Faded with you

“SIRIUS ORION BLACK!” yelled James after shaking, hitting, and even pulling the blanket off, still hadn't been able to wake up his best friend after rushing into the room, because he was due to play in 20 minutes and Sirius was apparently gone.

“What? What’s wrong with you?” Sirius asked, jerking up with his hair all messed up as Peter hid a laugh as he watched the scene.

“What’s…what’s wrong with me?”

“Yeah, it's like…what? Seven in the morning?”

“It's 5 in the evening, estúpido!” James said throwing a pillow at him.

“Don't spanish me!” Sirius answered by throwing it back at him as he sat up on the bed.

“Padfoot, move your ass from there! We have 20 minutes before the game! Why were you sleeping? Por el amor de Dios,” James said in exasperation as Sirius got out of bed still half asleep.

“I told Moony to wake me up at 4 o'clock." Sirius said as Remus made his entrance at that moment.

“Yeah?” he asked the boy hearing his name even before he entered the room.

“Moony! Why you didn't wake me up?” Sirius asked as he headed for the bathroom to quickly get settled into his Quidditch robes.

“I had an appointment with McGonagall but it took longer, I told Peter to wake you up if I didn't come back in time.”

“Oi, don't put me in! I wasn't even here before 10 minutes ago!”

“What? Of course you were! You were—oh.” Remus said looking at Peter's bed, which was as he had seen it before he walked out of the room, with the covers all piled up in one place that actually seemed to form the shape of a person. “My bad. I thought you were in bed.”

“Sirius, move!” James said as he looked at the watch in his hand.

“I'm ready,” the boy said, quickly leaving the bathroom with his uniform on and looking for the socks that Remus handed him on the fly, quickly returning to the bathroom, where he had his shoes.

“Thank you, Moons.” He said before closing the door.

“Get ready.” James said looking at Remus, who snorted.

“I'm not coming. I have—”

“I don't care. Sirius needs something to keep him awake.”

“And what do I have to do with it?”

“If he sees you in the stands he will dedicate all to you.”

“James—”

“Pete, you're coming too.”

“I'm ready.”  Said the boy leaning against the door and waiting for the others.

“The moon is in three weeks. And I know you had a nice cup of coffee before you came here. So now you will come to the game, so Sirius will see you there and play well.” James scanned as Remus rolled his eyes.

“I'm ready.” Sirius said the next moment actually coming out all ready and in less than 5 minutes.

“Why can't you be so fast in the morning?” Peter asked confusedly as Sirius smiled at him pleased with himself.

“See you later, Moony.” Sirius said leaning in to give him a kiss but Remus backed away slightly.

“I'm coming too.” Remus said with a sigh as he looked at James who smiled at him now.

“Seriously?” Sirius asked suddenly enthusiastic as Remus nodded wearily. Remus and Quidditch…they were two things that didn't have much to do with each other.

“Yes. C'mon.” Remus said as Sirius smiled broadly at him and James stormed out of the room, followed by the three.

Apparently luck was on their side, because when they arrived at the pitch, the match had been postponed for at least twenty minutes due to a boy from the Slytherin team who had taken ill and were now quickly looking for a replacement, who apparently they didn't have and the Slytherin captain, Ziana Zabini, didn't look happy at all.

“Hey, everything okay?” James asked approaching the girl, who at the moment was talking in a nervous whisper with Regulus who nodded observing the field.

“Potter. Yes, everything is fine.”

“We can speak to Madame Hooch if you feel unable to play today.” James said and apparently it was the wrong thing to say, because both boys gave him flat looks as the next moment Regulus' face lit up.

“Evan.”

“What?”

“Evan can play. He was always playing when we were kids, and he's really fast."

“Evan Rosier?”

“Evan Rosier.” Regulus said as Ziana turned to search for him with her gaze, finding him in the crowd talking to Barty, very close to his face, while Evan was looking at him with a little smile.

“I'm going to tell Dorcas to warm up, then. See you downstairs in 10 minutes. Potter.” Said the girl making a nod to James and quickly disappearing while Regulus cocked his bored head, quickly looking the field with his eyes.

“So you'll still be playing today.” James said as Regulus moved his gaze from the field to him, slowly.

“Did you have any doubts? We have a bet after all, don't we?”

“Are you still convinced of winning?” James asked smiling as Regulus studied him for a few seconds before asking,

“Are you still convinced of winning?”

“Of course. But I don't want to play dirty or take the lead.”

“The lead?” Regulus asked sarcastically putting his black gloves on his hands.

“I brought you something you can win with.” James said looking at his hands while Regulus looked at him curiously.

“How nice of you, Potter” Regulus said sarcastically.

“Right?” James asked with a smile

“…I was being sarcastic.”

“Well, it’s true, tough.”

