Slimy Git
The door to Remus Lupin's office swung open with force, causing him to jump as he turned to look at who had joined him.
"Moony!" Sirius was all but yelling. "You will not believe what I've just witnessed! I think I need to avada my corneas!"
"Ever the dramatics, Padfoot," Remus sighed, not being able to keep the smirk off his face as he walked towards Sirius Black. "What is it that you've witnessed?"
"I followed Reg and Prongs through Hogsmeade-"
"You didn't."
"I did! And it was all perfectly fine until Prongs showed him the Honeyduke's tunnel! And then-"
But Sirius couldn't even finish his sentence over the loud laughter pouring from his partner. Remus was laughing so hard that he found himself almost doubled over, hands planted on the desk beside off him.
"You should've known better, Pads. Really! You know what we've done in those tunnels!"
"But that's different!" Sirius objected. "We're us, and they're-"
Sirius struggled for the words as Remus continued to laugh. When he finally got hold of himself, Remus spoke again.
"You're the one that began the betting pool on the two of them. You can't be surprised that they're shagging."
Sirius immediately covered his hears with his hands. "Please, Moony! I can't take much more tonight."
Remus closed the distance between them and placed his hands on both sides of Sirius's neck, smiling warmly at him.
"We can stop pretending like we haven't wanted them together for year, Sirius. It's just us here."
sirius' shoulders deflated slowly. "You're right, Moons. As always."
His arms wrapped gently around Remus's midsection, closing all distance between their bodies. Tilting his head and kissing Remus, Sirius couldn't ignore the joy that he could feel blooming within himself.
"It's finally happened, Moonbeam."
"That is has, Pads. Have you checked the betting pool? Seen who won?"
Sirius's brows furrowed as he thought back to the enormous cork board that had taken up the entire wall of Remus's private study. "I haven't yet. Shall we go check?"
Sirius let go of Remus before he could answer and rushed to the office, letting his eyes scan over the list of votes for different things. It was a carefully constructed operation, taking bets on who would approach who first, when James and Regulus would go on their first date, and even when they would move in with one another. Sirius could feel his jaw drop as he read the list of names.
"Remus! You cheated!"
"It's not cheating to be smart, Pads."
"You set them up!"
"As if you hadn't been trying to for years!" Remus fired back. "It's not my fault I'm better at it."
Remus then shook his head, once again laughing. "The Black family is so predictable. Validate your feelings just a bit and you're like putty in my hands."
"That's not true at all," Sirius vehemently denied.
Remus cocked an eyebrow, "I'm done with classes until 11 tomorrow and all I want to do is get you out of that bloody leather jacket. Are you going home with me or not?"
"As you say, my Moonbeam."
The very normal, very muggle neighborhood that Lily Evans-Canfield resided in was everything she could have ever dreamed of.
She never saw herself as a lawyer. It had never been in her plans at all, actually.
The muggle courtroom that she practically lived in most of the year was never meant to feel like home, and yet it did.
She was fire in the courtroom, and James could swear that he could see the tips of her hair ignite as she passionately argued a case in front of the judge.
Interestingly (and surprisingly) enough, Lily Evans-Canfield had decided to become a defense attorney. It was fulfilling to her to be able to give back to the muggle community just as much as she tried to do in the magical one.
The magical world, though, had been less welcoming than that of the muggles.
She was an established attorney by that point, and yet she found herself solely representing the lowest of the low of the magical world. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, Lily Evans would never be able to outrun her blood.
She was elbow deep in paperwork when James found her that day, the fire-engine hair piled atop her head in the messiest of buns. The dark shadows beneath her eyes gave hint at how long she had been in her office, and the smell of the coffee wafting from James's hand was barely enough to make her lift her eyes from the documents.
"James? What are you doing here?"
"I think I should be asking you the same thing, Lils. How long have you been working?"
"Oh," She blinked, trying to think. "Not long. I got here at eleven at the Mortimer case ended in the Wizengamot. I just had to try to get my next case sorted before I went home."
Lily reached for the coffee that she knew James had brought for her, the emblem of her favorite coffee shop staring back at her. But he moved the cup out of her reach, forcing her to meet his eyes.
