Eleanor felt strange in the company of warm loving people after so long of staying in hiding. She could see that Esmeralda felt the same way as both of them were quite hesitant to be around the Potters and their friends. 

Lily noticed their reluctance so she tried to make them feel at ease by talking to them and making them feel included. They appreciated that a lot and helped Lily out with setting the table.

That one normal night in the middle of an ongoing war felt absurd to all of them, Eleanor could see that very well. All of them were anxious as if expecting an attack to happen to ruin their brief moment of calm.

James and Lily appeared calm but they were regularly checking that the enchantments were in place and no one suspicious was lurking around the house. Peter was on edge, his hands fidgeting as he talked to Remus who was holding Harry. And Regulus was standing by the fireplace with his hands in his pockets, eyes glazed over as if deep in thought.

Eleanor had just stepped closer to talk to him but Lily called them all for dinner. She gently placed her hand on Reg's shoulder, making him turn around to face her.

His blue eyes were full of sadness and she knew he was missing his brother a lot. Being in the company of Sirius' friends no doubt reminded him of his daredevil brother who had died to keep him and Eleanor safe.

No matter how different they seemed, the Black sons had a very strong sense of protecting each other, especially for Sirius as several times in their childhood too he had taken the blame for anything Regulus did wrong, in hopes of protecting his brother from getting scolded.

And it was quite evident that Regulus felt guilty for Siri's death. If only his elder brother hadn't come in between the killing curse cast by Voldemort, he would have still been alive and with his friends at the moment.

But of he hadn't protected Regulus and Eleanor, then there was no knowing what horrors the Dark Lord would have inflicted on Eleanor. It made him shudder in unease just to think about it.

"Reg, they are all waiting for you at dinner," Eleanor spoke, taking his hand in hers reassuringly, "come on."

He nodded, following her to the dining table. James offered him a welcoming smile as he sat down and joined them.

Dinner passed in mild conversation but Regulus kept silent, merely observing the people around him.

Spending years in the Dark Lord's service and being surrounded by cold heartless people had made him very adept at reading the surroundings as well as the emotions of the people he was accompanied by. Right then he was cautiously observing each person, his unwavering gaze focusing on Peter Pettigrew at last.

There was something about the young man that didn't sit right with him. It felt as if he was constantly consumed by fear and guilt but for some reason Regulus felt the reason to that fear and guilt wasn't the war itself.

He had seen that look in the eyes of the Death Eaters who had joined Voldemort out of fear.

And though Regulus knew that Peter was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, he couldn't help but feel suspicious of him.

After dinner, they had all gathered by the fireplace and James asked them to stay a little longer, not wanting that night to end. It was clear to see that he was the sort of person who thrived on good company and living in hiding due to the war had taken a toll on him.

To be reconciled with friends after such a long time was something he didn't want to let go of so soon.

They were sitting together in the comfortable warmth, recalling tales from their school days when there had been no looming shadow of war and destruction. Every story told by the Marauders included Sirius as he was such a walking tornado of chaos and amusement.

It made Regulus sad but also nostalgic to be able to hear about his brother's adventures at Hogwarts recounted by his close friends.

He was listening to James recounting detention from their fourth year when he was startled by baby Harry crawling close to him and lifting his arms up toward him.

Regulus stilled, looking down at the child who had his mother's green eyes and his father's unruly hair.

"Pafoo," he cooed, crawling closer to him and patting his hands on his knee.

Regulus realized that he hadn't cut his hair in a long time and the dark strands almost reached down to his shoulders, close to the length Sirius styled his hair in usually.

Perhaps it was the hair that made Harry think that his Uncle Padfoot was there instead of Regulus.

The rest of them had gone silent too, knowing it was a heart-wrenching moment as Harry didn't know that Uncle Padfoot was no longer with them. All he might remember was tugging on Siri's hair as the wizard would often walk around with Harry on his shoulders. And seeing Regulus, he must have mistaken him to be Padfoot.

"Can I hold him?" Regulus asked at last and Lily nodded, her green eyes flickering in an understanding look.

Very carefully, Regulus lifted Harry and sat him down on his knee, watching the child clap contentedly. He was too young to differentiate between him and his brother, that much was for certain as he looked genuinely happy at the moment.

In a sense, Regulus was filling up a space that had been left empty after Sirius. He knew he couldn't replace him but he could try and play his own part in keeping the wizarding world safe just like his brother wanted to.

He let Harry play with his hair as his thoughts deviated again to the dreadful war that was threatening all of them.

He hoped they would succeed in putting an end to the darkness that engulfed them due to Voldemort. He hoped that he would get to atone for the past mistakes that he made by joining the Death Eaters on the basis of a false ideology.

Most of all, he hoped that the little boy who was currently tugging at his hair and calling him Pafoo would get to grow up in a world without war with both of his parents beside him.

But no matter how hard one hoped for the best, it was impossible to escape fate.

Regulus knew that very well as he was one of the very few wizards who had managed to cheat death. But he had paid the price for it too in the form of his brother.

He hoped and prayed from the bottom of his heart that they wouldn't have to pay another such heavy price for the sake of peace and victory. And he had decided to keep fighting for the right side till the very end.

He had to fight for Eleanor, for Esme, for Remus, and for the Potters who had welcomed and accepted him without any prejudice.

Most of all, he had to fight against the darkness, against Lord Voldemort himself for the betterment of those people whom he now thought of as family.

***