Chapter 2
"Okay, so you like Remus again?" James cocked his head, his room dimly lit, with most of his bed taken up by Peter sprawled out like a starfish.
"God, Prongs, say it louder so the neighbors can hear," Sirius muttered, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Peter snorted, "Yeah, it would be the end of the world."
Sirius threw a pillow at Peter, which missed him entirely, much to Sirius's annoyance. "THIS IS SERIOUS!"
Peter grinned at the opportunity to make a very corny joke. "No, you're Sirius."
"Har har," Sirius said as he flopped onto the bed, his curls slapping James in the face.
"Mate, Remus very obviously likes you back. Literally, he looks like he would give you the moon," James said, laying onto Peter's outstretched hand, his feet dangling off the bed.
"No, he doesn't."
"Yes, he does."
"No, he doesn't."
"Yes, he doe—"
They were interrupted by Peter sitting up letting James’s head fall on the soft mattress below him. "Children, children, fight later," he said in a very condescending voice.
Sirius flipped him off while James got up to play the movie, which they also fought about for a good 20 minutes before they finally managed to pick "The Parent Trap."
James adjusted the TV on the stand while Peter told them stories about the production which frankly hes stressing about too much in the background. He ensured the sound was okay before he sat on the couch across from Sirius.
He played the movie, and around 20 minutes in, Sirius suddenly rose up, almost dropping the popcorn in his lap, which Peter caught.
"What the hell, Pads?" James exclaimed.
"Let's plan our first prank!" Sirius said happily as he pulled out the collapsible whiteboard from under James's bed.
"Wait, shit, I don't have a marker."
Sirius groaned. "I think I have one in my room," he said, quickly running out while James and Peter exchanged looks before shrugging and continuing to set up the whiteboard that Sirius had hastily abandoned to grab a marker.
After a few minutes and a lot of noise from the other room, Sirius burst in with a marker.
The movie was now completely abandoned as they shifted their entire focus to the whiteboard, now filled with scribbles.
James couldn't describe it, but each time one of them had an idea, he hated it. Both he and Sirius kept saying that "it was their last year, and it had to be the best prank they ever did," which Peter kind of agreed with.
They had been planning for so long that another movie had started playing, but they still didn't have a solid plan.
Peter was now very annoyed and quickly said he was going to grab a water.
"Don't take too long!" Sirius screamed from across the hall as Peter waved him off.
James and Sirius sat alone in the quiet for a minute or two something was eating james from the inside this feeling also came when Hooch first told him that he was going to be captain this year
He really couldn't describe this feeling. Each time he wanted to think about it his head became null and gray and it was like nothing he did was going to be enough.
James stared a the floor not noticing Sirius had now moved closer to him until the latter finally spoke up.
"Hey, Prongs, I just realized something."
James raised an eyebrow as he fixed his posture to look at his friend.
"We aren't doing this for us, are we?"
James thought for a moment.
Ah, that's what the feeling was.
He didn't want to disappoint.
He got pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Sirius maniacally laughing. James blinked at him before grinning and laughing along with him.
"That's stupid, isn't it?" James said between breaths.
"It—it really- is," Sirius agreed, trying to stop himself from laughing.
"Well, let's clear something up. We're going to be doing this for us and us only!" James said, jumping into a standing position and extending a hand to Sirius, which he happily took.
Not a beat was missed before they hugged, and James felt the haziness lift the knot was untying. They were doing this for them, not for other people. That was a nice reminder to the pack they had made in their first year.
It was Sirius’s 12th birthday and his parents were out of town and when Effie found out she planned a whole party with Peter and James.
It was absolutely the perfect day they ate cake bounced around from one place into the other and they had invited their whole year, this could also be considered their first party and it had ended with the three of them in the tree house that Monty had built on the old oak tree they had in their backyard
That's when the three of them made the pack to always have fun and to never let other people ruin it for them.
James smiled he was very fond of this memory he leaned into Sirius more
Then the movie started playing music for something that seemed like a montage, and Sirius and James looked at each other before laughing as they danced to the beat.
Peter heard thumping from James's room. He hurried to drink the glass of water to make sure the two were okay.
Running up the stairs, Peter almost tripped on the last step and rapidly opened the door.
