War took the joy out of everything. It took something as beautiful as the sunset on a beach and turned it into the perfect backdrop for a funeral. It took the sounds of your friends' laughter and turned it into a faint memory you can only barely recall. It turned touch into something to fear rather than something to cherish.
And here was James, surrounded by most of his closest friends, and not able to feel an ounce of joy about it. They were at another Order meeting. Another meeting where they will be told about the deaths of those they look up to and to keep looking forward despite it all. James felt the exhaustion from these meetings creeping in. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take.
Sirius nudged him from beside him and James refocused on his surroundings. They were currently all packed into the sitting room at Potter Manor. James’s parents were unable to fight in the war after their close call with dragon pox, so they offered up their home for meetings and as a medical center. James’s mum had been an extremely talented healer in her prime and with Poppy and Lily by her side, they were able to save so many lives. James wished he could be on the healing side rather than the offensive side. But in war you rarely get to choose.
James and Sirius were packed into a loveseat to the side of the room. Marlene and Dorcas were on the floor, backs resting on James and Sirius legs. Mary was on the armrest next to Sirius, she wasn’t an active participant in the war, but she did live at the Manor with Lily, so she would attend whatever meetings were being held there. Lily was across the room, standing with Effie and Poppy, a trio so unbreakable at this point, it was rare to see one without the other two being close behind.
Looking around at his friends, James couldn’t help but feel the ache of loss for those who weren't here anymore. He thought of sweet, kind Peter who had gotten so scared that he switched sides. But he had been given an impossible task, the task of proving his loyalty and taking out the McKinnon family. But Voldemort underestimated Peter's love for his friends. Especially Marlene who he had grown up next door to and considered to be his closest friend. Peter had refused and that was the last time anyone saw him. Marlene, James and Sirius had driven themselves mad trying to track him down, but they never found any evidence of him being alive. Peter had officially been declared MIA, but deep down they all knew how Voldemort treated traitors.
Then there was Remus. Brave, devoted Remus, who had volunteered to be a spy within the werewolf packs. He used to send monthly updates, occasionally even show up himself to deliver the news. The last time they had heard from Remus had been 3 months ago when he had shown up at Potter Manor late one night. James doesn’t know all the details of the conversation he and Sirius had that night, but the next morning Remus gave James a lengthy hug and took off without a word. Sirius came out of their room that morning with red eyes and a ring on his left ring finger. He has refused to say anything about it other than Remus would have to go for a while with no contact.
And finally there was his star. His beautiful, perfect star who James had not seen in 2 years. One day they were laughing and holding each other close and the next he was simply gone. All James had left was a note saying “When it’s safe, I will find you.” A week later Dumbledore announced that he had a spy deep inside the inner ranks and James knew. He knew his star was risking everything to end this war. They had always kept their love quiet, only a few even knew about it. It must have been so easy for him to slip in and be trusted. On the outside no one would ever doubt his loyalty to his family. He had kept up appearances just for this. So James fought and stayed alive, so that when things were safe, he could be found.
The room went quiet as Dumbledore entered and took his place at the front of the room. The beginning of every meeting was always dedicated to sharing who had passed or injured to the extreme of being sidelined. So everyone was taken by surprise when Dumbledore started the meeting with the words, “I come bearing good news.”
James and Sirius quickly looked at each other and sat up a bit straighter, both secretly hoping it would be the news they had been waiting for. Everyone in the room leaned forward a bit, eager to hear what he had to say.
Dumbledore cleared his throat before continuing, “As you all know, I have had two brave members of the Order working as spies within the Death Eater ranks. One infiltrating through the werewolves, the other going directly into the inner ranks.”
James could feel his heart pounding through every inch of his body. He ached for Dumbledore to say that they finished the job and were coming home.
“Well it seems that our werewolf found himself being promoted into the inner ranks alongside the Alpha of the packs, Greyback. Our two spies quickly identified each other and started working together, despite my warnings of the risk.” Dumbledore tried to hide his obvious annoyance at this, but failed.
James heard Sirius snort quietly beside him. They both knew there was no one more stubborn than their partners. Once they decided on something, like working together, only death would be able to stop them. The two of them were honestly a bit frightening when paired together. Probably gave Dumbledore a rough time through it all. That made James feel better, they at least had each other now.
