#i just like james being really mean to barty

[veritas-scribblings]

4. home | words: 1945 | [out of control <- previous part | next part -> mirror]

(December, 1975)

Regulus is fourteen when Sirius leaves home. He wants to say it he didn’t see it coming, but he did. Sirius has been rebelling for years. Not folding in on himself, but projecting out into the world around. Sirius, with his loud music and his muggle posters. Sirius, who sasses their parents and hides away in his room. Sirius, who came home one day with a tattoo and a piercing.

Regulus has seen this coming for years, so he doesn’t know why it takes him off guard. Why it upsets him. Why it enrages him.

And why it makes him afraid.

When James Potter finds Regulus, Regulus is pulling his trunk off the train. Almost ten minutes has passed since the train arrived at the platform and he has already waved off Barty, Evan and Pandora. And now he’s just waiting: impatient, annoyed, and very much ready to ditch his brother and leave for home alone.

James barricades the train door nervously, awkwardly, his glasses on the end of his nose and his hair more ruffled and windswept than usual. Like he’s been running his fingers through it.

Regulus doesn’t have anything against James. He never has, because honestly, he’s never had that much to do with James. James is a typical quidditch player: bold and cocky, performative and aggressive in the way that boys are typically aggressive. He’s clever, Regulus knows. Things come easily to James. He’s never had to try.. And yet, there’s something really stupid and simple about the boy, because of course James has to be an enigma.

He has a whole lot of intelligence and yet missed out on the basic common sense.

James shifts in front Regulus, gives him a smile that is not very convincing. “Can we talk?” he asks. The butterflies in Regulus’s stomach are drunk, battering and tumbling inside him. And Regulus is weak.

“Where’s your shadow?” Regulus says sceptically. “Tell him he’s late and we have to go. I don’t care what shag-of-the-week he’s saying farewell to.”

James pauses, bites his lip, and says so earnestly, in a single, hurried, tangled breath, “You can come too. You should come too.”

And that’s when Regulus knows. He doesn’t need to hear anything else. Because Sirius has been talking about it for years. He’s been threatening it for years. That he’ll leave. That he’s “out of here as soon as he can”. Saying, “this place is fucked”. Saying that they’re fucked. Telling Regulus, “they can only hurt you if you let them,” disdainfully. Like he’s better than that.

Like he’s more than that, and Regulus isn’t. For letting it hurt him. For letting it happen. For caring.

James has been speaking, but Regulus hasn’t heard him. The world in his head is silence, and the world outside silent. “I mean it,” James says. “Come home with me. My parents, they’ll love to have you too.” And he does mean it, Regulus knows. James is so sincere, on the outside and the inside. All performative facades of his quidditch player-ness have been dropped.

“You’re taking him home with you, then,” Regulus says flatly.

“Well, yes. You’ll come home with me. Sirius is…”

That’s when the silence disappears and all Regulus hears is noise and rage. And if James finishes the sentence, Regulus doesn’t know. He doesn’t want to know. Because he knows Sirius is gone. He’s left. He didn’t wait. And he will not ask. “And why would I do that?”

“Reg…”

“It’s Regulus.”

“Regulus, I know how things are. No—no, really. I do. I know. And, well, it doesn’t have to be that way. You shouldn’t have to live that way. Come home with me. Us. Me and Sirius.”

Regulus sneers. He twirls his wand which is tethered to his trunk and pulls his trunk fully off the train. “I’m not Sirius. I’ve never given our parents a reason to hate me.” He says this coldly. Icily. Into the silence and the rage and the noise of the world around them.

“You shouldn’t have to earn your parents love. They should love because you’re you. In spite of you being you. Just because, you know, they’re your parents.”

Regulus leaves James standing at the mouth of the train and makes his way across the platform, through the crowd that has started to disperse. What world does James live in in? Love is always conditional. And Regulus isn’t fool enough to believe he has his parents love. But he knows he doesn’t have their contempt. Their hostility. Not the way that Sirius does.

He’s made sure of that.

Sirius is sixteen when he leaves Grimmauld Place. He feels sick: nauseated and dizzy. His stomach has been flip-flopping. He wants to throw up. He wants to scream. He wants to run circles through the streets around the Potters house. He wants to do cartwheels. He wants to do backflips.

He doesn’t want to ring the doorbell or enter the house. Because what if they turn him away? What if they hate him, or what if they come to hate him? If they decide he’s no longer welcome. That he’s bothersome. That he is a burden.

Because he won’t be able to bear that. He’ll die a sad and lonely little death.

Rationally, Sirius knows that this isn’t true. James has reassured him that he’s welcome. That they’ll love to have him. They’ll be thrilled to have a new son. That he can stay as long as he wishes. That they actually won’t want him to leave. Ever.

But there’s a niggling little voice in his head, bitter and hateful and sinister. Telling him that this is not true. That it is a lie. That he’s not enough. He’ll never be enough.

Sirius paces the doorstep of the Potter house. Back and forth. Back and forth. Hands wringing. He kicks his trunk angrily, swears angrily when he stubs his toe. Kicks the trunk again in revenge. Curses. Wonders if he hexes it, will the ministry know now he’s no longer at Grimmauld Place?

Maybe his parents will come for him. Maybe they’ll drag him back kicking and screaming and cursing. Or maybe they won’t, because maybe they’re glad his gone. That the Black family disappointment is no longer their problem. Farewell. Sayonara. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

And then the door swings open. James stands before him, a vision of smiles and messy hair and smudged glasses. He grabs Sirius’s trunk and lugs it inside as Sirius stands rooted to the spot. Unable to move. Just staring, mouth open. Does he come inside? Does he wait outside? Does he help James with the trunk? Is it rude not to?

“Dad thinks I should leave you out here. He wants to see how long it takes you to decide to come inside,” James says with a grunt, hefting the trunk along the carpet. “Mum thought that was mean, said to bring you inside, you’re going to catch your death, apparently. I told her you’re invincible. She doesn’t believe me.”

Sirius’s anxiety is like a thousand little snitches racing through his blood. James grabs his arm and pulls him inside so suddenly, Sirius almost trips on the doorframe and falls flat on his face. James has abandoned Sirius’s trunk by the wall. It’s askew, blocking the hallway. For the briefest of moments, Sirius panics, because his parents would have a fit. 

And then he remembers: he’s no longer at Grimmauld Place. James’s parents are different. Normal. They don’t yell. They don’t get mad the way his parents get mad at things like leaving trunks in the middle of the hallway. They won’t call James useless, lacking in common sense.

And maybe James will fall over it later. Honestly, he probably will. He falls over things in their dormitory all the time. 

Will James’s parents complain? Perhaps. Sirius doesn’t know, he just knows his parents don’t act the way normal parents act.

Suddenly, James wraps Sirius in a hug and Sirius almost jumps out of his skin. But the warmth of James makes something inside Sirius uncoil and Sirius finds himself melting into James arms. It feels like home.

The Potter house smells sweet like honey with undertones of incense. Effie and Fleamont are sitting in the kitchen, Fleamont with books open strewn across the dinner table, Effie with a pot of tea and the more recent edition of the Daily Prophet.

“Mum made…well, these little pancake things, they’re stuffed with…sugar,” James says. “They’re really good.”

Fleamont and Effie smile at Sirius, who can’t help but feel like an intruder, for all the warmth and welcome in their smiles. They don’t look at all surprised that he’s here, so maybe James warned them. Or they’re the kind of people to just take things in their stead. 

“Would you like some tea?” Fleamont says. His voice is gentle, like he doesn’t want to startle Sirius, who already feels rather like a horse primed to bolt.

“No thank you, sir.”

Fleamont chuckles. “It’s just Flea,” he says.

Effie stands and crosses the room to wrap him in a hug that feels like a James-hug. Because apparently the Potters hug. It’s their thing, James says, like this is perfectly normal for a family. And it very well could be, but Sirius wouldn’t know anything about that.

“We’re very glad you’re here with us,” Effie whispers by his ear, a secret just for him. And then louder, “You must be tired then. James, take him upstairs. Make a room for him.”

James grabs Sirius’s hand and tugs him out of the kitchen, up the staircase, Effie’s yell of, “There’s fresh linen in the cupboard!” following after them. He deposits Sirius in a room nearby his own. The room is smaller than the one Sirius had back at Grimmauld Place and significantly less elaborate. There is a double bed in the middle of the room, an old free-standing wardrobe, shelves lined with old books.

“This is going to be great,” James says with a grin. He’s watching Sirius cautiously as though he’s worried that Sirius will break. 

It’s a valid concern, because Sirius is sure he’s already broken beyond repair. And there it is, the tiny voice inside his head, all sinister and hateful, whispering that they’ll find this out about him. 

Something doesn’t feel right. His stomach churns, a sensation of guilt. He’s unsure whether he feels guilty that he’s burdening them or he feels guilty that he’s left his parents or if he feels guilty that…

“I asked him,” James says. “To come.”

There it is. The whisper is a roaring in his head. “And I asked you not to,” Sirius says. He can’t help how dark and angry it comes out. “I take it he said no. I told you he’d say no.”

Of course Regulus would say no. Why would he agree to come? They’ve never been close. If anything, they’ve always been combative. Competitive. Resentful of one another. There are times when Sirius regrets this; wants more for them. There are times when he knows that this is through no fault of their own.

That their parents have been pitting them against each other since they were old enough to acknowledge each other’s presence.

But these times are far and few between.

There is no way that Regulus would come. Because their parents don’t hate him they way they hate Sirius, and Sirius knows that this is in part his fault. Perhaps mostly his fault. Or all his fault.

They do not have any reason to hate Regulus the way they hate him.

So of course Regulus would not come.

He has no reason to.

[xkittyxkattzx]

i really like really wanne write a textchat fics With marauders and main focus James and the slytherin skittle LIKE hear me out the Little sunshine griffodor boy a cute potato who Is actualy mentally ill whit the slytherin skittle 💀 i dont know if make thing like mostly platonic or romantic-- its Will start whit James and regulus ofc but i think BOTH, i really wanne make Evan and barty also like get tò know James and not only a regulus/James thing?? like yea also idk if make jegulus and rosekiller or rosestarkillerchaser but idk!! also like i think i wanne make James haveing bdp as a trauma respons to smth BUT CANT TELL WHAT RN

It probabily Will have SOOO MUCHH ANGST like so much bcs im Always sad lol

i also JUST LOVE sunkiller Dynamic so muchh so i Will OFC make barty and James like at the start barty Is like a bit insane tryng tò Scare James away but James Just much Is insanity in a diffrent more sweet and discretely way (YOU CANT TELL ME HOWAGWARTS IS NOT AFRAID OF BARTY BCS THEY ARE)

also JAMES AND PANDORA FRIENDS ?? OMGG LOVE EMM

gonna make a also james and Evan Close ofcc

gonna make Sirius jelous BCS why not hehehe also mybe Sirius unconsciolly mean tò him sometihing!! but still really love and carring whit James Just unconsciolly possessive?? ykk like Sirius being Sirius

gonne make the skittle and marauders on the same year too like the 6.

also not everyting Will be on text yk?? also call and mybe James coming tò the slytherin dorm AND REGULUS LIKE SUPER WORRIED AND AFRAID bcs his Friends are insane and Is a bit bit jealous ?? and he dont what them tò make James cry (James Is gonne make them cry and sobs)

genderfluid pansexual James 🤤/

idk abt the other hc for now

AAAA I WANNA MAKE IT SO BADD Is also a really Easy type of fics to write since school...sigh school.

[mrstellmeafuckingsecret]

james and barty but they're not friends. they don't even like each other; they just know each other. they fucked, sure, but there were no soft moments, no gentle touches and banter. it was hard and fast, the kind of sex forgotten by dawn. but james knew about the bruises - he'd seen them. he'd peeled back the bandages and licked the bleeding wounds clean, looked into barty's eyes and fingered the scars till they reopened, and barty had writhed and cried till he was spasming, came apart untouched.

[maladaptivedaydr3amer]

I think all the canon marauders & co would for real hate their fanon selfs.

[my-castles-crumbling]

shine - Jegulus Microfic - @into-the-jeggyverse - word count: 326

"I thought I'd find you here."

Regulus's voice cut through the silence, making James jump and turn quickly. The older boy had been in the Trophy Room for what felt like forever, serving a horribly monotonous detention for Slughorn by making every piece of metal in the place shine. Sure, it wasn't horrible, but it certainly wasn't how he wanted to be spending his Saturday night.

"How'd you know?" James sighed, allowing the cup he held in his hand to clatter unceremoniously to the ground and sitting on a nearby desk, beckoning for Regulus to join him.

"Barty heard from Evan, who heard from Pandora, who heard from Evans," Regulus shrugged.

"And you came by to watch my torture?" James asked, but a grin was breaking through his frown. Seeing Regulus never didn't make him smile.

"You got caught sneaking around last night, then?" the younger boy asked, sitting next to him and ignoring the question. "Slughorn found you in the dungeon?"

James shrugged. "Yeah. He wasn't pleased."

"Do you regret it, then?" Regulus asked in a flat voice, but the worry in his eyes betrayed his anxieties. "Being...in the dungeons? Getting caught?"

James could tell right away what Regulus was really asking. "No, love," he mumbled, reaching forward and cupping Regulus's jaw with his hand. "I don't think I could ever regret you."

Raw emotion swirled in Regulus's eyes for a moment, a million thoughts behind his expression. After a few seconds, however, he sighed and pulled back. "Alright. You need to get back to cleaning, then."

Disappointment flooding through him, James nodded and picked up the cup he'd dropped. But as Regulus moved to the doorway, he paused. "If you finish at a reasonable time," he said softly, grey eyes meeting James's hazel ones, "you know where to find me, yeah? Just don't get caught again."

"No," James said hoarsely, before clearing his throat. "Erm, I mean, yeah! Right, yeah, I-"

"See you, Potter."

[justtwotired]

“Back the fuck off.”

Summary: you and Regulus recently broke up over stupid teenage reasons. It was a really bad fight and you two haven't spoken since, though both regret your actions. At a Gryffindor house party, he spots you kissing Mathew smith, the Gryffindor seeker, who Regulus absolutely despises.

Pairing: Regulus Black x Gryffindor!reader

Warnings: swearing, kissing, fighting, a bit of sexual assault.

