Life is made up of a large number of great incidents (and a small number of large ones)

by Bi_froggothegreat

Summary:

Your average marauders muggle au bc we know there aren’t enough of those out there. My first really fic here! Hope you enjoy. Constructive criticism is welcome!

Sirius Black wants to escape his past and make it big as a musician. But the past always has a way of catching up to you. (Usually in the form of little brothers.)

Remus Lupin is tired of being a barista. He wants something more in his life. But when that opportunity comes (actually struts), right into his cafe, will he take it?

James Potter is a star. And he knows it. As basketball captain, he could get any girl (or boy) he wanted with just a couple of words and a smile. But what if the boy he wants doesn’t want him back? (He does. They’re just stupid)

Regulus Black has lived in the shadow of his brother all his life. When he finally gets a chance to make his own path, he discovers he is intertwined in his brothers life yet again. But not quite in the way he expected.

Notes:

Hey! This is my first real fic. One that actually became a fic, instead of just a vague feeling. I’m not the best writer out there and I do have commitment issues, so encouragement is welcome! Enjoy! It’s kind of lame, but I did have to search up the Starbucks menu bc I don’t drink coffee.

Chapter 1: How can I make my dreams come true too?

There is texting in this chapter!

Sirius is Bold

James it Italics

There were many things in life Remus Lupin disliked. His failing knee, for example, was at the top of the list, followed by his social anxiety, the color yellow, itchy carpets, soggy cereal and so on.

But especially arrogance. And many forms of arrogance came in the form of the upper class. The people that fanned themselves, (or paid someone to fan them) on their balconies that overlooked the poorest parts of London.

The ones that did nothing about it. The ones that could ruin a life with a flick of their fingers and not think twice about it. Remus despised them.

Not all of them, mind you. Just the ones that acted like they were better then others.

There had to be good ones. Surely.

So, with all this in mind, it was clear to see that when a young man sauntered into The Hog’s Head, acting like he owned the place, (which was a very real possibility), Remus was not the biggest fan.

Still, there was something about this man that was intriguing. Perhaps it was the many tattoos Remus could see over his body, though he was fairly certain they were around the same age.

Or maybe it was his abnormally pale skin, or his oddly gray eyes that glinted sliver in the dim cafe lights.

Whatever it was, Remus felt his eyes pulled to this man. He watched as he crossed the room and stood in front of him.

“Order?” Remus asked.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m here” the man responded. His voice was smooth and gravelly. It sound aristocratic, like he had been trained to speak.

“No. What’s your order” “One hot chocolate and one-” he hesitated. “Caramel macchiato with- whipped cream and chocolate sauce please?”

“Got it. Name?” Remus said, typing the order into the machine. “Sirius”

Remus blinked. “Yeah, I’m serious”

“No. My name is Sirius. S I R I U S.” The man said with a chuckle.

“Oh. Sorry.” Remus said as he hastily scribbled it down on a spare scrap of paper.

Sirius winked and turned to go find a table.

As much as Remus hated to admit it, he was rather pretty. It was quite unfair. But it's not like there was anything he could do about it. He was almost certainly straight and probably had a girlfriend. And if he thought about those gray eyes again, well that was nobody's business.

—— ———- Sirius Pov

As soon as Sirius sat down, he whipped out his phone and pulled up the first contact on his list. James.

Found a cute guy

No way

I can have game when I want

Doubtful

You wound me

The hell even is a caramel macchiato anyways? And if it already has caramel, why would you put whipped cream AND chocolate sauce into it? Seems rather disgusting if you ask me.

I didn’t ask you. And I unlike you, have class.

You have diabetes 

Not yet! And you really need to visit more cafes.

Whatever. I’ll be back soon

Sirius closed his phone and popped his earbuds in.

A few moments later, he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Sirius turned over his shoulder and saw the man from earlier holding his drinks. 

“Thanks.” He said, and stood up to leave. He paid quickly at the front and left a generous tip. As he exited, he noticed the cute barista, Remus, was his name? Watching him from the counter. 

