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Regulus Black hated Valentine's day.

And by hated, that is…REALLY hated.

He hated the sappiness, the way people acted like it was actually important and not just something businesses used as a money grab in the wait for the next gift-giving holiday. He hated his friends making fun of him for not having a Valentine each year as if he actually cared. He especially hated the way he got cards from ‘secret admirers’ every year, not because people actually liked him, but because he was a semi-good-looking Pureblood boy with a lot of money. He hated all of it.

What he hated even more, however, was James Potter. Specifically, James Potter flaunting about and swooning over this secret crush of his in the run-up to Valentine's day as if anyone cared. Regulus didn’t care, why would he?

When James Potter was first asked at breakfast by a rather sweet Hufflepuff if he would be their Valentine on the 6th of February, instead of jumping at the chance to have a date, as it was quite clear Evan’s would say no, he just smiled politely and, rather dramatically if you asked Regulus, declared that he was ‘flattered beyond words to have been deemed worthy of the time and attention of someone as kind and clever as yourself but am, in fact deeply infatuated with another, who happens to be equally as smart and beautiful as yourself.’ Regulus thought it to sound excruciatingly pompous but then again, he supposed Potter WAS excruciatingly pompous. The Hufflepuff had looked rather disheartened but equally as intrigued as to who this mysterious person may be. Usually, if Potter liked someone, he would have made a move by now, a very public move. On every other occasion, he had publicly humiliated them at least 12 times and hired at least 3 brass bands the second he thought he may be interested in them. This time, however, he had not shown any signs of being interested in anybody up to this point. Not since around halfway through the previous year. It had also occurred to Regulus almost immediately that he had not said anything that may give away the identity of this mystery person, being extremely odd for him, who was usually extremely open about who he was interested in.

Not that Regulus paid that much attention to James Potter, of course, but it all seemed very out of character for him. He was certain that even Barty could notice it.

Naturally, with his infamous reputation as the amorous heartthrob of the castle, the news that James Potter had openly declared being interested in somebody and had not given away who, spread like a wildfire and raised a lot of curiosity, and likely immense hope, in almost every student in the castle. Regulus made an effort to not let himself do the same thing. Not that he wanted to be Potter’s secret crush, of course.

From that day on, every breakfast for the following week, Potter stood on the bench at the Gryffindor table and announced a hint as to who it was. During this time, Regulus noticed a lot of people started to arrive much earlier to breakfast, seemingly desperate to be witnesses of this stupid ritual. Regulus was included in this, though he was only arriving early so he could spend extra time studying in the library before lessons, obviously. He didn’t care about James Potter, much less this secret person he was enamoured with. 

That didn’t mean he didn’t listen to what Potter said out of curiosity, of course. Besides, even if he didn’t listen, he would hear about it from his favourite gossip later anyway. Barty didn’t care for Potter either but he still liked spreading rumours at every opportunity and he always told Regulus and Evan before anyone else anyway, so listening to what Potter said was only a way to help himself later on. That’s what he kept telling himself, anyway.

The first two little hints he dropped were very vague. They could apply to a good few hundred students still and that only seemed to get people more excited. It seemed that they were only there to get people’s hopes up even more and fuel the rumours. How nobody seemed to notice this was entirely behind Regulus. 

When he first stood on the table on the 7th of February, everyone was confused. ‘So, you’ve all heard about my little crush then?’ There was an outburst of cheering from the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables, even a few Slytherins joined in, mixed in with a few ‘ooooohs’ and whistles.

‘Yes, yes, I know. I was thinking about it yesterday you know, when I was back in the dorms. Remus and Sirius were already asleep and I suddenly had a thought…’

The entire hall was silent. Regulus and a few other Slytherins rolled their eyes, joined by Lily Evan’s and a few Ravenclaws. Trust Potter to milk it up for dramatic ‘flare’.

‘So I turned to Peter and asked him what he thought of my genius plan, did I not Wormy?’ Pettigrew nodded, grinning.

‘So Pettigrew knows who it is, then?’ A Ravenclaw girl called out, evoking a collective mutter of agreement from the room.

‘Yes! He does! In fact, he is the only person in the castle besides myself who does!’

More muttering.

‘Now, unfortunately, dear Wormy here won’t be giving anything away to you lot. He may be a brilliant gossip but he would never betray me like that, would you, Pete?’ Potter grinned down at Pettigrew, who nodded, causing many people in the room to sigh and grumble, a few even booing. Wow, people really were getting worked up over this shit. 

‘I know, I know. But you haven’t heard about my plan yet! Now, I looked to Pete and asked him if he thought I should do this and he said yes! So, here is what I have decided to do. You all want to know who it is, right?’ The crowd erupted into cheers. This was pathetic, this thing NEVER happened in real life unless you were James Bloody Potter. ‘So, seeing as the timing is so perfect, with Valentine’s Day being so close, I have decided that each morning, I will stand here like I am now, and give you all a clue! I will give a hint as to who this person is and on Valentine’s Day itself, I will approach them and ask them to be mine. What do we all think of that?’

Cheering.

This was tedious. Extremely tedious.

‘Wonderful! I’m glad you all approve because if you didn’t that would have been extremely awkward, wouldn’t it?’ Everyone laughed. It wasn’t even funny. Like…at all.

‘Now, your first little clue is this…’ Great, another dramatic pause. Regulus sighed and asked Barty to pass him the butter but he seemed to be intently listening to what Potter was saying, likely preparing rumours to spread as soon as he had the chance. He rolled his eyes and leaned over Barty slightly to ask Evan instead, almost missing what Potter said.

‘They are very solitary, only sticking to a few friends at almost all times and they don’t like causing big fusses, something I can’t possibly fathom, as you may be able to tell. It really is quite admirable.’ 

