Chapter Text
“C’mon, Reg, you can do better than this.” Barty chides with a teasing smile. “DADA is supposed to be your strong suit! I’m obliterating you!”
Regulus grits his teeth, his hand tightening around his wand as he sends a curse Barty’s way, smirking when it nicks the other boy’s shoulder. Barty’s right, though. He’s distracted. He’s been distracted since this morning.
His mind flits back to the howler he received earlier that day.
“Regulus Arcturus, you have disgraced us yet again. You’ve been spotted with not one but two queers and your grades have slipped! I may as well put you in the same boat as your traitorous brother. I will not accept this. Get your act together or we will have words at Christmas.”
The entire Great Hall went silent for a full minute after it ripped itself up. Regulus’s hands shook as he stood, his gaze unwittingly straying to the Gryffindor table where Sirius was sitting, watching Regulus with an unreadable expression. Regulus nearly walked over, desperately wanting to just collapse into Sirius and break down. He couldn’t, though. His parents were counting on him. It was his job to continue the Black legacy.
It didn’t matter that it was the last thing he wanted.
While he was distracted looking at Sirius, Regulus failed to notice James Potter standing and walking over to meet him at the entrance of the Great Hall.
“Hey, Reg. You okay?” James asked softly.
Regulus had the childish urge to scream. Why did it always have to be James? Why couldn’t he just leave Regulus alone and go flirt with Lily Evans? He was like a leech that would never leave Regulus alone, an infuriatingly attractive, stupidly idiotic leech.
“I’m fine, Potter.” Regulus spat venomously.
James bit his lip, his eyes searching Regulus’s. “Alright. We’re celebrating Moony’s birthday on Friday. You’re more than welcome to come.”
Regulus sneered. “I’d rather die, honestly. But enjoy your festivities.” He spat before shoving harshly past James.
He could feel the weight of Sirius’s gaze the entire time.
He snaps back to the present when Barty catches his shoulder with a stinging hex. He hisses, hand going to rub his shoulder lightly.
“You were off in your head again. Stop thinking about the Howler, alright? Your parents can’t forbid you from seeing me and Cas, and if you’re that worried, we can start hanging out in private.” Barty says with searching eyes.
Regulus huffs out a breath, just barely stepping out of the way of one of Lockhart’s spells. Christ, that guy could not aim for shit.
“Yeah, I know. We’re not changing anything. I’m not giving up you and Dorcas because of one measly Howler. She doesn’t scare me that much.” Regulus says, his voice wavering slightly.
Barty gives him a look. “Right, well–”
He never finishes that sentence because, in the next second, Regulus is hit with one of Lockhart’s spells, sending a hot flare of agony through his entire body before everything goes black.
~
Sirius is barely keeping himself awake in History of Magic when McGonagall barges in with a tight expression. Her eyes find him immediately and he winces, internally wondering what he’s done this time. He counts off the recent pranks they’ve done, concluding that she found evidence of him rigging the showers in the Slytherin locker room to spray dirty water.
“Mr. Black, if you could come with me, please,” McGonagall says, not sounding angry but more… worried.
He exchanges wary looks with James, whose eyebrows are crinkled with concern from his seat beside Sirius. They silently communicate through expressions, concluding that neither of them has any idea what this is about.
“Is there something the matter?” Sirius asks as he quickly stands.
“Let’s discuss this outside.” She gestures for Sirius, so he follows.
Once they’re in the hall, she speaks again. “It is the other Mr. Black. He’s been hit by an unknown spell.”
“Regulus? Is he okay?” Sirius’s stomach drops.
“He is, ah… well, he is a child.”
“Yes, he’s only 16.” Sirius is lost.
“No, Sirius. Regulus has been turned into a small child. Our guess is around 5 or 6 years old.”
Sirius’s mind kicks into overdrive, his older brother instincts taking over as he assesses McGonagall’s words. Regulus is fine, but he’s been turned back into a little kid. He’s probably confused and scared and the only thing ringing true to Sirius is that he needs to take care of his brother.
“What?”
