Chapter Text
“Here are the reports you asked for.”
“Thank you, Marlene,” Sirius said, and flipped lazily through the first.
Edna Pettigrew’s life remained unchanged. There was grocery shopping on Mondays at nine sharp. Bingo on Tuesday evenings. She volunteered at the local women’s shelter every Wednesday. Then there was Bible study at St. Sebastian’s on Thursdays. Friday and Saturday varied, but Mass on Sunday never did.
Sirius had almost put a hit out on her back when everything first went down, but an unwelcome memory had replayed in his mind like an alarm he couldn’t shut off. Himself, eight years old, fallen out of the tree James had dared him to climb. His arm wasn’t broken, but it hurt like hell. Hurt enough that Sirius couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down his face like a faucet. Walburga would have slapped him, told him she’d give him something to really cry about, but Mrs. Pettigrew swept him into her warm embrace and sent the others away so he could preserve his dignity while she tended to his injury.
Sirius set Edna’s file aside so he could peruse one decidedly more interesting.
Remus John Lupin: twenty-three years old. Former student of the University of Gryffindor. Parents: Hope and Lyall Lupin, both deceased.
“I like him,” Marlene said flatly—a warning.
“So you’ve said.”
“Just don’t…” Marlene considered her words, “...be yourself.”
Sirius rolled his eyes. “Just call him in.”
When Remus Lupin finally entered the room, Sirius abruptly understood Marlene’s hesitation. The boy was more Disney Prince than human. His eyes were so round and beautiful that they must have been some cartoonist’s illustration come to life. He was tall, only a few inches shorter than Sirius, but slender in a way that reminded Sirius of the European models he partied with in another lifetime.
“Hello,” Remus greeted, reaching out for a handshake. His grip was surprisingly firm for such a slender hand. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for your time today.”
“Thank you for coming in on such short notice,” Sirius replied. “Please have a seat.” Only after Remus settled into his chair did Sirius speak again. “You come highly recommended by the Longbottoms. They gave you a raving review.”
Regardless of Remus’ qualifications, he wouldn’t have gotten an interview if not for the personal recommendation from Sirius’ only trusted friends. Call him sexist, but Sirius had only wanted a woman for this job. Women were less likely to have violent or pedophilic tendencies, and though Sirius’ around-the-clock armed guards sent a strong message to all who considered crossing him, it never hurt to take extra precautions.
That being said, as far as Frank and Alice were concerned, Remus Lupin hung the moon and kept it spinning. The only reason he was leaving their employ was that they were moving to Switzerland for business purposes. They’d tried to seduce Remus into joining–offering him a luxury apartment, a generous bonus, a brand new car–but he’d graciously refused, saying his roots were in Gryffindor.
Remus smiled. “They’ve treated me like family. I’m going to miss Nev more than I can say.”
“Neville’s a sweet kid. He and Harry were born only a couple of days apart. They’ll be at Hogwarts together in a few years.” Sirius paused, glancing briefly at Marlene, who sat quietly in the corner, pretending to check emails on her phone. “Frank has expressed that Neville may have a learning disability, and you’ve been a great asset in that regard. Can you tell me a little about that?”
Harry had no such problems; he was only four, but already showed the markings of genius in Sirius’ totally unbiased opinion. Sirius just needed to see how Remus would talk about another person’s child to a stranger.
“Neville’s smart and incredibly intuitive,” Remus said easily. “He’s flourished a great deal in the past year alone. All children have learning techniques that work best for them. The key is taking the time to learn what makes each child tick. Personally, I think it’s important to lean into topics that pique a child’s interest. It builds confidence and associates learning with fun.”
“Great,” Sirius nodded approvingly. “I won’t badger you on your qualifications, as Marlene has already taken care of that. But I do want to discuss the discretion this role requires.”
“Of course,” Remus nodded.
Sirius chose his words carefully. “I’m sure you’ve heard of Black Enterprises.”
Remus grinned ruefully. “Only one of the biggest global shipping companies in the world.”
“Yes,” Sirius smiled. “With that kind of attention comes unique…difficulties.”
“I understand,” Remus said. “The Longbottoms had those same difficulties.”
