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“I am not jealous.”
The three other Slytherins and their emotional support Ravenclaw exchanged amused glances from where they were lounging around the boys’ dormitory.
“Babe, you literally are the most jealous person I know,” Dorcas said to Regulus. “You’re kidding right?”
“What do I get jealous of? None of you have anything I would want. Your lives are as shit as mine.”
“How about the fact you get jealous if any person gets anywhere near your boy?” Barty supplied.
“Who the fuck is “my boy” Crouch?”
Barty barked out a laugh. “Right. My friends, who do you think I’m talking about?”
“James.”
“James.”
“Potter.”
“Reg, since the moment we started hanging around those Gryfinndorks, you have staked James as yours,” Dorcas said.
“I have not.” Regulus looked to the Rosier twins for support, scowling when he realized he would get none.
“I’m afraid you have been,” Pandora giggled. “Even I am nervous to talk to him when you are around.”
“I pray for anyone who tries to flirt with James when you are near him,” Evan said.
Regulus’s face grew darker.
“Name one time.”
“Oh I got one,” Barty said. “Two weeks ago, Hogsmeade trip…”
__________________
Barty and Regulus entered The Three Broomsticks on a cold and snowy January afternoon to see some of their Gryffindor friends waving them over from some tables.
“Hi friends!” Mary smiled, getting off the stool to give them hugs in greeting. Barty was never keen on hugs before the two friend groups merged, but over the past year he had gotten used to the fact that Mary MacDonald always insisted on hugs hello and goodbye.
“Where’s the rest of you all?” Peter asked, holding his glass up in greeting.
“Panda and Dorcas have dragged my boyfriend shopping for new pants,” Barty replied, “Could say the same about you, though? Where’s your groupies at, Pete?”
“Sirius and Remus are on a date, and specifically the whole lot of us were banned from following,” Lily laughed. “And James is at the bar, chatting his way to free butterbeers no doubt.”
Barty’s and Regulus’s gaze turned to where James was sitting by himself, animatedly talking to the barmaid. She laughed out loud, shaking her head at something the boy had said.
“Let’s go order,” Regulus said, pushing past the rest of the Gryffindors towards where James sat. Barty shared a toothy grin with the girls before following Regulus.
“You made it!” James lit up as the two sat in the stools next to him, “I was thinking the snow was going to keep you at school.”
“Regulus insisted we come,” Barty rolled his eyes.
“Well I am glad he did,” James replied, giving the boy a warm smile. Regulus, in turn, gave James nothing.
“I was promised a butter beer, was I not?”
“Of course,” James said, “Lucille? Can we get two butter beers for the lads?”
“You paying?” Barty asked, and happily slapped the table when James confirmed it. “You know, I am loving the fact that we are friends now.”
“I did promise to buy Regulus one,” James smiled at the younger Black, “As repayment for losing our bet.”
“You actually promised me ten million galleons but I settled for a butterbeer,” Regulus said dryly.
“Don’t you know by now not to bet against a Slytherin, Potter?” Barty asked. “Especially a cheat like Regulus.”
“I never cheat.”
“And he’s a liar,” smirked Barty. Regulus glared back, but James just laughed.
“Well Regulus was neither cheating nor lying on this one unfortunately. He bet that I couldn’t make the jump over a gate, and sadly he was right.”
“No, you said ‘hey Reg I am going to jump over that gate’, and I said ‘don’t do that, you will fall on your face’ and you said ‘I bet you ten million galleons I can’ and then proceeded to fall on your face.”
James’s eyes twinkled. “I’d like to think I looked a little more graceful than that. But I definitely did not land it.”
Their butterbeers were delivered, and a drink for James that was “on the house”.
“What’d you promise her, Potter, a quick shag after her shift?” Barty smirked.
James shrugged. “I’m just nice to people, Crouch, maybe you could try it sometime?”
“Nah, I’ll stick to intimidating others into getting free things.”
James grinned, shaking his head at Barty. Barty would never tell any of the Gryffindors this, but he really appreciated them for putting up with him. His general demeanor was not always accepted by others, but to his new friends, it didn’t seem to matter that he was a little rough on the outside.
“James Potter?” a voice came from behind them. All three boys turned to see a dark haired young man approach. He looked vaguely familiar to Barty, but he could not place where. James clearly knew who it was.
