Smile When You Dive In

Chapter 15

Another day, another of James' made up games in the basement of Honeydukes. This time, he had asked Regulus if he could only perform one spell for the rest of his life, which would he pick? Regulus considered it. He thought about which would be most useful, and which spells he used most in his day to day life. His reasoning was that if he chose something simple like 'accio' or 'lumos', he wouldn't notice the absence of his magic so much since he probably used those every day. But if he did that, he wouldn't be able to use magic in any dire situation he might find himself in. It would be more sensible therefore, to choose something life-saving like a healing spell, or that thing he'd seen in Slughorn's book that made a person immortal. Should he risk never doing magic again just so that he could use it in an emergency? Regulus was weighing up the pros and cons when James sighed dramatically.

"Reg, it's just a game! Pick one!" Regulus rolled his eyes at James' impatience.

"If I'm not going to think about it, what's the point in playing? You might as well just ask which spell comes to mind first." James smiled at him then, in the way he always did when Regulus said or did something he thought amusing.

"Go on, then. Which spell comes to mind first?" Regulus thought quickly.

"Accio."

"The lazy man's spell."

"Why get up and walk across the room when somebody made a spell for that?" He shrugged his shoulders and James smirked.

"Maybe if you got up more often, you'd be able to beat me at Quidditch." Even a week ago, and Regulus would have been annoyed by that quip, but now he knew James was only saying it to annoy him, which made it significantly less annoying. James often did that, and as he collected these small pieces of information about how James talked to him, he found himself irritated less and less often. He'd still pretend, though.

"You're so full of yourself."

"That's not very nice! You're lucky I..." He trailed off, looking sheepish. Regulus really thought him astounding sometimes, the way he would parade around the castle like King Arthur himself, and then fall all over himself at the smallest accidental admission of affection. His dark hair fell over his eyes and he only looked up again when Regulus spoke.

"I'm lucky you... What, it's too soon in this... thing for you to say that you actually like me?" He had hoped for his tone to be one of teasing until he stumbled over his own words. How exactly should he refer to what they were doing? Relationship was definitely not the right word. Any other that he thought of, fling or dalliance were too embarrassing to say out loud. James would no doubt laugh at his usage of those. Perhaps he had the right idea in not attempting to vocalise those things. James merely raised his eyebrows in response, having composed himself quickly enough, which Regulus took as his cue to change the topic of conversation. "Accio bag."

James' school bag drifted through the air over to where Regulus sat on the ground. They always sat apart when they were talking or playing a game. If they sat too close, one would start kissing the other and the game would be forgotten, James had said when Regulus pulled a face. Regulus didn't see the problem with that. Even as they edged closer to summer, it was cold enough in the cellar that the shared body heat would be appreciated even if James wanted to avoid them getting 'too carried away'. When he caught James' satchel he made a show of starting to unfasten it, expecting him to protest.

"Please yourself, I have nothing to hide." He was still grinning, laying on the dusty floor as though it were his palace and waving a hand with the regal arrogance to match. Even though James was amused by his little show, Regulus still hesitated. He couldn't believe James would let anybody rummage through his things so freely. Even with the girls, Regulus had been brought up to respect privacy to the point that he felt it was invasive to touch their belongings. But James hardly thought the same way his parents did, and he strongly doubted that Sirius showed that same respect for privacy. Sirius was James' best friend, ergo he probably wouldn't secretly be mad at him for looking.