THE SCARS ON MY BODY ● JEGULUS |MARAUDERS|

✰FIFTY NINE✰

WHY IS THIS BOOK SO LONG- LIKE- WHY? DO YOU ALL ACTUALLY LIKE READING LONGER BOOKS, OR SHORTER BOOKS? BECAUSE IF Y'ALL PREFER SHORTER THEN I'LL WRITE SHORTER BOOKS FROM NOW ON *WORRIED FACES*

HOW ARE YOU? I LOVE YOU x

_____________________

✰ They were distancing, and he

wasn't going to let that

continue. He wasn't going

to lose Wormy ✰

_____________________

James sighed, tucking a stray strand of Reggie's hair behind his ear, revealing his shimmering, grey eyes. He'd never truly thought about it before, but Sirius and Regulus were so incredibly different. Regulus' eyes were solemn and silver whereas Sirius' were darker and full of joy. Regulus' hair curled at the ends but Sirius' was straight (unlike his sexuality). James snorted at his own joke, forming a quizzical expression on Reggie's face.

"What's so funny, baby?" James' heart melted at the name and the way Reg's face drooped with exhaustion. 

"Nothin', love." Reggie rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms before pulling himself up off of the bed, grabbing James' hand to bring him too. "Where are we going?"

"Downstairs."

"But, I don't wanna." With a smirk and a roll of his eyes, Reg led James down the stairs. Mrs Potter was cooking dinner in the kitchen whilst Remus and Sirius were spread lazily upon the sofa, Sirius led on top of Remus.

"So, the lovebirds are finally here, are they?" Sirius called out, exceptionally loud so that Mrs Potter could hear. A chuckle sounded from the kitchen as the couple glared at the boy.

"Shut up, Padfoot." James grumbled, dragging Reg over to the sofa and falling down with him on his lap. Peter strolled into the room, a cookie in one hand and a plate full of them in his other. He placed them down on the coffee table, inviting the others to take one, before collapsing down on an armchair.

"I feel very single right now, guys." Pete rolled his eyes as he chewed, erupting a series of laughter from the others.

The four marauders found themselves in a deep conversation about their 7th year at Hogwarts. Regulus wanted to leave them be, feeling very out of place, but James refused, holding him tight.

"This will be our last year at Hogwarts. We need to leave with a bang. This has to be our best year of pranks." Sirius said determinedly. Regulus rolled his eyes prompting James to smirk at him, curling an arm around his shoulders. James caught Peter's eye, who sent him a proud smile at the interaction. It was then that James realised how little time he had spent with Peter. They were distancing, and he wasn't going to let that continue. He wasn't going to lose Wormy.

"I agree, Sirius. What will our first one be?" Peter asked, grinning. 

"Well, I have had an idea for a little while now..." Remus muttered, slowly. 

"Yes! Go on, Moony. What is it then?" Sirius jumped up, sitting on Remus instead of laying. After a deep breath, Moony explained his plan in little detail, giving them a rough conception of what he wanted to do.

"Dinner, kids!" Mrs Potter called them out into the dining room when they all sat down to eat. Mr Potter joined them as well, kissing his wife on the cheek when he entered. Regulus was next to Peter and spoke to him for most of the meal. Turns out, he's pretty good at conversation.

For the rest of the evening, James was regularly holding onto Regulus. Whether that was by holding hands, having an arm around his shoulders, hugging him, kissing him, laying a hand on his thigh, rubbing his arm. They were inseparable. 

It wasn't until Regulus fell asleep after James had read to him that he finally let go. The door creaked open and Peter was standing on the other side. "Can I speak with you?" He whispered.

"Yes, yes, definitely. You can talk to me whenever you want." James slid Regulus off of his shoulder and led him down to tuck him in. Peter made his way over and sat down on the edge of the bed, clad in red and white striped pyjamas and a pair of green, dragon slippers. "What's up, Wormy?" 

"Um...my Nana got this...disease thing...and er- she came over to live with me and my parents...and...well, she passed away. Ba-Basically, I can't sleep." 

"Oh, Pete! I'm so sorry, c'mere." James attacked the frowning boy into a strong embrace, stuffing his face into his shoulder. He let Peter continue speaking as they hugged, neither of them wanting to let go.

"That's the last of my grandparents." He let out a sad chuckle, finding their hugging position uncomfortable and turning around slightly, "I don't think I have any Aunts or Uncles, it's just me, Mum and Dad now. I think we'll be alright, though. Effie's letting me stay here whenever I need a break...your mum's a great person." 

"She is, she really is. You're always welcome. You're strong enough to face this, even if it feels like you can't. Make yourself your top priority. At the end of the day, all we have is ourselves, am I right?" Peter nodded slowly and pulled away. He bit his lip forcefully, almost hard enough to bring blood. "Don't do that, it'll become a bad habit." 

"Bad habit? I think you have many of those yourself, Prongs." James' eyebrows furrowed at his comment, not understanding the meaning behind it, "You're crazy for 'im, Prongs. I see the way you look at him. I see the way he looks at you. I'm happy for you. Really, I am."

"What...what about you and Chambers? How's...that..." James wasn't dumb, well, maybe he was a bit dumb, but he knew whether his best friend was smiling or if it was fake. And the smile that appeared on Peter's face then was most definitely fake.

"That doesn't matter, mate." He said with a shrug.

"Don't lie, Wormtail. What's up?"

"Regulus mentioned at dinner that she's seeing someone." Peter blurted out, his hand smacking to his mouth right after. "Shit. Wasn't meant to tell no one that."

"Why not? You can always tell me, Wormy." 

"I know, I can. I don't want to be a burden, though. Putting this on you isn't fair-"

"Peter Andrew Pettigrew!"

"That's not my middle name-" He was ignored.

 "Shut up, right now. You are not a burden, nothing of the sort, so if I ever hear those words come out of your mouth ever again, I will rip your tongue out." An awkward laugh came from behind the two of them.

"Well, that got gruesome real quick." Regulus mumbled, rolling over in the bed.

"How much of that did you hear!?" Peter jumped up, an expression of alarm written all over him. He was shaking from head to toe.

"Err- I got some 'You can always tell me' and some 'I don't want to be a burden' and...um- some 'ripping out Peter's tongue' shit." Wormtail let out a long, relieved sigh. He hadn't heard about Bailey. "Why? Whatcha hiding from me?" Reg teased, earning a shove from James.

"None of your business, prat."

"Rude."

_____________________

✰ They were distancing, and he

wasn't going to let that

continue. He wasn't going

to lose Wormy ✰

_____________________