James Potter Microfics

Barty was whispering something to James yet again that he couldn't hear, but he looked exhausted. He played the courtroom like his own personal concert. James didn't move. He didn't look behind him to where Evan and Regulus sat. He didn't look at the jury or the judge. He simply looked forward, his shoulders relaxed, breathing methodically, and his hands still clasped in front of him on the table as if he was just waiting in the queue for food, and not waiting to hear what twelve random strangers decided.

The judge handed the paper back to the bailiff, who returned it to the jury member and turned back to James. "Will the defendant please rise for the reading of the verdict?"

James and Barty stood up. James held his hands cupped in front of him now, while Barty worried his bottom lip. That did not help Evan's nerves one bit. Did Barty know something? Was it not enough to get the verdict they wanted? Was he about to lose his husband for something that he couldn't have done? Evan's breathing picked up, and Regulus squeezed his hand again before rubbing circles into his back.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered. "James is going to beat this. He has to."

The judge turned back to the jury.

"For the charge of murder, how do you find the defendant?"

A petite blonde woman cleared her throat, looked at the piece of paper in her hands, glancing between the judge and James before taking a steadying breath and pointedly not looking at James. Evan held his breath, not ready to hear what they decided. Let him pretend none of this was happening for a little while longer.

"We, the jury, find the defendant, James Potter, guilty."

Evan's world shattered in front of his eyes as he tried to remain seated. Regulus held onto him tightly, refusing to let him move an inch. He glanced at James, expecting some kind of reaction, but he simply stood there like a statue. Barty looked like he was trying to hold everything together as the courtroom erupted in chatter until the judge banged his gavel.

"Quiet down." It took a few minutes, but eventually only a few murmurs could be heard in the courtroom. "Mr Potter," he started again, staring at James with pure malice. "For the murder charge, I sentence you to life in a maximum security prison with a tariff of fifty years for your sheer lack of remorse or sympathy for the victim and his family that you have displayed here today. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" James cocked his head slightly, but remained quiet. Evan couldn't see his eyes, but he had a feeling that he had lost him for good. The judge turned to the bailiff. "Take the defendant into custody."

Evan screamed, "No! Please, no!" before he practically jumped the wall separating him from James. His body was responding on autopilot now.

He wrapped his arms tightly around his husband, sobbing as the officer cuffed him, and tried to pull him away from Evan. He tightened his grip around James's waist, digging his nails into the back of his hands to prevent anybody from separating them. The officer tried again.

"Just give them a minute, please," Barty shouted, trying to pull the officer back.

Evan didn’t know what happened after that. He was too focused on James, who, for the first time since this whole ordeal started, smiled lovingly at him and dropped his head on Evan's shoulder, crying softly.

"It's gonna be okay. It's not your fault," James whispered into Evan's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Evan, mi angel. I love you."

James coughed hard as if he were hacking up a lung. After he was able to calm himself down, he straightened up, and Evan stared into his bright hazel eyes, confused as a glint of scarlet caught his eye on James’s lips. James smiled at him sadly, raising a hand to stroke his cheek.

Then he felt it. The bone-chilling cold dripped down from his fingers. Evan looked down between them, and instead of hugging his husband as he had been a moment ago, he was holding the knife that was protruding from James's side, the blood soaking through his pristine white shirt, as he tried to fill his lungs with oxygen, clearly unable to get enough. Fresh tears fell down both of their cheeks.

Wiping away the tears from Evan's face as much as he could, James wheezed out, “It’s not your fault.”

Evan blinked slowly, not understanding what his husband was talking about and glanced between James and Barty, who now had his head cocked at an awkward angle and dead eyes. Barty held out a photo, and he took it gingerly. The photo was of the victim that James had stabbed and left to bleed out. Evan choked back a sob as he stared back at James, who was struggling to breathe now, blood dripping from his lips as he coughed again, the brightness dimming in his hazel eyes.

No. No. No, this isn’t right. There has to be another explanation.

Evan stared at the photo again.

The victim was James.

Evan rubbed his eyes, trying to clear the tears that continued to gather on his waterline, but when he looked back up to try and get a different explanation, James was gone. He snapped his head around searching for him, but everyone and everything else was gone, too.

No courtroom. No judge. No jury. No Barty.

NO JAMES!

A flash of bright light blinded him until he blacked out, screaming James’s name.

It’s not your fault.

~~

Regulus walked into the psychiatric hospital as he did every Friday, signed in, and made his way to the day room. It had been a year since the car accident that took the lives of both James and Barty. And left Regulus in a coma for a month with retrograde amnesia after he woke up.

He spotted Pandora in the corner by one of the large windows, reading to her brother. Evan stared out the window just like he did every day, muttering something that Regulus couldn't hear. He pulled up a chair next to Pandora, who gave him a sad smile and patted his knee.

"How is he today?" Regulus asked, nodding his head to Evan, who looked thinner than he had the last time he came.

Pandora glanced at her brother before closing the book. "He spoke for the first time today since the funerals. It was more muttering to himself than anybody else, but the words came out more clearly than the puffs of air when he mouthed the words. He's still not aware of where he is or what happened, though. I don’t even think he’s aware of who I am most days. But it's a step in the right direction. Isn't that right, Ev?" She rubbed her hands up and down his back, but it got no reaction.

It was then that Regulus figured out what Evan was saying.

It's not your fault.

He was repeating it over and over again, clinging to the necklace Pandora gave him with James's wedding band on it right next to the sun-shaped locket James gave him for their last anniversary. Inside was a picture of the two of them on their wedding night. Regulus’s heart splintered as he watched his friend, and damn near shattered when he thought about James and Barty. They should still be here. It wasn't fair.

It would never be the same without them.

"I still don't remember what happened that night," Regulus whispered, not taking his eyes off his best friend.

Pandora scooted her chair closer to his, rested her hand on his knee again, and he glanced back at her to see a sorrowful smile.

"Maybe that's for the best, Reg. Your brain is protecting itself from the trauma, and given how you grew up, you shouldn't have to deal with any more."

He looked out the large window. The sun was shining brightly as if James was watching them and telling them everything was going to be okay, even if it took a while for them to get there.

"Maybe."

"How about instead of always thinking about what you lost, even though they will never really be gone because they live inside here," she tapped on his chest, right above his heart. "Think of it this way. You can still have a life, even if you never remember the tragic events of that night. It's for the better, and I know you really want to remember what happened for yourself instead of having everyone tell you what happened, but this way, you get to make your life the way you want. Find a way to keep them close to you, and honour James and Barty however you see fit.”

Regulus sat with her words for a few minutes. He knew she was right. He had spent so many days alone since the accident that he didn't know who he was anymore, despite the amnesia.

“I guess," Regulus sighed, looking at Pandora, "but it’s hard to move on when you lose three of your best friends in one night.” He glanced back at Evan. “Ev may still have a heartbeat and is here physically, but he died that night, right along with James and Barty. And even if he manages to come back to us, he’ll never be the same.”

“I know,” Pandora said, looking longingly at her brother. “It's been hard on all of us. I loved them, too. You and Evan just happened to take the brunt of the pain.”

They sat in silence, basking in the sunlight that filtered in through the window, intertwining their fingers together as they watched Evan stare longingly out of it. Regulus was almost positive that he was trying to talk to James, as his routine hadn’t changed since he was admitted. Wake up as soon as the sun comes up. Get dressed, and wait for one of the nurses to help him to the day room, where he sits in the same spot and stares out the window until the sun dips below the horizon. Go to bed. Rinse and repeat. The one time somebody sat in his spot, he freaked out to the point that he had to be restrained and sedated for the rest of the day.

Regulus sighed sadly, gave Pandora’s hand another gentle squeeze before unlacing their fingers. Or at least, he tried to unlace them.

Pandora looked up with an innocent smile. “You’re not going home to sit in the dark," she said matter-of-factly.

“Oh? And what do you think I’m doing then?” Regulus asked curiously. She had never stopped him from going about his own routine before.

“I have been instructed by Lily to kidnap you for the day, or possibly the weekendm whos to know with her. She said she was tired of you wasting away in that empty house of yours, and refusing to come out with us.”

Regulus’s lips quirked up slightly, hinting at an almost genuine smile for the first time in forever. Probably since the accident, if he had to narrow it down. He tugged on his arm, pulling Pandora up with him.

“Well, I would be a fool to ignore Lily’s request when you laid it out so convincingly.”

