Chapter Text
"Your eyes whispered, 'Have we met?'
'Cross the room your silhouette
Starts to make its way to me
The playful conversation starts
Counter all your quick remarks
Like passing notes in secrecy"
It was only Regulus Black’s first evening spent out on the marriage market, and he already hated it. His mother, of course, was holding the first season’s ball and was graciously taking the opportunity to parade her two now-eligible bachelor sons around, showing them off to the ton. Sirius, of course, had no issue talking to all the beautiful young ladies of the ton (and their awful mothers, of course). He could hold a conversation about nearly anything, practically the only skill of his that their mother actually seemed proud of. Regulus, on the other hand, was theoretically able to hold a conversation just as well as Sirius, but he lacked the ability to care about neither the conversation nor the young women. Most of the time (at least, when his mother wasn’t there to prod the conversation along), Regulus would answer any questions asked to him with a simple one-word answer until the conversation fizzled out and he could excuse himself. This strategy is how Regulus found himself blissfully alone for the first time in hours, hiding behind a set of green-and-silver flower arrangements. The green and silver – the color of his family crest – adorned every possible surface of the ballroom that night. Strings of silver pearls were draped from the ceiling, and emerald green silks were hung about the walls of the room. The effect itself was enchanting, perhaps, to the guests, but Regulus hated the flowers and the decor because they reminded him of precisely what his parents expected from him this season.
Earlier that day, his father had pulled him into his study, his mother standing next to the desk, and they explained, quite bluntly, that Regulus needed to find a bride. Not just any bride, of course – she had to be one of the ones on the list that his parents had drawn up, one based on strategy rather than on actual compatibility. In this meeting with his parents, Regulus learned that some of their supposedly loyal allies, friends, and business partners were starting to lose faith in the Black family, especially because Sirius couldn’t seem to settle down and had earned a reputation as a proper rake. Each of the young women on the list of Regulus’s potential brides had ties to these much-needed friends and business partners; instead of a love match, Regulus’s parents were using him as a business deal, and he was expected to comply without any complaints. Regulus knew that any protests would fall on deaf – or, worse, violent – ears, and he had no choice but to sit, eyes facing down in deference, and let his parents determine his future.
Despite the warnings of his parents, Regulus was content to hide behind flower arrangements, at least for this first night. When Walburga Black wanted something done, she would make it happen; he had no doubts that if he failed to secure a match come the end of the season, his mother would force some poor girl of her choosing into a marriage with him. Since he knew it was only a matter of time before his mother found him and dragged him into another conversation, he decided to relish the tranquility found in his hiding spot.
This tranquility was short-lived, however. Regulus’s eyes snapped to the front of the room at the sound of guests being announced at the door, and he prayed it wasn’t one of the young women who his mother would seek him out to have a conversation with. He stepped out slightly from his hiding spot – a dangerous move – to get a better view of the doors as they swung open. As the guests entered the room, Regulus’s gaze fell to the man who walked in first – flanked by an older man and woman – the sight of which made Regulus’s heart inexplicably speed up. His warm, rosy-toned brown skin, dark, unruly hair, and easy smile stood in stark contrast to the cold, orderly environment of the ballroom. The man wore fashionable yet practical clothes, and a pair of spectacles that would have seemed scholarly on anyone else. He strode into the room as if it belonged to him – a touch of arrogance about him, Regulus noted – and swept his gaze across the room. Regulus assumed the man must have been scouting out the young women in attendance until his gaze met Regulus’s own. Regulus stood perfectly still, hardly able to breathe, as the man held eye contact across the crowded room, and, for some reason, seemed to smile right at Regulus. The second the man dropped his gaze and made his way into the crowd, Regulus ducked back behind the flower arrangements and took a shaky breath. Who was that man? Why did his gaze and his smile make Regulus feel so strange, as if a pack of hungry butterflies had erupted in his stomach? Regulus decided that he needed answers more than he needed to hide from his mother, so he left his hiding place in search of his brother.
