Chapter Text
"Hey! Watch where you're going, Black" James laughed. He rubbed his hip with a sore face and unbuckled his helmet.
"How do you know my name?" his best friends sharp voice cut through the ice rink. James removed his helmet, ruffling his hair.
"What do you mean? We've been best friends for ever. You must've really hit your head" James said, finally turning around. Where he expected his best friend, there is a slightly shorter boy, dressed in tight black clothes. He his curls are tied back in a small bun and his face is covered in freckles. His face slightly resembles that of his best friend though. James must've hit his head real hard himself.
"You're not Sirius" he gasped. The other boy looked him up and down and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"No shit, dickhead. Now move, you're in my way" he said, sighing heavily. James wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, but didn't move.
"What's your name?" he asked. The other boy rolled his eyes again.
"Black. Regulus Black" he said. James nodded and moved to the side just the tiniest bit. The smaller boy, Regulus Black, skated gracefully past him. James looked down at his skates. Figure skates. James looked around, but Sirius was nowhere to be found. He looked up and found him standing pressed against the glass of the cafeteria, waving at James. God, that kid was fast. Just a few minutes ago they had been on the ice. James rubbed his eyes before exiting the rink to find his friends. He dropped his helmet on one of the benches in the locker room and started untying his own skates, hockey skates. He carefully cleaned away the ice and dried them off before placing the protective case around the blades and swinging them over his shoulders. He grabbed his bag and his helmet and went straight to the cafeteria, which had a view on the rink.
"James!" Lily's voice sounded when he walked in. He smiled brightly as he approached her and gave her a brief kiss on the lips before wrapping one arm around her waist.
"Aw look at my favorite couple" Sirius said as he approached them. James let go of his girlfriend and embraced his best friend. They walk back to Peter, who has claimed a table already, laptop open, textbooks scattered all around him.
"Wormy!" James greeted him with a big smile. The smaller boy looked up and moved two fingers away from his head as a from of a greeting.
"How was your break, James?" Lily asked, curling up against him in their booth. James mimicked a big yawn to indicate it was very boring.
"How can Scotland possibly be boring mate, I'd kill to go back there" Sirius sighs.
"You were invited dude, you refused the offer because the tall basketball boy also stayed on campus during break. How did that work out for you by the way? Made any moves?" James laughed. Sirius had been living with him and his parents since he was sixteen and he was practically considered a part of their family now. Now, in university, James and Sirius were still roommates.
"I barely even saw him dude, I still don't even know his name" Sirius cried out. Peter looked up again, shaking his head, as he sipped from his hot chocolate.
"You are a disaster, mate" he stated. Sirius buried his head in his hands.
"God, I know Pete, I know."
"How was your break, dear?" James asked Lily, planting a kiss on the tip of her nose. Lily scrunched her face.
"Petunia and her husband are truly insufferable" she said, sticking her finger to her mouth and mimicked the sound of throwing up.
"Husband?" Peter exclaimed.
"Yupp, she got married last summer. Poor girl is only twenty-two and already stuck with that type of bloke forever" Sirius sighed, shaking their head.
"It seems like it is what she truly wants, though" Lily said. Sirius pulled a face of disgust and James let his eyes dart back to the rink, following the people below them skate rounds on the ice. He didn't realise he was looking for Regulus until he finds him, smoothly gliding over the ice. Every move he made was truly graceful, so opposing from the way he and his teammates move. They were the ice hockey team on campus, they were known as aggressive and brute, but still seemed to float on the ice. What Regulus did goes beyond floating. He was quite literally flying while he practiced the same jump over and over. James had seen figure skaters before, obviously, they shared the rink, but none of them were quite like this boy. And something else stuck with him. He had told him his last name was Black, but Sirius had never mentioned anyone named Regulus. Especially not someone who looked like him this much. He snapped his gaze away from the eye and turned back to his friends.
