The Boy Who Disappeared

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September 89

Regulus Black was an idiot. He was currently cursing himself for being so stupid. He just couldn't leave things well enough alone. He was going to die and leave his husband and tiny son all alone and there was no one to blame but himself.

"Kreacher, take the locket, do not come back for me. I have to finish putting the fake locket in place. You must destroy that one. Promise to look after my son," Regulus half demanded/half pleaded of his adoring house elf. Kreacher had always taken better care of Regulus than his own parents had. Kreacher was sobbing. Big fat tears trailed down his old, wrinkled face.

"Do not ask this of Kreacher. Kreacher can save you," The distraught elf cried. Regulus shook his head as the Inferi began to climb onto the tiny island.

"Go now Kreacher," Regulus demanded. With a sob, Kreacher popped away and Regulus was alone in the cursed cavern. The Inferi were creeping closer and closer. Regulus pulled out his wand and scrawled a note before placing it in the false locket and placing it in the basin with the poison potion. Then he turned and started trying to fight the inferi but he was still so weak from drinking the potion to get to the horcrux that had been hidden within it.

He fought long and hard, but he was just too weak and then his foot slipped on the water-slicked rocks, and he began to tumble head-first into the unnatural water, his wand rolled away from him. Inferi grabbed him everywhere that they could reach him and began to drag him further into the icy water and down to the bottom.

Regulus tried so hard to break away and get back to the surface. He didn't want to leave his baby behind. His tiny son was barely a month old, and Regulus should never have left him. He should have stayed his stupid ass at home with his child and not been so desperate to please his indifferent husband. Better yet, he should have taken his son and run the moment he had been asked to continue spying on Voldemort and his Death Eaters for Dumbledore and the so-called light.

Just as Regulus' vision was blurring, and he was giving up hope, he saw the vague outline of a figure on the island above his head and a funnel of flame appear through the water. Then, he was being pulled upward and the hands that had been pulling him down disappeared. He couldn't make out who had saved him because his vision was still fading and his breathing was still slowing. He was still dying but at least this way, the people who loved him would know what had happened to him.

"You are not going to die yet, Reg. I won't let you. You are going to live and then you are going to take your boy and leave this place," The unknown person pledged. Then Regulus closed his eyes and knew no more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus Snape was worried. His best friend had sent a vague, hastily written message about following up on something that had to do with the Dark Lord. He should have still been at home caring for his new baby. That boy was barely a month old and Regulus was not recovered enough to be out galivanting doing Merlin knows what. He had promised to write back to Severus as soon as he was back home. That had been over an hour ago.

So Severus paced and he worried. He was tempted to go to Regulus' home to check if he had returned but was just too wounded to write. Even if Severus hated Regulus' choice of husband. Five more minutes and then he was going to start searching for him. Then suddenly Severus was startled when a sobbing elf popped into his study.

"Kreacher needs Master Snape to hurry. Come with Kreacher. Our Regulus needs help," Kreacher spoke through his sobs. Severus was instantly on alert. He grabbed his pack that was always ready for an emergency and went back to the elf with his wand drawn.

"Take me to him," Severus demanded. Kreacher gave a sob of relief and took Severus' hand, and they popped away. Severus was deposited in a cavern that was so full of disturbing magic that it made his skin crawl. He looked around and noticed the ripples in the water and saw a figure being dragged down. Severus recognized the inferi from having read about them, and conjured Fiendfyre. He aimed it across and into the water around Regulus and then used a spell to part the water and pull Regulus up and onto the island.

"You are not going to die yet, Reg. I won't let you. You are going to live and then you are going to take your boy and leave this place," Severus promised. He didn't care what it took, but he would convince his best friend to take his son and run. The leader of the so-called light was just as dangerous and dark as the Dark Lord. And Regulus' good for nothing husband was just as bad. Severus worked quickly to banish the water from Regulus' lungs and began spelling potions into his stomach.

