Chapter 7
“They sent you the address?” asked Regulus after a while turning to the boy, who, with his gaze still on the road, nodded silently.
In fact, the two were now in the car, actually going to pick up Harry. And since they got into the car the only thing that could be heard was their breathing, because neither of them had tried to make a conversation or anything.
“Good.” Regulus said nodding after a few minutes and James made a sound of amusement. “What?”
“You trying to make conversation because the silence is too long it'll always be fun to me.”
“Well, I'm sorry if I'm trying to talk to a person like people do. And besides I'm not—well, it's not fun.” Regulus muttered and James gave him a quick look, half a smile on his face,
“You are so cute. The definition of cuteness.”
“Shut up.”
“It's the truth. Like, you have your hair that makes you—”
“Well, thank Merlin I have my hair, James. Really smart.”
“Do you know what the nicest thing about you is?”
“Merlin, I preferred the silence.” Regulus said as he lowered himself slightly in his seat as James' smile widened even more, seeing that the boy was starting to blush, a light pink color on his cheeks, which he personally loved.
“Your freckles.” The boy said unexpectedly as he stopped himself from sliding down the seat,
"Really.”
“Yeah, I really really love when you get some sun and your freckles come out.” James continued as if nothing had happened while by now Regulus' cheeks had definitely changed color,
“What?”
“Yes. I would kiss every single one of them if I could. But you wouldn't let me, I already know.”
Regulus looked down at his hands, “I don't like my freckles.” He said in a low and uncertain tone,
“I love them.” James said, placing his hand on the boy's thigh, then squeezing it and changing gear the next moment.
Regulus turned to him and looked at him silently, his fingers intertwining with each other unconsciously, “I love you.”
James turned to him smiling, “And I love you too.”
Regulus started to say something but a slight bend taken just in time made him forget everything, “Potter, eyes on the road!”
The bespectacled man laughed, putting both hands on the steering wheel, stretching his muscles slightly, “They are!”
“If we are going to die, I swear.”
“We are not going to die.”
“We were going to do it!”
“No, we weren't.”
“Yes, tell the name on the tombstone that I saw before my eyes.”
“I hope it was Potter at least.” James said with a small smile, glancing quickly at Regulus, who once again had slightly red cheeks, before looking back at the road.
“Shut up.” He heard silence after a few moments, which made him laugh again.
After about an hour of travel, the evening had now arrived and the light of the street lamps illuminated the streets which were almost deserted, but the two had also arrived at their destination, in fact the car had been stopped for at least 5 minutes, but neither of them had yet come down from it.
Regulus turned to James, who was cleaning non-existent dust from the steering wheel, “What do you think if we get out?”
“We should.”
“Do you want me to come with you or—”
“Yes. I beg you.” He promptly interrupted him,
“Okay. I'm coming.” He nodded taking off his belt, “Jamie, can you look at me?” He then asked softly and of course he did as he was told, “What's going inside your head?” He added putting his head on the seat, looking at him carefully,
James sighed, “I don't know. What if—what if he doesn't like me?”
“Impossible.”
“Yeah? Why?” He asked stupidly,
“No one can't help but love you. You're smart, you're beautiful, you're funny, sometimes.” Regulus said and continued satisfied when he saw James smile, “You're the purest person I've ever met. You can do anything you want and you'll be his perfect father. I just know it. And I'm not saying this because I'm me and you're you. I'm saying this because if I think of a father, or rather, a person who could be the perfect father, you would be the first that comes to mind. And now stop sitting here thinking. The real James Potter doesn't think, he just acts stupidly.” The boy concluded by quickly unfastening his seat belt and getting out of the car, then surrounding it and going to open the door for him.
“That was the most beautiful thing that someone has ever said to me. You're a poet, do you know that?” James said and Regulus tilted his head smiling,
“I like poetry.” He said shrugging his shoulders,
“I love you. You have no idea how much I love you.” said the boy for the umpteenth time that day, he never tired of saying it since Regulus had said it back to him,
“You're going to stop loving me because I'm ready to Imperio you to get out of the car if you don't do it yourself.”
“Would you use an unforgiving curse on me?”
“Funny that you didn't ask me if I would ever use an unforgiving curse regardless. It's late, come on.” He concluded by grabbing his arm as he followed in response, quickly closing the car door behind him.
“What if—” He began as the two reached the door, but before he continued Regulus grabbed his hand and intertwined his fingers with James's, who were wearing the fingerless gloves the boy couldn't do without.
“It's going to be okay. I'm here.”
“I owe you so many of those favors.”
“You don't know how many.” He nodded beside him as he opened the door and entered the building, the white light of the room, a waiting room from what they understood, hitting their eyes as they both reached the front desk. “Good evening.”
The lady who was sitting and typing on the computer looked up at them. “Good evening. How can I help you?”
“We are looking for—uh…” Regulus began but he actually didn't know what to say, or how exactly to say it?
“I'm James Potter. I'm looking for Harry Potter?”
