Many Happy Halloweens

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"Papa?"
The sound is muted, coming from Harry's bedroom.
James pulls back, eyes bright with delight that Regulus can't decode. Why does he look so happy when Harry, whom he loves otherwise, has effectively thrown a wrench into their plans?
"That'd be you," he says, one arm tight around Regulus' waist. "I'm always Dad."

***

Monsters come out on Halloween, but Regulus Black will gladly fight any horror, whether it's a dragon or anxiety, to protect his family.

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The first thing that assaults Regulus' nose when he enters James' house with Harry in tow, rubbing his hands to regain a bit of warmth after a whole evening spent trick-or-treating in the chilly London weather, is the smell of smoke. It's faded, as if someone has already tried to air it out, but unmistakable, clinging to the back of his throat with a sickly aftertaste.

"What smells so bad, Reggie?" Harry has noticed the scent as well and pipes up from behind while Regulus is trying to assess the damage. So far, he hasn't spotted anything out of the ordinary. Everything seems normal. No outward ruin or flames blazing out of the sitting room. Reassured that there's no immediate danger, he turns to Harry, who hovers by his side, clutching the candy bag with his hard-earned treats in both hands. He looks adorable, tucked in his little green jacket with a fur-lined hoodie and a scarf with dog paw prints. In Regulus' opinion, Harry Potter might be the cutest kid on the entire planet. Not that Regulus is biased or anything.

He looks even cuter in the costume he's wearing underneath, but despite all Regulus' efforts that went into sewing it from a slippery thermal material, it couldn't fend off the London chill for the entire evening, so on their way back, he stuffed Harry into warmer clothes, turning a deaf ear to many protests that 'Spiderman doesn't get cold, Reggie,' and 'you didn't put on a jacket either.' A fact Regulus bitterly regretted throughout the event, clad in a Loki costume because Harry proclaimed that Loki and Spiderman should be friends. Spoiler alert: The cape didn't keep the cold away at all, but at least the green colour looked fabulous on him, so it could be worse. Harry could've asked for Thor or Captain America. Or something unimaginable, animated and screechy. A God of Mischief? Yeah, Regulus can make that work, although the first thing he did after checking for the fire was take off the horned crown and the cape, relieved to assume his mortal form again.

"Not a clue, buddy. Tell you what. We'll get you out of these winter clothes and muddy shoes, or Dad will have our heads, and then we'll investigate. How about that?"

"Yes! Like Chase!" Harry carefully sets his bag on the floor and starts yanking at the zipper with all the finesse his chubby four-year-old hands possess. So, with not much finesse at all. Regulus suppresses an eye-roll at the mention of the most aggravating children's cartoon ever invented, but he knows better than to commit the sacrilege of poking fun at Paw Patrol at the Potter household. Thank goodness Harry didn't want to dress up as those characters. Regulus adores the kid to pieces, but he draws a line at parading around as a dog firefighter.

Harry wins his fight with the zipper and shrugs the jacket off with fervour. Regulus saves it from landing on the floor and hangs it on the coat rack, then helps Harry with his shoes. The moment the little devil is free, he grabs his candy, shooting away like the superhero he's supposed to represent, except Spiderman moves by swinging on spiderwebs while Harry stomps around on tiny preschooler feet. Regulus isn't sure what's more powerful, but he wouldn't bet against Harry. He quickly follows the path of destruction through the sitting room, which is empty, to the kitchen, where he discovers James slumping in a chair and staring forlornly at the tablecloth decorated with tiny pumpkins they bought together a week ago for their first Halloween.

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