suddenly i'm intrigued
James’ eyes slowly fluttered open and he let out a quiet groan. He winced at the light pouring into the room and had to adjust. Once James could truly look at his surroundings, he realized he was at the hospital wing. What the hell?
A loud snore interrupted his thoughts and he glanced beside him. Peter was asleep on the chair next to his bed, but it was just him. There was no sight of Sirius or Remus.
“Pete? Pete, wake up!”
Peter awoke with a jump and it took him a few seconds to realize James was finally awake. “Prongs! Finally, you’re awake! I thought curfew would arrive and you’d still be out cold.”
James sort of already figured he’d been passed out but hearing it confirmed still shocked him. “What the hell happened to me?! How long have I been unconscious?!”
Peter suddenly looked nervous. “Uh… well, you’ve been unconscious for a few hours now.”
“But how did this even happen?”
Peter shifted in his seat nervously. “Um, uh… P-Pomfrey had to use a sedating spell on you…”
James’ eyes widened. He racked his brain for any memories, wondering why Pomfrey had to use a sedating spell on him. Did I do something bad…?
“You don’t remember anything?” Peter asked.
“Not really. Everything’s kinda hazy right now.”
“…Well – the thing is – you almost claimed Regulus Black.”
“WHAT?!” James immediately gasped, heart dropping as memories suddenly flooded into his mind. Memories of an enchanting smell, carrying the beautiful omega all the way to the hospital wing, and then feeling himself lose control at the very end. That’s when the memories stopped.
“Fuck…” he groaned, rubbing his face harshly. “Where is he right now?! Is he okay?!” he asked frantically, hoping he didn’t actually hurt the omega.
“Oh yeah, he’s fine now. He’s still in heat so he’s gonna have to stay in a heat-room for a few more days. But that’s all I know… Pomfrey didn’t really want to give out too much information.”
James was still feeling uneasy. His inner alpha was completely restless, and there was an aching, longing feeling in his chest. Omega needs us. James froze, heart stuttering, surprised at himself for thinking that. The ache only grew.
After a few minutes of tense silence, James suddenly remembered something. “Oh fuck – does Sirius know?”
Peter laughed nervously. “Yeah, since he’s Regulus’ older brother, Pomfrey informed him immediately.”
James groaned loudly. “Shit. He’s bloody pissed at me, isn’t he?”
“Why do you think he’s not here right now?”
James groaned again. Peter added, “But Moony’s with him, he’s trying to calm him down. Remus is usually really good at calming Sirius down, so I’m sure the worst of it is over now. Heh, if you weren’t already unconscious, I’m pretty sure Padfoot would’ve beat you unconscious.”
“Jeez, thanks Wormtail, I feel so reassured,” James said dryly. He ran an anxious hand through his hair but thankfully Pomfrey walked in at that moment. The older woman sure did give James a thorough reprimanding, but she also thanked him for bringing Regulus safely up here. Honestly, everything would’ve been fine if James hadn’t lost control at the very last second. At least, Pomfrey was able to sedate him before he did anything irreversible.
Seeing as he was merely sedated, and now he was no longer on the brink of going feral, James was able to leave the hospital wing. But as he walked further away, the dread and longing he was feeling kept increasing. He had to clench his fists and force himself to keep walking. Regulus was safe now. That’s all that mattered.
James was so lost in thought that he didn’t realize they were now right in front of the portrait leading to the Gryffindor common room. He cursed under his breath, dreading what might await him on the other side of the portrait. He hoped Remus was somehow able to calm Sirius down.
The first thing he noticed after stepping into the common room was just how empty it was. Peter had said he’d been unconscious for a few hours, so he assumed everyone was eating dinner at the great hall now.
He was only able to take a few steps inside before a loud, furious growl rang into the air. James froze while Peter squeaked behind him.
Sirius stood a few feet away, lips curled into a snarl and eyes glaring daggers into James. He looked utterly threatening, ready to maim the other alpha. James gulped just as his inner alpha began to rouse.
“HOW DARE YOU?!” Sirius bellowed out.
“Sirius–”
“I thought I could trust you! This whole time, we were talking about how to keep my brother safe and then you do this shit?! How fucking dare you!”
“Sirius, it’s not like that–” James tried again but was again cut off by the raging alpha.
“Don’t start with your bullshit! Pomfrey clearly told me what the fuck happened!”
