Peace on Earth
Winter 1976
Over the next month and a half, Hogwarts was subjected to an onslaught of teenage romance. It wasn’t like a castle full of largely unsupervised children was a stranger to teenage romance, but James Potter, Remus Lupin, and the Black brothers never did anything half-assed.
James and Regulus spent nearly every night asking the Room of Requirement for different things; they spent time talking in each other’s childhood bedrooms, held hands under a starry sky, and went buck wild snogging in a very green approximation of the Gryffindor common room. They spent hours upon hours learning every little thing about each other.
If you asked any random student, they’d say that James Potter wasn’t shy with his love. They’d say that James Potter was an open book, that he wore his heart on his sleeve, and any other sickening metaphor. But the reality was, James Potter guarded himself with purpose. He certainly didn’t withhold his kindness, and he gave friendship freely, but his deepest darkest secrets and insecurities had only ever been revealed to Euphemia Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. And none of those three had on their own, heard all of James’ secrets.
But now, Regulus had.
Regulus Black was witness to a James Potter that, truly, no one else knew.
Regulus Black was the opposite. Any observer would say he was closed off and cold, that he was considerate but not kind, that he shied away from emotion. But as the nights in their Room carried on, James found that was certainly not the case. Regulus wanted to trust. All he wanted was someone who could help shoulder his burden. Regulus was often sad, often withdrawn; but, really, who wouldn’t be? He’d been largely alone in Grimmauld Place since Sirius’ departure a year prior. He certainly understood why Sirius had ran away, he wished more than anything that he could’ve helped his brother escape sooner. Well, not quite more than anything; what he truly wished for the most is that he’d had the courage to join him.
Regulus was afraid of what would happen when he came of age, or when he got close to coming of age. He’d talked with his closest friends – Barty and Evan – about what taking the Dark Mark would mean, about how they’d survive in the Dark Lord’s circle, about if they’d survive if they made any other choice. Regulus was terrified. But, at the same time, he didn’t want to be. He wanted to make a difference in the war and he sometimes though that becoming a Death Eater would be how he could make that difference.
And, while James bared his soul, there were certain things that Regulus kept hidden.
It would be a long, long time before he told James about how he’d figured out that taking the Mark would be the way he’d change the tides.
Sirius Black, much like James Potter, appeared to be an open person. But, unlike James, Sirius’ darkness was much easier to spot. His peers would say he was quick to smile and always ready to lend a hand, they’d say he was the life of the party and a loyal and kind friend. But lurking right below the surface was immense pain, guilt, fear, anger, and betrayal. He’d shown the depths of his darkness when he lured Severus into the Shrieking Shack the prior year. His anger was known to bubble over and burn anyone in a 3-meter radius. He was volatile and could be well and truly frightening if he so chose.
Remus Lupin understood, more than most, that sort of darkness. The monster that crawls beneath your skin just waiting to escape. He’d known it intimately since he was five. If anyone could understand Sirius Black, it was Remus Lupin.
In the interim from Halloween to Winter Break, Sirius and Remus returned to their Marauder roots. The pair spent endless nights with the Marauders Map sneaking around the castle, re-visiting hidden alcoves they’d uncovered at 11 and discovering new secrets. Sirius and Remus weren’t known for their restraint. Love and joy and faith and trust ran through their veins in tandem with that darkness, so few truly understand. For Sirius most especially, every emotion was the most intense thing he'd ever felt. His anger turned to rage, his joy turned to elation, his affection turned to love. And Remus was ready for it.
Having spent the past five and a half years as best friends, Remus and Sirius knew each other better than most anyone. They were able to skip the “getting to know you” stage and, instead, jumped right into the “you are the only thing I think about and if you don’t take your trousers off right now I’ll gut you” stage. It was truly something to behold.
By the time the winter holidays rolled around, you’d have had to be entirely vapid to not see what was going on between these two couples. As such, literally everyone except for James, Sirius, Regulus, Remus, and Peter knew what was going on. Though, with Peter, it was less an issue of poor observational skills and more a monumental feat of self-preservation.
* * *
Wednesday, 22 December 1976
“Are you sure you can’t just come straight to my house?” James asks Regulus for the sixteenth time that hour.
Finally, after weeks of badgering from James, Sirius, and Remus, Regulus had finally agreed to break the rules.
