"prongs. you have to get up. you commentate your first match today."
james grumbles and buries himself under his covers, his face pressed deep into the pillow. he does not want to get up. at all.
after spending the last few weeks training for quidditch without stop, the possibility to play was taken away from him last-minute. because sirius, that idiotic buffoon, was not able to take the look-out position seriously he didn't only get detention but was also suspended from the game against slytherin.
"piss off. i am depressed. i won't leave the bed today.", he just murmurs when sirius tries pulling the covers from his head.
"james, you do know, that if you don't show for commentating the match you will also be suspended from the next few, right?", remus' voice chimes.
and that makes james sit up. "oh shit. how much time do i have?" he jumps out of bed, nearly falling because his foot was caught in the covers, stumbles to his closet door to take out a sweater and some jeans.
while hastily jumping into the jeans - why did he have to take out those flared ones which are tight around his thighs, they're a pain to get into - he absently hears sirius' voice "thirty minutes. just about enough to get some food into your system."
that makes james a bit calmer, but his hands are still busily doing everything to get ready as fast as humanly possible (or should i say wizardly?). after throwing on his scarf, he runs out of the dormitory to go to the great hall, his best friends following.
"there you go, prongs. you need to drink something.", says sirius while handing him a cup of tea. mumbling a thanks, he downs the - kinda weirdly tasting - tea and continues pushing as much food into his mouth as possible.
"ten minutes until the match starts. you need to go prongs.", remus reminds him. james nods, his eyes staring somewhere into the distance. "i know. but i really don't want to only commentate. i want to play.", he whines.
sirius chuckles a bit and pulls his best friend out of his seat. "there you go. now you should hurry up. you don't want to be suspended from playing for any longer."
---------------
arriving at the pitch, james goes directly to madam hooch. "you're nearly late, boy.", she welcomes him. "of course. because i don't want to do this and am here just because i don't want to be suspended even longer." he smiles up at the slightly taken aback teacher.
"well then, straight to the commentator's box you go." james laughs at that. "oh but i can't do that. i'm not even straight." he gives his professor a wink and then slowly meanders to the stands.
there, professor mcgonagall already awaits him. "do you already know how to do it?" she asks him. he sits down and nods in her direction. "have never done it before but i will figure." mcgonagall nods slowly, a bit suspicious because james isn't acting like he'd normally would.
james tries to get himself comfortable on the really weird chair ("this bloody thing is poking me up my arsehole") and makes sure the microphone in front of him is working (it is and everyone heard his commentary about the chair before).
"you can start now, mister potter. please keep the commentary as unbiased as possible.", mcgonagall tells him, trying to hide her amusement about the boy's mishap behind her stern voice.
"hello everyone. (shit this feels weird, hearing my voice like this. well, nevermind.) i am james potter, and i will do the commentary today because lockhart fell down the stairs and someone - it's sirius for the ones who didn't know - got me in trouble which led to me getting suspended for this game. it is a real distaste to have to do this. i really wish i could be on the pitch instead of doing this stupid boring commentary noone even listens to.", he introduces himself. a few laughs are heard throughout the stands and mcgonagall shakes her head in disappointment.
"well, i guess the players are entering.", he continues a bit later when the gryffindor team starts entering. "i was supposed to be the one leading this team, not mckinnon. i mean she's a good friend. annoying at times but still nice. a good seeker too but i am a better captain. there's a reason why she's only vice-captain y'know?"
"mister potter. a bit faster please and not this many personal comments."
"yes, yes. well, we've also got morrison and lovely emmeline vance as beaters. i honestly am always surprised how ruthless vance can be on pitch. next we have bane as our keeper. i really hope he will do well because he's been missing practice a lot lately because of snogging around with some ravenclaw girl."
"potter!", mcgonagall warns him.
"then we have our three outstanding chasers. i would normally be one of them but like i said someone got me in trouble. patel, eriksson and our youngest one whose first game it is today - a big round of applause please - reginald cattermole. i am sorry i cannot call you reg like you'd prefer. it would feel wrong because the only reg in my heart is regulus black."
a round of laughter goes through the stands, and james thinks he can nearly hear sirius' voice shouting something like "you'd better not have him in your heart". mcgonagall just nods at him to continue.
