Chapter Text
It wasn’t unlike Regulus to sleep in on the weekends. In fact, if he could sleep in every morning he would. However, it was nearing the end of the Quidditch season and every weekday the Slytherin captain had them up and out of bed at the crack of dawn for training in preparation for their final match against Gryffindor. Slytherin had pulled the short end of the stick and got to train for an hour from 5am. Then the pitch was stormed by the Gryffindor team until 7am, after which the Great Hall opened for breakfast.
However, it wasn’t like Barty and Evan to leave Regulus to enjoy his sleep-ins. Every weekend like clockwork his friends would attempt to wake him up just to annoy him—their favourite pastime—often ending with Regulus hexing the both of them before locking his curtains and using a spell to muffle out their protests.
That was how Regulus knew something was wrong before his conscious mind could even comprehend the situation he was in.
The first thing he noticed was that his head was resting on something much harder and more elevated than his pillow, and he knew his pillows well. He had been forced to get used to the uncomfortable abominations Hogwarts called ‘pillows’ for the last six years. However, what was unusual about his not-pillow was that it rose up and down slowly in rhythmic movements, as if following a pattern.
Once he fully reached consciousness he made the logical decision to keep his eyes squeezed shut. It was then that he focused enough to notice that there was an arm looped around his waist with a hand lying on his back. Regulus found one of his legs was cradled between what felt like two muscular thighs. What the fuck had happened last night? He remembered passing out in his bed after gossiping with Pandora, Dorcas, Barty and Evan. He was still in his bed, right? He didn’t want to open his eyes to check, scared of what he would find.
Merlin, had Barty crawled into his bed again? He hadn’t done that in about two years. No, this chest felt too muscular to be Barty’s. Barty was lean, much like Regulus himself and when he used to sneak into Regulus’ bed, they slept back to back, not on top of each other. Definitely not Barty, then. But then who was Regulus lying on top of?
When he finally gathered the courage to open his eyes a shiver immediately ran down his body. There was no fucking way. Those were maroon curtains that were drawn closed around the bed he had somehow ended up in. How the fuck had he ended up here in a Gryffindor bed in a Gryffindor dorm?
Without moving his head he tried to examine the situation now. It was a brown chest he was currently using as a pillow and Regulus immediately wanted to scream. No. No. No. It couldn’t be. But his fears were confirmed as he slowly—ensuring not to wake the Gryffindor boy—turned his head to look at the owner of the chest.
James Potter’s glasses weren’t on his face, likely folded up and placed on the table beside the bed (if Regulus was to assume the Gryffindor dorm was anything like his own). It was obvious to him that his brother’s best friend was still fast asleep, his eyes shut and a small furrow between his eyebrows. His lips were pressed together and Regulus just wanted to be back in his dorm where he could scream into a pillow—a real pillow that he was suddenly deprived of. Because how could it be fair that a boy—no less a Gryffindor and his brother’s best friend—could have lips that soft and inviting.
The fates must be laughing at him right now, placing him in the bed of the boy he both hated and fancied. James Potter was just so infuriating but also so attractive while he was driving Regulus up the wall. It was stupid enough that Regulus had caught a liking to the boy considering he had not had more than two interactions with him and they hadn’t even said a word to each other during said interactions. Those were just times where Sirius had stopped Regulus in the corridor with James at his side, all smiles and positivity like the ray of sunshine Sirius had described him as.
It had been months since that interaction and since then Sirius had left the Black family to live with the Potters, ultimately straining the relationship between the brothers. Yet, one look at James Potter and the butterflies in his stomach returned even if his brain forced him to place an expression of indifference on his face.
Regulus held his breath as James’ arm around his waist grew tighter in his sleep, forcing Regulus impossibly closer to the muscular body. James’ other hand still remained thrown over his forehead, hiding his messy curls from Regulus’ view but also making him look like a lady who had passed out and collapsed onto the bed. He wanted to laugh at the sight but decided to swallow his amusement for fear it would stir the sleeping beauty.
He needed to figure out how to get out of this situation quickly but still ensuring that he did not disturb the sleeping beauty who was completely oblivious to Regulus’ fretting. His worry was getting James’ hand off of his waist without stirring him, which was going to be hard considering the position he was in. At this point he just wanted to get it over with, just pull away fast and dart out the curtains and run as fast as he could back to the safety of his dorm. Honestly, it wouldn’t be a bad idea considering sleeping beauty likely wouldn’t be able to work out who he was between his sleepiness and lack of glasses. However, he was still in his brother’s dorm and Regulus particularly didn’t want to run into him as he was fleeing the bed of his brother’s best friend like a walk of shame after a one night stand. Which definitely had not happened. Or at least, Regulus didn’t think that happened. He moved his hand to his thigh, feeling around for the fabric of his pyjama pants. He sighed in relief. Nope, he was still very much clothed and as much as he believed, James Potter was very much straight.
Regulus almost jumped out of his skin as he heard Sirius say, “Prongs? You up yet?”
His jumping had jostled James and the arm around his waist loosened slightly, enough that Regulus could scramble up so that his knees were on either side of the boy's waist. It was the only place he could be that wasn’t lying half on top of him. The Gryffindor was broader than Barty and lying on his back, he took up almost all of the space on the bed. Regulus was looking down at the boy's face with a desperate plea when James finally opened his eyes, with Regulus hoping that without his glasses the boy could still figure out what he was silently trying to tell him. Don’t give me away. The boy squinted his eyes at him, looking just as confused as Regulus felt, likely trying to figure out who was on top of him at the moment. If all he could see was blobs of colour, then it was likely that he thought it was Sirius and was confused at hearing his best friend’s voice outside of the curtain. They had the same colouring, after all, and obviously it wouldn’t be strange for the boy to find Sirius in his bed. Sirius Black was a clingy person.
