Two
Regulus didn't like the feeling of so many eyes on him. Like he was some sort of animal in a cage, something to be displayed or flaunted.
He was trying to make sense of his situation. He had been in the cave, drowning, and now he was in Grimmauld Place surrounded by mysterious people whom he didn't know. That's also peculiar. There were blood wards surrounding the place, only family members could let people inside.
The red-headed boy stuck his wand in Regulus' face. Not a pleasant welcome.
"Who- what are you, and what are you doing here?" He questioned sticking his chest out. Before Regulus could answer another one piped up.
An older man with long dark hair that looked like it hadn't been cut in years, and grey eyes like Regulus' own but with more blue tones. Now Regulus thought about it the man looked like Uncle Alphard, with more facial hair, but that was impossible, Uncle Alphard had been dead for a year and a half now. None of this made sense to him.
"Regulus?" He said it as a question, not a statement.
Regulus coughed out the last of the water in his lungs. "Yes. who are you?" Those were the most words he could mutter before all he could see was black.
-
Regulus woke up, sweaty and disoriented. He felt like he had just been drugged, must have been the potion, he thought. He took in his surroundings, he could clearly make out that this was his bedroom but there were none of his books or papers on the desk, no picture of Evan, Barty, and him from fourth year, and his Slytherin flag was not on the wall above his bed.
He was dressed in the same clothes as yesterday but Regulus was dry now, if a little disheveled. He looked down at himself, red marks ran down his stomach and legs. The Inferni had scratched him up badly and one particular wound that was straight from his neck down to his thigh had been stitched.
He gingerly stepped out of the bed but the moment he stood up he sat right back down again. Wincing with the pain that shot through his body. He tried the second time and was more successful. He stumbled to his wardrobe and opened it. None of his black shirts were there or his tailored robes, no, it was stark. Only a small shoebox sat on the ground.
Regulus bent down and opened it, he expected it to be empty or filled with a pair of shoes. He peered inside, it was a few letters and pictures of him, including the one of Evan and Barty that used to sit by his bedside. He opened up the letters to see his handwriting. Most of them were the ones that were on his desk before he had left for the cave. There was one that stood out. One with much messier handwriting and short simple sentences, it read:
Dear Sirius,
I miss you when you're at Hogwarts. I hope you're coming back for the Spring Equinox. Mother and Father are fuming that you didn't come back for Samhain or Yule. I can't wait to see you
Love ,
Regulus.
It was funny seeing his old letter. He never did send it, Walburga was always strict with what he could say or write to Sirius after his sorting. They didn't want Sirius to 'taint their second chance'. Regulus guessed they succeeded in that.
He heard a thump thump thump, that was coming closer to his room. Regulus speedily put the contents back in the box and closed the wardrobe doors before there was a knock on the door. He clambered for his wand but couldn't find it, fuck, it must have fallen out when he was in the cave. Makes sense since he was out of his bloody mind with that potion.
The door swung open to reveal the older man who knew his name. He looked a lot more sleep-deprived than Regulus remembered, and he was a lot less put together. He was wearing some muggle clothing that Regulus couldn't name, unlike Regulus he was holding his wand in his calloused hands.
"Reg? But..." He trailed off, "but that's not possible." He pointed his wand at Regulus now. "Reg has been dead for years."
That startled him. Regulus was alive, maybe he wasn't doing so well but he was definitely not dead. "I am certainly not dead, thank you." He replied stiffly.
The man's face fell. That's when it clicked for Regulus. That wasn't Uncle Alphard or any other Uncle of Regulus'. It was Sirius.
"Sirius..?" There was no point pretending that he didn't know it was Sirius. "Why are you here? Mother will kill you if she finds you here. and why are so many strangers here?" There was one question Regulus was holding out on asking because he knew that the answer he got would not be a pretty one.
Sirius' face fell in confusion then his expression changed to one of relief. He relaxed and his right hand fell back down to his side and sighed. "Merlin Reg-"
"Regulus." He replied out of muscle memory.
"Sorry 'Regulus'." It was comforting for Sirius to hear Regulus complain about his nickname again. "Reg, you've been dead for fifteen years. It's 1994"
There it was. The answer that Regulus feared, was that if it was 1994 that meant time travel, and time travel is finickity and complicated and so very delicate that you could break it in a heartbeat.
