FIRST YEAR
Regulus huffed as she scanned the platform for her older brother. Sirius had run off nearly ten minutes ago in search of his friends, leaving Regulus alone with Kreacher. She looked down at the wrinkly house elf and smiled sadly. “Guess this is goodbye, Kreacher,” she said. “I’ll see you at Yule.”
“Have a good time at school, Mistress,” the small elf replied. He smiled, revealing pointy yellowed teeth. “Kreacher be missing you already.” The elf sniffled and wiped away a few stray tears that escaped his eyes. “Kreacher’s Mistress be growing up so fast!”
Regulus smiled and ducked down to press a kiss onto the bald head of her elf. “I’ll miss you too, Kreacher. Take care of yourself, alright?” She pet his head one last time before boarding the train. Sirius was a dirty liar. He’d told her that he’d be right back, but she was now sitting in an empty compartment on her own. Her long curly locks flickered a deep crimson as she stared out of the window and onto the platform. The train slowly began pulling out of the station, giving Regulus a view of the greenery.
“Mind if I join you?” a voice startled her out of her silent brooding. Regulus snapped her head towards the door of her compartment and glared at the boy. His hair was a caramel brown, his eyes an emerald green and he had freckles scattered along the bridge of his nose.
“Sure,” Regulus replied flatly. Though she was still upset about her brother’s betrayal, Regulus wasn’t keen on spending the whole ride to Hogwarts alone. And maybe this boy could be the very first friend she made. She watched as the boy let out a relieved sigh and collapsed on the seat across from her.
“Cheers, I’m Bartemius Crouch Jr, by the way. But you can call me Barty.” He held his hand out and Regulus shook it reluctantly. Barty grinned at her gloved hands and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. “Ah, so you’re a proper lady, then?” he said with a hint of humour. Regulus scowled at him, her hair turning magenta. “Oh! And your hair changes colours! Neat.”
Regulus hummed and pulled her hand back. “I’m a metamorphmagus,” she told him dryly. Barty’s eyes lit up in recognition.
“I’ve never met a metamorphmagus before, oh this is so cool! Can you do something else? Change your face?”
Regulus pursed her lips, but eventually gave in. It always made her happy when people complimented her gift. She focused on the boy in front of her and morphed her face into the mirror image of him. Barty cried out in excitement and clapped his hands. “How’s that?” Regulus asked as she slowly let her face fade back into herself.
“Brilliant! Oh, now I’ve got to buy you a chocolate frog,” Barty insisted. He bolted up and ran out of the compartment in search of the sweets trolley. Regulus sighed and went back to staring out of the window.
“There you are, Reggie!” Sirius exclaimed, throwing open the door to her compartment. He said it as if she’d been the one to leave him standing alone on the platform. Regulus ignored him. “What?” Sirius asked, picking up on her foul mood right away.
“Nothing,” Regulus mumbled, still not meeting his eye.
“Hey, Sirius, the lads and I found an empty compartment,” a new voice said. Regulus glanced up at the intruder and she felt her whole body freeze. The boy was unmistakably James Potter. With the wild dark hair, hazel eyes hidden behind round spectacles and the toothy grin on his face, it was impossible for it not to be him. He was exactly how Sirius had described him. Perfect.
“Oh, you must be Reggie,” the boy stepped closer to her. “I’m James. James Potter.” Regulus shoved aside her bitterness and shook the boy’s hand.
“My name is Regulus,” she informed him flatly. “Only Sirius calls me Reggie.” Sirius snorted and kicked his foot out to nudge her covered ankle. She glowered at him in response.
“Why are you hiding in here anyway, Reggie?” Sirius asked, looking around the otherwise empty compartment. “I told you to wait for me on the platform.”
It was a great effort to keep her voice from wavering when she answered, “Yes, and I’d have been standing there until nightfall if I waited for you. I boarded alone since I didn’t want to miss the train.” There was a distinctly guilty expression on James’ face as soon as the words had left her.
“Sorry, that might have been my fault. I wouldn’t let him go,” the bespectacled boy mumbled softly. Regulus wrinkled her nose.
“Yes, well, I’m on the train and that’s all that matters,” she replied grimly. It was a close thing. If she had waited another five minutes for him, she’d have missed it.
“Well, get your trunk, our compartment is in the front,” Sirius said, standing up from his seat. Regulus stared at him incredulously. Did he seriously think that he was going to abandon her and then come back and boss her around? Ridiculous! “Come on, Reggie! Pete and Remus are waiting.”
