Wholesome/happy chapter. Isla
A month had passed since the return to Hogwarts and everyone was settling into the new normal. Regulus would write to Euphemia every other day, not necessarily because he had to, but because he wanted to. He liked her messy handwriting and the way the page was always covered in flour or chocolate from where she baked as she wrote. She had told him that the ministry had not been able to obtain his belongings from Grimmauld Place and that he shouldn't worry because the Potter's would buy him anything he wanted. After that, their next letters were all about how Regulus wanted his room decorated, what clothes he liked and what posters and pictures he wanted put up. Euphemia wanted it to feel like a safe place for him to be, somewhere that was his, when he returned for Christmas.
Another part of the new normal was that every student who annoyed or questioned Regulus ended up mysteriously being jinxed. Regulus wasn't doing most of the jinxing, he didn't see the point of bringing that much attention to himself. The Marauders, on the other hand, had no issue with jinxing every wizard in sight. Regulus had been avoiding Sirius and James for the most part. He tried not to meet their eye across the Great Hall during meals. He tried to get to lessons as early as possible so they couldn't bump into him in the hall. These were all futile attempts of course. No matter where he went, he always encountered one of the Marauders, it was as though they had a tracker on him, they were always there. It was starting to get on Regulus's nerves. He knew they meant well but it meant that every other student avoided him, through constant fear of being hit with an Ebublio, Ice or Jelly-Legs jinx. So, as a result, Regulus had become quite lonely.
He'd never had a huge number of friends at Hogwarts, so he didn't mind it too much. The Marauders were unfortunately acting under the assumption that he still had friends in Slytherin that he could talk to, which they soon found out, he did not. Throughout his Hogwarts life he had, for the most part, stuck with his Slytherin housemates, favouring Barty Crouch Jr. in particular. Regulus had been forced into a quick realisation that everything was different this year. He had assumed that his family would be too embarrassed to tell others what he had done, but this was apparently not the case, as Regulus found out from Crouch on his return from the hospital wing.
When Regulus had entered his dorm for the first time that year, he instantly knew something was off, there was a hostile atmosphere in the room. Crouch had been sat on his bed, reading a book about Magical Warfare. As Regulus had crossed over to his own bed, Crouch had muttered something under his breath. Regulus chose to ignore it, not feeling like conversing with the other boy. Crouch was always aching for an argument and Regulus was too tired to engage in one. As he'd unpacked the few items he'd managed to salvage from his trunk, Crouch muttered again but louder this time. Regulus turned to face the other boy, leaning on one of his bed posts, sighing deeply.
"For Salazar's sake Crouch, spit it out!" Regulus said in a frustrated tone. Crouch was on his feet in an instant, face inches from Regulus's, fists clenched.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that, filthy blood-traitor!" Crouch spat the words at Regulus's shocked face.
"You don't know what you're talking about Crouch, back off!" Regulus shoved the other boy away from him.
"You'll regret that one day. You'll regret every silly decision you've made." Crouch shouted angrily as he walked out of the room.
After that encounter Regulus and Barty Crouch Jr. didn't speak again. It was much easier than Regulus had anticipated, to go through his life without speaking to the boy who slept in the same room as him, it was as if they were invisible to each other. The only light in the situation was the new place that Regulus spent his free time, the Gryffindor Common room.
When Sirius found out about Crouch, he'd demanded that Regulus come and spend time with the Gryffindors and Regulus was so incredibly alone, that he had agreed to do it. The first few meetings were fairly awkward, and he barely spoke, much to the annoyance of Mary MacDonald who was very un-subtly obsessed with the boy. Eventually things got easier and more natural and Regulus was able to add to conversations and enjoy spending time with his brother and his friends. Regulus was a good observer and he learned a lot about the group as he spent time with them.
