[summary] Regulus was out of bed, stumbling as his sheets caught around his legs, and over to the window before he could think about it. He could smell fire, and when he pulled back his curtain a little, thick plumes of smoke could be seen in the field behind his house.

[2173 words]


Regulus rolled over for what must have been the tenth time in the last hour. His window was open, but there was no breeze, and the air was humid, leaving him sticky and hot and just praying for sleep.

He opened his eyes once again, squinting blearily at the alarm clock; the red digital numbers said it was already past two-thirty, and he would need to be up at six. The last digit flicked over. Two thirty-eight.

With a sigh, Regulus rolled over once more, hoping that facing away from the clock would allow him to focus on something else, and closed his eyes. He had nearly drifted off to sleep when a sudden gust of wind had him sitting up straight, heart racing. The sound that followed, like rumbling thunder directly overhead, shook the entire house.

Regulus was out of bed, stumbling as his sheets caught around his legs, and over to the window before he could think about it. He could smell fire, and when he pulled back his curtain a little, thick plumes of smoke could be seen in the field behind his house. He leant out the window, hoping to get a better look, and caught some of his neighbours doing the same, while a few had already ventured outside.

"You missed it!" one of his neighbours called from the street, craning her neck to look up at Regulus. He had no idea who she was — he could only remember one neighbours name, and he wasn't overly close to the woman.

"Missed what?" he asked.

"The spaceship," she said, pointing towards the field. "It crashed over there."

"Right, okay." Regulus nodded, not believing a word. "Well, I'm just going to —" He gestured back into his room, not caring what she thought he meant, and not bothering to finish his sentence.

He climbed back into bed and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

.oOo.

He woke slowly, yawning widely and stretching with a groan. Regulus lay staring at the ceiling for a moment, before a frown took over his features. Slowly, he turned his head, searching for the digital display of his alarm clock. It was blank.

Sitting up quickly, he grabbed his phone from the beside table, fumbling a little in unlocking it. Dead. Despite being on charge the entire night. He rolled from bed and raced down the stairs, stopping in front of the wall clock in the living room. Nine thirty.

.oOo.

On his way home, Regulus decided to take a short-cut through the field. Normally on a Friday, he stopped off at the pub for a quick pint with some of his old school friends, but he was too exhausted tonight. He just wanted to go home, cook himself a quick dinner, and go to bed. Those plans were all shot to hell, however, at the sight of a young man — maybe a year or two older than himself — dressed in old-fashioned clothing stood in the middle of the path.

"Hello," the man said, holding his hand out to Regulus, a confident grin adorning his features. "My name's James Potter." Regulus shook his hand somewhat hesitantly.

"Regulus," he said.

"Like the star?" the man — James — asked. Regulus nodded, a little taken aback. Not many people knew that.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"Yes, Mister Regulus, I was hoping —"

"It's Regulus," he corrected. James paused for a moment, lips pursed in confusion.

"Pardon?"

"My name. It's just Regulus. Not Mister Regulus," he clarified. "Regulus Black."

"Oh, I see," James said, his cheeks turning a faint pink. "You see, where I'm from we aren't so … familiar with people we've just met."

"And where are you from, exactly?" Regulus asked.

"London."

"I've been to London," Regulus said, "and it's not very different from here. And most people certainly don't dress like they're from —"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mister Black," James said. "There's been some confusion. I'm afraid I didn't mean your London."

"Canada?" Regulus asked hesitantly.

"Oh, good heavens no," James said. "I've not been overseas."

"Really?"

"Well, I spent my school years in Scotland, and I've been to Wales on occasion, but I've never left the British Isles. Not even for the Colonies."

"Right, okay. So you're, what? From some alternate dimension?" Regulus asked, tone dry.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm from the past."

"Oh, of course," Regulus said, nodding. "How stupid of me. Of course you're from the past." James nodded, his wide grin returning.

"I'm glad you —"

"Did Barty put you up to this?" Regulus interrupted. "Where is he?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," James confessed, looking apologetic.

"You can cut the act," Regulus snapped. "I'm not an idiot, and it's not funny."

"There's no need to be so rude," James said. "I was merely asking for your assistance."

"Well, I'm not falling for it," Regulus snapped, and stormed off, leaving James alone in the middle of the field.

.oOo.

Regulus struggled to sleep again that night, though for reasons other than the weather. His mind was plagued with images of the man from the park, and he couldn't focus his thoughts elsewhere.

Why would the man agree to such an obvious ruse? And was the spaceship from the night before all just elaborate theatrics on James' part? Regulus really couldn't see Barty going to such lengths.

He rolled out of bed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. He might as well use this time to see what (if anything) had landed in the field. Regulus stumbled down the stairs, slipping on his shoes and coat over his pyjamas, and grabbed his keys from the hook by the door.

It'd take five minutes, tops.

.oOo.

Well, there was definitely … something. Regulus had no idea what it was. He circled the object for the third time, hoping he might finally make some sense of it.

It looked like a large chair, mechanical wings extending out from underneath the seat, and a thick metal bar surrounding the seat on all four sides. There were buttons and levers in front of the chair, and faded numbers on a small panel. The entire thing looked rather absurd, really; like a large toy, or a prop from an old film.

Regulus leant over the panel, hand reaching towards one of the levers.

"I wouldn't do that." Regulus jumped, pulling his hand back quickly, and spun around. James stood before him, in the same grey suit and top hat, though looking a little rumpled now.

