Regulus's pov
I awoke the next morning with a letter laying on the pillow next to me. It must've arrived early in the morning as it was crumpled from me rolling on it throughout my slumber. The letter was from (y/n). It was her handwriting. I nearly popped up to read the letter.
'Dear Regulus,
Thank Godric Gryffindor you're safe. Honestly Reg, I thought something bad happened. I'm sorry for taking so long to write back. I've been a bit busy for the past two days. I met Andromeda today and she knows about us. She figured out just by recognizing your handwriting. Anyways, we have to start preparing for the Potter's Christmas celebration tomorrow morning. Guests should be arriving around 10 p.m. and some stay till Christmas morning. You're reading this on Christmas Eve, so, I'm wishing you a Happy Christmas.
And yes, I do miss you. A lot. I can't wait to see you when we get back from break.
Write me back.
(Y/n) (l/n)'
I haven't seen Andromeda in years. Ever once in a while I would secretly send a letter to Andromeda, describing my successes like catching the Snitch and winning a challenging game against Ravenclaw. Andromeda would congratulate me and send updates about her own family. Still, I never expected her to remember my writing.
"Regulus," Mother said, standing by my door.
"Yes, Mother?"
"Who's that from?" Mother questioned, her eyes glaring at the letter.
"It's from Evan," I lied. "He was telling me about his holiday plans. I was just about to write back."
"Hmm," she nodded. "I just wanted you to know that your farther and I won't be here tonight or for Christmas. We have important business trips that can not wait after the holidays."
"Okay," I responded, casually. My parents bailing on me for business wasn't new.
"If you wish to go somewhere, ask Kreacher to send you with a carriage," Mother informed.
"Yes, Mother."
"And," Mother continued, "there are a few presents downstairs for you. You can open them when you wish."
"Thank you, Mother," I said, slightly nodding my head.
I never completely hated Mother. She's done and said horrible, unforgivable things, but there are moments when she's an actual mum. The times when she would personally cook dinner herself, with no help from Kreacher, or when she would leave presents on the dining table instead of a tree because it was to "unflattering." I was her son, she just doesn't want me to end up like Sirius. That's where the motherly love ends. Being like Sirius.
~~~
(Y/N)'s pov
We all spent the whole afternoon cleaning. With me staying up late and Sirius's snores echoing throughout the entire house, I was so tired and drained that I couldn't even walk. I plopped onto the couch, looking at the Potter's clock.
'5:22' I said in my head, 'five hours before guests start arriving, only takes an hour and a half to get ready. I need at least a three hour nap.'
Just as I began to rest, Andromeda called me from her guest room, "(Y/n)! Come help me, please!"
I groaned and got up, walking towards the guest room and almost falling asleep while I dragged myself up the stairs.
"Yes?" I asked, my eyes half-opened.
"Look at what arrived today," Andy beamed, showing me a letter from Regulus.
"He probably doesn't know that I changed rooms," I noted. "It's better this way. Be our messenger for now?"
"Of course," Andy shrugged.
"I'd love to read it, but I need rest," I sighed, hopelessly.
"Sleep on our bed," Andromeda offered, patting a pillow.
"Thank you!" I exclaimed and that was the last I remembered from the daylight.
~~~
When I woke up, three hours later, the sun was gone and it was now night. Andromeda hid the letter underneath the pillow beside me. It was hard for me to process things right after a nap but I began to read the letter anyways.
'Dear (y/n),
I'm fine. This place might be boring but it's not a dungeon. I didn't expect Andromeda to figure it out but I suppose we can trust her. She knows what this is like. I might stay home for Christmas, my parents are off on a business trip.
If your ring glows, go to the garden.
I miss you, too. Maybe we'll have the chance to see each other sooner.
R.A.B.'
I stared blankly at the letter. My brain was still half asleep. I finally stood up and began to drag myself to James's room. I knocked on the door before entering. The Marauders were getting ready.
