Chapter 1
At twenty-five and freshly promoted to the position of Senior Auror, James reckoned he could never get bored of this feeling. The adrenaline of the fifthteen minutes before him and his team were due to leave for a mission - the clicks of buckles of wrist guards and wands sheathed in holsters as everyone geared up for what usually ended in a fight. James’ own dark robes sat heavy over his white shirt as he laced up his dragonhide boots, a smile etched onto his face as he looked up and saw the others move toward him when the door opened and Head Auror Shacklebolt walked in.
“Gather round” The man took place in front of James’ desk, the five other Aurors following his way.
“Potter?”
James took the lead as he stood up, brushing his hands against his thighs as he did.
“Right, everyone should have already read the debrief but for those of you who skimmed it, I'm talking about you Rosier” He nodded over at the tall man smiling in the corner. The pair made an unlikely team. While James had wished for Sirius to be by his side during these times, Black found himself better suited as a Curse Breaker than Auror following the war which led to Rosier filing in the drama-queen size hole left in his wake. They were a strange duo and while Evan had learnt of a thousand ways to piss James off since they’d become Aurors, he was a brilliant wizard and had James’ back.
He carried on as he looked over his fellow colleagues. “We have intel that an illegal dragon ring is being hosted under Edinburgh Castle. Thanks to Ramirez-” He held up his hand to the shorter black haired woman stood smug between Rosier and his desk “-we know that a fight is happening tonight in which we know two dragons have been bred for”
Duke Shacklebolt stepped in after James. “We have several members of the Care of Magical Creatures department and trained dragon keepers meeting us there. They’re each specialists in their field and have gone ahead to make preparations for capturing and housing these creatures.''
James followed after “They’ll handle the dragons. Our job is to detain the smugglers. We expect each dragon will have a minimum of two wizards with them at all times. Now these guys will stop at nothing to ensure they keep these dragons. These animals are like diamonds to them and they don’t give a shit if they have to kill a few Aurors to stop us from taking their money makers so keep an eye on your six”
Duke finished off by pairing off each wizard with their usual partner and instructing them to aparate to the various entrances to the underground fight ring dotted around Edinburgh’s old town.
Rosier followed James out the door with a nod as they cracked into thin air appearing just a few moments later where the two found themself standing in a dark alleyway. They spent a moment with their backs to each other, watching the two ends of the tunnel - waiting for an ambush. They were clear. James nodded when he turned back for Evan to tap his wand against the wall, the bricks before them falling apart to reveal a staircase as he did.
They walked down in silence for a few moments until light shone from the bottom of the stone steps and the roar of a crowd echoed along the passage. The pair hesitated for a moment, Evan holding back as he urged James to go first before he took the lead with an eye roll.
The short tunnel soon revealed a huge arena seemingly carved under the rock Edinburgh Castle sat upon. The fight ring was concealed behind rows of spectators standing upon a layer of balconies propped up on wooden stacks. The deck wrapped around in a great circle looking down into a sand pit. James could feel the heat of dragonfire before he even saw the beasts below. Creeping closer to the edge as he shouldered his way through hollering wizards, James found his heart in his throat - two dragon stood chained to the ground and they clawed at one and other, a smaller Welsh Green pinned to the floor with its neck in the jaws of a larger Chinese Firebolt. It was barbaric. And by the look on Evan’s face as he met him by his side, he felt the same. The bigger creatures’ teeth began to sink through the green scales of the weaker dragon when bolts of blue from two savage looking men at the edge of the stands licked up the Firebolts snout, the animal recoiling as it did. A spark of numbers appeared above the crowd - betting odds and tallied wins from each dragon. The room erupted in an applause of winners and howls of losers, each passing handfuls of betting tokens between them as the dragons were pulled apart by a great mechanical wheel at the edge of the pit.
James and Evan took in the crowd. James noted the rest of his Aurors had found their way into the fight ring as they dispersed into the mass of people. He didn’t know what these dragon wranglers looked like but he recognised a few of the wizards from the Care for Magical Creatures department paired up with more concerned looking figures closer to the edge of the arena and assumed that was them, his eyes catching glimpses of hooded wizards gaining toward to railing.
