Anima\'s Reunion

Chapter 02

Harry had, until then, been enjoying a walk around the forbidden forest (which actually meant he had dropped by, upon owl request, to the Shrieking SHack to spend some time with his godfather) when he spotted Professor Lupin running frantically after a student.

Had Harry been any other student, he would have called out to his professor and asked what was wrong, but he was Harry Potter and his middle name should have been curious instead of James. He instantly hid behind a thick tree trunk and followed the older man with his eyes.

He was sweating, from the effort to keep up at the student’s pace, most likely, and his red face had a tinge of desperation.

The student, on the other hand, continued to run as fast as he, for the student was male, could. The black haired boy would sometimes jump to the side to duck the stunning spells the frantic professor threw his way, and Harry wondered if the School Policy allowed professors to stun the students, and under which circunstances.

He had always thought Remus Lupin was a gentle man, so, for him to be chasing after a – harry squinted – after a Slytherin with such insistence and even try to knock him out, something definitely wrong must behappening.

The boy turned around and shouted something quite rude to the older man, never stopping his mad race. Harry frowned, ready to throw a hex himself when he realized the direction the boy was running to…

… right to the Shrieking Shack.

An unidentified Slytherin was on his way to the Shrieking Shack.

Not really thinking about it he dashed towards the running pair, throwing curses and hexes himself, everything to keep Sirius safe.

The black haired boy growled at him, wiped his wand around and threw something that made Remus tackle Harry to the ground.

“DAMN IT! REG!! YOU KNOW THAT’S A FORBIDEN CURSE!!” he snapped, his wand pointing towards the boy’s head. He looked enraged.

The boy, Reg, narrowed his eyes and grinned.

“Do you think I care if I managed to hurt you or,” he sneered. “Or Potter?” His quicksilver eyes landed on Harry with burning hate. Harry flinched.

“And you, Potter,” he hissed. “I don’t know where you came from, but you won’t get in my way this time, you and Lupin will NOT stop me!”

Before Harry or Remus could react the boy had reached the Shrieking Shack and was hexing the door open.

The wood exploded noisily, sending debris all around them. Harry was, as much as it shamed him to admit, quite impressed by the Slytherin’s skill, as the boy managed to destroy the wards on the shack, rip the locking spell on the door, blast the door off and cast a shielding charm on himself in a matter of seconds.

How come he had not noticed this talented boy?

A canine growl alerted all three of them of Sirius’ presence.

The boy’s mouth curled into a sneer and a very non-human hiss came out of his lips.

Harry stared.

Remus shook his head in defeat before standing and helping Harry up.

“He sounds pissed,” Harry said softly. Remus sighed.

“He won’t be for long, Harry,” he answered.

Padfoot came out of the house, shoulders straight, teeth bared. His eyes burned with malice and if Harry hadn’t know this was his godfather, he would have pissed himself, he was sure of it.

“Don’t you dare growl at me,” the boy hissed again, not in a parceltongue way, but more like a feline huff of annoyance. “Sirius Cerverus Black, go back to normal or I’ll sweat to everything that we stand for that I’ll turn you back myself.”

Padfoot’s eyes widened lightly, a whine coming out of his snout.

“Don’t call me… that,” he said as he slowly morphed back into a man.

The boy crossed his arms over his chest, and even if he had to raise his face to stare at the other man he seemed threatening enough.

“Your middle name is Cerverus, Sirius?” Harry asked despite himself. Remus placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Never remind him that, Harry, he hates it,” he advised. Harry nodded mutely.

The Slytherin boy was still staring, his frown deepening. Harry had the distinct impression he had seen this boy before, but he could not place where.

“Well?” the boy growled. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

Sirius kept staring back, his eyes wide and his mouth wide open, trembling.

“I lost it, didn’t I, Moony?” he asked softly. “I finally lost it.”

Remus shook his head.

“We had an accident in class, Padfoot,” he whispered. “Someone Manifesta Anima-ed him.”

Sirius’ whole body started to shake at that. His trembling hands came up to his mouth as he bit on his fingers.

The boy rose one of his own hands and put in on top of the older man’s.

“Don’t do that, you’ll ruin your fingernails,” he said sternly, still frowning.

