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The Marauders had many traditions. They ranged from the mundane - insulting the Slytherins - to the extremely important and highly anticipated - the annual end-of-year prank. These traditions were part of what made the Marauders so close; a family, if you will. And there was one tradition, over all others, that Gryffindor Tower looked forward to on the first weekend of September every year.
The Pyjama Party.
It was legendary. It was notorious. It was known throughout the school for being one of the most entertaining events in Hogwarts, though maybe not on the same scale as some of Gryffindor’s parties, and invitations were highly coveted. It was a night of fun, laughter, and inevitably, scandal.
At the centre of it all were four boys. Sirius Black, Drama Queen - loud, sensational, and could be counted on to provide a roaring party atmosphere, ensuring you are never bored.
James Potter, Quidditch Extraordinaire - popular, handsome, an all-round friendly face, he hops from person to person, spreading fun and mischief wherever he goes.
Peter Pettigrew, Master Chef - kind and friendly, he provides the evening’s scrumptious snacks and delicious drinks, and if you're looking for something a little stronger, Peter is your guy.
And last of all, Remus Lupin, the so-called ‘Casanova of Gryffindor Tower’ - quiet, bookish and unassuming, yet somehow the most alluring of them all.
They are the organisers and the hosts, the ones running the show. Everyone knows the Marauders; they either want them, want to kill them, or want to be them. Whatever your feelings, the fact remains; they know how to put on one hell of a Pyjama Party.
“And so, the Great Pyjama Party of 1978 commences!”
James’ words were met with loud cheers as he jumped down from the table, surveying the common room with pride on his face. He thought they had done a pretty good job this year. Peter had gone all out with the food, and tiny, sparking balls of red and gold fire hung suspended in mid-air. Music thrummed through the air, but the muffling charm in place stopped it escaping the room.
“Alright, Prongs?” a voice said behind him, and he turned to see Sirius bounding towards him.
“Looks good, doesn’t it?” he said in lieu of reply, and Sirius hummed thoughtfully.
“It does. Feels weird keeping it small, though.”
James looked over at the small group sitting on the couch. The room was practically deserted compared to previous years, but James thought he might actually prefer it that way.
“Eh.” he shrugged. “Don’t need huge crowds to have fun. Plus, this way we can drink without Evans getting on our case about it. There aren’t any of the younger kids here.”
“True. But still…”
“Hey,” James said softly, “You know why we can’t invite loads of people. It wouldn’t be fair to him.”
Sirius immediately looked contrite. “No, of course, I know. It just sucks that he’s feeling awful, and we can’t even cancel this party in case it raises suspicions.”
“He said he’d be fine by tonight…” James said hesitantly.
Sirius snorted. “Please. It’s Moony. When has he ever admitted to feeling terrible after a moon? Even on his deathbed, he would deny it til he turned blue.”
“Well, if it’s too much for him, we’ll think of something,” James said decisively.
Sirius looked unconvinced, but changed the subject. “Did Pete do a Hogsmeade run yesterday?”
“I’m deeply offended, Padfoot,” said Peter, having snuck up behind them. “You think I would forget the Firewhiskey? I love that stuff more than you.”
Sirius gasped and clutched his heart. “Oh, you wound me, Wormtail. I think we might have to break up.”
“What about the kids, Padfoot?”
He shrugged. “I’ll have James on weekends.”
“Oi!” James complained. “If anything, you’re the child. I’m obviously the father.”
Sirius and Peter looked at each other and burst into laughter.
“The… father…” Peter wheezed. “Christ, James. That’s funny.”
James scowled at them. “I am the father!”
“Okay, Mum.” Sirius gasped, and the pair dissolved into laughter again.
“Oi!” Mary called from the couch. “I thought you were getting the drinks, Peter. Move your arse along.”
“Fine, fine!” Peter huffed, and disappeared off to wherever he kept his secret stash of contraband.
James and Sirius went over to join the others around the fire. Lily was sitting on the floor, leaning against Mary’s legs as she braided her long, red hair. Marlene was lying spread-eagled on the rug next to her, and sat up immediately at the sight of them.
“Oi, Black, did you invite them?”
“Invite who?” James asked, confused.
“Oh, I asked Regulus if he wanted to come,” Sirius said casually, and James’ mouth fell open.
“Wait, what? Are you and Regulus on speaking terms again?”
Sirius’ cheeks coloured slightly, but he refused to be embarrassed. “I guess. I just figured that now he’s been kicked out too, we could try to… fix some stuff between us.”
