the ground, closely followed by his team who huddled around each other, their cheers loud enough to rival those from the crowd. James couldn’t help but smile and return all the hugs that his team gave him, revelling in their team’s quidditch victory.

After pulling back from his embrace with Sirius, his eyes flicked up into the sky. Regulus hovered above the Gryffindor team and James felt his smile waver as he watched realisation and disappointment cross the boy’s face. Regulus pressed his lips into a tight line and looked away from him, turning towards Barty who had flown back up to him.

He couldn’t help but feel jealous as the two conversed shortly before flying back to join the rest of their team on the ground. James looked on and observed the situation, waiting for an opportunity to catch Regulus alone or at least away from Barty.

That moment came when Barty reached out a hand for Regulus’ broom and ran off after the other Slytherin players.

Regulus had his back to him when he initially began his approach but before he was an arm’s length away the boy turned, immediately scowling at the sight of him.

Regulus’ hands were thrown up into the air in annoyance as he snapped, “Again? Really?”

James was taken back at first at the reaction, unsure of what he could reply with. It was clear that an ‘obviously’ would not be an appropriate response. Instead, he settled on asking, “Can we just have one conversation? Please?” He reluctantly added, “I’ll leave you alone after that.”

He realised how much of a mess he looked as he waited for Regulus’ response. He was dripping in sweat and breathing heavily, and it wasn’t just because he played a game of quidditch. He was genuinely fearful of rejection. He was afraid that Regulus would agree to the conversation, and listen to James pour his heart out only to turn him down.

“Fine,” Regulus replied with a sigh. “One conversation.” He held up a finger as if that would make James understand.

“Okay,” James replied, happy that he had gotten Regulus to agree to something. “So—”

Regulus raised his hand and James trailed off, fear once again spiking in his stomach. Merlin, he might throw up after this.

“Not now,” Regulus told him. “Barty will be back any minute.”

James frowned. “Then when?”

An hour? A day? A month? A year?

“I’ll find you,” Regulus replied and James’ stomach sank. He tried to gather the words to respond with but Regulus was already speaking, “I’m not just saying that. I will find you when I am ready.”

James didn’t know what else to say so he told him, “I’ll be waiting” before turning around and walking towards the changing room door.

His stomach was in his throat and he couldn’t exactly pinpoint why. He trusted that Regulus would come and find him but there still remained that little bit of doubt. That little bit of wariness and stress about what would be said when that moment came. He seriously began to reconsider why he decided to walk into the Gryffindor change room filled with his sweaty and excited teammates when he felt sick.

And don’t get James wrong, he loves Sirius… But right now he really couldn’t face him. That sick feeling in his stomach grew the moment he heard his friend cry out “Prongs!” and fling an arm around his shoulder.

James froze as Sirius continued, “Have I told you how much I love you lately?”

“Don’t believe a word he says!” Marlene’s muffled voice called out from behind the partition that separated the boys and girls. “He just wants access to your firewhiskey for tonight!”

James turned his head to watch Sirius scrunch up his nose and yell back, “And for that Marls you aren’t getting any!”

“I have my own, Sirius!” Was Marlene’s answering cry.

“And to think I was going to help you with your love life tonight! Stay single then! I’ll help James instead!” Sirius called out before turning towards James. “How’s that sound, Prongs? I can be your wingman?”

And there it was. He could not look Sirius in the face and respond to that.

“Excuse me,” James replied before turning around and running back out of the change room.

He made it around the building before turning to throw up into the grass. One arm clutching the bricks and the other on his knee as he hunched over. As he was coughing to clear his throat, he felt a hand patting him on the back. He turned towards Sirius, wiping a hand across his mouth and reaching for the cup of water in his friend’s hand.

“Thanks,” he gave Sirius a half smile before taking a massive gulp.

“You okay, Prongs?” Sirius asked, his face filled with concern. “Do I need to get Pomfrey?”

“No no, I’m fine,” James insisted. “I think I’m coming down from the adrenaline. Or I ate something bad.”