"Everyone, out," I muttered. "I need privacy to get ready."
"Will do," James said, walking towards the door.
"But I need my hair to be perfection!" Sirius exclaimed, sitting in front of James's mirror.
"Use the bathroom mirror," I responded, crossing my arms.
"No! That mirror makes me look ridiculous," Sirius grumbled.
"You don't need the bathroom mirror for you to look ridiculous," Remus snickered.
"That's not very nice," Sirius pouted.
"Aw, did Remus hurt Sirius's ego?" I asked, teasingly.
"Why do you all bully me?!"
"Because you need it, mate," James sighed. "Because you need it."
The Marauders finally left the room and I began to get dressed. I left my hair down and put on light makeup. I was too sleepy to put any precision in what I was doing.
Once I was prepped and ready, I walked downstairs to see treats and goodies set out on the coffee table and the long table organized with plates and multiple utensils.
"(Y/n), you look gorgeous!" Euphemia beamed, giving me a hug.
"Thank you, Euphemia," I smiled. "So do you, green suits you."
"Thank you," Euphemia responded. "Dear, I believe Andromeda wanted to talk to you. She should be in the kitchen."
I nodded my head in response to Euphemia. I walked inside the kitchen and Andromeda was standing by the sink, looking out the window.
"Euphemia said you needed me?" I said, catching Andy's attention.
"Yes!" Andy replied, turning around to face me. "I was wondering what was in the letter."
"Hmm, Regulus just said he was going to be alone for Christmas," I shrugged. "His parents are going on some sort of business trip. He told me if my ring glows, go to the garden."
"What does it mean when the ring glows?" Andromeda questioned.
"Oh, it's a spell I casted on two rings for Regulus and I," I informed. "So, we can alert each other without anyone noticing. Pretty genius, am I right?"
"It is genius," Andromeda agreed. Andy took a good thirty seconds to process everything that I said. "(Y/n)! Do you know what this means?" Andromeda exclaimed with her eyes wide.
"Uh...no," I answered, unsurely.
"Regulus is coming here to see you!" She whispered, excitedly.
"No way," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "It's too risky."
"What's love without any risk?" Andromeda smirked.
"I hope you mean platonic love," I sighed, raising my eyebrows.
"Oh, please," she scoffed, "you just don't know the difference between platonic and romantic feelings."
"And why do you think that?"
"Because it seems to me that you have a close bond with him," Andy reasoned. "A bond that you two are willing to do anything for each other."
"So? That's like every other friendship," I shrugged. "I mean Regulus is handsome, but I don't have any romantic attraction towards him."
"Right," Andromeda nodded, sarcastically.
"I'm serious!" I huffed. "I don't like Regulus in that way."
"Fine, I'll leave it alone," Andy sighed. "But you got to believe me when I tell you that Regulus is going to be here tonight. Why else would he tell you to go to the garden?"
~~~
More guests began to arrive when the time got closer to 10. Majority of them were elders but there were a few couples with young children that were close to Nymphadora's age. The party seemed more sophisticated than I expected.
I stood by Sirius against the wall, sipping on eggnog.
"Is the Christmas party always this... boring?" I asked after a few minutes. "Don't get me wrong it's a beautiful celebration, but it seems a little dull."
"It's not always like this," Sirius answered. "Usually the kids are much louder and the parents dance around more. When the music changes, the mood will too."
"Then let's change the music," I suggested.
"Can't," Sirius sighed. "Mother always know when we're up to no good."
"But can she tell when I'm up to no good?" I questioned, knowing damn well that I had a mischievous look on my face.
"What're you saying?" Sirius asked, starting to smile.
"Y'know what I mean," I replied, looking away.
"Oh! Look at how cute the kids look!" James squealed. "The toddler is wearing a bow tie!"
James rushed over to the group of kids that were playing with Nymphadora and began to play with them.
