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The plan was simple: trick Snape into eating a potion filled treat, surprise him from behind with a blindfold spell, release him into the Slytherin Common Room with a Listening Charm, and lastly, profit.
Remus, as the person who'd introduced his three friends to the concept of 'trick or treat' was put in charge of bespelling Snivellus. Peter had already dosed the tarts, and Sirius had the map to look out for any incoming students or professors, although he hadn’t yet opened it to the correct panel.
The werewolf stepped into the doorway with his wand held out, jinx on his lips when he paused. James watched the furrow of his brow, right before he uttered the damning word. "Regulus?"
Too late, he seemed to remember the love potion. He cursed as James stuck his head around the corner to get a better look at things.
Regulus Black was sitting in the little alcove they'd seen Snape occupying just this morning, the potioned sweets mostly gone, a small piece gooey with raspberry filling held in slack hands as Regulus stared up at Remus, completely bedazzled.
"Shite," said James.
"Oh, Hell," said Remus.
"Fucking shitballs!" exclaimed Sirius.
Peter let out a mortified squeak, lips pressed together to prevent himself from laughing out loud.
“Remus…” a soft and dreamy voice called, and James had barely blinked before Regulus had crossed the hall and wrapped himself around Remus like a small, brown-haired octopus.
“My dear, sweet Remus, finally you’re here! I’ve missed you so much, why haven’t you come to see me?”
James felt frozen, watching the way that Regulus’ eyes had brightened, his smile so much softer than the cruel smirks he was used to seeing on that pretty face. Sirius, likewise, seemed perturbed, though it was difficult to tell whether he was more jealous of Regulus getting to hang off of Remus or upset that his little brother was in this type of situation at all.
“Alright, that’s enough!” Sirius yelled. He strode toward the pair and gripped Regulus by the shoulders, tugging him backward.
Regulus’ eyes widened comically as he gripped handfuls of Remus’ jumper. “No! Remus, don’t let him take me, please!”
“Uh, Sirius, maybe we should just let him be? The potion shouldn’t last too long, right?”
This time, James grimaced. “Twelve hours, minimum. We threw the whole batch in, just in case he only ate a bite.” The four of them looked toward the crumb-covered platter, which had previously held five generously portioned tarts.
“Should we get Slughorn? He’ll have an antidote.”
“Good idea, Pete!” James replied, grinning tensely and studiously not looking at where Regulus had tucked his face into Remus’ neck. It would be bloody stupid to get jealous now, especially when he neither had a claim over Regulus nor would the boy in question choose to act this way of his own free will.
Didn’t stop him from being jealous, though.
He’d missed part of the conversation, but he tuned back in to see Remus struggling to coax Regulus out of the alcove, Sirius grumbling and threatening as they went. Peter had gone ahead, presumably to fetch Professor Slughorn.
James stepped forward as Regulus stumbled, getting his hands swatted for his trouble. Sirius huffed beside him. “Drama queen,” he grumbled.
James nodded. He refrained from adding that it was terribly endearing.
#
“I’m sorry,” Remus finally said, “I don’t speak French.” They stood outside of the Potions’ classroom, waiting for Peter to bring Professor Slughorn down, as none of them had wanted to chance the Great Hall.
Regulus paused, blinking up at the much taller Remus. Finally, consideringly, he asked, “No?”
Remus nodded gravely. “Not a bit.”
Regulus blinked again, slowly, wide-eyed and precious, before apparently deciding that it didn’t matter. “That’s alright; you’re still very smart,” he reassured, in English this time. He seemed very conciliatory about it, which apparently rubbed Remus the wrong way. His nose scrunched up in a grimace that anyone sane of mind would’ve called less than attractive, but both of the Black siblings sighed longingly, and Regulus cuddled up even closer, so James was left to inhabit the ‘sane’ portion of their little group all on his lonesome.
“So pretty, too…” Regulus murmured. “You’re so tall and handsome and such a good prefect and I don’t even care that you’re a werewolf because you’re so nice and cool and—”
“Wait, what?” interrupted Sirius.
Regulus blinked again, removing his face from where it had pressed close to Remus’ bare neck to look at his brother. “Remus is very cool, and he doesn’t have to go around riding bikes and being a pervert toward muggle girls to prove it. Isn’t that right, Remus?”
He turned those big, beseeching eyes up toward a Remus who seemed torn between pride at being called cool and concern about that other thing.
“No, I mean, what did you say before that?” Sirius rephrased with some frustration.
Regulus tilted his head, cutely. “He’s very handsome? And tall, very tall.” That statement was accompanied by a leer that had James seeing more green than just Regulus’ tie. Thankfully, Sirius was there to distract his brother.
