A Ray of Sunlight

Friday evening, a week later

James didn’t really want to do patrol. It wasn’t fun. Plus he had checked the map when Regulus wasn’t looking and no one was out of their houses. A plan popped in James’ head and he was going to follow it. He grabbed Regulus’ arm and led him into the opposite way. Regulus didn’t even get the time to react that he was being dragged away.

“What are you doing James? Where are you taking me? We already did our rounds that way.” James really liked that Regulus kept on calling in James when it was just the two of them.

“I know that Regulus, I just don’t want to patrol for the rest of the night. So I’m taking you somewhere.”

“James, we can't do that. We were chosen to do this. We will get in trouble if we don’t.”

“I know but I’m Head Boy so I’m the one in charge which means you won’t get in trouble. Just trust me okay.”

“Okay but can you at least tell me where you are taking me.”

“I’m sorry Regulus, I can’t. But if you had paid a little more attention to where I was dragging you, you would have known. We are here by the way.”

“You took me to the Astronomy Tower.”

“You don’t like it?” James was nervous. He couldn’t read what Regulus was feeling at the moment. He knew Regulus came here with Sirius and he just assumed Regulus would like to come here.

“No. No James, I love it. Actually the Astronomy Tower is my favourite place in the castle. It’s a bit cliché knowing I’m named after a star.”

“Can we see your star tonight?”

“No we can’t. I don’t come out until February. Sirius isn’t here either. The brightest star in the sky at the moment is Vega and I think it’s great that Sirius let her have her time for a bit. She is right here.” said Regulus pointing at the sky. “She is part of the lyre constellation.” James wasn’t really paying attention to what Regulus was pointing at. “What are you doing James?” Regulus said, noticing that James wasn’t looking at the sky.

“I’m looking at the prettiest star”

“Shut up James.” Regulus said, pushing him away. “It’s getting late. I think we should go to sleep.”

And so they did. On their way back they talked a bit about the Quidditch schedule.

“When do you plan on doing your player choosing, Regulus.”

“I was thinking of doing it next Saturday. This way the players have a week to train. When do you think you’ll do yours?”

“I was thinking of next Saturday too. Do you mind if I do it in the morning and I let you have the pitch for the afternoon.”

“No, it's fine. I don’t think my players would like to wake up at the crack of dawn. I'll give you the pitch for the morning.”

“Thanks Regulus. I will tell McGonagall tomorrow. Goodnight Regulus.”

“Goodnight James.”

~ the following week ~

James had decided to write a letter to Regulus to let him know about his plan for tomorrow. The letter said:

“We are going to your favourite spot again tonight.
Don’t worry I’ll pick you up little star.
J.”
The Friday morning James received a letter at breakfast that said:

“I’ll tell Evan and Barty that they don’t need to come with me this time.
I’ll need to tell you something very important.
See you tonight.
RAB.”

James couldn’t wait to meet with Regulus again. At 7:30 he was already waiting for Regulus outside of the Slytherin common room. He knew the password but he wasn’t going to use it. It’s not like a Gryffindor is going to be welcomed here. So he just waited until it was 8. Regulus got out. He was naturally breathtaking. He was like an angel fallen from heaven.

“Good evening Regulus.”

“Good evening James”

“Can I take you by the arm so I can lead you to your favourite spot.”

“Yes James you are allowed to take my arm”

So they got to the astronomy tower and sat on the floor. James had brought a blanket because he noticed last week that the ground was really cold. Well he took two blankets because he knew that Regulus would get cold but won’t say it.

“Why did you want to say to me, Regulus?”

“You remember the event from two weeks ago.”

“Yes I do but if you don’t feel ready to talk about it, that's okay with me.”

“I think I’m ready. If I’m not today I never will be. Okay uhm I already knew Tom Riddle before he became a teacher. He was one of my parents' closest friends and they had decided that we should get married. One day he decided to spend a night with me. Sirius had already left and my parents didn’t care about me. He put me under the Imperius curse so I wasn't the master of myself anymore. He took my voice away so he wouldn’t hear me scream. He … he raped me James. He is a monster." He was crying in front of James again. He was trembling and couldn’t speak anymore

“Hey Regulus, can I hold you?” He nodded and slipped into James’ arm.

“I thought I was free from him when I left and came to your house. But turns out he found a way to follow me. I don’t know what to do. I can't go to class alone because I'm too scared to bump into him and not be in control of myself anymore.”

“Hey Regulus. I'm here for you. I won't mind taking you to class or being with you when you don't want to be alone. I can wait for you after practice so we can go back to the castle together.”