A few people looked disappointed, whilst others looked rather too happy, considering they were still competing with at least 400 other students for James Potter’s affection. When he turned to make a remark to Evan about how unbelievable everybody was being, he saw a massive grin on Barty’s face. 

‘Oh for Merlin’s sake, he’s gone for the day, isn’t he?’ 

Evan laughed and nodded. ‘Definitely, he’s got almost enough material for the week from that. And then there will be more every other day of it, he’s going to be inventing and spreading those rumours for ages.’

‘Brilliant.’ 

Evan laughed and stood up at the same time as Regulus, placing a hand on Barty’s shoulder in an attempt to pull him out of what they called his ‘gossip trance’. ‘C’mon, let’s get back to the dorm before transfig, you can conjure up your lies there instead.’

Barty slowly stood up, still clearly thinking of as many possibilities as he could. ‘They aren’t lies, Ev, they’re my life’s work.’

‘Sure, love. Come on, let’s go.’ The three of them left the hall, where Potter was finally getting down from the table and everybody was still going mad over the stupid hint he had given.

‘I can’t believe he thinks anyone actually cared about his pathetic crush. True Gryffindor, that Potter, I tell you.’

Regulus looked over at Evan with doubt on his face. ‘I don’t know, Evan, it certainly looks like people care. Only the Slytherin table and a handful of others didn’t seem too bothered by it. 

‘Yeah, well, it’s still stupid.’

‘Don’t say that, Evan. Mr Dumb-Gossip-Is-My-Life is right next to you.’

Evan sighed, putting his arm around Barty’s waist now there was nobody around them in the corridors to see. ‘But he doesn’t listen to it because he is genuinely interested, he listens to it because he’s a little bastard who loves embarrassing people with his rumours. Everybody else is listening because they’re bloody obsessed with him and want to be his little Juliet. Anyway, don’t pretend you aren’t interested. I saw your face when he dropped his little hints, Reg.’

‘Reggie is obsessed with Potter.’ Said a still slightly entranced Barty.

‘I am not!’

‘You are.’ They both commented in unison, making Regulus slightly irritated.

‘Yeah, well please don’t spread any of those rumours, I could do without that.’

‘Oh, don’t worry Reggie dear, I already have plenty of material to use. You’re safe for now. Unless I feel like spreading the rumour that you’re Potter’s little infatuation.’

‘Please don’t.’

‘Nah, don’t worry, he won’t. Nobody will believe it anyway.’

‘Awh, Evs, don’t underestimate my ability to make anything believable.’

‘I’m not, love, I just think it’s impossible to convince anyone that Potter has a crush on Regulus, that’s all.’

‘Understandable. I’ll probably stick to the somewhat believable names if you don’t mind then, Reg.’

‘Oh, believe me, I don’t mind at all.’

-

The next day, Regulus couldn’t help but watch as Potter climbed onto the bench once again. It wasn’t like he cared about what he had to say, he just didn’t have anything else to watch so there couldn’t be any harm in it.

‘Okay, I won’t keep you all waiting, I’ll just get on with it, shall I?’

Everyone cheered.

‘Okay, okay. So, I’ve heard the rumours and guesses that have been spread and unfortunately, I have not heard anyone guess the correct name yet. So hopefully this should help you all narrow it down.’

Eager silence filled the hall.

‘Right. So, your new hint is that they are in 6th year! I believe I first took a liking to them in their 4th year, that would be my 5th for those of you who are wondering. That said, I don’t think I really noticed it until last year. Do what you will with that, my dear fellows!’

So this poor person was in Regulus’ year. Nice to know. Barty would now undoubtedly spend the rest of the day staring at people in class to see if he could deduce anything from that. People immediately started to scan the room and Regulus couldn't help but groan at the stupidity of the lot of them, clinging onto Potter’s words and following everything he said like a bunch of sheep.

That was when Regulus decided that he really didn’t care who Potter liked and resolved to ignore him and what he was saying completely. This whole ordeal was stupid and he didn’t need to pay it any attention. He didn’t care who Potter liked at all, it really didn’t affect him.

He would just go about the week as usual, acting like nothing was happening at all. He would just ignore it and it would stay in the back of his mind from that moment on.

-

That didn’t last long.

In fact, it didn’t even last a full 24 hours.

On the third day, when Potter stood at the table, Regulus reminded himself that he didn’t care at all anymore and continued as he normally would if he was eating breakfast before class. It was all going perfectly…until Potter dropped his hint.

Regulus had managed to tune out everything before that but the clue caught him off guard.

‘Now, this may not be the great hint you all want but I think it is due time to give them a little nickname. So, from now on, they shall be known as my ‘Beloved Lion Boy’ is that okay with everyone?’

There was no reason why that should have gotten Regulus’ attention. None at all. He knew that Potter was not talking about him, so why was he so shocked to hear that?

Yes, his name came from the Lion constellation and yes it did mean ‘heart of the Lion,’ but there was no way Potter was talking about Regulus and even if he was, which he wasn’t, he wasn’t smart enough to know that anyway. Meaning that this person was in Gryffindor house, of course.

That thought only seemed to make it worse.

Because that is when Regulus noticed.

That was the moment he realised why it had taken so much effort to get this off his mind, why he was so desperate to ignore it all.

Because Regulus was jealous.

He was jealous of whoever James Potter’s crush, his Beloved Lion Boy , proved to be.

Regulus Black. Jealous.

How embarrassing.

-

On the fourth day, by 7am the great hall was almost entirely full of people waiting for the next clue. Regulus had considered not going that day but starvation wasn’t going to improve his grades so he ended up going anyway. 

