the view between villages

three years ago

regulus

regulus smooths his palms over his flowing black robes, inhaling deeply behind his silver mask. with every brush of fabric against his fresh scarring wounds, he winces. it’s painful, especially in the center of his chest where bellatrix had gotten him with a cursed dagger. 

the dark mark on his left forearm burns, more severe with every second he chooses to ignore it. maybe, once all of this is over, pandora can create a spell to suck it out. if it’s ever over. 

regulus sucks in a deep breath and, with a sharp tug in his gut, apparates to lestrange manor. it’s a huge, imposing building, more a castle than a home. the architecture is similar to medieval romania, the manor having been made in likeness with vlad the impaler’s castle located there, and the stone has been darkened and cracked with age. weeds, blossoming with purple and white flowers, grow through cracks in the marble stairs beneath his feet. regulus has an odd thought that lestrange sr. would be most offended by the state of his manor in his death. 

the first thing that hits him, upon the manor’s doors swinging open, is the stench of death. it’s ripe and all consuming, swirling in the air and hardening against the thin skin of his nostrils. it’s not a new smell — it hasn’t been for nearly a year now, not since joining the death eaters — but it’s unwelcome all the same. he grimaces minutely against it and wonders which unfortunate victims he’s currently smelling. 

it becomes apparent when he enters the drawing room. the stench is especially strong here, only adding to the discomfort he feels as he immediately takes a knee before the dark lord and lowers his head. he barely sees the movement of the man beckoning for him to stand. 

“dear regulus,” the man sighs, warped voice dripping with malice. regulus looks up to him as he crosses his hands in front of his hips, taking in the gaunt, pale skin and odd eyes of smoldering crimson. “it’s come to my attention that a handful of my followers are active enjoyers of sodomy. have you any information pertaining to these allegations?” 

“i do not, my lord,” regulus responds dutifully around the lump in his throat. there are only a few people this accusation could pertain to, all of which are dear to him. his heart thunders in his chest as dread seeps into the pit of his stomach. “might i inquire who these sodomites are?” 

“you may,” the dark lord grants, then chuckles beneath his breath. “i think you’ll find that they’re present in the room with us. take a look around, young regulus.” 

regulus gulps down the fear seizing his throat and swivels his head, taking in the drawing room from floor to ceiling. as he spins slowly on his heels, scrutinizing every inch of the room, the dark lord continues speaking. 

“i find it incredibly hard to believe you’ve no knowledge on these heinous creatures, seeing as you were well acquainted with them in your years at hogwarts. you truly aren’t aware of any in our ranks who possess such perverse affinities?” 

“no, my lord,” regulus repeats dutifully. he turns his back entirely to the dark lord and scrapes his eyes across the floor, coming across a strange shadow above the door. he inhales shakily. his eyes follow the shadow to the high ceiling, painted with a gorgeous mural of wizarding history. the ceiling is maimed by two corpses suspended in midair, limp like dolls with their strings cut. 

evan rosier and barty crouch jr. hang above his head. he closes his eyes and sucks in a breath through his mouth, which is a mistake, because he can taste their decomposition on his tongue. no matter how tightly he clenches his eyelids, he cannot wipe away the horrid image of barty, with a gaping mouth and dull eyes, and evan, face half collapsed on itself and flesh hanging from his skull. it’s clear that evan put up more a fight than barty, which can only mean that barty was the first to go.

regulus is overcome with nausea. he chokes back his sick and faces the dark lord, schooling his face into something neutral. 

“i was not aware of this,” regulus says, sounding hollow to his own ears. he feels the pins and needles of the dark lord’s magic colliding with his occlumency wards, fighting the structure of them, and pushes back with all the magic he possesses in his body. 