Remus sighed shakily, coming to stand beside Sirius. “Sirius, all she said was that James brought Regulus to the hospital wing but needed to be sedated–”
“Because he was about to claim my baby brother!” Sirius yelled. “How dare you James!”
“Look!” James shouted, his patience fading away. “I didn’t do anything! I would never hurt Regulus – or any omega! I’m seriously so fucking sorry for almost claiming him but it wasn’t my intention! It was an accident caused by my own stupid inner alpha.”
“An accident that nearly could’ve ruined Regulus!” Sirius yelled.
“Sirius, you’re being unreasonable,” Remus said gently. James had no idea how he sounded so calm. “James literally found Regulus and brought him to safety! And it must’ve been hard for James, but he was able to restrain himself the entire time. I shiver to even think about the possibility of another alpha finding Regulus instead, and doing horrifying things. You should be thankful it was James who found him.”
“But he almost claimed him–”
“But he didn’t, did he? He was able to control himself the entire time and it wasn’t until the very end that he slipped up. But look at the bright side, thankfully it only happened at the very end and Pomfrey was able to intervene.” Remus glanced at James. “I’m sure James feels really guilty, but you have to understand that the circumstances were complicated. The important thing is that Regulus is safe now, and he didn’t have to be sent back to his home. That was the one thing we were trying to prevent, remember?”
Sirius’ jaw was clenched, his scent still smelled furious, and he wasn’t looking at anyone anymore. He stayed dangerously still only for a few more moments before storming away. He made a point to shove into James’ shoulder on his way out.
James let out a long sigh and briefly closed his eyes. Remus was right, he did feel really guilty. He hated himself for nearly losing control like that. All he wanted was to keep Regulus safe, but he instead almost did something unforgivable.
Peter was still cowering behind a couch while Remus let out another shaky sigh. When James looked at him, Remus was very pale and there was a slight tremble racking his body. James belatedly realized that the overpowering alpha pheromones in the air must be affecting Remus.
He quickly tried suppressing his frustration and instead pushed out calming pheromones. Though it helped slightly, Sirius’ enraged scent was still lingering in the air. Nevertheless, Remus smiled weakly at him.
“I’m sorry about him, I did my best to calm him down but you know how protective he gets over his brother,” he said.
James nodded. “I know. I understand why he’s reacting like that… if I were him, I’d be reacting the same way.” I honestly deserve worse, he thought sadly. The guilt was continuing to claw at him.
“Just give him time to cool off. He’ll forgive you eventually.”
***
Eventually definitely didn’t mean the next day. When James arrived at the great hall for breakfast, Sirius immediately stood up from where he had been sitting and stomped away, making sure to give an obvious glare at James. The whole day, Sirius was giving him the silent treatment… which might be a good thing? At least he was no longer screaming at him? They couldn’t really change seats during most of their classes, so the atmosphere was unbearably tense. Though Sirius never uttered a word, it felt like he’d explode at any moment. He was like a volcano ready to erupt.
James did his best to not provoke that eruption. He himself was too busy feeling immense guilt (and longing, though he tried ignoring it). His head was constantly full of thoughts… those thoughts were mainly of Regulus.
No matter how hard he tried, James just couldn’t stop thinking of Regulus. He wondered if he was doing okay in that heat-room. The image of Regulus looking so small and fragile, face full of dejection, haunted James. It was that very image that caused his inner alpha to leap out and try to claim him, not wanting the omega to look so sad. But James had to remember that Regulus was simply in heat, and he’d probably reacted like that merely because a viable alpha was going away. Nothing more than that.
His inner alpha growled in disapproval everytime James reminded himself of that. Honestly, this inner alpha of his was causing a lot of inner turmoil and made all of his thoughts and feelings even more complicated. James was exhausted by the end of the day, and Sirius’ sour mood definitely didn’t help.
Peter scampered away most of the time, not wanting to deal with the tension or somehow get involved. Remus, on the other hand, was sort of stuck between the two of them. At first, he wanted to be there for both James and Sirius. (He wanted to reassure James while calming Sirius down.) But he quickly realized Sirius seemed to get even angrier whenever he was around James. As the day stretched on, Remus eventually got tired of the tension and just tried ignoring the two alphas, hoping they’d make up soon.