“About a month ago, I received word that they had found something. Something that would bring Voldemort's terror to an end.” These words brought an air of excitement to the room. The war had been dragging on for so long with no end in sight, people had started to give up hope that there was going to even be an end. Order members were starting to give up and leave the country to keep their families safe. Some people called them cowards but James saw nothing more noble than doing what you have to, to keep your family safe.
“They have been working tirelessly to bring an end to Voldemort and have just sent word through messengers that we need to prepare for a final battle, to bring an end to him once and for all. I have here the messengers with more information on how we need to prepare and when it will take place. Now you may not trust these individuals at first, but please bear in mind that they have worked closely with our spies and have my personal trust. Gentlemen, the floor is yours.”
Nothing could have prepared James for who stepped into the room. One by one, James watched as Barty Crouch Jr, Evan Rosier, and Peter Pettigrew walked to the front of the room where Dumbledore had been. James was frozen in shock. He had figured Barty and Evan were loyal to his star, but seeing Peter, alive and proven to be working for the good, was too much to handle. James heard Marlene let out a sob and looked down to see her trying to get out of Dorcas’s hold on her, trying to reach Peter. James could hear Dorcas whispering softly “not now, let them speak and then we will go to them.” James remembered how close Dorcas was to the other two men in the room. It had probably been years since she had seen them.
James looked back to the three men as Evan began to speak. “I know many of you are seeing three Marked men in front of you and are likely questioning our allegiance, but I swear to you that we want to end Voldemort and his terror on the innocent people of our great country.”
Behind him Barty let out a small chuckle followed by, “Rosier you are extremely French, I don't think your fake nationalism will help them trust you.”
Evan reached behind him to lightly pinch Barty, who let out a yelp. The two started quietly bickering and Peter quickly shoved Evan behind him and moved to the front. “Apologies for my friends, but I promise we three have been working closely with your spies to bring an end to this war. I personally have these two to thank for being alive. I joined the Death Eaters when they threatened my mother. She was the only family I had and I was desperate to save her. You will find that many who joined the Death Eaters did so for similar reasons as mine, to save loved ones. During my short time with them, I grew close to these two men standing here with me, as well as your spy. I participated in a few small raids, but when it came time to prove my loyalty to his cause, I couldn’t follow through.” Peter gave a shy glance over to his friends. They all tried to smile as encouragingly as possible. They had all forgiven him long ago.
“I was then taken to a holding cell in one of their safe houses, Malfoy Manor I believe, where I was to wait for my execution. Voldemort prefers to kill traitors himself, but he had been away for some time, so I had to wait for days in that cell.” James can’t imagine how horrible it must have been for Peter. Knowing he had basically signed his own death sentence as well as his mother’s. Mr. Pettigrew died before Peter was born and Peter and his mother moved from Germany to Britain when he was only a few months old, so Peter never knew any of his extended family. James knew that Peter would do anything to protect his mother, he had always been fiercely over protective of her. The only other person he would risk everything for was Marlene. Having to choose between Marlene’s life and his mother’s must have wrecked him.
“About a week into my stay at the Manor, I was finally visited by your spy. He claimed he was escorting me to my death but instead he walked me outside and handed me over to Barty and Evan who apparated me to a safe house. It wasn’t an Order safe house, but one the three of them had set up for themselves. There I was reunited with my mother, whom they had gone to save as soon as I was taken. I also learned of their true allegiance and we spent the last few months planning our next move. We would get weekly visits from your spy and then your werewolf started to visit as well.”
Sirius reached over to squeeze James's hand. Peter had seen both of them. They had all worked together. Peter had come home, so there was a chance of them coming home as well.
“A month ago, they discovered a secret that would bring all this to an end. They set off to find as much as they could and just yesterday came to us and told us that they only had one left and to get everyone ready. So I come to you with this message, ‘The final piece is at Hogwarts, meet us there in 3 days and be ready to fight. This will be the end, we solemnly swear.’ I don’t know what the final piece is or even what it means, but I do know that we need to be there or their mission could be for nothing.” Peter nodded to Dumbledore and led Barty and Evan to the back of the room. James quickly stood up before anyone had a chance to say something.
“Sir if you are about to say anything other than, be ready to fight in two days, I will have to side with the newspapers on the opinion that you have gone insane. This is our chance, we have to take it.” All James could think about was that in two days his star would be within reach. He could be in the same room as him, he could see him and touch him and hold him. He could fight for him. James had to be there. Sirius quickly stood up beside him in solidarity. James knew Sirius would do anything to get the two of them back.