“i see. you may leave,” the dark lord says finally with a wave of his hand. “you’d do well to remember that sodomites have no place among my ranks. let this be a firm message to all of you.” 

regulus leaves with bile burning his throat and a void in his chest. it takes nearly two weeks for him to notice peter pettigrew’s sudden onset jumpiness and the obvious guilt shining in his dulled blue eyes. 

present day

lily

it’s a well known fact that healers, especially those in the mind wellness ward, are prone to bouts of stress. it’s one of the largest warnings given to new healers — the work is taxing and emotionally scarring at best, decimating and all consuming at worst. lily was well aware of this when she’d taken the job, and continues to be well aware of it with every shift she spends in the facility. 

she’s training under a healer she’d gone to hogwarts with briefly — frank longbottom, whose wife works with sirius in the auror department — and he’s been the most helpful person out of the entire staff. not only because she and her husband and son are practically celebrities due to their survival of the dark lord. not even because she’d been one of the most brilliant witches to come out of hogwarts in all of history. 

no, frank is kind simply because he is frank. he’s got a dazzling smile and a ginormous heart — sort of like james, only without the massive ego to come with it. he’s a bit on the shorter side and a lot on the broader side, though he treats his patients with such tender care that lily has unashamedly named him her idol. he is everything she wants to be within her career. 

she tells james and regulus this much quite frequently, which only results in incessant teasing (followed by high praise and encouragement, because her boys are lovely and they adore her to pieces). frank is one of the only reasons she manages to come home in one piece and in a well enough mood to indulge the consistent rowdiness of her home. 

so you can imagine her surprise when, on a better day as far as st. mungo’s goes, the house is dead silent. she’s already prepared herself for the toddler bound to knock her on her arse, and the armful of grown man she calls her husband, and the gentle act of her favourite black brother taking off her shoes. there is no toddler in sight or within hearing distance. the house is still down to the very air particles.

she sighs as she moves through the cottage — toeing off her shoes by the door, hanging her coat in the hall closet, discovering harry’s room empty and her own room desolate, changing into a pair of james’ joggers and one of regulus’ ginormous jumpers. she pads her way to the kitchen and puts the kettle on, admiring the sloppy crayon art on the refrigerator as she waits for it to heat. there’s a scrap of parchment stuck to the refrigerator — likely with a sticking charm knowing her husband, who can’t figure out how a tape dispenser works and is far too scared of the alphabet magnets to touch them. 

‘gone to the grocers for date night. haz is with pads. little king will descend upon our humble abode in due time. 

— j.f.p.’

lily lets out a long sigh through her nose just as the kettle begins to squeal. she takes it off the burner and prepares herself a lovely cup of green tea. it burns her tongue as she sinks into the couch cushions and snatches her worn copy of pride and prejudice from the end table. 

she gets a total of twenty minutes of reading in before the sound and the ripple of the wards alerts her to regulus’ arrival. he sweeps in from the kitchen and plants a kiss high on her cheekbone, then collapses into the couch with a great sigh. he looks exhausted — heavy bags beneath his eyes, an unfamiliar slump to his posture, and a foreign messiness to his hair — which is likely from the recent work he’s put into preparing his apothecary in diagon. 

“busy day?” she inquires, easily placing a foot in his lap. he grunts in agreement as he twists to rest his back against her chest. she wordlessly begins kneading at the tightened muscles in his neck and shoulders, and he proceeds to do the same for her aching feet. 

“no one ever tells you how strenuous opening a business tends to be,” he complains. he moans, low and savory in his chest, when she prods at a particularly sizable knot at the base of his neck. she’d be lying if she said it didn’t spur on some less than innocent feelings. though, to be fair, most of regulus’ actions invoke a sense of depraved desire within her. most of james’ do as well. perhaps she is simply depraved and desiring. 

“i can’t imagine they would disclose that,” she muses. she hisses as his fingers, deft and thin and long, insistently press a tender spot in her foot. the action feels so similar to other distinctly less chaste actions. the first stirrings of desire take root in her lower stomach. 

“the wizengamot is sending letter after letter as well, begging me to take my chair,” he grumbles. she chuckles softly and presses a lasting kiss to the back of his neck, which he hums at. “i’m not entirely sure i even want it anymore. perhaps i’ll hand over lordship to sirius. i’m sure he’d be more than happy to push for improved werewolf regulations.” 

“i'm sure he would. however, you’ve got both the ability and the inspiration to press for legal polyamorous marriage alongside better living conditions for wolves,” she murmurs into his ear. she delights in the full body shiver that runs through him. he’s simply so easy to rile up — every small touch, every breath, brings forth such a strong reaction that seems to resonate through his entire nervous system. it’s an eighth wonder, in her humble opinion. 