This proved to be a mistake.

‘Okay. I have heard your recent theories and it seems that you have all agreed on the thought that my Lion Boy is a Gryffindor, a very logical assumption based on what I gave you but I can neither confirm nor deny that idea.’ Barty sighed but kept listening, ready for his next ticket to rumour town. ‘You have also now realised that this person is a boy. Sorry ladies, don’t hate crime me. Now, let’s get to the point.’

Everyone watched intently.

‘This clue is going to be particularly helpful I believe. By itself, it wouldn’t be too much use but with the others in mind, it should help narrow it down a bit. He’s short, he has grey-blue eyes and he is…rather short. I am partially regretting saying that last bit because when he finds out who it is he will kill me for calling him short. Sorry, Lion Boy!’

People immediately started muttering but Potter wasn’t done.

‘Actually, now I think about it, whilst Lion boy is the perfect descriptor, it’s a bit long, don’t you think? Let’s shorten it down don’t you think? Let’s call him Leo.’

Nobody else seemed to care too much about this so Regulus told himself he shouldn’t be either. Leo. The lion constellation. The constellation where th brightest star was named Regulus . This was not making it any better. He stood up to leave, pushing his half-full plate away. His friends stood at the same time, Barty having a strange look on his face.

The second they got out of the great hall, Barty turned to the two of them, still having that odd look on his face.

‘Got your latest rumour then?’

He looked at Evan slowly, then at Regulus. ‘Yeah…Reg, don’t punch me…but I think it’s your brother…’

Regulus laughed, then realise that arty wasn’t joking. ‘You’re kidding? Sirius?’ He was already jealous of this person but if it turned out that he was jealous of his own brother that would be too embarrassing to handle.

Barty shrugged. ‘I don’t know…it fits. We know he doesn’t know about this person, he is a boy in Gryffindor, he has black hair and grey-blue eyes, he’s really fucking short but would bite anybody who said he was…he knows Potter pretty well too. It all fits.’

Evan stopped walking and frowned. ‘Well yeah but what about the first hint?’

‘What about it?’

‘He said that they didn’t have a load of friends and that they avoided conflict and attention. That’s like…the opposite of Sirius.’

‘Oh fuck, you’re right. Why do you always have to be right, Ev?’

‘Sorry love. But it doesn’t really sound like Sirius anymore, does it?’

‘No, that was my best guess. Now I have to think of another theory. It’s nothing like him at all now, is it? It’s probably closer to you, Reg.’

Regulus stayed silent.

After a moment, Barty grinned wildly.

‘Hey, you don’t think-’

Regulus snapped his head round to look at Barty. ‘No Barty, it isn’t me.’ He was already trying to convince himself that, he could really o without trying to convince other people too. ‘I’m not a Gryffindor, am I?’

‘Alright, alright, it was just a thought.’

Evan was looking at Regulus with a questioning look on his face. He had probably picked up on the name thing.

‘Ughhhh now I have to try and think of some other ideas as to who Leo is.’ He tipped his head back in frustration and Evan placed a hand on his shoulder, still looking at Regulus with scrutiny. ‘Sorry, love. You best get thinking then.’

-

Day 5 was…no better than the rest. This clue was stupid.

‘Now, this one could either be a massive giveaway or a big ol’ waste of time, we’ll see. I do believe that Leo’s Patronus is a cat. You see, mine has always been a stag,’

There was a muttered ‘well understandably’ from Sirius but it was so random that everyone ignored it, still looking at James in expectation.

‘But I cast it a few months back, just for fun, and it appears to have changed. To a cat. Now, if you don’t know, if you’re in love with somebody, it can be the case that your Patronus changes to match theirs, so I am fairly certain that this cat is my Lion’s Patronus.’ He sat down and everybody immediately started muttering amongst themselves.

Regulus didn’t know what his Patronus was. They had practised them in Defence Against The Dark Arts the previous year but Regulus had never managed to achieve it He had gotten close but he never formed a corporeal Patronus, only ever managing to get a semi-defined wisp of mist.

Throughout the day, whilst walking between classes, Regulus saw a few students attempting to produce their Patronus to see if it was them. Out of the successful ones he witnesses, there was a horse, rabbit, even a bear, but no cats.

-

The next was was almost as useless. Barty had not been able to get anywhere with the last but was hoping this one would help him get back on track with his conspiracies.

‘Okay. It appears that my last hint was rather useless so I hope this one is a little better. As we get closer and closer to the day itself, I find myself running out of hints that wouldn’t give away his identity but I believe I have one that may help. It is not somebody I talk to frequently.’

That didn’t really make sense, Potter quite often spoke to his fellow Gryffindors, including the ones in the year below. Barty seemed to know this too as he hit his head against the table and refused to lift it, declaring that he had given up and didn’t want to be the school gossip ever again. 

‘Bloody Potter.’

Evan laughed and rested a hand on the back of Barty’s neck, gently stroking his hair. ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure tomorrow’s hint will be better. He’s probably saving the best one until last, yeah? You’re still the favourite gossip of Hogwarts, love.’

Barty groaned frustratedly in response. ‘You’re too nice to me.’

‘It’s my job. Come on, eat your breakfast, it’ll help you think.’

-

Day 7. The 13th of February. The day before all was revealed. 

When James Potter stood on the bench, everyone immediately fell silent.

‘Right, I will start off with an apology. I know that as it is the day of the final hint, you are all expecting something bit but I really can’t think of much that wouldn’t give it away entirely so I’ll have to go with this. Now, this will likely confuse you all but it is your own faults. A false assumption has been made somewhere along the line and that could stop you from figuring out who it is. Now, your final hint…is that…’

Silence.

