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April
“So, what did you think of her?” Lily breathed out with a hint of a smile on her face, mirth dancing in her bright green eyes.
James was still watching Pandora’s retreating figure, also with a smile because there was probably no one more perfect than he could imagine Lily with. He turned his head back to her to reply, “she’s amazing, truly. Very,” James paused, still trying to grasp the nature that is Pandora, “whimsical? When are you going to introduce her to Harry?”
“I was going to wait another three months, just to make sure that this is serious.” Lily and Pandora have been dating for six months, and Lily already knew by this point that Pandora is the one. She felt it so deep in her bones, this was right. However, things are just always slightly more complicated when there is a child in the equation. Lily was confident that Harry would absolutely love Pandora. Although she was a little worried about Harry being around her friends, she had no doubt that Harry would be so happy to be around them. After a brief pause of consideration Lily added, “And I think if all goes well, I would invite her and some friends to Harry’s birthday.”
“I think that's a great idea,” at this point James was beaming. Lily’s pure joy was too infectious for him to be anything but happy for her.
What could possibly go wrong? James thought to himself. Little did he know that the answer to that question was a lot, actually.
July
Harry’s third birthday was in full swing, with almost all the guests being there. All of their good friends they met in school were there, and so were the kids and parents that James and Lily met in daycare. Harry’s current best friend Neville, (which he decided because his birthday is the day before, so they had to be best friends) as well as some of his other day care friends were playing in the small bouncy castle. Remus, Sirius, and Mary were all on watch duty in order to give James and Lily some respite from wrangling the group of children.
James and Lily were in the kitchen grabbing a drink when James asked, “So, when are Pandora and her friends getting here?” He was rocking on the balls of his feet, unable to keep still with all the excitement and energy of a third birthday. James had met Dorcas for lunch with Pandora and Lily a while back, and she charmed him almost immediately. Other than that, he had not met her other friends, but if they’re anything like Dorcas, then they’re all in safe hands.
Lily gave a tentative smile, “They should be here soon. I know I told you already but they can be pretty,” she paused, a little unsure of how to continue, “gits?” Lily meant it in the most endearing sense of the word, but her voice rose a pitch showing how unsure she was. Barty and Evan, as much as they would disagree, were great with kids, but they could be a bit of a bad influence. “Oh, I almost forgot. Pandora asked to bring another friend along. His name is Reg, but I think that’s a nickname.”
Before James could give her any words of reassurement, there was a knock at the door. James made a move to get the door, but Sirius was quicker, jumping at the opportunity to get a bit of a reprieve from being on watch duty. “I got it Prongs, you know I love the kiddos, but I beg of you, I need a break.”
Sirius opened the door and let the group file in with a smile on his face. He too had only met Pandora and Dorcas, but like James, he was also absorbing the excitement of the party. That is, until his smile dropped faster than James had ever seen it before. “Regulus?”
At this moment, so many things happened at once. While the adults in the room zeroed in on the situation that was, Sirius reuniting with his brother he has not seen in ten years, Harry at the ripe age of three, did not recognize the tension in the room and broke the silence, “Panda! Baty!” To Lily’s dismay, Barty ended up being the one that Harry favored, with Pandora being a close second. Although he could most likely pronounce their full names, everyone (sans Barty) thought the nicknames were too cute to correct. Harry ran up to Barty and he did not hesitate to lift Harry into his arms and spin him in a circle, seemingly moving on from the initial commotion.
Sirius and Regulus, the latter of which had finally entered the room, were staring at each other. Neither of them had said a word, and the prolonged silence between them quickly became awkward. Finally James, gathering his wits, slid over to them and broke the tension, “Regulus as in your brother Regulus?”
Regulus finally glanced over at James and with a drawl said, “Great deduction, because there are just so many people named Regulus that my brother would react that way to.” There was a sharp edge to his word that James could not detect was true malice or just slight sarcasm. Pandora, who was now holding Harry, and Sirius both spoke at the same time without missing a beat, “Don’t worry, he’s just like that.” This managed to break some of the tension and even caused them to laugh. James, however, looked at Sirius and did not know how to continue.
