Harry Potter 1. Meeting with Dumbledore

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or scenes that you recognize, nor do I gain anything financially by writing about them._

**I hope that you will let me know what you like or don't about the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

An 18 year old Regulus Black made his way through the corridors of the school he had graduated from only a few short months ago. No one noticed him for he had long since become accustomed to fading in with the shadows.

As he approached the gargoyle which blocked the entrance to the headmaster's office, the young death eater became profoundly nervous. Here he was seeking out someone who was perhaps more likely to have him arrested than actually provide him with the information he was searching for. _This is an incredibly stupid idea, _he thought to himself, though he knew there were precious few other options if he hoped to learn more about his supposed master.

After a few false starts Regulus was able to guess the password to the headmaster's office with, 'cockroach cluster.' As the revolving staircase presented itself, he took a few calming breaths and arranged his face into the emotionless mask his parents had taught him to wear since he was a young child. Nervous though he was, he was still a Black and would present himself as such.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs he knocked on the door and was greeted with the headmaster's soft, "Enter".

Regulus did not hesitate to open the door and walk in. If there was anything Regulus Black had extensive experience with, it was following orders. Which is perhaps why he became a death eater in the first place.

"Ah, Mister Black to what do I owe the pleasure?" asked the professor. As the black hair, silver eyed young man walked further into the office, the aging headmaster's expression darkened. Regulus had become remarkably similar looking to his older brother in recent years. However the exact moment the headmaster realized which Black brother was in his office was quite clear. "What could a young death eater such as yourself possibly want from me?" Dumbledore continued.

"I come in peace professor, I am seeking only information that will be difficult to acquire elsewhere," Regulus answered with far more confidence than he felt.

"Well it is clear you have no ill intent towards anyone at Hogwarts at this time, as you were able to make it onto the grounds without the need of a visit to St. Mungo's. The wards placed here are very complex and specific in who they will allow admittance. For someone branded with the dark mark to have been allowed in is both curious and more than a little unsettling." The professor stated the last part almost more to himself than to Regulus. "What is the nature of the information in which you seek Mr. Black?"

Regulus vaguely considered pointing out to the headmaster that he had been allowed onto the grounds with the dark mark while a student, but refrained. Admitting that would not help anything. Instead he stated,

"I wish to know everything you can tell me about Lord Voldemort, sir."

"A death eater who dares to speak his master's name, how curious indeed. Could it be that you are having doubts as to where your loyalties lie, Mr. Black?"

"My loyalties are my own, sir. I am simply inquiring about history. Who was he before he became known as Lord Voldemort? Where did he grow up? Who were his parents? Anything and everything you can tell me would be helpful."

Dumbledore steepled his fingers and silently observed Regulus with his piercing gaze for a long time. Regulus resignedly took the chair opposite the headmaster's while enduring his scrutiny. He regretted doing so immediately though, as it only intensified the feeling that he was a misbehaving student about to receive detention. As the silence proceeded well past awkward, Regulus forced himselif not to break the silence between them. After what felt like ages, Dumbledore finally seemed to reach a decision.

"Normally I would not provide any information to someone who could use it against the regime that is fighting Voldemort, however, I can't see how the information you are requesting could harm our efforts. It may actually benefit you to know more about the one you have vowed allegiance to. I am sure you are aware that Voldemort is a master legilimens. I don't imagine he will take too kindly to anyone looking into his heritage," Dumbledore remarked with an ironic smile.

"No need to worry about that professor. Sirius and I were tutored in the mind arts beginning when I was seven years old. Anything I want to hide I will be able to," _unless Voldemort deems that I am no longer a faithful servant and tortures me into madness. He could get anything he wanted to know at that point. _Regulus silently finished to himself.

"Very well then, Mr. Black. I will share with you what I know with the condition that you will keep what I tell you to yourself. After all, it would not please Voldemort to find out how much I know of his past, nor that you inquired about him, I daresay."

As Regulus gave a terse nod, so began the tale of Tom Riddle. From his humble beginnings as the son of a near squib pureblood in Merope Gaunt. How she hoodwinked a muggle into marriage (Regulus let out a bark of laughter upon hearing the leader of pureblood supremacy was a half blood). Tom Riddle Sr's abandonment of Merope when she was pregnant with Tom Riddle Jr. Riddle Jr. having been born and raised in a muggle orphanage.

The speculation that the children in the orphanage were afraid of Riddle, and the fact that he had control over his magic before even learning he was a wizard seemed to indicate that he had been manipulating the muggle children that resided there.

Dumbledore then skipped ahead a few years in his tale to the suspicious murder of Tom Riddle Sr. and his parents during Tom Riddle Jr's 7th year at Hogwarts. How he had requested a teaching position upon graduating, which was declined. That he turned down several apprenticeship opportunities and instead took a position at Borgin and Burkes before returning to Hogwarts to apply yet again for the DADA position. To Dumbledore's surprise it was Riddle's former job with Borgin and Burkes that piqued Regulus' attention.

"Did he seem to have an appreciation for objects of historical value then?"

"He was a bit of a collector of trinkets it would seem. He had been caught stealing things from the other children at his orphanage."

"What about the Gaunt family? You said all of the family money had been squandered long before Merope came about. Were there any family heirlooms that may have been in their possession? Anything of historical value?"

"Any particular reason you ask?"

"Only out of curiosity," Regulus lied thinking of the locket in the cave Kreacher had told him about. Looking up he saw that Dumbledore was looking at him skeptically. He smiled charmingly before adding, "I too have an appreciation for historical artifacts, sir."

Dumbledore seemed to ponder this for a few moments before responding,

"Despite having lived in shambles, I'm inclined to think that if the Gaunt's owned any valuable family heirlooms they would have kept them. They were very proud of their blood purity and heritage. There is a locket that belonged to Salazar Slytherin, whom the Gaunts are directly descended from, however as to the location of the locket I do not know."

Regulus mentally smiled at this. He had a pretty good idea of where that locket was.

On a hunch he asked, "What of the other founders? Are there any artifacts of theirs that have survived over the years?"

After learning about a certain cup of Helga Hufflepuff - which fit the description of a cup his cousin Bellatrix had bragged to him of, 'Having the honor of being asked to keep safe by The Dark Lord himself!', a long lost diadem of Ravenclaw and learning that the only remaining artifact of Gryffindor was a century ago lost sword, Regulus bid his farewell to his former headmaster.

Just as Regulus was about to descend the staircase Dumbledore spoke again, "Mr. Black, are you sure there isn't anything further you wish to discuss? Perhaps I could be of more assistance to you if you told me what instigated your interest into Tom Riddle's past."

"No, sir, nothing at all. I seek knowledge simply for the sake of the knowledge itself. Perhaps you remember it was often suggested that I would have made a good Ravenclaw?" Regulus asked evasively.

"Yes, of course I remember. Professor Flitwick was especially put out not to have had you in his house. However, Mr. Black, I feel it prudent to tell you that there are means to protect you, should you find that your loyalties have shifted," Dumbledore tried again. He very much wanted to find out what had triggered this meeting. The Black family was notoriously secretive and it was obvious that its youngest member was hiding something.

"That won't be necessary, sir. That was not what this meeting was about," Regulus answered as he stood and made his way towards the door. "I appreciate you entertaining my questions this evening. Good night, sir," Regulus bid him as he left the office rather abruptly.

"Good night, Mr. Black," Dumbledore intoned as the door closed behind his former pupil.


	2. Regulus' Musings

Regulus Black sat elegantly in an arm chair near the fireplace in the expansive Black family library. So immersed he was in his books he did not immediately notice Kreacher's sudden appearance. It was only after the house elf placed a tray of sandwiches and a cup of warm tea on the nearby table that Regulus became aware of his presence,

"Hello Kreacher."

"Master Regulus forgets to eat. Kreacher brings food so that Master does not have to stop his research. Master is much too thin. Kreacher wishes Master would eat more," the small house elf stated sadly with his oversized ears drooping.

Regulus had in fact forgotten to eat, something that had become increasingly less uncommon of late. He was also painfully aware that Kreacher was likely the only one in the house who truly cared about him. Hell, the elf had practically raised him. It was for this reason that Regulus did his best to make him feel appreciated.

"So a compromise it is then," Regulus replied with a smile, while reaching for a sandwich. "Thank you Kreacher."

The house elf smiled brilliantly for a moment before seeing which book the Black heir was reading and then frowning,

"Master is researching the charm to make the dark mark again?"

"Yes, Kreacher. The link I have with the Dark Lord is truly fascinating. I wish to know all I can about it."

"The last time Master researched his mark, Master threw books"

"Ah, not my finest moment, Kreacher," Regulus grinned. "It is nothing to worry about though I assure you. I certainly have no plans to throw anything today, however, since you are worried, you may be dismissed. Thank you again for lunch, Kreacher."

Kreacher bowed before leaving the library. What Kreacher said was true, Regulus mused. Immediately after being branded with the dark mark, researching all he could about the different variations of the Protean charm had become an obsession of his.

However, the more he delved into his research, the less enthralled the Black heir became with his new master. While he did not think himself quite as vain as his brother, he did feel that the mark was incredibly unattractive. More importantly, he knew it would be inconvenient for anyone trying to pass for a regular citizen. It was only a matter of time now before the existence of the mark would become common knowledge to the aurors. Only time would tell how much more difficult that would make his life. Not to mention it burned like hell whenever he was summoned, and prickled annoyingly anytime the Dark Lord was in a particularly bad mood, which seemed to be most of the time.

Regulus had first began his research out of fascination for anything and everything that encompassed being a death eater and the Dark Lord himself. He thought at the time that his interest in discovering all he could about the mark was likely reciprocated by the other more clever death eaters and even considered asking his cousin what she had learned about it. Blessedly he had decided to wait until he had a reasonable amount of information on the charm before broaching the subject.

It was during the time of his quiet research and observation of the others that he began to realize the majority of the death eaters were nothing but sheep. They did anything asked of them without a single thought for themselves. It was disgusting and often times plain cowardly. Of course the alternative was to be tortured brutally, usually with an audience so as to make an example of what the price of insolence was…so he couldn't completely blame them. Still he couldn't help but wish that others would do more thinking for themselves and conduct their own research. If they did they would find out some of the same things Regulus learned. Such as the fact that the mark drains bits of magic from all who are branded. The leached magic is supplied to the castor, in this case Voldemort, thus making all of his followers magically weaker than before they joined his ranks. As the majority of death eaters joined with ambition to become more powerful, Regulus had his doubts that many others had come to this realization.

Regulus himself became more than a little disgusted with what all else the mark entailed, concluding that Voldemort designed his charm in such a way that no wizard other than Voldemort himself could remove it. It was also painful, not because it actually had to be, but because Voldemort was a sadistic bastard that enjoyed inflicting pain on others regardless of whether they were loyal to his cause or not.

Regulus had then decided he probably was in fact the only death eater who bothered to research the extensiveness of the charm behind the mark they all wore on their left forearms. Had any of them been aware of the limitations their marks bestowed upon them, some would likely have exemplified more mutinous tendencies. Of course Regulus had enough self-preservation to keep his mouth shut on his findings. Thus the other death eaters remained in the dark and therefore continued to be enamored with the Dark Lord. The majority of them would kill anyone without hesitation should anyone dare accuse Voldemort of such indiscretions towards his followers. Regulus gave up his research shortly after making these connections.

Then came the incident. Near the end of the first meeting following Regulus' graduation from Hogwarts, Voldemort stated that he was in need of an elf. By this time Regulus had become nervous that his loyalties would soon be tested and promptly offered Kreacher up for the task. He ordered Kreacher to do exactly as Voldemort said and then to come straight home afterwards. While he was nervous for his beloved house elf, he foolishly did not think Voldemort would actually harm Kreacher, as he had implied that he would merely be borrowing the elf. However several hours later found a nervous Regulus pacing in his room waiting for the return of said house elf. Regulus finally gave up and, consequences be damned, summoned Kreacher. A soaking wet, gasping for breath and completely distraught Kreacher apparated in front of him.

After the conjuring of some warm tea and blankets and much patience from Regulus, Kreacher was able to tell his story. Perhaps even worse than the awful potion Kreacher was forced to drink that made him feel as if he were burning from the inside out was the monologue he had had to endure. The elf had had no choice but to listen as Voldemort bragged about how he had cleverly managed to turn his ancestor's locket into a horcrux, of all things. He 'complimented' Kreacher, for 'what an honor it is to assist in the testing of the protections surrounding The Dark Lord's horcrux'. Voldemort then fell into a fit a laughter before climbing into a boat and sailing away leaving Kreacher behind on an island to die. Or so he thought. Honestly did the man know nothing about elf magic?

After Regulus managed to get Kreacher to sleep he vowed to himself that he would never excessively harm an innocent being, simply because Voldemort told him to. If someone was attacking him sure, that would be self-defense, but more often than not the murders and torture carried out by the death eaters were not calculated or even for the benefit of their supposed cause. They were often random, and designed as fear tactics for those not sympathetic to their cause. It was not uncommon for the attacks to be simply in retaliation of someone having insulted Voldemort's rather fragile ego.

Regulus had been successful thus far with keeping his hands relatively clean. He had not been given a direct order to cast an unforgiveable and had avoided using them so far. Having joined the death eaters when he was sixteen, he had still had 'the trace' on him. He could not have gone about casting unforgiveables or other excessively dark magic then without alerting the ministry not only that he was death eater but also the location of where the death eaters happened to be attacking. When Regulus turned seventeen he was still in his last year at Hogwarts and thus still under the ever watchful eye of Dumbledore. He was often nothing more than a tag along at many of the raids he went to, standing guard or occasionally casting anti-apparition wards. While Regulus feigned exasperation for being 'useless' to the cause during this time, he was secretly grateful for the reprieve.

The majority of other death eaters more than made up for his lack of blood lust and cast their curses with flourish. While Regulus was well aware that standing by and allowing others to partake in such cruelty was wrong, cowardly even, he already knew he was no hero. What worried him most was that he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be given a direct order that would go against what his conscience told him was acceptable. This would force him to leave the gray area for which he had been treading since joining the death eaters, and perhaps even before then. As it stood, he knew there were some orders he would rather die than fulfill. Which was appropriate seeing as some of the things he was considering doing would likely result in his death. Despite this, he felt his chances of survival went up substantially if he could find a way to properly alter the dark mark branded into his forearm.

As Regulus continued to become ever less enamored with the Dark Lord, he also became more pensive of the disparities between his family's beliefs and hard facts. For instance, his cousin Andromeda had married a mudblood and was blasted off of the family tapestry because of it. His parents were convinced any spawn of that union would be squibs for certain. That did not hold true as Regulus had since learned that his cousin and her husband had a daughter, now around five years old. Not only is this young half- blood undoubtedly a witch, but also a metamorphagus. A trait that traditionally ran prominently in the Black family gene pool, though it had not been seen in over a century. His mother became quite infuriated with him when he pointed this out to her.

Once some of Regulus' anger subsided following the cave incident, Regulus found his mind wandering back to his research on the Protean charm. After Voldemort's gross underestimation of Kreacher's abilities, Regulus thought it likely that Voldemort may have discounted other magical creature's abilities as well. While no wizard could remove his mark, he thought it possible other magical beings would not have such restrictions. He did not want to involve Kreacher as it was in everyone's best interest if he were continued to be believed dead, especially by Voldemort. Not to mention the elf had become quite twitchy since that particular incident.

Regulus had since been researching goblin magic. This is what had led Regulus to be in the library on this day. He had been cross referencing what he could find in the library on goblin magic with what he had already researched regarding the Protean charm. After finding nothing to contradict his theory that goblins may be able to manipulate the mark, Regulus wrote a quick letter to the Black account manager at Gringott's requesting a meeting. The goblins would not take a side in the war but he was confident that should he, the heir to the largest fortune in Britain, request help he would get it - for a steep price, but help nonetheless.

Feeling lighter than he had in weeks Regulus went upstairs to the owl room where he greeted his beautiful eagle owl, Vega. After gingerly stroking her feathers for a moment and explaining where his letter needed to go, he gently attached the letter and sent her on her way.


	3. Meetings

One week after sending his letter to Gringotts found Regulus Black leaving a meeting with his account manager, Ragnok, overloaded with information and more than a little nervous. His theory had been that the goblins would not be able to remove the dark mark entirely but may be able to transfer it to another vessel. According to Ragnok, his theory was correct. An ancient ritual could be performed by the goblins to transfer the mark. The problem was that the vessel most likely to accept the transfer would be another living wizard, as that was what the original charm was designed for.

This was problematic for several reasons. The first being that no one would ever volunteer for such a ridiculous suicide mission, (not to mention that Regulus would never lower himself to ask anyone for help on such a level). Another option was to lure a wizard to the ritual site and then overpower them with the imperious curse or by similar means. However, Regulus felt that if he was willing to inflict the wrath of Voldemort onto another individual in that way then he truly did belong with the death eaters. After all, what could invoke more torture on an individual than bearing the message that not only had one of the death eaters defected, but they had also found means to rid themselves of the dark mark altogether. Regulus was interested in a much more subtle betrayal. Transferring the mark to another individual could never be hidden forever. Even if said person ignored being summoned, eventually the Dark Lord would go after them. By use of the mark to trace their location, he would discover the transfer. No, this was not an option for Regulus.

Knowing that Ragnok was sworn by oath to secrecy for all matters concerning the Black's affairs, Regulus asked Ragnok if the mark could be transferred to any other soul containing vessels. Ragnok alluded that there were a couple of objects that might work, but that they were extremely rare and even more dark. Thinking that description seemed fitting, he asked whether a horcrux was one of those items. At first Ragnok was horrified that Regulus had asked this, having drawn the conclusion that Regulus had already or was at least planning to make one. After assuring the goblin that this was not the case, the goblin calmed down considerably.

Ragnok then explained that a horcrux did hold some of the properties required for the transfer. However, the volatile nature of a horcrux would likely cause it to fight off any external manipulations. Ragnok further explained that success would be far more likely if it was the first horcrux made by a particular wizard. With each new horcrux creation the soul would become even less stable, thereby making each new horcrux even more volatile than the last. At the conclusion of their meeting Ragnok stated that he could make no guarantees to anything, except that the process would be very painful. Ragnok also cautioned that while it was possible that all would go without a hitch, the Black heir really should consider this option only as a last resort.

Regulus had just about reached The Leaky Cauldron when he felt his mark burn signaling a summons from the Dark Lord. He quickly apparated to their meeting place.

* * *

Sirius Black was lounging back so far in his chair that the two front legs were off of the ground. They had all been gathered for a meeting of The Order of the Phoenix. This time the meeting was being held at Hogwarts in the Headmaster's office as the majority of students were home for the Christmas holidays.

Right now he was listening to a report being given by the Prewett twins about the casualties of the most recent death eater attacks. It was incredibly frustrating. It seemed every time they were called into a fight with the death eaters they were too late to provide any real assistance. The death eaters worked quickly enough and were destructive enough that the damage in most cases had already been done prior to when any Order members arrived on the scene. If the death eaters were a step ahead of the Order, they were leaps and bounds ahead of the ministry, who practically turned a blind eye on the doings of the death eaters these days.

After another speech about 'constant vigilance' the meeting was adjourned. While some of the members left, many had congregated with the intent of walking into Hogsmeade together for a few drinks. Sirius was in the latter group. Just as the group was leaving Sirius felt as if someone was watching him. Turning around abruptly, he found Dumbledore watching him rather intently.

"Good evening Mr. Black," the headmaster called. "I wondered if you would mind to hang back for a moment. It will not take but a moment and then you will be free to enjoy your evening as you wish.

"Sure thing Professor," Sirius answered bemusedly. It was usually James or Remus that Dumbledore requested to meet with in private.

After a quick exchange with the other marauders and Lily, Sirius took a seat opposite Dumbledore's desk feeling very much like a marauder awaiting sentencing.

Once the rest of the Order filed out of the office, Professor Dumbledore spoke,

"Mr. Black I'm sure you are wondering why I have asked you to meet with me this evening."

Sirius nodded at this statement. Dumbledore steepled his fingers and observed his former student for a moment before continuing,

"I wondered whether you might have been in contact with your brother recently."

Whatever Sirius was expecting, it wasn't that, "R-Regulus?"

"That is your brother is it not?" Dumbledore replied amusedly.

This however angered Sirius and he immediately became defensive.

"Only by birth, sir. No I haven't spoken to Regulus since I moved out of our parents' house when I was sixteen."

"What a shame that is dear boy. I fear this war is hardest for those whose families are split-" Dumbledore began sadly before being interrupted.

"Regulus is not my family, I was disowned. James is the only brother I've ever had worth mentioning. After I was sorted into Gryffindor our dear parents did all they could to ensure their precious Regulus did not follow in my footsteps. He was thoroughly brainwashed and ready to become the next perfect pureblood Slytherin and future death eater before I returned home for the summer that year.

"Surely you must regret-"

"No, sir. I don't," A part of his heart ached knowing he was lying to the headmaster and maybe even to himself but he carried on as if he did not notice. "I left him behind along with my parents. They constantly compared me to him, their perfect son. He's always done exactly what they wanted him to do. It's no wonder that he should make a good little death eater. He's been mindlessly following orders his entire life. Not that he minds it. I can just see him casting unforgiveables on anyone who annoys him. It would only be fitting, he always did favor Bellatrix and Narcissa over me."

Dumbledore listened to the younger man's tirade with an unreadable expression. After a moment Sirius seemed to remember he was speaking with his former headmaster and not with James or Peter and immediately became embarrassed over his outburst.

"So, um was there a reason you asked about Regulus, sir?"

At that moment there was a loud knock on office door.


	4. Portkey and Other Things

Regulus walked purposefully into the red brick and rather condemned looking building, known by wizards to be _St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries._ He ignored the reception desk and went immediately to the elevator and up to the second floor.

When the elevator stopped at his destination, a woman's voice announced, "Second Floor: Magical Bugs and Diseases". He quickly stepped out of the elevator, turned left and continued down the hall until another desk came into view. To this one, Regulus paid more attention as he glimpsed an aged healer talking with a brunette apprentice, whom Regulus recognized as his ex-girlfriend, Rachel Candor.

Rather than announce himself, Regulus discreetly made his way into an adjoining corridor where he could observe the pair unnoticed. Fortunately, he did not have to wait long before an opportunity to catch Rachel by herself presented itself. It was a good thing too, for it was only a matter of time before more death eaters would begin showing up, no doubt making his situation even more difficult.

It was also fortunate, and a bit ironic that Regulus had known almost exactly where Rachel would be, for they had memorized the first year itinerary for healing apprenticeships together the year before. He mused that if things had been a little different, he likely would have been training at the hospital now himself_,_ rather than hiding in the shadows.

When he had been younger he had studied all he could about healing magic and had had every intention to enter an apprenticeship once he left Hogwarts. His parents had even approved of his aspirations at first, which was surprising seeing as they so rarely approved of anything actually worthy of approval.

That all changed when Sirius moved out, taking any hope of Regulus becoming a healer with him. As the newly established heir of the family, his father told him that he would be far too busy managing the Black's affairs to hold any job as demanding as that of a mediwizard. His mother told him it would be shameful for the heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to pursue a career at all. "It would look as if the Black family is not successful enough to thrive on our own investments," she had insisted.

Regulus may have considered pursuing healing despite his parent's wishes had he not joined the death eaters. As it was he doubted he could have handled the responsibilities of an apprenticeship in his current… position. That didn't stop him from taking all of the classes he would have needed to enter the program while he was at Hogwarts. He had excelled in all subjects and finished second in his year, only after the young woman he was now quietly observing.

As Regulus watched her he couldn't help the feeling of melancholy that swept over him. He was too far away to hear what she and the mediwizard were discussing, but it was obvious she was listening with rapt attention, desperate not to miss any details. He knew that look well as he had seen it often in classes and when they had studied together.

Regulus was pulled out of his own thoughts when Rachel began walking in his general direction. Unaware of his presence, she nearly screamed out when he grabbed her arm, but caught herself when she recognized who it was that had grabbed her. Her mouth opened into small "o" as she stared at him. He could hardly blame her for being surprised. Aside from having been grabbed by someone lurking in the shadows, the last time they had seen each other had been six months ago- when they had broken up.

In truth, they never should have been together in the first place. He was already a death eater by the time they had gotten together and she did not share his views on pureblood supremacy. They both knew their relationship had an expiration date as neither of their parents would ever approve of the other. That didn't stop them from dating from their second term of sixth year until graduation.

Regulus attempted to smile at her, though he suspected it probably looked more like a grimace. After what felt like an indecent amount of time though it had only actually been a brief moment, Regulus opened his mouth to say something in hope of easing some of the awkwardness of the situation.

Before he could utter more than a few syllables though, he was interrupted by the sounds of screaming and obvious destruction from the first floor. Recalling his purpose for being there in the first place, he unceremoniously shoved a galleon into her palm, before bolting down the hallway presumably to join the fray. A bewildered Rachel stared after him failing to notice that the galleon in her hand had begun to glow blue. She did not even realize she was holding a portkey until after she felt herself being pulled away from the hospital.

* * *

Regulus burst through the door to the stairwell, nearly crashing into two masked death eaters as he did so. The older of the two wasted no time before berating him,

"Where have you been? We are supposed to get in and out of here before anyone notices us!"

"I've been waiting on you. And really, Rabastan? What was all of that racket from a minute ago then?"

"Oh, ha I saw a Hufflepuff mudblood from my year downstairs. Couldn't resist."

The third member of their trio was Regulus' best friend, Evan Rosier- or at least he would have been considered a friend, if such sentiments weren't regarded as weakness.

Regulus had been taught, as most purebloods were, that it was more important to have alliances than friendships. As friendships were rooted in emotion, they often became a liability when tough decisions had to be made. According to his father's lessons, nothing could make anyone more powerful in their society than strong alliances- except perhaps gold.

It was likely due to these standard pureblood teachings that so few actual friendships existed among those sorted in Slytherin- even less so for those who were now death eaters. It wasn't surprising really. Not when they had all been taught to conceal their emotions so completely.

At any rate, Regulus' closest 'alliance' was looking at him rather intently at the moment, though his expression was indecipherable through the mask he wore. Evan had remained silent during his comrades' exchange, but had likely figured out the real reason for Regulus' absence as only he could. Evan was one of very few people that knew of Regulus' past relationship with Rachel. Fortunately, Regulus knew he could trust Evan, whether he was technically supposed to or not.

Ignoring Evan's look and Rabastan's continued beratement, Regulus refocused on their mission. They were to capture a highly esteemed Mediwizard, Healer Brocklehurst, from the curse breaker unit. They were to disarm him and then send him directly to the headquarters via portkey. The abducted healer will then be given the 'option' of joining the death eaters and using his expertise however Voldemort sees fit, or else be murdered by him. Throughout the hospital other death eaters were attempting to accomplish similar feats with their own assigned healers.

A second group of death eaters were scheduled to make an appearance at any moment. That group did not have to be as stealthy as the first, as the healers that were to be abducted should already be gone by the time the second group arrives. The intent of the second group of death eaters was to cause as much damage to the hospital and its occupants as possible- thereby making the loss of St Mungos' best healers all the greater. Regulus thought the entire plan to be rather sickening, but followed his comrades up the stairs all the same.

Upon entering the curse unit it was obvious their presence in the hospital had not gone unnoticed. There was no one in sight and it was eerily quiet. The trio kept to the shadows as much as possible. They crept silently through the unit searching for their assigned victim. It appeared all of the residents of the ward had been magically sealed into their rooms. Regulus was relieved that neither of his companions seemed inclined to further harm any of them, at least for the time being. That relief was short lived though, as the familiar cackle belonging to his cousin, Bellatrix, could suddenly be heard echoing from around the corner.

The trio quickly followed the screams of agony that could only have been elicited from one experiencing the torture of the cruciatus curse. When they made their way around the next corner they were able to glimpse the unfortunate individual Bellatrix had found to entertain herself with. Regulus vaguely recognized the male as a former Ravenclaw who graduated sometime in the past couple of years, though he could not recall his name. Judging by his robes, the boy was a healer's apprentice. Secure in the knowledge that nothing could be done to help the poor bloke in Bella's clutches, Regulus signaled for his comrades to follow him. They were running out of time to fulfill their mission.

After continuing to scour the unit the muggle way for a few more minutes, Regulus gave up and cast,

"Homenum Revelio."

Rays of light shot from the end of his wand and wrapped around his own silhouette as well as Rabastan and Evan. Additional beams of light traveled to their left and into what looked like a closet.

Rabastan pointed his wand at said door and cast, "Bombarda," causing an explosion of splintered wood to go flying in all directions.

* * *

Rachel looked around herself for a moment before recognizing her new location was just outside the gates of Hogwarts. Not having had contact with Regulus for the past six months she was unsure whether his choice in location had any significance. It was most likely the only place he could send her where he knew for certain that she would be safe. Not wanting to linger outside in the middle of winter and desperate to learn what was going on at the hospital, Rachel made haste up to the castle.

As she walked she thought about what had just happened. She had become very close with many of the other apprentices and some of the healers. She hoped that none of them would be seriously injured. She was hopeful Regulus was just being overly cautious in sending her away. He was fiercely protective when it came to those he cared about. The more she thought about the events of the past half hour she became increasingly worried for Regulus. She knew there were rather severe punishments for anyone who disobeyed orders from Voldemort. Somehow she didn't think he had been given orders to send a blood-traitor- healing-apprentice to Hogwart's on what was most likely an unauthorized portkey.

Upon reaching the castle, Rachel made her way through the corridors, heading in the general direction of Dumbledore's office. Having not seen anyone apart from students, she approached a certain gargoyle. After guessing the password on her second try she wondered not for the first time whether the esteemed headmaster was entirely sane. He was certainly lax on his own security. No one she knew ever had any trouble guessing the candy of the week to gain access to his office.

As she ascended up the staircase she couldn't help but overhear the raised voice of none other than Sirius Black. The arrogant git was spouting off all sorts of slander about his brother… literally ten seconds after admitting he had not spoken to Reg in nearly four years. Really? How the hell would he even know what his brother is like?

Rachel took a moment to bury her ill feelings towards the idiotic brother on the other side of the door before knocking confidently.

She heard the headmaster's response of "enter" and made her way into the office.

"Ah, good evening Ms. Candor, what a pleasant surprise. Is there something I can help you with or were you merely feeling nostalgic and in want of a visit to your former school this evening?" Dumbledore greeted politely.

Sirius took one look at the girl who walked in and immediately had to fight a blush from creeping onto his cheeks. He was looking at the only girl in history that he had ever unsuccessfully asked out. It wouldn't have been a big deal if she would have politely told him she wasn't interested or that she had a boyfriend. He could have accepted that. Sure he probably would have asked her twenty questions as to why she wasn't interested when every other girl in the entire school was falling over themselves to be with him- but he would have gotten over it. In fact any other form of rejection he was pretty sure he would have gotten over by now. But not Candor's.

She had laughed. Not just a nervous giggle, but as if his proposition had been genuinely amusing to her. Oh sure, it was only for a moment and then she immediately tried to apologize for it. "You just surprised me that's all," she had said. What was so bloody surprising about him asking her out? She was nice to look at, and it wasn't exactly a secret that he enjoyed the company of pretty girls.

Naturally he thought she had just been embarrassed or something, she probably didn't get asked out very often being a Ravenclaw and all. So he asked her, "so was that a yes then?" She promptly made up all sorts of ridiculous excuses about having plans to study and some other such rubbish. He wasn't really listening to her by that point. He had just been turned down for the first and possibly only time in his life. He had rather hoped he would never see her again after graduating, yet here she was.

Due to his slight emotional upheaval caused by Candor's arrival, Sirius missed the conversation that transpired between the other two in the room. However Sirius was pulled out of his musings when he saw Professor Dumbledore approach one the many portraits on the wall and overheard him begin discussing an attack at St Mungos. He swiftly jumped out of his seat and faced the newest arrival,

"What's going on at St Mungo's?" he demanded.

"I take it you weren't listening then?" Rachel asked, somewhat exasperated. He had been sitting right beside her when she recounted what had happened to Dumbledore. How had he missed it?

"What's going on? Sirius demanded again.

Rachel raised an elegant eyebrow before responding cooly, "Death eater attack. Professor Dumbledore is trying to find out-"

"I'm going."

"What? Professor Dumbledore is trying to find out more of what's going on before he sends anyone out."

"I'm going. Now. This is why we can never catch the death eaters doing anything. We take too bloody long trying to get details."

"You should at least wait for back-up-" Rachel tried again but Sirius was already halfway out the door.

* * *

**A/N- This will not be Regulus x OC x Sirius.**


	5. Brotherly Love

Regulus, Evan and Rabastan approached the site of explosion to find three figures huddled together in the closet. The three victims had all inflicted various levels of injury resulting from Rabastan's spell. Evan quickly disarmed the unfortunate trio. The wizard in lime green robes was quickly identified as Healer Brocklehurst. The remaining witch and wizard were not wearing distinguishing colored robes to identify their status. Not feeling like dealing with them otherwise, Regulus quickly bound them with a nonverbal, "incarcerous," and prepared to portkey away with Healer Brockelhurst.

Just as the portkey had been activated, a new presence made itself known. Regulus was forced to dive to the floor to avoid a flash of red light that had been coming straight at him. He quickly regained his balance, only to have to dodge another string of hexes. After casting a strong shield around himself, Regulus was able to identify that his attacker happened to be his brother.

Regulus absently wondered whether Sirius knew who he was when he began his assault or if it had been a coincidence. He suspected the latter as it seemed Evan had also been forced to let go of the portkey. Regulus was relieved Rabastan had managed to leave with Healer Brockelhurst. The younger Lestrange brother would not have hesitated before throwing killing curses with flourish.

Having missed their portkey, Evan and Regulus had no choice but to actively engage in battle with Sirius. They were fairly evenly matched 2 against 1, partly because Sirius was an excellent duelist. It also didn't hurt that Evan was taking a cue from Regulus and not using any excessively damaging spells on the older Black. Knowing the anti-apparition wards were still firmly in place, Regulus and Evan began discreetly inching their way towards the emergency exit of the building. They would have to make their escape the muggle way if the wards weren't lifted soon. Regulus usually had contingency plans for situations like these, however this time he had given his emergency portkey to Rachel and hadn't had time to make another.

Just as Regulus was approaching the exit of the curse unit, his way became blocked. Thinking it likely to be more members of the Order, he cast a silent shield around himself. He was surprised then when half a dozen fellow death eaters stormed into the ward. Where was Sirius' backup? Surely he did not come here alone... Dawning horror settled in the pit of Regulus' stomach as he realized that it would not be out of character for Sirius to have done just that. Likely he had become frustrated with the lack of success the Order and ministry were having with reprehending death eaters and decided to take a more active approach.

Sirius had always acted rashly. It was going to get him into serious trouble one of these days…today apparently. Regulus had thought his brother must have improved his sense of self-preservation seeing as he had managed to survive the war over the past couple years. Clearly Regulus was wrong, Sirius remained as Gryffindor as ever.

Bellatrix seemed to have sensed the impending doom of her most hated cousin and decided to join the gathering.

"Well, well. If it isn't my dearest cousin. Aren't we in a predicament? What has become of the other pathetic vigilantes?" Bellatrix taunted as she stalked towards Sirius. The other death eaters formed a circle around him and several tried to disarm him at the same time causing his wand to fly across the room and out of sight.

"Bellatrix, how lovely to see you. You know it really has been too long. I must say the pictures of you in, _The Prophet,_ do you no justice. You appear far more deranged in person," Sirius replied in what would have been a charming tone had the words not been disdainful.

Regulus rolled his eyes at that knowing his mask would cover it. Leave it Sirius to taunt the most sadistic of the group when he was already outnumbered 9 to 1. Why not throw insult to injury? Though to be fair he did have a point. Bellatrix's hair was as wild as ever and she was covered in a disturbing amount of someone else's blood. She did in fact look quite deranged. Regulus had to fight off a snort of laughter at that realization. What was wrong with him? Oh right he was about to witness the brutal murder of his only brother. What could be worse than that? His downward spiral of thoughts were interrupted when he realized his cousin was addressing him now.

"Reggie, I think it only fitting for you to be the one to teach Sirius his place, don't you?"

'Ah, so things could get worse. Fantastic,' Regulus thought derisively. Sirius was now starring daggers at him as Bellatrix had effectively blown his cover. He discreetly cast a non-verbal, 'silencio,' on his brother. Nothing Sirius said in this situation would help anyone.

"Perhaps that would be fitting. However, I am of the impression The Dark Lord believes it only a matter of time before Sirius comes to his senses and requests the honor of joining our ranks," Regulus drawled while attempting to sound regretful of having to pass on an opportunity to torture his brother. He must have succeeded because Sirius' glare became even more deadly. A feat Regulus would not have thought possible had he not witnessed it himself,

"I fear antagonizing dear Sirius would only further blind him to the truth of where his loyalties should lie," Regulus continued.

"Always the voice of reason, Reggie!" Bellatrix cackled. "Very well then, only a brief demonstration of what awaits him should he continue denying his legacy then. After all, The Dark Lord has been extremely patient when it comes to you, Sirius. I warn you now his patience is wearing thin. Crucio."

Thankfully no one seemed to notice the delay between when the curse was cast and when Sirius' screams rang out. Regulus was so relieved not to have been ordered to kill his brother he almost forgot to lift his silencing spell.

While he certainly did not enjoy watching his brother writher in agony, Regulus couldn't help but think of the encounter as a success when he considered how much differently things could have gone.

A few moments later all of the death eaters flinched as their left forearms began to burn painfully. Immediately after, the air shifted signaling that the anti-apparition wards had been lifted. All of the death eaters immediately apparated back to their master. Sirius missed the synchronism of their actions as his eyes were tightly shut as he laid convulsing on the floor. It was in this position that the other Order members would find him a short time later.


	6. Holiday Party

With a soft pop, Regulus appeared suddenly in front of the iron gates of Lestrange Manor. After taking a moment to evaluate his surroundings he quickly walked up the path leading to a rather sinister looking mansion. After the formal greetings customary of such an occasion were made, Regulus promptly approached the nearest house elf and politely accepted the strongest drink proffered. He had a feeling he would need it this evening. These walls were sure to play host to only the most elite, and thereby most obnoxious members of pureblood society. He always did loathe holiday parties.

Drink safely in hand, and careful to avoid the plentiful amounts of mistletoe strewn about, the Black heir took off in search of anyone he could tolerate having a conversation with. It was a much more difficult task than most would expect of him for he could play the role of a perfect pureblood prince well- when he wanted to.

"Rosier, you look like hell," he smirked as he plopped down beside Evan on the couch rather carelessly.

During the years in which he had been the spare to the heir of their family, Regulus had gone largely unnoticed during social gatherings. As such, he had spent an indecent amount of his childhood observing the elite of society while most remained oblivious to his watchful eye.

From the conclusions he had drawn from those observations, along with the fact that his parents were currently out of the country, he was confident that few guests of any significance would pay much attention to him. While for some it may have been out of habit, for most it was because they were much more worried with how they were being perceived by everyone else.

"Mmm," Evan answered noncommittally.

Regulus grimaced, "I take it you went to see your father?"

After a brief pause in which Evan took an enormous gulp of fire whiskey, he replied,

"Yes, mother and I went yesterday to visit him."

"Well in that case, it's fortunate the ministry is overrun with imbeciles. Otherwise they would never have allowed you to leave," Regulus replied with a smirk.

Evan looked at Regulus in surprise for a moment before laughing loudly and offering a toast, "to the ministry". After a moment he added more somberly, "I'm never ending up in there. I would kill myself first, or better yet let the aurors do it. Them with their 'holier than thou' beliefs. At least I know they would be quick about it."

To that Regulus had nothing to say. He had never visited Azkaban before but he had heard enough from Evan's visits to know death likely wasn't any worse.

He was spared from having to supply what would have been an insufficient response when a couple of their former housemates stopped by to greet them momentarily.

After a short and overly formal conversation, their visitors bid them a good evening and left to presumably make their rounds amongst the other guests. Regulus vaguely thought that he should be doing the same, but couldn't quite bring himself to care enough to actually do it. With his parents spending their holiday in the south of France this year, Regulus was able to relax a bit more than normal in the absence of his overbearing mother.

"The Dark Lord is actually staying here now isn't he? Instead of at the Malfoy's?" Evan eventually asked absently.

"Yes, staying in one place for too long could draw unwanted attention to his whereabouts so a change of location was deemed to be in everyone's best interest."

Bella had bragged endlessly about it at their family's Christmas Eve dinner the night before. All the while, Narcissa had been positively gleeful to have finally gotten rid of the bastard. Not that she would ever say as much aloud. Her feelings on the matter were obvious though, if only to those who knew her well enough.

Evan chuckled evilly, "Everyone's best interest, huh? Probably not so much for poor ol' Rodolphus"

"Stop," Regulus cringed.

"Oh come on-"

"Stop."

"You know they've-"

"Silencio," Regulus smirked at the mutinous look on Evan's face. He then froze a moment later when he caught sight of a rather familiar looking rat skittering along the edge of the wall nearest to them.

Evan followed his friend's line of sight but did not understand the potential implications of what he was seeing as Regulus did. The Black heir had the fleeting idea to try to follow the rat, but his self-preservation won out over his curiosity and he settled back into his seat on the couch. Once the silencing spell had been lifted, Evan asked what had been so special about the rat. Regulus invented that he was surprised Bella would keep a house elf incapable of keeping away rodents. Evan looked at him skeptically, for he was well aware of Regulus' soft spot for house elves, but didn't question him. For that Regulus was grateful. A manor full of death eaters was hardly a place Regulus wanted to discuss potential traitors.

Nearer to midnight found Regulus in one of the more secluded sitting rooms of Lestrange Manor half listening as Narcissa prattled on enthusiastically about the furnishings of the room and some other such mindless chatter. Regulus had been seized by his cousin a while ago on the pretense of her needing to get his opinion on something. Regulus hated to think what the implications would be if anyone inferred that the current topic is what she needed his opinion on.

Regulus actually thought he knew what she wanted to discuss. Lucius undoubtedly would have told her about Sirius' involvement at St. Mungos by now. He was slightly annoyed that she felt the need to baby him, but had long since grown accustomed to this sort of treatment from her.

He was also slightly ashamed of himself because he knew that he secretly welcomed her feelings of protectiveness towards him. He had long accepted that she was likely his only family member who held any actual love for him. His parents had always been far more interested in ensuring he would maintain their reputation and status in the political realm rather than show him any real affection.

Of his cousins, Bellatrix was ten years older than he was. The age difference was only now beginning to be less obvious, and while he cared about her because she was family, there was no doubt she was slightly unhinged. Andromeda had played with him some when he was younger but had mostly always kept to herself. She had since been disowned for marrying a muggle.

Narcissa had been his only relative apart from Sirius who had still been at Hogwarts when he began school. Having grown up with them she knew how close Sirius and Regulus had been. She had also been intuitive enough to realize Regulus missed his brother, and had done all she could to help him adjust to his new life at school. Since then, she had become far more like an older sister to him than a cousin.

Finally the other guests of the party congregated into the next room leaving the two cousins alone. Narcissa wasted no time in changing subjects,

"I'm worried for you, Regulus. What if Bella would have ordered you to kill Sirius. Could you have done it?"

Regulus eyed her carefully. Normally he would have feigned indifference before redirecting the conversation elsewhere. Unfortunately it was Narcissa that was asking; she was well versed in the elusive antics of her younger cousin. She also possessed a rather inconvenient knack for refusing to be redirected. Ah well, it was worth a shot.

"That hardly matters now does it? Besides what I said was true. The Dark Lord does wish to recruit Sirius." Taking another bite of truffle he added, "I wonder if the house elves here could teach Kreacher how to make these. They are quite possibly the best thing I've ever tasted."

Narcissa easily ignored his comment about hors d'oeuvres before replying, "You know as well as I do that will never happen. It is only a matter of time before The Dark Lord realizes this as well. What then?"

Regulus remained silent for a while, considering his options. In truth he didn't know what he would do. He knew he would never voluntarily kill Sirius. However he also knew Voldemort was certainly not above placing him under an imperious curse either.

"I don't know, if that happens he may have someone else take him out before I even know about it. There's nothing I can do about it. There really is no use worrying about it before it happens, is there?"

"No, I suppose not. It's just-"

"It's nothing for you to worry about Cissy," Regulus stated firmly. "Stress can't be good for the baby, and there are plenty of other things you have to worry about now without adding me to the list. Whatever happens, I will be fine. Please just take care of yourself, and I'll do the same. I'm not eleven years old anymore, and you can't always protect me. Though I do appreciate the effort," he smiled.

Whatever Narcissa was about to say was interrupted by a slightly drunken Lucius Malfoy nearly shouting, "There you are my love!" Hello Regulus. I hope you don't mind if I steal away my wife. It's almost midnight after all. I daresay you would have no problem commandeering yourself one of the other more available ladies here tonight if you so choose."

Much to her embarrassment, Lucius then snatched Narcissa up and away from Regulus and began dancing with her around the room to the beat of the music playing in the next room.

Regulus quietly bid them goodnight and excused himself, though he doubted either of them heard him. Looking at his watch he decided it was an acceptable time to begin making his rounds saying goodbye and Merry Christmas and began doing so. Shortly after he left, relieved things did not go nearly as badly as they could have.


	7. Patrol and Loyalties

The evening of Boxing Day found Regulus in the Yaxley family home awaiting orders for the evening's patrol. He had been one of the first to arrive, though was joined by Augustus Rookwood shortly after arriving.

Rookwood was a former Slytherin who had graduated in Sirius' year. He was currently employed as an unspeakable at the ministry. As an unspeakable the details of his job could not be fully disclosed, however the general public believed him to be a key member in the fight against 'the dark side'.

"Rookwood," Regulus inclined his head slightly in greeting.

"Good evening, Black."

"Good evening... I must say I do find myself wondering how our esteemed ministry's regime opposing dark forces is doing. Have you managed to snatch many evil wrongdoers?" Regulus asked in falsely innocent voice.

Rookwood smirked before replying in a passable tone of remorse, "A few, though regretfully none that seem to be behind the greatest threat to our peace. The death eaters have become most elusive as of late."

Regulus smirked slightly, "How terribly rude of them."

_The Prophet, _was filled with arrests of alleged death eaters lately. It was all fabrication and false trails of course. Any news regarding the very few death eaters who had been captured had been circumvented by Voldemort's allies at the newspaper and other news sources. It was believed to be only a matter of time before Voldemort would be having those followers released. Whether it would be done by force or by heavy persuasion was as of yet unknown.

Not remembering Rookwood ever being at any nightly patrols before Regulus asked,

"This is new for you isn't it?"

"Yes, typically I do not participate in these patrols so as to be visible to the public during as many death eater activities as possible. Less likely to draw suspicion you see."

"That makes sense," Regulus replied absently. He had always been a bit wary of Rookwood. After all, being an unspeakable was an excellent cover for hiding things. Realizing he couldn't care much less about that, and because Rookwood had always been decent to him, he added, "It will depend on the mood of the senior death eater leading of course, but patrols are usually pretty straightforward. We will fly through the major wizarding communities and be spotted by as many people as possible. It seems as though there are more of us the more often we are sighted, after all. As far as conduct, yelling out crude comments, and threats are acceptable; hexing at random is encouraged. So long as you don't break formation everything should go smoothly enough."

"Thanks," Rookwood smiled faintly.

Regulus nodded in acknowledgment.

During their conversation several other death eaters had gathered. Everyone's attention was soon drawn to Bellatrix's verbal assault on Severus Snape's, "lack of personal hygiene and even dirtier blood". Regulus observed the scene with his ever present neutral expression firmly in place. He wondered not for the first time why Snape decided to join the death eaters.

The lure of the dark arts Regulus could understand. He was a Black after all. He had studied his family's exceptionally dark grimoires from a precariously young age. Knowing from experience that the wards in Grimmauld Place made it impossible for the trace charm to work properly, his parents had given him his Grandfather Arcturus' old wand and allowed him to practice basic spells at home long before ever turning eleven.

It was Black family tradition for lessons in the dark arts to begin after the second full year of schooling. While Sirius had no qualms about using magic outside of school he detested learning the dark arts. He would often get into vehement arguments with their parents over it. Regulus could never see why he didn't just do as they asked while in their presence and then forget about it in their absence. It wasn't as if they could force him use the spells in a duel if he didn't want to.

While Regulus had not yet cast an unforgiveable curse, he could never have been what many consider a "light" wizard, even before joining the death eaters. He had learned magic dark enough to rival the grisliness of the unforgiveables. Ancient spells had been taught to him from the grimoires of his ancestors. Spells that would most assuredly be illegal, had the ministry known of their existence. Regulus had been fascinated by all of it. However, after joining the death eaters he soon realized the disparities between reading the results of such obscure spellwork from a book and actually witnessing the results of them in person.

Snape, on the other hand, was a half blood. He had spent the majority of Regulus' first four years at Hogwarts fawning over a Gryffindor mudblood, much to the contempt of his housemates. Unlike most of the other death eaters, Regulus had never observed him using an unforgiveable curse, aside from when commanded to do so. Throw in that most of the death eaters treated him like filth, and that one of the primary goals of the death eaters was to create a government in which purebloods ruled. Yes, Regulus was thoroughly baffled as to why Snape had ever joined in the first place.

While Regulus remained impartial regarding the enigma that was Severus Snape, he was all too familiar with his cousin's antics. He also knew no one else would intercede on Snape's behalf, some because they were intimidated by Bellatrix and others because they found Snape's torment amusing.

"Bella, I take it you are to be our leader on patrol this evening?" Regulus asked conversationally.

"Surely you realize by now, cousin, I would never follow orders from anyone but The Dark Lord himself. As he is not here, yes, of course I am in charge."

"Wonderful. I notice we have a larger number than normal. Am I right to assume you have something special planned?"

Bellatrix smiled mysteriously, "Now baby Reggie, you wouldn't want to spoil the surprise would you?" Regulus smiled indulgently, despite his mental grimace as Bellatrix pinched his cheek.

"Please do, Bella, you know I loathe surprises."

Bellatrix feigned exasperation before raising her voice to address the room at large. With a tone of manic glee she declared,

"We will be taking a shorter route this evening. A rat has let slip where we might find some Order members on this fine night. Let's go." Bellatrix commanded, eyes glinting maliciously.

The gathered death eaters filed out of the house and into the yard. After taking their places in rank, they all mounted their brooms and followed Bellatrix on a route of her creation.

Their mere presence in the villages they passed caused noticeable disquiet amongst the residents. Those who were caught outdoors immediately sought cover and those who noticed them from windows quickly drew their blinds. Finally Bellatrix indicated for them to be silent as they prepared to make their descent.

Upon landing they all ducked into an alleyway and shrunk their brooms before pocketing them. Looking around himself Regulus recognized the large and distinguished houses surrounding them as part of one of London's older neighborhoods, not far from Grimmauld Place.

Bellatrix separated them into different groups and assigned each to either storm a designated entrance on her signal, to cast anti-apparition wards or to stand back and catch any victims who might try to make an escape. Regulus was assigned to storm a side entrance with Rookwood and an unknown masked accomplice. As he had not spoken and was visibly shaken Regulus guessed he was probably a new recruit.

The trio silently took their position near their assigned door, hidden behind some rather imposing shrubbery. A few minutes later, red sparks were shot up in the air giving them their signal. A moment later the air shifted indicating the anti-apparition wards had been placed.

Regulus cast an "expulso" at the door which effectively opened it, as well as blowing up much of the room within. Raids were not meant to be subtle, after all. The trio made their way into the house and found themselves to be in an empty kitchen. Judging by sound, the majority of occupants in the house were battling in a front room. The three death eaters carefully made their way in that direction so as to join the fray.

Upon entering the battle, Regulus was immediately engaged by one of the Prewett twins, much to his chagrin. He had been hoping to find Pettigrew, as he was almost certain the rat was a traitor. After successfully knocking the twin unconscious, Regulus was immediately tackled by the other Prewett brother.

As Regulus fought to avoid the twin's fist and attempt to get upright he couldn't help but be slightly impressed. Rash as it was, the twin must have seen enough of the battle between his brother and Regulus to realize he didn't stand much of a chance against the death eater in a duel. Unfortunately for Regulus, muggle methods of fighting were most certainly not his forte. Blessedly someone, he suspected Evan, noticed his predicament and quickly immobilized the redhead. Regulus quickly regained a standing position in as dignified a manner as possible.

From this newly standing position Regulus glimpsed his brother with his back to him battling with two death eaters. Regulus tore his eyes away from their battle to look for another Order member to engage. It was at that moment that he witnessed a fellow death eater cast a killing curse directly at Sirius' back. It was as if in slow motion that green light shot out the death eater's wand.

Without even thinking of the consequences, Regulus acted on instinct and did the only thing he could think of that might help. Putting every bit of magic that he could manage into the spell, he managed to conjure a solid stone shield in front of his brother.

As the stone was hit by the curse it crumpled and sent the spell ricocheting into the wall rather harmlessly. Unfortunately for Regulus, his intervention had not gone unnoticed. Perhaps it was that in his anguish he had stupidly shouted out Sirius' name, and had thereby gained the attention of the majority of the room.

If the situation were any less grim Regulus would have been ornately proud of himself. He had never heard of anyone effectively blocking a killing curse using conjugation before. Naturally he had researched potential methods for doing so and knew that one could be shielded behind certain inanimate objects, such as stone. However this had been his first opportunity to test whether the conjured version of stone could be as effective as that which occurs naturally. However as the death eaters closed ranks around him he realized none of that really mattered at the moment.


	8. Proposition

Regulus' first instinct had been to grab his emergency portkey and make a run for it. This thought was fleeting though as the more reasonable part of his brain told him to remain calm and go willingly with the other death eaters. Punished as he would be upon meeting Voldemort, running would mean imminent death upon capture. He also knew he would be caught quickly as he could still be tracked through his damnable dark mark.

As the majority of fighting had ceased by this point, Regulus was escorted by no fewer than a half dozen death eaters to outside the anti-apparition wards. If he hadn't been fighting to keep bile from rising in his throat he might have been pleased to know his abilities were respected enough to warrant such a guard. However, since he had not shown any visible inclination to flee, he thought it more likely that the attention seeking death eaters thought they would be rewarded 'for catching a traitor' or something more along those lines.

Just before leaving the house he glanced back at his brother and noted the befuddled expression on the older Black's face. It saddened Regulus that Sirius was of all things, surprised, by the intervention. As though he expected it more likely for Regulus to stand aside and watch his brother be murdered. Though to be fair he had implied as much at St. Mungo's only a week ago.

Upon arriving at Lestrange Manor, Regulus was shepherded immediately to the Dark Lord and unceremoniously thrown at his feet. All of the captors promptly knelt before their beloved leader. Regulus regained his balance with as much poise as he could manage before also kneeling.

He immediately pushed all of his feelings of love for Sirius and anyone else he cared for behind the strongest occlumency shields he possessed. He knew it would not be long before Voldemort would be probing into his mind.

"What is the meaning of this?" Voldemort hissed.

"The boy is a traitor. He shielded his filth of a brother from a killing curse," one of the masked death eaters replied with conviction.

Genuine surprise flitted briefly across Voldemort's face. Regulus observed that Riddle looked far more snake-like than human these days. He quickly pushed all thoughts of that nature to the back of mind as well. That sort of knowledge would certainly be cause for a very slow and torturous death.

"And how did he manage that?"

"It would appear he conjured a shield made of stone, milord."

"How interesting. Leave us."

The obedient little sheep quickly bowed and left, leaving Regulus alone with Voldemort.

"Explain yourself, Regulus."

He was surprised at the use of his first name but did not show it. "My Lord, I am no traitor. I did defend the filth but only with the intent of protecting your interests. I believe as well as you do that it is only a matter of time before Sirius realizes the error of his ways and seeks to join us," Regulus lied smoothly. "I hold no affection for him, and until he comes to his senses, he is certainly no brother of mine."

As Regulus was speaking he felt the none too gentle probing of Voldemort's legilimency attempts. Having brought forth all of the adoration for the Dark Lord that he had felt when he was younger along with the resentment he had had towards his brother at fourteen for abandoning him, his statements were well supported.

"Very well, I believe you did act in accord with the motives you have stated," Voldemort answered after several more minutes of his mind search.

He then paused for a few moments before continuing, "I confess myself perplexed when it comes you, Regulus. As you must have realized that does not happen often, for The Dark Lord is very perceptive. Yet still, you remain an enigma to me."

"My Lord?" Regulus had remained kneeling with his head bowed but looked up through his eyelashes to find that Voldemort was now pacing before him.

"Oh yes, you have never failed in a mission. You are remarkably bright and resourceful. You also present yourself in a way only one of your pedigree could. Your potential to aid in the betterment of society truly is endless."

"You are too kind." Regulus was beginning to have to force himself not to panic. A complimentary Dark Lord rarely boded well.

"From what I understand from your cousin, you began training in the dark arts shortly after turning 13. Is that correct?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"And yet you seem reluctant to use your knowledge of the dark arts to the benefit of our cause. Your cousin has mentioned you used to fancy yourself as a healer. Perhaps it is the healing principle of "causing no harm" that stands in your way?"

"Perhaps, My Lord." Regulus had found it always best to agree in these situations- not that he had ever been in a situation like this before, being the good little rule follower that he was. Still, he had observed enough of the other death eaters' punishment to know when to keep his mouth shut.

Voldemort stopped pacing and stood directly in front of him,

"That is as I thought. In that case, I have a proposition for you. As you have undoubtedly noticed, the best healers of Britain are now at my disposal. I would like for you to learn from them. Train to become the healer you've long wanted to be. I have only one request."

"That is most gracious of you," Regulus was surprised and instinctively allowed it to show rather than his anxiety over what was coming. "Anything of course I will do, my lord, even without the reward you offer."

Voldemort chuckled in an almost affectionate sort of way, one which Regulus had only ever seen Bella elicit from him.

"Always so eager. Very well, to business then. The time has passed for us all to declare our loyalties once and for all. As there is no longer any doubt that you care nothing for that former brother of yours, I wish for you to seek him out. Seek him out and convert him to our cause, or kill him. Like yourself, he has endless potential. Potential I do not wish to continue to be at the disposal of Dumbledore."

"Very well, My Lord," Regulus answered emotionlessly, though it felt as if his heart had just dropped into his stomach.

"Now as a reminder for what awaits should you fail, crucio."

Voldemort let the spell go on for several moments before ending it and dismissing him coldly, "You have 48 hours."

Regulus nodded once before holding his head high and walking out as quickly as his trembling limbs would allow.

Once leaving the room, his gait immediately slowed. Once he finally exited the gates of Lestrange Manor, he promptly activated a portkey which took him to a desolate area in the Forest of Dean. There he sat down and leaned against a tree. He knew he should go home and have Kreacher get him some post-cruciatus potion for the aftereffects, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to be alone.

Between his life and Sirius' there was no choice in Regulus' mind. Sirius was right to have turned his back on the teachings of their family. Regulus had long since realized this but had no way of backing out. Sirius had been a Gryffindor and had Potter to take him in when he wanted a way out. Regulus' best friend was a second generation death eater. In fact, nearly all of his friends from school were current death eaters or at least sympathetic to their cause. The one person he might have been able to go to was his brother, but he knew Sirius wouldn't believe he wanted to change, nor would he have been able to provide the protection Regulus would need.

He had briefly considered going to Dumbledore, especially after meeting with his former Headmaster and not having been blasted into oblivion. He quickly ruled this out as well though as he knew there was at least one traitor amongst the Order. He also did not want to leave one dictatorship for another. As far as he could tell, the Order members unquestioningly bent to every whim of Dumbledore's just as quickly as the death eaters responded to Voldemort's.

Regulus had no doubt now that he was going to die, and soon. He could either stand about waiting for his imminent demise or could make his own death mean something. It was then that Regulus made his decision. Perhaps he was going to die, but he was most certainly not going to die being someone else's slave. With that thought in mind he stood and apparated back to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

He quickly called for his beloved house elf, who promptly apparated in front of him with a loud _Crack_.

Adrenaline pumped through Regulus' body, causing him to forget about his need for post-cruciatus potion, or the magical weakness that was settling in from the conjuring of the stone shield, and from fighting off Voldemort's legilimency.

He stated gently but firmly, "Kreacher, I need you to take me to the cave the Dark Lord took you to. Now. Please."

Kreacher looked immediately petrified but nodded dutifully. He then grabbed onto Regulus' arm and apparated them far away from Grimmauld Place."


	9. No Going Back

Regulus and Kreacher reappeared on a precariously narrow outcropping of rock overlooking a choppy, briny body of water. Regulus briefly looked around, allowing the freezing water to mist his skin. It was a clear night, one in which it seemed every star was visible. Out of habit, the Black heir sought out the star that was his namesake and found it easily. For some reason the sight of it triggered a memory from what seemed like a different life.

It was the night before Regulus was to begin Hogwarts. He had been lying on his bed reading his potions textbook when Sirius entered his room. Sirius had barely spoken to him since he had returned from his first year at Hogwarts. Regulus knew it was partly because their parents had kept them deliberately separated. However, it was also obvious they both had changed.

The Black Brothers had been inseparable prior to Sirius beginning Hogwarts. Even when they attended gatherings with their parents where other children their age were, Sirius and Regulus always stayed together. However, once Sirius returned from school it was as if he had completely forgotten Regulus was anything besides an annoying little brother.

Sirius' first year at Hogwarts had been hell for Regulus at home. His parents were outraged with his brother's sorting and took every opportunity to insult Sirius. If Regulus took up for Sirius he was punished. He learned quickly to keep his mouth shut to avoid punishment. Sirius rarely ever wrote to Regulus and to his dismay, spent both the Christmas and Easter Holidays with the Potter's that year (and every year after).

Left alone, Regulus began to try even harder to gain the approval of his parents. He no longer had Sirius to get into mischief with and he had no younger siblings or cousins. He instead buried himself into his studies. He listened to the criticisms his parents had of Sirius and perfected those 'flaws' in himself. He became everything his parents wanted in a son. Not that they noticed. Without having reason to criticize Regulus, they seemingly chose to ignore him altogether. Even in Sirius' absence he was all they talked about. Unless Sirius was around of course- then they would point out the younger Black's 'superiority' as often as possible, further damaging the brothers' relationship.

Regulus realized now that the destruction in their relationship was both initiated and strongly encouraged by their parents. However, the eleven year old whose room Sirius entered that night did not. It was a bitter Regulus that did not even bother looking up from his book as he inquired lazily,

"What do you want?"

"I just want to talk Reggie."

"About what? You've barely spoken to me all summer and right now I am reading. Surely it can wait until in the morning."

"Mother and father will see to it that we do not to talk in the morning. You must have noticed they have done all they can to keep us away from each other all summer. I just... Look, all you have to do is ask the hat to put you where you want to be Reggie. It won't make you be a snake if it isn't what _you_ want. I mean, I know our parents want you to be in Slytherin, but you don't really want to be, do you?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"It's the most dreadful house! Everyone else in the school hates them. Their common room is in the dungeons! James and I snuck down there once, and it's absolutely freezing. I know how you hate being cold, Reggie, it wouldn't suit you."

"I already know most of the Slytherins in your year and many who will likely be in mine. Cissy and Lucius Malfoy will be there. I happen to like them, even if you don't. I also am perfectly capable of casting a warming charm. If those are your only reasons, I would like for you to leave. I am reading."

With obvious strain to remain calm Sirius asked, "Just please tell me what house you want to be in. I don't care what anyone else wants for you, Regulus. What do _you_ want?"

Surprised by the unusual show of restraint, Regulus finally looked up from his book and replied honestly, "I don't know, it's just- it all seems a bit unreasonable doesn't it? All of this pressure based on what house at school we are sorted in. Once we graduate any arguing of house would be moot, would it not? And besides, why should anyone be looked down upon for being intelligent, cunning, loyal or brave? Are not all of those qualities commendable?"

"Exactly my point, Reggie. No Slytherin would ever say that."

After a pause in which Sirius apparently decided Regulus was not going to respond, he added,

"Regulus doesn't just mean 'Little King' you know. If you look at its location in the sky it is the brightest star in the constellation of Leo, the Lion. As in, 'the heart of the lion'. If mother and father gave anyone permission to be in a house apart from Slytherin it's you." He then placed his hands on Regulus' shoulders and looked him in the eyes as he added, "You don't always have to do what they want, you know? You will be much happier when you stop trying to please them, and do what is right for _you_."

He then turned away and left Regulus alone to think about what he had said.

Regulus agreed seven years too late that he would in fact have been much happier had he not always tried to do what his parents wanted. He certainly wouldn't be here at any rate. Shaking himself out of thoughts of things he could not control he focused on the present. He took a deep breath and thought, 'It's now or never' before conjuring a knife.

"It requires blood to grant entrance, I believe you said?"

"Yes, Master Regulus," Kreacher answered as he offered a bony hand to Regulus without even the slightest hesitation.

"That won't be necessary, Kreacher, but thank you," Regulus smiled sadly. Ignoring Kreacher's objections, he carefully sliced open his own palm and pressed the wound to the place Kreacher indicated.

As the walls began to jut back to allow them entrance into the cave, Regulus cast a quick healing spell on his palm before proceeding forward.

Inside the cave was an extreme contrast from the outside. As they entered it became pitch black and practically radiated dark magic. The two walked farther into the blackness that somehow seemed darker than regular darkness. Regulus lit his wand tip but the light did not illuminate as well as he would have expected. The only other light in the cavern was an eerie greenish glow emitting from what appeared to be the center of the lake.

Regulus immediately began searching for what would prompt the boat to materialize. He feared the slightest hesitation on his part might be enough to cause him to lose all nerve and give up on this final act of defiance. A few moments later he was able to locate what he was looking for and began pulling on an invisible rope.

Once the vessel fully revealed itself, Regulus and Kreacher silently boarded the boat and were slowly transported across the placid water.

The cave was oddly quiet. The only noise was the sound of the boat moving slowly across the water. Closer to the green light. Closer to the horcrux. Closer to Regulus' imminent death.

Oddly enough, the Black heir was no longer fearful, but resolute. For the first time in a long time he had a purpose. For the first time in possibly his entire life he was doing what he knew for certain was right.

Finally the boat made it to their destination. Regulus walked to the basin and observed the locket through the potion. He then made a nearly perfect replica of the locket and conjured some parchment and a quill. During his ride on the boat he had decided he wanted to write a letter. Confident that Voldemort was far too arrogant to check on the security of his horcruxes in his parent's lifetime, Regulus wrote:

'_To the Dark Lord-_

_I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more. R.A.B.'_

The letter was a lie really. Regulus had no intention of destroying the Horcrux on his own, that would be his final order for Kreacher. However, as Kreacher was supposed to be dead, Regulus thought it best to make it look as if he acted alone.

He wasn't really sure what prompted him to leave a letter in the locket. He knew everyone would believe he died a coward, and a slave. Perhaps that's why he felt the need to leave documentation of his true loyalty. He had once read in muggle literature, "If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives."

Regulus was giving his life in effort to bring down the Dark Lord. If nothing else, perhaps Voldemort would find it shortly before his own demise and at least realize that Regulus wasn't just another one of his mindless puppets.

After carefully folding the letter and fitting it inside his locket, he turned to his beloved house elf,

"Kreacher"

"Master wishes for Kreacher to drink potion."

"No Kreacher, I want you to promise to make me drink the potion- the entirety of it. Force feed it to me if you have to."

"No Kreacher won't! Kreacher won't! Kreacher will drink it for master!" Kreacher wailed, shaking his head.

"Kreacher, listen to me, this is important. I have to be the one to drink the potion. I need you to take the locket in the basin and switch it with this one," Regulus said holding up his newly conjured locket.

"You are to then leave here, without me. You must destroy the locket, Kreacher. You cannot tell anyone in the family what happened here," Regulus said firmly.

All the while Kreacher was shaking his head vigorously and trying to figure out a way to circumvent his master's orders.

"Kreacher can't. When mistress asks what has become of yous, Kreacher will have to tell her."

Regulus had researched elfin magic and was prepared for this question,

"While it is true that you are bound to all of the Black family, you can choose to serve one master above all others. No matter what anyone else asked of you, your loyalty would lie with that one individual first. You could keep all of their secrets. Kreacher, if you could serve but one master, who would you choose?"

Kreacher immediately responded, "Yous master Regulus. Master Regulus is always Kreacher's favorite master for master Regulus is always kind to Kreacher."

"Thank you, Kreacher," Regulus answered somewhat detachedly as he couldn't allow the alternative if he wanted his mission to succeed. "You will not have to do anyone else's bidding if doing so discredits orders I have given. If you are asked what has happened to me, you will not have tell what you know. I ask that you pretend not to know anything of my disappearance, as it would be the most believable," Regulus smiled sadly.

He then conjured a goblet and filled it with potion. "Kreacher, you must ensure I drink all of it." Ignoring the obvious internal dilemma Kreacher was struggling with, he took his first drink.

Immediately he began to feel queasy and his body screamed for him not to drink anymore. He quickly forced himself to drink two more goblets full of potion, before falling to his knees. His entire body felt as if it were burning from the inside. He was trapped in an illusion, reliving of all of his worst memories.

Kreacher forced him to take another drink.

_Regulus was six years old and had accidently broken his mother's favorite vase. His father held a belt with the intent of whipping Regulus. Sirius threw himself between the belt and his little brother, taking the lashing for Regulus. The younger Black was then forced to watch his father 'crucio' Sirius for his interference. Sirius was only seven._

Another drink.

_Regulus was sitting at the bottom of the stairs out of sight, listening to his mother shriek to his father, "This is why I warned you we must have an heir and a spare. Regulus will be in Slytherin, I will see to that. The indignity of one child being a Gryffindor is bad enough. Sirius is the rightful heir to The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Regulus has no such luxury. He will be in Slytherin or nothing will stop me from disinheriting him from that day forward!"_

Another drink.

_Regulus was sitting under the sorting hat knowing he was about to lose members of his family today. He was begging, no, that was unbecoming of a Black, he was appealing to the hat's sense of compassion, rather adamantly to put him in Slytherin. The hat was insisting he was a much better fit for Ravenclaw, or even to his bewilderment, Gryffindor. Finally the hat asked if he put him into Slytherin if he would do what he could to restore honor to the house of snakes. Regulus promptly agreed and the hat sorted him into Slytherin. Regulus had never felt more relieved. He immediately looked to Sirius and found he was being pointedly ignored. As Regulus passed he saw his brother was laughing with his friends, though poorly disguised disappointment shadowed his handsome features. Regulus also realized now he had not upheld his end of the bargain with the sorting hat._

Another drink.

_A fourteen year old Regulus was standing in the stairwell listening to his brother's yells and mother's shrieks. Finally Sirius shouts, "You're nothing but bigoted and evil! I've had enough! I'm moving out! I should have done it years ago!" Regulus quickly retreated back to his room to avoid being seen. He desperately wanted Sirius to ask him to go with him. Sirius quickly packed up his room and left, without even saying 'goodbye' to his younger brother._

Another drink and images began coming faster now.

_Pain-he had just received the dark mark._

_Nausea-he had just watched Evan murder a muggleborn with a blood-depletion curse that Regulus had shown him in his family's grimoires._

_Guilt-Glassy, sightless eyes staring at him. Dozens of them. Innocent people he had stood by as death eaters tortured and killed them._

_Rachel was then accusing him of murdering her father rather vividly. It seemed the potion was now calling on fears more than actual memories, as this had never actually happened. Regulus had been present the night Rachel's father was murdered in a raid at the ministry. Some part in his subconscious always held that she must blame him even if she never said as much._

More images continued to flood his mind. A moment later and Regulus was so full of self-loathing that he was almost thankful he had no plans to survive this mission. His life had hardly been worth living, after all.

Finally the potion was finished and all comprehension was lost on Regulus. He could not remember why he had been so determined to drink the horrid potion in the first place. All he could register was that he desperately needed water. Reaching his goblet into the smooth lake, he scooped up the putrid water and took a drink.

The once smooth surface immediately became frenzied with the movement of hundreds of inferi. Frantic to get to Regulus. Desperate to drag him beneath the icy surface of the lake with them. Fleshless arms wrapped themselves around him. Rotted teeth tangled in his hair, dragging him into the water.

"Master Regulus!" he heard Kreacher screech.

The sound of his name brought Regulus back his purpose.

"Kreacher, you must take the locket and leave here. Destroy the locket. You know your orders, now go!"

Regulus fought to get that message out around all of the decrepit bodies pulling on him. When a sobbing Kreacher finally popped away, he lost all fight and allowed the inferi to pull him under the icy depths of the lake. He wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.

He forced himself to let out the breath he had subconsciously taken before being brought under. Unimaginable pain tore at his lungs. The lack of oxygen caused the pain to spread throughout the rest of his body. A part of him knew he should inhale the water in attempt to drown himself faster. He feebly attempted to do so, but his traitorous body refused to cooperate.

Self-loathing aside, he did not really want to die. He was only eighteen years old. He knew that everyone made mistakes when they were young. He would never have the opportunity to right his wrongs. This one mission was his only means of absolution, and no one would ever even know about it.

Black spots appeared in his vision as his body began to convulse involuntarily.

Regulus' last thought was that he should have told someone about the horcruxes before coming here. He was fairly certain no one else knew.

Finally everything went black. Regulus welcomed the relief.


	10. Flaw in the Plan

Sirius Black watched in confusion as a death eater was led out of the house by six of his fellows, presumably to be reprimanded for his interference in the battle. Had it not been for that death eater, Sirius himself would likely be dead. Why would a death eater save him? Sirius knew that Voldemort was delusional enough to believe he would change sides in the war. Perhaps the kid thought he would win points with his master if he preserved Sirius' life, made him indebted to him even?

No, no matter how many scenarios Sirius came up with, he knew the only explanation was that his 'savior' could not have been anyone but his brother. The little idiot.

Now he was going to be punished, not that he didn't deserve it. All of the death eaters deserved punishment. In Azkaban. And what was even thinking, 'It wasn't as if that killing curse would have even hit me,' Sirius thought to himself. He had been battling two death eaters at the time after all, so it wasn't as though he would have been standing still.

Though the more Sirius thought back to the battle the more he began to doubt that. In fact, as he recalled more from the encounter, it was even more evident that he had been drawn into an ambush. While he thought little of it at the time, he now realized the two masked death eaters had been throwing their curses at strategic angles that kept him relatively stationary during the battle. In that case the curse very well could have hit him. And after all, Regulus was many things, but reckless was not one of them. For him to risk admonishment there must have been very little chance of the curse missing him.

Sirius wondered what he would have done if the situation had been reversed. He had not spoken to Regulus in years, and he was certain they had nothing in common now, but it had not always been that way. In fact, there was a time when Sirius was unsure if he loved anyone else in the world besides his little brother. He would have done anything to keep Regulus safe back then, even if it meant taking a beating himself. That was a long time ago though. It had also been a long time since he had seen anything in his brother worth 'saving'.

* * *

Sirius had just finished helping to bring all of the wounded Order members to the hospital wing at Hogwarts. The school's infirmary had been The Order's preferred place for healing, even before the recent death eater raid that had taken place at St. Mungo's. The majority of healers at St. Mungo's were too inquisitive for their own good. Madam Pomfrey had determined early on in the war that she preferred knowing as little as possible about the missions of The Order.

Sirius had intended to go to the _Three Broomsticks_ for a drink to calm his nerves, but found himself instead approaching the gargoyle outside Dumbledore's office. To his surprise, Professor Dumbledore approached him from behind,

"Hello, Mr. Black. I'm glad to see you were uninjured in the recent attack. I take it you wanted a word with me?"

"Yes, sir... in your office, if that's ok?"

"Of course, right this way," Dumbledore answered as he led Sirius up the spiral staircase. Once inside the office, the headmaster took his usual seat behind the desk as Sirius took the one across from him.

"Now then, Mr. Black, what is it you wanted to speak with me about?"

Now that Sirius was here, he felt incredibly foolish. He certainly wasn't going to admit he was worried about what punishment his death eater brother was going to get into with his 'master'.

"I'm not sure sir. It's just, you asked me a while back whether I had been in contact with Regulus. You never really had a chance to tell why you asked though."

"Ah, yes of course. We were interrupted that night weren't we?" Dumbledore chuckled softly as if privately amused by something. "I asked because your brother contacted me. He wanted to know everything I could tell him about Voldemort. I wondered if he may have been in contact with you for similar information. I know now I was mistaken. As you said you haven't been in contact with him for several years."

"Right, I haven't been. Why do you think he wanted to know about Voldemort all of a sudden? And from you... he should know more about him than any of us do."

"I was curious of that as well. He was a bit evasive when it came to details. When I asked whether his loyalties had shifted, he eluded to only seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself. I wonder if you can make anything out of that."

Sirius snorted, "Only that he should have been a Ravenclaw."

Dumbledore chuckled at that before asking, "Nothing more?"

"Not really," Sirius answered vaguely before pausing to consider how to phrase what he wanted to say. Eventually he added, "Regulus was at the battle. He conjured a stone shield to block a killing curse."

"Impressive. That is both incredibly clever and would have required a great deal of magical power. I daresay few wizards could conjure a shield powerful enough to deflect such a curse, even fewer would ever dare attempt it in a battle."

Sirius was temporarily distracted by that response. "Why not? If you could block a killing curse why wouldn't you? I've never even heard of it being done before."

"Perhaps it hasn't. It's natural to hear that something has never been done before and assume that must mean it cannot be done. However there are always people clever enough, like your brother it seems, that will hear something hasn't been done before and will find a way to do it anyway. To answer your other question, the conjuring of stone as substantial as his shield must have been to be effective, would have undoubtedly exhausted significant magic from him. Would it not have been better for him in a duel to preserve his energy and merely dodge the curse? Assuming that was an option of course."

Sirius looked down for a moment before replying sheepishly, "Well, he- Perhaps he would have if it were aimed at him. He actually blocked the curse that was aimed at me." Sirius felt the need to justify his need for assistance and quickly added, "I was battling two death eaters. There had been some sort of ambush set up I think. The killing curse came from behind me. I didn't really know what was going on as it was happening. I heard someone yell my name and I turned around to see the stone shield crumpling, and the deflected green light hitting the wall. It happened really fast. The death eater, I can only assume it was Regulus, was quickly surrounded by other death eaters. They escorted him outside of the anti-apparition wards and left immediately."

"I see. And now you are concerned of the fate that awaits your brother for his interference?"

"Of course not, sir, he is a death eater. I just wondered if you might know why he would do something so stupid."

"He is your brother. Is it possible that witnessing your murder while he did nothing to stop it might not have been a viable option for him?"

"He was disappointed at St. Mungo's when he couldn't kill me. He said The Dark Lord was still hopeful I would join them. Otherwise I reckon he would have taken relish in committing my murder then."

"Could it be that he said that to protect you? As I understand it you were unarmed and outnumbered nine to one at the time. From what you said, you received only a warning from Ms. Lestrange. As horrible as the cruciatus undoubtedly was, doesn't that seem like a much better outcome than what it could have been?"

"Maybe, I don't know. It's just so stupid of him. How badly do you think he will be punished?" 'Ok, fine I am a little worried,' he added to himself.

"I could not say. If it is true that Voldemort still hopes to recruit you, then it is not unreasonable to think young Regulus may be pardoned. That would be the best case scenario of course. However, if I know Voldemort like I think I do, then I am afraid a test of Regulus' loyalties might be required."

"Test? What sort of test?"

Dumbledore steepled his fingers and observed Sirius for a moment before responding. "I could not say. Though as his loyalties would be in question because of an interaction involving you, I do not think it unreasonable to suspect you will be involved somehow."

Sirius laughed, despite the potential implications, "So your saying I should be aware of little brother's in dark alleys then?"

"I was of the impression you no longer thought of Regulus as a brother, but yes. I strongly advise you to remain alert of all death eaters in dark alleys, brother or not," Dumbledore responded, blue eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Right, well, thanks for everything as always professor. It's getting late and I don't want to keep you from-er," Sirius realized he had no idea what the headmaster did in his spare time. "Anything." he finished lamely before quickly getting up and making his way for the door. "Good night, sir."

"Good evening, Mr. Black," he heard just as the office door closed.

After speaking with Dumbledore Sirius was even more confused by his brother's actions of late. Forget about what he did tonight, if Voldemort found out that Regulus had met with Dumbledore he would be murdered for sure. He wondered what his little brother was hiding. He decided it was time for a long overdue chat with the heir to The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

Upon exiting the iron gates of Hogwarts, Sirius immediately apparated into Diagon Alley and searched as many of the places he could think of that his brother might be. He did not have any luck, not that he expected to really. While Regulus was not one of the most widely known death eaters, there were a lot who suspected he was one. Many, for no other reason than because of who his family is. Those same idiots were aloof towards Sirius as well, completely ignoring the fact that Sirius had been disowned. Regulus though actually was a death eater, and as with any suspected criminal, it was safest for him not to be easily located by anyone who could arrest him.

If it were anyone else he was searching for he would enlist said person's mates to help him find them. Unfortunately for Sirius, anyone that Regulus hung out with these days would be more likely to try to kill him than help.

