Archive of Our Own

Barty has always loved animals. 

When he was a child, he constantly tried convincing his parents to let him have a pet–a cat, a dog, an owl, anything. Nothing he said ever persuaded his father, who insisted that he was never going to be mature enough to take care of another living being. It became a game for him, something that he could hold over his head until Barty stopped asking. 

He tells himself he’s stopped wanting for a pet, but this is a lie. It’s obvious every year he attends Hogwarts, when he looks at all the students bringing their own pets back to school and yearns for his own. 

That’s why he’s so thrilled when a black cat finds him in the library. 

He’s sitting by himself in the back corner, trying to focus on his course work. He’s not succeeding, mainly because he wants to be outside with his friends. Unfortunately, he’s procrastinated on his homework for too long, and there’s no way he’ll be able to concentrate on anything other than Regulus Black when his friend is in front of him. 

There’s no chance of him concentrating now, but he’s quite happy about the distraction in cat form. 

“Hello there,” He greets them softly, carefully pushing his chair back. He’s scared of startling them but he also really wants to be closer. “Aren’t you beautiful?” 

This seems to please the cat, since they venture closer to him, moving out from under the table. Barty holds his breath while they study him, beaming when they leap up into his lap. He immediately starts petting them, delighted when they lean into his touch. 

He’s careful about examining them, seeing no collar, and trying to repress his rising excitement.

“Oh, you’re a boy.” The cat looks up at him, knocking his head into Barty’s hand. Barty snorts but quickly resumes petting him before he gets bored and leaves. Barty would probably cry if that happened. “Is someone missing you right now? Who’s your owner?” 

He isn’t expecting an answer, but he also isn’t expecting to have insulted him. The look Barty receives is affronted enough to have him backtracking quickly. 

“I mean, you’re your own owner, obviously. Your own person–cat! You’re your own cat!” Barty has never been happier to be alone: Regulus and Evan would never let him forget this moment if they were here. This is embarrassing, he’s been around this cat for five minutes and is already apologizing. 

The cat seems amused by his rambling. He rubs his head into Barty’s stomach, who feels himself relaxing back into his seat. He’s clearly redeemed himself in his new friend’s eyes, and he’s glad for it. 

“Reg would love you.” Barty tells him, scratching behind his ears, grinning when he opens one of his eyes and blinks up at him. So precious. Barty needs to buy a camera the first chance he gets. “He’s a cat person, he’ll freak out over how cute you are.” 

The thought makes him grin, because he can’t picture anything sweeter than Regulus cuddling this cat. He needs to see it happen. 

“You’ll probably like him better, but that’s okay. I do too.” He confesses in a whisper, grinning when the cat appears to take offense again, swatting at his hands with his paws. He likes to think that animals understand him, and this cat is evidence of that. 

He’s about to start suggesting names for the cat, fully aware he’s already too attached to a pet that isn’t his, when he hears someone heading in his direction. Barty rushes to scoot his chair in, since animals aren’t allowed to be in the library. 

Paranoid, yes, but worthwhile when he makes eye contact with Cassandra, the librarian. 

“I thought I would find you back here.” She greets him with a warm smile. Barty hopes he doesn’t look guilty. “It’s dinner time, you should go join your friends.” 

“Oh, let me put my books away first!” Barty suggests, trying to stall, not sure what to do about the cat. Unfortunately, Cassandra narrows her eyes at him, her hands landing on her hips in a way that shows her disapproval for his idea. 

“You do realize that this is part of my job? I’m not making you do it for me. Now, up, get going so I can finish up and get my own dinner.” 

Fuck. Barty braces himself to lose all the respect he’s painstakingly gained with her over the years. The cat is worth it, but still, the thought stings. Slowly, Barty brings a hand down to his lap, still hoping he can hide him from Cassandra, and discovers that his lap is empty. The realization startles him enough to glance down quickly, pouting when he acknowledges that the cat really did leave at some point. 

He didn’t want to get in trouble, but he also didn’t want to lose him so quickly. 

He pouts the entire way to dinner, especially when he gets there and Regulus is nowhere to be found. Evan explains that he got frustrated in Transfiguration and no one has seen him since. 

“Should we–?” Barty starts, cut off by Evan shaking his head at him as he piles food onto his plate. Barty scowls back: he hates being interrupted. 

“No, you know Regulus hates being around anyone when he gets like this.” When Barty still looks uncertain, Evan rolls his eyes. “I’ll go to the kitchen and bring him food to our dorm, happy now?” 

Barty is not happy, actually. He feels a little better knowing that Evan will take care of Regulus, but he wishes he was doing it instead. It’s times like these that Barty feels their year difference, and he hates the reminder–it’s bad enough that they don’t share most classes or a dorm. Barty doesn’t like any of the students in his own year, and is still grateful that Regulus and Evan had all but adopted him in his first year. The thought of them graduating this year, leaving Barty alone, makes him feel nauseous. 

“Yes.” He says, instead of expressing any of this. He’s worried about Evan’s reaction to what he really wants to say, which is please don’t forget about me when you get out of here. The thought is embarrassing enough without being outwardly childish–what, is he going to make them pinky promise too? 

Evan hums, changing the subject to Barty’s classes, and Barty goes along with it. His heart isn’t in the conversation, because now he’s worrying about Regulus and wishing the cat hadn’t disappeared on him: he’s sure he would have been comforting for Regulus. 

Barty has to force himself to think about anything else, not liking that he’s already attached. At least he hadn’t named him, or he would really be screwed. Pandora told him once that there was no going back after you name an animal, because they become yours from that point. 

The cat isn’t his, and Barty is certain he’ll never see him again. 

Barty sees him everywhere. 

His heart leaps everytime he spots a black blur weaving his way through the corridors, somehow managing not to catch anyone else’s attention. Unfortunately, Barty always sees him at the worst times, when he’s supposed to be studying or going to classes. A further issue is that the cat manages to disappear comically easily: everytime Barty catches a glimpse, he’s gone before Barty can do more than whip his head around. 

No one else sees him. 

Barty asks for help at dinner one night, sitting across from Regulus and Evan. He’s determined to catch this cat, and if anyone can help him, it would be those two. 

Also, he needs the distraction from how soft Regulus looks, or how the bags under his eyes only make him look more attractive somehow. It’s truly unfair, because when Barty is exhausted, he looks a nightmare. Regulus looks like he belongs on the cover of one of those magazines his mother reads religiously. 

“What cat?” Regulus asks, looking at him strangely. 

Barty can’t maintain eye contact with him, focusing instead on stealing food off of Evan’s plate. He gets hit with Evan’s fork, which is enough of a distraction that Barty can feel himself relaxing. 

He’s being ridiculous. He’s normally better about hiding how he feels towards Regulus, since he’s had almost six years to practice. He doesn’t understand why he’s been failing at that lately, but he needs to get better. 

“The black one that’s been everywhere.” Barty says back, hoping that they’ll understand what he’s talking about. 

Regulus stares back at him blankly, fork hovering over his plate. Evan just shakes his head. 

“Mate, I haven’t seen a cat.” Evan says after a few seconds, looking confused. Regulus nods along. 

“But he’s been everywhere! Seriously, everywhere. I found him outside the common room the other day, and the library, and outside sitting at our tree. He won’t let me grab him though.” He can’t stop a frown from forming on his lips, which makes Evan laugh at him. 

“Well, we haven’t seen him.” Regulus says, his hand waving between Evan and himself. 

“Will you keep an eye out, then? For me? And grab him if you get the chance?” 

For some reason, Regulus finds this amusing. His lips twitch up into a smirk, and his eyes gleam with mischief. 

As much as Barty finds this attractive, he also finds it frustrating, because this situation has been driving him insane over the last few weeks. He looks pointedly at Regulus, waiting for him to stop being such a prat. 

Regulus seems to realize that Barty is truly upset, because he clears his throat and wipes the smirk off his stupid, pretty, annoying face. 

“Sorry, but how do you expect Evan and I to grab him if he doesn’t want people around him?”

“I don’t know.” Barty whines, hating when Regulus gets pragmatic. Realism is terrible. 

Regulus doesn’t make fun of him, although Barty can tell he’s struggling to hold back. He just nods, slowly, in the way he does when he wants the other to know he doesn’t agree with them without being overtly rude. He’s aggravatingly good at it, having been taught diplomacy by his family. 

He’s never like this with him, and Barty feels it as a loss. 

As often as Barty shares spaces with the cat, he doesn’t deign to grant Barty his presence until Barty is on a date. 

