Adelaide, Alexia, Mia, Rowan

It wasn't a sudden thing for Regulus. It wasn't as if he was there and then he wasn't. No, it was more gradual than that. People simply seemed to be forgetting him. Not in a rude way, but rather in the sense that they were surprised he was there. Things always went back to normal after they saw him, spoke to him, touched him. At least, they did at first. Then…

Then they couldn't see him one day. At all. They couldn't hear him or feel him, either. He'd gone around for around ten hours just trying to catch their attention. Mostly, he'd sat by Adelaide, whispering her name softly and trying to hold her hand.

It got worse over what he thought was probably two weeks. The worst part was that he would tell Sirius and Adelaide what was going on, even Severus. Either they didn't believe him - Sirius - didn't know what to do - Severus - or forgot immediately - Adelaide.

The day that whatever he'd been cursed with finally took him away, he'd been talking about Draco and Astoria's wedding with Adelaide and Avery, which was coming up soon.

At least, that was what he remembered. Despite that, Adelaide clearly believed something else. He'd gathered from her conversations with mostly Avery that Alexia and Mia had come to grab her and then dropped her off again.

He'd continued to try to get their attention, of course. Most often, it amounted to nothing. It was screaming until his voice was hoarse, slamming his hands into objects to try and knock them over, and opening and closing doors, cupboards, and the like. Usually it did nothing, but sometimes… sometimes he caught her attention.

It was all for her, of course. He'd abandon the rest of the world if he had her with him without a moment of hesitation. But he didn't have her, and she didn't remember him.

And while she didn't remember him, she knew something was off. He could see it in her. She'd found her ring, which was a great relief to him. It led to questions. Sirius told her she must've gotten drunk and stolen it, told her to keep it or destroy it, and walked away.

Avery was the only one who agreed that something was very wrong. It was clear to Regulus that without him there, Avery had shifted closer. He couldn't regret it. He'd always thought that if Adelaide didn't have him, he hoped she'd have Avery. And she did.

He couldn't tell how long he'd been there, really, but it seemed like months. He didn't feel most human urges. He didn't get hungry, tired, or need to use the bathroom. It was as if, while he watched Adelaide's life move forward without him, he was stuck in some timeless place.

He didn't think he could describe torture as anything else.

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"What are we doing exactly?"

Antonin's lips thinned slightly. "We got unusual readings from a universe you've interacted with previously. I believe her name is Macie."

"Oh, that bitch," Mia nodded. "What's up?"

"That's what we're going to see."

Mia shrugged her jacket back on, tucked her wand into her boot, and prepared herself to step into the portal that was opened. Reluctantly, they grabbed onto one another and jumped in.

Their sudden partnership was reluctant and cautious. Neither of them liked the situation, but Mia had made a promise and Antonin had a job to do while his wife was away.

Mia had gone through some rushed training before taking their first trip to visit Alexia. They'd planned another one for after they checked on Macie, and she was truthfully excited to see Alexia, mostly to ask her how the hell she did her job and made it look so easy.

The portal did not go smoothly, as it never seemed to when Mia was around, and they found themselves sliding to the side until they fell out in an office in Potter Manor.

"Huh," she blinked, looking around. She pulled her wand and held it up when she found herself facing a group of three teenagers. "Dolohov, there's kids."

"What the fuck was that?" a thirteen-year-old Sirius nearly screeched at them. James elbowed his side hard.

"Lower your wand or I'll curse your legs off," the girl said, her wand pointed at them steadily.

"Aw, she reminds me of Lexi," Mia smiled, ducking a curse. "Temper, too."

Antonin put a shield up in front of them both. "Pretend to be competent for a moment, Potter."

Mia rolled her eyes, but she did straighten a little. "Okay. That was a portal, because we came from another universe. I'm Mia Potter, he's Antonin Dolohov. We didn't mean to come here, considering you've got a mini-Lexi instead of a bitchy Macie."

"The ring isn't working yet," Antonin muttered to her, letting her handle the kids.

"Wait, another universe," the girl frowned. "And you're me. You're from the future."

"Yep."

"So is she!" James nodded excitedly, earning a smack from her. "That hurt, Ro."

She sighed and looked at Mia. "I'll put my wand down if you two do the same."

"He's probably going to hold the shield, but I'll put mine away," Mia offered, tucking it back into her boot. "What's your name?"