"Hmm, I guess that's something we can do," I sighed.
"Which is?"
"Play with the kids."
~~~
Sirius's pov
I was playing with the kids for an hour already. In one hour it was going to be Christmas, yet the whole night I didn't see Remus.
"Do you know where Moony is?" I asked James.
"Dunno," he mumbled, too distracted to give me a full answer.
"Have you seen Remus?" I asked, leaning close to (y/n).
"Might be in James's room," she answered, shrugging.
"Okay, I'll be right back," I whispered. "Your ring looks like it's glowing, by the way," I told (y/n). "Is it a lighting thing?"
"Uh...yes, yes," (y/n) responded, covering her ring with her hand. "Just the lighting."
~~~
I walked up the stairs to James's room and I saw Moony sitting on his bed.
"Moony? What're you doing?" I asked, stepping inside James's room and shutting the door behind me.
"Nothing," Remus mumbled.
"Why aren't you downstairs?"
"Not in the mood to socialize," he shrugged.
"Is it okay if I'm here?" I questioned, walking towards Remus.
"No matter what I say, you're still gonna stay," Remus smiled, shaking his head.
"I know," I beamed, causing Remus to chuckle.
"What are you doing here?" Remus asked once I sat beside him.
"I came looking for you," I simply responded.
"Why?"
"Party's a bit boring," I huffed. "I almost fell asleep just listening to that music."
"Let me guess," Remus whispered. "Classical music?"
"Spent half my life growing up with it. But thanks to Andromeda, I actually discovered good music," I said.
"I remember that," Remus signed. "She gave you a record player and David Bowie albums second year."
"And then a Beatles album for my fourteenth birthday."
"Yeah," Remus said, both of us sighing in unison.
"Moony, do you remember your thirteenth birthday?" I questioned after a minute of silence.
"Pre-party or party?"
"Pre-party," I clarified. "When we were outside."
"We were by the Black Lake," Remus nodded. "Your job was to distract while James and everyone else set things up for my birthday party."
"Yeah," I smiled. "We went to the library before we went to the lake."
"I got an ancient book," Remus chuckled.
"That thing was bigger than my thigh," I laughed.
"It was about defensive spells," Remus continued.
"And that one page, about patronuses," I remembered.
"You accidentally ripped it," Remus reminded, smiling at the memory.
"I was trying to flip the page!" I yelled.
"Well with an old book like that you have to be gentle!" Remus yelled back.
"Remus, when in my life have I ever been gentle?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"Never, I suppose," he shrugged.
"Wrong," I responded. "I can be a gentle kisser sometimes."
"Right, and I was supposed to know that?" Remus sighed, jokingly. I stared at Remus blankly, feeling my smile slightly fading.
"You really have no idea, do you?" I asked, hopelessly sighing.
"About what?" Remus questioned, genuinely confused.
"Doesn't matter," I said, shaking my head. "My point was, that your thirteenth birthday was when we stayed up all night listening to David Bowie."
"Good music changes the mood," Remus smiled, proudly.
"Exactly! So, the plan is to change the music into something more party-like," I explained. "The elderly guests are practically half-asleep on the couch, we got to do something to keep this party alive!"
"Do you think they would like muggle music?"
"Moony, come on, we're talking about one of the greatest musicians of all time," I smirked.
"Okay, okay," Remus sighed. "So when are we going to change the music?"
"Midnight," I replied. "That's when the party really starts."
~~~
(Y/N)'s pov
"Okay, I'll be right back," Sirius whispered, getting ready to find Remus. "Your ring looks like it's glowing, by the way. Is it a lighting thing?"
"Uh...yes, yes," I replied, hiding my ring. "Just the lighting." Once Sirius walked up the stairs, I whispered to James, "I'm feeling a little warm, I'm going to get some fresh air outside."
"Okay," he mumbled, too distracted to give me a full answer.
I stood up and searched for Andromeda, hoping she could give me directions to the garden.
