Are You In?
Things were ahead of schedule, which was never the plan. James wasn’t supposed to be good at his job, but surprisingly he was. Dumbledore of course was frantic trying to find out how to get the mission back on track, but James couldn’t just start to be awful. It’s not like they really sent him on many missions anyways, and when they did he was kept under close watch.
Bellatrix watched him far too close for him to start underperforming, and Lucius was still suspicious of him. Dumbledore knew this, and he advised James to stay under the radar for the next little while. The slight snag in this plan was that James was supposed to be attending a meeting today, which only consisted of Voldemort’s inner circle, a group that apparently James was now a part of. He hadn’t exactly believed Bellatrix when she had told him that he would be required to attend, but she’d made it very obvious that he would likely be punished if he didn’t come.
James had learned very early on to just keep his head down and do as he was told, when Bellatrix talked about the punishment she was not fucking around - James had the scars to prove it. Maybe that was why they’d been so quick to trust him because truthfully he would do anything they asked of him, even if it made him sick to think about later he would still obey any order sent his way.
“Fuck,” James gritted his teeth as he stubs his toe on the corner of his counter for the third time that morning.
The apartment he’d been given was nice, much smaller than the one he’d shared with his friends before he left, but considering it only needed to house him James was content. It was technically two rooms because James’ bedroom was just a small room that didn’t actually have a door on the frame, the kitchen was nice enough - not that James was good at cooking - and he had all the usual furnishings (a sofa, coffee table, bookshelves ext.) There were a few things that James thought were funny as well, Dumbledore hadn’t provided him with a full set of plates and bowls and silverware, he’d instead given James a single plate, a single brown, a single fork, a single spoon etcetera. James had laughed out loud when he’d found his cupboards stacked with one of each, Dumbledore really didn’t want him having guests, did he?
James straightened the collar of his shirt in the mirror above his sink and turned the tap on cold before splashing his face with the frigid water. He couldn’t quit now, he couldn’t, not when he was so close. It was just a smaller group of people, nothing more than a slight change in the company. It may be a lie, well James knew it was a lie really, but he couldn’t very well sit with the truth. He couldn’t think about the fact that he was months ahead of the plan, there was absolutely nothing stopping him from being forced to take the mark, and even Dumbledore couldn’t protect him from the law if that were to happen. The ministry has officially labeled anyone who has the mark a fugitive from the law and they are to be arrested or killed upon sight.
James could be killed for this.
No. He couldn’t think about that. James pushes the thoughts deep down into his throat and imagines himself swallowing them. He would be fine.
Another deep breath later and he forced himself to grab his wand and tuck it into his pocket before apparating away.
✮✮✮
James liked to arrive early whenever he could, he didn’t like having any unnecessary attention on him and arriving late was always a guarantee he would be grilled about ‘where he was’ or ‘what he was doing’.
James felt the ground materialize underneath him again and sucked in a deep breath before righting his shirt and striding through the house. He’d been to the Malfoys a few times before today, mostly before missions and once when he’d first shown up. It was safe to say that the house was not a place that inspired confidence in James, but here he was, walking through the halls and up the stairs like he’d been there a hundred times before.
The meeting itself was set to start at five PM precisely, and James knew that everyone tended to get there around twenty minutes early, so when he walked into the hall where the meeting would take place he was not surprised to find only a handful of people present. It had been four-thirty-three when James had apparated from his flat, and he assumed it took around five minutes to walk from the edge of the grounds to the house where he was now, which put him at around four-thirty-eight. Right on time.
He settled himself in a corner and leaned up against the wall as he watched the small group of people filter about. He needed to know the name of every single person at this meeting because these were the people The Order needed to focus their efforts on.
He started on the right side of the room and began to take mental notes;
Lucius and Bellatrix were standing by the door speaking in hushed voices, throwing a glance to the other side of the room every few words.