"Rowan Potter."

"James's sister? By birth, or adopted?"

"Birth," she tilted her head. "Are you adopted?"

"Yep," Mia smiled. "Long story. Went back in time with Fred Weasley, got adopted, came back. What's your story?"

Rowan hesitated. "You guys aren't staying, are you?"

"Nah, we're getting out as soon as he can get our device working," she jerked her thumb at Antonin. "Don't worry, Rowan, we won't put you in danger."

"I don't understand why you showed up here to begin with."

Mia shifted a little, some pain shooting through her stomach and chest. "Dolohov, we have to get back soon."

His eyes shot to her with a slight frown. "Already?"

"Just started," she replied before looking back to Rowan. "Look, Lexi's got this part down, you know? Jump in, meet someone new, assure them she means no harm and it's all an accident. She befriends everyone. I- I'm new at this, and he's antisocial. I can promise this: we were aiming to go somewhere else, but something went wrong again and we ended up here."

"So you can just travel the… multiverse?" Rowan wondered quietly. "There's universes where… everyone's okay?"

"Absolutely," Mia nodded sharply. She regretted the move quickly, wincing at the nausea that rose up within her. "I met them. Their version of you and I, Harry, Ron, Jamie, Lily- everyone, they're okay."

"Fuck," Rowan breathed, her eyes wide. "What… exactly were you trying to do?"

"Visit a friend," Mia answered carefully. While Bertie hadn't made her take Vows, he had requested she not be quite as careless with the information she gave out, simply for the fact that he trusted Alexia and not Mia. "What were you three doing? Awfully dressed up to be hiding in Dad's office."

"It's the New Years' Ball," Sirius explained. "Rowan was showing us-,"

"Sirius, no-,"

"-her animagus form."

Rowan shot him a murderous glare. "I'm going to destroy you, Sirius Black."

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"Where are we going?"

"Not far," Rose called as she ran around the console. "Just to Cardiff."

"I swear Jack ordered this just so we'd interfere and bring it," the Doctor complained. Rose laughed a little.

"He told me he ordered it so you wouldn't have multiple aneurysms when you found out," she explained. "And, as I figured, you insisted upon delivering it with a lecture."

"Who's Jack?" Adelaide wondered. "A friend?"

"My best friend," Rose nodded as the TARDIS landed. She threw on her leather jacket and ran out. It was bright out, and they covered their eyes as Rose led Adelaide, Avery, and the Doctor through a little storefront and down into an impressive underground… something.

A tall man ran out of an office and slammed into Rose, picking her up and spinning her around in a hug. He set her down gently and kissed the top of her head. "I didn't think you'd get here so fast."

"Well, we have another job to do while we're on Earth, so I convinced him to let me bring it now," she explained.

"And who's this?" Jack smirked at Adelaide, who just stared back at him.

"Ah, this is Adelaide and Avery," Rose told her friend. She leaned in a little to speak quietly. "Her husband sort of… stopped existing, so flirting isn't the best move right now."

"Ah," Jack coughed. "I see. My condolonces."

"He isn't dead," Adelaide told him sharply, wincing at her own tone. "I'm sorry, it's just-,"

"Hey, I get it," he promised, nodding at the blonde standing at his side. "I lost Rose for a long, long time. It's hard."

"I thought he was just your best friend?" Avery questioned Rose. It was the Doctor who answered.

"Don't try and understand their dynamic- you won't. Are we done here? No one will be using this to do unspeakable things, will they?"

"'Course not, Doc," Jack winked.

"I'll come for lunch and shopping next week," Rose promised Jack. "Bring Ianto, okay?"

"See you then, Rosie."

When they got back to the TARDIS, the Doctor ran around the console while Rose asked questions. "So, no idea what happened at all? Nothing weird going on? No memories popping up?"

"No. I mean… just the usual stuff," Adelaide shrugged. Rose tilted her head.

"Usual stuff?"

"There's the typical noises, smells, the visions, but we live in a very old home and we have magic so it's probably some sort of ghost or-,"

"Or those are exactly the signs you've been looking for!" the Doctor told them excitedly. "How long have they been going on?"

Adelaide exchanged a glance with Avery. "I don't… really know. A month at least. It's just a few things here and there, and we just sort of got used to it. What, you think Regulus is haunting me?"

