GF: Guess who's finally back?! Me, that's who! I had a fantastic time in Canada, in case you were wondering, and now I'm back at school. *cries* I have a debate meet coming up in about a week and a half, so that's terrifying, and I've made some new friends. One of whom got me to finally watch Star Wars (which was amazing by the way). So yeah, life's been good and I'm really excited to update. Hopefully I finish this in one day, probably not though. …Reviews!
GF: But before that, a quick update from Charlotte in March…legit four months after that was written. Let's just say that the past few months have been rather shitty for me. And consequently I lost all motivation to write. Luckily, a friend that was previously mentioned helped me and I'm okay now. Don't worry! Anyway, reviews!
Nimrodel626: Sorry! Hopefully this update is a bit quicker (ha)! The boggart scene was really fun to write and I'd been planning it for a while, so I'm glad you liked it. Lord of the Rings has a great soundtrack! Thanks for reviewing!
grandshadowseal: Dude! A Series of Unfortunate Events has my second favorite soundtrack!
Guest: Thanks for reviewing! As an answer to your questions…we shall see. And I'm only answering this way to be mysterious, definitely not because I don't know the answers! That's ridiculous! *coughs nervously*
literary deviant: Reg needs sleep! (much like me)
9632mp: Aw, thank you so much! Yes, Regulus can't just live off coffee forever.
GF: Sorry about all the brief answers, but I really wanna get on with writing this. Thanks to everyone else who reviewed, you all are amazing!
Family Reunions
Regulus quietly drank his coffee and flipped through the pages of the book he was reading while the commotion outside the kitchen carried on. From what he could gather and everyone was close to missing the train. The only noise that made him put down his book (a very interesting read on the history of magic in the Americas) was a voice that sounded eerily familiar. Maybe it was the shrieking tone of it, or the rambling out "filth" and "mudbloods".
"Mother," he muttered, morbidly. He sipped from his cup thoughtfully, listening to the words that her portrait, for it couldn't be anything else, shouted. He sat for a few seconds before marking his place in his book and setting down his cup. He rose from the small, kitchen table and exited the room, making his way into the hallway where everyone was bustling about.
Regulus was immediately affronted by a flurry on books and a mess of brown hair. He staggered back a few steps and watched the books fall while blinking rapidly.
"Oh my God!" Hermione cried, dropping down to snatch up the books. "I'm so sorry!"
"Quite alright," Regulus assured her, kneeling down to assist. He studied the cover of one of the books as he stood up. "Merpeople: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Language and Studies? Doesn't sound like something that'd be on a school list."
Hermione blushed slightly, rearranging the books in her arms, "I'm just borrowing a few, I hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all," Regulus shook his head, handing her the book, "I'd just be careful in these libraries if I were you, there're books about things much darker than merpeople."
The girl nodded warily and scurried away to undoubtedly put the books in her trunk. Regulus gazed after her curiously, she was a peculiar one. Reminds me of me at that age, Regulus thought to himself, shoving his hands into his pockets and turning to go down the hallway.
He walked up one of the winding staircases, passing the youngest Weasley on the way. He was about to go and see if he could find Kreacher (it felt odd to call for him) when he encountered the twins at one of the landings. They had their trunks next to them and were giggling to each other.
"What are you to up to now?" Regulus narrowed his eyes warily.
They both looked at him, then at each other. They smiled and one of them, probably Fred, said, "Just watch." They lifted their wands and each mumbled a spell, causing their trunks to float. They swished their wands and their trunks began to soar down the stairs. The young Black watched for a few seconds, amused by their antics, before making a realization.
"Ginny," he breathed before promptly jumping on the banister and sliding down. He could see the twins' horrified expressions as he swept past, they seemed to understand what was happening. Unfortunately, their trunks didn't seem to be stopping.
Regulus sped down the stair banister, only using a bit of…extra help for speed. He jumped off of the banister, landing one flight of stairs down below, next to a confused redhead. With any explanation he grabbed her and pulled her to the side of the stairs right before the two trunks whizzed past them, continuing their journey to the ground floor.
He let go of Ginny abruptly, awkwardly stepping into the middle of the stairs. "Sorry about that," he winced, "didn't mean to scare you."
Ginny actually didn't seem all that scared, annoyed rather. "Fred and George?" was all she said. He only nodded in confirmation.