”Oh. Harry, yeah. So you're James.” The lady said suddenly changing her tone, looking both up and down while Regulus shrugged at her,
“Mhm. That's me.” He said uncertainly while the lady rolled her eyes and handed him two sheets of paper,
“You sign this and don't run off while I go get Harry huh? You’re known for that after all.”
“Pardon moi?” asked Regulus next to James in a cold tone but the boy next to him whispered,
“It's okay, Reg. Just help me signing this?” While the lady got up and she left.
“Who does she think she is? Don't run away, known for that...she doesn't even know who you are.”
James signed for the third time as he said, “Maybe she met Lily.”
“So what? Lily talked bullshit about you?”
“Reg.” The boy admonished him,
“Sorry. But—she is a really fucking bitch. If Barty was here he would probably have argued with her.”
“Like you?”
“I didn't argue with her. I just asked what it was about her that stressed her out so much. To say that she was stressed is simply to say...” the boy said but stopped suddenly leaving the sentence hanging, which made him look up from the papers,
“Stressed and…? What's wrong?”
Regulus turned to him slowly, looking at his face with a softened look, “He looks just like you, Jamie.” He said slowly and carefully and James looked at him for a second before looking over his head and seeing him.
Harry James Potter, his son.
The child was talking to the lady from before and another decidedly younger girl, who was holding his hand and she was listening with interest. The first thing that struck him was definitely and obviously the child's hair. They were very messy and even though he had tried to tidy them up a couple of times, nothing had changed.
James had never seen such a beautiful child in his life.
And looking at him, he understood that he would have done anything to see him smile as shyly as he was doing at that moment. Anything.
It took only one look and he was ready to do anything to keep him safe.
“I'll wait here. If the lady gives you any trouble, give me a sign.” Regulus said softly, taking the papers from his hands and the pen, and then starting to read and sign them, imitating his signature perfectly. James wasn't even surprised.
The boy stood up, adjusted his glasses and headed towards the three who were in front of him.
Obviously as soon as he arrived the older lady looked up and gave him yet another dirty look of the day. However, when the younger girl looked up, all he saw was a genuine smile.
“Well, hello Mr. Potter.”
“Please call me James. When someone calls me Mr. potter I feel old like my Pa.” He replied with a hint of a smile and the girl with light brown hair smiled,
“I'm Abigail. She is Evelyn. I apologize in advance, she has strong and questionable emotions.”
“That's not true. Only truth.”
“Oh stop it.” Abigail said, giving her a quick glance before turning back to the boy, “This is Harry. Harry, this is your dad, James.”
And he lowered his head to meet the gaze of his son, after four years. For the first time. “I'm really happy to meet you.”
“Hi.” The boy said in a low voice, adjusting the small backpack he had on his shoulder,
“The suitcase, the documents and all the things you need to know. Make sure you don't ruin this too.” Evelyn said handing him a binder and this time Abigail hit her arm hard.
“Stop it. I'm sorry. We know all about this, Lily was our friend too, but she is just still being an asshole. Harry knows too.”
James shifted his gaze back to the boy who was studying him intently, eyes seeming to squint to focus, which involuntarily caused the boy to adjust his glasses, “Really?”
“She told us the whole story. Of course we didn't tell anyone, you know, professional secret and friendship for years. But I see that everything went well.” Abigail said kindly, glancing at Regulus, who, James noticed when he followed his gaze, was staring intently there, his expression neutral. Too neutral honestly.
“Yeah. Thank you for—you know, everything I guess. And for being the one to call me.” He said in response, glancing quickly at Evelyn who was saying something to Harry, who smiled at her the next moment.
“It's not your fault, James.” Abigail bent over her knee and Harry turned to her, “It was nice meeting you Harry. We'll meet again soon, do you promise?” She asked and then put her hand on her forehead and gave him a military salute, which was replied by the child,
“I promised. Thank you Ab and thank you Eve.” He replied before giving them both a hug and standing next to James, who took the suitcase in his hand,
“Here's my number. If you need anything, really, anything, call me, okay?” Abigail said in an almost warning tone, quickly handing him a piece of paper while the boy took it and put it in his pocket,
“Thank you.” He said sincerely before turning and both walking towards Regulus, after Harry however raised his hand and greeted the two women, who promptly stood up.
The boy asked a silent question with his gaze and James nodded reassuringly. He then turned to Harry and smiled kindly. “Hi. I'm Regulus.” He said before adding, “Or Reg, if you like. It's a pleasure to meet you.”
“Hi, I'm Harry. You have really pretty hair.” The surprised child said while Regulus couldn't help but smile, the too many similarities with James now impossible to miss.
Same hair. Same face. Same features.
“I like yours too. They are very very beautiful.” Regulus said and Harry gave him a small smile.
“Thank you.”
