Remembered Flowers
"There's a passageway ? From the fountain with the Nephilim statue all the way to Hogwarts ?"
Regulus turned around to face his friends, all slacked-jaw and wide-eyed. They had been listening to him recount the date for half an hour now, and maybe if he hadn't been so stupidly happy he would have found them annoying for prying so much. But he was high from the last kiss James had given him, and he was way too exited to keep the whole afternoon's events to himself.
He pushed the towel from his head and let it rest around his shoulders, catching the small droplets of water still falling from his hair. He'd changed from his soaked clothes into a more comfortable attire.
He smirked, nodding in reply to Evan's disbeliving questions.
"Yes. And apparently, it's not the only one connecting the school to Hogsmead."
"What the hell ?" Dorcas chuckled. "That's so cool."
"It really is. I thought we were going to miss curfew, with the play being longer than expected, and the sudden downpour." James and him had been surprised to find that rain was showering the streets when they stepped out of the theatre. They couldn't have waited it out, or they'd have been late, and well... "Do you remember when I said he accidentaly spilled Sundrop on someone below us ? We saw the victim when we got out. The guy was pissed, but that absolute idiot couldn't help himself from laughing and... Well, long-story-short, we had to make a run for it."
"No, you can't shorten such a part of the story !" Complained Pandora, pulling her lolly-pop out of her mouth with an audible smack.
He rolled his eyes, but his annoyance was quite evidently faked. Regulus was very much aware of the soppy smile on his face, but he was delighted and couldn't manage to look anything but. It was quite pathetic.
"It was raining cats and dogs, and I was about to handle the situation like a normal fucking person-"
"You mean threaten the Sundrop guy with your Black Glare ?" Interupted Barty.
"Stop talking over me or it's you I'll be threatening next. As I was saying, I was ready to talk it out... Or something. But before I could assess if the man was actually looking for a fight, James just grabbed my arm and ran out, dragging me along. We were wet to the bone in a second, but that thankfully prevented us from getting chased after for too long, the man gave up quickly."
Then, Regulus told them about the small paved square James lead them too, where the secret way was hidden. He kept to himself how he'd laughed during their run through the empty streets, or how James had danced in the rain. Glasses useless with that much water on them, smile wider than ever, James Potter had forced Regulus to stop in the middle of Hogsmead and hopped on a bench to sing his lungs out. A Whole New World in a storm, alone in a deserted city.
Regulus had forced himself to look irritated, but his mask had cracked when his gorgeous boyfriend jumped off his makeshift stage, prowling torward him with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. He had pulled the boy close to him, body warm, and ushered him in a slow dance under the rain.
It was pouring, crisp and loud, and they were dancing.
Chest to chest, eye to eye. Then, only their hands were touching when James spun him around, Regulus' clothes stuck to his body like a second skin. They were slipping on cobblestones and it gave them an excuse to grab each other to hold themselves up.
It was pouring, cold and heavy, and they were kissing.
Water was running down their faces, making the sensation of drowning that Regulus was feeling more palpable. He was drowning on land, standing and breathing. Barely. The kiss was taking the air right out of his lungs, the burning of James' fingers didgging in the flesh of his hips too much contrast to the cold wind whipping around them.
Regulus hardly remembered the way to the fountain. He'd been rightfully confused when James kept dragging him in the wrong direction : they were already going to be late, but the moron was insisting on going away from Hogwarts. All his complaints had stopped once his boyfriend convinced him to step under the curtain of freezing water falling from the fountain - as if they weren't soaked enough already ! - and he'd found himself in an underground tunnel. He'd kissed the smug grin off James' face as soon as he'd pulled himself bach together.
Much to Regulus' dismay, who was quite obsessed with his boyfriend's wet-hair, James had immediatly cast a drying spell on himself, offering to do the same for Regulus, but they'd gotten... Distracted again. And then, they really had to hurry back before someone noticed their prolongued absence.
"So, where is the passage's entrance in the castle then ?" Dorcas' curiousity pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Ah, it's within the West Well."