“Tom Blanchard! Great to see ya mate,” James greeted, getting up to give him a hug. “Reg, Barty, you remember Tom, don’t you? He was the Hufflepuff captain last year. Tom, you know Regulus Black and Barty Crouch?”
Tom gave a little nod to the two Slytherins, but said nothing else to them. Barty felt that wave of irritation hit him that always happened when someone was looking down at him or his friends. James, however, didn’t notice the Slytherins bristling as the newcomer took a seat on the other side of him.
“How have you been Tom, where have you been since leaving Hogwarts?”
Regulus, whom James’s back was turned away from now, was gripping his glass with white knuckles. Oh this is going to be good, Barty thought as he took a sip of his butter beer. When Regulus decided that he didn’t like someone, he could bring them to tears with a single sentence.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Tom asked James, and Barty was surprised the mug in Regulus’s hand didn’t shatter. Now Tom was not only someone who Regulus didn’t like, but was someone who was clearly trying to flirt with James. Tom had signed off his death warrant for sure.
“I’m good, thank you,” James smiled, picking up his glass to show Tom that he was set.
“What is that anyways, James?”
Barty never ceased to be impressed by Regulus’s ability to get attention back on himself without the use of brash words like Barty had to. The use of James’s first name, combined with a hand on the aforementioned boy’s arm brought those hazel eyes right back to Regulus. Barty felt like he should be taking notes
“A Junaberry Fizz.”
“Can I have a taste?”
James held the glass out to him. Instead of taking it from James’s hand, Regulus grabbed the straw, wrapping his lips around it and taking a long sip. James’s eyes lit up in amusement.
“Good, yeah?”
“Mmm,” Regulus said, keeping the straw resting on his bottom lip. “Really good. Wanna trade?”
“We can share,” James offered.
“Or you could buy me one, please?”
Barty choked back his laughter. Regulus Black saying please? He was laying it on thick. But James put his hand up to beckon the barmaid again.
“Can we get another one of these Lucille?”
Regulus, satisfied, turned his attention to the forgotten man sitting beside James.
“So, Tom is it? You went to Hogwarts?”
“Erm, yeah. Graduated last year.”
“You remember Tom, you must have played him in Quidditch,” James said.
“I’m a seeker, I don’t pay attention to anyone. What are you doing in Hogsmeade, Tom?”
Tom shifted in seat. Barty had been on the receiving end of that intense look Regulus gave so many times that it no longer affected him; but to someone new it was very uncomfortable.
“I am uhh working down at Splintwiches as a clerk.”
“Ah. Any further plans for the future?”
“Uhm…not at the moment.”
“Didn’t want to continue Quidditch?”
“I..uh..”
“James has scouts coming for the next game, no doubt he will have multiple offers. Thank you Lucille,” Regulus acknowledged the barmaid that brought the drink that James had bought him.
“I hope so,” James said, “But they will probably be scouting you too, Reggie.”
Regulus rolled his eyes, but was smiling as he took the straw between his teeth.
“C’mon Reggie, don’t be so modest. He’s an incredible seeker. His broom handling is mental.”
Barty had never heard “Reggie” and “modest” in the same sentence before, but James seemed earnest as he reached out to touch Regulus’s arm. Regulus was blushing, actually blushing or he was putting on a really convincing act.
“Whoever said Slytherins are liars have never met you, Jamie,” Regulus said, taking another sip from his drink.
“I’m not lying,” James insisted, his fingers still resting on the black woven sleeves. Regulus was clearly not unaware of this fact, and neither was Tom who was shifting uncomfortably on his stool.
“Oh look there’s my brother and Remus. Shall we rejoin our friends?” Regulus asked.
James withdrew his arm as he turned to look. “Oh yeah. Let’s.”
“It was nice to meet you Tom,” Regulus smiled, a bit menacingly.
“Oh yeah, so good to see you mate,” James said, reaching out to shake the former Hufflepuff’s hand.
“You too. If you ever wanna hang out, you know where to find me.”
“Yeah of course,” James said brightly, but his eyes were back on the boy with the dark curls that was making his way back to the tables of their friends.
Barty was left near a confused looking Tom.
“You never had a chance mate,” Barty told him, getting up to follow them.
_____________________________
Regulus glared at Barty with the same intensity that he had given Tom that day, but Barty laughed it off.
“You were so close to murdering him. We still can if you want to, we know where he works.”