He vaguely considered enlisting the other marauders for the task, but quickly dismissed it. James would be more interested in turning Regulus into the aurors than finding out what he was hiding. Peter would be too afraid of actually finding a death eater to be of any real help. Remus actually would be ideal in this situation, but as last night was the last of the full moon, Sirius thought it cruel to disturb the poor bloke. Sirius would have to carry on alone if he wanted to find his brother tonight.

It was possible that Regulus was still with Voldemort. Or perhaps he had been punished and was now at home licking his wounds. Sirius did not know whether Regulus still lived at Grimmauld place or if he had moved out. He thought it likely Regulus still stayed at Grimmauld often even if he had his own place elsewhere. He, after all, had a good relationship with their parents and Kreacher would see to all of his needs.

The wards of that house were also some of the strongest in Britain. He could rest there knowing he was safe from the aurors, or from other death eaters. Likely even from Voldemort himself if it came to it.

For all the protection the wards at Grimmauld Place offered from outside sources, Sirius had always found them to be majorly flawed. They did nothing to protect against the evil that occurred within their walls.

Not knowing where else to look, Sirius apparated to the front door step of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. He desperately hoped his parents were not home. He stood on the door step ringing the doorbell for several minutes. Where was Kreacher? Finally he gave up and grasped the door knob. He tried to remain calm as his finger was pricked and blood drawn to ensure it was a Black seeking admittance. He did not know what sort of nasty taboo his father might have added to keep him out, he had been disowned after all.

Blessedly, it seemed his parents believed him when he said he would never return and the door unlocked without causing him any bodily harm. He slowly opened the door and entered the house he had not seen in over four years. The house he vowed he would never return to.

The farther he walked into the house the more apprehensive he became. He kept waiting to encounter one of his parents and be asked to leave in an impressive display of hatred and rage. However, that did not happen. It seems he was lucky and his parents were out. That still didn't explain Kreacher's absence. 'Perhaps it had died,' Sirius thought almost cheerfully.

As Sirius walked through the house he tried to close off all of the memories that were fighting for him to revisit. There was not a room in this house that did not hold at least one painful memory for the elder Black brother. It didn't help to notice that if anyone who didn't know any better walked through the house, they would believe Regulus was an only child. It seemed that in addition to having his name burned off of the family tapestry all of his pictures in the house had been removed as well.

As he walked up the stairs, the portraits that were still awake peered at him warily. He pointedly ignored all of them and walked to Regulus' room. He briefly knocked on the door but after not hearing any response opened the door and walked in. Regulus was not home either it seemed.

Sirius was annoyed to have wasted a trip here and decided to glance through his brother's desk to see if he could figure out what his brother had been up to of late. He was prepared to have to undo a ridiculous amount of enchantments to get the desk drawers open and was therefore surprised when they were not even locked. 'That doesn't seem like Regulus,' he thought to himself before, 'ah, that explains it'.

It seemed that Regulus did not bother to lock his desk drawers because nearly everything inside of them was sealed in its own magical containment mechanism. The likes of which Sirius had never seen before, and thought best not to test out.

The last drawer he tried to open on the desk was the smallest and the only one that was locked. After several failed attempts, Sirius managed to get it open. It was empty aside from a framed picture. Upon turning the picture over, he found that it was of himself and Regulus standing together, laughing. Judging by their appearance and the fact that they seemed genuinely happy to be in each other's company, Sirius guessed it was the summer before he started Hogwarts.

Sirius was for a moment overwhelmed by the sentiment. He had been disowned. His name had been burned off of the family tapestry. Every picture and other evidence of his existence had been removed from the house, likely destroyed. Yet here, in his 'perfect Slytherin' brother's' room was proof that he had once belonged to this family.

Suddenly Sirius became nearly overcome with an irrational fear that something had happened to his brother and the two of them would never have the opportunity to work things out. He did not know where these thoughts were coming from. Before today he did not think it possible he and Regulus would ever speak again, let alone ever get along. On an impulse he flew down the stairs to the tapestry room. He quickly searched for Regulus' name next to his burned one. He was relieved to see his brother was alive, at least according to the tapestry. In better spirits he decided he would call for Kreacher to see if he knew when Regulus' return was expected.

"Kreacher"

To Sirius' surprise it was a sobbing Kreacher that apparated in front of him. Sirius stood looking at him a moment waiting for the elf's usual disparaging comments. They did not come. Instead, after a brief pause in which Kreacher appeared to be thinking something through, the house elf frantically latched on to Sirius' arm and apparated the two of them to parts unknown.

* * *

Sirius and Kreacher reappeared on what seemed to be a cliff overlooking the sea,

"Brilliant, Kreacher. I suppose you are trying to kill me now too?" Sirius demanded.

To Sirius' confusion Kreacher said nothing before disappearing into a small entrance that led into what appeared to be a cave. Sirius was completely baffled by this but followed the elf cautiously. Before he had time to ask what was going on his eyes noticed a lake filled with what could only be inferi. A moment later and the inferi disappeared into the water and the surface instantly became unnaturally smooth.

Kreacher's eyes seemed fixated on the scene, though he had begun shouting all sorts of nonsensical things that left Sirius even more annoyed with the house elf. Then suddenly his comments began to make sense. Only Regulus had ever been able to give orders to Kreacher that the elf was truly unable to break. He had been forbidden by Regulus to tell what was going on.

"Kreacher, did the inferi take something or… someone down with them just now?"

The house elf began nodding vigorously, his bat-like ears flapping up and down.

Sirius was confused and he felt incredibly foolish, as if this was somehow a trick to make him look stupid. But how? No one could have expected him to be at Grimmauld Place, he hadn't been in there in over four years.

In what he thought would likely be more of a precautionary spell rather than a fruitful one, he pointed his wand at the center of the lake and cast, "Levicorpus."

After a couple of moments a body ascended from the smooth lake. Kreacher immediately summoned it to them. In the intense darkness, the corpse was unrecognizable, though Sirius had a good idea of who it must have been.

He attempted to 'catch' the body and help lower it to the ground as it approached, but instead lost his balance trying to catch the surprisingly heavy person and they both hit the stone floor rather painfully- though only Sirius noticed. The person who he now knew for certain was Regulus, was unconscious at best.

Sirius was horrified at his brother's appearance. His skin was much bluer than could ever be considered normal. He was covered in painful looking marks, around his arms, his legs, and his throat. Sirius was fighting off feelings of panic as he was unable to find a pulse. He had never been good at healing spells and was at a complete loss of what to do. Kreacher probably could have done something if he wasn't crying his eyes out in misery at the moment.

Sirius forced himself to calm down. An idea had occurred to him. He had no idea if it would work or not, but it was all he had. He had once dated a muggleborn who worked as a lifeguard during the summer. She had shown Sirius how to do something she called CPR, much to his enjoyment.

In a much less explicit version from how she had shown him, Sirius attempted the same steps on his brother. After several rounds, Kreacher seemed to come to his senses and began performing magic that was more efficient than the CPR Sirius was attempting. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Regulus began coughing. He then began hacking up water. More water than Sirius would have ever guessed possible for someone to hold. Finally when he seemed to be done he laid down on his stomach, presumably too weak to do anything else. After a few moments Sirius realized that Regulus had passed out.

'Though this time he at least has a pulse,' Sirius thought after verifying just that.

In another situation, Sirius would have found his brother's abhorrently disheveled appearance quite amusing. However right now he was soaking wet and it was freezing, not to mention he was filthy. Sirius cast warming charms and cleaning charms on Regulus before carefully gathering his little brother up in his arms as gently as he could and addressing the house elf,

"I take it only you can apparate in and out of here?"

"No wizard can apparate inside this cave, but Kreacher can apparate yous and Master Regulus from the outside. If you're ready we can all go now."

"Yes, we're ready, Kreacher."

And with that Sirius, carrying Regulus, and Kreacher walked outside of the cave, disapparating at the first moment it was possible to do so.


	11. Recovery and Reflections

Sirius, Regulus and Kreacher apparated directly into a quiet corner of the hospital wing of Hogwarts, as had been Sirius' instructions to Kreacher. The infirmary had quite a few occupants, though as most of them had the curtains around their beds drawn, no one seemed to notice their sudden appearance. Sirius quickly whisked Regulus onto the nearest available cot and drew the curtains.

After several failed attempts at getting information of the night's events from Kreacher, Sirius sent him back to Grimmauld Place with the order not to tell anyone of what had happened. Sirius deduced that Regulus must have given similar orders but he wasn't sure if they would apply to the events following when Regulus 'died'.

Sirius peeked out of the curtains to see if he could find Madam Pomfrey to have her look over Regulus, but the matron was nowhere to be seen. He did see a couple of volunteers from St. Mungo's, one of which he recognized as Rachel Candor.

Since the death eater raid at St. Mungo's, civilians and ministry officials alike had been requesting to be treated there instead of at the hospital in London. It was public opinion now that Hogwarts was the safest place in Britain in the present climate. As gifted as Madam Pomfrey was, the patient load was beyond what any one witch could handle alone, which had prompted many of the apprentices to begin volunteering time at Hogwarts. The healers of St. Mungo's were stretched too thin to send any aid as they had lost a few of their number to the death eaters. The apprentices were able to help with caring for most of the student's ailments as well as some of the more minor afflictions of other patients, or so Sirius had been told at the last Order meeting.

Sirius quickly closed the curtains so as to not draw the apprentice's attention. Aside from not really wanting to see her in general, he suspected Regulus needed help beyond what a first year apprentice could provide. Also considering she had been in his brother's year at school, there was a good chance she would not help even if she could. There was no telling what horrible things he and his friends might have done to her in their school days. Despite being a pureblood, she lacked the 'proper pureblood pride' required to ever have been friendly with any of the Slytherins.

After a couple of minutes, in which Regulus remained in a comatose state and Sirius checked almost obsessively to ensure he still had a pulse, Sirius again peeked out from the curtains. This time he saw Madam Pomfrey and motioned her over. She gestured that she would be over shortly and Sirius returned to his silent vigil.

After what seemed like an eternity to Sirius but was likely only a couple of minutes, the matron arrived.

"Well Mr. Black, what can I do for you?"

"It's my brother actually," Sirius said gesturing towards the bed. "I'm not sure of everything, but near drowning is on his list of ailments."

If the matron was surprised of Sirius' company, or his condition, she hid it well. The matron had grown accustomed to treating a diverse population of late, and wasted no time casting diagnostic spells, followed by healing spells as she went. The only indication of surprise she showed was in the raise of her eyebrows, which nearly blended in with her hairline by the time she addressed Sirius again.

The matron made a 'tsk' sound, before asking, "And you have no idea how he came to be in this condition?"

She continued casting various healing spells as she spoke, as if to seem like she was not particularly interested in his answer.

"None at all. The Black family's house elf apparated me to him. I found him in this state," Sirius answered firmly. He wasn't sure how much to reveal. He wanted his brother to receive proper treatment but was worried he would be sent away if she found out Regulus was a death eater.

"And what of these hand prints? It looks as if someone was rather intent on drowning him. They were there when you found him too, I suppose?" she asked sounding a bit too skeptical for Sirius' liking.

"This is exactly how I found him, with the exception that he now has the improved state of having a heartbeat," Sirius answered heatedly. 'Why would he bother with getting Regulus treatment if he had been the one to put him in this condition?'

Madam Pomfrey looked startled at that and cast another series of diagnostic spells. As her expression became ever more grave with each spell, Sirius demanded,

"Will he be ok? How long before he wakes up?"

"I couldn't say. He is in a surprisingly stable condition considering what he has been through. His current state of unconsciousness seems to be as much from exhaustion as it is from the near-drowning experience. I could attempt to revive him, but his body will heal more efficiently if it is allowed to rest. I also suspect he will be in a great deal of pain if he were to awaken anytime soon."

She continued casting healing spells for a few more moments before adding, "I have fixed the most serious damage. I will have someone bring over a salve for the worst of the markings on his skin and to fix the remainder of his ailments. After that I suggest we let him be."

The matron then left Sirius alone to continue his watch over his still unresponsive brother. A few minutes later, the healer's apprentice, Rachel, made her presence known before opening the curtains and entering the area around Regulus' cot.

The apprentice did not seem to notice Sirius' presence as she walked in and immediately checked Regulus for a pulse. He could understand that, Regulus certainly looked like death warmed over. Sirius did not understand the expressions that crossed her face though, as they seemed to go from shocked to a mixture of exasperation and relief. He was then thoroughly perturbed when she brushed his hair out of his face in an almost affectionate manner, before startling when Sirius cleared his throat. She quickly glanced at him before beginning to apply salve to the markings on Regulus' neck. 'That was weird,' Sirius thought but did not comment.

After treating Regulus' face, neck and what was visible on his arms, she flicked her wand to switch Regulus' tattered clothing for a long sleeved hospital gown.

"I've never seen one of those before. I've only ever seen the short sleeved kind used," Sirius remarked more to break the silence than because he actually cared about gown selection.

The apprentice looked at him as if trying to read something in his expression, but after a moment replied, "Yes, well, those are standard. He still feels really cold though, and as it's always frigid in here, I thought he might be a bit more comfortable in this."

"Thoughtful of you."

"So, what happened anyway?"

"As I've told Madam Pomfrey, I do not know what happened exactly, this is how I found him."

"I see."

The noncommittal tone in which she answered only further irritated Sirius after his encounter with the matron, whom he was normally a favorite of.

"Care to share your real feelings? If I didn't know any better I would think you and Madam Pomfrey both think that I am somehow responsible for Regulus' current afflictions. Which is ridiculous considering I am the one that brought him in for treatment."

"Merlin, calm down, Black. I certainly don't think you would try to drown your brother, if that's what you are asking. I've no idea what you told Madam Pomfrey, I was just told that a patient was nearly drowned to a point that his heart actually stopped beating temporarily. I came in here to find said patient with markings all over his body, obviously indicative of a struggle. Add in that it is his estranged brother that happens to be the one accompanying him… While I do not think you are responsible, surely you can see why the situation is a bit suspect."

Sirius was about to retort something that would likely have gotten him kicked out of the hospital wing but when he looked at Rachel's expression it looked more amused than accusing. Instead he asked,

"Why don't you think I am responsible if it's so suspicious?"

"You are reputed to be intelligent. I don't know how well deserved that reputation is, but no one with even a grain of common sense would find themselves in your situation if they were guilty."

"That's a fair point... I guess. So, do you know Regulus then?"

"Only in passing. We had several classes together," she answered while continuing to cast various diagnostic and healing spells.

"You probably had some dealings with him and his friends while at school then. I'm a little surprised you don't seem to mind helping him to be honest," Sirius replied wryly.

"Oh. Well, they never bothered me much. I guess because I'm a pureblood and all."

"Yes, but you're also a blood traitor."

"And you're supposed to be the brother that doesn't care about that, yet here we are," Rachel replied amusedly.

"I don't, I just-"

"Have a tendency to blurt things out before thinking them through?" Rachel suggested.

Sirius grimaced, "It's been known to happen on occasion."

"You should probably work on that. Though admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, or so I've heard."

"Where did you hear that, some kind of muggle therapy?"

Rachel rolled her eyes before declaring, "I have to go check on my other patients. Is there anything you need right now?"

"No, but how long before you think he'll wake up? Madam Pomfrey didn't give an answer. Having some sort of timeframe would be nice."

"Well, Madam Pomfrey told me she thought it would be a few days. I actually think it could be sooner though. The more magically powerful someone is, the faster they heal. Your brother was always one of the more powerful students in my year."

"Alright then, thanks for your help."

"You're welcome," Rachel hesitated a moment before adding, "Please let me know when he wakes up."

Sirius nodded his assent and then returned to his silent vigil. It was incredibly boring. He considered going to speak with Professor Dumbledore but did not want to leave in case Regulus woke up.

* * *

Several hours later a sleeping Sirius was awoken by an owl he did not recognize with a letter addressed to Regulus. As Sirius untied the letter he vaguely thought it unsanitary to allow owls into the hospital wing, before rolling over on his makeshift bed and falling back to sleep.

Sirius woke up again mid-afternoon and found Regulus to be just as he had left him, asleep. After ordering and then devouring a meal graciously provided by the Hogwarts house elves, Sirius became increasingly restless. He had not had any contact with anyone all day with the exception of when Madam Pomfrey or one of her minions periodically came in to check on Regulus.

It was then that he remembered the letter. He reasoned that it could contain time sensitive information and Regulus was in no shape to read it himself. He then carefully tore open the letter, and read:

'_Reg- _

_I'm not sure where you are or what's going on. I can only presume The Dark Lord has sent you on a mission to make amends for your interference in yesterday's raid. Most are speculating you had a momentary lapse in judgment and acted on reflex. Others have suggested you were looking out for The Dark Lord's interests- because you really believe Sirius can be recruited to our cause. I won't tell you what I think in case this letter is intercepted, but do heed what I am telling you. _

_As you may have noticed, The Dark Lord has a bit of a fascination with you. You are, and have always been much too clever for your own good. He believes you to be an untapped vessel full of intricate knowledge in the dark arts and torture, and for that reason, one of his most valuable acquisitions amongst the death eaters. Whatever you are thinking of doing, I strongly advise you to reconsider. _

_As clever as you are, you will be found. As you know, perhaps better than any of us; death eaters are bound for life. Anyone found to be a traitor will have a slow and most assuredly painful death. I think you may be the exception. In your case, I daresay even Azkaban might be better. Please take this under advisement and if you need help ask for it now, before it is too late to be helped._

_Evan'_

Sirius finished the letter and then re-read it. He then folded it back the way it had been, and charmed it so that it looked as if never opened. After placing it neatly on Regulus' bedside table, he began to ponder what he had just read.

He had often wondered whether anyone in Slytherin were actually friends, or if they were all just united in their hatred of everyone else. Rosier's letter seemed to suggest that he and Regulus were friendly, rather than just allies, though it was certainly possible that the letter was designed to lure Regulus into a trap.

Regulus and Rosier had been practically inseparable in school, though that didn't necessarily mean anything when most Slytherins always seemed to travel in packs.

According to the letter, Rosier seemed to think Regulus might be on a mission to make amends for his interference. Perhaps the stint at the cave was Voldemort's retaliation for Regulus' intervention? Inferi induced drowning seemed like a bit of an overreaction to Sirius, but as Voldemort was clearly a madman, he wouldn't put it past him. That didn't explain Kreacher's involvement though, unless Regulus called him there. But why would he if only to leave him there to drown?

It also didn't make sense for Voldemort to leave Regulus to die if he was anywhere near as valuable as Rosier suggested. 'Untapped vessel full of intricate knowledge in the dark arts and torture,' his letter had said. What did that mean? Did Regulus possess this intricate knowledge but refrained from using it, or is Regulus just incredibly sick in the ideas of torture he comes up with? If it was the latter then Sirius was not sure rescuing Regulus was in anyone's best interest. Sirius was unsure of what Regulus' plans were, he scarcely knew him anymore.

Evan Rosier and his brother had been nearly inseparable at school though. Rosier likely knew Regulus as well as anyone could. According to his letter, he seemed to think Regulus wanted out of the death eaters. 'Well that's something, at least,' Sirius thought. However this only gave him a different cause for worry. It wasn't as if Regulus could just walk up to Voldemort and hand in his resignation. Could Regulus have been trying to kill himself? Would he prefer death over continuing his life as a death eater?

For the millionth time, Sirius wondered why Regulus would have ever thought joining the death eaters was a good idea. He had been a sweet kid when he was young. More innocent than Sirius had been. Sirius had always done his best to keep Regulus out of hearing range when their most offensive relatives came to visit.

Before Sirius began Hogwarts, Regulus had been spared from the majority of 'special lessons' with their father that Sirius had had to attend as the rightful heir of the Black family. Sirius knew Regulus began the same lessons once Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, 'just in case'. The changes Sirius saw in his brother when he returned home from school following his first year spoke volumes of what he must have had to endure in Sirius' absence. Not that Regulus would ever tell Sirius anything about it. Sirius thought it likely the lessons only worsened once he had been disowned.

Sirius thought back to Rosier's letter. Could he really have gone through all of this effort to save Regulus from the cave and then waiting around for him to wake up only for things to go back to the way they were? Regulus was a death eater, and it certainly didn't seem like leaving them was an option, especially if Rosier's letter was anything to go by.

Sirius thought it might be best if he just left. Let Regulus wake up alone and figure things out for himself. It wasn't as if he would listen to anything Sirius had to say anyway. The thought was fleeting though as he realized he had everything to gain by staying. The worst case scenario was that Sirius would offer to help Regulus only to be turned away. If that happened at least Sirius could be free.

Free from the guilt that he has carried with him all of these years. Wondering if he could have done something more to try and sway Regulus away from the clutches of their family. He realized now that he had abandoned Regulus long before ever officially leaving. The moment the sorting hat declared Regulus was to be in Slytherin some part of Sirius' heart had hardened towards his brother. As the years went by Sirius constantly looked for flaws in him to further convince himself that Regulus had been a lost cause from the beginning.

He had long since felt that he had failed his younger brother in this regard. By leaving the family he could no longer keep him safe from them. Sirius was all but certain now that had he stayed, Regulus would never have joined the death eaters. And if that were true then why hadn't he stayed?

He left home less than a year before when he would have been legally able to do so anyway. He moved in with the Potter's. What was so different about that? He had spent every Christmas and Easter holiday with them as well as the majority of the summer breaks since his first year. He had considered leaving long before when he actually did but always justified staying with the fact that he was rarely ever there to begin with.

His actual decision to leave home had been rash, decided in the heat of the moment at the height of an argument. He was lucky that the Potter's took him in and even more so that his Uncle Alphard had left him an inheritance. Without it, Sirius would not have been able to maintain anything close to his usual lifestyle. He likely would not have even been able to afford his last year's tuition at Hogwarts. Worse than that, his leaving only caused his parents to place even more pressure onto his brother's already overloaded shoulders. It very well could have pushed him into the ranks of the death eaters. His parents had been sympathizers, and after all, it would have made them proud.

That was all in the past now though. If for no other reason, Sirius was glad to have saved Regulus in the cave so as to be able to clear the air with him when he wakes up. Perhaps it would be their last conversation. Sirius was determined that regardless of the result, he was going to let go of any lingering feelings of guilt that haunted him.

* * *

Finally, late into the evening Regulus began to stir. Sirius poked his head out and caught Rachel's eye. Merlin, did she ever go home? She certainly looked exhausted. He decided not to comment on that fact when she entered the 'room' though as their last conversation had been relatively friendly. He also couldn't quite shake the feeling that her comment about him speaking before thinking things through had been a warning of some sort, though why she would feel the need to give him any such warning he could not fathom.

Rachel observed Regulus' restlessness briefly before leaving momentarily. When she came back her hands were full of several different vials of potion, all of which she sat down on the table without giving Regulus any. She saw Sirius' look of confusion and answered his unasked question, "Most of these vials contain potions for pain relief, some stronger than others. I wanted to have them close by for when he wakes up, but to give any to him now would likely just put him back to sleep. You seem anxious to have him awake. I also suspect he has obligations he will need to see to before too long."

Sirius nodded but did not reply. He too had wondered about Regulus' 'obligations' and how long it would be before he was missed.

Sirius was pulled out of that line of thought when Rachel began trying to speak to Regulus. She stroked his cheek gently and asked if he could hear her. He grunted in response. Sirius watched silently from his seat off to the side. He thought alerting Regulus of his presence might cause the younger Black unnecessary trepidation in his current state. After a minute or two of similar interaction, Regulus gradually became more lucid.

Regulus opened his eyes just enough to find out he was extremely light sensitive and promptly closed them again.

"Rachel," he greeted weakly.

Rachel smiled broadly then replied, "Welcome back to the land of the living. Your brother brought you to the hospital wing at Hogwarts."

Regulus grunted incoherently before asking, "Aren't you in the wrong place?"

"No, ever since those pesky death eaters infiltrated St. Mungo's I've been splitting my time. I'm right where I'm supposed to be," she smiled softly. She then cleared her throat and addressed Sirius, "well as far as I can tell, he doesn't seem to have any short term memory loss." She cast a few more silent spells before adding, "The light sensitivity is to be expected but should subside soon. If any new symptoms develop please let Madam Pomfrey or myself know promptly."

Turning back to Regulus, she said, "I have a smorgasbord of potions to aid with your pain level. How strong of one do you need?"

After being given the potion he had requested, (by both name and dosage, instead of level of pain to Sirius' bafflement and Rachel's amusement) the healing apprentice excused herself, leaving the Black brothers alone.


	12. Reaquainting and Alliances

Regulus had played seeker on his house team for five years and had accrued a rather impressive list of quidditch related injuries throughout that time. He had also participated in Slytherin's 'secret dueling club,' while he had been at Hogwarts, a club in which the likes of Severus Snape regularly tested out new spell creations. Add in the stray cruciatus here and there and the various methods of punishment his parents' rather vivid imaginations had come up with in his youth, and the Black heir was no stranger to pain. He had had more stays in the Hogwart's hospital wing than he could count. However, in all of those visits to the infirmary, or in his entire life for that matter, he had never felt as battered as he did now.

He had died. He was certain of that. There was a period, whether it had lasted for one minute or for an entire day or even longer he could not say. It was as if time did not exist, he did not exist. He had no pain, regret or guilt. It was blissful and he was at peace.

It was also fleeting. He had been forcefully ripped away from that blissful, timeless place and harshly returned to a world in which pain and regret ran rampant. He also required air to breathe again. Unfortunately for Regulus, breathing was incredibly painful. As was laying there in the bed, opening his eyes, moving his arms and everything else he attempted to do.

His throat was also extremely scratchy. His voice sounded as if it hadn't been used in years. Had it really only been one day? Rachel had told him as much as she gave him his pain potion. He did not take nearly as much potion as he would have liked. He needed a clear head to deal with Sirius and he only had one more day before every death eater at Voldemort's disposal would be sent after him.

He could just kill Sirius now. He certainly had the element of surprise on his side. How unfortunate that killing him would require moving. Not to mention that in doing so he would be making his first kill, losing his only brother and securing his place within a group that he no longer wanted any part of, all in one swoop. Merlin his head was pounding.

Regulus desperately wanted to go back to sleep. It was the only pastime that was not painful. He knew Sirius was sitting beside him and would want an explanation of what had happened. He considered feigning sleep to avoid the impending interrogation but knew Sirius deserved better. Had he really waited here all day while he was unconscious?

"Sirius," Regulus was irritated to find his words were slightly slurred but did his best to sound as articulate as possible, "How did you find me?"

"I went to Grimmauld Place to talk to you. When no one was there I called for Kreacher. As soon as he saw me he grabbed my arm and apparated us to outside of that hellhole we found you in. What the hell was that Regulus? You were dragged underwater by inferi, and would have drowned if I hadn't shown up when I did. You even had the foresight to order Kreacher not to tell anyone what was going on. Were you planning on having yourself killed?"

"Have you placed silencing charms on these curtains?"

Apparently he hadn't, for Sirius stood up then and began casting the charms. When he was finished, Regulus asked,

"Why did you want to talk to me?"

"To find out what is going on with you. You blocked the killing curse on my behalf, which was incredibly stupid on your part. The chances of that spell actually hitting me was pretty near nil. I then found out you spoke to Dumbledore. So, again I ask, are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Of course not. I'm eighteen, I have much too much to live for and all that." Did he really just say that out loud? He continued trying to focus his efforts on the conversation at hand. It required much more effort than it should have.

"So that's in then. After all of this, you aren't even going to tell me anything, are you? You're just going to get patched up here and then go back to your beloved master? You're unbelievable," Sirius' voice had risen to a tone that many would likely consider a yell, but having grown up with him, Regulus knew Sirius was still several octaves below his version of yelling. Unfortunately that was a small comfort with his head already pounding the way it was.

Sirius was about to say something else, but it seemed as if all of the fight had gone out of him at the last moment. He closed his mouth and made to leave the 'room'.

"Thanks for saving me," Regulus stated quietly just before he pulled open the curtains.

Sirius hesitated briefly before saying, "You received a letter while you were unconscious. It's on the table." He then pulled back the curtains and stormed away.

Regulus was surprised and slightly disappointed that Sirius had given up on questioning him as quickly as he did. His big brother interrogation skills seemed to have atrophied over the years. It was also possible that Sirius realized Regulus wasn't in the right frame of mind for a long overdue conversation between them. Somehow Regulus doubted that was the case. Sirius wasn't known for being particularly sympathetic.

All thoughts of sleep had left him by now and he was gradually becoming more clear-headed. With nothing else to do he picked up his letter and was unsurprised to find it was from Evan.

Just as he was finishing it, Rachel came back to check on him.

"How are you feeling?"

"It could be worse," 'though not much', he added himself.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Regulus thought about it for a moment before saying, "You're much safer the less you know about it."

"I take it your brother didn't receive that answer well."

Regulus grimaced, "I'm not really sure what he expected of me. I'm a death eater."

He was not about to involve Rachel in his issues if he could help it. She had managed to fly under Voldemort's radar so far and he intended to keep it that way.

She observed him skeptically for a moment, "I won't press you for details. You have no reason to explain yourself to me anymore."

"Rachel-"

"I didn't mean that how it probably sounded." She lightly bit her bottom lip, a sign he knew to mean she was nervous, "It's just that since you're still determined to keep me in the dark for my own protection or whatever other stupid reason you've come up with, Sirius is probably the most neutral person you can trust."

"Sirius is far from neutral."

"Away from the influence of Potter I think he could be, for you. He is still your brother, disownment or not, it's in your blood. If you need evidence of that you should have seen how worried he has been about you. He hasn't left. You don't even have to worry about keeping him safe from the dangers of the war either, seeing as he is already directly involved in it. Whatever is going on with you maybe he can help."

Regulus nodded his assent and agreed to think about it.

Their conversation drifted from there to details of Rachel's apprenticeship and changes made at the hospital since the death eater raid had taken place. They, mostly Rachel, filled each other in on what they had been doing over the past few months. Her life experiences of late had been far more pleasant than Regulus'. He was pleased that she seemed content to share them rather than press him for details of his recent escapades. After all, death and destruction hardly made for pleasant conversation.

* * *

Sirius was mad- no, that wasn't quite right. He was disappointed. He had spent the entirety of the last 24 hours waiting for Regulus to wake up, holding on to a shred of hope that he would be different. He wasn't. Questions answered only with evasiveness and half-truths. Still all too happy to serve the lunatic that can't be named.

He rescued Regulus from the cave. He would be dead if it hadn't been for Sirius. The least he could do was answer his bloody questions. Sirius decided it was past time for Dumbledore to know of the presence of a death eater in the castle and made his way in the direction of his office.

Upon entering the headmaster's office he was greeted with, "Ah Mr. Black, I see your vigil has commenced. Am I right to assume this means the younger Black is now awake?"

"You knew he was here?" Sirius had not expected that.

"Alas, there is little that goes on in the infirmary I am not privy to. Madam Pomfrey sees to it that I am well informed of the presence of the outside guests who visit."

"I'm surprised you allowed him to be treated."

"I suspect many would be surprised that you saw fit to bring the younger Black in for treatment."

"I'm not sure it was the right thing to do, sir, him being a death eater and all."

"You knew that before bringing him in, yet you still brought him. Has something happened to change your mind of the wisdom in that choice?"

"When I brought him in he was unconscious, now he's awake," Sirius deadpanned.

"I see. Well if you have no objections, I would like to have a word with him while he is so easily accessible. Perhaps you would like to accompany me for a chat with your brother?"

"Are you going to have him arrested?" Sirius asked in a tone that was intended to sound offhanded.

"I think not. I suspect this might be an enlightening experience for the both of us. Now are you ready?"

Sirius gave a nod of assent. He had no idea what the headmaster was on about. He was slightly relieved that Dumbledore didn't want to have Regulus arrested though, even if he deserved it.

* * *

Regulus was sitting up in bed talking with Rachel, who had taken Sirius' vacated seat after he had left, when the headmaster along with Sirius entered his, for lack of a better word, 'room'.

For some reason the scene seemed to amuse the headmaster. Sirius wore a rather stony expression, a look more commonly found on the younger Black's face.

"Hello Mr. Black. I wondered if you might feel up to having a bit of company, though it seems I am too late as you already have a lovely visitor."

Regulus noticed Rachel was very tense beside him. She quickly excused herself before leaving on the context of checking on some other patients.

Regulus smiled faintly, "I'm not sure I am very good company in this state, but you are certainly welcome to join me."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore replied. "Sirius has told me of your successful dispelling of the killing curse yesterday. I wish first to congratulate you on that rather impressive feat."

"Thank you, sir," Regulus answered awkwardly.

"I wondered as I think your brother does, whether the condition you find yourself in now is a result of that action?"

"Indirectly at best," Regulus answered eventually.

He was having an internal battle at this point. If he wanted outside help this was his opportunity, and likely the last he would have. However he did not want to endanger anyone else with the knowledge he held. He also knew there was a good chance he might die soon, permanently this time. His biggest regret in the cave had been that he had not told anyone else of the horcruxes.

He thought Dumbledore more likely to actually know what a horcrux was. Sirius had missed out on the majority of dark arts lessons that occurred in their household, as he was so rarely present. Though choice in friends aside, Regulus trusted Sirius more than he trusted Dumbledore.

He thought back to the reasons he didn't entirely trust Dumbledore and realized it was mostly because of his family's view of him. He also knew Sirius trusted Dumbledore, and that Sirius did not trust him. Perhaps telling both of them would be the most practical. Professor Dumbledore's calm demeanor may also serve as a buffer between Sirius and his tendency to overreact.

His recent trauma must have made his thought process a bit slower than normal, for Dumbledore then prodded him,

"Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Regulus nodded once and took a deep breath before beginning cautiously,

"To explain my intention in the cave would be impractical without first explaining some of the circumstances which led me there.

Since joining the death eaters, I've managed to acquire some rather sensitive information. Knowledge of which was never meant to be discovered. It will be…unpleasant should The Dark Lord find out what I have learned. I think it best to share what I have found out, though only with the two you. I must be certain that what I tell is not shared with anyone else."

"Why should we believe anything you tell us?" Sirius asked skeptically.

"Because without the information I possess, Voldemort cannot be defeated."

Sirius raised an eyebrow at that, "You said the name. Isn't that like blasphemous amongst death eaters?"

Regulus smirked, "I suppose that's fitting then. I could scarcely be considered a death eater anymore, at least not a very good one." His expression became more somber as he demanded, "Will you agree to keep anything I tell you private?"

Dumbledore immediately agreed, "Indeed. I am very interested to learn what information you have acquired in your experience amongst the death eaters. I agree it likely best to keep the information private, especially if it is as vital as you say in ridding the world of Voldemort's influence."

Sirius remained noncommittal and had seemingly begun a staring contest with Regulus. The latter of which refused to break eye contact. Finally, Sirius gave in and nodded his assent.

Now that Regulus had their attention he wasn't entirely sure where he should begin. In the end he decided it best not to sugarcoat the matter and got right to the point,

"Do either of you know what a horcrux is?"

To that Sirius looked perplexed and Dumbledore appalled.

For Sirius' benefit he continued,

"A horcrux is an incredibly dark creation that requires murder to complete. It is made by one wishing to obtain immortality. After committing an act of murder, a fragment of their soul becomes hidden in an object, and so long as that fragment of the soul is safe, the creator cannot die, even if their body should perish."

Sirius looked revolted, "And you believe Voldemort has successfully created one?"

"I know he has made one. I suspect he has made several."

"That would explain the change to his physical appearance over the years," Dumbledore stated gravely. "How did you come by this information?"

"Yes, his features are far more reptilian now than even when I first joined the death eaters. I had been suspicious for a while. Voldemort, he has a tendency to brag of his accomplishments. In meetings he would often say things like 'I, who have gone farther than anyone else on the path to immortality,' and the like. The other death eaters never seemed to notice anything amiss, but those were the times I was always most interested in what he had to say. I had been trying to figure out what method he had used to obtain immortality.

"I cannot say for certain, but he has on several occasions referred to the number seven being the most magically powerful number. I believe it likely that to create seven is his eventual goal, though whether he has succeeded in making that many as of yet, I do not know."

After a few moments of stunned silence Sirius asked, "Do you have any idea what the objects are or where they could be?"

"I know of one, the locket that formerly belonged Salazar Slytherin. It was located in the cave you rescued me from last night, Sirius. There are many protections in the cave. The locket itself was located on the island in the center of the lake. The island is only accessible by a boat charmed to carry no more than one wizard.

"The locket was submerged beneath a potion and could not be removed by any method aside from someone first drinking the entirety of that potion," Regulus shuddered involuntarily remembering the events of the night before.

"What sort of potion was it?" Sirius asked.

"I believe it to be a creation of Voldemort's. In my research I've never come across anything quite like it. It causes the drinker to feel as if they are burning from the inside out. It then traps the drinker in an illusion of all of their worst memories. Once the potion is finished, it causes the drinker to feel extremely muddled and above anything else, dehydrated. The only source of drink available is conveniently the lake, which upon disturbing, awakens an army of inferi to attack the drinker.

"As the boat that allows access to the island will only carry the one wizard, and the only way to touch the locket is to drink a potion what will compel the drinker to unwittingly awaken an army of inferi, Voldemort is confident the locket is quite safe.

"I ordered Kreacher to force me to drink all of the potion and then immediately take the locket and leave. It was of the upmost importance for him to escape with the locket so as to be able to destroy it."

Regulus was too engrossed in his own thoughts at that moment to notice the looks of surprise and awe that his companions were now wearing. He had not expected to survive the mission when he gave Kreacher orders to destroy the locket. He now desperately needed the horcrux to be intact.

"Kreacher," he called. Almost instantly the house elf was there and bowing before him.

"Master Regulus is awake! And Master Regulus had called Kreacher," the house elf stated with obvious relief and adoration in his demeanor.

"Yes, Kreacher. Have you managed to destroy the locket we procured last night?"

The elf's face crumpled "Kreacher is sorry. Kreacher has tried and tried but Kreacher has not been able to destroy it. Kreacher will not rest though, not until Kreacher destroys it."

"That won't be necessary. I no longer need for you to destroy the locket. I want you to bring it to me. I also want you to look at the family tapestry before returning. See if there have been any changes in the past day or so. Report back to me what you find immediately, please."

Kreacher looked a bit startled at his orders but quickly bowed and said, "As master wishes," before popping away.

Once Kreacher left, Sirius asked the question Regulus had expected to have been asked much sooner,

"Why did you drink the potion? Kreacher is a house elf. He would have been only too happy to drink it if only to spare his favorite master the fate you very nearly experienced."

"Voldemort underestimated the magic of house elves. Kreacher was able to apparate directly into and out of the cave while a wizard cannot. I felt it was most important for the locket to be removed so that it could be destroyed."

"So it really was meant to be a suicide mission then?" Sirius asked angrily, "You had no plans to make it out of the cave alive?"

"I thought I would be able to detain the inferi, before using the boat to escape the island. I underestimated the effects of the potion. It, along with the other events of yesterday, left me far more out of sorts than I could have anticipated," Regulus answered calmly.

The truth was, he had no reason to escape the cave if the locket was not safely smuggled out of there. Kreacher could not have disapparated from the cave with Regulus, and it was unlikely the house elf could have escaped by any other means, especially if he had Regulus hindering his progress.

Kreacher popped back at that moment and quickly bowed before handing Regulus the locket.

"Thank you, Kreacher. Have there been changes to the tapestry?"

"The tapestry shows a death date of yesterday for Master Regulus," the house elf replied sadly. "Kreacher can fix it though, for Master Regulus is alive and Kreacher is happy for it," the elf's ears perked up a bit.

"You can alter the tapestry?"

"Kreacher thinks so, yes"

"Good. Kreacher I do not wish for the tapestry to show that I am alive, but to postpone my date of death by a couple of days. Can you manage that?"

"What are you doing? Why bother with changing the date if you wish to be believed dead?" Sirius demanded.

Regulus ignored his question and addressed the house elf again, "Can you do it, Kreacher?"

"Kreacher thinks so," the house elf answered resignedly.

"Good. Mother and father are not scheduled to return from the South of France for a few more days. It will need to be modified before their return. I will call for you when I determine the date needed. Thank you, Kreacher."

The house elf bowed again before popping away.

Regulus looked up from where Kreacher had been and found Sirius staring at him, equal parts bewilderment and agitation in his expression. Regulus thought at first that Dumbledore was staring at him as well. After looking at him properly though he found the headmaster was more precisely eyeing the locket he held in his hand. Regulus tightened his grip on the chain and shoved it into his pocket.

"You are not leaving my sight until you tell me what the hell that was about," Sirius announced.

"It's obvious isn't it? I stole a horcrux, I certainly can't go waltzing back into the next death eater meeting, I'll have to fake my own death somehow."

"But why bother with changing the date on the tapestry?"

Regulus scoffed and looked at the ground before responding, "It seems The Dark Lo- Voldemort saw the need to clarify where my true loyalties lie." Looking up at Sirius he added, "My parting orders were to either recruit you to his cause or kill you. If my time of death is mere hours following when those orders were given, I've no doubt it is only a matter of time before my untimely death is blamed on you."

Dumbledore cut in at that point, "That makes sense, but perhaps should be revisited at a later time. Now that we have been briefed on the situation, I think it best to allow the younger Black to rest. We can recommence our discussion once he is back on his feet. In the meantime I think it most appropriate if I were to keep the horcrux with me until we find a means to destroy it. Unless, you've already found a way to do so?" He asked the younger Black.

"Fiendfyre would work. I could probably contain it well enough," Regulus answered vaguely. He was about to add that he was keeping the locket with him when Dumbledore asked,

"Have you still no reservations of using dark magic? Cursed fire is extremely unpredictable and difficult to control for anyone. The repercussions if unsuccessful could be abundant."

Regulus was glad he had feigned uncertainty at his ability to control fiendfyre. He had had plenty of practice casting it, and knew for a fact he could control it. Somehow he did not think his companions would be mollified by that.

"With all due respect, sir, I believe the intent to be far more important than the spell itself. It's no secret a well-placed severing charm is capable of killing someone, though no one considers the severing charm to be 'dark'. This is a horcrux we are talking about. Any means used to rid us of it will be nothing by comparison in terms of darkness to the thing itself.

"That said, if you are able to find a means to destroy them that is not 'dark,' I have no objections to using that method. I warn you though that in my research I have found nothing, unless perhaps you have access to basilisk venom? You could possibly buy some in Knockturn Alley if you so choose, though its authenticity would be questionable at best.

"As to where the locket is to reside, I've no intention of letting it out of my possession." Regulus' tone was calm but firm.

Dumbledore fixed him with his best grandfatherly expression before replying, "I understand your concern. You certainly risked a great deal in retrieving the locket, which goes a long way for showing remorse for your previous actions. To my knowledge you have never been directly linked to any death eater crimes, I think it possible we might very well be able to keep you out of Azkaban if that is what you are concerned about."

Regulus sighed inwardly, he was not trying to use the horcrux as leverage. Perhaps he should not have divulged so much of his findings all at once. It was becoming plain to him now that Dumbledore was not going to be agreeable to his plans. He could not think of anyway of insisting he hold onto the locket without raising suspicion. He decided the truth would be his best option. Resignedly, he lifted up the left sleeve of the hospital pajamas he wore and allowed his comrades to ogle the dark mark as he explained,

"Every death eater has this branded into their left forearm. Among other things it acts as a tracking mechanism. I was given 48 hours to either recruit or kill Sirius. I've no intention of doing either, nor do I intend to return to Voldemort. When the remainder of my time runs out, it will only be a short time before the hunt begins. The death eaters will be sent out to accost me and I will most likely be killed. Faking my death will not help anything if I cannot alter the mark. My continued existence would not go unnoticed and I would stand no chance of resisting capture forever."

"Can it be removed?" Sirius asked, genuine concern evident in his tone.

"I have an inkling of something that might work, but it involves the use of a horcrux, that until now I did not have possession of."

Dumbledore had kept a calm guise up for the entirety of the conversation thus far but Regulus was detecting his act to be slipping ever so slightly. Regulus was very good at reading people and it was obvious to him Dumbledore was struggling to keep up his façade.

"To use one piece of dark magic to rid oneself of another seems incredibly cavalier, especially when both pieces of magic were originated by Voldemort. Have you thought this through? The implications could be astronomical."

"I've really no other choice at this point, sir. The research I have done on the matter leads me to believe the worse that could happen is that I will die, while the horcrux would remain unscathed. If I do not have this mark removed I am going to die anyway. At least this way it might be with a bit more dignity than what Voldemort would ever allow," Regulus replied bitterly.

"I do not believe you have considered all of your options. Have you given any thought for turning spy for The Order? It sounds as though you are still believed to be a loyal follower, and the insight you could provide would be most advantageous."

Sirius interjected scathingly, "Would you have him to recruit me to the death eaters or to kill me then, sir? Those were his orders, remember?"

"Yes, my memory is as good as ever, Sirius, and you are known to be an excellent duelist. Would it not be plausible that young Regulus tried his best but was unable to overpower his older brother?"

"I won't do it," Regulus stated firmly.

"Think of all of the innocent lives you could save. Surely the punishment for failing in this one mission would be worth that?"

"It's not that. I just…I can't," Regulus finished lamely. He had been looking down at his hands and upon looking up he found two sets of eyes intently on him. To his surprise Sirius looked more apprehensive than anything else, while Dumbledore was beginning to become visibly agitated despite his best efforts to hide it,

"Perhaps if you voice your concerns aloud we can help you sort them through."

Regulus wondered if the headmaster treated everyone as if they were perpetual children but decided to be tolerant so as to avoid alienating his only two potential allies.

"It would be far too easy for any spy to forget themselves- forget which side they truly belong to. If it were only about deceiving Voldemort it would be one thing. Nearly all of my family and friends are death eaters or sympathizers at best. I won't deceive them in such a way."

"Yet the only alternative you have presented is faking your own death. How could that possibly be any better?"

"Regulus has a point, sir.," Sirius cut in before Regulus could respond. "He has always been far more loyal to our family than they deserve. But Regulus, if you are unwilling to renounce all of those who support Voldemort, what is it that you are planning to do?"

"If I manage to find a way to alter the mark I will fake my own death, adopt a new identity and keep a low profile. All the while I would be doing all I could to find more of the horcruxes. As I'll be believed dead I would not be in contact with anyone that could connect me to my past. When the war is over I suspect I would leave the country. There would be nothing keeping me here, after all." Regulus said all of this with an air of indifference, though his heart was aching at the thought of never speaking to anyone he cared about ever again.

If he did become a spy he could remain in contact with his family. While he secretly agreed to disagree with the majority of their beliefs, they were his family and that meant something to him, even if it didn't to anyone else. Becoming a spy would require him to continue doing Voldemort's bidding. That was something he was unsure he could stomach anymore.

"I suggest you take the rest of the evening to reconsider. I think after careful consideration you will realize that becoming a spy would be in everyone's best interest. It would be most difficult to infiltrate the death eater ranks by other means in the present climate. As your brother said, you care for your family. Keeping up the appearance of faithful death eater would allow you to both remain in contact with them as well as provide valuable information to The Order. An added benefit would be that you would be in close contact with Voldemort and may be able to pick up on more leads as to where the other horcruxes are located.

"I've thought about it already, professor. Long before now. I've never had any intention of becoming a spy. Nothing will change that. As far as my family, they would much prefer to believe I upheld their beliefs and traditions only to meet an untimely death. It would be safer for my parents in that regard as well. And if given the choice, I would rather be remembered in a way my family finds honorable, regardless of what the wizarding world as a whole would think of me."

"Very well, I suggest we all get some rest. We will meet again in the morning to discuss how to proceed tomorrow evening. I plead you do reconsider your options in the meantime. Perhaps in the morning you will have changed your mind. Until then I bid you goodnight."

"Good night, sir."

To Regulus' surprise Sirius did not leave with the headmaster. Sirius seemed to be unsure of his own thoughts of what he had just learned, so Regulus chose to remain silent and continue on with his own plans.

He picked up the letter Evan had sent him and cast a spell to incinerate it. He then transfigured his hospital clothes into presentable robes. After conjuring a mirror and finding his face to be mostly healed, he stood up.

"Going somewhere?"

"As much as I'd like to sleep, there is far too much to be done for that."

"Where are you going?"

"Gringotts, and then maybe to arrange my murder with Evan."

Regulus then picked up a now empty water cup from his bedside table and began turning it into a portkey. When he finished he turned to Sirius, "Are you coming?"

Sirius looked at him in surprise and only just managed to grab on to the cup before it began to glow blue, sending the brothers far away from Hogwarts.


	13. Scheming

Sirius Black's mind was officially blown. Everything he thought to be real in the world shattered. Certainly everything he believed to be true of his brother at any rate.

Regulus wanted the disgusting brand on his arm removed not for sake of vanity, though that would certainly be justified, or even so as to save his own neck and escape to another country. His little brother wanted the mark to be removed so that he could actively join in the regime opposing Voldemort. He wanted to hunt horcruxes and take down the man he once idolized. The man who was quite possibly the most powerful wizard of the century. How incredibly un-Slytherin.

Sirius had been surprised when Regulus asked him if he were going to come with him. He had grabbed the portkey without hesitation, though at the time he did not really know why it seemed so important. He realized now it was because he wanted the opportunity to know his brother. If things were as grim as Regulus had said, this very well could be his last chance.

Regulus' portkey had landed the brothers just outside the steps of Gringotts, where they were quickly escorted into the Black family's account manager, Ragnok's office. Sirius had been briefed initially on the goblins and Regulus' strategy for removing the mark. Since then, he had been sitting on a hard, wooden chair for nearly an hour listening as Regulus and half a dozen goblins hashed out the finer points of the Protean Charm and horcruxes. Sirius had been unable to follow what he had internally labeled as "geek talk" around 43 minutes ago.

It was not entirely the complicated subject matter that kept Sirius from paying attention properly. It was also the interaction itself. The group had seemingly gotten a bit off topic now as Regulus was currently engaged in an entirely civil discussion as to whether Slytherin's locket should belong to the goblin kingdom that created it or to the wizards who purchased it. A civil conversation about ownership. With goblins.

Regulus was treating them in a way that, if not friendly, then certainly with respect. Kreacher was one thing. Sirius had been the heir of the family, and as such had received more attention from their parents when they were younger. Because of this, Sirius knew that in some ways, the house elf had raised Regulus. While Kreacher was always contemptuous towards Sirius, even then, he genuinely cared for Regulus. This was different, as these were goblins. Wizards were rarely kind to goblins, and the sentiment was reciprocated by the goblin nation.

Their parents had only ever been passably civil with the goblins and that was only because they knew that goblins could make life difficult if provoked- they did control the money after all. Sirius had always expected that Regulus would have simply adopted their parent's disdainful attitude, believing everything was beneath him. Sirius was beginning to question that. In fact, he was beginning to wonder if the younger Black did not consider the goblins to be equals. It certainly seemed that way given their present interaction.

How could Regulus be so well adjusted after having grown up in the way they had? Sirius had never been as impressionable as Regulus. He had also escaped from his family when he was 16, yet even now he still struggled with adapting to situations on occasion. He would certainly never be able to carry on a civil conversation with goblins as they disparaged the name of 'wand carriers' at every opportunity. Yet here Regulus sat, seemingly unaffected by the slander, just as calm and polite as ever.

Regulus' current demeanor was something that had annoyed Sirius to no end when they were younger. Regulus was always so infuriatingly calm, even when he should be getting angry. Sirius was biting his tongue to force himself to remain quiet, and was only able to do so with extreme effort. If not for the goblins being Regulus' only chance of ridding himself of the dark mark in the next twenty four hours, Sirius would not even bother with keeping his temper in check. He briefly considered if Regulus might only be indulging the goblins for this same reason. Upon looking at his brother though he knew this to be untrue. Regulus was unoffended by their insults and was genuinely interested in what they had to say.

At long last the meeting concluded and the two brothers left Gringotts together. Both were wearing heavy cloaks wrapped tightly around themselves, serving the dual purpose of blocking out the frigid night's air as well as concealing their identities.

Upon exiting Gringotts, Regulus apparently noticed Sirius' agitation and pushed him into the nearest alley. Despite not having encountered anyone, he cast privacy wards around them before asking,

"What is wrong with you?"

"Did you not hear what those goblins were saying? They insulted us six ways from Sunday and you just kept talking to them as if it was no big deal."

Regulus let out a long suffering sigh, "They are goblins, Sirius. It is in their nature to distrust wizards. It is because of how wizards have treated them in the past that they speak of our kind with disdain".

"How wizards treated them in the past has nothing to do with us."

"Doesn't it? What have we done to bridge the gap between our kind and theirs? They remain second class citizens at best."

"How can you care about the rights of magical creatures when you were a death eater? What about the rights of muggleborns? They have just as much magic as we do, and you were all too happy to become a death eater so as to kill all of them!"

"I did not join the death eaters because I wanted to kill every muggle and muggleborn. I joined because I wanted to preserve the traditions of our own magic. Magical creatures have their own ancient magic and they value their traditions, as more wizards should.

"Goblins pride themselves on the workmanship of their ancestors, they have been taught to masterfully craft fine jewelry and weaponry for centuries and continue the trade with honor.

"House elves understand their magic is more powerful when they are bound to a magical family. Their descendants remain with their chosen family, so as to continue to strengthen their own magic.

"Centaurs have studied the divinities for a millennium, and have become so attuned to the position of the stars and planets they are able to predict what the future holds better than any 'seer' could ever claim.

"Most magical entities hold firm to their own traditions. Wizards do not. It has become common practice for spells to be removed from our education because they are believed to be 'too dark'. Some of the most powerful healing magic has fallen into this category. While magical creatures have continued to develop their magic, wizards remain stagnant. Instead of further developing our ancestor's knowledge and advancing our own abilities, we are allowing that knowledge to be lost. I do not care about blood purity, but I will never stop valuing our traditions."

"You don't care about blood purity?"

"No, but I'll admit that I used to."

"What changed your mind?"

"This is hardly the time to be discussing the intricacies of the world, Sirius, we are running out of time."

Sirius let the topic go reluctantly, they were running low on time, "So, what's next then?"

"I'm hopefully going to find Evan and devise a plan for my tragic death."

"What about Dumbledore's advice?"

"To become a spy? As I said earlier, I've no intention of becoming one. I've been trying to find a way out of the death eaters since almost immediately after joining. I will die returning that damned horcrux to the inferi before I willingly go back to the death eaters. To hell with whatever Dumbledore advises."

Sirius was torn. He had never had any reason to question Dumbledore before. The man always seemed to know what the best course of action was. This was his brother though, and if he had finally realized the idiocy of what those bastards were doing, then he sure as hell wanted him as far away from them and their influence as possible. Especially considering the weakness Regulus had always held for their family. Damn he hated all of them, they deserved anything but his loyalty.

"Alright then. We will devise a plan for your 'death'. We don't need Rosier to do it though. You're far better off if he believes you to be dead as well."

"In other words you don't trust him."

"Of course I don't, he's a death eater!"

"As am I. He is also my best friend, and has been since I was eleven."

"Friends mean nothing within the death eaters."

"Spoken as if you would know. Granted, in most cases I would agree with you."

"In all cases, Regulus. You can't trust any of them, especially not to help you escape them. That would be suicidal."

"You don't have to come with me. It's probably better if you don't actually. You've never really spoken civilly to Evan before…"

"Wait, just. Think about it for a minute. If Rosier can be trusted…which I doubt, isn't that a bit obvious? It's no secret the two of you are friends- you were practically inseparable in school."

Regulus laughed derisively, "Voldemort certainly knows nothing of friendship. If anyone were a friend to him it would have been Evan's father. He was one of the original death eaters. Care to guess where he is now?"

"Rotting in hell would be most appropriate," Sirius answered scathingly.

"Close enough. He's in Azkaban. He's been rotting in there for almost a year. Voldemort has every intention of getting him out, of course. He's even had the ministry employee responsible for releasing prisoners in Azkaban placed under the Imperious Curse. What a shame Voldemort is too busy to give the actual order for the release of his 'friend'.

"Evan will be rewarded if he is the one that 'kills' me. Voldemort would never really believe that he could be more loyal to me than to 'the cause'. Evan's occlumency shields are strong enough to hide the truth. He is also a masterful strategist, and can help us come up with a much more seamless plan than we could manage alone."

"Whatever, I'm coming with you though, just so I can say 'I told you so ,'after he tries to kill you, "

"Wonderful," Regulus replied, before grabbing Sirius' arm and disapparating.

* * *

Sirius and Regulus reappeared in front of an unspectacular apartment complex in the center of London.

"What the…?"

Regulus smirked, "No better place to hide but in the middle of plain sight." He then approached the dozens of buttons beside the entrance, and deliberately blocked them from Sirius' view before selecting one.

"But it's so… muggle."

Regulus raised an elegant eyebrow, "Does that offend you? I was of the impression you were quite fond of muggles."

A groggy voice then came through a speaker and asked, "Who is it?"

"Do you expect anyone with ill intent to give an honest answer? Least of all at 4AM. We're here to kill you obviously, let us in."

After a brief pause, Rosier responded "screw you Black." Sirius thought for a moment they were being sent away, but Regulus seemed unconcerned with the response and remained standing near the entrance. Sirius wondered why he didn't use a spell to unlock the door if he wanted in so badly but as he himself did not want to go inside did not voice his idea.

A couple of minutes later, Evan Rosier opened the glass door and immediately let Regulus in, before blocking Sirius' entrance.

"What's he doing here?"

"We need to talk to you. He isn't going to try to fight you or anything."

"Then why is he armed?"

Regulus turned to look at Sirius and saw that he did in fact have his wand in his hand, posed to strike, "Because he is an idiot. Sirius, put your wand away." He then asked Rosier, "Can you please undo the enchantments to let him in? He won't try anything I promise."

Evan's eyes never left Sirius. He scrunched his eyebrows together and Regulus followed his gaze to look again at Sirius. Upon noticing the latter was still armed, Regulus withdrew his own wand and disarmed Sirius before the elder knew what happened.

Regulus then took both his and his brother's wands and shoved them into his pocket, leaving Sirius to stand in front of the two death eaters unarmed.

"What the hell, Regulus?"

"I told you to put it away and you didn't listen. If you are going to act like a petulant child then I will treat you as one," Regulus replied in an obnoxiously smug tone.

Evan looked at Regulus with an indecipherable look, probably wondering the same thing Sirius was, 'are you insane?' After a moment, Rosier smirked and brandished his wand. It was all Sirius could do not to make a break for it. He had entirely too much pride to run away.

Sirius was eternally grateful a moment later that he had stayed put when he realized that Rosier was not aiming a curse at him but had instead begun casting an intricate wand pattern in the general direction of the entrance. After a few moments, he apparently finished and without saying a word retreated farther into the apartment complex. Regulus smirked and then held the door open for Sirius.

Sirius followed Regulus as he led him to a stairwell and they began to climb. Rosier was nowhere in sight. It seemed he had taken a different route. 'Probably gone to set up an ambush', Sirius thought wryly.

"I'm glad to know who you would choose if given the choice between me and Rosier," Sirius stated bitterly.

"If you were a bit more observant, you might have noticed Evan had not even drawn his wand."

"You had no way to know that he wouldn't though. You could have disarmed him as a precaution if nothing else."

"He needed his wand to undo the enchantments, less we would still be standing in the entryway.

Sirius sighed in irritation, but tried his best to let it go. After all, he knew given the choice between James and Regulus, the latter would have been who he disarmed.

"How do the enchantments work on a muggle residence?"

"They were originally keyed to allow in all muggles, and block out all wizards, with the exception of Evan. He has since keyed me into the wards, but no one else that I know of. Apart from you of course, but no doubt he will be taking you out as soon as we leave. He should probably take me out too come to think of it."

They walked for several minutes in silence before Sirius asked, "Is there another way besides the stairs?" This had to be at least the eighth floor, yet they continued to climb.

"There is something the muggles call an elevator, but it is enchanted as well. Evan did not key you into its wards. I presume that is his way of showing his displeasure of your presence," Regulus replied in a slightly amused tone. Sirius was annoyed.

"How many more flights of stairs are there?" He asked a few moments later as they continued to climb ever higher.

Regulus did not respond verbally, possibly being too out of breathe to do so. He was not yet over his recent ordeal and as Sirius looked at him he noticed he looked quite miserable. Finally Regulus gestured to the door on the landing they were approaching and blessedly the stair climb was over.

"Wait, at least give me my wand back," Sirius said somewhere between a demand and a plea.

Regulus pulled it out but before handing it to him said, "Evan will not attack you unless you attack him first. If you can adopt that same level of self-control, you will not need this." He then handed the wand back to Sirius and continued down the hallway. Sirius followed him until they came to an unremarkable black door. After knocking lightly he opened the door and walked in.

Sirius followed him hesitantly and was surprised to find a rather normal looking living space inside. Rosier must have left his undoubtedly large collection of illegal or otherwise incriminating possessions at his family's manor, Sirius mused. Regulus walked purposely through the main living space and into the kitchen. There Rosier was sitting at the table with a large glass of firewhisky in front of him. Without looking up he asked,

"Did it occur to you that showing up with your brother might fall into the category of being too late to be helped?"

"Yes, but as my death will likely be celebrated after tomorrow, I thought it most appropriate to offer you first dibs."

"I could just kill your brother instead," Rosier replied curtly. "Lucius told me of your mission. It doesn't look as if you have any plans to fulfill it."

Sirius observed the two's interaction warily. While it did not appear Rosier planned to attack either of them, Sirius had his doubts he would help Regulus in the way that he was hoping. If Rosier was found to aid a traitor, his fate would be sealed in a most certainly unpleasant fashion.

"While I appreciate the sentiment, I would much rather be believed dead than for Sirius to actually be dead."

"Is this where you finally admit you made a mistake in joining the death eaters?" Evan asked.

Regulus scoffed, "As if I have to admit it. You've known from the beginning."

"I told you this would happen! I told you that you weren't cut out for it, that you should not join. Did you listen?"

"If it helps you were the only person who told me not to, and there was nothing you could have done to have changed my mind, especially seeing as you were joining yourself," Regulus replied sheepishly.

Rosier let out a sigh of exasperation, "I do not think you will be killed by refusing to kill Sirius. Tortured yes, not killed. I suspect Bellatrix will be given the honors once you fail in your mission," Rosier replied in an almost clinical manner.

"That does not explain why you are wanting to be believed dead or the fact that you almost look dead already. Am I right to assume something more has happened to warrant your death necessary? Granted, I do not want to know any details if that is the case."

"Yes, and before you ask, I think I have a means to rid myself of the dark mark, or at least properties of it that would allow my continued existence to be known."

"Well, that is something at least. What are your plans once you are to be assumed dead?"

"I'm not sure yet, it depends on what happens I suppose."

"You are lying. The only logical thing you could possibly do is leave the country. You have no other options if you want to live. As you did not tell me that upfront, I know you have other plans."

Sirius observed the encounter between the death eaters with a feeling that could only be regret. Evan Rosier was acting every bit the brother that Sirius used to be. He had felt his heart nearly jump into his stomach when Regulus confessed Rosier as the only person who told him not to join the death eaters. If the most sensible person in Regulus' life had been a second generation death eater, he truly was set up to fail, Sirius thought miserably.

"That would be ideal of course, but a lot of things could delay my departure. Are you willing to help?"

"I told you I would, you idiot. What do you have in mind?"

"We do not have a plan as of yet. We need something that is witnessed by enough death eaters to be believable. The sole responsible party cannot be you though, in case my survival is discovered. It would be most believable if I were to find myself in some type of ambush, however actually surviving that encounter would prove difficult. I've considered draught of living death, but if the orders are to bring my body back dead or alive then that will not serve our purpose."

"The orders will be to bring you back alive if at all possible, however I've no doubt that he will order for your body to be brought to him whether you live or die. He reluctantly acknowledges you to be brilliant minded. You are also the heir to the one of the oldest and most wealthy families in existence. I think it unlikely that he will relinquish your knowledge or influence easily."

Sirius was confused by that statement, but it seemed to mean something to Regulus,

"What does that mean?"

Regulus glanced at him before replying hesitantly, "The Dark Lord is well studied in the boundaries of what the dead can and cannot do-"

"How can the dead do anything? They are dead."

"Not so much what the dead can do, but what he can do with their bodies. You already know he has created inferi. He has, in the past, been successful with possessing one's body, dead or not. Though as far as I know he has not found a way as of yet to effectively preserve the body for any extended period of time," Regulus' replied distastefully.

Evan added, "He is also well studied in the mind arts…of both the living and the dead. He has found a means to procure information from the minds of the dead, though I'm not sure how much time can pass before that window is closed. Once the body begins to decompose it would certainly be difficult, though I think it becomes ever more challenging even before then."

"I can certainly see why you two were so eager to join the death eater ranks then. Awe inspiring that one," Sirius remarked sardonically.

Evan smirked, "Now, now don't forget where you are Black. I have refrained from cursing you in the past for the sake of Regulus' overly sentimental nature. If you are going to be disrespectful though I may not be able to restrain myself."

"Inability to control oneself is unbecoming of a former Slytherin. We need to focus," Regulus interjected before Sirius could respond.

Reluctantly Sirius held his tongue, knowing Regulus really was running out of time, and they still did not have a plan. From there they began tossing around ideas, some more practical than others. Most of Rosier's ideas were a bit morbid, Sirius' ridiculously reckless and Regulus' somewhere in between.

After what seemed like hours, and several glasses of firewhisky, Sirius threw up his hands and declared,

"This is hopeless, we might as well just say he was drowned by inferi!"

Regulus shot him a warning look, but Evan did not notice and apparently thought Sirius was actually being serious for once.

"That's brilliant!"

"No, its not," Regulus said faintly. He actually looked quite terrified.

"Well not the drowning part, that would be excruciating. But the inferi! We could create one, feed it polyjuice potion to look like Reg. We could even charm it to take on some of his mannerisms so as to be believable. I will bring the most destructive people with me to find the imposter, Regulus you know who I mean, I'm not about to be dropping names of death eaters in front of your brother. Those death eaters will ensure that by the time the polyjuice potion has worn off there is no part of the body left that could possibly be distinguished anyway."

"That's…I really don't want to use an inferi-" Regulus began before being cut off by Sirius,

"It's the best option we have so far, with the small problem of requiring a dead body," wow, things really were dire if he was so readily agreeing to create an inferius…best not to tell James.

To that Rosier laughed as Regulus remarked, "This is London, it shouldn't be too difficult if you know where to look."

At that comment the former's laughter died and his expression looked distinctly guilty, "I can find us one."

The Black brothers shared a look but did not question him.

Regulus stated, "I don't think polyjuice will work on the dead. We will have to use charms or transfiguration to make it resemble me as closely as possible. There would be no need for the death eaters to get close enough to the imposter to notice, especially if it runs from them like a coward. That would ensure all identifying features would be damaged enough by the time they were finished. The Dark Lord would not be able to find a mind to study," Regulus stated with a good effort at not sounding bitter, though neither of his companions missed his tone.

After spending some time mapping out the details of their plan, the brothers bid Rosier goodbye and made to leave. Sirius, in a rare moment of intuitiveness, stepped out into the hall to give the death eaters a chance to talk alone. Rosier had grown on him slightly. He had a very quick, albeit dry humor. And while he was definitely creepy, (because really who just knows where to find a dead body unless they are responsible for it?) it was obvious he cared about Regulus. Despite his flawed morals, he had unquestioningly been a better 'brother' to him than Sirius had in a long time.

Regulus' POV

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Evan asked.

"Yes, I know it isn't ideal but I'm running out of time to come up with anything more sound."

"I would do more to try to convince you to change your mind and just stay with the death eaters, but you never really belonged to begin with, did you? It would only be a matter of time before you were given another order that would either lead to you being tortured for not completing, or you would fulfill and be utterly devastated. I'm not sure how many times you could fail to complete orders and still be allowed to live, no matter who you are. At least this gives you a chance at surviving."

"Right well, thank you for…everything," Regulus said, which did not even begin to describe the gratitude he really felt. He was mostly trying to keep his emotions in check at this point. It had been tumultuous couple of days already and saying goodbye to Evan for likely the last time did not help.

No one else could ever come as close to understanding him and what he had gone through, since joining the death eaters. There had been countless occasions that if Evan had not been there, Regulus would not have been able to maintain his persona as an emotionless, and obedient death eater. Evan was the epitome of self-control, yet he had claimed to being overcome with blood lust on more than one occasion so as to save Regulus from having to do something he could not bring himself to do.

Regulus had never asked him to do it, it was as if he just knew. As if he thought that if Regulus crossed some invisible line he would lose some essence of himself. Regulus was unsure whether Evan believed it more likely he would snap and become as sadistic as Bellatrix or so depressed that he would be self-destructive. He had never asked. All Regulus knew, is that he owed any semblance of sanity he had managed to maintain to Evan.

Evan just nodded in response. He looked as if he wanted to say something but didn't know how. Neither of them had ever been particularly good at any sort of openness. They had both been taught to hide their emotions since they could talk, after all.

After a moment Regulus said, "When you remove Sirius from the wards, you should probably take me out as well, so as to avoid suspicion."

"I'll leave you in, just in case. Besides, no one else knows where I live and I can always say I didn't think to remove you since I believed you to be dead."

"Alright then, well, I guess this goodbye," Regulus began awkwardly, as he stuck out his hand so as to shake Evan's, which turned into more of an awkward one armed man hug.

"Take care of yourself."

"Yeah, you too."

"By taking care of yourself I meant, leave the country."

Regulus gave a half smile, "I'll see what I can do," before joining Sirius in the hallway.

As they began their trek down the stairs Sirius began, "We better head over now if we don't want to be late for our meeting with Dumbledore. The house elves can get us some breakfast."

Regulus stopped and turned to look at Sirius,

"For what purpose? To see if he approves of our plan? I think we already know the answer to that one, Sirius, he doesn't. He disapproved of the use of dark magic when its sole purpose was to rid us of a horcrux. Creating an inferius? He'd be more likely to forgive you if you became a death eater. At least then he could have his spy."

"Yes, but-"

"No, if you want to go then go, but I'm not. If he learns of our plan he will try to stop us."

It was obvious he didn't like it but in the end, Sirius agreed.


	14. Pancakes and Goodbye to Grimmauld

Sirius contemplated what to do next, the immediate sense of urgency gone for the moment. They could not implement any of their plan until later on in the day. Rosier first had to procure them a body and as neither Regulus nor Sirius wanted to babysit a rogue inferius for the afternoon, it made the most sense to wait until closer to the time when the faux Regulus would be needed to create it.

Sirius considered the opportunities 'babysitting' an inferius could bring. He thought he had a pretty good idea what Regulus' boggart would be.

Neither of them had ever created an inferius before, but (surprisingly) Regulus had studied the theory behind it and believed himself capable.

Sirius briefly considered again going to Dumbledore to let him know, not of the plan necessarily, but perhaps that Regulus' upcoming death announcement may or may not actually be real. Whether they were successful in faking his death or not, there would be rumors of Regulus' murder circulating by tomorrow.

He knew if James were involved they would be going to Dumbledore for help. He had to remind himself that it was not James, but Regulus' decision this time, and he did not want Dumbledore any more involved than he already was.

If all went as planned, Regulus would be having his mark altered at the same time the inferius/faux Regulus was being attacked. His lost connection with Voldemort would be consistent with when the death eaters destroyed the inferius' body. Or so they hoped.

Sirius couldn't help the twinge of hesitance he suddenly felt about helping Regulus. In a voice that sounded suspiciously like James' he was reminded that Regulus was a death eater. He had probably killed people and was likely still a bit touched in the head when it came to the logistics of blood status.

He quashed the thought quickly. His brother had been willing to sacrifice his own life to steal and destroy a piece of Voldemort's soul. If that was not enough to absolve some of his past indiscretions, then surely it was at least enough to give him another chance to do better.

Sirius was pulled from his own thoughts when his stomach began to growl reminding him of his current priorities. Food. Not feeling like eating alone, or even being alone to worry about their upcoming task, he apparated to the place he knew he could find both a hot meal and friends: James and Lily's cottage.

He knocked briefly on their door, and had to refrain from letting himself in. He had made the mistake of forgetting James and Lily were semi-newlyweds once. If he had not grown up listening to the unforgiving shrieks of one, Walburga Black, then he would have found an angry Lily Potter to be terrifying.

After a moment of waiting, James answered the door, "Hey Pads, you're just in time for breakfast," he told him as he held the door open.

"Where were you yesterday?" James asked the moment the door closed behind him. "I went to your place but you weren't there."

"I ran into someone I hadn't seen in a while, spent the evening catching up."

"Oh really? What bird was it?" James asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"It- Good morning Lily!" Sirius exclaimed as they entered the kitchen. Lily was sitting at the table reading the 'Daily Prophet,' with a plate of pancakes next to her.

"I thought you might be by today," Lily greeted with a smile. "Help yourself to whatever," she told him a bit distractedly as she immediately went back to reading the paper.

"I couldn't tell you the last time I ate," Sirius admitted as he sat down next to Lily and began piling up his plate.

She made a face, "You smell as if it hasn't been long since you've had something to drink."

"Oh yeah sorry, I should have showered first. I-"

"He ran into an old 'friend' yesterday. One he had to catch up with. It's no wonder you forgot to eat, Padfoot," James said while grinning like a loon.

"Who was it?" Lily asked without any real interest.

"Oh it, I don't really want to talk about it."

"Good. We don't want to hear about it," Lily smirked, ignoring James' pout. "Did you hear about the death eater attack in Kenton? Eighteen people were murdered."

"No I hadn't heard," Sirius vaguely wondered if there one of those bodies might be destined to become their inferius. He then became horrified by what he was thinking and tried to distract himself from his own thoughts, "Any idea of a motive for the attack?"

"Nothing that is being reported, but it's obvious the news outlets are all being controlled by Voldemort," Lily answered as she wadded up the newspaper she had been reading with disdain.

A moment later the doorbell rang. James went to answer it, returning shortly after with Remus and Peter.

After the initial greetings were made and the newcomers were fixing themselves plates, Peter remarked,

"Remus and I have noticed a pattern that Lily prepares pancakes on Saturdays."

"Usually, yes. They are James' favorite and Saturday is the only day we don't have to rush off to be somewhere," Lily replied.

Lupin grinned, "Yes, neither do we. How coincidental that is."

James grinned, and lifted his glass dramatically, "I hereby move that from this day forward, Saturdays become known as a day for pancakes at the Potters. Attendance is mandatory for all marauders.

"With the exception of full moons, of course," Remus amended tiredly. He was clearly still recovering from the last one.

Sirius agreed to the notion as well though he was internally wondering whether he would be able to attend or not. His future was greatly weighing on the outcome of this evening's events.

"So what are everyone's plans for today?" James asked.

After learning that no one had any plans, the marauders agreed to spend the morning playing a match of two against two quidditch.

* * *

Regulus woke up abruptly covered in cold sweat and his heart racing. He had a sinking suspicion that he had woken himself up, yelling in a battle with nonexistent rotting limbs. Trying to free himself from them would explain how he had managed to get himself so ridiculously tangled in his bed covers.

He looked at his watch and discovered he had been asleep for all of twenty minutes. He longed to take a dose of dreamless sleep, but couldn't risk oversleeping. Deciding being exhausted was a slight improvement over nightmares, he got up.

While he had used an abundance of cleaning charms on himself since the cave, nothing would have compared to a hot bath. Sadly, lying in a tub of water was no longer appealing since said cave incident. He settled for a shower. He turned the tap hot enough to nearly burn his skin and stayed under the spray for as long as he could stand it. After scrubbing his skin until he felt clean again, which required about a week's worth of soap and shampoo, he returned to his bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Unsurprisingly, Kreacher was in his room with a tray of food waiting for him. Regulus noticed he had already changed out the covers on his bed and it was again neatly made.

"Hello, Kreacher"

"Kreacher brings Master Regulus brunch," The house elf stated with a deep bow.

"Thank you, Kreacher," Regulus answered gratefully, though the thought of food made his stomach churn.

"Master Regulus must eat, for young Master is getting much too thin. Kreacher thought Master would want something light, but Kreacher can prepare a feast if Master Regulus wishes."

"That won't be necessary, I'll just have some toast," he said as he picked up a piece from the tray and took a bite. He tried to smile at Kreacher, though the toast tasted like cardboard on his raw throat.

"Would Master like for Kreacher to heal the rest of the marks?"

Regulus was not particularly concerned about his current appearance, but knew the house elf desperately wanted to be helpful and so consented.

Freshly healed and half a piece of toast later, the soon to be thought dead Black heir got dressed and went downstairs to the family library. While he was reasonably confident he could make an inferius, he wanted o review the theory. Immediately following Kreacher's original stint in the cave, he had studied all he could about the creation and abilities of inferi. Through his review, he managed to find a charm that would allow the inferius to adopt his voice when speaking. Regulus thought it unlikely too many words would be exchanged between him and the death eaters but thought it might prove helpful just in case.

The Black heir could appreciate the irony of the situation, if nothing else. In effort to escape the death eaters, he would be doing things far more illegal than he had ever done while amongst them. Beginning with the illegal creation of an inferius, possibly followed up with an unforgiveable curse to control the beast if compulsion wasn't enough.

Growing nauseated thinking about inferi, he began looking at horcruxes and the Protean Charm again. He wasn't sure what he was more nervous about. As long as Sirius escaped alive and Evan wasn't suspected in assisting a traitor, he should be content with the result. He had planned to die in the cave. He at least now had been given the opportunity to pass along information of the horcruxes, which had been among his biggest regrets when he thought he was dying.

Sometime in the mid-afternoon, Regulus went back to his room with a couple of carefully chosen books. He found his old school bag and tossed them in there along with an extra set of simple robes, and what little muggle clothing he owned. After a few other essentials were added, he shrunk the bag and placed it in his pocket, along with the horcrux. He didn't take enough to be noticeable.

Once packed, he slowly made his way downstairs to the tapestry room. Each room he passed caused a new assault of memories to flood through him. While not all of them were pleasant, they all were his and had shaped him into who he was. Amidst all of the feelings of self-loathing he had struggled with since joining the death eaters, he couldn't help the tiniest feeling of pride in himself.

He had been too naïve for his own good when he joined the death eaters. Through everything, he had never become as ruthless as most of them. Obviously he owed a lot to Evan for that, and to Rachel if he were being honest. Evan reminded him to stay detached during the grisliest of circumstances. Rachel made him want to be different from the person who believed joining the death eaters had been a noble choice.

While he regretted that most would remember him as bigoted and a coward, it was much more important to keep his family safe. Being known for getting in too deep and wanting to back out after learning what was expected of him was the best way to do that. It wasn't even untrue. He could not do what was expected of him as a death eater, and had not been since joining.

He approached the tapestry and read his own name with a death dated two days prior.

"Master wishes Kreacher to change the date," the house elf remarked sadly from behind him.

"Yes, Kreacher. I need you to change the date to today, this evening. Sirius is planning to come here to let you know immediately after it happens, but if he is held up then sometime just before midnight will suffice."

"Will Master Regulus still call for Kreacher?"

"No, Kreacher. It would be too suspicious if my parents noticed your absence. It is imperative that I'm believed dead. Mother and father would be at great risk if my survival became known. Please do your best to care for them. I know you will, as you always do, but they will need all of the…loyalty they can get in the upcoming weeks," Regulus told him.

"They need you, Master Regulus. Master and Mistress have no other heir."

"They have Sirius. I expect he will be re-inherited."

Kreacher's eyes bugged out at that, "He is unworthy of the name, Black. That filthy blood traitor broke Mistress' heart!"

"There was fault on all sides where Sirius is concerned, Kreacher. He is a Black, and it is his birthright. He was always the rightful heir of the house of Black. Respect him_ if_ he is respectful towards you," Regulus was not about to order his house elf to accept being verbally abused without retribution, but hoped that Sirius' treatment towards Kreacher might improve some since the elf's intervention in Regulus' near drowing experience.

"As Master wishes."

"Mother and father will be back on Monday. You cannot tell them anything of what has happened in their absence."

"Kreacher will not speak of it."

Regulus patted his head fondly as the doorbell rang. Sirius apparently remembered he was a Black and could enter without being let in.

"Never thought I'd see you in here again," Regulus remarked when he saw him.

"With any luck this will be the last time I'm ever here. It really is a 'grim, old' place," Sirius answered distastefully. Regulus tried not to let the comment affect him. The bitter irony was that Sirius honestly didn't want to return to Grimmauld Place when Regulus likely never could.

"Right, well. I guess we might as well get going."

"Do you have everything you need?" Sirius asked him skeptically, noticing Regulus was empty handed.

"Probably. I can buy anything else."

"You won't be able to use your vault once you are 'dead'."

Leave it to Sirius to state the obvious, "No, but considering I've taken the maximum allowed from my trust vault each year since I was eleven and opened a separate vault when I turned seventeen under a different alias I should be fine," Regulus replied matter-of-factly.

Sirius' eyebrows rose to near his hairline at that statement, "Paranoid much?"

"I'd consider it practical."

"What eleven year old considers creating an alias and smuggling money to be practical?"