It wasn't far from the dungeons, so he hadn't needed to run through the entire castle wet and flushed faced. All of his friends were waiting in his and the boys' room, his head had been in the clouds and he had forgotten that his entourage had no value of privacy, hence them witnessing a pitiful display... Regulus had opened the door sporting a small smile, and with his eyes closed to relive his wonderful day, he let himself fall back on the door and giggled.
Ugh, kill him now.
Just thinking back on the humiliation made him grit his teeth. He knew his friends would never let this go. He really didn't understand what had gotten into him lately. Of course, getting together with his longtime love was a resonable cause for cheers, but giggling and swooning were one hundred percent not his style. His reputation as cold-hearted and unbothered was not fabricated, he was. Regulus was nonchalent about things, he was phlegmatic and composed and fucking impassive for Merlin's sake ! James had him sappy with a single date, and that was trouble waiting to happen.
Dancing in the rain, sharing sweets, kissing just for the sake of it... He honestly didn't expect to enjoy any of those things, much less each of them. He had pined after the Chaser for years, and thought about them as a couple more times than he'd liked to admit, but none of his fantasies had been like that.
"So," Barty cleared his troat, looking up at him from his seated poisition on the floor, "is it safe to say you're gonna stop mopping now ?"
Regulus narrowed his eyes, "Evan ?"
"Glad to be of service," the blond smiled, hitting the back of Barty's head.
"Thank you."
Barty scoffed, "I see how it is. This is how you treat me after I listen to you gush about Potter non-stop for a week."
Indignation almost choked Regulus on the spot.
"I most certainly do not gush-"
His attempt at denial to save his wavering dignity was immediatly cut short :
"He showed up with wet hair, Barty ! Wet hair !"
"What was I suppose to do, droplets were sliding down his neck Dorcas ! It was entirely unfair !"
"He's so pretty with wet hair, Pandora."
"Oh Evan, he snogged me within an inch of my life, shoved his tongue down my willing troat while I-"
Evan's dramatic diffamy ended in a strangled scream as Regulus quickly pulled out his wand and spoke : "Leicorpus."
In a second, Evan hanged upside down in the air, causing all that was in his pockets to fall to the floor. He still had his shit-eating grin, but it wasn't as smug as before. As embarrassing as it was, Regulus may not be able to deny his complaints about James' wet hair when he essentially confessed a week ago, but he never spoke about what happen in that alcove in such terms. He recounted the events with minimal details, possessivley keeping the memory to himself. It was much too precious to him to vulgarize that way !
"Careful with your next words Rosier," Regulus narrowed his eyes.
He'd gone soft if they thought they could tease him so without concequences.
"Alright, alright ! I got it, just let me down," he raised his hands - or lowered them ? - in defeat. "You don't gush. Or mope."
Regulus sighed, he flicked his wand and released the invisble grip on Evan's ankles, the boy falling brutally on the floor. He ignored a groan of pain that sounded suspiciously like "son of a bitch". Not like that would have been a lie anyway.
He ran a hand through his hair, pushing them back in order as he looked over his friends. Barty and Dorcas were laughing, surely at Evan and his embarassment. Pandora was amused but still seemed mildly concerned for her brother.
"Now that that's been made clear, let's move on," he said, giving Barty a pointed look.
He got a pierced tongue stuck out at him in return, but thankfully no one else commented on the sour mood he'd had earlier that week or the not-gushing. They asked some more about the date, the play, the boy.
"And have you made any plans to see him this week ?"
Regulus blinked at Pandora. "Um. No ?"
Should he have ? He'd been caught up in the moment, and it seemed obvious he would want to see James again, but maybe he ought to tell him that...
"I just mean... You're probably not gonna want to wait until next weekend to see him again, will you ?" Salazar no. He wouldn't spend another week uncertain of where he stood. "With Xeno," she started again, "we always end a date saying when we'll really see each other next. Wether it's just to study or eat lunch together. Otherwise, it's easy to get caught up in school and everything else and just... You know, forget."
