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“Is this your first time being to the beach?”
Regulus nodded his head, his eyes wide at the sandy coastline scattered with rocks here and there. While words refused still to come out of his mouth after his ‘accident’ in the cave, he found himself in awe of the place.
Of course, any place Olivia’s older brothers picked for bonding would have likely inspired such a reaction, given the fact there weren’t many places he’d ever been in his young life. Before attending Hogwarts, his life was spent in Grimmauld with brief visits to the estate of the family head, his grandfather. Then, there were the yearly visits to Diagon Alley, the train station on his way to and from school and school. On rare occasions there were visits to Hogsmede, then the outings with...
“Hey. We’re on this trip to enjoy ourselves, remember? Whatever thoughts are going through your head, Sebastian, chase them away.”
Regulus’ eyes blinked, in part from hearing the name Olivia’s parents gave him, but also because her oldest brother Richard managed to pull him out of thinking of his outings with Bellatrix and her husband—outings which might not have been what they seemed at the time. He looked at Richard Granger, with his brown eyes and brown hair, so much like Olivia’s own and let out a sigh of relief.
“There you go! You, me, Hamlet, and Cassio are going to have fun today, so just relax.”
Regulus tilted back, looking at the other two who were setting up some chairs as the ocean breeze blew salty air in, cooling down the hot summer weather which drove them to bring him out here in the first place, so he wouldn’t be stuck in the overly warm Granger house old festering away as Olivia’s middle brother Hamlet put it.
Cassio glanced up and glared at him, and Regulus waved back, slightly nervous about Olivia’s youngest brother—his mood swung as quickly as Sirius’ did. His response made the glare on Cassio’s face falter, his eyes blinking before he shook his head and turned back to setting up the chairs with Hamlet.
“Don’t mind Cassio,” Richard’s hand touching the back of his head made Regulus’ attention. “Sit on one of the rocks, so I can get those boots off you.”
Regulus opened his mouth to protest he could do it himself, yet...
“Doctor’s orders,” the oldest of the three brothers chimed in. “From both of our parents.”
He pointed to a rock and Regulus sat down, looking at the boots which were the one thing other than his wand, the latter of which Hamlet rescued from under one of the front seats of the Granger family car after arriving after his ‘accident’. Richard began to unlace the boots which went to mid-calf on him, bringing on the same calming effect had Regulus done it himself.
“I don’t get why you like these so much,” Richard muttered. “Given that they’re still a pain for you to get on and off as your back muscles are still stiff from whatever happened to you, but...” Richard gently squeezed Regulus’ leg in reassurance. “Hamlet says it’s the only thing you have left from before you became a part of our family, but he spent a lot of time getting them fixed for you.”
Regulus hummed in appreciation—if he were still with the Black family, Walburga would be screeching for a full-sentence answer, yet over and over he was told by the Granger’s that being himself was actually okay, that his eccentricities made him who he was. Nobody pushed him to speak, let alone recount his past, though Olivia knew more than anyone else did.
He could speak when he was ready, a few words such as calling Olivia’s mother “maman” already coming through.
Richard finished removing the boots, leaving the socks. “Would you like to do that yourself?”
Regulus nodded his head, using his feet to slip the socks off one foot after another. His toes touched the sand, a sharp breath sucking in as the unfamiliar sensation sent chills of delight down his spine at the sand moving between his toes. With the Granger family—his new family—there were a lot of new experiences, but his reaction made Richard laugh, obviously delighted at his reaction.
“You’re smiling. I’m glad you are, but this is much better than being cooped inside in a house with no air conditioning,” Richard said and Regulus nodded his head in agreement, the promise of getting a few window cooling units having been uttered the moment they learned he didn’t handle the warm weather well. “Why don’t you stick your feet into the water. That’s why we’re here, after all, to enjoy the beach.”
Regulus took the hand held out to him so he could get up—full mobility from his torn-up backside was something that would return with time, though it was at times frustrating, given how he used to play Quidditch. He walked over to the water’s edge, watching it come in and out much as it did at the lake with the giant quid at Hogwarts, though here there was no giant squid. His eyes blinked, wondering if he should stick his toes in.
He finally did, the temptation and Richard’s words of encouragement to do just that proving too much, but—
When he did, Regulus found himself staggering backward from shock, bumping into someone whose hands latched onto his shoulders. He glanced up, expecting Richard, but instead saw Cassio, who tended to be hard to read. Cassio looked away. “So—on one side, you’re the guy my baby sister’s had sexual intercourse with...” Cassio muttered, that still rubbing him the wrong way. “But on the other hand, you’re our little brother, which means it's our job to take care of you, right?”
Regulus didn’t respond, not knowing how to, his head tilting forward so he could look at the ocean, already wanting to try putting his feet into the water again. He felt Cassio let go of his shoulders and felt himself start falling backward which made his hands go back, only to find himself falling against Cassio as the older man wrapped his arms around him, resting his chin on top of Regulus' head.
It was nice but didn’t last long, as Hamlet cleared his voice and Cassio let out that sound he’d been told was the indication he was embarrassed by something. He pushed Regulus back up so he could stand on his own two feet. Hamlet stepped over, his arms crossed, a smile on his face. When Cassio disappeared, heading over to help Richard with the setup, Hamlet winked at him. “Magical, huh?”
A laugh bubbled out of Regulus’ throat, remembering Hamlet was the one brother who was there when he crash-landed in the Granger’s living room after his ‘accident’ in the cave, so he knew—he knew and didn’t care like people said Muggles would. Regulus lifted his arms, feeling his back muscles move, still getting reaccustomed to certain movements. He placed them behind his head, thinking today’s visit to the beach would be nice, but that it was also nice finally having a family which cared.