The Chosen One

The moment Harry appears back into the stadium, dirt coating his face and his shirt tattered, Regulus knows something horrible happened. The crowd cheers in victory, seemingly not watching as Harry sobs over the limp body of Cedric Diggory laying on the ground in front of him. Regulus shoves his way through the crowds of students trying to get a better look, flinching at the shriek the Beauxbatons champion lets out, momentarily quieting the part of the crowd closest to her. His eyes stay locked onto his nephew, sobbing while Dumbledore attempts to pry him off. By the time Regulus reaches the bottom of the stadium the band dies down and the crowd begins to realize what happened. In a moment of pure adrenaline, Regulus moves Dumbledore out of the way to crouch down next to his nephew, pulling the sobbing boy into his arms.

“He’s back,” Harry pants, “He’s back, he’s back. Voldemort is back!”

“Shh, shh,” Regulus shushes him, not for lack of importance around what he’s saying but just that Harry is working himself up.

“He killed Cedric,” Harry explains through frantic sobs, “Cedric asked me to bring his body back, he asked me to bring him back.”

“You did, you did a good job bud,” Regulus assures him, holding him a little bit closer as Harry dissolves into nothing but sobs into his shoulder. Regulus hears Amos Diggory yell from behind him, the sound getting closer until he’s right next to Regulus, beginning to frantically yell about his son lying dead on the grass in front of him. He feels Harry hold on as tight as he possibly can, Regulus continuing to shush him. It almost feels childish, but Regulus knows Harry is not in the mindset to be spoken to right now.

“Regulus,” Dumbledore says, who is crouching beside the two of them, “Regulus, let Alastor take Harry. We need you to help file out the students, they can’t be here for this.”

“Absolutely not,” Regulus immediately denies, “I’m staying with him.”

“Let him go, boy,” Moody demands, Regulus finding himself noticing for the umpteenth time this year that this man speaks nothing like the Mad-eye Moody Regulus knew. Moody tries to pull Harry back by his shoulder, but Harry just hangs in tighter.

“No!” Harry yelps, “No! Uncle Reg!”

“I’m right here, I’m right here,” Regulus assures him, looking up at Moody, “I’ll take him back.”

“No, no, I got it,” Moody pulls harder at Harry this time, Harry shrieking when he’s pulled apart from his uncle.

“No! No!” He yells as he’s pulled to his feet, Moody’s arm holding him tight against his body, “Uncle Reg! Don’t leave!” 

“Harry,” Regulus goes to follow, but he’s grabbed by Dumbledore.

“Alastor has him,” Dumbledore calmly tells Regulus, who turns back to stare at him shocked.

“He doesn’t want him! He wants me, let me go with him!” 

“No, you’re needed here,” Dumbledore firmly states, “Go guide the Beauxbatons girls inside, back to their quarters. This is non-negotiable, Regulus.”

Regulus looks back to see that Harry and Moody are long gone, yanking his arm away but starting towards the Beauxbatons group. He takes a moment to hype himself up enough to yell, looking up at the stands full of panicking Beauxbatons girls and calling out, “Beauxbatons! Suivez-moi! Retour au château!” Follow me! Back to the castle!

The French catches the girls’ attention, all of them beginning to fumble out of the stands, Regulus starting his way back to the castle, walking next to a sobbing Fleur, Madam Maxime staying behind to help file her students along with Regulus. Regulus walks as fast as he can back, although the crying of a student next to him makes him need to intervene, considering he can’t do much else right now even if he wanted to.

“Fleur,” He calls her attention over, “Tu vas bien, chéri?” Are you alright, dear?

“Il est mort,” She replies, crying, “Ces jeux sont répugnants.” He’s dead. These games are disgusting.

“Je sais, je suis désolé,” He quietly replies to her, not sure what to say, “C'est horrible, je sais, mais au moins tu vas bien.” I know, I’m sorry. It’s horrible, I know, but at least you’re alright.

“Mais il ne l'est pas! Et l'autre garçon aussi!” She cries, “Il est trop jeune pour voir que.” But he is not! And so is the other boy. He's too young to see that.

“Je sais, chéri, je sais,” Regulus tries to comfort her, although his anger is in the same position as hers, “Respire, nous serons bientôt de retour au château.” I know, dear, I know. Breathe, we'll be back at the castle soon.

She does nothing more than hum at him, Regulus continuing to lead the large group of students behind him back into the castle, guiding them through the side hallways to the rooms they are all staying in. He helps Madam Maxime get all her kids into their rooms, wishing them ‘bonne nuit’. Goodnight .

When everyone is finally back in their rooms, Madam Maxime holds his shoulders, leaning down to give him a goodbye kiss on both cheeks.

“Merci de prendre soin de mes filles,” She says, “Go find where un œil took that boy.” Thank you for taking care of my girls. One eye.

“Mhm, thank you, bonne nuit,” He bids her goodbye. Goodnight.

He immediately starts off towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, dodging as teachers file groups of students into the castle and to their houses. He doesn’t see Dumbledore, Minerva, or Snape anywhere, a growing sinking feeling forming in his chest as he rushes through the hallways of the castle. When he finally gets there his heart drops seeing the door open and hearing a mix of voices coming from the office. Regulus runs down the aisle of desks and up the stairs, shoving Minerva and Snape out of the way of the door. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees none other than Barty Crouch Jr. sitting in a chair, his arm extended to show his dark mark, eyes wide and smile crazed staring at Harry. Dumbledore is holding Harry there, as much as he tries to struggle to get away, holding out his arm which is dripping blood onto the floor. The moment Regulus enters the room all three of them look over, stunning Dumbledore enough to let Harry break away from him, stumbling over to Regulus. 

“Uncle Reg!” Harry cries, falling into Regulus’ arms with his full body weight. Regulus keeps him on his feet, though, holding him close to him.

“I’m right here, I’m right here,” Regulus assures him, looking up at Dumbledore, “What on Earth is going on in here?”

“Ah, Black, it’s been a long time since I heard that voice,” Barty laughs, the kind of unhinged cackling that sends a chill down his spine, “You’ve heard he’s back, you’ve heard you have a second chance.” Barty goes to get up, Dumbledore pointing his wand at him to push him back into his seat. Regulus ignores Barty, though, keeping his eyes locked on Dumbledore.

“What happened?” He firmly questions.

“Regulus I understand that you’re upset-”

“Nevermind, I don’t have time for your act, Harry needed to be in the Hospital Wing a long time ago ,” Regulus makes Harry step back a bit, continuing to keep a supportive arm wrapped around the clearly weak boy, who is still crying to himself. 

“Regulus, don’t be too hasty,” Dumbledore warns him, although Regulus completely ignores it.

“Let’s go, Harry, come on,” Regulus encourages, beginning to walk out of the room with his nephew. Minerva and Snape move over, allowing him to guide Harry out of the room. Minerva grabs Regulus’ arm before he leaves, Regulus looking over at her.

“Take care of him, we’ll talk tonight,” She quietly tells him, Regulus nodding. She lets her hand fall and Regulus continues out. They manage to get out of the room and down the stairs, Harry clearly growing more and more sluggish. The moment they get out into the hallway and the door shuts Harry cries out in pain, slipping down out of Regulus’ grip and crumbling onto the floor. The previous crying breaks out into sobs, Regulus quickly crouching down in front of him.

“Hey, Harry, hey hey,” Regulus holds Harry’s shoulders, “What’s going on, bud? Breathe, you’re safe.”

“It hurts, Uncle Reg, everything hurts,” Harry sobs, “It hurts, I can’t make it.”

“It hurts? It hurts to walk?” Regulus questions, Harry enthusiastically nodding. “Ok, ok, you stay here, let me go-”

“No! Don’t go anywhere!” Harry yells, falling forward against Regulus, “Stay, Uncle Reg. Stay here.”

