When Stars Align
If you change your mind, I'm the first in line
Honey, I'm still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey, I'm still free
Take a chance on me
James slept like a log for a solid 4 and a half hours, waking up at 8:30. He took a bit of time to remember everything, he had fun. Prongs had a headache and a really bad one at that, his head was throbbing with pain, he had not drank this much in a really long time.
He walked out of his bedroom quietly, assuming that Regulus was still sleeping. He locked himself in the bathroom and he brushed his teeth as quietly as possible. He ran his hands through his hair a few times, making sure he didn’t look too terrible, and then he walked to the kitchen to take some medicine for his headache. He quickly swallowed two pills before walking back in his bedroom to take a look at his phone.
If there is one thing that James is not good at, it’s most definitely sitting around doing nothing. He wanted to get started on his work to pass some time until Regulus woke up, but his laptop was in the living room, where Regulus was sleeping. After careful consideration Prongs figured that if he was really quiet he wouldn’t wake him, so he tiptoed to the living room and he opened the door as quietly as possible.
He walked to his laptop and he grabbed it quietly, taking one quick glance at Regulus as he entered the room. He was sleeping peacefully with his hair spread out on the pillow James had given him. He was half covered in his blanket, hugging one end like a stuffed animal. James found this particular rainy morning quite chilly, so he set his laptop down to arrange the blanket a bit better, so that it would at least cover Regulus’ feet so he wouldn’t wake from the cold. Afterwards Prongs left quickly, trying to close the door as much as he could without it squeaking.
He sat himself down at the kitchen table and he finished editing a chapter for one of his older clients, who he had neglected for a little while. He finished everything a bit too quickly and he didn’t want to get started on an entirely new chapter so he figured making breakfast wouldn’t be a bad idea, considering how eating a good, filling meal after drinking was highly encouraged by healthcare professionals. He started with coffee, since it was a staple in his everyday life.
James Fleamont Potter is picky, he might call himself pretentious but those close to him know that he is actually just very picky, especially with what he eats and drinks. He only likes Colombian coffee beans because they are the only ones who can be roasted without turning too bitter. He also finds the texture of the coffee a bit creamier and the taste a little more sweet, but not too sweet, because James can’t stand people who added a lot of sugar or sweetener into their coffee, he considered it a crime against the drink itself. Prongs also refuses to drink the coffee unless when making it he has to grind the beans himself. He fully believes that any sort of beans that come pre-grinded lose their flavour too quickly, making the coffee taste bitter.
The only issue that he currently had with making the coffee was grinding the coffee beans, because his very outdated grinder makes a lot of noise, at least enough to probably wake up Regulus. He closed the kitchen door tightly and hoped that it wouldn’t wake him, then he added his very precise measurement of 45 grams of coffee beans, just enough for roughly three cups of coffee.
After grinding up the beans as quietly as possible James continued on with the next steps of making the perfect cup of coffee, a very therapeutic process in his opinion. Once the drink was just the right consistency for him to enjoy, Prongs took out one of his fish mugs to pour himself some coffee. He searched for this week's newspaper that Fleamont gave him before sitting down to enjoy his cup of coffee while keeping up with the economical state of the world.
James has always hated newspapers, everything is so badly worded, made specifically to confuse older generations. If Prongs would ever get one chance at editing the newspaper he would make every article a lot better. They always have the least creative topics someone could possibly think of, it’s just stupid.
Just as James put the newspaper down, fed up with all of the propaganda, Regulus walked in, his hair still messy from sleeping.
“Morning!” James said before taking one more sip of his coffee.
“"Mmmornin’...” Regulus mumbled “How long have you been up?” he rubbed his eyes, yawning.
“Oh I woke up around eight, I thought I could let you sleep for a bit longer.” James smiled.
“You’re too loud, whisper or something.” Regulus took a seat at the table, right next to James.
“Does your head hurt? I have loads of medicine.” James sat up to look around “Mine hurt like crazy this morning, it got a bit better though.”
“I’m alright, just not awake enough yet.” Regulus placed his head on the table.
“Do you want coffee? I made a lot anyway.” James said.