“I’m staying here,” Regulus announced before she could stop herself. “I’ve made a friend and I want to sit with him.” There was a flash of disappointment on Sirius’ face and Regulus couldn’t help but revel in it for a moment. Now he knew what it felt like to be tossed aside for someone new.
“Where is this friend?” Sirius asked with a narrowed look. It was then that Barty burst into the compartment, waving a chocolate frog triumphantly.
“I got it,” he exclaimed, placing the sweet into Regulus’ lap.
“I see that, thank you,” Regulus murmured, lips twitching in amusement. She looked up and met Sirius’ curious eyes. “I’ll see you later?”
Her brother frowned on his way out.
James Potter – the brother stealer, as Regulus had kindly dubbed him in the privacy of her own mind – smiled at the two first years and followed behind Sirius with a bounce in his step. “See ya, Reggie!” he called out as the door slid closed.
Regulus was one of the first people to be called up to the stool. She sat down, nervously scanning the Gryffindor table for her brother. Sirius was already watching her, offering his sister an encouraging smile and a thumbs up. It did nothing to ease her anxiety. At the Slytherin table, Narcissa offered her a smile of her own, though hers was more demanding than encouraging. Regulus felt nauseous.
The hat had barely been placed onto her head for ten seconds before it was shouting, “RAVENCLAW!”
Regulus felt distinctly sick as her tie turned blue and bronze.
SECOND YEAR
“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” Sirius exclaimed angrily as Regulus stepped onto the Quidditch pitch. Ravenclaw was holding their yearly trials and Regulus had been practicing all summer for the position as seeker. Of course, Sirius would know that if he hadn’t spent all of his summer in Cambridge at the Potters’.
“I’m trying out. What does it look like I’m doing,” she rolled her eyes. Over the summer she’d taken to shortening her hair. Her once waist-long black curls were now shoulder length and midnight blue. She’d scrapped her hair into a messy ponytail, not wanting it to get in her face as she flew.
“You- you can’t!” Sirius practically shrieked. He tried to grab Regulus’ broom from her and huffed when she dodged him. “Where did you even get that?” her brother demanded.
Regulus scowled at him. “Uncle Alphard gave it to me for my birthday. You’d know that if you even bothered showing up to my party,” she spat. Sirius shifted uncomfortably.
“Oh, like I was wanted there anyway,” he muttered dryly. “Mother would’ve just droned on about how much of a disappointment I am and how I’ve been a bad influence on you.”
“It was my birthday!” Regulus stressed, “I’m sure you could’ve sucked it up for one night!”
Sirius scoffed and tried to grab her broom again. “You’re not trying out, what if you get hurt?” Now, it was Regulus’ turn to scoff. Potter came up behind Sirius – because of course he was there. He was always wherever Sirius was – and placed a placating hand on the dark haired boy’s shoulder.
“Hey, Siri, why don’t you let her try out. You never know, she might not fall,” he said, sending a small smile towards Regulus. The blue haired witch scowled back at him.
“I’ve trained all summer and haven’t fallen off of my broom once! I’m trying out and I’m going to make the team. Just you wait and see!” She turned dramatically, ignoring her brother’s calls for her to come back. Barty was already waiting for her at the entrance of the pitch, holding his broom under his arm. He smiled when she joined him.
“Nervous?” he asked. He didn’t give her a chance to reply before he was speaking again. “I’m pretty nervous, myself. I know that I’ve been practicing and all, but we’re going up against sixth years! Merlin, I’ll be so embarrassed if I fall off of my broom in front of all these people. And you! I can’t have my future wife suffering from brain damage if you take a fall.”
Regulus had found out shortly into their friendship that Barty was a talker. When he wasn’t moaning about coursework or their classmates, he was making poor attempts at flirting with her. They were barely twelve years old and he was convinced that they’d be betrothed to one another in the future.
“I’m not going to fall, and neither are you, Bartemius,” Regulus stated firmly. “We’ve got this, okay? We’ve been training for this moment all summer. We’re making the team.”
“Damn right we are!” Barty exclaimed, slapping his open palm against Regulus’.
THIRD YEAR
Regulus’ hair turned a bright shade of royal blue as she poked her tongue out and examined herself in the full length mirror. She’d started noticing changes in her body after her thirteenth birthday. Her chest was expanding and her hips were getting wider. She hated the new changes to her body. She wanted to stay flat and lanky. She didn’t like the way her skirts clung to her hips or the way the buttons on her shirt parted at her bosom.