Pandora smiled, pushing on his shoulder a little before untangling their fingers and going to whisper something in Evan’s ear. It didn’t get a reaction, but they both knew it wouldn’t. They left him to his muttering shortly after, with promises to return and told the nurse to update them if anything changed before they came back.

“All rise,” the bailiff said, and everybody stood as the judge entered the room, taking their seat.

The judge gestured for everyone else to sit, and Regulus had to pull Evan back down as his breathing started to pick up.

This is really happening. How is this really happening? Why isn’t it all a dream?

Regulus rubbed his back in soothing circles and whispered something that sounded jumbled to Evan’s brain, but it must have worked because he was able to take in a full breath and calm down. Regulus squeezed his hand, and Evan looked over and nodded as he squeezed his back. The judge was speaking, but it still sounded like gibberish through the ringing in his ears.

“Let’s get started,” the judge finally said as the ringing stopped. “The prosecution’s opening statement.”

He gestured to the prosecution, who nodded and walked around his desk to address the court.

“This is an open and shut case. We have video evidence of the defendant walking up to the victim, stabbing him in the side, and walking away, leaving them to bleed out as if they never mattered in the first place. However, they did matter. They mattered to their family and friends. They mattered to their significant other and every other person they met on any given day. We have an eyewitness who saw the entire thing and called authorities in an attempt to save the victim. And the last piece of evidence we have is the murder weapon, which was found in the possession of the defendant, and had his fingerprints on it along with the victim’s blood,” he concluded with a smug look on his face as he took his seat.

“Now, for the defence’s opening statement.”

Barty stood up, straightened his back and walked around the table to address the court. Evan squeezed Regulus’s hand as he glanced at his husband, sitting completely still with his hands clasped together on the table. He watched as James’s back rose and fell slowly, methodically, proving he was still alive, and not some kind of statue sitting in place of him. Evan took a steadying breath as he clenched his free hand into a fist in an attempt not to reach out to James, just to feel him for his own peace of mind.

“–And that is why the defendant, James Potter, couldn’t have committed this heinous crime,” Barty finished, taking his seat and whispering something to James, and Evan realised that he missed everything he said while he was staring at his husband, and willing his body not to jump him right here in the courtroom.

Some murmurs could be heard from around the room, but Evan couldn’t make out what they were saying. The judge banged his gavel to gain everybody’s attention again.

“Call your first witness.”

“Yes, your Honour, the prosecution calls the defendant, James Potter, to the stand.” James stood up slowly, took a deep breath, and approached the witness box. “Mr Potter, where were you the night of the fifteenth?” the barrister asked. James stared at him with hollow eyes and tilted his head slightly. “I’ll ask again. Where were you the night of the fifteenth?” Again, silence from James, but some murmurs from the crowd behind Evan. “Okay, let’s try an easy one. Did you know the victim?”

The barrister turned towards the courtroom and gestured back to James. “As you can all clearly see, the defendant won’t even bother to answer a couple of simple questions. That is an obvious sign of guilt. Nothing further,” he remarked, clearly expecting to get something out of James so he could twist it around to fit his narrative.

“Would the defence like to cross-examine?”

Barty stood up with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Of course, your Honour. Mr Potter, James, is it true that you are frequently in that area?” And again, James said nothing. He kept looking straight, taking slow, methodical breaths. Barty turned back to the jury. “Mr Potter’s silence isn’t a sign of guilt. No, he has become so overwhelmed with grief for the victim and their family that he can’t bring himself to speak.” He turned back to the judge. “I have nothing further, your Honour.”

He nodded before turning to James. “You may step down, Mr Potter.” James did, taking slow steps as if it hurt him to walk. “Call your next witness.”

"The prosecution calls Miss Emmeline Vance to the stand.” A tall woman walked in, taking her seat in the witness box. “Miss Vance, can you inform the court what you saw on the night of the fifteenth?”

“Yes. I was taking a video of how the fading sunlight was casting off my neighbour’s suncatcher when I heard a scream from down below, so I looked, and I saw a man get stabbed. I called the authorities right away.”

“And do you see the person who stabbed the man in this courtroom?”

“Yes. He’s sitting right there,” she remarked, pointing at James.

“And what did the defendant do after stabbing the victim?”

“He walked away, and that poor man bled out on the concrete. I got it all on video, too.”

The barrister walked over to his table and picked up a bag. “Do you mean this video?” She nodded. “If it pleases the court, I’d like to show the video.”

The judge gestured for him to continue, and a TV was brought into the room. He put in the disc and pressed play. Evan had to swallow the bile that was trying to make a run for it through his mouth. A man, who appeared similar to James, but could easily be somebody else, stabbed the other man once and simply walked away down the alley.

That can’t be James. James isn't cruel. And he would never leave somebody to bleed out. No, that had to be somebody else, and James just got caught in the crossfire.

“Members of the jury, as you can see, the video clearly shows the defendant walking up to the victim, stabbing him, and walking away as if nothing happened.” He shut off the TV. “That is all I have for this witness.”

“Miss Vance,” Barty started, “have you met my client before?”

“I’ve seen him around, but I haven’t actually talked to him,” she admitted, glancing back at the prosecuting barrister. “That’s how I knew it was him. It’s hard to forget someone like him.”

Evan had to take a deep breath as he saw a blush appear on her cheeks. Regulus squeezed his hand hard, pulling him back down when he tried to stand up, to tell her that was his husband.

“Someone like him? Do you mean somebody attractive? Somebody who always has girls trying to talk to him? Or are you referring to his skin colour? That would seem atrocious given your own darker complexion.”

“No, god no. His skin colour had nothing to do with it, but have you seen the man? He’s fit,” she said quickly, denying the racist implication.

“So the video had nothing to do with your identification of my client as the killer. He simply stuck out in your mind as an attractive man who appears to be around your age.” The witness stammered, opening her mouth, but nothing came out. “Members of the jury, the man in the video could be any darker-skinned male around the same height as my client. It was also too grainy to definitively say whether or not it was Mr Potter in that video.”

There were louder murmurs now, and Evan ground his teeth together, trying to keep his cool as a lot of the females in the crowd agreed with the assessment that his husband was hot. He was well aware of this fact, but he hated it when other people ogled James so openly in front of him.

“Nothing further,” Barty remarked, taking his seat again and whispering to James.

“You may step down, Miss Vance,” the judge said after he regained order in the courtroom. “Do you have any more witnesses?”

“No, your Honour,” the barrister remarked, sulking a little in his chair.

Evan must have dissociated; the prospect of James going to prison, even with Barty’s expert questions, must have been too much for him to handle for a minute, because when he tuned back in, Mrs Figg, Barty’s witness, was leaving the courtroom.

“I have nothing else, your Honour,” Barty replied when the judge looked at him.

“Very well. It is time for closing statements, and then the jury will be dismissed to deliberate and come to a verdict.”

The prosecution nodded and stood up before walking around to stand in front of the twelve-person jury.

“Esteemed members of the jury, James Potter is a cold, heartless killer. The video evidence was clear as day, and it showed him stabbing an innocent bystander and leaving him to bleed out before help could arrive. He also had the murder weapon, the knife with the victim’s blood, on him when the police arrested him at a nearby park. James Potter wouldn’t even try to defend himself when questioned in a court of law, because there was nothing to defend. He killed that poor man and left him to die as if it were any other day. So, I ask you to really think about what has transpired here today. There is only one clear verdict, and that is guilty. I rest my case.”

The smug look was back on the barrister’s face as he took his seat. Evan wanted to wipe it right off and stab him for good measure, simply for implying that James could have done this. Evan glanced at his husband. He didn’t seem bothered, sitting perfectly still with his hands clasped on the table in front of him.

Barty cleared his throat, and Evan found him standing in front of the jury. “Members of the jury, the prosecution wants you to believe that James Potter is a cold, emotionless, violent man, but he is the complete opposite. James Potter will go out of his way to help out a neighbour. He would never hurt a fly, and certainly not another human being. James Potter believes that all life is precious. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the only reason he had the so-called murder weapon is that he picked it up, not wanting a child to find it and hurt themself. Is James Potter perfect? No, no human being is, and this whole witch hunt could have been avoided. James Potter feels everything with his whole heart, which is why the grief of the victim’s family consumed him to the point that he could not speak. Now, we know what the real verdict is. James Potter is not guilty of this crime, and I have faith that your deliberations will come to the same conclusion. Thank you for your time.”