“We go on your signal” Rosier spoke beside him. The Aurors he spotted were looking his way, each behind a smuggler, waiting to pounce as their target hung practically half over the wooden fences as they screamed for the dragons. He remained for a few moments longer. Evan was practically shaking beside him with adrenaline as he paused to allow the next round to begin, for the distraction of the dragon fight.
James barely had to move his head for the other Aurors to mutter their curses, the smugglers falling in succession as each was hit with a series of spells.
Evan took more of a muggle approach as he kicked the back of the knees of the smuggler before him, the greasy man toppling over as James shot a stunning spell, the two men beside him following a similar fate.
Aurors ascended into the sandpit followed by what only James could describe as a mist of shadows. Several dragon wranglers flooded onto the arena dressed in pitch black leathers, cloaks bellowing behind them as flashes of light broke from their wands to break the bonds of the dragons. The crowd broke into a mass of panic when the first spell broke, the room erupting in a buzz of cracks and whooshes as people apparated out.
The beasts, not knowing the difference between friend and foe, snapped at everyone within the vicinity. The Chinese Fireball screeched as a smuggler electrocuted its back when it didn’t return to its tiny pen, the animals growing more and more confused and erratic as people apparated in dreams of smoke around them. One wrangler was particularly fast from the moment they appeared on the sand below. The figure broke from the crowd, heading straight for the smaller Welsh Green, their face concealed from under their hood. The person slid across the sand and shot a flurry of spells toward the irons holding the beast down at its feet as Aurors covered their back. James pinned down a struggling smuggler under his knee as he watched on while the keeper crawled up the ropes binding the creature to the ground and swung their legs over the dragon's back between the bone spikes.
“Is that?” James’ mouth fell open when the dragon keeper’s hood fell back revealing an older Regulus Black. The man had grown into the hollowed sixth year face he remembered as he yelled out below to his fellow wranglers. James’ face shot to the side as he found Rosier, his brows raised. He knew the two were close but Potter hadn’t actually seen his best friend's brother since their school days, always forgoing Evans invitations to hang out after work at his flat with his friends in fear of being too overwhelmed by old Slytherins.
Evan held up his free hand, the other being used to hold the smuggler in his other against the ground.
“I didn’t know he’d be here tonight?”
James stood up as his wand wrapped a binding around the unconscious criminal beneath him, Evan doing the same.
James apparated beside his partner, a curse spitting from his wand at a man behind Rosier before the crack of James appearing could even be recognised.
“You didn’t know your best friend and flatmate would be at a secret dragon fight ring raid tonight?” James muttered as they moved. Evan made the same face he always did when he avoided accusations.
“Secret being the keyword there Potter”
James shook his head in disbelief and looked back over the arena to Regulus when his whole body froze.
Regulus was sitting upon the great scaled beast with his wrist wrapped in one of the leather straps hooked around the dragon's jaws. The creature thrashed back and forth pulling up when it was caught in more and more ropes as the wranglers’ wands wrapped up its body holding it down. James stood still, in a complete trance as the man he once knew appeared to move in slow motion. Regulus rode with the dragon, his hips grinding for balance as he held on and steered it toward the edge of the pit. It was clear Regulus was no stranger to riding on dragon back as he moved with the beast, his body in perfect rhythm. The Welsh Green reared up and lept forward but Regulus held his wand between his teeth to take two hands to the ropes, yanking hard to pull the dragon's head away from line with the wizards below. Its tail swiped behind it and with it a number of Aurors toppled to the ground. Regulus was yelling something incoherent from across the arena when he sucked through his teeth and strained against the ropes. In among all the chaos it was as if time slowed when just for a moment through smoke and ash James’ eyes met him from across the ring. Regulus’ face was taught as he moved with the distressed animal. Despite all of this James concluded in that moment that the way Regulus' body strained above the furious beast as he looked his way was the single most erotic thing he had ever bared witness to. Regulus’ face appeared impassive when the thought crossed James’ mind and then suddenly as if a wave of ice water had splashed down his bare spine, his face dropped, his jaw clenching as he held onto his wand. James thought the man was about to look away from whatever staring contest they found themselves in when the Slytherin winked - as if he could practically read James dirty mind.