"Why not?" Regulus asked, folding his arms across his chest in an attempt to both seem stern and hide his still shaking hands.

"It'll leave without you, of course," James said. "It's no use setting a destination if you're not onboard." Regulus opened his mouth to ask what James meant by that, but a different question sprung suddenly to his mind:

"Were you sleeping out here?"

"I have no where to stay," James said. "I'm stuck here until I can get my machine fixed."

"Oh?" Regulus raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with it?"

"You believe me now?" James asked, seemingly amused.

"No, of course not," Regulus scoffed. "I just want to see how far you're willing to take this."

"Oh, of course," James said with an incline of his head. "Ask any questions you need."

"Well …" Regulus floundered. "Why's it pink?"

"It's not pink." James frowned. "More of a magenta, really." He paused for a moment, looking from the machine to Regulus. "Is that really all you have to ask?"

"It doesn't look broken," Regulus said.

"Ah, that's more like it." James grinned. "It's not broken, per se, so much as in need of fuel."

"So … what? You need to charge it?" Regulus asked. At James' blank look, he elaborated. "Plug it in, or … does it work like Back to the Future?"

"No, I don't want to go back to the future," James said. "I'm in the future already, and I don't care to revisit this place. For the most part, your people are rather inhospitable."

"How does your time machine get its power?" Regulus repeated.

"Coal, of course," James said. "It's the most efficient way."

"Coal?" Regulus asked. "Where the hell are you supposed to get coal?"

"What sort of a society are you living in?" James asked, completely shocked. "Coal is a basic necessity!"

"That you intend to find where, exactly?" Regulus snapped, rubbing at his eyes. "This is ridiculous," he muttered. "You're ridiculous."

"You don't mean that," James said. "A gentleman never —"

"Look," Regulus interrupted, dropping his hand from his face. "I'm tired and I only meant to be her for a couple minutes. I'm really not in the mood to be dealing with you right now." James' smile fell, and Regulus sighed, hating what he was about to do. "Why don't you stay at mine. Just for the night," he added quickly. "Just until you find somewhere else to stay. Or find your coal."

.oOo.

James stood in the doorway to Regulus house, looking around in complete shock.

"What? I thought you were a time traveler?" Regulus asked dryly.

"Well … this was more of a test run," James said slowly, starting in awe at the overhead lights. "It didn't get off to the best of starts." James blinked slowly, and Regulus supposed he'd probably got the image of the light stuck behind his eyelids.

"Right, well … you can take the sofa," Regulus said. "I'll go get you some blankets." James followed him up the stairs, much to Regulus' annoyance, and kept touching everything that interested him.

"Can I keep this?" he asked, holding up a ballpoint pen. "You have plenty." Regulus sighed.

"Sure."

.oOo.

"Good morning," James said brightly, nearly causing Regulus to fall down the stairs — he'd forgotten he'd invited the other man to stay. Regulus glared over at him, intent on chastising James for startling him so much. Instead, he said:

"I've got some clothes you can borrow. If you'd like," he added quickly, his cheeks flushing a dark red.

"Oh, thank you," James said. "Your clothing … interests me."

"Course it does," Regulus muttered, but went back upstairs and returned with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for James. "The jeans might be a little short," he said, "but it's the best I could do."

"That's quite alright," James said, and began to strip in Regulus' front room. Regulus' entire face turned a beat red that extended all the way down to his chest, and he turned around quickly.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, a hand over his eyes.

"Getting changed."

"Well, I — I — I'll make breakfast," Regulus stuttered. "Cereal okay?" he asked, but headed towards the kitchen before James could reply.

James joined him at the table a few minutes later; the jeans were a few inches too short, as Regulus had predicted, but were at least staying up on their own. He looked down at his cornflakes a little sceptically, but picked up his spoon and began to eat.

"So," Regulus asked. "What's it like where you're from?"

"I thought you were under the impression I was lying to you?" James asked.

"Oh, I was — I am," Regulus said quickly. "But … surely you have friends?"

"Of course," James said. "They're — they're back where I come from."

"They didn't come with you?" Regulus asked.

"No, this was only a test run," James said, eyes downcast. "And there isn't really enough room for four."

"Then why not build a bigger time machine?"

"That was the plan," James said. "If this one worked. Which it does."

"Of course."

"Remus was going to come with me," James said, ignoring Regulus' obvious doubt, "for the test run. But he was ill. Sirius stayed with him."

"Sirius?" Regulus asked; it was an unusual name, one he hadn't seen outside of his own family.

"Yes, Sirius Black." James thought for a moment. "Perhaps a relative of yours? There's a definite likeness there."

.oOo.

Regulus dropped the heavy bag onto the table in front of James.

"What's this?" James asked.

"Your coal." James grinned, grabbing the bag, and taking hold of Regulus' hand.

"You're going to love this," he said as he led Regulus to where they'd left his time machine.

"What? I'm not — I'm not going with you," Regulus said, pulling his arm from James' grip.

"Why not?" James asked, turning to face him. "A bit of adventure's good for you."

"Because it's still highly likely that this is some sort of elaborate joke you've concocted with some of my friends," Regulus said, though he highly doubted any of his work colleagues would go to such lengths just to prank him. "And there's no guarantee this will even work."

"Well then, I suppose the only way to find out is to try," James said with a smirk, holding out his hand towards Regulus. "Care to join me?" Regulus only hesitated a moment longer before he took James' hand.