“Why should anyone trust you, Barty?” Regulus snapped, “You are the most unreliable person I know.”
“What about me?” Pandora asked. “Do you trust me Regulus?”
Regulus hesitated.
“Do you have a story to share, Panda?” Dorcas asked.
“I do….”
___________________________
The students who hung around the library typically fit into two categories: the ones that were there to actually study and the ones that were there to pretend they were studying, but really were there to socialize.
Regulus and Pandora were the former, which made it all the more frustrating for Regulus that the Gryffindors were socializers. Still, Regulus and Pandora sought them out as soon as they arrived.
As predicted, the marauders were sitting in a common space, sprawled on various couches and chairs with half-forgotten textbooks laying in their laps. Regulus’s brother was sitting at the feet of Remus Lupin, poking his boyfriend with his quill in an attempt to distract him. Peter, Lily, and Mary were quite literally lying on the floor, a mess of papers surrounding them as they mapped out a group project. James was on one end of a sofa, talking with another Gryffindor girl that was in the same year as Pandora.
Sirius shouted a greeting, and Pandora happily waved back. She bounced over to sit next to him, unsurprised to see Regulus had veered away from her. Her friend dropped his stuff at the feet of the sofa that James was sitting on. He turned to say hello to him, but the girl interrupted before he could.
“My father says that Puddlemore is in trouble this year. What do you think, James?”
Regulus sat the sofa next to the Gryffindor boy, and swung his legs up onto James’s lap as he reclined on the arm. It was a common sight to see the friends in their group making themselves comfortable like that; especially Regulus resting his feet on James’s lap as he read from his textbook. James automatically rested his arms on Regulus’s legs, his thumb rubbing absent minded circles on his shin. The girl paused at the unspoken intrusion, but James remained oblivious to her hesitation as he continued the conversation.
“-I think that really if Puddlemore focused on their defense more, they would be a better team.”
Regulus snorted, the sound pulling James’s eyes from the girl towards the boy laying beside him.
“Oh you have a different opinion Reg?”
“It’s not an opinion. Puddlemore is shit, and focusing on defense would do nothing. They need to burn that franchise to the ground to save it.”
James gave a mock gasp. “Regulus Black you did not just say that. Puddlemore was a great team when I was little-”
“When was that, the 1930s?”
Sirius groaned from where he was sitting.
“Great, my brother and best friend are flirting again.”
“I think it’s cute,” Pandora stated, “It’s nice to see Regulus actually like someone.”
“James, you are such an idiot,” they heard Regulus say, “I don’t understand how you manage to stay on your broom, ever.”
Remus raised an eyebrow. “That’s Regulus liking someone?”
“Oh yeah,” Sirius responded, “You’d know if he didn’t like you, because he would make you feel like hiding in a broom closet for the remainder of the day.”
The girl that had previously been occupying James attempted to get his attention back.
“I think Puddlemore is a great team,” she said, but James must not have heard her, because he continued arguing with Regulus.
“Reggie, I never pegged you for being a bandwagon when it came to Quidditch teams.”
“Say that again Potter, I’ll cut out your tongue.”
The girl tapped James on the arm and this time James turned to her.
“I think I am going to head to get something to drink from the great hall. Want to come?”
“I am okay, thank you,” James smiled, “I’ll catch you later.”
Pandora watched as the girl got up, looking a little dejected. Poor, pretty little fool, she thought.
____________
“Me next!” Dorcas shouted as Pandora finished.
Regulus groaned. “We don’t need to hear anymore of how you lot are delusional.”
“Oh but Regulus, I have the perfect example of the “Nobody can flirt with James Potter” rule.”
_____________
“I swear to god Reg, if we are late to my girlfriend’s match because of you, I will kill you and then hex your hair off that you spent so long on.”
“We are not going to be late, Dorcas, calm down.”
“For the sake of your head, you better hope so.”
They weren’t late per say, but late enough that the spots near their friends had filled up. Dorcas flipped them off for not saving their seats. Luckily they were able to snag two seats a few rows ahead of them, just as the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams filed onto the pitch.
Dorcas loved watching her girlfriend play Quidditch. Marlene was absolutely lethal with a beater’s bat in her hand, which Dorcas found super hot. Marlene was already in her “Quidditch mode”, which meant that she wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else until the final whistle blew.
