Upside Down Mirror: Granger Yet
Catching the Present

Regulus' forearm burned for what felt like forever, but eventually, the summons from Voldemort faded away. The fear of what the sudden sensation meant didn't fade away and he took a deep breath to push it into the back of his head, knowing there were more immediate concerns. After all, when he dropped the plate he heard his wife and younger two girls call out in worry.

"Mom, what's going on?" Elizabeth spoke hesitantly, almost as if she felt like the sudden episode she just witnessed was an off-limits topic.

In a way, they were, for there'd been a similar episode the summer vacation before Hermione's second year where she asked her Muggle parents—or the parents she thought were both Muggles—to accompany her on her shopping trip for school supplies because she wanted to share her world—the world Regulus was from, with both of them.

Regulus liked making his girls happy, sometimes as his wife said, to his detriment. Despite the warnings going off in his head that it wasn't a good idea to venture back into the Wizarding World lest someone ended up recognizing him, yet he told himself nobody would expect him of all people to be dressed in a Muggle manner.

After all, Elizabeth insisted she would not attend Hogwarts, disbelieving she was a witch-like Hermione, yet Regulus and Olivia were concerned about her getting behind and wanted to purchase the books she would need to self-study which in turn meant getting the books for her.

Yet, everything that could go wrong did.

He'd not expected one of Hermione's friends to be the son of James Potter and Lily Evans, yet there he was looking like his father with the eyes of his mother which was just as disconcerting as Mr. Weasley's strange obsession with Muggle money which had over the years become a normal thing for him.

Drinks with Mr. Weasley and all his strange questions about Muggles was an enjoyable thing, which felt a tad strange given his lack of any friends back at Hogwarts—people he could truly call friends. He'd not expected Lockhart standing there, signing books that were lies while he told Olivia that they would not be getting a second set of his books for Elizabeth.

Without reading them, he was sure they were filled with lies, never having liked his interactions with Lockhart.

The fact he'd interacted with Lockhart made him worry he might recognize him, only for Lockhart to gravitate towards Harry for some reason Regulus couldn't fathom given the fact Hermione's friend seemed like a quite normal boy, raised by his mother to not have some of James Potter's less than admirable traits.

It still left him reeling and unprepared for seeing Lucius Malfoy followed closely by a child Regulus assumed was Cissy's boy, let alone the ensuing fight between the two grown men, nor was he prepared for Elizabeth to outright reject the books they brought home.

Regulus took a deep breath, refocusing himself. "Now is not the time to have a mental breakdown." He pressed his fingers together while thinking over the situation. "My mental breakdown back then might be why Hermione never talks about her life in the wizarding world let alone why Elizabeth wants nothing to do with it."

He glanced up at whoever was nearby but found himself surprised to see Jules there, her stuffed rabbit clutched in her arms. She said nothing, simply looking at him and he let his mouth twist into a smile, wanting her to not feel so worried about what was going on with him in that particular moment.

"I'm okay."

"You're not okay," Elizabeth muttered. "And mom. Why aren't you explaining what happened? That wasn't normal."

Regulus felt his gut clench, picking up the panic in Elizabeth's voice while Jules continued looking at him. He opened his mouth, expecting to say something before Olivia or Elizabeth, worrying his middle daughter might spew more words out from her panic when Jules held her stuffed rabbit out to him. "Here."

The smile on his face at that moment felt more real than ever. He turned slightly, avoiding the plate which was broken on the floor. He reached up with his right hand and pulled himself up, letting out a deep sigh before taking Jules' rabbit and hugging it to his chest. "Thank you."

She smiled and took off towards the living room. As she left, Regulus turned his head to watch her speed away and saw both Olivia and Elizabeth looking at him, both of them worrying about the sudden flare-up of his Dark Mark, not that Elizabeth knew what was under his sleeve.

"I really am okay."

"No, you're not. Don't lie to me. Let me see…"

"Elizabeth." Olivia let out a sigh, her mouth pushing together, looking Regulus in the eye, yet she felt as if they weren't in agreement regarding not telling Elizabeth, at least not until they talked things over. He smiled, turning away so he wouldn't look at Elizabeth, perhaps giving away something he didn't want to.

"Mom. I…"

"I really am fine, but I need to talk to your mom," Regulus said, his voice firm while his mouth twisted into a frown. "I don't know how to explain this to her, particularly without making her even more against magic than she already is."

"Let me talk to your dad and if you need to know, we'll tell you."

Regulus heard footsteps coming from behind him as Elizabeth headed towards her room before hearing a door slam. He spoke in a low voice. "Is Jules out of earshot?"

"I'll check," Olivia said, her voice soft and calm. He knew she left the room, leaving him momentarily to his thoughts. "She's in her room playing."

"It is something we have to tell them about, eventually," Regulus muttered, looking down at his hands as he clenched the edge of the counter making his knuckles go white.

He felt Olivia come up behind him, leaning her chin on his shoulder from behind while wrapping her arms around his middle. She took a deep breath, letting out a sigh, her breath warm on his neck. "What are you thinking about, rabbit?"

Regulus lifted his left arm and gripped his forearm with the other hand. "You know what this means."

"Yes, but it's been years since…"

"What does it mean?"

Regulus flinched, turning as Olivia pulled away. He found himself looking at Elizabeth. The color still hadn't returned to her face as she looked at him, completely confused and baffled. He swallowed, his hand tightening around his arm while a chill ran down his spine. Words froze on his tongue, much in the same manner words froze on his tongue when he first joined the Granger family.

Olivia smiled at their middle child. "I told you that we will tell you if you need to know."

Elizabeth didn't budge, still looking at him as if trying to read him. "I know there's something you're not telling me."

He tried smiling at her, trying to convince her that everything was alright yet…

"It means something bad, doesn't it?" Elizabeth swallowed.

"Yes." Regulus saw Olivia turn her head to look at him. What surprised him was the fact he managed to get the words out.

"Why don't you want me to know what's going on?" She spoke softly. "I'm fourteen, you know. Sure, it's not almost sixteen like Hermione will be this September, but I am still old enough you shouldn't be hiding things from me."

"You're right."

Olivia sighed, reaching out to place one of her hands over the hand which covered his forehead. "You've never been good at hiding the truth, but if she continues…"

"I know. I know. I…" Regulus sighed.

"Elizabeth, your dad needs to get his thoughts together, but we will be telling you what's going on. Right now, though, is not the best time for us to explain to you what is going on."

"If you hate me…" Regulus muttered, looking at the floor and the broken pieces of the plate.

"Rabbit." Olivia shook her head at him.

"Know that I don't blame you for doing so. I just-I want to figure out a way to explain things to you so you and your sisters get hurt the least. And I'm sorry. So sorry."

He looked up at that point and saw that Elizabeth looked as if she were going to burst into tears.

Regulus took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Lizzy. I really am."

"Can I talk to your dad now? And could you possibly make sure Jules doesn't wander in here?"

"She doesn't listen to me, mom."

"I know, but do something to warn of if she does leave her room?"

"I guess I can do that. Promise that you'll tell me."

"Yes. Eventually." Regulus took a deep breath, eyes closing.