“you have a fair point,” regulus says breathily. lily, pressing another lingering kiss to the back of his neck, admires the sharp curve of his jaw and the glint of silver in his ears from behind. she’s always seen regulus as a beautiful man — it’s impossible not to, truly — but recently it’s seemed to increase tenfold. and with that inclination in attraction comes an upsurge of want. it burns within her, continuously on low heat, and it doesn’t help that she and james aren’t having sex anymore. not when reg spends almost every night in their bed. not when they’ve got so much going on with harry and with her job. there’s no time for it, at least not without forcing regulus to watch, and it’s starting to take its toll on her self control. 

she plants another kiss to his neck, just along the curve where it meets his shoulder, and trails her lips up toward his jaw. he shivers again, leaning his head minutely backward to her shoulder. she hums, her breath igniting a visible trail of goosebumps along his skin, and peppers a few kisses to his jawbone. 

“please,” regulus whispers, almost inaudibly. she hums inquisitively as her lips curl into a smile. it’s simply too easy to get him heated. it’s been like this for weeks now — lily riles regulus up, they snog passionately, he makes a mess in his trousers, she finishes herself in the shower, and james wanks when he thinks they’re asleep — and, again, it’s starting to take its toll. her libido is at an all time high, worse than it was during her pregnancy, yet not as awful as the week of ovulation. actually, she might be ovulating. it would be worthwhile to check in the morning. 

“please what, love?” she whispers into his ear. he releases a breathy sigh, clenching his hand around her foot. massages have been forgotten by this point. she’s not complaining (much). 

“please touch me,” he whimpers pathetically. she lifts an eyebrow. this is a new development — usually, he doesn’t ask for anything beyond a hearty snog and a bit of dry humping with her, and even less from jamie. it serves to ignite something passionate in her loins. 

“perhaps when jamie gets home, yeah?” she responds, trailing a hand over his chest. he nods eagerly, his arm jolting up for their fingers to meet. she holds on tightly, peppering kiss after kiss to his shoulder and throat and jaw. he shivers with each breath she releases onto the back of his neck. 

james takes far too long to return with groceries. he apparates directly into the kitchen with a soundly pop, announcing his presence only through the loud settling of paper bags against the counter and a distinct ripple of their wards. regulus — the poor thing — jolts his head to the source of the noise, cheeks flushed and eyes hazy. 

“you would not believe the line,” james shouts from the kitchen, sounding tired. lily snickers as she allows her hand to creep just beneath the hem of regulus’ jumper. he jumps as their skin makes contact, half lidded eyes rising swiftly to meet hers. she presses a single finger to her lips, signaling for him to remain quiet, and flattens her palm to the taut muscle of his lower abdomen. 

“you took forever, jam,” she calls to her husband. james groans rather loudly, resulting in a hitched breath she can feel beneath her fingertips. “we’ve been waiting for you. what are the plans for dinner?” 

“i was thinking something simple. perhaps curry of some sort,” james responds. there’s a few clattering noises, cabinets and the refrigerator opening and closing, a number of soft humming noises sounding like a discombobulated dolly parton song. 

“something quick, i hope,” she comments, smiling at regulus. he gulps loudly, his bottom lip disappearing between his sterling white teeth in an obvious effort to keep back the breathy little sighs and whimpers made apparent by the trembling and clenching of his abdomen. “our little star is getting a bit desperate waiting for you.” 

“is that so?” james hums distractedly. a loud crash sounds from where something has likely fallen, followed by a muttered curse. “desperate for what, exactly?” 

“oh, you know,” lily says noncommittally, taking her fingernails across regulus’ quivering abdomen. he lets slip an airy whine, which she corrects with a light smack to his thigh. he recoils into her chest, knuckles turning white where they grip the couch cushions. oh, it’s so easy to turn him into a little mess. “you, i suppose.” 