"Andy," I whispered once I found her. "Do you know where the garden is?"
"Yes, out the back door," Andromeda answered. "There's a trail that leads you around the garden so just follow it."
"Okay," I said, quietly and walking away.
"(Y/n), wait!" Andy exclaimed, calling me over.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Incendio," Andy casted. "It's cold out there."
"Thanks," I smiled.
~~~
When I walked outside, I saw no one. I followed the trail that Andromeda told me about, and there were lights floating throughout the garden. The lights only reached a certain point and even then, I saw nobody. I kept walking, everything getting darker by the second.
I heard some rustling in the bushes around me and I became more cautious. There was a sudden "Boo," that came behind me. From the scare, I turned around and punched a figure right in the face.
"Bloody hell, (y/n)!" The figure exclaimed. "That's what I get for visiting you." It was Regulus. He was holding his own lantern and rubbing his nose that I most likely punched.
"My Godric, Regulus!" I yelled. "You scared me! But you're here!" I beamed, hugging him. "You're here?! Don't you know how dangerous this is?! Somebody can catch us right now!" I said, yelling at Regulus again. "But I'm so happy to see you!" I smiled, hugging Regulus once again.
"I can't tell if you're happy or mad about me being here," Regulus chuckled after our hug.
"I'm sorry," I sighed. "It's just, Andromeda told we should be careful."
"We're always careful," Regulus responded, shrugging his shoulders.
"I know, but this is risky," I replied, looking around.
"Do you want me to go?"
"No! Of course not," I exclaimed. "Just..." I thought about what Andromeda told me the night before. About Regulus not being able to handle the pain if we were caught. I couldn't tell Regulus that he was too weak to face certain consequences and he had to be more considerate about these things. I can't pressure him more than he's already pressured. "Next time, don't sneak up on me."
"I told you I was coming," he said.
"Not exactly," I smiled. "I woke up from a nap before I read the letter. I couldn't process anything. And I'm also talking about you scaring me. If you didn't pop out of nowhere, you wouldn't have a wounded nose right now."
"Yeah, yeah," Regulus chuckled. "Anyways, how have you been?"
"Good, I guess," I shrugged. "I don't think I was bored at any moment."
"Luck you," Regulus sighed.
"I missed you though."
"Really?"
"You're my best friend, Reggie," I smiled. "Of course I missed you. But, you never told me about Sirius's snoring problem."
"He still snores like that?"
"If you mean like a warthog, then yes he still snores like that!" I exclaimed, Regulus and I laughing.
"Oh, am I sorry for you," he joked.
"I had a restless night."
"You get used to it after a while," Regulus shrugged.
"Good to know," I said, nodding my head.
"Would you accompany me on a stroll throughout the garden?" Regulus asked in a posh tone.
"Oh, why," I gasped, going along with the joke. "I'd be honored to."
"Did I tell you that you looked absolutely stunning tonight?" Regulus questioned, bowing down to kiss my hand.
"No, you didn't," I said, slightly smiling.
"Well," Regulus sighed, kissing my hand. "You look stunning tonight."
"I can't tell if you're being literal or just staying in character," I chuckled, ending the act.
"Both?" Regulus smiled, unsurely.
There it was. The gaze. It's been a long time since I've stared at Regulus. With the smiles on our faces relaxing, we stayed there, staring at one another. I missed this. And it had me thinking about what Andromeda has been saying about my relationship with Regulus. And eventually, it had me wondering, 'Do all friends do this?'
"(Y/n)! Come on it's almost midnight!" I heard Sirius yell. "Where are you?"
"Uh- hide Reg!" I frantically exclaimed in a hush tone.
"Where?" He asked, looking around.
"The bush?" I suggested. "I don't know!"
"No, I'm going to get dirty!" Regulus snapped.
"(Y/n)?!" James called, the Marauders getting closer.