James Potter finally spoke after several seconds of silence, in a voice that was so deep that Regulus wanted to curse the fates for letting him hear James Potter’s morning voice because he would never forget it. “Yeah Pads, I’m up. Just give me a few more minutes. I still need to wake up.”
Regulus wanted to applaud the Gryffindor for his thinking even in his still-sleepy state. Merlin, if he had agreed and tried to climb out with Regulus still on top of him… Regulus shivered at the thought.
“But it’s pancake breakfast! You might want to hurry before they are all gone,” Sirius whined.
“You go on with Moony and Wormy, I’ll catch up. Save me a few, won’t you?”
“Fine. But if you take too long and they run out, you can’t blame me for eating them or handing them off to Pete,” Sirius said rather petulantly.
When he heard the door to the dorm close, Regulus exhaled one of the biggest breaths of his life. He had been scared at the thought that Sirius would hear him breathe and just know that his little brother was hiding behind the curtains by that alone. They had grown up together and learnt each other’s breathing under the parenting of Walburga and Orion Black.
Regulus went to climb off of the boy, hand already reaching for the curtain, planning to go back to his plan of darting out quickly and running away before his identity could be discovered. It wasn’t like Regulus was to blame for this situation; as far as he knew and remembered he hadn’t intentionally climbed into James’ bed. He didn’t even know the password to get into the Gryffindor common room!
But as he moved one of his legs a large hand had gripped his waist, pinning him down so he couldn’t go anywhere. Shit. He watched as the Gryffindor had reached his free hand through the gap between the wall and the curtain, pulling his glasses back through the gap and placing them on his face.
He wanted to cover his own face with both of his hands to stop the boy from seeing his flushed cheeks. Yet, the need to see the boy’s reaction to his identity somehow overpowered his embarrassment. He saw the moment James recognised him, his face narrowed in confusion for a second before turning into pure shock, like he couldn’t believe who was in his bed.
Regulus, not wanting his cheeks to grow even more red from the guy he fancied staring at him any longer, he cleared his throat. “Are you going to let me go or…?”
He would’ve threatened to hex him but he didn’t have his wand with him. Which further proved that Regulus consciously would not have put himself in this situation because he didn’t go anywhere without his wand, except for when he was playing Quidditch. It was too much of a bother on the pitch.
“Sorry,” James winced, releasing Regulus’ waist and using the same hand to run it through his hair, “just didn’t want you running off before I knew for sure who you were.”
“Right,” Regulus replied, “because you must have plenty of people straddling you this early in the morning.”
James frowned but Regulus ignored him, clearing his throat to tell the Gryffindor, “Well if that’s cleared up I’m going to go then.”
He had suddenly become very aware of the hard length underneath him that he definitely did not want to think about in fear that it would provoke his own arousal. It wasn’t like this was a reaction to Regulus specifically, it was just a typical morning erection for any teenage boy.
Regulus pressed his hands on James’ lower stomach to steady himself as he swiftly swung his leg over James’ waist and immediately regretted where he placed his hands because James’ stomach housed muscles no boy his age should have. He pushed the curtains open enough to slip through and immediately started towards the door. He had to get as far away from the boy as possible, fearing that if he let the boy look too closely, he’d see all the secrets he had bottled up within.
“Wait!” Regulus heard the Gryffindor call from behind him. He didn’t plan on stopping, deciding to pretend he didn’t hear him until he heard James call out, “Regulus?”
Regulus stopped abruptly and he felt a chest slam into his back, sending him stumbling forward. A strong hand gripped his arm, steadying him, and suddenly Regulus was facing James again.
“What, Potter?” He said, forcing his face to remain indifferent. He pulled his arm out of James’ hold and took a step back, putting some distance between them.
“Don’t you want to talk about this?” The Gryffindor asked.
“I would honestly prefer to forget this ever happened. I’m sure it was just a stupid prank and as civil individuals, I’m sure we can part ways and never bring this up again.” Regulus prayed that James couldn’t see through the mask he had carefully constructed.
The boy just looked into his face as if he could see Regulus’ mask crumbling. Please, Regulus silently begged, just let me go.
Once James seemed to find whatever he was looking for in Regulus’ face he replied, “If that is what you want.”
Regulus nodded and turned towards the door, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up from James’ stare as he left.
It was way easier than he thought, finding his way out of the Gryffindor common room even with his green and black chequered pyjama pants. In any other circumstance where he had his wand, he would have cast a disillusionment charm but he really didn’t need it, the common room was completely deserted. It seemed Gryffindors all shared a mutual love for pancakes. Much like Regulus’ friends.
Shit. What was he going to tell his friends? Surely by now, as they did every weekend, they would have discovered Regulus’ empty bed. Hopefully they had forgotten to annoy him this once and succumbed to their hunger for pancakes, meaning he was free to enter their dorm without being questioned.
Of course that wasn’t the case, and he initially entered his dorm to what appeared to be an empty room. The curtains were back on Evan’s and Barty’s beds and the bathroom door was open, indicating that no one was in there. The curtains around Regulus’ were still closed, just like he remembered doing the night before. The events of last night were still a total mindfuck.
