#like james finding regulus and sirius again and it’s been years but he knew despite it all he’d find them again

[thisantithesis]

just rewatched interstellar in imax and now i can’t stop thinking of jegulus in space; james and harry finding the hidden nasa base. james regulus and sirius on the endeavor, going to the planets that sent back positive data, but then things go wrong, leaving them with having to choose between two different planets as their last visit. remus having been one of the twelve people to be sent on the lazarus missions but his data being cut off a couple years beforehand for unexplained reasons. sirius wanting to go to remus’ because he’s been in love with him all these years and the data is good, but regulus refusing for the sake of the mission and because he claims sirius’ opinion is biased. james sacrificing himself into the black hole to save regulus and sirius’ life, waking up on the space station harry had a part in creating, eventually finding his way back to the brothers on remus’ planet as soon as he’s able to and forming the colony and living happily ever after

[crescenthistory]

can u do a remus x reader where they are best friends and remus has been in love with reader forever, and reader is kind of a player because she also loves remus but didnt know that the feeling was reciprocated

i did a bit of a different take on this, hope you enjoy it babe

Words: 4.8k

Warnings: suggestive references and themes (talk of shagging, etc.), drinking and partying in hogwarts, fem!reader, use of y/n, sirius' pov for half then your pov (with all the mental tirades that includes), partier!reader more so than player, you have snogged james and mary (in the past), platonic!sirius but borderline fwb at one point, platonic!wolfstar, pining!remus, secretly pining!reader, no slutshaming, background jegulily, confessions, happy ending ofc

Sirius was in a bit of a difficult situation.

On the one hand, he had a beautiful girl all but crawling into his lap in the middle of an admittedly good party and he knew she would be a hell of a great time.

On the other hand, he was absolutely certain that his best friend was in love with her, despite his many denials, and he was not sure if she herself knew yet.

She had to, right? You had to know that Remus was in love with you with how he had been making puppy eyes at you more or less since first year. The two of you were the best of friends and went everywhere together – it was simply impossible that you had not had a conversation or two about it. But then again, Sirius and Remus were also the best of friends and he had not heard so much as a squeak about any such conversation taking place, let alone him admitting his feelings.

Could you truly be so oblivious? You had to know, and are choosing to live your life as you wanted regardless, as is your right. Would Sirius be an arse if he rejected your current casual advances because of Remus? If he was, would he be an arse for telling you about Remus' feelings or for dictating how a woman conducts herself based on the feelings of a man?

Sirius was way too drunk to be thinking any of these thoughts.

Yet, immediate action was required in order to handle the situation at hand. You and Sirius had been sitting beside one another for a while now, your leg thrown over in between his thighs, his arm wrapped securely around your shoulders, your hand on his chest. The music was absolutely blaring, the alcohol was flowing freely through your bodies, making the places where you touch that much hotter, in all semblances of the word. Sirius knew that if he was to tilt his head down to look at you, your lips would surely smash together.

It was not uncommon for you to shag some lucky bastard at these parties. You were carefree and fun in that way that made you fit seamlessly into your group of friends when Remus introduced you. It was never serious or deep on either front, Sirius knew as much – you and Mary had an arrangement of mutual fun going on for a while and you had even snogged James once before he got with Regulus and Lily.

Sirius participated equally as enthusiastically and the two of you were good friends, so really, it made sense that you ended up in this situation at last.

Still, sirens were flaring in his head screaming "BAD FRIEND, BAD FRIEND" the longer he sat with you like this. Because whenever you did find someone to hook up with at a party, you always left Remus' side to do so, as you were otherwise attached at the hip. And Sirius was the one left to watch him struggle to keep his face from crumbling every time. He was also always the one to poke the bear – or the wolf, if you please – by confronting Remus about his feelings for you constantly, both in a playful and serious manner.

As the designated campaigner for "Remus get your shit together and kiss her yourself", he should not be making that more difficult for his best mate.

He also should not get involved in whatever delicate situation you two had going on, but when his eyes flicked across the room, terrified to make eye contact with Remus wherever he was, determination grew in his chest. Something had to be done.

"Are you good, Siri?" you asked from beside him, words slurred just enough for him to know you were tipsy but not so much that he was concerned.

He took a deep breath. "Actually. Can we talk? Alone?"

Your body grew a bit tense against his, enough that he knew you understood this was not some scheme to get you alone. "Sure," you said wearily, already detangling your body from his.

The two of you got up and hastily made for the portrait hole. Sirius hoped that the cool stone walls outside would help him sober up enough to be able to communicate effectively.

His heart sank just a little bit when he caught sight of familiar tawny hair leaning against the wall by the exit. He knew all too well how this looked. Remus' eyes lit up when they landed on you, his mouth opening to make some sort of greeting when the words died on his tongue at the sight of a guilty Sirius trailing behind you.

You seemed nonplussed. "Oh, hi Rem," you said brightly, almost giggling around your words from the alcohol. You stepped off your path for a second to press a kiss to his cheek, smiling softly at him. "You having fun?"

Remus' face seemed strained, but he kept his smile up, even if just for you. "Yes, dovey. Are you?"

You nodded and squeezed his hand before taking a few steps back and away from him. "Very much so. We're just heading out for a quick chat."

He looked quickly between you and Sirius, never quite meeting his eyes, and Sirius felt as if he was being incriminated just by standing there with his hair slightly tousled from you playing with it. The hurt he could see play across his best mate's face was exactly the type of thing he was hoping to avoid by the awkward conversation he was about to have.

Remus' smile grew more thin-lipped than before as his gaze settled somewhere on your cheek. "Great. Have fun."

You just nodded once more before turning on your heel and making a beeline for the door, seemingly unaware of what just transpired between the three of you. Sirius stalled for a moment, wondering if he should say something, but decided against it in case Remus tried to stop him once he realised what the chat actually will be about.

It didn't much matter, though, because Remus stalked off without ever meeting his eyes.

With a heavy sigh, Sirius hurried over to the door to the common room that you were holding open from the outside, smiling back at him. You truly were such a lovely girl, and he hoped to Merlin he was not fucking anything up for you right now.

Stepping through the portrait, he let the Fat Lady slam shut behind him, cringing at the sudden silence that enveloped the two of you. Though, the air was as much of a welcome reprieve as he had expected it to be, and he breathed in a huge chunk of it to steal his nerves.

"Listen, Sirius, if things got too touchy in there then I'm sor–" you tried to begin, but he all but threw his hands up between you in a display of innocence.

"No, no, dollface, don't you worry about that one bit," he laughed out nervously. "I was very much enjoying myself. I just realised– fuck how do I say this?"

He tried to think clearly and find a way to communicate what he knew in his heart to be true.

"No swearing in my halls!" The shrill voice he knew to belong to the portrait that had tortured him for seven years sounded behind him.

"Sorry, ma'am," he said rather petulantly and held out his hand for you to take so that he could lead you down the hall and away from her. He also hoped you read it as the display of well-meaning and friendship that it was.

You accepted his hand gracefully and his heart did calm down just the slightest from it.

The two of you hurried down the hallway, feeling every bit the teenagers that you were, settling down in a corner just far enough away for privacy. The cool stone did marvels for his overheating, and Sirius took full advantage of it by leaning his head back against them.

"What did you realise?" you asked then.

"Huh?" he answered, admittedly quite dumbly.

You had the decency to laugh at him instead of mock him. "Earlier. You said I didn't do anything wrong, but that you realised something."

Sirius heaved a deep breath. "Right, right," he murmured before clearing his throat. Was he overstepping? Possibly. Would he be ripping the bandaid off anyway? Absolutely. "See, I was having fun earlier and saw it as what it was – just two friends having fun, yeah? But I fear not everyone feels the same."

"I swear to Godrick, if you accuse me of having feelings for you, Black, I will chuck you off the Astronomy Tower," you said through a laugh.

"I'm thankfully not that conceited, babe. But it wasn't you I was referring to."

You looked at him as if to say who, then?

"I think– or no, I actually know for certain, even if the stupid sod won't admit it. Erm, okay, so. Wow, how do I explain that? He's my best mate, you know, and I–"

"Sirius, you are making no sense right now."

"Remus is in love with you."

You had opened your mouth to volley back, clearly expecting him to still be stumbling over his words, but now it was just left hanging open as you stared at him, baffled. The two of you sat in silence for much longer than Sirius could have expected, or perhaps that was just his nerves dragging out the moment. You seemed to be fighting for breath.

"Excuse me, what?!" you breathed out, voice increasing in crescendo throughout your sentence. The what ricocheted down the hall; Sirius grimaced.

"So, you didn't know," he surmises, having answered his mental tirade from earlier. "I honestly don't know how you haven't seen it, that boy has literally been mooning for you for years. I'm surprised we haven't had to keep the actual Moony from tracking you down and wagging his tail at you once a month."

Your face told him that this was not a time for jokes, yet somehow you still laughed at that. Sirius realised with horror that your laugh sounded rather wet and saw you aggressively wiping at your face, as if you were about to start crying. "I'm so confused," you whispered.

Sirius sat there rather dumbly, unsure how to make it any more clear. "I don't know what to tell you, babe. He has feelings for you, always has. I don't blame you if you don't return them and I'm sure neither will he – but, yeah no, I figured you should know. And while I totally respect you shagging whoever you want, I just don't think he could handle it if it were me. So I have to back out."

Miraculously you nodded in understanding, despite his ramblings. Your movements were slow, as if you were trying to let his words settle in your bones, processing years of misinterpreting in a matter of seconds.

Sirius wanted to help. "I've tried to get him to tell you himself, but he hasn't even admitted it out loud yet."

That seemed to snap your attention back to him, a fierce look growing rapidly in your eyes. "He hasn't told you? Then how do you know?!" You waved your hands between the two of you to emphasise his point.

Not quite what he expected, Sirius found himself scrambling for words. "Everyone knows! It's literally written all over his face whenever you're near!"

"I've been looking at that same face a lot and I haven't seen that?" you question then, wielding your argument as if you were about to disagree with him.

"Y/N. Baby." Sirius tried to articulate his words clearly. "Remus has feelings for you. I swear on my life. You don't have to do anything with that information, I just had to tell you."

You narrowed your eyes at him, seemingly scrutinising every inch of his face. "If this is a prank, you're dead, Black."

"It's not a prank. I swear on Effie and Monty Potter, the absolute angels they are." He held his hands over his heart for emphasis.

"You could be wrong."

"I'm not though."

You hummed in consideration, still not letting him out from the hold of your inspecting eyes. "I have to go find out." You said it as if it was plain and simple, and before Sirius knew it, you were standing above him.

"What?" he said, again dumbly. He should never drink again.

"Thank you, Siri, I'll see you later," you called as you were already moving down the hallway at an impressive speed, given you had been shocked still mere seconds ago.

Sirius remained sitting on the floor letting his head drop back against the stone and his eyes fall shut. He has either taken one for the team or massively fucked up – the best part is that he still had no idea which one it would be.

This was bound to be an eventful evening.

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

Your heart was resounding through your entire body and you could barely feel the tips of your fingers – not at all because of the alcohol, you were actually quite certain you had more or less sobered up by now.

No, it was because Remus loved you. Remus Lupin, the best friend you could ask for, the unrequited, unattainable love of your life, for some unidentified reason loved you.

According to Sirius, at least.

Merlin, how you would skin him alive, should he be wrong.

The party had picked up its pace in the few minutes you and Sirius spent outside in the hallway. Someone had conjured up a light fog to roll around on the floor, allegedly to help with the atmosphere but no doubt it was really because the floor was becoming too filthy to look at directly. Warm bodies pressed into each other everywhere and there was a smell of sweat and drinks that on another day might have been enticing. Right now, you only had one focus.

"Where's Remus?" Your words were rushed as you latched onto the nearest arm you could find, grinning brightly when the familiar face of James came into view.

"Hiya, love," he greeted merrily, his other arm wrapped protectively around Lily. "What's up?"

"Remus. Where is he?" you repeated, albeit a bit more abashedly as you saw Lily glance at James sideways.

"Oh," James said and furrowed his brows, as if he was thinking. Then, he turned his head down to look at Lily who was already regarding him. "Where do we think Moony is, darling?"

Lily shifted her gaze between the two of you while biting her lip. She seemed to be making a quick appraisal. "I believe he headed up to the dorm early. Something about feeling tired?"

Nothing got past Lily, and you could tell from her somewhat smug yet concerned expression that she knew something you did not. Or, perhaps you did.

You let out a quick breath. "Oh." You couldn't help the slight guilt that settled in your stomach – even though you still couldn't know for certain that it was because of you. "I'll go find him, then."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked. "He might want to just sleep it off."

Sleep it off?

You nodded, confidence in your choice growing with every second. "I'm sure, yeah, but thanks Lils."

There was not a speck of judgement in her eyes, though her smile remained apprehensive. "I mean, he always wants to be with you, so it should be fine." She winked at you and suddenly your stomach was dropping because did everyone but you know?

Well, perhaps not James because he looked between you and Lily, entertained confusion written all over his face. "Okay, then. Great? See ya later, yeah?"

You squeezed both of their forearms in thanks before stepping backwards away from them, almost knocking into two people on the way. God, this place was packed. You threw some general sound of agreement that hopefully sounded as warm as you intended it before all but running towards the stairs to the boys' dormitory. On the way, you swear you almost lost your life twice, tripping over feet that grew invisible in the fog.

By the time your steps landed on the stairs, you were able to squeeze into the stone wall and quickly run up while avoiding those hanging over the railing. Truly hazardous, these Gryffindors.

The trek down the hall to the dorm Remus had shared with his friends for all seven years of your friendship was as practiced as it was easy. Yet, as your mind was replaying your conversations with Sirius and Lily over and over at record speed, it felt like it stretched on for miles, your own road to Calvary.

Your fingers acted off of instinct as they reached up to quietly rap on the door with two knuckles.

"Sod off," you heard Remus' muffled voice call through the door. You couldn't help the small smile that spread across your face.

You cracked the door open just enough to poke your head through and catch sight of him sprawled out on his bed, face down. Your smile widened. "Me too?"

It was as if his body was a push poppet that suddenly had its strings drawn taut again – his spine straightened and his head whipped around to look at you wide-eyed. He clearly had not expected you. He made some sounds that could probably classify as guffawing before he snapped his mouth shut to sit up and collect himself. The whole process was barely a few seconds, but the syrupy effect on time from the hallway seemed to have joined you into his dorm. Relief washed through your body when he smiled at you, even if it seemed somewhat strained.

"Of course not dove, sorry."

You slipped the rest of your body in through the door and shut it quietly behind you. The silence in this dorm had never felt so complete before.

In your rush to get to him, you hadn't once thought to think of what to say to him. How could you ever possibly breach the topic? It seemed like he could sense your hesitation because he sat more comfortably on the edge of his bed, wool sock-clad feet planted firmly against the floor. He had an inquisitive yet somewhat nervous look on his face.

He beat you to it. "You alright? Shouldn't you be out there, having fun?"

You couldn't help reading some judgement in that, knowing what you now maybe know. "What's that supposed to mean?" you asked, not quite able to hide the potential hurt in your voice.

Remus could pick up on your every mood and his eyes widened comically and he raised his hand as if he was about to talk to a scared wild animal. "Nothing! No, not like that, I just meant – it's a party. You love parties. Did someone hurt you?" His voice grew small by the end of his sentence. You feared someone was referring to Sirius, the only reason he could imagine you leaving a gathering to go be alone with him. You hated the idea.

There were probably a hundred better ways to go about this, but your mind felt muddy with the overwhelming feelings, your earlier drinks and the damn fog that somehow had made its way into your lungs. And you just could not believe any of it.

You were not proud of what you said next.

"Remus, are you in love with me?"

If it had been quiet before, there were no words for the shift in atmosphere after that question. It was like you were alone in a black hole, just the two of you.

Remus' head actually reared back from shock, both from your suddenness and the question itself. His pretty mouth hung slightly open, bottom lip making a slight jerky movement you could only describe as quivering.

"I– what?" He let out, it was somewhere between a gasp and an exclamation.

You took a few steps closer, so that you were standing in front of him, feeling the sudden need to be near, to hear, to know. "Sirius told me."

Remus jerked up too, suddenly standing within arm reach. His eyes were fluttering and his mouth opening and closing in a way that almost confirmed it on its own. "Y/N, I–"

"Remus." You interrupted quietly, sensing his continued shock and oncoming fib. "Don't lie, please."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered then, eyes growing glossy as they flicked all over your face. "I– I'm sorry."

Your eyebrows furrowed as you took in his pained expression. "I don't understand?" you said weakly. Why was he apologising? "Remus, are you in love with me?"

He shut his eyes and turned his head to the side. Your fears were confirmed when he brought up a hand to wipe at the part of his face you couldn't see. "Please," he begged. "Don't."

Don't make me say it.

You have to.

"Remus." Your tone matched his despairing one – his name was your plea.

He turned his head back to you and met your eyes head on with his own red-rimmed ones. A slow sigh was let out through his nose, the sound of defeat, giving in to you as he always did.

Gods, he always did.

"I'm in love with you," he whispered then. Clearly, without any hint at insecurity or deceit.

You took one small step closer, bringing your trembling fingers up to lightly ghost over his cheeks – not quite holding his face, but almost, millimetres apart. You were sure you looked half-crazed as you stood there in silent shock, studying his face in a flurry.

There was no contempt in his face at your stupor. Just guilt and sorrow.

"Why?" you breathed out.

"I'm sorry," was all he offered, once more.

"No, no, don't say that," you insisted, voice suddenly growing stronger. More certain. Your hands made proper contact with his cheeks, and you could feel him deflate beneath your touch. "Please don't be sorry."

At last some confusion drifted into his eyes as he regarded you. "Don't tell me not to apologise; that just makes me want to apologise for apologising." There was light humour in his tone, a smidge of hope. Hope that you wouldn't believe him awful for falling in love with you.

He was in love with you.

You laughed then, not just at his poor attempt at a joke but at the situation, at the prospect.

"You love me?" There was no hiding the absolute awe in your voice.

The guilt was still there, but it made room for softness as he gave you the smallest, saddest smile. "Of course, dove."

You breathed a sigh of relief and leaned forward to kiss his smile into a happy one.

Remus’ body immediately stiffened beneath your touch, shock radiating through him. Then, beautifully, you felt him soften once more beneath you, felt his eyelashes brush your cheeks as his eyes fluttered shut, felt him blow the air from his lungs through his nose in a long sigh, breath warm and inviting against you. Slowly, you parted your lips and brought his between yours, deepening the kiss. Unlike your movements earlier, there was no urgency, there was just him in your hands, him against your lips, his tongue against yours.

You let one of your hands travel to the nape of his neck where you played with his shorter strands of hair, breaking the kiss to lean your forehead against his. Your eyes remained closed as you soaked up up the moment, but you could feel his own burn through your skin. Could hear him guffawing again. A smile settled permanently onto your lips.

“You love me?” you repeated, knowing the answer, but wanting to feel the words on your tongue once more, mixing with him.

He nodded fervently against you, jostling your head slightly to which you let out a soft giggle.

“You– I–” he began, cutting himself off. “Do you…?” he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

“I love you,” you whispered, in awe at getting to say the words aloud in this context. “I’m so in love with you, sweet boy.”

His body disconnected from yours briefly, forcing you to open your eyes and support your own weight, as he leaned back to stare at you incredulously, confused, shocked. His eyebrows were furrowed almost as if he were mad, but you knew in your heart that he was not.

“I– no, that makes no sense,” he whispered almost to himself, shaking his head as he tried to process your words. You fought not to laugh at that – because it would seem like you were laughing at him and that was not nice. You would have more than enough time to be not nice later, for now he needed your patience. “You? Love me?”

You nodded with a smile. His body was still close to yours and you took the opportunity to wrap your arms around his waist, interlocking your fingers at the small of his back.

There was so much emotion and vulnerability swimming in his eyes, you would almost feel bad if you weren’t so unbelievably happy.

“I never thought you could have feelings for me,” you confessed breathlessly, grinning wickedly despite the pain you were sharing. “Here I’ve been, running around thinking the greatest love I had ever felt was wholly unreciprocated.”

This only seemed to confuse him further, though he was relaxing beneath your touch. “You… This whole time?”

“I suppose so,” you mused. “I only realised two years ago, though.”

Remus let out a groan and a laugh at the same time and then – thanks to any and every god – he leaned his forehead on your shoulder, burying his face in you. “I cannot believe I’ve been torturing myself and you’ve been… in love with me too. This whole time.”

You dared to kiss the side of his head from where he was leaning against you and tightened your hold on him. Something you had done a thousand times over as his friend, yet this sent entirely new sparks through you.

As if he just thought of something, he lifted his head suddenly to furrow his brows at you. “Why would you ever think I couldn't love you?”

You tilted your head at him. “How many times have you not brushed Sirius off when he makes jokes about us? Or said you would never want to be in a relationship? I thought you might view me as a sister by now.” Despite your teasing, residue hurt still clung to your words.

The grimace was instant and Remus shook his head as if that is the worst thing he has ever heard. “Gods, no, I sure do hope not.” 

You both laughed quietly, carefully. His hands were slow as they went up to hold your jaw, fingers brushing the side of your neck in reverence. “I’m sorry I made you think that, dovey.”

“Don’t be. Then I have to be sorry for snogging our friends in front of you.”

Remus flushed slightly at your words, but the awed affection plastered all over his every feature did not waver. “I don’t want you to be,” he murmured while still caressing you carefully. “I just… I just want you. Will you be mine, dovey?”

Your face inched closer and closer to his, your grins growing mirrored against each other. “I am yours,” you whispered against his lips before closing the distance once more.

The most heavenly kisses you ever shared would be those with your lovely Remus.

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

“Oi! Pads!”

Sirius flinched with his whole body, looking over his shoulder with a sheepish smile to face his inevitable death in the form of one Remus Lupin. He had been waiting for it all night as he partied with James, and had managed to get halfway through his second game of butterbeer pong before it was time for his execution.

Reaching out for James’ hand, he shook it firmly and matter-of-factly. “Lovely knowing you mate, take good care of my brother, yeah?”

James seemed entirely nonchalant to the whole ordeal, shaking his hand in return. “Yeah, sure, safe travels Padfoot.”

Sirius then turned to Remus who was descending the stairs from the dormitory, holding his hands up in defence. “Okay, hear me out–” he begins but he was cut off.

He was cut off by a hug. 

Remus borderline slams into him, locking his arms over his shoulders and dragging him close to his chest. Awkwardly, Sirius returns the favour, patting him on the back and making what the fuck eyes at Mary over Remus’ shoulder.

“You’re a meddling bloody bastard,” Remus said into his ear. 

Here we go.

“But thank you.”

Oh. Oh.

He reared his head back so that he could see Remus and the shy yet pleased smile he wore, and Sirius’ whole face split into a painful, beaming smile. “It worked?” he asked giddily, jostling Remus where he was still trapped in the hug.

“Yeah, yeah,” Remus mumbled, though his grin grew.

The victorious, screeching holler Sirius let out was so loud it could be heard down to the dungeons.

