A Moment in Time

2

When Regulus spun into view at the gate to the manor house he was using as a safe house, he realised that he had just abducted a child. He froze for a moment where he stood beneath the dark, twisted iron wrought gates. What was he to do now? Regulus wondered as he slowly made his way up the winding path, the overgrown garden on both sides crept in on him and made him feel as though there were countless eyes in the bushes watching him. Surely they would realise the boy was gone, or would they think he had been killed like his parents? But no, they would wonder why there was no body.

Regulus shuddered as he reached the large black oak doors where the peeling paint revealing the white underneath. He supposed this had once been a grand whitewashed building, a sight much like Malfoy Manor, but it had been left to rot as the elements slowly wore it down.

Regulus placed his hand on the door, the powerful wards he had set up on the place recognised him. The door swung open with a loud creak and the entrance hall lit up automatically upon his entrance. The moment the door clicked shut behind him a large crack made him jump and caused the baby boy in his arms to begin to cry.

"Dobby is sorry Master Regulus!" The small elf squeaked, he was a relatively young house-elf with the same beige-pink skin and large tennis ball sized eyes that any other elf had. Dobby had bright green eyes and wore what looked to be a recently cleaned pure white pillow case. Regulus had been given the elf on loan when he went on the run, he had never found out who saved him from the inferi that had dragged him below the water, but he knew that his saviour had also sent him this elf.

Getting over his initial shock and putting his jumpiness down to the fact he was now a child abductor Regulus merely shook his head at his elf, "It is my fault Dobby, I was not expecting to be bringing a guest home with me."

The elf nodded, his large eyes moving to the baby in Regulus's arm, the baby who had stopped crying due to the gentle rocking motion Regulus had been applying subconsciously.

"Master appears to be very good at pacifying baby," Dobby noticed, as shocked as Regulus was at this strange instinct he had never before noticed he had.

Regulus could only ponder on this thought as he himself was not sure why he was good at this, he had never held a baby in his life. Yet he seemed to know how to do it, like in a past life he had done this before.

"Does the baby belong to Master?" Dobby asked.

"No Dobby," Regulus replied, "I sort of…kidnapped the baby."

Dobby's large eyes widened in horror, "You did Master?"

"Yes Dobby," Regulus frowned, "You see, he is an orphan and I fear for his life. The man you were following, the one you said had become a Death Eater?"

Dobby nodded fervently, "He is Master! Dobby saw him with the other Death Eater, a one they call Travers."

"I believe you Dobby," Regulus assured the elf, "I knew that man when I was at Hogwarts. He was a friend of my older brother, Sirius. I followed him because I had a sneaking suspicion he was up to something."

Dobby nodded once more, enthralled by the tale.

"I got to the little town known as Godric's Hollow where my trace told me he was but I was too late. This child's parents had already been killed, but the boy miraculously survived. I suspect that Pettigrew led Lord Voldemort there but there was no trace of him when I arrived mere moments after the events had taken place."

"What does that mean Master?"

"I do not know yet," Regulus replied, looking down at the child, "But the boy has a mark on his forehead, a cursed mark. Whatever happened in that house, it was strange and mysterious."

"But Master Regulus, does the baby have no relatives?"

"Only his Godfather I believe," Regulus replied, a dark look passing across his face, "Whose custody I will hand him over into, once I am certain that the danger has passed."

Dobby nodded slowly, "Would Master like a bottle of milk for baby?" he asked as he followed Regulus into the small study off of the entrance hall.

Regulus merely nodded to the elf as he sat down in a comfortable armchair and watched the boy with fascination. He didn't understand why he felt so drawn to the child. The crack of Dobby disappearing pulled Regulus out of his daze and he looked around, making sure he was alone before he spoke to the boy.

"So you must be Harry," He spoke quietly and gently, "I had heard about you being born. Sirius must have been so proud to be your Godfather, I'm sure he has spoiled you rotten. I am so sorry that I couldn't get to your parents in time, little Harry."

Another crack made Regulus jump and awoke the slumbering baby in his arms who squinted at the sound and looked extremely confused. The sight made Regulus smile very slightly. Dobby quietly apologised for the wait and handed Regulus a baby bottle, "Can Dobby get Master anything else?" he asked.

