Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way it's gotta be according to the lawyers.

How You Remind Me

In the grand scheme of things there was very little Teddy wanted to do more than go home, take a shower, possibly eat something to shut up the grumblings in his stomach, and then fall face down on his bed and sleep for the next twenty odd hours. He most definitely had no interest in going by an antique shop to take a look at a possible Black family heirloom, that odds were he wouldn't have even the slightest interest in buying. For that matter it was the very rare piece of her family's history that could even interest his grandmother, and she had actually spent a portion of her life with the Black name. So yes, the fact that he was going to the shop at all had more to do with good manners than any desire Teddy had to look upon something that maybe had once belonged to a family he would have rather not shared blood with if that had been an option. Provided he still had the same grandmother, he mentally amended, as he wouldn't trade her for anyone even if she was very Black sometimes.

Logically Teddy knew that he could have just sent a letter to the shop's owner explaining that having worked non-stop for basically three days in a row, and that he was in no condition to do anything but sleep, but the shop was on his way home and it would bug him, wondering about what had the shop keeper so excited about whatever it was he was going to see. Of course the bloke had obviously convinced himself that there was going to be a sale and therefore money in it for him, but the owner was also a decent chap so…so to hell with it he was dropping by the bloody shop and then going home and likely just sleeping, the rest of it be damned.

Arriving at his destination he took a moment to yawn loud and long enough to crack his jaw before rubbing his hands over his tired face, slapping some color into them, and then reaching for the door handle to let himself in, the cheerful bell that rang in response making Teddy want to rip it off said door and shove it down someone's throat.

Yeah…he really, really needed some sleep before he cursed somebody.

And that someone could very well be the shop owner, the man coming over to him to start yapping away about this wonderful find he had to show him, though most of it just sounded to Teddy like he'd been stuck in a room full of really hyper, really loud Boston terriers and Pomeranians. A nightmare by anyone sane's standards in his books.

Thankfully he apparently could get by with just nodding in response to whatever the man was saying to him, or he was right up until he was given what was probably supposed to be a light shove in the right direction, but instead had him stumbling forward and then, seeing what rested on the easel that had been set up in the back of the shop, he forgot everything but the lone canvas and the person depicted upon it.

"What the hell…."

On some level Teddy knew that the portrait he was looking at was of Regulus Black, he'd seen photographs of that particular ancestor and therefore knew what the teenager had looked like, but he had to be even more sleep deprived than he'd realized because that couldn't be his grandmother's cousin. Regulus Black had never worn the expression he wore in the portrait in his sadly very short and badly lived life. He looked…

Rubbing his eyes again to make sure he wasn't just seeing things, Teddy confirmed that yes, yes Regulus Black had actually been captured smiling, and the look in those dark eyes were, dare he say it, actually soft and possibly even loving? What the fuck?!

"I know, the expression doesn't fit my remembrance of him at all either." The shopkeeper told him, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "But on the back is his full name and the date, it was painted about a year before he died. The artist just did initials, and I don't recognize them or the artist's style by the way. My guess would be it was done by a very talented amateur, a relative or friend perhaps? Generally when the Black family had formal portraits done they were always by well-known artists."

"He's smiling."

"Yes, yes he is."

"He's SMILING!"

Biting down on his bottom lip to hide his amusement, the shopkeeper reminded himself that he'd had a similar reaction, to the point where his wife had been worried he'd been jinxed to say those words over and over again. It was completely understandable given the subject of the artwork. "I thought I'd give you and your grandmother first crack at it, I'd imagine Mrs. Malfoy will want it otherwise."

"I don't know…the smiling thing might be a problem for her." Shaking his head Teddy shoved his hands into his pockets, still unable to wrap his head around what he was seeing. And maybe it was the fact that he was tired and hungry, but he was actually thinking he might just buy the portrait for himself. The more he looked at it the more he felt compelled to buy it. Like it should and was meant to belong to him. Which was strange, especially since he didn't exactly have money to throw around on things he really didn't remotely need…but yeah…he had to have this painting.

"How much?"

Naming his price the shopkeeper wasn't remotely surprised to see the boy's eyes flatten in a way that was very Black, complete with an eye color change for added emphasis. Most people didn't know how to haggle anymore, he thought as he stopped short of rubbing his hands together with glee, but this boy had been raised by one of the best.

This was going to be so much fun.