Regulus wanted to tell her that was just for her and her equally air-head boyfriend, but he couldn't bring himself to. He doubted he could ever forget about James or the fact that he was dating him, but she did have a point. With classes and exams and all the rest, it'd be easy to just keep missing each other. The empty days before the date were proof enough... He had barely seen James outside of meals and a few glimpses in the hallways. He hadn't exactly gone out of his way to come across him or anything, but it wasn't such an extrapolation to say that if they didn't plan it... They'd just never meet.
Regulus wanted to bang his head against the wall. Who knew it was so complicated to date someone ? He was barely done worrying about their first date that a new hurdle came along. Such stress was really unwanted. Books made going out to be the final goal, the line to reach for a semi-guaranted happy ending. Obviously, Regulus didn't believe in such nonesenses, but it's true the boy had thought the worst was behind him when James had accepeted his feelings. He wouldn't go as far as to say it was actually the easy part - nothing about that had been easy - but he realised most of the work was yet to come.
When he went to sleep, heavy blanket pulled right up to his chin, Regulus thought back on his afternoon. He relived every little moment. Re-experienced every sensation. The cold outside. The slightly uncomfortable floor they'd sat on for hours. How it had felt to lie on it with James' weight resting down on him. The tingles down his spines. The butterflies in his stomach. The blatant want for more that surged through him upon hearing James moan.
He'd done that to him. Regulus had kissed him until James had moaned for him, and he wasn't sure how much he thought about that said about him.
He also thought a lot about James' wishes. Or the second one, to be precise. I'd wish for the unforgivables to have never been invented. What he had felt upon hearing those words was so confusing, so much at the same time, Regulus couldn't understand it himself. He didn't know what to think of it really, expect that he wanted to thank James.
But when he fell into the land of dreams that night, he didn't speak to the sun. He didn't feel his warmth on his skin, but the timid shine of starlight. The soft glow of the brightest one in the sky.
After all that had happened that day, he didn't dream of James and his sweet affections.
Regulus dreamt of his brother.
.
.
.
Barty had chosen sloth over gluttony as his sin of the day, deciding to sleep one more hour and be hungry for all his morning classes. As he'd skip breakfast and would meet them directly in class, and that the girls were either in a different year or a different house, Regulus and Evan were alone walking in the hallway.
They were both quite, not uncomfortably so, but in a peaceful companionship they mutually appreciated. Evan and him could talk for hours without being bored just as they could revel in a shared silence. Regulus liked this part of his friend, particularly that morning, as he was in no mood fore pleasantries or gossip. Even less for talks of lessons.
It always threw him off to dream of Sirius. Much to his dismay, it was quite frequent, but Regulus could never bring himself to complain about it. What would happen if he actually stopped seing his brother in his dreams ? He didn't want that.
After all, he saw him more at night than during the day.
Evan - unlike some others he wouldn't name - knew to respect his boundries, which is why he was surprised when he elbowed Regulus discretly. Pulled out of his head, he looked up form his feet and startled at the sight.
Leaning against the wall, again, James Potter was waiting for him with a wide smile and his hand hidden behind his back. His steps faltered as he chanced a look at Evan, but the other just shrugged and smirked teasingly.
As they got closer, Regulus noticed James' three usual companion further down the hall, the self-proclaimed "marauders", whatever that meant. His eyes stopped over the back of his brother, grateful that he was turned away. He really didn't want to deal with him right now.
Not when his boyfriend looked so fucking adorable.
"Hi Regulus, hi Rosier," he said, nodding his head at Evan.
"Potter," the blond acknowleged, stopping a step behind Regulus.
Regulus tilted his head at James, frowning at him a little. He didn't really know what to do. After what Pandora had said, he hadn't exactly expect to see him so soon, especially before classes even started.
"What are you doing here ?" He didn't mean to sound cold, but he sort of did.
James only chuckled, then wiped out his hand from behind his back.
"Good morning," he grinned.
Regulus' breath caught in his troat. He'd been hiding a bouquet of fucking flowers. They were freshly picked, he could see, morning dew still clinging to the white, velvet-like petals. In the middle, the pistils bloomed yellow like the sun.