A flash of green light shooting across his cheek broke James from his haze. Muscle memory took over from there as he turned and followed the flash with his own hex, his hand holding where his cheek bled when the assailant dropped to the floor, Evan meeting his eyes in a panic when his hand pulled back from where he cupped his cheek, his fingers bloody.
“I’m fine”
“Potter” Rosier warned.
James nodded back in understanding, falling into rhythm as he finished a row of spells to subdue the final apparent smuggler; grabbing him by his shoulders before apparating them into the pit and shoving him toward the others, the group of them all bound together in a coiling metal line as it slithered over their hands. A wall of blurring air was held by the Care for Magical Creatures wizards as the beast roared fire behind them, the flames climbing up the forcefield that shielded James while the keepers stood on the other side their wands subduing the two dragons into a sleep as they surrounded the creatures, the warm glow emitting from the spell wrapping over the scaled beasts bodies before they both slumped into the sand.
Everything simmered down quite quickly after that.
James ordered his Aurors to take the smugglers back to The Ministry and search the place for any stragglers or evidence left behind when he spotted Regulus. A few keepers were daring enough to stand near the sleeping giants' heads and they navigated two bridles over the dragon’s faces, their jaws tightly bound. Regulus was by the side of the Welsh Green. The man pulled his glove away with his teeth and settled his pale hands onto the scaled wing, his fingers trancing the scars as he cooed.
Somewhere along the way his curiosity toward Regulus’ softness was smothered by his professionalism as he met the Head of Care for Magical Creatures.
“Willow Peters?” The head was a stern looking woman with salt and pepper hair, her figure wrapped in a lighter version of the fighting leathers the dragon keepers wore as she met him halfway. She pulled off her own gloves and shook James’ hand.
“Potter. Did you get them all?” James looked back at the apprehended men and women, Evan nodded before he disapparated with two of them.
“We think so. And you? Are they okay?” He nodded toward the sleeping dragons, one Magical Creatures Wizard spooking when the Firebolt stirred - two keepers beside him laughing.
The woman smiled brightly. “They’re both in terrible condition but they’re safe now. They’ll be taken to a sanctuary in the Highlands tonight to recover. Thank Merlin these psychos know what they’re doing” She nodded over to the keepers. Each of them looked like an annoyingly attractive member of one of the bands Moony tried to shove down James' throat. Some of them had long wavy hair or unruly beards, others with great scars across their faces and the last one looked like an irritatingly more attractive version of his best friend.
“Black” The woman called him over. James felt a panic wrap around his throat when Regulus walked their way.
Seriously.
She held up her hand to James when Regulus stood before them. He was taller than James remembered, almost exactly his height when he reached them and his face was still as beautiful as the day he last saw him from across the Great Hall at Hogwarts except now he was older, had grown more into himself and-
Fucking hell is that a scar?
A small nick of white skin cut across Regulus' jaw and James had to practically hold his hands against his back to stop him from stepping forward and turning the man face to the side to inspect him.
“This is Regulus Black. He’s a dragon keeper, one of the best in the country, even if he is only eighteen”
“Twenty Four Willow” He corrected her teasing with a smile before it disappeared. “And we’ve met before” Regulus’ face was impassive “He’s my brother’s best friend”.
James tried not to read into the way Regulus' voice pained through the sentence, Willow being none the wiser to the strange past shared between them.
The woman clapped her hands.
“Small world. Anyway, Potter, since you’re the Senior Auror here and the keepers seem to have the dragons all under control, I’ll leave the debriefing to you. Merlin knows I’ve written up enough in my life time to fill a library”
James tried not to roll his eyes. The softer part of his job being one of the more painful aspects.