"I'm a Black, Sirius. Unlike you, I have not chosen to ignore the family values of self-preservation and deceit. After watching my brother, who was the rightful heir of the family, be threatened with disinheritance for something as ridiculous as his school sorting, I thought it prudent to take precautionary measures. I had yet to endure my own sorting at the time."

"Do you really either of us would have actually been disinherited _just_ because of our sorting? Certainly not you... Do you have any idea what mother and father would have done if they found out you were smuggling money?"

"It was not smuggling money. It was money available to me in my trust vault. If the money were left untouched it would not have been replaced. I chose to move _my_ money. As for our parents? Looking at our finances is beneath mother. Father must have suspected. He often commented on the inflation that occurred between the year you began school and when I started. I actually think he was a bit proud," Regulus added sheepishly.

After a moment of silence Regulus added, "I expect you wish you had done similar? Father told me you had rarely ever touched your trust prior to moving out," obvious humor in his tone.

"Of course not," Sirius objected. "I managed just fine without stealing, thank you."

Regulus laughed, "You managed by the grace of the Potter's and the change of Uncle Alphard's will at the last minute."

Originally Regulus was to inherit everything from their uncle as Sirius would inherit the majority from their parents. Regulus had been the one to suggest the change to his uncle after Sirius had been disinherited, but he saw no reason to divulge that to Sirius now. They did not have time for arguments fueled by Sirius' hurt pride.

"Lucky I was always Uncle Algie's favorite then."

"Whatever you need to believe," Regulus said with a smirk as the brother's began walking to the front door to leave.

At the entryway Regulus stopped and turned to the house elf that had been following them, "Goodbye Kreacher, thank you again for everything."

"Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black," the house elf bowed deeply.

Regulus was then staring daggers at Sirius. Finally the elder brother acknowledged him, albeit exaggeratedly, "Yes, thank you Kreacher for your assistance the other night."

The house elf blinked in surprise before nodding and then scampering back the way they had come from and out of sight.

From just outside the front door Regulus stopped and took one last look inside Number 12 Grimmauld Place. His childhood home had been a safe haven from the outside world for his entire life. His parents had rarely found reason to punish him in the years since Sirius began Hogwarts. While he was unsure if his parents were actually capable of something as 'weak' as love, he knew they cared for him in their own way.

Grimmauld Place had certainly been lonely, but he would always consider it home. As soon as he closed the door, he felt Sirius grab his arm and experienced the all too familiar sensation of being squeezed through a tube as the two disapparated.


	15. The Best Laid Plans

Regulus and Sirius apparated into an ill-used corner of Diagon Alley near Gringotts. The evening was already dark and cold, fitting of late December. The brothers pulled their cloaks nearer to them as they walked purposefully towards a building that had long since been abandoned. It was obvious that the few people still out were too hurried seeking shelter from the elements and potential death eaters to pay much attention to them.

The building had belonged to Alphard Black, though it had been left empty for nearly a decade. As they approached the back of the building, Regulus cast, 'homenum revelio,' in order to locate the body Evan had promised to deliver and disillusion earlier in the day. Sirius went to the body as its silhouette became illuminated.

Regulus walked to the back door and cast, 'Specialis Revelio.' After undoing a couple of minor jinxes, Regulus willed himself to grip the door knob and allowed the remnants of his uncle's magic to examine his worthiness of entry.

Regulus was relatively confident the door would open for him as the last time his Uncle Alphard had been to Diagon Alley, Regulus had been the sole beneficiary on his will. Sirius evidently had his doubts though, for he let out an enormous sigh of relief when the door unlocked a moment later. Regulus absently wondered if Sirius realized this building technically belonged to him now, as he had inherited everything from their uncle. Being in the prime location that it was in Diagon Alley, it was a pity it had sat empty for so long.

After pushing the door open, and lighting enough candles to provide decent illumination, Regulus went to help Sirius carry the corpse inside. Internally he was pleading with whatever higher power that had not already written him off as a lost cause, that he would not recognize the body as anyone he knew.

Once the dead weight was hauled inside, Regulus was relieved to find he did not recognize the corpse. It did look as if Evan had cast a few glamours on the body already. Given their locations, Regulus suspected the glamours were there to hide whatever damage had been inflicted in the victim's death, rather than obscure any identifying features of the body.

Regulus was pointedly not looking at Sirius. Neither of them had spoken since arriving at Diagon Alley, and Regulus felt enough disgust with himself to not look for more of it in his brother's eyes. While Sirius knew the plan going in, Regulus thought it likely that he was regretting his participation now that they were actually doing it. Regulus had his own doubts, and he had become desensitized to dead people a long time ago.

Regulus and Sirius carefully sat the soon to be inferius in a chair and observed him. He was around their age and had a similar build as Regulus, though an inch or two shorter. He had nearly shoulder length, straight blond hair and brown eyes. Wasting no time, Regulus shortened the man's hair to match his owns length, then added a bit of wave before changing the color to black. Sirius cast a charm to change his eye color to gray, which turned out to be a slightly darker shade than Regulus', but close enough.

Regulus cast another spell, this time to better match faux Regulus' skin tone to his. Sirius proceeded with a succession of transfigurations to make the imposter's jaw line stronger, nose straighter and lips fuller.

Regulus found this all to be a humbling experience, for once the dead, faux Regulus was completed he would probably resemble the Black heir's normal appearance more closely than he did himself of late. Faux Regulus looked healthier at any rate, as the lack of food and sleep were beginning to take their toll in the youngest Black's features.

He thought about adding dark circles under faux Regulus' eyes for some realism. He settled for removing the unibrow and darkening the eyebrows.

Once they were satisfied that the imposter's appearance was believable, Regulus took out a set of robes and cast a switching spell to change them out with the other male's clothing. Noticing the length was a bit too long, he did his best to shorten them in a presentable way. A Black never wore anything that was not tailored. The death eaters would be more likely to notice that discrepancy rather than any difference in his eye color or shortened stature.

When he was finished Regulus asked,

"Are you sure you want to be here for this?"

"Let's just get it over with," Sirius answered tightly.

Regulus closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them again and focusing on the corpse. He then began reciting the ancient chant under his breath that was required, all the while moving his wand in a complicated pattern over the corpse. When he was finished he warily watched as the body gradually became more life-like.

He chanced a look at Sirius to find him staring fixated at the corpse, a mixture of wonder and revulsion in his expression.

When the transformation was complete, the faux Regulus was wild eyed and looked as if he were desperately looking for an exit to bolt from the room through.

"Can you hear me?" Regulus asked it.

The inferius focused its gaze on him with its now gray, lifeless eyes.

After getting no further response, Regulus asked, "Can you speak?"

When again no answer was supplied, Regulus cast a babbling charm on the inferius and cringed at the results.

The inferius had an unfortunate accent, and was not particularly eloquent on top of it. Regulus quickly cast the spell to give the inferius, his speaking voice and then cast a mild compulsion charm for the speech to become a bit slower and more articulated.

Regulus was vaguely aware that Sirius was snickering at the contrast. The inferius had adopted his speaking voice, yet with none of the youngest Black's refinement.

"We can work on communication later, if we have time. He really shouldn't have to say anything if he is trying to avoid capture."

That got the inferius' attention,

"Avoid capture?" it asked roughly.

"Yes, sorry but we brought you back only to be killed again," Regulus stated flatly, "As you are not technically alive now it will not hurt. Though I will ask that you make an effort to pretend to be injured whenever you are hit by a spell."

"Injured by… a spell?"

"Yes, for instance, if your hand were cut off, that would be very painful if you were alive, correct? It will not hurt you now because you are dead. It is important that you pretend to be injured as best as you can."

"Why should I stay here with you if you are only going to have me killed?"

"You won't exactly be killed, as you are already dead, but that's irrelevant. You don't have a choice. I've no qualms about controlling you more forcefully if needed." Regulus responded. He had not intended to be unkind to the inferius, after all, it certainly did not ask to be brought back to life. Apparently Regulus had a bit of misdirected anger towards inferi in general.

"How is that possible?"

"Magic," he answered shortly, before turning to Sirius and adding, "We probably just need to avoid conversation altogether. He really just needs to make an appearance and then run anyway."

"Yes, we probably need to worry more about how he carries himself at this point."

For at that moment the inferius had stood up and revealed he had an unnaturally atrocious posture. Regulus realized it was due to having a plethora of broken bones and began healing them. The Black heir was trying to remain as clinical and detached in nature as possible. He was hopeful that some of what this person had been through occurred after his death, in transport, and that he did not suffer quite as much as his injuries indicated.

Once all of the bones were healed, the posture was improved dramatically and the brothers believed it to be passable as Regulus,' if only because he was supposed to be running for his life.

Regulus began to go over the plan aloud one last time, the faux Regulus was listening intently. When it came to the part of Sirius being disillusioned, Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out a shimmery material and stated proudly,

"Actually I borrowed James' invisibility cloak. It's been in his family for generations and has proven more dependable than disillusionment."

Regulus knew Potter owned an invisibility cloak, as Sirius had told him about it in one of his first letters home from Hogwarts. It had to have played a big role in all of the pranks 'the marauders' got away with at school. Not having been on particularly good terms with the marauders, Regulus had never actually seen the cloak. He absently reached out and touched the material as he commented,

"Most invisibility cloaks deteriorate within one lifetime."

"Yeah, Dumbledore said the same thing. He wants to study it."

Regulus frowned before replying simply. "Well I hope Potter studies it himself before just giving it to him."

He had only seen a few invisibility cloaks before as they were so rare. As expensive as the ones he had seen were, none of them had been anything near the quality of the one Sirius was holding.

After ensuring everything else of the plan was in place, Regulus went to the door the death eaters would likely enter through and cast a strong compulsion charm. Noticing Sirius' questioning look he said,

"Anyone who comes through here should be hit with a healthy dose of hatred for me. Not that anyone Evan brings would need much compulsion for that," he added wryly.

"What about Rosier?"

"Either he has enough discipline to resist the compulsion, or he doesn't. Meaning his act will either be sufficiently convincing, or award winning. It can't hurt him. He's far too intelligent to give away anything that would make his assistance to me known to the others, compulsion or not. If their orders really are to bring me back alive at all possible, then faux Regulus' running away justifies killing instead of capture."

"Do you really want to be known for running away? I mean you aren't exactly known for your bravery or anything but… well, the whole purpose of running away was to ensure that your body is effectively blown to smithereens. I've no doubt I can initiate that reaction by verbal assault alone," Sirius attempted to smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Regulus ignored the jibe on his reputation, "You're supposed to be me though, you can't go spouting off about inbreeding being a worse epidemic than muggleborns," Regulus replied scornfully.

"I said that one time and it was to Crabbe. You can't deny the truth in that statement."

"He's a special case," Regulus answered wryly. "More importantly, I would never be that reckless. The most important thing is that everyone believes I'm dead. If the body is not utterly destroyed then Voldemort will know I am alive, and then mother and father will be in danger as well. If I am believed to be loyal but a coward, well no one can be held accountable for that but myself."

Sirius looked doubtful, but refrained from further comment. Regulus was glad for it, as he knew his brother held no love for their parents.

After effectively controlling the inferius by casting compulsion charms alone, Regulus was preparing to make his leave for Gringotts. Sirius had just begun practicing his hand at compulsion, when all of a sudden his target took off running for the exit. Sirius managed to stun the inferius about halfway there.

"What was that about?" Regulus demanded.

"Apparently my compulsion charm wasn't quite strong enough," Sirius answered sheepishly.

"Well try again."

After several failed attempts to maintain control over the Inferius, who had apparently decided making a break for it was a much better option than waiting to be 'murdered' again, Regulus stunned the beast and turned to look inquisitively at his brother.

"It's not my fault, I've never had to use compulsion before."

"We learned it in NEWTs."

"Well yes, but I've never used it since. I'm charming enough that I've never actually needed to compel anyone," Sirius grinned in a way that Regulus assumed was meant to exemplify that fact.

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "What a shame our inferius isn't more impressed by your charms."

Sirius' face went slightly pink, before he began insisting he just needed to practice a little more.

He was wrong. He couldn't do it, though he seemed to be doing everything right.

"I think I know what the problem is," Regulus stated a few minutes later. "Inferi are made to do their creator's bidding. Your compulsion is not working because you did not create it."

"What can we do about that now?"

"Nothing can be done now. I will just have to postpone going to Gringotts until after the death eaters 'kill' me, I suppose. We can't risk the inferius' lack of cooperation sabotaging my murder.

"You can't do that! Voldemort will begin trying to track you the moment he hears Of what has happened. The dark mark will take too long to be removed for you to wait until then."

"Unless you have another option, it's all we can do."

"We need something stronger than compulsion. What's stronger than compulsion?"

"The Imperius Curse."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing strong enough for our needs, since I am the one who made the inferius. As I said, we don't have any other options but for me to wait until after-"

"I'll do it."

"Do what?"

"Cast the imperius, obviously. It's the only logical thing."

"You can't cast an unforgiveable."

"Why not? If you can pull them off, I certainly can. At least my target is technically dead," Sirius retorted.

In any other situation Regulus would have laughed, if only Sirius knew how many unforgiveable curses Regulus had not cast. While he had never had any use for the imperius, it was said to be much easier to pull off than the cruciatus and killing curse, as it was fueled by a strong will for something to be done rather than rage and hate.

"I'm not asking you to cast an unforgiveable spell, Sirius"

"Just shut up, I'm already doing it," Sirius said as he pointed his wand at the faux Regulus.

The real Regulus, ended his stunning spell on the inferius and watched as Sirius controlled every movement and speech pattern of the Inferius to match Regulus' mannerisms meticulously.

"That's… really good," he complimented begrudgingly.

Sirius beamed, "I wouldn't fancy doing this to a real person, but it's not so bad on a corpse."

After observing Sirius' new skill of controlling the inferius for a few minutes, Regulus bid him good bye and good luck before setting off for Gringotts. He didn't know whether he should feel more pleased at the lengths his brother was willing to go to protect him, or ashamed that he was obviously a really bad influence on him.

The Black heir was nearing the steps in front of Gringotts when his left forearm began to burn painfully, signaling a summons from his 'master.' It would only be a couple of minutes now before The Dark Lord would realize he was ignoring his summons and order his minions to retrieve him.

His dark mark would undoubtedly be traced to Diagon Alley, and maybe even to his general proximity in the alley. The span of distance between Gringotts and the building where faux Regulus was currently located was small enough that Regulus was too concerned… at least for the moment.

He was immediately escorted to Ragnok's office, who accompanied him to the carts that normally carry wizards to their vaults. Regulus sat behind the aged goblin and braced himself. They were to be traveling all of the way down, past even where the Black's and other ancient family vaults resided.

Regulus normally enjoyed the cart rides, as they somewhat reminded him of flying. Today he did not. Fortunately, in the past 48 hours he had only eaten around three bites of toast. Had there been anything else in his stomach he was confident he would have vomited as they traveled ever farther into the depths of he bank.

By the time they were passing the dragon, the dark mark had begun to burn viciously and relentlessly. Regulus' body decided it no longer cared that he had nothing left in his stomach and he began to dry heave out the back of the cart.

Ragnok gave him a disgusted look before vanishing the mess.

"You used to have a stronger stomach," the goblin chastised as they finally returned to solid ground and exited the cart.

Regulus just grimaced in response. Between his nerves, the mark burning and just having further irritated his already raw throat, he could not come up with a response that would not be offensive to the goblin. And well, he needed his help.

The youngest Black was shown to a mat on the floor, where he was told he would need to remove his robes and lay down during the procedure. He quickly removed the horcrux from his pocket and handed it to the goblin. Ragnok carefully took it from him just as another half dozen goblins from the night before entered the room.

Regulus quickly removed his robes and laid down on the mat as he had been told. The goblins all formed a half circle around him and for a moment stood observing him. Normally Regulus would have felt self-conscious laying in the floor in only his trousers while being gawked at by near-strangers. Right now he was mostly concentrating on not dry heaving anymore as the dark mark burned ever stronger. He was certain he was being tracked by now.

Ragnok spoke then, "We will begin in just a moment. I feel it imperative to remind you that it is possible the piece of The Dark Wizard's soul will try to possess you as we proceed. If that happens, and you are unable to fight off the intrusion, we will be forced to kill you. Are you sure you wish to continue?"

Regulus could only nod in response. His eyes were tightly squeezed shut and his teeth were clenched. He knew if he tried to speak he would only scream out from the pain his mark was now exuding.

A moment later, he felt one of the goblins take his arm, and slice it along the length of the mark. He then experienced the excruciating pain of the horcrux being partially forced inside the cut. A moment later everything went black.

* * *

Sirius was safely hidden beneath James' invisibility cloak and was occasionally forcing the inferius to do random tasks such as touch his nose or cluck like a chicken, just to ensure his 'imperio' was holding.

The more he thought about the plan the more it irritated him. He would like for nothing more than to tell the death eaters they could go screw themselves, and Voldemort too while they were at it. Unfortunately, he knew Regulus would never forgive him if they retaliated against their parents because of it.

Sirius cared nothing about their parents. He blamed them for Regulus being in this mess to begin with. He certainly wouldn't have joined the death eaters if he had been raised by proper parents like Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

And why should Regulus settle for being thought a coward when he was finally doing the right thing? If he embraced the 'family values' of self-preservation and stealth, where was his sense of pride?

He was pulled from his musings when he heard a series of 'pops' outside, the tell-tale sign of multiple apparitions. He had just made his decision in the nick of time.

Sirius quickly cast anti-apparition wards on the building, and then ducked into the far corner of the room. Adjusting the invisibility cloak to ensure it was securely around him, he commanded faux Regulus to stand tall and proud as the death eaters flooded through the entrance, getting a healthy dose of compulsion to hate Regulus as they entered.

"Well, well, what have we here?" One of the death eaters sneered.

"Everyone thinks you're so clever, yet your hiding in the first place we look," another remarked as a cutting curse was sent at faux Regulus, slicing open his shoulder on impact.

Faux Regulus grabbed his shoulder and replied in a convincingly pained voice, "I am not hiding, I've been hoping you would find me."

"You have ignored summons by The Dark Lord. Surely you did not hope to be found."

"I've not been ignoring it by choice. My mark has been burning unbearably."

"Why haven't you returned to the Dark Lord?" Sirius recognized the deep voice of Evan Rosier.

"I met with my brother earlier and tried to talk some sense into him. Naturally, he outsmarted me, as he so often does. He sprung a trap, took my wand and magically sealed me in this room. I've been stuck here all day. Didn't you notice his anti-apparition wards when you entered? As if I needed them, I don't even have a wand. Trust me if I could have returned sooner, I would have."

"You are lying," one of the other death eaters answered before casting a banishing charm and sending faux Regulus flying across the room and into a wall. It would have had to have been painful, if the inferius was actually able to feel pain.

The faux Regulus picked himself up, making an appropriate effort to look injured yet graceful. He then returned to his original position and stared back at the death eaters defiantly,

"Why would I be waiting here if for no other reason?"

"Perhaps you expect special treatment, as you always do. Do you know Bellatrix suggested the raid at St. Mungo's was for your benefit?" the original death eater who had spoken asked scathingly before casting yet another cutting curse, this time grazing the inferius' upper thigh.

That was news to Sirius, "And how would that benefit me?"

"It is not our place to know The Dark Lord's plans! But for Bellatrix to even suggest it is most telling," another cutting curse, this one aimed at Regulus' abdomen. Sirius managed to instruct the inferius to dodge it properly this time. Dodging had proven most difficult given his angle from across the room.

"Perhaps she was mistaken. I do not wish for special treatment, only to serve the Dark Lord," Sirius forced faux Regulus to say though it felt like bile in his own throat.

"You are lying!" a female death eater shrieked, this time a cutting curse was aimed at faux Regulus' face but Sirius was again quick enough to avoid contact. Apparently having taken a shot to the face as a personal insult, Sirius condescendingly thought, "Careful love, wouldn't want to ruin my beautiful face," which faux Regulus repeated in a charming version of Regulus' voice.

The death eater Sirius had previously identified as Rosier gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. A warning. He was out of character.

The female death eater gave some horrific version of giggling and approached faux Regulus. She took off her mask as she neared him, revealing herself as Alecto Carrow.

"Well that brings back some memories, doesn't it?" she purred in what could have been a seductive manner, had it come from anyone else, "Remember fifth year? I asked you to go into Hogsmeade with me. Do you remember what you said?"

It would have had to have been an unequivocal 'no'. There was no way his brother had ever gone out with the troll, Alecto Carrow, and Sirius didn't hear about it.

Faux Regulus just shook his head as if he couldn't remember.

"You looked almost nervous actually. It was rather adorable. You said that 'I should not want to go out with you.'" She answered as she began to caress faux Regulus' shoulder lightly, in an affectionate sort of way. "I asked, 'why not, for your blood is of the most pure. Your face that which I would have my future children to wear.' Do you remember what you said?"

Faux Regulus shook his head. Sirius snorted. Fortunately some of the other death eaters had found it amusing as well and graciously covered his response with their own laughter.

"You said the most evil things come wrapped in the prettiest of packages. And then you took out Cassie Greengrass that weekend. It's a shame you can't go back and undo that mistake, Regulus Black. I might have shown you mercy today, had things been different," she then began a complicated pattern with her wand that sent a bright blue light directly at Regulus' chest.

Sirius fortunately managed to get faux Regulus to turn out of the way and avoid the spell. He had no idea how he would have made the inferius react as a result of the unknown spell.

Evan Rosier then spoke up, "I'll remind you, Alecto, our orders are to bring him back alive."

Another death eater asked, "Is that really want you want? To continue to live in his shadows? He has received nothing but special treatment his entire life. From the professors at school and now even from the Dark Lord himself."

Several other death eaters voiced their agreement.

"It is not for us to decide the ways of the Dark Lord," Rosier answered calmly.

After a few moments of arguing amongst themselves, Sirius had faux Regulus cut in,

"If your orders are to take me back to the Dark Lord, what are we waiting on? I'm sure he will understand my delay in returning to him after I explain what happened," Sirius desperately hoped he was right about how they would react.

One of the death eaters chuckled before answering mockingly, "We find ourselves tired of the 'Little Prince,' and all of the ways for which he is pampered-"

Rosier again cut in, "It is not our decision. We have orders!"

Alecto Carrow then stated, "Perhaps you do not recognize the situation we find ourselves in for what it is."

Another death eater added, "He tried to run for his life, we had no choice but to attack him. He is undoubtedly either a traitor or a coward. There is room for neither within our ranks."

"Go ahead, Black, make a break for it. We'll even give you a head start," leered another death eater.

Faux Regulus stood tall and answered firmly, "I am many things, but a coward is not among them. If you are so desperate for attention from The Dark Lord then go ahead and kill me. I'm sure that will effectively get his attention. If you are waiting for me to run, it will not happen. I will not run from death."

Some of the death eaters seemed to recognize the implications in what he said. They would in fact be getting attention from Voldemort, if they killed him. It would most assuredly not be a pleasant sort of attention.

The less sensible death eaters took over from there though, casting a slew of potentially fatal curses at faux Regulus at such a rate most were impossible to avoid. Eventually even the doubtful death eaters joined in with the exception of Rosier.

It went on for a while- viciously morbid spells were cast. It was beyond anything Sirius had ever seen before and it was repulsive. Sirius ordered the inferius to lay in the floor and play dead long before it actually died, yet even then the curses still came.

Fortunately a few of the curses sent at the inferius contained fire, which effectively burned what was left of the assumed to be Black heir. Nothing recognizable of the body remained. As if that were not enough, another death eater then cast a 'confringo,' which effectively dispersed and or destroyed the remnants the inferius' body, much to Sirius' satisfaction.

Evan Rosier had taken off his mask at some point to better watch the massacre. His face remained mostly neutral, though it was obvious he was disgusted by the scene.

Eventually he remarked bitterly, "I believe he is properly dead now. If you all are about finished, we need to report this."

One of the other death eaters seemed to pick up on the implications a bit faster than the others and said, "We all agreed to the story we would present-"

Rosier cut in, "I agreed to nothing. I reminded you of our orders and you still chose to ignore them. If Regulus really was one of the Dark Lord's favorites… I do not expect any of us will be rewarded for what took place here. I can only hope that I am not dragged down by your senselessness and jealousy," with that he walked back into Diagon Alley and disapparated immediately.

The other death eaters argued amongst themselves for a few more minutes before finally leaving the scene.

Once he was confident that all of the death eaters had left the area, Sirius cast 'finite incantatem' on the doorway that Regulus had placed his compulsion charm. He then went outside where he could apparate back to Grimmauld Place to give Kreacher a more accurate time of Regulus' death. He didn't bother to remove the anti-apparition wards as they made faux Regulus' story more believable.


	16. Regulus Black is Dead

Regulus was in a nightmare-like state. He was not exactly conscious, yet he was certainly in pain. It was perhaps more emotional or mental than physical, though physical pain was there as well. While he could not see it, he knew his arm was bleeding, in a seemingly profuse manner, from the cut the goblin had made. As painful as that was, he was trying to focus on it, rather than the images that were flashing through his mind.

Uncountable horrendous murder scenes and mangled bodies. Cold laughter. He didn't know how much time had passed. He had blacked out entirely for a while, though he had no idea how long.

Unexpectedly the images shifted. Now it was pitch Black. Then, a cavernous room filled with junk. Then what reminded him of the secret room beneath the drawing room at Malfoy Manor. Another dark place, this time with gold glinting in the surrounding space. Then Evan and Alecto Carrow? He was looking at them as if speaking to them. The same images repeated in his mind again, but he was unable to make out the meaning of them in his drowsy state.

Suddenly the pain he had been experiencing seemed like a dull ache compared with what he now felt. It was as if the soul piece was now trying to break through the locket. Regulus heard a strange hissing noise but was too focused on his own pain to recognize it as Parseltongue.

He continued to writhe in agony on the floor and could vaguely hear the goblins talking animatedly in Gobbledegook. All the while the hissing continued. The Black heir suddenly felt an assault of emotions that were not his. He was furious. He cast a killing curse at a death eater at random. He was then delving into the mind of Evan Rosier.

Regulus vaguely realized this to be an effect caused by the horcrux's intrusion unto his dark mark. Given the hissing, that he was seeing things through Voldemort's eyes, and that the goblins had become very animate all of a sudden, he recognized this to be what the goblins had warned him about. He attempted the strongest occlumency shields he could muster in effort to fend off the horcrux's first attempts to take possession of him.

As interested as he was in what had happened with the inferius, he would have to wait and get the story from Sirius later- if he got the chance. He briefly hoped Evan would not receive the same fate as the murdered death eater, but then immediately tried to close off that feeling as well. It was most important now for him to remain as closed off as possible so as to prevent possession. Otherwise this would have all been for nothing. He had no doubt the goblins were discussing whether or not to kill him now in their own language.

Regulus had searched the Black family library for any means he could find that would allow him to fend off the horcrux's attempts at possessing him. None of the books he found had dealt with horcruxes, as they were such an obscure creation. The dismal amount of information he did locate on possession focused on evil spirits and were not particularly specific in what methods would work. It was the first time he had ever been disappointed in his family's library.

As he was continuously assaulted with emotions that did not belong to him, he couldn't help but think this was a very inopportune time for the library to have failed him. He had long since lost any idea of how much time had passed. He could feel his resolve slipping in his fight against the intrusion of the horcrux.

After attempting the methods he could remember with varied levels of difficulty, his mind was beginning to grow hazy on what he was supposed to be doing anymore. At that time he had only enough presence of mind to bring forth whatever opposing feeling he could to counteract the feeling he was struck with.

When he felt a particularly strong sense of hate, he attempted to bring forth feelings of love. He thought of Rachel. How in their time together, she had managed to break through his shell and begin to show him what love actually meant. There had certainly been very little of it in his household growing up. He would then think of Narcissa who unfailingly made the effort to ensure he knew that she cared about him anytime she could. Or even of Evan and how he was unquestioningly always on his side and willing to help him when needed. Of Kreacher, who despite being a house elf had always been more of a friend than a 'servant'.

When he felt a strong desire for revenge, he thought of Sirius. Despite the differences they had in the past, he was willing to go to any length to help him now. He thought of Rachel and how she had managed to forgive him for his many shortcomings. Instead of being resentful towards him, she was loyal. She made him want to be better, so as to actually deserve her loyalty.

When he felt particularly weak he thought of Narcissa and the quiet strength she possessed. And of Sirius who, never backed down from what he believed to be right, despite the consequences.

Finally, the attack began to lessen. The hissing that had been constantly present for what seemed like hours, stopped. The goblins were again speaking to each other more calmly. He was relieved that it did not seem as if he was going to be slaughtered anymore, at least not by the goblins. He hoped the mark had been successfully altered in a way that would allow Voldemort to believe him dead.

He assumed there must have been some degree of success because the goblins not only didn't kill him, but were also not throwing him out in the streets to fend for himself. He did not have time to think of much else before drifting into the first restful sleep he had had in weeks.

* * *

Evan Rosier was angry. Perhaps that didn't quite cover it. Anger was not a strong enough emotion for how he felt.

It was fortunate for Sirius Black that he was Evan Rosier. He prided himself on being an emotionless bastard, who maintained the upmost self-control at all times. If he were anyone else, especially any other death eater, Sirius Black would be dead.

What was the point of all of that planning if he was going to throw it all away like that? There was no way Regulus knew about it. He never deviated from a well thought out plan except when absolutely necessary. Sirius on the other hand… he was nothing if not rash. And overly proud. The deviation had to have been instigated by Sirius alone.

Fortunately the supposed unwarranted slaughter of his closest ally gave him reason to appear a bit more perturbed than usual without raising suspicion. Also fortunate was that he had learned from his two years as a death eater where not stand when the Dark Lord was receiving potentially unpleasant news. A new recruit was not so lucky.

According to Rookwood, the death eater who received the brunt of the Dark Lord's anger was a former Hufflepuff who had graduated in his year. Perhaps this was why everyone believed only Slytherin's vindictive enough to join the death eaters, he mused. The students from other houses lacked the self-preservation required to survive long enough for their true allegiance to become known.

After willingly offering his memories of Regulus' death to the Dark Lord and subtly hinting of his disappointment with the other's lack of self-control, he stood back and allowed the other participants to make their excuses. Fortunately for them, there were enough involved that they could not all be murdered without noticeably dwindling the death eaters as a whole. That was more due to the ruthlessness of those involved than the actual number of participants.

The partakers of Regulus' murder were shepherded into the basement of Lestrange Manor, and left to the care of Rodolphus. Evan was grateful for his reprieve, allowing his anger towards Sirius Black to lessen slightly. He couldn't care less about any of the death eaters that were involved. Even less now than before Regulus' 'murder,' a feat he would not have thought possible before. How they were punished meant nothing to him.

If anything they were getting off a bit easily. After a hearty cruciatus curse for each of them from their master, Rodolphus would be overseeing the rest of their punishment. They were lucky it was not Bellatrix that was tending to them. While she was far from loving towards anyone apart from the Dark Lord himself, she did hold some affection for Regulus.

Evan was just as much Bellatrix's cousin as Regulus was, through her mother, though whatever quality Regulus held that induced fondness from Bellatrix, he clearly lacked. Nor did he possess any of the gentleness that attracted Narcissa to him. Not that he minded. Regulus had always been more feeling than he was, and even more so than he likely let on. Regulus also held more value for his family (who for the most part didn't deserve it) than power. It was part of why he never should have joined the death eaters in the first place.

Bellatrix had just returned home after receiving a summons from The Dark Lord. It did not take long for her to be quickly filled in on what happened, and she was now clearly livid. The fact that she was angrier over the loss of her favorite cousin rather than sad was unsurprising. The woman had always been more driven by rage than any other emotion.

The Dark Lord informed him that he was to accompany him, along with Bellatrix to the scene of the crime. Apparently Reg's dark mark was still traceable, which should not happen given the brutishness he had endured. Unable to come up with a reason to stall the expedition without being punished, Evan held the door open for his companions. The trio walked in relative silence to the iron gates outside Lestrange Manor, before apparating to Diagon Alley.

Apparently in their anxiety, the other death eaters had forgotten to leave the dark mark above the building, which had slightly pacified their master. They would at least be able to search the area without the presence of the aurors for the time being.

Evan led the group to where faux Regulus had last stood. All that remained there were ashes. He and Bellatrix searched the scene for any other sign of Reg's body as the Dark Lord held court at the front of the room.

He was relieved that Sirius had thought to remove Regulus' compulsion charm on the entrance. While no one he had brought with him to 'hunt' Regulus had known him well enough to recognize his magical signature, he knew both Bellatrix and Voldemort would have easily recognized it had they been remotely suspicious of the circumstances. Even more lucky, was that neither seemed to think anything amiss with the situation.

After continuing to search without any success, the Dark Lord called them back together.

"The mark is no longer traceable," he told them emotionlessly. "Regulus Black is dead. Bella, I think it most appropriate for you to go and help Rodolphus punish my insolent followers."

"I am honored to do that. Thank you my Lord," she replied with a malicious glint in her eyes. She then bowed reverently before quickly going outside to disapparate.

Once she had left he turned to Evan,

"Rosier, do you think there is anything you could have done to prevent today's events?"

"Perhaps, my lord. At the time I did all I could think of. Looking back, I perhaps should have attempted to disarm them before things got too out of hand," he replied in a passably remorseful voice.

"That is a thought. However I think it likely that you would have received a similar fate as young Regulus had you tried to intercede more forcefully. You were severely outnumbered."

Evan bowed his head and continued to look abashed, much like a child probably would have done, though he knew better than to speak unless asked a direct question. After a pause the Dark Lord added,

"I think it is time we bring the elder Rosier back to our number. Would you care to assist me with his discharge?"

"I would be honored, my lord."

"I thought you might be. We shall proceed now, if you have no objections?"

"Of course, my lord. I've no plans that cannot be rescheduled."

"Very well, in that case I shall ask that you find Augustus Rookwood. Inform him that he is to command Madam Livingston to file the paperwork that will release your father first thing tomorrow morning. You are dismissed."

"Thank you my lord," he bowed before quickly disapparating, glad to be away from his master.

He reappeared outside the Rookwood estate. As he began walking up the path towards the house, Evan couldn't quite determine how he felt. Regulus had either successfully altered the traceability of his dark mark, or he really was dead. If he was alive, Evan could only hope that he had enough to sense to leave the country. Dead or alive, Evan doubted he would ever see him again.

He then remembered that Regulus had told him about a conversation he had overheard between Lucius and Bellatrix several months ago. According to them, the Dark Lord had the primary official of Azkaban already under the imperius curse. That had been months ago. If that were true, and it likely was, his father could easily have been released long before now.

It did not sit well with him that the order was just now being given for his release, but he wasn't surprised.


	17. A New Year and a Funeral

Regulus woke up in a comfortable bed feeling better rested than he had in weeks. It took him a moment to remember where he was. He vaguely recognized he was in the same room below Gringotts where his 'procedure' had taken place. He had not been in any condition to really take in the room the last time he had been conscious.

Upon remembering the purpose of his current location, he quickly looked to his left forearm. It was wrapped tightly in bandages and felt unnaturally heavy. He feebly attempted to unwrap it so as to examine the mark, but quickly gave up after finding he was too weak to do so. He was surprised and even more impressed to find that Slytherin's locket was sitting on the bedside table to his left. He had expected the goblins would have already confiscated it by now.

He briefly worried his weakness was a side effect of the procedure, but decided it would unlikely affect his entire body if that were the case, hopefully. He thought it more likely that he had either been given some type of potion to relax his body so as to expedite healing, or the goblin equivalent for the same effect.

He gingerly touched the skin on his left arm directly above where it was bandaged. The area felt numb and he couldn't help but to think that it would have been nice if the goblins would have numbed his arm before the procedure. He knew time had been of the essence though, and that it hadn't been an option.

He continued to look around him, unable to do much else in his current state. He was now in search of a means to let someone know he was awake. He didn't bother with trying to get out of bed. His body felt entirely too heavy.

Several minutes later and he could faintly hear what sounded like a cart making its way down the track. After several more minutes, Ragnok appeared with Sirius, the latter carrying a sack. Judging by its appearance, it likely contained food.

"Good morning, Mr. Black. I suspected you would awaken today," the goblin greeted.

"Today?" He asked dumbly.

Sirius laughed, "You've been out for nearly four days. Today is the first of the new year. You are awake just in time to go to your funeral if you want to go."

Regulus grimaced, "Definitely not," he answered as Sirius handed him the sack which he discovered to contain bagels. Regulus nodded his thanks but ignored his growling stomach in favor of information,

"How did things turn out?" he asked the goblin.

Ragnok gave his equivalent of a smirk, "I think you shall be most happy to learn that through an unforeseen circumstance, the dark mark helped to destroy the horcrux and vice versa."

The goblin then waved his arm and immediately Regulus' lethargic state lifted.

"Thanks," he said as he sat up in bed, grateful to be in a less compromising position,

"Destroyed to what degree? And what was the unforeseen circumstance?"

"The horcrux was inaccessible without the use of parseltongue to open the locket. The dark mark reluctantly provided the necessary parseltongue, though it required quite a lot of…encouragement for that to happen. Once the locket was opened, it effectively drained the dark mark of its powers. At that point it became more of a question of whether you or the horcrux would survive, as it was unlikely you both could. Or rather that the horcrux would allow you to, unless it was destroyed. Fortunately you were able to fend off the intrusion before it was able to get a strong hold. Eventually you managed to expel the horcrux entirely, at which point we were able to destroy it."

Regulus just shook his head. Any other time he would have been fascinated by all of the details he was surely missing. Right now, his mind could only concentrate on the brevity of facts. Undoubtedly he would be questioning the goblin later, but for now he settled on asking,

"What exactly do you mean by the horcrux drained the dark mark of its powers? Is the dark mark gone?"

"As you know, a horcrux is designed to take in that which makes it stronger. The power exuding from your dark mark was too much temptation for the horcrux to resist. That is why its attempts to possess you were so pronounced. After absorbing the powers fueled by the dark mark, the horcrux was much more powerful than we anticipated. As for the mark on your arm, it remains as of now," the goblin stated. He then swept his hand in the direction of Regulus' arm causing the bandages to fall away.

Regulus looked down to find the outline of the mark still present, though now it was an angry red instead of the black it once was.

Ragnok continued, "As your arm heals, it will continue to fade, though I think it would be exceedingly optimistic to believe it will ever disappear entirely. Dark magic almost always leaves traces. More importantly, the powers that the mark once possessed are no longer fruitful."

For a moment they were all silent. Regulus was processing all that he had been told and was considering his options when the goblin stated,

"I find myself pleased by your continued existence. You are one of very few wizards I have encountered that possess any level of honor. Certainly first amongst the Blacks."

Sirius sputtered indignantly, "I'm sitting right here!"

"So you are," the goblin smirked.

"Thank you Ragnok, for all that you have done," Regulus interjected before Sirius could respond. The goblin's comment helped him reach his decision. He vaguely thought the goblin had probably said what he did for that very reason, but he didn't care. A potential alliance with the goblins would be far more useful than a hunk of metal, regardless of its historical value.

"I think we shall agree to disagree on many things, Ragnok. However, if you have no objections, I would like for you to keep Slytherin's locket."

"You do not wish to keep it for yourself?" the goblin asked skeptically.

He shook his head, "The locket was only ever in my possession because I stole it. As Salazar Slytherin was the one who purchased this locket, the goblin belief is that it should have been returned to the goblins upon Salazar's death, correct?"

Ragnok nodded in response.

"Wizards would generally argue that the locket should be handed down through the generations of Salazar Slytherin's descendents. I would normally be of that belief myself, which is a matter that you and I will likely have to respectfully disagree on in the future. However in the case of Slytherin's locket, the only remaining descendent is Voldemort.

"It is in everyone's best interest for him to believe the locket is still in the cave, safely housing the horcrux. I would like for the goblin nation to keep the locket, with the condition you will not inform any wizards of the goblin's possession of it. If it got back to Voldemort that his horcrux has been destroyed all of our efforts will have been for nothing."

"I agree to those terms. The goblins have no need to brag to wizards of their possessions, they shall never know," the goblin grinned greedily, before reaching out to take the locket proffered from Regulus.

He then quickly excused himself. Sirius was looking at Regulus quizzically, but he was too interested in learning what happened to care,

"What about my murder?"

Sirius adopted a look of smugness as he answered, "I deviated from the plan a little bit."

Seeing Regulus' expression he quickly added, "It turned out brilliantly. There is nothing to worry about."

"Deviated how, and why?"

"Like I said, there's nothing to worry about. I just made you out to be a bit less pathetic, that's all."

"Why?"

"Because for the first time ever, you are actually trying to do the right thing. You shouldn't be known as a coward because of it."

Regulus withheld an exasperated sigh, "What did you do?"

"Between the compulsion charm you used and the fact that you apparently aren't very popular to begin with, it was easy," Sirius grinned. "The death eaters ensured your body was mutilated well enough. And before you ask, there is no way Rosier can be held accountable."

Regulus felt his heart drop into his stomach, "There is always a way someone can be held accountable even when they aren't responsible."

"Well he did everything he could to try and stop your sadistic mates. I can't imagine that he would get into trouble over anything. I do have one question though."

Regulus was annoyed that Sirius jeopardized Evan's position but recognized there was little he could do about it, especially as it was now several days after the fact. Grudgingly he asked,

"What's that?"

"How could you have turned down the opportunity to go out with the beauty that is Alecto Carrow?"

Regulus grimaced, "I take it she enjoyed torturing me?"

"I think it's safe to say they all enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Well until Rosier pointed out that they had disobeyed orders and he wasn't covering for their arses."

"I really wish you would have stuck with the plan. I mean why make a plan if not to follow?"

"Relax Reg, everything went better than anticipated. The mark is no longer traceable. The horcrux is destroyed. And best of all, mother and father can be ever so proud to claim their son was wrongfully murdered while bravely fighting for the rights of purebloods. Because you know, purebloods of all people are incredibly discriminated against."

Regulus ignored his taunt knowing Sirius was likely trying to figure out just how 'reformed' he was now that he was somewhat free from the death eaters. Instead he asked,

"What time do you have to leave for the funeral?"

"In about an hour or so. I could skip it-"

"No, you should go," _'It would mean a lot to our parents_,' he finished to himself. To Sirius he added,

"You can help me come up with my new look since you have time."

"Alright, what is your new alias, maybe it will prove inspirational."

Regulus fought back a laugh.

"Regenfrithu Marcus Atilius," he announced grandly.

"Um, what?"

"Regenfrithu Marcus Atilius," he repeated again slowly.

Sirius looked at him blankly for a moment, shook his head once, then asked "…why?"

"It would allow me to go by Reg with the excuse my mother gave me a horrendous first name. Though considering the situation it might be better if I went by Marcus. It would sound less suspicious, than Reg, especially if I were seen with you of all people."

"Alright, but why Regenfrithu and not Reginald? Or even Regis would be better."

Regulus grimaced. It means 'Peaceful Raven,' he admitted, causing Sirius to raise an eyebrow. "Thought it might be inconspicuous for a Slytherin," he added, sounding as dignified as he could manage despite his embarrassment.

"And Marcus and Atilius?"

"It just has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

Marcus Atilius Regulus had been a Roman military general who had lived around 2000 years ago. He was confident he was the only pureblood who would make the connection. He certainly wasn't going to educate his brother on of all things, muggle history.

"Atilius is not a pureblood name."

Regulus sighed. Sirius could be really dim sometimes. "Most ancient families ensure their children study the other pureblood family lines. It would draw unnecessary attention if I portrayed myself as a pureblood."

Sirius was now grinning like a loon for some reason, though Regulus had no idea why.

"We'll have to give you lessons to make you less proper," he announced.

"Absolutely not. No longer being recognized as a pureblood is no excuse to behave like a swine."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Well, just the basics, like standing a little less straight-"

"There's nothing wrong with good posture-"

"And walking a bit less arrogantly-"

"You're one to talk-"

"And showing a bit of emotion in your expression."

"Now you're just taking it too far," Regulus remarked, careful to keep his face stubbornly blank.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. Regulus could not remember the last time his brother had laughed good naturedly in his presence. While they had been at Hogwarts together it had only ever occurred if the marauders pulled off a prank that Regulus happened to get caught up in.

If Sirius realized Regulus was nearby at any other time he would either stop laughing immediately in favor of pointedly ignoring him, or else stare him down as if resentful of his existence. Apparently he was watching Sirius a bit too closely now for he stopped laughing and asked,

"What?"

"You're supposed to be helping me with my look."

"Oh, right," he smirked. "It's a shame really. You finally begin to look _almost_ as good as me, only to have to give it up so quickly."

"Don't flatter yourself. You look exactly like father and he's like - fifty."

Sirius flicked his wand, and Regulus' hair turned a ghastly shade of bright red,

"I think we could pass you off as a Weasley. Their family doesn't care enough about blood purity to keep up with all of their relatives. You would fit right in as a ginger, and could even remain a pureblood to boot."

Regulus was unsure whether Sirius was intending for that to be a jab or a compliment towards the Weasley family. He didn't care. There was no way the fact that the younger Black despised the color red could have possibly slipped the elder's mind. It had been well known in their youth.

He transfigured Sirius' hair into a grotesque shade of green in response, which effectively began a transfiguration war between the brothers.

Eventually they returned to the task of adjusting Regulus' appearance to develop his new alias.

When they were finished he had a medium shade of brown hair, and blue eyes. Much to the younger Black's dismay, Sirius told him he needed to change the length of his hair.

He had found the perfect length a couple of years ago that allowed its natural wave to fall in an effortlessly elegant manner at all times. He was not enthusiastic about changing it, but finally agreed. He chose to shorten his hair instead of lengthening it as most wizards with longer hair were either much older than him or purebloods.

Once satisfied with his hair, they softened his more distinguishing features, and finished up by altering his nose to a shorter, slightly wider shape.

While his new look was adequate, Sirius had been right in his statement earlier. Regulus had been much more attractive with his natural looks- not that he would ever admit that he actually thought about it, least of all to Sirius. More important was that it was necessary. His new appearance would blend into a crowd much more easily than the characteristic Black features that he used to be able to wear proudly.

Shortly after Regulus' look was established the brothers bid each other goodbye. Regulus had matters to discuss with the goblins, and Sirius had a dead brother's funeral to attend.

* * *

Sirius apparated to the place where he had arranged to meet with James so as to attend the funeral together. Sirius had told James not to worry about going with him. After all, it was no secret that James despised the younger Black, but James had insisted. He wanted to provide moral support to his best mate, he had said.

Lily had also offered to attend, but as she was a muggleborn and pregnant, James talked her out of it. The majority of attendees were sure to be death eater sympathizers at best.

The marauders had all agreed to meet up after the funeral, so as to allow Sirius to 'drown his sorrows'. Sirius suspected that his friends secretly thought his brother's death was a good thing. For all any of them knew, the brothers had not spoken in years and hated each other. To them, his death likely meant nothing more than one less death eater out there murdering innocent people.

Sirius wasn't entirely sure he could stomach hanging out with them. He hated lying to them and desperately wanted to tell about Regulus' change of allegiance and subsequent survival. He knew he could trust the marauders with the information, he just needed to wait until he could talk Regulus into it first. It would likely take him a while to warm up to the idea, he had always been a secretive person.

Sirius however was not, at least not when it came to the other marauders. The only times he had ever lied to them had been when they used to ask about his home life. He would skip over the worst parts and tell only half-truths, but it had usually been more out of shame than anything else.

Andromeda and his uncle Alphard had been his only relatives he could tolerate in recent years. While they had been decent enough to him, he had never felt any particular amount of privilege in being related to them (aside from the inheritance he had gotten from his uncle). They simply weren't as bad as the rest of the family.

In fact, he had not felt pride in anything to do with the Black family since he was around twelve years old, until now.

He vowed to himself he would tell them soon, even if Regulus did not approve, because they were his friends and had never let him down yet. They deserved to know. And besides, Regulus had still gone to Evan for help even after Sirius voiced his disapproval. It was only fair that Sirius could do the same.

* * *

Sirius had his doubts that half the people in attendance of Regulus' funeral gave a damn about his brother. Nearly everyone present was, if not a death eater, then certainly a sympathizer. As with anything in pureblood society, it was being treated as little more than a political engagement, and any family worth their salt was expected to be in attendance.

The Carrow family was there, along with several other people that Sirius suspected were involved in Regulus' fake murder. He would have been furious of this fact, if not for knowing the murder had been a sham. Even knowing Regulus was alive, their presence did not sit particularly well with him.

He expected Evan Rosier had similar sentiments about the ludicrousness of the gathering. He was not sitting with any known death eaters, but instead was with the Greengrass siblings, Cyrus and Cassie, who had actually been friends with Regulus in school.

James and Sirius sat in the back, behind all of the other guests and attempted to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. The immediate family had reserved seating in the front, but Sirius had no desire to be associated with anyone up there.

Andromeda was not present and he felt every other member of their family had played a role in what would have been Regulus' demise. He truly would have died had Sirius not saved him in the cave. He also had no doubt now that Regulus would have preferred death to continuing life as a death eater. Why else would he have drank the potion and ordered Kreacher to leave him?

The Regulus that joined the death eaters was a product of his family's creation. They deserved the responsibility of his 'death.' Regulus was already paying more than his share of the price for their ignorance and bigotry.

Sirius didn't even spare a look for his parents. He was unsure whether he would be angrier if they looked saddened by their loss or if they maintained their expressionless façade. He didn't think he could stomach either. He had no doubt they would be far more distressed over their loss of a 'suitable' heir than their loss of a son.

He did notice Narcissa. Her face was void of expression, though silent tears glistened on her cheeks. They were hard to miss, if only because her showing any sort of emotion was relatively unheard of. He expected she would be the only relative to genuinely grieve Regulus' death.

After the ceremony Sirius had intended to leave before any of his family noticed him. Unexpectedly, and with an agility of a much younger man, Orion Black had him cornered.

"I'm glad you could make it, Sirius."

"I'm not here for you."

"I've no doubt that is the truth. Regulus' is likely the only family member's funeral you would make an appearance at. I can't say I blame you."

"It's your fault he's dead. All of yours. You know that, right? Do you even care that he's gone?" Sirius demanded.

Orion's face contorted into an expression that could only be pain, "Do not presume I did not care for my son, Sirius," he stated with such a finality that not even Sirius would question it. He nodded once in response.

Orion continued, "Your mother wanted me to speak with you. As Regulus is… gone, she wishes to disregard your being disinherited. She asked me to let you know."

"Wonderful."

"I realize now is not the most appropriate time for this conversation, however I did not think you would meet me at a later date if I asked."

"You're right, I wouldn't. I'm sorry for your loss," he answered with a mixture of mockery and involuntary guilt before turning away and leaving, James quickly on his heels.

Once they were a safe distance away from the rest of the guests they disapparated to meet the other marauders. Perhaps drinks with his friends was exactly what he needed after all.


	18. Repercussions

Regulus was sitting in Ragnok's office getting all of the details from his procedure that had been excluded earlier. The pair had already made all of the final touches to ensure his new identity was believable. As he and the goblin were talking, he kept catching sight of himself in the reflection of the window. It was going to take him a while to get used to his new look.

He wasn't a death eater anymore, but he couldn't shed his mask either. He couldn't afford to be recognized now any more that he could have as a death eater. He would forever be hiding who he truly was. Though if he were honest, he was having a bit of trouble determining who he was supposed to be at this point.

Anything that he had ever used to identify himself had been stripped away from him. He was no longer the heir to one of the wealthiest families in Britain. He couldn't even be thought of as a Black, or even a pureblood for that matter. There was no one he could really talk to. Evan would be killed if anyone found out he was in contact with a traitor.

Regulus had often felt lonely when he was younger, especially at Grimmauld Place after Sirius was gone. Back then he had Kreacher and the knowledge that he would see his friends again once classes resumed. He did not have that luxury now. He had never before felt so isolated.

If there was a silver lining, he did at least have his brother on his side now. While Regulus was grateful to him for all of his help lately, Sirius had his own life to live. He had his own friends and responsibilities. He had also already done more than enough to help him, and it would be unfair of Regulus to pull him away from his life any more than he already had.

Regulus' only purpose now was to hunt horcruxes. As powerful and intelligent as he knew himself to be, he had his doubts that he was the one meant to kill Voldemort. There was a reason he had idolized the Dark Lord when he was younger: He was arguably the most powerful wizard of this century. He was also willing to go to any length to survive, while Regulus was more than willing to sacrifice himself if it came to that. He also had his limits.

For instance, he would never split his soul, regardless of the benefit. He also did not particularly want to murder anyone apart from maybe Voldemort- some of the bastard's most loyal servants were Regulus' own family members, after all.

While he knew Bellatrix or Lucius likely wouldn't hesitate to kill him should they find out what he had done, he wasn't sure he could pay them back in kind. Bellatrix because she is family. Lucius more because Narcissa would never forgive him.

He knew it was unlikely that he would survive until the end of the war, but he was willing to do all he could to pave the way for someone else. Perhaps it would be Dumbledore. He is allegedly the only wizard the Dark Lord ever feared so it would be the most fitting.

Regulus supposed he should meet with the old coot again. It made sense for them to collaborate seeing as they shared a common goal: to rid the world of Voldemort's influence. Dumbledore had disapproved of Regulus' decision to not become a spy for The Order. It would be unwise to alienate the headmaster further. His influence and knowledge was bound to be useful at some point.

Unfortunately, Regulus had no plans to join The Order of the Phoenix either. He would battle with the death eaters when he had to, but he hoped to postpone the interaction as long as he could. He wanted to get a head start on finding the horcruxes while he was still under the radar of the death eaters.

There was also the fact that he was not accustomed to dueling with 'Order approved spells'. After one battle with death eaters his spell choice would likely draw unwanted attention if he wasn't careful. He had no intention of countering killing curses with jelly leg jinxes as some of the Order members were known for.

As Regulus left the office, a goblin brought him a letter in the hallway. He stated that someone had left it for him a few days ago. The letter was unmarked.

Regulus took it and thanked the goblin before continuing on his way. Upon exiting Gringotts, he apparated to a secluded area in muggle London. After checking to ensure there weren't any jinxes or otherwise harmful content in the letter, he opened it. He recognized the scrawl as Evan's, though it was not addressed or signed. Instead it was short and somewhat coded,

'_Father has returned home from his holiday. It was such a new experience for him I expect he is forever changed. I have decided to join him for the time being._

_Should you need a place to stay when you return from your holiday, my former residence will be vacant until the lease ends in July._

It sounded as if things had turned out as well as they could have for Evan, Regulus decided after reading the letter. Having his father released was an added bonus. He vaguely wondered what had triggered Voldemort's sudden desire to release the elder Rosier, but didn't much care. No one deserved Azkaban as far as he was concerned.

He did not envy Sirius if he met Evan in battle anytime soon. On the few occasions the two had dueled, they had been well matched, and that was with Evan refraining from using any excessively dark spells. Regulus knew he had only done so out of respect for his mixed feelings for his brother, and certainly not because he held any regard for the older Black. Regulus didn't expect Evan would be exhibiting his usual level of self-control if the two faced each other in a duel anytime soon.

Regulus considered his options. He had been planning to move into his Uncle Alphard's old house. However, as no one had been in there for years, the protections on the house were unknown. He would also have to be careful not to draw attention to himself as the neighbors were bound to have grown accustomed to the house being empty. A sudden habitant would likely not go amiss.

Living in the middle of London would have its benefits too. He could blend in with the muggles relatively well by now and would have easy access Diagon Alley. While the protections there were not nearly as strong as an ancestral home would have, they were well designed and would be adequate for the time being. The apartment had also been leased under a name apart from Evan's. As no one else knew Evan lived there, the likelihood of him being connected to Regulus/Marcus was highly unlikely.

He remained undecided on where he would stay permanently, but for the time being would go to Evan's. He would not have to deal with unknown protections there like he would at his uncle Alphard's. He was very anxious for an opportunity to review the visions he had seen while he was unconscious.

He hadn't had much of a chance to think about what they could mean as of yet, and did not want to think about them until he was someplace private and could concentrate properly. Perhaps he was a bit paranoid, but he did not want to spare his concentration now while vulnerably walking in muggle London. He set off then in the direction of Evan's old apartment.

* * *

The marauders were sitting in their third bar of the evening. The first two they had left due to the fact that nearly every person there was staring at Sirius and obviously gossiping about Regulus' recent death. Apparently there were a great deal of rumors about what had actually caused it.

None of the death eaters were telling anything definitive, as that would require them to admit they were death eaters. The well-known members, such as Bellatrix had no reason to divulge the truth to the general public, or what they believed to be true at any rate.

In the time the marauders had been out they had overheard several theories. The most popular seemed to be that either Regulus believed himself to be more important than he was and was put down for it, or he got in too deep and wanted to leave, which led to Voldemort calling for his murder.

Sirius was highly annoyed by the speculation but had managed to arrange his face in a manner to appear mostly calm. He was only able to manage it because he knew his brother was still alive. He still couldn't be bothered to keep his annoyance from showing entirely while he was being provoked as he was. It seemed some people believed he knew the truth and thought if they goaded him enough he would tell it. He was careful not to become overly drunk so as to give away too much.

He was just about to call an end to the miserable night when he was approached by a former Ravenclaw, Terrence Boot. He had graduated in the same year as Regulus.

"Hi Sirius, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what you must be going through and it's only made worse by people gossiping about it. I always thought Regulus had a much worse reputation than he deserved."

Terrence spoke only loud enough to be heard by the marauders over the general noise and music in the bar. Unfortunately the song that was playing ended just as he stated the last part, which drew the attention of several occupants of the bar. An older former Hufflepuff from a nearby table all but shouted,

"Obviously he did deserve the reputation though, right? Otherwise he wouldn't have been a death eater."

"Who says he was even a death eater? For all any of us know, he was approached by the death eaters and was murdered when he refused to join them," Terrence retorted, before even Sirius could comment.

"There is no way anyone could possibly believe that," the former hufflepuff answered skeptically. Though judging by the expressions on many of the eavesdropper's faces, a few might have been adding that to their list of theories. Sirius wasn't going to correct them.

"I would have never passed my Arithmancy NEWT with an Outstanding if Regulus hadn't tutored me. He never once mentioned blood purity and was never anything but nice to me. I'm a half blood. That doesn't exactly fit the normal description of a death eater, does it?"

"No one ever said the boy couldn't act. The death eaters must keep civil pretenses, less we would know who all of them are."

Unable to hold his tongue any longer, Sirius retorted, "Perhaps you are a death eater. You seem to know enough about them."

He noticed several occupants were beginning to leave. Apparently throwing around accusations of being a death eater was offensive.

"I'm a half-blood. Of course I'm not."

"Then why are you so insistent that Regulus must have been one, when it's obvious you really have no idea?" Sirius managed to ask in a passably civil voice. He wouldn't mind a bit if Boot's theory was passed around, after all.

"He was a Black. Everyone knows they care only about purity of blood. The only ones in that family who aren't death eaters get disowned. Congratulations to you on that Sirius," he said as he lifted his glass as if to toast Sirius before adding with a smirk, "Though I've heard you are going to be re-inherited now that your brother has snuffed it. I suppose it is only a matter of time before you will be joining the death eaters?"

"I am not a death eater, nor will I ever be," Sirius retorted angrily.

"Why not? According to Boot here, Regulus didn't seem the type either. He certainly turned out to be a piece of shite though, didn't he?"

In an instant Sirius lunged at the former Hufflepuff and was punching every inch of his face that he could reach. Sirius felt attempts being made to pull him away, but ignored them. Finally, with the effort of the other three marauders, Sirius was forced to release his bloodied victim. The barman quickly came over to them and asked them all to leave in a manner that left no room for arguing.

Terrence Boot looked a bit muddled as to whether or not he was being kicked out of the bar or not. He tentatively made his way back over to friends and sat down, as the former Hufflepuff and Sirius were led to separate exits.

Sirius caught Boot's eye and nodded. He was grateful there were some, albeit few that believed Regulus could have been decent. Sirius himself was surprised that Regulus would have helped the Ravenclaw. Perhaps his brother had grown up a lot in his last year at school? He didn't have time to think about it now though as the other marauders had followed him outside and were now looking at him expectantly.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"What?" James demanded, "What? You just accused someone of being a death eater, and got us kicked out for fighting!"

"So? He started it. He was accusing Regulus of being one, what's the difference?"

"Well… he was, wasn't he?" James asked quietly.

"How should I know? If he was and wanted out though, he shouldn't be condemned by everyone else for it. He's been murdered, is that not bad enough?"

"Why are you defending him?"

"Well…he's dead. He can't exactly defend himself, can he?"

"You're acting really weird. Any other time you would have been joining in with the hufflepuff's slander, rather than trying to fight him."

Remus decided to cut in at that point, "James, he has just lost his brother. I think the situation has changed a bit. And the guy in the bar was clearly asking for trouble. I think it's best if we all just call it a night."

"You have not just lost your brother! I am far more your brother than Regulus ever was! You've said that yourself more times than I could count!"

Sirius shook his head, "Maybe that's the problem. Maybe if I had not written Regulus off when he was younger, he never would have gotten into this mess-"

"You can stop that line of thought right now. Regulus never deserved you as a brother. He is just like the rest of your family. He may not be here to defend himself, but he isn't here to be offended either, so why are you still defending him?

"Because… because he's exactly who I could have been," Sirius exclaimed as he ran his hand through his hair trying to think of the best way to explain. "Do you want to know what the only difference between me and Regulus is?"

"Can I only choose one?"

Sirius ignored his comment and continued, "I'm older and went to Hogwarts first. I was sorted into Gryffindor. I met the three of you. That's it. Because I was not a Slytherin, my parents ensured Regulus was. The only influences Regulus ever had in his life was my family with their extremist attitudes on pureblood supremacy and his fellow Slytherins who were brought up in similar households. Had he been older than me and did not know the backlash of being sorted into a different house, I've no doubt he would have been a Ravenclaw, and I would have been a Slytherin."

"You would have never been a Slytherin, Padfoot. You are nothing like them," James replied in what he must have thought was a reassuring manner.

"Do you not remember what I was like when I first began Hogwarts? I acted like I was better than all of you. It took weeks of being pranked incessantly to even begin to loosen up."

"You were never as bad as Regulus-"

"You never knew him!" Sirius all but yelled. Then more calmly he added, "All you ever knew is what I told you about him. You thought the worst of him because of the things I said and simply because he was in Slytherin. I was so unbelievably judgmental towards everything he did while we were in school.

"I always guessed he was going to detention for murdering kittens or sneaking out to practice unforgivable curses, or some other ridiculous assumption when I saw him in the corridors. I never even considered he might be going to the library to study, or to quidditch practice, or to the kitchens to get something to eat. You want to know the real difference from me and Regulus? Because of my existence our family forced him into the darkness! His existence was my reprieve."

With that he turned on the spot and disapparated leaving the other marauders gaping after him.


	19. Locations and Mad Eye

Regulus sat in the kitchen of the flat formerly inhabited by Evan. He found it to be oddly quiet in his absence. At least it was conducive for thinking as his mind kept wandering back to the images he had seen during his experience at Hogwarts.

Pitch black. A cavernous room with junk. Another dark place with what could have been gold glinting around it. None of that was particularly helpful. Regulus was fairly certain that Lucius Malfoy must have been asked to hide a horcrux. He could not think of any other reason the secret room beneath the drawing room of Malfoy Manor would have flashed in his mind amidst the other images otherwise. Any question of that location was absolved once the images had become more clear, revealing the Malfoy family crest on the wall in the background.

Six pieces of Voldemort's soul. The locket has been destroyed, leaving five pieces. Voldemort would have to be taken care of last or else he would use one of his horcruxes to come back. Even worse, if that happened he would know his horcruxes were being hunted and would either make more of them, or find some new means to obtain immortality.

He knew that Bellatrix had at some point been given Helga Hufflehuff's cup to keep for Voldemort. Assuming it was a horcrux and that she still had it, then the cup must be in one of the other three places he had seen. While Regulus had no doubt that Lestrange Manor had secret areas that he had not been shown in his visits there, he was confident Bella would not have a room of junk.

Would Bellatrix have left something that valuable lying around the manor while she was having a holiday party at her house? Regulus doubted it. Not unless she kept it in the room Voldemort was staying in. As he did not deem to grace them with his presence at the party, it would have been safe there.

The Dark Lord had asked Bella. Not Rodolphus. She had been specific about that fact when she told Regulus about it. Bella did not trust Rodolphus, she barely tolerated him most of the time. Regulus knew their marriage had been arranged and was more endured than enjoyed.

He also knew every Black to be prideful, Bella was no exception. If he added everything he knew about his cousin, her marriage, and her relationship with Voldemort together, he had his doubts that the cup was being stored at Lestrange Manor at all.

A vault at Gringotts would make sense. It would also explain the gold glinting in the background of one of his images. It would assuredly be a vault that Rodolphus did not have access to.

Regulus knew Bella about as well as anyone did. His instincts were also usually pretty reliable. He thought a vault was likely.

He wondered if he had built enough repertoire with the goblins to inquire about the cup. Considering that they prided themselves on the privacy they offered their patrons, he rather doubted it. He would have to be certain the cup was located there before he could even consider broaching the subject with them.

It was possible the cup had never been a horcrux. It could have been given to Bella for the sole purpose of creating a false trail. Or the cup could have been taken from Bella and given to Lucius and that was the horcrux they now kept.

He didn't know what had become of the cup, but thought the idea of Voldemort creating a false trail was unlikely. Regulus himself would have been paranoid enough to do so, but Voldemort? That would have required him to consider that someone else could have found out about his horcruxes, and also dared attempt to destroy them. He was much too prideful to believe either of those things.

While Regulus suspected that Bella had a horcrux somewhere, he knew exactly where Lucius was storing his. He was also fairly certain of the enchantments that were guarding the room it was located in. Whatever horcrux was at Malfoy Manor was his for the taking if he could find a time when the manor was empty.

He didn't know how easily the horcrux would stand out in a room filled with 'dark' objects. It would be helpful if he knew what the object Lucius had been given was.

It was almost a shame he had decided not to be a spy. Narcissa might have told him what they had been given if he would have asked her. Though Regulus was unsure if he could have thrown away her trust like that anyway.

They would be punished severely when the disappearance of their horcrux became known by Voldemort. Narcissa was not a death eater, and she was pregnant. He did not like to think what Voldemort might deem acceptable punishment to her in that state.

Sirius would have no qualms about going after the horcrux at the Malfoy's immediately. It was their only concrete lead, after all. While Regulus knew it was imperative that he remove it before someone else did, he couldn't quite bring himself to plot his breaking and entry.

The intrusion would likely not go unnoticed. Regulus didn't want to draw attention to the fact that someone was stealing horcruxes anymore than he wanted Narcissa to suffer as a result of his actions.

Still if his goal was to hunt horcruxes he had to start somewhere. Given the choice between his cousins, Bellatrix was a death eater. She had signed up to serve the Dark Lord alongside her husband. While he felt sick at potentially leaving her to the mercies of Voldemort, at least she had joined the death eaters willingly.

Narcissa was only as involved as she had to be in support of her husband's obligations. As far as Regulus knew, she did not care about the Dark Lord. She did love Lucius, but she was also cleverer than her husband.

If it ever looked as if the end of the war was in sight, he knew Narcissa would do whatever it took to ensure her family was believed to be on the winning side when it was over. Whether it was the light side or the dark she wouldn't care, so long as her family was safe.

In the event the light side could win the war, Regulus thought he might be able to persuade her to just give him the horcrux, instead of having to steal it from her.

Unfortunately, her handing over the horcrux would require a nearly unsurmountable swing in the war. Any opposition to Voldemort right now was miniscule at best. Also unfortunate, was that he would first have to convince her to forgive him for allowing her to grieve his death, if it came to that.

As far as the other horcruxes, it was possible some of the other death eaters had been given one to hide. It seemed entirely too convenient for Voldemort to have used the Black family's house elf to hide one horcrux and given a horcrux each, to the family of his cousins to hide two of the others without involving anyone else.

Surely some of his other loyal families were protecting horcruxes as well. Still, why would Voldemort have placed such a large amount of trust in the Black family? As paranoid as he was, it seemed like a huge oversight to Regulus.

He vaguely considered asking Evan if his father had been given anything to hide. Judging by the amount of time the elder Rosier was left in Azkaban though, it seemed Voldemort did not think him as valuable as he once did.

It would also be exceedingly dangerous for both of them if Regulus attempted to contact Evan again, especially since he returned to the Rosier family home. Evan also had enough to occupy his time helping his father adjust from his stint in Azkaban, without worrying about helping Regulus any more than he already had.

He thought Sirius might be useful but did not want to already be going to his brother for help. He then thought of Dumbledore. The headmaster had known about the horcruxes for almost a week now. Maybe he had come up with some ideas as to where they could be. He decided to pay him a visit.

* * *

Sirius had taken muggle studies instead of ancient runes in school for the sole purpose of angering his parents. That decision was not serving him well today as he had spent the last half hour unsuccessfully trying to breakthrough the protections surrounding his Uncle Alphard's house.

It looked as if Regulus had never even been there, but he had to have. He didn't have anywhere else to go. Unless… no, there was no way that after everything they had been through that he could have been dumb enough to be captured so quickly.

Deciding he wasn't going to get anywhere at his uncle's house and that if anyone would have heard anything about Regulus it would be Dumbledore, he disapparated to Hogsmeade.

As the older Black brother was just making his way towards the gargoyle outside the headmaster's office, he heard someone whisper,

"Sirius"

"Regulus?"

"Your brother died, you idiot," Regulus answered in an exasperated whisper.

Sirius rolled his eyes as he went to stand in the shadows with his brother. It wasn't like there was anyone around to hear his slip of tongue,

"What are you doing here? I tried to find you at Uncle Alphard's. It looked as if you were never there. And why are you hiding?"

"I came to see Dumbledore but I overheard him talking with someone so I came back down here."

"Who is he talking to?"

"No idea."

"Well, we have an Order meeting this evening so I would guess that it's probably Edgar Bones. He likes to come early to talk to Dumbledore before everyone else shows up. Come on, I'll introduce you."

"No thanks. I didn't know there was an Order meeting today or I wouldn't have bothered waiting. I'll just come back another time."

"Regul-enfrithu," Sirius caught himself, "you have to meet the members of The Order sooner or later."

"I choose later. Maybe by then you will at least not stumble over my name."

Sirius smirked, "Now, now, that tone is unfitting for a peaceful raven."

"Really? I thought you were better than that," Regulus answered flatly.

"I've only just started, little bird," Sirius laughed. He then stated the password to the gargoyle and all but dragged Regulus by the arm up the staircase. Upon reaching the door he knocked briefly and was surprised when the door was immediately wrenched open by Mad Eye Moody.

Apparently Regulus' disguise did not work with Moody's magical eye. The auror roughly pulled Regulus away from Sirius and slammed him into the wall just inside the headmaster's office. Regulus raised his hands as if in surrender and placed them against the wall on each side of him, in plain sight.

The auror then pressed his wand to the back of Regulus' neck and used his other arm to hold the youngest Black against the wall,

"Regulus Black. I could have sworn I heard a nasty rumor that you were dead. Murdered by your fellows, in fact."

"Just goes to show you can't believe everything you hear, I suppose," Regulus answered ironically.

Sirius looked to Dumbledore to find him looking at the scene in what could have been mild amusement. Sirius was certainly alarmed if no one else was. He all but shouted,

"Moody, he's not a death eater! You have to let him go!"

"Once a death eater always a death eater," the auror growled.

"Where's the proof I was ever a death eater to begin with?" Regulus asked in a passably innocent tone.

"You have a file in the auror office. I will have to check to see which crimes you have been tied to, but you have a file nonetheless."

"Unless that file is empty, it is inaccurate. I have never been linked to any death eater activities," Regulus countered.

"You claim not to have been linked to any of their activities. You did not say that you were never a death eater. I wonder why that is."

"I prefer to be subtle rather than state the obvious. I apologize if my wording was confusing. If you don't mind to ease up a little, I would appreciate it. This is becoming a bit uncomfortable," he replied calmly from his position of being held with his face to the wall and wand pointed directly at the back of his neck. Had he not complained of the discomfort he would have appeared entirely unaffected by his current predicament.

"Where is your wand?"

Regulus wiggled his right arm so as to draw attention to the holster it was currently stowed in. Sirius vaguely wondered if his brother still carried their grandfather Arcturus' old wand as a back-up but thought it best not to ask in the current situation.

Mad-Eye took Regulus' wand and directed him to a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, all the while keeping his wand firmly pointed at Regulus' chest.

While Sirius was generally annoyed by his brother's infuriating calmness, in this situation he couldn't help but to admire it. He appeared entirely nonplussed as one of the most intimidating people Sirius had ever met stood over him with his wand trained on his most vital organ.

"Why did you fake your death?" Moody demanded.

"Who says I did? It must not have been a very reliable source."

Mad-Eye rephrased his question, "Why does everyone believe you are dead?"

"Rumors I expect. Nothing flies faster than bad news," he answered nonchalantly.

"Your death could hardly be considered bad news," the auror remarked derisively.

Regulus smirked, "You seem to have an awfully poor impression of me. I can't help but feel it is undeserved. You and I have never actually met."

Mad-Eye attempted to return his smirk though it looked a bit grotesque with his mangled features,

"Your brother has told everyone in The Order that you are a death eater."

'Oops,' Sirius thought as he recalled his tirade in which Mad-Eye must have been referring to.

He had been feeling incredibly frustrated with the lack of success the Order had been having at the time. To make matters worse, he thought he might have recognized his brother in one of their recent battles, though he had been unable to confront him.

In his frustration, he had later thrown Regulus under the metaphorical bus, announcing that his brother had been involved in the battle, though he had never actually been certain. From then on it had been 'known' by the Order that Regulus was a death eater.

In all of the recent excitement, he had forgotten about the past remarks he had made. Now that he remembered, he wished he could have at least given Regulus a warning.

"I never said that he was a death eater. Only that I suspected he could be," Sirius contributed.

Mad-Eye glanced at Sirius with a victorious gleam in his eye before returning his full attention back to Regulus, "Of all the people to suspect you of being a death eater, your own brother. I wonder why that is?"

"Sirius isn't known for his intelligence," Regulus answered curtly.

Dumbledore took that moment to finally interrupt the inquisition,

"Alastor, I do not believe Mr. Black to be a threat to us." Turning to Regulus he asked, "What was the purpose of your visit this evening, Mr. Black?"

"I wished to discuss something with you, however I would prefer to do so in private. Sirius mentioned there is to be an Order meeting shortly. I can come back another time."

"What is the purpose of the meeting being private?" Mad-Eye inquired.

"To discuss a private matter, Mr. Moody," Regulus replied in an overly polite tone.

It appeared Regulus' sarcasm reached the end of the auror's nerves faster than his inappropriate calmness had managed. Funny, Sirius had always been the opposite in that regard.

"If you will not answer my questions I will have you locked up in Azkaban. Perhaps after spending some time with the dementors you will talk!"

Regulus looked back at the auror curiously, "Arrested on what grounds? I came here to speak with the headmaster in private. As he was priorly engaged, I offered to come back later. Why would you arrest me?"

"Gee, I don't know. Could it be because you are a known death eater?"

"Where is the proof of that?"

Mad-Eye stood glaring daggers at the youngest Black as if considering how to proceed. Regulus apparently grew tired of waiting for a response and continued,

"I've never been linked to any death eater activities. As far as I know, the only reason you even suspect I am a death eater is because Sirius told you I might have been one in the past. He has since said only a few moments ago that I am not a death eater. Professor Dumbledore has told you I am not a threat. Why are you still holding a wand in my face?"

"Evan Rosier is a death eater."

Regulus raised an eyebrow as if surprised, "Is he?"

"Yes. That has been confirmed by the ministry. Our sources tell us you and Rosier are rarely seen without the other. That seems suspicious doesn't it?"

"Not really, these are dark times. So much so that I find myself unable to trust many people. It is true that I rarely go anywhere without Evan, but that is only because most of the death eaters are afraid of his father and what he might do should any of them approach his son."

"Are you implying that Evan Rosier is not a death eater?" Moody asked disbelievingly.

"He has never been linked to any death eater activity as far as I am aware."

Moody reached into his pocket in exasperation and pulled out a vial,

"You are one indirect answer away from being force-fed veritaserum," he growled dangerously.

"It's illegal to force a pure-blood to drink veritaserum," Regulus countered.

"I should not have to force you. If you are so intent on being believed innocent, you should want to drink it."

"With all due respect, no one with an ounce of dignity wants all of their secrets displayed for the world to see."

"I've had enough of this. Either you answer my questions or I am taking you to Azkaban where you will await trial for being a death eater."

Regulus continued to look completely unaffected,

"If that's what you want to do, I can't stop you. Though I must say that I am a bit surprised you are so readily willing to lock up a potentially innocent man. You are generally regarded as being among the more reasonable aurors."

"For you, I think I'll take my chances," Mad-Eye growled, though he did hesitate in arresting him.

Upon seeing Regulus remain completely unconcerned with his predicament he asked,

"Do you want to go to Azkaban?"

"Well, not particularly, no."

"Why aren't you making any effort to convince me not to arrest you then or trying to flee at the least?"

"I could never convince you of my innocence once you believe me guilty, and I know better than to try and flee. Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Moody," Regulus answered with sincerity for the first time in their conversation.

"Isn't Azkaban every death eater's worst fear?"

Regulus chuckled darkly, "As I am not a death eater, I couldn't say. Though as I have no intention of staying in Azkaban, I am not particularly afraid of it."

Mad-Eye looked incredulous for a moment before asking, "No one has ever escaped Azkaban, yet you think yourself able? You are practically a child."

"Escape? Maybe. I have studied the protections of the prison rather extensively."

"So have many before you, yet none of them have managed to escape."

"Perhaps not. Though I somehow doubt that the cleverest of criminals have ever been to Azkaban. For the record, if you arrest me, it would be a result of my coming to speak with Professor Dumbledore. An act scarcely deserving of prison. I expect you would feel guilty soon after sentencing me there and release me yourself if it came to it," Regulus replied smoothly.

Moody stared at the younger Black as if evaluating him. Finally he took a step back, though his wand did not waiver, as he growled,

"When evidence surfaces that you are a death eater, I will skip Azkaban and go straight for the dementer's kiss."

"Sounds reasonable. As far as I can tell, no one who is missing their soul notices its absence once it is gone," Regulus replied with a trace of a smile on his lips.

Sirius wondered if he was thinking of Voldemort and his horcruxes rather than anyone who had received the dementer's kiss.

Dumbledore began speaking then, and Sirius was annoyed to find the headmaster still looked as if the previous interrogation amused him. Would he have even attempted to stop Moody from arresting Regulus?

"Now that we have settled young Regulus' fate, I think it prudent that we change the subject. The other Order members will be arriving soon."

"I'll see myself out," Regulus remarked cheerfully as he stood and quickly left the room.

Sirius noticed that Dumbledore looked as if he wanted to object, but Regulus was gone before he could comment. Sirius couldn't blame Regulus for his quick departure. It didn't look like it would take much for Moody to change his mind and arrest him.


	20. Diagon Alley Part 1

Regulus quickly made his way down the staircase from the headmaster's office and through the hallways of the school. As he neared the entrance hall he saw Edgar Bones walking towards him and immediately turned in the opposite direction. He was willing to take a roundabout way of leaving the castle if it allowed him to avoid the rest of the Order members coming in.

Mad-Eye Moody recognizing him had been unexpected to say the least. Given that he was allowed to walk away from it, he supposed the timing had been for the best. Had there been an audience the first time the auror saw Regulus, his cover would have been blown entirely.

He was hopeful that Dumbledore and Sirius could convince Mad-Eye not to divulge his survival to anyone else. From what he had gathered, his 'death' had done more to solidify the rumor that he was a death eater than anything else. If his survival became known anytime soon, he would most likely be targeted from both sides.

His goal remained to draw as little attention to himself as possible while secretly hunting horcruxes. It was a task much easier said than done.

He knew he could save himself a lot of trouble and leave the country now, while he was believed dead. Sirius was the heir of the family again. If Regulus' survival ever became known, he would be considered a traitor to his former allies. Likewise, there was no chance that anyone from the light side would ever trust him either.

The only thing keeping him in Britain was his desire to see Voldemort brought down.

While he had his doubts that his survival would remain a secret indefinitely, he hoped that he could at least 'prove himself' to be firmly against Voldemort before the secret got out. He already knew being hunted from one side was bad enough. He hated to think how much worse being targeted from both sides would be.

Regulus successfully avoided everyone as he continued his indirect path to the outside grounds of Hogwarts. That is, until he rounded a corner and spotted a familiar brunette heading in his direction. He realized too late that he had subconsciously been walking towards the infirmary. Without thinking of the consequences he asked,

"Where are you going?"

Rachel looked up at him in surprise, "Do I know you?" she asked curiously.

"No, I don't think so," he answered self-consciously. What was he thinking?

It was none of his business where she was going, he knew that. He also knew he looked like an idiot for asking her when he shouldn't know anything about her. Yet, he couldn't help it. As vacant as Hogwarts was right now, the only conceivable reason for her to be walking in the direction she was going was if she were going to the Order meeting.

