“It’s open,” Lily calls from inside, Cynthia going into the house first, Regulus following. They’re both holding bags of food Regulus finished up making this afternoon at Lily’s request. She’s been stressed out of her mind since she made these dinner plans with her sister and her family, and Regulus figured the least he could do was help cook for her.
Lily looks up from where she’s standing next to the table, relievingly smiling at them. “You made dinner, thank you so much.”
“Of course,” Regulus smiles, “I made dinner as normal as possible. Roasted chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, and broccoli. And I made a strawberry tart for dessert, too. I know you said just use box crust but I made my own anyway.”
“Reg, you’re my favorite brother-in-law,” She tells him, walking over to give him a hug, “Thank you so much, that’s perfect.”
Regulus reciprocates it the best he can with his one free hand, Lily stepping back and pointing over at the counter.
“You can put everything there, I’ll set it out in a minute,” She tells them, Cynthia and Regulus going over to the counter and putting down the bags they’re carrying. Regulus takes out the food so it doesn’t stay stacked, setting out the containers on the counter. Cynthia takes the container with the tart in it, which was in her bag, and puts it in the fridge. Regulus turns around when he sets everything out and collapses and folds the bags, seeing Cynthia giving Lily a greeting and a hug.
“You look stressed,” Cynthia comments, “I promise things are going to be ok. Even if they’re not the most pleasant people we’ll get through it.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t know, what if it doesn’t? My relationship with my sister is questionable at best and I’m trusting her family with my family.”
“Correction, you’re trusting her family with Sirius, he’s the problem here,” Regulus points out, Lily laughing.
“Yeah, and he’s giving me a problem of where to put him at the table. I’m trying to figure out a way to seat everyone that will minimize his interaction with anyone but us.”
“Well, you’re not avoiding that,” Cynthia replies, looking around the table before asking, “Are you sitting next to your sister?”
“No, I don’t want to, and I think she’ll sit between Vernon and her son anyway, just the type of person she is. And I want to put Harry next to Dudley, if anyone has a positive experience I’m hoping it’s the two of them. But I want to sit across from them so I’m between all of you, but where do I put Remus and Sirius?”
“Uhh,” Cynthia looks back at Regulus, “Isn’t this what you’re good at? Seating charts?”
“Normally my seating is pretty flexible, but,” Regulus steps forward, pointing at seats as he describes it, “Vernon will be on the outside, next to him should go Remus. Although he can get aggressive he’ll be respectful. Sandwich Sirius between him and James, keeps him preoccupied and it’ll make him feel more secure. Then you, then Cynthia, and I’ll sit next to Harry over here.”
“Ok, yeah, that makes sense,” She nods, “That makes a lot of sense, actually, wow. I was trying to avoid putting James and Sirius next to one another but you make a good point.”
“James and Sirius, as bad of a combination as they are, are familiar. One of the big things I do with kids I assign seats to is put someone near them that they know because it makes them feel more secure, they’re less likely to act out for attention when someone is giving to them who isn’t me.”
“Reg, you’re the only one allowed to talk to them,” Lily decrees, sighing, “Jesus this is going to end badly.”
“It’ll be ok, Lils, I promise everything will be fine,” Cynthia assures her, giving her another big hug. Regulus looks over when he hears a door crack open, walking around the table to see Harry coming out of his room, smiling at Regulus, James trailing behind him.
“Uncle Reg!” Harry cheers, running over to give him a hug, “Hi!”
“Hey bud,” Regulus wraps an arm around him, ruffling his hair, “How are you today?”
“I’m happy today,” He tells him, stepping back and beaming up at Regulus. “We’re having dinner together!”
“Yeah, and I made dinner too,” Regulus tells him, “And guess who you get to sit next to today at dinner?”
“Uncle Sirius?” Harry asks, everyone in the room laughing.
“No, no, not Uncle Sirius,” Regulus shakes his head, “Me, you can sit next to me.”
“Oh, but I want to sit next to him,” Harry replies, “Can I sit there a little bit too?”
“No, not today Harry,” Lily tells him, “We’re having guests today, remember? You’re meeting your Aunt Petunia and your Uncle Vernon today, and your cousin Dudley.”
“Oh, ok!” Harry chirps, walking over to Lily to ask her more questions. James walks up to Regulus giving him a hug and greeting him.
“Hey Reg,” He says, “I’m glad you could make it.”
“Of course, if anyone understands dinner with in-laws that hate you it’s me,” Regulus jokes, James laughing as he steps back. “But I’m sure things will be fine, as long as you can keep Sirius at bay I think you’ll be ok.”
“God, what a task,” James shakes his head, looking back behind Regulus when the door opens, Regulus looking back with him. Remus and Sirius are on the other side, Sirius wearing his leather jacket that’s coated in patches. He’s wearing thick leather boots too, in combination with his thick grommet belt. The outfit was clearly carefully designed to annoy Lily’s family, and she groans the moment he walks in.
“Sirius! Are you kidding?” She exclaims, “I told you to dress normal!”
“And this is normal, what do you mean?” He argues, gesturing to himself, “I’m so normal right now.”
“God, my sister is going to disown me for good this time,” She shakes her head, Sirius walking over to her and pulling her into a hug, reassuring her.
“It’ll be fine, Lily, if that’s the worst they can do you’re fine,” He tells her, stepping back and patting her on the shoulder, “Besides, if they disown you, you can be part of the club.”
“I hate you so much,” She says as she gives him another hug, Remus walking up to give James and Regulus his greetings. He’s pretty short with it, though, because he goes over to Lily right after. Of course, Harry demands he be greeted and picked up because he loves being picked up by Remus. Remus listens, of course, greeting Lily with Harry happily bouncing on his hip. James walks over to Regulus and gives him another hug, Regulus feeling the stress radiating off of James.
“Are you ok?” Regulus asks, James shaking his head.
“Lily has been so worried about this for days, this is going to go horribly,” He tells Regulus, “I don’t know why I said yes, this isn’t a good idea.”
“Maybe it will be,” Regulus tries to reason, but James shakes his head again.
“Just wait until you meet them, it’s going to go really bad,” James tells him, stepping back to look at Regulus, “They’re the worst kind of people you can be without being like, actually a bad person. They’re so judgemental about everything, they need everything to be so perfectly normal that they judge anything slightly out of that view. I’m so worried about them saying the wrong thing to you or Sirius or Remus or Harry or Cynthia or- Anyone, really, they’re going to find something wrong with everyone at this table.”
“Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but at least for Sirius and I, I promise we’ve heard worse, and Remus I’m sure you could say the same too. Cynthia’s family also is like that so she’s used to this too, we’re all going to be ok. I’m most worried about you, James,” Regulus points out.
“I’ll be fine, I’ve met them already and have solidified that we don’t get along, so they’re not going to say anything new to me. Harry, though, I’m worried about him too,” James sighs, “I think I’m just worried about everything, I’ll just have to get it over with I guess.”
“Mhm, and if it’s not fine you have all of us here to help, too,” Regulus reassures him, “It’ll be-”
“Uncle Reg!” Harry yells, barrelling into Regulus at full speed. Regulus catches him before he can hit him too hard.
Regulus laughs, “Be careful, bud, you don’t want to hurt me.”
“Sorry,” Harry apologizes, smiling up at Regulus, “Hi.”
“Hi Harry,” Regulus greets him, “What’s up?”
“I’m seeing another Aunt and Uncle today!” Harry tells him, “They’re from Mummy’s family.”
“Yeah, they are, and you’ve never met them before right?” Regulus asks, Harry enthusiastically nodding.
“No, not ever! And I’m going to meet them today,” Harry tells him, “And you too, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve never met them either,” Regulus tells him.
“And you too,” He looks up at his dad, James shaking his head.
“No, no, I’ve met them before,” James replies, “I met them a super long time ago, before you were even in Mummy’s belly.”
“Wow!” Harry marvels, “A really long time ago.”
“Yeah, really long time,” James affirms, looking back at the clock on the wall behind him, “Lily, when do you want to set up?”
“Uh, what time is it?” She asks, not waiting for the answer as she leans around to look at the clock, eyes widening, “Oh shi- shocking time, shoot,” She recovers, going over to the counter where Regulus has everything set out and starting to put the food into nicer dishes. Cynthia helps her out, Remus whispering something to Sirius, walking over to James and Regulus.