Slowly Order members started to stand with them. Marlene, Dorcas and even Mary stood by them with determination written all over their faces. Lily, Effie and Poppy all stepped forward, James' father behind them, ready to face the fight. Kingsley, the Weasleys, the Prewett twins, the Hogwarts professors, and many more stood, all showing that they were willing and ready to fight. Dumbledore slowly took in the room. “Well then, I think that settles it. Let’s get ready.” Dumbledore looked over to James and his friends. “Speak with the messengers, find out any information that you can on what our spies are planning. Healing team, get as many supplies you can ready. Everyone else, gather as many willing fighters as you can. It’s time to finish this.”
The room broke out into a flurry of action, Marlene the first to move as she ran to the back of the room and tackled Peter to the ground in an embrace. Dorcas was close behind her and by the time James made it over, she had Barty and Evan in a hug so tight, James doubted any of them could breathe. James could barely make out what Marlene was saying through her tears.
“You big, stupid, idiotic, lovely, perfect oaf. I thought you were dead, we all thought we had lost you. Don’t you ever pull that kind of bullshit ever again or I will kill you myself.” Peter was crying too and was holding tight onto her, as if he let go, she would disappear. “I'm so sorry Marls. I'm so sorry, I promise I am not going anywhere ever again. I'm here now. I'm here.” Slowly Marlene and Dorcas let go of the three men and James moved to help Peter up. As soon as he was standing, James and Sirius pulled him into another hug. Marlene may be his best friend but he was still a Marauder. They had all been split up for so long and it felt so good to have another piece of themselves back. All they held each other Peter whispered to them, “Thank you for believing me.” They all pulled back to look at each other when Sirius replied, “Of course Wormy. You are one of us.” It seemed like a weight had been lifted off Peter’s shoulder at those words.
James turned to look at the other two men. He had never been close with either of them, mostly just seeing them in passing in his star's dorm room. “Thank you for saving his life and keeping him safe.”
Barty smiled back. “It was no problem. Petey here is worth the trouble.” Barty stepped closer to Peter and wrapped an arm around his waist. Evan stepped to Peter's other side and leaned his head onto Peter’s shoulder. “Going on the run from a psychopath tends to be worth it when you get to spend months locked in a safe house with this one.”
James’s eyebrows flew to the top of his forehead. Marlene immediately started to interrogate. “Oh? Exactly how close did the three of you get over these last few months.
James wasn’t sure he had seen anyone’s face turn as red as Peter's did. He started to stutter out an explanation. “Well, erm, you see, we sent my mum off to a distant cousin in Germany, and all three of us were just kind of stuck in there. And well, erm, they had saved my life. And even before that they were so nice to me and we were all there and they are both so bloody fit and…” Peter was quickly cut off by Barty putting a hand over his mouth. “Okay, my sweet, I think they get the picture. You can tell them all about the best dicking down of your life later but for now we should get to the more important topic of conversation.”
Barty removed his hand and quickly gave Peter a kiss on his cheek. “Right, yes, of course. What were we talking about?” James had never seen Peter so flustered. And as much as he wanted to press for more information on this unlikely relationship, there was information he needed. “Wormtail, we need to know. Are they okay? Are they really going to end all of this?” Sirius took a step forward, just as desperate for the answer as James. It also seemed that Lily had made her way over to the group, wanting to hear more about Remus.
Any sign of his previous embarrassment vanished as Peter switched from bumbling boyfriend to messenger for a war spy. “As I said in the meeting, I don’t know what they are looking for or what exactly the secret is. All I know is that one day, Moony came barging in with a half dead R- erm spy, rambling on about finding the secret and then 2 days later they were back out, searching for whatever it was they needed to find. That brings us to yesterday when they came back, told us to tell everyone the final piece was at Hogwarts and they were gone again. We tried asking more questions but you know how they get. Can’t get anything out of either of them unless they are 100% willing.”
James knew that to be the truth. Once they decided on keeping a secret, that secret would follow them to their graves. It could be great in the situation of a secret relationship, not so great when hiding the key to end a war.
Sirius did not seem satisfied with this answer. “Peter, I just need to know. Are they okay? Are they both safe?”
“Well I wouldn’t say they were safe, Voldemort is most likely onto them at this point, probably why they are rushing to finish the job. But yes they are okay. Yesterday they were both alive and healthy. And they wanted me to pass along another message to the two of you specifically.”
James perked up at this, a message from his star, after two years of nothing, he was desperate for anything. “Well go on, what did they say?”