Breathing a deep breath, Regulus focused on making her chest flat again. She had almost gotten it when her Mother came bursting into her room. Feeling embarrassed and oddly guilty, Regulus scrambled to pull her blouse over her head.
“Hurry up, child! We’re leaving in ten minutes,” her Mother spat at her, eyes narrowed suspiciously. Regulus hoped that she hadn’t seen what she’d been doing just moments before.
“Yes, Mother, I’m coming,” Regulus said, willing her heart to calm down. She watched as her mother exited her bedroom, leaving the door open behind herself. Regulus sighed, going over to her trunk. She purposely avoided looking into the mirror again, out of fear that she might not like what she’d see.
Regulus boarded the train as soon as they arrived at King's Cross, barely sparing her parents a backwards glance in her haste to find her friends. Sirius followed behind her, looking especially sullen. He’d been grounded the whole summer, unable to go to the Potters’. It had made him unnervingly subdued for the last two months.
“See you later?” Regulus tried, sending her brother a hesitant smile as they stood in the middle of the train corridor. Sirius glanced at her and nodded.
“See you.” He walked away without another glance.
***
Barty grew over the summer. He now stood four inches taller than Regulus and it bothered the latter to her very core. Begrudgingly, Regulus also noticed how much more handsome Barty had gotten. The baby fat from his face had completely melted away, leaving him with sharp features and his shoulders had broadened.
Barty wasted no time complimenting Regulus on her own changes as well. Without the risk of nosy Slytherin cousins lurking around, she’d made the decision to shorten her hair until it came down just under her jaw. She’d gotten Narcissa to cut her fringe over the summer and was now constantly having to tuck curls behind her ear to be able to see. Barty said that her hair made her look like a movie star. Whatever that meant.
“Come to Hogsmeade with me,” Barty said as he ambushed her in the common room one day. “It’ll be fun, Regs.”
“I thought that we were already going to Hogsmeade together,” Regulus replied inquisitively. “You, me, Pan and Evan.”
Barty groaned, flailing his arms helplessly. “No! I mean just the two of us,” he told her, flushing when she met his eyes. “Like… like a date, maybe?”
“A date?” Regulus repeated, blinking in shock. Barty nodded, looking uncharacteristically bashful. Slowly, a smile spread on her face. “Okay,” she agreed.
Barty tackled her in a hug.
***
The Three Broomsticks was packed when they entered the pub. Regulus sat down at one of the empty tables as Barty went to order them Butterbeers. She noticed her brother and his friends sitting in the left corner of the room. Barty came back with the Butterbeers and a slice of treacle tart for them to share.
The date went perfectly. They spoke about things they normally would speak about when they hung out, laughing and gossiping about school. She hadn’t noticed that they’d subconsciously gravitated closer to each other until she felt Barty’s hand slip into her own. His palm was warm and she smiled when their eyes met again.
“What’s going on here?” a grating voice broke through their comfortable bubble. Regulus looked up and rolled her eyes at her brother. His friends were standing a few feet back, looking on with curiosity. Regulus wanted to hex them for being nosy.
“We’re on a date, what does it look like?” Regulus muttered, annoyed that Sirius was ruining her time with Barty. She slid closer to the brunet and squeezed his hand. Barty squeezed back.
“You can’t go on dates,” Sirius snarled, glaring between the two Ravenclaws. Regulus snorted.
“Yes, I can. You can’t tell me what to do, you’re not the boss of me,” Regulus said defiantly. She raised a brow at Sirius’ angry face.
“Well, I’m sure Father would not like this,” Sirius replied weakly. They both knew that he was not going to say a word to their father.
“Whatever,” Regulus mumbled, standing up and tugging Barty with her. “Come on, Bartemius, let’s go somewhere private.” She flashed her seething brother an overly sweet smile as she stepped away from him, pulling Barty by the hand to follow her. Regulus heard Sirius mutter something akin to a threat when Barty passed him, but she ignored it.
SUMMER 1975
“Okay, so hold it like this,” Sirius instructed. He pinched his cigarette between his fingers and allowed Regulus to mimic him. “Now bring it to your mouth and inhale off the end.” Regulus did as she was told and inhaled from her cigarette. She immediately sputtered out a choked cough as the smoke burned her throat and lungs. “Merlin, relax, Reggie!” Sirius exclaimed as he slapped her back.
