#sirius and regulus get a hug

[kquil]

DIVORCING ORION BLACK | CHAPTER NINE

09 : REPUTATION

CHPT. SUM. : Sirius and his close friends build up a reputation at school leading up to their return home for the winter holidays 

LENGTH : 10.7k

TAGS : domestic fluff ; marauders origins ; pranking shenanigans ; james is crushing hard ; reunited ; sirius comes home for the holidays! ; investigations lead to a shocking discovery

← PREV. 08 : PASTRIES | SERIES M.LIST

9th October 1971 | 12 Grimmauld Place

You didn’t need to help Ruth or Damocles on Saturdays or Saturdays as they strictly wanted to keep the weekends to themselves. They've also been feeling very guilty about taking too much of your time. You argued against it but appreciated that they understood how important it was for them to spend time with each other and for you to spend time with your son. Regulus wasn’t one to complain, either. He loved spending time at the Potions shop and talking with Ruth, but he loved spending time with his mother most. Regulus often stayed in the study with you, reading, drawing or chatting while you worked at your desk. Sometimes, you’d write letters to Sirius together, talking about mundane things that happened throughout your day or week.

Surprisingly, you haven’t heard of any mischief from Sirius. You’re confident that he and the marauders would already be causing some sort of trouble, so you were quite confused. However, whenever you look at Regulus reading Sirius’ letters with such concentration and a hidden smile, his eyes glittering with excitement, you can hazard a guess as to why your letters are much milder than the ones Regulus seems to receive from his brother. You suppose Sirius doesn’t want to out himself as being a troublemaker in school. And, although you appreciate his consideration of you and his want to come across as a well-behaved son, you’re itching to know about all the trouble he’s caused. The fandom hardly knows anything about the Marauders and, now that you have the chance to know what they were up to personally, you’re eager to be let in on all of their secrets.

Nevertheless, after a mostly quiet day with Regulus spent on decorating the halls and rooms of the house with the dried lavender sprigs you had bought off of the Belby’s, you leave him to his own devices before dinner while you investigate the parlour room once more. You’ve left it too long out of your own cowardice and fear. Confrontations were something you were used to, but more so in the business sense; however, this was something entirely new to you. Walburga was the proud matriarch of the ancient and most noble house of Black. Her reputation made the room and its appalling contents all the more concerning. Dark magic was definitely at play, something you had no experience in, and confronting that will always be terrifying to you. Regardless, you remember spotting some books strewn about the room and in your search for answers to help Belby with the Wolfsbane potion, you were willing to get your hands on those books for the research. It’ll be like hitting two birds with one stone; your investigations will also bring you closer to figuring out what the original Walburga was up to.

Taking a breath, you absorb the sound of the grandfather clock striking 5 pm and watch as the secret parlour entrance appears before you once more. This time, you know what to expect, so you came prepared with some spells in mind as well as something to cover the sacrilegious, bloody ritual placed at the very centre of the room. You open the door and wrinkle your nose. It’s dark and musty. With a swish of your wand and a small incantation uttered under your breath, you will the wall lamps to liven up the space with a warm glow. You step in as the heavy doors shut behind you and frown at the dismal room despite the lamps’ touch of light. This time, you aim your spell onto the heavy curtains across the room. The thick, heavy drapes gently pull apart, allowing sunlight to flood the space, and you happily go about fixing up the disorderly area. First, you open the window, encouraging the fresh breeze to sweep inside and wash away the old mustiness suspended in the air.

Tidying up where you can, you leave the central ritual largely untouched, wanting to investigate it later on. The rotting owl carcass was the only thing you handled, magicking it away and relishing in the peace that floods you as soon as it disappears. That poor creature must have suffered a lot from Walburga’s hands; you felt horrible for simply throwing it away, but the suffering and poor intentions it symbolised were too overwhelming to ignore and keep. If you wanted to be productive about the room, it needed to go. Other than that, your main objective was the books and the loose pages that were carelessly strewn about. With a helpful swish of your wand, you collect all the papers and books into neat piles. Another flick shrinks them to a miniature size that you step forth to easily pocket.

That’ll do for now.

Satisfied, you hurry out of the room and shut the door firmly behind you after turning the lamps off and shutting the windows. Despite the rotten owl carcass being gone, the claustrophobia clung to you like a parasite unwilling to part. It weighed heavily on your form and made breathing far too difficult to withstand for a long period despite the fresh air filtering in. You’ll happily investigate the books and pages in your home office. It’ll help to analyse your evidence with a clear mind and in a space you can easily associate with unfaltering focus.

Shaking off the bad energy that still clung to you from the parlour, you make your way into your home office and take a seat behind your desk. The strange fact about these books, you find, is that all except one don’t have any distinguishing covers. The only book with a cover was the one left wide open at the centre of the writing desk and had its pages scornfully ripped out. Tracing the vintage leather cover of the defiled book, you frown at its obsolete title. These were symbols you couldn’t read, and you dread to think that the pages were written with the same indecipherable words. Flicking through the pages, a brief examination, you groan.

“Great...” you sigh at the offending symbols that stare at you mockingly from the decrepit pages of the ancient book. As you suspected, the book’s contents were also written in the same illegible language as the front cover’s title. Until you can find a way to decode the foreign language, you’ll keep the book and its loose pages in an empty drawer at your desk, one with a helpful little lock on it. Optimistically, you hope that the blank-covered books didn’t have the same issue. The random book you grab weighs heavy in your hands but in an oddly familiar way. Peculiar… Thinking nothing of it, you flick to the first page and gasp.

‘CHAPTER ONE’

‘OWL POST’

‘Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one thing...’ This was the third Harry Potter book — one of your favourites in the series.

With a shake of your head, you hurriedly flick through the pages as the pebble in your stomach grows into a boulder and fixes you to your chair. Rushing to open another book, you’re, again, met with more familiar passages from the beloved book series you grew up loving and often turned to for comfort in your adult years. All seven blank-covered books were the seven full books from the Harry Potter series! You think you’re going to be sick… she had the books… Walburga had the bloody Harry Potter books! How did she get them?!

“You’re unusually quiet today, Walburga...” you utter to yourself, urging the standardly shrieking witch in the back of your mind to step up and answer your racing questions. “I know you’re in there somewhere. Are you scared I found you out? What were you planning to do with all this new information, huh?” You drum your nervous fingers along one of the book’s blank hard covers.

“Well?!…” you wait for a response you weren’t going to receive, “Answer. Me. You. Ugly. Scheming. Pretentious. Bitch of a mother!” you spit and grit through your clenching teeth, trying your best not to raise your voice too loud. Getting Regulus or Orion’s attention now wouldn’t be ideal. You don’t know how long you wait for a response, but it was clear that you weren’t going to receive any. Begrudgingly, you lock away the Harry Potter books as well, ensuring that they couldn’t be accessed without a key; if these books got into the wrong hands, it wouldn’t end well for anybody, lest the very characters you were fighting for. What a heavy burden this will be.

There was a positive to this, however. You can rely on these books for information on the world and the Horcruxes.

16th October 1971 | Hogwarts, Gryffindor Common Room

Sirius couldn’t believe how content he felt in his current environment. He worried that with the recent changes at home, he would miss being with Regulus and his newly changed mother; however, due to the constant stream of letters they exchanged, he lacked that sense of homesickness. And, although he spent the same amount of time on writing letters back as he did writing up his homework, leaving his wrist terribly exhausted, he was content.

Hogwarts and Gryffindor house had become his second home, especially with the people he had surrounded himself with and the few he established as his close friends, especially James. Unlike his brotherhood with Regulus, Sirius had found a camaraderie with James that isn’t based on any blood relation, making their immediate bond that much more special to him. They veer to one another like binary stars, both gravitationally bound and orbiting each other. Sirius, with his aristocratic upbringing and rebellious nature; James, with his untamed energy and proneness for attracting the attention of those around him. However, it wasn’t only them. There was Remus, their shy and quiet friend with bibliophile tendencies. Sirius found that the best way to get him talking was to speak on books, something he was well-versed in, thanks to Regulus. And then, there was Peter, who made his eagerness to be part of the group known, always trailing after them, cracking his hilariously unfunny jokes, enchanted by James and Sirius’ boundless charisma, desperate to replicate it and make it his own, while also captivated by Remus’ smarts and bookishness, always looking to him for academic inspiration.

The first couple of months consisted of typical school things, making friends, getting into a routine and indulging in education. However, after the trouble they had found themselves in when trying to follow Remus the night of that haunting full moon, the boys have grown a tendency to create and find trouble.

Late one evening, James and Sirius were taking advantage of the mostly deserted common room, observing the only other people there, a pair of older students arguing over a wizarding chessboard. With a cheeky smirk and his round glasses slipping down his nose, James leaned over to whisper in Sirius’ ear, “Do you know what would make this more entertaining?” When Sirius looks to his friend, he sees the contagious glimmer of mischief in his hazel eyes.

“What?” Sirius can feel the swell of impishness infect him and pull the edges of his own lips up into a smirk. He knows that, whatever James suggests, he’s going to like what he has to say.

“If their pieces started arguing back.” They share a silent, maniacal laugh between them, expressed purely through their eyes.

“Let’s do it!” Sirius whispered back with an air of eagerness. It was so tempting to laugh aloud, carefree and raucous, but he was wary of the prefect standing close by. “How did that animation spell go, again?”

Not knowing the spell wasn’t a big obstacle for the two, they remained undeterred and went to enlist Remus. Typical of their prim and proper friend, Remus looked horrified at the suggestion, but there was a level of intrigue in his eyes that Sirius eagerly pointed out and used to convince him enough to indulge them. Together, they scoured their charms books for potentially helpful spells and were pointed to the correct chapters by Remus. Peter, poor Peter, was also roped in for the extra labour, unable to resist James and Sirius’ convincing arguments and twinkling smirks. Remus sends the portly boy a disappointed look but blushes when Peter returns the same disappointment towards him as if to say, ‘You volunteered to help first, mate. Don’t look at me like that.’

‘Well, they targeted me first,’ was what was conveyed in the look Remus had sent him back. Nevertheless, it was all in good humour, and the two smiled about it to themselves for a moment before Sirius and James complained that they were hardly helping and pushed their noses down into the pages with them. It took several nights, but they believed they had found the perfect spell. Thankfully, the two argumentative Gryffindors routinely played their game of chess on weekend evenings. James and Sirius practised the spell several times in their dorm room before they were confident in its execution. On the day of their grand chessboard prank, Peter stood by the Prefect on duty, nervously keeping watch as Remus pretended to read a book by the fireplace, and James and Sirius went in for their rehearsed stunt.

Despite their endless practice, however, their first attempt was a disaster! Rather than the pawns coming to life, James pointed the incantation and made it explode instead. The chess piece went out with a puff of black smoke. The only thing left of was its sooty remains, forever marking the chessboard. As the two chess players gasped at the sudden explosion and argued to death, firing accusations at the other for being the one to make it happen, Sirius shook his head disapprovingly.