She knew she would find nothing but worry there.
"The Mortimer case ended yesterday, Lily."
"Yesterday?"
"It is 3pm the next day."
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Yes," Lily defended. "I guess...time just got away from me. That's all. I promise I'll take a break once this paperwork is sorted."
"Xander not wondering what's taking you so long?"
But Lily had already begun to lose herself amongst the stack of legal documents, barely listening.
"He's on a business trip to France for the next three days. Well, two days now, I suppose."
Lily, seeming to understand that James was not leaving after dropping off coffee, paused in her ministrations. Glancing up at him, she allowed herself to take him in fully.
He was dressed head to toe in his auror uniform, meaning that it wasn't a social call. But there was more than that. His shoulders looked....lighter, if possible. His spine straighter. And the signature Potter smile, which James was notorious for, was somehow even more genuine.
"You right Bastard," Lily accused. "You did it, didn't you?"
James's forehead crinkled in confusion. "Sorry. Did what?"
"You went out with Regulus Black!" Lily raised her voice as she pointed at him. "Like, on a date. A proper one at that!"
"Haven't seen the paper then, I assume?"
"Been a touch busy, James."
Lily began to rifle through the stack of papers that she had haphazardly thrown to the floor beside of her desk, unearthing the Daily Prophet. Lily's eyes grew comically wide as she skimmed over the article.
"Sirius will never shut his gob about this."
James brushed her off. "I'm sure Padfoot won't be that terribly mad. I was under the impression that he supported it-"
"Well of course he supported it, you toe rag! He's the one that got the community betting pool together!"
"I'm sorry- the what?"
"Two hundred galleons, James! That's how much I would have won if you could have waited one more week before going out with him!"
"You were betting on me?"
"Of course we were," Lily simply stated as she sipped her coffee lightly. "It was only a matter of time, you know. We all remember what the two of you were like during the war."
James, not being able to find a response to that, just stared at her.
"I hate to run you off, Jamie, but if there isn't anything more I can do for you, then I really must return to my work if I want to make it home tonight. Thank you for the coffee."
"There is something, actually," James began, sinking into the armchair across from Lily and steeling his nerves. "We need to talk about Sniv-Severus Snape."
James watched as Lily visibly deflated. "What about him?"
"When was the last time you spoke to him?"
Lily stared at James for a moment before answering. "We've been over this, James. I haven't talked to him since the final battle."
James watched her carefully, noting how her back became ramrod straight and her eyes refused to focus on his own.
"You're lying to me, Lils."
"I'm not. I haven't talked to him."
"This is part of an open investigation with the Ministry," He began, trying to pressure her into confiding in him. "If you know where he is, you could be charged with interference or harboring a fugitive."
"I know the law much better than you, James Potter. Don't you dare try to to threaten me."
"Come on, Lily! I need your help with this."
Lily dropped the papers that were in her hand back onto the desk and sighed deeply. James could see her shoulders deflate as she sunk back into her chair.
"I wasn't lying when I said I haven't spoken to Severus."
"You just weren't telling me everything," James supplied.
"It's happened every year on my birthday," she began. "I didn't think much of it at first. In fact, I thought it maybe was one of you lot. But the more time passed and you didn't say anything, the more I realized that it was someone else."
Standing from her chair, Lily crossed the room to her locked cabinet. Opening the bottom left drawer, she unearthed a small, burgundy box.
She didn't say anything as she handed it over to James, who opened it immediately.
"A flower?"
A simple white orchid lay against the velvet bottom of the box, and he reached in a hand to touch it. The moment that he did so, he could feel the sincerity of the magic that surrounded it. It was enough for his breath to catch.
"I try not to touch them anymore, Lily said. "It's a white orchid. Sometimes its a blue hyacinth. All of them coated heavily with protection magic to make sure the flower will never die."
James, being the pureblood that he was, understood floriography well. To purebloods, flowers were used to communicate much more often than words were.
"Reverence and sincere apology. You think they're from Snape?"
"I receive one on my birthday, and one on the anniversary of the date we met. It must be him."
"Can I take this? The department of mysteries may be able to track the magic on it."