“Ok, I won’t go anywhere, but you need to go to the Hospital Wing, dear,” Regulus calmly tells him, “Do you want me to get Professor McGonagall to get Madam Pomfrey?”

“Don’t go,” Harry brokenly pleads, Regulus knowing that he’s not at all in the right mind to think about anything. It’s extremely scary, not knowing what happened to Harry but knowing it’s causing him a lot of pain.

“Here, hold on,” Regulus moves Harry against the wall so he stays upright, standing up and opening the door to the classroom he just left, forcing himself to call, despite how the volume of his own voice makes his nerves stand on end, “Minerva!”

Minerva walks out of the office and looks at him only a moment before she walks down the stairs and up to him, picking up speed when she hears Harry crying outside the door.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” She questions, “Is he alright?”

“No, can you get Poppy, please? Tell her to bring a wheelchair, and maybe a calming potion too,” Regulus requests, holding the door for her as he steps back out of the room and crouches down next to Harry again. Minerva steps out and takes one look at Harry, who is reaching out for his uncle like a kid would for their parents, slurring a constant plead for help, and immediately nods. 

“I’ll be quick,” She promises him, Regulus looking back at Harry as he hears the quick click of heels down the hallway. Regulus cups Harry’s face in his hands, making him look up at Regulus.

“Professor McGonagall went to get Madam Pomfrey, she’s going to come help you get to the Hospital Wing to help you get patched up, ok?” Regulus tells him, trying to keep his voice as level as possible despite the bubbling panic in his chest that he’s barely suppressing for Harry’s sake. Harry nods, Regulus moving to pull him into a hug, keeping an eye out down the hallway for Minerva and Poppy. 

“Uncle Reg, Uncle Reg,” Harry pleads through frantic sobs.

“I’m right here, bud, I’m right here,” Regulus assures him.

“Why can’t I calm down? What’s wrong with me?” Harry asks, the end of his sentence choking off into a sob. Regulus feel his heart clench, hearing the desperate tone in his nephew’s voice. He holds on a bit tighter.

“It’ll be alright, there’s nothing wrong with you. Just focus on me, take big deep breaths,” Regulus instructs him, forcing himself to breathe evenly and deeply so Harry has something to follow. It barely helps, though, because Harry continues to sob and periodically repeat Regulus’ name over and over for the next few minutes.

Regulus lets out a sigh of relief when he sees Poppy coming down the hallway, Minerva right behind her. Poppy is pushing a wheelchair, Regulus relieved to know Harry will finally be getting to where he should have been brought in the first place.

“Regulus, do you mind helping me get Harry into here?” She asks as she walks up to him. Regulus nods, unwrapping himself from his nephew.

“Madam Pomfrey is here, we’re going to the Hospital Wing, I’m going to help you into the wheelchair so you don’t have to walk,” Regulus tells Harry, whose eyes are squeezed shut and have been for the past few minutes he’s spent frantically crying in the hallway. Regulus helps Harry up to his feet, holding onto him as he stumbles into the wheelchair, cries increasing in volume as he does.

“Harry my dear,” Madam Pomfrey tries to get his attention, pulling a small vile out of her pocket and taking the top off. “Can you drink this for me? It’s going to help you calm down some.”

Harry shakes his head, moving away from where she’s holding out the vile to him. 

“Please, it will help I promise,” She assures him, “It tastes like lavender and it’ll feel just like you’re drinking water.”

“No! Don’t hurt me please!” He cries, Regulus not even waiting for permission before walking up next to Madam Pomfrey and taking the vile from her. She moves out of the way so Regulus can crouch next to Harry, who moves to sit normally when he cracks his eyes open to see his uncle.

“Harry,” Regulus quietly and calmly calls his attention over, “No one is hurting you, I promise, this is going to help.”

Harry stares at him silently a moment before taking the vile he’s holding and drinking it, hanging it back as he coughs. When he stops, though, his breathing evens out again, and although he doesn’t say anything his crying dies down a lot and he visibly relaxes, opening his eyes all the way. Regulus smiles at him.

“Feel better?” Regulus asks, Harry nodding, “Ok, we’re going to get you to the Hospital Wing and patch you up, I’ll be with you the whole time.”

Harry nods, continuing to sniffle to himself as Regulus stands up and walks next to Poppy, Minerva breaking off to go back into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. 

The walk to the Hospital Wing is generally quiet, filled only with occasional reassurances from Regulus when Harry looks back to make sure he’s still there. When they finally get there Poppy wheels him to the very last bed and pulls down the sheets, trying to help him up and transfer him to the bed, although she barely even moves him before he cries out in pain.

“Ow!” He yells, “Stop! Stop!”

“Ok, I’ll stop, I’ll stop,” She immediately sets him back in the chair, Regulus and Poppy exchanging a concerned look before going around the bed to where all of her potions and remedies are, grabbing another vile and bringing it to Harry. “Here, dear, it’s a painkiller.”

Harry willingly takes the vile this time, downing it quickly and not flinching at all at the taste despite Regulus knowing that painkiller tastes bad. Poppy takes back the vile and sets it on the nightstand next to the bed.

“Can I try to move you again, Harry?” She asks after a moment passes, Harry nodding. She helps him to his feet and onto the bed, Harry moving himself to lay against the pillow. Poppy moves the foot of the bed so Harry’s legs are elevated, explaining as she puts the wheelchair away on the other side of the bed, “I’m going to keep your legs elevated, Harry, just because I want to make sure you don’t go into shock. It’s not a bad thing, but when you witness something really scary sometimes blood flow gets restricted as a fear response. Keeping your legs elevated will keep your blood flowing.”

“Ok,” Harry hiccups, Regulus pulling over a chair so he can sit next to his nephew as Poppy begins to look him over for injuries, starting with the nasty cut on his arm. She very carefully grabs his arm to look at it but Harry pulls it away immediately. “No! Don’t touch that.”

“I need to, Harry, I’m just going to heal it, I promise,” She assures him, although it’s in vain.

“You can’t touch it,” He denies, “You can’t touch it, please don’t touch it.”

She takes a deep breath, “Alright, I won’t touch it, can I just look, though? I know you don’t want me to touch it but I don’t want it to get infected.”

“No,” He shakes his head, “Don’t do anything to it.”

“Why, bud?” Regulus asks, Harry’s head shooting over to look at him, “Why can’t she touch it? It’s ok you feel like that but we need to know why so we can help.”

Harry just frantically shakes his head again, a look of genuine fear in his eyes. His breathing picks up as he just stares at Regulus, clearly beginning to work himself back up again despite the calming potion he took not even 10 minutes ago. “You can’t touch it! Leave me alone!” He thrashes in bed despite no one touching him, “It needs to stay! I don’t want it healed!”

“Harry,” Regulus sighs, at a complete loss as to how to calm down his nephew. He glances over at Poppy grabbing something, a needle, and filling it up. She silently shushes him, Regulus looking back at Harry to continue to hold his attention, “Everything is alright, Harry, just breathe. You’ll feel better if we heal the cut-”

“No!” Harry screams, “Leave it! Don’t touch it!”

“Why?” Regulus inquires, “Why not touch it?”

“Don’t, don’t please,” Harry begins to break down into sobs, “Please don’t let her Uncle Reg.”

“I won’t, I promise, just breathe Harry,” Regulus concedes, standing up, “Can I give you a hug, is that alright?”

Harry nods, Regulus taking a seat on the edge of the bed and pulling Harry into his arms, although Harry keeps his arm clutched to his chest. It’s good, though, because it gives Poppy a good spot to clean off, Harry distracted by Regulus’ continuous rubbing of his back and whispering in his ear. She works quickly, injecting him with whatever she filled the needle with, and in the matter of a couple of seconds, Harry bobs his head a bit before going limp against Regulus, who is able to set him back on the bed. Regulus moves to sit back in the chair, letting out a shaky sigh of relief. The lack of crying in the room drops his adrenaline, though, and Regulus begins to feel the previous panic he’d been pushing down start to bubble in his chest again. He holds out his hands, both of which are profusely shaking, Regulus trying his best to act as calm and as normal as possible considering Poppy is right there. Though, he seems to have forgotten who she was trained by.

