Oversea
When he was 17 years old, Regulus Black heard the name Titanic for the very first time. Now, it had been years since he last heard the name. Despite the years, Regulus remembers when he first heard the name. Back then, the name of such a grand ship did not fill him with excitement or wonder but instead dread and fear. He knew what it meant, to him it wasn't a privilege or blessing, it was a prison sentence. It meant a life of meaningless existence, politics and a pitiful marriage to a woman he would never truly love. He knew it back then and he knows it now that the chance to be on such a ship really was a massive privilege, regardless of the history that occurred. However, he would have traded it all to have been brought up in an entirely different world. He knows it’s wrong, knows he should have been grateful but he finds it hard to feel it at times.
Now, as he sits in the bright sunroom of his cottage, the warmth of the sun shining in through all the windows, his hands covered in pottery clay, he hears the name again. His situation is entirely different now than when he first heard of the Titanic. He sits in his home, a cozy cottage covered with house plants and photographs of moments throughout his life. His surroundings much more welcoming than the cold air of the parlor room with his mother informing him of their departure to America where he was to be married. His face is wrinkled now, his hair an almost white grey and his skin riddled with age spots. Still, when he hears the name he is transported back to the bright young boy he was when he first heard the name Titanic, his eyes still holding the same light now, albeit a little dimmer, with the recent passing of his husband James weighing heavily on him. His grand daughter Lily Luna is in the kitchen so he politely asks her to turn up the television, his hearing having decreased greatly with his old age. Being 101 years old Regulus begrudgingly requires more help than he would like to admit, Lily Luna gratefully accepted the role, something Regulus regularly thanks her for. Before James passed a few years ago, Lily Luna already visited often but she 'coincidentally' just happened to be around even more after James' passing. Regulus gets up from his seat, wiping his clay covered hands on a nearby cloth as his grand daughter comes over to help him through to the other room.
On the news is a young man, probably around 30 years old, he reads Lysander Scamander at the bottom of the screen, appealing for information on a drawing which his team recovered from the wreck of the ship Titanic. When the drawing in question is shown on the screen, Regulus freezes. On the screen is unmistakably the charcoal drawing Regulus so vividly remembers. His pulse speeds up as he recognizes Salazar Slytherins locket around his bare neck, no doubt the artefact Mr. Scamander and his men on the television are after. Regulus sucks in a breath, struggling to recover from seeing the drawing he long ago had to accept he would never get back. James had drawn him many times after that but nothing compared to that first drawing, his first real experience of true intimacy and love. He had never experienced such openness with another person until James had shown it to him, never dared to dream of finding such love. He can’t believe after all this time the very drawing he spent years longing for is being shown to anyone who happens to be watching the news now. Childishly, Regulus almost feels like pouting, a little territorial over the drawing displayed on screen. He feels exposed even though his… lower half is covered by the murky water but the moment still feels raw in his mind, his skin crawling slightly at the thought of everyone seeing such a private moment for him. Without realizing it, his mouth hangs open slightly, as he whispers, mostly to himself, " I'll be god damned".
Without explaining much, Regulus asks Lily to assist him in phoning the man on the television. The phone rings a few times before a man - Mr. Buell, answers. The man on the other end of the phone sounds friendly as he explains to Mr. Buell that he knows who the person in the photograph is, the man responds by telling him that he is going to put him on to his boss Mr. Scamander, stating that since he was in charge it was best Regulus spoke to him directly. While Mr. Buell searched for his boss, he lightly questioned Regulus, most importantly on his age. Regulus understands the question, he was 17 in the drawing meaning he couldn't be 90 years old now or the timeline would not add up. He’s sure men in this particular business have dealt with many people claiming to either have been on the Titanic or have a relative who passed but they swear the relative told them everything. All just money hungry people desperate for their moment in the spotlight. When Mr. Scamander picks up the phone, Regulus can hear the loud noise of the ships machinery in the background making it a little difficult to hear the man on the other side. Regulus expected Mr. Scamander to have a lot of questions, most people would which he probably will ask eventually but he firstly prompts Regulus with the simple question, can he tell Mr. Scamander who the man in the picture is. Regulus' response is a simple one; “Oh yes. The man in the photo is me".