"before the slytherin team comes out i must tell you something though. it's about the uniforms. they're the most unflattering piece of clothing i have ever worn. and really ugly. especially the ones from gryffindor. can someone please design new ones? thank you very much."
at that mcgonagall shakes her head again, motioning him to zip his mouth shut. "why do you want me to shut up, professor? you are the one making me do this. don't go regret it now because i would surely leave and then i'd wish you good luck finding someone new."
again, the stands laugh at that and mcgonagall takes a deep calming breath.
"next the slytherin team is out. you see those uniforms? looking way better than the gryffindor ones. i am jealous." he huffs out a breath and just stares shortly before continuing.
"starting with beater and captain, lucinda talkalot. terrifying both on and off the pitch. same goes for avery, their other beater. their three chasers are next, bulstrode, nott and mulciber. stay away from mulciber if you know what's right for you, girls. and boys, if he ever were to be into that. next, their keeper, smythe. you'd also better stay away from him, girls. totally different reasons though. he will break your heart from just looking too good."
"mister potter, that's enough."
"what, minnie, don't you have eyes in your head? even a blind per- okay maybe not a blind person - but everyone can see that he's bloody handsome." a roar of laughter is heard from the crowd, smythe himself making a dramatic bow.
"well, let's go on to the bloke who just rolled his eyes at his teammate for being dramatic. trust me folks, he's just as dramatic. lies in the family i guess. there is reggie, the best seeker slytherin has ever seen. at least in my opinion. always a nuisance to be playing against, my eyes just seem to naturally gravitate towards him which results in me not being able to concentrate on the game. but can any of you blame me? his quidditch gloves make his eyes stand out."
a few more laughters are heard around the stands and on the pitch smythe takes regulus' hand with the gloves on and lifts it to his face. while regulus rolls his eyes again, smythe gives a thumbs-up to james. "and i even have the approval of smythe on that topic."
"now madam hooch is taking out our balls. shit, that sounded wrong. she is taking out the balls to play with. oh fucking merlin. uhm. the quidditch balls. she is taking out the quidditch balls. now it's good. everyone, please give madam hooch an applause for always bringing out the balls and being the referee, even tho sometimes her decisions are not the best."
james just gives mcgonagall a slightly apologetic grin and then turns around again.
"and there goes the whistle. after having just started, evansson gets in possession of the quaffle. wow, he's faster than i remember. maybe he got a new broom? i would notice that though, i love brooms. oh, he just made a goal. great playing, evansson, not so good keeping, smythe. it's now ten - nil for gryffindor."
james takes a small sip out of the flask of water he got from sirius pre-game and returns to commentating.
"now slytherin is in possession of the quaffle. bulstrode zooms across the field and passes to mulciber who tries to make a goal, but bane seems to be the bane of mulciber's advancement. hehe. bane being the bane of something. i am so funny. either way, bane kept the quaffle from going through and passed it forward to cattermole. oh that catch was a bit clumsy, cattermole. but he quickly catches himself and goes forward wit- what why are you passing it to patel, she's too far away that will not be going well. aand nott catches the quaffle."
"ohh but would you look at that, a bludger coming from beater emmeline vance made nott lose his balance and he dropped the quaffle. well done emmeline. now mulciber and evansson are both going after the quaffle. yees, yeees, YES! evansson got the quaffle just like he was supposed to, that git mulciber shouldn't get the quaffle. and evansson goes on towards slytherins goal post. will he make another goal? ... no he won't. but maybe patel, who he passed it to, will. aand she takes the shot. but smythe keeps it from going through the hoop. he just proved that he is not only a pretty face but also a decent keeper."
james lets his eyes roam around the pitch, searching for the two seekers. they both are hovering somewhere, looking out for a golden speck. "and black takes a dive. it seems he saw the snitch somewhere. you ask where? i don't know. i only know that he looks great pressed against the broom with his hair being blown away by the wind. merlin, i could stare at him for hours. he is still going down in a deep dive, and mckinnon is following him a bit behind, apparently also having spotted the snitch.