“How’s he doing?” Lily asked. “You know, after being kicked out.”
Sirius shrugged. “I think he’s okay. He’s been staying with my cousin Andy. At least he’s not spouting that blood-purist bullshit anymore.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m glad he’s fine,” Marlene said impatiently. “But did he say yes? Are they coming?”
“Uh, I think so?” Sirius said. “Why do you care so much?”
Mary grinned wickedly. “Marlene’s been hooking up with Dorcas Meadowes.”
“Reggie’s friend?” Sirius asked at the same time that James said, “The Slytherin Chaser?”
Marlene had gone bright red. “She’s hot, okay?”
“Marlene!” James yelled. “What if she’s just trying to get our Quidditch strategies out of you?”
She glared at him. “Not everything revolves around you and your bloody Quidditch strategies, Potter! So you can take your quaffle and shove it right up your-”
“Okay, I think that’s enough.” Lily interrupted quickly. “Oh, look, Peter’s back!”
Peter had indeed returned, laden with a large crate of firewhiskey. They cracked open a few bottles, and Marlene and Sirius soon got into a deep discussion about Quidditch teams in the professional leagues, so James went over to Mary and Lily.
“Macdonald.” he said in greeting. “Evans.”
“What do you want, Potter?” Lily sighed.
“Nothing, nothing. I just wanted to tell you that you look gorgeous tonight. Lovely pyjamas, as well. Very fashionable.”
She was indeed wearing a pair of pale pink and grey satin pyjamas that appeared to be a matching set with Mary.
“Thank you, Potter. Mary got them for me. You know, my girlfriend.”
“Well, they are beautiful pyjamas for a beautiful lady.” James wasn’t even sure that he fancied Lily Evans anymore. But it was truly delightful watching the angry flush beginning to creep over Mary’s face as she swigged her firewhiskey.
“Do you need anything else, Potter?” she said shortly. Lily looked like she was trying not to laugh.
“Only to express my gratitude that such a wonderful woman is in my life.”
“You know what?” Lily said thoughtfully. “I think Mary said something along those lines last night.”
“Well-”
“Yeah,” Mary interrupted. “I did tell her that. After we had sex. Because I’m her girlfriend.”
They both burst into laughter, and James decided to extricate himself from that situation before he embarrassed himself even more.
He had just settled himself beside Sirius when the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Remus appeared, looking utterly exhausted.
“Moony!” Sirius yelled, looking relieved. “Finally.”
Remus looked up, and James saw the dark circles under his eyes. It took him a moment to process the group of people before the fire.
“Oh… damn, I forgot about the Pyjama Party,” he yawned, rubbing his face.
“It’s fine, Remus,” James said quickly. “Just go up to bed. We can always do this again another time.”
“No, it’s fine, I’ll just…” he took a step forward and swayed worryingly on his feet. Sirius was up in a flash, grabbing his arm to support him and gently guiding him toward the stairs to the dorm.
Lily shot a worried look at James, but Mary and Marlene didn’t seem too suspicious, quickly resuming their heated conversation about an article in Witch Weekly.
Less than a minute after Remus and Sirius had disappeared upstairs, the portrait swung open again, and this time it was a much larger party who had arrived.
It was Regulus, followed by three Slytherins James recognised as Barty Crouch, Evan Rosier and the Chaser Dorcas Meadowes. There was also, inexplicably, a blonde Ravenclaw climbing in behind them.
“Baby Black!” Marlene bellowed when she saw Regulus, and James watched in amusement as Regulus cringed at the nickname.
“McKinnon,” he greeted stiffly. “Evans. Macdonald. Pettigrew.”
“What, I don’t get a greeting?” James complained, and Regulus regarded him with that icy stare of his.
“Do you require a hello, Potter?”
James leaned over to Marlene, clutching his bottle to his chest. “He said my name,” he proclaimed in a loud whisper, and Regulus rolled his eyes.
“Where’s my brother?”
“He’ll be down in a minute,” Lily said, trying to be friendly. “Why don’t you sit down?”
Regulus and his friends did just that, and when James took a closer look at their outfits, he had to stifle a laugh.
It was true that this was a pyjama party, and you did typically come dressed in pyjamas, but Barty and Evan took it to the next level. They were wearing matching very short, very tight pink pjs that looked like they had been stolen off a first year girl, and were proudly displaying cartoon cats with sparkly bows that had been enchanted to meow loudly. It was quite a statement.