The day after that, nothing had changed. Though James’ restlessness and longing feeling grew, but he obviously didn’t mention that to anyone.
Then on the fourth day, Regulus’ heat finally ended. Pomfrey had pulled McGonagall aside during class, then McGonagall pulled Sirius aside and he immediately rushed to the hospital wing.
When James first saw Pomfrey whispering to McGonagall, his heart started beating faster. Then when Sirius was pulled aside, he knew what this meant. James’ breath hitched and it felt as though his inner alpha was clawing at his chest. He breathed in shakily, trying to calm himself down. But deep down, he knew nothing would calm him until he saw Regulus again.
The remainder of class felt like an eternity. When they were finally dismissed, James was the first one out of his seat.
“Prongs, wait!”
James didn’t stop but Remus eventually reached him.
“James!” he exclaimed, gripping onto his arm. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The alpha opened his mouth but immediately shut it afterwards. He realized how illogical he was being, and Remus’ pointed look only proved it.
He couldn’t just waltz into the hospital wing, expecting to see Regulus. To begin with, Sirius was still mad at him so there was no way in hell he’d willingly let James close to Regulus. And another thought that now plagued James’ mind was, what if Regulus hates me now? The mere idea greatly upset his inner alpha, but it was a possibility. Now, James was dreading to even catch a glimpse of the omega. He didn’t want to know the answer.
***
James was full of anxiety as he tried eating something for dinner. His instincts tugged at him, urging him to go find the omega, but he didn’t dare to. He hasn’t even seen Sirius since he left in the middle of class, which only made him more nervous.
As he nibbled on a piece of bread, someone suddenly sat across from James. It was Sirius.
He was looking at James so intensely, it would’ve made any omega submit and any beta look away. James merely met the gaze head-on, waiting for whatever was coming from Sirius. But instead of the explosion he’d expected, Sirius eventually deflated, all of the fight in him escaping his body. James raised an eyebrow as Sirius began speaking.
“Mother and father arrived,” he said grimly. James instantly felt his heart drop. Beside them, Remus’ and Peter’s faces paled.
Sirius sucked in a shaky breath. “It… it was the first time I’ve seen them since…” Running away, but Sirius didn’t say that out loud.
James sighed. “…Sirius–”
Sirius shook his head, wanting to continue, so James simply shut his mouth. “I don’t even know why they bothered showing up in the first place. A bunch of vile, sick, useless trash,” Sirius started growling, clearly growing more heated.
Remus, although he was sitting next to James, leaned across the table to place his hand on Sirius’ fist. “What happened?” he asked softly.
“Nothing much, just the usual – y’know, telling me and Reg how much they despise us,” his voice was full of venomous sarcasm. “They kept saying utter bullshit, how ‘disappointed’ they were in Regulus for suddenly having his heat – like he could even control it in the first place?! They obviously wanted him to have spent his first heat in that horrid place they call home, and they wanted to… invite ‘prospective’ alphas.” Sirius looked like he was going to be sick. James felt the exact same way. He suppressed a growl, meanwhile Sirius didn’t bother hiding his own growl.
Sirius then let out a humorless laugh. “Keyword: wanted, because they couldn’t in the end,” Sirius’ eyes lit up with determination. “Regulus obviously didn’t have to spend his heat in that place, and our parents were just bitching about it. It honestly pleased me to hear them complain, to hear that they didn’t win, to know that Regulus was safe.”
He then turned to look at James, and James was surprised to see the raw gratitude in Sirius’ eyes. “Prongs… thank you. Truly, thank you, for finding Regulus, staying – mostly – respectful, and bringing him to a heat-room. I thought about what Moony said the other day, and he’s right. It literally could’ve been anyone who found him that day, any alpha who wouldn’t have restrained themself like you did. So thank you.”
James sat there, momentarily stunned, before quickly nodding his head. “Sirius, I swear I meant it when I said I would never consciously hurt Regulus, and I won’t ever let anyone else hurt him either.”
Sirius stared at him and offered a hesitant smile before quickly adding, “But hey, it was just his heat pheromones making you want to… ‘claim’ him, right?”
James froze, and a weird feeling tugged at his heart. But he laughed, trying not to sound nervous. “Obviously.”
