Chapter Text
“Baba, Baba!” A little girl with wild black curls and hazel eyes exclaims as she runs across the deck of a boat—path zig-zagging slightly from the gentle waves.
“Cassy, Cassy!” Sirius exclaims in response, lifting his daughter and spinning her around as she gets close enough.
“Guess what!”
“What?”
“Papa says we should reach Isliba by morning!” Cassy says, wiggling around excitedly in Sirius’s hold.
“I see, and why are you telling me this?”
“You have to tell me the story!”
“Story?” Sirius says, feigning ignorance as he shoots a mischievous smile to Remus.
“Uncle Jamie’s story,” Cassy says, crossing her arms with a stern pout.
“Oh! That story. I forgot about that story,” Sirius says, lightly smacking his forehead for their daughter’s amusement. “Alright, go get ready for bed, and I’ll tell you the story.”
As soon as her little feet touch the floor, Cassy runs off into the house section of their boat.
Sirius watches her go, appreciating the tiny pitter-patter of her feet against the wood. After the door to their house swings shut behind her, Sirius walks over to where Remus is teaching their son some more advanced sailing knots.
“What about you, Little Bear?” Sirius says, sitting down on the bench beside him. “Are you coming in for the story tonight?”
“When are you going to tell me the real story, Baba?” Teddy groans, not looking away from the bits of rope he’s fastening.
“When—” Sirius starts, “We’re older. I know, but I am older. I shouldn’t have to wait for Cas.”
Sirius looks to Remus for support. None is given when the other man joins in. “He’s right. He’s nearly sixteen; he can hear the whole story, Siri.”
Sirius looks between the two with the same sandy brown hair, tan skin, and determined looks on their faces—he’s beginning to think he was trapped from the start. “Alright. Let me put Cassy to bed, and then we’ll tell you the real story, Little Bear. But don’t be upset when it’s not what you wanted.” Sirius cautions, ruffling their son's hair.
It’s much later that night before Teddy has the courage to ask again. His Baba’s always been guarded about the full version of this story. Teddy is surprised he ever relented in telling it, and he’s felt the nervous energy rolling off Sirius for hours. He had hoped time would help soothe him, but that hasn’t been the case; instead, it seemed that each minute that ticked by had only made him more anxious.
But Teddy has to know the full story. He’s waited sixteen years for this, and he thinks he may die of suspense if he has to wait another day to hear it.
So, with bated breath and the utmost courage he can muster, he climbs the ladder to the roof of their houseboat.
“Baba?”
Sirius looks down from where he was looking at the stars. “Little Bear”. Sirius sighs. “Come here. I have a story to tell you.” Sirius pats a spot beside him on a blanket.
Teddy sits down and unravels a second blanket over both of their legs. They settle with Sirius sitting with his legs in front of him, leaning back slightly on his hands, and Teddy sitting cross-legged, leaning forward with his chin resting in his palms.
“This is a story of love, thievery—” “Baba”, Teddy groans, upset at the notion that this will be the same story he’s heard countless times before. “-Deception, kidnapping, treachery, treason, and even murder.” Sirius finishes, as if Teddy hadn’t spoken at all.
He glances over to his son to see all traces of annoyance gone—replaced with intrigue and mild horror.
“Do you still think you’re ready for the full story?” Sirius asks, raising a challenging eyebrow. He wouldn’t aggrieve his son if he wasn’t. Sirius is under no delusions that this story is in any way similar to the fairy tale version he’s told them their whole lives.
“Yes,” Teddy says, nodding once in assurance.
Sirius nods in return as he begins. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom in the middle of a desert. In this kingdom, there was a sprawling city, decorated in a rainbow of colours. At the centre of this city sits a castle with towers plated with gold. In this castle lived the Sultan, his Sultana, and two brothers.”
Teddy watches the story begin in awe—excited to finally hear something of his grandmother.
