Chapter Text
“Fucking run faster, James!” Marlene bellows, waiting in position with her hand outwards. James sprints as fast as he can, working those muscles he requires for football as much as possible. As soon as he reaches Marlene, she snatches the baton and bolts the next 400m to Evan.
James keels over slightly, resting his hands on his knees as he catches his breath. It is so fucking hot today. The last day of school before the summer holidays always means it’s Sport’s Day— AKA James’ favourite day of the academic year, AKA the day he gets to show off how athletic he is to his peers.
Once Marlene successfully passes to Evan, he sprints the last burst to the finish line. The second he does, James, Marlene, Evan and Mary run to the middle of the field, cheering and jumping. Their whole year group holler and cheer for them, knowing they were the quickest year group to complete the relay so far. They know for a fact they’ll win when they’re announced later. The rest of the school have accepted their fate already, as this particular year group had won the relay three years running. They’ll get their moment next year when they leave in year eleven.
“Well done, you four. Can we have an even bigger round of applause for our year ten Hogwarts relay racers?” Minerva Mcgonagall, the girls school Headmistress, shouts through the old megaphone the schools have been using for decades.
The four of them bow dramatically, earning another round of applause. James catches Lily Evans’ eye and winks. She rolls her eyes as per usual, a small smile on her face. James has been head over heels for the redhead since he saw her on the field in year 7. She hasn’t once shown any sign of interest, but James is nothing if not determined. She will fall for him one day, he knows it.
Once Mcgonagall dismisses them for the next event (javelin, a sport way too arm-focused for James, who is way better with his legs), they join their friends behind the ribbon. James plonks himself down with his sweaty head on Sirius’ lap. He’s exhausted, himself, from the high jump only a few moments before the relay. “You’re all sweaty, you knob.” Sirius complains, wiping James’ sweat from his bare leg.
James cackles, shutting his eyes and absorbing the sun. His Hispanic skin is something Sirius has always been jealous of. Instead of tanning beautifully like James does, he just burns.
“Tell me how brilliant I am, Sirius.” James smiles, using his hand as a sun-visor.
“You’re incredible, Jamie. Simply the best Hogwarts Academy for Boys has ever seen. Everyone should bow down to you and kiss the ground you walk on wherever you go.” Sirius says, only with a tiny bit of sarcasm.
James beams, “Just what I like to hear.”
“You two make me feel ill.” Peter laughs, his girlfriend weaving daisies into his hair.
“You cannot be talking.” Sirius scoffs, motioning to Emmeline’s deft fingers in his blonde hair.
Peter barks a laugh, “That’s fair.”
James and Sirius laugh with him, even Remus huffing a laugh beside them. He’s got a pair of black sunglasses on, adding to his already nonchalant, attractive charisma. How does everything look good on him? He’s resting on his elbows, his long legs absorbing sun better than Sirius’ are.
The girls aren’t far behind them, making a fuss over Marlene and Mary for doing so well. “See, why can’t you appreciate me like they are to Mary and Marls?” James pouts.
“Because they’re not show-offs like you are.” Remus answers before Sirius can, which makes them all laugh out loud.
“Oi! Just because you stopped doing PE in year eight after Bobby Barnes got you in the face with that dodgeball.” James scoffs.
“It was a netball, actually.” Remus retorts, his Geordie accent soothing to the ear. James reckons he could listen to Remus talk for the whole of England.
“Oh, sorry.” he replies, rolling his eyes.
“It’s alright, Jamie, I still love you even if you are a bit of a prick.” Sirius smiles down at him, sarcasm lacing his tongue.
James swats Sirius’ leg and gets up, walking over to Evan. He sits down cross-legged, facing Evan and his friends— which consists of Barty Crouch, Pandora Rosier (Evan’s younger sister) and Regulus Black.
Regulus immediately scowls as James sits down, his sunglasses falling down his nose, rather dramatically. He’s resting on his hands, his legs just as pale as Sirius’— it must run in the family, James decides. He’s in uniform as he blatantly refuses to take part in Sport’s Day— much like Remus. It’s no secret Regulus Black doesn’t like James Potter, despite him never giving a reasonable explanation for why.
“Alright, Potter?” Barty winks. It’s also no secret that James Potter is the most popular boy in the boys school. What, with his beautiful sunkissed skin and hazel eyes, it’s hard not to swoon for him. And with all the football he plays, he is extremely in shape for his age. He quite literally has a fangirl club of year sevens that wait for him to walk past out of the gate every day.