“Regulus,” She calls his attention over, holding out a vile with a light purple liquid in it that Regulus knows is a calming potion. “Take it.”

Regulus takes it from her, fumbling to pop the cap off before he throws back the potion, immediately feeling the panic edge away, becoming much more manageable. It’s still there, certainly still there, but he’s able to breathe through it and keep it under his thumb well enough to focus on something else. 

“Thank you,” He says to her, Poppy just smiling as she begins to look Harry over. “What did you give him?” Regulus asks.

“Just a dreamless sleep potion, it won’t last as long since it was injected but I didn’t think asking him to take it by mouth would have gone very well, plus it’s stronger this way” She reasons as looks at the cut on Harry’s arm, sighing. “I don’t like this cut at all, but he said he doesn’t want it healed. But I can’t just leave it, it’s for certain already infected and it’ll only get worse.”

“Maybe just leave the scar?” Regulus suggests, “Something for him to look at but not something that’s going to hurt him, a compromise.”

“Mmm, that’s smart, thank you Regulus,” She sets Harry’s arm on his chest and begins to clean it off, as well as a couple of cuts on his face. Regulus sits quietly as she works, just watching as the smaller cuts and bruises on him disappear entirely but the cut on his arm remains clear. He begins to look more and more like he’s 14 again rather than a weathered soldier returning from war. It’s both refreshing for Regulus to see and absolutely terrifying.

“Goodness gracious,” Poppy breathes as she rolls up his sleeve, rolling up the other one as well, and folding up both pant legs, “Regulus, come here, can you confirm I’m seeing what I think I am?”

Regulus stands up and looks over at his arm, staring in horror at what he sees. All of the veins in his arm are visible, the almost unnatural red of his arm providing a sharp contrast to the blue veins in them. Regulus knows the sight immediately. That’s someone who has been hit with a sustained, bad Cruciatus Curse. “You’re fucking kidding me,” He mumbles under his breath, Poppy looking at him confused. He looks up at her, wrongly assuming she knows what Harry’s state indicates. “I need to tell Lily and James”

“Tell them what? Do you know what this is?” She questions, “Why does his arm look like this?”

Regulus’ face falls when he begins to realize that she has no idea what Crucio looks like, and the only reason he does is because it’s happened to him . “He- He’s been Cruciod,” Regulus tells her, voice quiet and almost shameful that he knows this, “That- That’s what it looks like. Bad too.”

She covers her mouth, looking back at the arm again. “My goodness, this poor boy,” She whispers, Regulus swearing he hears the hint of tears in her voice. She looks back up at him, “I- I can’t treat that, I’m not nearly qualified enough to treat the effects of an unforgivable curse.”

“I mean, I think the best you can do for him is give him bedrest,” Regulus suggests, “I’ve been cursed with it plenty of times younger than him and have recovered just fine without anything, I think he’ll be alright.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” She shakes her head, looking back down at Harry’s arm and running a thumb across it. She sighs, “I’ll just put something on him to hopefully calm down the inflammation, although I think it’s his entire body.”

“It is,” Regulus affirms, Poppy sighing again as she turns around and searches on her shelf.

“Goodness, I’m trained for more than I should be but I’m not trained for this,” She frustratingly mutters as she turns back around with a small white container in her hand, filled with a lotion-like cream inside it. She continues to mutter as she begins to spread it on the showing parts of his body, “No boy his age should have to see all of this, this is absolutely ridiculous.”

Regulus just returns to the chair next to Harry’s bed, not saying anything as she continues to rant to herself about it. He completely agrees, and he knows that she’s trying not to be too overt in her blame of why Harry seems to end up in worse shape each year he appears in her room. They both know, though, it’s someone’s carelessness for his wellbeing.

Poppy steps back when she finishes and stops for a moment before looking at Regulus. “Regulus, you know more than I do, somehow,” She mutters that last word almost to herself. “Should I put this on his chest too? Do you think it’ll be that bad?”

Regulus nods, “It’s everywhere, I guarantee it, but his back and his chest are going to have it the worst.”

“I’ll just take his shirt off, then, give him one of the ones I have here. This one is gross anyway,” She reasons, walking over to where the curtain beside Regulus ends and pulling out a second one to block them in before beginning to maneuver a sleeping Harry to take off his shirt coated in dirt and blood.

“Do you want me to go to his dorm and grab clothes for him? He’ll probably feel more comfortable in his own clothes,” Regulus reasons, Poppy nodding.

“That would be really good, thank you,” She replies, Regulus getting up and slipping around the curtain, making his way out of the Hospital Wing and towards Gryffindor Tower. He only makes it around one corner before he almost runs right into Minerva, whose eyes widen in surprise when she sees him.

“Regulus, hello,” She greets, “Where are you headed?” 

“Gryffindor Tower, I’m getting a change of clothes for Harry, his are disgusting,” Regulus tells her, beginning off in the direction he was going again. Minerva walks with him.

“How is he? Is he alright?” She asks, Regulus almost hearing a hint of desperation in her tone that he’s never heard anything close to before.

“He’s alright, Poppy gave him a dreamless sleeping potion because he worked himself back up. He’s alive and breathing, though, so that’s all we can ask,” Regulus tells her, withholding the rest of the story that he should certainly not disclose to her in the hallway.

“Mhm, that’s good,” She nods, “Did you discover why he couldn’t move?”

Regulus nods, simply replying, “I’ll tell you in the Hospital Wing.”

She furrows her brow slightly but doesn’t do anything but hum in affirmation. A silent moment goes by before she asks, “Are you going to talk to his parents?”

“Of course I am,” Regulus flatly answers, “And I don’t want to hear you tell me no, Minerva, I’m not listening this time.”

“I know you’re not, and when you do I will pretend not to have noticed,” She quietly tells him, “I believe they should know.”

“They deserve to be here but look at how that ended,” Regulus says through gritted teeth, refusing to let himself get angry right now. He’s absolutely furious, but Minerva didn’t make a single call that led him to this moment. She doesn’t deserve to be yelled at.

“I’m sorry,” She merely whispers, Regulus glad she doesn’t try to press the issue further. “I’m going to go see him, see if Poppy needs anything.” 

“Mhm, I’ll be back in a bit,” Regulus tells her, Minerva turning back and walking towards the Hospital Wing. Regulus makes it to Gryffindor Tower alone, reciting the password to the portrait and stepping inside. The Common Room goes from a little noisy to dead silent when he comes around the corner, every head shooting over and staring in slight shock. They’re all sitting in a circle around the table, some in chairs and some on the ground, not all Gryffindors. On the table are red cups and two bottles of Firewhiskey, one almost completely empty. When they see him, though, the couple that are his students relax, although the rest rush to put their cups down to seem innocent.

“Oh, guys, it’s just Professor Black,” Bea, one of his Seventh Years, assures everyone, “Hey Professor, is Harry doing ok?”

“Mhm, he’s alright,” Regulus assures them, “How are you all?”

“Not great, as you could guess, watching that would make anyone feel pretty bad,” Bea replies, “I couldn’t imagine what that was like for Harry, that must’ve been horrible to go through. Knowing this fucking school they’ll probably going to make him go back to classes in 3 days.”

“Watch your language, and you know I’m not letting that happen,” Regulus replies.

“Telling me to watch my language as if that’s the worst thing you’re witnessing me do right now,” They muse, chuckling to themselves.

“I’m pretending to ignore that to do you a favor because I know it has been a very difficult night,” Regulus quips back, “I’m supposed to report you, you know.”

“Mmm, but you won’t because we’re being very safe about it,” They smile, “Thank you, Professor, you’re awesome.”

