#pov James potter

[munacy]

ignorance

@wolfstarmicrofic “Guess what-mph-lads,” Peter starts conversationally, speaking around a mouthful of bacon. 

The passion that boy holds for breakfast meats borders on lunatic, but far be it from James to say anything.

“Wormy, it’s not on to speak with your mouth full, you’ll offend my delicate sensibilities,” interjects Sirius. Bless him; Sirius has no delicate sensibilities of which to speak, so James knows the intervention is on his behalf.

“Sorry!” Peter yelps, swallowing before he’s quite ready and hacking in a way that makes James even more queasy.

“Sorry, sorry. But guess what.”

“If I had to guess…” James wonders aloud. “Your clever little rodent ears have picked up another bit of gossip? I don’t know how you manage it, Petey. Terribly well-informed, you are.”

Peter looks inordinately pleased.

“Quite right you are, James. I’ve just heard that Will Diggory—you know, that Seventh Year Ravenclaw?—well, he’s just come out, and he’s gone public with Devlin Abbott!”

“HA! Wormy, I’m quite sure you owe me a Galleon for that one!” James crows.

Peter scowls. “Not a chance. You only got the first part correct, which I had already agreed with you on, if you remember. Doesn’t count, and you thought he was secretly dating—”

“Now hold on just a damned second,” Sirius frowns, interrupting what is sure to be a feisty debate. “I feel like I’m missing a few things. Come out? Come out of what? Public with what?”

Peter looks bemused, so James takes over, explaining patiently: “Come out of the closet. He and Abbott, who is also gay—” Sirius’ eyes become huge— “have gone public with their relationship. Damn it, you’re right, Wormtail, I did think it was secretly Gregor Klein.”

Sirius twitches. “Huh. I never would have guessed,” he says mildly. “Diggory seems so…”

“So what, Padfoot,” James prompts calmly.

It was an inevitable but fortunately rare byproduct of being raised in an ancient family steeped in ignorance and hatred: sometimes Sirius needed some help opening his eyes to a new perspective. There were assumptions he took for granted because he didn’t know any better, but being a generally kind and open-minded person, the work was not overly hard.

“Well, like such a man’s man. No, no, don’t get me wrong,” he rushes out, seeing the looks James and Peter are giving him. “I’m super happy for him. I say live and let live. But you have to admit that it’s a bit weird.”

“Which par’,” Peter inquires curiously, speaking while chewing his blasted bacon again.

“The part about being attracted to another man. Like, sexually.”

James and Peter go stock-still and make sudden eye contact with one another, mirroring astonished expressions. They’re absolutely trying their hardest not to burst into laughter.

How can it be? He has no idea?

“Oh, I dunno, Padfoot,” Peter says slyly, giving Sirius a side-eyed look. “You can’t think of any bloke you’d hop into bed with?”

The restraint James is using right now is nothing short of torturous.

Sirius laughs. “No, you big jessie! If you want to sleep with blokes, have at it, Wormtail, but I tell you, that’s not for me. Oi, where’s Moony? He ought to be here for this.”

Oh, but he’s almost pathetic.

James can’t resist, so he joins in too: “Hmm….what about William Diggory?”

Sirius sputters. “I mean, sure, Diggory’s fit, for a bloke, but, as implied by ‘bloke’, he’s not got a pair of tits.”

“That’s a good point, Padfoot did break up with Lola Edgecomb last year cos ‘she was too flat-chested’,” Peter informs James in a sardonic aside, making liberal use of air quotes. 

“No, no, Petey, maybe it’s just that Diggory’s not fit enough for our Pads,” James murmurs gravely.

Sirius giggles at their little show, then cries, “Cor! I wish Moony were here right now, and he’d tell you two how silly you are.”

Peter and James share a look again, but it’s lost on Sirius.

“Someone fitter, then, hmmm….” Peter taps a finger to his chin thoughtfully. “What about Professor Jero? All the girls thought he was gorgeous—do you reckon he’s hot enough to warm your bed?”

“Ha! As if! No, but keep going, though, these are funny. I bet Moony would come up with some hilarious ones.”

“Well Pete, maybe it’s not about physical beauty,” James muses theatrically.

“Oh no? The prompt was about sexual attraction, if you recall.”

“Yes, of course, and there’s no doubt that appearance plays a huge role in that, but…”

“But…?”

Sirius watches them volley back and forth, and James recognizes a growing exasperation in his expression. He’s always hated not being in on the joke. 

“But maybe it needs to be a gentleman he knows well.”

“’Knows well’? Just how well should he know them?” Peter inquires with mock wonder, blue eyes big and round. 

“Why, I think ‘extremely well’ would be ideal. In fact—” James turns to fully face Sirius— “I think he’d be most likely to fall for his best friend, no matter their gender.”

Sirius’ face goes blank with surprise, then he scowls and crosses his arms.

“Well I’m not about to bed either of you two idiots, sorry, but I have higher—MOONY!!”

And indeed, there appears Remus, tall and lanky, a gentle, eye-crinkling grin for Sirius that manifests as two dimples nestled in between the freckles scattered across his face. 

“Moony, you’ll never guess what these two wankers—”

“Pads, I’d love to hear all about it later, really, sorry, love—ah, fuck, I’ve made a portmanteau of ‘Pads’ and ‘lads’—I think—wait, no, that doesn’t—never mind that, sorry, I can’t stay, I’m just cutting through the Great Hall on my way to a Prefect meeting!”

“Moony, wait!” Sirius wails, haphazardly grabbing a piece of jammy toast and chasing after Remus’ rapidly retreating figure. “You haven’t had any breakfast, you dolt!”

Sirius catches up to him and shoves the toast in his mouth. Remus pauses to smile hugely and stupidly at him. Then he blinks suddenly and turns about with a wave. 

Peter smacks his forehead. James wonders vaguely if either of them took any notice of James and Peter sitting there throughout that whole interaction.

Sirius returns to his seat, cheeks pink and humming happily.

“Sorry lads, what were we talking about?”

Peter, slumped over in frustration, lets out a groan. “We were hypothesizing whether or not you could ever be sexually attracted to a man, and you kindly let us know that James and I are not up to snuff.”

“Ah. Too right.”

“Say…” James says wonderingly, as if this has just occurred to him. “You know Moony extremely well….Moony’s reasonably attractive, isn’t he?”

Peter sits up suddenly. “That’s right, he is! Tall. Nice curls. He’s alright.”

Sirius scoffs. “I’d say more than reasonably attractive or alright, wouldn’t you? I mean, he’s…he’s…he’s Moony…”

Sirius trails off and starts to blink rapidly, brow furrowed.

“Wow, Sirius,” James sighs unconvincingly, resisting an eye roll with all of his might. “Would you fuck Moony’s brains out, then? Suck his cock? Make him eat his breakfast every morning?”

Sirius has stopped blinking and his eyes appear to have glazed over. He’s gazing at a spot about 4 inches left of Peter’s left ear. James swears he can see on Sirius’ face the moment the realization dawns.

“Oh.”

Sirius swallows hard.

“Oh.”