"merlin, reggie is getting even faster and is continuously dropping straight down in direction of the floor. he should probably pull up at some point, i don't want to see him all splattered up against the grass. pull up reggie, pull u- OH he pulls up just centimetres before hitting the floor - thank merlin, i don't know what i'd do without being able to see his scowl whenever i pass him - and now leisurly flies to the top again, apparently having lost sight of the snitch. keep searching tho, you'll be able to catch it sometime. i am rooting for you."
regulus looks over at james and glares at him, scowl set deep on his face. "that was the scowl i was talking about. cute, right?" james smiles back at regulus who huffs and turns his back to james.
"now let's go back from the seekers to the chasers. the quaffle is still in possession of slytherin, and it seems they are quite close to scoring their first points. bulstrode flies forward, throws the quaffle, aaand it's a goal. it now stands ten to ten."
after that the game goes on, points being scored on both slytherin's and gryffindor's side. james keeps his commentary coming, drinking something every now and then to make sure his voice doesn't give out.
"it seems as if mckinnon spotted the snitch. and so did reggie. they both converge towards one spot, reggie flying a bit faster than mckinnon. she should really come to practice more instead of snogging her girlfriend. but reggie is flying fast like lightning. oh am i happy my glasses exist. wouldn't want to miss that facial expression of his, concentrated face flushed from the cold wind and biting his lower lip. that's kinda hot."
he takes a deep breath trying to distract himself from regulus, while mcgonagall and probably everyone else in the stands or on the pitch look at james with an exasperated expression. "why is everything standing still? go on playing, especially you seekers, the snitch ain't waiting for none of you.", he speaks into the microphone.
shaking his head, he continues his commentary. "reggie continues flying at a rapid speed towards the snitch, but it seems as if mckinnon is closer. whoever catches the snitch right now will finish the game and give their team the win."
he turns his attention shortly towards the gryffindor goal post. "oh it seems mulciber made a goal while the seekers are continuing to battle. it now is 90 - 80 for gryffindor. but the seekers aren't finished yet and reg has now nearly caught up to mckinnon. he really is fast on a broom. mckinnon reaches her hand out, she is really close to the snitch. will she be able to ge- oowww. that must hurt. a bludger from talkalot hit mckinnons arm, hindering her from enclosing her hand around the snitch.
"it seems to have also obstructed reg's view of the snitch, meaning he will not be catching it right now. he seems a bit disappointed. i do not like this sad expression on his perfect face. cheer up reggie, you are the best and because of that will surely catch the snitch at some point during this game. i now notice that mckinnon's arm doesn't look too good, but she continues pushing through the pain and-" someone whispers something into james's ear. "oh i heard she got a potion against the pain already to be able to keep playing."
"the game goes on and it stands 90 - 80 right now with gryffindor in the leading position, but with the arm of gryffindor's seeker hurt it is hard for them to keep their advantage and take home the win. on the other hand, slytherin's seeker regulus black is still perfectly fine, looking even better than normal with his hair tousled from the wind and cheeks flushed. i really don't know how i can normally take away my eyes from him on the pitch."
he gives a dreamy sigh and leans his head on his hand as the wind carries regulus' voice to him "shut up, potter." he gives the younger a wink and says in a low and hushed voice (still louder because of the microphone) "make me." at that regulus takes the bat from one of the beaters and hits a bludger his way. the magical field protecting the stand he's at keeps it away tho.
"always so feisty, the little one, isn't he? but that's one of his many many charms." james chuckles into the microphone. "but back to the game. the quaffle is in possession of cattermole, whose rather small stature makes it possible for him to duck between the two slytherins in front of him, straight towards the goals. he thro- oh that was a feint. but now he makes a gooaal. what a great move to feint smythe into going to the other ring.