“Hey, you didn’t even say hi to me,” James points out as he gives Sirius a big hug, “I haven’t seen you in like a week! It’s been so long.”
“I know, crazy week, but it’s good to see you now,” He says, the two lingering in that hug for way too long. Harry pulls at Remus’ sweater, Remus sighing but picking him up. Harry beams, waving down at Regulus.
“I’m taller than you,” He tells him, laughing.
“Yeah, you’re super duper tall,” Regulus tells him, looking over when Lily calls for them.
“Can any of you be useful at all and help set out silverware?” She clips, Harry immediately bouncing up and down.
“Me me! Let me help,” He exclaims, Remus laughing.
“Ok, let’s go help, come on,” Remus tells him, walking over into the kitchen and getting out the silverware, letting Harry down to start setting napkins at every chair at the table. Regulus leaves the James and Sirius reunion to help set things out, carrying the bowls of food to the table and settling them in the middle. Cynthia helps set out plates, giving him a kiss when she comes around the table and they cross paths, hearing Sirius audibly gagging.
“Be normal, you two, this isn’t normal,” Sirius heckles, “That’s disgusting.”
Regulus shakes his head, tapping Harry on the shoulder when he walks back over to grab more forks, “Harry, tell your Uncle Sirius that he needs to be nicer.”
“Uncle Sirius isn’t nice?” Harry looks up at him questioningly, Regulus enthusiastically nodding.
“Yeah, he said something super mean, what happens when you say something mean?” Regulus asks, Harry putting the forks back on the counter and going over to Sirius, calmly but firmly telling him.
“You need to try again,” Harry demands, “You need to try again and say something nicer or we can’t play anymore.”
“Oh ok, I’m sorry Harry, you’re right,” Sirius admits, ruffling Harry’s hair, “I shouldn’t be mean.”
“Yeah, no being mean because it can make people sad,” Harry explains, “And when people are sad they don’t want to play with us anymore.”
“Yeah, and they might need to go away to calm down, right?” James adds, Harry enthusiastically nodding.
“So you need to try again, Uncle Sirius,” Harry tells him, Sirius looking back up at Regulus.
“I’m very happy your relationship is healthy and full of love, Reg,” Sirius sarcastically gushes, Regulus giving him a sarcastic smile back.
“Your validation means so much to me, Sirius,” Regulus mockingly answers, Harry seemingly satisfied with their interaction as he goes back to grab the forks off the counter and continues setting them on each napkin on the table. Sirius glares at Regulus, scratching his face with only his middle finger, although the hand gets quickly slapped away by James. Lily groans, shaking her head as she cleans off the counters.
“Get it out now, you two, because if you do this at dinner I’m not letting you see Harry for a month,” She threatens, Sirius dramatically gasping.
“What?! No Harry, that’s a punishment worse than death,” Sirius pretends to straighten himself out, “I’ll be on my best behavior, then.”
“I hate every last one of you,” She mumbles, although the comment doesn’t get past their resident niceness police.
“Hey Mummy, that’s not nice,” Harry stops her, “You need to try again.”
Lily smiles down at Harry, who is standing next to her wielding another four forks. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, you’re right. I wasn’t nice, I shouldn’t say I hate people.”
“Sometimes we get upset and we say things we don’t mean, it’s ok as long as you say sorry,” Harry tells her, Lily nodding and letting him walk off to continue putting the forks on the table. She looks up at James.
“He’s a mini-you, James, good God,” She tells him.
“Hey, my parenting is extremely effective,” He points out, “He’s learning!”
“And now nothing gets past him,” Lily sighs, laughing.
“Well you got two options, honey, he scolds you or he tells you he hates you,” He tells her as he walks up, wrapping his arms around her waist, “This is better than that.”
“Alright, fair,” She smiles, James leaning down to give her a kiss. Harry finishes up his task, though, poking his dad.
“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy look,” He says to James, pointing at the table, “Look what I did!”
“Let me see,” James says, stepping away from Lily and looking around the table at all of the silverware properly set up at every seat of the table. James smiles down at him, “Wow, very good job, you set out all of that?”
Harry proudly nods, “Yes! All by myself, Uncle Remus gave me the stuff but I put it out.”
“You’re so fast!” James comments, Harry bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“And super helpful too?” Harry questions, James nodding.
“Yes, super duper helpful,” James affirms, Lily looking around James at him.
“You’re more helpful than Daddy and Uncle Sirius,” She tells him, “They didn’t do anything to set the table.”
“That’s not doing their part,” He crosses his arms, Lily laughing.
“Yes, they’re not doing their part to help with dinner,” She agrees, Remus walking up behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder, whispering and pointing at the clock. Lily perks up, pointing at the table and demanding, “Alright, sit, all of you. My sister is getting here in 5 minutes and you all need a lecture before she does.”
“Do we have assigned seats, Professor?” Sirius questions, walking up beside Harry.
“Yes, Mr. Black,” She mockingly answers, pointing at the three seats with their back to the living room. “My sister, her husband, and their son are gonna sit here. To the left of them, over there,” She points to the seats on the opposite side of the table, closest to Harry’s room, “Harry, Reg, and Cynthia.”
Regulus and Cynthia walk over to wear she pointed, being beaten by Harry, who rushes over there. He sits in the wrong seat, though, Regulus sitting in the correct one and patting the seat to the right of him, “Here, Harry, your seat is here.”
Harry hops over into the correct seat, looking up as his dad walks behind him and ruffles his hair as he heads to his seat one away from Cynthia. Sirius and Remus sit down next to him, Harry waving, “Hi Uncle Sirius!”
Sirius waves back, “Hey, kid.”
“Ok, so,” Lily walks up to stand at the empty three seats at the table, looking at Harry. “Harry, everything I’m going to tell your Aunt and Uncles you don’t need to listen to, ok? I just need to make sure they know some stuff but you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Ok!” Harry chirps back, Lily smiling at him before glaring daggers at Sirius.
“I need to make a good impression on them, and none of you can pick a fight with them no matter how frustrating they are,” She firmly demands, looking only directly at Sirius.
“Alright, alright, I got it,” He puts his hands up in surrender, “I’ll be good.”
“Good, no arguing with them, I mean it,” She emphasizes, looking around at everyone else, “My sister and her husband hate magic, so under no circumstances, unless we are literally being attacked by Death Eaters, can you take out your wand and cast anything. They will freak out and no one wants that.”
All of them silently nod, Sirius shooting Regulus a look that he’s absolutely not going to follow that rule. Regulus shoots one back, telling him he should definitely listen to that because this isn’t his family, but Sirius just rolls his eyes. Lily looks between him and Sirius, sighing and shaking her head.
“And none of that,” She tells them, “You can choose not to listen to me but I’m telling you, my family is not nice, they’re going to say something mean to you if you don’t listen. I’m trying to keep this as civil as possible, remember, little ears at the table.”
“Mmm, just because you brought up Harry, fine,” Sirius grumbles, Lily jumps in surprise when the doorbell rings. She gestures for James to get up, not having to ask Harry before he jumps right up and runs over to his parents, everyone else staying quiet and seated. Regulus has a good view of the door, seeing Petunia when it opens. She’s taller than Lily, with perfectly set blonde hair and a tight, tense smile. Lily invites her in, and she’s followed by who he assumes is Vernon, a big, very scary guy with blue eyes that pierce Regulus the moment he walks into view of him. Regulus turns his attention to the boy in front of him, plump and at least twice Harry’s size. Harry certainly is a bit small, but this kid looks much older than him. He has thick, blond hair like his mother, and he stays right in front of Vernon as he is introduced to Lily, James, and Harry. Harry takes right to talking to him, Cynthia poking Regulus to take his attention away from the greeting. He looks at her, Cynthia leaning in and whispering to him.
“This is going to end horribly, no way Sirius is going to bite his tongue with that guy,” She says, Regulus nodding and whispering back.
“We’ll be lucky if dinner stays calm for five minutes,” Regulus replies, looking up and smiling when they start to walk over to the table, sitting just how Lily predicted they would. Harry sits down next to him, then Dudley, then Petunia, then Vernon next to Remus. Remus greets him and shakes his hand, Vernon giving him a dirty look. Sirius clearly goes to say something but sits back suddenly, Regulus sure Remus kicked him. Harry pulls at his sleeve, though, Regulus looking over to see him gesturing to Dudley.