After waiting a moment to see if he was going to say anything else, Rachel smiled politely and began walking in the direction of the headmaster's office.

"Wait, is that the way to the exit? If so, well I've been trying to find my way out of here and… this castle is a bit confusing," he lied with just enough hesitation to be both believable and make himself sound embarrassed for his poor sense of direction.

Regulus knew if he could stall her long enough she would not go to the meeting as she loathed being late to anything. She was also far too kind not to help someone in need. He was fully aware that he was a terrible person for manipulating her.

If she wanted to join the Order, he had no right to try and stop her. However, he was a former death eater. Preventing her from making her allegiance known before the group's rodent problem was taken care of, was far from his worst transgression.

He could tell she was debating whether it would be suitable to just give him directions and make it to the meeting on time, or if she should walk him to the exit and risk being late. Regulus thought he knew which she would choose. There was both a trick staircase and a vanishing one between them and the entrance hall.

"You are right about the castle being confusing. I can show you to the entrance hall if you'd like, I think it might be safest," she answered sympathetically.

"Oh, I don't want to be any trouble," he lied.

"It's no trouble, this way is closest," she motioned as she turned to walk in the opposite direction she had previously been going.

"Are you a student?" he inquired, realizing it would be most believable if he knew nothing about her.

"No, I completed my studies here last June. I am in an apprenticeship now to become a healer, though I've been working in the hospital wing here some as well. What about you?"

"I graduated last year as well."

"Oh? From which school?"

"I was homeschooled, actually. These being dangerous times and all, my parents thought it safest."

"I've never met anyone who was homeschooled before-" she began excitedly.

"It wasn't very exciting. Aside from family, the only people I ever saw were tutors, and they could scarcely be considered company. A part from lessons, they didn't talk to me much," he answered not entirely untruthfully. He had had a lot of private tutoring when he was younger.

"I can see how that might be boring. I've never had much reason to look into the curriculum of homeschooling. Which NEWTs did you take?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Charms, Defense, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Arithmancy and Runes." Realizing he had just listed his exact schedule from when he had been at Hogwarts, he added, "and Muggle studies."

"That's…quite the schedule. I took seven courses and it was hectic enough. You and I had the same classes, except I didn't take NEWT History or Muggle Studies. The most NEWT level classes I've known of anyone taking at Hogwarts is 8," her expression immediately turned downcast. It was obvious she was thinking about him then as he had been the only one in their year to take 8 NEWTs.

Pretending not to have noticed her change in demeanor, he began a steady stream of questions about classes at Hogwarts. He was purposely directing most of the conversation so as to not have to reveal much about himself. He found he despised lying to her and was at least trying to keep it to a minimum.

After a pause in the conversation she asked, "Can I ask what brought you to Hogwarts this evening?"

"I came to speak with Headmaster Dumbledore," he answered honestly.

She continued to look at him expectantly so he added, "I had to leave before the Order meeting began though, seeing as I am not a member."

That surprised her, though she hid it well. She asked,

"How do you know about the meeting if you are not a member?"

He raised an eyebrow, "How did you?"

Rachel stopped, "What makes you think I did?" she demanded.

"You didn't seem surprised about the meeting taking place, only that I knew about it."

She studied him rather intently for a moment before asking, "Do you even need help finding your way around?"

"What reason could I have for asking you to assist me if I didn't?" He looked away from her gaze before adding, "At any rate, you can rest assured I am no death eater. I am sure Professor Dumbledore has plenty of protections to prevent anyone with ill intent from entering the school."

Rachel looked as if she were about to disagree with his comment on Dumbledore's protections, but repressed it at the last moment.

"Yes, I'm sure he would never allow that. Though if you were a death eater I can't imagine that you would admit it to someone you've just met. You haven't even told me your name."

For the briefest of moments, part of Regulus' heart ached that she had not figured out who he was. Of course it was ridiculous. He looked completely different. He was purposefully changing his mannerisms, stretching the truth so far it should undoubtedly be considered a lie, and had even modified his speaking voice. The whole purpose of that was so that he wouldn't be found out. How could he possibly expect her to recognize him through all of that, and when he is supposed to be dead?

Pushing those thoughts aside, he answered,

"Marcus Atilius, and you are?"

"Rachel Candor."

Regulus forced himself to simply nod at the introduction. Habit nearly kicked in, causing him to follow up with the formalities that always followed an introduction in pureblood society. The customs that had been ingrained in his mind since birth.

"I was of the impression that only it's members and death eaters knew of the existence of the Order. How did you know about it if you are neither?" Rachel asked.

"I have been approached about joining the Order, and likely will later. However for the time being I have other obligations that prevent my joining. What about you? I've been kept informed enough to know you've never been to any Order meetings before. Why the sudden interest?"

Again Rachel's demeanor turned sullen before answering, "There were circumstances that prevented my joining sooner. There is nothing keeping me from it now."

"Candor is a pureblood name, is it not? Though not a particularly old family. If you do not openly choose a side, the death eaters will likely leave you alone," Regulus stated much more casually than he felt.

"Yes, my blood is not 'old' enough to be sought after, but since I am pure, the death eaters can't target me without discounting their own credibility."

"Many would argue that you, being a pureblood, have nothing to gain by resisting Voldemort. You may even benefit if his side wins," he stated, again with an air of indifference.

"There is nothing Voldemort could offer to amend what he has taken. The longer he has power the more lives will be lost, more families broken. I think it is past time to fight back," she answered with unexpected determination.

Regulus wanted nothing more than to plead with her to reconsider, but as he looked into her green eyes, he knew he couldn't.

She may not have been joining the Order to avenge his 'murder,' but his death was certainly playing into the timing of her joining. The fact that he had been a death eater was likely the only thing that kept her from joining the Order sooner.

Her own father had been taken from her because of Voldemort's idiocy. He had been a casualty during one of the first raids Regulus had ever been on. Even by then he had regretted joining the death eaters, only more so after he had gotten to know Rachel better. Why she didn't hate him, he never knew.

It wouldn't be right for him to try to talk her out of joining the Order. Not even Evan had been able to convince him to reconsider joining the death eaters once he had set his mind to it.

Besides that, everything she was saying was true. He was the one who was selfish. He shouldn't even be allowing himself to talk to her right now, much less trying to prevent her from standing up for herself. Perhaps he had always held her back. He realized that she truly was much better off without him in her life.

He decided the least he could do was not lie to her more than he already had. Circumstances being as they were, the only way he wouldn't have to lie to her would be to part ways as quickly as he could, and avoid her as much as possible in the future.

* * *

Sirius had just finished helping Dumbledore explain the bare essentials of Regulus' situation to Mad-Eye, when Edgar Bones entered the room. The three elder wizards had since began a conversation that could not hold Sirius' attention. His mind drifted instead to the exchange that had taken place between Mad-Eye and his brother. Perhaps more interesting than the interaction itself was Dumbledore's reaction to it.

It seemed the headmaster either placed a great deal of confidence in Regulus' ability to talk himself out of trouble, or he believed Mad-Eye to be bluffing about arresting him to begin with. Sirius could think of no other reason for Dumbledore's lack of helpfulness during the interrogation. Did he not care if Regulus was arrested?

He had wanted him to become a spy for the Order. Unless Dumbledore truly had no qualms about throwing Regulus to the wolves, he must have had some faith in Regulus' abilities at deception.

Sirius vaguely wondered what 'secret' Regulus had ever hidden to inspire such confidence. The more Sirius thought about it, there were likely several. He couldn't help but wish his brother had a talent a bit more noble than deception, though he couldn't say that he was particularly surprised by it. He had made the perfect Black heir, after all.

As Sirius waited for the meeting to start, he determined that while he didn't know what Dumbledore's feelings towards his brother truly were, he did know the headmaster to be reasonable. He would not have asked Regulus to become a spy if he did not believe him capable of deceiving Voldemort. Sirius was even more confident that Dumbledore would have interceded before Moody actually arrested Regulus.

After a few minutes of pondering the eccentrics of Dumbledore, the other marauders and Lily entered the office, and tentatively made their way over to him.

"Hi Sirius," Lily greeted.

"Hello Lily, everyone," he nodded to them.

An awkward greeting was returned from each of the other three marauders. Lily was giving James a not-so-subtle look, and it was obvious she wanted him to do something. After pointedly ignoring her at first, the awkward silence seemed to win out. James stated,

"Listen, Sirius, I didn't mean to be so… so-"

"Tactless?" Remus supplied.

James looked a bit uncomfortable but nodded, "Yes, I was tactless, and I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

Sirius vaguely wondered how much of his apology was genuine, and how much was from Lily and Remus ganging up on him. Seeing as he was hiding a much bigger secret, in Regulus' survival, he didn't hesitate long before accepting the apology. Sirius hoped James would be as forgiving when he told him about Regulus.

"Don't mention it, Prongs. It had been a stressful day, with the funeral and everything. On top of that, we had been drinking and the idiot in the bar had gotten me riled up. If anything, I overreacted to what you said."

"That's great, Pads!" James beamed. "I was worried you would make me get on my knees and beg or something…" He paused for a moment before adding suspiciously, "That was too easy. You definitely would have made me beg any other time, or at least prove my sincerity by some other ultimate act of humiliation."

"I only make you beg when you act completely nonsensical. I can see why you reacted the way you did yesterday. There's nothing to forgive."

After a moment of evaluating Sirius, James' usual grin returned briefly. Shortly after all of their expressions turned somber as the five began discussing the most recent casualties of the war. Each were careful to avoid the topic of Regulus, though Sirius was only halfway paying attention to the conversation anyway.

James had never liked Regulus, and likely vice versa, though Regulus was more subtle about it. The two of them had never had a real conversation before, as far as Sirius knew. If James could like 'Marcus' on his own merits, before James found out who Marcus really was, then perhaps they would get along after the fact.

Regulus would still know who James was, there was no way around that. Fortunately, Sirius was fairly certain it was impossible not to like James. Sure he had been a prat when he was younger, they all had been, often hexing Slytherins in the corridor for no other reason than to say they did it. They all had grown up since then, Lily had made sure of that.

All he had to do now was wait until Marcus was introduced to the marauders. Sirius was far less worried of Peter and Remus' reactions to Marcus. They generally got along with everyone. Once Marcus' true identity became known, it would be James' reaction that he would be most concerned of.

Remus had always realized that despite their differences, Regulus was Sirius' brother. He also seemed to sense that Sirius had some innate desire to protect his little brother, no matter how long he had allowed that instinct to lie dormant.

Peter never disagreed with Sirius because he was appropriately impressed by Sirius' general awesomeness, or at least that was what James had often said. Peter rarely disagreed with James either though. Sirius thought it might have been because Peter hated conflict, but admittedly they were both pretty awesome.

If it came to a division between James and him, Sirius knew it would only be temporary. They were brothers in all but blood. Sirius thought it likely that Lily would be understanding of his situation. She had often spoke of wishing her relationship with her own sister could be better.

Remus would try to give Regulus a chance. As long as Regulus was not identified as having committed any overly heinous crimes, Sirius could actually see Remus and Regulus being civil towards each other.

If he had Lily and Remus on his side, Peter would be as well. Because of his distaste for conflict in general, Peter often sided with whomever he thought most likely to win the argument when the marauders disagreed. He had commented before that it was the fastest way to end the argument, and it was fair because it did not favor one friend over the other.

Sirius was pulled from his musings, when a patronus galloped into the room.

* * *

As Regulus and Rachel were approaching the front doors of the castle, they heard the sound of people running towards them. Amongst the group were the marauders.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked.

"Death eaters. Diagon Alley. You're welcome to join us if you'd like," James Potter answered as he brushed past them. Then over his shoulder he shouted, "but only if you fight for our side!"

Sirius brushed past Regulus as if he did not know him, which Regulus was eternally grateful for. Dumbledore must have convinced Sirius it would be too risky for him to know 'Marcus,' before anyone else in the Order did. Rachel, for one, would have been suspicious of the timing of it.

Regulus noticed Pettigrew, who had been trailing behind the others, looked even more nervous than usual.

Once the Order members had cleared out, Rachel turned to him,

"What are you waiting on?"

"What do you mean? Neither of us are in the Order."

"Not yet, but we both plan to join. It would be senseless not to help out when we can," she said as they followed everyone else outside.

The others were quite a ways ahead of them. Regulus was walking at a very leisurely pace, which seemed to be irritating Rachel. He was surprised she continued to keep pace with him, rather than catch up to the others.

"Are you sure you want to go? No one knows you want to join the Order, do they? There could be confusion as to which side you are fighting for."

"They know me well enough to know I'm not a death eater, besides, the death eaters wear masks. We will not be wearing masks."

Regulus thought about correcting her, Bella for instance, never wore a mask.

"Kind of silly not to though, isn't it? I'd imagine it makes the death eaters' job of identifying who is in the Order pretty easy," he attempted to say offhandedly.

"That's… you're right. I wonder why the Order members don't try to conceal their identities."

"No idea, but the obligations I mentioned earlier, the ones preventing me from immediately joining the Order, will be greatly compromised if I draw attention to myself. Not having been educated at Hogwarts, I am pretty well under the radar for the time being. I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible."

"So what, you aren't going to Diagon?"

He sighed, "I can't in good conscience, leave you to go alone. All of the other Order members have already left by now-"

"I'll be fine. Though I'm a bit surprised you don't want to go," she said somewhat irritably.

"I didn't say I wasn't going. I said my obligations would be compromised if I drew attention to myself."

"So, you are coming then?"

"With the condition that we disguise ourselves first, I will go. Why should we announce to the death eaters who we are? As you said, they all wears masks."

"You are hiding something,"

Regulus looked at her quickly and she smirked before continuing, "I suppose we all have our secrets. Fortunately for you, I do not find being added to the death eater's hit list particularly appealing, nor do I feel that apparating into a battle alone is sensible."

"What makes you think I won't turn on you as soon as we get there?"

"I assume you do not need me to apparate. In which case any plans you have of attacking me would be much more easily carried out here, rather than in a battle where you could be hit by another's crossfire."

"Good point," he conceded, though he couldn't help but wish she were less trusting.

"Alright then, what changes do you suggest I disguise myself with?"

Regulus smirked. At least she wasn't trusting enough to allow him to cast the charms on her. He would have been really worried then.

"Red hair, definitely. There are too many Weasley's for anyone to keep up with."

She obliged, changing her hair to red and curly, and her eyes to brown. Regulus sulked internally. Leave it to Rachel to be the exception to his aversion to all things red. She looked just as beautiful with red hair as she had with brown.

After changing his hair to blond and making it long enough to tie back, they apparated to just outside the Leaky Cauldron, knowing anti-apparition wards would be in place in Diagon Alley.

Regulus half expected the fighting to be over by the time they arrived. While the others had rushed off as quickly as they could, Regulus had been deliberately walking at his normal pace. Yet when they walked into the Alley, they were surrounded by chaos.

He immediately grabbed Rachel's arm and pulled her to the side of nearest building. Being out of the middle of the fray allowed them to better take in their surroundings. Mad-Eye Moody was battling two death eaters nearby. As dark as it was, it was difficult to make out any of the other pairings. Though it did look as if quite a few death eaters were not engaged in battle at all, but were instead causing destruction to the businesses of Diagon Alley.

An explosion to their right drew their attention. Upon inspection, the source of the noise proved to be a building that had been partially imploded, and was now severely damaged. Rachel gasped at the same time Regulus stated,

"Sugarplum's Sweets Shop."

"You don't think there was anyone inside, do you?"

Regulus was fairly certain there was. Despite most shops closing at dark these days, many of the shop owners lived above their businesses. The owners of that particular shop were well known to have two small children who often played inside the store during business hours.

"I couldn't say," he replied noncommittally. His face must have said more than his words did, for Rachel had begun looking around as if to make her way towards the building.

"If we take out Moody's opponents, we should have a straight shot for Sugarplums. It doesn't look like any other death eaters are near enough to notice us."

That caught Regulus' attention. He raised an eyebrow, "Take out?"

"What? Would you prefer to simply disarm them? Do you think they will pay you back in kind?"

Regulus smirked, "I was going to suggest the jelly legs jinx, but if you prefer to be more effective, I will follow your lead." He was happier than he cared to admit that she was at least prepared to hurt someone if she was going to be involved in the war.

Rachel turned and quickly cast, "Ossis Effergo," twice in quick succession.

The first bone-breaker spell managed to hit the right hand of her targeted death eater, causing him to drop his wand. The second missed the death eater's left hand, as he had immediately grabbed the broken one upon contact. The spell did manage to graze his left forearm with enough force to break it.

Regulus cast, "inflecto telum flagrante," causing a flaming arrow to shoot out of his wand, piercing the second death eater in the shoulder. In the confusion of the death eater trying to decide whether to first put out the flames or pull the arrow out, Regulus removed the arrow.

He then cast, "Incarcifors," transfiguring the arrow into a prison structure, which he placed around the two death eaters.

Rachel then summoned their wands for good measure, much to Regulus' amusement.

Mad Eye Moody looked briefly surprised upon recognizing where his assistance had come from. He recovered quickly though, nodding once to them. He then ran off, presumably to find other death eaters to engage.

Regulus wasn't entirely sure they shouldn't be going after the death eaters who weren't currently fighting. Those death eaters were currently free to wreak havoc on the other businesses in the alley.

One look at Rachel's face told him she was not going to be redirected from the family in Sugarplums. As there were only a few people that Regulus actually cared about, and Rachel was the only of those he could help at the moment, he chose not to argue with her decision.

The pair began cautiously making their way towards the confection shop. As most of the fighting was taking place in the center of the Alley by now, they did not meet any further obstacles along their way.

As they entered the somewhat collapsed structure, the sounds of the battle outside became extremely muffled. It appeared the owner's had charmed the building to block out outside noises and vice versa.

Their attention was brought instead to the sounds of children crying. Following the cries, they found a little boy around a year or so old, stuck in his crib. Across the room from him, his older sister was trying to awaken their parents who had seemingly managed to stay asleep through the beginning of the battle.

The little girl was crying and nearly in hysterics when they arrived. Once she saw them she all but shouted,

"They won't wake up!" which she continued to repeat through her tears.

It appeared part of the ceiling had collapsed and fell over the bed, where the parents were sleeping. After clearing away most of the rubble, Rachel set to work determining what could be done for them.

Regulus was torn between trying to help her and attempting to calm down the distraught children. After a moment of hesitation, the screaming won out, (not to mention, if he wanted to make 'Marcus' as different from Regulus as possible, he should not be adept with healing spells).

He awkwardly picked the baby up out of the crib and began patting it on the back, mimicking what he had seen others do before. The little boy looked at him with his big blue eyes and almost immediately calmed down. Apparently he just wanted to be held, Regulus mused. He then addressed the little girl,

"Hi, I'm Marcus, and that's Rachel." He indicated Rachel "What's your name?"

"Em-Emma"

"It's nice to meet you, Emma. Do you think we could take your brother to play in your room while Rachel fixes your parents up?"

"Otay... Will they be otay?"

"Rachel is excellent at what she does. She will do what she can for them," he answered kindly. "So what is your brother's name?" he asked as he followed her into the next room.

"He's Jacob. He's one, he can't play good. But I can, I'm three," she told him excitedly.

The little girl visibly calmed down once her parents, in their current state, were no longer in sight. Her mood had improved significantly by the time they entered her room. She happily began showing him around, pointing out several of her favorite toys as she went.

"Alright, what do you want to play?" he asked nervously.

As he looked around the room he couldn't help but think he would have been profoundly more comfortable battling with death eaters. He had never before been surrounded by so many baby dolls nor such a ghastly amount of pink.


	21. Diagon Alley Part 2

Sirius had been battling death eaters for what seemed like hours. Each time he had an opponent in a position to be sufficiently subdued, the death eater would either portkey away, or another death eater would come to their aid.

James was visible in his peripheral, but he had long since lost sight of Remus and Peter. Dumbledore had asked Lily to stay back to discuss something with him, though Sirius thought it was likely just an excuse to delay her from entering the battle. James had admitted to Sirius that he had asked Dumbledore to do just that so as to limit Lily's interactions with death eaters in her current 'condition' of being pregnant.

Sirius did not know whether Regulus came to Diagon Alley or not. He had heard James invite 'Marcus' to the battle but he thought it unlikely Regulus would actually come. He was supposed to be trying to stay under the radar, after all. Still, as outnumbered as The Order was, it would have been nice to have more people fighting for their side.

Sirius was unsure what the purpose of the attack on Diagon Alley could be. Judging by the destruction being caused seemingly at random, there likely was no purpose at all apart from causing panic. The death eaters were wisely sparing Gringotts, so as to not turn the goblins against them. Every other place of business seemed to be fair game.

As expected, the residents of the Alley were choosing to hide in their homes and hope for the best, rather than involve themselves in the battle. The wizarding population as a whole had become reliant on others to protect them from the death eaters, rather than making much effort to defend themselves.

After having dealt with his most recent opponent, who promptly portkeyed away before Sirius could stop him, yet another death eater engaged him in battle. It was evident he was now dueling with one of the more proficient duelists amongst the death eaters.

Curses were being expertly linked and sent in quick succession. Sirius, and his assailant, had both been unable to dodge all of the spells sent their way, though they had each managed to block the brunt of them. Interesting, was that the death eater seemed to have no qualms about casting dark magic, though had refrained from casting any unforgiveable curses at him. The only other time Sirius had dueled with a death eater that had not attempted unforgiveable curses, he was battling his brother. And Evan Rosier.

Sirius suspected he was dueling with Rosier now…although some involuntary part of his mind could not completely rule out Regulus either. He vaguely recognized some of the spells being used against him as spells he had seen in the Black ancestral grimoires on the rare occasion he had looked at them. Those spells were only accessible by a Black as, like most books in their family library, they would curse anyone else who tried to read them.

Assuming Regulus had not changed sides again, then he or Bellatrix had to have taught at least one death eater some of the obscure dark magic of their ancestors. He knew Bellatrix was too proud to share that knowledge with anyone, apart from maybe Voldemort. Sirius would have actually doubted that Regulus could be ignorant enough to share that knowledge either, yet the evidence that he had was right in front of him.

If Regulus had taught other death eaters that sort of magic, Sirius was going to murder him. Not because he cared anything about maintaining the secrecy of their family's magic, but because their ancestors had documented nearly as many methods of torture as there were wizards in Britain.

Sirius was unsure if he could beat Regulus in a duel, not that he would ever admit that aloud. Nor did it matter when he knew his brother would have never bothered learning to properly engage in hand to hand combat. Considering it was thought to be 'indecently muggle' by any 'self-respecting pureblood,' Sirius had ensured he became quite proficient at it.

Whoever he was dueling had initiated the battle. Assuming his current opponent was Evan Rosier, he had clearly been holding back significantly when they battled before at St. Mungo's.

While they could never be considered friends, Sirius thought they had reached some level of mutual respect during their recent collaboration to help Regulus. If it really was Rosier he was now battling, then it would seem he was about as pleased with the changes Sirius had made to Regulus' murder plot as Regulus had predicted. Unfortunately, without having Regulus around, Rosier seemed not to have any reason to keep from avenging his ill feelings.

Their battle was interrupted before a victor could be determined however, when another masked death eater approached them yelling,

"Retreat, Dumbledore is here, retreat!"

Sirius took his eyes off of his current opponent, assuming he would leave immediately and cast a silencing spell followed by a cutting curse at the messenger. He thought deterring him from alerting the other death eaters might enable them to capture a few of them.

Sirius had just enough time to see his cutting curse graze the back of his targeted death eater, before he felt the full force of an unknown curse hit him square in the chest, knocking him flat. The spell had come from who he was now all but certain was Rosier. He gave Sirius a sort of half-hearted shrug before escaping using his portkey, leaving the Black thoroughly annoyed.

At first, Sirius thought he had been hit with an overpowered knockback jinx, as he did not register any other effects. However when he tried to stand up he found he did not have the usual level of control of his limbs that he should. Moments later, he became unable to concentrate on anything but the excruciating pain that was beginning to set in. He was certain the pain would rival that of the cruciatus curse if it continued to worsen.

As the pain grew worse, Sirius couldn't help but hope he might black out at some point, but the relief never came. He closed his eyes tightly and felt who must have been James, grab him and attempt to determine what was wrong with him.

* * *

Once Regulus had gotten over his discomfiture at being left to entertain two small children, he found he was almost having fun. He had first made a game of alternating shooting bubbles from his wand for the kids to chase and casting spells to improve the stability of the imploded structure the family lived in. The children enjoyed the spells he cast to repair their home almost as much as the bubbles. The repairs required different spells, and therefore different colored 'pretty lights,' to be used.

After the 'light and bubble' show ended, Jacob had looked extremely tired. Per Emma's suggestion, Regulus had used a cleaning charm on the boy's diaper and then summoned a bottle from the kitchen for him to drink. After drinking the bottle, the boy had taken a short nap, though he had woken up since then, likely due to Emma's laughter.

After helping Emma put a ridiculous, but adorable princess gown on over her pajamas, Regulus had spent the majority of Jacob's nap twirling Emma around the room while she proclaimed herself to be a ballerina.

Emma was now chasing Jacob as he rode on a toy broomstick that hovered a foot or so off the ground. Regulus was walking alongside the broom to ensure the boy did not fall off.

"I need a prince!" Emma giggled as she chased them.

The game was interrupted when the children's father, along with Rachel entered the room.

"Daddy!" the little girl yelled before hurling herself at her father.

The man stumbled back, clearly not quite himself after his recent ordeal. Regulus felt relieved to see the man's cheerful, albeit tired expression. The kids were incredibly innocent and did not deserve to have their family ripped apart because of Voldemort, as so many families before theirs had.

"Hey baby," he said as he hugged the little girl. "I'm sorry to take you away from your game, but it is most certainly past your bedtime."

"Is mommy ok?" the little girl asked.

"Yes, she is going to be fine. She had a few broken bones and is quite sore, but nothing to worry about. Rachel suggested we both go to the hospital to ensure she did not miss anything, but it can wait until the morning. What we all need now is sleep."

"Ok, daddy. Can Mawcus stay so we can play in the morning?

Regulus chuckled, "I'm sorry Emma, but as much as I've enjoyed playing, I'm afraid I can't stay."

"Thank you two, for everything," the father stated shaking Regulus' hand.

Rachel replied, "It was no trouble at all," before bidding them goodnight.

Regulus stated, "Good luck to all of you," before making his way to follow Rachel out of the room. He was surprised a moment later when he was engulfed in what would have been a bone breaking hug, had Emma been older than three.

Once he managed to escape from the toddler, who had become quite attached to him in the short time he had played with her, he looked up to find Rachel watching them with an amused expression. As they left the room and made their way towards the exit of the house she stated,

"I'm glad to see you survived. You looked a bit terrified of the children when we first got here."

"Yeah well, I haven't been around many kids before," He grimaced as he realized he had never actually been around any.

"I'd have never guessed," she answered absently, though whether she was joking or serious, Regulus couldn't tell.

As they reached the exit of the business/house, they looked outside cautiously. The fighting had ceased, and the Alley itself was empty apart from a few shop owners that had come outside to inspect the damage done to their businesses.

Finding no one they recognized, the pair apparated to the gates just outside Hogwarts and immediately began their trek towards the castle. Regulus couldn't help but ask,

"So, still wanting to join the Order?"

"Definitely, why?"

Regulus smirked, "well, you went to fight and ended up healing. As everyone has their own unique skill set, and few of them include healing, I can't help but think your abilities in that regard might be just as useful, if not more so than fighting.

"They have Madam Pomfrey for that. Besides, you saw how outnumbered the Order members were today."

Marcus gave a non-committal grunt (Regulus never would have made that sound).

They continued on in silence for a moment before Rachel asked, "why do I get the impression you don't want me to join?"

'Because I don't,' Regulus thought ruefully before answering conversationally,

"By all means join if you want, the more the merrier. Though you can't deny that statistically speaking, it is bad for your health."

She chuckled darkly, "Well it isn't much safer not to join. That family we helped in Diagon Alley certainly didn't ask to be targeted. They were at home asleep when it happened."

As the castle was looming ever nearer, Regulus gave up all pretenses, and grabbed her arm to stop her walking. He whispered urgently,

"There is a spy in the Order, Rachel. Wait until that person is identified and dealt with, before announcing your intent to join."

"H-how do you know that?"

"It's obvious someone is passing the death eaters information. Their members have been getting picked off one by one for weeks, longer than that really. Safe houses of the Order have been attacked. The death eaters have information they could not have, if everyone in the Order was solely loyal to them."

"Is that the obligation that prevents you from joining? You're trying to find out who it is?"

"Partly, yes," he answered evasively.

"There must be a way to identify a death eater-" she began slowly before being cut off.

"The aurors do not know how to identify them, Rachel. Anyone who came forward with knowledge of that nature would be heavily scrutinized. They would be suspected as a death eater sympathizer at best, because how else could they have acquired that information?"

Rachel avoided meeting his eyes, "Does Dumbledore know there is a spy?"

"He suspects, though he also likes to believe the best of people-well the people in his Order at any rate," he amended.

"Surely if a traitor is suspected a trap could be set. Give everyone a different location for a gathering. If there isn't a spy, then no harm done. If there is a spy, whoever was given the information where the death eaters show up, voila, spy identified."

"Perhaps Dumbledore has similar plans in the works. For now, I strongly advise you to keep what you know to yourself. Tell no one you went to Diagon Alley and most importantly do not tell anyone your future plans to join the Order."

He then cast the counter charms to return her hair and eye color back to normal before casting the spell to change his hair to match Marcus'.

After ensuring her appearance was back to normal she asked,

"Why should I trust you? We just met, and aside from the layout of Hogwarts, you seem to know an awful lot. Probably more than you should by the sound of it."

Regulus rolled his eyes in exasperation of her choosing now to doubt the honesty of a stranger,

"You don't have to trust me to heed my advice. Keeping information to yourself for the time being will not hurt you."

"It could hurt others. If the spy is passing information-"

"Then it would be best to not give them more information than they are already receiving."

After a moment she nodded hesitantly before continuing on her way back to the castle, Regulus following. She mentioned going up to the hospital wing to see if she could help there. Regulus considered going to see Dumbledore now but doubted he would be alone. He decided to instead follow his own advice and leave, so as to not be linked to anything to do with the Order.

As he turned back towards the entrance hall, his way became blocked when a patronus in the form of a phoenix stopped in front of him. In Dumbledore's voice it stated,

"Your presence is required in the hospital wing as quickly as you can get here".

Regulus immediately went to the staircase and took them two at a time, even deciding running down the corridor was acceptable as he made his way to the hospital. Dumbledore would not have summoned him for anyone but Sirius, and likely only then if it was dire. Naturally he was only running so as to portray the opposite persona of the dignified and proper pureblood that Regulus Black had been, and not because he actually cared about Sirius. Or so he told himself.

Upon entering the infirmary, and not seeing Sirius or Dumbledore, Regulus made his way towards the only bed that had the privacy curtains drawn around it. As he approached Dumbledore greeted him,

"You must have been close. I appreciate your quick arrival as I am sure Sirius does as well," he stated gravely.

"What's happened to him?" Regulus asked. He had never seen his brother look so wretched. There was a sheen of sweat covering his entire body, his hair was matted to his face and his skin seemed to be visibly moving somehow.

"He has been hit with a spell unknown to Madam Pomfrey or myself. As far as we can tell it was either a botched transmogrification curse or a designed variation of it. I wondered if you might recognize the spell, otherwise we shall have to send him to the curse unit at St. Mungos. As I am sure you are aware, the transmogrification curse, when cast properly is lethal."

Regulus nodded, and immediately set to work identifying the spell. He recognized it as one coming from the Black family grimoires and knew Evan must have cast it. Only a Black could open those books, though he had shown Evan some of them. Bella would have never used the variation that wasn't deadly. Nothing but the best for family, after all.

The transmogrification curse caused its victim's bones to re-shape continuously, disfiguring the victim grotesquely before eventually, and mercifully killing them. It was said to be excruciating to endure and irreversible, unless the counter-curse is immediately applied. All variations of the spell had the unfortunate characteristic of preventing the victim from passing out, so as to force them to endure the worst of the pain.

The modified version, which Evan had cast, did the same but on a smaller scale. Where the transmogrification curse would get progressively worse and eventually cause death, the modified version was more gradual, would reach a level prior to causing the victim's demise, and then gradually begin to recede. It was also said to be excruciating, and could last for several days before wearing off. Judging by Sirius' appearance it had earned its reputation.

Once Regulus finished reversing the effects of the spell, Sirius almost immediately passed out. Regulus then cast a series of diagnostic spells and set to work healing the other injuries he had endured, all of which were pretty minor.

He vaguely wondered whether Sirius had battled with anyone apart from Evan but knew better than to ask. He suspected Evan Rosier would not be a welcomed topic with his brother for a while.

Dumbledore stood in the corner watching, but did not comment until Regulus was finished. He then stated,

"I did not recognize those first spells you used."

"They have not been taught in the past century, at least. The ministry considers them to be dark," Regulus replied bluntly. He suspected the headmaster would never change his opinion of him and didn't have the energy to care at the moment.

"Alastor says you helped him out in the Alley. He is at the ministry now trying to acquire housing in Azkaban for the death eaters you captured."

Regulus nodded in response, but did not comment.

Dumbledore continued serenely, "I admit I am pleased you chose to capture rather than kill them. Everyone deserves the opportunity for redemption."

With effort, Regulus managed to appear unaffected by his assumption that he would find killing, possibly someone he used to consider a friend, as easy as capturing them. He replied calmly,

"It will be interesting to see how long they stay imprisoned. The ministry official responsible for releasing prisoners from Azkaban, Madam Livingston, I believe is her name, is under the imperius curse."

Upon looking up, Regulus noted with satisfaction that he had once again surprised Dumbledore.

"You are certain?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

The quick release of Evan's father had confirmed his suspicions, but he wasn't going to divulge that piece of information to Dumbledore. Especially since he could feel the headmaster's attempts at legilimency on him at that moment.

Regulus knew the headmaster was unable to read anything from him, and decided not to comment on it for now. Though if Dumbledore made a habit of it, or increased the strength of his attempts in legilmency, Regulus' tolerance would certainly be tested.

"That is good to know. On another note, I have a notion as to where one of the objects you are searching for may be."

Regulus looked up quickly, as Dumbledore continued, "When I find the exact location, I shall request you and Sirius to meet with me, if you are agreeable?"

"Yes, definitely. I would like to destroy the objects as soon as possible."

"Very well, in that case I will-" he stopped as the curtains flew open and James Potter entered the 'room' followed by Lily Potter and Remus Lupin.

Regulus fought his desire to panic, and relaxed slightly when he noticed that at least Pettigrew was absent. 'Probably had to report back to his master', he thought wryly. He couldn't deny he was happy not to be doing the same.

"I see you've decided not to follow my suggestion of waiting in my office," Dumbledore stated amusedly.

'Yes, it's very amusing how their inability to follow instructions is going to result in my cover being blown,' Regulus thought cynically.

"Is he better? Is he going to be ok? Who are you?" James demanded all without taking a breath.

Dumbledore took the liberty of answering for him, "This is Marcus Atilius. Thanks to him, Sirius should e just fine. Marcus, this is James Potter and his wife, Lily, and Remus Lupin," he indicated each of them as he said their name.

"Nice to meet all of you," Regulus said politely despite feeling incredibly awkward and exposed.

Lily and Remus said something of the same effect, though they were muffled by James demanding to know,

"When will he wake up?"

"I suspect soon if you do not lower your voice. He is more asleep than unconscious," Regulus said in an entirely forced good-natured tone.

He was amused that his comment was exactly the same he would have made in another life. Only the tone had changed yet without being known as Regulus Black and having spoken somewhat cheerfully, the results were drastically different from what they would have been otherwise.

They all laughed in relief and thanked him for helping Sirius. As quickly as possible without seeming rude, Regulus excused himself. He remarked they should speak with the matron about getting Sirius a potion for soreness, and left rather than inquire about it himself. He wanted to avoid Rachel, and everyone else for that matter.

This was all turning out just wonderfully, he thought sarcastically as left the infirmary. He hoped Sirius' friends would forget him as soon as he left or at least not comment on who had 'saved' Sirius. He did not want that information getting around, especially not to Rachel or Pettigrew, for completely different reasons.

* * *

**Please leave a review to let me know what you think!**

Fun Fact-transmogrification is the curse that Lockhart thought Filch's cat had been cursed with in Chamber of Secrets, prior to learning it had been petrified.


	22. Compromising

_Decaying arms wrapped around him, entangling in his hair and bruising his skin. Rotten teeth tore into his flesh as they dragged him down into the depths of the tinged water. He kicked his arms and legs in attempt to free himself, though his efforts were futile. His lungs were on fire, unable to draw breath..._

The former Black heir jolted awake, gasping for air. Not that he particularly minded escaping the nightmare. He found himself to be just as tangled and sweaty in his sheets as he had been every other time he had fallen asleep since the incident. He quickly grabbed his wand off of the nightstand and cast a spell to clean away the sweat from both his bedding and himself.

Regulus did not know what woke him up so suddenly, but as everything seemed peaceful, he saw no reason to investigate. Instead he straightened his covers, and conjured an extra blanket for good measure, (he doubted he would ever feel properly warm again since his near drowning experience) before wrapping himself up tightly, intent to get a couple more hours of sleep.

The cause of his abrupt awakening took that moment to make itself known in the form of 'buzzing' from the callbox, signaling he had a visitor. One who had apparently lost their patience, and decided to hold down the button obnoxiously.

Reluctantly, he extracted himself from his burrow of blankets. The chill of the room hit him with full force causing him to shiver as he made his way towards the box in the next room. In the most alert voice he could muster, he demanded, "What?"

"Hurry up and let me in, it's freezing out here!" Sirius' voice whined.

Regulus rolled his eyes. Sirius was not supposed to have been released from the infirmary until at least tomorrow. He must have snuck out while Madam Pomfrey was sleeping,

"I'll bet it's nice and warm in the infirmary. You could have just stayed there like you were supposed to."

"I should have been released days ago. You know how Madam Pomfrey likes to baby everyone... Or maybe you don't. She undoubtedly prefers my company over yours. I was always one of her favorites."

Rather than refute Sirius' bragging- which probably held some truth seeing as the marauders were among the favorites of most of the Hogwarts' staff, Regulus made his way back to bed. Sirius was still keyed into the wards, though obviously didn't realize it yet, nor did Regulus feel the need to enlighten him. If he wasn't brave enough to take the risk in coming up on his own, it would be all the more sleep for Regulus.

It seemed as if his head had just hit the pillow, when Sirius made his presence known by jumping onto the younger brother's stomach in a sitting position.

For a moment, Regulus was unable to speak due to the shock and lack of oxygen. He took that time to give his brother the deadliest glare he could manage, all the while Sirius grinned at him as if crazed.

"I should have never healed you," Regulus eventually said.

"If not for your morbid mates, I would not have needed healing!" Sirius retorted as he stood back up.

Regulus sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. It was indecently too early for an argument. Then again it was Sirius.

"Well, you did kind of deserve it."

"I-what? How could I have possibly deserved that?" he nearly shouted.

"You were tortured for what? An hour? If Evan's assistance to me is ever found out, he will be tortured incessantly for days with the only relief being in death. He did not have to help me, and you repaid him by deviating from the plan. The repercussions of which could have easily been cause for his death."

Sirius looked slightly abashed for a moment but retorted nonetheless, "I can't believe you are defending him! He tried to kill me! Had he not botched the spell-"

Regulus held up his hand to stop him, "He did not botch the spell. He deliberately cast a variation of the transmogrification that was torturous, yes, but not lethal. I suspect he chose that particular spell as a means to determine whether I left the country or not. If Evan wanted to kill you, he would not have hesitated to do so."

"How charming. The next time I meet him-"

"Perhaps you should consider yourselves even. Evan probably does. If you do not instigate anything further, he will likely leave you alone. If he has the option," he amended.

Sirius gave him an indecipherable look, "What did you mean when you said he chose that spell to determine whether you left the country?"

"Surely you did not think methods of torture were all I ever studied in our family's library," Regulus answered irritably.

"I vaguely remember that you considered being a healer at some point," he said slowly, "However, I've never heard of any variations of the transmogrification that were not designed to kill. It was obviously not a well-known spell that he used. How could he have expected you to know how to heal it?"

"He probably suspected I would have studied it. More important is that if it could not have been healed, it would have worn off on its own eventually," Regulus answered evenly.

Unfortunately Sirius seemed to already have his own suspicions regarding Evan's spell choice, "Where did he get the spell, Regulus?" he demanded.

"Sirius, you know all of the ancient, 'dark' families have their own grimoires."

"Yes, and none of them are nearly as twisted as the Blacks," Sirius hissed.

Regulus rolled his eyes, "Fine, what difference does it make? I showed it to him. Happy?"

"How could that possibly make me happy? Who else did you show?" Sirius asked angrily.

"No one-"

"Why did you show him at all? Mother would murder you if she found out you showed anyone those books."

"Concerned with preserving family secrets now, are you? How touching."

"Of course not! But you've given the enemy dangerous spells, I can't believe you could be so stupid!"

"I wasn't giving the 'enemy' dangerous spells, Sirius. Perhaps you'll remember I was a death eater not so long ago?"

"What did you get in return?"

"What makes you think I received anything?"

"You gave away some of the family's most treasured information to Rosier because you just wanted to?" Sirius asked with an abrupt change in mannerisms. He now seemed less annoyed and his expression appeared more sympathetic than anything else, though Regulus had no idea what that was about.

"I suppose you could say that," he answered evasively. It wasn't entirely truthful, but sometimes Sirius was better left in the dark.

"I should have known. It explains a lot."

"Explains what?" Regulus asked hesitantly. Maybe it was due to the early hour, but he was fairly certain he missed something in this conversation.

Sirius began slowly as if explaining to a small child, "Every girl in Slytherin used to trip over themselves to get you to notice them. Yet the only girl I have ever seen you voluntarily hang around besides Narcissa is Cassie Greengrass. As she dated Zabini my entire seventh year-"

"What are you on about?"

"You're gay," Sirius continued in the same overly slow manner.

Regulus blinked in surprise at the conclusion that Sirius had drawn. Seeing Sirius' expression, which was clearly meant to look understanding, he couldn't help but chuckle, "Oh, the irony of that coming from you... I'm not gay, nor is Evan for that matter."

Sirius was looking at him skeptically, "why did you ignore all of those girls if not because you are gay?"

"Did you really come here at sunrise to discuss my orientation? I'm not gay. If you don't believe me, then don't. I couldn't care less. I would like to go back to sleep though, so if that is all, I'll trust you can see your way out," Regulus said as he settled himself back into his bed.

"I did not come here for that. Though now we are on the subject I find myself extremely curious. What girls-"

"You'll just have to stay curious, Sirius. It's all in the past and it's really none of your business."

"Of course it is, you're my brother!"

Regulus rolled over to his side and closed his eyes. Sirius wanted to be brothers now that it was convenient for him. Regulus would have had far more use for a brother years ago. He took full responsibility for joining the death eaters, he was also appreciative of Sirius' help recently. Still, he could not help but think neither would have been warranted had things been even slightly different.

At sixteen Regulus believed himself to have everything to gain and nothing to lose when he joined the death eaters. His mother constantly harped on how proud it would make her if he joined. Bella spoke endlessly of her happiness for serving the Dark Lord. The majority of his housemates planned to join as soon as they were able.

Had he and Sirius remained even remotely close, Regulus would have had their relationship to consider before joining. Perhaps the end result would have been the same, but he would have at least had some hesitation then. He had not wanted to lose his brother when he was ten and Sirius left for Hogwarts, after all. He liked to think he would have at least tried to preserve their relationship at sixteen, had one existed.

Regulus also knew when Sirius moved out it was to escape their parents. Though whether it was intended or not, he had abandoned Regulus as well. Regardless of any attempts to mend their relationship now, Sirius did not deserve to be privy to everything he missed in Regulus' life during his voluntary absence from it.

Sirius must have grown tired of waiting for a response and added, "either tell me the girls you have dated or been with otherwise or I will tell you, in detail, every girl I have ever had the pleasure of-"

"Are you sure about that?" Regulus cut in smugly, though unmoving from his position in bed, "I would be highly surprised if you remember all of their names." He could not see his brother's expression but it took him longer than expressly necessary to respond,

"These are the types of things brothers our age talk about, you know. If we are going to be on speaking terms again, shouldn't we start doing brother things?" Sirius asked somewhat uncertainly.

"Alright then. I'll tell you the girls, during the times you've considered yourself my brother."

When he did not hear a response, Regulus sat up and looked at Sirius, who looked confused, but nodded. Regulus continued,

"You left when I was fourteen, before I was really attracted to any one particular girl. Though I had probably snogged Farrah Fawley by then, it was around the same time you left."

"Fawley would be attractive if you can get past her being a Slytherin, but that was over four years ago. You must have had more experience since then.

Regulus smirked, "As per our agreement, we shall skip ahead to when you and I resumed being on speaking terms. In the past couple of weeks that we have been in contact, I have not had any opportunities, and now have the added problem of being believed dead. On the bright side, mother and father had been reviewing proffered marriage contracts before I 'died,' so at least I have escaped that."

Sirius shook his head and then smirked, "Was that you trying to convince me you aren't gay? If so, it was a really poor argument."

Regulus paused as if thinking about it, "No. As I think I may have mentioned already, I don't care what you think."

Sirius' smile broadened, "Just out of curiosity, which girls did mummy and daddy approve of for their little Reggiekins?"

Regulus rolled his eyes at the incredibly stupid nickname, "Father was trying to convince mother of either Katherine Selwyn or Cassie Greengrass."

Sirius looked almost… impressed? "I don't know much about Selwyn, but aside from being friends with you, Greengrass always seemed decent for a Slytherin. They would both be nice to look at, if nothing else."

His smile turned distinctly more evil, "And mother? Who could she have thought of as the daughter she never had?"

"Amaryllis Parkinson, though there were a couple of prepubescent girls still in the running," he answered distastefully.

Sirius laughed uproariously, "I'll concede perhaps father at least has some amount of conscience. Mother is pure evil."

Regulus fought to keep his expression disapproving as Sirius attempted to compose himself. Eventually Sirius asked,

"Alright then, we got off track. You were just about to tell me what Rosier gave you in return for showing him spells from our family's library. If he is not your lover, you must have required something in exchange."

"I showed him because he asked and I didn't think it was a big deal. We were on the same side of the war at the time, you know."

"Either tell me the real answer, or you're going to hear more than your delicate little ears can handle."

Regulus ran his hand through his hair while gathering his thoughts before deciding it best just to get it over with and tell him. Sirius could be unbearably persistent when he wanted to know something. What he was asking now was not worth the trouble of keeping from him. While he knew his brother wouldn't approve, he really should not be surprised either,

"Fine, I'll tell you. The spell he cast on you, is a spell he agreed to let me cast on him a few years ago," he stated simply, as if it was no big deal.

"You're lying," Sirius stated with confidence. At least until he caught sight of the guilty expression on Regulus' face,

"Why would you want to torture him? And why the hell would he willingly allow it?"

"So I could practice the healing spells to counteract it, obviously."

"Obviously. Yes, how silly of me," he stated calmly before yelling, "Are you outside your freaking mind? You have to be, both of you. And clearly Rosier has a death wish. What if you had cast the spell wrong? What if you had been unable to heal him?"

"I'm sure Evan would be touched by your concern for his well-being. To answer your questions, my mind is perfectly fine, I was careful to cast the spell correctly, and I was fairly proficient with healing spells by then. Also, we were at Grimmauld, so it wouldn't have taken long to get to St. Mungo's-"

"If the spell is from the Black family grimoires, no one at St. Mungo's would have known how to heal it! You are supposed to be the sensible one in the family! How could you have possibly thought that was a good idea?"

"I don't know. There was a lot going on back then... Obviously it was stupid."

Sirius shook his head in disbelief before stating, "Stupid doesn't even cover it."

"It's not like you haven't participated in your own brand of stupidity, Sirius. You can spare me the lecture. It was a long time ago and I've no reason to repeat the experiment."

Sirius continued to shake his head absently, "Fine. Just don't do it again. The actual reason I came here is to take you to Pancakes at the Potters. Its tradition, every Saturday, since last week, the marauders all go to the Potter's cottage and Lily fixes us pancakes. And we eat them. It's wonderful."

"Well, have fun and eat a pancake for me. I'm not a marauder, and am trying not to draw attention to myself, so I will be staying here."

"No, you'll love it! And I've already asked James and Lily if it's ok."

"Oh really, and what did they say?"

"Lily says it's the least we can do since you saved my life. James… well you can win him over at breakfast."

Regulus wanted to laugh but managed to keep his face neutral. Potter was far too jealous of anyone he thought to be occupying too much of Sirius' attention, to ever be won over by them. Sirius bringing him to breakfast was probably not a good idea in any situation, or with any identity. Of course that wasn't the only reason he didn't want to go.

"Sirius we need to talk about something else first. Has anyone in the Order ever alluded to the possibility that there could be a spy amongst the group?"

Sirius looked at him in surprise, "Nothing has been said officially. I have thought in the past that the death eaters seem to know more about us than they should. I suggested it once to James."

"What was his response?"

"That if we could not trust our friends, we couldn't trust anyone."

_How incredibly naïve_, "Does he consider everyone in the Order to be a friend? Or was he referring only to the marauders?"

"I didn't ask. But James is pretty much friends with everyone he meets, so it's hard to say."

'_Only because he refuses to meet a lot of people,' _Regulus couldn't help but think.

Choosing his next words carefully he stated, "There is definitely a spy in the Order. I know they are your friends, Sirius, but it would be unwise to take anything for granted right now."

As expected, Sirius immediately began to get angry and defensive, "There may be a spy but I guarantee it is not a marauder! James hates anything to do with the dark arts, and is married to a muggleborn. Peter is as loyal as they come, and Remus… dislikes anything about himself that could be construed as dark."

"Well it would be sensible to at least consider the actions of those around you most frequently to see if you notice any changes. For instance, are any of them around less often than they used to be?" Regulus asked calmly.

"Well James is married so he can't be around as much as he used to be. Peter is always there when I need him, and Remus- well he does disappear from time to time."

Apparently Sirius had not completely renounced all pureblood beliefs. He definitely sounded most suspicious of the werewolf. That was actually probably a good thing though. If he could suspect Lupin its possible he could be convinced to suspect Pettigrew.

"Lupin disappears from time to time. What like during the full moon each month? He's always done that, hasn't he? We are looking for new behavior."

"Wait, what? What do you know about Remus?"

Regulus rolled his eyes, "He's a werewolf, as anyone with common sense could have figured out."

"H-how long have you known?"

"I don't know, third year maybe? By fourth definitely."

"Why didn't say anything?"

"What purpose would I have had to say anything?"

"I don't know, blackmail is not uncommon in Slytherin from what I've heard, but none of the marauders even knew you had found out about his condition. I can also think of several of your housemates who would have shamelessly enjoyed ruining Remus' life. Snape for one, was desperate to know. It nearly cost him his own life."

Regulus chuckled humorlessly, "Yes, I remember. He let me hear about that, I can assure you. As for why I didn't tell anyone? Blackmail is fairly common, but there was nothing Lupin could have offered me in exchange for my silence. As for my housemates, you don't just give away knowledge for free in Slytherin. The only person who ever cared enough about it to benefit me was Snape. Like Lupin, Snape had nothing of comparable value to offer me in exchange for the knowledge. I had no reason to divulge the secret."

"I'll take that to mean you like Snivellus about as much as I do," Sirius remarked happily.

"I do not dislike Snape, nor do I particularly like him either. To be honest, I don't really know him all that well. Though I suspect I know him better than you do," Regulus said pointedly.

"It seems like you would have tried to stop him from following through with the 'advice' I gave him, unless you didn't like him."

"I didn't know the extent of the idiocy involved in your 'advice,' only that you told him how he could find out the truth about Lupin. I did try to warn him not to go through with his plans though, indirectly of course."

"How did you indirectly warn him about that?"

"It was a long time ago... I think I said something to the effect that he should, 'stop mooning over anything Sirius was dogging him about. If he really wanted to know, he should ask 'deer' Pettigrew because he would be sure to rat him out if threatened,' or something infantile along those lines. But did he listen? Of course not. All he did was look at me as if I had lost my mind, and you know the rest."

Sirius' face was priceless, "How did you-"

"You said Pettigrew is always around when you need him. Realistically, how often can you actually need someone like him? I had forgotten his animagus form is a rat. That seems appropriate for a spy, doesn't it? Also, there have been several occasions lately that I have seen the other marauders, but he has been absent. I can't remember a time at Hogwarts that he wasn't following you or Potter around."

Sirius looked as if he cared more about how Regulus knew about their animagus forms, but answered his question nonetheless, "his mother has been sick, he has been caring for her."

Regulus hummed suspiciously, "Wasn't that one of the excuses Lupin used for all of the school he used to miss?"

"There's no way it could be Peter. I mean, its Peter. How could it?"

"It could be him, but it isn't necessarily," Regulus allowed. He knew it best not to push Sirius too much at once or he would lose his cooperation. Sirius was nearly as loyal to his friends as Regulus used to be towards their family,

"We just need to find out. If any death eaters were pardoned from being branded, I would be surprised. Though it is possible the spy would have been marked differently. If that's the case they would be more difficult to identify. Asking everyone to reveal their left forearms would give away that we know a death eater has infiltrated the Order and also about the mark. It was only a matter of time before a spy was suspected, but the knowledge of the mark would certainly arouse suspicion."

"It's settled then!" Sirius grinned, "You shall come to breakfast, where we will confirm the innocence of my friends. Something you could never claim I might add. I'll expect the most lavish apology you can manage when you are proven wrong."

"We have to be more stealthy than just demanding everyone reveal their forearms. Weren't you listening?"

"These are my friends, Regulus! I do not believe they are death eaters. If you are so insistent they be ruled out as spies, we will at least do it my way. You can be as stealthy as you'd like with the rest of the Order."

"Are you sure none of your posse will mention the mark to anyone else?"

"If I ask them not to, they will not. I hope you know by 'my way,' I meant that you're coming with me."

"That falls into the category of creating a plan and then not following it through, I hope you realize. I am supposed to be staying under the radar."

"You've already met the marauders, it won't hurt anything. Now get up and get dressed, I'm hungry!"


	23. Meeting Marcus

Sirius apparated with Regulus to Godric's Hollow to the area between the church and the cemetery, which was his custom whenever time allowed. He always enjoyed the short walk from there to James and Lily' cottage. He glanced at his brother to find him staring at the church as if it was something foreign.

As he continued to lead Regulus/Marcus towards James' cottage he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. Regulus had made it clear he did not want to be around Sirius' friends, yet here they were.

Regulus was not exactly a pushover as the things that truly mattered to him he would not budge on. However, growing up with Regulus, there were seemingly very few things that he deemed worthy of arguing over. He almost always chose to appease their parents regardless of what he wanted to do. Something that had nearly driven Sirius mad in their youth. Not that it had ever stopped him from taking advantage of it when it was to his benefit.

Sirius regretted that conflict had kept him and Regulus away from each other during their school years. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed having his brother around before rescuing him from the cave. He had convinced himself he was better off alienating himself from everyone in his former family before then.

Despite their differences, Sirius thought it possible that 'Marcus' could fit in with his friends, though it would require him to make an effort. He hesitated in front of the cottage that belonged to James and Lily. He wanted to ask Regulus to try to get along with them, but didn't know how without telling him he couldn't be himself. Despite nearly twenty years of experience, being an older brother felt a bit new to him.

"Regulus…" he didn't know how to finish and his words hung awkwardly between them for a few moments.

Apparently having some idea of what Sirius wanted to say, Regulus answered quietly,

"I know it's important to you for me to get along with them, Sirius. You should keep in mind that even if tolerate Marcus, they hated your brother."

Without waiting for a response Regulus began walking up to the front door of the house. Sirius caught up with him just in time to knock.

* * *

Evan Rosier hated his life some days. Today was one of them. Bellatrix had asked him to trail Severus Snape and report his whereabouts to her, for only Merlin knew why. Whether the Dark Lord was even aware of his 'mission,' he didn't know. He had little choice but to follow the order, though he highly suspected this was more of his crazy cousin's whim than anything else. She had never liked Snape because of his blood status. She would relish any opportunity to torture him should any reason present itself.

His strongest warming charm was unable to keep out the cold entirely with it being as brutal as it was outside. Why the greasy bat decided to visit his mother's gravesite today, he could only guess. As far as Evan was concerned, the dead would prefer for their loved ones to get on with their own lives, rather than mourn the loss of theirs.

He decided visiting Regulus' grave would be less suspicious than lurking in the shadows and made his way in that direction.

He was surprised to find there had been privacy wards placed there already. He had a pretty good idea of who the visitor was since they had opted for privacy. While he didn't particularly want to face the wrath of Rachel when he anticipated that she would be angry at him over Regulus' death, he thought it best to warn her that Snape was lurking nearby, in case she wanted to leave anytime soon.

A few minutes after his arrival he was less surprised to see Rachel appear from thin air, than of her inclination to immediately point her wand in his face rather threateningly. Her usually gentle voice, full of venom today,

"I would ask if you are here to pay your respects, but I think your very presence proves you have none."

"I didn't kill him, Rachel."

"You didn't stop anyone else from doing it either though, did you? That doesn't make it any better."

"What would you have had me to do? Stand between him and their wands? We would both be dead."

She scoffed, "At least then you wouldn't be a coward. He would have helped you, had your situations been reversed," She made to brush past him, but he grabbed her arm.

She jerked her arm away from him, "Don't touch me!"

"Insult me all you want, but don't leave yet. Snape is visiting his mother's gravesite not far from here-"

"If your next closest friend is Snape, then you are worse off than I thought."

Evan smirked, before casting privacy wards around them.

"What are you doing?"

"I think it best if we are not seen together, don't you?" He then pointed behind Rachel to where a tall blonde appeared to be gracefully floating towards them.

"Why is Cassie Greengrass here?" Rachel asked.

"Visiting, I suppose, she was good friends with Reg."

"Oh right. I thought she might have been here with you."

Evan shook his head absently. Glancing at her, he was slightly surprised to find her neutral expression towards Cassie. Few girls from Hogwarts seemed capable of looking at the blonde without obvious jealousy marring their features.

Cassie was possibly the only Slytherin that was not actively hated simply because of house affiliation. The girls, nearly all girls including Slytherins, hated her, while nearly all guys, in every house seemed to hold some affection for her. She had been the prettiest girl at Hogwarts in their time. Regardless of house, few would even bother to deny it.

Despite the improved scenery Cassie's appearance always inspired, Evan wished they had backed farther away from the grave. There was little more than ten feet between them and the headstone. He would not have hid from Cassie, if not for Snape, who was now leaving the cemetery. He would have to walk right by them to get to the exit.

Evan cast an extra 'notice me not,' spell, and hoped for the best. It was all he could do at this point.

"Good morning, Greengrass" Snape drawled.

Cassie inclined her head, "Snape."

Snape looked from the headstone back to Cassie and smirked ever so slightly. She gave him a look that anyone in Slytherin would recognize to mean she was about to curse them into oblivion.

Wisely, Snape chose not to make the comment he had originally planned.

"I had nothing to do with that," he inclined his head towards the headstone, "just so you know."

She nodded, but did not comment.

It seemed Snape was unable to keep his comments to himself, after all,

"I suppose his death puts you in a tight spot though doesn't it?"

"Do not pretend to know more than you do, it only makes you look foolish," she said coldly.

"I know only what I was told… by your brother" he smiled nastily. "I suspect he is well enough informed of the implications Black's death has for you."

"I wouldn't put much stock into anything Cyrus told you. Not to mention, it really is none of your business," she replied in the same cold tone, seemingly unaffected by his taunt.

"It would serve you well to begin thawing your ice queen act. I do not think whomever you become betrothed to will approve of it. Personally I am hoping for Mulciber, the imperius curse he cast on Mary Macdonald in fifth year was truly inspiring."

Evan clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on his wand. He could tell Rachel was looking at him curiously.

"Tell me Snape, what is it that you hope to accomplish by fighting for pureblood supremacy? Has it escaped your notice that you're a half-blood?"

"Do not pretend to know more than you do, it only makes you look foolish," he mocked.

"Oh, are you a pureblood, then? I didn't realize. Though I am curious what your master would think of your hopeless obsession with a married mudblood."

"Do not call her that!" he hissed.

"Why? You did. And now she's happily married and bearing the child of the one person you hate most in the world. I wouldn't compare life's misfortunes with others if I were you," she smirked just before disapparating.

In a fit of rage, Snape kicked Regulus' headstone and nearly broke his foot by the sound of it. He quickly cast a healing spell on himself before stalking away.

He had once considered Snape an ally, perhaps even a friend on a good day. Since leaving school they had drifted apart. Evan had drifted apart from nearly everyone. He couldn't deny being a little disappointed that Cassie had not cursed him, but it was probably for the best that she made a clean escape instead.

Turning back to Rachel he said, "It's probably safe to go now."

"What was all that about betrothals?"

Evan answered reluctantly, "Cassie's father submitted a marriage contract to Orion over the summer," he answered as if it wasn't a big deal.

Rachel continued to look rather stunned, "Regulus was betrothed to Cassie Greengrass?"

"No. There were a couple of dozen contracts on the table, the girl had yet to be selected," he answered carefully. "I thought Regulus told you his parents would likely force him into an arranged marriage."

"He mentioned it, yes, but I didn't realize it would have been so soon, or that it could be someone he already knew… I was more of the impression it would be someone indecently too young to marry for several years," she answered distractedly.

"It often is."

Not wanting to talk anymore about a subject that would likely only further upset her, Evan skipped any transitioning comments he might normally have used and bluntly asked,

"So, how is Sirius?"

"He just lost his brother, so I suspect not good," she answered distractedly.

"I meant after the curse he was hit with the other night. I heard it was pretty ugly."

"Perfectly fine now, just sore I think. Why the sudden concern with him?"

"Just curious," he answered honestly.

He was extremely curious in fact. What could be so important for Regulus to risk staying in the country? He could have easily escaped by now. Hell, he could have told Rachel the truth and taken her with him if he wanted to. And even if he was staying, why hadn't he told Rachel that he was alive? She was one of the few people Regulus had ever trusted, and it would certainly save her a lot of grief.

Evan thought he knew the answer to that question: Regulus would want to protect her. It seemed in his efforts to protect Rachel, he had overlooked that his death would hurt her more than almost anything else could. While Rachel had already proven herself to be more forgiving than most, she would probably struggle to get past him faking his death and not confiding in her about it, assuming she ever finds out about it in the first place.

It seemed Regulus really did plan to leave everything behind when he 'died'- aside from Britain.

Between Evan never being much for small talk and Rachel not being particularly pleased with Evan or anyone else at the moment, the two walked in relative silence to the gates of the cemetery, where they parted ways rather quickly.

* * *

Sirius was eating his second plate of pancakes. The room had been much quieter than was custom when the marauders were together. Though today, they were a marauder short: Peter was not there. Aside from the initial greeting, Regulus had remained fairly silent.

Sirius mused that he was likely sulking that he had come for no reason. Sirius on the other hand was pleased for the opportunity for Regulus to bond with some of his friends, though he was struggling with how best to initiate conversation between them.

Fortunately, Lily came to the rescue,

"So Marcus, Sirius mentioned that you were homeschooled?"

Regulus looked up in surprise. Sirius belatedly realized this could have been a huge mistake. Regulus had quite possibly never spoken to a muggleborn before- certainly never cordially.

"Oh yes, I was. Even in primary school."

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked eagerly.

"It wasn't bad. It could be a bit too quiet sometimes, but I was allowed to study at my own pace, which was nice."

"Which NEWTs did you take?"

"Charms, Defense, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, oh and Muggle Studies."

Sirius choked on the orange juice he had been drinking. How could Regulus have possibly thought that was a good idea to say? Lily was muggleborn!

"Oh yeah? And what was that like?" He couldn't help but ask.

At the same time, Lily stated,

"I'm muggleborn and took muggle studies in third year. I thought it would be fascinating to hear the wizarding view of muggles. I dropped the course after my first year of it though... I found the class to be rather disappointing."

Marcus smirked discreetly towards Sirius, "the muggle studies class I had, focused more on muggle literature than anything else. I found it fascinating," he said in a convincingly charming manner.

The discussion of literature piqued Remus' attention as well. He asked, "What was your favorite book?"

Marcus scrunched his eyebrows as if thinking about it, before reciting,

"_You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit_."

'The Picture of Dorian Gray'_._ Excellent choice!" Remus said excitedly.

"Oh, not me. That book is interesting, but much too dark for my tastes," Lily intoned.

Sirius had not read much of muggle literature, but he had watched enough episodes of 'The Twilight Zone', to be fairly certain he had entered one.

"Alright then. What's your favorite?" Regulus inquired conversationally.

Lily smiled, "See if you can figure it out. 'You expect me to account for opinions which you choose to call mine, but which I have never acknowledged.'"

Regulus looked at Remus as if waiting for him to take a guess. Remus laughed,

"I already know her favorite book. It would be unfair for me to guess."

"Pride and Prejudice," Regulus answered confidently.

"Yes, I just love everything about it!" Lily exclaimed.

Sirius was definitely in the 'Twilight Zone.'

"What about you Remus?"

"I like nearly everything, though I will not attempt to quote anything for fear of not doing it justice."

Marcus nodded before turning to address James. He asked,

"And you, James? Any favorites?"

"I don't see much use in reading old books, but I think Macbeth should be required reading for every Slytherin to find out where all of their ambition is going to get them," he smirked.

For the first time, Marcus' façade slipped, though it seemed to be more due to inappropriate surprise than anger, "You've read Macbeth?"

"Yes, and I must say, "_Nothing in his life, __Became him like the leaving it_," sums up each and every death eater rather nicely," James continued oblivious to the former death eater amongst them.

Marcus' expression was indecipherable as he answered carefully, "I found reading Macbeth to be a bit distracting, written as a play as it is." He looked as if he might say more but to Sirius' relief, he changed the subject seamlessly, "I've always been curious as to which house I would be sorted into if I went to Hogwarts."

Sirius laughed, "Hufflepuff. Definitely."

James joined in his laughing though Remus and Lily looked at them disapprovingly.

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff?" Marcus asked in what would be an innocent tone.

"It's the house of the leftovers," James remarked.

"They value hard work and loyalty. I wouldn't call that leftovers...We could all do with a bit more loyalty these days."

"Can't argue with that," Sirius grinned, "take my patronus for example. Nothing says loyalty better than having a patronus to take the form of a dog."

"Is your patronus a dog?" Regulus asked good-naturedly. He then stated in his best fake innocence, "I have a relative whose patronus form is a dog. "In his case, I think it has more to do with his habit of humping anything that stands still long enough."

Sirius stared at Regulus, his fork midair. Regulus feigned confusion at everyone else's reactions.

Remus was failing miserably at keeping a straight face. Lily covered her face with her hands, though what could be seen of it, was bright red from her nearly silent giggles. James didn't even attempt to hide his amusement, and was laughing uproariously. He would have likely fallen out of his seat, had he not stood up in time.

After a moment, Marcus' face took on an expression of what Sirius knew to be fake embarrassment as he stated,

"I apologize for my poor choice of words at the breakfast table... I'm afraid I haven't had many interactions of this sort, having been homeschooled and all."

Sirius joined in the laughter then. Regulus had cracked an almost imperceptible smile at 'many interactions of this sort'. The prat was likely referring to associating with a blood traitor, a half-blood and a muggleborn without attempting to curse anyone.

After everyone, except Sirius, made some comment to assure Marcus he had not said anything wrong, Sirius jumped up to help Lily with the dishes, much to everyone's surprise. It was not uncommon for Remus or James to help clean up, but certainly never Sirius.

In the house that Remus and Peter shared with Sirius, the only cleaning contribution Sirius ever made came from whichever girl happened to be visiting him at the time. Sirius resolved to lower himself to house elf status now though, so as to allow his brother more time to 'bond' with his friends.

* * *

Regulus sat at the table with Potter and Lupin, feeling distinctly out of place. While everyone had been friendly enough, he couldn't help but feel unwelcomed. He had gotten the distinct impression that Lupin had actually sniffed him when he first walked in.

He vaguely wondered if his heightened wolf senses could pick up on who he really was. He considered attempting legilimency to determine if he suspected anything, but did not want to draw unnecessary suspicion to himself, should the wolf notice his intrusion.

Potter on the other hand, was an open book. Regulus did not need to waste his efforts casting legilimency on him, as his emotions never left his face. Right now he remained suspicious of Marcus, but had warmed up to him considerably compared with when he first arrived.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Regulus decided to put his newly acquired excuse of awkwardness in public to use, and blurted out,

"So you mentioned that we are one short today, Peter is missing?"

"Yes, making Saturday morning pancakes a tradition was actually his idea, it's a shame he couldn't be here," Lupin answered.

"I saw all of you the other night, after Sirius was cursed. Peter was missing then as well, wasn't he? I can't remember seeing anyone else."

"Yes he was. Speaking of that, how did you know how to heal Sirius?" Potter asked clearly not having given his friend's absence near the amount of thought it should have warranted.

"Not that we aren't very grateful for it," Lupin added pointedly.

"I had considered taking an apprenticeship in healing once I graduated. I did study some basics in healing prior to graduating, even. Honestly, I didn't expect to be able to help him, I just took a guess and it worked."

"Madam Pomfrey could not heal him, how did you manage using basic healing spells?" James asked suspiciously.

"Professor Dumbledore told me that Madam Pomfrey had not had the opportunity to look at him properly before I arrived, otherwise my assistance would not have been required."

"Why were you even at Hogwarts to begin with?" James demanded.

"I was planning to speak with Dumbledore, though since there was some sort of meeting going on, I never did get to."

"What did you want to talk to Dumbledore about?" James continued his barrage of questions.

"That isn't actually any of our business, James."

Regulus was really glad Lupin said that so that 'Marcus' didn't have to.

Potter smirked, "I did notice you speaking with Rachel Candor before we left for Diagon Alley. Do you know her?"

"No, I had only just met her. I had actually gotten lost and she was kind enough to help me find the entrance hall," he said trying to sound slightly embarrassed.

"That's good. Otherwise Remus here probably wouldn't welcome your company anymore," he laughed.

"Please be quiet for once, James," Remus pleaded with crimson cheeks.

"Why? He doesn't know anyone. Why should he care that you fancy her?"

Regulus gave a non-committal hum, "It was really nice of you and your wife to have me over for breakfast," he said in attempt to change the subject.

"It's no big deal, really. Lily always makes too much. We definitely had an open space with Peter being gone especially," Potter answered.

"I think you might be good for Sirius now too. As you may have heard already, his younger brother was recently killed by death eaters. I think Sirius' taking you under his wing may be beneficial in helping him to heal from his loss," Remus contributed.

"Yes, well I'm glad if I can help. Though I know it's impossible to truly replace one's brother," Regulus said with his practiced innocent tone.

James scoffed, "You wouldn't say that if you had known him."

Lupin stated, "James, I hardly think this is the time to discuss this. Sirius and Lily could come back at any moment."

At the same time, Regulus remarked, "You must have known him well to have developed such hatred towards him."

Before James could answer, Lupin again cut in, "None of us knew him well, and Sirius rarely spoke of him. It would be best to change the subject."

At that moment, Sirius and Lily returned to the table, effectively ending the current conversation. Regulus gave Sirius a look to indicate he was ready to leave. Sirius began rubbing his left forearm, as if to indicate he wanted to do the 'big reveal' now.

Regulus shook his head once, before standing,

"Well thank you all so much for having me over and feeding me. Lily, your pancakes were wonderful."

"You're welcome anytime," she replied kindly.

After saying goodbye to everyone else, the brothers made their leave, disapparating back to Evan's apartment.

Regulus was just about to take the elevator when Sirius stopped him,

"Surely you aren't going to continue to make me take the stairs are you?"

Regulus rolled his eyes, before casting a series of complicated wand movements.

"I'm not sure if that was right, but there's only one way to find out," he grinned evilly.

Reluctantly Sirius stepped onto the elevator and looked around as if expecting the structure to implode. When nothing happened, Regulus stepped onto the elevator behind him and pushed the button to their desired floor.

Sirius remained jumpy for the most of the ascension. Regulus did not dare speak in case Sirius would resort to cursing him. Towards the end of the ride Sirius seemed to relax slightly.

"So, I don't know if you noticed, but that was a complete waste," Regulus remarked as they exited the elevator.

"No it wasn't! We ate delicious pancakes and you behaved civilly towards the marauders and Lily. Besides if it was a waste, it's your fault. Why didn't you want to have them prove their lack of dark marks?"

"Because I do not think any of them are the spies. Peter didn't even show up this morning. Lupin told me the whole Saturday morning pancake thing was his idea. I did not want to ask them to reveal their left forearms, because we would have had to tell them why. I think James would be only too happy to tell Peter I suspect him of being a death eater the first chance he gets. Maybe you should just pull up his sleeve in his sleep or something."

"I could if he actually stayed there anymore. He stays at his mother's house nearly every night."

"He could be staying at death eater safe houses-"

"I'll admit it's suspicious, but I refuse to believe Peter is actually a death eater without proof. You on the other hand surprised me. Where there hell did you find quotes from muggle literature?"

Regulus laughed, "Where did I find the quotes? I read them in the books they came from."

"Books from where?"

"The library."

"The Black library does not-"

"At Hogwarts."

"What did your death eater buddies think of that? And why did you bother reading them at all?"

"They didn't know. And I read them because they were interesting."

"How… ironic."

Regulus smirked, "I just like to read. You're wasting your time if you look further into it than that."

Sirius shook his head, "Alright, whatever. I know you are disappointed Peter was a no-show, but I am pleased with how well everyone got along with you and vice versa."

"They got along with Marcus, not Regulus. Don't confuse the two, less you'll be disappointed."

"Whatever you say, Reg," he said ruffling his brother's hair just like he did when they were younger.

Also just like when they were younger, Regulus immediately began trying to straighten his hair. He still hated it not being the length he was used to, and even more so hated how easily his 'new style' became disheveled in appearance.


	24. Different in Books and Unforgivable

Regulus and Sirius had spent much of the afternoon in Evan's old apartment discussing the remaining horcruxes and their possible locations. Regulus told Sirius everything he knew and thought he knew about what and where the items could be. Almost everything.

He omitted revealing one of the locations likely being in the secret room beneath the drawing room at Malfoy Manor. Opting instead to vaguely describe the room itself. He refrained from mentioning the enormous Malfoy family crest on the back wall of the room, as mentioning that would have been counterproductive.

He felt slightly guilty for the omission, however he had no doubt Sirius would refuse to listen to any of his reasons for postponing its removal. Sirius would focus on that being the only known location and not rest until its removal was planned.

Even ignoring his concern for Narcissa, Regulus thought that to be a bad idea. The sudden disappearance of the horcrux would likely not go amiss. The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to the fact that someone not only knew about the horcruxes, but was also attempting to collect them.

Unfortunately that same problem would likely present itself again with the other horcruxes. It would be infinitely better if they could remove the horcruxes that would be less likely missed first, such as the locket he had taken. If only they knew where they were.

After having gone over the same information incessantly, Sirius declared they would have to break into Lestrange Manor and search it. If the cup could not be found, they would steal the vault keys and go from there. Regulus believed his plan to be easily said, but likely impossible to actually do.

Before Sirius could come up with any other reckless ideas for them, Regulus decided a change in subject was in order,

"So, how long do you think it will take for Pettigrew to make an appearance?"

"Hard to say. I never really thought much of his absences before to be honest. I doubt he could have stayed gone more than a day or two without us worrying about him though."

"He used the excuse of taking care of his mother for missing 'pancakes at the Potters'. Did you ever check on him at his mother's house?"

"Er- no. I didn't really ever try to find him. I just knew he would turn up again whenever he could," Sirius answered sheepishly.

"If he doesn't show up by tomorrow I think we should take a more proactive approach in finding him."

"I don't see the harm in that. What do you suggest?"

"His greatest contribution to Voldemort must be in the information he can provide. If he were to be contacted of an upcoming Order meeting he would be sure to show up."

"IF he is a spy at all, you mean."

"Right, so how do you usually find out about the meetings?"

"If they are not announced at the end of the previous meeting, we are contacted by Dumbledore."

"Of course. Everything always goes through Dumbledore doesn't it?" Regulus asked rhetorically. "Do you think Dumbledore would be agreeable for arranging a meeting?"

"I don't see why not, if it can prove or disprove Peter's loyalties. Besides, if we suspect a spy then surely Dumbledore must as well. Do you think anyone else needs to be included in the meeting?"

Regulus thought about it for a moment before responding,

"I think we should have the Potter's and Lupin attend. Its possible Pettigrew will be in contact with them. It would look suspicious if he were going to a meeting they didn't know about. Is there anyone else he may be in contact with?"

"I don't think so," Sirius answered after a moment, "He generally only ever associates with anyone else if the marauders instigate it. Though, would you mind being the one to ask Dumbledore about the meeting?"

At Regulus' questioning look he continued,

"I think it best if I can be just as surprised as the rest of the marauders when we hear of the meeting time."

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "You will not be surprised there is a meeting, only about the time arranged for it. Why couldn't you just pretend to be surprised about both?"

"I hate lying to my friends!" Sirius whined, "If Peter is guilty… think of how angry they will be if they find out I was in on the setup and didn't tell them beforehand."

"Seriously? A setup couldn't work if everyone knew about it. Surely they would understand-"

"They are going to be mad enough if they find out about you. Ergo, I should know as little as possible, so as to avoid adding more fuel to the fire."

Regulus shook his head, "So much for Gryffindor bravery."

"So we have an accord then," Sirius grinned. "I even have the perfect way to make it up to you."

"Whatever you are thinking, I want no part of it."

"I refuse to take no for an answer. Without my influence, Regulus Black became a bookworm, hermit that could put a Ravenclaw to shame. I refuse to allow the same fate to befall Marcus."

* * *

Sirius' great plan of payback turned out to be nothing more than going out for drinks the next evening. Regulus had only agreed to go with him for lack of anything better to do on a Sunday night.

Sirius' plans nearly fell through when he arrived at Evan's apartment the next day to find Regulus dressed in wizarding attire.

"Why aren't you ready?"

Regulus quirked an eyebrow, "I thought I was."

Sirius rolled his eyes as he passed him on his way towards the bedroom. After looking through his closet and not finding whatever it was he was looking for, Sirius ventured towards Evan's bedroom.

Regulus had stayed in the main living space, but seeing his intent made his way to the other bedroom. He crossed his arms in front of him as he leaned against the door, effectively blocking it,

"Perhaps if you told me what it is you're looking for it would save you from ransacking the place."

Sirius sighed, not having wanted to tell Regulus where they were going beforehand, "Muggle clothes."

"Why?" Regulus asked, wondering how Sirius could have overlooked the muggle clothing he had in his room. Then again, he knew the items he did own were nothing to brag about. "You certainly wouldn't find anything muggle in Evan's closet."

* * *

An hour later, the brothers were leaving a clothing store in London of Sirius' recommendation. After glimpsing the dismal selection of muggle clothing that Regulus owned, he had insisted they go 'speed shopping' before their night out.

Regulus was still undecided whether he would actually participate in whatever Sirius had planned for the evening, but was unwilling to deny his need to acquire new clothing either.

His parents, and the death eaters alike disapproved of muggle clothing. Therefore, he had only ever owned a very small selection of it. Now that he was living in a muggle apartment in central London, and attempting to blend in, he had no choice but to conform to certain muggle practices such as dressing like them. Evan had relied on disillusionment charms though, so there was that.

While he knew he would not be living by the lavish and excessive standards he had been brought up with, he was fully aware that his way of life had been exactly that: lavish and excessive. The money he had saved from his trust account would provide him with enough gold to live on with at least an equal standard to most. Which fortunately meant he could afford decent clothes.

Regulus was now wearing a wool coat over a dark sweater and a pair of jeans by some designer that Sirius swore by. While he was not accustomed to shopping for muggle clothing, he had always been very observant. As such, he was much better equipped to blend into the muggle world than most even without Sirius' help.

While they were there, he had also bought a few other items of clothing, all of which were high quality and tasteful. Upon leaving the store, the brothers walked into an alley to allow him to discreetly shrink the bag and put it into his pocket. Once he was finished he stated,

"I'm not going to a strip club if that's what you have planned."

Sirius smirked, "It's not. I am actually supposed to be meeting someone at a club not far from here. I want you to come with us."

Regulus stared at him, "why would I want to tagalong with you on a date?"

"I thought you might want to see if the real life muggles are like the ones you've read about," Sirius answered slyly.

"I've been to a club before. A muggle one even," _Not that he remembered much about it._ His memory of the event was hazy to say the least.

"Really? That's surprising, so you don't want to go?" Sirius asked obviously disappointed.

"Why would I? Who are you even meeting?"

"You wouldn't know her, but you've already admitted that you don't have anything better to do. Come with us."

"What makes you think I wouldn't know her? I know a lot of people," Regulus remarked, more to be difficult than because he thought he would actually know Sirius' date.

"Well... Perhaps because she is a muggle."

