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In theory, the plan was genius. They would go in, stake out some potential Death Eaters on some dire information, then report back to headquarters on what they found out. It was simple. It was easy. If they had chosen any other two people, the plan would go smoothly without any bumps or complications. The only issue was that they didn’t choose other people, they chose them two, and now everything was tense and awkward and confusing. James wasn’t too keen on any of it.
“We can do this, you know,” Remus muttered, pulling on the sleeves of his robe. It was one of those thick, expensive ones that James and Sirius used to wear. Remus hadn’t worn things like this often, and he looked quite good in it. It was heavy and long, but it fit around his tall frame nicely. It was way too distracting, he thought. This entire thing was about to be a disaster.
“Because we’re soldiers,” James laughed nervously, looking over his own clothes to straighten everything out. Remus laughed at that, and James looked up to watch him. He probably shouldn’t have because his heart soared a little at watching him laugh, so much so that he had to turn away. He wished they were using Polyjuice. It would be so much easier if he couldn’t see Remus, but that wasn’t the case, unfortunately. The people they were scouting out didn’t work at the ministry, and they all agreed that it would make more sense to just send in two people they’d never met before instead of trying to find two people to go as. This didn’t make it easier for him, though, because now he actually had to see him throughout this whole thing.
“Something like that,” Remus smiled a little, nodding. “Are you ready?” James wasn’t ready, not in the slightest, but he nodded and smiled back.
“Yes, let’s do this,” He said, linking their arms. He was used to the physical contact, it was normal for them nowadays, but he felt nerves run through him at the contact anyway. This was definitely different than crying into each other’s arms and clinging to each other late at night when no one was around, and there was also the added fact of danger. He took a deep breath, trying to think soldier-like. With the information they could potentially get tonight, they’d be only closer to ending this war, and they’d be saving so many people's lives. They’d also be closer being together. He shouldn’t be thinking about that now, though.
“Okay,” Remus nodded, and the two of them stepped out of the alley into the light. James swallowed, looking straight-forward as they walked together towards the entrance of the building. It was a dark, red door, and magic buzzed around it lightly.
“The password is Burgundy Swans,” Remus whispered into his ear, leaning close to him as he whispered. James shivered a little, nodding as he leaned forward, placing his fist on the door and knocking gently three times. He cleared his throat before opening his mouth.
“Burgundy Swans,” He said loudly, leaning back again as the door vibrated a little before swinging open inwardly. James exhaled, leaning into Remus a little. He was warm, comforting. He didn’t want to think about it too much right at this moment, but at least this helped him feel less anxious.
“Ready?” James whispered as they walked into the velvety, dim-lit restaurant. Remus bumped his elbow against him, giving him a smile of reassurance.
“Yeah,” He nodded, leading James to the end of the restaurant to a large booth. Inside the booth was a couple, chatting quietly about something. Andrea and Richard Grenheld. They were both purebloods, not particularly wealthy, but they held old traditions and were rumoured Death Eaters. They may not have been higher ups, but Grenheld supposedly had important information regarding an attack next month, and knowing that information could save a lot of lives. James really didn’t want personal feelings to get in the way of this.
“Er,” Remus cleared his throat, moving his arm around James’ waist and smiling at the couple. They looked up at him, and Grenheld smiled back. “Hello, Mr. Grenheld, I presume?” Grenheld nodded, moving to make room for the two of them. Wordlessly, the two slipped into the space, sitting closely together. Remus’s arm was still around him, tightly, James noted.
“Ah, yes,” Grenheld held out his hand, and Remus shook it with a polite smile. God, he was good at this.
“I’m Hugo Howell,” Remus said, leaning back and smiling lightly as if he were talking to an old friend. “Our business correspondence has been insightful,” Grenheld nodded, sitting straight and all business-like, his wife sitting at the corner sipping on something green.
“You didn’t mention having a business partner in your letters,” Grenheld looked between them suspiciously, but James smiled at him, chuckling a little.
“Ah, I’m not too good with all that business stuff,” He joked, leaning into Remus. “I’m Jared Howell, his husband.” The words felt weird saying them outloud, and he smiled nervously. He felt kind of stupid for getting nervous about saying the word husband when he was here sitting with a Death Eater, and he was extremely glad for the physical contact at that moment. He was a little bit pathetic and needed some kind of comfort.