He decided to approach his bed as if it was the scene of a crime, afraid that if he touched it he would be sent back to James’ bed. When he finally reached out to draw the curtains back, a small shriek escaped him. Piled together on his bed was Barty, Evan, Pandora and Dorcas, grinning at him with varying suspicious smiles.
“Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence,” Dorcas smirked.
“How was the walk of shame back from your mysterious lover?” Barty joined in.
“Oh bugger off, you lot,” Regulus said, annoyed with them. He was almost sure that they were the culprits for the assumed prank. “So how’d you do it?”
Evan’s face dropped, no longer smiling at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Regulus emphasised, “which of you thought it would be funny to teleport me into someone’s bed in the middle of the night?”
“WHAT?” They all shrieked collectively.
He frowned, looking around at all the amused and intrigued faces staring at him. He knew his friends and it seemed like they genuinely had no idea what he was talking about. He didn’t know whether to be pleased or annoyed by that. After all, if they didn’t do it then who did?
“You guys promise you had nothing to do with it?” He asked them.
Dorcas was the one to answer. “I know I didn’t but hats off to whoever did that’s a bloody good prank. Better than anything those Marauders have ever done. Tell me, did you at least sleep well?”
Pandora, ever the gossip, leaned forward. “Was he fit?”
“Yeah, does he rival James Potter’s beauty?” Dorcas snickered.
Regulus’ blood ran cold and it must have shown briefly on his face because Dorcas let up a massive gasp. “NO FUCKING WAY!”
“Oh Merlin,” Pandora said, her hand flying up to cover your mouth.
“What? WHAT?” Barty asked frantically. “Someone fill me in!”
“Oh Barty,” Evan shook his head. “For someone so smart in school you can be so daft. Whose bed do you think Regulus woke up in for his face to look like a tomato?”
Barty furrowed his nose like he did when he was concentrating on his thoughts. The others sat for several seconds waiting for Barty to catch up. Eventually, it clicked in his head and he shouted, “JAMES POTTER? NO WAY!”
Regulus scowled. “Why don’t you let the whole of bloody Slytherin know?”
“Pshhh,” Barty said, smacking his hand through the air to show that he isn’t worried, “everyone’s gone to get breakfast.”
“That’s a good idea,” Regulus told them, desperate to change the subject, “let’s go before they’re all gone.”
“No way,” Evan shook his head. “We are all staying here until you fill us all in on you waking up in the bed of the guy you fancy.”
Regulus groaned, “It’s not fair you guys know I fancy him. I was coerced into telling you about him in a game of Veritaserum or dare.”
“A consensual game of Veritaserum or dare,” Dorcas corrected, “and we would have figured it out eventually, you are so bloody obvious about it.”
“I am not!”
“You are,” Barty and Evan said together before snapping their heads towards each other and saying in unison, “jinx!”
“Enough,” Pandora said. “Spill Regulus before I die from anticipation.”
He sighed, “There isn’t anything to tell. I woke up in Potter’s bed and at the first opportunity I ran back here.”
“So you guys didn’t even speak?” Pandora said, sounding unconvinced.
“I told him I wanted to forget it happened and he agreed.”
Everyone in the room aside from Regulus groaned.
“You bloody idiot,” Dorcas reprimanded. “That was your in!”
“There is no ‘in’ with a straight guy who woke up and looked at me with confusion.”
“As if you wouldn’t be confused if Potter landed in your bed.”
“That’s different.”
“It’s not.”
“It doesn’t matter. All I care about is finding out how this happened and ensuring it won’t happen again.”
“Sounds like your bed’s cursed,” Evan said. “Wonder how that happened.”
Dorcas hummed in agreement, “Sounds like something Mulciber or Snape would do but it seems like whoever did it wanted to play matchmaker. Honestly Reg, it sounds like they were doing you a favour.”
“I don’t even care about who did it until after my bed is fixed. Then I’ll worry about getting my revenge.”
“If you want I’ll trade beds with you for tonight,” Barty said, smirking, “I would love to wake up in the bed of a fit bloke.”
Regulus scowled at him, considering hexing his friend for opening his mouth.
“Not a chance of that happening,” Evan chuckled. “Regulus wouldn’t risk you landing in Potter’s bed and managing to steal him.”
“Then can I climb into your bed tonight?” Barty attempted to give Evan puppy dog eyes. “Then you can experience waking up with a fit bloke.”
Evan shoved at Barty and turned his face away, but Regulus could still see the blush on his friend’s face as he told Barty “You’re the one who’d be waking up with a fit bloke.”
“Is that a yes then Ev?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“No.”
“Ouch,” Barty said, clutching his chest. “You wound me.”
Once his friend’s had heard every detail—or at least believed they had—they had all gathered their wands and were casting various spells at Regulus’ bed, trying to figure out how it had been tampered with. It didn’t matter what revealing charm they cast on or how many spells they directed at the bed, nothing revealed itself.
“It’s no use,” Evan said, dropping his hand that was holding his wand to his side.
Pandora turned towards Regulus, “It might have worn off already, meant for a singular occurrence. Unless it is something so strong we can’t pick up on it with a simple revealing charm. But I don’t think any Slytherin students who have access to this dorm are smart enough for that.”
“Whoever did this is smart. It must be similar to apparating but we can’t do that inside the castle so I’m just so confused and now I’m worried that it will happen again,” Regulus told her, biting at his lower lip.