“Yeah, you, Crouch?” he replies.
“I’d be better if you took your shirt off.” he says, plain and simple.
Evan swats Barty’s arm as James chuckles. He can sense Regulus’ eye roll from here.
“I’ll save it for later, for your eyes only. What’s the fun in showing everyone what’s yours?”
Barty grins. They’ve had this flirty banter for as long as James has known him. He’s on the football team with James, along with Evan. “What do you want, Potter?” Regulus spits.
“Oh! Funny you ask, Reggie.” he smiles, knowing the nickname gets a rise out of him. He’s known Regulus his whole life, what, with being neighbours and all. It’s how he and Sirius became so close. “I’ve been informed to ask you all to come to the bonfire on the beach tonight. My mum’s made food as well.”
“Fuck yeah.” Evan exclaims.
“What sort of food?” Pandora asks.
“Tapas, croquetas, pan con tomate with chorizo, stuff like that.” James says. Pandora immediately grins and Barty nudges her. “What?” he asks.
“Say it again.” Barty smirks.
“Say what again…?”
“All of that. What you just said.” Pandora grins.
Regulus rolls his eyes with a weak laugh, “They’re just getting you to speak Spanish in that sexy voice of yours again.”
“You think my voice is sexy, mi amor?” he smirks, looking at Regulus through his sunglasses.
“Fuck off.” he scoffs.
James laughs, “You in or what?”
“We’re in.” Evan answers immediately. Regulus starts to protest but Barty just shoves him. Regulus shoves him back and they end up trying to punch each other.
“Alright, that’s my cue. I’ll see you at seven!” James beams, rising once again and heading over to the girls. He takes a seat next to Mary with a toothy grin. Mary Macdonald is the girls school IT girl, that goes without saying. She was put in isolation so much for her lashes and jewellery that the teachers just gave up with her. Also, her nudes got sent round in year 9 but she just completely owned it, which James thought was brilliant.
“Hiya, James.” Mary smiles. Despite them two being the most popular students in their schools, the thought of dating one another is revolting. They went to the same primary school and grew up together— so when people ship them together they shudder with disgust.
“Hi girls.” James replies. He only receives a greeting from Lily, as Marlene is currently kissing her girlfriend. Marlene and Dorcas came out to the whole year group in year 8, and have stayed together since. They were the first openly queer couple the year group had heard of— since then, loads have come out. They think of themselves as pioneers of the LGBTQ at Hogwarts, which James thinks is a tad dramatic.
“Bloody good race, I’ll tell you that.” Mary beams. “My legs are killing already.” she pauses. “No, don’t tell me— your legs are completely fine cause you go to the gym and do football three times a week.”
James chuckles, “You know me too well.”
Mary laughs, shaking her head. “I hear you’re hosting a bonfire on the dunes this evening.”
James grins, “Funnily enough, I was just about to ask you to come.”
“I was coming whether you invited me or not, thank you.” she scoffs.
James chuckles, “Yeah, figures. Which boyfriend are you bringing this time?”
This earns a punch in the arm from Mary, and a laugh from Lily. And, Oh, that laugh. James just wants to trap it in a jar and keep it forever.
“I’m being serious— Mum needs to know how many people are coming so she can get started on the tapas.” James defends himself.
Mary rolls her eyes, “If it wasn’t for Effie, I wouldn’t be telling you.” she sighs. “It’s just Amos.”
“What, Diggory?” James fleers.
“Yes, Diggory. Problem?” Mary retorts.
“Didn’t he finger Sybil Trelawney in the bike shed last week?”
“No, that was Emma.”
“Right. So it was Amos.”
Mary rolls her eyes, “If you’re gonna keep taking the piss, you might as well bugger off.”
“Alright, alright, sorry.” he smiles. “Okay, Amos. I’ll put him on the list.”
“Can I also bring someone?” Lily asks, piping up from her homework. She’s laid on her stomach, pen in hand. James wonders why on earth she’s doing homework on the last day of school.
“Er, who is it?” he replies, realising that it came out rather hastily and thick.
“Severus.” she answers, sheepishly.
“What, grease?” James laughs. Ever since year seven, Severus Snape has been the bane of James and Sirius’ existence. He beat them in a game of kahoot in computing and they’ve reigned war ever since. Also, he’s a dickhead to Lily, so they have to hate him on principle.
