Chapter Text
Over the summer, Harry and Henry cause absolute mayhem in their house. Regina is equally exasperated and thrilled - her boys are back under the same roof, their roof. And Regina loves this house; she has since they bought it all those years ago. At the time, it was exhilarating - the thought of Regina Lycoris Black, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, buying a muggle home. With an American half-blood. Raising an American half-blood (although Henry thankfully does not have that ridiculous accent). And looking to protect The Boy Who Lived - the one that helped destroy (albeit temporarily) the man her mother most revered. In a muggle neighborhood. With muggle neighbors. Using the funds of her Black inheritance. Oh, how she wished she could bring her mother back to life - she'd immediately keel over once more with this knowledge. And it brings a smirk to Regina's face.
Emma goes to work; and Regina and the boys have adventures. Whether they venture into the muggle world to visit museums or gardens, or they decide to stay home where they practice wandless magic in their own garden - which is not technically against the rules. And the boys know their mum is a professor, so it’s probably fine. Right?
Zelena visits, as do Remus and Sirius. And they all bring their own form of chaos. Their home is loud, but filled with love.
When everyone is over, Harry challenges them all to a game of pick-up quidditch. Like always, Regina referees. Their first game pits Zelena, Emma, and Harry versus Remus, Sirius, and Henry.
The boys never stood a chance.
“Gina, please switch out with your sister,” Remus begs.
“I respectfully decline, but thank you Remus,” Regina grins.
Zelena laughs, “You think having her on a broom would help you?” She scoffs.
“At least she’d play fair,” Remus grumbles, folding his arms and leaning against the goal post.
“Uh, Mum? What does that mean?” Harry asks.
Sirius throws his arm around Harry’s shoulders, “Your mum here could’ve gone pro, Kid.”
“Mum?!” Harry asks, eyes alight.
She rolls her eyes, “Your uncle is exaggerating, dear.”
“Maybe,” Emma jumps in with a shrug, “But you’re hell on heels and a viper on a broom, Gi.”
“And fair,” Remus adds again glumly.
Zelena always plays Beater and Sirius plays Chaser. Remus prefers to play Keeper, but when the boys play in their more aggressive games, he makes sure they play Keeper - it’s safer that way. If they’re playing to learn, they all make sure both boys will rotate through the positions (and Zelena is reminded several times that they are teaching, not attacking).
And Zelena has to be very careful - she knocked Harry from his broom (he was fine) but Regina already had a hex flying at her sister and they had to stop playing until it wore off.
“So much for a fair and impartial ref,” Zelena says through her swollen face.
Emma scoffs, “Mama Bear trumps ref any day, Z,” she adds with a laugh.
It’s several weeks into summer when Regina receives a letter from her cousin, Narcissa.
Dearest Regina,
I hope you are enjoying this summer as much as I am. I am overjoyed to have my Draco back at home. Although it has been a bit quieter here, with Lucius spending so much time traveling for work.
You know how I hate to go too long without hosting and the summer feels bereft of holidays to celebrate or social engagements to attend. Since we find ourselves alone this weekend with this manor all to ourselves, I would like to invite you and your entire family out to Wiltshire.
I look forward to your acceptance.
All my love,
Cissa
“Uh, Gina? Why is that giant angry bird back in our house?” Emma asks, walking in.
“Isadora!” Henry shouts, rushing into the room, causing the bird to hoot and shuffle her feet.
“Henry,” Regina sighs.
He stops and smiles, sheepish, before bowing at the bird, “Hello Isadora,” he says at a much calmer level.
She rolls her eyes, looking back at Emma, “We’ve been invited to Malfoy Manor.”
“No.”
Regina refrains from rolling her eyes again, “It’s not a ball.”
“Gi-” Emma sighs, looking at her before glancing down at Henry.
“Henry, dear, please go find some treats for Isadora. I believe there is some salmon in the fridge.”
“But-” he gives her a weird look, “Isn’t that dinner?”
“Henry,” she repeats, giving him The Look.
“Yeah, got it,” he says before walking away and grumbling, “Girls are so weird.”