Regulus breathed in heavily as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She slowly brought the cigarette back to her mouth and took a slow drag. She still coughed, but it wasn’t nearly as much as her first try. Regulus smiled. “Thanks, Siri,” she said, blowing out the smoke. Sirius leaned against the banister of the balcony and glanced at her.
“No problem, just don’t tell Mother or Father that I taught you this, alright?”
Regulus gave him a flat look and shook her head. “Why would I ever tell the wardens that you gave me a cigarette? I don’t even think that they’d know what a cigarette is,” she tried joking, but Sirius shot her a look that made her smile dissipate. “Fine, I won’t tell anyone that you taught me how to smoke, geez.”
“I have something else for you,” Sirius said suddenly. He reached into the pocket of his shorts, taking out a silver chain with a sapphire pendant attached. “I don’t think I ever told you how proud I am of you,” he said as he watched his sister clasp the necklace around her neck. She furrowed her brows and looked up at him.
“Proud of me for what?” Regulus asked, frowning. She hadn’t done anything exceptional recently. Maybe he was talking about the O she’d gotten on her Charms exam last term.
Sirius shrugged vaguely and waved his cigarette around. “For being in Ravenclaw. For not listening to everything Mother and Father say. I know that they wanted you to be in Slytherin, but you didn’t listen. You didn’t let them change you,” he muttered. “Just – keep doing that, okay? Don’t let them plague you with their bigotry, Reggie.”
Feeling slightly confused, Regulus merely nodded her confirmation.
The next day, when Regulus went to bother Sirius for another cigarette, he was nowhere to be found.
FOURTH YEAR
“Regulus, can I talk to you?”
Regulus groaned as she met the eyes of James Potter. Ever since the return to Hogwarts a few weeks prior, she’d been avoiding Sirius and his band of idiots. She was successful for the most part, but it seemed as though they always knew where she was. If she was in the library, they would arrive soon after, if she was sitting by the Black Lake, they were walking along the shore. She’d seen more of Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew in the last three weeks than she had in the last three years.
“What is it, Potter?” Regulus sighed, flipping the page of her textbook. Opposite to her, Barty sent Potter a dirty look.
“Alone, preferably,” Potter pleaded, shooting Barty a sideways look. Regulus narrowed her eyes at him, hoping that all of her disdain for him could be translated by one simple look.
“Anything you want to say to me can be said in front of my boyfriend,” she told him. She wasn’t actually sure if Barty was her boyfriend – they hadn’t gotten around to talking about it – but they held hands and exchanged kisses like couples did, so Regulus simply assumed. She heard Barty’s breath hitch at the title.
Potter’s eyebrows raised and he looked between the two Ravenclaws. “Fine, it’s about Sirius.”
Regulus immediately shook her head, gathering her books into her rucksack and stood up. Barty watched her in mild bemusement, but didn’t say anything as she pushed past the Gryffindor. “I’ll see you in the common room, Bartemius,” she said, ducking down to press a quick kiss to his cheek. Barty blushed and nodded jerkily. She walked by Potter as if he didn’t exist.
“Regulus, please!” Potter begged, chasing after her. She didn’t slow her stride as she exited the library and started making her way towards the Ravenclaw tower. “He misses you, you’ve been avoiding him.”
“He wouldn’t miss me if he stayed,” Regulus seethed, quickening her pace. Potter grabbed her arm as he caught up with her and tugged her to a stop. He kept a gentle hold on her as they stood facing each other. “He didn’t even say goodbye,” Regulus choked on a sob. She felt vaguely embarrassed, letting James Potter see her in such a vulnerable state, but Sirius’ departure had been really hard on her.
“He wouldn’t have left if he said goodbye,” Potter told her. “Your brother–”
“Sirius is no brother of mine!” Regulus spat angrily. Potter recoiled and took a step back, dropping his hand from her arm. “He left the family and me along with it. Sirius is no one to me!” Her hair turned a bright shade of red, matching the lining of Potter’s robes.
“He couldn’t stay there,” Potter said quietly. And Regulus understood that. She really did. Her parents were unreasonable people, they expected too much of their children. But for Sirius to leave in the dead of night without leaving so much as a note? Was she really not even worth a second thought? Did Sirius really care so little for her? And now he was living with Potter, the boy Sirius loved as a brother even more than his own sister, while Regulus was stuck in a house with her awful parents. Couldn’t he have taken her with him if he wanted to leave so badly?
