Regulus tries to set his graduation robe right in Cynthia’s mirror, although it’s just not sitting right. It’s big for him, and it’s not like their normal robes.
Cynthia walks out of the bathroom, Regulus looking over at her dressed in a beautiful dark green knee-length dress that matches the Slytherin colors perfectly.
She smiles at him, “Hello!”
“Hi,” He laughs, “You look nice.”
“Thank you, you look like you’re struggling,” She walks over and messes with his robe a bit, setting it so it doesn’t stick out everywhere.
“Thank you,” He says, not even getting a chance to mess with his hair before Cynthia pulls him over to the chair she did her hair in and sits him down, plugging back in her curling iron.
“Don’t even ask, you don’t have a choice,” She tells him as she waits for the iron to heat up.
“I figured I didn’t,” He shrugs, running a hand through his hair, “I have to get a haircut again, it’s so long.”
“I like it at this length, I think it’s nice,” She comments, hovering her hand over the curling iron. “It’s just more maintenance when it’s longer like this.”
“Yeah no, I don’t want that,” He shakes his head, “I also am going to start looking like Sirius if it gets too long, Mrs. Potter got us confused when he came over during April break and I’m still angry.”
Cynthia laughs, “I don’t think you look like him, his is so long now.” She picks up the curling iron and starts to work on curling his hair up so it looks less like a mop. Regulus knows better than to move, since Cynthia isn’t going to stop if he gets angry about it.
“Still, I look too much like him for my liking. I’ll probably cut it this summer-” He’s cut off by Cynthia tagging him with the curling iron on the side of his head, “Ow! I didn’t even move!”
“Sorry sorry, it was an accident, calm down,” She shushes him, “Your hair is a really good length for this, though, it’s not too short. I think you should keep it this length.”
“Nope, I won’t do it. I’m shortening it. I can’t have you do my hair every day,” He argues, “And don’t say it, I know you would , but I don’t want you to.”
“It’s time-consuming, I know. I don’t do my hair every day but it’s nice to have the option to,” She points out, “If you cut it I can’t curl it as nicely.”
“I’m ok with that,” He states.
“You’re the worst,” She teases before the two of them fall back into a comfortable silence. Cynthia’s radio plays softly in the background, Regulus smiling as it plays a rock song that Sirius loves. Regulus has heard it so many times, blasting around the house as Sirius and James scream really loud. This radio station is the only thing that Regulus and Cynthia can agree upon since she wants to listen to upbeat pop and Regulus wants instrumental and classical.
He hears her hum along to it, slowly working on whatever she’s doing to him. He trusts her to make him look less like a disheveled mess so he doesn’t ask.
Finally, she puts down the curling iron on the board on her dresser and taps him on the shoulder, “Stand up.” Regulus stands up and looks in the mirror, Cynthia adjusting it a little bit before stepping back and smiling, “Now don’t touch it, it looks nice.”
“Thank you,” He smiles back at her through the mirror, Cynthia walking around to stand in front of him, beaming at him. “What?”
“You look really nice,” She tells him, “I can’t believe we’re graduating, that’s insane.”
“You’re telling me,” He replies, although there’s a bitterness to it. He’s a little torn about graduating, it’s a weird excitement mixed with a huge realization that he’s going to be an adult. He didn’t think he would ever be an adult, but yet here he is.
“You look contemplative, is what I think bothering you?” She asks, Regulus knowing that they’ve talked about this before. He nods. “Well don’t let it get to you yet, let’s just let this be exciting.”
“Mhm,” He nods, Cynthia fiddling with his hair a bit. “It’s fine, it’s fine.”
“No, this piece is sticking out, it’s making me angry,” She argues, stepping back once she sets what she needs to, “There, better.”
“Good, now just leave it. My hair is perfectly ok,” He states, “When do we have to be down there?”
“I don’t think for another 45 minutes or so, V is coming up here to walk down with us anyway,” She answers, “I still have to do my hair too, so that’ll kill at least a half an hour.”
“Start now, then, I don’t want to be late,” He urges her, Cynthia giving him a kiss on the cheek before going back to the mirror and starting on curling her hair. He doesn’t get it at all, her hair is already curly. Why she has to curl it a second time makes absolutely zero sense to him.
