Chapter Text
James was 16 the first time he saw Regulus Black.
It was the first postgame party of the football season. Music, bass, drinks, dancing and smoking. To say the least, It was quite the party. As the night grew later, the music grew louder and everything around him seemed to go a bit fuzzy.
James hadn’t been to many parties in his life, but of the few he had attended, he always seemed to lose his senses after his second drink. All of James’ teammates were plastered, laughing, and still giddy on the high of their win, but all James could think about was finding somewhere quiet, away from all the noise. Mason McKinnon’s parties always got wild, but tonight James couldn’t find himself in the mood for high-stakes beer pong and cheap weed. Instead, he kept eyeing the staircase, trying to find the right time to sneak upstairs unnoticed. Eventually, when Team Captain Mason was busy making out with his girlfriend, James made his escape.
This is how he found himself staggering into Marlene's bedroom at one am, nearly tripping over Esther in the process. James grabbed onto her desk to steady himself as Marlene jumped up from the bed, abandoning the book she was reading in favor of “saving” the ancient cat from James’ gangly limbs.
“James!!” she shouted as she bent over to pick up her precious pet. “Stop trying to kill my cat!”
James laughs. “Marls the thing is half-expired already.” The music from downstairs is so loud that even up here the walls buzz with the bass.
Marlene narrows her eyes at him as she turns around to set down Esther, who is now looking at James with a frighteningly human-like glare.
He remembers the day he first found the alley cat. It was years ago, he couldn’t have been older than seven, but a first-grade James Potter had more empathy than most full-grown adults. So naturally, when he saw a mangy alley cat on his way home from school, there was no question he was going to keep it.
Well, until he brought it home and found out his mother was fiercely allergic.
The problem? Esther was probably the bitchiest cat you’d ever meet.
She was far from a kitten, probably around eight or nine already. She had no collar and no particular fondness for people. You might mistake her for a hairless cat if it wasn’t for the sparse patches of gray fur around her body. She must’ve had some sort of accident since she couldn’t walk without limping and she seemed to distrust anyone who walked in the room.
After an extensive vet visit, it was determined that Esther was miraculously flea-free and relatively healthy for a stray. With a prescription for antibiotics, James was sent on his way.
About two weeks after James had brought home the newest edition, there were still no people lining up to adopt an older cat like Esther.
Enter Marlene McKinnon.
Marlene's father had been "work friends" with Fleamont for over a decade and it wasn’t uncommon for the McKinnons to come over for dinner. Usually, Mason and James would go play in his room after dinner while Marlene stayed with the adults.
Excluding the only girl was purely out of self-preservation. You see seven-year-old Marlene McKinnon had the incurable disease of cooties, and James wasn't taking ANY chances.
That night, James and Mason had been playing Mario Kart as usual, when a soft knock came on the door.
“Here, take my controller, will ya? It’s probably just my mum.” James said to Mason as he made his way towards the knocking.
You can imagine his surprise when he opened the door to a very annoyed Marlene. An Angry Marlene, at any age, was not fun to deal with. Luckily for James, her eyes shifted to something behind him and her face morphed into absolute awe as she pushed her way into the room.
“OH MY GOD!!” she screeched. “YOU HAVE A CAT!?” Before he could protest, she ran over to the small pen set up in the corner of his room where he’d been housing Esther.
Wait! He wanted to say, but before he could get anything out she was reaching her arm down toward the stubborn creature.
James closed his eyes and braced for the scream.
And……..nothing.
James opened his eyes to see the cat rubbing her head on Marlene's hand and leaning into her touch.
‘Awwww! Who’s a good kitty?” she said as she scratched behind her ears. It was then that James noticed the strange gurgling noise coming from the cat. Was that…..no…….was Esther……purring?
“You’re so lucky James! I wish I had a cat.”
He paused for a moment, seeing his opportunity. “She’s not mine actually,” James said. “You can have ‘er if you want. Never seemed to like me much anyw-” but Marlene had thrown her arms around his neck before he finished the sentence.
“OH THANK YOU JAMES!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!” She then whisked the cat up and out the door. And that was that.