Honestly, Barty isn’t feeling it. Alexander is a decent bloke, and Barty had agreed on the basis that he needed to get over Regulus, sooner rather than later. Besides, dates can be fun, and Barty seeks out anything that will bring him happiness. 

This is not bringing him happiness. 

Barty had been excited about this date, even if his best friends hadn’t shared his enthusiasm. Sure, he would rather be on a date with Regulus, but that wasn’t going to happen, and he at least had a few things in common with Alexander. He’d thought their shared love of Quidditch would be a nice conversation topic. 

He’s been proven wrong. The only time Alexander stops raving about his own talent on the field is to ask rather pointed questions about Barty’s team. He doesn’t ask which professional team Barty cheers for, or what he likes about the sport, or why he started playing. No, he asks bold questions about the Slytherin team in clear hopes of winning the upcoming Slytherin-Ravenclaw match. 

Barty is close to snapping at him and storming off, but he holds off. Mostly because of his pride, since Evan had warned him that this wouldn’t go well. He’d told him that Alex was self-centered and shouldn’t be able to get his head off the ground long enough to fly, going on a long rant about how egotistical he was. Barty had ignored him, and now he refuses to leave early, because they will only have to take one look at him to know they were right. 

Barty hates Evan being right. 

He also hates how amused Regulus had looked throughout Evan’s complaints. 

I’m only going on this date because of you, he’d wanted to scream when Regulus laughed along with Evan. You won’t date me, so I need to find someone who will.

He didn’t say anything. He never does. 

“And your captain, no offense, he doesn’t seem all that willing to make sacrifices.” Alexander continues on, unaware or uncaring that Barty is grinding his teeth together so hard he won’t be surprised if he starts bleeding. 

“He’s the best player I’ve ever known.” Barty snaps back, because it’s true and because he hates the thought of anyone talking down on Regulus. He deserves better than that. 

Alexander looks condescending at that, although he noticeably doesn’t argue the point. It’d be fruitless to try, because everyone at Hogwarts knows how talented Regulus is in the air. Not even his older brother has been able to deny the fact, although he clearly resents it. Regulus has been scouted heavily since his fourth year, which a lot of students are jealous of. This summer, after he graduates, Regulus is going to a camp to learn more about the different teams. Barty is incredibly proud and can’t wait to go to matches and tell everyone that he’s his best friend–Regulus has already promised to save him tickets. Evan, as well, but Barty sometimes pretends that Regulus is only saving them for him, and as more than a friendly move. 

“Well, yes, but is he as good as a captain?” 

Before Barty can snap back, very tempted to throw something at this idiot, there’s a sharp tug on the tablecloth. Everything happens so quickly, and Barty can’t stop his surprised laugh when their food and drinks end up in Alexander’s lap. The other boy swears violently as he leaps to his feet, and they both look down to see a familiar black cat sitting under the table. 

This makes Alexander swear even more, this time at the cat. 

His tone and words activate Barty’s protective instincts, and he quickly makes a grab for his cat. To his shock and delight, he’s allowed to scoop him up to his chest, where he cradles him and glowers at a red faced Alex. 

Alexander glares back, before being distracted by the mess covering him. He shakes his head in disgust, leveling another glare at the cat in Barty’s arms. Barty holds him tighter. After a long pause, his date disappears to the bathroom to clean up, and doesn’t come back. 

Barty barely notices his absence, as glad as he is for it. He’s too focused on the cat, who seems pleased with himself in a cocky way he’s sure only cats can pull off. In any case, he deserves to be pleased with himself, and Barty tells him that. 

“You’re such a good boy,” Barty coos at him, causing him to push his face into the side of Barty’s neck. Barty beams at this, holding him tighter against him. He is officially stealing him as his own pet. “You saved me from a horrible date, did you know that? You’re so good, so–” 

His murmuring is interrupted by Madam Rosmerta, who comes bustling over, pursing her lips at the mess. Barty immediately turns red, having not paid attention to anyone other than the cat. Thankfully, any attention he’s received has moved on. 

“I’ll help clean it up.” Barty volunteers, jumping to his feet, still holding onto his cat. Rosmerta shakes her head at him, looking pleased with him for offering. Barty is glad–she is not an enemy he wants. 

“No need, you can’t do magic outside Hogwarts.” She points out, pulling her wand out as she speaks. Barty frowns, protesting that he can still help without magic, but she has it all cleared away before he can finish his sentence. 

“Now, as amusing as his interference was, I don’t allow pets in here. Too many people are allergic.” 

Barty nods quickly, smiling apologetically at her as he makes his exit, determined not to risk losing his cat again. To his relief, he doesn’t make any effort to leave his arms, seemingly content to go where Barty takes him. 

His first thought is that he needs to introduce him to Regulus and Evan, so that they can stop making fun of him for his ‘pretend pet.’ Unfortunately, the two of them have chosen to stay at Hogwarts for the day, since they claimed that Hogsmeade would be boring without Barty. 

After thinking for a few moments, Barty perks up and rushes to the pet store, talking to his new companion the entire way. 

“I’ve been asking around and no one at Hogwarts has you as a pet. Only five students have black cats, and they all didn’t fit your description, plus they keep them in their common rooms. You’ve been roaming around the school, and apparently Hogsmeade as well, so you’re clearly a stray.” 

The cat doesn’t react to any of these words, not that Barty really expected him to. 

Still, he slows to a stop, leaning against the side of a shop so they don’t get pushed out of the road. He feels nervous in a way he really shouldn’t as he lifts the cat in the air so that they are eye to eye. He gets a hiss at the change in position, but he isn’t bitten or scratched, so Barty holds him still. 

“How do you feel about becoming my cat?” He asks cautiously, trying to pretend he isn’t worried about his reaction. 

After a long second, he bumps his head into Barty’s hand, and he takes that as confirmation. Thrilled, he leaves kisses all over his face before snuggling him back to his chest, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he does. 

“Great! You won’t regret it, we’re going to have so much fun!” 

Someone passing by gives Barty a strange look, clearly judging him for talking to his cat. Barty flips him off before continuing to ramble as he walks them to their destination. 

Barty is immediately overwhelmed when they enter the pet store. There are so many animals, for one, and he doesn’t know where to go to get supplies for his cat. Actually, he isn’t sure what to get for him. What do cats need?

Before he can panic too much, Barty is greeted by a worker. 

“Well, who is this pretty boy?” She says with a beaming smile, reaching out to pet him. He reels back, hissing the entire time, and her face falls. 

Barty pulls him closer to himself, trying to force down his amusement and pride: apparently he’s the only one worthy of holding him. 

“I just got him, I need to buy him . . . uh, things.” 

This is beyond embarrassing, but thankfully she doesn’t judge him for his clear lack of cat related knowledge. Not for the first time, Barty curses his father for hating anything relating to animals. 

“Do you need everything?” 

Barty nods, realizing that he really does have nothing for him. This trip is about to be expensive, but he doesn’t mind. He’ll gladly spend all his money on him–it’s not as if he has anyone else to spend it on. 

“Great! I’ll go grab some items from the back and you can go through them. If you want a collar and personalized items, they’re a bit more expensive, but you can fill out a form at the desk with his name and your information. We’ll have them delivered to you.” 

His name. Fuck, Barty hadn’t considered that at all. 

He watches her disappear into the store room with rising panic: he’s certain he’ll be judged if he doesn’t fabricate a name before she comes back to him. 

For a long moment Barty stares down at the cat in his arms, no names coming to his mind. Regulus would be good at this, he’d come up with a powerful name, more than likely relating to mythology. He’s obsessed with the history behind his and his family's names– yes. 

“Leo.” Barty says with a wide grin, finding that the name suits him. 

Leo doesn’t seem to agree, if the way he scratches Barty’s arm is an indication. Barty hisses in pain, almost dropping him out of shock. 

“Don’t be rude,” He admonishes him, holding him as far away as he can while still keeping a grip on him. Leo looks a second away from trying to drop out of his arms despite the height he’s being held at. “Leo is a great name. You’re named after my favorite person, so really it’s an honor. You should feel honored.” 

Leo very clearly does not feel honored, but it’s too late: the name has stuck. 

Barty does not get bitten or scratched when he holds Leo to his chest again, and Barty takes it as a sign of defeat. He has a feeling calling it acceptance would be going too far. 