“Okay well Sirius, Remus said that he can't wait to finally marry his perfect fiancé the second the war is over.”
At this everyone exploded. Lily grabbed Sirius and yelled, “FIANCE? When were you ever engaged?! Tell me everything!”
All James could think was he totally called it. You don't just start wearing a ring on your left ring finger for no reason. James knew there was more to that night than Remus just coming to say goodbye for a while.
“That information is between Remus and I. You can all hear the story once he is here to tell it with me. Did he say anything else?”
Peter’s flush came back to his face and Evan and Barty started laughing beside him. “Yes, he had a few more things to say. To quote him ‘This is the list of things I am going to do to him when I get back.’ After about two things on the list, I forced him to stop talking and made him write it down. So here you are,” Peter handed Sirius a folded up piece of parchment. “Here is the most disgusting list I have ever read in my life. Seriously, it’s absolutely disgusting. Pure filth. I never want to hear about your sex life ever again. I was in a blood-supremacist cult and I was more scared by this list.”
Sirius quickly snatched the list from Peter and stuck it into his jacket pocket as everyone around him laughed. As someone who had to sleep in a bed right next to them for the first two years of their relationship, James had a good idea of the kinds of things on that list. Filth didn’t even begin to describe what must have been on there. As they all calmed down, James looked at Peter. “So did um, did he have anything to say to me? Not Remus, um,”
Peter gave a sympathetic smile. “Yeah he told me to tell you that safe was just around the corner and that you will be found. I’m not sure what he meant by that, it sounds quite ominous if you ask me but he was insistent that I say those exact words to you.”
James let the words sink in. It was exactly what he needed to hear. With those few words he knew that his star still loved him and soon they would be together again. It made James feel more warm then he had in 2 years.
“Oi did he have anything to say to me?” Peter silently shook his head at Sirius’s question.
“Remus didn’t have a message for me, so why would my boyfriend have one for you?”
“Because I’m his brother!”
At that statement, Evan turned to Dorcas. “Oh! Speaking of siblings, how is my sister? I know she’s not dead, obviously I would know, but has she found a decent place to hide. I was only able to check in with her a few times.”
Dorcas rolled her eyes before replying. “Yes she is fine, she’s with Lovegood. He has some land out in the middle of nowhere so they have been hiding there. I check in on her every weekend. And every weekend she says the same thing. ‘I know Evans alive, I would know if he was dead, but I wish I could see him.’ I don’t get it, how would you know if you never see each other?”
“We are identical twins, Dorcas. We share the exact same DNA. We are literally two halves of a whole. I think we would be able to tell if the other half of our soul were to die.”
Everyone looked at Evan like he was crazy, there was no way they would be able to know right? They were fully separate people now. Barty stepped around Peter to place a comforting hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Don’t get him started on this, he will go on for hours about their twin connection. Let’s just get on with preparing for what will hopefully be the final battle.”
Everyone started walking away to get ready, Evan chasing after Dorcas questioning what the hell a Lovegood was, Barty trailing behind. Lily and Mary went to help Effie and Poppy get their supplies ready. It left James with Sirius and Peter. The three of them took each other in, still in disbelief that they were in the same room again. Finally James stuck his pinky out, waiting for the other two to add theirs. It was something the four of them had started when Remus confessed to being a werewolf. It was their first ever solemn swear, and it was closed with a pinky swear. When they needed to make a swear to each other or just reassure the others that they were there for them , they would link their pinky fingers.
Sirius and Peter quickly added their own fingers and they all took a moment to miss the one that was missing. “Alright boys. Let’s go get them back.”
~~~~~~~~
Going into battle wasn’t something you could ever prepare yourself for. You could gather supplies, practice spells, and say your final goodbyes. But you are never quite ready for how quickly it all occurs. One second you are apparating into the castle grounds, then in a flash you are fighting for your life against two Death Eaters. It seems Voldemort and his men had gotten there right before the Order, so Peter’s theory that Voldemort knew of their plan was proven to be true. James was quickly separated from his friends and could only focus on what was in front of him. All plans on trying to locate Remus and his star before the battle began went out the window. James was a fairly skilled dueler, so he quickly stunned the two he was fighting and ran off to try and possibly find his friends.