“Mr. Lockhart seemed to cast an unknown spell that made Regulus revert to a small child. We are all trying to find something to reverse it, but Regulus refused to cooperate until he could see you.” McGonagall explains, sounding very tired.
“Oh. Okay.” Sirius is so confused.
They approach the Headmaster’s office and a shrill cry has Sirius’s old instincts kicking in, that little voice so familiar that Sirius could cry.
“Sirius!” He had forgotten that Regulus used to have a lisp as a toddler, his mouth forming awkwardly over the ‘S’ in Sirius.
As he steps over the entryway, a tiny figure immediately collides with Sirius. Startled, Sirius instinctively wraps his arms around the small body, holding him steady. Then a small face looks up, and Sirius’s heart constricts. He hasn’t seen that face in so long. He nearly forgot how sweet Regulus looked as a kid.
“Siri, I don’t know where I am. Who are these people? Why are you so tall?” Regulus sobs, tears and snot mixing on his face as he burrows close to Sirius.
“Hey, hey, bud. It’s okay. We’re at Hogwarts. Remember all the stories I’ve told you about this place? How magical it is?” Sirius kneels so he can be more at eye level with his brother.
“Hogwarts?” Regulus seems to calm down a little when he hears that.
“Yeah. You were hit by a spell that made you a little kid again, but you’re 16.” Sirius explains gently, his hand combing through Regulus’s soft curls.
“That’s what they were saying but I didn’t believe them,” Regulus says, his body sagging into Sirius. The older boy scoops him up and settles him on his hip like he used to do all those years ago. Regulus sets his head on Sirius’s shoulder, all fight leaving his body as soon as he’s with Sirius.
“Mr. Black, thank you for coming. As you can see this is a very unusual circumstance.” Dumbledore says, his blue eyes twinkling in the dim light of the office.
“Er, yeah, I can see that. How are you going to heal him?” Sirius asks as his hand rubs his little brother’s back in a soothing motion. He used to do it all the time to try and get Regulus to sleep.
“We’re working on it. Professor Flitwick examined the spell when Mr. Black first transformed and will be working with Madame Pomfrey to find a countercurse. Unfortunately, they don’t think they’ll be finding a cure for a while.” Dumbledore explains.
“How long is a while?” Barty asks, and Sirius notices him for the first time.
All of Regulus’s friends are here with matching expressions of concern. It hits Sirius that Regulus has no idea who they are, which explains his distress before seeing Sirius. He looks down at his little brother, seeing that Regulus has calmed down enough to wrap his arms around Sirius’s neck and close his eyes. Sirius smiles softly, hugging his brother closer.
“We are not sure. We hope that the countercurse will be found by the end of the month.”
Sirius curses. It’s only the second week of March. Regulus could be stuck like this for weeks?
“What are we going to do with him until then?” Sirius demands, his protective instincts kicking in as he glares at the Headmaster.
“We should contact your parents and see what they say–” Dumbledore starts, only to be cut off by Regulus.
“No! Don’t tell them!” He cries, tears forming in his eyes again.
“Mr. Black, it’s the protocol for when a student is harmed on school grounds–” Dumbledore says soothingly.
“No! No! I-I don’t want to see them. Anything but them.” Regulus pleads, his little body shaking as he starts to cry again.
“Hey, calm down. It’s going to be fine, I’ll figure it out.” Sirius says as he hides his brother’s face in his neck. “I’m 17, so I am a legal adult. Anything you would tell them, tell me. It’s the only way to keep him calm, and frankly, I refuse to leave him with them when he’s like this.”
McGonagall’s eyes are wide with sympathy as she watches a tiny Regulus cry in earnest into Sirius’s neck, still shaking from the mention of their parents. Barty, Evan, Pandora, and Dorcas all have similar expressions of shock and despair as the silent room is filled with Regulus’s quiet cries.
“Mr. Black–” Dumbledore starts.
“That’s perfectly fine.” McGonagall cuts him off. “You can stand in as his guardian, seeing as that is what he wants.”
Dumbledore closes his mouth, a strange expression crossing his features before he sits back. “Very well. We’ll need to make accommodations for him. He’ll need his schoolwork, and I suppose he’ll want to stay with you, Mr. Black?”
