Not Our World (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Platform

Sirius wasn't the type to squirm, yet squirm he did as he craned his neck on the lookout for their cousin and the child Sirius referred to as the spawn of Lucifer—Lucifer being Lucius—whenever he thought he was outside of the earshot of anyone who might criticize him for saying such things. Regulus, in turn, laughed at his discomfort, which made Sirius glare at him. "It's not funny, you know."

"Obviously, I don't know that it isn't funny," Regulus cracked. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be laughing. And I'd have thought you'd have been looking for your godson once we got here, Siri."

"You know I was too busy this morning making sure you got here in time, but every year, I have to watch you meticulously pack your trunk," Sirius muttered, calming slightly as he now looked for the Potter family in hopes of escaping an interaction with Narcissa and her son.

And unfortunately for Sirius, Regulus spotted their cousin and his godson first, lifting his hand into the air to draw her attention to them. "Over here, Cissy!"

Narcissa startled, dropping her typically stiff posturing to stare at him, which wasn't surprising given how he knew she wasn't fond of attention being drawn to her in a manner that might ruin the Malfoy reputation. Still, there was a chance his behavior would have been something the matriarch of the Black family might have scolded him for.

Not that he cared.

And to the credit of his non-observant self, Regulus couldn't help but notice Draco, Narcissa's son, reacting similarly, for the boy had for some reason postured himself with the same pompous stance as his father Lucius, only to startle when they—Regulus that is—called out, but the look didn't go away as Narcissa started to approach her cousins. The way Draco stared was something Regulus found a bit strange, albeit he didn't think much of why his godson was reacting in that manner.

He was more focused on hugging Narcissa when she arrived at their spot with her son, to which she tensed up.

"Why can't the two of you act like proper Purebloods?" Narcissa asked, smirking as she did so.

"Not happening," Sirius muttered, looking away while crossing his arms in disgust while Regulus smiled.

"You might actually be married by now if you didn't slouch like that." Narcissa clicked her tongue, looking right at Sirius, who was indeed slouching, before looking at Regulus. "And as for you..."

She paused as if thinking of what to say to him as he smiled at her, to which he quipped, "I didn't do anything that embarrassed you, did I? I didn't intend to."

"I'm sure you didn't," Narcissa said, "Never mind what I said, Reggie, but I see, as usual, attempts at humor still go over your head."

Sirius glared at Narcissa, and Regulus turned his attention to his godson, who stood next to his mother, glaring at him. "Hello, Draco. What's the matter? Aren't you glad to see me?"

"And who was it who didn't show up to their own birthday dinner?" Narcissa asked, her voice calm and collected. Regulus turned to look at her, frowning. "You put Aunt Walburga into a right state not showing up, and then uncle had to go and say she thought Sirius kidnapped you."

"Uncle Ignatius?" Regulus asked.

"Why Uncle Ignatius and not Uncle Alphard?" Sirius asked.

"Uncle Alphard's not allowed to joke anymore as laughing might cause him to have another heart attack. And mother threw a right fit when she found out it was Muggle medicine that..."

"Regulus," Sirius sighed.

"That was a joke," Narcissa said. "And as usual, it went over your head. But it wasn't either of them. It was Uncle Orion, your father."

Regulus looked at Sirius. "But you didn't kidnap me. Why would father say that?"

"How should I know? I don't even know when he started acting like this," Sirius said. "And to be honest, it's not any of my business."

"Regulus going and living with those Prewett cousins of ours for a while didn't just affect Aunt Walburga, you know," Narcissa said. "And you should have been there. Explaining why you weren't to Draco..."

"You know if we'd been there, Sirius would have found a way to worsen it," Regulus said, to which Narcissa flinched.

She glanced away. "Well, that is that, and this is this. You know, Lucius and I would love for you to come and live with us. Sirius obviously isn't taking care of you properly. And you don't have to work at Hogwarts."

Which hurt to hear, despite knowing Narcissa was well-intentioned with what she said. Sirius glared at her. "Oh? So you and Lucius can be in charge of the family head?"

"This isn't the place to discuss such matters," Narcissa hissed, glaring at Sirius for what he said.

Regulus tried smiling, putting on a brave face. "I like teaching, you know. I feel useful doing it, so please don't say Sirius was wrong for letting me teach."

Which sounded wrong on so many levels, starting with the fact that he wasn't allowed to take on a job without the person in charge of his affairs agreeing. Narcissa's mouth twisted at the corner as Sirius continued glaring. "Well, I do admit it is nice that Draco will have a familiar face there when he starts other than our Prewett cousins, who you know I'm not fond of."

"Cissy," Regulus frowned.

"Lucius was arguing for Draco to attend Durmstrang, Reggie until he learned they too make Muggle studies mandatory."

"And that it was considered politically correct," Regulus thought. "And Lucius, being a known former Death Eater, albeit one under the imperious, doesn't like it when he doesn't look politically correct."

"So you'll look after him on the train, will you?" Narcissa said before looking down at her son. "You'll stay with your Uncle Reggie until it is time for the first years to gather at Hogsmede."

"Of course, I will, Cissy."

"Yes, mother."

Sirius sighed. "Let me get the trunks onto the train, then."

"Well, it's nice to see that you can still act like a proper gentleman," Narcissa retorted, smirking as she did.

"Do you want my help or not?" Sirius snapped, glaring back at her.

Regulus frowned, watching the scene, holding onto the wicker cat carrier that Crookshanks was in when Narcissa noticed. "Regulus, what is that?"

"This is Crookshanks. My cat." Which made Draco turn to look at the creature, finally acting curious as a child should be, or so he'd heard Uncle Alphard and Uncle Ignatius say—that to squash a child's curiosity was a definite damn shame. And sometimes Regulus thought they were both referring to him as a child when they said that.

"Your cat?" Narcissa looked as if she'd stepped in cat poop as she looked at the cat. "What did Aunt Walburga have to say about that?"

"She asked why Sirius let me get him," Regulus said, "And Sirius called her out for dictating what her adult children do. She argued about why she should be able to dictate what I do specifically, and I walked away as they were yelling at each other. More importantly, isn't he a gorgeous thing?"

"What?" Narcissa stared, then looked at Sirius.

"Don't look at me. I don't know why he took a shine to that thing."

"Because he's fluffy, his flat face is absolutely adorable, and that color of orange is quite delightful in a cat," Regulus said. "He's also part Kneezle, so highly intelligent. And Sirius likes him because he can shed all over the..."

"Don't you dare!"

"I see how he convinced you," Narcissa said. "Draco. Behave. And remember that your Uncle Reggie—he's a bit different. Some of his behaviors aren't to be emulated."

"Love you too, Narcissa," Regulus said, smiling despite not liking what was insinuated. She then reached out, this time pulling him into a hug, albeit a tense and awkward one.

"I love you as well, Reggie, but you behave as well."

He laughed, getting onto the train and grabbing onto his trunk as Draco grabbed onto his and followed after him.