Chapter 1 - The Goblet of Fire
"Please don't. Do you know how many people have died in this tournament?" Regulus pleaded as they strolled the empty halls completing their prefect rounds.
The moonlight lit the hall and fell perfectly across Regulus' face as he and James passed the open windows out into the courtyard.
Crickets chirped their loud melodies and the wind whistled through the the blades of grass.
James sighed brushing his thumb across the back of Regulus' hand, "I don't, but I'm sure you'll tell me-"
"One hundred and ninety-six. Out of the four hundred and twenty champions", Regulus quipped, "That's a 46% percent death rate-"
"You worry too much." James assured the boy, interrupting him from rambling- something the younger boy did when he was anxious.
"You don't worry enough." Regulus frowned.
James stopped before facing the smaller boy. The hand not holding Regulus' made its way to the boys cheek.
"You're cute." James cooed as he scrunched his nose slightly.
"Remus got Sirius to see reason, why won't you?" Regulus quizzed.
"I just need a little excitement in my life." James shrugged.
"Excitement? Being best friends with a werewolf isn't enough excitement? Being an illegal animagni isn't exciting?" Regulus exclaimed before lowering his voice slightly, "Sneaking around with your best friend's baby brother isn't exciting?"
"You know what I meant." James said with a soft smile.
"I do. You, James Potter, cannot stray away from a challenge." Regulus said rolling his eyes.
James pressed a soft kiss to Regulus' lips.
"I doubt I'll even get picked", James assured, "You'll see it'll be perfectly fine."
Regulus didn't say anything as they returned to their rounds, but every so often James could feel Regulus' small cold fingers tighten their grip on his own hand.
Regulus couldn't stop thinking about it. Not as James walked him back to the Slytherin house. Not as he kissed him goodnight. And especially not as Regulus laid in his four poster bed staring up at the wooden overhang.
Two in every five champions were fatally injured or handicapped for life and Regulus couldn't afford James to be one of those two.
So Regulus did what he usually did when he felt helpless- Research.
Lots and lots of research.
***
By Halloween feast Regulus was buzzing with anxiety. His head convulsed inside his skull and he was ready to get on with it already.
"You look like you could use someone to take your mind off things."
Regulus was snapped out of his thoughts by the thick Bulgarian accent.
The boy wore a layered Durmstrang uniform that made Regulus sweat from just looking at it.
He had messy brown hair that hung just below his chin and high, defined cheek bones.
What Regulus found the most intriguing was his eyes as one was a piercing blue and the other a soft green.
"You have no idea." Regulus huffed.
"Ivan." The boy said as he sat down across the table from Regulus.
"Regulus." Regulus politely replied back.
"So Regulus, did ya place your name in the cup?" He quizzed.
"Nah. Not my thing. I'm just-"
"Worried about someone you carried about, who did." Ivan finished practically reading his mind.
"Yeah." Regulus explained.
"I get that. My twin sister, Evangeliya, put her name in. Tried to convince her not to, but she told me I was too young to understand. She's only three minutes older." Ivan scoffed causing Regulus to chuckle.
"What about you, didn't want the 'eternal glory'?" Regulus quizzed playfully.
"Oh believe me, I would if I could. Just the downfalls of being born with Hemophilia, which is-" Ivan started.
"Where your blood fails to clot normally, in which any small injury could lead to bleeding out." Regulus finished for the boy.
"And here I thought I'd sat at the Slytherin table." Ivan hummed.
As he smiled Regulus spotted slightly crooked teeth, which Regulus thought added to his overall mystique.
"You did, but you just so happened to sit with the one Slytherin who has more useless knowledge in his pinky finger than anyone else does in their entire body." Regulus explained causing both boys to break out into laughter.
"Attention! Can I have everyone's attention." Dumbledore started as Regulus and Ivan quieted and focused their attention on the headmaster.
"Tonight the cup will choose three champions. One to represent each school. Those champions will compete in a set of tasks to be named Triwizard champion and be granted eternal glory." Dumbledore exclaimed.