“You're welcome. C'mon, I think it's time to go.” He added holding out his hand to take the backpack but the boy shook his head clutching it onto his shoulders, before throwing a quick look at James, who in response only raised his eyebrows, not knowing what else to say. So the three headed towards the exit slowly, while Harry, who followed the two boys, kept his arms rigid close to his body, without saying a word.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ✩ ☀︎︎☽ ✩ ⋆⁺₊⋆
The car was silent. As silent as it had ever been, because being in the car with James meant no silence, except on special occasions that Regulus honestly didn't appreciate. By now it had become a habit to hear James's voice, who spoke to him, who rant about things that happened in his day or the boy's detailed stories while the two walked to get a frozen yogurt in the middle of the night, when no one could see them.
The curly man turned towards the bespectacled man who looked at the child from the rear-view mirror, only to see him looking at his hands while he played with his backpack with his fingers.
Regulus turned fully to the boy then, “Everything okay back there?”
Harry looked up and shrugged, “Yes.”
“You ate?” He then asked, however this question caused an unexpected reaction, which however caused the boy a strange sensation. The child opened his eyes slightly, barely visible, in fact if Regulus wasn't watching him so carefully he wouldn't have noticed, and quickly shook his head,
“I don't wanna eat.” He said quickly and the boy nodded with a smile that he tried to make as reassuring as possible.
“If I'm being honest I'm not hungry either. However…” Regulus left the sentence hanging, so that as it happened, James would say,
“I mean. A frozen yogurt. On the way home. I could eat. You don't want to eat one?” Pouting, the boy rolled his eyes, sending an «I told you so» look to Harry, who smiled a barely perceptible smile. But it was a smile in the end wasn't it? A half step forward.
“You know James, you can eat a frozen yogurt alone.”
“But I don't want to eat it alone.” Then quickly adding, realizing that what he had said wasn't right, “Obviously I'm not forcing you to eat, you know.”
Regulus smiled at him, picking up the phone curiously as it had just started ringing, “I know.”
James turned quickly, but still couldn't read the name of the person calling him, so he asked, “Who is it?”
“Narcissa. But I talked to her this morning, she never calls me at this hour.” The boy said worriedly as he answered the call quickly, “Cissy?”
“What, and I'm asking this nicely, did you do to her?”
“What?”
“I called her. Like I always do. And guess what Reg. She started crying and hang up on me.”
Regulus felt a pang in his stomach, “Who?”
With pauses. “You know who. What happened?”
“It's not really the time. We just—had a little fight. That's all."
“Regulus Black. You don't have fights with Pandora.”
“Well, maybe this time I did, okay?” The boy blurted out, feeling more and more guilty,
“Regulus.”
The boy looked out the window, clearly feeling James' gaze on him, “She lied to me for years. I said some bad things and then she left. Happy?”
“Of course not I'm not happy. Why didn't you listen to her?”
“How do you know that I didn't listen to her?”
“Because I know you? Because you're Regulus Black?”
The boy leaned back in his seat with a tired sigh, “So what?”
“Reggie. Even though it might sound horrible saying that, you are the only person who can make her cry. I mean, have you ever seen Pandora cry?”
“Yeah?”
“Really?”
“I—okay, listen. She lied to me.”
“So what?”
“Did she tell you what happened?”
“No. And I don't want to hear it. They are your things. I just want to tell you that you are wrong. Did you at least let her talk?”
“I didn't. I just—left.”
“I'm coming Draco! Listen, I can't give you the lecture you deserve, and you know how much I hate giving you a lecture—”
“You love lecturing me like I love lecturing you when you make mistakes.” He interrupted her and the girl was silent for a second,
“Okay, that's fair. But, right now I hate that I'm doing this. So please, just talk to her. She was really sad.”
“I just need some time.”
“Take your time. I'm not forcing you. Maybe a little.”
“I feel like I'm the bad and you're the good cop.”
“What's the point anyway? You two are going to make peace, and that’s one thing I’m 110% sure.”
“Because she hurt me, Cissy. When James told me—Merlin, I wasn't trying to think about it because all of what happened, but after? I told her everything. Everything, always. I told her about that night too, do you know that?” Regulus blurted out swallowing the sudden dry feeling in his throat.
“No, I didn't know about that.” The woman said in a calm tone and Regulus shrugged at her,
“Well, now you know. Listen, I know that—that I'll forgive her. Of course I will, she is one of my best friends. But right now I have things to do and to think, I'm sorry.”
“No, I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't—”
“You're just doing your job, I get that. Thanks.” he nodded, rubbing his forehead tiredly,
“I really have to go right now but—just don't wait too much. She cried and—it was horrible, Lulu.”
Regulus closed his eyes taking a light breath, “I know. We will talk tomorrow?”
“Of course. Say hello to James. And…Harry I guess. And this was the most awkward call we have had, by the way.”
“Yeah, I know. Au revoir.” Regulus said closing the phone and placing it on his lap, waiting for James to comment, because he was sure he would.
“You fight with Pandora?” Asks after some minutes James softly, looking briefly at him,
“It's okay, we are fine.” answered the boy vaguely,
“Was it my fault?”
“What?”
“For what happened or for…what I said about them?”
Regulus shrugged, “It's not important.”
“But it is. I'm sorry if I ruined something between you two. What happened?”
“I don't want to talk about it, James.”
