Apricity

Regulus jumps into the window, turns back into human form, and unlocks the front door. 

The others scramble in. Regulus locks the door again.

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Sirius says. 

“Let’s find a closet,” says James.

It’s fairly clean in here. 

Remus is leading the group up the stairs and into a hallway. Opens a door. Too small. Tries another. Remus looks at the group, and tilts his head toward the doorway.

This closet must be hardly bigger than the first one. Regulus is uncomfortably close to James and Mary, squished into a corner. Despite the closet’s limited space, the lack of distance between Regulus and Mary doesn’t feel entirely incidental. He considers turning back into a cat. He would, if he wasn’t worried someone would step on him. Maybe James could hold him? No, not that.

What the fuck? Absolutely not.

Regulus doesn’t know what has gotten into him.

A car door slams shut outside.

“Cloak,” Remus whispers. “James, did you bring the cloak?”

“Yeah, hang on. It’s in my bag,” James whispers back, moving his backpack around to his front side. Of course he brought a bag. Just in case, he would say. 

“Reg, what the fuck? You’re an animagus too? What else are you hiding?” James whispers.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag…” Sirius tries. “But guys. Isn’t it beautiful that Reg and I have matching animaguses?,” he adds. “Animagi,” he mends.  

“Yeah, Pads,” replies James.

“Someone could take the cloak out, go see who’s out there?” Mary suggests. They’re still whispering.

“What if they come upstairs and see the door open?” Peter asks.

“I’ll do it,” Regulus says. “I’ll listen for them. They won’t see me.”

No one protests. It’s no secret Regulus is the sneakiest here. 

“Be careful,” Sirius says, his face concerned. 

Regulus rolls his eyes and puts on the cloak. He puts his ear to the door, listening. 

No sound. Coast should be clear? Fuck it. 

Delicately, Regulus turns the doorknob. The door creaks, just a bit. Nothing he can do, he’s invisible, it's fine, keep going. 

The hallway is clear. Regulus slowly creeps toward the balcony that overlooks the downstairs. 

Nothing.

Who could it be? Certainly not father. Maintenance? Maybe Regulus should look outside. 

He crosses the hall to a large window in the center of a small library in the loft. This house is brilliant, Regulus thinks. He wishes he lived here. Maybe he could’ve inherited it, had he stayed. 

Looking out the window, Regulus spots the mysterious visitor. A woman. 

She has reddish brown hair, in a ponytail, and a light brown coat. Pretty. She’s unloading something onto the ground from the backseat of her car. Oh. Cleaning supplies. 

Regulus returns to the closet, removing the cloak and handing it to James. 

“Well?” Sirius asks, eagerly. He’s speaking with a normal volume. They must have casted a silencing charm on the closet.

“Father’s keeping a housekeeper on. Wonder if he knows.”

“Someone must use this place, then? Right?” Remus asks. 

“Nah, likely dad's just forgot, housekeeping blends in to the rest of his monthly fees. He and mother probably don’t care about anything but cleaning up family appearances these days, what with our tarnishing of its legacy and whatnot,” Sirius replies, sounding uninterested. “What’d they look like?”

“Uh, she looked normal? I suppose,” Regulus answers. 

“Why, Sirius? Got plans to woo her?” Mary asks with a smirk.

“What? No. Maybe she’s cool. We could invite her to Christmas.”

“You’re already bringing a lot of people,” Lily says.

“What we need to do is get this housekeeper to take a week or two off so we can stay here undisturbed. Maybe we leave her a note in the kitchen before she gets in there that says she’s off for the holidays, after today? Leave her some payment? It’s likely she doesn’t care enough to question it.” Remus says.

“Oh yeah, that’s true. Reg? Up for another mission?” James asks. 

“Give me the cloak.”

Lily flicks her wand, and a quill and paper appear out of thin air and hover in front of her. 

Regulus is impressed. Conjuration can be quite difficult, and she used wordless magic to do it. A skilled witch, he thinks. 

“After you do that, Regulus, let’s just leave. You lot can conjure your decorations when we all get here on Friday. And now we know that cleaning the place up won’t be a concern,” Remus suggests. 

Regulus likes Remus. Always so sensible. 

“Good point, Moony…” James says. 

“Yeah, let’s get out of here before this poor woman opens this closet and gets scared half to death,” Mary agrees. 