Once James had found out Marlene was adopting the cat, he insisted on coming over once a week to check on her. Esther may not have been the best houseguest, but James still held a bit of fondness for the creature.
Eventually, James stopped coming over to see Esther and started coming over to see Marlene and since then they’d been attached at the hip.
A sudden snap in front of his face brought him back to the present.
“Hello?” Marlene said as she snapped her fingers an inch from his eyes.
“Sorry, what’d you say Marls?”
She rolled her eyes affectionately.
“I said how many drinks have you had? You seem a little out of it.” she gestured vaguely at him.
“Just two” he shrugged as he wobbled back and forth.
“Jesus.” She mumbled shaking her head disapprovingly. “6’2 and still a fucking lightweight.” James laughed as she pulled out the chair to her desk. “Sit ‘ere. I’ll get you some water.”
“Alright.” He said, dropping down into the seat.
James was not usually a drinker at parties. Always trying to keep his body and mind in “peak condition” as he put it. But tonight he thought he’d try to escape with booze just for once. James had been the youngest accepted onto the team that year, and he was incredibly proud of it. He trained hard every day and for the past few weeks at practices, he’d been buzzing with excitement.
That was until the first game rolled around and he realized that his mum was too busy to make it to his games. James would never hold it against her. Euphemia was a wonderful mother and an even better politician, but she’d always made it clear that she was not going to choose between her career and her family. No matter how hard it was, she always managed to balance her time between the two things most important to her.
But she had to make sacrifices and she really didn’t have 3 hours of free time every Friday.
His dad was there of course. Wearing school colors and a ridiculous foam finger that he waved around frantically. He clapped and cheered louder than all the other parents, but sometimes a boy just misses his mum.
James sighs and rubs his hands on his face. He doesn’t know exactly why he’s so upset about this. He takes a glance around the room, noting the familiar posters and polaroids of him and Marls over the years. As he looks around a flash of bright silver catches his eye.
James furrows his brow.
On the floor, half buried under an inside-out sweatshirt, was a crinkled magazine.
Something seemed to draw him to it and before he could realize what he was doing, he was walking over to pick it up and bring it back to the desk.
The boy on the cover was nothing short of stunning. Soft brown curls framing an angular face. Light freckles dusting over pale skin and defined cheekbones. A thin, aristocratic nose that turned up at the end. James might’ve thought he was a bit snobby if it weren’t for his eyes.
The centerpiece of the photograph and the feature that had drawn James to the magazine in the first place.
Half-hidden under long sweeping lashes was the most captivating pair of eyes James had ever seen. Startling gray with flecks of green, silver, and a little bit of mischief. The mystery boy looked around James’ age and he wondered how someone so young could look so…mature. He didn’t realize he was staring until Marlene walked back into the room carrying a glass of water and a small treat for Esther.
“Didn’t take you for a Reg fan,” she said as she tossed the treat to Esther whose eyes were still burning holes in the back of James’ head. “I thought you’d be more of a Sirius guy.”
“What?” James asks, still not looking away from the cover.
“Sirius. 2nd in line for the throne. Eldest of the Black brothers. Any of this ringing a bell grandpa?”
James does not answer and instead stays fixed on the cover.
“The princes. How do you not know this?” Marlene asks, moving to look at the magazine over his shoulder, seemingly genuinely distressed at James’ lack of knowledge of the famous teen heartthrobs.
James finally manages to tear his gaze from the photo and turns to laugh at her distress. “Well sorry, I don’t spend my time reading gossip magazines for 13-year-olds.”
“Hey! J-14 is a reputable source of journalism!”
James laughs as he turns back to the cover and for the first time notices the headline in large letters:
PRINCE REGULUS TURNS 15!
He turns the name over in his mind.
Regulus
Marlene sets down the glass of water for him and walks towards the door. “I’m gonna head downstairs and get a drink. Let me know if you need a ride home alright?”
“I think I’ll just walk. It’s less than two blocks.”
Marlene frowns. “Make sure you’re careful. It’s pretty late.”
“Yes, mum.” he laughs as she rolls her eyes and leaves to go downstairs. James follows suit pretty soon after, his ears ringing from the speakers, but not before he snags the magazine for himself.
He walks until he can't hear the music anymore.