Barty sat back down, leaning over to James and whispering something in his ear again. The judge dismissed the jury while the rest of the courtroom dispersed to get drinks or something to eat while they waited. It took nearly an hour before they were called back into the courtroom, and you could cut the tension that hung in the air with a knife. Evan kept his eyes on James as he prayed for this to go in their favour.

“Has the jury reached a unanimous decision?” the judge asked.

A petite blonde woman stood up with a piece of paper in her hands. “We have, your honour.”

A week ago, Barty returned after seeing James, and just by the way he walked into the house, Evan knew it didn’t go well. Though Barty did try to hide it as he told him everything. Two days later, James had his initial hearing to enter a plea, and again, James said nothing, but Barty entered not guilty for him. The Crown Court trial was scheduled for Monday of next week. 

Barty had been pulling his hair out any time he came back from talking with the judge and prosecution about the case, evidence and witnesses. Evan knew he was losing it, but he wasn’t going to mention the fact that since everything had happened, Barty had been walking around with a near-permanent clenched jaw, furrowed brows, and scowl on his face. Only softening when he was talking to Evan. Like now. Barty glanced up at Evan and relaxed his features before walking over to him.

“How are you holding up, Ev?”

“I think you already know the answer to that, Bee.” Evan sighed, taking a seat on the arm of the couch. “I just need him home, back in my arms, where he belongs,” he whispered more to himself than to his friend.

“I know.” Barty sat next to him and wrapped his arm around Evan’s shoulders, pulling him towards him until he dropped his head on Barty’s shoulder. “I’m going to bring him home. That I am sure of. We just have to wait another week.” Barty huffed out a small chuckle. “And when I do, he is not allowed to leave this house alone again. I’ll tie his ass up and lock him in the bedroom if he even tries.”

Despite everything, Evan cracked a smile. Though it didn’t last long. He knew that Barty would do everything in his power, hell, he’d do everything not in his power to bring James back to him, but somehow, Evan didn’t think it would be enough. He was praying that he was wrong.

“I’m okay with that plan,” Evan replied softly, twirling his wedding band around his ring finger. “I miss him, Barty.”

“Yeah. Me too.” He paused and took a couple of steady breaths. “Why don’t you go take a nap while I scour everything again. Gotta find that Hail Mary? I know it’s in there somewhere, and besides, I watched your eyes droop several times in the last ten minutes.”

Evan sat up, still staring at his wedding band, and sighed heavily. “You’re probably right. Let me know if you find anything.”

He made his way upstairs to his and James’s bedroom. The emptiness of the room was suffocating him in the worst way possible. Fuck this, Evan thought before locking the door and looking for his trainers. He slipped them on and double checked that neither of his friends were coming up the stairs like he did when he was a teenager getting ready for a party. Their bedroom was on the second floor, but James had purposely planted a tree right outside the window. He opened the window slowly, crawled out, and jumped to the tree, swinging his feet up on the branch easily.

He really shouldn’t have to sneak out of his own house as an adult, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Evan headed towards the bus stop. He could have used his car, but that would have made too much noise. The bus came quickly, and then he was standing outside the police station, which he was honestly sick and tired of seeing. Evan took a deep breath. 

James has to talk to me. There is no reason for him to be acting like a toddler.

Evan had a couple of tricks up his sleeve. Tricks that James had never been able to resist, no matter how much he tried. 

“How can I help you?” the officer asked when Evan made it to the desk. 

“I need to visit someone.”

“Who?”

“James Potter,” Evan said, straightening his back. 

The officer looked up and studied his face before sighing. “You’re the husband.”

“What’s your point? Are you going to let me see him or not?” he scoffed.

“One moment.”

The officer left the desk to talk to one of the detectives in the lobby. Evan could see her gesturing over to him every few seconds before nodding and walking back over to the desk.

“You have thirty minutes.”

She led Evan to a small room in the back of the station, opened the door and waved him in. The room did not spark joy. He sat down at the table, then immediately stood up again when they brought James in, with visibly laboured breathing. The officer who brought him sneered at James, who didn’t seem to notice or care as he sat at the table, taking slow, deep breaths. Evan was going to say something about James’s breathing, but the officer cut him off.

“I’ll be right outside if you need any assistance with–” the officer let his sentence fall as he nodded at James, who now seemed to have his breathing back to normal, if not a little slower.

“Thank you, but I don’t think that will be necessary,” Evan replied as kindly as possible, even though he wanted to rip the guy’s head off for simply implying that James would hurt him.

The door closed, and Evan returned to his seat, but not before taking the small rainbow suncatcher from his pocket and setting it on the table between them. He let the tension in the air hang there until James glanced at it, even if it was for only a second.

“Jamie,” he spoke softly, laying his hand on the table, palm up. “I know you’re in there somewhere, baby. I need you to come back now.”

James’s hand twitched, but he didn’t move towards him. He sat there, glancing up at Evan before dropping his eyes to the table again. To the suncatcher that James had got him on their first date. But Evan saw the crack in his facade, his hazel eyes lighting up with pain and longing before returning to his blank expression he’d been wearing every other time Evan saw him.

“I know you remember this. You were so nervous when you showed up at my door for our first date, but there was nothing to be worried about. I was pretty sure I was falling for you before you even opened your mouth. Do you remember that?” 

Evan waited a couple of minutes, hoping that James would come back to him. He reached for James’s hand that he had set on the table, but he pulled it back so fast as if he thought Evan’s touch would have burned him. His heart cracked even more. This was not his husband. No, this was a hollow shell of his husband. A single tear fell down his cheek that he wiped away quickly, knowing they were running out of time. 

“Soleil,” Evan grabbed the suncatcher. “This hasn’t shone since you left me alone. It's missing your light. I need you to come back to me, Jamie, please. I need you. You have to fight this. I know you can. Fight for me. Fight for us. I want you to come home, James. I’m drowning in the darkness without you beside me. Please, come back to me.”

James’s hand twitched again as if he was going to reach for him, but the door opened right at that moment, and the James Evan knew hid behind his wall of cold indifference again. Evan sighed, put the suncatcher back in his pocket as the officer grabbed James’s arm hard enough for him to wince, and led him from the room. Defeated, Evan walked back up front and was about to leave the station when the detective handling James’s case called out to him. 

“Just thought you’d like to know the trial has been moved up to this Wednesday instead of next Monday.”

Great! That’s just great. As if they didn’t have enough time already to find a loophole, they had to cut their time down even more. 

Evan thanked him and left the station, deciding to walk the few kilometres back home instead of waiting for the bus. It was nearly dark when he arrived, and Evan didn’t even bother sneaking back in. He simply walked in the front door and headed back to their bed while Barty sputtered, doing a double take when he saw him.

“Mr Potter refused,” he replied, annoyed, before mumbling under his breath, “Just like he refused everything else.”

Barty stared at the annoying man for a few more seconds. He was going to strangle James when he got him out of here because the shit he’s pulling is not acceptable. Not when he knows it's not the real James. He still hadn’t figured out how he got himself in this whole mess, but Barty was sure there had to be other forces at play. James wouldn't just allow himself to be away from Evan for more than a couple of days.

“Take me to him,” Barty demanded, shoving his phone that he’d been documenting everything on in his back pocket.

This time, Detective Bones scoffed. “And what makes you think you can get him to talk to you when he’s said a whole five words since he got here? No, no, and that’s not me. That is all your client has said since Friday.” He counted the words on his fingers like Barty was a child. “So what makes you think he’ll talk to you?”

“Because I know him,” Barty said, taking a breath as he tried to remain professional. “I can get him to talk.” 

Even if it’s just to yell at me some more, Barty didn’t say, but if that was what he needed to do to get James to talk to him, then he’d gladly take James’s anger. At least he’d be showing an emotion instead of staring blankly out into space like he was a shell of himself and not a fully functioning human being.

“If you say so.”

The detective led Barty through the station to the back, where all the custody cells were. A couple of drunk teenagers were in the first one, looking confused and slightly scared. Barty figured it was their first time. There were a couple of guys in the next cell, clearly frequent fliers based on how they were acting towards the detective. And in the last cell, all by himself, was James, lying on the small mattress that was barely long enough for his body. 

“Mr Potter, you have a visitor.”

