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Mastermind

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Regulus Black is the mastermind behind the Liberal party. Unfortunately, he’s never been very good at the more outgoing parts of politics – on a more fortunate note, he has his brother to act as a front figure. Sirius Black has always been the sweetheart of British politics, charming the voters with his wit and charisma.

That was until James Potter came around, becoming party leader of his own party, the Leftists. Sirius would probably hate him, if they weren't such good friends. Regulus does not share this problem.

Remus Lupin literally just needed a job, and got thrown into the mess of secrets, games and an upcoming parliamentary crisis.

With an election around the corner, things are bound to go awry.

1203 pages, ebook

Published September 21, 2023

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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for arjin (regulus’ version).
274 reviews9 followers
October 17, 2025
🎵Couldn‘t make it any harder by Sabrina Carpenter🎵
🎵Siren sounds by Tate McRae🎵
🎵The good I‘lll do by Zach Bryan🎵


This fanfic was incredible, and I feel so lucky to have read it. It’s easily one of my favorite Marauders fics. It was that good.

The political plotline was done so well. It was never too complicated or overwhelming, and as someone who isn’t British, I had no trouble understanding it. The author explained everything clearly without taking focus away from the romance, which I really appreciated.

And the romances? Absolutely perfect. Every couple had such a well-written dynamic. Wolfstar, as always, stole my heart:Remus understood Sirius so deeply, always showing up for him, while Sirius felt safe enough to be completely vulnerable. Rosekiller was the definition of delusional, refusing to admit their feelings, while Dorlene had everything figured out from the start, loving each other without hesitation. And Mary and Lily? The perfect duo, just as they should be.

But the main pairing:Jegulus was truly something special. Regulus was so sharp and closed-off with everyone else, but with James, he softened. He let himself love in a way that made sure James never doubted it. Watching him go from distant to calling James baby and being totally flustered about it? Absolutely adorable. His redemption arc was everything.

And James, what can I even say? No one is more loving, devoted, or understanding than him. His care for everyone around him, especially Lily, was beautiful. Whether you see them as platonic or romantic soulmates, their connection was so deep, and their co-parenting of Harry felt so natural.

And then there’s Lily, this caring, selfless soul. I adored her so much. She was strong and determined, but also so full of love. Her friendship with James, her loyalty to her friends, her ability to hold people together when everything was falling apart. she was the heart of it all. Every scene with her made me love her even more.

James as a hopeless romantic was perfect. The dates he planned, the box, he put so much love into everything he did. And the jealousy? So good. There’s nothing like a well-done jealousy trope, and James being possessive over Regulus, especially when Barty was teasing, was everything I wanted.

And beyond the romance, the plot was incredible. Every little detail fit together perfectly. The main character death absolutely broke me, but the alternative happy ending put my heart back together.

This fic reminded me why love in fanfiction is just on another level. The writing, the love quotes, the emotions—everything was stunning. The author is so talented.

This story gave me love so deep it made me swoon and cry. What more could I possibly ask for?






quotes/ spoilers🌟⚠️

Everything in his face looks… sharp, in some way. James thinks he could probably cut himself on him, and would be happy to bleed out as a result. 

Lily simply thrives on making other people thrive. More than once, James has found that a little tragic. It seems to be a common trap for women, and James would honestly rather kill himself than be guilty of overshadowing her brilliance.

“At least I’m not attracted to people that are mean to me.”

“Good,” says Potter. “I could never be mean to you.”

Oh well. They’ve run into each other three times already. If the universe wants them to find each other again, they will. If it doesn’t, James will make sure they find each other anyway. 


His eyes, as well as his quick wit, revealed a thinking mind – something special, so extraordinary that it was protected by high, thick walls in the form of an impervious exterior and snarky remarks. 
James would go to war to burn those walls down, just to find out what’s underneath.


There are 100,000,000,000 stars in the Milky way.
10,000 of these are visible to the naked eye.
But of course, yeah, James has picked his star. 


I will love you, he considers telling him instead. I will love you, with every piece of my heart, for the rest of my days, as soon as you’re ready to let me. I don’t know you yet, but I will love everything I find out about you. I will love you. I promise, I will love you like you’ve never been loved before. I’m going to love you so much you won’t know what to do with it. 

Archie eventually relaxes a little in his embrace, leaning back towards James’ chest, and James feels like he has the entire damn world in his arms. 

Sirius regrets it, at times – the way they slipped apart. Why can’t he keep anyone in his life?