[prongsielefthiswand]

regulus black, who grew up in a household where romantic love wasn’t a thing.

a brief character study

his parents had been cold to each other, never displaying any affection for him to grasp the concepts of what it may mean to love another person.

yet he couldn’t deny that there was a small panging in his chest when he came back to hogwarts after the holidays, to be surrounded by people in love.

don’t get him wrong, he was happy for them all, having long suffered evan and barty’s antics before they stopped dancing around each other and got together, chuckling softly between kisses and climbing into each other’s bed’s before cheekily tugging the curtains closed around them.

regulus only watched them quietly, knees drawn up to his chest on his own bed, as the longing in his heart to find its other half grew stronger.

he’d found out sometime in 4th year that he liked boys, if his less-than-innocent thoughts about his own best mates had anything to say about it, yet he knew that it was a fruitless pursuit.

the house of black wanted heirs, not lovers.

regulus swallows and lays back, staring up at the ceiling, and lets himself imagine again.

imagine if- if- there was a chance, if he was allowed-

regulus inhales sharply at the lump that has suddenly formed in his throat.

he pictures being held gently, like he was made of glass.

he imagines soft hands cupping his face with a tenderness he’d never experienced before. they’d brush over the planes of his face, gently stroking his eye bags, like they were trying to memorise every dip and crevice of him.

regulus closes his eyes, a soft tear running down his temple.

soft lips would follow, pressing promises of love and protection into pale skin that has been long nourished by tears, whilst hands may travel down to the delicate curve of his jaw.

the thumb would now rest against the tender spot of his neck, where his pulse lies, thumping gently.

mirroring his heart, which beats excitedly, knowing its other half is close by.

regulus quietly muses how he knows all this so well, despite having experienced none of it himself, but he reminds himself again of the love that surrounds him here at hogwarts.

his friends, hell, even his own brother, sirius.

the brightest star, the heir,

the one that got away.

heirs, not lovers

even sirius found his missing piece, regulus recalls, having spied him murmuring quietly to that lupin boy, foreheads pressed together in a tender embrace as the shared a cigarette between them.

regulus sits up and reaches for his own pack of cigarettes, one he had stolen from barty, not that the latter ever suspected him.

he leaves his bed, finding himself wandering the halls of hogwarts until he found himself up in the astronomy tower.

above him, his namesake shone dimly, as if taunting him, reminding him of his place.

the spare, a well behaved child, the other one.

and again, he was reminded of his choices, or rather, lack of.

heirs, not lovers

sullenly looking back down and pointing his wand at the end of his cigarette, the unmistakable voice of a one, james potter startles him from his somber thoughts.

“black? I didn’t know you smoked,” he said, coming up beside regulus, an amused expression on his face. Regulus felt a faint feeling in his chest, that longing- that yearning stirringup again, as he fought to keep his composure.

heirs, not lovers,

heirs, not lovers,

heirs, not love-

“mind if I bum one off you?”

[stupidstrawberrystars]

Okay! I have this fic idea. Wolfstar and Jegulus. Ready? 

So, Remus and Sirius have been on/off dating since Hogwarts. They’re currently off and have been for the last year, the longest break they’ve had so far. 

Regulus didn’t go to Hogwarts, and runs into Sirius one day at a cafe and they get to catching up. Regulus and James flirt but, despite prompting from Regulus, James won’t ask him out. 

So once the brothers are vibing, maybe a month after re-meeting, Sirius introduces Regulus to Remus and they hit it off. Platonic Moonwater is living it up.

And then Regulus decides to introduce his friends to his brother and the others. They get along alright(ish) but Remus really hits it off with everyone (mostly…)

So Remus starts hanging out with the Slytherin Skittles more often. 

Say like 2-3 months later and they’re all hanging out (Skittles and Remus) and Barty goes, “I’m the opposite of gullible, I never fall for your shit Regulus” after some conversation about Regulus’ tricks.

And it gives Regulus an idea. 

So later that night when they’re alone, Regulus comes to Remus with said idea. 

There’s a fancy social event happening in like two weeks that Regulus is invited too. And he’s got a plus one. So he suggests Remus and him go as a “couple“ to prank Barty. And Regulus isn’t supposed to know Barty will be there (you can thank Evan for telling him) so it’ll seem like Remus and Regulus are just trying to get away from everyone and be together in secret. 

Remus is in since he’s been finding Barty a bit annoying and wants to prove that he is gullible. Plus he’s doubting Sirius intent behind his recent flirting with Remus and he could use a fun night out to distract himself. 

So they go. They go and they trick Barty so fast it’s laughable… but Regulus has been weird all night. He keeps sneaking glances at the door to the big fancy room they’re in, and 30 minutes ago he asked Remus if it’d be alright if they kissed to fuck with his homophobic boss who’s here… except they still haven’t done it? And Regulus isn’t super touchy.

Just when Remus is about to ask what’s going on, Regulus turns to him and announces they must kiss. And they do.

It’s alright. Regulus makes some joke about Sirius’ pining making more sense now he knows what a good kisser Remus is. And Remus doesn’t even get to ask about the “pining” because from the other side of the room, a very familiar voice yells “WHAT THE FUCK?���

And then Sirius and James are stood in front of Remus and Regulus.  

Oh. That’s why he’s been watching the door. Regulus knew Barty would tell James, to be a pain, and that these two would come here and see their kiss and then, what? Beg for them back? 

Regulus played Remus. The genius.

Anyway, Sirius starts talking, contradicting himself every next sentences, going from saying he’s happy for them and doesn’t want to lose them, to calling them names and accusing Regulus of backstabbing him. Then he leaves. James whispers, “I should’ve asked sooner Reg. Taken my head out my arse. I’m sorry.” And follows Sirius. Clearly Barty told them what they told him. They’ve “been together” for two months.  James and Sirius both thought him and Regulus were an actual real couple. 

Remus freezes for a moment but then he heads to the exit to follow them, Regulus close behind. And Remus shoots him a look. An annoyed one.

So they get outside and before Sirius and James can get in a taxi, Reg yells “WE’RE NOT DATING YOU DICKS!” 

Sirius turns around and silently walks over to Regulus with the most murderous look on his face. And whispers “What?”

Then Remus decides to interject, “We’re not dating. For the record though, we could. You two have been fucking hopeless at communicating with us. Hell, we’ve been broken up over a year Sirius.”

And Sirius turns to Remus, and with a slightly raised but wobbly voice, he answers, “We’ve been on and off again since we started dating Remus. We weren’t supposed to end on OFF. I still have the fucking ring I was going to give you before you broke up with me, it’s in the corner of my room. And while you’ve been kissing my brother, I’ve been planning a big gesture to ask you out again for months. Fuck, I was going to do it next week. The anniversary of when we met.” 

(btw Remus broke up with Sirius but because Sirius was pulling away and they weren’t talking. They’re at equal fault but where Remus has been trying to talk, Sirius has been brushing it off and just flirting). 

But long story short, Remus kisses Sirius and they’re all happy again. Oh and they agree to get some couples therapy. Cause that’s always important. 

Then James makes his cutesy speech, going all, “I should’ve gotten over myself sooner” and “I wanted to make it perfect” and “I thought maybe you didn’t actually like me and just liked out flirting thingy” and, after some torture from Regulus, pretending to say no, they hook up too.

And everyone’s happy :) 

[youknowwho-mustnotbenamed]

A Tragic Ending to a Tragic Story

A battle has waged itself in Regulus’ mind, weighing him down and tossing him to and fro in the throng of it. His heartbeat the war drums, his apprehensions the bullets, his resolve the trenches. It has been days since the first shot of hesitancy was fired, and the conflict only appears to be swelling. It plagues him more with each passing day, so much so that yesterday he was almost certain James could hear the cacophony in his head. He did not.

The only thing that disturbs him more than this cowardly inner turmoil, is how easily he managed to convince James this sudden bout of silence and reservation wasn’t a big of a deal as it truly is. That the stress of hiding himself is weighing down on him rather than his impending death. How is it, that after years of pushing to know every thought that passed through Regulus’ mind, James hasn’t batted an eye when he goes silent?

Part of him wants James to push. But that is a dangerous line to walk, and he will not risk James becoming aware of his plans. The more reasonable part of him is glad James is staying on the sidelines, waiting for Regulus to take the lead, to coach him, to tell him what to think, to do, to be. Because this war in his mind is reaching its crescendo now, the pivotal moment when things either go according to his well-laid plan, or come crashing down around him. It’s best that James is far away so he crumbling façade doesn’t crush him too.

Or he could just do the cowardly thing, and shy away from responsibility. He can keep James, and his life.

At the moment, that option is appearing far more appealing. James’ arm carelessly yet protectively thrown over his waist seems like an insurmountable obstacle. One he doesn’t even want to overcome. He can just stay here in the warm cocoon of James’ arms rather than surrendering his beating heart for a chill in his bones. Yet somehow, he surmounts his base desires. Slipping out from the warmth and reassurance. Slipping away from the promises he made. Slipping away into the darkness. Slipping away from an arm that instinctively curls around the warm spot Regulus once occupied. Slipping away like he was never there. By the time James wakes, that spot will have gone long cold. Cold with no beating heart to warm it again. Just a lonely ghost, reaching out to its lover with intangible hands.

But Regulus will easily bear that burden if it means James can free himself from this tangled web of darkness. It isn’t too late. Despite all of James’ veneration towards him, he can still get out. He has not yet fallen over the cliff, he can mend the fraying rope of his relationships, and they can pull him back to solid ground. He was foolish to try and keep James—the sun has no place in the night where cruel and dark things lurk. Whether he knew it or not, it was always going to end up here.

And he doesn’t even get to say goodbye.

But it’s okay. Because nobody knows what life would be like without the sun. He won’t be the reason everybody finds out, it’s just not a viable solution. The world won’t even notice his missing spot in the world, just like a star blipping out of existence. Before he does however, he will allow himself this one good thing. Burning bright before he is consumed whole, darkness and all.

When the voices ringing in the battle of his mind grappled for dominance, he had procured three letters. One to seek forgiveness, one to mend old scars, and one to instill unease. He spent hours pouring over each of them, anguishing over the words. It’s hard to say goodbye to your life before it’s really even begun. Regretfully, Sirius was right—he never did get to feel the sunrise, not truly.

The first letter, is more a collection. Snippets of verse and quotes and memories. Things to ease the hurt. To show he meant what he said—that he did want to start a life together, that he did finally find somebody to live for, that if things were different, they could have had it. Regulus hates to break promises, it’s rather an unfortunate stroke of circumstance that he made a promise to himself well before that to James. The promise to protect those in his heart, and seek vengeance against those who wish to cause them harm. That promise, proceeds all others, and that alone is what he seeks forgiveness for.

He leaves the letter on the kitchen counter, just next to the kettle. James always follows the same routine every morning. Wake up, set some tea to boil for Regulus, then head out for his morning run along the coast. When he emerges from his induce slumber, that routine will be derailed. Hopefully, James doesn’t derail along with it. Hopefully, James keeps his footing and moves forward.

The next letter, contains a part of him from the deepest crevices of his soul. A part of himself that he buried beneath a cage of ribs and cobwebs and dark magic and hurt. Behind all the things that made it easier to hate his brother rather than reconcile their wrongs. The letter is accompanied by a slender box. The box is deceptively small, but holds hundreds of letters. A thousand maybe. Letters that Regulus wrote, only to be intercepted before they reached the eyes of the addressee. Maybe, just maybe, they will be enough to behind to mend the resentment he is certain was sowed back in ’71. Maybe he can undo the damage their Mother caused. Maybe... maybe he can be Sirius’ brother again.

Knowing Sirius, however, his brother won’t take the news genuinely, not until the account of his death has reached the Order. He will ignore the letter, or use it as evidence of Regulus’ ‘contempt against him’. Either way, Regulus tried, in the best way he knows how to.

The last letter, was something he struggled for an embarrassing amount of time for a mere three sentences. But he isn’t a Black for nothing, he could hardly go to his death without at least a little histrionics. He folds the letter and tucks it inside the decoy locket, which he tucks securely in his breast pocket.  

Once the apology, reconciliation, and antics are dealt with, he heads to the beach. He just wants one last moment to feel alive before becoming a hollow shell. He knows what waits for him in that cave, and dying is the least worrying of the outcomes. Realistically, the inferi will sink their magic-ridden claws into him, and he will once again be a mindless servant of the Dark Lord, dragging down anybody who tries following in his traitorous footsteps. Merlin, he hopes James gets the message and stays away, he can’t imagine killing his lover, especially not even being himself.

Morbidly, he hopes the water does him in. At least then, he won’t be trapped in a corpse for eternity. He would be free, a servant no longer. Besides, he’s always found water soothing, and after moving to the coast, that feeling has only amplified. He finds a kinship with the water—always underestimated, yet perfectly capable of being deadly.

Each crashing wave is a thundering heartbeat, driving him closer to the rocky shore littered with masks of his previous lives. Lives that were not his, lives that he had to live in to protect the fragile inner self. He is but a China doll, covered in chips and cracks, each revealing more of his weakly beating soul.

Soul is a bit lackluster. It’s his conscience, his life, his animus, his vivacity, his individuality, his reason for being. Trust humans to put such an uninspired word to such singularity. Trust them to dumb it down, to make it less than it is so they don’t scare anybody with the true scope of it all.

Before he loses his nerve, he apparates.

The ground he lands on is slick. Only seconds after landing—and barely catching his balance—he hears the cracking sound of water against rock, and a deluge washes over him, knocking him fully to the ground. His shoulder is driven into the jagged rock below him, the rest of his body slammed down atop it. He only just catches himself from being hauled into the turbulent sea by a fingernail. Just the edge of it snags on the rock. It tears bloodily from his finger, but it slows him just enough to get a proper grip on the wet rock, and heave himself back onto semi-safe ground.

Breath heaving in his chest, Regulus turns his eyes upward, blinking away water. There, in the distance, rises the sheer cliff the cave is carved from. The heavy mists shrouding the full thing from sight do it no justice. But even then, it is nowhere as daunting as Kreacher had made it out to be. The place just looks… sad. Sad and forgotten, waves pounding against a forlorn cliff as his heart claws at his chest. Him and the ocean, one and the same. Him and the ocean, hiding secrets in icy depths.

He fights the wind and the sea for balance, searching for something to transfigure a boat out of. Kreacher mentioned a rock nearby Riddle created a raft out of, so hopefully after returning to this spot, he canceled the spell, leaving the rock behind. The water is hardly tame enough for a boat, but it is his only viable option. There is no magic inside the cave—Kreacher mentioned feeling completely cut off from everything, “like some muggle creature no doubt”—but if Riddle’s boat held, so will Regulus’.

With a deep well of magic at his fingertips, the boat is easily transfigured from a boulder nearby. The thought has barely formed in his mind before the boat is materialized on the surface, rocking and dipping with the waves as any boat should. He climbs aboard, and another wandless spell has the boat silently propelling forward, urged on by oars handled by his magic.

If possible, darkness falls further upon passing through the cave’s threshold. Even worse, Regulus physically feels the stripping of his magic. An almost painful tear. His is more than disconnected, he is weak, his is vulnerable. Everything that gave him power, everything that kept him safe, it’s gone. It’s hardly significant in the moment, but he also notices the glamor—that always stuck close by in case of emergency—is no longer at his whims.

The oars fall limp at the sides of the boat, momentum allowing him to drift a few more feet before coming to a slow halt. Even the churning waves outside appear to be quieted, the sound muffled by the magical barrier. All he can hear is the gentle slosh of water against the hull of the boat and sides of the cave; his heavy breathing; and a faint crackle of dark magic in the air.

In what must be the middle of the cave, there is a small rock island with a pedestal. Hovering above it, is a glowing green orb, casting a haunting glow over the island and the surrounding water. It seems to both be calling him forward, and urging him away at the same time. Come, have a drink. Come, see what secrets I hold. Turn away, darkness awaits you. Turn away, there is nothing of interest here. Come, untold power at your fingertips. Turn away, turn away, come closer, turn away, come closer, come closer…

Regulus seizes the oars, and makes the slow journey toward the island.

As he climbs out of the boat, pale hands rise to the surface of the water, sending gentle ripples across the smooth surface. They tease him, drawing tantalizingly close before withdrawing back into the safety of the water once more. Inferi. Regulus knows. Voldemort himself boasted of his ability to curse a hundred dead muggles. Muggles, who were worthless to do anything other than protect a part of his soul. Inferior unless given one set goal to achieve, and limitless ability to do so. Regulus had pointed out any sane witch or wizard would use magic to defeat them, or could wait it out on the island and send out a patronus for somebody to come to their aid. Voldemort then countered with the use of the potion, and a magic-dampener and anti-apparition wards around the cave. In the end, Regulus had driven the nails into his own coffin.

The pedestal sits in the middle of the island, with a crudely carved stone basin resting atop. Resting at the base of what appears to be the water-filled vessel, is a locket. Surprisingly unremarkable and plain compared to the jewelry he grew up with, Salazar’s locket has been besmirched in the name of the Dark Lord. Once a sign of the great founder’s magic, it is now used to store a fragment of a dark wizard’s soul. Such a mockery. Such a waste.

Sitting beside the basin, is a small pewter goblet. Inscribed in the base of the cup are the words, “bibere si audes”. Riddle is practically telling those exactly how to go after the horcrux, giving them a step-by-step guide and leaving it practically in the open. For what gain?

His hands betray his confidence as he shakily raises the first goblet full of potion to his lips. But there, just before the first drop hits his tongue, he hesitates. Knowing exactly how this goes doesn’t help. Knowing what unforgiving and unyielding pain will soon tear through his body makes him that much more apprehensive to take that first sip.

At least until his mind does cruel things, and summons images of James. James in this dark cave, raising a goblet to his lips. James collapsing to the rocky shore and grasping toward the water holding those cursed muggles. James, dying. James, in pain. James, corrupted and killed by him. James… James… James…

That’s enough to force the first sip. From there, he is certain of only one thing. The raging inferno rising inside him to combat the crushing waves of his heartbeat. Fire and water, clashing until a smoke rises in his throat and clogs his lungs. He needs to breathe; he needs to clear this soot from his mouth, he needs… water!

He scrambles for the waterside, only to trip back at the sight of pale fingers with dagger-like nails. No, he must bear it. He is not a Black for nothing. He took the Dark Mark at seventeen. He bore the pain then, he didn’t give into the creeping black edge of pain, he will no do so now. So, he summons all his wavering courage, and stumbles back to the pedestal for another damning drought. And another. And another.

“REGULUS!” James’ voice echoes through the cave, tearing him away from his singular focus of clearing the last drops of the potion. He is almost there; he can almost get the locket. He can almost give James and his brother a shot at living. He can almost… but James is here, and screaming his name. “REGULUS! HELP ME! REGULUS!”

No, it’s too early. The potion shouldn’t have worn off yet, James should still be sound asleep in bed, none the wiser to Regulus’ absence. He was supposed to have time. He was supposed to do this properly, and not have to stick around and face the consequences. He wanted to do one good, selfless thing without being pulled away from it. This was supposed to be just his, and it was supposed to keep James far away. How did he even find the cave? Regulus purposefully kept that information to himself, so this exact thing wouldn’t happen—James’ too-good-bravery stepping in to sacrifice himself.

James is crawling up the rocky shore, deep bloody gouges crisscrossing his body. Bloody claws gripping at his skin, both looking like they are tearing him apart, and dragging him down to a watery grave. His trademark lopsided grin is replaced, twisted into a grotesque scream, eyes bright with terror.

“JAMES!” He tries flinging his magic out, magic he knows and relies. But nothing happens, and the inferi drag James further away from him. “I told you not to leave me.” James pouts before he is dragged fully underwater.

He gets to the waterline too late. James is gone, and all that is waiting for him are clawing hands and death. At least now, he won’t be leaving anybody behind. But James, why did you do this? Why did you come here? Why didn’t you give up on me? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

“I thought you were better than this, Regine.” Regulus half turns to see Sirius standing over him, dressed like everything he ever fought against, disapproving look cast upon him.

He is shrinking. Shrinking until he is just another rock littering the shore. Shrinking until there is nothing left of him. Because what is he really? A fraud of a girl. A fraud of a boy. A fraud of a brother. A fraud of a lover. He’s spent so long wearing masks, he doesn’t know who he is. And he’s going to die like that. Die without knowing who he is in the center of his being.

“Look at you.” Sirius spits. “Making an embarrassment of this family.”

“Siri?”

Sirius scoffs. “Acting like a child. No wonder I left you behind.” He cocks his head, hair falling from the intricate bun to fall around his face. He’s now wearing his typical garb—ratty muggle band tee, leather jacket, and ripped jeans. Even his voice changes, now dripping with desperation. “I thought you wanted to leave, Reggie? I thought…” He sighs, resignation in his tone. “I guess Mother was right about you all along. You really are her child.”

“You said you trusted us.” Dorcas laments.

“You promised you would heed my warning.” Pandora chastises.

“I thought we were in this together, Reg.” Barty mourns.

“So much for promises.” Evan spits.

“And here I thought you were as brave as your brother.” Remus accuses.

“You couldn’t save me.”

“I’m glad I left.”

“Why do you never listen?”

“So much for friendship.”

His friends circle around him. Voices heckle him, drawing closer and closer, pressing in on all sides. They overlap, they rise and fall in waves, each washing over him with a painful blow. He is too big for his body now, a body that is battered with hurt and sliced with malevolent words. He just wants this to be over. He wants the voices to stop pestering him, he just wants silence. He wants to lay in bed with James. He wants to laugh with his brother. He wants his friends to make-light hearted fun of him. He wants to be a normal teenager. He wants. He wants. He wants. He wants so much, and he will never get it because of the inferno in his chest, and the promise he will die keeping.

But he will not die before keeping it.

So, he pushes passed his friends, a solid barrier that keeps morphing and twisting to keep him away from the pedestal, to push him toward the water. But he won’t allow them, because he is doing this for them. He is giving them their future, where they can be teenagers, then adults, then grow old together. He is doing this so they can be normal. It has to be this way, because he is the only one the world won’t miss. It has to be him burning up and drowning and suffocating. It has to be him, the heart of the lion, finally slain by Hercules fulfilling his final labor. A brave act, that requires his life as forfeit.

The last sip, is surprisingly mellow.

He ignores the slight disappointment, and scoops up the locket. Even without magic in this cave, the locket itself hums with power. Maybe he can leave. Maybe he can escape this cave in one piece, he can return to his life, and start living it right. But first… he places the decoy locket, and watches in awe as the potion fills back up to the top, goblet up righting itself everything as it was when he first arrived.

Well, almost.

Regulus spins back, only to find the boat being upended by gnarled pale bodies. While a swarm of them capsizes the boat, even more are coming for him. Their grotesque bodies tangling together as they clamber toward him. On all sides, they cover every surface of the rock, a flowing wave of bodies, hungry for him. His blood, his lifeforce, his magic. They will consume it, use every part of his being, and only get stronger for the next fool to enter the cave.

“Kreacher!” The house elf does not appear. This isn’t good. His whole plan banked on the loyal elf and him being able to hear him through the magical buffer. He knew from the beginning he wasn’t getting off the island alive, let alone out of the cave. He also knew he would have to get the horcrux out somehow, and Kreacher was his means of doing so. “KREACHER! I COMMAND YOU!”

The bodies are closer now, about halfway up the small island. Just two more body lengths and they will be upon him.

“KRE—”

“Kreacher is here, Mistress Régine.”

Regulus clenches his teeth at the misnomer, but doesn't correct the elf. There is hardly the time for such concerns, not when death and failure are so close to fumbling out of his grasp. “Take this. Bring it to James, he knows how to destroy it.”

“Kreacher doesn’t like Mr. Potter.”

“I don’t care. Bring it to him. Do you understand, this is important. I command you to bring it to James Potter. Then, you will do whatever he requires of you.”

“…Yes Mistress Régine.”

“Good. Go.”