"He may be trying to get in touch with you," Rose said gently. "And it's good he did. We can track that with the TARDIS, find him using it."

"But where is he exactly? Why can't we remember him?" Avery wondered.

"That is a good question," the Doctor agreed as he and Rose worked to take them back to Potter Manor. When they got there, the couple started pressing more buttons. It was weirdly silent, and Adelaide blinked at them.

"You guys are really good at this. It's like you already know what the other one is going to do. Do you search for un-existing husbands a lot?"

"Huh? Oh, no," Rose shook her head. "No, we have a bond. We're talking, just silently."

"Ah, c'mon Rose, you took the fun out of it!" the Doctor complained. They both stopped before she could respond. "Well, it might work."

"I don't see why it wouldn't, as long as I give the TARDIS a boost," Rose shrugged. "Adelaide, come here."

She did, stepping over cautiously. "What is it?"

"You can help us find him," Rose told her. "It's a telepathic circuit- you may feel something brush against your mind, but it won't hurt you."

"Addy-,"

"I have to know him," she told Avery, interrupting his concerned argument. "He was… my husband, and I don't remember him. You know I need this."

He backed off and nodded, grabbing her hand to squeeze it in support. "What does she need to do?"

"Just put your hand in here," Rose directed. Hesitantly, Adelaide moved to put her hand in. She grimaced at the feeling - not only did the circuit itself feel slimy, but it tickled her mind in an uncomfortable way.

Despite that, it was barely a moment before the Doctor grinned and threw a switch. "We've got him! Allons-y!"

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"You don't want to know?"

Alexia looked up at Alphard. "Hm?"

"What we did with him."

She frowned down at her hands and kept working. "Alphard, I kissed him."

Alphard's eyebrows rose. "You did."

"I didn't know- I didn't know, okay? But I did. And then he crossed the line. He's stuck here, and I'm going to go back home without him and have to explain to Antonin."

"Alexia," he sighed, looking pained. "No one has ever called me the best person to give relationship advice, but your husband is incredibly in love with you. I have no doubt that you will figure it out together."

"We might," she said, clearly not wanting to hope too much.

"In the meantime," Alphard nudged her. "There's a man horribly devoted to you. We're going to try to send him somewhere, but he wants to speak with you first."

"Of course, he does."

"I think you should do it."

Alexia made a face and twisted the piece she held in her hands, staring down at it as she spoke. "I can't promise I won't strangle him."

Alphard laughed a little. "I think I can play bodyguard for him."

"Fine."

He gave her a smile before he went to retrieve the man in question. When they came back, Alexia took in the sight of Salazar in modern clothes. He wore a fitted suit with a set of DOM robes. She reluctantly admitted that it suited him.

"Alexia," Salazar said, stepping closer. She tensed a little, squeezing the clearly breakable machinery in her hands. He did the smart thing and stopped where he was. "Lexi, you're very upset. I may have crossed a line, and I'm sorry for that."

"May have?" she repeated, scoffing. "Salazar, you must understand that I am going to finish this damn machine as soon as possible - which is a month or so if things go well. So it will be finished, I will have fulfilled my Vow, and then I'm going home."

"Your universe," he said quietly. She raised an angry eyebrow.

"My husband."

"Of course," he inclined his head slightly. "I suppose it's time for me to go, but Alexia, if you ever need anything and find yourself in this universe, I'll be here."

"Got it," she nodded once before grimacing. "I wish you the best, Salazar, I really do."

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When the noises first sounded, Regulus paid them no mind. Adelaide and Avery had left hours ago and it was probably Sirius messing around with magic he shouldn't have touched.

Not his problem.

He lay on the couch with his ankles crossed, carefully hovering a snitch over his face. It was similar to wandless magic in the sense that he moved the ball with energy, held it with energy, but the difference came in the fact that he was not using magic, of course, but rather being… a ghost, he supposed.

He watched as a large box appeared in the room - it was the TARDIS. He dropped the snitch and sat up.

They were back.

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Adelaide stood still at the console, rubbing her hands on her pants and staring at the door as the Doctor and Rose headed toward it. Avery stood between them, watching her with a concerned frown.

"Addy?"

"Sorry," she said softly, her eyes wide. "Sorry, it- it's just… I feel something. I feel- I feel something in my mind."

"It may be a soul bond," Rose said quickly. "I know they work differently for your community, though."

