Chapter Text
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of love. Most of this was true for James Potter. He was single, painfully so. He was desperate for love, the kind his parents had, and had his eyes set on Lily Evans for years. But he wasn’t exactly in possession of a good fortune-- of any fortune, really.
But that didn’t matter to him. He was a hopeless romantic, and would rather be penniless and in love than drowning in riches alone.
His brother Remus was a different story entirely. He believed love matches were a thing of fairy tales, and anyone with brains would marry into a comfortable life. They were both poorly paid blacksmiths, and lived in the same small house, but had entirely different ideas about circumstance. It was a topic they bickered about often. And with them both being twenty-one, the time for marriage loomed ever closer.
James was terrified he’d lose his best friend to the first soulless, wealthy person that cared to ask Remus for his hand.
Mrs. Lupin certainly wasn’t helping. James’s adopted mother was excitedly reading off a letter that had come in the post, stroking Remus’s hair from behind the chair he sat in. James was so focused on that tiny sign of motherly affection; gently carding through soft tufts of hair, that he had entirely missed the point of the post.
“Isn’t this exciting?” she was saying, to which Remus was emphatically nodding.
“Very exciting,” he agreed. “Right, James?”
James blinked. “Huh? Er, right. Sounds great.”
Mrs. Lupin gave him a soft smile and shook her head. She held up the letter. “A very wealthy family is visiting town and hosting a ball tomorrow evening. And we’re invited!”
James smiled, trying his best to please her. Coming from humble roots, she desperately wanted both the boys to marry upwards-- this was her idea of happiness for them. “That’s wonderful, Mrs. Lupin.”
“You know you can call me Hope, dear. And I know you’re fixed on that Lily girl, but maybe it’s good to get out there. See some other options?”
“Yeah, definitely,” he agreed vaguely and stood, suddenly feeling too overwhelmed to be in the Lupin kitchen. He navigated through the narrow corridor out the side door, past the porch and down to the still misty meadow.
The Lupins lived on an old farm property inherited from Lyall’s distant relative, and while most found it quaint, or even ramshackle , as it had once been called, James thought it was purely magic. His favorite part was the meadow, a lush valley dappled with weeping willows and spring flowers.
Of course, it was nothing like his old home. The one that was now nothing but ash.
He shook his head, trying to think of anything else, but the memories kept coming. His mother playing the grand piano, he and his father singing along terribly out of tune. Running through the parlor to escape his mother’s haircut, shrieking with laughter. Sitting on the rooftop with Remus, watching the stars and feeling like the luckiest boy in the world.
Funny, how that can all vanish with the lighting of a tiny match.
“James?”
He whipped around, trying to school his features into some form of contentedness. Remus saw right through it. He reached towards him, and James melted into his embrace. They hugged for a while, not saying anything. Finally, Remus pulled away and looked him in the eye.
“I know you miss them. I do too. And it’s okay if you want to talk about them, or miss them, or tell my-- tell our mom just to piss off. Whatever you want to do, it’s okay.”
James sniffled and shook his head. “What good would it do? No use dwelling on the past.”
Remus sighed. “It was only a few years ago, James. You’re still healing.”
“Healing from what? It’s not like I was there.”
“I… I know that.”
Remus knew that better than anyone. It was him that James was with when the fire happened. Suddenly, James felt a wave of guilt. He shouldn’t be making his friend-- his brother-- feel so shitty.
He punched his shoulder lightly. “Thanks for caring, Moony. But I really am fine. Now let’s talk about that ball, eh? I think you might meet a few dashing suitors there.”
Remus laughed, and just like that, they were back to joking around, quipping about the last ball Mrs. Lupin had dragged them to, which ended in James drunkenly passing out in the hedge maze after proclaiming his love for Lily Evans to a crowd of complete strangers. Not his best moment.
“You know…” Remus was saying as they walked back to the house. “The Black brothers-- the ones coming into town-- they’re both named after stars.”
“Really?”
Remus had been obsessed with astronomy since they were little. He loved listing off the constellations and telling the stories that accompanied them. More than anything, he loved the moon, hence his nickname. James had always found this odd-- Remus’s illness cycled with the very moon he loved so dearly. Sometimes, he was impossible to understand.
“Yeah. The older one, who Mom’s so excited about, is named Sirius. That’s the brightest star in the night sky. He must be a real charmer, if that’s what he’s named after.”
James scoffed. “Or maybe a massive, shining twat.”
“Maybe. Maybe the twatiest man in all of England.”
“No, that title is reserved for you.”
“Oh, come off it.”