Remus, though awkward and clumsy, was surprisingly confident and wickedly intelligent. He was always wearing long-sleeved cardigans and jumpers and always sat with Sirius, he was also the only person Sirius actually listened to. Peter, at first glance seemed to have only one personality trait: following James around as though he were a god. However, Regulus quickly found out that Peter was hilarious, always cracking jokes, always making sure his friends were smiling. Lily Evans, muggle-born, was one of the nicest people Regulus had ever met. She had a great sense of humour and although she pretended to hate the boy's pranks and jokes, it was obvious she secretly found them very funny. Marlene McKinnon, she would talk to Regulus for hours on end about Quidditch. She was an incredibly talented player, but she was also an incredible friend to everyone in the group. She was always the first to give Regulus a hug when he arrived, she always braided Sirius's hair for him, she would patch up Remus's sweaters, fix James's glasses if Peter sat on them, help Mary pick date outfits and listen to Lily talk about prefect duties for hours. Mary MacDonald, a very flirty, beautiful girl. Regulus was quite surprised to find out just how much she, in her words, "fancied the pants off of him" when she was forced to admit it during a game of truth or dare. Aside from that fact, Mary was just as caring as the others, fearsomely loyal and protective of Lily and Marlene. James was a different story, Regulus knew him fairly well now, but he still learned new things about him every day. He learned that James was unbelievably and slightly irritatingly confident, he strutted about as though he owned the place, but he was incredibly protective of all of his friends. He did not think of himself as better than anyone else, he just liked who he was, and Regulus couldn't help but admire that. Sirius was quickly becoming Regulus's idol again, the way he had been when they were children. Regulus had spent so long away from Sirius that he'd forgotten just how much he loved him. Sirius so obviously loved all of his friends, he was completely devoted to them and showed them this constantly, once to Lily's slight annoyance when he'd snuck up behind her to hug her and she'd instinctively jinxed him into a block of ice. Regulus liked how Sirius would pester Remus whenever he tried to sit quietly and read, he also liked how Remus would almost always give in immediately and devote his time to Sirius instead. Sirius was so at home in Gryffindor and at Hogwarts he was just incredible, and Regulus wanted to be like him.
"Ready to lose, Reggie?" Sirius knocked his broom against Regulus's back.
"Not a chance!" Regulus hit Sirius back, harder, laughing as he did it.
It was Gryffindor v Slytherin. The first time the teams were facing each other that year. It was tense. Any match between the two opposing houses was always intense and the hospital wing usually prepared in advance for an onslaught of 'accidental' injuries. From the tunnel, where the two teams were lined up waiting to enter the pitch, the players could hear the roar of the crowd. As the teams began to move forward and the players emerged into the light, Regulus looked around. The sky was grey, and the wind was whipping up a storm. It was perfect. Quidditch in the wind was much more interesting and a lot more difficult, Regulus loved it. As he took his position, swinging his leg over his broom, the Slytherin crowd cheered loudly. That was another bonus to quidditch, during the game he was not 'Regulus Blood-Traitor Black' he was 'Regulus Slytherin-Quidditch-Hero Black' and he much preferred being the latter.
Regulus took a deep breath and focused. He looked across at James who was focusing intently on the centre of the pitch, waiting for the whistle. Regulus hadn't noticed before how James's eyebrow twitched when he focused too hard, or how he tapped rhythmically on his broom handle as he waited. Regulus glanced toward the centre in time to see the Quaffle being thrown into the air, signalling the start.
Regulus whipped past the two Gryffindor beaters, in pursuit of the Snitch. It was bitterly cold, and the sharp wind stabbed into his face. He spotted the golden glint of the Snitch in the sky above him. Pulling up sharply on his broom, Regulus headed for the clouds. One thing regulus had always commended himself for was his focus while playing quidditch. Once the game began, he could tune out everything, his thoughts, the crowd, the commentator and anything that wasn't vital for winning the game. He was so focused he barely noticed James Potter tailing him, eyes locked on the Snitch. James soared past Regulus and extended his arm out to catch the Snitch, but it quickly shot out of reach and flitted back towards the ground.
"Alright Reg?" James shouted over the howl of the wind. "Long time no see!" Regulus rolled his eyes and was about to respond when James disappeared through the clouds below them. Regulus cursed himself for allowing the tactical distraction and pointed his own broom down. As he flew through the thick cloud the Quidditch pitch came into focus. The crowd were all on their feet, as was common in Gryffindor v Slytherin matches, chanting and cheering at an incredible volume. The players were all in action, elbows were flying, brooms were being yanked, balls were being directed at heads, it was beautiful chaos.