He’d told his parents that he was staying at Hogwarts for the winter holidays in order to study for his OWLs. Which was true, to an extent. James and Remus – Minerva McGonagall’s obvious favorite students – had somehow convinced their Head of House to allow Regulus to use her floo connection to abscond from Hogwarts for part of the break. Regulus would never be entirely sure of how exactly they’d reached this agreement and James and Remus certainly weren’t being forthright with their methods. One could probably assume it included a lot of begging, and an overuse of the puppy dog faces they were both far too good at.
Truly, you’d think Sirius would have the monopoly on the use of that wide-eyed, pouty look, but James and Remus were eons more effective. For a pair of sixteen-year-old boys who had both grown to over 6 feet, one of whom was – quite incredibly – jacked from hours upon hours of quidditch training, and the other who turned into a literal wolf once a month, James Potter and Remus Lupin could bend just about anyone to their will by looking like a pair of earnest children.
Most of the Hogwarts students thought the Marauders got away with their nonsense by being cunning and sneaky, or by using their sharp tongues to talk themselves out of precarious situations, but Regulus knew all too well that the secret behind their success was how quickly James and Remus could turn on the charm and make even the iciest adversary melt.
This morning was the first day of the winter break and the students traveling home for the holidays would be leaving the castle soon to board the Hogwarts Express back to London. The plan they’d worked out with McGonagall was that Regulus would remain at Hogwarts for the beginning of the break, then would come use the floo connection in her office to travel to the Potter’s home on the morning of Christmas Eve where he’d stay until floo-ing back on New Years Day. Everyone else would then take the train back on the 8th. Well, except for Remus who’d be returning in time for January’s full moon (and Sirius who’d most certainly be finding a way to sneak back with him).
Regulus would get to spend one of the two and a half weeks of the break in the Potter’s home that he’d heard everyone gush about for the last five years. He was ecstatic.
“Jamie, the whole idea of me only coming for part of it is that I’ll be seen in the castle over the break by anyone who might be in contact with my parents, and I won’t be seen on the train. If I leave today or stay until the end of break I’m much more likely to be caught and I truly don’t know if I could handle that.”
James lets out a long-suffering sigh before rolling onto his side and nuzzling into the crook of Regulus’ neck.
He takes another deep breath before pressing his lips to the younger boy’s neck and saying, “alright love, I’ll see you soon.”
With that, James rolls onto his back and pulls himself off the bed. He turns back to flash Regulus his sweetest smile before leaning down and shaking his unruly hair to tickle Regulus’ face, sending the younger boy into a fit of giggles. He then pulls him into a sweet kiss before leaving over-exuberant, smacking kisses across Regulus’ cheeks, nose, and forehead. Regulus can’t help but grin. Taking one last longing look, James huffs a contented sigh then turns and leaves their Room to join his friends on the trek to Hogsmeade station.
* * *
After a nine-hour train ride, the last thing Remus wants to see is his father waiting on the platform to take him home. Or so he thought. The reality of the situation is, somehow, so much worse. When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Kings Cross Station, Remus started scanning the gathered crowd of excited parents for his father’s face. Last year, his father had picked him up at the station and then proceeded to ignore him for the entire break. Well, at least until Christmas when Remus had received a truly frantic letter from James saying that Sirius had showed up on his doorstep that morning in an utter state. Without thinking, Remus had hastily packed his trunk and then used the floo in his father’s office to reach the Potter’s.
When he’d arrived, he’d learned that Sirius family had spent Christmas Eve hitting him with truly nasty spells, going so far as torturing him with the Cruciatus curse. Somehow, in the early hours of the morning, Sirius had managed to escape Grimmauld Place and find his way to the Potter’s. The trio had spent the remainder of the break curled up together on James’ bed in silence. Only venturing out for meals and a moment of fresh air.
Remus’ father hadn’t noticed he was gone until New Years Eve.
Remus wasn’t sure how that made him feel.
Now, scanning the platform as the group made their way of the train, Remus still isn’t able to find his father. He follows Sirius and James to greet Fleamont and Euphemia. Remus tries to brush them off and say he’s fine waiting for his father alone, but they won’t hear anything of the sort. The group of five remain waiting on the platform until they’re the only ones left. Fleamont tries to remain positive, saying “hey, kid, maybe he’s waiting outside! Let’s go check.” But Remus knows he doesn’t believe it.
After an hour of waiting on the platform and searching around the station, Remus finally agrees to just accompany the Potters home. He’d already been planning to disappear into the night almost the second he’d arrived home, so this truly didn’t alter his plans. So, then, why did he feel like shit?
