Work Text:
“Okay, before I tell you, you have to promise not to be mad,” the man said.
“Why should I even be inclined to listen,” Olivia replied.
Olivia discovered the stranger waiting outside of her small caravan after returning home from work for the day. Yet, despite never having met the man, she held some kind of clue regarding who the man was from the telltale gray eyes and raven black locks of hair peppered with gray.
“He’s a Black.”
“Are you Olivia Granger?” the man asked, continuing to stand there leaning on his cane, his chin held high. The clothes he wore were indeed what she expected of the Black family, even though she’d only ever interacted with one of the family members.
“Why are you asking?” she asked, having heard enough to know she shouldn’t easily trust any member of that family. She had an idea of what the man wanted, her hand going to her bulging belly. “He’s not depriving me of my child.”
He stared at her, one of his eyebrows rising. The man seemed irritated with the way she responded. Yet, in her mind, he owed her an explanation regarding why he ’d shown up there even though she already had the feeling he wanted to do something regarding the child growing inside of her. She wanted the Black family to have nothing to do with her child. Finally, he said, “You know my grandson?”
She glared at him, choosing to stand her ground.
He glared back, those gray eyes reminding her of Regulus ’ eyes. “Regulus.”
“Rabbit,” she responded. Her tone of voice was sharp as the nickname clicked off her tongue.”
“Rabbit?” The man probably thought her mad.
“R.A.B.,” she responded.
“That answers my question.”
“Excuse me?” Her questions certainly weren’t answered.
He then said ever so candidly, much to her irritation, “Okay, before I tell you, you have to promise not to be mad.”
“Why shouldn’t I be mad at you,” Olivia muttered, “showing up at my home like this?”
The man stared at her, and for a moment, she thought he wasn ’t going to reply, but then he said. “Not me. My grandson.”
She mulled over what he said, then turned her head, letting out a sigh, puzzling over what he said in her head. “ Hadn ’t I come to terms with all of that? That Regulus couldn’t approach me again because of his family, that it was a one-time thing? ”
“May I come in?” the man asked. “These bones of mine are old, and I could use a seat.”
“Invite you into my humble abode?” Olivia felt the corner of her mouth twist. “I’d have thought a Muggle caravan beneath the members of the Black family?” She swallowed. “Aren’t I beneath you?”
“Is that what Regulus told you?”
“I’ve no reason to believe otherwise,” Olivia said.
“What I have to say is important,” the man said, “and you might want to sit down as well.”
Olivia turned her head, still glaring at him. “You are aware you’ve not given me your name.”
“Arcturus. Arcturus Black.”
“Arcturus,” Olivia muttered, turning to look at the door, still unsure whether she should unlock the door or not. “Rabbit was rather fond of his name.”
“That…” The man paused. “It is important that we speak, whether it is agreeable to you or not.”
Olivia sighed, lifting her head high, having already decided not to let any member of the Black family make her feel less than she was. “Then I’ll invite you in, but be forewarned it may not be to your standards.”
The key scrapped in the doorknob while her mind felt like a jumble as she attempted to figure out what Arcturus Black wanted from her. The purse was set at the small counter, and she motioned for the man to take a seat at the small table. “Tea?”
“I should be making you tea,” the man said, catching her off guard.
“What?” It was certainly not what she expected of a Black.
“You’ve been on your feet all day, haven’t you?” the man said, looking her in the eye. “Or are you worried I might poison you?”
“Definitely the latter,” Olivia stated. “You are, after all, a Black.”
“I see he was smart enough to have coitus with a girl with a head on her shoulders,” the man said. Olivia felt her throat tighten slightly as he tapped his can. “And I do know how to be civil, unlike that mother of his.”
“You were just complaining about your old bones, old man,” Olivia stated firmly. “And do you even know how to use Muggle devices?”
“I’m not backward.”
“You seem to think we Muggles are just that.” Olivia watched the man freeze, looking at her, acting as if she’d wounded him.
“They—you Muggles,” he corrected, “Do in fact have your uses.”
“How demeaning,” Olivia said.
“How about we discuss that more when we have tea?”
“How about we not,” Olivia wanted to say yet held her tongue.
“Contrary to what Regulus told you, what he believes to be true, us Blacks can actually be civil,” Arcturus said, maneuvering himself around her with more grace than a man his age should probably have. However, she wasn’t sure how old he actually was. He set about making the tea, leaving her to stew over his actions as she sat down, completely unsure how to handle the situation. He paused. “Pardon. Most of us. Whatever he’s told you about Walburga is quite accurate.”
“W…” Olivia’s eyes blinked.
“The boy’s mother.” The cups rattled, and she continued watching him, waiting for him to do something to the kettle of tea he put on before coming to sit down. Leaning over, she saw he’d done it right. “Now. To the matter, I’ve come to talk to you about.”
“I’m not giving up my child. Nobody is…”
“I didn’t say anything of the sort, though I do….” Arcturus looked down at her belly, hidden by the small table. “…want to discuss that.”
“My child is not for sale.”
