Chapter 10 is here! I know it's been a long wait, life's gotten so busy, but I hope you enjoy it. This chapter is a sort of bonding, spending time together chapter. Please let me know what you think, I tried my best
Chapter 10
When Harry awoke the next morning, he didn't immediately get up, he laid in the very comfortable bed and thought about everything that had happened over the last week. It was difficult to mourn for everything that he had lost, it all seemed so surreal. He supposed meeting his father and grandparents and seeing Sirius and Remus alive, young and healthy would put anyone into a bit of a spin. Even the Grimmauld place that he knew, was so very different here. There were still dark artifacts everywhere, as well as the shrunken elves heads (he would have to do something about that) but the place was clean and tidy and obviously well cared for.
Harry ran his hand through his hair as he thought. Orion was fierce and powerful, everything that Harry would imagine the head of the noble and most ancient house of Black being. But he also had a calm, protective aura that clearly only came out when those he loved were threatened and there was no doubt in Harrys mind that Orion loved Sirius and Regulus. Hopefully with Walburga out of the way Sirius and Orion could begin to mend their fractured relationship.
He was confused about his own father. His heart practically beat out of his chest every time he even looked at the slightly older teen. He supposed that would wear off with time and the longer he got used to being around James. It was a dream come true to meet his dad, but he was realistic that it was unlikely they would ever have a traditional father son relationship and he wasn't sure he even wanted that. He did want some relationship with the other though, hopefully they could become close over time. Thoughts of James inevitably lead to thoughts of Lily. He wondered what affect his presence would have on the timeline here and his parent's relationship. It would be… disturbing to meet himself one day.
Harry was unsurprised that he felt closer to Remus and Sirius than to anyone else. He knew them, well at least knew who they would've become, whereas everyone else here were strangers. He had been pleasantly surprised by Regulus, he hadn't known much about the other teen, only that he'd joined Voldemort, but coming from a family like the Blacks Harry doubted he'd had much choice in the matter. Hopefully this time around things would be better for everyone, his saving people complex was obviously coming out to shine. Hermione would be rolling her eyes at him right now and Harry felt a pang of sadness and fondness hit him right in the chest. He reminded himself that if he could make a difference now, stop Voldemort or at least limit his power then Hermione would have a much safer world to grow up in, when she did eventually come along that is.
His door creaked open, and Harry pulled himself out of his rather melancholy thoughts to greet Kreacher, who walked in carrying a tray of food. Harry's not sure what Orion did to the house elf, no doubt made his orders, so iron clad that there was no way around it for the elf, but it still made Harry nervous having Kreacher make his food.
"Ah, thank you Kreacher" Harry said politely, surreptitiously casting a spell over the food to check for poison, that Orion had taught them all, the day before. It came back clear, and Harry's smile turned a little more sincere for the old house elf. His leg twinged painfully as he got himself comfortable, trying to balance the tray on his lap as he straightened his pillows. It seems that he had pushed himself too hard yesterday, what with his panicked trip down the stairs without his cane and his late-night duelling.
"Kreacher, could you please pass me my potions?" Harry asked, only just remembering that he hadn't taken them, yet this morning and they would no doubt help with the pain.
"Here, let me" a voice said from the door and Harry looked up to find Regulus entering, his own tray of food balanced in his hands.
"Master Regulus, I was just on my way to bring you breakfast. Master Orion told me to bring his first" Kreacher gave him a dark glare at the proclamation and Harry swallowed thickly.
"That is quite alright, Kreacher" Regulus said kindly. "I agree with father on this matter, please make sure you are taking good care of Harry here."
Kreacher nodded seriously, fervently. "Of course, Master Regulus, of course" the small house elf bowed deeply, hooked nose hitting the carpet before he shuffled out of the room.
Regulus gave him an uncertain smile as he handed Harry his potions, "do you mind if I join you for breakfast?"
Harry shook his head, "of course not."
Regulus took a seat in the chair beside the bed, before he continued speaking.
"Father thought you may prefer breakfast in bed after the day you had yesterday."
Harry smiled softly at the kindness.
"He's not wrong" Harry said with a small chuckle as he buttered some toast. "I don't think I've ever had breakfast in bed before, though."
Regulus paused, a spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth, taking a deep breath before he continued eating. Harry blushed lightly and looked back down at his own breakfast, he supposed it was odd to never have had breakfast in bed before, Regulus probably had it all the time.
"Well, you may have it here whenever you wish" Regulus said.
