Ten years ago, Regulus Black and Marlene McKinnon fled the wizarding world and were presumed dead. Now they've returned in time for their adopted son, Harry Potter, to start at Hogwarts. The potion left by Voldemort in the cave had long lasting consequences, however, and Regulus begins to teach at Hogwarts while Severus Snape works on a cure. Can they save him in time, while also hunting down horcruxes and destroying them before Voldemort can return?
"Marlene? Marlene McKinnon?" The shock of hearing her name being called, years after she'd last used it, made her turn before she quite knew what she was doing. Even as Remus Lupin's eyes caught hers across a busy street, she cursed herself for slacking, despite the ten years and ocean she and her husband had put between them and their past selves.
Five minutes later, he was standing in front of her, eyes taking in the sight of her. "It is you," he said, and Marlene was surprised at the tears welling up in his eyes. "After all these years, I never thought-" He stopped, seeing the boy standing next to her for the first time. "Hello."
Archer, at nine, didn't understand what was going on, and instead of responding to the stranger talking to him, turning to his mother. "Mommy, I want my ice cream. It's Tuesday and we get ice cream on Tuesday."
"Yes, baby," Marlene said automatically, still watching Remus warily. After another long moment, he finally broke the silence.
"I don't understand. We thought - we all thought that you'd died when-"
"When the manor burned, I know," Marlene finished. "I wasn't there. Not until after." She'd never forget the night she'd fled England with Regulus, to return only once before leaving again. She'd arrived home, intending to pack some things, and had happened upon the McKinnon family manor ablaze, the dark mark barely visible in the smoke that rose into the sky. Despite knowing how futile it was, she'd run through the place she'd grown up, hoping to find someone, anyone, still alive. But the death eaters had been thorough, and there was nobody.
Another tug on her hand brought her back to the present. "Mommy. Ice cream!"
"I - yes." She looked back at Remus, swallowing hard. "We're heading to the McDonald's next road over. You can join us if you want." The look he gave her told her everything - there was no way he'd leave without getting his questions answered. The thought made her heart pound, and she swallowed again. "Let's go."
As they walked, Archer darted ahead, staying just out of earshot - if they spoke quietly. And Remus did. "We had a funeral for your family. Your graves are in Godric's Hollow."
"I know," Marlene said, her voice just as quiet. "I came back to England after Voldemort's - defeat. Briefly. I stayed a week, sorted things out, and left again."
"So you know about Regulus Black?" Marlene's heart leapt at the sound of her husband's name, and ahead of them, Archer stopped, turning back.
"Is daddy meeting us for ice cream today?" His voice was bright, unsuspecting, even as Remus stumbled, barely regaining his footing before crashing into another pedestrian. The scene caused Archer to giggle, and Marlene thanked Merlin for his innocence as they came upon the McDonald's.
"Archer, why don't you go play with those boys?" she told her younger son, pointing in the direction of the slides and tunnels that made up the playhouse. Two boys about Archer's age were taking turns in something that was designed to look like a muggle spaceship, and her younger son took off in their direction, ice cream promptly forgotten at the prospect of new friends.
"I don't understand," Remus whispered, shock still coating his voice when they sat down five minutes later. Marlene had made a quick detour to the bathroom after Archer had gone, splashing cold water on her face in an attempt to settle her nerves.
"Which part confuses you the most, and we can go from there," Marlene said dryly. He only narrowed his eyes in her direction. "Regulus and I did what we had to do, Remus. You of all people cannot judge us. I know what part you played in the war, if you recall."
The two of them had dated for six months when the war had driven her and Regulus apart, before the day he came to her, shaking with a revelation that changed the war entirely. Marlene had, of course, broken things off with Remus before going back to Reg. While they'd dated, however, Remus had barely been there. He'd joined Voldemort's werewolf packs, in an attempt to spy on them. Marlene never knew the details, but when they had been together, she could see the toll it'd taken on him.
"You left us. You let us think you'd died, and instead you ran away. You abandoned us. People died! James, Lily, Peter-"
"You think I don't know people died?" Marlene hissed. "Lily was my best friend, if you recall. She and James made me Harry's godmother-"
"Yes, and you left him too!" His raised voice drew some attention, and he shot the older woman now staring at them an apologetic glance. She sniffed and turned back to the man seated next to her, muttering something for only him to hear. "Do you even care he was abducted? Not even Dumbledore knows where he's at, and you know that man-" Remus froze, his eyes landing on her own before she had a chance to control her reaction.
Marlene hadn't forgotten quite how clever Remus was, and she watched with bated breath as the wheels turned in his head. When they clicked into place, Remus let out an audible gasp, his mouth opening and closing in shock.
"You- You have him," he breathed, after nearly five minutes of looking like a fish, and Marlene wondering how fast she could grab Archer and run, get back to Reg, and flee before everyone else came looking. When Marlene didn't answer him, he leaned forward. "You have him. You have to. Oh! It all makes sense now!" Marlene still didn't respond, her right hand fingering the buckle that kept her wand holder closed. "We never thought it was a death eater, see, because they would have just killed him and paraded his body around for everyone to look at as proof, but we knew it couldn't be one of us, because then at least Dumbledore would've known. I never thought Harry would be with dead people, though."
"Remus-" Marlene's voice cracked, and his grin slipped a little.
"You could have told me." Marlene only shook her head, and the werewolf nodded, shoulders slumping slightly. "Or Dumbledore?"
