"Harry James, you better be putting those socks on and not hiding them in the couch again!" Regulus shouted over his shoulder as he dried a few dishes with an old rag and set them on the rack. He glanced out the window over the sink, looking out over expanses of thick snow blanketing the hills and the swirling snowflakes that fell from a grey, cloudless sky.
"Our son is claiming he doesn't have any socks, they've disappeared in the night, so he cannot wear any today," James said, amusement coloring his tone as he entered the kitchen, clad in a thick maroon quarter zip and dark jeans. "He's quite convincing too, I'd almost be inclined to believe him, if there wasn't a mysterious lump in one of the couch cushions."
"I don't understand the aversion to them, those snow boots will only give him blisters if he doesn't use them," Regulus sighed, hanging the towel on a hook and turning to face his husband.
"I tried to tell him, threw a bit of a tantrum about it when I did. Allergic to reason, that one."
"That'll be your son, then," Regulus quipped, standing on his tiptoes to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I'm going to get dressed, Sirius and Remus should be here in a few."
The Potter residence was a nice cottage in Shaftsbury, a small village in Dorset with an open sky and rolling hills broken up by the occasional farm or small playground. It was a quiet place to live, peaceful and beautiful in the summer, frigid in the winter. Regulus would have preferred to stay inside and read by the fireplace on a snowy day like this, feet tucked under James' thigh and Harry playing on the floor beside them, but Sirius got the brilliant idea in his son's head that it was the perfect time to skate on the frozen lake not far from their home. Unfortunately for Regulus, James also thought it was a great idea, and with only Remus to take Regulus' side, he was outnumbered three to one, so skating on the lake it was. Regulus huffed as he dressed in thick layers, dreading the battle that would be dressing their toddler in his, Harry was going through a phase where he hated clothes, any clothes at all, he preferred to run around in only his diaper, never mind that it was the dead of winter. As he made his way down the hall to his son's room, Regulus heard his brother's barking laugh echo from the kitchen and decided rather pettily that he'd leave Sirius to wrestle Harry into his layers.
Harry was playing on the floor next to his bed, building a precarious tower out of wooden blocks about as tall as him, the jumper Regulus had dressed him in discarded and half hidden under his pillow. It was a new development, hiding clothes in the hopes it would prevent his parents from properly dressing him, though Regulus had no idea where the four-year-old had gotten the idea.
He sighed, pulling the jumper out from under the pillow and throwing it over his shoulder before addressing his son, "Under your pillow, mon chéri? Really?"
Harry grinned, an identical expression to James' except for the dimple on his left cheek, that was all Regulus. His shock of black hair was perpetually messy, more wavy than curly, a mix between James and Regulus' hair textures that only looked more unruly, and his eyes were a deep green, courtesy of their surrogate Lily, flecked with silver that shone brilliantly in the sun.
"'S too hot for it, Papa, I don't need it. Sides, Moony hides chocolates under his pillow."
"I'm sure he does, though I don't know what that has to do with your jumper."
"I don't wanna wear it," Harry whined, bottom lip jutting in a cute pout.
"Well, let's go make that Uncle Padfoot's problem, then." Regulus waved him into the hallway, the pair heading down the stairs, Harry skipping ahead eagerly, "Any idea where your socks have gone? Daddy says they disappeared."
"Nope, all gone!" Harry yelped, dashing toward the kitchen before Regulus could question him further, passing the living room and the incriminating lump in the couch cushion with lightning speed.
"Prongslet!" Sirius exclaimed, engulfing the toddler in a bear hug, bundled up in winter clothes, curly hair flecked with snow and nose red from the cold. "How's my favorite Potter?"
"Rude, I was here first," James scoffed, pausing in his efforts to lace up his winter boots to wipe an invisible tear, adding a few sniffles for dramatic effect, though it went ignored by Sirius and Harry, who were too busy talking to each other a mile a minute. "At least I have Moony, still. I'm your favorite Potter, right Moony?" James pouted, turning his attention to Remus.