“I try my best,” He returns a small smile, continuing to walk through the Common Room and up the stairs to Harry’s dorm. Before he gets out of earshot, though, he hears the kids in the Common Room start talking again.

“He really isn’t going to say anything?” One of the kids asks.

“No, it’s Professor Black, he’s cool,” Bea replies, “He probably understands anyone would need a drink after that.”

“This must suck for him, being Harry’s uncle and everything,” Another kid comments just as Regulus gets too far to make out what they’re saying. He goes up to the right floor and scans through the dorms until he finds Harry’s, knocking on the door and pausing a minute before opening it, peeking inside to see all four boys are in the room. Dean and Seamus are both on one bed, Seamus’ back to the door, looking back to see Regulus. Neville is sitting on his bed, book in front of him, fiddling with something in his hand, his eyes wide when Regulus walks in. Ron’s curtain to his bed is closed, but Regulus knows that means he’s in there. 

“Hello boys,” Regulus greets, “I’m sorry, I will only be a minute, I’m just grabbing things for Harry.”

“How is he?” Neville jumps to ask just as Regulus finishes his sentence, “Is- Is he ok, Professor?”

“Mhm, he’s alright, he’ll just probably be in the Hospital Wing for a little bit, I’m just grabbing him a change of clothes,” Regulus calmly replies, watching the three boys relax a bit. 

Seamus casts a glance over to Ron’s bed before telling Regulus, “You should probably tell him, Professor. Been locked in there since we got back, think he’s probably guilty.”

Regulus nods, walking over to Ron’s bed and knocking on the curtain, hearing the lock that seals the silencing charm click open before Ron’s ragged, clearly crying voice angrily replies, “The curtain means leave me alone.”

“It’s Professor Black, dear,” Regulus softly answers, Ron poking his head out from around the curtain and staring in shock. His eyes are red and puffy, his face all wet. 

“Oh, I’m- I’m sorry Professor,” He apologizes, Regulus just smiling at him. 

“It’s quite alright,” He assures him, “I just figured you’d want to know that Harry will be just fine, I’m just here grabbing some clothes for him to change into.”

Ron pulls the curtain back a bit more, sitting up, “Oh, uh, that’s good, yeah, that’s good. When do you think I’ll be able to see him?”

“Probably not for a couple of days, until we get everything sorted out,” Regulus curtly replies, not wanting to let in too much. “Are you alright, dear?”

“Fine,” He answers despite it being clearly a lie, “Just worried about Harry.”

“Mhm, that makes sense. Just know he’s perfectly alright, just a little banged up and shaken is all,” Regulus assures him again, “I’m sure you’ll be able to come visit soon.”

Ron nods, staying quiet a moment before almost whispering, “Thank you, Professor.”

“Of course, dear,” Regulus returns a smile before going over to the other side of Harry’s bed as Ron disappears back into his bed, closing the curtain again. Regulus goes into Harry’s dresser and pulls out pajama pants and one of James’ old shirts that Harry sleeps in. It’s an ABBA shirt James got from an old thrift store going out with Regulus once. He never really wore it, which is probably the only reason it’s still in one piece a decade later. Harry has given it some good use, though. 

Regulus just grabs that for now, figuring he can come back if he needs anything else. He gives a quick goodbye to everyone before starting his way back to the Hospital Wing, just waving at Bea and their friends in the Common Room. He walks back relatively quickly to the Hospital Wing, fearful of leaving Harry alone, even in trusted hands. 

When he makes it back he goes right to the back left corner he knows Harry is in, slipping through the curtain to see Minerva and Poppy quietly chatting, Minerva standing off to the side as Poppy cleans off a cut on Harry’s side. It’s not too deep but it’s long, stretching across half his chest, as if something dug into him. He has a similar one on his neck, although that one isn’t bleeding. He looks a little better than he did before, his veins still prominent and skin still inflamed, just less than before. 

“Oh, Regulus,” She greets when she looks up at him, “Wonderful, welcome back.”

“He looks a little better,” Regulus comments as he takes a seat back in his chair, putting Harry’s clothes on his lap.

“The cream only helped a little, but it seems to be going away on its own,” She comments, “I gave him a couple of potions to hopefully help him recover faster, but he’s in better shape than he was before.”

“That’s good,” Regulus nods, looking at Minerva, who has an oddly sad look on her face, eyes cast down at Harry. She looks up to meet his gaze when he looks over at her. “Did Poppy tell you why he looks like that?”

“Mhm, I’m so sorry, Regulus, both on his behalf and that you know those effects so well,” She sighs, “Goodness, I feel horrible for him, I couldn’t imagine going through half of what he’s seen tonight now, let alone at his age.”

“Speaking of, when are you telling James and Lily?” Poppy questions as she stands up straight again from being hunched over Harry.

“I don’t know, I need to, though,” Regulus sighs, “I promised I would call them after the task ended, they’re probably worried sick.”

“I’d do it now,” Minerva advises, “I didn’t tell you this but Albus plans to speak to you in the morning, so if you contact them now you are not doing anything you were told not to.”

“Mmm, I guess I will now then, not that I care if I’m doing something against his will or not,” Regulus stands up, setting the clothes he was holding on the chair, pointing at them and looking at Poppy, “I just brought him a full change of clothes, pajamas I know he’ll be comfortable in.”

“Mhm, thank you so much, Regulus,” She smiles at him, “Tell his parents I’m doing everything I possibly can. And I’ll try to get permission for them to visit him as soon as possible, although I can’t guarantee anything, especially since Albus has the school on lockdown at the moment.”

“I’ll let them know,” Regulus replies, nodding before walking out of the small makeshift room created by curtains Harry is in, quickly making his way back to his quarters. The halls are barren with the exception of a couple of house-elves milling about, cleaning the castle from the bustle of students coming inside, Regulus waving and greeting a few as he goes by. He keeps his pace up, though, painfully aware of how long the walk is and how horrible he feels for Lily and James right now. He’s worried sick and he knows what’s happening.

He finally reaches his quarters, pulling out his keys from his pocket and quickly unlocking the door, heading right to the back of the room and grabbing the phone, dialing James and Lily’s house. The phone barely rings once before James picks up the phone, “Hello?”

“Hi James,” Regulus greets, Regulus hearing James sigh with premature relief.

“Reg, oh thank God, Lily and I have been worried sick that you weren’t calling,” He answers, “How did it go? Did everything go alright?”

“Uh, no, not quite, not at all actually,” Regulus hesitantly replies, the line going dead silent. If he didn’t know better he would have thought James hung up.

“Is Harry ok?” James frantically questions, “What happened, Reg? What the hell happened?”

“Harry is ok, he’s fine, but,” Regulus takes a deep breath, despising the words before they even leave his mouth. “You-Know-Who is back.”

“What?!” James screams, “You’re fucking kidding me, no he’s not. You’re lying, don’t tell me Harry saw that. No no no, he didn’t see that, right? It happened to someone else, maybe they’re lying about it and-”

“No, Harry saw it, just- let me explain, take a deep breath,” Regulus advises, putting on his calm teaching persona as he explains the best he can as to not set James off again. “The cup, what they grab at the end of the maze, it was a portkey. Lead Harry somewhere, but he went with Cedric, the other champion. Cedric- He- He was killed, by him, and Harry brought back his body. He said that’s what Cedric asked for, but Harry, he was, he was in shock is the best way I can describe it. Screaming and frantically sobbing, he wouldn’t let Poppy touch him at all. She ended up giving him a sleeping potion just so she could heal him but he, he just-” Regulus trails off, not sure how he should phrase this. Although he is barely quiet for two seconds before James snaps at him.

“What, Reg, what?”

“He had been Cruciod, he just kept complaining of hurting all over and couldn’t walk to the Hospital Wing and when Poppy put him in bed and gave him the potion she noticed his whole body was just- inflamed and veiny, which is exactly what Crucio looks like,” Regulus explains, “I’m sorry, James.”