“I see,” Grenheld laughed, nodding at James with a grin. “My wife isn’t very good at the business thing either, sometimes she’s so clueless people mistake her for a mudblood because of it, for christ’s sake.” The wife made a sour face, turning her head up but staying silent.
“Well, I can assure you he’s very much a pureblood,” Remus laughed back, but he felt more tense now, and he squeezed James’s side tighter. “Wouldn’t marry him otherwise.”
“I’ll drink to that!” Grenheld barked out a laugh, motioning with his hand for a house elf to come over. They came over, looking around the table nervously. Grenheld ordered a round of drinks before dismissing them. They nodded, walking away quickly.
“So, you’re interested in purchasing?” Grenheld leaned closer to the table, eyes on Remus. James leaned back, zoning out their conversation a little to inspect their surroundings. The restaurant was large with lots of dividers between each booth and table, and it was obvious by how quiet things were that there were spells insurring each table’s privacy. This was the kind of place his father told him about once; it was the kind of place where people did things they shouldn’t be doing. He also noticed there were wizards in dark robes spread out across the restaurant, standing closely by each door. There was no way they’d be able to make a quick exit if they wanted to. James swallowed.
“Here you go,” The house elf was back at their table, sliding drinks to each person. James looked up, watching as a small glass of dark liquid was pushed towards him. He picked up the glass, looking down and moving the glass around.
“Thank you,” James smiled politely, holding up the drink. Grenheld laughed at his politeness, holding up his drink.
“To business!” He cheered loudly, and obnoxiously, waiting for Remus to do the same. Remus obliged, lifting his glass and clinking it against the other man’s.
“To business,” Remus nodded, lifting the glass to his lips and taking a big gulp. James took a sip for himself, but he scrunched up his nose and set it down. It tasted like motor oil. Grenheld laughed at this too, he laughed a lot apparently.
“You two are pretty young, eh?” He said, gulping down his own drink. “When did two get married?” James froze a little, stiffening against Remus’s side. He knew somehow. He could see right through them. They were screwed.
“Right after we finished school,” Remus said lightly, pulling James close to him and running a hand up and down his side. “It was only recently, everything’s still all new.”
“The honeymoon phase,” Grenheld nodded, winking. James wanted to gag, so he picked up his glass again and took a sip. “Those were good, eh?” He threw an arm around his wife, laughing loudly.
“Yes,” She said, nodding and taking a gulp of her own drink. “You two are such a cute couple. You’re both lucky to find someone with similar ideals during such a… time.” She frowned a little, tilting her head.
“Ah, there are a lot more of us, right?” Remus was looking directly at Grenheld, looking at him knowingly. “It’s not hard to find people with similar views as long as you’re in the right circles.” Grenheld raised his eyebrows, pulling his arm away from his wife. He looked at Remus with interest, looking him over.
“You in those circles, boy?” He asked, intrigued. Remus shrugged, pouring the rest of his drink into his mouth and swallowing.
“I know some people,” He said simply. “Do you?” He looked so good like this, James thought. He was so good at playing nice with people he didn’t like that James was kind of jealous. He was also completely in awe, feeling somewhat addicted as he watched him.
“Yes, yes,” He nodded. “I didn’t know you were as well, that’s good to know. Makes business easier.” Remus nodded, and before he could continue a tall, blonde man was walking to the table. He eyed James and Remus before looking directly at Grenheld.
“I need to talk to you about,” He looked at James and Remus again. James shivered a little at his stare, tucking himself into Remus. “ Business .” Grenheld nodded, turning to Remus and patting him on his shoulder.
“Speaking of our circle,” He laughed, pushing himself up from the booth and standing up along with Andrea. “I have something to attend to. We can discuss more of these business matters through our letters, and we can meet up again at the earliest opportunity.”
“Looking forward to it,” Remus nodded, standing up and shaking his hand. “Have a good night.” Grenheld nodded before turning, muttering something to the new man before the three of them were all walking out of the restaurant. James watched them before standing up, pulling on Remus’s arm.
