I died a hundred times… and I go back to black
"Mr. Black, please take a seat." Dumbledore has a small smile on his lips. It makes Regulus want to hex it off his face.
Unlike his brother though, he has always been able to think first instead of acting on impulse and stupidity. He is not the one who ended up in Azkaban after all...
"I am not sure why you requested my presence in Hogwarts, sir." He says slowly while glaring at the headmaster.
"I believe you are aware of the phrase 'dead men tell no tales', mr. Black." Regulus narrows his eyes as he nods. "Of course, you have always been the studious type. It would have been rather strange if you didn't know-"
"I'd appreciate it if you went straight to the topic." His gray eyes glare at the older man. "sir." He adds.
"Of course, of course. Your professors always told me how much you avoided small talk." Dumbledore mutters calmly much to Regulus' irritation. "Since you are clearly with us, mr. Black, I would like to ask you a few things."
"This depends on the information you seek." He responds. "I understand." Regulus nods for him to continue with his questions. "I would appreciate it if you explained to me why, or perhaps, how you managed to keep yourself hidden from the world for twelve years, yet you barely look a year older than eighteen years old."
"Magic, sir." Regulus deadpans. Dumbledore smiles as if a small child told him an innocent anecdote.
"Please elaborate." His kind eyes make Regulus sweat nervously.
"You are probably aware of the rumors about my family having me join the Dark Lord at the age of sixteen." The old man nods. "Well... although I did not care about him at first, I realized that joining him comes with a price..."
"Indeed, the path of Voldemort's followers has always been marred with violence and death." Regulus feels his heartbeat rise. Dumbledore nods for him to continue. "I... came across a rather interesting story about him and realized that all this... death has been happening under the command of a fraud. Tom Marvolo Riddle was the half-blood wizard who turned himself into a monster" Regulus observes Dumbledore's lack of reaction. He already knew... "I decided to end this... fraud of a Dark Lord and went after one of his greatest weaknesses: a Horcrux." The older man raises his eyebrows.
"Were you alone?" He asks.
"Of course I was alone! Who else would have joined me? My blood supremacist parents? Or perhaps the brother who hexed me every time he saw me?" Dumbledore dares to look at him with sympathy.
Regulus scoffs and continues with his story. "I managed to get the horcrux but I ended up trapped in a strange time loop inside the cave where I got it from. I expected to die or spend the rest of my life there, frozen under the lake but a curious fool wandered in the same cave. They died but the spell I was trapped in was broken so I managed to escape." Dumbledore's eyes shine at his words.
"It has been a year since then. I was hiding in my old family house... you... probably know this since you send me the letter there." He explains.
"Fascinating..." the headmaster mutters.
"I have a suggestion for you..." Regulus nods for him to continue. "You must be aware of your brother's friend's son, the child who has made it into the headlines for the past three years." The black haired man scowls but nods anyway. "I am afraid that this year he will probably need some assistance. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but your brother is his godfather... and he has escaped from Azkaban."
"I know that..." Regulus mutters. "What do you want me to do with the child? I am afraid I don't understand where this conversation is going..."
"You are technically the most reliable relative he has now and according to the rumors your brother is after him..." hard to believe. If I don't see him kiss Tom's feet this is just a pathetic rumor. "I ask you to assist professor Lupin with the Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. That way, you will be able to look after the boy and maybe you could allow him to visit your house during the summer."
Regulus clenches his jaw. "And what if I refuse?" He glares at a smiling Dumbledore.
"Then I am afraid you will have to face trial for the years you spend as a Death Eater and for faking your death."
•*•*•
"Lupin." Regulus almost smiles at the man's shock upon seeing him at the train station.
"Wh- is this real?" He almost pities him.
"I was tasked to assist you in your lessons by professor Dumbledore. I do not expect any familiar greetings or unnecessary conversations outside of your class' planning but I wanted to inform you of the headmaster's decision before we departed for the castle." Regulus explains.
"Are you... here?" Lupin says hesitantly.
"I am here indeed. I am afraid my death was short and filled with lies." He smirks.
"You bastard." Lupin clenches his teeth. "Sirius cried for you! He mourned you!"
"If I were able to escape from the time loop that kept me away from all of you sooner I would have." Lupin seems to realize what he means. "It is not my fault that my absence made everyone believe I had died."
"Sit next to me. We have to talk." Regulus raises an eyebrow. "I have a lot to tell you... about your brother too" the black haired man nods. "I would also like to hear your... ehm... story..." he adds awkwardly.
"Yes, I do believe that you should know about it if we have to babysit Potter's offspring." Lupin raises an eyebrow at his wording but he doesn't disagree.
•*•*•
After a tearful (Regulus has never seen Lupin cry before) and long conversation, his brother's friend falls asleep on the train. Regulus decides to read the book he brought with him when the door slides open and someone who looks exactly like James Potter stares at him. He is followed by a ginger boy and a girl with fluffy brown hair.