"You alright down there?" their freckled faces possessed wide grins as they peered over the railings a few flights above, but their eyes held genuine concern.
"No thanks to you!" Ginny yelled back. She turned to Regulus, "Thanks." Then she continued on her trip downstairs as if she hadn't almost been crushed by flying luggage.
What an odd family, Regulus thought as the twins' laughter filled his ears.
~X~
Apparently Regulus was not the only one who was aware of the twins' antics; they had caused quite the ruckus downstairs. The young man arrived at the bottom of the stairs to find that Mrs. Weasley was quite upset with her children, as was his own mother. The red haired woman was currently screaming up at Fred and George, who were both smart enough not to come down just yet.
Regulus's own mother, on the other hand, was not yelling up the stairs, but rather yelling at the air. As he looked down the hallway Regulus could just make out a painting of some sort with black curtains that were drawn back. Well, they seemed to have been forced back. His mother's trademark shrill, yet very loud, voice was yelling about "half-breeds" and "blood traitor scum" like before. Which was, of course, very lovely to hear and Regulus put his head as far down as it could go as he made his way into the kitchen. He hadn't gotten anything in his body except the coffee from earlier.
Just as he was reach for the doorknob someone whizzed past him, causing Regulus to turn in a drunken circle. Hermione and Harry were hurrying toward the door, a cat in the girl's arms and a cage in the boy's.
"Harry, you're to come with me and Tonks," Mrs. Weasley seemed to have finished berating the twins. "Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage…. Oh for heaven's sake Sirius, Dumbledore said no!"
A giant black dog brushed past Regulus and bounded toward the three people standing in front of the door. Harry seemed quite delighted at the presence of his godfather; Mrs. Weasley was less than pleased. Regulus himself decided it was time to remind them all that he existed and that there was no one else left in the large house to watch him. Not that he needed watching of course, but still.
"I have to agree with Mrs. We-Molly on this one dear brother," he commented as he stepped over the last of the trunks that littered the hall. "Far too dangerous. But, you Gryffindors like that kind of thing don't you?"
The dog gave him a look that could only convey one thing, "fuck off".
"How do you know that's Sirius?" Hermione's eyes narrowed, as did those of the cat in her arms.
"Well, Molly just referred to him as such," Regulus said pointedly, "and his friends called him Padfoot for five years. Not that hard to deduce."
"That's not important right now," Mrs. Weasley stopped Hermione from questioning him further. "How could we have forgotten, who's going to watch Regulus while we're dropping you all off?"
No one seemed to have an answer.
"Well," Regulus started, "I don't exactly need a babysitter."
This caused Sirius to glare at him in a way that meant "really, really?". Yes, really, Regulus thought.
"Look, I don't even have a wand," the teenager defended himself to the incredulous stares he was getting. "And if I was going to apparate away I would have done so by now."
"Wait, you don't have a wand?!" Harry asked.
"Nope," Regulus said, popping the "p", "you guys didn't know that?"
His answer was met with three human head shakes and one canine one.
"Seriously?" he said, thankful that Sirius couldn't make a pun in his present state. "An ex-Death Eater that is possibly dangerous is resurrected from the dead and none of you thought to confiscate or check for a wand?"
Again he was met with head shakes.
"These are the people that are supposed to be protecting you from evil?" he asked Harry, who nodded in response. "If I were you I'd be worried mate."
"We can't just leave you here all alone," Mrs. Weasley continued on. "Even if Dumbledore put up anti-apparation wards on the house" a quite "thank Merlin" could be heard from Regulus "we can't just trust that you won't do anything."
"Rude," Regulus mumbled. Sirius snorted in response.
Any verbal response was cut short by the front door swinging open loudly. "What's taking you so long?" Tonks said over Mrs. Black's screeching.
"We forgot about Regulus," Molly told her.
"Just leave him, he's fine," Tonks said impatiently, her eyebrows raised.
"We can't just leave him!"
"Well we can't take him with us," Tonks replied.
"Someone has to be available to stay behind," Molly shot back. Her gaze drifted down to Sirius, who pressed close to his godson's side. Harry's fingers gripped his dark fur tightly, making it clear that Sirius was going with him.
"I don't see why he can't just stay here for less than half an hour," Tonks argued. "It's not like he's going here. And Mad-Eye's getting even more impatient than usual."
"He can't just stay here all by himself!" Mrs. Weasley countered.
