The Hidden One

Bonus chapter

Regulus didn't think he was a good uncle. He had died so young that he was basically the same age as Rose, but he had been dead for so long that everything was different. He didn't know how to interact with his niece, especially since he had spent most of his teenage years fighting with Voldemort and going to Death Eater missions. It didn't help that Sirius and the others didn't exactly trust him yet. They acted as if they did, but none of them would let Sebastian and Arabella be left alone with him, and they tried to keep Rose from being alone with him either, but they shared the same safe space.

"I'm starting to think you spend more time out here than in the actual house," Rose said as she stepped out of his window into the roof. Regulus barely flinched at the sudden intrusion and instead turned to his niece when she sat down next to him.

"This is my room, you know?" Regulus asked, fighting back a smile and instead acting as if he was upset. "Sometimes I just want privacy."

Rose just smiled at him and fell backwards to enjoy the sunshine, her curly hair splayed all around her and falling onto Regulus' arm, which he quickly shook off. Regulus didn't actually mind his niece's company because she was the only one who knew that he wasn't still a Death Eater, and that he hadn't been in a while. She was the only one who trusted him, and she knew that even if he said he wanted privacy, he just wanted to fit in.

Their sudden friendship was a surprise to everyone seeing as they had only met once before, but Rose seemed drawn to him, even as a baby. Regulus had stopped by the house one night after a particularly bad fight, and Sirius and Marlene nursed him back to health, even though they were on separate sides of the fight. The couple had allowed him to meet Rose for the first time as long as he agreed not to share the location of their house, which he never would've done seeing as he still loved his brother and wanted out of the Death Eaters. Rose had adored him, although they all thought it was because how similar he looked to Sirius. Unknown to the family, Regulus had thought of Rose as he died, hoping that his sacrifice would help give his niece a better world, even if he couldn't be in it.

"Do you ever wonder what would've happened if you lived?" Rose asked suddenly. Regulus raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't open her eyes to look at him.

"Sometimes," Regulus admitted, squinting his eyes as he looked up into the sky. It was a rare day when Grimmauld Place wasn't basked in darkness and clouds, but he couldn't even enjoy it, too afraid of being seen by a wizard. "Sometimes I fear that I died for nothing."

"How did you die? You've never told us," Rose inquired, peeking up at her uncle, noticing how his face hardened and he looked troubled. She didn't mean to make him upset or bring up bad memories, but she was curious. "I won't tell Mom or Dad. Or even Harry...if I ever see him again."

Regulus frowned deeper, debating even telling her. She was so young but had been through so much. Rose almost reminded him of himself, especially without how similar they looked, but she was fighting for the right side.

"We should go to mugglr London," Regulus responded, completely ignoring the question. "I'm so tired of this stupid, fucking house. I never liked it when I was a teenager, and I sure as hell don't like it now."

Rose frowned at him, especially with the use of language that would make Sirius combust, even though he used much worse.

"Mum and Dad will never let me leave," Rose said with a shrug. She wanted nothing more to leave the house too, but her parents were too stressed with the twins to even consider it.

"I don't give a fuck," Regulus said with a snort as he stood up. Rose hurried after him as he entered his room and started going through his cloths. Most of them were outdated, but he had paid enough attention to what everyone else wore that he knew how to dress. He pulled out a pair of ripped blue jeans, a plain white shirt, an old flannel of Remus' that he had stolen, a leather jacket, and a pair of black and white sneakers.