“Brilliant one, James,” Sirius sarcastically comments, clapping his friend on the shoulder as he grumbles to himself. “We’ll try again, though. And we won’t stop until there’s success.”

Not so easily dissuaded, the two continued their attempts until the chess pieces became an incoherent mess of chatter that rivalled the chess players’ own arguments. It had become such a recurring spectacle that the common area had gradually filled up with other students throughout the weeks, eyeing the chess game for anything interesting that had been rumoured to happen. However, in their attempt at success, they had abandoned all caution for getting caught in the act, leaving them face to face with a very unamused, very irate fifth-year with flaring nostrils.

“Why don’t you find something more productive to do with your time?” the fifth-year lashes out, barely able to contain their irritation. “This isn’t very funny!”

“Au Contraire~ my friend,” Sirius sings playfully as James chuckles beside him, “It was very funny, right guys?” he asks the audience, who cheer wildly, prompting him and James to bow at the waist. Both were happy to provide the entertainment of the night. From his usual seat at the fireplace, Remus rolls his eyes but hides his smirk behind his book as Peter snickers to himself, quite proud of having participated in the background.

And so began the group’s reign of harmless, silly pranks. In the following weeks, the Gryffindor common room became the group’s testing facility for experiments, much to the amusement and irritation of their fellow Gryffindor housemates. It was a double-edged sword; they managed to earn equal amounts of love and abhor for their efforts.

One week, they had enchanted the cushions into making flatulent sounds whenever someone sat down, a surprising suggestion from Remus, who was well-versed in muggle pranks and had introduced them to the concept of a whoopie-cushion. Another week, they enchanted pages to appear blank in borrowed books from the library that were haphazardly left out, a lesson they wanted to teach those who were careless with books in Remus’ place. Another evening, they had enchanted the dining hall goblets to sing ‘God Save the Queen’ whenever someone tried to take a sip of their pumpkin juice, pushing everyone to drink simple water instead. The pranks weren’t sophisticated, but it was enough that they managed to draw out waves upon waves of laughter from their peers and even some teachers. Professor Flitwick was especially impressed with the prank purely from a charm-casting perspective. Remus, however, was stubbornly pouty about the whole thing, constantly muttering on about how irresponsible and silly they were being.

“Come on, Lupin,” James pleads playfully, cosying up beside the bookish brunette, “You can’t deny helping us with that chessboard prank. Don’t pretend you’re above it. Why, I’d go so far as to say that you’d be quite brilliant if you actually put in the effort. You’d have Sirius and me beat!”

Remus buries his nose further into his book, avoiding the contagious mischief in his friends’ hazel eyes, “I only helped because leaving you two to your own devices only spells trouble,” he huffs, lowering his voice to murmur to himself, “you would have blown up the entire common room, otherwise…”

“Exactly!” Sirius claps and points to Remus, settling down on his other side and draping an arm over his shoulders, “You’re morally obligated to keep us from doing something truly catastrophic. You’re the good to our bad Lupin—”

“So you admit that what you did is bad.”

“And you admit that you’re doing the good~” Sirius was such a stubborn wall. “Consider it a public service.”

“Oh, don’t roll your eyes again at us; do that too often, and they’ll get stuck back there—” James comments off-handedly but comes to a stuttering stop when a devious thought comes to mind, “Say... there’s an idea~”

“No, James! No!” Remus protests, quickly purging the thought of yet another prank from James’ mind. He knew exactly where James’ thoughts were trailing towards from his words, and he didn’t like the notion one bit! Peter snickers to himself with Sirius at the display. James held his hands in surrender as Remus pointed a narrowed stare at him, a silent warning against committing such a cruel prank.

Soon enough, however, Remus also became a willing participant. At the ripe age of eleven years, he was more fascinated than repelled by James and Sirius’ creative antics, stemming from the perversity of James’ natural prankster nature and glamourised by Sirius’ likeness to flamboyance, giving the otherwise amateurish pranks a vivacious flare. It wasn’t only Remus, however; Peter was also roped in, easily swayed by his friends’ characters, somewhat addicted to pleasing them and being part of the group.

While James and Sirius spearheaded the misbehaviour, coming up with endless pranks, Remus suggested they set aside a separate notebook to document every idea, establishing himself as the group’s moderator. He was the one to suggest modifying elements of their plans and encouraging them to test the spells beforehand, personally doing so himself most of the time. Meanwhile, Peter had the space to become emboldened by James and Sirius’ encouragement. However, there remained a hesitance that Remus deeply understood in Peter whenever their portly friend pulled away from playing any of the daring roles in their schemes.

“Sirius and James are better for it,” Peter excused and was happy for his excuse to be so easily accepted.

Their dynamic was gradually being set: James and Sirius were the primary driving forces, dubbing them the ringleaders by many. They were constantly pouring out their many prank ideas into the notebook Remus had provided them with. Remus was the strategist who safeguarded their plans and affiliated spells. He liked to think that he was doing public service, ensuring that his friends didn’t get carried away and making certain that their plans didn’t spiral out of control. Leaving Peter as the loyal accomplice, always the first one to step up and prove his willingness to share in the daringness and mischief. They had become a solid group with a mounting reputation of being equal irritants and entertainers to the professors and students. Their friendship was ossified by shared laughter and devious plots whispered amongst them, their loyalties to each other as hard as diamonds.

Other than their pranks, however, James had other occupations, one that flooded his mind with the image of a beautiful red-haired girl, who had the most striking emerald eyes. Her name: is Lily Evans. As beautiful as the flower of her namesake. He was smitten the instant he saw her on the platform, smiling widely, her eyes sparkling with rapture as she waved her family goodbye and stepped onto the train with her luggage. Not only was she the most beautiful girl James had ever laid eyes on, but she was also brilliant. As a muggleborn, he didn’t expect her to be so bright and well-read on the wizarding world, but that only made him fall even deeper for her. In one of their early Potion classes, she had brewed the cure for boils with such effortless grace that their potions professor (Professor Slughorn) was brimming with pride, his eyes taking a shine to her already. James, on the other hand, wasn’t so talented. Despite his father’s success in potions, he had managed the impossible task of melting his cauldron, which earned him a thorough scolding from Professor Slughorn. He had been so distracted by the red-haired beauty in his periphery, that he barely registered the heat of the fire, and Peter was too hesitant to voice anything. From across the room, Sirius and Remus snickered under their breaths at him, earning them a narrowed gaze, but what had killed James was the unimpressed look Lily had sent his way.

So much for a good first impression.

As determined as he was to succeed with his pranks, however, James had the same stubbornness when it came to his newfound love. No, this wasn’t a mere crush; this was love. The same love his parents shared and were never shy about displaying. He wanted a soft, everlasting love like them, and he knew— deep down —he knew that it had to be with Lily Evans.

From afar, he watched her with longing, adoring eyes, admiring her subtle habits and dazzling smile, blown away by her viridescent stare. Her laughter easily fills up a room, and he finds himself eager to draw out as much of the sweet sound from her as possible. However, there was a conflicting emotion when James quickly realised the astonishing amount of time she spent with Severus Snape, a Slytherin boy with greasy black hair, paper-pale skin and dark, dark eyes. They appeared to share an interest in potions, always becoming the most efficient potion partners whenever they shared a potions class with the Slytherins. However, that doesn’t account for how often James sees them together outside of class, this simple fact making a bitter dislike fester from deep inside him, immediately and viscerally so.

“What does she even see in him?” James scoffs, muttering to himself resentfully as he struggles to come up with any new pranks; his mind is too preoccupied. Even the heat of the fireplace couldn’t tempt him into indulging in the cosy atmosphere that evening.

Sirius, who had been plotting beside him, shrugged, “Maybe Evans just has a thing for greasy hair.”

James makes a disgusted face, “No way! Not her,” he refuses to believe she would have such an unorthodox preference, “I’m going to do something about it,” Sirius raises a brow in silent question, his interest piqued; he’s always up for a good prank, no matter the target. With a devilish smirk, James pulled Sirius in by the shoulders, and the two began to scheme.

The following morning, it quickly became known that the Slytherin table was bewitched. Another prank. Whenever someone tried to eat their breakfast, their utensils flew out of their hands in protest and began sword fighting on the table. It caused such a ruckus that James and Sirius earned themselves a week’s long detention, but James couldn’t care less. Despite seeing her supposed friend’s misery from across the table, the defeated look Snape had sent her was enough to make Lily Evans laugh—really laugh— the sound so beautiful and twinkling like the stars, James felt no guilt. That was his reward, and it trumped any punishment. He would do it again and again just to hear her laugh once more.

The Christmas holidays were fast approaching, and the boys had made quite the reputation of themselves, their pranks only having grown bolder as the days went by. It was equally exciting and apprehensive all at once to everyone except the four, as anybody could be their potential, new ‘victim’. Even professors weren’t exempt from their schemes; McGonagall could attest to that when she had to suffer having vivid blue hair for an entire afternoon following an ‘accidental’ charm they had cast during her transfiguration class. That wasn’t escaping her, however, and they landed themselves another evening of detention with Filch.

Despite the chaos they caused, however, it was never mean-spirited. The end goal for their antics was always laughter. James was adamant about earning it from Lily Evans, his love. Sirius was adamant about earning it for himself, wanting the most from his school experience away from home, just so he always had something to write to Regulus about. Remus was adamant about ensuring that everybody was laughing, holding onto the belief that the pranks weren’t funny if only a select few had the privilege to laugh. And Peter was just happy to be surrounded by laughter and high spirits. The group’s ‘prankster’ reputation was sealed. They had fostered an unbreakable brotherhood.

James still had a long way to go before he even had the chance to earn Lily’s affection and heart. But, for the moment, he was content with the brothers he had found and bonded with, brothers he didn’t have the pleasure of growing up beside but eventually managed to find in his dorm mates and friends.

18th December 1971 | Hogwarts, Dining hall

Sirius was eager to get to breakfast, and considering James was the only morning person around, the two of them went to the dining hall at a good time despite it being the weekend. Remus and Peter weren’t as willing to get an early breakfast; however, favouring sleep and groggily ushered the other two away, promising they’d meet them at the dining all in their own time.

“Just save our seats,” Remus asked them to promise, his voice dripping with sleep.

“Funny how you’re not the typical morning person on the weekdays,” James begins after stretching his arms up and giving a resounding groan, “but you always get really excited whenever it’s Saturday morning.” Despite stating this, it was obvious what James was getting at.

“Oh, shut it,” Sirius huffs with a roll of his eyes, “it’s just routine, is all.” The eldest Black brother didn’t lie. It was routine for your letters to arrive on Saturdays, whereas Regulus liked to keep a steady flow of letters coming throughout the week. Although this could demonstrate a lack of interest on your part, Sirius understood that you were busy with the household and taking care of Regulus; he was only happy that you had yet to miss a single week. That amount of dedication was more than enough for him. He’s also very happy about the news he received from you and his favourite uncle, Alphard. His uncle had expressed his concerns in letters following his sorting ceremony, but Sirius was quick to reassure him, promising that his mother was just as happy about his sorting as he was. Sirius could tell that his Uncle wasn’t convinced and patiently awaited the day he would see for himself that his mother had changed for the better. And what a brilliant day that was. He received letters immediately from Regulus and his Uncle. he had to wait for his mother’s Saturday letter, but the good news was consistent throughout the different dialogues, proving its truth.