The worker is delighted by his name–Barty sends Leo a pointed glance, radiating smugness–and makes quick work of helping Barty get all the necessities. It’s overwhelming, honestly, and he’s thankful for the help. They leave with a bag charmed to weigh nothing and hold all his purchases: cat food, catnip, treats, a litter box, litter, a cat bed, and as many toys as Barty could fit on the counter. He’d gotten a wide eyed glance for that, but Barty just shrugged and handed over the money–a huge chunk of his savings, but worth every galleon. 

He ducks into Honeydukes to buy himself some sweets. Regulus didn’t ask for anything, but Barty knows he gets miserable without sugar, so he snatches up as many sugar quills as he can. Then he realizes that only buying Regulus treats will be too obvious, and grabs Evan some of his favorites. He almost grabs some for Pandora and Dorcas, before he remembers that they’ve both graduated already. He always forgets about the age differences in their friend group until moments like these. 

“At least I won’t be lonely next year, now that I have you.” He whispers into Leo’s fur, kissing the top of his head. In response, Leo squirms in his arms, suddenly restless. 

Barty holds him tighter, not even feeling guilty about it. He did just spend almost a year’s allowance on him, so he isn’t letting him go missing again. 

He distracts himself by going to the counter, watching as the worker coos at Leo, who acts annoyed with the attention. He drags them to Zonkos after, wanting to prank Evan and Regulus as much as possible. 

He does everything he can think of to avoid thinking about the next school year, but he can’t stop himself now. He’s terrified to think about what will happen to them after Regulus and Evan graduate. Regulus will be gone this entire summer, aside from two weeks at the end of it, and he’ll spend it meeting talented Quidditch players. What if he makes better friends and leaves them behind? And Evan is being recruited for various internships, leaning towards a potions mastery. Neither of them will have the time or energy to write to Barty or visit him. 

He’s going to be alone at Hogwarts for an entire year, since he’s never bothered making other friends. The students in his grade don’t like him, and he doesn’t like them either. This has never been a problem for him since Regulus saw him sitting by himself after being sorted and chose to move over and teach him about Hogwarts. Evan had followed, and Barty had been delighted and confused by these two older boys being so nice to him. He still remembers how shocked he’d been to find the two of them waiting in the common room for him the next day, so they could bring him to breakfast and show him to his classes. He hadn’t expected them to continue being nice to him after the sorting feast, and had expected it to be partly for show. He’d quickly been taught that neither of them do anything they don’t want to do. 

The other Slytherin’s are as disgusted by his name, the one he shares with his father, as Barty himself is. Not Evan and Regulus, though: not in a condescending way. They hate the way his father treats him, and they make fun of his name being Bartemius, but they don’t hold anything against him. They make it easier to deal with. 

He’s going to be so lost next year. 

“Do you think they’ll forget about me?” He murmurs to Leo, looking down at him as he leaves the shop and starts walking back to Hogwarts. Leo blinks up at him. Barty wonders what he thinks of him. Does he consider Barty to be his kidnapper? “I think they will. They graduate this year, but I still have one left without them. They’re going to be proper adults and I’m going to be lost.” 

Leo does not like him saying this. He reacts to his words by hissing and climbing up his arm to hit him in the face with his left paw. All Barty can do is gape and try not to flinch away when he gets smacked again. 

“Stop!” Barty whines, struggling to move Leo off his arm so he no longer has access to Barty’s face. Leo does not let himself be moved, digging his claws in so deep that Barty thinks he’ll leave permanent marks. “Fuck, that hurts, it hurts!” 

Leo does stop, looking haughty as he moves to be perched on Barty’s shoulder, peering down at him. Barty looks back cautiously, not wanting to upset him again. 

Barty doesn’t bring it up again. 

The conversation is more than Barty could ever dream of. 

The three of them are sitting outside, under the tree they claimed for themselves back in first year. Regulus has given up on his homework, claiming that it’s useless, and is stretching himself out in a languid move that makes Barty think of his new pet–the one who managed to escape his dorm at some point a day after he brought him back. Barty has not seen him since, and he is very upset about it. 

It’s hard to feel upset about anything when he’s faced with Regulus. 

Right now, Barty is trying not to look too long at the position Regulus is in: arms above his head, stretched out fingers, scrunched up face, his shirt pulled up with his movements. He’s failing spectacularly. 

When Regulus decides he’s as relaxed as he can be, he curls up under the shade, smiling up at Barty and Evan, who are still sitting up in front of him. Barty pretends he’s only smiling at him, that the two of them are alone, that they could–

“We should get a flat together.” Regulus says casually, and Barty’s mind leaves the conversation. All he can do is gape at Regulus, who is saying the words he hadn’t realized he was dreaming of until this moment. 

“All three of us?” Evan asks, and Barty is glad, because he can’t get his mouth to work. 

“Yes. It’d be fun. I don’t want to stay at Grimmauld Place, and I know you two don’t want to stay with your parents. Let’s do it.” 

“I’m in, as long as you aren’t doing the decorating.” Evan says with a smirk, making Regulus throw grass in his face. They argue over that for a few minutes, Regulus insisting that he knows how to make a place aesthetically pleasing and Evan maintaining that his eyes would melt off his face if he had to live in a place Regulus decorated. 

Then, they both turn to face Barty in what feels like a synchronized move. He just stares back at them, feeling a few steps behind them. 

“You haven’t agreed.” Evan points out, narrowing his eyes at him, looking offended. Regulus looks more understanding, which Barty appreciates enough to start talking. 

“I don’t graduate until next year.” He points out glumly, not wanting them to do this without him, but forcing himself to be realistic. Evan rolls his eyes while Regulus just nods his head, looking almost bored. 

“We are aware that you’re a baby, yes.” Evan says with a smirk, and Barty glares at him as Regulus once again throws grass at him. The defense makes Barty flush, which he hopes they’ll both ignore. 

“I’m only a year younger than you.” He snaps back, scowling, which makes Evan’s face light up even further. 

“And what an important year it is, too. You can’t do magic outside of school, making you a baby.” 

Regulus snorts at that, shrugging at Barty when he turns to him in betrayal. His next words make Barty forget his anger. 

“Come on, you know you want to do it, B. You’ll get an entire year to save for rent, and it’ll give you a place to stay this summer. We can decorate– together, Evan, calm down–and make it our own. It’ll be fun.” 

Barty can’t handle looking at the happiness in Regulus’s eyes. It’s too much to bear. His love for these boys makes him want to say yes, so that he can have them in every possible way. His anxiety tells him to say no, not wanting to mess up in a way that he won’t be able to fix. 

“I don’t know, maybe he’d rather be with Bartemius than his best friends.” Evan says with a shrug, grinning over at Barty. 

These words snap sense into him: why is he hesitating in the first place? He’s messed up with them before, and they always work it out. They’re his boys, and have been for six years. They belong together. 

It helps that his father is a dick, and Barty really doesn’t want to spend more time with him if there’s another option. 

“I’m in, but I want to decorate the sitting room.” 

They both beam at him for a moment before another argument about decorating starts up. Barty joins Evan in making fun of Regulus’s interior decorating abilities, feeling so happy he could burst. 

It’s exactly the reassurance he needs. 

Leo comes back that night. 

He slips into his dorm at some point after Barty goes to the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed. When he comes back out, Leo is blinking up at him from his bed. It’s the perfect end to a perfect day, and Barty tells Leo this in excited whispers, cuddling on his bed. 

Leo doesn’t react other than by nudging his face with his, begging to be pet more. Barty complies as he always does, smiling so widely it hurts. 

He can’t stop thinking about this summer, and now there’s excitement when he thinks about Evan and Regulus graduating. He’s a little jealous that they’ll get to live together without him for a year, but it’s only one year. He’s going to be involved in picking a place and moving everything in– “You’re not getting out of that for being a baby,” Evan had assured him flatly– and he’ll have an entire summer to live with them. 

When Regulus told them that he wasn’t going to be sleeping at his camp, Barty almost cried in relief. Regulus admitted that he didn’t like the thought of being stuck with strangers for a few months, and so he used his father being sick as an excuse. The camp is letting him floo or apparate in every day instead, meaning that he’ll be able to stay at their flat instead. 

Barty gets him for the entire summer, not just two weeks. 

Life couldn’t be better. 

Regulus is avoiding him. 

This is the only reason Barty can think of for the fact that Barty barely sees him anymore. It’s the week before Halloween, so they’ve only been at school for a little over a month, and somehow he’s already messed up with Regulus enough for him to avoid him. 