===

Back outside Hogwarts, after waiting for one another to return, the group is about to disassemble. 

“So,” Sirius scratches his head. “I invited Rosier. Aaand Dorcas.”

A beat. 

“And Crouch.”

Lily groans. 

Regulus is happy about this news. Maybe he can room together with all of his closest friends on Christmas. That’d be a first.

Remus looks at Sirius with… anger. Confusion. Huh. Regulus thought he would have been more likely to enjoy Regulus’ friends than the others. Sirius doesn’t seem to notice this.

Wait. Sirius had told him not too long ago that the full moon falls on Christmas this year. Maybe Remus is worried about Regulus’ friends finding out. Sirius should’ve thought of that, Regulus thinks. 

“Merlin, Pads!” Peter replies. “The house’ll be full!”

“It’s fine,” James says. “You told them they’re sleeping on the couch?” 

Why the couch? They can share with Regulus. Or at least one of them can. 

“Yeah, Evan didn’t seem to care. The others likely won’t either, they’re Slytherins. There’s no way their common room’s any more comfortable than that living room, yeah, Reg?” says Sirius.

“Why can’t my friends sleep with me?” Regulus asks.

“Oh, yeah. You’re rooming with Moony. It’s decided.”

“Oh?”

Regulus isn’t unhappy about that, he likes Remus, but… like, why? Everyone had agreed they would figure out a way to grant Regulus’ requests about his sleeping arrangement. 

Regulus locks eyes with Remus, who offers him a sympathetic look. 

“I’ll sleep in the living room,” Remus says. “Regulus wanted his own.”

“It’s fine,” Regulus argues. He does appreciate Remus’ effort to defend him. 

Remus shrugs. 

===

December 23, 1977

Regulus packed his things yesterday. Approaching the Slytherin common room after getting a quick second breakfast, he predicts the status of his friends’ packing progress: Dorcas and Pandora will have finished, Evan will complete the packing process in the five minutes before they leave, and packing for Barty will be a team effort. 

It’s 9:30 in the morning. Barty likely isn’t awake yet. They leave in thirty minutes.

“Reg! We need you,” Dorcas says as he walks through the door of the dormitory, relief in her voice.

Barty is asleep in his bed, mouth open and arms strung about.

“He’ll need a lot of underwear, which he keeps under his bed, and a few shirts and pants. No clue where those might be. Maybe check under his covers. As for the rest, he could probably live off Evan. Just throw it all in a sack,” Regulus says.

“I know he’s the type, but Barty doesn’t actually shit his fucking pants, Reg, come on,” Evan retorts. 

“You’re going to be there, Rosier. Shit isn’t really the concern, Reg’s right to worry about his underwear supply…” Dorcas says.

“Unless you plan on doing the laundry?” Regulus adds, a taunting look on his face.

“Fuck off, you twats. Stop being gross,” says Evan.

“It could be worse, it’s winter. At least we’ll all be fully clothed for most of it,” Pandora chimes in, looking pleased. She’s angelic. She’s gathered a varied supply of toiletries for each of them and is going around setting it on their beds. Regulus should thank her. 

“Pandora!” Dorcas says with a laugh, as she slowly forms a pile of Barty’s shirts. 

Evan looks at Pandora like she’s betrayed him. She shrugs.

“Leave Barty alone. He can’t help what I look like,” says Evan.

“You just let him say and do whatever he wants,” Dorcas shakes her head.

Evan shrugs this time. 

===

James is now determined to sort out Sirius’ living situation in their dorm, fifteen minutes before they planned to leave. Remus had pointed out that Sirius still hadn’t packed for their trip. Of course he hadn’t. 

Without having to discuss it, they’d both gotten up from their beds and had begun to go through Sirius’ clothes, folding them and packing them in his bag. Now, James is halfway through organizing the things he found under Sirius’ bed, and plans to do the nightstand next.

Merlin knows where Sirius is right now. Maybe James should check the map.

“Moony, where’s the map?” James asks Remus.

“My nightstand.”

James goes over to search for Sirius’ name. 

He’s in… a random classroom? At least, one James doesn't think he’s ever been in before. 

“Moony? Who’s classroom is this?” 

Remus comes over to look. 

“Uh, I dunno. Don’t recognize it,” Remus replies. “Go tell him we’re leaving very soon and that his maid is sick and tired of packing his shit for him,” he adds, walking back toward Sirius’ trunk and whacking a shirt onto his bed.