Regulus found Sirius at the center of a group of preening young women and their eager mothers, all trying to get a word in with him. Sirius seemed to be drinking up the attention, his face high in color and his eyes alight. Regulus found it to be utterly obnoxious. He pushed his way through the crowd until he had reached Sirius, then grabbed his brother’s arm.
“If you’ll excuse me, ladies, I need to steal my brother for a second,” Regulus said, then pulled Sirius away, much to the dismay of the women.
As soon as they were away from the crowd, towards the side of the room, Sirius managed to shake his arm free of Regulus’s grip. “What was that for?” He said, frowning. “What if my future bride had been amongst those ladies?”
Regulus just scoffed, eliciting a small laugh from Sirius.
“Honestly, though,” Sirius said, “What could have been important enough to pull me away from all of my ardent admirers?”
Regulus paused for a moment, trying to determine a way to ask about the mystery man’s identity without Sirius figuring out why he was interested in knowing. “Who was that family who just arrived? I don’t think I’ve seen them out for the season before.”
Sirius seemed to light up at this question. “Oh, Reggie, you’ll never believe it! Do you remember my good friend from school, James Potter?”
At the sound of that name, Regulus’s heart sunk. Suddenly, he didn’t want to know exactly who this man was. Despite this, Regulus gave a slight nod.
“That was him and his family,” Sirius said. “James and his parents moved back to India after he was finished at school – that’s where he was born, and where the rest of his family is – because his grandfather was ill. It seems as if the old man finally died because James is back in the ton, presumably to find a bride now that he’s one death closer to inheriting the family fortune.”
Regulus was finding this topic exceedingly morbid and disappointing. Every story he had ever heard from Sirius about James Potter had given Regulus the impression that James was nothing more than an arrogant bully, even more so full of himself than Sirius was. James had been the reason for much of Sirius’s troublemaking in his youth, and had been responsible, in Regulus’s eyes, for the frequent punishments Walburga had doled out on Sirius during his school years. Regulus couldn’t imagine that James was any better with age – Sirius certainly wasn’t – the fact of which deflated Regulus’s newfound interest in this no-longer mystery man.
While Regulus had been lost in thought, Sirius had been prattling on about the good old days, when he, James, and their other two friends (Regulus could hardly remember their names) would pull pranks on their fellow students, constantly sneaking off of the grounds to buy cheap spirits.
“...and after that, we learned that our teachers didn’t mind us sneaking off as long as we brought them back some cigars and spirits,” Sirius was saying, glancing around the room. “Anyways, I suspect James will be here any minute now – we were always able to sniff each other out like bloodhounds, as strange as that is.”
The imminent arrival of James Potter to Sirius’s side was enough to make Regulus start moving backward, away from Sirius. As he made a decisive step closer to the flower arrangements and further from Sirius, his dear brother grabbed his shoulder and hauled him back towards him.
“Reggie, you must stick around! James has heard so many stories about you – from me, of course – and would be delighted to finally meet you,” Sirius craned his neck, trying to look over the crowd. “There he is! I see him!”
And thus, Regulus was stuck next to Sirius as James Potter made his way through the crowd, a grin spreading across his face as he saw Sirius. At first, it was as if Regulus wasn’t even there – James practically flung himself towards Sirius, and the two embraced – society be damned – while both rambling about how long it’s been, how they both look so much older, how Sirius is still the same height, and other such greetings often heard from old friends.
Finally, the two stepped back, grinning at each other, and Sirius seemed to remember his brother standing next to him. “James,” Sirius said, “let me present to you my darling little brother, Regulus.”
Sirius gestured towards Regulus, and Regulus felt his whole body tense as the full gaze of James Potter fell on him for the second time that night. This time, though, Regulus knew exactly who was standing in front of him – not some mystery man who made Regulus feel all sorts of strange feelings, but James Potter, the man who he had never met but had always loathed because James had been the one to take Sirius away from him.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Regulus,” James said, holding out a hand for Regulus to shake. “I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
Regulus frowned as he reached out and shook James’s hand. “And I about you.”