⬇️unamused⬇️

Regulus stands at the drinks table with Barty as they are being pure Slytherins looking around with judging and cold looks. Neither of them wanted to come to said party, but Evan -who was currently participating in a round of beer pong- insisted they went.

His eyes travel the crowd and he spots them, making him narrow his eyes. He knew she was doing it to spite him, he knew even she hated Smith, but there she was, sticking her tongue down his throat.

"Ohh, she is playing with fire." Barty seemed to start enjoying the party the moment he followed Regulus gaze. "Shut the hell up." Regulus head snapped towards him and then his eyes traveled back to the girl and that stupid idiot she was kissing.

His hands where slowly starting to roam under her clothes and that's when he couldn't take it anymore and pushed himself of the table making his way towards them.

- 15 minutes earlier -

"They are absolute morons." Y/n shook her head as she watched Sirius and James jump of the table they'd just been dancing on. "Tell me about it." Remus rolled his eyes.

She took a sip of her drink as she watched the boys make their way over to them. "Oh, their coming pretend you don't know them." Peter said and they all quickly avoided eye contact with the two boys. "Oh haha, you're so funny." Sirius said sarcastically.

His eyes fell on Y/n and they narrowed. "Boring again, I see." He said as he eyed the glass with clear liquid in her hands. "But thinking about it, I could use some water," he took it out of her hands and a horrified expression formed on her face.

"Sirius no wait-" but she was to late and he took a sip and moments later spit it out, coughing. "Y/n, you absolutely menace to society." He said handing the glass back to her.

"Are you alright, pads?" James asked laughing. "I am, but she isn't, what psychopath just casually sips straight vodka." He grimaces and James' eyebrows race.

"What? It's good, you're all just over dramatic." She said taking another sip, making Peter chuckle a bit, as he himself had made that same mistake before.

They all looked up at the sound of the portrait swinging open and watched an excited Evan and annoyed Barty and Regulus walk into the common room.

Y/n rolled her eyes, and then they landed on someone and a smirk formed onto her face. "Y/n, no." Remus said and she looked at him. "What do you mean no?" She asked.

"Regulus just walked in and your wearing that smirk? Whatever your planning, no." He said and she rolled her eyes and giggled. "It's just a bit of fun." She said, standing up to leave the couch and pushing the glass into Sirius' hands.

"Here, you can have that." She says and he looks at it in disgust. "No thanks." And puts it down.

"Smith, hey." She greats the seeker and he turned to her. "Y/n, looking ravishing as always." He said with a shit eating grin as he looked her up and down and stopped at her chest.

She would slap him in the face if it wasn't for her plan just unfolding:

Make Regulus as jealous as possible.

"I can say the same about you." She said, her words slightly slurring. Smith took a step closer, snaking an arm around her waist. Everyone in Hogwarts who had a brain knew he had liked her since fourth year, which was one of the reasons Regulus despised him, but also the other way around.

Everyone in Hogwarts with a brain also knew Smith was an actual, selfish, prick. He had a reputation of cheating, one girl even claimed he had cornered her once, but no one knew if it was true, as she had a reputation of lying.

"I heard your single now." He grinned as he pulled her closer, his breath smelled like alcohol. "It was such a shame you where with... him." He sounded disgusted at the last words.

She let out a sarcastic laugh, starting to maybe regret her decision a little bit... but only a little.

"Well, that's over now... sooo." She trailed her finger passed his white button up. She looked up at him and he smashed his lips against hers, she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.

Her eyes fluttered open to look around the room and they landed on Regulus who wasn't looking at her as his eyes traveled around the room, but she could see them slowly make their way over to them and she closed her eyes again as Smith tongue slipped into her mouth.

They broke apart for a moment before they kissed again and slowly his hands started to travel, one slipping into her skirt and the other under her top.

His lips detached from hers and made their way to her neck and then he whispered in her ears. "Seeing such a beautiful girl like you with a Slytherin. Tsk, I'll show you what it's like to be with a real guy." He whispered before going back to kissing her neck and his hand suddenly slipped into her panty's.

She was taken by surprise but before she could do anything about it, someone else did.

Regulus had made his way trough the crowd, pushing people aside and watching as Smith went further into her skirt and kissing her neck, it made his blood boil.

"Back the fuck off." He said and Smith looked up and grinned, taking his hand out of her skirt, and Regulus almost thought she looked relieved.

They made eyes contact and he narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you want." She said, obviously with alcohol in her system. "Indeed, what do you want?" Smith asked as he put and arm around her waste and his finger tips rested under the band of her skirt.

"I want you, to get your filthy hands of her." Regulus said with a threatening tone. "And why would I do that? Such a pretty girl, and she isn't yours anymore? I wouldn't even have cared is she still was, I had plans anyway." He laughed dryly and Y/n looked rather horrified as she questioned if that would have been against her will.

"Leave her alone." Regulus demanded and Smith smirked. "And why would I do that, she seemed to be rather enjoying me."

Suddenly, Y/n started to really regret her decision, and grabbed his wrist to stop him from going any further. "What is it baby, you don't like it?" He asked and she sighed and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Stop, I want you to stop." She told him and he huffed. "You don't tell me when to stop." He said and pulled the hand on his wrist away with his other hand.

She knew she had gotten herself in this situation, it was her own fault, but now she really wanted to get out. Suddenly he let go of her and Y/n hadn't processed the sickening crack.

Regulus had punched him right in the nose and blood was rapidly streaming out. His grey eyes fell on Y/n who stared shocked.

He grabbed her arm and then dragged her out of the common room and eventually stopped in a hallway.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked angrily. "Do you know how much worse that could have been?" He asked, he was furious as he turned his back to her.

"Honestly, Y/n that was such a stupid move! And for what? Making me jealous? Well it worked, happy now?" He turned to her as he yelled, but stopped as he watched her.

Her hands where shaking and tears streamed down her face. His features softened as he walked towards her and took her hands in his, placing a soft kiss on each of them.

"It's alright." He whispered to her and she shook her head. "No, no it's not, I'm so sorry, it was a stupid move. I didn't think it trough." She said as more tears streamed down her face and she sniffed as her nose was now full and starting to run.

He wiped away the tears with his sleeve and kissed her on the forehead. "It's alright, Ma Cherie." He whispered as he hugged her. "Come, you need to get some sleep." He said and then led her over to the Slytherin dorms.

She was sitting on his bed as Regulus took a T-shirt and sweatpants out of his closet. He hands rested on her top and then looked at her. "May I help you here?" He asked and she nodded.

"Use your words, darling." He said softly, he always requested she used words when asking for her permission to do things like this, as he didn't want her to regret later.

"Yes." She croaked out and he slowly lifted it over her head and helped her pull the clean shirt over her head. He did the same with the pants and then tucked her into his bed.

He changed out of his clothes to, and joined her, pulling her into him and kissing her forehead. "I love you, my little dove." He said and she murmured something along the lines of "I love you too." Back before falling asleep.

[psychoticallykind]

Sweater

"Acknowledge" - Jegulus Microfic - @into-the-jeggyverse - 559 words

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Regulus."

"So you have to stir it three times clockwise, and then you add the crushed pollen -"

"Regulus, love."

"-and stir that three more times, still clockwise -"

"Darling, please look at me."

"- and then leave it to settle for an hour -"

"Regulus."

" - before you add the dragon's blood," Regulus finishes.

Barty nods. "Right. Are you going to acknowledge your boyfriend? He's starting to look like a kicked puppy."

Regulus very deliberately keeps his eyes down. "I don't know what you mean. Anyway, make sure you keep it simmering the entire time -"

"If you don't tell me -"

"-because if it starts boiling at any point in time it could become useless, but -"

"-what I did, then I can't fix it -"

"I shouldn't have to tell you, and anyway, you'll know if that happens because it'll turn purple."

"Barty."

"Yes, James?" Barty replies, ignoring the warning look Regulus sent him.

"Could I have a moment with my boyfriend, please?"

Barty nods. "Of course, yeah." He responds to Regulus's glare with a bright grin. "Have fun, Reg! Let me know how that functional communication goes!"

"Go drown in the lake," Regulus mutters.

Barty laughs before leaving, closing the classroom door behind him.

"Can we talk now?"

Regulus stares down at the table. "No."

"Can I talk?"

"I'm not stopping you."

"What did I do?" James asks, and there's a little bit of desperation there.

"Nothing." Regulus steps back, goes to leave. "Nothing, so there's nothing to talk about."

James steps in front of him, eyes wide. "Please, Regulus. I know you're mad at me -"

"-I'm not mad at you -"

"-mad about something, then," James corrects. "But I don't know what, and I can't change it until you tell me."

Regulus looks away. "You don't need to change it. I'll get over it soon."

"Get over what?" James asks, a little pleading, a lot sincere, and Regulus can't meet his eyes. "Reg, love, what did I do?"

And there's not really any escaping this, because Regulus can't stop being angry about it, and James won't stop caring about the fact that he's angry about it, and it's all so stupid.

So Regulus closes his eyes, and says it all in one breath. "You gave Lily your sweater at lunch and everyone saw her wearing it and now people think that you're dating."

It's stupid. It really, really is, and it shouldn't matter, because James is dating Regulus, not Lily, and he knows that.

"I'm not dating Lily."

"I know."

"I'm dating you."

"I know that."

"She forgot her jacket, Reg."

"I know that, too."

There's a quiet sigh. "Regulus. Talk to me, please."

"She could have worn Remus's sweater," Regulus mumbles, tipping his head down. "Or Sirius's. Or literally anyone else's."

"Just not mine?"

"Not yours," Regulus confirms, and it's so stupid. It's stupid and possessive and ridiculous.

James takes his hand, squeezes gently. "Okay. I won't give her mine anymore."

Regulus looks up. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," James replies. He pulls Regulus's hand up, kisses the back of it. "I'll do anything, Reg. You just have to ask."

"Okay," Regulus says, and the anger dissipates a bit. He nods, taking a breath, letting the rest of it go. "Okay."

He isn't used to asking. He isn't used to getting what he asks for, either.

But for James, he can try.

[vinylfoxbooks]

October 11 - Touch | @into-the-jeggyverse | wc: 658

“Reggie’s dating someone.” Are the first words out of Sirius’ mouth upon him entering the flat, slamming the door behind him. 

“Hello my favourite people in the world,” James hums from the kitchen, “I’m home, how have your days been?”

“Hello my Moony,” Remus adds on, pausing to take a sip from his tea, “Lunch with my brother was lovely, how was your lazy day?”

Sirius scoffs at the two of them, “Yeah, yeah, keep on like that.” He sighs, settling on the barstool as a happy medium between the kitchen -- where James is making something that smells absolutely divine, as they tend to do -- and where Remus has closed his book, turning to look at Sirius but making no move to stand, “Reggie’s dating someone and he won’t tell me who it is?”

James makes something akin to a choking sound, “And how do you know this?” 

“Because he was all smiley today at lunch.” Sirius throws his arms up, “He’d check his phone and smile at it and text whoever he was smiling about. And the jumper that he was wearing? Not his jumper.”

“And how do you know that it wasn’t his jumper?” Remus pushes, “You don’t know his entire closet.”

“And even then, it could be one of his friends, I can see Barty, Evan, and him stealing each other’s clothes.” James adds, pulling a pan of bread out of the oven and setting it next to a cooling rack. 

“Yeah, but it was colourful and he doesn’t wear colourful clothes. Not even Barty or Evan do. And how can you explain how smiley he was?”

Remus hums, “So say that he is dating someone, why are you throwing such a fit about it?”

“I’m not throwing a fit about it,” Sirius huffs, crossing his arms as if to prove his boyfriend’s point, “I’m just… first of all, why wouldn’t he tell me, his big brother that he has lunch with every weekend, that he was seeing someone? Or even just talking to someone?”

“You don’t dictate his life, he doesn’t need to tell you.”

“You’re an only child, you have no room to speak. Anyways, but I’m also just… confused. I mean, Regulus hates touch and he gets annoyed with people really easily, especially clingy people, and I figure that this person is clingy when they’re texting him that often, and he doesn’t seem like a particularly romantic type.”

“Merlin, James,” Regulus laughs, pushing James away from him, “You’re rather clingy.”

James laughs, “You’re acting like you haven’t just cuddled up against me all day.” 

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“That’s because you don’t listen to me ever.” James smiles, poking their boyfriend’s shoulder, “What was it you said the other day? Most of what comes out of my mouth is just nonsense prattle.”

“Oh but that doesn’t mean I don’t listen to it, I just don’t retain most of what you say.” Regulus smiles, curling into their shoulder when they outstretch their arm for him to go under, leaning his entire body weight against them. 

James smiles,  “You love me so much.”

“Unfortunately.” He sighs, though his words don’t have much punch to them when he leans up to kiss the taller.

James hums, pretending to be busy with their mixing the dough that they’re working on -- the same dough that has been mixed properly since Sirius sat down -- as a way to get out of talking for fear that they’re going caught in their lie. Oh if only Sirius knew just how much Regulus loves when James touches him, even something as light as resting their pinky on his own or brushing their hand through his hair to sort out the curls. And how he loves just how talkative James can be when he’s too tired to try talking and relies on James to fill the silence.If they’re being honest, they’re shocked that it took Sirius this long to realise that Regulus was going out with someone. The next question is how long it’ll take before he learns who it is that he’s seeing.

[stxrrnightjxr]

So like I actually need moonwaterkiller to be real because idk they’re just it. Like they’re IT

Three people who look like they could single-handedly take down a regime, destroy an army, idk become a dictator if they wanted too

But they’re soooo fucking soft with eachother and it’s almost disgusting how domestic they can be

Like Remus who’s simply just imposing because of his height and looks (even if he isn’t really as mean as people think he is, he still looks a little scary and no one can stop me from thinking that)

Barty who looks like he could rip out someone’s lung or something, and has definitely thought of it before, if he wanted to

And Reg who could probably kill someone with a well-placed glare?

But then you catch them huddled up together on the couch watching some stupid Christmas movie, sharing a bowl of popcorn (Barty’s hogging it) under about seventy blankets?