Even in anger, Remus is a very appealing person, James thinks. Maybe especially in anger. It certainly helps that he’s beautiful, more than ever recently. But he’s… eloquent, even at his worst. And he somehow presents himself as decently self-assured, even though James knows Remus can be doubtful of himself. 

James decides Remus is attractive. Not in a weird way. It's just true.

He obeys Remus.

When James opens the classroom door, Sirius is hunched on the floor, arms busy. James can hear the crinkle of paper.

“Sirius?” James says.

Sirius jumps back, and curses.

“Fucking hell, James! You scared me! Stop, don’t look. I’m wrapping presents!”

“Wrapping presents?” James exclaims. “Padfoot, we’re nearly walking out the door! Moony’s time of the month is almost here and he’s had it with being left to pack your things again. He’s bitching.”

“Sorry! I realized we have to share Lily’s bag with her undetectable extension charm to transport our presents and bags, and I couldn’t let anyone see their gifts prematurely. Tell Moony I’m sorry, yeah?”

James understands this. He would never want to ruin Christmas by letting everyone see their gifts before it’s time. Regulus is the only exception, James thinks. He’s pretty sure Regulus doesn’t like surprises. James, on the other hand, loves them. He may or may not have a surprise or two lined up for Regulus despite his theory. Just small ones.

“Okay, but you need to hurry the hell up. Why didn’t you do this before?”

“I don’t know, James, okay? I just ran out of time.”

“Just- just try to hurry so Remus doesn’t hex us. He hates being late.”

“It’s just a guideline meeting time! Like, it isn’t a big deal if we miss it by a few minutes. Merlin, you people are tiring.”

“It’s cold out. We don’t want to leave them waiting…” James says, pointedly not looking in the direction of the unwrapped presents.

“I’ll hurry. Just go so you don’t spoil your gifts,” Sirius attempts to move himself so his body is blocking the gifts from James.

“Alright, Sirius,” James replies. “Meet you in the dorm.”

===

Everyone carries their own bag, except Barty and Evan. Barty carries Evan’s bag. Regulus knows there’s more to Barty and Evan’s relationship than they let on. So does everyone else, he presumes. How could they not?

Regulus also carries everyone's presents in a big sack he found in the kitchens. He feels like Santa Claus. He hates it. 

When they arrive at the meeting spot, Regulus is a bit surprised to find that only Marlene, Mary, and Lily have arrived so far. Regulus’ own group is a few minutes late. Because of Barty, of course. Even Evan couldn’t get him up until it was nearly time to go. 

James is very punctual. Why would they be late?

Probably Sirius, Regulus thinks. 

===

“Sorry we’re late, it was my fault,” Sirius admits.

Remus is right behind him as they approach the meeting spot with their friends.

“Forgot I had to wrap my presents. Here,” Sirius says, lifting up a large trash bag full of what look like boxes. “For your Mary Poppins bag, Evans,” he explains. 

“Can you put these in there, too?” James says, carrying his broomstick, along with Sirius.’

“You know Mary Poppins?!” Lily exclaims, beginning to pack the items she’s been handed.

“Of course. I have taste,” 

“Oh we are so discussing that later,” Lily says, leaning toward Sirius. “Is this all of your gifts?”

“Think so,” Sirius replies.

No one objects. 

“Alright, then, let’s go!” Lily says, excitedly.

“Who is Mary Poppins?” Remus asks.

Marlene turns and scowls at him.

“Remus, are you kidding?” Lily sounds offended.

“Moony, you grew up a muggle and haven’t heard of Mary Poppins? What the fuck?” Sirius says.

“Is she a celebrity?” Remus asks.

“No, she’s a character. In the movie, Mary Poppins. We are watching it together, Lupin, no point in arguing with me,” Sirius demands.

“Yes, sir,” Remus’ heart begins to race, “whatever you say.” 

Sirius blushes. Remus has never seen him blush before. It’s an intense one, nose, ears, and neck. He’s bloody gorgeous. Remus should mess with him like this more often. 

Fuck, no, he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t give Sirius the wrong impression. That Remus is available to him. Because he isn’t. 

Remus knows he will never have a successful career, perhaps not even a successful academic one. He’ll have to register as a werewolf with the Ministry, and no one hires people with his condition. He’s smart, and school is easy, but… he doesn’t even see a point anymore. Sometimes, he struggles to see how he’s going to finish out a whole second semester this year. Why would someone like Sirius want to attach himself to that?