“I don’t like coffee if it doesn’t have milk.” Regulus mumbled in a groggy voice.
“Want me to make you some tea?” James was already taking out another cup.
“Yes please, that would be a bit better.” Regulus lifted his head back up looking at James.
Prongs found Regulus’ expression so amusing, the way his hair was flying in every direction, he just couldn’t help himself. James took a step closer, running a hand through Regulus’ hair.
“You’ve got bed hair.” James smiled, looking down at him, taking a few moments to play with his hair. “So” he said before going back to what he was doing before “just lychee I assume? want something else?”
“Um I” Regulus stuttered, looking a bit flushed “lychee is fine, thanks.”
James just nodded and he took out the little packet, scooping out one teaspoon of leaves.
“Can I use the bathroom?” Regulus asked.
“Yeah go ahead! It’s over there.” James pointed towards the direction of the bathroom, knowing Regulus would probably be able to find his way around anyway.
He finished the tea quickly, placing the mug on a cute little coaster to let it cool off just a bit. Meanwhile, James opened the fridge in hopes of finding some food. Luckily, he had enough yoghurt left to eat his favourite granola, again.
“What’d you want for breakfast? I dont have lots of things in my fridge right now but I can figure something nice out.” James asked as soon as Regulus came back into the kitchen.
“Oh I don’t eat breakfast, I'm fine with tea!” he said while checking to see if the drink has cooled enough yet.
“But like, breakfast is so fun! I go to sleep thinking about food and I wake up all happy because now I get to eat the food I was thinking about when I went to sleep!” James smiled, pouring the yogurt in a little bowl.
“I’m never hungry in the morning for some reason, just really thirsty.” Regulus said, trying to take a sip out of his tea.
“Okay then, suit yourself.” James said as he sat back down to eat after pouring herself another cup of coffee. “Did you sleep well?”
“Oh absolutely! Your couch is so comfortable!” Regulus smiled.
“Did you hear me come in this morning? I was so bored I came to get my laptop to work on a few things, I really tried to not wake you!”
“Really? No I didn't hear a thing, that’s sort of weird also because im such a light sleeper, must have been the alcohol or something!” Regulus said, taking another long sip from his tea. “Why didn’t you just go back to sleep if you woke up too early? Why start working this early in the morning?”
“Well, once I wake up I can’t fall back asleep at all, and I also can’t stand around doing nothing. I needed to keep myself busy or I would have gone insane.” James got up to put his bowl in the sink, already having finished his food. “Do you sleep with stuffed animals?” Prongs did not think before he spoke. That question just popped up and he let himself say it.
“What?” Regulus’ eyes widened.
“Sorry I really think that though, when I saw you sleeping this morning you were hugging the corner of the blanket like a plushie, I was just curious.” James laughed a bit at himself as he said that.
“I only have one that I’m very attached to. Don’t judge me.” Regulus gave him a scary glance.
“Oh no I get it wait let me show you!” James shouted, running out of the room and in his bedroom to grab his gang of stuffed animals. He carried the six plushies into the kitchen and he placed them on a counter, trying to not drop any “I’ve got an entire team.” he got ready to present each of their names.
“Oh please no it’s too early for this!” Regulus smiled before turning his seat a bit to be able to watch better.
“So, listen up!” James cleared his throat, picking out the first stuffie “This is James junior, obviously!” he picked up an egg shaped jellycat with glasses just like his “I mean, you can see the resemblance” he held James junior up to his face, pointing to his glasses, while Regulus giggled at the sight. “Next up, Sherlock!” He held up a seagull with a hat on his head “I named him SHerlock because of the hat, he’s the detective of the group while James Junior is the leader, obviously!”
“Oh yes, that's very obvious!” Regulus rolled his eyes, laughing.
“Next! Gouda!” He held up a mice plushie with a coat on, another jellycat “Her full name is Gouda Schweitzer Camembert, she’s an old soul.” James spun her around once so that Regulus could really see all of the details “Now, don’t tell James Junior, but she’s sort of my favourite.”
“You named her after cheese? Very inspiring.” Regulus couldn’t stop laughing “Can I hold her royalty?”