Sirius let out a sigh that he’d been holding in. “Good. Because for a moment there I was getting worried, thinking you might actually have some sort of feelings for my brother,” Sirius looked like that idea was completely absurd to him. “But that would just be insane, right? I can’t even imagine!”
“James and Regulus? What sort of alternate universe would that be? It’s supposed to be James and Lily!” Peter said, joining in with Sirius’ laughter.
For a reason James couldn’t comprehend, he felt his heart slowly sinking. He tried laughing along, but he knew it wasn’t genuine. That sinking feeling was still there.
“Yeah… completely insane…”
***
Even though he and Sirius were no longer fighting and everything was back to normal, James’ head was still brimming with too loud thoughts. He was often distracted and could barely focus in class. Meal times were the worst, since he had to put much effort into forcing himself to not look at the Slytherin table.
Regulus was fine now. There was no reason for James to want to talk to him. They’d basically never even talked before! So James kept forcibly staying away, even if that was the last thing he wanted to do.
But alas, all his efforts went to waste when one day, James stumbled upon something that made his blood boil.
The scent hit him first. He’d recognize that scent anywhere. But to his horror, that scent was sour, full of fear. James instantly stiffened before hurrying towards that scent. He reasoned to himself that he’d only peek from a distance to see what was going on, and if it was something serious then he’d intervene.
Well, he definitely had to intervene, because a foreign voice suddenly growled out, “Stop moving so much, you little slut! Petrificus totalus!”
James ran to the direction of that voice and his heart dropped when he turned the corner. Regulus was completely frozen, his face ghostly pale and eyes full of obvious fear. There was an alpha towering over him, his scent disgustingly aroused and overpowering, as he reached for the omega’s tie.
James saw red. A deadly snarl ripped out of his throat as he fired hexes at that bastard. He easily beat him to a pulp, kicking away his limp body before turning to face Regulus. The poor omega was still frozen and powerless, so James quickly unfroze him. The second the spell left Regulus’ body, he crumpled to the ground, his body racked with tremors.
“Regulus?!” James grew alarmed and quickly kneeled beside the trembling omega. “Shit– are you hurt?! Did he do something to you?!” That alpha clearly didn’t have enough time to do… what he planned to do, but maybe he’d stung the omega with other hexes before James had arrived?
James reached his hand out to place on Regulus’ shoulder but the omega flinched and cowered further. It broke James’ heart, and he quickly retreated his hand.
“Regulus, what’s wrong? That bastard’s knocked out now, and I’m here; I won’t let anything bad happen to you, you’re safe now.”
Quiet sniffles suddenly started coming from the omega, making James panic even more. “Regulus–”
“Go away,” Regulus whispered out. His voice was so small and was full of what James could only describe as hurt.
“Wha– no! You’re clearly not okay, I can’t just leave you here–”
“You had no problems leaving before!” Regulus suddenly snapped out. He whipped his head up towards James and now the alpha could see all the pain in Regulus’ face. His gray eyes were dull, tears endlessly streaming out of them. “Just leave me alone. Don’t pretend to care about me.”
James felt all the color drain out of his face and his breath caught in his throat. What did Regulus even mean by that?!
“Regulus…” James’ own voice was full of deep sadness. “I do care about you, and I’m worried about you right now. Just let me help.”
Regulus continued shaking and was back to not meeting James’ eyes. “I said, go away.”
Without thinking, James blurted out, “Do you hate me now?”
Regulus’ eyes snapped up towards James.
The alpha continued, “I– I’m really sorry. For… for what I almost did the other day.” He had to apologize eventually, so might as well do it now.
There was an unreadable look on Regulus’ face, which further unnerved James. After what felt like an eternity, the omega sniffled quietly and turned his head away. “…Whatever.”
’Whatever?’ That’s it? That’s all Regulus has to say?!
“No, Regulus, this is serious. I… I almost claimed you! That was awful of me to do, and I know I should've apologized sooner but if I’m being honest, I was scared. I was scared of what you’d do when you finally saw me. And, not going to lie, I was also pretty scared of Sirius. He’s scary when he’s mad.”
Regulus scowled. “What? Did Sirius threaten you or something?”
“Um, well, kind of – but I get it! If I had a younger sibling, I’d probably feel the same way.”
Regulus’ scowl deepened. “I’m not weak,” he spat out, “Just because I’m an omega doesn’t mean I’m weak. If I had just had my wand with me right now, that stupid oaf wouldn’t have been able to petrify me–” his voice broke off and he angrily wiped away his tears.