Sirius deserves more. Someone with potential. Someone to match his bright spirit. 

“Oh?” Sirius says. 

Remus isn’t sure, but he thinks James said it, too. 

Regulus holds his arm out to Remus, and they apparate away. 

===

Regulus is not an envious person, but if he were, despite all of his faults and circumstances, Regulus would envy Remus.

He’s just so… bold. In the least presumptuous way a person can be. 

He’s honest, too. Smart. Enticing. Regulus can’t think of anyone, besides Snape and them, that doesn’t like Remus. Or that doesn’t have some form of a crush on him. Even Regulus finds him attractive. Wouldn’t date him, but, still. 

Regulus wants to speak to Remus right now. In private. 

He apparates them to a park bench in London. Regulus likes this park. It’s the first place he thought to go. They sit down. 

“Think you were a bit off, mate,” Remus says.

“Are you in love with my brother? Regulus asks.

“What?” Remus says in response. He’s startled. Regulus expected this. 

“You heard my question. Are you?” 

“No. Not… no.”

“Okay, well, you just fancy him, then?”

“Listen, I know he’s your family, but I don’t know why you think I’d tell you about it if I did.”

“The fuck do you think I’m gonna do about it? I don’t care who likes him or who he likes, I just want to know. He would certainly never tell me, but I thought maybe I had a chance with you.”

“Why do you want to know? If he wouldn’t want to tell you?”

“So I can keep an eye on you, kill you if you end up breaking his heart.”

Remus just stares at him.  

“You’re more like him than you would approve of,” Remus says.

===

When Regulus apparates back, he looks like he’s deep in thought, James thinks. A few minutes before, Lily came back for Peter. Guess he trusts her, now. Or Peter was just growing impatient with Regulus. He did take a bit longer than Lily. 

James goes with Regulus this time, since Peter and Mary switched to Lily, who just apparated back to retrieve another person.

Regulus is looking at James. His expression is unreadable. James just likes the attention. 

They break eye contact, physical contact replacing it. They apparate to a small clearing in the middle of the woods.

“Shit,” Regulus says. “I’m still not good at this. I probably brought Remus even further.”

“It’s okay. We aren’t far. Look,” James points ahead, the top of the house visible through the leafless trees, “there it is.”

“Ah.”

They walk through the snow in silence. 

The house is slightly chilly, but it’s clearly being heated. Orion Black doesn’t mind keeping the electricity on, either?

James can’t help but wonder about it. Why would he do that, really? A house he, nor anyone else the Black brothers can think of, use? To keep it heated and clean? Weird. But James ultimately ignores the thought. Shoves it away. Probably just to keep up the value of the house, in case he decides to sell it. They can face whatever problems come up. They can become invisible, use silencing charms, obliviate and figure it out. It’s Christmas. James isn’t worried. 

He’s gone to the kitchen counter, where Remus, Mary, and Peter are leaning, to check for the note. It’s still there. The money isn’t. 

“Right, then, the plan worked,” James says, pleased. 

“I hope so,” Regulus replies.

The front door opens. It’s Lily and Pandora. Regulus leaves a moment after to retrieve Barty and Evan, while Lily brings Dorcas. Dorcas is cool, James thinks. From what he can tell, anyway. She’ll get along well with the girls. 

As they all make their way in, James observes the group. He doesn’t do it often, he’d usually rather just dive right into conversation, but when it’s a less familiar dynamic, he likes to assess who he wants to talk to. Where he should fit himself in. This specific group has never done anything together before. 

Lily is wearing a white knitted sweater, with her Gryffindor scarf and a brown coat over it, and jeans. She looks pretty. Pandora is wearing a high quality-looking white coat, over a light blue blouse and a black skirt. She wears tights, patterned black ones. James thinks she must be a bit cold, outside. Accessories adorn her entire look. James doesn’t know anyone else that dresses like her. He thinks Pandora is beautiful, like she’s from another planet. James is curious about her. He should speak to her soon.

