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 and Regulus sat in front of Harry. The night before, they'd had a discussion about what to tell Harry about Reg's role as a death eater. "For," as Marlene had said, "He'll be in Hogwarts soon, and he's bound to come across the dark mark. He's seen your tattoo, and he'd be very hurt and confused." Reg had agreed.
"Harry," Marlene began. "Do you remember us talking to you about Voldemort and his followers?"
"Yeah, the death eaters."
"Yes." She paused. "Harry-"
"Harry," Regulus interrupted her, and the eleven year old turned to look at him. "When the war began, my parents believed in what Voldemort was saying. They thought purebloods were better then everyone else, and that if you weren't a pureblood, you didn't deserve to have magic or go to Hogwarts." Or live, Marlene thought. "My older brother, Sirius-" Marlene heard the slight pause before her brother-in-law's name was spoken, and she wondered if Harry had too. "-was expected to join the death eaters when he turned seventeen and graduated Hogwarts, but he ran away from home when he was fifteen and our parents disowned him. Do you know what that means?"
"No."
"It means they wanted nothing more to do with him. He wasn't a part of the family anymore, in their eyes, and I was their only son. With Sirius gone, they expected me to join Voldemort instead." He rolled up his left sleeve, baring the dark mark for them to see. Harry leaned forward, inspecting it for the first time. Slowly, his head lifted, and he stared at his dad, wide - eyed. "This, Harry, is Voldemort's mark. He puts it on most of his followers, as a way to talk to them."
Harry sank into the couch, focusing again on the mark. "You followed the man that killed my parents?" Regulus couldn't speak as Harry's accusing eyes found his. "Because your parents told you to?"
There was silence in the living room as Reg seemed to try and find his voice. Finally, he did. "It was in his service that I was poisoned." The words hung in the air. "I am punished every day for what I've done, and I hope that one day you and your brothers will understand it."
"Harry, please, don't say anything to Leo or Archer just yet. We're going to tell them too, but not until they're about to start Hogwarts. They're too little."
"Yeah," Harry responded. He stood up from the couch. "I'm going to my room." He left his parents still seated.
"Reg-" Marlene tried, but he'd already stood, heading to the front door. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go for a walk," he told her, and without turning around, he too left. Marlene groaned, dropping her head into her hands.
"Mom?" Harry had come back, looking confused. "Did dad just leave?"
"Yeah, baby. He'll be back though." She patted the seat next to her. "Do you want to talk?"
He did. "Voldemort killed my parents, mom. How could dad follow a murderer?"
Marlene pulled him into a hug. "Baby, what you have to try and understand is when your dad joined Voldemort and got the mark, he was only sixteen." Harry jerked away. His eyes were huge behind his glasses as she continued. "He wasn't really given a choice. His mum and dad had him brought to a friends house, and that friend in turn brought him to Voldemort. If he'd refused the mark, Voldemort would have killed him."
"He still should've-" Harry stopped, and Marlene could see him thinking. They sat there for a long while. "I should say sorry when dad gets back."
"Your dad knows," Marlene reassured him. "We never wanted to keep this a secret from you, Harry, but we wanted to make sure you would be old enough to understand. Your dad, he's sacrificed so you and your brothers have a better home life then he and I both did."
Harry snuggled into her, and she wrapped an arm around him. They sat there for a long time, losing themselves in their own thoughts.
"Where's dad?" Leo asked later that day, when he, his brothers, and Marlene were halfway through lunch. "I haven't seen him all day."
Marlene looked up from her plate in time for the door to open and Regulus walked in. Leo looked satisfied to have his question answered, and went back to eating. Marlene watched her husband as he,without a word, stored his shoes, washed his hands, and made a plate. He'd taken his seat before the silence was broken.
"I spoke with Hagrid this morning, Harry. He's the Hogwarts groundskeeper, and he was very good friends with your mom and dad. He's asked if he could meet with you. I told him the choice is of course yours, and asked if he'd care to join us for our school shopping in Diagon Alley."
Harry lit up at the reminder of the long awaited school shopping trip. "Yeah! The more the merrier, right?"
"The Daily Prophet came in as well." Regulus reached into a pocket and passed it to Marlene. "We've made the front page."
Marlene and Harry both groaned. They'd been living in Hogsmeade for only a couple weeks, and went out in disguise. Marlene had known it was only a matter of time before the reporters found out about them, and about where Harry had been hidden for ten years, but they had hoped it would take longer for them to be found out.
