A/N: This fic acts as a second part to 'you make me mad (I'm on fire again)', so you may wish to read that prior to this one. This fic can be read as a standalone, however. :)

…

Regulus Black hovered outside the doors to The Great Hall, listening to the music and animated chatter within. The teachers were hosting a graduation party for the seventh years, and all the upper years of Hogwarts and most of the sixth years were present for the party.

With the exception of Regulus, that was. Regulus couldn't help but seethe with irritation and jealousy. He, of all people, had expected to get an invite from a certain seventh year.

For the last eight weeks, Regulus had been helping James Potter with extra Potions lessons. For two nights a week, Regulus had been forced to put up with James Potter and his infuriatingly charming ways, his stupid jokes and adorable laugh, the way he smiled slightly lopsidedly and how his hazel eyes glittered mischievously behind his spectacles whenever he said something he thought was funny.

Even though James Potter irritated him with his stupid comments and his complete disregard for the importance of Potions, Regulus had grown more and more attached to him over the weeks they spent together during the extra tutoring sessions. It had made Regulus's temper rise slowly over time, the more he realised how horribly attracted he was becoming to him. It boiled his blood to know he was harbouring feelings for cocky, arrogant James Potter, of all people.

The tension between them had finally been resolved after James had practiced Quidditch with Regulus one evening. They had an explosive argument after Regulus crash-landed his broomstick into James, and Madam Hooch subsequently gave them detention. It was during that detention that James and Regulus had become...closer.

Since that evening, Regulus had insisted that James focus on his remaining Potions lessons. Slughorn had told James that the only way he would pass the NEWT would be to get an Outstanding in the subject. Regulus discovered he had a newfound determination to help James reach that goal after they stopped being enemies and started to be...something else.

They never really placed a label on what they were, but the dynamics had certainly changed. Regulus stopped sarcastically insulting James at any opportunity—or at least, he tried his best to. James didn't find as many reasons to argue with Regulus. When their lessons were over and they were packing up their things to leave, James would pull Regulus into Slughorn's storage room, and they would make out until one of them decided it was time to leave, unless they wanted to be late for classes the following day.

Somehow, James had managed to scrape an Outstanding in his NEWT. He was allowed to graduate, and he was able to attend the end of year party, and Regulus had really hoped that James would invite him along.

But James did nothing of the sort. He'd talked about the party in brief conversation, and thanked Regulus for his help with Potions, but he didn't ask Regulus, even though it was permitted for younger years to attend the party if they were invited by a seventh year.

So naturally, Regulus decided to crash the party.

…

Regulus was glad he'd put on his best dress robes, because everyone in the Great Hall was decked out in their finery. He spotted Sirius straight away, and noticed that unsurprisingly, he was wearing glitter on his eyelids.

The Great Hall looked beautiful. All the tables had been cleared, and there was a small stage set up where the professor's table usually was. The remaining surfaces were decorated with vases of carnations and huge bunches of sunflowers and other summer foliage. The floating candles were dim and the enchanted ceiling boasted a clear, dark sky, punctuated with flickering stars. A voluptuous witch with long, platinum hair and a skin-tight dress was singing softly into a microphone, with a few others playing instruments around her. Most of the students were dancing to the music, while some milled around the edges of the dance floor, chatting or drinking glasses of fruit punch.

Regulus watched the party for a few moments. Sirius was wearing pale blue robes, a colour that Regulus would never have expected Sirius to choose, but it somehow suited him. He was matching with Remus Lupin, Regulus noticed. They were both dancing animatedly to the music, swinging each other around by the arms and laughing. Peter Pettigrew was standing to the side by the makeshift bar, swigging from a glass of punch while his watery eyes darted around the room. Finally, Regulus managed to locate James—the only person he really wanted to find.

James was dancing with a familiar red-haired girl, who was wearing dress robes of rose pink. Regulus idly thought about how much the colour clashed with her hair. She was holding his arm, and he had his hand on her waist, as they moved around the dance floor, laughing at some private joke between them.

Regulus felt his heart sink horribly. He felt as though he had been punched in the gut. He bristled with jealousy, and he wanted nothing more than to march over to James Potter and punch him right in his stupid face.