“Do we need to cancel the party?” Sirius asked, nothing but concern on his face.

“Of course not, Pads,” James said as he forced what he hoped was a smile onto his face. “I believe a party is just what I need.”

A party was in fact not what James needed. He was miserable. He didn’t know the exact time but he was aware it was getting close to midnight.

He had been rotting on this couch for the last forty-five minutes. His eyes fixed on the stairs that led up to the boys’ dorms, waiting to catch a glimpse of Regulus as he slipped out easily through the busy crowd.

James had slipped the invisibility cloak underneath one of the pillows next to him so he could follow Regulus out. Not in a stalker way, just to make sure Regulus got back safely.

He had tried to be upbeat at the beginning of the party, dancing with friends and taking the occasional shot of alcohol that Sirius offered him. But there was only so long he could keep the facade up for. A benefit for him was that the more the others drank and partied, the less they noticed that he didn’t. Eventually, as per every other party, the dancing would stop and many guests would leave, clearing the room and leaving the remaining partiers to sprawl across the furniture around the room.

Sirius made his way across the room, another shot in his hand that he offered to James with a raised eyebrow. James, giving into the temptation of the alcohol, took the glass and clinked it with Sirius’ before throwing it back down his throat. He placed the empty glass on the small table next to him as Sirius took his seat on Remus’ lap on the couch opposite him. James threw his head back as he felt the alcohol rush to his head, briefly closing his eyes before once again fixing them on the entrance to the stairs.

Something settled in his stomach, a sad feeling that felt kind of like… loss? He wondered if in a way his body was grieving. He hadn’t lost anybody before. His grandparents passed before he was born and both of his parents were only children. But this was weird. Regulus was alive. Regulus wanted space but he was still alive.

With every second that ticked by left James wondering whether midnight had already come and gone. Perhaps Regulus had solved the curse and he wasn’t going to come.

James moved his eyes away from the staircase in defeat, instead looking across at Remus who nodded at Sirius before turning his head to James. Remus nodded at him, a slight incline of his head that James believed was supposed to be comforting. James frowned and focused on the movement of Remus’ hand, a gesture that looked as if Remus was counting down from five. He looked back up at his friend but Remus had looked back to Sirius, using his other hand to brush a lock of Sirius’ hair behind his ear.

It might have been the alcohol in his system or a result of the day he had but it took him an embarrassingly long time to realise that someone had appeared on his lap, obscuring his view of Remus and Sirius. His first instinct was to push the imposter off, afraid of the possibility of Regulus appearing from the staircase and getting the wrong impression of the situation.

It wasn’t until Sirius’ shriek of “What the fuck!” that James realised what had happened.

He knew this body. He knew the subtle curve of the hip. And if the person were to turn his head, he could tell you how many freckles were across their face. Twenty-eight freckles. He had taken the time to count them himself.

He acted on impulse, some might say desperation when Regulus leant back against his chest. He looped a hand around Reggie’s waist when the Slytherin attempted to scramble off of his lap. James pulled Regulus back against his chest, leaning forward until his chin was hovering above Regulus’ shoulders, his lips brushing his ear.

“Shouldn’t you have appeared in my bed?”

Regulus gasped, squirming as he tried to pull away from James’ breath on his neck. James was solely fixed on Regulus, tuning out Sirius’ protests in the background.

“Seems like the curse isn’t on the beds,” Regulus replied.

James pressed his lips to the skin behind Regulus’ ear. He hid his smile in Regulus’ hair as he felt his responding shudder. It was not quite a kiss but with Regulus’ reaction, he desperately wanted to find out what would happen if (when?) he would kiss the boy's neck.

“I noticed,” James responded, his voice a whisper, only for Regulus’ ears.

He was debating going through with kissing Regulus’ neck to see how he would respond but was stopped by the shouting of his best friend. Sirius was now loud enough for James to actually tune it to what he was saying.