‘He is on the Quidditch team.’

More silence.

That didn’t fit. A boy on the Gryffindor quidditch team who was reserved, short, had blue eyes and black hair was in 6th year and didn’t talk to Potter much. That made no sense, nobody on the Gryffindor team fit that description and anyway, Potter spoke to everyone on the team frequently as he was their captain.

Barty had appeared to be on the same train of thought as him and slammed his mug onto the table. ‘Oh for fuck’s sake!’ 

After a moment of thought, Regluls looked up.

‘It isn’t a Gryffindor.’

‘What?’

‘He said that there had been a false assumption. We assumed they were in Gryffindor because Potter said lion. That isn’t what is meant.’

‘Ughhhhh!’

Evan looked up. ‘Hang on…so that means-’

‘No.’ Regulus cut in, knowing where this was going. ‘Absolutely not.’

‘What? What is it?’

‘Nothing Barty, ignore him. It’s just Eva being stupid.’

‘I’m not being stupid!’

‘There is no chance, Ev!’

‘Tell me what it is!’

Regulus gathered his books, put them in his bag and left the hall without another word. He was wrong. It wasn’t Regulus. There were at least 15 other people it could be and Regulus was by far the least likely option of them all.

-

‘Reggie. Wake up.’

‘No.’

Barty sat at the end of Regulus’ bed and prodded his shoulder. ‘Come on. You’re gonna miss breakfast. And it’s Tuesday in case you forgot so we have class after. You wouldn’t want to ruin that spotless record of yours now, would you?’

‘Piss off.’

‘Oh, not very cheery are we? Are you jealous that you’re all alone on February 14th? I could give you a kiss too if you like, I’m sure Evs wouldn’t mind.’

‘No. I don’t care. Leave me alone.’

‘Did you just turn down a snog from me? The absolutely stunning Barty that nobody would ever turn down in all of history?’

‘Yup.’

‘Well, that’s a bit rude.’

Evan laughed from the other side of the room. ‘Ah well, all the more for me. But seriously Reg, get up or I’ll let Barty jump on you.’

‘Isn’t that…dangerous?’

‘That’s exactly why I haven’t let him do it yet, genius. Come on. Up.’

Regulus groaned and slowly sat up, letting his head hit heavily against the headboard and wincing slightly when it did. 

‘That’s what you get for being a lazy sod. Come on, I want breakfast.’ Barty stood up and walked over to Evan, putting an arm around his shoulder and leading him towards the door, looking back at Regulus one more time as they left. ‘Hurry up, or you’ll miss Potter’s big reveal.’

Unsurprisingly, that was the exact reason Regulus had not wanted to get up in the first place. Potter.

He didn’t want to sit at the table knowing that at any point he could stand up and declare his love for one of Regulus’ classmates. He didn’t want to watch that and pretend he felt fine the whole time. It would be almost impossible.

Eventually, Regulus got up and got ready, making his way down to breakfast as slowly as he could, hoping that he would get there after Potter had already made his little fuss.

It seemed he would not be so lucky.

Of course, by the time he got there, it was only 7:45, giving Potter another 45 minutes to say something. And when Regulus sat down next to his friends, Barty lifted his head from Evan’s shoulder to smile at him. ‘Reg! Perfect timing! I think he’s gonna do it now! Let’s see if any of my predictions have been right!’

Regulus hummed, trying to look unbothered but when his gaze flickered over to the Gryffindor table, it really did look like Potter was getting ready to stand and say something. 

Not even a minute later, he stood on the table and cleared his throat.

The whole room tensed.

‘Hey.’

Everybody was staring at Potter.

‘So I know you’re likely all excited.’

Silence.

‘And I know that this week has been exciting for all of you.’

He looked around the room, looking nervous in a way Regulus didn’t think was possible for him.

‘So I guess I have a confession to make!’

The air was so tense it felt like nobody was breathing.

‘It was a prank.’

Silence.

‘I know you’re all likely angry at me. But I only did it to get everybody excited for Valentine's Day. It was a joke me and Peter constructed because we thought it would be fun. I’m sorry if I got anybody’s hoped up but there is no Leo. Sorry to disappoint.’

Potter sat back down and everyone was silent for a few more moments before the room erupted into disapproval from all around.

‘WHAT?’

‘YOU ARSEHOLE POTTER!’

‘YOU RUINED THE WHOLE DAY FOR EVERYONE!’

Not all of the yelling was negative though.

‘WELL PLAYED POTTER!’

‘GOOD ONE JAMES, YOU REALLY HAD US FOOLED!’

Amidst all of the commotion, nobody noticed as a single owl flew in, much later than all the rest, who had gotten there before Regulus had arrived. Even Regulus didn’t notice it until it dropped a letter just in front of him.

It was a simple brown envelope, addressed in atrociously scruffy handwriting to ‘Reggie’. He hated that nickname. Only his friends called him that and the only reason he let them is that he had given up telling them to stop.

He picked it up and turned it over, seeing a pink wax seal on the back, a single rose petal stamped inside of it.

Oh fucking hell, this better not be another cheesy love letter. He thought he had escaped them this year with everyone distracted by Potter but apparently not. Teenage girls never ceased to amaze him.

Sighing and bracing himself for what was within, he broke the seal and took out the parchment.

My Beloved Lion Boy,

Fuck. This was a joke, A sick sick joke. He looked around to see if Evan was laughing at him but he was distracted trying to comfort a seething Barty.

Regulus turned back to the letter and took a calming breath before reading on.

I know what you’re thinking. This is a prank from Rosier or a trick me and Sirius have put in place to humiliate you and lure you in so we can bull you.

It’s not. 

Sure, as if Regulus was going to believe that.