Barty looked over and saw James eyeing him, and raised an eyebrow. “Like what you see, Potter?”
James smirked. “Just admiring your jammies, Crouch.”
“Lovely, aren’t they? Charmed them myself.”
Evan cleared his throat loudly.
“Evan charmed them himself,” Barty amended, and James chuckled.
“Stop it,” Regulus complained, and James looked over at him, preparing to criticise his pyjamas, but words died in his throat.
Even swamped in what looked like one of Sirius’ old band t-shirts, Regulus looked amazing. His black curls were fluffy and slightly lopsided, and he was reclined back in an armchair, the perfect picture of aristocratic grace. James was temporarily speechless.
Luckily, Remus and Sirius chose that moment to reappear. James tore his gaze away from Regulus in time to see Sirius spot Regulus. His eyes widened at the sight, a joyful expression briefly crossing his face, before he smoothed his expression over.
“Reggie. You made it.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Regulus replied dryly.
Sirius clattered down the last few steps, followed by Remus. Even James’ mouth dropped slightly at the sight.
Gone were the dark circles and the exhaustion. Remus looked like he had a relaxing nap, rather than splinter his bones and tear his skin apart the night before. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt and loose pyjama pants, slung low on his hips. Even James caught himself staring a second too long.
“What… how…” James stuttered as they rejoined the group.
“He chugged two pepper-up potions when I wasn’t looking,” scowled Sirius. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was steam coming out of his nostrils right now.”
Now that everyone had arrived, they could get the party properly started. But even before that, James and Sirius still had to get changed into their pyjamas.
When they emerged, shit-eating grins on their face, the room collapsed into peals of laughter.
“What… is… that…” Mary wheezed, clutching Lily for support, who had actual tears of laughter sliding down her face.
“Damn,” said Evan, shaking his head at Barty. “I think they might have us beat, mate.”
James gave a little bow, glasses sliding down his nose. He was dressed in a thick Zebra onesie, stripes and all. The material sagged rather unflatteringly around his hips, but he still thought he looked exceptionally hot in it.
Across the room, in his spotty giraffe onesie, Sirius was getting laughed at by Remus.
“Stop, Moony,” he whined. “It’s the latest fashion, I swear. All the muggles wear these.”
Remus was doubled over, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Sirius shook his head in mock outrage, and the bobble ears on his head bounced with the movement, sending Remus into further hysterics.
“On that note,” Lily yelled over the general noise. “Let’s play some party games!”
“TRUTH OR DARE, BITCHES!” Marlene screamed. She looked well on her way to getting plastered already.
They formed a ragged circle on the floor, pushing the sofas to one side. Everyone had a drink in hand, and there wasn’t a sober person in the room.
“Okay,” Lily began. “Sirius. Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” Sirius said confidently. That was another tradition; Marauders always picked dare, and they never turned one down.
“I dare you…” Lily said slowly. “To serenade a portrait of your choosing.”
“Done.” Sirius said immediately, and James rubbed his hands together in glee. This was bound to be good.
Sirius seemed to have a specific portrait in mind. He dragged all of them up to the seventh floor, all the way along near the south tower, until they stopped in front of an empty frame.
“There’s no one there,” slurred Marlene.
“Obviously,” groaned Sirius. “Okay, go hide. He’ll come when I call.”
They hastily shuffled around the corner, stopping when they were just out of sight of the portrait. They could see the empty frame, but not Sirius’ face.
“Sir Cadogan?” Sirius called. “Sir Cadogan!”
Almost immediately, there was the sound of ringing steel and a tiny knight atop a small pony galloped into the portrait, sword drawn.
“Who goes there!” He yelled, brandishing his weapon. “Who dares to trespass upon my mighty lands?”
“Oh, I’m not trespassing,” Sirius said, and James could practically see him grinning. “I have a gift for you, Sir Cadogan.”
“A gift, you say?” The knight stroked his chin.
“You could say I’m a jester of sorts,” Sirius replied. James didn’t know what this was, but judging by the way Lily, Mary and Remus were silently laughing, Sir Cadogan was about to get a lovely surprise.
“Might I sing for you, Sir Cadogan?” Sirius inquired politely, and oh, James didn’t know how he was keeping a straight face.
“Of course, young sir!” the knight cried.
Sirius cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and burst into a truly awful rendition of ‘Changes’ by David Bowie.
“Ch-ch-ch-ch-CHANGES,” he bellowed. “TURN AND FACE THE STRANGE. CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGESSSSS, DON’T WANT TO BE A RICHER MAN.”
