Utopia

I am so going to surprise them. James thought, as he paced down the street and onto his bike, eager to make his way back to his shared apartment with the rest of the Marauders. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs.

He biked through the endless streets of London, admiring the magic shops around him. The Christmas spirit was truly starting to spread. And it sure did match the starry night sky. He got off the bike and pulled out his keys, messily unlocked the door, taking off his thick coat in the process. He hung the piece of clothing on the coathanger in the entrance and took off his shoes, barely holding his balance, dangerously close to falling onto the ground face first.

“Oi James! Is that you?” He looked up at the door leading to the kitchen, only to face a scared looking Peter, towel in hand, hand drying the dishes. Once the blonde was sure of whom the intruder was, he let out a sigh of relief. “Hey Pete, sorry if I scared you” He laughed softly, now days, all the Marauders were very close and extremely comfortable with eachother. James tossed his shoes to the side and made his way to the kitchen, following Peter and intending to help him finish the last chores of the day.

“Hey Wormy, sorry I'm a little late, I went to pick up Remus’ and Sirius’ Christmas gifts! I got you something too!” He hopped down the short hall and held out the colourful bags he was holding. A smile quickly spread on Peter's face. He put down the towel and the plate he was holding and sat down on the floor, patting with his hand, the remaining space next to him. “What did you get them?” He asked, a look of pure joy on his face. Peter really enjoyed Christmas. Like, really enjoyed Christmas.

This holiday had always been all the Marauders’ favourite. Pure joy enwrapped in them every December. “You will have to guess” Chuckled James, as he sat down next to his best mate. “Well, are you going to start guessing?” He continued. “Yes sorry, I was just thinking— Anyway, did you... Uhh- Oh! A record player?” His eyes shone as he himself liked the idea of a new record player in the house.

“No- Wait Yes! How did you guess it so quickly?” He laughed, leaning his back on the wall of the kitchen. “You did?! James, that's a brilliant idea!” Peter searched through the many, different in colour and size boxes and bags. Peter searched through the things with a hopeful smile on his face, searching for a hint of his own gift. For Pete.

He read on the wrapping material of an extremely thin and square box. It was a dark blue-grey colour, with a golden bow on top. He gasped, knowing the only thing that could possibly be in there. “Is it- Is it what I think it is? James what did you do, for Merlin's sake!” He tore the wrapping paper appart and trew it on the floor, over the counter.

‘Boys don't cry’ Read Peter, scanning the album cover. He let out an even bigger gasp, turning the vinyl case around. “No you didn’t!”He tore his eyes from the precious gift he had just received and looked at Jame’s grinning face. He didn’t think for a second longer, he wrapped his hands around his friend's shoulders and started laughing with excitement.

“James! How did you-?! You're the absolute best, James Fleamond Potter!” He shouted.

“Thank you so much!” “Pete! It's okay, I was hoping that you'd like it. There's no returning it now!” He was laughing at his mate’s reaction, sure, he had been looking for this vinyl pretty much everywhere, but now the blonde was acting like his life had just been saved.

Meanwhile, Sirius and his husband, Remus, were entering the flat. “Oi Wormy! Prongs! We're home!” Yelled Sirius from the entrance. James and Peter backed away and glanced at each other worryingly.

“What are we gonna do with the presents?!” Whisper-yelled James, looking around for a convenient place to hide the whole lot of colourful bags and packets. “Guess what! We have a guest!” Yelled Remus, without knowing it, making the situation worse. James started to sweat nervously. “Uhh- wh- who is it?”He managed to stutter, while grabbing a hold of the various things thrown onto the floor, dumping them in a secret drawer and locking it with a swift motion of his wand.

“Oh yes! It's Reg!” James froze in his spot. WHO. He thought. Peter looked up at him with shock and worry written across his face. Peter also knew why the hazel-eyed boy had freezed in his tracks. “Bloody Hell!” Whispered Peter, pushing himself up by grabbing James’ arm. They both herd three pairs of footsteps approaching. Time stopped. The footsteps faded away, the already dim lights darkened even more and the usually warm, welcoming and cozy house became cold and strange.

Suddenly, James felt extremely self conscious. What am I wearing? How do I look? Does my hair look good enough? Does Reg hate me? And before I forget, let me answer those questions. James was wearing a dark red button up shirt, with a baggy pair of black jeans and a leather jacket on top. 

Assuming, he looked pretty good. His hair was —as always— untamed and shamelessly curly, somehow, he still managed to pull it off as good as Sirius pulls off his own leather jackets. Again, assuming, his hair looked pretty good too. Lastly, Regulus did not —at all— hate him.

As if this pause of time never happened, the tree boys walked into the kitchen, laughing. There was, Sirius, holding hands with his husband, Remus, and in the far left, Regulus, fidgeting with his sleeve, while laughing at the joke Remus had probably just made. As the tree stepped into the kitchen, they stood in the doorway, a suspicious look forming on the couple's faces. “What are you two doing in here?” Asked Remus, a smile ready to tease, forming on his lips. James scratched the back of his neck. There were now five people in the room, not enough gifts. James wasn't expecting a guest. “Nothing, Remus. Why didn't you tell us you'd bring someone over?” James changed the subject, eyeing Regulus and greeting him with a smile and a nod.

“Don't worry James, we just didn't tell you because you would make a whole fuzz about it, we don't want you preparing dinner again.” Chuckles Sirius, letting go of Remus’ hand to greet his mates properly. He went and hugged both the boys previously standing in the middle of their shared kitchen.

“Were you doing chores again, Pete? I told you that you didn’t have to!" Remus hugged Peter and shook his shoulders, lecturing him slightly. “Don't worry Moony, James helped me when he came back, so I didn't do it all on my own.” Wormtail laughed, his voice unsteady, due to to the violent shaking from his friend. “Well, should I cook something quickly so we can sit and talk with Reg? I want to find out what has happened since Hogwarts!" James exclaimed happily, wrapping an arm around Regulus’ shoulders. The boy smiled awkwardly. “Sure, James, do your awesome pasta with tabasco and curry!" Sirius offered, smiling. “For sure, Pads!”