We Meet Again
REGULUS, 5:05PM
Regulus stared blankly through his sunglasses at the hand outstretched towards him. He doesn’t recognize me, he thought to himself. After a few painful seconds of silence, he snaps back to life and put his own hand out. “Regulus B- um- I’m a friend of Draco’s parents.” Should he just tell him the truth? No-- too risky. His life had been built as precariously as a pencil balanced on its tip for the last 5 years, he couldn’t risk a gust of wind knocking it down now.
“Well looks like these guys are dying for a playdate aren’t they!” James said while staring down at his son lovingly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose even thought they were perfectly fine. He always did that when they were kids. Harry was tugging on his dad’s shirt with the same mischievous grin as him.
“Yes, I’m sure we can plan something. I’ll talk to Draco’s mom.” Regulus replies curtly and starts to walk away.
“Hey wait up! I didn’t even get your number.” James says with a soft look. Regulus can feel his cheeks go red.
“For the playdate?” Oh- yes, why didn’t he think of that? God this whole situation was killing him-- he just wanted to take Draco home and get away from James. “Yeahsorry, here you go.” Regulus looks at James’ extended forearm and shuffles around his pockets for a pen, he scribbles down his number on the tan skin and mumbles a barely audible goodbye.
Grabbing Draco’s arm, he does a 180 and starts speed walking away from the nursery entrance. “Uncle Reggie you’re too fast!” Still wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible, he scoops up his nephew and continues on till he gets to his car, buckling him up in the back and giving him a snack.
As soon as he gets into the drivers seat and puts on his seat belt, he lets out an exasperated sigh and not so gracefully bumps his forehead on the wheel. A quick tap on his window jolts his head up, now hitting his head against the back of his seat. Outside the window is James, with that same charming grin. Could this get any worse?
He rolls down the window and gives a flat smile to the man outside his car. “I think you forgot something.” He picks up a little green backpack that belongs to Draco. He must have left it on the floor in the midst of it all. He lets out a thank you and a little wave, sending James the opposite way. Then, wasting no time at all, Regulus put the car in reverse and started backing out of the parking lot.
He pushes this unexpected meeting out of his mind and drops Draco off at home, not leaving before his usual cup of tea with Narcissa. After Regulus left home; Narcissa, Andromeda, and his Uncle Alphard (Rest In Peace) were the only family members he spoke to.
Andromeda and Alphard had always been the black sheep of the family, and Narcissa was quite fond of Regulus, so she took him in during the first few months. She supported him during the hardest time of his life, so when she told him she was pregnant and naming him as her son’s Godfather, he figured he should be the best Uncle Reggie he could.
He had taken him to and from nursery a few times, and he heard about his friend Harry from playgroup but he had absolutely no idea who the green-eyed boy’s father was.
Safe to say that it came as a shock when Regulus saw James’ face, he looked the same but missing that green glint of youth in his eyes. He looked like he had finally lived life. Pretty boy James was constantly getting everything he wanted, Regulus hated him for it. He hated him for stealing the one thing he needed most—Sirius. But being young and naive, he fell for the James Potter charm, like half of the school did.
Lurking behind their group of friends when Sirius still cared about him being included, he watched. He watched and he noticed. He noticed the crinkles in James’ nose when he smiled, he noticed the dimples on his lower back at the bottom of his spine when his shirt rode up ever so slightly. And one night, smoking a cigarette outside his window, he noticed him leaving his room in a flurry in the dead of night, tears flowing, heavy breathing and tugging on his hair, calling his parents because “It’s happening again.” The first time he saw that, his view on James changed. He was hiding something, just like Regulus, and he wasn’t so perfect after all.
“You’ll never guess who Harry’s dad is.” Regulus says as he stirs the sugar into his tea.
“What do you mean? Did you recognize him?” Narcissa questions, taking another sip from her cup.“Yeah. James.” Regulus clears his throat a bit and puts down the spoon with a clink, looking out the window, away from Narcissa’s pitiful face. She had seen his gut-wrenching cries when Sirius left. She had seen him curse James’ name countless times. She had seen his diary talking about his feelings towards James—jealousy and adoration. She knew about the impact he had on Regulus, and how the opposite never went for them.