Good news seemed to be the only thing Sirius reads in the letters he receives from home. And he’d like to reciprocate that, especially for his mother. He wants to do well by her despite her assurances that she will always love and support him no matter what. He omits a large portion of his letters’ contents for you, not out of malice but in consideration for your standing as his mother. You’ve made such a turnaround for him and Regulus, he owes it to you to be a good student. So he writes all about his good grades and excellence in class, especially for his flying lessons, where things could easily become dangerous. He wouldn’t dare write a single word to you about the amount of mischief he and the boys have been up to. Yes, he felt guilty, but he was only sparing you the worry. He wasn’t even the only one omitting such details; he knows for a fact that James, Peter and Remus were also doing the same.

“Finally, breakfast!” Sirius regales, sitting at his usual seat and quickly piling up his plate. James, who sat across from him, mirrored his actions with the same amount of enthusiasm. Both had a bottomless pit for a stomach, a similarity they enjoyed sharing. They enjoyed sharing many similarities, actually, differences too. All throughout breakfast, James would see Sirius look up constantly, searching the enchanted ceilings for any owls, his eyes sharpening and glowing with eagerness at the sight of a familiar gold ribbon that would streak through the air with a letter written just for him.

“Mother’s letter~” James says in a mocking, airy tone, mimicking his friend’s common practice as soon as he receives a familiar, wax-sealed envelope addressed to him in your swirling handwriting.

“Bugger off, James!” Sirius laughs, playfully kicking his friend in the shin from beneath the table, earning a small exclamation of pain. But the grins on their faces haven’t slipped off. This was normal teasing, not worth getting offended over; a great way to start their day.

“What does it say?” James asks through a mouthful of toast, butter and strawberry jam — he's almost completely incoherent.

“Like I’d tell you.” Sirius rolls his eyes, unfurling the letter within and reading to himself with a smile. In his head, he imagines your voice reading the words to him personally. He often does this. He does it for your letters, for Regulus’ and for his Uncle Alphard’s too.

‘My dearest son, Sirius,’ He smiles at your usual opening. It never fails to make his chest flood with warmth at your affectionate address. He still can’t believe he receives such letters from you despite not being in Slytherin. You were once so adamant that he be sorted into the House of Snakes, but not anymore, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Because, you not caring about which house he gets into, shows that you accept him for him, and that’s all he could ever wish for.

‘It’s not long now until you come home. We all miss you terribly, Regulus and I, especially so.’ Sirius scoffs at the subtle mention of his father. He appreciates your delicateness on the matter, but he couldn’t care less; he gets enough familial love from you and Regulus, and even his uncle. Despite his father being largely neglectful, Sirius’ days are filled with warmth and happiness, knowing that he has you and Reggie and Uncle Alphard— his version of family is complete. Nothing else needs to be added or subtracted, it’s perfect as is, no matter how small compared to the rest of his family tree.

‘The Yule holidays will be a special one, I have so many fun activities planned for the family.’ Sirius’ eyebrows fly to his hairline, his eyes widening with excitement at your words. The winter holidays were always a dull affair, with the celebrations mainly consisting of soirees and events with the other pureblood, sacred 28 families. For the first time, Sirius was allowing himself to feel actual elation for what may come. Now that you’ve changed for the better, he wonders what sorts of fantastical things you’ve planned. He recalls the fun extracurricular lessons you meticulously put in place for him and Reggie, lessons that weren’t tedious to get through or spiritless in nature; rather, he always looked forward to them and often found himself bouncing around in anticipation for what you may have planned that day. From that judgment alone, he knows he’s in for a real treat.

‘Regulus doesn’t know anything, only that I have something special planned for all of us. And you will be just as clueless as him until the day finally arrives.’ With a grin Sirius, shakes his head, eyes filled with amusement. He doesn’t mind waiting for a surprise he knows will be anything but boring. It’ll be better than any of those soirees and stiff dinners. He’s heard many tales from his close friends about how they spend their winter holidays with their families, and it always made him a little jealous when theirs seemed more fun than his. James had hot chocolate every night and decorated the tree together with his parents, who also allowed him to fly outside on his broom so long as he dressed well. Peter baked gingerbread with his mother, and they assembled a house together for the little gingerbread men to live in. Remus would watch muggle Christmas films with his parents every night leading up to Christmas day and get up early to unwrap presents, after which they would cook and eat breakfast together. It was all quite mundane, but it sounded so magical to Sirius. He wants that for Regulus. He wants it for his family. Maybe this year, their winter holiday, their Yule, would feel a lot more magical.

‘I can’t wait to hear all about Hogwarts from you in person. I’ve missed you so much. All I want is for you to hurry home so we can all be together again. It’s truly not the same without you here.’

As he finishes off the letter, James begins to laugh, filling in Remus and Peter as they groggily take their seats beside them. “This loon was all giddy over his letter again,” James teases, pointing a finger at Sirius, who huffs but fails to hide his smile and simply returns the letter to its envelope. It was a careful ritual he did to preserve each and every letter he received. He’s eaten out an entire tin of the biscuits you had baked with Regulus and sent him, and he used it to store all the letters he has received from the two of you. It was his most precious treasure at school. Sirius didn’t care for much, and he’s been able to better reign in his temper, but if anyone were to touch those letters, he’d go on a blind rampage.

“It’s good to know that his Mother cares so much about him,” Remus comments, smiling through his tiredness as he piles his plate on with a helping of scrambled eggs and a few slices of bacon.

Sirius smirks and gives James a look, “That’s right, why aren’t you happy for me Jamie?~” Peter begins to snicker as James splutters a response, “Are you jealous I get more letters from my Mother than you?”

“Shut up!” James flicks a splatter of jam at him from across the table with the bread knife he had been using to spread it over his toast.

Shielding himself with his hands, Sirius laughs, “Oi! Watch it!”

“…Wanker…” James utters under his breath, but there’s no lingering malice between them. This was as peaceful as breakfast can go between the four.

Another regular occurrence at breakfast is James’ wandering eyes and his longing stare at a renowned, witty and otherwise disinterested redhead. A fellow Gryffindor who had a close and unusual friendship with a Slytherin. They made for an unusual pair, but Sirius had no problems with them. His main focus was on James’s obvious crush.

“Evans again, eh?” Peter pipes up through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, only to snicker when James hurriedly shushes him. Sirius wasn’t the only one interested in James’ transparent puppy love, it seems.

“Shut your gob, Peter; she’ll hear you.” There was an evident blush on James’ cheeks, and the entire group giggled at his expense. The playful banter, however, evaporates as soon as James sees Lily stand to head out with her supposed friend, Snape. His expression falls so drastically, the tension in the air becomes palpable, “I don’t like him one bit...”

“Why? Because he’s with your girlfriend?” Sirius snickers, trying to keep the atmosphere light-hearted only to duck out of the way when James sends another splatter of jam his way. The next time he does that, Sirius swears he’ll try to aim the jam into his mouth just to be silly and rile James up more.

“No! I don’t!”

“Liar liar! Lying to your friends isn’t a very good habit Jamie~”

James rolls his eyes while Remus and Peter giggle to themselves, “I’m serious—”

“I thought you were James? I’m Sirius,” Remus and Peter begin cackling, sharing high fives between themselves and Sirius as James grumbles lowly. Suddenly, his friend reaches over the table to swat at his hair until Sirius pleads for him to stop. The two of them share an amused grin until James sighs, seemingly having reigned in his bitterness.

“He’s a Slytherin…and she’s a Gryffindor, it just doesn’t make sense.”

Sirius raised a brow, “What’s wrong with Slytherin?” his lips had moved before he could stop himself, and he looked around cautiously for a moment, knowing the rivalry between the two houses well, “It’s just that… I could have been in Slytherin.”

“But that’s just it; you weren’t sorted into Slytherin, he was,” James expresses, clearly speaking about Snape.

Sirius stays silent as Remus quickly picks the conversation back up, not wanting the tension to continue needlessly, “Just admit your crush and that you’re jealous James,” This earns a smirk from Sirius and Peter, and they all simultaneously give James a singular, teasing look.

“I’m not jealous of him!”

“Seems to me like you are~"

James groans and decides to leave the subject altogether. “My breakfast is getting cold because of you. Leave me alone.” They share another light-hearted laugh and finally focus back on the better subject of food.

21st December 1971 | King’s Cross Station, Platform 9¾ 

Standing at the platform with Regulus vibrating with excitement at your side and Orion standing off near the brick walls of the station, together, as a family, you await Sirius’ arrival. It was a cold winter’s day, but you could barely feel the chilling temperatures through your eagerness. You wonder if Sirius had grown much taller since the last time you saw him, you wonder if he still has the same preferences in food, and you wonder if he was happy to reunite with you all again. None of that mattered, however, not when he would be arriving soon, safe and sound — you just couldn’t wait to have him in your arms again.

Regulus has been especially excited for today, eager to dress himself for the occasion — in fact, he was the first one at the door this morning. You were second, and Orion came trailing behind as the third. Kreacher was helpfully staying behind to finish up the grand lunch spread you had begun making for Sirius to come home to. He must be terribly tired from the long journey. But it’s nothing some good food and family time at the table could help.

“How much longer do you think he’ll be, Mother?” Regulus asks, looking up at you with starry eyes.

“I don’t know, little love,” you express honestly, observing the congregating families around you, “but I hope he’ll get here soon.” The two of you share a smile and look back onto the tracks once more, fervidly awaiting the arrival of the train.

“I…I think I hear something,” Regulus comments softly, straining his ears and stretching his neck out to better see the path of the potentially arriving train.

“Regulus, be careful!” you fret, hurriedly pulling him back to safety, but he had no care for it, already bouncing in place.

“It’s coming! The train is coming!” His elated exclamation can be heard throughout the platform and makes all the surrounding families straighten in anticipation for their sons and daughters, who are finally coming home for the holidays.

“I know it’s exciting, but there wasn’t a need for you to put yourself at risk, alright? Regulus?” you look into his eyes meaningfully as he nods, “Promise me you won’t do something so silly again.”

The soft pink cheeks of your youngest, due to the biting cold, become all the more pink from your worry, but he nods agreeably. “Yes, Mother. I’m sorry.” Smiling satisfactorily, you kiss his crown and pull yourselves back even further as the train finally arrives at the station. It arrives with a flurry of smoke and an echoing horn. Sirius is here. You try to keep your heart at bay, feeling as though it would fly out of your chest, just at the idea of Sirius being so close. Glancing behind you, Orion leant against the brick wall, looking around impatiently and with such dull disinterest that your excitement was momentarily overcast. What an unpleasant attitude to have. Was he not happy for Sirius to be home after so long? He can stay back there for all you care. For now, you focus on searching the globulous crowds flocking to the train entrances for your eldest son.

