“I can’t believe you’ve done this!” James hissed as his friend added the final ingredient to the potion. Predictably, Regulus ignored him, stirring in a pointed manner that quite clearly told James to fuck off.
The basement of the safehouse was silent, save for the sounds of the Amortentia bubbling in the cauldron and the odd splash as Regulus stirred in the pattern described in Advanced Potion Making. Eventually, he spoke.
“Nonsense. I remember you saying “At this rate I’m going to need to resort to love potion to get her to admit she wants me back.” If you’re going to do it then you might as well do it properly.”
“I was joking, Reg. I’m not actually going to dose Lily with love potion! That’s… just… no!” James spluttered, torn between horror and amusement.
Regulus looked up from the cauldron, a frown creasing his forehead.
“Why did you say that, then? You said you want to raise Harry with her! Do you know how long this has taken me?”
“It was a joke! I didn’t think you’d take me seriously! Besides, she and Dorcas seem very happy together, and we have agreed to co-parent Harry. I...” James trailed off as a flicker of hurt and confusion crossed Regulus’ face. James felt a pang in his chest; he didn’t want to upset the friend who, over the course of the past couple of years since Regulus had defected from the Death Eaters and joined the Order, had come to mean… everything to him.
Between one breath and the next Regulus’ expression changed, hardening into the aloof mask that, until recently, had been the only version of him James had known. As Regulus raised a hand containing a glass vial that he had presumably been about to scoop the potion into, James realised what he was going to do.
James’ hand shot out, grabbing for the vial to prevent Regulus from smashing it. What he hadn’t accounted for was the speed at which he grabbed the glass, nor the fact that each of them was wearing their respective signet rings.
There was a loud tinkling sound as the glass vial shattered.
“Fuck!”
“Fuck!”
James and Regulus mirrored each other as they swore, dropping the vial and shaking their bloodied hands as they each leapt away from the cauldron. The cauldron that had started to bubble and hiss at an alarming rate. Before either of them could do more than shield their eyes, the potion shot up with the force of a geyser, soaking each of them in the surprisingly cool, purple liquid.
The silence that followed was broken only by the sound of the potion dripping from their sodden clothes. James was suddenly, painfully aware of Regulus’ presence. Even more so than usual. The way his shoulder length black hair shone as he flipped the wet strands out of his silvery eyes. The way James' senses were assaulted by the overwhelming need to get closer to him. To taste the cool, spearmint that he often got whiffs of when his friend spoke, to inhale the tantalising scent of cloves and bergamot that was unique to Regulus. Those three scents grew stronger and stronger until they were all he could focus on. Almost without conscious thought, James found himself drawing closer until they were standing face to face.
“Are you hurt?” Regulus’ voice was full of concern, and the aloof mask of moments before had been replaced by look of cautious wonder as he took in James’ bedraggled form.
Shaking his head, James ventured “The room smells like my Amortentia… but this potion is purple. That’s not right.”
The wonder slipped from Regulus’ aristocratic features as horror took its place.
“James… we added our blood to the Amortentia. Both of our blood, when the vial broke.”
James, who at that moment was having trouble focusing on anything other than getting Regulus out of his wet clothes, simply hummed his agreement as he pulled on his friend’s sleeve. Regulus continued in a pained voice that spoke of some deep internal struggle.
“And we both said “Fuck” as our blood was added. James, concentrate! Do you know what this means?”
James, frankly, couldn’t give less of a shit what some stupid potion meant.
“James, what are you thinking about right now.”
As though drawn by some invisible force, James found himself running his fingers through Regulus’ soft hair as he tried to focus on his words.
“You.”
The word came out as a groan, and James was thrilled to hear an answering gasp from Regulus as he angled his friend’s face towards his, their mouths now separated by less than an inch. James felt Regulus gulp.
“James, I’m sorry, but we have to…”
“Have to what, Reg?”
“The potion… we…” His friend was panting now, and James felt a surge of triumph as Regulus tried and failed to hide his obvious arousal.
Their lips found each other at last, crashing together with all of the pent-up frustration of the past few months. Regulus let out a whine as he gripped James harder and returned the kiss with interest. After a few moments, they broke apart. As soon as they were no longer touching, a pressure started building in James’ head and he cried out in pain.
“What’s happening?”
Regulus looked torn between anguish and desire as he studied him.
“I think we sealed a blood pact with the potion! We… we sealed it with the word “Fuck”, so…”
“So…?” James was struggling to think through the pounding in his skull. All he wanted was to get close to Regulus.
“James. I think… we have to fuck. I think… the potion, the blood, the words. I think it might kill us if we don’t.”
James stared at his friend, who was wearing an expression of guarded hopefulness, for a few seconds before he felt a slow smile spread across his face. That type of magic only worked where there was intention. It wouldn’t have worked in the absence of some level of attraction from both of them.
After a few seconds Regulus returned James’ grin, grabbing him by the front of his robes and pulling him close.
“Finally,” James whispered as they sank to the floor.