Part 2: Duck  

Part 3: Anticipation 

Part 4: Thirst

[ecstarry]

update tripping over air

I have NO SELFT CONTROL

Honestly I've written 4 chapters and the second one is by far my favoriteeeee and it just adds sooo much so I couldn't wait and I posted it

I HOPE SOMEONE BESIDES MY BEST FRIENDS ACTUALLY READ IT OMG

[regeditt]

james: i love it when you speak french

regulus: voulez vous coucher avec moi?? ce soir??

james: what's that mean

regulus: don't worry about it

[moonbread123-wattpad]

Y/n: I'm a badass feminist who doesn't need a man. Y/n: *steals Harry's hoodies* Y/n: *needs help opening bottles* Y/n: *needs constant attention*

Harry: I survived Voldemort as a baby, I'm the definition of independent. Harry: *needs cuddles to sleep* Harry: *constantly jealous of Y/n's plushies* Harry: *needs to be reminded that Y/n will not leave her for that really hot dickhead down the street*

[moonstruckme]

James Potter x Reader where reader is in a different house (Hufflepuff if you don’t mind) and she ends up on the receiving end of one of their pranks which makes her angry so she avoids James and the other marauders, forcing him to grovel/beg for forgiveness? Thank you so much xoxo

Hi, thanks for your request! This got a bit long haha, but I enjoyed writing it and hope you enjoy reading :)

cw: mentions of blood

James Potter x Hufflepuff!reader ♡ 1.8k words

Though no one tells him it’s happening, Remus sees the prank coming from a mile away.

Primarily, this is because James and Sirius appear to be playing an entirely ordinary game of frisbee. Just tossing it back and forth, no hexes or nifflers or anything. A simple pastime between two boys on a lovely warm afternoon. 

Secondly, they haven’t asked Remus to join them. While they know from experience he’s content to read his book in the grass, they always make a point to ask just to be sure Remus doesn’t feel excluded. The fact that they haven’t suggests that they’re well aware that whatever they’re up to, Remus will want no part in it. 

Lastly and most importantly, James Potter has the worst poker face Remus has ever known. 

When the curly-haired boy slyly drops the frisbee they’ve been using into his bag, trading it for another, he can hardly keep the giddiness from his face. Which is probably why, when he tosses it well away from his companion and towards a crowd of gathered students, Sirius is the one who has to say, with theatrical volume and distress, “Merlin, can somebody grab that?”

Remus watches warily as several students turn to track the progress of the disk as it sails overhead, and after a moment one breaks away, chasing after it. Remus feels a pang of sympathy for you, your yellow and black scarf flying behind you as you run, needing no further evidence than the eager look in James’ eyes to know that you’ve fallen for a trap. 

You jump up to grab it out of the air, beaming in triumph for a moment before a yelp escapes you. You fling your catch to the ground, cradling your hand as the fanged frisbee twitches and snarls at your feet. 

“Shit,” he hears Sirius breathe, and the excitement is gone from his and James’ expressions as they jog over to you, Remus standing to follow them. 

You pick your head up as they approach, eyes wet but fierce. 

“What the hell?” you snarl, and Remus realizes with a stab of concern that there’s a small puddle of blood forming in your palm. “You’ve begun targeting your stupid pranks at anyone who’s dumb enough to help you now? How’s that funny?”

Remus looks at his friends in bewilderment, aggrieved on your behalf but unable to believe they’d do something so cruel. The fanged frisbee—a cheap trick, which really should be banned in Remus’ opinion—twitches closer to your ankle, and Sirius flicks his wand at it, its teeth retracting as it goes silent and motionless. 

“We…I charmed it so its teeth would be dull and harmless.” James scrubs a hand through his hair, at a loss. “It was only supposed to scare you, not hurt you.” 

You shake your head at him disbelievingly and bite your lip, face reddening as the pain sets in. James steps closer to you, blocking you from view of the small crowd of gawking students, none of whom, Remus notes with some bitterness, have come to help you or see if you’re okay. 

“I’m really sorry,” James says softly. “Let me help.” But when he reaches for your hand, you step back, holding it close to your chest. 

“Just leave me out of your fun in the future, yeah?” you hiss, stalking inside. 

James looks pained as he watches you go, and though Remus doesn’t begrudge you your justified anger, he feels for his good-natured friend. It had been an honest mistake, though the cost turned out to be far higher than either of his friends had expected. But knowing James, he’ll find some way to make it right. 

“Sorry, mate. They can’t all be winners.” Sirius claps him on the back, and Remus knows his light tone is more to make James feel better than it is true carelessness. Sirius is loyal that way; he’d probably lock you in a broom closet rather than have you upset James again. 

“It wasn’t meant to hurt anyone,” James says quietly.

Sirius’ smile is unfaltering, though Remus spies the worry in his eyes. “She’ll get over it. C’mon, there’s still time to go into Hogsmeade if we hurry.” 

And though Remus hopes you’ll feel better soon, he knows it will take James a long time to get over it himself. 

James shuffles from foot to foot, feeling silly and anxious as he waits for someone to leave the Hufflepuff dorms so he can go inside. He’s fairly sure you’re supposed to have potions together, but you hadn’t shown up to class, and though James had kept an eye out all day in the hallways, he’d never spotted you. He’d thought he’d caught a glimpse of you in the great hall during lunch, but you’d darted out of sight before he could be sure, and then there’d been no sign of you at dinner. Luckily, it had only taken a quick consultation of the map he shared with his friends to find out that you’d holed up in the Hufflepuff common room, so here he was, draped in his invisibility cloak and fidgeting like a nervous date at your front door. 

The door creaks open, and James slips in before it can shut, the exiting Hufflepuff shivering slightly at the breeze he makes whisking by them. It’s not difficult to spot you where you’re sitting painting your nails, lips pursed just slightly in concentration. The common room is mostly empty as other students enjoy the nice weather outside, and James is grateful for the privacy as he takes off the cloak and goes to sit beside your feet where they’re stretched out on the couch. 

You look up at the intrusion and startle to find James, pulling your feet closer to you reflexively. He hopes it’s an instinct to make room for him and not to protect yourself from him, though given recent events he could hardly blame you for the latter. 

“What’re you—how did you get in here?” you ask, eyes darting between James and the door in bafflement. 

Never mind that. “You weren’t at dinner,” James says, holding out his small stolen dish of chicken curry, “so I thought you might be hungry. Sorry, it’s barely warm now.” 

You take it from him suspiciously, careful of your wet nails, and James feels a stab of guilt at the sight of your bandaged hand. 

“I’m really sorry about yesterday,” he goes on, throat burning with shame. “I know I’ve already said it, but it was supposed to be harmless. I wasn’t careful enough.” 

You don’t look at him, not rejecting his apology but not quite accepting it either. “Pomphrey fixed it good as new anyways, so we can just say it never happened.”

James appreciates the attempt to ease his conscience, but your kindness only makes him feel that much more villainous. This would be so simple if you were one of those pureblood gits, or even just a bit ruder, but you’re you, and that’s so much worse. 

“Can I see it?” he asks softly, and you hesitate only a moment before scooting a bit closer and extending your hand to him, palm up. 

James unwraps the bandage with care, keeping one eye on your face to ensure he’s not hurting you, and so he notices the faint blush that colors your cheeks as he cradles your hand in his. The last layer of your dressing falls away, revealing three tiny white scars. Though they’re healed over, he hisses in sympathy, drawing your hand further towards him protectively but forgetting you’re attached to it. 

Your inhale is soft as you lean forward awkwardly, and James huffs a laugh at his enduring idiocy. “Sorry, love,” he says, letting you lean back. He doesn’t let go of your hand, though. “Were they deep?”

You give a one-shouldered shrug, as though it’s nothing to you. James worries you’re putting on a performance of exaggerated blasé for his benefit. “They bled a lot, but a charm sealed them up quickly enough.”

James nods, remembering with sickening clarity the blood that had pooled in your palm and dripped from between your fingers. 

“I’m glad,” James says, and it doesn’t feel like enough. Nothing feels like enough. But he can’t stop himself, even if it’s all inadequate. “I’m really sorry.” 

