Harry wondered how he had ended up in this situation. Logically he knew how, he just wondered why. He had never had the urge to shout or whine and say 'Why me', yet it seemed, that having to relive his childhood in an actual loving home with people who would die for him was forcing him to grow up as a normal stable child, or turn into a normal stable adult-child maybe? He had expected that the only person from the Black family he would ever be in close contact with would be Sirius and well now Regulus he supposed, but here he was, sitting in the formal sitting room in the Rose wing of the Black Manor despite Regulus's multiple attempts to derail the meeting and prevent it from happening. Too bad he didn't have much choice in the matter.
But back to the issue at hand, Harry looked up and around the imposing study in which he sat, squished between his family. Sirius stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, framed by the mauve velvet curtains with its gold trimmings. He had half expected the Black Manor to be decorated in only green and silver and filled with dark shadowy corners, frankly he was just expecting a much more depressing and dark version of the Malfoy Manor à la Voldemort style.
Surprisingly, Black Manor was ironically named such, of course, it was huge and ostentatious with a huge driveway and sprawling gardens, and it was easily twice the size of Malfoy Manor. But the wealth was truly understated and tastefully displayed, it screamed, 'Oh yes we are so rich that we forget how much money we have.' It boggled Harry that in his past life, Sirius had left all of this to him. He wondered why Sirius had gone to Grimmauld Place with its admittedly large townhouse but terrible interiors and cramped areas instead of this masterpiece where he could have been able to breathe freely and move and at least get some fresh air.
The most likely reason was that Sirius's mind was so messed up in Azkaban that he had forgotten this option even existed.
Or maybe Dumbledore forced him to stay in Grimmauld to better control me.
Nope. Sorry brain not going there today. He purged the thought from his mind, deciding to focus on the now instead of the complicated ball of emotions reserved for Dumbledore. He focused back on the present looking at the twins beside him who were looking wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the huge sitting room they were in.
"Harry." Ivy hissed in what she thought was a whisper. Harry hummed as looked down at his sister. "This room is hugeeeeee." Leo finished her thought, his head tennising around trying to take in everything in the room at once.
"And so prettyyyy." Ivy continued, her awed eyes looking at the ancient priceless portraits.
"Thank you, Master Potter, Miss Potter." A gruff voice said as a stately old gentleman swept into the room, swathed in dark blue robes. Ivy looked on in wide-eyed wonder and fear as Acructus Black tried to smile at her yet it came out unpracticed and as a grimace.
"Grandfather." Sirius moved to greet him from his previous position even as the Potters ushered their kids to stand to greet the Lord Black. Acructus looked on with an amused glint as the twins stumbled over themselves trying to bow and curtsy properly, almost falling if not for Harry's quick reflexes in holding their arms.
"Sirius. Lord and Lady Potter, Heir Potter." Acructus asked them to sit down again as he sunk into the high wingback leather chair. "What is this about?"
The Potters and Sirius exchanged a look before Sirius spoke. "Is Mipsy available to look after the twins?" Even before Sirius finished his question a pop indicated the arrival of Mipsy, dressed in a clean pillow cloth, her ears quivering.
"Heir Black called?" her voice while squeaky was clear and calm, or as calm as an elf's voice could be. Sirius smiled at the elf politely. "Yes Mipsy, could you take the twins-"
"No!" Before he could even finish the sentence Leo's tiny voice interrupted him. The adults in the room turned surprised to see the twins clinging to Harry's arms while Harry himself looked surprised.
"Not leaving!" Ivy spoke firmly, both of the twins glaring at Sirius. "Not leaving Harry!" Leo restated firmly. The twins huddled closer to their elder brother, intent on not leaving his side at all.
"Leo, Ivy.." Lily began helplessly. "No!" They spoke in unison as they turned their glares onto their parents. "Harry needs us! Not leaving Harry." Leo spoke firmly.
"Not now, not ever." Ivy refuted the statement. Harry's throat closed up as tears stung his eyes at the display of affection from his siblings. Before any of the adults could intervene he tugged them to turn towards him to look in their eyes. Since the Regulus incident, the twins had been clinging to him more than ever, especially since that was the first time they had seen him scream and be freaked out.
"No one is asking you to leave me, but there is going to be some boring adult talk, and neither of you like that do you?" The mulish look on their chins didn't fade, Merlin they were going to be just as stubborn as he was, weren't they?
"How about a compromise?" Acructus interrupted from where he had been watching the scene of sibling loyalty. It reminded him of his only two grandsons and how close they had been before everything.
"There are some lovely new crups we got recently. How about you go play with them while I talk to your brother and parents and at the end, if you are good you get to pick one, if your parents agree." He had noted immediately that everyone seemed to be treating Harry differently, that whatever they wanted to talk about had to be about him.