“I know, but Ma always said that—”
“Yeah, and what about her? Is she good? What did she say? For how long has she known?” Regulus asked in defense, immediately silencing the boy, who tightened his fingers on the steering wheel.
Wrong.
“Merde, I'm sorry.”
A long pause. “It's okay.”
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Sad.
“No, it's not. You were just trying to comfort me and I just—attack you. Merlin, lately I’m so bad with words. I'm so sorry, James. I just don't want to talk about it now. Maybe in the future. Forgive me.” He said quickly with a low voice,
The boy nodded “Okay.”
“Can you look at me?” Asked Regulus still not convinced,
“I'm driving, mi amor.” The boy said neutrally and Regulus made a sound of disapproval,
“You're the best driver I know, just look at me for one second mon amour, please.”
James turned to him for a few seconds letting him know that he understood that it was difficult and that they were both tired before returning his gaze to the road, “And to think that if I had done something like that a few days ago you would have killed me.”
“Don't get used to it. It was just for this time. And for valid reasons.”
James turned to look at him again and smile slightly, “Oh really?”
“Eyes on the road, Potter. I don't want to have an accident.” Regulus said the next moment, glancing towards the back seat to see that Harry had his eyes closed, even though his breathing indicated that he wasn't sleeping. “He isn't.” He then added,
“You think?”
“I know.” Regulus said sadly as he rested his head against the window tiredly.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ✩ ☀︎︎☽ ✩ ⋆⁺₊⋆
After at least half an hour of travel, in which James had stopped to get a frozen yogurt which he «shared» with Regulus, (who in reality only took a spoonful) and in which Harry did not say a word, continuing to keep his eyes closed but still not sleeping, the three finally arrived at the first one's house.
It was Regulus who went to open the door for Harry, “Hey Harry, we're here.”
The child opened his eyes and nodded, starting to remove the belt, but was unable to do so due to the malfunction of the belt itself, which James had been informed about several times by everyone, but obviously had preferred to forget. He raised his head in confusion and Regulus gestured to ask him if he actually could solve it and Harry, who waited a few seconds, finally nodded. So he took the wand and with a light blow he repaired the belt while the child looked at the scene curiously.
“Sorry about that. But when you tell your Dad to fix something it will never happen. If you need to fix anything, ask me, okay?” He explained and he nodded,
“Okay that's a lie. Sirius told me that he had fixed it. That's why I haven't even seen it. I thought everything was okay!” James intervened, getting out of the car and taking his suitcase and backpack,
Regulus let Harry down slowly, then leaned forward and took the keys from James' pocket with a soft snort, “And you trust my brother?”
“Of course.”
“Who am I even talking to.”
“The man you love of course.”
“Not so sure about that.” He replied, opening the door and letting the child in first, who entered slowly, studying the entrance in silence. Terribly silent. Regulus took a light breath before reaching out to Harry, who looked at him curiously. “How about I give you a grand tour of the house while your dad goes to unpack your suitcase in your room?”
“Do I have my room?”
“Of course. You still have to decorate with your things and buy more new things, but it's all yours.”
Harry leaned forward slightly with his weight, before grabbing the man’s hand with his small hand, “Okay.”
Regulus squeezed his hand lightly in reassurance as James stared at the scene, a soft smile on his face. “Don't fall down the stairs, mon amour.”
“I have never fallen down the stairs.” He complained as Regulus lightly pulled Harry with him towards the kitchen,
“Mhmm, I remember yes.” He replied disappearing behind the door threshold, while Harry followed him this time with more light energy. “So, this is the kitchen. This is my second favorite part of this house.” described the boy as giving them both an extensive tour of the average kitchen, “You know, I'm not a big food person like James. He only has that physique thanks to genetics.” He added with a slight smile as Harry listened intently, “But I love cooking. Probably if I hadn't been a Quidditch player I would have been a chef.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Cooking is like... or rather, it's an art form. Mixing the ingredients is like mixing tempera to paint. In the end, a work of art will always emerge. And then, everyone can cook. Not everyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can be hidden in anyone, remember that.” The boy said, quoting the film that he saw at least twice a year with Pandora and Luna and one of his favorites.
Harry kept his gaze on the table, which only had a bowl of fruit in the center, yet he said, “I don't really like the kitchen. Mommy doesn't cook so often. We always ordered outside.”
Regulus decided to proceed with caution, “Do you have a favorite food?”
Harry shook his head quickly, “No.”
“Not even blueberries?” He asked as the two left the kitchen and headed towards the front door,
“I never ate blueberries.”
“Have you never eaten them?” Regulus asked in amazement and Harry shook his head again,
“Mommy is allergic so I've never eaten them.”
“Evans was allergic to blueberries? Oh, Merlin. I am sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“We are going to eat them.” The boy then decided,
“Are they good?” asked the child as the two now headed towards the stairs, to join James upstairs, who still hadn't heard from him anyway.
“They are very good. I assure you.”
“You promise?” The boy asked, stopping suddenly and Regulus turned to him in surprise,
“I promise. Actually, I pinky promise.” He then said, holding out his little finger, which was grasped the next moment, not without some hesitation, by Harry's small and delicate little finger.