Regina pinches the bridge of her nose.
“Gi, I’m hearing things at the ministry,” Emma starts softly.
“Yes, because they are the epitome of truth and factual evidence,” she snarks before sighing, “I’m sorry.” She straightens her spine, and gives Emma her undivided attention, “What are you hearing?”
“Things about Lucius Malfoy.”
“Are they particular things? Or are we going to continue this vague wordplay?”
“Gina.”
“Em-ma,” she challenges with a raised eyebrow.
Emma huffs, “Fine. They say he’s a follower of ole’ Voldy and that he only got away with it because of how deep the Malfoy vaults are.”
Regina allows that to sink in. The truth is, he was a follower. Not that Regina would say that aloud. Merlin knows her uncle Cygnus was in the inner circle back before Regina left for America. He wouldn’t have let any of his daughters marry someone not a part of their murder club. She rubs at her temples, “Emma. They say the same thing about Zelena.”
“Not at the ministry.”
“Not in front of you, dear,” Regina corrects, gently; because knowing viciously-protective Emma, she would not allow anyone to talk negatively about her family. “And if you’ll remember, Sirius is thought to have murdered his dear friends, the Potters, and only got away with it because of Lucius Malfoy and his vaults at Gringotts.”
“So that makes him good?” Emma challenges.
“No, darling, that makes people complicated. We are not simply good or evil; you know this. But it’s a moot point because Lucius will not be in attendance this weekend.” She holds out the letter to Emma, waiting for her to take it. “And we have all been invited, including Zelena, Sirius, and Remus.”
Emma looks at her in confusion.
Regina smiles, “Cissa notes to bring the entire family. That was the same language our mothers’ used - and probably their mothers before that. Bringing the entire family means everyone, including anyone who may be staying at your house for the season.”
“The season?”
“Yes, summer is full of benefits, galas, and various society events.”
“But she says-”
Regina interrupts, “Yes, she’s an obnoxious liar. I’m surprised she had time to even write this letter with how full her schedule must be,” she says with a grin. “Now, would you like to join us for a visit to Malfoy Manor?”
“I would love to, thank you Sissy.”
“Zelena, what are you doing here?” Regina asks, looking over at her sister who leaning against the door jamb.
“Hoping you and Blondie get into a fight. I’m willing to throw the first curse if you’d like.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“And yet, you suffer on,” she says with a grin. She leans backward into the other room, “Siri, darling, do you have plans this weekend?”
“Leeeeeeeena,” Sirius whines, walking into the room. “You know Moony and I are taking Minnie to see the Hobgoblins this weekend!”
“Honestly, how she puts up with you is a mystery to us all,” Zelena snarks before turning back to her sister, “Looks like it’s just us.”
Regina waits for Emma to nod before walking over to her desk and quickly writes back a letter, accepting Narcissa’s invitation. She ties the letter to Isadora's leg and calls for Henry to bring the owl a chunk of salmon before her trek home.
Emma grumbles about this trip until Regina elbows her in the side, giving a warning look before she goes back to speaking to the boys about their plans for the evening.
It’s much later - after the boys had gone to bed and Emma declared she has to work tomorrow “and can’t get positively smashed with you Blacks and your obnoxious tolerance of alcohol” - that finds Regina sitting with her siblings around the table on the patio (all having drunk far too much of the wine Zelena brought back from her villa in France) laughing as Sirius recounts the first time he saw Regina after he was released from Azkaban.
“Honestly I thought I’d completely lost it! I walk passed all those terrible guards, hissing at me and threatening me, and then when I see sunlight for the first time in ages -”
“You were only there a few months,” Regina interrupts with an eye roll.
“I thought I was going to die in there, Gina.”
“Well, obviously. It is a prison, Sirius,” she reminds him in a condescending tone.
“Anyway,” he snarks, narrowing his eyes at her before turning back to Zelena. “I look up at the sun for the first time in ages and when I look down, who do I see? My darling sister back from the Colonies holding none other than my godson in her arms?”
Zelena looks surprised, “You took Harry to Azkaban?”