James couldn’t hold it in any longer. He collapsed into laughter, desperately clutching his stomach, and he wasn’t the only one. Screams of laughter echoed through the corridors, attracting less-than-wanted attention.
“TIME CAN CHANGE ME, BUT I CAN’T TRACE TIME,” Sirius was still singing, but he cut off abruptly as a shadowy form slipped past him.
“What the- fuck, it’s Mrs. Norris! RUN!”
It was Filches’ cat, which meant the caretaker himself was definitely nearby. They all picked themselves up off the floor and ran, not daring to look back, footsteps echoing on the marble floors.
Sir Cadogan’s cries of ‘Bravo!’ and ‘Encore!’ followed them all the way back to Gryffindor tower.
After that near miss the first time, the game of truth and dare got even more wild, if that was possible.
Dorcas ate a raw egg. Barty got a full face of make-up, courtesy of Mary. Peter chugged a bottle of witches’ brew, and had now disappeared off to the bathroom. No one really inquired any further.
“James,” Sirius slurred, clearly tipsy. “Truth or dare?”
“How is that,” he hiccuped. “How is that even a question?”
“Okay, okay.” Sirius sat up with some difficulty. “I dare you to strip naked and… and do a gymnastics routine.”
“Nuh uh,” Marlene complained. “Partially naked. Not all of us want to see Potter’s dick.”
“Lying is a sin, McKinnon,” James winked at her and she groaned and mimed throwing up.
James hauled himself to his feet, struggling for a moment to undo the zipper at the back of the zebra onesie. It crumpled to the floor in a heap, and in seconds, he stood in only his boxers.
“You weren’t wearing anything underneath?” Regulus asked, wrinkling his nose.
“It’s hot as fuck, Reggie, and that thing is stifling.”
“Whatever, just do your gymnastics.”
James raised his arms, swaying slightly. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, doing this drunk, but nevermind.
He did a wonky cartwheel, a shaky handstand, and attempted to do a flip, but he failed miserably and went crashing onto the sofa, right beside Regulus.
“Oi!” Regulus complained, shoving James away. “Get off!”
James smiled dazedly up at him. His head had somehow ended up in Regulus’ lap.
“Take your piss poor gymnastics skills somewhere else, Potter,” Regulus said, but he didn’t make any attempt to shove James again.
“You smell really good,” James mumbled, and then there were hands under his arms and he was being forced out of Regulus’ lap.
“You absolute lump - get off my brother, Prongs!” Sirius huffed, shoving James away.
“What- why?” James protested grumpily.
“That’s enough of that,” Sirius growled. “Okay, who's next? Moony, have you gone?”
“What?” Remus blinked up at him.
“Oh, I’ve got a dare!” Lily announced from where she was seated in Mary’s lap. Remus eyed her warily.
Everyone was watching Lily as she paused, staring calculatingly at Remus.
“I dare you…” she said slowly. “To kiss the hottest person in the room.”
Dead silence. Remus closed his eyes, then opened them and glared at Lily. If looks could kill, she would be six feet under right now.
“I can’t back out?” he asked helplessly, and was met with 3 pairs of unmoving eyes.
In synchronisation, James, Sirius and Peter chorused, “A marauder never backs out of a dare.”
“Fine, fine,” Remus grumbled, and everyone watched him as he slowly turned, taking stock of everyone in the room.
“Well, I hate to do this to you, Remus,” Marlene piped up. “But I guess you’re going to have to come over here and kiss me.”
The tension snapped as everyone laughed, and Remus grinned at Marlene. “Oh, McKinnon, if only.”
“Why would he kiss you? It would be a waste, you don’t even like boys,” Mary piped up. “You should kiss Dorcas instead-”
Marlene lunged at her, and they went down in a shrieking, giggling mess of hair and pillows.
“Oi, come on!” Lily said, swatting at her girlfriend and best friend. “Remus still has to choose someone.”
A number of people were eyeing Remus hopefully as he sighed and stood, stretching. His black t-shirt rose up a little, revealing a sliver of tanned skin, and James could have sworn a few people drooled at the sight. He was definitely, 100%, not one of them. Definitely.
“Well,” Remus sighed. “Come on then, Black.”
There was a collective intake of breath.
Someone called out, “Which one?” but Sirius was already on his feet, colliding with Remus with such force that they stumbled back a few steps.