Sirius glances down at Regulus, who’s still flushed and sniffling. “You wanna bunk with me while we figure out how to reverse the spell?”
Regulus just nods, his eyes closing in pure exhaustion.
“I can transfigure a cot or something.” Sirius shrugs.
“You realize this would be simpler if we just sent him home…” Dumbledore trails off when both Black brothers glance up with fierce expressions. “Right. Well, this will do. Professor McGonagall, if you could escort both Mr. Black’s to their dorm, please.”
McGonagall nods and gestures for Sirius to follow her.
“We’ll get his stuff and bring it to you,” Barty says, his eyes following Regulus’s small form that’s cuddled into Sirius’s side.
“Yes, thank you. Mr. Crouch.” McGonagall says with a tight smile. “Sirius, come now.”
Sirius follows, trying not to jostle Regulus too much as they make their way to the Gryffindor common room.
~
Regulus stirs to multiple voices around him, vaguely aware that he’s still being held in a familiar pair of arms. His eyes slowly blink open as he takes in the new scenery. The first thing he processes is a pair of warm brown eyes hidden behind round glasses. Then a female voice from somewhere behind him starts to coo.
“I never knew he was such a cute kid, Sirius. He’s borderline cherub-like.” Says a girl with golden-blonde hair cut in shaggy strands around her face.
“Sirius?” Regulus murmurs sleepily, his hands instinctively reaching out to grab his brother.
“I’m here, bud. Still here.” Sirius’s voice rumbles from behind Regulus.
Regulus sits up and turns to face Sirius, who he realizes is holding Regulus in his lap on a dark red sofa. His brother gives him a tiny smile, his eyes a bit wary.
“Who are these people?” Regulus whispers, his stomach turning slightly when he sees the big group of people watching him raptly.
“They’re my friends and housemates at Hogwarts. They’re all nice, I swear.” Sirius smiles.
“Are they Gryffindors?” Regulus asks.
“Yep, we’re in the lion’s den.” Sirius smiles.
“Am I a Gryffindor, too?” Regulus asks excitedly.
“Er, well, no. You’re a Slytherin.” Sirius says, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Regulus frowns. “I’m not in the same house as you?”
“No, but you like where you’re at. You’re always saying that you’re too smart to be a Gryffindor.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. You’re the smartest person I know and you’re a Gryffindor.” Regulus is genuinely confused.
He doesn’t pick up on the mood switch in the room, too distracted by his thoughts. The older kids keep talking around him, but Regulus just frowns deeper. None of this makes any sense, how could he be happy about being separated from Sirius? All he ever wants is to spend time with his brother.
“Reg? You wanna meet everyone?” Sirius pulls Regulus out of his train of thought.
Regulus looks around at the group distrustfully. The boy with the glasses smiles widely at him, and Regulus looks away with red cheeks. That boy looks a little too perfect, Regulus thinks idly. He looks at the round-faced boy with blonde hair next, who’s sitting with the girl with blonde hair, both of them giving Regulus too-big smiles. What’s up with these people and smiling?
A boy with sandy brown hair kneels in front of Regulus with a kind expression, his big hand held out for Regulus. “Hi, Regulus. I’m Remus.”
Regulus slowly shakes the boy’s hand, his gaze flitting back to Sirius hesitantly and waiting for his brother to nod at him. Regulus relaxes, a small smile forming on his face as he looks back at Remus. “Hi.”
Some other people start cooing around him, and Regulus squirms, feeling flustered by all the attention. Sirius notices and shushes the group. “Stop being weird. He’s shy.”
“‘M not.” Regulus protests, but he’s hiding his face in Sirius’s neck again.
“I’m sorry, Pads, but this is too good. He’s so fucking cute !” The boy with glasses says.
Regulus sits up then, a frown forming on his face as he looks up at the boy. “I am not cute!” He’s not even angry, but something about him calling Regulus cute makes him want to scream.
The boy’s mouth falls open, and Regulus can practically see hearts in his eyes. “No, of course not. I apologize, Reggie.” His mouth twitches upwards in an almost smile.
“Who are you, anyway?” Regulus asks, fighting every instinct that’s telling him to hide behind Sirius again.