You sigh, and James knows enough about you to guess that being upset is exhausting you. It isn’t in your nature; you’re someone who always has a kind word for everyone, who he’s seen lend your quill to a student that forgot theirs and offer them an understanding smile when they broke it, who would rather spend all day avoiding James than let him feel the wrath of your grudge. 

Your very warranted grudge, by the way. 

It’s terrible luck that someone as sweet as you was on the receiving end of his mistake. But, as you’d pointed out, that was how the prank was designed, wasn’t it? Though James and Sirius hadn’t thought that part through at the time, the victim was always going to be whoever stepped forward to help. Normally it might not matter, but they’d gotten so caught up in the excitement of trying out their new toy that James had somehow gotten the spell wrong. And as a result, you’d been forced to pay a price for your kindness and his incompetence. 

“It’s okay,” you say.  

“It’s not,” James insists. “And I can’t fix it, but let me do something else. I can do your potions’ homework for the rest of the year, I can give you my dessert every night, I can…I can sneak into Hogsmeade and bring you whatever you want, anytime you ask, I can…what?”

You’re smiling at him, and it’s familiarly lovely but, James can’t help but think, entirely undeserved. 

“I don’t need any favors from you, James,” you say, and he realizes it’s the first time you’ve said his name. It’s not a long name, but somehow your voice gives it a cadence he quite likes. “Just be more careful, okay? I ended up fine, but next time someone might not.” 

“There won’t be a next time,” he promises swiftly, and means it. “But sweetheart—” if he notices how you soften at the endearment, he doesn’t mention it “—you’ve gotta let me make it up to you somehow.”

You sigh again, though it’s lighter this time, seemingly both exasperated and amused by his persistence. After a moment spent within your own head, you ask, “Could you help me study for the potions exam next week?”

“Yes!” James grins eagerly. “Of course. That’s a start. How’s tomorrow after class? I’ll bring study snacks as well, and we can make it a regular thing, if you like.” 

He’d like to make it a regular thing, debt or not. 

You smile. “Tomorrow is perfect. And can I call in another favor right now?”

If James weren’t sitting, he’d buckle at the knees in relief. “Yes. I’m at your service.”

“Can you tell me how you got into the Hufflepuff common room?”

“That,” he says smoothly, “is just one in my arsenal of skills now at your disposal.”

[mangomonk]

i thought that i was dreaming when you said you loved me

↳ summary: read this drabble first! goodie two shoes!remus, afraid of being perceived as other, stumbles into a relationship at the expense of y/n. ↳ content: angst, one-sided fake dating ↳ a/n: a little nervous because this is my first time writing for remus pls be gentle w me! for full enjoyment, listen to ivy by frank ocean (i looped it the entire time i wrote this). the more i wrote this, the more i realized i could turn this into a full blown million word fic, but i tried to keep it as condensed as possible, hence some time skips/summarization. pt. 2 here!

When Remus Lupin confesses — no, announces — that he likes her in the middle of the Great Hall, she thinks she's dreaming. Surely, she didn't hear that correctly. Only hours earlier, she had witnessed the doe-eyed boy unleash a slew of curses beneath his breath. I guess everyone has bad days, she had thought. Even Remus, who she had always pegged as straight-laced and well-mannered.

So when a half a dozen heads turn to stare at her directly, Y/N turns to see if there's anyone behind her. When she sees no one, she turns back forward. It's when Remus Lupin's soft, brown gaze meets hers that her heart stutters dangerously in her chest. She can't help it despite the bewilderment she feels — everyone in the castle has to have some sort of crush on the fluffy-haired boy. He's all soft, disarming smiles and beautiful, brown eyes and knitted jumpers and gentle laughter and—

—and Y/N goes red in the face right away. It doesn't help when Remus tilts his head to the side slightly and offers a small, uncertain smile. Merlin, help me, Y/N thinks as she stares back, wide-eyed, her confusion and any thoughts briefly neutralized at the way his eyes crinkle into little half-moons.

— — — — —

Y/N has always prided herself on being a sharp judge of character. It soon became clear to her, however, that Remus Lupin was a strange, but intriguing case of contradicting character.

Following his confession — rather, announcement — in the Great Hall, she becomes overly conscious of the tall boy. It feels as though she's suddenly very aware that they have most of their classes together, that he sits only a seat away from her in Charms, that he has chicken scratch for handwriting when she passes him in the library. The latter comes as a surprise — perhaps unfairly, she would have pegged him as a swooping cursive type of boy. In any case, it soon becomes the case that Y/N realizes that she can find Remus easily in a room of crowded students, and the more she does, the more she begins to realize that Remus is a boy full of surprises.

This doesn't seem to matter though, because strangely, after his confession in the Great Hall, Remus does not once approach her. Occasionally, she catches him glancing at her with an odd expression, but outside of an increase in being stared at by the other students, little changes in her life.

It isn't until a week later when her seat partner in Charms is out that their paths cross again. When she trudges to her seat in class, she becomes very quickly aware that they're separated only by an empty chair. She doesn't look away fast enough because Remus looks up as she pulls her chair out, his gaze snagging on to hers with an intensity that she doesn't expect from the softness of his eyes.

"Good morning," he says slowly, almost uncertainly. Up close, Y/N can see a splay of pale freckles across his cheekbones. His lashes are unfairly, distractingly long as he gazes up at her.

"Hi," Y/N says, equally uncertain, though she tries to keep her voice light and casual. No one's ever really had a crush on her before, and she finds herself floundering on how to act. Shouldn't he be the nervous one, and not her? Somehow though, she can feel her palms begin to sweat, though Remus doesn't look nervous at all. Just sharp and assessing. Fortunately though, before the air between them can turn any awkwarder, a mussed-haired head pops up from around Remus.

"Y/N, right?" James Potter asks with a wide grin. His glasses are skewed and crooked on his face as he peers around Remus at her rather owlishly.

Next to him, Remus blinks a few times as she nods, opening her mouth to speak when Professor Flitwick clears his throat to begin class.

She tries to focus on taking notes, but it's difficult when she can see Remus casting her sidelong glances from her peripheral view. She gives up on trying to focus on class entirely when a folded piece of parchment flits over the gap between them with a familiar chicken scratch.

Can we talk after class?

After class, Y/N has a ridiculous, irrational flash of self-consciousness that the humidity has made her hair begin to frizz. Remus doesn't seem to notice as she rakes a hand quickly through her hair because a nervous, almost agitated, energy is rolling off of him as he paces in the courtyard.

When he catches sight of her, he stops, a warm smile breaking across his face, though Y/N feels that it doesn't quite reach his eyes. But the new knowledge that Remus has a dimple on his left cheek and his smile is just slightly crooked is enough to disarm any wariness. Unexpectedly his nervous energy seems to dissipate immediately. "Hi," he says, "You came."

"I got your note," Y/N says, inwardly grimacing — of course he knew that already, he had been sitting next to her.

"Right, well, I, er—" Remus begins choppily, his hand rising to rub at the nape of his neck. "I was wondering about... Earlier, last week, when you saw me... Did you say anything to anyone?"

Y/N blinks at him once, then twice, blankly. "Earlier?" She questions, before the heat begins to rise to her face. He must have been referring to his confession. "I haven't said anything to anyone."