“Yes.” James placed her in his hands “Be very careful, she’s a very delicate lady.”
Regulus looked at her up close, inspecting her coat and face. Once he sat Gouda in his palms properly he looked back up at James, letting him finish his presentation.
“Last but not least, Pingu!” he presented a pink penguin with a party hat and a pizza slice in his hand. “So, this pizza slice that he has, it has old fish on it, and it’s his favourite thing in the whole world. He calls himself the most spectacular and best penguin in the world, but in a funny way not in a narcissistic self centered way. His nose is in everyone’s business but not to cause harm, just because he’s funny.” he threw Pingu up in the air a few times. “Out of all of them, he has the most personality. Now which one’s your favourite!” James smiled at Regulus, very proud of his plushie assembly.
“Well, I would say James Jr. is my favourite, however I think that would be a little biased, so then Gouda, definitely! She’s very sophisticated.” Regulus held her up to look at her “Auriez-vous la capacité de parler français?” his french accent made his voice sound entirely different. “Vous êtes d'une élégance rare.” he smiled at Gouda, still laughing.
“She’s still learning, give her a minute.” James gathered the rest of the stuffed animals in one place. “Your voice sounds so much more different in french”
“It’s easier to speak a bit quicker, maybe it sounds more like myself, dunno.” Regulus got up and drank the last bit of his tea, placing Gouda next to the rest of the plushies. “What’s the time?”
“9:30, we’ve still got some time to kill.” James looked at his phone quickly.
“Oh can I play another vinyl please!” Regulus asked. “I had so much fun last night! I bet that’s why I slept so well!”
“Okay sure, but you have to let me do my work okay?” James smiled, putting a hand on Regulus’ shoulder as he passed by “C’mon!”
“Yay!” he skipped all the way to the living room.
James sat himself down on the couch, placing his laptop in his lap, watching Regulus browse around his very wide selection of records.
“Which jazz album is your favourite? I want to try to listen to some!” he asked.
“Oh it’s one from Miles Davis, hold on.” James sat up to grab it, handing Regulus the vinyl. “Has lots of trumpet, if you prefer piano I have a different one.”
“It’s fine!” Regulus began taking the disc out, taking great care when handling it.
Just then James noticed something he had overlooked before, Regulus was going up on demi-pointe with one leg, while keeping the other down, then switching. It was like a sort of releve. It was pretty funny, mostly because James assumed Regulus didn’t realise he was doing it.
“Why are you doing that?” Prongs asked.
“Doing what?” Regulus turned around, stopping the whole movement.
“You were sort of going up on demi pointe with one foot at a time?? Why do you do that?” James smiled, he felt a bit silly trying to explain.
“Habit, dunno.” Regulus turned his back, directing his full attention to the record player. He placed the needle down and he settled himself on the couch, close to James.
Prongs let himself get lost in the music, typing away on his computer without paying much attention to his surroundings. One of his older clients, a very nice man with three grandchildren, always asked James to write a report on the things he edited. Prongs never minded doing it, actually finding being able to write things for a while pretty relaxing.
“It’s so bloody cold.” James stopped writing after a short while, realising that he was actually freezing. Regulus was looking at his phone, his legs covered in the blanket James gave him.
“Right! It’s so weird, it’s the 28th of February, almost March. It’s so sunny outside but the air is still cold, I hate it!” Regulus looked up, smiling a bit.
James sat a bit closer to Regululus so the short blanket could cover the both of them, he was too lazy to go grab another one.
“At what time did you say you need to be in Islington?” he asked.
“Around 12 is fine!” Regulus said.
They sat in silence for a moment, both James and Regulus did their own thing. James remembered how he asked Regulus if he had watched The perks of being a wallflower. He figured it would be a good excuse to talk about movies.
“Last night you said you watched The perks of being a wallflower , right? What’s your favourite movie?” he asked while still concentrating on his writing.
“Probably Whiplash? I’ve been obsessed with it for a while now, I don’t watch that many movies anyway so I don’t know…” Regulus said after thinking for a moment. “What’s yours?”