"Sirius, the craziest thing happening by the-" he started, but Sirius placed his hand on James' shoulder to cut him off and motioned his head towards the entrance of the cafeteria. The tall basketball player Sirius had been drooling over all year just walked in. They knew nothing about him, expect that he was a first year, so they didn't share any classes. James leaned back in his seat, his story would come later. Lily offered him a sip of her tea, which he gratefully accepted. He studied the tall boy, he had mousy blonde hair and scars running all over his body. James could see why Sirius found him attractive. The boy, however, seemed to not have seen them. Or maybe he had, but why would he care, they had never spoken a word to one another. Sirius however, seemed to take this very personal.
"I'm going up to him" they said as the boy sat down at one of the empty tables and got out his laptop.
"You've been trying for forever now, will this time really me different?" James asked him. Sirius fiercely nodded.
"I can feel it in my bones. The man of my dreams is waiting for me" he said as he walked off.
•••
Sirius took a deep breath before letting go of James' chair and moving himself in the direction of the boy they had been keeping an eye on all year. Usually, Sirius had no problem getting what or who they wanted, but every time he approached this boy something seemed to go wrong. Sirius let out a big sigh when he noticed the boy was wearing headphones. There went their chance again. He was just turning around when the boy looked up.
"Can I help you with something?" he asked with a deep voice and Sirius practically swooned. For a second they had forgotten what they came to do, but when he glanced over to his friends he found James sticking up his thumbs and the sigh of his best friend seemed to ground them a bit. They took a chair at the boys table without asking, but he didn't seem to mind. He removed his headphones and placed them around his neck.
"I asked if I could help you with something" the boy reminded Sirius. They blinked a few times and cleared their throat.
"Oh eh, well yes. I need your name. Asking for a friend, obviously" he awkwardly said, rubbing the back of his neck. The boy raised his eyebrows.
"A friend, huh" he said with a wink. Sirius felt themselves turning bright red at this.
"Yes. My friend would also really like to know your name" Sirius said sheepishly, too distracted by the way the scars on the boy's face moved as he spoke.
"Lupin. Remus Lupin" he boy said, holding out his hand for Sirius to shake.
"I'm Si-"
"Sirius Black. I know, yes" Remus Lupin said. God what a sexy fucking name.
"How do you know?" Sirius asked, eyebrows raised.
"You and your friends are quite the celebrities on campus, you know. It's hard not to know your name" Remus said. Sirius played with a strand of their hair.
"Ah yes. The famous second years. Only heard good things about me, I hope?" he joked. Remus looked away with a smile lingering around his lips.
"From most people yes. My roommate however seems to have a personal vendetta against you though" he said. Sirius raised his eyebrows.
"Do they? How come?" they said. Remus shook his head.
"Can't tell. He'll kill me" he replied, raising his hands. Sirius pretended to be offended, but he did end up exchanging phone numbers with Remus.
Sirius made a little happy dance as they walked back to their friends.
"Well done mate, you actually talked to him" Peter exclaimed and Sirius flexed their muscles to prove their dominance.
"Blacks always get what they want" he said. James seemed to open his mouth to say something, but Lily cut him off.
"Guys! Dorlene is back on campus" she squelched excitedly as she gathered her stuff. The four of them left the sport complex and made their way to the great hall, where they found Marlene and Dorcas hand in hand, talking to a first year Sirius had seen in passing a few times, but he had no idea who she was. He pulled his friends into a big hug and everything felt right. Sirius was so ready for this new semester.
•••
"Reg, you'll never guess who talked to me today" Remus said as he entered his and Regulus' dormitory. Regulus drops his marker on his textbook.
"It was my brother, wasn't it?" he guessed. Remus blinked a few times before frowning.
"Well, yea, it was, actually, but how did you know?" Remus asked his friend, completely stunned. Regulus just rolled his eyes as if it was so totally obvious.
"You wouldn't be so excited if it were anyone else, Lupin" he declared. Remus opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as soon as he realised Regulus was right.
"What did he want?" Regulus asked, eyes narrowed.
"My name" Remus replied, leaving Regulus visibly relieved.
"How long do you think you can keep this up, Reg? Introducing yourself with a different last name so he won't know you're here?" Remus asked, because quite frankly, he did not agree with his friends way of keeping some sort of secret identity. Regulus had always dreamed of this university, Remus knew this, but now he had to pretend to be someone else just because his brother also went here? Remus thought it was unfair.
