Chapter Text
Chapter One
“Pulling up your sleeves, start again
Was I meant to notice?
Was I meant to notice?”
Insight - MTNS
Sirius Orion Black died for the first time like this: dodging and weaving through one of the hidden chambers inside the British Ministry of Magic while fighting off deadly curses. The Death Eaters around him in their blackened cloaks and silver Venetian masks shot only fatal and torturous spells at him and the others that were fighting against them. He barely glanced over at his late best friend’s son, Harry Potter. It was enough for his own estranged cousin (was he the estranged one since he had been disowned?), Bellatrix Black Lestrange, to shoot the Death Curse (AKA the Killing Curse)–Avada Kedavra. The last thing Sirius saw as he fell backwards into The Veil, a strange artifact that was a portal to the unknown (no one came back from it, nor did anyone go in), was Harry.
Harry screaming as though he was the one who was being tortured, his arm reached out. He was small from being malnourished for about a decade. He endured the abuse from his mother’s sister and her family. Wearing the same shirt he wore when he was younger, features so similar to his father’s. Oil black hair that was in a mess on his head, Lily would have made sure to try and tame it.
The whispers caressed Sirius, phantoms of the last words other victims had. He was to be another simple victim of the cursed item, and he would never get to be the true godfather of Harry–the boy who even wore his father’s signature glasses (he had Lily’s eyes).
One moment Sirius had died and was going through The Veil and the next thing he hit was a barrier.
An invisible and white barrier, enough he gasped and sucked in air rapidly.
He was even naked but that didn’t matter. He was instead more concerned with the fact that he hadn’t just randomly disappeared from existence, well actually he was surprised he even had a conscious still remaining. He was slung forward and landed on his legs and knees, sprawled out like a baby deer on the white space in front of him. He looked around but he didn’t find anyone or anything within the white plane around him, which was more disturbing than peaceful in his opinion.
Then in the distance a black blur came closer, enough for him to be curious since the black blur began to form into a person.
A person who was tall but not too tall, the figure must have belonged to someone still a teenager. Why Merlin, the Father of Magic, had decided for him to be visited by a teenager in this afterlife scenario he didn’t know.
“Sirius Orion Black.”
No.
Sirius had heard that higher, aristocratic voice decades before.
The voice that was almost too soft for a woman’s, but wasn’t deep enough to be truly masculine. The voice of someone who belonged to him in blood.
The thin black gloved hand reached up and grabbed the hood that covered their features and threw it back, revealing Regulus Arcturus Black. Only, he looked as if he were only nineteen and not thirty something like he was supposed to be. He still had the sharp cheekbones and doe like eyes, the plump lips and lithe figure. He was too thin, the proper starved on purpose thin. The noble thinness because there was no way their parents would allow their children to be anything more than what they expected of them.
“R–”
“I’m not your brother, Sirius Black. I am Death, and I am here to give you a second chance. Very rare is it that I involve myself more than just the simple collector. I have come here to give you an offer, one you may refuse if you wish to.”
Sirius frowned and folded his arms against his chest, not even noticing how he was instantly clothed in casual but nice wizard robes. He instead asked something he hadn’t ever been answered to before.
“How did he die?”
Death merely remarked, “he drowned to death. His soul was never able to be collected by me. It belongs to the Inferni and their master…I am certain you know who this master is.”
Anger came across Sirius harder and harsher than he expected. He took a deep breath none the less and knew it was too late for him to mourn his brother. Regulus had been dead for over a decade. Sirius hadn’t even been dead for a day.
“What is your offer?”
Death reached up with one of his gloved hands and placed his hood over his features again, to make sure Sirius would not be disturbed by his appearance. “I offer you the chance to go back in time to when you were able to start Hogwarts and attend the school. You will have a second chance when it comes to–”
“Yes. I agree.”
Death chuckled and shook his head, “ah, of course you would agree before hearing all you need to. Let me finish, dog star. You will be able to go back in time and restart your life then, but you will also be betrothed.”