"i was the one who taught him to use feints by the way. so that goal is partly because of me..... i wished it was only because of me..... i want to play so badly." james sadly sighs into the microphone, which leads the stands to both laugh and go "awww" in mock pity.
then regulus flies close to the commentator's box and james chirps "at least now i don't have to concentrate on playing but can give all my attention to sweet reggie here." regulus spins around really fast, james didn't know that was possible, and gives him a hard glare. but there is still a minute smile forming on his face.
"did i just make reg smile? i achieved the impossible. does that mean you don't hate me?" regulus shakes his head, gets closer to the microphone and says, so that it is slightly amplified "i really, really hate you, james." and then flies away.
"did you hear that folks? he called me james, i repeat, he called me james. shit, why is my heart beating so fast? reggie, you make me feel things i don't want to feel while being forced to commentate a quidditch game." he shakes his head a bit.
"mister potter, i must ask you to refrain from such comments. keep your head straight ahead and don't do anything but the commentary.", mcgonagall scolds him. "but how can i look straight if i am not? i already tried to explain this to madam hooch. you lot are all homophobic."
he pouts and laughter is heard, with the occasional gasp, because james potter just outed himself. "it is 100 - 80 with gryffindor in the lead and it's slowly getting boring to do the commentary if i am not allowed to say what i really want. but slytherin has the quaffle right now and mulciber, that little arsehole - did you know he once tried to hurt reggie? - flies towards the goal post. he gets ready to throw it. YEAHH WELL DONE EMMELINE!!! a bludger hits mulciber in the side, making him fall from his broom.
"shit will noone catch him? oh, he is caught by... EMMELINE WHY ARE YOU FRATERNISING WITH THE ENEMY? i am disappointed. you will be running extra rounds in the next practice. together with bane, as punishment for all his missed practices.
...
"no, professor mcgonagall, i am not overworking my teammates. if someone is overworking them and the whole student population it would be the professors.
...
"yes, i will try to refrain from saying such things in the future. no promises tho, minnie.
...
"back to the game, it is still 100 - 80 for gryffindor. one chaser is out on sides of slytherin and gryffindor's seeker is badly hurt and clearly not on her best performance as a result. against other houses this might've not been a problem, but with slytherin seeker black, who is already a worthy opponent on normal occasions, it will be way harder to catch the snitch before he does.
"talking about the snitch, i think reggie has spotted it. flat against his broom he races closer to the snitch, looking as good as always. he seems to be getting closer and closer. after a sharp turn he is still after the snitch, hair fluttering beautifully in the harsh wind. he looks like a painting, i don't think i've ever seen something or someone looking this good before. there's a reason why he's called the prince of slytherin. maybe he'd want to be my prince charming. i'd surely like that.
"ohh and he is getting closer and stretching his hand out. mckinnon already gave up, sucks to be worse than reg, but everyone is, so don't blame yourself marls."
progressively getting louder he commentates "reggie stretches himself more and more, and closes his hand. HE'S GOT THE SNITCH." james beams towards regulus and continues his commentary.
"i knew he'd do it, he is literally perfect after all. he just brought his team, his house, slytherin the victory. congratulations reggie, i was always rooting for you." at that he gets slightly bumped at the head from mcgonagall and he timidly says into the microphone "not for slytherin, only for you reggie. and gryffindor played well too, not as good as they would have with me there, but they did everything they could. but i don't think anyone could go against reggie and his teammates and get out unscathed."
he sighs and finishes "thank you for listening to my really shitty commentary, which, in retrospect i do realise, it was half me being in love with regulus and the other one me saying shitty things to try and explain what was happening. that was james potter, see you next gryffindor game but then i'm on the pitch."
with laughs and applause from the stands, james gets up from his chair, winks at mcgonagall with a "see you soon, minnie" and gets down to the pitch to talk to his teammates. just as he reaches the pitch, regulus is coming towards him.
"what was that?", regulus asks the older. "the commentary? i just said what came to my mind, mostly. i did have to try to not only talk about you but also the game itself.", james grins down at regulus. "i'll see you later. maybe. congrats on winning, i now need to comfort my team because they lost." he winks at regulus and goes to talk to his teammates.
"hey marlene. your arm looks bad. everything alright?", he asks his vice captain. marlene, attended by madam pomfrey now, just stares at him. "i am quite alright. pain is gone thanks to the potion. but why did you talk about the little black half of the time?"
