Chapter Text
James grinned fondly as he saw his best friends flirting, making eye contact with Peter who rolled his eyes.
"Moony? Are you a dementor because you take my breath away" Sirius said as he smirked.
Remus had a slight pink tint to his cheeks as he retorted, "No pads, I'm actually a werewolf…Though maybe you can make me howl".
James and Peter were trying not to cringe or burst out into giggles as they watched in delight.
Sirius had turned into a completely flustered mess as he opened and closed his mouth trying to come up with something.
They were all doing their homework, or atleast Peter was, James in his bed, Remus and Sirius in Remus's bed, Peter with his back to James's bed.
Remus and Sirius had gotten together in their fifth year and they had started a game in which they tried to make the other as flustered as possible. Ever since Sirius read the article,"Pickup lines to Woo the Love of Your Life" in Witch Weekly, that's all he's been doing. It was both hilarious and embarrassing to watch.
At least they had this month's entertainment.
James was, to put it simply, stalking Regulus. Well, not exactly stalking, he was just looking out for him on the map. At least that's what he told himself. The map told him Regulus was with the Rosier twins and Crouch jr, near the black lake. Ever since Regulus came with Sirius to Potter Manor on that fateful day, they had grown close. Well maybe not exactly close. James had managed to break down the walls Regulus always put up and he considered that his greatest accomplishment. And talking to Regulus at Hogwarts meant also befriending his friends, who thought he was highly entertaining.
While he was pondering on his quite ridiculous crush, (Remus had caught him doodling a Regulus Potter heart on his charms homework) he heard Peter whisper to him,
"You could try that, Prongs"
"Try what, Wormy?" He whispered back, taking a quick glance at Remus and Sirius who was too busy bickering, like always.
"The pickup lines, dipshit. Some of those are good"
James was highly sceptical, but Peter was always good at advice and he trusted him. On a totally unrelated note though, there were quidditch pickup lines in them too. Totally unrelated.
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The next morning found Sirius and Peter stumbling into the great hall sleepily. Remus, Lily and Mary, the three of them already up and fresh, glanced up from the conversation they were having to smile at them or stick out their tongue, in Mary's case. Sirius dropped next to Remus and let his head fall on his shoulder, already snoring away.
Mary patted Peter's head fondly as he did the same.
"So as I was saying Rem, Mary, Amortentia should not be-"
Lily was interrupted again when the Gryffindor quidditch team entered the great hall, loud boisterous laughter and bickering reaching them even from a distance. All five of them lifted their heads as Marlene, James, Frank, Gideon and Fabian sat around them. Gid and Fab were already trying to annoy Frank, who was rolling his eyes as he talked about early 18th century quidditch tactics to Marlene and James.
James had stopped talking about halfway through the conversation when he caught sight of Regulus, who's head rested on Pandora's shoulder as he slept. He almost laughed at the similarities between Reg and Sirius.
Both of them would team up to give him shit for that line alone, though.
Barty, Evan and Pandora seem to bicker as Evan frequently rolled his eyes. He was startled however, when Regulus suddenly opened his eyes and stared straight at him, head still resting on Pandora's shoulder.
James gaped as Regulus raised an eyebrow, smirking a bit.
Godric, He was fucked.
James was brought out of his staring contest with Regulus when he felt a nudge.
"Well? What do you think Progsie? Butterbeer of Firewhiskey for tomorrow's party?" Sirius asked him.
James blinked rapidly, "Uh, Butterbeer?"
He was met with disappointed groans and rolled eyes.
"Live a little, James! I say we have Firewhiskey" Marlene grinned as she rolled her hair into a bun, pinning it with her wand
"I mean, tomorrow is friday, so I don't see why not" Lily shrugged, smiling as Remus and Frank agreed with her.
"It's decided then…" James tuned out Gideon again as he searched for lovely grey eyes and dark hair. He felt Peter nudge him and whisper, "Do it prongs, I know you can".
Well, he knew it was most probably for his entertainment but how could he push away a chance like that?. James left his half eaten breakfast to follow after Regulus and his friends, throwing a "I need to take my Transfiguration homework!" after his shoulder at his confused friends.
James walked out of the doors in time to catch Regulus's elbow, pulling him back. He quickly said "It's me, Reggie" as he saw him take out his wand. Evan, Barty and Pandora looked startled before looking amused. Regulus was pressed against his chest as he looked up at him.
"Er-James? Jamie?" Regulus asked, pointedly glancing at his hand.