Sirius gave an irritated grimace at the thought of betrothal but it wasn’t able to be undone.
Death continued, “the person you will be betrothed to is your own brother, Sirius. You will be betrothed to Regulus Arcturus Black. You will be the Heir this time, the House of Black will be in your hands, and you have the chance to save not only your friends but him too. There is no undoing this betrothal, it was made when your mother was pregnant with him.”
Sirius’ heart seemed to stop for a second, before it began to vibrate unhealthy inside his chest. He would be engaged to Regulus, his little prince of a brother. The boy who took the mantle after Sirius ran away and left that cursed house. There would be no running away this time. He couldn’t be selfish and say no, he had the whole world to think about. He had his dead friends to think of.
Sirius slowly reached his hand out for Death to take, watching as Death put his hand into his.
Then, it was sealed.
Sirius woke in his second life like this: a heaviness upon him as if he had been asleep for a long, long time.
He woke up peering up at an emerald bed canopy above him and a bedroom more pristine than it would be in the future. He woke up with his dark grey eyes blurry for a moment, a knowledge that things would be even more confusing and overwhelming than he expected. He also woke up and sat upright, before looking at a standing antique mirror which belonged to some ancestor of his and passed down throughout the generations to the first born son.
“You have got to be shitting me.”
Oh no, Death was right.
If the voice that was already crackling at the edges was any indication, so was the sight of his eleven year old body in the mirror. He couldn’t help but try to get out of the bed to see himself better (cursing the stupid heavy silks his pretentious family had always put on their beds), tangling his legs together in the sheets and falling out onto his arse and his elbow.
Thundering footsteps came towards his bedroom door, and he didn’t have to think on the steps to know it was his mother dearest, Walburga Black. He was looking at the door upside down due to the position he was in, so it was no surprise she almost smacked him in the head with the door as she flung it open. The old bitch always had to have the attention of her, whether or not it was good or bad. She was Lady Black, lady of the purest Sacred House in Great Britain (all through incest though there were some exceptions but they were other Sacred families).
Sirius wished he had been there when she died, apparently it was horrendous.
It was bad enough there had to be a closed casket.
His father, Orion Black (who also happened to be Walburga's second cousin), had already passed.
For now though, Walburga Black was alive, unfortunately.
She swept into the room, extremely tall and bony.
Her obsidian curls were piled high on her head, with different jeweled emerald chains pinned here and there. Her eyes were too big for her face, and her features were very shallow. To most Pure-Bloods they thought she was one of the most beautiful ladies but to others with common sense they knew there was no beauty to be found when it came to the lady of the House of Black.
Walburga stood there, her pinched waist was tightened even more. She must have made sure to make the corset as tight as she could. Perhaps she had made sure to have someone magically make it as tight as possible without going unconscious.
The Black Diamond ring meant for the bride of the first born was nestled against her bony marital finger. Her black nails were long, oh how Sirius remembered when she would slap him across the face, making sure to put on nail claws to create actual cuts across his face. The silver metal claws were her favorite accessories to wear whenever there would be parties held at her own house–12 Grimmauld Place.
The deep green gown she wore fit her like a glove, the neckline went up her neck and rested a few inches below her pointed chin. Her charcoal eyeliner and thickened mascara made an even more crazed look upon her face, her pointed chin and dark green lipstick made her almost ghastly. Her skin reminded Sirius of a vengeful ghost hell bent on making sure everyone in the house would have the same horrible fate as she did.
She stood there without saying anything, her eyes narrowing down at her eldest child sprawled out on the bedroom floor for some stupid reason. She reached one of her hands up and pressed it against her forehead, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with this. She couldn’t physically hurt him at the moment because he was about to head off to Hogwarts today, the last thing he needed was to have bruises and other obvious signs of abuse. She would be without him until Yule and that was fine by her, she never wanted to be a mother.
One less child around the house, the better.
“You have ten minutes to get yourself in order. If you are not downstairs by then–” Walburga started, pausing without having to say anymore. Sirius quickly pulled the sheets off of him, before picking them up and putting them onto the mattress.