“I wouldn’t worry,” Dorcas told him. “You shouldn’t let ‘maybes’ stop you from sleeping. If it happens again then it happens again. Just think of it as fate pushing you and Potter together.”
“I hope it doesn’t. I have Quidditch training every morning next week in the lead up to our final game on Saturday.”
Barty was now trying to balance his wand on his head. “You don’t think Gryffindors managed to sneak in and do this? They could be trying to sabotage Hogwarts’ best seeker before the game.”
Evan shook his head. “Unless they unintentionally linked it to James’ bed. This is as much of a prank on Reg as it is on Potter, there’s no way they would sabotage their captain and star chaser.”
“Ugh,” Regulus cried, arms flying up in the air. “I need a distraction. I don’t want to think about this anymore.”
Pandora climbed to her feet, “Should we go see what’s left at breakfast?”
_____________________
“Oh for fucks sake,” Regulus whispered in exasperation as he awoke on Sunday morning to the sight of maroon curtains.
However, this time he wasn’t sprawled across James’ chest. No, it seemed that in his sleep, James had moved so that he was the one half on top of Regulus. James had his left leg thrown over his waist, pressing the front of his body against Regulus’ left side. The Gryffindor’s left arm was thrown over his collarbone with his hand resting on the pillow beside Regulus’ head, caging him in. He could feel James’ breath against his jaw as he breathed in and out in his sleep, his head pressed close to Regulus’ neck.
Where James’ breath hit his neck Regulus could feel goosebumps that then spread all down his body. He squirmed at the sensation, praying that James would roll off him in his sleep so that he could make a silent exit without conversation, unlike what had happened yesterday morning.
He eventually heard stirring and the sound of voices coming from outside of the curtain and grew anxious at the thought of one of James’ friends—especially Sirius—ripping open the curtains to find James wrapped tightly around Regulus like he was a baby koala. He didn’t know whether James had used a locking charm on his curtains or a silencing charm on his bed after what happened the day before, but it wasn’t like Regulus had his wand so he could do it himself.
He heard Peter telling the other two Gryffindors that he was meeting a girl down for breakfast before the door opened and closed. Now all that stood between him and his freedom was Sirius and Remus—as well as the sleeping figure who had him pressed into the mattress unable to move.
He heard Remus’ voice talking to Sirius, “Maybe we should let him sleep in without disturbing him. He was acting off yesterday which could be a sign that he’s getting sick.”
“I just think we should at least tell him so he doesn’t get pissed when he wakes up and we aren’t here.”
“Believe me,” Remus replied. “I don’t particularly think that will be on his mind when he wakes up.”
Regulus frowned. What was that supposed to mean?
“What does that mean?” Sirius asked, voicing Regulus’ thoughts.
Remus sighed. “You know, he’s got Quidditch this Saturday to worry about. I’m sure he won’t mind if we go to breakfast without telling him this once. He honestly should be thankful we are letting him sleep in undisturbed.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I’m always right, Pads.”
Sirius sighed dramatically, “What would I do without my perfect boyfriend?”
“Incur the wrath of James by waking him up?”
The sound of their voices disappeared with the click of the door and Regulus wasted no time to wriggle one of his arms free to attempt to remove the arm across his collarbone. However, once the arm was moved off his body and Regulus had begun to consider how he was going to get James’ leg off his waist, James’ hand had made a reappearance on Regulus’ chest. The chest that was now beating way too many times a minute. It was like his heart wanted to claw its way out of his chest and personally feel the heat of James’ hand. All he could hope was that his heartbeat could not be felt by James’ hand.
Fed up with this situation and the fact that his stomach was now growling with hunger, Regulus prodded at James’ arm. “James,” he hissed.
“Reg’lus?” James slurred in his sleep, rubbing his nose into the crook of Regulus’ neck.
“You expecting someone else to have magically popped into your bed in the middle of the night?”
James sighed as he woke up, “Back again?” His morning voice was just as deep as it was yesterday morning and still evoked the same response in Regulus’ body.
“Not willingly,” Regulus replied, attempting to wriggle away so James’ breath was no longer on his neck. He was not successful.
James sighed. “Shame.”
Shame? Shame? Was it a shame that Regulus was back in his bed again or was it a shame that Regulus wasn’t willingly back? Regulus so desperately wanted to know even though his head screamed at him what the obvious answer was.
“Do you mind getting off?” Regulus said, bucking his hips as if to emphasise his point. “I have places to be.”
James sighed contently, still stuck between sleep and awake. “Can I have five more minutes? I’m so tired and once I get up I won’t be able to go back to sleep.” He wiggled closer to Regulus, as if he was trying to soak up more of the boy’s warmth. Regulus didn’t understand, the Gryffindor was a bloody furnace that radiated heat. How could he want more?
Maybe if Regulus wasn’t so flustered from how intimate his and James’ positions were throughout this conversation he would’ve said yes but he ultimately told the boy “no,” trying to convince himself that it was for his own good.
James sighed and rolled away from Regulus, unhooking his leg from around his waist and manoeuvring into a seated position on the edge of the bed. Regulus’ heart cried at the sudden loss of warmth and feeling of security. The Gryffindor turned his head to look at Regulus, raising an eyebrow as he made no move to get up. “I thought you had places to be?”
Regulus scowled and sat up. “I had to give my body time to adjust after I spent the night as your personal pillow.”