Regulus masked his displeasure, knowing that Sirius was watching him closely. While he did not wish to kill muggles, and had even grown to be mostly accepting of muggleborns, that was about as far as his tolerance went. History was littered with muggles learning of the wizarding world and doing all they could to stamp out its existence. It was unlikely they could ever knowingly live alongside wizards and be peaceful. Given the choice between wizards and muggles, Regulus would always side his own kind.

"Impress her with your fancy magic tricks, did you?" he asked in a neutral tone as the pair made their way down the street.

"I have too much of my own charm to ever resort to that."

"Not enough to get her to meet you someplace besides a crowded club though apparently."

"The location was my idea," Sirius answered defensively.

Regulus shook his head, "How... original."

Sirius chuckled, "For your information, little brother, a club is an excellent place for a first date. The environment lends itself to relaxing so as to get to know each other better, and if you decide you don't like the one you're with, finding someone else can be done without the awkward conversation that usually transpires."

Regulus found Sirius' expectations for the evening to be depressingly low. If bringing his brother to tagalong with him wasn't bad enough then certainly the built-in escape plan was. Rather than commenting on that, he addressed the bigger issue,

"Do not call me your brother again," he remarked in a low tone.

Sirius made a face that clearly indicated he hadn't even realized his mistake. As they continued down the street to the place Sirius had indicated, Regulus couldn't help but think his plans of remaining the country were doomed if Sirius couldn't learn to be more discreet about who he was and fast.

Along the way they passed a bookstore which Regulus insisted they stop in. After browsing the book selection, 'Marcus' made several recommendations of his favorites for Sirius to read, which the latter found to be extremely amusing.

Upon making his own selections, Regulus let Sirius buy the books since he was more comfortable with muggle money. He had gotten an inexplicit feeling as if they were being watched. He thought it likely he was just being paranoid, but didn't want to arouse suspicion by taking longer than expressly necessary to make his purchase, just in case.

After leaving the store they stopped to add their newly shrunken purchases to their pockets before continuing in the direction Sirius indicated. They arrived profoundly late to meet Sirius' friend, though she had looked so relieved to see that she hadn't been stood up, she didn't seem to mind too much.

She and Regulus had been introduced, though he managed to forget her name instantly after hearing it. If he ever heard of her again after this evening he would be surprised to say the least.

Shortly after their introduction, Sirius had disappeared into the crowd with his muggle, amidst a sea of muggles. The way some of them were dancing did little to disprove his family's theory that muggles were as uncouth as animals.

Regulus did his best to cover his distaste with his current company, but it was proving difficult. Sirius may have been joking, but there was little doubt that these muggles were much different from most of the ones he had read about. Incidently, he would much rather be at home reading about them than remain here, witnessing what anyone with a speck of dignity would only partake in behind closed doors.

He had caught sight of Sirius looking over at him twice, as if to ensure he was still there. Though based on how he and his muggle were dancing, Regulus thought he had likely forgotten about him by now. He decided that finishing his drink and then leaving was more than acceptable on his part given the circumstances. He was surprised therefore, when he was approached by a fairly nondescript black haired girl around his age.

"You look like you would rather be anywhere but here," she said by way of greeting.

Regulus would be unsurprised if in the same situation, Sirius would have taken that as an innuendo, following up with an offer to go shag somewhere- even despite her unremarkable features. Yet if there was ever any doubt he was nothing like Sirius, tonight proved it. Instead he answered,

"Yeah, this isn't really my kind of place."

She laughed, merrily. There was something familiar about her laugh, though if he had ever seen her before, he couldn't place it.

"To that, I have no doubt. So, where is your girlfriend tonight?" she asked casually.

"I would be with her if I had one, and certainly not here," he answered curtly.

She nodded absently, "I noticed your friend left you nearly as soon as you walked in the door."

He thought it strange that with all of the people crammed into the bar that she would have noticed that. Though he was too eager to get away from her so that he could leave, to care enough to ask about it.

"Yes, I don't think he will notice if I make an early night of it, do you?"

The band took that moment to begin playing a slow song.

"You aren't even going to dance with me first?"

He looked at her reluctantly, and she burst out laughing,

"Whatever disease you think I have, I promise you will not catch by dancing with me."

Regulus was again struck by how familiar her laugh was. Her eyes were brown and like the rest of her, unremarkable. Though there seemed to be an underlying mischief in them somehow. The girl was also more forward than he would have expected. Of course for all he knew all muggles acted in this way.

Half-heartedly he offered his hand and began to dance with her. He begrudgingly noticed that his partner had an obvious grace to her movements, which seemed to imply she may have been taught to dance properly in the past.

As the dance ended, she pulled him towards her as if to give him a hug, which he found to be extremely awkward. Even more so when she inhaled deeply as if smelling him. When she pulled away, she had an indecipherable look on her face.

"Did you just smell me?" he couldn't help but ask. What was with people sniffing him lately?

"Yes," she answered completely unabashed, "everyone has a scent I associate with them. Yours is different than I expected."

"Alright… how so?" he indulged her oddities though he was unsure why.

"You struck me as someone who would have their own distinct scent."

At Regulus' look, she quickly added, "In a pleasant sort of way. And while it is pleasant, your scent is a bit lacking in distinctiveness, as if a mild fragrance was… is that sweater new?"

"Yeah, I bought it just before coming here… why?"

She smiled broadly, but whatever craziness she was about to speak was interrupted by Sirius.

"Sorry to interupt, but we got to go," he said urgently as he grabbed Regulus' arm and pulled him away from her. Regulus gave her a vague wave as he followed Sirius without a backwards glance.

After the brothers stepped outside of the club, Regulus asked,

"What was that about?"

"Death eater attack in Godric's Hollow, James contacted me," Sirius answered urgently before pulling Regulus into an alley and apparating them to the Leaky Cauldron.

Regulus would have reminded Sirius that he was not an Order member, but it was obvious Sirius was a bit distraught from worry for his friends. Regulus instead obediently followed Sirius to the fireplace where he used a coded address which took them directly to James and Lily's house.

Sirius and James were already halfway out of the door when Regulus arrived. Lily was standing near the fireplace with her wand drawn, but only nodded to him when she saw him and said,

"James asked me to stay here until more Order members arrive. If the death eaters are still around, you'll likely be outnumbered until they show up," she said with a good effort not to sound annoyed at staying behind.

Regulus nodded in acknowledgement and made his way to follow Sirius out the front door. He was halfway across the room when he stopped and turned back to her,

"The floo network is still working for the moment, perhaps you should consider leaving-"

"I am not useless with a wand!" she refuted indignantly. "I am perfectly capable-"

"I didn't say you weren't, but I think you underestimate the perverse satisfaction some of the death eaters would get from harming you and your baby. You aren't just an Order member, but also muggleborn, and carrying the child of a blood traitor. It's worth thinking about," Regulus told her, ignoring her indignant response as he left.

* * *

Sirius and James ran up Church Street to where the dark mark hung ominously in the sky. Sirius expected the death eaters to be wreaking havoc indiscriminately on the cottages of wizards and muggles, alike.

He was therefore surprised when he only saw five death eaters, all of which seemed to be waiting for them. Aside from the apparent murder of whomever lived in the house below the dark mark, very little destruction had actually been done. Sirius thought that to be extremely odd. The death eaters generally cared nothing about subtlety, and certainly not the statute of secrecy.

Ignoring the oddity of the situation, he sent a curse at the nearest death eater. He heard James fire off his own spell and vaguely heard footsteps behind him which he presumed would belong to Regulus.

Sirius immediately had the attention of three of the five death eaters, however Regulus quickly sent a curse at the largest of the three, drawing his attention away from Sirius. Even as Sirius battled his two death eaters, it was obvious that Regulus was trying to lure his death eater away from everyone else. Sirius thought that to be interesting, as death eaters generally preferred to stick close together in battle. Sirius expected Regulus would have been in the habit of doing the same.

* * *

The death eater Regulus was dueling need not have bothered with a mask. The massive breadth of his body clearly announced his identity as Thorfinn Rowle.

The brute had always been far more cruel than careful in battle. As such, he had nearly killed his fellow death eaters by accident on countless occasions. For this reason, Regulus thought it prudent to lure him away from everyone else.

Unfortunately Rowle did have good instincts when it came to dueling. Despite his size he was fairly quick on his feet. He also had an unfortunate tendency to rely too much on the _Avada Kadavra_ curse for Regulus' liking. Subsequently, he was having to dodge a constant barrage of killing curses aimed in his direction.

Rowle was allowing Regulus to direct their battle into the cemetery. Regulus thought the location would serve the dual purpose of preventing a rogue killing curse from hitting anyone else, as well as giving himself a means to block them. Like all cemeteries, this one was filled with headstones and stone statues.

In another life, Regulus would have already defeated Rowle in a duel. His reliance on the killing curse was causing him to be slightly more measured before casting, as he had to summon up enough hate for the spell to work properly.

However, since 'Marcus' showed up with Sirius and the 'golden child of light,' Regulus thought it best to behave like an Order member as much as possible. Therefore instead of relying on instinct, he was having to think before casting, so as to avoid using anything obviously 'dark'.

Upon entering the cemetery properly, Regulus blocked yet another killing curse using a statue of an angel. Deciding he was far enough from the others, he fell back on instinct and began dueling properly. He then had his opponent subdued in minutes.

He quickly bound and disarmed the death eater, before unmasking him.

Thorfinn Rowle blinked confusedly for a few moments before registering Marcus' presence.

After a few failed attempts of asking the death eater questions about their mission, Regulus gave up. It seemed the spells he had cast were slightly more powerful than he intended, likely due to having his dark mark, and therefore Voldemort's drain on his magic, removed. He would certainly need to work on that in the future. Though in this case, Rowle was just a bit concussed.

Since no backup had arrived, Regulus thought it likely there was other small battles or perhaps a bigger battle elsewhere, preventing any Order members from coming to help here. He was just about to go help the others when he noticed their locations. It seemed the death eaters they were battling were drawing them away from Godric's Hollow.

Knowing the Dark Lord cared nothing about preserving innocent lives, as leaving the village might allow, Regulus decided to find out what the mission had been.

He cast, 'legilimens,' on the still befuddled Rowle, and was able to procure the information of the mission. Thoroughly disgusted with what he saw, he quickly 'obliviated' Rowle, before pocketing the death eater's mask. He then took off in a dead sprint back to the Potter's home.

It had been anticipated that Lily would stay in the home until more Order members arrived. Other attacks had been arranged for the evening, ensuring that no back-up would come to the aid of the Order members at this battle, or any of the others. Lily had been the primary target in Godric's Hollow.

Regulus was tempted to cast a patronus to tell James and Sirius to get back to the house, but decided against it. They were farther away than he was. It would also take him longer to get there if he stopped to send the message. He supposed his patronus was distinguishing too, though there weren't many death eaters who would have ever seen it.

When he reached the cottage, he approached the entrance cautiously and observed what he could from the window while catching his breath. Lily was disarmed and bound. Four death eaters surrounded her.

Regulus decided to go through with the best idea he could come up with at the moment, which was much more rash than he would have liked.

He quickly removed Rowle's mask from his pocket before transfiguring his new coat into black wizarding robes. He then changed his hair to very short and dark brown, before putting on Rowle's mask.

He had nearly perfected Rodolphus Lestrange's voice in the past, and while Lestrange was not ideal for this, it was the only senior death eater Regulus could passably imitate. He pushed the door open forcefully and stormed the room.

"What is taking so long?" he demanded in his best impersonation of Rodolphus' voice.

The gathered death eaters immediately tensed. One of them, Wilkes by the sound of it, answered,

"Black came to aid Potter as expected. We were just about to enter the home when someone else came outside. We did not recognize him. We thought it best to wait a few minutes before entering, in case others were coming."

"All of you are dismissed, except Snape."

With that, three death eaters nodded before removing portkeys from their cloaks and leaving immediately.

Lily's face was full of fury as she looked at the death eater that had been identified as Snape.

Turning to him, 'Rodolphus' stated, "There has been a change of plans. You are to leave here and report that you were unable to perform the ritual in a timely manner. I suspect you will be punished."

It was a shame Regulus was best at imitating Rodolphus. No death eater would dare question any of the other senior death eaters except for him. He was generally reasonable enough to indulge occasional questions without mercilessly cursing everyone as he was easily the softest of the senior members. This 'flaw' only served to cause further resentment towards him from Bellatrix.

Snape nodded hesitantly before asking, "What is the change in plan? It was agreed upon that only the child would be lost. Evans was to be spared as a reminder-"

It was obvious from Lily's expression she did not appreciate his sentiments any more than any other expecting mother would be expected to.

"You do yourself no favors when you speak so candidly, even by muggle standards," Regulus said, indicating Lily. "Furthermore, I did not hold you back to entertain your blubbering concerns over a filthy mudblood. I feel it prudent to remind you that anyone else of my status would have punished you without hesitation for your questions. Now do as I said."

Snape was about to leave, but as if he was unable not to, he looked one last time at Lily. The obvious disgust and anger in her expression seemed to have broken any sense of self-preservation he possessed.

He shook his head, "I wasn't going-" he began before 'Rodolphus' interrupted. Not even he would have allowed that,

"You weren't going to what?" he demanded. "You weren't going to go through with the mission assigned to you by the Dark Lord himself? A mission you yourself requested? _Crucio_."

As Snape convulsed in the floor, Regulus fought his desire to vomit. He held his spell only long enough to be passably believable before ending it,

"You will practice occlumency and never speak of this again. To anyone. If you do, what you just experienced will feel like mere child's play to what awaits you. Do you understand?"

Snape was shaking from head to toe but gave an obvious nod of his head.

"Good. Now get out of my sight."

Snape shakily pulled out his portkey and left immediately.

Had he not just cast his first ever unforgiveable curse, Regulus would have been more proud of his acting skills. Instead he was just glad to get outside for some fresh air.

Unfortunately, some of his recent actions had been observed by a third party. A masked death eater grabbed his arm roughly the moment he stepped outside and disapparated.

Upon landing in a seemingly open meadow, Regulus promptly fell to his knees and fought to keep from emptying the contents of his stomach. After a few moments, he looked up to find Evan staring at him with an indecipherable look.

"It seems leaving the death eaters has made you a bit dark," he stated ironically.

* * *

A/N: To Snape fans... I'm sorry. It'll most likely get better...


	25. Talk with Evan and Back to Hogwarts

Sirius and James' battles were drifting them farther down Church Street. The smallest, and obviously poorest duelist amongst the death eaters had portkeyed away early on in the fight. Sirius vaguely recognized that he must've been the one to cast the anti-apparition wards as the air felt less heavy when he left.

Sirius recognized that the remaining three death eaters were trying to create a formation that would surround the two of them. Unfortunately, he was kept busy enough that he couldn't warn James who was being led towards him.

Sirius managed to strike one of his opponents with a particularly strong 'reducto,' spell, effectively shattering his wand arm. The death eater drew his portkey. Before Sirius could stop him, the other death eater shot a curse at him that he was forced to block, allowing the injured death eater time to escape.

A few moments later, Sirius heard James yell out. Sirius saw him sprawled on the ground, a puddle of blood beneath him. He couldn't tell where the blood was coming from. He cast a slew of curses at their attackers and dove for James, disapparating immediately.

He felt like a coward for retreating, but he wasn't going to let James be killed when he was in no shape to defend himself. He worried too late that apparition could exacerbate James' injuries.

They reappeared in front of the Potter's home and quickly helped James inside. Lily, who was already in near tears, let them fall freely upon seeing her husband's bloodied torso, visible through his freshly sliced clothing.

Upon removing his shirt, two large gashes were revealed on James' stomach. Lily immediately began casting the healing spells that she knew, but to no avail. The wounds would heal for a few moments before ripping open again, each time more ghastly than before.

Sirius pulled out his Phoenix portkey and activated it, taking all three of them to Hogwarts infirmary.

It was clear by the number of other Order members receiving treatment, that their attack had not been the only one of the evening.

Sirius caught the attention of nearly everyone, yelling for someone to help James. Given how frantically Madam Pomfrey and her apprentices were already working, it would be a while before any help could be spared for James. Too long.

'Damn it,' he thought, 'where is Regulus?' Equally concerned for his brother as he was hopeful that he could help James, Sirius sent him a patronus.

* * *

Regulus remained on his knees in the grass of the meadow, unmoving and in a bit of daze after what had happened. Unforgiveables and apparition were not a good combination. It would also be foolishly optimistic to think his interference this evening would go uunnoticed by Voldemort. It had been worth the risk when it had been for Sirius, but Lily Potter? How had he become so out of touch with his sense of self-preservation?

Eventually he looked up to find Evan, who had his back to him looking out over the valley that expanded below.

"Where are we?" Regulus asked.

"You can see the lights from my family's estate if you look there," he pointed into the distance of the valley far below them. Regulus didn't bother trying to look.

Glancing at him, Evan commented, "I think it's a good thing you never cast an unforgivable before now, considering your reaction."

"I was actually just trying to figure out why I bothered," Regulus admitted. "But how am I supposed to react?" He asked despite feeling stupid.

Evan withheld a smirk, "The cruciatus never bothered me much. My father brought me here after the first time I killed someone. He said that if I couldn't get over my feelings of guilt by the end of the day, I might as well jump because I would never make it as a death eater."

Regulus grimaced, "Sounds just like him. Is that why you brought me here?"

"As you are no longer a death eater, I see no reason for such extreme measures."

Regulus resumed his silence, prompting Evan to continue,

"I could give you the rest of my father's lecture if you'd like. It's about how each time you cast an unforgivable, it becomes easier than the last. It also helps when you embrace the belief that only the purebloods who recognize their place in society are worthy to inflict the punishment of the unforgivables... The speech is a bit long winded though and doesn't exactly apply to you anymore, given the circumstances."

Even in his mild state of shock, he registered that Evan must have been a little worried. He was never this talkative. As Regulus continued his relative silence, he continued to chatter away,

"As for Snape, I see no reason for you to feel guilty about what happened. He would have done the same to you. Its also Snape… who hasn't wanted to crucio him at least once?"

Regulus shook his head, "Too soon."

Evan smirked, obviously relieved to end his monologue.

"Don't you have to report back or something?" Regulus asked. Now would be a bad time for Voldemort to find him.

"My only task for the past two days has been to stalk Snape. For two days," he repeated for emphasis. "Our dear cousin has become distrustful of him. I am not to disturb her with a report until tomorrow."

"Why would Bella choose you for that and not a new recruit?"

"We can't all have the luxury of being her favorite cousin."

"There's an opening for the position," Regulus answered blandly. "Now that I think about it, I have done stuff like that for her before though. It sounds like you're her new favorite already."

"I'll try not to let the honor go to my head," he answered dryly.

"Right. So how did you know it was me?" Regulus asked. Now that he was feeling more like himself, he needed to know what had given him away.

"The way in which you carry yourself is very distinct, you should work on that. You also arrived with Sirius. Not to mention, I've heard your impression of Rodolphus a thousand times. It's not nearly as convincing as you think it is."

"It's been a while since I practiced," Regulus answered defensively.

"You were reckless."

Regulus didn't answer. Evan already knew he was right, no need to give him a big head.

"Have you given any more thought to leaving the country?"

"I have...certain affairs to get in order first."

"You are lying. And if what happened tonight gets out, you will have projected yourself as a new Order member who has no qualms about impersonating death eaters and casting unforgiveable curses. Could you have drawn anymore attention to yourself?" Evan demanded, his anger beginning to seep into his voice.

"I didn't have a choice but to curse Snape if I wanted to be believable."

Evan sighed, "I could understand your use of the curse better than why you felt the need to rescue Evans in the first place. I mean Snape has to take whatever he can get, but surely your standards have not sunk so far as to be attracted to a married, impregnated woman, not even mentioning her blood status."

Regulus couldn't help but feel amused at that, "Since when do you not mention blood status?"

"I thought you might be offended if I called her a 'mudblood' since you are a blood traitor."

"Ouch. To be honest, I don't even see why people get so torn up over either term. If I lashed out every time someone commented on my parents being second cousins…" he trailed off as Evan attempted to hide a smile. He had commented on that more times than he could count.

"They're just names, but that's irrelevant now. I didn't intercede on behalf of Evans, she was meant to be spared from what I gathered anyway. They were going to kill her baby… A baby. Not even you can deny that is sick."

"Disquiet amongst the death eaters is what instigated the attack in Godric's Hollow."

That piqued his interest, "What sort of disquiet?"

"Well, you remember how Snape was in school, always obsessed with Evans. A lot of the other death eaters remember that too. They questioned his loyalty to the Dark Lord because of it. Add to it that his father was a muggle. By the Dark Lord's usual standards- Snape should be killed. If not for his muggle parentage, then for his obvious affections towards a muggleborn.

"I think the Dark Lord only agreed to attack Godric's Hollow because Evans and Potter are both known members of the Order. He doesn't really care about them, but it was too good of any opportunity to pass up, especially after so many death eaters have been burned by Potter.

"Originally the plan had been to kill both James and Lily. Snape somehow managed to convince the Dark Lord that it would be more meaningful to spare her, but kill her husband and child," Evan continued in an indifferent tone, "leaving the Potter line to die out."

"Snape convinced the Dark Lord that Lily Potter's survival would better serve as a reminder of what happens when a pureblood marries beneath their station. They will be unable to produce an heir- If for no other reason than because the Dark Lord will ensure they can't... How Snape managed to convince him that sparing Evans was a better idea than killing them all without revealing his obvious feelings about her is rather impressive," Evan begrudgingly admitted.

"Dumbledore would attribute that to the Dark Lord's inability to love, I'm sure. He mentioned something like that to me once."

Regulus considered telling Evan of Voldemort's own 'dirty blood'. He stopped himself when he remembered Evan told him he didn't want to hear the details of what happened prior to helping him plan his 'murder'.

For his part, Regulus didn't want to give Evan even more knowledge that could get him killed if discovered. He was already hiding more from the Dark Lord than any other death eater would likely ever dream of. Instead Regulus asked,

"Any idea where Rodolphus actually was tonight? It's going to be pretty obvious something was amiss when everyone gives different reports."

"It will be obvious if it is closely looked at. I don't actually think the Dark Lord cares about the Potter's anymore than any other Order member. He agreed to ambush Godric's Hollow to appease the death eaters most angry over their continued existence, but he didn't send the usual number of reinforcements. As long as the other attacks tonight were successful, He might not look into the botched attack too carefully. Rodolphus was probably at the Bones' tonight. That's where most were sent. Perhaps you can ask him next time you meet him in battle, seeing as you are in the Order now."

Regulus recoiled slightly at the statement, "I'm not. I was with Sirius when Potter contacted him. I only went because of Sirius."

"You might as well join. It's obvious you've changed sides in the war. I don't think I've been properly introduced to your new alias, by the way."

Regulus smirked, "Marcus. It was enough trouble leaving the death eaters, I've no intention of joining another dictatorship anytime soon."

"Still, it's obvious you didn't just want to escape the Dark Lord when you 'died'. You wanted to join the fight against him," Evan said with a good attempt at not sounding bitter.

"He's wrong, Evan. I know you know that."

"Regardless of how you feel about it, the opposition against him is nearly obsolete. What reason could you have not to leave the country and live somewhere else? You could forget all about the war if you wanted to. I'll come visit you and Rachel when I go on holiday."

"Rachel?" He scoffed, "Why would you even mention her?"

"I saw her yesterday while I was following Snape. She was visiting your gravesite. She held her wand in my face rather threateningly and told me I should have helped you, as you would have helped me. It was quite charming really."

Regulus felt sick at the thought of Rachel mourning his death. He recalled that when they had gone to Diagon Alley together she seemed to be doing well enough.

"I spoke to her- as Marcus. She seemed fine. A little sad and… a bit more rebellious maybe, but-"

Evan scoffed, "Do you really believe she is only a little sad?"

"My death would not have brought any significant changes to her life. We broke up in June, as we knew we would. I only saw her on two occasions since leaving Hogwarts before I supposedly died, both times were in a hospital."

"Has it occurred to you that your relationship was only fated to end because of who you were? As you can no longer be known as Regulus Black, the two of you could actually be together-if it's what you both wanted."

"She shouldn't be with me," Regulus answered firmly. Evan looked at him expectantly. "I should have stood up to my family on her behalf before. If I had, we could have been together. My parents wouldn't have approved of her, but they might have gotten over it eventually since she's at least a pureblood. If I would have threatened to leave the family… they would have had no choice but to accept it. Their only other option was Sirius, how couldn't they?"

"I wouldn't put it past your parents to have disinherited you out of spite."

"It should have been worth it to me though, shouldn't it? Even when I walked away from the death eaters it wasn't for her. It was because of family…Sirius of all people. She deserves someone that wouldn't hesitate to give up everything... The best thing I can do for her is stay 'dead'."

"I won't pretend to have advice for you, but if you plan to stay in the country you will be found out eventually. Do you want her to find out from someone else that you are still alive?"

"Of course I don't want that to happen. I just-" he shook his head.

"You should just tell her. It's possible she will hate you enough on your own merit, since that is your goal," he smirked.

"She was right, you know. I would help you if you ever wanted out of the death eaters."

Evan scowled, "Not everyone regrets the side they chose."

"Just keep it in mind, in case anything changes"

He was determined that if he found another horcrux he would not destroy right away. He would save it for as long as he could, just in case Evan ever changed his mind and wanted a way out of the death eaters.

"So how is your father recovering?"

"I catch him completely zoned out, staring at some wall or random inanimate object sometimes… but it is occurring less often all of the time. I expect he will be back to terrorizing muggles in no time."

A silver patronus in the form of a large dog appeared, speaking in Sirius' voice,

"Come to Hogwarts infirmary."

Evan smirked, "I've never known Sirius to be so… straight to the point."

"I expect only a marauder's health could elicit such precision," Regulus added wryly. He couldn't help but feel annoyed. Obviously they had managed to get to the infirmary whatever the injuries were.

"Speaking of Gryffindors, have you seen any amongst the death eaters lately?"

Evan looked surprised at that, "No, I was of the impression they were incorruptible. However I do know there is a spy in the Order. That's how Snape and the others were able to break through the protections at the Potter's so quickly. They are trusting little things, aren't they? Telling their supposed friends of the exact protections on their house. That's naivety at its best."

"You told me the exact protections of your flat."

Evan chuckled, "Yes, but you're incorruptible when it comes to my wellbeing."

Regulus smirked, "That definitely sounds like naivety at its best to me," he remarked as he extracted a galleon from his pocket and turned it into a portkey.

* * *

Upon entering the infirmary, Regulus quickly found Sirius, who immediately began complaining about how long it had taken him to get there, and that if James bled to death because of his apathy then he would never be forgiven and who knows what else… Regulus stopped listening almost immediately.

It really was a wonder how anyone in the Order had survived this long in the war when they so clearly treated ever splinter like a splinch. Regulus would admit that Potter was exceptionally pale, but the idea that he could bleed to death… in an infirmary… with two people standing beside him, was laughable.

Had they never heard of a blood replenishing potion? Lily might have had more wits about her had she not had such a traumatizing ordeal already. Regulus interrupted Sirius' tantrum and asked him to retrieve a vial of blood replenishing, as well as several other potions from the supply cupboard.

In the meantime, Regulus diagnosed the spell used and cast the counter curse to prevent the wounds from continuing to open. By the time he was finished, Sirius had returned. Regulus made a concoction of the potions in a bottle and instructed Sirius to force feed the bottle to Potter, not having the patience or desire to do it himself.

Just as he was finishing the concoction, an apprentice came to check on Potter, though nothing else was needed for him by then.

Dumbledore came around a few minutes later to check on his favorite former student and obtained a report of what had happened in Godric's Hollow before addressing the room at large.

"Good evening, everyone. As it appears all of our number are in stable condition at the moment, I wanted to take the time to fill you in on the events of the past evening. It is with great sadness I inform you that Edgar Bones' house was attacked by death eaters. He, his wife and two small children were all killed."

A collective breath seemed to have been taken by the room at large before cries of outrage rang out. Regulus wished he could be anywhere but amidst his current company. He had little doubt that if his identity were found out at least one of them would have wanted to cast the killing curse at him in that moment, regardless of their supposed morals against it. He wished Pettigrew was there.

After Dumbledore finished his speech recounting all of the different attacks of the evening, Regulus turned back to those surrounding Potter's bed. Lupin had come in at some point during the headmaster's speech. Judging by his appearance, he was recovering from his own injuries.

As innocently as he could muster, Regulus addressed the group surrounding James' bed, "Has anyone seen Peter? If he is still with his mother, he won't know what has happened. Perhaps we should contact him and let him know."

Sirius did his best to keep an indifferent expression as Lupin responded,

"That's a good idea. He will want to know about James. About the other attacks as well," he then drew his wand and cast his patronus presumably to summon Pettigrew.

As Sirius and Lily exchanged stories with Remus, Regulus took the opportunity to look around the room. He knew he needed to tell Rachel the truth. Somehow distracting her from a room full of injured people did not seem like the right time. Unfortunately he never saw her when she wasn't working.

He decided the right opportunity was bound to present itself eventually. Given the circumstances, that opportunity was unlikely to be tonight.


	26. Ousting of a Rat and Talk with Crouch

Sirius had just finished describing his and James' battle with the death eaters, to an attentive Lily and Remus. Regulus was sitting nearby, but had obviously been more interested in observing the other people in the infirmary, likely in search of Pettigrew, to have actually been listening to him.

James was sitting up rather gingerly in his hospital bed. When asked, he had said he was not in very much pain now, since he had been given potions to manage it. Assuming he was not in pain then, Sirius did not know what the cause for his obvious sullenness was. While he appeared to be listening to their conversation, he had remained far more quiet than his usual.

Sirius was unsure if his mood was more to do with the attacks, or if something more was bothering him. He could not help but notice James looking at Marcus much more often than strictly necessary. If Regulus noticed the attention at all, he hid it well.

After Sirius finished his tale, Lily told what had happened to her once James, Sirius and Marcus had left. Remus was just about to take his turn to tell of his ordeal, when James decided to end his self-imposed silence and demanded,

"What about you Marcus?" Regulus looked up in surprise, obviously having paid very little attention to what anyone else had said. "What happened to you once your duel went into the cemetery?"

"Oh, it took a long time. That death eater was much quicker on his feet than you would expect by looking at him. He didn't seem to know many spells besides the killing curse though. We battled for quite a while. I managed to use some of the headstones and statues in the cemetery to block spells, which was helpful. Eventually he seemed to notice that the other death eaters had left the scene and he disapparated then as well.

"Since all was quiet, I assumed that was a good sign and spent some time cleaning up the majority of the destruction we had caused. I was very nearly finished when I received Sirius' summons and came here," he stated rather briefly in comparison to everyone else's story.

"Strange how the death eaters were able to find our house, isn't it? I mean in all of the time we have been married, no death eater has ever dropped by before. I wonder how they found us," James commented while staring coldly at Marcus.

"They probably have a spy in the Order now. They have them everywhere else," Sirius answered, realizing too late where James had directed his comment.

"Yes, that's a definite possibility I think. Hard to believe it was only yesterday we all sat down together for pancakes. Marcus it was your first time to our house, wasn't it? I trust you found the visit to be… enlightening?"

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "Enlightening?" he asked innocently, "Sure, anytime I can get to know new people better I find it enlightening. However if you are not-so-subtly implying that I was somehow responsible for what happened tonight, I wasn't. I had no idea where you lived until Sirius took me there for breakfast. Other than sleeping, I've barely been away from him since then. I was with him prior to your summons even."

"He is definitely not a spy, James. I guarantee it," Sirius added.

"How could you possibly know, Sirius? We only just met him."

"James, please-" Lily began before stopping as a former Hufflepuff and current healing apprentice, Vesta MacMillan, approached the group. Sirius had dated her briefly in his seventh year. He was not surprised that he was her obvious target for conversation. Though he did find it odd she would seek him out now, given the earlier events of the evening.

"Hi guys, I'm sorry to bother you, I just… Sirius, have you spoken to anyone in your family recently?"

Sirius immediately looked to 'Marcus,' who gave him an exasperated look. Sirius realized his mistake and took the time to glance at James and Remus before looking back to Vesta. After a slightly longer pause than the question warranted, he answered,

"I do not consider any of the Blacks to be family. If that is who you are referring to, then no I haven't spoken to any of them recently. Why?"

"I was afraid of that. It isn't really my place to say. Perhaps you should contact-"

"What happened?" Marcus demanded.

Vesta looked at him startled, before looking back to Sirius who nodded for her to continue, "I'm so sorry. I- I was at St. Mungo's prior to coming here. Your father was brought in. He passed away. I'm really sorry-"

Rather shocked at the news, and completely forgetting about Regulus, Sirius chuckled briefly before blurting out, "Please tell me there was some irony involved. A muggle disease or something."

Vesta's expression was indecipherable. She glanced around at everyone gathered around James' bed before answering, "Um, he had a heart attack."

"That's brilliant. All these years I never knew he had heart. It turns out it was there the whole time, only defective."

Regulus, completely void of any disguise in his voice retorted angrily, "Perhaps it functioned just fine until the heir of the family repeatedly demonstrated his lack of respect for them."

_Damnit, why do I keep forgetting about Regulus being around? S_irius thought before deciding it always best to be honest,

"I can't respect that which does not earn it."

"Parents should not have to earn their child's respect. They should have it because they are their parents. When you were helpless as a baby they cared for you. Clothed you. Ensured you were fed. When you were older they bought you everything you needed and in your case, anything you ever wanted," he stated measuredly. Clearly only maintaining any pretense of calmness with great effort.

For the first time since Sirius could remember, Regulus' indifferent façade was slipping due to his anger- and possibly due to learning of his father's death. When Regulus was provoked, there was no denying he had inherited just as much of the Black temper as Sirius had. He was just far better than the rest of them at repressing it.

Sirius couldn't help but want to see if that sort of passion still existed in his little brother, even if it only came out when Regulus was angry. Sirius and Bellatrix, though driven by entirely different things, were nothing if not passionate.

Regulus was far more like Narcissa. They were calm and presented themselves as coldly indifferent. Nothing was more infuriating to Sirius than indifference. So even despite the need for Regulus to maintain his 'Marcus' persona, and even despite knowing that the loss of their father would affect him much more, Sirius could not help but to push Regulus. He had rarely seen anything from his brother but that cold indifference in nearly a decade.

"Ensuring basic needs are met is not exactly respect inducing in my eyes. Especially when the family's house elf saw to most of mine and my little brother's needs when we were young. They taught me nothing about anything worthy of respect. Only about how much better the Blacks were than everyone else as they tried to force their crazy pureblood mania onto me. My little brother was soft enough to believe them at the cost of his life. So you'll have to forgive me if it offends you, but I will never have any respect for the people I am forced to call my parents."

"You could have agreed to disagree with their beliefs. You did not have to turn everything into an argument and provoke them at every opportunity. If you can be grateful of nothing else than perhaps you should remember that as much as you deserved it, they never kicked you out. You ostracized yourself from them, not the other way around," Regulus answered quietly, though his tone deadly. The others around the bed had been caught off guard by his change in demeanor and it was enough for them to recoil slightly.

Regulus seemed to remember he was supposed to be portraying Marcus and took a deep breath in obvious attempt to calm himself before adding, "Regardless of past offenses, you are now the head of the Black family. If you do not respect the family in which you are now considered the patriarch, you cannot expect anyone else to have respect for you," he then stood. Sirius didn't make any effort to stop him as he left, disappointed in himself for trying to provoke Regulus now of all times. Amidst the news of their father's passing, Sirius had completely forgotten about Peter.

He was just being pulled back into an awkward conversation with James, Remus and Lily, when all of their wands shot away from them and across the room.

It seemed the same fate had become of everyone else's wands. Several people were attempting to retrieve theirs, but made to look foolish, as each time someone got close enough to a wand it would zoom away immediately.

In Sirius' distraction over the wands, he had failed to notice that Peter had entered the room. It seemed he had entered in time for his wand to have been affected as well, as he approached the group unarmed.

Peter greeted them as he approached,

"I got your message, Remus. James, how are you feeling? And what is going on with the wands?" His voice came out more squeaky than normal, as if he were nervous but trying his best to hide it.

Before anyone else could respond Regulus had returned to their group.

_Apparently he is a bit better than me at maintaining focus_, the elder Black thought ruefully.

"Regretfully, Potter shall make a full recovery. I wouldn't worry about the wands if I were you. You will likely never hold one again," he stated before lazily flicking his wand at Peter. An instant later, Peter was bound and at Regulus' feet.

Regulus immediately followed up with a purple spell directed at Peter. Judging by the fact that Peter's face was becoming strained with an effort to transform, yet he remained in his human form, Sirius could only assume that was an effect of the unknown, purple spell.

"Who are you?" Peter asked shakily. He then cast a furtive glance at the other marauders as if expecting they would help him. James looked as if he wanted to, but couldn't due to his injuries. Lily and Remus kept looking from Sirius to Marcus as if confirming their suspicions of Marcus' true identity. They wisely chose to follow Sirius' lead and did nothing but observe Peter's predicament. There was also little they could do seeing as Regulus was the only one in the hospital who had a wand.

Ignoring several people's questions of 'what's going on' and 'what are you doing?'

Regulus answered Peter with, "That's irrelevant. It's more important who you are, compared with who you have allowed everyone else to believe."

He then grasped Peter's left hand, and pulled his arm away from his body. Peter tried to pull it back, but his efforts were completely useless against the younger wizard. Marcus grabbed the sleeve of Peter's shirt and wrenched it back, revealing the dark mark that resided there, black as coal.

Those able to see gasped at the revelation.

"Why did you put that there?" Peter demanded. Though the fact that he was clearly petrified, lost him any amount of authority his statement would have possessed otherwise.

"I'm quite sure no one but Voldemort could have left such a mark."

"No! I would never! You used dark magic to mark me! You must have!"

"And why would I do that?"

"You must have been given orders to do so from the Dark Lord. How could I know why he wanted it done?" Peter demanded, again the obvious fear in his voice caused it to sound higher pitched than normal and shake.

"Perhaps if you at least feign pride in your cowardice of spying on the Order, Voldemort will allow you to live once he frees you from Azkaban."

"Please! No, I am not a death eater! I do not belong in Azkaban. James! Lily! Remus! Sirius! All of them will tell you, I am not a death eater. Please." He sniveled pathetically.

Sirius had never seen Regulus so… powerful. He had an aura about him that everyone else in the room was forced to notice. Anyone who might have attempted to tackle Regulus or otherwise intercede on Peter's behalf seemed to recognize their attempts would have been futile. Sirius suspected even if they were armed, most would have been hesitant to take on 'Marcus' now.

As such, Marcus was left to continue questioning Peter, even as Mad Eye Moody, Frank Longbottom and Dumbledore approached the scene. They too were unarmed, but the trio seemed to have gotten over any anger of that predicament, and were instead looking at Peter as if they'd never seen him before.

"How did you become branded with the dark mark if you are not a death eater?"

Apparently deciding to change tactics he whimpered, "H-he forced me to join. I never wanted it. He sought me out. Threatened to kill me. He only let me live if I agreed to take the mark. I have not returned to him since I was branded."

Regulus chuckled humorlessly, "Of all of the people he could have sought out, he chose you? A half-blood who could just as easily be labeled a half-squib? It's a shame he did not care enough about his spy to at least teach him occlumency. From only minutes of standing here, I've learned that you joined, willingly, over a year ago. You have been passing information to Voldemort, willingly, ever since. You revealed to him the locations and protections of both the Bones and Potter's homes to allow the attacks that occurred this very evening. You are responsible for passing information along which aided in the murders of the Bones family, Caradoc Dearborn-"

Peter had been whimpering all through Regulus' comments but as if the listing of names had given him his voice back, he screamed, "No! No! Don't listen to him. He is mad! I am not a spy! I am no death eater!"

"Perhaps we should take this conversation up to my office," Dumbledore interrupted gravely.

Regulus looked at him, "He has been branded with the dark mark and is a death eater. He has admitted that. He should be placed on trial. Veritaserum can be used if it is believed he was forced against his will to join, but there is no denying that he has joined. He should be tried as such."

"This is not the place for this conversation-"

"Neither is your office. There is nothing more that even needs to be discussed right now. There are two aurors here now at your disposal. Why not ask them to arrest him?"

"For among other reasons, these two aurors are unarmed at the moment."

Regulus looked as if he were considering whether to return their wands but instead cast a spell to send out two patronuses.

"And who are you contacting?" Dumbledore asked measuredly so as to keep the anger in his tone to a minimum.

"The DMLE, of course," he answered unconcernedly and as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Dumbledore's eyes flashed with fury, before he calmly replied, "I'll remind you Mr. Atilius, that I am the headmaster of Hogwarts. Punishment at my school shall-"

"Sorry, sir. But Pettigrew is not a student, he only just happened to be caught while visiting the school. Furthermore, surely with all of these witnesses you are not going to try to release Pettigrew without at least informing the ministry first."

"His punishment is not for you to decide!"

"Nor is it up to you. You are the headmaster of a school, not the head of the DMLE- Which is fortunate considering that even with a death eater and spy hand-delivered to you, you are unable to see past your own partiality and take the measures necessary to stop him from aiding Voldemort further."

"This is far too public for a conversation of this magnitude. If you will kindly give us back our wands, and release Mr. Pettigrew, we shall-"

"I am not going up to your office so that you can attempt to sweep all of this under the rug before Mr. Crouch gets here. Pettigrew is a death eater. He has been caught. No past nostalgia of his former glory days as a Gryffindor can amend the path he has chosen. He should deal with the consequences of his choice to join the death eaters, just as the rest of us must deal with our own choices."

"I'll remind you, Mr. Atilius, everyone deserves the opportunity to redeem themselves," Dumbledore answered pointedly. Likely in effort to remind Regulus that he had been a death eater not so long ago and could find himself in Peter's position pretty easily.

Regulus looked at Dumbledore with an indecipherable look for a moment before addressing Peter again, "Alright then Pettigrew. How do you feel about turning spy for the Order?"

"That is not what I was suggesting!"

"Why not?" Regulus demanded, "You've been so keen on acquiring a spy in the death eaters all of this time. Pettigrew already has practice with deception, and clearly everyone underestimates him. What more could you ask for in a spy?"

It was a fair question. Dumbledore had been quite angry when Regulus gave up his opportunity to spy. Pettigrew was more under the radar and therefore much better placed to turn spy than Regulus had been…which Peter exemplified by having already done it once before with no one being the wiser.

For a long time, Dumbledore remained quiet. When he finally spoke he sounded somewhat resigned, "You must realize Peter could not… fulfill what is necessary to spy for the Order successfully."

"All Gryffindor's are brave. It's been preached for centuries, so it must be true. Surely Pettigrew is no exception."

Dumbledore looked doubtful but answered nonetheless, "I've no doubt Peter is brave. Unfortunately he has not been trained in the mind arts."

"Then teach him. Voldemort sought him out apparently. He must be very valuable and worth the effort," Regulus drawled sarcastically.

"We do not have the luxury of the amount of time that would require-"

"Then what is this redemption you are speaking of?"

"We cannot send him back to Voldemort like this. He would be killed if Voldemort found out his cover was blown. If he is arrested, he will be put on trial and sent to Azkaban upon conviction. You yourself have said that Voldemort largely controls the prison now. It would only be a matter of time before he is released and likely immediately killed in punishment. Surely you must see why neither of these are options?"

"If we do nothing he will be tracked through his dark mark and Voldemort will take every last bit of information from his diminutive brain before killing him. The least we can do is make him put effort forth to obtain any knowledge Pettigrew has not already given him."

Dumbledore looked around the room, clearly wishing Regulus had not initiated this interaction so publicly, "We can continue as things have been. We will have to obliviate this memory from him of course, but pretending we do not know of his change in allegiance is the only thing that will keep him alive."

Quite a few of the Order members, including Moody appeared to be perturbed by what he was saying. Others, such as James and Frank Longbottom still seemed to be working out how Peter could have betrayed them. Everyone was pulled from their musings when Regulus declared,

"Good evening Mr. Crouch! I'm so glad you could make it. Your aurors here were just about to make the arrest of Peter Pettigrew. He has confessed to being a death eater. He does however, insist that he was forced to join against his will."

Bartemius Crouch Sr. looked at Marcus and was likely going to ask who he was, but decided he didn't care at the last moment. "Very well, you are a half-blood I believe?" he directed at Peter.

"Y-yes. I didn't want to join. I had no choice. He was going to kill me!"

"Yes, well I suspect he will kill us all if given the chance, so that's hardly surprising. As for you being forced to join… that's nothing a dose of veritaserum can't determine. Moody, Longbottom, are you ready to transport?"

Regulus summoned the two auror's wands and handed them back to their owners before commenting,

"Just so you know, Pettigrew is an unregistered animagus. He will take the form of a rat if given the opportunity to transform," Regulus informed Crouch as if an afterthought.

Bartemius Crouch looked to Dumbledore and then back to Marcus and gave the closest thing to a smirk that he was likely capable of. He then nodded to his aurors, and Moody pulled out a portkey. Without further ado the trio disappeared.

As they left, Crouch asked for a private meeting with Dumbledore in his office. Sirius was just about to go and congratulate Regulus on his unparalleled ability to piss Dumbledore off, when he realized Regulus was gone.

He quickly bid goodnight to James, Remus and Lily, who were obviously still shocked by what they had witnessed, and even more so by Peter's disloyalty.

Sirius was growing quite frantic as he left the hospital. His comments about their father were meant as a joke, but couldn't have been made at a worst possible time. Obviously their father's death had bothered Regulus more than him.

Sirius quickly walked all the way back to the apparition point outside the gates of Hogwarts, but did not see Regulus anywhere. He apparated to Regulus' apartment, but he was not there either. Sirius did not know where else his brother could have gone. He desperately hoped that between the things he had said, and their father's death, that he had not helped to force a permanent wedge between them.

* * *

Regulus approached the blonde-haired boy that he had summoned cautiously. It was a very wary Barty Crouch Jr. who looked up at him stating,

"I don't know who you are, or why you summoned me, but if I am caught out of bounds at this hour I am going to get detention and lose house points. Please state your business so I can get back to my dorm."

Regulus couldn't help but to chuckle lightly, "Perhaps you are not who I thought you were then. The person I was hoping to meet has far bigger things to worry about than detentions and house points."

"And who were you hoping to meet?"

"The person responsible for screening potential death eaters from Hogwarts."

Barty looked around frantically to see if anyone else had heard him, but they were quite alone in the rarely used corridor they had met in.

"I am a Ravenclaw and son of the head of the DMLE. Certainly not… that person."

"Ah, I see. Well I happen to have known your predecessor. I thought it likely he would not have selected a Slytherin to follow in his footsteps, as Slytherins are so rarely trusted by anyone."

"How did you know Regulus?"

Marcus smirked, "It's a good thing he is dead, considering how quick you were to confirm my suspicions. A better question is how did you know he had ever held that position to begin with, if you did not seek him out in order to join the death eaters?"

"Who are you?"

"Irrelevant."

Barty kept his expression blank, though tilted his head to the side curiously and as if looking at him from a different angle would change things. He then asked, "Why don't I know you?"

"I was homeschooled."

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

Barty looked him over appraisingly, "Why did you want to meet with me?"

"I thought it might be… prudent, given the circumstances."

"And what are these circumstances?"

"You can deny it if you want to, but I already know that you are responsible for scouting out students who are promising to the Dark Lord's cause. You'll notice that even with that knowledge, I have come alone to meet you and have no intention to have you arrested- at least not yet."

Barty gritted his teeth in agitation, "And what do you want me to do… to continue your silence?"

"I'd imagine it must be difficult. Being entrusted with the names of nearly every new death eater. I suspect it is a lot of pressure-"

"So you want me to give you the names of all of the death eaters in exchange for your silence?" he scoffed, "Fat chance."

"I do not need you to give me the names."

"Then what do you want?"

"Why do you think Black recommended you to be his predecessor when he graduated?"

"We didn't have a lot of deep conversations. I accepted the job the Dark Lord offered me with honor and am happy to do my part for his cause."

"Why did you join the death eaters?"

"Why do you think, since you seem to know everything?"

"I think you were neglected at home, and joined as a form of rebellion against your father."

Barty looked equally surprised as angry by that statement, "You're wrong. I don't care enough about my father for that. I joined because I believe muggles are scum and we should not be forced to hide our magic from _them_. Purebloods-"

"Right, well," Regulus held up his hand to stop him from proclaiming some version of the mantra he had been preached his entire life. "Perhaps you really believe that, but you certainly weren't raised in a household that would embrace those ideas. Perhaps you've only come to embrace them yourself as a means to feel as though you fit in."

"It doesn't matter how I was raised. I am free to make my own decisions. Why are you really here?"

"There likely aren't many Ravenclaws that even know you are a death eater, and from what I understand- Slytherins tend to keep to themselves mostly. If you have no one else you can talk to for a different perspective, I know what you are, and will not judge it."

"Did Dumbledore put you up to this? How did he find out?"

"He doesn't know you are a death eater. He would likely never believe someone in a house apart from Slytherin could be one…much less that they would have been assigned the position you have. I'll admit I do not support the Dark Lord's views, but I am not exactly pro-Dumbledore either. I believe most of us exist in some variation of gray and only pretend to belong in the extremes of either 'light' or 'dark'."

"You want me to pass information about the Dark Lord to you though, don't you?"

Regulus smirked, "Only if you want to."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you can summon me to talk…if you want to. Otherwise you won't hear from me again."

"Had you gone to Hogwarts, you would have been a Slytherin. Why not skip all of the pretenses and tell me exactly what you want?"

"I want to help you, while you can still be helped. You can't have been involved in many death eater activities yet with you still being at school."

"I've done enough to know its a cause worth fighting for. I am proud of the position I've been given and am happy to serve in any capacity I can."

"Are you really? Do you enjoy sending children to the Dark Lord to be judged of their worthiness? Knowing most are going to be tortured whether they are deemed 'worthy' or not. The unworthy are humiliated before being sent away. While the 'lucky' ones are tested with whatever grisly initiation is thought up."

Barty smirked, "I'll take it you were one of the humiliated ones that were sent away, since you know so much about it."

Regulus remained silent for a moment before realizing he would accomplish nothing with foolish pride, "Something like that."

Barty took on a look of great self-importance before deciding to be indulgent, "It's different now anyway. Black convinced the Dark Lord that no one under the age of seventeen should be allowed to _officially_ join. The bloody hypocrite… he joined only a few days after turning sixteen- the youngest ever from what I've heard. He didn't change _his_ mind, I don't know why he thought others might."

Regulus internally celebrated his small victory that at least Voldemort had no future plans of allowing anyone underage to join. He vaguely wondered whether the extra year would have been enough time for him to have grown up enough to realize it was not the life he wanted for himself. Pushing those thoughts aside, he commented,

"Well look what happened to him then. There was no evidence to show he was disloyal to the cause and yet the death eaters turned on him. If that isn't enough to make someone reconsider joining…"

"He was killed out of jealousy. Most other death eaters are on a pretty level playing field now, but Black…some of the other eaters believed the Dark Lord favored him."

"Well that shows what being a favorite will do for you I guess. And if you are not a favorite you are tortured if not worse, so no one is particularly safe. Just think about what I said ok? You can owl me…"

"Why do you even care?"

Regulus smirked, "You remind me of someone."

"If you think me talking to you is going to somehow change my perspective... and even regret joining… I think that's the last thing I need to do."

"You are more intelligent than self-preserving or ambitious. Use that intelligence. What do you think is going to happen to you once the war is over and the Dark Lord loses?"

Barty laughed, "Seriously? There is no way that is going to happen-"

"It is. And you can either be a part of bringing down him down, or you can rot in Azkaban when the war is over."

"And joining the 'light side' has the added benefit of making my father proud too, right?" Barty asked scathingly.

"No. Do what you want to do because it makes you the person you want to be. Don't be someone you aren't out of spite, or for any other reason. And as for your father? Screw him. If he doesn't care about you, why do you care what he thinks?"

"I don't."

"I doubt you would have joined the death eaters if that were true."

Barty looked to be considering what he said, which was better than Regulus had hoped for really. He nodded towards the younger wizard and began backing away from him.

"See you around, Crouch," he said as he rounded the corner.

Regulus hadn't really planned to talk to Barty, but once he had thought to summon Crouch Sr. to arrest Pettigrew, he thought also of his son. He felt it couldn't hurt to talk with him while he was so readily available.

Admittedly he liked the idea in part because it would distract him from having to think about his father's death before he had to. Though 'befriending' Barty had merit of its own. Regulus had managed to deter some, albeit few, potential death eaters from joining when he had been responsible for screening the potential recruits at Hogwarts. It was possible Crouch could choose to do the same.

It was a very delicate situation, though. You couldn't exactly tell someone not to join outright, and depending on who you were talking to, warnings often fell on deaf ears anyway. Barty was one he thought may have reconsidered, but Regulus hadn't even tried to deter him. He knew the Dark Lord would be extremely thorough in delving through the memories of the head of the DMLE's son... Regulus had had more self-preservation than worry for Crouch's well-being at the time.

Regulus felt guilty he had not done more to convince him, and others not to join, though in doing so, he likely would have brought too much attention to himself and what he was doing. He was hopeful that Barty would change his mind and want to talk to him at some point in the near future, but was not particularly expectant of it to happen.

Though with any luck, he could eventually convince Barty to indirectly discourage new potential recruits from joining the death eaters. It likely wouldn't be enough to impact the death eater numbers with much significance. Regulus was more interested now in dissuading as many people as possible from ruining their lives, as Regulus had done when he joined.

Before he could do any of that though, he would have to wait for Barty to contact him, which may never happen.

* * *

Author's Note- I couldn't find an exact date for Orion's death. I did find it was presumably of natural causes and in the same year Regulus died... so this was the closest I could get to that.


	27. Secrets Revealed and Saying Goodbye

Sirius had gone to Regulus' apartment following Peter's arrest. After raiding the kitchen and relieving his brother of his best alcohol, which he thought more than likely belonged to Rosier, he had made himself comfortable on the couch, fully intending to… discuss the things he had said when his brother returned home.

Things didn't go as planned though. Sirius had awoken the next morning with the first rays of sunlight, and with a crick in his neck after having unintentionally fallen asleep on the couch. He knew himself to be a light enough sleeper, and had not drank nearly enough not to have woken up if Regulus had come home.

The pain in his neck had not subsided for the entirety of that day, which Sirius naturally blamed on Regulus. He had still returned that night, and each night since hoping he would come home so they could talk things through.

He had spent much of his daytime hours in the infirmary with James, who was still recovering. Being at Hogwarts also served to keep him up-to-date with what was really going on the war effort, as most media outlets were being controlled by Voldemort.

He had also ventured out with the other Order members in effort to head off the death eaters on a couple of occasions, though for the most part, their efforts seemed to make little difference.

The initial remorse he had felt for his remarks about their father's death had quickly turned into irritation for his brother's obvious avoidance of him. However, after three and a half days without seeing or hearing anything from Regulus, his feelings were turning back to remorse and even becoming somewhat panicky.

As worried as Sirius had been, he was unwilling to seek his brother out by any means that could be construed as desperate. He had far too much pride for that. He also knew Regulus was purposely avoiding him. He vaguely wondered if the self-imposed isolation was a good idea- there were very few people Regulus could actually be in contact with, after all.

Sirius was not alone in his contemplation of 'Marcus''whereabouts. He had made quite the show in front of the majority of the Order when Peter was arrested. While no one aside from Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody knew of his true identity, he was a very popular topic amongst the Order members. Regulus would have quite the limelight on him for a while, something he had never wanted.

It was the morning of their father's funeral. As much as Sirius hated the idea of voluntarily subjecting himself to the torture of his family's company, attending the funeral was his best chance to find Regulus. He thought it almost a certainty that his brother would be there. His absence would all but confirm that he had fled the country as far as Sirius was concerned. It was a reality he wasn't quite sure he could accept after Regulus had finally been trying to do what was right.

James had been released from the infirmary the previous evening. He would have left long before then if not for Lily. Once Madam Pomfrey suggested he stay there for observation and rest, Lily refused to listen to any of James' assurances that he already felt back to normal. Sirius vaguely wondered whether James held any gratitude towards Marcus for healing him, but thought it best not to ask.

He decided to pay them a visit before attending the funeral. Not having the time to spare, he apparated as near the cottage as the wards allowed. He was surprised when he found himself directly in front of Dumbledore.

After a quick greeting, James stated,

"Hey Pads, we are discussing the best options for adding protections to the house. Dumbledore reckons the safest thing apart from moving away is the Fidelius Charm. We want you to be our secret keeper."

"Are you sure? After what happened with Pete-"

"You're not Peter. And don't mention him in front of me right now. I still can't believe he betrayed us," James shook his head bitterly.

"I offered to be secret keeper myself, but it is a decision only James and Lily can make," the headmaster added serenely.

"Alright then, what do I need to do?" Sirius asked.

After being told to do nothing but stand still while Dumbledore performed the charm, his mind began to wander. James was too trusting of his friends. They all had been, but shouldn't they have learned? After what happened with Peter, they needed to be questioning the trustworthiness of everyone. While Sirius knew he would never purposely give away the Potter's location, he couldn't help but hope James would be more careful.

Once the spell was completed, James asked Sirius to fulfill his first duty as secret keeper by telling Lily and Remus the address of the cottage. Sirius could tell James wanted to talk to Dumbledore in private. He was likely sending him inside to distract Lily so he could discuss further options for keeping the stubborn redhead away from skirmishes with the death eaters. Sirius quickly obliged and made his way inside.

Upon entering the cottage unannounced, Sirius immediately found Lily and Remus sitting in the living room and talking in hushed tones. When they saw him they both startled, leaving him with the impression that he may have been the topic of their discussion. Sirius had a bad feeling about this, they had been looking at him strangely ever since Peter was arrested. Especially any time Marcus had been mentioned. This was also the first time since his argument with 'Marcus' that he had been alone with the two of them without James' presence.

"Hi Sirius," Lily and Remus both greeted with slightly guilty expressions.

"Hello. Did I interrupt anything interesting?"

"Not really… no." Remus answered.

Lily cleared her throat before stating in a low voice, "Actually we were discussing Marcus. He seems to know an uncanny amount of information about the death eaters… and Dumbledore, for someone who was homeschooled. Do you think he is who he says he is?"

"I don't know why he wouldn't be. You met him at the same time I did though. Why do you think I would know more about him than you?"

Remus exchanged a look with Lily. The latter of which apparently decided to throw all caution to the wind and bluntly asked,

"Well... is he your brother?"

Sirius tried his best to look both shocked and hurt, "My brother was murdered in case you forgot."

"We heard the two of you at Hogwarts, Sirius. The things he said… there's no way he could have known those things if-"

"He didn't say anything that couldn't have been guessed. Most of it I had told him earlier in the day. I still can't believe he turned it against me like that though."

"Sirius…" Remus began.

"I'm done with this conversation. I don't want to talk about my dead brother-"

"We won't tell anyone, Sirius. Just please don't lie to us," Lily answered patiently.

He looked from one to the other. It was obvious they were confident in the conclusion they had drawn and were not going to give up on this until he admitted it. He would also be much more easily forgiven if he did not lie to their faces. The best thing he could do now was admit the truth and change the subject as quickly as possible. He would have to tell James now, but he didn't want him to find out by overhearing this conversation. Throwing up his hands in resignation he stated,

"Fine. You're right Marcus is really Regulus, but-"

"What?" James demanded as he had apparently slipped inside unnoticed and overheard the last part of their conversation.

Sirius looked to Remus and Lily and found they both looked horrified- and rightly so.

"Regulus realized the stupidity of being a death eater. He faked his death. He is portraying himself as Marcus." Sirius answered quickly. Seeing the impending outburst he added, "He really does want to bring down Voldemort, James. He is on our side."

"How could you have known about this and not said anything? How can you even trust him after everything?"

"He's my brother," Sirius answered simply, silently pleading that James would realize that meant something.

"You have no proper family, Sirius."

"Except for Regulus, who is my brother. He deserves the chance to be treated as one."

"He deserves nothing. He is a death eater."

"Was, James. He was a death eater. He no longer believes any of that rubbish."

"Oh he feels bad now, does he? Well if he wants a second chance, then of course he should have it since he is your brother and all," James answered scathingly.

"James, please calm down and just listen to what Sirius has to say," Lily answered before Sirius could manage anything.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? He brought a death eater into our home, Lily." He shook his head in disdain, "How many people has he tortured? Regulus wants a second chance," James chuckled darkly, "What about the people he has murdered. Do they get a second chance to right any of their wrongs?"

"For all I know he hasn't killed anyone," Sirius began slowly trying his best to remain calm.

"As far you know? You didn't think to ask? I guess blood really is thicker than water then, seeing as you were so ready to forgive without even getting all of the details first. You could have at least given us a warning before inviting him here."

Sirius didn't want to fight with James, yet he knew whatever he said now would set the tone for how James would react to Regulus in the future. If he showed any hesitation or room for doubt in his trust in him, it would only fuel James' own, already profound lack of trust in Regulus.

"I didn't tell you, because for some reason I didn't think you would take it well," Sirius answered pointedly. "In terms of Regulus' intentions in this war, I have no doubt he is entirely on our side. I would not have brought him here if I didn't trust him. I just wanted to give you the chance to get to know him without everything you think about him getting in the way. Maybe I shouldn't have done that, but he is my brother. Why does it have to be so difficult for the two of you to get along?"

"His being a death eater probably has something to do with that," James answered derisively. "And probably a murderer, rapist-"

"I don't need a list of all of his past indiscretions to know he wants to do the right thing now," Sirius answered more confidently than he felt. He wasn't sure he could stomach hearing what his little brother had actually partook in as a death eater if he were honest. "You're supposed to be my friend, James. I'm not asking you to trust him but why can't you just support that I do?"

"How is that any different?" James demanded before glancing at Lily, which seemed to calm him slightly. "His being your brother never caused you to trust him before. What has changed that you are now so insistent he is on our side?"

"He was ready to die to bring down Voldemort. He did die… he has more than proven his loyalty to me, even if you can't see it."

James was still seething but Regulus' potential death seemed to have piqued his attention, "What do you mean he died trying to bring down Voldemort? He couldn't've died…"

"I'm not sure what I am allowed to talk about…" Sirius looked around towards the doorway, but it seemed Dumbledore had already left, "Dumbledore knows what Regulus did and knows he is on our side. Otherwise he would never allow him within the grounds of Hogwarts."

James visibly relaxed at hearing Dumbledore trusted Regulus though it was clear he wouldn't be doing so as easily,

"I don't want to see you hurt by your family again. You can't trust him… why do you even care about him anyway?"

"He's my brother. And as he pointed out, I abandoned him- not the other way around. I don't care about the rest of my family, but I won't make the same mistake where he is concerned again… when I thought he was dead… it made me realize how much I have missed him."

James nodded absently and seemed to be considering his next words carefully. Unsure if he actuallly wanted to hear them, Sirius turned to leave, excusing himself as he went on the pretense that he was going to be late for the funeral if he didn't leave right then.

James quickly dropped the subject of Regulus and once again insisted on accompanying him to the funeral, much to Sirius' secret annoyance. While he didn't want to alienate himself from James, he really needed to talk to Regulus alone. Bringing James with him to the funeral was not going to endear him to his brother. Still, considering who the attendees of the funeral would likely be, it would be unwise to refuse the backup.

While he was relieved that James was able to drop the subject of his brother's continued existence so easily, he also knew James well enough to know he would not have gotten over a deception of this magnitude already. He thought it possible that his friend was saving his outburst for after the funeral-or possibly for Regulus.

* * *

Regulus knew Sirius would go to Evan's apartment to look for him. That had been his thing when they were little. Sirius would say or do something idiotic to him, only to feel guilty about it later. He would then go and find Regulus so that he could hint around that he was sorry for what he had done, though without ever actually apologizing. It was one of the few practices their family taught that Sirius chose to adopt, 'a Black never apologizes.' For that reason, Regulus had opted to go somewhere Sirius had limited access to. There was far too much work that needed to be done to deal with Sirius right now.

When he left his meeting with Barty, he had apparated to their Uncle Alphard's house. After taking a few minutes to examine the protections on the house, he adjusted them to allow him access. He refrained from adding his own protections for now so as to not make his presence obvious.

Once he was satisfied the house was safe enough and would continue to appear vacant, he carefully made his way inside.

The youngest Black had been unsurprised but relieved to find there were no portraits hanging in the downstairs of the house. Uncle Alphard was likely not vain enough to want his own portrait; he also did not get along well enough with anyone else to hang a portrait of them in the main living space of his home.

After taking a tour of the main level, Regulus found there to be a living room, kitchen and study, as well as a master bedroom with a bathroom, two additional bedrooms and another bathroom. He had been to this house a couple of times in his youth, but had never been given a proper tour of it. Deciding the main level of the house was more than adequate for his current needs, Regulus left the exploration of the upstairs for another time.

He made his way back to the most comfortable looking bedroom he had seen. He quickly cast cleaning spells on the bed to remove the dust that had settled there before laying down on it.

He was unsure whether his usual nightmare of the cave or thoughts of his now deceased father would be worse. While he knew their relationship was not as close as many father-son relationships, he would miss him.

They had bonded over the past year especially, as his father had carefully reviewed with him each of the current investments and holdings the Black family had. The longer standing ones were stable and anticipated to continue drawing revenues for the family for years to come. There were several other appropriations that were only intended to be short term. Left unattended, they would lose the family some of its wealth.

Orion had taken great pride in showing Regulus all of these things, along with many other responsibilities the head of the Black family was expected to tend to. Sirius had never been properly trained to be the head of the family. He had left and been disinherited before the most important aspects were taught to him.

The majority of the family's investments were sound enough to overcome the higher risk ones, and would easily sustain his mother's way of life until her natural death. That was very fortunate as Regulus knew Walburga Black would never lower herself enough to inquire how much gold was in her vault.

Regulus would not put it past Sirius to be too stubborn to manage their family's accounts. He was the head of a family that he despised. Besides that, he had inherited enough from their uncle Alphard to sustain him comfortably without ever needing to delve into the vaults he had inherited from their father.

That would mean the Black's financial state would be left grossly unattended. It would not build interest as it had previously. There would likely be enough gold to sustain them for some generations to come, but they would never be able to maintain their position among the wealthiest families in Britain. Their father had been extremely methodical and ingenious with his investing. He had also had the time to manage the accounts with far more vigilance than Sirius or Regulus could allot right now.

Regulus decided to meet with Ragnok as soon as possible to request he take a more active role in managing their family's accounts. There was a reason the goblins were allowed to run Gringotts. Even the most bigoted of purebloods would not dare deny the goblins were brilliant at investing.

It was the right decision in the current climate and with their current responsibilities to arrange for the goblins to do the job now. He hoped he had enough pull with them to arrange the changeover himself without involving Sirius.

Regulus was surprised when he managed to fall asleep rather quickly. His dreams had fluctuated from his memories of the cave and several variations of what his father might have gone through before his death. When he woke up he couldn't remember all of the details of his dreams, though he knew the cause of both: his own cowardice.

When Sirius left the family and was openly against Voldemort's regime, his family believed Regulus needed to join the death eaters to renew the Black's reputation. If he did not join, their status would have been greatly undermined and they theoretically could have been targeted by Voldemort- or so Bella had insisted.

His mother and Bellatrix had been more than willing to use any means necessary to 'convince' him to join the death eaters. Not that they ever had to do much. He willingly joined because he wanted to make his family proud. For the same reason, he did not tell his parents he wanted to leave the death eaters. He had then proceeded to allow them to believe he had died. He was a coward that did not want to see their reaction to his choices.

He would have never gone to the cave if he had not joined the death eaters. Perhaps his father would not have had a heart attack if he had not 'died'. Orion had expressed confidence in Regulus' abilities to maintain the family's status. Knowing he would be leaving the family in Sirius' untrained hands upon his death had to have been stressful for him. Perhaps he was overcome with the grief of there no longer being a proper heir to their family. Maybe it had been enough to cause his heart attack.

Orion had also always been extremely paranoid. Maybe upon learning that death eaters had turned on Regulus, he thought they would come after him and his wife as well. Maybe that stress had been enough to cause a heart attack. The what-ifs were driving Regulus mad. The worst part was knowing he would never know the answers.

Regardless of what caused his father's death, Regulus was convinced that the downfall of their family rested with him.

His father was dead, there was nothing he could do about that. All he could do now was the best he could with what he had left.

His first priority was to protect his mother. He felt that was his biggest responsibility, even above hunting horcruxes at the moment. Despite her flaws, she was his mother. She would also soon be attending the funeral of her husband and 'only' son within about a week and a half of each other- no one deserved that.

Regulus managed to successfully arrange for Ragnok to actively manage their family's finances. He then set to work researching how best to protect his mother. Despite the smallish size of the study in his uncle Alphard's home, it had an efficient selection of books. The books that were stocked were well chosen and gave Regulus a good base for his research of residential protections.

His father had already placed many protections on Grimmauld Place. Among other things, he had made it unplottable, which left it invisible to most. Unfortunately, those who had been invited there before would still be able to find it. Given the majority of those invited to the house in Regulus' lifetime alone had been death eater sympathizers at best, that was far more people than Regulus trusted.

He believed the addition of the Fidelius Charm was the most effective option. While he had never performed it before, he had reviewed the theory behind it and was confident he could pull it off. He was more concerned with who he could use as the secret keeper.

Ideally he would name himself, as he did not trust his mother not to tell Bellatrix, and others, the address. It would also be difficult to explain to her why he wanted to tamper with the protections on a house that he should not even be able to see. If he made himself the secret keeper, it would be easy enough to slip her the address anonymously to give her access. Naming himself as secret keeper was still problematic though, as he did not anticipate his life expectancy to be very long, and his death would make the charm relatively worthless.

Still, the Fidelius was his mother's best chance at surviving if his continued existence became known. Especially since he would not put it past Bella to capture her as some sort of ransom, if it helped her to maintain her good standing with the Dark Lord. Unfortunately Regulus could not wait until his survival became known to perform the charm. He would likely not have the time or opportunity to perform it by then. While he wanted to protect her, he was also hesitant to perform it at all as he did not want to isolate his mother from all visitors-especially after having just lost her husband and son. Isolation couldn't be good for anyone's sanity.

Unable to come up with a better solution, Regulus had spent the past several days holed up in his Uncle Alphard's study. He was hopeful he could find a way to perform a variation of the Fidelius that would not fail upon the secret keeper's death.

Today was the day of his father's funeral, and likely the end of his quiet solace. He was unsure if he should even go to the funeral though. As he would not be tagging along as a friend of Sirius', his presence could draw even more unwanted attention than he already had. His stunt with getting Pettigrew arrested had been far less subtle than he had intended.

* * *

Regulus apparated into a secluded area near the cemetery, and began walking towards its entrance, though still unsure whether he could actually stomach the funeral. No one, likely not even his mother would show any emotion. If he could not keep an expression of indifference throughout the entire ordeal, it would not go unnoticed.

Just as the cemetery's entrance came into sight, Regulus decided it was too much of a risk to attend. There was sure to be representation of every ancient family present. The number of attendees was ridiculous considering how few would actually grieve his father's death.

Only halfway paying attention to where he was going, Regulus wandered into a church that sat next to the cemetery. He felt the need to be near the burial as it happened, even if he couldn't actually attend the service.

As he walked further inside the empty church, he glanced around briefly. There were statues, some with similar images to what he had seen in graveyards at the front of the room. Windows, made opaque by the images painted onto them lined the walls on both sides of him.

Regulus walked to the nearest pew and sat down. He put his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands. He began taking deep breaths to calm his nerves- though why he felt anxious he couldn't explain. He felt relatively safe, confident no death eater would dare be caught inside a muggle church-though burning it down was certainly an option.

After a few moments his breathing had leveled out, though he kept his head lowered. A few minutes later and a familiar female voice spoke softly, clearly in effort not to startle him.

"I keep finding you in the most unlikely of places. Are you hoping to make a confession or something?"

"More of an experiment really. I thought I might burst into flames when I walked in or something… It was a bit anti-climactic," he answered without looking up.

She sniggered, "I'm fairly certain that is vampires, and it's a myth." The bench creaked slightly as she sat down beside him, "I'm sorry about your father, Reg."

That snapped him out of his trance-like state. His head shot up and he immediately found himself staring into the bluish-violet eyes of Cassie Greengrass.

"H-how?"

She smiled sadly, "I went to check on Evan shortly after I found out about your 'murder'. I expected he would be… not himself. Yet he was perfectly fine. Broody as ever and quiet, not even remotely catastrophic like I had expected."

"Please, Evan would take my death in stride like he does anything else. It probably wouldn't have fazed him in the slightest."

She looked at him skeptically before continuing, "Well, his reaction made me suspicious, nonetheless. Honestly I thought the best case scenario was that you had left the country and were safe, though I would never see you again," she stated while looking him over. "Then the other night I was picking up some new books, when Sirius entered the bookstore I was in. I had to do a double take as the idea of your brother voluntarily reading seemed a bit odd. I didn't think too much of it at first.

"The two of you walked towards the aisle I was in. I quickly made to leave but when I heard your voice I stopped and listened, hidden in the aisle behind you. You were commenting on all of the books I knew to be your favorites. I almost approached you then, but as I was in disguise myself, I thought better of it. I followed you out of the store and into some muggle club, of all places. I spoke to you there, remember?"

"You smelled me," he answered bemusedly, to which she smirked in response ,

"I was just about to tell you I had figured you out when Sirius came back and carted you off with him."

"Have you told anyone?"

"Of course not," she said looking slightly hurt, "Do you really trust me that little?"

"I trust you more than some of the others who know… there's just getting to be a lot of people who know."

"I suspect more will find out. Did I mention that I'm surprised you haven't left the country?"

"You have. I thought I should stay… finish what I started. Perhaps I will leave though. There is nothing I planned to do that someone else couldn't."

"Would you care to speak a bit more plainly? I was unable to follow the riddle."

"Sorry, I just- there's a lot going on I guess. You aren't mad that I didn't tell you?"

"Well it would have been nice to have been able to skip your funeral," she began in her perfected cold tone, before adding much more warmly, "Any feelings of anger I had were canceled out by the fact that you are alive. Besides, faking your death would have been rather pointless if everyone knew it was, well- fake."

Regulus vaguely realized Cassie was the first, and possibly the only person that would express any sort of happiness upon learning of his survival. Ragnok had stated that he was pleased by it, but he had likely been trying to find a way to swindle Slytherin's locket away from him at the time. Not to mention he was technically a goblin. He had no idea what Rachel's reaction would be when she learned the truth.

"I think it is safe to say no death eater will find you inside a church, but just in case," she stood up and cast privacy wards around them,

"So what's happened to you? Why did you need to fake your death?"

Regulus looked at her and was nearly overcome by an unexplainable desire to tell her everything. He had known her since he was eight- they had been taught the different ballroom dances they were required to know for pureblood functions together. He repressed the feeling though, it would only put her in more danger, the more she knew.

"I didn't want to be a death eater anymore. Beyond that, you are much safer not knowing."

She looked completely unsurprised by that statement, "What made you change your mind?"

"Can we please just talk about something else? I need a distraction from my current reality."

"Sorry, no. I haven't seen you in over a month, part of which, I believed you were dead. Besides if I know you like I think I do, you haven't talked to anyone properly since… well a month ago when you last saw me."

"You have an obnoxiously high opinion of your own conversation skills."

"And you underestimate your need for conversation with me, so as to maintain your sanity," she smiled cheekily.

"Hmm," he answered noncommittally. "Where were you on Christmas? I didn't see you at Bella's."

"I went to Spain with Farrah and her family. Where were you on New Year's Eve when everyone thought you were dead?"

"In a coma... More or less."

She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, "You will tell me what happened eventually, won't you?"

Regulus gave a slight shake of his head and remained stubbornly quiet. Cassie seemed to accept that she was not going to get anything more out of him for the time being. They sat for a few minutes in companionable silence. After which Regulus asked,

"Won't you be missed at the funeral?"

"No, I asked Cyrus to offer my condolences to your mother, as I was to remain at home- I'm very ill, you see," she smiled slightly before her expression became more somber, "While I do hate to hear what has become of your father, I actually only came here to see if I could find you. I didn't know if I would have another opportunity."

Regulus gestured around them so as to indicate the church, "you came _here_ to find me?"

She laughed quietly, "No, I was disillusioned near the cemetery's entrance. I followed you here."

Regulus quirked an eyebrow, and smiled slightly, "You've become quite the little stalker, haven't you?"

She shoved him gently and somehow managed to give the equivalent of rolling her eyes without actually doing it. A skill she alone seemed to have mastered.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't self-destructing or anything. Merlin knows your father was the only reasonably sane person in your immediate family."

Nearly anyone else who dared make a comment like that about his family would have been retaliated against. Though as he and Cassie had discussed both of their family's mutual flaws in this regard, her comment didn't bother him.

He looked away from the stained glass window he had been studying to find her eyes on him, with an indecipherable look on her face.

"Just because you can't be at the funeral is no reason you can't say goodbye properly," she then stood and walked to the front of the church.

Regulus didn't know what she was talking about, but followed her to the front of the church anyway. He watched her pick up an unlit candle from a table where dozens of other candles sat. Some were lit and others were not, though Regulus had no idea what the significance of any of them were.

She sat the candle on the altar directly in front of where Regulus stood, "Some religions light candles in memory of a loved one who has passed away. I can only assume this church is one that partakes in that custom," she said gesturing to the other candles.

She pulled out her wand and lit the candle. "Would you like to say a few words?"

Regulus looked at her blankly. He felt completely out of place inside the church. Besides that, he did not think his father would want to be honored by any sort of muggle custom.

Judging his expression correctly, Cassie said,

"This is more for you than for your father."

Regulus nodded and became vaguely aware that Cassie had gently grasped his hand. He stared into the flame of the candle as Cassie stated,

"We're here to say goodbye to Orion Black. Beloved father, husband, brother, brilliant businessman… and so much more. He never failed to provide for his family. He was also fiercely protective of those in his household… He always did what he believed to be the best for them… He taught his children the values he believed in and conducted himself in a manner he believed to be right… He also had excellent manners.

Regulus sniggered involuntarily at what she had resorted to for the sake of being complimentary. At least she was being honest. To have made things up to make him sound better than he was would have been insulting as far as he was concerned.

"He was flawed and imperfect as we all are. Despite this, he never wavered from his beliefs- He was who he was without apology. He will be missed," Cassie finished.

It was a simple gesture, albeit slightly awkward. Still, it was far better than what he would have done otherwise. Even if he had gone to the funeral he would have been surrounded by people who couldn't care less about his father.

Whoever had been asked to speak at the funeral would have focused on his contributions to society. By contributions they would have been implying the amount of gold he had paid as a bribe, to get certain laws passed or some other questionable business strategy. Here in the church of some faith he didn't know, incredibly simple yet honest words were spoken in honor of his father. It meant more to him than he would express aloud.

He squeezed Cassie's hand slightly before releasing it and said 'thanks' softly with a half-smile. She knew him well enough to know that was the most response she was going to get from him. She smiled back at him gently before the smile turned into a smirk,

"So… are you going to tell me how you died?"


	28. Calm Before the Storm

Sirius stood with James at the back of the crowd gathered for Orion Black's funeral. He was tall enough to see over the heads of nearly everyone. Regulus, only being slightly shorter than Sirius, should have been easily visible over most of the other attendees. Sirius had closely examined each person that was around the same build as Regulus, and had concluded he wasn't there.

Regulus' absence left Sirius rather mystified. Few things were more obligatory than the funeral of one's own father. Sirius had been disowned and he was still there- albeit he only came to find his brother. Regulus was the golden child in their family and funerals were tradition. Skimping on tradition seemed profoundly un-Regulus.

The funeral was nearly exactly as Regulus' had been. Many of the same attendees were there, though there was definitely a decrease in younger people and an increase in those nearer to his father's age, as expected. Still, the affair was just as pointless as Regulus' had been in that most were only there because they wanted to be believed more closely linked to the Black family and therefore more important than they really were.

Sirius wondered how many of the attendees realized that he was now the head of the family. He thought it likely that many had not yet made the connection, less they would not be as keen to be linked to the Black family at all. Not one person in attendance would have preferred a blood traitor like him to become the head of the Black family over Regulus. Based on family traditions, not even Sirius would deny that his brother was far better fit to become the head of the family.

Sirius hadn't bothered to hear the name of the man officiating. He vaguely recognized him as someone his father had been politically allied with. Orion didn't have anyone he would actually consider a friend. The speaker was quite eloquent it seemed, as he had been expertly sugarcoating all of their father's underhanded dealings over the years for the past fifteen minutes.

Sirius had stopped listening by now, though there was no doubt it was designed to make Orion Black sound like the upstanding citizen that he certainly was not. Sirius couldn't believe that Regulus would willingly miss out on an opportunity to hear someone besides himself giving such praise to the Black family. The Black's were as disliked as they were powerful, which spoke volumes about their reputation as a whole, considering they had been among the most influential families in Britain for centuries.

