𝙿𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝙿𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 - 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦 | ✔︎

Chapter 75

"Dad?" Natasha called out, as she stepped into the dusty interior of Grimmauld Place. She knew that there was a spell placed on the home, in case a Ministry member barged in, but she hoped it wouldn't affect Reggie, who was currently resting in her arms.

No answer came, so she cautiously stepped forward, stepping onto a floorboard that creaked. "Mum?" she called out again, and this time, she heard running coming from upstairs.

"Natasha! Don't move darling!" Sirius yelled from where he stood on the staircase, still dressed in pyjamas with a comb in his hand. "The spell only hits if you take another step, and it'll startle Regulus."

Some more footsteps followed, and Aurelia emerged from behind Sirius, wrapped up in a dressing gown and fluffy slippers. "Hey sweetheart, let me just remove this spell for you. Bloody bugger gets triggered by anyone, even Sirius and I, poor Harry and his friends were scared by it when they dropped by a few months ago."

She muttered a small spell under her breath before pointing her wand towards the ground floor, and there was a small crack, before the lights suddenly became brighter, and the curtains at the kitchen opened, bringing in some light.

"There we are," she said with a smile, kissing Sirius' cheek before descending the stairs to meet Regulus, who was babbling quite contently in his mother's arms. She tugged him from Natasha, who was quite happy to give him to someone else, before taking him to the kitchen, where a very impatient painting had been waiting a while to meet his great-nephew.

"Hey Reg?" Aurelia sang out, and the portrait jumped, nearly knocking the frame.

"Is he finally here?!" Regulus asked excitedly, jumping up and down in his painted chair. Aurelia nodded, and brought Reggie up to the painting, allowing for the baby to touch the canvas.

"Uncle Reggie, meet Regulus Orion Black Weasley, named after you and dad," Natasha said, now with a steaming mug of coffee in her hands. No one questioned where she had gotten it from as Regulus smiled down at Reggie, waving to him with his painted hands.

"Oh, he looks exactly like you Natasha, apart from his eyes, which I presume he gets from his father?" He looked to Natasha for confirmation, and she nodded happily, leaning into her father.

"His father has the most beautiful eyes, and I'm glad our son carries them on," she sighed contently. Reggie babbled some incoherent baby talk, causing the room to laugh as Aurelia whipped up some pancakes and more coffee. Regulus, though he was only oil paint on a canvas, smiled down gently at Reggie as everyone else sat around the kitchen table.

"Natasha, I thought you were coming by tomorrow?" Aurelia asked and Natasha nodded, taking another sip of her coffee.

"That was the plan, but Reggie has been acting odd all morning, and poor Freddie had to work today, so I just decided coming here straight away would be best, especially since you may be able to help me mum."

Aurelia nodded and frowned down at her grandson, looking for any signs of perhaps a fever or discomfort. But he was babbling away, right until he looked over at the newspaper.

Then the crying started.

Natasha buried her face in her hands, unable to watch her son cry, as Aurelia looked to Sirius for help, motioning for him to pick up the paper. He looked closely at the front, before looking up with a horrified look towards his family, hands slightly shaking.

"Don't tell me we've got another seer in the family," Natasha pleaded quietly, and Sirius sent her an apologetic look before throwing the paper out the window.

"It seems my cousin just reported items of hers to be stolen, after Harry Potter was spotted at Malfoy Manor, escaping with his friends. I think Reggie may have gotten the seer genes from you Natasha, after all, he's just a baby, and only that image on the newspaper that he can barely see sets him off," Sirius said, taking Reggie from Aurelia's arms.

The baby was now once again content, and Aurelia walked to Natasha's side, holding her close. "Come, Natasha. I've got some old books somewhere in the attic that explain things about seers. I had to use them with you a few times when you were little."

Natasha left with Aurelia to the attic, leaving Sirius alone with his only grandson, and the portrait of his dead brother, who was now asleep against the frame. "One day, when you're a tough Gryffindor like your parents, you'll do great things Reggie. I can bet right now that you'll have your mother's heart, and your father's humour. And most definitely the bravery of a lion, protecting the hearts of everyone around you. Minnie will have a handful should she still be around once you and your friends attend. Especially with a Black-Weasley in her midst."

He stroked Reggie's small mass of curls atop his head, before pressing a soft kiss to the baby's soft temple. "You carry the name of a brave boy too; one whose heart was purer than most. I wish only happiness and love for you little one, especially as dark times approach us all."

Another crack resounded in the hallway, and Adrian poked his head into the kitchen, confused to find only Sirius and his nephew inside. "Natasha upstairs?" he asked, and Sirius nodded, pulling up a chair for Adrian.

"Hey little man! How's my favourite nephew going?" he asked playfully to Reggie, clasping the tiny pair of hands in his own. Reggie squealed as Adrian picked him up, throwing him a few times, catching him securely every time.

"Where's Oliver? It's odd to see you two separated," Sirius commented, as Adrian rested Regulus on his hip.

"Though the Quidditch World Cup looks to be cancelled, Ollie's team is still up there in the ranks, so he's training all day in Scotland. So, I thought I'd drop by Natasha and Fred's place, but no one was home, so I came to the first place I knew Natasha would stop by," he explained.

He snatched a cookie from the centre plate of the dining table, chewing on it in thought as Reggie reached for it. "A chocolate lover already? Definitely your mother's son," he laughed, stuffing the cookie down quick.

Adrian's rosy-cheeked face differed greatly to that of what he was back only a couple of years ago, now one of happiness and joy instead of the sallowness it once carried under the care of his birth parents.

"Adrian? Is that you downstairs?" Aurelia's voice carried out throughout the house.

"Yes! I'm just entertaining my nephew," he yelled back, producing two small gloves from his pocket whilst checking to make sure Natasha hadn't come back down. "Here we are Reggie, your first pair of Quidditch gloves," he whispered excitedly, as Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You know she doesn't want her child anywhere near quidditch," he chuckled, sipping his coffee whilst staring pointedly at his son and grandson. Adrian shrugged, fastening the gloves onto Reggie's fingers.

He and Fred had made a secret plan to train Reggie as soon as he could fly a broom to be the greatest quidditch player ever, after all, he came from a family who were renowned for their quidditch skills, and his great-uncle was one of the greatest seekers Hogwarts had ever seen.

"What Natasha doesn't know won't hurt her," he mumbled, grinning madly as he placed Reggie on the kitchen table. "Smile for the camera Reg!"

He pulled out a polaroid camera from his small bag he arrived with, similarly charmed to Natasha's camera. Like the muggle photographers he admired, he began snapping pictures of his nephew from crazy angles, even hanging from the chandelier at one stage to get the perfect shot.

"Hey Adrian, I- GET THOSE GLOVES OFF OF MY SON BEFORE I HEX YOUR SCRAWNY ASS TO MARS!" she bellowed, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow. Her parents chuckled as Adrian shook his head defiantly, still hanging from the chandelier.

"I'm getting him some practice posing now, so he'll be an expert later when he's won the Quidditch World Cup!" he whined, snapping another picture of Reggie, who just placed his gloved hands in his mouth.

"1."

Sirius backed away to Aurelia's side, shivering as his daughter used the same tone Aurelia used when she was in charge.

"2."

Now Sirius was sweating as Adrian climbed higher up the chandelier.

"Natasha, my favourite person ever, please don't jinx - FINE I'll TAKE THE GLOVES OFF!"

Natasha smirked triumphantly as Adrian slithered back down the chandelier, picking up Regulus before undoing the gloves on the baby's hands.

"Thank you, Adrian. I have decided to not hex your ass after all."