The goblets blue flames lit the room covering the entire Great Hall in blue hues.
The blue quickly burned a blood red before it spit out a singed piece of parchment.
Dumbledore swiftly caught the paper slip.
The crowd of student watched anxiously before Dumbledore spoke.
"The Durmstrang champion is.... Evangeliya Angelov!" Dumbledore announced.
Regulus watched as the Durmstrang students went wild.
The long brown haired girl stood up from the table proudly. She looked somewhat identically to Ivan except her eyes were both a hazel color.
She had dark freckles dusted across her nose, unlike Ivan, and her face held a victorious smirk.
She was extremely confident and very pretty, if Regulus was into that kind of thing.
She walked over to Dumbledore, shaking the old man's hand before walking out past the teachers table and disappearing from sight.
Regulus turned to Ivan who seemed to be taking it better than Regulus would've.
Regulus also noted Evangeliya had fuller lips, and a smaller nose.
"Are you worried?" Regulus asked sympathetically.
"Eva is the strongest person I know. If anyone can do it, it's her." Ivan assured with the utmost faith in his twin.
Regulus admired his devotion sending him a smile before watching from the corner of his eye as the fire burned red once more.
Dumbledore flipped the slip of paper open with his long wrinkled fingers.
"Representing Beauxbaton is- Jacques Bureau!" Dumbledore called.
Regulus watched the boy stand from the table. He had lovely caramel skin and dark brown eyes. He was dressed in the pastel blue palette of the Beauxbatons uniform.
He was tall and slim and he had short curly hair.
He glided toward Dumbledore repeating Evangeliya's actions before flashing his blinding, million Galleon, smile at the girls as he passed.
As his head disappeared from view Regulus grew more anxious. By this point he was ready to puke into the closest bucket.
The fire glowed red for the last time as Regulus sucked in a breath.
"The moment you've all been waiting for. The Hogwarts champion is", Dumbledore paused as he opened the charred slip, "James Potter!"
Regulus was sure time stopped. His eyes darted towards the boy, making temporary eye contact.
James looked surprised, sending Regulus a look of sympathy, before Sirius pushed him upwards.
James shook it off before strutting towards Dumbledore as the entire school went wild.
Sirius whistled as the Marauders clapped the loudest out of everyone.
Regulus just blinked in shock as James disappeared from the hall.
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that was exactly who you didn't want it to be." Ivan muttered.
Regulus let out a breath, running his hand nervously through his hair, "What gave me away?"
Ivan chuckled which made Regulus feel slightly better.
"Wherever trouble is, James is sure to follow." Regulus huffed.
"There we have it! Our three Triwizard champions! Let the 141st Triwizard Tournament commence!" Dumbledore exclaimed.
***
Regulus waited with great anxiety for James to show up to their Prefect meeting spot.
Although he had no clue if James would even show, Regulus still waited.
"Regulus?" James quizzed as he waved his hand in front of the boy's eyes.
He'd been standing there calling the boys name for a couple of minutes now.
Regulus swiftly wrapped his arms around James hugging him tightly.
"I'm fine. Everything's fine." James assured pulling away from the hug.
"Okay. Okay" Regulus started as he began to pace, "I did some research, there's three tasks- each an element- The first is something to do with fire, the second water, and earth. I'll do more research-"
"No, no, no. You'll sleep is what you'll do", James insisted as he stopped Regulus, "When is the last time you actually got a good nights rest?"
Regulus groaned lightly, "I don't know, James...."
James frowned at his answer.
"You could stay at mine?" James suggested.
Regulus furrowed his eyebrows, "Yours? I can't stay at yours with my brother sleeping three feet away."
"He'd never know. It's not like we're doing anything other than sleeping so there'd be no noise complaints. Plus he's the last to get up in the morning, we just have to slip out earlier which is easy." James explained.
"I see you've done a lot of thinking about this." Regulus said raising his eyebrows in amusement.