He doesn’t bother asking, though, going over and sitting down on the side of her bed, stopping Turtle from climbing into his lap. He’s learned his lesson plenty of times before, she will get his outfit covered in cat hair. She’s pretty comfortable sitting a bit away from him, though. Everything is set perfect and he doesn’t want her coating it in cat hair.
“So, you said Mr. and Mrs. Potter are coming, right?” Cynthia asks, Regulus humming in affirmation. “What about your brother and James, them too?”
“James no, he’s got something he can’t move today and he apologized million times for it. Sirius I think so, I’m not sure though. I talked to Sirius and he said he might be busy but he’s going to try to come,” Regulus says, letting the smallest hint of disappointment in his voice. He really wants his brother to be here, this was a day that the two of them talked about for a while. A ‘we made it’ moment, as Sirius likes to call these kinds of milestones. Regulus would definitely be at least a little upset if Sirius wasn’t here.
Cynthia looks over at him, giving him a warm smile, “I’m sure he’ll be there, and if he isn’t I’m sure it wasn’t of his own will. What about Andromeda and Ted? Are they going?”
“They said they were also going to try, but with Dora it might be a little bit of a challenge,” He explains, “She’s hard to get places.”
Cynthia chuckles, “Yeah, she’s cute though, so it makes up for it.”
“Mhm,” Regulus hums, getting lost in his own head about the disappointment of no one being there. He knows it won’t happen, but habits are hard to kill. He can’t get the thought out of his head that no one is going to be there for him despite Mr. and Mrs. Potter guaranteeing to him that they would come. He just feels like he means less than that.
“Are you ok?” Cynthia looks over and cuts into his spiraling, Regulus shrugging. “Something bothering you?”
“No, it’s nothing,” He dismisses, Cynthia looking at him skeptically through the mirror. “Really, it’s nothing.”
“I don’t think it is,” She counters, “Talk to me, we’ve got time.”
Regulus hesitates a minute before admitting, “I’m just nervous no one will be there. I don’t know, it’s stupid. I know at least someone will be there but it’s just bothering me.”
“It’s not stupid, it’s a valid thing to be nervous about. But just keep reminding yourself that Mr. and Mrs. Potter told you they were coming no matter what. If they told you in a letter grab the letter and just stare at the words, internalize it,” She recommends, “And no matter who comes I’m really proud of you.”
He lets the stupidest smile spread across his face, looking down at his lap and feeling the lightest blush spread across his cheeks. He’s not even necessarily flustered, but compliments like that are so important to him that he can’t even find the words to respond.
“I love telling you that,” Cynthia laughs, “You’re so adorable.”
“You’re the worst,” Regulus jokingly argues back, “Using me for my reaction.”
“There are much better things I could say to get a good reaction out of you, I say it because I mean it. The reaction is just a bonus,” She points out, “It is cute, though, watching you get flustered.”
“Whatever you say,” He dismisses, scratching the top of Turtle’s head as she lifts it up, almost smiling with her eyes closed. As much as he tries to push it out of his mind it still bothers him, the thought no one cares enough to come to his graduation.
Cynthia doesn’t say anything else this time, just letting the silence sit between the two of them for a while. She gets through almost her entire head of hair before a knock on the door causes him to look up from where he’s quietly petting Turtle.
“Come in,” Cynthia calls, not looking over. The door opens and both Haydn and Vaughn walk inside, Vaughn throwing his arms up, his cap in one hand. Haydn is also holding his.
“Hey hey hey!” He excitedly greets, “What’s going on in here guys?”
“I’m almost done curling my hair,” She tells him, “Reggie has just been sitting there.”
“On your command, I’m sure,” Vaughn teases, walking over to stand next to her. Haydn walks over to stand next to Regulus, who smiles up at him.
“Hey Reg,” He greets, particularly cheerful.
“You’re happy,” Regulus comments, “Something happen?”
“I’m just excited to be graduating, it’s exciting,” He shrugs, “Nothing special.”
“If you say so,” Regulus replies, “I’m not nearly as excited to sit in a crowd of people on a stage for two hours. But the idea is nice, graduating from this hellhole.”
“I’m going to miss it a bit, I wish I had gone here longer,” Haydn admits, “But graduating means no more home and I’m more than happy with that.”