Sirius’ hands were on Remus’ face, and Remus was sliding his fingers through Sirius’ silky black hair as they kissed so fiercely that James frowned suddenly as Sirius let out a moan.
This was going on far too long to be a platonic peck on the lips.
“Am I missing something?” James yelled, but Remus and Sirius showed no signs of stopping.
“Shut up, Potter!” Lily hissed as she watched the two boys with a deep look of satisfaction on her face.
“Yeah, shut up, Potter,” Mary echoed with glee.
James turned in disbelief to Regulus, who looked almost as confused as he did.
“I didn’t know they were together,” he remarked to James, who wanted to bang his head against the floor.
“Apparently, neither did I?”
Evan looked over at Barty and said, “Honestly, I’m kind of jealous?”
“I’d give you a snog, Ev,” Barty said immediately, and Evan patted him on the head like a dog.
“Thanks, mate. No homo.”
“No homo,” Barty agreed, and Regulus closed his eyes and smacked his head into the palms of his hands.
Remus and Sirius finally broke apart, both looking extremely dishevelled. Remus cleared his throat awkwardly and scrubbed at his swollen lips, looking sheepish.
Sirius just smoothed down his hair where Remus’ fingers had messed it up and sat back down, looking around the circle innocently. “Right. Who’s next?”
“You’ve actually got to be fucking kidding me,” James exploded.
Sirius looked at him in confusion and James gestured between the two of them. “You two? What the fuck was that about?”
Sirius looked at Remus. “Um…”
“I thought he was the hottest person in the room so I snogged him,” Remus clarified.
James scrutinised him. “Has it happened before?”
“Once or twice,” Sirius said offhandedly.
“WHAT?” James yelled. “How did I not know? Evans, did you know?”
Lily arched an eyebrow. “Um, yes?”
James swivelled to Marlene and Mary. “Did you know?”
Marlene shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious, dumbass. They aren’t subtle.”
“PETER!” James yelled. “PETE! WORMTAIL!”
Peter appeared from the bathroom, looking worryingly green. “Yeah, Prongs?”
James frantically pointed at Remus and Sirius, who were looking extremely guilty. “These two are an… an item! Did you know?”
Remus snorted. “An item?”
“Yeah, I knew.” Peter said. “I caught them making out in a broom closet last year.”
“Last year?” James yelped. “It’s been going on for that long? Am I the only one who didn’t know?”
“If it helps, I didn’t know either,” Regulus said, looking like he didn’t really want to know in the first place.
“Yeah- but- Ugh, I hate you all,” James declared, and collapsed dramatically backwards into a pile of cushions.
Remus and Sirius looked at each other and snickered.
The party started to wind down after that. They listened to music on Remus’ record player and talked and laughed well into the night.
At some point, Dorcas, Marlene, Remus and Sirius disappeared from the party. Remus and Sirius returned after a bit.
Dorcas and Marlene did not. James didn’t really want to know what they were up to.
It seemed like after all the excitement, Remus’ pepper-up potions had worn off. He looked absolutely exhausted, and the circles under his eyes had returned.
“Do you want to go up to bed?” Sirius asked him gently, but Remus shook his head and tucked his face into the curve of Sirius’ neck.
“Too tired,” he mumbled. “Stay here.”
Sirius looked fondly amused, and hastily conjured up some mattresses for them all to sleep on before claiming one for themselves.
It was actually quite sweet, watching the two of them. James didn’t know how he had missed it before. They were just so right for each other; now that he knew about them, he couldn’t imagine them with anyone else.
Within minutes, they were both asleep; Sirius lay on his back, head turned slightly down, Remus curled up against his chest. One of his hands rested tangled in Remus’ hair, as if he had been running his hand through it. They fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.
James glanced up and saw Regulus, also watching the sleeping pair from his perch by the fire. Regulus looked content to see his brother so happy, but there was also something wistful in his gaze. James considered him for a second, before getting up and joining him in front of the flickering flames.
“They look so good together, don’t they,” Regulus said in greeting. James nodded.
“They do. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t see it before too.”
“Hey!” James complained, and Regulus chuckled. Something inside James warmed at that tiny laugh.
“My mum says my dad’s oblivious too. She says it runs in the family.”
Regulus glanced up at him dryly. “Never would have guessed.”
“I just hope my future child doesn’t end up that oblivious too,” James mused. “I don’t know how the world would handle two of me running around.”
Regulus was silent for a moment, and then said unexpectedly, “Your family sounds great.”
James blinked. “What?”