“I’m not saying you’re weak,” James tried to reassure. “You’re one of the strongest, smartest people I know! You could easily take down any wizard or witch in a duel. But…” he hesitated, not wanting to upset the omega further but he felt like he had to say this, “You also need to accept that omegas are at their most vulnerable while in heat. You don’t know how worried and protective Sirius was feeling the whole time you were in heat. I was too,” he admitted quietly.
Regulus seemed disbelieving.
James continued, “What I’m trying to say is… please let people be worried about you. Please let people take care of you when you need it. It’s not a sign of weakness, alphas and betas also need help sometimes. It’s okay to cry.”
It was like a dam had broken within Regulus; the omega curled up and sobbed loudly, his cries breaking James’ heart. The alpha immediately wrapped his arms around the omega, bringing Regulus’ head to his chest. Regulus melted into his touch, burying his face into James’ neck, where his scent glands were.
James slightly freaked out, his inner alpha feeling strangely giddy, before pushing any thoughts away and simply letting his calming scent wrap around the omega. This made the omega melt deeper into his embrace.
Safe. Omega is safe.
James didn’t even realize that Regulus had started purring. He also didn’t realize that he let out an answering rumble of his own.
***
Although they had shared that intimate moment (could he call it intimate?), the very next day, Regulus seemed to be avoiding him completely. This time, James wasn’t also avoiding him – he was trying to catch a moment alone with him.
Ever since he had escorted Regulus to his dorm – luckily there hadn’t been anyone else to see them – James couldn’t stop thinking about their conversation. More specifically, when Regulus sounded so hurt, telling James he should leave since he didn’t have any problems leaving before.
What did that even mean?! Why did he sound so hurt? Hurt about what? Here James had been the whole time, thinking Regulus hated him for nearly claiming him, but now he was honestly getting mixed signals. Why did it seem like he was actually hurt about James leaving him alone that day? About James not staying?
The thought was both absurd and ignited a deep, primal satisfaction within him. But he didn’t want to be so optimistic – what if he was just interpreting it the wrong way? What if Regulus really did hate him for nearly staying, and claiming him? James didn’t know what to think and it made his head hurt.
He needed to get Regulus alone and get some answers. If only the little omega wasn’t avoiding him so much. Damn, when Regulus wanted to disappear, he sure was good at it. And to make it even harder, James could not tell anyone else what he was trying to do. If he did, Sirius would immediately go on a rampage, questioning why the hell James would ever want to speak to his little brother alone, especially after the recent events.
So James needed to be patient.
It was obviously hard though, and his friends were starting to notice that something was wrong.
“James,” Sirius said gravely, and the tone of voice plus the lack of use of any nicknames had James sitting up in his seat. “I fear you might need to go to the hospital wing – or even worse, to St. Mungos!”
“Huh?” James blinked a few times. He thought Sirius was going to say something else. “Why would I need to do that?!”
Remus sighed loudly. “Don’t listen to him James, Padfoot is just being his dramatic self.”
“I am not!” Sirius gasped. “I’m being serious!”
Peter chuckled at the pun but Remus only sighed again. “Pads, we’ve already talked about this.”
James only sat bemused, wondering why his friends were talking about him and having to go to the hospital.
Sirius ignored Remus and continued looking at James with a panicked expression. “Honestly mate, what’s wrong with you?! You’ve gone days without saying a single thing about Lily Evans. That’s never happened before!” Sirius brought a hand up to James’ forehead. “Are you feeling unwell? Did someone slip some sort of potion into your drink? Have you been hit by a jinx?”
“As dramatic as Sirius may be… he’s got a point. You’ve been acting differently lately, and we can tell something must be bothering you. We’re a bit worried about you,” Remus said.
James stared at his friends, growing alarmed. He reprimanded himself for being so careless – why didn’t he try to act normal?! Even though he was plagued with many thoughts and emotions, he couldn’t let others notice. Yet his friends had noticed and it was all because James didn’t do a better job at acting like everything was fine.
He vaguely realized that yes, he, James Potter, has gone multiple days without mentioning or even glancing at Lily Evans. Wasn’t he just proclaiming his undying love for the redhead mere weeks before? A deep part of James realized he actually wasn’t upset about that.