A loud crack, and Regulus is alone once again. Alone, a cadaver, just moments away from its final breaths. So cold, and so hot. Even in his final moments, his body cannot settle to give him a moment of peace. Always in turmoil, like the undulating sea. He is more the sea than he originally thought. Many names, many appearances, many temperaments. Always underestimated, always deadly. Never forgiven.

Claws close around his ankles, dragging him down. His knee collides with the rock. The claws dig in, straight to the bone. They dig in hard and start tearing. The agony is worse than before. Curse magic delivered directly into his bloodstream, killing him, removing him, turning him into something else.

His body hits the glacial water. His screams muted by the water, heard by none but his fellow cursed. Water rushes into his body, and the inferno finally quiets. The claws drag him further into the depths. Slimy limbs pressing against him on all sides, until they finally shove him against the rocky lake-bed, and rise around him, leaving him alone at the bottom.

Alone to let the water invade.

Alone to die.

Alone, he never wanted to be alone. But in pushing everybody away, what else should he have expected?

Alone.

Alone and dying.

Alone.

Alone.

A hollow husk of a lonely boy, drowning.

I’m sorry, Sirius. I’m sorry I didn’t follow you sooner.

[fensherohair]

The Marauders & The Metamorphic Witch Part 7

Warning: None Words: 1.9k

"If I didn't know any better" started James, he and the group of friends entered Gryffindor Common Room after the portrait of the Fat Lady had finally decided to let them pass. A few of the portraits close by had cringed at the screech the Fat Lady had insisted was her best opera voice. "I would say old Dumbledore's speech was aimed at us" he added, motioning between (Y/N) and the remaining three Marauders. Dumbledore's speech was still fresh in memory, even after the amazing feast filled with endless choices for dinner and dessert. He'd spoken about the mischief and constant pranks the year prior, hinting toward the idea of it calming a little now, at least since those involved had more subjects to choose from and would likely be more occupied with work and other things such as the trips to Hogsmeade and Quidditch. 

"It was aimed at you dofus" commented Marlene as she walked passed, a smile on her lips. Although she was a little down, her little brother Mason, had been sorted into Slytherin. Despite that, she was proud of him and pleased he at least had one friend in Regulus. "No one else in the years above or below caused so much chaos last year. Plus we all know the new caretaker won't be pleased if he has to chase you lot around as well as Peeves" she laughed, taking a seat on one of the sofas, with Lily and (Y/N) on either side of her, Isolde on the armchair to the side, pulling faces at the first years, as if to lighten the mood slightly. 

"Ah, we'll probably be causing enough havoc in Care of Magical Creatures and DADA" replied Isolde. Her excitement had only grown over the holidays, she always had a love for creatures, even more so the magical ones. Despite only being a third year, she had hopes of one day becoming a Magizoologist, studying dragons in particular, there was just something about the mythical and dangerous beasts that always intrigued her. 

"I'll try not to melt the potion cauldron with an acidic mess this year" called Sirius, as he sat at one of the wooden tables, seemingly ignoring the girls that had begun to show attraction, almost as if he was oblivious to it. "Well, I will if (Y/N) doesn't make another banger like last year" 

"Whatever did I do to get such attention from you?" playfully asked (Y/N), the familiar mischievous gleam returning to her (E/C) eyes. Once again Sirius' cheeks began to burn up, much to (Y/N)'s amusement. Lily and Marlene also seemed to find the funny side, whereas Isolde merely commented it was sweet. Allegra on the other hand, remained quiet, as if unsure what to say or let the thoughts floating through her mind, pass her lips in a thinly worded comment. "Only joking with you Black. It would be fun tormenting you in detention again, same with James" she added with a more innocent smile. 

"Oi, I plan to stay out of detention this year. Me old parents threatened to send a howler if I didn't start behaving" hurriedly replied James, as he threatened his father wording the threat, and his mother trying to lighten the blow. Neither were particularly thrilled with the constant pranks and jokes but were at least happy he'd found friends. 

"I'll believe that when it happens" voiced Remus, with a chuckle. His eyes light up a little as the letters shared over the holidays come to mind. How Peter, James, and Sirius had come up with a plan to help him on full moons, although it was one that could take months, even years to properly succeed at. They were going to try and become Animajus. Something Remus knew was no easy feat, but at the same time, he couldn't help but be thankful to them, in the same way, he was thankful for (Y/N), using her ability to make that time of the month easier for him, if not a little more enjoyable. 

"You're jumping into studying early" commented Allegra, as she sat on the other arm, across from her twin. James had hold of an advanced potions book, another small book on top of it, although she couldn't make out what the title of it was. Peter and James looked to the books whereas Sirius and Remus shared an uncertain glance, as if they were suddenly unsure how well they could keep Remus' condition a secret or what they were going to attempt away from the often gossipy girl. 

"If you boys need help with that potion, give me a shout" voiced (Y/N), quickly figuring out what they were up to. Although she saved them the hassle of explaining, but not physically word it. Instead, she offered her skills in potion brewing. "I figured it out, from all the questions James and Sirius were asking via letters over the holidays" added the Metamorphic witch, offering a reassuring smile, their secret was safe with her, as Remus' had been since the first year. 

"How come you know everything?" asked Allegra, a rude tone to her voice, as a little bit of jealousy seeped into it as well. Isolde simply rolled her eyes at her twin, suspecting it wouldn't be long before Allegra threw herself into her old way once more, despite her promise to their parents, things would be different this year. Despite Allegra's best attempt to hide her growing jealousy of Marlene, Lily, and (Y/N)'s growing popularity it still reared its ugly head now and again. 

"I'm observant" worded (Y/N) in response, as her hair began to chain from its natural (H/C) to a darker shade of blue, with tints of silver it in. This time it appeared as if she was in control of the sudden change rather than the ability being linked with her emotions. "Plus the only way they could have made it more obvious is if they shouted it from the Astronomy tower" she added, her attention turning to the burning fire, as if something about the mundane flames, had become interesting, despite them appearing as they always did. 

"And you're smart" spoke Isolde, when (Y/N) stopped. A small chuckle escaped from the youngest Smith Twin. As Allegra all but glared at her. As if wishing they weren't related let alone twins. "What do you guys want to do in the future anyway? I remember McGonagall told us to use the holidays to think of potential careers" 

"I want to work as a healer at St Mungo's, maybe with children" replied Lily, as if she had long since decided what she wanted to do in the future. In a similar way to how Isolde herself had already decided. 

"Ministry, maybe in the Department of Mysteries, or in the Minister's office" worded Marlene, although she would also admit, she had thought about opening a shop on Diagon Alley and enjoying the endless flow of Hogwarts students coming through, as well as old friends. 

"I don't know. Not really thought about it. Perhaps Gryngotts if they'll have me" spoke James, admitting he'd not really given any thought to what he would do in the future. From the family wealth, he didn't need to work but also felt the need to stand on his own two feet one day. 

"I want to be a curse breaker" laughed Remus, admitting his wild dream with a grin, as his eyes all but lit up like Christmas lights. "Would be fun traveling around the world. Maybe one day I could write a book about it" he added, looking around his friends. Imagining them in the roles they'd spoken about. 

"Aura" simply responded (Y/N) as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She was a metamorphmagi, so disguising herself would be a little trouble. Her clumsiness, on the other hand, would be the real challenge. 

"Same" voiced Sirius, he'd long since made the decision he would be the opposite of what his family wanted. Over the years since attending Hogwarts, he'd slowly grown more distant from his parents and most of his family. The only exception appeared to be his cousin Andromeda, who encouraged him to find who he was outside the family, to follow his dreams and if he did choose to marry, do so for love rather than to follow the old family views and traditions. 

"I don't know. There's still plenty of time to find something" spoke Peter in a shakey voice, while also admitting he'd not put much thought into it. Yet he knew he didn't have the courage to be an Aura, or the brains to be a professor or any kind of teacher. Yet he did love to bake and make treats at home with his mother. Perhaps he would turn that into something, or work on potions and invent something. "What about you, Isolde?" he asked, noticing she hadn't spoken of her dream future job, but instead listened to what the rest had to say. 

"Magizoologist, specifically working with Dragons" she replied with excitement and confidence. Allegra only scoffed, she'd always believed Isolde would be like her and want a muggle job, something that reminded them of the world they had once been a part of, before finding out they were witches and being deemed weirdos by their old friends for being sent to what they believed was a boarding school. "Maybe a pro quidditch player, if I ever make it onto the team" laughed Isolde, knowing the odds of making it onto the team of seven were low, but that didn't mean she couldn't hope one day she would be good enough. 

"I want to be a singer and actor, maybe a model" snapped Allegra, a smug smile appearing on her lips, as she thought about being rich and famous, maybe using some of her magic to achieve her dreams. After all, it couldn't hurt, right? A little spell here and there or a potion when needed. "The wizarding world is too small for the likes of me" she added, her words clearly meant as an insult, although it didn't seem as if the group she was with took any notice or even registered the offending words. 

"What does Severus want to do?" asked Marlene, curious what the Slytherin, whom Lily called one of her closest friends, wanted to be when he left the walls of the castle, and his time as a student ended. 

"Potions master" simply replied Lily, displaying the topic had come up between them before, likely as one of the meaningless conversations they had talked about to pass the time, while they spent time together at the lake near the small town they both resided in. 

"Sure he doesn't aspire to be a Death Eater" commented James, although his words only caused Lily to send a death glare his way. 

"Sure you don't plan on becoming a bigger prat than you already are" she replied the redhead with an innocent smile but with a stinging whip to her words. Once again putting it on display for all to see. Although she tolerated James for now, she didn't consider him a friend and would always choose Severous over him, unless given a reason to do otherwise. 

"Alright put it to rest both of you" spoke Remus, breaking up the awkward tension that had settled over the common room. Soon enough he bid the group of girls good night and all but pulled James to the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories with him. At least preventing more of the stupidity before it occurred. Marlene did the same with Lily a few minutes later, clearly showing she wasn't comfortable being around Allegra longer than she had to be. And showing there was a rift in the small group of girls that was slowly getting bigger. 

Masterlist

[princeblack]

the few years before the new farmer moved into town and changed everything, regulus’s life was at a standstill. his parents decided he would become mayor like his father and marry daphne greengrass, the daughter of the town’s priest. he was the perfect son; the one that always agreed and did his best to make his family proud. so of course he made no complaints, not wanting a repeat of what happened with his mother and his brother a few years ago. sirius had finally moved to the city to live with the potters, cutting off their family after several long nights of blow out arguments with walburga. she didn’t think james was good for him and she feared what would happen if sirius moved to the city and was surrounded by non-magic people who would notice something was off about him, particularly because his magic sometimes reacted to his short temper.

there had been a time when the black family was almost completely killed off during the witch hunts and because of it their family had always been strict and closed off, which didn’t match what sirius wanted at all. regulus knew that part of it was also the way his parents treated the two of them, putting regulus on a pedestal and labeling sirius the disappointment. he’d always been the favorite while his brother struggled to connect to either parent, only finding that connection through arguments. 

regulus still loved his brother and regretted the way things ended between them, feeling as though a lot was left unsaid on sirius’s part. despite this, he also loved his parents and wanted to do right by them, intending to marry daphne even though he didn’t actively want to. that is, until the new farmer moved into town.

he met bexley at the farmer’s market on a sunday in march, surprised to see someone new in their small town but also taken aback by how beautiful she was. she had the prettiest face he’d ever seen, small and delicate with an adorable nose and big blue eyes that had more warmth in them than he was used to. her dress was floral patterned with frills, making her look like a fairy straight from a flower field. she talked so sweetly about her farm animals that he was already falling for her even before he saw how good she was with her baby boy, teddy.

he was the cutest toddler regulus had ever seen, excitedly showing off the drawing he was working on, which made regulus smile and ask him more about his artistic vision. he listened attentively and even helped teddy draw some more when he handed him a crayon.

his day at the market was the best one he’d had in forever and it changed everything, mostly because regulus had never felt this way for a girl before. 

he wanted to please his parents but it didn’t feel right to date daphne anymore when he was thinking of the new farmer every waking moment. he started to wonder if he was more like his brother than he initially believed. even still, he didn’t talk to anyone about her yet aside from astoria and evan, who he trusted to keep his feelings confidential.

the annual flower dance finally rolls around and all he can think about is whether bexley is going to be there. he dresses in a more casual suit jacket with black slacks, wearing a silk shirt beneath it that has a dark red floral pattern to match the theme of the event. he undoes the top few buttons, leaving room for his silver necklaces to hang against his chest.

just like he’d hoped, bexley is at the dance, looking beautiful in a top with ruffles and a long skirt, matching white flowers threaded through her gorgeous auburn hair. she’s talking to astoria but she catches his gaze and smiles, so he smiles back. astoria is saying something to her but eventually goes back to draco, leaving her side.

he takes this moment to walk over, hyper aware of the way daphne’s eyes are glued to him from across the field. he’s pretty sure his mother is watching too, but he approaches the pretty farmer anyway, wanting to spend more time with her again like at the market. he liked how shy she seemed, and the way she giggled. even more than that he loves the way she takes care of teddy; what a kind and soft mother she seemed to be. he was unable to take his eyes off of her as she first walked up carrying him in her arms, the small boy dressed in his overalls with dinosaurs on the front. now he’s off playing with the other kids and bexley looks like she needs rescuing, being the new person in their small town.

he smiles at her again as he approaches, green eyes looking her up and down. “i’m so glad you came,” he says, unable to pull his gaze from her beautiful outfit. “i know it must be intimidating– small towns are always close knit.” he pauses, wondering if it's a good idea to be bold and deciding he doesn’t care. “you look beautiful. before you moved here, i’d never seen anyone as pretty.” it’s more than just her perfect face and body; she has an energy about her that no one else has. “teddy is a handsome guy today, too. what do i need to do, to get one of your flower crowns?” he teases gently.

if you told her three years ago she would be a single mom before the age of 25 she probably wouldn't have believed you, she'd tell you a she could barely take care of herself but it's funny how quickly life changes and how you change with it. teddy may not have been her son in the biological sense, he was actually her baby brother but bee would raise him as such,telling people the ginger haired boy was hers and teddy had even called her mommy.

it would be two years ago by now since she lost her brother, her birth father and teddy's true mom. a shame considering she'd only gotten to know remus for a short time before he was killed trying to fight for the rights of werewolves everywhere, and it worked, they found some peace but at the cost of the things bee loved the most and being sick of the memories of her old life she packed everything up, took her adoring pets and adopted son before moving onto the farm she inherited by her father before he passed away, he maintained it throughout the years at least enough that it wasn't impossible to take care of when bee and teddy moved in.

she quickly started working on her crops and live stock. bee was able to get the milk and eggs quick enough these things she would sell at the local farmers market, it was a good way to make money but also to meet new faces, one in which was the face of a green-eyed boy. he'd bought eggs off her once and they got to talking, or at least whatever version of talking is her blushing and shyly trying to figure out what english sounded like again because she was so infatuated with his beauty and charm, even little teddy who is usually shy around strangers seemed to like him, showing him the drawing he'd been working on while waiting on his mom to finish selling their goods. he was pretty and she knows she doesn't have time to think like that, especially when astoria has mentioned their parents had intentions to set him up with daphne greengrass. she was the definition of beautiful rich girl of course he would want someone more his status and a single mom who shovel cow manure isn't exactly wife material for a guy like that. but that's not going to stop her from blushing and smiling every time he walks inside the sunday farmers market (even though it's only been two times)

living in a small town means there's a community and also means there's nothing to ever do around here than host big events that become traditional to the people of the town. one being this spring dance, the girls would wear all white and flowers in their hair and the couples would pair off and dance together. at least that's what she understood when astoria was explaining it in attempt to get bee to come along. which she was happy to agree to, she loved parties or just simple get togethers and it would be good for teddy too. she wears a long white skirt with a white crop top with ruffles on the top being held together by skinny straps, putting white flowers from the field in the farm in her hair. she then dressed teddy in his light blue overalls with dinosaurs on the front pocket and his own flower crown she helped him make this morning "do I look pretty mama?" the small boy asks, trying to secure the pretty crown on his head. bee picks him up, kissing his chubby cheek."you're going to be the prettiest baby flower at the party." she says adoringly as they make their way out the door and to the event that's close enough she can nearly hear the music playing.

however, upon getting there it's kind of quickly she feels like a fish out of water. people paired up with dates and everyone knows everyone, including the farmer girl with a baby and no husband. a few people give he questionable looks but she tries not to notice, not wanting to clue teddy into the fact people were actually pretty judgemental especially when to mothers. she sets her toddler in the grass and he goes off to play with a few of the other small children here as astoria comes to hug bee. "you came! and you look gorgeous...who knows maybe you'll find teddy a new dad tonight with that skirt." the girl says confidently to which be laughs, about to say something in response when her blue eyes accidentally meet with those familiar green eyes she remembers from the farmers market. regulus is here, dressed expensive and looking at her, at least she hopes he is but then again she is talking to astoria and bee is pretty sure their close. she wants to say hi to him but she wonders if she should, he was so lovely and she was at deep risk of falling in love with someone who was apparently supposed to be here with another girl. so she gives the dark haired boy a smile before astoria is bringing her attention back. "you really should come and dance though." the darker haired girl said softly. "I'll think about it." bee says softly. don't get her wrong, she loves to dance but she's not so sure people are too fond of her being part of the community just yet, feeling the odd looks from others including one from daphne herself.

astoria and bee part ways when astoria's boyfriend is calling her over, leaving her to her thoughts. part of her is hoping teddy is getting used to his new home and having fun while her other thoughts stray to regulus black. @princeblack

[messers-moony]

He’s Safe With Me | R.B

Paring: Regulus Black X Fem!Half-Blood!Reader

Summary: A little boy brightens Regulus’ days after his brother leaves him.

Inspiration: Click & Click

Growing up always left a bittersweet taste in people's mouths. While it was nice to gain freedom and more privileges that growing up included, the new responsibilities made it bitter. It was the leaving, the stress, and the idea of putting your childhood behind you that brought the sour taste to people's tongues. 

Regulus never thought that he’d have to grow up so fast. 

The summer months were always Regulus’ favorite. They were the months that, despite everything, Sirius would come home to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place and be a resident there for the two months of holiday. Maybe during Hogwarts, they would sneer at each other and argue with one another, but at home, it wasn’t like that. 

Sirius was sixteen, and Regulus was fifteen, but that didn’t stop Sirius from taking the hits meant for Regulus. It didn’t stop him from taking the blame, so Regulus was safe. Afterward, Regulus would hear Sirius whimpering in his bedroom and silent cries. Sometimes, he’d even fall asleep outside his door, or if he were brave enough, he’d go inside and lay beside him. 

They were boys, but from the moment they were born, they had to be adults. Their childhood was stripped from them, and responsibilities piled on top of another. From the minute they were born, they had to sit straight, use proper manners, try to court girls, be charming, study, and be mature, but they were boys. They were bound to be a ruckus. 

Regulus could remember running around Uncle Alphard with Sirius when he was three. Uncle Alphard had a vast plot of land with a big house on the corner. He had cherry blossom trees planted all around the manor, and it gave the boys an area to run. When Regulus caught up to him, eventually, he’d jump on his brother's back, and Sirius always caught him when he fell. 

So why couldn’t Sirius catch him now?

He heard the window open from Sirius’ room and already had a feeling he knew what was happening. Earlier that day, he heard the shuffling of clothes and items in the room beside his own. Regulus swallowed the growing lump in his throat and opened Sirius’ door to find exactly what he suspected. Sirius had a trunk packed and head out of the window. When the door opened, he hit his head on the bottom of the window. 

“God damn it.” Sirius muttered in pain as he retracted from halfway out the window. 

“Sirius…?” Regulus hated how small his voice sounded. 

Sirius turned to face his little brother fiddling with a Gryffindor tie, tears in his eyes, “Regulus….”

“Please, wait.” Regulus pleaded softly, and Sirius wanted to, but he couldn’t, “Reg, I- I can’t. I can’t stay here anymore.” Sirius stuttered as tears filled his vision. 

Why couldn’t Sirius stay? He felt like a little boy again begging and pleading for Sirius to hold him during the thunderstorms that used to take cover of the skies. Mother always dragged him out of the bedroom, and Regulus would be left wailing begging for Sirius. Regulus would sit on his bed crisscrossed, holding a blanket close to his heart, praying, “Please, Siri, please.”

He could remember when Sirius and Regulus were forced to become enemies. Remembering when Sirius came home from his first year, he was shut in his room with multiple locks. Regulus would weep beg for him to save him from their mother and father. When the first Cruciatus Curse hit, he screamed Sirius’ name. 

“Please, Siri, you- you can’t leave.”

“Regulus,” Sirius stepped forward to cup his brother's cheek who reached just beneath his chin, “I’m sorry.”

Regulus leaned into his brother's touch, knowing it would probably be the last time, “I wanna be home….” 

“You are home, Regulus.” Sirius replied, confused but still soft and Regulus looked up at him with tears streaming down his face, “Home is wherever I’m with you….”

Sirius had tears trickling down his pale cheeks as he placed his chin on top of Regulus’ head, embracing him tightly, “Please don’t go….”

“Please. I’m begging you.” Regulus was whimpering, keening, wailing, “Siri, please.”

“It’s safer with me gone.” Sirius confessed, “You’ll be safer here. They won’t use the crucio curse on you, not with you being the only one left.”

Regulus was fisting the back of his shirt, the Gryffindor tie still in his hand, “They know that if they hurt one of us, the other one hurts more. With me gone, that leverage disappears.”

“I don’t care.” Regulus cried, “I just want you.”

Sirius kissed the top of his head and parted from his brother's tight embrace, “I love you, Regulus.”

“But-“ Regulus swallowed, “You love James more.”

Sirius didn’t answer, and Regulus let his head fall, staring at the wooden floor, fiddling with the silk tie. He felt guilty. He felt like it was all his fault. Maybe if Regulus had taken more curses, perhaps if he had been a better brother. Maybe if Regulus were strong enough to disobey his parents as Sirius did, then Sirius wouldn’t be leaving right now. 

“Perhaps not in this lifetime, but perhaps in another, I’d be able to stay.” Sirius replied solemnly, leaving Regulus’ heart to shatter like a ripped piece of paper. 

Regulus sniffled, “I guess… this is goodbye.”

“I suppose it is,” Sirius said as he approached the window again. 

This time Regulus didn’t stop him. He knew he had nothing on James. Regulus would always be second to James no matter how hard he tried. Sirius threw the trunk onto the outside ground and sat on the edge of the window, looking beneath him. He turned around one more time before leaping onto the soft grass. 

Maybe the summer months weren’t Regulus’ favorite months anymore. 

The start of fifth year was dreadful. Regulus didn’t feel anything when he approached the Hogwarts Express. It felt like half of his heart had gone and disappeared. All the compartments were full, and Regulus would have to share with someone, which worsened the experience.

He saw the Marauders compartment. It was filled with the usual four boys, but inside was a girl. She was stunning with her soft appearing hair and sharp features. She was the epitome of beauty, and she made the entire compartment laugh with a quick wit she seemed to have made. 

Regulus passed it until he found a compartment with Lucius Malfoy and Evan Rosier. He slid the door open and took place beside Evan. Both boys welcomed him in with a smile. He couldn’t help but think back to the girl in the Marauders compartment. He had seen her before, but he couldn’t place it where. 

She hadn’t changed into her robes, so it was impossible to know what house she was in, but she still looked stunning in Muggle clothing. He noticed her style was comparative to Sirius’. The black ripped jeans, the doc martens on her feet, and a tee-shirt he couldn’t make out due to the jacket she wore over it. 