“What the fuck is this?” Sirius shouted, his hands waving manically in their direction. He pulled to get out of Remus’ arms, stopped by the hands that were clasped around his stomach. “Moony, let me go!”

Surprisingly, Remus looked at James, raising an eyebrow as he continued his attempts at stopping Sirius from breaking free and launching himself in James and Regulus’ direction.

“James, I can’t hold him for long,” Remus warned him.

James didn’t even want to think about why Remus was helping him, he just reached for the invisibility cloak he had jammed under the pillow and draped it over both himself and Regulus. He simultaneously climbed to his feet, keeping his arm firmly wrapped around Regulus’ waist to prevent the boy from tumbling to the floor.

He moved fast, directing Regulus to one of the edges of the room, hopefully safely out of reach of his vengeful brother. Who James knew was directing his anger at him and not his little brother.

James held his breath as Remus released his boyfriend, watching as Sirius flew to the couch and began patting furiously, searching for where James had taken his little brother.

Sirius’ voice was a mixture of panic and disbelief as he yelled, “He just disappeared with my little brother! Prongs you give him back right now or I swear to Merlin I will hex your bollocks off.”

James grinned, trying his best to suppress a laugh at how his best friend was reaching out around the couch to swipe at the air like a madman.

Eventually, Sirius turned back to Remus, who was still seated on the same couch as before. “Moony,” Sirius cried. “Help me, please! Where are they?”

Remus, bless him, simply shrugged, a small smile on his face. “Sorry Pads but I have no clue where they went.”

“Ugh,” Sirius groaned and scoured the area for where to look.

As Sirius turned back to feel around the couches, James took that opportunity to pull Regulus towards the exit. His heart was racing and adrenaline was moving through his body as he managed to open the door, confident that Sirius wouldn’t see the movement. However, someone else had been monitoring the door.

“The door,” Peter—the traitor—called out. “Sirius, the door!”

James was glad that Regulus was quick on his feet as the two of them moved through the corridor. He was desperate to escape the cries of Sirius behind him and put distance between them before he directed Regulus into an alcove.

The room was hidden from the moonlight but James still pushed Regulus into a hidden corner, hesitating before pulling the invisibility cloak off of them and discarding it beside him on the floor.

He then turned to Regulus, pinning him against the wall with one hand on his waist and the other on his cheek. James was fixated on Regulus’ eyes which were wide and curious, looking up at him with a slight furrow in his eyebrow, as if he couldn’t believe the position the two of them were in.

When Regulus’ mouth parted and the breath he exhaled caused a quiver in his lips his eyes narrowed on them.

“What are you doing?” Regulus gasped and James watched as the boy’s own eyes dipped to his lips.

James leaned closer slowly bringing his face closer to Regulus’, remaining aware of Regulus’ body language. He paused when his lips were lightly brushing Regulus’, his hand moving to cup the back of the Slytherin’s neck, his thumb caressing his skin.

“Kissing you back while you can’t run away.” His voice was low, words meant for Regulus’ ears alone.

Regulus opened his mouth in response but James didn’t let his words fall out. Instead, he pressed his lips to Regulus’ in the way that he had been imagining for the past few days. It wasn’t soft or delicate, it was tentative and desperate. His hand was still intertwined in Regulus’ hair, an anchor that kept him in reality, telling him that this was really happening.

James had kissed people before. Not too many, an acceptable amount. But nothing did (or likely would ever) compare to the feeling of Regulus’ mouth on his. Or should he say his mouth on Regulus’? Whatever the answer, it really didn’t matter. James wanted to stay wrapped up in this moment forever, capture that feeling in his chest and never let it go.

He dropped his hand from Regulus’ hair and moved it until it was touching the boy’s waist, seeking that skin beneath Regulus’ shirt. James swore his heart skipped a beat when Regulus lifted his arms and wrapped them around his neck, pulling them impossibly closer together. James slid his other hand from where it cupped Regulus’ cheek to the boy’s waist, picking Regulus up with ease as the Slytherin instinctively wrapped his legs around James.