“Completely reasonable,” Regulus nods, “I’m looking forward to being home.”
“If I lived where you do I would too,” Haydn laughs, pausing a moment before asking, “Are they going to be here today? Yeah, right?”
“Mhm, from what they’ve told me,” Regulus affirms, “Not sure about anyone else, though.”
“Yeah, I only know about my parents and my siblings. My mum was getting on about some sort of conflict in a letter but my dad said it was all garbage. Honestly, I’d be completely alright if she didn’t show up today, I’d rather it just be my dad, Tim, and Dianna,” Haydn answers.
“Tim is coming?”
“Mhm, my dad pulled him out of school to come today, he’s almost done anyway,” Haydn says, “He’s happy about it, I’m sure.”
“Of course, anyone would be happy to get out of school,” Regulus points out.
“Reggie,” Cynthia calls his attention over, “Are they sitting us by house and by last name?”
“Yeah,” He affirms, “Why?”
“Well I’m trying to figure out how far we’re going to be from one another,” She reasons, “I might be behind you too.”
“We’ll be close but not right next to each other, right?” Vaughn asks, “You’re B-l and I’m B-u.”
“There’s a couple of kids between us, I think- Well, maybe not, since it’s just Slytherins,” Regulus thinks about if there is anyone between him and Vaughn in the alphabet, “Ashley is between us, right? She’s B-r.”
“She got resorted last year, she’s a Ravenclaw now,” Vaughn reminds him.
“Oh, yeah, she is,” He nods, “Then I can’t think of anyone.”
“If we’re next to each other that would be awesome,” Vaughn smiles, “And if Claire is behind us? That’s even better.”
“I’ll miss you guys in the Gryffindor section,” Haydn tells them, “I’ll be so lonely.”
“You’ve got Ashton, he’s nice,” Vaughn comments, “You’re definitely going to be right next to him. You’re F-a-w and he’s F-a-v.”
“I know, I’m lucky. Also the Gryffindor kids are generally nice, no offense but some of the Slytherins are mean ,” He leans against the foot of Cynthia’s bed.
“You’re telling me,” Regulus mutters.
“Hey, at least we’re not near any of them,” Vaughn points out, “Barty is close but not close enough that he’ll be a bother.”
“You guys are getting me so excited right now,” Cynthia says as she puts her curler down on the board on the dresser. She toys with her hair a minute, running her hands through it before looking over at Regulus. “Does my hair look alright?”
“Mhm,” Regulus nods, “It looks nice.”
“Thank you,” She smiles, turning back to the mirror and setting it a bit more.
“You ask Reg but neither of us?” Vaughn playfully nudges her.
“Well I care about his opinion most,” She crosses her arms, “Have a problem?”
“Yes, what if I have something to say about your hair?” He argues, “Do I have a say?”
“No, but you’re welcome to tell me,” She invites him as she unplugs the curling iron.
“Well, I think,” He pauses a moment, “That you look very nice.”
“Why thank you,” She picks up the cap off the dresser and starts to tactically pin it to her head.
“Now what on Earth are you doing?” Vaughn asks.
“Putting on my cap,” She tells him, “If I put it on the normal way I’ll look stupid.”
“You know what? I’m just going to agree,” He concedes, “Whatever you say goes, Claire.”
“Good, it only took you 6 years to learn that,” She quips back, struggling to put the pin in the back of her head. “Reggie,” She whines, “Can you come help me?”
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Regulus groans, walking up to her.
Vaughn snorts, “I’m sure you’ve said that before.”
Regulus feels his entire face turn red, Vaughn breaking out into laughter. Cynthia pushes him, “Shut up! You’re such an asshole,” She complains.
“He walked right into that!” Vaughn accuses, “I cannot be faulted.”
“Just help me please,” Cynthia brushes off Vaughn’s comment, handing him the bobby pins.
“Set it where you want it, I’ll pin it for you,” He tells her, starting to pin it to her hair when she puts it where she wants it. Vaughn walks over to Haydn and starts talking to him. Cynthia smiles at Regulus when he looks at her in the mirror. He gives her a small smile back, admittedly a little off from Vaughn catching him off guard like that. It wasn’t something that would’ve impacted him normally, but his already teetering anxiety wasn’t helped by being flustered. Sitting in a crowd of people, no matter who is around him, is stressful.