The line seems to ring with silence, and Regulus is able to hear a distant yell from Lily, “James, what the hell is going on?”

“Do you want me to tell Lily, James?” Regulus asks, hearing James just hum in affirmation on the other end. Regulus waits a moment before the phone is passed off to Lily, who desperately questions the moment she gets on the line.

“What happened? What did Harry see? Is he ok?”

“He’s ok, Harry is fine,” Regulus assures her, “Just- You-Know-Who is back, Harry got taken somewhere by the cup, it was a portkey. He saw Cedric be killed and he saw You-Know-Who come back. He- He used the Cruciatus curse on him too, you could tell just looking at him. Poppy has him, though, she’s doing everything she can to make sure he recovers quick and he’s comfortable.”

The line goes silent once again, Regulus hearing the faint murmuring of James, who sounds absolutely destroyed, although Regulus can’t make out what he’s saying. Finally, Lily speaks again.

“When can we see him?” She asks, Regulus hearing an undertone of almost anger in her voice.

“I don’t know, Poppy still has to clear it with Dumbledore-”

“Fuck Dumbledore, he almost got our son killed and he thinks we’re going to leave Harry in his care? He’s absolutely ridiculous, what is stopping us from showing up right now?”

“You can’t get into the school,” Regulus informs her, “Everything is closed, no one in or out. You couldn’t get in here if you tried.”

“Well they should fucking open it for us, we deserve to see Harry. He- God, he’s 14! He probably wants his parents, wants to come home, Dumbledore cannot keep him locked up in the same school that forced him into something he never wanted in the first place. ”

“I know, Lily, I get it, I’m frustrated too, but I’ve been right next to him, and I will be until he goes home. I promise I’m keeping him safe, I’m doing everything I can,” Regulus assures them, “I’ll pull as many strings as I can to get you here as soon as possible, but for now you just have to trust me.”

Lily huffs, the receiver being muffled by something as Regulus just hears the indistinct murmuring of the two voices on the other side. When the phone is picking back up, though, it’s James’ voice on the other end.

“Just keep us updated, Reg, please,” He asks, practically begging.

“I will, I promise I will,” Regulus assuredly answers, “The moment the doors open you’ll be the first to know. I’m sure Harry is going to want to see you.”

“Thank you, and thank you for taking care of him,” James says, his voice on the brink of breaking. He’s sure this is a lot to hear at once, and Regulus feels a pang of guilt that he can only help them over the phone.

“Are you ok, James?” Regulus asks, “I know this is hard, it’s a lot at once.”

“Mhm, I’m ok,” He chokes out, Regulus his breathing hitch before he continues, “I just thought it was over, you know, the fighting. Now it’s like all of that was for nothing.”

“It’ll be alright, we’ll figure it all out,” Regulus tries to comfort him, “I think that Harry being here and separated from you is probably making it harder to hear, whatever happens just know that nothing will happen to him. He’s got such a support system behind him, so many people looking out for him.”

“Yet look at what happens!” James interrupts, voice finally breaking into a sob, “Now he’s going to have to witness what we did, Reg. He’s going to watch the Wizarding World fall to shambles again, witness a war that’s targeted at him . He doesn’t deserve that, he’s still a boy!”

“I know, James, I know,” Regulus reassures him, “I wish it wasn’t like this, I wish he could just live a normal life. But at least he’s loved , he has so many people he can turn to when things get hard, and even if we can’t make it go away we can still help him bear that burden. I know it’s hard to think about but things could be so much worse.”

“There is no worse than this,” James denies, “What the hell could be worse than this?”

“You could be dead, James, you could have died that night with Lily and Harry would have been an orphan,” Regulus bluntly tells him, “And Sirius and I could have gone after Peter and landed ourselves in Azkaban, and Dumbledore would have given Harry to Lily’s sister and brother-in-law like he wanted to when he was born to ‘keep him out of the Wizarding World’. Harry could have grown up never knowing any of us, never knowing what it felt like to have parents who loved him, or Aunts and Uncles who doted on him, or cousins to play with. It could have been worse than this, you can’t say it couldn’t have been.”

“But it doesn’t fucking make this good,” James weakly argues, sniffling.

“I know, but we need to take what we can get,” Regulus presses, “It’s the only thing that’s going to get us through everything ahead of us, remember what we can still give Harry.”

“I guess,” James sighs, “I don’t know, I just wish things were different.”

“Me too,” Regulus agrees, “I hate to leave you so soon but I left Harry with just Poppy and Minerva, if he wakes up and I’m not there he’ll probably freak out again.”

“Mhm, I get it, thank you for telling us everything, I’m sure you weren’t supposed to.”

“No, I wasn’t, but I couldn’t care less,” Regulus replies, “I’ll call you if anything changes.”

“Thank you so much, Reg,” James says, “Hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

“Mhm,” Regulus hums, the two of them bidding their goodbyes before Regulus hangs up the phone. He sighs when he does, covering his face with his hands and putting his fingers under his glasses so he can press into his eyes. Somehow at the end of every year, he finds himself making a progressively more difficult phone call to James and Lily about Harry. He doesn’t want to know what he’s going to be telling them by his Seventh Year.

Regulus knows he needs to get back to the Hospital Wing, though, not spending too much time just standing next to his phone. He grabs his bag off of the table as he walks out and heads right back to where he came from, keeping up a brisk pace as he walks back. He hopes Harry is still asleep when he gets there.

Lucky for him, when he walks into the room and reaches the end of it, peaking in Harry’s curtain, he’s still knocked out. He has his pajama shirt on, the pants Regulus brought hanging on the foot of the bed. Poppy is sitting beside him just looking, Minerva no longer in the room.

“Hello Regulus,” She greets, standing up, “I was just staying with him until you got back, in case he woke up. He seems pretty sound asleep, though, so he should be out for at least a few hours or so.”

“Mhm, that’s good,” Regulus says as he takes his seat on the other side of Harry as her.

“Are you going to stay here with him?” She asks, Regulus nodding. “Alright, I’ll leave the curtain up, then. Just yell if you or he need anything, I’ll be in my office.”

Regulus nods again, “Thank you so much, Poppy.”

“Of course, I’m just glad he’s ok,” She answers, moving towards the curtain, “I’ll come back in the morning as long as nothing happens overnight.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Regulus assures her, Poppy smiling at him before leaving, making sure the curtain closes behind herself. Regulus sighs, staring at Harry a moment before taking off his bag and hanging it on the back of the chair he’s sitting in, pulling out the book he’s been reading in his free time that he keeps in his bag. He’s grateful he has it because he’s certainly not falling asleep tonight, not after all of that.

He’s not letting Harry out of his sight again, not even for a moment to get some rest.

***

It’s not until around 2 in the morning that Harry makes any noise, and the first thing he does is tiredly rasp out, “Uncle Reg.”

Regulus looks over, smiling at Harry, “Hey bud, you’re awake.”

“Mhm,” Harry hums, staring at Regulus in silence a minute before tears fill his eyes.

“What’s wrong, bud, what’s going on?” Regulus questions, putting down the work he was doing on the floor to give Harry his full attention.

Harry stammers for an answer for a moment before settling on, “I want to see my parents, I want Mum and Dad.”

“I know, bud, we’re trying what we can to get them to be able to visit,” Regulus tells him, careful to not say anything that will make Harry panic, “They’ll be here soon, I promise.”

“Are they ok?” He asks, much more frantic this time, “Are they ok, Uncle Reg? Are they safe?”

“They’re perfectly alright, I called them before and told them what happened and they were fine, don’t worry about your parents,” Regulus tells him, “Are you feeling a bit better, though?”

Harry nods, looking down at his arm that was previously cut. “You left the scar,” He quietly comments.

“Mhm, I told her to leave it because you said you didn’t want her to heal it at all,” Regulus affirms, “We wanted to respect that.”