“Look, Uncle Reg, this is my cousin!” Harry tells him, “This is Dudley.”
Regulus smiles at Dudley, waving at him, “Hi, dear, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Hello,” He greets, Regulus looking up when Lily starts to introduce everyone, gesturing around the table as she does.
“This is Remus, Sirius, Cynthia, and Regulus. Regulus and Sirius are James’ brothers,” She tells them, smiling. Petunia and Vernon both look at each other skeptically but don’t say anything. Regulus is sure they know neither Regulus nor Sirius is related to James. Petunia nods, though, looking around at everyone.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you all, I’m Petunia, and this is Vernon and my son Dudley.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Cynthia steps up and replies, Regulus seeing Lily sigh in relief that she beat Sirius to the answer. A beat of silence goes by before Lily gestures to the center of the table.
“You’re welcome to grab some food, take as much as you’d like,” She tells them, the table beginning to bustle as everyone grabs food. Regulus puts a bit of everything on his plate, looking to Harry next.
“What do you want to eat, bud?” He asks, “Some chicken?”
“Yeah, yeah, and potatoes and gravy and carrots please!” He requests, Regulus putting some chicken on his plate and taking the bowl of mashed potatoes James offers him. Harry stops him before he can put anything on his plate, though. “No, can I do it please?” He requests, Regulus figuring this evening is going to probably be pretty bad for him and this is at least giving him something fun to do.
“Ok, here, only take one spoonful,” Regulus tells him, handing him the serving spoon. Harry is very well trained, taking the spoon and scooping some of the potatoes, tapping it on his plate so they all come off. He’s gotten a lot better since the last time Regulus saw him serve himself food, where he got the peas absolutely everywhere. Harry puts the spoon back and beams at Regulus, who hands off the bowl to Cynthia as he tells him, “Wow, that was awesome, you did really good. Here, do you want to do this too?” He asks as he grabs the carrots from the middle of the table. Harry nods, taking the spoon and perfectly serving himself those too. Regulus ruffles his hair and passes the bowl off to James, who hands it to Remus. Regulus praises Harry, “That was an awesome job, bud, you did really good.”
“Mummy and Daddy let me do it a lot,” Harry tells him, “And I get better! I wasn’t good at it but then I did it and I got really good at it, right?”
“Yeah, you got really good at it,” Regulus affirms, Harry proudly picking up his fork and beginning to eat his carrots. Regulus pokes at his food a bit, not wanting to explicitly demonstrate that he’s not hungry but still not sure he’s up to stomaching anything much right now. He’s cut off, though, when Petunia turns to him and Cynthia.
“So, uh, what’s your name again?” She questions.
“Regulus,” He replies, Petunia nodding.
“Regulus, yes, what do you do for work?” She asks.
“I’m a professor,” He tells her, “I teach a math-like subject, Arithmancy.”
“Hm,” She hums, gesturing to Cynthia, “Does your wife work?”
Regulus looks at her to answer, Cynthia nodding, “I do, I’m a lawyer.”
“A lawyer, really?” She questions, the shock in her voice sending a shiver of anger through Regulus’ spine, although he bites back at commenting on it. Cynthia holds her own, though, smiling and nodding back.
“Yes, I’ve been working at the Ministry for about 7 years now,” She tells her, “It’s very engaging work, rewarding as well. What do you do?”
“Well- Well I’m a stay-at-home mum,” She tells her, almost defensive. Cynthia just charmingly smiles and nods though.
“Also very engaging yet rewarding, I would imagine,” She comments, “I couldn’t do that, it’s very impressive.”
“Yes, a lot of work but I would give anything to take care of my Dudley,” She rubs the shoulder of the boy next to her, but he just keeps devouring the mashed potatoes on his plate. Petunia purses her lips at Cynthia a moment before asking, “Do you have any children?”
She shakes her head, “No, we don’t.”
“Well then, any plans to? You’re getting older, aren’t you?” She points out, Cynthia just shaking her head.
“Not for the time being, no,” She replies, “We’re focusing on settling down for now, we just recently bought a house so we’re simply focused on that.”
“Mmm,” She nods, clearly not completely satisfied but there’s nothing she can really say to that. Cynthia is good at dealing with people like this, Regulus knows that, and he knows that she is so carefully articulate that she’s going to back Petunia into a corner with anything she asks. Regulus looks over to see Lily giving Cynthia a look of complete gratitude for how gentle she’s been. Of course, that peace ends almost immediately when Vernon takes the beat of silence to look over to Remus.
“Where is your wife? Couldn’t make it tonight?” He questions, Remus just tightly smiling and shaking his head.
“No, no wife, this is my boyfriend Sirius,” He gestures over to Sirius, “We’ve been together for about ten years now, give or take.”
“Boyfriend? I didn’t know that was legal in Britain,” He prods back at him, Sirius lighting up red and sitting right up. Regulus knows no amount of kicking is going to stop him from saying whatever is brewing in his head.
“Well good thing I’m an Auror, then, no one out there to catch me for it,” He snaps, Vernon looking at him confused. Sirius rolls his eyes at him, “Wizard cop, don’t you know that?”
Vernon annoyedly shakes his head and looks over at his wife. “Cops, goodness, they’re all just teenagers who never grow out of feeling above the law,” He complains, Sirius not wasting a second before shooting back.
“Maybe I’ve never grown up but at least my mother isn’t beating me half to death anymore,” He quips, Vernon’s face tightening and turning a frightening shade of red.
“Well- Well then- Well it should have happened more to you,” He mumbles a reply, Sirius leans forward to keep arguing but Remus grabs him, giving him a stern look to stop. Sirius sinks back in his seat, crossing his arms and staring daggers at Vernon. Remus looks over at Lily, seemingly giving her permission to steer the conversation in a different direction.
“So, Petunia, had Dudley started school?” She asks, Petunia smiling and nodding.
“Yes, yes, he just started school last year. Tell Aunt Lily how school is, Dudley,” She taps her son on the shoulder, who looks up at her and then over at Lily.
“I like it,” He tells her, “I know all of my words and how to spell them.”
“Really? Wow, that’s awesome,” Lily marvels, Harry jumping in.
“Do you read in school?” Harry asks him, “I read a lot with Mummy and Daddy.”
“Yeah, we do reading,” Dudley nods, Petunia chuckling as the two continue talking, looking back at Lily.
“So funny how family just connects so easily,” She comments.
Lily nods, “Yes, I knew they’d get along great.”
Petunia goes to answer, but Dudley pulls at her arm, “Mummy! Mummy!”
“What pumpkin?” She questions.
“When can I learn to fly on a broom?” He asks, “Harry flies on a broom when can I do that? I want to!”
“You will not be flying on a broom, boy,” Vernon snaps at him, “That’s a freak hobby-”
“You-” Sirius goes to argue, Remus firmly putting a hand on his chest to keep him from standing up. Harry looks up at Regulus confused, Regulus giving him a warm smile to try to assure him he didn’t do anything wrong. Petunia looking at her husband.
“Vernon,” She scolds, looking back at Dudley and cheesily smiling, shaking her head, “No, you can’t fly like your cousin.”
“Oh,” Dudley crosses her arms, sinking away from her. He looks around the table at everyone else, clearly trying to dig himself out of the hole he made with his parents. He looks at Remus for a very long moment, and Regulus knows what’s about to come next. He points across the table, “Where did you get those scars?”
“Dudley!” Petunia exclaims, Remus jumping to stop her.
“No, it’s alright,” Remus assures her, “I’m alright with talking about it, I understand kids are simply inquisitive.” He looks back at Dudley, giving him a warm smile, “I got hurt a long time ago and I just have some scars from it. They’re all healed now, though, they don’t hurt anymore.”
“And I have a cool scar too,” Harry tells him, holding up his hair to show him the lightning scar on his head, “Look!”
“Where did you get that?” Dudley asks, fascinated.
“Someone bad gave it to me,” He tells him, “He was trying to hurt me, but Mummy and Daddy protected me so he couldn’t hurt me, and I got a cool scar like Uncle Remus.”
“It looks like lightning,” He tells him, Harry nodding and dropping his hand.
“My lightning scar!” Harry exclaims, “I think it’s super cool, like I’m a superhero! And sometimes- sometimes I race around on my broom in a cape and I go super lightning fast.”