“Yeah, whatever. What did you have to give me to win, now?”

“This.” James said reaching into his uniform sweater pocket and pulling out a small white flower, which turned out to be a jasmine flower, which even though it had been in James's pocket, as soon as he pulled it out, it seemed to come to life.

“A jasmine flower? Where did you get a jasmine flower from?” Regulus asked curiously as James handed it to him gently and Regulus took it between his fingers just as gently.

“I made it.” James said proud of himself while Regulus didn't look up from the flower.

“You made it.” Regulus repeated still not convinced while James smiled.

“It's made from an old sheet of a book I had.”

“Did you tear a page out of a book?” Regulus asked in a horrified tone while James didn't stop smiling.

“No. It was a page from my old sixth year diary. I took the wand and made it into a white jasmine, which if you put it in your pocket it won't spoil, because I made it flat but when you take it out of your pocket it will go back to that state. As freshly caught. Even if it wasn't caught. Mom always says that if you have to pick a flower it must be for a good reason, or else you are taking a life needlessly.”

“So I'm not a good reason?” Regulus asked raising an eyebrow as James almost immediately shook his head.

“Of course not! I did not say that. And I don't think so. I just thought you'd like a flower that's actually paper more… if you know what I mean.” James said anxiously as Regulus noticed that his accent came more clearly when he was anxious, so he gave a half smile, barely perceptible.

“I was kidding, Potter.”

“Just to be clear, you know? I think you are a very good reason to pick a flower. In fact, I’ll pick two, not one.”

“I'm glad you didn't, tough. Thank you.” Regulus said as James smiled again. “And prepare to lose.” He then added by placing the flower in the back of his trousers and looking up at James, who had leaned forward slightly, without wanting to.

“I will.” He answered the boy while Regulus rolled his eyes.

“What were you two talking about?” he asked Sirius appearing suddenly as James immediately pulled back and Regulus gave him a curious look.

“Nothing a guy like you would be interested in, Sirius.” Regulus said making a bored nod to his brother.

“You're gonna lose, Reggie.”

“Obviously. Especially now that we have Evan on the team.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you know? Evan will play with us. Good luck with that, big brother.” Regulus said with a satisfied smile as Sirius snorted.

“Rosier is really good. I've never won a match against him and Regulus.” Sirius said as James turned to him.

“Oi, stop that. We are going to win. Like always. C'mon. You have to dedicate the victory to Remus, don't you?”

“Obviously.” Sirius said with a smile as all the players now took the field, ready to play.

It turned out that Evan Rosier was one of the fastest players James had seen in those years at Hogwarts, and he honestly couldn't understand why he hadn't played sooner.

“Sirius!” James yelled at the boy, who had sent the Bludger with a perfect trajectory towards Evan, who had thrown it perfectly at a Gryffindor player, almost fully hitting him.

“I did not see him!”

“Open your eyes then!” James answered this by taking the quaffle and managing to score a goal to give his team the lead by only 10 points. “Marlene!”

“Coming!” answered the girl promptly by brandishing her mace and slamming the bludger towards the Slytherin team. They weren't playing badly. James would be lying to say such a thing. Only they were playing practically even. Every time James or another Chaser scored, the next moment the Slytherins scored another, as indeed they had now, while Ziana high-fived Regulus who scurried past her, standing high for get a better look at the field. The Snitch hadn't shown up yet from what James could guess.

After a few seconds, however, Madame Hooch announced the end of the first half and all the players came down from the sky, all except Regulus. Come on, how could James not go see why?

“Hi.” He said positioning himself next to him, while Regulus didn't take his eyes off the field. “What are we looking at?”

“The Snitch. Isn't that obvious?” Regulus asked as James turned to face the field so as not to be able to see him, though.

“And where?”

“Do you think I'll tell you?”

“Asking never killed anyone, did it?”

“Not exactly. But. It's right there.”

“Oh?” James asked, turning to the direction Regulus had nodded to him, to see that indeed the Snitch was flying low and quiet.

“He's been there for at least 3 minutes. Correction, now it's become 4.” Regulus said moving slightly towards James with a slight push, so that the Snitch was in his path.

“Why are you telling me this? I could easily tell my Seeker,” James said now turning to Regulus, who continued to look at the Snitch, but he took the elastic band around his wrist and tied the curls into a messy bun, while sweat trickled down his neck. Okay, maybe that wasn't exactly where James was supposed to be looking.

“Because then you will know where to look when I win the game and the bet.” Regulus said taking off his gloves now and putting them in his pocket as if nothing had happened without taking his eyes off the Snitch, which was now circling undisturbed. The next moment Ziana appeared beside them.

“Regulus?” She simply asked him and the boy looked away with a smile following her while James watched in silence.