“I don’t want to hear this from you!” Regulus said through clenched teeth. “You stole him away from me, you bastard!” Regulus shoved past him, but Potter wasn’t so easily deterred.
“Please don’t do this,” he begged. “Please don’t cut him off like the rest of your family, he needs you–“
“No, he doesn’t,” Regulus snapped. Then, softer, “He hasn’t needed me for years, Potter. It’s you he needs. You’re his brother,” there was a resigned lilt to her tone. She smiled weakly and took a shuddering breath before spinning on her heels.
“You could come too,” Potter blurted suddenly. Regulus looked at him over her shoulder and furrowed her eyebrows. “To my house, you can come live with us too if you want. I’m sure Sirius would love that and we have more than enough space.”
Regulus laughed dryly. “I’m not coming to live with you, Potter,” she said quietly. “I’m my parents’ only remaining child. I have a duty to my family.”
In hindsight, Regulus should have known that walking away wouldn’t keep James Potter from pursuing her.
FIFTH YEAR
“Don’t ignore me, Reg,” James said, prodding at Regulus’ shoulder. The Ravenclaw sighed and shifted farther away from the Gryffindor, adjusting her mirror as she went. She was practicing controlling her hair colours and lengths, trying out different styles. She paused, taking in her newest style. Her hair came down to curl at the nape of her neck in a soft brown colour, her fringe parted in the middle, swooping behind his ears. “I like that one,” James told her. “Brown suits you.”
“You think so?” Regulus asked sceptically, turning to look at him through the mirror. They made eye contact and James smiled.
“So you can speak! Here I thought you’d gone mute,” the Gryffindor teased. When Regulus did little more than glare at him, James sighed, “Regulus, you’re one of the prettiest people I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Of course, it suits you! Everything suits you, you’re beautiful,” James exclaimed, dramatically shaking Regulus’ shoulders as if to shake some sense into her.
Regulus gasped quietly, her grey eyes widening just a fraction. She cleared her throat and turned back to the mirror, avoiding James’ lingering gaze. “Well… you’re not exactly an expert on hair,” she teasingly gestured to the black locks sitting atop his head, “so I will have to consult Barty in the morning.”
James blinked at her. “I thought you two broke up?” he mumbled, looking down at his lap. Regulus narrowed her eyes and looked at him over her shoulder.
“We did, amicably. We’re still friends, of course. We’ve been best mates since first year!” Regulus turned back to the mirror, focusing on turning her hair back to its usual midnight blue. “And besides,” she added, “unlike you, Barty has no reason to butter me up.”
James let out a sound between a scoff and a laugh, leaning forward to meet Regulus’ eye. “And why would I need to butter you up?” he asked, lips tugged into an amused smirk. Regulus matched his expression.
“Because you want me to talk to Sirius and you know that I’ll say no unless you’re really, really nice to me,” she smirked. James’ smile dimmed and he swayed back to rest against the wall behind him.
“You really don’t want to talk to him, Reggie? It’s been a year,” James whined, crossing his arms and pouting like a child that had been denied candy.
“We’ve been over this already, Potter,” Regulus sighed, averting her eyes. She picked up her mirror and made to stand up, but James grabbed her wrist.
“Don’t do that, don’t shut me out because we’re having a disagreement,” he pleaded. Regulus nodded and pursed her lips. “He’s your brother,” James began. He placed a hand over her mouth when Regulus’ lips parted to interrupt. “You both miss each other dearly, so what’s the point of ignoring each other? Talk to him,” he urged.
“There’s no point,” Regulus mumbled sadly. “He left the family and I stayed. It’s time we part ways,” she told the older boy. “We probably won’t even get to see each other after he graduates, so what’s the point of rekindling a relationship that is doomed to end badly.”
“You can’t seriously mean that,” James asked incredulously. Regulus simply shrugged.
“What are you even doing up here,” she decided to change the subject. “It’s late, shouldn’t you be in bed?”
“Shouldn’t you?” James retorted. “You’re out after curfew as well, Ms. Black.”
Regulus rolled her eyes, “Yes, but I’m a prefect. I’m allowed to be out after curfew, privilege comes with the badge.”
“And I have an invisibility cloak, I can sneak around school whenever I want,” James argued. “Privilege comes with the cloak,” he mocked with a smirk. Regulus gave him a deadpan expression and turned back to her mirror. Maybe she should try another style. A shorter one. “You don’t believe me, do you?” James asked, getting on his knees. He took up the cloak he’d been sitting on and held it out to the witch. “Go on, see for yourself.”
