French - Jegulus - @jeggyverses-jegulus-microfic - word count: 883
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“Where have you been?” Harry whined when James and Regulus finally reappeared in the garden.
When they got to the porch, Harry held his arms up and Regulus picked him up. “Daddy and I just went for a walk, Bean.”
Harry tilted his head to the side. “Did you fall over?”
“No,” Regulus answered with a confused chuckle.
“Then why are there leaves in your hair?”
Regulus looked mortified and James laughed heartily as he looked at the back of his husband’s head and started pulling the few leaves out of his hair.
“I got you, love.”
“This is your fault,” Regulus muttered through gritted teeth.
“Did daddy push you over?” Harry looked scandalised and James just laughed harder.
“Tu n'as pas le droit de me toucher à nouveau pendant très longtemps!” Regulus cursed in French and James gulped.
That was mightily unfair. Regulus knew what speaking French did to James, even if James still didn’t know exactly what he had said. It made James want to leave Harry with his grandparents overnight and whisk his husband home. Regulus must have caught the look in his eye because he shook his head
“Non.” Regulus held a finger up in his face and walked back inside with Harry on his hip trying to imitate his Papa’s French words.
James shook himself and followed his family inside.
“Ah, James, there you are.” Monty poked his head out of his office.
“You alright, dad?”
“Yes, can I borrow you for a minute?” Regulus moved to put Harry down and follow them. “Don’t worry, Reg, we don’t need you for this bit.” Monty smiled at him and disappeared back into his office.
“James,” Regulus started, but didn’t finish his thought. James could see the cogs working in his mind.
“Harry, I need Papa for a minute, can you go wait in the living room with Grandma, please?”
Harry’s bottom lipped trembled and he looked up at his parents with big puppy eyes.
“Go on, Harry, I won’t be long. Two minutes and then I’m all yours, alright?”
Harry let out an exaggerated sigh. “Okay.”
Regulus put him down and he toddled off.
“Reggie, love, I don’t want you to worry about this okay. I doubt dad has found all the answers yet, so this is probably just a check on the list. He isn’t cutting you out, he’s protecting your peace.”
“I know, Jamie. I just want it to be over.” Regulus collapsed into James’ arms.
James rubbed his hands up and down Regulus’ back. “And it will be. In fact, you don’t have to be involved at all now if you don’t want to. Let me and dad take care of it all.”
“Maybe.” Regulus took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Maybe.”
Regulus pulled out of the hug and smiled warmly at James before he followed Harry into the living room and James stepped into his dad’s office.
“How is he?” Monty asked as James shut the door behind him.
“Alright. Tired, worried, but he’ll be okay.”
“Of course he will, he’s a strong man that husband of yours.” James smiled at his dad’s response as Monty beckoned him over to look at the computer screen. “I’ve found Peter, are these the same boys from school?” Monty asked as he pointed at the screen.
James moved around and his heart dropped. There was Peter Pettigrew, his best friend through all of primary and secondary school. The man that should have stood up for him with Remus at his wedding but had been noticeably absent. James looked at the picture of Peter stood with the same boys from school, now men also in their early 30s and looking as mean and miserable as they had at school.
“Yeah.” James confirmed. “That’s Snape, Mulciber, Avery and Notts.” James pointed them all out.
“Then I think we might be right. I think Peter is the source of this problem.” Monty sounded as sad and disappointed as James felt. He had known Peter for as long as James had. He remembered who the boy was that had spent summers playing in the garden and causing mischief. He had been just as fond of Peter as he had of Sirius, Remus and then Regulus.
“Do you really think he told the Blacks where to find Regulus?” James didn’t want to think Peter could be capable of this level of pettiness, but the evidence was all pointing that way.
“I think we need to find out how much Peter knows about you both and how easily he would have told Walburga that information.” Monty suggested.
“And how do we do that?” James questioned, with a quirk of his eyebrow.
“Do you have anyone that could get in with that group?”
“Like, our own spy you mean?” James blinked in surprise at his dad’s suggestion.
“If you like.” Monty was smiling.
“Barty.” James found himself saying without any hesitation.
“Crouch’s son?” Monty asked, sneering not at their friend, but at his atrocious father.
“Yeah. I think he’d love to help, he hates them all as much as Reg does.”
Monty nodded and a mischievous glint crossed his eyes. “Give him a call, see if he can come by the office on Monday. Then we can come up with a plan.”