Sirius sinks into his embrace immediately, breathing in the subtle scent of him as if it’s the only oxygen left on Earth. Sirius is not alone anymore. Remus is here. Sirius is in Remus’ arms, and it turns out to be a magical place. It’s a shelter of calm. A safe haven.

Remus has turned his arms into armour, and Sirius can just… be. 


“You’re so good to me,” he mumbles thoughtfully. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean?” James asks. “It’s my home.”
Archie sighs. “I meant, what are you doing with me?” 
James has to consider the stupidity of that statement for a while. “What do you mean?” he counters eventually. “It’s my home.” 

“Yes,” says James stubbornly. “The universe. I’m pretty sure it led me straight to you.” 


“I’m going to treat you so well,” James whispers. “My little king. King of my heart, really.”

„I never even thought about getting married before I met you.”

“You have my whole heart, love.”
Archie makes a weird noise, as if he’s been wounded. “I’m not sure I want it. I’m going to drop it, James.” 
“Then don’t,” says James. “Just have it. Keep it. I’m fairly sure it had your name on it all along, anyway. It’s yours.” 

“Alright,” says James. “Well, let me just save a memory photo for myself, then…” He makes a show out of leaning back, squinting slightly at Archie, then blinking as he says “click.” 


It’s been so long since then, but Lily remembers. Of course she remembers, because she cares. Lily always cares.


“He makes me feel at home.” 

It’s not just the fact that you’re beautiful, which you are (I mean, holy shit, I could stare at you forever), but the way you make everything in my life a bit more beautiful. Being wrapped in your arms feels like finding my own personal paradise. I love how you make even the simplest moments magical. I love the way your mind works. I love the way you constantly challenge me. I love the way you make me laugh, even when you don’t mean to. I love how, no matter how much effort you put into hiding it, you’ve got such an enormous heart. I so badly wish you could see yourself the way I see you. 

He’s a tsunami, an earthquake, an open flame. James remembers thinking, after their first night together, that he’d go to war just to burn Archie’s walls down. He just didn’t think he’d be setting himself on fire in the process.

The pain is all-consuming. Sometimes, Regulus has thought he was born for pain. Part of it had always felt like coming home. 
That was before he found a home in James’ arms.

That’s love, isn’t it? Being stabbed in the chest by someone and still wanting to make sure they didn’t hurt their hand doing it. The only person Sirius has ever loved like that is Regulus. 


“You made him laugh,” Sirius says eventually. 
“Huh?”
“Yeah. I got home one day, and he was on the phone with you. I didn’t know it was you, obviously, but he just – lit up, and he laughed. Like, properly laughed. It was such a genuine laugh. I haven’t seen him laugh like that in a long time.” 


“James, are you saying I’m too skinny?“
“No, I’m saying you need protein to live.” 
“Why do you think I always swallow?”

Regulus has never been able to picture much of his future, but it comes so clearly into view now that he’s looking right at it. James is his future. James is everything. The fire in his soul, the water that sustains him, the air in his lungs, the very earth that he walks on. 

 

Regulus now mentally declares James being happy as his favourite thing in the world. Oh, the things that he would give to see James like this, always. What a purpose to have, right? 


He wonders if, in the same way, he and Regulus were somehow made for each other. James feels like he was put on this planet just to be his, to be his comfort. 


James has learned by now that while he loves like a river, a steady stream of affection – Regulus, on the other hand, loves like a downpour. It hides, and then it bursts, seemingly out of nowhere. James will catch it everytime. He’ll try to catch every drop of it on his tongue. He’ll patiently wait for the next storm, and dance in it once it arrives. 


Regulus just lets out another broken sob and pushes himself closer to his chest, as if he’s literally trying to crawl straight into his heart.
As if he doesn’t already live there. Rent-fucking-free.


James’ entire world is spinning, but Regulus is not. Regulus is steady, and right here with him, and so at this moment, James’ conclusion is that the entire universe simply orbits around Regulus. Around this. Around them.  


“I don’t think I knew what happiness was before I met you,” he says finally, and James sucks in a sharp breath. “I thought happiness was just the absence of pain. I thought happiness meant being okay. I used to think happiness meant being able to get out of bed, but being with you makes me excited to do it.”  