“You didn’t see me complaining yesterday.”
“Maybe because I’m not built like a bloody Greek god!” Regulus snapped before his cheeks flushed as he realised what he had just said. James’ mouth had warped into a small grin, raising his eyebrow once again. “Oh, don’t look at me like that,” he told the smug Gryffindor, “forget I said that.”
He climbed through the other side of the curtain, wincing as his feet hit the cool floorboards. He suddenly wished he had his wand on him so he could cast a warming charm on his body. The mornings were only getting colder and he was suddenly wishing he was still in James’ bed with the warmth of the boy pressed against his side.
James joined him on the other side of the curtain, standing in front of him and blocking his pathway to the door.
Regulus scowled at him. “Do you mind?”
“Is this going to be a regular thing?” James asked, “or are we finally going to talk about this so it doesn’t happen again?”
A selfish part of him wanted to tell the boy no so that he could enjoy these fleeting moments with James and satisfy the part inside of him that longed for the closeness he got while he was asleep, even if wasn’t conscious of it. But he knew that this couldn’t go on and so he told James, “I assume this isn’t some prank on your end?”
“My end?” James asked, frowning before his face turned into a wide smile, “so you haven’t been sneaking into the Gryffindor common room in the middle of the night to cuddle up to me?”
Regulus’ mouth dropped open in outrage, “Y-you,” he sputtered, “you think I would want to sneak into my brother’s dorm into my brother’s best friend’s bed on purpose? Have you taken a bludger to the head?”
James grinned, amused. How was this man always happy and smiling? “I just assumed you were playing a prank on your brother, using me to get back at him while also benefiting from cuddling me.”
Regulus scoffed, “Has anyone ever told you your ego is as big as the Black Lake. Seriously, how do you walk when your head is that big from thinking everything revolves around you? Not everyone is obsessed with you.”
James pouted in a clear attempt to rile Regulus up, “So you aren’t obsessed with me, Reggie?”
“Don’t call me that,” Regulus told him, ignoring the butterflies that had started flitting around in his stomach.
“But I like it,” James told him, grinning smugly.
Regulus took a deep breath in and clenched his teeth, “If you don’t want to talk about this seriously, then I am going to go.” He pushed past James and started to walk towards the door when a hand clutched his wrist and pulled him back, just as James had done the day before.
Did this boy know no personal space? He was like a golden retriever, needing to thrive on physical contact no matter who the person was.
“Wait,” James said, his face no longer filled with a smile, “I’ll be serious, I really do want to talk about this. Can we meet later today in the library to research?”
“I have plans today, as I have mentioned,” Regulus reminded him. “But I can do tomorrow after classes?”
James nodded eagerly, “Yes. Yes. That sounds perfect.”
Regulus looked down at his wrist which was still engulfed by James’ larger hand, “Can you release me? I need to go and try to sneak out of here without anybody seeing me.”
James let go and then ran a hand through his hair, “Oh, well the common room is quite busy this time on Sundays…”
Regulus sighed, “Well that’s great. I don’t have my wand for a disillusionment charm and I definitely don’t want to stay here for another second.”
James was suddenly quiet for a few seconds before turning around and reaching into his trunk for a bundled piece of fabric. He hesitantly unfolded it before taking a step closer to Regulus. “I can help with that.”
Regulus stared at the fabric curiously, “What is that?”
James pulled it around himself and promptly disappeared from view. Regulus gasped as the boy turned invisible, his eyes darting around as if he would reveal himself at any moment.
“An invisibility cloak? Merlin, how did you get your hands on it?” He asked, still glancing around the room with both caution and wonder. How long had James had that? How many times had he used it around Regulus? Oh Salazar. What if he had heard some of the embarrassing things his friends had said about his embarrassing crush on James?
“It’s a secret,” James whispered into his ear from behind him with a voice that sounded almost seductive. Regulus jumped away with a yelp, swatting at the place the voice had come from.
Regulus could hear James chuckling as he pulled the cloak off and was suddenly standing in front of him again.
James cleared his throat. “The condition for using the cloak is that we are under it together. I can’t exactly leave it in your hands not knowing whether you’ll return it or not.” The Gryffindor sighed, likely a reaction to the appalled look on Regulus’ face. “We will fit and it’s better than you being caught sneaking out of here in your chequered pyjamas.”
Regulus looked down at his pyjama pants and back up at James, scowling. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, “Fine.”
James stepped in front of Regulus so that he could lead them out of here, he was the Gryffindor here after all. The cloak was then thrown over the top of them and Regulus had to squeeze close to James so that it covered them both. The realisation came to him that they were going to struggle walking without completely tripping over and exposing themselves as they fell down the staircase.
It seemed that James was already on top of it. “It’s easier if you wrap your arms around my waist. You can match my footsteps better and we are less likely to fall.”
Regulus didn’t respond verbally or physically for several seconds, his body had decided to completely shut down. He was going to be pressed up against James with his arms around his waist. This was so similar to how they had woken up but yet so different. They would both be awake during this.
James cleared his throat, “Or if you would rather not we can just walk really slowly. It might take a while but it still works.”
Regulus slipped his arms around James’ waist, pressing his chest against the boy’s back. James seemed to exhale shakily at the contact which caused something to sink in Regulus’ stomach. It probably disgusted him to have Regulus put his arms around him considering he was a boy, a Slytherin, and his best friend’s brother.