They entered Hogwarts and went into the Great Hall, where everyone sat at their respected tables. Regulus couldn’t help himself but try and search for her. He was shocked when she entered the Great Hall with green and silver robes. 

It didn’t make sense. Why did she get to be included? The Marauders hated Slytherins, yet she seemed to be so close with them. Regulus was a Slytherin, and he was related to one of the Marauders, yet he still wasn’t included. His heart swelled with a sense of jealousy and envy. 

Nonetheless, she took her seat beside Leia, a pureblood with long brown hair and blue eyes. They were talking until the sorting ceremony began. The sorting ceremony was long and drawled out, but the girl looked strangely intrigued. She watched intently as a little boy with shaggy brown hair and green eyes who was introduced as Romeo L/n sat onto the stool where McGonagall placed the hat onto his head.

It pondered for a while, a maximum of two minutes, but the hat finally exclaimed, “Slytherin!” The boy smiled brightly and approached the girl. He was bouncing over to her with a gleeful smile on his face. The little boy had dimples and straight teeth. He hugged her tightly, and she kissed his cheek. 

“Congratulations, Romeo.” 

“I’m just like you, sis!” Romeo grinned. 

She smiled, “You’re just like me, love.”

“Congratulations, Ro!” Leia exclaimed, “So happy for you.”

He hugged the other girl, “Thanks, Leia.”

“C’mere, Rom,” Y/n patted the seat beside her, “Sit.”

The little boy sat beside his sister and allowed her to put her arms around his neck, holding him close to her chest, “Love you, Romeo.”

“I love you too, Y/n.”

Regulus grimaced. So she had a little brother, and her name was Y/n. Regulus looked back at the stool where first years were sitting. He glanced slightly at Sirius from across the room, who was smiling brightly as James placed an arm around his shoulders. Regulus would always be second best. 

The first few weeks of fifth-year weren’t that bad. It went smoothly, and people didn’t talk to Regulus. He was cold and snappy. It turned people away, which he was thankful for. He didn’t want people to talk to him. He felt numb and unresponsive, like he was the shell of who he uses to be. 

He was in the library with a Transfiguration book in front of him. The pages were dull, and he couldn’t retain anything he was reading. He missed Sirius’ brilliance in Transfiguration. He missed Sirius tutoring him in hidden places of the library so their mother wouldn’t curse him for low marks. 

A hand had gently tugged at his robe, and he went to snap when he saw familiar green eyes, “Um, excuse me, you’re Regulus, right?”

“Yeah, Regulus Black.” Regulus replied, hoping the last name would deter him, but the boy only smiled, “I’m Romeo L/n. Professor Slughorn said that you could tutor me in Potions.”

Romeo sat across from Regulus and plopped down his supplies, “I’m absolutely rubbish at Potions, but my marks in Herbology and Charms are pretty okay. Mum says they need work, but I’m trying the best I can.”

Regulus tilted his head, “What are your marks in Herbology and Charms?”

“I have an Exceeds Expectations in both.” Romeo muttered, “Mum says that I can do better, though.”

“Exceeds Expectations is good. That’s remarkable for a first year. You’re starting out with no knowledge. For just starting, I’d say you’re doing great.” Regulus replied. 

He didn’t know why he felt the need to comfort this boy. Maybe because he saw himself in the boy in front of him, he could hear his own mother scolding him for his Acceptable in Transfiguration in his first year. 

“Will you tutor me, please?”

Regulus hesitated, “I guess I’m not great at Potions either.”

“Y/n says your fantastic!” Romeo replied, “She talks about you quite a bit.”

“She does?”

“Mhm!” He hummed, “Used to send me letters at home talking about you.”

Regulus’ face flushed, and he gave a tiny smile, “I didn’t even know who she was.”

“She does that on purpose. She knew you wouldn’t like her because of her relationship with Sirius. They’re close friends.” 

“Have you spoken to any of them?”

“Yeah.” Romeo's smile was bright, “Sirius was the one who told me to talk to you. He said that you were nice.” 

“Sirius did?”

“Yeah, and Y/n, of course.” 

Regulus smiled; maybe Sirius wasn’t completely gone, “I’ll tutor you.”

“You will?”

“Yeah. Why not.” 

Without a second thought, Romeo had jumped up and embraced the older boy. Regulus stiffened, and Romeo pulled away with wide green eyes, “I’m- I’m sorry. I should’ve asked.”

Regulus embraced the boy again, and Romeo leaned into his touch. He felt safe in the Black boy's arms, almost the same feeling he got when Y/n wrapped her arms around him. Regulus’ embrace was soft, comforting, and sweet. Romeo could smell the broom polish from being the Slytherin Seeker, cinnamon, and a hint of sandalwood. 

Romeo gave Regulus a smile before sitting back down, and they began studying together. Later that evening, Romeo had entered the Great Hall for dinner with him. The first year smiled at him before approaching his sister at the Gryffindor table, where he took his spot beside her. 

“Hey, Rom.” Y/n greeted, “Hey, sis.” 

“Did you talk to Regulus?” Y/n asked, “Is he gonna tutor you?”

Romeo nodded, “Yeah! He’s really nice!” 

Sirius gave a subtle smile, “That’s brilliant, Romeo.”

Romeo and Regulus became quick friends despite Regulus’ reluctance. Romeo thought of Regulus like an older brother, and Regulus protected him like one. He was a target for many older Gryffindors, and Regulus would always take the hits or duel them for him. 

These actions didn’t come without consequences. Regulus’ home life got worse, and letters often came about his friendship with the other Slytherin boy. They didn’t enjoy the fact that they were half-bloods and didn’t believe in pureblood supremacy. Regulus would sit in the Astronomy tower with the letter reading it with a dry face looking at the stars. 

The door to the tower opened, and Regulus didn’t move. Their footsteps were light and patted across the concrete until they saw him. She sat beside him with her legs crossed while Regulus dangled. She saw the parchment in his hand and took it from them. He allowed it. There was nothing terrible in it other than his mother threatening to throw him out if he didn’t stop talking to that half-blood. 

She read it while Regulus stared at the night sky. Y/n placed it back down on the concrete pavement without a word. She fiddled with her hands and put them back in her lap. Regulus was so silent and so peaceful. But she had to break the silence.

“I really appreciate you doing what you do for Romeo.” Y/n said quietly, “He thinks of you like an older brother.”

Regulus chuckled softly, “He’s energetic, that one.”

“Yeah. He’s got a lot of energy.” Y/n replied, “He hates sitting still. But he really appreciates that you can work with that.” 

“He gets irritating sometimes, but I try to keep him intrigued.”

“It works.”

“I’m glad.”

It was silent again, “I’m sure he’s told you plenty. He’s not very good at keeping secrets.”

Regulus smirked, and for a moment, he looked like Sirius, “You wrote letters about me?”

“I like you, Regulus.” Y/n confessed, “More than I should.”

He intertwined his hand with hers, “I like you too.”

Y/n smiled at squeezed his hand. Regulus leaned his head on her shoulder and began to tell her about the stars. He went into extreme depth of every constellation, planet, and star. Y/n noticed that he skipped Canis Major but didn’t say anything. She knew of Sirius’ departure the previous summer and how badly Regulus had been hurt thanks to Sirius’ description. It wasn’t good to rub salt in a still-open wound. 

When Regulus got the mark months later, they didn’t separate. She stood by his side and helped him through it. They didn’t tell anyone about it, not even Romeo. It wasn’t until the war was over that they decided to let everyone know. Y/n had allowed a sigh of relief when she found out that Peter was in Azkaban and her friends were still alive. 

Regulus was sleeping when she grabbed a bit of parchment to write to Sirius. Y/n dipped the quill in black ink and began writing smoothly. The ink embedded the paper like old friends, and when it dried, she handed it to her owl, Astoria. The following afternoon when Remus and Sirius were still entangled together from the previous night, the owl tapped on the window. 

Sirius groaned and stood up from the bed. He grabbed the parchment as the owl flew off. The writing was perfect calligraphy, and Sirius smiled at the note written on the parchment. His heart slowed its beat with relief. 

“He’s safe with me.”

[fruitcoops]

hey! i love your work so much and i had an idea. what about the whole team going to pride? or maybe just the cubs or coops, but i would love to see the whole team supporting and maybe breaking out flags of their own. :)))

Happy Pride, everyone!!! It has been such a wild year, but I hope you all find comfort and joy during this month <3 I'm sending you all love and hugs (or high-fives, if you prefer), as well as positive vibes for the summer. SW credit belongs to @lumosinlove as always!

Credit to @queercanoe for the the rainbow bracelet idea <3

“This is…this is really nice,” Sirius said as they stood in line for popsicles. His face glowed with happiness and Remus squeezed his hand where it laid over his shoulder.

“Better than last year?”

He hummed in thought. “I like being here without the Cup and all the cameras. It’s just us.”

“And half the team,” Remus added.

“True,” Sirius laughed, bending down to kiss his forehead. Some of the glitter Lily had managed to sprinkle over his head and smear on his cheeks fell onto Remus’ shirt, and he brushed it off with a laugh. “Love you.”

“Love you, too. The kids are still arguing.”

Sirius glanced behind them and snorted; on the other end of the block, Leo hitched Logan higher on his back as he held Finn’s baseball cap out of reach. Talker and James had started an impromptu game of volleyball with a stray balloon, and the sight of Regulus playing peekaboo with Harry using his pride flag cape sent a burst of happy butterflies through Remus’ stomach.

“D’you think they’ve even noticed we’re gone?”

“Doubt it.”

They tapped their popsicles together in a toast and meandered back to the group—the afternoon heat toned down some of the manic energy of the morning parade, and Remus was content to just wander hand-in-hand with his fiancé for a while.

Not your fiancé for long, he reminded himself as the ice cooled his mouth. Just five more days, and then you’ll have a ring, too.

He stood on his toes, still a little sore from dancing earlier in the day, and kissed Sirius’ cheek. “What was that for?”

“Nothing. Just ‘cause I love you.”

Sirius let out a slow breath and squeezed him a little tighter around the shoulders, catching a drip of syrupy red before it slid down to his elbow. “This is the perfect day.”

“It is, isn’t it? Ooo, blue raspberry.”

“Can I have a taste?”

“Of c—” Remus was cut off by warm lips against his own, shorting out every braincell in one fell swoop. You sly little shit, he thought, smiling into the kiss as Sirius dipped him back.

They straightened up after a moment and Sirius raised his eyebrows thoughtfully. “Yeah, that’s pretty good.”

“Your lips are purple.”

He licked his own half-melted popsicle before dragging Remus in for one more kiss, though both of them were almost laughing too hard for his plan to work. “There. Now we match.”

“Thanks, babes.”

“Hey!” Finn cupped his hands around his mouth, clearly giving up on retrieving his hat. “Are you done yet? I was promised popsicles!”

Remus flipped him off and pulled Sirius down by the collar of his shirt, suddenly uncaring of the stickiness making its chilly way down his forearm. It was their day to do that, after all; their day to be flamboyantly affectionate to anyone in sight, regardless of contracts and media and expectations. It was a day drenched in popsicle sugar where he could turn his soon-to-be-husband’s lips more purple than the dahlias he loved so much.

“You could’ve just said ‘no’,” Finn remarked as they rejoined the group, both a little flushed.

“As if you’ve kept your hands to yourself,” Remus teased, gesturing to the various smudges in Finn’s face paint.

He hesitated, then shrugged. “Good point.”

“I have them on occasion.” A burst of giggling caught both their attention and softness bloomed in Remus’ chest as Sirius tossed Harry a few inches into the air, making rocket ship noises. Next to him, Leo had set Logan down so he could lift Katie up and tickle her until she shrieked with joy.

“God, they’re cute,” Finn said around a mouthful of syrup-soaked ice. The look in his eyes was unmistakably fond, and Remus knew it was reflected on his own face.

“They are. The boyfriends aren’t bad, either.”

Finn snorted, then spluttered as he nearly spat out his popsicle, sending Remus into peals of laughter. “Stop it!” he complained, though the didn’t sound very upset at all. “I’m gonna get a brain freeze!”

“A brain freeze?” Sirius turned to Harry with exaggerated shock.

“Oh, no!” Harry gasped. Behind them, James stifled his smile in the side of Lily’s neck.

“It’s not lookin’ good, buddy,” Finn said with false gravity. “Popsicles are a dangerous food.”

Harry made grabby hands until Finn settled him on his hip, then took his face between two chubby hands and looked deep into his eyes. “Your lips are blue,” he proclaimed after a long moment.

“Are they?”

“Uh-huh. Tremzy’s got red lips, an’ Knutty’s got red lips, and Mama has pink lips, and Uncle Pads has purple lips.” Harry poked the side of his mouth. “You’ve gotta have purple lips, too.”

Finn raised his eyebrows at Remus over Harry’s shoulder. “Not a chance, Harzy.”

“We’re better kissers anyway,” Leo said with a grin as he sidled up and gave Finn a light peck. “Better, Pocket Pots?”

Harry stuck his tongue between his teeth in a comical imitation of Sirius’ concentration face; Remus shoulders shook as he held back his amusement. “Almonds.”

“What?”

“Almost,” Sirius corrected gently. “Not almonds. Close, though.”

“Tremzy!” Harry called. Logan looked up from Katie, who was quite happily upside down as he swung her like a clock pendulum. “You’ve gotta make Harzy’s lips purple!”

“Do I?” Logan glanced back down. “Can I set you down, ma princesse?”

“No!”

“Okay,” he laughed, hauling her over with careful steps. Finn leaned down to kiss him; over his shoulder, Leo and Harry made faces at each other.

“This is perfect,” Sirius murmured, resting his forehead against Remus’ (admittedly sweaty) hair. Remus closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let the stress of wedding planning roll off his back. He could be surrounded by their family in a sea of color for just a little longer—they could be there together.

“I’m proud to be with you,” he said as Regulus clambered onto Leo’s back for ‘a better view’.

It was a cheesy sentiment, but they had never shied away from romcom moments before. He felt Sirius’ soft huff of breath on his temple. “Re…”

I’ll never get tired of the way you say my name. “That’s me.”

The sigh turned to quiet laughter and a kiss. “We are such a cliché.”

“But you love it.”

“Damn right I do.” His lips were sweet and a little sticky, still; Remus wanted to drown in the feeling. “I will always be proud to be with you.”

“Uncle Pads!”

“Yes?” Sirius lifted him out of Finn’s arms with a dramatic groan. “You’re growing up too fast!”

Harry squished his cheeks, then poked the tip of his nose. “Why don’t you wear rainbows?”

Sirius frowned slightly. “I’m wearing rainbows right now.”

“But you only wear them now.”

“You want me to wear rainbows every day?” He cast a look at Remus, who half-shrugged.

“You do look good.”

“Everybody should wear rainbows all the time,” Harry declared. Down the street, a series of party poppers went off, followed by loud cheering from another group.

“Excuse me?” a timid voice asked. Remus startled slightly and turned around; a small group of teenagers was huddled by the massive balloon arch. One young man held his phone up. “Could we—uh, could we get a picture with you guys?”

“Do you want me to take it for you?” Leo offered as Finn took Harry again.

The kid’s eyes went wide, and he nodded enthusiastically. “Sure, thanks!”

“Alright, on three!” Leo squinted in the sunshine as they gathered in a semicircle. “One, two, three, smile!”

“Could we get one with you, too?” one of the girls asked when he lowered the camera.

Sirius took the camera as they shuffled around and swapped positions, crowding close to the rainbow balloons while Harry played with Remus’ colorful suspenders. “Ready? Say cheese!”

“Cheese!” they chorused.

“I got a couple, just in case.” He handed the phone back to the first boy with a smile. “Are you guys having a good time?”

“Yeah, this is amazing,” he answered, a little breathless. “It’s—this is so cool. Thanks again.”

“Pas de problem.”

Remus glanced over just in time to see the girl bump her own rainbow bracelet with Leo’s; both of them were grinning broadly. “Have fun today, okay?” he said, giving the shortest of the group a high five. A jumble of goodbyes answered before they hurried back into the crowd, whispering among themselves while their pins flashed in the sun.

“They were cute,” Sirius said, watching them go with an indecipherable look. “Feels good to know it meant something, y’know?”

“It always does,” Remus agreed, snuggling against his side despite the heat. “I wish—”

Sirius looked down at him when he faltered; Harry yawned so wide his eyes closed. “What?”

“I wish we had this when we were kids.”

Regulus and Leo tumbled out of the rapidly-growing crowd, bickering over who got which part of the cotton candy, while Kasey stood as still as he could so Natalie could finish the small bi flag on his cheek. Sirius’ whole face lit up as he watched them. “It’s even better now.”

Remus watched the second wave of the parade build around them—people of every shape and size were decked out in a whole spectrum of colors, turning the street into a living rainbow in the afternoon sun. He tucked his hand into Sirius’ back pocket and laced their free hands together, listening to his heartbeat under his cheek. “This is the best thing we’ve ever done.”

“Coming to Pride?”

“No.” He held their hands up, and Sirius’ ring caught the light. “This.”

[imaginejamesandsirius]

dark!sirius. james is kidnapped. sirius intends to find him at any cost.

((Note: Warnings for blood and explicit torture))

To the unassuming outsider, Sirius Black, with his charming looks, mischievous eyes and kind smile, had escaped the infamous curse that is the Black Madness, the insanity that stemmed from generations of inbreeding and abuse.  

But James Potter knew better.

James had witnessed Sirius hex Lily Evans bald in second year because he once heard James call her hair beautiful.

James had realized that it was Sirius who came up with the cruellest, most vicious pranks against Slytherins and made the rest of the Marauders believe it was them who thought of the idea in the first place.  

James had seen the way Sirius skinned his knuckles raw as he kept on throwing punches at an unconscious Corban Yaxley until his face became a disfigured blob of blood and bone –who, as Sirius put it, disrespected Marlene McKinnon– all the while laughing uncontrollably.  

And, James had witnessed the way Sirius cried ugly tears to Remus, falling down on his knees, begging to be forgiven after sending Snape down the Whomping Willow. His face was so raw in piercing emotion, James had wanted to collect the boy in his arms and console him, just to leave the infirmary a minute later and watch the sadness disappear from his face like a mask being lowered, as a giggling Sirius fixed his hair, wiped the tears away from his cheeks and returned to his devil-may-care attitude.

(James would one day ask him how he didn’t feel any remorse.

“I heard Snivellus talking to a bunch of Slytherins about how weak and poorly and pathetic Remus was. He needed to be taught a lesson. No one gets away with saying something like that to anyone I love.” Sirius would shrug and turn back to his essay like it was regular chit chat.)

Sixteen years in the vulgar hands of Walburga Black had left Sirius with more demons than he showed, it increasingly terrified James and it wasn’t until he had crashed to the front porch of the Potter Manor one night, exhausted, bruised and battered, that James got the sour taste of losing him.

He never wanted to feel that again.

So, he did what he did best, what came to him the easiest.  

He loved Sirius.

Not despite his demons, but with them.

In return, Sirius loved him back. And, oh, what a blessing it was to be loved by him, to be the focus of his unwavering attention, to have his everlasting devotion.

And that’s how he knew Sirius would come for him, that he wouldn’t die in a place he didn’t recognise, arms and legs bound to a creaking, old, wooden chair, with various Death Eaters, he was unfortunate enough to recognize, torturing him.

Because Sirius Black loved him.

James, summoning the last bit of strength his aching body had left, raised his head, spit the blood pooled in his mouth to the ground, forced his swollen shut eyes open and gave Bellatrix LeStrange the most charming grin he could muster.  

“Is this the best you can do?”  

He fell unconscious.  

**********

On August 5th, 1983, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore defeated Voldemort after the initial discovery of the Horcruxes, curtesy of Regulus Black. A select team of Aurors were assigned to the task of finding and destroying them. The team consisted of Alastor Moody, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Sirius Black and James Potter. The last Horcrux, Tom Riddle’s Diary, was destroyed by James, through a secret mission known by only three people: James Potter, Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black. That bit of information was not shared with anyone else until the battle had already been won as the sensitive nature of the mission required total secrecy. The Horcrux was in Lucius Malfoy’s possession and James had sneaked into the Malfoy Manor to destroy it.

Within the next month, a vast majority of Death Eaters had been caught and sentenced to life in Azkaban.

The vast majority being the key phrase as the lack of evidence in their case combined with the prestige of their name made it impossible to form a solid case against the Malfoys, Igor Karkaroff had provided valuable information in exchange for his freedom, Regulus Black had been pardoned for his contribution for winning the war and Bellatrix LeStrange had vanished into thin air as with several others.

All those facts had brought them to the present, September 23rd, 1983, the day which James Potter had been kidnapped after several Aurors were sent to investigate the anonymous tip of a group of low-ranking Death Eaters frequenting a Wizarding District around Stratford.

The claims proved to be partially false as upon their arrival, the Aurors were severely outnumbered by a large group of Death Eaters, low and high ranking alike, including the Carrows, Bellatrix LeStrange and Antonin Dolohov.

Two Aurors were killed upon the initial contact and James was kidnapped.

As Sirius sat with James’ wand in hand, recovered by another Auror on the scene, he thought about the last conversation they had in that very room, in their house.

“I don’t like this, James.”

“Your cousin won’t be loitering in Stratford of all places, Sirius.”

“You don’t find it suspicious that we received a tip, anonymous and important enough to look into but not so much that we need a bigger team?” Sirius scoffed.

James’ stubborn expression softened as Sirius felt distaste being replaced with concern in his own eyes.

“I am not so keen, either, Padfoot. But we’re going as a five-person team, between us we can take at least a dozen Death Eaters and there is no way we will encounter more, we won, Pads. The war is over.”

“Why can’t I come with you, again?” Sirius wrapped his arms around James’ waist and pulled him close to rest their foreheads together.

“Because we’re the best at what we do and they don’t pair us together unless it’s absolutely necessary.” James snickered pressing a deep kiss to Sirius’ soft lips.

“You’ll come back to me?”

“I always do, love.”

“Sirius?” A familiar voice called from the living room.

“Moony?”

Remus entered and crossed the large room in three long strides with panic written across his face as he pulled Sirius into a tight hug.  

“Dumbledore told me the news. I came here as fast as I could, Pete is with Moody in the Order Headquarters at the Ministry, trying to find out what they know.”

Of course, the news had already reached Dumbledore even though it had barely been three hours since the ambush.

After Voldemort’s defeat, Remus had been amongst the appraised for their bravery in the war and Dumbledore had jumped into the opportunity to offer him the role of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Many had objected due to his lycanthropy but the support of the Order along with many high ranking Aurors and Dumbledore himself had made it possible. Remus had deserved good things coming his way and a teaching position at Hogwarts was not only a great beginning to overcome prejudices, it was also Remus’ lifelong dream. Sirius believed the academic staff could do without the addition of Severus Snape as the Potions Master, he still had doubts over his status as a double agent working for their side, but his efforts in trying to talk Dumbledore out of the idea had fallen on deaf ears.

As he pulled back to look at Remus’ face, scarred, scared and anxious, an idea shaped in Sirius’ mind.

“I’ll find him, Moony. I’ll bring him back to us.” Sirius patted the other man’s arms.

“Sirius, you have this look on your face.”

“What look?”

“The look you got before you accidentally set fire on the Slytherin table and got six students severely injured.” He explained.

“That wasn’t me, I didn’t even get detention for it.”