"That'd be Effie, actually, I dream of her Christmas ham on the daily." Remus sighed dreamily, lips twitching when James groaned loudly.
"No one appreciates me in this house!" James lamented like a weary mother on her last straw, "What about every time I covered for you in fourth year when you would watch Sirius- Ouch!" He cried, earlobe suddenly caught between Remus' fingers as he twisted it painfully.
"Keep your fat mouth shut, Potter," Remus threatened, cheeks and ears burning red.
Sirius, who had been chattering away with Harry, looked between Remus and James, eyebrows raised, "What's that about watching me in fourth year, Moony? Were you being naughty? Prongs, you can be my favorite Potter again if you tell me."
James opened his mouth to answer, but closed it with a glare from Remus, rubbing his reddened ear mournfully, "Sorry mate, I reckon Moony might try to slit my throat with a kitchen knife if I tell you that."
Sirius had gotten Harry properly dressed, after a bit of hide and seek with his socks, gloves, and hat, with lots of bribery and bargaining. Finally prepared for the weather, the group made the trek in the frigid weather to the lake downhill from the cottage. Harry was wrapped in a thick purple winter suit that covered him head to foot, with wings and a tail on the back so that he looked like an adorable purple dragon trudging clumsily through the deep snow. Sirius and James staggered around, launching snow and shoving each other around, James losing his footing at one point and grabbing Sirius' arm to steady himself, only succeeding in sending both of them slipping down the rest of the hill until they landed in a heap. Harry, not wanting to miss on the fun, ran ahead of Remus and Regulus, throwing himself onto the snowy hill like a starfish and sliding down the hill with a raucous giggle, gaining a face full of icy snow in the process, his landing softened by Sirius' outstretched arms.
The lake glittered in the light of the pale sun, reflected in the thick ice that covered it, snow spiraling and swirling around them as they chased each other in circles on its glassy surface, uproarious laughter lighting up the dull sky and coloring in the whited out world with joy. They played catch the dragon, Harry flying at top speeds, the most fearless about falling, sliding between their legs and out of the arms that tried to reach him, flapping his arms like wings as he pretended to fly and breathe fire, a wide grin planted on his face. At one point, Remus and Sirius collided with one another, both trying to catch Harry and instead knocking shoulders and knees, sending them sprawling on the ice together.
"Ow, Sirius," Remus groaned, all of Sirius' weight over him, bony elbow poking his ribs, "Why are you so sharp?"
"I'm sharp?" He questioned, moving his arms to bracket his boyfriend's head, grinning down at him with snowflakes in his eyelashes and damp, cold-bitten cheeks, so beautiful Remus felt winded for a completely different reason.
"Yeah, your damn elbows are like knives."
"Oh, so you weren't talking about my sharp wit then?" Sirius teased, leaning closer till their noses were brushing, silvery blue eyes sparkling.
"You're so stupid," Remus breathed, surging forward to capture Sirius in a kiss, gloved hand slipping to the back of his neck to tug him down, swallowing the pleased sound Sirius made, his wild curls tumbling down to cover them like a curtain, blocking out the world around them.
"James!"
They both looked up at Regulus' shriek, pointing at something, Harry and James were play fighting on the ice farther out than the rest of the group, James probably having chased Harry without realizing they'd strayed too far from the edge of the lake, from the area James had deemed safe for them to be. Remus squinted, trying to make out what Regulus was pointing at, not seeing the problem at first, and then frantically pushing Sirius off of him when he spotted the fissures in the ice, spindly lines extending toward the oblivious pair still rough-housing too far from the rest of them. Sirius spluttered in surprise when Remus pushed him off, but Remus ignored it, transfixed on those cracks in the ice, absentmindedly helping Sirius to his feet and standing clumsily, heart in his throat.
He cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting, "Prongs! The ice!"
