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The fire was burning low when Regulus entered their squalled flat. Even with working three jobs between them, it was the best they could afford. Having been cut off from the Black fortune over his supposed death, there wasn’t much he could do about their current situation. Calling for Remus as he kicked off his boots, he cocked his head to the side when he heard the man cursing up a storm in the living room. Sighing, Regulus made his way into the living room to find Remus reading a sheet of parchment, a frown marring his face.
“What’s wrong, love?” Regulus could practically feel the tension radiating from Remus’ body as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pressed a kiss into his neck.
“Dumbledore is putting Harry with the Dursley’s.” The pure venom that coated Remus’ normally docile voice alarmed Regulus, as did the fact the werewolf started shaking.
“Who…”
“Lily’s muggle sister. They’re vile. Hate magic and anything to do with it. They’d despise the boy! Hell, I wouldn’t put it past Vernon to attempt worse.” Regulus frowned as he began to carefully and methodically run his hand over Remus’s neck. A tried and true technique to get the man to calm down. “What in the bloody hell was that old man was thinking? It’s practically suicide for the boy!” Carefully maneuvering Remus to sit on the sofa, Regulus sank into the spot next to his boyfriend.
“Are they really that bad or is there just some bad blood there?” The look of pure furry that Remus shot his way answered that question well enough. “Alright then, love. Alright. Give me some time to think.” Remus was too tired to process Regulus’s words, the full moon only the night before. “Why don’t you get some rest, dear? I’ll start on supper in an hour or so?” Remus nodded, placing a kiss on Regulus’s lips before he watched the man he loved with all his heart slip off to their bedroom.
Once the door was closed, Regulus picked up the discarded letter and quickly scanned it. The longer he processed the words written on the parchment, the angrier the Slytherin man became.
‘ ......condition it would be unwise to house a child….”
“....the Evans blood that runs through the boy’s veins offers him protections at his Aunt and Uncle’s house…”
“....even you should be able to see that it is the wisest decision for young Mr. Potter to reside with family over…”
Setting the letter aside before he attempted to light the blasted thing on fire, Regulus sank down into an armchair before lighting a cigarette. He hated to see Remus this upset. In fact, he hadn’t seen Remus this upset since the Potters’ deaths. The longer he thought on the matter, the more incensed he became before he suddenly stood and grabbed his cloak from the rack.
He had a child to check on.
Something about Remus’s vile reaction to the boy being sent to live with the Dursely’s wasn’t sitting right with Regulus.
When Remus woke, the room was dark. A glance out the lone window told him he had slept most of the day away. Standing, he stretched, wincing when his entire body cracked. The older he got, the worse his transformations became. Although he had been scared out of his mind as a child, Remus had rebounded quicker. Now, he was lucky if he wasn’t sore for weeks afterward. As soon as the soreness started to ease, another transformation was upon him. The sound of Regulus….cooing? No, that couldn’t be right. Shaking his head, Remus laughed to himself at the mere thought before he made his way into the living room and stopped dead in his tracks.
“Harry…” The young boy’s head turned so fast it looked like it wanted to pop off his neck.
“MOONY!” As fast as the toddler’s legs could carry him, Harry was darting across the room and attacking himself to Remus’s leg. The fat tears that rolled down the boy’s cheeks broke Remus’s heart. Scooping down to pick his godson up, Remus held the boy close as tears started to fall down his own cheeks.
“Regulus….how?” The smile that his boyfriend had been wearing suddenly dropped, and Remus noticed the fury that started to shake through his body.
“You were right; about the Dursely’s I mean. They had him locked in a cupboard. It looked like he hadn’t been let out in days. His underwear was soiled beyond belief and you can see for yourself how thin the boy is….” The pure rage that rolled off of Regulus was something that Remus hadn’t seen in a long time. It was enough to cause Remus to ask his next question.
“The Dursely’s…” Regulus breathed sharply before looking Remus in the eye.
“Alive. If it hadn’t been for their whale of a brat, I wouldn’t be able to say the same.” The breath of relief Remus let out coursed through his entire body. Harry seemed to notice and planted a wet kiss onto Remus’s cheek. The beaming smile that Remus gave the boy caused a soft smile to form on Regulus’s face. The sheer sense of relief at having Harry back in his arms seemed to crash through Remus as his legs started to sway. Turning to sit on the sofa, he repositioned Harry so the boy sat on his knee and slowly started bouncing. Remus couldn’t help but catch the sense of awe that washed over Regulus’s face.
“What?” The question was tinged with humor as it slowly spread to Remus’s eyes.
“You look good with a child.” The words were spoken softly, but no less true and Remus found his throat swelling with emotion.
“Thank you.” Regulus knew Remus wasn’t just thanking him for the compliment. There was so much shoved into those two words that it was hard to encompass what all it meant; but he knew Regulus would understand. The look his boyfriend gave him told Remus he was right.
“After what I saw, and what that boy’s been through, I couldn’t just leave him there.”
Remus nodded as he turned his attention back to his godson, and for the first time since the war, a true sense of purpose ran through his blood.