“Not because you didn’t do it, Padfoot, because they couldn’t catch you.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Rem.” Sirius reassured him, keeping his face as straight as possible. “Your office is connected to the Floo Network, right?”

“Why do you ask?” Remus furrowed his brows. They had been friends long enough for him to know Sirius was not in a state to be trusted.  

But they had also been friends long enough for Sirius to know just how to make them.  

“I need to talk to Dumbledore...” His voice insincere just enough to make Remus understand that was not a full sentence.  

“And?” Remus pressed.  

“...and I need you to find me a book from the Restricted Section in the library.” Sirius made a show of giving up after pondering for a moment.

“What do you need?”

“The Dark Magic Behind Tracking by Devon Duarte.”

“Sirius...” Remus sighed.

“As a last resort, Moony. If nothing goes right, I’ll use it as inspiration, nothing more.” Sirius quickly explained.

Remus squinted and scrunched his face in a manner Sirius had seen a million times, the look he always had when asked to do something he needed a moment of contemplation before caving in.

“Fine.” He resigned and made his way to the fireplace with Sirius following.

They each grabbed a handful of the Floo powder and within mere moments, arrived to their destination.

Sirius took in the sight that was Remus’ office. The windows allowed a nice amount of late afternoon light that illuminated the room beautifully. Walls and tiles of the room, much like the remainder of Hogwarts, were made of stone. To their left was the entrance of the room, with its arched, wooden door. Shelves on every wall were lined with books of various topics, ranging from Defence Against the Dark Arts class material to fictional novels by Muggle authors. A calendar with silver circles marking the full moon was hanging from a nail in an empty spot on the wall. Right behind a low coffee table, was a large, walnut office table with a few open books, empty and half written pieces of parchment, pots of ink and quills in a disarrayed order lying on the clean surface and a leather, comfortable looking armchair behind it. The office screamed of Remus Lupin in every way.

Their days in Hogwarts felt lifetimes away.  

Stepping out of the fireplace, Sirius faced Remus, standing two steps away and fidgeting with the hem of his wool jumper.  

“I will find Dumbledore, you find the book.” He instructed before turning on his heels and opening the door.

“You’re sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Remus called after him.  

“There are some things, I must do alone, Moony.”  

Making sure he wasn’t being followed, Sirius changed his direction and headed towards the dungeons. Passing through the shifting stairs and dimly lit corridors with quick steps, he found the door of the office that used to belong to Professor Slughorn but now was resided by a new Potions Master.  

He kicked the door open and met the dark and confused eyes of Severus Snape. Before the man in long, black robes was even given a chance to react, Sirius raised his wand.

“Expelliarmus!”

He closed the door.

**********

James slowly blinked his eyes open to the dark room. He felt the traces of magic that disturbed his unconscious stage across his chest. His eyes threatened to close again but the pain running across his limbs kept him awake. The heinous laugh he heard across the room made him raise his head slightly to meet the eyes of Bellatrix LeStrange.

“Good morning, Jamie!” She chirped, though from her mouth, it sounded more ghoulish than cheerful.

“Would be a better one if you let me go.”

“Tsk, can’t do that now, can we? I have a few friends who want to meet the man who brought our Lord’s doom.” She gestured to the door, her movements more uncontrolled than he had ever seen on her.

“You’re going to regret this, Bellatrix. Sirius will make sure of that.”

“Oh, my little cousin! I wonder where he is now. It does look like he’s taking his sweet time finding you!” A devilish grin appeared across her face, adding to the unhinged glint in her eyes.

“You are pathetic and I will personally watch it as the Dementors give you a sweet kiss!” James shouted with as much volume as he could manage spitting blood, and though it erased the slightly inhumane grin off her face it also added to the look of crazy her eyes carried.  

Bellatrix LeStrange did not like being talked back.

“Crucio!”

**********

“Salazar’s sake, Black! I told you, I told Dumbledore, I told the whole damn Order, I don’t know who the spy is!” Snape screamed in pain from the floor as another one of Sirius’ punches landed on his bloodied nose with a loud crunch.

With his heavy motorcycle boots, Sirius kicked him in the gut making the man grunt again. He dropped to his knees and grabbed a fist of Snape’s chin-length hair, twisting his neck in a painful angle, just

slightly more to the left and it would be broken. Sirius examined the damage he had done: broken nose, swollen eye, split lip and eyebrow, a nasty cut to the cheek and at the very least, three fractured ribs with a heavy chance of internal bleeding.

“Well, Severus,” he spat out the name like a slur and yanked at the fistful of hair, standing on his feet and dragging Snape across the floor, crashing his face forcefully to the wall, “you’re going to have to give me something to work with or we’re going to be here all day.”

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know!” Snape choked out. “You’re crazy! You’re actually fucking crazy.”

“Yes! Good-fucking-morning! I have been trying to tell you that and you never fucking listened. And let me tell you if I don’t find James, alive, safe and sound, I’m going to go a whole lot crazier!” Sirius kicked him in the stomach once again for good measure and pulled out his wand, pointing the tip to the man’s temple. “Name.”

“I don’t know!” Snape coughed. “We were never told his name; he was always just the Rat!”

Now wasn’t that fucking dandy.

Sirius dropped to one knee and balanced himself with his arm leaned against it as his wand pushed Snape’s chin up.  

“The Rat?”

“He was ratting you out. That’s why The Dark Lord named him that.”

A different idea shaped in Sirius’ mind.  

“Now, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” He grabbed a fistful of Snape’s hair, smashing his head to the ground, knocking him out, and got back up on his feet, fixing his hair and brushing away imaginary dust from his jacket for a moment before leaving the room.

When he pushed open the door to Remus’ office, he found his friend pacing up and down the room, trying to release some of his pent-up restlessness. As Sirius closed the door behind himself, he heard Remus sigh with deep relief a moment before he caught sight of his bloodied knuckles and inhaled a sharp breath. Slowly exhaling, Remus’ eyes found Sirius’ as he searched for an explanation or an excuse. He found none.

“You didn’t talk to Dumbledore, did you?” He asked slowly.

“I don’t even know why you thought I would.” Sirius answered as he stepped into the chimney with a handful of Floo powder.  

“Do you even need the book?”

“Hold on to it, Moony. Just in case.”

“Si-”

“Please, Rem.”

Remus sighed in resignation.

“Department of Magical Law Enforcement!” Sirius yelled without giving Remus a moment to reconsider, disappearing in a cloud of green flames.  

**********

During the war, the Order Headquarters’ location was kept safe and secret with the Fidelius Charm and regularly changed even though most meetings were organised privately and one-on-one. Ever since the end of the war, it had been transferred to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic Headquarters. Sirius found the decision purely political in nature. No actual, useful information was shared with the officials and most of the Order members still bore no trust for the Ministry.

Sirius stepped away from the chimney and took three steps towards the long, dimly lit corridor with offices of various divisions on both sides before he heard the distinct sound of the Floo from the chimney.

“Remus?”

“Are you fucking stupid?” Remus asked as he swatted Sirius on the side of his head.

“Ow! What in Merlin’s name?”

“James is my friend, you git. You think I’m going let you barge in here and take a man hostage on your own?”

“Remus,” Sirius breathed out, shaking his head, “you don’t want to do this.”

“Don’t tell me what I want or not, Sirius.” Remus snapped.

Sirius directed his piercing gaze at him, half expecting Remus give up, half knowing his friend wouldn’t.  

Remus stared back.

“Fine.” Sirius spat. “But if you want to come along, you’re going to have to trust me fully. Fully, Moony. If I point my wand at your dear mother...”

“Then my mother is the traitor.” Remus nodded with a hard, determined look on his face.

Sirius searched for a hint of hesitation in his friend’s voice and face but found none. With Remus by his side, he crossed the corridor in long strides before coming to a stop in front of an old, wooden door, whispering an Alohomora to the lock and revealing a cramped room with three walls lined with shelves carrying a variety of bottles of potions.

“Accio Veritaserum.”

A bottle, slightly smaller than his palm and filled to the brim with the green liquid, flew into Sirius’ hand. Gripping the bottle firmly, Sirius turned around and left the room with Remus following close behind.

“So, are you going to tell me who we are looking for?” Remus caught up to him and asked.  

“If I tell you, you’ll tell me I’m being unreasonable, if I wait until the last minute, you’ll have to help me.”

Remus sighed but prodded no more as they kept walking until they reached a door at the far end of the corridor. The office they used for official affairs the Order had with the Ministry.

“I’m asking one last time,” Sirius turned to Remus with one hand gripping the door handle firmly, “do you trust me to do the right thing?”

“Of course, I don’t.” Remus raised his brows, as if the answer was supposed to be obvious. “But I do trust you to find the spy. And at this moment, I’m willing to do what it takes.”

Sirius nodded once and opened the door.

The large room was fuller than Sirius had ever seen it to be. Various order members were standing around a circle table with maps, files of what appeared to be various Death Eaters and banned books on Dark Arts and tracking only the highest Ministry officials and the Order had access to scattered around. To their right, was an investigation board with known and free Death Eaters’ faces, their known meeting spots and the charms they might have used to keep their location hidden pinned to it.

“Black!” A familiar voice barked from the table.

“Moody.” Sirius saluted.

“You were ordered to keep away from the investigation.” Moody limped towards him. “You’re too close to the subject, you won’t be objective.”

Sirius barely heard those words and wandered his gaze through the closed space, looking for that one person he was going to make sure regret all is life decisions so far.

Bingo.

Peter Pettigrew was standing next to Marlene McKinnon, clutching his wand. His rat-like face barely turned towards Sirius and his eyes on the floor.

Sirius jumped towards him in a blink, pushing Moody out of the way and holding the short man by his bristled hair and throwing a solid punch. Sirius could feel himself shaking as raw anger shot through him, feeling the rage flooding his veins, he raised his hand to hit the man once again. He faintly heard the staggered screams around the room before his arm was gripped tightly, pulling him away from Peter. He turned abruptly to the person pulling him back and saw Moody reach for his wand.

“Expelliarmus!” Remus shouted, disarming Moody and loosening his grip on Sirius’ arm before pointing his wand to the various witches and wizards around the room, all reaching for their wands. “Sirius, you better start your explaining now!”

Sirius uncorked the Veritaserum vial, took hold of Peter’s face and forcefully opened his mouth, pouring the drink down the man’s throat while he tried to wriggle out of his death grip. After the vial was emptied, Sirius threw it to the floor, shattering and sending pieces of glass flying everywhere. He used his now free hand to pinch the terrified wizard’s nose and close his mouth, forcing him to swallow the potion out of breathlessness. Usually, a tenth of what Peter just ingested was enough for a man his size, twice that was torture, thrice that was hallucinations.  

Ten times the recommended amount was unheard of.

Sirius threw Peter to the floor and stepped on his knee, causing a sickening crunch as the bone snapped and the leg it was attached to fell flat on the floor, unable to move. Slowly registering the screams from both the man under his foot on the floor and the people around the room, he fell on one knee.

Peter was babbling nonsense words and sounds and his face was twitching uncontrollably. His body was stuck between man and rat, switching to his Animagus form and then back to human at breakneck speed, unable to keep a stable form.

“What the fuck are you doing, Black?” Moody screeched.

Ignoring him, Sirius pulled an empty chair and lifted Peter to be sat on top of it. Remus and himself were severely outnumbered by the remaining Order members, Sirius, as he drew his wand from its holster and pointed it to the rat’s eye, internally thanked his luck that everybody was too stunned to make a move.

“How long have you been spying on the Order?” He pressed the wand further into the eye socket as the room fell silent aside from Peter’s unintelligible cries.

“I won’t ask again, Pete. How long?”  

“3 years.” Peter screamed in between his drooling.

Sirius looked at Moody, who had an undecipherable expression written on his face, and winked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“And did you plan or knew of the plan to kidnap James today.”

“I- I- I can’t...” Peter stuttered.

Sirius pouted and pressed his wand forward, going through the eye in a nauseating squish, making Peter shriek so loud, his vocal cords might have snapped.

“Don’t make me ask a second time, Wormtail. Did you or did you not?”

“Yes! I did!”

“And where did they take him?”

“I don’t know!”

Sirius angled his wand, still inside the eye.

“They said home!” Peter thrashed. “Bellatrix said home! That’s all I know; I swear on Merlin!”

Sirius pulled his wand out of Peter’s eye, casting a silent Scourgify to cleanse his wand off of bodily tissues as Peter doubled down on himself, holding his bleeding, nearly ruptured from its socket, eye.

“I know where he is.”

**********

The first thing Sirius sensed as he materialised after the apparition, was the familiar smell. The musty, putrid and acrid smell of the unkempt Number 12, Grimmauld Place. The dust in the air or on the furniture was a new detail but Grimmauld Place really neither ever smelled like home nor did it feel like it. Dark magic surrounded the perimeter and it was frankly a surprise Sirius was able to apparate straight into the house, through the protective spells surrounding it. It’s a trap, every cell in his body screamed.

Grimmauld Place had been abandoned since the residents Walburga and Orion Black had passed away. During the war, it was kept under surveillance to assure it would remain empty but with the war over, restrictions lifted and measures eased, Grimmauld Place too had been taken out of the surveillance list. With the hope that he would never have to return, Sirius had left it to rot, not giving it second thought until Peter mentioned home. Grimmauld Place was never that for him but it was undoubtedly a home for Bellatrix.  

Swiftly turning his head side to side, Sirius took in the sight of the entrance and sensed no movement on the first floor. Closing his eyes and tipping his head back, Sirius tried to pry past the primary smells in the house. Some moments, Sirius was more dog than man and he’d recognise James’ smell anywhere –it was flowing from the third floor and the metallic odour of blood filled his lungs and ached his heart.

Sirius drew his wand, took a deep breath and stepped on the stairs.

The eerie squeaks of the unstable steps made it rather difficult for Sirius to hide his presence. Not that he had much hope in the first place. If not the stairs, they must have heard of the pop of his apparition and if not that, then the breached security measures must have notified them about the presence of an intruder.  

No, the element of surprise wasn’t on his side. A better man might have brought support or thought of a strategy before diving headfirst. Sirius, though, never claimed to be a better man. Every new person in the house or every other minute spent on a battle plan meant increased chances of James not making it out alive. And that was a scenario Sirius refused to be prepared for.

With his wand held out, Sirius reached the second floor. Balancing himself on his right foot and holding his breath, he listened intently for any commotion. His heightened senses, curtesy of a dog animagus, could pick up faint, barely-there noises much better than a regular human. Out of pure instinct, he launched himself across the corridor, barely dodging a green burst of light. Waving his wand to the direction of the light, he shot a hex without seeing the person it was aimed at and rolled on the floor to hide behind a wooden hall stand. The loud thud of a body hitting the floor prompted him to extend his neck out slightly and steal a glance. At the far end of the corridor, a masked Death Eater lied still.

One down. Merlin knows how many left.

Flinging his head back and hitting the concrete wall, Sirius took a deep breath, both trying to calm his nerves and trying to sniff out any nearby intruders. Before he was given a mere second to categorize the various smells of the Grimmauld Place, the sound of two heavy sets of footsteps came to Sirius’ ears from a room at the opposite end. He was hidden from sight from the far end of the corridor but that made his little hiding spot by the hall stand wholly visible from the direction of the footsteps. And by the sound of it, he had mere seconds to react. On the spur of the moment, Sirius jumped to his feet, grabbed a glass vase seated atop the hall stand a second before the other Death Eater came into the view.

“Catch!” He called out and threw the vase to the Death Eaters. As the cloaked and masked figures raised their wands to block what they highly assumed to be an attack, Sirius used the momentary distraction to raise his own wand and cast, “Stupefy!”

Sending one of the intruders flying and hitting the other, Sirius cast an incarcerous and effectively immobilised them both before knocking them unconscious with sequential hexes. Leaning against the wall to secure his back, Sirius listened carefully, finding no other movement on the floor.

On a better day, Sirius would have immediately grabbed the Death Eaters, ripped the cloaks and masks off their cowardly, traitorous faces and sent a patronus to a fellow order member. But, considering the facts that he had made it through the last few hours without completely going mad, uncovered the spy in the Order and found James, Moody could stand waiting fifteen more minutes.

With his nerves on fire, heart pounding out his chest and wand gripped so firmly his knuckles had turned white, Sirius stepped on the stairs for the third floor.

Bellatrix would be waiting for him. ********** “Do you hear the footsteps, Jimmy? Someone’s here to see you.” Bellatrix chattered with a singsong tone to her voice.

James wanted to snap back or scream or warn who he indubitably knew to be Sirius walking up the stairs as Bellatrix took two steps back into the shadows, effectively hiding from the perimeter visible from the door, but a makeshift gag of a tie was wrapped around his mouth for his tormentors’ joy and a silencio cast on him the moment Bellatrix felt something wrong.

The footsteps neared and James’ breath quickened, as he thrashed on the chair he was seated, through the sharp pain all over his body and he prayed to Merlin and every god he knew that Sirius wouldn’t throw caution to the wind when he saw James so obviously hurt. It’s been known to happen and result in Sirius occupying the bed next to James at St. Mungo’s on multiple occasions.

The door flied open and showed Sirius; wand raised and gripped with white knuckles in his front, hair a mess, jaw clenched and shoulders tight as his eyes roamed the room. The moment their eyes met, James shook his head, trying to get words across the silencing spell. But he was still a moment too late.

Sirius threw himself across the room in his conquest to get to James and failed to notice Bellatrix leave her post from behind the door.

“Won’t you say hi, cousin?” She screeched.

The quick, green burst of light that left her wand grazed Sirius’ side and collapsed him on his knees, holding the long slash wound with his wandless hand. Sirius rolled on the floor with a pained grunt and the second and third curses Bellatrix shot hit the now empty spot. With a quick flick of his wrist Sirius sent a hex her way, throwing her off rhythm and getting back up on his feet.

Sirius had always been the best duellist James knew. He was a sight to behold in the way he was made of magic and talent seeped out from under his skin. Watching Sirius duel had always been more like watching stage arts instead of a fight. There was a grace to his movements and elegance to his limbs. He could read people like a book and predict any opponent’s movements three steps ahead beating them without barely breaking a sweat.

What made this particular fight different than the others wasn’t a change in Sirius’ talents. It also wasn’t that he was trying to make his cousin aim away from James. It wasn’t even the injury he endured. If Sirius was crazy then Bellatrix was fucking unhinged and that made her unpredictable, made her dangerous. Combined with her magical dexterity and the tough condition Sirius was in, the duel was a challenge, a continuous stream of attacking and deflecting and moving about the room with quick feet.

Deflecting another spell from an increasingly exhausted Sirius, Bellatrix sent another curse and hit him on the shoulder, loosening the grip on his wand. James held his breath as Sirius’ movements slowed down visibly.

“Getting tired little cousin?” Bellatrix taunted.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Sirius gritted his teeth.

“Your little blood-traitor boyfriend and I were having so much fun earlier. Cruciatus makes him scream so prettily. Isn’t that right, Jamie?”

“Take his name out of your mouth, Bella.”

Bellatrix burst into a guttural laughter but kept her pace of curse after curse.

With a sudden shift, Sirius moved quickly on his feet, switching sides with Bellatrix and turning his back to the door and side to James. With the arm not holding the wand Sirius pointed the palm of his shaky hand towards James. For a confusing moment, James tried to read into the meaning of the move before feeling something snap in him as his voice returned and the bindings around his wrists, ankles and torso went slack. As James took a deep breath, he noticed that the gesture had distracted Sirius, earning him a nasty slash through the side of the neck.

Sirius was giving him a way out.

He had undone the spell binding him, secured a clear path to the door and got himself injured to keep Bellatrix too busy to notice James getting untied.

Sirius was fighting a losing battle to save James.

With a moment of solid determination James overestimated the strength he had left in his body and quickly tried to jump up to his feet, just to drop down on his knees with a loud thud. Ignoring the ringing in his ears that felt like a drill through his skull, he raised his hands, practically trembling with adrenaline and magic and eyed the way Sirius’ complexion paled even beyond his usual state, letting himself get backed into a corner by Bellatrix. Sirius threw pleading glances at James with glassy eyes, wordlessly begging to take the opportunity and leave.

Bellatrix raised her wand as Sirius dropped his own, “Avad-”

James near felt his heart stop as he screamed something pained and wild and let himself fall unconscious as magic burst out of his body in uncontrolled waves of destruction, with the last sound reaching his ears the explosion of wood and glass. **********

James felt the stiffness of his body and smelled the sterile hospital room and Sirius’ scent –sandalwood, vanilla and smoke – before he slowly blinked his eyes open to see them.

The taller man was sprawled out on his side next to him on the bed with an arm draped over James’ stomach, his hair a beautiful mess on the pillow. Sirius’ eyelashes fluttered open, revealing storm grey eyes as James slowly ran his fingers through the man’s chiselled cheekbones.

“Morning.” Sirius smiled, his voice hoarse from the sleep.

“Morning.” James smiled back. “My muscles hurt more than that one time I wrestled a giant while drunk.”

“Well, love,” Sirius kissed the tip of James’ nose, “that tends to happen when you get tortured for hours then blast an entire quarter of a house with pure explosive magic.”

“Sounds impressive.”

“It was.”

“You should probably kiss me. You know, with how impressed you are and whatnot.”

Sirius chuckled and leaned forward to give James a sweet, lingering kiss that made James wish they didn’t need to breath, just so he could kiss Sirius like that forever.

“Sleep, James.” Sirius pulled back and ordered with an adoring look in his eyes. “I’m going to give you a talking-to about putting yourself in dangerous situations, so I need you in top shape.”

James smiled innocently and closed his eyes as Sirius pulled him close and kissed the top of his head, it wasn’t long before they drifted off to a content sleep with arms wrapped around each other.

[xreaderbooks]

Part of us

 Request: Could I request a Sirius x reader where the reader is maybe a year younger and his or regulus childhood best friend and she gets sorted to gryffindor so she becomes a target for bullies so Sirius and the marauders takes her under their wing....a few years later she gets hurt and Sirius gets super protective and confess his feelings....angst and fluff??

Pair: Sirius Black x reader, Platonic! Marauders x reader, Platonic! Regulus Black x reader

Word count: 4.2k

Warnings: Language

A/N: So this is my first request... I don’t know if I did what you imagined justice but this is what I came up with and I really hope you enjoy. 

Masterlist 

When you were placed into Gryffindor you thought it was a mistake. There was no way with your long line of Slytherin pureblood, that you'd be a Gryffindor. Not that you thought there was anything wrong with that. You never cared to live up to people's expectations or what people thought of you, even though your parents did. And despite your family's attempts at making you see their way, you never could. There was no superior bloodline, you were all equal. But you played your part so you wouldn't hear the lectures or deal with all the drama. You didn't partake in the bullying or the maltreatment of muggle-borns or half-bloods like every other pureblood; you didn't see the need. You kind of just stood by or left whenever your friends would tantalize others.

However, when you got sorted you weren't the silent one while others bullied and tortured others who weren't deemed worthy in the eyes; you were the one getting bullied. The first few years you wanted to fight back but eventually, there were too many for you to handle. So you just dealt with it. At the parties that the pureblood families had thrown-- which your family was invited to-- your parents had advised you to try to blend in and not draw attention to yourself. For the most part, you did.