Vernon gets really red, clearly about to blow up over the mention of a broom again. Sirius quickly elbows James, snapping him back into the conversation, looking at him to urgently change the subject. James, although he jumps to talk, stumbles through it.
“So uh, uh, Vernon, how is- how is uh- how is making-making- hammers, making hammers?” James settles on, “At Dunnings?”
“Grunnings,” Vernon angrily answers, “And it’s drills, not hammers.”
“Yes, yes, drills, how is it going? Any new, uh, deals or anything?” He asks, a lot less smoothly than he probably thinks he did, based on the overly satisfied look on his face. Lily next to him looks about ready to recede into her own skin, but Vernon just looks at him skeptically for a moment before slowly beginning to answer his question, Regulus listening to him drone on about drills for about two minutes before tuning out, instead looking down at Harry and Dudley chatting next to him, who have been talking the whole time.
“You don’t go to school at all?” Dudley questions.
“Nope! My Mummy teaches me school things, like reading and math and spelling and science! And Daddy teaches history when he comes home from work,” Harry tells him, “Do you learn that in school?”
“Yeah, we learn that in school,” He nods, “Do you have recess?”
“What is that?” Harry asks.
“When you get to go play outside with the other kids, do you do that?” He explains, Harry looking at him confused.
“Like at the park?”
“No, in the playground at school, with the people in your class?”
“No, no, I don’t go to school, I told you,” Harry corrects him, “I learn everything at home, I don’t have any classmates. But sometimes I go to the park and play with the other kids in the houses around me! They go to school, though, so I can’t play with them until the clock says 3:30!”
“But if you don’t go to school do you just get to play all day?” He questions, Harry shaking his head.
“No, only sometimes, but sometimes it’s learning time,” Harry tells him, “We learn at 10 and then we get to play at 12 and then we learn again at 1. And then I go to the park and see the other kids! And then when Daddy comes home at 5:30 I get to learn again, about Quidditch and history and healing!”
“Wow, I don’t get to learn about Quidditch and healing,” Dudley answers, “Is it cool?”
“Yes!” Harry nods, “Did you know Bowman Wright made the golden snitch because they were killing birds too much, uh, the birds were,” He pauses a moment before perking up, “Snidget! They were killing them too much so he made the ball so they could keep playing. And he lived where I lived when I was a baby.”
“Oh! That’s cool, in my school-” He goes to reply, but he’s stopped when his mum puts a hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him and gesturing to the rest of the table.
“Why don’t you talk to the adults about school? Tell them what you’re learning?” She asks.
“But I was talking to Harry,” Dudley tries to argue, but his mum keeps her firm stare at him until he turns to the table, hesitating before telling everyone, “In school I learn about how to read and I read a lot of books.”
“Yes, yes,” Vernon affirms, going off on a long tangent having something to do with Dudley reading books and how smart he is. Regulus doesn’t really follow, instead watching Harry next to him, who is clearly getting antsy. He’s bouncing up and down in his chair, and after a couple of minutes or so he looks over at his mum, who is closest to him.
“Mummy,” He calls to her, Lily looking over.
“What’s up, sweetheart?” She asks.
“Can I get up please?” He asks, “I want to get up and move please.”
Lily nervously looks at her sister and brother-in-law, but looks back and smiles at her son, nodding, “Go ahead, just stay out here.”
Harry gets up out of his chair, tapping Dudley on the shoulder. He goes to get up without asking, his mum grabbing his shoulder.
“No, Dudley, it’s impolite to run off, stay at the table,” She scolds.
“Please?” He tries to beg, “Harry is going, let me go!”
She sighs, “Alright, stay close, though, right around here,” She tells him, gesturing to the area between her and Regulus. Dudley jumps up, he and Harry start to play in the area Dudley is allowed in. They progressively move to playing on either side of Regulus, Regulus looking between the two giggling boys and just laughing. They’re seemingly getting along well, which, judging by the table of annoyed faces, is not going nearly as well for anyone else. Regulus does look back again, though, when he feels something disappear from his front pocket, seeing Harry holding his wand. His first reaction is to panic because it was made very clear that magic is not allowed, but he knows that won’t get him anywhere. Before he can do anything, though, Dudley snatches it from him, Harry furrowing his brow.
“Hey!” Harry goes to argue, “Why did you take it like that?”
“What is this?” Dudley questions, pretending to jab it at Harry.
“No, no, not like that,” Harry shakes his head, “It’s a wand, you don’t know? It does magic, it’s Uncle Reg’s wand.”
Regulus turns around and holds his hand out to Dudley, “Yes, it’s mine, can I have it back please?”
“No,” Dudley pulls it away from him, “I want to see it.”
Knowing he needs it back before anyone sees but kids normally don’t take well to things being grabbed from them, Regulus keeps calm, getting up from his chair to crouch on the ground in front of the two boys, hand still held out. “I’ll show you how to hold it and tell you what it can do, but I need it back. I’ll explain it, my dear, but it’s super important that it doesn’t break and stays with me.”
Dudley stares at him for a moment but hands it back, Regulus holding it like he would if he was casting a spell.
“You hold it like this, and you can flick it like this,” He flicks the wand but carefully doesn’t cast anything.
“Well can I?” Dudley questions, Regulus shaking his head.
“No, you can’t, only some people can use it,” Regulus tells him, Dudley nodding in understanding. He doesn’t get to ask anything else, though, because he’s cut off by Vernon’s booming voice screaming at him.
“What do you think you’re doing showing him that?” He screams, Regulus standing straight up and tucking his wand up his sleeve to hide it. He goes to tell him the boys took it and he was just asking for it back but Vernon doesn’t even let him get a word in. “That’s dangerous! You’re going to throw some kind of magic spell on him and hurt him! I don’t want my son exposed to any of this freak magic stuff and I’m not going to let you ruin that.”
Regulus sits back down in his chair, going to answer again just to be cut off.
“How dare you expose him to that sort of stuff?” He yells, Regulus sputtering for a reply.
“Uh- I’m- I’m uh- I’m s-”
“Spit it out boy,” Vernon shoots at him, Regulus not even able to process it before Sirius stands up and slams a hand on the table.
“Don’t talk to my brother like that!” He yells, Vernon recoiling in shock a bit. Sirius looks over at Lily, but she just stays silent, avoiding his stare. Sirius shakes his head, just mumbling, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Lily glances at him but, again, doesn’t say anything.
“Excuse me,” Sirius says, walking away and going into the bathroom. Harry gets back into his chair, Regulus noticing Dudley is already sitting. He wasn’t paying attention, and even now he’s currently trying to breathe through the deepening panic after that interaction. He hasn’t been told to spit it out in years, the last clear memory he has of it being him in his room at eleven years old, sputtering to his mum about going to school. It hurt a bit, he isn’t going to lie. But he tries to cover it up the best he can, just keeping a straight face as the table stays quiet, feeling Cynthia put a hand on his knee and lightly rub it, Regulus looking over at her and smiling.
Lily awkwardly shifts in her seat before looking at her sister when Petunia says, “So, uh, we’ve started remodeling our kitchen recently.”
“Oh, that’s great, how is that going?” Lily tightly asks, her voice raising by two octaves. The two fall into a very subdued conversation about kitchens in which no one else is bothering to listen or add anything.
Sirius comes back quickly, his face a bit less red, saying nothing to anyone and just sitting back down at the table next to Remus. He leans back in his chair and annoyedly looks at Lily before looking over to Regulus, silently telling him that if Regulus wants it, Sirius is more than willing to tear Vernon to shreds. Regulus simply glances down at Harry, Sirius sighing but nodding, looking back off to James next to him. Although it’s not how anger normally presents, Regulus can tell James is absolutely fuming, the regular smile he wears on his face completely gone. The conversion Lily and Petunia are having is short-lived, and in a beat of silence James takes up for talking, his tone oddly harsh.
“We’ve been thinking about doing some work around the house but my schedule has just been so busy, you know how it gets right?” He looks at Vernon, “I’m in every day all day, it gets overwhelming to manage any remodel like that.”
“Well, what do you do?” Petunia asks, “For work, where do you work?”
