Regulus Arcturus Black was not expecting an owl to show up at his window. He had not received an owl in years, for good reason too, he has been presumed dead for the past 12 years. He reluctantly took the letter from the owl and shooed it off. Inspecting the note, he immediately recognized the seal of Hogwarts. Of course if anyone would know that he was still alive it’d be Albus Dumbledore.
This will be interesting.
He’d never been very fond of the older wizard, his whole ‘Help will be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it.’ was just the cherry on top. It was obvious by the fact that he’s been dead for over a decade and how his brother has been rotting in an Azkaban cell for 10 years was clear proof of the errors in the statement.
Regulus breaks the seal of the letter, pulling the page out of the envelope to examine the contents of the letter.
Dear Mr. Black
I hope this letter finds you well. I was reaching out to offer you a position at Hogwarts as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts starting this upcoming term. I’m sure given your experiences you would be plenty qualified for this position.
Please reach out with your answer and we can schedule a meeting at your earliest convenience.
Best regards,
Albus Dumbledore
06/15/91
Regulus can’t believe what he was reading. ‘Given your experiences’ What did he mean by that? Dumbledore must really be desperate if he’s asking people to interview. Not just people, an ex death eater who’s been presumed dead and someone that has a murderer for a brother. Regulus really wants to refuse. He wants to show up to the old wretch’s office and tell him how insane he is to his face. Then again, it’s been a while since he’s so much as left the house, and what Dumbledore wants, Dumbledore gets.
Regulus drafts up a letter and sends it out. This will be interesting indeed.
–
Regulus Arcturus Black now sits at the staff table waiting for The Sorting to begin. Besides him is someone he’s known before: Severus Snape. His old housemate and a colleague when working for the Dark Lord - Dumbledore obviously has a type. The man that drove James Potter and Sirius black to their genuine hatred for the Slytherin house. Needless to say, Regulus wasn’t a huge fan, but he would have to put that aside for now. Plan now, act later.
Sitting through the sorting was just as boring as ever. That was until a slightly familiar name was called.
Harry Potter.
Regulus saw Severus sit up straighter and focus more just the same as he had. Ah yes, Lily. Maybe the two of them were more similar than Regulus originally thought. Though, Regulus never had to call James a slur to get rid of him. Regulus also wasn’t at fault for James’ death. Silly, silly, Severus with the silly, silly, prophecy. Yes, Regulus has heard all about that and it all reads back the same.
“GRYFFINDOR!”
Well, the apple never falls far from the tree does it? This year truly will be something else.
–
Regulus Arcturus Black is standing in front of a group of eleven year olds. He’s never had much experience with children, having grown up antisocial and the youngest on top of working for a dark wizard before he even finished secondary school. He really didn’t understand Dumbledore’s train of thought, seeing as Regulus had barely finished his N.E.W.T.s before running away from his life.
“I am Professor Black. Obviously I will be teaching you guys how to defend yourselves for the rest of the year. Let’s see that we avoid any fatal injuries. Now, partner up, we’re going to do some disarming.”
He watched as the students scattered around the room to team up with whoever they may see as a friend. One pairing that caught his eye was Potter Jr. with the Weasley boy. If he remembers correctly the ginger boy was the son of Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett. The Prewett twins were a bit older than James but the other still always spoke highly of them. Like father like son at its finest.
–
Regulus Arcturus Black was sitting in the quidditch stands, of course with Severus on his side. That man seems to get attached quite easily, doesn’t he? Kill a few people with him and he’ll follow you around like a puppy.
The man watches the game arise. Well he watches one player: Harry Potter. The youngest seeker since Regulus himself was on the team. It truly pains Regulus to see James’ son follow in his own footsteps. He loved James. James loved him. Harry could have been, should have been Regulus and James’. Then Lily had to come along. Ah Lily, what a silly girl she was. Would’ve been a perfect match for Severus, really. But James was insistent. Year after year he chased after her, even when he and the older boy were seeing each other. Regulus never understood what he saw in her: she was some muggleborn that happened to be smart. She wasn’t better than him. Regulus was a pureblood that was smart for Merlin’s sake. He was smart, he was a head boy, he read bloody poetry for fun. What did she have that he didn’t? Yes she was pretty, but Regulus was literally bred for good looks. It hurt Regulus to look into James' child's eyes and see Lilly Evans of all people. That was another thing he had in common with Severus. The two of them really were on different sides, fighting for the same cause. Intriguing, it is.
–
Regulus Arcturus Black watched as young Mr. Potter stood by the Mirror of Erised. He wondered what the young boy saw. Maybe it was him becoming head boy, maybe it was him winning the quidditch cup, maybe it was him with a friend’s sibling. That’s what he imagined James would see anyways. Regulus himself wou;d have probably seen something very similar at that age. Of course, Regulus grew up being used to getting what he wants.
The boy eventually got up from where he was sitting on the ground, presumably to get back to his bed. Oh how this boy started to leak into every one of Regulus’ thoughts. This could cause a problem.
–
Sneaking into Number 4, Privet Drive was way too easy - muggles, inattentive the lot of them. The wards didn’t take much to get past either. Getting the boy out was almost just as simple. Force fed a sleeping potion and having a lightening charm cast on him made it possible to just walk out the door.
Back to Grimmauld Place they went, setting Harry on his childhood bed. The amount of times that Regulus snuck James into this room, the days they would sit there and talk about nothing. Now here’s his son, laying where he used to lay. How history repeats itself. Lily’s eyes did anger Regulus a bit, though they weren’t as bad when they were closed.
Regulus sat there, watching the boy sleep until he started to stir, telling the man that the potion wore off.
“Harry. Harry… wake up, child,” He said, watching the boy’s eyes open. Oh those eyes, how hard it is to ignore them. “There you are. Good morning.” Regulus moved in closer to the boy's face, casting a wordless silencing charm on the other. “Look at you. So much of your father in you, yes there is. He would be so fond of you, truly is a shame the two of you never got to meet. But that’s alright, I’m here.” Regulus reaches up to caress the boy’s face. “Just as I was there for him, I am here for you. Your father and I had many a secret we kept to each other, now we have one too. I can assure you, the pair of us… We’ll have lots of fun.”