Regulus
As soon as Hadrian led Dora and Draco out of the parlor, Regulus went over and gently closed the black wooden door with a sigh. He hated seeing Hadrian like that. The kid always got so small when his condition acted up. Like he he want to burden others with his wellbeing. Like he wanted to disappear. Regulus had always tried to reassure Hadrian, but most of the time it never felt like enough. It was times like these that reminded Regulus of his own childhood. He didn't know what loving parents were like, so what hope did he have of being a good parent to James's son.
It felt like he was moving through quick sand, slowly sinking and not quite able to escape. Like a heavy weight had been suddenly dropped into his stomach. It was at times like these that he asked himself; What would Jamie do? Probably just laugh it off. Turning his very real feelings into a practical joke for people to laugh at.
The way Hadrian so quickly changed the subject by asking Draco and Dora to play with him; it reminded Regulus of Jamie so much that it was almost sickening, it was like it was instinctual. Though, whenever he kid tried to make himself smaller didn't remind him of James. It made him think of Lily. Of the way she would curl in on herself like a wilted flower whenever she was upset. Regulus didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Of course Hadrian reminded him of the two people Regulus had loved more than anything else in the entire world. Of the two people Regulus would never get to see again in this lifetime.
Maybe Lady Magic would take pity on him, and let them meet again in the next life. Regulus froze at the thought. No, he shouldn't think things like that. He had made a them a promise. A promise that if anything were to happen to them, he would care for their child. He couldn't give up, not as long as Hadrian needed him.
He took a moment to compose himself before he turned around to face his family, a dark look in his eye. He walked over and sat down on the couch next to his husband.
Regulus thought for a moment before he called, "Ceri."
A pop sounded the arrival of the house elf.
"Whats yous needing, Master Regulus."
"Bring us a bottle of red wine from the wine cellar. Château Lafite 1869, please."
"Yes, Master Regulus."
Ceri left the room with another pop.
Sev rubbed calming circles on Regulus's back for a few moments before he put his hand in the air to signal him to stop. Everyone waited patiently for Regulus to calm down.
"Sorry," Regulus began, "I get a little worked up whenever I see Hades like that."
"It's okay," Cissa said gently, "anyone would be the same in your position. I would certainly be worried if Draco had a condition that made it so he didn't have good balance, along with, I presume, being partially blind," she waited until Regulus nodded in affirmation before continuing, "That is an abundant amount of stress for a child to deal with, and in addition to that, copious amounts for the parent as well. Especially, a new parent."
Next, it was Andromeda's turn to speak up, "Yeah, Reg. You have nothing to apologize for. As long a you are trying your utmost to care for the boy, that is all that matters."
"Thanks you for your kind words."
Ceri returned, with the bottle of wine and several wineglasses. She set them on the table before popping out of the room. Regulus grabbed the bottle of wine, and poured the maroon liquid into a crystal wineglass. He nursed the glass in his hand for a few moments before slowly lifting it up to his mouth to take a small sip. He had always loved Château Lafite. The Sweet taste of cooked fruit with notes of an earthy taste, like forest floor, mushrooms, and truffles, filled his mouth. Regulus let out a pleased sigh as the silky texture guided the wine down his throat.
Regulus set down the crystal glass, the wine sloshing around like blood. As was customary, Regulus being the head of the house, he took the first sip of the bottle. Everyone else in the room simultaneously grabbed their glasses and took their first sips as well.
Cissa hummed in pleasure as she gracefully place glass on the table without a sound, "Regulus, dear, may I say that this wine is simply to die for~."
Regulus chuckled and said, "This one has always been my favorite, as well. Father picked brought a bottle of it on one of his annual visits to see our family in France. Left some bottles here for when he wanted to visit them again." In a split second, his face turned serious. "Though I didn't call you here today to talk about French Wine. Sev, did anything happen at your meeting today with Dumbledore."
