Author's Note:

Round 6

Character: Regulus Black

Pairing: Regulus/James

Betas: The Catapults

Summary: Regulus gets unwanted but needed advice from James.

It was a warm, sunny day in late spring, the Great Hall was pretty much empty, almost everyone being outside and enjoying the day. The cherry trees still had beautiful white blossoms and the lake was as glistening in the sun and inviting as ever. Everyone was enjoying their day outside except for a handful of students, who stayed either in the Great Hall or Library. One boy chose to avoid his particular group that he was usually seen with by hiding in the back of the library.

Why?

They were too much to handle sometimes, well, most of the time. He pushed his dark brown, shoulder-length wavy hair out of the way as he read a book on the founders of Hogwarts. He'd rather be by himself than with a group of people he was forced to be with. Besides, he was sure that they were bullying a group of poor Hufflepuffs where the Professor's couldn't find them, and that wasn't what he had signed up for. He'd signed up to the Slytherin House to keep his mother happy, to keep her attention away from his reckless brother. Unfortunately there was only so much he could do after four years of covering for Sirius.

Regulus was starting to turn into the Slytherin he never wanted to be. He hoped he'd avoid the stereotypical 'Black' family traits and all that came with it, but after second year the fake facade became reality. He lost himself in order to fit in. He lost his brother, he lost the connection they'd had and Sirius hadn't helped matters whatsoever. He had made things worse at home. And Regulus had to suffer for it. He lost count of the amount of lectures that started with "Stupid Gryffindors" and ended with "Muggles". It was difficult to hold onto himself when he didn't know what was worth fighting for.

He felt butterflies in his stomach. Unfortunately, he knew exactly what was worth fighting for.

Regulus was trying to steal subtle glances towards that particular someone from across the tables. He didn't want to get caught looking. That wouldn't do.

A certain boy with jet-black, messy hair and glasses had caught Regulus's attention last year and those feelings had become stronger. There were many things that could go wrong with this. Regulus had listed said reasons. The main reason being that he was a stupid Gryffindor in love with Lily Evans, any blind person could see that. What chance did he have? The second reason being he was his brother's best friend. He didn't even need to explain that one. The third reason was that they had never actually met—or spoken to—each other. So why did he even have an interest in him?

That was a question for another day.

Right now, Regulus was admiring James's hair, which shone brightly in the mid morning sun. The fourth year Gryffindor and Slytherin had a free period, so why Potter wasn't with his best friends, or with the love of his life, Regulus had no idea. He didn't care though, it gave him a good view from where he was sitting.

What he didn't expect was for James Potter to look up from his studying and for his eyes to find his own. Regulus froze, unsure what to do. Why was Potter looking at him? Why did he smile… Regulus bit his bottom lip nervously. Potter smiling while looking at him surely meant something bad. Was he about to play a prank?

Regulus looked down back to his book, trying to get his breathing and thoughts under control. It took a few minutes to concentrate on what he was reading and not the fact that Potter had his focus placed solely on him. That was until he jumped at the sound of a scraped chair, which just so happened to be right next to where Regulus was sitting. He held his breath and glanced to his right.

Sitting there, with a smirk and amusement in his eyes, was Potter. Regulus's eyes narrowed, trying to cover up his panic.

"Can I help you?" the young Black asked with coldness in his voice, the way he usually spoke to anyone who he wasn't extremely close to.

"Not me, no. You can help my best friend, though," Potter stated and Regulus frowned in confusion, closing his book and placing it down on the table giving the other his full attention.

"Why would I do that? I don't care what happens to your best friend," Regulus spoke evenly, almost mockingly even, the wall he'd put up to hide emotions was really helping him get through this conversation. The famous Potter grin didn't help matters.

"You care for him just as he does for you. He's going through something and I think brotherly advice will help," Potter said confidently and Regulus raised his eyebrows.

"Aren't you his brother now? Why can't you help him?" Regulus was thoroughly confused by this conversation.

He often thought of what he and Potter might talk about when they finally spoke, but this wasn't what he had had in mind. Talking about Sirius… It was always Sirius, wasn't it? It had been him who had pushed him into this situation and it was him forcing the boy he liked to talk to him.

