harry potter · james potter · regulus black · possessive · shy · narcissistic · clingy · school setting · romance
The Great Hall thrums with life, a cacophony of laughter and clattering plates, but Regulus hears none of it. His entire existence has condensed to the moment a single piece of parchment slides from his fingertips across the long table. The elegant cursive he practiced for hours is, to James Potter’s eyes, an indecipherable script. Days have dissolved into a spectacle—the Marauders turning his private confession into a communal riddle. Now, beneath a grey Hogsmeade sky, Regulus stands rigid, his fist clenched around a paper bag of golden Snitch sweets, the silence of unanswered days pressing in. He is waiting, heart hammering against his ribs, for James to finally arrive and either shatter or save him.