And they’re all so possessive and protective of eachother too

(Especially Remus near the full moon when in a magic AU, or even in a muggle one he just is.. like those r his boys, no one touches them)

And what if I said tall Remus, mediumish height Barty, and short reg? OR tall Remus, average height Barty, and tall Reg who’s taller than Barty but not taller than Remus? (I haven’t really thought about shorter Barty, but .. 🤨🧐)

And I feel like their dynamics are just a little different with eachother

Barty + Reg have been together the longest- and they’re so attuned to eachother that they could be having a whole conversation across a room with just looks. They’re both a little volatile, and butt heads a lot- (but when Remus came it he sort of balanced them out). They have the propensity and the ability to be really toxic, and sometimes that can come out with eachother- but they love eachother too much to hate eachother. (I feel like if they didn’t love eachother, they’d absolutely loathe eachother and honestly that’s just them)

Remus + Barty are a little different. Barty takes a little while to warm up to being fully vulnerable with people- just because it’s been ingrained in him to be cold and rude to anyone who doesn’t know him. It caused a few rocky parts in the beginning, because Barty absolutely wouldn’t let Remus in to many of his emotional turmoils, and Remus felt like Barty didn’t love him as much. (Of course, he did- it just took him a bit). And Barty is incredibly protective of Reg- another thing that caused a little strife- Barty, most especially when he’s moody and a little horny, doesn’t really like people touching Regulus (who isn’t him,) because like that’s his man? And so when Remus did, Barty was a little sour- but it only really took a bit before Barty was like ‘oh yeah, this guy’s cool.’ (Remus still lets Barty have his ‘Regulus time,’ but Barty’s learning to be a little forgiving.

Regulus + Remus. They’re honestly really vanilla in my mind. Not vanilla like boring, but they’re just really soft- like it’s not uncommon to walk in and just find them cuddled up on a sofa or something, either sharing a book or reading their own- but just being close. Reg’s secretly a big cuddler to me, so when Barty’s busy, is overstimulated (because Barty to me def has some type of touch-aversion at times, and at other times he’s hyper-touchy) or just doesn’t feel like staying still, Regulus’ll go to Remus, who’s always down to lie somewhere comfortable that doesn’t require him to move his bones too much.

I’d like to think it started out with Bartylus, and Reg eventually rekindled his relationship with Sirius (because I can’t live with them hating eachother) and met Remus, and then Barty met Remus, and it all kind of spiralled from there. (Reg’s eyes widened and looked over to Barty to see he was practically already drooling over this guy)

And Remus was so pathetically oblivious that at some point a very frustrated James had to finally pull him aside and tell him, “Merlin, Moony- those two have not stopped giving you ‘fuck-me-eyes’ for months now, at least talk to them before Pads has an aneurysm.”

But then they all got together and yes

[unconventional-lawnchair]

Everything is Blue

Barty Crouch Jr x FWB!Potter!Reader

AN: Are we really surprised? They are all I think about.

Summary: As things escalate with Barty he draws a line in the sand.

CW: Not proof read wrote this on my lunch break sorry yall :(, oxic!Mean!Barty, Toxic!Mean!Reader, Cussing, sexual themes and behaviors, Hair Pulling, rough handling, angsty, hurt no comfort, everyone's the bad guy, Remus being dragged into it (because I'm predictable), {If I'm missing anything please let me know}

WC: 4.9k

The door to Barty’s dorm scraped open with its usual obnoxious grind, the result of a half-hearted transfiguration after a particularly chaotic night. It was too big for the frame, but no one cared enough to fix it. Least of all Barty.

He tossed his satchel to the floor as he stepped inside, a cigarette already between his fingers. The other boys in the room froze for half a second before scattering like startled mice, clearly unwilling to stick around now that they’d heard your voice trailing in behind him.

“I just wish you wouldn’t talk about Remus like that,” You huffed, brushing past the discarded bag without a second glance. There was a sharpness to your tone, even as you moved to sit on Barty’s unmade bed. Arms crossed, you looked every bit the picture of stubborn indignation. “He’s a sweetheart if you’d give him a chance.”

Barty let out a low chuckle, crouching to strike a match against the ruined floorboards. He lit the cigarette with ease, shaking out the flame before tossing the spent match to the carpet and grinding it under his heel. “Hate to break it to you, treasure, but your dear Lupin’s just as bad as the rest of them. Just like your jock of a brother.”

You scoffed, a bitter sound that came with a roll of your eyes. “Jock? Oh, please. And you’re not? Beater.”

He barked out a laugh, straightening as he took a drag. “Touché,” He chuckled, exhaling smoke through the corner of his mouth. “But no need to get your claws out, pretty thing.”

“Don’t call me that,” You snapped, though there was no real heat behind it. You shifted, ready to get up, but Barty stepped closer, his grin growing sharper. Before you could fully stand, his hand pressed firmly against your shoulder, easing you back down.

“Not so fast.” He murmured, cigarette dangling between his teeth. His free hand brushed through your hair, a casual, practiced move that sent a shiver down your spine despite yourself. “All I’m saying, doll, is your precious Remus isn’t as innocent as you think.”

Your jaw clenched, and you glared up at him, determined not to let him see how easily he got under your skin. But it was impossible to ignore the way his touch lingered, the quiet dominance in the way he stood over you.

It was a cliche if anything; James Potter’s prim, polished sister sneaking off with the resident Ravenclaw bad boy. But whatever this was, it wasn’t romance. Not even close. It was something raw and messy, simmering with tension, much less control. And no matter how hard you tried to tell yourself otherwise, you didn’t hate it.

Suddenly, his grip on your hair tightened at the roots, the sharp tug forcing your head back and drawing a startled gasp from your lips. “Oh, but he does love putting on a show for you, doesn’t he?” Barty’s voice was low, taunting, his words dripping with mockery as he loomed over you.

The sting at your scalp sent a flush of heat coursing through you; equal parts anger and something more complicated. His gaze flicked to your neck, lingering on the faint marks still visible beneath the clumsy glamour spell you’d used to cover his handiwork. His lips curved into a smirk, satisfaction radiating from him as if he’d already won some unspoken battle.

“You’re so predictable,” He cooed, tilting his head as if examining a puzzle only he could solve. His grip loosened slightly, just enough to let his fingers glide through your hair, but the dominance in his posture didn’t waver. “Tell me, doll face, how long are you going to keep pretending this doesn’t amuse you?”

You swallowed hard, your pride demanding that you glare back at him with every ounce of defiance you could muster. But beneath the tension, you both knew the truth- you were caught in his game, no matter how much you hated the rules.

Barty’s grip slackened, his fingers moving from your hair to cradle the curve of your jaw, but the smug glint in his eyes remained. His cigarette hung precariously from his lips, the smoke curling between you in a way that made the air feel heavier. He tipped your face up, tilting his head as he studied you, his smirk growing sharper when you refused to look away.

“Still playing the good girl, huh?” He chuckled, voice low and mocking as his thumb traced the edge of your cheekbone. “It’s cute, really. But I've seen too much of you to fall for it. You want this.”

“Shut up, Barty.” You snapped, the defiance in your tone wavering just enough to make him laugh- a deep, infuriating sound that made your stomach churn. He took the cigarette from his lips, flicking the ash carelessly onto the floor before tossing it into a forgotten corner of the room.

“Make me.” He challenged.

Before you could overthink it, your hands shot up, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him down to crash his lips against yours. The kiss was rough, almost frantic, and any pretense of control he had disappeared the moment your nails dragged down his chest. His hands gripped your waist, fingers pressing hard enough to bruise as he pulled you closer, his teeth grazing your bottom lip in a way that made your breath hitch.

The kiss grew heated, messy, both of you lost in the intensity that always seemed to ignite when you were near each other. Barty's hands tightened on your waist, pulling you closer as though he couldn’t get enough. For a moment, you forgot where you were, forgot the smugness that usually dripped from his every word. It was all consuming, fire and chaos in equal measure.

But then his lips trailed to the corner of your mouth, brushing there as he murmured against your skin. “Tell me, doll face, does Lupin get you like this? Or are you saving all the fun just for me?”

The words were like a slap. You shoved at his chest, hard enough to break the kiss, your eyes blazing with anger. “Are you serious right now? Merlin, Barty, you’re insufferable!”

He stumbled back a step, laughing as he ran a hand through his hair, clearly unbothered by your sudden shift. “What? Too close to home?” He taunted, his smirk sharp and infuriating. “Or are you upset because you know I’m right?”

You glared at him, your chest heaving as you tried to rein in your temper. “Right about what? You don’t know a damn thing about me, or about Remus!”

“Oh, I know plenty,” He shot back, his voice dropping to something dark, something mocking. He stepped closer again, his presence overwhelming. “I know you like the bad boys more than you’d ever admit. Your precious Lupin? He’s got that little edge you love, doesn’t he? But me-” He grinned, shameless and cocky, as his hand reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “I’m the one who gives you this rush, doll. I see it every time you look at me.”

“Shut up,” You snapped, your voice trembling with anger. “You’re so full of yourself, Barty.”

“Am I?” He tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he studied you. “Then why are you still here, hmm? Why not run back to your safe little Gryffindor bubble if I’m so insufferable?”

You opened your mouth to fire back, but nothing came. He was right- damn him, he was right and he knew it. The realization made your skin burn, and the frustration bubbled over.

“Because I hate you,” You spat, though the words sounded hollow, even to your own ears.

Barty’s grin widened, and his hand trailed down your arm, his touch infuriatingly light. “Oh, doll, we both know that’s not true,” He murmured. “You might hate that you want me, but you don’t hate me.”

You clenched your jaw, every muscle in your body screaming at you to storm out of the room. But his hand slid to your hip, grounding you, pulling you back into his orbit. You hated the way his presence made you feel- like you were caught in a web you couldn’t escape.

“Why are you like this?” You hissed, your voice cracking slightly as you met his gaze.

His expression softened for just a moment, the teasing edge fading as he studied you. “Because it’s you,” He said simply, his voice quiet but no less intense. “And because I know you can take it.”

That quiet admission threw you off, and for a second, you faltered. He took the opportunity to lean in again, his lips brushing against yours in a whisper of a kiss. “Go on, doll face,” He murmured. “Tell me to stop.”

You didn’t. And before you could stop yourself, you were pulling him back to you, your anger bleeding into something just as fiery but far more dangerous.

Barty’s laugh rumbled against your lips, low and triumphant, his hands roamed your back, his touch both grounding and maddening. The kiss deepened again, the tension between you still sharp but now laced with something rawer.

But the moment was far from stable. Barty was never one to let things settle; it wasn’t in his nature. Even now, as his lips pressed against yours with an intensity that should have silenced his need for words, he pulled back just enough to murmur, “You’re addictive, you know that? Bet it drives Lupin mad.”

The mention of Remus again broke whatever fragile truce the kiss had created. Your fingers, which had been gripping the fabric of his shirt, pushed him back with force, your glare sharp enough to cut. “You can’t just keep bringing him up like that, Barty!”

“What, does it hit a nerve?” He shot back, his smirk creeping back into place as he took a step closer. He was relentless, infuriating, the kind of person who thrived on lighting matches just to watch the fire burn. “Or maybe it’s because you don’t want to admit I’m in your head more than he ever will be.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” You snapped, your voice trembling with anger. “You’re nothing but a distraction, a-”

“Go on.” He interrupted, his voice low, his eyes gleaming with something almost dangerous. “Say it. A mistake? A regret? Is that why you keep coming back, doll? To fix it, or just to lose yourself in it?”

His words hit too close, cutting through your defenses in a way that made your chest tighten. You hated how easily he could read you, how effortlessly he picked apart the walls you tried so hard to keep in place. But you refused to let him win, refused to let him see how much his words affected you. You hated him.

“Maybe I’m here because I pity you.” You hissed coldly, lifting your chin in defiance. “Isn’t that why everyone keeps you around, Barty? Out of pity?”

For a moment, his smirk faltered, the sharpness in his eyes flickering into something unreadable. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by that infuriating grin as he stepped even closer, his hands gripping your hips with a possessive force. “Careful, doll.” He mumbled, his voice soft but laced with warning. “You might just hurt my feelings.”

You rolled your eyes, but your breath hitched as his fingers slid up your sides, his touch tight with nerve. “You don’t have feelings, remember?” You shot back, but the bite in your words was weakened by the way your body reacted to his closeness.

“Maybe not,” He admitted with a low chuckle, his lips brushing against the shell of your ear. “But you seem to like me anyway. Guess we both have our vices.”

Before you could respond, his lips found yours again, silencing whatever retort you had ready. The kiss was more intense this time, fueled by the anger and frustration that always seemed to simmer between you. His hands tangled in your hair, his body pressing against yours in a way that made it impossible to think clearly.

It was a cycle, a maddening, relentless cycle. Fight, kiss, argue, repeat. You knew it was toxic, knew it couldn’t lead anywhere good. But in that moment, with Barty’s lips on yours and his hands holding you like you were the only thing keeping him grounded, you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

As the kiss deepened, the anger began to ebb away, replaced by a heat that you both refused to name. Barty’s hands tightened in your hair, his lips moving with an almost desperate energy that mirrored your own. But beneath the passion, there was something lingering, something raw that you couldn’t quite place.

And then he did it again.

“Bet he wished he could touch you like this,” Barty murmured against your lips, his voice low and taunting. His words sent a shiver through you- not from the tease, but from the edge in his tone. “Your precious Remus. Always so bloody polite, isn’t he?”

You froze, your hands stilling against his chest as the realization began to settle like a weight in your stomach. His words weren’t just meant to provoke you; there was something behind them, something that bordered on venom.

Pulling back just enough to meet his gaze, you searched his face for a hint of the usual smugness that accompanied his taunts. But instead, you found something different; something sharp and defensive, hidden beneath the surface. “Why do you keep bringing him up?” You asked quietly, your voice steadier than you expected.

Barty’s smirk faltered, just for a fraction of a second, before he masked it with a scoff. “What, can’t handle the truth?” He shot back, his tone casual, but his grip on your hips betrayed him. It was firmer now, certainly possessive.

You narrowed your eyes, the pieces clicking into place. “This isn’t about Remus, is it?” You whispered, your voice softening slightly. “This is about you.”

Barty’s expression hardened, but he didn’t move away. Instead, he leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Don’t flatter yourself,” the edge in his tone wavered. “I just think it’s funny. You play the good girl for him, but you come running to me when you want to feel something real.”

“That’s not it, and you know it.” You hissed, your words cutting through his defenses. “You’re jealous.”