You made sure to clearly inform Regulus about your plans for collecting Sirius at the station. Rightfully predicting the large mass of people, you warned him to keep his distance and stay close to you. It was important that he not let his excitement get the best of him, or else he would be putting himself in danger by carelessly mixing in with the crowds of people.

“Stay close, Reggie,” you remind him, and he gives your hand a reassuring clench.

Searching the crowds carefully, you try to find Sirius as quickly as possible. You try to pick out his pale skin, his angular features, his glittering grey eyes and his mess of black hair. The search was made rather difficult because of the bustling crowds, but you stood your ground, only cursing the masses in your head for keeping you away from your son longer than needed.

“Mother!” came a distant but approaching shout, and your head snapped to the voice’s direction, “Reggie!” Sirius breaks through the crowd with an adoring, toothy grin that you had long missed.

“Sirius!” Regulus shouts and runs to his brother with open arms. From your place, you watch their reunion with fond eyes, doing your best to wait patiently for when Sirius would make it the rest of the way to you.

“I missed you so much!” Sirius laughs into his little brother’s hair.

“I missed you too, Siri…” Regulus sighs into his older brother’s chest. It’s been too long since they’ve last seen each other. Those letters weren’t enough. “Come!” he grabs his older brother’s hand and leads him back to you. “Mother’s missed you too!”

Sirius looks up and grins before running into your wide-open arms, sighing into the thick fabric of your jacket. You use one hand to shrink his luggage and have Regulus pocket them while Orion begrudgingly carries his owl’s cage. You’ve knelt to meet him at his height, pressing his face into your shoulder as you prop your chin over his own.

“Oh! My darling, my darling~” you coo, finally allowing yourself to savour the feel of him in your arms, “I’ve missed you so so much!”

“I missed you too, Mother!” Sirius grins, his spirit bright and shining through his beautiful grey eyes, “Thank you for picking me up.” his politeness makes you awe and begin peppering his face with kisses. “S-stop!” he chuckles, clearly not opposed to the affection in the slightest. “You’re embarrassing me in front of my friends.”

“Friends?” you stutter, pausing as you look behind him to see the young marauders holding back devious smirks at the sight. It appears as though they have already introduced themselves to Regulus, who finds his way back to you with a wide smile.

“They all sound nice, Mother,” Regulus comments, positioning himself beside you and facing the three school boys who arrived with his brother, doing his best to ignore Orion’s displeased expression and narrowed gaze. His father had been very irritable and impatient this morning. It was very disappointing to see, but Regulus didn’t allow it to pollute his personal delight over Sirius’ return.

“Let me introduce you,” Sirius starts with a messy-haired young man with round glasses, standing at a healthy height and with the faintest dimples showing in his cheeks. “This one is called James,”

“This one?!” James blanches, making you all laugh before he finally greets you properly, “James Potter, here! Good afternoon, Ma’am,”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, James,” you smile kindly at him, trying to temper your racing mind and heart as best as you can. The marauders were right in front of you. How surreal! So distracted were you at keeping your reactions reasonable that you completely missed the slight shock that crossed all three boys’ expressions before they melted into a soft look of admiration — one similar to puppy love. You’re pretty... was their silent but unanimous conclusion. They only caught a glimpse of you from the dining hall on the day Sirius had been called to see Dumbledore, but seeing you up close made them realise how small of a glimpse they caught of your beauty. Perhaps it was also because of how loving they knew you to be through Sirius that their puppy love blossomed so easily.

“This is Peter,” Sirius gestures to a portly boy with sandy blonde hair and chubby cheeks flushed red from the cold.

“H-hello, Madam, it’s Peter Pettigrew,” Peter greets shyly, finishing off his introduction whilst avoiding your eyes.

“Hello, Peter.” You can’t help but admire how adorable-looking Peter appeared. Right now, he’s just an innocent child who’s only beginning to figure out who he truly is as a person. Hopefully, you can help him avoid getting pulled into the darkness and help the boys form a stronger bond that keeps him on the right side. You’ve seen the online discussions of how Peter could have been the parallel for Neville before it all went wrong; in this reality, you were determined to make them exact parallels. You won’t allow Peter to be led astray.

“And lastly, this is Remus Lupin.” Sirius corrects himself to make a full introduction this time and turns you to a brunette with faint scars marring the skin of his neck, jaw and face, his sweet features all bundled up in the cosiest grandpa jumper you’ve ever seen.

“A pleasure, Ma’am,” There’s a shyness in Remus’ smile that makes you want to coo at him but manage to hold yourself back. Taking in his precious appearance makes your determination to help Damocles with the Wolfsbane potion grow all the more. A kind, innocent boy like him didn’t deserve to suffer the consequences of such a terrible ailment, especially one that was forced upon him at such a young age.

Smiling sweetly, you give a small nod, “The pleasure’s all mine, Remus, hello.” You take a moment to meet each of their gazes individually. “It’s wonderful to finally put a name to the face. Sirius has written so much about you in his letters,” The three share a teasing grin as Sirius goes a soft pink beside you.

“Mother!” he hisses under his breath, but you ignore him with a light laugh.

“My~ It feels as though I’m meeting celebrities,” James’ chest visibly puffs up as Remus and Peter tuck in their chins bashfully.

“It’s really nice of you to talk about us, Sirius,” Peter comments softly, his words genuine and his eyes grateful.

“Of course, I would,” Sirius defends, his embarrassment turning into smugness. He sees the perfect opportunity to poke fun at them and jumps at it, “I had no one else to rant about you sorry lot,”

“Excuse you!” James huffs, his hands leaving his hips to reach for Sirius, who ducks behind you with a laugh. Peter, on the other hand, pouts exaggeratedly while Remus shakes his head.

“Goodness,” you giggle to yourself as Sirius looks over your shoulder to make a funny face at James, who returns the gesture, soon being joined by Remus and Peter, all of them now pulling silly faces at each other. Regulus was tempted enough to join in, “You lot are a bunch of goofs.”

Regulus nods in agreement beside you, pretending that he hadn’t just joined in and giggled along, his eyes glittering with the idea that he may make the same fun friendships when he finally gets to go to Hogwarts next year. He’s never seen his brother so energetic and laid back before. If this was the effect Hogwarts had on his disposition, then he couldn’t wait to join in on the fun. Regulus has read about the group’s many pranks during school in Sirius’ letters, and although he was hesitant to indulge his elder brother’s misbehaviour at first, he soon fell into the wondrous magic such a brotherhood fostered. He wanted to be a part of it, too. He wanted to create his own.

“We need to get home. Hurry it up!” your husband demands from a step or two behind you, impatiently carrying Sirius’ owl in its cage.

“Really, Orion…” you huff, slowly standing and shooting the stone-faced, bitter mana scowl, “aren’t you the least bit interested in your eldest son’s close friends?” you ask, willing yourself to restrain the amount of bite in your tone, aware of the suddenly quiet and tense atmosphere between you. Orion has the most horrid habit of disturbing the peace.

“I’m interested in getting out of this cold. Hurry. Up!” he snaps once more before turning around to lead the way home. Sighing, you turn to the marauders and your two sons with an apologetic smile, hoping to ease their tense shoulders and tight expressions. “I’m sorry dears, but my husband’s anxious to get home,” they nod their heads in understanding.

“It’s okay, ma’am,” James offers a smile, helping to ease the tension even more. “I should really go find my own parents, too,”

“Of course, thank you for understanding,” reaching out, you softly begin petting Sirius’ hair as he stood at your side. “Perhaps we can invite you over for a get-together over the holidays? It would be nice to spend some time with each other over some tea and games.” The boys look at each other excitedly, their eyes and smiles wide with anticipation. Sirius and Regulus, however, look up at you in surprise. They didn’t expect this at all, but they should have; you’ve changed so much already. Naturally, you would be more willing to allow them to befriend and spend time with those they made their friends. Your sons’ chests filled with warmth at the thought and they couldn’t keep themselves from smiling widely.

“That’ll be great! Thanks!” James cheers.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” Peter adds, his shyness disappearing into a bright-eyed smile.

Remus nods along happily, “I can’t wait!” You watch fondly as the 11-year-old marauders share a group hug before waving them off.

“Aren’t we going yet, Mother?” Regulus asks, tugging gently on your skirt. Both sons look at you with curious eyes.

“Of course, I just want to make sure your friends get to their parents safely,” your answer makes Sirius smile gratefully, and you all patiently watch and wait. It didn’t take long for James to greet his parents. He points you out, and you wave at him while his parents stare in shock. Their jaws dropped in surprise at the sight of the Black family’s matriarch happily waving at them with an uncharacteristically kind smile. The same happened with Remus when he reunited with his parents, too. Peter’s mother also shared the same astounded look but was unwilling to stay longer than needed and hurries him away.

˖ ݁𖥔.☁︎.𖥔݁ ˖

“Your friends were very lovely, Siri,” you comment sweetly as you all arrive back at 12 Grimmauld Place, dusting yourselves off as the green flames of the fireplace subsided “I wish we could have stayed longer.”

“It’s alright.” Sirius smiles up at you, appreciative of your open kindness to his friends, the complete opposite of his father’s judging stares. “They had their families to get back to—”

“What Took You So Long?!” Orion’s voice boomed and shook the walls of the living area, instantly riding the light-hearted nature of the atmosphere.

As Sirius and Regulus stiffened up and inched closer to you, you answer Orion calmly, leaning down to help the boys out of their coats, “We made sure Sirius’ friends returned to their families safely before leaving. Is that so wrong?” Orion scoffs, clearly annoyed that he was kept waiting around for you. “We didn’t mind the cold all that much but I know it was getting to be a lot for you, dear, we understand,” your husband flushes red at the cheeks and stomps off to his office with his tail tucked between his legs. It was hard to suppress your victorious smirk.

“I won’t be joining your lunch! Have the food be delivered to me in my office!” Orion’s reverberating voice disappears up the stairs with him. Good riddance.

“As you wish,” you then call for Kreacher to help you put the boys’ clothes away and serve Orion his helping of the lunch you had prepared for Sirius’ return.

“Right away, Mistress,” Kreacher smiles, magicking the coats to their rightful places once Regulus took Sirius’ shrunken luggage out from his pockets and finally turned to Sirius with a warm look, “Kreacher is most happy to have young master Sirius return,”

Sirius smiles back happily, “Thank you, Kreacher. It’s good to be back too,” giving his young master a nod, Kreacher disappears to deliver Orion’s plate while you usher the boys upstairs to unpack. Sirius can see the visible growth in Kreacher’s once anxious and gloomy nature. The house elf looked much happier now and it was a good sight to behold, a welcome change. Gone was the house elf that perpetuated the torment his mother and father inflicted onto him.

“I’m sure you two would want to have some time to catch up, but you don’t have to fully unpack just yet, lunch is waiting.” the three of you step into Sirius’ bedroom together, where you un-shrink his luggage for him.

“Thank you, Mother.” Sirius turns to you only to be pulled into your warm embrace once more.

