Three reasons to hold on
Chapter 1: Three reasons to hold on
It was not a sunny morning.
Even though Regulus could see the sun shine through the windows with his one good eye and could feel the warm, comforting sensation of the sun rays on his shattered skin, it was not a sunny morning but it was not a sunny morning on June 10, 1980. Narcissa Black Malfoy tragically died a few days ago while giving birth to her baby boy, the one she was eager to meet and nurture. She had become his dearest family member, one of the last members of his true blood family, and the one person to whom he still wrote to within his family.
Regulus thought that that life was utterly cruel; in fact, he thought it was a real bitch particularly because people who deserved and wanted to live happy lives died before they had the chance to do so, while people who deserved and desire death lived long, lifeless lives.
Life is indeed a bitch.
Regulus was standing alongside Barty, Evan, and Pandora on the not sunny morning of June 10, 1980, in front of Narcissa's gravestone. Nobody spoke as they all stood there in silent commemoration of Narcissa. Barty was looking down, grieving in a quiet manner. Regulus had never seen Barty cry out loud, not since the night Evan was almost taken from him. Pandora was sobbing on Evan's shoulder as he was comforting her, undoubtedly unaware of the tears in his eyes. Regulus wasn't crying though; he hadn't been able to cry since that cave night, in fact, he had not felt anything at all since then. Instead, Regulus was a lifeless corpse roaming among living people, a zombie if that's what you call it.
A loud crash broke their silence, Regulus almost went down from the way the ground rumbled, or perhaps it was just the lack of sleep, he wasn't sure anymore, they all turned to see where the noise came from, a tall redhead man stood there, beside him a sweet looking woman, also with red hair, she was holding something in her arms, Regulus couldn't make out what it was with his one good eye.
"Hello," the woman said. "Are any of you Regulus Black?"
Regulus felt Pandora take his hand, and still she smiled at the woman and appeared not at all worried with the possibility that they could possibly be death eaters on the hunt for him preparing to murder him, Regulus, who hadn't been that lucky, was sure that they weren't death eaters; he was, unfortunately, not going to die today.
"I am," he said in response and stepped up to her. "May I help you?"
She gave him a brief moment to catch his gaze before smiling once again. "First and foremost, I'm deeply sorry for your cousin's death; we are from the Ministry of Magic, and she left you something, or rather someone, to look after."
That's when Regulus understood, he looked again at what the woman was carrying in her arms, and for the first time in years he felt something, terror, not from someone else or himself, but from the small little infant peering up at him from the woman's arms.
Damn you, Cissy, why would you leave him to me, I don't deserve him.
The rest of the arrangement was a blur; he agreed to everything and paid close attention to everything the woman said. Regardless of his fear, he welcomed the baby into his home with open arms.
Regulus sat in his living room on the not-so-sunny afternoon of June 10, 1980, cradling a newborn infant boy terrified by his delicate hands and adorably cute face, his wide gray eyes, and his sweet chuckles.
The baby suddenly grasped Regulu's finger and squeezed tightly.
"Hey there you, Draco Bellator Etoile," Regulus said, smiling for the first time in a whole year. "I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe from harm, you will have a great life, I will make sure of that little dragon"
...
It was a cold December night, and Regulus missed the sun yet again. He was truly in need of some of the sun's soothing warmth, he truly needed some comfort right now, he wasn't in his right mind and only the sun could calm him down when he was like this.
His life had been going so well this year, he was still living together with his closest friends Barty and Evan, and his godson Draco, emphasis on son. His and his dearest friend Pandora Rosier, his Dora, his Petal, his fake-sister always came to visit him along with Luna her clever little baby girl who was also his goddaughter and her husband Xenophilius Lovegood, a great guy, Regulus didn't like him a lot, but he made his Petal happy so could put up with him.
For a while, he had lost sight of the horror that life is.
Why did he forget?
Life is a bitch.
That's why he was sobbing uncontrollably next to his sister's headstone, feeling helpless and lost all over again.
He was jerked out of his thoughts by a cry, and as he glanced up from the ground, he noticed a baby with blonde platinum hair looking at him, Luna, who was about to be one in February, stared at him with tearful eyes; she was so much like Pandora in so many ways, and she had witnessed it, she had witnessed her parents' deaths.
"Oh, Petal!" Regulus sobbed and kissed Luna's forehead, saying, "It's okay Luna, I miss her too."
Regulus hugged Luna as she sobbed hysterically and eventually fell asleep off in his arms while keeping a sad countenance.
"Oh, Luna!" "Pandora trusted me to look after you, I won't let her down like I did him, I will take care of you with every bit of love I know she was so ready to give you" Regulus was crying as he hugged her tight to his chest.
He was still wailing as he put her in her crib, and was again distracted by a cry, this time from Draco.