"Oh I'm so sorry Reggie" James rushed out, pulling back.
"It's okay, but what was it that you wanted?" Regulus asked, stepping back and brushing down his robes.
"You must be a snitch, because I've been seeking you my whole life" James blurted out, trying and failing to look smooth. He could feel his skin heating up and thanked the whole universe for his dark skin.
James saw Pandora covering her mouth to hide her grin, Evan raising an eyebrow in interest and Barty smirking.
His eyes finally found Regulus, as it always did.
And James was absolutely delighted to see cherry pink blossoming on his cheeks as Regulus stared up at him through his lashes. Merlin, he was gorgeous.
"Well, uh You're not a seeker, dummy. And obviously, I'm not a snitch" Regulus regained his composure as he rolled his eyes.
The effect was lost though, he still had pink on his cheeks.
James was not deterred, he grinned happily, tossing a "Take care love, have a good day. You too, Rosiers and Crouch!" before sountering away joyfully.
"Potter?! Did you just call us Rosiers?!" Evan yelled at his back. James laughed loudly, hearing Regulus's light laughter and Barty's cackles.
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That evening, James walked to the quidditch pitch.
They had practice in the morning, so Slytherin's practice was in the evening. Well, the practice time was over but he knew Reg and Evan always flew around after practice.
Reg took more time on the pitch, somedays. And today the map showed him Evan and Reg talking near the bleachers. He grinned as he saw Regulus suppressing his laughter as Evan was, no doubt, telling him the latest gossip.
They noticed him as he walked closer and his grin widened as he watched Reg smile shyly and Evan smirk at him in greeting.
James rather liked Evan, actually. He was fun to talk to and was quite smart, he could also hold a conversation well.
"Hey Boys", James saluted in greeting.
"Hello Potter" Evan nodded
"Evening James" Reg smiled.
He watched in confusion as Evan smirked at Reg, raising an eyebrow and Reg narrowed his eyes at him before scoffing.
James shook it off before starting a conversation about the latest quidditch moves which caught both Reg's and Evan's attention.
An hour later found James, Reg and Evan loudly arguing about quidditch.
"For fuck's sake, you two! Power play is immensely helpful in a match, alright?!" Regulus exclaimed, brushing a few strands of hair falling into his face
"Power play can divert the attention from the rest of the match!" Evan scowled.
James sighed loudly, "I agree with Reg but-"
"Of course you do" Evan muttered, unfortunately, Regulus and James heard it. James gaped as Regulus whirled at him,
"Now what's that supposed to mean?!"
"Nothing, Salazar, good-bye you two, I have prefect duties"
Evan quickly said before taking his broom and briskly walking back.
Regulus flipped him off as he said goodbye and James waved a bit, before processing that he's alone with Reg.
"Hey Jamie, thanks for agreeing with me" Reg smiled a little brightly at him. James didn't mention the fact that he was about to contradict it. He was about to say 'Of course Reg, anything for you' before suddenly remembering a line from the article.
" You must be a bludger because you knock me out" James blurted out without thinking, before immediately regretting it.
He saw pink creeping up on Reg's face as he stared at him.
He stared back.
Suddenly, Reg let out a startled laugh, turning his head to the side, probably to hide his blushing face but it was no use.
James bit his lip to contain his large grin as Regulus composed himself again.
"What's it with you and the quidditch ones? Anyways, I have to go, but it's been great talking to you Jamie" Regulus grinned before taking his broom and standing up. But just as he turned, James caught his arm from behind.
"You must be a snitch, really, because you're the greatest catch here" James said.
He watched in delight as the tips of Reg's ears and back of his neck turned red.
Reg pulled his hand back and looked over his shoulder, biting his lip to hide his smile before shaking his head and walking back to the castle.
Regulus walking away should have felt like a loss but he felt like he was flying, so that's exactly what he did.
Maybe this wasn't a good idea, maybe this was, but all that mattered to him at the moment was a shy smile, pink blush and cherry lips.
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"I would take the marauders map just to stare at you all night" Remus smirked at Sirius over his fruit bowl.
James snorted as he heard Peter mutter a quiet," You already do that, dummy".
Well, it still made Sirius blush and smile like an idiot. A good looking idiot, but still an idiot.
"We may not be in charms class but you sure are charming, my moon love"
About five people around them groaned loudly and James banged his head on the table, but he still couldn't deny it was good.
He even saw some students from nearby houses wincing in second hand embarrassment.
