Chapter 20; October 5th 1974
The line of pillows Regulus insisted on needing was on the floor when Sirius woke up. They had the day off of lessons for staff meetings. Remus was already awake but hadn’t gotten up, he was laying there, sleepily playing with Sirius’ hair when Sirius woke up.
It was around ten-thirty. James was still asleep. James never sleeps past eight. His curtains were opened slightly, James usually sleeps shirtless, so that wasn’t out of the ordinary, what was, was Regulus laying on his chest, his arms wrapped around James. They were both asleep, but seemed way too comfortable with each other for people who hate each other.
“Pads, I'm cold. Come back.” Remus mumbled, his voice deeper from sleeping.
Sirius laid back down, burying his face into Remus’ shirt.
He woke up again to Barty tapping him. Remus had also fallen back asleep.
“Morning.” Barty mumbled. “Me and Ev are gonna go. Don’t let Regulus walk around alone?”
Sirius nodded. “Someone will stay with him. He’ll be fine.”
Barty closed their curtains again and left with Evan, closing the door softly on the way out. Sirius got up to shower, knowing he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep.
~October 17th, 1974~
Sirius still hasn't officially addressed James and Regulus cuddling, Remus said it's been too long to say anything now. Sirius has made jokes about it, but he’s been paying more attention. He’s realized that they seem comfortable around each other, which he’s always wanted, but they seem almost a little too comfortable, making eye contact across the great hall and talking to each other any chance they get. Sirius thinks it’s weird but doesn't want to jump to conclusions, but the way they stare at each other hasn't gone unnoticed, and as far as Sirius knows, James is straight, unless he hasn't told Sirius yet.
Remus seems to have noticed it too, looking between the both of them whenever they're together.
Sirius wouldn't be mad if James and Regulus did get together, he’s always said Regulus needs to find his James, and he did. His James just also happens to be Sirius’s James. Either way, whether they’re together or not, Sirius is happy for them. It’ll take some getting used to if they are together, it’d be weird knowing that his best friend is shagging his brother, but he’ll get used to it eventually.
They started planning their halloween party, they usually mix it with Sirius’s birthday since they're only a few days apart. They were figuring out how they were getting alcohol and if anyone was making drinks and how exactly everything was gonna work.
Regulus, Barty, and Evan have been around a bit more often, Dorcas was usually off with her girlfriend, who is being kept a secret, Pandora was around a lot too, not every time everyone else was there, but most of the time she was with one of them. None of them want to be alone, just in case, it’s safer that way, and it’s easier to fight with two people over one.
“I can ask Mary if she's making the drink she normally does, and we're getting firewhiskey from one of the seventh years. Do we need anything else?” James asked, checking off some of the boxes on his notepad.
“I can talk to some of the Hufflepuffs, we can make a bunch of pre-rolls, we would have to leave the windows open though so the smell doesn't get too strong.” Remus suggested, playing with Sirius’s hair. James shrugged and wrote it down.
“You’re handling everything with that though.” He added.
“I can do that, might have to pay them off a bit, but I can figure that out later.” Remus said under his breath, more talking to himself than anyone else.
“Are the Slytherins gonna be there? Do we wanna ask them if they want anything specific?”
“Reggie drinks bourbon, Barty likes beer but will settle for anything, the Rosiers tend to stay away from drinking if it's possible, family shit.” Sirius answered, playing with the hem of his shirt and taking a sip of Remus’s tea.
“Alright, so bourbon and beer…” He whispered, writing it down on the list. “Would the Rosiers want anything else? I get the not drinking and not liking alcohol, but is there anything else that they would want? Like drugs or anything?”
“Ev would probably bring his own. If uh, if Barty lets him. Last I heard they’re trying to get him off of it, it's been an issue for awhile but Reggie said his grades are slipping and he hasn’t really been himself recently. That's part of the reason he’s never away from Barty.” Sirius mumbled, grabbing a cigarette out of Remus’s pocket and lighting it with his wand.
“What does he take?”
“Not my place James.”
“Right. Yeah. Sorry.”
The conversation kinda ended there, it got uncomfy. James felt bad, and Sirius said more than he probably should’ve. It’s not like he was lying though, or trying to spread anything around. Evan has addiction issues, it runs in their family. He’s been using on and off for a few years, but recently it’s been bad, worse than any of them expected it to get. Sirius isn’t fully sure what exactly he uses, he’s switched through a few different things, but whatever he’s been on recently is bad, and they can’t get him off it.
“I can go talk to Mary. I was gonna go find them anyways, I need to talk to Lily.” Remus broke the silence.
James nodded. “If you want, I gotta go talk to people to try and get the drinks.”
“I'll talk to the Hufflepuffs I know too.” Remus smiled, leaving the common room.