James glanced up for half a second before flipping Barty the bird. Oh joy. He’s chipper today. The detective turned towards Barty with a told you so expression that he ignored. He didn’t care that the detective didn’t like him. That much was obvious with his body language when Barty was around. 

“I need a private room… without a camera,” Barty stressed the camera part, “to talk to my client.”

“Whatever you say, Princess,” Detective Bones mocked, but opened the door to a room behind him with a table and a couple of chairs. Then he opened James’s cell, walked in, and hauled him up to his feet. “Let’s go.” James didn’t even protest the manhandling. “You have thirty minutes.”

James walked in and plopped down on one of the chairs without a word. Barty took a deep breath. This is your friend. This is your best friend. And he is not acting like himself. He kept telling himself. Honestly, James was kind of acting like the spoiled rich kids they used to mock when they were younger. Maybe somebody figured out how to swap his brain or something. Drugged him with something? But he didn’t appear impaired, so probably not drugged.

“Seriously, James. What the fuck has gotten into you?” Barty hissed, taking the seat across from him. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what the hell is going on.” 

James stared at him unbothered, and Barty pinched the bridge of his nose to calm down. Facts. If I lay out the facts, maybe he’ll take this seriously. He looked back up to see James still staring, but he noticed he was taking methodically slow breaths. Was he trying to calm himself down, too? Did he already understand the gravity of the situation? Barty was sure that the police had probably tried every trick in the book to get him to talk before he showed up. Threats. Bribes. False hope. Promises to go home. Clearly, none of it worked, though.

“Okay. James, here’s the deal. The police are pretty convinced that you stabbed the person and left them to bleed out. They have a lot of evidence to back up their claims, too. However, the video is from a distance, and that will work to our advantage because it doesn’t prove that the person who stabbed that poor man was you. The bloody knife, though, that one is gonna be harder to get around. Do you understand me so far?”

James glared at him, but didn’t say a word. Just kept methodically taking slow breaths. But at least he wasn’t yelling at him… yet.

“You have to give me something, James. What exactly happened on Friday?” 

Again, nothing came out of his mouth, and Barty pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. It didn’t work. 

“For fuck’s sake, James. You are about to go down for murder, and you don’t even seem to care,” Barty snapped, standing up and pacing the room. “Are you seriously so unbothered by that fact that you’re willing to leave Evan alone? Leave me alone? And Reggie? We fucking need you home, and this is getting ridiculous. Did you know that your husband,” he stressed the word, “spent the last two days in your room, refusing to come out? What do you think is gonna happen to him if you have to spend the rest of your life in prison? Huh?” 

Barty stared at him, out of breath from the whisper-shouting. He plopped back down in his chair and dropped his head in his hands.

“Please, James. Talk to me. Help me understand what is going through your head right now. Please. Give me something to tell Evan. He’s worried sick about you. We all are.”

Barty didn’t know how long it had been, but the silence dragged on until the detective opened the door again. 

“Time’s up.” 

James stood up unprompted and let the officer lead him back to his cell across the hall and lay down on the mattress as if he never left it in the first place. 

“So, did you get him to talk?” Detective Bones asked smugly.

“What my client and I discuss is none of your concern,” Barty remarked, willing his anger to calm down to a simmer until he could get to his car. 

“Regardless of whether or not he gave you anything, we have enough evidence to go to trial and get a conviction for the murder. The CPS has already approved it. We’re just waiting on the date of the hearing.”

Barty took one more look at James and left the station without another word. Until he got to his car, and he screamed until his throat was raw. Then he drove back to Evan’s.

Evan padded his way through the house, rubbing his eyes, in nothing but his grey joggers. He stuttered in his steps when he heard voices in the living room. What were Barty and Regulus doing here this early? Once he registered the voices, Evan shrugged and continued to the kitchen. Except it was empty. No breakfast. No coffee pot. No James.

“No, there has to be something–” Barty’s voice drifted into the kitchen, and Evan turned around to go find out what they were doing.

Regulus and Barty were leaning over the coffee table that seemed to be covered with papers. The missing coffee pot was plugged in on the end table with a half-full carafe next to two full mugs. They seemed to be arguing about something. The Latin music drifted around them from the Bluetooth speaker by the TV.

“What are you two complaining about now?” Evan asked sleepily, taking one of the mugs and taking a sip.

“Oh, Ev. You’re here,” Regulus said, snapping his head up to look at him. 

“Well, it is my house.” He sat down in one of the armchairs. “Why are you here so early? And where’s James? He wasn’t in bed.” Barty and Regulus glanced at each other with pinched expressions. “What?”

“Ev,” Barty started slowly, taking the cup of coffee out of his hands. “You’ve been in your room for the last two days, refusing to come out and barely eating.” He glanced at Regulus, who shrugged, as if they had just had a silent conversation, then turned back to Evan and grasped both of his hands in his, squeezing tightly. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Evan looked between his two friends for any sign of what this was, but he couldn’t discern anything except the sad and confused looks on their faces. 

“He’s not dead, is he?” Evan blurted, eyes going wide, and ignoring Barty’s question. 

“No. No, James isn’t dead,” Barty said quickly, “but he’s not here either.”

“Where is he? Where is James?” It came out in a whisper, and his stomach knotted up, knowing he wasn’t going to like what Barty said next. 

“James is…” Barty took a deep breath. “Don’t freak out, but James is in jail, and I’m figuring out how to get him out,” he finished quickly. 

Evan flinched back in shock. That didn’t make sense. 

“What? What did he do? Steal a traffic cone?” Evan asked, not believing James would end up in jail.

Regulus knelt in front of him now, rubbing one of Evan’s knees. “No, Ev. James– He was arrested for–” he glanced at Barty for a second before taking a steadying breath. “For murder. On Friday. Today’s Sunday.”

Evan froze as all the memories from Friday flooded his brain. James calling him. Evan driving to the park to pick him up. Seeing him get arrested like it was any other day, and being shoved into the back of a police car. Driving to the station, demanding to know what happened. And then waking up this morning. He lost two whole days, and his husband was sitting in a jail cell on a murder charge. 

His ears were ringing, the music sounding far away. His lungs were burning from the lack of oxygen, no matter how much he tried to fill them. Someone’s hands were on his face, but he couldn’t tell who.

“–an. Evan, look at me. I need you to breathe,” Barty said, and Evan’s eyes focused on him as he tried to take a deep breath. “Good. Another. Follow me. That’s it. Just keep breathing.”

Eventually, he was able to breathe normally on his own, fresh tears falling down his cheeks. Barty wiped them away as Regulus handed him a glass of water. He took a couple of sips and straightened his back, locking his emotions away for the time being. 

Evan cleared his throat. “What have you figured out so far?” he asked, determined to bring James home, no matter the cost. 

“Honestly,” Barty spoke, sitting back on the floor. “Not a lot. I got everything the police had, but we haven’t been able to find anything that made any sense. I tried to talk to James on Friday, but he snapped at me, flipped a chair, and one of the officers had to drag him out of the room.”

“He snapped at you? That doesn’t sound like James.”

“Yeah, I know. Apparently, the only thing he had said to the detective before I showed up, demanding to see him, was that he didn’t want his barrister.” Barty turned towards Evan fully now. “I don’t know what happened with him, but apparently, there is video evidence, which I’ve watched, and it appears to look like James from a distance. They also gave me the crime scene photos, but the victim's face is blurred out, and they didn’t have a name yet.” He took a deep breath before saying the next part. “I’m so sorry, Ev, but with everything they have, it really looks like he did it. He still had the knife on him when the police arrived. But I’m going back first thing in the morning to figure everything else out.”

“I’m coming with you,” Evan stated firmly, locking eyes with Barty.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he replied quietly. “James snapped at me just for mentioning your name. I’d hate to find out what happens if he sees you before everything is sorted.”

Evan sighed, sinking back into the chair. “Fine, but you'd better tell me everything as soon as you get back.”

“I will.”

He pulled into the drive and cut the engine, but didn’t get out of the car right away. Instead, he sat there, staring at the house, taking deep breaths, and trying to rationalise everything. When that didn’t work, he sighed, grabbed his bag that he shoved all the papers into, and walked into the house. It was quiet. Regulus was sitting on the couch watching something on the TV at a low volume. Evan must still be sleeping, which was good considering how much he had cried since they showed up.

Regulus grabbed the remote as soon as he saw him and turned the TV off before turning to look at Barty. “Well? What did you find out? Is it all a mistake? Where’s James?”