Arcturus stared. “I believe we’ve started on the wrong foot.”
“You’ve still not told me why you’re here.”
“Because Regulus can’t be.”
The color drained from her face. She knew she ’d paled in front of the man as her jaw dropped, but hearing it—hearing her fears that something happened to him and that was the real reason for him not coming to see her again, although she did brush it aside as him simply attending school.
“I apologize for what he’s put you through.”
“Put me through.” The words tried catching in her throat. “What about what you’ve put him through?”
“That’s fair. Quite fair. Goodness knows…” the man shifted in his seat, looking her in the eye. “…he wouldn’t be in a predicament he is in now….”
“He’s alive? Rabbit—Regulus, he’s alive then?” Olivia felt the tension start to leave. “Where—what? I don’t understand.”
He removed a paper from his breast pocket and slid it towards her. “He almost wasn’t. And I still don’t know what’s going on in that head of his. Also, I apologize for reading that letter. It’s a bit smudged from being in the water, but magic recovered most, if not all, of what’s there.”
Olivia reached forward, opening the piece of paper, her eyes going straight to the letter ’s first line. “ I don ’t expect you’ll ever receive this letter, particularly since I’m likely to burn said letter or hide it so maman can’t find it. ”
“My grandson…” Arcturus speaking drew her away from his letter. “Has never been one, to be honest about how he feels. Sometimes I don’t think he can put it into words, but other times I feel like he doesn’t think hes’ allowed to. So reading that letter….”
Olivia decided to put it aside. “What do you want? To deliver a letter? Tell me I’ll never see him again?”
She felt like crying, thinking the delivery of the letter was out of spit, but the look on the older man ’s face—made her pause. “Not with the way the war is going. That idiot grandson of mine decided to turn himself in, so the place he currently is—“
“But he didn’t! He told me he didn’t!”
Olivia watched the corners of his mouth twist, a twinkle in the man ’s eyes. “I know.”
“If you know he’s innocent, then why….”
“Because it’s the safest place for him to be, but it also may kill him, that retched place.”
She frowned, her fingers tightening on the letter slightly, so it bent a little. “Do you blame me?”
“Oh, I thank you.” His words made her want to scream at him for being sarcastic. “I’d honestly thought I’d lost him, that grandson of mine. The very idea of him—well, as you said, he didn’t. I still might lose him to that awful place, but there’s a fighting chance.”
The tea kettle went off. Arcturus made to stand, only for Olivia to hold her hand up. “Let me. I need to get a hold of my thoughts real quick.” She carefully poured the tea and brought two cups back on a tray along with the kettle so she might pour more tea. She placed one in front of Arcturus. “I still don’t understand why you’re here.”
“To do the right thing.”
“I don’t want your money,” Olivia said firmly, hoping that would end the matter.
“And what if the child were to come down with a magical malady?” the man said, lifting his cup. “Or had—“
“A what?” Olivia paused. “A magical illness? What—surely.”
The man looked at her. “Then it’s not a matter of not having through that through so much as not knowing so you could think it over. Though, I can tell you that there is no need for anyone else to get involved, as I am a trained healer, and if I can’t handle it, I do know of someone tied to the family who would keep their mouth shut.”
“So you can pretend that we don’t exist?” Olivia muttered.
“Do you want to be involved with the rest of the Black family?” Arcturus said rather coyly. He looked around. “This place is small.”
“It’s what I can afford,” Olivia muttered.
“But not what you’re owed.”
“I do not want your money,” Olivia repeated.
“I mean what you’re owed by law, the Bastardly Laws.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s what they’re called.”
“Archaic,” Olivia replied, though it didn’t surprise her.
“Then what are they called now?”
“Child maintenance,” Olivia muttered.
“Well, that does sound better,” Arcturus said as if he cared, though Oliva wondered if he was simply saving face. “And I do admit my knowledge of Muggle law is on the archaic side of things. And this place isn’t big enough.”
“And what? End up with an entirely new place and draw suspicions from everyone in town wondering where the money came from, particularly since they’re already wondering who the father of my child is. I can’t exactly tell them, can I?”
“It doesn’t have to be right away,” Arcturus said. “And I don’t mean telling them, but getting a newer place for you and the child. It needs to be a place….”
“Please stop,” Olivia sighed. She looked away. “Having Regulus become involved with his child was one thing.”
“Except he can’t be involved, even once he’s released,” the old man said.
“So you do want to secret me away.”
“I believe there’s been a misunderstanding,” Arcturus said, a hum escaping from his mouth as soon as he finished speaking, almost as if he were enjoying the conversation. “And I see….”
“What do you mean by misunderstanding? You just made it clear that you aren’t going to tell Regulus?”
“Would you tell him?” Arcturus asked, making her look the man in the eye. They were gray like Regulus were, yet a slightly different color. She startled, the thought of telling Regulus—Olivia found herself looking at the ground. “So, please, don’t judge me for not wanting to tell my grandson that he’s going to miss the birth of his firstborn. Don’t judge me either for not wanting to tell him when he gets out that he missed the first few years of that child’s life.”