She furrows her brow in slight concern, Regulus brushing her off and just going back to setting the last couple of bobby pins so her cap stays.
She turns around when he finishes. “Thank you,” She smiles, grabbing his hand and whispering, “You look stressed, are you alright?”
“Mhm,” He hums, “Just anxious.”
“They’re whispering, we should whisper too,” Vaughn loudly whispers, catching the attention of Cynthia and Regulus. Haydn laughs, whispering something back.
“You guys are the worst,” She rolls her eyes, “Can we have nothing?”
“No, you can’t, you guys had all of yesterday to yourselves,” Vaughn points out, “I literally did not see you at all.”
“You’re so judgemental ,” She leans her head back and groans, “You’re just jealous that you aren’t dating anyone you can spend time with.”
“I am not jealous, that’s such a lie,” He shakes his head, “I’d say it if you weren’t dating too. You two spend far too much time together, dating or not.”
“Fair, but you never had nearly as much of a problem with it until we started dating,” She argues, “Now you complain about it constantly.”
“Because now there’s a constant sexual undertone with the two of you spending time alone,” He counters, “So I have to point it out in case you two are, you know, doing crazy stuff in here.”
Regulus watches as Cynthia goes over and playfully smacks him across the face, Vaughn dramatically reacts to it, the two of them laughing. Regulus stays disconnected from the three of them talking, getting more and more nervous about what’s about to happen. He’s not nervous about the graduating part, as much as the amounting doom about going into life purposeless is trying to convince him, but he doesn’t want to sit in this ceremony. Plus he really doesn’t want to find out if no one showed up for him, he'd rather live in ignorance.
“Reggie,” Cynthia calls, a softness to her voice that tells him he’s wearing his nervousness all over his face.
“Hm?” Regulus hums, affirming that he’s listening.
“Can I pin in your cap? It’ll mess up your hair if I don’t,” She tells him, Regulus shrugging. She walks over and grabs his cap off of her dresser and some bobby pins, starting to do the same thing he did for her. She puts her head on the opposite side from Vaughn and Haydn and whispers, “Do you want V and Haydn to leave?”
“Mm,” He indecisively replies, not wanting to kick them out but really wanting to be comforted in peace right now.
“I can tell Vaughn to walk Haydn to Gryffindor tower if you want,” She whispers, “It’ll get him out for a bit.”
“Mhm,” Regulus replies, liking that excuse. Cynthia lets the silence hang for a minute before stopping what she’s doing and looking over at Haydn and Vaughn.
“Haydn, don’t you need to go to Gryffindor tower, like,” She looks at the clock, “Now?”
He looks up at the clock, shrugging, “Yeah, I probably should go. I’ll see you guys later, then.”
“Make V walk you there, you’ll get harassed walking around the dungeons alone,” She points out, “And I’ll end his life if he stays in this room any longer.”
“Hey! Mean,” Vaughn huffs, tossing his cap on the bed, “I will walk Haydn though because I’m a wonderful and nice person.”
“Of course, of course,” Cynthia sarcastically replies, “Also, if you leave that cap on the bed it’ll be full of cat hair by the time you get back.”
“Eh, it adds character,” He brushes it off as he walks towards the door, “Bye lovebirds, don’t have too much sex.”
“Oh shut up V,” She complains, “Bye Haydn, I hope you have an absolutely wonderful day.”
Haydn laughs, “I’ll see you guys later.”
“Bye!” Cynthia calls as they both walk out of the room, the door shutting behind him. Regulus immediately tears up when they walk out, almost a product of finally relaxing a bit. Cynthia finishes what she’s doing first before walking around in front of him and looking at him concerned. She reaches out and cups a hand on his cheek, “What’s bothering you?”
He just shrugs, afraid to say anything in fear that he’ll cry.
Her hand drops down, grabbing onto his and squeezing it a bit, “It’s alright if you need a minute. You can go for a walk or hide in the bathroom if you want to have it away from me, too. There’s a lot going on today, I totally understand if you just need to take a breather.”
“It’s ok,” He forces out, Cynthia carefully giving him a kiss, avoiding their caps colliding.
“You know I love you, right?” She smiles, “And I’m really proud of you.”