The headline, though, wasn't quite what she was expecting. Death Eater Kidnapped Boy Who Lived! "Who wrote this?" Marlene hissed, scanning the article. "Rita Skeeter. Of course she did." She shoved the newspaper in her pocket, not letting any of the boys see it. She caught Reg's eye. This headline would raise a lot of questions, and they'd have to get them sorted before Regulus started teaching, or all hell would break loose at Hogwarts.
Marlene was grateful when none of the boys asked any questions themselves as lunch continued, moving on to Harry's birthday trip to Diagon Alley, and what they wanted to see first. She found herself glancing over at Regulus frequently, but had to wait until the boys had excused themselves, done their dishes, and gone to their rooms.
"I decided to go up to Hogwarts," he said, setting his fork back down on the plate. The plate that was, Marlene noticed, hardly touched. "Hagrid had already gotten a copy of the Prophet, gave it to me." His hand shook as he reached for his glass of water, and he sighed, putting it back down. Regulus looked at his wife. "I never had a trial for being a death eater, Marlene, and after this article, people will be calling for me to be thrown in Azkaban."
"But you can't-"
"I know, Marlene." Regulus stood, picking up his plate and walking to the counter. He set the plate down next to the sink, looking outside the window. He swallowed hard. "I'm heading back up to the castle in the morning, I have a meeting with Dumbledore. He kept Snape from Azkaban, and I'm hoping he'd do the same for me."
"He will," Marlene said at once. "He needs you."
Dumbledore, however, had shown up on their doorstep an hour later. Marlene let him in, sending the boys to their rooms at once with a promise that if they behaved, they'd go to the Three Broomsticks for dinner. Happy, they went to go play something while Marlene, Reg, and Dumbledore went into the kitchen.
"How bad is it, Headmaster?" Regulus asked, once they were all settled with a cup of tea each.
"Cornelius has contacted me, asking why I've hired you when you were a death eater in the war. I explained to him that you, with Severus, spied on Voldemort for me and brought the light side invaluable information. You were injured, and left Britain with the intention of recovering and returning, but the war ended and the Potters died before you did. Cornelius wasn't happy with the entire thing, but he could see the logic of sending Harry to live with people assumed dead. It was the safest thing to do." There was something Dumbledore wasn't saying, however, and Marlene asked about it. "Well, unfortunately, Regulus will have to have a trial. I talked the Minister down from a full trial in front of the Wizengamot to a small one in front of himself, myself, Amelia Bones, and Rufus Scrimgeour."
"I remember Amelia Bones from Hogwarts. She was a Hufflepuff, I think, a few years ahead of me. I don't recall a Scrimgeour, though," Regulus said. Her husband had always been really good at hiding his emotions from others, even her, and today was no different.
"He's a fair man, but a hard one," Dumbledore told them. "Very against Dark wizards, and he will question you thoroughly. Healer Wainwright will be getting an owl at some point in the next few days as a witness. She will also testify as to whether or not you can be given veritaserum."
Marlene covered her face with both hands, feeling the exhaustion seeping into her bones. Regulus put a hand on her back and spoke.
"She will say no. I can't even take a headache relief potion without the worry it would interact with something else I'm already taking."
"Scrimgeour may not be happy, but if your healer says you can't, he won't be able to do anything about it. Amelia is fair and won't protest. The only one I'm unsure of is Cornelius. He could end up not caring at all, or will fight the verdict when you're cleared."
The use of when instead of if helped Marlene get through the next couple of days, but on Friday, there was a knock on the door, and she opened it to see two aurors on the other side.
"Is this the home of Regulus Black?" one questioned, and Marlene recognized them both - John Dawlish and Kingsley Shacklebolt.
She'd crossed paths with Kingsley more than once during the war. He was an auror even then, and the aurors had worked with the Order of the Phoenix on several occasions. Dawlish she didn't know as well, and it was he she responded to.
"Yes, it is. He isn't home right now." Regulus was up at the castle, getting his potions from Severus and a check up from Poppy. "May I ask what this is about?"
Kingsley clearly recognized her as well, and looked uncomfortable. "Ah, well. I'm afraid I cannot say."
"Is he under arrest?" Leo asked from behind her, and Kingsley's face twitched from uneasiness. "The paper said he's a death eater. Is that why you're here?"
"Leo, go to your room," Marlene snapped, and he clamped his mouth shut. But he also didn't go, despite Marlene's glare, and eventually she gave up, turning back to the aurors. "My husband is in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. I will accompany you there, if you'll allow me to floo Remus Lupin to ask if he'll come sit with my children." They agreed, Kingsley overriding Dawlish's sharp no. Twenty minutes later, they were striding up the path to Hogwarts.