Sirius repressed a snort. “You’ve probably noticed by now that we take security very seriously. Every trip to the ice cream shop requires a bodyguard. Every new friend that Harry meets at the park needs to be vetted before any playdates are scheduled.”
“Understood,” Remus nodded. “May I ask, does Harry have an assigned bodyguard? I found that when working with Neville, it helped to have a designated person on our outings to help establish a sense of normalcy and confidence.”
Truthfully, Sirius did not assign Harry a specific bodyguard for a variety of reasons. Still, Remus’ reasoning was worth considering. “Interesting. Well, this is something we can discuss in detail later down the road.”
Remus nodded, and Sirius moved on to his next point. “Along the same lines, our privacy is of the utmost importance. Marlene has already mentioned the NDA you’ll need to sign, and I need you to understand that I take it very seriously. Harry already has more eyes on him than any four-year-old should. We had an incident in the past where a new employee tried to sell photos. I won’t have that happen again.”
Sirius didn’t mention that the employee was subsequently buried in the desert. Alive.
“Additionally, with the nature of my position, I regularly have public figures in and out of the house: government officials, wealthy entrepreneurs, people you might recognize from the entertainment industry. I can’t afford to jeopardize those connections with indiscreet employees.”
Remus cleared his throat. “I got into this line of work because I love kids. You might have seen on my resume that I majored in Early Childhood Development at the University of Gryffindor before I took a leave of absence. For me, being a nanny means putting my kid first. Their physical safety. Their mental health. Their emotional, social, and educational development. That’s my business, and I want to be clear that I won’t hesitate to express concern if anything threatens that. That being said, I would never do anything to risk the well-being of a child in my care. And to be frank, anything that happens inside this house unrelated to Harry does not interest me.”
Sirius grinned. “Well noted. Moving on–I try to keep a set schedule for Harry’s sake, but that’s not always possible. I don’t expect you to give up your personal life, but I do expect flexibility. There might be times when you need to accompany us out of the county at a moment’s notice. Is that okay with you?”
Remus shrugged. “I’m never going to complain about getting to do my job in a foreign country. I’m always down for an adventure.”
Sirius allowed himself to laugh. “One last question: Do you root for the lions or the snakes?”
“Lions, obviously.”
“Good answer.” Sirius rose from his seat. “I’d like you to meet Harry.”
Marlene perked up in Sirius’ peripheral vision. Remus smiled widely to reveal a pair of dimples that might have disoriented a weaker man. For unrelated reasons, Sirius avoided eye contact as he led the group down the hallway to Harry’s fortress.
The playroom was a fucking disaster. Harry sat at the epicenter of his storm, crying and hugging a stuffed deer tightly to his chest. Poppy, Sirius’ longtime housekeeper, slumped in a rocking chair in the corner, looking bedraggled and helpless. Sirius didn’t blame her; she was an older woman who had not signed up to chase after a rambunctious four-year-old all day.
“Papa,” Harry cried, running to Sirius and jumping before he had a chance to lift his arms. Still, Sirius caught him without missing a beat.
“What’s wrong, Prongslet?”
“Rocket doesn’t go boom,” Harry sniffled.
“Excuse me,” Remus interjected, looking directly into Harry’s huge, watery eyes. “Have you seen my donkey? His name’s Oscar.”
Harry blinked at him suspiciously, glancing at Sirius once before hiccupping out, “No donkey.”
“Are you sure? Because I…” Remus spared a millisecond to wink at Sirius before reaching towards Harry’s ear and pulling a small wooden donkey out of “thin air.” It might have been a cheap trick, but Harry’s resulting look of beaming wonder was worth a million bucks.
Remus took a dramatic step back. “Did you…Did you steal Oscar, Sir?”
“No!” Harry gasped. “Promise.”
Remus nodded his head somberly. “You seem like a trustworthy fellow. Maybe you can help me find Oscar’s brother? His name’s Ozzie. I think he’s probably hiding in all your cool toys. If we start to clean up, we’ll probably find him.”
“Okay,” Harry wiggled free of Sirius’ hold until he was on his feet, then immediately started tossing his toys into their storage cubes with frantic determination. To Sirius’ surprise, Remus too dropped down to kneel on the floor beside him, apparently uncaring if his navy suit got wrinkled.