As the second half began, James did the only thing he could think of. That is to score as many goals as possible, so that the advantage was minimal. Telling to his Seeker that the Snitch was in that position was pretty pointless, because if he had, Regulus would surely have caught it sooner and they would have lost. So after asking Marlene to cover for him, the boy played faster and more accurately than he had done in the first half, while Regulus watched him closely. When he finally scored his fifth goal, after at least ten saves from Dorcas, the boy received the nod from Ziana and then quickly moved to the right, while the commentator was concentrated on a maneuver that was happening on the opposite side. James raised his head and met Regulus' gaze, who had now reached the Snitch. And in that moment, even though James should have been sad, actually, angry that his team was about to lose, Regulus reached out his arm and smiled at him. Regulus smiled at him and took the Snitch as the Slytherin crowd began to roar at the sight of their victory. They had just won. And James had just lost. But god, it had been the best loss he had ever suffered.

The moment after the players got off their brooms, Regulus was immediately embraced by the whole team while his first name, or rather last name, was shouted by the Slytherin students, who were now first in the standings with an advantage of at least 100 points.

“You did great.” James said turning to his team, who were tired, wet (because they had played in the rain) and didn't seem so happy. “I am proud of you.” He added as the team, even if they didn't look happy, smiled at him, taking him in a hug while he laughed, just as wet.

“Congratulations, Reggie.” Sirius said stepping forward and Regulus gave him a slight smile.

“Thank you Sirius.”

“Enjoy this victory, because next time we will beat you.”

“Oh sure. Wait, didn't you say that last time too?” Regulus asked in a satisfied tone as Sirius nudged him affectionately.

“I didn't expect Rosier to play.”

“As if that was the real problem.” Regulus said rolling his eyes as Sirius smiled at him.

“You did good today, Reggie.” Sirius said as Regulus pushed him.

“Shut up.” Said the younger while Sirius smiled at him. The next moment they both turned to the two teams, who, at the moment, were pushing each other more than amicably. And they both headed over to see what was going on.

Apparently someone from the Slytherins had made a joke and the Gryffindors weren't too happy about it, that's it. But the situation began to worsen when someone said something nasty to Evan and Barty heard it. And oh, Barty would easily get into fights with someone if he said something about his friends. Telling something bad to Evan was even worse, that's why no one had done it. Until that moment. As soon as Evan heard the sentence he turned to Barty, hoping that he hadn't heard it, so that he wouldn't end up in detention again, but obviously luck wasn't on his side.

“What did you just say, you fucking idiot?” Barty asked taking a step forward as Evan got up beside him quickly.

“Bar, there is no need, c'mon.” Evan said in a calm tone while Barty obviously wasn't listening.

“You heard me, Crouch. Rosier is a—”

“You're dead.” Barty said leaning forward while the other boy did the same but at the same time both James and Regulus intervened, placing themselves in front of the two boys.

“Barty, stop it.”

“Did you hear what he said? I'm gonna kill him. He is dead. Fucking—”

“C'mon, it's not—”

“Get away from me, Potter!” Said the other boy pushing James, who honestly not expecting to be pushed, lost his balance and slammed hard towards Regulus, who was trying to calm down Barty, but was pulled to the ground by James' weight, and both boys fell to the ground, Regulus on top of James, who hit his back on the ground, his glasses crooked on his face.

“Putain.” Regulus cursed as James looked at him confused.

“What?” James asked as Regulus rolled his eyes trying to get up, but, you know, hard to do when you're practically soaking wet.

“MR. POTTER AND MR. BLACK!” shouted a voice that all the boys knew all too well, as they all straightened up and let Professor McGonagall through. “Get up immediately.”

“Putain.” Regulus cursed again somehow managing to get up while James was still on the ground, for a few seconds, before getting up too.

“I agree with what Reg said.” He said as McGonagall glared at him.

“I've never seen anything like this for a long time. Two students get into fights after a Quidditch match. 30 points from Slytherin and Gryffindor—”

“Oh come on.”

“And you're both grounded. Right after dinner.”

“Wait, what? Me and Potter? We did nothing!”

“Oh really? Was that why you were both on the ground, one on top of the other?”

“We fell!”

“Mr. Black.”

“I wasn't fighting Potter and he wasn't fighting me!”

“I am not interested. You are both grounded. And if you don't show up tonight, more points will be deducted from your houses. And Mr. Potter knows I'm not kidding.” He said as Regulus opened his mouth to protest but James spoke faster.

“We will be there at 10 sharp.” He said while the professor nodded, walking away the next moment.

“Are you kidding me?” Regulus asked turning to James who shrugged.

“What was I supposed to say?”