James grinned. “All good things, I hope?”
“No.”
Regulus’s blunt tone stopped Sirius and James in their tracks – both had been laughing and looking at each other as if sharing in on James’s joke. The laughing stopped when Regulus spoke, but James still kept that annoying smile on his face.
“Oh?” James questioned, glancing over at Sirius with a raised brow.
Sirius pressed his lips into a line, shooting Regulus a stare with which he tried to convey to Regulus how rude he had been. Regulus sent him one back that said that he didn’t really care how rude he had been.
“My little brother, the joker,” Sirius said, trying to lighten the tension that had fallen over the group.
Regulus fixed James with a cold stare, hoping to wipe the grin off of James’s face. “I wasn’t joking.”
James let out a short laugh. “That’s too bad, then, because I thought it was rather funny.”
Sirius smiled smugly at Regulus, who was trying to think up a retort, one that would be certain to break James’s charming demeanor.
Before he could open his mouth to speak, Regulus felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, and he turned to see his mother standing behind them, a rather stern expression on her face.
“Regulus,” she said, “I believe there are some guests to who you have not yet been introduced. Let us take a turn about the room and allow me to introduce them.”
She threaded her arm through Regulus’s and pulled him away from James and Sirius. Regulus let himself be walked away, but resolved to himself that he would not let this conversation go unfinished. As they walked away, Regulus couldn’t help but turn his head and look back over at James and Sirius, hoping to give James one last sneer, despite the fact that James and Sirius were likely already prattling on about their youths. It took a few seconds for him to register it, but as he turned back to look at James and Sirius, Regulus found that James was watching him with a curious smile on his face. Their eyes briefly met, and before Regulus could give James his nastiest look, his mother had tugged at his arm and pulled him away from James’s gaze.
As Walburga brought Regulus over to another potential bride, Regulus started to feel as if the season wasn’t going to be quite as boring as he had previously believed. James Potter had presented him with a challenge, and Regulus was quite determined to break James Potter before the season was out. Regulus was going to enjoy this very much.
-&-
"Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you"
Sirius Black was bored.
Shortly after Regulus had been pulled away by their scheming mother, James had left to go meet back up with his parents, insisting that they needed his help. Sirius was left alone, which meant he was now bored. Eschewing conversations with any more young women and their desperate mothers, he crept along the edge of the room until he reached a side door and slipped out of the ballroom.
There, he walked along one of the many dark, winding hallways of his family home until he found himself in what he thought to be an isolated corridor. He leaned up against the wall, shutting his eyes and trying to think about how best to avoid going back into that ballroom for the remainder of the evening. It wasn’t as if his mother needed him there, anyways. She had Regulus to parade around these days, and Sirius was free to come and go as he pleased for the most part. That was the perk of being the family disappointment, he supposed. No one had any expectations for you.
“Excuse me?” Sirius heard a voice say, snapping him out of his pondering. “I seem to be very lost, and I would quite appreciate directions to the ballroom.”
While Sirius, ever the dramatic, had yet to even open his eyes, the voice sounded strangely familiar – certainly not like the voice of one of his mother’s hapless guests or business partners. Sirius slowly opened his eyes and turned his head towards the person at the other end of the hall. It took him a few seconds to realize who it was, but when he did, he quickly shot up from the wall, hoping he didn’t look as idiotic as he felt.
Down the corridor stood a tall, rather lanky man, whose brown curls and shy smile immediately brought Sirius back to his school years and set a rather nasty swarm of butterflies loose in his stomach. When Sirius turned to face the man, the quizzical frown on his face was replaced by a shy smile, and Sirius knew he had been recognized.