"Can you prepare a cot in my room for Harry please?" Regulus asked as he placed the tip of the bottle in Harry's mouth. The little boy gratefully sucked and Regulus realised he was probably extremely thirsty. Harry took the bottle in his little hands and watched Regulus as he drank from it. Regulus felt like this little boy could look into his soul and it unnerved him slightly.

When Harry had finished his bottle Regulus lifted the boy and made his way up the long winding staircase to the master bedroom on the 2nd floor of the manor. When he reached the room he found that Dobby had already placed the cot in the corner as he had requested. Regulus gently placed Harry in the cot and sat down on his own bed, taking off his cloak and shoes for the first time since he had gotten home.

Harry didn't go to sleep like Regulus had hoped however, he merely sat up and looked at Regulus through the bars, Regulus stared back but the baby didn't seem to understand the concept of a staring contest. Eventually Regulus sighed and picked Harry up, he lay the one-year-old down on his own bed and let him burrow into his side, he lay there for a long time watching the boy who was now technically his charge, listening to his shallow breathing.

The sound somehow relaxed him and Regulus got to thinking about how he had ended up in such a bizarre situation. Oddly enough, it was nice to have human contact, even if that human was a child. He had spent the last 2 years in hiding, rarely being able to slip out of the manor safe house that he called his home. He had spent the last 2 years with only Dobby, a rather quirky if loyal house elf, as company. Regulus had no choice of course, he had literally died while betraying his master, he knew that he couldn't come out of the woodwork until that master had disappeared.

It had all begun when that master asked for his house elf, faithful Kreacher. He had used that elf to test his defences on a precious object and he had nearly killed Kreacher while doing so. Regulus had been outraged and had asked the elf to take him back to the cave so that he could get revenge on his master. He remembered retrieving the item, a locket that had once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. He remembered ordering Kreacher to leave with the locket and the elf had done so while the inferi in the cave dragged Regulus into the treacherous water.

He had been sure he was dead but his next memory was of him awaking in a safe house with two elves leaning over him, Kreacher and the one he now knew to be Dobby. Kreacher had told him that he had been saved from the lake but he could not tell Regulus who had done that saving. He simply said he had to return to Grimmauld Place but that Regulus would be well looked after by Dobby.

In truth, Regulus missed Kreacher. For a long time, the elf had been his only real friend and confidante, as sad as that was. However, Dobby had a special place in his heart too. The intriguing thing about what had happened in that cave was this: Regulus had awoken with no sign of the dark mark upon his arm. He had done copious amounts of reading and from that he had drawn the conclusion that he had actually died in that cave and someone had resuscitated him. He could see no other way for the mark to remove itself when his former master was so obviously still in power.

Since that literal wake up call, Regulus had being doing all that he could to help those working for the light and to thwart those working for Voldemort. He used Dobby as a spy and he had saved a few lives, including that of Marlene and Matthew McKinnon, and that was almost enough.

However, being unable to save his brothers closest friend, that cut him deeply. He had saved his brothers Godson, but would he be forgiven by Sirius for James's fate? Regulus often pondered if Sirius would be able to forgiven him for the terrible things he had done before he had seen the light.

Regulus shut this thought out and focused on the more important matter. The question running through his mind as the first of the morning light began to stream through the window, lighting up the entire room with its harsh orange light, was the question of why was this little boy alive? Why had Harry survived? The mark on his forehead, combined with the fact that both of his parents had been killed by the killing curse, made Regulus form the conclusion that Voldemort had tried to kill Harry too. But how could this boy have survived the killing curse when so many before him had not?

It could only mean that he was the one destined to vanquish the Dark Lord for good. Regulus had heard whispers in the wind and had put the pieces together from the intel that Dobby brought him. A prophecy had been made, a prophecy stating that the dark lord was to be vanquished by someone whose parents had thrice defied him. That child must be Harry Potter and he was the one who would vanquish Voldemort. Regulus didn't believe his former master was dead, he wasn't human enough to die, the locket he had retrieved was a horcrux and Regulus believed there was more than one of those. Voldemort had been weakened and there would be peace for a time, but he would be back and when he returned Regulus had a horrible sinking feeling that it would be down to the little sleeping boy to finish him off.