Instead, he took a deep breath and marched across the dance floor to where Peter Pettigrew stood near the bar. Peter handed him a cup and Regulus reached for the ladle to spoon some punch into it.

"Is there anything in this punch?" he asked Peter, before taking a sip.

Peter looked a little shifty. "Would you tell anyone if there was anything in the punch?"

Regulus rolled his eyes. "I don't care enough to tell anyone."

Peter grinned sheepishly and tapped his pocket, where Regulus noticed the outline of a flask. "Then, yes, there is something in the punch."

Regulus drained his cup instantly and then reached for the ladle again. Peter raised his eyebrows.

"Are you sure you can handle your drink, Baby Black?"

"Don't call me that," snapped Regulus, before chugging back his second cup of punch. It was a stupid nickname that Sirius had started, back when Regulus was in first year. It clung to him for a few years, but other students rarely called him it anymore, not unless they wanted a scathing verbal response, anyway. Regulus turned back to the dance floor, glowering at James and Lily Evans. James still hadn't even noticed that Regulus had arrived at the party. At that moment, he felt lousy and alone.

Sirius had, however, as he was suddenly steaming across the dancefloor towards Regulus with a face like thunder. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded to know. A few people glanced in their direction. James looked over Lily's shoulder, making eye contact with Regulus. His eyes widened considerably behind his glasses.

Regulus tore his gaze away and looked back at Sirius, plastering a fake smile on his face. "I'm attending your graduation party, brother. Congratulations." He went to take a drink from his cup, and Sirius snatched it out of his hand.

"You shouldn't be drinking that." Sirius glared at Peter. "Why are you giving my little brother alcohol, Wormtail?"

A crimson flush spread up Peter's neck and he started sputtering. "I didn't—Pads—he just—"

"I'm not a baby, brother," Regulus hissed. "I helped myself to the punch." He snatched his cup back from Sirius and drank the rest of it before Sirius could take it off him.

"Who even invited you? You know sixth years can't attend unless they were asked by a seventh year student."

Regulus placed a hand over his heart mockingly. "Are you saying you don't want me here, Sirius? Your only brother, not welcome at your graduation party? I'm offended." He smirked, and a twitch started to flicker in Sirius's temple.

"I didn't say that," he muttered in a low, steady voice. He rubbed the bridge of his nose for a minute, as though trying to steady his temper.

Sirius had a worse temper than Regulus. Regulus was able to manage his emotions for the most part, he at least had the ability to bottle them up and maintain a glacial facade. It did often mean that he had the odd explosive moment when his anger finally bubbled over, but those moments were few and far between. Sirius, on the other hand, didn't have that ability. He wore his emotions on his sleeve, and he lost his temper at the slightest things.

It was one of the reasons that Sirius and their mother never got on. She was just the same as him, with an emotional skin as thin as parchment.

"Who invited you?" Sirius asked again.

Regulus glanced around the party quickly, and spotted a familiar Slytherin face, mooching moodily in the corner as he watched other couples dancing. He was wearing black dress robes that weren't so different from his usual school robes. "Severus," he lied casually.

Sirius raised an eyebrow sharply. "Snivellus invited you to our graduation party?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Why?"

"What does it matter?"

"Hey." Another voice interrupted Sirius and Regulus's argument. Regulus glanced up into the eyes of James Potter.

Regulus tried to remember how angry he was with James, but it was hard to focus on that when James was up close. He looked annoyingly handsome in his dress robes, which were a deep, blood red, accentuated with bronze hems and buttons. The colour looked lovely against his olive skin tone. He'd tried to sweep back his scruffy hair, but it was a futile attempt, as it still stuck up awkwardly at the back. Regulus could tell he was trying to maintain a casual appearance, but his eyes lingered nervously on Regulus for a little too long.

"Hi," Regulus murmured in reply. He reached for the punch again, ignoring the noise of protest that Sirius made.

"Glad you could make the party," James added. Regulus noticed that Sirius was starting to eye James strangely.

"Well, it was nice to get an invite," Regulus replied breezily.