Evan tells him to stop being stupid, that Regulus is overwhelmed and hiding from everyone. This does not make Barty feel better: he wants to be Regulus’s safe place. He knows that he can’t realistically be there for Regulus at all times, but he wants to be. He wants Regulus to never need anything other than him. 

He does, though, and he always will. 

Barty tries to come to terms with this, sometimes. Other times he just wants to hold Regulus and never let him go. Lately, it’s been the latter more than anything. This is why he leaves Evan with a hurried excuse and runs down to his dorm, pleased when he finds Leo perched on his bed. 

“I need your help.” Barty greets him, grinning when Leo uncurls himself to look up at him. He’s taking that as confirmation. “I know you can go anywhere in this school, so I need you to find my friend. I’m sure you’ve seen him with me, he’s gorgeous. Black curly hair, gray-green eyes, he’s smaller than me but in the cutest way. . .” He trails off when he sees the disgusted look Leo is giving him. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” Barty whines, pouting when he can feel Leo’s judgment multiplying. “You’re smart and small, you can find him!” 

Leo does not move. 

Barty huffs and flops down on the bed next to him, Leo hissing when he gets bumped over. Barty does not apologize: they’re on his bed. If Leo doesn’t want to be moved, he should go on the cat bed. Yes, Barty is being petty about all the things he bought Leo that the cat refuses to touch. 

“Please?” He tries, grimacing when he still doesn’t get the result he wants. When Barty goes to move, a paw flies out and stops him. Barty blinks down at the paw on his arm, and then looks at Leo, who looks unapologetic. 

“Am I not allowed to leave my own bed?” He asks, hopelessly amused when Leo’s only response is to start grooming himself. Barty rolls his eyes, trying to pretend he doesn’t feel fond as he pushes himself back down. He feels it when Leo puffs up, clearly proud of himself. 

They don’t leave the dorm. 

Halloween has always been one of Barty’s favorite holidays. His mother always let him celebrate the Muggle way, with costumes and trick or treating, since his father works on that day every year. It’s one of the only ways his mother has ever rebelled against his father’s strict rules, and he adores her for it. 

Pandora manages to make the holiday terrifying through one letter. 

Her letters are always a jumbled mess that the three of them dissect together, since she writes a single letter for all three of them. She doesn’t even give them separate paragraphs. She asks about Regulus’s and Evan’s classes, Regulus’s summer camp, and throws in random notes she remembers from attending them the year before, and the boys grumble about how they don’t help. Barty is still laughing at them when he gets to the line clearly meant for him. 

Black cats are awesome, I hope I can meet him–keep him safe over Halloween, people are cruel to them! 

He frantically looks for more information–why would people be cruel to Leo?-- but Dora follows that up with what looks like a random equation. There’s nothing else in the letter meant for him. 

“What does that mean?” He asks, his voice weak, and both Regulus and Evan look at him in confusion. 

“The equation? Who fucking knows, it’s Pandora. It’s probably for her own research.” Evan answers with a shrug, still trying to decipher her notes on potions for the essay he has due. 

“I don’t know, it might be for Ancient Runes, I told her we were starting a new unit.” Regulus points out, before scribbling down the equation on the side of his notes for the class. Evan gives him a strange look and he glares back. “What? It could be useful.” 

“I don’t care about the damn equation.” Barty snaps, and both of them look over at his sharp tone, looking wary. He glares back, pointing at the line that upset him. Evan’s eyebrow raises while Regulus looks concerned for him. 

“Oh, is this about your non-existent cat?” Evan asks with a smirk, and Barty bristles. 

“He’s real! I’ve told you a hundred times–” 

“He’s shy, yes.” Evan repeats in a bored tone, rolling his eyes. “That doesn’t change the fact that neither Reg or I have actually seen this cat, so I’m not sure I believe you.” 

They’re messing with him. He knows this, and it doesn’t really bother him most of the time. Now, however, when Pandora has him freaking out, he doesn’t appreciate it. 

“What does she mean by people being cruel?” He asks instead of making his case, since he’s tired of repeating the same story. It would help if Leo would let him take a picture of him, but he got ferociously scratched the only time he tried. “What should I be watching out for?” 

Evan drops the joke when Barty’s voice pitches up, suddenly taking the situation seriously. 

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” 

Barty grinds his teeth together, because as nice as that is, it doesn’t tell him anything. Before he can snap again, Regulus speaks up. 

“People are horrible to black cats because there’s a superstition that they bring bad luck.” 

For a moment, Barty blinks at him in confusion, before he remembers how much Regulus loves cats. They’re one of his hyperfixations and he’s always reading about them. He should borrow his books or ask for recommendations so he can learn more firsthand. Now, though, Regulus’s knowledge is horrifying him. 

“But he’s so cute,” Barty whines, because it makes no sense for people to want to target any animal, especially not Leo. 

Regulus’s eyes widen and his cheeks flush. Barty eyes him for a second before deciding that he must just be catching onto the gravity of the situation–Regulus is a known animal lover, of course he’s bothered by the thought of a cat being hurt. 

“So we’ve heard,” Evan says in a bored tone, although the smile he’s wearing takes away the bite to his words. Barty still glares at him for the principle of it, making Evan hold his hands up in surrender. 

“Why would anyone want to attack a cat?” He asks, looking around the room in distrust. Is he surrounded by vile people, and just not aware of it? The thought is disturbing. “Also, wouldn’t doing something like that bring someone bad luck? Do these people believe in superstitions but not karma?” 

“I don’t really think those people would grasp the concept of logic.” Regulus says dryly. Barty’s lips quirk up but he’s not happy the way he normally is when Regulus makes fun of people. 

Evan frowns at him, looking genuinely worried that he’s still downcast. 

“What do you plan on doing?” He asks, and Barty frowns, because what can he do? What are his options here? Halloween falls on a Monday, so he’ll be stuck in classes— 

“I’ll skip!” He announces, perking up at his epiphany. 

Regulus chokes on his drink, Evan looking disgusted from next to him, even as he pats him on his back. Barty suddenly wishes that he was the one sitting next to Regulus, so he could be the one in contact with him, and then hates himself. Regulus is in pain, and he’s jealous of Evan for helping him–he needs to get a grip. 

“How would skipping help?” Regulus chokes out after he’s calmed down, although his face is still red. Barty peers at him for a second, biting down on his bottom lip. He wants to ask how Regulus is feeling, but doesn’t want to be overbearing. Regulus shuts down when he gets overwhelmed, and Barty never wants to be the cause of that. 

“I’ll spend the entire day with him,” Barty says in a ‘duh’ tone. Regulus swallows, Barty tracking the movement. “No one will be able to hurt him if I spend the day with him, so I’ll just skip.” 

Regulus looks confused on how to deal with that: for one second he looks strangely pleased, before it’s like a shutter goes down over his emotions. Barty blinks at him, confused in a way he normally isn’t with Regulus. It’s strange to not know his emotions. 

“A day without you? I’ll take it.” Evan says cheerfully, and the mood is lifted, just like that. Regulus and Barty both laugh, especially when Evan has to duck under the table to avoid the food Barty starts chucking his way. They get disgusted looks from the rest of their table but none of them pay attention to it–they never do. 

Barty is too focused on the shrieky sound of Evan’s laugh from where he’s squished under the table, trying to hide behind Regulus’s legs. Regulus is laughing, loud and carefree the way he only ever is with them, his whole face lighting up with laughter lines and that lovely crease around his eyes that rarely comes out. 

Nothing else matters. 

Halloween is amazing. 

Barty spends the entire day holed away with Leo. Regulus had gifted him a bucket of candy the night before with a bright grin, so Barty sits on his floor enjoying the treats inside. For Leo, he’s brought out the catnip he’d bought a few weeks beforehand, and is having the time of his life watching his cat get high. 

Leo is blitzed, and Barty would love to join him, but he’s pretty sure that would defeat the purpose of watching over his cat.

“Psp-psp,” Barty hisses, laying on his side to see Leo better. Leo ignores him, too busy rolling around in catnip to focus on Barty. He really can’t judge him for it, and bursts out laughing when Leo leaps up and starts swatting at the air, battling an invisible foe. Why haven’t they tried out catnip before? Barty needs to get him high more often. 

Barty unwraps a chocolate frog, Leo’s attention snapping to the wrapper when it crinkles loudly. Within seconds Leo has made his way over and stolen the frog from him. Barty’s laugh cuts off as he launches himself at Leo, making a desperate grab for the chocolate, his heart pounding out of his chest. 