“The Sultan was weak-willed and inept with politics, but the Sultana—who was from a neighbouring kingdom—made up for it. Her name was Walburga, and she was loved by many. She earned it too, because she made sure everyone in Isliba was provided for. Many called her the best queen Isliba had ever seen.”
“Baba, if she was so great, why have you never told us about her?” Teddy says, unable to contain his curiosity.
“Well”, Sirius sighs. “She was a wonderful queen, but that came at the expense of being a good mother. She was never really around, and since our father had no interest in raising Reg and me, it was up to servants or tutors.”
“That’s how you and Papa met, right?”
“Yes, Hope was a godsend for Reg and me. Can I continue?”
“Yeah, sorry,” Teddy says with a sheepish smile.
“It’s alright. Well, one day, the Sultan’s friend from childhood, Riddle Riddle, came back to Isliba from a faraway place. Where he claimed to have learnt magic beyond Orion’s wildest dreams. He promised to make Isliba the best kingdom in the world, and Orion believed him.
Walburga didn’t like Riddle very much, and they commonly disagreed. But Orion trusted that Riddle would bring Isliba to greatness and distrusted Walburga since she was raised in another kingdom.
Riddle was able to convince Orion that the nobles were better than the commoners and they shouldn’t have to pay taxes to the crown—that their loyalty was enough—and to instead raise taxes for the commoners and give hefty fines to anyone who was late or objected. For anyone who wouldn’t pay, he implemented harsh punishments, and anyone who couldn’t pay was given a long prison sentence where they had to work off their debts to the crown.”
“That's horrible! Why would he do that?”
“Riddle told Orion it was to make Isliba great, but the real reason will become clear later,” Sirius said, unable to help the slight enjoyment he got from keeping Teddy in suspense.
“It wasn’t long before Isliba’s great colours became dull. Its people were unhappy, and Walburga knew it.
She wanted to fix it; she just didn’t know how.
Then, one day, I saw Riddle using magic on Orion. His eyes were glowing red, and he couldn’t move away from the red gemstones of Riddle’s snake sceptre, and Orion was repeating everything Riddle said to him.
I knew I had to tell Walburga and rushed right to her study. I told her everything I had seen, and she knew I was telling the truth.” Sirius pauses at the sound of rustling from below. Once he determines it isn’t Cassy waking up, he continues.
“Walburga and I didn’t get along at all. Believe me, if there was something to disagree on, we were right there fighting about it. But the one thing we could agree on was that Isliba came first. Its people were entrusted to us, and we had a duty to them.
Walburga spent weeks attempting to find a sorcerer who knew a counter or protection spell, but could find no one.
Then, late one night, I heard my door creak open. When I looked up, I was face to face with the glowing rubies of Riddle’s snake. I was told to quietly get out of bed and follow him. I didn’t want to, but I was powerless against the commands. My body moved of its own accord as I followed him down the winding halls of the palace.
We stopped once we reached the garden, where I saw Walburga bathed with green light that seemed to slither around her and the pillar it was binding her to.
I watched, helplessly, as he turned the crimson eyes of his snake to her.
He ordered her to stand down, to allow him control of Orion and Isliba.
I don’t know how she did it, but she spat in his face. She told him she would never consent to what he was doing, nor would she stand by and watch it happen. That she would rather die with honour than kneel to a coward.
******
He told her she would, handed me a blade, and told me to plunge it into her heart. He told me to not stop stabbing her until she had stopped breathing.
I tried fighting against the spell, but his hold was too strong.
The last thing she said to me was to protect Regulus and defend Isliba, that it wasn’t my fault, and she forgave me.
Even though I was the one killing her—she looked him in the eye as she died.
I stabbed her until the jasmine was bathed red and I could no longer smell their sweet aroma over the coppery stench of her blood.
When I looked up from the crimson-coloured scene, they were both gone.
She was dead. But I still felt his pull within my mind.
He ordered me to drop the knife and find him in the dungeons.
*****
I always hated the cold, damp dungeons. But I don’t even remember descending their winding staircases that day.