“The truth? Aren't you Gryffindors supposed to tell the truth and all that stuff? Justice is everything and—”

“Well—”

“—Fuck this.” Regulus said leaving followed by Evan and Barty, who didn't leave before hitting the boy who had insulted Evan with the shoulder.

“See you at 10, then!” James told him and Regulus didn't even turn around. Great. “You're out.” He then said turning to his chaser who raised his hands in the air.

“You're kidding, c'mon, I—”

“Don't care. You're off the team.” James said as Marlene pushed the boy, who looked at them surprised.

“Whatever.”

“Idiot. I'm sorry Jams.” Marlene said rolling her eyes and turning to her friend, who shrugged his shoulders. At least he would have spent more time with Regulus, right?

Apparently Regulus was angrier at James than at being grounded. How did you understand it? Well, by the fact that as soon as he arrived, at 9:55 to be precise, he didn't glance at James, not even when the boy greeted him. Or the fact that when Filch told him the punishment would be to clean all the stands without magic and then after handing over the wands, Regulus silently walked to the opposite side of where James was, to go clean. So the minutes passed in silence, with the two boys cleaning the stands getting closer and closer towards the center, where they would eventually have had to meet and honestly James would be lying if he hadn't skipped some space.

When the two were finally close enough, James noticed that Regulus was humming. And it was the first time he had heard Regulus hum.

“Are you…humming?” asked James stopping from cleaning and turning to Regulus, who stopped immediately, without looking up. “No, please, don't stop. I didn't mean it was bad. I've just never heard you, you know, humming,” James said as Regulus shrugged.

“I wasn't humming.”

“Are you sure? Because from what I've seen and heard—”

“I wasn't singing.”

“Humming not singing.” James corrected him with a smile as Regulus rolled his eyes. “What were you humming.”

“I wasn't humming.”

“Okay, well, if you ever had to hum something, what would it be?”

“Okay, what's wrong with you?” asked Regulus looking up from the stands and looking at James.

“Okay, I feel there is some negative energy between us and I don't understand why.”

“Why? Because, because of you I'm here cleaning the stands!” Regulus said loudly

“I'm sorry, because of me? What am I in? It wasn't me who insulted Barty or Evan!”

“But you told McGonagall we were fighting!”

“When did I ever say that?”

“You practically made her realize that!” Regulus said, gesturing with the dirty rag in his hand.

“What was I supposed to tell her?”

“The truth? Simply the truth! For once you had to tell her you didn't!”

“Okay, but—”

“And now I'm stuck here with you cleaning the stands instead of partying. I should be celebrating my victory with my friends but instead—”

“You don't even like to party!”

“Yes, i do!”

“No, you don't! You probably would have left earlier and gone to read or sleep!”

“As if you know what I like!” Regulus said nervously

“Yes I do!” James replied in an equally loud voice, even if not angry.

“Oh sure, because you always know everything, Mr. Potter.” Regulus said rolling his eyes as James snorted. “Don't talk to me.”

“And so what? Now will you never speak to me again?”

“Yes, that's what we'll do.”

“Oh sure, if Regulus says one thing it must be that.”

“What you're saying doesn't make sense.”

“As if all of the above speech made any sense.” James said in a low voice as Regulus gave him a flat look turning to go and clean the part that leaned towards the field while James finished the stands.

“Do you need help?” He asked the newly finished boy then, watching Regulus trying to lean over to clean a corner at the back.

“No.”

“Come on, I'll give you a hand so we can leave early, it's just 11 now.”

“Thanks but no.” Regulus said continuing to lean out alone while James huffed a laugh. “What's funny?” Regulus asked turning to James who shrugged.

“Nothing.”

“I want to laugh too. Come on, tell me.” Regulus said crossing his arms.

“If you don't get to that point, I can easily try it myself.” James said taking off his uniform jacket and placing it on his arm.

“No.”

“Come on, maybe those few centimeters I have more than you can help.” James said while Regulus turned away rolling his eyes.

“Too bad they can't help you with intelligence.”

“At least I'm taller than you.” James said with a smile as Regulus rolled his eyes again.

“Shut up, Potter.”

“C’mon, I can help.” James said taking steps forward and getting close to Regulus to help him.

“Go away, Potter.”

“I can—” began James reaching out his hand and leaning forward to take the patch but Regulus recoiled,

“No, you can't—” Regulus said before losing his balance and trying to hold on to James to keep from falling, but of course that didn't work, because James was leaning too far forward, so when Regulus fell over back, James followed close behind and the two boys fell from the stands towards the ground, meters away from where they had been before.

Now, you may be wondering, what were the last thoughts of James and Regulus before falling from at least 20 meters high on the wet Quidditch ground?

James's was definitely some bad word or profanity in Spanish, we can be pretty sure about that.

Regulus's, however, because he is Regulus after all, was: “I hate James Fleamont Potter.”