Chapter Text
The next few weeks go by, and the VKs get better at Quidditch. But their first practice session was rough.
~Last Tuesday~
James grins widely, clapping his hands together to get the team's attention, specifically the older De Vil boy.
"Okay. Sirius, we're gonna do some sprints. You ready?"
Sirius deflates slightly, looking like he wants to protest "Oh. No, wait!" James is already running and halfway down the pitch.
"Sweet!"
"No!" Sirius exclaims dramatically, reluctantly breaking into a run and tries catch up to James.
James grins, glancing back over his shoulder. "Sirius? Sirius, keep up!" To Sirius's utter horror
Sirius groans, panting and but surprisingly matching James's stride. 'Must be all that running on the Isle paying off' he thinks to himself. "No, stop!"
James exclaims "Sirius! Come on!"
But then, to Sirius and Regulus(who had been watching from the sidelines) pure horror, a maniacal, evil beast stormed the field in a fit terror and destruction.
"James? James?!" Sirius screams, running faster now. Regulus gets up, joining his brother in their frantic running.
James spins around, eyebrows raised as he quickly tries to find the source of the brothers' panic. "Woah, woah, woah what's going on?"
Sirius screams, tears in his eyes as he runs around frantically, clutching Regulus' hand tightly "James, help us! No! Wait, save yourself!"
Sirius runs faster, Regulus keeping pace beside him as he shouts in pure horror, finishing his brother's thoughts "This thing is a killer! He's gonna chase us down and rip out our throats! This is a vicious, rabid pack animal!"
James raises an eyebrow, trying to look concerned, though his eyes seem to sparkle— rather prettily— with amusement. "Hey, who told you that?"
Pausing his panic, Regulus answers in an obvious tone "My mother?"
James nods, as if that explains everything. "Right. Cruella?"
Sirius nods, very seriously(no pun intended) and says with pure conviction, "She's a dog expert. A dog yellerer." Then he notices the beast casually sitting beside James, and James patting its head.
Sirius leaps back, shrieking, "Why are you petting him? He's gonna attack you!" Regulus moves closer to Sirius protectively, eyeing the shaggy, great black dog warily. It's sitting at James' feet, tail wagging and panting with bright eyes.
James chuckles softly, taking a small step closer "Sirius, Regulus,"
Wow, his name just sounds right on James' lips.
James continues, unaware of Regulus' growing infatuation, "You've never actually met a dog, have you?"
Sirius sniffs, crossing his arms. "Of course not."
James grins widely, gesturing the dog to Sirius. "Padfoot, meet Sirius. Sirius, this is Padfoot. He's the campus mutt." Regulus watches silently, though his gaze softens just a fraction for the dog. He takes a small step closer.
"He doesn't look like a vicious, rabid pack animal." He says quietly, standing a few feet away from Padfoot. The dog barks happily at that assessment, startling Regulus slightly.
Sirius, on the other hand, grins widely, bounding forward and crouching down in front of the dog. "Jeez. You're a good boy, aren't you? You're a good boy." He coos at Padfoot, scratching behind his ears.
James frowns slightly. "I guess you guys have it pretty rough on the island."
Regulus nods curtly, remarking sarcastically, "Yeah. Let's just say we don't get a lot of belly rubs." Sirius grins at his comment, but still is enamored with Padfoot, busy petting and baby talking to him.
Consequently, he misses this interaction:
James chuckles. "Good boy." Then his eyes widen comically at his own words, coughing awkwardly as he amends quickly "I- I mean, you're a good runner. You're... you're fast, you know."
Regulus' cheeks flush slightly, ducking his head. "Oh. Yeah. Thank you."
James nods again, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah. N-Not that you're a bad boy, you know..." James' face is burning with embarrassment now, since he's never been so flustered before.
He's always been great at defusing tension, but now he had to go and make it weird, bringing up their background and the isle and being bad. Nice going, Potter. He thinks to himself.
After another awkward moment of silence, only broken by Sirius' cooing and praise over Padfoot, James speaks up again, with a warm smile.
"Listen, I'm gonna give you guys some space, yeah? You guys get to know each other and just, you know, come find me when you're done, okay?" He looks between the brothers with a bright, beautiful grin. Oh, I'm so gone for him, Regulus thinks to himself.
But instead, he just nods. "Okay."
Sirius waves enthusiastically, "Bye James! You're pretty cool for a royal!"
James grins at that, waving back. "I'll see you both later."
~ Later In the hallway~
Peter Pettigrew, looking antsy, shakes his head vehemently. "Those kids are trouble." He mutters to James as he watches the boys across the hall.
Barty waves to Evan and Regulus as they separate to different classes. "See you lot in the dorms."
Evan waves back, falling into step beside Regulus. "Bye, B."
Regulus gives a small nod back "See you, Barty."
From across the hall, Lily, Peter, and James watch the interaction.
James gives Peter an earnest look "Come on, Pete. Give them a chance."
Lily raises an eyebrow, adopting a sugary tone again "Oh. No offense, Jamie-bear, but you're just too trusting."
James raises an eyebrow, trying to suppress an eyeroll as she continues, "Look, I know your mom fell in love with a big nasty beast who turned out to be a prince. But with my mom, the evil fairy was just the evil fairy. That boy's mother."
Glancing at Regulus, James raises an eyebrow, confused "His mother isn't—" James coughs awkwardly, realizing they were talking about different boys. "His mother might be evil, but he isn't her. I think you're wrong about them. I'll see you later."
He waves goodbye, then jogs to Evan and Regulus, giving a friendly grin "Hey!"
Evan turns around, giving him a nod in acknowledgement as Regulus replies evenly, "Hey." and the boys look at James expectantly, mildly perplexed by why he's talking to them.
James grins wider, ignoring the tension "How was your first day?"
Regulus raises an eyebrow, replying sarcastically "Super."
James nods, ignoring the dryness in his tone "You should really think about taking this talent off the locker and into art class. I could, uh, sign you up." He gestures to the nearby lockers that Evan graffiti'd earlier. A faint smirk pulls at Regulus' mouth at the suggestion, already knowing Evan's answer. "What do you think?"
Evan rolls his eyes. "Way to take all the fun out of it."
James watches them walk away, dumbfounded and oddly intrigued by their rebellious behavior. "Huh." He shakes his head, looking away when he realizes he's been standing in the same place in the hall for five minutes.
The late bell rings. Darn.
-