Regulus lets a smile spread across his face as silent tears slip down his face at the mere mention of her being proud of him. “I love you too,” He chokes out, Cynthia pulling him into a hug. He holds on tight, happy to have someone to remind him he’s not alone.
She steps back after a minute and looks at the clock, “We have to leave soon, are you all ready?”
“Mhm,” He nods, wiping his face. “Where is your cord?”
“Oh,” She goes over to her nightstand and pulls out the green and grey Prefect cord and puts it over her shoulders, setting it just right before looking back up at him, “There.”
“Now you’re all ready,” He quietly replies, spending a moment too long admiring how beautiful she looks today.
“What are you staring at?” She teases.
“You,” He answers, looking down at his watch, “We should leave now, meet V on his way back.”
“Mhm, we can do that, beat the crowd rushing there too,” She agrees, “Are you sure you have everything?”
“Positive,” He nods.
She smiles and holds out her hand, “Alright, let’s go!”
***
Regulus looks around in the sea of happy parents congratulating their kids on the grounds for anyone that’s here for him, gripping his diploma in his hands. Cynthia has long left him for her family, and Vaughn had people greeting him as well. Regulus hasn’t seen anyone for him, though, so he’s been slowly making his way to the edge of the crowd, pausing only when he hears someone yell.
“Regulus!” A deeper voice calls his name, Regulus turning around to see Mr. and Mrs. Potter standing a little ways away, Mrs. Potter holding a bouquet of colorful flowers. Regulus rushes over to greet them, Mr. Potter pulling him into a hug first. “Congratulations, kid,” He says as Regulus steps back. He playfully lightly hits Regulus' cap down, although it barely moves, “I can’t believe you’re practically a real adult now.”
Regulus smiles but doesn’t say anything else, looking over when Mrs. Potter starts talking.
“These are for you, dear,” She holds out the flowers, Regulus taking them almost hesitantly. It’s odd that they’d go out of their way to come and get him something.
“Thank you,” He replies, “And- and thank you for coming, too.”
“Of course we’re coming to your graduation, dear, we wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Mrs. Potter quickly assures him, holding out her arms to invite him into a hug. He takes it immediately, ignoring how he has to awkwardly hold the flowers out to the side and keep his diploma from falling. They disappear from him a minute later, though, Mr. Potter likely taking them, letting Regulus fully lean into Mrs. Potter's embrace. She whispers to him as they stand there, “We’re so proud of you, dear.”
Regulus tears up again, holding her a little bit closer. He’s not one for tight hugs ever , but he wants to hide the fact that he’s on the verge of tears right now. She chuckles but doesn’t say anything. He can’t maintain this close contact with somebody for long, though, so he lets go after a minute and steps back to see her looking over his shoulder at someone. Before he can even turn around, he hears a familiar voice excitedly call him.
“Reg!” Sirius yells, Regulus spinning around to see him running up. Sirius immediately pulls Regulus into a hug, the two of them squeezing the other excitedly. Sirius rocks Regulus back and forth a bit. Regulus just smiles, so overwhelmed with excitement that he doesn’t even focus on how Sirius is squeezing the life out of him.
After what feels like both forever and no time at all, Sirius steps back and holds his shoulders, tears in his eyes despite the smile on his face. “We’re having a ‘we made it’ moment, you know that right?”
“Mhm,” Regulus nods.
“Actually, we’re having the ‘we made it moment’,” Sirius corrects himself, laughing and wiping at his eyes, “I told you, I always told you you’d get here. I don’t lie, do I?”
“Sometimes you do,” Regulus argues, “This time, though, you didn’t.”
“I’ll take that,” Sirius smiles, both of them looking over at the tiny, high-pitched voice that yells to them.
“Reg!” Nymphadora yells, Regulus opening his arms so she can excitedly jump into them. He grunts when she tries to get her to carry him, which she is not small enough for any more. She puts her feet back on the ground, though, and settles for just a normal hug.
“Hi Dora,” He greets, looking up to see Ted and Andromeda walking up too, “Hi.”
“Hey Reg,” Andromeda smiles, “Congratulations!”
“Thank you,” He replies, looking down when Nymphadora steps back.
“Yeah! Congratulations!” She parrots.