“Severus, yes.” Lily corrects with that mean glare. James likes it when she’s mean to him. Makes the chase more exciting.
“Right.” James says, pretending to think about it. “No.”
“And why not?”
“Because it’s Snape…?” James shrugs, as if that’s a good enough reason in itself— which to him, it is. Sirius would say the same.
“He’s my friend, James.”
“No, he’s not.”
“What gives you the right to dictate who’s my friend and who isn’t?”
James shrugs, “He’s not coming, end of story.”
“Is someone jealous?” Marlene pipes up, drawing her attention away from Dorcas for once.
“Fuck off, Mckinnon.” James sneers. “It’s my party, he isn’t coming.” he says, for once and for all. He stands up and smiles before going back to Sirius.
“What’s the matter?” Remus says, looking at James’ foul expression.
“Nothing.” he grunts, downing half of his radnor splash.
“Liar.” Sirius says, poking him.
“Lily asked if Severus could come to the bonfire tonight.” he sighs, not able to keep up the facade with Sirius.
“Oh, fuck no. What did you say?”
“No, obviously. She wasn’t happy about it.”
“Well, you can see why she’d be upset.” Remus shrugs, defending his friend.
“Shut up, Remus. You know what he’s like— fucking cunt.” James snaps, shaking his head.
“Alright, let’s not start on Remus now. She’ll get over it, James. She’ll get there tonight and forget all about Snape— instead she’ll be drooling over you shirtless.”
James smiles weakly. Sirius knows how to cheer him up every bloody time. “Sorry, Remus.”
Remus laughs, “Soppy prick.”
James rolls his eyes, throwing his radnor splash at him. Remus immediately throws it back, getting him right on the head. Sirius barks a laugh as James kicks Remus.
“Where’s Pete?” James asks, noticing the lack of their friend.
“Went to get ice creams.” Sirius replies.
James makes a noise of frustration, “Did I miss him?”
“Nah, don’t worry. He’s getting four Mr. Whippys— bubblegum syrup for you, obviously.” Sirius smiles.
James grins.
—
At the end of the day, the headteachers gather all of their year nine and ten students on the field— which, bear in mind, two schools, is very difficult in this heat. Once they manage to get everyone quiet, they prepare to hand out the medals. “Before we announce all of our winners this afternoon, I would just like to say a very well done to everyone who participated and helped out today. Your effort does not go unnoticed and we couldn’t be prouder.” Mr. Dumbledore, the boys school’s headmaster, says. “But, with that boring stuff out of the way, it’s time to announce our Hogwarts Sports Day medalists!”
This gets a loud cheer from all students.
“First up, we have our javelin winners. In third place, we have Bengy Fenwick. Second, we have Polly Parkinson. And last but not least, first place goes to… Barty Crouch!” Dumbledore announces. Everyone cheers for Barty and the others as they head up to receive their medals. Barty stands with pride, beaming right at Evan. James will admit, Barty is extremely good looking. He has jet black hair with a singular green stripe in the front, which brings out the steel of his eyes. He’s in good shape (no thanks to football, of course) and he knows it. His confidence adds to his charm, James thinks.
None of their group are awarded another medal until the relay winners come around. “For the winners of our joint whole school relay race, we have… year ten!” Mrs. Mcgonagall cheers. The crowd erupts into applause as James, Mary, Evan and Marlene walk to the front, relishing in the noise of praise. James craves validation more than the average student, so being this popular has its benefits. Really, all he did was sprint 400 metres– anyone could do that– and is getting this much applause.
The four of them are awarded their gold medals, which results in another round of cheer, to their immense pleasure. On the way back to their friends, James and Marlene high-five as many students as they can, running down rows and hitting people’s hands.
“And that concludes our 2024 Sports Day at Hogwarts!” Dumbledore beams into the megaphone. “Now go, enjoy your summers! You’ve been a delight this year, as I’m sure you all will be in September.”
–
Once James recovers from his freezing cold shower, he gets dressed into a pair of shorts and a white Adidas polo, black Adidas trainers to match. He wears his usual gold chain and bracelet, both gifts from his abuela and abuelo years ago. He filters through his collection of golden earrings and decides on a simple gold hoop for his right ear. James paces his wardrobe back and forth a few times, wondering if he should've gone for a different top.
Who’s he kidding? White suits him perfectly.
