Work Text:
Regulus always associated the holidays with the cold.
A cold house. A cold bed. The coldness of his family.
And he was so used to the way his family did things.
It started with planning. So much planning. Making sure everything, every minute detail, was perfect. That the menu was impeccable. The decor, superb. The outfits, tailored and luxurious.
Regulus and Sirius were expected to be flawless representations of their House and ‘Superior Bloodline.’ Put-together and polite; seen, not heard.
The pressure was more than intense.
And the actual party?
So many people. So many high standards.
The chit-chat was suffocating, and Regulus always dreaded it.
There was nothing personal about the holidays. No time for family. Only networking. Putting on a show. Making sure their family was constantly on top.
It was cold.
Regulus spent the entire day feeling lonely.
So, when Regulus first agreed to spend the holidays at the Potters’ he wasn’t sure how to feel. He knew, of course, that the Potters were pureblood. Well-off. They probably had fancy parties, too.
“What shall I pack?” he asked his boyfriend one day while they were studying, close to break, realizing his old dress robes might not fit any more. Did the Potters expect him to wear his custom-made twelve-piece robes, or would some of his more comfortable three-piece outfits suffice?
“Pack?” James asked, looking a bit distracted. He was currently trying to figure out what looked like a botched Potions essay, and Regulus knew he would have to take pity on him and help soon. “I mean, it’s a bit cold. Make sure to pack some extra jumpers.”
Regulus rolled his eyes, endeared by the taller boy’s oliviousness. “I meant for the party.”
“Party?” James asked, looking quite shocked. “We’re going to a party?”
Now his patience was wearing a bit thin. “On Christmas, James. Won’t your family have a party?”
James laughed out loud at that. “I mean, it’ll be my mum, dad, Sirius, Remus, and both of us. Is that what you mean?”
Regulus thought about that. “So…no party?”
“No,” James answered, looking a bit concerned. “Is that alright? I know your family-”
“It’s perfect,” Regulus nodded, quickly pulling James’s mess of an essay toward himself. “This is not.”
As soon as the boys arrived in the bright, warm kitchen of the Potter Manor, a woman swept Regulus into a hug so quickly he almost yelped with surprise.
“Regulus. It’s wonderful to meet you,” the woman hugging him said warmly.
“Don’t suffocate him, mum,” James admonished, throwing Regulus a grin as he hugged what could only be his father.
But Regulus, who normally hated being touched, especially by those he didn’t know, found himself melting into the embrace. He realized almost instantly where James got it from- his safe, kind, accepting persona. His warmth.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. and Mr. Potter,” Regulus stammered as Euphemia released him. “Thank you for inviting me to your home.”
“Effie and Monty,” Monty replied easily. “And how could we not? James talks so much about you, you’re practically family already."
James turned bright red at this, and Regulus smirked a bit. Sirius made a gagging noise from behind them.
“As if you don’t talk just as much about Remus,” Effie chided him, pulling him into a hug as well.
“Mum! I’m supposed to be the favorite!” Sirius pouted, making Effie grin.
“I have no favorites. Though if we’re going by number of times I’ve gotten letters of complaint from Minerva McGonagall, then Regulus is currently the favorite,” Effie retorted, making Regulus turn pink.
Even though both Sirius and James protested more about that, it was clear that all the comments were in good fun. They were laughing. Smiling. Enjoying each other’s company.
He’d never experienced family like this before. It was strange. The warmth.
Regulus quickly figured out that he liked Potter Manor almost as much as he liked Hogwarts.
He, James, Sirius, and Remus (when he arrived a few days later) spent their days flying, lazing around, going into the Muggle town nearby and exploring. He knew that Monty was a Potioneer, but he was thrilled to find that once he tentatively asked the older man about his work, Monty was eager to show him everything he was working on. He even let Regulus help.
He also found a piano, tucked away in a lonely room on the fourth floor, and spent hours at a time just playing, reveling in being able to just be, while James, Sirius, and Remus caused chaos Merlin-knew-where.
He felt safe. Wanted. This, he realized, was how family was supposed to feel.
He’d believed James, of course, when he’d said there wouldn’t be a party. But he was still unsurprised, somehow, when on Christmas morning, he was awoken at dawn by someone shaking him awake. Good thing he packed something presentable.
“Happy Christmas, Reg!” James whispered into his ear.
“Mmmpfh,” Regulus mumbled into his pillow. “Thought you said there wasn’t a party?”
“What? No, I…I have something to show you. Will you come with me?” James asked, looking a bit nervous.
“Alright.”
It was early, and cold. And Regulus was thankful, really, that he’d listened to James and packed multiple jumpers because he pulled two over his head, blearily following the taller boy out of his room.
“Sorry it’s so early. It’s just…I’ve been trying to get you alone for days and I figured if I try before Sirius is awake, I’d have more of a chance,” James grinned a bit sheepishly.
Regulus snorted. Sirius had been quite the nuisance over the past few days. Every time James and Regulus had had two minutes alone, he just appeared. “He’s your best friend, Potter.”
James chuckled, leading Regulus to the front door.
“Outside?” Regulus blanched. He might have two jumpers on, but he wasn’t dressed for the snowstorm currently raging outside.
“Trust me?” James asked, levelling a challenging look at Regulus.
And fuck James Potter, because he knew that the answer to that question was yes.
“Alright,” Regulus murmured, shivering as James rapped his wand sharply on Regulus’s head. A feeling of warmth slowly seeped through Regulus’s very veins, like he’d stepped into a hot shower.
“C’mon,” James said, grabbing his hand and guiding him into the storm.
They walked for a few minutes, hand-in-hand, through the raging snow. Even as the storm persisted, however, Regulus could only feel warmth. No wind, no cold. Just the comfortable heat of James’s spell and their intertwined hands.
It was loud, however. And it was hard to see. “James, where the hell-?” Regulus yelled, feeling a bit nervous.
“Not much farther now! It’s just here!” James called to him, dragging him a few more feet before stopping.
Then, James pulled out his wand again and tapped it on seemingly nothing, before pulling Regulus a few more feet forward.
Regulus was thoroughly confused for a moment, until-
Quiet.
They seemed to be in a bubble. Almost a reverse-snow globe. Their little space on the ground, about ten feet in diameter, was quiet. Warm. Free of snow. But outside, the snow still fell and the wind whipped it around.
It was strangely beautiful. Haunting but safe.
“Just here,” James said softly, guiding him to a blanket on the ground.
Shocked, Regulus lay on the blanket, allowing James to pull him close, as they looked up and watched the snowstorm surrounding them.
“James, this is-”
“We used to do this all the time when I was a kid,” James explained, circling his thumb on Regulus's back soothingly. “On Christmas, especially. If it snowed, my dad would come out and set this up. And we’d just sit out here and watch. Be together.”
Regulus moved a bit closer to James, feeling so incredibly content. “This is what your family does on Christmas?”
He felt James shrug next to him. “It’s nice to just…escape sometimes, you know? And I just wanted to be with you.”
Regulus felt tears prickle his eyes as he took that in. It was somehow precious, to be shown this tradition. To be allowed this window into James’s life. To be included and wanted and loved.
And it was so warm, here.
Here, in the snow. Here, in James’s arms.
“I love you,” he whispered, kissing James softly.
And he lost himself in the warmth of the kiss.