"Oh, yeah," Sirius snorted. "Did you know Snivellus invited my brother?"

James held Regulus's gaze. "Oh."

"Sirius!" Remus Lupin had rushed over to them, his face split into a grin. "Sirius, listen—I love this song!" He grabbed Sirius by the arm and dragged him back out onto the dance floor. Regulus silently thanked Remus for getting rid of his annoying brother.

"Wormy, can you…" James looked pointedly at Peter for a moment, until Peter got the message and nodded, before scurrying off to another corner of the party, leaving Regulus and James alone.

Or, as alone as they could be in the middle of a party.

James moved to stand at the side of Regulus. "Did Snape really invite you?"

"Why do you care?" Regulus muttered as he took another drink of his punch. "It's not like you wanted to invite me, is it? Even though you probably wouldn't even be graduating, if not for me," he added scathingly.

James sighed deeply. "I didn't know you wanted me to invite you."

"I shouldn't have to ask you to invite me." Regulus paused, and found Lily Evans in the crowd again. She was dancing with Marlene and Alice, her two best friends. "I bet Evans didn't have to ask you to invite her."

James turned to look down at Regulus. "Are you seriously jealous right now? Of Lily?"

Regulus stared straight ahead at the party, his lips pursed. He didn't want to meet James's eyes in case he did something terribly embarrassing, like burst into tears. He could already feel a threatening lump growing in his throat.

"You are, aren't you?" James moved slightly closer to Regulus so that he could lower his voice. "I'm only here with Lily as friends, Reg."

Regulus turned back to the punch bowl and served himself another drink.

"How many of those have you had? You know Peter has dumped a shit load of vodka into that bowl."

"Don't tell me what to do."

James held up his hands. "I wasn't."

Regulus knocked the punch back, glaring at James. "Yes, I'm fucking jealous," he hissed, and threw the cup down onto the table. "Yes, I wanted you to invite me. I wanted to come with you. I wanted to feel like you want me—" his voice cracked suddenly, and Regulus felt tears prickling the back of his eyes.

James looked aghast. "Regulus, I—"

"Was nothing real?" he continued. "Was it just a dream? What happened between us—did it mean anything to you?"

"Regulus, please keep your voice down—"

"Why? Am I embarrassing you in front of your friends? In front of your girlfriend?" Regulus's face was burning. He wasn't sure if it was because of the spiked punch or because he was so angry with James. "Quite frankly, Potter, I don't give a shit." He finally gave in to the tears that had been threatening to fall, and they started spilling down his face. He shoved all his weight into James to get past him, and stormed through the crowd to get out of the Great Hall.

Everyone was looking at him. James's friends all stood with their mouths agape, including Lily Evans.

Sirius's face was thunderous. But Regulus realised pretty quickly that he wasn't looking at him—he was staring at James.

…

Regulus hurried through the corridor as soon as he left the Great Hall. He was furious with himself. He was mortified. How could he have let himself succumb to his emotions so easily, and in front of so many people? Regulus didn't cry in front of anyone. If he wanted to cry, he waited for the evenings, when he was alone and protected by the cover of darkness, when everyone else in the dormitory was asleep and he could be private. He didn't burst into fits of tears in front of half of the school. That was the kind of thing that Sirius did.

He shoved open the door to the nearest bathroom and slammed his hands down on the counter, glaring at his splotchy reflection in the mirror. "Stupid," he snarled to himself. He turned on the tap and started to splash cold water on his face.

"Reg?"

Regulus whipped around to face the door. It was James. Regulus could hear his footsteps getting closer to the bathroom.

He turned off the tap and hurried over to a far cubicle. He shut himself inside and sat on the toilet lid, pulling his feet up in case James decided to look under the door. He didn't want to speak to James right now, he was sure. He didn't want to cry in front of him anymore. He was still bubbling with embarrassment over the entire ordeal.

"Are you here?" The bathroom door had been pushed open, and James's voice echoed off the tiled walls. Regulus felt his throat burning just at the sound of James's voice, and he wanted to cry again already. He pressed his palm to his mouth.