The last time Sirius had spoken to Remus Lupin had been the night before their last day of school, when Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter Pettigrew had purchased some cheap spirits from a rather nasty boy in their year and had used said spirits to get incredibly drunk in their dormitory room, laughing and reminiscing on their school memories. Sirius sat next to Remus, with both of them looking back on their first couple of years of school when every conversation they had turned into an argument – they really had disliked each other back then. After several hours of drinking and nostalgia, James and Peter had snuck off to the kitchen, hoping to find some leftovers from the night’s feast, leaving Remus and Sirius alone in the dormitory. Sirius, who was quite drunk at that point, found himself staring unabashedly at Remus, who looked rather angelic in the dim glow of the candlelight. Remus caught Sirius watching him, and gave him a sweet, shy smile that pushed Sirius over the edge. Before he knew it, he had leaned in and kissed Remus, and that, as far as Sirius was convinced, was the worst mistake he had ever made. Remus had stood up so quickly that he nearly knocked over the candle behind him and left the room, leaving Sirius alone with nothing but an alcohol-induced fuzz and his regrets. The next day, they had both been so swept up in heading back home that they hadn’t had the chance to speak again.
Now, Remus was standing at the other end of the hallway, looking the same as he had years before, and Sirius had no idea what to say to him.
“Remus,” Sirius finally said, sounding slightly breathless, “I had no idea you would be here.”
Remus took a few more steps down the hall, still keeping a good distance between the two of them. “I didn’t really tell anyone I was coming,” he admitted.
“Right,” Sirius said, then paused. “You said you were looking for the ballroom?”
Remus nodded. “That’s right.”
Sirius found himself feeling slightly anxious, though he wasn’t sure why. “Does that mean you’re here for…the season?”
“In a way, yes,” Remus said. “I’m here on behalf of my father – he was invited and sent me along instead to socialize with some of his business partners. Have to keep the family business alive and all that, considering I’m his only heir.” At that, Remus made a face. “I’m assuming you’re here for a reason, though, besides the very obvious fact that you live here. Are you looking for a bride this season?”
Sirius choked out a laugh. “Heavens, no. My mother wishes I was, but no, I’m not.”
“Oh,” Remus nodded. “Okay. I’m not looking for a bride this season either.”
Sirius mimicked Remus’s nod. “Oh. Right.”
“Right,” Remus replied, and the two lapsed into an awkward silence.
“I’m happy you were able to make it,” Sirius finally broke the silence. “James is back in the ton, did you know? I’m sure Pete will make an appearance at some point, too, though most days he’s more than content to stay at home with his lovely wife. But, we’re all back in the ton, it seems. It’s almost like the old days.” Sirius was aware he was rambling, so he cut himself off.
“Yes,” Remus agreed. “Almost.”
Sirius wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Remus Lupin, ever the cryptic.
“Well,” Sirius started. “You were looking for the ballroom. I can show you where it is.”
“Wonderful,” Remus said, though his slight wince revealed that he really thought it wasn’t so wonderful. “I’ll follow you.”
Sirius nodded, then started forward, back towards where he had come from. Unfortunately for him, Remus stood between him and the ballroom, and the corridor was much narrower than he originally thought. Sirius tried to keep his composure as he drew closer to Remus, but it was difficult to do so when Remus’s eyes were on him. As he passed Remus, he couldn’t help but hold his breath, hyperconscious of their nearness to one another. Sirius almost let out a small sigh of relief when he thought he was in the clear, past Remus, until he felt a hand wrap gently around his wrist. Sirius stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to Remus, who was looking at him with a strange, soft sort of look in his eyes.
When Remus spoke, it was hardly a whisper. “Sirius?”
“Yes?”
Remus paused, as if he was contemplating what he was going to say. “I don’t know if I said this earlier,” he said, “but I’m happy I was able to make it, too.”
With that, Remus dropped both his gaze and Sirius’s wrist, letting a flustered Sirius try to regain his composure and his sense of direction.
“Right,” Sirius said. “This way to the ballroom.”
As Sirius led Remus back to the ballroom, he began to realize that Remus’s whispered statement had been nothing more than a friendly nicety. It was Remus’s way of drawing a line at acquaintances, and nothing more, not ever. Sirius knew it was for the better, but that didn’t stop his heart from breaking a little as they entered the ballroom.