“James Potter, though we already know each other normally,” James says with a big grin, holding his hand out.
Regulus wants to scream because his face is heating up rapidly under James’s kind gaze. He wants to melt into the floor and never look at James ever again, but his hand reaches forward to gently shake James’s anyway. The older boy somehow smiles even brighter before ruffling Regulus’s hair playfully.
“That’s a good lad.” James grins, making Regulus smile back unwittingly. “Here, take this. I usually fidget with it, but I’m sure you’ll find it a bit more entertaining.”
He hands Regulus a snitch, and Regulus watches in delight as it flits around in front of his face, emitting a soft buzzing sound. Regulus looks up at James with stars in his eyes. “Wow, thanks! You’re brilliant!” He exclaims excitedly.
James chuckles. “No problem.” His voice is so warm, and comforting in a way that Regulus had come to only associate with Sirius.
“Trying to get on his good side, eh, Prongs?” Sirius asks from behind Regulus, though Regulus’s attention is firmly on the snitch, now.
James says something and the group laughs. Regulus’s attention is briefly distracted as James sits on the armrest beside him, his hand brushing through Regulus’s hair again. Regulus has the strange urge to crawl out of his brother’s lap just so he can settle on James’s instead.
The portrait in the corner of the room opens then, revealing a group of people that Regulus vaguely recognizes. Oh right. His friends, supposedly.
“Hi, Reggie. How’re you doing?” The blonde girl–Pandora, he thinks– asks with a serene smile.
“I’m fine,” Regulus says, refusing to leave the warmth of his brother.
They nod and Sirius nudges Regulus to leave his lap, which he does with a scowl. Stuck on the ground, Regulus looks up at the unfamiliar group of teenagers. James offers his hand, which Regulus hesitantly takes. James’s other hand gently grabs the snitch from the air to hold as they both watch his brother walk over to the group and take a trunk from the blonde boy’s hands.
“Of course.” The boy with dark brown hair–Barty– laughs when he sees Regulus holding James's hand.
The rest of his friends are laughing, too, though Pandora smiles warmly.
“What are you guys laughing at?” Regulus asks in a small voice.
“You would cling to Potter, of all people.” Barty continues with an amused expression.
“What does that mean?” Regulus asks though he’s slowly inching behind James in an attempt to hide.
“It’s just not surprising that you like him even at this age.” The blonde boy clarifies with a slightly mean-looking smile.
“Well, he’s a lot nicer than you guys!” Regulus declares, knowing that his face is burning. “I don’t see why I’d be friends with people like you!”
That shut the group up quickly. Regulus tries to push down the tears welling up in his eyes, but it’s a fruitless action. He just can’t stand when people make fun of him, especially when he’s not sure what they’re making fun of him for .
Sirius quickly hands off the trunk to Remus and hurries over to pull Regulus into his arms. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry, don’t cry. They were just messing around.” He soothes Regulus in a low tone, his hands running up and down Regulus’s back.
“I don’t like it when people are mean.” Regulus chokes out petulantly.
“I know. They weren’t trying to be mean, they’re just used to you being your older self. None of them have any experience with a little kid.” Sirius aims that last sentence over at the group near the portrait, his eyes dark and narrowed. “And they should be leaving before they upset you anymore.”
The four of them quickly nod, Barty, looking especially guilty. “I’m sorry, Regulus. Sirius is right, I have no experience talking to children.” He says, wincing slightly when Regulus raises his watery eyes.
“It’s okay.” Regulus mumbles, tears still stinging his eyes. “Sirius, they don’t have to go, do they?”
Sirius bites his lip in thought, his eyes still glaring at the group by the portrait. “How about they come and see you tomorrow?”
Regulus perks up at that. “Tomorrow?”
“Yes. We’ll all hang out together then.”
“Alright then.” Tears forgot, Regulus lets go of his brother to stand beside James again, his hand grasping James’s again to silently ask for the snitch back.
James hands it over and pats his head consolingly. Regulus leans into it, a small smile gracing his face when James’s warm hand rubs at his curls. Deciding that he likes James, Regulus walks a bit closer and wraps his hands around his forearm, hiding behind James as the other four by the portrait all wave goodbye to Regulus and walk back out.
