Lady stardust

James and Sirius walked around the train platform in Hogsmeade, saying their last goodbyes to their friends for the school year and making plans for the summer. "Where is he?" Sirius mumbled under his breath. "Moony just went over to say goodbye to Regulus, but I'm sure you could drag your boyfriend away," James joked. Sirius's face reddened. He and Remus had been officially together since that night they first kissed, and James had barely been able to get them apart, which, all in all, was not too bad; it just meant he could hang out with Regulus more.

James and Sirius went over to the two boys talking about their summer reading plans. "Only my Moony would be about to leave school and talk about books he is going to read over the summer," Sirius said, then he pulled Remus's hand up to his mouth, kissing his knuckles.

Regulus met James's gaze, smiled, and rolled his eyes at their friends. James pulled out his little sticky note from under his robe and wrote, 'You know you want to do that.' He smirked, watching Regulus read the note. Instead of getting all flustered, Regulus wrote, 'You're lucky that you can't see me this summer because next year when we get back here, I'm going to-.' His writing was cut off by the Hogwarts Express horn blowing.

"Come on, come on!" the conductor called. Remus and Sirius hurried in front of James and Reggie. James stepped closer to Reg and whispered, "Why don't you tell me what you were going to write." Regulus just smiled and whispered back, "Next year," before running off to find Evan and Barty.

James caught up to Peter, Remus, and Sirius in their compartment. It was about to be summer break.

"Bye Pads, see you in two weeks," James said sadly when he got off the train. Sirius had agreed to go back home for two stupid weeks just to please his parents. Sirius shot a yearning look at Remus, who gently squeezed his hand. "Bye Moons. I will see you guys sometime, I'm sure, just write," he reminded Sirius.

James waved him off, leaving Sirius to go find the Black family. James found Effie and Fleemont waving eagerly to him. "Mum, Dad!" he called, running up to them. "James, so good to see you," Effie grinned, hugging him so tightly he thought his ribs might break. "Hey, Mrs. Potter," Marlene said smirking, which rewarded her a swift elbow in the ribs by Dorcas and a kick to the shin by James. "Hello Marlene, tell your mum I said hello," Effie said innocently.

The following two weeks were the worst of Sirius's year. It seemed that his parents had become more insane, strict, and vicious since last seeing them. Walburga was now locking Regulus away for most of the day and Crucioing the two at any minor inconvenience. Sirius hated this most of all since Walburga never Crucioed Reg around Sirius before, and hearing his brother's demented shrieks was the worst noise in the world.

The house also seemed to become colder and grayer; everything felt bleak and draining. So when the two weeks were up, he practically ran out the door to go to James's house.

"Sirius, I'm glad you made it here in not too bad condition," Effie said smiling as she opened the door. Of course, she noticed the telltale scars of Walburga's torment, but at least he was not a broken mess right now. "Yeah, thanks Effie for letting me stay here," he said thankfully, hoping she knew how much it meant.

Effie, of course, perfectly understood. "Umm yes, I know your mother can be difficult..." she said, biting her lip as if to hold back more hateful words towards that terrible excuse for a mother Walburga. "I have food in the kitchen; you look a bit frail. I'm sure James is in his room but will be down soon; he has been looking forward to your arriving," Effie said, gesturing to Fleemont, who was preparing lunch. "Thank you, Mrs. Potter," Sirius said, smiling as he hugged her. He was finally home.

The summer went on as normal with James and Sirius, and sometimes Peter, exploring the small London town he lived in, going to the movies, and messing with the mean old lady who worked in the sweets shop. They had gotten a few letters from Remus, talking about how things were going in the boys' home he lived in and the adventures he went on with his friends there. Remus hoped to be able to visit soon.

James sent letters to Regulus too but barely got any in return. He was not able to use the pink note on account of he lost it in the wash one day when his mother took his clothes from his room before he had time to get it out of his jean pocket.

It seemed like things at the Black family home were going as per usual according to Reg. He talked about the books he was reading and how he missed James but failed to mention the locking away or the Crucio, but James could tell by his shaky handwriting and the little bit Sirius had told him.

"I feel like a bad brother sometimes, but what can I do?" Sirius sighed one day as he lay on the warm grass in the Potter's yard. "You're not a bad brother, Sirius; you do what you can," James reminded him. Sirius frowned. "I know. I just wish we could do more since he is getting punished more and more. I'm guessing since I'm not there to defend him."

It hurt James to think of Reg getting hurt, even more when he remembered there was nothing he could do but wait.

"Please no, not him!!!" Sirius shrieked one night, waking from a nightmare.

James was already awake or never went to sleep. It was 2 in the morning, and James was crying over the most recent letter he had gotten.

'Sorry I have not written in a while; things have been tough here. I really miss you and hate that you worry so much about me, but things will be better one day maybe. Mum has been worse than usual; I'm getting punished more often. I finally know what it feels like to be Sirius. I'm sorry this letter is sadder than normal; just needed to mention it to someone just to get it off my chest. My heart, as usual, is yours, R.A.B.'