Sirius hadn't seen or heard from his brother in days. There had been no sign of him returning to his apartment. Their uncle Alphard's house was empty. Sirius knew he should still have the clothes they had bought shrunken in his pocket. Still, even with new clothes, Regulus was far too particular about hygiene to rely on cleaning spells alone. He would not have stayed any place where he was unable to take a shower at the least. He could have holed himself up in a muggle hotel or something, but Sirius suspected he would not resort to that so easily.

Sirius was reluctantly coming to the conclusion that his comments had been enough to drive his brother out of the country. He was so disappointed in Regulus- and himself, that he nearly forgot to be irritated that he had attended the funeral for no reason. Much too early to be considered acceptable to leave, he nudged James and the pair of them left as discreetly as they could manage.

They had been fortunate at both funerals than none of the death eaters in attendance had been keen on attacking them. Sirius thought it must have been out of respect for his mother that they had refrained in both incidences as it had been clear by many of their expressions that their attendance was not appreciated.

Once they made their way safely out of the cemetery, James once again suggested they go to a pub. He said it was for Sirius to 'drown his sorrows properly this time.' While he refrained from saying as much, Sirius got the impression that James was even less impressed with Sirius' pummeling of the Hufflepuff prick, now that he knew Regulus had been alive the whole time, go figure.

Sirius insisted he needed to go somewhere first. He feebly attempted to get James to go and 'pick up' Remus and then meet him at their favorite pub. James wasn't having it though, he was instead insisting that he accompany Sirius to wherever he needed to go and waiting for him to finish his business. They would then both go and get Remus together.

Only this morning Sirius had been wishing James would be less trusting. Now that he was, Sirius was finding it to be incredibly annoying. Surprisingly though, when Sirius admitted that stopping by Regulus' apartment was the 'errand' he needed to run, James did not comment. He had instead adopted a rather calculating look, which led Sirius to believe the time for his outburst was fast approaching. Sirius began then to question whether going with James to get intoxicated was such a good idea- unfortunately he had no way of easily backing out of it now.

Due to the relatively mild temperature and bright sunshine, even more muggles than usual were out and about today. While the weather was a nice change, the crowds had resulted in there not being a good place to disapparate, forcing the pair of them set off towards Evan's apartment on foot.

James waited outside as Sirius went up to the flat. He needn't have bothered to go. Regulus still was nowhere to be found. Sirius felt even more disappointed since he was now convinced that his brother really had left the country. He also couldn't help the annoyance he felt for the way he had taken up for Regulus in front of James. Not because Regulus hadn't deserved another chance- but because Sirius had told James that Regulus was willing to die to bring down Voldemort. Nothing would restore his brother's reputation as anything besides a coward in James' eyes after this.

His mood being as it was, he truly was in need of a drink by the time he went back outside to meet James again.

* * *

Regulus sat with Cassie, back in their original seats inside the church. Due to their proximity, they were infinitely safer to remain inside until all of the stragglers from the funeral left. Even if they disguised themselves as muggles, there was no guarantee they wouldn't be cursed into oblivion considering who most of the attendees were.

Cassie had asked him how he had died. Regulus had refused to tell her as he couldn't explain in enough detail to make sense without telling her more than she needed to know. Her knowing of his survival was bad enough as it put her in more danger than he would have wanted. Besides that, her family was considered neutral in the war. While he trusted Cassie for the most part and even Cyrus to a lesser extent- their father was far more 'dark' than his 'neutral' reputation portrayed.

Cassie had given him a long-suffering sigh at his admittance of wanting to protect her, though she was clearly unsurprised by it. He had stepped in on her behalf on more than one occasion when they had been at school. After Cyrus had graduated, it had not been particularly uncommon for one of their more ambitious housemates to become a bit… aggressive in their efforts to win over her affections.

Fortunately, she seemed to have decided that being blissfully unknowing of everything for the time being was not the worst thing in the world. Regulus suspected her tolerance of secrets would not last for long as she generally did not take well to being 'kept in the dark'. For now though, she was asking only questions that could be answered fairly easily.

Her last question had been what he had been doing since his father's death. He had just finished explaining the highlights of his research on the Fidelius charm to determine if it would be beneficial to add to the protections at Grimmauld Place.

"I can see the issue with using yourself as secret keeper, but it seems like an awful lot of unnecessary effort to create a variation of the Fidelius… Why not just ask someone you trust to be the secret keeper?"

"Not many people care much about my mother's safety… I wouldn't trust any of the people who supposedly do either."

"What about Sirius?"

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "Do you have any idea how many times he has threatened to kill her himself? I know he wouldn't actually do it… but he's far too much of a loose cannon to be secret keeper. He's liable to blurt out the address in a fit of rage or something."

Cassie nodded vaguely as she considered his words.

"Well… it doesn't really have to be anyone who cares for your mother's safety, it just has to be someone you trust. I suppose I could do it… I can't imagine anyone would ever suspect me."

Regulus studied her briefly to determine whether she was being serious or not. Seeing no traces of humor in her face, he concluded it was a genuine offer.

"No," he answered firmly.

"Why not? No offense, but my life expectancy is probably better than yours, since I'm from a neutral family and you- well…" She grimaced. "Besides that, you said you're worried about her being isolated. This way I could tell my mother the address. You wouldn't object to her visiting, would you?"

"Don't our mothers secretly hate each other?"

"Well… yes, but they spend nearly every Sunday together having tea and gossiping. That has to count for something."

Regulus looked at her amusedly, "I don't really think your mother is a good influence on mine."

Cassie laughed quietly, "…You definitely have that backwards."

"I don't. Your mother is a closet muggle lover. How do you think my mother would react to that if she knew?"

"Closet muggle lover? She has a small, vanishing room in our manor that she happened to fill with muggle literature... That hardly makes her a secret muggle lover."

"What else would you call it then?" Regulus asked with a smirk.

"She's just… cultured! Besides, you've borrowed many a book from her collection. What does that make you?"

"Practical," he answered with a shrug, "By reading about muggles it has allowed me to better blend in with them."

"Oh, so you always knew you would end up faking your death and needing to blend into the muggle world?"

"It never hurts to have a contingency plan," he cautioned.

Regulus expected she might mention that she had seen Sirius and him in a muggle bookstore the other day… fortunately he was spared from having to explain that little excursion, as she merely shook her head and changed the subject,

"Well I think your mother should be grateful that my mother was unknowingly able to assist you in your endeavor to blend in with muggles, if that is what allows you to survive. Perhaps I'll mention it to her so that she can pass the information along to your mother."

"You wouldn't."

"Why not? It's not like she can murder you in your sleep or anything. She believes you're already dead."

Regulus winced but remained silent.

"Do you really think your mother would be against you if she knew? I mean… all she has left now is Sirius…"

"I don't know how she would react to be honest. She isn't exactly known for her forgiving tendencies. My father might have been more sympathetic. He never said as much, but I could tell he was less than thrilled with what all being a death eater actually involved. And that was without him even knowing the worst of it." Regulus shuddered involuntarily, "I can't risk the wrong people finding out I'm alive right now. As you might have noticed, the wrong people pretty well encompasses my entire family."

Cassie studied his face for a moment, before asking,

"It doesn't sound like you have been with Sirius very much in the past couple of days. Where was he while you were doing everything the head of the family should have been doing?"

"I haven't seen him since we heard the news of our father's death. He made some crude remarks about it and we haven't spoken since... I expected that even he would have been above mocking the deceased. Apparently I was wrong."

She shook her head absently, after a pause she said,

"Well, it seems Sirius has been making some effort to be back in your life anyway. I don't know if there could ever be a reconciliation between Sirius and your mother- they are both too stubborn for their own good. It's funny that Sirius tells everyone he is nothing like the rest of your family- I think he is exactly like your mother in some ways. They both say cruel things… though its more to hide their own hurt than because they actually mean most of it.

Cassie was then looking at him expectantly to which he nodded briefly. When it was evident he wasn't going to comment on what she had said, she carried on with her inquisition,

"So who does know you're alive, anyway? You said too many were finding out."

"As far as I know, only You, Evan, Sirius, Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody. I think Lily Potter and Remus Lupin are suspicious though. They will tell James Potter if they figure it out, I'm sure," he answered distastefully.

"That's just the people who have figured it out, I'm guessing. Have you actually told anyone?"

"Well Evan and Sirius were in on my 'murder'. Dumbledore knew about it beforehand, though not the details nor of Evan's involvement. He did not approve of me faking my death, but didn't intervene at least. Mad-Eye can see through my glamour with his creepy eye, so that was inevitable."

"What was Dumbledore's suggestion, since he was against faking your death?"

"Remaining a death eater, though turning spy for The Order of the Phoenix."

She scoffed, "Seems rather pointless considering how long you've wanted out of the death eaters."

Her comment was made rhetorically, though it left Regulus trying to remember when he had ever mentioned anything to Cassie about wanting out of the death eaters. He had said he was tired of hearing about the war, and of pureblood supremacy incessantly. That didn't mean much- even Evan had expressed similar sentiments on occasion while they were at school.

Regulus had never been straightforward enough with anyone to tell them that he specifically wanted out of the death eaters while he was still one of their number. The closest he had come to admitting that had been to Rachel. Even then, he had only implied as much. It wasn't until after he had woken up from his near-drowning experience that he had actually admitted he wanted out in so many words. Before he could ask how she drew that conclusion though, she had asked another question.

"What about Rachel? Does she know?"

"I've talked to her a couple of times as 'Marcus'. As far as I know she doesn't suspect anything."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"When an opportunity presents itself, yes, I plan to."

Cassie resumed her thoughtful expression for a moment before answering, "You should make an opportunity present itself. Soon."

"Maybe… Interesting coming from you though. I never got the impression you liked Rachel all that much."

"I've never once said anything bad about her. I don't even dislike her. It's just… you two come from completely different worlds…" she shook her head, "That's irrelevant though, especially now. You need to tell her so that you can move forward."

Regulus looked at her blankly as he considered her words. She again gave the effect of rolling her eyes without actually doing it.

"You've been apart since June, though you only actually broke up with her because of your family, right?" she asked though without waiting for him to answer she continued, "You've not been with anyone seriously since then because you knew you were going to be forced into an arranged marriage, so it would have been rather pointless to start anything by then. Your supposed death has freed you of any marriage arrangement… but until you figure out how you feel about her you are going to be unable to move forward- with her or with anyone else."

Regulus contemplated what she said for a moment, "I guess that makes sense… though I don't know that I'm going to have a lot of time to actually 'move forward,' all things considered."

After he failed to elaborate, Cassie used a singsong voice that made her sound much younger than her natural age,

"Are you in love with her?" She then resumed her normal voice and stated, "I've no doubt you love her. But is it the nostalgic, 'I'll always have feelings for my first love' type of thing? Or are you actually IN love with her?"

Regulus considered the question as Cassie patiently waited. He was vaguely aware that the length of time it was taking him to answer would likely discount any response that was affirmative in nature. Instead he answered honestly,

"I've no reason not to be."

Cassie gave him a half-smile, "All the more reason for you to tell her you're alive then. Whether you are actually meant to be together or not doesn't matter now. You won't be able to move on, one way or the other until you sort out how you feel about her."

"Not that it would even matter- if she doesn't feel the same," Regulus pointed out.

An emotion he didn't quite recognize flickered across Cassie's face but before he could ask what it was about, she stood up.

"I think we have given the stragglers of the funeral enough time to clear out by now."

Regulus stood as well. They were both of the unspoken agreement that disapparating from inside the church was a bad idea. Regulus opened the door just enough to peek outside. Seeing no one he recognized, he pushed it open more widely and they walked out.

Regulus vaguely wondered if she should be seen with him in public. When he asked her, she assured him that as her family was considered neutral and as he was still relatively unknown, it wasn't a big deal. Though since she was supposed to be at home, sick, it would be better to stick to muggle London.

He was content to walk with her through the city as it was an unseasonably warm day, and because it was the first normal thing he had done in what seemed like forever. Still, he couldn't quite shake the idea that she was much better off not being seen with him. He told her as much and she resignedly agreed to go somewhere less public.

Upon discussing where they could go, he was surprised when it was Cassie who suggested Evan's apartment. When he asked how she had known about it, she had smirked slightly before pulling him into alley and apparating them to an area relatively near the apartment in question.


	29. Storm-ish

As Regulus and Cassie walked towards Evan's apartment building, Regulus kept his wand in his pocket but at the ready, absently turning the handle of it in his hand. As they walked, he was surreptitiously checking their surroundings for potential threats, while silently reminding himself of the counter spells needed to give Cassie access to Evan's old apartment- assuming she didn't already have access.

As they rounded the corner leading to the building's entrance, Regulus immediately noticed the unwelcomed presence of James Potter. The older wizard was leaning casually against the brick of the apartment building as if he owned the place. He would have appeared entirely relaxed with his position, if he had not been so obviously studying each person in his proximity. He was clearly much more alert than he was trying to portray.

Despite this, Regulus and Cassie noticed him before he noticed them. They could easily turn the corner and not have to deal with him- and likely avoid Sirius as well. Cassie looked at Regulus, clearly intending to follow his lead. Despite it being hidden, he knew that she too had her wand at the ready.

Regulus was unsure if James knew his true identity by now or not. Regulus nor 'Marcus' had last parted with him on the best of terms. Regardless of that, he wasn't going to hide from him. Especially when he was standing outside _his_ apartment- sort of. Regulus wanted to know what other information Sirius had given him since Evan's place of residence was clearly no longer a secret.

Regulus nodded slowly, indicating his intent to continue towards the apartment. When James saw them he immediately pushed himself off the wall and stood straight as he turned to face them.

"What are you doing here?" Regulus asked him in a passably neutral tone. He had no doubt that James was also armed, though from his position, it seemed he had opted to hide his wand inside the sleeve of his coat. Things like wands generally drew a lot of unwanted attention on the middle of a muggle sidewalk, after all.

"Waiting for Sirius. He went inside to look for you, _Regulus."_

Cassie inhaled sharply, but otherwise did not show any reaction, nor did Regulus as he stated,

"Ah. Sirius told you then," Regulus remarked in a forced casual tone though his insides were boiling.

"Of course he did. He is practically my _brother_. It would have been like stabbing his wand in my back to have kept something like that from me," James said arrogantly.

Regulus easily ignored James' comment about Sirius being his brother as he had heard it so many times before. Cassie sighed exasperatedly and shook her head at his unfortunate choice of words and the reminiscence they brought forth, causing Regulus to have to hide a smirk.

The majority of students, especially girls, had thought the self-named 'marauders' (mostly Sirius and James) deserved adoration, and constantly sought their attention. It was not lost on everyone though, what their frolics through the corridors, and overall chumminess could have easily and inadvertently implied. The rumors of their potential more-than-platonic relationship was not helped by them constantly being overheard making comments to each other that could easily support the rumors.

Obviously they were more of a joke than anything. Sirius' obvious fondness of girls was as widely known as James' obsession with Lily Evans. That didn't stop the potential implications of their actions from being an ongoing joke within the house of snakes for years. Regulus had secretly always hated hearing them, seeing as the remarks were rooted from Sirius and James' closeness- obviously he would never admit that aloud.

It seemed the marauders must have only pretended to be oblivious to the way they portrayed themselves in school, however. For James had no difficulty recognizing his comment as being the source of Cassie's derision. He narrowed his eyes at the blonde, "Who knew the Ice Queen would be fond of such crass euphemisms?"

"Don't call her that," Regulus said venomously as he began stalking towards the older wizard. "You know her name- you've known her nearly as long as I have. I feel it prudent though to remind you that Sirius and I have little in common. Meaning, if you cross me I am not going to retaliate with some infantile prank, as he would."

"Please, 'if I cross you', it will be to ensure you are locked up in Azkaban for life. It's where all death eaters belong," James remarked scathingly.

Regulus answered in a slow and threatening tone, "You know nothing a memory charm couldn't fix. If it comes to that, I'll be inclined to obliviate a bit more than strictly necessary- to ensure I don't miss anything Sirius might have told you. I'll try to keep it so you still remember your own name. Beyond that- I make no promises."

"It's too bad for you then, that I'm not the only person he told," James smirked.

"Fortunately I've no qualms about treating your wife and the werewolf to the same treatment then."

James' expression quickly flashed from anger to surprise before settling on extremely angry as he looked from Regulus to Cassie and back.

"Sirius told you about Remus?"

"Would that be so surprising? He actually is _my_ brother."

"I don't believe you."

"Check the records at the ministry then. We have the same mum and dad- everything," Regulus answered impishly and with a smirk. Despite his own anger, he quite enjoyed the obvious indignation on Potter's face.

Regulus had already been standing just outside what would be considered one's personal space. After his last jibe though, it was James that closed the gap. He had just brandished his wand when he was stopped by Sirius,

"What the bloody hell is going on out here?" he bellowed.

The few muggles that were nearby had been pretending not to notice the apparent fight that was about to break out. Sirius' booming voice though had made it impossible for them to continue ignoring them. After casting furtive glances in their direction, they all began to scamper away rather quickly.

James tucked his wand out of sight and took a step away from Regulus, who hadn't even bothered to draw his wand. He had instead cast a shield charm with his wand still in his pocket. Given their close proximity, the shield would have caused James to be hit by his own spell. He was a bit disappointed he didn't get to see what Potter was going to curse himself with.

Appearing completely unaffected by their near skirmish, Regulus glanced at Sirius before answering in what would have been a casual voice,

"Just a friendly discussion between your brothers."

"Reg, what are you doing here? I thought you had -" Sirius started to demand.

"What am_ I_ doing here? What are you doing here and with _him_?" Regulus interrupted.

"I came here looking for you. Where have you been?"

"I think I'll keep that information to myself, considering how quick you were to give away my previous location."

"James isn't going to tell anyone-"

"I wouldn't make any promises you can't keep, Pads. Especially after the way your death eater of a brother has been threatening me and my family," James cut in.

"I am not a death eater," Regulus answered in a low voice. This was not a conversation for public consumption. Unfortunately the only solution to that problem was allowing James Potter access to Evan's apartment. Even if he could remove his access immediately afterwards, it felt far too intrusive.

"Notice he didn't bother to deny he has been threatening my family," James said to Sirius before turning back to Regulus, "I don't care what you've managed to convince Sirius or even Dumbledore of. No one can do whatever is required to become a death eater and then back out. Voldemort probably made you make an unbreakable vow- the fact that you are still alive is pretty indicative of your loyalties.

Cassie then spoke in a passably neutral but cold tone, "If I may make a suggestion- Nothing is going to be accomplished with the three of you bickering like this. Not to mention, none of this needs to be said _here_," she gestured with an arm to indicate the muggle street. "Perhaps Potter and I should leave-"

"Don't include me in any of your plans. For all I know this is a setup to get Sirius alone so that you can do him in."

"I don't see how assisting in Sirius' murder could be of any benefit to me," Cassie answered coolly.

Apparently realizing her warning had fallen on deaf ears, Cassie began casting privacy wards around them, careful not to look as if she were going to attack any of them.

"Ah yes, neutrality. A polite way of saying you spy for both sides," James countered.

"Cassie is not spying for anyone." Regulus retorted angrily, "In case you haven't noticed, neither side is targeting anyone from the politically neutral families. That's because they don't take sides. Ever. If they did, they could no longer be considered neutral."

"Whatever, I'm not leaving Sirius. I don't trust either of you."

"You can take Sirius and both of you leave for all I care. The last I checked, we had agreed to stay away from each other. Unless I missed something, I can't see why the two of you felt the need to show up here," Regulus said as he walked back towards Cassie.

"Yes, that's what cowards do isn't it, walk away?" James asked.

Regulus turned around to face him again, "No, it's what a man does when he realizes there is nothing to be gained by staying. Arguing with either of you is pointless."

"Reg, I came here because I wanted to talk to you… I wanted to make sure you were okay... with all that's happened-" he then stopped as if only having just registered Regulus' words. "How can you say there is nothing to be gained by staying? You're the only one that's managed to figure out how to get rid of-"

"Shut up, Sirius! I was talking of leaving here- not the country."

"What do you mean-" James began.

"Shut up, the both of you!" Regulus demanded. Fully aware that privacy wards were not infallible, he brandished his wand and pointed it at them, prepared to cast a silencing spell on the pair of them if either spoke again on the matter.

"I didn't mean to-" Sirius began before noticing Cassie's apparent indifference, "You told _her_?" he demanded. "How can you trust a Greengrass with that information? You shouldn't have even told her you are alive. Her family certainly isn't light."

Regulus hadn't actually told Cassie about the horcruxes or anything of that nature. She had likely only managed to appear uninterested in what Sirius almost revealed due to years of practice at hiding her emotions. Neither of them saw any reason to admit as much to the former Gryffindors though.

"I am loyal to the people I care about, regardless of the side they have chosen," she answered with an air of indifference, despite the sentiment.

"Who would have guessed the Ice Queen cared about any- Urgh". James' comment died in his throat as the impact of Cassie's hex hit him, causing his knees to bend in the opposite direction from how they were meant to. As he grimaced in pain and attempted not to fall down, she approached him at an angle that kept James between her and Sirius- leaving the latter unable to do anything besides make indignant comments about the 'unnecessary attack'.

"I recommend you don't call me that again," she said coldly with her wand pointed at his neck. "I would hate for you to witness me behaving as anything less than the perfectly cordial person you see now. Understood?"

"Fine, whatever. Just undo it," he ground out through clenched teeth. Taking longer than expressly necessary, Cassie walked back towards Regulus before lazily lifting the hex from him.

Regulus smirked at James' obvious discomfort even after the spell was lifted, "Well, if that's all, I guess we'll be leaving then. Though why either of you want to hang about the outside of an apartment is beyond me."

"No, that bloody well isn't all!" Sirius said as he stormed towards his brother, grabbing his arm to prevent him from leaving, "You've been avoiding me for days. We need to talk-"

Regulus looked at him in resignation as he pulled his arm away, "I really don't know what you want from me, Sirius. Whatever you want me to be- I'm not. Nor do I care to be. I also am quite tired of hearing your disdain for our family- the family that you are now the head of, I feel I should remind you."

"I want you to at least talk to me. You owe me that- I saved your life!"

Regulus quirked an eyebrow, "Is that why you're so insistent that I conform to your life? That I make friends with yours? All of this time, you've been under the illusion that you did me some great service in rescuing me, and now I should be at the ready to repay you for your intervention? I had every intention to die that night, Sirius."

Seeing his brother's expression he quickly added, "No, I'm not suicidal. Nor did I even want to die then- but I was going to be killed if I didn't kill you. I did the only thing that didn't let _him_ win- the only thing I could do at the time to help defeat Voldemort- and it certainly wasn't because I thought he was going to be defeated in my lifetime when I did it," Regulus stopped and ran his hand through his hair gathering his thoughts on how much would be appropriate to say in present company. Deciding he might not have another chance to get it out, he added,

"It seems to have slipped your mind that it was I who saved your life first. Without that, you wouldn't have been around to save mine.

Sirius scoffed, "That killing curse would have never hit me-"

"Do you really think your showing up in the nick of time to save me was some great fluke, Sirius? There must have been something more at play."

"What you're suggesting- can't be right," Sirius answered dubiously after an impregnated pause, "It was just lucky timing-"

"In nearly five years, you never once sought me out. It's actually quite possible that magic decided to intervene. The timing was awfully spot on, don't you think? Perhaps you were fulfilling a life debt to me."

Rather than allow the awkward silence to simmer, Regulus continued, "Do you even fully realize that my intervention on your behalf is why I was given the order to kill you? It was a test of loyalty." Regulus shook his head and added, "I don't owe you anything. And you've given me no reason trust you. You've not kept any of my secrets. You're incapable of doing anything without gaining your friends permission first. You're too afraid of alienating yourself from them to do what is best… for everyone. It was barely over a week before you rushed off to your friends to tell them my identity-"

"They figured it out themselves! Remus and Lily confronted me and James overheard. If you were willing to trust a Greengrass I see no reason why you can't trust-"

"It's my life! I'm the one that is going to have to deal with the consequences when Voldemort figures out who I am. Whoever I tell is my right. It's not up to you to decide what everyone else knows when it comes to me… not my identity and certainly not about anything I've told you."

"Well, they already know now... Why not let them help us?"

Regulus sighed in exasperation, "I should not be obligated to trust your friends just because you do, Sirius. Considering that one of them was just discovered to be a spy for the death eaters- you'll have to forgive me for not entirely trusting you judgment about people."

Sirius clenched his jaw tightly before answering in a forced calm voice, "James, Remus and Lily are not Peter."

"That's not enough reason for me to place blind faith in them that are going to behave in the best interest of my well-being, or anyone else's for that matter."

"None of us can do much against Voldemort alone, Regulus. We need each other- you have got to stop being so paranoid. Why not let other people help us?"

Something about the encounter was forcing Regulus to realize the true cost of his faked death. As much as he had hated being a death eater, not everything in his life had been bad. He had still had his family, though without Sirius. That may not have been such a bad thing in retrospect. His family had been far from loving, but they had set him up in life rather nicely. He had a few good friends and even more allies.

He realized now that even though he knew what he was losing when he gave it up- he had never really grieved the life he had lost. It was now taking nearly all he had to appear indifferent. Whether it was actually Sirius' words that had illicited this sense of hopelessness from him or the ominous depression that seemed to be settling in around them, he couldn't say.

He must have been quiet for too long because Sirius felt the need to break the silence, "I don't think you owe me anything for saving you-"

Regulus scoffed, "Have you considered that I might have been better off if you hadn't? At least then I could be finished with this-pretending to be someone I'm not. You mocking the family that I can only wish I were still a part of it… you changing your opinion of me at every turn of the hat… none of that helps anything… I didn't fake my death to save my own skin. I had to be believed dead to have the chance to fight back. If I were going to leave the country I would have already done it by now…I don't know what the hell else you want from me, Sirius. I've already lost everything I ever had."

It was a huge admittance- and not at all what Regulus had intended to say. Naturally it was met with silence. Regulus refused to look at anyone while doing his best not to look as if he had just admitted to any of the things he had just said.

He was surprised therefore, when he was engulfed in a hug. Especially when it was obviously not from Cassie, but from Sirius.

Regulus had never hugged many people… certainly not any grown men that he could remember. Even though it was his brother, or maybe even more because it was, he remained far too rigid for the action to have felt natural.

Regulus couldn't help but think something more than a hug was needed to renew his opinion of Sirius at the moment. Still, he recognized the gesture for what it was. Sirius would never fully articulate his feelings aloud- especially not in present company. While some sort of assurance that things would be different would have been nice, Regulus didn't think words would have been enough now either. Sirius needed to earn back Regulus' trust through his actions. Nothing else would suffice.

After Sirius released him, Cassie immediately wrapped her arms around him, to which he found to be much more easy to relax into. He was mildly surprised when he looked down at her to find she was glaring at Sirius.

"What?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Surely there is something you want to say."

"Like what?" he asked with obvious apprehension.

"Anything… an apology at the least-"

"An apology?" a surprisingly quiet James asked, "What is Sirius supposed to be apologizing for?"

"I- was going to talk to him later," Sirius answered sheepishly, looking from Cassie to Regulus and then down at his feet- clearly avoiding James' gaze.

"You can't be serious. Apologize to _him_? For what? Sirius already helped him escape the death eaters... Even if we turned him in now, I'm sure your family would have no problem bribing someone to keep him out of Azkaban. He isn't being punished for any of his actions- he should be the one who apologizes, yet, I didn't hear anything remotely apologetic in the things he just said. He was just blaming Sirius for all his problems. I'll concede that he no longer wants Voldemort to remain in control… obviously, since he would be killed for being a traitor. But what happens when he can't remain safely hidden behind his Marcus façade? What happens if Voldemort finds out who he is? Do you really think he isn't going to flee the country the second Voldemort finds out about him?"

"If he wants to leave- that's his decision. He wouldn't be the first or the last to do so," Sirius answered evenly.

While Regulus wasn't planning to leave, it did somewhat appease him that Sirius was making an effort to see his situation differently. He was vaguely aware that James was continuing to argue with Sirius though Regulus was unable to focus on what they were saying.

He was distracted by his worsening sense of dread and the unnatural coldness that had forced itself into his bones. Looking up, he saw the sun was still brightly shining, though slightly lower in the sky from when he had last noticed it. Not nearly enough time had passed for the change in temperature to be natural.

Cassie seemed to have noticed the change of atmosphere faster than the oblivious and arguing boys. Regulus saw her adjust her coat so that it was more securely around her as she began looking towards the sky. His suspicions were confirmed when the familiar rattling breaths could be heard just before the black silhouettes of dementors appeared over Evan's apartment building.


	30. Friendly Fire

"I just don't get it!" James exclaimed, "You stood by and watched as Peter was arrested. _Your brother _was the one who said he needed to deal with the consequences of joining the death eaters. Do you really think he deserves a different fate himself?"

"He is dealing with the consequences! Can you not see that? Regulus was raised in a household that supported Voldemort-"

"So were you!"

"Yes, but I had you and Remus and even Peter. I had everyone else in Gryffindor to help me see the ignorance of my family's beliefs. Regulus didn't have any of that- No one forced him out of the death eaters. When he left it was his decision. He wanted to do what was right even when it meant giving up everything in the process. He wants Voldemort destroyed- probably even more than you do! Peter never knew anything but the love of his family and the support of his friends. He turned his back on everyone he supposedly cared about because he is a coward. Do not compare Regulus to Peter!"

"No one wants Voldemort defeated more than I do! Yes, Peter is a coward- but Regulus isn't particularly brave hiding behind his 'Marcus' disguise, is he? If he were truly brave he would face Voldemort as himself."

"The disguise is necessary-" Sirius began before stopping himself.

He wanted to refute James' statement but since Regulus made it clear he didn't want anyone else knowing anything about the horcruxes- defending his disguise was more difficult. He looked at Regulus then, realizing he had been awfully quiet considering the whole argument had been about him.

Upon seeing Regulus it was obvious that he had not been listening to them at all. Following his gaze, Sirius saw why. He had attributed the feelings of hopelessness he felt to their argument, as any disagreement with James always seemed pretty hopeless in general. It was clear now though that it was the two dementors overhead were affecting his emotions as much as Regulus' attention.

Sirius had been too distracted to have noticed the pair until they were directly above them. As they ominously passed over, it was as if they were oblivious to their presence. Sirius wondered if the privacy wards were effective on dementors. James apparently noticed them around the same time as Sirius.

He had pulled his wand, clearly about to cast his patronus when Regulus put his hand on James' arm to stop him,

"They aren't attacking us."

"Yes, which means they are going to attack someone else. Probably muggles that can't defend themselves," James spat as he jerked his arm away.

"They wouldn't have ignored us if they weren't entranced. I doubt they were alone. We shouldn't draw attention to ourselves- at least not yet," Regulus said quietly.

Sirius agreed with Regulus that the two dementors probably weren't alone. Even after they flew out of sight, the chill in the air and oppression remained. His theory was proven right a few moments later when two more dementors appeared above them. Just as the pair before, they ignored their potential meal on the ground and continued to migrate north. As Regulus had said, it was as if they were entranced.

Sirius remarked, "If there's only two of them at a time, it won't be any trouble to get rid of them."

He was just about to cast his patronus when Regulus stopped him as well, "Just wait," he said firmly. Sirius was confused by his hesitation but since they weren't being attacked, didnt argue.

After ensuring no one was going to attack the dementors, Regulus walked out of the confines of the privacy wards. When he was a safe distance away from the others, he began an intricate wand movement that Sirius did not recognize. A moment later and an enormous cloud of black erupted from Regulus' wand, leaving what appeared to be a dementor staring him in the face.

"Well that spell should be illegal," Sirius remarked to the others before walking outside of the privacy wards to find out what the hell Regulus was doing. As Sirius approached Regulus, he could have sworn the newly formed dementor had nodded before flying into the sky heading north.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Sirius demanded.

Regulus looked at him and shook his head, "An experiment. No idea if it'll work."

He then returned his gaze to the sky in the direction his dementor had gone, clearly unwilling to say anymore on the subject.

Sirius looked back at James and noticed that Cassie was still there, looking in the direction of Regulus' dementor. It was as if she too expected it to return. If her desire was to remain neutral in the war she didn't need to be caught with two Order members and… whatever Marcus could be considered. He was very surprised she had not already left.

James was looking at the sky in the direction the dementors had come from, likely anticipating more were on their way.

After several minutes of waiting, Sirius was fairly certain that whatever Regulus had attempted did not work. He was just about to mention this observation, when a dementor came into view from the north and quickly approached them. Sirius could only assume it was the same dementor that Regulus had conjured since Regulus made no effort to fight it.

Regulus nodded at his dementor as if in gratitude? Sirius shook his head, 'Why would anyone ever be grateful to a dementor?' The dementor and Regulus seemed to have entered some sort of staring contest then, though dementors did not actually have eyes as far as Sirius could tell.

He was unsure by this point if his hopeless feelings were more from the presence of the dementor or from his brother's obviously failed experiment. Either way, it was entirely too depressing to be near either of them. He took a few steps away from them due to that fact. He kept his wand carefully trained on the dementor though, just in case it decided to attack.

A minute later and Sirius was extremely glad he had stepped away when Regulus decided a different approach might yield better results. Sirius could practically see Regulus' unspoken compulsion charm coming off of him in waves. Sirius wasn't sure if he was compelling the dementor not to attack them or something else. As the charm was not aimed in his direction, it was difficult to tell what its exact purpose was. It seemed like a huge waste of effort if it was only to keep the dementor from attacking though. He knew at least three of them were capable of casting patronuses.

Regulus shook his head and asked, "… What?"

Sirius inferred that Regulus might have intended for his dementor to meet the others to find out where they were going, but was now struggling to get that information from his dementor. "How do dementors even communicate?" Sirius wondered aloud. No one bothered answering him, not that Sirius expected them to. The only one of them who might have known was Regulus and he probably hadn't even heard the question.

Sirius had soon become mesmerized by Regulus and the dementor's interaction. Just thinking about what the thoughts of a dementor must be like made Sirius shudder involuntarily. He rather hoped Regulus' new baby dementor did not have similar thoughts to the ones that had been 'living' under Voldemort's regime.

A few more moments of Regulus' seemingly hopeless efforts resulted in him transfiguring his dementor into what was clearly meant to be a patronus. Whether it was intended or not Sirius didn't know, but the patronus remained in the shape of a dementor. The rough voice that spoke was raspy and whatever it said was unrecognizable. After repeating the nonsensical message again, it dissipated into the air.

Regulus had been too engrossed in his experiment to notice the others had joined him and had therefore heard the message. Sirius, feeling the need cheer him up after his failed experiment remarked,

"It was a brilliant spell even if it didn't work. I'm pretty sure conjuring dementors would be illegal if the ministry knew it was possible though."

Regulus looked at him with a mildly disgusted look on his face before looking around at the others. Sirius guessed his expression was residual from having delved through the dementor's thoughts. Sirius couldn't blame him for it if that were the case.

"All I could get from the dementor was images…revolting images..." He shook his head, "I used compulsion in effort to get it to focus on where the other dementors told they were going. It kept showing a train, but it was like a toy train- more of a caricature than anything real. I think that must be how dementor's minds process things. They aren't known for being particularly clever… what train would be attacked today though?"

Sirius and James exchanged a significant look before immediately casting their own patronuses and talking amongst each other rapidly- their argument clearly forgotten for the time being.

Regulus watched them in bemusement and stated, "Clearly I've missed something."

Cassie nodded, "It'll be the Hogwarts Express. The term was meant to resume Monday, but the school governors decided to postpone the start of classes until tomorrow. The funeral for Edgar Bones and his family was yesterday. His oldest child was a first year Hufflepuff… Between that and Edgar Bones having been the extremely popular auror that he was, there were going to be a lot of students missing classes for the funeral. There was an announcement of the change in _The Prophet_." She would have looked indifferent, had the color not completely drained from her face.

Regulus had not been receiving, _The Prophet_ and had had limited communication with anyone in the past several days. He realized with some annoyance that having spent several days passed out at Gringotts before living his life in relative hiding had affected his perception of time.

He had assumed Hogwarts was already back in session- the last time he had been there was after curfew so he hadn't thought anything about the lack of students running about. Barty Crouch Jr had obviously stayed at school over the winter term, which was extremely lucky for Regulus given the circumstances. Even after talking to him, he hadn't realized the term had not yet began.

Sirius took that moment to interrupt, "We have sent messages to Dumbledore and Remus and they are hopefully going to contact the others… Remus was supposed to have been at King's Cross at the time the train left. The ministry insisted that their aurors alone be responsible for the patrolling of the train while it was in route to Hogwarts. After the stunt from the other night with Peter, Frank Longbottom and Mad-Eye were given a different assignment- which means we do not have any Order members shadowing The Hogwarts Express that we can contact. We are going to go get our brooms and then try to catch up with the train... Are you two coming with us?" he asked Regulus and Cassie.

Any other attack Regulus thought he could have disregarded- especially with his irritation towards most of The Order at the moment. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to ignore the current situation.

The Hogwarts Express had been attacked once before under Voldemort's command. In that attack, the mission had been to abduct the son of a journalist that refused to stop writing horrible things… which is to say the truth- about Voldemort.

The boy at the time had been a seventh year Gryffindor. None of the actual death eaters had needed to board the train in that attack. Delivering him to Bellatrix, undetected had been part of Regulus and Evan's initiation. The boy was then used to lure his father, the offending journalist, into a trap. After he was captured he was forced to watch his son being tortured and eventually murdered before he himself was murdered. Regulus and Evan were rewarded for their successful mission by being allowed to watch the 'entertainment'. Regulus' mental reminiscence made him realize that the nightmares caused by that event had not reoccurred since his stint in the cave. 'Ah, the silver lining,' he thought to himself sardonically.

"I- yeah, I suppose I will go," Again Regulus was pretending to be a member of the Order. He felt he might as well officially join at this rate. This time it was his own guilt that left him unable to avoid the potential battle though.

Turning back to Cassie he winked, "You should get back home. Flying in January is the last thing you need after being as sick as you have been," more in effort to release her from any potential guilt trip Sirius or James would have thought appropriate. She had not actually been sick recently as far as he knew. She would be putting her entire family at risk if she showed up in a battle though- regardless of which side she fought for.

Regulus noticed even through her usual mask of indifference, she looked guilty for not going with them, "Yeah- ok… Be careful," she told Regulus before bidding the others 'good luck,' and quickly disapparating.

* * *

Sirius apparated a couple of blocks away from Evan's apartment to Platform nine and three-quarters only to find it empty. He had not expected anyone to be there, but felt he should check just in case. He then apparated to as near his home as the wards around it would allow. As he jogged towards the house that he now shared only with Remus, he considered the things that Regulus had said to him.

Sirius felt extremely guilty for the way he had taken Regulus' trust for granted. In some ways he had been behaving the same way he had when they had been at school and he and Regulus weren't on speaking terms. Now that Regulus had it pointed out to him, he could easily see how Regulus could perceive his actions to mean he did not value his brother's well-being.

He actually wanted to protect his brother as much as possible, he had just taken for granted that his friends would keep Regulus' secret because Sirius wanted them to… honestly Sirius still felt that way but realized it didn't matter what he thought. As Regulus had said, it is his life that is going to be endangered when his identity becomes known.

Sirius was beyond frustrated with James and his inability to get along with Regulus. James had always looked down on anyone that was in Slytherin. Granted, Regulus had been a death eater too, but Sirius didn't know if that even mattered much in James' case. He had admitted his prejudice against Slytherin to Snape on their first ever train ride to Hogwarts. It was interesting because James' parents did not seem to share James' prejudice. Nor did Regulus share their parents' prejudice against all houses apart from Slytherin.

Sirius still remembered the night before Regulus began Hogwarts. He had said something to the effect that he believed the attributes valued in all four houses were commendable. Regulus had been believed to be the perfect slytherin at school, though when they had pancakes at the Potter's he had defended Hufflepuff when James called it 'the house of the leftovers'. He had discussed muggle literature with former Gryffindors- a muggleborn and a werewolf to boot… By all accounts, he probably should have been a Ravenclaw. Regulus was brave, loyal, intelligent and cunning. It was no wonder he didn't look down on the other houses- he could have fit well into any of them. James was all of those things too, but ironically far more hindered by prejudice than Regulus seemed to be.

It was even more frustrating because while Regulus didn't like James either- he was content to just stay away from him. Sirius had had to divide his life between his friends and his family ever since he was eleven. He was tired of it and knew the two of them could get along if they would just put aside their differences. Their parents had been the catalyst for destruction in the brothers' relationship. The breakdown between them had allowed James to become an easy substitute for Regulus- but he still wasn't his brother. Sirius had always had either Regulus or James- never both.

It was even ironic when he thought about it. Due to a howler that his mother had sent him after learning he was sorted into Gryffindor, which among other things said she should have smothered him at birth- anytime he received a letter from home the entire school seemed to notice. His ten year old brother's nearly daily letters at the beginning of his first year had been slightly embarrassing to him then. None of the other boys in his dorm had siblings, or terrible parents, so they couldn't really relate to his situation at all. Knowing his brother's life couldn't have been easy at home, and secretly enjoying the contact, Sirius ignored his slight embarrassment and responded to as many of Regulus' letters as he could manage.

He soon realized that Regulus was not getting the majority of them, as most of his letters asked why he was not writing back to him. It was obvious his mail was being screened and nothing that could be construed as incriminating for their parents would ever reach Regulus. To ensure Regulus got his letters, Sirius would comment that he was really busy and that he would try to write more often. He wrote to Regulus about Hogwarts- its castle, the grounds, the classes- the strange boys in his dorm that were most certainly not as proper as they were.

Sirius quickly determined that the letters in which he complained about things were the ones that Regulus actually received. Each letter that Regulus sent him ended with encouragement that he should to try to make friends with his housemates because he was stuck with them for the next seven years.

Apparently their mother had gone so far as to inquire about having Sirius transferred to another house, but was denied her request. At the time it had felt to Sirius like Regulus was giving him permission to embrace his Gryffindor house. As Regulus was the only person he cared about at the time, his permission had been all he needed to do it. Sirius wondered if Regulus regretted giving him that advice now.

Finally making it inside his house, Sirius grabbed his broom and yelled out briefly to Remus. He quickly walked through the house to be sure, but it was obvious he wasn't there. Sirius didn't know what had become of him after overseeing the Hogwarts Express' departure earlier, but didn't have time to find him now.

It had taken him too long already, having checked the platform for a skirmish before having to jog up the long drive to the house. Regulus and James would have been at the platform long before he could get there. Realizing the two of them were likely going to be alone on the abandoned platform he increased his speed to a sprint. As soon as he made it outside the wards, he apparated back to the train station.

* * *

Regulus ran into his apartment and quickly grabbed his broom. He then disapparated to Platform nine and three quarters which was completely deserted. Shortly after, he was met by James and despite his temptation, resolved himself to ignore him and wait in an awkward silence until Sirius arrived. He was far too self-possessed to begin a duel now when a far bigger threat was looming.

Clearly those thoughts were not reciprocated by James Potter though. A moment after his arrival, Regulus sensed the magic cast from James' direction and ducked on instinct, narrowly missing whatever orange spell James had thrown at him,

"Oops, sorry I thought you were a death eater," he remarked completely unapologetically.

"I'll just bet you did," Regulus answered angrily as he cast a, 'Reducto' at the bench that was in front of James, sending debris everywhere and taking away the inanimate object that James could have easily used as a shield.

As James attempted to block the splinters of the exploded bench, Regulus cast a banishment charm which hurled James into the brick wall of the platform none-too-gently.

Regulus briefly considered all the reasons they should not continue the battle as he allowed James to stand up shakily. They had arranged to meet here for the purpose of trying to help the Hogwarts students. They should be focused on that. Still, he refused not to defend himself. He also couldn't help but feel this duel between them was long overdue.

Trying not to lean against the wall for support, James transfigured the remnants of the bench that Regulus had exploded. A moment later he sent dozens of jagged pieces of glass sailing towards the youngest Black.

Regulus suspended the glass pieces mid-air. He then quickly consolidated the broken shards, and transfigured the glass into ice before aiming the make shift bludgeon at James' stomach. While the frozen bludgeon was in route he cast a bludgeoning spell to James left and a bone breaker to his right.

James spun to the left to avoid being pierced by the frozen bludgeon, only to be struck by Regulus' bludgeoning spell. The impact of which broke his left arm, and judging by the angle at which his arm now hung, it was broken in more than one place.

Apparently realizing how restricted he was in his current position with his back to a wall, James disapparated. Regulus instantly realized what he was planning to do and disapparated as well.

James re-appeared directly behind where Regulus had previously stood, just before Regulus re-appeared on top of the wall of the platform that James was formerly leaned against.

Having located his new position instantly, James cast a 'reducto' at the wall Regulus was standing on forcing it to crumble beneath him.

Rather than falling into the heap of rubble and being at James' mercy, Regulus levitated the slab he had been standing on and lowered himself towards the ground away from the rubble. Anxious to be in a less compromising position, he jumped down from his perch a little too early and nearly fell directly into James' fire whip that he had conjured.

Forcing his weight away from the fire, Regulus had just enough time to transfigure the whip into a feather before it hit him, which he easily swatted away. Upon ridding himself of the feather, he was immediately forced to roll out of the way of James' body-bind curse.

Rolling up from the ground to his knees Regulus cast two silent spells in quick succession. James easily avoided the first but had not been expecting the second. Upon making contact his acid curse caused James' entire body to erupt in excruciating and blistering burns.

"Argh" James growled.

Regulus had just managed to regain a standing position and cast a shield when James answered with his own series of spells. The first stunner destroyed Regulus' shield but caused him no damage. The second spell Regulus didn't recognize and chose to dodge it, which left him unable to completely avoid the third, a cutting curse, which grazed Regulus' left arm. Fortunately, it didn't feel like it had been particularly damaging.

Ignoring his wound, he sent back his own succession of spells. The first was a silent 'augamenti,' which James jumped out of the way of, obviously expecting it would have been something more offensive than water. The second spell froze the water at James' feet causing him to slide directly into his well-placed gouging spell. The spell effectively gouged a hole through James' right shoulder, though admittedly it was slightly nearer to James' head than he had intended.

"Are you crazy? You could have killed me with that!" James yelled angrily.

"Only if you didn't fall the right way," Regulus answered condescendingly, as he silently disarmed the older wizard.

James blinked in surprise. Somehow he had not been expecting that Regulus would choose to disarm him. Regulus vaguely wondered if he might have become concussed when he was banished into the wall. He definitely should not have been surprised that Regulus would disarm him at any rate.

"I guess it-wouldn't have- meant much to you- would it? Killing must be like- second- nature by now. What- number would- my- murder- have brought- your- count- up to?" James attempted a scathing tone, though the effect was ruined by his obvious struggle to get the words out through his current pain level.

Regulus observed him for a moment. He looked somewhat grotesque with his angry burnt skin, his bleeding right shoulder and the odd angles his left arm now hung in. He would clearly have struggled to continue in the duel, even if he still had a wand. Regulus supposed he was trying to use his words to fight now, since he had so clearly lost the duel. Regulus was reluctantly impressed by Potter's pain tolerance though. Many would have passed out long before now.

Regulus purposely gave the impression he was ignoring James as he healed the injury to his own left arm, though he was actually taking the time to consider his options. James knew enough about him to cause trouble, though despite his threats, Regulus was unsure if James would really tell anyone his true identity. Regulus didn't trust James, but he did at least like to think that divulging his secret would destroy James' friendship with Sirius. Regulus wasn't sure if anything could actually divide the two permanently, but he thought James might not be willing to risk it, just in case.

Regulus was extremely tempted to obliviate James while they were alone and James was completely helpless. As far as Regulus could tell, James had a less than stellar aptitude for occlumency. By all accounts it was in everyone's best interest for Regulus to obliviate him.

Despite the temptation, Regulus found himself unable to actually perform the spell. He had been given a second chance at life. He didn't want to live it by becoming someone who couldn't solve their own problems without altering someone else's memories- at least not someone as relatively helpless as James was at this point.

He thought it might be best to swallow his own pride, which was much easier to do given the result of their duel, and make an effort to reach a truce with James. Regulus had far bigger enemies out there to be fighting with someone who might at least have his back in a battle with death eaters. He decided honesty might be the best place to start,

"You would have been the first."

James looked at him in surprise, clearly not having expected him to answer the question, "Yeah right. You- probably- have to kill- someone just to join."

"Some do," Regulus shrugged, "I didn't."

"You're lying. Why- would they let- you join then? You- probably- weren't- even of age- at the time," James was doing his best not to grimace at the pain he was in.

"Well think about that then. Before I was of age I still had the trace on me. Surely killing someone would have drawn unwanted attention from the ministry… Besides that, what reason do I have to lie to _you_ about it? Your opinion of me could be no lower."

"Can't argue with that. How- many people- have you- tortured then?"

Regulus wrinkled his nose, "Define torture."

James rolled his eyes, "Ugh, you're- impossible."

"Hardly. Think about it. You cast a cutting curse and a fire whip at me. Did you have any intention with those spells besides causing pain? I could have suffered quite a lot from either of them... I could have been killed if either had-"

"Oh come off it. That's ridiculous-"

"It's not. If I'd have moved, or if your aim had been off, I could have been burned alive by your fire whip- if I didn't know how to put out the flames or if I'd lost my wand. You could behead someone with a cutting curse."

"You really are twisted, Black," James grit out through clenched teeth. He was obviously in a lot of pain.

"Maybe. But nearly every spell in a dual is meant to cause pain… you can't assume you only cause suffering when you use the cruciatus."

"It's different though… The cruciatus- can actually… make someone- go insane."

Regulus didn't comment. He could think of several spells that would make someone go insane faster than the cruciatus, but he didn't see any need in mentioning them at the moment.

While Regulus thought ignoring each other would be far less irritating than listening to James' snarky comments every time they saw each other- he had mostly only continued this conversation for an excuse to watch him closely. He was trying to gauge how much blood he had lost, and how likely he was to pass out from the pain. With his complexion as it was, it was impossible to tell anything by his skin tone. He still seemed fairly lucid- as much as he had ever been at any rate. It would be best if he were treated soon though, especially with his potential head injury.

Regulus could heal him well enough. Not as well as if he had healing potions to go along with the treatment, but well enough to get him back on his feet. As Regulus observed James, he began to think it might have been for the best that he had not entered the program to become a healer.

He was stubbornly refusing to offer treatment, just as stubbornly as James was refusing to ask for help. Most healers would not require an invitation to at least offer. Rachel certainly would have already helped him. Regulus was far too stubborn and not nearly kind enough to do the same. Still, he didn't think it was unreasonable for James to ask for help, rather than just expect it to be given because they were supposed to be on the same side of the war now- _did James even believe that at this point_?

Sirius showed up a few moments later. He looked at Regulus in confusion as he was cleaning blood from his arm, clearly trying to look ever so innocent as he did it. Sirius slowly turned and found James covered in burns, attempting to examine his profusely bleeding shoulder with his clearly broken left arm dangling awkwardly to the side of him. There was also an unexplained though seemingly innocent pile of ice beside him.

Sirius was ashamed to admit he could almost find humor in the situation. He had no doubt that James had asked for it. He had clearly been gearing up for a fight ever since he learned Regulus' identity. Sirius wouldn't be surprised if he had added insult to injury once he met Regulus here and instigated the battle himself.

Sirius also could not remember ever seeing James in such a compromising position that hadn't involved multiple death eaters at once. Few had ever shown quick enough reactions to counter James' seeker-like reflexes. After quickly assessing James' predicament though, it didn't even look as if Regulus had used any particularly dark magic. There was one problem with their current situation though,

"Seriously? What about the dementors headed for the Hogwarts Express?"

"We've been- waiting on you," James bit out, "What took- so long?"

"I was trying to find Remus... never mind. James, can you still go?"

"Regulus- has been healing- all of his injuries since- our duel ended, he looked- a lot worse before," James snapped defensively. Sirius heard Regulus scoff from behind him but blessedly remained quiet. "I would have done the same- if he hadn't- thought- it fair to- injure- both- of my- arms. I can go… I just need… maybe a little help first."

Sirius looked from James to Regulus, the latter was clearly pretending to be oblivious of their current conversation as he repaired the damage their duel had caused to the platform.

"I'm rubbish at healing, James. Maybe you should ask Regulus."

James blinked, "I'll just- portkey- to Hogwarts. Someone there can heal me."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "And leave the students to the mercies of the dementors? We should get to battle some death eaters if we hurry."

James made to cross his arms, but upon remembering his left arm was useless, huffed, "Fine. Regulus, will you heal- the injuries that you caused?" he mumbled.

Sirius gave a fake cough as he said, 'please'.

James rolled his eyes, "Will you- please at least- heal my arm?" he asked in barely over a whisper.

Regulus proved he had been eavesdropping when he was able to hear James' request despite the low tone it was asked in, "Sure, why didn't you say so?" he asked in a falsely cheerful voice.

Sirius could practically see the multiple retorts on the tip of Regulus' tongue that he was holding back for the sake of time- they had already wasted so much of it. Sirius himself would have mentioned that James likely couldn't have healed any of his injuries properly even without the injuries to his arms, but he also remained silent.

He didn't know if they could catch the train in time to be of any help at this point. None of them knew the way to Hogwarts from London without following the track. Dementors can fly much faster than the Hogwarts Express moved- but not nearly as fast as a wizard flying on a broom could. As Sirius was unsure if any of the students, or the woman with the food trolley was capable of performing a patronus, it was worth the effort to try to catch them.

Sirius was hopeful that the lack of response they received from Remus and Dumbledore meant there were Order members already on the scene. Dumbledore had given Sirius 'the day off' for his father's funeral- and James too after he insisted on accompanying him.

The problem likely wouldn't just be the dementors. Sirius could still remember vividly the attack on the Hogwarts Express that had occurred in his sixth year. There had been dementors then too, but everyone's bigger concern at the time had been the fact that the train was completely surrounded by death eaters. He and the other marauders had been magically sealed into their compartment, unable to do anything but wait. The attack had resulted in the abduction of one of their housemates. No one ever did find his body. Some were hopeful he was still alive- Sirius had his doubts.

Regulus silently healed James' injuries. Without further comment, the trio immediately took to the air, following the track in hopes of catching up to the Hogwarts Express. For the first time ever, all three of them were thankful for how notoriously slow the train moved.


	31. Air Attack Part 1

Regulus, Sirius and James took to the air, flying as high as they could while still keeping the tracks in sight. Between all of them being excellent fliers and each owning one of the fastest brooms on the market they were able to make excellent time.

Shortly after leaving King's Cross, James received a message from Dumbledore indicating that he had informed various Order members of the situation. The most readily available were being sent directly to the train via portkey. He had made sure to mention that such a portkey could only be created by the headmaster of the school, so they need not attempt the same method of travel.

As they flew, Regulus momentarily lost himself in the wonderful feeling of freedom that only flying could bring. The last time he had been on a broom he was 'patrolling' as a death eater. He had felt far from free that night.

His mind eventually wandered back to his duel with James. No doubt the duel had been poor timing- he hoped James was well enough to be proficient against the death eaters. As Regulus remained mostly unscathed, he somewhat appreciated the warmup. Abstaining from the use of dark spells was still not quite second nature to him. As he was no longer a death eater, avoiding the ready use of dark spells was in his best interest.

He did wonder if James would be putting aside his ill feelings towards him anytime soon. It seemed the older wizard was of the impression that Sirius could not be his friend and Regulus' brother concurrently. While James seemed inclined to make Sirius choose between them, Regulus knew that would be a mistake on his part: Sirius had chosen James years ago.

Regulus couldn't care less if James liked him. He would much prefer to work together amicably when needed and otherwise ignore each other. Aside from their fierce rivalry in quidditch, Regulus had tried to avoid James, Sirius and the other marauders throughout their school years.

Despite their popularity, Sirius and James had been bullies in school- especially in their younger years and especially towards Slytherins. Lucky for Regulus, their biggest target had always been Snape, who had loathed Regulus during the height of those bullying years- mostly because he was Sirius' brother.

After a couple minutes of reminiscing about their school days and enjoying the flight, Regulus' mind drifted back to their purpose. He vaguely wondered if Voldemort's goal this time was a planned abduction, and if so whether it would be actual death eaters or only potential recruits that would deliver the victim from the train.

He could sense the air beginning to shift. His thoughts had also become inexplicably darker without his consent, indicating they were likely nearing dementors. He turned around intending to suggest they fly higher to obtain a better fighting position, only to find he was significantly ahead of his companions.

He slowed his pace to allow them to catch up rather than attempt to enter a battle alone. By the looks of things, Sirius had altered his speed to keep pace with James- who didn't quite look himself.

"We are getting close." Regulus told them. "We should fly higher since obviously height is an advantage in air combat… I also think we should disillusion ourselves."

"Why bother with disillusionment?" James asked.

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "For the element of surprise for one thing. It will also give us time to scope out the situation rather than potentially fly directly into an ambush."

"The death eaters have no way of knowing we are coming. They can't have setup an ambush," James argued.

"Death eaters won't engage in battle unless they have the clear advantage, but unless there are Order members already there, they will easily have an advantage over the three of us. They won't hesitate to-"

"We'll be the better fliers-"

"But there are three of us!"

"Sounds like you are still thinking like a death eater. Order members rarely have the advantage, you know. Are you sure you are cut out for this?"

Regulus rubbed his hands over his nearly frozen face, "Don't you remember when we were at school and the train was attacked? The only death eaters any students saw were floating ominously outside the train- they didn't attack anyone. I suspect the abduction had already occurred by then and they were only bothering to show themselves to cause more fear-"

"You seem to know a lot about the attack-"

"I know how the death eaters do things in general… No matter what happens remember there is only one or two people from the train that is planned to be hurt. Even if the air is saturated with death eaters, we should try to avoid them until-"

"Why did you bother to come with us at all if you are unwilling to fight?" James asked.

"Unless provoked, the death eaters are not going to hurt any student aside from whoever their victim is."

"Are you sure about that?" Sirius asked doubtfully, "It's never bothered the death eaters to murder innocents before."

"I'm sure. Voldemort is a political mastermind-"

"Why did you leave if you are going to continue to sing his praises?" James asked under his breath.

Regulus continued on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "He knows better than to order his followers to attack a train full of _their_ children. Death eaters and their sympathizers alike have kids on the Hogwarts Express. He would have to be really desperate to risk losing the amount of support that would cost. In case you forgot- he has no reason to be desperate. His side is clearly winning the war. We need to get to the train to determine the intent of the attack. If it is another abduction, forestalling it should be our priority. We should _not_ engage in battle with the death eaters outside the train unless we have to. They are only there to serve as a distraction for anyone who might try to intervene with the abduction. Engaging with them will only give their 'snatchers' more time to escape with the victim."

"James, as much as I don't like it, _Marcus_ knows the death eaters' tendencies… we should listen to him."

James was clearly irritated but nodded as Sirius disillusioned himself. The other two followed suit before beginning their ascent higher into the sky.

They tried to stay somewhat together, but it was difficult with their current state of invisibility. A couple more minutes of flying, and Regulus began to question whether the disillusionment was a good idea- he wasn't sure how close the other had managed to stay.

He would have cast a charm to enable them to see each other better, if not for the feeling the death eaters already knew they were there. He had gotten an inexplicable feeling they were being watched just before they disillusioned themselves.

Finally the scarlet train came into sight, much to everyone's relief. Despite the unseasonably warm weather, it was still January. It was also much colder in the sky than it had been on the ground. Regulus was pleasantly surprised to find his fingers weren't actually frozen to his broom handle as previously thought.

As he neared the train he saw that it continued to move uninhibited, despite having a dozen or so dementors floating directly above it. Their presence did not bode well for whichever aurors had been patrolling. Obviously chasing off dementors would have been a priority unless something more was going on. Regulus spun in the air to begin what he expected would only be a futile attempt to find the others. He was surprised when a moment later someone flew into his foot.

"Ouch," James said.

"Slow down. Sirius, where are you?" Regulus called.

A few seconds later and Sirius managed to join them, having been close enough to follow their voices.

James asked, "What are they waiting for?"

"Orders, I expect."

"They don't already have them?" Sirius asked.

"They must have been entranced to catch up to the train. It seems they are trying to stay out of sight for now. If there aren't death eaters already here, I'd expect they are on the way… though they could be here already and disillusioned..." Regulus glanced around quickly as he asked, "Where are the other Order members supposed to be?"

"They were apparating directly onto the train," James answered. "I don't know if they planned to stay on the train to keep it secure, or if they are going to patrol along the outside."

"If they were patrolling along the outside I would think they would have gotten rid of the dementors by now... You don't think they are on the train battling death eaters, do you?" Sirius asked.

"Most likely the only death eaters onboard right now are students, but don't underestimate them. They are certainly intelligent enough not to give away their allegiance in front of anyone in the Order. If there are Order members on the train, either the dementors or the death eaters will have to draw them out before any of the students get involved. We should-" Regulus stated.

"I suppose this is like déjà vu for you, isn't it _Marcus_? I suppose you were one of the students involved last time?" James asked derisively.

"Of course not!" Sirius answered irritably, "Not even Voldemort is deranged enough to let a fifth year join! Stay focused."

Having no desire to refute Sirius' proclamation, Regulus stated, "It's also possible the Order members have been led away while battling with death eaters already… I suspect Voldemort circumvented the aurors' participation in overseeing things though... I doubt they would have been so easily dealt with otherwise."

"I'm getting rid of the dementors," James cut in. "I don't know where everyone else is, but there's no sense letting them hang about. They will be even more of a nuisance once the death eaters make themselves known."

Casting a patronus would give away their position, but none of them could deny that getting rid of them would be a relief.

He was just about to suggest they separate first when James began the incantation. Regulus immediately darted up and away from the other two, hopeful that Sirius would think to do the same.

Predictably, the stag patronus did not go unnoticed. As soon as James cast it, they were surrounded by death eaters. Some had previously been hidden in the clouds, others disillusioned. Regulus chided himself for not casting the 'homenum revelio' charm before to ensure they weren't being watched.

Not wanting to help make James Potter a martyr, he attempted to cast a shield in front of him. While he couldn't actually see, he knew James most likely still had his back turned while he controlled his patronus. He didn't know where Sirius and didn't take the time to figure it out. He quickly flew higher and was able to make it into an area with better cloud coverage.

Regulus would have sought higher altitude if he intended to battle with death eaters, but as it had been his priority to make it to the train, he was able content enough just to get away from the others.

One of the death eaters had thought to use the 'homenum revelio' spell which outlined Regulus' silhouette along with everyone else's. Fortunately Regulus had been far enough away by then no one noticed him.

He continued to weave and dive through the air, easily avoiding any stray spells that made it towards his still invisible self. He was becoming more anxious to make it to the train now. He had no doubt that if there were any Order members there, they would soon be drawn out by the number of death eaters who had just made themselves known.

If he could convince them to stay on the train, any plans of abduction could be easily thwarted.

Once he cleared the cloud cover he had been in, his heart sank a little as he saw five wizards which he assumed were the 'readily available' Order members, leaving the train to join the fray. They obviously hadn't seen the dementors or death eaters until Sirius and James began battling them. They were doing more to help the death eaters than the Order at this point.

Whatever was planned to go down on the train would be easily carried out now if they were the only Order members that had been portkeyed there. He wanted to tell them to get back to the train but was still too far away to do so. He was also unsure if that was what he actually wanted them to do anyway, considering they were going to help Sirius.

He felt conflicted about having left him amongst so many death eaters. He had hoped Sirius -and James to a lesser degree, would have been able to escape the death eaters and follow him. The number of stray spells that Regulus had dodged though made him certain that Sirius had been unable to escape.

* * *

Wedged between Remus Lupin and one of the Prewett twins while grasping the handle of a random teapot was not what Rachel expected to be doing only minutes after showing up at Hogwarts today. She barely had time to process that there was an expected attack on the Hogwarts Express before she was being sent there via portkey.

When she had arrived at the infirmary for her scheduled shift, Dumbledore was waiting for her. She was briefed on the situation as she was herded to his office where she met Remus Lupin, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Marlene McKinnon and Benjy Fenwick. Dumbledore had then activated an already created portkey for them and the half-dozen Order members were sent on their way.

Moments later, they re-appeared in the center of the corridor of the Hogwarts Express. Seeing no immediate danger, on the train or outside, they decided to shepherd the few students who were in the corridor back into their compartments. As there were so few of them that took only a couple of minutes. They had just re-convened in the center of the train when a familiar voice called,

"Rachel? Hey… um, why are you here?" Barty Crouch Jr asked in his usual seemingly nervous tone.

"Hey Barty," she answered slightly nervous herself. This being her first mission, she had never had to avert questions about the Order before. The encounter was made even worse because she wasn't exactly sure what she was allowed to say and she had five Order members listening to whatever she told him. "Well… I was scheduled to work in the infirmary when Professor Dumbledore asked me to come here… to patrol- just in case…" She looked back at her comrades but none of them seemed inclined to help her out.

"Oh, because of what happened a couple of years ago?" Barty asked, obviously catching on to what she was trying to say.

"Yes, because of that," she answered tightly.

"Well, hopefully nothing like that happens again. That was really awful," he answered glumly.

Rachel looked down as she answered, "Yes, it was." She often wondered whether Regulus had been involved then, but had always refused to ask. She looked up after a moment to find Barty looking at her intently. She was just about to tell him he should get back to his compartment when he stated,

"I'm sure you've heard what happened to Regulus by now… I still can't believe it myself," he said before glancing nervously at the other Order members.

Rachel felt herself flush. Barty wouldn't have mentioned him if he hadn't known they had been at least friendly in school. She and Regulus were almost never seen together unless in a group though, so how could Barty have known she had been 'friends' with Regulus?

Some of the Ravenclaws in her year had formed a study group which met in the library. As seeing Ravenclaws in the library was nothing uncommon, most people overlooked the group. Regulus had attended occasionally in their seventh year. Her housemates had been wary of him at first, but had quickly gotten over it. His natural charms had the girls swooning after the first time he had spoken to them, much to Rachel's annoyance. The guys got over any ill feelings they had towards him after seeing his uncanny ability to breakdown complicated theories into easily understood concepts.

Regulus' attendance in their group wasn't widely known throughout the school, but Barty could have easily heard about it in the Ravenclaw common room. As that was the only thing she thought he could be referring to, she decided to go with that angle… if she even needed an angle.

It wasn't that she was ashamed of her past relationship with Regulus. She just didn't want to talk about him. Least of all in front of near strangers who would almost certainly hate him whether he actually deserved it or not. Unfortunately, whether the other Order members had been paying attention to them before or not, she knew they were now that a suspected death eater had been mentioned.

"Yes, he deserved better," she said vaguely.

"Wait… are you talking about Regulus _Black_?" Marlene interrupted.

Rachel had her back to the other Order members and refused to look at them now. Her face was clearly not as impassive as she would have liked if Barty's reaction to it was anything to go by. Thankfully, his obvious surprise only flitted across his face briefly before he recovered a politely neutral expression,

"Well, yes… that is the only Regulus I've ever met," he answered uncomfortably.

"Why would you care what happened to _him_?" Marlene demanded.

Rachel forced the calmest expression she could manage, fully aware it probably wasn't very convincing, before turning around,

"What happened to him was awful. Only being eighteen especially. We are actually supposed to be looking for death eaters, you know."

Whatever retort Marlene was about to give was interrupted, "You can continue your inquisition later, Marlene. We are needed elsewhere," Benjy Fenwick stated from his position beside the window. Rachel hadn't even noticed he had left their group to look outside.

He pointed out the window to draw their attention to the onslaught of death eaters who appeared to be attacking at least two others on brooms. It was impossible at first to tell who they were fighting from the distance. Benjy cast a spell on the window, to give it a magnifying effect, which revealed the Order members to be James Potter and Sirius Black.

"Let's go," one of the Prewett twins said authoritatively.

"Shouldn't some of us stay here? In case-" Rachel began.

"What, did your boyfriend give you tips on death eater strategy?" Marlene asked mockingly.

"Do any of you remember seeing any actual death eaters on the train the last time it was attacked?" Rachel asked, ignoring Marlene.

"We were sealed in our compartment. We couldn't see much of anything," Remus answered in his usual placating manner.

The other wizards nodded in agreement as they continued making their way towards the exit, obviously planning to go fight the death eaters. Marlene didn't bother to respond at all, but followed the others in silence.

"What if they received help from inside the train? Shouldn't some of us stay just in case?"

"Alright then Rachel, you stay here with Crouch. His father is the head of the DMLE," Benjy stated. Turning to Barty he asked, "You don't mind to help, do you?"

Barty shook his head, though Rachel didn't miss his slight grimace, "My Father would expect nothing less. Let me just go tell my friends so they don't come looking for me. I'll be right back," he answered before turning on his heel and quickly walking to a compartment near the back of the train.

"Great, good luck!" Benjy called to Rachel as he pulled open the door of the train and jumped out. He was quickly followed by Marlene and the Prewett twins. Remus hesitated before turning back to her,

"Maybe I should stay too. It would make sense if they had inside help."

If it had been one of the other Order members she might have agreed. As it was his two best friends that needed backup, she would have been selfish to ask him to.

"They really are outnumbered out there. You should go help them," she answered forcefully, "If anything happens here I'll contact you."

"If anything happens here, we will be too far away to help," he answered evenly.

"I'll be fine. They need a lot more help than I do," she said inclining her head in the direction the other Order members had gone.

He nodded, though his expression clearly indicated he disapproved of the plan. He quickly wished her luck before leaving to catch up to the others.

* * *

Sirius had flown upwards immediately upon seeing the death eaters. He had sensed that Regulus had moved even before James' patronus was formed. He had no idea where either of them were now.

Shortly after beginning to gain altitude while happily invisible, a death eater had cast the spell to reveal them before immediately following up with the counter curse to the disillusionment charm.

Sirius had to immediately change directions to avoid a nasty looking yellow spell.

Turning abruptly, Sirius hit his target with a finger removing jinx on his wand hand which caused him to have to dive after his dropped wand.

Sirius flew upwards again, intending to locate James or Regulus when he was met by another death eater. Sirius blocked a stunner, which would have been fatal given their height, and quickly cast a bone breaker at the death eater's wand hand.

Sirius didn't even have time to see if it made contact before he had to flip under his broom to avoid a killing curse from the death eater that had lost his fingers on his wand hand- he apparently had decent aim with both hands, Sirius mused.

Not feeling particularly forgiving, he transfigured the culprit's broom into a rock before immediately disarming him. As the death eater began to sink, undoubtedly to his death, Sirius looked to the death eater that he had previously cast the bone breaker at and smirked.

Fully expecting the remaining death eater to go after his mate immediately, Sirius was annoyed when the death eater hesitated. He cast a stunning spell at him on principle and watched as they both sank like stones.

He hadn't realized how long he had remained relatively stationary, but it must have been longer than he thought, as he was now completely surrounded by death eaters. He knew Regulus had been planning to avoid the death eaters in favor of catching up to the train. Any plans Sirius had to do the same were put on hold for the time being.

He couldn't see Regulus or James anywhere and his current situation made it impossible for him to do anything but block spells. It was only a matter of time before he wouldn't be able to do that if they kept up at this rate. He abruptly turned his broom and dove towards the ground, zigzagging dangerously to avoid curses, and nearly unseating himself. Twice.

After getting far enough away that only two of the death eaters had been able to keep up with him, he abruptly turned and began to duel with them. He could vaguely see other wizards entering the fray above him. He hoped they were Order members who could take care of some of the death eaters he had just escaped from.

* * *

Barty returned to Rachel a couple of minutes later after evidently having explained the situation to his friends.

"Sorry to pull you away-" she began once he returned.

"Nonsense. The alternative is being stuck in my compartment for several more hours. I always did loathe how long it takes to get to Hogwarts on this train. I mean, why not let us use floo powder or some other faster means?"

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad for me because I grew up in London. Think of those who live far away- in Scotland or Ireland. They have to make it all the way to King's Cross only to return north by this mandatory means of travel," she said gesturing with her arms to indicate the train.

"Ah, but where is your sense of tradition?" he asked in a falsely enthusiastic tone that made Rachel laugh.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have much patience for traditions," she answered, which unexplainably turned Barty's expression sour. "Do you think we should treat this as we did our prefect duties and patrol together?"

"No, there are two entrances. I think we should separate and each guard one. Even if there are students involved they can't leave with anyone without using one of those exits."

"What if they have a portkey?"

"They would have to step off of the train for it to work. Only Dumbledore could make a portkey capable of working from the train itself. It is warded from most forms of apparition as well."

"How do you know that?"

"My father is the head of the DMLE," he answered with a smirk.

"Oh, right. You are privy to a lot of information most of us never hear, I'm sure. Which door would you prefer to guard then?" Rachel asked.

He gestured towards the back of the train, "I'll take this one. If you have no objections?"

She shook her head and agreed to guard the door at the front of the train before setting off in that direction. In truth she would have much preferred to guard the back of the train. She might have been able to see some of the battle between the death eaters and Order members through the still magnified window from there. There was nothing to see from her angle.

She vaguely considered sending a patronus to Barty, just to ask for an update on the battle when she heard the unmistakable laugh of a woman. She desperately hoped her suspicion was wrong regarding whose laugh it was. She had never met Bellatrix Lestrange before, but even despite Regulus' half-hearted attempts at defending her, Rachel believed she was no better than Voldemort in terms of cruelty.

Her fears were confirmed a moment later when the beautiful yet terrifying woman she had seen in the ministry posters appeared. She was tall and stood proud. Her resemblance to Regulus and Sirius was undeniable, yet her eyes held a sadistic glint in them that neither of the brothers' could ever have.

Any fight Barty had put up against her had obviously been in vain. She forced him to his knees and shoved her wand painfully into his neck. Barty's wand was nowhere to be seen.

"And who is this?" Bellatrix asked as she looked over Rachel appraisingly, "A new member of the Order?"

Rachel intended to answer but her traitorous voice failed her. She instead stood wide eyed, in a manner that she hoped could at least be considered defiant, though her heart was racing.

"I asked you a question. Clearly you've not been taught to respect your betters."

"I'm a pureblood," Rachel answered, surprising herself with how calm her voice sounded, "Not that it should matter, but that's all you really care about anyway, isn't it?"

Bellatrix giggled in a completely non-girly and entirely evil sort of way, "Usually, perhaps. However, you are currently the only thing that stands between my successful abduction with the child of an important ministry official. I can assure you, you do not want to be responsible for slowing progress."

Rachel's face crumpled. How could she not have realized Barty would be the target? His father was the head of the DMLE. He had pushed for legislation to allow aurors to use unforgivable curses on known death eaters only last week. No wonder Barty seemed reluctant to help out- he knew he would be targeted.

Interpreting her reaction accurately, Barty stated, "Its okay, Rachel. Trading one person for the safety of the entire student population of Hogwarts… it's worth the sacrifice."

She wanted to argue, but found she couldn't. If she were in Barty's position, she would have wanted to do the same thing. She lowered her wand slightly and nodded.

"Good girl!" Bellatrix cackled madly, before banishing Barty at Rachel, effectively knocking both of them to the ground. She then cast,

"Accio, Miranda Minchum."

A moment later and to Rachel's horror the tiny second year, who was the daughter of the minister of magic was in Bellatrix's arms with a wand to her neck.

"Excellent decision, _Rachel. _Crouch, I'm tempted to capture you as well, but as you've been unknowingly helpful- I shall let you live," She then began to back away towards the exit of the train so that she could portkey away. When she turned to leave however, she found her way blocked.

* * *

Author's Note: In case there isn't a good place to mention in the next chapter, Barty's father insisted he attend Edgar Bones' funeral… that's why he was on the train and not still at Hogwarts.


	32. Air Attack Part 2

Regulus went immediately to the back entrance of the Hogwarts Express. It had been the door he and Evan used to deliver their victim in another life. He was invisible, but still took a moment to ensure no one was watching before grabbing ahold of the cold metal railing near the door and clambering off of his broom. He hastily shrunk the broom and stowed it away in his pocket before awkwardly opening the door and pulling himself inside.

As expected, his disillusionment ended as soon as he entered the train. He knew from reading, _Hogwarts: A History, _that the train was charmed in a way that only the most powerful of invisibility cloaks could maintain disillusionment inside its walls.

He heard his cousin's voice, "Excellent decision_, Rachel_. Crouch, I'm tempted to capture you as well, but as you've been unknowingly helpful- I shall let you live."

There was just enough time for him to hope that she was referring to any Rachel other than Candor before he found himself staring into Bellatrix's face. It was fortunate he was disguised as Marcus. It would have been difficult for Bella not to recognize the near replica of her own gray eyes staring back at her otherwise.

Less fortunate was that Regulus didn't have the same luxury of believing her to be a stranger. He knew exactly who she was. Any effort to reason with her would be useless and he knew it, but he refused not to try. Given the choice between a twelve year old, innocent girl and his murderous cousin… he knew the choice should be easy. It wasn't.

He didn't know the girl. She was a gangly little thing and clearly terrified. Whoever she was, it was obvious Bella had grown tired of her sniveling, for despite the rapid movement of her lips, no sound escaped them. As much as Regulus wanted to pretend he had no idea who she was, he knew she must be the minister of magic's daughter. The only other high ranking official with a child attending Hogwarts this year was Crouch.

Regulus could still vaguely remember from his youth how his mother had ranted the first time Harold Minchum had been considered for the Minister's position. If he 'is unable to produce a proper heir, then he is certainly unfit to run our ministry', she had said.

Apparently enough influential families shared her view as the position had gone to Eugenia Jenkins instead. It was widely believed his lack of children had been the only reason he had not become minister then- failing to produce an heir was a crime worthy of Azkaban in the eyes of some ancient families. It was likely as a result from their pressure that Minchum and his wife had _this_ child during the first year of Jenkins' seven years in office. Regulus could actually remember hearing the gossip that the pregnancy had caused. _That's_ how young this girl was, he realized with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Bella cackled, "I didn't know there were so many eager to join the Order these days. Who is our newest guest?" she purred as she puffed out her chest in a would-be enticing manner.

Regulus knew Bella enjoyed using her natural allure to draw men in before she killed them. It seemed to give her some sick satisfaction to turn them on before beginning the torture. Regulus had never been on the receiving end of his cousin's provocative antics before, obviously. He would have almost found it amusing in a disgusting sort of way, if he hadn't just glimpsed her other 'opposition' on hand.

Rachel was disentangling herself from an obviously traumatized, Barty Crouch Jr. No doubt he had played the role of helpless victim admirably. Regulus hoped his self-preservation would continue, forcing him to actually help Rachel, rather than risk outing his true loyalties.

Regulus smirked at Bella, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

She pouted her lips, "Perhaps a hint then, for me?" She asked in a sultry tone before casually adjusting the neck of her robes.

Regulus adopted Sirius' carefree posture and mannerisms. He thought it best not to appear too much like the perfect pureblood that he undoubtedly was in present company. Completely ignoring the child she held captive in front of her, Regulus made a show of looking Bellatrix over appreciatively,

"In my experience, the packages wrapped in the prettiest of paper, tend to be the most dangerous. My instincts tell me you are no different. What if you deem that I am unworthy of magical blood? What if you wish to kill me? Wouldn't I be better off by far, not to tell you anything that could help you hunt me down later? At least now, while I am unsure what your intentions towards me are."

Bella smiled victoriously at his subtle compliment. "Perhaps you only dream that I will hunt you down later," she answered with pouted lips. The little girl began thrashing violently and Bellatrix immobilized her with a lazy flick of her wrist.

He smiled despite his desire to gag as he answered, "Regretfully, I doubt any of your plans would be for my enjoyment."

"Still, it's only natural for you to be curious about me. I've yet to meet a man that could resist. You are right though. If you were a pureblood I would recognize you. As I do not, you are unworthy of my time," she answered as she studied him carefully, "Who are you?"

"You can't know _every_ pureblood," Regulus answered, evading her question.

"I know all of whom deserve the title, those belonging to the sacred twenty-eight."

"Even with that distinction I doubt you know all of them. For instance, the Weasley's descendants. What about them?" he asked unconcernedly.

She scoffed before proclaiming, "They do not deserve to be recognized! They, who are blood traitors and muggle lovers!"

Regulus chuckled, "You have quite the temper, don't you? I am not a pureblood by anyone's standards. At least I will admit as much. I daresay there are far more parvenus within the death eater ranks than are willing to admit it."

"At least those who pretend to have better blood status, do so because they recognize some blood is better than most."

"Or perhaps they only play a part. Continuing to wear a mask even after removing their porcelain skull and heavy cloak."

Bellatrix smirked, "Your blood may be dirty, but no doubt you've been influenced by your betters. That should serve you well."

Regulus laughed, "Because it is only by working sotto voce insults into every day conversation that purebloods can thrive."

"You'd do well to remember such insults are only effective when made to sound complimentary."

"I'll keep that in mind. So what's with the little girl?" Regulus asked casually. "Prefer to steal an heir for the Lestrange family rather than raise one yourself?"

"Something like that. And what of you? Decide hitching a ride on the Express was a better option than venturing through a gaggle of death eaters? With your unfortunate blood status I can't say I blame you."

"Something like that. She is the minister's daughter, I presume?"

"Naturally," Bella smiled cruelly.