“Of course. Thank you Willow”
The woman winked at him before herding the remainder of his team and disapparating.
“I-er?” James stood in front of Regulus who was studying him.
“Black a little help here?” One of the keepers called from behind the dragon, who despite being asleep, was still rolling around the sand pit - its tail instinctively whipping across the floor.
Regulus shouted over James’ shoulder and pulled his glove back on as he faced James who remained choking on his own voice.
The keeper didn’t appear to want to bid farewell before twisting on his heels until he stopped and turned. “Your face?”
“I’m sorry?” James stumbled.
Regulus raised his hand to his own face and pointed to his cheek.
“You’re caught a hex there?”
James mirrored the man in front of him and felt a lick of blood across his skin when his fingers met where the smuggler had caught him before. He silently thanked Merlin for it not being some horrifying disfigurement spell, especially in front of such a man as Regulus’ Black and his frustratingly perfect face.
“Oh. Yes I supposed I did. Ha. I noticed it before but you know how it is I usually just patch myself up. I’m sure you usually do the same. I don’t know how often do you get scratched by a dragon?-”
He stopped speaking halfway through. Merlin, he could practically already hear Remus’ laugh when he would tell him how pathetic he was acting.
Regulus cleared his throat and waved back at his colleagues when they called for him again and James mustered enough of a voice to finish his sentence.
“Thank you for your help by the way. I-we-couldn’t have done it without you and your team. You were excellent really”
The Slytherin forced a smile just a bit.
“Don't make this weird Potter" And with that Regulus moved around him like an avoidant cat and turned toward the swaying dragon to pick up the ropes - his hands wrapping around the bindings as they he helped hold it down, leaving James standing with a raised hand back at him.
"Okay Black. I'll see you around I'm sure" The old Slytherin boy was out of earshot when James twisted away and dragged his hand over his face and mumbled to himself-
"Smooth move James. Idiot”
As Regulus returned back beside the creature James remembered he had a job of his own to do and with a pile of paperwork waiting for him on his desk, he instructed the remaining Aurors to hurry up and head back.
A final glance in Regulus’ direction left James deflated as he followed his own advice and apparated himself into the cold of his office, his robe falling on the back of his chair after five minutes of pacing the room from adrenaline until he sat down and began to scribble his reports. He barely managed the opening statement when visions of Regulus flooded his brain. The black of the leather arm guards he’d been wearing and the dark of his robes complimenting his pale skin and hair. The way he moved on the dragon and the strange sweetness in the way he smiled as his hands soothed the sleeping dragon. James scoffed and he wrote down his notes.
Why did he have to be so annoyingly attractive?
A sudden wave washed over James. Attractive? Regulus? Don't be ridiculous. James shook off the thought as he sped through his work, only marginally distracted by a small house elf who wandered in with a dust pan before he resorted back to arguing with himself. James had never been one to take on a label with much seriousness. He knew Remus was gay and Dorcas was in her words 'a stone cold lesbian', Sirius was whatever he decided and James never cared to find an answer. He knew who he found attractive, he found attractive. No need to stress out about it. But his best friend's brother? Absolutely not.
But why would he even bother thinking about such things. It wasn’t as if he’d see him again anytime soon.
That was until a small piece of parchment caught a flame before him as he piled up his pages.
Celebratory drinks? Everyone’s already at The Leaky Cauldron, thought you could use one after all the paperwork?
- Love Rosier ;)
James stared at the note until it shrivelled away. The time on the clock by the door had just passed half eleven when he contemplated going. He was usually always game for a post mission drink after a hard day at work but when he considered Regulus might be there too; being friends with Evan and all, James stood a second longer at his desk before he ran a hand through his tousled hair and scraped his chair back, something deep within him dragging him from his work and toward the apparition point - his thoughts rationalizing the lie that he was only doing this out want to celebrate a successful mission with his team and certainly not because he wanted to see him again.
Fuck it. Fine.