Regulus, your best friend tried to get you out of your shell. You tried to convince him that it wasn't you but your parents. You would've love to enjoy yourself at the parties, being dressed up and all that. But with your situation, you couldn't afford to make a fool out of yourself, and drinking firewhiskey in different rooms or sneaking off to where your parents couldn't keep an eye on you, wasn't a good idea. When you and Regulus were older your parents had set an arranged marriage between you two. Uniting rich and powerful families and all that. But You and Regulus were just the best of friends, always together. And just like everything else, that had to change. You now had to find ways to see each other in hidden places. Never to be seen together in front of students or staff in case it would get back to your parents. In Hogwarts you ignored each other, magically passing notes to update each other on your well-being. It was tough but you managed. Regulus was your only friend after all.

~~~

It was just another day at Hogwarts, You were avoiding Bellatrix Lestrange. Your main terrorizer. She had a group of Slytherins trailing her. Ever since you got sorted into Gryffindor every pureblood who was in Slytherin, taunted and teased you to no end. They jinxed you and called you weak. Saying things about how you weren't one of them. You knew that much but you didn't need the constant reminder.

Bellatrix and her group were right behind you as you were walking to the Gryffindor common room. You cursed in your mind, they saw you.

"Going somewhere L/N?" You ignored her. "You know it's rude to not answer your superiors."

"I'm not trying to bother anyone Bellatrix." You sighed but kept walking.

"Your presence alone bothers me." She sent a spell your way to catch your attention.

"Are you crazy?" You turned to face her, Your voice raising a bit. An amused smile played on her lips, she tilted her head to the side.

"You have no idea what crazy looks like Y/N/N." She stalked towards you in a predatory way.

"We grew up together Bellatrix," You slowly backed away from her so as to not set her off. "Name-calling and pranks are one thing but curses..."

You didn't know what you did to cause the special attention that others like first years or Muggle-borns got from Bellatrix. Sure you were never that close, you always got along better with Andromeda than Narcissa and the former, but never would you have thought that you'd be on the receiving end of her fury over blood status. This was outrageous you thought to yourself. How could anyone be this upset over what house people are in?

"Don't worry, after a while, they won't hurt." Your blood started to rush through your veins and a shiver ran down your spine. You stopped walking backward when you bumped into something behind you. A pair of arms held you to keep you steady. You turned around expecting another one of Bellatrix's "friends" only to be met with a tall, shaggy-haired boy.

Sirius Black, your best friend's older brother, who just so happened to be in your house. Relief washed over you. You were no longer outnumbered. Sirius and his group of Marauders were there. Surely they wouldn't just walk away from a fellow Gryffindor in trouble. Of course you never really had an affiliation with them besides the same color robes but they were good people, weren't they?

"We heard something about pranks?" James spoke.

Bellatrix scoffed, "This is none of your business Potter."

"Well Bellatrix considering how Y/N is a member of our house, it does make this our business," Remus replied. She cackled, "How fitting the two blood-traitors in one pitiful little group." She signaled the others to follow her and walked away.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked, not letting go of your shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"C'mon we were just going back to the common room." He let go of your shoulders but tugged on the sleeve of your robe to follow them.

"What did you do to cause the wrath of crazy over there?" James questioned. He led the way to the common room, you kept your distance not really trusting any of them. Their reputation for being the school's signature pranksters didn't ease your mind as you walked with them. You never held a conversation with any of them before today, maybe a few with Remus but he was the only sane one out of all of them, it made sense that you were wary of their presence. Who knows what they had planned.

"Does anyone have to do anything at all to provoke her?" Sirius snorted, you gave him a questioning look and he just shrugged.

"No, I suppose not."

"Well Y/N I guess you could call yourself lucky your knight in shining armors were there to save the day." James' cocky smile written on his face assuming he was right.

"Although I appreciate the help, I could've handled myself." You stepped into the portrait hole, anxious to get back into your dorm room and take a nap.

"Not against all of them, you know sometimes you need to run in a pack L/N, you could get killed without one."

"You make it sound like we're wolves," you stated, each attempt to get back to your room was failed by every comment James made. What was his point?

"Some of us aren't," Sirius commented. You noticed Remus got tense and slightly shook his head.

"Point is Bellatrix and her groupies aren't going to quit bothering you and we want to help." James offered.

"What's the catch?"

"Why does there have to be catch? We want to be your friends." Sirius answered and plopped down on the chair across from the couch where you were sitting. You gave him a dead look. "Just think about it, hm?"

"Whatever." You got up from your seat and went to your dorm to take your well-needed nap.

Later that night you went down to the common room to read by the fire until you fell asleep. You felt like you'd only closed your eyes for 2 seconds when you were rudely awakened by Sirius.

"What?" You hissed. His mischievous grin made you want to slap him.

"You're coming with me." He took the blanket that you had wrapped around you, off.

"No." You said simply, reaching for the blanket again. Just as your eyes were beginning to close again you heard him say, "Yes."

He lifted you in his arms and you dramatically fell limp. "What the hell." You groaned loudly.

"Shh you're going to people up," You glared at him.

"Maybe they should wake up since I'm being kidnapped!" He rolled his eyes. You jumped from his arms so you could stand on your own.

"Where are we going?" You asked, Slowly recovering from being awoken.

"You'll see." That was all he responded as he continued to guide you out of the portrait hole and through the halls. You were anxious, in all the years of Hogwarts you never went out past curfew so you didn't know the chances of being caught and getting in trouble.

"Sirius, Filch may be out here." You warned.

"We'll be fine Y/N/N just trust me."

"I don't trust you that's my problem." You muttered. He turned around and looked at you. His piercing grey eyes shining in the darkness. He pulled out a long cloak from who knows where and wrapped it around the both of you, causing you to be closer together.

"This will keep us hidden so Filch won't catch us." The weight in your chest lifted and now replaced by butterflies. You inhaled sharply at the close proximity.

"You alright?"

You nodded, which gave him the confirmation he needed to continue, "Let's go."

When you made it to your destination you gasped. The astronomy tower, "Wow" you whispered, shedding yourself from the cloak. The night sky hadn't looked as beautiful as it did at that very moment. You've been here for class but you've never seen the stars so bright, you wondered what special cosmic event it must've been for the night sky to look the way it did.

You whipped around remembering who you were here with, you crossed your arms, "Why did you bring me here?"

"I can't take you sight-seeing now?"

"I had this class yesterday, this is hardly what I'd call sight-seeing." You arched a brow upwards. "Besides we're not exactly friends..." He gasped and feigned hurt by putting a hand over his heart.

"After all we've been through?" You rolled your eyes. He continued, "I was hoping we could change that. The boys and I have noticed you've been struggling socially and don't really play well with others, but I've seen the way you interacted with my brother before Hogwarts and you enjoy the company. I had to wonder why is it that you don't have that many friends?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but since I got sorted into Gryffindor my old "friends" and family haven't been that accepting considering the fact that they're all Slytherins, I mean you should know how it is." You sighed and took a seat resting your back against a wall facing the night sky. "The people I used to get along with, well, their parents don't want them to spend time with me. As for not having friends in our house, nobody has tried to get to know me, they just assume I'm like the other Slytherins even though I was placed here for a reason." You scoffed, people truly were ridiculous. "It sucks cause every side thinks I've chosen to be apart of what they go against when in reality I'm not apart of anything."

He stared at you, you then realized that you went on a full-on rant and nervously looked down, picking at your nails. He'd been silent the entire time listening. It was nice, "You could be apart of us."

You were skeptical, "Sirius this isn't funny." You moved to get up.

"It's not a joke Y/N." He chuckled.

"You're not being very convincing right now."

"Why would I lie to you?"

"We've barely spoken to each other in all these years of Hogwarts, even before Hogwarts!" you threw your hands in the hair. "I went over your house for playdates with Reg and never had one conversation. You and your friends have a reputation for pranks, How do I know this isn't one of them?"

"Because I'm not trying to prank you Y/n, in fact, I'm trying to help you. We all are." He put his hands on your shoulders to get you to look at him. "I know how it feels to be all alone in a world like that. To be in an environment where you feel uncomfortable with those people. Knowing all the wrong things they say and not being able to say anything because they'll disown you."

"The difference between you and me is that you got out." You shoved his hands off your shoulders. "Not all of us have a James."

"Y/n-"

"I'll think about it." With that, you left, not caring if you were to get caught.

If you were being honest the reason why you didn't want to be friends with the marauders was that they had 3 years to be friends with you, you knew Sirius from years prior. Why didn't he come to you sooner? Knowing you had been friends with his little brother. He just sat there and watched while you spent the first 3 and a half years of what should've been the most fun years of your life at Hogwarts, lonely and sad. If his defense was that he could sympathize with your situation and that he wanted to help; why didn't he approach you sooner? Also, you might've been a little bitter about him having a place to go to while you still had to stay with your parents.

~~~

You did think about after that Night with Sirius, you decided you give them a chance. You wouldn't be cornered alone anymore or hopefully cornered at all. You would have a group now. You also thought it was great that you had someone you could relate to in the group and someone that you somewhat knew. You never thought that you'd be actual friends with your childhood crush, even if that was your best friend's older brother and you'd spend more time in his house than your own most days; but here you were.

Being a part of the Marauders was fun, you were practically family now. They let you in on their little secret; with Remus' permission of course. They informed you of his full moon situation. They offered to help you become an animagus, which you denied, you didn't want to deal with all of that. You helped James with Lily, it wasn't easy but it worked somehow. You would help them with their pranks. They pulled pranks on the people who used to bully you all the time which you appreciated greatly. It was nice knowing they had your back and they knew you had theirs.

Nobody messed with you now and you gained a few more friends now. Lily, Alice, Dorcas, and Mary. It was all great. Except for your growing crush on a certain Marauder. With every moment you spent with him your heart swelled, it wasn't a great idea to get involved with him in that way. You were his brothers best friend, he'd seen you grow up, and took you under his wing when you were in need (you always thought even if he truly wanted to be your friend, it was a sort of favor for Regulus since he couldn't be there) there was no way he would be interested in you. But you had always hoped.

You remembered one Christmas that your parents had forced you to go to a party that the Malfoys would throw annually. It was terrible. You didn't have your friends there with you and Regulus couldn't talk to you with his parents watching. The blacks were suspicious of you spending more time with their son, who they disowned and like every other parent at that party, they didn't want Regulus to associate with you. So you were alone again. The only perk of this entire thing was you didn't have to completely show your face since it was a masquerade ball theme.

Evan Rosier came up to you, your eyes narrowed and you tilted your head in question. "Shame you spend your time with those blood traitors Y/N, I would have asked you out."

"I think I lucked out on that one Rosier." You took a sip from your drink shifting your gaze to somewhere else.

"You filthy little-"

"Careful what your next words are, my friend, I don't think Mummy and Daddy would appreciate it much." A voice that came from behind you said.

"You are not even supposed to be here, Black."

"Sirius!" You threw your arms around his neck, he wrapped his around your waist. You heard Evan scoff and leave.

"Y/N darling, have I told you that you attract way too much trouble."

"No, but I'm starting to think you're right." You pulled away from him, realizing that you were in the eyesight of your parents. "What are you doing here? Your parents will kill you if they see you here."

"I couldn't let you come here alone, with all these people." He looked around with distaste.

"Alright well, we have to find a more private place so you won't get caught." You grabbed his hand in yours and led the way to the maze garden.

"Y/N if you wanted to get into my pants, all you had to do was ask." He wiggled his eyebrows, You shoved him away. "Gross."

"Okay so I didn't tell you this but James and I are breaking you out of here."

"How the hell are you planning on doing that?"

"Easy, a distraction." You were about to ask what the distraction was when you saw a stag through the windows. Screams of the people were coming from the inside. You put a hand over your mouth to cover your smile. You did not expect that at all. Sirius retook your hand and pulled you deeper into the maze when the guests were filing out.

You stopped when you were finally in the middle, there was an enchanted fountain spewing water. you had a rush of energy and laughed. Sirius was looking down at you.

"Where'd James go?"

"He should be coming soon." He replied. It was quiet for a while before Sirius scooped up water from the fountain and threw it at you. You gasped, "You asshole!"

You dipped your hand in the water and flicked it at him. This started a war between the two of you. You ducked behind the fountain and threw water at him whenever you got the chance and he did the same. It wasn't until you heard footsteps coming that you stopped.

"Y/N?" You remembered that voice, you whipped around quickly and almost fell into the water if it wasn't for Sirius who had put a hand on your back to catch you.

"Reg?" He ran to you and wrapped his arms around you, picking you up and twirling you around. Once he put you down he pulled you away at arm's length to observe you.

"You're wet." He stated, confused.

"Water fight." you smile into the response. He laughed and threw his head back.

"Only you." Sirius coughed, you almost forgot he was there.

"Hello, brother." Regulus nodded to him. "It's been a while, I've missed you."

"Have you?" You gave Sirius a look, now was not the time. This was the first time you've seen Regulus in months, years even. You didn't need them to argue.

"We should talk." He suggested, You agreed and strolled along the maze with Regulus, noticing that the guests have all returned inside.  

"So you escaped your parents." You started talking.

"So I did." he glanced at you. "But only for a bit, they'll start to wonder where I've gone. I just needed to see you."

"Yeah me too."

"I just wanted to let you know that I can't write to you anymore." Your brows furrowed in confusion. "Why not?"

"It's not safe."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just know things are about to get serious and dangerous and I have to do things that I know you won't agree with to keep you safe."

"Reg, I-I don't know what you're saying."

"Soon enough you will." He stopped walking. "I needed you to know before I cut ties with you, that I love you. You're my best friend and I never want you to get hurt." You felt the tears forming.

"I love you too." He caresses your cheek and kisses them both before saying his final Goodbye. You were left standing there trying to decipher his words.

Eventually, you found yourself back where you and Sirius were playing with water. He was sitting on the edge of the fountain. He stood up when he saw you and your tearstained cheeks. He wrapped you in a hug.

"I'm glad you came." You whispered, hugging him back. He kissed the top of your head and told you that it was time to go. You went to James' house, you spent Christmas and summers there from then on. You never returned home. You slept in the guest bedroom and Sirius stayed with James in his room. Your parents sent you a letter telling you that you were no longer welcome at their house since you chose to associate yourself with bad company that was ruining their reputation. You didn't care much about it, knowing you had a better family now.

