𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝐼𝑡 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡

With You- Craigulus

A/N: This is the last edition I have for the trilogy, so I hope you enjoy it. I know it needs some editing, but that will come later. (maybe)

Craigulus

...

15 December 1983

After the war, the world needed a copious amount of time to rebuild itself. The war had nearly torn this part of humanity to shreds, the only thing stopping it from succeeding was the hope many neighbourhoods still carried.

The process was slow, starting out with the persecution of the bad in the world, every death eater or supporter had all their credentials wiped away the moment they stepped into Azkaban. It ended with the reconnection of old friends, the joining together of communities, making the world a much happier place through sharing laughter and memories that would last for a long time.

Not only did the wizarding world itself have to rebuild, but the people within it had to rebuild their lives. They had to work through the trauma they had acquired over the war, causing muggle therapy to gain popularity. They worked on their relationships with others as well. Wizards from all over tried their hardest to make their love like it once was, however, everyone had become different people, and it wasn't as if their magic could bring the love back.

Craig and Regulus had had a difficult time at first. Regulus found that Craig's trust was severed in half and Craig was having a hard time communicating, much preferring to keep to himself. Yet, as if their love was a flower, it bloomed again—not overnight—and they both found happiness in themselves as well as each other and their lives in general.

Hogwarts found a place for each of them. Craig continued to work in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey, specializing in injuries while she dealt with illnesses. He worked tirelessly and became one of the most respected and loved members of the staff. His American accent softened as the years went by and he found himself acquiring a hybrid accent, Regulus constantly made fun of him for this.

Regulus was hired as the Potions professor, which was just the right fit for him. He loved working with the kids, causing the class to become many students favorite. Not too long after getting the position, Regulus became the Head of Slytherin, something both celebrated and rued by his brother.

They tried their best not to make their clear relationship too obvious, but the students caught on quickly. Neither of them minded much, however, more than once, Regulus had had to hand out a few detentions to a student that had gone too far with their questioning.

Often times, the two had trouble finding alone time in the busy campus. With students at every turn, it wasn't like they could just snog in the corridor. Yet, they made the most of it, Craig went on Regulus's patrols with him, they ate lunch together, and Craig shared Regulus's sleeping quarters with him. It was at times like now though, that they found the most time together.

Snow found its way from the clouds to the grounds, coating the already snow covered ground. A white Christmas was sure to grace their presence at the end of the month, but for now, Hogwarts had two more days until the children went home for holiday, and with everyone up in their dormitories, Craig and Regulus were seizing the moment in Regulus's classroom.

Regulus cleaned each cauldron, clearly distracted by Craig, who was going on a rampage about the latest case of injuries. He smiled to himself as Craig continued pacing, gesturing wildly with his hands.

"I can't even tell you how many times I've used Episkey in the past two days," Craig said, shaking his head as he told Regulus about all the kids who had slipped on the ice. "It's like they suddenly don't know how to walk-"

Craig was cut off by a quiet knock at the door, it still startled both of them despite the volume. They both went over to the door, Craig being the one to swing it open revealing Julia Macdonald.

"Merlin, it's just you, Macdonald," Craig said, stepping back to let Julia enter. "Thought it might be Minerva coming to tell us she figured out Regulus was skiving off-"

"Oi! She's a student," Regulus elbowed Craig as Julia laughed at the two of them and handed Regulus an envelope. "Is this going to explode in my hands?"

"No," Julia tutted. "It's an invitation to Mary's wedding."

"Ah! I was wondering if we'd get one," Craig said, looking over Regulus's shoulder as he opened it. "Are you going to be at the Potters for dinner at all?"

"I think so," Julia replied, watching as Regulus tucked the envelope in his pocket. "Mary said something about going there for Lily's banquet."

Regulus grinned at the mention of the banquet Lily had been putting together for the past few months. She wanted to raise awareness for the minorities of the wizarding world—house-elves, goblins, werewolves, etc.—and Regulus had had a hand in starting her campaign so that people would take her seriously.

"How'd you get down here without getting caught by Filch?" Craig asked. "He's been more uptight lately after those kids exploded those dumgbombs in the Great Hall."

"This is the part where I feign innocence and go back to bed," Julia grinned. "See you both later."

"Bye Macdonald!"

In Julia's absence, Regulus yawned and sat down on the floor. He pulled the invitation back out of his pocket and looked it over once again.

JOIN US FOR THE
WEDDING
OF
MARY MACDONALD
AND
REGINALD CATTERMOLE

05 May 1984
06:00 pm

More information, like the address, was included below, but he could certainly read that later. Regulus had never really liked weddings all that much, maybe this was since he couldn't get married to the person he wanted to. Yes, perhaps that was it. Just because he loved someone of the same gender meant that he couldn't be legally binded to him made him despise the marriage tradition.

He wanted to boycott every wedding until he was able to marry Craig. Voicing this once to Craig because he would be able to understand, Craig suggested they go to the nearest tattoo parlor and get wedding bands tattooed on their left hand ring finger. Absolutely jumping on the idea, Regulus still traced the tattoo when he was bored and reveled in the fact that it broke so many traditions.

Craig eventually sat down next to Regulus and leaned his head on his shoulder, thinking about the possibilities his life could hold in the future. Maybe they would be able to get married in the future, maybe they'd adopt some kids, or maybe they'd grow old in the corridors of Hogwarts together.

Together.

That really was the only variant that was solidified for the rest of time. Wherever their lives took them and ended up, they both were aware that they would do everything together. Sure, life was unpredictable, but Craig and Regulus had been through too much not to be together until the end of time.

A poem started to sprout in Craig's head. One about love and life and having faith, much different than the ones he used to write about sadness and loss.

With You
I've climbed the highest mountains
Swam the longest rivers
Run the rockiest paths
With you
I've laughed myself silly
Cried quite a bit too
But I've done it all
With You
It seems a little cheesy
And I've never been a romantic
But loving you has always been easy
It's the thing that saves me
Time and time again

He would probably share the poem with Regulus later, but he was in no rush because he had the rest of his life with him. He would have the rest of their time on Earth to tell him about his newest poem, so he lived in the moment. It was easy to do when you knew he'd be with you forever.