Sirius wound up speaking first, “Don’t be a prat to James though, he’s my other half.” Sirius cringed at his own words because he knew the issues Regulus had with feeling as though he came second to James.
Regulus surprised his brother by giving a brief chuckle, “As co-dependent as ever, I see.” Regulus paused then, and Sirius could see in his eyes that he was unsure if he should say the next words he was thinking. Sirius gave him a small smile of encouragement and that seemed to give Regulus the bravery to exhale the words, “Maybe we should talk outside for a minute?”
“I reckon we’ll need a lot longer than a minute,” responded Sirius. The statement made Regulus release a snort that he attempted to cover up as a cough. Sirius glanced over at James then, “I’ll just be outside, be back soon.”
James gave Sirius a smile that he hoped conveyed encouragement. After they left the room, Pandora handed Harry off once more to Barty and Evan, who looked at each other with the same shit-eating grins that James would have to check in on later. Pandora and Remus both walked up to James and Lily, Pandora with a knowing look and Remus with worry written all over his face for his boyfriend.
“Well, this is unexpected,” said Remus.
“Just wait, it will be okay,” Pandora offered.
James responded with skepticism, “How can you be so sure? I’m sure Regulus has told you about them and how it was when they were younger.”
Pandora's smile grew wider, “I have a feeling.”
At this Lily let out a bright laugh, “you all will learn quickly to trust when Pandora has a feeling.” Lily leaned in to press a quick kiss on Pandora’s lips.
The party continued on with no more distraction, but Harry stuck by Barty and Evan the whole time, dragging them to watch him in the bouncy castle and introducing them to all his friends and they accepted it with the same mischievous smile that Harry now adopted. James resolved to check in on them soon, but the brothers' return immediately diverted his attention. Sirius and Regulus entered with twin tentative smiles, much to their shared chagrin, and James locked eyes with Sirius to check that he was okay. Sirius gave a small nod to James that told James exactly what he needed to know. Lily was right. Trust Pandora when she has a feeling. While Lily walked over to talk to Regulus, Sirius strode over to James.
“How did that go, Pads?” James asked.
“Better than expected, I suppose.” The pitch of Sirius's voice rose, making it sound like more of a question, but he looked at James to give him another small smile.
James took the time to really look at Regulus now that he was talking to Lily. Regulus had the same dark hair as Sirius, but shorter, cutting off right under his ears. They also had the same grey eyes, but where Sirius had kind eyes and sharp features, Regulus managed to look both cherubic and intense. With a newfound sense of determination, James made the executive decision that Regulus is going to like James. “I’m gonna go talk to him,” James said to Sirius.
Sirius gave him another snort, “Good luck with that.”
James marched over to where Regulus was now standing with Barty, Evan, and Harry. James caught the end of Regulus introducing himself to Harry and then spoke, “Hi, I’m sure you already know, but again, I’m James.”
Regulus stood up from his crouch and said with a deadpan look, “No.”
Defeated, James sulked back over to Sirius, who was looking over in amusement. Behind you, he can hear Evan and Barty laughing. Sirius said with a laugh, “He was mean to you, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah,” James responded with a sigh, “Padfoot, I’m so sorry, but I think I’m going to marry him.” Although looking like a kicked puppy, James said this with a confidence that made Sirius know he was not joking around.
Sirius made fake gagging sounds before saying, “It’s because he was mean to you, huh?”
James let out another dreamy sigh, “Yeah.”
James looked over once again at the boys who were still with Harry and it appeared they were encouraging him to say something.
“Ah, shit!” Harry babbled with a giggle. While Evan and Barty were howling with laughter, James’ jaw dropped. Lily’s cheeks reddened, but she did not look shocked, looking as though she expected as much.
That’s what Lily meant about them.