Chapter 1
Regulus sat in a train compartment with his older brother who sat across him , watching the landscape pass by . Sirius had one of the new Walkmans clipped to his pants and was listening to Queen so loud that you could hear it through the headphones he was wearing. Regulus rolled his eyes in frustration. "Can’t you turn that down?" he asked his older brother, waiting for a response. Sirius lifted one side of his headphones. "What?" he asked. "Please turn it down," Regulus said, a bit calmer.
Sirius turned the Walkman off, and Regulus went back to staring out the window. "Thanks," he muttered.
Sirius stretched his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling of the train compartment. "Are you excited for another summer in France, Reggie?" Sirius asked his brother, still staring at the ceiling.
"As always," Regulus murmured, bored.
"Oh, come on, Reggie. We need to do something cool this summer. After all, it’s your first summer at 18!" Sirius grinned at his younger brother.
"Not interested," Regulus said, taking a book out of the backpack that was sitting next to him on the seat. "What are you reading?" Sirius asked, putting his feet up on the seat across him.
"The Picture of Dorian Gray," Regulus replied, raising an eyebrow at his brother when he noticed Sirius had put his feet up on the seat but said nothing about it. Sirius looked at him for a while before speaking. "Never heard of it."
"Doesn’t surprise me," Regulus replied flatly to his brother’s comment. "You should really read sometime. It’d do you good," he added.
"Oh, Reggie, reading just isn’t for me—way too exhausting," Sirius said dramatically, placing a hand over his chest where his heart was.
Regulus rolled his eyes, his gaze still focused on the book.
"You’re so boring, Reggie," Sirius complained, puffing out his cheeks. "How am I supposed to survive such a long train ride with you?"
" you have survived it before " Regulus said and began to ignore his brother, his gaze fixed on his book . Sirius stared at him in disbelief. "You can't just ignore me, Reggie," he said indignantly, fully aware that Regulus was very good at doing just that.
Sirius kept bothering Regulus for a while but gave up after about thirty minutes. He leaned back against the seat and stared out the window, watching the landscape pass by. The journey seemed painfully slow for Sirius, and he was more than relieved when the train finally pulled into the station. "Come on, Reggie, we're finally here," he said, suddenly cheerful again. Regulus only made a small sound of agreement and tucked his book back into his backpack.
The two brothers got off at the familiar station, looking around for their cousin Andromeda. "You know, Reggie, I'm actually kind of glad we come here every summer. At least we're far away from Mother and Father," Sirius grinned, and Regulus rolled his eyes. "They really think we're learning something here," Regulus said with a slight grin. Sirius laughed.
"Are you excited to see Nymphi again?" Sirius added with a grin. Regulus smiled faintly. "Yeah, I’m curious to see what color her hair is this time."
"Oh yeah, last time it was blue. I really hope it's changed again. How old is she now, five? She’s growing up so fast," Sirius said, wiping away an imaginary tear from his eye.
Finally, they spotted Andromeda, who was carrying her daughter on her shoulders. Nymphadora waved excitedly and flashed a wide grin, revealing a large gap between her teeth. Andromeda set her daughter down, and Nymphadora ran straight toward Sirius and Regulus. Regulus knelt down, opening his arms wide to welcome Nymphadora , who threw herself into his embrace, laughing loudly. "Hi, Reg! Hi, Siri!" she said loudly, grinning nonstop. Sirius knelt down next to his brother and ruffled Nymphadoras ,
,now dark green hair. "Nice hair, Nymphi " Sirius said, laughing.
"Thank you," she said, grinning up at him. Andromeda was only a few meters away, and they could hear her laughing loudly. When she reached Sirius, Regulus, and Nymphadora, she greeted the boys warmly. "I’m so happy to see you both," she said, hugging Sirius, who had stood up by now. Regulus was still kneeling on the ground with Nymphadora in his arms, who didn’t seem to want to let go of him.
"She missed you so much, asked me almost every day when you'd be coming back," Andromeda said with a smile.
"Aww," Sirius said, laughing as he looked at Nymphadora, who hid her bright red face in Regulus' chest.
"We missed you too, Nymphi," Regulus said softly, stroking her hair. He stood up, lifting her with him as she wrapped her legs around his waist and snuggled into him.
Andromeda's house was in a rural area, and the walk there wasn’t long, so they decided to walk.
"So, what are your plans for the summer?" Andromeda asked, glancing at the two boys. Regulus was still holding Nymphadora in his arms, and by now, she had fallen asleep.
"I'm taking Reggie to a club," Sirius said with a grin, clearly convinced it was a great idea.
Regulus rolled his eyes. "No, thanks," he replied , making Andromeda laugh.
"I think that’s a fantastic idea, Regulus. I know a few good clubs. You might even meet some interesting people," she said, smiling.
