Draco wasn't sure how long he had been lying on the couch, sniffling into the cushions. He wasn't full out sobbing but there were definitely a few tear stains on the sofa.
He heard the floo roar and stiffened. His mother wasn't supposed to be back home so soon. He turned his face further into the cushions and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.
He didn't want to talk to her right now.
Regulus stepped out of the floo at Malfoy Manor and saw Draco lying on the couch with his face buried against the backrest.
Was the kid asleep?
"Draco?"
The boy shot up, obviously surprised by Regulus' voice. He had probably been expecting his mother to come home.
Regulus saw the tear tracks on his cheeks and felt like a huge arse. He swallowed thickly and spoke.
"I just wanted to talk a bit. You got a minute?"
"I thought you said you were busy." The words slipped out before Draco could stop himself.
His father would have definitely punished him for it.
He turned his face away from Regulus and scrubbed at his face, trying to get rid of any evidence that he'd been crying.
The man winced at the boy's bitter tone. He deserved that. And so much worse.
He went and sat down on the coffee table next to the couch. "I actually do have a bit of spare time on hand now," he said.
"How nice."
"I wanted to talk to you about something." Regulus hoped he sounded stronger than he felt. When he had started out teaching Draco, he had expected this to be a mentor-mentee relationship.
He most certainly hadn't expected to get attached to the boy who so strongly reminded him of his childhood self.
Draco was torn. On one hand, he wanted to cut the attitude and just go back to being miserable and on the other hand, he wanted to know what Regulus had to say. The man sounded so solemn.
Had he come to tell him that he would permanently discontinue mentoring Draco? A large lump formed in his throat at the thought.
"Could you perhaps look at me?"
He couldn't. Draco didn't want to face his mentor. He didn't want anymore bad news. That morning's harsh dismissal had stung more than he cared to admit.
He heard Regulus sigh before the man got up and Draco felt miserable. Great. All he had wanted all these days was for Regulus to stop ignoring him.
He heard receding footsteps and waited for the floo to roar.
But a minute later, the footsteps were back and Regulus took his spot on the coffee table once more.
"I've got some ice cream here with me. It looks like a new flavour."
Draco turned around immediately, surprised. He saw Regulus holding a tub full of ice cream and two spoons.
This wasn't what he had expected. He had fully expected Regulus to leave him to wallow in peace.
The man opened the tub and dug a spoon in and held it out to Draco.
In spite of himself, Draco let out a short laugh even as he accepted the spoon. "Really? Bribing me with ice cream?"
Regulus quirked a small smile.
Regulus watched the boy dig into the ice cream. Draco looked much younger, curled up on the couch with a tub full of ice cream in his hands, his normally slicked blond hair was messy and fell on his eyes.
He resisted the slight urge to ruffle Draco's hair, much like how Sirius did with Harry.
This whole paternal feeling was completely foreign to him. He didn't even know when he'd started to feel this way.
"I'm sorry I've been such an arse."
Grey eyes, like his own stated stared back at him. He swallowed thickly and continued.
When Draco didn't say anything, Regulus rambled on. "There's no excuse for the way I've been acting and what I said to you this morning was downright rude. I'm so, so sorry, Draco. I was never mad at you, kiddo. I was pissed off at myself. You didn't do anything wrong and it was horrible of me to make you feel that way."
Draco was stunned.
That's all he could say. An apology was the last thing he had been expecting. He didn't think Regulus had even realised.
Whenever his father had wronged him—which was quite often— he'd never bothered to make amends. On the contrary, it was Draco who would silently wipe his tears, drag himself to the man's study and beg for forgiveness, swearing that he would do better, try and be a better son.
That was the cycle.
He didn't know what to make of this. Was this an apology out of pity? So that once Draco had been satisfied, Regulus would go back to ignoring him? Draco didn't think he would be able to bear that.
An uncomfortable lump formed in his throat and he tried shoving it down.
"It's uh... it's hardly a big deal, Regulus. I'm sure you were busy, sir." Being as respectful as possible always proved useful.
Any anger that Draco had felt towards the man had drained out of him on hearing Regulus apologise. The man sounded so pained.
He hardly ever called Regulus sir. Not unless he was in big trouble. And even then, it was more of a habit that had been drilled into him.
Regulus reached forward and took the ice cream from Draco's hands and set it on the table. He grasped the boy's hands in his own and shook his head. "It's not okay, kiddo. I know this sounds ridiculous coming out of my mouth right now but please trust me."