“I’m going to start walking now,” James told him and then they were both walking towards the door with synchronised footsteps. He had to give it to him, the Gryffindor wasn’t wrong about the position they were in making it easier for them to walk, they were able to match both the pace and the length of their footsteps.
The stairs were the trickiest bit as one false slip could send them tumbling down the bottom, entangled together. That would definitely be a sight for the Gryffindors in the common room. James talked him through it and they managed it step by step until they reached the bottom. There was a mixture of students from different year groups in the common room, Regulus recognised some of the students from his own year as well as the red hair of Lily Evans and the blonde head of the girl Dorcas fancied.
Before they left James’ dorm the Gryffindor had explained to him that it was best to wait for the portrait to open for students either exiting or entering the common room, so that the door wasn’t opening and closing on its own. So when they reached the door they both stopped and waited to the side. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait long until it was opening and three familiar figures were spilling back into the room. Sirius was first through, followed by Peter who was wincing and rubbing his behind. Finally, Remus entered with an amused smile on his face.
“How’d you forget your wand, Petey?” Sirius asked, trying and failing to hold back a laugh.
“How was I supposed to know those nasty Slytherin gits were waiting around the corner to hex my arse?” Peter complained, rubbing his behind with a scowl.
However, Remus had stopped in his tracks and was now looking to the side directly at where James and Regulus were hidden under the invisibility cloak. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and Regulus’ blood ran cold. Surely Remus didn’t know they were there? Regulus had seen the cloak at work and he wasn’t able to tell that James had snuck up on him.
“You coming, Moony?” Sirius called out before whining, “Moooony!”
After a few more seconds of looking in their direction, Remus turned away with a small smile on his face. “Yeah. I’m coming,” he told his boyfriend, “but no disturbing Prongs! Let him sleep!”
“Fine!” Sirius replied, stubbornly, disappearing up the stairs towards his dorm.
Regulus and James slipped through the door, pulling the cloak off and heading down the staircase before pushing open the portrait. They landed in the corridor and James pulled the cloak around himself, leaving his head out so it looked like it was floating. Regulus was immediately storming down the hallway, wanting to get far away before he was caught near the Gryffindor tower.
“See you tomorrow, Reggie!” James called out from behind him.
Regulus didn’t give the Gryffindor the satisfaction of a response. And even if he did, his voice was likely to come out as a stutter due to the response the nickname had evoked within him. He didn’t let anyone call him ‘Reggie’ but somehow the name sounded so nice coming from James’ mouth; his heart and his stomach surely agreed.
When Regulus finally returned to his dorm room, he pulled the curtains open around his bed only to be met by four smiling faces.
“You guys have to stop doing that,” Regulus told his friends.
“Shhhh,” Pandora told him, patting the bed beside her, “sit and spill.”
_____________________
So far they hadn’t had any luck with finding any curse that directly linked to the nature of the spell on his bed. They had been in the library for over an hour now, piles of books on the desk between them as they scanned the pages for any clue on how to stop what was happening to them.
He had woken once again in James’ bed, his body waking him up for Quidditch at its usual time; 4:30am. They had been facing each other with their mouths inches apart as they lay with both of their heads on the pillow. His arm was trapped underneath James’ body which he had yanked out, stirring the Gryffindor from his state of rest. They hadn’t said anything that morning before Regulus slipped out the curtains and disappeared, worried that if James initiated a conversation then he would be late to Quidditch practice.
Regulus had learnt that James had the annoying habit of mumbling what he was reading under his breath and even asking questions quietly to himself. Dorcas shared the same awful habit but with James it just distracted him even more. He really didn’t need to hear James’ voice muttering constantly under his breath and drawing his attention away from the book in front of him, causing his thoughts to slip away from him. In any normal circumstance he would have been through double the amount of books than he had already but with James sitting across from him, it was taking him so much longer. At least Regulus now knew to avoid sitting near James when he was studying for his end of year exams.
To Regulus it was beginning to look like it was a layered curse, which meant it was going to be harder to crack. It wasn’t just one singular thread of magic, it was likely a complex web of different spells that were going to be harder to unravel. It explained why—like Pandora’s had suggested—a simple revealing charm had not revealed any magical tampering of his bed to him and his friends. However, there was still the possibility—and what Regulus hoped was the case—that the curse was exclusive to one book that the perpetrator might still have in their possession. But not knowing what book meant that they couldn’t go up to the librarian and simply ask who had the book and when it was due back. Regulus didn’t have any suspects but he knew to go to this much effort meant that the person either really hated him or was desperate for a good laugh.
He and James had agreed to stop every twenty minutes to discuss their findings so far, but they had yet to find any substantial lead. When Regulus was explaining the uselessness of the book he was currently reading he took note of the thoughtless look behind James’ eyes as he stared at Regulus’ face. “Potter!” he snapped, “are you even paying attention?”
James shook his head and his brown cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Uh… yes. Sorry. You said something about portations?”
“Portkeys!” Regulus sighed. “Which likely isn’t an option because they require Ministry approval and no idiot will approve such a stupid portkey. And then there’s the fact that it would have to have a specific time alteration on it because I can touch my bed just fine in the middle of the day.”
“So, no luck again?” James asked, his gaze now fixed on the book in front of him instead of on Regulus.
“Obviously,” Regulus slumped back in his chair. “Please tell me you found something interesting?”
“Not in this book,” James shook his head, “But I was thinking, what about a Curse-breaker?”
Regulus immediately disagreed. “That would mean our parents would need to be informed of the situation,” he gave James a pointed look.
