November 1, 1981
Regulus groaned as he dragged himself off the lumpy mattress. Harry was crying again. He cast a quick tempus and bit back a curse. Three in the bloody morning! Taking a deep, calming breath he walked over to the transfigured crib. Harry was sitting up, his little face red and unhappy. Tears poured down his cheeks and his big green eyes stared up at Regulus pleadingly. With a sigh, the former death eater lifted the child carefully. "What's wrong now?" Harry had gotten him up once earlier for a diaper change. A quick check assured the frazzled man that wasn't the current issue. Thank Merlin. He held the baby helplessly for a long moment, not sure what to do. Suddenly he had a flash of intuition. "You're hungry?" The toddler hiccupped and burrowed against his chest.
Without any other ideas, Reg stumbled into the kitchen and picked up the tin of formula he had purchased the day before. Trying to make the bottle and hold Harry at the same time was difficult. Powder was spilled and water sloshed all over the counter. Finally though, he succeeded and held a bottle of the odd smelling mixture up to the toddler. Harry eyed it warily. He nearly growled in frustration as the toddler pushed the bottle away. "Come on. Don't you want to eat?" It took a lot of willpower to keep his voice calm and not throw the bottle on the floor. Regulus was tired and he was definitely not a morning person. He tried giving Harry the bottle again. "No!" The small voice sounded about as frustrated as Reg was feeling. Gritting his teeth, he set the bottle on the counter. "Well I guess you aren't hungry then."
Harry started wailing again as Regulus began walking back towards the crib. "What do you want?!" Harry sniffled and glared accusingly at the sharp tone. Reg closed his eyes and counted to ten. "Okay." He walked back into the kitchen and sorted through the cabinets one handed. There wasn't much. He decided on a box of muggle cereal and carried it over to the table. He sat down with Harry on his lap and shook a little of the cereal onto the tabletop. With a happy little squeal, Harry snatched up a few pieces and shoved them in his mouth. His tiny teeth (he was still missing a few) crunched the cereal merrily. Regulus sighed in relief. "Guess you're too old for bottles then."
After Harry finished his breakfast with a great deal of gusto and slobber, Reg cleaned him up and put him back in his crib. For a moment, he considered going back to sleep but decided on a shower instead. The hot water was heavenly. He felt himself relax and the Harry induced headache that had begun pounding in his temples faded away. He allowed himself a few moments peace, just standing there with his eyes closed, then briskly washed himself. He couldn't leave a toddler alone for too long after all.
Soon enough he was dressed and leaning back over the crib, lifting Harry out again. Harry giggled at him and tangled his little hands in Regulus' still damp hair. "P'foot!" Regulus stopped himself from wincing at the refrence to Sirius. "No, I'm not padfoot. My name is Regulus." Harry cocked his head and stared up at him wide eyed. "Regulus," Reg repeated patiently. "E'lus," Harry repeated, his little face solemn. "Reg-ul-us," Regulus enunciated. Harry beamed, "E'lus!" Regulus sighed. "Close enough Harry."
Harry needed some clothes and toys. At around nine, Regulus bundled the little boy up as best he could in a set of his own robes he had shrunk. Then he carefully transfigured them to look like muggle clothes. Afterall, it wouldn't do to draw attention to themselves. His own outfit consisted of a pair of plain black slacks and a white button up shirt. His cloak he transfigured to a hansom black coat that reached mid-thigh. To be safe, he cast a glamour over himself to make his features a little more rough and he made sure to turn his eyes green like Harry's. No one would recognize him as a Black and with his new eye color, no one would question his relationship with Harry. Hoisting the toddler up, he exited the apartment.
Muggle London had horrified and intimidated Regulus the first time he had roamed it. That had been the night Sirius had died. He had gone to Gringotts, his black robes still bloody, and withdrew most of his money. After converting it to muggle currency, he had stumbled around the dark streets until he came to a rather seedy hotel. The next day he had gone and rented his own apartment and bought some new clothes. He had spent the weeks up 'til Halloween learning about how the muggles lived and trying to track down the Potters. Walking down the street now, he watched Harry look around in innocent wonder. Regulus chuckled. He had of course considered returning to the wizarding world, but since he wasn't Sirius they might legally take Harry away from him. No, living unknown in the muggle world was for the best.
Swallowing his instinctive, pureblood distaste as they came to a small shop advertising children's clothes, Reg adjusted Harry on his hip and walked inside. An hour and two shops later, Harry had a new wardrobe and enough toys to keep him busy (Regulus hoped). They stopped for a bit of lunch. He fed Harry a bowl of soup as every woman in the restaurant giggled and remarked how cute it was. Harry got more of the soup on the table than in his mouth, but Regulus didn't mind as the toddler seemed happy enough.
Their last stop was a real estate agency. A blonde woman with fake eyelashes and too much makeup gushed over Harry and flirted shamelessly with Regulus. Fighting back the "mudblood" and "filthy muggle" comments on the tip of his tongue, he forced a polite smile and looked over the houses available. An hour and a half later, he had picked three properties to go look at during the week and gave the woman his contact information. With a great deal of relief, he left the agency and started back towards his apartment. "Thank Merlin that's over!" Harry looked up at him and seemed to agree, then the green eyes disappeared as he snuggled against Regulus' shoulder. "E'lus," the toddler murmured sleepily. Regulus looked down and tightened his hold, feeling a strange warmth in his chest. "Harry," he said simply and cuddled the small body to him all the way home.