James sighed audibly. "Come on, Regulus. I know you're in here." His feet moved across the bathroom. He pushed open all of the cubicle doors until he reached the one Regulus was hiding behind. When he pushed it and was met with the resistance of the lock, James leaned his weight against the door. "Are you going to let me in?"

"No," mumbled Regulus. "Go away."

"Not going to happen."

"Go back to the party."

"I don't want to go back to the party." James pushed on the door again. "Let me in, or I'll unlock it myself."

"That would be a serious breach of my privacy, Potter," Regulus replied. "Do you really want to get into trouble for forcing your way inside the toilet cubicle of another student, when you're so close to leaving Hogwarts?"

James chuckled quietly. "I'd do it for you."

Regulus paused. "Fucking hell," he grumbled. He stood up from the toilet and unlocked the door, letting it swing open to reveal James, who was standing on the other side with his hands on either side of the frame. He offered Regulus that trademark lopsided smile, and Regulus felt his heart swoop a tiny bit.

James pushed his way into the cubicle and shut the door behind them, then leaned against it, looking down at Regulus. "Do you want to tell me what's going on, Reg?" he asked quietly.

Regulus sat back down on the toilet seat and put his face in his hands. The tears were already starting to fall again, and he could feel James's eyes searing into him. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, keeping his face hidden behind his hands.

James crouched down and pulled Regulus's hands away from his face. "I'm thinking about how I've never seen you in this state before. I've never seen you be so…" James paused.

"Foolish?" Regulus offered. "Pathetic?"

"Vulnerable," James finished. "You never expose yourself like this."

"This is the effect you have on me," Regulus mumbled, feeling fresh tears stinging his eyes. "I hate it."

"I don't," James said. "Come here, you idiot." He grabbed Regulus by the wrists and yanked him to his feet, and then pulled him to his chest, ignoring the pathetic attempt at resistance that Regulus tried to put up. James wrapped his arms around Regulus's shoulders, and Regulus finally gave up and buried his face into James's silky dress shirt, and sobbed softly into his chest.

They stayed like that for a few moments. Eventually James sat down on the toilet lid and pulled Regulus across his lap, which Regulus initially protested to. "I'm too big, moron."

"There's nothing to you, skinny thing," James replied, easily swinging Regulus's legs over his lap and keeping his arms firmly around Regulus's shoulders. He nuzzled his face into the top of Regulus's hair softly, and Regulus closed his eyes. "Are you going to talk to me about what happened back there?"

"I already told you," Regulus muttered. "I was jealous, okay? I saw you dancing with Evans and I hated it. I thought you…"

"What did you think?"

Regulus hesitated to ask the question, feeling the familiar feeling of embarrassment swelling in his belly again. "I thought you liked me," he finally said, in a tiny voice.

James laughed, and Regulus thumped his chest in response. James caught his fist and pressed his lips to Regulus's knuckles. "Do you think I'd be dragging you into Slughorn's storage cupboard at every opportunity if I didn't like you, Reg?"

"I don't know," Regulus replied. "Maybe you're just using me, until you get a better offer. With Evans."

James put his hand under Regulus's chin and tilted his face upwards. "I like you, Regulus. I never stop thinking about you, ever. Not since that detention we had," he hesitated and lowered his voice. "All I think about is the next time I'm going to see you. The next time I'm going to kiss you, and touch you…" James's mouth was coming dangerously close to Regulus's, but Regulus still wasn't sure.

"So why didn't you ask me to the party?"

James sighed. "I suppose...I was scared. I wanted you to come, but there were so many things in the way."

"Sirius, you mean?"

James snorted. "Yeah. That's one thing. You know he will murder me when he finds out about this, Reg. With the way he was looking at me when you stormed out of the Great Hall just then, he's already plotting the best way to finish me off as we speak."

Regulus laughed softly.

"And also…" James pushed his hand into Regulus's hair and started threading his fingers through it softly. Regulus closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of James touching him so tenderly. "I didn't really know if you liked me."

Regulus's eyes flickered open. "What?"

It was James's turn to look embarrassed. There was a dull pink flush rising on his face. "Well, we've never really talked about it, have we?"

"I thought it was obvious."