“Leave the sheets, Kreacher will take care of them. Come downstairs after you get dressed and you’ll have breakfast.”
Walburga swept out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Sirius let out a soundless sigh, his chest moving up and down.
He turned and noticed his suit he would have to wear on the train and the school uniform he’d have to wrestle into in the loo when they were near Hogsmeade station. He immediately glared at the offending clothing but just like his dearest mother he wanted to get out of here soon enough. He just was kind of nervous to imagine how he would react when it came to…no, get your head together Sirius!
Going over to the suit, tailored and designed to suit the Heir of the House of Black, Sirius barely paid attention to the embroidered tree branches on the outer vest with the background being the classic green the family wore. He almost rolled his eyes when he saw their family motto written in cursive on the back of the suit: Tours Pur.
Always Pure.
Yeah, anyone other than with pure blood like his would never be married into the family.
There would be no Half-bloods (those who only had at one parent who was magical).
Squibs were Merlin forbid, the thought of marrying someone who came from a magical line but was born without any was just as bad as marrying someone who was the first magical person in their family. Family was the best option, but marrying one’s own family meant the family line was starting to dwindle down.
There weren’t that many of them left.
As Sirius got ready for breakfast and what would happen later in the day, it didn’t take a genius to know why he was betrothed to his brother other than him of course being his brother. His mother had gotten ahead of herself, the ladies of the House of Black never allowed Healers and other medical professionals to touch them when they were pregnant. She truly believed she would be having a daughter so the betrothal contract was made up, but when his brother was born Sirius swore he could still hear her screams of anger at her plan backfiring.
Sirius didn’t want to look at himself in the mirror the whole time he was getting ready.
He didn’t want to see his soft features anymore or how his skin was devoid of the tattoos he had gotten as soon as he turned sixteen. Tattoos he had gone with James and their werewolf friend, Remus Lupin, to get on the shadier side of Muggle London. He was inebriated but he had gotten pretty good with his liquor by then. He sat there and spoke as if he were sober, and the tattoo artists were more than charmed to have a pretty boy in their parlors.
There was also the fact his parents were always demanding the utmost perfection from him and his brother.
Sirius couldn’t count how many times he would have a mirror shoved in his face every time he had a blemish on his face during puberty, how Blacks did not get puberty blemishes (why she didn’t call them pimples he didn’t know), and Male Blacks knew better than to grow beards. They were to have smoothed down hair and pristine skin.
Once he was finished, Sirius turned and opened his bedroom door.
He didn’t care to look back at his preteen bedroom.
There was nothing there that was ultimately his own. Everything in his bedroom had been owned by an ancestor before him. The colors were his least favorite colors too, silver and green. It just happened to be the trademark color for both his family’s favored Hogwarts House but also for their family overall.
The long, winding hallway of the first floor of the townhouse had magical light scones on the walls, placed at the perfect angle to let out the proper amount of light. The floorboards were always magically cleaned by their House Elf, Kreacher. The wallpaper was almost the exact same as the rest of the wallpaper in the house–branches from trees and vineyards. Grapes so dark and plump here and there, some of the more unique birds nestled upon the branches, sometimes their wings would flutter and if someone put their ear near them they would have heard the twittering of the birds. They weren't cheerful chirps, they were mournful and making laments.
Sirius remembered all the times he would sneak back into the townhouse when he was going out in the middle of the night with his friends. He knew where to step on the spiral staircase, where to put his weight on and where he needed to jump. He knew what it was like to be chased by his elder cousins when times weren’t as bad–Narcissa and Andromeda were the good cousins and always were. Bellatrix was always a bitch, she never had been nice to anyone, not even her own family members. Especially her family members, considering she had been the one who had killed Sirius in his first life, laughing and mocking him.