Sirius flashed him another one of those award winning winks and quickly hopped on his bike. As he sped off onto the free way, he wondered if Remus would be there again tomorrow. And if he started going to cafes more often, well that was nobody's business.

Chapter 2: Discussions and dangerous ideas

Summary:

James and Sirius talk

Notes:

Heyyy! Welcome Back! Hope you enjoy this next chapter! The plot thickens! and the plot thinnens. Sorry for the short chapters. I'm trying to make them longer.
CWs: References to Walburga Black's A+ parenting

James--

James glanced up from his spot on the couch as Sirius rushed through the door. 

"Well?" he asked, holding out his hand. Sirius groaned a placed a thoroughly splashed drink in his palm.

A quick look inside told him all the whipped cream had dissolved into the drink. James watched amusedly as Sirius flopped dramatically next to him. Sirius took a quick sip of his hot chocolate and groaned.

"Who is it now?" James asked. Sirius looked at him. And groaned again.

"His name's Remus, and he's tall, and he's got light brown hair and he has these- scars over his body, and it's so intriguing, and I just want to figure it out, and- his eyes James, his eyes. They're amazing, and they have these little green flecks in them and-" He stared up at James.

"Mate"

"I know"

"You're whipped"

"I know"

Sirius took another sip of his hot chocolate. "But- I don't think he liked me very much." He said, softer then before.

"What? Who wouldn't like you?" James asked.

Sirius smiled. "You want the list? I was probably too much. It's for the best I guess."

James opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a ping rang out from Sirius' phone. Sirius looked down and frowned.

"It's from Regulus" He said

"Regulus, like- your brother Regulus?" James asked.

"No, like Regulus the janitor." Sirius shot back. 

"Well what does he want?"

"He said that mother wants me to be there for some sort of family dinner. And he wants me there too." Sirius responded. His grey eyes flickered with a torrent of emotions that would have been unrecognizable to anyone but James. And the main one was fear. James clenched his fists. Sirius was scared of so little, and to see fear in his eyes of his own family filled James with rage.

"Aren't you like- disowned or something though?" James questioned. 

"Not yet, but I think mother dearest is getting pretty close."

James laughed weakly. "Well, that's that I guess. C'mon. Pete's having us over for pizza."

"No." Sirius' voice was calm. "I'm going"

James nearly fell off the couch. "Mate- you can't! They- they hurt you! I promised you they would never hurt you again!"

"And I promised Reg I wouldn't hurt him again. I'm going James." He spoke with a tone of finality in his voice. They were done talking about it.

"Fine. When is it."

"Next Saturday"

Five days from now. Sirius still looked tense. Wordlessly, James pulled him into a hug. They stayed like that for a long time. When Sirius finally pulled away, his eyes were watery, but there was a definite smile on his face. 

"Let's go to Pete's" James said.

"okay"

Chapter 3: Disastrous dinners

Notes:

Hey! I’m back with another chapter! This one is really a rough draft and will probably be subject to a lot of changes, but I hope it’s decent.
CWs: child abuse

Regulus
————

One week went by quicker then Regulus cared to admit. He certainly wasn’t counting the days. It wasn’t as if he was excited to see Sirius.

Even if he was.

Regulus paced the hard floors of his bedroom, tugging at the itchy collar.

Family reunions were always messy events. People trying to kiss ass to climb higher on wills, manipulation, forced small talk, and whatever drama his brother was bound to create.

Regulus’ ideal way to spend his Saturday evening. His phone buzzed. A quick glance showed him it was from Remus.

[6:03] you good? Text if anything goes wrong

[6:04] I’ll be fine

He met Remus at the Hog’s Head cafe, after he started going there nearly every day before school. He was one of the few people who knew about his home life.

A quick knock sounded at the door. Regulus opened it cautiously.

Sirius stood in the threshold, wearing a button down shirt and black dress pants, looking every bit as uncomfortable and out of his element as Regulus remembered

He didn’t know what happened or how they got there, but in the blink of an eye, his arms were wrapped around his big brother.

His big brother, who faced his fears and came for him. His big brother was back.

Sirius studied Regulus, his eyes sad.