He looked sideways and his eyes met Regulus's. James smiled at him and Regulus immediately looked away to talk with Dorcas meadowes, Slytherin's chaser and Marlene's girlfriend.
In this angle he could see Barty and Evan doing footsie under the table and Pandora dreamily staring at-
James craned his head
Huh
Lily.
Wow, now that's a couple he never thought of. But they would be cute together, he decided.
The rest of the dinner passed as they got roped into a conversation about whose pranks were better, The Marauders or The Prewett Twins. That's not to say they haven't collaborated before.
The Great Water Prank of 1974 was one of them.
_______________________________________________________
"Sirius, my darling, my love, wakeup honey"
"Five more minutes Jamsie" was the drowsy answer as Sirius covered his head with a pillow.
Remus rolled his eyes behind the book he was reading, already up and ready for class.
Peter was searching for his tie before he gave up and snatched one of Sirius's.
"Oh but my darling, what would I be without you?"
Peter snorted, this happened all mornings James didn't have practices and it always went like this.
"......" A sigh "Oh if you insist"
"Oh, I do insist, my love"
Sirius was up and ready in 10, though he was still grooming his hair as the others insisted it was perfect.
"For godric's sake Padfoot, your hair looks perfect! Just like you" Remus sighed fondly as they walked to the great hall.
They were interrupted when they heard laughter and banter come from behind.
"You always take so long for your goddamn hair! It's bloody perfect, you dolt"
"Well so do you, Mr 'I'm perfect and such a badass"
"At least I don't have a 5 step face care routine, you lunatic"
"At least I have a decent face, bitch"
"How dare you Black-"
"Oh so we're back to black?"
It was Regulus and Barty bickering the whole way while Pandora and Dorcas laughed at them. Evan was in the front rolling his eyes.
"Hey baby brother!" Sirius smiled brightly before bounding over to wrap his arm around Regulus's shoulder, pulling him into a half hug.
"Hey Sirius" Regulus sighed loudly
"What?! Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Not really, no"
"Surprise bitch, me neither"
"Did I ask you that, you prick?"
"I can have my own opinions you-"
At this point, as usual they looked like they were about to hex each other to the next century.
He heard all of them sigh in unison and restrained the mad urge to laugh.
"Alright you two, that's enough" James interrupted before it could get out of hand.
Sirius and Regulus looked over at him before scoffing and rolling their eyes.
Sirius gave a wet smacking kiss on Regulus's cheek "Bye baby bro!"
James saw Regulus make a face as he rolled his eyes, "Bye Siri"
They walked ahead again, now making conversations with the 5th years.
Coincidentally, James and Regulus ended up side by side.
"Hey Jamie" Regulus smiled at him, tucking a strand of hair behind.
"Hi Reggie" James grinned, his hands in his pockets
"They all are getting along quite well, don't you think?"
James looked over, Remus and Pandora were talking enthusiastically, Evan, Dorcas and Peter erupting into cackles every now and then, Sirius and Barty were staring deadpan at each other before, now they were nodding and waving their hands around.
"They're probably shit talking together," Regulus said, smirking a little.
James looked down on him, even wearing high heeled ankle boots, he was a full head shorter than James.
"Yeah, probably" They shared a fond smile.
The rest of the walk was spend by them pointing out good places in the castle and talking about what they did there:
"Jamie, did you know we, Pandora and I, used to hide in that alcove to scare Evan and Barty?"
"Haha, we used to hide our prank supplies across the whole castle and this was one of the hiding spots"
"Wait, really? You actually did that? Across the whole castle? I'm not even surprised, honestly"
"Yeah! What if there was an emergency and we needed the supplies?"
"I-yeah okay, good point"
Atlast, they reached the great hall, but just before they split ways, James caught Regulus's arm again, leaning down to whisper,
"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven, angel?''
He blinked in surprise as Regulus smiled and whispered back,
"I crawled my way up from hell actually. Besides, shouldn't I be asking you that?"
This time, James was left speechless as he stared blankly at him walking with the others to the Slytherin table.
Oh
"Prongs! Are you coming or not?!" Sirius yelled from the gryffindor table.
James grinned maniacally, before starting to laugh as he practically skipped to the gryffindor table, grabbing Sirius and hugging- squeezing- the life out of him, muffling his screaming on Sirius's shoulder.
His friends looked at him in concern, but he just shook his head and said "I love you all so fucking much"
Everyone, who was used to James's affection, smiled at him fondly.