Going downstairs, Sirius turned and went to go through the foyer to where the dining room was, turning to look and see if he could find his brother....his betrothed…but as he looked around he could not see his little brother. He frowned for a moment before straightening his features and fixing his posture so his aura that clung to him was intimidating and aristocratic. He swept into the dining room, his eyes immediately landed on his father sitting at the end of the table.
Orion Black was sitting at the head of the table, his dark eyes down on his bone china plate.
A bowl sat in front of him full of water for him to clean his hands, signaling Orion was finished eating.
His soft curls fell in front of his face and half of it was pulled up in a bun. He was dressed in a silk black button up shirt, black dress pants and black shoes.
An elegant robe was draped across his chair, the same black as the rest of his outfit and his hair but with diamonds embroidered throughout the surface. There was his constellation embroidered on the back of his robe, a signal towards his namesake and a reminder how one should remember where they came from. He wasn’t the first Orion in the family and he most likely would not be the last. His cheekbones were sharp and there was a mole right underneath his right eye. Sirius swore he even saw a gleam of pink lip-gloss on his father’s lips but he also swore he never saw his father with his hair halfway done either.
”Master Lord Black, Master Heir Black is here, as was requested.”
Orion brought his attention away from his bowl of water and let his eyes land on his son’s.
They became tender, which almost made Sirius jolt back.
His father had never been this way in Sirius's first life.
He had never really been there to begin with and when he did it hurt almost as much as Walburga sending the Crucio spell to make an indescribable pain upon the victim. He never really got in the way of his wife when she would torture her sons. This time the tenderness was real, Sirius could tell this, he could tell his father actually loved him.
It was unsettling but he knew possibly he would get used to this or maybe he could at least try.
His father looked braver, healthier than he did in his past life.
He was a shell of a life in the past but there seemed to be more life in this one, perhaps Death was on his side and wanted there to be one parent who was on his side. A parent who would contradict his wife for abusing their children. He wasn’t going to be one who would stand on the side when she did, and only do it because he knew it would make his wife leave him alone (most likely so she wouldn’t point her wand at him).
“Good morning, Sirius. Please, sit. Try to eat, I know you’re nervous,” Orion spoke, his gentle aristocratic voice reminding Sirius how his father never raised his voice in his first life either. He always raised his wand, which spoke louder than words ever could.
Sirius still didn’t know how he didn’t receive neurological issues because of the spells sent at him, some not even known to the Ministry because the Blacks always kept their darkest spells close to their chests. They held some of the most lethal spells known and unknown. Some witches and wizards literally sold their lives in order to have some of the spells handed over to them, forced to have an Unbreakable Vow in order for the spells to work.
A plate of food appeared suddenly in front of Sirius without him even having to ask Kreacher to bring him something. Orion was cleaning his hands in the bowl in front of him before he picked up the nice fabric cloth in front of him, wiping away the water. The bowl disappeared a few seconds later along with the cloth. He kept his hands folded together in front of him, waiting for Sirius to eat and giving him assuring glances.
Sirius forced himself to eat the English breakfast, though his hand almost shook with the fact he faintly remembered doing the same thing in his first life. His father wasn’t sitting at the table then. Only Kreacher was in the dining room but Sirius couldn’t remember if Regulus was in the room with him. He wasn’t here with either Black males and Sirius didn’t know if this was a good or bad thing. He kept looking at the chair where his brother should be sitting.
He let out a breath he had been holding when his father stood up from the table and left the dining room. Kreacher stayed in the room, baring his teeth at Sirius with that angered look in his watery eyes. The short wrinkled creature with dark tan skin and floppy years peered at Sirius as though he was the dirt beneath his feet. The black pillowcase he wore with the family crest embroidered in the front had only one person he worshiped and that happened to be Walburga Black. He couldn’t care less when it came to Sirius and Regulus but when it came to Orion he had to begrudgingly show some type of submission to him in order to keep his position.