“Not at all, sweetheart.” You pull away and lovingly caress his features. Starting from the top of his head, your soft touch drifts down to rest against his cheek. “It’s so good to have you back, Sirius. I missed you terribly.” Gently, you press a kiss to his forehead and move to his bedroom doorway. “I’ll be setting up the table downstairs. Try not to take too long, my loves, we don’t want the food getting cold.”

“Of course, Mother, see you downstairs.” Sirius grins, and the brothers watch as you leave the room, eagerly floating down the stairs to meet Kreacher in the kitchen, where you both share the task of prepping the table for everyone to eat. You were quite relieved that Orion wouldn’t be joining you. The recent meals you’ve shared have been rather tense, and it was clear that he was still bitter over Sirius’ unfilial behaviour that was the cause of him being sorted into Gryffindor rather than Slytherin. Honestly, he was more of a child than your two young sons.

The boys don’t spend too long up in Sirius’ room, both pulled to the kitchen and dining area by the delicious smell of food in the air. They also didn’t want to catch up too much by themselves; sharing their conversation with you over the food you had prepared was a far more pleasant idea.

“Everything smells so good!” Regulus expresses as he and Sirius step into the dining area, smiling at the sight of you bustling about the kitchen with Kreacher.

“Why thank you, little love,” Sirius looks to his younger brother at the new term of endearment he’s earned while he was away at school. There was a mix of jealousy and assurance in his eyes. You definitely took good care of Regulus when he was away. “The food I prepared is quite nostalgic, actually,” you giggle to yourself and urge them to step up beside you. As they do, their steps eager and swift, they gasp simultaneously. Sharing a smile for a moment, they look up to you again with glittering eyes, nostalgia swimming in the warmth flooding their chests.

“Hunter’s chicken and fish and chips!” Sirius exclaims, eying the hearty meal he had ordered at the pub when you all went school shopping with him earlier that year.

“That’s right.” You hand him his plate of Hunter’s chicken and urge him to sit at the table with it before handing Regulus his plate of fish and chips to do the same. “I’m saving the shepherd's pie for dinner tonight.” Orion had requested the hunter’s chicken earlier that day, so you would be eating the second portion of fish and chips. “Boys,” you call their attention before they can take up their knives and forks. Their hands stutter mid-air, and they look at you with curious eyes, wondering what you need of them. Hopefully, it was nothing serious. “Kreacher helped prepare this food with me. Can we thank him properly for his efforts, please?”

Smiling brightly, Regulus and Sirius search around for Kreaher, who bashfully pops into existence beside you, “Thank you for helping prepare the food, Kreacher,” Regulus smiles at the shy house elf who couldn’t even meet his eyes.

“Yes, thank you, Kreacher. Everything looks amazing!” Sirius adds, his words sincere and his eyes crinkling at the edges from his appreciative smile.

“Young masters a-are most—” Kreacher looks to you briefly for some assurance before continuing, “most welcome...”

Nodding happily, you also offer your thanks and finally allow Kreacher to disappear elsewhere. He was slowly getting accustomed to the new dynamic between the matriarch and his young masters, but it wasn’t to the point of comfortably eating with you at the dinner table just yet. That habit of his was so stubbornly ingrained, that you doubt it would be an easy habit to vanquish entirely.

“Good job, dears,” you gesture for them to continue with their lunch, but they don’t move. Instead, they turn their full attention to you.

“Thank you for the delicious food too, Mother,” Sirius begins, “I already know this is going to taste amazing! I’m so happy to be home again!” admittedly his words and toothy grin make you tear up a bit and you quickly blink the tears away, wanting to keep the day a happy occasion.

“Sirius’ is right, thank you so much, Mother. I’m going to savour every last bite!” Regulus adds, pushing you all the more into breaking apart before them.

“You two stop teasing your Mother and eat your food already!” They laugh at your playful huff and finally dig into their lovingly prepared meals. The time was spent thoroughly enjoying the delicious, nostalgic taste of the food while also questioning Sirius about his time spent at Hogwarts. It was exciting to hear about his months spent away first-hand, as the Marauders era was always relatively vague. Yours and Regulus’ attentions were fully captivated by Sirius’ fun retelling of lessons and things he’s learned. You were beginning to get suspicious however; not a single prank against the other students was mentioned, but you were confident in his mischievous antics. He could keep it away from you in his letters home, but you were hopeful that he’d be willing to share the details in person. It was a little disappointing as that was something you were very excited to hear about. Although you were willing to let it go. You’re happy as is to hear whatever Sirius was willing to share. That was more than enough for you.

“My, my, it sounds like you’ve had a wonderful time,” you comment, smiling as Sirius affirms with an enthusiastic nod. “You’ve got Regulus all riled up and eager to join you at Hogwarts now,” you and Sirius giggle together at the image of his sparkly-eyed younger brother across the table.

“It sounds like so much fun, you can’t blame me,” Regulus expresses, tucking his chin into his chest sweetly and with a sheepish pink hue on his cheeks.

“I’m sorry for teasing, dear, you’re just too adorable.”

“And I can’t wait until you join me too, Reggie!” Sirius explains, “It’ll be even more fun when you get to Hogwarts too; we can hang out all the time!”

“Yeah!”

Smiling at their interaction, you helpfully try to reign in their excitement, “Just make sure to allow your brother to make his own friends too, Sirius,”

“Of course! And when you do, we can form one big group of friends.” Sirius’ excitement is still just as animated and contagious. But you were happy for his response and had no complaints when Regulus appeared to rise up all the more in his seat.

“That’ll be so much fun!”

22nd December 1971 | 12 Grimmauld Place

Stepping out of their rooms, Sirius and Regulus meet each other in the hallway, grabbing and tugging at their rather stuffy suits. Today was the day of the Yule soiree that was arranged yearly for the sacred 28 families and many other prominently high-class wizarding families. In the memories you glimpse through Walburga’s previous grumblings leading up to the event, however, makes you purse your lips at the thought that, despite the arrangement helpfully trying to make the influential wizarding families mingle with one another, most of the pureblood elitist houses sequester themselves in a luxury room, separate from everyone else. This only perpetuated the divide, and you didn’t want that for your boys. For Orion and appearance’s sake, you’ll follow them into the luxury room but slowly inch you and your boys away and back into the main area.

“You two look like the perfect pair of gentlemen,” you coo but smile apologetically when you notice their awkward stance. “Are you uncomfortable, my loves?”

“Only a little bit,” Regulus confesses politely.

“Try a lot,” Sirius grumbles, always the one who’s more forthcoming with his truths.

“I’m sorry, dears,” leaning forward, you press a soft, loving kiss onto their foreheads, “try to bear with it as best as you can, okay?” Thankfully, the two were willing to cooperate with you and nodded.

“You look beautiful, Mother.” You smile kindly at Regulus’s sweet comment and thank him softly with a kiss to his crown.

“I agree!” Sirius grins and steps up to you, bringing your hand up to his lips, where he kisses your knuckles. “Mother, you’ll be the most beautiful lady at the soiree.” his actions fluster you, but you’re happy to have raised such a gentleman.

“You flatterer,” you hide your bashful expression in Sirius’ curls and press a kiss to his crown in thanks while Regulus giggles from beside you both. The three of you meet Orion in the living room, where you plan on using the Floo network to reach the venue.

“It’s about time,” Orion huffs, adjusting his cuff links before ordering Kreacher to place the dust-repelling spell onto everyone’s clothing so that the debris from the fireplace doesn’t affect your cleanliness. “We can’t be late to the soiree. Stop dawdling!” Orion hurries into the fireplace first and doesn’t wait for anyone else before he’s swallowed up by green flames. You sigh but offer your two sons a patient smile.

“You heard your father; it’s polite to be on time.” You turn to Kreacher as you urge the boys into the fireplace. “We’ll be back soon Kreacher.” With a soft farewell, Kreacher waves you off as you, too, are consumed by green flames.

NAVI. | SERIES M.LIST | NEXT. 10 : ... →

A/N : Phew~ that was a long one omg! I hope you darlings enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the next one! Chapter 10 will have a lot of fluffy, domestic moments that I'm very excited to share with all of you! For now, I hope this chapter was a good read for you!

[emi-gelfling]

I'm not usually a fan of crackfics, but this one is just the right balance of unhinged and endearing to keep you engaged!

LINK TO "Regulus Black and The Path To Parenthood:"

[ashes-of-a-moon-crater]

hi sorry to interrupt but i just wanted to share the mental image i got of sirius clutching his knuckles, crying and yelling “Noble and Most Ancient House of FUCK ”

[theonyxstate]

yall, marauders didnt live through whole 70s and two wars for us to give up half a century later on the orange fuck

they survived, we survive, and we love.

[zeherili-ankhein]

Another songfic? Yes.

Sirius trying to convince Regulus to run away with him, after a year or two from when he left home.

A nice little chat between the Black brothers in The Three Broomstick, with the song 'The Other Side' from the movie 'The Greatest Showman'.

Sirius:

“You run with me

And I can cut you free

Out of the drudgery and walls you keep in”

Sirius knows what his brother is going through and now that he is out of that place and somewhat stable in his life, he wants to save Regulus too.

Regulus:

“Don't you know that I'm okay with this uptown part I get to play

'Cause I got what I need and I don't want to take the ride

I don't need to see the other side”

He is convinced he has to do this. He has to take the dark mark. That this is his destiny. So he keeps lying to himself that he is "ok" with whatever is happening.

Sirius:

“'Cause you can do like you do

Or you can do like me

Stay in the cage, or you'll finally take the key

Oh, damn, suddenly you're free to fly

It'll take you to the other side”

He just desperately wants to savd his little brother. Because somewhere he feels guilty for leaving Regulus alone in that abusive household when he left.

Regulus:

“If I were mixed up with you, I'd be the talk of the town

Disgraced and disowned, another one of the clowns”

If there's one thing that Regulus fears the most then that is being disowned. Growing up he was taught what it meant to be disowned and made an outcast. He had seen his cousin and brother being disowned and doesn't want to end up like them. Face burned in the tapestry and never to be mentioned again.

If it still doesn't make sense to you I don't know what does.

[my-castles-crumbling]

traitor - January 8th - jegulus, platonic prongsfoot - @black-brothers-microfic - word count: 382

As soon as James walked into his flat, he got the odd sense he should leave. The very air was thick with anger, and he knew it could only mean one thing. Turning to tiptoe quietly back out the door, he managed to make it all the way to the entrance before-

"James!"

Fuck.

"Will you tell your fiancé what a traitor he is?" Sirius screeched, standing in the door of the kitchen with his arms crossed and looking furious.

Before James could ask why, another, equally scary voice replied from within the room.

"James, will you tell your best friend he's an idiot?" Regulus called, voice full of both annoyance and amusement.

James considered calling Remus for help, but he knew it was too late. "What happened?" he asked wearily, shucking his jacket and walking into the warzone.

"Regulus told me I can't be his Best Man!" Sirius shrieked, throwing his hands in the air. "The audacity! I'm his only sibling and-"

"Because you're James's Best Man, you dumbarse!" Regulus interrupted, giving James a look that demanded he speak. "You can't be Best Man for both!"