“Do I really have a room?”
“If your dad didn't fall asleep on your bed, yes. Can you hear him?”
Harry stood on tiptoe to try to hear better, then shook his head, “I can't hear anything.”
“Neither do I. We must pray to Merlin then.” Regulus said as he opened the door to the room next to James', at their time, to actually find the boy trying to straighten the bed with his wand.
“We finished the tour.” Regulus said and James looked up sharply at the two,
“The garden too?”
The boy narrowed his eyes slightly, “It's too late. We'll show them that together."
“Do you have flowers?” asked the child uncertainly and they both nodded at the same time,
“We do. But I think it's now our flowers, don't you think?”
Harry thought about it for a few seconds, approaching his new bed, which was already made and honestly, smelled good too. “I like flowers. Okay.” He then added with a yawn, which he tried to cover, however, to no avail.
“Time to sleep. Would you like for us to sleep with you?”
“No, it's okay. Mommy always say that I have to sleep alone, even if I'm not alone.” He explained the child by taking off his shoes and climbing onto the bed, then turning around, looking for something that he apparently didn't find. “Where is Noop?”
James glanced quickly at Regulus, “Noop?”
Harry turned just as quickly to Regulus, “Yes. Noop. My friend. My stuffed animal. He is a cat. My cat.”
Regulus quickly looked back at James, who shook his head imperceptibly, “I think Noop stayed in your old house, Harry.”
The child quickly shook his head, squeezing his small hands around the soft blanket, which flexed slightly upon contact, “That it's not true. I took him with me. He was with me on the car. I—” the boy began to ramble as his chest began to move faster and oh god, he was going to cry, wasn't he? “I want Noop. I can't sleep without my friend. I don't know where—please, give me Noop. Please.” The child said as tears now ran down his cheeks and his voice trembled strongly,
James moved closer to him but he moved further back, sobbing, “I need him, I need my friend.” And oh, the boy's heart broke into a thousand pieces.
Regulus bent down at the foot of the bed and after a moment in which it seemed he had asked permission, he took the boy's hand. “Harry, I'm so sorry, but Noop is not here.”
The child's lip was trembling harder and harder, “But I—Noop—”
“What do you think if I introduce you to another friend? My friend. Actually, mine and James' friend, mhm?”
Harry sniffed at him, shaking his head, “Reg—Noop—” he began pleadingly and James wondered how Regulus wasn't losing control like he felt he was. How he didn't cry too, hearing the pain in the child's voice. How he wasn't short of breath because he didn't know how.
But Regulus didn't move, holding his small hands tightly in his, “He does not have a name, you know, but I 'm sure you could give him one. What do you think?” He explained in a calm tone and damn, how did he do that? James would probably have collapsed if Harry had been looking at him with that broken expression on his face the whole time.
“He is a boy?” He asked after a few seconds when the sobs calmed down slightly,
“Oh yeah. He is a boy. A lion. A white lion. Do you like lions?”
“I never had a lion as my friend.” He answered him while Regulus turned to James, slightly crossing his eyebrows,
“He is one of my best friends, you know? Now James will go get it. He is probably already sleeping with Kreacher on top of my bed.”
Harry swallowed a sob, “Keach?”
“Kreacher, yes. He is another of my friends. You'll meet him. He is an elf.”
“An elf? Like—” Harry said, pausing for a few seconds looking at their intertwined hands, “Like an elf elf?”
“Oui. He is very stubborn, do you know? If he catches James in my room, he would probably punch him.”
Harry turned to James with a confused look, “Punch Dad?”
“Oh yeah. But James is really fast, he will be back in two minutes.”
Harry sniffed at him as he wiped the tears from his left cheek with his hand, “Will you?”
“I—” the boy said uncertainly, shooting a quick, barely perceptible glance at Regulus, before nodding repeatedly, “Yeah, of course. I bet I can come back in one minute.”
“You're not that fast, James.” Regulus said making a funny expression that made Harry, who had now stopped crying, smile slightly. Slightly. Offering the boy an opportunity to recover for a moment,
“We'll see about that.” opportunity that James immediately seized before disappearing from the room, leaving the two alone.
“Are you better?” Regulus asked looking at the child's face as he nodded.
“Thank you.”
“You don't have to thank me, Harry. I did nothing.” Regulus said softly before looking at his watch, “What did I tell you? There's no way he would have done it in a—”
But he was interrupted by the appearance of James who was holding the stuffed animal he had given him months ago. “I already know you were about to say I would never make it.”
Regulus looked at him for a few seconds before turning to Harry, “I wasn't, right?”
“He wasn't.” He nodded at the boy as he gave him a secret wink which James obviously caught, before rolling his eyes and handing the stuffed animal to Harry,
“Here. This is…ah…Logan?” He asked uncertainly while both, after looking at each other, shook their heads, “Um…Nic? No, of course not. Hmm, Sirius?”
“Really?” Regulus asked and James threw his hands in the air,
“Well, I don't know!”