It was Regulus’ hand that went exploring this time, sinking into James' hair and pulling. Did it hurt? Slightly. But it was so good. James couldn’t even stop the groan that left his mouth as Regulus smiled against his mouth and did it again.

Time passed and stood still at the same time. Utterly wrapped up in each other, hands, tongues and teeth exploring as if the two of them were under some sort of lust spell. If such a thing existed.

James finally broke away from Regulus’ lips, immediately reattaching them to his jaw and trailing kisses down to Regulus’ neck. It was probably a bad idea at the moment but James honestly couldn’t care enough to stop and think about the consequences of sucking and biting against the skin below Regulus’ neck. But who could blame him? The response he received was worth it, Regulus letting out a whine and pulling at James’ hair with both of his hands.

Yet, Regulus pulled enough that James’ lips detached from his skin.

“James,” Regulus mumbled, capturing James’ attention away from his neck.

He couldn’t help the small grin that crossed his face as he took in Regulus; flushed cheeks and dishevelled hair, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

“What is it love?” James responded.

He watched as Regulus’ eyes widened, the red in his cheeks growing deeper. He liked that. James pocketed that information for later.

“Wh-What? Y-You kissed me? You kissed me?” Regulus asked and James wondered whether Regulus was being serious at first. He almost laughed until he saw that brief flicker of panic cross the boy’s face.

James simply smiled at the boy, wondering how somebody so intelligent as Regulus could be so blind. How they both could be so blind.

“Why do you think I’ve been so desperate to talk to you?”

“To yell at me?” Regulus trembled. “To tell me how disgusted you are?”

“Oh, Reggie,” James assured. “You don’t disgust me.”

Regulus frowned. “But your face, you looked so disgusted.”

James shook his head. “That wasn’t disgust, that was me purely confused at how the boy I’ve spent the last year pining over was kissing me.”

“You were pining over me?” Regulus said incredulously, his eyebrows furrowed.

Oh Merlin. The two of them—without a doubt—were completely blind. He was sure of it now. Either that or the Black brothers were just ignorant of any affection that went towards them or around them unless it was explicitly told to them.

“Quite pathetically, honestly,” James insisted. “I was driving Pete and Remus crazy.”

Regulus, somehow still unable to understand James’ existing feelings, replied with, “Really?”

“Really,” James told him, following it with a delicate press of his lips to Regulus’.

What surprised James was the smile that crossed Regulus’ face as the boy leaned in to capture James’ lips in his own soft kiss. But James was less focused on the kiss and more on the expression that had been on Regulus’ face. He wasn’t exactly sure he’d ever seen Regulus smile like that before. In a way that was so sweet and so tender that he swore the room got a little brighter. He simply had to see it again. So he asked. Or demanded was probably a better word.

“Do that again.”

Regulus tilted his head. “Do what?”

James grinned. “Smile at me.”

Regulus' responding grin could light up a starless sky.

And just because he could, he once again ignited a passionate kiss between them, hands once again exploring until he was sure Regulus’ body was imprinted on his soul.

An hour must have passed when the two of them returned to Gryffindor Tower. Yes, the two of them because James had successfully convinced Regulus to sleep in his bed with him. James was honestly ready to convince Regulus to move into the Gryffindor dorms. This curse was still at large so it was not the worst idea. It saved Regulus from having to leave in the mornings in his pyjamas to trek back to the dungeons.

James pushed the door to the dorm he shared with his friends open, Regulus right behind him. The room was quiet and dark, the curtains pulled around Remus and Peter’s beds yet Sirius’ remained open. He knew what that meant but could sense Regulus’ nerves behind him, expecting his brother to jump out at any second.

Remus was not tucked behind the curtains on his bed. Instead, he was leaning against the bathroom door with his arms folded across his chest and one eyebrow raised. Yet, James noticed that Remus wasn’t exactly surprised to see that Regulus had returned with James.

