The world through his lenses
Sirius decides to give Harry another Christmas gift: a history of James’ past. As told through Regulus’ eyes.
Dinner was at its end, with gifts exchanged and plates being washed. Harry was ready to go to bed and try to forget the latest horrors of his life when he felt his godfather’s hand on the top of his head.
“Come with us.”
Behind him, there was Remus Lupin, of course. They led him to a clean, unused room.
“This used to be my brother’s”, Sirius explained as Remus opened the wardrobe to pick up a wooden box. “He was Orion and Walburga’s pride and joy until they found out what he had been doing.”
“Cut off the suspense”, Remus said, handing him the box. “You are killing the boy.”
“Oh, shut up, you”, Sirius rolled his eyes. “This was him at his fifth year, I guess”, he passed the photo to Harry.
In his youth, Regulus Arcturus was a thinner and slightly taller version of his older brother. It was very easy to say where the genes had come from.
“He was a very reserved creature, but someone managed to break through that.”
“Who?”
“Your dad”, he said with an affectionate, nostalgic smile. “He thought it would be easy, after all, he was already friends with me.”
“Oh, how wrong he was”, Remus sat on the bed by Sirius’ side.
“Regulus and I were not on speaking terms at the time, so I cannot give you all the details, but what James told me was that he laid eyes on Regulus one night and it was as if the centre of the Earth had changed. He decided to make a move that very night.”
“Ugh, that was so stupid”, Remus complained.
“What did he do? Lit the main hall up with fireworks?
“Nah, he considered it too pranky, so he followed Regulus into the dungeons after dinner and asked if they could meet by the Lake the following night.”
“Let me guess: he didn’t show up.”
“On the contrary. He did.”, Sirius shook his head, staring at the floorboard. “With Rosier and Crouch by his side.”
Harry stared at Remus, who was ready to pick up the story from there.
“And they asked where we were”, he pointed at himself and Sirius. “You see, Harry, they thought James wanted a duel.”
“How did he get out of there?”
“Well, because they wouldn’t agree that was just a misunderstanding and leaving would be admitting defeat, all of them were ready to wait for someone who would fight by James’ side to pass by.”
“That was it? They waited?”
“These people were all about rules. Even the ones about duels. That level of decency probably saved James’ arse that night”, Sirius spoke again. “Unfortunately for them, Minnie found them before we did. She gave them detention and took 15 points from each House. When they were cleaning old trophies, all they could do was to chat.”
“That was James’ chance. He had to explain to Regulus that what he actually wanted was a date.”
“And he also had to convince Regulus he was being serious. The hardest part of it all”, they laughed. “He was lucky my brother was feeling mischievous. I had just been disowned and he thought he could get away with anything, so he agreed to go on a public date. He also knew he had some time before school gossip reached his parents’ ears, so he went crazy on future dates, calling James the love of his life and even accepting some PDAs.”
“That sounds mean”, Harry mentioned, frowning.
“A little, but James was glad to participate in their disgrace. And deep down, he expected Regulus to run away as soon as he received a letter from home, so why not have fun while he could?”, Sirius scoffed. “That was until Walburga threatened James’ parents.”
“What did she say?”
“She would have them killed if he didn’t stop seeing James.”
“And what did he do?”
“He broke up with James”, Sirius sighed again. “It destroyed both of them. And we only heard of Regulus again on your parents’ wedding, because he sent a gift with a note. It said:”, he snatched some notes off his pocket. “I want you to be as safe and happy as one can be in this day and age. I swear I will try to buy you as much time as I can. In the meantime, please take care of my heart. It will be in your pocket from now on.”
“Why are you telling me this?”, Harry stared at his godfather, his expression between confused and angry.
“Because if I don’t, no one else will”, he answered, simply. “This is a side of your father he didn’t show to the rest of the Order.”
“And how do you know all this?”
“I read Regulus’ journal, obviously”, the man laughed, holding the snatched notes. “I gave it to Dumbledore and Moody, maybe there is something useful about Voldemort’s recruiting tactics there, but I decided that my brother’s relationships were off-limits, so I kept those”, he fanned himself with the papers. “Nevertheless, I want you to have the pictures and the drawings”, he gave Harry an envelope sealed with tape. The backside read: J.F.P & R.A.B. – 1975. “Now, Harry, the only bad thing James did to my brother was making him insufferably sappy, so for the sake of your old godfather, please open that when you are back at your dorm, will you?”
***
It turned out Regulus Black loved drawing James Potter, especially during Quidditch practice — Harry noted that as time passed, he fell more and more in love with his muse. As an even more carefree young lad, James would smile all the time, as if he knew he was being watched by an artist.
Regulus played a bit with photography too, registering snippets of their time together. Amongst the images, there was what Harry was both more curious about and feared the most: an unsent letter. The page had various creases and old damp marks.
My dear James,
I want to thank you for the time we shared. I also have to say that I hope you move on. I heard you are getting closer to Lily Evans. I reckon she’ll be good to you. And she will also be able to give you what I couldn’t. A safe life under the Order’s good graces, for starters.
I was being honest that night: I will do everything in my power to keep your parents safe. That includes receiving a Dark Mark — please, I beg you, do not tell my brother, this is hard enough as it is already.
I wonder if this isn’t some kind of elaborate torture — they forcing me to watch as you live happily ever after and not only that: they expect me to be ready to manslaughter your family on command.
Despite all this, I need you to know I love you dearly and that is why I ask you to forgive me for insisting on leaving. And… maybe you could remember me as the lad who fell for you, not your best friend’s younger brother or the idiot who was forced to join the wrong side?
With all the love in the world,
Your Reggie.
“What are you reading, love?”
Harry rested his head against the sofa, trying to catch a glimpse of who was talking to him, although he knew very well who was it. He smiled, accepting the cuppa and the peck the other man offered him.
“A letter to my dad.”
“Oh… from whom?”, Draco snuggled up to his boyfriend.
“His ex-boyfriend”
“Wait, your dad was bi?”, Harry nodded with a little smirk. “Tell me all about it. Who was he dating?”
Harry paused for a bit. Draco was more than well-educated on the Black family tree — he was part of it, for Merlin’s sake! He wondered if telling Draco about the past of a relative would be like poking a wound with a chopstick. Personally, he wasn’t interested on learning anything about the Dursleys.
“I am waiting for the tea, Potter”, Draco let out an indiscreet laugh.
“Did your mother ever old you about her cousins?”
“You and I both know my mother has dozens of cousins, but I presume you mean Walburga and Orion’s sons.”
“My father’s ex was Regulus.”
“WHAT? He dated your godfather’s brother? Weren’t they, like, best friends?”, Harry nodded. “Well, I understand his perspective.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We Slytherins are very charming.