Bellatrix was an open book to James, she believed in what she was doing with her whole heart, and she didn’t care about being cruel or hurting people as she went. He sometimes thought she enjoyed it far too much, which isn’t exactly shocking to him based on all the stories Sirius had told him about her. Bellatrix wanted to win more than she wanted oxygen or food, she was Voldemort’s second in command - however much it pissed Lucius off that she was. Dumbledore knew how much of a threat she posed to them, he knew what she was capable of, and how powerful she could be - especially when she was angry. The problem with her however was that she was elusive, hard to pin down, and even harder to track. James had tried to find out where she went when she wasn’t on missions because it wasn’t the Lestrange manor - that is where her husband’s brother lived - but James could never find another hint.
Lucius was also a bit of an open book, but that was due more to the fact that James had done some digging on him. Lucius hated James, with every bone in his body he hated James. He would try and trip him up on missions, try and get him to admit to being a spy time and time again, he wanted Bellatrix to dig her knife into him again so badly. James wasn’t so easy to crack though, he’d really surprised himself with how well he held up under questioning over the last few months, specifically when Lucius was around. James also knew that Lucius was one of the highest members on the ladder. That he was important enough to have duties that stretched as far as offering up his residence to the group. James already knew he would be at the meeting.
His focus moved across the room to where another handful of people stood around, they seemed older, and James assumes they’d stood by Voldemort longer than most.
He recognized the first man simply by the utter resemblance to his sons. Orion Black. Fuck James hated that man, he probably hated Orion Black more than he hated Voldemort. He was surprised to see him at the meeting at all, after Sirius had explained what happened when he’d run away James thought they were trying to align themselves with Voldemort not that they were already aligned with the man. Then someone spoke and James was taken by surprise, ‘Cygnus’. Not Orion? If James recalled correctly then Cygnus was Sirius’ uncle, which made him Orion’s brother. But James also recalled Sirius mentioning that his uncle Cygnus was his mother’s brother. James needed to ask about that then.
Standing with Cygnus were two men that James did not recognize and one that he unfortunately did. He didn’t know why he was so surprised that Mulciber was there. He remembered how cruel he’d been in school, how violent he was, how many times he had to pick Sirius up off the ground after he’d run away because of that boy. He’d even picked Regulus up a few times, but they seemed to have more personal issues than blatant alignment issues like he and Sirius had. Mulciber was dangerous, they hadn’t been able to keep tabs on him after he left Hogwarts the year before with James, but now they’d know that he was in fact in Voldemort’s inner circle of allies.
James’ eyes moved to the last circle of people on the left side of the room, by now more people had filtered into the room, but James would have to take note of them later rather than disturb his system.
Three bodies huddled together, James couldn’t see their faces from his position, so he took a casual step toward them and nearly fell over.
Regulus?
He clamped a hand over his mouth and averted his eyes so that they wouldn’t catch his. Regulus was a part of the inner circle? James knew he had supposedly gotten the mark at sixteen, but still. He never expected someone so young to be so trusted. It made his stomach churn with disturbance. He never thought Regulus would actually go through with it. Not the little boy that twelve-year-old Sirius had dragged into the train their second year like a little pet. Not the boy who’d looked at James for the first time like he was a god. Not the boy that had sobbed and begged James to see Sirius alive on September first the year after Sirius had run away from home. Not him.
James had to take a ten-second breath. He needed to focus. He moved his eyes back over to the group and felt his heart twinge as he saw Regulus’ face again.
He still had the scar that he and Sirius shared, the small cut across his left cheek from where his father’s ring would cut into the flesh when he backhanded the boys. His eyes looked tired, less alive than the last time he’d laid eyes on Regulus. When was that? James couldn’t even remember.
He moved his eyes to the people beside him, he recognized them as Barty Crouch Jr. (which was a bit of a shock) and Evan Rosier.
Rosier had sandy blonde hair, and a smattering of freckles across his nose and cheekbones, he was about an inch shorter than Regulus and looked just as worn down as he did. James remembers him as quiet, except when he was around Crouch. He was intelligent, he’d even moved up a year in charms so that he was in James’ class in his sixth year. He remembered how many howlers he would get from his parents, and he remembered how he would light each of them on fire before they had a chance to go off. He was from a dark family, but James still felt bad that he was stuck. There was no world in which he wanted to be there right?