“What about Mars?” Harry said, holding the stuffed animal close to him as he turned to the two boys, who immediately turned their attention to him.
“Mars?”
“Yeah. Like the stars.” The child said with conviction even though neither of them understood the reference to the stars.
“You like the stars?”
Harry nodded, “Mommy always said that someone that she loved always said that her hair looked red like Mars, the star.” He explained and obviously Regulus knew that Mars was the planet, but he would never contradict him. After all, don't red stars also exist?
“Oh, I get it. I didn't know that you liked the stars. I like them too.” The boy said kindly before Harry yawned again, calmer now and Mars held tightly in his arms. “One day we can go and watch the stars, what do you think?”
“Really?”
“You have my word. But now it's time for bed, your Dad is sleepy.”
James played along, “A little.”
“Do you need anything else? Do you need us to stay here?”
“No, we are okay.” Harry said as he backed away and got under the covers, which Regulus gently fed him, as he always did to Luna and Draco when he could.
“Okay. See you tomorrow morning then?” He asked and Harry nodded before saying closing his eyes as James and Regulus walked out of the room,
“Good night Dad and Reg.”
“Sweet dreams, Harry.” James said with a slight smile as Regulus added next to him,
“Good night, Harry.” Before pulling the door open and letting his shoulders drop and turning to James, “Do you want a tea?”
The boy adjusted his glasses, “What about something stronger? I have something for us I think.”
“Just for us, huh?” Regulus asked, leaning against the boy's side as they went down the stairs making as little noise as possible.
“How about we go to the room then?” James asked, giving him a quick kiss on his curls as he nodded,
“Can we take the bottle upstairs?”
“You read my mind, mi amor.” James said affectionately as he took the bottle and the glasses, then turned off the lights and went up the stairs again, finally reaching the room, not without James glancing at Harry's door ajar.
Regulus dropped onto the bed with all his weight and James was not slow to follow him, standing next to him and handing him the glass, which he subsequently filled. “If Ziana saw me now she would probably make me run across the field on foot ten times.” He said taking a sip while James still didn't take his glass,
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“With Harry. He was—” James said, running a hand through his hair nervously, “You were so calm?”
“Ah, yes. That's because I have Luna and Draco. Mostly Luna actually. She was born first. Trust me, I was mess. I didn't know what to do. None of us knew what to do. If someone had looked at us from the outside they would probably have said that we would never have made it, but here we are.”
“You're not saying this because I'm a mess right?” James asked and Regulus shook his head,
“Non. I assure you. The first time that me and Barty held Luna, well, pretty sure I cried after.”
“Did you cry?”
“Oh yeah. She was so tiny and I was afraid that I would break her. But, she laughed at me. I mean, she smiled and everything was so perfect. I will never forget that moment.” Regulus said then taking James' hand in his, “Are you okay?”
“I feel like these days you're always asking me that.”
“So what? You always ask me that.”
“What if I—you know, fuck this up? What if I can't be like you?” James confessed in a low voice,
“You don't have to be like me. And you won't fuck this up because we are in this together, remember?”
“I know but—”
“I talked to Narcissa, you know?” Regulus interrupted and James raised an eyebrow,
“I know?”
“I mean, this morning. I talked to her and I told her that I didn't know what to do with all of this situation.”
James felt a thump in his chest that he tried to hide, even as Regulus continued to move his thumb over the back of his hand, “You did?”
“Oui. And you know what she told me? That the only thing that I could do was being with you. So I'm asking you to be with me in this. What do you think about that?”
“I should be the one who should ask you this, Reg.”
“Yeah, well, we all know that you're a little slow.” Regulus joked as he walked up to him and rested his head on his shoulder,
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you. Us. And Harry.”
“You didn't give up.” He said simply before turning to him, “Everything will go okay. The only thing that you have to worry about right now is to hug me.” He added and James almost immediately did as he was told, holding him close and immediately feeling better.
“I love you.” James said placing his chin on Regulus' head who made a sound of approval.
And the two remained like that until the beat of their hearts became one.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ✩ ☀︎︎☽ ✩ ⋆⁺₊⋆
For the seventh time that night, even though the night had already passed, given the rays of the sun that were entering through the curtains, James got up from the bed where Regulus was sleeping and then left the room as silently as possible to finally look out into the door where Harry slept, to check on him.
He was still sleeping. Like the other seven or eight times, with Mars in his arms. His face was the most relaxed James had ever seen and he looked so calm that he was afraid he wasn't breathing. But the little sigh he let out next made him think otherwise, his chest dropping back down.
He didn't know why he did it. Because he had gotten up every thirty minutes and gone to check on him. He couldn't escape. He couldn't hide or disappear, right? So why couldn't James stop checking? It was stronger than him. Regulus had probably sensed that he had gotten out of bed all those times, but he had never asked him anything when he came back next to him and hugged him back into his arms.
Harry literally looked like a puppet. A puppet? Hmm, maybe not. It looked more like a sculpture that had been made so perfectly that one was afraid to move it from the place where it had been built. A statue that if moved too much would have fallen and shattered into a thousand pieces, as the artist who created it would have done.