The word hung in the air between you, heavy and undeniable. Barty’s jaw clenched, his eyes flashing with something that looked a lot like anger- but you could see through it now. It wasn’t anger. It was insecurity.

“You think I care about what some bleeding-heart Gryffindor thinks?” He sneered, but his voice cracked slightly, giving him away.

“I think you do,” You said, your voice steady now. “You hate that he’s not like you. That he doesn’t play games, that he’s kind. He's real. And you hate that I see that in him.”

Barty’s grip on you tightened, surely bruising, his breath hitching as you spoke. “Don’t.” He warned, but it was too late. You’d already struck a nerve.

“You’re scared.” You continued, your gaze locked with his. “Scared that he’s better than you. That maybe- he’s what I deserve.”

For a moment, you thought he might push you away, his usual bravado crumbling under the weight of your words. But instead, he surged forward, his lips crashing against yours with a ferocity that stole your breath. It wasn’t just a kiss; it was a fight, a desperate attempt to reclaim control, to prove something to both of you.

When Barty finally pulled back, his breathing was heavy, his forehead resting against yours. But the vulnerability that had flickered in his expression for a split second was gone, replaced with sharp, cutting arrogance. His grip on your waist was still firm, bordering on bruising, as if he were daring you to push him away again.

“You think he’s better than me, don’t you?” Barty murmured, his voice low but laced with venom. “Remus bloody Lupin- he’s exactly the kind of boy your perfect family wants for you, isn’t he? Polite, patient, so painfully good.” His lips curled into a sneer, the mockery in his tone unmistakable. “Bet he’d even ask for daddy’s permission to kiss you.”

You flinched, your jaw tightening as the words hit their mark. “Don’t bring my family into this,” You hissed, your hands pushing against his chest, but he didn’t budge.

“Why not?” Barty pressed, his eyes gleaming with something almost wild. “This is what it’s all about, isn’t it? You sneaking around with me because I’m the opposite of what they want. Because I’m the dirty little secret you can’t bring home.”

“That’s not true.” You snapped, though your voice lacked conviction. Deep down, you hated that he wasn’t entirely wrong.

“No?” Barty’s smirk widened, his hands sliding up your sides with infuriating ease. “Face it, doll, Lupin’s everything they’ve trained you to want. He’s safe. Predictable. Boring.” He leaned closer, if he only knew- his lips brushing against your ear as his voice dropped to a whisper. “But that’s not what you want, is it?”

You turned your head sharply, forcing him to meet your glare. “You don’t know what I want.”

“Oh, I do,” He murmured, his thumb brushing against your jaw in a way that made your stomach churn. “You want the thrill. The danger. Someone who doesn’t care what James Potter or the rest of your Gryffindor crew thinks.”

You swallowed hard, trying to ignore how his words stung. “You think this is about rebellion?” Uou shot back, your voice trembling with both anger and frustration. “That I’m with you because I want to piss off my family?”

Barty tilted his head, his grin lazy and infuriating. “If the shoe fits.”

“Maybe I’m here because I see something in you no one else does.” You bit out, your voice sharper now. “But you’re too busy tearing yourself down to notice.”

For a moment, Barty faltered. His smirk wavered, and the confidence in his posture cracked just enough for you to see the insecurity underneath. But he recovered quickly, his walls slamming back into place as he gave a low, bitter laugh.

“Don’t waste your sympathy on me, princess,” He cooed, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “I don’t need it. And I definitely don’t need saving.”

“I’m not trying to save you,” You sighed, your voice soft but firm. “But you keep pushing everyone away, and one day, you’ll push too hard.”

Barty’s jaw tightened, his eyes darkening as he leaned in again. “And yet, here you are,” He murmured, his lips ghosting over yours. “Still coming back for more.”

Your throat tightened, the anger in your chest swirling with something far more dangerous. His words cut, his arrogance infuriated you- but you couldn’t deny the pull between you. And Barty knew it.

“Admit it,” He said, his voice soft but unrelenting. “I’m the one who gets under your skin. Not Lupin. Not anyone else. Me.”

You stared at him for a moment, and you saw it. The slight gloss to his eyes- he was pushing himself. Past what you've ever thought you'd see from him. You closed your eyes and took a small steadying breath. “Yes, you idiot.” You spat. “It's you.”

Barty froze. The smirk he wore like a second skin faltered, his sharp retort catching somewhere in his throat. For a moment, he just stared at you, as if he hadn’t expected you to admit it- hadn’t expected you to say anything at all.

And neither had you.

The words hung between you, heavy and undeniable. You could feel the weight of them pressing down on your chest, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Barty didn’t have a comeback ready. His grip on your hips slackened, and his expression shifted, the arrogance slipping to reveal something far more raw.

“Say that again,” He muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. There was a challenge there, but beneath it, you heard the hesitation- the flicker of uncertainty he was trying so hard to hide.

You swallowed hard, your breath still unsteady as you met his gaze. “It’s you,” You repeated, quieter this time but no less firm. “You’re the one who gets under my skin. And I hate it.”

Something in his eyes darkened, a mix of triumph and something he didn’t quite know how to handle. His lips quirked up into a smirk, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You really know how to flatter a bloke, don’t you?” He drawled, though his voice was softer now, lacking its usual bite.

“Don’t,” You snapped, your frustration bubbling to the surface again. “Don’t twist this into some stupid game, Barty.”

“Isn’t it always a game?” He shot back, his smirk widening, though there was an edge to it now- one that betrayed just how deeply your words had cut. “You and me, sneaking around, pretending like it doesn’t mean anything. That’s the whole point, isn’t it?”

“No,” You said firmly, your hands gripping the front of his shirt to steady yourself- or maybe to keep him from pulling away. “That’s your point. It’s never been mine.”

He stared at you, his jaw tight, his breathing still heavy. For once, he seemed at a loss, his usual cocky bravado slipping as he tried to process what you’d just said. And for a moment, you thought he might pull away, retreat into the safety of his defenses. But instead, he leaned in closer, his forehead resting against yours.

“You drive me mad, you know that?” He muttered, his voice low and raw, lacking its usual teasing lilt.

“Good,” You huffed, your voice equally soft but no less sharp. “It’s mutual.”

A quiet laugh escaped him, almost disbelieving, and he shook his head slightly. “Why do you keep coming back, then?” He asked, his tone laced with something that sounded almost like desperation. “If you hate me so much?”

“Maybe because I hate that I don’t hate you,” You admitted, the words slipping out before you could stop them. “Maybe because you’re the only one who doesn’t treat me like I’m fragile.”

For a moment, the weight of your words hung heavy in the air. Barty’s expression wavered, and you thought- just for a second- that he might let the truth settle between you. That he might lean into it, lean into you, and let himself admit that he felt the same pull you did.

Barty stood completely still, his eyes searching yours, his defenses cracking just enough for something real to shine through. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the vulnerability vanished, his smirk snapping back into place like a mask he wore far too well.

“Don't-”

“Merlin.” He muttered, stepping back, running a hand through his hair in an exaggerated motion of mock exasperation. “You’re really determined to make this into some grand love story, aren’t you?”

“Barty,” You started, trying to keep the frustration out of your voice, but he was already shaking his head, the teasing glint in his eyes turning sharper, crueler. He sat up off of you, pulling out a cigarette, you followed him up.

“No, seriously,” He interrupted, his tone light and biting, the edge of mockery unmistakable. “What is it you want, huh? A confession? A bloody sonnet? Should I get down on one knee while I’m at it?”

“Stop it,” You said sharply, stepping forward, but he just leaned casually against the wall, his cigarette dangling from his lips as though nothing you said could touch him.

“Why? Isn’t this what you wanted?” He asked, spreading his arms wide with a grin that was far too sharp to be genuine. “I mean, you’ve got me cornered, haven’t you? Time for me to spill my tragic backstory and tell you how you’ve ‘changed’ me. Is that it? Does that get you off, doll?”

You clenched your fists, your nails digging into your palms as you tried to keep your composure. “Why are you doing this?” You demanded, your voice trembling with frustration. “Why can’t you just be serious for once?”

“Oh, I am serious,” Barty said, his grin fading into something colder, more calculated. He straightened up, his posture lazy but his eyes sharp as they locked on yours. “I’m seriously wondering why you’re still here.”

The words hit you, a blow to the chest, but you refused to flinch. “You’re pushing me away,” you said, your voice quieter now, but no less steady. “That’s what this is. You’re scared, so you’re trying to scare me off first.”

“Scared?” Barty repeated, letting out a short, bitter laugh. “Of what? You? Don’t flatter yourself, doll.”

“Then what is this?” You demanded, your frustration boiling over. “Why can’t you just admit that this- us- means something to you?”

“Because it doesn’t,” He snapped, his tone ice-cold. He stepped closer, his smirk twisting into something cruel as he looked down at you. “You’re just a game, sweetheart. A fun little distraction. And now that the fun’s over…” He tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over you with a deliberate slowness that made your stomach churn. “Unless, of course, you’ve got something else in mind.”

Your breath hitched, and your chest tightened. “You’re disgusting,” you said, your voice low but trembling with anger. “You really think I’d just-”

“What? Sleep with me?” Barty interrupted, his smirk widening as he leaned in closer. “Why not? That’s what this has always been about, hasn’t it? A bit of fun. A bit of danger. But if that’s not on the table…” He shrugged, stepping back and taking another drag from his cigarette. “Well, what’s the point?”

You stared at him, your chest heaving as you struggled to process the sheer cruelty of his words. “You don’t mean that,” You said quietly, but even as the words left your mouth, you could see the glint of triumph in his eyes.

“Don’t I?” He chuckled, exhaling a stream of smoke as he watched you with a detached amusement that made your stomach twist. “Face it, doll. This was never about anything real. You’re just upset because I beat you to the punch.”

“The punch?” You echoed, your voice shaking with disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You were always going to leave,” He said simply, his tone casual, almost bored. “Run back to your safe little Gryffindor bubble the second this got too messy. I’m just saving us both the trouble.”

You opened your mouth to argue, but the words caught in your throat. You hated how easily and effortlessly he could tear you down with just a few carefully chosen words. And worst of all, you hated how much you still cared, even now.

“You’re a coward,” You said finally, your voice low and steady despite the tears threatening to spill. “You hide behind this- this persona because you’re too scared to let anyone see the real you. But guess what, Barty? That’s not my problem anymore.”

You turned on your heel, heading for the door, but his voice stopped you just as your hand touched the handle.

“Go on, then,” He called, his tone light and mocking. “Run back to Lupin. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to play the hero.”

You didn’t look back. You couldn’t. The tears spilled over as you yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind you, the sound echoing through the corridor as you stormed away.

Inside the room, Barty stood frozen, his smirk finally slipping away as the silence pressed in around him. He clenched his jaw, his hands trembling as he brought the cigarette back to his lips, inhaling deeply like it might dull the ache in his chest.

It didn’t. It never did.

[nightsmarish]

Summary: after talking to Regulus, you both decide to take the offer to stay with the Potters, and barty gets thrown across the slytherin table by Evan

Pt1

A/n: very focused on Reg for some reason, not 100% sure why, but it's lovely, also we love bestie barty. ALSO ALSO, reader is aggressively, very aggressively, hinted to be slytherin

Poly!moonwater x reader (Remus lupin x regulus black x reader) | 1.4k words

Tw: toxic family, running away? Family disappointment, ect. Barty jinxing Gryffindors for sport and an owl flying into a chess game

Asked to be tagged: @misacc08

★⋆｡°⋆𖦹✮₊★⋆｡°⋆𖦹✮₊★⋆｡°⋆𖦹✮₊

It's finally two weeks until the end of this year at Hogwarts. Class times have been filled with going over study guides and reviewing for the final exams only a few days away. 

Neither you nor Regulus have said yes to staying at Potter Manor this summer. Despite James being very adamant about it.

“I’ll just mention you blokes might be joining us.” James told you when you visited Gryffindor table one morning, as he wrote his parents. 

“James-” 

“No, no, let ‘im. No harm in it? Is there?” Sirius cuts you off, feet extended to rest on the bench across the table from him. 

“But Mrs. Potter shouldn’t prepare an extra room if neither of us will be joining.” Your points are acknowledged when James hums to confirm he heard you, but his quill never stops moving.

Remus has been looking at you the whole time. Not in a creepy way, you're both pretty sure not in a creepy way at least. Just in an undivided attention way. Practically ignoring the other two boys to admire you, other than when he occasionally slaps away Sirius’ hand on his fifth attempt to grab Remus’ food. 

You look down to where Remus sits as well. Honestly, he's not that much shorter than you sitting down, but wherever. Your hand that's not holding the strap of your bag gently scratched the hair at the base of his head before kissing his cheek, mumbling a small promise to see him during your study time later. 

ᯓ★

It's not like you don’t want to go to stay with everyone else. It’d be amazing; it really would. But the idea of going when Regulus stays at the Black House feels wrong. You know being with your parents won’t help him, nor will being at James’ house, but it feels wrong. 

Remembering how destroyed he was when Sirius left. When he came back to school, you two hadn’t known the Marauders like you do now. The anger he knew was misplaced, but he couldn’t help but feel abandoned by Sirius. You remember it—the crying, the way he couldn’t focus until a month into school. And you remember Sirius being disowned.

And maybe that's part of it too. The idea of being disowned. Even if you know they are horrible people, people you don’t wish to be related to. The idea still makes you sick. Their horrible and evil, but dear Salazar, parent approval is so addicting and you hate how much you still want it. 

So which is worse, feeling like you betrayed one of your boyfriends, or your parents disapproval? 

“Regulus?” You keep your voice low in the library. The aforementioned boy looks up from his textbook sitting across from you. Remus, next to you, pauses, moving his quill to focus on you two as well.

“Yes?” His voice matches yours, despite being a little more stiff. 

“I wanna talk about it again. About James’ house.” You rush the words out. Probably because you know Regulus will want to shoot it down immediately.

“Love, you know I’m not going.” He sighs, sitting up straight in his seat. 

“Why? Why not go?” 

"Dove-" Remus tries to interject, not sure how well direct confrontation will go after Regulus has already denied it far too many times.

“What would I do?”

Both you and Remus pause, looking right at Regulus. Who stares right back at you.

“What do you mean?’ Remus says what you think.

