Chapter 11
Sirius nervously paced up and down the familiar marble hallway outside his Grandfather’s study. Half of his anxiety was from imagining the worst possible outcomes of what he was about to do. The other half was from not being able to hold Regulsu in his arms. Before he could wear a hole in the floor, a familiar voice called, “Come in.”
Stepping into the study, he was instantly transported back to his childhood, being dragged here in disgrace for various antics as a child and heir lessons as a teenager before he ran away. The man behind the desk, Arcturus Black was just as imposing as he had been then. But this time Sirius had someone else to fight for. So as he placed the papers he’d been holding onto the desk nd sat down, he didn’t let any emotion show.
His grandfather picked up the papers and skimmed over the first page. He set them down and continued writing what he was working on before Sirius showed up. Finally he responded with just one word, “No.”
Sirius didn’t convey any of his fear, anger or frustration in his voice, just calmly asked, “Why not?” There was only one way he’d get what he wanted out of this and loosing his temper was not it. “You’re irresponsible. Impulsive. Brash. You don’t think about the consequences of your actions. I will not leave a vulnerable member of my house in your hands.”
Sirius responded in a tone that anyone but his closest friends would mistake to be neutral, “Well you left him with someone much worse before this.” He shifted the caregiver-bond documentation to show Regulus’ medical history. That caught his grandfather’s attention and he began reading throught the papers. Anyone who’d not spent as much time behind this desk, being berated for various escapades would have missed the way the feared Arcturus Black’s hand shook while turning the pages.
“I will find someone more suitable.” He said quietly, not looking up. Sirius sensed that he was gaining ground. “Stop - what do you really want? This has nothing to do with a suitable caregiver for Regulus.”
His grandfather chuckled dryly, “What do I want? You know damn well what I want boy. I want an heir. You refuse to behave with even the fraction of decorum or cunning such a position requires, Bellatrix is entirely too unstable, Narcissa married a Malfoy and I will be damned before the estate falls into the hands of one of those pompous bastards. Now you’re telling me my last hope is unsuitable as well. I am left with no options.”
“You have Andromeda.” Sirius said carefully. “The name of that blood traitor is not to be spoken in this house. She forfeited any right to the Family when she ran off with a mudblood.”
Hook, line and sinker.
“And yet, her daughter is a metamorphmagus. The bloodline gift has passed to her daughter. Would you really pass up the chance to integrate that back into the family?” It was some time before he responded. “And you believe she will agree to return?”
“Yes, she will, if her husband is not threatened, she will return so that her child grows up with the backing of the family. Now that her mother is dead at least.” Sirius could have sworn he heard a soft ‘good riddance’ but wasn’t sure. Finally, his grandfather took the papers and signed them. He handed them over with the loving parting words of, “Leave Sirius. Keep him safe. Do not return.” And that was exactly what he intended to do.
Portkeying back to Hogwarts he practically ran through hallways till he got to the little’s room. His eyes zeroed in on his baby brother sleeping in one of the cribs and he just about collapsed in relief and triumph. No one would be able to take him away anymore. Walking over the crib he gently shook him.
“Hey baby, wake up. Guess who’s back?”
Regulus woke up to the sweetest sound in the world, the voice of the person he had been waiting for, his brother. “Missed you! Missed you!” He heard Sirius chuckle wetly, “Yeah love- I missed you too. And guess what - you’re going to live with me forever now, I’m going to take care of you and love you always.”
Regulus gasped and then some gears in his mind began to turn. “Sirius Papa now?” He responded, “If that’s what you’d like, baby. I’ll love you no matter what.” He would think it over, he decided.
“You must've been so brave today, I’m so proud.” Well Regulus hadn’t been the bravest but before he could say anything another person spoke instead.
“He sure was.” Jamie said. “Papa! Papa!” he shrieked, trying it out. Huh - he liked that. “Missed you!”
A fond smile on his face papa responded, “Yeah love, I know you missed me. I missed you too.”
He shook his head. “Nuh-uh Papa - not me. Jamie missed you too. Said so.”
Regulus looked so pleased with himself that Sirius would have laughed if not for the bombshell he’d just dropped. “Oh he said that, did he?” his voice came out thick and slightly wobbly. “I did.” James responded with a similarly scratchy voice. “Jamie get Papa hugs.”
Well if Regulus said so who was Sirius to deny him. He hugged James for the first time in nearly two years and if either of them noticed that their shoulders were getting damp, they didn’t mention it.