Double Trouble
10:00AM
“Alright we’ll see you soon. Make sure you give Harry my love.” Remus hugged James goodbye and so did Sirius.
They had spent enough time at James’ and figured he needed a little break. As Sirius drove them back to their flat, the couple didn’t speak much. Remus hadn’t questioned Sirius about Narcissa’s visit the night before, but he knew that Sirius would talk once he digested it all.
They unlocked the door and walked straight to their bedroom, mentally exhausted. Remus got into bed as well. They both laid in silence, staring at the ceiling, until Sirius turned towards Remus. He turned his head to look at Sirius’ blank face. “She wouldn’t tell me about Reggie.”
Oh.
Remus and Sirius talked about pretty much everything under the sun, but his lost sister was something not mentioned often. Remus knew from the tiniest bits of Sirius’ body language that he wasn’t going to say anymore.
“Well did she mention whether she’s safe or not?”
Sirius sighed. “She just said ‘Reg is fine. Don’t worry and don’t look into it.’ So I’m glad about that but I just- you know how much I regret it, don’t you?”
Remus had consoled Sirius about this situation many times. He wouldn’t say much more other than frustrated groans of “I should’ve brought her with me,” and “I can’t believe I left her there,” and Remus would assure him that he was young and that nothing was his fault, he needed to leave and he did the right thing. He would tell him about how he knows Regina is tough and she wouldn’t tell survive, just like Sirius did all those years ago.
Remus just rubbed his back until he fell asleep, he got up once again to have a shower and continue on with his day.
1:00PM
"No, Harry, we have to go. Come on, love, please will you just let me get you dressed?!" James said with an exasperated sigh. He guessed that Harry was just having a bad day but the temper tantrums he had were quite the feat.
“Listen honey, don’t you remember we’re going to Dada and Dadi’s house? And she has something I think you’ll like…” Harry looked back at him, not making any more noise as he was curious now. “Well, only if you’re gonna be good, she might have some mango ice cream for you.”
James’ mum would always get the best mangoes shipped from India to make a homemade ice cream that him and Sirius always went crazy for as kids, and Harry was definitely not an exception. His eyes went wide at the mention of his favorite sweet treat, and he immediately cooperated with his dad.
As soon as he parked at his childhood home, James’ mother was already at the door. “Hi beta! Now where’s my grandson.”
Classic mum, always bypassing him to get to Harry, James thought to himself as he laughed.
Still laughing, James pointed to the car where Harry was squealing in his car seat, waiting for Effie to grab him.
She unbuckled it and wrapped him up in her arms, spinning around a bit. She pinched one of his chubby cheeks and whispered to him in Hindi. “Let’s go inside, I have a little gift for you!”
She moved him over to her hip and gave a one armed hug to her son, waving him goodbye. “Please Ma, call me if anything happens!”
“Oh don’t be silly— nothing will happen.” She walks in and his dad shut the door behind her after greeting James as well.
He walked back into his car and breathes a sigh of relief. “Tonight better be so fucking good.” He whispered to himself.
Who knew that having a kid would take up so much of your time. Co-parenting with Lily definitely helped but she was currently on a month long trip with Mary, so that left Harry with James for the most part. He definitely appreciated the extra time with his son, but he could be a handful.
He remembered the days when him and Lily would go out with all of their friends every weekend and get wasted, and how that was put to an end as soon as the pregnancy test showed that infamous little plus sign.
James and Lily’s relationship ended on good terms, they both recognized that they were good, that they were golden for a long time. Unfortunately, they both grew up and that spark that fueled their love had fizzled out.
The two of them tried to make it work, for Harry, but in the end they were better off apart, and raising Harry with two loving homes rather than one broken one.
8:00PM
James had gotten home, got ready, and then he headed to Sirius’ flat. Everyone was laying around, Marlene and Sirius getting on their “guyliner” and Sirius refusing the rest of her makeup, Dorcas slapping away Peter’s hand after he offered her a drink, and Remus getting up to give James that awkward man-hug and let him inside.
“Jamie! There you are.” Marlene leapt up from the little station she had set up on their coffee table, not so gracefully.
James guessed it had something to do with the bottle of Tito’s next to her makeup. “Haven’t seen you in forever, have I Marls?” James said with a soft smile as he gave her a warm hug.
Marlene had been away, studying at Scotland, and everyone really missed her, but they definitely missed one thing quite a bit— her being the life of the party.
“Hey, not too touchy there.” Dorcas gave James a strong look, he knew she was joking but she was always protective of her girlfriend.
He moved over to chat with Sirius and grab a drink of his own.
10:00 PM
“Hey you’re the hockey guys, right!”
It wasn’t too rare for them to get noticed in public but the lighting in this bar was so dim he was surprised the man could make out who they were. They took a few selfies and he bought them a drink, which Sirius was very grateful for, and then said their goodbyes.
The atmosphere of the place was perfect, not too crazy but not boring either. James was just basking in the fact that the walls weren’t covered in Peppa Pig stickers.
“Come, dance!” Marlene pulled Remus and Sirius out of their corner at the bar and to the middle of the crowded room, having the time of her life. James signaled the bartender and ordered another beer, enjoying the music.
A few minutes later, Alice and Frank walked in, greeting everyone and joining James at the bar. They too had a little boy of their own, Neville, who seemed to be much calmer than Harry whenever they met. Even though the conversation often revolved around parenthood, The three of them agreed not to mention their kids -who they loved very much- and drank on.