Chocolate is lethal for dogs and he’s fairly certain that rule applies to cats as well. The terror of what could happen steals his breath away as he snatches his treat back, quickly banishing it and scowling at Leo in admonishment. 

“I’m supposed to be protecting you from other people, not yourself.” He protests, although Leo is already back to ignoring him. He’s flipping around, clearly still high, and Barty feels all his frustration melt out of him. He can’t be upset about what Leo does when he’s impaired from drugs that Barty provided. 

The high only lasts for about ten minutes, which Barty has been warned about. He was also told not to give Leo catnip very often, because he could overindulge and get sick. He’d gotten a lecture on not wanting to desensitize him to the herb, and Barty doesn’t plan on doing so. 

Barty knows the high is gone when Leo mellows out, losing interest in the drugs to flop down and zone out. Barty lays out next to him after carefully putting his bucket in his trunk, not wanting to risk another chocolate frog incident. Leo doesn’t react to his presence, and Barty takes the time to stroke his fur, calming even more in his presence. Leo isn’t necessarily an anxious cat, but he tends to be tense when he rejoins Barty some nights. Barty is dying to know where he goes and what happens to bother him, but it’s not as if Leo can tell him. Still, it’s nice to have him be so calm, and Barty is glad to have caused it. 

He lazily cleans up the mess the catnip left behind, not wanting to deal with his roommates complaining about anything left behind. That’s not to mention that he’s supposed to be sick now and he’s quite sure he’ll be ratted out if they suspect otherwise. 

“I hate everyone who lives in this dorm,” Barty confesses in a whisper. He’s not sure why he always ends up whispering with Leo, but it feels right. Leo blinks back at him. “Not you, of course. You’re my favorite.” 

Barty lets out a choked noise when Leo responds by flopping over to lay across Barty’s stomach. Barty immediately resumes petting him, propping himself up on his elbows so he can see him better. 

“We should make this a yearly thing, a new Halloween tradition. You enjoyed the catnip, didn’t you?” Leo meows his confirmation, making Barty grin again. He blinks up at the ceiling, still petting Leo unconsciously. “It’ll be fun. Next year is the last year we’ll be here, but don’t worry, I’ll bring you to the apartment with me.” 

For some reason, Leo’s meow sounds sad this time. Barty looks back down at him, frowning at the thought of Leo being upset about anything. He ends up scooping Leo closer to him, bending down and smothering him with kisses until he’s squirming to leave his arms. Barty lets him go with a laugh, although Leo doesn’t move far, curling up so close to him that Barty can feel the vibrations of his purring. 

After a while, Barty forces them both to move to his bed, pulling the curtains and casting the silencing charm. He doesn’t trust anyone who can enter the dorm enough to not have the protection up, even if nothing important is said. 

“Reg was the one to come up with the apartment idea.” Barty whispers into Leo’s fur, cuddling up to him again. The continuous vibrations against his cheek are comforting enough for him to continue talking, along with the knowledge that Leo might judge him–people meant it when they said cats were opinionated, Leo is proof of that–but he won’t be able to spill his secrets to anyone. He’s safe. 

“I swear, sometimes he can read my mind. I know I’ve told you about my worries about graduation, and here he decides he wants to live with me and Ev. I can’t believe I got this lucky.” 

After a few seconds he snorts, using Leo’s fur to cover the noise. 

“Well, I’ll be stuck with Ev as a housemate, and Reg always complains that he leaves his stuff everywhere, but I’m sure I’ll deal with it. Or I’ll hex him into stopping.” Leo bumps his head into Barty’s arm, making Barty smirk at the sign of approval. 

“I’ll deal with anything I have to, to have Regulus and Ev in my life as long as possible. Who knows, maybe this will be the push we need?” These words make his voice lower until he’s practically breathing out his confession. 

“Sometimes I can almost convince myself that Regulus is interested in me, too. Part of me wants to just ask, but I don’t want to lose him. I wouldn’t be able to survive that, I really wouldn’t. I’ll never be able to ask him out, but. . . who knows, maybe when we live together, I could show him that I would be a good choice? If I show him that I’m boyfriend material, maybe. . .” He trails off, unwilling to put the thought out into the world fully. 

He can’t help but scoff out a laugh. 

“Here I am, making fun of people’s superstitions, when I’m just as bad.” 

Leo doesn’t react, which feels like agreement. 

The next day, he doesn’t want to leave Leo in order to go down to breakfast. He’s fun to be around, which is probably a lame thought, but Barty has accepted that he’s not exactly a normal person. The thought of Regulus gets him moving, although he’s disappointed to find Regulus hasn’t made it to breakfast when he arrives. 

“Morning,” Evan greets him with a sigh, head pillowed in his arms on the table. There’s a plate of food untouched next to him. Barty goes to steal a piece of bacon from it, groaning when Evan lazily slaps his hand away. 

“Seriously, do you have eyes in your hair or something? How do you do that?” He complains, slumping down across from him. He hates and is jealous of Evan’s situational awareness. 

“I pay attention, dipshit.” 

Evan slowly raises his head from the table, squinting in the light. He’s slow to grab his food, and looks a second away from falling asleep on his eggs. Barty hopes he does, if only so he can decorate him with food. Evan has surely done something to deserve the treatment. 

“Where’s Reg?” Barty asks around a mouthful, making Evan’s lip curl. Barty chews even louder as a result, making Evan look murderous. 

“Be glad he isn’t here or he’d strangle you for that noise.” Evan points out, and Barty laughs. He’s right about that: Regulus despises the sound of people chewing. Last year he yelled at a first year over it, going so far as threatening to write to their parents about their ‘abysmal table manners.’ They had cried and still can’t look Regulus in his eyes. 

He’s a lunatic. Barty loves him. 

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Barty points out, tone dangerously close to being petulant. Evan rolls his eyes at him, looking fed up. Barty is aware that he’s pathetically gone for Regulus, he really doesn’t need it pointed out. 

“He got sick yesterday, stayed in the hospital wing. You prats made me go to classes alone–”

He gets caught off from his whinging by Regulus dropping into the spot next to Barty, propping his head up on his hand. He looks exhausted, as if he didn’t sleep at all, but strangely happy. There’s a gleam to his eyes that only appears when he receives great news, which Barty is curious about, but he’s concerned more than anything. 

“You’re sick?” He demands, reaching out to feel Regulus’s forehead. Regulus blinks up at him blearily, and Barty feels his worry double. Regulus is normally quick on the uptake, being so sassy, so he must feel horrible to not be reacting. 

Barty leans in closer, eyes widening when he realizes how red Regulus is. His entire face is on fire. Barty pushes his hand harder to Regulus’s forehead, growling when his hand isn’t able to tell him his temperature. 

Regulus’s breathing picks up, and Barty feels almost nauseated with concern. How was Regulus released from the hospital wing looking like this? He needs to talk to Madam Pomfrey because this is ridiculous. 

Evan starts laughing before Barty can start dragging Regulus back there. Barty looks over at him in time to see him slap his hand over his mouth, eyes wide. 

“Why are you laughing? He’s really sick.” Barty snaps, glaring at Evan. It’s strange, honestly, because for as annoying as Evan can be, he’s also very protective. He’s the oldest of the three of them, and has always looked at them as his siblings: Regulus especially, after Sirius dropped him. 

Normally, he would be right there, demanding that Regulus take care of himself better. 

Barty shakes his head, deciding to worry about Evan acting strange another time. He turns back to Regulus, who has his eyes clamped tightly shut, looking pained. This scares Barty, because Regulus is normally so careful about not showing his pain around other people. Not to mention his insane pain tolerance–he must feel horrible for it to be so clear. 

“Alright, you’re going back to the hospital wing.” Barty declares in his best no-nonsense tone, making Regulus’s eyes fly open. 

“What? No, I’m fine.” He protests, frowning at Barty as if he’s the one being ridiculous in this situation. He’s so bad at accepting help: Barty will have to work on that more. 

“You’re bright red, your breathing is weird, you keep shifting–you’re not fine.” His words cause Regulus to somehow blush even more, which Barty honestly hadn’t thought possible. 

He doesn’t get the chance to drag Regulus to the hospital wing, since Evan jumps in to remind Barty that he has a meeting with Slughorn before classes, to go over N.E.W.T schedules and his career plans. Barty would gladly skip, sure that Slughorn will understand, but Regulus shoves him off the bench and promises that he won’t go to class until he feels better. 