It wasn't until you graduated from Hogwarts that you figured out what Regulus was talking about. The war was getting more serious, Lily and James had to go into hiding, you and Sirius had joined the order, you became partners on missions, your bond growing more and more every day.

~~~

"There's too many of them Y/N we need to go back to headquarters!" Sirius yelled over the sounds of fighting. This was supposed to be a quick mission to find out where Voldemort was going to attack next. Hopefully saving a family and your best friends. But as always nothing went according to plan, you didn't drink enough poly juice potion that let you take the face of a death eater that you and Sirius had captured. You didn't bring the flask with you so in the middle of asking questions you transformed back into your true form, which then brought on the fighting.

"No! You go and get the others," A curse was sent your way, you blocked it. "I can fight them off in the meantime!"

"There's no way I'm leaving you with all of these death eaters!"

"Well I'm not going, we just need to catch one and get the information we need!" You continued to duel with Evan Rosier who was easily blocking all of your offensive spells. 'Shit' was all you thought. Six against two were not great odds and you were getting tired. Sirius made a point of retreating. If you were to leave now, you lost the element of surprise and they would be expecting you next time. That or they would retaliate. Great just great, all because you forgot to bring extra poly juice potion.

"Now is not the time to play hero, we can try another day." He took your hand and apparated you to a random alley in another part of London, but not before you were struck with a stinging spell.

"Fuck-" Tears stung in your eyes, Sirius was rushing towards you screaming your name.

The next thing you know you were waking up in a bright room. You assumed you were at St. Mungos. Memories of the moments before you were brought her played in your head. You slowly opened your eyes you turned your head to the sound of snoring. Sirius was sitting in a chair beside your bed. Despite feeling like shit you decided to throw a pillow at his head to wake him up. He sat up quickly, eyes wide staring at you.

"What the fuck?"

"Even when you're asleep you are annoying."

"I'm sorry I was up all night taking care of your dumb-ass."

"Apology accepted." You broke into a smile when you saw his face. He was so...serious. You could never let go of that joke.

"I'm not joking around, you were bad like so bad I thought I lost you."

"Siri-" You sat up in your bed.

"No Y/N I don't think you understand how serious this situation was. You had seizures and might've slipped into a coma. You've been in and out for days now." Your smile faded. "I-I thought I was going to lose you and I can't, not you." He shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

"Sirius, we all get injured, it happens. It's apart of the job."

"Yes but you're different."

"How? How is it any different than if this were to happen to Remus or James or any of the others?"

"Because I love you!" You tried to process his words. He searched your eyes for any response but you were in shock. He spoke softly, "It's different from the others because I am in love with you. I have been for a while.

"You don't have to say it back, you probably don't-" You grabbed him by the collar of his leather jacket and kissed him.

"You're an idiot." You kiss him once more and looked him in the eyes and said "I'm in love with you too."

Tags: @divergirl99

[fandomlovingfreak]

Healing His Heart (18/?)

Young Remus Lupin/Reader

Rating: Mature/Explicit Content (18+)

Word Count: 2100

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Summary: (y/n) is two years younger than him, a popular Slytherin, and Regulus Black’s best friend. Yet he can’t help but be attracted to her bewitching personality and sweet smile. Unfortunately, his er–problem makes it harder to get close to others. Despite his attempts to push her away (for her own good) she seems determined to worm her way into his life.

Disclaimer: Remus Lupin (Sirius Black, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Regulus Black, and other Harry Potter Characters) is a character from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Reader or y/n is not owned by Rowling. This work has not been created for profit or financial compensation, and is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.

Notes: So So So Sorry for the extremely long wait. I just could not get this chapter out of me for all that is good in this world. I hope some smut makes up for the wait.

Enjoy

Number Nine Glovergus Lane has an exceptionally large door; Remus observes as he looks up at the towering manor.

It's an especially sunny day, warm with a slight breeze. Perfect for taking his girlfriend somewhere for a stroll around a pond or... in a garden or something.

Instead of spending a romantic day with (y/n), he found himself being practically pushed out of the front door of her home. It hadn't been a malicious action on her part; she had ripped the letter from Mister Gedius out of his hands as they sat in her family's garden, eating breakfast. A brief glance over the letter had her dragging him out of his chair and up the staircase as she excitedly talked about the opportunity Mister Gedius had written about.

He allowed her to pick out the outfit she deemed "smart enough" for an interview and practically buzzed with energy as he changed, chattering away non-stop.

Of course, he had to agree with what she wanted. She was too excited for him to just ignore the reply. Besides, Mister Gedius was offering a particularly generous deal. It was good pay, flexible time (obviously a plus for someone who had a-- furry little problem), and he would be doing something he knew he would be good at. Maybe it wasn't a flashy Ministry position or the coveted Defense Against the Dark Arts post, but it was something. And he desperately needed something.

The last thing he needed was (y/n)'s parent's to believe he was dragging down their daughter in any way. He could be a provider.

Not that (y/n) expected him to take on such a traditional role, but something in him had to prove to others he was capable. No one had yet made him believe he wasn't, but society's view of his kind was far from accepting. It would always be a fear that lingered somewhere in his mind. 

"Yes?" Remus snaps back to attention, looking up at the greying man. 

"Hello, I am Remus Lupin. I sent you an inquiry about the Library assistant job last week."

"Ah yes," the man nods, "come in, come in." The man leads Remus into a large library, "sit, sit. Would you like anything? A cup of tea, perhaps?"

"Uh-- sure, thank you. That would be great." 

The man settles down in a chair across from Remus before speaking, "Did I introduce myself?" Remus sets his cup down before responding that he did not with a shake of his head.

"Ah-- I always seem to forget. Effie always reprimanded me for forgetting to introduce myself," he chuckles fondly, "I am Iwan Gedius. I'm sure you deduced that considering, I am seated across from you."

Remus smiles politely, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr. Gedius."

"Please, call me Iwan. If you're to take up this post, you must drop the formalities. They are quite unnecessary in my home."

"Of course s-- Iwan."

The older man smiles, looking amused, "So tell me, Remus Lupin, are you a recent graduate from Hogwarts?"

"I am, this past May."

"Congratulations. Do you have any experience with libraries?"

"Not any professional experience, but with my studies, I spent numerous hours locating books in the Hogwarts Library. And of course, multitudes of hours replacing said books."

Iwan nods, "And you're up for my library? I have to warn you, I am notorious for not reshelving my books. At least not very well."

Remus nods, "Whatever needs reshelving, I am more than willing to reshelve. And, I have plenty of patience to document or reorganize the whole library if needed. I am willing and happy to put the whole library back together, honestly."

Iwan chuckles, "You've more than convinced me, Remus. You can start next Monday, maybe around ten A.M.? I don't expect you to work more than five or six hours a day. Weekends off, of course, and personal time off is always available if you request a few days ahead of schedule. How does that sound?"

Remus grins, feeling elated, "That sounds great! I appreciate that you're taking a chance on me."

***

"So?" (y/n) is sitting at the dining room table when he gets back.

He shrugs off his blazer, setting it down on the back of a kitchen chair, "I got the job."

A smile rises on her lips, "Did you really?" Remus nods as she springs out of the chair she had been sitting on, launching herself into his arms.

"I knew you would get it! I just knew it!" Remus makes a noise of surprise as she presses her lips against his. His hands find (y/n)'s waist as he steadies them, their bodies molding together as the kiss quickly grows passionate.

"My parents-- they're gone for the next few hours," she whispers against his ear, her sinful hands untucking his dress shirt.

Remus doesn't think twice about what she said, pulling her immediately towards the staircase. Weeks had gone by between the time he was allowed to feel her underneath his body. The temptation to bury himself in her warmth, to hear her soft sounds as they move together towards mutual pleasure... It's too strong to resist.

(y/n) gets his shirt unbuttoned and thrown from his shoulders before he can get her bedroom door shut properly. He returns the favor with vigor, removing her clothing with unmatched speed. A bit embarrassing when he thinks back to it later that night, but at the moment, getting her naked and on the bed is all he could care about.

She looks fantastic, he thinks, once she's displayed in front of him. Despite actually only being a bit bigger than what they're used to at Hogwarts, the bed looks massive. The possibilities are endless, he thinks, trying to decide how he wants her situated. 

Tapping her hip softly, he mutters, "'wanna try something new." 

Sitting up on her forearms, (y/n) gives him a funny look, "like what?"

"You'll see," Remus kneels on the bed, moving her leg so he can lay next to her. "Lean against me. Just like that, good girl." He's moved her, so she's got her back pressed to his chest and her leg over his hip. Remus's left hand, which rests on her abdomen, moves up to massage her breast as his other hand begins to slip down her thigh towards her sex.

He swears she's holding her breath, her face turned towards him as he teases the skin of her inner thigh, not yet reaching where she wants him.

"What do you want?" he presses a kiss to her neck, his hands ceasing their teasing as he waits for an answer.

"You know what I want, Rem." Not the answer he wants, not what he wants at all.

He tries again with a light pinch against her breast for emphasis, "Tell me what you want."

The yelp is exactly the reaction he had wanted. Remus hides a satisfied grin upon her neck. 

"Please touch me." Her voice is quiet.

He caresses her thigh, "here?"

(y/n) shakes her head, "no, no, please, Remmy. Don't make me beg you."

"I thought you were a good girl. Good girls use their words." He can't help himself, biting lightly where he had previously kissed.

She makes a whimpering sound, her fingers intertwining with his brown hair, pulling lightly as he tongues at her neck.

"I am-- I want your fingers in me, please. Please, Remmy, I want you to fuck me with your fingers."

He grins, "there we go. That wasn't too hard, was it?" He moves his hand down to cup her sex, "got to make sure you're nice and wet for my cock. Isn't that right, darling?"

"Yes, yes, please--" She's cut short as he thrusts two fingers inside of her. The noise she makes is like poetry. 

"Is that too much?"

"More, I want more." She's already squirming against his hand, trying to fuck herself against it.

Any concern Remus may have had melts instantly, "as you wish." Pulling his fingers out, absolutely coated in her juices, he inserts a third before beginning a quick pace.

"My hands are a bit busy; how about you play with those pretty tits for me, darling." Remus's voice is low, barely over a whisper. Her hands are immediately at her chest.

"Like this?" Her voice holds a teasing edge as she watches his eyes follow the way she pinches her nipples.

"Exactly like that." With his free hand, Remus moves her beautiful face towards his, kissing her soundly. (y/n)'s hands are suddenly buried in his hair, forgetting her previous request as her hips maneuvering to press up against his lower abdomen. 

"Fuck me, please?"

And who is he to deny her when she's behaving so good, using her words like he asked? With a tilt of his hips, he's sheathed within her.

With each shallow thrust, (y/n) rocks against his hips, causing her clit to rub against his body, the leg thrown over his hip wrapping itself tighter around him. Remus lets his hand drift from her lower back towards her ass, grabbing a handful to increase the push and pull of their lovemaking.

The angle is new for them, on their sides gripping one another to stay exactly like that because he's hitting just the right spot, the spot that makes her involuntarily let out small gasps.

She's chanting quietly, breathlessly that she wants more. She wants everything he can give her and more. Whimpering about how big he feels and how much she loves his cock.

"Please, Remus--"

"What do you want?" He asks before kissing her again.

"I wanna cum, please, Remmy--" Remus grins, pulling out quickly. 

Before she can complain, he moves her to her hands and knees. Large hands massage her ass, feeling rather giddy as he runs his cock against her cunt.

(y/n)'s whole body seems to tremble, her face turning to look at him, "Oh, Gods-- hurry!" 

The night is full of new surprises, he thinks to himself before he goes right back to fucking her senseless. 

"Holy fuck," (y/n) gasps out. Remus can't help but grin, leaning over to press a kiss to the back of her neck. He feels huge draped over her body, caging her in against the bed as he relentlessly pounds into her.

This may be his new favorite position. He's got access to nearly all of her, and he can't say he doesn't enjoy having this more dominant power over her. 

His hand snakes down to her sex, fingers moving clumsily till they find her clit. At the contact, (y/n) pushes back hard against his hips, her head jerking up just a tiny bit.

"Yes, there." Remus obliges, fingers moving in practiced circles around her clit, his mouth attaching itself to the side of her neck, pushing her towards her release. Feeling he's only going to last another minute or two more, Remus's movements speed up, hoping to get her there before him.

It seems to do the trick, her pussy trembling around his cock in seconds and a low moan of his name coming from her lips. The top of (y/n)'s body seems to slump against the bed as he chases his own release.

He pulls out of her, releasing across the small of her back with a deep groan. He steadies himself by planting his hands on her hips.

He's about to make a comment about enjoying the view when he hears the (y/l/n)'s front door open and close and the sound of (y/n)'s mother calling for her.

"Shit!" Remus springs up from the bed, grabbing his wand to get rid of the mess on (y/n)'s back and to cast a precautionary contraception charm.

"C'mon now," Remus whispers, pulling his pants back on. (y/n) laughs, rolling over to look at him, but she doesn't seem to be in a rush to get her clothes back on.

"Relax, Remus." She's about to pull on one of his shirts, but he grabs it from her hand.

"Don't make it too obvious."

(y/n) rolls her eyes, "I hardly think wearing your t-shirt is going to tip my mother off to what we were doing."

"I dunno! Mothers are weirdly perceptive."

His girlfriend giggles but pulls on her own shirt for his sake. "Ya know, you're cute."

Remus frowns, "I just don't want your parents to think anything there's any... funny business going on."

"I'm sure they know there is funny business going on. All parents were teenagers once too, you know."

Remus frowns, "Still! They don't need to catch us in your bed."

[yourlocalmaraudersbabe]

Helloooo! How are you? I really like your fics! <3 Can i request some headcanons for young!Sirius? Or maybe kid!Sirius? How do you think he was like? What if he and Y/n were best friends? Would he go to her for comfort when his parents are nasty with him? Sorry for my horrible English🤡 still struggling with it.. (maybe that's why i read so many fics😂) Best wishes!

“I'm starting to think that we deserve each other”

Summary: Headcanons of Sirius and eventually confessing feelings

Pairing: Sirius x Muggleborn!reader (it’s literally mentioned like one time)

Warnings: swearing, angst, parent/family issues (?)

A/N: Ahh hi anon! Thanks so much for sending this in, I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it :)))) Ahhh but this was also a little different style of writing than I usually do so let me know how you guys feel about it! I’m also just like, obviously in love with Sirius Black so um, they get into a little bit at the end and confess some things :=) Ooo, as always, send me an ask if you’d like to be added to my taglist! I also should let you know that I wrote this very late at night so the logistics and grammar might be shit

Word Count: 2054

Masterlist + Characters and ships I write for

Requests are always open <3

I have more time since it’s now summer so please send them in!! :)

Reminder that I do not support jkr. Do not interact if you do.

It was well known throughout your first years at Hogwarts that you and Sirius did not get along. He honestly annoyed the shit out of you everyday. He came from a rich pureblood family and you were a muggleborn, so anyone could see how the two of you clashed there.

All of the professors were completely done with you and Sirius’s antics. It started off with Sirius somehow managing to turn your hair green during the first flying lesson that the Gryffindors had. “Hey y/n, your hair is amazing! Didn’t think you could pull off the green!” a peer had spoken to you just before mounting your broom.

Sirius broke out into a nearly uncontrollable laughter and got a detention for it. But of course, none of that stopped you from getting back at him. Even just the simplest of pranks had gotten the job done.

There was one prank at the start of second year that earned you and Sirius a month’s worth of detention with Slughorn. He basically had the two of you as his personal assistants. It was honestly torture. But there were moments when he would step away from his classroom to talk to another professor, or slip away into his office to plan the next day’s lesson, and it would leave you and Sirius alone.

The two of you gave in and finally had a conversation with each other. It wasn’t much and it was very awkward, but seeing as this was your first day out of a month’s long sentence of detention, someone to talk with didn’t sound too bad.

And that was what blossomed a very chaotic friendship between the two of you. Having to suffer together was what drew the connection. You two eventually planned your own little pranks against other people.

Despite everything in your younger years of being at Hogwarts, Sirius was your closest friend. You could maybe go as far as to call him your best friend, but you’d never say that to his face, it’d add to his already huge ego.

You ate nearly every meal with him. You’d practically drag him into the library to study. He mentioned something about doing well in school for his parents, so that’s what you’d help him with.

Though the two of you quickly learned that it’s very hard to focus in each other’s presence.

You taught him how to braid hair. He practiced using yours. “Would you stay still, y/n?”

“I’m trying! You’re the one yanking me back and forth, Sirius.”

From that point after, you’d sit in between his legs on the floor as he sat on the couch.

He got you sucked into quidditch and nearly got you to try out for the team. “I think it’d be fun having you on the team!”

“I think that’s your way of saying you want to spend more time with me.”

“Of course,” SIrius shook his head no.

One day he saw someone in the hall walk by with eyeliner and he demanded that the two of you try putting it on yourselves.

This ultimately got you in trouble for staying up way too late, laughing at how silly you both looked in the prefect bathrooms. Lily would allow you in saying “This is going to get my badge taken from me, I swear.”

You two eventually got back to studying after Sirius received some notes from his parents.

You caught on quickly that he didn’t have the best relationship regarding his family.

It was actually a little difficult being friends with Sirius at first. It was very hard for him to just be vulnerable and talk, but by fourth year, you understood where he came from and didn’t push for anything. You listened to him the very few times when he would make small little notes of his family, or talked about his brother while passing him in the hall.

Your conversations were more so filled with random things that only really made sense to the two of you. Any outsider would’ve thought you two were completely crazy.

By fifth year, you were looking at Sirius in a whole different light and you hated it. You wanted to be way more than friends and didn’t know what to do with yourself. You started to avoid him. This was the worst and best decision ever. It’s still debatable.

While the rest of your friends were taking a little day to Hogsmeade, and while you were still on a streak of pretty much avoiding Sirius, you slipped off from the courtyard, taking a less used corridor towards the library.

Here, you found Sirius with his shoulders shaking, head in his hands, and your heart shattered. If you were feeling this, you couldn’t even begin to imagine what he must feel like. He didn’t pay any mind to his surroundings until you slid down the wall next to him, placing your hand on his shoulder.

He didn’t even have to look to know that it was you. He leaned into your shoulder while you brought your arm around him, quiet sobs escaping from his body.

He always kept parts of him, especially these emotions so closed off, that it honestly was a little surprising to see him like this. “Sere, tell me what’s wrong,” you whispered.

“I- um, it’s nothing. I just got a letter from home and it’s-” he broke down again.

At this point you let your legs stretch in front of you. He was still under your arms until he just let himself go. He let himself feel. And relax. And he understood that it’s okay to cry. And be vulnerable. And that you were safe to talk to about anything. He hugged you full on. He clung on tight as he cried. And man, you were fucked. This wasn’t helping any sort of feelings you were trying to suppress by being here in his presence. It honestly nearly broke you. You wanted to cry for him. Scream for him. Go off on his parents for him. You wanted to protect him from all that could ever hurt him this way.

He talked about everything that has happened up until the letter and stammered off his explanation with one final point. “A-and I’ve missed spending time with you. It’s like you’ve been avoiding me,” he mumbled into the thick air. He was laying down against you with your fingers in his hair. “It’s like I- I’m missing a part of me. Like we’re so close I couldn’t possibly imagine my life without you.”

You stumbled over your words, trying to find out what to say. ‘If only he knew’ you wanted to groan out into the air. “I’m sorry,” was all you could say, tears stinging your eyes while you blinked them back, hugging him tightly.

From that moment, the two of you had bought bracelets at Hogsmeade and spelled them to change a certain color for when the other wanted to talk, or simply just needed to be with the other. They were simple fabric ones, something you both liked and wore everyday.

Most of the time Sirius came to talk to you about his parents. Which was new considering he was a little closed off before.

You were there if he needed to cry. You would hold him if he needed a hug. You would laugh with him when he didn’t want to be the only one. You were there for him for everything.

There was one night that was really bad. His parents basically sent a letter saying not to come home in the future. You were supposed to meet him in the library yet he wasn’t there.

After asking around, you found him in the Gryffindor common room when it was far too late for you to even be out. His face was tear stained and his eyes were an irritated pink. Though he didn’t seek you in the first place, he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around you, burying himself in your comfort.

By sixth year it was supposedly “Painfully obvious you two were basically in love with each other” Remus would say every time you gave up a library visit to be with Sirius. Or James would very blatantly leave you both to carry out specific parts of a prank together. Lily would just leave you and Sirius alone together whenever she got the chance, really.

One particular Gryffindor win for Sirius was crashed by some Slytherins who came without any good intentions. It was soon discovered that there was veritaserum in the drinks that, of course, you and your friends had already enjoyed.

All of this prompted you to leave the party. You left with a big group of people, Remus, James, Peter, Lily, Mary, Marlene, all off to the grounds, trying to avoid any trouble. You stayed back with Remus and Sirius while the rest walked ahead, talking about the most random of things, like how Remus wants to ride a unicorn. He eventually sped up with the rest of the group, claiming he was going to ride a unicorn, properly drunk. “Mhm, yeah. You go have fun with that Remus,” Sirius called to him as he stumbled ahead.

You and Sirius couldn’t go as far as to say you were drunk, but definitely tispy. You walked over to a small tree and sat yourself under it, laying back against it. Sirius did the same thing except he leaned his head on your shoulder and you leaned yours on top of his. It was a sweet moment as he mindlessly played with a thread hanging from your robes.

The veritaserum didn’t bother the two of you much, you were honest with each other most of the time anyways. Well, it didn’t bother you much until Regulus and a few of his friends stood over you, making fun of how close you and Sirius were. You kept your mouths shut for as long as you could. “What it’s not like you like each other. Do you, Sirius?” Regulus pushed.

“I actually like y/n a lot. She’s always there for me and—” Sirius slapped his hand over his mouth, eyes wide.

“Hmm, and I don't suppose you feel the same way, y/n?”“

“I have feelings for Sirius,” you blurted out right as Regulus and his friends walked away.

Sirius looked over to you, smiling like an idiot. You leaned your head back against the tree, covering your face with your hands just before he pulled them away. He squeezed them in a comforting manner and asked why you hadn’t said anything before. “Because you’re such a great person, like you deserve the world and I don’t think I’d be enough a-and I hate that people keep asking questions because I’m on this stupid veritaserum that’s making me look like an idiot

He cut you off with a kiss, effectively shutting you up. The kiss was rushed at first before turning into something exploding with passion that you didn’t even know you needed until now.

“Well, you’re a beautiful idiot. Because, as said before,” he mumbled the last part, returning to his normal tone of voice. “I like you too. A-and I guess that you could tell me that I’m an idiot because—”

“Why didn’t you tell me you liked me, Sirius?”

“My entire life is a mess and I have too many problems and you’re always there for me to begin with, I’d take up too much of your time if we actually ended up dating. And you’re perfect and I look like absolute shit all the time. Just as you said you deserve the world but as I’m saying all this, I’m starting to think,” he trailed off searching your eyes for words. “I'm starting to think that we deserve each other,” he finished in a soft voice.

“I think we deserve each other too,” you grabbed his face gently, kissing him.

That night is now the day you and Sirius started dating, one of the most memorable days of your lives.

You never left breakfast in the Great Hall without stealing a kiss.

Or a piece of bacon from his plate.

There’d be some nights where you could sneak away and fall asleep with him peacefully and everything seemed alright.

[j-amespotter]

★ august [pt. 1] - s. b.

“you weren’t mine to lose.”

Pairing: Sirius Black x Slytherin!Reader, Regulus Black x Reader (mentioned)

x. x. x.

Summary: As one of the Order of the Phoenix’s freshest recruits, love certainly was not on Sirius Black’s mind the summer after he finished school – especially not with a Slytherin, who just happened to be his brother’s girlfriend.

Genre/Warnings: angst, alcohol, language, mentions of death & war, infidelity, implied smut 

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: august but from the guy’s pov?? i think yes. this was the first one-shot i wrote for this series so let me know what you think! lmk if you wanna be added to my taglist. p.s. i do not condone cheating!!!!!! 

masterlist

Your lips were centimeters apart. It seemed too late to change course, but he had to ask. He had never done something so reckless, which for him, was saying something. “Are you sure?”

He was scared of the answer. One look at you told him you were scared of answering. “We’ve never… I mean, I’ve never done this before,” you whispered. Your noses grazed against each other, tantalizingly close. 

His hand hovered underneath your robes. It felt large against your bare stomach. “We can stop.” 

“I don’t want to stop.” With one hand around his neck and the other on his chest, you tugged him closer. The moment your lips met erased his doubts so fully that if he stopped to think about it, it would have scared him.

Your shoes slipped off as he delicately lifted you off of your feet. Gently, he laid you down on his bed and paused to stare at how small and trusting you looked in the moment. It was only your fifth visit to his flat, yet you already looked like you belonged. He would never have expected someone from his forgotten life to fit into his current one so unquestionably. 

*One Week Earlier*

It was getting easier and easier to slip away from Regulus these days. While you were accustomed to seeing less of each other during the summer holidays, now you were more distant than ever. You knew why, of course. Being a Slytherin, you were privy to an entire host of secrets – Regulus was too. Hogwarts’ rowdiest, most divided class graduated just a month earlier, and many of your friends, if you could even call them that, had chosen a side in this war. His side. 

You knew Regulus agreed with the Dark Lord’s philosophies and marveled at his promises. However, it was not until this school year that you realized exactly how much your boyfriend worshipped the elusive man responsible for the murders of so many innocent people. He would scour the Daily Prophet for news, eager but not uneasy. He trailed after Snape, Avery, and Mulciber, and the whisperings about the three of them were hardly positive. It was rumored that all of them had been "marked." You didn’t know exactly what that meant but worried Regulus was next. 

He sensed your fear but didn’t say much to soothe you. Perhaps he thought he could convince you to join him – or, at least, stand by his side as he signed away his services. You weren’t interested. In fact, you were terrified. Though your family was prominent, prosperous, and pureblood, they never participated in what your father coined to be “blood politics.” Your indifference, which occasionally transformed into blatant disgust, over the growingly common prejudice among your peers ostracized you from your fellow Slytherins. You managed to keep your reservations to yourself for the sake of House unity but could no longer remain silent. Not when your childhood love drifted further and further away from you. 

It was slow, but of course, there was a final straw. In his last letter, Regulus wrote that his cousin Bella was teaching him how to duel “the proper way.” As someone who saw nothing substandard in your Defense Against the Dark Arts education thus far, you could only imagine what Bellatrix Lestrange would consider to be the “proper” way to duel. You had limited experience with the woman, having only caught glimpses of her as a child at Grimmauld Place and as Regulus’s date to her wedding. Nonetheless, the rumors about her were becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

So you sought the one person you thought may listen to you. Of course, there was the issue of finding him. You had no idea where he lived, though you doubted he would be thrilled to meet you, especially at his place of residence. You thought of writing to him but could not risk seeing and sending the words you had not yet uttered aloud. 

Ultimately, you decided that the best course of action was to find him in public, no matter how difficult it would be. You knew if you willed it hard enough, fate would bring him to you – and you understood the power of your love better than anyone. 

It took six days of solitary walks through Diagon Alley for you to finally find him. It wasn’t easy at all. You managed to keep your parents at bay by entrusting your safety with your pureblood Slytherin status. However, what was once the most bustling shopping center in the Wizarding World became drearier by day. More wanted posters appeared on brick walls as the number of disappearances grew. Within days, there were fewer groups of visitors for you to huddle behind without drawing suspicion. 

He was in the Leaky Cauldron with a shorter man, someone you recognized to be Peter Pettigrew. They were huddled together but deep in conversation. Actually, it seemed as though he was doing most of the talking. You found yourself staring at his muscular, tattooed arms as he gestured wildly at Pettigrew, who stared at him with wonder, excitement, and apprehension all at once. Despite the normal-looking exchange, both men gripped their wands tightly and took turns periodically glancing over their shoulders. 

Peter was too far away for you to read his lips, but checked his watch and jumped in surprise. You inched closer, hoping to find an in for your mission. Finally, you were close enough to hear his parting words. “Sorry, Padfoot... Mum’s waiting for me. You know how she gets, especially now.” 

“Alright, mate. Get home safe. I’ll see you… when I see you.” 

You were not stupid. You had no idea what that meant, but judging by Peter’s stiff nod, there was definitely a predetermined meeting time and place that they could not risk anyone overhearing. Given the circumstances, you could hardly blame them. 