James looked up, he'd lost his hat at some point, hair wild and weighed down by snow, a goofy look still on his face when he noticed them, Harry caught between his arms babbling something. The fissures had become deep crevices, and Remus barely had time to take another breath to yell again when a giant cracking noise broke through the air. It was as if the world had gone silent, James and Harry a perfect picture of happiness, frozen smiles on their faces before James, at last, noticed the cracks in the ice, shoving Harry away from him with such force he slid at least ten feet before the world split open and James fell through the ice with a splash. Sirius, Remus, and Regulus at once surged forward with shouts of panic, eager to get to them, James who had disappeared beneath the ice, and Harry who was crying just feet away on his hands and knees.
"Wait!" Regulus cried, throwing an arm out to warn the other two, several fissures forming and splitting off around them, "Stop, we have to be careful, there are too many cracks." He surveyed their surroundings, keenly aware that James hadn't come out of the water and his son was curled up, wailing with fear and clearly terrified to move, crackling ice underneath his small body.
"Harry's closest to us, we'll get him, you get to James," Remus spoke up, chest heaving, "Be careful where you step and stay close to the ground, go slow."
Regulus nodded, picking his way over to the hole in the ice, testing the strength of the ice before each step, holding his breath at every crackling sound, compulsively swiveling his head between where Harry was and where James had gone down, wishing he could be in two places at once. James was so far, and he hadn't come back up, and it was below freezing, Regulus' thoughts were dizzying so he blocked them out, only focusing on the ice and his steps.
"Harry, love, look at me," Sirius called, inching his way over to the little boy, parallel to Regulus but several feet away, crouched on the ice with his arm outstretched, "I need you to crawl over to me really carefully, alright?"
Regulus was almost there now, he could see the ice getting thinner, the water becoming more visible underneath the surface, the fissures deeper and more common, more precarious. Regulus lowered himself on the ice, sliding on his knees instead, eyes trained on the hole in the ice, where there had not been a single splash since the initial one, like James had been swallowed whole, gone without a trace.
"Paddy," Harry wailed, shuffling painfully slowly over to Sirius, crying too hard to do much else, but Sirius was trying to make up the distance as fast as he could, trying to coax the boy into moving faster without scaring him.
"Right here, love, but you gotta crawl faster, it's okay."
Regulus' hands and knees stung with cold even through the layers, and his breaths felt far too short in the cold air, every inhale felt like a fist was tightening around his lungs, preventing him from exhaling again. There were a million little cracks under his hands now, and the groaning of the ice below him threatened to give out until the water beneath swallowed him too, but he kept going, ignoring it, listening to the sounds of Sirius trying to coax his son out of danger.
"Got you, I've got you, alright, it's okay now." Regulus heard Sirius say, and he spared a glance behind him to see Sirius carrying Harry off the ice, white-faced and trying his best to comfort his sobbing nephew. Remus was making his way toward Regulus, stepping the same way he had, face set in grim determination, jaw clenched so tight his teeth could break with the force of it.
Regulus lowered himself to his stomach as he reached the gaping hole in the ice, shivering at the blast of cold that emanated from it, not wasting a moment before plunging his arms in as far as he could manage without tipping himself over, reaching desperately for anything of James. It had only been three minutes, maybe four since he'd gone down, but it felt like an eternity. How long did it take to drown? Before James succumbed to cold? Regulus was nearly up to his shoulders in frigid water, shivers wracking through him as his wet clothes stuck to his skin, soaking him to the bone, he stretched as far as he could and was only met with open water. He was startled when Remus laid down next to him, reaching into the water the same way, moving around the perimeter of the circle to try to catch on something, able to reach much further with his long arms.
"Over here, Reg! I've got him," Remus gasped, submerged up to his biceps, strain showing in his neck as he tried to haul James up, Regulus scrambling to get closer, practically putting his face in the water to grab him. Finally, Regulus caught something, an arm, maybe, and began to pull in tandem with Remus, both of them grunting under the weight.
