Teddy
The jealousy gets easier when Teddy’s born. Nymphadora, Andromeda’s daughter, agrees to be Sirius and Remus’ surrogate and no-one’s surprised when Teddy turns up in the world blinking big brown eyes up into the world. Both of his fathers insist that he looks like the other but it’s clear to everyone around them that Teddy’s clearly inherited Remus’ looks but when Teddy’s hair starts changing colour by itself when he’s just a few days old, it becomes clear that not only has he inherited looks but he’s also managed to inherit Tonks’ Metamorphmagi abilities.
Sirius and Remus decide that they want to make both Harry and Regulus Teddy’s Godfathers and no-one needs to know if Regulus sheds a tear or two reading the lengthy letter that Sirius includes alongside the envelope that they send him asking if he’d like to have the honour of being one of Teddy’s godfathers. Since Harry’s only just 17, Regulus gets the honour of being his ‘main’ Godfather whilst Harry completes his education and decides what he wants to do after he graduates.
With Sirius and Remus having a newborn, Remus takes a step back and retires from his place at Hogwarts where Hermione and Harry (alongside, seemingly, the rest of their year if cousin Draco’s letters to both Sirius and Regulus are to be believed) immediately start complaining about the lack of good DADA professors at Hogwarts.
Regulus considers the position but decides he wants to spend more time around Teddy as he grows up and agrees with Evan and Barty that he’ll go down to three days a week, down from the five that he’s been working for the last few years. Their son Robbie is old enough to be working in the shop, having just graduated out of Hogwarts and has decided that taking a year out before going into the Aurors is what he’d most want to do.
So, on his two free days, Regulus takes Teddy and gives Remus and Sirius some much needed time to sleep and catch up with themselves and each other. Teddy’s new found thing to do is to change his hair colour to match that of the people around him which Regulus is sure isn’t completely normal for a less than 6 month old but he’s the son of two powerful wizards so having this much control over his abilities is less surprising than it ought to be, he supposes.
Regulus takes Teddy to the kids’ playground at the nearby park, they go to swim classes together, make regular messes of Regulus’ kitchen and then Regulus gets the pleasure of being the one to give Sirius and Remus a heart attack when at Teddy’s second birthday, he pulls out a badly wrapped child size broom. Remus gives him the same look that Regulus clearly remembers Lily giving Sirius but resignedly sweeps his wand around the living room and lifts a cheering Teddy onto the broom which is hovering a foot off the ground.
Teddy, in the end, learns to fly before he can walk. Harry sits down next to Regulus one day as they’re watching Teddy floating slowly around the area that Remus has made safe, and remarks that Lily always says Harry had been flying before he could walk. Regulus knows that Sirius and James had tried so hard to keep the fact that they’d been taking Harry flying a secret but somehow Lily knows everything about everyone. The two sit in companionable flying until Harry reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Snitch which he gently throws up into the air towards Teddy. The small boy gently floats towards it and reaches out an arm, almost falling off his broom in his attempt to grab the fluttering gold ball. Regulus has his arms out to catch Teddy who recognises that he’s there, grabs the Snitch with his outstretched arm and rolls off his broom into Regulus’ arms and lies there chortling to himself.
Regulus shakes his head, grinning down at the little lad who’s curling himself into Regulus’ body as Regulus cuddles him. Harry’s smirking. “Reminds me of the time Draco and I both went for the Snitch and I was the one that ended up on the ground because I rolled over too close to the ground. Mum wasn’t happy when Moony told her about that one. He’ll be a good Seeker one day, I reckon.” Regulus nods and gently teases the fluttering Snitch out of Teddy’s grasp as he falls asleep against Regulus’ shoulder.
Regulus gets the privilege of being one of the three that takes Teddy to school on his first day and completely out of the blue, Sirius is the one who starts crying. Teddy hugs Sirius fiercely as he says goodbye at the front gates and waves proudly at his fathers as he latches onto Regulus’ hand and the two wander into the school together, Teddy towing Regulus towards Miss Delacour’s classroom. His teacher is waiting for the children at the door of her classroom and Teddy squeezes Regulus tightly as he says goodbye and ducks into the classroom where Regulus watches him hang up his coat and lunchbag.
Regulus tells Miss Delacour that one if not both of Teddy’s fathers will be along at the end of the school day and with one final wave to Teddy who’s sat in a corner of the classroom surrounded by other tiny Wixen children, he heads back out to Sirius and Remus and they apparate back to complete chaos. It seems that Harry’s had the idea of inviting a whole host of his school chums over to set up a day of Quidditch to take Sirius’ brain off Teddy being at school and there are Quidditch uniforms and pieces of equipment scattered all over the house, people Regulus recognises and others he doesn’t but he spots Lily hiding in the kitchen and watches as Remus immediately runs to ask if she needs any help.
James gets tasked with setting up a Quidditch pitch and Sirius goes out to help him as Harry’s school chums pull on their Quidditch kits, leaving clothes scattered around the living room which has been turned into some kind of temporary changing room.
Regulus has never been more grateful that he’s Teddy’s godfather and not Harry’s. He just hopes that at 18, Teddy may be a little more calm and co-operative in terms of planning events like this without springing it on his Godparents. In terms of rankings he knows he’s high up on Teddy’s list: he’s the fun godparent, taking Teddy on days out and making messes of his house together, sending Teddy home after one too many sweets and biscuits, spoiling Teddy on his birthday and at Christmas and making some fun memories along the way.
He loves the little family that he and his brother have pulled together, and he’s glad their lives worked out this way rather than the way their mother and father had hoped for.