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Chapter 15
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Green holds steady with blue; at least Lily had been kind enough to bring her breakfast before beginning this standoff.
Poppy squirms uncomfortably upon her now cleansed bedding, grimaces as her shirt brushes against her nipples. No one warned her breastfeeding would lead to soreness and she's only done three feeds so far.
The discomfort doesn't stop Poppy from slowly stroking at the wisps of ever changing hair that tops her son's perfect little head. Even if that pulsating soft spot on the top is freaky as hell.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Pop, but metamorphmagus genes are primarily a Black family trait."
Something must have shown on her face because Lily's own crumples, head shaking back and forth as she rises to her feet.
Poppy watches her sister pace, already feeling tired from simple observation of the movement.
"Was he drunk?"
"Excuse me?!"
"Sirius! Was he drunk?! I'll kill him for this."
Poppy stares, utterly stunned by her sister's failed attempt at conclusion jumping. Unhinged, a bark of laughter escapes her lips before she can stop it, as unintentional as any accidental magic she's ever performed.
"Gods, Lily, I can honestly say I have never once been attracted to Sirius, just appreciated his aesthetic appeal."
Lily's mouth works soundlessly for a moment, her eyes darting to the baby, then back and Poppy can see the moment it all slots into place, the moment she registers the only other… perpetrator.
"No," gasps Lily, her eyes round with her stunned disbelief. "Regulus Black?!" It's a hiss, a sharp, low hiss but it wakes Regulus' baby all the same. As sensitive as his father, Poppy thinks with a wry smirk.
But where there had been a desire to taint, to fight and lock horns with Regulus, she feels nothing but protective maternal instincts towards the tiny human she brought into the world.
Regulus might have contributed to the creation of this little being, but that's about the same as purchasing dragon's blood from the Apothecary. She's the one who'd put in all the effort, though admittedly that was because Regulus didn't know what had happened, didn't know about the after effects of that one moment where they'd both slipped.
Poppy doesn't regret it, wouldn't have regretted it even if she hadn't gotten a baby out of the deal. Regulus is off playing dead though, off figuring out a way to destroy that Horcrux he acquired, and Poppy has no way to contact him. Not without getting the Black family involved, and like hell will she risk approaching them.
They're more likely to curse the blood from her body than allow her to speak a word in their presence.
"Regulus Black, Sirius' little brother?!"
It seems like Lily is still quite stuck on that little fact.
"Yes, Regulus Black," dryly repeating the name, Poppy lays her son across her chest, his little face resting just below her collarbone as she reclines back on the bed.
She has naming to consider now, and what she had planned before doesn't seem to fit anymore. How does the metamorphmagus thing work anyway? According to the baby books (and yes, Poppy has read more than her fair share of those) her little bud cannot see any colour right now, so how does it work when his hair seems to be twisting between silver and purple right now? Is it just his magic circling at random? It's certainly going to make the next visit from her parents fun.
"Poppy," Lily all but whines, a look of obfuscation upon her face, "why?"
"Because it was fun? Because he was the only person I, well, not got along with but… ah, it's difficult to explain. Interacting with him came naturally. There were no masks, no dancing around one another. There was a blunt honesty I've never gotten from anyone else."
Because Regulus had seen no need to be dishonest with her; she'd been a mudblood and he'd been the asshole Slytherin.
Yet still they'd gravitated to each other.
Were she more romantic, perhaps she'd question if it were the souls destined for one another, betrayed by the bodies they'd been stuffed into. But it's not true, it's Regulus' own prejudices that prevents anything truly important, and Poppy is not blind to her own faults. She could have proclaimed she knew of the Horcruxes, could have opened up the potential of working together. She could have done, if she wanted a partnership.
This, however, is a task better handled on her lonesome; chances are Regulus would just get in the way. He's not exactly given her a ringing endorsement, what with the whole near-dying thing upon his own death.
Poppy's self-aware enough to recognise she shouldn't judge, but she doesn't care enough to attempt actually trying such a thing.
"Urgh, we will be speaking about this-"
"Why? It's my life, my choices."
"I know, but I want you to be happy, Pop. Excuse me if I don't think a Slytherin like Black could manage that?"
"So, I should find a Slytherin like Snape, is that it?"
As soon as the words tumble out of her mouth, Poppy… well she doesn't wish she could take them back, but she wishes she could have phrased it a bit better, brought up the topic at another time. She'd never liked Snape, his double-standards and near obsession with Lily, and her sister knows it too.
It's exactly why Lily knows she doesn't have a leg to stand on when it comes to the topic of Slytherins and unhealthy relationships.
"I cut Severus out of my life, Poppy."
"Do you see Regulus here?"
Lily's lips thin, evidentially irritated by counter and Poppy gives up. Time for a change of topic.
"It's Sol, by the way."
"Excuse me?"
"Your nephew's name. It's Sol Lilium Evans. Sol for the sun, which poppies will wither without," Poppy whispers, rubbing her thumb down the plump cheek of her little boy, not daring to look up at Lily's face.
"And Lilium for you."
It all still fits with the Black family star theme, after all their sun is a star, no matter how using the Latin name for the big orb of fire in the sky may be a little obscure a reference. While Lilium, both a star and flower reference in one. The only reason the kid's not ended up with that as his first name is because it's a little bit… girly. That and (though Lily will never learn this) Poppy absolutely hates the scent of lily flowers.