“Okay.” he mutters to himself, shaking himself to life. He heads downstairs, where Effie stands with a plate of tapas covered by cling film. Sirius is already taking dishes out to the car, and James rushes over to help.
“Gracias, mi sol.” Effie smiles, planting a loving kiss on his cheek as he takes the plate from her hand. He follows Sirius and his father out to the boot of the car, where everything is carefully placed.
“You look dashing as always.” Sirius winks, tugging lightly on James’ chain. James chuckles, getting a look of his best friend. Sirius is wearing a white shirt with a blue beach unbuttoned shirt over the top. His shorts are black, much like his shoes (the same as James’, for the record). He has tied his hair in a loose man-bun, that would usually look weird on someone else, but because it’s Sirius, he looks really fucking hot.
“Not too bad yourself, Black.” James grins, passing the tapas to his father. Monty takes them with a grateful smile.
“You will be careful with the bonfire, won’t you?” Monty asks. He was born and raised in East London, where he met Effie, but he’s half-Spanish himself, so James is technically more Spanish than he is English. James loves his Spanish heritage– it's something he holds rather close to his heart.
“Si, papá, siempre.” he says, taking off towards the house again.
They all live in Cornwall– Falmouth, to be more specific. It’s beautiful this time of year, for obvious reasons, but attracts a lot of tourists in the peak of the summer holidays. The Potter house lies a few minutes walk from Maenporth beach, where James learnt how to surf and make a bonfire at the age of seven. He’s been hosting bonfires on the beach since year 8.
Once all of the food is safely in the boot, James high-fives Sirius. “How are we getting the drinks?” James whispers where he's sure his parents can't hear him.
“Frank’s bringing them.”
“Frank’s coming?!”
“Did I not mention?”
“No!”
“Well, he is.”
“Brilliant.” James beams. Admittedly, Frank was his bisexual awakening in year seven when he saw him take his shirt off in the changing rooms. Frank was the captain of the football team before he left last year, passing his legacy down to James. “Tell me he’s bringing Alice.”
“Obviously.”
James grins.
He does that a lot.
—
By eight pm, the area of the beach they set up on is filled with year ten and eleven students. James is also pretty drunk— and he’s only been here an hour. Frank stayed true to his word and brought a lot of beer and vodka. She’s A Star by James comes on and James beams, heading to his favourite redhead. He slings a happy arm around her shoulder and she chuckles.
“Are you pissed, James?” she asks.
“She’s a staaaaarrrrrr!” he sings into her ear, swaying. “He wrote this song about you, by the way.”
Lily chuckles, sharing a look with Dorcas and Remus. “Oh, did he now?”
“Yeah. It’s true.”
“Well, I’m flattered, James.”
“Me or the band?”
“Both, I suppose.”
James laughs, and Lily can’t help but laugh with him. His laugh is just so bloody contagious— anyone who knows him would say the same. James just knows how to brighten up a room. He’s so good at making people happy.
People assume he’s this boisterous, arrogant boy because he’s popular and has money— but he’s so much more than that. He spends every day proving that to those he loves. He is nothing like people think he is, he swears.
“Would you like to go out with me, Lily Evans?” he smiles, dreamily.
“You know I don’t like you like that, Potter. I’ve made it quite clear.”
“But why notttttttt.” he whines like a dog.
“Because.”
“That’s not a valid excuse, Evans.”
“I shouldn’t need an excuse to say no, James.”
James visibly deflates, dropping his arm from Lily’s shoulder. “Come on, you melt.” Remus says, tugging his arm and pulling him away from Lily.
“Why doesn’t she like me? I don’t understand, Remus.” he frowns, on the edge of tears. It’s the alcohol, he promises.
“It’s not you, James. You haven’t done anything wrong, I promise.” Remus says, being nice to him for once.
“Then why won’t she go out with me? I’m cool, I’m funny, I’m on the pissing football team for god’s sake!” James shouts, getting a few people’s attention.
“Stop shouting, you sound like a whiny toddler.” Remus scoffs. When he sees James look up at him with a quivering lip, he sighs. “Like I said, James, you haven’t done anything wrong. You’re not the problem. Lily just doesn’t want a relationship— especially when you two are so good as friends.”
James frowns, like this simply won’t do.
“I’m going to get another drink.” he mutters, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He wobbles his way across the sand to the drinks cooler. He pulls out a fresh bottle of Smirnoff Vodka and finds an empty cup. He pours himself at least a triple shot worth and some Fanta.