"Luna sad!" he cried "Luna need hug!"
Regulus found himself grinning at Draco's request since, he wiped away his tears, of course, Draco loved Luna just as much as he did Pandora, and he just couldn't handle it when she cried.
He carefully lifted Draco from his crib and placed him in Luna's crib. When Luna felt Draco hold her, she woke up confused but somewhat delighted for the first time in weeks.
"Draco!" She said warmly
Regulus was at a loss for words, her first word was Draco?
Regulus found himself chuckling as he experienced a flashback of his own life, remembering when he was a young child and Sirius was the only word he could say.
He recalled how happy Sirius had been when he first said it, how upset his mother had been, and how shamelessly his father had laughed at her.
He missed his brother so much, Regulus thought, but he knew what route that would eventually lead him to him, and if he remembered him, he would again find himself in a desperate situation.
Even if life's a bitch Draco and Luna need him to be here, alive, to take care of them.
He now had to prepare himself for the chaos that Barty and Evan would cause once they realized that these weren't Luna's first word.
What a fantastic morning it will be!
...
Regulus wasn't sure how he got into this position; he had been dragged to a boring kid's birthday celebration on a windy September afternoon—to be specific, it was September 19, 1982.
A girl from the playground named Hermione Granger was turning two and asked Draco and Luna to attend the celebration. Of course, Barty and Evan were totally unrelated to the children in question when it came to this, so Regus found himself going to this thing all alone.
He was sitting apart from all the moms, who were obviously judging him as they were looking him up and down and giggling like thirteen year old girls.
Regulus wasn't concerned with about what others thought of him; he only became irritated when they began gazing at the kids. People can say what they want about him, but about his kids...
He looked one of the mothers in the eye, unleashed his icy death gaze, caught her gasp with his one good eye, and grinned triumphantly. He observed Luna and Draco playing with another little girl who had a dark complexion and curly, unruly hair. She appeared happy, but Regulus picked up an odd impression of her.
Regulus watched as Draco and Luna followed the little girl to the corner, their faces changing from one of happiness to one of inquiry. Regulus claimed to have seen a book levitate, though it was difficult to see with his one healthy sight. He got to the conclusion that it was Hermione, the little lady with curly hair, because Draco or Luna hadn't yet released the accidental magic.
"HERMIONE!" "I told you not to do that anymore you foolish girl!" the mother yelled.
Regulus knew better than to believe her, despite the fact that she appeared sweet and enticing when she said, "I'm so sorry to everyone, but I'm going to need you to leave immediately."
"Everything okay?" He said, "It seems a little early to send everyone home"
He overheard several of the moms agreeing with him, the party had barely began 30 minutes ago.
Hermione was pale and on the verge of crying as he turned to face her.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" Draco asked
"My mother doesn't like it when I do that," she said in tears. "It's a filthy act, she says, and I should burn in hell."
Regulus's heart fell as he recognized the way frightened and hurt Hermione was; he was not going to allow this to happen, not when he knew exactly what Hermione was feeling.
What he did next was rash, irresponsible, and stupid, but he didn't care; he wasn't going to abandon Hermione there having learned she had been suffering the same agony he had when he was younger, he couldn't leave her there. He made sure no one was looking at him, making sure that the "Confundus" charm he cast was strong enough to keep everyone in the room oblivious of what was happening around them.
He obliviated everyone and sent them home, starting with the party guests, after he sent Hermione's parents to live in Australia.
"Sir, where are my parents going?"Hermione questioned, "Are they going to go away ?"
Hermione did not appear sad when she thought about the possibility of her parents leaving; rather, she radiated hope and even delight.
He tucked her in his arms and said, "They won't hurt you again, you brave little girl," almost sobbing himself as he recalled yearning for someone (Sirius) to save him and say those exact phrases.
"Thank you for saving me, Mr Etoile," she replied, reaching out for him cautiously as if she were afraid he could disappear into thin air. Hermione was still sobbing, but it wasn't because she was sad, but because she was relieved that she was safe now.
"I'm not leaving, and you're never going to be alone again, I promise I won't leave you; and please do call me Reg, I think we are over formalities" He reassured her, and oh, how he wished he had heard those words when he was younger.
"Is Hermione staying at our house?" Draco asked in a hopeful tone.
"Is she now our sister?" Luna grinned enthusiastically.
Regulus responded with a simple "yes."
Oh Merlin, Barty, and Evan were going to murder him when he brought her home, it would surely be a fun story to tell,
Before he lit up the Granger home on fire, he asked, "So who wants celebratory Ice cream?" "
As they left the house that was slowly burning behind them and headed towards the mall, the children cheered and Regulus smiled as he heard the house collapse behind him.
Maybe it was a good idea to come to this stupid birthday party after all.