"Is that really him?"
"No! It couldn't be!"
"But he's wearing a Gryffindor tie!"
"Wha-? What's he doing there?"
"Is this some sort of joke?"
"He's gone over to the dark side!"
"Don't be ridiculous," snaps Sirius Black loudly to the whispers spilling across the Great Hall. "That's only my best friend sitting with his boyfriend."
James Potter bravely grins as he makes himself comfortable across Regulus Black at the Slytherin table. Regulus looks ill as his peers scoot far away from them. James holds Regulus' hand and squeezes it.
"It's okay, love. I'm right here."
Regulus smiles. "I know."