Sirius knew he could glare at the House Elf, he could tell him to not look at him but to be honest Sirius couldn’t care less about the irritating creature. He dismissed him and finished the last of his food (although everything inside him was protesting eating solid food at the moment), before the food disappeared and the bowl came next. He cleaned his hands and grabbed his cleaning towel while letting his eyes focus on the dining table in front of him. Pristine condition, the Mahogany wood being one of the highest quality woods to use for furniture.
Footsteps came down the staircase in the foyer, not just one pair but two. Sirius swore his heart was almost beating out of his chest as he knew what the second pair of shoes meant. It wasn’t his mother who had decided to come downstairs with his father, it was obvious she had already left the house to attend to her own agenda.
Some claimed she had her own apothecary shop she secretly owned to create poisons for other high class witches to poison their husbands. They would be without those men and able to attend to their own devices with a vast fortune and no man to tell them what to do. These rumors had been made both in Sirius’ first life and now this second one.
He could hear the whispers as his father came down the stairs.
“Don’t mind your mother, Reggie. Sirius needs your support, he was looking at your chair. He’s nervous, I know this is the first time you’ll be separated from each other. You will come with us to King’s Cross to see him off. A proper betrothed does so. Even your mother did so for me even if she was already in her final years when I first attended Hogwarts,” Orion explained, gentle and without any type of malice in his voice.
This was also the first time Sirius would ever hear his father calling his second born son by the nickname he preferred Sirius and close friends to call him.
Reggie….oh Reggie.
Sirius could still remember the nasty burn across his face from their beloved mother, made from her picking up the fireplace poker before hitting Sirius across the face. Sirius remembered Regulus sprawled out on the parlor floor and twitching from the Crucio Curse with their father sitting in his signature chair drinking whisky. He did not even blink when Sirius had lunged at their mother for hurting Regulus for no reason only for her to break his arm in retaliation. She demanded him leave and never return, since he had finally decided to attack her. Sirius had left then, at only sixteen (right before his sixth year at Hogwarts), leaving Regulus and only seeing him from a distance at Hogwarts.
“A-Are you sure?”
Oh Reggie, he always had that stutter for the longest time.
It wasn’t until he attended Hogwarts he was able to slowly rid himself of it.
“Of course, don’t worry. I can take care of your mother.”
The moment Regulus appeared in the doorway in dark green robes over his black silk button up shirt, same colored pants and same colored dress shoes Sirius saw black spots appear in his eyesight. He started to move towards his brother without thinking, wanting to put his hands onto his cheekbones and turn them side by side to make sure it was him. He wanted to grab his sleeves and pull them up to make sure his skin was devoid of the magical tattoo of a snake in a skull’s mouth–the mark of those who were Death Eaters.
Then, Sirius was embarrassed to say this…
He passed out.
He found himself waking up on one of the elegant love seats in one of their numerous parlor rooms.
He flinched and brought his hand up to rub his forehead.
He turned his head to the side, noting how Regulus was holding a glass of water in his hands.
His hand shook as he came closer to Sirius.
Almost as if he were afraid his brother would yank the glass from his hand and drink it before telling him he didn’t need to be taken care of. Sirius couldn’t help but sit upright and reach his hand out, softly taking the cup from him. He reached his other hand up and placed it on Regulus’s hand, which in return made a bright blush appear on his face.
“Thank you, Reggie.”
Although his voice was weak, barely there, Sirius enjoyed saying his brother’s nickname. He enjoyed looking up at his ten year old face. Those chubby cheeks, obsidian curls that fell around his ears and a golden star hairpin were tucked into the side of his hair.
It was a beautiful golden hue and was in the shape of the Canis Major.
It made Sirius both marvel at how his brother was wearing his constellation but it also felt wrong, as though his parents were telling him to wear anything that had the constellation Sirius within it because he was Sirius’ property.
It was just another reminder of the betrothal.
“Y-You’re welcome.”
Regulus ducked his head down and put his hands together behind his back.
He rubbed one of his shoes against the carpet and again without thinking, Sirius acted.
He threw the glass of water away and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around his little brother. He couldn’t believe he had left him here in this house of horrors the first time. If he had to leave this time around he wasn’t going to leave without him.
