Sorry this chapter is so short, the next one will be better I promise

Unexpected arrivals – Sirius trudged up the stairs, exhausted from his fight and the job to do afterwards, but glad he was overall successful. He wanted nothing more than to slide into bed next to Harry and hold him close as yet another apology for staying out later than he said he would. He wanted to hold him in reassurance that he was changing the world and once he was old enough to really remember he'd be swaddled in peace like he deserved. He ran a hand through his black hair and reached out for the handle when he heard a deep voice coming from inside the room. Sirius knew that the sounds should have made him burst inside in a blur of magic, shields and worry, but he didn't, he froze instead, because it was familiar.

Harry was far too young to have a broken voice and Kreacher's voice was high pitched like all house elves. This voice was as soft as velvet, something he'd never managed despite years of trying, and he knew this voice. So with his hand reaching out for the handle and a look of horror and shock on his face he froze and listened. "The warlock vowed to never be like his friends and lose himself to such foolish things such as love." Sirius blinked, he was dictating the hairy heart, not perfectly, true, but... that wasn't the point, of all the things that could have been going on in that room which contained Harry, this was by far one of the best. The breath he'd been holding in fear was released slowly.

"The warlock wanted to become an academic and by cutting himself off from his feelings gained prestige and power and money. However such gifts did not come without a price and he was soon to pay for his coldness. By not feeling anything his heart did not stay like yours and mine but grew hairy in that room it was locked away in." Trust the owner of this voice to dictate the only horror story Beetle ever wrote and make it even more twisted. "Despite previously wanting nothing to do with a heart, his friends claimed how he should have a wife and he agreed. Someone as powerful and as influential as him must be seen to have the most beautiful and intelligent wife."

The voice sounded so peaceful, almost happy as he dictated this story, he did not want to disturb him by bursting in. And so he stood there and waited until the story had finished and waited until he had read the story of the magical fountain too. Then Sirius slowly, silently opened the door to the bedroom. The sight that greeted him was Harry sucking contentedly on his thumb, eyes drooping as he sat on the lap and leant against the warm chest of the man who was dictating stories to him. Said man was reclining on the bed, looking comfortable, at home. His scraggly black hair and tanned skin was as familiar to Sirius as his own face.

It was a man Sirius never thought he'd see again. "Reg?" He asked quietly, finally managing to reach the gentle tone Regulus always managed to use. He took a step closer, scarcely believing what he was seeing, "Reg is that you?" Surely it could not be, Regulus died, years ago, but it looked like him, spoke like him and wad even acting like him, he'd always been a softie around children. The man looked up with his kindle smile, not once loosening his arms around the young child who was asleep against him. He wanted to run over and wrap him in his arms and hug him and exclaim in shock and wonder and joy but all he could find he could do was stand and stare.

"Good evening Siri," he said softly in that velvet voice of his that so many were jealous of, so quiet he barely heard it, he threaded his fingers through Harry's hair in a loving manner. "Yes, it's me, as you can see I am not as dead as most believe as you are not as guilty as the world believes. As for why I am here, well this is home, there is no other place I either should be or would rather be." He jerked his head at Harry, "is this my glorious nephew, Siri? I never thought I'd have one, you always seemed too childish to have one of your own." He carefully got up and laid the child under the covers without waking him. "He looks like you."

"No Earthly reason why that should be," he mentioned gruffly although it was clear that Harry did look like him with the black hair and the facial shape and the thin frame, although his skinniness was nothing to do with his genes. He and James had looked similar when they were in school too. "I love him like my own," he said, "always have and I will do so for the rest of my life, but he's not my child. You've seen his scar right Reg, it's little Harry Potter, James' boy, my Godson. Your late master killed his ma and da Reg, he's mine to look after now."

"I'm sorry Siri, it was stupid of me to go after him like I did. I should have listened to you, gotten out of this house the same time you did, made something of my life, listened to you more. I realised that I was following a madman though Siri, I noticed eventually and I escaped. There is no greater escape than dying you know, and the locket was a great way to do it. But the dark magic in the locket was transferred to me Siri and it did something that kept me in limbo. It gave me another chance Sirius, I was able to go back, and now here I am Siri, I found my way home."