He wasn't going to have an easy life, it was going to be a hard uphill battle and he needed a family to get him through that, people who loved him and who cared about him. Regulus knew that he wasn't that person but his brother could be, his brother and Remus Lupin could give this boy the love and care that he needed.

Before he knew it, the sun had risen and an owl tapped on the window with 'The Daily Prophet.' Regulus felt the knot in his stomach tighten when he realised what would be in this morning's paper. He opened the window and paid the owl its Knut. After checking on Harry Regulus sat down in an armchair by the bed and unravelled the paper, with a sense of dread he glanced down and looked at the front page.

It was just as bad as he had imagined.

"You-Know-Who vanquished! But where is Harry Potter?"

Underneath the headline was a picture of the house, looking just as eerie as it had when Regulus had appeared on the scene, the house was half blown apart with the dark mark leering at it from the sky. Regulus felt sick as he began to read the accompanying article.

"Last night at around 11.39pm, ministry workers were alerted to a disturbance in Godric's Hollow. The sight that they were greeted with when they appeared on the scene was extremely disturbing. The roof of the Potter home was blown off and the dark mark was high in the sky. It seems that the family were the latest victims of You-Know-Who. James Potter and Lily Potter (nee Evans) were found in the house deceased, the cause evident, the killing curse. However the mystery at the moment is where is their son Harry Potter? It seems that he has vanished without a trace. One of the first workers to the scene was Auror Sirius Black, close friend of the Potter family, he appeared visibly distraught and shocked at the death of his friends and alarmed by the disappearance of his Godson, Harry. It has become clear to the ministry that the Potters were betrayed by their secret keeper and close childhood friend. Peter Pettigrew was found chained to the Potter's gate, it is unknown who placed him there. He confessed his guilt to the Ministry shortly after being arrested and has been sentenced to life in Azkaban prison. It is clear that Pettigrew was recruited by You-Know-Who and betrayed the Potters location, leading You-Know-Who straight to their door.

Ministry workers and Headmaster of Hogwarts School, Albus Dumbledore, along with Black have been searching all night for any trace of Harry and believe that he is alive and in safe hands. In a statement to this reporter Dumbledore informed the Prophet that "I believe he has been taken into safe hands and will soon be found. I would advise the Wizarding World not to worry about the disappearance of the boy, we would know if he was dead".

Nonetheless, it appears that something strange happened at the Potter house this Halloween night as You-Know-Who has been vanquished for good! But what caused this? We may never know, but the priority at the moment is finding Harry Potter.

All of our prayers are with you Harry, may you be safe."

Regulus sighed. Harry stirred and started to cry, pulling Regulus out of his thoughts, he picked the boy up and carried him downstairs before clicking his fingers to summon his house elf.

Dobby appeared with a crack that alarmed Harry, "Dobby, could you fetch some baby food and a bottle please?" Regulus asked as he transfigured a wooden chair into a high chair and the tablecloth into a small toy.

"Of course Master Regulus," Dobby said and with another crack he was gone. When Regulus settled Harry into the high chair and handed him the toy he calmed down and sucked on the toy, quieting him for the moment.

The quiet did not last long. Within a few minutes the fire in the kitchen had roared to life, Regulus jumped to his feet and on instinct guarded Harry. The flames turned green and a figure emerged from the flames, Regulus trained his wand on said figure as he tried to work out who had just stumbled upon his safe house.

"Hello Regulus," She said with an exasperated smile, "Abducting children as well as being a villain in hiding now, are we?"

Regulus tightened his grip on his wand. The woman who had just stepped into his home was his cousin, one of his more reasonable cousins at that.

"Narcissa! How did you find me here? How did you even know that I was alive? Everyone thinks that I'm dead!" Regulus rattled off.

Narcissa flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and fixed him with her icy blue eyes. Those eyes had always been so good at penetrating his guard, at seeing through his disguise, "Oh Regulus, 2 years in isolation has done you no good. You were so intelligent at school."

Regulus frowned, "What?"

Narcissa rolled her eyes, "How would I know that you are alive and where you were if it wasn't me who saved you in the first place?"

"You?" Regulus asked.