"Seems like a waste of effort to me, taking her," Regulus nodded towards the girl. "The ministry being as riddled with spies and corruption as it is… The Dark Lord is the Minister of Magic in all but title. Why go through all of this trouble for a little girl that will gain you no leverage? I would think even Crouch over there would be more productive. It is because of his father that I could kill you right now without fear of punishment."

"Try to kill me and you will know punishment, I assure you," Bella answered seriously before cackling again, "As for Crouch, I doubt his father would even notice if we killed him."

"The little girl is just as useless to you as Crouch then. You could accomplish more by threatening to take her than by actually doing so. Her father is an old man, I suspect he would happily enter his retirement early if it spared his daughter. If she were actually killed, he has nothing to gain by being cooperative." Seeing he was having no effect on her whatsoever he decided to stall, "Besides that, look at her. She can't be older than thirteen. I can barely even remember being so young… what were you doing at that age?"

"Sneaking forbidden grimoires from the family library and practicing the cruciatus on house elves," she answered solemnly.

"How charming," Regulus answered dryly. Why was he even trying to reason with a psychopath? Oh right, the alternative was dueling with his cousin, whom he didn't actually know if he was capable of beating if it came to that. He also knew he didn't _want_ to kill her- even if he could somehow manage it.

"As you must already know, I cannot let the girl go. I have orders from the Dark Lord himself. You should be far more worried about yourself than the girl. If you truly are a member of Dumbledore's pathetic Order, you would do well to re-consider your allegiance. Join the winning side! Assuming you are capable enough with your spell work, the Dark Lord may be able to overlook your lapse in judgment and poor blood status… in exchange for information and your allegiance, of course. Shall I call him now?" She held her wand to her left forearm in a manner that he hoped was somehow instinctive and not intentional.

_Surely she did not actually just call him_. He forced himself not to react. He should not know how the death eaters called Voldemort, or about the dark mark, or about anything.

"I can't imagine he doesn't have better things to do. I am not a member of the Order, but I am a half-blood. I fail to see how fighting for pureblood supremacy could benefit me," he answered calmly.

"You may not be pure but you have aura about you. I've no doubt The Dark Lord would want to evaluate you himself. As for what you have to gain? I would think your continued existence would be enticing enough," she answered, eyes glinting maliciously.

"What of the little girl's continued existence? Do you really want to deliver someone so young to her death?" He asked in a tone that sounded almost indifferent, despite his increasing trepidation. He was all but certain she had in fact just called Voldemort.

He began weighing his options. He could fight Bella for the little girl, but if she had called Voldemort they were going to die anyway. He could try to escape. If he tried to take the girl he would definitely die. Alone, he could probably make it. Maybe.

What was the point of even coming here if he was just going to back out at the last second? He hadn't wanted anyone innocent to be killed. He had been willing to risk his life for theirs. But despite his effort, he couldn't save her. He had missed his opportunity to fight Bella if Voldemort was truly on his way. The best he could hope for was to waste enough time in hope that more from the Order would show up. He knew Barty would keep Rachel from intervening. Maybe his own murder would be enough distraction for someone else to save her.

"Those who stand in the way of the Dark Lord deserve punishment!" she answered passionately and accusingly as if daring him to stand in her way.

"What has this child done to defy your master?"

"That is not for me to decide."

"On the contrary, it is for you to decide, Madam Lestrange. You are the one that is going to be held accountable in the end for the choices you have made. How will you defend your actions when you never knew the motivation behind them in the first place?"

Bella sneered, "What is this nonsense? You led me to believe we were likeminded, yet you speak as if expecting a defeat of The Dark Lord."

"I didn't lead you to believe anything. You drew your own assumptions."

Bellatrix's sneer grew more pronounced, "As riveting as this conversation has been," she gestured to the now stilled and silenced girl, "I shall let your fate be decided by The Dark Lord. Perhaps with proper influence you will come to your senses," she said as she began to try to get around him.

"Ah, I thought we might run into that hiccup, 'Accio portkey'." As the portkey was suspended mid-air, Regulus considered casting a spell to destroy it. At the last second he decided not to. Bella's retaliation would have been inevitable and the minister's daughter was still between them.

"I hoped you would provide me with more information before running off," he added charmingly. He allowed the portkey to sit in the open palm of his left hand and in plain sight, in effort to seem less aggressive. He held up his hand to examine the portkey, which was also a broach. He ruled out any possibility of it being a horcrux once he saw the Black family crest engraved on it. "This is beautiful, by the way," he complimented.

Bella was clearly taken aback by his gall, and perhaps even more so by the casualness that followed. Though her expression gave away nothing, Regulus thought she must be undecided on whether to be more angry that he had stolen her portkey or excited at the prospect of gaining her master a new follower. Regulus guessed her customary anger and rage would likely win out.

Before she showed any reaction and before Regulus could further his verbal assault of reason, the entire train shook with such ferocity that Regulus was forced to his knees. Bella was able to maintain her standing position by using the little girl in front of her as a crutch. Once she realized the cause of disruption though, she knelt. Regulus' heart sank the rest of the way to his stomach, knowing there was only one person that could elicit such respect from Bellatrix.

* * *

Barty crashed into Rachel and they landed in a painful heap near the front of the train. As they struggled to disentangle their limbs, Rachel began,

"Oh Barty, I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened. I didn't mean to just let her to take you. I-"

"Stop Rachel. I cast a compulsion charm to keep you from trying to fight her, less you would have gotten yourself killed."

"You- How? You didn't even have a wand."

"I've been practicing wandless magic. And actually" he reached into his boot, "I always carry a spare," he held up his wand to exemplify that fact.

Wandless magic was incredibly difficult. She was impressed but even more relieved to learn that her lack of interference had been due to his compulsion rather than her own weakness. She would have both complimented his abilities and chastised him for his stupidity if not for the dire situation they now found themselves in.

"We have to help Marcus. There are three of us-"

"No! We can't. He chose to come here, he must have a plan to save the girl. We should do what we can to protect the rest of the students. Beyond that, we should stay out of the way."

Rachel considered his words. She knew Barty was an excellent duelist and assumed Marcus was too, less he was incredibly foolish to come here alone. While her skills were nothing to scoff at, she couldn't deny she was intimidated by Bellatrix. She also had no doubt that if the three of them took her on, no student would be safe. The older witch held no regard for protecting the innocent, that much was obvious.

With some resignation she agreed that protecting the other students should be their first priority. They set to work magically sealing the students inside their compartments before reinforcing the walls of each compartment. At Barty's insistence they also cast spells to ensure the students could not see or hear anything that was going on outside their compartment. He was clearly very concerned that the students might see or overhear something that would be traumatizing to them.

As they were finishing their spells, an unknown force rocked the train hard enough that she fell to the ground. She heard Barty curse under his breath, but before she discovered what had caused the commotion, she was knocked unconscious and knew no more.

* * *

Sirius had been battling each death eater he met, with varied results. At first he worried too much about what would become of the wizards who fell to the ground to be effective. Once he realized what he was doing he wondered, _why do I suddenly care about that?_ Aside from them deserving to die, magical children were capable of accidental magic when their lives were in danger. Why should a full grown wizard not be able to produce a simple cushioning charm in a similar situation? They were also death eaters, perfectly happy to kill him.

As he dodged and deflected the onslaught of deadly curses, he subconsciously realized what had changed. He had always been 'better' than Regulus. Certainly not by his family's standards, but nearly anyone else thought him to be the better person. He was supposed to be the one with the higher moral standards. Now that he and Regulus were both on the 'light' side, he was still trying to find ways to be superior to his brother.

It was an exceptionally stupid thing to even compare when he knew the main difference between them had been his own ability to escape their family. It occurred to him that channeling his brother's thoughts could actually be beneficial. Thinking like a death eater, even a defected one, had to be more efficient than what the Order had been doing previously.

While he subconsciously considered this, his spell choice grew progressively darker. He had just hit his target with a particularly strong asphyxiation curse, when all of the death eaters, aside from his victim, disapparated. Sirius watched his death eater struggle with fascination. It seemed he was too impeded with his left arm to focus on improving his current air quality.

For the briefest of moments Sirius felt guilty for casting a curse that would cause such suffering before death. He reminded himself that if the death eater died it would be a result of his own inability to react properly- and because of Voldemort's habit of branding his followers like cattle, which was apparently distracting at the moment. He was decidedly against taking any responsibility for the part he played in the death eater's impending death. He knew Regulus would approve even if no one else did.

His fellow Order members had congregated above him. When he caught up to the group, he noticed each of them to be in varying degrees of injury and dishevel. He was pleased to find James and Remus looked mostly unscathed. Fenwick was doing his best to stifle the bleeding of a nasty looking curse wound across Marlene's neck. Gideon was cradling his left arm gingerly- as if he might actually lose it if he let go. Fabian was nowhere to be seen. As the twins were rarely apart, Sirius didn't want to think of the implications of his absence.

"What's happened? Did they just leave?" Sirius demanded.

"We don't know-" James answered.

Marlene interrupted shakily, "I don't know if it means anything, but just after they disappeared something looked different about the Hogwarts Express. It looked more like black smoke from my angle, but maybe they apparated there."

"Why are you just now mentioning this?" James demanded.

"Oh, I'm sorry! It must have slipped my mind after I was nearly beheaded!" She shot back at him.

"Quiet, both of you. We need to find out what is going on in the train. James, Sirius, Remus and I will go and see if they need help. Gideon and Marlene need the hospital."

"I don't need the hospital! I need to find Fabian," Gideon argued.

"You need the hospital. Once you are there tell Dumbledore what has happened immediately. James, you're the best flier, you look for Fabian. Sirius, Remus and I will see what needs to be done on the train. Go, now! We are wasting time."

James immediately left to go look for their fallen comrade, obviously hoping to catch up with them once he was finished. Sirius and Remus listened to Gideon argue with Benjy for another minute before Sirius nodded to Remus and they went on alone.

* * *

Regulus looked up through his eyelashes and every ounce of pride he possessed screamed at him to stand up, rather than remain in such a submissive position- especially when the position had only been taken by accident. The self-preserving part of his brain knew if he had any chance of survival he needed to bury his pride. He couldn't win against Voldemort, much less him and his minions. For apparently he didn't go anywhere without a dozen death eaters these days.

"A member of Dumbledore's Order who knows his place is at my feet. How refreshing," said the cold cruel voice that had haunted Regulus' nightmares long before any visits to the cave had. He seriously considered casting the killing curse on himself as the corridor filled with the jeers and laughter of the gathered death eaters.

Regulus concentrated on making his body mimic the calm, only his face had successfully maintained. Ignoring that his heart felt like it might burst through his chest any moment, he quickly reinforced his occlumency shields before chuckling derisively,

"Dumbledore's Order? Certainly not. Any opposition to your cause has proven less than useless, and certainly unworthy of my time. To be honest, I only found myself in my current position as a result of your impressive entrance. I regress though, of course I should kneel before you, my blood is impure. Madam Lestrange suggested there might be a small possibility that you may be able to overlook my… unfortunate heritage though, if I am able to prove myself capable, of course. If I may speak candidly-"

He paused long enough for Voldemort to nod his snakelike head, before continuing,

"I had hoped for more time to train, so that when the time comes for me to join, I will be fully prepared and able to advance within your ranks. I hope to one day become your most skilled and trusted follower," Regulus invented smoothly.

"Interesting."

Regulus felt a strong probe on his occlumency shields. While he was a death eater he would allow Voldemort to see what he wanted him to see to avoid suspicion. There was nothing he could show him now that wouldn't be incriminating. Fully aware of the risk in not giving Voldemort what he wanted, he completely blocked him from gaining anything from his mind. "Clearly you've studied occlumency. What is your name?" he asked shrewdly.

"Marcus Atilius."

"And why have you bothered with such strong mental shields, Marcus Atilius?"

Voldemort could push hard enough to access anything he wanted if the prospect of rendering him mad by the time he was finished didn't bother him. Regulus had witnessed the occurrence enough times that he wouldn't even feel special if he received the same fate. For now he could only hope to appear as useful. He would die before he rejoined the death eaters. That didn't mean he wasn't willing to lie through his teeth to save himself when it came down to it. Foolish pride was a Gryffindor trait, and he had never claimed to be brave.

Unfortunately if Bellatrix was asked to recant the entirety of their conversation it would be his undoing.

"It is an area I have studied thoroughly. Naturally, I wished to show you a skill I've worked hard to acquire."

Voldemort looked at him appraisingly, "You do not look so young that you couldn't be useful now. How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Are you a student at Hogwarts?"

"No, I never went to Hogwarts. I was trained at home."

"If you are not a member of the Order nor a student, how have you come to be on this train?"

Regulus looked down and forced himself to look embarrassed, "You would laugh if I told you."

"We could all do with a bit more laughter, wouldn't you think?" Voldemort asked kindly. _The manipulative bastard._

"I just- I'm to graduate this year," 'Marcus' stuttered in barely over a whisper. "I only wanted to ride the Hogwarts Express once," he looked up to ensure Voldemort wasn't about to kill him on the spot for his lie before continuing, "I read in _The Prophet_ that the train was to leave from King's Cross today. I managed to find the platform and followed the track on my broom until I reached the train. Madam Lestrange caught me," Regulus looked down as if a child preparing to be scolded.

Voldemort smiled in a less cruel way than his norm. None of his sheep dared to react.

"It's a shame you were homeschooled. Attending Hogwarts is an experience no wizard should miss. You may stand." Regulus did as he was told. "I'm afraid giving you more time to commit is something I am unwilling to do. Bella summoned me, and I am far too busy for this to become a wasted effort. If you are not ready to join my ranks by now, then you never will be. Pledge your loyalty to me, Marcus Atilius, or you shall learn what it means to be my enemy."

"How can you be sure I am ready? I haven't done anything to prove my skills."

Voldemort laughed mirthlessly, "Foolish boy. Just because you _want_ to join certainly does not mean you are worthy. You must be tested first. You exude a desire to prove yourself; I am willing to give you that chance."

"But… I am a half-blood," Regulus said not even bothering to conceal his nerves.

"You are clearly doing what you can to overcome your poor bloodlines. It's commendable."

Regulus had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from answering with something that would get him murdered where he stood. Instead he nodded his head and replied,

"Thank you, my Lord. Tell me when and where, and I will be there," he lied, but in an appropriately eager tone as he quickly looked over the masked death eaters who were gathered. He was able to identify most of them. His eyes lingered momentarily on Evan before returning back to Voldemort.

"You really aren't a member of the Order, are you?" Voldemort chuckled, "They are brave, oh yes- but foolish. Any one of them would have preferred to be murdered at my feet rather than even dare pretend they wished to join me. I can see why Bella called me now, I confess I am intrigued by you. Despite your age and being a half-blood, your occlumency shields are some of the strongest I've seen. Usually it is only the ancient families who value the skill enough to teach it early. It is obvious you are ambitious. Yet, you expressed hesitance in joining me. You should know already that I can help you reach your potential much faster than you could alone. I require proof that your true allegiance is with me- we shall do your first test now."

"As you wish, but what will the test be?" Realizing his tone could have been considered annoyed he added hastily, "My lord."

Voldemort smiled evilly, "So eager all of a sudden. Very well, to start you will duel with some of my better duelists. If you win we shall proceed from there."

"Will I duel with them separately, or all at once?"

Bella's laughter in response to his question caught his attention. He noticed the little girl remained sprawled at her feet, temporarily forgotten.

Voldemort chuckled in response, "He certainly does seem to understand the rules, doesn't he?" He asked before addressing Marcus coldly, "All at once of course."

"Will there be rules? What is to stop your men from killing me?"

"Absolutely nothing."

Regulus vaguely thought the 'entrance tests' for the death eaters must be more difficult for half-bloods.

"Very well, which of your men will I be fighting?" he asked offhandedly as if completely undaunted by the prospect.

The death eaters laughed amongst themselves and taunted him before they were silenced by a sharp look from Voldemort. As Regulus had already identified nearly all of them, he knew none could be considered a weak duelist by any means.

Voldemort made a show of considering his options. Eventually he answered, "Snape and Rosier."

"You can't be serious," he answered automatically not even caring that it was a stupid thing to say.

"Where is the confidence you had only a moment ago?" Voldemort asked him critically.

"That's not it. Snape is a half-blood. Surely one so young and with such an unfortunate bloodline isn't really among your better duelists. And Rosier? He may be pure, but he wasn't exactly in the best of health before his visit to Azkaban. I can't imagine the dementors did much to improve his condition."

As much as Regulus didn't want to meet Evan's gaze after insulting his father, he couldn't help but notice when Voldemort turned to glance at Snape and then Evan. He was fully aware the elder Rosier wasn't even within the crowd of death eaters.

If Regulus refused to join, he would be killed. If he agreed to join, there was no doubt his identity would be discovered- and he would killed. It didn't matter that his remark had just lost him any approval he had gained from Voldemort previously. He was going to die regardless. The least he could do was try to take one of the worst with him- Evan nor Snape fit that description.

"You certainly have nerve," Voldemort said, in a tone that sounded neither complimentary or insulting. While he generally condoned the death eaters fighting each other when it was for his benefit, Regulus doubted a supposed 'potential recruit's' cheek would be taken as anything but disrespectful.

"Whether you are skilled or incredibly foolish, we shall see. You will duel Lestrange, Selwyn and Travers."

Yes, his comment had definitely been taken as disrespectful. Regulus was momentarily relieved he at least didn't have to worry about those pesky marriage contracts anymore. Possibly being responsible for the death of Katherine Selwyn's brother would have made family gatherings awkward if she had been selected to become his wife- not that he was going to live long enough for it to matter anyway.

"Sounds appropriately challenging," he lied. "Where shall the battle take place?"

"Brace yourselves."

With a swish of Voldemort's wand the back center of the train extracted itself from the rest of the structure. Regulus caught himself from falling this time, and glimpsed the portion of the train that held all of the students mending itself quickly as the corridor he stood, on along with Voldemort and his death eaters, slowly drifted to the ground.

* * *

Regulus desperately wanted to summon a portkey from his pocket. Unfortunately with as closely as he was being watched, he would have been killed five times over before his portkey left if he even attempted it. As they landed in some random field somewhere between London and Hogwarts, Regulus realized the minister's daughter was no longer at Bella's feet, or anywhere else that he could see.

No one else appeared to have noticed her absence. It seemed they were all too eager to witness his upcoming murder to worry about her anymore. He didn't know if by some chance the Order had actually managed to rescue her or if she had simply fallen out of the train when it split. Either way he thought she was likely better off than remaining with the death eaters.

As soon as he could, Regulus stepped off of the carpet and into the meadow they had landed on. He surreptitiously checked to see if anyone had thought to cast the anti-apparition wards while Voldemort vanished the stolen corridor of the Hogwarts Express. Naturally the anti-apparition wards had already been placed.

He still held the portkey he had confiscated from Bella in his left hand. Unfortunately she never used anything sensible to activate her portkeys. Figuring out the code to activate it discretely would be virtually impossible. It could be anything from the Polish word for Mudblood, to the name of the muggle Prime Minister. If he did manage to figure out the password, it would likely only take him to more death eaters anyway. He pushed the idea of even attempting using it from his mind and shoved the broach into his pocket for safe keeping- it was still a family heirloom.

Prior to the train splitting, he had an escape plan. He had been working out how strong of a blasting curse would be enough to blow a hole through the outer wall of the Hogwarts Express, without being so strong that it would kill any of the students. After blasting the hole, he had planned to jump out of the train and immediately disapparate.

It would have been an impressive showing of cowardice, and likely wouldn't have worked. It still would have been worth the effort if he managed to survive, or even if it earned him a quick death rather than prolonged suffering. With the fight being taken to ground level, he was good and properly stuck. His mind was still working to come up with another plan though. If he could rid the world of one of the death eaters, it would accomplish more than his seemingly useless mission had otherwise.

Regulus stood as straight and proud as any pureblood, and some less pure like Tom Riddle who only pretended, would be expected as he faced his opposition. He nearly wanted to remove his glamours and reveal who he was, seeing as he was going to die anyway. He didn't though, knowing that by maintaining his disguise he would have a chance to at least take one of the death eaters with him. With any luck, his body would be destroyed enough that it couldn't be identified, as that would keep his mother safe.

Regulus took a moment to consider his opponents. Rabastan had been a few years ahead of him at Hogwarts. They weren't exactly friends, but would have been considered allies certainly. Travers graduated sometime between Rabastan and Rodolphus though Regulus couldn't recall when exactly. Regulus guessed he was around 25 years old. While he knew very little else about him, he did know Travers to be cruel and sadistic. To be fair, that same description could be applied to nearly all of the death eaters. Selwyn had been two years ahead of Regulus in school. He had always seemed less cruel than the other two, though maybe only because he was younger. Unfortunately for him, he was the smallest of Regulus' three combatants.

Regulus was vaguely aware the death eaters who were not participating had formed a circle around them. They had spent the last couple of minutes casting protective wards around the duelists in order to keep all of their magic contained within a transparent dome. Regulus didn't look for Evan. There was nothing he could do to help and for him to even attempt to interfere would be his own death sentence.

Regulus closed his eyes and focused all of his energy on what he willed to do. He knew anyone watching would likely think he was either giving up or just completely insane. He didn't care and blocked everything else out as he continued to formulate his plan. The spell he had decided on was one he had found in his family's grimoires years ago. It was really nothing more than a modified switching spell, but strong enough for human use. It was also incredibly dangerous if done improperly. Regulus had studied how to do it because he believed it useful. He had never actually been desperate enough to test it though. He vaguely heard Voldemort command them all to bow and he did so briefly while opening his eyes. Before he even had time to raise his head from his bow he felt his body move.

Suddenly he was on the other side of the dome and watching Selwyn die from the killing curse Rabastan had intended for him. It seemed Travers had chosen to block rather than attack. Unfortunately for him he was only protecting his front and 'Marcus' was now slightly behind him. Before Travers could correct his mistake, Regulus had already hit him with an 'imperio'. A moment later an unsuspecting and slightly distraught Rabastan was hit by a killing curse from an imperiused Travers. Regulus had only commanded Travers to aim his spell at Rabastan- the spell choice had belonged to Travers'.

In Regulus' surprise of having helped to orchestrate a second murder so easily, he lost his focus and was unable to hold his imperius curse on Travers. He was immediately forced to spin away from Travers' killing curse. Regulus knew he was much quicker than Travers and instead of bothering with any protections, he began an offensive assault of potentially deadly spells. As soon as Travers was hit with a strangulation curse that he seemed unable to counter, Regulus summoned his most readily available portkey, not even remotely concerned with where it would take him.

Technically Voldemort should have been impressed with his skills. Seeing as he had just assisted in the killing of two of his men-with a third on the way, and because he never actually wanted to rejoin the death eaters, Regulus knew this to be his last chance of escape. Pulling out the shrunken book/portkey, Regulus immediately activated it. The book was lighting up as the death eaters worked to take down their protective dome. With Voldemort's help, the dome was lifted before Regulus' portkey left.

Regulus was forced to dive to the ground, narrowly missing Voldemort's killing curse. Even without it hitting him, his ears were ringing from the sheer power that had been put behind it. He immediately had to roll to the side in order to dodge another streak of green light. He saw several other death eaters casting at him, but blessedly his portkey left before many of their spells could come to fruition. Less fortunate was that someone, judging by his hair he thought it was Avery, had dove for him. Having latched onto his legs at the last second, he was brought along for the ride.

After a couple of moments of trying to kick the heavier man off his legs, Regulus gave up using physical force and confunded him before successfully detaching himself. What happened to the death eater after that, Regulus didn't know or care. A moment later he fell to his knees in the area between the Leaky Cauldron and the wall that led into Diagon Alley.

He took a moment to ensure he wasn't actually going to be sick before disillusioning himself and disapparating to a couple blocks away from Grimmauld place. From there he ran towards the house he had grown up in, intending to cast the Fidelius Charm.

It was highly likely that Bella recognized some of the spells he used against Travers from their family's grimoires. Maintaining secrecy had been prioritized below his own survival at the time. As 'Marcus' had just catapulted himself to the top of Voldemort's hit list, his learning Marcus' true identity would do nothing to lessen his fury.

When Regulus arrived at the location where Number 12 Grimmauld Place should have appeared, he thought he must have suffered a serious head injury without realizing it. No matter how many different ways he tried to recall the address of his childhood home, it remained stubbornly out of sight.


	33. Different POVs

Sirius vacantly stared at the entrance of the infirmary from his seat at the edge of his bed. After having looked him over and finding nothing physically wrong, Madam Pomfrey settled for forcing a calming draught down his throat. Before moving on to Remus she had commented that, "It was only natural," for him to be "jittery" after the ordeal of rescuing the minister's daughter. She had no way of knowing that the ordeal had left him far more agitated than jittery.

They had made it to the back of the train and managed to keep themselves disillusioned long enough to retrieve the minister's daughter while everyone else had been distracted by Regulus. They had barely gotten her out before the train had been blown apart.

Helplessly waiting to find out what happened to Regulus was nearly unbearable. He also had no idea where to look for him, so hanging around Hogwarts was his best option for getting information. Dumbledore would be among the first to hear of any new developments. If he allowed himself to be optimistic, he knew Regulus would come to Hogwarts to find out how successful their rescue mission had been- not that there was any chance he was still alive.

Sirius was vaguely aware of the little girl sobbing a few beds down from him. The former Hufflepuff, now healing apprentice, Vesta MacMillan was doing all she could to calm the girl down. It was obvious though, whatever potions Madam Pomfrey had given her earlier were not particularly fast-acting. The minister's daughter remained as distraught as ever.

While Sirius couldn't help but hear the others around him, he was pointedly ignoring everyone. Especially _her_. Regulus had been left to fend for himself in order to save _her_. It had seemed so important at the time that she be rescued. Now that she was safe, the sight of her only made him bitter. Her crying was far more grating on his nerves than sympathy inducing while his brother's fate remained unknown.

Sirius never thought he could value self-preservation over bravery. He found himself second guessing those priorities now, at least where Regulus was concerned. If he hadn't been killed in this foolish act of bravery, Sirius was going to ensure he stayed out of all future battles. Regulus was his little brother. He was far more brainy than brawny, and he needed Sirius' protection. He had always been delicate when they were younger- at least he had been in Sirius' eyes.

Why had Sirius insisted he remain in the country? Maybe the minister's daughter could never have been saved if he had left. They would have never known the Hogwarts Express was even going to be attacked without him. Trying to save her was commendable and all, but who cares? Sirius nor Regulus knew the girl- she was a stranger. She is young and innocent because of it, but Regulus is only a few years older. If Regulus died in his effort to save her, the cost of her rescue by far outweighed the benefit in Sirius' eyes.

After having the minor injuries he had sustained in battle patched up, Remus now sat on a bed opposite of Sirius'. The werewolf wasn't even bothering to be discreet with the apprehensive looks he was giving his friend by now. Remus had always been one of very few people who didn't believe Sirius' apathetic attitude towards his brother. His intuitiveness in that regard had been even more apparent to Sirius the first time Regulus was believed to be dead. Sirius thought by the way Remus was looking at him, he must've expected Sirius was going to enter some sort of catabolic state.

They sat together in silence for a span of time that Sirius couldn't judge. The toll their 'mission' had taken on his body, coupled with the effects of the calming draught, left him feeling uncharacteristically lethargic. The sentiment was made worse by the sense of helplessness that he felt. He had no idea where Regulus was or if he was even still alive. After ignoring several more failed attempts at conversation, Remus eventually gave up trying to talk to him.

Sometime later, Sirius was shaken from his dazed state when an uproarious voice was heard just outside the infirmary. While he couldn't quite place the voice, Sirius thought it sounded familiar. Between the vague familiarity and the situation at hand, he had his suspicions of who the voice belonged to.

Those suspicions were confirmed a moment later when the door to the infirmary opened, revealing the Minister of Magic shouting at a seemingly unaffected Dumbledore. The minister's wife, brushed past her husband and the headmaster as she walked purposefully towards her daughter, Miranda. The little girl wasted no time falling back into hysterics as she embraced her mother, much to Sirius' annoyance.

After several minutes of the girl being allowed to cry unchecked, and Sirius was about to cast a silencing spell on the brat. He didn't know much about kids, but thought anyone old enough to attend Hogwarts was surely too old for this sort of meltdown. Blessedly, Mrs. Minchum proved capable of consoling her daughter once she put forth the effort to do so.

After the girl quieted down considerably, the two females approached Sirius and Remus. The elder female offered them an overly cordial, 'thank you' for all they had done for Miranda. The girl remained quiet with her face tucked towards her mother's shoulder.

While Remus politely insisted their assistance was minimal, Sirius remained silent, much to Remus' obvious annoyance. If Remus had known what Sirius was thinking though, he would have been grateful for his silence. He couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't have sounded disdainful.

Sirius had endured far worse torment at the hand of Bellatrix than what this girl went through today. Bella had 'experimented' on him and Regulus when they were younger. Mostly Regulus, for she had learned early that messing with him was far more irritating to Sirius than anything she could have done to the elder Black. Admittedly, she rarely ever actually hurt Regulus. If she wasn't caught and made to stop beforehand, she usually stopped on her own before actually harming him. Bella eventually gave up the experiments altogether in favor of winning the youngest Black over and turning Regulus against Sirius.

Regulus may have grown used to their cousin's antics over the years but he had never had any guarantee of safety. Perhaps one of the first signs of Bella's impending derangement had occurred while the entire family was on holiday together. Bellatrix was around sixteen and had been put in charge of 'babysitting' Sirius and Regulus while their fathers drank and their mothers gossiped.

Bella had suggested they all go for a walk along the beach. As they walked, she told them about the witch burnings that muggles used to partake in. She ridiculed the 'stupid muggles' and told them of her theory that no magical person could ever be burned alive. Even someone as young as Regulus should be capable of enough accidental magic to protect themselves. Jokingly, she remarked that she would be testing out that theory later on in their trip. At least Sirius and Regulus thought she had been joking.

A couple of nights later, Bella cornered Regulus by the pool and asked him to go for walk on the beach with her. While Sirius had previously thought she had only been joking about testing out her theory, something seemed off about her. Sirius tried to go with them, but was stopped when his father decided it was time for another lesson for the heir of the family.

Luckily, his uncle Alphard had been there. Seeing Sirius' agitation, he had made a point to appear far more drunk than he actually was. After a constant slew of inappropriate comments made by his uncle which either eluded to muggle sympathizing or something completely age inappropriate for Sirius to hear, his father had dismissed him from the lesson.

Sirius had immediately gone to find where Bella had taken Regulus. When he found them, Regulus had been stunned with a horrified expression on his face. Bella stood a few meters in front of him, wand in hand. Whether she actually would have set Regulus on fire or not, Sirius didn't know. He may have only been eight and wandless at the time, but that didn't mean he couldn't knock her flat by running into her at top speed. Something he knew she had never forgiven him for. As if he were the one who needed forgiveness for that day.

Fortunately their uncle Alphard had been perceptive enough to follow Sirius and was able to intervene before Bella could retaliate. After ensuring Regulus was uninjured, their uncle had marched all three of them back to their mothers. That was where his responsible judgment ended.

When they reached Walburga and Druella, Alphard foolishly asked Bella to tell her mother and aunt what had happened before excusing himself to get properly drunk. Bella's fabricated tale had sounded so flawlessly innocent that Druella nor Walburga could be bothered enough to listen to another side of the story. Uncle Alphard refused to take any trips with them again after that.

Regulus had been nowhere near as angry as Sirius was after it happened. He had certainly been far less distraught than this girl was now- and he had only been six. Sirius wondered if that said more about his upbringing or hers. Still, it wasn't really the little girl that irritated Sirius the most.

Of all of them, Regulus was the most deserving of the Minchum's gratitude. Yet, if Regulus' identity became known, the minister would be far more likely to have him arrested than thank him for any help he provided his daughter. Sirius had no doubt the minister would place more emphasis on Regulus' past affiliation, than his recent efforts to rectify it. The legislation to allow the use of unforgiveable curses against suspected death eaters may have been pushed by Crouch, but it never would have come to fruition if Minchum had not laid the foundation for harsher punishments years ago.

When Sirius first joined the Order, he hadn't understood Dumbledore's disapproval of allowing harsher punishments for criminals. It had seemed like common sense to him, considering the heinous crimes the death eaters were committing. After actively fighting with the Order for as long as he had though, Sirius now understood Dumbledore's hesitation. It was rarely the death eaters who received those harsher punishments.

Innocent men and women simply found in the wrong place at the wrong time were being sent to Azkaban. There they would await a trial that would never come. As far as Sirius could tell, the minister, Crouch and every other official believed to be 'incorruptible,' were knowingly allowing undeserving people to receive the brunt of their stricter punishments.

For the sake of spreading the perception that they were making progress in the fight against Voldemort, innocent people were being treated as criminals. Trials that would have proven their innocence were being delayed indefinitely until enough time had passed that the public accepted they had been guilty all along. Eventually the lack of trial was cleanly swept under the rug, and no one thought another thing about it. A fair trial, any trial actually, had become a luxury given to very few.

It was extremely unfortunate for Regulus that Minchum was the minister and Crouch controlled the DMLE. Both men were willing to do anything if it helped their own reputation. Given the current war, the best way for them to gain popularity was by reprimanding as many death eaters and sympathizers as possible. These days, actual guilt meant far less than the public's perception that one was guilty.

Sirius doubted Regulus would ever be allowed to live freely in Britain once his true identity was known. All it took to be arrested or worse was suspicion. Wizards far less suspicious than Regulus had been reprimanded in recent months.

Deciding he couldn't endure another moment of uselessly waiting, Sirius stood up. He didn't know the exact location they were at when the Hogwarts Express separated, but he was willing to look for it. With any luck he would find a clue as to where Regulus was now.

Before Sirius had taken more than a couple of steps towards the exit however, he was intercepted by James as he entered the infirmary. Obviously having overheard Dumbledore and the minister on his way in, James was mid-sentence of congratulating his fellow marauders for their successful rescue when he registered Sirius' expression. Immediately changing the subject he asked,

"What happened?"

When no one answered immediately, James glanced around the infirmary before trying again,

"Where's Marcus?"

Sirius glared at him. James may be his best mate, but that wouldn't stop him from clobbering him if he showed even the slightest amount of happiness at Regulus' apparent fate.

"We aren't sure," Remus supplied, obviously in effort to head off any potential outburst from Sirius.

When Sirius remained silent, James looked back to Remus who began recounting what happened after James had left to go find Fabian.

* * *

Evan forced himself not to look away when the battle between Marcus, Rabastan, Selwyn and Travers began. From having a father who had been 'friends' with Voldemort ever since they had been at Hogwarts together, and being a death eater himself, he could watch some of the most gruesome violence without batting an eyelash.

Despite all he had witnessed in his lifetime though he had never seen anyone he actually cared about on the receiving end of anything worse than a brief cruciatus. Evan suspected that streak of good luck was about to end now with Regulus. Despite his usual self-control, he was actually having to consciously remind himself not to look away from the fight, which would draw suspicion from anyone watching him. Worse, he was having to force himself not to intervene on Regulus' behalf. There was truly nothing he could do right now that would achieve anything beyond getting them both killed.

As the death eaters who most desired praise from their 'master' went into a frenzy trying to bring down the protective wall surrounding Regulus, Evan surreptitiously stepped away from Voldemort. It wouldn't be the first time he killed one of his own followers in a fit of rage after something didn't go his way. Given the loss of three of his men though, Evan hoped Voldemort would restrain himself to only torturing one of them, rather than actually killing anymore death eaters tonight.

As Regulus escaped with only Avery left to contend with, Evan was glad no one seemed to be observing him closely. His relief had to be obvious even with his face concealed beneath his mask.

After glimpsing the other death eaters, Evan caught sight of Rodolphus and willed himself to stay away from him as well. While Rodolphus generally had more self-control than Rabastan, he was clearly irate at the moment. Understandable seeing as he had just needlessly lost his younger brother.

In contrast, Bellatrix looked far more contemplative than angry. That likely didn't bode well for Regulus. As he thought back to the battle, Evan realized there had been several spells Regulus used against Travers that he had never seen anyone besides Regulus use before. Whether they were of Regulus' own creation or from the Black family grimoires mattered very little if Bellatrix recognized them as well.

In a rare moment of optimism, Evan hoped Bellatrix might be thinking of something useful. A means to calm down her enraged husband, for instance. Unfortunately Bellatrix was far more prone to do something completely unhelpful. Something like developing a theory of Marcus' true identity and sharing it with Voldemort came to mind.

A few moments later and Evan thought his unhelpful Bellatrix suspicion was highly likely as she approached the Dark Lord. In effort to look inconspicuous, Evan struck up a meaningless conversation with Rookwood while they awaited further orders. He had just began to believe he might escape the scene unscathed, when The Dark Lord met his eyes. Recognizing that he was being summoned, Evan quickly made his way over to his so-called master.

"Rosier, I'm in need of a meeting with your father. We shall go now.

Evan simply nodded his head and watched as Voldemort disapparated. Without sparing a look at any of his comrades, he too disapparated.

He re-appeared outside the iron gates of his family's estate. Voldemort was waiting beside the gate as if he were the one who owned the place. Masking his annoyance, Evan immediately reached around him to grip the handle on the gate. After a brief hesitation, the ancient magic of the Rosier family recognized him as one of their own, and creaked open, allowing him access to his family's estate.

The pair walked up the long drive in silence. All the while Evan wished he could have at least been able to warn his father they were coming. As they walked, Evan was careful to keep up his occlumency shields. In what Regulus had dubbed the 'sneak attack' Voldemort had an impulsive habit of casting legilimens on them at the most inopportune times.

Evan knew Regulus had practiced occlumency regularly before joining the death eaters. However it was his insistence they 'practice' their abilities incessantly after joining that first made Evan suspect Regulus regretted his decision. The only explanation for Regulus' new obsession with practicing was that he wanted to hide things from Voldemort.

Having known from a young age that hiding things from the Dark Lord was practically a death wish, Evan helped Regulus practice without asking questions. He had only ever learned enough legilimency to ensure Regulus' shields were improving though, and had rarely used it since leaving Hogwarts. He detested looking into the minds of others. He had enough disturbing thoughts of his own without adding anything belonging to others to the mix.

As he followed the Dark Lord he wondered not for the first time how his father could have ever believed he and Voldemort were friends. Undoubtedly they had both changed a lot since their Hogwarts days. Still, it was obvious Voldemort could have never known how to be a friend to anyone. He couldn't have changed _that_ much over the years.

Having been a Slytherin himself, Evan could almost understand their relationship. All Slytherins were well aware of the ever changing and complicated hierarchy that existed in their house. One's position was determined by everything from magical power, to familial influence and above all else: blood. Very few 'friendships' within the house were anything more than conditional alliances. Regulus was the only person Evan would exclude from that description, and few others made any exclusions at all.

Still, if he based what little he knew about friendship on Regulus, he believed the involved parties should be on far more equal footing than what Voldemort would ever allow. His father had never been anything but Voldemort's minion. What was worse, was that Evan couldn't decide if his father had even figured that out yet.

As they approached the front door of the manor, Evan pulled out his wand and performed an intricate movement as Voldemort watched him closely. Evan then opened the door for his _guest_ before following him inside.

He hoped whatever this was about, they would be in and out quickly enough for his mother to be spared from having to behave like a mindless puppet. She didn't sign up for any of this- though technically her father had quite literally signed her up for it when he signed their marriage contract.

As their family had a strict rule about house elves remaining unseen, Voldemort was allowed to walk through their manor uninhibited. For some reason he seemed to be purposely walking as silently as possible. Evan followed his lead and remained quiet despite his desire to announce their arrival.

They found Evan's father, Durant Rosier, in his study. Evan was relieved to see him dressed and focused on whatever business he was attending to. An increasingly progressive amount of his father's prior mannerisms were returning since his release from Azkaban.

Upon noticing their arrival, the elder Rosier knelt down and began spewing all sorts of ridiculous flattery. Evan bowed his head with the pretense of showing respect, while he was actually strengthening his occlumency shields. He couldn't deny the idea of wizards ruling over muggles appealed to him. Yet unlike Regulus, Evan had known what would be expected of him when he joined the death eaters. If not for wanting to protect his father, Evan was unsure if he would have joined at all if he had had another option.

When Evan was younger his father had always been so reverent and honored to serve the Dark Lord. It had been contagious to Evan. As he got older though, Evan recognized this: his father had sacrificed everything in his life for Voldemort. He had never gained anything in exchange for that sacrifice, and likely never would.

Years of fighting for their supposed cause and his own advancing age had left his body battered. He knew Regulus' insult about his father had only been said in effort to keep them from having to fight each other. The forced malice from him wouldn't have stung as much if not for the truth of his words. His father's health was failing him. While he was around the same age as Voldemort, Evan's father had been involved in far more battles and had suffered countless injuries over the years. Continuing his life as a death eater would do nothing for him but shorten his life expectancy.

Voldemort cared only about power and nothing of tradition or any other admirable sentiment he pretended to advocate. Evan had joined the death eaters at seventeen as had been expected of him. If he had known then what he knew now- it would have changed nothing. He still would have become a death eater, because it was what was expected of him. All children of death eaters were expected to join when they came of age. Refusing to follow in his father's footsteps would have resulted in the extinction of their family line.

As such, Evan had been groomed his entire life for his current role. Despite his temptation to follow Regulus out of the death eaters, he never would. He wouldn't leave his father at the mercy of Voldemort now anymore than he had been willing to at seventeen. Evan had done many things that most could never imagine, but he drew the line at fighting a war on the opposite side of his family, regardless of how others perceived right or wrong.

He was certain now that Regulus saw through his act. He had suspected as much for a long time, but was never sure. His suspicions were solidified though when Regulus came to him for help. He would have never dared come to him if he hadn't known Evan's devotion to the Dark Lord was a lie. Anyone who was truly loyal to Voldemort would have sent him away at best- more likely they would have killed him.

Regulus likely even knew why Evan refused his offer of help to leave the death eaters, despite his resentment towards Voldemort. It was for the same reason Regulus had left the death eaters in the end: family. Evan accepted Regulus' choice to leave as unquestioningly as Regulus accepted his to remain. Regulus knew Evan's true loyalty was far more to his father than to Voldemort.

"You may rise, Durant," Voldemort's cold voice stated. As the elder Rosier did as he was told, Voldemort walked further into the room. Without invitation, he began looking at the framed pictures on a bookshelf in the corner. After several minutes of what Evan considered to be an incredibly awkward silence, Voldemort spoke with his back to them,

"I require your assistance, Durant. Pettigrew's been arrested, as I'm sure you are aware. Rookwood tells me he is to have a trial at Dumbledore's insistence. The trial will take place in two days' time. I'm sure you can see how this is problematic."

Abruptly, Voldemort turned around to face them while answering his own question, "As a half blood, I've no doubt, Pettigrew will be given veritaserum. Undoubtedly he will spill every little dirty secret he's ever known. Obviously he has been entrusted with very little of our plans, but it is better if he does not divulge what the aurors have not yet figured out for themselves. The existence of the dark mark, the identity of some of my followers, possible meeting locations…to name a few."

Meeting Durant Rosier's eyes with his snakelike gaze Voldemort continued, "You shall accompany me to Azkaban where we will ensure he is properly silenced."

Durant Rosier gave an almost imperceptible shudder before nodding, "Yes, my lord."

Evan realized that he was not being 'invited' to go to Azkaban. He had likely only been allowed to hear of the mission so that Voldemort could gauge his reaction to it. His father had only been out of Azkaban for a couple of weeks. While he had been making good progress recently, to send him back even for a short amount of time, was sure to cause some regression in his recovery. As irritated as Evan was, he managed to keep his expression neutral.

"If I may speak, my lord?" he asked. He waited for Voldemort to nod before continuing, "I daresay I may be more productive in accompanying you. My father only ever saw the inside of a cell in that hellhole. I saw much more than he during the times I visited him."

Voldemort met his eyes and Evan didn't look away as he felt the intrusion upon his mind. As he buried all of the thoughts that would get him killed, Evan was grateful for of all the occlumency practice Regulus had forced upon him over the years.

After a moment Voldemort answered,

"You may accompany us. We shall go now," he stated simply. He then abruptly left the room and went back outside. Evan grabbed his father's cloak and handed it to him wordlessly, before the two of them quickly followed suit.

* * *

Sirius watched the reunion between the current minister of magic and his daughter with mild interest. While Mrs. Minchum had wasted no time in checking on their daughter, the minister had spent a significant amount of time shouting at Dumbledore before ever bothering to check on her. Even now that they were together it was difficult to tell what their home relationship was like. While the minister was saying all of the right things to sound like a concerned father, he seemed far too aware that he had an audience.

Sirius thought even his own father would have been more concerned if something like this had happened to him when he was twelve. Well, maybe not to Sirius, but Orion would have been genuinely concerned if it had happened to Regulus. His mother on the other hand, would never have relinquished the opportunity to yell at Dumbledore as quickly as the minister had.

Sirius also couldn't help but notice that the minister and his wife seemed to be at odds over something. While he wasn't particularly trying to overhear them, he did eventually learn the source of their disagreement. It seemed the minister's wife was pleading with her husband to resign his position as minister, while the minister was against 'giving the terrorists what they wanted'.

Sometime after the Minchum family had been reunited, a phoenix patronus announced that the Hogwarts Express had arrived in Hogsmeade. A few minutes later and a frazzled Barty Crouch Jr entered the infirmary with Rachel on a stretcher. Remus was instantly on his feet and running towards them. Being caught up in his own distress, Sirius hadn't even realized Remus had been worried about Rachel. The realization made him feel incredibly guilty for ignoring all of Remus' efforts to initiate a conversation before. He had probably been wanting a distraction himself.

When Sirius looked at James he was annoyed to find him looking amused at Remus' reaction to Rachel. Once he saw Sirius looking at him though his expression turned somber.

"Sirius, for all we know Re- Marcus escaped. There's no reason to jump to conclusions until we hear something. He is probably fine."

"He would have come here if he escaped. He would have wanted to know what happened to the Minchum girl. He would have checked in."

"Maybe he got held up." Seeing his words were having no effect, James rolled his eyes as his expression became genuinely embarrassed and added, "He can take care of himself. Trust me."

Sirius couldn't help but smile a little at that. James rarely admitted defeat without at least trying to justify it by some extenuating circumstance.

"Right, so the best thing we can do now is wait here," James continued, "He will show up when he can- or Dumbledore may hear something before then. He should be back here after the feast. Hey, we could go to the feast!"

"No, I don't want to," Sirius answered. There was no way he was going to sit with hundreds of students gawking at him and asking questions of what happened on the train right now. James might appreciate the admiration of the younger students staring at them in awe, but they had finished school two years ago. There was no one still in attendance of Hogwarts that he felt the need to stay in touch with. To his relief, James didn't push it.

"Alright, the house elves can bring us something here then. On a happier note, look how goofy Remus looks right now," James smirked.

Sirius glanced over to see a very happy Remus talking to a slightly confused Rachel. It seemed Crouch had left to go to the feast already. Sirius vaguely wondered how Crouch had come to be the one to bring Rachel in, but didn't think much of it. Someone had to bring her and she had been a Ravenclaw, after all.

"Yeah he looked like he had never been so relieved to see anyone in his life when she came in. I kind of thought he was over her by now though… I mean he hasn't exactly made a move, has he?"

"Of course not… its Remus! He doesn't think he _deserves_ to be happy and all that."

Sirius rolled his eyes but didn't comment. He vowed that if Regulus somehow managed to survive he would have to celebrate by helping Remus get out of his own way of happiness. While Rachel had generally been standoffish towards Sirius, she seemed to get along with Remus as far as he could tell. The two of them talking now was a start at any rate. While Sirius rarely passed up an opportunity to play match maker, he was far too miserable for it right now.

* * *

Regulus continued to stare at where he knew his former residence should appear, only for it to remain invisible. As much as he didn't want to pull Kreacher away from his mother, he refused to leave without ensuring she was safe. Ducking into the shadows of the neighboring houses on the quiet street he called,

"Kreacher."

Instantly the small house elf appeared and flung himself at Regulus' feet.

"Master Regulus! Kreacher has hoped and hoped that you would return to us and you did! The filthy blood traitor has become the head of the noble and most ancient house of Black. Oh the shame! My poor, poor mistress-"

"Please stop, Kreacher," Regulus interrupted. By Kreacher's mannerisms he could tell his mother was not in immediate danger. While he needed to find out what was going on, he didn't want to hang around his old house any longer than strictly necessary. It was only a matter of time before Bella figured out who he was. It was possible she had figured it out already.

Feeling as incredibly exposed as he was, Regulus began casting privacy wards around them. When he looked back at Kreacher however, he felt immensely guilty for having interrupted him. The house elf was twisting his oversized ears through his long fingers as if he had been scolded.

"I'm sorry, Kreacher. It is really good to see you. How are you and my mother holding up?"

Kreacher raised his tennis ball sized eyes to meet Regulus' before answering,

"My mistress is sick with grief. Mistress has lost Master Black and Kreacher can't tell her you're alive. It tortures Kreacher so, but Kreacher is a good elf. He will keep master Regulus' secrets."

"Thank you, Kreacher," Regulus answered, relieved that his mother didn't know anything about him. She was much safer that way, "You are right, you are a good elf. Has anyone called on mother recently? Have you noticed anyone suspicious?"

"Mistress Druella visits but Kreacher stays away for mistress Druella is liking Kreacher best when she is not seeing Kreacher. Mistress Narcissa has been by twice. The first time she came with her husband and the second time alone. Kreacher is not noticing anything suspicious. Mistress Narcissa is very sad you are gone. Miss Narcissa is not liking house elves but she is kind to Kreacher because master Regulus is kind to Kreacher."

Regulus considered that information. It worried him that Lucius had been to the house, but Kreacher was generally very observant of their visitors. From what Kreacher said, it sounded as if Lucius may have only been there in support of Narcissa.

"Kreacher prepared a feast for after master's funeral. Naturally everyone of noble blood attended. The blood traitor did not show though. Nor did Miss Cassie at first. Kreacher thought it odd Miss Cassie wasn't there for she had always been welcomed into the most noble and ancient house of my masters. Kreacher overheard Master Cyrus say she was ill. But later Kreacher saw Miss Cassie arguing with Master Cyrus before they left together. They didn't come back. Kreacher didn't think Miss Cassie looked ill. Should I have reported it to mistress?"

"No, Cassie was doing me a favor. It's nothing to worry about," Regulus answered though he wasn't entirely sure he shouldn't worry. He knew Cassie's brother, Cyrus, had placed his own house under the fidelius charm shortly after learning his wife was pregnant. He doubted Cassie knew how to perform the charm herself, and had almost certainly enlisted Cyrus' help by the sound of it. He knew he should be grateful for her effort, but he wished she hadn't involved Cyrus, especially after he had specifically told her not to get involved to begin with. What she could have even said to convince Cyrus to help, Regulus could only imagine. Cyrus generally kept to himself. He understood how precious their position of neutrality was in the present climate. It seemed Cassie had forgotten.

"Kreacher can you see the house?"

Kreacher's expression filled with such concern that it would have almost been comical if not for memories it stirred. "Perhaps yous should come inside and lie down for a while, master Regulus."

"I'll take that to mean you can see it?"

"Yes, Master Regulus. Kreacher can sees it."

"Ah, of course," Regulus nodded. Nothing he had read on the fidelius mentioned the charm didn't work on magical creatures. The underestimation wizards had of magical beings truly was endless. Regulus didn't know if Kreacher was able to see their home because he was magically bound to the Black family, or if the fidelius simply didn't effect house elves. If it was the latter, Regulus hoped no one in Voldemort's inner circle would become enlightened of their own ignorance anytime soon.


	34. Reunited

Rachel sat propped up in her hospital bed feeling very out of place. As much time as she had spent in the infirmary, she had never once done so as a patient. To make matters worse, she was an unwilling patient. There was nothing wrong with her, yet Madam Pomfrey refused to let her get out of bed.

Adding to the awkwardness was that both Marlene McKinnon and Fabian Prewett's beds had been situated on either side of hers. "It would be a shame if the Order members couldn't visit all of you at once," Benjy Fenwick had said as he moved the other beds near hers.

Rachel noticed she wasn't the only one less than thrilled with the arrangement. While Remus Lupin had been kind enough to update her on all that she had missed, he hadn't spoken to her again since the other beds had been resituated.

The close proximity to the Prewett's was rather pointless considering Fabian was unconscious, and Gideon had eyes only for his brother. She also couldn't help but notice that Marlene seemed to dislike her though they had never spoken before today. James Potter seemed to be annoyed with Marlene, which made her feel slightly better.

Sirius kept casting dark looks towards the Minchum family as if this had all been their fault. After overhearing snippets of James and Sirius' conversation, it seemed as if Sirius was particularly worried about Marcus. Rachel was more sad than worried about him. If what Remus told her was true, he was almost certainly dead by now.

She was somewhat relieved when Mrs. Minchum announced that she was going to take her daughter home for the evening. It was a good idea to get her away from Sirius. Considering that he was a pureblood from an ancient family, he was really bad at hiding his emotions. Rachel tried her best not to associate him to Regulus. Given her current level of boredom though, it was difficult not to compare Sirius' transparence to Regulus' subtlety.

Benjy wanted her to tell all of the details of what had happened on the train after they left. All she wanted to do was forget about it.

If not for her apparent audience, she would have asked Vesta to slip her a sleeping draught to escape her current reality. The thought of sleeping with so many people she barely knew around seemed incredibly weird. She hoped their visitors wouldn't feel obligated to stay much longer.

She was slightly horrified when the rest of the Order filed into the infirmary. It seemed the attack on the Hogwarts Express had led to an impromptu Order meeting. While she was grateful for the distraction, she hadn't officially met all of the other Order members yet. She would have preferred not to have met them while recovering from her 'injuries' following her first mission.

Dumbledore returned following the feast. Sirius seemed even more on edge after the headmaster reported he hadn't heard anything new. Dumbledore began the meeting by congratulating them all once again for their successful intervention on the train. He went on to describe the events of the day to the members who had not participated. A few people began whispering amongst themselves when Dumbledore announced that no one had heard from Marcus since he was last seen on the train. While few of them had actually met Marcus before, it was evident that everyone knew who he was. The few who had not witnessed his ousting of Pettigrew had heard about it from everyone else.

Just after Dumbledore turned the meeting over to Mad-Eye, and to the general surprise of everyone, Marcus strode into the infirmary as if he had been expected. Rachel immediately glanced to where she had last seen Sirius only to find his seat empty.

Her attention was drawn instead to the identical look of relief that James, Remus and even Lily had all seemed to have adopted.

* * *

Sirius was seething. Dumbledore and the other Order members all seemed to believe their mission had been an overwhelming success. It was obvious the other members were far more interested in gossiping about how Marcus was killed rather than having any hope that he could still be alive. Rather than coming up with a means to help him, they had already labeled him a dead man. Even if they didn't know him well he thought they should have been a bit more remorseful. Peter would still be among them if not for Marcus.

Unable to concentrate on Dumbledore's monologue any better than Moody's persistence they keep 'constant vigilance,' Sirius was just about to leave. He needed to get some fresh air at the least, and more likely a drink in Hogsmeade. Just as he was about to tell James he was leaving, the infirmary door swung open, admitting Regulus.

In an instant, Sirius was rushing towards his brother. Regulus glanced around the room before meeting his eyes warily. As if expecting an attack, he put up an arm to stop Sirius from getting any closer. Sirius realized that Regulus probably thought he was going to try to hug him again. Obviously that would have been inappropriate with the Order members watching.

Instead, Sirius latched onto Regulus' elbow and dragged him back out the door he had just entered.

"You're okay? How did you get away? What happened?" Sirius asked the instant the infirmary doors had closed behind them.

As soon as the words left his mouth Sirius wanted to take them back. If not to change the words, then certainly the tone. Why did he have to sound so desperate? As worried as he had been about Regulus, he knew he needed to downplay it. He would never be able to convince his brother to stay out of future battles if Regulus thought Sirius doubted his abilities.

Regulus grimaced as he pulled his elbow away from Sirius, "I'm fine. You realize how that must have looked, don't you?"

"What? Oh... Well, they should just be glad I brought you out here rather than snogging you in front of them in that case. Besides, if I were gay I'd pick someone better looking than you," Sirius answered happily. He never thought he'd see Regulus alive again. Now that he was here Sirius couldn't help but feel a little giddy.

"Interesting to know you've actually given thought to which guys look best to you," Regulus answered dryly.

"That's not-" Sirius began.

"Whatever. We need to talk to Dumbledore. Find out if he knows where any of what we are looking for are located..."

"Is this your blood?" Sirius asked distractedly before casting a spell to remove the dried blood from Regulus' collar.

"I'm fine, Sirius. Did you hear what I said?"

Sirius let out a long suffering sigh and ran his hand through his hair before responding,

"If Dumbledore found any, I'm sure he's already destroyed them."

"That's why we need ask him," Regulus whispered. "It's been weeks, and we haven't made any progress. As much as I wanted to wait to-"

"I'm not sure you're the one who needs to go after them at all. Look at what happened tonight-"

"I can take care of myself, Sirius. I wouldn't still be here if I wasn't capable," Regulus shot back irritably.

"Yes, but you certainly made the target on your back a lot bigger tonight, didn't you? So much for staying under the radar. Do you have any idea what would have happened if you were recognized?"

"I've known the risk from the beginning, you're the one that's only just realized it. I won't be talked out of this, Sirius. You or anyone else who tries is wasting their time," Regulus said firmly.

Sirius sighed, "It's not a matter of whether you can handle yourself against the death eaters or not. Why should you have to? You have nothing to gain by staying in Britain, and there are plenty of ways you can help with the war effort without actually getting involved in the fighting."

"Where is all of this coming from? You've been so insistent I stay here and fight- that I would be coward if I didn't. Now at the first sign of trouble, you want me to hide? I'd tell you to make up your mind but it doesn't matter- What I do, is my decision. I chose to leave _them_, and I choose to stay here."

Before Sirius could respond the door to the infirmary opened revealing Mad-Eye Moody. He looked from one brother to the next before grinning in a way that caused the scars on his face to stretch grotesquely. In a voice intentionally loud enough for the rest of the Order to hear he announced,

"Terribly sorry to interrupt this lover's quarrel, but the rest of us would like to get through this meeting sometime tonight."

Without waiting for a response the auror pulled the door closed again, leaving the brothers alone once more.

Regulus shook his head, "Who would have guessed Moody had a sense of humor."

Sirius chuckled darkly as he stepped towards the infirmary entrance, "You'd be surprised." Realizing Regulus hadn't moved he asked, "Aren't you coming?"

Regulus gave him and indecipherable look before opening the door and holding it open for Sirius to walk through first.

Sirius stared at him for a moment before walking in. He knew Regulus could be more useful than most of the other Order members, even without fighting. The problem would be convincing him to divulge what he knew. While there was no doubt his brother's distinction between right and wrong was skewed, Sirius knew him to be loyal to those he cared about most. Sirius even thought turning in the names of his former 'friends' might be too much for his brother's distorted conscience.

As soon he walked into the infirmary, followed by Marcus, there were more than a few curious eyes on them. Unsure if he had made a mistake in bringing Marcus inside, Sirius looked up at Dumbledore, who seemed to be trying not to look amused by the situation. It occurred to Sirius then that the headmaster had been trying to get Regulus to join the Order from the beginning- of course Marcus would be welcomed by him.

Dumbledore rescued Sirius from worsening the already embarrassing situation and introduced Marcus to the group himself rather than making Sirius do it. Sirius immediately returned to his seat next to James, whom he refused to look at. He was surprised to find that Regulus hadn't followed him like a lost puppy. Instead, he had taken the empty seat between Sturgis Podmore and Dorcas Meadowes, both of which seemed eager to introduce themselves.

* * *

Evan was confused. They had arrived in Azkaban and found Pettigrew's cell without issue. After the dementors had been temporarily expelled from the prison, his father had managed to hold himself together far better than Evan had expected.

Pettigrew was tortured relentlessly, first for failing to complete the mission assigned to him, next for his subsequent capture and then again for his inability to take his punishment with even the slightest amount of dignity. Evan watched disinterestedly as Voldemort searched through Pettigrew's mind, a task which took much longer than Evan would have guessed. He didn't know what Pettigrew's exact mission had been, but it seemed he had at least acquired information that interested the Dark Lord.

"How interesting," Voldemort remarked just before aiming his wand in what Evan expected to be the final blow.

Much to the surprise of both Rosiers,' Voldemort cast a healing spell at Pettigrew's legs. Judging by the way Pettigrew grabbed his face in his hands before grabbing his now mended legs, it seemed he too was surprised to find himself alive and in marginally better health. It seemed that whatever useful information Pettigrew had, he had been unaware of it.

"Stand," Voldemort hissed.

Evan chanced a look at his father. If the elder Rosier was surprised at all by the development it didn't show. Considering his father had no way of knowing they were coming here tonight, Evan was happy to see his acting skills were as superb as ever.

The hopeless expression on Pettigrew's face was comical. Yes, his legs had been mended but there were plenty of other broken bones that would make standing up a challenge.

"Stand if you want to live," Voldemort warned coldly.

After several feeble attempts to stand, Pettigrew's watery eyes began looking around desperately as if expecting to find someone to help. As Evan nor his father had bothered with masks, both of them were easily recognizable in the wand light they each held.

He seemed to have realized the elder Rosier held no hope for him and immediately looked away. When he did his eyes met Evan's and for the briefest of moments he almost looked hopeful. Really? Evan couldn't quite hold back his smirk.

He hadn't liked Pettigrew at school and his willingness to turn his back on everyone he supposedly cared about had only made him less endearing. What was the point of living if you were purposely ruining the lives of everyone you ever claimed to care about? Even a wizard as hopeless as Pettigrew could hold some value if they were at least loyal. Pettigrew had proven his lack of honor when he became a spy for the Dark Lord for sole purpose of saving his own neck. He didn't deserve to live.

Apparently having gained some semblance of defiance from Evan's disregard, Pettigrew let out a bloodcurdling scream before forcing himself into standing position. After holding his shaky stance for about a second, the strain of his injuries got the better of him and he fell to the ground unmoving.

Voldemort chuckled before performing an intricate wand movement in the air. After a pause he turned back to Evan and his father and remarked, "Not to worry, he is still alive," as if either of them actually cared anything about Pettigrew.

"It has come to my attention that Pettigrew might know more about the Order than I gave him credit for. Only inadvertently, of course. Now what to do with our furry friend?"

He cast the spell on Pettigrew that forced him into his animagus form. Evan withheld another smirk. He doubted Pettigrew had enough talent to ever become an animagus, but it was fitting that if he should, his form was a rat.

"On the contrary, Rosier," Voldemort remarked, "Pettigrew has in fact already become an animagus."

Damn 'sneak attack,' Evan thought as he strengthened his occlumency shields. They had been here too long. Even without the presence of dementors, Azkaban was causing him to lose focus.

"It seems I have underestimated him," he answered diplomatically.

"It is not Pettigrew that you have underestimated."

After a slightly impregnated pause, Evan answered, "I'm not sure I understand, my lord."

"Don't you? Or is it that you are too ashamed to admit the truth?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand."

"You offered to come here tonight. Did you not think I would realize why?"

"I offered to accompany you for the honor it is to serve you, my lord. I needed no other reason."

"Enough lies! You wanted to come in your father's place because you thought him incapable of handling himself here. Even now after he has behaved adequately, you believe him incapable of handling himself within my ranks.

"You are mistaken, my lord. I do not, nor have I ever thought that."

"You're lying. Anyone with eyes can see he is but a shadow of the man he once was. You will both do well to remember that one's worth is not measured by their former glory. You are bound to me for life, but that is not to say your life will not be cut short when you are no longer useful. It is regrettable, but that is the way it must be. And you, Evan, you would do well to remember that one day you will become the head of the Rosier family. Will your loyalty to me help your family restore the influence it once knew, or will your loyalty to another bring further disgrace to your family name?"

Evan focused on his breathing to remain calm as best he could. Voldemort was testing him and he knew it, but that didn't stop him from wanting to blurt out that the only disgrace brought upon the Rosier family was due to their connection to him.

"As for you, Durant," Voldemort continued, "You've done well tonight. Perhaps your useful streak will continue. We shall see."

He then conjured a silver collar with purposely jagged edges, and shrunk it down to fit around the neck of the unconscious rat formerly recognized as Pettigrew.

"That collar will keep him from resuming his human form until we decide what to do with him. Durant, you shall take our rodent friend with you. I trust you will not mind to have a house guest. Do be sure it doesn't run away, and that you feed it occasionally. Not too much though. He could stand to lose a bit of weight, couldn't he?" Voldemort chuckled at his own cleverness.

The elder Rosier hesitated long enough to ensure he had been given a genuine order.

"Yes, my lord," he eventually answered before scooping the broken rat into his palm and holding it awkwardly in front of him. Evan almost could have laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation, if the idea of his family keeping Peter Pettigrew as a pet hadn't been so insulting.

The three men and their rat walked back through the prison to call back the dementors and leave the island. Evan focused on not looking at any of the prisoners they passed. While he knew some of them were too out of sorts to even register they were there, others had listened to the entire conversation and now knew where the Rosier family stood in the eyes of their 'beloved master'.

When they reached the edge of the island Voldemort turned back to them,

"Durant, you and your house guest are dismissed. Evan, you will be coming with me."

The elder Rosier nodded before taking out a portkey that would take him someplace he could disapparate from, unlike this hellish island.

Evan was surprised when Voldemort actually allowed his father's portkey to leave before calling back the dementors. He didn't know if it had been a purposeful reprieve or not.

After calling the dementors back, Voldemort removed his own portkey. As it activated, he told Evan an address he had never heard of, that was apparently meant to be their rendezvous point.

As always, he knew none of his questions would be answered and did not bother to ask. Instead he activated his own portkey which would take him to a place he could disapparate from. _Apparently he needed to get to Spinner's End,_ he thought wryly.

* * *

If Regulus was going to sit through an Order meeting, he most certainly wasn't going to put himself in a position to be thought of as Pettigrew's replacement in the marauders. It was bad enough that Sirius' lack of self-awareness had drawn attention to the fact that they had some sort of 'relationship' already. It was time to create some separation.

Knowing that Sirius would take the vacant seat between Potter and Lupin, Regulus looked for a seat at the opposite side of the meeting space. Choosing a vacant place between Dorcas Meadowes and a sandy haired male he vaguely recognized he walked towards it.

"Is this seat saved for anyone?"

"It's for you, if you want it," Meadowes grinned.

"Thanks," he said as he sat down.

"You're welcome. I'm Dorcas Meadowes, and this is Emmeline Vance," she said indicating the brunette beside her.

Vance looked as if she were about to add something, but the male beside him spoke first,

"I suppose I'll have to introduce myself since no one else seems inclined to do so. I'm Sturgis Podmore."

"Hey, I was going to, you didn't give me the chance," Meadowes answered good-naturedly.

"Sure, sure..." Podmore muttered.

"It's nice to meet all of you. I'm-"

"Marcus Atilius," the three Order members said together.

"We've heard," Meadowes added.

"And in case we hadn't already heard, Dumbledore announced your name like two seconds ago," Podmore smirked.

"Ah, so he did. Still, it would have been rude of me to assume you knew who I was when we had never actually met before, wouldn't it?"

"Definitely," Vance agreed, "and besides your name, we don't know anything about you."

"Yes, it's as if you appeared from thin air and are somehow all knowing when it comes to the death eaters," Meadowes agreed. "Are you a spy or something?" she asked conspiratorially.

Regulus let out a bark of nervous laughter which he quickly turned into a cough. It was unfortunate that the sound of each of the Black brother's laugh was very distinctive from other people, yet very similar to each other's. Regulus could count the number of people who had actually heard him laugh aloud in recent years on one hand.

"If I were a spy, I should hope to have enough sense not to be seen by everyone in the Order," he answered. Though if he were honest, even without being a spy he wasn't thrilled about being seen by all of them. "There is always the possibility that someone amongst us is a double agent," he finished.

"Is there another double agent? You seem to have been the only one who knew about Pettigrew," Podmore remarked.

"How_ did_ you know about Pettigrew?" Vance asked, "I mean I even saw that hideous mark on his forearm and I still have a hard time believing it."

Before Regulus could answer, Mad-Eye Moody was signaling for all them to quiet down.

After listening to several of the older members give report, Regulus' exhaustion was getting the better of him. Without the threat of punishment for being inattentive, he was having trouble staying alert in a meeting filled with the ramblings of old men.

Aside from learning the minister's daughter was safe and had gone somewhere with her parents for the night, he hadn't heard anything he didn't already know. He vaguely wondered what had happened to Rachel that she needed to be 'hospitalized.'

His thoughts momentarily turned to Cassie. Compared to families labeled as either light or dark, the war should affect her less. Why would she risk involving her family in order to protect his?

The Black family historically had a lot of alliances with the other influential families, including the Greengrasses. That certainly didn't mean they were well-liked as the alliances were always formed based on politics.

Their mothers had met for tea together nearly every week since he could remember, but even that was far more about maintaining pretenses. While Cassie's father was rarely seen in the presence of any of the light families, her mother likely only kept up the Sunday ritual of tea with the Black's to balance who she associated with Monday through Saturday. Neutrality, he had realized was ideal for safety, but a lot of work to maintain.

He was pulled from his own musings when he realized the meeting had turned from a lecture of old men to a discussion amongst its members.

"Just think of how many of us were attacked because of their spy," Benjy Fenwick declared, "As relatively talentless as Peter was, he managed to pass along enough information about us to lead to us being picked off one by one."

"Yes, acquiring a spy would have its benefits…" Frank Longbottom answered uncertainly, "but wanting one and actually getting one are two different things."

"Yes, and what would stop this nonexistent spy from passing information about us to Voldemort?" James asked.

"If we were to acquire a spy, they would have no choice but to pass along some information… it would be too obvious what they were doing otherwise," Meadowes answered from beside Regulus. "Are we sure we can afford that right now? There are so few of us already."

"What are your thoughts, Marcus?" Mad-Eye asked in his gravelly voice, "Can you think of any death eaters who might be having second thoughts?"

Regulus looked at him in surprise. He had hoped to just listen and not actually be involved in the discussion,

"Well according to the posters issued by the ministry, the only known death eaters still at large are the Lestranges, the Mulcibers, Dolohov… and Durant Rosier since he has escaped recently. I can't see any of them wanting to help us."

"We know there are a lot more death eaters still at large than that. Are those really the only death eaters we can identify?" Mad-Eye asked.

"According to the ministry, yes." Regulus answered firmly. Several Order members began blurting out accusations of people they suspected to be death eaters as Mad- Eye looked at Marcus appraisingly.

When one of the Order members added Evan Rosier to the list of the accused, Mad-Eye jumped on it,

"Yes, what about the younger Rosier? His best mate was murdered by death eaters…I wonder if he might have second thoughts about his loyalty."

Regulus masked his annoyance and answered calmly, "No one could answer that question but him, though as far as I know, he has never been linked to any death eater activities."

A few of the Order members made statements to contradict him, but most remained silent. Evan had never been confirmed as a death eater- Regulus wasn't about to add to the speculation that he was one.

"His father is a death eater. I can't imagine Voldemort would show him mercy if his son did not follow in his footsteps."

"Mercy… such as allowing him to avoid Azkaban, you mean?" Regulus asked.

"That's true," Frank Longbottom added, "Rosier was left in Azkaban much longer than I expected he would be when we captured him. Maybe he was being punished for something."

Mad Eye scoffed in derision, "I don't believe Evan Rosier is innocent for a second. He might be our best chance at acquiring a spy, but whether or not that is even worth pursuing, I doubt it."

"I agree," Regulus chimed in. "To find this Evan Rosier and convince him to join the death eaters only to turn spy for us would be impractical. If we actually managed to convince him, what makes anyone think he is even capable of such deceit?" Regulus asked the room at large.

Mad-Eye gave him an indecipherable look, but fortunately allowed the conversation to drift on to other things, much to Regulus' relief.


	35. Confessions and Tempers

Sirius could think of few occasions that deserved a celebration more than this evening. None of the students had been abducted from the train, and more importantly, his incredibly stubborn and prudish brother was still alive. He would likely never admit just how happy that made him.

As the Order meeting finally concluded, Sirius was actually relieved to see Dumbledore leave with several of the older members. Regulus watched the headmaster depart much less happily. Sirius knew he wanted to talk to him about the horcrux search. While Sirius knew finding and destroying the horcruxes was important, possibly the most important thing they could do in the war, it had been an extremely long day and he was exhausted. In his opinon, the only thing better than going home to sleep in such a state, was to get good and properly drunk before getting around to the sleep.

As such, he announced his plans to do so in Hogsmeade_._ Unsurprisingly, those around his age agreed to go, while those who were older made excuses of why they needed to get home. Also unsurprising was Marlene's reaction,

"You wouldn't really go without me, would you Siri?" she asked coquettishly.

Sirius cringed inwardly. The only person that had ever been able to call him 'Siri' without annoying him had been Regulus. It had only not annoyed him because Regulus stopped calling him that sometime around the age of six. Even worse was that of course Regulus overheard Marlene use that nickname and was now looking between them curiously.

Sirius was relieved when Lily came to his rescue.

"I'll keep you company, Marlene. James can come back to pick me up after a drink or two. I don't feel like being around a bunch of drunks when I can't even enjoy a glass of wine without getting dirty looks," she smirked.

"Wonderful," Marlene answered grumpily.

"Alright then, we'll see you all later," Sirius said happily as he and Remus led the group towards the exit of the infirmary. He stopped at the doorway to make sure James wasn't lingering too long in his goodbye to Lily, and was surprised to find that it was Regulus who hadn't yet moved away from Marlene and Rachel's beds.

"Marcus, aren't you coming?" he asked impatiently.

"No, it's been a really long day," he answered vaguely.

He probably was tired, Sirius mused, but he didn't look as if he were about to leave. Sirius took in the other occupants of the room in confusion. Fabian was unconscious, and Gideon was settling onto the vacant bed next to his brother's, obviously intending to try to get some sleep. Lily was talking to Marlene, and Rachel looked to be asleep already. Was Regulus waiting until everyone left so he could talk to one of them?

Thinking it unlikely he would bother Gideon that left the girls. Sirius wasn't usually one to judge anyone for their efforts at acquiring the company of a female. In fact, in another circumstance he might have even been proud- but not now. Lily was married, and Rachel looked to be asleep. The only viable option that left was Marlene.

Marlene wasn't particularly injured since Madam Pomfrey had fixed her up. Still, after what Marlene had tried to imply in front of everyone, would Regulus really try to make a pass at her? As disturbing as that prospect was, Sirius thought it his brotherly duty to warn Regulus of Marlene and her irrational tendencies.

"I need to talk to you, Marcus. Outside," he announced with forced cheerfulness.

Regulus looked at him with an expression that was familiar to Sirius even with Marcus' features. It was the look he got when he was filled with such annoyance, that his usual expressionless mask couldn't quite conceal it entirely. It was the same expression Regulus had gotten when they were younger each time he thought Sirius had gone too far in arguing with their parents. Sirius had seen it too many times to forget it.

"Can't it wait?" Regulus asked with equally forced politeness.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "No, I'm afraid it can't."

Regulus scoffed quietly before turning on his heel and walking out into the hall. Sirius followed closely at his heels. As soon as Sirius closed the door behind them, Regulus demanded, "What?"

"I was just curious as to why you are too tired to go out with us, but not too tired to creepily linger in the infirmary."

"How was I being creepy? I was standing there-"

"You were clearly waiting for everyone else to leave. Why?"

"I'm not sure how it is any of your business, but I was planning to talk with Rachel for a moment."

"Talk to Rachel about what?" Sirius asked curiously. He had only wanted to warn Regulus about Marlene, but if his brother was planning to make a move on Rachel he was really glad he stopped him. It was long overdue for Remus to have a chance with her, and he had vowed earlier he would do what he could to help him get that chance.

"Why do you care?"

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. That habit was one Regulus recognized to mean Sirius either didn't know what or how to say something.

"It's complicated. I just hate to see a friend get hurt."

"You and Rachel aren't friends."

"How would you know?"

"Are you friends?" Regulus asked skeptically.

"Well, not really… but-"

"Then it's none of your business. Besides, why would you automatically assume I was going to do something to hurt her, anyway?" Regulus asked before moving to pull the infirmary door back open to walk through.

Sirius put his hand on the door to prevent Regulus from opening it. Unable to easily move forward, Regulus turned back to glare at his brother in annoyance,

"What's the problem?"

"Remus has been practically in love with Rachel since our seventh year."

"What does that have to do with me?"

Sirius ran his hand through his hair again as he tried to put his thoughts into words, "He's struggled with confidence his entire life. He wants to be with her… he just hasn't summoned up enough courage to ask her out yet."

"And, what does that have to do with me talking to her?"

Sirius let out a huff of breath, "Just… please don't complicate things for Remus. After all of this time he's only just managed to get over his nerves enough to start talking to her more. Besides that, he's far too nice for his own good. If he thinks someone else likes her he would… I don't know, probably stand aside and let the other guy have her. He would convince himself that she deserves better than him."

Regulus' expression became shadowed with something Sirius couldn't quite identify, "I said I wanted to talk to her, not profess my undying love. Why would you think it was anything like that?"

As usual, Sirius had overreacted. Still, it didn't hurt to ask. He didn't want anyone inadvertently getting in the way of his friend's happiness.

"You said you wanted to talk to Rachel, I guess I just assumed the worst. Remus-" Sirius began uneasily.

"Should have come up with some of that legendary Gryffindor bravery by now, I would think," Regulus finished offhandedly.

"I- well, I won't argue with that, but that's the difference between Remus and me… and Remus and you for that matter. We were brought up to be confident in who we are- actually we were taught that we were better than everyone else. Remus believes himself to be a monster because of what happens to him with every full moon. Rachel is the only girl I've ever known him to have feelings for."

"Lupin's insecurities aren't my concern, nor do I see how my wanting to _talk_ to Rachel triggered this conversation." Regulus answered tightly.

Sirius put up his hands resignedly, "Alright, alright maybe I did jump to conclusions then. What did you want to talk to her about?"

"About what happened on the train, maybe she saw something we missed."

Sirius sniggered, "In that case you definitely need to come out with us. I know you have a one track mind, but that is a conversation that can wait until tomorrow. I'm pretty sure she fell asleep the moment the meeting adjourned."

"I think that was wishful thinking on her part. You didn't hear the revolting things McKinnon was saying as you left."

"Oh- well, don't listen to anything she says-"

"I hope to never hear her speak again," Regulus answered flatly. "Is there anything else you wanted? She really is going to fall asleep before I can talk to her if we don't wrap this up."

"All the more reason for you to leave it for tomorrow-" At Regulus' look Sirius amended, "Fine, I shouldn't have stopped you. I only wanted to warn you about Marlene, but when you said you wanted to talk to Rachel, I worried you might have been interested in her. I don't want anyone making it more difficult for her to recognize the reasons she should be with Remus."

Regulus made a face somewhere between a scowl and a smirk, which seemed to indicate to Sirius that he had somehow heard about Rachel rejecting him while they had been at school together. Surprisingly he didn't comment on how that might have made it difficult for her to recognize her feelings for Remus.

"Well rest assured that any chance Lupin has with Rachel will not fail or succeed because of this one conversation I have with her tonight," he said as he wrenched open the door to the infirmary and disappeared inside.

* * *

Too tired to worry about how her actions would be viewed, Rachel pulled the privacy curtains around her bed. She buried her head beneath the blankets to block out Lily Potter and mostly Marlene McKinnon's conversation. As likeable as Lily seemed, she felt nauseous hearing what McKinnon was saying about herself and Sirius. Lily's minimal feedback gave her the impression she probably agreed with Rachel's sentiment, but was trying to be a good friend and listen.

Just as she felt herself begin to drift off, she sensed someone had entered her 'room'. Her eyes flew open as she instinctively sat up in bed. The events of the day must have made her more jumpy than usual. No one was there.

Just as she was about to settle back into her bed, Marcus appeared seemingly from thin air.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he said looking at her face intently.

"What are you doing here?" She was glad Marcus had survived, but his presence now seemed a bit too intimate when they barely knew each other.

"I need to tell you something… I thought it best if we had privacy, but I didn't know when I would have another chance. I've put up privacy wards around us."

Rachel shifted uncomfortably, which didn't go unnoticed.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he grimaced slightly. "This was a mistake. We'll talk when you're better."

Rachel watched as he turned to leave, and called him back. "You might as well tell me now."

He looked like he would have preferred to leave, but took the seat beside her bed. She propped up her pillows behind her to be more comfortable. When she looked back at Marcus, he was staring at his feet.

"So... you wanted to tell me something?"

Marcus took what sounded like a shaky breath and began,

"Just know… and remember it was never my intention to hurt you."

Rachel met his gaze, which seemed familiar now that she was looking at him properly.

"Alright," sure, why not, she thought. "What is it?"

"As you may have guessed already, I haven't been entirely honest about who I am."

Rachel almost smiled. It was obvious that he hadn't been truthful. She had just enough time to think she might ought to be more worried about his proximity and the fact that no one could hear her if she screamed, before her mind began to operate more efficiently.