As soon as Regulus had finished speaking, tension flooded the room as everyone lost their happy demeanor for a serious one. Regulus had expected it, for this always happened whenever one of them mentioned the old man.
Sev ran his hand through his hair and said, "Dumbledore is becoming more and more insistent that we need to find the boy as soon as possible. He has already managed to convince the Minister to change Hadrian's name to 'Harry Potter'," no one tried to hide their blatant disgust. "I know—He said that it would bring inspiration to all the muggleborns who are joining Hogwarts. Whatever that means. I personally think that he just doesn't his little Savior to have a name fitting for his station. Well, after tonight, Hadrian will be more Pureblood than not."
Cissa looked thoughtful for a moment before she asked, "Did Dumbledore say where he was going to put Hadrian when he found him?"
Sev looked disgusted just thinking about it, and Regulus had a bad feeling that he knew exactly who Dumbledore wanted to put Hadrian in the care of.
Regulus spoke up after Sev not voicing the answer, "It was Petunia Evans and her husband, wasn't it."
Just saying her name left a terrible taste in Regulus's mouth, which he immediately sought to rectified by taking another sip from the crystal glass filled with wine. Though it only helped slightly. Sev nodded stiffly, and Regulus let out an indignant huff. He had only met Petunia one time, and it wasn't a pleasant experience to say the least. Lily had invited him and Jamie over so they could meet her family and have dinner together. Petunia had sent glares at them the moment they had stepped into the house. But if that was all that had happened, Regulus wouldn't have minded her all that much. After all, he was a Slytherin. He was used to ignoring death glares from people who did know a single thing about him.
The problem had started Lily's father had started talking about how proud he was when they had learnt that Lily was a witch. Regulus had clearly seen that Petunia was getting madder and madder with each passing second. Regulus had then told Lily's family that He and James had grown up surrounded by magic as they came from magical family. This was not the best decision he could have made. Petunia started screaming about how they were all 'freaks' and had taken her sister away from her, before storming out of the house. Lily's mother had apologized profusely for her daughter's behavior, and they had ate the rest of their meal in silence.
Regulus shook his head to dispel the memory, and looked around the room. Everyone wore confused expressions, and were looking at the two in hopes of an explanation.
"Evans?" Cissa mused aloud, "Wasn't that Lillian's last name."
Regulus nodded, "Petunia is Lily's older sister. Nasty woman. I only met her once, and it was simply dreadful. Sev grew up near them, so he's more qualified to speak about her than I am. Though, I will say that the one time I did meet her, she went on like a thirty minute rant about how how all witches and wizards are freaks, and that we were and I quote 'stealing her sister away from her'."
Sev continued to explain, "Petunia is a jealous woman. Always has been. At least when it comes to Lily, that is. When we were young, she wanted more than anything in the world that she could have magic. I remember that she always used to beg Dumbledore, through letters, to let her attend Hogwarts. But over time, she began to feel feel resentment towards Lily for being, in Petunia's opinion, more special than her. Her hatred grew into an all consuming fire that she directed at anything even slightly out of the ordinary. If Hadrian had been given to her, I see no world where he would be treated with love and affection. Petunia would despise him on the very basis that he had magical blood."
"What is that old man thinking!" Andromeda said, with a scowl.
"You know what," Sev said, suddenly, "Why don't I just show you all the memory of the Order meeting in a pensive. That way I don't have to relay it back to you every single time Dumbledore calls a meeting."
"Yes, that's a great idea," Regulus said, while rubbing circles up and down Sev's back, "That way Sev can rest while we watch the memory."
Cissa nodded in agreement, and said, "What about tonight. We still have much to prepare."
"Don't worry, Cissa. We can talk about it after this."
"Very well."
"Ceri," Regulus called.
A pop sound her arrival.
"Yes, Master Regulus."
"Can you bring us the pensive from my potions lab. As well as an empty vial from the shelf in the far corner."
"Of course, Master Regulus."