I shoved Regulus behind the bush. "Sorry, Reggie," I whispered before the Marauders finally reached me.
"Woah, what was that?" Remus questioned, referring to the rustling in the bushes.
"Rabbits!" I exclaimed, saying the first animal that came to mind.
"Where? I want to see!" Sirius beamed, trying to look over at the bush.
"Sorry, Sirius, but you scared them away," I lied, standing in front of the bush to guard Regulus.
"Of course he did," Andromeda smirked, standing behind the Marauders. "He's too obnoxious for those gentle creatures."
"Andy?" Peter questioned. "What are you doing out here?"
"Well, I needed some fresh air but then I decided to follow all of you," Andy shrugged. "You guys should start heading inside. You have ten minutes before midnight."
"Yes! You're right!" James said, walking away with the other Marauders.
"(Y/n), come on!" Remus called.
"Be right there!" I yelled.
"Where is he?" Andromeda whispered in my ear.
"Where is who?" I questioned, obliviously.
"My cousin of course!" Andromeda exclaimed.
"Right! He's in the bush," I answered.
"What?"
"Got to go Andy! See you inside!" I yelled, catching up to the Marauders.
~~~
Regulus's pov
I heard (y/n) talking to the Marauders, but I then heard a familiar voice. I knew the Marauders walked away when I heard no one else in the area. I shuffled around trying to get up.
"Regulus? Is that you?" The familiar voice asked.
"Andy?" I whispered with joy. "Over here!"
"Regulus!" She laughed, pulling me out of the bush.
"Andromeda!" I beamed, hugging her tight.
"Am I happy to see your face?" Andy smiled squeezing me tight.
"I missed you," I sighed, releasing from the hug.
"So, you're friends with (y/n)?" Andromeda asked with a smirk.
"Yes..." I nodded, hesitantly.
"How did that happen?"
"Honestly, I don't even know," I said, chuckling lightly. "One second she was a stranger, the next she was my best friend."
"Just best friend?"
"Andy, no," I responded, sternly.
"I don't know, Reg," Andromeda sighed. "There is potential."
"Do I think (y/n) is very pretty and a good person? Yes. But that doesn't mean I like her romantically," I explained.
"You'll find out sooner or later," Andy shrugged.
"You should go back," I huffed. "I have to leave soon anyways."
"You were only here for such a short amount of time," Andromeda replied with a small frown. "I can come back with (y/n) if you want."
"No, the Marauders will eventually catch on," I responded, letting out a big sigh. "Just, tell (y/n) Merry Christmas for me."
"Of course, Reg," Andy smiled. "I love you and I can't wait for the next time we see each other."
"Merry Christmas, Andromeda," I whispered with watered eyes.
"Merry Christmas, Regulus," Andromeda said in a hushed tone.
I watched Andromeda walk back to the Potter's, so once she was out of sight, I went to my carriage and left.
~~~
(Y/N)'s pov
"Merry Christmas!" Everyone chimed once the Potter's clock striked 12 a.m.
"Are you ready, (y/n)?" Sirius asked with a sly smirk.
"Totally," I said, smirking back.
Sirius used an old record player and began to blast David Bowie, making everyone cheer.
The rest of the night was filled with dancing and singing. The Marauders and I already planned to open our gifts later in the morning after we all had some rest.
A/N: im gonna be honest, i sort of rushed this chapter. i do think it ended up so well, i just wanted something for you guys this christmas (even though christmas might already be over for some of you). notice the scene with remus and sirius. i hope somethings seemed a bit familiar.
quick announcements! thank you amoria1cj for the new cover! AND i will be re-publishing an old story of mine! it's a narnia and marauders era crossover with my own oc! i still have a lot of editing to do for my story!
also im sorry if there are any mistakes within this chapter! i didn't have time to revise!
i love you all and i hope you all have a merry christmas and happy holidays!!!
thank you for reading, i love you, and stay safe!
<3