An arm broke the surface first, blue fingertips from a lost glove, and then his head bobbed to the surface, dreadfully pale, James looked paper thin, translucent with deep blue lips. Regulus and Remus grappled at him, trying to get the best grip possible, each grabbing at his biceps and pulling up with all their might, thin ice crackling underneath them, reminding them how precarious their current state was. James' waterlogged clothes weighed him down, but through sheer force of will they managed to pull him up and out, sliding him onto the ice on his back, still and silent in a way James Potter never should be. Regulus shuddered out a sob, but there was no time for hysterics, the ring of ice was getting bigger, slowly, the edges falling away into the water with every shift of their weight. On their knees now, they dragged James along on his back, doing the best they could to be careful, but knowing each moment of James' horrible stillness could mean his death.
When they were just mere feet from the edge of the lake, where the ice was thickest, Remus scooped up James and surged forward, half running and half sliding, desperate to get his friend to shore. Regulus followed behind closely, and they met Sirius there, where he still cradled Harry closely, murmuring soft reassurances while watching them with a stricken face. Harry kept his face tucked into Sirius' neck, not crying quite as hard as before, but still trembling with muffled cries, little hands clenched in the collar of Sirius' coat.
Remus wasted no time lying James down on the ground, pounding on his chest with a fist so hard that Regulus felt as if it were happening to him, air punching out of his lungs with every up and down motion of his fist. Regulus sunk to his knees next to James, trembling from head to toe, a violent shudder that made the world shake around him, cold fingers wrapped around James' wrist, pressing into his pulse point. He thought he could feel a dull thrum of a pulse, maybe he said it aloud, or only thought it, Regulus couldn't be sure he could feel anything at all, the world around him was warped, like he was looking in a funhouse mirror.
"C'mon, Prongs, you twat. Breathe, you stupid-"
"James, please, just wake up, Prongs."
Remus and Sirius' please passed through Regulus' ears like water, and he knew he should join them, but the only thing that kept Regulus tethered to himself was his fingers wrapped around James' wrist, he watched Remus do compressions as though he was in the backseat of his body, motionless, as lifeless as James lying in front of him. His son was crying somewhere to the right of him, Regulus could vaguely make out the sounds along with Sirius' voice, wobbling as he tried to soothe his nephew, mingled with Remus' spiteful, desperate curses. Regulus should be comforting Harry, but he couldn't move, rooted to the spot, eyes fixed upon James' pale face, everything was wrong with his world and Regulus could not move to comfort his son.
When water burst forth from James' lips, chest rising in a sudden, jerky motion, Regulus didn't react immediately, it was like his body was waiting for instructions but his mind was unable to give them. Remus had already rolled him onto his side to help him expel the water before Regulus came to life again, realizing too late the pulse under his fingers had gotten stronger, now racing furiously.
"Oh," He breathed, watching James breathe, watching him cough violently, a stream of unending water falling from his lips. Regulus clutched at his wrist, bringing James' frozen hand to his chest, and his fingers threaded through the hair at the nape of his neck, "Oh, you're here, you're alright. You're here, I just need you to breathe for me, baby."
James' coughs slowed gradually, his breaths still ragged and hoarse, but less frantic than before. His eyes peeled open, hazy and confused, stuck on the distress on Regulus' face. "Reg? H'rry? 'S fine?" The words were slurred, no longer shivering despite his soaking clothes.
"We're all okay, James, everyone's okay."
"God, James, you can't do that to us." Sirius' voice quavered, his eyes glossy and wet, clutching at Harry like a lifeline while the little boy cried into Sirius' shoulder, something clenched tightly in a tiny fist.
"S'rry," James muttered, eyes half-lidded, struggling to stay open.
Remus cleared his throat, hands trembling in his lap, but his voice was steady, his face clear and focused, "Come on, we've got to get him inside before he gets hypothermic. Reg, grab his arms, and I'll grab his legs."
Regulus was infinitely grateful for Remus' ability to be so calm because he was grasping at straws to keep his sanity, but the surety in Remus' instructions and steady voice moored him and kept him from drifting away in hopelessness and panic. Clumsily, they hauled James up the hill while Sirius followed next to them with Harry, who watched the scene with wide teary eyes and stunned silence. James' eyes seemed to slip further shut with each passing moment, like his eyelids were being weighed down, eyes rolling as he tried to fight it.
