Chapter Text
June 25th, 1994
The last two weeks of school went by quite quickly. Reggie spent as much time as he could with his friends, just mucking about, and rejoicing in the fact that they were done with their exams. He occasionally snuck off with just Fred, or to go and hang out with Draco for a bit, and he was honestly just happy.
Yes, there were still the Slytherins who made crude remarks when they passed him in the halls, and his family (other than Draco) wanted nothing to do with him, but he was still happy. He had some of the best friends he could have ever asked for, an amazing boyfriend, a kind and caring man willing to offer him a home, and essentially a new sister, as well as his brother. Despite how turbulent the past year had been, it had brought him closer to all of these people, and all their relationships were stronger because of it.
The memory of his boggart still irked him every now and then, but he had support. He had people who wanted him, who loved him. He didn’t need anything or anyone else.
“Ready to go, Reggie?” Fred called from his bed, just closing the lid of his trunk and lowering it to the floor.
Reggie watched him. The late morning sun was shining through the window, lighting up the ginger’s hair to make it look almost golden. His soft smile cocked sideways as his face tilted in curiosity at Reggie.
Reggie smiled and stood. “Yeah, I’m good.”
He stepped past his trunk, still laying open and only half-packed, and right up to his boyfriend.
“You sure, you haven’t finished pa-“
Reggie cut him off by leaning up and kissing him, cradling his face between his palms.
Fred was surprised but smiled into the kiss and placed his hands on Reggie’s waist.
“What was that for?” Fred asked breathlessly once they pulled away slightly, hands not leaving the other.
Reggie shrugged with a smile. “Just wanted to. You’re hard to resist, boyfriend.”
Fred grinned. “Right back at you, boyfriend.”
He leaned back in and kissed Reggie again, before laying their foreheads against each other.
“I’m gonna miss you.” Fred whispered.
“I’ll talk to Remus, I’m sure you can come and visit. George can come too and visit Milsy. Might be a week or two at least though, because I’m not sure how it’s gonna go with Sirius.”
Fred nodded. “Have you heard from them?”
“Remus sent a letter the other day, saying he’d be there on the muggle side of the Platform once we got there. He also said it’d been a bit tense with Sirius to start with, but they’re talking more now, so I guess that’s something.” Reggie sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if I should go with them at all. I mean, Sirius is Remus’ partner, and Milsy’s dad, and he’s been gone for twelve years. I don’t want to overstep into their family.” He trailed off, staring past Fred into the room.
Fred met his eyes and smiled softly. “You’re not overstepping. Remus said you were always welcome, and he wants you there. You get on great with Milsy. Maybe you won’t get on with Sirius, but maybe you will. You’re not gonna know that until you meet the guy. Maybe this isn’t the easiest time to be going to live with them, but maybe that makes it the best time. Gotta get through the drought before you can get the rain for the harvest.”
Reggie grinned. “Was that a Molly Weasley special?”
Fred blushed slightly. “Uh, maybe?”
“Well, I am honoured.” Reggie replied solemnly.
“Shut up.” Fred laughed.
Reggie smiled, expression turning more sincere. “Thank you, truly.”
“Anytime, love.”
Fred helped Reggie finish packing and then they both dragged their trunks down to the common room, where George was waiting.
“Hey, you guys. The girls and Lee have already left, but they said they’d save us a compartment.” George greeted them happily, sitting on his trunk and leaning against the back of a couch.
Reggie smiled at him. “Sounds good. Shall we get going?”
They all nodded and started dragging their trunks down to the carriages to go to the train.
…
Reggie sighed happily as he finally sat down next to Fred in their compartment. It was a tight squeeze, with all of them in there, but they made it work. Milsy was practically on George’s lap, but neither were complaining. They looked rather cosy actually, and Reggie briefly thought about draping himself over Fred, but ended up settling for holding his hand and leaning his against his shoulder.
Angelina and Alicia were having a conversation about Quidditch, that Lee and the twins occasionally added a comment to, but as the train started to move, Reggie was quite content to just sit and listen. He looked around from his perch between Fred and the window and simply watched his friends.
It had been a difficult year, in more ways than one, but he wouldn’t trade what he had here and now for anything. They had all survived their fifth year, and only had two more to go. It was a scary thought in itself, but Reggie knew they could handle whatever was thrown their way. They were a strong group of people, and when they stuck together, they could do anything.
He looked up briefly when he felt a squeeze to his hand.
“You okay?” Fred whispered.
Reggie nodded, with a small smile. “Never been better, Freddie.”
…
When the train was getting close to Platform 9 ¾, Reggie started to pull himself up, but then fell back with a wide-eyed look and a soft gasp.
“What’s wrong?” Fred asked worriedly.
Reggie let out a laugh, shaking his head.
“I don’t have to wear a damn suit. I’m never going back there.” He said in awe, unable to fully comprehend everything that accompanied that statement.
He never had to go back to a cold mansion where he knew no one wanted him. He never had to sit through a formal dinner in an uncomfortable suit with a man who terrified him, and a woman who didn’t seem to care for him. The cold and dark hellhole where he had felt so much pain, where he had never felt welcome; he never had to step foot in there again. It was a euphoric feeling that brought tears to his eyes.
Fred smiled with his own eyes shining. “No, you are never going back there.”
