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Sirius felt very lucky to have this secluded spot by the forbidden forest. It wasn’t visible by the castle and was as such the perfect place to host a party. With the help of the ever-reliable Marauders, he had managed to get music, alcohol, lights, and whatever else he could’ve dreamed of to celebrate his birthday with. Among the guest list were his entire year in Gryffindor along with some miscellaneous people from other houses and other years.
The guest of honour, in Sirius’ own mind if not in the mind of the aforementioned guest, was of course his little brother Regulus Black and his boyfriend Barty Crouch who were both off in a mostly secluded corner of the area sipping some drinks and talking with each other as silently as the loud music would allow them to. When the music became too loud for talking to Regulus’ great displeasure, Barty would quell his dissatisfaction by pulling him closer and uniting their lips in a wordless declaration.
Sirius thought it was a little rude. He had at last managed to reconnect a little with his previously estranged brother and when he had then graciously invited his boyfriend to come along, this was the only condition on which Regulus himself would come, Sirius had expected or more precisely hoped that Regulus would mingle the tiniest bit with himself and the other people of his friend group.
But he could hardly be surprised. Regulus had always been the silent one of the two brothers, and the general disposition of most of the guests was not of such a nature as to easily allow conversation with the neurotic and easily intimidated Regulus. And so, after having made sure to secure the slightest bit of conversation with his little brother for himself, he swallowed the pain and tried to be satisfied with the little presence his brother did decide to grace him with. He was eternally grateful for it at any rate.
And he luckily had a great many things to distract himself with. It was his birthday party, after all. For example, he had his wonderful, beautiful, pretty, ethereal, divine, flawless, immaculate, and perfect boyfriend Remus. Or Mooney. Or Moons. Or a slew of other names which were mostly reserved for l’heure d’amour, as he liked to call it in his own mind.
As he gradually got more and more drunk throughout the evening, his clinging to his boyfriend grew alongside his inebriation. At last, when he could no longer form a good idea, he was stuck to his boyfriend’s hip like a malignant tumour that just so happened to be in love with its victim.
Sadly, his boyfriend was not feeling quite as well as the adjectives Sirius would have described him with, as the full moon was not many days away, and he was thus begrudgingly forced to leave earlier than Sirius would’ve liked. Though this meant he could spend time with another of his favourite people, the always radiant James Potter.
Radiant was in Sirius’ mind not exclusively positive. James was a joy to be around and his happiness and enthusiasm for life shined upon all who came near him, something Sirius had gained untold benefit from, but he also sometimes shone a bit too much. Hubris was a drug James was befallen to partake in every now and then. But pride was not exactly the emotion Sirius seemed to be able to see in his face as he walked towards him following the disappointment of his boyfriend’s self-inflicted abduction.
“Hey, Prongs! What’s the matter?” Something was very clearly the matter. James was standing with a drink up to his lips as though that would make him invisible. Instead of the usual light, a darkness was coming out from behind his eyes, a strange ferociousness accompanied by hunger could be seen at the corners of his mouth. He was looking into a far corner of the area in which the corner was taking place.
When he received no answer other than an indistinct murmur which was not even accompanied by a glance in Sirius’ direction, Sirius decided to find out what was causing his best friend such distress, and when he turned his head to face the same direction as James, he found with undue surprise that James was looking at Regulus and Barty, currently engaging in a romantic encounter.
Quite disgusted at this involuntary and incestuous voyeurism, Sirius pinched his eyes shut and turned around with a noise of disgust, which James seemed to corroborate fully. “Why are you looking at them?” Sirius couldn’t understand who would want to watch that punk Crouch defiling his pretty younger brother with his tongue. He examined James’ face closely.
“No reason.” This was obviously a lie. James’ upper lip did that thing it always did when he lied through his teeth, though Sirius didn’t need that to know that James was lying to him. “You’re just watching this disgusting display for funsies? C’mon, Prongs, make up something better than that. You look like a wolf standing like that!”
A thought flashed through Sirius’ mind. That hunger he could see. Was some sick and twisted part of James enjoying it? He thought he could also see resentment. Then Sirius noticed that on James’ forehead, a specific frown which was only visible when he was experiencing jealousy.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me. Are you jealous?” This could get James to look away from the sinful encounter. He looked fearfully at Sirius with large eyes. “I-” Sirius was confused by this. Why was James so scared to tell him that he might have a crush on someone was beyond Sirius. They were practically of one mind, soul, and flesh. Sure, Sirius found James having a crush on Barty weird, but he obviously didn’t have a crush on Regulus, James knew he was off limits.