"I did something stupid, by the way" Regulus stated. Remus narrowed his eyes. Regulus rarely admitted he did something stupid, making mistakes was the same as dying in his eyes. Something his mother has beaten into him when he was a child. Remus had learned to tip toe around the topic of mistakes over the past years, so Regulus bringing it up meant something.
"I eh, I skated into the Potter boy," Regulus started and Remus arched an eyebrow, "And I might have introduced myself as Regulus Black. Just to fuck with him, you know, but the look on his face? I know for sure he recognised Sirius in me." Remus pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.
"Good move" he said, sarcastically.
"God, don't remind me. I'm surprised Sirius has not yet recognised me. Although, he only remembers the old me, obviously. I don't think the possibility of me being anything but a girl has ever crossed his ignorant little brain. Neither did the thought of me leaving that house, obviously, but I hope Potter can keep his little mouth shut" Regulus said, obviously planning a way to keep Potter quiet. Maybe Sirius finding out was not Regulus' only concern. Other people finding out would undoubtedly lead to the two of them being constantly compared. Regulus turned his gaze back to Remus, clearly realising they we're talking about him.
"Did you get anything out of it, other than him knowing your name?" he asked. Remus held up his phone.
"We exchanged numbers. He was so awkward, it was kind of cute" Remus sighed. He had thought Sirius Black was cute since the moment he had first seen him strutting around campus with his little clique of friends. Regulus had no been pleased with this, obviously, but so far it had been nothing more than a harmless little crush, so who cared. Regulus had also liked one of Remus' nemesis's from high school, even dated him for a while, so Remus knew he would feel guilty if he forbid Remus to develop feelings for his brother. Besides, he had no way of stopping the feelings so that would just be unfair.
"We know you think my brother is cute, okay? I still don't get why you would prefer him over me" Regulus sighed. Remus reached out and pinched Regulus' cheeks.
"Because you are like a little brother to me" he said jokingly.
"And Sirius is my brother" Regulus hissed. Fair point.
"Okay so maybe not like a brother. You are like... God I don't know? You're just my best friend and also you are a nerd, I'm not into nerds."
"You are a nerd"
"Yea? Obviously? Opposites attract, so I can't be into nerds" Remus said.
"You think my brother is not a nerds? God you have a lot to learn" Regulus said, rolling his eyes.
"Mmh I don't mind learning about your brother" Remus sighed as he laid down on his bed. He was actually just a tad too tall for the bed, so sleeping was always just a bit of an uncomfortable situation. Regulus threw a pen to his head.
"Gross" he called out. Remus shrugged and closed his eyes.
"Wake me up in time for dinner, will ya?" he asked.
"Sure" Regulus said, but Remus still set an alarm on his phone because Regulus tended to be quite the workaholic, once he was busy with something, he would forget everything around him and put all his energy into what he was doing. Due to this, the both of them often forgot to eat, sleep or use the toilet. It was not ideal, but Remus was glad Regulus had transferred here at the end of last semester. He was so used to their little routine, he forgot to do his homework when he was on his own. Regulus couldn't start university in September, like everyone else, because Walburga did not want him in any 'regular' college. She 'only wanted the best of the best for her daughter', even though Regulus had started transitioning about three years ago, not long after Sirius had left, and going to the college Walburga wanted Regulus to be in, meant giving up his passion, figure skating. And so Regulus had followed in his brothers footsteps. He left home and never came back and there was nothing Walburga could do, because Regulus was of age. Remus was really glad to have his best friend back at the same school. The one problem was Sirius Black. Remus was so very much attracted to him, but he had traumatised his best friend for life, he kind of very much hated him for what he had done to Regulus and his friends were really fucking annoying. They strutted the hallway like they owned the school like, these kids were only a year above them. They were second years, for fucks sake. So yeah, Remus actually really disliked Sirius Black, but something inside of him was so drawn to the boy, it was complete and utter bullshit.