Regulus watched, Narcissa knew that, and assumed that no one ever saw him back. Oh how wrong he was about that.
JAMES, 5:45PM
Oh my God. Oh my god. He had to be dreaming. Did Sirius have some sort of secret brother that he didn’t know about? Even with the sunglasses on, he could recognize that face anywhere.
Of course he could, it belonged to his best friend— or did it? As James took Harry home, a million thoughts flurried about his head. He only ever remembered Sirius’ sister, so who was this? A long lost cousin maybe, but he was just so strikingly alike to Sirius.
He knew that Draco was technically both Sirius and his sister’s nephew but this man said he was a friend of Draco’s parents. Still puzzled, he picked Harry up and opened the door of his house, revealing Sirius and Remus lounging on the couch. “There’s my favorite Godson!” Sirius ran up and grabbed Harry and swung him around, making the boy laugh maniacally. Remus sat still with a smile on his scarred face. Should I tell him,James thought to himself but decided not to. Sirius had many strong feelings and regret when it came to family and James wasn’t going to disturb his peace unless he was sure.
Ever since him and Lily split up, Sirius and Remus have been around often. He appreciates the gesture, they know Harry is a handful and James hates an empty house. He starts boiling some water for a cup of chai and watches fondly as his son plays with his uncles.
James looks down at his arm, nearly having forgotten that Mr. Mystery Man had penned down his number for the boys’ playdate. Without much hesitation he fishes his phone out of his pocket and types in the number after a few guesses on whether that was a four or a nine. Regulus was it? Or Reginald? He wasn't too sure so he just typed it in as Reg and hoped for the best.
REGULUS 9:37PM
Unknown number: Hi
Reg: Hello? Who is this?
Unknown number: Oh sorry, it’s Harry’s dad from the nursery!
Reg: Oh.
Reg: Hello.
James: When would you and Draco be free to play with Harry? He won’t shut up about it haha
Reg: I’ve asked his mum, I would say tomorrow after nursery is good. We can take them to the park.
James: Great! That’s great! If it’s alright with youcould we do my place instead? It’s a bit chilly and the boys could play with Harry’s new train set, I’m sure he’s dying to show Draco
Reg: Yes that’s alright, if your wife is okay with it.
James: …
James: Oh we’re not quite together anymore, his uncles might be there but other than that it should just be us and the kiddos
Reg: Sorry.
Reg: We’ll see you tomorrow.
James: Yup! Goodnight then.
Reg: Goodnight.
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“If your wife is okay with it. Really. Really Reg?” Regulus groaned and flopped back onto his bed, he couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. He was ever so slightly filled with dread for this meeting tomorrow.
His eyes flicked back to the glowing screen beside him and caught onto a message he had just glanced at— his uncles might be there. Does that mean Sirius? Regulus knew that James was an only child and he also knew that Sirius was his basically his brother. Sirius was his brother. James had known him as a brother longer than Regulus did.
He often imagined it as he looked at the moon, a sickly sweet family that existed out there, past the dingy windows of 12 Grimmauld place, a bright light in the sky that everyone gazed at in awe. Regulus never got that.
He lived eighteen years hiding behind that light. The ugly, dread-filled darkness overtook every fiber of his being. The day Sirius left wasn’t the day that Regulus’ last candle flame was wiped out by the dark. It was something unimaginably worse. You see, Regulus tried to leave too, but he wasn’t quite as successful as Sirius.
10 years earlier:
Regulus creeps out of the side door, one that was usually left for house elves to come in and out of so that they wouldn’t disturb his fastidious mother. A jolt of thunder shook him in fear,but fear was the last thing young Regulus needed right now.
He covered his head with the hood of his thick coat, the expensive material was supposed to guarantee warmth. Regulus had been cold inside for years, the wind barely added to that.