A part of him hoped Potter would be interested in getting to know his friend's brother… but he knew that was wishful thinking. He knew one thing, though. He had to get over this crush. It clearly wasn't going to go anywhere. He should have figured that out sooner. First crushes were harder to get rid of than he thought.

"He's going through a tough time right now. He doesn't really want to talk about his feelings and I'm not the one to talk to about that. He doesn't want me to think he's going to hurt our friend," Potter explained softly before shaking his head. "Never mind the detail, he should be the one to tell you. As for why I can't help him, well... Feelings aren't my strong suit and I'm terrible around girls." He chuckled lightly and Regulus fought the urge to laugh, too. His lips curved upwards, the closest he'd get to a smile.

"Sirius wouldn't hurt anyone he is close to, unless he has a good reason to do so," Regulus spoke after a moment and he watched Potter's eyes show concern; for what, Regulus had no idea.

"Oh, I think our whole year knows that." Was he teasing? Perhaps. Did he care? He wasn't sure. "He's a great guy, even if he comes across as a bit rambunctious sometimes."

Regulus bit the inner part of his lip, unseeingly to the other boy. "Would Sirius even accept my help?"

Potter's eyes widened. "Do you honestly think I would have come to you if there wasn't even a slight chance of that happening?" He tutted, hazel eyes sparkling mischievously. "No one cares, Black. Honestly, they wouldn't even notice you two talking to each other." He was about to add something but Regulus beat him to it.

Regulus smirked. "Clearly your romantic gestures to try and get your girl are more entertaining than actual couples. You're only doing this to have Evans think you've grown up or something, isn't that why we're talking right now?"

"Fine, fine. You know what, I'll take that as a compliment," Potter said, smiling brightly, and Regulus was trying his hardest not to smile back equally as bright. He was a Slytherin, he had a reputation to maintain. Potter was not going to break that… or maybe that was what Regulus wanted? For Potter to get past his outer shell? To want to get to know him?

The Slytherin took a deep, calming breath.

"You do that," he responded with slight amusement in his eyes.

"To answer your other question," Potter scooted closer a bit, leaning forward onto the table, "Yes. I think Sirius would want your help. You're brothers, I know if I had a brother, I'd want his help. I'd want to…" he trailed off and Regulus frowned, not following his thought process.

"Want to what?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Rekindle what was lost…" Potter trailed off and Regulus straightened up. He needed to grow up. The crush needed to go. Why was he still thinking about it, even? He should have been over it by now, yet here he was, struggling to keep himself from swooning. There wasn't any point to liking someone who would only ever see him as his best friend's brother, a snakey Slytherin. Nothing more.

"He was the one who chose to make things difficult for me, Potter," Regulus snarled, heart beating quickly. Why have unwanted feelings such as those he was fighting against when he could have an enemy instead? Yes, that would work wonders. Right? Or would that make things worse? He was about to find out, looking straight into Potter's eyes.

"He was the one to go to Gryffindor, to put all the pressure of the Black family name on me. A reputation I did not want, but have to fake." Why was he telling him this? "I wanted to defy mother, too, but if one of her sons weren't the perfect Slytherin image... I dread to think what she would have done." Regulus took a breath and shook his head, not doing very well to hide the pain.

There was an awkward silence between the pair, neither looking away. All Regulus could hear was his own heavily beating heart. Not knowing what Potter's reaction was going to be.

His breath hitched when Potter placed his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it in a supportive way. There was something in Potter's eyes he couldn't quite place. "Thank you."

Regulus blinked back his surprise. What? He opened his mouth to speak but Potter continued,"Sirius told me you take it all at home, to save him from the wrath of your mother. If you were lost, you wouldn't do that. Which makes me believe the real you is still around. Hold on to that, no matter how hard things get," Potter spoke softly, voice just above a whisper.

For the first time that day Regulus was speechless. It's like he lost his ability to speak, as if those spoken words had taken all of those straight out of his brain, leaving behind nothing but wonder.

Potter gave him one last squeeze on the shoulder and winked. Regulus was frozen, nobody had that effect on him. Ever. Clearly, he was wrong. He still was trying to process what Potter had said when the Gryffindor spoke again.

"Call me James."