Chapter 110: The Possibility of Rekindled Relationships

Regulus' first day as a third year was filled with Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Charms. After he was done with classes for the day, he had dinner in the Great Hall. He was eager to pay a visit to his namesake's portrait to tell him about his first day back. Therefore, he was scarfing down his meal as if it was going to disappear.

"Hey, you don't need to eat that fast," Sirius commented, staring at Regulus as he tried to inhale his mashed potatoes. "Take it easy, Reg. The food's not going to disappear. Unless there's a food-stealing ghost now or something!"

Regulus grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," he apologized. "I just want to go see Aslan."

Sirius snorted. "Of course you do," he said with a smile.

"Are you two going to just roll your eyes at each other the whole time?" Capella joked.

"Who knows," Regulus replied, rolling his eyes just to prove his point. "Well, I'll see you all later." He got up and rushed out of the Great Hall and headed towards the Headmaster's office.

"He's acting like the world's about to end," James commented after he left.

"He's just excited," Alice said quietly.

"Grandfather, can I speak to Uncle Regulus, please?" Regulus asked as soon as he entered the room.

"Of course," Arcturus agreed. "His portrait is in my quarters. Go right ahead. Just be sure that you are done by curfew, unless you plan to spend the night here."

"I'll be done by curfew," Regulus promised. He had not stayed in his grandparents' quarters in a very long time, and both he and Sirius tried to only do so once in a while. Regulus entered the Headmaster's quarters to find Aslan's portrait hanging over the fireplace. Aslan looked a bit grumpy.

"What is it, Regulus?" Aslan asked.

"Hey, you don't have to be so grumpy," Regulus responded. "I just wanted to tell you about my first day of classes for the year."

Aslan suddenly looked interested. "Oh?" he asked. "And what year are you in again?"

"Third," Regulus reminded him.

"Oh, right, third year," Aslan said. "Alright, how was it then?"

"It was alright," Regulus began. "We are apparently going to learn more advanced Transfiguration this year, and in Charms, we're going to learn cleaning charms."

"Like dish-washing charms, or charms to clean yourself up?" Regulus I asked curiously.

"Both, I think," Regulus answered. "Professor Flitwick said that we'll be spending the next three or four months learning all kinds of different cleaning charms."

"Hmm," Aslan grunted. "For me, I learned the charms, like the dish-washing one, for example, but I never got to use it. I am sure you know as well as I do how much work Kreacher has to do. If there was a mess in the house, Mother and Father would call on Kreacher to clean it up. It's the same with the dishes. I think Mother didn't really like using Kreacher for everything, but it was expected. Father would tell us kids that if we ever had a mess, we were to call on Kreacher. We were not allowed to do it ourselves, partially because we couldn't use our wands outside of school, and also because Kreacher was there to do every single thing for us. I mean, I would be surprised if Father knew any cleaning spells at all, or he just forgot all of them."

"He probably still uses Kreacher to do all his dirty work, even now," Regulus said with a shake of his head. "I know what it's like. When Sirius and I lived with our parents, they told us the same thing. I kind of felt bad for Kreacher. He always had to do the work. Our parents were very lazy."

Aslan smiled slightly. "Yes, many Blacks have been known for being lazy, relying on house-elves to do everything for them," he agreed. "Arcturus, Lycoris, and I hated it."

"Sirius and I did as well," Leo said. They talked for a few more minutes before he informed Aslan that he needed to go do homework. "I'll come back to see you soon," he promised.

"See that you do," Regulus I replied.

Meanwhile, Arcturus and Melania got a letter from Andromeda. It read:

Grandmother and Grandfather,

After a lengthy discussion, Orion has agreed to meet with the two of you. If you are agreeable, we shall meet on the twenty-fifth of September at the Leaky Cauldron. I will get us a private room so our conversation isn't overheard.

Remember, I will be there as well, seeing as this will be Orion's first interaction with you since he left the family. I would advise you to be careful not to push him too much. Some topics are easier for him to talk about than others.

Let me know if this would work for you.

Warm regards,

Andromeda

Arcturus and Melania were pleased. It was really happening. They were going to see Orion. They quickly wrote back agreeing to the plan. They were glad that Sirius and Regulus would be too busy with classes to notice that they were gone for a couple of hours, because they remembered from their last conversation with Andromeda that they were to not tell anyone about seeing Orion.

"I hope this goes well," Melania said nervously.

"It will be fine," Arcturus assured her. He hoped he was right. Maybe he could restore his family a bit more.