Remus had realized long ago, on that very platform, that his father hated him. It wasn’t disdain or guilt or fear, it was pure hate. Remus kept reminding himself that he shouldn’t be so hurt that his father had finally just … given up? But he was having trouble telling that to his broken heart.
The icy cold of having ones heart shattered by the very person who should’ve sworn to protect them is, however, no match for the warmth of Potter Manor.
Like any other old pure blood family, the Potter’s house was literal magic. The stones were imbued with centuries of magic and the wards were an ever knotting and looping string of power built by the generations that came before.
However, unlike other pure blood manors, the Potter’s house emanated warmth.
The house felt friendly. It wasn’t meant to scare off visitors, instead it was meant to draw them in. To make them feel safe and welcome. The unbridled strength of the Potter Family Magic seeped through the cracks of the floorboards but, instead of sending you running like the magic ensconced in Grimmauld Place, it held you tight.
It wasn’t difficult to feel at home in this Manor.
On any given day, Potter Manor seemed like it was glowing. But for Christmas, the place was well and truly lit up. Twinkling lights floated aimlessly around the roofline, the trees were wrapped in ribbons and shimmering garlands, the front door bore a massive wreath of pine branches, holly, poinsettias, and various shining magical plants that Sprout would probably expect Remus be able to recognize … Sprout was wrong.
The grounds were dusted with a fine layer of snow. The Manor was tucked in the West Country, near Godric’s Hollow, far away from London and the dreary rain that covered the city every winter. Instead, the fresh snow made Potter Manor look like it was pulled straight out of a storybook.
Quickly forgetting that he’d been quite literally abandoned, Remus threw himself in to the warmth of holidays spent with the Potters. They felt more like family and this place felt more like home than anything Remus had known since his mother had died. He was more comfortable here than he’d ever remembered being in his own home. Even with his mother’s unfailing love, he’d been in the shadow of a spiteful father. Here, he was free to be who he was and found himself more and more able to accept the love the Potters wanted to share.
The first time he’d been here, it had been a little overwhelming. Euphemia Potter is what you picture when you think of a loving mother. She loved spending time in the kitchen, helping the house elf with cooking and baking, she knit socks and sweaters for her son and his friends, she hummed to herself while wandering through the halls or working in the garden. And Fleamont Potter was everyone’s dad. He seemed to forget that he was getting on in years and would throw himself in to refereeing quidditch games or exploring the Manor’s grounds or taking part in truly rowdy games of exploding snap. And Remus, coming from a place with so little love, having forgotten what it was like to be pulled into a loving mother’s arms, found it almost too much to handle.
Now, after visiting several times during their Hogwarts career, he found himself settling easily into the warmth and joy of Potter Manor.
* * *
Over the next few days, James, Sirius, and Remus found and endless well of ways to entertain themselves. They explored the woods around the Manor much more than they had in the past (with the aid of Padfoot and Prongs), they read books by the fire and helped frost cookies, they made up new games and tried earnestly to talk Remus into getting back on a broom (first year flying lessons had ended … disastrously), they wrote to Peter and reminded him he was welcome to join at any time – that he didn’t have to wait for the Christmas party.
They fell into a comfortable rhythm.
Then they heard their Head of House’s voice lilt out of the fireplace asking if they were ready for Regulus to pass through. It took a moment, but soon they’d enveloped the younger Black brother into the warmth of their holiday cheer. He broke out of his shy stupor quickly, started smiling easier, and even started openly accepting Euphemia’s hugs. He seemed more alive in this place than they’d ever seen him anywhere else. It made James’ heart ache, wishing he could just keep Regulus here and safe and happy, but knowing that he couldn’t truly help unless his aid was accepted.
* * *
Christmas, 1976
Christmas Day brought the Potter’s annual Holiday Party. People from all corners of the wizarding world stepped through the floo or came knocking at the front door. The boys met the famous Head Auror Alastor Moody who introduced them to a younger auror named Kingsley. They were held rapt by their stories of raids and stakeouts; if the glint in James’ eye was anything to go by, he’d just discovered his future career.
They peeled themselves away from the adults and started searching for their friends. They quickly found Peter in a corner talking with the Prewett twins and their cousin Alice who’d all graduated a couple years earlier. They were then joined by Frank Longbottom followed soon after by Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, and Emmaline Vance. The only person missing from their merry group of Gryffindors was Lily Evans, who wasn’t able to pry herself away from her family on Christmas. James, Sirius, Remus, and Regulus had been trying to come up with a way to get her to the Manor sometime in the next week but had yet to think of anything practical.