Edelweiss.
Growing atop europeans mountains, soft and yet strong enough to survive the harh environment. Blooming to be so beautiful amist the rocks and cold weather made them rare and that much more special. Also called L'Etoile D'argent or L'Etoile des neige in France, the german name was composed of the words "Noble" and "White". Regulus knew all of that and more, he knew where and when they grew, what magical and medicinal propriety they had.
James was handing him a bouquet of his favorite flowers.
His lips parted to let in a sharp breath. Regulus didn't know what to say. He'd only seen real Edelweiss once, years ago, during a trip to some extanded family in France, and had been besoted by their beauty immediatly. He'd drawn them, recreated their subtle perfum in potions, he even had a painting of one in his room back at grimauld.
"H-How did you..."
James smiled, "Sirius told me these used to be your favorites. I assume they still are...?"
Regulus nodded unconciously, a slightly painful pang in his heart, as he reached and took the flowers. His fingers brushed against James', they were cold.
"Why did you ..." once again, he didn't know how to finish his question.
"I wanted to thank you for the date yesterday. I know it's not much, but it's also an excuse to say hi-"
"They're perfect." Regulus cut him short. "Really. Thank you, I love them."
He could feel the heat crawling on his cheek, but forced himself to maintain eye contact. He couldn't believe Evan was witnessing this. And his bloody brother wasn't far. His brother who still remembered his favorite flowers.
"I don't know how you even got them, they only grow in high altitude, mountains and the such." He grumbled, smelling the bouquet.
"If there's one thing I learned while living in Hogwarts, is that you can find a lot of things in the Forbidden Forest that really shouldn't be there." He winked, cheeky.
Just as he heard a strangled "what the fuck" from Evan, Regulus blurted out :
"Are you clinicaly insane !? You went in the Forbidden Forest for these ? Ho- What were you thinking ?"
James pressed a finger to his lips and grabbed Regulus' shoulder, "Shh, you'll get me like, a month of detention. It's okay, you don't have to worry, I've been there before."
Regulus' eyes were so wide they could have bursted out of their soquet.
"'You've been there before' ? That's supposed to make it better ? Once again, are you insane ?"
James rolled his eyes, "It's fine, I wasn't alone. Padfoot and Prongs know the way."
Regulus gaped at him. So his brother and his boyfriend had just taken a stroll in the Forbidden Forest, picking some flowers. And had said boyfriend just spoken about himself in third person ? Regulus shook his head, unbelieving.
"I can't believe you're the bloody Head Boy, strolling in the Forbidden Forest, sneaking in and out of Hogwarts whenever... And that's without all the pranks and shit. You've had more detention in a year than in my entire scholarity, but you're used as the exemple students should follow ? Make it make sense." Evan said waving a dissmissive hand around.
"You do have a point, and I'll admit I didn't expect to be chosen, really. But you know what, I do think I'm a good exemple. I'm happy. People can see it, they like that they can see it, they want to be happy too. I have top grades, so they want to study. I'm Quidditch Captain, so they support the team. But still, I'm one of them, and I know how to have fun. I'm nice and approachable, so if I say something, they're more willing to listen. It's simple really, I play the "Good Auror" and Lily plays the "Bad Auror". It works. Kinda."
Before Regulus or Evan could react to any of that - the self-praise and dripping ego, or the annoying logic of it all - a shout echoed :
"Prongs, hurry it up ! We don't have all day."
The three boys turned to Sirius looking at them expectantly. James waved him off and seemed to say something through his eyes and moving eyebrows. His brother seemed to say something back. Regulus had only seen that kind of wordless communication between Evan and Pandora, and that was supposed to be a twin thing. This was unexplained.
It appeared James had won, because Sirius threw his hand up and turned around again.
James faced him again rolling his eyes, "Sorry, you know much he's not a morning person. Anyway you uh... You should probably put them in water sometime soon so they'll last longer." He said, gesturing to the flowers.