"Oh- I apologize." He mutters and looks around for some empty space to sit in without closing the door.
"No no, come here. I insist." Regulus smirks. The three kids stare at each other hesitantly and the girl shakes her head. Potter doesn't listen to her and ends up sitting next to Regulus.
"Ehm... I am afraid I haven't seen you around... sir." The ginger boy mutters and gets elbowed by the girl.
"Of course, it is my first time teaching here. I am professor Lupin's helping hand." He tilts his head to the side, pointing at the sleeping man. "My name is Regulus Arcturus Black." At his surname the kids freeze. All the color is drained from their faces. "I believe that you're aware of this already, but you are identical to your father, Potter." He smiles but the Black genes make sure he looks creepy and threatening instead of kind.
"Who are you?" Potter junior grabs his wand under his robes. Not very smooth...
"I already introduced myself. Although I must admit that your reaction was much expected considering I have the same surname as a certain Azkaban escapee." Potter calms down slightly. "What are your names?" He looks at the alarmed friends of James' kid.
"I am Ronald Weasley and she is Hermione Granger sir-" the girl elbows him.
"Don't call me 'sir' it brings an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I am only nineteen." He explains. "You can see me as a friend." He smiles again despite the kids' uncomfortable expressions. "Loosen up, Gryffindors always think of the world as a heroic tale full of conspiracy." He sighs. So much for trying to approach the kids.
"Which house were you in?" Ronald asks.
"Slytherin." Their eyes widen in distrust (and the ginger is also afraid). "All the Blacks were sorted into Slytherin actually, apart from Sirius. He was a Gryffindor." Regulus smiles. "The world is not exactly divided into the good Gryffindors and the evil Slytherin. I could explain the traits of each house to you if you want. I am supposed to be a professor, after all." The kids seem to relax. Perhaps the reason why his brother had so many friends was because of his constant talking.
A sudden wave of cold and emptiness makes Regulus shiver. He is not exactly sure if he's the only one who feels it but considering the kids' expressions, they are also aware of the strange change in the room.
The train stops and in no time a skeletal hand touches the window. Regulus finds himself back in the cave. Scrawny and fleshless hands are trying to grab him as his head is spinning with every step he takes. The cold water makes him want to scream but his lungs don't work. He can only kick and pray to whoever is watching him from above to end his suffering.
He doesn't want to die,
no,
he does want to die...
he is just too young to die-
wouldn’t that be a pity
… a child dying…
"Regulus, are you okay?" Lupin asks him.
"I-" when was the last time anyone asked if he was okay? "Not really..." he admits and looks around him. The kids are staring at him and Potter is eating a piece of chocolate.
"A Dementor came here and did something to Harry. You seemed to be affected by him as well. Professor Lupin explained everything he knows about them." Hermione tells him.
Lupin nods. "I'll go talk to the driver." He looks at Regulus before exiting. "I would have suggested that you ate a piece of chocolate but I remember that you are against anything considered 'fun', like sweets things for example." For some reason the fact that his brother's friend actually remembers a small fact about him makes his heart warm up.
"I apologize for this kids." Regulus sighs.
"It's alright ehm... mr. Black." Potter -Harry, he remembers Hermione refer to him as Harry- mutters.
"Regulus is fine." He says with a smile.
"I am still interested in your explanation about the traits of each house, Regulus." Hermione speaks after a long moment of silence.
"Of course. I will explain as best as I can." Ronald groans. "I remember trying to talk about this with my brother during my first year..." he sighs. "It didn't go well..."
•*•*•
Hogwarts has organized a feast like every year but Regulus is not exactly interested in joining the overexcited and dull professors. Instead he finds himself returning to the main hall from a quick trip to the library with a book.
As soon as he enters the majestic hall he feels the eyes of a few students on him. He's not interested in their curious stares though. Instead he spots who he was looking for and sits down next to her at the Gryffindor table.
"Hermione." He mutters. "I found a rather interesting book with information about each house." Regulus explains and the girl's eyes beam in excitement.
Out of the corner of his eye he notices an extremely pale student making fun of Harry. "What is your name kid?" He asks.
Although Regulus has been told quite a few times that he has an intimidating resting face he didn't exactly expect the blond kid's eyes to show as much fear as they did. It only lasted a few seconds before he put on an arrogant mask on his face but Regulus noticed it.
The kid scoffs. "What are you, Granger's muggle cousin or something? I am Draco Malfoy." He smirks.
"I'd advise you to think before you speak, Malfoy. You bring shame to my house." Regulus sighs before standing up and heading towards the professors' tables. He has to be introduced to the students after all.
He sits next to Lupin and waits for something exciting to happen (he's not even surprised when nothing happens). He stops listening to whatever Dumbledore is saying and only stands up when his name is called. The headmaster introduced him as one of the two Defense Against the Dark Arts professors and as expected, shock and awe take over the students' faces.
Regulus smirks. Having power is enjoyable indeed...