Regulus squeaked in shock while Orion gently asked Sirius to let his brother go. Sirius did so, reluctantly, but when he did he chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck in a shy manner. “Sorry, I just realized I won’t see you for a while.”
More like he hadn’t seen him in a while, over ten years.
He didn’t even have the chance to say his peace with Regulus’ spirit when he died too. He would make sure when Regulus died (please, please be when he was old and grey), he would have his own soul and it wouldn’t belong to anyone else. It didn’t even need to be owned by Sirius…despite the betrothal Regulus deserved to be his own person. He wasn’t able to be one even before he was born.
“Alright, lads, it’s time for us to head to King’s Cross. Kreacher, bring Sirius his suitcase,” Orion commanded as he turned and looked at the wrinkled creature in the corner of the room with his nose crunched together.
Kreacher bore his teeth at his master but Orion brought his hand up, with a warning glare that caused Kreacher to merely narrow his eyes but wave his hand. Sirius’ suitcase came floating into the room and sat it down in an almost exaggerated manner. If Sirius were materialistic he would have yelled at Kreacher for even attempting to destroy his expensive items in his suitcase. He didn’t bring anything breakable with him, there was no need to.
Sirius went and grabbed his suitcase before he walked out of the townhouse with his father closing the front door behind him. Regulus stayed very still, his fingers dancing together in a nervous twitch. Sirius reached out and put his free hand into Regulus’, causing the boy to almost squeak. Sirius decided he liked this, to hold Regulus’ hand every so often to remember he was here. He deserved to do this, the trauma both he and his brother went through meant he should be able to do this a little more than a normal brother would. It wasn’t romantic and it wasn’t going to be romantic despite the state of their relationship years from now.
“Y-you don’t h-have to h-hold my hand,” Regulus whispered, his head ducked down. He started to nibble the corner of the bottom of his lip.
Sirius immediately responded as they went down the stoop steps and in the direction of where the small neighborhood opened up to the main road, “I like it. It reminds me you’re here with me…”
Oh Sirius…what was up with him?
He never had any special emotions towards his own brother in his past life.
He was nothing more than a little brother, there obviously wasn’t any betrothal contract. He knew he would probably lose contact with him after he finished Hogwarts. He’d see him in The Daily Prophet when he would eventually get to the top of his career and then marriage. A whole front page article with a charming photograph of Regulus after he had reached his career promotion and then a photograph of him during his engagement to whatever bride he’d end up with.
Orion moved swiftly behind them, his hands inside of the pockets of his robes, his handsome features calm and collected.
They were quite intense to those around them. No one liked looking at him too long. There were rumors many people tried to kill his lover and in response he had made sure to murder them ruthlessly and sent their body parts to their loved ones. Some of the body parts hadn’t been actually recovered so some of the victims went buried without a complete corpse.
In this life the only time his wife was able to abuse their children would be when Orion was outside of the townhouse, whether it was to see his lover or he needed to be at the Ministry because of paperwork or clients that needed to be taken care of. He wouldn’t hit his wife despite him wanting to, he wasn’t going to strike anyone. He was a better person than his wife was.
The weather was nice and he smiled at his sons as they held hands.
Sirius was holding Regulus’ hand tighter than he thought he would.
Sirius had always been gentle with Regulus.
He never yelled at him or hit him.
He always shared his toys when they were younger and sometimes Orion would come into Regulus’ bedroom to read him to sleep. Sirius had begged Orion to be the one to do so, since the parenting duties often fell in Orion’s hands. He wouldn’t let Kreacher take care of the children if he could care for it, if his wife had commanded the House Elf to drown the children in the bathtub while he was away he would come home and find her sitting in the living room laughing. He’d rush upstairs only to find his two treasures (the only part of his marriage to Walburga he was proud of), floating in the tub. Kreacher would be doing whatever his lovely mistress would command him to do.
Sirius on the other hand both felt peace for the first time in a long time but also chaos.
