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"Are you drunk?"
"Of course I'm drunk," Sirius muttered, looking up at the room's ceiling with one arm crossing the back of the couch and a bottle of beer in the other. His lips pushed together, sorely tempted to take another drink to erase the memory and thoughts from his head.
"Why are you drunk, Sirius?"
"Because," Sirius said rather than responding to the question James asked, not really wanting to go into the thoughts which were rattling through his head, let alone how the young man he'd run into that looked so much like Regulus, who'd actually stuck his tongue out at him in a manner so not like Regulus. And it honestly haunted him, eating away at his mental state.
"Sirius. Stop messing around and talk to me."
Sirius sighed, closing his eyes. "What's the point?"
"You've been like this since your last mission. The one Remus went with you on, that both of you said something didn't happen, yet something obviously did."
"Why don't you ask Remus?"
"I did. He said I should talk to you."
"Ah."
"And he admitted that you did look like you'd seen a ghost."
"Bloody Merlin!" Sirius closed his eyes. "He said that did he?"
"Yes," James said. "And that wouldn't be a clue as to why you're so out of sorts and drinking so early in the morning, would it?"
"Maybe," Sirius said. "And maybe I don't want to talk about it."
"I could go to the village you and Remus were sent to on a mission and do a bit of investigating."
"A bit of investigating. It isn't as if…." Sirius stopped short. "Wait. I didn't go back and investigate. To truly rule it out."
"Wait? So there is something that the Order should be concerned with? Something that…."
"No! I mean, there is something there, but not something the Order should bother itself over. You need not bother either," Sirius said, letting out a rather drunken huff. "And it's likely nothing, just my mind playing tricks on me because I feel guilty, and I'm just that desperate to elevate my guilt."
"Your guilt for what?" James let out a sigh, sitting down on the couch. "And don't tell me it's not any of my business. Even though I'm married to Lily now, I'm still your best friend."
"And the two of you are expecting," Sirius sighed. "Plus, it couldn't have been him."
"No?" James said on. "Hold on. Who? It couldn't have been who?"
"Regulus," Sirius muttered.
"Regulus?"
"I'm not joking that I saw him," Sirius said, still looking up at the ceiling. "He certainly didn't act like him, and I know it's my mind playing tricks on me because I feel so guilty letting that little twerp down. The fact it's nearly the anniversary of his death isn't helping my mental state, so my mind keeps telling me it's him."
"Then," James looked at the ceiling. "Do you want to go and do a bit of investigating? To ease that mind of yours?"
"Now?" Sirius said, becoming excited.
"Sirius, you're drunk."
"Don't care. I'm going!" Sirius stood up, the bottle of beer dropping to the ground, the leftover contents spilling into the carpet.
"Now?" James stood up quickly.
"Yes, now!" Sirius said, going to a drawer and pulling out a Polaroid he'd managed to take of Regulus.
"Hold on!" James grabbed onto his arm. "Sirius, you're drunk!"
Sirius' response was to Apparate.
James let out a series of curses upon Sirius, Apparating them to the village where Remus and Sirius had been sent on a mission to see if the Death Eaters were up to anything. "Hey! Seriously, what is your game plan? And what if there'd been Muggles around to see us?"
"I knew this alley would be empty," Sirius said, shaking the photo, before heading out, escaping from James' grip. Muggles passed by, and he waved the picture in the air, attempting to attract their attention.
"Sirius. Seriously!" James said, watching the Muggles give him a strange look, one he couldn't blame them for giving his rather drunk friend.
"Hey!" Sirius ignored James. "I'm looking for someone! Can you help me find him?"
And for a moment, James thought that nobody would help them, as Regulus was--
"Oh! That looks like Sebastian Granger."
"Sebastian Granger?" Sirius said, a look of hope appearing on his face while James felt his heart sink. And Sirius was still drunk, not steady on his feet. "Where is he?"
So it was no surprise when the woman looked at Sirius, frowning. "Hold on? Why are you looking for that sweet boy? What do you want with him?"
"He's family," Sirius said.
"You'd better leave, then," the woman said.
The smile on Sirius' face faltered. "What?"
"The Granger's don't need your kind of trouble."
"Excuse me?"
"Everyone knows they're concerned about Sebastian's family—you find him because you aren't good people. Not carrying what happened to Sebastian as you did," the woman said. "Do I need to call the police? Because I won't hesitate to do so."
"Hold on," Sirius stammered out, drunk as ever.
James hurried over, grabbing Sirius' arm. "We're leaving now."
"James," Sirius said, not wanting to budge. He budged, though, as he was drunk and James was not.
James pulled him around a corner, frowning.
"James. We can't leave."
"We also don't need the Muggles calling the police on us."
"But it was Regulus I saw!" Sirius said, holding the Poloroid right in James' face. "That woman recognized him. "Called him Sebastian, she did. So he's here! Please! I've got to find him."
James took a deep breath, knowing word would eventually get back to Lily. "Fine. But we do it my way, which is you keep it shut, but we've got to walk away from here because she may have told someone we're looking for Regulus—or Sebastian as they know him."