Then there was Barty Crouch Jr. James remembered him very well, he remembered the way he was loud and somewhat rude to everyone who wasn’t his friend. He never meant it with malicious intent though, it was always jokingly. He had dark brown hair, and almost black eyes, he was the tallest, blocking the other two boys slightly from James’ line of sight. Barty couldn’t want to be there. He just couldn’t. His father was set up to be one of the next ministers of magic. But here he was, here they all were, standing a few meters away from James.
James sighed, he supposed he could just ignore them, but deep down he didn’t want to at all. James always loved helping people, whether they deserved it or not James would have to find out but for now, he’d follow his instincts - whether they were lies or not.
✮✮✮
“I think he’d hex me into another country if he ever finds out,” Barty whines. “I need my own place.”
“We all need our own places,” Regulus grumbled, rubbing the blooming bruise on his left arm. His mother had far too strong of a grip.
“I think we should just all live together,” Evan shrugs. “Honestly we could take up residence at my place. I’ve got the whole East Wing to myself and at this point, I think my parents believe I live at Regulus’ house anyways. They’d never notice.”
“I think with our luck they’d end up walking in on us,” Barty snickers, Regulus shoots him a glare and smacks his arm. They couldn’t joke here. Not that he could blame Barty, it was his first time in the environment, and the only reason he was even allowed in the inner circle right away was that Regulus and Evan vouched for him.
“Hello,” Regulus jumped at the voice, Barty pivoted around to see, and Evan put his hand on his wand.
Regulus had to blink a few times because standing right in front of him was James Fucking Potter. Glasses and all, standing so close that Regulus could touch him. Mindlessly Regulus did in fact reach out to touch the other boy, which ended up with him just kind of poking his chest.
Barty burst out laughing, and Evan follows suit, holding onto one another for support as they gasp for air between laughing fits.
Regulus feels his heart tighten in his chest, oh he didn’t. The first time he saw James in years and he poked him? Oh, Merlin how stupid could he be?
“S-sorry,” Regulus stammered, “shit sorry I didn’t-”
“Did you just poke me?” James snickered, a smirk falling onto his lips.
“Yes,” Evan piped in. “Yes, he totally did.”
Regulus flipped his middle finger up in his face and Barty snorted, placing a hand on Regulus’ shoulder.
“I just…” Regulus sighed, telling the truth couldn’t be so awful, could it? “I just wanted to make sure you were real.”
“Real?” James raises a brow, and Regulus curses himself under his breath.
“You know,” Regulus struggled to find a better wordplay, “Like to make sure you’re not a dream.”
“Aw, you dream about me baby Black?” James smirks, tapping his finger lightly on Regulus’ nose.
“I thought that nickname died back at Hogwarts,” Regulus swatted his hand away from his face. Recalling the five-month period in his fifth year when James had tried to be his friend, Regulus of course had been secretly thrilled but James could never know about that part of the story.
“Oh this is wonderful,” Barty wheezed, Evan was biting his lip to keep from laughing along with him - which Regulus had to admit was somewhat attractive.
“James we are going to be very good friends,” Evan pats his shoulder, and James smiles.
“Are we Rosier?”
“Oh yes,” Barty smirks, looking Regulus directly in the eye. “Yes, we are.”
Oh, Regulus was going to have words with those two later tonight. At this rate, Regulus wouldn’t be surprised if James could guess that he was madly in love.
“Ah, I see you’ve made friends hmm Potter?” Regulus watched as James’ shoulders went stiff and the smile fell from his lips, he thought it was quite a shame - James did have such a pretty smile.
“We knew each other in school Bella,” Regulus drawls, trying to force the twinge of annoyance to dissipate from his voice. His guard was down far too much for him to be dealing with this.
“I can see you did,” Bella hums, a cruel smirk fixed on her face. “I’m still surprised you’re actually going through with this Crouch,” She turned to where Barty was standing beside Regulus.
“I told you,” Barty grits out, “I’m done with my father. I want this.”
“Whatever you say,” Bella shrugs, “my ikle cousin tell you what to expect?”