No, the next thing I remember is standing in the middle of Riddle’s laboratory.
He ordered me to lie back on a table and performed some ritual, and, when I woke up, I was in a tiny brass lamp.
I stayed in that tiny brass lamp, more or less, for the next twelve thousand years.
“But, Baba, how could you have been in the lamp for twelve thousand years if everyone is still alive?”
“I’ll get to that, Little Bear,” Sirius says, hand shaking slightly as he ruffles his son’s hair affectionately.
“Let’s give your Baba a break,” Remus says, poking his head over the end of the ladder.
Teddy knew enough about sailing to keep them on track for Isliba until Remus or Sirius came back. From his place at the helm, he could hear enough of their muffled voices from the bench by the bow to gather his Baba was upset. The longer their quiet conversation lasted, the more guilty he grew.
Teddy felt like he should have never asked for the full story because of how it seemed to affect Sirius, and if this small snippet is an indication of what’s to come, he isn’t sure he wants the rest. Perhaps this is one time where ignorance truly is bliss.
He glances at the compass to his right before glancing at the stars—ensuring they’re still on the right path. His eyes gravitate to Regulus as he silently asks his uncle what he should do and for his lionhearted courage to do it. Teddy resolves to ask the man himself in the morning.
He looks over as he hears the stairs creak slightly. “How’s Baba?”
“He’s fine. I don’t think he ever really thought about having to tell either of you the real story after so many years in a fairytale,” Remus answers, walking over to sit beside Teddy. “If I’m honest, I think turning it into a fairytale was as much for him as it was for either of you.”
Remus had always been more honest and open with their kids than Sirius had. They’d both agreed early on what parts of their story were kept from the kids, but Remus always kept in mind that they would get curious about it and made Sirius promise that, eventually, they’d tell them the whole truth.
Miraculously, his uncle heard him through the stars and grants him the courage to ask, “Is the whole story that bad?”
“No, from here on out it isn’t that bad, but the goal is to be honest with you—and it’s what you asked for. You can always say you don’t want to hear more; no one would blame you after what Sirius told you tonight,” Remus says, wrapping an arm around his son when he leans into his side.
Teddy doesn’t respond for a while, so they sit there in silence until Remus looks over and sees the lost look on his son’s face. “Teddy”, Remus pauses as he waits for him to look up at him. “Even Regulus took time after hearing how their mother died; it’s okay if you need time too.”
That was a balm to Teddy’s frazzled nerves enough that he asks, “How did Uncle Reg find out?”
“Well, the morning after everything happened, we all woke up to a dead queen and a missing heir. Everyone assumed that someone had kidnapped him, and a search ensued. By afternoon, the search had turned into a manhunt after Riddle came forward and swore he saw Sirius fleeing from the castle early that morning, covered in blood; he said he didn’t believe what he saw until he got back from the grasslands and heard what happened. Regulus was a mess; one minute he didn’t believe it, the next he was screaming that Sirius was a traitor, and the next he was crying that they had to find Sirius and ask why. That boy went through the five stages of grief every five minutes. Orion ordered Regulus confined to his room for safety and the apothecary to ‘do something’ about his ‘distressed state’.
“Orion sounds like an ass,” Teddy remarks, scrunching his nose in disgust at the obvious disregard for his favourite uncle.
“He was. I’m sure you can imagine how Barty and Evan reacted to those developments.”
Teddy laughs as his mind conjures the image of his psychotic and overprotective uncles being prevented from being around Regulus in such distress. “What did they do?” He asks with amusement in his tone.
"Evan decided to try climbing from the balcony below Regulus’s to get in—but the rope snapped and he almost fell; then Barty tried seducing a guard, but that didn’t work, so he knocked him out—and nearly got locked up for it—then they decided to just steal some guards’ uniforms and act like they were the shift change.”
Teddy laughs as he vividly imagines them doing all those things. As his laughter dies down, he slowly remembers what they were doing them for and says, “I’m glad he had you.”
