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“Are you drunk?”
Sirius teetered back and forth at their front door, a bottle of something in his hand while a rather large grin plastered his face. “Of course, I am! Why wouldn’t I be?”
Lily glared at her husband’s best friend, debating how to best follow up seeing Sirius standing there, teetering back and forth as if he were about to fall over. Her hands gripped the edge of the door frame, her eyes narrowed so he’d know he’d messed up, yet he seemed unphased for once by her glare.
“Can I come in?”
“James isn’t here.”
“All the better.”
“Then my answer is no.” Lily started to close the door, not wanting to know what Sirius had in mind to do since James wasn’t there.
His hand shot out, the smile faltering from his face, panic set in. “Please. No. I’ll behave. I...” He swallowed. “I need someone to talk to, someone who won’t laugh at me.”
His grey eyes darted to the side while Lily held the door shut. She decided to ask a question for which the answer would determine whether she let him in or not. “Laugh at you for what?”
“For being a sentimental fool over a Death Eater who died a year ago,” Sirius muttered, which made her notice his eyes were read.
“What Death Eater are you talking about?” Her grip on the door softened, sympathy going out to the man in front of her who didn’t trust his best friend not to make fun of him for—she honestly wasn’t yet sure.
“Reggie,” Sirius muttered.
Her eyes narrowed, her grip tightening, but he seemed to notice as a look of shock on his face at her reaction started to slowly set in, in his drunken state.
“Sorry. I—you’re Muggleborn, so...”
“It’s a bit late for you to suddenly start showing you actually cared about him, isn’t it?” Lily watched his jaw drop as she opened the door, but she couldn’t help but feel saddened at knowing it had been a year since that boy died; thoughts of contacting Slughorn to console him later crossed her mind. “Yet, it’s better than never. Come on in.”
“That—” Sirius’ eyes blinked. “That wasn’t the reaction I expected.”
Lily ignored him. “I’ll go and put a kettle on.”
“I mean, Reggie was a Death Eater, and you know—well, his beliefs and all.”
“Something tells me you didn’t actually really know what your brother actually believed, but honestly—I blame you.”
“What?”
“I said, I blame you for Regulus’ death, but something tells me you do as well, that you know the way you treated him while we were at Hogwarts played a part in him going in the direction he did.”
“That’s harsh.”
“You need to hear it from someone, and you certainly wouldn’t hear it from James, who’d either coddle you telling you it wasn’t your fault, or—”
“Tell me I shouldn’t feel sentimental about that bastard.” Sirius sat down at the table while Lily looked at him. He swallowed. “Not that Reggie was a bastard. Not like them. He was—different.”
“I know.”
“You know?” Sirius swallowed, their conversation having sobered him up. He leaned into his hand, a headache from how much he’d drunk likely setting in. “This is not the reaction I expected from you Lils. I mean, you’re Muggleborn. Why would you care about my brother?”
“You mean the brother you refused to acknowledge as your brother?”
“James tell you?”
“Sirius, everybody at school knew.”
“But, Reggie—he’s a Black. He’s a Pureblood prat. I don’t understand.”
“I’m telling you that you didn’t know him, Sirius,” Lily muttered, putting a cup of tea in front of him and taking his bottle. It was already empty, meaning she wouldn’t need to dump it out, nor did she know how much of their conversation he would remember when he woke up, or even if he’d acknowledge his heartache over losing his young brother in the manner he did. She set a cup of tea in front of him. “Drink this, then go to sleep on the couch.”
“Is it okay to grieve for him? I mean, he was a Death Eater, right?”
“He also never reached his eighteenth birthday, graduated, nor did he ever get the chance to take his N.E.W.Ts. There are so many, many things he’s never going to get the chance to do Sirius, simply because he’s dead, so many things he could have been.”
“Yeah. That.” Sirius started drinking the tea, still red-eyed. Eventually, he lay down on the couch, but when James got home, she placed a finger on her lip.
“When did Sirius get here? Why didn’t you call me, to let me know? I would have come home sooner?”
“Because Sirius—he thought you would make fun of him.”
“Fun of him for what?”
“Grieving for Regulus, but if you do—”
“I wouldn’t, that old sod. Can’t believe he thought I would. He adores—adored Reggie.”
Lily let out a sigh. “And now he wishes he hadn’t been so stubborn.”
“He told you that? About—”
“James, everyone knew.”
~
Regulus awoke to the smell of cooking coming from the kitchen mingling with the smell of a dirty diaper. His nose wrinkled; his hands still wrapped gently around his infant daughter as they took a nap on the Granger family couch. One hand reached to support her diapered bottom as he sat up, the feeling of her nestled safely against his chest a great comfort. “Okay, baby girl. I get the message. Time for a diaper change. Papa’s got you, my sweet baby girl.”
His legs swung out and he stood up, grateful for the return of his mobility that had been taken away by the Infiri tearing into his backside. He gently bounced her up and down so she wouldn’t wake up, but her brown eyes flickered up and her small mouth opened into a yawn. Her fingers open and closed around his shirt while Regulus’ smile widened. “Well, hello baby girl!”
Regulus let out his yawn, heading for the place set up for changing diapers and he set her down. While still half asleep himself, the task was now like second nature, but he continued smiling down at her, watching her wiggle and move, reacting to the world around her as if it were a wonderful place, something he wanted to remain as long as possible. Upon finishing, he headed into the kitchen from which the smells of cooking came.
“Oliva, maman—what’s the special occasion,” Regulus asked, still coming out of the fog of sleep while his infant daughter now rested against his shoulder, babbling into his ear—far more awake than he was. He smiled at his wife and his mother-in-law—also his new mother.
The older woman perked up upon hearing his voice and hurried over, her hands reaching out for his face, her hands gentle. “My baby boy and baby girl are finally awake.” Standing on her tiptoes ever so slightly, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before kissing her baby granddaughter on the cheek. “I love the both of you so much.”
“I know that. You don’t have to tell me, maman. I mean, you show it every—”
“Of course, I have to show it! You came to us a year ago, so touch-deprived, so craving familial affection, Sebastian, that I want to make sure to make up for what you missed growing up.”
Regulus smiled, looking over at Olivia. “So, what is the occasion?”
“Mother just told you, silly.”
His eyes blinked while his baby girl continued talking to him in strings of babble only she understood, snuggling in close. “She did? She just said---” His eyes blinked again, now looking at her, his smile fading into a frown. “Wait? It’s really been a year today? Why celebrate?”
“Because not only is that the day you became a part of this family, that was a day you almost died, but I think—and you don’t have to confirm this, my dear, that you thought you were definitely going to die, but instead you’ve lived an entire year longer than you did. Both are worth celebrating.”
Regulus' eyes blinked, wondering if anyone in his family would celebrate him being alive instead of dead. “Nah. They’d likely celebrate not having to deal with my incompetence anymore, but Sirius—he’d really celebrate.”
“Hey. What have we said about negative thoughts?” His new mother clicked her tongue.
Smiling again, he looked at her. “Not to dwell on them, if I can.”
“You’ve got a lovely wife, Sebastian, and a lovely baby girl. Olivia’s already studying to become a dentist and you’re working on getting your A-levels despite the disadvantages of not growing up in our world. Hermione’s also a very healthy baby who’s on point with the developmental stages.”
“I also have loving parents, and three older brothers who treat me like I was their brother,” Regulus muttered, turning his head to look at his daughter. “And baby girl, you’re going to grow up in a wonderful, loving household.” Her fingers drifted to his mouth, not understanding what he was saying, but delighting in hearing his voice. “Yes, you are.”