)

"Teddy…I have lived seventy-nine years, spent seventeen years with Bellatrix for a sister, and tutored your grandfather for a year before marrying him despite his bloodlines and many peculiarities. I've lived through two wars, disownment by my family, the loss of your grandfather and parents, and I have lived in two different centuries and all the changes that come with that…and I don't think I've ever laid eyes on something that's shocked me as much as this portrait."

Wrapping one arm around his grandmother's waist, Teddy nodded in absolute agreement.

"He's smiling. He looks happy and-that's love in his eyes." Andromeda couldn't get over that, especially since they were twins to her own, which meant that that was possibly what she'd looked like which was just disconcerting. "Regulus was only a boy when I left the family, but still…I don't recall him ever smiling like that, much less… You haven't had any luck finding out who the artist is? Because frankly, I'm wondering if he or she just guessed what Regulus would look like with that expression and painted what they imagined."

"That did occur to me and no, no real luck so far." And it was driving him nuts. "I talked to the most art knowledgeable person I know and he didn't recognize the name or the style. I'm hoping to get my hands on the yearbooks from when Regulus was in school, maybe someone in his year did it."

"So a Pureblood with the initials T.P." Tapping her fingers against her side, Andromeda shook her head, hating how her memory was deteriorating the older she got. "The Prewetts might have had a boy close to Regulus's age, I think, and then there were the Princes, the one branch had at least four children around that time if memory serves. Harry's father might have had some second cousins that young, there was also the Parkinsons, and the Podmores."

"It might not have been a Pureblood though, especially if the expression is faked. Maybe someone fancied him and painted it without him even knowing about it. He was pretty gorgeous after all."

"Naturally. He was a Black."

Teddy bit back a grin. "I don't know. Even when I was a kid Narcissa looked like she-"

"Being married to Lucius Malfoy for this long will do that." Interrupting before he said something she'd have to call him on, Andromeda saved them both the lecture and asked instead that he keep her abreast of any new developments when it came to the portrait.

"Of course."

Holding up the last photograph they'd found around the house of Regulus Black, Teddy compared it again, for the billionth time, to the portrait he'd hung up in his office. He'd almost hung it up in his bedroom, but the urge to do that had freaked him out enough that he'd settled for his second most used room.

"He looks so serious and old in this picture." Not physically old, Teddy mentally amended, but there was something about the eyes and the set of the boy-man's jaw that said in his short life Regulus had been forced by nature or circumstances to mature far too quickly.

"I would imagine my aunt and uncle were particularly hard on him after both Sirius and I were disowned. From what I remember he was a very quiet and well behaved child…I hope that smile was one he actually wore towards the end of his life. That he had someone he loved enough to look that way, thinking of them." There was just a hint of grief for her forever teenage cousin in Andromeda's voice, her frail fingers touching the corner of the canvas gently. At the time of the boy's death she'd felt some sorrow at his passing, but he'd been more of a memory than a person in her mind at that point, so there hadn't been true grief until she'd learned how the Death Eater's she'd called cousin had actually died. That he'd died for family and honor, and had done so deliberately and with great bravery…for those reason she could mourn him along with the rest of her beloveds. She could claim him as family with pride.

But looking at him made her feel old and sad, and it was late anyway. It was time for her to go. "You'll eat the food I left for you, you've lost weight again. I'll see you on Sunday for tea."

Nodding in agreement, it wasn't like he could argue since he had forgotten to add a few pounds to his frame before she arrived, Teddy slid the photograph into his trouser pocket and then stated that he'd see her home, not surprised when she shot that down straight off. Treating his grandmother like the elderly woman she actually was was a good way to get yourself turned into something that was easy for her to squash under her foot. She only let him get away with it because she loved him.

So as per usual he was allowed to walk with her to the door and give her a quick hug and kiss good night before Andromeda headed off into the night, back as straight and erect as a steel pole. And then she was gone, and he was once again alone in the house that had once been Regulus Black's.

He hadn't grown up thinking that he would ever want to live in Grimmauld's Place, Teddy thought as he closed the door behind him, because really, who would? But by the time he'd been old enough to move out of his grandmother's house there it had been, his godfather insisting that he have it for free. Harry hadn't wanted it, and he felt that since Teddy had actually been related to the Blacks he should have the place and he'd agreed to just try it out. And damn if he hadn't gone and fallen in love with the place. Of course it had been seriously redecorated since the last Black had lived there, which helped its appeal exponentially. He'd seen the pictures, heard the horror stories many times.