Remus's brows furrow for a moment before his face relaxes. He's surprisingly difficult to read — it feels as though any trickle of emotion is covered with a disarming soft smile. "I see," he says after a moment, his shoulders relaxing. "Right, well, Y/N," he begins, looking around them distractedly. "—shall we date?" Y/N straightens with a jolt as he continues. "I won't be offended if you say no. In fact, I'd understand if you said no, we've barely—"

She doesn't know what it is exactly. Maybe it was the curious thought that Remus might not be the charming prince he seemed to be. Maybe it was the dimple in his left cheek. Maybe it was the way he said her name. But something in Y/N slipped through her confusion and the unceremonious nature of the whole thing, because she finds herself speaking before she can stop herself. "Yeah. Let's date."

Remus's face goes slack. He looks a little startled, Y/N thinks, like she's clubbed him over the head. "Are you sure?" He blurts, eyes widening a fraction. It's perhaps the most emotion she's seen him show so far. Y/N writes it off as nerves and incredulity.

She nods once, firmly.

"I guess that's settled," he says weakly with furrowed brows, though he looked neither pleased nor displeased.

— — — — —

Initially, Y/N and Remus are as awkward as can be. She's not sure if it's because neither of them have really ever been in a relationship before, but it feels clumsy in the beginning.

Their dates start off mostly as study dates in the library, but Y/N doesn't mind — to her pleasure, she finds that they eerily work well together and she likes the calm peace of Remus's presence while she's studying. She likes to think that he also finds comfort in her presence because it's become ritual for him to ask her about the book she's reading, and vice versa. In a few weeks, they start reading the same books. Maybe it's because they spend so much time together studying that it becomes gradually more comfortable.

When they go to Hogsmeade for the first time together, Y/N finds that they end up walking around the village and chatting nearly until curfew. She tells him about what it's like growing up with three brothers — "It doesn't seem very different from the Marauders," Remus observes with a wry laugh — and he tells her stories of how despite moving around periodically during his child, his mother always found a little corner in the yard to start an herb garden.

He does all the things she'd imagine a boyfriend might — Remus is a gentleman, expectedly. He holds the door open for her, gives her his jumper when there was a draft in the library, walks her back to the Common Room at night.

But, unexpectedly, it isn't Remus's soft smiles or considerate aura that Y/N finds herself straining to see. But it was when he threw his head back and laughed himself breathless at James holding his wand on the wrong end that Y/N found it impossible to tear her eyes away from him. Or when he shot her a dour look the first time she teased him on his illegible chicken scratch. Or when Remus cursed like a sailor when he knocked his ink pot over onto his parchment because he was always so uncoordinated and graceless.

It was perhaps impossible not to fall in love with Remus Lupin. Though maybe she already knew this from the start when he first looked at her, and even more so the first time he said her name.

She liked the way he would groan and complain and grumble as he stretched out his lithe limbs in preparation of helping Peter with his essay that he had procrastinated on, even after she could see the exhaustion begin to pool under his pretty eyes. She liked that he could silence the boys with just one baleful look. She liked the way he fell asleep on his books when he thought no one was looking. She liked his dry remarks and his wolfish grin and his grumpy mood. She liked all the rough edges that Remus showed her when he would forget to put up a soft smile.

It was too easy to love Remus Lupin, though it seemed like he didn't know that himself.

It only takes four full moons for Y/N to understand what the Marauders meant whenever they quietly referred to Remus's furry little problem. In the first place, they weren't always discreet — it was easy for them to forget she was there when she was studying in the background. In the second place, Remus would apologetically cancel their studying plans around the same time each month, and he would disappear for a few days and come back exhausted with fresh scars. It wasn't difficult to put two and two together, really.

But while she understood why he didn't tell her, she couldn't help but give him a tighter hug when she realized.

"Something wrong, love?" He had asked, reaching up to caress the back of her hair as she squeezed his abdomen.

"No," she had mumbled into his shirt, breathing in his familiar scent. She could feel affection swell inside her so violently she felt a little dizzy as she gave him another squeeze. "Just wish I could always be hugging you."

"No one's stopping you," Remus had responded dryly. She smiled into his chest as he rested his chin on the crown of her head. "Certainly not me."

— — — — —

When Y/N tries to discreetly deliver a small care package of chocolate and books a few nights before the next full moon, she accidentally overhears Peter ask James when Remus was ending his fake relationship.

"I doubt it'll raise any suspicions now that no one's pestering him about not having a girlfriend," she hears Peter say.

James makes a noncommittal sort of noise. "You know how Remus is about these things. He's always on edge that someone will think he's the odd one out—"

She feels like the ground beneath her has stuttered and shifted into an open chasm as her mind whirls to make sense of their conversation. For a moment, she thinks she's wrong, but like it was with Remus's furry little problem, if she thinks back on the stranger moments of the past four months, it's not difficult to piece it together. She begins to feel a little ill.

How many times did he force himself to smile at her stories? How many times after walking her back to the Common Room at night did he sigh with relief when she left? How many times did he wait for other students to be around to hold her hand? All the heart-fluttering moments she had thought had been magical and wonderful and incredible with Remus had been entirely one-sided. How humiliating. She feels used and dirty and pathetic, but the worse thing is that she can't feel angry.

She doesn't know how long she stands paralyzed outside, just that it's difficult to breathe or think properly. All she can feel is a numbing ache in her chest, and the feeling tightens when she hears a familiar voice behind her.

"Hmm?" Remus hums, a smile breaking across his face. The dimple in his left cheek appears briefly. "What are you doing here, love?" When she doesn't respond, he steps closer to her and peers at her face carefully, his big, brown eyes soft. "What's wrong?" He asks, gently looping his arms around her waist. Y/N goes perfectly still under his touch. "I knew you'd be studying for the Ancient Runes exam all day, so got some cakes from the kitchen for—"

"Remus," she interrupts suddenly, her throat gone cottony and dry as she raises her gaze to finally look at him. It sends a sharp pang through her chest again. "Are we ever going to kiss?"

Bizarrely, scarlet splotches appear swiftly on the high points of Remus's cheek as his eyes widen a fraction. "Kiss," he repeats, sounding strangled as he stares at her wide-eyed, looking as though she had clubbed him over the head. "You want to kiss?" He asks after a moment, his voice hoarse as his eyes flicker down to her lips.

"Do you want to kiss me?" She asks quietly, watching his throat bob as he swallows thickly.

"I've wanted to since—" Remus says softly, a little nonsensically, his eyes darting back down to her lips. His pupils are blown wide and dark as he swallows, his throat bobbing. “Y/N,” he murmurs, and she can feel his breath brush against her nose. She tries to control the thumping in her chest as he slowly leans in and raises his hand to cup her face. Remus looks down at her with a sweet adoration she knows cannot be real. She's seen this sort of soft look from him countless times before and now she knows better than anyone that it's just another cover. Perhaps it was perfectly clear since the start, but she had let herself get swept away with naive hope. The start of nothing. She feels like a fool.

Remus's head ducks slightly as the space between them closes. Y/N goes perfectly still as she watches his other hand rise, his fingers trembling a little as they reach to curve around her jaw.

For a moment, she entertains the thought and wonders what would happen if she just closes her eyes. She could close her eyes, could lean in and feel his eyelashes brush her cheek, could let him kiss her senseless. It would be so easy. It scares her a little how much she wants that.

Before she can betray herself, Y/N closes her hand around his wrist. “You can stop now,” she says, her voice low and steadier than she felt.

Remus freezes, his dazed expression crumpling in confusion. She takes a steadying breath, swallowing back the bile in her throat as she schools her expression with difficulty. Y/N places his wrist back down away from her face and lets go as she continues, despite the dull ache in her chest. “I wanted to know how far you would go,” she continues quietly. “How far you thought I would be willing to go.”