“St. Mungos, the hospital, I’m one of the founders of E.L Potter Lycanthropy Center, our werewolf unit there. Built it from the ground up, they were almost going to shut down that part of the hospital because no one wanted to work in it but I brought it back to life, I helped make it both educational and practical. I personally work mostly pediatrically, but I’ve been helping out in restructuring the adult division too recently, integrating it with a lot of our programs and processes. It’s hard building something like that, having to work against all that prejudice and stuff to really make kids feel like they’re people because many people don’t view them like that. Ridiculous, really, because it has no further impact on a person at all,” James tells him, proudly smiling, “It’s very important to me for kids to understand everything about lycanthropy because there’s so much misinformation about it, how it’s passed, what it does, things like that. We hold seminars and discussions and everything for parents, too, a lot of work.”
Vernon looks at him confused, leaning forward and asking, “You named it after you?”
James stares at him almost dumbfounded a moment before he shakes his head, slowly telling him, “No, my name is James Fleamont.”
Vernon continues to look at him confused, clearly not understanding it at all. Sirius covers his face, clearly trying to stifle his laughing at how stupid Vernon is. James just shakes his head, replying to him in a very exaggeratedly clear tone.
“My mother, the unit is named after my mum,” He states, “E.L are my mum’s initials.”
“Mmm,” He hums, “So you’re some sort of veterinarian?”
James stares at him in absolute disbelief, Sirius letting loose an audible laugh. Regulus looks to Remus to see how he feels, but he sees Sirius whispering to him, making him smile and elbow Sirius to sit back up. Vernon, however, goes red in the face again hearing Sirius laugh at him. He doesn’t say anything, though, because James asks first.
“Excuse me?” He questions, “What?”
“Treating these beasts, like a vet,” He clarifies, Sirius shifting from laughing to furious, but James holds a hand out to stop him from saying anything, looking at Remus, who gives him a small nod, before taking up for responding to him.
“No, it’s not like werewolves from your muggle fairy tales,” James shakes his head, “It’s just a condition some people have, they go through transformations once a month and then just turn back afterward, nothing more than that.”
Vernon furrows his brow at him, “So it’s a disease?”
The whole table tenses up, several people shifting uncomfortably at the table. Sirius is on fire, but James stays impressively calm. Regulus notices Cynthia lean forward, too, Regulus sure she has things to say as well.
“No, it’s not, it’s very hard to pass from person to person, so it’s not a disease at all. It’s a very common and dangerous misconception in the wizarding world but it’s completely incorrect.”
Vernon shifts uncomfortably in his seat, grunting before gruffly replying, “Hmm, doesn’t sound too safe to me, who knew magic was dangerous enough to let beasts roam around-”
“You know nothing about what you’re talking about,” Sirius cuts in, clearly unable to bite his tongue any longer, “You’ve never learned anything about them and you’re making this assumption out of nothing, are you dense?”
“If anyone is dense it’s you, shouldn’t you cops be locking these animals up?”
Sirius’ eyes might as well light on fire, “For your information, no, did you not listen to a word James said?”
“Vets are always big softies, this sounds like it needs to be a government issue, put this in a courtroom and see how it fairs with normal people speaking on it,” He proposes, Cynthia jumping in.
“We actually just had a session the other day and I got a bill passed about werewolf rights, it is now illegal for insurance companies to discriminate based on lycanthropy status,” Cynthia tells him, Regulus smiling at how quickly her ‘lawyer tone’ went on. “We’re next looking to propose to the floor an affordable housing bill for lycanthropes as well, as they’re about 70% more likely to be unable to keep what is considered a stable home, which is a housing arrangement for more than a year. It’s a result of many discriminatory facets of society, such as hiring processes, housing upkeep, finding roommates and such who are understanding and properly informed on the subject, but legally we’re focusing on tackling the basic necessities as of now. The Department For The Regulation And Control Of Magical Creatures has been slowly reforming everything, and although it’s been a fight a lot of them have gotten a lot more educated and began to work with me on creating new legislature on the topic.”
Regulus just beams at her, he loves to hear her talk about all of this Ministry stuff, it’s so impressive to him. He looks over at Vernon to see the fruits of her labor: The extremely stunned and confused expression on his face. She has a satisfied smile on her face, sitting up tall and proud. James and Sirius both look at Vernon with the same expression, although Remus has his eyes cast down, sunk so low in his chair he’s almost Sirius’ height. Sirius has his hand, Regulus can tell, but as uncomfortable as Remus looks, he nods at what Cynthia says. Vernon looks around at everyone before sputtering back a reply.
“Well, if these- these- these ‘people’ are civilized why are they in a- such a- a unit about creatures?” He questions, Cynthia just nodding and answering him.
“I’d love to educate you more on the division of the Ministry if you’d like,” She offers, “However, with the little magical knowledge you have its departments might be a bit difficult to define.”
“I don’t care how all of this stuff works,” He grumbles, Petunia sitting up.
“I’m interested in how you can treat someone like that,” She proposes to James, “It has to be dangerous.”
“Not dangerous at all,” James shakes his head, “As I said, lycanthropes are people.”
“But they’re wolves,” She shakes her head, “Terribly dangerous.”
“They’re not dangerous,” Sirius snaps at her, Lily finally speaking up for the first time this entire conversation.
“Alright, maybe this isn’t a topic for the table,” She attempts to stop them, James looking over at her in a poorly disguised shock.
He shakes his head, “No, I think it is, they brought it up and I’m more than glad to talk about what I do for work, you know, a very common topic.”
“Yeah, chime in any time, Lily,” Sirius coldly remarks, Lily crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat, clearly peeved by what he said. James turns back to them, but Regulus doesn’t get to hear it because he feels Harry pull at his arm.
He looks down at him, smiling, “What’s up?”
“Can we go into the living room please?” Harry asks, “I need to get up please.”
Regulus glances at Lily and James but decides it’s not worth asking, just nodding and getting up, “Yeah, come on, let’s go bud.”
Harry smiles, getting up and grabbing Regulus’ hand, leading him into the other room. Regulus stops, though, when he feels something tugging at his shirt, looking back to see Dudley trailing behind him. Regulus offers his other hand to the boy, looking back forward at Harry tugging at him.
“Come on,” Harry complains, “Come over here!”
“Ok, ok,” Regulus agrees, but he only takes a couple of steps before he’s yanked backward, hearing Vernon’s voice before he gets the chance to look back.
“Get back here boy,” He demands, Regulus letting go of Harry’s hand in an attempt to not make him fall over. It backfires, though, because Harry stumbles forward and falls flat on his face, immediately starting to cry. Before Regulus can even react to what happened, he hears Sirius scream at Vernon.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing pulling him like that?!” He yells, Regulus glancing back to see him standing up, Vernon with a tough grip on Dudley’s arm.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to trip Harry,” Vernon half-apologizes, although Sirius is so angry nothing could stop him right now.
“Well, it wouldn’t have happened if you had put one second into thinking about doing that! And what about your own son, that’s how you want to treat him? Pulling at him when you want something, what kind of example is that setting for him?” Sirius screams, leaning his hands on the table and leaning forward to get closer to Vernon, “Are you gonna teach him anything good?”
“He’s my son, and you have no right to tell me what to do with him,” Vernon booms back, voice filling the room.
“I can tell you that your son is going to grow up to love you,” Sirius sarcastically laughs, “Did you know that simply asking him to come over is just as effective? And less damaging to him? Fantastic, words are.”
Regulus tunes out their argument when he sees Harry sit up, walking over to Harry and crouching down next to him to see his broken glasses in his hands, Harry holding them out to Regulus.
“Give them to Daddy,” He tearfully says between cries, “Give them to him.”
“Ok, let’s give them to him, come on,” Regulus encourages, standing up. Harry doesn’t get up too, though, holding his arms up to Regulus. Regulus sighs but leans down and picks him up, standing back up to catch Remus grabbing onto Sirius’ arm, causing Sirius to stop talking.
Remus quickly cuts in, “Sirius and I have somewhere to go, come on,” He pulls at Sirius who doesn’t budge. Remus tries again, “We hate to run but we have to, let’s go Sirius,” He pulls at him again, Sirius glaring at Vernon before he follows Remus out of the house. The door slams behind them, causing Harry to bury himself into Regulus’ shoulder, incoherently mumbling about something. Regulus puts his sole focus on Harry, walking back to the table and tapping Harry on the shoulder.
“Let me see the glasses, bud,” He asks, Harry sitting back and handing him the glasses before going back to wrapping himself around Regulus. Regulus hands over the glasses to James, who is standing and looking at Regulus waiting for them. He takes out his wand to repair them but Lily takes the glasses before he can.