"He is right here and he doesn't even have a wand and evidently can't apparate," Regulus finally interjected. All eyes turned to him. "Guys. We all know there's basically nothing that I can do, and you're going to be late. Don't want to miss that train."
Mrs. Weasley and Hermione didn't seem like they wanted to just leave, but Tonks was busy dragging Harry out of the door with Sirius trailing behind him. The other two took one last glance at Regulus before walking after the other two. Mrs. Weasley stuck her head around the door one last time.
"Mad-Eye will be back in a little bit to get the luggage," she said before closing the door behind all of them.
And with that Regulus was left alone in the big and empty Black house with only a screaming portrait as company. A screaming portrait of his dead mother. Who hadn't seen him in sixteen years. And was evidently insane.
~X~
Regulus took a deep breath before turning around and walking down the hall. His mother's portrait hadn't noticed him when he walked by earlier, hopefully she wouldn't now either. But the Black family wasn't exactly known for their luck, now were they?
"Regulus?" the same shrill voice asked, much quieter than it had been before. The boy stopped in his tracks, stayed there for a few seconds, and then turned to face his dead mother.
"Mother," he nodded in response. Her bloodshot eyes were wide and her black hair was a tangled mess. Regulus wasn't sure if that was just how she'd looked when the painting was done, or if she had turned that way over time. Could portrait's subjects change? Regulus wasn't exactly well read on magical paintings.
"H-how are you here?" she asked, obviously shocked. Regulus was quite for a while, shifting back from one foot to another.
"I-I don't know," he replied honestly. "No of them do either." Well, the second half wasn't as honest. A blind man could tell that the others were hiding something.
"Where did you go?" she asked. "T-they never found a body. Everyone said that you l-left Him, but I knew it couldn't be true. You'd never do that to t-his family."
"Oh, I did," he snapped quickly. Her eyes went even wider.
"N-no, no, you w-," she started before he quickly cut her off.
"I did," he repeated, "and now I'm back."
"And how did you die?" she bounced back fast. "There wasn't a body, and-did you even die?"
"Yes," he said. "And now I'm here, with Sirius and the others."
"That blood traitor," she spat. "At least you're here now. You can redeem yourself by getting him and the rest of those mudblood lovers out!"
"Fat chance of that happening," Regulus muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"What?!" she cried.
"I said fat chance," he repeated, smiling. Then he added, "Bitch."
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" his mother shrieked, returning to full on banshee mode. Regulus grabbed the ends of the curtains and yanked them shut. This didn't seem to shut her up though, as a bought of screaming followed his actions. With a quick hand wave she was quieted, though.
At that exact moment the front door opened and the grizzly auror who seemed to have a personal vendetta against Regulus stepped through. He glanced at the young Black and then at the portrait he was standing in front of.
"How did you manage that?" he asked, blatantly suspicious. Regulus stepped back from the painting and stood to face the much older man head on.
"Old family secret," he said vaguely for way of an answer.
"Your brother doesn't know it then," Moody growled.
"Well, the definition of 'family' in the Black house is rather…ambiguous," Regulus smiled charmingly, although he knew the man would never fall for such a thing.
"So I've heard," Mad-Eye said. He glared at Regulus for a time that definitely could have been shortened by a great deal. "We've arranged for Bill Weasley to come back in a few minutes, the others should be back within the hour."
"Seems like a long time to just drop off a few kids at a train station." Regulus enjoyed messing with this guy.
"They're very close," Moddy's eyes narrowed, "need time for goodbyes and the like."
"Of course," Regulus grinned, "I'm sure the fact that the train leaves in twenty minutes won't cut their time short."
"Of course not." The old auror shot back. He gave Regulus one last death stare before magically shrinking the luggage and making his exit.
Regulus stood there grinning for a minute before chuckling softly and turning on his heel. The young black heir whistled his way into the kitchen and practically danced through the door.
GF: So...this was finished at two o'clock in the morning on March twenty-eighth. I'll post it later today, when I'm less sleep deprived and ready to post updates on three different sites. Yeah, I have this here, on AO3 and I make a post on tumblr whenever I update. This was a short update, I know, but I felt like that was the right time to end the chapter. Damn…still have to think of a title, I'll save that along with editing for tomorrow. Next chapter will have a (hopefully) funny interaction between Bill and Regulus and some other shit, who knows? Not me. Yay, writing planning.