“Thank you too,” Regulus repeats, Nymphadora hugging his arm.
“Your hair looks very nice today, Reg,” Andromeda says, slightly suspicious, “Is it curled ?”
Regulus nods, “Cynthia did it, I didn’t have a choice.”
“I love this girl and I’ve never even met her,” Andromeda laughs.
“Regulus,” Mrs. Potter calls his attention over, “Is there anything they said you needed?”
“No, I don’t think so,” He answers, “They didn’t tell us anything.”
“I was just wondering, they told us we’re allowed to stay until dinner time staying out on the grounds,” She tells him, “We’ll stay here as long as you want us too, dear.”
“Except for me, I can’t stay, I barely convinced the Order to give me three hours off, if I’m not back soon I’ll be working until the end of my life,” Sirius says, “I’ll see you soon though, Reg, and James told me to make sure I apologize again for him now being here.”
“He’s apologized a million times, letters just full of apologies,” Regulus sighs, “Tell him I said it’s really ok.”
“I’ll pass the message onto him,” Sirius chuckles, pulling Regulus into another hug, Nymphadora stepping back and letting go of Regulus’ arm. “Mmm,” Sirius hums, “You’re so goddamn big, Reg.”
“Two years younger than you,” Regulus reminds him, still both in a hug.
“You don’t know how big of a difference that is,” Sirius argues before letting go, smiling at Regulus, “I’m super proud of you, Reg. I’m going to go home and cry about how you’ve graduated and that’s so insane to me.”
“I’m sure you will,” Regulus answers, not having the words to say anything else. He’s so happy that Sirius came, words can’t even begin to start thanking him for making it here. Regulus is sure that Sirius already knows how much this means to him, though, and he doesn’t have to waste the effort to say it.
“I’ll see you soon,” Sirius opens his arms, “One more hug?”
“Fine,” Regulus groans, although he can’t say he hates getting one more opportunity to hug Sirius dressed in his graduation outfit. He only lets it linger for a minute, though, before pulling away. Sirius doesn’t comment, just stepping back a bit and bidding his goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Andromeda, Ted, and Dora. Finally, he gives one last wave.
“Ok, I really can’t stall any longer, I’ll get in trouble if I do,” He states, “I see you guys soon, hopefully, and congrats Reg!”
Everyone says goodbye, with the exception of Regulus who just waves, before Sirius walks off towards the one open floo they have set up in the castle.
“Regulus, do you want to take your cap off?” Mr. Potter asks.
Regulus doesn’t get a chance to answer before Andromeda cuts him off, “Wait, before you do,” She pulls out her camera from her bag, “Let me get a picture for you guys before you take it off.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Mrs. Potter replies, gesturing for Regulus to walk over and stand next to her. Mr. Potter hands him both the flowers and the envelope with his diploma in it. Mrs. Potter fixes Regulus’ cap a bit before the two on either side of him wrap an arm around his shoulder. Andromeda positioning herself with the camera. She counts down, Regulus smiling with all of the joy pent up inside him for once. He’s just happy to be so well accompanied on a day he never pictured that for.
“There, perfect,” She smiles, putting away her camera and tucking it back into her bag. “You’re free from the cap now, Reg, you’re welcome.”
“I don’t know how to take it off,” He hesitantly says, “Cynthia pinned it.”
“I really do love this girl. Come here and turn around, I’ll help,” She directs, Regulus walking up to her and facing away from her and letting her take out all of the bobby pins Cynthia stuck into his head.
“So you got ready with Cynthia?” Mrs. Potter asks, Regulus humming in affirmation, “That’s nice, was it just you two?”
“For the most part, Vaughn and Haydn joined us for a little while, Haydn left before we went down, though,” Regulus answers as Andromeda takes the cap off of his head.
“There, you’re welcome, Reg,” Andromeda answers, handing his cap to him over his shoulder. Regulus takes it and looks back.
“Thank you,” He replies, Andromeda smiling at him. He jumps when something grabs his arm, hanging on it. He looks over to unsurprisingly see Nymphadora hanging from his arm.
“Sorry, Reg,” Ted apologizes, “I could only hold her off for so long.”
Regulus laughs, “It’s fine, I don’t mind.” Nymphadora beams up at him. “Hi, Dora.”