And so they headed away until James reached a certain point and waved someone over. "Hey. The Grangers?"
"Oh! You're looking for Granger's Bookstore?" the man asked.
"Uh, yeah," James said, glancing over at Sirius, who didn't exactly look like someone who was into books.
"Baby books?" Sirius asked.
"Oh. You'll have to ask old Richard. Or one of his grand kiddos that work at his shop or studies there," the man said. "I'm more into the classics." The man pointed down the road, telling them to head in that direction and further directions.
And Sirius nearly yanked James off his feet. James frowned. "Sirius."
"Maybe he's there."
"Sirius," James said again, worried about how excited Sirius was. There were so many things, like that Sebastian not being there or that Sebastian not being Regulus at all. But they quickly arrived at the shop, and the bell jingled as they went in.
An older man glared at Sirius, which bothered James slightly. "Can I help you?"
"We're just looking around," James said, pulling Sirius down one of the rows.
"What are you doing?" Sirius hissed. "You could have asked him if Regulus was here."
"You're drunk," James said. "So you're not thinking straight."
"I am thinking straight," Sirius said.
"No, you're," James didn't say what he was thinking, stopping and looking at a circular table with many books where someone was studying. And it reminded him of their time back at Hogwarts, when they would find a certain someone there. But there was a difference.
Unfortunately, Sirius also saw the person James did and not everything else. "Regulus."
The person—Sebastian didn't respond, instead continuing to study whatever they were looking at while supporting a tiny infant in their lap, which in turn sent off alarm bells in James' head, as the person Sirius thought Sebastian was wasn't the type of person to get in that type of trouble. Mainly since James' could do the math based on how old the baby held in Sebastian's right arm was. And Sebastian ignored him.
"Regulus?"
The person continued to ignore Sirius, but then Regulus had been good at ignoring Sirius when Sirius got up to his usual antics.
"Hey? Are you ignoring me?"
Sebastian continued, then paused. At first, James thought Sebastian—if he were Regulus- would acknowledge them. But then his nose wrinkled as Regulus' nose always did when he smelled something funny and--
"What's that smell!" Sirius said, covering his nose.
James pinched his nose, knowing full well what the smell was.
Sebastian stood up, the infant in his arms as said infant started to stir, obviously agitated by the issue at hand. He quickly scooped up the bag, which likely contained the items necessary for caring for the infants, and headed away from the table, brushing past Sirius. Sirius snapped his head around, grabbing onto Sebastian's arm. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"
"Are you drunk?" the young man frowned. "I told you the last time. I don't know you. So why are you bothering me?"
"Sirius, let go."
"No!" Sirius said.
"You're going to cause a scene."
"I don't care!"
The baby started to stir, and James let out a sigh. "His priority right now is his child. I mean, the child is yours, right?"
"Yes. She's my daughter," the person said, which had the effect of Sirius letting go, staring before heading away from them.
"Wait. What?" Sirius looked at him in shock. "It can't be."
"It seems it is," James said.
Sirius didn't listen and followed after. Sebastian walked over to the counter, still ignoring Sirius. "Papa Richie?"
"Yes?" The man asked, glaring at Sirius.
"I need to change Baby Girl's diaper. Watch my other things?"
"Of course." The older man said as the young man headed towards the back room.
Sirius followed, or tried to.
The older man held up a cane. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I need to talk to him."
"It can wait," the man said, not lowering the cane.
But then, Sebastian turned, looking at them. "Let them. It's better not to cause a scene in your store. I wouldn't want to do that to you. So please?"
"Alright. But if he causes trouble and makes a mess, he pays for whatever he breaks," the man snapped.
And so they headed back, James and a very drunk Sirius. Of course, the number one priority on their suspect's mind was a diaper change, although the suspect wasn't quite the right word either.
"Regulus?"
"I told you, my name's Sebastian. And I'd like you to stop bothering my family and me," Sebastian said.
"Your family?" Sirius said, getting close, only to pull back upon catching a whiff of the diaper. "I'm your family."
Sebastian glared, only for the glare to fall away when the tiny infant moved, interacting with him, which was when a smile burst onto his face. James frowned, not remembering the last time Regulus smiled—the youngest Black didn't seem to have much to smile about. "Hey! Almost done!"
And just after he'd finished, it happened.
Sebastian's left arm went limp, and the color drained from his face as his right hand went to grip his arm, right where the Dark Mark should be. He let out a hiss and turned, sliding down, obviously in pain. And he muttered to himself, although James and Sirius could hear him. "Why? Why now of all times?"
And Sirius reached out, grabbed Sebastian's arm, and pulled the sleeve back. And he held the arm, his tone becoming dark. "Are you going to continue lying to me?"
James rubbed his neck, watching Regulus look at his older brother, not hiding the fact he was upset, though whether it was because of being found out or because of the other issues between the two of them--
"Bloody hell!"
That came from a fourth person, not the older man at the counter. James' head shot up, looking at them, noticing how they glared at Sirius.
"What did I say about leaving my brother alone!"
