All in the Family

Chapter 133: The Second War Begins

To Stiches: I'm so very glad you enjoyed! Indeed, Regulus and Sirius still have some things to clear out, but they're at least on the same side now...

To reviewer : I can assure you Regulus is in safe hands, the poor thing will have more development to come, as well as more good stuff!

Just one more chapter of We Were to Post Monday, poetically ending that right as Ootp ended! Then I'll start posting double updates again to get into the good stuff of HBP!

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They all found themselves blinking in stark contrast of the lazy morning sun from moments ago to a heavy orb of late afternoon beating down on them all. Alice got a particularly painful landing, smashing face first into something hot and metal, Lily found herself scattered painfully in a pile of woodchips, and Frank was somehow twisted up in a lone swing set, the other already broken. Regulus was perched ungainly on the very highest peak of the playground, the sign visible to him at the end of the road from his view trailing this as Magnolia Park.

Peter, Lupin, and Potter were visible scattered around the street as well, his friend having smacked against the chain link fence and had the mark on his face to prove it. Lupin was still dazedly in the street right in front of where one of those muggle contraptions could run over him, or fly over him if it was anything like Arthur's. Potter was looking curiously around at all the Muggle dwellings, but bypassed them as he ducked his head around the corner and immediately took to his feet, ignoring the bleeding palms of his hands for landing on the sidewalk like that as he called after Sirius. He couldn't see his brother in the alleyway but kept his balance on his wooden perch and tipped his head up to the sun anyways, enjoying the view and thinking to himself for now.

If they'd been born Muggles, would they have ever done something as simple as play at a park together before? He'd never wanted to be one before, it was base traitorous to his species he was sure to even entertain the thought, and besides, those Dursleys proved enough Muggles were no better about being scum than some wizards. What Evans had said still lingered in him though, what he'd give just to play a game at a place like this.

Sirius had been the only one to land in the shade of the alleyway and so was already brushing himself off and back on his feet the fastest, but he could see from his crooked vantage that nobody was dying, not even Regulus who seemed in no danger of falling, so he'd happily kept himself out of the way for now, leaning against the cool wall and wondering if this was the exact spot Harry had once fended off the dementors and gotten his first sight of him so long ago as he still turned everything over while James and Remus quickly joined him anyways.

"I'm fine," he told them both before they could even ask, and he really meant it this time. He told them in detail and made sure to meet both of their eyes as often as he could so they'd believe him, "I'm exhausted, and depressed as hell it came to this, and still pretty pissed all things considered, but we'll be fine."

James only studied him for a moment before relief flooded him and he seemed to take him at word. Remus though was studying him intently, a question on his lips he kept suppressing by pursing them up and glancing guiltily at James.

He had an idea what this was going to be about and so saved Moony the awkwardness of stopping their fooling around before James even did know about it. "Give us a moment, yeah?"

Prongs looked surprised at the dismissal, but not particularly offended, appraising the two for a moment before shrugging and jogging off towards Peter. Sirius watched him go, never having felt more love in his life for his brother, James still trusted him after everything. He met Peter's eyes and flashed him a genuine smile, who'd been standing on the edge of the grass. Sirius couldn't deny he was a bit glad he hadn't come over though, he really was too tired to deal with anything else right now and that swirl of emotions he couldn't avoid when he did head over there after this. He had a lot of cleanup to do.