"Talk to me, James," Remus prodded, panting as they staggered under his weight, "Talk to me about the Chudley Cannons, aren't they finalists this year?"
James' eyelids lifted a little, a lazy smile playing on his face, "D'you listen to me about Quid'tch Moons? Knew you were lyin' about not knowin' things."
"Yeah, Prongs, I listen to you."
They crossed the threshold of the house with James mumbling nonsense about Quidditch and Remus' supposed secret abilities, he'd held the belief for a long time that Remus would be great on a broom, perfect build for a keeper, James always said he could be a prodigy if he'd only try. Remus thought that was ridiculous, even if he wasn't afraid of heights, he had an aversion to balls flying around his head and any activity that would make him sweaty, but he entertained James' rambles to keep him awake. They set James on the couch, both out of breath, sweating, and simultaneously shivering from their wet sleeves, utterly drained.
"We've gotta get him out of those wet clothes," Remus said, exhaustion deep in his bones, Regulus nodded in agreement, not much better off.
"Here, Moons, how about you and Harry make hot chocolate with the good marshmallows, me and Reg will handle the rest," Sirius offered, unzipping Harry from his snowsuit, "How does that sound Haz? I bet ya some of Moony's hot chocolate would fix your dad right up," Sirius' fake cheerful tone had so many holes in it that Regulus was surprised Harry couldn't tell, couldn't detect all the unspoken pain escaping and spilling out everywhere.
"Can I give these first?" Harry asked quietly, rubbing his watery eyes with an arm and showing Sirius what he'd been holding in his hand all this time.
Sirius smiled, wiping a tear from his chubby cheek and pressing a quick kiss there, "Yeah, go on."
Harry shuffled forward hesitantly, clearly still anxious about the day's events, but James gave him his best smile, clearly trying to sum up all the energy he could to seem okay for his son. He smiled wide despite the blue in his lips and the way his bones ached with cold even though he could hardly feel it anymore, despite the heaviness in the air, the fragility in which everyone spoke, and the burning in his lungs from trying to breathe water like oxygen. He had no strength to sit up but opened his arm for Harry to tuck himself in, a lazy hug with his head resting on James' chest, wild hair tickling his chin.
"Wha'cha got, Haz?"
Harry lifted his head from his chest and showed him his glasses, cracked in the lens and crooked, but whole. He looked nervous, like he thought James would be mad at him, but he broke into a nervous smile when his dad's eyes lit up despite his exhaustion.
"Found'em on the ice, but they broke," Harry unfolded them and clumsily slid them on James' face, then waved a hand in front of his face, "Are you seeing me?"
James chuckled, cutting it short when he coughed, shaking a little in the aftermath, "I see you, Haz, thanks for these."
Regulus could see James trying to hold onto his composure, but the exhaustion was dripping off him like water, and his breathing was a bit unsteady, eyes wandering. Regulus locked eyes with Remus, and he seemed to get the hint, taking Harry's hand and urging him to the kitchen so they could start the hot chocolate, despite Harry's whines that he wanted to stay with his dad. James' smile dropped as soon as Harry was out of sight, eyes closing as a relieved sigh left him.
Regulus kissed him between his brows, "Alright, time to get you out of those clothes, baby."
James nodded tiredly, letting Sirius and Regulus pull him up as they made their unsteady way to the bedroom, James' legs shaking beneath him. They peeled his clothes off in tandem, silent but watchful, James hardly upright between the two of them. They dressed him in thick flannel pajamas and fuzzy socks, Regulus running a towel over his hair to dry it when they were done, while Sirius hunted for every blanket they could pile onto the bed to warm him up, James' skin was still shockingly cold to the touch, though it was less blue than before. Regulus guided him to lie down, pulling James' back against his front and curling around him, chests rising and falling together, hands and legs tangled together, just as it was meant to be.