Lily nodded, and James could see the way that her min began to drift.
"I can tell you what they discover," he said hesitantly. "If you'd like to know."
Lily looked conflicted, but finally nodded. "Alright then. If that's all, I must get back to work."
"Lils-"
"I'm fine, James." She bit before taking a deep breath. "I just want to get back to work."
Sensing that the conversation was over, James stood from his chair and buttoned his overcoat. "Take care of yourself, Lils. You need rest. Harry worries about you, you know."
The mention of their son softened Lily greatly, and she couldn't help but smile with warmth. "That boy. If his heart was any bigger I wager to say it wouldn't fit in his chest."
"He gets that from you. Now, go take a nap and pop in for a bath. You smell like old parchment."
She threw a scatter cushion at the door as he shut it behind him.
The book,Sanguis Magia Imperium, sat atop Regulus's desk in his private study, yet to be opened.
He had swore to himself that he was done with dark magic when the war was over. When Voldemort had fallen. The Black family was notorious for bending the rules, sure, but dark magic was wholly another thing.
It was no secret that Regulus Black assumed his soul already tainted. Cracked and unmanageable, if it still existed. But he didn't need dark magic anymore. The true evil of the wizarding world had been vanquished years prior. And although there were factions of death eaters that had continuously popped up over the years, it was never dire enough for him to step in.
Regulus was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear James enter.
"I really hate that you're always right."
Blinking rapidly, Regulus looked up at him.
"Not that I'm unhappy to hear those words, Potter, but what about?"
"Snape's been in contact with Lily after all. He's been leaving her flowers of all things! Can you believe that?"
James sunk down into the couch of Reg's living space after throwing off his overcoat, watching as Regulus rose from the chair to join him.
"Yes, actually," Regulus said as he sat down on the opposite end of the couch from James. "Severus was obsessed with Lily for years."
James scoffed as he turned to lay down on the couch, placing his head in Regulus's lap. "You would've thought he would have gotten the message after he helped slaughter her friends."
Regulus froze as James's head made contact with his thighs, a simple act of intimacy that was foreign to him. If James noticed, he didn't acknowledge it as he continued talking.
"There's no way in Merlin's beard that Lily would ever forgive him for the things he did during the war."
"...That's a hard thing to accept, Potter. That you're past the point of redemption."
Regulus hesitated only for a moment as he lifted his hand, letting it pause in the air before beginning to run his fingers through James's hair. Reg watched as James's eyes fluttered close, relinquishing in the feeling.
"You think there are people past the point of redemption?" James couldn't help but ask.
"Absolutely. You think Bella or Severus could ever be forgiven for what they've done?"
"No," James relented. "But what about other people? You, for example."
"What makes you think that I'm more wholly redeemable than someone like Severus?"
James could feel himself slipping, the rhythmic ministrations of Regulus running his fingers through his hair lulling him into a sleep that he hadn't known he needed. Despite that, he forced his words out.
"You traveled through bloody time, Love. If anyone is redeemable, it would be you."
The words were meant to soothe Regulus, to show him the care and adoration that James felt towards him without being too much. James understood that Regulus was the skittish type, and there would be no way that he could be truly forthcoming with how intense his feelings already were.
Despite how softly James had said it, he could feel Regulus's fingers freeze in his hair and his body go stiff. Opening one eye to look up at him, James noticed that all the color had drained from his face.
Regulus rose from the couch quickly, knocking James from his lap and almost into the floor. He stormed from the room into his sleeping quarters, and James could hear the lid of a trunk being flung open.
"Regulus?" James asked hesitantly as he slowly approached the door. "Was it something I said?"
But Regulus didn't answer as he continued to tear his room apart, throwing clothes and books and shoes in haste as if he was looking for something.
James watched as Regulus came unraveled in front of his eyes, his pupils dilating and his hair becoming unkempt from furiously pushing it from his eyes.
"What's wrong? Reg?"
It's only when James grabs him that he physically stops, his chest heaving as he tried to calm his beating heart.
"She's taken it, James," Reg spoke, his voice cracking as he buried his hands in the material of James shirt, begging him to understand. "The time turner."