He gave Draco's hands a reassuring squeeze. "I swear I'll make it up to you."
Draco scrutinised the man. There was nothing but sincerity in his gaze and the grounding warmth from his hands.
"Why?" He asked finally, staring at his hands that were trapped in Regulus' warm hold. "Why did you distance yourself? You said you were mad at yourself. Why?" He looked up.
Pain flashed across the man's face and Draco mentally slapped himself. It was none of his business.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean t—"
"It's okay, kiddo. It's something that happened a long time ago. I'm still not quite over it."
Regulus decided that this was probably the understatement of the century.
Draco looked at the man before him. Regulus was always so confident and sure of himself. Now, he appeared so vulnerable. Draco knew that it wasn't his place to ask about what had gone wrong.
But he was willing to give the man a second chance.
"It's okay I suppose," he relented with a slight shrug. "Sometimes people want a little space when they're hurting." That he could understand.
He remembered locking himself up in his bedroom after a particularly harsh dressing down from his father.
Pure relief. That was all Regulus felt at that moment. Draco understood. He didn't have to, but he did.
Merlin, this lad was brilliant.
"Thank you, kiddo. I promise I won't let you down again."
Draco grinned slightly when the man said that. He remembered saying the exact same words to his mentor that day at Black Manor when he'd got into a row with Harry.
That day had been a new beginning.
"I know you won't," he replied and that had been Regulus' response back then.
The man seemed to realise that as well and laughed. A genuine, Regulus laugh that Draco hadn't heard since the past month.
"I've got the rest of the day off. Is there anything you want to do, assuming that you don't have any other plans?"
"I do have plans," Draco replied with a mischievous grin. He picked up the tub from the table and dug his spoon into it and pushed the other spoon into Regulus' hand.
"I plan on finishing this before my mother comes home. And you will help me. And then, we're going to go take a look at one of those large portraits you mother has gone to see?" Draco finished rather uncertainly and smiled a bit, not quite sure of the man's reply.
The smile was almost childlike: hopeful and so real that it tugged at Regulus' heartstrings.
The man grinned back easily. He got off the coffee table and settled down on the sofa next to the boy.
He bumped his shoulder against Draco's, feeling like a great weight had been off of him.
"Whatever you want, kid."
******
It had actually been a relaxing day for Sirius. While Bellatrix's trail was still cold, he managed to successfully wrap up all other smaller, pesky cases and that too with Christmas right around the corner.
On coming home that evening, he'd found Regulus quietly talking to Harry in the living room. Harry had been listening attentively to whatever the man had been saying.
They were planning to decorate the tree the next evening and Harry had been going on about it nonstop and he found that the boy's excitement was contagious.
It was going to be their first Christmas here at the Manor.
It was well past eleven by the time Sirius tucked Harry in and went downstairs where Regulus was on the couch, pretending to read a book.
"You smoothed things out with the boys?"
"Yeah," the younger Black replied. "I uh... I didn't give them the details but yeah, otherwise I worked things out. Both of them were way more understanding than I deserved."
Sirius hummed in response.
"I haven't forgotten you know? We are having that conversation," he stated, settling down on the opposite sofa.
With a groan, Regulus put the book down. "Fine," he replied, dragging the word out.
"How about you start from the beginning?"
Regulus nodded, deciding that it was probably the best thing to do.
"After reliving that memory, I was so guilt ridden that I couldn't think straight. I locked myself in my room and just cried. It was horrible, Sirius. All of it. I wasn't able to look at myself it think about myself as anything beyond a murderer."
Sirius' breath hitched. How long had Reggie been feeling that way?
"I thought it would get better with time. It didn't. I figured a little distance would only help me get over it faster and I pushed you and the boys away. Dumbest move ever."
The self incrimination was evident in his tone as he buried his face in his hands.
Before Sirius could speak, Regulus continued.
"It got worse. The nightmares were the first to arrive. Every night I had to relive what I'd done. It was horrible. Then, I started seeing that locket everywhere: on my nightstand, in my wardrobe, on the dining table and sometimes even around my neck when I looked into the mirror. The nightmares worsened. First they were just flashbacks. Then I started to have these flashes in between my nightmares."
"Flashes? Like visions?"
Regulus swallowed. "More like premonitions."
Sirius noticed the way Regulus had curled his fingers into a fist and he was pretty sure his nails were digging into his palm.
"There was blood and then everyone was dead. You, Harry, Draco, Cissa. And I was the one who'd killed you all. I was the one holding that same knife."
