The Search Is Over,
Chapter 144, Welcome Home
"Do they normally allow babies to come home the first night," Kereston asked curiously as Kreacher and Regulus stepped into the front hall of #12 Grimmauld Place.
Each of them held a baby in his arms.
"Oh they're so cute," she added enthusiastically as her gray-blue eyes drank in the tiny babies.
Kreacher and Regulus had chosen to take the night bus home, concerned over apparating babies even though the goblin healers insisted there would be no risk with the two obviously so experienced at the art. The new parents weren't certain that their babies were fully out of the woods yet with so many firsts involved in their mere existence, so they wouldn't take any chances.
"I personally don't recall," Regulus said with a slight amused twitch of his lips.
Kereston blinked, clearly confused.
"What?"
"I don't recall if I stayed over at hospital or returned here the first night I was born," Regulus replied with a chuckle.
Kereston laughed, shaking her head of blonde curls at him.
"I don't think I've ever seen you make a joke. It worked out well, so you can try it again some day if you like."
Regulus laughed.
"I shall truly consider it."
"What are you going to do now," Kereston wondered.
"And is there anything I can do to help?"
Kreacher thinks the children will be hungry soon, so he shall heat bottles for them. At present we require no assistance, but he is certain we shall eventually."
As the elf spoke, he and Regulus exchanged an unplanned nervous glance.
"It's all rather terrifying," Regulus admitted to Kereston and Kreacher nodded.
Kereston gave a sympathetic smile.
"I'm sure it is. As you know I have no more experience with children than you do, but I'm here to help if I can."
Regulus nodded gratefully.
"We shall need all the help we can get. Of that I am certain."
He chuckled, and followed Kreacher into the kitchen where the elf filled and warmed too bottles of milk hands free. The effortless way he performed the task, and most magic, never failed to impress Regulus. Magic was a skill, but Kreacher made it as simple as breathing.
"What?"
Kreacher paused in the process of passing Regulus a bottle of warm milk, giving him an inquisitive look.
"I just love watching the organic way you work with magic," Regulus said in way of explanation.
Kreacher gave a happy sigh.
"Kreacher does love it when Master Regulus is in his observant states. He says the most fascinating things."
Regulus chuckled, settling onto a nearby chair in order to comfortably and safely feed Hydra.
"Compliments about you are fascinating?"
Kreacher grinned, at last passing him the bottle.
"Of course!"
Regulus offered the bottle to Hydra, who had been watching with sleepy, stoic curiosity. When he coaxed it into her mouth, she began to drink hungrily. When she didn't choke and the bottle didn't spill, he breathed a sigh of relief and began to relax. He glanced over at Kreacher, glad to see he was having a similarly easy time of it with Loughness.
The baby boy's tiny hands had already come up to clutch at the bottle. Regulus studied his son's long slender fingers, so much like Kreacher's own, with open fascination. They'd done it! They'd made two beautiful half-breeds together! The very thought caused Regulus's heart to swell with more amazing, humbling emotions than he could easily put into words. Joy, pride, awe and gratitude were some of them, but there were even larger ones that were too difficult to put a name to.
"After this, there's only the changing to learn, and the sleeping schedules and the bathing, and the dressing them every day without accidentally breaking any of their tiny bones," Regulus said and Kreacher gave him a terrified glance.
"If Master Regulus is trying to reassure Kreacher, he is not succeeding."
Regulus chuckled.
"Sorry."
The two fed their children in companionable silence for several seconds. That silence allowed them to hear it.
"I think they're in the kitchen."
The voice spoke in a hushed whisper from the front hall. It was Kereston, and the two vampires could make out her words easily. They exchanged a glance, but before either could wonder aloud who she was speaking to, the kitchen door burst open.
"SURPRISE!"
The shout collectively came from Kereston, Gellert, Blaise, Severus and Mag, the three Lestranges, Dora and Fisnic, Bera, Albus and Ariana Dumbledore and last but certainly not least, the ghosts of Walburga and Orion Black. Regulus's parents were standing to either side of the red haired necromancer.
"I thought it would be nice to have a party to welcome the children home," Kereston said, smiling happily from ear to ear at the moved expressions on the faces of Regulus and Kreacher.
"Tracking Dora down was the most difficult bit, but as you can see I managed!"
"Kereston is the most wonderful of friends," Kreacher said.
"She should come here so that he can hug her! It isn't as easy for him to spontaneously hug now that he has a baby to hold."
He grinned happily at the prospect of having a baby to hold as Kereston, laughing, hurried over to embrace him.
"Oh the babies are so beautiful! If only I could hold them," Walburga said, her voice cracking as her eyes filled with tears that were obviously as sorrowful as they were joyful.
Hydra turned her head in order to free her mouth from the bottle, and made a soft coo, arms reaching out toward Walburga at the sound of her voice.
"Don't you see, Mother? You can still interact with them. See how Hydra responds to your voice," Regulus pointed out softly.
Walburga sniffed, wiping at her eyes with a sleeve of the purple robe she wore.
"They are indeed impressive," Orion spoke up, giving Kreacher and Regulus a proud smile.
"You've done well, the both of you. You've made two amazing children to carry on the name of Black."
Making his parents proud would never get old no matter how many years passed. Regulus smiled back at his father.
"We only hope to be as good at raising children as the two of you were," he said, swallowing a lump in his throat as Kreacher nodded grave agreement.
Gellert approached, studying the children with an intent expression in his blue eyes. Reaching out a slender hand, he placed his index finger lightly on Loughness's forehead. After a moment he nodded, then came to Hydra to repeat the gesture.
"They are important," he murmured.
"Of course they are," Walburga said.
"Mum, this is Gellert Grindelwald," Regulus said.
"She knows," Bellatrix said.
"We had everyone meet at ours so we could all arrive together. It gave me, Roddy and Rabastan the opportunity to speak to Auntie and Uncle for a bit which was nice.
"Indeed it was," Walburga agreed warmly.
For the rest of the evening and late into the night the gathering of family and friends celebrated the new heirs of House Black with Regulus and Kreacher. The new parents had many questions for those in the party who were parents themselves. Anything from how to coax children to learn new words to the best way to change a diaper.
"If you can get down the trick of Scourgify while apparating the dirty one away at the same time, you're set," Walburga insisted.
"It's a fine art, though," Orion added with a chuckle.
"Children are so like animals," Gellert observed with a shudder.
Glancing over at Blaise he grinned.
"We should never have any...We'd forget to feed them or something."
Blaise chuckled, nodding in agreement.
"You can just babysit ours," Regulus said with a wicked smile that grew as Blaise and Gellert's eyes widened in mutual horror.