Regulus shrieked and jumped, tossing the bag of pretzels into the air as they turned to look at where Lottie was standing in the pantry door.
“Mrs. Crouch! Hi! I’m so sorry. I was just looking for a snack,” their voice was about three octaves higher than normal.
“You’re welcome to anything in here. I’m assuming you’re Regulus?” she smiled at them sweetly. Regulus relaxed and bent over carefully to pick up the bag of pretzels which they’d probably turned to dust by dropping on the floor.
“Yes ma’am. I’m sorry, I—” Regulus ran a hand through their hair sheepishly, wishing they were wearing something other than boxers and one of Barty’s giant sweatshirts that fell to their knees. “This is not exactly how I planned to meet you.”
“I’m excited Barty finally brought one of you over! Where is my son, by the way? He didn’t leave you to fend for yourself, did he?”
“He’s just in the shower. I was taking a nap and I woke up. I’m sorry, I thought you and Mr. Crouch were at work.” Regulus pulled on the sweatshirt self-consciously and internally cursed themself for not putting on pants.
(By the way guys - Yes, I made these banners, please feel free to use them if you want! No, you don’t have to credit me. I absolutely don’t care, take them!)
“Baby?”
Answer them. Breathe. Five things.
“Barty I’m coming in,” Regulus said seriously before the door opened.
Five things. Five things.
“Barty, did you take your meds today?” Regulus asked quietly.
Did he? Oh. He shook his head violently.
“Can I touch you?”
He nodded in response, and Regulus pried his fingers from his hair gently before tipping his chin up to look at them.
tw: misgendering, passive agressive/manipulative mother, alcohol, passing mention of smoking, passing mention of drugs
James sat staring up at the townhouse, large green wreaths with perfectly knotted red velvet bows adorned each window. Snow drifted down slowly causing the wreaths to shimmer in the glow from the perfectly hung clear Christmas lights on the roof. How did they even get up there to hang those?
“Very Stepford Wives,” he mumbled under his breath.
“She just likes it to look nice,” Regulus said quietly.
“It does. It looks nice,” James nodded as he turned to smile at his fiancé. “Ready to go in?”
“Sure,” Regulus opened their car door and stepped out into the snow. James pulled his phone out and shot a quick text to Sirius asking when the fuck they were going to arrive before following Regulus up the front steps.
“Just… Wait for a second,” Regulus muttered, pushing a lock of hair behind James’ ear.
“I’m waiting…”
“She… She will probably act like she doesn’t remember you.”
“Well, I’ve only met her once-“
“No, James. She knows who you are, it’s just what she does, okay? It’s to make you feel like you’re not important, like I don’t talk about you, to delegitimize our relationship. It’s a mind game,” Regulus looked at him sadly. “She’s done this with every guy I’ve ever brought home so just… I dunno, I just wanted you to know.”
“Hey,” James cupped his palms around Regulus’ chin and dipped his head to kiss them slowly, rubbing their noses together when they broke apart. “I’m not going anywhere. She can’t scare me away.”
Regulus smiled at him, kissing him once more before turning and knocking loudly on the oversized, antique wooden door. It opened almost immediately, revealing a short, stout man more wrinkled than James had ever seen. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and there was more hair on his bushy grey eyebrows than in the wispy white comb-over that barely covered the shiny bald spot on the top of his head.
“Hello, Mister Kreacher. I thought you’d have the day off to spend with your family,” Regulus said with a frown, shaking the old man’s hand as they stepped inside. The sounds of holiday music being played on a piano somewhere in the house reached James’ ears, as did the sound of loud conversation and children playing.
“Oh, Madam Black asked me if I could stay to man the door until five. Then I’ll be off to see the grandkids. How are you, my dear boy? Have you gotten taller still? Or am I shrinking in my old age?”
“Maybe a bit of both,” Regulus chuckled as James grimaced at the use of the word ’boy’. He glanced around the tall, open entryway. He’d expected the home to be very traditional, but it was clear that Regulus had inherited their style from whoever decorated this house. The walls were painted a matte cream, and matte black wainscoting ran three-fourths of the way up the wall matching the wide trim on the oversized cased openings leading off of the hall. The dark wood flooring ran the length of the entryway and up the stairs, which had a transparent black glass half wall running up the side instead of banisters. A large light fixture made of floating transparent black glass orbs hanging from golden rods spanned the length of all five floors.