Yeah okay, you’re not that stupid, I know. But before you chuck this away or anything, can you read it, please? Just read it Reg, you don’t have to listen.

Okay, If you are reading this then I have likely already made my big ol’ embarrassing speech in front of the school. You’re welcome. I bet it was humiliating. But hopefully it distracted everybody else enough for you to read this without being spotted. And I know you don’t like big fusses so hopefully this has made you slightly less angry.

So yes. It’s you. You’re my Lion Boy. Smart, wasn’t it? Everybody assumed that Lion meant Gryffindor but I’m sure it crossed your mind at least once that it meant something else, didn’t it? You’re smart like that.

I can’t actually take all the credit for that actually. It was Pete’s idea. I wanted a nickname to call you so it would be easier and he suggested Leo because of your constellation. I was the one who made the lion connection though. I decided it would be a good clue and would mislead most people. Smart, huh?

Regulus did have to admit that it was quite smart. Typical that he coil only do it because Pettigrew had suggested it though, he wasn’t that smart.

Okay, I know you’re probably getting fed up and I really don’t want you setting fire to my letter in the middle of a great hall, it would likely get your message across but it would be a bit awkward, don’t you think? So I’m going to get to the point.

I’ll be by the statue of the one-eyed witch at 9:30pm tonight, by then everyone will either be at the Valentine's day ball if they have a date or moping in their dorms if they don’t. So meet me there if you like so we can talk, I promise we won’t get caught. I have a pretty good plan.

It’s a trap Regulus. Sirius will be there if you go and they’ll all laugh at you and tell the whole school that you’re in love with James Potter.

I promise it isn’t a trick. I don’t know how to convince you but I won’t blame you if you don’t show up. I know why you wouldn’t believe me but I really would like it if you came. I just want to talk about everything and I’m sure you have questions. A lot of them. So I’ll answer them if you like. If you don’t show up, I’ll just take it as a sign you’re not interested and move on. That good?

It was too polite. Potter would never be that polite to him unless he was trying to lull him into a false sense of security. Still, his curiosity was negging him to go and see what it was.

If you like, before you go, try casting a Patronus before you go. Just to see if it fits what I said or not. I know you learn them in 5th year so maybe you’ve already done it, I don’t know. Just try it, if it’s a cat, that could be a good hint, if not, I’d be confused but I guess it’s a sign that I’m lying.

Yeah, well, that was helpful, especially considering the fact Regulus couldn’t actually conjure a Patronus. It was probably because he didn’t have enough good memories to use. It appeared that this decision wasn’t getting any easier.

Well, I don’t know what else there is to say. I like you Reg, you’re my Lion Boy. I hope you come to see me but I know I probably won’t. That’s about it, really.

Bye, I’ll see you later or I won’t,

J.F.P

P.S Bring a coat :)

He was shaking. Why was he shaking? This was ridiculous. Slowly putting the letter back in the envelope, he looked up to where James was sitting to see if he could deduce anything from how he was acting and saw that he was already looking at him, looking nervous and expectant.

When he noticed that Regulus was looking back at him, he jumped slightly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and smiling. He almost immediately seemed to come back to his senses and turn into the James Potter everyone recognised, winking smoothly as Regulus and turning to talk to Marlene McKinnon like nothing had happened.

What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

If he went, there was a pretty good chance he would be faced with James’ little group with practically no defence but if he didn’t go, he might miss out on answers. 

He could ask Evan and Barty to go with him? No, that wouldn’t go well…and anyway, they would probably want to be in the dorm enjoying their alone time.

It really wasn’t looking like Regulus had many options at this point.

He could always go armed?

This was impossible.

Trust James Potter to make everything so bloody complicated.

-

It was 9:45pm and Regulus was greatly regretting his decision to show up. This was almost worse than being laughed at by his brother. He had been ditched. Potter had gotten him so bloody worked up about this and then not even showed up. Was this the joke? Was this the rick they had in mind?

He heard a pair of footsteps coming closer to him at quite a fast pace and reached down to his wand, not drawing it but getting ready to incase he needed to hex anyone.

‘I’m sorry, I know this is the worst impression I could have made but it took bloody ages to get away from Sirius, you know him, luckily Remus distracted him, you really don’t want to know ho- why are you pointing your wand at me?’

‘Why shouldn’t I? You invited me to a mysterious meeting where you know nobody else will see us and you expected me not to be wary?’

‘Fair enough…can you please put the wand away though? It really isn’t that welcoming. I give you full permission to keep it in reaching distance but I really don’t want to be hexed by the boy I have a crush on.’

Hearing him say it out loud felt wrong but Regulus shook his head and put his wand away. 

‘Sorry.’

‘It’s okay, I don’t blame you. Erm, sorry I’m late.’

‘You already said that.’

‘Yeah, sorry.’

‘Well? What do you want?’

‘I told you in my letter, I want to talk.’

‘Yeah, about?’

‘I thought that was obvious…’

‘Did you also think it was obvious why you asked me to meet you here and bring a coat?’

‘Oh, no. I know you didn’t have a clue. Look, I’ll show you.’

He stepped past Regulus and mutter a spell and when he had turned around, Regulus saw a gap that looked like a secret passage where the hump of the statue used to be.

‘What the-’

‘I know!’ James looked like an excited puppy and stepped in the passage, casting a Lumos and reaching out his hand to help Regulus along but frowned when Regulus hesitated.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘What’s wrong? You’re leading me into a dark creepy tunnel nobody knows about!’

‘Yes?’

‘How do you not see what is wrong with that?! What if you’re leading me down there so you can kill me without anybody finding out?’

James looked genuinely upset and his hand fell to his side. ‘You think I’d murder you?’