Barty has barely moved from the table, dragging his feet, before Evan bursts into laughter again. 

He’s so strange. 

Barty is going to kill Leo. 

He is. He will. As soon as he gets out of class, away from his laughing friends, he’s finding his stupid cat. 

Regulus is laughing so hard he’s almost out of his seat, and Evan has tears streaming down his face. The only good thing about this situation is that Slughorn looks more annoyed with them than he is with Barty, frowning at all three of them now. 

“You actually expect me to believe that your cat ate your essay?” Slughorn asks, huffing. Barty opens his mouth to reiterate that, yes, Leo did in fact ruin his essay, but Slughorn shakes his head at him. “I was not born yesterday. Do it and bring it to me tomorrow morning for half credit.” 

He shakes his head as he walks away from them, and Barty whips to his right to glare at Regulus and Evan. 

“I needed that,” Evan gasps out, leaning against Regulus’s side, wiping away his tears as he speaks. “That was amazing, Barty, if you could see the look on your face.” 

Evan takes another look at him and bursts into more laughter. Regulus joins him, snickering as he holds his stomach, face twisted up in pain. It’s been a long time since he laughed hard enough to hurt, and Barty wishes he could enjoy his happiness. 

“I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone actually use that excuse.” Regulus says with a smirk, looking delighted at Barty’s pain. 

“It’s not an excuse, he actually did eat it. I woke up this morning and there were bite marks on my transfiguration essay, and this one was gone. He’s never done this before!” 

“What did you do to piss him off?” Evan asks with a snort. Barty huffs, because why is this his fault? He didn’t do anything to Leo, even though he’s mad about– oh. 

“Oh, fuck.” Barty whines, dropping his head down on their desk. He almost hits it off his cauldron, and would have if Regulus didn’t quickly move it to the side. He’s caught between feeling pleased over Regulus looking out for him, or annoyed that he is still conscious. 

These words get both of them to look interested in what he did, so Barty whines again. 

“I need to know now,” Regulus says around his laughter, Evan agreeing with him. Barty groans, knowing that neither of them will let it go until they get the story from him. 

“I-bought-him-a-litter-box.” He mumbles into the desk, hoping they’ll leave it alone if his voice is muffled enough. They don’t. 

“Sorry, didn’t quite catch that,” Regulus says with obvious glee, Evan snickering next to him. 

“I bought him a litter box!” Barty snaps, gaining the attention of the table next to theirs. He waves them off, grimacing when Regulus laughs harder at his embarrassment. 

“You’ve lost me. What’s the issue here?” Evan asks, his tone bewildered. 

“Thank you!” He exclaims, pointing at him. “There shouldn’t be a problem! I bought the thing at Hogsmeade and he’s never used it. So I did research and apparently you have to drag the cat through the litter so they realize what they have to do or something.” 

“That’s why he ate your essay?” Evan looks amused again, which is not the sympathy Barty was looking for with this story. “Can’t blame him, honestly.” 

“What–?” He starts to complain about this betrayal, before getting cut off by Regulus nodding along with Evan. 

“I’m with Leo. He doesn’t deserve that indignity.” 

For a long moment, Barty gapes at them, sighing when they share gleeful smiles with each other. He wants to go back to them pretending his cat didn’t exist, instead of agreeing with him. 

“It’s a litter box! It’s not some horrible contraption–” 

“Clearly Leo doesn’t feel that way.” Evan points out, biting down a smile. Barty glares at him. “I feel for him. I would eat your essay too.” 

Regulus nods along. 

“Why did I join the advanced class?” Barty whines, because it really isn’t worth this pain. His friends are never going to let this go. He’ll be hearing about this when they’re sixty. 

“Because you’re a ‘potions prodigy’?” Evan mocks Slughorn’s bragging tone as he uses the term, and Barty rolls his eyes. He’s about to make a comment about Evan being jealous, but Regulus beats him to speaking. 

“I dunno, I think he missed us too much.” He embellishes this comment by making kissy faces at Barty, who feels his face flushing instantly. 

Fuck. He has a hard enough time handling Regulus on a regular basis, let alone when he gets all flirtatious. He’s too damn pretty to deal with. 

“Fuck off, I regret it.” His complaint only makes his boys laugh harder. Barty is a second away from throwing his potions kit at them before they get saved by Slughorn chiding them about their noise level. 

“Sorry, Professor.” They both chime, their voices shaking with their laughter. They share a look and Regulus has to turn away from Evan, lips pressed together in an attempt to stop smiling. He makes eye contact with Barty, who feels his heart leap at the bright look in Regulus’s eyes. 

It’s embarrassingly difficult to stay mad after that. 

It all comes to a head in December. 

Christmas is a holiday that Barty has complicated feelings about. Growing up, his father would take the morning off, since it was expected of him to want to spend time with his family. Obviously, he hated doing so, but he would do anything to make himself look better, and people like the idea of a hard working man who loves his family–the exact opposite of his father. Barty would spend the morning a nervous wreck, desperately wanting to please his father, and never succeeding. None of the gifts he made for him were good enough in his eyes, even as a toddler. 

The only good thing to come out of the day was when his father would leave, and it would be just him and his mum, the way Barty likes it. He would wait at the top of the stairs for the sound of Bartemius floo-ing away to work, and his mum would come get him a minute later with a bright smile. They would get back in their pajamas, drink hot chocolate, and open gifts messily on the sitting room carpet. It’s his favorite tradition to this day. 

Since his second year, he hasn't gone home for Christmas. 

His first year, his father had been more harsh than ever. He didn’t like Barty being a Slytherin, or his friends, or how Barty spoke and dressed and and and. Everything was an issue, and he would bark his complaints to his son, or yell at his mum about them. Barty didn’t want to be around him anymore than he had to be, and his mum understood that, telling him to not worry about her and enjoy the holidays at school. 

He does. He especially will this year, since Regulus is staying at Hogwarts with him. 

He explained that his parents had wanted him to go to their French home with them, since his father is getting sicker, but Regulus couldn’t handle it. He used his upcoming N.E.W.T exam as an excuse to stay there. He’d looked frustrated with himself, but Barty just nodded at him. If anyone understands complicated familial relationships, it’s him. 

Evan was frustrated about going home himself, although Regulus pointed out that he could use this time to pack up most of his belongings. That had perked him up, although he’d pouted when they’d walked him down to the carriages so he could leave, making them promise not to have too much fun without him. They wave until he’s pulled away from them, being the only ones left outside. 

“Does he expect us to sit around and await his return in misery?” Barty asks with a laugh, turning to face Regulus. His breath immediately catches. Regulus is always beautiful, but there’s something about the way he looks in Winter–red nose, flushed cheeks, snow in his hair. He’s gorgeous. 

“I’m sure he’d love that.” Regulus agrees with a laugh. Barty blinks rapidly, trying to remember what they were discussing. Evan, right. He could talk about Evan. “I have a better idea of what we could be doing.” 

Barty stares down at him, trying to remember how to breathe. He swallows harshly, leaning against a pillar absentmindedly. He feels the snow through his coat, bringing him crashing back to Earth. Regulus probably doesn’t realize how that sounds, probably just wants to play Quidditch or make a snow fort or anything other than what Barty desperately wants. 

“What’s that?” He asks, biting back a grimace when his voice sounds faint. Regulus grins, taking a step closer to him, and oh, this is too much. His heart is going to give out. 

“Well, there’s no rules against going to Hogsmeade over Christmas.” Regulus says, his eyes lighting up with his smile. He’s always been one to smile with his entire face, and it hurts to look at him. 

Barty has honestly never considered going to Hogsmeade over break. They don’t have enough students staying to warrant an official trip, but Barty isn’t going to be the one to stop Regulus when he gets excited about something. Barty loves the mischievous light in his eyes too much to ever dim it. 

“And how do you know that?” Barty asks, fighting back an amused grin. 

Regulus smirks, taking another step so that he lands right in front of Barty, apparently determined to give him heart failure. Barty has to grab his right hand in his left before he can do something stupid, like grab Regulus, whose eyes track his movements. 

“I did research, of course. I didn’t want our first date to be boring.” 

Barty freezes. 

For a second, he’s certain that he heard Regulus wrong. There is no way that he said the words that Barty just heard–it’s his imagination running wild. Then he has the horrible thought that he could be messing with him, before he takes note of how Regulus looks.
At first glance, he’s the picture of cockiness. With his smirk, and the way he’s holding himself, he doesn’t look anything other than confident. Except that Barty knows Regulus better than anyone else, and he catches the way Regulus has one hand curled up, his nails undoubtedly biting into his palm. He sees the way Regulus’s eyes are flitting between his own and the way he is rooted to the spot–when he panics, he doesn’t activate fight or flight instincts, but a third one–freezing. 