“Thank you,” He says, still looking at it.

“Why did you want to keep it, bud? Was there a reason?” Regulus questions.

“To look at, to know I’m not losing it just yet,” Harry tells him, running a finger across the scar that lays flat against his skin. “What if people think I’m lying about what I saw?”

“Then they’re just in denial, Harry, you out of all people have absolutely no reason to lie about something like that,” Regulus assures him, “I believe you, your parents believe you, that’s all that matters. And I’m sure anyone with half a brain will too.”

Harry looks up at Regulus, Regulus giving him a warm smile to hopefully ease some of the worries that seem to be bothering him. Harry doesn’t smile in return, oddly, something completely out of character for him. Regulus tries to ignore the crawling feeling that gives him.

“You should go back to sleep, bud, it’s really late,” Regulus says, getting up and walking around the other side of the bed where Poppy came in a couple of hours ago and laid out a few different potions Harry could take on his own if he needed them. He picks up the dreamless sleep one, turning around and holding it out to his nephew, but he doesn’t take it.

“No, I’m not going back to sleep,” Harry firmly denies, “That is just asking for something to happen.”

“I’ll be right here, bud, I’ve been here all night and I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning. Nothing is going to happen to you if you get some sleep,” Regulus maintains, “I just want you to sleep until morning, your body needs time to heal.”

“Heal my ass,” Harry mumbles back, “I’m sure Voldemort will just wait for me to heal, right? Like a little timeout.”

Regulus sighs, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and putting a hand on Harry’s knee, looking at him before calmly responding, “There is nothing you can do right now, nothing that is going to go irredeemably wrong in the next few hours you’ll be sleeping for, and nothing that you need to be worried about helping with. You’ve done your part, dear, you’ve done all you can by telling us. I know it’s difficult to just let go after everything that has happened to you yesterday but I need you to just trust me. Sleep now, you aren’t responsible for anything more than you’ve already done.”

Harry just stares at him for a couple of seconds before slowly taking the potion from him, although he doesn’t drink it immediately. He hesitates a moment before almost shamefully asking Regulus, “You’ll be here when I wake up? You promise?” 

“I swear I will be,” Regulus smiles at him, Regulus watching a small, cheeky smile form across Harry’s face before he answers.

“Solemnly swear?”

“You’re too much like your dad sometimes,” Regulus laughs, leaning over to give Harry a kiss on the head, “Goodnight, bud, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Uncle Reg,” Harry replies, Regulus getting up as Harry drinks the potion Regulus handed him, placing the vile down on the bedside table before he cuddles back into bed, his eyes drifting close. It sets Regulus at ease a bit, knowing that Harry is still himself, even after all of that. It felt good to hear him give Regulus a little bit of wit, even if it wasn’t about what he wishes it was. It’s just good to know that Harry is still in there somewhere, the same kid with a lip and an unyielding need to protect everything around him.

Regulus takes his seat again, gazing at Harry sleeping peacefully in his bed for a moment before he picks back up his work, continuing to work on his plans for next year, now calculating for the information that none of them are going to retain as a result of this happening right at the end of the year. He’s also considering the extreme trauma this is giving an entire school of kids, which Regulus tries not to get too angry about.

He is not paid enough for this.

***

The morning after Harry wakes up is surprisingly quiet, Poppy kindly brings both Regulus and Harry breakfast. They ate mostly in silence, although neither of them did much eating. Harry had half a piece of toast and a couple of bites of eggs while Regulus didn’t manage to do anything more than push around the food on his plate to make it look like he ate something. He’s hungry, he just doesn’t feel like he is able to put anything in his mouth to eat it, the thought of the sensation sending a chill up his spine.

Regulus set his plate on the nightstand around 5 minutes ago, simply glancing up from his book every so often to see Harry trying to manage a few bites.

“You really need to eat, bud, you won’t heal well if you don’t,” Regulus advises, knowing the response before Harry even says it.

“You didn’t eat anything, Uncle Reg, don’t call the kettle black,” He argues, although luckily not angrily at all.

“Mmm, well the pot isn’t in a hospital bed right now,” Regulus playfully quips back, “Now eat a little bit more, just a piece of bacon.”

Harry picks up a piece of bacon from his plate, toying with it in his hand before beginning to eat it in small bites. He’s clearly struggling to force it down but he’s doing a good job. When he finishes that piece, though, he swings the bedside table hanging over him to the side, although Regulus doesn’t do anything but smile.

“Good job, bud, thank you for eating a bit more,” Regulus says to him, Harry rolling his eyes.

“I’m not a dog, Uncle Reg,” He jokes back, although all the joy on his face fades the moment the curtain opens, even though only Poppy pokes her head through. Harry has only been himself around Regulus, and even then it comes and goes. 

“Sorry, I just wanted to let you know Dumbledore is here to talk to Harry,” She says, Regulus catching how Harry looks at him nervously. Regulus just nods at Poppy, who smiles back before walking off, Regulus only getting a moment to give Harry a warm smile before Dumbledore pushes the curtain back a bit more, walking into the room to stand at the foot of the bed. 

“Hello Harry,” He greets, “How are you feeling?”

Harry looks over at Regulus before looking back to Dumbledore, shrugging.

“Mmm, you look better than you did yesterday, I trust Poppy has been treating you well,” He smiles, looking at Regulus, “Would you mind if you let Harry and I have a chat alone? It won’t be long.”

“I would mind, nothing you’d be asking him should be something I can’t hear,” Regulus firmly denies, Dumbledore’s expression subtly twisting, his eyebrows only slightly furrowing as he seems to study Regulus.

“I just believe that Harry might be influenced with you sitting beside him,” Dumbledore calmly states, although Regulus has known him long enough to know this is what his annoyance sounds like. He stands firm, though.

“I believe I shouldn’t be a negative influence at all, I’ll just stay right here,” Regulus gives him an ingenuine smile, Dumbledore just nodding before returning to look at Harry.

“Harry, can you tell me where the cup took you last night? Where did you go?” Dumbledore asks, Regulus biting his tongue to tell him not to ask about it because Harry answers right away.

“A graveyard, sir,” Harry timidly replies.

“Mmm, a graveyard,” He nods, “Did it happen to be the one that the Riddles were buried in? Did you see where it was?”

Harry slowly nods, “It was.”

“Hm,” Dumbledore hums, pausing before continuing to press, “Do you mind telling me how it happened? How was he reborn, what was done?”

“Uh, um, uh,” Harry stammers, clearly not too keen on answering. He looks over at Regulus, who immediately sees the tension written all over his face.

“You don’t have to tell him anything, Harry,” Regulus tells his nephew, “You have every right to not talk about it right now.”

“Harry,” Dumbledore calls his attention over, “I know it might be difficult to think about at the moment but it is important we know what happened.”

Harry looks between Regulus and Dumbledore before settling on looking at Regulus, quietly telling him, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Regulus nods, looking at Dumbledore and very calmly yet clearly telling him, “He doesn’t want to talk about it right now. You know all you need to, we can discuss specifics another time, maybe not immediately after it happened.”

Dumbledore sighs, “Regulus, you must understand why we need to know what happened.”

“I do, but I also understand that what happened was extremely traumatic and he does not wish to talk about it right now,” Regulus maintains, “Is that all?”

Dumbledore stares at him a moment, Regulus sure he’s about to say something absolutely ridiculous. Harry beats him to saying anything though.

“Sir,” Harry cuts into Dumbledore’s intense eye contact, quietly asking him, “When can I see my parents?”

“You must understand that it is unsafe to allow them here, Harry, you’ll have to wait until you return home,” Dumbledore tells him, the ghost of almost sympathy in his voice, “We are unsure of Lord Voldemort’s whereabouts and intentions, especially not knowing the entire story of last night. It would be unwise to invite in guests to the castle following such an event.”

