Regulus didn't think he was a good uncle. He had died so young that he was basically the same age as Rose, but he had been dead for so long that everything was different. He didn't know how to interact with his niece, especially since he had spent most of his teenage years fighting with Voldemort and going to Death Eater missions. It didn't help that Sirius and the others didn't exactly trust him yet. They acted as if they did, but none of them would let Sebastian and Arabella be left alone with him, and they tried to keep Rose from being alone with him either, but they shared the same safe space.
"I'm starting to think you spend more time out here than in the actual house," Rose said as she stepped out of his window into the roof. Regulus barely flinched at the sudden intrusion and instead turned to his niece when she sat down next to him.
"This is my room, you know?" Regulus asked, fighting back a smile and instead acting as if he was upset. "Sometimes I just want privacy."
Rose just smiled at him and fell backwards to enjoy the sunshine, her curly hair splayed all around her and falling onto Regulus' arm, which he quickly shook off. Regulus didn't actually mind his niece's company because she was the only one who knew that he wasn't still a Death Eater, and that he hadn't been in a while. She was the only one who trusted him, and she knew that even if he said he wanted privacy, he just wanted to fit in.
Their sudden friendship was a surprise to everyone seeing as they had only met once before, but Rose seemed drawn to him, even as a baby. Regulus had stopped by the house one night after a particularly bad fight, and Sirius and Marlene nursed him back to health, even though they were on separate sides of the fight. The couple had allowed him to meet Rose for the first time as long as he agreed not to share the location of their house, which he never would've done seeing as he still loved his brother and wanted out of the Death Eaters. Rose had adored him, although they all thought it was because how similar he looked to Sirius. Unknown to the family, Regulus had thought of Rose as he died, hoping that his sacrifice would help give his niece a better world, even if he couldn't be in it.
"Do you ever wonder what would've happened if you lived?" Rose asked suddenly. Regulus raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't open her eyes to look at him.
"Sometimes," Regulus admitted, squinting his eyes as he looked up into the sky. It was a rare day when Grimmauld Place wasn't basked in darkness and clouds, but he couldn't even enjoy it, too afraid of being seen by a wizard. "Sometimes I fear that I died for nothing."
"How did you die? You've never told us," Rose inquired, peeking up at her uncle, noticing how his face hardened and he looked troubled. She didn't mean to make him upset or bring up bad memories, but she was curious. "I won't tell Mom or Dad. Or even Harry...if I ever see him again."
Regulus frowned deeper, debating even telling her. She was so young but had been through so much. Rose almost reminded him of himself, especially without how similar they looked, but she was fighting for the right side.
"We should go to mugglr London," Regulus responded, completely ignoring the question. "I'm so tired of this stupid, fucking house. I never liked it when I was a teenager, and I sure as hell don't like it now."
Rose frowned at him, especially with the use of language that would make Sirius combust, even though he used much worse.
"Mum and Dad will never let me leave," Rose said with a shrug. She wanted nothing more to leave the house too, but her parents were too stressed with the twins to even consider it.
"I don't give a fuck," Regulus said with a snort as he stood up. Rose hurried after him as he entered his room and started going through his cloths. Most of them were outdated, but he had paid enough attention to what everyone else wore that he knew how to dress. He pulled out a pair of ripped blue jeans, a plain white shirt, an old flannel of Remus' that he had stolen, a leather jacket, and a pair of black and white sneakers.
"Reggie, they're not going to let us leave, even if it's just to muggle London," Rose argued. Regulus closed the bathroom door a little harder than he had to.
"I don't care anymore," Regulus responded as he tried to tame his curly hair. "They're not in charge of me. I'm an adult who has literally died and been stuck in the afterlife for over a decade."
Rose was silent for a second before Regulus heard her open his drawers and he quickly opened the door to see her stealing a sweater that he had stolen from Remus.
"Mum and Dad will probably be napping with Peanut and Joey, and Lily and James will be easier to convince than them," Rose decided as she left his room to go change. Regulus smiled and finished getting ready before meeting Rose in the kitchen.