Regina shrugs, “I didn’t think he would talk to me alone.”
“Oh, hogwash, Gina. Be honest - you were scared!”
“Petrified,” she agrees with a nod.
Sirius jumps back into his story - ever unwilling to let pesky emotions get in the way of him telling a good story. “And then she brought me back to Muggle Surrey and I thought surely I’ve died. There’s no way my sister the fearsome Regina Ursa Canis Lyra Cassiopeia Lepus Ara Capricornus Aries Orion Pegasus Lacerta Monoceros Coma Delphinus Carina Perseus-”
“Sirius,” Regina deadpans.
“Leo Hydra Centaurus Black,” he finishes in one long breath and ends with a grin. And - ignoring the eye rolls from his sisters - continues, “is living in a muggle neighborhood and raising two sons, including my godson, with the Savior of the American Wizard World.” He turns his whole body to face Zelena, “She baked me cookies, Lena. I hadn’t seen or heard from her in five years and she brought me to muggle Surrey and baked me cookies. From scratch.” His lips lift over his teeth in a smile large enough to split his face in two. “And they were dreadful.”
Regina laughs, “I was not very good at first.”
“I think Kreacher putting poison in the mead would have tasted better, Gina,” Sirius teases, but no one could mistake the affection in his eyes.
“Ungrateful," she lifts her nose into the air. "I get you out of prison, pick you up out of that gutter and bring you to my home, and you critique how I care for you.”
“I was in shock!" he shouts. "That was all I could focus on. I never thought I’d see anyone again, and then you show up and talk about your family. I had no idea what to expect.”
“Definitely didn’t expect a little Blonde thing chasing around a couple brats on brooms, did you?” Zelena teases.
“Zelena-” Regina sighs.
“I definitely did not expect Emma.”
“No one does,” Regina sighs again - only this time it’s so full of affection it makes Zelena scoff.
“Get that gooey look off your face before you force me to be sick all over your table. That would be a terrible waste of good wine, Gina.”
Regina smiles and gives her an indulgent eye roll. “And then!” Sirius says, drawing their attention back to him. “She brought me out back and I found a whole quidditch pitch-”
“Emma’s doing,” Regina adds, looking out at said quidditch pitch behind them.
“Which was awesome but THEN she brought me out to the back shed and showed me my motorbike!”
“Hagrid still talks about when he held onto that death trap for you,” Regina says with a grin.
“And then-”
“Oh for Merlin’s sake, Siri. Even you have to wrap this story up sometime,” Zelena drawls, taking another sip of her wine.
Sirius lifts his nose in the air as if he’s smelled something foul. “You’re just jealous Gina didn’t rescue you and put you on a pedestal.”
“Siri, darling, I wouldn’t need rescuing,” Zelena tells him. “If you recall correctly, while Gina here fucked off to the Colonies and you found yourself in prison-”
“A wrongful detention,” he adds.
“I disappeared for a whirlwind romance in France.”
“You mean you drank your way across Europe,” Sirius teases. “And weren’t you in Italy?”
She waves her free hand as if it that fact was of no importance, “We happen to have houses in all the major ports, dear. When I remained the last Black standing - thank you by the way,” she snarks at him, “I found out all of the family’s secrets, including all the houses Father kept from Mother until the very end.”
Regina smiles fondly, bringing them back to Sirius’ initial comment, “And I didn’t quite put you on a pedestal, Sirius. You slept on the floor for weeks.”
“By choice,” he reminds her. He looks over to Zelena and shrugs, “I didn’t want to let Harry out of my sight. I slept on his bedroom floor for a spell.”
“I thought Emma was going to hex you the first time she walked in to check on Harry and found you curled up on the floor,” Regina laughs.
“Oh, Emma hated me, didn’t she?” Sirius asks, but he’s grinning.
“I don’t know if Emma has hated too many people - and no, you don’t make that list. But she definitely did not trust you.”
“A wise decision,” Zelena agrees with a smirk.
“Oi!” But Sirius pauses and then looks thoughtful, tilting his head before he asks, “But she loved Moony straightaway.”