“Oh!” Mr. Kreacher smiled as he watched James step into the entryway, “Is this the fiancé you told me about?”
“It is. Mr. Kreacher, this is James Potter. James, this is Mr. Kreacher, our butler.”
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” James shook the old man’s hand before toeing his shoes off on the black stone inlaid mat where Regulus had left their shoes, and began shrugging out of his coat. A brown leather bench sat next to the shoe space and a large circular mirror trimmed in gold hung on the wall above it. James glanced in the mirror quickly, brushing the last remnants of snow out of his curls.
“Yes, Regulus has told me all about you. You make him very happy and I thank you for that.”
“They make me very happy as well,” James looked at Regulus in the reflection and pulled a face. Regulus shook their head solemnly in response as they hung their coat in the hall closet and grabbed James’ out of his hand.
“Everyone is in the study or the lounge, enjoy yourselves. Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, Mister Kreacher. Enjoy your family time tonight,” Regulus said quietly, grabbing onto James’ hand before dragging him down the hall.
“It’s a lot bigger than it looks from the outside,” James mumbled as Regulus pulled him up the stairs toward the noise.
“Yeah, it’s deceiving,” Regulus nodded as they reached the first long landing, and they pulled him across the threshold from dark hardwood floors onto the cream-colored carpet of what James assumed was the lounge. The entire back wall was floor-to-ceiling windows, and four children had their faces pressed against the glass watching the snow drift down in front of them. There was a roaring fire in a large black stone fireplace on the left side of the room. A cushy oversized brown leather couch and plush cream velvet armchairs made a semi-circle around a short wooden coffee table, and in the corner between the window wall and the fireplace stood a tall flocked tree, perfectly decorated in silver, white, and gold ornaments. Mounds of packages sat below, perfectly wrapped in white, silver, and gold to match. The walls, crown moulding, and ceiling were painted matte black, and a large gold light fixture with oversized bulbs lit the room in a soft warm light.
“Thank fucking god,” a rough voice whispered in James’ ear as he was pulled into a tight hug and his vision was obscured by a maroon sweater.
“Oh, I didn’t think you were here yet,” James chuckled, pulling out of the hug to look at Remus.
“We’ve been here for an hour. Mommy dearest has already made fourteen comments on my parenting choices,” Remus muttered under his breath, rubbing a hand through his chestnut curls before taking a long drink of amber liquid from the low ball glass he was holding.
“Oh, that sounds lovely,” James said sarcastically.
“Uncle Jamie!” A squeal came from a short human that tackled his waist.
“Hey, kiddo!” James laughed, picking Teddy up and placing him on his hip to ruffle his dark brown hair.
“Uncle Jamie, you get to meet my cousins!”
“Oh, well I am very excited to meet your cousins,” James grinned around Teddy at Regulus who was watching them fondly.
“Where’s Harry?” The five-year-old in his arms asked loudly, looking over James’ shoulder.
“Oh, he’s with his mom. Sorry, bud.” Teddy frowned at him and slid off his hip, taking his hand and dragging him over to the other kids standing by the Christmas tree.
“Guys! This is my Uncle Jamie,” He said happily.
“He’s not really your uncle,” a girl with dark black ringlets said, crossing her arms over her emerald green dress.
“Meissa, that’s not nice,” the other girl said quietly, tugging on the gold ribbon that was tied in a bow at the end of her caramel braid.
“Well, he’s not, Dora. He’s just his godfather.”
“He’s going to be my uncle! He’s marrying my Uncle Reggie!” Teddy said loudly, sticking his tongue out at Meissa who rolled her eyes and turned back to watch the snow.
“I remember you,” the little boy with platinum blonde hair said quietly.
“I remember you too, Draco. Are you having a good Christmas?” James asked, glancing up at Regulus who had followed them. Draco shrugged and stepped around him to hug Regulus who had dropped onto their knees to be the right height.
“How’s my favorite godson?” Regulus asked, hugging him tightly.
“I’m your only godson,” Draco said, muffled into Regulus’ shoulder.
“And you’re still my favorite,” Regulus said quietly. “Did you get presents from your parents already?”
“Yeah. I got an iPad.”
“An iPad?” Regulus looked at James and rolled their eyes.
“Yeah. I wanted a dog. But dad said no.”