Regulus squeezed his eyes shut, unable to look at Sirius anymore.
"Reggie, none of that was real. You could never do anything to hurt any of us."
"You can't promise that, Sirius," Regulus mumbled, not looking up.
"Yeah I can, Regulus. Hurting your family isn't something you could ever do. You have to believe that."
Sirius felt helpless. He didn't know what to do or how to convince his little brother that he wasn't a bad person.
"I can't be around that thing," Regulus said, his head still buried in his hands. "I tried to ignore it but I don't trust myself anymore when I'm anywhere near that locket."
"I tried to ignore the visions but they just go on in my head, over and over. I don't know what to do, Sirius. I just don't know."
"Reg, look at me. We will figure something out, I promise. Let's start slow. Baby steps, alright? We'll get there."
Sirius didn't know how he was going to do it. He had absolutely no clue. But he was going to help Regulus get through this. No matter what.
"I'm sorry I punched you."
Sirius rolled his eyes before replying: "You call that a punch?"
They would pull through.
*******
"Checkmate, mate. Well played," Ron said, trying not to appear smug.
Draco was in far too good a mood to be affected by losing to the redhead. "Back at you, Weasley."
Harry, Ron and Draco were up in Black Manor on Christmas Eve night. Ron's parents and Ginny had left that morning to visit Charlie for Christmas. They'd be back in two days.
So Ron was staying with Harry until then. The twins were with their friend Lee Jordan and Percy was at Hogwarts.
It was well past eleven and while they'd initially planned on staying up the whole night, the yawns said otherwise.
"I think I'll call it a night. Night, boys," Draco said, getting up.
"I was wrong about him," Ron admitted once the other boy was out of earshot.
"What do you mean?"
"He isn't half bad," said Ron. "I mean there are still times where he can be an absolute prat, but he's alright."
"Aww, Ron you've gone soft," Harry teased, unable to hold back his smirk.
"Shut up," Ron said, without any bite.
A little while later, even Ron left.
Harry was sleepy but didn't want to sleep just then. He pulled out one of Sirius' hoodies from his wardrobe and threw it on over his nightshirt. He'd borrowed it a few months ago and then declared that he wouldn't be giving it back. It was more comfy than his blankets.
He went out of his room and towards Sirius'.
The man was sitting up in bed, reading something.
"I thought you would've been snoring by now, pup," the man replied when he heard Harry padding into his room. Sirius looked up and that's when he noticed the lad's outfit.
The hoodie nearly drowned the boy. It was adorable. That was the only word that came close.
Harry made an affronted sound at that as he crawled in to sit next to his godfather.
"I don't snore, Dad."
"Of course you don't, forgive me," Sirius teased, smoothing the back of Harry's head with his free hand. He grabbed the back of the hood and tugged it over his head and gave boy's cheek a quick pinch.
Were bratty teenagers always so cute?
"It's just that normally, I have to cart you off to bed right after eleven. It's nearly midnight now."
"Couldn't sleep," Harry replied.
"Well now that you're here, I might as well give you these. It's nearly midnight."
Sirius snapped his fingers and a wrapped parcel floated out from under the bed and landed in Harry's lap.
"I was planning on giving this to you in the morning but I am not completely without mercy. I figured you'll be happier to open this one in private." Sirius was grinning mischievously in a way that made Harry glance nervously at the package.
"Will it explode in my face?"
The man cracked up at that. "Just open it already."
With a suspicious glance at Sirius who was grinning like a madman, Harry tore off the packing.
It was a book. And then he read the title: What's going on down there? A boy's guide to puberty, adolescence and sexual intercourse.
He felt his ears redden. He wished the bed would just swallow him up and he wouldn't have to face Sirius.
Sirius burst out laughing and ruffled the boy's hair.
The only reply he received was an indignant and embarrassed 'Dad!'
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He grumbled.
"Oh every bit of it. There's more to come."
"You're evil."
"No, I'm Sirius."
Harry flopped back against the pillows and closed his eyes.
He felt Sirius ruffle his hair before the man brushed some of it off his forehead and dropped a kiss on the Harry's hair.
"Merry Christmas. Love you loads, pup."
Harry opened his eyes to glare at the man. "But not enough to pass up any opportunity to poke fun at me."
"Obviously not," Sirius replied with a grin so contagious that Harry had to smile back.
With everything that had been going on, Harry knew that Sirius had had a lot on his plate. It was awesome to see the man so relaxed, albeit at his expense.