James figured it would be obvious given the posters he had in his living room, but he said it anyway.
“Well, any Wes Anderson movie probably.” he pointed to the wall with all of his favourite movie posters “Movies like Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs, French Dispatch, Grand Hotel Budapest…these are probably my favourites! I just really love every movie directed by Wes Anderson, he’s a genius!” James took a breath before continuing “His stop motions are incredible, the way they discuss very serious topics while making the movie super child friendly is something that not many people can execute correctly in film, not only that but his unique color palettes and the symmetry that he implements in every single scene are such rare features for movies! I’ve watched every single movie he directed at least 50 times!” James smiled at Regulus, hoping he didn’t sound too crazy.
“I don’t think i’ve seen any of those actually!” he shrugged, smiling.
“No way! That’s a crime!” James set his laptop down, he actually couldn’t believe the idea of someone not watching any Wes Anderson movie, ever. “You’ve got to come over again some time. I will make you watch every single one with me even if it’s the last thing I do. I’m not even kidding, you have no idea what you’re missing out on.” James looked Regulus in the eye, attempting to make the most serious expression he can without laughing “The best one to start with is Fantastic Mr. Fox since it’s like his most popular, then I’d continue with The French Dispatch or Grand Budapest Hotel since they’re classics, then you pick the next one.” he said, making sure Regulus understood how important those movies were to him.
Regulus just stared at him for a moment, not saying anything. Then, he took a short exhale before speaking:
“Alright, only if you make me those muffins when I come over though.” he grinned.
“Deal, absolutely!” James paused for a moment to listen to the music in the background “Oh this is my favourite song from the album!” he smiled, before sitting a bit more comfortable to listen to it while finishing off his work. He tapped his finger along to the beat, which wasn’t too fast but not too slow either, just perfect.
Once the song ended, so did the vinyl, he never really bothered to listen to the other side since it was really short and it didn’t have any songs he really liked.
“You can play a different one now, the other side isn’t that great” James said as Regulus got up to pick a different record. He spent a few minutes just looking at each one, admiring James’ collection.
“Can I play The Queen is Dead or are you sick of The smiths?” he asked once he found the album he wanted.
“Go ahead.” James smiled, nodding slightly “Which one’s your favourite?”
“Cemetry Gates, The Boy with the Thorn in his side and obviously I know it’s over!” Regulus flipped the disk to look at it for a few moments before placing it down “Yours?”
“I also love Cemetry Gates and probably Frankly, Mr. Shankly, i love that line that’s like Oh I didn’t realise, that you wrote poetry, I didn’t realise you wrote such bloody awful poetry, Mr. Shankly , it just ties the whole song together!”
Regulus nodded while carefully placing the needle down, then sitting next to James.
“So, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you…” he said shyly, smiling.
“Yes?” James closed his laptop, having just finished his work. He turned to Regulus to be able to look him in the eye.
“So you know how we’re doing Romeo and Juliet at this time of the year right…”
“Yes, I think I do.” James smiled, still not knowing what Regulus wanted to say.
“Well I was wondering if you’d like to come and watch the show on opening night, since that’s when I’m performing and all…” he fidgeted with his rings, looking down at his hands “It’s on March 14th…” he looked back up, his cheeks all rosy. “You don’t have to worry about tickets and stuff since the company sorts that out for us”
James Potter had never seen Regulus Black this shy, nevertheless, he was glad he asked.
“Of course, I’d love to come!” he said, watching Regulus visibly exhale. “Thank you for the invite, I wouldn’t have thought to attend myself.”
Until it was time to leave they sat around for a little while, mostly just chatting about little things like the decorations that James had in his home or his whole stuffed animal assembly, either way James found it a very nice way to spend his time, he was actually quite glad he didn’t have to be alone. Once it was time to leave they raced down the six flights of stairs before rushing outside, taking a small walk to where James always parked his car.
“Holy shit you drive a Porsche?! In London? Are you mental?” Regulus’ eyes widened as he got inside “How has no one damaged it yet?”