He swept past the front and ran out onto the street. He knew that James’ house wasn’t too far off, just a different part of the city. Regulus walked the route that he had so precariously planned until he left the nearly abandoned neighborhood and found a taxi.
He swiped one of James’ many letters at school to get the address and found that he lived in a large home around 20 minutes away from Grimmauld place.
Carrying the cash that his parents had given him unsuspectingly, he told the taxi driver the address and went on his way. “So lass, where could you be possibly going on Christmas Eve without your parents?” The driver questioned.
“Oh, just a friend’s.” Christmas Eve, Halloween, Easter, everything was indifferent to him, even his own birthday. The only thing that made those days slightly special was Sirius. And he’s gone. Lord knows his parents never did anything for him, let alone on a holiday.
They were currently at a gala at another wealthy friend’s house that Regulus was thankfully deemed not worthy enough to attend. The driver didn’t say another word as Regulus stared at the droplets of water chasing down the window the whole ride there. He was dropped off at the end of the road, and left the driver a healthy amount of cash which earned him a pitiful look and a very thankful Merry Christmas.
He trods along the sidewalk, taking in the faint glow coming from hidden windows in each house until he reached the Potter residence. His breath was knocked out of his lungs as he looked in through an opening in the window. Tears started rolling down his face.
There they were: Sirius, James, Euphemia, and Fleamont— laughing away with cups of hot cocoa, whipped cream lining their lips. He could see it in their eyes. He saw it in Sirius’ eyes especially. The light that was taken from him.
The thirteen year old boy was rightfully sobbing at this point when suddenly he saw a light at the end of the street. He recognized that car. “Oh God…” he muttered under his breath. What should he do? He couldn’t go into the Potter’s house, he couldn’t ruin their happiness with his rotten self. So, he did what he knew best.
He ran down the street, making sure nothing would be within earshot of the Potter’s, kneeled down on the concrete and shut his bloodshot eyes. Hands curled up into a ball and tucked in his lap he just wept and prepared for the worst.
“Regina Arcturus Black!” His mother’s voice pierced through his ears. “Do you really think you can get away so easily? Running away like your good for nothing scum of a brother!” She grabbed him by the ear and hauled him to his feet, long and sharp nails digging into his head, he could already feel the warm liquid oozing out of the gash.
“Answer me!”
He didn’t know what to say, in a timid voice all he could do was let out a string of apologies and “I didn't know what I was doing.” He slowly cracked open his eyes to see his mother’s sharp face.
“Shut your mouth!” She takes him by the shoulder and shoves him into the car, where his silent father stayed stoic in the front. That night was when every little bit of life and light that Sirius had given him was finally beat out of him, literally and metaphorically. He had given up for the rest of his life at home.
He kept his hair long, nails painted and manicured, and eyelashes curled. Waking everyday to go through the motions in a shell of himself. Only when the window of opportunity was wide enough to guarantee his escape did he try again, and thank God he did because he had no idea how he could have survived in that house any longer.
After this long train of bitter memories had spun around his brain he lifted his head to look at the time— 12:03 AM. An obvious realization was that he couldn’t go to James’ house anymore, not with a chance of Sirius being there, but he couldn’t text the man at midnight either. As he contemplated, his eyes slowly fluttered shut and he fell asleep.
JAMES, 7:00AM
RING RING RING
With a groan and a couple failed attempts at shutting off his alarm, James gets up and goes to get Harry ready. Once everyone’s teeth were brushed and clean clothes were on, James checked his phone.
Reg: Narcissa will take Draco to yours. Something came up.
James: Oh. That’s fine, hope everything is alright :)
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It would be a lie to say that James didn’t feel at least a little tinge of sadness after realizing that Reg wouldn’t be there. He wanted to know so bad who he was, how he know the Malfoys, and why he couldn’t come today after just last night beingable to.
He washed down his breakfast and the nagging thoughts with a glass of orange juice and got going. First he dropped off Harry at the nursery with a kiss on his forehead and a wave goodbye, then he headed to work.