“My name’s Remus, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”
Harry tried to repeat the name, but it sounded like gibberish on his tongue.
“It’s okay,” Remus laughed. “Remus is a silly name. Can you say Rem?”
“Rem,” Harry said seriously, clearly mesmerized.
“He’s a wizard,” Sirius muttered to Marlene.
“You should know by now that I’m always right.”
“Please tell me he’s hired,” Poppy whispered, who had come to stand beside them. “I might quit if you don’t.”
“Prongslet,” Sirius called.
“Huh?” Harry replied, too enthralled by Remus to pay his beloved Papa even a glance.
“Maybe we can show Rem your park in the backyard? Maybe the donkey’s hiding in your swingset.”
“Yesyesyes!”
Sirius offered Remus a hand to stand. “We’ll give you a tour of the house while we’re at it,” he winked. “You’ll need to know these halls if you’re going to be running after Harry all day.”
Remus smiled that dimpled smile again, and all Sirius could think was: I’m fucked.
“I want him gone,” Caradoc hissed two weeks later when Remus appeared with a Toyota Corolla full of luggage.
“Lower your voice,” Sirius replied, rising from his desk to close the door that Caradoc had flung open in fury. He didn’t want his husband to scare Remus away before they’d even processed his paperwork.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Caradoc demanded, intentionally louder.
“I think you’re paranoid.”
Caradoc scoffed. “You parade this twenty-year-old twink into our home and expect me to be okay with it? Are you trying to humiliate me?”
Of course, that was the crux of the issue: the appearance of Caradoc being ousted by a younger, more beautiful man. Though to be fair, Sirius couldn’t blame his husband. Remus’s very existence in their household was the cliche’d plot of an excellent porno. It was only natural that Caradoc would view the boy as a demonic force delivered directly from Satan to wreak havoc.
Plus, Caradoc was a jealous creature by nature. Covetous. Even when they’d dated casually all those years ago, stories had drifted around about the lengths Caradoc had gone to to secure his trophy. Sabotaging Sirius’ dates in increasingly creative ways. Spreading nasty rumors about potential competitors. Admittedly, Sirius had found the antics both amusing and flattering at the time. Now…not so much.
“Harry has run off his last two nannies,” Sirius declared bluntly. “And this kid had him cleaning up his toys within two minutes of meeting. He’s perfect, and comes highly recommended by Frank and Alice–”
“Oh, I’m sure Frank gave the boy a glowing review.”
“I need a competent caretaker for my Godson,” Sirius snapped. “And since you are zero help in that regard, Remus stays. End of discussion.”
Caradoc stared him down. Sirius wondered how he had ever found those icy blue eyes so alluring.
“If I find out you’re sleeping with him, I’ll slit his throat,” Caradoc swore, “And then yours.”
What a way to go, Sirius thought, and then said: “Understood. But we’re taking him to dinner tomorrow, and I expect you to be nice.”
“I will not have dinner with him!”
“Should I take him out by myself? Just the two of us? Maybe to that Italian spot on the waterfront your friend owns?”
If looks could kill... “Fine,” Caradoc gritted out. “But after that, keep him out of my sight.”
Sirius rolled his eyes. “Well, since he’ll spend his days with Harry, I doubt you two will run into each other very much at all.”
Caradoc scowled, but stomped away without further comment.
Sirius decided to add a second lock to Remus’ living quarters, just to be safe.
Sirius had Marlene make reservations for five and a half at a local restaurant he favored equally for its discretion as its tiramisu. He’d extended the invitation to Marlene and Poppy for a couple of reasons. The first was that their respective roles would have them working closely with Remus, so Sirius thought a group dinner would be a nice way to ease everyone into the new arrangement. The second, more important reason, was that Sirius needed a buffer between his husband and Remus: a human barrier between the lion and the gazelle.
So far, all was going well. They ordered a buffet of steak, seafood, roasted potatoes, and other sides to share family-style. Poppy took to Remus’ sweet smile like a mother hen. Harry, who could not always be trusted to respect the sanctity of public spaces, was pleased to be sitting next to Remus and colored demurely on his iPad.