“Oh, yeah,” James said, sitting back in his chair to mirror Regulus’ posture, “well that’s off the table.”
Regulus pushed his chair back and stood up, James finally withdrew his eyes away from the book in front of him to look up at Regulus. “Are you leaving?” he asked, his eyes wide with fear which Regulus assumed was due to the fact that James believed he was giving up and leaving. Because Merlin forbid this ordeal went on any longer.
“I’m just going to go check the enchantment section again to see if we missed anything.”
“Oh, okay,” James replied. “You’ll let me know when you are leaving, right?”
“Scared I’ll run off without telling you?” Regulus asked, his voice flat.
“Isn’t that what you’ve been trying to do for the past three mornings?” Regulus frowned at the tone of James’ voice. Why did he sound angry when he said that? Did James suspect that Regulus had something to with this?
Regulus decided that it was best he didn’t reply to James’ comment as it would likely end in an altercation that would not help them in breaking the curse. Instead, he walked further towards the back of the library where the enchantment sections were, scanning the shelves for any book that looked useful. James stayed back at the table they had claimed in one of the hidden corners of the library, safe from the prying eyes and curious students. The last thing he needed was to be spotted with James and have Sirius or any of the bigoted Slytherin students on his back.
He had grabbed a green book off the shelf which had ‘Complex Charms and How to Break Them’ down the spine. It was an older book that had that worn edges and a distinct musty smell that tickled his nose, threatening a sneeze. He tucked it into the crook of his arm and continued walking along the length of the shelves, pulling out books and returning them to the shelves when they didn’t seem to contain anything of use.
“You find anything?” James called out, his voice sounding like it was getting closer.
Several seconds later he felt a hand on his shoulder and Regulus spun around, pulling his wand out of his pocket and aiming it at the offender’s throat. He sighed when he was met with the shocked face of James, who raised both his hands in the air beside his head in surrender. Regulus pocketed his wand again and turned back towards the shelf.
He extended the book behind him towards James, “This one has the potential to be of use.”
“Ah, Cornelius Agrippa,” James said and Regulus heard him flip through the pages of the book. “He’s quite a smart and well-known author. Surely there’s something useful in here.”
Regulus once again pulled another book out, flipping to the contents page and then returning it to the shelf with an exasperated noise. He turned around to face James again, hand reaching out for the book he had given the boy which the Gryffindor wasted no time in handing over.
“I think this one’s it,” he told James.
“What about this one?” James stepped closer and reached up to pull out a book somewhere above Regulus’ head. Of course this meant that their bodies were inches apart and James’ head was hovering above his own as his arm stretched out to reach a book two shelves above them. Regulus tilted his head up to admire the boy’s face without being caught. From this angle, Regulus could see James’ eyelashes, long and dark like he had some of that muggle makeup Dorcas and Pandora used on them. He could also see the small beauty mark on his cheek, and he already knew there was a second one just above James’ eyebrow. This boy was like a work of art that Regulus, as an artist, wanted to paint. He wanted to draw every little detail of James’ perfection, just as the fates had surely intended.
When James rocked back from his toes flat onto his feet with a satisfied noise he didn’t immediately step back like Regulus expected him to. Regulus had already looked away from James’ face to stop being caught openly ogling the boy. He reached out to take the book, his hand brushing James’ by accident in the process.
He flicked open the front page to scan the contents. “There’s a section on cursing furniture. If it’s not repeating what we found in the other book, then we might find something telling. Did you find anything in the section on curses about the specific nature of cursing objects?” When didn’t get a response, he looked up at the Gryffindor, startled at how intently James was staring at him. “James? Are you okay?”
James’ eyes scanned Regulus’ face in a way that somehow felt sensual even though it obviously wasn’t. This was James Potter after all. He didn’t have a queer bone in his body. But once James’ eyes seemed to hover on his lips for a lingering moment, all Regulus could think about was kissing James. He could just imagine reaching out to grab the boy’s red tie and pulling him in for a snog.
James leaned the tiniest, most miniscule movement closer and Regulus’ body just went on autopilot. He dropped the books out of his hands, not even caring as they landed with a thud. All he could think as he surged forward was a chant of James James James James in his head. Because the boy was standing there, glancing at his face and looking so kissable that Regulus couldn’t stop himself. James was a forbidden fruit, and Regulus was a starved man. James was a prized jewel, and Regulus the thief. James was the sun, and Regulus was a star only able to see him at sunset and sunrise. But even in their fleeting moments together he wanted to bathe in his sunlight.
Regulus’ mind acknowledged that James had let out a gasp as he collided with him, hands clutching Regulus’ waist to stop himself from stumbling backward and falling over. Regulus didn’t care how stupid he was as he pressed his mouth against James’, closing his eyes tightly and trying to enjoy the first—and last time—he would be kissing James Potter. Hey! He might as well be greedy. When James opened his mouth to gasp, Regulus took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside and tease the other boy’s mouth. The kiss was heat, it was fire, it was lust. It was Regulus giving into what his heart had been screaming at him for the last few years of his life, reigniting in his chest for the first time on Saturday morning after his brother left and he blamed James for it.
It wasn’t until he felt James tense that it sunk in that James was not straight and he did not fancy Regulus. Merlin, Regulus had just assaulted the boy he fancied! He pulled back abruptly, walking backwards until his feet hit the books and he had fallen into the shelf. He caught himself with one hand, using the other to halt James, who had moved forward to help him. His hand was trembling and he lifted it to his mouth in pure horror. What had he done?
