Harry was in quite a situation. He had agreed to talk with Luna today. She had told him that there was something of importance that she needed him to know. He wasn't exactly...excited. Harry loved Luna, she was a great friend, really. A brilliant witch, who tendes to get her head stuck in the clouds. But he didn't have the motivation to go see her today. Harry slides his hands down his face, knocking his glasses onto the couch beneath him. He rubs his eyes, sighing. He gets up, putting his glasses back on his face.
He walks towards his door, preparing to take a step out. Harry takes a deep breath, opening the door, stepping into the big bustling world. He hasn't been out of the house in months- after the war, none of the interviewers and radio hosts within a 1,000 mile radius had left him alone. He had even gotten an interview request from America! Harry sticks his hands into his pockets, making sure he didn't forget his wand. He feels it in his front jacket pocket, and starts moving along the streets, toward Diagon Alley.
Harry keeps his head bowed, in case anyone saw him, though, he had used a spell to disguise himself. He nearly ran to Diagon Alley, making sure he'd have time to look around before he had to go meet with Luna. Speaking of, he'd been clearing out R.A.B.'s room in Sirius' house. He found a picture. A picture of a boy with short, curly black hair, who reminded him of Sirius, smiling, next to a boy with short green hair, and green eyes, with a sharp-toothed grin, next to a girl who looked just like Luna. It was uncanny, the resemblance. Luna had the same smile, nose, hair, and eyes as this woman.
Harry grinned, as he spotted Luna in a crowd. She was peering into a shop window, looking at something called a 'Bizzybee Translator.' He scoffed, knowing it was utter madness. But it was Luna, after all. He jogged over to her, waving in a friendly way. Luna smiles softly when her gaze caught his. She beckoned him over.
"
Harry! How have you been? We haven't talked properly in quite a long while."
"I've been... Alright. How have you been, Luna?"
"Better than ever! I've started writing articles of research about new creatures I've been finding!"
"That's nice. I'm glad you're pursuing your dreams. Anyway....you said you had something of importance to tell me?"
"Oh, yes, that! Well, i'd rather we walk and talk. Don't want the Kipters to overhear.." Luna looks away thoughtfully as they start walking, navigating through the large crowd.
"...may I ask what a...Kipter...is?"
"They're the size of an atom, and they listen to what you say, and report back to their friends. Those little things are listening all the time. It's best to outpace them. They're very slow, after all."
Harry nodded, and smiled. It was just the thing to do when Luna started talking about the creatures she was studying. Luna started to speak again, her voice taking a slightly less airy tone.
"...Im telling you this as a secret. Don't tell anybody. Not even...Not even your godfather, Sirius. It's too risky to tell this to anyone but yourself.....What I've got to tell you is that...I've been having visions. Of a man who looks exactly like Sirius, but younger. Hanging out with my mother. The visions stopped, oddly, but then they returned. He was alone. In an old, broken down house, which was emptied out completely. It was such a weird sight, even by my standards...I think his door said 'Regulus'? I'm not sure. But he's been hiding away in the walls of that house. Has been for....a decade or two, apparently. He went missing the day he turned seventeen...which means hes been M.I.A. for... 19 years."
Harry stopped walking, his legs suddenly feeling like stone. Regulus was a familiar name. He couldn't exactly place where he'd heard it before- but he didn't have much time to think, as a ragged man appeared from Knockturn Alley. His green eyes pierced through Harry, as though he was looking through his soul. The man had long, shaggy black hair, and was quite thin.
"You're talking about Regulus? Better stay out of that business. Quite risky, if you ask me. Little brat deserved what he got. He was a death eater, that one. Drowned to death, betraying the Dark Lord. Went looking for horcruxes, or whatever you call 'em. Got through one. Died right after. Don't go peeking into that story. Nobody wants to hear it anymore."
Harry looked at the man. He was talking funny, as though it was painful to speak. His green eyes looked crazed, and he let out a laugh, that sounded a little too forced. His tongue shot out, licking his lips quickly.
"His old place has surely been locked up by now, I assume. Don't go looking, kid."
He then turned back into Knockturn Alley, and vanished into thin air. Luna and Harry were left standing awkwardly, wondering what this man was on.
Harry sticks his hands back into his pockets.
"Well...id better be off, yeah?"
Luna didn't respond, still staring at the spot the man had disappeared at. She nodded slowly. Harry could almost see the gears turning in her mind.
He backs away. When he turns his back, he picks up a quicker pace. This whole situation was just weird. What did this man know about Regulus? Why was he so determined on making sure Harry didn't go looking for him...? The man looked....familiar. Harry freezes as he realizes who the man was. The one in the photograph with Luna's mother and Regulus. Barty Crouch Jr. He was alive? Harry thought back to his fourth year, when they had caught him. Now, looking back, he never did find out what happened to Barty.
Harry starts sprinting to Sirius' old house. Regulus was there. He knew it, from Luna's description, it was Sirius' house. He suddenly heard footsteps behind him. It was Barty again. He was chasing Harry down.
"STOP, BOY! YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOURE GETTING YOURSELF INTO! REGULUS IS A DANGEROUS MAN! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
Harry took that as confirmation that Regulus was alive, and hiding in Grimmauld Place. He used magic, and brought himself to Grimmauld Place. He entered the house, his heart racing. He hears a door slamming, and a few creaks, as though someone was walking around. He yelled into the 'empty' house.
"REGULUS? I KNOW YOU'RE HIDING IN HERE!"
The house was silent. The air was tense. Regulus slowly creeped down the stairs.
"...Harry? Oh...you're all grown now. I haven't seen you since you were a baby."
Harry stared at Regulus, shocked at the audacity of this man. To pretend like he hadn't been hiding for 19 years, just telling him it's been a while.
"...I'm not here for a reunion. Why are you hiding? The wars over. Death Eaters are being let back into society."
Regulus flinched at the words 'death eaters'.
"Well, Harry, you have to realize, everyone thinks I've been dead for almost two decades. Even...even Barty. I'm not going to show up now and shatter that illusion. Even Pandora doesn't know."
Harry paused.
"....Pandora is Luna's mum....er....Pandora's dead. You know that....right?"
Regulus froze, staring into Harry's eyes.
"You're lying. Youre- youre kidding. Pandora isn't dead. Shes too strong to be dead."
Harry sighed.
"She got killed by one of her own potions...years ago. She's been gone for a while now. We've found out recently she was trying to destroy the horcruxes too, and that's the purpose of the potion that killed her."
Tears well up in Regulus' eyes.
"And...Sirius? Is Sirius alright?"
Harry hesitated.
"... He's been gone for two years."
Tears streamed down Regulus' face.
"...Get out. Get out, never come back- leave me alone. I won't...I won't tolerate these LIES!"
Regulus screamed that last word, his pale face turning pink as he cried.
Harry looked back at Regulus one last time, before leaving. For good. Every memory of that house eventually drifted from his mind in the many decades to come. Around fifty years later, he sees a newspaper that shocks him. 'A body identified as Regulus Black was found rotting in his prior residence.' Regulus was dead. The last person that knew Sirius, his dad, and Remus...was dead. All of them were dead, after nearly seventy years since the first died.