Harry stares at Dumbledore in almost shock for a moment, Regulus swearing he sees tears forming in his eyes. “I-I’ll tell you what happened if you let them come visit,” Harry says, “I’ll tell you everything, sir.”

Regulus steps in before Dumbledore can even open his mouth, “No, absolutely not.” Regulus stands up and takes a couple of steps forward, looking at Dumbledore and saying, “Albus, would you mind if I spoke to you alone?”

“Not at all,” Dumbledore smiles at him, Regulus walking out of the small makeshift room, Dumbledore following him. He draws the curtain on Harry’s room and walks out into the hallway, letting the door close behind Dumbledore before he says anything.

“I understand where you are coming from, Albus, being wary of visitors to the castle, but you must understand that this is a special case,” Regulus says, “Harry has put through hell and just wants to see his parents, the least you can do for him is allow them to visit, even if just for the day.”

“And you must understand, Regulus, that the dangers are much larger than they have been in the past. I am unable to allow them to come and visit, he will simply have to wait until he returns home to see them or he will have to tell me what happened,” Dumbledore calmly states, although Regulus is having none of it.

“No, he will not wait until he goes home, and you are absolutely not going to coerce him into talking about him before he is ready by threatening a visit from his parents,” Regulus shakes his head, “Realistically he should have been brought to St. Mungos the moment he was brought back, Poppy is treating him for far worse than she should be. If he were there his parents would be with him, that should not change just because he is being treated here to prevent word of this from getting out too quickly. There is no reason why James and Lily cannot come to see their son who was tortured  and witness another student be murdered under your care.”

Dumbledore stays quiet a moment, staring at Regulus contemplatively before nodding, “If you insist, I will send them a letter when I get back. I will see about them coming to visit tomorrow, to put some time in between when it happened and their arrival.”

“Thank you, Albus, I appreciate it, and I know Harry will too,” Regulus thanks him, and although he doesn’t want to he knows it will keep him in Dumbledore’s good graces. He is still his boss.

“Mhm, thank you for speaking to me, tell Harry that I hope he recovers well,” Dumbledore smiles, Regulus nodding before heading back inside. He perks up when he hears yelling coming from the other side of the room where Harry is, rushing to the back corner and brushing by the curtain to see Harry laying in bed with his eyes squeezed shut, screaming repeated ‘no’s at Poppy, who is standing next to him with a vile in her hand.

“Harry,” Regulus calls, the yelling pausing as Harry opens his eyes and his face shifts from angry to desperate, “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Don’t make me take it! Don’t make me Uncle Reg!” Harry begs, “I don’t want it!” 

Regulus looks at Poppy, wordlessly asking her what Harry is refusing to take. 

“It’s his pain medication, if he doesn’t take it he’s going to be in a lot of pain in a little bit,” She tells him.

Regulus nods, walking over to sit down on the bed on the opposite side of Poppy, rubbing Harry’s knee calmingly as he tells him, “Why don’t you want to take it?”

“I don’t!” Harry shakes his head, “I don’t want to, why can’t you listen?”

“I know you don’t want to, but I can’t help you unless you give me a reason why you don’t want to,” Regulus points out, careful to keep his voice level and relaxed.

“No! Stop it!” Harry thrashes around, away from Poppy holding the potion, “I’m not taking it! Don’t give it to me!”

“Alright, bud,” Regulus concedes, “It’s for pain, though, so you’re probably going to be very sore in a little bit.”

“I don’t care, I don’t care just leave,” He stops yelling, saying it almost breathless, his voice clearly on the brink of breaking into tears.

“Ok, ok,” Regulus nods, getting up and walking around the bed to stand next to Poppy, facing the wall as he whispers to her, “Can you just leave it here? It’s not worth it, it’s only going to scare him more forcing him to have it.”

“Mhm, it’ll be right here if you think he’s ready to take it,” She tells him, setting down the vial of clear liquid and capping it, stepping back from the counter and slipping by Regulus, looking back before she leaves. “If you need anything don’t hesitate to let me know, I’ll be just in my office.”

“Mhm, thank you so much, Poppy,” Regulus smiles at her, Poppy slipping out of the room and going back to her office. Regulus goes back around the bed to sit down in his chair, looking over at Harry to see him pointed the opposite direction of Regulus, clearly indicating he doesn’t want to talk. Regulus decides to just respect that wish.

Only about half an hour goes by before Harry speaks again, whining, still facing away from Regulus, “Uncle Reg, can I have the potion please?”

“Mhm,” Regulus hums, biting his tongue to say anything snarky about Harry’s denial of it before. He knows he’s not thinking straight, and realistically this is Dumbledore’s fault for deciding that this is a perfect time to ask Harry the details of the extremely traumatic event he went through last night . 

Harry sits up when Regulus grabs the potion and looks at him, face twisted in pain. “Ow, ow, ow,” Harry repeats.

“Here, bud,” Regulus hands him the potion, Harry downing it, his face immediately souring, although he forces it down still. 

“Ew, ew ew,” Harry hands back the vile, sticking his tongue out to try to get some of the taste off.

“Here,” Regulus grabs the orange juice off of the bedside table, handing it to him. Harry drinks a lot of it, letting it sit in his mouth a moment before swallowing. He puts down the glass.

“Thank you,” He says, letting himself slip down the bed a bit more so he’s closer to laying down. Regulus goes back to sitting in his chair, Harry staying quiet for a bit before looking over at Regulus. “Is Dumbledore letting my parents come?” He timidly asks.

“Mhm, they’ll be here tomorrow,” Regulus tells him, Harry giving him the smallest smile.

“Really? You’re not lying?” He questions, Regulus nods.

“I solemnly swear, as you say,” Regulus emphasizes, getting a small giggle out of Harry.

“Thank you,” Harry says, “Thank you for talking to him.”

“Of course, bud, I’m glad he agreed,” Regulus replies, Harry yawning. “Are you tired?”

“A little,” Harry says.

“It’s probably whatever Madam Pomfrey gave you, it’s probably meant to calm you down,” Regulus says to Harry, “You should get some sleep if you’re tired, though.”

“I don’t want to,” Harry denies, “I’ll stay up.”

Regulus, knowing that Harry is going to end up falling asleep, just hums in affirmation, “Mmm, alright, I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

Harry does nothing but absently mumble an agreement, Regulus only having to wait a few minutes before Harry is out cold in bed, Regulus looking over at his nephew for a moment. He looks almost peaceful asleep, a tension that’s ever-present in his face not there. Regulus hates it, desperately wanting him to just be ok . He seems like it, he seems it enough for Regulus to think that he’s just fine, but the moment someone else steps into the room he’s an entirely different kid.

At least that means he trusts him.

***

Regulus walks back into the Hospital Wing, having gone back to his quarters to change and shower. He did it late at night the first night Harry was here, but last night was really hard for him. He couldn’t seem to stay asleep, plus he was absolutely not willing to take anything until around 4 in the morning, and even then Regulus was nervous to leave him alone. So he just waited until the morning to go back to his room, Harry had been asleep for a few hours and definitely not waking up. He’s surprised when he hears additional voices coming from Harry’s room, Regulus walks in to see James and Lily sitting on the opposite side from Regulus’ stuff, both looking over when he walks in.

“Hello,” Regulus greets, James getting up from his chair and walking up to Regulus.

“Hey Reg, it’s good to see you,” James gives him a hug, “Thank you for all your help, really.”

“Of course,” Regulus says as he steps back, James going back to his chair. Regulus smiles at Lily as he hangs his back on his chair, “Hi Lily.”

“Hello Regulus,” She replies, indicating with her head to Harry, “How long has he been asleep?”

“A while, he’ll probably wake up soon. He had a hard night last night,” Regulus tells them, “He’s really been looking forward to seeing you, though, so he’ll be excited when he wakes up. Did you talk to Dumbledore or did he just tell you a time to come?”