“I don’t understand—” Remus begins, a myriad of stricken dismay, alarm, and something else flickering across his face. For a moment, she thinks it’s the residue of desire, but she quickly remembers how good of an actor Remus is, and doesn’t let herself entertain that thought that it’s anything else besides panic for being caught.

"I know you're just using me," Y/N says, her throat dry. Her voice, to her mortification, cracks and comes out as a croak. Any sense of anger deflates immediately and all she can feel is this crumbling sense of defeat. “I should have known that something was strange when you suddenly confessed. We had never even really talked before that. I mean, I thought that I was dreaming when you said you liked me—"

“No, it's because—”

"I know why you did it," she whispers. Remus freezes, the color draining from his face. "The worse part of all this is that I can't find it in myself to hate you for using me. But I had just thought that you didn’t think so little of me as to…” She doesn’t finish as she stares down at the space between them, swallowing thickly. She feels ill. The last sentence had come out before she realized it. So that was what it was — disappointment.

"Did you even know my name before James said it?" She asks with a bark of a forced laugh as she straightens, setting her shoulders now though she still has a difficult time looking directly at him.

Remus swallows thickly as he steps forward. His pause is enough of an answer. "Let me explain,” he begins quickly, his words tumbling out in a frantic mess. “Y/N, wait,” he starts, reaching out.

“Don’t touch me, Lupin,” she says dejectedly, stepping away from him. Remus flinches and freezes, his expression falling, but she can't bring herself to look at him in the eye anymore. Y/N stares at the worn patch of carpet by her shoe as she swallows thickly before turning to leave. "You can tell everyone that you broke up with me if it helps you."

— — — — —

a/n: thx for reading! pt. 2 here my masterlist here

[emlovessid]

@jegulus-microfic september 27, courtship, 128 words

Laying in bed, Sirius is trying to wrap his head around the fact that his best friend and his little brother are on a date right now. 

Naturally, he’d given them a lot of shit about it when he found out about their courtship or whatever James was calling it. Not that he’s against it, not at all; he actually thinks they’re kind of perfect for each other.

Remus is snoring lightly next to him when he hears a quiet knock on their bedroom door, before it opens a crack.

“Sirius, you awake?” James whispers.

“Yeah?”

James’ head pokes through the door then and Sirius doesn’t need to ask how their date was; the stupid grin on his face is enough.

“I’m going to marry your brother someday.”

[yallthemwitches]

The Sound of Silence

Minerva always had a soft spot for Potter. Maybe that's why when it was time to choose a Head Boy alongside Lily Evans, he was was clearly the only option--- A series of vignettes of James and Lily's seventh year through McGonagall's POV.

AN: Posting this one a day early because I won't have time tomorrow (sorry) Written for Jily Week 2024, Day 5: Matchmaker (hosted by @kay-elle-cee and @sunshinemarauder)...Fully dedicate this one to the many teacher meetings I've sat through where we all devolve into gossiping about students. AO3 Link Here

I.

They sat around a circular table which always reminded Minerva of a story she heard as a child. Her colleagues had shuffled in slowly, still rosy with summer and the ever rejuvenating feeling of silence after a school years worth of endless noise. 

Filius sat next to her, pulling out a pipe and stoking it with a flame emitted from his short stubby finger. He sighed and a puff of smoke wafted into the middle of the table. 

“Here we are again—” he said to no one in particular. Minerva just clasped her hands on the table and waited for the final stragglers to trickle in.

Albus sat on the other side of the sphere and regarded his staff with half-amusement. Many of them had been long friends—giving centuries of their lives to the school. How many powerful witches and wizards had they watched slip out of these doors with their collective spirit within them? If the thought wasn’t so saccharine, Minerva would have perhaps felt a little proud. 

Albus cleared his throat and the staff settled. At this point they needed no commencement speech on why they all were called from their little parts of the castle to assemble, nor did they want one. The golden rule was short meetings were the best ones.

Horace spoke first. He always did. 

“Obviously I think there’s no arguing that Lily Evans should be the first pick.”

There was a rumble of agreement. Even Filius made a reluctant nod. He never willingly wanted to agree with Horace on much of anything.

“That’s a fine choice Horace, but are you not worried about the matter of her blood status? I’m sure you are not ignorant of the current news and I can imagine your house is quite…vocal about these happenings.”

McGonagall heard a snort from Filius which was hard to miss seeing as it bounced his whole body slightly off his chair. 

“Oh, Albus, must we always make these things so political,” Horace whined, “Evans is a brilliant witch…the best of her year—I’m sure we can—we can—” He teetered off, not knowing how to finish. It wasn’t a secret that despite his affinity for the muggleborn, his house was not so keen to accept her. They all would be idiots to disregard the dangers of putting someone of her status in charge in the current climate. 

But Albus didn’t press further. It was never his nature. “Then it’s settled. Lily Evans is Head Girl.” There was another mumbled agreement. Horace’s face was pink and slightly sweaty, but he nodded all the same.

“So onwards to—” 

There was a shuffle of teachers. Sybill spoke first:

“Oh, Oh! I choose the Delile boy. His tea leaves have always shown potential.” A couple seats down, Pomona snorted. 

“Colin Delile? That boy tried to eat a handful of nightshade thinking it was mint last year—”

“Well, I vote for Ambroise Cunningham: smart, good quidditch player (“mediocre quidditch player,” Minerva thought) and has a good head on his shoulders!” Interjected Rolanda.

There were some nods in agreement but Filius started to tut. 

“Are you all forgetting that Cunningham and Evans dated two years ago? They’ll kill each other!”

“Oh, I would hardly call that dating,” Horace scoffed.

“They certainly looked like they were dating when I found them in the charms broom closet that October!” Filius shot back. 

He had a point. She wouldn’t call Filius her friend per se but she had a fond appreciation for him being insightful when it came to the students’ lives. He was very discreet, perhaps with the help of his size, but he always was up to date on each of their lives. 

Minerva mulled a thought around for a minute while drowning out the verbal quidditch that was occurring for the rest of the staff. It was a gamble, certainly. But she had never been the one to shy away from a challenge. 

Raising her voice above the riffraff she called out, “I say James Potter should be Head Boy.”

The room went silent. Around the table, every set of eyes peered at her with mixtures of shock.

Chaos erupted. 

“Potter can’t keep himself out of detention to save his life,” screamed Aurora.

“That and his little group were growing muggle drugs in the west greenhouses!” Pomona chimed in. 

Albus didn’t even try to get order. He just continued to stare at her with an expression that twinkled beyond the room.

Minerva huffed. “Well, can any of you deny that he is brilliant?” Everyone paused. A wave of indecision rushed through the group. 

“And we know he’s a good leader. The Gryffindor team has won every year since he became captain.” Horace grumbled something under his breath but she ignored it. 

“---And, we are going to need someone who is willing to help, Hecate forbid, if there is an attack of some sort due to all this Dark Lord bunk. He might be scrappy and a fool sometimes, but he’d be able to hold his ground for the others.”

There was a hesitant noise of agreement around the table. People shifted in their seats, not able to find fault in her logic but also not enjoying its outcome. 

“And what about Evans then?” Horace had his arms crossed against his chest. “Potter has been tormenting the poor girl for years. They would be rubbish, absolute rubbish—”

“Ah, shut it Horace,” Filius scoffed, “We all know those two have been clouding up this school with sexual tension for a better half of a year now.” More nods all around. 

Minerva had hoped that no one would make the romance argument, but it couldn’t be helped. Potter and Evans had been making all of their lives unbearable, with their oblivious pining and rowing. It was like watching an ouroboros eat itself the way the two provoked each other. There was a small part of her that even hoped that matching the two together would end their purgatory. 

