Work Text:
Papaoutai
His mother had never shied away from how he came to be in her life. She was always thankful, despite the precarious situation she had found herself in, and always made sure to tell Reggie that he was the light of her life, despite the circumstances of how he came to be.
She had been a young mother (according to the muggle world); only a few years after graduating Hogwarts, and as she claimed, she had imbibed a little too much and forgot a contraceptive charm with someone that she had thought there was a future with. In the end, their actions were just another disappointment in her ledger for the magical world she had fought so valiantly for.
He knew who his father was. Even though he had dark wavy hair from his mother, his gray eyes couldn’t hide the truth from anyone. Draco Malfoy. Pureblood. Heir to an Ancient and Noble House. A liar. A coward. A weak man who claimed to love Reggie’s mother but inevitably caved to the pressures from his parents and society more. Even though they were years past the war, prejudice was hard to eradicate when it was the foundation of people’s beliefs. Even now, some 25 years later, articles popped up in the news about the struggles the halfblood and muggleborn populations still went through.
Reggie remembered how his mother would tell the story of how she approached Draco and told him she was pregnant. She had bought a small onesie and decorated it to look like a snitch. At first, Draco was elated. In her own words, his own father had left a lot to be desired on the parental front, gifting him to a mad man in order to repent for his failings in his service.
However, slowly over the course of the pregnancy, Draco started drifting away. It started with him skipping her prenatal appointments—she had made sure these were set up in the muggle world to keep the gossips, like that bug Skeeter, from finding out. Then it turned into unanswered owls, and finally an official letter from the Malfoy family firm stating that putting Draco’s name on the birth certificate would result in painful penalties.
His mother had made one last ditch effort to try and talk to Draco—to try and understand what went wrong and ask that if he couldn’t have a relationship with her, that he at least try to have a relationship with his son. She never did tell him how that conversation went, but the proof was in the pudding—Draco very obviously declined, as he was a no show for all of Reggie’s major milestones.
When Reggie and his mother were on Diagon Alley, or really anywhere in the magical world, every so often the hairs on the back of his neck would stand up, and he would feel as if he was being watched. Sometimes he saw the hallmark blond hair moving in the opposite direction, attached to a man over 6 feet tall. Other times he would see a woman, pale with blonde hair, staring at him as if trying to solve a riddle she knew the answer to but couldn’t yet remember.
In his young mind, when he saw the man who he knew to be his father walking away from him, he wondered if he was sad to not be with them, or if there was something wrong with Reggie that kept him away. He wouldn't know until later in life that blood prejudice was a thing, and that his Great Aunt Andromeda’s sister, his grandmother, was a staunch purist, as was his grandfather.
Straddling the muggle and magical world was easy for Reggie and his mother, but Reggie knew that being tossed away so easily by someone she loved had crippled his mother’s heart. They had family of course, his uncles Harry and Ron were constants in his life, his Great Aunt Andromeda, and his cousin Teddy were there as well.
He had walked in on many whispered conversations with his mother and Aunt Andie, but they had a keen sense for when he was going to pop around a corner, so eavesdropping was never as successful as he wanted it to be. Sometimes, he would see Andie press an envelope into his mother’s hands—sometimes he would find it later on his mothers desk, a thick stack of pounds that stared at him.
Reggie had been out one day running errands with Andie when the pale lady with the blonde hair approached them as they were getting ice cream. He learned that she was Andie’s sister, Narcissa, but she barely graced him with words whilst she seemed to angrily question his Aunt. He was too young to understand that her gasp of shock was in learning his name was Regulus, honoring the Black family tradition of her family—of his father’s family that is.
Narcissa pursed her lips, and stared at Reggie while he just enjoyed his ice cream, none the wiser that this was his Grandmother in front of him. The adults finished their conversations, and soon after he saw his mother and Aunt Andie arguing quietly in a corner. Reggie’s confusion over why they’d be arguing after ice cream was soon forgotten as he ran around with his cousins at The Burrow.