Barty plopped down next to him and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“I am too exhausted for the rapid-fire questions, Reg.” He glanced at him from the corner of his eye. “One question at a time, please.”

“Sorry. Where’s James?”

“Probably in the custody cell by now,” Barty replied, already over this whole ordeal. “I can’t see him again until Monday.”

“What the–” Regulus nearly shouted before clamping a hand over his mouth and checking to see if Evan woke up. “What the hell? You couldn’t get him out?” he asked in a whisper.

“No. I didn’t even get a chance to try.”

“What do you mean?” Regulus asked, his brows furrowed together now. 

Barty huffed out a humourless laugh and sat up straight. “James flipped out on me, and they dragged him out of the room, then told me I could come back on Monday after he had been processed and calmed down.”

Regulus stared at him for a minute, opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but the words weren’t coming to him. 

“James? James Potter? Sunshine incarnate, never even yelled at another human being, James Potter? That James Potter?” Regulus rambled, eyes going wide. 

“The very same. And you wanna know what’s worse?” Regulus nodded his head slowly as if he really didn’t want to know, but curiosity got the better of him. “He didn’t want me there. Apparently, James declined to have representation. Said, 'It was a matter of pride.'”

They both sank further into the couch after that, the silence dragging on between them. Not comfortable silence, no, this was tense silence. Silence that felt like something was going to happen, and no matter what they did, nothing was going to stop it. 

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Regulus muttered. “Do they think he did it? Actually killed somebody?”

Barty sat up and pinched the bridge of his nose again, letting out a slow breath. “It definitely seems that way. However, they haven’t been able to get James to say anything, or at least that’s what the detective told me.”

“But you’re going to fight for him, right? You’re not going to let James be a martyr to his own stupidity?” Regulus turned fully to look at Barty, pulling his leg up on the couch. 

“Of course, I am,” Barty scoffed, offended that his friend would think he’d let James fight this on his own. “Even if James is being a pain in the ass right now, I’m not going to let him sacrifice himself for whatever fucked up reason he’s cocked up in his head.”

“Okay.” Regulus sighed in relief. “Did he say anything else when you were there?” he asked a few minutes later.

“No. Nothing helpful at least.” Barty grabbed his bag from where he dropped it on the floor and took everything he got from the station out, spreading it across the coffee table. “But I’m hoping there’s something in here. It’s everything they had that pertained to James and this case.”

Regulus stared at the papers for a few seconds before standing up abruptly. “I’ll get the coffee started.”

“Probably smart,” Barty replied, rubbing his temples. “It’s gonna be a long weekend.”

Barty was fuming the entire drive there, to the point that his jaw hurt from grinding his teeth together. He whipped into the car park and slammed his gear shift into park, cutting the engine and storming into the station. It looked busy, but then again, it was a Friday night.

"How can I help you?" the receptionist asked, her features exhausted, but trying to remain professional.

"Yeah, why wasn't I informed that you arrested my client?" Barty asked, dropping his credentials on the counter.

Did he practice law every day? Not really, but he was still certified and able to when he saw fit. The receptionist grabbed his ID, typed something into the computer, and handed it back.

"Who is your client?" she asked.

"James Potter."

After some more typing, getting up to ask another officer something, and even more typing later, the officer looked back at him with a bored expression.

"He declined a barrister."

What the fuck?! What was James thinking?

Barty squared his shoulders and stared at her again. "Take me to him now!"

The female officer sighed, but waved over the officer she spoke to earlier and told him what he wanted. The officer looked at him for a second, glanced at his watch and sighed as if it was the hardest request in the world.

"Right this way."

Barty followed him to one of the interrogation rooms. When he opened the door, James was sitting in a chair, hands cuffed to the table, and with an expression Barty had never seen on his gentle face before. Honestly, it made him pause for a second before he heard the detective speaking.

"Mr Potter, for the last time, where were you at–"

"Don't say anything, James," Barty seethed, cutting the detective off as he walked into the room. He stopped behind James but turned to speak to the detective. "Anything he has said up to this point is inadmissible in court. Did you even read my client his rights?"

"Yes, we did," the detective scoffed. "He waived them, then said nothing."

Barty glanced from the detective to James and back. Well, at least he was smart enough not to say anything. Barty sighed and pulled out the seat next to James.

"And what exactly is my client being charged with?" Barty took out the notebook that he always had with him when he didn't have his computer.

The detective, Bones, Barty realised after a couple of minutes, turned back to the officer standing guard at the door, then turned back to Barty and James.

"Your client, Mr Potter, was caught on camera stabbing somebody and walking away. We received the 999 call and found the individual DOA at the scene." The detective pulled out his own notebook, flipped to a page and read from it. "When the police located Mr Potter, he was sitting on a bench in the park, and they arrested him without incident. The bloody knife was still in his possession."

What the fuck?! Barty glanced at James, but his expression remained unreadable. None of this made any sense.

"I need a minute with my client before we continue," Barty decided, shutting his notebook. He had to figure out what happened. "And remove the cuffs. Clearly, he's no threat to you."

Detective Bones stood up, shaking his head, exasperated, before gesturing to the officer to uncuff James. He did so, and they both walked out of the room. James sat back, rubbing his wrists, but didn't say anything for a while. Barty scoffed before turning fully towards James and opening his mouth to yell at him for his stupidity. But James beat him to it.

"What the hell are you doing here, Barty?" James hissed, not looking at him.

Barty was stunned speechless for a second because this was not James Potter if he was taking that attitude with him, especially under the current circumstances.

"Wha– What am I doing here?" Barty baulked after he got his brain to reboot. "James, you were fucking arrested."

James turned to him now, his usually bright hazel eyes now devoid of any emotion. "What's your point?"

"Wha– What's my point?" He stared at his for a few seconds. "You. Were. Arrested?!" Barty clapped, punctuating each word. "For fucking murder! And you declined a barrister? What the hell were you thinking?" he hissed. "Evan is in shambles right now. Do you even care?"

That seemed to spark a flicker of emotion, just not the emotion Barty would have expected from mentioning James's husband.

"Of course, I fucking care!" James shouted, standing up and flipping the chair he was sitting on. "It's a matter of fucking pride, Barty!"

Before he could say another word, an officer burst into the room, pushed James up against the wall, and cuffed his hands behind his back. Barty stood up, flabbergasted as the officer dragged his friend out of the room, fighting the whole way. The detective walked in again with a smug expression that Barty wanted to slice right off his face.

"You can see him again on Monday, after he's been processed and calmed down. And you claimed he wasn't a danger," the detective remarked with a scoff before promptly holding the door open for Barty to leave.

Barty did, but only after demanding everything they had concerning James Potter.

"Hello."

"Hey, Ev. Reggie and I should be there in a few minutes, just had to stop at the shops and pick up supplies," Barty said cheerfully. "I hope you guys are ready to get your asses handed to you. I know you and James are the undefeated masters of Among Us, but we've been practising, and I just know that I'm gonna mop the floor with you. So get ready."

"Okay."

"What are yo– Evan? Are you okay? You don't sound so good." Barty's excitement died on his tongue, but Evan couldn't bring himself to respond. "Evan?"

"Ev? Are you still there?" Regulus asked, before clearly talking to Barty. "Did the call drop?"

"No, it's still connected to the car." Evan heard the turn signal flip on and the sound of the car turning before Barty spoke again. "Oi! Evan! Say something, are you still there?"

Evan still didn't say anything, just simply stood there, reminding himself to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. In... It wasn't working. Evan felt like he was underwater, and his lungs were filling with water instead of oxygen. He dropped his hand, Barty's muffled voice still filtering through the line.

~~

"Maybe he set his phone down and is getting everything set up," Regulus said, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll be at their house in a minute anyway, so just hang up, and we can talk to him when we get there."

Barty cancelled the call before turning onto Evan and James's road. "Did he sound off to you?"

"A little. Let me call James and see what's up."

Regulus pulled out his phone and put it on speaker, but the phone just rang until James's voicemail picked up with his cheerful voice spouting off his daily positive quote. He glanced over at Barty and ended the call. If something had happened, or they didn't want them to come over tonight, they would have told them. Right?

Barty pulled into their drive and was even more confused when he put the car in park and glanced at the house. The door was wide open, and it looked like the lights were still off despite it being seven at night. He glanced at Regulus, but his expression didn't spark joy. Barty quickly turned the car off and walked cautiously up to the open door. Evan was standing inside with his phone in his hand, which was by his side, and facing the inside of the house.