He both wanted to yell at Death for putting him through this shit but he also wanted to hug him and tell him he was glad he had a second chance. He would act differently than he did the first time, he was technically a thirty six year old man in an eleven year old boy. He was more aware of things than he ever imagined he would be and although he was a lot more mature than he had been the first time due to this he didn’t feel as if he was thirty six.
He wouldn’t be surprised if in time he would lose all his memories from his first life, and he would only remember this life. A life that hopefully would be better than his first one.
He felt as if he was still eleven, he looked at the world around him with the eyes of an eleven year old.
There were multiple people who were entering and exiting King’s Cross.
Sirius admired some of the more fashionable people that wandered in and out, those who had bright colored clothes that were an odd combination and with different patterns that weren’t very stylish but were to him. There were men who walked around with platform leather boots and women who walked around without bras, which in return showed the natural reaction of their breasts to the cool air. Women who didn’t shave their armpits and had long hair that needed to be combed down. Men who put more attention into their outfits than a normal man would. It was nice, so different than the stuffiness he would have to deal with when it came to the Wizarding World.
Orion stayed close as they walked through the front entrance of the train station, nodding his head at those around him who did the same. He made sure he kept his attention mostly on his children, glaring hotly at the men and women who were muttering under their breaths about the unnatural hand holding the boys were having. They might still be children but they were both boys and they were getting older. One was going through puberty, he must learn it was inappropriate not only because they were obviously boys but because they were related!
He would not make his sons feel ashamed for the hastily made marital arrangement his wife had created when she had been pregnant with Regulus.
Orion had mourned for the boys not having the chance to find love themselves freely. He would not force them to love each other, to make them resent each other like he and Walburga did. He wanted to gently tell them it was okay if they ended up liking each other more than brothers did, and he already could tell Regulus was starting to hold a crush towards his older brother. It would break both Regulus’ and Orion’s hearts if Sirius decided he didn’t want to give the betrothal a chance but ultimately it was his children’s choice.
Regulus tightened his hand into his brother’s instinctively and without thinking Sirius pulled him closer to him to make sure he was safe. He could feel something inside the pocket of the robe Regulus was wearing on the side where he was up against Sirius. Sirius wanted to tease him and ask him what was in his pocket, but decided to leave it be. Regulus would show him if he needed or wanted to do so.
Arriving at the one brick pillar that was secretly a gateway to the train platform where the Hogwarts Express train was, Sirius noticed the last blur of a bright orange haired person going through the pillar. The person was either a Weasley or a Prewett.
They were still considered part of the Sacred 28, those who were the first English magical families who still kept to the original Pure-Blood politics and married properly instead of marrying Half-Bloods and Muggle-Borns all the time. If they were married to Half-Bloods it was barely a mark in their family tree or it hadn’t been properly researched so they needed their tree line re-validated.
Going through the pillar of 9 ¾ felt like stepping into a warm house after being stuck out in a blizzard for hours.
Sirius sighed happily when they appeared on the other side of the pillar, his gray irises revealing themselves when he opened them. He glanced around and smiled when he saw all the witches and wizards moving around with their children. The parents who were fussing with their children, children running off to find their friends. Some teenagers who were here without their family because they already got through the mushy farewells either at home or on the other side of the pillar. They didn’t want them to cramp their style, the independence they would have.
Sirius turned when he saw his father come closer to him, hovering over his short height. His eyes took in all around him before he let his eyes land down onto Sirius, enough for the older son to have his heart race in his chest. He was having a second chance with his father, a second chance at him having an actual parent who loved him. A parent who cared for him and would keep him away from the horrors of the world if he could. He couldn’t always be there but when he was he made sure to keep Sirius and Regulus in his arms, to cradle them and remind them they were good.
“Well you’re about to head off to Hogwarts. I hope you have a great time there. I’m sure you’ll have a lot to write to Regulus about. You…can write to me also if you wish,” Orion said, a soft pinkness arriving upon his cheekbones as he said the last part.