"i'd like to know that too." sirius makes a dramatic entrance, perfectly fitting his normal tendencies. "well i just...", james tries to start, his throat weirdly closed up. "do you fancy baby black?", emmeline vance interrupts him.
"yes i do actually." james eyes widen and he presses his hands on his mouth, looking over at the face of his clearly shocked best mate. sirius is clearly not calm and that doesn't make the situation for james better. "how long?", sirius inquires. "how long what?" james looks at him, confused.
"how long have you fancied him for?" at that, james tries not to look directly at sirius. "three years?" sirius' gaze snaps to meet james' eyes.
"you brotherfucker! how can you dare fancy my little baby brother! and since three years? he was thirteen there! what are you, a pedophile?" sirius totally snaps. "look, pads, i never intended to fall for reggie, but really, can you blame me? he's just perfect in any way.", james tries to explain.
sirius huffs, crosses his arms and turns his face away from james. "what do you know or like about him then?", he wants to know. james just takes a deep breath, knowing he will not easily get out of this.
"first of all his eyes. sometimes i think i can clearly see all his emotions in them, or the small twitches and movements on his face that he tries so hardly to hide. his eyes are so pretty and whenever he's happy they sparkle like stars. i think that if he were to be really happy, i have never seen that before though, a whole universe would be visible in his eyes.
"and his smile is so sweet. i have only ever seen it when under the invisibility cloak at night when he's at the astronomy tower, looking at the stars with a smile so sweet it could give me diabetes and his cheeks flushed from the cold because he always forgets to take a sweater with him.
"he always tries to be that emotionless person whith an everlasting scowl on his face, but he isn't really. he's such a nice person with his heart at the right place, just protected by layers upon layers of distrust and issues. he would die for the people he cares about, but it is really hard to be one of those people. all i really want is to be allowed to care about him and have him care about me. really."
"i shouldn't have put that veritaserum in your tea. that was gross. so cheesy.", sirius mumbles. everyone turns to sirius, shock evident on their faces. "you put veritaserum in his drink?" "why?" "how did you even get it?" "what did you want to achieve with this?" and "so everyone knows i'm not straight and fancy your brother because of you?" were questions thrown at sirius.
"to answer all of your questions. yes i did put it in his drink. i thought it would be funny, never did i think he'd fancy my little brother tho. thats disgusting. i just wanted to make him embarrassed and get a good laugh out of it. and i am terribly sorry james, i didn't even know you weren't straight, which is really something we need to talk about. you cannot just keep secrets like this from me, alright?"
james just grumbles out a "yes" and walks away from the group, back to the dormitories.
---------------
james is lying in his bed, the covers pulled over his head. after the veritaserum stopped working - he had a few awkward run-ins while getting back to his dorm - he started realizing just what he actually said.
"i can't believe i did that. why did sirius have to do this to me? reggie will hate me now.", he whines to himself. he throws the covers off himself to take the map in his hand. maybe he will see regulus alone somewhere and could stage an accidental run-in to then talk to him.
searching the map for regulus' name, he doesn't hear his friends entering the dorm. he first checks the dungeons, then the side of the great lake where regulus likes to sit alone, and finally the astronomy tower, where the name "regulus black" is. with noone around.
"i'll be back soon. hopefully. if not, then i'll have thrown myself off the astronomy tower. but i think you'd notice that so don't come searching for me to stop me." james sends his friends a smile and leaves the dormitory to go meet regulus.
upon arriving, the thought enters to his mind that he should have come more prepared. but now he is there, with no plans whatsoever and no invisibility cloak to hide himself. and with a "what are you doing here, potter?" his plan of just running away again is destroyed.
"you asked my after the game what that was. i just thought maybe i could talk to you?" james' head is turned towards the floor, and after finishing his unsure question he glaces up at regulus. "yes. if you can explain why you did that." regulus takes the form of james in, analysing it.
james is officially in a dilemma. his eyes flit around, not knowing what to say or do. if he tells regulus it was just a joke, then he will surely resent james for the rest of his life, but telling the truth could go even worse. "just tell me the truth. no use in lying. i know when you lie.", regulus interrupts his thoughts.