“I just kinda assumed you’d be against it.” This hurt Sirius a little. How could James not think he would support him? “James, he might not be my type, and I didn’t think he was yours either, and I also think he’s kind of a prick, but if you like him, then go for it. We’ll support each other through thick and thin, yeah?”
A few tears welled up in James’ eyes. “Thanks.” He hugged Sirius almost desperately. “I’ve been carrying this around for so long because I’ve been so scared you wouldn’t like it.” “Chacun à son goût, Prongs.” James pulled away and looked at him with wide eyes. “What does that mean?” Sirius smiled in return. “To each his own.” “Thanks, Pads.”
Sirius gestured for James to join the others, and they began to walk over to the rest of the group. “Well there’s nothing I can do about it for now.” James was talking like a waterfall, the weight was leaving his chest along with every word. “He has a boyfriend and everything. But if they break up, I’ll try to shoot my shot.” Sirius only listened with half an ear. Of course he cared about what James was saying very much, but the excitement of his birthday party was getting to him.
One and a half years later
Sirius couldn’t sleep. The stress of NEWTs was getting to him, and he had spent plenty of sleepless nights in the last few months. Today was especially difficult as his usual sleep medication, Remus, was spending the night in the infirmary, and neither Peter nor James were suitable substitutes. So he was sitting upright in his bed, alternating between staring into thin air and half-reading from the pile of quidditch-magazines piled next to his bed.
His boredom was supreme and total, but it was fortunately vanquished when he heard the door to the dorm open. Here was something interesting to spend his night doing. He might’ve snuck off to the infirmary, but he had been unable to find the map and cloak. He knew why as he saw James entering through the door, holding both folded up beneath his arms.
It was dark enough that James clearly hadn’t noticed Sirius peeking out between the curtains of his bed, but as he started sneaking towards his bed, Sirius couldn’t contain his curiosity anymore. Where was James coming back from at 4 in the morning? He called out with a whisper-shout. “Psst! Prongs!” James startled and looked towards Sirius’ bed. He sighed with defeat as all tension left his body which had previously been strung up like a bow as he was trying to move undetected. With a disappointed shrug of his shoulders, he clumsily dragged his feet towards Sirius’ bed, climbed through the curtains, and lay down.
Sirius lay down next to him with a giant smile on his face. He would love hearing this. “Soooooo,” James could practically hear how Sirius’ eyelashes fluttered, “where did you come from?” James’ face flushed red, but it could hardly be seen in the still very sparse light of the unholy hour. “Remember what we talked about at your birthday party?” This was going to be so embarrassing that a longer explanation would be necessary. If nothing else, it would give James the time needed to confess.
Nothing more was luckily needed, as Sirius could very well remember what they had discussed that night. And James sneaking back into bed at 4 in the morning suddenly meant something very fun: He had been successful. “Are you dating him?” He spoke like an excited puppy, which strangely threw James off a little. “Well yes. And even though you say you didn’t mind, it’s okay if you find it weird.”
Sirius dismissed this idea and spoke matter-of-factly. “Well I do find it a little weird. But mostly I’m just excited to hear that my best friend has a boyfriend! Tell me everything!” James looked at him with confusion written on his face. “Everything?” Sirius smiled mischievously. “ Everything .” “Won’t that be uncomfortable to hear?” “I mean I’m already pretty sure he fucks like a madman, so I doubt I’ll be very surprised.”
James recoiled a little at this. “Sirius, you can’t talk about him like that!” Sirius apologised and thought that was only fair. He was after all James’ boyfriend. “He got into a fight with his ex a long time ago over something with Rosier and they broke up. We’ve been spending a lot of time together since then and we’ve officially been dating for a few months. Tonight was the first night we spent together.”
Sirius was so excited he was shaking. “I’m so happy for you, Prongs! I can’t contain myself. How is he as a boyfriend? As a lover?” The last word was said in such a tone that it made even James gag, but he replied with a smile. “He’s wonderful. He’s not easy to get to know, a lot of people think he looks intimidating, but when you just spend time with him in quieter situations, he blossoms. He’s like a star! He shines brightly, but to really understand the scale of it, you have to get close.”
Sirius laughed at this and suddenly gasped with realisation. “That’s why you’ve been spending so much time in the library!” James scratched the back of his head with embarrassment. “Yeah, we’ve had a lot of study dates.” “That’s so cute. I am already in love with you two as a couple. When will you make it public?”