“Your family.” Regulus repeated, and there was definitely longing in his voice now.
“Reg…” James said slowly. “You know you’re family too, right?”
Regulus laughed bitterly. “No, I’m not. I’m just another fucked-up Black.”
“Don’t say that,” James insisted. “You got out, Reg. They don’t have control over you anymore. And you are my family, like it or not. You, Sirius, you’re both family.”
Regulus still didn’t look like he believed James, but at least he wasn’t protesting. “Sometimes…” he said slowly. “It doesn’t feel real.”
“What doesn’t feel real?” James said softly.
“I thought I’d be stuck in that house forever. I thought- I thought I would have to marry some rich, pureblood girl, and that would be my life. No escape.”
“Listen to me, Reg,” James said fiercely. “You got out. That will never be your life, not if you don’t want it to be. You’re free. You can choose now. You have a choice.”
“I have a choice?” Regulus breathed, and suddenly James was aware of how close they were sitting. His mouth was dry.
“Yes. You have a choice.”
“And what if I choose to do this…”
Before James could react, Regulus had leaned over and pressed his lips to his. Regulus Black was kissing him, and fireworks were shooting through his blood, and it was better than anything James had ever felt in his entire life-
And then Regulus pulled away, and James was left with the empty, hollow sensation where his lips had been.
“I’m sorry,” Regulus murmured, looking distressed. “I shouldn’t have done that…”
“Reg.” James said breathlessly.
“I’m so sorry. I’ll never bring it up again-”
“Reg.”
“Just- please, don’t hate me-”
James didn’t bother letting him finish. He leaned over and grabbed Regulus’ face, pulling him closer and kissing him fiercely. Regulus leaned into his touch, responding easily, and James thought that he could kiss Regulus Black forever.
They stayed like that a while longer, in front of the slowly dying fire. The Slytherins had gone back to their common room already, leaving Reg behind. Lily and Mary were cuddled under a pile of fluffy blankets near the door, and Peter had gone up for bed. Dorcas and Marlene had never returned, and Sirius-
Sirius was staring straight at James, eyes narrowed, not asleep at all.
James jumped about a foot in the air, hand pressed to his racing heart. “Jesus fucking Christ, Pads, you scared the shit out of me,” he hissed.
Sirius was not amused. “Explain to me, James Fleamont Potter,” he said slowly, and James gulped. He was pulling out the middle names.
“Explain to me why I just saw you kiss my innocent baby brother. Multiple. Times.”
James was frozen. “Um…”
“Count your lucky stars that I am unable to get up right now,” Sirius said, indicating Remus curled up on his chest, “But when morning comes? You are dead, Potter.”
James grinned at him. “Only if you catch me.”
“You’re on.”
Regulus was watching this interaction like a tennis match, and saw his opportunity. “Right, well, lovely speaking to you Sirius, but James and I are leaving now.”
“Wait, what? Regulus Arcturus Black, don’t you dare leave this room-”
Regulus grabbed James by the hand and slowly tugged him through the portrait hole, wiggling his fingers at Sirius in a taunting goodbye.
“See you, Padfoot!” James whispered merrily over his shoulder, and Sirius’ growl of annoyance followed them out into the corridor.
Regulus looked at James, and James stared back, before leaning in to kiss Regulus on the nose.
“Come on,” he said. “I know a place where we can spend the night.”
And as James led Regulus through the halls of Hogwarts, he thought that there was nowhere he would rather be.
Overall, it was a rather successful Pyjama Party. James didn’t think he’d ever forget the image of Sirius screaming ‘Changes’ to a stubby knight on a fat pony, and although his back was rather sore afterwards, he was pretty proud of his gymnastic skills.
The party helped with relationships, too. Sirius and Remus started dating (or at least, openly), Dorcas and Marlene had whatever they had going on, Barty and Evan - well, James was actually still confused about their relationship. It was impossible to tell if they were in love, or just really good friends? Maybe both? He had no idea.
And then James and Regulus had their secret trysts, or perhaps not so secret after all. Sirius had made it his personal mission to shadow either James or Regulus at all times to stop them interacting, and it was annoyingly effective. Remus had promised to help them with that, though, so things were looking up.
It hadn’t been a huge party. It wasn’t a gathering to go down in history. They didn’t do anything illegal, didn’t get completely wasted, didn’t even get detention. But that night, spending time having fun with his friends, is one of James’ absolute favourite memories.
After all, there’s nothing like a Pyjama Party to bring friends together.