“We wouldn’t want it to be boring, of course.” Barty agrees with a laugh, thinking he can be forgiven for how shaky it comes out, when his dreams are coming true in front of him. 

It takes a moment for his words to catch up to Regulus. Barty gets the treat of watching the shock enter Regulus’s face, his eyes widening, breath catching, mouth forming a circle. His eyes are moving even faster now, cataloging every movement Barty makes. Barty’s sure he’s a sight, flushed from the cold and proximity to Regulus, wearing a grin so wide it’s painful. He must look frenzied, but Regulus looks delighted, beaming as he rocks back and forth as if unable to stop the movements. 

Barty beams back, and they spend long moments looking at each other, leaning into their shared space. 

He sees Regulus, and Regulus sees him. 

They laugh the entire walk to the kitchen. 

They’re both freezing from having spent too long out in the snow, unable to look away from each other, unwilling to break their bubble. Barty had been the one to force them inside after Regulus had started violently shivering. Regulus had protested, clearly not wanting to move as much as Barty hadn’t wanted to, but Barty had been prepared for that. 

“Do you want to get a cold before our date?” 

Regulus had grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the castle as soon as the words left his mouth. 

Now, they can’t stop laughing as they stumble down the stairs, shaking too hard to move as quickly as they want to. 

Barty feels conflicted because he wants time to speed up, so they can be on their date already, but he also wants it to freeze. He wants to live in this moment: Regulus trying to burrow into his scarf, held against his side, giggles pressed into his shoulder. Barty never wants this moment to end. 

It does, but in a way that Barty can be happy about, because they end up in the kitchen with mugs of hot chocolate. He gets to watch Regulus greet all the house elves, knowing them by name, asking about their lives. He gets to bully him into sitting down next to him and throw his right arm on the back of their booth. He gets to see Regulus try and hide his smiles into his drink, as if that will stop Barty from seeing the signs now that he knows Regulus is interested. 

They end up having a long conversation about their feelings, because Barty needs to know everything he can. He finds out that they’ve both been crushing on each other since Barty’s first year, which is amazing to know, but frustrating to realize that they could have done something about it sooner. As much as Barty hates the thought of lost time, it doesn’t feel like he’s really lost anything–he’s had Regulus this entire time, in different ways, and he likes the way they did this. 

Barty tells him about all the times he’s had to stop himself from asking him out, including every single Quidditch match they’ve played. They’re still laughing about Barty admitting that he has a weakness for him being competitive when Regulus slips up. 

“At least you don’t have to prove that you’re boyfriend material.” He giggles into his mug, some of the liquid spilling over the other side from the force of his laughter. Barty is laughing about the shock on Regulus’s face when what he said catches up to him. 

For a long moment, he’s simply confused. Who said anything about him having to prove anything? 

He asks Regulus this, and then frowns when Regulus pales. He looks worried, slowly setting his mug on the table. The thunk of it sounds loud in the sudden quiet. 

Barty blinks back at him, trying to adapt to the situation changing so rapidly. It has to be about what Regulus said, which is still confusing him. The only time he ever said he would prove himself to Regulus was–

No. 

No way. 

Barty gapes at Regulus, certain he’s losing his mind, if not for the way Regulus grimaces and averts his eyes. Part of Barty still thinks he’s wrong, because there’s no way he missed all the signs–now that he’s considering it, there’s so many of them. 

Evan and Regulus have never actually met Leo. He pops up when they aren’t around and disappears when Regulus appears. Whenever they meet up after Barty spends time with Leo, Regulus is late. He told Leo he didn’t want them to forget about him, and Regulus asked them about living together right after. On Halloween, neither Regulus or Barty attended classes–Barty had stolen Leo away to his dorm. Dozens of other memories flit through Barty’s mind–Regulus blushing when he complimented Leo, Regulus wearing a jumper Leo had stolen from him and stuttering when asked how he got it, the little smirk he wore when Barty complained about him not having met Leo. 

Halloween. Barty told Leo on Halloween that he liked Regulus, that he wanted to take the opportunity of them living together to get Regulus to realize that he would be a good boyfriend. He’d put up a silencing charm, and Leo couldn’t speak English, so the only option here is that–

“Holy shit.” 

“I swear I was going to tell you.” Regulus says, his voice weak. Barty stares at him in disbelief, frowning when he sees that Regulus has his eyes shut and his head bent, looking defeated. “I didn’t mean to take advantage of you or–” 

He’s cut off by a loud laugh, the noise punching itself from Barty’s chest before he can stop it. Regulus blinks one eye open, looking disgruntled, looking like Leo. They’re so similar, how did Barty not see it? 

“Why are you laughing? This is serious.” Regulus complains, looking worried still. Barty struggles to calm himself down, but it’s hard to do in this situation. Is Regulus ever going to stop surprising him? He hopes not. 

“Reg, you didn’t take advantage of me.” He manages to choke out, biting down more laughter when Regulus huffs, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He’s so cute. 

“You didn’t know he was me, and you were telling me things and–”

“Did you tell anyone what I told you?” Barty asks, smirking when Regulus puffs up, looking affronted at the thought. 

“Of course not! I would never do that to you!” 

Barty smiles, reaching over to push Regulus’s mug back in his hands. Regulus blinks down at it, looking lost. 

“Honestly, I think it’s hot.” His words cause Regulus’s blood to rush back to his face, his cheeks turning cherry red. He opens his mouth and shuts it, seemingly incapable of speaking. Barty can’t stop himself from smirking, loving that he gets to render Regulus speechless.

He leans in further, delighted when Regulus holds his breath, eyes almost crossing from how close he gets. When he speaks, the proximity causes his breath to ghost Regulus’s face, and he thrills in seeing the effects of it on Regulus.

“Knowing that you wanted to see me so much that you were constantly seeking me out? That’s a real confidence booster, Reg. Does this mean you like me?” He draws out the word like, grinning helplessly when Regulus opens his eyes to glare at him, his twitching lips betraying his lack of anger. 

“You’re really not mad?” Regulus asks, looking caught between amusement and worry. Barty smiles back at him, hoping he can read the honesty in his eyes. 

“No, I really do think it’s cute that you couldn’t get enough of me. Never really saw you as the stalker type, but we are quite possessive, so. . .” 

His words make Regulus flush even more, although he tips his chin up, getting a determined look in his eyes. 

“Of course I seek you out. It’s–I struggle to be in my own head, sometimes. Being a cat helps. Everything seems smaller, in a way–the world is bigger, but my worries don’t matter much to a cat. It’s a nice reprieve, not having to worry so often.” 

He bites his lips as he explains, casting a look up at Barty, who is suddenly the speechless one. The thought that Regulus goes to him whenever he needs a break, that he really can’t get enough of him–it’s everything. He’s everything. 

Regulus smiles softly at him, something in his eyes warming at the look on Barty’s face. Barty honestly feels close to tears, and he can’t handle that. He needs to get them back on even ground. 

He wasn’t lying when he said that he isn’t upset with Regulus: he thinks it’s amazing that he was able to do this, and that he likes him enough to involve him. This is insanely advanced magic, and Barty has a feeling he isn’t registered: he’s putting himself at risk by revealing this. Lucky for him, Barty has no interest in hurting him. 

Messing with him, however, Barty loves doing. This is the perfect opportunity, after months of Regulus pretending not to know what Barty was talking about, after all the pranks he pulled as Leo. He wouldn't be Barty if he didn’t get even, and he doesn’t plan on changing himself to be in this relationship. 

It’s almost embarrassingly easy.

He holds eye contact with Regulus as he leans in again, once again being treated to the sight of Regulus’s breath catching from his actions. He looks so sweet that Barty almost loses track of his thoughts and kisses him–almost. 

Instead, he leans in so far that their lips are almost touching, grinning when Regulus closes his eyes and leans forward, just for Barty to pull back completely. 

The betrayal takes a moment to click, and then Regulus’s eyes fly open, his mouth dropping open. It’s enough to almost make him lose his composure, having to hold on to it with desperate thoughts. 

He only keeps it by reminding himself of how stubborn Regulus is: he’ll definitely get his kiss in a few minutes. For now, he grins at a pouting Regulus, making a point of drinking his hot chocolate to give himself a few moments, looking annoyingly calm if the scowl on Regulus’s face is an indication. 