A few years after the ice cream incident, and just before Reggie turned nine, his mother got a job opportunity she couldn’t refuse. She had been offered employment with MACUSA, which required their tiny family of two to pack up and move to New Orleans, Louisiana. He often wondered if his father even knew they had moved but he was so focused on trying to come to terms with understanding the American accent and that he would be going to Ilvermony, that his distant and nonexistent father fell to the wayside of cares he had in the world.
Fortunately, being magical meant that his friends and family would come and visit often; they explored the Southeastern United States and even went to Disney World in Florida with them. Aunt Andie and Teddy came during the holidays, whilst Teddy was home from Hogwarts, and then spent a month with them in the summer, while his mother worked and Andie took the boys to explore.
Every so often he would see Andie and his mother talking, his mother getting teary eyed over tea, but she was quick to wipe her eyes and put a smile on her face when he came to check on her. She always brushed his concerns away, but he knew her heart was hurting.
Soon, he was off to Ilvermony—writing letters to his mother with his owl, loving all the treats she would send him as she encouraged him to make friends, study hard, but most importantly, have fun. His Aunt Andie would always send little notes, wishing him well in school, and he would always find dollar bills in various quantities shoved in the back of the envelope, despite him telling her he was fine and that his mother took care of everything. Eventually, Reggie stopped trying to return the money and put it aside in savings, wanting to do something nice for his mother when he graduated.
The years flew by and he was soon graduating—he had wanted to find a magical internship back in London, but was able to snag an American internship with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in New York City, not far from Ilvermony.
Every so often over the years, Reggie pondered on his father. Where was he? Did he regret treating his mother in such a way? Did he even care? But as he aged, his maturity led him to one thought—it was Draco’s loss in life to not know him. It was Draco’s loss to abandon his mother and him, only glimpsing Reggie in fleeting moments in public.
As Reggie sat in the nursery, cradling his newborn son, all he could think upon seeing his tiny little squished face was that he would do anything for this tiny bundle of joy, as well as do anything to be sure his bride never suffered. He never truly understood how learning that you were going to have a child could not push out prejudice, especially when the child had been with someone you told that you loved, and that you wanted a future with.
Ten years later, when visiting family and friends in London, eating ice cream in Diagon Alley, the tell-tale sign of being watched pricked upon his neck. Reggie casually turned his head, and locked eyes with Draco Malfoy. He had aged, as one does, but his eyes bore a haunted look of sadness, especially when he turned his eyes to look at his mother, doting upon her grandson.
Reggie excused himself, and walked to where Draco stood, Draco watching him cautiously as he approached. They stood there staring at one another for a few moments, Draco finally breaking his silence.
“It might not mean anything all these years later, but I am glad she had you. She never was meant to be alone.”
Reggie scoffed. “Your choices mean nothing to us now. She is happy. She thrived without you. I thrived without you. We will continue to thrive without you.”
Draco bowed his head. “I could never tell her what my father threatened. I know he sent her threatening letters over the years. He kept us apart to punish her, but in the end, he only punished himself. I never married. No official heirs running around. I gave my heart to one woman, many years ago, and she has had a hold on it ever since. I watched the family tapestry—watched you grow.
“I know any words I say would mean nothing, but the regret I live with every day, if only to save her from the magical backlash my father would have unleashed upon her, and by proxy you, will never be enough penance for the pain I caused.”
Reggie stared at Draco, a contemplative look on his face. “Does it hurt? Knowing what you missed out on?”
“I’ve gotten used to it.”
With a nod, knowing there was no more to be said, Reggie stuck out his hand for Draco to shake.
Years later, his own child having grown, gone to school, and on his way to a career and family, a haughty owl showed up on the perch Reggie had on his back deck, a letter tube tied to its foot. Upon taking the tie off the foot, the owl flapped its wings and took off.
Stepping inside, Reggie sat at his kitchen table, unrolling the parchment.
“This is a notice from Gringott’s of Great Britain. As of 17:42 yesterday, due to the death of the account holder, the vaults of Draco Lucius Malfoy have transferred to Regulus Thomas Granger, with a sum totalling….”