“Ah, the ancient magic of young love,” Albus mused to himself, stroking his beard. “I won’t deny that I like the idea. Are there…any others who seriously denounce the decision to make Potter Head Boy?”

Horace made a few grumbles, but ultimately kept quiet. He knew once Albus made a decision, he wasn’t easy to sway. 

“Then it’s settled, Lily Evans and James Potter.”

“Hecate help us,” Pomona mumbled under her breath. 

II. 

She watched as they shifted next to each other uncomfortably. Both of them dawned golden badges with encrusted initials on them that looked too heavy to be pinned to their robes. She had honestly expected more hiccups on the first day back, but something had already seemed to have shifted between them. Evans actually smiled when Potter offered her some dessert, took it from him and blushed when their hands grazed. She said something and James let out a laugh that made her smile as well. 

“Now, that’s interesting.” Filius whistled, sitting next to her at the great banquet. “Maybe your little matchmaking stunt was unneeded.” He side-eyed her and she didn’t entertain his amusement.

She looked back at the young couple. Potter had begun to explain something with extreme animation. He waved his hands around and Lily actually laughed at his antics. When he finally finished whatever he was saying, his hand rested on the bench between them and Minerva swore she saw Evans place hers on top of his.

“Oh Merlin, what have I done.”

III. 

“I think we have Miss Evans to thank for his rehabilitation. That girl can do anything,” Horace chortled at lunch a week later. 

“What are you talking about? He blew up the Slytherin bathroom just yesterday.”

“Well—he would have done it six more times already if it wasn’t for her influence!”

No one could argue that there was a great change between the two Heads. Horace wasn’t wrong, Potter was being better behaved this year and in turn Evans had started to cozy up to him more and more. Even at that moment, they entered the great hall together. Potter had both of their bags slung over his shoulder and his eyes were glued to her. As they sat, Evans pulled his glasses off in a fuss, cast a cleaning charm on them, then put them back on his face. Her hand lingered to push some of his unruly hair away and he made a dopey swooning smile. 

“It's like watching a dead body be reanimated,” Filius nodded towards the two. 

“You’re being dramatic.” 

“Don’t act like you aren’t seeing this. At this rate they’ll be married by graduation.”

She looked over again. They were sitting so close that their shoulders were touching. Black was engaging them in conversation with a lively reenactment of some muggle movie they had watched, but the couple seemed to be hardly listening. Slowly, like attempting to touch fire, Evans leaned her head onto James shoulder—slightly hovering it in indecision for a moment before putting her weight fully on his. Potter perked up, then dared to place an arm around her waist.

Filius let out a low whistle. Horace moaned.

“I was really hoping she would get with one of the Black boys..” Horace mumbled, “ blood purity aside, I do think they would be better suited…”

But he got cut off by Pomona who came half sprinting down the table. 

“Are you seeing this?? Potter! Evans!” 

VI. 

Christmas break was already upon them, which meant all of the professors were stretched too thin to think. Heads of house always had the worst of it. On one hand that meant she didn’t have to see Horace chortling around the castle half as much, but on the other she now had the Gryffindor house and the two Head students to preside over. As she walked, she mumbled to herself about how she would never offer up a Gryffindor into the Head position again. 

She mounted the stone steps towards the Heads’ office, trying to balance all the rolled parchments in her arms. Entering the small elaborate passage, she could see the light of the office was on. 

As she approached the image of them became more clear. Potter was elongated over the couch with his feet dangling lazily over the edge of the armrest. Evans laid between his splayed legs and over his torso. Using her forearms, she propped up on his chest and seemed to be drawing small circles into his shirt. Potter fiddled with her hair, twisting it through his fingers as though it was a snitch evading being caught. 

They spoke in low tones so she could hardly make out what they were saying. Potter said something to make her laugh tinkle into the cavernous room before tugging lightly on her to become eye level. Minerva watched with a sinking feeling as her two Head students locked lips, and proceeded to not break away from each other for a long time. 

She stood there in the passage, feeling a bit sorry for herself for being in this position: busy, overworked, trying to teach a class while helping Albus get a counterforce together...and now apparently being too sheepish to tell her Head Students to stop snogging long enough to take some of the work off her hands. 

With a little shriek from Evans, Potter flipped them over so he was now hovering over her while a hand disappeared somewhere Minerva did not want to guess. Admitting a sort of defeat, she spun on her heel and left the way she came. 

V.

The morning of the last day of school started like all of the other 200 times she’d done it. She woke up, made herself some tea, shifted into her cat form and curled around her bedroom window. 

A knock rattled the door. She lifted her head and hoped that whoever was bothering her would take the hint. Another set of knocks, and distinctly not Albus’ typical rap. She did a cat’s equivalent of a sigh and changed herself human again. 

She opened the door to find Potter looking out of breath and somewhat sheepish. Not a good start. 

“Good morning Minnie,” he beamed at her. 

“Mr. Potter, can I help you? It’s 6am…”

Potter ran a hand through his hair. On a glance over he looked suspiciously put together for the time of day. 

“Er, yes actually. I’m hoping I banked enough goodwill with you to ask for a favor?” Even he sounded unsure of himself. She didn’t know what it was about him, but he always knew how to hit her soft spot. 

“I don’t know about this goodwill, but I’m listening.”

He let out a relieved huff then suddenly became very animated. “Brilliant—ok. I can’t really tell you right now, because it's kind of a secret, but I would really really love it— and be forever grateful to you— if you kept students away from the lake this afternoon.”

Minerva blinked at him. There was no bone in his body that was not being sincere, she could see that, but how often had he looked the same when he wanted to do one of his little stunts. 

Seeing her pursed lips, he continued. “I swear. I solemnly swear it's not a prank. Just please.”

“Ok.” 

“Wait, what?” he blinked at her like she had grown two heads.

“Don't make me regret this decision Potter.”

“I won’t— would never. Ah, Thank you Minnie! You’re a doll!” He turned and bounded down the stairs.

XXX

It turned out to be quite difficult to keep students away from the lake, but she managed. The clock was ringing 3pm and she was starting to wonder how long she was supposed to keep things up when she spotted them. Potter and Evans were walking hand in hand. They both hadn’t changed into their regular clothes yet and Evans was talking softly. Potter looked like he wasn’t hearing a word of it. Honestly, he looked wrecked. Whatever was on his mind was clearly eating him alive—not at all the same collected boy that had knocked on her door that morning. 

The lakeside was cleared as promised and they walked beside it before stopping and looking out at the mountains far away. It struck Minerva this would be the last time she would see these two in this setting. The next time they would meet they would be equals, fighting what now felt like an impossible war. She savored the moment of seeing two people in love, unaffected for perhaps the final time by death and sadness. 

Potter turned to Evans looking like he was about to combust. Evans must have noticed because her brow furrowed and she placed a hand on his chest, which he immediately grabbed and held in both hands. Very shaky, he lowered himself onto one knee. 

She waited for noise. For some sort of big show that Potter and his mates set up for the occasion, for students to come bursting at the seams of the castle to ruin the moment, for even just the sound of a yes.

Instead, there was silence. A blissful, pure silence. She must have blinked and missed it because Potter’s arms were wrapped around her now, lifting her off the ground. Tears poured from both of their eyes as they in turn tried to wipe the other's face—opting finally for kissing each tear off each other’s cheeks. There was no noise—just sweet relief. 