Caradoc had ordered a full bottle of wine that he kept mostly to himself, but that was to be expected.
“Remus and I were at UG at the same time,” Marlene told Sirius, still tapping away at her phone. She had the expert ability to hold several conversations at once. That was why Sirius paid her so well. “I don’t know if you realized that.”
“Oh,” Sirius nodded. He had known, but hadn’t paid it much consideration. “What a small world. Do you two know any of the same people?”
“My boyfriend,” Remus replied. “They took the same–”
“You have a boyfriend?” Caradoc interrupted, something like hope in his voice. This was the second sentence he had uttered in Remus’ direction all night, right behind ‘Hello. You can sit in the back seat with Harry.’
“Yes,” Remus smiled mildly. “We’ve been together for about a year. His name is–”
Benjy Fenwick, Sirius vaguely recalled from Remus’ file. Twenty-four years old. He had a B.A. in Finance from the University of Gryffindor, and currently worked as an entry-level analyst at Gringotts Bank. He came from an upper-middle-class family with no ties to unsavory parties and could thus be allowed entry into the Black estate if the occasion permitted.
“Wonderful,” Caradoc breathed. “I assume he’s the reason you decided to stay in Gryffindor, instead of moving with the Longbottoms?”
For a second, Remus seemed caught off guard by the question. Sirius recalled the modest house on Liberty Street that was listed in Remus’ file. And the twin graves at the Hogsmeade Cemetery. Eventually, Remus responded, “One of the reasons.”
“Rem,” Harry whined, irritated that the man was not giving him his full undivided attention. “I drew a bunny.”
Remus broke into a radiant smile. “Wow. Look at those ears. They’re extra floppy. Can you draw a puppy, too?”
Harry preened and set to work.
“So,” Caradoc drawled. “I’m sure Mrs. Longbottom is unbearable to live with. I’m surprised she didn’t suck out your soul while you slept.”
Sirius couldn’t find it in himself to reproach his husband’s tactlessness because talking shit was simply how Caradoc made friends. And Mrs. Longbottom was a stone-cold bitch. This was just known.
Remus, however, was affronted. “Alice is wonderful—”
“No,” Caradoc shook his head. “The mother.”
“Oh,” Remus snorted. “We coexisted, yes.”
“Be honest, Remus,” Marlene said. “Did she try to skin you to make another weird hat?”
“I signed an NDA, so if there was a point where I caught her standing above my bed with a vial of blood, I’m not at liberty to say.”
As the table erupted into laughter, Poppy interjected, “Oh, stop you guys. Let’s be kind. It’s nice to see a woman so…dedicated to her family.”
Marlene scoffed. “Remember that time she asked you to move a few pews back in church so she could have your seat? I thought you were going to slap her.”
“And I didn’t, did I? I decided to respect my elders.”
“Oh,” Caradoc grinned evilly. “The shade.”
Poppy shrugged, “I just think it’s nice to see a son take such good care of his mother. How about you, Remus? Are your folks in Gryffindor?”
“Oh. Um, no.” Remus fixed his napkin. “They actually passed away a few years ago.”
“I’m so sorry,” she frowned. Sirius winced; he had meant to prep Poppy beforehand. She continued, “I lost my mother about ten years ago. It’s always devastating to lose a parent, especially at such a young age.”
“How did they die?” Caradoc asked.
“Car accident,” Remus offered simply. Marlene glanced at Sirius, but he kept his face impassive.
“How awful,” Caradoc muttered. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Remus said, and took a long gulp of iced tea.
“Rem?” Harry placed a small hand on Remus’ arm.
“Yes?”
“We go to the park tomorrow, okay?”
Remus laughed. “Sure, buddy. Sounds like a plan.”
Poppy cleared her throat. “What’s Remus’ schedule going to look like? Monday through Friday, weekends off?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Except when I’m traveling.” Sirius replied. He wasn’t lying when he told Remus that he tried to keep set hours for Harry’s sake. James had wanted his son to live as normal a life as possible. It was a task akin to growing a sunflower in hell–a task that had cost James his life–but Sirius would be damned if he didn’t try.