“Of course she did,” Regina tells him with a shake of her head. When he still looks confused, her eyes narrow. “Sirius, you were a gutter-rat-looking, angry man with a chip on his shoulder, straight out of prison.”
“Wrongfully detained!” he reminds.
“And Remus was a quiet man in a sweater vest,” Regina deadpans. “He brought the boys chocolate, told them silly stories, and let them climb all over him - all while he helped me clean the kitchen.”
“I wasn’t that bad,” Sirius grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You had gone through something terrible,” Regina tells him softly, reaching out a hand to squeeze his arm. “We just needed to wait for you to pull yourself out of it.”
Sirius grins then, “Or wait until Moony beat the piss out of me.”
That gets a laugh out of Regina, “Yes, or that,” she agrees.
They all go back to their wine before another round of stories occurs - this time about the quidditch games of their younger years.
“I was the best Chaser those purebloods had ever seen!”
“Oh, please! First off, Gina's a beater Chaser than you."
He gasps, "Take it back, you fiend!"
Zelena ignores him, "And if you didn’t have Gina and I protecting you, you would’ve fallen off your broom and split your skull in two.”
And when they exhaust the pleasant memories of their childhoods, they move on to teasing Sirius for spending time in Azkaban at all.
“Honestly, Siri,” Regina teases, her tone light. The amount of alcohol in her system is evident by the use of his childhood nickname (and the fact that there's a soft glow surrounding everything she looks at). “You were never attached to the Black name; nor the traditions. Why not just change your name and start wearing glasses? You could have avoided Azkaban altogether.”
“What, change my name like you did?” he laughs.
She smirks, “I didn’t wind up in prison.”
“Why did you change your name?” he asks, never asking her before tonight.
She shrugs, “I didn’t want to have the war follow me. I was afraid everyone would see me as a Black and that would defeat the purpose of fucking off to the Colonies as Zelena so eloquently put it earlier.”
“But why, Mills?”
“Have you ever explored the grounds around Malfoy Manor?” she asks.
“Uh - no? But nice attempt at deflection I suppose,” Sirius snarks.
She tuts, “When I stayed with Narcissa the summer between my fourth and fifth year, I explored every inch of those grounds. There used to be a whole muggle town around them before the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was enacted.”
“I’m not smashed enough for a history lesson,” Sirius groans, drinking the remaining wine in his glass and summoning another bottle.
Regina continues, ignoring her brother even as she catches the bottle he incorrectly summoned, heathen, “I’m sure if one went looking, they would find the Malfoy’s still retain several titles in the muggle courts. However, that is not the point. When I was roaming around the grounds that summer, I came upon an old mill and thought it was positively the most beautiful thing I had ever seen - all covered in vines and ivy, slowly being reclaimed by nature. And it stuck with me.”
“You took on the name Mills because of an old muggle building covered in shrubbery?” And Zelena is both shocked and entirely unsurprised.
“That and it would’ve really irked Mother to know her daughter was using such a common muggle name in another country,” Regina adds, smirking into her wine glass.
At this, Zelena lets her head fall backwards, allowing her to look up at the starry sky as she cackles maniacally. “Oh, how I wish I could have been there when she found out,” she sighs happily, taking a moment to enjoy the very thought of witnessing their mother find out her youngest daughter was using a muggle name in America. When she's done, she looks up at Sirius critically, “You missed an opportunity, you know.”
“For what?”
“You could have found a pair of glasses, changed your name to Arcturus White, and the ministry would have let you go with nary a question!”
The siblings all fall into a fit of giggles, picturing Sirius dressed in some of Remus’ clothes, wearing glasses, with his hair slicked back. “They would never think to question Arcturus White, what possible reason could he have for committing such a crime - he wears a sweater vest!” Regina says between laughs.
“The ministry would never have figured it out and you would’ve avoided Azkaban entirely!” Zelena agrees.
He only huffs, “Where were you two when I needed that idea?”
“America.”
“Italy.”
And they all collapse into another round of giggles, opening yet another bottle of wine.