“In the middle, then! What did you say you don’t care about?!”
Regulus rolled his eyes. “I said that I don’t care that he’s a were—”
“Shut it!” Sirius snapped, throwing a hand over Regulus’ mouth. A moment later he jerked his hand back with a disgusted look. “Ugh, what are you, a child?”
Regulus stuck his tongue out at his brother, like an adult, and then shoved his face back into Remus’ neck with a grumble. Remus, for his part, looked faintly green and sickly himself.
“You alright, mate?” James asked, quietly.
“Not really,” Remus muttered, with a glance down at the boy doing a very convincing koala impression to his torso.
“On the bright side, at least he hasn’t told anyone? The whole school would surely be talking about it if he had. He hasn’t even tried to blackmail any of us!”
James wouldn’t admit to how squeaky that last bit had come out.
“Yeah,” Remus murmured. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Just then, Peter and Professor Slughorn rounded the corner. The professor chivvied them all into his office where they told a very plausible lie about some misplaced potions items, were all gently scolded, and then an antidote presented to the scion of the House of Black.
#
It had been a week, and James was sure that Regulus was avoiding them. He’d looked on the map, and Regulus’ little dot had been in the rather nebulous area of the dungeons that indicated the Slytherin dorms nearly every time. He’d glimpsed him once in the hall outside of the common room late the other evening, but he’d quickly disappeared inside before James could even think about going after him.
“What’s got you so distracted, mate?”
“Nothing, why?” James asked, distractedly.
His eyes were focused on the map, on one dot in particular, as it paced back and forth on the parchment.
“Well, you’ve been staring off into space a lot, recently—”
“Not to mention the stalking—”
“Shut it, you! We said we weren’t going to call it stalking!”
“Call a spade, a spade, Moony.”
James tuned them out as their bickering continued. He had better things to be doing—Regulus was on the move!
He jumped up and, taking the map with him so that his nosy friends couldn’t spy on him, he went to try to catch up with his friend’s younger brother.
Out of concern. No other reason.
He arrived in the corridor outside the kitchens, slightly out of breath and disheveled. He took a moment to swipe a hand through his hair before straightening his robes and running his tongue over his teeth. Then, he reached forward and tickled the pear.
Regulus looked up as the door entered, his expression immediately falling from the pleasantly neutral to a look of horror before he closed himself away. James tried not to feel too offended as he strolled forward, draping himself attractively over the chair opposite his cr—.
Ahem. His best friend’s little brother.
“Hey, there,” he said, suavely.
Regulus frowned at him, one delicate eyebrow arching with derision as he looked at James’ slouched—seductive!—posture.
“Did you need something?”
James grinned. “How accommodating! But no, I just came to see how you were feeling. Haven’t seen you in the Great Hall.”
Or in the corridors, the prefects’ bathrooms, the Quidditch pitch, or anywhere else that he’d looked. Places where Regulus could normally be found haunting, like an adorably grim little ghost.
Regulus scowled. “I’m perfectly well, thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
James sighed and stood as Regulus got to his feet. “You don’t get it, do you?” James asked. Honestly, he didn’t have a plan here, didn’t really know what he was doing or what he should say. He only wanted to keep Regulus here, and talking with him, in the relative privacy of the school kitchens.
“What don’t I ‘get’, Potter?” Regulus asked, looking exasperated and entirely done with him. Maybe there was something wrong with James. Surely it wasn’t normal to feel so heart-flutteringly wretched whenever someone was mean to you?
At least he only had this reaction to Regulus. It would be embarrassing if he’d ever felt this way about Snape, for instance.
James took a small step closer, leaning in to watch Regulus’ irises dilate, the way his pink flush spread across his cheeks and down his neck. So close that James could nearly feel his breath against his own lips, James paused.
“If this is another trick—” Regulus began, voice cracking a little.
“It isn’t,” James promised. He hadn’t had a plan. He hadn’t come down here with the intention to start anything.
Something in the quirk of Regulus’ brow still seemed unsure. “I like you, Regulus Black.”
Regulus’ eyes, pretty and grey and finally looking at only him, blew wide with surprise. Obviously, he hadn’t expected James to actually say those words out loud.
James put his hand to the sharp line of Regulus’ jaw. He leaned even closer, tipping Regulus’ face up to his own as he pressed their lips together into a kiss. Regulus melted into him, his hands coming up to grasp at James’ sleeves.
When they pulled apart, Regulus had flushed even more, his eyes looked dazed, and his lips were so pink and plush that James wanted to keep him down here for the rest of the day, just for the excuse to keep kissing him.
Merlin, what a treat.