"Why not? I damn well should be! I'm the most important person in both of your lives!" Sirius yelled, eyes wild.

James sighed, finally stepping in. "Regulus, did you tell Sirius what he would be doing instead of being your Best Man?" he asked the younger man gently, trying not to cause any more blow ups.

"No," Regulus grumbled. "He wouldn't let me." But he turned to Sirius and took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself. "You're going to walk me down the aisle, Sirius. Give me away, and all that."

Immediately, Sirius's demeanor changed. His crossed arms fell to his sides and his furrowed eyebrows lifted as his eyes filled with tears. "Wh-what?" he asked, voice trembling.

"Oh, fuck, he's going to cr-" Regulus said fearfully, looking aghast and turning to get away from is brother.

But it was too late. Sirius pulled Regulus into a bear hug, sobbing hysterically. "I- l- lo- love y- you s- so m- mu-" he stuttered, tears streaming down his face and onto Regulus's expensive jumper.

"James, help!" Regulus hissed, looking like a trapped animal.

"Nah, love, that's all you," James grinned, turning to leave.

[crescenthistory]

did i hear you say you were writing another animagus!reader x regulus where they cuddle at hogwarts in each their cat forms? 🥺🥺

you know what they say, don't believe everything you hear... except for that, that's actually true

Words: 2.4k

Warnings: not proofread, fem!reader, copious amounts of fluff, established relationship, bsf!remus, background wolfstar, reader and reg are kinda goody-two-shoes, platonic physical affection

Note: read more about cat!animagus!reader's shenanigans with reg, wolfstar and james here & here

Sweet Like Honey; Karma is a Cat

What a conundrum.

Remus should take this as an opportunity to be a good friend. You have spent almost two decades showing him exactly how to do that, playing the perfect part of the sister-he-never-had, loving and supporting him through life. For never turning your back on him, Remus is sure he owes you far more than what he can ever repay you, so he should try every single day. He should be a good friend.

But it was just too funny not to.

"At what point is it our duty to wake them up?" Sirius' voice whispered in his ear, shaking with mirth.

"I'm wondering the exact same thing." Remus dragged his words out to avoid making a decision. "How long do you think we can get away with?"

"I mean, they are already 15 minutes late to their Charms lesson, so we're dead men walking for not having said anything so far."

Remus is just able to tear his eyes away from you to glance sideways at Sirius, a too-fond smile already playing over his lips as he sees the exact mischievous look on his boyfriend's face that he expected. The look he fell in love with, not that Remus would be sappy enough to think about that right now. "So what you're saying is..."

"Leave it for a while longer?" Sirius grinned.

"Leave it for a while longer." Remus confirmed, whispering through a laugh, shifting his body further into Sirius' side as he lets his eyes fall back on you.

Well. On what he and Sirius knew to be you and Regulus, but what all other students in the library thought was just two cats sleeping in an armchair.

There was an elongated square of sunlight cast onto the middle of the seat by one of the beautifully decorated windows of the ancient castle, every cat's dream spot. The green velvet covering the seat of the mahogany chair was already riddled with fur from how long the two of you had been curled up around each other in it, white, grey and black hairs mixing together. Your forms might as well be mixing together too, fluid in a way that defied physics yet looked impossibly comfortable. Remus supposed you had to milk as much pleasure out of being an animagus as possible to make that whole mandrake leaf ordeal worth it. Though you could not answer even if he asked you right now, he was sure you at this very moment thought it was.

Remus' smile widened as he saw your chest rise dramatically as you breathed a sleepy huff, turning your head over slightly and burrowing it further into Regulus' plush neck. Your little cat bodies laid facing each other, arms around each other in a way he thought looked a little too much like a human hug.

It would be the absolute picture of serenity, two young things with no care in the world but each other – had it not been for the large clock ironically hanging right behind you, reminding you that you were not supposed to be here right now.

The four of you – five before James ran off the second he spotted red hair a few shelves back – had spent your two hours of shared free periods to read up together, for once actually doing a considerable amount of studying during it. Sirius was rubbing it in your faces, yours by consequence and Regulus' by design, that you still had one lesson left for the day when you abruptly stood up and demanded that you need a study break. When you then promptly dragged Regulus off into a corner, Sirius got the karma of a lifetime as he grew very concerned about what kind of break you would be engaging in. That was until the two cats lazily strolled back in and made themselves comfortable in the chair they now claimed as theirs.

Knowing you, Remus knew you hadn't intended on falling asleep, but maybe the fact that you did meant you really needed it. Yes, surely, you must have been exhausted and your body demanded a rest, so frankly he is quite an amazing friend for ensuring you listen to your health and your needs.

"Cats shouldn't be allowed to be that cute," Sirius all but grumbled as he looked at the two of them. "I should hate them on principle, but look at them Moony!"

"Quite literally no one is demanding that you hate cats on behalf of Padfoot, Siri."

"Padfoot is!" Sirius gave him a you can't argue with that logic look, but Remus knew he could.

"Ah, yes, my boyfriend the dog," he mused, cocking an eyebrow at Sirius who promptly reached out with his finger and pulled it back down.

"I could so give you a comeback to that, but I respect you too much not to say it in public," Sirius muttered and Remus couldn't fight his laughter.

Something moving in his periphery brought his attention back on you, seeing you shift even more into Regulus which caused him to begin stirring as well. Go back to sleep, go back to sleep, Remus whispered to you in his mind.

As always, you didn't listen to him, and ever so slowly Remus saw you peel one yellow eye open, blinking blearily at the room before turning your head back towards Regulus. The greyest of your four paws came up to gently pet at the black cat's neck, almost as if you were smoothing over the fur you had ruffled in your sleep. It made Remus' heart ache with love for you both, even as his stomach was slowly dropping.

A soft prrt! escaped Regulus before he instantly began purring and tightening his hold on you with his little cat paws, nosing his head against yours. A kind of softness Regulus rarely let himself fall into in public, though this was arguably a grey area.

It almost looked like you were about to be driven back into sleep by the vibrations moving through you from Regulus' chest. Remus noticed Sirius paying attention raptly as well, which was unfortunate.

Because when you shot up out of your seat with a small squeak, jumping as if startled as you looked towards the clock – now a good 30 minutes into your 45 minutes lesson – Sirius let out a loud bark of laughter. It earned him more than a few hushes from those around, but most importantly, it earned him your head snapping around to look at him with eyes that could rival a basilisk’s.

Considering Remus was already on a streak of making disloyal choices towards his loved ones, he didn't fight his instinct to stand up from his seat and back up when you ran and jumped onto the table right in front of Sirius' face with a hiss. You slapped at him with a clawless paw to which Sirius whispered something along the lines of "hey, knock it off, be cool" while trying to hold you at arm's length. You scowled at him as aggressively as any cat could, raising your back slightly before you arguably tut-ed at him and jumped back down.

Remus fought for his life to not laugh.

You turned around and ran over to Regulus who was still lazily stretching and gaining his bearings, not an ounce of care shown towards the near-assault of his brother. Nudging him with your head towards the end of the chair, he got the point and jumped down, already falling into his usual graceful mannerisms.

Together you scurried off back into your corner.

When you came back a mere minute later Remus swore there was no difference in your facial expression. Remus carefully walked around the table – where Sirius was still sitting with a petulant pout – hands up in surrender.

You crossed your arms, leaning your weight onto your right hip as you glared at your oldest friend, clearly expecting him to speak first. Behind you Regulus was strolling over, looking like he was trying really hard to be miffed but falling just short.

“How dare you,” you said – and it was a statement, not a question.

“In my defence,” Remus started, hands still up but so were the corners of his lips. “You two looked adorable.”

“That will surely hold up real well with the professor,” you scoffed.

“We didn’t make you fall asleep, princess,” Sirius grumbled to which you turned to him with a bitch please look Remus is fairly certain you picked up from Sirius.

“Apologies for expecting my friends to have my back. How stupid of me.”

“Very stupid indeed,” Sirius murmured as he took a sip of his coffee, grimacing when he found it to be cold. He nearly spilled some when Regulus gave him a light slap up the back of the head.

Remus figured it was time to pull out the big guns.

He manoeuvred his held up hands to be stretched out towards you instead with a rueful smile as he inched closer and closer. You had a moody expression still, eyeing him with suspicion, but you didn’t move out of the way. He dared make a small cooing sound as he brought you into a hug, coddling you like one would a child after they hurt themselves to keep them from crying.

“‘M super super sorry, lovie,” Remus half-muttered half-laughed into your hair as he rocked you a little bit. Your arms were still crossed against his chest, but you were leaning into him. 

“Don’t believe you, Loopy.” 

Regulus snorted at that and Remus looked up at him over his shoulder and the boys shared a look of humour and shared love for you that warmed his stomach. Though when Sirius nipped at Regulus’ sleeve to get his attention, the faux-miffed expression was plastered right back on the younger boy’s face.

Siblings, Remus thought and chuckled a bit into your hair.

“You laughing at me?” you questioned incredulously. 

“No, I’m laughing at our boys.” His response was quick to rid himself of any further accusations.

You instantly nodded against his shoulder. “Understandable.”

“Hey! Don’t bring me into this, amour.” Regulus' chiding tone was met with you uncrossing your arms at last, reaching a hand out behind you blindly, which he immediately took and squeezed with his own.

You let your other arm curl around Remus’ back. Forgiveness at last.

He pulled back to look down at you with a goofy grin, and was pleased to see you could no longer contain yours either. “You were really cute. Didn’t want to disturb you.”

You gave him a look. “Right, no laughing at our expense whatsoever.”

“Never.”

You gave him a light shove while you snorted, pushing him away from you. “This is what I get for my sacrifice for you?” you said as you shook your head at him not much unlike McGonagall would during detention.

“I would argue you got a pretty sweet deal with that sacrifice, doll, seeing as you can curl up with your equally sacrificial boyfriend and sleep in the library whenever.” Sirius nodded solemnly, while jutting his chin towards Regulus. “This one would never let that happen in any other form.”

“Oh, I’m sure I could’ve convinced him,” you replied, looking at Regulus with an almost salacious smile. As if to prove your point – or just to prove Sirius wrong – he came up to stand closer behind you, arms going around your waist. You leaned your weight back against him with a happy sigh.

“Disgusting,” was all Sirius offered.

You raised an eyebrow at him before turning your head sideways to give Regulus a short, sweet kiss.

“Disgusting,” he groaned once more, pressing the backs of his palms into his eyes.

“Karma,” you and Remus sing-songed at him at the exact same time in the exact same tone. 

Your eyes met in surprise before you both burst out laughing, any pretend fight seeping out of you as you both beamed at each other.

Siblings, Remus found himself thinking once more.

“Well, now that we don’t have a lesson to get to anymore, I suggest we get out of here,” Regulus sighed, squeezing your hips as if to underline his point.

“Where we heading?” Sirius asked as he swung his legs out to get up.