“All that teasing you did to me, I think you should be the one proving that you’ll be a good boyfriend.” He teases, biting back a laugh at how surprised Regulus looks. 

Any second now, Regulus is going to kiss him. Three. . . two. . . one. 

Nothing happens. 

Instead, determination forms on Regulus’s face, and he nods his head twice. 

“That sounds fair, actually.” What? No, he just wanted to mess with him, make him desperate enough to be the one to make the move. “I can do that.” 

Barty just stares at him, Regulus smiling back, looking excited again. He doesn’t seem upset about not getting to kiss him, which isn’t fair–Barty is definitely upset about it. He needs to have kissed Regulus years ago. What was he thinking, stopping him? He has clearly lost his mind. 

Regulus suddenly jumps up, turning to look at the house elves, who are doing their nightly cleaning. They’ve spent enough time in the kitchen to know that this is a sign of curfew, but Barty finds himself glued to his seat. He doesn’t want to end up back in his dorm, alone. 

“Will you join me?” He finds himself blurting out, and Regulus turns from where he’s cleaning their mugs–ignoring the elves' cries that they could do it for them–with confusion written all over his face, before it clears up and he smiles. 

“As me or Leo?” He teases him, and Barty feels himself lighting up at the reminder that he gets them both. He has them both. 

“Either, both.” He blurts out, and then flushes–he obviously can’t have Regulus in both forms at once. 

For his part, Regulus doesn’t make fun of him, although he’s certain that’ll come later. He just shakes his head, frowning lightly, and Barty tries not to deflate too obviously at the rejection. He didn’t realize how accustomed he was to sleeping with Leo until Regulus was denying him the opportunity. 

“Not tonight, I need to plan.” Regulus bites his lip, grimacing at Barty’s expression, before he sighs. “I promise it’ll be worth it. Meet me in the common room at 10 tomorrow, we can go on our date then?” 

One word is all it takes for Barty to brighten up again. Regulus looks amused by that before shooing him out of the kitchen, turning to go speak to the house elves some more, looking intrigued in everything they say. 

Barty beams during the short walk to their common room, and couldn’t help but fist bump when he feels he’s far enough away for it to be subtle. 

A date with Regulus Black. How had Barty scored that? 

The date is everything Barty could ask for. 

In all honesty, they could do nothing and Barty would be thrilled, because he’s on a date with Regulus Black. He’s wanted this for so long, and he refuses to let anything ruin it for him. 

Regulus goes all out, and Barty feels spoiled. It’s a nice feeling. 

They get to Hogsmeade through a secret passageway that Regulus learned about in his third year. He’d had to get Sirius drunk and soppy to get the information out of him, a story he’s gleeful about to this day. He’d insisted that he had no interest in going to Hogsmeade without Barty, so it was either finding a way to sneak him in or him staying at the school during those weekends, which was one of the best moments of Barty’s life. It was one of the occasions that made him realize just how loyal Regulus was, and how lucky Barty was to have him as a best friend. It’s exciting to sneak along the castle and even more so when they get to Honeydukes and have to exit through the storeroom. 

The store isn’t packed with Hogwarts students, although there are a decent amount of customers, so they have to press their ears to the door and wait for a good moment to make their entrance. Barty gets distracted looking at Regulus, who looks so animated with his bright and mischievous eyes. 

Regulus has to poke his arm to get him moving, muffling a snort into his shirtsleeve when Barty gives him a sheepish grin, caught staring at him. He shakes his head at him, amusement written all over him, before he yanks the door open and they make their way through. It doesn’t matter how many times they do this, it’s always as exhilarating as the first time, and they burst out laughing when they’re safely on the sales floor. 

They have a blast in there, spending so much money that they have to beg for their bags to be charmed lighter. Regulus tries to buy Barty’s purchases but he bodychecks him out of his way, ignoring his pout about not being allowed to pay for everything. Barty has to fight a huge grin over how cherished this makes him feel. 

Regulus only perks up again when Barty promises to let him buy their lunch. It’s hard to let Regulus purchase things for him, but he knows it means a lot to him so he forces himself to deal with it. He’ll just have to spoil Regulus next time. 

After Honeydukes, they head to grab butterbeer in a desperate attempt to keep warm. Barty doesn’t enjoy feeling so cold, but he’ll take any excuse to huddle with Regulus, to hold his hand and brush against him as they walk. 

They go into just about every store they pass, leisurely strolling around the village. When they get to the bookstore, they separate to find a book that the other would like, as has been their tradition since third year. Barty owns all the books that Regulus bought him over the years, and he knows that Regulus still has his as well. They read and annotate them before switching copies with each other, and it might just be Barty’s favorite tradition. 

They’d tried to include Evan, but he’d called them swots and insisted he had better things to do with his time. So this has always been one of those Barty-and-Regulus things, and Barty loves doing it every time. 

He picks a fictional story about a Quidditch player that looks to be some sort of love triangle. Regulus despises love triangles–he’s a firm believer that you can only romantically love one person at a time unless you’re polyamorous, and so he hates stories where someone is trying to pick one person and insisting that they love both at the same time. Barty has heard a hundred rants about it, with Regulus insisting they should always pick both or neither. Barty loves picking out stories that he knows make Regulus passionate, knowing he’ll hear every single thought Regulus has on it. 

He can’t wait to read the annotations. 

Regulus doesn’t let him see the book he picks out, instead ushering him to the exit with a bright grin, looking delighted about something. The reason for his anticipation becomes clear when they end up in-front of the same pet store Barty had gone to all those months ago. He raises his eyebrows at Regulus, wondering distantly if he needs something for his alter ego, but dutifully enters when Regulus holds the door open for him. 

Funnily enough, the same worker as last time is there, and she recognizes Barty instantly. Likely because he practically bought out the whole store last time he was there. 

“Hi there, how is Leo? I see you haven’t brought him today.” She greets them with a bright smile, and Barty has to elbow Regulus when he starts laughing. She looks confused about what Regulus could possibly find humorous, but doesn’t ask. 

“No, we left him at home.” Regulus answers with a little smirk, and she just hums, looking a mix between sad and relieved. Barty is reminded of how Leo reacted to her being close to him last time, and shakes his head at Regulus, who is delighting in her relief. 

“Well, is there anything I can help you with?” She asks, even as she keeps looking back to a stack of boxes she clearly needs to stock. 

Regulus waves her off with a smile, although Barty loses track of her at his next words. 

“We’re okay. We’re just here to get him a pet.”

Barty gapes at him, honestly surprised. His first thought is an instinctive but I already have a cat. Months of considering Leo to be his pet have not left him yet, despite knowing Leo’s true identity now. 

“What?” He manages to choke out, genuinely lost with the conversation. 

Regulus looks around to ensure that they truly are alone–the worker disappearing into the back– and moves closer so that no one would be able to hear them even if they were nearby. 

“You were so happy to bring Leo with you next year. Unfortunately, I can’t disappear for a year to come to Hogwarts with you, but I can make sure you aren’t alone.” 

Barty goes tongue-tied. Genuinely, he isn’t capable of speaking, not that he has any words that would express how thankful he is for Regulus. 

Regulus just grins back before pushing him to move to where the animals are. He moves carefully in that direction after he gets past his stumble, not wanting to startle them, shooting a glare over his shoulder as he does. 

He’s almost immediately enamored by a black cat with a white underbelly. He hears Regulus moving over to join him and quickly pointing out the one he’s spotted. 

“Look, he’s all posh,” He laughs, delighted by the cat blinking slowly up at them, looking unbothered. Regulus snorts next to him, looking fond when Barty chances a glance at him, already looking sideways at him. 

“He’s a tuxedo cat. I’m honestly jealous.” 

The blunt tone makes Barty laugh, loving that he gets to joke around about this with Regulus now. Barty definitely never pictured himself buying a pet on his first date with someone, let alone feeling so secure in doing so, but he finds himself delighted to be doing this. It’s exactly what Barty needed without knowing it, and he has no idea how Regulus always knows how to help him. 

Regulus goes through the adoption process, being of age, and Barty can’t hold back his smile for a moment. The worker looks confused when they explain that they don’t need to buy any supplies, with Barty holding in more laughter when he realizes exactly how overboard he’d gone with that the first time around. 

He’d been a bit desperate for any sense of stability, feeling like his world was changing too fast for his liking, but it was all working out now. He’d never felt more secure.