Alice got up to dance with Marlene, who surprisingly hadn’t broken a sweat, as Sirius and Remus were rightfully out of energy. Everyone was enjoying themselves, lost in their own worlds until they spotted a suspicious man wearing all black, dancing alone dangerously close to Alice.
She snapped around as he put his hand on her and opened her mouth in shock. James and Sirius looked at each other in concern, and started striding across the bar to sort it out until they heard a very familiar booming voice.
“Get the fuck off of her.” Marlene had her hands on his chest and a scathing look in her eyes, shoving him towards the door, the boys ten toes behind her. James and Sirius paused, seeing where this would go.
“Alright woman calm down I was just dancing!” The man raised his hands in defense.
“Yeah? You call putting your hands on women you don’t know dancing?” She was not pleased with his response. At this point they were at the door and half of the bar was watching the scene unfold.
The man was still seeping petty remarks at her and walking backwards as she gave him one final shove out the door. “Don’t fucking hold your breath, fucking deadbeat!” She slammed the door shut behind her, the few people still interested peering through the glass watched her jab him in the face. The man clutched his now bleeding nose and hurriedly sulked away.
“Marls was like a fucking superhero, she went BAM! And I swear she broke the fuckers nose! And the funniest part is that he was shorter than her!” Sirius was talking and laughing so fast that Dorcas cringed at him, looking at James for further explanation, to which she just got another little laugh.
Rolling her eyes she looked back at Sirius, who had taken it upon himself to retell the whole fiasco, as Dorcas’ trip to the bathroom had unfortunately caused her to miss the action. “Alright buddy, maybe a glass of water?” Frank grabbed a very confused looking Sirius to get something non alcoholic in his system.
“Seriously though Marlene- thank you.” Alice gave her gratitude to the blonde for what seemed like the millionth time.
“Again, don’t worry about it Alice— he was being a prick and someone had to deal with it that’s all.” Marlene sat down on the stool beside her and Dorcas came up behind her, wrapping her arms around her.
“Babe you really are a knight in shining armor, aren’t you?” She pressed a small kiss to the side of her neck.
“Okay enough of this. Lets grab another drink, shall we girls?” They nodded in agreement and went to order their drinks.
12:00AM
James steps outside to have a cigarette, much more sober than his friends in the bar. He takes a drag and leans back against the brick wall when he feels his phone buzzing in his pocket. Who the hell is calling him at this hour?
The crackled voice came through the phone: “Um hey.”
“Oh Reg, hey, what’s up?”
“I’m really sorry about this, I just didn’t really know who else to call you know and I figured you were a safe bet. Also Regulus is fine.” His voice was a bit slurred.
“Alright, Regulus— what do you need?”
“So. I’m at a bar. And I may have had a little too much to drink.”
Wow. James guessed that these two had to be related.
He looked back through the foggy window of the bar to check that his friends were taken care of, and saw Sirius nursing a glass of what he hoped was water, and everyone else looking comfortable.
“Okay, text me your location, I’ll be there.”
James shot a quick text to the group chat- “Hey guys, I’ve got to go but defo enjoyed tonight! Don't have too much fun without me!”
He got in his car and set the location of where Regulus was, about ten minutes away. And zipped off.
He parked a few meters away and got out, heading towards the bar where he hoped Regulus still was. Lo and behold, he was on the curb, elbows on his knees and smoking a cigarette which wasn’t even lit. Did he say a little drunk?
James plopped himself down next to Regulus and turned his head towards him. “Jamie! You actually came. Can I call you Jamie? Has a nice ring don’t you think?” Regulus smiled with flushed cheeks.
“You called.” James shrugged. “Jamie’s fine, now how about we get you home alright?” Regulus nodded in agreement and grabbed James’ hand to get up. James led him to his car and let him put on his seatbelt. He asked him for his address and was met with a but of a confused look from Regulus.
“It’s blue.” Okay. Very helpful so far.
“Listen Regulus, are you sure you don’t remember where your house is?” Regulus burst into laughter.
“I just told you dumbass it’s blue.”
James gave a joking hurt expression and spoke again softly. “Well we need to figure out where to take you, there’s someone that I’m sure would like to meet you, but I think you’d blow his mind.”
James laughed to himself, thinking about a drunk Regulus and Sirius being utterly confused as they look at each other. “Oh shit. What’s the day today.”
James tells Regulus that it’s a Friday. “Fuck. I have work tomorrow Jamie!” He looks at James with wide eyes.
“Erm, no you probably don’t, it’s Saturday?”
“Never heard of Saturday school have you?? It’s too late to call in for a substitute now! James will you be my substitute?” A teacher? James would not have guessed that.
Clearly the alcohol hadn’t worn off yet so James had to think of another way to find out where exactly he needed to take the dark haired boy.
“Can I use your phone really quick?”
He grabs Regulus’ cell and uses his face to open it. Default wallpaper? Really? Okay— this isn’t the time to worry about wallpapers. He opens up Regulus’ navigation app and finds the address he has set as home and zips off.
Well for starters, it is blue? James and Reg both get out, he assumed that Reg had sobered up a bit because he wasn’t nearly as chatty as he was around 15 minutes prior. Regulus had left someone a voicemail practically begging them to come in tomorrow and owing them quite a few favors it seemed like, he would probably regret that later on.
He rang the bell a few times, hoping Regulus didn’t live alone. It seemed like his prayers were answered when a tall blonde man opened that door with a groggy face. “What the fuck could anyone want at this hou- oh”