Over Again

Chapter 23

"Good, now can you explain to me why the Master of Death is masquerading as my brother's godson?"

Harry froze completely, unable to process or do anything. Great Fucking Hell. Was this day designed to see if a heart attack would kill him or something? Seriously. First Regulus came into existence, then his parents apparently had some book which had some sort of information on what he was, and now this? Wasn't fate supposed to be on his side? Why was it still screwing him over? He wondered if Evangeline could hear him.

"How did you know?" he calmly asked. There was nothing more to it anymore, he would just have to wing it again. The ghostly being drifted slightly closer to him. His translucent visage distorting everything behind him. Harry's eyes focused on the delicate, almost ethereal features, the rings of curls and the grey-blue eyes.

Regulus tilted his head like a cat, his expression curious and fascinated. "I can feel it. It hangs around you, a beautiful curtain of death." His soft words were illustrated by the way his hands reached out to try to caress the aura around him. Harry was entranced by the fascination on Regulus's face.

"So who are you really?" Regulus took a step back, his hand dropped down. Harry shook his head, wondering why he had been unable to think for a second, putting it down to his shock at having been caught. "I am Harry Potter." Harry stated.

Regulus's eyes narrowed. "Harry Potter is supposed to be a child and you are anything but a child."

"I am Harry Potter, I'm just not a child?" Harry's tongue was lead in his mouth, unable to explain anything properly. "I mean I was a child but I am not anymore, I mean I was a child in my past life." Regulus stiffened at that, horror coating his features.

"You possessed a child? You possessed Sirius's godson?" His words hissed out, his body poised to strike. How dare he? He may be the Master of Death whoever he was, but he has no right, no right to take away Sirius's godson, to take away James's son. Harry's eyes widened, his hands frantically moving in front of his face in negation.

"No, no no!" His voice raised slightly still mindful of his siblings tucked into his sides. "I am Harry Potter, I always have been Harry Potter, it is just that it's not my first life as Harry Potter."

Indignation and anger seeped out of Regulus, his brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Harry sighed as he moved off of the bed, "In my previous life I attained the position of the Master of Death and I had the option to return to life, to be with the family I never knew so I took it." He glossed over all the details of his life, there was no need for Regulus or frankly anyone to know all the things that had gone, will go wrong if he wasn't here to stop them.

"Family you never knew. They died?" Even though Regulus sounded indifferent, he was anything but. His hands itched to do something, hold something, throw something, anything. He had-he hadn't gone to his death for that, for Sirius to have lost everything, for James to have lost everything. That wasn't what he had wanted.

"It doesn't matter now. My being here negates it." Harry comforted him. He knew what Regulus was feeling, could see in the blank eyes and the casual posture which would have fooled anyone else, mostly he knew because he could empathise, he knew because he too felt that all his Ron and his Hermione had gone through for him was not valid anymore, all the sacrifices that they had made, the pain that Neville and Ginny had gone through, the spark that Luna had lost, it didn't matter anymore. And oh how that burned. He took a deep breath, now was not the time to think of this.

"You were very brave Regulus, I have always thought so. And what you did, it did matter."

A sharp nod was his only response, Regulus was too overwhelmed to speak, his body stiffened, his face adopting his familiar pureblood mask, helping him to hide away from the world. Before either of them could speak anything again, frantic footsteps were heard outside his door before it burst open to reveal a frantic looking Sirius. Looking in and seeing his not dead brother and his godson, he rushed towards them, his hands flying over Harry frantically.

"Harry! Prongslet are you okay?" Harry barely had time to nod before he pulled the child into his arms, turning to look at Regulus furiously. "Outside now." Regulus just arched his eyebrow before he floated out of the room.

Sirius followed him out, Harry still tucked into his arms. "What were you doing in there?" he hissed the second the door shut behind him. "They're children Reggie, children-"

"Padfoot." Harry interrupted him horrified before Sirius could say anything more that would hurt them both more. He knew from his past and present life how much Sirius loved his brother, how much he missed him, how much anger and distrust and betrayal and longing he had towards Regulus.

And he also knew how easily Sirius could blow up, especially when he had been bombarded by emotions, there was a reason he had gone to Gryffindor. He knew it would hurt the relationship between the Black brothers if he let Sirius continue.

"I wanted to talk to him, and all of a sudden he was just here." Harry widened his eyes slightly, innocence slipping over his completely in an expression he had often seen his dad and Sirius adopted when faced with his mom's annoyance. He couldn't tell anyone that Regulus had seeked him out, that would just raise questions he wanted buried completely.

"Relax Sirius, didn't I just say I do not want to do anything bad." Regulus drawled, bored. Sirius didn't acknowledge Regulus, just looked at the earnest expression on his godson's face. This suited Regulus perfectly. He was able to observe his brother and Harry Potter without it being weird.

He watched as Sirius clutched at the child (not-a-child), his hands pale, almost trembling. His lips pursed as his eyes poured love and devotion. It was a sweet sight.

[It was a terrible sight.]

It reminded him of a broken home, of lost children and trembling limbs, of stolen laughter and hidden foods. It reminded him of a time when those trembling white hands were wrapped around him, the love and devotion focused on him. [It reminded him of a time he was loved, cared for, mattered to someone]. It reminded him of a time when he was powerless.

It made him uncomfortable [jealous] to see that expression on Sirius's expression. The expression which had been his salvation, his comfort, his hope, his only guide in the last years of his life. The expression which had been the only thing he had seen in his dreams, his secret hope of seeing it again, just once in person.

Too bad, it was aimed at someone not him.

"Padfoot! Padfoot! Have you found-?" Lily's voice echoed through the halls as she came to see the trio is a weird standoff. She slowed down a few feet away from them unsure of what to say. "Is everything okay here?" She questioned wondering if she needed to intervene before something broke out.

"Yes." Sirius looked at her finally, "Everything is fine."

Lily nodded not really believing him but not wanting to push it too. "If you say so, let's go back to the living room, so that we can see how much of a connection is there between Harry and Regulus. If you are serious about wanting him to stay with you we need to figure out a way around this and make sure that Harry doesn't overwhelm himself."

Sirius nodded slowly as he began following her back down the stairs, he could feel Regulus floating behind him. He hadn't noticed it before, but anytime Regulus drifted closer to him, a slight chill permeated the air, not much but just enough to raise goosebumps on his neck and limbs.

"Lily."

Lily stopped turning back towards Sirius. Even Harry turned slightly from where he had been observing Regulus and trying not to laugh at his expressions. Two sets of green eyes looked at the contemplative older Black.

"We should tell my grandfather. Everything."