Regulus boredly brought the cloak up to his face and stared at it. It seemed rather normal, just a silver piece of fabric, but the more he looked, he could tell that the fingers he’d been using to hold the cloak up had disappeared into the fabric. “This is bloody brilliant!” Regulus exclaimed in awe. James beamed back at her.
***
“You’re staring again,” Barty drawled, buttering his toast. Regulus snapped her head to look at him, her hair flickering into a bubblegum pink. Barty smirked down at his plate. “Something interesting happening at the Gryffindor table? Or do you just like admiring Potter’s face?”
Regulus sputtered. “I– Bartemius! I am not staring at Potter,” she hissed. “Why would I…? You know what, shut up.” She poked at her eggs aggressively with her fork and kept her head down to avoid looking at the bespectacled Gryffindor.
“You know, Regs, for the smartest wizard in our year, you sure are dumb sometimes,” Barty mumbled. Regulus froze. She dropped her fork into her plate with a loud clatter and turned to stare at her best friend incredulously.
“What did you just call me?” Her voice was a mere whisper.
“Dumb? Oh, please, Reggie. I didn’t mean anything by it,” Barty replied, smiling softly. Regulus shook her head.
“No. No, you said that I was a wizard,” Regulus muttered quietly. “What–? Why would you–”
“Oh, well I thought with the new hair and everything… I’m sorry, I didn’t really think before I spoke,” Barty apologized, looking sincere.
“Do you think that I look like a bloke with my new haircut?” Regulus couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy at the idea. Barty stared at her contemplatively.
“It’s more than the haircut,” he said carefully. “Well, I just think that being a boy suits you more than being a girl does. I don’t know, maybe it’s just that I have more boy friends than girl ones, but you seem like a bloke to me.” His words were accompanied by a gentle smile.
Regulus nearly sobbed.
SIXTH YEAR
“Have a nice date?” There was a bitter undertone to James’ voice that startled Regulus. He looked up and met the hazel eyes that he’d grown to be so familiar with. Eyes that he swore could see through him and straight into his soul. When Regulus didn’t answer quickly enough, James continued, “Padfoot said he saw you with Edgar Bones in Hogsmeade. He told me that Bones had his arm around you.”
Regulus looked down at his coursework and sighed. “It wasn’t really a date, we just ran into each other at Honeydukes and decided to get a butterbeer together,” he explained. Running a gentle hand through his short curls, Regulus narrowed his eyes. “And Sirius should just mind his own business, really. Who I spend my time with is of no concern to him.”
James scoffed. “He’s your older brother, of course he’s going to be interested in who you’re seeing.”
Regulus snorted, “And what’s your reason for prying, then?” he asked, lacing his fingers together. He regarded James with pursed lips and raised eyebrows, waiting for the Gryffindor’s explanation.
“Well, I’m your– your… friend. Yes, your friend. And I’m allowed to be interested in your life,” James said, giving Regulus a challenging look. “And, I mean, not to be rude or anything, I just can’t imagine the two of you together.”
“Right. And why is that?” It was now Regulus’ turn to look challenging. “Am I so unlovable that you couldn’t possibly fathom that someone would be interested in me?”
“No!” James sputtered, looking panicked. “I just think that you could do so much better than Edgar Bones.” His expression became earnest and he reached across the table to take Regulus’ hand in his own. “You deserve everything, Regulus. Everything. And I–” he trailed off, his hazel eyes softening into something fond. “And I’d like to have a chance to give you that. Everything, I mean. Anything that you want or need, I want to be the one that gives it to you.”
Regulus blinked owlishly, a deep frown setting on his soft features. “James, what are you talking about?”
Smiling ruefully, James sighed. “You still haven’t realized? After all this time?” When Regulus shook his head, James breathed out deeply. “I’m awfully – and sort of embarrassingly – in love with you. Have been since last year.”
Shocked, Regulus could only manage a few blinks. Eventually, he got his voice back. “I didn’t know,” he murmured.
James smiled softly. “I guess that I’ve done my job terribly, then.”
Regulus tilted his head in question.
Smile brightening, James leaned over the table and cradled Regulus’ jaw in the palm of his hand. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he whispered, brushing their noses together.
“Please,” Regulus whispered back, eyes fluttering on their own accord.
James didn’t have to be asked twice.