Anima\'s Reunion

Chapter 03

Silence reigned over the forest.

Sirius could only hold onto his little Regulus as tightly as he could and occasionally growl at Lucius, Snape, Remus, whoever came close to them. Harry was standing by his side, staring between the four men and Draco Malfoy, whose eyes were still teary, but determined.

Lucius was the first to break the silence.

"Narcissa will have a fit, she always thought you were Andromeda's child," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Regulus wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"You know I wouldn't go for a girl, much less one named Nynphadora."

Lucius smirked.

"Is my Draconis still inside that head of yours?" he asked, and Harry could tell the older man was looking for any weakness, any indication that Regulus Black had taken over Draco Malfoy and was, in any way, harming the boy.

Regulus shook his head.

"I would guess so, if this indescribable urge to make sure you don't hate me is anything to go by," he said tiredly, resting his head on Sirius' shoulder. "The boy adores you. I can't see why."

Lucius looked offended.

"You wouldn't know, considering your own parents," he huffed, walking assuredly towards them. Once in front of Regulus, and ignoring completely Sirius' hissed warning, he let his guard down. Harry, Remus and even Sirius had to admit they had never seen the Malfoy patriarch so open and trusting, nor his eyes as kind as then.

"Draconis, son," he said gently. "Don't be afraid. I'm not angry, no one is going to blame you."

Regulus visibly relaxed.

"Thanks, Lucius," he whispered. "That nagging voice was driving me insane, do I really sound like that?"

"I'll have you know your voice hasn't changed at all from the original one," Lucius snapped. "The only difference would be that MY son doesn't squeal like a little girl."

"Why you..."

"You... do squeal, Reg... when you get excited," Sirius interrupted, his cheeks flushing. "I think it's cute."

Harry had to stifle his laughter at Regulus' horrified expression.

"Siri! You are not supposed to agree with Malfoy!!" he squealed girlishly at that. And Harry found himself agreeing that the sound was, in fact, quite cute.

He blushed.

Lucius coughed then, rather uncomfortably.

"I can't believe this... Regulus Bratty Black is my little Draconis..."

"I take it you two didn't get along?" Harry asked, not really sure how he could be that relaxed while around Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. But, for some reason, the openness both men displayed, most likely, for Draco's sake, made him at ease.

"They hated eachother with passion," Snape sighed.

"Lucius had the guts to belittle me, after all," Regulus snapped. "He said Siri and I were weird."

"...and a bad influence on purebloods, don't forget that," Lucius growled, staring intently at Sirius' hands idly caressing Regulus' belly. "Black, stop touching my son like that!"

Harry blushed again.

"I was wondering about that," he muttered, turning to Remus. "Is it... normal?"

Remus shrugged.

"Quite so, Sirius always wanted Regulus close, he's... very territorial."

"It looks obscene!"

"It doesn't! You are just jealous because you never had a cute little brother like I do!"

"THAT'S NO BROTHER OF YOURS YOU FILTHY MUTT! THAT'S MY SON YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!"

"HE WAS MY BROTHER BEFORE HE WAS YOUR SON, YOU BLEACHED MONSTER!!"

"SIRI!! DAD!! DON'T FIGHT!"

"SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!? YOU MADE MY REGGIE CRY!"

"I DID?? YOU AND YOUR SAVAGE GRYFFINDOR WAYS MADE HIM UPSET!"

"And that's why I wanted them all apart," Snape sighed, putting a hand to his forehead.

Remus put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Is this... always like that?" the boy asked, unable to believe one of his worst enemies and his godfather were insulting eachother childishly instead of exchanging curses and hexes like natural enemies they were supposed to be.

Remus nodded.

"It's a pureblood thing, they don't curse eachother since the vow," he said, then yelped as Severus glared at him.

"What vow?" Harry asked, Sirius, Draco, Lucius and Snape stared at him, then they all turned to glare at Remus.

"Very well done, werewolf," squealed Draco. "Why don't you tell them about the Manticore Treaty while you are at it!"

"Manticore Treaty?"

"REGULUS!" all four adults yelled, the boy flinched.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Harry," Remus laughed. Harry frowned.

"What is that, Regulus?"

The other boy pouted.

"I dunno if I could trust you, Potter, the voice inside of my says you are a prat," he said simply. Lucius grinned.

"That's my boy," he laughed.

Harry frowned.

Draco sighed lightly, turning to Sirius.

"Siri, I think my time is running short," he said softly, nuzzling his brother's neck almost kittenishly. Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't comment this time.

Sirius whined.

"I don't want you to go," he said firmly, this time wrapping both arms around the boy's back and almost clinging to him. Regulus, or rather Draco, now that Harry could tell his hair was slowly turning back into his normal silver-blond color, stared deep into his brother's eyes.

"I'm sorry Siri, but I can't stay like this," he tried to sooth. Sirius shook his head.

"Why not? I don't want to lose you!"

The boy grinned.

"You will never lose me, silly thing," he smiled bitterly. "I might not remember you, but you can always come close, I wouldn't dream of rejecting you. I'm sure Draco would love to meet his uncle Sirius."

Sirius pouted childishly and nuzzled Regulus' hair, it was almost blond now.

"I don't want to be uncle Sirius, I'll feel old,"

"Cousin Sirius, then?"

"We'll work it out, don't expect me to keep away now that I got you back," he snapped, pecking the boy's cheek. Harry felt uncomfortable, staring at them. Their closeness was almost... obscene, just as Lucius Malfoy had said. He was ashamed to admit he had wondered about their relationship.

"Great, Narcissa will love the Mutt in our house," Lucius grumbled, taking Draco in his arms tenderly. Harry was hard pressed to admit he was almost jealous.