It was all it took for Sirius to break down. He seized the boy in his arms, still shaking madly, and hid his face on the boy’s slender neck.

“Reg, my Reggie…” he whimpered, tightening his hold on the boy. “You are back, you are here…”

Reggie’s sour frown smoothed into a calm smile. He slowly wrapped his own thin arms around Sirius’ heaving back and ran pale fingers over his hair.

“Shhh, Siri, of course I’m here,” he soothed. “I’m still angry at you, you did horrible things to Sev. Even now you are torturing him.”

Harry blinked ready to ask when Remus’ hand on his shoulder tightened in warning. He closed his mouth and nodded.

Sirius frowned and raised his angry, tear-stained face, hissing lightly and staring at Reggie’s eyes just inches away from his own.

“You are not taking his side again, are you?” he snapped. “Look what he did to you! He made you a sodding Death Eater and then left you to die! I’ll never forgive that bastard!”

“SIRIUS!” Reg snapped. “He is my best friend, I love him! And I-” he couldn’t finish when Sirius’ hand wrapped around his mouth tightly, his eyes set.

“Don’t you dare, Regulus Arcturus Black,” he hissed threateningly. “You don’t love him, don’t you dare to try and confuse me like that again. And before you even start on the brotherly-love crap, you can’t love him like that either, you don’t have MY permission.”

Regulus’ eyes widened lightly.

Sirius smirked.

“Oh, yes. I’m the oldest Black alive now, you see,” he laughed. “I’m the Clan Head and as such you have to obey me.”

The boy’s eyes narrowed, Harry only saw the jaw move lightly before Sirius’ yelped in pain and moved his hand away.

“Now listen to me, Sirius,” Regulus growled. “Clan Head or not, you will finally get into your thick skull that I am my own person and not your pet or your doll, I made my own choices during my life and I lived according to the consequences they brought me. Understand?!”

Sirius stared at the younger boy and sighed, nodding.

“How come you are more mature than me?” he asked sulkily. Regulus laughed.

“I died, you didn’t,” he explained, rather patronizingly. “It sounds stupid, but death brings a very calming clarity.” Slowly he wrapped both arms around Sirius’ neck and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Be happy, ok? I’ll always be here when you need me, and try to be nicer to Sev, he stabilized me for a few hours so we could talk, even thought he didn’t have to.”

Sirius pouted.

“He probably just did it so I owed him,” he muttered, earning a giggle and another kiss from the younger boy.

Harry continued to stare.

Remus sighed.

“That went better than I expected,” he said happily.

Regulus turned to him with a growl.

“Had it not been for you and all your screaming and hexing I could have told you before hand, you bastard,” he snapped, snuggling into Sirius’ embrace.

Sirius’ eyes widened.

“You tried to hex my Reggie, Moony?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

Remus gulped.

“I thought he wasn’t right in the head, I thought that maybe he would… hurt you? You know that you two didn’t part in the best of terms.”

“As if I would let Reggie hurt me or I would hurt him,” Sirius mussed.

“Siri, you are embarrassing me,” Regulus pouted. Sirius laughed and tightened his embrace on the boy.

“That’s right, you need to meet our new small family!” he exclaimed suddenly, dragging the boy towards Harry and Remus.

“I already met your friends, Siri,” Regulus argued. “And believe me, I’m not in a rush to do so again.”

Sirius shook his head.

“Come on, Reg!” he beamed as he finally stopped before Harry. “Harry, I’d like you to meet my younger brother, Regulus!”

Harry was about to nod and introduce himself when he finally looked at Regulus Black up front, from this distance he could finally distinguish his high cheekbones and wide silver eyes.

He wiped his wand angrily.

“MALFOY!” he cried. “What sort of sick game are you playing now?!”

Regulus blinked, Remus tried to stop Harry and Sirius’ eyes widened.

“Everyone calls me that, even Sev,” Regulus, or rather Draco Malfoy said calmly. “Do I really look that much like old Lucius?”

“Don’t try to pretend, you bastard, playing around with my Godfather’s feelings is too cruel, even for you.”

“Harry…” Remus called.

“…Specially now that your daddy dearest is angry at you, huh? Is this what this is about? You want to get back into his good graces?”

