Chapter Text
There's two ways that Caelum could do this.
The first is to leave a couple of letters, let his parents know that he's never coming back and that they're free to quietly disown him and then disappear, vanishing into obscurity and another name and letting the world forget he ever used to be the Lestrange Heir. That would be the easy way.
The other way is what he actually does.
"Miss Skeeter," says Caelum, carelessly sipping from a glass of pumpkin juice as the curly-haired witch slips into the seat across from him.
The Leaky Cauldron's pumpkin juice is not good; Caelum ignores this. He happens to have the talent of drinking any beverage like an aristocrat and he will not be dissuaded from using it by half-rate pumpkin juice.
"Mr. Lestrange," she said, practically purring. "Let's get right to the point, shall we? I hear you have a very interesting story for me."
***
Caelum's meeting with Skeeter is on the second-to-last day of winter holiday. Five days later, the headline of the Daily Prophet reads:
Sponsor of Pureblood Education Law Secretly Sends Child to Half-blood School!
Harriet almost chokes on her breakfast. "Caelum, have you--?"
"Yes," he says, almost entirely failing to hide the manic grin he knows is spreading across his face.
"This has a picture of you."
"Several, actually," says Caelum, snatching the newspaper back. "The Prophet doesn't often write stories about people as photogenic as I am, they have to take advantage when they have the chance."
He flips to the page with the rest of the article so he can actually view these pictures. They are, as suspected, entirely fantastic, excepting the candid of his mother thrown in near the beginning, which seems to have been taken while she was screaming something. Perfect.
"You were involved with this? Caelum, why would you--"
"Shh," Caelum puts a finger to his lips. "Listen to that. That is the sound of my mother's political career burning to ashes ."
She eyes him flatly. "I hear the sounds of a cafeteria."
"It's very far away. Your little firstie ears are forgiven for not hearing it."
"You," she says. "Are an idiot. "
"It was a calculated move."
She closes her eyes. "The entire cafeteria is staring at us."
Caelum makes a dismissive gesture. "Probably only the British students."
"Caelum, half the school is British.
"Why do you keep saying that like it's a problem?"
"Because they're--" Harriet takes a breath, then starts picking up her things. "You know what? Never mind. You enjoy having the entire school gawk at you. I'll see you in the potions lab."
***
Caelum gets a very interesting stream of post over the next few days.
The first is a Howler, written by his mother--probably immediately after reading the article, based on the sound of it, which Caelum's roommate manages to get on tape.
The second is a letter from Tonks, mostly consisting of amusement, approval, and sheer incredulity at the stunt he's just pulled.
The third is another Howler (also from his mother) and the fourth is a dry, formal notice on Gringotts stationary saying he's been formally disowned.
The fourth is school-internal message enchanted to fly like a paper aeroplane, asking him to come to the school counselors's office.
Caelum is slightly apprehensive as he makes his way there, but that is nothing on the way his heart freezes when he steps through the door and sees Regulus on the other side.
"Caelum," he says, getting up from the seat opposite of the desk.
Like always, his body language reads cool and controlled, but Caelum doesn't miss the twitch under his eye that says this is the angriest he's ever seen him.
"What are you doing here?" The words spill out before he can censor himself.
Regulus turns to the councilor, still in her seat, who looks caught like a rabbit by the tension in the room. "Why don't you give us a moment."
She's up and out of the door before Caelum has a chance to blink, and before Caelum knows it, he's the one sitting in the smaller chair, though Regulus still looms over him, arms folded over his chest.
"You're supposed to be in Britain," says Caelum.
"I scheduled a portkey here as soon as I saw that disaster of a newspaper article," says Regulus, putting his hands on the table. "Caelum, what on earth were you thinking? Rita Skeeter? I can't fix this. "
"I didn't do it because I wanted you to fix it," says Caelum, setting his jaw into a firm line.
Regulus's shoulders tighten. "Caelum, you've been disowned. "
"I know."