When he had Regulus stable, he had Kreacher apparate them from the cave and to Severus' home. He had more things there that would help heal Regulus. For nearly a full twenty-four hours he worked nonstop to further stabilize and heal Regulus. When he finally came out of the room to rest, he checked to see if there had been any messages or news about Regulus being missing or anything. When he found nothing, he decided that he would head to Reg's house and deliver the news of what had happened personally so that no one freaked out.

What he found when he got there made him sick with anger. James was out in his front yard with Sirius and Remus roughhousing and goofing around. The worst part was the fact the sight of Lily Evans, the no-good gold digger, sitting on the porch cradling Regulus' child as if he were hers. He watched a bit longer to gather all the information he could about what in the world was going on. Then he saw James bound up the porch and stroke the babe's head before kissing Lily.

Severus was appalled, what was going on here? It was as if he had slipped into an alternate dimension, as if they didn't care that Regulus hadn't been home, like he didn't matter at all. Why was James with Lily? Why were Sirius and Remus acting as if everything was right in the world? Severus had every intention of figuring it out. He wasn't going to allow that stuck-up, gold-digging, bitch, or James Fucking Potter's disloyal ass to raise Regulus' child.

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March 90

Six months later Severus had finally done it. He had been working non-stop since the moment he had saved Regulus' life to wake him up and gather all the information that he could about what was going on with James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily. He had finally succeeded on both counts. He spelled the newly created potion into Regulus' stomach and then he waited. If he had finally gotten this right, then Reg should be waking up any moment. Then they could start implementing his plan to rescue his best friend's child and help the two of them disappear.

Finally, Reg groaned and blinked his eyes open. Severus was so happy. He waited to allow Reg to wake up completely and orient himself. The potion master had no idea what kind of damage had been done to Reg's mind. His body was perfectly healthy but that did not mean that his mind had not been affected somehow. So, Severus waited.

"Sev?" Regulus asked quietly. "Why am I in your home? What happened?" Reg moved to sit up and Severus moved to gently help him. Once he was sitting up and the pillows were moved around to help him prop up against the headboard Severus sat back down in his chair next to the bed.

"What is the last thing you remember, Reg?" Severus asked. Regulus thought about it and then gasped.

"I was drowning. There were inferi everywhere. You saved me," Regulus stated. Severus nodded.

"Yes, I brought you to my home to heal and to stabilize you. That was...that was six months ago, Reggie," Severus gently told his friend. Regulus gasped and tried to get out of bed.

"I need to get to my baby. Six months? I have missed so much. Where are James and Harry? Why aren't they here?" Severus held Regulus to the bed and waited until he calmed down so that he could answer him. "Sev?"

"I have a lot to tell you and none of it is good, Reg. You have to stay calm and listen, I have a plan," Severus told his friend. Regulus nodded and tried to prepare himself for the worst. The Dark Lord was not known for his mercy and if he figured out what Reg had done, he was sure that his family would have suffered for it.

"After I brought you here, I spent an entire day healing and stabilizing you. When I was done, I left to go to your house so that I could tell James and Sirius what happened in person. What I found was awful. James, Sirius, and Remus were playing around in the yard acting as if you were not missing at all. The worst part was that Lily Evans was sitting on your porch cradling your child as if he was hers. Then James kissed her. I was very confused and angry so I started to watch and gather information," Severus paused to allow Reg to absorb that information.

"I can't believe he let that bitch touch my son. I warned James about the way she watched him. They couldn't have even waited until I was actually dead? I will kill them both," Reg stated. Severus shushed him and continued his story.

"For months, I have watched them. The first thing that happened was an article in the paper came out announcing that James and Lily had married in private because of the war and that Harry was their baby," Severus paused when Regulus snarled. "So, I started following them. The first time I caught James alone I cast a few diagnostics on him to determine if he was under any compulsions or spells to make him act out of character, but everything came up clean. He was doing everything of his own free will. For whatever reason he had voluntarily and in his right mind agreed to marry Lily and let her claim your son."

