Chapter 57 - Costumes
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Izzie hugged Regulus tight as they stood on the platform, the red train behind them. "Send a message after the feast, alright." She started to fuss about his clothes. Sirius and Remus snickered where they were standing on her left while Regulus's cheeks flushed. "I'm going to miss you."
"I'm going to miss you too." Regulus pulled her back into a hug and buried his face in the crook of her neck, hiding his fears from the others. "A message twice a day, promise me."
"I promise." Izzie pulled back with a soft smile. "And I'll see you in a couple of weeks. The night of the full moon, I'll come pick you up at the edge of the town. Then you can stay the night, see Remus in the morning and we'll pop you back to Hogwarts that night. I love you."
"I love you."
"I'll let you say goodbye to the others." She kissed his cheek, and went over to Barty and Evan, who were waiting at one of the entrances of the train. "Hey." She kissed both of their cheeks. "Reg, he's been having trouble sleeping." She glanced over her shoulder and saw him hugging his brother. Two hugs in a week, not bad. "It's hard for him going back to Hogwarts alone. He won't see Sirius or Remus -"
"But mainly you." Barty said. "Ever since Easter, he's afraid to lose sight of you."
"But we'll watch him. He's never going to be alone." Evan said seriously.
"Thank you." She pulled them both in a hug. "You're amazing friends, he's lucky to have you." She pulled back. "I'm lucky to have you. Keep an eye on him and if something happens -"
"We will send you a fire message immediately." Barty smiled.
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Regulus hugged Sirius. The latter still found it shocking to hug his brother after such a long time, but he wrapped his arms around him in a second.
"You keep her safe, alright. I need you to promise me that you will do everything in your power to keep her safe." Regulus voice was a bit frantic and the grip around Sirius back tightened.
"Don't worry." He squeezed him back. "I'll keep her safe. They won't come near her, Reg. They will have to go through me first, and I won't let that happen. I love her too much to let anything happen to her."
"I believe you." He whispered before pulling back.
"I'll see you at the end of the month. Be safe, little brother."
"I'm not little." Regulus grumbled before turning to Remus.
Sirius stepped aside to give them some privacy, just when Izzie came over. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple softly.
"It feels like we're dropping off our kid for school." He grinned.
"Not just yet, love." Izzie chuckled. "But maybe one day."
"Yeah?" His face lit up, and his heartbeat fastened a little. "When will that day be exactly?"
"Not for right away, we're not even living alone." She bit her lip to hold back a grin.
"They say it takes a village, so having four sets of extra hands will come in handy." He winked.
"Why don't we enjoy each other's company first, before we start to pop out kids, yeah?"
"Oh." He glided in front of her, his hands on her hips. "What do you have in mind, future Mrs Black?" He purred, his fingers digging in her flesh.
"I have a few things in mind." She licked her lips seductively. Sirius mouth went dry just from looking at her, he was starting to lean down when she swivelled away and started waving a Regulus who was in the moving train. Sirius had completely missed the warning whistle. He glided up next to her and the three of them waved him goodbye until the train was out of sight.
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Not only did Regulus went back to school that day, but the others also all started something new too. Sirius and James had signed up to be Aurors at the Ministry of Magic. Their training would start today, so after the train station, Sirius apparated away to meet up with James to go to their first day of training. Lily had to go to college to pick her electives, her schoolbooks and program. She decided she would stay the full day to explore the grounds. That left Izzie and Remus. They both didn't know what they wanted out of life just yet, so they chose something simple and easy were they still had the time to explore other things. Remus took a job at a dusty old bookshop in a muggle shop in Cambridge, while Izzie took a job in a record shop. The advantage was that they could choose their own hours, which was good because Remus could always schedule around the full moon without them being the wiser. Remus and Izzie didn't need to get a job, that was what Reg and Sirius told them, saying they already had enough money. But they both wanted to bring in their own and sitting around the house the whole day would get quite boring quickly. So, while the others started their new chapter on September first, Izzie and Remus would start their first day at work a few days later.
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It was the end of Oktober before they knew it. Lily loved, but absolutely loved going to college. She made a few great muggle friends, and they hung out quite often. She thrived in all her classes, obviously. It wasn't that much of a surprise for anyone to be honest.
James and Sirius loved the Auror training, even though they came home exhausted every night. Sometimes even bruised or with a cut, but Izzie and Lily cleaned them up quickly. After a hard day, both of them would just want them tucked under their arms or resting against their chests as they watched television or went to bed early to have some privacy.
Remus loved working at the bookshop but also got a part-time job as a tutor, helping young kids learn how to read at the local elementary school. Remus's faces lit up when he was around the kids, it was amazing to see.