He pushes himself off the desk and begins pacing. "Did you even have a plan Caelum? Where were you going to go this summer?"
"I knew I was going to get disowned," he says, feeling a flicker of irritation in his gut. "And I'm going to Andromeda Tonks' house."
Regulus stops and gapes. " Andromeda?"
Caelum holds eye contact, pressing his lips tighter together.
"You went to Andromeda?"
"Is there a particular reason that's so shocking?" Caelum asks, question mostly rhetorical. "Yes, Andromeda. My aunt Andromeda. Who, if you've forgotten, happens to be my mother's sister. And to not harbor an extreme phobia of all things nonmagical."
Regulus's shoulders slump, and his limbs go limp, like a puppet who's strings had been abruptly cut. "I see."
"Yes."
"And that's what you want?"
Caelum shifts uncomfortable in his seat. "They offered. It seemed a better option than spending another summer with people who don't even see me as human."
Regulus straightens himself, fiddling with the collar of his robes. "Right. Well. I… suppose that's all, then."
Caelum's jaw dropped. "Are you leaving?"
Regulus glances at the wall. At an innocuous patch of wall. "It sounds like you have everything figured out."
Caelum stands up. "But you just got here! What did you even come for? You haven't even given me a proper lecture, you can't just--just--"
"You're a minor, Caelum," Regulus says. "A minor who has recently been disowned. I was here to see that your custody arrangements were seen to. Obviously, you want to be with Andromeda Tonks, so I'll just go back and tell the Ministry that and--"
Regulus's body turns, just the slightest degree, and it's stupid, so stupid, but it looks for a millisecond like he's about to apparate and suddenly Caelum's heart is dropping through his throat. "No!"
"I'm sorry," Regulus says stiffly, taking a step back. "I see now that visiting here was an overreaction. I should have sent you a letter--"
Caelum stood up. "Will you shut up?! I don't want to live with Andromeda Tonks! I've never even met Andromeda Tonks!"
Regulus freezes. "But--"
"No!" Caelum roars. "I want to be with someone who doesn't hate me, can't you understand that?"
His chest heaves, and Regulus stays petrified, eyes wide.
"I want to live somewhere where I can read my muggle chemistry textbooks and talk to my friends without being called a filthy blood traitor! I want to live somewhere where I can go to a party without having mother's bigotry forced out of my mouth. I want to live with someone who actually cares about me!"
Regulus's mouth opens, but no words come out.
"You came," says Caelum, "You came all the way here to talk about this, that means you were willing, doesn't it?"
There's a mad, desperate edge to his voice, raw against the air, and as the seconds tick by, Caelum begins to shiver.
He's suddenly aware of how completely pathetic he must look, countless flyaways of dark hair haloing around his face and cheeks flushed and blotchy from the yelling. He wants to hit himself for saying something so stupid, for being so absolutely childish as to think Regulus would ever entertain such a thing. What had he said before? Where did you think you were going to go? He very clearly hadn't been putting himself forward as an option.
Like Regulus could take him even if he wanted to. Even assuming Caelum was more to him than just a burden he had done his best to keep alive for the last fourteen years out of a moral obligation, he was a member of the S.O.W. party just as much as Caelum's parents were.
And that was a bridge that was very much burned.
"I'm sorry," he says, mouth tasting like ash.
"No," says Regulus, taking a shuddering breath. "It does."
Caelum's voice goes quiet. "Oh."
"Would you… Is that what you want"
Caelum gives a jerky nod, throat suddenly too tight to talk.
"Andromeda would probably be better," Regulus says. "Even Sirius."
"They wouldn't," Caelum swallows.
"I don't…" Regulus puts his face in his hand. "I messed up so bad with you, Caelum. I'm not sure I know how to not be what you're running away from."
Caelum shakes his head. "You're not. You're already not."
"I don't even know know what muggle chemistry is," he says.
"But you won't hate me for it. You'll try."
Regulus had been the first person who ever tried for him. For years, he had been the only one.
Regulus takes a deep breath. "I'll try."