"So, I moved on to Remus and Sirius. I learned that both were under strong compulsions and potions meant to make them susceptible to suggestions and compliant. So, I found a potion that I have brewed up and it is ready to give to them. The potion will clear them of both the potions and spells. Do you understand what I am saying to you Reg? James Potter is a willing participant in whatever bullshit plan that Dumbledore has cooked up and has just accepted that you are dead. I have tried a few times to give him proof that you are alive, but his response is always quite violent that you are a Death Eater, and he doesn't want you around Harry. However, your brother and his boyfriend are being forced to go along with it." Severus finally finished. Regulus sat quietly and processed all of it.

"I know that you always tried to warn me that James had an unhealthy obsessive need to please Dumbledore. I thought that he would grow out of it. I thought that it had to just be because James was young and that one day he would see Dumbledore as a normal person and not the hero stories make him out to be. Severus, James was there when that awful man came and all but demanded that I join the Death Eaters. He was there when I refused, and he was the one that begged me to do it because it was Dumbledore that asked. He knows that I never wanted to do this. Why would he believe that I was an evil Death Eater when I did this for him? I did it because he asked me to," Regulus ranted out loud. He was silent a few more minutes and then his eyes hardened and he looked at Severus with determination.

"It is time to plan Severus. We are going to get my son, cleanse my brother and his husband, and then disappear from Britain forever. Are you going to help me?" Regulus asked his best friend. Severus smirked.

"Of course, I am going to help you. I have already started. I told you I already have the potion brewed to cleanse both Remus and Sirius. I also have a list of places that you can disappear to out of the country." Severus stated.

"We, Sev. Places that we can disappear to, all three of us. You only joined the Death Eaters to look out for me. You have been by my side since I was twelve. I will not be able to do this without you," Regulus told his shocked friend.

"We, then, Regulus. The three of us will disappear," Severus agreed. "Now let's get you into a shower and then some food. We will finalize plan A, B, C, and D. We will have contingencies for the contingencies."

So, that was exactly what they did... they planned.

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Two weeks later everything was ready. They had chosen a small town in America. They had spoken to MACUSA about becoming Americans and were claiming refugee status, their identities and personal information would remain completely secret from anyone who inquired. They would be protected. The two of them were going to approach Sirius and Remus first and give them the cleansing potion so that they were no longer under whatever potions and compulsions that were controlling them. Then with the help of Sirius and Remus, they would sneak into the Potter home in Godric's Hollow and take Harry. When that was successful, they would disappear. Severus and Regulus had a portkey given to them by MACUSA that would take them straight to the government building closest to the town that they had chosen. They were ready. Everything was planned to the last moment.

So naturally, everything changed and went wrong. The day before they were set to put their plan into motion, Voldemort attacked the Potters. James and Lily were murdered, Sirius was in prison, Remus was in the wind, and Harry was nowhere to be found. Dumbledore had taken him from the home and Reg and Severus had no idea where he had taken him. It took a few hours of stressing before Severus remembered that Lily had a muggle sister. It was a long shot that Dumbledore would actually take the boy there, but it was a place to start. So, Regulus watched the house and Severus tried to keep an eye on Dumbledore.

Luck was finally on their side. While Regulus hid in the shadows, he watched as Dumbledore arrived on Privet Drive. The old man was joined by McGonagall first. She didn't seem very happy about whatever was fixing to happen. Then there was a rumbling that Regulus recognized as Sirius' bike. But it wasn't his brother driving, it was Hagrid, and Hagrid carrying Regulus' son.

"I don't think you should leave him here, Albus. These muggles are the worst kind of muggles. I don't think he will be safe here," The transfiguration professor tried to reason with the old man.

"He will be the safest here. Petunia is Lily's sister and therefore Harry's blood. Because of Lily's sacrifice, there will be blood wards here that will keep the boy protected. It will be better for the boy to grow up far away from the fame that he will now have because of what happened tonight," Dumbledore calmly told the upset woman. Regulus was furious. He was placing his child in a home and trying to convince people it was safer because of blood wards. Lily wasn't related to Harry at all. There would be no blood wards to keep his child safe. Not that it mattered.