"Reggie," Sirius stumbled forward a couple of steps and reached out to touch him. He ran his hand over his brother's face with a giddy smile, "I never thought I'd see you again. Even with you in front of me, it is hard to believe I am looking at you, it is really, truly you. Words cannot describe just how much I have missed you and how often I have thought of you Reg." Now he had gotten over his surprise he could not seem to stop the pouring confessions. "I'm sorry for not looking after you more and driving you away from me, but I loved you Reg, I will always love you and it hurt me when you joined the wrong side. But it does not matter, you are back, if there is some greater deity out there, it has given you back to me."

"Even I can recognise a second chance when one is given to me." He smiled softly, "and I am not so stubborn as to, as they say, look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Yes, you are only a young man; do try not to die again so soon." He sat down the other side of Harry who was now asleep and just gazed at his brother in amazement. "We need to get you some more clothes, seeming as all you have is what is on your back."

"What about the clothes I left here?"

"No good, there are not many left that are not moth eaten, and I commandeered them." He smiled crookedly, "but we can always get some more."

"Well I can't go to Diagon Alley, I may be recognised, and I am meant to be dead. I know this sounds weird, but I wish to stay dead for a little longer."

"You may be recognised, but considering, you may be recognised as me. Not to steal your thunder or anything, but I am very famous, well, infamous at the moment. Everyone is on the lookout for me; I am a wanted convict at the moment. Oh before you gloat about how mummy would be so proud, I as framed for killing James and Lily."

"James… your brother, right?"

"Oh don't look at me like that, you know I did not really have much of a choice, the she-bat would have killed me and I did not have it in me then to top her first."

Regulus was as sharp as always, "then?"

"I spent a year in Azkaban; I am ready to do anything now. I unlocked my core, we are descendants of Merlin, I hope you understand what this means. Unlimited wandless, wordless magic, unbelievable feats like apparating past wards and such power."

"How could they believe you killed them, it is stupid."

"I know, Azkaban has left me more than a little bitter."

"Dementors," his voice was little more than a whisper.

"Yes Reggie, the dementors."

"How did you escape Azkaban, isn't it mean to be inpenetrateable?"

"Unlocked core Reg, I told you, I can go around wards now. As it turns out, the prison wards were too strong, I went under water."

"How many people were you accused of killing Sirius, if you were accused of killing them, then you must have been accused of being a death eater too. I do not understand, you do not have a dark mark, nobody could say they saw you in the ranks, a drop of veritaserum and it would be clear you are innocent of everything, what pig circus trial made-"

"There was no trial Regulus."

"Huh? That's, well it makes sense but, isn't that illegal?"

"They are the law Reg, what was I going to do, press charges? Besides, it's alright now, I quite like being a convict at the moment, it makes me more dangerous."

"And why do you need to be dangerous?"

"Well, I am hunting death eaters at the moment."

"Hunting death eaters, that sounds like something you talked about as a kid and it was an understanding it was never going to take off."

"Yes, yes that is about right, yes."

"Would you like an assistant?"

"Someone to help me hunt them, it is dangerous work Reg."

"Do you not trust me?"

"Not really no, not yet in any case, you have only just come back from the dead and you were not the greatest advocate for the light when you were alive. Oh and being an advocate for the light is wrong right now because they follow Dumbledore and right now he is my enemy. Not just for forsaking me, but leaving Harry with the Dursleys, his relatives abused him. Of all the people the doddery old man could have placed him with…"

"My nephew."

"Your nephew."

"He's cute."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, he's very cute, he's young, that's why. Umm, should probably get a room setup for you anyway."

"Yeah, yeah that would be useful."

"Tomorrow we will deal with explanations and, well, everything."

"We are going to do absolutely everything tomorrow; it will be a long day."

"Not half as long as today has been, trust me."

"And you will explain yourself tomorrow," he smiled.

"Yeah, I'm tired, sleep with me."

"Steady on, I've only just come back to life."

"Sleep with me Reg, keep me company," he said, unmoved by the gallows humour.

Regulus sighed, "you big man, dangerous escaped convict, as helpless as always."