“do you think you can hold onto life for thirty minutes, reg? i’ll be as quick as possible,” james says. regulus sucks in a sharp breath, looking to lily with something pleading in his eyes. she smiles at him as she gives an encouraging nod, running both palms firmly along the inseam of his denim trousers (both lily and sirius had to beg him to begin wearing them, but it was well worth the groveling, because his thighs look delectable in them). 

“don’t be rude,” she chastises when he takes too long to respond, his eyes squeezed shut tightly and his head tipped back. his chest, softened by lack of training and an abundance of hearty food, heaves deliciously. she can’t help but lick her lips at the sight. 

“i-i can, jamie,” he says, high pitched and cracking. she smiles soothingly at him, rewarding him with a press of open lips. she keeps him there, fingers soft against his jaw and his thigh, simply allowing him to pant into her mouth. warm breath swirls against her teeth and tongue, tasting of desire and submission, and she shivers against it. 

“good boy,” lily hums. “you’re doing so well for me.” 

“oh?” james mutters, barely audible over regulus’ panting in her ear. her husband must recognize something in their tone of voices, because his head pokes around the threshold into the kitchen, cheeks pink and mouth dropped open. he looks like a breath of fresh air, all rumpled hair and flushed bronze skin and eyes gleaming behind his glasses. his lips, a lovely dark pink, disappear between his teeth and his broad chest shutters deliciously upon seeing the two of them. 

“tell jamie what you told me, little star,” lily instructs softly, though with an undertone of authority. regulus shudders against her chest, a soft whine spilling from his throat, and his darkened grey eyes travel to james. 

“touch me,” regulus pleads pitifully. “please, jamie, need it.” 

“he begs so prettily, doesn’t he?” lily coos as she looks at james through her lashes. jamie, the beautiful bloke, gulps visibly. “just makes you want to take a bite, huh?” 

“i’m ordering takeout,” james says dumbly. “we can order out when we’re done playing, lils. i need my hands on him, please, lily.” 

regulus gasps softly, arching between her legs, at the words. she can feel the lines of his back pressing deliciously against her breasts and his fingers clutching unsteadily at her calves. 

“what do you think, love?” she asks him. the man in her lap whimpers softly, turning his head to mouth sloppily at her jawline. “should we play?” 

“please, please, please,” regulus gasps, like a prayer, as he writhes beneath the prodding hands on his chests and legs. lily presses a firm hand to the bulge in his trousers, delighting in his trembling moan as he pushes his hips against it. 

“the little king has spoken,” she purrs, nuzzling her nose against the side of regulus’ face. james appears in a flurry of motion, palms eagerly sliding across regulus’ calves, opening them up with a hunger in his eyes. he easily falls between them and captures regulus’ mouth in a heated kiss, a clash of teeth and tongue and whimpers. lily has long since accepted that her knickers are soiled, dampened by her own arousal. she grinds her palm against regulus’ hardness, reveling in the keening moan he unleashes onto james’ tongue. hopefully he’ll be unleashing something more soon enough. 

“i’m gonna-” regulus chokes, slamming his head into lily’s shoulder to allow james’ teeth to take purchase against his throat. “please, lily, please. i’m gonna come, please.” 

“not yet,” she whispers as she draws her hand back. regulus moans at the loss, loud and broken and sounding oddly like a sob, and his hips jump to find more friction. she chuckles softly into his ear and bites at his earlobe. he produces a mixture of whining and whimpering and sobbing as james continues his ministrations on his throat and jaw. “be good for us, reg.” 

“i will, i will,” regulus slurs almost incoherently. he sounds loopy, drunk on pleasure as he is, and lily wants to devour him whole. james hums lowly and his jaw opens, a loud slurp sounding as he sucks intently on reg’s neck. 

“why don’t you help our flower out, yeah?” james whispers in regulus’ ear. regulus nods eagerly, whining brokenly. he turns on his front with assistance from james, kneeling obediently between lily’s open legs. she smiles at him and presses a soft kiss to his trembling lips as she slips the loose joggers from her hips and lets them fall to the carpeted floor. james leans forward and whispers quietly into regulus’ ear, uttering soft words that regulus nods vigorously at. 