"Me," Narcissa smirked, "And I even gave you my favourite house elf on loan, aren't I good to you?"

"Dobby!" Regulus cried in alarm, for the first time noticing the house elf by her side.

Dobby waved and looked sheepish, as sheepish as a house elf could look anyway, "Dobby is sorry Master Regulus."

Regulus's head was spinning, "You saved me in the cave Narcissa?"

"Yes, I did," Narcissa said smoothly.

"How?" Regulus asked in disbelief.

"Kreacher came to me and told me what you had done…" Narcissa began.

"Mistress Cissy!"

Narcissa spun around at the high-pitched voice, "Kreacher! Whatever brings you here?"

"Master Regulus! He is dying Mistress, please help, please."

Narcissa nodded fervently, "Of course Kreacher, where is he?"

"Come," Kreacher said. He reached out and gripped Narcissa's hand, sweeping them both away with house elf apparition.

When they landed on steady ground Narcissa felt momentarily sick. She surveyed her surroundings and Kreacher cried, "They dragged him under!"

"Accio Regulus Black!"

There was a great splash and Regulus's pale unconscious form was raised from the water. There were three or four inferi clinging to him which moved towards Narcissa once Regulus's body had landed on the shore where they stood.

"Incendio!"

The inferi shrunk back into the water and Narcissa dropped to her knees next to Regulus. She murmured a spell that expelled all of the water from his lungs and held him up in a sitting position as she did so. She checked his pulse but found none and her heart pumped faster as she tried to save his life.

Narcissa held her wand to his chest and shot a burst of energy into his body. He convulsed and coughed, spluttering as if he still had water in his throat. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked directly at Kreacher, "He is not safe, take him to the Black family safe house and tell him to stay there. You must return to Grimmauld Place but I will send a house elf to nurse him back to health and care for him."

Kreacher nodded sincerely, grabbed his Masters body and disapparated.

"…And I expect the next thing you remember is waking up in the safe house," Narcissa finished.

"I have so much to thank you for," Regulus said softly, "And to think I thought you were on the wrong side, on his side."

"Lucius is on his side," Narcissa said, a dark look upon her face, "Or was on his side, should I say?"

Regulus shook his head, "He isn't dead, only weakened. He will be back but I cannot say when."

"I had feared that. When he does return Lucius will run back into his arms, I'm sure," Narcissa said bitterly, "He loves power after all. However, I don't follow my husband blindly."

"I see that now," Regulus admitted, "How did you convince him to part with your house elf? Was he not suspicious?"

Narcissa scoffed, "Of course not, Dobby is not our only house elf. Do you think me an imposter of a Slytherin? I engineered it so that he was not in the slightest bit suspicious…"

"Dobby!"

"Yes Mistress Narcissa?"

Narcissa cocked her head at the elf, "You see that vase there?"

"Dobby sees the vase that once belonged to Master Lucius's great Grandfather," Dobby nodded.

"Well," Narcissa said, "I order you to smash it."

Dobby's eyes widened, "But Master Lucius will kill Dobby, mistress!"

Narcissa rolled her eyes, "Of course he won't. Just smash the vase Dobby, I promise that you will not get killed for it. You may get sent somewhere else, but you will not die."

Dobby had no choice but to obey. He closed his eyes tightly and threw the vase to the ground with house elf magic where it shattered into a thousand or more pieces.

Narcissa shrieked, "Dobby, you stupid house elf! That vase was a priceless Malfoy heirloom! Sectumsempra! Incendio!"

The elf squealed loudly as the two curses flew by his head. Narcissa stopped them before they could hit the wall and then with a silent flick of her wand she performed a banishing charm, sending Dobby to the safe house where Kreacher and Regulus awaited him.

Seconds later Lucius ran into the room, "What is this?" he hissed.

Narcissa swallowed hard and said, "One of the foolish house elves broke it with his magic! Needless to say I beheaded the wretch and banished his burning remains, how dare he deface a family heirloom of such value!"

"How dare you let him do it?" Lucius growled, "You are the lady of this house, you ought to learn to control your subjects better!"

Narcissa nodded dimly, "I am dreadfully sorry, Lucius."