“Oh… Well, buddy… Dogs are a lot of work, you know?” Draco sighed and pulled away from Regulus, staring at them with sad grey eyes.
“Yeah, I know. Come on Teddy, let’s go find something to play with.” He grabbed Teddy’s arm and pulled him out of the room.
“An iPad?” James asked under his breath, standing up with Regulus as they watched the boys leave the room. Regulus flopped down on the couch next to Remus and took the glass out of his hand, downing it in one gulp.
“Well, that was rude. But also, mood,” Remus said, grabbing the crystal decanter off the coffee table and pouring a new glass for himself and filling the one in Regulus’ hands.
“Sorry. You know what it’s like dealing with my family. Where is my brother?”
“Outside smoking with Andy and Ted.” Remus poured another glass for James and handed it to him as he sat down next to Regulus.
“Smoking or smoking?”
“Please. If it was pot would I still be in here?” Remus asked under his breath, glancing at Meissa and Dora as they left the room, elbows linked with each other.
“Very true,” Regulus nodded. “Where is everyone else?
“They were in the study-”
“Sweetheart! You’re here!” Regulus stood up quickly, setting their glass down on the table before stepping around Remus’ legs and pulling their mother into a tight hug. James sat his own glass down and stood up, glancing at Remus who smirked at him around his glass. Walburga’s black curls cascaded over Regulus’ shoulder as she hugged them, and she rocked back and forth briefly before releasing them just to run her fingers through their curls.
“Tu es trop maigre. You’re too thin.”
“Je ne suis pas. I am not.”
She smoothed the waist of her floor-length, velvet, emerald green dress. “Tu es très beau. C'est bon, You look very handsome. This is nice,” She thumbed the collar of the black button-down he was wearing. “Je pensais que tu allais amener quelqu'un avec toi? I thought you were bringing someone with you?”
“J'ai fait. J'ai amené James. I did. I brought James.”
“Qui est James? Who is James?” Walburga asked, tilting her head to the side slightly as she raised an eyebrow at them.
Regulus huffed, “Ne fais pas ça. Don’t do that.”
“Ah, oui. Le fiancé, Ah, yes. The fiancé,” She stepped past them into the room, holding out a hand to James. “Nice to meet you, James. I’m Walburga, Regulus’ mother.”
“Yes, we’ve met before. It’s good to see you again,” James said brightly, watching Regulus press their lips together into a thin line in his peripheral vision.
“Oh? I don’t recall. So, you’re spending Christmas with us, hmm? Your family doesn’t celebrate?” Her voice was kind but her perfectly made-up face looked completely disinterested.
“Oh they do, but my mom knows this is important to me,” James smiled kindly at her.
“Mhmm, well if you indeed end up marrying my son I expect you’ll be spending all of your Christmases here.”
“Mom-” Regulus began to chastise her but Sirius chose that moment to reappear in the doorway.
“Reg! Jim! You’re here!” He squealed, pulling Regulus into a hug before lifting them off the ground.
“Ouch, Ris!” Regulus complained through their laughter, smacking his shoulder a couple of times until he put them down.
“Where is Harry?” Sirius asked, passing his mother to wrap James in his arms.
“He’s with Lily. But she’s going to drop him off here tomorrow,” James muttered, not sure if Walburga knew he even had a son.
“I thought I was going to be meeting my new Grandson today,” she huffed loudly and turned to face Regulus with her hands on her hips. Regulus’ jaw dropped open comically in what James assumed was a mirror of his own face.
“W-what?” Regulus asked, eyes wide with shock.
“Why are you looking at me like that? You said on the phone you were bringing your future step-son.”
Regulus opened and closed their mouth a few times before finally regaining their voice, “I said I would try to bring him along. His mom has visitation today and will be dropping him off tomorrow like James said.”
“Well I guess I need to rearrange the seating chart for dinner since you didn’t let me know sooner,” She stomped out of the room, heels clacking as she stepped into the hallway.
Regulus turned around, wide eyes searching the rest of the group as soon as she was out of earshot, “Okay, what the fuck was that?”
I don't know who else to ask about this but do you have jegulus recs with nonbinary reg in a dress?? I don't feel very gender lately and am looking to project and you seem like the coolest chillest source for good recs
You know what? I dont. Anyone want to help this anon out?