Dorcas wears a black top with a black jacket, and jeans. A bit intimidating. She has a very nice face, James thinks, but it’s serious. Striking. He knows not to mess with her. Marlene, standing close to Dorcas now, is in a similar outfit, but with a leather jacket, and a red shirt. More rings, shorter, blonde hair. Fierce. A dangerous pair, James thinks. He remembers one time a year or so back, in the middle of the hallway, Marlene took down some Slytherin twat who was giving her trouble. Blood purist bullshit. James would like to see more where that came from. He thinks Dorcas could definitely fuck somebody up, too.

Barty and Evan are standing next to each other, toward the corner. Evan’s quiet, seated on a stool, watchful but not terribly engaged. James wonders if he’s like Remus. Doesn’t always last too long in social settings. Barty, looking restless, has on a black zip-up hoodie over a graphic tee, with jeans. Evan wears a baggy t-shirt, and baggier jeans than Barty. James thinks he could pull a brilliant prank with them. He puts a pin in that thought. 

Mary is standing next to Regulus, but they aren’t speaking. Mary has on a dark brown jacket with lighter brown fur around the edges. She wears jeans too, but hers are a darker blue, and bell-bottom shaped. She wears a lot of gold and silver jewelry. She’s lovely. Regulus has on a dark blue sweater, with black pants. Two rings. Simple. Enticing, James thinks. Mary keeps glancing at Regulus. James wonders if they like each other. Mary is gorgeous; Almost any guy their age at Hogwarts probably fancies her. Same goes with the girls, and Regulus.

No, James doesn’t like the idea. The pair doesn’t work, he thinks. 

Christmas. James is so excited. He loves Christmas. It’s the best holiday. How could anyone disagree with that? He wants to unpack, settle in, and explore this place. They also need to decorate. Maybe unpacking can wait, if the others want to get the tree up soon. James does not want to miss out. He spots the corner where he thinks they should place it. 

“Alright, where am I sleeping?” Marlene asks. 

“With Mary. And Peter. Bedrooms are first come, first serve, though I rough-drafted the groups already,” Sirius answers, smiling brightly. 

“Uh, what the hell?” Marlene says. “What if I don’t want that room?”

Remus laughs.

“Well, I mean we can change it--” Sirius starts.

“Yeah. Let’s do that. Sorry, Peter. I won’t be caught dead sleeping with a male in the room.”

“Ugh, good point, Marls. Why can’t the girls stick together?” Mary agrees.

“Honestly, I’ll sleep with whoever, as long as I’m not on the floor,” Peter says.

“It’s not personal. I mean, can you actually blame me?” Marlene says, picking up on the subtle display of self-pity on his face. 

“It’s fine. Pete could stay with us,” James suggests. Sirius gives him a look. James is a little annoyed by that. What does Sirius expect him to do? Make him stay in the living room?

Peter looks up, looking an octave happier. 

“Okay, Prongs. But, at this rate, we need Moony, too!” Peter says.

Remus shrugs. 

“I would, if there was space. The rooms’ve only got one bed each.”

Remus has already looked in the rooms? Of course he has. Or maybe Remus is just smart, and doesn’t assume all the rooms have two beds like this is some kind of hotel. James calls himself silly, internally. 

“Okay, consider this,” Sirius says, hands held up in front of him. “Me, Remus, Peter, and James stay in the living room. It looks more comfortable than I expected, with plenty of space. That way the Marauders can all be together,” he beams at them. “Then, Barty and Evan stay in one room, Mary and Marlene in the second, and Pandora and Lily in the third. Dorcas could stay with whoever she wants, and Reg gets his own room. Unless Dorcas claims him, of course,” Sirius says. 

Not a bad plan, James thinks. 

“Sounds good to me,” Mary says.

“Agreed,” Evan adds.

Everyone else either nods, or doesn’t protest. Barty lifts his beer bottle, a few fingers raised up from around the neck of it, his back against the counter. Blimey, James thinks. It’s not yet noon. 

He’d like to get started on that, himself. But he has a few things to do first. 

James starts toward the living room to claim a spot to sleep tonight. A Marauders sleepover to kick off the holiday will be nice, he thinks. It doesn’t have to be every night, but maybe it will be. 

James hopes Sirius is successful in his matchmaking endeavors. He loves romance, especially during Christmastime. Seriously, he thinks, how could at least two of them not fall in love here?

James looks around at the house. He wants to live here forever, with his family. The walls are wooden, with a few landscape paintings hung about here and there. An ornate fireplace looms in the center of the back wall, the rest of the room enveloped around it. They should get that lit, James thinks. Bookshelves line the walls beside the fireplace, and three couches are placed in a U-shape in front of them, along with two comfortable-looking armchairs beside the couches. Cozy. Perfect. 