“Well, driving is a bit of an exaggeration, I actually just walk everywhere. It’s nice to have it for every once in a while but I don’t usually drive it anywhere too far. I sometimes take like one day trips to the beach, my personal favourite is Botany Bay, super pretty.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to any beach in the UK besides Brighton, I always thought they all look the same.” Regulus said.
“Oh they definitely don’t! We should go sometime, I can show you around!! I think I’ve visited basically every single one, they’re all so pretty and different from each other! My personal favourite will always be Botany Bay though, it’s the best looking one” James said, enjoying the lack of traffic.
“Great, now we’ve made enough plans for the rest of the year, good to know.” Regulus said in his usual sarcastic tone.
“I can definitely find a lot more things to do with you, don’t imagine it’s over yet! I love hanging out with people.” James smiled to himself. “Name some things you haven’t done yet but you want to try.”
“Well, I can’t just name things at the top of my head! I guess I’ve always sort of wanted to go to like these super big bookstores with someone and just browse for hours, never had anyone to do it with though.” Regulus said, fidgeting with his rings again.
“Great, add that to the list!” James smiled.
They drove in silence for a while, until it was time for James to drop Regulus off. He waved him goodbye before driving back to his flat, to work on a few more things.
*
*
*
March 2nd 2025
The whole friend group was gathered at Lily’s house to plan Remus’ birthday party. His actual birthday was on a Monday, which was rather inconvenient, however Sirius found a way to plan a date for the two of them to celebrate. On Saturday and Sunday, so the 8th and 9th, they wanted to do their signature party.
“Okay everyone, here is what we have so far! We’re organizing it at Lily’s place, because it’s the most spacious and she agreed to let us smoke. For food we’ll order chinese, sushi and a whole lot of chocolate cake. Now, what about activities? What should we do? I think a murder mystery would be pretty fun, it might take some time to organise though.” Sirius said, placing his notepad down on the dinner table for everyone to see.
“I like that! We might have to think of something really hard or else Remus will figure it out too quickly!” Mary said.
“Yeah but, if we’re the ones to organise it then wouldn’t we already know the answer? It won’t be as fun!” Marlene added.
“We should split in teams and get one of those detective files, whichever team figures out the murderer first wins!” Peter said.
“Yes Wormtail, that's genius!” Sirius snapped his fingers before writing the idea down on his notepad “Now, who’s in charge of drinks?” Sirius looked at James.
“Fine, I’ll handle it this year, too!” he rolled his eyes, laughing.
“Oh guys I also need someone to take care of Buckbeak for when I’ll be out with Remus, I’m taking him somewhere until Thursday morning” Sirius looked at James again “Do me a favour will you Prongs?”
“Um yes please! I love Buckbeak!” James was actually glad for this opportunity, taking care of Buckbeak was one of his favourite things.
“Okay, another thing out of the way. Now what about gifts, is everyone bringing their own thing or are you buying something together?”
“I thought of such a fun gift, he mentioned the 1989 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary at some point and how cool he found the idea of owning all of them sounded. That’s what I'm getting for him, especially since he’s an English major like I was.” James said, quite proud of the gift idea that he came up with. It was incredibly pricey but he considered it worth it, especially since he was getting them for Remus.
“I still haven’t thought of a gift, I’ll decide later!” Mary said.
“Yeah me neither!” Peter added.
“We have an idea but it’s a surprise!” Marlene and Dorcas announced.
“Okay I think that’s all, I’ll update you if anything else comes up! You’re all free to go!” Sirius announced.
Once James got home he ordered Remus’ gift. Is dropping almost 800 pounds on a set of dictionaries a good idea? No, not really, but he is an adult and he can do whatever he wants.
Prongs also spent the rest of his time figuring out a good day to invite Regulus over so they can watch Fantastic Mr. Fox together. He really wasn’t kidding when he said that, and now he was actually trying to find a good moment for the both of them to meet. Not only that but he was really excited for the Romeo and Juliet show, until now he had never watched a ballet performance live, so he was really excited for it. Regulus really did sort out the whole ticket issue, which made James really happy because the site for the Royal Ballet said that they were all sold out.
Either way, he actually had some things to do now. James was busy with fun little activities and most importantly, he was happy.