“go on, then,” lily hums. regulus jerks forward with the eagerness of a wild animal, biting and licking at her exposed thighs as his fingers loop in the sides of her knickers. he looks up, as though seeking approval, and upon her silent nod he shucks those to the ground, too. 

then he descends upon her with desperation only a madman can possess, sucking and biting and licking at the soft mound between her legs. it’s overwhelming, bordering painful with each light pull of his teeth and harsh suck of her clit into his mouth, though she can’t help but arch into it. her hand flies to fist in his hair, a hissed swear falling repeatedly through her clenched jaw, joined by moans bordering screams and a delicious quiver in her thighs. it’s only enhanced with james’ fingers joining the fray, prodding at her cunt with familiarity. 

“so pretty for us, isn’t she reg?” james hums, his hand accompanying lily’s in tugging at regulus’ hair. regulus moans high and loud in the back of his throat, muffled and lost to the wetness between her thighs, and circles his tongue around her clit. it’s a mind blowing feeling, one that leaves her back arched and her chest frozen as her orgasm steals her away. it warps her mind, sucks her into a cavern of pure bliss, her entire body shaking with it. her throat is sore with the weight of her own pleasured screams. 

she comes down rather quickly, built up just as fast by james’ fingers working her open and regulus’ tongue subserviently flickering over her core. she hisses a warning through her teeth, the only sign of coherence in several minutes, and tenses as another climax leaves her dripping and insatiable. 

it takes both james and lily’s tugging at his hair for regulus to pull away, panting and damp in the face with a wild gleam to his eyes. he looks utterly debauched, ruined by providing her pleasure, only further proven by the wet patch of his dark wash denim trousers. 

“did you come, baby?” james asks sweetly, flicking regulus’ crotch. reg flinches away from it with a high whine, eyes rolling back in his head, and grips at lily’s thighs with sharp fingernails and a bruising grasp. 

“fuck,” is all regulus says in response. james laughs mockingly and easily unclasps and unzips the man’s trousers, exposing the mess of fluids soaking the front of his dark boxers. 

“poor thing,” lily tuts, grinning wickedly. “he didn’t even get to the main course.” 

“i’m sure he’ll be hard again in no time,” james chuckles as he palms the softened cock hidden away by black boxers. regulus shudders, gripping lily harder, and groans so depravedly that lily isn’t quite convinced he isn’t an animal. regulus has a certain wildness to him that she wasn’t expecting, and whatever lack of experience he possesses is made up for tenfold by the carnal eagerness in which he performs. he won’t last long when it comes down to it, but she has no lack of faith that he’ll easily make up for it with the ferocity of his mouth. 

it’s such a stark difference from james, who savors every drop of pleasure he reaps with a deliberately slow and sensual pace. he’s subdued, focused more on providing than receiving, keeping a level head. lily has enjoyed it for a number of years, ate every crumb of his worship and licked her fingers clean of it, though she has to admit that regulus’ animality is quite a bit more fun at the moment. she’s never felt so overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time — like an exposed nerve waiting a gentle touch to set her off, or a lit match awaiting a douse of kerosene. she’s burning, being consumed whole by her own nirvana, yet she craves more. she needs it to survive, to live through the night. 

it is with this mindset that she vanishes james’ trousers and pants in a wave of unexpected wandless and nonverbal magic. she yanks him close, encompassing his mouth whole with hers, and wraps a hand firmly around his erection. james is large, heavy in her palm, not quite as long as he could be though girthy enough to more than make up for it. he throbs within the confines of her fingers, every stroke forcing a hissed moan into her mouth.

he sinks into her easily, the stretch of his cock forcing her open sending delicious waves of euphoria down her spine. she keens high in the back of her throat and pushes her heel into his arsecheek, forcing him deeper and deeper. it’s only as she hears the breathy gasp to her right that she remembers their audience. she turns her head toward him, exposing her every facial expression to the man on the floor. 

his cheeks are flushed and his forehead shimmers with sweat. his lips, swollen and red, glean with the slickness of her juices. his eyes are what keep lily’s attention. they’re darkened, nearly a charcoal black colour, and his pupils are so dilated they’ve practically swallowed the iris around them. she beckons him closer, tightening minutely around james’ cock, and pressed her fingers against his lips. the way his mouth wraps around them and his tongue flickers against the pads of them draws an animalistic groan from her lips. 