After a bit more debate Dumbledore took Harry from Hagrid and conjured a basket and placed him in it on the doorstep. He was truly planning on leaving a seven-month-old infant out in the cold February air all night long without even a warming charm. Once they were finally gone, Regulus crept forward and pulled his son into his arms for the first time in six months. He was never going to leave him for any reason again. He had been stupid once and it had almost cost him his life and his son. It wouldn't happen again. He snuggled his baby close and waited for Severus while he came up with a new addistion to their plan.

"Reg?" Regulus turned at the sound of his name being whispered. He smiled as Severus stepped out of the shadows.

"I have him, Sev. I have my baby boy back." Regulus told him and Severus walked up to them and placed a hand on both Regulus and the tiny bundle in his arms. " I have a plan, Severus. To make sure that no one comes looking for him." Regulus told Severus exactly what he wanted to do, and Severus agreed that it was the best plan, so they would put it in motion.

"I tracked down Remus. He was out in the middle of the woods. It looked like he was depressed and just wandering around. I gave him the cleansing potion and a note not to trust Dumbledore." Severus told Reg. They were going to let the werewolf choose for himself to come and find them. They didn't want to risk leaving a note that could be found by anyone and lead them straight to Regulus and the other two. "There is no way to get to your brother in Azkaban. But I did send an anonymous letter to the head of the DMLE that he had been thrown in jail without a trial. And that it is suspected that he is under potions and compulsions. So hopefully that will help."

"Thank you, Severus. Let's get this show on the road," Regulus responded.

Come morning it was all settled. Regulus and Severus had taken a poor babe that had been murdered by Death Eaters the night before and buried it in the backyard of the Dursleys' home. Then Severus gave Vernon and Petunia false memories. If they were asked, they would inform anyone from the wizarding world, that they had found the baby half frozen the next morning and knew that he was a freak just like Lily. They would take the baby and give him a minimal amount of care until he finally succumbed to death from exposure and neglect. Then they just took the poor, dead, freak and buried him in their backyard so that no one would ever know.

Then if anyone decided to check their story, they would find the body of a magical child and declare Harry Potter dead. After they finished with the memory alterations they headed to the bank under disguise. They met with the goblin that they had been consulting with about transferring their accounts to America. They proved that the babe in his arms was in fact Harry James Potter and that Regulus was his bearer and not Lily. Then Regulus told them exactly what they were doing and that they were going to be transferring the Potter and Black accounts to America.

They officially changed Harry's name to Hadrian Orion Black, so that if anyone came inquiring about Harry Potter the goblins could tell them nothing because that person did not exist. Severus was encouraged to do an inheritance test because his grandfather had recently passed and may have left him something. He was surprised to learn that despite his grandfather disowning his mother, he had made Severus his heir and left him everything. So, Severus officially changed his name as well to Severus Tobias Prince and had all of his vaults transferred to America as well.

With all of the final things done and their tracks covered they stepped out of Gringotts and into an alleyway and activated the portkey that would take them to the Seattle MACUSA office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Awe, hello there I am Mr. Hart, I will be your American liaison. Anything that you need to have handled please come to me and I will take care of it. We were not expecting you to arrive until tomorrow. But that's no matter, please follow me so that we can finalize the paperwork sent over by the Department of Immigration. I also received a notice from the Seattle branch of Gringotts a moment ago that you will need to stop by there after you leave here to check that everything was transferred over properly." Mr. Hart continued to go over things as they made their way to his office.

"We need to make a couple of changes to the paperwork. Names mainly," Severus told Mr. Hart.

"Of course, not a problem. Let's start with you then." Mr. Hart pulled up all of Severus' paperwork.

"The only thing I am changing is my last name and status. I was informed at the bank before arriving that I was named my grandfather's heir and since he recently passed, I have inherited his title, property, and vaults. So, I will be registered as Lord Severus Tobias Prince." Severus told the MACUSA worker. Mr. Hart made all the proper changes to the paperwork and then passed the papers over for Severus to sign.

"Wonderful and now you and your little one," Mr. Hart turned to Regulus.

