Chapter 2
About 20 minutes later, she came smiling into the living room, wearing a blue swimsuit and carrying a pink floatie under her arm, yellow water wings on her arms, and a towel draped over her shoulder. Sirius and Regulus stood up, grinning, and said their goodbyes to Andromeda and Ted. They walked to the lake, which wasn’t too far away, and found a nice spot on the sand. The trees provided some shade, and the sand was pleasantly warm from the sun.
They spread out a picnic blanket and settled down, throwing their towels onto the blanket next to them. Sirius pulled out the sunscreen. "Come here, Nymphi," he said with a slight smile. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance but came over to Sirius, and he began to applied sunscreen on her skin. Regulus, meanwhile, had already laid down and was reading his book.
Sirius had just finished applying sunscreen to Nymphadora when he cleared his throat to get Regulus' attention, making a hand gesture for his brother to come over. "You too, Reggie," he said, slightly amused by the expression on Regulus' face. "You need to set a good example for Nymphi so she knows how important sunscreen is." He laughed, and Regulus, after placing a bookmark in his book and setting it aside, slowly stood up. He walked over to his brother and sat down in front of him, his back turned to his brother.
Sirius carefully applied sunscreen to his brother’s back, taking care to avoid touching the long, already faded scars that stretched across Regulus' skin. He knew how sensitive Regulus was about them, so much so that he barely dared to go shirtless because of them. These scars were something Sirius and Regulus shared. They ran the length of their backs, thick and raised, clearly visible. When Sirius finished applying the sunscreen, he stood up and tossed the tube into Regulus' lap. "Your turn," he said with a grin.
It was a known fact that many members of the Black family had porcelain-white skin, which gave them an elegant appearance, but it was more a curse than a blessing. Regulus and Sirius couldn’t step outside without sunscreen or some other protection from the sun. Even the sun reflecting off the snow in winter would give them a sunburn within minutes. So the brothers always carried sunscreen with them, no matter where they went.
Sirius sat down in front of Regulus, turning his back to him, and Regulus began to apply sunscreen to his brother’s back. He wasn’t as careful, though, knowing that Sirius wouldn’t mind. Sirius no longer flinched when someone saw, mentioned, or touched his scars, and Regulus wished he could handle it the same way. But Regulus' emotional wounds were still fresh, while Sirius' had healed. Regulus envied his brother for that, wishing he could also just ignore it—the phantom pain these scars still brought him and his brother on some days.
They both finished applying sunscreen to the rest of their bodies. Nymphadora had seated herself at the edge of the picnic blanket and was carefully drawing patterns in the sand with a stick. Luckily, she had inherited her father’s sun-kissed skin, which meant she didn’t get sunburned as quickly as Andromeda, Sirius, or Regulus. Still, they always made sure she wore sunscreen when they went swimming or spent long periods in the sun.
Once the brothers were done, they stood up, and Nymphadora looked up excitedly. She could hardly wait to get into the water and learn to swim. Regulus lifted her up, as the sand exposed to the sun was far too hot for her feet. He carried her on his hip, and she clung to him. The two walked to the lake, and Regulus only set her down once they were in the lukewarm water.
Regulus set Nymphadora down, and Sirius crouched so he was at eye level with her. “So, do you still remember the rules we made last year?” he asked, smiling gently. Nymphadora nodded excitedly, looking at him with wide eyes. “Don’t go too deep into the water, stay close to you, and scream if something happens,” she said, sounding proud that she could still recite the three rules.
Sirius smiled and ruffled her hair. “Exactly, Nymphi, you did a great job remembering. So, how about we teach you a bit more about swimming now? I know you’re already big and can swim breaststroke, but how about learning backstroke and how to float? Floating can be really useful if you ever run out of strength to keep swimming,” he said, smiling at her, though his tone was serious. Both brothers knew how important it was for Nymphi to learn to swim properly.
Nymphadora nodded eagerly; she hadn’t missed the serious tone in Sirius’s voice but didn’t let it spoil her excitement. She knew swimming wasn’t only for fun, but right now that felt irrelevant to her, and she just wanted to focus on the fun part.
The evening passed quickly, and soon the sun began to set, bathing the sky and everything around them in a bright orange glow. Regulus and Sirius had successfully taught Nymphadora how to backfloat and drift. Sirius and Regulus lay down on the blanket, enjoying the last rays of sunlight, while Nymphadora busied herself with building a sandcastle. The beach was quiet, as most families had already left; the children’s laughter faded away, leaving only the gentle rustling of leaves, the chirping of a few birds, and the soft splashing of water.
Sirius had closed his eyes and was listening to music on his Walkman, while Regulus had picked up his book and continued reading, relaxed. Every now and then, both of them glanced at Nymphadora to make sure she was okay.
The sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon, and Regulus and Sirius began to pack their things. Once they were done, they called for Nymphadora, who came running over. She grinned at them sleepily and stretched her arms out towards Regulus. He chuckled softly, picked her up, settled her on his hip, and she clung to him, burying her face in his shirt. Regulus gently stroked her hair. "Tired, Nymphi?" he asked softly. She just grumbled in response, and Sirius started laughing as well.
"We’re heading home now," Sirius said, lovingly running his hand through her hair. "We’ll have something to eat, put you to bed, and Reggie will read you a bedtime story. How does that sound, hmm?"
"Sounds good," she mumbled into Regulus's shirt.
The walk home was quiet and relaxing, and all three of them enjoyed the warm summer evening.
When they got home, the brothers handed Nymphadora over to Ted and got ready for the evening. They showered off the sand that had clung to their skin and clothes throughout the day and changed into their checkered pajama pants and T-shirts. For a while, they lay on their beds, each absorbed in their own activities. Regulus had started sketching in his small sketchbook, while Sirius was idly doodling in a magazine he’d been reading. The only sounds in the room were the rustling of pages and the gentle scratching of pencils on paper.
The light from the small lamps on their nightstands bathed the room in a cozy atmosphere. Outside, the sun had long since disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving the stars and the moon to shine brightly in the sky. The brightest star seemed to compete with the moon for attention.
Sirius yawned loudly and set the magazine down on his nightstand. "Should we head down for dinner, Reggie?" he asked tiredly, his eyes already half-closed. Regulus smirked, nodded, and put his sketchbook and pencil aside before getting up.
The brothers headed to the kitchen, where they found Andromeda reheating the pasta from lunch. She smiled at them as they entered.
"Hey, boys, dinner’s almost ready. Did you have a nice evening by the lake? Nymphadora’s already been telling us all about it," she said with a small smile.
Sirius returned her smile and replied, "Yeah, we had a lovely evening, though the sand in my swim shorts was particularly delightful," he added with a playful grimace.
Andromeda laughed out loud as she took the pot off the stove. "Sounds like a successful evening! I heard you taught her how to backfloat and drift—thank you for that."
Regulus nodded and joined the conversation. "Yeah, Nymphi picks things up so quickly. You should’ve seen how proud she was when she mastered backfloating," he said, smiling warmly.
"Should we set the table?" Regulus added after a moment.
Andromeda nodded gratefully. "That would be great, boys," she said with a smile.