"You will be if it ever happens again!" Lucius snapped, sweeping towards the door and leaving Narcissa alone with the wreck of a vase…

"You risked your Husband's wrath to save me and send me this elf?" Regulus asked in surprise.

"Family is family, Regulus. Blood comes before marriage," Narcissa said.

"But you barely know me," Regulus frowned, "My Mother hated your Mother, I saw you two or three times as a child."

Narcissa shrugged, "Family still means something, regardless of how estranged we may be. Now, speaking of family, you have to return the child to his Godfather, it is safe now."

"I know," Regulus said, swallowing hard, "But his Godfather and I didn't part on the best terms."

"Sirius!"

Sirius froze on the doorstep as the heavy door behind him was thrown open. He didn't want to turn around and look at his little brother, he knew that it would make it harder to leave.

His heart was still pumping quickly from the adrenaline of his last fight with his parents. His Hogwarts trunk was clutched in his hand. He shut his eyes tightly as the heavy door shut with a slam and a quiet voice from behind him begged, "Sirius, don't go."

Sirius sighed and turned around. It broke his heart to see tears on Regulus's cheeks, "I can't stay here anymore Regulus, I have to get away."

"It's only at summer," Regulus said tearfully, "Can't you just handle it for one more summer? You won't leave me here all alone, will you?"

"You'll be fine, you're a Slytherin like our parents always wanted," Sirius said, bitterness slipping into his voice, "You'll be a dark wizard, you'll make them proud."

"What if I don't want to be any of that?" Regulus asked, he was still a child, only 14 years old.

Sirius shrugged, "It's who you were born to be."

"It's who you were born to be too," Regulus said, "And you went against them."

"And look where it got me," Sirius said, "Disowned by morning no doubt! You couldn't handle that Regulus, you love our parents too much to defy them. We both know that…it's why I didn't ask you to come with me."

Regulus frowned, "What…what do you mean?"

"I thought about it," Sirius promised him, "I even spoke to James and his parents about it. If I had thought for one second that you would say yes, I would take you away with me today. I would take you away from this horrible place and those monsters."

"Mother and Father are not monsters," Regulus said.

Sirius smiled sadly, "And that's what separates us Regulus."

Regulus's tears bubbled up and he turned his temper on his brother, "You're being selfish! I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave but you're just running away!"

"I'm running away before I become like those monsters!" Sirius snapped, pointing towards the house, "Before I can watch you become a monster like them! Do you think I want to watch my little brother grow up to be a dark wizard who likes to hurt people he thinks of as inferior? That's not what I want Regulus!"

"It's not what I want either!" Regulus shouted, "Being in Slytherin doesn't mean that I'll be a terrible person. I'll show you one day!"

Sirius sighed and turned away from his brother, "I wish you would," he said sincerely.

Without waiting for a reply he spun on his heel and left the doorstep of the house for the last time in many, many years.

"The longer you put it off, the worse it will be," Narcissa said logically, pulling Regulus out of his thoughts.

"I suppose."

"I will come with you, if you wish."

"How will your Husband feel about that?" Regulus quipped.

"With this war on its way to being over, I want to see just how quickly I can divorce my husband," Narcissa said with a raised eyebrow, "For my own reasons, before you ask why. You and Sirius always were rather nosy."

"I won't ask," Regulus promised, glancing behind him at Harry, "But I will accept your offer to come with me. I don't trust Sirius not to kill me on the spot."

"Nor do I," Narcissa quipped, "And I didn't go to all of this trouble to save your life just to let you get killed scarcely 2 years later."

"I'm glad my life means so much to you," Regulus joked.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow, "You have just abducted a child, the child who apparently vanquished Lord Voldemort. All of wizarding Britain is looking for that child and you don't exactly have the best track record. Do you really think now is a good time to joke?"

Regulus swallowed and shook his head, "No, I suppose not."

Narcissa shook her head irritably and threw some floo powder into the fire, "I suppose you know where you brother lives?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Regulus replied, lifting Harry from his high chair and bundling him up in his arms.

"Then lead the way," Narcissa said, pointing towards the fire.

Regulus rolled his eyes and bit back a comment about his older cousin being incredibly bossy as he stepped into the flames, holding Harry close to his chest.

TBC.