To the left of him, he can hear Regulus and Barty’s conversation with Pandora, Dorcas and Evan. “I bet you fifty quid you won’t find a boyfriend by the end of the summer.” Barty is saying.
James hears Regulus scoff— and the start of Cast No Shadow by Oasis playing. His favourite.
“Do you even have fifty quid, Barty?” Regulus quips.
“Avoiding the offer, are we?” Barty replies, and James doesn’t need to look to see him smirk. He can hear it in his voice.
“Fine.” James hears Regulus sigh. “But up it to a hundred.”
Barty laughs, “You’re on, Black.”
James shakes his head, swallowing half of his cup. Sirius comes bounding towards him, just as battered as he is. “Hiya, my favourite person in the whole wide world.” he grins.
James smiles, pressing his face into Sirius’ hair. “Hi.”
“Why do you look so sad? It’s summer!”
James shrugs, “Lily will never love me.”
“Don’t be silly! Your favourite song is playing! Cheer up, mate!
He sways to Cast No Shadow with a lopsided smile, unaware of the fact he’s being watched by a certain best friend’s brother of his. Regulus watches him with a fond smile and a glint in his eye.
An idea sparks in Regulus’ head and he gnaws at his cheek. He’s tipsy himself but his head is still relatively clear.
He makes a mental note to find James alone at some point or another.
James, however, is having a whale of a time, singing his heart out to Hypersonic Missiles by Sam Fender. He jumps with his friends, throwing his head back with laughter and pure joy. Evan has his arm around him as they jump in time to the music, beers in hand.
And when the bombs drop darling, can you say that you’ve lived your life?
Oh, this is a hard time for Hypersonic Missiles.
James presses a big fat kiss to the side of Peter’s head, who gives him a weird look and gently pushes him away. James laughs out loud as another Oasis song begins.
At some point, someone challenges a wheelbarrow race. James and Sirius’ faces light up with joy. This is their speciality. Soon enough, there are about ten teams of two in wheelbarrow position.
Sirius is always the hands between them, whilst James is the legs.
“On the count of three!” Frank shouts from the finish line— which is just a line of sand drawn with a stick.
He counts down, and when he reaches one they all kick off. James and Sirius fly past Barty & Evan, Mary & Marlene and Pandora & Dorcas. They’re in the lead, obviously. James hears lots of grunts and shouting behind him, but him and Sirius are too busy laughing with how much speed they have.
They didn’t win every wheelbarrow race in primary school for nothing.
When the pair reach the finish line, everyone groans. James and Sirius beam, holding each other’s arms up in pride. “We have our winners— James Potter and Sirius Black!”
Oasis and The Stone Roses play for the next few hours, until it starts to get dark. As soon as the stars come out, people start to make their leave.
But not James.
He sits on the sand by the water, his legs tucked up against his chest. He listens to the soothing sound of the water. He spent so much of his time in the water when he was little— he misses it. James decides he’s going to go swimming and surfing more this summer, with or without Sirius.
James looks up at the sky, noting the amount of stars. The light pollution isn’t too severe down here, so the stars are quite bright this time of year. He’s always loved the stars—
“Hi.”
Speaking of stars.
Regulus takes a seat next to him, sitting in the same position. He follows James’ gaze to the sky, but James isn’t looking up anymore. He has a star right in front of him. “Hi.” James says, although it comes out as more of a whisper.
“What are you doing, still out here? You must be freezing, you weirdo.” Regulus comments.
James shrugs. He’s sobered up a lot by now. Perhaps today’s activities wore him out too much. “I like the water and I like the stars. Where else better to go than the beach?”
Regulus nods. “Can you see me?”
“You’re right in front of me.”
Regulus smiles, and it’s truly a beautiful sight to behold. It’s such a rare sight, so James savours it like it’s the last breath of air before diving underwater. “I meant up there, you twat.” he says, still looking up.
James follows his gaze and furrows his brows. “Where are you?”
“Right there, do you see?” he asks, pointing his finger. James does his best to follow, he really does, but he’s still got alcohol in his system and doesn’t have great vision as it is.
“It’s too hard. You’ll have to teach me.”
“Mhm.” Regulus nods softly, resting his chin on his arms.
“Why are you here? You hate me, remember?”
Regulus smiles again, and James finds himself doing the same just because.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
James feels a bit nauseous all of a sudden— God knows why.