You’re my soulmate.”
“Soulmate,” Regulus echoes, matching his whispering tone, even though there’s no one around to hear them. “What does that mean?” 
“I think my soul has loved your soul in another life,” James tells him. “I think we’ve been Romeo and Juliet. We’ve been Bonnie and Clyde. We’ve fought on the same side in wars, and against each other in others. We’ve taken on the world together, and we’ve lived in perfect stillness. We’ve been happy in some lives, miserable in others – but we always, always find each other.” 


“I think my soul has loved your soul in another life,” James tells him. “I think we’ve been Romeo and Juliet. We’ve been Bonnie and Clyde. We’ve fought on the same side in wars, and against each other in others. We’ve taken on the world together, and we’ve lived in perfect stillness. We’ve been happy in some lives, miserable in others – but we always, always find each other.” 

 

“Do you believe in that?” Regulus asks. “More than one life?”

 

James doesn’t need a lot of time to think about his answer before he says,

 

“I believe our love is too big for just this one.”

Regulus Black is a lot of things to James. Regulus is the person whose arms James long for after a long day, the person whose opinion he wants when he isn’t sure what to think about something. He’s the person James wants to laugh with when he hears something funny, and the person he’d be perfectly fine sitting in silence with forever. He’s someone that James would die for. 


“The world in colour isn’t scary, I promise. I see it all the time,” says James. “Do you want something to look at first? Like, I don’t know, something easy?” 
Sirius lets go of Remus' hand and keeps fumbling until he eventually finds his way to Remus’ cheek. He cradles it like it’s precious. 
“You,” he says, sounding determined.
“I’m something easy?” Remus asks, and James suffocates a snort. 
“I know you will be beautiful,” says Sirius, and Remus blushes pretty much instantly. 



“I don’t want to be part of a government which relies on the support from Tom Riddle,” he says. “I’ll resign before I make myself his puppet. I’ll die before I make myself his puppet.”

“Reg,” James whispers in his ear. “Finding you was the best thing that happened to me this year.” 

 

Regulus smiles, turns around, and gratefully accepts the flute glass James pushes into his hand. “Being with you will be the best part of the next.”

A few wonderful seconds pass as Regulus starts the new year the same way he’d like to start every year, and every day, for the rest of his life. One year ends, and another one begins, and it really doesn’t matter, because time doesn’t matter. James and him are eternal. 
The fireworks over London are nothing compared to the ones in Regulus' heart. 




James swallows. “And… Do you see one? A future? With me?”
“I can’t picture one without you,” says Regulus. 

“I feel more at home with you than I ever did growing up,” Regulus says honestly. 

James squeezes his hand, firmer. "That's all I want to be for you, love. I want to... I'm gonna make up for every shitty minute you had there. Hold you for every time no one did. Tell you how loved you are for every time you needed to hear it."



“It doesn’t matter. If you – if you had… Reg, I would have gone my entire life wondering where you were. I would have spent the rest of my days wondering why you never showed up. I would have missed you so much.” 

Regulus can’t see why he would ever want to leave a world that has James Potter in it, but because he thinks James needs to hear it, he simply says, “Okay“

James is fairly sure he could live off Regulus’ lips alone – the venom they spit, the love they promise, and the kisses they bless him with. 

James gets lost in admiring him, every dip and angle on his face. He can’t wait to explore and cherish every other mark the years will leave there – every wrinkle and spot, telling incredible stories of the life they’ll get to have. 


“I love you like there’s tomorrow,” he says seriously. “And tomorrow, I’m gonna love you like there’s no day after that, and I’ll just go on and on like that forever and ever.” 

It’s the greatest honour Regulus can imagine, to be looked at the exact way in which James is looking at him right now. It’s otherworldly. It’s heavenly. 


Regulus didn’t make it to the hospital on time.


Neither did James, it turns out. 


Regulus has little reason not to believe him – James is, after all, a man who lives up to his word. The only promise he’s ever broken is the one Regulus really, really needed him to keep.

 

It’ll be okay, love. I’ll be alright, I promise. I’ll see you soon.

“James,” he says, voice violently shaking. “Why did we find each other, if we were meant to fall apart?”

 

“So that we would get the chance to love,” says James simply. “Really love. That’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it?” 

 

“It doesn’t feel beautiful right now,” Regulus whispers. “It just hurts.”  

 

“Do you wish we’d never met?”

 

“No. I regret every day on this Earth that I didn’t spend with you.” 


“This isn’t fair,” Regulus cries. “I wanted to die first. I should have gotten to die first.” 

 

“Oh, love,” says James – tenderly, like he understands. “I have lost you in so many universes. I couldn’t bear to lose you in this one.” 