Your interaction with Sirius Black was limited, but you had heard enough about him to know that he was reckless, devil-may-care, and according to his brother, inconsiderate of everyone’s feelings. Hearing the sincerity in his goodbye to his friend sounded quite the opposite, or perhaps was just a sign of the times. 

Peter scurried away and out of sight. You saw Sirius reach for a pouch in his pocket, out of which he scooped a handful of Sickles. They clattered onto the table. Before he finished counting his change, you slid into the seat across from him. 

Startled, Sirius stood and pointed his wand at you. His motions were seamless. It was as if he could kill you with a single swish. You hardly had time to wonder if you would be as skilled with your wand as he seemed to be when you finished school. “Listen, I just want to talk. Please sit down.” There weren’t too many other customers in the pub, but there was no doubt your exchange was attracting attention. 

Sirius sneered at you. “Why would I want to talk to you? Did he send you? Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it.”

It surprised you that he knew who you were. Regulus was convinced that Sirius abandoned the Black family once and for all and did not care for his extracurricular activities. Granted, much of your scheme relied on the fact that he did. “No, he didn’t send me. I need to talk to you about him, actually. In private.”

He looked apprehensive but curious. You sighed in relief as he lowered his wand and sat down, “Whatever you have to say, you can say it here.” 

“Please,” you tried again. “I’m no threat to you.” 

He stared at you, and in his pale eyes you saw something so familiar yet so foreign. “Fine. Follow me.” 

He swiftly led you out of the pub. Although you were eager, you maintained an acceptable distance from him. The air was sticky; you could feel your flushed cheeks. You always hated summer because of the unbearable weather and because it was always the longest you would spend apart from Regulus. However, you found yourself entranced by the way Sirius’s neckline glistened. There was a warm glow radiating off of the little bits of his exposed skin, slightly tanner than his brother’s. You were surprised at how easy it was to distinguish these details. You always considered yourself to be too young for and morally above noticing Regulus’s physique. It was far too shallow to remark on a man's physical beauty and far too desperate when all you could see were his neck and arms. 

“Get your license yet?” 

You shook your head. “No, not yet.” 

“Okay,” said Sirius, extending a hand. “I’ll take you with me.” 

You were used to Side-Along Apparition, so your surprise was more at your surroundings. You landed on a street in front of a very tall building. Craning your neck to observe the one in front of you, you asked, “Where are we?” 

“London,” he answered vaguely. He had not let go of your hand. 

“I figured. But this looks like a Muggle building.” 

“Got a problem with that?” He snapped, and as if he had just realized what he was doing, he let go of your hand as if it was rotting. 

You internally groaned at how sweaty it was. “N-No. I’ve just never been around here, that’s all.” 

You waited for a snarky response, but received none. Instead, he pushed open the door of the building and led your to what you could only assume was his flat. 

“I would say make yourself at home, but don’t.” Sirius did not have guests often, and when he did, they definitely did not include his little brother’s girlfriend. Damn, he thought to himself. Wait until James hears about this. 

You were still in school – although, so was he, just a month earlier. But you were in a rival house. And worst of all, he had seen you in the same position, perched onto a sofa with inquisitive eyes, when you both were children at his parents’ house. It was curious to him that you looked just as out of place then as you did now. 

“I know this is strange, but I have no other choice.” Your voice broke off and for the tiniest millisecond, he felt sorry for you. “I think he’s… I mean I feel that… that R-Regulus is planning on joining the Dark Lord.” “Call him Voldemort, will you?” Sirius interrupted irritably. 

You flinched. “I really shouldn’t.”

Though he was annoyed, he understood and did not probe you further. “Listen, I don’t know what you thought trying to find me, or even how you found me for that matter, but I can’t help you. I know what you’re worried about and you’re probably right to be worried. But I tried talking to him before I ran – I mean, left. He won’t budge. He’s in too deep. Sorry,” he added. 

Your eyes glossed over. “I figured you’d say that.” Tears streamed down your rosy cheeks. “S-Sorry, I don’t mean to load this on you. I just feel so alone sometimes. And so scared for him. He really has no idea what he’s getting himself into, does he?”

Sirius stared at you, contemplating whether he should tell you what his dim-witted brother was really getting himself into. He only started to see it for himself now. “I’m not sure what I should tell you, but I understand. If you want to talk about it…” 

You glanced at him in wonder, cocking your head to the side. “Er, thanks. But I should get home. My parents must be worried. Can I Floo out of here?” 

You looked even more upset than before, and Sirius felt guilty for leaving everything so unresolved. Although, should he really care about your feelings? Anyone who willingly chose to spend time with a tosser like Regulus probably deserved whatever hell he would put them through… although… 

“Yeah, I installed one,” he said, gesturing to the fireplace. 

Wiping your eyes nimbly, you stood and smoothed the front of your robes. “Thank you. Sorry if it was a bother.”

“No problem. I know… I know that you aren’t like them. And I know what you’re going through. Probably better than anyone.”

You smiled at him, and without warning, his stomach flipped. It couldn’t have been the first time he’d seen you smile, but it was definitely the first time you smiled at him. Maybe you had once before when you were children. For now, all Sirius seemed to hone in on was the soft dimple on your right cheek and the way your eyes lit up almost automatically. 

“If you ever need to talk about it, you can always come around here.” He knew it was strange for him to offer you that, but you had known each other for so long. You both had the same doubts… perhaps you lacked the bravery to act on them as he did, though he could hardly fault you for that. 

“Thank you, Sirius,” you said softly. 

☆

It was more than sex. You would spend hours talking, entangled in his bedsheets, watching the sunrise together for several mornings in a row. Sirius glanced warily at the clock on his bedside table. “Where do your parents think you are?”

You were drawing circles on his bare chest. “I told them I was with him.” 

Despite being the reason you sought him out, it became an unspoken rule between the two of you to not mention his name. The subject of Regulus and, by extension, the war became as taboo as saying Lord Voldemort. 

He hated it. He tried to convince himself that he was acting on lust, that he just needed to relieve his stress of the war and Order training, but he couldn’t. Not when every time you arrived unannounced, he scribbled excuses to get out of dinner with the Potters, or drinks with the boys, or hell, even Order meetings. 

Sirius wished he could explain it to James. Surely, his best friend would convince him of the stupidity of engaging in an affair with his brother’s girlfriend. But then he would watch you wearing his shirt, sipping wine, and dancing barefoot in his kitchen. He would imagine you wrapping your arms around his waist on his new motorcycle and his insides would implode. Then, he would decide that he did not want to be dissuaded. He was falling for you. One look at you told him you were falling for him too. 

“Where have you been, mate? The parents are driving me up a wall about you. Lily’s convinced you’ve got a girlfriend or something,” joked James. 

They were sitting in the pub on a night Sirius knew you had a family function to attend. He swallowed bitterly as he wondered whether or not Regulus would be there. Were you together right now? Did you confess? Was he angry? Were you crying?

Noticing his best friend’s silence, James raised an eyebrow. “Do you? Have a girlfriend or something?”

Sirius knew he could not lie to James, but he debated exactly how much he wanted to delve into the subject. “Or something.” Before he could he stop himself, the secrets were spilling off of his tongue. 

When he finished, Sirius wasn’t sure if he felt better or worse. He tried to focus on James’s hazel eyes as they widened at every turn in the story. “Mate… you’re fucked.”

He tried not to ponder at these words too hard in the hopes that he wouldn’t splinch himself Apparating back to his flat. It didn’t shock him to see you there – he had allowed you too much access to everything and he had no intention of taking it back.

Emerald green dress robes were slipping off of your shoulders. With pearls draped around your neck and pieces of hair straying out of your topknot, Sirius could not help but swoon at how beautiful you looked. He wondered briefly what it would have been like if you had chosen him over Regulus. What if there was no foul play? Would you be happy? Or would you run away, as you had with his brother?

He was still tipsy. James’s warnings ran scattered in his brain, ringing like a siren. But they mattered little now that you were in front of him. “How was–” 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” you interrupted. Then you stepped forward and tugged at his half-unbuttoned shirt, pressing your lips against his. “Make me forget.” 

“Consider it done.” 

Your bare limbs tangled together as you shared wine-drunk, open-mouthed, sporadic kisses, giggling and whispering words of sensual encouragement. How did you become so in sync in a matter of weeks? Sirius had never fallen this hard. “I’m yours, (Y/N).” 

You hummed in satisfaction, fingers wound up in his hair. 

“I mean it,” he urged. “I love you.” 

You didn’t respond. Strange, he thought to himself. You never hesitated in reciprocating, ever. When he jumped, you jumped with him, no questions asked. He glanced at the clock from over your shoulder and watched it strike midnight. It was the first of September. “You’re due at King’s Cross today, aren’t you?”

You nodded, not meeting his eyes. 

He chuckled darkly. All of a sudden, he felt cold and strangled. He wanted to push you far away and yet, pull you close to him so you had no hope of escaping. “Will you write to me?” 

“Sirius…” 

“Don’t,” he snapped. “Don’t say my name like that. I should have known… fucking snake.” 

He hadn’t let go of you. “I’m sorry darling,” you whispered, “but I can’t give up on him yet.” 

It was all he had to hear. He couldn’t think of how he was going to recover from this, not when you were lying right in front of him. “I think you should go.” 

“M-Maybe someday we can–” “Forget it.” He should have seen this coming from the second you walked up to him in the pub. You had come to him for Regulus and now you were leaving him for Regulus. Yet another bit of happiness his brother snatched away from him. But even so... he was your first and Regulus would never know. He would never know that you lost yourself in him. His no-good elder brother. But none of that mattered now, not when you were going back to him. After all, at the end of the day, you were his. 

I should have known. Sirius silently cursed at himself, watching the retreating figure of the girl he had fallen in love with. He should have known that you were always on borrowed time. You were gone quicker than the seasons change, and left with him your sweaty, sun-kissed memories. 

PART 2

Taglist: @iwritesiriusly @mads-bri @she-seeks-magic @sarcasticallywitty15 @lunalovecroft @fific7 @u-no-poo​

[crankynewt]

Chapter One - Losing Game

Another Love Series Masterlist

Pairing: Regulus Black x Fem!Reader, Young!Remus Lupin x Fem!Reader

Song: Arcade - Duncan Laurence

Warnings: Tons of Angst, Major Character Deaths, Pregnancy(?), and I definitely altered the timeline!

Word Count: 1.76k

Masterlist

Author’s Note: This is pretty angsty and was based on this song (which has always given me massive Reggie vibes), and I HIGHLY recommend listening to it when reading this!

Perhaps your love was doomed from the start. Maybe you were just another Shakesperian tale of forbidden romance destined to conclude in nothing but suffering. He was your light despite the darkness that had encompassed him his entire life and although the war was over, the pain still remained. 

You had begged Regulus not to leave that night, tears blurring your vision as he explained that he had to be the one to destroy the horcrux. “There is no other way,” he had said, his voice shaky with the knowledge that this would likely be his end. You were young, too young, to be fighting this war. A battle that neither of you had any business being involved in the first place. Yet there you were, children who had grown up too quickly.

When he hadn’t returned the next morning, it hadn’t come as any surprise. You mourned the loss of your husband the minute he’d walked out that door. You weren’t vapid and neither was he, you were both well aware of what would happen in that cave. Whether or not Regulus succeeded, however, still remained to be seen. 

The isolation following the death of Regulus Black was something you brought upon yourself. You couldn’t stand seeing muggles continuing to lead their lives as if nothing had happened. Your world crumbled out from beneath you as the universe became a much darker place, so why haven’t they stopped? A person - your person - had died, how could people continue to lead their normal lives?  We were still at war, how could they not sense that something was horribly wrong?

The loneliness made you ill after a month, so sick that you were constantly emptying the contents of your stomach into your toilet as you lay on the cool tile. What prompted you to eventually seek out another were the two little lines on the plastic test. Before long you had apparated to Godric’s hollow, the crisp snow of December crunching under your feet as you made your way up the steps of a quaint looking house. It felt much more homey than the Grimmauld flat you’d been residing in, a slight comfort that what laid behind the door you knocked on may be just as welcoming.

The face that answered the door was kind, warm eyes and a welcoming smile framed by ginger locks. You never spoke to her during your years at Hogwarts due to the two years she had on you, but you knew the girl to be Lily Evans. Judging by the slight furrowing of her brows she had recognized you as well, probably unsure as to why Regulus Black’s wife had shown up on her doorstep seemingly out of nowhere.

“Uhm, is Sirius Black here by any chance?” You asked quietly, your gloved hands rubbing your arms as you fought off the evening’s chill. She need not answer as a pair of brown orbs peered at you from behind her.

“What are you doing here, (Y/N)?” Sirius questioned, bitterness lacing his words as he took in your frail appearance. The elder Black did not think highly of his little brother - the Death Eater, or so he thought. Yet Regulus had relayed numerous stories from their childhood that revealed that in earlier years of their lives, the duo had been inseparable. You were just hoping that some of that affection still remained.

“Can we please talk? It’s about your brother.” You said, voice wavering as you shivered in the cold. Lily seemingly took notice of this and ushered you into the warmth of their home, closing the door behind you and leaving the in-laws to speak in the front entryway.

“If Regulus has something to say to me than the little shit can come tell me himself-”

“Sirius, what are you talking about?” You asked incredulously. “Regulus died two months ago.”

Sirius had not been speechless many times in his life, yet there he stood with his head reeling, heart broken, and tears slowly welling in his eyes. At the end of the day, Regulus would always be his baby brother. And in that silence he sat and listened, taking in all of what had happened the past year. From Regulus deciding to turn on Voldemort to the fateful night destroying his horcrux, Sirius felt both pride and guilt building underneath the grief. Regulus had been a good person who gave his life doing the right thing, all in belief of the same values that had gotten himself disowned.

When you mentioned the pregnancy, Sirius once again found himself dumbstruck. But that shock was quickly replaced with a sense of duty, it was as if he had the opportunity to make up for his brother’s broken relationship. He would help you raise this baby, and he would make damn sure that they did not have the same broken childhood he had suffered.

Within the week, Sirius had moved back into 12 Grimmauld Place with you. The baby he was dedicating himself to had quickly become babies after finding out that not one, but two baby Blacks were on the way. He was at your side through every step of the pregnancy, and slowly but surely his friends made their way into your life as well. James was always there to put a smile on your face and Lily gave great advice as to dealing with the pregnancy as she had delivered Harry only weeks before you showed up. Remus was always there to offer chocolate and a good book while Peter always had a hot cup of tea ready for you.

Before long, Arcturus and Cassiopeia Black were welcomed into the world and the light in your life had been restored. They were both the spitting image of their father, seeming to have barely inherited any (Y/L/N) genes and only reminded you of their father with every coming day. Little Harry was thrilled to have playmates, and you had finally found your family. Although far from perfect, it was everything to you. But all good things must come to an end, and this state of grace was no different.

Halloween came and went. James, Lily, and Peter were gone, no, murdered. Sirius could not have done it, not to his family! The man you read about in the papers was not the same gentle soul who would sing the twins to sleep almost every evening. But regardless of what you thought of the man he was guilty in the eyes of the Ministry, and thus he was sent to Azkaban to suffer a fate worse than death. This loss rocked you once more, but this time you had the twins to look after, and you weren’t alone.

Remus had stepped right up to fill the shoes that Sirius had been filling for Regulus without hesitation. He was grieving the same losses as you and found solace in caring for little Archie and Cassie. You mourned together and healed together, and before long Remus became your other half. 

That friendship didn’t last long, however, as it eventually blossomed into something bigger, a love that you fought tooth and nail. Guilt consumed you as you felt yourself falling for the werewolf, not being able to shake the feeling that you were betraying Regulus as you fell deeper and deeper in love. 

Right around the second anniversary of his death was when you heard the first words pass through either of the twins’ lips. Archie squealed a high-pitched “dada” to Remus who had been helping you prepare breakfast, and your eyes met his equally glassy. While the man stuttered out a mix of apologies in fear of overstepping, you just embraced him and allowed him to hold you in the way nobody had for a long time. The toddlers had accepted him as their father, and you had denied the desire to love him for too long.

Six months later the two of you had married in a small ceremony of only Order members gathering to celebrate your love. You did, however, keep the last name ‘Black’ as an homage both to Regulus and Sirius’ roles in both of your lives. At that same celebration you also announced that a baby Lupin would be making their way into the world six months later. And alas, Theodore Lupin was born shortly after, and your little family was complete.

When it was finally time for Archie and Cassie to begin their future at Hogwarts, you couldn’t help but weep as they waved out the window of the Hogwarts Express, the siblings excited to start the next stage in their lives. Your husband wrapped an arm around you as he fought tears himself, meanwhile Teddy tugged onto your hand and questioned when he would get the chance to attend the school as well, already missing his big brother and sister. 

Remus and you had debated what house the twins would be sorted into, him adamant that they showed Gryffindor courage while you were certain that they would follow in your footsteps and be sorted into (Y/H). Your questions were answered the next morning as you received letters from two very excited Slytherins, taking after their father just as they had done in appearance and personality. You and Remus were proud nonetheless, but your husband was always saddened that they had never grown close to Harry. The divide between houses had seemingly grown even stronger since you two had attended and a friendship between the former friends hadn’t formed.

Two years later, the twins were approaching their third year as Teddy prepared to begin his magical schooling, and you began to ponder what your life would look like following their departure. You and your husband didn’t have the finances to travel and feared a life without the light of your children, and your questions were answered following a letter from Dumbledore himself. He offered the two of you teaching positions at Hogwarts, Defence Against the Dark Arts for Remus and Astronomy for yourself.

The two of you were ecstatic to spend the year with your children teaching, and walking side by side with the castle in view made you feel like a young girl again. A broken heart was all that was left, but Remus had been there to pick up your broken pieces and carry you home. But the wreckage of your life would not stay in ruins forever, as old friends and old loves remained closer than you had ever known and were about to rejoin your losing game.

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[angelicamerlinbarnes]

Modern AU: "Lilies"

Severus knows Lily is dead before James comes by to tell him. How, you ask?

Well, because she shows up in his kitchen on Sunday morning, translucent, to yell at him about his life choices.

Severus is living in a rundown old white house that he used to share with his wife Lily. She left him for James, a musician travelling with the other half of his duo act, Sirius. Last Severus heard, the two of them are world famous and Lily and James have had a son named Harry.

As it happened, five years ago James and Sirius had come to town for Sirius to reconnect with his little brother, Regulus. As they had a falling out and a difference of opinion regarding their parentage, their relationship remained just as strained and cold as it had always been despite Sirius’ best efforts. While James spent most of the visit having a smoky and lazy affair with Regulus, he met Lily at the grocery store one day and it was love at first sight. She’d left Severus a month later, choosing to travel the world with James, and had had Harry within the year.

During this visit, Remus, who had been married to Tonks at the time with a child on the way, had fallen deeply in love with Sirius, but had broken Sirius’ heart when he chose to keep his marriage vows rather than run away with him. Sirius tried to keep in touch with Remus after he and James left, but Remus never replied, though Sirius never stopped sending letters. Remus’ wife died two weeks after their son Teddy’s premature birth from complications, and Teddy followed in the hours after. Overwhelmed with grief, Remus shut himself away, only going out for work and to drink. The night he got fired from his job as a teacher, he drank so much he got into an accident on his way home, and is now confined to a wheelchair. That, paired with his self-inflicted scars and depression, led to a suicide attempt that Severus saved him from. Now, Remus is still a recluse, though he now works as a librarian, volunteers at the orphanage, and takes the time to have tea with Severus every day.

Severus grows lilies in his garden in memory of his wife, and nearly dies of a heart attack when her ghost shows up in his kitchen one Sunday morning. She yells at him about throwing away his life for her when she was clearly never worth it and Severus yells back at her for leaving him. But while their new living arrangement is a bit stiff, they remember why they loved each other well enough, so they get on fine, though Lily still cries about missing James and Harry nearly every day.

James shows up in town about a week later with Sirus and Harry in tow, saying he came to deliver a letter Lily left Severus upon her death, since she’d been sick for a long time. Severus invites them in for tea, because he’s British and he’s polite, and Sirius spends most of the time staring at Remus’ house through the window and asking questions about him. James holds Harry on his lap while Lily’s ghost fusses over both of them, though neither of them can see or hear her. Severus still hates James for stealing his wife, but it’s faded into a dull ache by now, especially as seeing James is now a single father, though James does assure him that since Sirius is his partner, Harry will be far from alone.

Though originally only planning to stay long enough to deliver the letter, James decides to stick around for a bit for unspecified reasons. (It’s not because Sirius and Remus both just smiled stupidly at each other for five gay minutes when they were reunited. Of course not.) As he usually leaves Sirius with Remus for the two of them to catch up, James takes to leaving Harry with Severus when he becomes too overwhelmed with grief to take care of him. Severus grows fond of the boy, and often translates Lily’s stories for him since Harry can’t see his mother the same way Severus can.

James tries to patch up his relationship with Regulus, but Regulus is not hearing of it, feeling abandoned and hurt since James left him for Lily. This does however make him more perceptible to Sirius, who is delighted to have his little brother back in his life, though his strained and shy relationship with Remus is wearing on him. Regulus tells James and Sirius that he had a partner, Amir, who died in a home break-in and Regulus, who is trans, suffered a miscarriage of their daughter upon hearing the news. Severus and Remus take care of him, though their own unstable mental states make it difficult some days. Working at the library with Remus helps, he says, but still refuses to speak to James and is tolerating but far from welcoming of Sirius. Only at Severus’ advice that he would be a far happier person if he just allowed Sirius into his life does Regulus begin to open up towards both his brother and his brother’s partner.

James stays at Severus’ house per Lily’s request, and Harry grows quite attached to Severus. Remus begins to spend more and more time with Severus, growing increasingly anxious about his strenuous relationship with Sirius. Lily and Severus begin to slip back into a domestic relationship even though she’s a ghost, and Severus tells Remus about it, believing he’s going crazy. Remus shrugs and says he still hears Teddy crying sometimes.

As times passes, James and Severus slip into a limbo of sorts. As James has become increasingly close to Remus through Sirius, they spend more time together than ever before, and end up falling for each other in their shared grief. Still, despite their unofficial connection, Severus encourages Regulus’ feelings for James, believing them the better match and hoping Regulus can find some sort of happiness after all the shit he’s been through. Unfortunately, this all comes to a head when one day Sirius and Remus break up in an explosive fight, leading James to leave with Sirius and Harry in tow. Severus bids them a bitter goodbye and settles into taking care of Remus and Regulus, both of whom are now far more broken than they were before.

Remus tries to kill himself again. Severus is alerted to this by Lily, who has been doting on Remus since finding out about his and Sirius’ love for each other. Severus races Remus to the hospital, getting him there just in time. Regulus is beside himself, and Severus calls James using the hospital phone, saying he thought he and Sirius should know. James hangs up on him, but shows up in the waiting room with Sirius and Harry three hours later. Severus offers to drive James home, since only family can stay and no one is doubting that Sirius is Remus’ husband even if there are no papers to prove it, and by his rights, Regulus is allowed to stay as well. On the way back to Severus’ house they have a conversation about their feelings for each other, though Severus continues to insist that James choose Regulus instead of him. This evolves into a shouting match until their attention is so far from the road that a semi crashes into them, gravely injuring Severus and hurting James severely, though Harry remains unharmed save a few cuts and bruises. James breaks down over Severus’ body, trying desperately to call 9-1-1, but it’s no use. Severus passes away in Lily’s ghostly arms, James’ screams still echoing in his ears.

Severus wakes up in his house, surrounded by the things Lily destroyed in her anger at him and James over the past few months. Lily is pressing kisses all over his face and crying, explaining that he’s a ghost now too, and stuck with her forever. Severus comments that he doesn’t think that’s too bad, and Lily slaps him but laughs anyway, drawing him into a kiss. They stay wrapped up in each other until James shows up at the house with Harry, sobbing and sagging to the ground in the doorway as both Lily and Severus wrap themselves around him, whispering, “Oh, Jamie…”

Sirius is trying to take care of James and Harry, but he’s pretty much a wreck himself, having been sleeping with a record number of men since his and Remus’ break-up and drinking and smoking his problems away. He’s been writing in manic frenzies, mostly songs about unrequited love, and has spent the rest of his time enduring depressive slumps. Remus is released from the hospital and tries to help him, but is struggling to deal with the loss of Severus, even if he has Sirius back.

Regulus begins to shoulder much of the responsibility of James’ care. He watches over James while Sirius and Remus watch over each other, and comes to care for Harry like a son. Sirius loves him for it, and does his best to pitch in where he can. Though his trust issues and grief are incapacitating, Sirius starts to rebuild his relationship with Remus, this time on a solid foundation of trust and truth, though it takes time. He begins to understand, through their conversations about both of the times they fell in love, why Remus chose to stay with Tonks despite his heart belonging to Sirius, and comes to a new understanding of Lily’s choice of James, as she was already pregnant with Harry by the time she left Severus, and in the minds of parents, children come first. Severus is a bit heartbroken to learn that Lily had cheated on him, but is too tired to truly be angry, and tells Lily it’s in the past now. She smiles at him and kisses his cheek.

James, meanwhile, is working himself into a downward spiral. He’s wondered for years whether Lily ever really loved him like he loved her or if she just chose him because of Harry, and he’s also felt terribly guilty for stealing her from Severus no matter how much he loved her. While he tried to treat Severus right, he knew it was a failed pipe dream from the beginning, as he could never truly keep his heart from Regulus’ delicate hands. Severus and Lily both try to speak with him, but in vain, as he cannot see them.

The ghosts try to take care of Harry, though he can’t see them either. As it comes to be, Sirius and Remus rebuild themselves and each other enough to give Harry and James a stable home. Their partnership with James gives him the strength to keep going, and he begins to make things right with Regulus, who seems happier these days despite all his sadness. As the years pass, Severus and Lily watch their family grow. Sirius and Remus marry, adopting four children from the orphanage where Remus volunteers: Luna, Hermione, Newt, and Draco. They and Harry make friends with the Wealsey children from down the street, and James marries Regulus in a quiet ceremony shortly after tying himself to Sirius and Remus permanently. Lily’s body is moved to their town and buried beside Severus, and the two ghosts settle down in their graves, willingly passing on.

And in case you were wondering… (which I know you’re not)

Remus makes Sirius quit smoking. He and James give up their famous lifestyle for their spouses and children, settling in the town where this all began. Sirius and Regulus build a strong relationship that does not fray or break any longer. Sirius is Harry’s second favorite person after James, and Harry makes Remus take him to visit Severus and Lily’s graves at least three times every year. Sirius loves Remus a lot, but that’s okay, because Remus loves Sirius a lot too.

Sirius is James’ favorite person and he loves him so fucking much - Remus too. He misses Severus and Lily every day, but he’s got their son and the flowers to remember them by. He thinks maybe he could have a Happily Ever After here, maybe. If the world stands still long enough.

Meanwhile, Peter has lived in a homeless shelter since he got dumped by his ex-wife Mary, who is a kindergarten teacher now dating Dorcas the karate teacher and Marlene the bartender. He meets Max and their son Seamus there and falls in love with Max immediately, eventually building a home with them on a generous gift from Sirius that allows him to start up his own bakery. Though Remus offers to put him up every time he visits, Peter always refuses, though he bakes him plenty of thank you muffins once he’s out. James comes to Peter for advice about all of his relationships, and Peter indulges him every time, though really he just wants to bake cookies and sleep. Peter is the happiest person in this story how is that possible

Mcgonogall is the head librarian who listens to hard rock and has her wards (Sirius, Remus, and James) over for tea when she needs to give any of them a swift kick in the rump for their stupid life decisions. Dumbledore and Grindelwald are a married couple who grow petunias in their garden and live next to Mcgonogall, since she and Dumbledore are partners. Grindelwald glares at everyone and everything and Dumbledore hums Beatles songs under his breath off-key and brings an open umbrella on his walks on sunny days, so yeah. The Weasleys are the nutcases who run the orphanage and the homeless shelter, Peggy Schuyler is Newt’s best friend and a schoolmate of the children’s, and life is alright.

Yeah I don’t know what this is either.