Regulus raised one eyebrow, "Am I supposed to take them to class in the meantime ? Because I will be late if I go back to my dorm now. Either way, my reputation takes a blow. Was that your plan all along, Potter ?" He asked, smirking, upholding his other reputation as a little shit.
James' lips parted open as his confidence cracked.
"Bugger. I may have not thought this throught. Sorry." He grimaced.
Regulus shook his head, brushing off the appologie. He didn't actually care, and those flowers were worth it anyway. He was already planning to research a spell to preserve them. His favorite flowers. Gifted by his boyfriend. He'd murder them if Evan or Barty ever damaged them.
"Wait, I have an idea," James suddenly smiled.
He reached and pulled one flower from the bouquet, and like the goddamn clishé he is, he stuck it in Regulus' hair, right above his ear. And like any good clishé, it made Regulus blush and sputter in indignation. James' finger tips brushed the arch of his ear when he pulled back, a satisfied smile pulling on his lips. Regulus felt his inside turn to molten lava, ready to erupt at any moment.
He was swooning and absolutely furious about it.
James then took one of his notebooks - red, because obviously it was red - and extended his hand intently torward the flowers.
Hell no.
"I'm not only keeping one of them, Potter. Get away from my flowers. I was merely pulling your leg." He frowned, tightening his grip.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." He laughed. James opened up the notebook, flipping the pages until it found a blank one.
Regulus wasn't convinced in the slightest.
"Uhm, pressing flowers doesn't work that way, you can't just shove them in there and close the book. Also a whole bouquet like this is impossible-"
"Okay, Regulus ? Just trust me alrigth ?" James asked, prying the flowers from his hands gently, nodding as if to reassure him.
Regulus could only stare in distrust as James place the flowers on the notebook, balancing them on one hand so he could pull out his wand. Then he swirled it in a circle above the bouquet, and as he slowly lowered it, he whispered under his breah : abscondere, trahere in charta.
To his stupifaction, Regulus watched as the flowers were brouth down in the paper. They didn't melt nor were they compressed, they simply got inside the book. Fell inside. They looked like they were drawn on the page. A realisitic still-life painting of Edelweiss Regulus had held in his hands seconds before.
He ripped the book out of James' hands and touched his fingers to the page. He couldn't feel anything but ink and paper. Evan looked as shocked as he did, observing from above his shoulder.
"What spell was that ? I've never seen it before," he demanded, eager.
James smirked quite smugly, "Remus invented it to hide stink-bombes for a prank. We use it all the time to sneak chocolate and snacks in class. I also made Proffessor Shirelybots in fourth year believe I was an artist by trapping pretty butterflies. I let them all out quickly afterwards though !"
Why was Regulus even surprised ? Salazar, they were good, talented wizards. And for what ? James and his friends invented spells for stupide pranks. And food. In fourth year no less. The processe to making unknown spells were only accessible in sixth year, and if you took the classe for it. Regulus was almost glad none of them had been Slytherins.
Evan laughed, as incredulous as he.
"This is seriously cool."
"I'll teach you sometimes."
Regulus forced himself to push back against a smile, "I can't believe this. Only you and your lot would go so far for mildly incovenient jokes."
James gasped, "Why, of course ! We take it all to heart you know ? But you'll swallow your words soon enough, darling. The school's been quiet since summer, and the Marauders intend to start the year with a bang," he grinned, leaning forward.
Regulus tried to make abstraction of the pet name, and keep an unimpressed expression.
"Really now ?"
James' smile widened, "Uh huh. It's another reason I'm here actually. I wanted to warn you I might be quite busy this next few days."
Evan groaned, "Are you serious ?"
"Nah, that's his brother over there," James dead-panned, showing Sirius' direction with his thumb, behind him.
Regulus must have made his digust more apparent than he thought, because James laughed.
"Sorry, it's basically a reflex at that point." He turned to the blond, "What was that ?"
"Nothing. Just resigning myself to more moping." Evan sighed like he was eighty years old and had three children as hyperactive as Barty. He winced at Regulus' death glare. "How odd, time flies by in your companie Potter. I've gotta go."