James looked dreamily into the air. “Soon, I hope. I wish I could show everyone how much I love him. But he’s obviously a more silent type and isn’t quite comfortable with the attention.” Sirius found this odd. Any man with hair that vibrantly green had to love attention, but he supposed Crouch might be different underneath that facade.
“Now, tell me the spicy stuff.” James looked at Sirius with wide open eyes. “Are you sure you want to hear it?” “Of course! If you’re fine with telling me, of course.” “Alright, then.” James cleared his throat. “He’s amazing in bed. His body is so pretty and his voice is so bright and soft, and when he moans my name I dissolve with love. And of course, he loves marking me so I can remember him when I’m not there.”
James suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Aaand that’s about all I’m comfortable saying. It got pretty kinky.” Sirius smiled. “Well alright.” He then looked at James with earnest care in his eyes. “Thank you so much for telling me, Prongs. I love that you’re happy with him, I wish you both all the best.” James smiled back at him. “Thanks, Pads, really. And thanks for not having anything against it.”
Sirius thought it was strange how much James seemed to think Sirius unwilling, but he let it go as James got up to go to bed, and when he fell back onto his bed himself, he actually managed to get a few precious hours of sleep before classes started in the morning.
A few months later
School was nearing its end, and Sirius was feeling melancholic. So many good memories had been spent here, and it would be painful to leave it all behind. Though he supposed he would have all the same when he left. The same friends, the same lover, the same brother. Remus and he had already started looking for places to live after school ended which was only a matter of weeks.
But today, he pushed all that to the back of his mind, because today was the last visit to Hogsmeade he would ever have. Well, he would probably come again now and then, but this was the last time he would get to experience the village like this. With all of his school friends gathered, with all the school enemies also gathered so he could enjoy looking at them and talking about them behind their backs.
He had spent the first hours together with a large group, but as it had petered out naturally as the day went on, he decided to spend the afternoon with his lovely boyfriend, as he had spent so many afternoons before. Not that this diminished the pleasure of his boyfriend’s companionship the least, every moment they spent together was a greater pleasure to Sirius than anything he had ever tried before.
They had now for several hours walked through the town with interlaced fingers, drunken butterbeer together while staring into each other’s eyes and whispered so many lewd things back and forth that Sirius could no longer stand being on the open street. He needed a moment alone with his boyfriend, and he knew exactly where he might find just such a thing.
There was a secluded alley where no one ever came by, and Sirius had already spent many hours of love here, so it was natural for them both when he started gravitating towards it. Unfortunately, Sirius’ eyes were violently assaulted when he came into the alleyway as someone else had already had the same splendid idea as he, and James was snogging the life out of Regulus as they arrived.
“What the fuck!?” Sirius’ shouting made the two stop as they both looked with confused faces at Sirius. Sirius felt betrayed. James had just told him he was seeing Barty and now he was snogging Sirius’ brother?
Everyone else strangely seemed to be confused. Remus put a hand on his shoulder. “Padfoot, no need to shout. We all knew this was happening. Let’s just leave them to it.” Sirius turned around to look at his boyfriend. “What are you talking about? Has this been happening for a long time?”
He heard James’ voice. “Pads, I don’t understand. I told you about it, you said you were cool with it.” Sirius whipped around again. “Yes, when you were fucking Crouch! Not my baby brother!” No one understood anything. “Pads, I’ve never fucked Crouch. That night when I came back to the dorm I had been with Regulus.” “You traitor! You lied to me!” “I did not!”
Regulus suggested something very interesting. “Could it have been a misunderstanding?” The tension of the situation was clearly getting to him, his entire body was shaking and he stood as close to James as he could get.
A light turned on in Sirius' head. “Were you jealous of Crouch not of my brother?” “What are you talking about?” “That night, at my birthday party. You were watching Regulus and Crouch snogging. You were jealous of someone, and I thought you were Jealous of Regulus, but you were jealous of Crouch?” James’ face opened with realisation. “Of course I was jealous of Crouch! Why did you think I wanted your permission to be with Crouch?” “I don’t know! Because you didn’t want me to think you have bad taste!” “You told me yourself! To each his own!” Regulus chimed in. “Chacun à son goût.”
Having his own words thrown back in his face made Sirius’ fuse ignite. “Prongs, you’re my brother, and my I love you more than life itself, but I’ve just found out you’re fucking my baby brother. So I’m going to count until ten, and then I’m going to murder you.” James raised his hands. “Please, Pads, let’s talk about this.” But as Sirius started counting irregardless, James quickly sprinted off in the opposite direction, shortly followed by Sirius spewing an endless trail of curses.