“It’ll be a nice change of pace to have a set schedule,” Remus smiled. “My boyfriend is over the moon about spending the weekends together.”
“And…” Marlene drawled. “Remus is going to come to The Black Dog with me one of these Saturdays.”
A charming shade of red blossomed on Remus’ cheeks. “I said maybe. And not anytime soon!”
“Come on, Rem. You’ll look so good in glitter. And we drink for free at Sirius’ clubs.”
Caradoc cut into his steak so hard that his knife squeaked against the porcelain plate.
“Marlene,” Sirius sighed. “Please stop trying to corrupt Remus. I don’t need two of you.” Though he privately agreed. Remus would look great in glitter.
“For the record,” Remus huffed, “I’m not planning to visit any clubs in the foreseeable future.”
“Oh, don’t let this one stop you, Remus,” Poppy said, jerking her head in Sirius’ direction. “The stories I could tell…”
Remus grinned, relaxing the slightest bit. “Have you known Sirius since he was a kid?”
“Yes,” Poppy winked at Sirius. “I’ve worked for Sirius’ family for a long time.”
Specifically, Poppy had worked for the Potters for a long time. Her husband had been one of Monty's most trusted enforcers back in the day, and Poppy worked for Effy as a maid. Unfortunately, Poppy’s husband was killed in an arms deal gone wrong early in their marriage. She never moved on to another town or another man, instead staying on with the Potters to cluck after James and his friends as she had probably imagined she would have clucked after her own sons. It was only natural that she joined Sirius’ household when Harry did.
“It’s true,” Sirius nodded. “Don’t be fooled by her little milk and cookies act. The one person in this house you need to impress is her. She is the keeper of the keys–literally. When James and I were seventeen, we tried to sneak back into the house after staying out all night, and she wouldn’t let us through the door. We slept on the lawn until Mrs. Potter woke up and dragged us back inside by our ears.”
“And I bet you never tried that again, right?” Remus asked.
“Damn right,” Poppy said.
“I have much to learn from you, Poppy.”
“Don’t worry, honey,” Poppy glanced at Harry pointedly with a fond smile. “I think you know exactly what you’re doing.”
It was not an exaggeration to say that Remus’ presence improved the collective household morale by miles.
There was a trickle-down effect, starting with little Harry, who (in addition to being the most clever and lovable child in the world) could at times be perceived by some people as somewhat spoiled. It wasn’t his fault, of course. Sirius did spoil Harry. How could a man say no to those eyes?
But, as Remus had explained, children needed gentle structure and discipline to flourish. And he was right; Harry’s behavior improved significantly in the weeks following Remus’ introduction. Gone were the days when Sirius had to cut meetings short because Harry refused to eat anything aside from chocolate, or painted Caradoc’s yoga room with glue, or flooded his bathtub because he wanted to make his duckies laugh.
Without having to cater to these tantrums, Sirius was able to focus on business at work and actually unwind at home. His blood pressure had not been so stable in months. Similarly, Poppy now had the peace to return the house to a well-oiled machine. Even Caradoc had retracted his claws after seeing Remus work his magic.
In fact, Remus was doing such a great job that Sirius had space to miss the way Harry clung to him like a possessive baby monkey. Luckily, this was one of the rare Saturdays when they had no prior commitments and could spend the day lazing around together. Most of the staff had the day off, and Caradoc had fucked off with his friends to Miami for someone’s birthday. Or bachelor’s party? Sirius hadn’t particularly cared to ask follow-up questions.
He whistled as he mixed pancake batter by hand. James had always said that a Saturday didn’t count if you didn’t start it with chocolate chip pancakes. Sirius could not give Harry his father, but he could give him early-onset diabetes.
Speaking of sweet things, Remus appeared as if he’d been summoned. “Good morning, Sirius,” he greeted as he went to fill up a reusable water bottle at the fridge.
“Morning, Remus,” Sirius replied. He hesitated a second before asking, “You interested in some pancakes?”
“Very much so,” Remus sighed, “but I’m on my way out.”
“Going for a workout?” Sirius asked, eyeing Remus’ athletic shorts for a second too long.
“Hiking,” Remus frowned, looking down at his attire as if some invisible force had dressed him against his will.