"That doesn't explain why so many people are here Sirius." Regulus was still stiff, he couldn't understand.
Sirius nodded and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "Well- uhm. Grimmauld Place is being used as headquarters for the..." Sirius stopped midway through his sentence. He knew Regulus was a death eater, should he really disclose where the headquarters for the Order is?
"The order?" Regulus questioned, he knew it existed. Regulus had heard Bellatrix screeching about how Dumbledore's Order was growing, how it was getting harder and harder to go on simple missions because they would, nine times out of ten, get ambushed.
Sirius nods warily. They stay in silence for a moment, gathering their thoughts before Regulus put two and two together.
"What. Did- did you not win the war?" It should have been expected. Whilst it was a tough fight Voldemort had almost triple following than Dumbledore and there were plans to get werewolves and vampires involved too which would have completely toppled the other side.
"No, we did win," Sirius replied. "But Voldemort is back on the rise and we needed to get the Order going again. It's a long story Regulus.
"I have questions." At that, Sirius scoffed.
"Oh, you have questions?" Sirius said. "Regulus you appeared, out of the blue, half dead with a huge bloody gash, soaking wet and coughing up water after, presumably, fifteen years of death with everyone thinking you were killed by Voldemort and you 're the one who has questions?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Morgana, I forgot how fucking difficult you are."
"Look, Sirius, this is just as confusing for you as it is for me, you think I did this on purpose? No! Of course I didn't, I don't want to be here as much as you don't want me here." Once Regulus finishes Sirius stares at him.
"You think I don't want you alive? Do you think I'm that heartless?" He questions and Regulus stays silent. After a moment Sirius chucks something at Regulus, a wand, Regulus' wand. Then walks out slamming the door behind him, just like old times.
It was stupid of Sirius to give Regulus, a presumed death eater, his wand back, but Regulus was grateful.
He was left in the room he should call his own, but it didn't feel like his anymore, not after all his things had been shoved in a box in a cupboard. He felt more secure with his wand and tested a few simple spells to check it wasn't damaged. He was surprised the Infernis didn't manage to grab it but he wasn't going to question it so long as he had it.
Before long Regulus started to think that maybe it was a bad idea to aggravate Sirius, because now he was stuck in a room with nothing to do except snoop around, and he'd already done that. He couldn't go outside because he didn't want to be seen by an Order member. So when there was a knock at the door he was relieved.
the door opened silently and a man was revealed. Regulus recognised him faster than he recognised Sirius. Remus Lupin
"Regulus." Lupin nodded to him. "I'm here to tell you that you're needed downstairs, there's an Order meeting in the dining room."
He left the room and once again Regulus was alone. He made sure he looked respectable before opening the door and stepping out. Grimmauld Place hadn't changed much. All the dark artifacts had been removed from display, the family pictures but the same cold chill ran through the house. The dark magic was deep throughout the walls and floors of the house.
He walked down the familiar path to the dining room and was met with around twenty people, some he recognised, some he didn't. One his eyes immediately latched onto was Severus Snape, he was a Slytherin in the year above Regulus and became a death eater around the same time. They had been on multiple missions together and since they were both skilled with potions, were working on the same project before Regulus had left for the cave.
The room went silent once Regulus wandered in. They stared at him like he was some foreign creature from another land. He cleared his throat but before he could say anything someone piped up.
"Holy shit. He looks just like the pictures Mum."
Regulus turns to see a girl, maybe around his age, with purple hair. Next to her was someone, Regulus assumed was her mother, who was tall with deep black hair. She reminded her of Andromeda, but Andromeda was a lot younger than this woman. Then he remembers that he was fifteen years in the future and it could quite possibly be Andromeda and her daughter, Nymphadora, if he remembered correctly.
"I told you, Andy, he's not dead." Regulus turns to look at Sirius as he talks.
"Yes, I see that." The woman, who now in Regulus' mind was undoubtedly Andromeda, mused. "But how is that possible? He should look a lot older now, and you know the tapestry never lies Sirius."
That's the turning point for Regulus, he has to say something now. "Time travel. I think it's time travel."