They both laughed and strolled inside. James was already feeling better, his mind on other things. Remus hopped onto the kitchen counter and took a bite out of a particularly ripe peach, and juice dripped down his chin. He always had incredibly sharp canines-- you could see it when he smiled. They chatted for a while longer, and James absentmindedly picked up the letter left on the kitchen table and glanced over it. It truly was a beautiful invitation--thick ivory paper and letters printed in a shimmering gold. The Black family surely had wealth to spare.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
“Hey, didn’t you say that both brothers were named after stars?”
Remus peach paused halfway to his mouth. “Oh, right. Yeah, the younger one is named Regulus.”
He took a chomp, clearly not as interested in the second Black brother as the first. But for some reason, the name intrigued James. Reg-u-lus. Three steps, cascading down in tone.
“So? What’s the story?”
Remus took an excruciatingly long time chewing, then wiping his mouth.
“It’s in the Leonis constellation. Actually, it’s the heart of the lion.”
“Huh. He must be brave, then.”
Remus raised an eyebrow. “Or maybe just a twat.”
“Yeah,” James said absently, looking out the window. “Maybe.”
The Black ball was a spectacle to behold. Even James was impressed, and he’d seen plenty of gatherings. He quite loved them, really, especially balls. There was something so magical about everyone gathering in their finest dress, dancing to jovial strings, clinking glasses, and laughing their worries away. He really loved when things became debaucherous, like when he and Remus used to hide under tables and scheme up tricks to play on the guests.
But those times were behind them, and now balls were a place to meet marriage candidates, which was a terribly boring affair to James. He knew who he wanted, and she hadn’t attended a single one of these things in her entire life.
He was still marveling at the sprawling estate aglow in torchlight when Mrs. Lupin gently nudged him and Remus forward on the gravel path.
“Now don’t waste time gawking when you can mingle,” she chided.
James looked at Remus and groaned.
“Oh, come on. You can flirt with whoever you please and drink as much as you like.”
“Yes, but flirting is dreadful when everyone treats it like a business agreement and drinking is a bore when I do it alone.”
Remus had taken to staying sober at balls ever since James’s last… escapade.
“Then you’ll be miserable all night,” Remus said, clapping his hand on his shoulder. They had reached the entrance. “I, on the other hand, will be drowning in prospects. Farewell!”
With that, he was off, already blending into the warm rush of bodies clamoring inside. James took one final gulp of cool night air and stepped inside, plastering on a smile and trying to think of nothing at all.
The evening had been going better than expected. A few hours in, James had loosened his collar and was glistening with a sheen of sweat from dancing. He spoke to a few interesting people; one woman named Marlene McKinnon was especially peculiar in all the right ways. They had an animated conversation about their favorite spirits and liquors, Marlene waving around her willowy arms with an intense passion. James had the fleeting thought that she and Lily would really get on well.
Then another woman, dressed impeccably, whispered in her ear and then sauntered off. Marlene’s eyes widened and she gulped an entire glass of champagne, set it down, quickly said goodbye to James, and ran off. Strange, indeed.
But it was still largely uneventful. That is, until the Black brothers arrived.
The crowd parted to allow them to make an entrance, and James ended up standing right next to Remus. He elbowed him and tried to joke about the whole affair, but Remus’s eyes were fixed on the doorway. There was no distracting him. Sighing, James begrudgingly watched, too.
Three people entered, two men and a woman. While they were at a distance, James’s attention was drawn to the woman. Her dress was a rich shade of blue, and her hair a blonde so brilliant it was nearly white. As they drew closer, his attention shifted to the man in the middle-- and immediately he knew it was Sirius. He was stunning in an amiable way; surely no one could resist swooning over him. His suit was tailored perfectly but slightly disheveled, as if he’d just had a romp in the garden before arriving. His hair was tied back, but from what James could tell, it was silky and raven-black. His smile was all cheer, but beneath it lurked mischief. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on James’s part.
He elbowed Remus repeatedly, practically pummeling him in the stomach, trying to communicate that YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY FLIRT WITH THE HOT, RICH, ELIGIBLE BACHELOR TONIGHT. Remus elbowed him back so sharply that James doubled over, the wind completely knocked out of him. He took that as an agreement.
As he finally straightened up, recovering from Remus’s blow, he realized the three were right in front of them, and they should be bowing now, not standing. His timing was always off with this kind of thing. But in that split second of standing, he’d never been more glad it was.
The other man was looking right at him, even though Sirius and the woman were looking ahead.
Regulus.
James was only able to absorb his icy gray eyes before the moment ended, and the three had passed. They were breathtaking.
“Why didn’t you bow, you prat?” Remus hissed under his breath.
James didn’t respond.
All he could think of was those eyes. That color-- where had he seen it before? He racked his brain. A gray dove? No, too dark. Smoke rising from the Lupin’s chimney? Too light.
And then he realized.
Regulus Black’s eyes were the precise shade of mist hovering over the meadow at dawn. Distant and mysterious, yet beautiful all the same.