“No magic, fix them later,” She says as she pushes his wand down, James staring at her agape. She just shakes her head, grabbing his arm and pulling him down to sit in the chair. Regulus sits down too, mainly so he can put Harry down on his lap. Harry looks back after a moment, holding out the hand he’s not using to hold onto Regulus’ sleeve.
“My glasses?” He asks, Lily smiling at him but shaking her head again.
“You’ll get them later, sweetheart,” She assures him, “After dinner.”
“No now,” He argues, “Please?”
“After dinner, I promise, we’ll fix them for you,” She repeats, Harry dropping his hand before burying himself into Regulus, legs wrapped around his waist and arms around his neck like a monkey. Regulus rubs his back as he starts crying again, not saying anything but looking at James for what to do. James just shakes his head, looking up at his wife as she gets up.
“How about we have some dessert?” She offers, “We have a strawberry tart, freshly made.”
“That would be wonderful,” Petunia smiles, Lily going over to the fridge to take out and uncover the tart. James gets up and takes the handful of bowls off the table, putting them on the counter and bringing back plates for everyone, passing them out. Regulus looks nervously down at Harry wrapped around him, hesitating before asking.
“Harry bud, do you want to go in your room?” He asks, Harry shaking his head.
“I want dessert,” He mumbles.
“We can eat it there,” He proposes.
“No, no, I want to eat at the table,” He tells him, “With you.”
“Ok, bud, we can eat here,” Regulus concedes, not wanting to push him. Lily puts the tart on the table, having cut it into pieces already. Cynthia grabs Regulus’ plate and gives them both a piece, James looking at Regulus.
“Reg, do you need another plate?” He asks, pointing at Harry.
Regulus shakes his head, “No, no, one is fine.”
“Are you sure?” He asks, Regulus nodding. James relents pretty easily, sitting back down and taking his piece. Vernon, oddly, doesn’t say anything, and all Petunia does is talk to Dudley as she grabs him a piece. Regulus isn’t really hungry at all, so he taps on Harry’s shoulder.
“Look, bud,” He tells him, Harry sitting back and looking at the table, smiling, his back to the Dursleys.
“Can we share?” He asks Regulus, looking back at him.
“Yeah, of course,” He smiles, “Here, you can have this bite.”
Harry leans forward and goes to take a bite off the fork, Regulus having to move it so he doesn’t miss it. Harry’s close-up vision is pretty poor, so Regulus is sure he can’t see the fork too well. Harry just looks back at him and smiles, though.
“Was it good?” Regulus asks, Harry nodding. “I did a good job?”
“Yes!” Harry chirps, Regulus chuckling. He cuts another piece off, glancing at Harry eying it. He smiles and slowly brings it up to his mouth, Harry moving in front of it and eating the bite off of the fork. Regulus dramatically gasps, Harry giggling.
“Where did my piece go?” Regulus questions, “Did you see it, Harry?”
Harry shakes his head, “It disappeared!”
“Disappeared? Hmm, I’ll have to just have another then,” He says, cutting another piece off with his fork and doing the same thing, Harry taking that one too and laughing.
“It’s gone,” He tells him with his mouth full, Regulus laughing.
“Swallow first, then talk,” He reminds him, Harry finishing chewing his food before telling him again.
“It’s gone, Uncle Reg, that one is gone too,” He points out, “A tart thief!”
“Tart thief? Where?” Regulus questions, Harry laughing.
“I think he has black hair and glasses,” Harry tells him, looking over at his dad, who smiles at him. Harry whispers to Regulus, “I think it’s Daddy.”
“Really?” Regulus questions, looking over at James before nodding, “I think so too, keep an eye on him and let me take another piece.”
Harry nods, Regulus cutting off a piece and letting Harry eat that one too, Regulus gasping.
“What did Daddy do?” He asks Harry, who shrugs, finishing chewing before telling him.
“He’s too quick!” He answers, “Try again.”
“Ok, let’s try again,” Regulus nods, going to take another piece but being cut off by Vernon, who quietly but still very audibly comments to James and Lily.
“Does he always need to be hand-fed like a baby?” He questions, “Isn’t he six?”
Harry’s expression drops when he says that, sitting up and scooting away from Regulus in his lap, Regulus keeping an arm around him so he doesn’t fall. James looks about ready to punch him directly in the face, but he lets Lily talk first. Lily prickles at the comment, telling him, not nearly firmly enough, “Don’t say that about my son, he is not a baby.”
“Mm,” Vernon hums, leaning over to Petunia and whispering too loudly, “It says a lot, I think it’s a father’s job to teach his son to be tough.”
James immediately stands up, “I think we’re done here, it’s late. Why don’t you see them out, Lily?”
Lily looks up at him confused for a minute before getting up, smiling at them but not saying anything. Petunia gets up, Dudley looking up and following after her, Vernon not getting the hint until Petunia pulls him upright. Lily walks around the table and walks with them out of the house, none of them bothering to say goodbye to anyone at the table. When the door shuts James flops back down in the chair, crossing his arms and huffing.
“I am so angry,” James says through gritted teeth, taking a deep breath before looking over at Harry, who is sitting in Regulus’ lap quietly. “Hey Harry buddy,” He calls, Harry looking over, “Are you ok?”
Harry leans in against Regulus, sadly mumbling, “My glasses, where are they?”
“They’re coming, bud,” He assures him, getting up and walking over to the door. Harry turns so he’s facing them, back to Cynthia. The moment Lily walks back in, glasses in hand, James snatches them back, Lily looking at him annoyed. James ignores her, though, walking over to Harry and taking out his wand and waving it at the glasses, saying, “Oculus Reparo.”
The glasses mend themselves, Harry laughing and smiling, taking them back and putting them on. “Thank you Daddy,” He tells him, James reaching up and brushing away the remnants of tears.
“You’re welcome,” James smiles, standing up and turning back to Lily, who is standing with her hands on her hips behind him. “What?” He questions, annoyedly.
“I was going to repair them,” She tells him, “I was about to do it.”
“Maybe you should have done it when he asked for it when he broke them,” James argues.
“You know they wouldn’t have liked that,” She points out, James sighing.
“Apparently they didn’t like a lot of things,” He comments, Lily going to argue.
“I didn’t-”
“No, not in front of Harry, let’s talk in here,” He gestures, Lily following after him back into their room. Regulus waits until he hears the door shut to look back over at Cynthia, who looks concerned.
“Good thing we didn’t storm out,” She comments, Regulus laughing and nodding.
“Yeah, then who would clean up after them?” Regulus comments as he gets up, still holding Harry. He and Cynthia start to clear off the table, Regulus doing his best with an armful of Harry he is toting around. After a couple of minutes, though, Regulus gets tired, and Cynthia shooing him off.
“Go sit, you can barely carry a jug of milk for this long,” She jests at him, Regulus rolling his eyes but walking back to sit on the chair he was sitting on before, putting Harry down in his lap. Harry whines, Regulus looking at him confused.
“What’s up?” Regulus asks, Harry not even looking up at him, “Harry, bud, what’s up?”
“I don’t need to be held,” He complains, Regulus looking at him confused.
“Why?” He questions, “Do you want to get down?”
Harry shakes his head, but he just repeats, “I don’t need it.”
“Why don’t you need it Harry?” Regulus asks again.
Harry mumbles his answer, burying his head in Regulus’ shoulder, “‘M not a baby.”
Regulus’ heart sinks, biting back at how angry he is that Harry had to hear that about himself. He rubs Harry’s back, assuring him, “You’re not a baby, Harry, that was very not nice of them to say. I’m sorry you had to hear that but they’re not right at all. You’re allowed to be held and not be a baby.”
“No, that’s what babies do,” He tells him tearfully, “Babies are held, not me.”
“Big kids are held too, everyone needs to be held sometimes, especially when they’re sad because other people can help calm us down and make us happy again,” Regulus tries to reason, but Harry shakes his head.
“No no, you pick me up, like a baby gets picked up,” He describes, Regulus nodding and pausing a minute, formulating a good reply to what he said.