"My name is staying the same as what was previously registered so there is no change there. However, my brother has been imprisoned so I will be taking over as Lord Black temporarily until he is free to take over. My son's name has been officially changed to Hadrian Orion Black," Regulus informed the man. The appropriate changes were made and then Regulus signed all the paperwork. They were given their citizenship paperwork and then a map of the magical communities in the area. When they exited the building, they headed straight for the bank. They verified all of the transfers and were handed what looked like muggle credit cards that were attached to each of their vaults that could be used in the magical world or the muggle world with ease.

Then they were given a list of available properties in the town that they had chosen. The two of them decided on a large two-story home with six bedrooms, two offices, two sitting rooms, a large dining room, a kitchen, and a few bathrooms. There was also a basement so that Severus could set up a potion lab without having to worry about Harry or visitors accidentally getting into it. The goblins sent a message to the realtor in charge of the house to inform them that they had a buyer ready to pay over asking price with cash in hand to move in today. The offer was eagerly accepted, and Regulus and Severus were given the address for the realtors' office.

"Hi there, my name is Annabeth Stanley. Welcome to Forks, Washington. I am the realtor for the property that you are purchasing. It was only recently put on the market. The family that was living there made a move to Austria for business and left the house as is. It is fully furnished and comes with everything you will need to move in today other than groceries. So, let's get all of your information down and get the paperwork signed," Annabeth jumped right into the sale.

"Thank you, Mrs. Stanley. I am Regulus and this is Severus, that was one of the reasons that we chose the place. It is outside of town and private as well as fully furnished. We wanted to be able to move in and settle down today and then we can change things at our own pace," Regulus replied.

"I see you have a little one. How old is he?" Annabeth asked.

"He is seven months old. He will be one in July," Regulus answered. Annabeth smiled and turned a picture around on her desk of her and her husband and a small baby girl.

"My Jessica is about his age. If you plan on staying in town they will start school together," The realtor beamed. Regulus smiled back.

"We plan on staying in town. The plan is for this to be a permanent move for us, so I am sure they will start school together," Regulus stated as he signed the paperwork. Then he passed it to Severus to sign. The house would be in both of their names.

"You may want to check out the house first and then make a run back into town to grab the things you need. Here is a map of the town so that it will be easier for you to find your way around. I didn't see you arrive in a car, the property is a way out of town do you have transportation?" Annabeth asked them.

"Oh we will need to purchase transportation, we took a bus into town," Regulus told her. Severus being a half-blood raised in the muggle world had learned to drive just in case it was ever needed. "Is there a place here to buy a car?"

"Absolutely, if you like I can give you a ride over there?" Annabeth offered.

"That would be lovely, thank you, Mrs. Stanley," Regulus accepted his copy of the paperwork. Then they were taken to the dealership where they purchased what the man called a Tahoe. Then they followed the directions Annabeth gave them to get to the house.

They had grabbed a few groceries and supplies for Hadrian before heading there. So, they ate a quick meal showered and made sure that their beds had clean linen before going to sleep. They had been awake for far too long and running on adrenaline. Regulus managed about four hours of sleep before Hadrian woke up hungry. It took Regulus an hour of his poor baby crying before he managed to get Hadrian to eat. During that time Severus had wandered down into the sitting room that he was in.

"He doesn't know me, Sev. It took me an hour to get him calm enough to eat. I don't think he ate enough, he is too small Sev and barely ate anything before he was full. I don't think they were taking care of my baby properly. Will you run a diagnostic on him?" Regulus asked a bit distraught. When he had changed Hadrian, he had a really bad diaper rash as if he spent far too much time in a dirty diaper. Currently, Hadrian was playing with a toy that Reg had conjured for him, and he was leaning against Regulus.

"Of course, I will Reg. He will get to know you again. Once he is used to us, he will settle down," Severus told him. Then he ran his scan and cursed. Regulus was heartbroken. He couldn't imagine that James had actually neglected his baby.

"Tell me, Severus," Regulus quietly asked as he held his baby a little tighter.

"He is malnourished and slightly underweight. He has a severe diaper rash and a mild cold. He has not been properly cared for Reg but everything that is wrong can be easily fixed. I can brew a cream in an hour that will clear up the rash. I can also brew up a potion for the cold that will clear it up in a few days and the same with the malnourishment. He will be healthy and happy before the month is even up. We will make sure he is." Severus insisted.