“It’s wrong,” Olivia muttered.
“Yet both of us don’t know how to tell him without him ending up hurt because we know if and when he does learn, he will end up hurt. That’s the way my grandson is, blaming himself for things that aren’t his fault.” Arcturus let out a scoff. “Well, it is his fault he turned himself in rather than coming to me for help, but that—it’s not his fault he didn’t realize he could trust me.”
Olivia let out a sigh, leaning back and slipping her shoes off, finding herself glad for it as her feet were swollen. “I’m still not understanding your motivations, as you are a Black. ”
“Yes. That’s true.” Arcturus sat there holding himself tall and proud. “I owe Regulus this much, for we—the Black family—are to blame for what’s occurred our youngest. Not him. Not you and not that child. And…” Arcturus smiled. “I want to watch my great-grandchild grow up not having to deal with the family politics as Regulus did. It was unfair for a child like him.”
Olivia narrowed her eyes, unsure of what to say for him.
“And…” Arcturus looked around the place. “This place is too small. There’s no room for a bookshelf.” Which startled Olivia. “I’d like to imagine the child would have Regulus’ love for books, particularly when their mother also has a love of books. A child deserves a room of their own to develop their personality. A female child will need their privacy.”
“You do understand I don’t trust you.”
“I came here fully understanding that,” Arcturus said, turning to look at her. “Introduce me to the child as Mr. White, further protecting them. And there does need to be more room because if the child isn’t like Regulus, they might end up being like his old brother, full of energy and needs room to run around.”
“What if he hadn’t turned himself in?”
“Regulus, I imagine, had he learned of his own volition, would have broken away from the family to do the right thing. He’s always been the type of child to do what he thinks is right, regardless of the consequence to himself. Sometimes, I wish he’d put himself first, but in this case—I’d like to think he’d have done both.”
Olivia stared. “The Black family are prejudiced against Muggles and Muggleborn.”
“So this doesn’t make sense? I imagine Regulus would be just as confused as you are now. It’s quite complicated, to be honest. I imagine he’s told you Pureblood families are insistent about keeping the bloodlines pure.”
“Yes. And the Black family is more so than others.”
“Keeping the blood pure is about strengthening the magical abilities of the next generation,” Arcturus stated. “That said, there is a downside to inbreeding, such as infertility, which I’m sad to say is why my daughter has no children. And there are other issues, issues which call for a break from tradition to bring in fresh blood into the bloodline.”
“But surely I’m not….” Olivia shook her head, leaning into her hand.
“For Regulus, no. Regulus…” Arcturus twisted his cane slightly. “It would be a different matter if we were talking about his older brother. With him, had he not rebelled as he did, it would have been a simple matter of finding a young woman of suitable bloodlines—by that, I mean not inherent to the point the next generation would be worse off. Regulus, Regulus is special.”
Olivia leaned back. “And that means?”
“What I mean is Sirius would easily have his wife’s respect as he’d be considered the ideal husband.”
“Regulus is…”
“Different. Special, a kind of special they wouldn’t understand, nor would any of them be on his intelligence level, whereas Sirius would be on equal footing whoever he ended up marrying. I’ve known that for some time that it would be difficult to marry Regulus off properly.”
“He’s a person, not a thing.”
Arcturus paused, looking at her. She didn ’t care if she’d insulted him. The man took a deep breath. “That is the problem, isn’t it?”
“Excuse me?”
“Regulus is indeed not a thing, but a human being who wouldn’t have been—what I mean by properly marrying him off, it’s not just about making sure he marries the right wife. I want what I had with my wife, what my children have with their spouses for him. And that won’t happen if we, the Black family, were to follow with tradition in regards to Regulus.”
“So, your train of thought would be considered as backward as he is?”
Arcturus chuckled. “I take that as a compliment, as I am not prone to thinking outside of the box as he does. That’s why….”
“Why what?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had plans for that boy, plans which involved him taking the Black family in a different direction from where it’s been headed. Things need to change for this family to survive. I won’t say more, as I don’t want you or your child involved with the family politics.”
“Again, I don’t trust you.”
“I understand, so I’ll work on gaining your trust with the complete understanding that it is your right as that child’s mother to cut me off at any point you want,” the man said. “And, as a healer, retired as I may be, I do wish to ask if you need any help in regards to finding proper prenatal care.”
“My parents,” Olivia muttered. “They’re not happy with me not telling them who the father is or the fact I’ve decided to raise the child on my own so I don’t need to bring Regulus into things, but they are very insistent, being doctors on that matter. And I do have my grandfather whose not asking any questions like the rest of the family who’s given me a job.”
“That’s good of him. Do you need a story?”
“That’s just it. I want to stick to the story that there are reasons he’s not able to be in the child’s life that I don’t want to discuss as they’re personal, not because they’re bad, although the reason is bad,” Olivia paused. “I’ll be fine.”
“Am I to be involved in my great-grandchild’s life?”
Olivia frowned, then said, “As long as you behave, Mr. White.”