“He passed out in my bed,” Remus revealed, nodding towards his bed with the curtains closed. “But I’d lock the curtains in case he goes on a murderous rage when he wakes up.”

James simply blinked, unable to form an answer or a thanks before Remus walked away from them to return to his bed with his own Black brother.

He decided not to give it much thought and climbed into his own bed, locking his curtains as advised by Remus. Regulus adjusted himself until he was lying on James’ chest, his cheek pressed above James’ heart. James, happy and content with where he was, ran his hand through Regulus’ hair in a repetitive action until he succumbed to sleep.

James woke up to his hand still in Regulus’ hair, smiling to himself as he continued to run his fingers through the soft curls. Regulus, still asleep, sighed in contentment and tightened his arm around James’ waist.

He had attempted to recount the freckles on Regulus’ face and from what he could see, nothing had changed. There were still twenty-eight scattered across Regulus’ cheeks and nose.

It remained this way for several more minutes, James studying Regulus as he slept, until Regulus eventually stirred, his eyes flickering open. Regulus’ eyes immediately seemed to seek James’, a shy smile offered to him.

James, utterly enthralled by the boy, leant down to press a kiss to his nose, joy bubbling in his chest when Regulus’ smile widened.

“We really need to find a way to fix this teleporting thing.”

James sulked. “Do we have to? I quite enjoy you appearing in my arms.”

Regulus, who was unfortunately the voice of reason, responded, “I have another year of school. I can’t exactly be popping into your arms outside of Hogwarts. Unless you have an interest in repeating your seventh year or making Hogwarts your permanent home for the next year.”

James ran a hand up Regulus’ spine with a sigh. “We have months until you return to school. Let’s enjoy this.”

“I could always just fall asleep in your bed,” Regulus proposed.

“It’s more fun when you appear,” James told him.

Would he admit that he was going to propose that Regulus should move in here permanently? Of course not. He was aware of his selfishness that he wanted a guarantee that Regulus would be in his bed every night.

Regulus shrugged, a smile on his face. “I’d be here longer.”

Now that was something James could agree to. “Deal,” he replied, capturing Regulus’ mouth with his.

James became fully aware of the footsteps that fell around his bed, which were quickly followed by Sirius’ shouts and attempts to pull open the locked curtains. “JAMES FLEAMONT POTTER! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE MY LITTLE BROTHER IN YOUR BED RIGHT NOW!”

James sighed, knowing the longer he put this off, the angrier Sirius would get. He told Regulus, “I better go deal with him.”

Regulus, who sat up so James could get free, did not readjust back onto the bed. “I’m coming with you.”

James didn’t object, unlocking the curtains and stepped out with Regulus climbing out behind him.

Seeing the expression Sirius had on his face and the wand he pointed towards his chest, James raised his hands in a display of innocence. “What happened to wanting to protect me?”

Sirius growled, the noise something more likely to come out of Padfoot. “That’s until you had your hands all over my little brother!” Sirius kept his wand directed at James but turned his head towards Regulus. “You get behind me.”

James, not wanting to anger Sirius more, kept his face void of the smugness he felt when Regulus didn’t take a single step away from him.

“Sirius,” Regulus said carefully, “I can make my own decisions.”

Sirius guffawed. “James knew you were off limits!”

“I kissed him first.” Regulus snapped, “And it wasn’t our fault we got cursed!”

That didn’t help in calming Sirius down.

“You WHAT?” Sirius bellowed. “You got cursed?”

James, wanting to move away from the cursing for now, shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Me and Reggie are allowed to have a relationship.”

Sirius appeared to be moments away from punching him in the face or shooting a curse at him. Thankfully, Remus—the only person who Sirius was likely to listen to—wrapped an arm around Sirius, pressing a gentle kiss to his boyfriend’s neck.

“Padfoot,” Remus drawled. “James will treat Regulus like he deserves. Wouldn’t you rather it be James than anyone else?”

James didn’t miss Sirius mumble, “Is no one an option?” under his breath. Yet, Sirius relented, melting against Sirius and narrowing his eyes on James.