"What, during all the times you call me a bonehead or a waste of fresh air or a complete incompetent idiot?" James sniggered. "I didn't know how you really felt, okay? I didn't want to face the rejection of you not wanting to be seen in public with me, or something. People would start making up rumours, and I don't care about what people think, but I didn't know what you would think."

"I couldn't give a shit what people think," whispered Regulus. "Is that really what you thought?"

James nodded.

"You really weren't sure if I liked you?" Again, James nodded, and Regulus curled his arms around James's neck, pulling his face closer. "Do you want the truth, then? I'm obsessed with you, James Potter. I hate what you've done to me. I hate how you make me feel. You make me so angry, but so…" Regulus's voice tailed off as he brushed his lips against James'. "You make me feel like I'm on fire. All...the...time." He kissed James hotly, sliding his tongue across his bottom lip.

"Ugh...Regulus…" murmured James. His hands started to cascade down Regulus's body, pushing his fingers up the hem of Regulus's shirt and scraping his skin gently with his nails. Regulus hissed in response.

"I never stop thinking about you either," Regulus whispered, kissing along James's jaw until he reached his ear. "I think about the way you touch me," he sucked softly on James's earlobe. "The way you completely ruined me that night in detention."

James groaned at Regulus's words, and slid his palms across Regulus's back under his shirt. "I've never felt anything as good as that night, Reg," he whispered. "There's no one like you."

Regulus gasped as James's hands roamed across his ribs, chest, and across his shoulder blades. He tipped his head back so James could kiss his neck, and whimpered softly. "James…"

"Tell me what you want," James whispered.

"I want you to f—"

A bang suddenly sounded through the bathroom, as though someone had just kicked open the door. James and Regulus jumped, clashing teeth, and James clapped a hand over Regulus's mouth. "Sirius," he mouthed.

"James?" Sirius called into the bathroom.

James put his mouth close to Regulus's ear. "He only calls me by my actual name when he's really pissed off with me," he whispered, his voice barely a breath.

Sirius padded through the bathroom. He walked near the cubicle that James and Regulus were hiding inside, and hovered outside it for a minute. "James?"

James kept his hand over Regulus's mouth.

"I suppose there's no one here," Sirius finally said, though he sounded disbelieving. He walked slowly out of the bathroom, and James didn't move his hand until the door had swung shut.

Regulus breathed out. "That was close."

"Oh, Merlin," James murmured, pulling Regulus back for a kiss. "He's going to beat the absolute shit out of me, Reg, you do realise that?"

Regulus kissed James slowly, smiling against his mouth. "Well, we don't have to do this...we can stop...at any time…"

"Don't you even dare," James whispered. "I'll take a beating for you. I'd take a thousand beatings for you."

"Wow," Regulus murmured.

"What?"

"I just never realised…" Regulus paused. "How absolutely soppy you really were."

James dug his fingers into Regulus's sides, causing Regulus to shriek and laugh and almost topple to the floor. James stood up and pulled Regulus to his feet, sniggering. "I suppose we should go back to the party."

Regulus leaned against James's chest. "Do we have to?"

"Well, we can't stay holed up in a toilet all night."

Regulus sighed. "Well, there's absolutely no way I'm going back into that hall. I already got what I wanted." He grinned up at James, and James raised an eyebrow, his eyes glittering.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmhmm."

"I'll walk you back to the dungeons, then." James pulled the door open.

Regulus almost jumped out of his skin. Standing on the other side of the door, with a piece of folded parchment clenched in his hand, was Sirius. He was eyeballing James furiously.

"Oh, shit," James muttered.

"Shit indeed," Sirius said, clucking his tongue. "Did you forget that I had the map tonight, mate?"

Regulus glanced at the paper in Sirius's hand. "Map?"

"Fucking map," grumbled James. "I can explain."

"Yeah, you'd better."

…

Regulus grinned as he saw James appear at the door of his train compartment. He'd taken the liberty of getting down to Hogsmeade station early to get a good seat for the journey back to King's Cross, but James had still managed to be late. He pushed the door open and flopped down on the seat next to Regulus.

"Sorry I'm late."