Sirius laughed. “Did you forget?”
“No, just pretending it’s not happening.”
“You realize hiking is optional, yes?”
“Not today. Benjy–my boyfriend–likes to hike on Saturdays. This is the first time I haven’t had an excuse to stay home in a while.”
Sirius hummed. “Personally, I don’t trust anyone who willingly treks through the wilderness.”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
“Tell him I forbid it. Tell him it’s in your contract that Harry’s nanny isn’t allowed to get eaten by mountain lions.”
“I’ll keep that in my back pocket, but I have to throw him a bone this time, even if it’s my own after I inevitably break an ankle.”
“Just so you know, Harry won’t approve a day off, even for a broken bone. I know from personal experience.”
“Yeah, sometimes I even have to request permission to use the restroom." Remus snickered. "And he doesn’t always say yes.”
Sirius groaned. “That kid is my karma for all the hell I gave my handlers.”
Remus laughed. “He’s actually the sweetest little thing. He spent all of yesterday telling me how excited he was for Boy’s Day.”
“I’m equally excited,” Sirius said honestly. “We’re starting with chocolate chip pancakes and an eighties movie marathon. Then maybe the park, and we’ll probably end up at Palermo’s Pizza.”
“I envy you,” Remus said. “Have a pizookie for me.”
“It’s the least I can do. So, what does a perfect Saturday look like for Remus Lupin?”
“Aside from keeping my feet firmly on interior flooring?”
“That goes without saying.”
“Honestly, it’s embarrassingly similar to your four-year-old’s perfect day. Pancakes–razor-thin only–in the morning. Then, binge-watching TV on a couch full of blankets all afternoon. Though I might sub out the pizza for some Indian food.”
“And what are you binge-watching?” Sirius asked, genuinely hungry for the answer.
Remus hesitated. “The Grim.”
“The Grim?” Sirius repeated. “The Batman knock-off that probably came out the year you were born?”
“The year before,” Remus said. “I know it’s weird, but I love it. My mom watched it like every other day when she was pregnant with me.”
“So you absorbed your taste for obscure, low-budget film through osmosis?”
Remus huffed. “I won’t be shamed by a man who has a Weird Sisters poster in his home theater.”
“Hey now, show some respect for the classics.”
“Every other scene has someone with a completely different haircut than they had six seconds prior.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Not by much,” Remus muttered under his breath.
“The art of filmmaking is lost on your generation.”
“I think I’m doing the art of filmmaking a favor by pretending the Weird Sisters doesn’t exist. I’ll stick to off-brand Batman.”
Before Sirius could respond, a loud buzzing erupted from Remus’ person. Remus pulled the phone out of his pocket and let out a sigh that seemed to come straight from his gut. “I’m late.”
“Yeah, you'd better get going before Harry catches you, anyway. He might try to slash your tires to stop you from leaving.”
“He’d be doing me a favor, really.” Remus offered a warm smile. “But I hope you have a nice day together. See you Monday.”
“See you Monday,” Sirius replied, feeling something swell in his chest as he watched Remus depart. It took him several seconds to recognize the feeling as hope.
“So, when do I get to meet your hot nanny?”
Sirius almost choked on his sip of bourbon. “Excuse me?”
“He’s famous,” Regulus grinned. “The guys won’t shut up about him.”
Sirius struggled to speak. “What are they saying?”
“That he’s hot.”
Sirius ground his teeth. “If I find out that anyone is making him uncomfortable–”
“Whoa! I didn’t say all that. It’s just that everyone likes him. They think he’s funny.”
“Who’s saying these things?” Sirius demanded.
Regulus eyed Sirius warily. “I’m no rat.”
“Well,” Sirius grunted. “I have a strict policy against my employees dating.”
“Since when?”
Since now. “Since Vance cheated on his wife and almost cost us the deal with her father.”
Regulus rolled his eyes. “Comparable stakes, clearly.”
“If any of these idiots start fighting over him, it becomes a problem for me.”
“Sure, sure.”
“And he has a boyfriend anyway.”
“Okay, you fucking loser,” Regulus sighed. “Believe it or not, I came here to talk about Thailand.”