James barely even noticed Sirius awaken. "What was it this time?" He asked, trying to stop the crying. "Reg," Sirius mumbled. "Oh," James paused. "Um, it was him getting Crucioed by Mother. I was a ghost; I saw it but could not do anything; he was shrieking my name." Sirius choked out.

James tried to blink back the tears, but they came anyway. "God damn it, Sirius," he gasped. "It fucking sucks; I can't do anything!" Sirius cried. "I know! And he is far too pure for that family; you can see how they crush him. He is too kind and brilliant and loving and amazing for them!" James burst out angrily.

Sirius looked shocked by this; of course, he knew James and Regulus were friends; he had mentioned it a few times but never knew that they were this close. "Wow, you really care about him," Sirius said slightly confused.

"Care about him? I love him!!" James exclaimed before realizing what he said.

There was silence for a minute while Sirius comprehended this. The tension was thick; no one knew what to do. "You love him..." Sirius finally said. James nodded and took a deep breath. "He's the boy I told you about," he managed to say eventually. "Oh shit," Sirius froze, really taking it in.

His best friend and his brother, James and Regulus.

"How long?"

"Christmas."

"Shit, when you talked about him being a good kisser... that was Reg."

"Yeah."

"You and Reg."

"Yeah, me and Reg."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

Sirius was not sure what to do; was he supposed to be angry or happy or what the hell was he supposed to do! His best friend and brother! How could James risk things by going for Regulus! That was messed up, not to mention he did not even bother to tell Sirius. Why! Did he not trust him?

Sirius took a moment to look out the window, locating his and Reg's stars. On the other hand, Regulus was a broken kid from a broken family, and he needed something good. James was something good. "So...." Sirius sighed. "So," James agreed. "Do you really love him, like actually love him, not just a little fling?" Sirius asked. James nodded. "Yes, you have no fucking idea." Wow, James barely ever cursed!

Sirius broke down crying again. "God damn it," he cried through gritted teeth, "you're way more involved in my family's mess than I fucking thought. Fuck me," he muttered.

James nodded in agreement as he walked over to the window. "Yeah, sometimes it fucking sucks knowing how much you two are hurt by them, but it's worth it, you know," James sighed, thinking of Regulus. "God damn it, Prongs, I should fucking kill you." He said, smiling as he wiped his tears. "You and Regulus."

Sirius agreed not to tell anyone, just as Reg would want. This was easy since Sirius had always been good at keeping secrets; you have to growing up in that sort of environment. Things were not all bad though; Moony was planning on visiting soon!

Sirius had two options: he could either tell Effie that him and Remus are a couple or just pretend to be friends.

"Are you sure you're ready?" James asked when Sirius was about to leave the spare bedroom that had become Sirius’s room. He took a deep breath. "Yeah, I think so," he said quietly.

James waited in the stairwell, trying to hear what was happening in the kitchen.

"Excuse me, Effie, could I talk to you about something?" Sirius asked nervously, approaching the kitchen island. "Of course, Sirius; I'm always here; what do you need?" She said happily. Effie felt relieved; was Sirius finally going to fully open up about what happens at his home with his parents and ask to stay at the Potters full time? Of course, this was not it.

"Well, um, you know mine and James's friend Remus, right?" Effie paused for a moment, slightly confused. "Of course, what a smart kid; really keeps you two from getting into too much trouble," she laughed. "Is everything alright with him? Did something happen?" She asked worried.

Sirius gulped. "No, no, nothing bad happens; everything is great. Remus is really great," he said, avoiding eye contact. "So what did you want to talk about then?" Effie asked, bringing Sirius a cup of tea.

Sirius’s face blushed, "well um, Remus is my boyfriend…me and him are…" he said nervously. "Oh," Effie said calmly. "And um, I understand if you don't agree with it, and you can kick me out or something, and um, just don't tell anyone, no matter what you think, just please. I really love him and want him to be safe," Sirius blurted out nervously. That was it; he was sure he would have no home anymore. He had lost his family.

"Oh no dear, that's not what I meant," Effie said reassuringly as she hugged Sirius tightly. "I'm really happy for you; Remus is a good boy, and I always had a feeling about him… it is lovely; I'm very happy for you," she said happily. "Thanks, Effie," Sirius smiled; it felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulder. "I just know that things can be difficult for boys like you, so please try and be safe," she said nervously. "Yeah, thank you."

"Is that all?" She asked. Sirius nodded. "Yeah, that's it." He smiled. "Well, go on then; I'm sure James is waiting to hear how it went," she giggled. Sirius’s face reddened.

As he was about to walk up the stairs, Effie called out. "Sirius, let James know there is nothing that would ever make me not love you two and be proud of you."

"How did it go?" James asked when Sirius and him made it back to James's room. "I could only hear a small part; you guys were quiet," James elaborated. "Really good; she said she is happy for me, and that she would always love and be proud of us," James grinned. "Thank goodness; that's amazing!" James exclaimed flopping on his bed. "Yeah, it is," Sirius laughed. "Come on, let's go see if Pete is busy; we should all go get ice cream or something to celebrate."