“I don’t know where you’re going,” you started. “But Remus will go hunt down a certain Head Boy and get him to make up some excuse to Professor Flitwick for why Regulus and I did not attend class so that our absence is removed from the records.” You put on your sweetest smile as you turned towards Remus at the last part.

“Regulus, what have you done with her?!” Sirius stage-whispered his accusation at Regulus who only responded with a certain impolite gesture.

“And why would James do that?” Remus drawls, certain that his entertainment was written all over his face.

“Oh, I’m sure he owes you for something, you figure it out.” You spoke as you tried to put your bag over your shoulder to leave, but Remus and Regulus both reached for it at the same time. They gave each other a look, trying to decide who will take the literal burden, before they both turned to Sirius and dropped the bag in his lap. He rolled his eyes at the both of them, but pulled the strap over his free shoulder nonetheless. 

“You are quite the minx, aren’t you?” Remus asked, going for chiding and landing somewhere along the lines of compliance.

“Learned from the best, Rem!” you cheered brightly, pressing quick smacking kisses on both his and Sirius’ cheek.

Before they could muster up a response or a reaction, you had already hauled Regulus down the halls of the library towards the exit with half-heartedly hushed giggles. The raven-haired boy looked over his shoulder right before you turned the corner with a barely-contained smile, inhibitions straw thin in your presence.

Remus understood him well.

He turned to Sirius with a pleased smile to find him already admiring his reactions from where he stood beside him.

“I get why they’re cats,” Remus mused as he interlaced their fingers, following the general direction you ran off to, ready to hunt down James and possibly claw up some furniture. 

“Because they’re adorable but also massive menaces?”

Remus breathed out contently. “Yeah.”

[raphael-angele]

Platonic MoonWater and Jealous ProngsFoot

Regulus: *went to the Marauders dorm room cuz he's bored and he wants to see James and Sirius but ended up only seeing Remus cuz the others went out so now he's just spending time with his brother's boyfriend*

Remus: *on his bed with Regulus, peacefully reading aloud a muggle book while Regulus is leaning on him cuz muggle literature fascinates him*

James: *enters the room* Hey, we got some- *sees them* What the hell is this?!

Remus: Oh, hey, Prongs, we were just-

Sirius: *coming in* AAAAH! WHAT THE HELL, MOONY?! My own brother?! I feel so betrayed! *faints dramatically*

Regulus: Oh, for fuck's sake.

Sirius: Hey, you watch your mouth. Babies aren't allowed to say that word.

James: Why, Reggie?! Why?! Why would you do this to us?! I thought you loved me!

Remus: Padfoot, Prongs, get a hold of yourselves. You guys are being ridiculous

Sirius: We're being ridiculous?! My brother and my boyfriend are in bed together!

Regulus: He was just reading to me.

James: Oh, the pain and devastation!

Sirius: What does he have that I don't, Moony?

Remus: Silence. What he has that you don't have is that he knows how to be quiet.

Sirius: Well, if that's what you wanted, you know exactly what to do.

James: And I can read to you, Reggie. I'm a much better story teller than that dyslexic moron.

Regulus: He's the top student in your year. Plus, his voice sounds nice. And he's warm to cuddle with. *cuddles up to Remus*

James: *gaasp* Moony, you thief

Remus: *hugs Regulus back* And Regulus is much cuter than you are, Sirius.

Sirius: *literal heartbreak then falls face first onto the floor*

Regulus: *smug* We're gonna get married as soon as I graduate.

Remus: *kisses Regulus' cheek*

Sirius and James: *die*

Peter, watching all of this unfold from the doorway: ...We got you guys some dinner.

[bradleysass]

Love - @black-brothers-microfic - wc: 534 - Starchaser

James says I love you like it’s his second nature.

He says it when he hangs up the phone with Sirius. When Lily hands him his coffee. When Remus fixes his collar before a meeting. When Marlene passes him a pen. He even says it to Peter when he remembers to order extra fries with his lunch.

Regulus has noticed.

More importantly, he’s noticed that James has never said it to him.

It shouldn’t bother him. He shouldn’t care. He’s not the kind of person who expects grand displays of affection or casually tossed I-love-yous. But James is. And yet, with him, James never says it.

And it’s driving Regulus insane.

At first, he tries to justify it. Maybe James just doesn’t say it to boyfriends. Maybe romantic love is different. But that theory dies a miserable death when James shouts “Love you, mate!” over his shoulder at the barista who gets his order right.

So that leaves only one conclusion:

James doesn’t love him.

Oh, he likes him. He kisses him. He holds him at night. He reaches for him first thing in the morning. But he doesn’t love him. Not the way Regulus wants him to.

Regulus wants to be okay with that.

He’s not.

So one night, after spending way too long lying awake staring at the ceiling, Regulus decides he’s just going to say it. Not because he expects anything in return, but because he wants to. Because if James isn’t in love with him, that doesn’t mean Regulus isn’t utterly, helplessly in love with him.

So the next morning, when James is still warm and half-asleep next to him, Regulus gathers his courage and says, “I love you.”

James goes still.

Regulus expected that. He expected a slow blink, maybe an awkward exhale. A thank you, maybe, if James was feeling particularly cruel. He did not expect James’ face to crumple as he lets out a choked breath and buries his face in his hands.

Regulus panics. “James—”

James surges forward, pulling Regulus into a crushing hug, and that’s when Regulus realizes—he’s crying.

“Jamie, what—”

“I love you,” James gasps against his neck. “I love you so much, I—fuck, I’ve been so scared.”

Regulus goes stiff. Scared?

James pulls back, rubbing at his eyes, failing miserably at stopping the tears. “I wanted to say it, I did. But it’s—fuck, it’s you, Reg. It matters with you. And I was scared, because no one’s ever—” He cuts himself off with a wet laugh, dragging a shaky hand through his hair. “No one’s ever loved me back before.”

Regulus stares. Then promptly bursts into tears.

Because of course James loves him. Of course he was just being an absolute idiot about it.

James makes a wounded noise before wrapping him up again, and they fall into a mess of limbs, choked sobs, and pure, unfiltered relief.

They take turns babbling I love yous between sniffles, hands clinging desperately, neither one letting go.

And when they finally pull apart, noses red, eyes puffy, James looks at Regulus like he’s something precious. Like he’s something James never thought he’d have.

“I love you,” James says, and this time, it’s everything.

Author notes: This is loosely based off a text post I saw. @leeny-leens @accio-sriracha @rosiesangel

[kquil]

Omg! Thank you so much! And I'm a sucker for MC changing things for the better too! Can you tell that this series is completely self-indulgent? (๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑)

Awww~ I'm so flattered! Thanks so much, my darling (。>\\<)♡ I just hope you don't get tired of the series with all that re-reading

Thank you thank you thank you! AHHHHH!    

DIVORCING ORION BLACK

⌈ A Marauders Era Fix-It-Fic - featuring Reader as Walburga Black but better ⌋

LAST UPDATED : 01/09/24 | [dd/mm/yy]

SERIES SUM. : Just another fix-it-fic where you fall into a fictional universe and take up the role of a villain but... in this instance, you replace Walburga Black.

You love the fandom but the Marauders Era has always been quite vague ...will you be able to live peacefully? One thing's for sure, you're getting a divorce and you're taking the kids!

UPDATE SCHEDULE : on the first day of every month, a new chapter will be posted the first chapter is the only exception ;)

CHAPTERS :

i. ARRIVAL (special thanks to @thebestofoneshots for beta reading this chapter!) ii. SHOPPING (1/2) iii. SHOPPING (2/2) iv. BEGINNINGS v. SIRIUS : FIRST DAY vi. POTIONEER ...

DISCLAIMER : please read

TAGS : son sirius black/mother reader ; son regulus black/mother reader ; isekai au/transfering worlds au ; walburga black is evil ; not reader though hehe~ ; hurt/comfort ; fluff ; platonic fluff ; second chances ; reader basically adopts remus, barty crouch jr and peter pettigrew ; peter pettigrew redemption arc? ; but he never betrays the marauders in the first place so... ; remus gets a better life ; reader becomes a semi-political figure to help werewolves + house elves ; reader assumes a male alias ; alternating chapters from different povs directly effected by reader's actions ; reader is a powerful independent business woman and single mother ; reader is a milf ; reader secretly hates dumbledore ; reader hates orion black ; reader hates JKR (we all do) ; divorce ; mentions of child abuse (physical and mental and emotional) ; mentions of neglect ; angry reader ; canon jily ; mentions of wolfstar ; regulus being a precious baby ; sirius has his moments too ; reader being a powerful trio with minerva and pomfrey ; reader potentially adopting the black sisters (bellatrix, andromeda and narcissa) ; reader adopts everyone! ; there'll be ocs ; reader leaves to live her dream cottagecore life ; happy ending! ; i'll add more tags in the future

TAGLIST DISCONTINUED...

SERIES TAGLIST : OPEN

[coyotelip]

``|| ☆ starchaser & black brothers microfic: dramatic & amount || @into-the-jeggyverse @black-brothers-microfic || wc: 487

“James,” Regulus greets him when he crosses the threshold of their home.

There is no “I'm home” or “James, are you here?”, no. Regulus' tone does not promise anything good — it is tense and demanding.

Turning his whole body to his lover, James tries to imitate the happiest smile possible. “Yes, love?”

Regulus appears around the corner of the room, looking for him. When he finds him, his arms immediately cross over his chest, his gaze nailing James to the spot. “That's a serious question.”

“Of course you can ask,” James' soul is already on its way to his heels.

“Me or Sirius…” he pauses, and by now James' soul has already descended to the level of his knees, ”Who's more dramatic?”

James' breath seems to get stuck somewhere in halfway through. If this question was about anyone, he would have answered that no, Regulus is not dramatic at all. No, he is the best of all, and no one else can compare to him.

However… if he answered Sirius now, it would make Regulus happy. Sure enough, that tense look would disappear from his face, and his eyebrows would relax. A satisfied smile will return to his lover's face, and maybe even Regulus will come closer and lean in to give him a gentle kiss as a real greeting.

And then Regulus will call or text or even go and tell Sirius in person. Like, “Look, even James thinks I'm better, ha! And we can trust James' judgment.” And this will turn into a little nightmare for James for the next few hours, because Sirius won't let it go.

No, the weather forecast warns of record rainfall in the form of “you've been like a brother to me, I never expected such a betrayal!”, we recommend that all Jamestown residents stock up on Dominos coupons, because only the promise of a bachelor party and ten Diablo pizzas can avert a natural disaster.

James can't help but cringe at the thought of such a scenario. But then again…

He imagines how he would feel if he were to say Regulus' name. He won't hear an answer right away. In fact, he won't hear a word from Regulus for the next week. He won't see him for days, he can only feel the warmth of his body next to him at night, but trying to hug him casually in his sleep will risk losing his arm. And no coupons to Dominos or any other establishment, no movie tickets or anything else would save him from the crisis.

The fact was simple: the amount of drama in the Black family's blood does not differ that much. But each of them finds a different way to process this drama.

A wise man once said that of two evils, choose the lesser one.