“Right. Well, it’s nearing dinner time now. We should put your things up in the dorm and then get down to the Great Hall. Hungry?” Sirius asks as he takes the trunk back from Remus and gestures for Regulus to hold his other hand.
“A little. Do I get to sit with you and James?” Regulus asks as they walk upstairs.
“You like him, huh.” Sirius smiles.
Regulus nods. “He gave me his snitch.”
“That he did. That means you’re special. He doesn’t give that to just anyone.”
Regulus is immensely pleased by that. He smiles at the dorm, going and sitting on Sirius’s bed while his brother conjures a small bed and a small chest of drawers to settle beside his bed. Sirius frowns slightly at the contents of Regulus’s trunk, gazing thoughtfully at the clothes.
“Suppose I’ll just shrink your clothes for now. I’ll buy you new ones if the fabrics are ruined when we enlarge them later.” Sirius shrugs before shrinking one of Regulus’s Hogwarts uniforms.
“Can you give me a Gryffindor tie?” Regulus asks, his eyes wide as he watches Sirius use magic so easily.
“Er, well, you’re a Slytherin, Reg.” Sirius grimaces a bit when Regulus deflates. “But I s’pose I could lend you one of mine.”
Regulus brightens. “Yay! I wanna be like you and James.”
Sirius chuckles before digging out a red and gold tie and handing it to Regulus. The younger brother changes into his newly fitted clothes and stares at the tie in confusion. “Siri? I don’t know how this works.”
Sirius glances over from where he was unpacking Regulus’s trunk to quickly huff out a laugh. “Right. Sorta slipped my mind that you wouldn’t know how to tie a tie.” He walks over and kneels so he can help Regulus. “You know, you taught me how to tie a tie. Back when we were 8 and 9, you’d studied how Father tied his and then learned yourself.”
Regulus smiles. “I taught you how to do this? Wow!”
“Yeah, you’re very clever.” Sirius smiles softly. “I’d forgotten how sweet you were at this age.” His hand brushes Regulus’s cheek, cradling it.
“Am I not sweet when I’m older?”
Sirius pauses. “I think you still are, you just hide it from me.”
Regulus frowns. “Why?”
“Well, it’s complicated. Let’s not worry about it, alright? We should get down to dinner.” Sirius stands and holds his hand out for Regulus again.
Regulus glances down at it, feeling weirdly frustrated. “I don’t need to hold your hand all the time, y’know. I’m not a baby.”
Sirius smiles. “I know you aren’t. But it makes me feel better to hold it, okay? Can you do it for me?”
“Hmm…” Regulus taps his chin thoughtfully. “Well, alright. For you.”
Sirius laughs.
~
James and the rest of the Gryffindors decided to wait up for the Black brothers before going to dinner. He’s glad they did because as soon as Regulus steps back into the common room, he makes a beeline for James.
“Can I have a piggyback ride to dinner?” He asks sweetly, his eyes wide with adoration.
James glances up at Sirius in amusement. Sirius just shrugs, his eyes wistful as he looks down at his brother. James can’t even begin to imagine how weird this is for him. James can’t say he doesn’t like it, though. Especially since Regulus has seemingly taken a liking to James in particular.
“Why of course you can, my lord.” James kneels playfully and reaches Regulus’s sides to tickle him a bit.
Regulus shrieks with laughter, his face lighting up as he squirms away from James. Marlene and Mary’s faces soften at the sight, Remus and Peter cracking up with James. He stops his assault as quickly as he started it and turns his back to Regulus so he can hop on. He does, his tiny arms wrapping around James’s neck tightly.
James stands, his hands loosely holding onto Regulus’s legs. The small boy yelps a bit when they stand at their full height, his hands tightening around James.
“We’re very high up.” Regulus squeaks.
“Maybe from your perspective, little guy.” James laughs.
“I am of average height for my age!” Regulus protests.
“Sureeee.”
“Alright, stop messing with him, James. Let’s go.” Sirius says, gesturing for them to walk out of the portrait.