Ceri disappeared, with a pop, and reappeared a few minutes later with the items he asked for. Ceri bowed, and left without a word.
Sev took out his wand, and pressed it against his temple before muttering the spell to himself. As he removed the wand from his head, silvery wispy liquid trailed behind it an into the pensive.
•••
In Pensive Memory
Severus flooed into the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
As soon as Dumbledore spotted him, his eyes twinkled in that irritatingly grandfatherly way that made Severus's blood boil, and said, "Ah Severus, how kind of you to join us for this meeting. We were just getting started."
Severus nodded his head stiffly and sat down at the long wooden table; Dumbledore's eyes watching him the whole time.
Dumbledore continued, "And to all of you who were able to make it here so early this morning, I sincerely thank—"
"Albus, enough with the pleasantries. Why have you called us here at five in the morning," Pandora said, with a yawn and a pointed look. "My little Luna kept me up all night."
Severus looked over at her with the briefest concerned expression. They locked eyes for less than a second before she nodded slightly, and he went back to pretending that he wasn't listening. Pandora rested her head on the table and let out a soft sigh.
Molly, ever the mother hen, said, with a worried frown, "Is Luna alright? I can come over, and help out if you need more rest."
"No, she's perfectly fine," Pandora said, with a small smile. When everyone looked at her in confusion, she clarified, "My poor Luna has been having a lot of nightmares these past few weeks."
"Nightmares?" Severus drawled, feigning disinterest, "Does she perhaps need some Dreamless Sleep."
Pandora's eyes flashed with gratitude for a split second before her masked slipped firmly into place once more. She said, "No. Dreamless Sleep will only make it worse after she stops taking it before bed. I used to have nightmares just like her when I was her age."
"Are you saying that the nightmares are…genetic?" Molly said, sounding like that was the weirdest thing she had ever heard, even through Severus knew for a fact that it wasn't. "That doesn't—"
"Unem," Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat, in the way people do when they think they deserve the attention of everyone in the world. Severus held back the full force of his irritation, only appearing to sneer his normal amount around others in mock annoyance. He would much rather prefer Pandora's dreamy eyed talk while talking about her daughter needing to learn to control her seer ability. But, of course, Dumbledore had to interrupt before she could even say that part. "While it is always good to share the joys of motherhood," Severus couldn't hold back his sneer at that. Luckily, no one was paying him any attention; their eyes locked firmly on Dumbledore as if he were the sun. "I have called you all here today to speak about Harry Potter."
Everyone sat up a little straighter at the name, but Pandora and Severus seemed to be the only two who noticed that he hadn't spoken Hadrian's actual name. They locked eyes, while having a silent conversation. Severus gave her a pointed from across the table. She nodded, while playing it off as her leaning her head on her hand.
Pandora spoke, innocently, as if simply curious, "I thought his name was Hadrian," everyone turned to look at her. "I mean, isn't that the name they have been using in the paper. I could have sworn that it was." She appeared to be thoughtful about it for a moment before shrugging and resting her head back on the table.
"Yes," Dumbledore began, "dear Pandora, you are indeed correct that that is the name that The Daily Prophet has been using for the past three years. But we will not be using such a name as that. But that will be discussed in a bit. For now, there is something rather important to speak on," he paused for his annoyingly dramatic effect. "Today is Harry Potter's fourth birthday."
"So?" Alaster Moody grunted, "So what if it's the kid's birthday. What difference does that make."
"What difference does it make?" Pandora said, voice nearly a whisper, before speaking louder, "It makes all the difference in the world. It means that we have waste one more year on not finding Harry," easily switching to the name Dumbledore wanted them to use. "It means one more year that we couldn't find James's son. Lily's boy. It means one more year where poor Harry could be who knows where. One more year of us not trying hard enough. One more year in which Harry could be scared and alone with people who don't care for him at all. One more year in which Harry could be being tortured! One more year…"