"We can't trust Dumbledore," Marlene said sharply, earning a curious look. "He's made his position on Regulus clear, and wouldn't listen to anything he had to say. I'm sure he wouldn't listen to me, either." She glanced at her watch. Regulus would be done in less than half an hour, and she still hadn't gotten Archer's sundae. They wouldn't be able to leave without it, and she breathed out her nose. "I don't have time now, Remus. I have errands to run. Perhaps you could come over for dinner one night, and we can discuss all this further. I'll send an owl when-"
"No need." Her husband's smooth voice came from behind them, and they both looked, startled. Regulus Black stood before them, hands in his pockets. "Why don't we head on home now, after you answer a few safe questions, just to be sure, and we can discuss all this there?"
Remus, however, was speechless, staring at Regulus. Marlene couldn't blame him. She and Regulus both were used to the stares they got as they walked down the street. The scars he'd sustained from a battle with inferi had mostly faded into silver slashes across his face, but the most prominent, a deep gash that had nearly taken his left eye, had the power to cause even burly men to slow down.
Marlene took advantage of the werewolf's silence, and stood, giving her husband a peck on the cheek. "You're early." She leaned back, taking in his face. The color he'd steadily been losing all week was back in his face and he was smiling at her, but his eyes still looked dull as he sank into the seat next to her.
"Healer Wainwright wasn't in, so it was only a quick visit. She'll be back Friday, and they'll have me come in for a full session then." Even as he spoke, he kept his eyes trained on Remus, weariness in every pore.
"But you-"
"I got the potions," he interrupted. "What I'm curious about is how Remus Lupin came across my wife in the middle of Boston when he's supposed to be in London, working as a muggle private investigator.."
"I - excuse me?"
"Reg," Marlene said, placing her hand on his. He looked at her.
"I want to know how he found us, Marlene. If he found us, other people can, and we've been very careful for ten years."
"I saw her on the street by chance. I'm here on business," Remus said, eyes flashing. "Not that it's any of yours."
"You can demand things from my wife, but we cannot ask how you found her?" His voice was calm, but Marlene could sense the rising anxiety in him. Ten years. They'd been careful for ten years. Was it really possible it had been a coincidence they'd been in the same city at the same time? "Fine. Another question. What did Remus Lupin say to me when we met for the first time?"
"I - that was two decades ago, how-"
"Two decades or not, I remember," Regulus informed him, crossing his arms.
"Fine. It was something along the lines of, 'You two could be twins if Sirius knew how to be serious.' And then Sirius laughed for ten minutes straight."
Regulus pursed his lips. "Correct." He heaved a sigh. "Archer!" The boy in question came running over, throwing himself into his father's arms. "Come on. Let's head to our place. The two older boys won't be home until tonight, so we have plenty of time to talk."
"Daddy!" Archer tugged on his hand. "I didn't get my ice cream yet."
After ordering his sundae, the three adults and child walked down the street. "I don't mind if you need to do side along apparation," Remus said, as they walked.
Marlene and Regulus exchanged a look. "We don't want to expose the children to apparation until they are older," she explained finally, barely even tasting the lie on her tongue. "It's uncomfortable, and unnecessary. There's a shop down the road that has a public floo service, and we can go there. I will have to go first and change up our wards so you'll be able to come through, so wait about ten minutes before you follow. It'll hurt otherwise."
As they walked in silence, Marlene kept her eyes on her husband. She could feel his exhaustion feet away, and she hoped, for his sake, that Remus did not. Regulus never liked to show what he considered to be his weakness even to the people he trusted, of which there were very few.
The arrival to the shop and then the temporary dismantling of wards only took half an hour, and before Marlene even recalled blinking, the three of them were sitting across from each other, this time in the small home they'd rented far away from Boston and Reg's healers.
"We had to leave," Marlene said, after a silence so long it had become a scream in her mind. "Our lives were in danger if Voldemort knew we lived, and after he was defeated, we had to protect Harry."
"Why didn't you tell Dumbledore? You said you couldn't trust him. Why? He was the head of the Order, all he wanted was to defeat Voldemort at all costs-"
"Except listen to a death eater," Regulus interjected, and Remus let his voice fade into silence. "I went to Dumbledore, with information that could have changed everything. It would have changed the outcome of the war. But he refused to listen. Accused me of being a death eater and lying. I offered myself up, told him he could use veritaserum. Still he refused."
"Veritaserum has defenses. It's not infallible."
"I was eighteen and scared, Remus." Marlene felt the cold stare her husband gave his brother's once friend. "I had no defense against veritaserum. What eighteen year old does? But no. The so-called leader of the light, the man who's all about second chances, turned me away. I did what I could, almost losing my life. My house elf did lose his, bringing me to Marlene. If not for them, I would be dead, and Voldemort would have remained unkillable. Even now, I'm unsure if he's truly dead, or just biding his time somewhere, gaining his strength back up."
Remus nodded. "You see? Dumbledore thinks the same."
"I will not speak of Dumbledore anymore," Regulus growled, standing from his seat and heading over to the counter, gripping its edges. Marlene watched him, throat tight. "What else do you want to know?"
"Reg, maybe this could wait," Marlene tried, but her husband shook his head, still looking away from them.
"Remus. Questions. You have ten minutes, so I suggest you start asking something."
"So you were a death eater?"
"Yes. It was expected of me, doubly sure once-" Regulus stopped, not saying his brother's name. "Well. Once I realized what the dark lord was really like, it was too late for me. I'd already received the mark."
Silence again. Then - "Did you know Sirius was a death eater too? Or did you find out after he betrayed Lily and James and killed Peter?"
The crash Marlene had been waiting for happened. Regulus turned to them, face drawn and pale, seconds before his eyes rolled back and he dropped to the floor.