"I'm one of the Triwizard champions, anything's possible if you've got enough nerve." James quipped.
"That's just your massive ego talking." Regulus teased playfully.
James pressed their lips together, allowing Regulus to taste vanilla on his breath.
Regulus melted into the kiss, allowing his thoughts of the tournament to momentarily slip from his mind and be replaced by thoughts of James.
The feeling of James' soft lips moving against his.
The feeling of James' warm finger gripped onto his elbows to steady him.
The feeling of their bodies, inches apart as heat radiated from them.
Mostly his mind was caught on the breathlessness he felt as James pulled away.
James' hand fell down his elbow before interlocking his fingers with Regulus'.
"Come on, you owe me." James begged as he pushed his bottom lip out.
"How so?" Regulus quizzed.
"Because you've looked this pretty all day and I haven't gotten to enjoy it because someone decided to befriend a Durmstrang instead of-" James started.
"Oh my Godric. You're jealous!" Regulus exclaimed before breaking out into a fit of laughter.
"He's a strong, attractive boy! That's kinda your type!" James huffed before pouting.
Regulus rolled his eyes at the fact that James managed to compliment himself even in his dramatic state.
"Don't be dense, Jamie. My type is you- James Potter- just you." Regulus assured the boy.
James sighed as Regulus squeezed James' fingers.
"I know. It's just- what we have is almost too good to be true. Like I have never been as happy as I am when I'm with you." James explained.
"You really know how to make a boy feel special." Regulus joked playfully.
"You are special, Regulus." James muttered genuinely.
Regulus felt the warmth spread through his cheeks as he looked down at their intertwined fingers.
James slid his fingers to gently grab Regulus' chin and push his head up for their eyes to meet again.
James placed a quick peck to Regulus lips as he smiled into the kiss.
"We'll never get to your dorm at this rate." Regulus chuckled as he pulled away.
Regulus took the first initiative to begin pulling James out of the classroom, the boy gleaming as he followed behind.
Regulus wasn't even sure how they'd made it to the Gryffindor portrait.
James muttered the password before reattaching his lips to Regulus'.
They stumbled blindly into the Gryffindor common room, as James' hands slid up Regulus' shirt.
Regulus was cold to the touch and James warmed every bit of him as his fingers spread fire through his entire body.
James' tongue explored every inch of Regulus' mouth. Reveling in the taste of him.
The pair stumbled up the stairs, breaking apart as Regulus backed against a wall.
James pushed him further against the wall, his arm beside the younger boys head as their lips molded together.
Regulus gripped onto the boys shirt pulling their bodies closer.
He lightly pushed James back before dragging him up the stairs by his shirt.
James slipped from Regulus' grip as he peaked his head into the dorm.
Peter and Sirius' bed curtains were closed and Peter's loud snoring filled the room.
James smirked before grabbing Regulus and yanking him into the room, gently shutting the door.
Regulus and James both kicked off their shoes as they moved towards James' bed.
Regulus' fingers moved to his pants, unbuttoning them as they fell to the ground- leaving the boy in checkered boxers and his button-up shirt.
James smirked at that action, fumbling with his belt before just deciding to squeeze out of his pants.
Regulus pushed James back onto the bed as the older boy moved further back into the pillows.
Regulus dragged the curtains closed before straddling James.
He pressed his lips back to James' in desperation as his cold finger slipped underneath James shirt and up his chest.
The pair pulled back allowing Regulus to pull James' shirt off his head and discard it.
Reattaching their lips, James slipped his tongue back in gaining the dominance Regulus was glad to give.
James unbuttoned Regulus' shirt as they pressed their lips together with an extremity of passion.
Regulus pulled back as James pushed his shirt off his shoulders, throwing it, before flipping them to hover over the younger boy.
James pressed soft kisses down the boys sharp jaw and towards his neck, where he began leaving love-bites.
"What happened to 'just sleeping'?" Regulus teased with a soft laugh.
James pulled back- failing to concealing his smile, "I lied."