Regulus and James had travelled around a lot but Regulus had never been in a helicopter, the thought of them always making him uneasy. He sits in the helicopter now on his way out across the sea to meet Scamander’s team on board the Keldysh. Lily sits beside him and he tries to relax as he listens to the hum of the helicopter’s engines all around him. He knows technology has come a long way but he never can get used to the feeling of being up so high in the air. While they’re flying, Regulus tries to get his thoughts in order, he knows he will never forget what happened on that ship but in his old age his thoughts are admittedly a little scrambled. The journey to the ship is short and soon they land safely on the helicopter pad of the Keldysh, his things being safely unloaded for him as he is lifted down in a wheelchair as a precaution, the sea wind whipping around them violently. He's greeted at the helicopter by Mr. Scamander, he recognizes his dirty blonde hair and slightly tanned skin from the television, which Regulus assumes is from spending lots of time in the sun while out on expeditions. He looks friendly, Regulus thinks, his smile friendly and welcoming. Another shorter man with dark hair stands beside him, Regulus assumes that this is Mr. Buell, the man Regulus spoke to briefly on the phone. They take Regulus inside so he can set up his things in his room, placing a few of the framed photographs he likes to keep with him around the room. They contain his favourite memories mostly containing James and things they had done together. Shortly after he puts the last frame down Scamander comes into his room and asks if he needs anything so Regulus asks if he could see his drawing.
Regulus is guided by Scamander and Lily to a room toward the front of the ship, not far from his own. When they enter, the room is full of different scientists working on recovering what he assumes are different artefacts they’ve found in the shipwreck and a variety of other recovered artefacts. In a tray of water lays the drawing and when Regulus’ eyes fall to it, his heart starts to pick up, beating faster as he recalls the memory. He can still feel the weight of James' gaze on him, the sound of the charcoal scratching on the paper. He remembers being in awe of the beautiful boy sat in front of him, with soft hands capable of creating works of art that rivaled those in his own collection. He can clearly picture the memory, how James sat nervously across from him while Regulus’ own heart was beating wildly at the vulnerability of the moment. Regulus is pulled from his thoughts as Scamander begins to talk about the locket that Regulus is very clearly wearing in the photograph, a locket which has been sought after for many years by historians or greedy men who just want their claim to fame. Regulus was undecided what kind of man Scamander was, if he wanted fame like everyone else or if he was truly passionate about uncovering the secrets of the Titanic. Scams fee is just rhyming off facts about the history of the locket so Regulus tunes him out a bit, too intent on looking at his drawing.
Lily appears by his side, disrupting his thoughts, "you really believe this drawing is of you?"
"It is, do you doubt that I was actually once handsome?", he playfully responds although his heart does ache for the loss of his youth. For the boy in the photograph who was oblivious to the events that would happen just hours later.
Mr. Scamander interrupts with more questioning about claims made by the Greengrass family to the locket. Regulus doesn't doubt the Greengrass' put a claim onto the locket as soon as the heard of the ships sinking and Regulus' subsequent fleeing. He offers Regulus money for any information he has on the locket, but Regulus is not interested in money, he wants his drawing back, which is after all rightfully his as a gift from James. Scamander agrees to giving the drawing the Regulus after they work on preserving it in exchange for his information. Across the room are more artefacts that Scamander and his team have discovered while working with the Titanic. Regulus is once again flooded with memories as he sees his mothers old jewelry and his old watches and even a box containing an old pair of cufflinks, engraved with the Black family emblem. Unlike the drawing, these items hold no positive memories, instead reminding him of the life he was chained to, the young boy who feared he would never escape, condemned to a life of forever feeling unfulfilled - empty. He remembers his mother fussing about not being able to bring her valuables with her, claiming she should have enough space in her boat to bring what was important, that a woman of her status should not have to make such sacrifices. Walburga Black really was a woman who only cared about herself despite her claims that family was everything, the most important thing in the world. Family was only important to her when it benefited her, when it got her money or a higher social standing, new jewels and her face in the paper. But when Regulus or his older brother Sirius misbehaved, family was no longer important then, instead discipline and punishment became more important.
Regulus is moved to another room, with live footage on screens displaying the footage captured by various cameras attached to the machinery they have down at the ship wreck. Regulus is suddenly overcome with the memories of that night, his eyes tearing up against his will as he remembers the horrors of that night. The people clinging desperately the the bars at the edge of the ship and it slowly got steeper and steeper. He shakes it off and recovers, and when asked if he would rather wait and rest before talking he declines and decides to stay and tell his story, he's never once told the story, never really needed to as James had always been by his side and had been there to experience it all.
Taking a deep breath, he starts his story, "It's been eighty four years.."