“I leave, I get disowned, I lose the family fortune.” There are unspoken words there; everyone knows. He loses the Black name, he loses the reputation, and he loses everything he ever knew. Sirius had always wanted to leave; he had dreamed about it long before the possibility ever even crossed Regulus’ mind. The older Black had an idea of what would happen long before he left. Regulus hasn't gotten that right. 

“We can figure it out when we get there, love.” Remus rests his quill in the small ink pot, reaching both his hands to cup Regulus’ hands between his own. 

All three of you stay silent for a second, Regulus looking down at Remus’ hand covering his own, you staring at Regulus, and Remus looking between the two of you, trying to figure out what to do. 

"If..." you sigh, shifting in your seat, “if... you go... I’ll go, and we can figure it out together.” 

Gray eyes shoot up to yours. “Are you serious?” His voice is unsure, like you're going to take your offer back for no apparent reason. 

“Yeah. I’m scared too, but I don't think I can bring myself to go back, not this time. But at the same time, I won’t be okay with going if you don’t go.”

Remus takes a deep breath, one hand still holding the younger boy's hand, other moving so his arm wraps around your shoulder, gently rubbing your upper arm. “So, it's settled. I can tell James.” 

“Thank you,” You whisper, and Regulus takes one of his hands from the lycan to intertwine your fingers. 

ᯓ★

The letter felt wrong to write. Less than a week before you're off to Potter Manor is when you get a response.

You're sitting at the Slytherin table in the morning when the letter holding their response arrives. Your owl landing smoothly, unlike the poor Hufflepuff owl you see sly head first into a game of Wizard Chess.

The seal of the letter belongs to your family, and it's painfully obvious. Regulus had gotten his response within a few days. Hurtful and harsh, despite never reading it yourself.

Looking around, Regulus is watching Barty, who is sitting on the long table rather than at it, cast small, mostly-hopefully harmless jinxs on a few older Gryffindors who haven't seemed to notice who's doing it. While Evan is whispering more and more jinxs for Barty to use.

Deciding that you might as well get it over with, you break the wax seal. The letter was nothing but vile, as you expected, the threats, the anger, the disappointment. Yet, you are honestly relieved. Like a huge, bolder is off your back. Sisyphus would envy you.

"And what do you have? A secret admirer? Are you planning on finally leaving the wild beasts you call boyfriends?"

Barty turns his attention to you as you finish reading, snatching the letter to inspect it.

"Ew, is that from your parents?" Evans nose scrunches up, noticing the names signed at the bottom of the parchment when he leans over Bartys shoulder.

"Yeah, I wrote them last week that I'd be staying with the Potters this summer, and they finally got back to me." Your voice remains surprisingly even, despite feeling somewhere between calm and like you're going to vomit, cry, and punch a wall.

Evan and Barty continue to scrutinize the letter, the phrasing, and how your mother writes the letter S weird. While Regulus leans closer to you.

"Everything okay?" His quite, a stark contrast two the boys sitting acorsd from you as Barty pushes his boyfriend off the seat for something or another and Evan kicks a little too close to Bartys dick.

"Yeah, it'll be okay." You hum, scooting closer to the pale boy, "would you and Remus want to come stay at my dorm tonight? At least for a little? Serenella and Iris are both going to be out all night."

"Of course, love. I'll grab Remus after charms and we can meet you there before dinner?" A soft kiss is placed on the top of your head when he finishes his sentence.

"That sounds good."

The peace of the situation is cut off by Barty falling off the table towards you, taking you down to the floor with him.

"God damnit Barty!" A smile far to big for the situation paints your face face.

"Evan threw me, gem! He tried to kill me! I'm wounded." Barty sits half on hus knees, half laid out on the gross Hogwarts in such a pathetic manor Regulus chuckles under his breath.

"And I'll do it again idiot!" Evan sits back on his spot at the long table. Huffing while smoothing out his hair and uniform.

"Oh God, gem, I won't make it." Barty throws himself onto you, your back to the ground as you laugh. "If I die will you leave your loser boyfriends to join me and Evan?"

"Okay, junior, that's enough." Remus appears in your vision, slightly nudging Bartys side, like touching him too long will make whatever is sodding wrong with the boy rub off on him.

"Hello, big boy." Barty stands up and takes you with him, dusting off his and your clothes. "You know, both of you could leave Regulus and-"

"Okay Barty!" Regulus pushes Barty to sit back down, shutting him up as he begins to bicker with Regulus next.

[theyrealllesbians]

Regulus was manically pacing around his room, playing with the cord at the base of the phone.

"What do you mean there's another one?" He asked in an exasperated tone, rubbing the bridge of his nose to try and fight the annoyed headache he could feel brewing.

"Another wedding invitation has just come for you, from Emmaline Vance? Wait was she the one who was obsessed with Peter and would try to dance with him at every party for like a year?" Sirius said, getting progressively louder and more excited as he carried on.

"Yes." Regulus bit out. He really could not be bothered to go to another wedding. Why did everyone want to get married all of a sudden, it's only been a couple, wait no 7 years, since he left high school. God, how had it been 7 years already? "Surely I don't have to go. I can just RSVP back saying 'thanks, but no thanks' that'll work right?"

Regulus didn't even really understand why he was getting so many invitations. He'd had 5 wedding invites so far, 2 baby showers which he was not going to and 2 reunion dinners. Of course his own brother's wedding invitation was not included in this list of grievances. He's never dare complain about having to watch the happiest day of Sirius's life. Even just hearing him and Remus try and sort out the last few details made his heart warm in a way that he would never dare admit to.

"Come on, you have to!" Sirius exclaimed. "Everyone will want to see you. Besides all of us," 'us' being Sirius, Remus, James, Peter, Lily, Mary, Marlene and Dorcas, "are going and I refuse to spend another evening answering a million questions about you when you could just get over yourself and come!!!!"

Sirius was referring to the last high school reunion that happened 2 years ago that he had refused to go to. Apparently, Sirius spent the whole night getting asked about Regulus's whereabouts and what he was doing, if it was true that he had refused to work in the family business, whether he was gay and if so, was he single?

"Ugh," he groaned, "if I do go, and that's an if! I'll need a date. Where am I supposed to get a date on such short notice." Regulus's head was now beginning to ache as it had threatened to do so at the thought of having to sit through a wedding with someone he barely knew just to show that he wasn't alone and that he was doing well for himself.

"I don't know, do I? I mean you don't have to have a date." Sirius suggested, speaking through a mouth of some form of food.

"I do though don't I, otherwise I'll just get pitying looks the entire night. Or worse, people coming up to me trying to ask me out." He shivered at the thought.

Sirius choked a little, "That's a bit cocky don't you think?"

"No I don't think it is actually, not after I had Gideon touching my knee last month asking if I'd 'be interested in a night to remember', I cannot do that again. I just can't," he whined. He may as well have stomped his feet to go along with the toddler type tantrum he was getting close to. But Regulus did not care, he was being entirely serious when he said he could not do it again.

"Fine then, go with Barty?" Sirius suggested.

"Can't he's already going with Evan." Regulus responded, damning them both because it wouldn't be a half bad idea.

"Act as if you're in a throuple, you could pull it off." Sirius teased.

"Sirius" Regulus whined again, he needed real solutions.

"Pandora?"

"Doesn't really work now that everyone knows I'm gay." Regulus was getting tired now, why did he call his brother again? Oh right he didn't, Sirius called him because Regulus is currently on a work trip and Sirius is watering his plants and clearly snooping through his post.

"Well, I don't have any other ideas. This is why you need more friends." Sirius said matter of factly.

"To have as back up wedding guests?"

"Yes, that's what we do all the time. I don't actually think that anyone really knows who is with who. Oh, you could go with James. I don't think he was planning to go with anyone."

"Yeah, pass." He would not go with James Potter. Not for any particular reason, he just couldn't.

"Right well, I can't help you"

"Apparently so. I'm gonna go" Regulus just needed to lie down and think about what he was gonna do. He still had a month to figure it all out.

"Alright, see you soon, call me if you need anything else." Sirius said, trying to maintain his 'helpful' older brother personality that he had built.

"Yep will do, bye." Regulus hung up.

He really hated wedding season.

Just had this idea, it will be Jegulus. Kinda fake dating/ friends to lovers type deal. I'm actually pretty excited to start writing it and have quite a few ideas already.

[alwaysanundertone]

Day 15: sensation play | poly! marauders x reader

smut

TW: use of nipple clamps/Wartenberg wheel, oral (male AND fem receiving), edging, piv, bondage, use of “daddy”

You were sprawled on the bed, ankles and wrists tied, as you watched Sirius and Remus position different items on your drawer.

This time you really fucked it up, but who could blame you? It was the week before your period and you were extremely irritated, but it was also your finals week, meaning that you had never felt more on edge than during this time. So, sue you if you were behaving like a brat.

“Now, love, remember, why are we doing this?”

You huffed. “It’s fucking unfair, it’s not my fault I’m stressed out, you aren’t fucking helping me, you and your fucking binds!”

James scoffed. “I’m failing to find any link between you being stressed out for your exams and teasing Barty right in front of us, darling” You lowered your eyes, utterly ashamed.

Remus raised a brow at you. “If you don’t want this, you just have to say your safe word, you know” He waited as you gnawed on your bottom lip: you weren’t going to chicken out of this. As much as you hated being punished, you knew it would be good at grounding you, you needed to focus on the present moment, not on the future, not on your anxiety, and your boyfriends were experts at doing so. Plus, you chose this dom/sub dynamic with them, you knew what you were getting yourself into when you consented to this. “Exactly. Now, why are we punishing you?”

“Because I acted like a bitch”

Sirius laughed. “Yeah, that’s an understatement.”

You rolled your eyes.  “Because I behaved like a brat, and I made you jealous on purpose.”

Remus raised a pointed eyebrow. “And…?”

You exhaled a breath. “And because I didn’t look after myself, not drinking water, not eating enough”

James coughed. “Don’t forget about you touching yourself without our consent, honey.”

You averted your gaze.

“So, we planned a pretty heavy session. You can always tap out, just say your safe word and we’re done, okay? It’s important, love, I don’t want you to ignore what you’re feeling like last time.” Remus bent over to kiss your lips, you melted under the soft press of his lips.

In the corner of your eye, you saw Sirius picking up something little and metallic, only when he got in front of you did you realize what he was holding. You shook your head violently, you hated those damn things, and they knew it.

“Hush, honey, relax f’me” You tried to take  a deep breath while he opened the clamps, securing them on your nipples. Immediately, you felt a sharp sting, you forced yourself to breath it through.

“Are these new?” You looked down: they were new, and you could tell because from them hung two little lilac pendants.

“Yes, wait” He repositioned the jewellery so that it was hanging, the weight tugging your nipple down, making you hiss. “Yeah, that’s how they are supposed to feel. You look so pretty, love.”

You closed your eyes, trying to ground yourself, trying to push away the sharp pain, but it was nearly impossible. The nipple clamps ended with two pairs of little claws, it felt like someone was constantly biting at your sensitive skin.

Suddenly, a ticklish sensation spread all over you: looking down, Remus was trailing what looked like a feather all over your belly, you’d giggle, if it wasn’t for the sharp pain coming from your breast area. He trailed it slowly, softly, until it reached your mound. “Remus” You sighed, jumping when he slapped your inner thigh harshly.

“It’s not Remus, love. What do you call me?”

You sighed, you felt yourself getting wetter by the minute, knowing that they probably wouldn’t let you come was pure torture. “Sorry daddy”

He smiled down at you, kissing your forehead. You felt the soft texture of the feather caressing your clit, going up and down repeatedly, excruciatingly slow. You held your moans, trying so hard to think about something gross but failing to. “That’s right baby, doing so good, you ruined the feather, look” He held the object in front of you: it was wet. You blushed furiously, looking down, eliciting a chuckle from your boyfriend.

You felt a tingling sensation on your stomach, looking down you saw James holding a Wartenberg wheel, dragging it lightly on the valley between your breasts, on your clavicles, and then down. He started to apply more pressure, the tingly sensation transforming into a sting. Sirius had started to apply pressure on your clit with his fingers, while Remus still dragged the feather on your now sensitive skin.

You arched your back, moaning: you knew you weren’t allowed to come, but if they kept this up you didn’t know if you could hold back.

“Do you want to come, baby?” You nodded furiously, whining when Sirius stopped touching you altogether. He positioned himself on top of you, his knees on the sides of your head. “You have to make us come first, open up” His dick traced your lips, and you opened, sucking on it before he thrusted harshly into your mouth, triggering your gag reflex. You were quite helpless, his thighs stopping you from moving your head, from seeing what was happening.

Soon, you felt Sirius nearing the edge. “Oh, fuck, you’re so good, baby” He whimpered.

“Are you going to make him come, angel?” You moaned as Remus kissed your clit, your thighs shaking as you tried to hold back, you hated when they edged you.

Soon, Sirius found his release down your throat, grinning down at you as you swallowed. You didn’t have time to process what had just happened because James entered you in one harsh thrust, making you whine in pain.

“Hush, baby” You refrained from cursing, knowing that what you didn’t need at the moment was adding to the punishment. “She’s so wet” Sirius tugged on the nipple clamps, making you jolt in pain.

“Oh, God do it again” You widened your eyes as Sirius obeyed, this time he pulled on the clamps more harshly, so much so that one of the two lost its grasp. “Oh, sorry love I have to reposition this”

This time the sting was ten times worse; your already sensitive skin being tortured by those damn plastic claws. “Siri, she clenches so much when you do that, it feels like heaven, fuck” He sped up his rhythm, you felt really overwhelmed: Remus had the wheel in his head, and he was focusing once again on your breasts, James was pounding into you at an unruly speed, and Sirius wouldn’t let go of those clamps.

“Please, please I need to come” They didn’t respond you immediately, making you anxious over the fact that they could have been planning on denying you, it wouldn’t have been the first time.

“Okay darling, let go for us” Sirius pressed down on your clit, as James found his release you finally came, your back arching, vision blacking out as you lost consciousness for a few seconds.

When you came down, Remus was untying your ankles, pressing a gentle kiss on each one before smiling up at you. “You did so good, baby, how are you feeling?” You groaned in response. James cradled you cheek softly. “We need to hear it, love”

“Better, I guess” You averted your gaze, Sirius kissed your lips softly.