He scampered off without further ado, under James' confused gaze. He raised his brows at Regulus, silently questionning him. The boy disregarded his curiosity, fighting a blush. Yes, he was half way to devastated knowing he wouldn't see James for a while, but the moping was done. Not that there ever was to begin with.
"That was weird. As I was saying, it'll be hard to meet up. Tonight's impossible unfortuneltly, but I'll definitly make time on wednesday if that's good for you. It's going to be worth it you'll see. If everything goes according to plan, friday will be epic ! Don't worry though, you'll be spared," he winked.
"Is it the pretty privileges ?"
"It honestly could have been, but that would have applied to like, Dorcas as well."
Regulus' mouth dropped opened. Excuse me ? Did I just hear that right ?
James must have realised his mistake, because he instantly panicked and waved his hands around as he tried to justify himself.
"No, no that's not what I meant. I don't think- I mean she's not ugly but I don't... It's not me I swear. One of my friend has a crush on her and is always like 'oh she's so pretty, she could step on me, I hate her' and stuff. I don't like her at all. Not in a bad way, I'm sure she's a great girl. Like, personality wise. But she's not my type. You're my type. Please make me stop talking."
James had the eyes of a kicked puppy, and Regulus couldn't have stayed mad if he'd wanted to. James woudn't be able to lie like that to save his life anyway. He rolled his eyes.
"It's fine. You can breath. I must ask though, which of your friends..."
"I'm held to secrecy, sorry," James chuckled, relieved. "Honestly if we spared everyone our friends fancied, it'd become boring quick. That's why only one of the four Marauders can put a Pranking-Ban on someone. That's why you've never been bothered by our tricks before. Expecte that desaster in fifth, with the Mandragors ?" Regulus winced at the memory, "Yeah, that wasn't Peter's best moment, he really screwed it all up. He had to give his dessert to Sirius for like a month to make up for it." James smilled at the memory, shaking his head, but Regulus had frozen.
"Sirius put a ban on me ?" He asked before he could stop himself.
James softened, "Did you think you were just lucky ?"
No. Regulus had simply never thought about it. He never thought...
Once more, Sirius' voice rose from the other side of the hallway, angrier than last time.
"Prongs, first have me wake at the crack o' dawn, and then miss breakfast, and now you'll have me fail Herbologie !"
"Shut up, Padfoot," James yelled back, not even turning around.
"You won't woo my brother by making him late to classe."
James held a finger up, and whipped his head around : "Give me a second or I'll tell Mom you're sabotaging my attempt at giving her a son-in-law !"
Regulus could have bet a hand the gasp Sirius gasped had been heard from the stratosphere. He would have bet the other that the red on his cheeks was visivle from up there too. James faced him once more with an appologetic expression, not noticing his embarassment.
"He's right though, I don't want to make you late. Can I just..."
James took back his notebook, skillfuly ripped the page with his gift and handed it to him. In a haze, Regulus held it to his chest. He'd learn way to much about wildly different things, and didn't how to deal with all the imformation.
"Right, see you on Wednesday Potter."
"See you," James replied.
And like he'd done before, he kissed Regulus' cheek and turned around. Regulus could only watch as his boyfriend ran down the hall and jumped on his brothers back. After he let out a yelp and a curse, Sirius grabbed James' tights and gave him a piggy-back ride to classe. The other two followed, but not before Lupin's eyes met his for three long seconds.
Regulus took an few moment for himself before he headed to classe. He touched his fingertips to his cheek, and put the page inside his own notebook. He would have to ask James how to retrieve the flowers.
On his way, he thought.
About James and Sirius waking up early and skipping breakfast to find his favorite flowers. In a wildy dangerous place. About how James fingers had been so cold. Them placing a pranking-ban on him, James recently, Sirius years ago. Even if he was a Slytherin - their sworn enemy. About his brother being mad at Pettigrew when he broke said ban. About Lupin and his lasting look, which he had absolutly no idea what that had been about.
Regulus reached a hand up in his hair, touching the flower gently placed there. It was soft.