But he had to put up a facade! So he quickly said, “There’s nothing to worry about! You see… I-I’ve been working on a plan,” he was lying through his teeth and putting on his best conspiratorial look. Sirius and Peter leaned in, seeming to believe this bullshit. “I – I’m coming up with this elaborate plan to expose that dumb alpha she’s dating. I’ve got some dirt on him and I want everyone, especially Lily, to find out in the most scandalous way possible. Once they all know, Lily won’t be looking twice at that alpha. Then, I’ll swoop in and play the hero. I’ll soothe her broken heart and show her how kind I can be. By that point, she’ll have no other choice but to fall for me. I’ll capture her heart, and we’ll be together at last.”
The others just stared at James for a few seconds, which made James grow nervous. But quickly enough, Sirius suddenly clapped his hands and threw his head back with a laugh. “Prongs you’re bloody brilliant! I knew this must have something to do with Evans,” he looked at James with a wolfish grin on his face. “Now tell me – what’s this dirt you have on that alpha?”
James tried grinning back. “It’s a secret.” It’s bullshit, but nobody had to know that. “I want to keep working on my plan – it’s a work-in-progress. But don’t worry, you’ll find out eventually.”
Sirius and Peter continued pestering him, and though it was annoying, James was just glad they had so blindly believed this lie. For the moment, James would just feel relieved. (In the future, he’ll just come up with another lie when it becomes obvious James was never working on this “plan.”)
Through the pestering questions and teasing remarks coming from Sirius and Peter, James glanced at Remus and his face paled slightly. Remus was looking at James with a very skeptical look in his eyes and a curious expression on his face. It was clear that Remus didn’t believe James. James averted his gaze and tried ignoring the omega. So what if Remus didn’t believe James’ obvious lie? He knew Remus wouldn’t say anything anyways, and at least Sirius and Peter believed the lie. Especially Sirius. Sirius was the biggest concern after all, seeing as he was Regulus’ brother. But if Sirius believed that James was acting odd simply because of his “plan” to ruin Lily’s relationship and win her heart over, then James would be safe. Sirius wouldn’t be suspecting that James was acting this way because of Regulus.
Speaking of which. James caught movement from the corner of his eye. He discreetly glanced to the side and saw Regulus getting up from the Slytherin table. And for once, his friends didn’t follow him. Regulus seemed unbothered, walking leisurely out of the great hall. He obviously hadn’t caught sight of James looking at him.
James tried suppressing a grin. This was his chance! Finally! “Alright guys, I have to go now. Y’know, I gotta refine my plan and all,” he said, already shooting out of his seat and not even looking at his friends.
“But wait! – Weren’t we going to Hogsmeade after lunch?” Peter called out behind him.
“Eh, you guys go on without me. I’ll join you eventually,” James said distractedly, sprinting out of the great hall and leaving the others slightly confused. Though Remus continued looking curiously at James’ retreating form.
James felt his heart thumping as he frantically looked around. Regulus was nowhere in sight but there was an unmistakable scent still lingering in the air. James followed it with only one thought in mind: Find Regulus.
That delectable scent led him all the way to the library (of course Regulus would be at the library during the weekend). James walked through countless bookshelves, vaguely aware that there was barely anyone else in here. Finally, he arrived at a section all the way in the back. He froze for a moment, not being able to do anything but admire Regulus. The omega was hunched over a book, his eyebrows were furrowed, and he had a focused look on his face. What book was he reading to make him look like that?
James smiled and abruptly approached the table, plopping down onto the chair across from Regulus and saying as casually as he could, “Whatcha reading there?”
Regulus jumped up in his seat and yelped. He immediately slammed the book closed, covering it with his hands. His face was a dark red. “Potter!”
James raised his eyebrows, an amused smirk forming on his lips. “What’s this? Are you maybe reading something you shouldn’t?” Regulus’ blush deepened, making James chuckle.
“If you’re only going to be a nuisance, I suggest you leave now,” Regulus growled.
“Aw but it’s so fun to get you all riled up,” James pouted.
Regulus’ glare turned harsher. “You and Sirius never know how to stop being so annoying. You’re like pesky flies, or boisterous dogs!”
“So what? You want us to act more like you – like meek little kittens?”
“Wha– Potter! I am not meek! And don’t call me a kitten ever again!” Regulus’ blush, which had been going away at this point, came back full force. James was delighted.