“That’s good to hear, love. We’re going to clean you up, then we can cuddle. No studying for today”

You slumped on the bed, not ready to let go of the post-orgasm bliss.

tags: @sxmnc @peterparkerspersonalplaything @riaaavm @iamawkwardandshy @eeviee4 @mysterialee @famouscrusadeluminary @el1smells @rishofkf @mooonyxoxo @happymaeday @yourfiendlyneighbourspiderman @whyshouldihaveanam3 @amazing-bobinsky @barnesandmetal @just-here-for-ff @remussbitch @sammyreid

[alter-ego-xxx]

between james, sirius, remus, regulus, barty, and evan, who do you think jerks off the most and who does it the least?

nsfw

wooooooooh okay! Let's get into it.

6. Regulus; I think before he met James and got into a healty relationship, his connection to his body was kinda fucked up (be that the trauma/abuse or him being born into an afab body). And he was raised to think that everything involving pleasure was a sin. So he doesn't really jerk off that much, maybe once or twice a month (ovulation, maybe). {also this might change once he meets James and slowly gets to fix his relationship with his body.}

5. Remus; I think (also before Sirius) he saw it more as a "body maintenance" than anything really "fun". After he gets with Sirius, he sees the fun and pleasure in it, but now he's got a boyfriend for that purpose, doesn't he?

4. Evan; There's this popular hc that he is ace (I'm not really sure if I think that as well) but if he weren't, I just think his sex drive isn't that high. He's always ready to sleep with someone if he finds them hot, yes, but just on his own... he just doesn't really do it as much.

OR; Evan's position in this ranking could drastically change if he were somewhere on the ace spectrum, meaning that he isn't reaaally interested in having sex with someone else and only does it to himself.. then he'd end up at place 3 or 2.

3. Sirius; he is HORNY. One hot bloke changing in the changing room, Remus' hand too close to his thigh, and my man is BRICKED. He does, however, still have a lot of trauma and grew up in the same circumstances like Reg, so he's still ashamed of his needs sometimes.

2. James; HIGH! SEX! DRIVE! He's just overall a temparamentous (?) person, so he's also quite horny. Being pan doesn't help his situation. I'm quite sure tho, that his wanks are usually quite short; a video/photo, a hand, a few minutes, and a determined mind is all he needs.

1. aaand first place, of course, goes tooooo BCJ!!! Do y'all know this post that's like "fortunately god didn't give me a dick because he knew that I'd get bricked up about a still-hot paper coming out of a printer"? Yeah, that's him. But (un?)fortunatley, god DID give him a dick. He's also the guy to say that his dick is his favourite thing about himself "because it has brought me the most pleasure I've ever felt".

[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.9 K Warnings: none Prompt: The world goes on, and so do the classes, more throuple shenanigans, Not proofread

Chapter 69: Livin’ Thing

“What do you mean they know?” James asked in a whisper. “Why the hell do they know?” 

“Severus,” you said. “I think he saw Rem and Sirius while we were–” You stopped yourself, not sure how to break down those details. “Together.” 

“What do we do?” he asked, not quite understanding why you looked more exasperated than desperate.

“They won’t tell anybody,” you reassured him. He seemed hesitant. “I’m certain.” 

“How?” 

“They stopped Severus from opening his big fat mouth. They wouldn’t have done it if they wanted to share the secret with the world.” 

“What if they want to be the ones that bring you down?” 

“I’m sure they’d love to, but never like that. After Christmas,” you bit your bottom lip as you thought of a way to explain it without outing them. “And it’s not that I excuse their earlier behaviour,” and you really didn’t. You’d never forget the downright abuse they’d made you go through, “but I guess I understand them a little bit better. I’m sure they won’t tell anybody.” 

“Not even if we prank them and they get pissed?” 

“Not even then,” you said calmly. “They thought Remus and Sirius were cheating on me, that’s why they told me about it, though it seemed they didn’t really want to tell me much either.” 

“Who would have thought those Slytherins had an ounce of integrity somewhere in their reptilian body.” 

You laughed, shaking your head as James looked at you with a small smile. “When Barty appeared and shook me, I thought I was hallucinating,” you said. “I never thought, out of all people, they’d be the ones to help me escape.” 

James gave you a long, analysing look. Sirius’ retelling had been enough for him to know what’d happened, but you had never talked about it, let alone in such a calm manner. He was glad to see you were getting better. 

“Unexpected allies and unexpected enemies,” James said. “Isn’t that a casualty of war?” 

“Since when are you poetic like that?” you teased as you turned to him with a smile. 

He cleared his throat. “I’ve um… been reading Shakespeare.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Lily said I might enjoy some of his other stuff,” James said with a shrug. “I thought Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing were funny.” 

“Who would have thought you’d be reading more muggle books?” you said with a smile. “Next you should read The Hobbit.” 

“Again with that! ” He said as he turned to you. 

“You can’t not have read about elves and hobbits. It’s literally a crime never to have entered the wonderful world of Tolkien!” 

“I don’t know about Hobbitses and–” Your laugh cut him off. “–What?” 

“Nothing, it’s just– It’s Hobbits, not Hobbitses. The only character who ever calls them that is Gollum.” 

“And what’s wrong with Gollum?” 

“Oh well… You’d have to read the books to know,” you added with a sneaky smile. 

“Cunning little vixen, aren’t you?” 

“Well, I got my nickname somehow, didn’t I?” You said with a teasing smile, raising an eyebrow at James. “Besides, Lily really likes those books. You’d probably surprise her.” 

“Should have started there!” He retorted.

Saturday, 15th, 1997

Since you were all still pretty tired from the prank, and since neither you, not Sirius or James, had recovered even in the slightest, you had all –all being just you and Sirius– made the executive decision of not flying that Saturday. How exactly had you managed? You’d placed a sound muting spell on James’ bed, and you’d set an enchanted cloth by their window so it looked like night instead of day when he woke up. 

That night, you’d also decided to stay in your own bed, since two nights in a row with the boys, so far from the moon, and with nobody wanting to turn into their animagus form, were already suspicious. Not to mention that Remus had prefect duty that night, and neither you nor Sirius would have seen much of him. So Friday night, after telling the boys what’d happened with the Slytherins, you’d bid your goodbyes to each other in the common room, and you’d all gone back to your respective rooms. 

Lily was more than happy to have you back, and the two of you laid next to each other on your bed, catching up with all the stuff she did on her vacation and, of course, all about that train ride that she’d hadn’t had time to tell you about. You chatted about her life, new music, and the movies she’d gone to see at the cinema, both the ones she recommended and the ones she thought had been shit, and you fell asleep by each other much later than you had expected to that day. 

“Hey!” you heard someone call, followed by your name and a shake of your shoulder. “Aren’t you coming to Apparition?” 

You blinked, seeing the blurry, dirty blonde wolf cut that you would have recognised anywhere in the world, “Mars?” 

“Mhm,” she said. “Time to wake, princess, we have class. You know Dumbledore does not like anyone being late.” 

You grumbled something as you covered yourself with the pillow, only to realise you weren’t alone on your bed. “Evans’s still here?” you said as you turned your face to see Lily’s ginger locks tangled next to your hair. 

“Mhm,” confirmed Marlene as she sat on the bed. “Drink this,” she added. 

You grabbed the bottle she handed and took a zip, making a face the minute the bitter taste hit your mouth. “What on earth did you just feed me?” 

Marlene smiled, “It’s my morning potion, been working on it for a while now.” 

“Tastes like shit,” you said as you licked your lips. 

“I know, it’s the part I’ve been working on. But it’s basically an energy booster. I’ve added Mandrake leaves and Gurdy Root extract, some Billywig Sting too, and I tried to get rid of the taste with honey water and lavender, but it does not seem to work.” 

“Sweetroot,” Lily said as she slowly blinked, yawning as she looked at Marlene. “Use Sweetroot after the potion is done, and then add the Lavander, It’ll kill the other tastes and keep only the one you add afterwards.” 

“Can you do that to Polyjuice?” you asked, turning to her almost instantly. 

Lily frowned, about to ask why you’d need polyjuice before deciding it would be much better if she didn’t know your reasons. “No,” she said with a shake of her head and then yawned. “The” –she yawned again– “the Sweetroot kills the fluxweed and mushes the lacewing flies. There is no way to make Polyjuice taste better, unfortunately.” 

“Truly unfortunately,” you thought, thinking back to the last time you’d taken it and how dreadful it had been. Not that being able to turn into other people wasn’t worth the itch to puke. 

“You want some too?” Marlene asked Lily as she sat on the bed. You threw her a look, shaking your head ever so slightly.

“I’m good, thanks,” Lily said as Marlene took another sip from her potion and winced. 

“I take this one every time we have charms,” she retorted. “There’s just something about Flitwicks voice that puts me right back to sleep, I swear.” 

“I know what you mean,” you said. Professor Flitwick really did have a very calming voice, but you were always filled with adrenaline from flying that it had never made you fall asleep, even after you’d seen other students nodding off, especially during the classes where he got carried on talking about the history of spells. The practical classes, on the other hand, were always fun; sometimes they were calm –when the spells were simple–but other times, especially on combination spells, there was always someone who didn’t quite get it right. A flick of their wand in the wrong way, and they’d cause an explosion, or a quill stab to the table, or even –one time– for one of the metal balls to roll over someone’s feet while playing a Summoner’s Court Match. Poor Michael Stadletter, he tended to have real bad luck in charms. 

“What’s the time?” you asked, turning to the clock. 

“Barely enough for breakfast and running to class,” Mary said as she unwrapped her hair. She had already changed into her uniform. Her curls bounced down from her red, silk, scarf, and she added just a bit of potion to the ends to spring the small, unruly curls, back to life. Her hair looked amazing by the time she was done. 

“Good, I’m starving,” you said as you stood, and turned to look at the small corner of pillows by the window, Nieve was awake, one of her wings open as she dug her head inside as if she was looking for something, or perhaps cleaning herself.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to eat before Apparition? We were thinking of skipping,” said Marlene, now taking a pear and giving it a bite. “‘xcept for this.” 

You had skipped dinner last night in favour of getting boswelia and chamomile from the herbology classroom, chopping some of it while you all talked together by the fireplace and dividing the chopped and magically dried leaves on two different glass jars. Owls normally hunt by themselves, and the treats they got from wizards were nothing but an extra, but since Nieve couldn’t fly, you’d had to get actual food for her. And so, you’d gone to Nimbletwist and convinced her to give you some raw meat. 

Nieve seemed to much prefer the full steak to the minced meat, so you had to marinate them with the leaves for her to eat them. Although last night you’d heard some shuffling, which made you suspect she was hunting down some kind of smaller insect.

“I’m pretty hungry, though,” you said as you leaned down next to Nieve and opened a small box, levitating an already marinated piece of raw stake and placing it next to her. She didn’t pay much attention until you placed a spell on it that made it start dancing around like a small mouse. Nieve grabbed it with her claws, pinning it down to the floor before leaning down and gobbling it up. When she was done, she turned to you with a satisfied air. “Hope you’re feeling better, girl,” you said as you tilted your head and gave her a small, tight-lipped smile.

She cooed in return, tilting her head to the side and chirping as she looked behind you. You looked back to see Lily sitting on the bed. You narrowed your eyes at her, and she smiled guiltily. “I think she might want some of the treats I’ve been giving her,” she said as she stood up and walked towards her trunk, taking out a small pack of owl treats. “I got this one for all the owls that brought me stuff on Christmas, but there was some leftover, and I thought Nieve might like them.” 

 By then, she had leaned next to you, pulling out a rather large cookie-like treat that she later broke into smaller pieces and offered to Nieve. The small owl leaned next to her hand and carefully took one of the pieces before swallowing it whole and chirping excitedly. Lily left the rest of the treats on the pillow before she stood up. You looked at Nieve one more time and took a deep breath. 

You weren’t sure what to do with her, at least not after she was healed. You had Reese, and you had already inherited one too many things from Nina. But you didn’t want Nieve to be left alone either; you wanted to find her a home and a person who would take care of her and love her as much as Nina did. A memory came to you briskly,  how, on her birthday last year, Nina had told you about her new pet. Her parents had sent Nieve with a big blue and silver bow, and she had flown straight into her table, clashing clumsily against one of the plates since she was so small. She held a note on her beak and chirped happily once she saw Nina for the first time. 

You sighed and stood up, leaving Nieve to chirp as she ate some of the other treats. Lily had already gone into the bathroom, and you opted to change into your uniform in the room instead of waiting. When she was out, all that was left for you was a quick wash of your teeth and face and getting your hair untangled.

When you were ready, Lily and Mary were gone, but Marlene had stayed to walk with you towards the Great Hall. “Why’d they leave?” you asked as you looked around the room.

“Mary wanted some anti-dizziness potion, and Lily said she’d come with her to Pomfrey.” 

“Oh, that’s actually pretty clever,” you said, thinking back to how they had both ended up feeling rather dreadful after the first class. You’d had a few others afterwards, and while you had managed your PTSD (if you could call it that), Lily and Marlene almost always ended up, at least, with a mild headache. 

“Let’s go,” Marlene said as she tilted her head towards the door, and you nodded in return, following behind her. 

“I just don’t understand what happened,” James said loudly as he shook his head, he was talking to the boys on the sofa. “My alarm has never failed me!” 

“Beats me,” said Sirius as he shook his head. 

“And not even the light woke me up,” James complained. 

“Probably cloudy in the morning,” said Remus, who was well aware and had helped you and Sirius with your plan of skipping flying that morning. 

“Maybe you were just really tired,” said Peter as he yawned. “Godric knows I am.”

“And Vixen!” he said as soon as he spotted you on the stairs. “Why didn’t you wake us up?”

“She fell asleep,” Marlene retorted. “Had to wake her a few minutes ago.” 

“Wait, you did?” James asked with a frown. 

“Must be our lack of sleep.” You shrugged. “I just couldn’t wake up. Besides, I stayed chatting with Lily a good deal of the night and– oh.” You’d been yanked by the arm and pulled towards the sofa in the middle of your sentence, having you fall half on top of Sirius and half on top of Remus, who’d been sitting by the other. Sirius was quick to press a kiss to your cheek and lean his head on your shoulder with a contented sigh, and Remus, who’d been tempted to follow his example, had to hold back, giving you a light pat on the thigh. 

“Morning, Luv,” he said with a small, almost imperceptible smile. 