James was quickly sidetracked when he saw Voldemort himself making his way through the courtyard they were all in. Anyone who tried to stop him were violently thrown to the side. IN a moment of what James would call adrenaline and built up rage, others would call idiocy, he leapt in front of Voldemort to stop his path. He quickly up a powerful shield to block whatever horrible spell Voldemort was using to throw people out of his way. Voldemort slowed down and gave him a curious look that sent shivers down his spine.
“Ah you must be Mr. Potter. You look so much like your father. How is he now-a-days. I heard my attempts at taking him and his lovely wife out weren’t quite as successful as I had hoped.”
The rage James felt doubled when he heard this. It had been suspected that they had been purposefully exposed to the dragon pox, but never confirmed. Now holding this knowledge James let his anger fuel his magic and started to duel one of the darkest wizards to ever exist.
James can’t recall how the duel went down but he knows how it ended. Voldemort took advantage of his compassion for others and aimed a spell at Mary, who was helping to stabilize a fallen Order member. James didn’t even realize she was nearby and her back was turned so she couldn’t see the spell coming. James ran as fast as he could and took the spell without even knowing what it was. Turns out it was crucio. James had heard from Sirius and his star about how it felt, but it was so much worse than he could have imagined. James was held under the spell until something knocked Voldemort back, breaking the spell. James was blinded with pain, but he heard a voice speak out.
“Touch one more hair on his head and you are going to wish you had never been born Riddle.” James couldn’t recognize the voice, but something about it felt familiar. James wanted to go to the person talking. He tried to get up but his body quickly fell out from under him, too weak to move any more.
“Well if it isn’t the little traitor and his pet. I will take great joy in killing the two of you.”
Then James heard a voice he recognized to be Remus. “It’s over Tom. We found them all. They are gone. You are nothing but a man with a shred of a soul left.”
James could feel the powerful rage coming from Voldemort. “Impossible. You could never have found them all. I will prove it to you.”
James’s senses slowly started coming back to him as the three men began to fight. At first all he could see were fuzzy shapes moving around, but then they started to become more clear and James finally realized who he was looking at. It was his star. His star was here and he was fighting alongside Remus. James didn’t think he had ever seen anyone more beautiful. His star moved with so much grace and beauty, he shined brighter than everyone else.
James was soon able to stand and started to move towards them. He was quickly pulled back by two sets of hands. He turned to see Sirius and Peter holding him back. “No, let me go help them, they need our help!” James tried to pull away, but he was still fairly weak.
Sirius wrapped an arm around James’s chest. “Prongs as much as it pains me to not go to them, we need to let them do this. They have the key to his defeat, we don’t. Trust them.” James could see the pain in his eyes. He could tell Sirius wanted nothing more than to go but deep down they both knew that their partners were more skilled and powerful then they ever would be.
So James turned back to watch the duel in front of him. Spells were thrown back and forth, barely any landing. Finally Voldemort slipped for just a moment and his two attackers moved in. And just like that, Voldemort was dead. His body fell to the ground and for a moment, silence filled the courtyard as everyone realized that it was over. The war had been brought to an end.
Death Eaters started to run and Order members were quick to try and capture as many as possible. The anti-apparition wards had been put back up as soon as they had arrived, so few were successful in their escape. Peter had run off, presumably to find Barty and Evan. James and Sirius were stuck, frozen, waiting for their loves to turn to them. Remus was the first to see them. He quickly ran over and gathered Sirius into his arms, spinning them both around. He put Sirius back into his feet and soon they were kissing. Trying to convey their love for each other through physical affection. James looked away, giving them their moment, and started to make his way over to his star. He still hadn’t turned to look at James. He stood still, staring at the corpse he had just created.
As James approached, he didn’t say a word, just slipped one of his hands into his star’s palm. The two of them stood there in silence, taking it all in. They stood there as the battlefield was cleared and Ministry officials came to collect the body of Tom Riddle. They stood as all the voices of celebration faded away and they were the only two left.
Finally James spoke. “I hope you realize that you left before telling me your name, so for the last two years I’ve had to refer to you namelessly. Just a lot of my star, my love, the spy. It has been a tad confusing for some. Peter almost spoiled it the other day but quickly corrected himself. All I have is the letter R now.”
Beside him, his star laughed. It was deeper than it was 2 years ago but it was still the most beautiful sound James had ever heard. His star had only just started hormone potions before he left, and now two years later James got to see his love as he wanted to be seen. And what a gorgeous sight it was. The only thing was, his star had decided he wanted to change his name, but never told James what he had chosen. All James knew was that he had chosen a different star to be named after.