“Hi!” She chirps, looking over at Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Regulus follows her gaze to see Haydn walking up with his family, Dianna running over to give Mrs. Potter a hug. She also extends a free arm to give Haydn a hug and a kiss, congratulating him for graduating too. Once she finishes her greeting with him he walks over and stands next to Regulus.
“Hi Reg,” Haydn smiles, “How are you doing?”
“I’m alright,” Regulus gives him a nod, “How are you since I saw you, what, a few hours ago?”
“So much better,” Haydn replies, “It’s like, real now, you know?”
“Mhm,” Regulus nods, his arm getting pulled on. He looks over at the girl hanging on him, “Yes, Dora?”
“Because- because you are done with school, where are you going?” She asks, tilting her head, “Are you going to live alone like Sirius?”
“Not for a while,” He answers, “I will one day, but not soon.”
“Oh, ok,” She chirps, “So I can still visit you?”
“You can visit me when I move out too,” He tells her, “I’m not going to leave forever.”
“But I never see Sirius,” She complains, “I don’t want to never see you!”
“You’ll see me, I promise,” He assures her, “And that’s still far away, you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Ok,” She answers, “But when are you leaving?”
“I’m not leaving, Dora,” He repeats, chuckling, “I promise I’m not leaving.”
“Are you lying?” She asks.
“I also promise I’m telling you the truth,” He reassures her again, “It’s far away, you don’t have to worry about it, really. Just enjoy it now.”
She looks at Haydn, “Is he lying?”
“He’s not lying, I promise,” Haydn also assures her, “Reg doesn’t lie, and he told me himself that he likes it at home so he’s going to stay for a while.”
“Oh, ok!” She easily agrees, much easier than when Regulus told her. Andromeda walks over to them, ruffling her daughter’s hair.
“Dora, are you bothering the boys?” She asks.
“No, we’re talking,” She tells her, looking up at her mother.
“If you say so, sweetheart,” She lightly chuckles, looking at Haydn, “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you because of a good thing, but it’s nice to see you again, Haydn, congratulations.”
“Thank you, and yeah, I think that’s a good first to have,” He laughs, watching as Nymphadora is called away by her father before continuing, “She speaks so well, it’s insane. How old is she?”
“Barely 6, and yeah, unfortunately, I’m aware,” Andromeda jokingly deadpans, “She’s always been like that, you can ask Reg. I don’t know what did it, but it’s less work for me if she talks easy.”
“I remember helping teach my sister how to talk, what a nightmare ,” Haydn answers, “She struggled when she was younger, but once she started talking she became super articulate.”
“I hear you, I know how hard it is to get a kid who doesn’t want to talk to start talking,” She eyes Regulus, who rolls his eyes, knowing she’s about to embarrass him. “Regulus didn’t say a word until he was 3. He was barely saying more than a couple of sentences by the time he was 9, now that was a struggle.”
“Andy,” Regulus complains, “I wasn’t that bad.”
“Oh yes, you were,” She pokes back, “You were the worst trying to get to say anything to anyone. You learned what ‘not friends’ meant and if I asked you to tell me anything that’s all you’d say.”
“That’s kind of adorable, Reg,” Haydn laughs.
“It definitely isn’t,” He glares at Andromeda, who just laughs.
“I agree with him, it definitely was adorable,” She jokes back, turning around when her husband walks up behind her.
“Dora has informed me that we’re not paying enough attention to her,” He says, “She would like to join the conversation.”
“I want to talk!” She whines, dragging down on her father’s arm.
“No whining Dora, or we have to go home,” Andromeda softly scolds, Nymphadora standing back up straight.
“I’m not whining,” She states, still kind of whining. Andromeda sighs but just whispers to Ted, who laughs at what she says. Nymphadora goes over to favor hanging on Regulus, who decides it’s not worth saying no.
“Regulus,” His attention is called over by Mrs. Potter, “Would you like to go find somewhere to sit? Maybe a little further from the crowd?”
“Yeah,” He nods, starting to walk in the direction she and the rest of that group start in. Haydn catches up with his family while Mrs. Potter falls back a bit to walk next to Regulus, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as they walk.
“I don’t want you to forget how proud I am of you,” She tells him, giving him a kiss on the side of the head, “I love you, dear.”