‘I mean I wouldn't put it behind you…’

‘I- okay…erm…if we were to fight, logically, who would win?’

Regulus paused. ‘Me…’

‘Exactly! Come on!’ He held out his hand again and Regulus couldn’t just leave him standing there like an idiot again. He took James’ hand and stepped into the tunnel, lighting his own wand and letting go of James’ hand, just for James to grab it again.

‘If I let go and you get lost in here, you’ll blame me and say I tried to leave you on your own in a creepy cave to die.’

‘...True.’

‘Exactly, come on, you’ll see why I brought you here in a minute.’

Everything in Regulus’ body was screaming NO and yelling at him to punch James and run away but at the same time, strangely, stupidly, he trusted him.

They remained silent for a few minutes until Regulus had the courage to speak up.

‘Why did you say you have a crush on me?’

‘Because I do.’

‘Don’t lie.’

‘I’m not!’

‘You are.’

‘And how would you know that?’

‘Because, it's you, you’re a big show-off popular twat who hangs around with my insufferable brother and hates my entire family. Why would you not hate me? It’s practically in your genes to hate the sight of me.’

‘Well, either my mother had an affair or you’re wrong Reggie, because-’

‘Don’t call me that.’ He couldn’t see James due to the little light they had but could almost hear him rolling his eyes. Twat.

‘Alright. Sorry, Regulus. But my point still stands. You don’t know as much about me as you like to think. Unfortunately, your blood supremacy does not mean you can pick and choose the feelings of us traitors for us. Sorry to disappoint.’

Now it was Regulus’ turn to roll his eyes. ‘I’m not a blood supremacist.’

‘I know.’

‘Sure. Then why did you say I was?’

‘Why did I want to hear the famed golden child of Walburga and Orion Black say he was not a blood supremacist? Why would I ever enjoy hearing Regulus Arcturus Black say he was not a blood supremacist? Couldn’t possibly think.’

‘Yeah, okay, point taken. Can we stop talking now so you can just kill me and get it over with? Or is that too difficult for you? Would you like to drag my suffering on for even longer than necessary?’

He felt James’ hand stop following him stop and turned, seeing his face in the dim wand light where he had stopped walking. ‘I thought I had already told you like…three times that I don’t want to kill you?’

‘Yes but I don’t believe you.’

‘Why?’ His voice sounded almost like a whine and Regulus found himself almost trusting him completely due to that alone.

‘I already told you. I have no reason to trust you. Why do you think I would?’

‘Well, I just assumed…seeing as, y’know, you actually came here and all..that you would…?’

‘Right…okay, what about this, whilst we’re here, I will try my best to trust you not to skin me alive and the second we are out, if I do not think you have proven yourself worthy of my time and respect, we go back to how things were before?’

‘Oh, I can assure you that I will certainly be worthy of your time and respect, Mr Black.’

‘Ugh, don’t call me that, it makes you sound like Slughorn.’

‘Oh, I really thought that Slughorn would be the exact thing to turn you on.’

Regulus didn’t know whether to laugh or be sick. ‘What? Because I’m a Slytherin? That’s a bit prejudiced of you, isn’t it?’

‘No, because it is actually impossible to be as good at Potions as you are unless you’re Snape or secretly consulting Sluggy for extra points.’

That did make Regulus laugh. ‘Oh yes, I’m actually just Snape in disguise, luring you into a dark cave using reverse psychology so I can grease you to death. You caught me!’

James laughed at that, reaching out to grab Regulus’ hand again. ‘Ah, look at that! You have a sense of humour! Who would’ve guessed!’

Regulus was about to make a snarky remark but noticed something about what James had just said. ‘Hang on…how do you know about my potions grades?’

James didn’t answer.

‘...You asked the Evans girl to tell you what Slughorn said to me in Slug Club, didn’t you?’

‘How the fuck did you guess that?’

‘Your face told me everything I needed to know.’

‘Are you always this creepy or are you just like that when you’re around me?’

‘Are you always that rude to your guests or is that just when it’s me?’

‘Yeah, you have a point.’

‘I always have a point.’

‘Alright, no need to get cocky.’

Regulus scoffed. ‘You’re one to talk.’

James didn’t respond. Instead, he stopped walking and pushed at what appeared to be a hatch or a floorboard of sorts. ‘Perfect.’

‘What are you doing?’

‘You’ll see.’ James put out his wand as dim light flooded into the tunnel, he stepped out and called for Regulus to do the same. ‘Come on, Lion Boy, not scared are you?’

Regulus stuck his tongue out at James but stepped out from the tunnel anyway, taking in his surroundings. It looked like they were in a basement of some sort. One thing was for sure, it was definitely not in the castle, Regulus knew the dungeons well and this was definitely not part of them. And they had been walking for far too long for it to be anywhere near Hogwarts. Okay…maybe this was a mistake…

‘Is this your fucking torture dungeon or something?’

‘Why are you so suspiciously obsessed with making this about murder?’

‘Why are you so suspiciously obsessed with saying it isn’t?’

‘That- right…well, if this was my “torture dungeon”, why would it be full of Honeydukes boxes?’ He thought he had caught Regulus off-guard but once again, he had an answer.

‘Sustenance.’

James turned around and crossed his arms, looking at Regulus like an angry toddler. ‘ Sustenance? ’

Regulus just shrugged, running his finger along the edge of one of the boxes. ‘Yeah, well, you can’t torture people if they’re dead, so…’

‘You are actually impossible.’

‘You dragged me here.’

‘You chose to come! You could have stayed in your dorm if you were really so reluctant.’ 

‘And have to deal with Evan and Barty being all over each other whilst I’m trying to read? You killing me was the better option by far.’