Regulus gave her a desperate look. "Not you too! We don’t need to meet people, especially not me," he said dejectedly.
"Oh, yes, you do," Andromeda replied, putting an end to the discussion. Resigned to his fate, Regulus said nothing more.
They arrived at Andromeda’s house, and she unlocked the door. "You must be hungry. Ted should have already made something to eat," she said, smiling kindly at the boys. "Just put Nymphadora in her bed; it's been a long day for her, and she'll sleep a while." With that, she disappeared into the kitchen to greet her husband.
Sirius and Regulus carried Nymphadora to her room, where Regulus gently laid her down in her bed and tucked her in lightly. The two brothers then brought their bags to the guest room they were sharing and headed to the kitchen. There, they found Andromeda and Ted embracing.
"Hey, boys," Ted said, pulling away from the hug and walking over to Sirius and Regulus. He ruffled both their hair with a smile. "Good to see you both again," he said warmly.
"Hey," the brothers said in unison, making Ted chuckle softly.
"Come on, lunch is ready. I made tomato pasta."
Sirius and Regulus' eyes lit up at the mention of pasta. Ted’s tomato pasta was, in their opinion, the best in the world.
Ted laughed when he saw the boys' expressions. "Sit down, the food's almost ready," he said, smiling. Andromeda, Sirius, and Regulus sat down at the old, dark wooden table, which was covered with a tablecloth embroidered with flowers. Ted came to the table with a large pot and placed it in the middle, then handed out the plates. "Take as much as you want," he said, laughing, and sat down as well. "Thanks, love," Andromeda said to Ted and gave him a light kiss on the lips before turning to the pot and serving herself some pasta. The boys had already taken huge portions and were happily eating. Ted served himself last, and they all ate in peace.
When everyone had finished, Sirius said, "That was amazing again, Ted," grinning as he spoke, and Regulus nodded in agreement. Ted chuckled, "Thanks, boys." "They’re right, you're the best cook, love," Andromeda added, smiling as she took his hand. Ted’s smile grew even wider, if that were possible.
Sirius glanced at the clock. "Oh, it's already 6 p.m. Do you feel like going to the lake today, Reggie?" he asked, turning his head and smiling at his brother. "We could take Nymphi and teach her a bit how to swim," he added, and Regulus nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that sounds great," he said. Sirius ruffled Regulus's hair, and as he stood up, Regulus grumbled and tried to fix it. "You know you don’t have to do that every time," Regulus said, standing up as well. "Oh yes, I do, Reggie," Sirius laughed. The two of them cleared the table and thanked Ted for the meal before heading to their room and collapsing onto their beds.
The walls of the room were painted in a light green, and a large window with a dark wooden frame let in plenty of light. Their beds were placed against opposite walls, each with a small nightstand beside it, and on the nightstands stood small lamps made of colorful glass. Next to the door stood a small, dark brown wardrobe, and in front of the large window was a desk with a chair. The walls were covered with posters, paintings, and photos from the summers the boys had spent there. To them, this room felt like home—so much more like home than Grimmauld Place with their parents.
Their backpacks were lying next to their beds. Regulus slowly got up and began to unpack, putting his clothes into the wardrobe and his books onto a small shelf that hung over the bed. Sirius rolled his eyes, "You and your books, Reggie," he grinned slightly. Regulus looked at him, offended, and turned back to his backpack to continue unpacking. Sirius decided to get up as well and unpack his own backpack. After about 45 minutes, they were both done. Regulus had neatly organized everything, while Sirius had thrown all his clothes haphazardly into his half of the wardrobe, leaving everything else in his backpack, which now lay under his bed.
Sirius grabbed a towel, swim trunks, and sunscreen, and said, "Come on, Reggie, let's change and wake up Nympi." Regulus just nodded, took his things and his book, they both put on their swim trunks and T-shirts before heading to Nymphadora’s room. They opened the door and walked to the bed. "Hey Nymphi," Regulus said softly, stroking her hair. She mumbled a little "We’re going to the lake, swimming. Do you want to come?" Sirius asked cheerfully. Nymphadora immediately jumped up, grinning at the two of them. "Yessss," she said, dragging out the word. Regulus chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Okay, get dressed and come downstairs. We’ll wait for you," he said, smiling. She nodded excitedly, and the two brothers left her room. Sirius and Regulus went downstairs to the living room, where Ted and Andromeda were sitting on the couch reading. "Hey, you two," Andromeda said, smiling. "Why don’t you sit down while Nymphadora isn’t ready yet?" she added, laughing slightly. "She’ll probably take forever to decide whether to wear the green or the blue swimsuit," she said, and Ted chuckled. "You should never have let her have two," he said, pulling a sympathetic face. "But she loves them both so much," Andromeda said , ruffling her husband's hair. Regulus and Sirius, who had meanwhile sat down on the other couch, grinned slightly and waited for Nymphadora.