"Evan?" he asked slowly, walking into the house and flipping on the overhead light.

Regulus closed the door behind them quickly, while Barty walked in front of Evan. It didn't appear as if he had heard them come inside. It didn't appear that Evan was aware of anything that was happening around him right now. Barty glanced back at Regulus and mouthed, 'Where's James?' after looking around the dark house. He shrugged before turning on more lights.

"Evan?" Barty tried again, touching his arm gently.

Evan snapped his eyes to Barty and promptly broke down crying. He lunged forward to catch him before he hit the floor. Regulus's eyes went wide as he ran back over. This was not a common sight for either of them.

"Ev? What happened?" Regulus asked, kneeling beside them as Evan sobbed into Barty's shirt. "Where's James?"

But that only made him cry harder. What the fuck was going on? They sat on the floor until Evan's sobs turned to hiccups, and he pulled away from Barty.

"I'm sorry," Evan mumbled, but Barty wasn't sure if he was saying it to them or himself.

"Okay, Ev. Let's get you up and on the couch," Barty replied soothingly, rubbing his back as he said it.

He gave no resistance, and the three of them made it to the couch with Evan almost falling out of Barty's grip. Regulus made his way to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water, handing it to Barty, who tried to get Evan to drink. He shook his head hard.

Barty sat on the coffee table in front of him. "What happened? Did something happen to James?"

Evan's eyes widened as he snapped his head up at the mention of James's name.

"He– He– Ja– He got arrested, and–" Evan sniffled loudly. "They won't let me see him."

What?! Barty stared at Evan, then at Regulus and back at Evan. That didn't sound right. What could James possibly have done to get arrested? And when the fuck did this happen?

"What?" Barty questioned, completely stunned. "Arrested for what?"

He hated that he hadn't realised James had been pulling away recently, making himself small anytime someone brought up his pain, or the accident, or rugby. Once he realised that, after Evan had asked him about James's recent behaviour last night, he nearly threw up, hating himself even more. He should have noticed sooner. Should have tried to get James to tell him what was going on, but he didn't. Instead, he blamed it on the accident, claiming it was still too fresh a wound, and James was still getting used to his new normal.

Sighing heavily, Remus stood up, dumped the now cold tea down the drain, and rinsed out his cup. He didn't know how long James was going to stay at Barty and Evan's, but he was supposed to be at the office an hour ago, and if he didn't show up soon, Dorcas was going to chew him up and spit him out for shucking his responsibilities at work. She could be scary when she wanted to be, even though Remus was a full head taller than her.

Remus got ready quickly, leaving a note on the counter in case James came home after he left. He knew Evan took James's phone, but he didn't know if James wanted to hear from him, or if he even had his phone on him now. The note was the safer option. He put his phone into his back pocket and slipped into his jacket before putting on his boots.

Remus looked around the house one more time, making sure everything was off, and opened the door.

Then he froze.

James was standing at the bottom of the steps with one hand on the railing and the other on his cane. He was staring down at the ground and hadn't noticed Remus yet. Remus's heart stuttered when he noticed how small and nervous James appeared. As if he was trying to psyche himself up to walk up the stairs. As if he were afraid of coming back home.

A buzz in his back pocket shook Remus out of his stupor, and he took a step forward. "Jamie," he choked out barely above a whisper, the unreleased emotions clogging up his throat when he tried to speak.

But James didn't hear him.

Either that, or he was ignoring him. Remus cleared his throat, and James snapped his head up, his bottom lip quivering and unshed tears glistening in his glossy hazel eyes. The sight alone spurred Remus into action, flying down the couple of steps as if he were on his way to slay a dragon. He had only seen James cry a handful of times since meeting him three and a half years ago, and he refused to let this be one of those times, considering there was no reason for it. Remus wasn't mad at him. Yes, James snapped at him, and he was confused by it, but he could never be mad at him for showing his emotions.

"Oh, Jamie," Remus whispered, reaching out to touch his arm, but stopping himself at the last second. "Can I help you up the stairs?"

James nodded, leaning heavily on his cane and taking his other hand off the railing to wipe at his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rem," James sniffed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't–"

"I know, James," Remus replied, cutting him off. "Come on. Let's get you inside before we both start bawling."

"Okay," James chuckled, but it came out more as a whine. Remus helped him up the stairs quickly, practically picking him up in his haste to get inside. He knew it had been less than twenty-four hours since he'd seen his boyfriend, but it had been so emotionally charged that it felt like a week. "I ha–"

"I know, baby," Remus said when they crossed the threshold and shut the door. He was going for reassuring, but it came out more dismissive than he intended. "It's okay. Everything's okay."

James shook his head hard as he stepped out of Remus's arms with more strength than he would have thought possible a few seconds ago.

"No, it's not, Remus. It's not okay. None of this is okay."

James wiped more tears out of his eyes, knocking his glasses askew when he looked back at Remus, and clutched his cane until his knuckles turned white. Remus took a step towards him, but James held up his other hand, and he froze in his tracks.

"No, please. Let me get this out," he pleaded, and Remus nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Rem. I never should have snapped at you. I know you would never hurt me. Not intentionally. Not like that. A lot of shit happened in a short amount of time, shit that dredged up some painful memories from my past, and I never should have taken it out on you, or Evan, for that matter. None of what happened was either of your guys' fault, especially not yours. My leg was already killing me before I saw the article, and I knew you guys were having dinner, but my meds haven't been working, so I wasn't in my right mind."

James took a deep breath as he gripped his cane tighter, swaying slightly, and Remus had to clench his fists to stop himself from stepping forward again. "If you don't want to be with me anymore, I'll understand. I'm so sorry, Remus. Please forgive me. I love you so much, and I won't know what to do with myself if I cause you any more pain than I already have from snapping at you."

James glanced up for a second before staring at the floor again and squeezing his free hand so tight that Remus was sure he was leaving indents in the palm. "Please," he whimpered so quietly that Remus would have missed it if he wasn't actively listening.

James wobbled when he tried to shift his weight, and Remus charged forward to catch him before he hit the ground. He slammed his knee into the floor, scrunching his eyes closed for a second as the pain shot through his body, but he chose to ignore it. Instead, he readjusted, took James's tear-streaked cheeks in his hands, and kissed him until they were both breathless.

"Of course, I forgive you, Jamie," he whispered, looking into his boyfriend's pleading eyes. "I know you didn't mean it, and even if you did, I'm not mad. I'm not going to throw away an almost three-year relationship just because you yelled at me. I love you so much, James. I was confused when it happened, but it's not the be-all and end-all to our relationship. It's simply a snag that we will work through. Okay?"

James nodded slowly as more tears fell down his tan cheeks. Remus wiped them away with a gentle smile. "Come here, baby."

He pulled James into a soul-crushing hug, and James wrapped his arms around Remus's back, gripping onto the back of his jacket as if he were afraid he was going to float away if he loosened his hold. They stayed there for who knows how long, but it was long enough for James to tense up when he tried to readjust. Remus felt another shot of pain shoot up his leg as well. Deciding that they needed to get off the floor before both of them had a flare-up and got stuck, Remus pulled back slightly so he could hold James's face gently in his hands and look in his eyes.

"Come on, Jamie. Let's get up before we both get stuck," Remus chuckled lightly, and grinned widely when a wet laugh left James's lips.

James nodded, and they both helped each other up, stumbling only a little bit as James grabbed onto the coffee table and Remus grabbed the chair. Once they were both steady on their feet, Remus wrapped his arm around James's waist and guided him to the bedroom. They crawled into bed, not bothering to remove their shoes, and cuddled under the comforter.

"I love you, Jamie," Remus whispered as he nuzzled his nose into James's neck and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"I love you, too, Remy," James whispered back with a contented sigh, scooting back into Remus's arms until there was no space in between them.