He didn't enter the room, none of the eight times he appeared. He simply leaned against the door and waited for the child to give him a sign of life. Anything. In those moments, he was able to see things that amazed him more than they should amaze a person. Such as the fact that Harry would take deep breaths during sleep and hold them for a while before releasing them. Or the fact that if he had to turn away, he never let Mars out of his arms.
Maybe he was strange, but James couldn't stop looking at him and thinking how…perfect he was. Calm. And how much it reminded him of Regulus, the same calm that distinguished them when they slept. He personally wasn't like that. They had always told him that during the night he was more active than during the day. This was also proven by the rare bruises he had on his arm from the involuntary elbows Regulus gave him when he moved too much to try to calm him.
He decided to stay on the doorstep for a few more minutes, before returning to his room, only to find the bed empty. Great, it was definitely him who had woken Regulus up. There was no point in pretending that he was asleep now, so he sat up in bed waiting for him to come out of the bathroom, which he did after about 20 minutes, now definitely awake and already settled in.
“Good morning.” James said as he stood up and walked over to him as Regulus fixed his hair.
“Is he still asleep?” He asked instead as James crossed his arms behind the boy's back,
“Yes. Do you sleep well?”
“I always sleep well here, James. Good morning.” He said giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek, before moving his face back, still in the grip of the boy in front of him. “Do you want something to eat? Today is gonna be a big day.”
“And why is that?” James asked, searching Regulus's with his nose and then touching him delicately,
“Because we have to talk with Sirius. About Harry,” he said, still keeping the low tone that the two had used until then, “And about us.”
“We have to? What if we went for a walk by the sea.”
“No.”
James brought his face even closer to his, “Oh, and what about a lake?”
“Nope.” Regulus said as he tried to move his face away from James who instead tried to get closer and closer, bringing him closer,
“What about a library? Or a caffetteria? Or theater?”
“Jamie, stop it.” Regulua said laughing slightly as James was now unstoppable,
“What? I'm just saying. I mean, imagine. You, me and Harry walking on the sunshine—”
“Stop.” Regulus said smiling and pushing him on his chest uselessly as James gave him a kiss on both cheeks and then on the lips, which was promptly returned, before he quickly pulled away and turned, just as quickly, towards the door, to see Harry who, with his eyes still half closed, he stared at them with Mars held tightly in his arms. “Harry, hey, good morning! Did we wake you up?” He asked, taking a step back and separating himself completely from James who let his arms fall to his sides,
Harry simply shook his head, “Good morning.”
“Did you sleep well?” asked James instead and the boy nodded this time.
“Mars was with me all the time.”
“Did he sleep well?” Regulus asked after brushing James' arm and moving closer to Harry who nodded again. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really.”
“Okay. Would you like to come with us in the kitchen while James eats something?” He asked then and the child nodded promptly,
“You're not going to eat something mi amor?” James asked in a low tone and Regulus shook his head slightly, leading Harry towards the kitchen,
“I'm not really hungry today. I will just drink an iced coffee.”
James nodded before adding, “Harry won't eat anything?”
“I'll make him a toast. I still don't know what he actually likes.” Regulus answered him as he entered the kitchen to see Harry already sitting in the chair, his hair messier than James's, which he didn't think was actually possible. “Do you like jam?” He then asked, turning towards the child who after a few seconds nodded, “Mhm. Strawberry or cherry? What do you think? Which one do you think your Dad would like?”
“Strawberry.” Harry replied in a low voice and Regulus nodded as he placed four slices in the toaster and moved on to make his iced coffee.
After preparing everything he sat down like the others and began to sip it in silence, before handing Harry a plate with toast inside, which had strawberry jam.
Harry looked up at him who turned his gaze to the coffee and then the toast before reaching out and pulling the plate towards him, beginning to eat slowly.
It was a step forward. A small, tiny step forward, but it was a step. And that was what mattered to him.
“Harry, we have to ask you something.” James said suddenly after having had a conversation made only of glances with Regulus who now turned his gaze to the child who looked up at him. “Today we have some errands to do, quick, but we have to do them and so that you don't get bored, how about we take you to your grandparents, my parents? Just for an hour, and then we'll be back.”
The boy stared at him silently, his eyes going from James to Regulus, but before the latter could say anything, he asked, “Can I bring Mars?”
“Certainly.” nodded James trying to sound as reassuring as possible while the child nodded in turn. “Good, then I'm going to take a shower and then we'll get ready, mhm?” He added then getting up from the chair while Regulus nodded taking the boys' plates and washing them in a few seconds with a flick of his wand.
James then headed towards his bathroom, while Regulus followed Harry into his room and helped him sort out the things in his suitcase, including clothes, toothbrush, shampoo and pajamas.
In the end, the two, after looking at all the available options, decided that Harry would wear a simple white t-shirt that had small colored houses on it on his chest and a pair of black trousers.
Harry later helped Regulus choose something to put from what the boy had left at James' house. (Enough stuff, if he had to be honest.) In the end, to match, as the little boy had asked, Harry chose a pair of black trousers similar to his and then Regulus took a white shirt that no one knows how lucky he was, he had left inside James' closet.