James Potter, on the other hand, was very different from Dorcas’s girlfriend. He reveled in the attention; thrived on it really. He already had a lazy grin on his face as he shook the opposing captain’s hand.
“James Potter has to be the hottest guy at this school.”
The remark came from behind them, and Dorcas stifled a laugh as she saw Regulus’s jaw stiffen.
“By far,” another voice replied, “I could literally drown in his eyes.”
The first whistle blew and the match began. Marlene was at the top of her game; Dorcas cheered loudly as Marlene hit a bludger right at a Hufflepuff chaser, causing them to drop the quaffle to a waiting Gryffindor. Dorcas was having the time of her life.
Regulus, on the other hand, was slowly losing his sanity.
“I would let him choke me any day.”
Dorcas silently laughed as Regulus rubbed his face in his hands.
“It’s too bad we were late and couldn’t sit with our friends,” Dorcas smirked at him.
The look Regulus gave in return was pure murderous.
James had the quaffle and was zipping around the circumference of the pitch. Right before he got to where they were sitting, he threw it to another chaser. He had been going at such a high speed, it almost seemed like he was going to crash into the spectators. But he was James Potter, after all, so he flipped to a stop at the last moment. James looked straight at where Dorcas and Regulus were sitting, and being the show boat that he was, gave a wink.
“Ohmygod I think he just winked at me!”
Dorcas elbowed Regulus, mouthing, “He winked at her!”
Regulus slapped her arm away.
As James hit his tenth goal of the match, the crowd started to chant his name. Dorcas clapped along happily, mostly to annoy Regulus more.
“POT-TER! POT-TER! POT-TER!”
Regulus made a point to say nothing.
When the game finished with Gryffindor taking the victory, the chanting only continued as James led his team into a victory lap, waving at the students in the stands.
“Let’s go to the field, maybe we can congratulate James,” one girl twittered behind them.
Dorcas grabbed Regulus’s arm.
“Let’s go too, maybe we can get his autograph.”
“I am two seconds away from poisoning your drink at dinner.”
Dorcas cackled as they followed the younger girls down the stairs to the pitch. Her girlfriend was nowhere in sight as they walked on the grass, but the crowd of students led them straight to where James was, arms thrown around his friends.
“Walk up to him,” one of the girls who was sitting behind them said.
“No, you first!”
Regulus let out a huff of annoyance, literally pushing past them. When James saw Regulus he let go of Sirius’s shoulder and held out his arms in a question. Regulus gave a small nod and James's grin grew brighter as he wrapped his arms around Regulus in a hug.
“Thanks Reggie,” James said, holding him for a moment too long.
“I didn’t say anything, Potter.”
“This hug is saying enough, yeah?”
“Aww,” Dorcas said, hand on her hip, “How cute. But where’s my girlfriend, Potter?”
James let go of Regulus, but his arm stayed slung around the boy’s shoulders.
“Marls was literally going to piss herself, she said she’d be right back.”
“Let’s head that way and meet her,” Lily said, “And then we can have a celebratory dinner!”
“Lead the way,” James replied, still holding onto Regulus’s shoulder as they headed toward the direction of the castle. Dorcas caught sight of the young girls glaring in their direction as they walked by.
Regulus leaned his head on James’s shoulder as he looked them in the eye.
Dorcas rolled her eyes amused. Leave it to Regulus to feel threatened by girls two years younger than him.
________________
Regulus’s friends were clearly enjoying this a little too much.
“Baby, do you have one?” Barty asked, looking up at his boyfriend from where he was laying in his lap.
“I do.”
Regulus’s face fell. “Fuck no Evan. Not you too.”
“I’m sorry Regulus. I’m sorry not only for disagreeing with you on this topic, but also because my story blows the others out of the water.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true. It’s irrefutable proof that you are insanely possessive of James. And it actually took place the same day as Dorcas’s...”
________
Evan loved going to parties, but did not like being in the middle of them. Sweating people dancing on each other, sticky and drunk, was not his idea of a good time. Instead he lurked on the fringes, mingling with friends or making out with his boyfriend. That night at the Gryffindor’s victory party, he found a comfortable chair in front of the fire and parked himself there. Drink in hand, he sat with Regulus as the two enjoyed people watching.
Barty loved being the life of the party, so Evan had encouraged him to go with the girls and to not commit any arson. He watched his boyfriend now, attempting to mix a new drink that was sure to go poorly.