"Mia said we held a bond," Adelaide whispered. "He's… out there, isn't he?"

"Why don't you go look?" the Doctor suggested, stepping back.

They watched as she slowly made her way over and cautiously opened the door, looking outside.

Everything was, mostly, the way they'd left it. It was a bit darker and seemed abnormally dusty, but otherwise, the same. She was facing the foyer and didn't see anyone around at first. Shoes by the door were gone, meaning they were home alone. Stepping away from the TARDIS, she took a sharp turn to the right and into the sitting room.

Adelaide froze where she was, her eyes widening. Before her stood a man her age, around 6'1", with long, wavy black hair and grey eyes. He watched her carefully, as if her very being was his gravity. "Regulus?" she breathed. She could see his eyes widen and his mouth open slightly in surprise.

"You can- Adelaide, you can see me?" he asked her, looking more fearful than hopeful.

"Yes, I- I can't believe we found you," she said, her eyes roaming his body. They snapped back to his face and she felt herself smile lightly. "You look so worried."

"Do you… remember me?" he whispered, far more afraid of her answer than anything else.

The question seemed to stump her. "I don't know. I don't remember moments. I don't remember our- our wedding, but you feel familiar. You feel as familiar as my own soul, my very being. I know that frown, I know that much. I know you're my husband, and I know there's so much I'm missing."

"When we were wed," he began slowly, stepping closer. She found herself doing the same, meeting him in the middle of her room. She watched as his hands came to trace the shape of her arms all the way up until he nearly cupped her cheeks - too afraid to try and touch her. "Our souls were permanently tethered, more so than even before. I feel familiar to you because I am a part of you as much as you are my entire being, Adelaide."

She looked down at his hands and frowned. "Why won't you touch me?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard, and her frown deepened when he dropped his hands completely. "I don't know how long I've been here, but I've done everything. There is no way this is real. It is… it is good to hear you say my name again, though."

Her frown twisted into a frustrated pout - one that he was deeply familiar with. It nearly made him smile, but he was startled out of that by her hands grabbing him and pulling him closer to kiss him.

Both of them stilled.

The feeling of a soul bond snapping back into place was deeply uncomfortable and overwhelming. Like the most painful itch in the world had just been scratched. They stood there, wrapped up in one another for a while before she stumbled closer and into his arms, wrapping hers tightly around him. She let out a sob into the crook of his neck. "Reg."

"Jesus, Addy," he held her tightly into him, breathing in the scent of her conditioner. They stayed like that for a moment before he pulled back to look at her- though he held her arms lightly, completely unwilling to stop touching her. "How the hell did you get here? How did you even remember me?"

"Mia let it slip what happened," she began, but he shook his head.

"What did happen?" he wondered. "For me, you just started forgetting me. No matter what I did, you forgot over and over until… I was gone, and I was here."

"I'm so sorry," she breathed, looking as horrified as she felt. "From what I've gathered, they accidentally took me along with them on the trip and when we got back, you didn't exist anymore. I guess Alexia's been trying to figure it out, but she's- there's serial killer cousins and Vows and shit going on, so she hasn't given you her full focus. Mia explained, so I got in touch with the Doctor and Rose and they got me… here."

"And where is here?"

"I can answer that!" the Doctor exclaimed, poking his head out of the TARDIS. "Hello, didn't want to interrupt. The answer is hell. We're in hell."

Rose stepped out as she rolled her eyes. "It isn't hell. Hell depends on the person. This is the no-space, though I'd argue it's more of a no-time than a no-space."

"Time Lords named it" the Doctor shrugged.

"And what is a no-space?" Avery wondered, making his way over. He stopped by Adelaide and stared at Regulus. "Oh."

"Do you remember him?" Adelaide wondered curiously. Their friend nodded.

"You've pulled his physical being back to his timeline," Rose explained. "Via your bond. When we get you guys back, all will be as normal."

"How do you know this place won't do this to someone else?" Regulus questioned them as his wife pulled him toward the TARDIS.

"There's a tiny breach in the very un-being of the no-space," Rose explained. "I'll patch it up on the way out. You guys ready to go?"

"And never, ever come back," Adelaide added at the vaguely haunted look her husband held.

"More than," he answered them.

"Well, then," the Doctor grinned, staring at Rose. "Allons-y!"

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