james rocks against her, huffing a groan into her shoulder as he brushes against her cervix. she keens, back arching and chest heaving. regulus echoes her sounds, every moan and gasp ricocheting right back at her. she reaches an arm out blindly, batting an arm around for regulus to hold, and when he links their fingers she squeezes as hard as her insides clamp around james.

jamie groans, low and hot and raspy, as his hips stall. her innards fill with a pleasant warmth and his cock twitches violently within her, painting her with his spend as his teeth latch to her neck. his early release isn’t much of a surprise — as she said, they haven’t been intimate in weeks — though what is a surprise is regulus crawling on his knees to devour the spunk leaking from her. he moans depravedly as he feasts like a man starved — tongue and teeth and spit and come. she must’ve died for some noble cause in a past life to deserve this treatment. 

“fuck, reg,” she howls, burying her hands in his hair. james huffs a dark chuckle as fabric shuffles, and lily can only assume he’s dragging the clothes off of regulus’ legs. 

she’s only proven correct when james arranges regulus carefully on the couch cushions between her legs and a hardened cock prods at her sensitive cunt. 

“are you sure?” she asks regulus breathlessly. the man nods eagerly, leaning forward to mouth wetly at her throat. james slides a palm over his throat and tugs, pulling reg’s back to his chest. 

“words, darling,” james says huskily. regulus whimpers, strangled and beautiful and wild. lily surveys the skin exposed to her from james’ hand dragging regulus’ jumper toward his ribs and the clothes now completely gone from his lower half. 

regulus is beautiful. his stomach has grown soft, a slight bulge of chub hidden beneath a trail of dark hair leading to the smooth skin of his pubic bone. true to barty’s earlier word, the hair has been charmed away, though continues on his legs. his cock is longer than james’, though thinner, and flushed a beautiful pink at the tip that shimmers with precome. lily salivates at the sight of it poking at the puffy lips of her cunt. 

“i want it, jamie. please, lily,” regulus whines. she pokes james with her toes, nodding her approval discreetly. he grins at her, all teeth and hunger, and slowly pushes regulus into her. 

she hisses as regulus spreads her open, holding desperately to the couch cushions. sensitivity races through her lower half, every inch furthering her overstimulation. her back arches, pushing her tits into the air where jamie can grope at them with the hand that isn’t guiding regulus. 

“you’re so good, fuck,” lily pants, flattening her palm to the back of regulus’ head. he leans forward and sinks his teeth into her throat, eliciting a loud cry. 

she was right, as it turns out. regulus fucks like a bitch in heat, moving fast and hard and sounding like an injured animal with how loudly he howls. he’s sloppy, though it doesn’t take away from the pleasure, not with james’ thumb firmly planted on her clit. he thrusts through his own orgasm, whining and whimpering as his cock twitches violently within her. 

the sensitivity forces her to tear james’ thumb from her, whining softly as she scrambles away from both of them. regulus collapses atop her with a heavy sigh, planting soft kisses to her collarbones, and james struts off to the loo with his flaccid cock swinging between his thighs. 

“how was it?” she asks regulus in a soft voice, running her fingers through his hair. he hums softly, groggily, latched tightly to her body like she may float away should he relax even the slightest of bits. 

“so magnificent,” he sighs blissfully. “but my cock hurts quite a lot. feels like i got hit by a stinging hex right to the bollocks.” she laughs softly, her chest shaking with it, as she peppers kisses to his forehead. 

“it’s just overstimulation, love. you’re not used to using it so much in such a short time, are you?” she muses. he shakes his head, his hair tickling her chin with the motion. 

“i don’t really use it at all, if i’m honest,” he admits sheepishly, propping his chin on her chest with a dopey little smile on his face. 

“i’m just glad it’s still winter,” james says as he reenters the room, two damp flannels in hand. “lils can still wear a turtleneck to hide those rabid animal attacks on her neck. have you got rabies, reg?” 

regulus flushes a pretty pink at james’ words, snatching a flannel to clean lily up with. she can’t help but chuckle fondly.