‘Then stop complaining…wait…Rosier and Crouch are together?’

‘Yup. They think they’re subtle, they really aren’t…well, I su[pose you didn’t notice…but then again you’re blind. And you’re a Gryffindor, so, I really didn’t expect any more.’

James frowned but was still smiling. ‘Well, that was rude.’

Regulus shrugged, still looking around. ‘So, we’re in Hogsmeade, then?’

James nodded. ‘Yup. Honeydukes storage room.’

‘Believe it or not, I guessed that much myself.’ He smiled at James and the two of them stayed looking at each other for a few minutes, before James cleared his throat and looked away, gesturing towards the stair case. 

‘After you.’

He stepped past him and hopped up the stairs, turning around to make sure James wasn’t pointing a wand to the back of his head. He wasn’t. 

‘C’mon, hurry up, I wanna grab some sugar quills before we go.’

Regulus walked further into the shop, waiting in the middle for James to finish faffing around and place a little stack of coins on the till. ‘You want anything?’

‘Nah, I’m fine thanks.’

‘Alright, suit yourself I guess.’

He watched as James clumsily stuffed everything in his pockets, wondering how he could possibly have come to be so obsessed with such a fool. 

‘So, why are we in Hogsmeade anyway?’

James looked up from his rustling, a sugar quill hanging out of his mouth. ‘Well, I wanted to chat with you about everything and I didn’t want to do it in a stuffy dorm room so I thought it would be nice to come here and go on a walk around whilst we did it, that okay with you?’

‘I mean, okay. Are we gonna go then or just stay here for the rest of the night?’

‘Someone’s eager. Just a minute, shorty pants.’

Regulus raised an eyebrow, gaping slightly. ‘I am not short! You’re just…incredibly tall.’

‘Uh-huh…you do realise I’m only 5’9, right? So that would make you…’ He stood right in front of Regulus, beaming down at him stupidly. ‘Around 5’4?’

He scowled and jabbed his finger at James’ cheek grumpily, successfully making his wince and move his face back a little. ‘5’6, actually.’

‘Fucking Merlin, Regulus, why are your nails actually eagle talons? And, if that 5’6 with or without those little platforms on your shoes?’

You little-’ He lunged at James, hoping to maybe mess around with him a little, not hurt him, just joke about but before he had the chance, he felt someone grab his wrist and push them back into his chest. 

‘Wow, Remus was right, the little dogs are always the most feisty. Oh yeah, you’re not a dog, are you? From what I believe, you’re a cat.’ Am I right?’

Regulus pulled his arms away slowly, looking over James’ shoulder instead of looking at him.’I wouldn’t know.’

‘Huh? What do you mean you wouldn’t know?’

‘I mean I have no idea whether my Patronus is a cat or not because I can’t cast one because I don’t have a single memory that’s fucking good enough, okay?’

James went silent, taking the sugar quill from his mouth and putting it back in the wrapper, taking a step closer to Regulus but didn’t move to touch him, knowing that he would likely pull away and grow to be more uncomfortable.

‘I’m sorry, I just sort of assumed that…’

‘That I was capable of casting every spell on the curriculum perfectly?’

It was a joke but James rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly. ‘Well…kind of?’

Regulus looked back at him and laughed. ‘Of course you did. You’re a bloody idiot, has anyone ever told you that?’

‘Oh yeah, Remus and Pete tell me every day.’

‘But not Sirius?’

‘Figures. He’s as bad as you.’

‘Yeah, you are right there…OH! I KNOW!’

‘Fucking Morgana, Potter, could you be any louder?’

‘Sorry, I just thought that maybe…I could…help you cast a Patronus?’

‘Yeah, sure. Just pull out a perfect memory from the back of my mind that I haven’t already tried and we’ll see.’

‘Actually…I was thinking that we could make a memory to use…’

‘And how do you propose we do that?’

‘I was hoping you would ask that.’

‘What else would I have asked?’

‘Shut up, you’re ruining the moment.’

James cleared his throat and offered his hand to him, palm up, arm flat, like posh gentlemen did in only books and films and Regulus stared at it rather reproachfully. James only smirked and lifted his chin slightly.

‘Mr Black. As a favour from me to you, I would like to formally ask you to accompany me around this lovely village on this fine evening.’

He couldn’t help but laugh at that, James only misled wider and nodded towards his arm in an obvious well? and Regulus sighed, still smiling. ‘Are you asking me on a date to help me cast a Patronus?’

James shrugged. ‘No feelings attached.’

Regulus paused, he didn’t see anything wrong with saying yes but he was still ever so slightly clinging to the thought that it may be a trap. But the chances of that were seemingly increasingly less likely. Fuck it.

‘Mr Potter, I would be most honoured.’ He lifted his hand and made a show of letting it drop into James’, letting their finders clasp together and rolling his eyes and the was James laughed, still smiling so much it looked like his face would rip in two if he smiled any more.

‘Well, let’s not wait any longer then, shall we?’

They walked towards the door and James cast a wordless spell, causing the door to creak open and shower the two of them in bitter February cold. 

‘Shit, it’s freezing out there.’ Regulus instantly brought up his free arm to his chest, like it would block the cold out.

‘I mean I did tell you to bring a coat, did I not?’

‘I mean yeah, but I wasn’t expecting to actually need one. I thought you would just jump out with my brother, hex me and then go about your day.’

‘Well I suppose I ought to do the gentlemanly thing and give you my jacket then, shall I?’ 

Regulus looked up and James and shook his head, taking a few minutes to respond. ‘Oh, no, I’m not even affected by the cold, I just wanted to…point it out. I was the one stupid enough to not bring a coat, it’s my fault. Keep your jacket.’