“I gave you a hint for your birthday before I left. Didn’t you ask Sirius what the constellation on your necklace was?”
James pulled the necklace out from beneath his shirt. He hasn’t taken it off since he had received it. It was a small silver pendant in the shape of a heart with a constellation on it. “Of course I asked, but I highly doubt you chose Leo as your name. It doesn’t fit you at all. I mean it’s your choice, but please tell me you didn’t choose Leo.”
His star laughed again and shook his head. “No, Jamie, I did not choose Leo. I chose one of the stars in the constellation, did you not think to look up the names of those?” James was too distracted from hearing his boyfriend say his name. He hadn’t been called Jamie in so long. He felt a surge of love and adoration flow through him before thinking back to what he had been asked.
“I am going to be honest, no I did not think to look up the names of the stars. But now that you say it, Sirius is named after a specific star not the constellation so I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it.”
Finally his star turned towards him and James got lost in his eyes. It had been one of his favorite pastimes back when they were in school. A pool of liquid silver with tiny flecks of blue. A sight to behold.
“Regulus.”
James snapped back into reality. “What?”
“My name, idiot. My name is Regulus. It’s considered to be the heart of leo. The heart of the lion.”
“Oh, I assumed the heart was because you loved me.”
“Of course I love you but it was part of the hint.”
James felt a smile take over his entire face. Heart of the lion. “Regulus Black. How I have missed you.”
Regulus moved in closer to James, their noses brushing up against one another. “I told you I would find you.”
“Well technically you told me where to be, so does it count?”
“Oh just shut up and kiss me.”
And like two magnets drawn to each other, their lips pressed together and James felt whole again. How did he survive these last two years without Regulus? He felt like he could finally breathe and that his heart could burst. He moved his hands up to cup Regulus’s face. He had his face in his hands again. He was never letting it go now.
Eventually the need for oxygen took over and they separated, but still kept their foreheads pressed together. They breathed each other in, letting the reality of being together again set in. James pulled back to look at Regulus.
“You look fantastic by the way.”
“James, I just fought in a battle, I killed someone. There is no way I look good right now.”
“Believe me, no one has ever looked as hot as you while killing someone. I bet you looked just as hot when you set your childhood home on fire with your parents still stuck inside.”
“Excuse me you have no proof that was me. It could have been anyone. It could have even been a freak accident with gas or something. They never found any evidence.”
James threw his head back and laughed. “Love there is no way it could have been anyone else. You talk in your sleep. You have been plotting to do this since you were at least 16. Probably even before that.”
Regulus scoffed and crossed his arms. “I worked really hard to cover that up. Do not throw it all away now.”
James leaned down a bit to place a light kiss on his lips. “I promise your secret is safe with me. They deserved it and more.”
“I love you Jamie.”
“I love you Regulus Black.” Regulus wrinkled his nose at hearing his last name.
“How about we change that last name too. Any ideas?”
James pretended to think about it. It wasn’t like he had been imagining Regulus changing his last name to his since he was 16 years old. “Hmm well your brother is taking Lupin so that one’s out. Maybe you could convince Peter to let you borrow Pettigrew but I have a feeling he is saving it for some other people. We could talk to Lily or Mary, see if they have any ideas.” Looking back at Regulus all he received was an annoyed glare. “Hey, you asked for ideas!”
Regulus turned and started to walk towards Hogsmede, presumably to apparate back to the Manor where an important debrief was most likely happening. He called over his shoulder, “Okay well get back to me on that one you buffoon.”
James ran to catch up to him, wrapping his arms around his middle and pulling him into his chest to stop him. “I’m kidding, my star.” James placed a kiss on Regulus’s neck, right where he knew it was the most sensitive. He felt a rush of pride as Regulus shivered in response. “I think Regulus Potter has a special ring to it.”
Regulus twisted in his arms and flung his arms around James’s neck. “You aren’t allowed to ask properly until after Sirius and Remus are married. And you have to have a ring. The band must be silver and if it’s a basic diamond I will not hesitate to say no.”
James laughed and kissed Regulus in response. He already had a ring on hold at a store nearby the manor. It was silver with an emerald gem surrounded by tiny black diamonds. He had been waiting to be found to go pick it up. Looks like he knew what his plans were for tomorrow.
The two of them stood there together, getting lost in the feeling of one another. They felt no rush. They had nowhere to be, no one to report to, no one to hide from. They were safe. They were found. And they would remain so for the rest of time.