To his shock, Sirius and James pulled him into a dance. He questioned it at first before going with the flow and laughing alongside them.
They found their perfect first prank in under five minutes.
—
Peter woke up to Sirius's blaring alarm that he didn't turn off, even on weekends.
He threw a pillow at Sirius, hitting him directly in the head. "Ow! Bloody hell, Wormy!"
"Turn your fucking alarm off!" Peter slurred, still half-asleep as he flipped himself on the air mattress that was not completely blown up due to their haste to go to sleep the night before.
Sirius groaned as he felt around for his phone, prying his eyes open to turn off his alarm, wincing slightly at the light emitting from his phone.
Pushing himself into the abandoned side of James's bed, he checked his messages.
soulmate (real)
06:21
hey! I left to go for my run. You and Pete can make breakfast.
08:10
Why do you willingly wake up at 6 am on a weekend?
Sirius shut his phone off, knowing James wouldn't respond since his run on the weekends lasted until at least 8:30.
He heard shuffling from Peter as he got up. "I'm making breakfast."
"I'll help," Sirius said with a yawn.
Peter looked at him with a terrified look on his face. "You and kitchen should not be in the same sentence."
Sirius flipped him off, which Peter laughed at.
"God, James is such a jock," Peter said, looking around James's room full of trophies, jerseys, and posters.
"You act like this is your first time seeing his room," Sirius said, less groggily.
Peter shrugged as he steadied himself on James's chair, stretching his arms out before walking out.
"Oh, hey Effie!" Sirius heard Peter say from the hall, and Effie quickly responded, "Hello, amar. Had a good night's rest?"
Their conversation became hazier and hazier as they moved away until he no longer heard their voices, replaced by clattering in the kitchen.
He also heard the door open, which he guessed was James, confirmed by him loudly greeting them.
Sirius took that as his cue to join them for breakfast. He quickly took his jumper that he had discarded last night, slipping it over his shoulders.
—
James was quickly banished from the kitchen after the last 'incident' with Sirius.
Speaking of Sirius, where was he?
Oh, there he is!
"Hey, Pads," James greeted him warmly, which Sirius half-heartedly reciprocated.
Peter looked up from the stove, raising an eyebrow. "Breakfast is served"
After a stomach full of Greece and a few laughs, they finalize their plan
And god was it going to be big
—
Regulus didn't have the same flair for the piano as his brother, and that’s what his mother always told him.
That’s why he was here, hunched over a piano at 9 AM with barely anything in his stomach. His mother watched him with an intensity that made the air feel heavy like she was waiting for him to falter. That was until she received a phone call and left the room, giving Regulus a moment of freedom.
He continued to play with one hand as he fished his phone out of his pocket with the other. His eyes widened when he saw an app he definitely didn’t install. "Damn, Sirius," Regulus muttered Sirius must have installed it when he borrowed regulus’s phone a while back, squinting at the screen. "What is this?"
Just as he was about to delete the app, a notification popped up.
"HottestStar posted!"
Regulus raised an eyebrow and tapped the notification. The post read:
"Sirius : credits to Effie and wormy for cooking
Marlene: Can the Potters adopt me too?”
Regulus scrolled through the pictures, each one making his frown deepen.
The first showed a plate with two eggs shaped like hearts, a few pieces of bacon, and perfectly cooked pancakes.
The second picture featured Peter and what looked like James’s mother cooking together, laughing
The third was a shot of all of them eating happily around a table. Regulus’s lips twitched slightly.
The last picture showed a bunch of empty plates with James and Peter slumped over a chair, clearly exhausted but content
“what are you doing."
Regulus jumped at the harsh voice. He quickly tried to stuff his phone back into his pocket. “Mother I’m just—”
A hand grabbed him hard across the back of the head. It wasn’t as painful as usual, but it still made him flinch.
Walburga snatched the phone from his hands. “I’m keeping this until you finish that piece. Your distractions are unacceptable.”
“Mother, I was just—” Regulus started, but Walburga cut him off.
“Just what? Trying to avoid your responsibilities? You should be focusing on your practice, not on that nonsense.”
Regulus sighed, his shoulders slumping.
“I don’t want to hear excuses.” Walburga’s tone was icy and uncompromising.