Most of their plans involved a rather complicated kidnapping scheme by broom or, and this was truly a James special, jacking the neighbor’s flying car and yanking Lily out through her bedroom window. That idea was shut down almost immediately by a cackling Remus who couldn’t imagine who’d be so idiotic as to try something like that.
After the party died down and the lingering guests finally left, James, Sirius, and Remus dragged Regulus into their newly declared “tradition” of spending Christmas night tangled in one big pile of lanky teenage limbs on James’ bed. It was a touch harder to fit four on the bed instead of three, especially because James and Remus had both undergone an intense growth spurt over the last year, but they managed just fine.
It certainly didn’t hurt that, unbeknownst to each other, they were all a touch more comfortable with snuggling in close.
* * *
Boxing Day, 1976
Regulus awoke that morning feeling more rested and happier than he’d ever been. He was tucked in between his big brother and his boyfriend.
He clearly remembered the last time he’d spent a night in the same bed as Sirius; a year prior when their mother had used a particularly nasty cutting curse on his brother the moment they’d returned from the train station. She’d made it worse by only healing him part way, so Sirius would be forced to sit there with partially open wounds that threatened to tear back open if he made too sudden a movement. Regulus had snuck into his room that night and silently finished the healing before applying dittany and then, after taking in the pained look in his big brother’s eyes, had sunk under the covers without a word. He’d snuggled into Sirius’ open arms, tucking his head into the warmth of his brother’s neck like he’d done so many times before, and then pretended like he couldn’t feel the hot tears soaking his hair and that he couldn’t hear the rasp of Sirius breath as he tried to keep himself from sobbing.
Just a few days later, he’d awoken to find Sirius gone, cursing himself for not having the strength to join him.
But this morning was different from any other he’d spent sharing a bed with his big brother. Every instance in the past was fueled by fear; either in the wake of a brutal punishment or after being shocked awake by a particularly detailed nightmare. But not today.
All four of them had clambered into James’ bed and then spent hours talking about every little thing; well, not quite everything, no one had yet fessed up about the (rather obvious) coupling situations. Regulus had fallen asleep warm and happy, surrounded by the people he loved the most. He woke up the exact same way, the only difference was that he and James had rather purposefully fallen asleep not touching in any way but, when he woke up, Regulus found himself effectively trapped. James’ steady arms wrapped tight around his torso and one of his legs thrown over Regulus’ own in an effort to bring the younger boy closer.
Regulus found himself unable to resist pushing himself back further into James’ warmth. James stirred a little in his sleep and, somehow, tightened his grip even further.
Then, Regulus let himself take in the scene before him.
Regulus clearly remembered falling asleep face to face with his brother, but sometime in the night Sirius had shifted. Now, he was practically on top of Remus. His head was tucked against the taller boys neck and his arms were wrapped tight around his shoulders as if he was afraid someone was going to take Remus away. This didn’t necessarily shock Regulus, he knew first-hand how clingy Sirius could get, especially in his sleep.
No, the surprise was Remus.
Remus who was rather withholding of physical touch (though he rarely shied away from Sirius’ affection) had his arms wrapped all the way around Sirius’ torso. He was nearly gripping his own elbows. Regulus wasn’t entirely sure how Sirius was breathing. Remus had his nose buried in Sirius’ hair and had slotted one of his legs between Sirius’ own, then hooked their ankles together.
Regulus wasn’t entirely sure they could get any closer, but it certainly seemed like the pair was going to try.
In this moment, it was quite obvious what was going on. Regulus found himself thinking back over every time he’d seen the pair in the last couple of months and about the poorly coded conversations he’d witnessed between Remus and Lily. He thought about the way Sirius’ eyes would genuinely light up when he talked about Remus and how Remus would blush and try to force away his shy smile when someone asked him about Sirius.
It was clear as day; they were in love.
Regulus felt his heart soar for his big brother. He’d always hoped Sirius would be able to find someone who could love him as loudly as he deserved, and Regulus was truly grateful that person was Remus. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to take getting to know another person.
Regulus vowed to keep his mouth shut until Sirius and Remus told him themselves, not wanting to spook either of them or be seen as meddling.
With the warmth of James surrounding him and the peace he felt knowing Sirius was taken care of, Regulus slipped back into blissful sleep.