“Go ahead.” he shrugs, nonchalance coming easily.
“Do you like Lily Evans?”
James chokes on air, coughing to cover up his surprise. He must say, he wasn’t expecting that question to come out of Regulus’ mouth. Why should he care, anyway?
“That’s a weird question.”
“So, it’s a yes?”
James panics, heat rising. “Why do you care?”
Regulus lets out a frustrated sigh, “I really don’t. I couldn’t care less. But I don’t know if you heard, but Barty and I have a bet, you see.”
“I know.”
“So you did hear.”
“My ears are better than my eyes, unfortunately.”
Regulus laughs, but it comes out as more of a scoff than anything. “Well, I might have a solution to both of our problems— despite how much the thought makes me shiver.”
“Feel free to share, baby Black.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Whatever, Reggie.”
Regulus rolls his eyes. It’s better than Baby Black, he decides. “Forget it— it’s a stupid idea.” James looks at him, his eyes so soft and gentle that Regulus struggles. “You’d laugh at me.”
“I can assure you, I won’t. I’m very serious.”
“Sirius isn’t here.”
James chuckles, because any Sirius related joke is immediately funny to him. “Good one.” he smiles, lazily. He won’t tear his gaze away from Regulus, and he’s starting to feel subconsciously self-conscious all of a sudden. “Tell me, Regulus.”
And, fuck, the way he says his name is so stilling. Regulus feels the hairs on the back of his neck prick upward as he looks down.
“If you want to make Evans jealous, and show her how good of a boyfriend you could be, why don’t you simply find someone else?” Regulus starts, not letting James tell how nervous he is by his voice.
“Like who?”
Regulus regrets the words before they even come out of his mouth. He shuts his eyes briefly before opening them, and looking James in the eye.
“Like me.”
James’ eyes immediately widen and he relaxes his legs. He blinks rapidly, like he’s thinking about it, then laughs with furrowed brows. “Wait— you’re saying that we should date so Lily gets jealous? What’s in it for you?”
“The bet, remember?”
James thinks. “Oh. Right.”
Regulus swallows harshly. “You don’t have to give me an answer tonight, you can think about it.”
James looks out to the water again. “Let’s just stay here for a minute, okay? Will you stay here?”
Regulus’ gaze softens slightly and he looks at the water too. Maybe James isn’t as bad as he thought he was.
When Regulus was young, it was always James this and James that from Sirius, and, honestly, it made him seethe with jealousy. Sirius was his brother, not James’. How dare he walk into his life and take him away? Sirius was all he had.
Especially when he left for the Potters earlier this year.
Oh, this boiled Regulus’ blood. Him and Sirius talked— they sorted things out between them. He couldn’t stand the thought of losing his brother. But he still chose James. He would always choose James, and it makes Regulus sick to think about.
And he hates that he’s starting to see why.
“Tell me something, James. Something nobody else knows— something that makes you seem human.” Regulus prompts after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
“I am human.”
Regulus snorts, “Sure you are.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know— you always seemed superhuman to me. Football almost every day— surfing in between— and still managing to please all the right people. Always having a smile on your face.”
James deflates a little. “That’s just who I am. I don’t want it to make it seem like I’m not human. I am human, I promise.” he sighs. “Here— I get angry a lot, I get jealous and possessive. I punched a wall once and I threw a chair.”
“Is that the thing nobody else knows about you?”
James nods weakly, “I’m human, I promise you. I’m not anywhere near perfect, despite what people say.” he says, making Regulus smile a bit. “Your turn.”
Regulus draws in a deep breath, watching the water hit the shore. “I play the viola.”
“You do?”
“Have done since Sirius left. Needed something to do.” he shrugs.
James frowns at the mention of Sirius. Regulus doesn’t want to talk about Sirius with James. He doesn’t want to be pushed aside again— doesn’t want to be the second option again. He could only take it once.
“You’ll have to show me one day. I bet you’re good at it. You do art, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I bet you’re good with your fingers.”
Regulus snorts, “Only you could turn the viola into a weird, freaky joke.”
“I wasn’t trying to, I promise. It just came out.”
This gets an abrupt, raw laugh out of Regulus. He stands up slowly, ignoring how James watches him do so. “I’ll see you soon, James.”
James.
James looks from where Regulus is walking away, to the sea again.
He feels weird—
Lighter, almost.
He takes one last look at Regulus before he disappears from the beach.