“That would be really nice of you James. Uhm I’ve got one more thing to ask.”

“Yes Regulus.”

“Can I try something?”

“Of course. Do whatever you want, Regulus.”

Regulus looked at James’ lips then his eyes and his lips again. He leaned a bit and softly kissed James. He then stepped back and said

“I’m sorry. I should have never done that. It was idiot.” He then felt a hand lifting his chin. He looked up and James’ eyes were sparkling. Within a second he was being kissed again but this time it was magical, it was warm. It was like being kissed by the sun but not in a bad way. It wasn’t like Icarus, he didn’t burn himself while flying too close to the sun. They broke the kiss but stayed close to one another. Regulus had found his new favourite place to be and it was in James’ arms. As always, they got back to the Slytherin dorm together.

“I like you a lot Regulus and you should never doubt that.”

“Can you not tell Sirius what happened for now. The only friends you can tell are Remus, Lily and Peter for now.”

“Of course Regulus.” James seemed very happy and didn’t look mad at all that he couldn’t tell his best friend “You can tell your friends I don’t mind.”

“Could you wait for me to finish Quidditch practice tomorrow please.”

“I will Regulus. Even if you hadn’t asked, I would have stayed to watch you fly. You are an amazing player.” They got to the door and exchange goodnight

“Goodnight James”

“Goodnight Regulus.” James said before grabbing Regulus by the waist and kissing him again.

“James, someone could see us.”

“They won’t. Goodnight little star.” Regulus kissed James’ cheek before he opened the entryway and got to his dorm. When he got there he slammed the door open, sprawled himself and screamed into his pillow.

“Oh something happened tonight.”

“What is it? Tell us now. We will sleep later.”

“I kissed James.”

“YOU DID WHAT”

“I kissed him and he kissed me back and it was incredible. Sorry Barty but he is a much better kisser.”

“You are so gone, Regulus.”

“I know but I am really happy about it.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“Not yet but I am going to write him a letter to ask him if he wants to become my boyfriend.”

“You are such a cutie little romantic Regulus. Okay we are going to sleep. Will let you have your little poet time. Goodnight Regulus.”

“Goodnight guys.”

~

James tried not to act differently when he got to the dorm. He saw that Remus wasn't asleep yet and he told him

“Remus, I really need to talk to you right now. Can you get in my bed so we could talk?”

“Sorry James but I'm already taken… Just kidding, I'm coming because I love gossip.” Remus climbed in James' bed, closed the curtains and cast a silencing spell.

“Spill the tea, I’m ready”

“Okay so we didn’t do patrol today.”

“Regulus didn’t come?”

“No no that’s not it. I took him to the Astronomy Tower. And we talked. And we ended up kissing.”

“WHAT…what. Wait, did he kiss you or did you kiss him?”

“Well he kissed me first. He said he was sorry and shouldn’t have done it so I kissed him back. It was incredible Remus. I didn’t know he could get this soft. It was so precious. I’m seeing him tomorrow, I’m staying for his practice so I won’t be here for the day. I think Pete is meeting with the girls in the afternoon. So that means you’ll have the dorm for the entire afternoon. Don’t thank me, I know you and Sirius sometimes need some alone time.”

“That’s really nice of you James. But let’s go back to the fact that you and Regulus kissed. Are you alright James? Are you going to tell Sirius?”

“Remus I’m more than alright. I’m just holding my joy in because Regulus doesn’t want to tell Sirius yet. The 12 year old James in me is jumping and screaming from joy.”

“Are you sure that’s not yourself?”

“Well also. I just kissed the guy I had a crush on for 5 years. I can’t wait to see him again tomorrow Remus. But right now is the time to sleep. You can go back to your star. Goodnight Moony.”

“Goodnight Prongs.” James had one of the best nights of his life. Well he would have liked to be holding Regulus but that wasn’t something they could do yet.

When he got to breakfast the next morning he smiled at Regulus and the smile was returned. James sat down, took what he usually ate on a practice day. He didn’t expect any mail but when the owls came in a letter fell next to his plate. Nothing was written on the back but some little hearts were drawn. Without even opening it, James knew who it came from. James opened the letter and it said

“Good morning James,

I think it’s a bit more clear for me that we have feelings for one another. You told me you liked me but I didn’t say it back. So here I am. I really like you James. I’d like to kiss again. Not only because you are a great kisser but also because I like being close to you. You are the ray of sunlight in my life and you are what makes me want to keep living. I have a simple question for you (because let's not forget you are an idiot). Would you like to be my boyfriend?