For a split second, the two reverted back into their eleventh year selves. Small, unsure, and holding onto each other tightly against the weight of a world still unknown to them. It was the first time in a long time she wanted to cradle something in her arms. To tell them it was going to be alright; to keep them whole.

[izharmilgram]

draw me after you by @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger, chapter 16.

"He's sipping at his tea, hair mussed, eyes tired. Perched on the back of his chair, a snowy owl sits, nipping at the messy strands curling around Harry's ear."

[marlsswrites]

Coffee and skates

Ice skating AU, part one!!

July 1st - words: 518

Figure skating was most definitely the highlight of Regulus' day, he can't imagine who he would be without it. He went to a prestigious art university in London, and survived mostly from the money that he was able to take from his parents before he moved in with his best friends for his university accommodation - but figure skating was the only thing that really felt like it belonged to him.

He's been doing it since he could walk, start his day with an early morning brain that perfectly cleared his mind of any negative thought, for a few hours, it was just him and the smooth, gliding, sharply cold ice underneath his feet. He's ever so grateful that his university offers a figure skating extra curricular.

One of the things he loved most about his skating, was his coach. Euphemia Potter. She was the kindest woman Regulus had ever met, so rough and brave, yet soft and caring. She's the closest to a mother that he's ever had, it is a low bar, considering the state of his last one.

She understood when Regulus jumped away at any touch, or when he was startled about how motherly she was with him, it wasn't something he was used to. 

He can be quite quiet with anyone he doesn't know very well, for the first year of knowing her - Regulus hardly spoke. But now Regulus knows that she has a husband, Monty, or Flea sometimes, he's not entirely sure what that mans actual name was.

She also has a son, only a year or so older than Regulus, James Potter, described by Effie as 'the joy that keeps this world alive.' He seemed alright, Regulus didn't know much about the man, nor had he met him. All he did know was that James and Regulus' brother, Sirius, were actually quite close friends from uni - though he doesn't see his brother too much any more, he's been rather busy.

"One, two, one, two..." He heard Effie shout along in tune with the song as his skates sliced through the ice in graceful patterns. "Amazing!" She praised as he halted into his finishing position, she was helping Regulus prepare for his competition which takes place in a few months, for once he finally feels good enough. "Just perfect." As Regulus skated over to the rinks exit and smiled at her.

"I'm glad." He pushed away the smile he was hiding at her words.

"You're allowed to smile Regulus." She sighed, still a fond smile on her face. "I've got to shoot, I'm meeting James for coffee."

He nodded, sitting down next to her and unlacing his skates with quick, painted black fingers. "Have fun, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes yes, of course." She offered. She wasn't young, Regulus had never asked her age, but she had to be in her sixties, but he was the best coach he'd had in all his years of skating. "You'll have to meet him soon, you two would get along."

"Would we?" He questioned as the older woman hummed in response, an unreadable yet smug smile present on her face. "We'll see."

Next part

-

a/n: I want to clarify that Sirius lives with James in uni accommodation, and he never ran away to the Potters, he went to Andromeda who helped him join uni, then that's when he and James met. They're in their third year, Reg in his second. :)

[starchasing-chocolate]

Do You Love Him?

“Sirius, wait.” Regulus trails after his brother, taking tentative steps towards him as Sirius abruptly stops in his tracks. “Are you mad?”

Sirius’ whole body stills, the slight rise and fall of his shoulders are the only indication he’s still breathing.

Regulus tenses at the sight.

Eventually, Sirius blows out a harsh breath and leans against the corridor walls, his head falling slack against the brick. His gaze falls upon the ceiling, as if only Merlin himself can answer the looming question he’s surely about to ask. “Do you love him?”

Regulus muscles lock up, not prepared in the slightest for the bluntness of the question, although he shouldn’t be surprised. He shuffles slowly over to his brother, giving himself some time to think of a response, before he settles against the wall only inches away from Sirius. “We’ve been together for almost a year.” Regulus murmurs weakly.

“That’s not what I asked.” Sirius huffs. Regulus can hear what he assumes to be the rapid tapping of Sirius’ fingers against the wall, but he doesn’t dare to turn his head to confirm. He settles his gaze upon the ground instead. “Do you love him?” Sirius repeats. “Do you love James?”

“I…” Regulus swallows past the lump in his throat. “I do.”

Sirius is quiet for a moment, but only just. “And he makes you happy?”

”More than anything.” Regulus answers with more conviction. He finds the courage to look over at his brother, not shocked in the slightest when Sirius does the same.

As their eyes meet, it’s obvious Sirius is searching for something within Regulus. A sign of emotion, an expression of truth, Regulus isn’t sure. But as Sirius lets out a relieved sigh and leans his head onto Regulus’ shoulder, tension practically seeping out of his body, Regulus assumes he found whatever he was looking for.

“If you’re happy, Reggie, how could I be upset?”

[ecstarry]

@jegulus-microfic / football / 768 words / @bellaxisworld i love you

--- here's a little kiss cam brainrot <3

"But I hate football, you know this," Regulus reiterated to a very persistent Remus over the phone.

“I know, but Sirius can’t make it and he doesn’t want the tickets to go to waste. It’s just one game,” Remus remarked with a hint of something that Regulus couldn’t quite place. 

That’s how he ended up at a Saturday sports match, hoping the players were hot; at least he would be entertained that way. He approached his seats and yelled Remus’ name, but someone else turned around: James.

“Reg? Why are you here? I thought I was meeting Siriu-” Regulus interrupted him, only a Potter could manage to insult him as he was greeting him.

“Nice to see you too James, well I thought I was meeting Remus. So you were also not who I expected to see.”

Before James could give a proper response, they both got a notification on their phone. Regulus looked at his screen to read Remus' quick text: Sorry, can’t make it. Have fun.

“I’m going to kill him,” Regulus mumbled. 

“Sirius just canceled on me. I’m guessing you got stood up too?” James asked kindly, but only received a mean glance in response.

In silence, they took their seats. Regulus was beyond pissed. How could Remus do this to him? He thought for a second that they might’ve been set up, but he thought this ruse was a bit dramatic even for Sirius’ standards.

“Do you like football?” James asked, breaking the silence.

“Detest it,” Regulus replied tersely, still too upset to entertain James’ attempt at conversation. When his brother’s best friend asked if he wanted anything to drink, he simply declined in a polite and quick manner.

But when James returned with his favorite treats and a wide smile to his seat, he couldn’t remember what he was upset about. Regulus felt a discreet blush work its way towards his cheeks as James handed him his favorite candy.

“Sirius mentioned you liked this, so I figured that if you were stuck with me and in a place you don’t want to be, you might as well get a sweet treat, no?” James said casually, as if remembering someone’s favorite candy was nothing.

To Regulus, it was such a significant gesture, but he couldn’t help but feel a little pathetic by how such a simple token could make him feel so warm. If he was honest, maybe it had more to do with who was giving him that attention than the piece of candy itself, but that was not the time to process that.

The game continued, and to Regulus's surprise, he found himself having more fun than he had expected. While Remus would have been good company, James was captivating in his own way. Despite not being a fan of football, Regulus made an effort to stay informed about the current games. A fact that he deliberately kept from James as the other man’s eyes lit up explaining everything. He never expected to be so absorbed in James’ words or thoughts or lips or eyes or arms or smile...

 Oh god, when did James Potter become so attractive?

“Regulus?” His name coming out James’ lips took him out his trace.

“Yes?”

"Kiss cam," James said, pointing at the screen in front of them. There they were, the two of them, with a crowd surrounding them, chanting for them to just kiss. Regulus felt as if seconds extended into hours as James's hand gently cupped his chin, his eyes silently asking for permission. An inaudible yes left Regulus's lips as the distance between them evaporated.