And Izzie... Well, Izzie worked at the record shop until two weeks ago before she got bored. Now she worked at the music shop where they sell all kinds of instruments. For people who were just starting out or for people who was been playing for years. Every Friday afternoon, thanks to Remus, she came by the school and played the kids some music and brought over some instruments they could try out. Sirius noticed that did fit her better, but also knew she would get bored at the shop too, not the kids, no. Just like Remus, she beamed and was happy to be surrounded by the kids and teach them what she knew.
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It was the night of Halloween and Reg, Barty and Evan just sneaked out of the castle to meet up with them. They stumbled out of the fireplace around eight that evening. Lily's college friends had invited them all to come to a Halloween party in one of the houses. They were all going to dress up, much to Regulus dismay. Izzie laughed for a whole ten minutes when he saw his nose scrunch up from the thought. Lily convinced them to go as the characters of The Rocky Horror Picture show. Izzie was wearing the glitter costumes of Columbia, Lily was dressed as Magenta and Remus as Riff Raff. James and Sirius were still debating who was going dressed as Frank 'N Further and who as Rocky. Barty walked out of the bathroom confidently dressed as Eddie, he took his place next to Evan, a Transylvanian. The five of them waited for Sirius, Regulus and James to come out.
Regulus came out with his head bend, not liking he had to dress up, but he had the most subdued costume as Brad. He looked adorable with his glasses and Remus walked up to him and kissed him.
"You look amazing." He whispered.
"You look -" Reg eyed the cap and fake wig on Remus's head. "I prefer your own hair."
Remus barked out a laugh and tugged him under his arm, guiding him to the side of the room while Regulus blushed. The door to James's room opened and there was the big reveal. But Izzie wasn't surprised at who was dressed as Frank 'N Furter and who was dressed as Rocky.
Sirius walked in first, showing off his stockings and leather vest, a pearl necklace hanging around his neck. Izzie had to bite on her lower lip to hold in a laugh. But Regulus didn't have the restraint. He started laughing uncontrollably. Everyone looked surprised at the young Slytherin, everyone except Izzie and Remus, they looked at him with a soft smile. He didn't laugh like that a lot, certainly not in front of other people, but apparently seeing his older brother, the man he looked up to, dressed like that was enough to lose his composure. Sirius who looked so surprised at his brother's outburst, started to smile.
"You like what you see, Reggie?" He twirled around, Reg looked at him, heaving heavily. "I think I can pull it off quite well." That was enough to make him laugh again. Izzie walked over, her bedazzled vest, reflecting in the lights.
"You look very -" She looked him over and tugged up his long black leather sleeves. "You pull it off like no man has before."
"I'm not sure that's a compliment." Sirius mused with a silly grin, curling his arm around her waist.
"It is." She played with the hem of his leather vest. "I kind of like a man in leather, but I may have a leather surprise for you later tonight." She winked and Sirius eyes darkened, taking in a deep breath. She glanced over his shoulder when a movement caught her eye. Now she couldn't stop her own laughter from bubbling up. James was standing there in golden shorts, golden shoes and his hair had turned blonde but his glasses still in place. "Oh, no. That won't do." She shook her head, and walked over to James, who was fidgeting with his shorts. The others were all snickering behind her.
"What? It's not like there is anything than I can do wrong with the costume."
Izzie lifted her wand from the inside of her pocket and pointed it to his nose. James seemed to trust her completely since he didn't duck, flinch or even widen his eyes. He was completely still. She tapped the side of his glasses twice and they disappeared from sight. She scrunched up her nose at the sight. James without glasses isn't James, but it was a costume party anyway.
"How is your vision?"
James glanced around the room, then touched his face. "Perfect." He looked back to her. "What did you do?"
"Just made them transparent, it's still there, you can feel them just behind your ears. But nobody else can feel them. I'll turn them back when we get back home."
"Our little charmer." He grinned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"Let's take a picture and then we should get going." Lily announced, glancing at the clock. "Just to be clear, it's a muggle party, so no wands. Leave them here or tuck them away in your clothes. And James." She turned to the blonde boy without glasses, pursing her lips a little. "I love you and I love that you wanted to dress up for tonight, but I won't be kissing you too much. Without the glasses and with the hair." She shuddered a little, making Izzie snicker.
"But you like the shorts?" Izzie grinned and Lily blushed a little.
"Izzie, love?" Sirius redirected her attention. "I don't want to leave my wand at home, but I can't hide it anywhere safe." He gestured to his lack of clothes with a grin. "Can you keep it safe for me?" He asked, holding out his wand.
Izzie's eyes widened a little, her heart thumping fast in her chest. Giving someone else their wand is like trusting that person with your life. She accepted the wand and slid the two of them safely into her jacket. "I'll keep it safe." She murmured before kissing him softly. When she pulled back, she grinned as the last part of Sirius costume came in effect. His lips coloured red.