I love you because you have the passion to start a war, the heart to end it, and the mind to win it. 

For a moment, he wonders if the others would let him chop off his hand and put it in the casket with James, just so that James could hold on to it forever.
Profile Image for L.
102 reviews
Read
October 17, 2025
You know, it's my own fault for thinking this would have a happy ending. You'd think I would've learned by now. I was reading this at work & had to go to the bathroom so no one saw my tears...
Profile Image for Yasmin :).
332 reviews18 followers
June 30, 2024
“Before that, though, I always liked the Leo constellation, I don’t think it’s visible right now. Anyway, the star, it’s called Regulus.”
Regulus could swear that his heart stops beating for a moment, only to drum away recklessly as if it’s trying to catch up.
There are 100,000,000,000 stars in the Milky way.
10,000 of these are visible to the naked eye.
But of course, yeah, James has picked his star.”


“You made him laugh,” Sirius says eventually.
“Huh?”
“Yeah. I got home one day, and he was on the phone with you. I didn’t know it was you, obviously, but he just – lit up, and he laughed. Like, properly laughed. It was such a genuine laugh. I haven’t seen him laugh like that in a long time.”


“I think my soul has loved your soul in another life,” James tells him. “I think we’ve been Romeo and Juliet. We’ve been Bonnie and Clyde. We’ve fought on the same side in wars, and against each other in others. We’ve taken on the world together, and we’ve lived in perfect stillness. We’ve been happy in some lives, miserable in others – but we always, always find each other.”
“Do you believe in that?” Regulus asks.
“More than one life?” James doesn’t need a lot of time to think about his answer before he says,
“I believe our love is too big for just this one.”


“Regulus didn’t make it to the hospital on time. Neither did James, it turns out.”






Oh….🥲Well that was deeply depressing. It’s currently 1:47am and I’m crying! The first couple of chapters were hard to get into simply because the take on British politics was a tad uh limited shall we say. But once you reach like Chapter 8 it’s so good. And then it’s devastating.

I loved James so much. He was so enfj, the author is so real. I’ve never read a fic where only James dies so that took me out!! The Jegulus was hard to swallow at first because of Regulus’ fake identity leading to the horrific nickname of ARCHIE. A catastrophic crime if you ask me to reduce Regulus Arcturus Black to Archie White😭. But omg it was soo good. I love that they knew they were soulmates and Regulus had actually met both Jame’s parents without comprehending it (Monty saving Regulus on the bridge and Euphemia when Regulus was bombed) and the love between them was so raw.

Side characters ate. I love Wolfstar so much, Sirius being a protective older brother was everything and more. I loved the role each character had in the politics. Lily and Harry🔊🔊They were so perfect.

The 10 years later part had me so perplexed and I have a raging migraine. Wdym they packed off to America?? Wdym Pandora’s funeral hello?? I loved older Harry he’s too cute. Ugh, my heart.



Profile Image for mo.
56 reviews
July 28, 2025
It’s on goodreads, it counts.

I have been crying for so long.

Before you ask once again “why are you not reading your highly respected books anymore?” All I can reply is “a deep depression baby, deep depression xx”

To fill the void I turned to my guilt pleasure of an AU fic (long enough to not make me feel guilt at not reading a book and long enough to fill my heart with any emotion) and I fall into the joys of this sick and twisted world which has in-fact sparked a massive political debate for my self which has lead to a lot of research so you know some good has come out of this!

Any way I’m in so much pain and I am never reading a MCD ever again (although the last chapter was so well done that I do in fact feel some closure from the events which took place).

Anyway gonna try to read a “real” book now after whatever this was (almost as emotionally exhausting as AHB but luckly this time I saw the MCD tag halfway through reading rather than after the fact.)
Profile Image for reg.
12 reviews
December 30, 2025
what can I say...? i'm devastated. i wonder why this ff isn't better known when it comes to Jegulus ff. to say it's amazing would be an understatement. everything about it is incredible, from the way it's written to the details and descriptions.
at first, i was a little scared that, as it's a political ff, it might be overly serious or distracting, but none of this happened. despite my various obligations, I DEVOURED IT.
it will take me months to recover from the ending, or to listen to the song 'Vienna waits for you' again, but it was worth it, because so well-structured ff is hard to find.
wow, wow, wow!
i think it will take me a while to read the prequel and alternative ending (think of me as being in mourning), but i think i've found my favourite ff.
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