“Do you know how Adeline is a baby?” He asks, Harry nodding, “She needs to be carried around all over the place and she can’t do a lot yet because she’s still growing up and learning how to do things like walk and talk and eat by herself. She’s still a baby. But you set the table today and you picked out such a nice outfit this morning and you were running around and playing, those are things that babies can’t do. Just because you like to be held and hugged sometimes doesn’t mean you’re a baby, bud, sometimes that’s what our body needs.”
Harry nods, looking up at Regulus, clearly still conflicted.
“Do you know what else babies do?” Regulus tells him, smiling, Harry shaking his head, “Babies just poop in their pants, do you do that?”
“No,” Harry giggles, shaking his head, “I don’t do that.”
“There, so you can’t be a baby,” Regulus tickles him, Harry laughing and pushing him off before giving him a hug, Regulus holding him close. He glances up at where James and Lily’s room is, hoping that things aren’t too heated in there. He doesn’t mind dealing with Harry at all, but he’s just worried about leaving him with two arguing parents. James and Lily, even in the most heated of circumstances, are usually pretty good at pretending around Harry until things are alright again, something he really admires growing up with parents who would loudly argue in front of him.
After a minute Harry sits back and toys with Regulus’ shirt, glancing off to the table before looking up at Regulus, asking, “Can I have another piece of tart please? But can we play the game too?”
“Of course,” Regulus smiles at him, “Ask Aunt Cynthia for a plate.”
“Aunt Cynthia,” Harry calls, Cynthia turning back from where she’s scraping leftovers back into their original containers.
“Yeah, Harry?” She replies.
“Can I have a plate please?” He requests.
“Do you want more tart?” She asks as she grabs a plate and a fork, Harry nodding. She cuts a piece for him out of the tart still in the middle of the table and slides the plate over, Regulus catching it. Cynthia takes the tart away, too, putting it on the counter to put away. Harry happily bounces up and down, Regulus cutting a piece and starting to play the same game with him that he did before, letting Harry eat the piece before it goes into his mouth.
“What?! Harry, what happened?” Regulus asks, Harry putting a finger up to Regulus’ lips.
“Shh, shh, I’m Auror Harry,” He tells him, “And we need to be quiet and catch the thief!”
“Ok, ok,” He whispers, taking another cut of the piece again and letting Harry eat it. Harry looks back at him for his reaction, Regulus gaping at him. “Woah, Harry, what happened that time?”
“Hmm, maybe we were wrong about who it was,” Harry says, “Maybe it’s someone with long long hair.”
Regulus looks around the room, puzzling, “I don’t see anyone that matches such a description, detective, who could it be?”
Harry points at Cynthia and Regulus dramatically nods.
“Yes, yes, Aunt Cynthia, maybe she’s doing it,” He nods, “Let’s try it again and see.”
Regulus puts more on the fork, Harry eating it again. He chews and swallows before tapping Regulus, pointing over at Cynthia and beaming back at him. Regulus smiles back, Harry calling, “Aunt Cynthia!”
“Hm?” She looks back, a bit of cream on her lip that she gasps at and dramatically licks it off. Harry laughs and laughs, finding it absolutely hysterical. Both Cynthia and Regulus can’t help but laugh, seeing how much joy this silly little game brings Harry. It solidifies Regulus’ belief that the Dursleys are just shitty people because how could you be mean to a kid like this.
“Aunt Cynthia!” Harry points, “It’s you!”
“What? Me what?” She puts her hands up to her mouth and gasps, “I haven’t done anything, have I?”
“Are you the tart thief?” He questions.
Cynthia furiously shakes her head, “No, no, I wouldn’t ever steal. If I wanted some I would just ask!”
“We’re gonna interrogate you! Come sit!” He points at the chair where she was sitting before, “Sit, sit!”
She puts down what she was cleaning and sits down in front of Harry. “I’m innocent, I promise!” She playfully begs, “I didn’t do anything!”
“You are the tart thief,” He accuses, “You stole it, right, Uncle Reg?”
“Oh I don’t know, Harry, maybe we have to see if she takes another piece,” Regulus proposes, Harry nodding.
“Yes, do it again, do it again,” He says, turning to face forward so when Regulus puts another piece on his fork Harry can take it off, eating it.
Cynthia gasps, pointing at him, “It’s you!”
“What?!” Harry exclaims, finishing chewing before continuing, “No! It’s not me!”
“Oh, I think it’s you, I saw you,” She jests, back, Harry laughing and shaking his head.
“No, you’re lying,” He accuses through laughter.
“That’s what a guilty person would say,” She tickles him, Harry laughing but after she draws her hand back he asks her.
“What does that mean?” He puzzles, “Guilty?”
“Guilty is when people find out that someone did something that people thought that they did. So if someone looks guilty, it means they look like they did something, and if someone is guilty it means they did what people thought they did,” Cynthia explains, “So I said you’re a guilty person because you had the tart that we were thinking about.”
“Oh, oh,” He nods, “So I think you’re guilty!”
“Yes you do,” She affirms, pausing before starting to joke again, “And I think you are guilty!”
“No no,” He laughs, stopping and looking back when James and Lily’s door opens, James walking out and smiling.
“What is so funny out here?” He asks, walking up to grab a seat next to Regulus, “What’s up, bud? What are you and Uncle Reg and Aunt Cynthia doing?”
“Playing,” He tells him, “Playing tart thief! Uncle Reg said it’s ok if I play it while I eat.”
“Tart thief?!” James exclaims, “Well who is it?”
“It’s Aunt Cynthia!” He tells him, “She turned around and she had cream on her lips! Look, look, do you want to see what happens?”
“Yeah, show me,” James nods, Harry looking back at Regulus. Regulus nods forward at the fork, which he has already with the tart on it. He brings it up to his mouth again and Harry takes it off, and when Harry looks over at his dad Cynthia takes a swipe of cream off their dwindling piece and puts it on her lip, turning away.
“See!” Harry says after he swallows, “It vanishes.”
“Oh, I see, yes, where’s Aunt Cynthia?” He puzzles, Harry looking back over at Cynthia and tapping her, Cynthia turning around and pretending to lick her fingers.
James gasps, “Harry, I think she ate the piece!”
“I know, Daddy,” He replies, James laughing.
“Sorry, buddy, sorry, you’re much further into the investigation than I am,” James apologizes, Harry giggling. James smiles back at him, although oddly Harry falls silent, Regulus leaning around to see if he’s ok. Harry’s face drops, going from happy and laughing to clearly upset about something. James looks at him concerned, asking, “What’s up, buddy? What’s going on?”
“Do you think I’m a baby, Daddy?” Harry questions, James’ face falling into a frown. He holds out his arms, Harry climbing over to sit with him. James sits him so Harry has his back against the table, facing James.
“Those people who said that were being really really mean to you and to everyone today, and Mummy and I talked and we decided that we’re not going to talk to them anymore. I know it’s hard to let go of mean things people say sometimes but I don’t think you’re a baby, Mummy doesn’t think that, your cousins and your aunts and uncles don’t think that either. And when people say mean things about you sometimes you just have to,” He pretends to dust off Harry’s shoulder, “Dust it off of you like that. It’s ok to be upset and to cry for a bit, but then you just remember that Daddy and Mummy and your whole family loves you a lot and doesn’t think that at all, ok?”
“And can I ask?” Harry questions, “Can I ask you too?”
“Yes, of course,” James nods, “If someone ever says something mean to you, you can come right to me and I’ll tell you that I think you’re so big and strong and funny and grown up and handsome and-”
“Daddy,” Harry whines, smiling, James just leaning forward and giving him a kiss on the head.
“I love you, Harry,” He tells him, Harry falling against him and giving him a big hug.
“I love you too,” He says, looking up at him, “Further than Uncle Lucien’s house!”
“Wow, that’s really really far,” James marvels, “But I love you bigger than the moon!”
“But I love you bigger then, then uh,” He looks over at Regulus, quietly asking, “What’s bigger than the moon?”
“The galaxy,” Regulus whispers back, Harry nodding and looking back at his dad.
“I love you bigger than the galaxy!” He says.
“Oh, man, you got me, you love me bigger,” James caves, “You win.”
Harry just laughs, leaning against his dad. James wraps his arms around him, giving him a big kiss on the head. Harry stays there, wrapped in his dad’s arms, James looking up.
“I’m furious,” He mouths wordlessly.
“As you should be,” Regulus mouths back, Cynthia leaning around the back of Regulus to look at James, very quietly asking him.
“Is she ok?”