“How am I?” He then asked, turning towards Harry who still hadn't changed, folding the sleeves up to the elbows and unbuttoning the top button and moving the neck slightly,
“Well. I like it.” The child promptly said and he smiled at him,
“Perfect. How about we also choose what James will wear?”
“We can?”
“Of course we can. Come.” Regulus said, opening the wardrobe door, and then making room for the child who slowly approached, observing all of James' clothes, which were tidier than he remembered from the last time he had seen them.
“Oi, I was thinking—” came James's voice a few minutes later as he emerged from the bathroom with wet hair dripping onto his chest and a towel tied around his waist, “Oh. I didn't expect you two to be here.” He said taking a step back while Regulus tilted his head giving him a smile while his eyes had looked him up and down,
“Here. Harry picked out your clothes.”
“Really? Thanks kiddo.” He replied, taking them with a further nod of thanks to the child who turned towards the boy next to him,
“Reg.”
“Mhm?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Or course, anything.” He said as James proceeded to quickly get dressed,
“Can I shower too?”
“I—huh,” the boy began confused because he wasn't expecting such a question, but of course he nodded, “Yeah, of course you can shower too. You don't have to ask us.” Regulhs said, throwing an imperceptible glance at James, who also put on his (equally white) t-shirt, then placing a hand on the child's back, leading him towards his room to take the necessary things from the things they had just arranged.
“The air is still warm.” James said absently as he stood on the doorstep waiting for the two, who joined him the next moment, with Harry holding (having insisted) his shirt, trousers, shampoo and apparently his conditioner too.
“If you need anything else just call us, okay?” James said after explaining to the child what there was to know about the bathroom and its different functions, something he would never have imagined. Even saying it like that seemed strange.
Harry nodded before standing slightly on his tiptoes and closing the door, leaving the two outside looking at each other speechlessly.
“Is that normal? I mean, do you think he needs our help? How does Luna do it?” James whispered quickly to Regulus who shrugged,
“I don't know? I mean, Pandora taught her to shower herself in the tub, and luckily your shower is also a tub so it should be simple but I don't know? I didn't even know baby conditioner existed.” He whispered back,
“Does Harry use conditioner?”
“Yeah, he does. And you don't. You realize?”
“My three-in-one shampoo—”
“Don't you dare. Now that we're going to live together I'll burn them for you."
“What? You can't do that!” James shouted-whispered indignantly as Regulus nodded,
“Watch me. The first thing we'll do is look for shampoos and conditioners that are right for your hair, James Potter.” James didn't answer so he turned to him confused as he expected an answer, to see that he was looking at him silently, “What?”
“Did you just say when are we going to live together? Do you want to live with me?"
“I—did I say that?”
“You did.”
“I mean, with Harry and all of this I thought—I mean, I didn't think I just know that we will live together now? If of course that's okay with you, I mean you spend most of your time at my place and lately you've only slept at my place except for these three nights that were crazy and—”
“Mi amor, of course I will love to live with you. Are you kidding me?”
Regulus stopped short from his speech to look at him better, “Really?”
James laughed before pulling him towards him and placing his lips on his in a kiss that was anything but delicate, “Yes. I want to live with you for the rest of my life. Of our lives.” And he couldn't help but kiss him again with the same force, until James lifted him off the ground and the two twirled a couple of times, before he put him back down. “I can't believe I'm going to live with you. Tell me something that hasn't happened these days.”
Regulus laughed, “We went through the hardest stages of a relationship and went straight to the kids part. If someone had told me a year ago that I would be here with you I probably would have thrown them down from some great height.”
“I would do it all over again with you.” James said receiving a pat on his chest,
“Shut up.”
“Aww, are you blushing? That's—”
“I swear to Merlin, James—”
“Let me just—” he said but Regulus was quicker to pull his wand out of his pocket and point it at his neck,
“Shut. Up.” He chanted slowly, the pink still on his cheeks as James put on a false pout, which disappeared the next moment when Harry's voice was heard clearly from inside the bathroom,
“Reg? Dad?”
“Harry, do you need help?”
“No.” A little pause where James and Regulus were staring at each other, waiting, “Maybe.” He then added the child. “Mom always says I should wash my hair with shampoo and this other thing, but I don't know which is which. I—Can you help me, Reg?”
The latter turned to James displeased, “Jamie, I’m—”
“Don't be.” He immediately interrupted the other, “He trusts you. I'm happy that he chooses you. I'm not an expert on the hair.”
But the boy wasn't convinced, putting his wand away, “James.”
“It's okay, Reg. I will choose you over me every second at every time. Go and help him.”
“Because you love me, it's—”
“Just go, mi amor. I will call Ma to warn her and apologize.” James said then pushing the boy when he didn't move,
“Are you sure you don't need help?”
“Goo.”
“Fine.” He said before opening the door and walking in, and the last thing he heard was “You made the right choice, Harry. We are going to make your hair perfect.”
“Like yours?”