So James huffs as if the question is stupid in itself, rolls his eyes and says, “Of course Sirius…”

[james-potters-biggest-fan]

Actor Regulus taking James to awards shows and James standing and screaming when Regulus wins and Regulus hugs Evan and Barty, who lifts him off the ground.

Then he goes up to make his speech, with tears in his eyes,

“I want to thank the academy, and I want to thank my best friends Evan, Barty- the best co stars there are- and Pandora, for being the greatest friends I could ask for, and my brother, Sirius, for helping me get away from our parents this past year, which is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. And finally my biggest thanks to my boyfriend, James, for being there for me through the whole process, this movie wouldn’t have been finished if it weren’t for these 5 very important people, and I couldn’t thank them or love them enough! Thank you again!”

And when he sits again James kisses him and the cameras shows Evan and Barty both wiping their faces, holding hands. It cuts to Sirius and Pandora, who are farther back in the crowd, who are both crying, because they’re both so proud of him

[aluinwe]

broom - jegulus - @into-the-jeggyverse - word count: 460

If pressed, Regulus would admit to being a little nervous about spending this Christmas with the Potters. Just under a year ago, he had arrived at Potter Manor with only the clothes on his back, the wand in his hand, and a set of fresh bruises blooming all over his body courtesy of his mother and her recent discovery of his relationship with the Potter heir.

He knew James loved him, he told him every day, not just in words but in little actions. He knew Sirius loved him, as he’d taken to loudly proclaiming the fact at least once a week across the great hall. He even knew that Mr and Mrs Potter (“Please Regulus, don’t be so formal, call us Monty and Effie) loved him, when he received their regular care packages filled with his favourite sweets and a copy of Potions Monthly already annotated with Mr Potters insights on the articles, and questions for Regulus to answer.

So yes, Regulus was nervous, as this was the first Christmas he would be spending with this family, his family, and he desperately needed to make sure the gifts he got for everyone were perfect.

Sirius was easy, he’d teamed up with James and got him a brand new leather jacket and several patches to customise it with, along with a promise to teach him the sewing charms he’d need to ensure the seams never frayed. Sirius thanked them with tears in his eyes, and only a minor amount of ribbing about “couples presents already” and “don’t think you’ll get away with this every year”.

Mr & Mrs Potter were slightly more tricky, but he accepted their thanks along with their hugs for the matching stirring rod and wooden spoon he had got them, both their passions symbolised.

But James was impossible. What do you get for the boy who already owns your whole heart?

He had been struck by inspiration in the middle of the night – a memory of their first date, chasing a slightly wonky snitch that had been caught a few too many times across the Hogwarts quidditch pitch, quickly losing light but barely noticing as they had been lost in each other. When they finally landed, gracelessly bounding towards each other, their first kiss with James’ hands cupping Regulus’ face, and the feeling of the splinters on James’ fingers because he never cared for broom maintenance. James saw any moment spent with his broom that wasn’t flying it as a waste of time.

“Broom polish?” Sirius exclaimed, as he watched James open the gift. “I love you brother, but is that really the best you can do? If Moony got that for me I’d–”

“No” James interrupted, tears in his eyes. “It’s perfect. Exactly what I needed”.

[natwritesfics]

Marauders Era Boys - They are smitten with you

Characters: James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Barty Crouch Jr, Regulus Black & Severus Snape

A/N: So I decided to use to most popular fancasts that I’ve seen for all of these characters. Also what house in Barty in because I know it’s not specified in canon, and I see some people say Slytherin and some say Ravenclaw so I’m not sure

James Potter:

He’s always stealing glances at you

He will show off during Quidditch matches when he knows you’re watching in the hopes of getting your attention

He is bold and flirtatious and always complimenting you

He’d hex anyone who messes with you

He calls you darling

He finds excuses to be around you, like you left your book behind in class and he wanted to give it back to you, when in actual fact he hid it so he had an excuse to come and give it back to you

James gets jealous when he sees other guys flirting with you so he’d saunter over and wrap his arm around your shoulders glaring at the guy until they leave you alone

James would confess his feelings to you after a Quidditch win, telling you the win was for you, and giving you the Golden Snitch he caught, and telling you that he has fallen for you.

Sirius Black:

He is constantly flirting with you

He always tries to impress you

Sirius gets insanely protective of you.

If someone disrespects you he wraps an arm around your shoulder and threatens to hex the person disrespecting you

No one would ever try and flirt with you because Sirius is like your own personal bodyguard

He sneaks you out of the castle after curfew to spend time with you alone.

If you get cold he drapes his jacket over your shoulders and pulls you into a tight hug to try and warm you up

He confides in you about his family

While watching the stars Sirius will confess his feelings for you, even though it was already blatantly obvious to you, and he tells you that he can’t imagine a future without you in it

Remus Lupin:

Remus subtly steals glances at you

Or at least tries to be as subtle as possible. If you catch him looking, he quickly looks away blushing

He always tries to cheer you up, whether it’s leaving you your favourite sweets in your bag, or a new book he knows you wanted

If someone disrespects you, he will quietly saunter over to you and ask you if everything is ok, before telling the person to leave you alone, once they’ve left he will ask you again if you’re ok

He loves spending time with you, so the two of you often hang out in the Gryffindor common room both reading, but with you laying down, resting your head on his lap, as he strokes your hair, as you’re both reading

Sometimes he accidentally calls you love. And blushes when he realises what he called you. It makes you smile though.

He worries he’d never be good for you due to his lycanthropy.

He often opens up to you about him being a werewolf and everything he worries about and all his fears

Remus wouldn’t admit his feelings, he’d be too scared to because of him being a werewolf.

He’d be surprised when you admit you have feelings for him though, and he becomes unsure of pursuing a relationship with you because he’s scared.

But eventually you wear him down and prove to him, you’ll stand by him no matter what. And that you love him, no matter what

Barty Crouch Jr:

He watches you with fascination. But also like he’s desperate to make you his

He’s a smooth talker. Always complimenting you. Always flirting.

He would sneak you out of your dorm after curfew, to the Forbidden Forest or the restricted section of the library. Somewhere you both know you shouldn’t be at all, especially after curfew

Barty is always trying to impress you

He gets jealous easily. If someone gets too close to you or flirts with you, he gets jealous, even slightly angry. He won’t step in straight away, he wants to see how everything plays out, but then he will step in and tell you he needs to talk to you, to get you away from the other guy

He is desperate for you approval, so on rare occasions he lets his guard down and shows a side to him that not many people see. He opens up to you.

When Barty confesses his feelings to you, it’s during one of your after curfew trips to the Forbidden Forest. You get a little bit scared when you hear a creepy noise. Barty pulls you close to him. Tells you how he feels and vows to always protect you before kissing you

Regulus Black:

Regulus watches you from afar.

He notices every little detail about you, from the way you laugh, to the dimples on your cheek when you have a genuine smile on your face. He knows when you’re faking a smile. And the way you twirl your fingers in your hair as you’re concentrating on something.

Although he has feelings for you. If you’re half blood or muggle born he’d worry about what his family would think of you. If you’re pure blood you’re fine

He would leave you notes in your class books every day, giving you compliments like telling you that you look beautiful. Or that he just hopes you have a good day.

He gets a little nervous when you read the notes in case you know who they’re from. Of course you do, there’s no mistaking his handwriting. Plus you see the way he looks at you once you’ve read the notes.

He’s protective in a quiet way. Like if someone disrespects you or if someone flirts with you he will glare at them until they feel uncomfortable.

He would confess his feelings for you, after you spent an evening studying together.

If you’re half blood or muggle born he will admit how scared he is about what his family will think.

He will tell you that no matter what he will find a way for you to be together.

Severus Snape:

Severus watches you from the shadows. He mostly keeps to himself because he knows a lot of people don’t like him, but he notices you.

He notices everything you do, everything you say. Even the way you defend him when James and the other Marauders bully him.

He’s too reserved to admit his feelings outright or to even approach you just to talk to you.

Severus is subtle with gestures. He would slip a perfectly brewed potion into your bag. There’s no note or anything with it, but there’s no mistaking who it’s from. There’s only one person that can brew potions so perfect

He gets excited and nervous when you ask to be his partner in Potions classes whenever you need to pair up.

He blushes if your hand brushes against his when working on Potions together

He’s happy when you spend more time with him out of class to. Like joining him in a secluded area of the library where he often hides from his bullies.

Severus always offers to help you with your Potions homework so you often spend your evenings in the library until curfew studying

He feels safe when he’s with you

He shows you his vulnerable side

It would take him some time to admit his feelings for you. It might take you giving him a kiss on the cheek after a study session to thank him for all his helps that he’d quietly admits he likes you a lot. He would be so nervous about your reaction that he’d probably try and leave, until you grab his wrist to stop him leaving a giving him a soft peck on the lips for him to realise you do like him back

[managone16]

Sirius going to Hogwarts for the first time and getting surprised by his friends on his birthday, becoming very confused. Then James shouts that "it's your birthday!! We're celebrating it" and Sirius suddenly bursts into tears because every year Walburga would just say to both him and Regulus that they shouldn't even have been born and there is nothing about them that should cause them to celebrate their existence. Sirius cried at everything that day, from the hugs he received to the smallest of gifts.

It was then Sirius found out what truly a home was.

[my-castles-crumbling]

match - jegulus microfic - background wolfstar - @into-the-jeggyverse - word count: 318

“Did you see James and Regulus’s Christmas card?” Remus asked as Sirius walked through the door and joined him in the sitting room.

“No, why? Is it sickeningly adorable?” Sirius scoffed. 

“Go look,” Remus smirked, shoving Sirius back off the couch and ignoring his murmured of resentment.

Still grumbling, Sirius stalked into the kitchen and found the card on the table. Picking it up, he gazed down at the picture of the pair.

It was a magical picture, the two men moving and interacting with each other. There was James, grinning from ear to ear, a headband with reindeer prongs shoved over his messy hair, and an obnoxiously festive jumper on his body. He kept trying to wrap his arms around Regulus, who looked furious to be wearing a matching jumper and an elf hat. James’s enthusiasm and love for Regulus was clear even in the photo. His smile glowed, his eyes sparkled, and he refused to stop hugging Regulus close. The shorter man, however, seemed to be making every effort to look surly. He pulled at the jumper, making furious motions to, it seemed, protest the outfit. He rolled his eyes, wiped away James’s kisses, and adjusted the hat on his head.

But every once in a while, when photo-Regulus thought photo-James wasn’t looking, he looked at him with the most obviously-devoted gaze that Sirius felt warmth spread through his chest.

“Cute, isn’t it?” Sirius heard Remus murmur from behind him as he entered the kitchen, too.

“It’s…” he wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but this little look into an honest piece of his best friend and brother’s relationship had him resisting the urge to jump with joy. They both seemed so happy, and Sirius knew nobody deserved it more.

He couldn’t admit that, though.

“We should get matching jumpers,” he said instead, turning to his boyfriend.

“Anything you want, baby,” Remus grinned, pulling him close.