"Oh no, you don't want to do that" Harry laughed "I may never get out of bed if my food starts being delivered to me."
"Well, I certainly have no reason to want to keep you in bed" Regulus said with a little quirk of his lip that had Harry pausing and trying to read the expression on Regulus's face, but the Slytherin was looking at him quite blandly and he convinced himself he had imagined the innuendo in the others words.
He glanced down focusing on his breakfast and purposefully ignoring the flush trying to rise on his cheeks.
"If you like, after breakfast I thought I might give you a run down on what's been happening in this time" Regulus continued conversationally. "You probably have a brief understanding, but you will need more in-depth knowledge if you want to fit in and not rouse suspicion."
"That makes a lot of sense, thank you" Harry said smiling gratefully at Regulus. "I actually know very little about this time, aside from the big stuff."
Regulus smiled back warmly. "I've got newspapers and books we can read through and photos we can look at. Do you feel up to going to the library or would you like me to bring everything in here?"
His leg wasn't paining him quite so much after his potions, "the library, I think."
Regulus nodded and they continued eating their breakfast in companionable silence after that. When they were finished Regulus called Kreacher to come and clear away their trays and Regulus left the room so that Harry could change into fresh clothes and scrub his teeth. His leg was causing him more pain now that he was up and about, and Harry cursed his foolishness in hurrying down the stairs without his cane last night. He hadn't been thinking clearly, the fear holding him tight.
Regulus looked him over when he emerged from the bathroom, a dark look flashing through his eyes that he couldn't quite place. Harry gripped his cane tighter as he fought the urge to straighten his robes. Regulus obviously recognised them, as they used to belong to him. Though they were a similar age, Harry was a lot smaller than Regulus and able to fit into his old robes with ease. Not that Harry could tell they were second hand, they were all in such immaculate condition. Very different to the hand me downs that he used to get from Dudley. These robes were of the softest material and in a chocolate brown colour that made Harry think of overturned earth and walks in the forest.
Regulus offered Harry his arm and he took it gratefully, not wanting to let on just how much his leg was paining him. Between Regulus and his cane, he was able to keep most of his weight off it. They made their way slowly to the library, Regulus content to go at Harry's pace.
"Where is everyone else this morning?" Harry asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the stillness of the house.
"Sirius, James and Remus are still sleeping, father is working in his study, and I believe your grandparents returned to Potter Manor to take care of a few things but are planning on returning again later this evening."
Harry nodded slowly. That explained the quiet. "Well, thank you for coming to keep me company."
"I wanted to make sure you were OK after last night" Regulus said softly as they reached the stairs. Regulus slipped his arm around Harry's waist to help support him up the stairs, enjoying the warmth of the smaller teen in his arms. Harry was beginning to think he should've stayed in bed, when they finally reached the library. He never would have made it without Regulus's support. The older teen was stronger than he looked.
Regulus helped him into a comfortable leather armchair that was already pulled up to an ornate wooden desk. The desk was littered with newspapers, books and photographs and Harry's attention was immediately diverted, grabbing the closest paper and pulling it toward him to read.
"That's today's paper," Regulus said softly as he pulled up a chair beside Harry, leaning close so he could read as well.
"July 18th" Harry murmured; it was later than he'd thought.
"There is a rather good article in there about the quidditch cup as well as a few pieces on current celebrities that would probably be good for you to know about."
Harry eagerly flicked through the paper until he came across all the latest quidditch news, thinking of Ron and his beloved Canons. Unfortunately, they seemed to be doing just as badly in this time as they did in his own.
"Last" he murmured and Regulus grinned, "don't tell me you're a Canons fan?"
"How could I not be, they are clearly the best in the league" Harry joked back, eyes scanning over the other teams and positions. He read through a few articles on teams, players and injuries before closing the paper and reopening it at the start. They read through it together, Regulus providing extra insight and commentary on what they were reading.
Harry discovered that Regulus had a dry wit that he found very amusing and that he was also a shameless gossip.
"I heard the reason she was trying to steal the jewels was because her husband gambled away all their wealth" he murmured, and Harry had to bite his lip hard to keep from chuckling. They read through several newspapers and were flicking through the photos and books when the library door banged open and in walked Sirius, Remus and James.
"There you are Harry; we've been looking all over for you" Sirius cried dramatically as he fell into a seat on the opposite side of the table.
Harry snorted in laughter, "where were you looking? The inside of your eyelids?"