You had no idea when you’d tell your friends, but you wanted it to be sooner than later. Even if secret relationships were exciting, the fact that you couldn’t give affection to Remus the same way you gave it to Sirius –when in public– worried you since you knew how hard it had been for him. You turned your head to the side to give him a good, long look and smiled. “Morning, Moons.” 

Marlene tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at the two of you; there was a certain complicity there that she hadn’t seen before. Or perhaps she had seen it, but it had never been as openly shown before. Could it be because of the prank? She wondered. She also noticed James smiling as he looked at the three of you as if he was in on whatever secret your glances meant. 

“Let’s get breakfast,” Peter said as he stood up.

“Right, you said you were starving,” she said as she looked at you. 

“I am,” you said with a smile and stood, offering both of your hands to help your boys up. Sirius smirked as he took your hand. Remus was much calmer as he took a hold of it, both standing at about the same time. 

“I see you’ve got your preferences,” said James as he gave you a feigned look of disdain. 

“You were much further away,” you retorted with a shrug. 

James scoffed, diverted as he stood. “Whatever you say, Vix. As long as it lets you sleep at night.” 

“Oh, she sleeps mighty well at night,” Marlene said with a smile. “With Lily’s cuddles and all.” 

“With whose cuddles?” asked James as he turned to you with a shocked expression. 

“Lily slept by her side last night,” Marlene said nonchalantly, she loved to tease James. “Not the first time either, didn’t you know?” 

“She did?” James asked you in shock. 

“We stayed up late talking,” you said with a shrug. 

“You should be careful, Sirius,” she added, trying to get a rise out of him too. “You know she likes redheads.” 

You rolled your eyes, at some point, somehow, it’d gotten to Marlene’s ears that you liked redheads, and she hadn’t stopped teasing you –and Lily– since. She must have said you looked like “the cutest little lesbian couple” over a hundred times. 

Sirius shrugged. “I don’t mind sharing all that much,” he said as he threw a complicit smile at Remus, who tried not to react to Sirius’ silly way of incognito flirting. Marlene raised an eyebrow at his reaction while James threw an amused look his way. 

“Can we hurry this up?” Asked Peter with a small frown. “I’m starving!” 

“Me too!” you said as you stepped forward, catching up with Peter as you walked towards the exit of the common room. “We can continue with the teasing while we eat, I don’t want to be late.” 

It didn’t take too long for you to get to the Great Hall. Remus was exceptionally good at finding the right stairs, and in less than 10 minutes, you were already crossing the door. Most students stayed in their rooms on Saturday mornings. So the room was almost empty except for the few 7th years who were taking extra classes while they prepared for their N.E.W.T.s. 

Marlene sat beside you and prepared some sandwiches for the girls and herself to eat after class was over while you had some simple eggs and toast. Although you were used to the stomach-churning feeling of apparitions and the slight coppery taste it often left in the mouth, you did not want to go overboard with your breakfast and end up puking all of it onto the garden.

“You should add more cheese,” Peter said as he handed Marlene a cutting board filled with all kinds of it. 

“Thanks, Pete,” she said as she took the board and placed it in front of her, picking out each’s favourite cheese and adding it to the sandwiches.

“Welcome,” he replied before taking a huge bite of his own breakfast muffin. He always took careful care and consideration while preparing it, first cheese, then the eggs, then the sausage. Sometimes –if it was available– he added roast beef, and he often topped it with a few slices of bacon and his favourite dressing, brown sauce. 

As soon as you were done with your food, you moved your plate to the side and grabbed some of the fresh veggies to add to the sandwiches. Tomato, bell peppers and fresh cucumber for Mary dried tomato and cucumber for Lily and just cucumber for Marlene. You also added some of your favourite veggies and topping to the one she’d made for you and random stuff for the three extra sandwiches Marlene thought to make in case anyone needed any food after the class, which was rather likely. 

“How are we gonna take this?” you asked as you looked at the rather huge pile of sandwiches on the table. 

“I thought about it,” Marlene said as she pulled a tiny picnic basket from one of her pockets. It was so small it might as well have been made for a pixi rather than a human. 

“That’s adorable!” you said as you looked at it. 

“It’s definitely not gonna fit,” Peter said. 

Sirius burst into a laugh, and Remus gave him a disapproving look.

“What?” 

“Nothing, It’s just… never mind.” 

“No, I want to know!” Peter demanded. 

“A bad joke,” you said as you looked at Sirius, who looked offended. 

“Yeah, since you’ve never had that issue. Right, Sirius?” Marlene added with a smirk, and Sirius turned to her, now even further aggravated. 

“For your information,” Sirius said as he stood up, but Remus was quick to pull him right back in his chair while Marlene exploded into a fit of laughter. 

“By Merlin! Should have seen your face,” she said in between giggles. 

Sirius was sitting with his arms over his chest and pouting ever so slightly; he looked pretty cross. Adorably so, if you might say. You leaned closer to him and placed your head over his shoulder; his hair tickled your cheek as you grabbed his arm with your hands. Remus, who was sitting on the other side of Sirius, was looking at the two from the side of his eye as he munched on some pancakes. He deliberately brought one hand down and placed it just above Sirius’ knee reassuringly. 

You smiled when you noticed and pressed a loud kiss to Sirius’ cheek. “Never mind them, Puppy,” you started, even if Marlene was still laughing as she tried to explain the joke to Peter, who still looked quite confused. “We both know that’s not true.” 

Sirius hummed, not quite satisfied yet, although, had you been looking at him from the front, you would have noticed the tension in his cheeks from attempting to hold back a smile. There was nothing more that he loved than being the centre of your attention, or Moony’s. And at that moment, he was the centre of both.  

You moved one of your arms to play with his hair, allowing your fingers to dance at the nape of his neck as you pressed yet another kiss, this time closer to his ear and lingering just a bit longer before whispering, “Perhaps we should have some witnesses?  We could show Moony later what we both know…” 

Sirius turned to you and cleared his throat as he pulled on the neck of his shirt, loosening his tie a little in the process. 

“Marlene, make sure to tease me more often when Lily’s around,” James said as he leaned next to her and took a cucumber from one of the sandwiches. 

“Oi, that’s not for you, Potter!” she said as she smacked his hand lightly. 

“I mean,” James said as he took a bite of the cucumber he had managed to steal from her. “He was upset for a second, and then he got pampered and all by Vix and–” 

“Look!” you cried as you pointed at the clock behind the two of you. Remus kicked James on the shin, and he yelped rather loudly.  “It’s late; we really should get going now!” 

Marened frowned and turned to look at the clock, by then, Remus had already made the minute hand advance by at least 15 minutes, making it seem like it was much later. “Huh, I would have sworn we still had time,” she said, turning back to you as she tilted her head. “Anyway, we should get going,” she said as she stood up and pointed her wand at the small basket. “Engorgio.” 

Suddenly, her basket grew into a normal-sized picnic basket. She smiled and started placing the sandwiches inside. You helped her add some other sugary fruits like apples, bananas, cherries and even some peeled oranges since you thought it might be of use in case someone got low bIood sugar like in the previous class.

“Here,” Remus said as he passed over some berries in a small linen bag, “Pomfrey said these are good for dizziness.” 

“Thanks,” Marlene said as she took the small bag and placed them in the basket.

Peter was quick to finish his second breakfast muffin, and you all stood up and walked towards the lawn. Marlene and Lily were sitting on the snow next to Tom and Beth, talking as they waited. Marlene caught up with them faster than the rest, taking her gloves out and putting them on before allowing her hands to fall on the snow. 

“What happened? Is he not here yet?” 

“Still a few minutes early,” said Tom as he checked his wristwatch. 

“What? I thought we were late,” Marlene said, confused. 

“Clock must have been wrong,” you said as you plopped down on the floor next to Tom, not bothering with the gloves and resting your hands on your thighs instead. 

“We haven’t talked,” he said with a small smile and a low, dignified tone.

“Right,” you said with a smile as you wet your lips. While you had seen Tom pretty much every day since Wednesday, you’d been so caught up with the prank and then with Nieve and classes that you really hadn’t had a talk with him. And least not a talk in which he could ask you the things he wanted to ask. Even if he already had a fair idea of how your talk with the boys had gone. If he had to guess, he would say it had been brilliant. “We’ll make time, I promise,” you said with a smile. 

He was about to say something else when Dumbledore appeared in the middle of the yard with a rather smug-looking expression. “Nice to see you all again,” he said with a smile. A few students had quit the class after too much vomiting, but most of the kids that survived the first two apparition classes were still there. In fact, the only person you knew who had quit was one of Beth’s roommates.

“Today,” Dumbledore said as he turned around to motion the students sitting behind him to move closer to where you stood, their steps crunching the snow were muffled by his next words. “Things are going to be a little more complicated than the previous classes.” You smiled, there was something about a good challenge that always called your attention. “You’re going to start attempting to apparate by yourselves.” 

“But, professor,” someone protested. “I don’t feel ready yet.” 

“I will continue to work on apparitions with those who don’t feel ready yet, but for those willing to try, we’re ready as well. In case of Splinching, Fizzy and Sproots will be ready to transport you to the hospital wing with Pomfrey,” he said. “Madam Ponfrey has already prepared a few beds and potions and is ready to deal with any case kind of injury, be it mild or more serious.” 

James seemed pretty pleased at the idea of being able to apparate by himself if the shine in his eyes and the jittery tapping on his feet against the snow was anything to go by. Sirius looked quite excited as well. But Remus, who remembered how you’d been the last time you apparated in class, was looking at you apprehensively. 

You, on the other hand, were only thinking that this was perhaps one of the most practical classes in the entire school. Not that Charms, Potions or Care of Magical Creatures weren’t useful. But in times of war, you couldn’t help but think that having a way to disappear was more useful than most things, even if that meant running out of the barrier in a safe house. Perhaps purchasing one of those Vanishing Cabinets, like the one back in Burgin and Burkes wasn’t such a terrible idea. Not for Hogwarts, but for whatever it was you were going after, and of course, during the summer break. 

“The ones who are willing to do it by themselves, please step behind me, you’ll be working with Professor Spellman, who kindly agreed to join us today to make sure everyone is safe.” 

A good deal of people stayed by Dombludore’s side while you stood up. “You are coming?” you asked the girls. 

“I’m staying,” Said Mary as she shook her head with determination. 

“I’ll come,” Said Beth as she too stood. “Tom?” 

“I don’t know,” he said with a frown, although he didn’t get up.

Peter opted to stay while the rest of the marauders were more than ready to cross over to the other side. You were about to walk that way when James crouched, levelling himself with Lily, who was sitting on the snow with her arms crossed over her knees. She was biting her lip as she looked attentively at the floor near her snow-covered boots as if they could give her the answers she needed. 

“Are you okay?” James asked as he tilted his head, trying to steal her attention away from the freshly chopped grass. 

“Huh?” she said as her attention focused on him. She smiled. “Oh, yeah.” 

“What’s got your pretty head so preoccupied?” 

“I don’t know if I’m ready to do it by myself,” she replied with a sigh. “You see, I know all the theory, and I’ve done it with Dumbledore enough times to be able to do it by myself… but I’ve seen what splinching looks like…” She threw a look your way. “I’m scared to end up like that, or much worse.” 

You were about to say that splinching hadn’t been all that bad, but Remus noticed, and he placed a hand on your shoulder, shaking his head to stop you and then nodding towards James. You nodded and turned to look at the two of them again.

“I’m sure you’re more than capable of doing it by yourself.” He smiled. “But there is absolutely no pressure for you to do it right now–” he then pulled his hand up and offered it to her “–if you decide to go for it, I’d be right there beside you. How does that sound?” 

Lily gave James a confused look as if she was not used to him being the serious one. Even you and the boys were looking at the interaction relatively impressed. Lily smiled and took hold of James’ hand. He got up and pulled her along with him, spinning her around and landing his arm over her shoulders seconds later. “So you don’t get cold,” he said casually. She laughed and shook her head, and the two of them started walking to the other side. 

Mary and Marlene looked at each other with impressed glances as if they couldn’t quite believe what had happened. “When did James become more clever than the three of us combined?” you said softly, almost on an impressed breath. 

“They grow so fast, don’t they?” Tom said dramatically as he wiped an invisible tear from his eye. 

“So silly,” you said as you nudged Tom with your knee and then turned to look at your other friend, “Mars?” 

“Oh, I’m definitely coming,” she said as she stood up and walked over to the other side, right behind James and Lily. 

“Maybe Prongs didn’t need all that help in the end.” 

“You’re joking,” Remus said sceptically. “You’ve read his letters!” 

You cringed at the memory of some of his quidditch comparisons, “You’re right, he wouldn’t have made it without us.” 

“No, he wouldn’t.” 

“Let’s go, then,” Sirius said after a small silence, looking in between the two of you as he bit his lip.

“Let’s go,” you agreed with a wink. The three of you walked over to the other side. 

Spellman was already there. He had a huge dark purple coat with black fluffy ends and a matching ushanka that made him look like Father Christmas if Father Christmas was Father Halloween. 

“What’s with the attire?” Marlene asked nonchalantly, only to get elbowed by Lily, who knew how indiscrete the question had been. 

“I’m rather sensitive to the cold,” responded Professor Spellman coolly. 

“What about warming spells?” asked James, who knew no more about indiscretion than Marlene.

“Oh, it has plenty, but still,” he retorted and shivered just by looking at the snow. “Who’ll go first?” 

“We’ll do it one by one?” asked Lily. 

“We don’t want to risk any of you splinching or crashing against each other while trying to get somewhere else.” Spellman nodded.

“Well then,” she said as she unconsciously leaned a little closer to James. From the group, which wasn’t all that large to begin with, nobody seemed to want to be the first one. Or at least nobody jumped to the opportunity like they sometimes did in class. 

“Should I choose?” Asked Spellman as he quirked an eyebrow, taking his hands out of his pocket to adjust his ushanka down again. 

You looked around. Still, everyone remained glued to their spot, as if the snow were resin sticking them to the ground. You sighed about to step in, but Sirius noticed, and, imagining your reluctance, stepped forwards himself. 

“I’ll do it,” he said hastily. 

Spellman nodded and beckoned him to walk towards him.  

“You got this, mate,” said James with a thumbs up. Sirius responded with a confident wink and stepped right next to Spellman. 