“I don’t like this but I suppose Moony is right.”

“I’m always right, sweetheart,” Remus corrected, before winking at James and pressing his lips to Sirius’ cheek.

Sirius pocketed his wand. “I still don’t like this,” he gestured between James and Regulus, “but I have a hangover and I’m hungry so I will return to this later.”

James felt relieved. Sirius seemed like he would eventually warm up to the idea of the two of them and James was yet to be punched or jinxed. It was a win so far.

He turned to look at Regulus, returning a smile of genuine happiness knowing his worries had been somewhat alleviated. Well, until Sirius’s gasp shattered their brief moment of peace.

“YOU MARKED HIM?” Sirius shouted before snapping his mouth shut and reaching his hand towards his pocket.

Oh not good. This was not good at all. Still, no regrets.

Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius, managing to hold him back from pouncing on James. “It’s time for you to eat. Come on, sweetheart.”

Sirius took a deep breath and exhaled, the anger dissipating from his face. Remus slowly released his arms from around his boyfriend before taking Sirius’ hand and interlocking their fingers.

But as James went to walk towards the door, Sirius’ foot swung out, slamming into his shin. James stumbled across the floor but found his feet before he fell to the ground.

“Sirius!” Regulus cried, stepping in front of James.

Sirius shrugged. “Okay, it’s out of my system. Let’s go eat now.” Sirius smiled at James, “No real harm, Prongs?”

James shook his leg and smiled back at his best friend, “No, it’s fine. Love you, Pads.”

He had not managed to escape Sirius’ wrath at breakfast. His best friend was continuously throwing glares at him from his seat at the table. James had been seated far enough away from Sirius that his shins were not at risk of being bruised anymore. Instead, Remus was opposite James and Regulus was opposite his brother, gaining curious looks from the other students in the Great Hall.

Peter sat on Remus’ other side, huffing in annoyance. James could not figure out the cause of Peter’s displeasure, wondering what had been going on in the last few days when his brain and activities had been consumed by Regulus and their curse.

And Regulus. Reggie. James had snuck his hand under the table to weave their hands together away from Sirius’ watchful eyes. James had to eat with his fork in his left hand but nonetheless, it was worth it.

A throat cleared behind them and both he and Regulus turned their heads to locate the source of the noise. What they found was Barty Crouch with a fury that could rival Sirius’ on his face. James watched Barty run his eyes over Regulus quickly as if he were checking to see whether he was still in one piece. Seeming satisfied with Regulus’ state, he pointed a finger in his face.

“I warned you, Potter.”

Here we go again.

James looked to Sirius. “What, you’re not going to defend me?”

Sirius shrugged, refusing to look away from his plate. “I’m still mad at you,” he chastised. Sirius’ eyes flicked up to look at Regulus before shifting to James. “And you know I wasn’t defending you from Barty on the pitch yesterday. I was defending Reg.”

James watched as Regulus swatted at Barty’s finger, which was still pointed in his face. “Barty, it’s okay. It was a misunderstanding and we figured things out.”

“So what? You were snogging your new boyfriend while I was being yelled at by Filch?”

James snorted, quickly covering the sound with a cough as he looked away from Barty to stop himself from breaking out into laughter. Sirius, on the other hand, was not pleased with the reminder that James and Regulus had been snogging.

“You were yelled at by Filch?” Regulus questioned.

“I was caught trying to make my way to the Gryffindor Tower by Mrs Norris.”

“Oh Barty,” Regulus said. “Thank you for trying.”

To James’ glee, he could hear in Regulus’ voice that he was also suppressing a laugh. Caught by Mrs Norris? What an amateur.

Barty surveyed the amused faces of everyone at the Gryffindor table before turning around and walking off towards the Slytherin table. James squeezed Regulus’ fingers under the table. He might not like Barty but he could tell that he was a good friend to Regulus. He was Reggie’s Sirius.