“What?” Remus whispered, looking at him. James felt his heart hammer against his chest with anxiety, but he tugged on his sleeve as he walked to the front door. This was so fucking stupid and dangerous, but they had this opportunity and they had to take it.
“We have to follow them!” James whisper-yelled frantically, looking up at him. “That’s clearly another one of the fuckers, we could finally get the information!” Remus huffed a little and he made the face he made whenever he was deep in thought.
“Okay, fine,” Remus nodded, pushing open the door. It was chillier outside than James remembered, but he could also very much be shivering out of nerves. This was a very wreckless plan. “But we have to be careful—” James was already gripping his hand, tugging him around the wall and peering over the edge. The three of them were all huddled around the alley, talking about something.
“I can’t hear them,” James whispered, and Remus nudged him gently.
“Shhh,” He whispered, holding up his finger. James nodded, staying quiet as possible as Remus leaned forward to listen. He waited anxiously, his hands drumming against his thighs nervously as he waited for something, anything, to happen.
“Holy shit,” Remus whispered, eyes widening. “Holy shit, we were right. They are… they know where the attack is going to be! I have an address and a time we can stop it!” James looked up, grinning at him. They did it, they fucking did it. They didn’t complicate this entire mission and they actually fucking did it.
“That’s great!” James whispered, slapping the side of the wall excitedly. Shit. Shit. He flinched back as Grenheld caught his eye and he pulled back, grabbing onto Remus’s robe.
“He saw me,” James gulped. “He fucking saw me, Remus.” His voice got higher, breaking with nerves.
“Shit, what the fuck do we do—” Remus started, blinking at him.
“Follow my lead,” James mumbled, leaning up on his toes and pulling Remus’s mouth to his, shutting his eyes. Okay so, maybe it wasn’t the smartest move in the grand scheme of things. It definitely didn’t make things between them any easier, to have their first kiss like this . It also surely didn’t help that James’s inside buzzed as he pulled back a little, looking at Grenheld who was now right in front of them.
“Oh, hi,” James muttered, breathless. He was probably going to die by how fast his heart was beating right now. At least it’d be for a good cause. “We were just looking for a place to…” He drifted off, chewing on his lip.
“Practice one-on-one wand magic,” Remus said quickly and awkwardly, wrapping his arms around James’s waist. James burst out laughing, turning and burying his face in his shirt.
“Er… yes,” He laughed, pulling away slightly. “That’s what we were doing. Love doing that with this guy.” The absurdity of it all made him laugh again, and he reached up and covered his mouth with his hand.
“The honeymoon phase, huh?” Grenheld laughed, nodding. “Those were the times. Enjoy it while it lasts, boys.” He nodded towards them with a wink before turning and walking back towards the alley. The three Death Eaters talked quietly for another moment before the three of them were all apparating away. As soon as they were gone, James pulled away and turned to look at Remus with raised eyebrows.
“One-on-one wand magic?” He asked in amusement, causing Remus to groan and shake his head.
“I was under pressure, okay,” He covered his face, sighing. “I didn’t know you were going to do… that.” James chuckled, his face heating slightly. He shrugged, leaning against the wall and folding his arms over his chest. He still felt all jittery with adrenaline, and he bounced on his heels slightly where he stood.
“You were doing so well all night under pressure, too,” James chuckled. Remus shot him a look, smiling slightly. “Then you pull that .”
“You’re the worst,” He said, shoving him. James caught onto his rob, leaning into him a little. He opened his mouth to say something back but all that came out was laughter and he couldn't stop. Remus laughed back, holding onto his elbows, and soon they were both lost in a fit of laughter, leaning up against the wall and grasping onto each other, gasping for breath as they laughed.
Sure, things were complicated as hell between the two of them. They were two boys in love, despite the war, despite everything. They had a promise between each other, a promise that things would be easier once everything was over. Once they were safe and not in between all of this, they could finally take the time to really explore this thing between the two of them. Until then, they had this difficult promise to maintain a professional relationship. Sometimes, though, their promise to stay soldiers for the time being was broken. It’s okay, though. They really weren’t meant to be soldiers, anyway.