James shakes his head, Cynthia nodding. She pauses a moment before bracing herself to get up and pointing at the room, looking at James inquisitively. James nods to give her permission to go see Lily. Cynthia gets up and goes off into the other room. Harry sits up when the door closes, looking over at his parents’ room before looking back at his dad.
“Did Aunt Cynthia go in there?” He asks, James nodding.
“Mhm, she’s going to talk to Mummy for a bit, but you can hang out with me and Uncle Reg if you want,” James offers, Harry furrowing his brow at him
“Can I go into my room?” He asks, “I want to go into my room and be alone a little bit.”
“Ok, of course, we’ll be out here if you want to come back out,” James nods, “Very good job listening to what you need, you did a really good job at dinner, too.”
James leans forward and gives him a kiss, Harry climbing down and going off into his room. The moment the door shuts James’ whole demeanor changes, face twisting into anger.
“I’m sorry I left you out here with Harry, Reg, I’m just so furious at Lily right now we needed to talk about it,” He huffs, crossing his arms, “I needed to talk to her because I don’t think she realizes what she did wrong! She was apologizing to me for bringing them over but that’s not the problem I have with it, right? Do you know what I mean?”
“Mhm, I do,” Regulus nods, letting him continue.
“Like, alright, one thing for them to say things to me, I knew what I was getting into, but the shit they said to Sirius and Remus and Cynthia and you? Disgusting! And she did nothing about it until it was about Harry and even then she barely said anything at all. They indirectly called Remus a beast several times and her response was that maybe it wasn’t a topic for the table? What is she thinking?”
“They were also homophobic,” Regulus reminds him, James groaning.
“Do not even get me started, Reg,” He says, although he continues ranting anyway, “She just- She said nothing? That’s so baffling to me that someone could look at two of her closest friends and tell them they should be illegal and then say Sirius should’ve been hit more- oh my God, I’m getting so mad thinking about it,” He shakes his head, “Every time I think a bit more it gets worse. I just don’t get why she felt the need to hold a dinner like that knowing her family is shitty and rude and hates us as people!?”
Regulus shrugs, “It is what it is I guess.”
“How are you so calm about it?” James questions, “How are you not on fire?”
“I’ve heard worse,” He replies, “I’m angry, absolutely, but I’ve heard worse and I know that families are bad sometimes. I just want her to apologize, that’s all, I don’t expect her to be able to go back in time and take it all back.”
“Reg, I will never not be impressed by your calmness,” James sighs, shaking his head, “I agree though- Well, no I don’t, I don’t want the apology, I want her to apologize to everyone else and have them accept it before I’m going to get over it. And I know for a fact Sirius is not going to take everything Vernon said lightly, it’s going to take a lot to sway him.”
Regulus sighs, “He’s going to be unnecessarily hard about it.”
“I don’t know if it’s unnecessary,” James counters.
“It definitely is,” Regulus nods, “He’s going to expect her to turn back time somehow, which isn’t fair. She can’t take back what happened, and just because Sirius is confrontational to his family doesn’t mean it’s that easy for everyone.”
“I don’t get it,” James shakes his head, “How are you not furious at people who are mean to your family? The family that’s actually there for you and not just trying to worm its way back into your life after years.”
“And you won’t understand,” Regulus tells him, “You just won’t get it because your family is amazing. When they’re bad but you’re taught to love them it’s hard to not try and please them. She went a little overboard I think, I would have stepped in at least a bit earlier than that, but I’m not going to deny that it’s hard. The kind of hard you can’t describe, too, it’s why Cynthia needs to be the one to talk to her because her family is just like that.”
“Lily was talking about it the other day, I didn’t know they were that bad,” James answers, leaning back in his chair, “Have you met them?”
“More than once, yeah, they’re uh, not great,” Regulus tells him, “They’ve told me tons of things, I’m not strong enough to protect her, I’m too skinny, I don’t make enough money, things like that. They once asked if she was sure I’m not gay because I’m ‘too feminine’. Well, they didn’t phrase it like that, they phrased it much worse, actually.”
James stares at Regulus slightly agape, “You’re kidding?”
“I wish I was,” Regulus chuckles, “But I understand, it’s just how they are, and I understand she has no control over it at all and arguing is just going to make things worse. It’s not exactly the same but it’s the same idea.”
“I don’t get how they can’t even pretend to like someone who brings their daughter so much happiness, and who she has been married to for 2 years,” He shakes his head, “What kind of horrible person does that?”
“Families aren’t all cut and dry supportive like that,” Regulus simply replies, James’ expression saddening. He doesn’t get to say anything, though, as he’s cut off by James and Lily’s door opening, looking back to see Cynthia walking back out. Once the door shuts, James immediately asks her.
“Is Lily ok?” He asks, Cynthia coming over and dragging a chair next to Regulus as she answers.
“She’s ok, definitely upset but we talked about it for a bit. She’s still trying to cope with it but she feels horrible,” She replies as she sits down next to Regulus. “It’s hard, I get it, but it doesn’t mean I’m not mad.”
“Mhm, Reg was just telling me the same thing,” James answers, looking back when another door opens. Harry comes walking out, looking around at everyone sitting around.
“Where’s Mummy?” He puzzles, walking up to his dad.
“She’s just calming down in her room, she wants to be alone right now,” James tells him, picking him up and setting him on his lap.
“Oh, ok,” Harry nods. A beat of silence goes by, Regulus and Cynthia giving each other a mutual look that it’s time to go back home. Regulus getting up first.
“Alright, I think we need to get home, the cats need to be fed and Andy needs his medication,” Regulus tells him, Harry scrambling out of James’ lap and giving Regulus a hug.
“No, Uncle Reg, stay!” He whines, Regulus looking up at James, just smiling and shaking his head. Regulus rubs Harry’s head, Harry looking up at Regulus.
“We’ll be back soon bud, alright?” Regulus assures him, “And next time I see you we can talk all about what happened since I was gone.”
Harry sighs, squeezing him again, “Ok Uncle Reg.”
Regulus hugs him back, Harry moving on to give Cynthia a hug too and say goodbye to her. James stands up and pulls Regulus into a big hug.
“Thank you for coming today, Reg,” He tells him, “Dinner was really good, and thank you for putting up with everything.”
“Of course,” Regulus steps back, “Even if everything went pretty badly it was nice to come over and have dinner.”
“Do you want the rest of the tart?” James asks, “I can wrap it up for you.”
“No, you can have it,” Regulus says, “It’s easy, if I really want one I can make another one.”
“Thank you,” James smiles, moving over to give Cynthia a hug and a goodbye too. James walks them to the door, opening it and waving as they step out.
“Have a good night,” He says, Harry worming his way around to stand right in front of James and waves.
“Bye Uncle Reg! Bye Aunt Cynthia!” He calls, Regulus and Cynthia waving back before Regulus takes her outstretched hand, letting her apparate them back to their house. Regulus opens his eyes to see Cynthia unlocking the door. Regulus walks in after her, shutting the door and letting her stop him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Well that was fun, wasn’t it?” She jests, Regulus chuckling and wrapping his arms around her neck.
“Fun is one word to describe it,” He replies, giving her a kiss, “They rival your parents.”
“They beat them I think, they were brutal,” She laughs, “Every damn thing anyone said or did, they had a problem with. At least my parents gave us some space to breathe.”
“Eh, well, they gave you that space, not me,” Regulus says, “To me, they were pretty equal.”
“You had to feel the sole force of it, so I guess that makes sense,” She shrugs, pulling him a bit closer, “Dinner was delicious, though.”
“Thank you,” He smiles, “Tomorrow’s dinner will be a little more interesting than that, though. I promise. I’m thinking French onion soup and maybe potatoes.”
“Lyonnaise potatoes?” She asks, Regulus nodding, “Ooo, that sounds delicious.”
“Call it dinner plans, then,” He smiles, Cynthia giving him a kiss and resting her forehead against his. Regulus just smiles, oddly feeling everything that happened today slide right off of him. Normally he isn’t a ‘let it roll off your back’ kind of person, but this seems to not be bothering him all that much. He’s mad about it, of course, and he’s sure everyone is going to be talking about it for at least a couple of weeks, but family happens sometimes. He’s heard a lot worse than that. He’s sure it’ll blow over, too, Lily will just have to be ok with letting her ideas of her sister go.
Although, after today, he can’t imagine it’ll be hard.