“I am too. He almost didn’t because I was originally Sirius’s guard, and Orion didn’t believe I didn’t know what Sirius did or that I didn’t know he was planning something. Riddle suggested torturing me until I told ‘the truth’, but my mentor, Alistor, and an advisor, Dumbledore, actually saved me from that. They said I was only in training and couldn’t be expected to notice something no one else had, that my family had been in loyal service to the crown for over 30 years, and that I could have been blinded from growing up so close to the princes. Orion agreed and switched me to Regulus’s service so he would have someone familiar with him—an action I am grateful for to this day.
However, I will say: you will hear a lot of conflicting stories and interactions with Dumbledore; even now, none of us know what side that man was on, what his motivations were, how much he knew, or how many strings he was pulling behind the scenes. Some of his actions were admirable, some abominable. I advise against drawing any concrete conclusions on him until you’ve heard the full story—but even then, use caution; no one truly knows everything about him.”
Teddy nods in understanding before asking, “Did Regulus spend the entire two years thinking Baba killed Walburga?”
“No, Evan told Regulus a few days later that he saw Riddle with Sirius and Walburga that night; he told Regulus everything he saw—though, that was only Riddle’s orders and how Sirius obeyed them so easily. Of course, we all knew Sirius didn’t listen to anyone easily, least of all Riddle, so we knew there was something wrong. Against Regulus’s advice, Evan went to Orion with what he saw. No one saw him after that. Regulus asked about him two days later, and Riddle responded that Evan had been involved in the planning and execution of Walburga’s murder and had been exiled for treason—I will never forget the look in Riddle’s eyes when he said that, stone cold and calculated; it still sends shivers down my spine to think of it,” Remus says, holding his arm up to show Teddy the gooseflesh spread across his arms.
Teddy mutters a quiet ‘wow’ at the idea that his fearless Papa is so unnerved by a man long lost to this world. “That sounds horrible, but I’m glad he didn’t spend the whole time thinking Baba killed her.”
“Me too, Teddy, me too,” Remus says, watching the slowly rising sun peek its head over the horizon. “Why don’t you go catch some sleep?”
“I can stay up; I’m not tired,” Teddy says, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand.
“Go, I’ve got us the rest of the way. We’ll be in Isliba in a few hours, and then we can recruit your uncles to help tell you the whole story.”
“Really?” Teddy says in awe—having assumed this was as much as he’d get to learn for now.
“Of course—as long as you still want to hear it.”
“Okay. Thanks, Papa. Good night,” Teddy says, giving Remus a squeeze.
He’s already halfway down the stairs when Remus quietly calls behind him, “I’ll wake you about a half hour from shore.” Although, Teddy didn’t need to be told since that’s when they always wake whoever is still asleep.
“TEDDY!” Tiny Cassy bellows right into his ear, causing the sleeping boy to jolt awake.
“We’re here! We’re here! Come on, up! Up! Outta bed!” The girl continues to shout as she shoves her little hands against her brother.
Teddy’s hands quickly shoot out, grab his little sister and pull her into bed. “Shut up,” Teddy groggily demands as he affectionately pushes her face into a pillow.
“Teddy, be nice to your sister!” Teddy hears his Baba call from outside his room.
“I’m being perfectly nice to her, just trying to snooze the annoying alarm clock you sent in here to attack me.”
Cassy squeals something that sounds like ‘I’ll be quiet’, but between the pillow and her laughter, it’s hard to tell. So, Teddy rolls them over enough for her to lift her head and breathe. “What was that, Sea Urchin?”
“I’ll be quiet, but let me up,” the girl demands, adding a quick, “You weigh more than a little bear. Baba’s gonna have to start calling you big bear.”
Teddy rolls her so he can hold her in the air above him—she’s rather small for being nearly seven—“There, you’re up. Is this what you wanted?”
Cas squeals in delight as she curls her legs out before sprawling all her little limbs into the air and shouting, “I’M A FAIRY!!”
