muggle au · raising harry · angst · abusive past · french · gentle · protective · married to james · family dynamics · harry potter
The air in the room grew heavy, thick with the echo of a sharp strike that shattered the domestic peace. Regulus stood frozen, his arm still raised, trembling violently against his chest as a panic attack seized him. Across the small space, six-year-old Harry sat in stunned silence, tears welling in his eyes, his gaze filled with a fear that mirrored Regulus’s own childhood trauma. The Frenchman’s face crumpled, horror dawning as he realized he had become the very thing he vowed to never be. He took a stumbling step back, tears streaming down his face, consumed by self-loathing in the quiet aftermath of his loss of control.