James was an excellent seeker, but Regulus was unbelievably fast on his broom and caught up to him easily. The two were neck and neck, still plummeting towards the earth, almost vertically. The crowd held their breath as they watched the two boys falling to the earth. In sync, only a few feet off the ground, the two pulled up on their brooms quickly, bringing them horizontal once more. They both had eyes locked on the Golden Snitch which hovered just above the ground. Regulus and James both reached for it at the same time, their fingers brushed together for a moment before a strong gust of wind caught their brooms. They were flung through the air, tumbling messily to the ground. It was a fairly common, minor crash in the game but the whole crowd were silent, waiting to see if the two seekers were injured.
James groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. He quickly moved over to Regulus and held a hand out to help him up. As Regulus went to take James hand, he hesitated. James gave him a questioning look which quickly turned to shock, as Regulus turned his hand over to reveal the Golden Snitch. The Slytherin stand burst into life again and the crowd chanted Regulus's name repeatedly. Regulus smiled widely at James and before he could move to take the other boys hand the Slytherin team had pulled him to his feet and were hoisting him in the air. Even Sirius was smiling, despite the defeat, as Regulus was paraded around the pitch. Regulus was so happy; he had done something to prove he was still a member of Slytherin, and he hoped people would accept him again as a result. Regulus glanced over at James who was clapping at him, grinning as always. Regulus shot him a smile and went back to his adoring fans.
Later that evening, after much effort, Regulus had finally managed to sneak away from the Slytherin Party. He may have been the guest of honour, but he wasn't interested in being paraded around much longer, so he headed to his favourite spot to be alone. He climbed the stairs to the Astronomy Tower slowly, taking his time, for once he didn't feel like he was in a rush. When he reached the top, he was surprised to find James, alone, sitting with his feet over the ledge. He closed the door loudly, hoping not to startle James and send him over the edge. James looked up at Regulus and let out a breath, as though he had been wound up but was now able to relax.
"Well if it isn't Quidditch royalty itself!" James exclaimed dramatically as Regulus took a seat next to him.
"What can I say? I am a legend" Regulus joked. James gave a short laugh and then stared out across the lake. It was dark and the moon wasn't anywhere near full and emitted no glow, so James had charmed a small orb of light to float above them. Regulus watched James as he leaned against the bar in front of them, staring out, deep in thought. His eyebrows twitched slightly, and he breathed deeply.
"What's wrong?" Regulus said very quietly. James turned to look at him and gazed at Regulus for a long time before speaking.
"I'm just so proud of you Reg, you've been through so much and you're doing fucking amazing. I wish I was as strong as you." James spoke softly. Regulus looked down at his hand, fiddling nervously with his sleeve. He wasn't used to compliments but he also didn't want to think about everything he'd been through. Only few people knew as much about him as James did, even Sirius didn't know about the panic attacks.
"I'm not as strong as I pretend to be." Regulus said sadly, not looking up.
"Yes, you are Reg" As he spoke James reached over and moved a piece of Regulus's hair, tucking it gently behind his ear. Regulus looked at him with huge eyes. Regulus opened his mouth to speak but before any words could come out, James's lips were pressed against his. His lips were warm, and he kissed him so softly that Regulus thought he might have dreamed it. Regulus instinctively pulled back, in a state of shock.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." James began to say, flustered and panicked. He was cut off by Regulus's hand on his cheek, pulling him closer. Their lips met again, this time with more pressure, more wanting. James laced his fingers through Regulus's hair as he deepened the kiss, flicking his tongue against his lips. Regulus held James's face tightly as though clinging to him for life. Regulus had never been kissed or kissed anyone like this before and it was perfect. It was better than catching the Golden Snitch and winning the match, it was better than everything else. When they eventually pulled away, both panting softly and looking at each other with a look that was a mixture of shock and amazement, neither of them spoke. Whilst he was looking at James, the orb of light was floating close to his head, illuminating his whole face. His hair was a mess as always, but all Regulus cared about was the look in his eyes. He couldn't name what it was, but when he looked into James's eyes now, their was something new there, something that wasn't there before. James slowly reached over and intertwined their fingers together, squeezing his hand gently. James smiled at him before turning back to look over the expanse of scenery before them. Regulus took in the sight of James for a moment longer before he turned to look out over Hogwarts. They sat that way, shoulders pressed together, hands clasped, until the sun came up.
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