While the Barty drama had occurred it appeared that a small fortune had accumulated in front of Remus. A stack of galleons sat beside Moony’s plate, who was eating a slice of his toast and feigning unawareness. Peter, however, was glowering at the pile, anguish written on his face.

“What’s this about?” James asked, gesturing to the pile of coins.

“Pete lost a bet,” Remus replied complacently.

Peter snorted. “Remus cheated,” he corrected.

James frowned, confused at what they were referring to. How long had there been a bet going on?

“Why haven’t I heard about a bet?”

“I haven’t heard about a bet either,” Sirius chimed in.

Remus looked at James guiltily, raising his eyebrows before looking at Regulus. When Remus’ eyes looked back at him James gasped, pointing a finger at Remus, “You bet on my love life?”

Sirius made a noise of disgust, “Don’t use the ‘L-word’ around me when you are referencing my brother.”

“Remus bet that Regulus and James would get together before the end of the school year,” Peter began, “I logically disagreed after seeing how long you two were pining for each other.”

James’ brain threw away all other words that came before the last few. He turned to Regulus, “You were pining for me?”

James watched a pretty pink appear on Regulus’ cheeks.

Peter scoffed. “It was pretty fucking obvious! I just didn’t think we were allowed to interfere.” He folded his arms across his chest and sank into his chair.

James watched Sirius lean forward, narrowing his eyes at Peter. “What do you mean by ‘interfere’?”

“Firstly, Remus tricked me into talking about who James fancied in a corridor where he knew Regulus was hiding,” Peter told them.

James had no clue what conversation they were referring to.

“That was intentional?” Regulus asked. “Didn’t work, by the way, just confused me honestly.”

“Secondly,” Peter said, “Who do you think put the curse on you two?”

“Remus?” Regulus and James said in disbelief as Sirius cried out “Moony?”

Huh. It actually made a lot of sense now that James thought about it. His conversation with Remus the first night, Remus helping them escape Gryffindor Tower twice, Remus telling him not to give up, Remus protecting them from an angry Sirius.

Remus sighed, “Yes, it was me.”

James remained deep in thought, thinking back to every interaction he had with Remus leading up to the curse. When did this happen? When was the curse placed? How?

Regulus, once again being the logical one, simply asked, “But, how?”

“Well I had to find something that Regulus never takes off,” Remus supplied.

James surveyed Regulus, searching for something that hadn’t changed from Regulus’ person. What could it be? Regulus’ pyjamas?

Regulus gasped. “My necklace? You cursed my necklace?” James watched him clutch at the small star necklace that rested around his neck.

Ah, that made more sense.

“Well, no. I managed to get Pandora to duplicate the necklace and give it to me before the charm. It isn’t a complex spell, I just linked the duplicate to James’ necklace—which I duplicated as well—and added a time spell to teleport Regulus to James at the same time every night.” Remus reached into his pocket and withdrew a silver and gold chain. “Here are the original, uncursed necklaces.”

James reached up to his neck to unclasp the duplicate, cursed necklace, placing it down on the table. Without a second thought, he reached for his golden chain with the small sun charm and offered it to Regulus. When Regulus turned around, James clasped the chain around the boy’s neck, his fingers lightly brushing Regulus’ neck and shoulders. His fingers lingered there, an innocent touch that elicited no negativity from Sirius.

Regulus then took his own uncursed silver star necklace and clasped it around James’ neck, a smile on his face as he touched James’ chest.

James shook his head in disbelief. “I can't believe you did this,” he told Remus.

“It worked, didn’t it? You should be thanking me.”

James slid a hand around Regulus’ neck, pulling him forward to brush his lips against Regulus’. Sirius gagged dramatically around them but James couldn’t care, pulling back with a smile.

“I am extremely thankful,” he replied before leaning forward for another kiss. A soft and lingering touch that sent a spark through his entire body.

It might have taken years of pining and a curse to get them together but there was no going back now.

Regulus was his and he was Regulus’.

Nothing in the entire world would ever change that.