"I'll have you know we also checked your room" Sirius sniffed, and Harry couldn't help the fond smile that crept up on his face. He reached across the table and gripped Sirius' hand, "that must have been very difficult for you."
Sirius flipped his hand so that he was gripping Harry back.
"Wanted to make sure you were OK" Sirius said quietly, nearly mirroring Regulus' words from earlier.
Harry's heart felt warm, he shot a smile at Remus and James as they sat down beside Sirius.
"I'm perfectly alright, but thanks for asking."
Sirius hummed like he didn't know whether to believe him or not.
"What are you two up to?" Remus asked, deflecting Sirius' questioning.
"Regulus and I were just reading through some newspapers, trying to get me up to speed on what's been happening in this time."
"That's a good idea" Sirius said, sounding surprised, his fingers tracing small circles on Harry's wrist.
"I have been known to have them occasionally" Regulus snarked back as he levelled a glare at Sirius.
Harry gently pulled his had away and sat back, content to listen to the brothers bicker as he shared an amused glance with James.
The next few days followed a similar pattern. Kreacher would bring him breakfast in bed and Regulus would join him shortly after. They would eat before retiring to the library for the morning. Harry was having a lot of fun learning about this time. Especially when Orion, Grandma and Grandpa Potter joined in and produced family photo albums.
Regulus had flushed so darkly that Harry was afraid he was going to faint when Orion showed everyone a picture of his youngest son running naked through the garden. Harry had tried to keep his snickers in check, knowing how embarrassed Regulus was, he lost that battle though when he saw a picture of Sirius half transformed into a small black puppy. Apparently even as a child he had had a gift for transfiguration. There were photos of first steps and family days out, James' first time on a broom and Sirius' making his first potion. Harry was smiling so much his cheeks ached.
"Hagrid gave me a photo album once" Harry said as he turned another page. "It had a photo of me when I was a baby, you were holding me dad" Harry continued, looking up at James. "I think my hair was even wilder than yours."
The laughter that had previously filled the room quietened down, became more sombre. Everyone remembering how Harry had grown up. No parents who loved him, no one to care for him at all. He glanced up at the abrupt change in atmosphere, wondering what had caused it.
His grandmother was the first to speak. "The Potter hair," she said with a weak smile.
"You've got that right" Harry said with a laugh. "I remember one time my aunt got so sick of taking me for haircuts that she shaved the whole lot off. She was so angry when she'd found it'd grown back by morning. They didn't like it when I did freaky things like that."
"Freaky things?" Orion said quietly and Regulus knew he wasn't the only one who picked up on the danger in that tone.
"Yeah, magic stuff" Harry explained, as he turned another page. "Didn't know it was magic at the time, but they never liked it if I acted like a freak… did something abnormal."
Regulus clenched his fist at his side, anger coursing through him as James and Remus shared a dark look. There was still so much that they didn't know about Harry Potter.
"I'm sure you were an adorable baby" Euphemia said.
Harry flushed and shrugged his shoulders, "I looked pretty cute in the photo, I guess."
"What about in the others? I bet those green eyes sparkle."
"What others?" Harry asked in confusion. "There were some photos taken of me for the Triwizard tournament and I suppose my eyes did look nice." He looked to Sirius unsurely.
"I'm sure they were lovely" Sirius said reassuringly.
Harry relaxed a little at the reassurance, then snorted out a laugh at a photo of Sirius with his hair bright green. Sirius leaned over to get a better look at the picture, "Regulus' revenge after I turned his hair red."
"Where's a photo of that!" Harry said as he eagerly flipped through the album, laughing at the look of distain on Regulus' face.
"They were all destroyed."
Harry near cackled with laughter, and Regulus found his face softening, will to be the butt of the joke if it made Harry smile like that.
Sirius reached out a hand to ruffle Harry's hair as they both laughed, it was hard to miss the way Harry leaned into the touch, practically chasing Sirius' hand as he went to pull away. Sirius wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulder, pulling him into his side as they continued to chuckle.
A chime sounded through the room and Harry looked around in confusion. Orion's eyebrows furrowed as he walked out of the room and down the stairs to the parlour. Harry found himself snuggling into Sirius' side, enjoying the warmth that permeated from the older teen. Remembering days that felt like a lifetime ago where an older Sirius had held him like this. Orion returned a short time later, closely followed another.
Orion cleared his throat, a frown on his face as he spoke, "Harry, I believe you know, Albus Dumbledore."