“I don’t think you’ll be holding him down while he screams and begs for you to not do it,” Evan snaps, and Regulus narrows his eyes. James made a small noise and Regulus had to force his eyes to stay fixed on Bella, at least now he knew the truth.
Regulus would never forget the day that James confronted him about having the mark, the month after they’d actually started to be friends. He remembered how angry his eyes had been, the knife that was his words, he remembered it all too well.
What James didn’t know was that Regulus had never wanted to accept the mark. But to his parents and family, he was a pawn in a game of chess, just there to get the game started for their family to rise into greater power. This depended entirely on their heir being handed over to the Dark Lord as an offering, and when Sirius had run Reguluys was up. He’d begged and sobbed and bargained with his father and mother, but it’d all been in vain because they’d just held him down and done it anyways.
“Well, I suppose that all depends on if he can take it,” Lucius scoffed. “Potter.”
“Malfoy,” James sneers, a tone that regulus had never heard from such a gentle person before. Perhaps James had changed that much since the last time…
“A few more weeks and it’ll be you,” Lucius spat back, nodding his head to where Barty was standing nervously while Evan linked their pinkies together.
No Regulus pleaded internally, he wouldn’t allow James to be subjected to taking the mark, the strings that came attached were far too great.
“Silence please,” another voice echoed - which Regulus knew far too well by now. All chatter in the hall stopped and Regulus hung his head. He had to stay off the radar if he wanted to pull this off, he needed discretion. Regulus and Evan instinctively fell back along the wall, pushing their arms together as silent support. James and Barty followed suit, James next to Regulus and Barty next to Evan, Lucius, and Bella took their places at the front of the room and waited for further instruction.
James bumped his shoulder against Regulus’, and he raised his head just enough to catch his eye.
‘Is that him?’ James mouthed, Regulus gave a curt nod and put his head back down, silently praying to merlin that James did the same.
“Before we begin today’s meeting I believe we have a new recruit?” Voldemort’s voice came again, and Regulus couldn’t help but move his eyes to the right and look at where Barty was twisting one of his rings around his finger nervously. “Bartemius Crouch Jr? Interesting, I take it you don’t share the same values as your father?”
Scattered laughter filled the room and Regulus felt his skin crawl. Barty must have shaken his head because there was no verbal response.
“Ah yes well I’m honored you have decided to join our ranks. Now as you have probably already figured out, we don’t typically accept members straight into this rank…” a pause left Regulus holding his breath waiting for the next words to fall from his mouth. He couldn’t back out now… “However, some of my more experienced allies have vouched for you.”
“Yes sir,” Barty said quietly, not allowing his voice to challenge the authority that Voldemort’s struck.
“If those members of my ranks would step forward and confirm,” another pause. And Evan nudged his arm gently, Regulus lifted his head and saw that all eyes were on him.
Oh, Merlin, his father was going to skin him for this, he made sure to lock eyes with his uncle as he followed Evan into the center of the room before kneeling down on his knee. If he was going to defy his family's loyalties he was certainly going to be as dramatic as possible.
“Evan Rosier and Regulus Black,” Voldemort took a step toward the two boys kneeling before him. “Do you both believe that the young Bartemius had the skill to join such an elite group of wizards?”
Evan spoke first, “I do believe he does.”
“And you Regulus?” he shuddered, feeling the man’s eyes burning into the back of his head. He felt the familiar tug of Legilimency before he opened his mouth.
“As do I,” regulus spoke clearly.
“What was that little cousin?” Bella quipped, and Regulus cursed her under his breath.
“I,” he took a breath and steadied his breathing. “Regulus Black, the heir to the Most Noble House of Black, vouch for the magical abilities and mental stability of Bartemius Crouch Jr. to join the highest and more elite ranks of the Dark Lord.”
He hated how those words felt on his tongue, because he wasn’t the heir, he was supposed to have been the spare.
“Very good Regulus,” Voldemort praised, turning on heel and stalking back to his previous standing. “You two are dismissed.”
Regulus and Evan rose quickly and hurried back to their place along the wall, keeping their heads down as they did so. James slipped a finger around Regulus’ as soon as his back hit the wall, and Regulus’ heart skipped a beat.