“You’re growing up.” He said softly

Without me

The unspoken words hint in the air, as the two headed downstairs together. Seated around the table they only used for formalities was their mother, looking every bit as terrifying as Regulus knew her to be.
Their father sat next to her. Then were the cousins. Narcissa, and her newly wed husband Lucius.
Regulus thought he looked a bit like a peacock.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus, who had been married for a year, and still looked as though they were doing everything in their power to not acknowledge the others existence.

Andromeda wasn’t here anymore. Not after what happened. Regulus still remembers watching Sirius scream as his mother pressed a lighter to her face on the tapestry.

The same lighter that burned Sirius a few moments later.

Regulus took a deep breath and walked to his place at the table. Sirius did the same.

He looked rather uncomfortable, with the entire family’s eyes trained on him. Dinner started at 6:15 sharp. Until then, they made small talk.

“So, Regulus, I hear you’re applying to Hogwarts?” That was Druella. Mother’s awful sister. They were like two peas in a pod.

“Yes.” Regulus forced out, carefully maintaining his mask of indifference.
He hated this. All of it. They were all sick, twisted, bastards. He wanted nothing to do with them.

Druella nodded, apparently satisfied. She turned her head to Walburga.

“Did you hear the news about the Potters?” She asked her sister.

Regulus felt Sirius immediately tense up. He placed a light warning hand on his leg under the table.

“Apparently they’ve fallen behind in the stocks. They’re a laughingstock honestly. Wouldn’t be surprised if their business went bankrupt honestly. I’ve said time and again, nothing good comes with socializing with the lower class. Especially that Euphemia women. Dirty blood.”

Sirius looked absolutely murderous. Regulus held his arm in a vice like grip.

Sirius winced. Regulus didn’t care. Whatever it took to make sure Sirius didn’t get hurt again.

Conversation had moved onto the new business leader. Regulus knew him. Voldemort, was his name. Utterly mad, he would even say evil. He scammed people for money, and was obsessed with prestige and reputation. He was corrupt, foul, and an awful person.

Just the kind of person the Blacks loved.

Right now, his father was going on about some funny story of a middle class family he had scammed large amounts of money from.

As the rest of the family chuckled, Regulus felt an odd heat rushing to his face.

“That’s wrong.”

“Pardon?” His mother asked. She wasn’t laughing now.

“That’s wrong. He shouldn’t have done that, and if you think that he’s good, you’re awful.” His last word ended in a sort of shout. No one was laughing now. They all stared at him.

He didn’t feel it coming. Quick as a flash his father hand backhanded his cheek hard.
Regulus bit the inside of his mouth. He tasted blood. Gingerly he touched the spot. There was a cut where his fathers ring had broken the skin. He didn’t speak out again.

When he glanced over at Sirius, his eyes were unfocused. All he could see was pure, unadulterated rage. The next few courses passed without event, and soon the family was gone.

The second Bellatrix’s sickening husband closed the door, Sirius snarled and ran straight at his father.

“You-don’t-get to- hurt him!” He screamed, doing whatever he could to hit his father.
With some difficulty, Orion threw his son onto the ground. Next followed something he could only describe as routine.

Hit.

Scream.

Hit.

Scream.
He took out his belt and Regulus winced. Every time, Sirius warmed him to stay there, that if he interfered, it would only make things worse.

And every time, like a coward, Regulus stayed.

Pushed against the wall, trying not to watch.

Only when he was sure nobody could hear him would he let out the smallest of whimpers.

“That was simply something we need to do. Regulus needed to learn a lesson. That is not your business and I will not tolerate your influences and ideals in this family any longer!” Orion yelled in between hits.

Sirius mustered up enough strength to glare. “What does that mean?”

Orion glared right back. “You are no longer a Black. I do not want to see you again. You are a disgrace to our family.”

Sirius’ eyes widened for a fraction of a second, before he pushed himself up and walked to the door. Before he left, he looked at Regulus, who was frozen in horror against the wall. “I’m sorry” he said. And then he left,

He left

He left

He left

He left.

His big brother was gone.

And he didn’t look back