"I expected as much."

James threw an arm over Regulus's shoulders, and Regulus smiled up at him. They looked at each other for a few moments, until Regulus started to feel his eyes burning again. He ground the heel of his palm into his eyes, groaning. "Fucking emotions."

"What?" James caught Regulus's hand and pulled it away from his face. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm just…" Regulus's voice cracked as he spoke. "I'm just going to miss you so much. I don't want you to go."

"Oh, Reg." James rubbed his thumb across the back of Regulus's hand gently. "You'll see me over summer. Did you think I'm not going to try and see you as much as I possibly can? I fully expect you to be coming over to visit me and Sirius during the holidays." James paused. "But mostly me, of course."

"But what about after summer," Regulus whispered. "You'll be going off to start a new job...and I'm…"

"You'll get on with your seventh year and we'll pick straight back up when it's over." James kissed Regulus's knuckles softly. "Just be thankful you get to see me at all, and Sirius didn't put me in an early grave." He grinned.

The Sirius thing was a sore spot. Sirius hadn't been happy about James deflowering his baby brother (Sirius's terrible words), even though Regulus and James both insisted that no deflowering had gone on ("not yet, anyway," Regulus had added once Sirius was out of earshot). After a lot of sulking and arguing, Remus Lupin had eventually taken Sirius to one side to talk some sense into him. Sirius had eventually stiffly approached James and told him that he would accept the relationship. "But if you make my brother cry again, there'll be problems," he'd added.

At that moment, Sirius pushed the door to the compartment, and he entered with Remus and Peter flanking him. James let go of Regulus's hand, and Regulus understood. Even though Sirius had promised to try and be accepting of the relationship, James still didn't want to upset his friend by dangling it in his face so early.

He nodded at James and Regulus, slightly awkwardly, and they sat on the seats across. Peter immediately started talking about the upcoming summer, and Sirius settled comfortably next to Remus, lounging his head on the other boy's shoulder and closing his eyes. The train started to sputter into motion, and James smiled at Regulus again.

Regulus just knew he was going to hate having to part with him when they reached King's Cross.

But it wouldn't be for long.

Written For:

- Assignment #10/Aquatic Studies Task #10: Write about someone sarcastic and blunt.

- Writing Club/Gotta Catch Them All: 11. (plot point) Hiding

- Writing Club/Written in the Stars: 17. (flower) carnation

- Writing Club/Showtime: 12. (word) dream

- Writing Club/Film Festival: 11. (dialogue) "Was nothing real?"

- Writing Club/Elizabeth's Empire: 1. (word) alone

- Writing Club/Angel's Archive: 7. (color) Bronze

- Writing Club/Artist Appreciation: 2. (action) crying

- Writing Club/Buttons: Actions 4. Crying

- Writing Club/TV Spree: 12. (action) Hiding in another room (toilet/shed/etc)

- Writing Club/Sophie's Smut Bucket: 15. (dialogue) "Tell me what you want."

- Autumn Seasonal/Days of the Year: 28th September - Ask a Stupid Question Day: Write about someone embarrassed to ask a question.

- Autumn Seasonal/Sarcastic Month: 6. (dialogue) "Quite frankly, I don't give a shit."

- Autumn Seasonal/Jewellery Month: 16. (word) Heart

- Autumn Seasonal/Chemistry Week: 14. (character) Sirius Black

- Autumn Seasonal/World Teacher's Day: 13. Remus Lupin

- Autumn Seasonal/Colours: 14. Bronze

- Autumn Seasonal/Flowers: 1. (dialogue) "Are you seriously jealous right now?"

- Autumn Seasonal/Locations: 10. The Great Hall

- Autumn Seasonal/Crystals & Gemstones: 4. (word) Glitter

- Moony's Neon Cafe/Food: 2. (emotion) Jealousy

- Potion Making/Occamy Eggshell: 3. (color) Rose Pink

- Sandwich Time/Toppings: 8. (word) rumour

- Fortnightly/Jukebox Day: 4. (dialogue) "I don't care."

- Fortnightly/Pretty Much Almost Christmas: (action) Dancing

Word Count: 4,538