“You’re something,” Teddy says, plopping the girl on the bed before he stands and starts preparing for the day.
“Chubby bear,” he hears Cas giggle from behind him.
Teddy spits out his toothpaste before peeking his head out of the bathroom and mocking, “Chubby bear?”
“Oh, yes. For your new nickname.” Cas confirms.
Teddy simply rolls his eyes before tucking back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
When he’s done, he bustles about the room, packing up odds and ends of what he’ll need to bring with him while Cassy sits on his bed—swinging her legs off the side—as she watches him, humming her favourite tune to herself.
“One jump buh-da-buh-buh-buh
One swing ah-huh-huh-da-sword”
“Do you even know the lyrics?” Teddy asks, looking up from locking his trunk.
“No, I forgot them, but Uncle Jamie can reteach me again.”
“Alright, Sea Urchin. Are you ready to go?”
“Uh-huh,” Cassy says with a happy nod. She reaches her arms out and makes little grabby hands.
“Your legs are going to stop working some day,” Teddy teases even as he swings his sister around to his back.
As soon as the bow of the boat passes the first few planks of wood, Cas is scrambling out of her seat to jump off the side, straight into her Uncle James’s arms with a loud squeal.
“Sweet Pea!” James exclaims, catching the girl and swinging her around. When he sets her down, he holds her arm for a few minutes so she adjusts to the lack of swaying.
“It’s a miracle she knows her name,” Regulus remarks, holding out a hand to help Teddy off the boat.
“She knows her name, Reggie. Don’t ya, Cassy?” Sirius says, hopping over the side of the boat, holding a hand out to Remus for the ropes to tie it in the harbour.
“I do!”
“Prove it,” Regulus challenges, booping the girl on the nose.
“Cassiopeia Lupin-Black,” Cassy says, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking out her tongue.
“Colour me shocked.”
“Where’s Harry and Lizzy?” Teddy asks, looking around the pier.
“Lizzy is still asleep, so Harry stayed back with her,” James answers, helping Sirius finish tying down the boat. Before they both help Remus onto the pier.
A soft knock sounds outside his door. Before Teddy can ask who it is, a voice calls through, “Teddy, can I come in?” Confirming that it’s Regulus outside the door.
“Yeah, sure thing,” Teddy calls back, hoping it carries through the door from where he’s setting up his bathroom.
It obviously did because when he walks back into his room, Regulus is sitting on the chaise longue at the foot of his bed. Regulus pats the bench beside him as Teddy makes his way over.
“Sirius told me he started telling you the true story.”
“Yeah,” Teddy says, sitting down in the spot Regulus had indicated.
“How far did he get?”
“He told me how Walburga died, but he stopped after that, then Remus told me about Evan’s exile. That’s all we got to.”
Regulus thinks over his answer for a few minutes. “The whole story isn’t that bad.”
“Papa told me that last night.”
“It also isn’t the fairytale you were told. Riddle, Dumbledore, and Orion all did some horrible things; Walburga was the only death that will be so,” Regulus trails off, not quite sure how to surmise the rest—unsure of what Sirius actually told him.
He shakes his head before continuing. “A few other people died, but their mentions will be brief; a few more people nearly died, but we can skim over those details as much as you’d like—an option you should have been given last night,” Regulus says, his tone indicating that Sirius had been spoken to about neglecting to give one.
Teddy nearly responds that he can handle it. Then he remembers how Sirius had looked last night, how Remus had said even Regulus was messed up over the whole thing, and thinks better of it. Instead, he says, “Thank you.”
“And if you ever want to talk about something you’ve been told, you can always come to me.”
“I know.” Teddy’s response is easy because he does know. Regulus has always been his favourite uncle because he seems to understand him in a way no one else does.
Regulus pats Teddy’s shoulder in a comforting gesture as he asks, “Need help unpacking?”
“No, I’m nearly finished.”
“Alright, dinner will be in about an hour; if you need anything before then, you know where to find me,” Regulus says, ruffling Teddy’s hair before he leaves.