Draco grinned at the man and pecked his cheek as well.

"I hope you don't mind I affect your son, Lucius," he said softly. The blond man shook his head.

"I resigned myself to that fact already. Just make sure to keep in mind that your mother and I won't think of you differently for this," he sighed.

Draco nodded.

"Thank you, father, I know we had our differences when... then, but I think I couldn't have asked for a better father."

Lucius smiled.

"Go to sleep, Draconis, when you wake up you'll have lots to get used to, lot's to understand."

Draco nodded, blew a kiss to Snape with a smile and snuggled into his father's embrace.

"That brat," Snape smirked lightly.

"Shhh, he's asleep," whispered Lucius, and they all could tell that Regulus was gone already.

Draco's hair was back to his normal blond.

"I'll take him to the infirmary," sighed Remus, offering his arms to Lucius.

The other man glared at him.

"Black, take my son to Madame Pomfrey?" he asked. Sirius nodded and took Draco in his arms without actually looking at Remus. Harry felt more than knew, that all of them blamed the werewolf for this incident.

"Want to go with me, Harry?" Sirius asked suddenly, cradling Draco. Harry nodded, and followed his godfather, a little unsure.

"Will those three be ok by themselves?" he asked as soon as they got out of the forest. Sirius snorted.

"Most likely Lucius will get angry at Remus and chew him out for the Anima stunt, then Severus will try to calm them down," he explained. "Then Lucius will acusse Remy of taking advantage of Severus once more, Remus will protest, they will argue and Severus will hex them both before following us."

Harry almost choked on his own tongue.

"You... seem awfully calm about it," he tried to inquire. Sirius grinned at him.

"Ah, well, you get used to it after a while, and it took me years to come to terms with most of it. I guess your father was the one that started it all, and Lily always made sure no fighting was allowed when the Mantircores met."

"Again that Manticore Treaty," Harry mumbled. "Why can't I know about it?"

"Because," Sirius pointed out as Harry wrapped the invisibility cloak around him. "Once you know about the Treaty as a whole, the spell will include your name in the parchment, you will be a part of us, Harry."

"And?" Harry frowned. If Lucius Malfoy and his parents and Sirius were there, he didn't see why he couldn't be a part of it.

"And, you are too young, Harry, that's not the type of thing your parents would have wanted for you, not at your age at least."

Harry sighed deeply, opening the door of the infirmary for Sirius.

"What is going to happen to Malfoy?" he asked finally as Sirius lowered the boy onto a bed. Sirius huffed.

"He will most likely hex Remus and then Severus will hex them both," Sirius answered. Harry blinked.

"I meant Draco," he corrected, watching with amusement as Sirius blushed.

"Oh, right. It's hard to think of him as a Malfoy," the man laughed, sitting by the bed and offering a chair to Harry. "Well, the Manifesta Anima is a spell that helps people reconcile their former lives, so most likely he won't hate you, for one. He will most likely act differently, now that Regulus' perceptions are linked to his own."

"So?" Harry frowned.

"All in all, he will be a pleasant boy with a mean right hook, so you better tell Ron to be careful."

Harry laughed.

"I think I have never seen you so happy, Sirius," he mussed after a while. The man smiled at him.

"What can I say? I'm getting my family back bit by bit. First I got you and now Regulus, even if he won't remember me like he used to. Remus is back, and even if he still has that silly crush on Snivellus, he is still my friend. Plus we now have the Malfoys on our side and that could mean-"

"REMUS HAS A CRUSH ON PROFESSOR SNAPE!?" Harry cried, his face ashen.

Sirius sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"That's the one thing you care for?" he asked. Harry shook his head.

"Sirius, I'm happy everything is working out for you but... I mean, Remus... and Snape..." he shuddered.

Sirius laughed.

"As I said, you get used to it, Harry. Now, why don't you go and get Madame Pomfrey?"

"That won't be necessary," the woman smiled as she neared them, her wand ready. "I see Mr. Malfoy found you, Sirius."

The man smiled.

"As if my Reggie would have any problem sniffing me out," he said proudly. The woman shook her head.

"Well, it seems he adjusted quite well enough considering the odds. Regulus was the complete opposite of Mr. Malfoy."

"You don't say," Harry muttered sarcastically, his mind still trying to cope with the idea that the cheerful and snuggly Regulus Black, his godfather's little brother, was none other than Draco Malfoy, his school nemesis. "I would like to know how much of a change will this be for Malfoy, I bet he won't understand even half."

"You could ask him right away, Mr. Potter," Madame Pomfrey said, her eyes full of amusement. "He's awake and staring at you right now."

Harry gulped and turned.

True enough, Malfoy's silver eyes were locked onto his.

"Ma-Malfoy," he stammered, not really sure how to react. "How are you feeling?"

"Like the Hogwarts Express passed over my head," he said softly, rubbing his forehead with one pale hand. Slowly, he blinked at the other boy. "What happened to you?"

"Me?" he asked.

"Well, yes, why are you here?"

Harry looked down.

"I was just... making sure you were ok?" he wasn't really sure how would Draco react. Regulus had been an understanding adult, but Draco Malfoy was a completely different matter.

Draco Malfoy was...

... smiling at him.

"Thanks, Harry," he said happily. "I feel fine, tough I hardly remember what happened."

Harry was well aware that Sirius was sitting by his side, hidden under the invisibility cloak, he also knew Madame Pomfrey was standing behind him, checking Malfoy. Hell, he was even quite aware that this was Draco Malfoy smiling at him.

And despite all that, he wasn't able to stop his face from turning beet red and his heart from beating madly in his chest.

If only Malfoy smiled like that more often.

To Be Continued.