“Harry…”

“Well, that’s too bad, isn’t it, Malfoy? No matter what you do, that snake is never going to love you, so give up already and-”

“HARRY!”

“WHAT!” Harry snapped finally.

Remus looked at him before pointing towards the Malfoy heir.

Harry turned and was too shocked to utter another word.

Draco’s eyes were wide and fat, crystalline tears made their way down his cheeks. His trembling hands covered his mouth momentarily, almost like Sirius’ had done before.

“Am I really such a horrible boy?” he asked brokenly, unsure. “Am I really someone capable of… doing that?”

Harry didn’t really know what to say, this broken young man differed quite greatly from the slimy git that had tortured him since day one. Was this really Sirius’ little brother who happened to look like Malfoy?

Remus coughed.

“You are different,” he explained. “You were raised by Lucius and Narcissa, so… you think highly of their ideals.”

Draco nodded absently, snuggling into Sirius even more, trying to hide in his warmth.

“I must be a total prat,” he whispered.

Harry nodded without realizing he was doing so.

Draco smiled at him.

“And I bet I’m specially vicious towards you, huh?” he asked. The other boy nodded again.

“I never actually understood why, but you seem determined to humiliate me,” he said softly. He didn’t like the sudden fluttering of his stomach when that smile, so much like Sirius’ was directed at him.

“Residual dislike, I would think,” the Slytherin muttered. “I didn’t like your father very much, Harry. I would only guess my dislike makes me act towards you as I acted towards him in my times. You two really look alike.”

Harry blushed.

“So I’ve been told.”

Sirius was still frowning, however.

“You came from Malfoy,” he growled low on his throat. “I don’t like it. He can easily turn you back into a Death Eater if he wants you. I don’t want to lose you again, Reggie.”

Draco looked up at him.

“Siri, you will never lose me, even if I can’t remember you I will always love you, without an apparent reason.”

Sirius sighed.

“I still don’t like it.”

“Sirius…” Draco sighed.

“REGULUS!” All four men turned to see Snape running towards them, his eyes wide.

“Sev!” Draco grinned, waving. “Siri just promised he wouldn’t harass you anymore!”

“I promised no such a thing!” Sirius yelled.

Snape approached them, panting.

“Black, you need to get out of here, you too Lupin!” he said seriously. Sirius was about to protest, his arms were securely wrapped around Draco’s waist. Harry idly wondered how close the black siblings were, but guessed he had no say in it, since he had never had a little brother.

“What happened, Severus?” Remus asked before another fight broke between the old rivals.

Snape narrowed his eyes.

“Miss Parkinson became worried when Draconis had his… episode,” he explained. “Of course after Lupin came chasing him into the forbidden forest she got scared and owled Lucius, he’s on his way right now and-”

“On his way, Severus?” a cold voice hissed.

Harry paled, unconsciously tightening his hand around his wand.

Draco schooled his face into a cold serenity that aged his face well beyond his thirteen years of age.

“Father,” he greeted slowly, still inside the protective circle of Sirius’ arms.

Lucius Malfoy came from the shadows of the forest, his wand raised.

“Step away from my son, Black,” he hissed, his eyes never straying from the other man. “Draco, prepare to run, that man is a dangerous criminal, son.”

“So are we, father,” the boy answered calmly, placing his hands on top of Sirius’. “We’ve all done things we would rather be embarrassed of, but it’s the strength that pulled us up from our own mistakes that has given us our worth, isn’t that right?”

“Draconis Arcturus Malfoy,” Lucius warned. “Where did you hear-”

“You told me yourself,” Draco interrupted. “A few days before I was murdered and…” he slowly placed a hand on his forehead. “There was something important that I had to remember… my time must be running short.”

Lucius’ icy blue eyes were wide.

“Regulus?” he asked weakly.

Draco smiled.

“Ummm… surprise? If I were you I’d blame it on you marrying a Black? Please don’t hate me?”

Harry stared as both Malfoys regarded eachother with open curiousity. Most likely, Lucius Malfoy was wondering why on earth someone like Regulus Black was possessing the body of his only heir and son, while Draco, or rather Regulus, wondered what kind of man was his new father.

He idly wondered how would Draco react.

To be Continued