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There's a little face beneath his. There's a little face beneath his on the family tapestry. A tiny little face with no distinguishable features and one of those awful hats that everyone on the tapestry gets, but there's a face all the same.
No marriage line (the ones that have to be added manually) but there's a child line. Because there's a child. His child.
"Walburga is distraught. She cannot comprehend why your lover has not come forwards with the new Black heir."
Cassiopeia's eyes are heavy as they stare at him, he can feel them like Atlas must feel the world, but Regulus cannot find the strength to look from the miniature tapestry he has been presented with.
"She has asked me to locate the woman, but I get the feeling… this little child is not as pure blooded as the family would approve of."
Regulus's head snaps up to stare at his aunt, willing, daring her to say anything else. It's been a whole twenty-four hours since his aunt slapped him around the face, disappearing and leaving him to stew. She'd returned with a miniature of the family tapestry, but it's not like Regulus had been sitting idle. Well, not the entire time. Admittedly a fair portion had been spent staring blankly at the floor, trying to comprehend this enormous gamechanger.
He's both irritatingly proud and beyond curious when Kreacher proves incapable of tracking Evans down. He wouldn't have expected any less of the menace, but it still makes his job to find his child infuriatingly difficult.
Kreacher, beside himself for failing 'Master Regulus', is off scoping out Diagon Alley in hopes of spotting Evans' sister.
Because Evans would never be stupid enough to expose herself to the Wizarding World when she is so evidentially trying to hide.
It explains why Kreacher had been unable to find any records of her being employed. Or even records of her NEWT scores. Evans has gone to ground and Regulus finds himself a niffler attempting to unearth diamonds. It's not what he's used to searching for, not the gold instincts drive him towards, he's ill equipped… and he's very irritated that this metaphor implies he'd be looking for Gryffindors instead of Hufflepuffs.
Though his sample size is small, he's found badgers make far better company than lions.
"And you have no idea where she- where they are either, do you?" Jaw clenched, Regulus rises to his feet, brushing down his robes. The robes will have to go, come to think of it. He might not know where Poppy is, where Poppy is with this little ball of sunshine (he could kill her, of all the names she could pick she went for something as short and dull as 'Sol'). But he knows someone who does.
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Fast forwards twenty minutes, and he finds himself reevaluating his life choices.
Arm braced against the wall and cheekbone throbbing, Regulus draws in a long, deep breath.
It was only in Evans' defence, he tells himself, defence she admittedly deserves.
Wiping his face in disgust will mean even less chance of him being informed as to Evans' location. He must not react poorly.
Even if he has just been punched in the face.
He didn't even have the decency to go for the same cheek as Aunt Cassiopeia.
"How dare you."
"I haven't even introduced myself."
"You don't need to. I know my daughter well, and I also know the amount of friends that she has had."
"Friends?" Regulus repeats sceptically, but that is his downfall, brain catching up quickly but not quick enough.
Evans doesn't have friends, ergo, a young male her age coming by asking after her; it makes it blatantly obvious who he is when her current condition (previous condition, given the birth of the child has occurred) is taken into account.
Damn.
If Evans is a winter-storm, then her father is the clouds that swirl, formless, meaningless without Evans herself present.
Regulus only takes note because the storm that has broken across the landscape of his life has come from this cloud.
Regardless, he's utterly unimpressed with the muggle before him. Grandfather of his child or not.
"I didn't know."
"Were my daughter not so strong-minded, then I'd be far more pissed already."
He's got to give him credit though, the man has guts; he doesn't so much as quake when Regulus points his wand at him.
The woman that could only be Evans' mother stands behind her husband, a sternly worried frown on her face.
"But I've come to respect my children's choice. Undoubtedly, that's something you'll have to learn for yourself."
He can't quite stop the grimace that's prodded into existence from there and muggle Evans takes that as a win.
"Look, I've just found out that Ev- that Poppy," -her forename tastes strange as it rolls from his tongue, stranger even than 'Evans' had been- "was pregnant. Our world isn't exactly full of sunshine and unicorns right now and believe it or not, I'm dealing with some shit too."
Muggle Evans scowls, the thunder Evans so often embodies gathering upon his face.
"We can give you the address," Female Muggle Evans finally pipes in. "I may not trust you, but I trust our daughter, and her ability with those ward things."
The implied 'they'll crisp you if you're not there for what you say you are' doesn't go unnoticed and Regulus forces his numb lips to twist up into a smile, forces himself to cough up the most wooden thank you he has ever given in his life.
The doubts are back and once again Regulus wishes Evans'd had the decency to be born a half-blood at least. He doesn't have the slightest idea how to make the muggles like him, short of barely legal (certainly not legal if used on a witch or wizard) spell work.
Even more of a conundrum; he's not sure if he cares for them to approve of him either. Hell, his parents aren't exactly going to approve of (or even tolerate) Evans, so why should he care for the opinion of her parents in return? He's going to have enough of a job figuring out if he can make something with Evans work, nevermind everyone else that comes about as a result of her presence in his life.
It's suddenly so much easier to recall why he wanted to put of this relationship thing for a decade or so, to consider it later.
But Regulus knows himself enough to realise he doesn't want to let go of Evans. Child or not, this 'Sol' has just sped up the process, that's all.
I really don't have too much to say in these AN things, like, I've updated so fast recently that you all probably know the important stuff? Er, I start University on the 13th, so updates will slow then, but they won't stop?
Thoughts on the name?
Thanks for reading,
Tsume
xxx