His brother looked properly tanned, and Sirius assumed he’d spent more time on the Thai beaches over the past month than he would admit. Not that Sirius minded. Regulus was the only reason Sirius was allowed to schedule his life around Harry. The only man in the world Sirius trusted to tend to delicate situations when Sirius himself couldn’t.
“Everything went well,” Sirius said, a statement, not a question.
“It did,” Regulus replied, clearly weighing his words.
“And?” Sirius prompted impatiently.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, because you’re paranoid, but I know you’ll find out anyway, with all your little spies everywhere–”
“I will,” Sirius affirmed, feeling wariness churn in his gut. “Stop rambling.”
“The trip was successful,” Regulus said, redundantly.
Sirius had sent Regulus as an envoy to broker a deal with an organization in Bangkok. The geopolitical landscape in Thailand was precarious, to say the least, and Sirius had always possessed a sharp nose for sniffing out opportunities to exploit. Local gangs were clustered across the country, and the police were cartoonishly corrupt, so Sirius saw the potential to streamline certain operations. One man to unite them all, so to speak, perhaps offering American-made state-of-the-art guns to aid in the civil war devastating the Burmese border.
For a fee, of course.
And it all conveniently aligned with the new division that Black Enterprises was planning to open in Thailand to broaden their dominance in the Southeast Asian shipping market.
“I know this, Regulus,” Sirius sighed.
“Since it was successful, I had some…free time. Enjoyed the nightlife. Rode an elephant, as one does.”
“You’re starting to bore me.”
“I spent most of my time with the same four or five guys, and one night while we were out, they started talking about a peculiar man who kept hanging around. I guess he does odd jobs for some of the local godfathers. The guys were mostly making fun of him. Said he told them he found the elixir of life.”
Ice ran through Sirius’ veins.
“Yeah,” Regulus said, reading the look on Sirius’ face. “So I pressed. They said he was a white man. Short and pudgy. And…they said he was missing a finger.”
Sirius rose from his chair to pour himself another glass of whiskey.
“Sirius,” Regulus pleaded. “Don’t do anything stupid. It was loud. We were at a nightclub. They only spoke Thai, and the translator could have fucked something up. Or I could have misunderstood.”
“Papa!” a little voice sing-songed from down the hall.
“Sirius, he’s dead. Don’t–”
But Sirius had already made a decision. “Prongslet!” Sirius called, effectively killing whatever else Regulus wanted to say.
Seconds later, the office door flung open, and Harry appeared. “We went to the li’bary!” the boy exclaimed. “I got books. And stickers. And—Uncle Reg!”
Regulus put on his best smile before scooping Harry into his arms. “Hey, buddy. Did you miss me? I brought you a present.”
“Oh! Can I see?”
Remus arrived at the doorway and hesitated briefly before saying, “Hi, Sirius. Sorry to interrupt; Harry was very excited to show you his haul.” He lifted a tote bag in explanation.
Sirius smiled. “Hey, Remus–”
“No need to apologize!” Regulus chirped with a wolfish grin. “It’s nice to meet you after hearing such high praise. I’m Regulus.”
“Oh,” Remus grinned back, and Sirius had the sudden urge to stand between them. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Harry told me you’re his favorite Uncle.”
“He’s his only Uncle,” Sirius muttered dryly.
“Can I have my present, Uncle Reg?” Harry asked, voice just shy of a whine.
“Say please, Harry,” Sirius admonished.
Harry pouted. “Please, Uncle Reg?”
“Since you’re so polite,” Regulus cooed, “I’ll even give you a special candy bar.”
“Not before dinner,” Sirius groaned.
“Candy!” Harry squealed as if Sirius hadn’t spoken.
As the two scuttered away to ruin Harry’s sleeping schedule, Sirius asked, “You don’t have any siblings, do you, Remus?”
Remus smiled wryly. “Nope.”
“What a dream,” Sirius sighed before clearing his throat. “But I’m glad we have a minute alone. I’m going to need you to work next weekend while I take a last-minute trip. Is that alright?”
“Of course,” Remus responded. “Going anywhere fun?”
“Thailand,” Sirius said. “I need to tie up some loose ends.”