They both fell asleep wrapped up in each other's arms shortly after, despite it being before noon and the world still needing them. Remus didn't care about any of that right now. No, the only thing he cared about was the boy snuggled and snoring softly in his arms.

~~~~~

Barty snagged a chip off his tray and shoved it in his mouth before he could protest.

"Sure," he said, leaning away from Evan as he tried to smack him. "Has anybody heard from him this week? Ouch. What the fuck?"

Regulus smacked Barty upside the head when he leaned into his space.

"I haven't. Not since he said he was going home sick last Thursday," Regulus replied with a smirk when Barty stared at him, holding the back of his head.

"I tried calling the other day, but nobody answered," Evan said, scooting his tray out of Barty's reach. "Which is why I figured we could stop by just to see how he is, and if he's still not feeling well, then we can head home."

Regulus and Barty agreed right away, and the three of them decided to meet up in the courtyard after their last class.

It didn't take long to get to James's house. He only lived about ten minutes from the school. When they got there, something felt different. Usually, whenever Evan visited, there was always music playing, or you could smell Effie's cooking clear out to the street. Evan glanced at the boys, who just shrugged before Barty bounded up to the front door and knocked.

However, when the door opened, what greeted them was something none of them had ever seen before. Effie had puffy red eyes and tear tracks down her cheeks. She tried to smile, but it was broken.

"Hello, boys," she greeted wetly. "What can I do for you?"

Evan glanced at Regulus and Barty again, but they seemed to be just as confused as him.

"Umm," Evan cleared his throat. "We just wanted to see if James was feeling better."

Effie broke down sobbing in front of them, and Monty was at her side in a second, holding her up. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week and was on the verge of tears himself. Monty glanced at the three boys with a sad smile before gesturing for them to come inside. They did, and immediately froze at how dark and quiet the typically vibrant and loud house was.

"Come have a seat, boys," Monty said as he led Effie to one of the armchairs and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "I-" He choked back a sob. "I'm sorry, but Ja-James passed away yesterday."

"Wh-what do you mean? I thought he had a cold," Evan asked, his throat suddenly going dry as he was unable to catch his breath.

"Is that what he told you?" Monty asked, confused. All three boys nodded. "Oh. Oh, Jamie. Of course, you didn't tell them," he whispered, more to himself than Evan, Barty and Regulus. "Boys, I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but Ja-James passed away from cancer."

The world stopped. Evan could see Monty still talking, but none of the words were making it past the ringing in his ears. The memories of every interaction he'd had with James in the past flooded his senses with a vengeance.

"Don't have too much fun, James. You have a job to do," Evan said into the small earpiece in his ear.

James rolled his eyes, but tapped his glass twice with his ring to let Evan know he heard him. A beautiful girl with red hair walked up to him a second later and started chatting with him. James nodded along, giving the appropriate commentary when needed, but wasn't really paying attention to her. His focus was on the couple of guys dressed in black whispering to the host. Then they disappeared through a side door.

"Sorry, but I need to do something," James said politely, touching the girl's arm and putting on his best apologetic smile.

She nodded quickly before spotting her friend and walking off. James set his glass down on the table before glancing around the room and slipping through the door when the coast was clear. He tapped the side of his glasses, turning on the chip embedded in them and the layout of the house appeared in one of his lenses.

~~

Evan tapped a few keys on the computer as he watched James walk around the house. There were a couple of security guards up ahead, and he was getting nervous that James hadn't noticed them yet.

"James? Two guards up ahead," Evan hissed when he made no move to avoid them.

"It's fine. I can hear them," James whispered back before ducking into a room a half a second before the guards entered the hallway. The guards walked down the hall and turned the corner before Evan sighed in relief. "Like I said, it's fine."

Evan pinched the bridge of his nose, but didn't comment as James left the room and continued down the hall. That boy was going to send him into early retirement if he kept that up. James stopped for a second and tapped his earpiece, cutting off the connection.

Goddammit!

"James. James, you better answer me right now," Evan gritted out as he watched James pull out his gun.

What the fuck was he doing? Evan scanned the house on his computer, but he couldn't see anything that would warrant James taking his gun out. This was supposed to be a quick in-and-out job. All James had to do was find the package and get it out. Evan watched as he crept around, ducking into room after room. Then the feed cut out. Fuck! Evan frantically clicked away, trying to get the feed back. Without it, they were essentially blind, and he had no clue what James was doing.

"What the fuck, Rosier? What is he doing? What happened to the feed?" Barty growled, standing behind Evan as he tried to get it back.

"I don't know. It must have been a glitch or something."

"Right. Or Potter cut the feed." Barty was crossing his arms now, staring at him intently.

"James wouldn't do that," Evan remarked, still typing away and trying to ignore his friend.

"And how the fuck do you know?"

"Because I know James."

"Well, I would hope so." Barty threw his hands up in the air. "You're his handler. Now, fucking handle him before he does something stupid." Evan laughed hollowly. "What's so funny?"

"You don't handle James. Just because I'm his handler doesn't mean shit when he gets into one of his moods."

Evan managed to reestablish the audio connection right before two gunshots rang out. Fuck!

"James! James, talk to me. What's going on?" Evan asked frantically, not completely sure he could hear him.

"Little busy right now," James responded breathlessly.

More gunshots and something crashing could be heard through the line, but the video feed hadn't come back yet. Evan looked to Barty, who was already looking between him and the monitor. Yeah. We're both screwed if James makes it out of there. Then it was silent. Evan stared at the screen, waiting with bated breath for any sign that James was okay. He didn't know how long he had been staring and praying for everything to work out. It could have been a couple of minutes or an hour.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the bus door, and both Evan and Barty nearly fell out of their seats when they jumped. Evan slowly got up and peered out the window, sighing in relief when he saw who was there. He opened the door slowly to find James with a cheeky grin on his face, standing next to a blonde girl with an emerald green dress. James helped her in before hopping in himself, and Evan smacked him in the chest after he shut the door and they were alone.

"What was that for?" James chuckled. "I told you everything was going to be fine."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," Evan hissed, smacking him in the chest again.

"Sorry, love. I didn't mean to," James whispered in his ear, hugging him quickly before Barty turned around.

Evan took a deep breath. "Come on. We need to get her back to headquarters, and then we're heading home. And you're going to make up for that stunt you just pulled."

James shrugged nonchalantly before dipping down and pecking him on the cheek.

"It got the job done. Didn't it?"

"I hate you."

"You love me," James smirked before walking off to the front of the bus.

"Look, James," Evan started, lowering his voice as if he were talking to a toddler who kept asking why. "We already know Regulus texted you, and you seem to be struggling with that, but does Gideon have something to do with it as well?"

James stared at him for a long minute, pursing his lips together in a thin line again. He hated how quickly Evan figured it out. Because, yes, his ex did. James had run into Gideon the day before he got the text from Regulus. And seeing him after so long stirred something that James couldn't name inside of him.

Barty scoffed before standing up and sitting on the table next to his boyfriend. Both of them stared at him, waiting for an answer. And since they were all watching each other, James clocked the second Barty figured it out.

"You have got to be kidding me," Barty said, throwing his hands up in frustration. "What did he do? I'm gonna kill him. I swear to God."

Evan placed one hand on Barty's back to calm him down, and the other on James's good knee. Barty huffed out a breath, but relaxed into the touch. James tried to keep his body tight, but Evan's touch had always been able to relax him, no matter how pissed off he was. He glared at him before deflating slightly.

"What happened?"

It was James's turn to scoff and throw his hands up, because that was the problem. His ex didn't do anything. Not really.

"Nothing," James grumbled under his breath.

"What? I didn't quite hear you," Barty exaggerated, holding his hand up to his ear.

James glared at him again. "I said nothing. Nothing happened. Okay. I just ran into him at the shops. That's all," he nearly shouted. "Now, can I go home. I need to apologise to Remus."

Barty opened his mouth to most likely argue with James, but Evan cut him off.

"Of course, you can go home, Jamie," he replied gently before shooting Barty a look that said shut up. "Would you like me to drive you?"

"No, I need to walk. I've been off my leg for too long," James said. He really didn't want to walk, but he also didn't want to be asked anymore questions either.

"Okay, Jay. That's fine."

Evan stood up and grabbed James's cane before helping him stand. James took the cane, pressing most of his weight on it before taking a tentative step. It didn't hurt too badly, more of a dull ache than anything, but that was normal. Evan handed him his phone back and walked to the front door, opening it for James to walk through.