The rest of the ceremony made Regulus’ stomach churn and twist, he knew how much the spell hurt, and he knew how mentally straining it was to perform the spells. He watched as Barty flinched as he performed each of the unforgivables without faltering, he watched Bellatrix smirk and Lucius test his skill. Evan was shaking by the end, and Regulus knew he was on the verge of a panic attack, the moment they were dismissed Evan would likely fall apart and Regulus and Barty would have to pull him back together.
Panic attacks were something that Evan had to deal with frequently, and they’d only gotten worse since they’d left Hogwarts - sometimes happening two or three times a day. Regulus nudged the other boy with his elbow and took a deep breath, Evan did the same. ‘Count back from 100,’ he mouthed, annunciating slightly so Evan wouldn’t be confused. He seemed to understand because his eyes closed and he began mouthing numbers.
James was still holding his pinky by the time the ceremony was actually over, and he continued to hold it through the weekly assignments. Regulus had a scouting mission on Friday and he needed to brew a big batch of The Drought of Living Death by Thursday. Evan was with him on Friday and Barty and James didn’t get anything.
“Well me personally I think we should all go back to Evan’s and get pissed,” Barty shrugged after they had been officially dismissed and everyone was chatting again.
“I second that,” Regulus sighs, turning to James who was standing next to the wall awkwardly. “You in Potter?”
“Me?” James’ eyes widen, “y-yeah sure I guess. You want me there?”
“We’ll take what we can get Potter,” Evan laughed in a whisper, he was still quite shaky, but with Barty’s arms wrapped around his torso, he seemed to be doing a bit better.
“Alright sure then,” James smiles, and regulus has to look away so he doesn’t blush.
“Perfect, I’ll take Ev, and meet you two there?” Barty asked, not waiting for an answer before popping away and leaving Regulus stranded with James.
“Hold on then,” Regulus deadpanned, looking up slightly to meet James’ eye.
“Oh yeah right,” James nods and laces his fingers through Regulus’. Fuck his hands were warm, James didn’t wear any rings so regulus squeezed tightly and allowed his body to be pulled away from Evan’s, James Potter’s hand still tightly wrapped around his own.
✮✮✮
“Okay okay but let's get to the real point Potter,” Barty hiccups, a broad smile across his face as he sits up, shifting Regulus off his lap. “Are you, or are you not on Voldy’s side?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” James snorts, taking another sip out of his glass. “It’s not like I would tell you three if I was working to destroy your master.”
“Our master?” Evan giggled, the alcohol had certainly calmed him down. “Merlin James, how thick are you?”
“Huh?” James cocked his head slightly and Regulus, Evan, and Barty all shared a quick look. Regulus shrugged, he had absolutely no faith that James was actually a death eater. Especially not after the last couple of hours they’d spent sprawled out in Evan’s bedroom.
James was currently leaning up against the back post of Evan’s canopy bed, his legs crossed and his red converse discarded on the floor next to him. Barty was leaning up against the headboard and Regulus was laying in his lap, his legs across Evan - who was sitting against the other post next to James.
“Might as well tell him, there’s absolutely no way that you’re actually a death eater,” Regulus shrugs, reaching over to the nightstand and whispering the incantation to unlock it. He wiggles it open and withdrew a leatherbound journal. “Now James. What I’m about to show you is absolutely something any of us will murder you for breathing a word of.”
“Okay?” James crunched his eyebrows together. Leaning forward so he gets a better view of the book.
Evan scoot closer to Barty and Regulus as James watched them unbind the book and open it to the first page.
In hindsight, they probably should have titled it more discreetly, because if James did end up being a loyal death eater then the three boys were royally screwed.
HOW TO KILL THE DARK LORD
“You want to kill him?” James’ eyes widened.
“Oh we’ve already started to,” Evan smirked. “Oh, and Regulus wasn’t joking about killing you if you ever open your mouth about this.”
“I-”
Barty cuts off his next words, “so Potter. Are you in on this? Or are we going to have to bury a body tonight?”
The silence which followed that statement was crippling, and Regulus wished more than anything that James would reply sooner, rather than break his heart again.
“I’m in.”