Writer in the Dark
James had no idea what to do next. Remus and Sirius had gone with Willow and Tara to the Watchers reading room to see if they could puzzle out any of the languages and find any mention of Yig. It turned out that while Remus had Latin as well as his native Welsh, Sirius had passable Italian and Spanish as well as French.
“How many languages do you speak?” James asked at breakfast that morning.
“We spoke French and English at home most days, and had to learn Italian and Spanish because of family businesses on the continent. I think Regulus also learnt German, Hungarian and Latin because he’s a right little swot.” Sirius replied devouring a buttery bacon butty.
“So four languages. How come you never used them at school?”
“Other than French, I didn’t need to. Not a lot of Italian or Spanish students or coursework at Hogwarts.”
“And about five Welsh, eight Scottish and sixteen Irish” added Remus
“That’s very precise.” Sirius commented buttering more toast.
“We had a Celts only club. Very small, very select. We traded myths and legends as well as teaching ourselves various forms of Gaelic.” Remus said stealing a piece of toast.
“What was I doing?” Sirius asked
“Playing quidditch, or watching quidditch, or in detention, or hanging out with one of your many girlfriends. Same as James - at least until you came to your senses.” Remus grinned.
Sirius and James exploded with laughter. Yep. That pretty much summed them up.
Now James was bored. He thought about going round to Lilys but decided against it. She was probably with Pandora or at St Mungos. He thought about visiting the hospital to see if he could pick up a shift or two, but that would mean being bouncy, and he didn’t have the energy. After discarding a shrinking list of ideas, James decided to take himself for a walk until the others came home.
It was mid afternoon when James found himself wandering through the front doors of the British National History Museum. James loved this place. Sure he lived mostly in a world where magic was real, where there were different species of dragons, merpeople were scary, and one of his best friends was a werewolf, but this magnificent building had replicas of dinosaurs in the entrance hall, and ancient fossils, and so many animals and birds and bugs and sea creatures from all around the world. It was fascinating.
Several hours later James was in the reading room minding his own business when he heard a familiar voice, cold and cultured.
“Your assistance has been appreciated Sir William. The Family will ensure an appropriate donation is made.”
“Thank you Lord Black. We look forward to seeing you again.” The answering voice was equally cultured but with the rasp of old age, whisky and cigars.
Unable to help himself, James moved through the shelves towards the voices. Walking out of the room was Regulus Black impeccably dressed in a Savile Row black business suit and overcoat, pulling a pair of fine leather gloves over his long, slender fingers. James hurried carefully to the exit and stared out into the enormous hall. Most of the crowds had left as it neared closing time, and James could just make out Regulus heading out of the building. Refusing to listen to the voice inside his head telling him this was a terrible idea, James hurried through the hall, past the diplodocus and the triceratops and out onto the top step. He stopped and scanned the street. It was far more crowded than James had expected. A distant chime told him it was six pm. The end of the working day. The beginning of the weekend. No sign of Regulus.
Disappointed, James made his way down the steps and along the main path past the Victoria and Albert Museum until he reached a small crowd waiting to cross the road. He was only a few blocks from the flat, and the rain looked like it would hold off a little while longer, so he was happy to walk. The museum had done a great deal to reset his inner peace and the strangers around him were giving a much needed energy boost.
James smiled to himself as he walked. Regulus was alive. So what if he was getting married. When they had finally come to grips with the news, Sirius had explained that it was probably a business deal not a love match. The Blacks were primarily interested in money and power. Sirius only remembered two of his immediate family who had married for love. His parents, but he’d decided that their definition of love was incompatible to his and therefore didn’t count. His cousin Andromeda had refused the proposed deal offered to her father and married the muggle she loved which had resulted in her being banished from the family. Maybe there was hope. If James loved Regulus enough, and so did Sirius and Pandora, maybe he would be able to escape his family and find the love he deserved.
“You are a hopeless romantic Potter.” He laughed to himself as the people disappeared into pubs and houses and he was left on his own. “He may never be yours, but he will always be him, and I’ll love him for that.”
“Thank you Jamie. And I you.” A soft voice sighed through the leafless branches of the tree lined street.
James whirled “Reg” he whispered. There was no response only the lightest of touches on the back of his neck. Then it was gone. He was alone. James grinned. “Fare thee well Woodland Sprite.” He whispered into the night and continued on his way.
—-
Regulus watched from the shadows as James walked away, a spring in his step and a sunny smile in his handsome face. Regulus looked down at the note in his hand before putting it back in his pocket. He’d spend a fair bit of the night composing it before falling into a dreamless, restorative sleep. The time at Pandoras had helped purge a lot of the anger and reinvigorated his determination. Seeing James at the museum had been an unexpected bonus and he was amused at how oblivious James had been until the very end. Regulus had deliberately allowed himself to be heard and seen curious to find out if James would do as he hoped. James did. Now Regulus knew it had all been real, he could lock the memories away until he wanted them again.
James disappeared around the bend. Regulus let him go. The boys were all at Alphards. They would be safe enough there. With that thought Regulus apparated back to his flat in Diagon Alley. He had work to do.