sometimes it's easier to be invisible

Epilogue

James and Regulus make their way through their flat, setting everything up. Their flat is fairly small but cozy. James had taken it upon himself to add in as many decorations as he possibly could when he first bought it. Regulus moved in with him shortly after he graduated from his final year at Hogwarts, and they've been flat mates ever since. Their flat is the usual spot where they met up with all their friends, and this was a special occasion so Regulus is busying himself with every task he can.

"Here, love, let me help." James says amusedly as he watches Regulus struggle to hang up a decoration.

He kisses Regulus sweetly and takes over hanging up the streamers. Regulus goes to the kitchen to make sure everything is ready. The food looks good, drinks are in order. The decorations are done. He sighs, finally relaxing a bit. Hosting is fun, but entirely too exhausting for his liking. He is a perfectionist at heart, which amuses James to no end. Regulus frets about every little thing when they have people over, so James steps up to be Regulus's caretaker, forcing him to sit down and actually eat instead of tending to everyone else the whole time. Regulus is doing just that now, obsessively checking the food and gifts and straightening out the sign that's hung up by the front door.

"Lily and Pandora should be here any minute, and everyone else is on their way." James informs him from the living room.

Regulus makes his way over and sits on James's lap, leaning in to kiss him. James kisses back, a pleased smile on his face. The tension seeps out of Regulus's body at once as he relaxes into James. James pushes his fingers through Regulus's hair, peppering kisses along his jaw and cheek. Regulus gazes at him fondly, tracing lines on James's face.

"I love you." Regulus whispers, bumping his nose with James's.

"I love you more, darling."

They cuddle up as they wait for their friends to arrive. Regulus thinks of all of them and how far they've come. After their graduation, James, Sirius, and Marlene all became Aurors for the Ministry. Lily and Mary are healers, Mary in St. Mungo's, and Lily took over Madam Pomfrey's position at Hogwarts. Pandora is a Potions Master, along with Regulus. Peter is a dragon keeper, and Barty, Evan, and Dorcas all work at the Ministry in different departments. And of course, the reason they all gathered today, Remus is a newly appointed professor at Hogwarts.

Sirius and Remus are fairly recently engaged, their wedding planned to be the next summer. The rest of them are all still together, but none of them are in a hurry to get married, unlike Sirius and Remus, who couldn't wait. Sirius brought it up so often that it's wonder it took them five years to finally get engaged. Sirius blabs on about children, how he wants to adopt the entirety of Britain and raise them with Remus. Regulus finds him ridiculous, but Remus always humors Sirius.

Regulus is smiling fondly when Lily and Pandora come in.

"Boys?" Lily asks, walking in with a huge gift in her arms.

They get up and hug the girls tightly. They all still see each other weekly or try to. It's easier for Pandora and Lily because they only live about 10 minutes away. The rest are about 30-40 minutes, except Peter, who is traveling often. But they always find time to see each other, after five years.

"This place looks lovely!" Lily says, admiring the flat.

"Thank you kindly." James smirks, and Regulus can almost feel the smugness coming off him.

Barty, Evan, Dorcas, Marlene, Mary, and Peter all arrive at the same time. They greet each other happily, setting the gifts down on the coffee table. They're all chatting and catching up when they hear the front door open again. They all jump up with excited smiles as Sirius and Remus walk in.

"Professor Lupin!" They all cheer, bombarding him with hugs.

Remus blushes, a pleased smile on his face. He examines the huge sign that Regulus made, the neat cursive saying, "Congratulations to Professor Moony", which makes Remus smile. He steps up and hugs Regulus and James last, lingering a little with them.

"Thank you, guys." He says sincerely, meaningfully looking towards the hosts.

Regulus sends him a gentle smile, and James wrestles Remus into a headlock and ruffles Remus's hair, much to Remus's irritation. Sirius laughs so hard that he's bent over, idly wiping tears from his eyes. Regulus rolls his eyes at his brother and kicks him in the shin. Sirius abruptly stops laughing and straightens up.

"You little shit!" Sirius bellows, running after Regulus.

The others watch the brothers tackle each other with amusement. This is fairly normal. Though their relationship is the closest it's ever been, they still bicker often. It's their form of affection, Lily hypothesizes.

The brothers eventually calm down and settle to eat the cake that James baked and pass out gifts for Remus. 

They all gather around the living room, sitting in various spots as they hand Remus the gifts they got and Remus smiles widely. Remus is the best person to buy gifts for because he's eternally grateful for it no matter what the gift is. His face flushes endearingly and his smile takes up his whole face. It's a bunch of blazers and quills and books, all the things he loves. He makes a face when he opens a briefcase engraved with his initials, though. Lily is the one responsible for that. He thanks her earnestly.

"Lily always gets the most thoughtful gifts." Pandora praises, wrapping her arm around Lily's shoulders.

The rets murmur in agreement, chatting away for hours. They fall into their usual routine of updating the others on their lives, swapping stories of both amusement and things they need to rant about. Lily complains how there seems to be a new group of pranksters, who come in often with hexed faces and sick from potions gone wrong.

"They're a new version of you lot. It's fucking exhausting." Lily says, but they all see the glimmer of fondness in her eyes.

They all then get drunk, as they usually did when they're together. They're not able to sustain as much alcohol as they could when they were teenagers, but they still tried. Regulus is pleasantly tipsy and resting his head on James's shoulder, his feet in Sirius's lap. Sirius has been drumming his hands on Regulus's shins for the past twenty minutes, and James watches in amusement.

"I'm so glad we're friends." Sirius announces drunkenly.

He gets up, pulling Regulus with him. He drags Regulus into a clumsy waltz like they used to when they were younger. They dance together to no music, the laughter of their friends propelling them to continue. Regulus lazily rests his head on Sirius's shoulder, breathing in that familiar cinnamon smell. Years have gone by, but Sirius always smells the same. Sirius taps Regulus's head, making the younger one look up.

"Tu es tout pour moi, petite étoile." Sirius says, bringing tears to Regulus's eyes.

He remembers the first time he said that to Sirius, feeling like it was a lifetime ago. In some ways, it was.

"Tu as toujours été à moi." Regulus replies.

"Oi! Speak English! I can't eavesdrop on you two when you speak French." James whines petulantly from the sofa.

Sirius and Regulus chuckle, giving each other meaningful looks. They'd be alright. Regulus is happy, and so is Sirius. He's no longer invisible, and he never will be again.

Their friends will be alright. They'll be alright. And they have the other to thank for that.

Extra Chapter: Bonus Scenes

"Please, Remus, I want to learn to produce a Patronus, too!" James begs, physically on his knees in front of Remus.