"But we'll both have our wands, and it's not like we can die!" Rose argued with her dad.
"Regulus, why would you put this idea in her head?" Sirius sighed when he saw his brother. He ran his hand down his face before pushing his hair out of his eyes. He looked back and forth between his brother and his daughter for a minute and saw how much they needed to get out of the house. He knew the feeling seeing as he usually could only leave the house in the form of a dog.
"I won't let anything happen to her, Siri," Regulus promised. "Plus, we'll stay away from any wizard places. And we'll wear hats."
Sirius sighed and hit his head on the table a few times, too tired to argue.
"Fine," Sirius groaned. James snorted from the corner of the room where he was apparently in time out. Rose let out a cheer and ran to give her dad a hug. "But don't let Marls or Lily know. They'd kill me."
"No promises," Regulus said at the same time as Rose promised.
"Let's go before he changes his mind!" Rose yelled, running out the door as fast as she could.
"Reggie," Sirius said darkly as he stood up, coming to stand right in front of his brother. "I swear to Merlin, if anything happens to her because you convinced her to leave, I'll kill you myself."
Regulus just nodded, and hurried to follow his niece. He had never seen Sirius like that, not even at Hogwarts when he would try to protect Regulus from joining the Death Eaters.
"Where should we go first?" Rose asked. "I only have like 20 dollars."
"I'm quite hungry," Regulus said with a shrug. As nice as it felt outside, he was already regretting his decision to include Rose, the threat from his brother not leaving his mind. His hand was wrapped around his wand and he kept looking around.
"Ooh, I remember this place!" Rose gasped after a few seconds. "Moony and I would always come here when I was younger."
Regulus wrinkled his nose as they entered the store, pulling his hat down further as he surveyed everyone in the store. He was used to more upscale places than this little shop, which wasn't even the size of his bathroom.
"We'll have the number 2, please," Rose said kindly, passing over her money. Regulus tilted her hat down a little further, causing her to frown at him but she didn't argue. They had their food in record time and Regulus ushered her out of the room quickly, even though the only looks they got were from some women staring at him and some teenage boys staring at her.
"You're acting as bad as my dad," Rose grumbled as they reached a park bench. Regulus clenched his jaw but kept walking until they reached a tree where they couldn't be seen easily.
"I guess I just didn't think this through," Regulus admitted. "What exactly is this?"
"Fish and chips," Rose answered simply. "Try it."
Regulus made a disgusted face but bit into the fish. It was one of the best things that he had ever tasted, but he wouldn't let her know that so he simply shrugged.
"It's fine," Regulus told her. Rose just snorted, knowing that he enjoyed it.
"How are you adjusting to being back?" Rose asked after a few moments of silence. "It can't be easy, especially being stuck in that house."
"I've been better," Regulus admitted with a small shrug. "I hate that fucking house and all the memories in it. And I just want to be allowed outside without having to worry about being seen or attacked every second."
"Are you glad I brought you back?" Rose asked, not meeting his eyes. She had wondered for a while whether everyone was happy being back. James and Lily were ecstatic, but even they were getting discouraged by the news from outside and how long it was taking for them to meet Harry. Cedric was still the nicest person ever, but he obviously missed his family and friends.
"I don't know," Regulus admitted softly, pulling on the grass. "I missed Sirius, and I'm glad I can meet you, Seb, and Ari....but I know I did too many unforgivable things when I was younger. The Dark Lord will never let me go if he finds me because he knows everything I know....I'm thankful, but I'm just...conflicted as fuck."
"You curse too much," Rose responded, not knowing how to help her uncle.
"Please don't tell anyone what I've told you," Regulus asked. "I want them to learn how to trust me because they actually want to, not because you told them to."
"I promise."
And for the first time in a long time, Regulus knew that he had a friend.
Hello everyone! If you haven't read the sequel, I've added some bonus chapters and I'm going to go ahead and add them to this story as well. If you have any suggestions or any characters you want to see, leave a comment and let me know! Thank you!