“He just told us a time, but he walked us down here. He’s even more judgemental and infuriatingly ignorant than usual,” James comments, “I had to physically keep Lily from giving him an earful.”

“He deserves it! He’s being an absolute dick, not letting us come until today and not letting Harry go home,” Lily huffs, “So ridiculous, tried to complain to us about Harry not telling him anything as if we were going to agree.”

“I know, I’ve been sitting right here, though, so I’ve been making sure that Dumbledore doesn’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to,” Regulus assures her, “He’s been giving me some lip too, when it’s just me in the room, so it’s good to know he’s still himself.”

James laughs, “I don’t know how we raised a son whose defining characteristic is giving people lip.”

“He’s good at it and he does it right, you can’t complain,” Regulus answers, all three of them looking over when Harry stirs. He first looks over at Regulus, still a bit sleepy and probably not aware of who is on his other side. 

“Good morning, Harry,” Regulus greets, pointing over at his parents, “Look who’s here.”

That wakes Harry right up, who quickly looks over to the other side to see his parents. “You’re here,” He excitedly says, Lily and James just beaming at him.

“Mhm, we made it,” James says, Harry holding out his arms for a hug. James gets up first drawing his son into a tight hug, moving back after a minute to let Lily give him a hug as well. Regulus can see how content Harry looks without even seeing his face, his entire body more relaxed. Lily steps back and James takes a seat on the bed with Harry, just like Regulus has been for the past two days. James slowly runs his hands through his son's hair. “How have you felt, buddy? Have you been feeling better?”

“Mhm,” Harry affirms, “I’ve been ok.”

“That’s good, I’m glad,” James smiles down at his son, “Uncle Reg has been with you?”

“Mhm,” Harry says again, “He’s stayed with me. I missed you guys, though.”

“We’re here now, no need to think about any of that,” James assures him, Harry moving to wrap himself back around his father. James holds into him, lightly rocking the two of them back and forth. Harry must mumble something because James looks down at him and quietly asks, “What, buddy?”

“Can you lay with me?” Harry asks, barely audible. James smiles before he moves to sit on the bed next to Harry, clicking the head of the bed up so they’re sitting up a bit before Harry moves over to give his dad some space, Harry curling up against James before he even gets settled. James wraps an arm around his son, leaning over to give him a kiss on the head.

“Are you comfortable, kid?” James asks, chuckling.

“Mhm,” Harry affirms, James ruffling his son’s hair with his free hand. The room is quiet for a few minutes, Regulus just watching as James looks down at Harry, his face growing more and more concerned until Lily leans forward and looks at Harry a moment before asking her husband.

“Is he asleep?” She quietly questions, moving her chair forward a bit so she doesn’t have to lean forward to look at him.

“Mhm,” James hums, “I think so.”

Lily just nods, Regulus chiming in, “Good, he didn’t sleep well last night.”

“I can tell, he looks so exhausted,” James sighs.

“I know,” Regulus agrees, “Curled up against you like that he looks much younger than 14.”

James lets out a laugh, causing Harry to stir a bit and James to have to sit completely still before responding to Regulus. “Sorry, Reg, sometimes you sound just like Mum, she said that about you all the time.”

“Harry and I are one in the same,” Regulus jokes, “I was telling him to eat breakfast yesterday morning and he told me not to call the kettle black.”

“He’s something else, this one,” James smiles fondly at Harry, “I’m glad he’s been doing alright, though. God, I’ve been worried sick about him.”

“I know, he’s definitely been worth the worry, been worrying me too and I’ve been here,” Regulus agrees, James studying him a moment before asking. 

“Reg, have you slept at all since it happened?”

“No,” Regulus hesitantly answers, “I’ve been here, James, I can’t really sleep here.”

“Reg, you can’t not sleep for two days, go get some sleep,” James tells him, “Lily and I will be here all day.”

“Maybe I will in a bit, I’m not that tired,” Regulus shrugs, looking over when Poppy peeks her head in the curtain.

“Oh, he’s asleep,” She comments, “His friends came to see him, I was just-“

“My friends?” Harry drowsily asks, sitting up a bit more from where he was curled into his father’s side. 

James laughs, “Perked right up at that one, didn’t you buddy?“

“Shut up, Dad,” Harry groans, rubbing his eyes as he looks at Poppy for an answer.

“Your friends, Ron and Hermione, came to visit you, do you want me to let them in or ask them to come back another time?” She asks.

“They can come now,” He tells her, sitting up more so he’s just sitting next to his dad rather than wrapped around him. Harry unwraps his dad’s arm from around his shoulder, although he doesn’t tell his dad to get up.

“Let me get them,” Poppy smiles, walking away and coming back a minute later with Ron and Hermione in tow, pulling back the curtain so it feels less cramped in there.

“Hey guys,” Harry smiles, Regulus getting up from his chair and walking over to the other side of the bed as Ron and Hermione greet him, both clearly relieved to see their friend is alright.

“Oh, uh, hello Mr. and Mrs. Potter,” Ron says as Hermione gives Harry her greetings, rambling about how worried she had been.

“James and Lily work just fine, kid,” James smiles, “It’s nice to see you, Ron, I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah, good to see you too,” Ron awkwardly answers, looking at Regulus, “And you, Professor Black.”

Regulus just gives him a smile, Ron going back to talking to Harry and Lily looking up at Regulus, chuckling. “Professor Black, it feels too formal for you.”

“Wait until you hear about my Seventh Years who insist on calling me Professor Black-Greengrass,” Regulus jokingly rolls his eyes, “It feels so wrong.”

“I would be terrified to have a teacher with two pureblood last names,” Lily comments.

“It’s the first thing I have to clarify on the first day because without knowing me that is definitely really scary,” Regulus agrees, “I don’t think I’m a scary teacher, though.”

“I don’t think you’re a scary anything, Reg,” James chimes in.

“Alright, no need to tease me for it,” Regulus laughs, “Goodness, and after all I do for you?”

James returns the laugh, glancing over at Harry happily talking to Ron and Hermione. James looks back at Regulus and says, “I think this is a good time for you to go get some sleep, Reg, you can’t go 2 days straight without sleeping, that is absolutely not healthy.”

“Eh, I’m fine,” Regulus tries to brush him off, but James is having none of it.

“Nope, bye Reg, I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Don’t sleep for long or you won’t sleep tonight, but a morning nap could do you some good,” James presses, “You look like a walking corpse.”

“My God you need to get away from Sirius,” Regulus shakes his head, smiling, “You sound just like him.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” James apologizes, “Go get some sleep, though, Lily and I are here all day, no need to stress about having someone here with him.”

Regulus pauses a moment before nodding, “Fine, fine, I’ll at least go lay down for a little bit, I’ve been sitting upright for a while.”

“Good,” James smiles, “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

“Bye Reg,” Lily says as Regulus steps towards the opening to leave the little closed-in area, catching Harry’s attention.

“Where are you going, Uncle Reg?” He asks.

“Just to my quarters, your parents will stay here with you,” Regulus tells him.

“Oh, ok,” Harry easily agrees, a much-needed relief from the endless clinging that he’s been doing to Regulus for two days. “You haven’t been there in a while, don’t get lost, Uncle Reg.”

Regulus just shakes his head at Harry, James laughing at him. “That mouth is going to get you in trouble one day, bud,” Regulus comments.

“Mmm, or it’s going to get me out of it, only time will tell,” Harry jokes, Regulus laughing before he continues to walk back.

“I’ll be back later, bye everyone,” Regulus says, getting various goodbyes and waves from the people surrounding Harry on the bed. Regulus continues out of the Hospital Wing, just waving at Poppy working on something at her brewing station as he does. He savors hearing Harry’s warm laugh fill the room before he leaves, knowing that he’s safe with his parents and his friends around him. Regulus did his job, Harry is safe and happy.

Even if it’s not forever, it’s for now, and that’s all that matters.