He brought Reggie into a hug and Reggie buried his head into Fred’s jumper.
…
There were a few more tears once they reached the platform. The others knew how much of a momentous moment this was for Reggie. For the first time in five years, he wore a simple muggle band t-shirt and black jeans with a pair of scuffed up running shoes. Hair a mess, he simply ran a hand back through it and deemed that enough.
They didn’t have to say their goodbyes on the train anymore, so they all grabbed their belongings from the overhead storage and headed out. Angelina and Alicia saw their respective families first, so with quick hugs and well-wishes for good holidays all around, they raced off.
“You gonna be okay?” Lee asked, looking straight at Reggie.
Reggie nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever been better.” He answered truthfully.
Lee smiled. “I’m glad, mate. Look forward to hearing all about your holiday.”
“Thanks mate. You too.”
They hugged briefly, and Lee hugged Milsy and the twins as well before heading off to find his parents.
“Do you lot want to walk through the barrier together? I can see our family over there, so we can all go through.” George pointed over closer to the barrier where there was a sea of red hair.
Reggie and Milsy nodded, and they all headed over.
Molly Weasley was happily chatting away with her youngest two, Ron and Ginny, whilst Percy was speaking animatedly with his father, continuously pointing to his Head Boy badge.
Reggie suddenly realised that this year had been Percy’s last at Hogwarts. He didn’t talk to the twins’ brother that often, but he had gotten used to him always being nearby in the past five years. Yet another thing that was changing, he thought to himself as he forced the smile back on to his face and walked forwards with his friends.
The twins spoke briefly with their parents, and Reggie answered a question or offered a comment here and there when it was prompted. Molly gave him a tight smile, but she also spoke more to him in that conversation than she had previously. It was still a rather strained relationship, but it was an improvement. Maybe one day it wouldn’t be so forced, on either side.
They all went through the barrier, one or two at a time. Reggie and Fred went through together, followed by George and Milsy. Off to the side, Reggie saw Harry following behind a rather large man. He turned to wave to Ron and Hermione before continuing out of the station behind who Reggie assumed was his uncle.
Reggie grimaced slightly. He wasn’t overly aware of Harry’s home situation, but he remembered vague rumours of him blowing up his aunt over the last summer holidays, so hopefully there wouldn’t be too much of a punishment for him. Reggie wasn’t sure what the protocol was when blowing up one’s aunt, but it surely could not be pleasant.
A loud bark sounded from their right, and Reggie looked over to see Remus standing with a rather large shaggy-looking black dog. Milsy immediately ran over and sunk to her knees in front of the dog, holding his face briefly before she hugged him fiercely. From his conversation with Remus before the end of term, he knew the dog was actually Sirius, and his eyes grew watery watching him nuzzle his snout against Milsy’s shoulder.
George had followed her over, but hesitated when Milsy hugged Padfoot. Remus gave a watery smile at his partner and daughter, and then beckoned George closer. They spoke quietly with one another, Remus adopting a slightly stern expression, and George nodding fiercely, gesturing slightly toward Milsy. A nod from Remus, and the relaxing of George’s shoulders told Reggie everything he needed to know about that conversation. He briefly panicked though, as he thought about whether he was supposed to get Fred to talk with Remus as well, but shook his head fondly when said man stepped up to do it himself.
Following his brother’s lead, Fred walked closer to Remus and held out his hand, offering to shake it. Remus bit back a smile at his ex-student, and shook his hand professionally. Reggie didn’t hear what was said, aside from the occasional “yes sir”, “never”, and “can count on me”, and when it ended with a smile from each of them, Reggie knew it was all okay. He let out the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and smiled as well.
A wet snout bumped into his hand. He glanced down and saw Padfoot sat next to him with his tongue hanging out as he panted.
Reggie smiled as he knelt to be eye-level. “Hi Padfoot. I’m… Uh, I’m Reggie. It’s nice to meet you.”
He didn’t really know what else he was supposed to say, but Padfoot simply barked happily and licked the side of his face.
Reggie burst out giggling as he hadn’t been expecting that, and briefly wiped at the slobber.
“Come on you lot, let’s head home.” Remus said fondly, watching them along with Milsy and the twins.
Reggie stood back up and looked to Fred.
“You’ll write, yeah?” Reggie asked as he leant in to hug his boyfriend.
Fred nodded. “Definitely. We’ll figure out a time to meet, too. I’ll see you soon, yeah?”
“Yeah, Freddie.” Reggie nodded, burying his face into Fred’s neck and sighing.
They stepped back after a moment, and kissed briefly before parting. The urge to look around to see who had seen them popped up into Reggie’s mind but he refused to give into it. Fred smiled softly and squeezed his hand before letting go.
Fred and George smiled at each of them before waving and walking back over to their family.
Milsy reached out and held his hand.
“Ready to go home, brother?” She asked, her eyes shining.
Reggie nodded, his throat closing slightly as he realised, he really was going home. A place where three people wanted him to be. A place where he was accepted completely as himself.
He squeezed Milsy’s hand as he smiled at Remus and Padfoot. Their trunks had been shrunk by Remus and now resided in their pockets, so the four of them happily walked towards the exit of the station. His hand stayed firmly in Milsy’s, and he smiled softly when he noticed that Remus’ hand remained buried in Padfoot’s fur.
It was finally time to go home.