“Don’t,” he told the Gryffindor, too ashamed to look at his face as James tried to take another step towards him.
“What was that, Regulus?” James asked, his voice sounded confused, too high pitched. “What does this mean?”
“Don’t,” Regulus reiterated, his voice shrinking into more of a whisper.
“What was that?” James said again, forcefully. “What was that?”
“Don’t,” Regulus repeated, his voice sounding so much smaller. “Please.”
“I don’t understand,” James said. “What was that? Do you—”
A loud sob escaped Regulus unwillingly. “I’m sorry,” he said brokenly. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
He sunk against the shelf and brought both hands to hide his face, wishing the books would swallow him up. He could feel tears escape his eyes and another sob emerged from beneath his hands.
“Are you crying?” James said, his voice suddenly softer. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. Please stop. I’m sorry.”
Out of the corner of his eye he saw James reach toward him and Regulus shrunk even further away from him, curling inwards toward himself and swatting at the boy’s hand. He finally looked up at James’ face, wiping furiously at his traitorous tears. The Gryffindor looked a mix between shock and guilt, which only cracked Regulus’ heart further.
Oh Merlin, Regulus thought to himself, Sirius. James was undoubtedly going to tell his best friend that his little brother kissed him and shatter whatever remaining relationship stood between Sirius and Regulus. He hadn’t thought of that in the moments leading up to his idiotic decision to kiss James. He was going to lose his brother over this and likely out himself to the whole school. It hurt enough knowing that James was going to look at him with disgust but the consequences of his actions hit him at full force. He just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. He wanted—needed—Pandora here to comfort him.
“I’m sorry,” he said once more, weakly, before turning and running out of the library not responding to James calling out his name as he left. He ignored the shouts of the librarian for him running in the library, it wasn’t likely he would be returning soon anyway. He didn’t think he had ever run so fast in his life as he sprinted towards the Dungeons, to the only safe space in a time like this. He didn’t care that he left the books behind, or his notes on his findings, all that mattered was that he was in a place where he was unreachable to James and Sirius.
He burst through the door to the Slytherin common room, ignoring the shouts of Dorcas, Barty and Evan as he ran towards his dorm room, slamming the door behind him and sinking down the back of the door, knees against his chest. The door handle wiggled and the wood pressed behind him as they tried to get in.
“Reg, what happened?” Evan asked, worry soaking his voice.
“Please open the door,” Dorcas begged.
“Who do I need to kill?” Barty asked, his voice murderous.
“Not the time Barty,” Evan sighed.
“I’m not joking,” Barty replied.
Regulus managed out one broken word in his panicked state, “Dora.” It was a request.
“I’ll go,” he heard Evan say, it was his sister after all, “I don’t want Barty loose in the corridors.”
Regulus didn’t comprehend any of the words or the questions Dorcas and Barty said to him following that. His brain seemed to have shut down once his panic attack ended. It was like he was underwater and hands were pulling him deeper. He was drowning inside his own head.
He didn’t keep track of how long it took for a soft knock to sound on the door behind his head and snap him out of it. “Reg?” Pandora’s soft voice asked through the door, “do you want me to come in or stay out here? If you can’t talk, just knock twice for me to come in and once for me to stay out.”
Regulus knocked twice and scooted away from the door so that he wasn’t blocking the door for Pandora. He heard her hushed voice likely talking to their other friends before the door opened slowly and she slipped through, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. He was now sitting with his head resting against Evan’s bed, obviously not wanting to go anywhere near his own.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Pandora asked softly, reaching out to pull his hand away from his face, interlacing their fingers together in her lap.
“I fucked up,” Regulus told her, voice shaky from crying, “I’ve now lost him and Sirius.”
“Deep breaths,” she reminded him. “What happened?”
“I kissed him,” Regulus said with a whimper, “and his face,” he hiccupped another sob, “he was disgusted with me.”
“Oh, Reg,” Pandora said, squeezing his hand, “you are such a lovely person who deserves the world. You are not disgusting and he should be over the moon that he was the object of your affection.”
“What am I going to do?” Regulus asked with his trembling voice.
“You are going to be strong like I know you are,” Pandora told him firmly. “If he can’t cherish you like the treasure you are then it is entirely his loss.”
Regulus cried softly into Pandora’s lap, her hand running through his hair and giving him words of affection and comfort. They lay there for what felt like an hour, although Regulus didn’t think he could trust his sense of time in the state he was in. He heard his fellow students walking down the corridor outside his dorm to head off to dinner and he also heard them return. Pandora didn’t ask him whether they wanted to go get dinner, they just sat there in a bubble where the only sounds were Regulus’ broken sobs and Pandora’s whispers of how much she loved him.
His friends eventually returned and knocked on the door with Dorcas’ voice being the one to call out, “Reg?”
“Can they come in?” Pandora asked him.
Regulus merely nodded in response and Pandora called out to them.
His friends entered and sat down opposite them, Evan holding a stack of parchment and a quill which he placed in the space between them. Regulus immediately recognised them as his notes and quill that he had left on the table in the library. Surely James hadn’t handed them over? They didn’t have Regulus’ name on them.
“A first year Slytherin gave them to us,” Dorcas said, noticing the bewildered expression on his face. Regulus’ shoulders slumped.
The thought then crossed his mind: what was he going to do tonight?