His hand instinctively reached for James' shirt, pulling him closer as if their lips touching was still too far a distance to bridge. He allowed himself this moment, the touch of an angel on a broken man. Every crevice of doubt within him was filled with warmth as James kept asking for more with his tongue. James parted slightly, and the absence of his lips made Regulus remember himself. Embarrassed, he started to pull away, but James held him tightly, his hands not leaving Regulus' face.

Regulus bravely opened his eyes to face the regret that was sure to be all over James’ face, but instead he found something else— something sweet and soft, something only honey eyes like James’ could convey. He was still light-headed from James’ touch, he couldn’t make sense of just how long he had been given access to heaven. 

But the reality remained: he had just kissed James Potter, who seemed just as delighted to have kissed Regulus Black.

Maybe football wasn’t that bad.

more microfics here

[lulublack90]

Prompt 9 - Forget

@wolfstarmicrofic June 9, word count 533

Previous part First part

He didn’t even know why he’d picked up the box from the sand as he walked away from Remus. He didn’t know why he kept holding Remus’s hand either. Or why his body had reacted the way it did when Remus had licked that damn chocolate off his fingers. 

The water had been cooling, refreshing. The second he plunged beneath the surface his mind had gone blank, and he hadn’t wanted to come back up.

When his lungs were screaming at him, he looked up at the shimmering water above and kicked up. The oxygen that poured into his burning lungs was literally a breath of fresh air. But when he caught sight of the yearning, open-mouthed look on Remus’s face, he nearly sunk down again. Thank the gods for Minnie McGonagall. Her piercing commands stopped all other thoughts as he followed her instructions. 

“Sorry, Minnie. Won’t happen again.” He’d given her his best smile. 

“Mr Black, you are skating on very thin ice,” He’d gulped as she walked away. He did not want to push her too far. Then James had basically called him a manatee. Rude! And now here he was walking across the campsite with a treasure box full of chocolate coins and no idea why. 

He was lying on his bed looking up at the ceiling, trying to forget what a crazy person he’d been, when there was a quiet knock at the door. 

“Yeah?” He called, not bothering to get up. Remus cautiously walked through the door. 

“Hi,” Remus said quietly, looking extremely nervous. “I just—I just wanted to apologise,” Remus said, looking at the floorboards. Sirius was confused. 

“You didn’t do anything. Remus, it’s all on me. I overreacted. Ask James, it’s a known issue with me. The phrase drama queen has been thrown around a lot in my life. And this isn’t about your scar, just so you know,” Sirius tried to explain why he’d thought the only thing he could do at that moment was sink to the bottom of a lake.

“Scars,” Remus murmured. 

“Sorry?” Sirius was confused. 

“Scars, plural. I er, I have a lot. Of scars,” Remus’s face was bright red. 

“Oh,” It was a highly inadequate response, but he had no idea what to say. ‘Oh, me too.’ No, maybe. 

He let his head drop back onto his pillow as he drowned in his inner turmoil. “I’ve got scars too,” He admitted to the ceiling. If Remus could do it, so could he. 

“Oh,” Remus said. Sirius raised his eyebrows at him and they both burst into laughter. 

“Get over here, weirdo.” Sirius moved over on his bed, making room. Remus only hesitated for a second before he gingerly perched on the edge of the bed. “Properly.” Sirius barked out a laugh as he reached up to pull Remus down. He caught him by surprise and Remus ended up falling on top of him. Remus's quick reactions were the only things that stopped Sirius from getting squashed by the taller boy. He landed with his hands on either side of Sirius’s head. Sirius felt his heart skip a beat. He swallowed loudly, unable to stop looking into Remus’s honey-coloured eyes. 

Next part

[merlinsbbookshelf]

Fic Rec: Head Over Handlebars

A modern Muggle-Jily fic by @practicecourts

The very fortunate James Potter fears his luck has run out when he has an accident in Amsterdam. The less-than-fortunate Lily Evans falls head over feet for the stranger she fished out of the canal. Or Once upon a time, Lily Evans finds herself alone in the streets of Amsterdam. James Potter is in Amsterdam to ride a bike. Of course, they meet. It ain't pretty. Geese are angry. This is the story of what happens before they live happily ever after.

Completed Words: 137k Chapters: 33 Rating: Mature

AO3

[missmoonfrost]

James' realisation - a wolfstar microfic

@wolfstarmicrofic July 5 - whump Words: 580 Warnings: Blood, injuries, swearing

It was warm, they had exams they should be revising for, and Lily Evans was within watching distance with her usual group of girls on their usual bench. How she could look so cute in her floral sunhat and at the same time so sophisticated with her pile of open books, was a mystery James could not explain. What he did know, was that he was bored and needed something to happen.

He nudged Sirius. “If we flew on our brooms, do you think we could hit the knot on the Whomping Willow with a pebble?”

Sirius smiled in a way that showed he was already convinced.

Remus, however, grumpily looked up from his Transfigurations book. “That was the stupidest idea I have ever heard.”

That, of course, made Sirius smile even wider and nudge James back. “Let’s see which one of us can do it first.”

Remus rolled his eyes and returned to his book. “Don’t blame me when you fall off and break your necks.”

James jumped to his feet and started running towards the castle after his broom, with Sirius following closely.

James' first thought was to stay well clear of the dangerous branches and simply drop the pebbles from above. But when he without success had to return to the ground to grab a new handful of pebbles he realised he had to come closer.

Sirius was already swishing fearlessly in and out of the tree’s reach, face deep in concentration. James flew a circle and calculated the angle, then went in for a try and was scraped on his arm by the absolute tip of a twig. He dived in for another attempt and crashed head-on into Sirius, coming out of nowhere. They both tumbled towards the ground.

A whack straight in James' face made a sharp pain spread through his nose and had him flip through the air. Somehow, he managed to land on both feet and, with the help of Remus, pull Sirius with him out of the tree’s reach before any more harm was done.

“Are you ok?” Remus pressed.

James pointed at his nose, but Remus wasn’t even looking. He was examining Sirius with a worried expression that only softened slightly when Sirius nodded.

“You fucking idiots! Next time you try to kill yourselves, remind me not to look.”

James pressed his hands to his bleeding nose and listened half-heartedly to Remus scolding. At least Lily was watching. Her expression was hard to make out through his tears, but possibly smiling. Or scowling.

Remus eventually run out of insults to call them and cast a healing-spell on his nose. “You should go see Madam Pomfrey just to be on the safe side.”

“Nah. No need.” He nudged Sirius again. “It’s no fun if it’s no risk, eh?”

Sirius only winced slightly. Actually, he looked awfully pale.

“Sirius?” Remus asked and tried to catch Sirius gaze, but he wouldn’t look up from the ground. Just clutched one arm close to his body with the other.

“You are hurt. Fuck! Look at your arm.” Remus gently touched Sirius' shoulder and his voice grew softer than James had ever heard it. “Why didn’t you say something?”

His empathetic face turned to livid in an instant when he addressed James. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

He then proceeded to swoop Sirius in his arms and carry him up the stairs and inside the castle, deaf to his protests.

James stared after them and came to a sudden realisation. Maybe he wasn’t the only one of them madly in love?

[regeditt]

*sirius bursts into their dorm room*

sirius: wait, so you’ve been dating my brother?? for a year??

james: no…what gave you that idea?

sirius: and you haven’t even told me about what happened with you and lily last night at the party

james: actually yeah regulus and i are dating yep

sirius:

sirius: but you and lily—

james: nope nope i snog your brother and no one else