His smile widens tenfold as he leans into her a bit.
“I love you too.”
***
Regulus hasn’t felt nearly as fantastic since he’s gotten home.
The idea that he’s actually graduated from Hogwarts has hit him like a truck, and he’s barely moved from his bed since. For the first couple of days, he just figured it’s a cooldown from finally coming back from school, it normally takes a little bit to calm down from all of that. But now it’s been a week, and he can tell Mr. and Mrs. Potter are getting worried. He just can’t find it in him to do anything , though.
A knock on his door causes him to sit up the tiniest bit, although he doesn’t waste the effort calling for them to come in. Mrs. Potter walks in the room anyway, holding a bowl of soup, which smells both absolutely delicious and completely nauseating to him. She sets it down on the fold-out table set beside his bed since he’s been living solely in here all week, before sitting down on the bed.
“I know you said you were feeling fine, dear, but I figured some soup wouldn’t hurt. It’s light too, and you really need to eat something,” She tells him, “You’ve barely had anything this week, is there something wrong? Are you sure you’re not sick?”
“Mhm, I’m fine,” He assures her. He isn’t sick, he’s not lying. Although there is definitely something bothering him, it’s a thought he’s only let touch his lips a handful of times in a handful of dark places.
“Are you sure? If there’s something bothering you I want to help. I’m always here to listen,” She tells him, Regulus shrugging. “I think there’s something wrong. Is it about school?”
“A little,” He replies, not wanting to straight up say it but knowing she’ll never get there otherwise.
“Are you nervous about something?” She asks, Regulus shrugging again. “Talk about it, even if you think it makes no sense.”
“You- You can’t worry about me,” He prefaces.
“I promise I won’t fuss over whatever you say,” She assures him, knowing exactly what he’s worried about, “Unless something is going to cause you harm, then you know I have to.”
“Mhm,” He hums, knowing this definitely falls into that category. “I-I just-” All of a sudden something in his head blocks him from saying what he wants to and he clamps his mouth shut, shaking his head.
“I’ll stay right here, you can think about it, it’s alright,” She calmly assures him, just sitting there quietly. Regulus knows Mrs. Potter, if he hints that he wants to talk she won’t leave until he does. So, he might as well spit it out.
With a deep breath, he manages to quickly spill out, “I never thought I would live past my graduation.”
She looks at him for a moment, a mix of shock and concern on her face. She shakes her head, “What do you mean, dear? I don’t want to assume what you’re saying.”
“What you’re thinking is right,” He tells her, unable to look up from his lap.
“How long have you thought that, dear?” She quietly asks him.
“Young, since I was maybe 4 or 5. It just, I don’t know, it never went away,” He looks up at her again, only to find a soft, attentive look on her face, “It’s- It’s scary. I’m happy to be here but at the same time I’m so scared of it.”
“It’s normal to feel like that after thinking like that for so long, what you’re feeling is completely valid. While I know it’s difficult, it’s important to focus on all the new things you get to experience because you’ve made it so far,” She tells him, “You’ve done such an amazing job, you’ve been through so much, and look at where you are. You have so much ahead of you to still go through, and I know it’s hard to look at all of it for the first time and it not be scary but it doesn’t have to be. You have so many people to help you, and you don’t have to move on right away. You’re always welcome home, I could never tell you it enough, dear. You are always welcome back here if things get too much for you.”
Regulus nods, tears welling up in his eyes. He presses his lips together in a weak attempt not to cry, hearing all the things he wished he could hear for so many years.
“Come here, dear,” She gestures, Regulus sitting up and letting her pull him into a warm hug. She whispers to him, “I’m so proud of you, you’re so strong, Regulus, I never want you to forget that. Always remember how proud I am that you’ve been through so much yet still keep going, dear.”
Regulus breaks out into sobs against her at the mere mention of being proud of him. He tries his best to push them back down, although his attempt is almost entirely in vain.
“It’s ok, it’s alright,” She lightly rocks him back and forth, “It’s ok to cry, I’m right here.” He holds onto her a bit tighter, reveling in such a deep and loving feeling of comfort that he never wants to let go of. He’s so happy he lived. He’s so happy he saw his graduation.
He’s just so happy he made her proud.
Because he couldn’t ask for anything more than that.