And thinking about that Teddy headed back upstairs and stuck his head into the room that had once been Regulus's Black's bedroom, and had remained untouched through the renovations. But the room had always depressed him so he didn't stay long, closing the door behind him before going into his office and retrieving some of his paperwork to read in bed before turning in for the night. He still hadn't caught up on all the sleep he'd missed even though he'd slept most of the day before going back to the shop to purchase the portrait, since he hadn't had the money on him the night before.

Needless to say Teddy didn't get much work done before he'd decided to call it a night, stashing the paperwork on the bedside table before turning off the lights and closing his eyes as he snuggled under his covers.

And as he drifted off his thoughts turned again to the question of who the painter could have been, and what had been the nature of his relationship to Regulus.

)

Unable to sleep, which was nothing new to him these days, Teddy got up and putting a robe on over his nightclothes headed out of the bedroom that was all his own this year, two of his roommates having dropped out to join the Death Eaters and the other one having left after failing his OWLs two years before. Since he'd been made Head Boy Professor Slughorn had decided that he could keep the room to himself, and while he appreciated the convenience…it was actually sort of lonely, especially when he didn't want to be alone with his thoughts.

If he'd been plagued by the war he knew was coming Teddy supposed he wouldn't feel so bad, but it wasn't that particular worry that was keeping him awake at night these days. This was his last year at Hogwarts…and his life would be over once he left these walls for the last time. He would marry Juliette, save the family fortunes and his younger siblings' futures with her family money, and spend the rest of his life utterly miserable being someone he didn't want to be with someone he didn't want to be with.

Once school was over it was no more art, no more freedom, no more…

Pushing that last thought aside before it could even form into the name or face, Teddy shook his head and then continued towards the Common Room, thinking to find some peace of mind sitting before the fire, soaking in the ambience of this home away from home that connected him to all the people within it. He had been their Prefect and now their Head Boy, they too were his responsibility but one he shouldered gladly, both because that was his nature and because-

Coming to a grinding halt Teddy stared at the figure sitting cross legged in front of the fireplace, wondering in some still working corner of his mind if he was hallucinating, his most forbidden of thoughts coming together to take the form he loved the most. Reaching up he pinched both his cheeks just in case, stepping hastily back into the shadows of the doorway he'd been about to exit when the pain registered, assuring him that he was indeed awake.

And then, when he saw no sign that the other Slytherin had been aware of his presence, Teddy allowed himself to look as he was so rarely allowed to, his calloused and often ink or paint splattered hands literally aching with the need to capture the living art that was Regulus Black.

The blind and stupid at their school said that Regulus wasn't even in his brother's league when it came to looks, but he knew and saw far better than they did. They thought Sirius more handsome because he was like fire, burning bright and hot while constantly needing to be fed adoration and attention to continue to burn. The elder Black shone best with company, while Regulus was the exact opposite. Regulus was beautiful both in the perfection of his features and the fact that his was an untouchable, unattainable brilliance that intimidated or inspired envy in others. He didn't need anyone to shine, and could care less about the adoration or attention of the masses. The true beauty of Regulus Black wasn't about those sharp cheekbones, starlit eyes, or slender form, but the strength and power that lurked beneath the stunning surface he'd been gifted with.

He'd painted and sketched the younger boy countless times over the years…and he'd never come close to capturing that which made Regulus so stunning and special. Not perfect, he wasn't blind, thank Merlin, but he didn't think there would ever be another human being in his life that would capture him so completely.

And realizing that he was an idiot to think that he could stay where he was, Regulus was very observant and might already have sensed his presence and was waiting to see what he was up to, Teddy forced himself to retreat further into the shadows and then turning around headed back down the passageway.

Going straight to his bedroom Teddy turned on the bedside lamp and then went to his trunk, using his wand to open up the secret compartment at the bottom where he kept all his sketchbooks that were not for others' eyes. He couldn't keep any of his personal ones at home, where they could be found by someone else. His sister had found one once, and he'd had to bribe her with so much candy it was still a wonder her teeth hadn't all rotted out of her seven year old head. And thank all the stars in the heavens that he'd only been fifteen at the time, and his obsession with drawing Regulus hadn't been as obvious…or as graphic as it was now. Not that he knew what Regulus looked like nude of course, he wasn't a total pervert, but he was excellent at anatomy if he did say so himself, and he'd spent more time imagining it then he had drawing the previous year, which was saying something.

And flipping through the latest sketch book until he came to a blank page, Teddy sighed and then retrieving a piece of charcoal began sketching the way Regulus had looked in front of the fireplace, the flames providing the only light and loving every dip and hollow of that stunning face.

It was going to be another long night.