“Your boyfriend is an idiot,” Regulus stated with a look of disgust as Barty took a sip and immediately gagged fire.
“Yeah,” Evan smiled, “But he’s hot so I’ll keep him around.”
“That’s up for debate,” Regulus said, taking a sip. His friend’s eyes moved on from their friends to take another sweep of the room. Evan had a pretty good idea who he was looking for.
The middle of the common room was packed with people dancing to the music blasting from an unseen source. The thought of being in that mess made Evan’s skin crawl.
“Gryffindor parties are so loud,” Evan said, wrinkling his nose.
“Their parties reflect their brash and annoying personalit-” Regulus trailed off. A stoney expression crossed his face, leading Evan to turn to see what had caused such a sudden change in demeanor.
James Potter was the answer of course. The golden boy had finally made his appearance, fingers gripping a guy’s waist as the two grinded together in a rhythm matching the beat from the music. Regulus was already possessive as it was, but someone touching James? There was no doubt in Evan’s mind that Regulus was beyond pissed.
As he predicted, Regulus was already getting up.
“Hold my drink,” Regulus said, pushing his cup into Evan’s hand. “I’m going to dance a bit.”
Evan watched amused as Regulus did what he did best; getting James’s attention.
He inserted himself into the mass of bodies easily, appearing nearby to James as if he had been dancing there the entire time. James’s gaze almost instantly latched onto Regulus. The older boy’s eyes traveled down and back up as Regulus moved against the people around him. Regulus had locked onto James and with a simple cock of his head, James had abandoned his dance partner to get closer to Regulus. When they were chest to chest, Regulus grabbed James’s hands and put them on his waist, Regulus’s own circling James’s neck.
James leaned his forehead against Regulus, saying something so low that Evan couldn’t even guess what he said. However a small smile came to Regulus’s lips so Evan assumed whatever James had said gave Regulus the victory he wanted. They moved in an impressive rhythm against each other, drawing the eyes of many of the other dancers surrounding them, including James’s abandoned former partner. Even Evan, who wasn’t a fan of public displays, couldn’t take his eyes away from the lewd show they were putting on.
James’s eyes were roaming Regulus, but Regulus stayed steadily looking at the hazel eyed boy that stood taller than him. Regulus stood on his tip toes, bringing his mouth up to James’s ear and whispered. James threw his head back and laughed, and Regulus looked at him with an affection that Evan had never seen Regulus have.
They were interrupted when Regulus’s brother shouted out James’s name, pushing through the crowd to find him. James reluctantly pulled away from Regulus, calling back to his best friend, who promptly appeared behind him drunk out of his mind.
“Oi! I’ve been looking for you everywhere, c’mon captain we’ve been challenged to a game table skittles.” Sirius turned, delighted to see his brother. “Hey Reg! You are on my team.”
The older Black brother grabbed the arm of both of the boys’, dragging them away, none the wiser of what was transpiring between the two just moments earlier.
_______
The four Slytherins, their emotional support Ravenclaw, and their Gryffindor mates were gathered on the lawn for a relaxing afternoon. Regulus was deep into reading his book when he heard it.
“Hi James.”
“Oh hi Steph.”
Regulus’s eyes snapped up on reflex, seeing that dark haired girl that was always trying to get James’s attention; the same that Pandora had witnessed flirting with James in the library.
The snickering from his friends caused Regulus to pause. He was playing right into the jealous role that they had painted him in.
He tried to go back to reading, but couldn’t block out the conversation happening mere yards away.
“Want to take a walk with me down by the lake?”
“Erm, well I really should finish my potions homework. I’ve got at least six more inches left and to be honest it’s really tripping me up.”
Regulus was well aware that everyone, including his brother, were watching to see how he would react to this. He chewed on the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything.
“You can bring your homework with us. I can help you, I am top of my class in Potions.”
At the taste of blood in his mouth, Regulus slammed his book shut and stood quickly up.
“James. Want to go make out in your dormitory?”
James blinked once as he processed what Regulus had said, before scrambling to his feet.
“Yeah, let's do that.”
Regulus turned and walked in the direction back up to the castle, throwing a middle finger at their group of friends who had burst out laughing behind them.
“I’m the only one who helps you with your Potions homework,” Regulus stated as James jogged to catch up to his brisk pace.
“Only you,” James affirmed.
Regulus gave him a smile. Maybe being jealous and possessive weren’t so bad.