the arrival
James loved autumn. There was just something so appealing about the cold weather, not too cold to be outside but the wind had a harsh enough chill that you needed to wrap up warm.
However, sometimes the wind can blow too hard, and the rain can come pouring down in buckets. These are the days James hates. There's simply nothing for him to do inside. He can't run about, he can't play football with Sirius and Peter, he's just so bored. Nothing exciting can happen on a day that has black clouds heavy in the sky and raindrops splashing on the ground. Well, it seemed today was the exception.
James and Sirius were lounging about , laughing at eachothers jokes and waiting for Remus to show up. The house was empty apart from the two boys, as James' parents had gone out for the week, trusting James and Sirius to be careful and make sure the house was still standing when they returned, with the promise that Remus would visit everyday to keep an eye on them.
They had been true to their word, and for the past couple of days their friend had showed up at the exact same time every day. However, today he was late. Very late.
The two boys hadn't really noticed at first, busy reading their respective books or looking at phones, and glancing at the clock every so often until it had reached a whole hour after the time Remus was supposed to arrive.
"I wonder what's keeping him...", James mutters to himself, sitting up and looking over at Sirius, "You think he's alright, yeah?"
Sirius just shrugs, humming in agreement whilst trying to finish the page he's reading.
When there's a sharp knock at the door, Sirius leaps out of his chair and bounds towards the door, pulling it open eagerly only for his shoulders to slump forwards and his eyebrows to raise.
James couldn't hear much from his position on the sofa, but he could make out muffled conversation if he tried hard enough.
"Why are you here? Are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you? Come here, let me check-"
"Oh would you get off me you idiot? Yes of course I'm fine! Now can you please just let me in so I can dry off? I'm soaked out here!"
When two figures appear through the door, James is expecting to see Remus, and was ready to make him explain himself for his late arrival. What he was not expecting to see, however, was a man about his age, maybe a little younger, who he didn't recognise. Who was he and why did Sirius let him in? Obviously, well hopefully, Sirius knew him. From across the room, the man stopped abruptly, staring intently at James.
The first thing that he noticed was the stranger's eyes. They were grey like a stormy afternoon, and had a certain coldness to them that chilled him down to the bone. He shivered. Then, the eyes glanced away, leaving James breathless and intrigued. Who was he? This mysterious boy who waltzed in and caught his attention instantly.
He was so nearly Sirius, but not quite. No, Sirius was taller, his hair was longer and was almost always wrapped up tight to the top of his head. Did Sirius have a brother? James didn't recall it ever being mentioned, but it could have easily slipped his mind if he was thinking about something else.
It tends to happen a lot.
Suddenly, James' shoulders are being shaken and two heads of black hair appear in front of him.
"James, mate! Are you there? Earth to James?", Sirius chuckles, flashing a grin at him that was just so Sirius
"Wha- Were you saying something? Sorry, I got a bit distracted there for a minute I think. Might have zoned out", James replies slowly, searching around the room for the grey eyes to get lost in once again. He's taken by surprise, however, when they're right in front of him, glaring expectantly at him.
"Oh, hello. Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before..." James mumbles, looking over at Sirius confused.
The eyes roll, briefly breaking eye contact before speaking.
"I'm Regulus, Sirius' little brother?" James still looked confused.
"Oh seriously? Has he really never mentioned me?"
James shakes his head, suddenly finding it hard to breathe with such a hard stare piercing right into him, like a spear into his chest.
Regulus closes his eyes before sighing, then saying no more before he gets up and walks away, leaving an annoyed Sirius and a still confused James, both staring at the empty spot that had been taken up only moments before.
Sirius bites his lip, groaning quietly.
"I am so sorry about him. He's not normally like this, I swear!"
James chuckles, following Regulus' retreating frame with his eyes, wishing he could see those eyes just one more time.
After a while, he replies, turning to face his best friend. "You never told me you had a brother. How come I've never heard anything about him? In all our years we've known each other I'm actually offended-"
Placing his hand over James' mouth, Sirius sighs. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, I really am. I should have told you about him before, that's my fault. It's just- I kind of wasn't allowed to see him?", Sirius laughs at James' widening eyes, "It sounds absolutely mental, I know. So basically, when I got kicked out by my *lovely* mother, I was cut off entirely from the whole family... It was fine for the most part, but it did mean that I haven't seen Reggie in about 4 years. No contact, no visits, nothing."
James bites down on Sirius' finger, forcing him to take his hand away from his mouth. He gets an angry glare for that, but it's alright, he knows he deserves it.
"Reggie? That's so cute!" James teases, his eyebrows raising as Sirius' cheeks tinge pink.
Flustered, he starts, "I didn't mean to call him that, I don't know why I said that!", he buries his head in his hands, "I haven't called him that since we were about 8!"
James shakes his head, chuckling before walking over to where Regulus is now stood alone, drying off in the corner.
As he approaches, he notices the grey eyes flicking around the room, desperately trying not to meet James'. However, when James eventually stands in front of him, he has no choice but to carefully raise his eyes for them to meet. A smile glances across his lips, before the cold stare sets back in.
"Hey Reggie!", James could almost laughs at the panic that flashes across Regulus' face, his eyes widening comically.
"Who told you about that nickname? Don't call me that. Never call me that." James smirks, tilting his head to the side innocently. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't realise you had a strong dislike for such a cute nickname..." Regulus blushes at this, but James doesn't notice. He's too busy staring into his eyes. They're the kind that can drag you in, drown you in their murky depth. James decides he wouldn't mind to drown in Regulus' eyes. In fact, he'd probably thank him for letting him stay lost inside them.
Regulus clears his throat loudly.
"Sorry, what were you saying? I got a bit distracted again."