Spellman cleared his throat. “You’re going to attempt to jump from here to the other side, right there next to the red flag, do you see it?” 

Sirius narrowed his eyes, in the distance, about a hundred metres from where they stood, stood a small wooden peg, about 40 cm above the snow, with a small scarlet handkerchief tied to it, “Yeah,” he said. 

“Measuring distance is much harder while apparating than it is while walking, so don’t be too disoriented if you don’t land too close to the spot.” Sirius raised his eyebrow at that. “That’s why the risk of splinching is very high when you apparate to a place you don’t know. “You always run the risk of apparating in the spot where another object lays, and in that case, splinching would be the last of your issues.” 

“Professor,” said Lily as she raised her hand. “I read somewhere that Apparating a few feet above the ground is recommended for younger wizards since it helps them avoid smaller objects that might be on the ground.” 

“You can definitely do that. It’s especially recommended if you can’t see the place you’re apparating to. In part, it’s why we start apparition in winter, the snow cushions bad falls and helps numb you down if you splinch badly. At least until you’re taken to the infirmary.” 

“Does that happen often?” Marle asked.

Spellman shrugged in response; his expression wasn’t all that reassuring either. “Mr. Black, are you ready?” 

“Yeah,” he nodded. 

“Good,” Spellman smiled. “Whoever apparates close enough to grab the flag without having to take a step towards it will earn 20 house points.” 

“But we’re all Gryffindors,” said Beth. 

 “Makes no difference, it’s very rarely achieved on the first try,” Spellman said with a shrug. “If any of you achieve it on their second try, then it will be 10 points, and if you do it on the third, then only 5.” 

“It’s all right,” said James,  his voice turning almost instantly into the one he used on the pitch.  “We have seven tries, that’s more than enough to get in the first go, isn’t it?” Lily, who stood next to him, seemed pretty impressed at how fast he’d gotten a hold of the situation; she had never been to a quidditch training with him, but it was the soft, authoritarian manner in which he carried himself that got the most of her attention. He was a brilliant leader. He’d make a fantastic prefect, she thought. 

“Should I go for it?” 

“Please,” Spellman said as he nodded and extended his hand in invitation. “Make sure you’re all at least a metre and a half away from him,” he added as he turned to the rest of you. 

Sirius stepped forward and turned around, Remus took a step back and gently pulled you along with him, “for good measure,” he softly whispered in your ear as he leaned towards you. His warm breath prickled against your skin, and you almost shivered at his closeness. And assuming it was because of the cold, he took a step closer to you. You smiled and leaned your head on his shoulder in what you hoped was a friendly enough gesture for it not to be suspicious. Is it something you would have done to James? Right?

You tried to recall if you had ever done that to James, or Tom even, while Sirius looked ahead, his feet tapping on the snow and his breathing steady as he tried to hype himself up for apparating. It’s something I’ve done to Marlene and Lily countless times, you recalled; Beth and even to Clara from the reading club, back when she was complaining about the werewolf book. It’s a friendly enough gesture, you thought. As you leaned and you snuggled a little closer to Remus. Besides, it’s cold, and nobody’s looking. 

Except someone was looking. Marlene had kept a close eye on the three of you since she was scared the complicit smiles could mean another prank, which meant more risk for the quidditch team. After all, they only had two reserve players, and you were three troublemakers; Teddy wasn’t all that great of a substitute captain, and games were always more fun with you around. And although she regarded the way in which you leaned onto Remus as nothing out of the ordinary –since it really was cold– and she was basically hogging Beth at that point, she did think the small, pleased smile from Remus as he looked at you was rather odd. 

But by then, Sirius was nodding, ready to apparate by himself for the first time. He focused, and after another deep breath, he disappeared. There was a light shuffly sound, accompanied by a crack. Next thing you knew, Sirius was on the other side, about 2 metres away from the peg. He smiled triumphantly since he had done it on the first try. 

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Spellman asked Sirius, his voice loud and clear. 

Sirius looked down to his chest and then to his arms, softly patting himself all over, he shrugged and then lifted both of his thumbs towards Spellman. Then he leaned down and tried to reach for the flag, but it was too far. 

Spellman shook his head. “Come back, Mr. Black, it’s time for the next person to do it.” He turned back at your group. “Who’ll be next?” 

“Me!” Marlene said as she walked towards Spellman. Sirius was about halfway back when the Professor nodded. Marlene took a deep breath, and there seemed to be a flicker, the hint of a crack, but she was still right where she stood. 

“That’s good, you’re getting there,” Spellman encouraged. 

“You’ve got this!” you said with a smile. 

Merlene nodded to herself, holding her wand tighter than before and closing her eyes. She felt compressed all over, like she had before. By the time she was on the other side, her eyes ached, and she felt like she might get a headache. But as soon as she realised she had done it and that she was on the other side, you heard a nervous yet delighted laugh as she allowed herself to fall back on the thick layer of snow behind her. The coldness of it helped the soreness of her eyes that had –for a second– felt like they would recede back to her fucking brain.

Spellman looked at her and shook his head. “Miss Mckinnon, you may lay on the snow over on this side, we require you to continue with the exercise.

“Right,” Marlene said to herself as she looked up at the sky. It was cloudy, but in a nice cloudy way where you could still see the blue of the sky above. “Just a minute,” she shouted after, letting her head fall back and taking a few deep breaths. By then, Sirius had already returned.

“I was so close,” Sirius said as he approached the lot of you. “A meter closer and I would have gotten the flag easily. I know I’ll make it on the next try.” 

“If I don’t get it on mine,” Prongs replied teasingly. 

Sirius hummed in return, a complicit smile as he sat down beside you and Sirius on the snow. Once Marlene stood up, Spellman turned back to the group. “Who’s next?” 

“I’ll go,” Remus said as he stood and walked a little further. You missed his warmth almost the second he left, a small shiver crawling from your lower back to your neck. Remus managed to do it on his first try. And while he was much closer to the peg than Sirius had been, it wasn’t close enough for him to reach it. 

“How are you?” you asked Sirius once you made sure Remus was okay. 

“Fantastic,” he said with a smile, taking your hand in his. “You didn’t bring your gloves, did you?” 

“Nope,” you said as you curled your fist and dug it under the hem of your sweater. “You didn’t either.” 

“Yeah, but I don’t have chronic cold hands,” he teased, pulling your hand to his stomach. “You don’t mind, do you?” 

You smiled, pushing your hand down teasingly. “Do you?”

Sirius laughed at the way you brushed your fingers downwards. It was elating, and it certainly did a great deal to warm him, bIood running from his limbs to his cheeks and then south.

“Such a tease,” he laughed. 

“Who's next?” Spellman asked. 

You looked around, James looked rather comfortable and engaged in a conversation with Lily. And Beth didn’t look like she was going to go either, so you raised your hand. 

“Excellent, please come forward.” 

Remus was already halfway through the walk back when he noticed you’d be next and decided to wait for you where he was instead of continuing to walk. You stood from where you were, Sirius’ hand gently squeezing yours as you pulled it from his sweater. 

You walked towards the place Spellman pointed, and once you made sure you were far enough from everyone, you concentrated on the other side. Thinking of landing right beside the pole as you closed your eyes. The Black lake looked dark and crisp ahead, Sirius looked at you from the side and gave you an encouraging thumbs up. Your mind went back to the last time you had apparated; you shook your head as if that could shake away the thought. 

You looked at the wooden peg again, the flaming carmine flag waving proudly at the end. You breathed, trying to concentrate on that rather than on the disturbing memories that flashed through your head. That fact that none of the times you had appeared lately had any positive connotations not helping at all. As if you had been conditioned to associate apparition with something bad. And while your mind was more than ready, your magic seemed to refuse to cooperate. 

But you had always been stubborn. You took a deep breath and looked at the flag again, Remus was there, not so far from it, perhaps about 10 meters or so. He was waiting for you on the other end, like he had always been. Calm, ready to pull you close and hold you until you feel better. You ought to have known you were in love with him way before you did. You smiled, and then you felt the pressure all around you. Breathing stopped, and you felt the discomfort on your chest, as if all of your limbs were being pressed into each other. It wasn’t pleasant, but none of it had bothered you before, and it wasn’t bothering you now, either. You heard the familiar pop; there was a change of air, colder, brisker, the breeze smelling much more of the familiar tangy smell of the Black Lake. The wind carried a distant gasp to your ears, and right as you opened your eyes, you saw Remus, looking quite startled, right by your side.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he took the one step that separated the two, placing his hands on your face as if he were checking for a fever. “You landed way too close to me.” 

“Yeah, I’m…” You looked around; the flag was far from where you stood. You’d missed the mark by quite a lot. Nobody had landed that far from until then. Even Marlene, who'd had a hard time apparating, had landed closer than you. You looked at yourself: no splinching, no headache, no nausea. “I’m perfect,” you added, dumbfounded almost. “You? Didn’t hurt you, did I?” 

“Not at all, it was a delightfully clean landing. You did startle me a little, though, I thought you’d get the flag.” 

“I guess my mind focused on something else,”  you added with a simple smile and an attentive look at him.  He tilted his head to the side, about to reproach you because of how dangerous it had been when Spellman apparated a few metres away. 

“Did she splinch?” he asked in a rush since Remus still had his hands over your shoulders. With a snap of his fingers, the house elves were also rushing towards the two of you, along with a hospital bed. 

“Uh, no,” Remus said as he pulled his hands from you. “She’s fine.” 

Spellman turned to you as if to confirm. “Yeah, yeah,” you nodded. “Perfectly fine, just got directions messed up, I guess.” 

Spellman nodded, waving his hand at the elves, and they apparated back to where they had been initially: out of the way but ready to help if it was necessary. “I’ll apparate back there; please walk the way back together.” He said and then turned to Remus. “Mr. Lupin, if she starts feeling odd in any way, please inform me as soon as possible. Shoot red sparks to the sky if it’s necessary.” 

“Yes, Professor.” 

Spellman nodded and apparated back to the other side effortlessly. “Do you think we’ll ever be that good?” 

You are already that good, he thought. If you really had been thinking of him and managed to apparate yourself less than a metre away without hurting him or yourself in the process. “Certainly,”  he nodded.

Back with the rest of the group, Sirius was looking at the two of you with a smile while James walked over to the side, ready to be the next to try. He looked at the flag with a smile on his face, and once both you and Remus were far enough away, he got the nod from Spellman he was expecting. He landed half a meter away from the flag and picked it up, raising it in his hand while screaming, “I got it,” in delight. 

He ran towards you and Remus, placing his hands on each of your shoulders as he dangled the red flag right next to your face. “You missed it, I landed so close, like Vix, but next to the actual flag and not you.” He said to Remus. “You should have seen it!” 

You threw a look at Remus as James rambled on.  There was nobody in the world that could boast as much as James and still be as likeable, you were certain. 

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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A/N: How are you guys? I feel like being gone for so long also took away from me tha chance of hearing from you, hope the wolrd has been treating you darlings as fantastic as you deserve to be treated!

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[padfootfest]

Padfoot Fest 2024 Reveals

Hello everyone!

The time everyone has been waiting for has come. It's been a week since our last Padfoot Fest work was posted which means we can now reveal all the authors, so everyone can run to show more love for their other works.

As mods, we would like to sincerely thank all the participants. We are immensely grateful to them for creating a great variety of fics, all celebrating our beloved Sirius Black. We love the works, and we are so so proud of everyone's efforts. We are so thankful for all these works that contribute to the amazing thing that is the Marauders fandom.

Moreover, this was the first year of our fest, and we are overwhelmed with the interest it has garnered. We would like to thank everyone who keeps following, reblogging, commenting and so on. We also can't wait to introduce more events in the following months that will help us shorten the time we've got to wait until the second year of Padfoot Fest opens in 2025. So stay tuned and keep sharing the Padfoot love.

Now without further ado these are the amazing writers from Padfoot Fest 2024 in the order of their posted work. Click the title of the fic to read their works.

tenrousei_kuroi - Is It So Frightening (to have me at your shoulder) (Regulus Black/Sirius Black, Regulus Black/Remus Lupin, Regulus Black & Hermione Granger)

LippSkinn - Silence (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin)

shadowmun - Hero with no name (Sirius Black/Evan Rosier)

Soulniar - Freres, Pour Toujours (Regulus Black & Sirius Black)

LadyofWiltshire - I Really Don't Know Love At All (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin)

dystopianRebel - Soulmates by Arrangement (Sirius Black/Rabastan Lestrange, one-sided James Potter/Lily Evans, Catriona McCormick/James Potter, Peter Pettigrew/OFC)

RockOnGoldDustW - Kiss With A Fist (Sirius Black/Hermione Granger, Sirius Black/OFC)

EastWindmlk - two for divine, three for magic (James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/James Potter/Lily Evans Potter)

sliebman10 - A Flicker Of Hope (Sirius Black & Minerva McGonagall)

emlovessid - two paper airplanes (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin

veganbutterchicken - Where There Is Love, There Is Faith (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin)

Grey_Kenaz - A Prank Gone Awry (Alphard Black & Sirius Black, Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Sirius Black & James Potter, Sirius Black & Walburga Black, Orion Black & Sirius Black)

MidnightStargazer - An Omen of Death (Regulus Black & Sirius Black)

FivePips - Call it Pathetic or Poetic (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin)

procrastinator123 - Grim Hunt (Sirius Black/Kingsley Shacklebolt)

HuntersWithCellPhones - I would not ask and neither would you (Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Regulus Black/Barty Crouch Jr.)

EuripidesTrousers - The Road to Sweetwater (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin)

maraudersaffair - Lucky for You (Sirius Black/Bill Weasley)

EllieMarchetti - A Ghost from the Past (Sirius Black/Hermione Granger)

onehundredflamingos - always yours (Sirius Black/James Potter)

atropos_aeneas - just being neighbourly (Sirius Black/Remus LupinSirius Black & Remus Lupin)

youprettythings - I'm Waiting Here For You (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin)

andthemarauders - Halloween 1981 (Sirius Black/OFC, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin/OFC)

RockOnGoldDustW - Nowhere to Run (Sirius Black & Andromeda Black Tonks, Regulus Black & Sirius Black)

goldenpropeth - everywhere (i want to be with you) (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black & Hope Lupin, Sirius Black & Lyall Lupin)

Strawberrybasil - Seeking Omens (Sirius Black & Harry Potter)