“Wow,” Sirius says behind him. 

James turns toward his best friend. “I know, right? Think you can find a way to get your name on this house in Mr. Black’s will? Go tell him you changed your mind?”

“Ha. Fucking wish.”

“This one could fit two, right?” James says, walking over toward the bigger couch of the three, placing his hands on the back of it. 

“Oh, yeah, plenty room,” replies Sirius, suddenly frowning. “But if I end up stuck with Pete sharing the couch because of my height, I’m going to have a freakout.”

“Well, it’s not going to be Moony. He’s too tall. And I move around too much, yeah?”

Sirius scowls at James. He looks like Regulus. James smiles. 

“My own plan backfired on me, of course it did…” Sirius is turned away now, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. 

Peter, Remus, and Lily enter. 

“This place is beautiful, Sirius!” Lily says, looking around. “Just wonderful.”

Remus wanders over toward one of the large windows, the one closest to the bookshelves. Naturally, he begins to pick out books for a few minutes at a time, reading the first few pages. 

James lights the fireplace. There were already logs set up in it, and he just used magic to ignite the fire. Lily, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James sit around the fireplace, thick socks in a semicircle on the Persian carpet, arms draped over their knees. Remus and Lily conjured stockings and some pine needle garland to hang on the fireplace. The warmth feels nice. It’s dreadfully cold out. James doesn’t like the cold. 

James admires his friends, their faces bright, drenched in warm firelight that looks like the sun. 

===

Sirius has just transfigured an ornament into an attachable, glowing red nose. So he can make James into Rudolph tomorrow night during the full moon, of course. Next, he grabs a silver ornament, and turns it red. So far, in front of Sirius is a Christmas tree, wrapped in lights and gold garland. 

Obviously, Sirius has also hung mistletoe in various places around the house. He is determined to have at least one success as matchmaker before they all leave. 

“MacDonald, I won’t hear another bloody word of it. This is my father’s house! And don’t say he disowned me, I don’t care. I get the final say,” Sirius argues. “Go put up some blue snowflakes on the mantle, yeah?”

“God, fine, Sirius. But like, it doesn’t look as good when the colors are all mixed together. We should have a coherent theme,” Mary protests. 

“Red, then. It just looks better.”

“What about purple?” Pandora asks, distractedly, as she crochets something small in her hand. She’s curled up in one of the armchairs.

Purple.

Sirius wonders why he’s never had a proper conversation with Pandora before. Brilliant.

“You know what, you might be onto something there,” Sirius says, pointing repeatedly at Pandora. He flicks his wand, switching the color of the ornament in his hand to a plum purple, and then places it on a branch. A few more. It looks nice. 

“Pandora, I love it. You’re a genius,” says James.

“We can also do a Slytherin tree, and a Gryffindor tree, for your heritage, Sirius. I can conjure up a wreath or something for Ravenclaw, for myself,” Pandora announces. 

“Nah, we’ll do a Ravenclaw tree for you, too,” Evan says.

“Fuck it, throw in Hufflepuff, while we’re at it. They’re cool. 5 Christmas trees, 12 people. Seems like a sensible ratio, as far as Christmas tree-to-people ratios go,” says Sirius. He looks delighted.

Evan visibly stifles laughter. 

Wait, Pandora wasn’t there when Sirius made the joke about his Gryffindor heritage.

“How do you know I said that about my heritage, Pandora? Do you have like, an all-seeing eye or something?” Sirius asks, suddenly startled. 

Pandora’s eyes dart to Lily’s. Then back to whatever she’s making. 

“Your voice carries. And your words.”

“The fuck? Is that-- what the fuck does that mean?” Sirius asks, looking around at the others in the room. He’s honestly kind of scared right now. 

“I told her, Sirius, not to worry. I just thought it was funny, wanted to share...” Lily says, blushing slightly. Sirius understands. 

He’s determined to be the catalyst their relationship needs. He got them with the only one bed situation, he thinks. Sirius smirks internally.

“Who’s ready to get started?” Marlene asks, strolling in from the kitchen, a mostly full bottle of red wine in her hand, Dorcas following close behind her with a glass in hers. White wine.

“Meee!” Barty exclaims.