Work was something…interesting for him. Playing a sport as your job may not seem serious to many people, and it wasn’t usually to James but he always loved it. Hockey was the consistency in his life and he was eternally grateful for the fact that his escape literally paid the bills. He got to the rink later than usual, because they didn’t really have any important games coming up soon.
Usually they would be there at 5 o'clock in the morning, adrenaline pumping through their veins. James likes the think he runs a tight ship as the co captain alongside Sirius and the coach but everyone knew he was secretly a softie.
As he was tying up his skates he saw Sirius walk up, mouthguard held between his teeth and sweaty hair dangling in front of his eyes. When Sirius moved in with James, he joined in on the sport and turned out to be quite good. Both of them played for their university and now professionally.
“Alright mate?” Sirius mumbled through the piece of plastic held precariously in his mouth. James looked up at him and all that flashed through his mind was Regulus and his features that aligned so perfectly with his best friend’s.
Looking back down to his skates, he mumbles out a small “yeah” and they both walked on to the ice. Everyone arrived in the next fifteen minutes and they got going afterward.
1:00PM
James breathed in and out deeply. Staring out of his helmet, he could see everyone’s chests heaving, trying to catch their breath. Figuring he had worked them hard enough, he
turned to the coach.
He cocked his head to the side and his action was returned with a small nod, signaling that itwas fine for them to stop. “Alright boys let’s wrap it up!” James squirted a bit of water into his parched mouth and started taking off his gloves.
He heard someone behind him and looked to see Sirius, also taking off his gloves. “Should me and Rem come by later today? Can’t wait to see Harry.”
"Yea sure. His friend is coming ‘round for a playdate." Should he tell him that the friend is actually his nephew,James asked himself. There was no way Sirius wouldn’t recognize Narcissa. He wasn’t sure if they had hashed it out or not. He figured that nothing could go too badly and that he’d just take his chances this once.
5:00PM
The bell rings with a shrill noise.
“Papa my friend! My friend is here!”
“Yes honey let’s just check and make sure alright?” Sirius grabs Harry to keep him occupied while he opens up the door to reveal the blonde haired boy in his mother's arms.
“Hi there.” He gave a small smile which was returned with a genuine one. Draco wiggled around a bit and she let him down, instantly running off to see his friend.
“Cup of tea?”
“I would love that.”
James could hear Sirius talking to the boys and their laughter made him sighin relief. James poured Narcissa some chai and she popped in a spoonful of sugar. They chatted for a while and then she helped him wash up the tea, even though James insisted that she did not have to.
“Well we should probably check on the kids right? Who knows what they’ve been up to.” Narcissa said with a chuckle. “Yeah of course!” They both made their way into the play room where Draco and Harry were busy trying to put dolls in the carriage of Harry’s train set.
Both parents smiled at the adorable sight and sat down on the couch beside the room. Draco was just in the middle of explaining to his mother how he also needed a train and a new set of dolls as another figure emerged from the hallway.
Sirius walked in and his narrowed eyes instantly locked onto Narcissa. “Cissy? What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you since-”
“Since you left, I know.” Sirius noticed the newfound maturity in her voice as she spoke. He guessed that’s what a decade of being apart does to you.
“I see you’ve met my son, Draco. Your nephew.”
They were out of earshot of the kids, who were still busy with the train. Sirius ran his hand down his face and sighed.
“My nephew?” Narcissa nodded in confirmation.
He sat down beside her, staring ahead.
James wordlessly got up and went to join the boys, sensing it was a sensitive and private situation. The two talked for a little bit, seemingly calm. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop but he heard some talks about the family, again wondering whether Reg would come up.
Sirius pulled out his phone and showed her some of his highlights with that same sly smirk on his face and she laughed along with him. James never had any close cousins, but it felt nice to see his pretty much brother getting along with family as well.
“Better get going now.” Narcissa checked the time and grabbed Draco and his things. She exchanged numbers with the both of them after James packed her some leftover biscuits, let Draco say bye to Harry, and they drove off.
Sirius walked back to his room with few words, and James didn’t pry. He couldn’t help but get the nagging thought of Reg, though.
That night, they both went to sleep with a certain member of the Black family in mind.