Regulus sat back down at the piano, his fingers reluctantly returning to the keys. “Yes, Mother,” he said quietly.
As he played, he could almost hear Sirius’s laughter in his mind, a stark contrast to the stern silence of the room. Safe to say, he and his brother had very different mornings.
—
“Reggiee,” Barty’s voice was more irritable than usual, likely because the other half of his brain cell was missing. The latter was out sick, so Barty had chosen Regulus for entertainment. Regulus really couldn't afford to be distracted right now, especially with his mother's insistence on him winning the prize for the school's recital they had in a few months.
The two walked across the campus, Barty trailing closely behind Regulus. “Are we going to the library? You know I'm not allowed in the library” Barty asked with a frown, his voice full of impatience.
Regulus shot him a sharp look. “No, we’re not going to the library.”
Barty raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback. “Oh? Then where are we headed?”
“None of your business,” Regulus replied curtly, quickening his pace as they approached the music building.
Barty huffed and fell into step beside him. “Come on, Reggie. I’m bored out of my mind. Besides, I thought we were supposed to hang out. It’s not like you have any other friends.”
Regulus rolled his eyes. “Go find something better to do.”
“Seriously?” Barty’s tone was incredulous. “You’re ditching me for… what, piano practice?”
“Yes,” Regulus said firmly. “I need to get better, and I don’t need distractions.”
Barty snorted. “Right, because that bruise on you isn’t enough of a distraction already.”
Regulus frowned but didn’t let the comment affect him his mother had just gripped him a bit too hard and he bruised easily he had explained this to Barty already. I’m going to the music room.”
Barty huffed again, sounding like a petulant child. “Fine, but I’m coming with you. I can’t be bothered to find someone else to bother.”
Regulus sighed in resignation, pushing open the door to the music room. “Suit yourself, but don’t expect me to make it fun.”
Barty sauntered in behind him, looking around with mild interest. “I’ll just watch then.”
Regulus sat down at the piano, his fingers already moving to start his practice. “Just try not to be annoying. I need to focus.”
Barty perched on a nearby bench, watching with a mixture of curiosity and disinterest. “Sure thing, maestro. I’ll be the best audience you’ve ever had.”
For a while, the room was filled with the sound of piano keys and Barty’s occasional muttering. Regulus tried to concentrate, but Barty’s fidgeting and offhand remarks were a constant distraction.
After a particularly difficult passage, Barty stretched and let out a loud yawn. “You know, Reggie, I might go grab a snack. This place is making me hungry.”
Regulus barely looked up from the keys. “Fine. Just don’t be long.”
Barty gave a dramatic sigh as he stood up. “Don’t worry, I’ll be quick.”
As Barty left the room, the door closed with a soft click. Regulus let out a small, relieved breath and refocused on the piano. The silence that followed was almost palpable, and Regulus felt his concentration sharpen as he practiced more effectively without Barty’s presence.
Instead of playing the piece he had been working on, Regulus sighed and unconsciously began playing a different composition—one that had been banned from their home.
It was a piece Sirius had composed, a melody that had won a prestigious contest much to their mother’s delight. When Sirius had left home, their mother had insisted that Regulus master it. She wanted him to surpass his brother’s achievements, to prove that he could excel where Sirius had.
But no matter how hard Regulus practiced, Sirius’s version always seemed better. Each note felt like a comparison, a reminder that Sirius had a natural talent that Regulus struggled to match. This constant comparison led to the piece being banned from their home, a painful reminder of the family’s unrealistic expectations.
Despite the ban, the piece remained beautiful, its melody hauntingly perfect. Regulus played it with a sense of melancholy, his fingers gliding over the keys as he strayed from the written notes. The music flowed more freely, unconstrained by the rigid structure of the original composition.
As he played, he found himself lost in the music, letting the notes drift away from the precise pattern he had learned. It was a rare moment of emotional release, a chance to play without the pressure of perfection.
He let the melody meander, allowing himself to explore variations and inflections that had never been part of the original piece.
In the solitude of the music room, away from the judgmental gaze of his mother and the distractions of his peers, Regulus found a moment of genuine expression
—
James hoped Professor Hooch dragging him into a soccer meeting wouldn’t become a regular occurrence.