Indecision warred on the young faces, while they were dead set on being with their brother, they were also only three and the lure of crups was undeniable. Harry looked at his parents seeking their permission, seeing the resigned look on his mother's face and the beaming smile on his father's face. "Go on now, pick out a good crup for us alright?" he said. Two pairs of toothy grins greeted him before the twins chattered excitedly letting the elf lead them out towards the crups.
"How are you doing grandfather? How is grandmother?" Sirius asked as he moved to sit in the loose circle.
"Your grandmother," Acructrus spoke in an affectionate and sardonic tone, "has gone to discuss the theme of the next ball with Narcissa. You shall be the host of it."
"Of course Grandfather." Sirius didn't miss a beat as he accepted it, he had known it was coming and had resigned himself to it. Silence prevailed as another elf popped in to lay a tea service.
"Your mother," Acructus began after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, while looking at James. None of the young adults sure of how to bring up the prickly and delicate topic of the man's not-dead youngest grandchild, "was the reason why I did not allow Walburga to disinherit Sirius."
James started at that, he had had vague memories of Acructus Black coming around to his house when he was very young and then he had just stopped. A faint smile lit up Acructus's face as he remembered his younger sister, Dorea, James's mum. They had had a falling out decades ago, when Acructus refused to police the family, of the belief that they should make their own choices, back when the whole Voldemort debacle had started. Dorea had been disappointed in him and had cut contact with him after that.
"She was a remarkable woman, and the best of us, if things would have been different, you would have grown in these very halls too."
The ting of nostalgia and regret was not missed by anyone in the room. Acructus pulled himself together quickly. "Well, why have you requested my presence, Lord Potter."
James tried to speak, but he could find no words, how could he explain what he didn't understand? Before his speechlessness could be noticed, Lily spoke up. "It is about your grandson."
Without a change in expression to show what he felt at being addressed by a muggleborn, Acructus turned towards her. "My grandson Lady Potter?" One of his eyebrows lifted as he glanced at Sirius wondering what it was about and why it was coming from someone else.
"Your other grandson." Lily clarified. In an instant, the neutral, slightly warm atmosphere of the room receded leaving behind an icy chillness. "Excuse me?" Even though his tone and posture didn't change, everyone could see how his behavior had changed, the hint of danger that slithered around them, poised to strike and kill them if they said one wrong thing.
Harry sighed as he felt the familiar pulse of adrenaline. This was not going anywhere, with a mental pulse he pulled Regulus to where they were from where the stubborn idiot had parked himself in the Potter Manor sitting room, duly ignoring the fact that Harry could pull him to his side at a moment's notice. Ah, will ignorance and bliss and all that nonsense was at play, Harry supposed. Soon the familiar grey webs coalesce into a very grumpy Regulus Black.
"Regulus." Acructus breathed as he gripped the armrests of his chair, showing emotion in front of strangers for the first time in forever.
"Grandfather." Regulus's face softened at the word, looking at his grandfather in guilt, longing, and sadness. He hated this, he did not want to tell his grandfather this, he had been a disappointment in life. Why did he need to hurt him even in his death?
"How-what is this sorcery?" Acructus hissed out, his eyes unable to look away from his dead, dead, dead, dead sort of alive grandson.
Even as the story tumbled out of the three occupants, even as his hands relaxed, even as grief and elation and sadness and joy fought within him, his youngest grandchild was dead, dead, [but he was back, in some capacity], he would never get to live out his life, [but he could live].
"Why won't you tell us where you are, Regulus?" Was his first question when it all ended when he had processed the story and the fact that he had his grandson back, at least in some way.
"Is that the only thing you have to say to me?" Regulus demands angrily.
"The only thing that matters to me is our family now." Acructus responded. Regulus turned his head to the side, a mutinous scowl on his face, refusing to acknowledge the question which had been thrown at him continuously. Harry noticed how the pressure was getting to him, how he looked ready to tear his hair out.
"Lord Black-" he was interrupted before he could even say anything. "Grandfather."
"Pardon me?" Harry blinked his eyes confused.
"Call me grandfather child, you may not be my grandson by birth but you are Dorea's grandson and you gave me back my grandson, you are family, you too Lord and Lady Black, please call me Uncle."
"Oh." Harry looked wide-eyed up at the man, surprise and happiness coloring his face. He had never had a grandparent, ever. And now here was someone who wasn't his grandfather but was willing to fulfill the role if Harry wanted.
"Alright, Grandfather." Harry tried out the word, awkward and laden on his tongue, but still as warm as his heart felt.
"Stay for lunch." He commanded, determined to spend more time with his newly minted family. He had thought before that the siblings had reminded him of his grandsons and now they had actually returned his grandsons to him.
I'll be better this time Dor, for you.