It’s different seeing Sirius go full protective older brother mode. James remembers in Regulus’s first year at Hogwarts when Sirius acted like that, back when Regulus was still sweet to them. In the years following, he turned cold and distant, his only interactions with the Gryffindors being cutting remarks or insults.
It’s nice to see that Regulus wasn’t always like that.
They walk through the halls with James giving a steady monologue, answering every single one of Regulus’s questions no matter how silly.
“Why on earth do the stairs move?” Regulus exclaims, completely appalled.
James laughs. “Because the founders of the school wanted us to suffer.”
“Sounds likely.”
The group laughs at Regulus. Truly, seeing him like this; young, carefree, shy, and clingy is so disorienting that all of them have to laugh sometimes. Every time James hears little Regulus struggle through his ‘S’s’, specifically when speaking his older brother’s name, his heart grows twice as big.
They make it to the Great Hall in good time, though most tables are nearly packed, and all eyes are on them when they enter. Word about Regulus has spread fast. Students from every House look at Regulus with varying expressions; endearment, surprise, humor. James doesn’t pay them any mind.
He walks over to the usual spot at the Gryffindor table, finding Lily already sitting there with Emmeline. Her eyes go comically wide when she sees a tiny Regulus on James’s back.
“Is that–?” She asks, not finishing her sentence.
“Reggie, this is Lily Evans. She’s a good friend of ours.” James introduces them as he crouches down so Regulus can hop off.
He smiles shyly and waves at Lily. “Hi.”
Lily immediately softens. “Well, hi there. Smart of you to catch a ride with James, he can’t say no to anyone.” She smiles teasingly at James.
James laughs, scratching the back of his neck. That might be partly true.
Suddenly, the smile drops from Regulus’s face and he steps in close to grab at James’s hand. “Yes, well, he’s my friend so he gives me piggyback rides whenever.”
James and Lily share shocked looks, Lily fighting the urge to laugh. “That’s very nice, Regulus. James is lucky to have you as a friend.”
Regulus smiles, the previous animosity forgotten. “He really is! And I’m lucky to have him. James, would you sit by me?” He sits down laughably far away from Lily and pats the spot beside him.
James shrugs at Lily and sits beside Regulus. Mary immediately fills the spot on Regulus’s other side, entertaining him with her rings and bracelets. James sighs, taking a deep breath before looking out across the Great Hall. As he expected, everyone was watching them. Most are smiling and cooing while looking at Regulus; he’s seriously that cute of a kid. His nose has a smattering of freckles across it, and he’s got dimples on both of his cheeks that never would have been noticeable because 16-year-old Regulus never smiles. He’s also adorably tactile, wanting to sit in everyone’s lap and cuddle them. He’s still his quiet self, though, allowing other people to talk as he quietly listens.
He ends up in James’s lap once he’s finished his dinner, his small face tucked into the crook of James’s neck, his breathing getting slower and deeper the longer they sit there. A lot of people had come over through the course of the night to say hi to Regulus, some of his friends from Slytherin, and a lot of curious acquaintances from other houses. Most just asked Regulus questions, which he always tried to hide behind whoever he was sitting by when that happened.
Now, everyone just laughs and coos at the sweet sight of a sleeping Regulus in James’s lap. James laughs along with everyone else, eventually passing Regulus over to Sirius so he can take his brother up to bed. James lingers with the rest of his friends for a bit longer.
“Regulus seems to like you,” Lily observes with a smile.
James tries not to wince. Lily is one of the only people who knows about James’s slight obsession with the younger Black. It had started as a desire to look after Regulus, but over the years it’s bloomed into a full-on crush. Having Regulus be so openly affectionate now is admittedly softening his image of Regulus even more.
“Yes, well, he’s too little to know better.” James laughs.
Lily gives him a look. “This will change things when he’s back to normal.”
James straightens. He hadn’t thought of that. Regulus will remember all of this when he goes back to normal. Maybe he’ll like James when he comes back.
“Yeah.” James breathes out, feeling weirdly squirmy.
“It’s telling that he likes you now. Shows his true feelings.” Lily says.
James refuses to smile at that. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up. “Maybe.”
Lily just grins at him.