•••
Regulus' workflow had been disrupted by Remus' alarm for dinner, which didn't even wake his friend up. Regulus rolled back his chair and walked over to Remus. He gently sat down next to him on the bed, making sure not to wake him yet, and turned off the alarm. For a second he listened to Remus' soft snores. Regulus could also choose to get back to work now, he has lots of things to finish, to catch up to. Transferring mid-term is not the easiest route. He could just sit down at his desk again and let Remus sleep till he eventually wakes up and has to live of granola bars again, but Regulus decides he has some human decency left in his body. Besides, he could stay in his dorm all night, he had places to be and people to talk to. He didn't know where he has to be and if he would find the person he needs to talk to, but that's okay. Blacks always get what they want. He pinched Remus' nose between his pointer finger and his thumb and watched his friends gasp for air as he woke up.
"Jesus Christ, what the fuck Reg" Remus growled and Regulus just grinned.
"Time for dinner, sleeping beauty" he said, tugging on Remus' arm.
"Cut the violence please" Remus begged but Regulus didn't stop.
"I don't get why you would set an alarm to the just sleep through it." he shrugged.
"I'm just really fucking tired and it has been happening since you're here so I'm blaming you" Remus said, sticking out his tongue. Regulus flipped him the bird and finally got him out of bed.
The great hall was packed, which surprised Regulus every time, because the food passes here were fucking expensive, but most people here came from money. They joined Barty, Regulus' ex and Remus' ex nemesis, and Evan at their usual table. It might sound weird, big groups of childhood friends, all together in the same school, but this was no normal university. It was a school for people with both money and potential in sports. And growing up together, lots of friendgroups grew to love the same things, and so they had all ended up together here. Regulus looked around the hall for his brother and friends. Of course they were all there, Regulus had not seen their group in entirety yet since he had only been here since the Christmas break which had ended today. There were so many students at this university, it was quite frightening. Luckily none of Regulus' direct family members, but still some familiar faces of people he had seen at his parents parties. Not that anyone would recognise him since he had seen none of these people since he started transitioning, but still. He had Sirius' face after all.
Regulus had been so busy staring at his brother, he had completely forgotten about Potter.
"He is leaving now, run" Remus whispered in his ear, shaking Regulus from his thoughts.
"What? Oh, yeah I'll be right back" he said, dropping his fork on his plate and mumbling some excuse about having to use the toilet. He manoeuvred his way through the crowd of people and exited through the same door Potter just did.
"Hey, you" Regulus yelled, trying to look as casual as possible, leaning against the wall. Potter turned around and pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. He squinted to try and recognise Regulus, which annoyed him. Had Potter already forgotten him? Nope, he had not.
"Regulus Black, wasn't it?" he said, walking closer to him. Regulus nodded and combed his hand through his hair. He didn't even know if Potter was gay, but usually his charms got every job done.
"What do I owe the pleasure too?" Potter asked.
"I am here to ask you for a favour" Regulus shrugged, as innocent as possible. James nodded and Regulus pushed him up against the wall, their faces dangerously close. James gasped for air, but Regulus didn't back up.
"You're going to pretend you didn't catch my last name? yeah? My last name is Lestrange, nothing more, nothing less" Regulus hissed and James raised his eyebrows.
"Why?" he whispered.
"Can't say. Just forget you ever met me and don't try to talk to my br- To your best friend about this. He. Can't. Find. Out." Regulus said, pushing James harder with every word. The boy was having a hard time breathing and struggled to push Regulus off of him. He saw James thinking and the it clicked.
"Your brother? That's what you were going to say, right?" Regulus didn't reply but James burst out laughing. This caught Regulus off guard and he loosened his grip.
"Sirius doesn't have a brother. Only a sister" James laughed. Regulus rolled his eyes. He had not expected this man to be this dense.
"Sure. Whatever. I'll forget you claimed to be a Black, alright? Just, let fucking go of me you weirdo" James said and Regulus released his hand from James' wrist.
"Jesus Christ you are fucking insane" James grumbled, shaking his wrist.
"Runs in the family" Regulus shrugged. He was about to turn away but had to make one last comment.
"This never happened? Okay? If I find out you told anyone, you're fucking dead" Regulus said. Then he finally turned around and walked back to his dinner.