“If someone will pour me a glass,” says Mary.

“Yeah, same,” Remus adds, nodding toward Mary. 

“I’ll go get some,” James volunteers. 

“Thanks, James,” Remus says. 

It’s going to take a while to decorate this house.

===

Regulus stole a haul of various food from the kitchens before they left, and Remus feels like he’s probably eaten about a third of it by now. It’s four-thirty in the afternoon, and Remus is several glasses of wine and nearly two joints in. Doesn’t matter. It’s Christmas Eve Eve.

Everyone’s still fussing about these bloody decorations. Well, they took a two hour nap break halfway through. Or most of them, anyway. Remus finds himself filled with a child-like joy he wishes he could have felt years ago during winter time, despite the power of the moon looming over him. He wants to go outside and play in the snow. 

But he’s just sitting on the couch. Maybe he should find someone (who isn’t drunkenly decorating at the moment) to go on a walk with? But he doesn’t feel like talking much right now. 

Regulus doesn’t usually have much to say. 

Remus finds Regulus sitting in a chair in the upstairs library, book open in his lap. In his natural state. He looks sophisticated, Remus thinks. 

He considers greeting Regulus, but the words don’t come. It takes a few seconds for Regulus to look up. 

“Lupin.”

“Wanna go for a walk?”

“Why?”

“Bored. Wanted someone quiet.”

“It’s cold.”

“You’re a wizard.”

“I’m reading.”

“Okay.”

Remus turns away. Hesitates before taking a step. 

“Let me get my shoes,” Regulus says, as Remus begins to walk toward the stairs. 

===

Regulus’ face is blown practically to shreds from the force of the wind, his hair is a train wreck. Ten or so minutes ago, his visibility was at three feet or less. He and Remus are marching through the snow, through a field in the clearing around the property. The sky is a purplish grey.

A Christmas snow storm is on its way, Lily had said. Regulus, nor likely Remus, expected for it to hit so soon. 

The two boys have been walking for half an hour now. It’s still snowing, but the fierce winds have died down. They’re almost back to the property, having just done a loop around it. They did not speak at all, until it began to snow. Regulus had cursed at Remus for dragging him into a snow storm. Regulus doesn’t like the cold. They had combined their efforts to create a forcefield of heating magic, so Regulus got over it quickly once he was comfortably warm. He had apologized by offering Remus a cigarette. 

“I know Barty seems reckless, the others are easier to trust, but I’ll make sure they understand not to say a fucking word if you want to tell everyone why you lot will be gone tomorrow night. They’re all loyal friends,” Regulus says, with the sudden urge to connect with Remus. Sirius had told him, a few weeks ago, that the full moon would fall on Christmas night.

“I dunno. Yeah. Honesty is easier. But I wasn’t going to bring it up. I’m just worried Sirius would be angry with me. He’s weird about it.”

Weird about you, Regulus thinks. 

“It’s up to you. I can always try to make them think you’re sneaking out in the night to a brothel, or something, though Barty might be upset he wasn’t invited,” Regulus says.

Remus laughs.

“Thanks. I’ll probably just tell them, I’ll have to register soon and I’m fucked anyway.”

Regulus just keeps walking.

“You know,” Regulus says. 

Remus looks at him.

“What you said about me being like Sirius?”

“Yeah? You are,” Remus confirms.

“Maybe,” Regulus admits. “But you are, too.”

“How so?” Regulus doesn’t detect doubt in his tone. 

“He’s trying to ignore you, too. He’s just shit at it.”

Remus scoffs, and gets out another cigarette from his rusted tin case. 

“He’s projecting with the whole matchmaker bit? That your theory?” Remus asks, lighting the cigarette with wordless magic. Regulus shrugs. Goes for his own cigarette. Regulus’ case is antique, silver.

“He’s only been poorly avoiding me the past few days,” says Remus. 

“We’re like that, he and I. You’d best get used to it. We require patience,” Regulus warns him.

“I know. So do I. I don’t mind.”

James doesn’t require much patience, Regulus thinks. At least, probably not with anything serious. 

“Well,” Regulus gives up, mid-sentence. He doesn’t feel like talking anymore. Remus allows the silence to fall over them. 

They walk in the quiet for a few minutes. The house is now in view.

“Sirius cares for all of his friends,” Regulus’ forces his words into the wind. “But he’s different with you.”