PS : this doesn't mean I am ready to tell Sirius so please don't scream like the pathetic freak you are.

See you soon,
RAB”

James was doing his best not to scream but it was really hard. Remus was sending him a questioning look so James mimed I'll tell you later with his mouth. The time for his first practice of the year was coming so he stood up with an enormous smile on his face. Marlene and Sirius followed him because they were the beaters of his team. When he got to the pitch a lot of new players-to-be were here for the try outs. It was hard for James to choose. He needed a new seeker and that was it. He saw a little third year that had a lot of potential. So he decided that this would be his new player. Her name was Lyra like the lyre constellation Regulus had talked to him about. She will need a bit of practice but James knew an incredible seeker.
At the end of practice, James told Sirius and Marlene to go back to the castle without him. His excuse was “I need to see the schedule with Regulus. Don’t wait for me.”. So he was here waiting for the Slytherin team to arrive.

When they got here they went directly to the changing room. When Barty walked past him he punched him in the back and winked at him. Regulus was the last one to get here and he looked a bit nervous. James grabbed him by the arm and took him under the stands. When they got there James kissed the smaller boy.

“Yes” James said

“What do you mean, yes ?”

“I want to be your boyfriend Regulus.”

“Are you serious?”

“No, I'm James.” that owned him a judging look from Regulus. “Sorry, not funny. But yes I want to be your boyfriend. I like you, that was not a lie. I want to be with you. I want to go on dates with you. I want to give you a cute surname. Can I call you by a sweet surname? I also want to kiss you. Can I kiss you Regulus? I really like you Regulus. Never ever doubt that.”

“You can call me by a surname but I have to accept it first and I would also like to go on dates with you. I think I will tell Sirius about us in the following week and yes James you are allowed to kiss me and hold me.”

James lifted Regulus up and kissed him while spinning him.

“James put me down, I have to go change before the try out starts. I’m the captain so I have to be there for my players. I’ll see you after training.” Regulus started to go away before James said

“I think you forgot something love.”

“What ?”

“My kiss” said James, all smiling.

“You are an idiot.” said Regulus, still coming to kiss again.

“I know. But I am your idiot from now on.”

“This time I really have to go or they will wonder where I disappeared.”

“I’ll be watching in the stands.” James found it funny because, because of their height difference, Regulus had to get on the tip of his toe and James had to lean down a bit for them to kiss. James went to the stands and did what he said. He watched. He had to say he didn’t stay here only to watch his boyfriend play (even if it was one of the best views he could ever have). No he also was here to watch the opposite team's strengths and weaknesses. James was still the captain of his own Quidditch team. He had to pick out information that could help them win against the Slytherins. James reminded himself that he had to ask Regulus if he could help his new seeker because he wouldn’t be good enough to do it. This year Regulus had to choose a new beater and two new chasers. Dorcas and Barty were already players on the team. Dorcas was a chaser like James and Barty was a beater like Sirius and Marlene. The first match of this year will be Gryffindor against Ravenclaw.

After two hours, Regulus had finally chosen his new players. There were a set of twins from fourth year as his new chasers. If James remembers well they were called Callisto and Cassiopeia. The new beater was a determined second year student whose name is Atlas. All of the new players were named after stars which wasn't really a surprise coming from Regulus. James got down to go back to the castle with Regulus but before he could get to the changing room, someone grabbed his arm.

“Hello Potter.”
“Oh hey Barty”
“Good luck being with your new boyfriend. He isn't the easiest person to live with”

“I already knew that before choosing to date him. We are together all thanks to you and your amazing plan. You could bring that back up to Regulus and I's wedding.”

“You already plan to marry him? I guess I won't have to give you the “best friend / ex boyfriend speech” because I kind of already did”

“I didn't need a reminder that you and Regulus had dated, thank you.”

“Well you were dating Lily at the time weren't you”

“Yes I was but that was only because you were dating Regulus and Mary was dating Sirius. Not that we were trying to make them jealous. Well kind of. But we were just two friends who were both sad and knew we loved someone else. But we both needed to know that someone liked us. So we dated for that.”

“You weren't obligated to say all that to me Potter. I don't really care about your past love life. All I really care about is for you to treat Regulus the way he deserves to be treated.”

“You care about him a lot don't you.”

“I don't know what you are talking about Potter. I guess I'll let you for today. Your boyfriend must be waiting for you. See you later Potter.”

“See you Barty. And thank you again for your genius.”

“Well sorry you're not a genius Potter. Well I should go find my boyfriend and you should go find yours”