James looked at him for a few minutes, waiting for Regulus to give in and accept help but when it became clear that that wouldn’t happen any time soon, he sighed and kept walking, still holding Regulus’ hand as they stepped out into the street and began to walk.

With it being mid-February, it was already almost pitch black but magically lit street lamps gave a faint yellow tint to the little light they did have. 

James’ eye caught a few stars glistening beyond the clouds and had a thought, bringing their hands up to the sky to get Regulus’ attention, he gestured to the white sparks in front of them ‘Are you up there?’

Regulus looked at the sky for a minute, tilting his head as he thought about it. ‘I don’t know. Maybe, I can’t say I’ve memorised how the night sky looks every night of the year but it’s February so possibly, yeah. It’s too cloudy to see everything properly but if we sat in a field all night and waited for enough of the clouds to shift then we might be able to see my star, yeah.’

He felt the way James turned to look at him and sighed, turning his head towards him and trying to ignore that stupid pleading look in his eyes. ‘No, James, we are not lying in a field together in February so you can have a chance of seeing a random star. No way.’

‘But Reggggg!’

‘Nope. Not happening.’

‘But we can have the conversation we met up for whilst we’re waiting! And it will be so romantic that your Patronus will appear before you’ve even cast the spell! Pleaaaaaaase?’

‘Fine.’ 

‘Really? Oh Reg, you are actually the best person I’ve ever met!’

‘I told you not to call me that.’

‘Actually, no, you told me not to call you Reggie. Anyway, we’re on a date now so I kind of think I have Reg privileges, don’t you think?’

After a moment of debating giving up and leaving right then, Regulus nodded. ‘Fine.’

‘But…’

‘Oh of course there’s a but.’

‘You can’t call me Reg outside of this, not in the corridors, not whilst you next stand on a bloody table to make a speech, okay?’

‘Deal. Now come on, we have a field to find.’

-

‘Reg?’

‘What?’

‘Look at me.’

‘Why.’

‘Just do it.’

When he finally did, James reached out and put a palm against Regulus’ cheek, pulling it back quickly.

‘Fucking shit, Reg! I knew you were cold, I could hear your teeth chattering but I wasn’t expecting you to be on the brink of death. Right, that’s it, you’re taking this.’ He quickly took off his jacket and put it around Regulus’ shoulders, earning him a grumble as Regulus tried to shrug it off.

‘Nope, don’t you dare, you will die if you don’t have it on. You are wearing that jacket or I am standing up at breakfast and telling everybody that we snogged in a broom cupboard. Take it.’

‘But it’s too baggy on me, I look like a fucking rat a trenchcoat.’

‘Yes, but a very cute rat in a very stylish trench coat, come on, let’s go, it’s only a bit further to the hills.’ He ignored the half-hearted complaints from Regulus and put a hand around his waist, pulling him closer. ‘Come on, stop winging, you’re gonna ruin this date for the both of us.’

Regulus gave up after that, leaning into James slightly as they walked to the hills in relative silence.

Once they got there, Regulus stopped and turned to face James.

‘James…’

‘Yup?’

‘I have a confession to make…’

‘You have no idea what your star looks like, do you?’

‘How did you know?’

‘It was pretty obvious Reg. I may have glasses but I’m not completely blind, I’ve seen that look plenty of times before. It’s the exact way Pads looks at Moony when he thinks none of us can see. Admit it, you don’t give a fuck what your Patronus is, you just agreed to all this so you could bring me out here and snog me in an empty field under the stars.’

‘You know me so well.’ He brought a hand up to James’ face, taking the opportunity to finally look James in the eyes properly.

To be fair, he hadn’t realised that that had been his plan until they were already at least half of the way there, his mind had sort of been on auto-drive for the first half of it. Part of him still believed that James was lying about liking him, but the other half knew that he would never act like he had that night sound just anybody. He was James bloody Potter, of course he wouldn’t. Anyway, even if it was just a joke or a lie, Regulus wouldn’t let himself feel too bothered. It wouldn’t be the only Valentine’s day he had spent alone and it certainly wouldn’t be the last so there was no point in caring too much.

‘I bet you left your coat for that exact reason too, didn't you.’

‘Oh, no, I actually thought I wouldn’t need it because you were going to hex me to death with your little buddies.’

‘Oh, fair enough.’

They fell back into silence, still looking at each other awkwardly.

James was the first to speak. 

‘So? Are you gonna kiss me or did we come out here for nothing?’

‘Oh shut up, now you’re the one ruining the moment.’

James laughed and Regulus had to actually mentally remind himself to breathe.

It could still be a joke. James could still move away and laugh at any second. But he didn’t find himself believing that anymore. He thought that had been the case for a while. Probably since they had started walking to the field together, maybe before then. But he found himself stupidly trusting James much more than he should.

Still worried that he was somehow misreading this situation, he paused and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths.

Why was he being so dramatic? This was literally just a kiss, why was he getting so worked up about it? 

‘Can-um, can I-?’

James grinned. ‘Absolutely.’

Carefully, and slowly enough for them both to have time to pull away if they wanted to, Regulus leaned forward. Eventually, their lips met, barely touching at all at first, then pressing ever so slightly harder, still awkward enough to sow tier teenage inexperience but neither of them found themself really minding. 

After a few more seconds, James pulled back by as short a distance as he could manage, smiling stupidly. ‘I knew if I was patient then everything would come together nicely.’

‘You have too much faith in your own intelligence, Potter.’

‘I mean, it worked out quite well for me this time, did it not?’

‘You’re an idiot.’

‘And you’re the most oblivious fool I’ve ever met.’

‘Likewise.’

‘Kiss me again.’

‘Of course.’