With only about 20 minutes left of his lunch break, he was eager to meet Sirius and Peter as promised. He quickly typed out a message:
3s a crowd
12:04
Sorry I couldn’t make it ;(
12:05
We’re casting you away
12:06
You two are way too codependent for that
12:06
Geez, you’ve wounded me, Wormy
12:07
WE AREN’T CODEPENDENT
12:07
Yeah, and the moon is made out of cheese
James grinned as he slipped his phone back into his pocket, the messages dinging a few more times before finally going silent.
Deciding to cut through the music building to save a few minutes, hoping he wouldn’t miss his friends entirely.
As he walked down the quiet corridors of the music department, the usual silence was punctuated by the faint sound of a piano. James paused, intrigued.
The melody seemed familiar—
It was Sirius’s composition.
the one he had dedicated to James and Peter the one that he had poured his heart and soul into for them of course he would remember every single note from that piece. But now, the piece had evolved into something softer something different something original.
Curiosity piqued, and James followed the sound, the melody got louder and louder until he reached the music room.
He opened the door slowly, trying not to disturb the player.
Oh.
His breath caught in his throat.
There, at the piano, was Regulus.
The dim lighting of the room cast a gentle glow around him, accentuating his intense focus and the graceful movement of his fingers over the keys.
The piece had transformed into a more delicate, emotional variation of Sirius’s original work.
James felt an unexpected flutter in his chest.
There was something different about Regulus—the way his fingers grazed the piano keys, how he seemed absorbed in the moment, entirely at peace with the music he was creating.
Fuck, his heart was beating so quickly.
James slowly stumbled down the steps into the middle of the room.
Regulus turned, his gaze meeting James’s with a mixture of surprise and something else—embarrassment, perhaps?
Shit, why was his brother's best friend here, and better yet why was he staring like that? His lips were pursed into a line, and even in the dim light, Regulus could see the admiration in James’s eyes. Why was his heart racing?
“What do you want, Potter?” Regulus asked, trying to sound indifferent but failing to mask his nervousness.
James, a bit flustered but determined, approached the piano and took a seat in the chair Barty had once occupied. “Didn’t mean to intrude,” he said, his voice gentle. “You play beautifully.”
“I know,” Regulus replied, a hint of defensiveness in his tone.
“Hmm, very humble of you, Regulus,” James said with a teasing glint in his eyes, leaning his chin on the edge of the piano.
Regulus scoffed. “I know I’m good. You don’t have to tell me.”
James grinned, clearly amused. “You should join the music club.”
“I prefer writing,” Regulus shot back, his annoyance barely contained.
James tilted his head, still smiling. “You should write for the production my friends are in. They are in desperate need of a new writer.”
“I dont do extracurriculars,” Regulus replied curtly, clearly not interested.
James propped himself up with his elbows, his eyes flickering to Regulus’s. “Well, you never know.”
Regulus’s scowl deepened. “Are you always this talkative?”
“Only with the pretty ones,” James said, flashing him another grin.
Regulus rolled his eyes, trying to hide the faint blush creeping up his neck. “You’re unbelievable.”
James chuckled, his eyes warm with genuine interest. “Maybe. But you never know what you might miss if you don’t take a chance.”
Regulus sighed, shaking his head but unable to suppress a small smile. “You’re impossible.”
James leaned in slightly, his tone softer. “But I might be the kind of impossible worth dealing with.”
Regulus looked at James, a mixture of annoyance and reluctant amusement in his eyes. “tu es incorrigible, Potter.”
James’s grin widened. “Y tú tampoco eres tan malo, Amor.”
Regulus couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the fact James had copied him and also started speaking in a language the other didnt understand, but him speaking in spanish was odly, hot?
“Fine. I’ll think about it.”
James gave a satisfied nod. “That’s all I ask. Anyway, I should probably get going. My friends are probably starving without me.”
“Go on then,” Regulus said, a hint of warmth in his voice. “And try not to make them wait too long my brother might die being away from you for more than an hour”
James stood up, still smiling. “but Reg you do look like an angel when you play.”
Regulus nodded, a faint blush still coloring his cheeks. “Whatever.”
“See you, Mi Amor” he said with a wink.
Fucking asshole.