Chapter 1
Regulus paced around the living room, clutching a thermometer in his hand as he watched Harry wriggle on the couch. The little boy's face was flushed and his eyes were glassy, and he kept whimpering in a pitiful voice that made Regulus' heart ache.
Regulus had never taken care of a child before, and he was starting to panic. He had always been the one taken care of, the youngest of the Black brothers. But now, his older brother Sirius was out helping Remus and James with their renovation project, leaving Regulus alone to take care of Harry, who had come down with a nasty case of the flu.
Regulus had tried calling James, but there was no answer. He couldn't even reach James' parents, who were out of town. The only person he could think to call was Lily Evans, their surrogate mother who had always been there for them.
But when he tried to reach her, all he got was a voicemail saying that she was on vacation in Spain. Regulus felt a sense of despair wash over him. What was he supposed to do now?
He tried calling James again, and this time he got through. "James, thank Merlin," he breathed into the phone. "Harry's fever is getting worse, and I don't know what to do."
James' voice was crackly over the phone. "Reg, I can't talk right now, we're in the middle of something with the renovation. Can you handle it for a little while longer?"
Regulus bit his lip, trying not to cry. "I don't know, James. I'm really scared."
There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Regulus could hear muffled voices in the background. "Okay, okay, I'll come back as soon as I can," James said finally. "In the meantime, just keep Harry cool and hydrated. You can do this, Reg."
Regulus hung up the phone and looked down at Harry, who was now crying in earnest. His little face was scrunched up in pain, and he kept rubbing his eyes with his fists. Regulus felt tears prick at his own eyes as he scooped Harry up into his arms.
He tried everything he could think of to make Harry feel better - he gave him medicine, he tried to feed him soup, he even put a cool washcloth on his forehead. But nothing seemed to help, and Harry's fever continued to climb.
Regulus was at a loss. He didn't know what else to do, and he couldn't bear to see Harry in so much pain. In a moment of desperation, he tried calling his parents.
To his surprise, they answered. But when Regulus told them what was happening, all he got was a sneering response. "You can't even take care of a child properly," his mother sneered. "Pathetic. Why don't you just give him to someone who knows what they're doing?"
Regulus felt his heart sink. He knew that his parents were unlikely to be of any help, but he had to try. "Please, Mum," he said, his voice shaking. "I don't know what to do. Harry's really sick, and I'm so scared."
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and Regulus thought that his mother had hung up on him. But then he heard his father's voice. "We'll be there in half an hour," Orion said gruffly. "But you'd better hope that boy recovers, Regulus. We're not doing this out of the goodness of our hearts."
Regulus felt a surge of hope as he hung up the phone. Maybe his parents could help after all