"someone gave me veritaserum before the match." james' explanation is really short but enough for regulus to get what's going on.
the younger just stares at james, eyes widened in shock and cheeks red because of the cold. james would lie if he said regulus didn't look good at that moment. "i... you... is... is that the truth?" regulus looks nearly pained by his own stutter. james nods, his eyes not focusing on one place for longer than a nanosecond.
"then what you said about me. about my skills, looks and ... just about everything else..." regulus' voice trails off. "that was what i really think of you. yeah." james answers the younger's unspoken question. "but at the end of the match, you said.... , you said-" regulus seems to not be able to finish the sentence.
"i said 'me being in love with regulus'. yes."
james doesn't elaborate further. and regulus is not saying a word either.
after a short while, which felt like hours to james, regulus speaks up, his voice timid. "you stand for what you said there?" james nods yes. "how long have you felt like this for?" james sighs and speaks, trying to make his voice sound more sure of himself than he actually is.
"fourth year. your third one. i just realized it at some point around january, maybe i fancied you for longer." james tells the younger one. "that's three years." regulus breathes out. "for what reason did you never say anything?"
that is a question james was not expecting.
"uhhh. because i didn't want you nor sirius to freak out?" regulus thoughtfully nods. the younger turns his head away a bit, looks somewhere in the distance, obviously thinking about something. what that is, james cannot say.
after a longer silence james speaks up again. "i'm sorry. i wouldn't have said all these things if i was able to control myself. but the veritaserum brought out some things and i guess now i cannot undo it. i'm sorry if you feel awkward around me or if someone was teasing you for it."
regulus' head snaps to james. "please. do not say sorry." james looks at the shorter one with a confused expression. after a few deep breaths, regulus murmurs "i do not want you to take back what you said."
"what? why?" regulus looks deep into james' eyes. "i have been waiting for you to say something similar to what you said for two years." he takes a step closer to james.
"i like you, james. more than i should. and i never imagined, not even in my wildest dreams, you to reciprocate my feelings." james' mouth drops open and he just stares at regulus until the younger says "close your mouth, you look like an idiot."
james does close his mouth, but openes it again, wanting to say something but nothing comes out. he must look like a fish on land right now.
finally having gathered his thoughts a bit, james says something. well, more like rambles. "you fancy me to? or like me? i don't even know what to say, i never expected that. why would you even like me? i'm nothing special and you're perfect. you don't even really know me, how could you like me? i thought you hated me. i never imagined this. what am i supposed to do now? i came here trying to not have you totally freaked out, but now i am. what is the appropriate reaction to the boy you like telling you he likes you back? i couldn't even think about this possibility. i wasn't prepared for this and now i don...."
he gets interrupted by regulus taking a few brisk steps towards him and pulling him down into a kiss. james instantly malfunctions. and then he just folds. with a sigh he closes his eyes and kisses back. after some time he unsurely puts his hands around regulus' waist and pulls him a bit closer.
they pull away to breathe normally again, james keeping his hands around regulus and the younger rests his head against james' chest. "you kissed me." james whispers. regulus chuckles lightly and leans away abit to look at james. "you kissed back."
james takes in the bloke before him. lips red and swollen, hair slightly fussed up, cheeks red, a slight smile and the most beautiful look he has ever seen in his eyes. there are stars in his eyes. i made stars appear in his eyes.
the taller smiles brightly down at the younger one. "yes i did." and then presses a short but sweet kiss to the other's lips. before regulus can even respond, james already pulls away. the younger pouts a bit and james leans their foreheads together, chuckling silently.
"do you want to be my boyfriend?", he finally asks, his voice a hushed whisper but the love and adoration clearly noticeable. "yes. i'd love that.", regulus whispers back and leans in to kiss james.
when they pull away from the kiss, slow but filled with emotions, they look each other in the eyes, a soft smile on both of their lips.
and regulus' eyes were showing james the whole universe.