"Thank you, Severus. See, I told you that I needed you here," Regulus told his best friend.

"I am going to go set up my potion lab and make sure I have all of the ingredients that I need for the three potions. If not, I will pop over to Seattle's Magic district and get what I need. Why don't you check out the house and see if there is anything else that we need and make a list? I will pick everything up when I run to town," Severus instructed and then headed for the basement.

"Kreacher," Regulus called. The house elf popped in and bowed. Hadrian giggled and reached out and snagged the elf's ear. Kreacher just gently extracted Hadrian's tiny hand and patted him on the head.

"Kreacher is very happy that Master Regulus has gotten his baby back. Kreacher would also like to say that Hadrian Orion is worthier name for a Pureblood son of the House of Black than Harry James. Glad Master Regulus came to his sense about it. What can Kreacher being doing for Masters?" Kreacher asked. Regulus smiled. Hadrian Orion had been what he had originally wanted to name his baby when he found out he was having a boy. But James hadn't liked it and Regulus had given in like he always did.

"I agree, Hadrian is a much better name. This is our new home, Kreacher. I know that you would be quite cross with me if I did the cleaning or cooking myself. So have at it," Regulus told the now excited elf.

"Kreacher is taking care of everything, Master." The elf bowed and then popped off to check out the house to see what needed to be cleaned, fixed, or changed around.

Regulus headed outside with Hadrian on his hip. He was going to walk the property line. There was already a wooden fence around the property, so Regulus added wards for safety and to notify them when and if someone came on their property. He performed spells to cut the grass and checked out the playhouse and swing set in the backyard. Once he was satisfied that the outside was tidy and looked presentable, he headed back indoors. It was already very obvious that Kreacher had been hard at work on the first floor.

He started on the second floor in his room and unshrunk all of his trunks and began unloaded his stuff. He laid Hadrian on the floor on his tummy on a blanket with toys all around him to play while Regulus worked. From the books he had read, Hadrian should already know how to roll front to back, sit up alone, and be on his way to crawling or at least shuffling across the floor. Hadrian was doing none of those things. It was as if his baby had been left in a crib most of the time or no one had been putting in an effort to help his development. Regulus was going to be spending a lot of time on the floor and catching Hadrian up to where he was supposed to be in his development.

He started his list with muggle clothes. They were going to be living in a muggle town as muggles, they needed to fit in. He put bedding on the list for all of the rooms. They were not going to be keeping any of the old bedding. There were three rooms made up for kids and those were going to be redecorated. Of the six rooms in the house, four were upstairs. The master which would be Regulus' room, one would become Hadrian's nursery, one would be Severus' room, and the last upstairs room would be a guest room.

Regulus would be getting all entirely new furniture for Hadrian's room and added it to the list as well as baby clothes and more supplies. Downstairs, one of the rooms would be another guest room the other one was going to be converted into a library. Severus would claim one office and Regulus the other. Regulus finished his list of things they would need around the same time that Severus came back up from the basement with a list of ingredients and items that he would need for Hadrian's potions.

Kreacher had already fully stocked the kitchen and was starting to get supper started for them.

"Severus, Hadrian and I are going to go with you into town. We need muggle clothes and an entire bedroom outfit for Hadrian. I also forgot to hand the horcrux over to MACUSA. They want to give the information to the unspeakables so that they can determine whether any more were made and destroy them," Regulus told Severus. The potion master didn't see any issue with that plan.

They went to town, got everything they needed, and handed the horcrux to the unspeakables. Afterward, they went home and finished setting up. Severus brewed the potions and the paste and just like he promised Hadrian was perfectly healthy and eating properly within a month. Severus started a mail-order potion business and Regulus got into contact with his cousin Billy Black who lived on the nearby reservation. Billy's wife was currently pregnant and soon Hadrian would have a little cousin to play with. Regulus worked very hard with Hadrian to get him where he needed to be developmentally. Hadrian quickly became a very happy, loving baby. Regulus was extremely happy with the choice they made to take Hadrian and run. He couldn't wait to see what life was going to hold for all of them.