“Well don’t forget me either! I’m your favorite uncle after all!”
Sirius spun on his heels and looked up, seeing his uncle Alphard.
Uncle Alphard was the tallest male in the family, he hovered even Orion a few inches.
His obsidian hair was cut around his cheekbones and was a feathered mess. Most of his hair was grey, it was just something he had been born with. His eyes were warm and kind, and had always been warm and welcoming. He was a little more muscular than an average nobleman and always wore his black gloves. There was an emerald teardrop earring in his right ear, he claimed his good friend had given it to him when he saw Uncle Alphard notice it in a store front. His boots had a slight heel to them and he happened to have this almost androgynous aesthetic to him.
“A-Alphard, you came after all!”
Orion squeaked in an almost feminine way, his face becoming flustered and his heart raced in his chest. He blushed and looked down, noting how his cousin bent down and began to talk to Sirius about the adventures he needed to get himself into. He peered at Sirius as though he was the one who birthed him himself of Walburga.
If only male wizards could become fertile…they would have to take a potion to change their gender before becoming impregnated. They would carry the baby and would change back into their male counterpart if they wished after the baby was born. Some stayed as women, having realized they were at home in this new body, this connection and opportunity more than they imagined. The others said they were happy they were able to have a child naturally but wished they were still male during the pregnancy.
Sirius turned his head, noticing how Regulus was playing with something in his pocket, an aggravated look upon his chubby face. He eventually pulled out what he had in his pocket and held it in front of Sirius to take. Sirius blinked as he saw what Regulus had pulled out from his pockets.
“P-Papa said you have to w-wear ties but I c-could pick something f-from our v-vault as a gift for you,” Regulus said, a farewell gift for Sirius.
Sirius took the gift, blushing as he knew this was something he never would have worn in his first life but in this second life he knew he treasured it. He treasured Regulus because he didn’t know how long he had him this time around.
In Sirius’ hand was a velvet choker with a small silver trinket of the constellation of Regulus.
Sirius blinked a few times, not expecting for him to have grabbed this out of anything else in the family vault.
He wondered if Regulus’ ebonym had made this choker for his wife to remind her of him, and wondered what Regulus the first would have thought about this whole thing happening. It was kind of feminine but Regulus had gotten this for him with him in his mind so he put the choker in the pocket of his robes, promising to put it on when it was days they didn’t have class.
The crimson train with the School name painted on the side let out a loud warning signal, which in return made Sirius turn his head. The conductors of the train for just this platform were ushering students onto the train in order for the school to expect them at the proper time. Sirius turned to look at his brother, before dropping his suitcase and wrapped his arms around his brother. He held him a moment longer than he had been earlier, hoping this wasn’t going to be some cruel twist to this life. He would be able to see Regulus only once and then find out his mother had him ruthlessly murdered while Sirius was away at Hogwarts.
Pulling away, Sirius turned and looked at his father and uncle.
He craned his head to the side as he saw Uncle Alphard had his head lean down and his lips near Orion’s right ear. He was whispering something to him and one of his hands was quite close to Orion’s thin waist. Orion was blushing and looking off to the side, enough for Sirius to widen his eyes when realization came over him.
Uncle Alphard and his father were lovers, they were the ones who had been together in Sirius's first life also. Uncle Alphard had been found murdered not long after Sirius had left to stay with James and his parents, and then their father had committed suicide after a year. It left Walburga to put her fingers into her younger son and make sure to have him as a follower of Voldemort.
Orion moved forward and placed his hand on his son’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before moving away. Regulus followed him, soon clinging to the side of his father. Uncle Alphard came forward and squeezed his nephew’s shoulder before bending down and kissing him on the forehead in a more motherly manner than an uncle's manner.
“Go, Sirius. Enjoy yourself. Write to your father and Regulus, we both know they need it. Write to me too if you can,” Uncle Alphard whispered before he stood up and motioned for Sirius to head to one of the compartment exterior steps.
Sirius took a deep breath, took his suitcase, and headed towards the train.