James sighed, knowing--
"Your brother!" Sirius snapped. "Your brother!" And he was up, losing it just as James thought he would. He held his Polaroid out. "Regulus is my brother!"
And the other person's eyes lighted on the picture, which he snapped away in anger. Regulus' eyes went wide. "Lettie. What are you doing?"
Lettie glared at Sirius, but James knew from his motions precisely what he was going to do with the picture.
Sirius' eyes widened. "Hold on! That's the only one I have!"
"Don't care." And then the Polaroid was ripped into pieces and tossed onto the ground.
Sirius attempted to lunge at Lettie.
Only James grabbed onto him while Regulus—he moved, getting between the two of them. And James could see the Dark Mark and the scars marring it and Regulus' arm. Lettie glared at him. "Get out!"
"Lettie! Stop!" Regulus said, just as the tiny infant began to cry. He bent down to pick up the pieces with one hand. "Shush. I'll be with you soon, Baby Girl."
"Let me go, James!"
"No," James said, knowing he was at fault for not making sure Sirius sobered up, not that would have helped Sirius' temper.
He could hear Regulus humming from behind him and turned his head to see Regulus set the pieces on the counter he'd used as a changing table while he spoke softly to his daughter, calming her down. And then it happened. He watched Regulus wave his right hand, the picture mending itself, And the right hand—not the left started to grab the photo. "You can have this," Regulus began to, only get a lock at the picture. "Back." He turned, holding the image out, looking as if he were about to cry; his breathing—yeah, he was fighting back the urge to hyperventilate. "What's this?"
"It's mine," Sirius said, snatching the picture away.
"It's a picture of me. When did you? Why did you?"
"He took it with him when he left," James said.
"He what?" Regulus sucked in his breath.
Lettie walked over, placing his hands gently on Regulus' shoulders as if to calm him. "You two need to leave."
Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but then Regulus shook his head. James wasn't sure what he was trying to communicate.
"But they—whoever they are, are going to turn you in," Lettie said. "They're going to take you away from us, Rabbit."
James had to hold Sirius back when Lettie ruffled Regulus' hair, who shook his head, trying to keep calm. "We talked about this."
"Yeah, but," Lettie sighed, looking away.
"Talked about what?" Sirius asked.
"That this might not last forever," Regulus said. "I only ask," he started, his left arm hanging limp with the scars ever so noticeable while he nervously let his right hand's fingers rub together. "Can you leave them out of this? Have the Auror's not caused a scene for them?"
"What," Sirius turned his head, confused. "Wait? You actually think we're going to be turning you into the ministry?"
James closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. Lettie shook his head. "No."
"It's the right thing to do, Lettie," Regulus said, keeping his eyes closed.
"Fuck, it is!" Lettie said, making the baby start to cry, to which Lettie began to talk to her, to calm her down, while saying, "No, because you've not done anything wrong!"
"I've told you, being a Death Eater is enough."
"Which makes your ministry's laws stupid!"
"Hold on," Sirius took a deep breath. "what does he mean by you not doing anything wrong?"
"I'm saying that just because he joined up doesn't mean he did any of the stuff those others did!"
James stared at the mark, frowning, knowing that said otherwise.
"We're not going to turn him in," Sirius said. "Plus, it's not as if he'd know anything of use."
Regulus sighed, then held up his arm. "This says otherwise."
"What could you possibly know?" Sirius said. You didn't torture or kill." He then frowned. "Then how?"
"Ah. Because I was," Regulus looked at the ground. "I was useful in a different way. And I do know things."
"Would you be willing to tell Dumbledore?" James asked though he didn't think Regulus would trust Dumbledore.
"I'm not sure how useful it will be, as Kreacher should have hopefully destroyed it. But—I guess Dumbledore would want to know," Regulus muttered.
"Rabbit?" Lettie sighed, still holding onto Regulus, which earned him a glare from Sirius. "Are you sure?"
"I think," Regulus smiled at him. "I've not been able to talk about what happened to me, you know."
"Because we're Muggles," Lettie said, making James stiffen up, realizing Regulus had broken the statute of secrecy. "And there are certain things you don't know how to explain to us?"
Regulus nodded. "But Dumbledore is old and wise."
And James wanted to facepalm, suddenly wondering which of the Black brothers was more of an idiot.
"And if I have to go to Azkaban," Regulus started to say.
"You're not going to go to Azkaban if I can help it!" Sirius blurted out.
Regulus started, then twiddled his fingers. "Hey, Sirius?"
"Yes?" Sirius looked at him hopefully while looking learily at that Lettie person.
"Do you want to hold Hermione?"
"Who?" Sirius startled while James groaned.
"Your niece," Regulus said, as said niece wiggled on the bench.
"Maybe when he's not drunk!" James blurted out. "Come on, Sirius. We need to talk to Dumbledore—on behalf of your brother."
"I," Sirius started.
"Come on! It's important," James said, remembering how Regulus had mentioned Kreacher supposedly destroying something. The mark—they'd thought Regulus had only recently started and not gotten in deep, but the mark meant—it meant a lot. Everything meant a lot.