“Why not? You even purr like a kitten! I bet you sneeze like one too.”
“All omegas purr! And no Potter, I do not sneeze like a fucking kitten.”
James couldn’t help but coo, still having way too much fun teasing Regulus. “You’re such a feisty little kitten! Cute.”
Immediately, they both froze and flushed bright red. James wanted to slap himself – why did he say that?!
Regulus quickly averted his gaze, not meeting James’ eyes. A sense of deja vu hit James. The alpha wanted to slap himself again. He’s been trying to approach Regulus for days now, and the first chance he gets he fucks it up like this? Shit, he’s stupid!
So, James, trying to make the atmosphere less awkward, looked around for any sort of distraction. His eyes honed in on Regulus’ exposed book. So caught up in what James had just said, Regulus forgot to keep his hands on top of the book. Now James could easily read the title.
“‘A Comprehensive Guide to Alphas: The Secrets to an Alpha’s Heart,’” James slowly read aloud.
Regulus’ eyes widened and he snatched the book out of sight and into his bag.
Well, at least Regulus was no longer so focused on what James had said earlier. So James tried looking nonchalant while trying to jokingly say, “You’re reading that? Why read a book when you could just personally ask an alpha? You could ask me.”
Regulus’ entire face – even his neck – were burning red. “Why are you here?! Clearly you want something – you’ve been trying to find me for days,” Regulus snapped, cutting straight to the point.
James felt a bit embarrassed at having been so obvious. But he tried flipping it around and saying, “Aha! So you have been avoiding me on purpose!”
The omega glared daggers at him. “If you don’t answer my question right now, I’ll make it completely impossible for you to find me next time.”
James didn’t doubt him so he quickly said, “I’ve been thinking – about something you said the last time we talked.”
Regulus stiffened and clenched his jaw. “Forget that entire interaction. My head wasn’t in the right place.”
“No, I think you were actually being more honest than you’ve ever been around me,” James hesitated for only a second before continuing. He tried his best to not sound that affected, but he knew his voice was full of sadness. “What did you mean when you said I ‘had no problems leaving before’? Leaving… while you were still in heat?”
James could see the moment when Regulus started panicking. The omega was usually really good at not showing any emotions – other than anger or annoyance – on his face. But within the few minutes that James has been around Regulus right now, he’s seen quite a lot of emotions on his face. From embarrassment to panic, James had somehow witnessed Regulus Black not being totally in control of his expressions. It was like Regulus had a hard time controlling himself in front of James.
“I need to go,” Regulus muttered, bowing his head down so that James could no longer see his expression. He hastily gathered his things, but before he could get up, James grabbed his wrist.
Regulus looked like he’d been stung and instantly tried pulling away. Usually James would never want an omega to feel trapped, but he needed answers. He needed Regulus to stop avoiding him and to tell him the truth.
“Regulus – please! We have to talk about this. We haven’t been able to properly talk about that day. I already apologized but I need to know your feelings. If you hate me, please tell me. If you’re hurt, please tell me.”
“Let go of me!” Regulus exclaimed, ignoring the alpha’s words. James was stubborn though. His grip remained firm, but not enough to bruise the omega’s slender wrist.
James was about to continue pleading when a loud and ferocious growl suddenly rang out into the air. The pair instantly froze, with James’ heart dropping.
“YOU BASTARD!” Sirius’ recognizable voice roared. The other alpha shoved James away, taking his brother’s wrist into his own hand. “HE TOLD YOU TO LET GO!”
“Shit– Sirius, don’t misunderstand, I wasn’t trying to–”
“Shut up!” Sirius growled.
“Sirius!” Regulus snapped. “Let go of me. You’re hurting me!”
Sirius’ face filled with horror and he quickly let go. Regulus pointedly rubbed his wrist and was about to say something but Sirius turned back to James and said angrily, “What the fuck were you doing?!”
“I wasn’t trying to do anythi–”
“Bullshit! I saw you on the map, way too close to my baby brother, and I instantly knew something was wrong! Then I come here and see you doing this. I thought you’d been genuine when you apologized for the shit you did during Reggie’s heat, but clearly I was wrong. Clearly I can’t trust you.”