It almost made the book on puberty worth it. Almost.
"Merry Christmas, Dad. And I love you too. Even if you do make it a point to pull my leg regularly."
"Brilliant. How about you get started on that book sometime later?" Then he added with a smirk: "Unless of course you'd rather I read it out to you?"
Harry bolted out the door with the book before Sirius could complete the sentence.
Sirius smirked at the boy's retreating figure. He couldn't wait until it was time to explain to Harry all about the 'Birds and the Bees.'
******
Black Manor hadn't hosted a proper Christmas in years.
Streamers adorned the stairs, wreaths decorated the doors, the decor had been redone to suit the festivities and the twelve foot tall Christmas tree in the centre of the living room really took the cake. That and the large stack of presents under it.
In the morning after breakfast, the occupants of the Manor opened their presents.
Narcissa was also staying with them because no one deserved to be alone during Christmas. She gave both her cousins a hug and a kiss on the cheek, something she hadn't done in two decades.
If either Harry or Sirius saw Mrs. Malfoy discreetly dab at her eyes when Regulus pulled Draco into his arms and ruffled his hair, they said nothing of it.
The presents from Molly Weasley arrived and Ron had turned red when he saw that his mum had knitted jumpers for Sirius, Regulus and Draco as well.
But, to the redhead's surprise, Draco hadn't mocked him for it. He was extremely gracious about it. He'd put on the green jumper with the silver D embroidered on it and grinned rather bashfully.
In the evening, the rest of the family arrived: the Tonks and Remus.
Hugs, kisses and presents were exchanged. There hadn't been a celebration like this in Black Manor in a very long time.
Sirius managed to corner Remus before dinner. "So how are things with you and Dora?"
"I told her."
Sirius has known that his friend was planning on telling his girlfriend about his Lycanthropy.
"She was brilliant, Padfoot. She took it much better than I'd imagined. She understood why I'd waited so long before telling her. And uh... we're moving in together once she finishes training."
A slow smile spreads across Sirius' face. "I'm happy for you, mate." If anyone deserved all the good things in life, it was Remus.
He'd been alone for so long, always hiding and ashamed of the wolf within, he deserved to be with someone who accepted and loved him for who he was.
"Thanks, Padfoot," Remus replied. The werewolf looked at his best friend for a few moments before asking. "Have you considered a relationship yourself?"
Sirius hadn't expected that.
He shrugged carelessly and swirled his drink. "Not really. It's too late for that. Besides, a relationship isn't a great idea right now."
He'd only ever had one serious relationship back when he was in Hogwarts. Marlene McKinnon. She'd died during the war.
Another memory he'd buried away deep in his mind.
There had been many other girls, but it had all been for fun: just two young people fooling about.
Sometimes he wondered what his life would've been like if he hadn't been arrested. Would he have gotten married? Had kids of his own? Regulus wouldn't have had to spend so many years alone and guilt ridden. Harry would have most certainly grown up loved and cared for.
It was all too much at once.
"Why not? It's not a bad idea, Padfoot. Besides, you deserve to be happy too."
"Yeah, maybe."
*****
Far away from the festivities at Black Manor, a woman raged and tore at her hair.
Her appearance had been affected by those long years in Azkaban. Her dark hair which had previously fallen in luscious curls down her back was now frizzy and heavily greying. She had lost a lot of weight and her face was sunken. Her grey and white striped uniform was nearly in tatters.
"Forgive me, Master," she whispered to the cold air around her.
Ever since she had escaped, she hadn't accomplished anything of worth and that was weighing on her. She'd broken out with the intention of bringing back her Dark Lord and wanting him restored to his former glory.
But she had been less than successful. She had already failed him. She only hoped he wouldn't punish her too severely when he was back. She shivered at the thought of his displeasure.
There was still one place where she could find what she wanted. One man who knew everything. Her mouth curved into an ugly snarl when she thought about that old man.
She just had to find a way to get inside the cursed castle. She was nearly there. She would get her revenge. Too many people had betrayed her. And they would all pay.
"I will not fail you again, my Lord."
******
*Drum roll*
I am so grateful to you guys for being so wonderful and patient with my annoyingly slow updates.
I hope this chapter was worth the very long wait.
Loved writing the fluff in this chapter. Harry and Draco are both such cinnamon rolls who deserve warm hugs and hot chocolate.
I'm nearly done with Meeting the Godfather and it should be ready in a couple of days.
Vote and comment darlings, it's the most amazing time of the year after all!
Love you guys ❤️❤️