He managed to make it through the door and down the stairs before Barty started to whisper-yell at Evan. James wasn't trying to listen, but since he knew it was about him, his ears perked up.

"Do you know what Gideon does for a living now?" Barty hissed. "He's the fucking author of the sports column in the Daily Prophet. Do you honestly think it's a coincidence that-"

The door closing cut off whatever else Barty said, but James didn’t care. Right now, he just wanted to get home, apologise to his boyfriend, and hope that he still wanted to be with him after he blew up on him and accused him of cheating. The walk back home took almost twenty minutes, but it felt good to walk. James could almost pretend that he was normal again and didn't have a fucked up leg.

When James made it to the front steps of his and Remus's house, he sighed and grabbed the railing.

Here goes nothing.

"Boss," Barty said, stepping into the room.

James nodded, stood up, setting his empty glass on the tray the waitress, Mary, brought in, and grabbed a new one before walking over to the door. He spotted Regulus sitting at the bar with one of the drivers, and getting a little too close for James's liking. James turned back to the waitress. She set the tray down and walked over. James looped an arm around her waist before dipping down to whisper in her ear.

"Be a dear and send them in."

Mary nodded and slipped past Barty and Evan.

~~

"He'll be here in a bit," Regulus replied, resting his hand on Gideon's arm, and smiling sweetly. He didn't know where his brother was, but he knew he was in the club somewhere. Regulus doubted they would go anywhere without the other. "So, how did you end up in this line of work?"

"Oh, I–"

"Excuse me," Mary interrupted. "He's ready for you."

Regulus looked up and smiled when he saw James standing at the door of the VIP lounge, between Barty and Evan. James raised his glass when he caught his eye. Regulus nodded to him before standing and leading the brothers to the room. Fabian had shown up a couple of seconds before Mary did.

"Welcome to my club," James remarked, flashing a hint of his charming smile. "Are you enjoying yourselves?"

"Yeah. It's a nice place you got here," Gideon said, nervously, although it looked like he was trying to hide it.

"Thank you."

Regulus walked over to the couch and took a seat. Fabian stood next to his brother, who was standing in front of the opposite couch and whispered something that Regulus couldn't pick up. James turned gracefully, and the corner of his mouth quirked up dangerously.

"Are you boys ready for the job of the century?" James asked, and Regulus couldn't miss the brothers shift cautiously as James smirked.

"Of course," Gideon replied, glancing at his brother for a second. "I just have one question." James cocked an eyebrow and gestured for him to ask. "What about the police?"

"You don't need to worry about that." James took a sip of his whiskey, taking a step towards the brothers and schooling his features into something more serious.

"Not that we don't trust you–" Fabian started, but stopped when James glared at him.

James stepped towards the door again. "You see her?" he asked, and Regulus didn't have to get up to know he was gesturing towards Pandora. The brothers nodded in unison. "She can get anything she wants in less than five minutes."

He pointed to the couch, and the brothers sat without having to be told twice. James moved over to Regulus, pulling him up from the couch and kissing him harshly before pushing him back down again. Regulus smiled up at him lovingly, touching his throbbing lips, and James sat next to him, putting a possessive arm around his shoulders. Three minutes later, Pandora was walking into the room with Detective Snape, who was smiling like he had won the lottery until he spotted James.

James stood up and kissed Pandora on the cheek. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Pandora left, and James turned towards the detective. Detective Snape shifted nervously, looking back towards the door that was now blocked by Barty and Evan.

"Detective. Nice of you to join us."

"What's going on?"

James smiled charmingly. "You've been on my payroll a long time, Detective." Snape nodded. "And I got one more job for you."

"Look. We've been through this already, and I said I can't do it."

James stepped towards him.

"That's the wrong answer," he remarked calmly, and chuckled humourlessly. "Table."

Detective Snape looked around nervously, and the brothers sat up straighter on the couch. Barty and Evan grabbed the detective's arms and dropped him onto the table, wrapping rope around his wrists and pulling his arms to the sides.

"I'm a detective, Potter. You do anything to me and the whole force is gonna be on your ass in a minute," Snape sputtered as he tried to get his arms free.

"Shut up," James spat, cutting Snape's shirt open. "Greasy ass piece of shit."

James grabbed the bucket from the table, throwing the cloth to the side and pulled out a rat by the tail. He set the rat on Snape's chest and covered it with the bucket.

"What the fuck is that?" Snape gasped.

"Once the bucket gets hot enough, detective. The rat is gonna want out, and the only direction it can go is south. Hold that." Barty held the bucket in place while James grabbed the blowtorch. Gideon and Fabian looked at each other in slight panic.

"Get it off me, and I'll forget this ever happened."

"Shut up." James started to heat up the bucket with the torch. "Did you know, the average rat can chew through a steel drain pipe. You see, you have nothing to worry about when he's screaming, detective. It's when he goes quiet that he gets to work." He smirked devilishly.

"Stop, Stop it, Stop it, now." Snape struggled as James heated up the bucket.

James pointed at Snape. "You are in charge of the units watching my properties. What I want is a fifteen-minute window where everybody, and I mean everybody, disappears. Do you hear me?"

"I can't. I can't do it," Snape cried, and James chuckled. "Help, help," the detective shouted.

"Reg, come here," James said, glancing to Regulus. "Shut him up."

Regulus knelt next to the detective's head and covered his mouth to muffle his screams. The brothers watched the scene nervously, shifting in their seats. James continued to heat up the bucket as the rat inside squeaked.

"He's biting me," Snape cried as he tried to move away from the torture.

"What?"

Regulus released his mouth, looking up at James.

"He bit me," Snape whined. "Okay, I'll do it."

"You'll do what? Say it!" James demanded, blowtorch pointed toward the detective.

"I'll give you the window."

James cut off the torch, and Barty removed the bucket and rat. Evan pulled the detective to his feet, and James patted him on the cheek.

"See, that wasn't too hard. Now was it? And detective, if you betray me, my rat here is going to pay your wife, son and daughter a little visit. Do you hear me? Do you understand?" James growled.

Snape nodded quickly, and Barty and Evan led him from the room. James turned back towards the brothers, who looked like they were about to piss their pants.

"You'll have a fifteen-minute window to get in and out before the police are on you."

"Sounds good," Fabian gulped, glancing at Gideon.

James sat back down on the couch and grabbed another drink, pulling Regulus down next to him.

"Enjoy your night," James said casually, gesturing for the brothers to get up and leave. They did so quickly, and Barty and Evan stood guard at the entrance again. James turned back to Regulus, grabbing his chin. "And if you ever touch another man again, I'll kill you."

He sat back in the chair, moving his glasses back to sit on his nose before looking around the kitchen. The plate of food was in front of him, but James wasn't hungry. Too many feelings were tying up the knots in his stomach to eat anything of substance without feeling sick afterwards. His pill bottle was next to it, and James grabbed it, rolling it in his hand before putting the bottle in his pocket. He didn't need them right now since he already had a gummy.

James rubbed his thigh for a couple of seconds before deciding he could tolerate the pain on his walk back to his and Remus's house. He glanced in the direction of the bedrooms, listening for his best friends, before looking towards the front door. He should be able to sneak out before they notice he left. James wanted to get home and apologise to Remus for yelling at him.

He scooted the chair back slowly, trying not to make a sound and grabbed his cane that was leaning against the table. Taking a deep breath, James stood up, gripping his cane until he was steady. The door wasn't far, and his leg hurt a lot less than it did last night when he left home. He took a couple of tentative steps. The mornings were always the worst for him, even when he wasn't in pain. Stupid rugby training catching up with him.

James made it to the doorway of the kitchen before he froze, Barty and Evan making a lot of noise in the bedroom. After determining that they weren't coming out, James kept moving towards the door until he heard his own cell phone ring, and he stumbled, falling on the floor with a loud clatter. James groaned and threw his cane across the room as Barty and Evan came running out of the bedroom.

"James? What happened?" Evan asked, worriedly, before looking down at him. "Would you like help up?"

"No," James gritted out, rolling over and pushing himself up on his knees, wincing as a stab of pain shot up his thigh and through his body.

"Stop being stubborn," Barty spat.

Before James could respond and tell him that he wasn't being stubborn, Barty and Evan each grabbed an arm and helped him back up to his feet, practically carrying him to the couch and making him sit down, ungracefully. James glared at both of them, crossing his arms over his chest and pursing his lips to show he wasn't going to say anything to them.

Evan walked over and picked up James's cane, setting it against the TV stand before sitting on the table in front of him. Barty took up the seat next to him, but stayed quiet. The silence fell over them as James stared at his best friends, hoping to deter them from asking him anything else.

Then his phone rang again.

Evan held up the phone after checking to see who was calling James, and showed him the screen with a raised eyebrow.

"Is there a reason your ex is calling you now?"