“Sirius!” Regulus suddenly yelled. The two alphas instantly shut up and turned to look at the omega. Regulus seemed absolutely furious. “Firstly, I’m not a baby. Secondly, the apology was never meant for you, it was for me, and Potter has already apologized to me. What you saw just now was nothing, so don’t get ridiculous ideas into that tiny head of yours. Stop being such an annoying, overbearing little shithead!”
By the end of his rant, Regulus was standing up, hands on his hips and a glare so vicious that it could’ve made anyone wet their pants. It nearly made Sirius, the recipient of said glare, wet his pants. Damn, omegas really were scary when they were mad. It could make any big and strong alpha cower.
Sirius wasn’t one to give up so easily though. He stammered, “B-But–”
“Oh that’s it!” Regulus groaned before suddenly dragging Sirius away by the ear. Sirius instantly started whining in protest. Regulus rolled his eyes. “Shut it you. I’ve had enough of your annoying arse.” And then they were gone.
James stood frozen, looking at where they’d just been. What the fuck just happened?
***
James sat anxiously at the great hall later that day. He couldn’t stop glancing at the Slytherin table, trying to catch a glimpse of Regulus. But the omega was back to being completely gone.
Sirius was also still gone, so James assumed the brothers were still together. He wondered what Regulus would say to Sirius. But it seemed like Regulus had been defending James, which consoled the alpha (and it made him happy, hearing that the omega was not entirely mad at him).
“Prongs?”
James whipped his head around but it was only Remus. The omega offered a small smile as he came to sit beside the alpha.
“Do you know where Padfoot is? He said he was going to join us at Hogsmeade after you left, and was just going to fetch the map from the dorms, but he never came back…”
James groaned, burying his face into his hands. “I kinda fucked up.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Here’s the thing…” James felt a bit apprehensive to share too much information with someone else, but he really needed to talk and he knew Remus wouldn’t judge. “It’s a long story, but basically I needed to speak to Regulus so I searched for him at the library and found him. We started talking but – Regulus is… he’s a bit hard to talk to. He closes himself off a lot. I needed to know his feelings on something but he just wouldn’t say. So I grew desperate and grabbed his wrist – and I swear, if he really did want to leave, I’d let him, I just wanted to try before truly giving up. But then Sirius found us and, well, I’m sure you can imagine how that went.”
Remus grimaced. “Yeah, Sirius is very overprotective of Regulus.”
“I know!” James groaned. “And now, I get the feeling Sirius won’t let me out of his sight, to make sure I don’t get within ten feet of his brother. But I honestly wasn’t trying to do anything to Regulus, I simply wanted to talk!”
“Why don’t you tell Sirius all of that then? Just wait for his anger to subside, and once he’s slightly calmer, explain the situation. Maybe don’t be so vague either?” Remus suggested.
James tried not to grimace. He kinda didn’t have a choice – he needed to be pretty vague, otherwise Sirius would probably get angrier. Besides, why did anyone else need to know what James and Regulus had specifically been talking about? It was a private conversation meant for only them two. A conversation that they still needed to have.
Someone else suddenly joined them. James stiffened when he saw that it was Sirius. But instead of shouting at him, Sirius merely pouted and crossed his arms.
“Reggie gave me the scolding of a lifetime.”
Remus couldn’t suppress the giggle that escaped him. For a moment, Sirius’ expression softened and he looked at Remus with awe.
James raised an eyebrow. Sirius shook his head and went back to sulking. “He… threatened me, among other things. Said he’d rearrange my organs if I tried beating you up, James.”
James felt oddly touched by Regulus protecting him like that.
“He’s watching us right now,” Sirius said. James immediately glanced towards the Slytherin table and sure enough, Regulus’ stormy gray eyes were on them like a hawk. James was momentarily entranced by those beautiful eyes.
“And since he’s watching us, and since he threatened me, I can’t do much right now. But know this James,” Sirius suddenly glared at him, “I’ve got my eyes on you.” He took an angry bite out of an apple, still glaring at James.
James grimaced. He kind of wanted to explain himself, like Remus told him to do, but if Sirius wasn’t going to be attacking him right now, it could wait. Hopefully Sirius would get over it.
James glanced back at the Slytherin table, only to be met with those same gray eyes now looking directly at him. Regulus looked away, however, when James met his gaze.
Don’t think that I’ll just drop this, Regulus, James thought. I still need some answers.