Chapter 4
A knock sounded at the door breaking the silence covering the room. The door slowly pushed open and Effie walked in.
“Oh good, you’re awake!”
She hurried over to Regulus and helped prop him up on his pillows.
“How are you Regulus?”
“I’m rather hot to be honest” Came the reply.
“Oh I’m sorry, the bed still has its winter duvet on I completely forgot.”
With a swish of her wand the heavy weight lifted off Regulus and was replaced with a cooler sheet. A wave of anxiety and guilt washed over him as he realised the situation he was in. Merlin, he’d turned up completely uninvited and unannounced how terrible of him.
“Mrs Potter” He started in a shaky and strained voice “I must sincerely apologise for my unannounced appearance into your home. I understand I was supposed to in two days but I fear if I stayed in that house until then I may have been stopped from reaching you on the agreed day of arrival. However, if you th-“
“Oh hush” She interrupted him “I’m glad you came to us when you did. I will not pretend to like your parents and I certainly do not agree with their methods. I would rather you had come here as soon as you received James’ letter, but I am aware of the circumstances surrounding your home and how difficult it must be to escape, so I am just glad you are here now.”
Regulus sat in silence as he let her words sink in.
“I would like you to know” Effie continued “that you are welcome in our home as long as you live. You are no burden to us: we have enough space to accommodate you; enough food to feed you and me and Monty certainly earn enough for you live comfortably with us.”
Regulus was suddenly overwhelmed with a warm feeling; one he was unfamiliar with. And for some reason he felt like he wanted to cry
“This must be how a mother is supposed to be” He thought
Euphemia lent forward and brushed his hair off his forehead in comforting manner.
“I have tended to your injuries, and you should be fully healed by this evening. Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes, if you’re up for it I was hoping you could join us?”
“I would like that, thank you” Came the quiet reply
“Your trunk is on the floor by the bottom of your bed, once you are dressed meet us downstairs”
With a gentle pat on his shoulder she left, shutting the door behind her.
Once Regulus had collected his thoughts, he sat up slowly, swung his legs over the side and stood up shakily. He carefully walked over to his trunk and grabbed the first clothes he found and threw them on hastily. Noticing a mirror on the wall opposite his bed he checked his reflection hesitantly. To his surprise the break in his nose from the first week of summer had healed and his nose lay straight once more. He carefully ran a finger along it, as if to double check it was really healed. For the first time since he left Hogwarts for the summer he let himself feel happy, just for a second.
Regulus turned the door handle and stepped out into a wide hallway. There was a set of stairs at the end and almost hesitantly he began to descend. To the left of the base of the staircase was a magnificent archway into a large kitchen and across the room to the right was another archway into a dinning hall where he could see a table laden with breakfasting food. And sat at the table he could see James and Sirius sat side-by-side, stuffing themselves with pancakes.
He walked towards the archway, unsure how to announce himself. He knocked lightly against the wall and at the sound James whipped his head towards him. His eyes lit up and he opened his mouth as if to welcome Regulus in but ended up choking on the mountain of food he’d just shoved in. He coughed violently as he gestured to the other boy to come in. Once he had stopped choking, James pulled out the chair to his left and started to pile food onto the plate in front of it.
After breakfast Regulus, James and Sirius laid out on the sofas in the lounge.
“We left the room blank for you Reggie” James was saying “so you could make it your own.”
“James’s idea actually Reg, you’d be surprised how thoughtful he was when planning for this” Sirius continued
This didn’t surprise Regulus. He knew just how thoughtful James was when it came to him. He never pushed for more than Regulus was willing to offer and made sure no-one could figure out what was happening between the two. It made him warm just to think about how much James cared for him.
“We’re going to do some quidditch practise in a minute Reg, would you care to join us?” Sirius asked hopefully “I know he’d never admit it but James thinks you’re a legend at seeking. He tries to copy your moves you know, ends up with Pomfrey half the time.”
James had admitted to it. In one if their late-night talks, cuddled up together under James’ duvet. Regulus had scolded him, told him if he really wanted to learn the moves, he could teach him himself instead of risking getting hurt. James had pointed out that if the Slytherin Seeker was spotted training with the Gryffindor Seeker people would definitely be suspicious.
James truly was thoughtful when it came to Regulus. Never letting anything bad happen if he could help it. Maybe that was why Regulus felt safe with the other boy. Safer than he’d felt since Sirius left. Or maybe that was just the Potter charm.