Chapter 1
"I think it's just around here,"
Sirius says, a little bittersweetly, which he shouldn't be, he's just been let out of Azkaban, he's just been set free. But, of course, Sirius just couldn't stay happy, like any normal person. Sirius is on his way to his dead brother's secret home, that they had managed to find. Sirius is redoing his dead brother's funeral. Sirius thinks not enough respects have been paid to his soul. Sirius can't be happy for more than two weeks.
"Love, are you sure you want to do this?" Remus asks. His Remus. His Moony. Was he sure he wanted to do this? After all, everything was perfect, Sirius had everything he wanted, he had a home, he had people who loved him, he had a family, he had Remus and Harry, was he sure he wanted more? Everything was perfect, everything except the nagging feeling he had that his baby brother, his Reggie, wasn't taken care of, not properly at least. Of course, there had been a funeral, of course he had been buried, but Sirius wants more, Sirius knows that his funeral would be any funeral his wretched mother could have ever tried to conduct.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm sure. C'mon, moons, c'mon, let's go," He says, wiping a few tears from his eyes, the feeling of grief unshakeable.
"It's okay if you're not, y'know, we can do this another day," Remus says comfortingly, stroking his hair.
"No, it's fine, we can do this," He says, leaning into his touch slightly.
"You're so strong, so strong, pads," Remus says, smiling kindly, pressing a kiss to his temple.
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y/n
Today is a big day, a huge day, in fact. My kids, my children, are going to Hogwarts today!
I remember my own first day at Hogwarts like it was yesterday, the thrill of the unknown, the magic in the air, the sense that anything was possible. Now, it's their turn.
I watch as they scramble around the house, gathering their things. Orion, always the more organized of the two, has already packed his trunk neatly, everything in its place. His owl, Apollo, sits patiently atop the trunk, hooting softly. Cassiopeia, on the other hand, is a whirlwind of activity, trying to find a missing shoe, her wand, and her favorite book, all at once. Her cat, Artemis, watches with a mixture of curiosity and disdain from the windowsill.
"Muuuum, have you seen my Charms book?" Cassie calls out, her voice tinged with a hint of panic.
"It's on the dining room table, where you left it last night," I reply, smiling at her frantic energy.
"Thanks!" she yells back, dashing off to retrieve it.
Regulus, my husband, is in the study, writing yet another letter. "You okay?" he asks, looking up at me with a knowing smile.
I nod, feeling a lump form in my throat. "Yeah, just...can't believe it's time already."
He wraps an arm around me, pulling me close. "They'll be fine. And so will we."
I smile, leaning into his embrace. "I know. It's just...Hogwarts. It feels like yesterday we were there."
I'm interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door, who could be knocking so early in the morning?
I wonder, stepping downstairs to open the door.
"Y/n?" says a voice.
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Sirius
After finally finding the courage to walk to the door of my little brother's secret cottage/hideout, whatever stupid thing he used to call it. I try to open the door, to let myself in and find his belongings. The door on the other hand, has other plans for me. It just simply won't budge. "Moonyyy," I whine "The door won't open,". He sighs at me, "let me have a look, love," he pushes the door, trying to open it- "wow, it really doesn't open," he says incredulously. "Hey!" I protest, "I'm not that weak, what do you think I am?" I pout mockingly. "A shortie," he pats me on the head as if I was some kind of child, "whatever," I huff.
Just then, I see someone through the window, was that...?
"Y/n?" I ask, knocking on the door, to see someone open it, which was in fact y/n, Regulus' "perfect pure-blood girlfriend", who I had actually taken a liking to, once I found out she wasn't as snobby as my mum made her out to be, with her intense... acceptance of her.
"Yeah?" she answers, as if it had been just yesterday since we had last met.
"Who's that?" Remus asks me under his breath, seeming slightly jealous.
"Regulus' girlfriend," I mutter back, trying not to let her hear me.
"Listen, I have important things to do, so tell me why you're here or I'm gonna have to go," she says, looking a bit pissed at all the muttering and mumbling we were doing.
"Right... I dunno how to say this nicely but we're here to pick up things for his funeral..." I say trying not to come off as rude.
"Whose funeral?" she says, looking confused.
"She's in denial," Remus whispers to me.
"Regulus' funeral...?" I say, looking just as confused.
"Regulus isn't dead?" she says, probably thinking that this must be a big prank.
"She's definitely in denial," I whisper back to Remus.
"Hey! I heard that!" she says.
"Oh, um... we'll just be going," Remus says trying to cover for us.
"No, no you will not, you guys need to meet Regulus," she says, shaking her head.
"This is unhealthy, is she hallucinating?" I mutter to Remus, thankfully, she doesn't hear me this time.
She leads us up the stairs to the living room, where, in fact I do see Regulus on the sofa reading a book quietly, in typical Regulus Black fashion.
I stop dead in my tracks, my heart pounding in my chest. This has to be a trick. A cruel joke. But as I look closer, I can see that it’s really him. Regulus, my baby brother, alive and well, sitting casually as if he hadn’t been presumed dead for years.
“Reggie?” I manage to choke out, my voice barely a whisper.
Regulus looks up from his book, his eyes widening in shock as he sees me and Remus standing there. “Sirius?” he says, his voice trembling. “What... how?”
I take a hesitant step forward, unsure if I’m dreaming. “We thought you were dead. I thought you were dead.”
Regulus stands up slowly, placing his book aside. “I had to disappear, Sirius. It was the only way to stay safe, to keep everyone safe.”
I feel a mixture of anger, relief, and confusion swirling inside me. “You let us believe you were gone, Reggie. All these years... why didn’t you let us know?”
Regulus sighs, looking pained. “I wanted to, but it was too dangerous. The Death Eaters, Voldemort... they would have come after me, and anyone who knew about me.”
"Wait, wait, wait," y/n says, glaring at Regulus, "so then what exactly were you doing when you said you were writing to Sirius?"
"I was writing to Sirius," he says, solemnly, leading us to the study, where upon the table there lie letters upon letters, all tear stained, all unsent.
"Oh, darling," y/n says, stroking Regulus' back.
I feel as though I'm about to cry. "I'm so sorry, Reg,"
Regulus steps forward, closing the distance between us. “You don’t have to apologize, Sirius. We both made mistakes. But we’re here now. We can start over.”
I pull him into a tight hug, feeling tears streaming down my face. “I’ve missed you so much, Reggie.”
“I’ve missed you too, Sirius,” Regulus whispers, hugging me back just as tightly.
Regulus nods, breaking the hug with me and turning to Remus. “It’s good to see you too, Remus. Thank you for being there for Sirius.”
Remus smiles warmly. “Always.”
"It's good that Sirius has such good friends with him," Regulus smiles back.
"Friends?" y/n asks, "I thought you two were together," she says
"Yeah, we are," I respond
"You are?" Regulus asks, sounding extremely confused.
"Sometimes I wonder why I married you," she sighs.
“Why don’t we all sit down and catch up? There’s a lot to talk about, apparently.” Regulus says, rolling his eyes.
We move to the living room, sitting down together.
"Go get the kids," Regulus asks y/n.
"Kids? What do you mean kids?" I ask, incredulously.
"This is going to be a long get-together," y/n says, smiling.