Summary: Sirius and James have stood by each others' side for years, unaware that they were soulmates. One night, James catches Sirius about to jump, and does his best to convince him not to. Will he succeed?

QLFC

Team: Pride of Portree

Position: Chaser 3

Main Prompt: [Platonic Pairing] James/Sirius

Other Prompts: [Colour] Sapphire, [Word] Posture, [Quote] "Nothing's perfect. The world's not perfect. But it's there for us, trying the best it can; that's what makes it so beautiful." - Hiromu Arakawa, Fullmetal Alchemist

INSPIRED BY HAMILTON: A CHALLENGE

Challenge Level: Elizabeth Schuyler-Hamilton

Song: Helpless

Lyric Prompt: The sky's the limit

BUILD-A-BEAR

Bear: Vianna

Step: Animal

Prompt: Write about a Gryffindor

Title: Love of a Brother

Wordcount: 1217

A/N: Soulmate!AU because I can't help myself. I have also made this a Gryffindor Regulus!AU, because I want to challenge myself. Regulus may seem OOC compared to the gist of things in canon, but with him being in Gryffindor, I feel this is justified because the Hogwarts house he was in was so different from canon.

Trigger Warnings: Almost attempted suicide

"Gryffindor!"

No one, nothing, made a sound. No one could.

The hat was pulled off his head, but he was frozen. The surprise and fear paralysed him.

All the students were staring – gaping – at him, mouths hanging open.

A glance toward his cousins – wearing green, of course – confirmed his suspicions. Horrified, angry expressions covered their faces. No doubt his brother would get an earful from their mother about not being a Slytherin, as was expected of him.

Knocked off balance by a gentle nudge from Professor McGonagall, the boy stumbled from the stool, though he didn't get very far. His legs seemed to have forgotten their purpose, and a lump formed in his throat as he stood helplessly in the one spot.

Suddenly, from the sea of students donned in red and gold, a thirteen year old stood. He was beaming, his face seemingly split in two from his wide smile, and his eyes shone with happiness and pride.

So Regulus raced toward his brother, who caught him and embraced him in the tightest hug Regulus had ever received.

His voice barely a whisper, Sirius choked out, "I'm so proud of you, Reg. I'm so, so proud of you."

"Here, sit next to Sirius."

A glance over his brother's shoulder caused Regulus to link gazes with a boy that could only be James Potter. The two brothers sat down beside each other, Sirius wrapping a protective arm around Regulus. The rest of the sorting and the feast afterward seemed to crawl by at a snail's pace.

The sapphire mark stood out on his pale skin. A raven, with a circle of red and yellow flowers – roses, if James was right – surrounding it, sitting on the side of his torso. The mark had been humming for years, ever since first year, if James was to be precise – and with things like soulmates, most people preferred to be precise. As footsteps ascended the stairs to the boys' dorms, James dropped the edge of his shirt and changed his posture. He continued with the meditating he was supposed to be doing – after all, it was essential to meditate in order to turn into an animagus, or so he, Peter, Sirius and Regulus had discovered.

The image in his mind became clearer each day – it was that way for all three of them. Sirius and Peter were not as far into the process as James and Regulus had become, but they weren't complaining. They were doing this to help Remus through his full moons, as a werewolf wouldn't attack anyone from their pack – apparently.

The door opened to reveal Sirius, the first Black to be in Gryffindor, and Regulus, the second Black to be a Lion. They moved to sit on James' bed with him, bringing with them a deck of Exploding Snap. The three had become ever closer throughout the years they spent at Hogwarts, and the nights they spent together were filled with games, laughter and fun.

A sapphire blue flower, which Sirius suspected to be a cornflower, decorated his shoulder blade, with little red and yellow roses surrounding the cornflower in a bouquet. The bouquet symbolised happiness, excitement, friendship and fortune. Maybe his soulmate was a platonic one, then? It wasn't unheard of, though it was uncommon.

Realising he was slouching too much for his health, Sirius corrected his posture so he was sitting up straighter, but made sure the mirrors still showed him his soulmate mark. The only light in the dorm was caused by the crescent moon, casting long shadows as it neared its nightly peak.

A creak came from the bottom of the staircase, and Sirius rushed to hide his (many) mirrors and put his shirt on. The fifth-year managed to slip under the covers seconds before the door to the dorm opened and James stumbled into the room, supported by Remus and Peter, and trailed by Regulus.

The three boys helped their – clearly drunk – friend into his bed before he collapsed and became a dead weight. Once they had made sure James was not going to roll out of bed in the hours until sunrise, the two fifth years grabbed some clothes and made their way to the bathroom, while the third year left the dorm for his own. Within five minutes, all the boys were in their beds, sleeping like rocks.

The light of the moon reflected off the surface of the lake, bathing everything nearby in a warm silver glow. Hidden beneath a Weeping Willow, five friends messed around, eating a midnight feast and playing in the darkness. Small rays of moonlight filtered through the canopy of leaves, leaving small imprints of the light outside. The leaves and vines whispered as they rubbed against each other, seemingly telling stories of times long gone.

This particular Weeping Willow was ancient – the 'mother tree' of all the others of the species on the grounds. Tales from centuries ago could be hidden within this tree, waiting to be discovered. There was a rumor that the Founders themselves had planted this tree, and had somehow blessed it. There was no way to prove if the rumor was true, but many liked to visit the tree in hopes of discovering some ancient wisdom or other crap. If any of the five boys believed the stories, they never showed it.

If someone were to look out their window and spot the beings underneath the Weeping Willow, they would most likely be shocked. After all, who wouldn't be shocked if they saw a puppy, a red kite, a stag, a rat – not that it would be easy to see a rat from the windows of the castle – and a human boy messing around with each other peacefully?

"Sirius, no!"

The silver-eyed boy in question glanced over at his friend, who stood at the top of the Astronomy Tower steps.

"Please, Sirius. Think about what you'll lose. By jumping, you'll lose me, Regulus, Remus, Peter, mum and dad. Please don't jump."

"The world hates me, James." The resignation in his voice shocked even the speaker.

"Not the whole world."

"Most of the world hates me."

"Not all of the world will like you. But if the people who do like you become your world, then your world likes you. Please, Sirius, don't jump."

"Why not? The world isn't beautiful, it's not perfect."

"Yeah, okay. The world isn't perfect. But don't you get it? Nothing can be perfect. The world just doesn't work that way. But people and animals and plants try their best to make the world as good as it can be; they try their best to make the world beautiful."

"Why are you trying to dissuade me from doing this, James?" Sirius sat down on the edge, slouched. James quickly moved to sit beside him – so fast, Sirius almost didn't see him move.

"Because you're my best friend, my brother in all but blood. And I care about you. Like a brother would, like any sibling would. If you don't jump, there are any number of things you could do, but if you jump, there's only two – fall to your death, or levitate yourself before you die. Please, don't jump."

"... Okay."