Marcus appeared only days after Regulus was killed. Sirius seemed especially worried about him, and James, Lily and Remus all seemed worried about Sirius. He knew things only death eaters should know. He knew she knew things she shouldn't know, yet never pushed her to find out what she knew or how. He had essentially told her to keep what she knew to herself for her own protection. She nearly had a panic attack as the pieces came together… she was such an idiot.

"I thought it would be for the best if you heard it from me-"

"Just tell me who you are," she closed her eyes in effort to keep tears from escaping them.

"I think you already know."

"I need to hear you say it, if you want me to believe you."

"I'm… Rachel, I-"

She scoffed, "Oh really, Rachel?"

"Regulus... aren't you- you aren't mad?" he asked in disbelief.

"Tell me what happened."

* * *

Spinner's End, it turned out, was a disgustingly muggle neighborhood. As Evan reunited with the Dark Lord there, he was relieved to find his occlumency shields had not suffered any long term damage following their visit to Azkaban. As he followed Voldemort up the paved walkway of a nondescript house, Evan wondered who could possibly live here that they needed to see.

When they reached the front door, Voldemort stopped to wait expectantly, indicating they were not going to attack. Knowing better than to expect Voldemort to do so, Evan knocked on the door as soon as he reached it. For several seconds they heard quiet rustling from inside the home before the door opened, revealing a greasy as ever looking Severus Snape.

Snape stepped aside to allow them entrance, just before falling to his knees at Voldemort's feet while Evan closed the door. It was nicely done, Evan thought absently. Many of the death eaters would have been too afraid or concerned with showing servitude to their master to have appeared as restrained. By stepping aside before offering his respects, Snape kept Voldemort from having to wait outside any longer than necessary. It was a simple act, but one few other death eaters would have thought of. Evan wondered if Snape's reaction spoke more of his composure under duress or if he was genuinely less terrified of Voldemort than most of the other death eaters.

Glancing around the small living room of Snape's house was different. Evan had known Snape's father was a muggle, but somehow he had never considered that Snape had actually grown up in a muggle house, and a small one at that. If not for fear of disease, because Evan didn't care what Regulus said about the fumes of some potions causing hair to look greasy- Snape had poor hygiene, he might have been more interested to look around the place more closely. Not that he could even if he wanted to. He was here on business with the Dark Lord, a tour of muggle contraptions was definitely not on the agenda.

Voldemort looked around the room briefly without comment. It was obvious to Evan that he was not surprised by the muggle influence Snape had while growing up. Evan vaguely wondered how Snape's father had died. He remembered hearing it had happened but never gave it much thought at the time. Now that he was standing in the family's living room, Evan remembered Snape had once admitted that his father hated magic- and that he died shortly before Snape was welcomed into the death eaters. It was a coincidence he didn't care to give more thought to at the moment.

* * *

Being honest with Rachel without jeopardizing her safety was challenging to say the least. She had not studied occlumency before they met, and had only ever done so at his insistence. It didn't help that improving her occlumency skills had never been a particularly high priority during the time they had alone together while at school.

The truth of the matter was that telling her anything was risky. At this point though, it was more likely that she would learn of his identity from someone else, than for her to be captured by the death eaters and tortured for information. At least he certainly hoped the latter wouldn't happen.

He skipped over anything to do with the horcruxes. Naturally, the crater size holes in his story did not go amiss.

"You left the death eaters so that you wouldn't have to kill Sirius… and you faked your own death to protect your family. That doesn't explain how you nearly drowned. Did Voldemort try to kill you before you faked your death?" she asked at the conclusion of his account.

"No, he didn't know I wanted to leave the death eaters. It's likely only a matter of time before he figures that out now though, if he hasn't already," he grimaced.

"So then, how did you nearly drown?" she asked curiously.

"I could make something up… but I won't." Rachel narrowed her eyes slightly, as Regulus continued, "I know you want me to explain things to you, and I'm sorry, but I just can't."

"It's all for my safety though, right?"

"I know you don't want to hear-"

"You're right, I don't. I think its past time for you to stop hiding things from me."

"Other than the Marcus thing, I've never lied to you-"

"That's one hell of an exception, don't you think? I thought you were dead!"

"I'm sorry that you don't like it, but I'm not going to tell you things that are of no benefit to you and can get you killed."

"I joined the Order! The death eaters have enough reasons to kill me, without your help. Why did you lie to me to begin with?"

"I'm only telling you now because I didn't want you to find out from someone else. I never planned to tell anyone at all. If I survive the war I am leaving Britain as soon as it is over."

Rachel's jaw dropped slightly as she registered his words. Eventually she asked, "Why bother staying at all, if that is your plan? If you left now you could at least do so on your own terms."

"Whatever contribution I've made in helping Voldemort… I wish I could undo it, but I can't. Maybe helping to bring about his downfall will at least free me from some of my own guilt. If I just left now- that's all I would ever have."

Rachel looked at him skeptically, "What about the rest of your family?"

"What about them?" he asked warily.

"Sirius is the only one of them who knows you are alive. What happens when the rest of them find out?"

"Disownment for sure… I'd rather not think about it to be honest."

"You should probably start. You've always been loyal to them to a fault-"

"Loyalty is far from my biggest flaw-"

"That depends on where it's placed. It was your loyalty to your family that got you into this mess in the first place. You never would have joined the death eaters without their influence."

"I joined the death eaters because _I_ wanted to._ I_ did- It was _my_ decision."

"You were barely sixteen! You didn't know what you were doing. You would have never chosen to join if-"

"Stop trying to blame other people for the choices I've made. Yes, it was the worst decision of my life- but it was my decision. It was what I wanted-"

"You wanted to be a healer! Long before you ever met me. You allowed what your family wanted for their reputation to take precedence over what you wanted for yourself!"

"You didn't know me then. You never knew me until after I had already joined and after I regretted my choice-"

"Oh, so you actually did want to murder innocent people at first?" she asked scathingly, "I'll admit I didn't see that one coming."

Regulus felt as if he had been slapped. After an impregnated silence he answered with forced calmness, "I did not join because I wanted to kill people."

"I know you didn't. So the only other option is that you were too naive to know what you were really getting into. Your family, Bellatrix, especially knew what it meant to be a death eater. Didn't she know you well enough to know you preferred healing over destruction? Yet she recommended you join, encouraged it, even. Regulus, how can you not see that they have used you? They know you are loyal to them, that you would do anything for them. What's going to happen when they realize you are still alive? What if Bellatrix suddenly wants to change and needs _your_ help to do it? Have you learned from the past or will you walk into a trap specifically designed for you?"

"Your estimation of my intelligence is truly inspiring, Rachel," he answered darkly.

"You know that's not what I meant. But if you stay in Britain it's only a matter of time before your family finds out you're alive. Can you honestly say there is nothing that could sway you to return to them if they asked?"

Regulus gritted his teeth to keep from saying anything that couldn't be taken back as easily as it could be said. Knowing Rachel was closely watching his reaction, he kept his expression blank as he summoned a portkey from within his pocket. Eventually he answered firmly,

"I would never re-join Voldemort. He is who this war is about, not the entirety of the Black family." He then activated the portkey. As it turned blue he added, "I should leave so you can get some rest."

He glanced at her face just before his portkey carried him away, and could practically see her anger bubbling just below the surface. He knew likely nothing could have infuriated her worse than his leaving in that moment, but he couldn't bring himself to care. It was an argument that neither of them could win, both had tried more times than he could count.

Obviously the timing of the disagreement wasn't ideal. She had only just found out he was alive, after all. But if she was going to continue to blame his family for his mistakes, he was better off away from her.

* * *

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, master?" Snape inquired.

Voldemort had began pacing the room. Eventually he remarked, "As you must have realized, Dumbledore's Order has been recruiting. The new recruits seem to be more talented than their norm if today was any indication."

Voldemort immediately stopped pacing and turned to Snape, "legilimens."

After a few moments of looking into Snape's mind, Voldemort released the spell. Whether he had learned anything interesting or not was difficult to tell, his expression gave away nothing.

"I would be happy to tell you anything you wish to know, master, if it will save you the trouble of looking."

"You aren't trying to hide things from me, are you Snape?"

"Of course not, master. It would be an impossible feat. One I am not foolish enough to attempt."

"This Marcus Atilius has attempted to play us all as fools. No one will dare try to make Lord Voldemort look foolish and be allowed to live. The two of you were spared today- by Marcus Atilius. I'll admit it was cleverly done. He insulted you both in order for other duelists to be selected for him to battle. He thought no one would notice. He underestimated Lord Voldemort. He will be taught the ramifications for such a mistake.

What troubles me is, why would he choose not to fight either of you? Neither of you are any more talented than Rabastan. I daresay neither of you would have been able to curse Travers as consistently as this Marcus Atilius did. What about the two of you caused him not to want to fight?"

"With respect, master, neither of us would have hit Travers so many times, because either of us would have used more efficient curses," Snape answered smoothly.

Voldemort chuckled coldly, "Perhaps what this Marcus Atilius understands that escapes both of your diminutive minds is that there is beauty in the suffering. The killing curse is efficient, yes, but it is also said to be painless. There is nothing more beautiful than watching your enemy suffer and knowing you are the one responsible for it."

"What is it you wish for us to do, my lord?" Evan asked.

"Can neither of you think of a reason Marcus Atilius would have wanted to spare you?"

"It was not I, that he wished to spare, but my father," Evan answered neutrally. Voldemort nodded vaguely before looking to Snape, "and you, Snape?"

"No master, tonight was the first time I've ever seen or heard of him."

"This is a dilemma. As worthless as Pettigrew was, I could at least scavenge through his thoughts to find out the important details he underestimated. I believe Pettigrew holds the key to finding out what we need to know about Marcus Atilius. Unfortunately, Pettigrew's mind is somewhat damaged at the moment. It will take some time for his mind to heal. In the meantime I want a replacement spy inside the Order. As it seems Atilius holds some fondness for at least one of you, I believe one of you shall be our best hope at infiltrating their numbers."

"You want us to join the Order so we can spy?" Evan asked bemusedly.

"I want one of you to infiltrate the Order, yes."

"Which one of us?" Snape asked neutrally.

"It matters not, but know this: if one of you does not succeed, you both shall be killed. I have other things I must attend to tonight. I expect to hear which of you will be our new spy first thing in the morning," Voldemort said with no small amount of self-importance. He then exited the house and immediately disapparated to only Merlin knew where. Did the man never sleep?

Turning back to Snape, Evan remarked, "Well, my father is a known death eater. I can't imagine that Dumbledore would trust me."

"Don't be stupid. My life depends on the success of this mission. I've no intention of allowing my fate to rest in someone else's hands."

Thinking back to Snape's behavior in Godric's Hollow, Evan remarked offhandedly, "If I didn't know any better I would think you actually want to become a spy."

"Of course I am honored to complete any task assigned to me by the Dark Lord," Snape answered somewhat defensively.

"Of course you are. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with a certain mudblood-"

"Don't-"

"What? Call Evans a mudblood? You would do well to remember which side you have chosen in this war, Snape. If you're having doubts about where your loyalties lie, the last thing you need to do is put yourself in a position that could cause you to forget about the oath you have taken."

"I am loyal only to the Dark Lord. It is you who cannot say the same."

"You are loyal only to the Dark Lord because you have no one else," Evan accused. "If your pathetic unrequited love to the mudblood causes you to fail in this mission… if you have so much as a hesitation in your actions… I will make you wish it was the Dark Lord who killed you," Evan threatened curtly before seeing himself out of the dirty muggle house.

He once would have considered Snape an ally. It was a testament to the strain the war had put on them both that this no longer held true," he realized as he disapparated home in a bad mood.


	36. Crouch, Dumbles, Memories

As was his new normal, Regulus felt almost as tired when he woke up the next morning as he had before he laying down. Fighting off fake inferi in your sleep didn't leave one feeling well rested.

Not for the first time he considered purchasing a dreamless sleep potion, but knew he wouldn't. Being startled awake by every sound and instantly on the alert was far more appropriate in the current climate than the drowsiness induced by dreamless sleep.

Still, he was determined to make progress in the hunt for horcruxes. The events of the previous day left him with no doubt that it was only a matter of time before the truth behind his Marcus façade was discovered.

He took a steaming hot shower in effort to burn away the memories of the previous night's dreams in the cave. It had quickly become his favorite part of each day to stand beneath the scalding tap for as long as he could stand. As always, the cold immediately seeped back into his skin the moment the shower was over though and he knew he wouldn't feel properly warm again for the rest of the day. It also left his skin slightly pink, but he couldn't be bothered to care about that.

Knowing Dumbledore had a lead on where another horcrux might be, he thought it prudent to talk with him. Right or wrong it was a start less likely to risk the wellbeing of his cousins in comparison to his other ideas.

Knowing what Sirius' plans the night before had been, he didn't bother trying to contact him. It was unlikely he would be awake anytime soon.

After eating a quick breakfast, he walked down the drive of his Uncle Alphard's house to a place where he could disapparate from.

After stealthily avoiding everyone who was migrating around the castle, Regulus whispered the password to the gargoyle and quickly darted into the staircase leading to the headmaster's office. He knew he was putting far more effort into not being seen than necessary- the only person he was actually trying to avoid was likely still being held captive inside the infirmary.

After several minutes of knocking and then waiting and then knocking again on the door of the headmaster's office, Regulus pushed it open and stepped inside. He was alone except for the portraits of previous headmasters. He immediately looked to his great, great grandfather Phineas' portrait and was slightly disappointed to find it empty.

Unsure of whether or not to wait, Regulus glanced around the room, ignoring all of the questions he was being asked by the portraits.

"Where's Dumbledore?" he asked the room at large.

"You did not answer our questions, why should we answer yours?" a red nosed, fat man in one of the portraits answered him scornfully.

Regulus began to fix the man with a glare that would have been considered more intimidating in most situations. Realizing the ineffectiveness of threatening a portrait, he smirked,

"Fortunately, I am not bound by the confines of a frame and can look for him myself," he said before making a half-hearted bow to the portraits and exiting the office.

After shutting the door behind him, he stood just outside of the office for a moment to consider where he should look next. He thought it likely that Dumbledore would be in the great hall for breakfast. He didn't particularly want to be seen by all of the students and staff- especially not knowing if anything had been written about him in, _The Prophet,_ after the events of yesterday.

Regulus felt a chill wash over him that had nothing to do with memories of the cave as he thought back to his battle with Rabastan, Travers and Selwyn. He realized Rachel was not the only person in the castle he should avoid. Katherine Selwyn was currently in her seventh year at school. He didn't know if she even knew her brother was dead yet. He hoped not to run into her anytime soon.

In the six years they had been at Hogwarts together, Regulus had never once seen or even heard of Katherine going to the library. He thought it as safe as any other place in the castle to avoid her - and Rachel. It also had the added benefit of allowing him to research potential artifacts that Voldemort might have made into horcruxes. Decision made, he set off in that direction.

Upon entering the library, he went immediately to where he thought the most helpful books would be and made his selections. He then found the most secluded corner available and settled into his reading. It wasn't long before he became so immersed in his research that he nearly forgot he was only there to wait for Dumbledore to return to his office.

Realizing it was nearly suppertime, he began to stack up the books he had been reading. He knew from his days at school that Dumbledore rarely ate all three meals in the great hall. The marauders must have had his schedule memorized, as they had always saved their biggest pranks for when he was elsewhere.

As Regulus stood to return his books, his abrupt movement caught the attention of someone nearby. Regulus looked in their direction to find a noticeably stunned Barty Crouch Jr. looking at him.

"You're alive," Barty said after a moment.

"Very astute, Crouch. The sorting hat certainly knew what it was doing when it put you in Ravenclaw," he drawled.

"But how- What happened?"

"Is that really what you should be worried about right now?" Regulus asked the unarmed Crouch as he held up his wand in a would-be casual manner.

The younger male looked at the wand warily, "What has changed now that you would attack me? I've done nothing-"

"I hardly believe you've done nothing. I saw you on the train-"

"I cast protective charms on the compartments containing students-" he began in a low tone.

"Just as your _master_ would have wanted," Barty looked around nervously to ensure no one was within hearing range as Regulus continued, "It would be rather difficult for him to maintain his ally's support after needlessly spilling their children's blood," Regulus answered in a voice just above a whisper.

Crouch hesitantly put up his hands where Marcus could see them before walking nearer to him.

"One of your own would be dead if not for me," he whispered. "You are glad Rachel Candor wasn't killed, aren't you?"

Regulus kept his face neutral, despite his surprise, "As much as any other member of the Order I barely know. She looked perfectly fine when I saw her last-"

"You're welcome then. I saved her for you," Crouch answered pointedly, though his expression gave away nothing.

Regulus didn't know what Barty suspected, but he wasn't going to add to the suspicion by taking the bait. Instead he answered neutrally, "I would think saving anyone is far more to your benefit than mine. Azkaban is said to be a wretched place. Out of curiosity, what makes you think you're creditable for her rescue?"

"Because I am. The Order members left her with me to defend the train as they went to play hero. I suggested we split up, each covering one entrance of the train, and she agreed. I knowingly guarded the entrance Bellatrix would be using. When she arrived I told her that a member of the Order was onboard. She wanted to kill her, but I convinced her to let me play victim.

"When Rachel was going to try to fight Bellatrix for my 'benefit' I pleaded with her. I told her it was worth one innocent life to save everyone else's. Naturally she thought I was referring to my own life- and after a bit of compulsion, she agreed to let Bellatrix take me unchallenged. Decent people are easy to manipulate," he snickered.

Regulus raised his wand to Crouch's face, who immediately resumed his somber expression.

"Anyway, Bellatrix then sent me flying into Rachel, who is not a good cushion by the way, before summoning the minister's daughter. As Rachel and I were picking ourselves up, you showed up. Rachel wanted to help you, but I told her that you wouldn't've come if you didn't have a plan. I said that we should do what we could to protect the other students.

"Just as we were finishing the protective spells, the Dark Lord showed up. I immediately knocked Rachel unconscious," at Marcus' look he added, "Gently! During your pathetic ramblings of missing out on the Hogwarts experience, I discretely stashed her unconscious body inside the broom cupboard. Once the rest of you left, I put her back where she last stood. I pretended to be unable to revive her when we arrived in Hogsmeade. Hagrid asked me to take her to the infirmary, and you know the rest," he finished proudly.

If that story was true, then Regulus begrudgingly had to admit that Barty probably was the only reason Rachel was still alive. Not that he would ever give Crouch the satisfaction of acknowledging it.

"Considering the amount of manipulation required on your part for that story to be plausible, you'll have to forgive me for not believing you."

"It's the truth," he answered solemnly.

"Perhaps you shall live to see another day then," Regulus answered sardonically as he began to walk away from Crouch. He knew the younger male to be far too cautious to try to curse him, unprovoked in the library of Hogwarts. It would have been too out of character for the person he led everyone to believe he was.

"Wait, you didn't tell me anything. What happened after you left?"

"I'm sure your master has his own version of the event he will want you to believe," Regulus answered.

Crouch hesitated just long enough for Regulus to take another step away from him before blurting out, "I want to hear your side of the story."

Regulus looked back at him questioningly to find Crouch was staring at his boots For a moment Regulus wondered if Crouch was actually observant enough to figure out who he was by recognizing his foot attire. Then he remembered that he had bought the boots he was currently wearing while in muggle London with Sirius.

Crouch finally met his gaze and added, "If you tell me your side of things, perhaps I could decide for myself which version to believe." It was said with just enough hope and apparent genuineness that Regulus almost believed him. "How did you find out the Dark Lord was going to attack the Hogwarts Express?"

And then he asked that.

Regulus scoffed, "A death eater who dares think for themselves? I doubt it. Let me know when you have something of value to share and we'll talk."

"What happened to you being someone I could confide in without judgment?"

"That isn't what this is about. You happened upon me in the library and took it upon yourself to try to get information that could win you favor with Voldemort."

Barty winced but didn't flinch at the sound of his master's name as some of the more irrational death eaters would have done. Somehow that gave Regulus some small hope that he could come to his senses- though he knew he should know better.

Regulus left the library without a backward glance. He took a roundabout way back to the headmaster's office in effort to avoid as many people as possible.

After knocking on the door, he was relieved to hear Dumbledore's soft, "Enter."

Stepping into the office, he pointedly ignored all of the portraits as the headmaster greeted him amusedly,

"Good evening, Mr. Atilius."

"Good evening," he answered as he looked around the room to ensure they were alone.

"Please have a seat," Dumbledore invited.

Regulus obliged, taking the seat directly across from the desk Dumbledore sat at. Mostly out of habit he looked again to his great, great grandfather's portrait, which still remained empty.

Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of him, before addressing the youngest Black.

"I'm sure you are here to discuss the lead I mentioned?"

"Yes," Regulus answered simply.

"Very well. Would you like a lemon drop?"

Regulus hid his annoyance at the offer. He had not waited around most of the day to eat whatever a lemon drop was. Though now that he thought about it, he realized he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

"Yes, please." He took one, quickly learning muggle candy was disgusting.

"I wish to thank you for your quick thinking yesterday. Our student body would likely not have remained intact if not for your actions."

"It wasn't that big of a deal," he answered indifferently. "How is the Minchum girl?"

Dumbledore blinked as if in surprise. Was it really that surprising he had asked about her? He had almost died trying to save her, after all.

"Her mother reported that she was plagued with nightmares through the night and wished for her to remain at home longer. Her father, however, felt it prudent she not miss any school. A compromise has been made in that she has returned to school but is to be allowed to sleep in the infirmary for a few days so that Madam Pomfrey can monitor her closely."

Regulus nodded. Nightmares he understood.

"Do you know where another horcrux is?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"I see you are not to be distracted for long. It is true I have a hunch as to where one could be, though I cannot be sure without further investigation."

"A hunch is better than nothing. What have you found out?"

"I've managed to track down an old acquaintance of mine, Bob Ogden. He was the head of the DMLE in the 1920s. Much of what I told you about the Riddle and Gaunt family I learned from him. He once visited the old shack the Gaunt family resided in with plans to arrest Morfin Gaunt, only to be threatened and forced to leave. He returned shortly after with reinforcements and arrested both Morfin and Marvolo. Years later he investigated the murder of Tom Riddle's father and his parents inside their mansion on the hill that overlooked the Gaunt's shack-"

Regulus felt as if his blood had frozen at the memories that description left him with.

"I think you left out some of those details before... I hadn't realized the Riddle family and the Gaunt's were neighbors."

"Oh yes, I'd imagine their marriage caused quite the scandal in the neighboring town."

"So, you think a horcrux may have been left in one of those places?" Regulus asked doubtfully.

"I believe the shack, perhaps. It was the home of Voldemort's last living pureblood relatives."

"It seems a bit…unprotected. Doesn't it?"

"I have not yet been able to locate the shack, so I could not say. I think it safe to say though, that if a horcrux is hidden there, it shall have strong protections. Not unlike the cave you visited."

Regulus cringed internally. He never wanted to see another inferius for as long as he lived.

"Alright, Sirius and I can check it out. What is the name of the neighboring town?"

"I cannot expect the two of you to go alone. As I said the protections will be strong to say the least-"

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's nothing the two of us can't handle. We were able to acquire the locket, after all."

"You also had a house elf."

Regulus scoffed, "Well, I suppose I could bring Kreacher if you think it necessary."

"There is too much at risk for you to go alone. We do not know for certain if there is a horcrux there or not and there is no telling what protections are in place. There is also the possibility that you would do nothing but draw attention to yourselves, and to what you are looking for."

"Why did you bother telling me about it if not for us to go?"

"I wanted to extend an invitation for you to accompany me the next time-"

"Are you planning to go now?"

"I have other obligations which prevent me from-"

"I don't. Nor does Sirius. We can go right now."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in amusement, "You and your brother are far more alike than people realize-"

"Yes, we are both impatient. Especially about things that need to be done. How long have you suspected a horcrux was located in that shack and not gone there to look?"

"Who is to say I have not been looking? As I believe I mentioned, I was unable to learn the exact location of the Gaunt's former residence. It is not as simple as apparating directly there and searching the place. Even if we knew the exact location, it would be unwise to attempt apparition too near the structure. There is no way of knowing all of the protections set up in the area. For all I know the shack does not contain a horcrux at all but is instead a safe house for death eaters. We must think things through before barging in without proper preparation."

"Is the neighboring town a small one? I'm sure it would be easy enough to discretely find out the location of the shack from the locals. The murder of the Riddle family was bound to have been big news at the time. Perhaps-" seeing Dumbledore's expression he stopped mid-sentence. He could tell it was hopeless, "You aren't going to tell me the name of the town, are you?"

"I'm afraid not. However if you would like to accompany me-"

Regulus stood abruptly to leave, "No, thank you. I'd hate for my incompetence to jeopardize the mission."

"It is not a question of competence. As you must realize, the repercussions for our knowing about the horcruxes will be most severe if it is discovered. It is of the utmost importance that we do not bring attention to what we are doing. There is no question that you and Sirius are very intelligent and powerful wizards. I am however far older, wiser and more experienced than either of you in these matters."

"You've tracked down and destroyed horcruxes before then, have you?"

Whatever answer Dumbledore was about to give was interrupted by an owl that flew in the window and landed on the desk in front of Dumbledore.

"I expect that letter will contain yet another 'obligation' you'll need to prioritize above finding horcruxes," he added scathingly before abruptly leaving the office.

* * *

Sirius woke up in darkness with his head throbbing. He turned on a light briefly, only to turn it back off immediately upon discovering it only worsened the pain in his head. From the brief illuminance of his room and his own lack of clothing, he suspected more had gone on the night before than he could remember at the moment. He could work through those details later though, for now his first priority was taking care of his hangover.

After fumbling into a pair of jeans in the darkness, he walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. It seemed Remus was out of the house, but had been thoughtful enough to leave Sirius a glass of his favorite potion on the counter. It was a concoction that Remus had perfected in their school days, capable of banishing their worst of hangovers almost instantly. Sirius drank the potion dry, before getting ready for the day- which was almost over.

He was unsure of how to spend the rest of his evening. He knew Regulus was anxious to speak with Dumbledore. Considering the time of day and his impatience though, he had probably already done it. Preferring to get the highlights from Regulus rather than bothering Dumbledore again, Sirius decided to look for his brother.

* * *

Evan was beyond frustrated. He didn't want his fate resting in Snape's hands, yet the alternative had been to become a spy himself. He didn't care about anyone on the 'light' side of the war- unless Regulus counted. Was Regulus really light? He doubted that, but he was definitely anti-Voldemort..

On one side of the war was Regulus, and on the other was his father and pretty much everyone he had ever associated with. Not that he cared about many of them. He couldn't betray Regulus by pretending to change sides in the war in order to spy any more than he could betray his father by actually doing it.

He had just left Malfoy Manor where he had helped Snape write a letter to Dumbledore requesting a meeting. The plan was for him to beg for forgiveness and offer his services to the Order of the Phoenix in exchange for amnesty should the light side win the war- if the conversation made it that far.

Evan knew Dumbledore wouldn't kill Snape, but having him arrested wasn't out of the question, was it? What was Evan meant to do if Snape did successfully infiltrate the Order? His life depended on that success, but it was a success that could jeopardize Regulus' life.

Regulus was unlikely to trust Snape's intentions, as he so rarely trusted anyone, but would Dumbledore even tell Regulus that Snape had contacted him?

Deciding the only thing that could make his night worse was spending it under the same roof as Pettigrew, Evan went to his old apartment in London.

Upon entering, the flat appeared empty. Evan cast, 'homenum revelio,' to confirm that was the case before going to the kitchen and pouring himself some liquor. Judging by the significant amount of alcohol missing from his stockpile, he suspected someone else had been there. Regulus rarely drank.

He walked to his bedroom and was pleased to find that his bed as imperfectly made-up as he had left it. Evan had never bothered to master trivial spells like those for housekeeping. What were house elves for if not cooking and cleaning? At any rate, his room appeared to be untouched from when he was last there.

He then walked to the spare bedroom and looked inside. Evan smirked as he saw the overall precision of the room and how neatly the bed had been made. He had little doubt that Regulus was the last person who slept there- his cleaning skills were enough to make any house elf proud.

Satisfied that nothing too outlandish had taken place in his absence, Evan downed the rest of his drink before throwing himself across his bed, content to sleep through the rest of the awful night.

But then, 'When did things ever go as planned?' he thought to himself as he woke up a short time later. He sat up in bed listening, but didn't know what had caused him to wake up. Just as he determined it was nothing and laid back down, he heard the likely source of his sleep disruption again. He was certain now that someone else had entered the flat.

* * *

_Regulus attempted to take a deep breath and for the first time his body didn't refuse. He inhaled the icy water and his lungs alit with a pain he hadn't known possible. Regulus gave up in his fight against the dozens of inferi that had hands on him. He allowed them to carry him to the depths of the lake. Somewhere in Regulus' subconscious he recognized this dream was different from any he had before._

_Suddenly his surroundings morphed. It was now much warmer and he was dry. He was inside a large house that he knew by muggle standards would have been considered nice at one time. To his left was Bellatrix and to her left was Evan._

_She guided them upstairs and into a large room- Regulus could barely take in any of his surroundings. His heart was pounding with nervous excitement. He glimpsed The Dark Lord and fell to his knees in submission. Evan was now directly beside him, also kneeling. _

_He was vaguely aware that Bella had only bowed, but couldn't focus enough to think about whether it was significant. Other senior death eaters began to file in around them. Regulus didn't look to see who._

_He couldn't focus on anything but the effort it took to appear as if he were the epitome of composure. No one would visibly see how nervous he was, for he was a Black and would represent himself as such. He knew the Dark Lord could tell how he felt, but saw no need to bother with occlumency now. His mind was open for the Dark Lord, and why shouldn't it be? He had nothing to hide._

"_Master, I present to you my cousins," Bella said excitedly, "'The Young Warrior'" she said indicating Evan "and 'The Little Prince'" she said indicating him. Regulus knew in any other situation, Evan would have laughed at Regulus' embarrassment for how they were presented._

_Evan's father was a death eater- of course his name meaning would be more fitting for the occasion. Still, Regulus' expression gave away nothing. The Dark Lord seemed to find something amusing though._

_He chuckled softly before giving a passionate speech about honor and duty. He then asked each of them to stand and repeat after him. After the oddly specific oath had been taken, he turned to Regulus,_

"_Your arm," he requested._

_Regulus immediately pulled up the sleeve of his robes on his left arm and presented it to The Dark Lord. The latter grasped his wrist to hold it firm before touching his wand to Regulus' forearm. The Dark Lord watched his face closely as he muttered an enchantment that Regulus could only assume was in parseltongue. _

_Regulus watched in fascination as tendrils of magic formed around the outside of his arm, momentarily harmless, before embedding themselves painfully into his skin and deeper. It wasn't long before he could no longer worry with keeping up his expressionless mask. His attention focused instead on keeping his teeth clenched tightly enough to keep any sounds of discomfort escaping his lips. He hoped he wouldn't actually break any of his teeth in the process. He knew he could fix them later-but imagine how embarrassing that would be. _

_Still, it wouldn't be nearly as embarrassing as screaming out from the pain right now- which was about to happen if this didn't end soon. Just as Regulus' silent resolve was reaching its limits- The Dark Lord removed his wand. _

_Regulus likely wouldn't have even noticed the gesture, had he not seen it himself. The pain in his arm was still nearly unbearable. He chanced a look at the Dark Lord's face hoping to see some amount of approval for his composure, but he had already moved on to Evan._

_Compared to what Regulus' expression must have been while he received the mark, Evan's appeared more bored than excruciated. Perhaps going through this at the same time as Evan was a mistake, he mused. There were plenty of other soon-to-be death eaters whom he had no doubt would have screamed out while receiving their mark. Being initiated with Evan had done nothing but bring attention to Evan's parents believing him a warrior- while Regulus' a bloody prince._

_Regulus looked up and again saw that the Dark Lord was looking at him with the same amused expression from before. Just as he began to consider attempting any sort of occlumency though, he was being led down the stairs and back outside by Bellatrix. _

_Evan and his father were following behind Regulus and Bellatrix. The other death eaters who had witnessed the 'ceremony' were all walking ahead of them. Regulus hoped they were far enough away not to be able to hear Bella marveling at how proud she was of her little cousins- mostly Regulus._

_Regulus didn't entirely trust his voice to speak, but Bella's enthusiasm was grating on his nerves so he attempted it anyway,_

_"Where are we going?" he asked gruffly._

_To his surprise it was Evan's father who answered, "We cannot disapparate until we are nearer to the village. Then I shall take you boys someplace to get something to drink." Regulus turned back to look at him in confusion, "For your nerves," he answered. Under his breath he added, "and for your arms."_

_Regulus nodded._

_Bella cackled, "I'm not so sure you can just take Reggie for drinks, uncle. His mother-"_

"_Has little say about anything he does anymore," Durant answered firmly._

_Whatever Bellatrix's response, Regulus ignored it. The path they were walking along had brought them upon a dilapidated shack that was distinctly creepy, "Where are we anyway?" he asked, equally wanting to change the subject as he was curious._

"_The crossroads to the rest of your life, Reggie!" Bella answered dramatically as she draped her arm around his shoulders._

_Durant guffawed, "Or as anyone sane would call it-" _

_Whatever the elder Rosier called it, Regulus couldn't hear over Bella's mad cackling in his ear. He didn't miss what Durant said next though, "The Dark Lord's ancestors grew up not far from here."_


	37. Help From Evan

Deciding to look for Regulus in the most obvious place first, Sirius apparated to a small copse of trees near Evan Rosier's old apartment. The 'pop' made by his apparition disrupted the relative quietness of the London Street. Sirius immediately crouched down and watched as an older man who had been walking past looked up in alarm at the noise his arrival made. After a moment the man gave up on finding anything and scurried around the corner as quickly as his cane and arthritic limbs would take him.

Relieved, Sirius immediately darted inside the complex and took the elevator up to the eleventh floor. As usual, the building was quiet, which only served to make the noise from the elevator seem even more intrusive than normal. Not expecting anyone apart from maybe Regulus to be in Rosier's apartment, Sirius didn't bother with trying to be stealthy.

He entered the flat and immediately began fumbling his way towards the light switch on the wall. As he felt around for the switch to flip on, he thought it better to announce his arrival in case Regulus was there rather than risk being cursed into oblivion.

"Regul-" he began to call before being hit by the familiar red light of a silent stunner.

"What has the cat drug in this time?" A deep voice drawled from somewhere behind Sirius as the room became illuminated by the overhead light. Sirius recognized Evan Rosier's voice, which was clearly annoyed at having been woken up.

He did seem to cheer up marginally after finding Sirius in the rather compromising position of reaching for the light switch on the wall. Naturally, Sirius wanted to punch the smirk off his face.

"You know, when I said Regulus could use this place, I never actually thought he would stay here more than a few nights. I certainly didn't think he would keep _you_ keyed into the wards. What are you doing here anyway? Besides robbing me of my finest liquor?"

Sirius knew that Rosier knew he couldn't answer his questions until the stunning spell wore off. That didn't stop Rosier from watching him with a look of would-be innocent expectance instead of casting the counter-curse to the stunning spell and saving them both time.

Finally the spell wore off enough that Sirius could answer. Not that he was in the mood to give useful information to a death eater.

"A stunning spell, really? What did I do to deserve such mercy?" he asked sarcastically.

"Fortunately for you, I thought you might have been Regulus."

"I could have been a muggle-"

"In that case you should be thankful I only stunned-"

"You really are disgusting. Do you know that? You would just kill a muggle without hesitation-"

"Well if it was breaking into my flat in the middle of the night-"

"It? You would actually refer to a muggle as 'it'?

"Why not? They have as much magical ability as a common animal, I see little difference between them."

"You're just saying that to piss me off. You can't be that ignorant."

"Maybe, but as it is unlikely that the two of us will have many deep conversations in the future, you'll never know. Why are you here?"

"Well it wasn't because I wanted to find you-"

"You were looking for Regulus. Why would you look for him here?"

If there was any chance that Rosier believed Regulus left the country, Sirius wasn't going to tell him any differently. It was a ruse worth trying.

"I actually only wanted someplace to crash. I didn't think anyone else would be here."

"And you thought sleeping in the flat of someone you know to be a death eater was a healthy option?"

"Regulus told me you offered to let him stay here, because you would be gone. Since Regulus is gone too I thought it to be as good of a place as any-"

"You would save us both a lot of time if you would stop lying. I already know Regulus didn't leave the country," Rosier interrupted impatiently.

"How would you know?"

"I've spoken to him- Marcus- whatever it is he goes by now."

Sirius was incensed. Why did Regulus bother with a disguise if he was going to tell death eaters about it?

Rosier smirked, "He didn't tell me. I figured it out on my own. It was pretty obvious actually."

"Did he tell you why he was remaining in the country?"

"I didn't ask," Evan answered unconcernedly. "I'd imagine we are all better off if I don't know the details."

"Doesn't it bother you that you helped him leave and he didn't-?"

"What part of 'we're all better off if I don't know the details' surpassed your level of comprehension?" Evan asked irritably.

"You aren't going to at least try to prevent him from staying?"

Instead of answering, Rosier brushed past him and into the kitchen. Unwilling to give him a chance to create a trap, Sirius followed him. He was relieved to find Rosier hadn't actually gone to spring an ambush, and was instead pouring himself a drink.

Evan downed the contents of his glass and poured himself another before looking up to see Sirius watching him. His expression was just as annoyingly expressionless as Regulus' nearly always was, which made it impossible for Sirius to tell whether Rosier had expected him to follow him into the kitchen or leave. Either way, Sirius thought he should at least offer him a drink as anyone with common decency would have done.

Apparently accepting that Sirius wasn't leaving anytime soon, Rosier answered,

"Your brother may be willing to go along with some things he doesn't entirely agree with in order to keep the peace… but he isn't nearly the pushover you seem to think he is. If he hasn't left the country by now he has no intention to."

"He's going to get himself killed."

Something akin to surprise flitted across Rosier's face briefly, "Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?"

"You don't have to tell me, I already know."

"And you've told Regulus your concerns too I presume?"

"More or less… Not that it matters, he never listens to anything I tell him."

"Well, he's never actually _liked_ being told what to do. I'd imagine no longer being a death eater or known as a Black has only intensified his desire to do whatever he wants."

"Right, which means he's going to get himself killed!"

"Why are you telling me this as if I don't already know? It's why I've told him to leave the country from the beginning. I don't know what you want me to do about any of it."

"He listens to you. Far more than he's ever listened to me-"

"Reg listens to me, maybe, but he still does whatever he wants to do. Nothing I say will change his mind any better than anything you say could."

"He doesn't listen to me at all," Sirius said a bit whinier than he had intended.

Rosier's mouth twitched before resuming its somber expression, "That's not my problem."

"That's it? You went through all of that trouble to help him and now you-"

"I don't know what you think I can do, nor why you think I would do you any favors-"

"It's not a favor to me! I want you to talk to him again, for his own good! You know how this is going to end otherwise."

Rosier set his jaw and for a moment Sirius thought he was going to draw his wand, though his hands never moved to do so, "Your chance to protect your brother has passed. He is capable enough _now_ that he doesn't need your protection- he can take care of himself. If he is out of the habit of listening to you, then you have no one to blame but yourself."

"But-"

"You are far more like the rest of your family than you realize if you see nothing wrong with telling him how to live his life. He is an adult now, why should he do as you or anyone else says?"

Sirius ran his hand through his hair but didn't respond. He realized he wasn't going to accomplish anything by arguing with Rosier and wasn't even sure having him in contact with his brother was such as great idea anyway.

Giving up, Sirius turned to leave. Just before he exited the kitchen he heard Rosier say,

"I expect you will have replaced all of the liquor you have stolen by the next time I come here."

"What makes you think I am the one who even drank it?" he asked irritably. Evan gave him an ironic look as Sirius amended, "I wouldn't exactly call it stealing."

"What would you call it then if not stealing? You took what wasn't yours. Did you ever plan to replace it?"

"You stole my brother for like eight years. I think we're even," Sirius answered bitingly. He still hadn't forgotten that curse Rosier hit him with the last time they met. Not to mention he had spent his school years disliking Rosier almost as much as he hated Snape. Even now when he could no longer blame him for Regulus' joining the death eaters, he still found Rosier to be infuriating.

Rosier, was clearly content in being hated by Sirius. It was particularly aggravating when he seemed to think he knew Regulus better than Sirius did- especially because he was right.

Rosier chuckled, "Oh right. I stole him from you. How terribly rude of me."

"What else would you call it if not stealing?" Sirius mocked.

"Obviously Regulus wanted to upgrade and traded you in for me."

"No one would ever consider _you_ an upgrade for _me. _Are you always this obnoxious?"

"You're the one trying to continue this ridiculous conversation. Go find Regulus and ask him to come here if that's what you want. I will gladly talk to him if it means getting rid of you."

"Talk to him about what?"

"Did you miss the conversation we just had-?"

"No, but you were completely against it before. What has changed?"

Evan let out an exasperated breath, "If you want my help this is your only chance."

"Fine," Sirius said standing up to his full height which would have put him only slightly taller than Rosier, had the latter not remained seated, "but if I bring him here to talk to you, it is for you to convince him to leave the country. Not for you to try to convince him to re-join the death eaters, or to engage in battle. If you try to lure him into a trap, I will ensure it is the last thing you ever do."

Evan chuckled, "Is this you fulfilling your brotherly duty and threatening me? At least when Regulus bluffs he makes it believable."

"What makes you think I'm bluffing?"

"If your _oh-so-dark_ brother doesn't have it in him to torture someone, I hardly expect you do either."

"What do you mean Regulus doesn't have it in him? He was a death eater for like two years, he had to have hurt a lot of people."

"You don't really believe he was a rampaging murderer as a death eater, do you?"

"Of course not, but-"

"As for him re-joining the death eaters, any opportunity of that happening was most definitely destroyed last night."

"What did happen last night anyway? Regulus never said-"

"You do realize that you and I aren't friends, don't you?"

"Fine, fine. Wait here and I'll try to find him," Sirius said as he walked towards the door leading out of the apartment. He was more than happy to part ways with Evan Rosier.

After halfheartedly looking for Regulus in various places in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, Sirius returned to his Uncle Alphard's house. It still looked as though it hadn't been inhabited in over a decade. Unless Regulus was being stowed away somewhere by Cassie Greengrass though, Sirius couldn't think of anywhere else his brother could be.

Hoping it wouldn't prove disastrous, Sirius sent a patronus to his brother. He was relieved that the patronus headed straight towards his uncle Alphard's house.

* * *

_Decaying arms wrapped around his torso, arms and legs. Decaying teeth gnawed at his clothing and entangled in his hair._

"_Come outside," a dog said to him from somewhere to his right. 'Dogs can't talk,' Regulus thought dumbly as his brain continued to grow hazier due to his 'lack of oxygen'._

"_Wake up and come outside!" the same dog commanded, though this time Regulus recognized the voice._

'I'm losing my damn mind,' he thought to himself as he sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He felt as if something had been different in his dreams that night, but after finding himself in the same state as he had every other night since his near drowning, he thought it must have been his imagination.

He quickly disentangled himself from his sheets and performed the well-practiced spells he used to clean away the sweat from his skin, hair and bed covers. He then pulled on the first clean clothes he could find and went outside, pulling on his cloak as he went. He had ignored all three of the additional messages that his brother had sent to him in the meantime.

"I'm glad I wasn't dying considering how long it took you to get out here," Sirius greeted.

"If you are ever dying you should go to the hospital and not worry about finding me first. What's going on that it couldn't wait until the morning?"

"Rosier wants to talk to you."

Regulus' eyes widened slightly in alarm as he looked around them to ensure no one else had heard him. Of course no one had though- any sensible person was asleep at this hour.

"Where is he?" Regulus whispered.

"He was at his apartment- though for how long before he is called into serve his _master_, I couldn't say," Sirius mocked.

Regulus grabbed Sirius' arm and disapparated unknowingly to the same copse of trees that Sirius had gone to previously.

Seeing an old man walking nearby, Regulus crouched down so as to not draw the muggle's attention any more than his apparition had already done. To his confusion, Sirius stormed out of the trees and grabbed the elderly man, before throwing him against the brick of the building.

"Good heavens," the elderly man declared looking at Sirius before his eyes locked on 'Marcus'. Regulus hardly noticed the man's focus, so surprised he was by Sirius' actions.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Why have you been creeping about here all evening?" Sirius demanded of the stranger.

"Have you lost your mind? He probably lives around here."

"I should have known this was a trap."

"What are you talking about?" Regulus demanded, grabbing Sirius' arm.

Regulus was more concerned that Sirius would refer to Evan in such a public area, than he was worried that Sirius would actually cause bodily harm to an elderly muggle.

"He was here the last time I came by too, he has been stalking the area."

Regulus looked the man over more closely. There was something familiar about him. He had heavily lidded, blue eyes that were partially concealed by glasses. The man stood straight now, though he had previously been stooped while walking with his cane. He was also now clutching his cane as if it were more of a life-preserver than for balance. He was actually holding it similarly to how some of the more eccentric wizards did when they opted to carry their wands inside canes.

At that realization, Regulus looked again to the man's face and found him staring back at him as if anticipating the moment when he would be recognized. But how could the man expect to be recognized by Marcus unless he knew who Regulus really was?

"As your friend said, I live nearby-" the man said in a passably innocent tone.

"Why are you out so late and on a night as cold as this?"

"My son did not come home. I thought I should look around for him in case he had any trouble."

"Any son of yours must be old enough to look after himself," Sirius said rudely, though with obvious hesitation to be more forceful with the man, "Why bother looking for him if he is an adult?"

"Age does not matter when it comes to one's children. Should you be lucky enough to have your own one day, you will understand that."

Apparently having decided no death eater would ever make such a sentimental proclamation, Sirius released him.

"I'm sorry I stopped you, sir, have a good evening," Sirius said as he backed away enough for the man to regain his bearings. The man nodded to each of them, his eyes lingering on 'Marcus' briefly before he began limping around the corner.

Once he was out of sight Sirius remarked, "I think your paranoia is catching."

"There are worse things to be," Regulus answered, watching the direction the man had gone.

"Right, well, after you I guess," Sirius said as he pulled open the door and held it open for Regulus to walk through.

Once they were both inside Regulus remarked, "I think… it would be best if I go up alone."

At Sirius' look he added, "I'm not going to tell him anything that would harm the Order. It's not even like there is much I could tell him in that case-"

"What is going to be said that I can't overhear then? You can't go back to the death eaters-"

"As if I want to! Please, Sirius, if there is any hope of Evan changing his mind… he isn't going to do it with you around. I'm actually surprised he didn't remove your access to his apartment the moment you left-"

"He probably only left me in so I can replace the damn alcohol he thinks I drank-" Sirius answered derisively.

"As you should-" more as a courtesy than because Evan actually needed it.

"What if it's a trap-?"

"It's not," at least not one that Evan is in on, Regulus thought to himself.

"If you actually think _Evan Rosier_ is going to change sides in the war… you at least realize you are beyond delusional, don't you?"

"I guess we'll find out."

"Come to my house as soon as you're done, you have a lot of explaining to do," Sirius remarked. At Regulus' quizzical look, he added, "Like about how you escaped yesterday, what you found out from Dumbledore and why in hell you saw it fit to tell Evan Rosier you were remaining in the country," he added gruffly before storming back outside.

Regulus walked out as well and watched him disapparate. Seeing no sign of the 'old man' or anyone else outside, he went back in, relieved that at least one of them had escaped a potential ambush.

As he rode the elevator, Regulus contemplated the elderly man they had just encountered. Regulus was all but certain he was a wizard, though he had made no effort to defend himself when Sirius grabbed him.

It was his eyes that most reminded Regulus of someone. Though they were lighter in color and hidden behind glasses, they were familiar. They were more heavily lidded than most other wizards that Regulus knew. He realized now who the man had reminded him of: Evan's father.

Even the story of what he was out doing would have made sense in that case. What made less sense was how he could know where Evan's flat was. Regulus knew Evan wouldn't have told him.

Had his father really expected that Evan could be in trouble or was he trying to catch him doing something he shouldn't be- something like consorting with members of the Order, perhaps? He had made no effort to fight them though, and was even content to be believed a muggle. Regulus knew the elder Rosier despised muggles. It would have taken a lot for him to want to portray one.

Why did he seem more concerned that 'Marcus' would recognize him rather than Sirius? Regulus hadn't seen Durant Rosier in nearly a year- not since before he had been locked up in Azkaban. He hadn't been among the death eaters that participated in the attack on the Hogwarts Express.

Was it his proximity to Sirius that gave him away? Or did Voldemort already know too? And if Durant Rosier knew his son was meeting with members of the Order, what did that mean for Evan?

Regulus knocked lightly on Evan's door before walking in. Not entirely surprised by it, he immediately had to duck in order to avoid a spell sent in his direction.

"It's just me," he said, his hands up as if in surrender.

Evan nodded at him before falling back into his seat on the couch. Judging by the multiple bottles of alcohol in varying degrees of empty on the coffee table, Evan was slightly drunk. Also unsurprising. Regulus thought it best to ease into a conversation before springing the potential stalker outside on him.

Regulus sat in the chair across from Evan, stating, "Sirius said you wanted to talk."

"He's lying. He came here in the middle of the night looking for you and somehow managed to convince me to talk to you rather than doing it himself."

"Talk to me about what?"

"It seems he has become quite fond of you again… feels the need to protect his poor, defenseless baby brother. I'm sure that will prove helpful now that you're eighteen years old," he said sarcastically. Taking another pull from his drink he added, "To be fair, you are a defected death eater. You could use all of the protection you can get."

"I can take care of myself."

"Can, maybe. But will you? You only survived the death eaters as long as you did because of me. Anyone else's loyalty would have been questioned long before yours was. I even ensured you would have the chance to leave the country. You could have begun a life somewhere away from here. Do you actually want to die?"

"Of course not, but-"

"Unless you want the fate you deserved years ago-"

Regulus clenched his jaw, "No one would deny I am living on borrowed time-"

"All the more reason you should leave. You know, just because your patronus form has nine lives doesn't mean you do."

Regulus' building temper eased slightly at that comment, "That was… bad. I think your sense of humor has been affected by your increasingly corroded liver."

"Alcohol induced damage to the liver is a disease for muggles. I can charm mine back to its former purity."

"Only if you know how, otherwise you could-"

"Why should I bother to know how with you around? Your staying out of harm's way in the war could save both of our lives."

"Is that really your argument? You were slightly more convincing before."

"Only if the health of my liver means that little to you."

"It means about as much to me as it does to you. Which is to say, not much. Are you done pushing Sirius' cause now?"

"For once, your brother is the one making sense, but yes, since I know it is pointless, I am finished."

"Good. Does anyone else know you have this place?"

"I told you and you took it upon yourself to tell your brother. If there is anyone else, you tell me."

Damn, he was going to have to tell him and about James Potter.

"Well, no one else has access-"

"You brought someone else here? Who?" he demanded.

"I brought Cassie to the building, but she was never actually given access to come inside."

Evan visibly relaxed, "Oh, well if Cassie wants to visit that'd be okay," he answered with a smirk. Noticing Regulus' expression he burst out laughing, "I'm kidding. You know, the only thing that might get you riled up faster than talking about your family is talking about your women. Anyway, Cassie is far too high maintenance to worry with."

Evan was drunker than Regulus realized if he was referring to him having plural women when it had been months since he had had even one. He had also never really thought of Cassie as being high maintenance. Apparently picking up on his confusion Evan elaborated, "She always wants to talk about feelings, you know... She doesn't seem to understand that I don't actually have any."

"Well, you're right that she doesn't believe that," Regulus sniggered, "It was because of you that she figured out I was alive. Apparently the news of my murder didn't leave you properly devastated."

"Yeah," Evan smirked, "I'm sure that's how she figured it out."

"Anyway, Cassie didn't come up because we ran into James Potter outside-"

"James bloody Potter knows I have an apartment here? Why are you just now telling me this?" he demanded.

"He actually believes it's my flat, and that isn't even the worst of it. When Sirius and I got here, there was an old man walking around out front. I didn't think much of it, but Sirius did... According to him that same man had been walking around out there earlier too."

"Who was it?"

"Sirius believed him to be a muggle. I'm not s-"

"Do not tell me you didn't bother to find out!" Evan said standing up.

"I think it might have been your father. What was I supposed to do? Sirius would have never just let him leave if-"

"It couldn't've been. He doesn't know where my flat is."

"Could he have followed you?"

"I don't see how, it's not like I walked. Why would you think it was him? What did he look like?"

"Well, he had your father's eyes… only blue and with glasses-"

"So nothing like them then."

"They had a distinct Rosier quality to them, despite the modifications. I never said it was him for sure-"

"It sounds highly unlikely. What makes you think it was even a wizard?"

"He had a cane, which he seemed to be clutching more as a weapon than as a means for balance-"

"Well as far as muggle weapons go, a heavy wooden stick is about as good as anything else, isn't it? Evan snickered.

Regulus scowled, "He said he was looking for his son who didn't come home. Apparently he was worried about him. Sirius pointed out that any child of his was likely old enough to take care of themselves. The man said that if we had kids of our own we would know you never stop worrying about them, no matter how old they were," Regulus answered feeling incredibly foolish.

Evan fell back onto the couch laughing, "Does that sound like anything you have ever heard my father say?"

"No, but-"

"Tonight is a record then. I have never before agreed with your brother on so many things. The man probably was a muggle, he certainly wasn't a death eater. None of them who have children would ever say anything like that, least of all in public."

"It's worth looking into-"

"To a creeper lurking outside my apartment? Maybe, it would be, but it hardly matters now. Even if Potter believes this apartment is yours I won't stay here. He likes you about as much as he likes me last time I checked… Although if I portkeyed in and out, there wouldn't be much anyone could do anyway. Not unless they wanted to use fiendfyre on the entire complex. I'd imagine killing that many muggles is probably against the Order's protocol though."

Regulus didn't agree with his blasé attitude about the situation, but knew arguing would be pointless. Evan's opinion was nearly impossible to change when he was sober and only more so after drinking. Unfortunately changing Evan's opinion was, among other things, exactly what Regulus wanted to do.

"As is the use of fiendfyre," Regulus answered affably before asking, "So how have you been, anyway?"

"Just peachy," Evan drawled sarcastically and to Regulus' annoyance.

"That's vague," Regulus answered.

"What am I supposed to tell you, Reg? Are you asking me how the fight against _your people_ is going? Do you expect me to divulge secrets for you to repeat to your new master?"

Regulus ignored the insult with relative ease. He didn't consider Dumbledore to be anything short of a nuisance at the moment,

"No, I expect you to tell me how you've been. As far as what I expect, I expect you to do whatever it takes to survive. Divulging secrets to me isn't your best option if your plan mirrors mine."

"And what is my best option then, all knowing one?"

"Either continue as things have been as a death eater, or leave them entirely."

"Damn it, Regulus, you know I can't do that!"

"Because of your father."

"Don't pretend you wouldn't do the same in my position. I doubt I will be able to continue as things have been for much longer."

"Yes, you can and you have to. Do whatever it takes to survive-"

"And if my actions cause your death?"

Regulus shrugged, "I'd be dead already if it weren't for you. You don't owe me anything. Just do whatever you have to do for now. If you decide later that you want to leave the death eaters, summon me. I'll help you no matter what else happens between now and then."

"You know I won't. There would be nothing more shameful to-"

"If it is a choice between your death and defecting, I've no doubt your father would prefer that you live, whether he ever tells you that or not. Your mother would certainly prefer it."

"Why do you seem to think you know my father better than I do?"

"I don't, but think about how loyal you are to your family. You had to have inherited that from someone, didn't you?"

Evan scoffed, "In that case, who did you inherit your sense of loyalty from? I notice you haven't bothered to tell any of your relatives apart from Sirius that you're alive."

"Maybe my father was simply more loyal to my mother than he was to Sirius. That's irrelevant now though, my first priority has to be keeping my mother safe. She doesn't have anyone else. No one else that I trust anyway. She is safer believing I am dead, and she is infinitely safest if everyone else believes I am dead too."

"It's not entirely irrelevant actually. Do you think your mother would prefer to know that you defected, or believe you are dead?"

When Regulus didn't answer immediately, Evan added, "And you think my father, an actual death eater, would feel differently? I doubt it."

"Do you ever have dreams?" Regulus asked after a moment.

Evan looked at him in surprise at the subject change, "Not usually… you know they have invented this thing called dreamless sleep-"

"-which is addicting."

"-but effective," he chuckled, "I'm sure I have some here if you need it."

"That's not why I asked. Before Sirius woke me up earlier, I was dreaming about our initiation. Do you remember it?"

Evan scoffed, "Vividly."

"Yeah… where was that anyway? I think your father said it was near where the Dark Lord grew up, but it looked so… muggle, didn't it?"

Evan fixed him with an indecipherable look, one that clearly told Regulus that he knew he was asking for reasons beyond making regular conversation. Regulus' heart rate sped up with anticipation for how Evan would react. While he didn't know the details of what Regulus was doing, Evan had to know that he had to know that he was doing something against Voldemort. Despite knowing that, after a moment he answered,

"Little Hangleton."

Regulus tried not to look as pleased as he felt by the revelation. If they found a horcrux in Little Hangleton, then it would be on Evan's information that they found it. If he were ever put on trial as a death eater, that would have to count for something, wouldn't it? Regulus was determined to ensure it did. If he lived long enough.


	38. Plans and Runes

Evan landed outside the front gates of his family's estate. Regulus must have thought he was being smooth when he subtly created the portkey and handed it to him, rather than allowing him to make one himself in his current state. Evan hadn't seen the need to point out that he noticed, instead taking the portkey without comment.

Seeing nothing out of place around the estate, he made his way towards the house. Upon entering, everything appeared dark aside from the first light of sunrise beginning to feebly shine through the windows. He began making his way towards the staircase to go to his room, when he caught sight of a light brighter than the sun at this hour dancing through the kitchen. Following the light, he found his father in his study looking grim.

"Father, you're up early," he greeted him.

"Late, actually. Where have you been?"

Evan raised an eyebrow before answering simply, "I was out."

"Clearly. Where?"

"I had business with Snape."

"Your business with Snape should have been resolved hours ago."

"It was. I found myself in need of a drink following the interaction."

"And you did not see fit to-"

"No, I didn't, father. I saw no need to check in whatsoever. I am an adult-"

"Adult or not, you should be more considerate. There are nights that you are out all night and it is unavoidable, that was not the case tonight. Think of all the worry you put your mother through. It was selfish of you-"

"Do not tell _me_ what is selfish, father."

"I do not care how old you are, Evan. You shall be respectful. Your mother-"

"Mother is not the one waiting up for me, only you are. Perhaps it is because she has had more time to adjust to my coming of age over the past year," Evan answered pointedly. "She knows better than to bother waiting up for me. Now, if you will excuse me, I would like to go to bed."

"This conversation is not over," Durant said rising to his feet.

"It is for tonight," Evan said as he turned to walk out of the room. Before he could leave though, the doors of the office were slammed shut, magically sealing him inside the office with his father.

* * *

Sirius barely gave Regulus a chance to knock on the front door before wrenching it open to let him in.

"Where have you been? I expected you hours ago!"

"You really need to go easy on the overreactions, _Siri_," Regulus drawled as he walked inside the house, "I don't operate on your schedule."

Regulus took a moment to look around the sitting room he had entered into. The shabby room wreaked of transfiguration and what he could only imagine to be thrift shops.

"Nice place," he remarked with a smirk.

"At least it's mine," Sirius answered defensively.

"Well in that case," Regulus brandished his wand and made a show of casting various cleaning charms on the sofa before sitting down and shrugging, "I'd hate to catch anything."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Despite what you seem to think, there are far worse things than allowing an attractive female to touch your body, little brother."

"A lot can be said for having higher standards too though, _brother_. Don't you have a house mate?"

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows at the hasty change of subject,

"His name is Remus as you are perfectly aware."

"Exactly. And he's a werewolf, which means he can probably hear everything we are saying right now-"

A loud noise sounded from the back of the house and a moment later Remus was there, "How did you know that?"

Regulus cocked his head to the side, "Lucky guess?" He suggested.

"Sirius, I can't believe you told him! It took me over a year to admit it even to you-!"

"I didn't tell him-" Sirius objected.

"If it helps, I don't think it's nearly the secret you think it is," Regulus added completely unhelpfully.

Remus and Sirius stared at him, "What?" Remus asked.

"What do you mean it isn't a secret? Who else knows?" Sirius demanded.

"I haven't told anyone if that's what you're asking-"

"What makes you think anyone else knows then?" Sirius asked.

"Well… unlike your fellow Gryffindors it seems, most Slytherins are actually quite observant. There is also a school house solely intended for the cleverest of students. I wouldn't be surprised if the entirety of the Ravenclaw house noticed how your absences from class coincided with the moon cycle."

"An entire house?" Remus asked faintly before falling into an armchair heavily.

"Look at the bright side, Moony," Sirius said in an overly cheerful tone, "Rachel might already know about your furry little problem!"

"If she knows about it, there is no way she would-"

"As fascinating as Lupin's love life undoubtedly isn't," Regulus cut in impatiently, "discussing it is not why I am here. Sirius?"

"You could try being a bit more sensitive, Regulus. You just told Remus half the school knew he was a werewolf-"

"I don't know if they did or not. I am simply hazarding a guess that there were at least a few other observant students amongst us-"

"Why would you even say something like that then if you didn't know?" Sirius asked irritably.

Regulus shrugged, "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst? At any rate, all of the death eaters know-"

"What?" Sirius and Remus demanded together.

"Snape told them-"

"And you didn't see it fit to tell us that before?" Sirius nearly shouted.

"What difference does it make? It's not as if he will be hunted anymore now because of it. He is already a member of the Order. If anything the death eaters will be more hesitant to attack him. Though you and Potter might want to register as animagi with the ministry. I don't think Snape knew about the two of you, but Pettigrew does. If anyone from the ministry questions him-"

"Peter is no longer being held in Azkaban. Dumbledore told me while I was at Hogwarts earlier," Remus remarked dejectedly.

Regulus was not entirely surprised to hear that, "Was he released or did he escape?" he asked.

"If Dumbledore knew, he didn't say."

"I cannot believe this!" Sirius roared in outrage, "How can the ministry be so incompetent?"

"It's riddled with spies and people who are easy to manipulate," Regulus answered simply.

"It doesn't hurt that people are completely terrified right now. Regulus, I can't deny that I am impressed with you. First for finding a way out of the death eaters, even more so for choosing to stay here to fight alongside us. You and Sirius are far more alike than most give you credit for."

Regulus bit the inside of his cheek before answering, "If we are more alike than originally thought, it is as much of a compliment to Sirius as it is to me, I should think."

"You can think that all you want," Sirius snickered, "No one else agrees."

"Anyway, Sirius is now of the impression that I should leave the country. Save my own neck, and all of that."

"Really?" Remus asked with genuine surprise, "I was of the impression you were proud of him for wanting to fight."

"It's not that… I just," Sirius began awkwardly, "when it becomes known who he is, there will be no one with a bigger target on their back. If the death eaters acquire another spy-"

"Then we will all be in trouble," Regulus finished for him. "Sirius, will you _please_ come back to where I am staying? I need to talk to you in private."

Sirius gave a manic grin before exclaiming, "At last, my little brother is going to ask me about the birds and the bees. I have long awaited this day to come!"

Regulus stood to leave. As he walked to the door he remarked, "If anyone needs that lecture," he nodded to Sirius, "I'd be surprised if there aren't at least one or two baby Sirius' running around by now- squibs, no doubt."

* * *

Evan wished he would have simply ignored the light shining through the kitchen and gone to bed. Turning back to face his father he asked, "What is it exactly that you wish to discuss?"

"I realize now, just how much has changed in the time I was away."

"Yes, a lot does tend to change in a year-"

"Why is it that I heard about the death of Regulus Black from Lucius? I would have thought you would have been more affected."

"Affected by what? Grief? Emotion? Has the Rosier name been tarnished so deeply that we are expected now to have such weakness, father?"

"In public, no, but there are exceptions, Evan. Regulus was far more like family to you than anything else."

"Maybe, but now he's gone, so-"

"If I had known it would affect you so little, I would have killed him years ago." At Evan's look of shock he continued, "Did you really think you were the only one who noticed how his hand shook before inflicting punishment on 'innocent' people? Nor did I ever see him use an unforgiveable.

"He may have shared the proper beliefs of pureblood society, but he never truly embraced them. I knew it even before he joined the death eaters- as did you. He was a liability to you. I afforded him his life for your benefit and because you were discreet about helping him. Should it ever have become more obvious- I would not have hesitated to kill him."

"That's great, father. Do you expect me to thank you for your mercy?"

"You should, but I know better than to expect your gratitude. It's easy to see you are frustrated."

"Are you not? I would think you have even more reason than I."

"Choose your words carefully, Evan. The Rosier household does and will always support the Dark Lord."

"Of course we will, father," Evan answered sardonically. "The only other option is death."

"You are correct. Even if one found a way to deceive the Dark Lord temporarily, it would be exactly that. Temporary. I advise you keep that in mind, rather than create a false sense of hope for yourself- or for Regulus. Good night, Evan."

* * *

"So, Dumbledore thinks he knows where a horcrux is, but hasn't gone to check yet? He must have a good reason-" Sirius said from his perch on the couch of their Uncle Alphard's sitting room.

"Why? Why does he have to have a good reason?" Regulus asked.

"Because… it's Dumbledore-"

"Well if you want to follow him around like a mindless puppet I won't stand in your way. With the help of Evan, I think I actually figured out the place he was referring to anyway-"

"Rosier helped? Wait, if you know where the horcrux is, why are we still sitting here?" Sirius asked rising to his feet.

"Well… I did have to tell you first, and some semblance of a plan would be nice."

"How did you prepare for the cave?"

"I knew what protected the locket from Kreacher." _I also had no plans to survive,_ he added to himself.

"We don't have that luxury this time. We'll just have to wing it. Where are we headed?"

"Let's just think things through for a minute. Its early morning now. I know the structure that Dumbledore suspects to contain the horcrux is not a safe house for death eaters as he suggested. Beyond that, I don't know much about it. There is a large house that overlooks the shack that I have been to before. As such, it is possible that other death eaters could be there. Voldemort himself could be there for all I know-"

"I'm not afraid of facing him, and if you are, this is probably your last chance to leave."

"I'm not leaving, but I don't want to draw attention to what we are doing either. The plan has to be to get in, take what we need and get out with no one else being the wiser."

"We have no guarantee of when a good time to go is. Not unless Rosier-"

"We can't involve Evan. After considering all of our options though, I have two ideas that might work. The first being that we wait until the next time the Order is called into an attack and go then-"

"We can't not help the rest of the Order, they are shorthanded already," Sirius objected.

"Yes, but this is more important. The more death eaters involved in that attack would mean fewer available for us to run into."

"What's the second option?"

"If my speculations are correct, the next death eater patrol should be scheduled for Friday night. Not all of the death eaters will participate. Likely only one senior death eater, and certainly not Voldemort. Still, it would lessen the number of potential death eaters we would have to contend with."

"What are we supposed to do until Friday then?"

Regulus shrugged, "I would suggest research since we still don't know what objects were made into horcruxes-"

"Ugh, anything but research-"

Regulus smirked, "But as I have already looked through every possible book I can think of that might be beneficial, we will likely just have to improvise once we get there."

"My specialty," Sirius grinned.

* * *

The next couple of days passed without consequence for the Order. They had been called into assist in two different attacks with death eaters. Both times they arrived too late to do more than help with clean up. If this week was any indication to the efficiency of the Order, Regulus didn't know why all of the members hadn't resigned already. It was beyond frustrating to be so helpless.

He had caught sight of the Minchum girl in the infirmary earlier in the week. She looked as if she hadn't slept at all since the incident with Bellatrix. Likely from boredom, his mind kept wandering back to her throughout much of Thursday. Something about his cousin being responsible for her nightmares made him feel obligated to help her somehow.

Thursday evening found Regulus surrounded by various other Order members congregated in the infirmary of Hogwarts. Regulus saw the Minchum girl was sitting up in bed watching all of them. Once again, she looked as if she hadn't been getting much sleep. It occurred to him then why he kept thinking of her. He had something that might help her.

A few moments later, Sirius made his usual announcement that he was going to go for drinks in Hogsmeade. Regulus looked around the group, interested for once in who was going because Rachel was there. Apparently Madam Pomfrey had banned her from working for the rest of the week after her ordeal on the train.

"Rachel, this might be your only opportunity for some fun with all of your other obligations. Won't you please do us the honor of coming with us?" Sirius asked grandly.

"Yes, Rachel, do come with us," James added with his near cheek-splitting grin.

She looked around the room to see nearly everyone watching her and flushed slightly, "Yeah, sure I guess."

"Splendid," Sirius announced clapping his hands together. At the same time Potter patted Lupin on the back. Could they be any more obvious? Lupin for his part looked slightly mortified.

"And you, Marcus? You are certainly past due to come out with us."

"We'll see," he answered vaguely. Sirius nodded as if his answer were of no consequence. As he led the group out though, he threw a look in Regulus' direction that clearly indicated he had better meet up with them or else face his wrath later.

Regulus had his doubts though. He was pretty sure that enduring Sirius' wrath would be better than witnessing the shamelessness that was about to be thrown down by the remaining marauders in effort to impress Rachel. The two of them hadn't spoken properly since she learned of his real identity. He knew she was probably expecting him to initiate a conversation, and was possibly even expecting an apology. Unfortunately, what she likely wanted to hear an apology for and the things he felt most guilty about, were not the same things.

When the Order members were finally out of sight, Regulus walked towards the little girl,

"Miranda, right? She nodded, "Do you remember me?" At her slightly disgusted look he added, "Anything I said to Bellatrix was meant to distract her from you. My name is Marcus, by the way."

"You knew I would be rescued?"

"I hoped you would be, yes."

"Well… thanks... So… why are you talking to me instead of getting drunk with your friends?" she asked with a slight grin. Apparently Sirius' voice carried well.

"Dumbledore mentioned you were having bad dreams-"

"My father tells me I just need to get over it," she answered dejectedly.

Regulus scoffed, "There are plenty of grown men who are terrified of Bellatrix Lestrange-"

"You're not."

"That's… different. Anyway, I thought I might be able to help."

"How?" she asked skeptically.

"Do you know much about ancient runes?"

"Not much, I've thought about taking that class when I get to third year."

"I highly recommend it. It's possibly the most beneficial class I ever took in school."

Regulus then summoned a shrunken box from his pocket. Resizing and then opening it, he revealed a leather bracelet with two symbols on it. Turning it to the first he said, "I won't go into detail as you will learn all of this in class gradually and it'll be less confusing, but this" he said indicating the first rune, "is meant to protect against bad dreams and evil spirits." She examined the black symbol closely as Regulus added, "In my experience, it's completely useless."

The little girl laughed, "So, how is ancient runes the most beneficial class you ever took then?"

Regulus turned the bracelet and showed her the other rune, which was deep red, "This is a similar rune, made more effective because it has been infused with blood from the offending being-"

"Bellatrix?"

Regulus nodded vaguely. Actually it had been infused with Andromeda's blood, but he knew from experience that it was a close enough match to reap the benefits. His uncle Alphard had enlisted his cousin Andy's assistance in making it after the last vacation he ever took with their family.

"How did you get her blood?" she asked clearly repulsed by the idea of being so near any part of her.

"I found some of it dried on my shirt after the train incident," he answered before quickly changing the subject. "What is your favorite color?"

"Why?"

"Well this bracelet isn't particularly girly. I thought I'd try to make it a bit more feminine," Regulus answered uncertainly. If she was creeped out by the blood maybe this was a bad idea.

Her eyes widened comically, causing Regulus to have to look away so as to not laugh, "Is it for me?" she asked.

"That's why I showed it to you- only if you want it though, of course."

She smiled slightly, "Can I keep it like this? I like the way it looks."

"Mm… you'll need to keep it disillusioned- or at least hidden if you do that," though he certainly hoped she wouldn't come in contact with anyone who could recognize it anytime soon.

"Why?"

"You haven't taken ancient runes yet," he answered simply.

"I could say someone gave it to me. If it were a boy it would even explain why it isn't very girly."

Regulus chuckled, "Who? Aren't you a little young for boys to be giving you jewelry?"

The girl raised an eyebrow that clearly got her point across. _Seriously?_

"I think an exception can be made for the reason I am giving it to you. Though your father might disagree. With him being the minister and all-"

"I'm kidding," she laughed, "I'll keep it hidden. Thank you- for this," she said as she admired the bracelet.

"You're welcome. Good luck," Regulus told her awkwardly before leaving.

If he were honest, he was a little sad to give up the bracelet. Not because he needed the runes, but because his deceased uncle and estranged cousin had made it for him. The bracelet maintaining its original appearance somehow made him feel better about giving it up at least.

* * *

"I have to admit, I never expected you would agree to come out with us," Remus remarked to Rachel as they walked towards Hogsmeade together.

Rachel smiled, "It's a good thing Sirius asked when he did then," _because if I still thought Regulus was dead, I definitely would have said 'no'_, she added to herself.

After a slightly impregnated pause, Remus asked,

"Have you always wanted to be a healer?"

"Actually, no. My mother used to work as an unspeakable at the ministry. Uncovering the mystery of what it actually means to be an unspeakable always intrigued me. She wasn't supposed to talk about her work so I've never heard much about it."

"What made you want to become a healer then?"

"My father was a healer. He passed away a couple of years ago... the ministry was attacked while my mother was at work. She managed to contact him. He got inside and somehow got her out… she doesn't really talk about it. I know she pleaded with him to leave with her but he wanted to try to help more people… Anyway, I felt like the best way to honor him was by following in his footsteps as best I can."

"That's- I'm sorry, Rachel. I didn't mean to bring up-"

"Thanks but… it's ok, you just asked a question. It's hardly anything to apologize for."

"Well… its lucky you were taking all of the classes necessary to become a healer already- I mean aren't healing apprenticeships difficult to get?"

"I was already taking all of the right classes, my grades were another story. While I had consistently finished in the top five of my year, my father had finished first in his- and as you said, healing apprenticeships are extremely competitive. I spoke with Professor Flitwick and asked him what I needed to do to ensure I would be accepted into the program. He said the only way for me to be guaranteed a spot would be if I finished first in my year. After looking over all my grades, it was my Arithmancy and Ancient Runes scores that left me slightly behind some of my classmates. Conveniently, Professor Flitwick had been able to convince the student who had the top score in both of those classes to tutor me."

"And you ended up finishing ahead of the person who tutored you? Impressive."

"Mm," Rachel answered vaguely. She had been far too upset with Regulus over their breakup by the time they had received their final scores to ask him about that. For him to have taken more classes than her and to have finished first in their year for six of their seven years of schooling should have placed him above her by insurmountable odds. She wasn't entirely sure she could have mathematically beaten him unless he had actually failed one of his NEWTs.

"What about you? Have you always wanted to… um, sorry what is it that you do again?"

Remus' cheeks reddened noticeably, "Oh, I...well…"

Realizing her blunder, Rachel pressed her palm to her forehead, "Well of course you don't have time to work with everything you do for the Order. I don't even know why I asked that," she said in what she hoped sounded genuine and not condescending. He really was a nice guy- and probably didn't have a past so complicated it would require him to fake his death.

Remus asked her another question but she didn't hear it. James Potter was now walking between them with an arm draped around each of their shoulders,

"So Rachel, what do you think of the Order so far?" he asked.

"I'm glad to feel like I am trying to be useful. Though it's frustrating that we aren't able to do more," she answered honestly.

"Yes, the death eaters care nothing about discreetness so the attacks are usually easy to track. Unfortunately they are destructive enough to cause plenty of damage before we can get there- Hey Pads!" James greeted Sirius who was walking away from Hogsmeade in order to walk with them.

"Prongs, Moony," he greeted before turning to her, "Rachel," he said while grinning manically and throwing an arm around her, "You and I really must talk."

Trying to walk with both James Potter and Sirius Black's arms around her shoulders was extremely awkward and annoying. She ducked under their arms and walked back towards Remus who was watching them with reddened cheeks.

Sirius and James shared a glance before turning back to Remus and her.

"Terribly sorry," Sirius smirked.

"Yes, we didn't mean to interrupt anything," James added. The two of them then turned and quickly walked ahead of them.

Rachel watched them disappear inside their destined bar in bemusement.

"Sorry about them," Remus said, "they just… well there really isn't an excuse for them."

Rachel smiled, "I suppose you are used to their antics by now," she said as they followed James and Sirius inside.

As much as she didn't want to care, she couldn't help but look behind them to see whether or not Regulus was coming.


	39. Bar Chats and Rat Sustenance

Rachel found herself at a table awkwardly seated between Remus and Sirius inside a bar she hadn't even known existed on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Ever since they had joined the other Order members at the table, Remus had once again become less talkative. Sirius had a constant slew of female visitors and she had received more than a few hostile looks for sitting next to him.

James was sitting across from her, and there was something about the way he kept looking at Remus that made her feel as if she was missing something. The other Order members were far enough down the table that she couldn't comfortably engage in conversation with them.

She had given up on Regulus showing up by now. Even knowing that his presence would only add to the awkwardness of the evening, she couldn't help but feel disappointed he hadn't come out with them.

"So, tell us about yourself, Rachel," James eventually said.

She smiled lightly, "Alright, but you first," she answered as it was a really vague question.

"I'm in my second year of the auror program. I am married to the love of my life, Lily Evans, and we are expecting our first child around the end of July. A little boy. Your turn."

"What are you going to name your son?" she asked curiously.

"Harry James- and Potter of course, your turn."

"Talking about your baby would be a lot more interesting-"

"No it wouldn't," Sirius chimed in as he turned away from the girl he had been talking to and focused on the conversation at the table. "That's all I ever hear about from him and Lily anymore. I know everything about the kid and he isn't even close to being here yet."

"I wouldn't say he isn't close to being here. Lily _is_ due in just a few months," James chided halfheartedly.

"You're still something of a mystery to us since you mostly stuck with the Ravens in school. We've all been _dying_ to know more about you," Sirius smiled charmingly.

"Well, I'm in my first year of a healing apprenticeship," she offered.

"That's it? You didn't tell us anything we didn't already know," James complained.

"Neither did you, except for the name of your future child," she countered. "I gave you the same information you gave me."

"So you don't have a boyfriend then?" James asked.

"Seeing as you're married, and to the love of your life, no less, I can't see how it should matter."

"Geez, woman. Why are you so difficult to get to know?" James complained.

"Please don't," Remus pleaded.

Rachel looked at him but as he was looking down at his hands she could only assume he was talking to James and not her.

"Alright, to answer your question, no, I don't have a boyfriend. As Sirius said earlier, tonight is probably my only night to do anything fun for a while... I stay pretty busy."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter that sounded painfully familiar, "Well, if you only have one night, then you should definitely make sure you are left satisfied by the end of it."

Rachel absently considered whether the Black brothers' similarities could truly end with their looks and their laugh. If Regulus shared Sirius' habit of making obvious innuendos at every opportunity, he had refrained from doing it in front of her.

Her thoughts were interrupted as an even more familiar voice from behind her remarked, "I hope I just walked in on a conversation about the most dreadful lines to tell a girl. I can't imagine saying that for any other reason."

Rachel recognized the underlying agitation in Regulus' otherwise conversational tone, but didn't know if anyone else could. She turned in her seat to find 'Marcus' standing behind her and Sirius.

"Oh yay, Marcus is here," it sounded like James said under his breath.

"I'm sure you've tried more than a few lines that _haven't_ worked on girls," Sirius quipped. "Would you care to share a few?"

"I think you have enough of your own without my input."

"If you believe I'm ineffective, I'm not sure why you bothered with the cleaning spells on the couch this morning."

"Whoa, hey!" Fabian interrupted from beside James.

"We aren't here to judge," Gideon added from the other side of his brother.

"No, never judge," Fabian said solemnly.

"But what you two do in private-"

"Should stay private."

Rachel bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. Regulus was blessed with features that usually served to make him look more intimidating than easily embarrassed-Marcus was less lucky.

On the other hand, from watching the brothers' interaction it was obvious that Sirius was both aware of who Marcus was and thrilled to have his brother back. That fact was made even more evident when Sirius conjured a seat for him at the end of the table next to him and ordered yet another round of shots for everyone.

"So, there's this thing called self-awareness-" Marcus began.

"Trust me, I know all about it. I grew up in the Noble and Most Ancient house of Black," Sirius answered in a happily condescending tone.

"How'd that work out for you?" Regulus asked in a falsely light manner as the barmaid delivered shots of liquor to all of them, winking at Sirius as she left.

"Oh, you know…helped me develop tougher skin and all that. I care a lot less about reputation than the rest of my family, I can tell you that much," he smirked as he lifted his glass as if making a toast before drinking his shot in one gulp. The others minus Marcus followed suit.

It was obvious that he was reluctant to drink to his brother's sentiment. After looking down the table to ensure the other Order members weren't watching him, Regulus leant in to whisper something to Sirius. Rachel couldn't hear any of what he said but could surmise it was nothing too callous, for a moment later he took his shot and Sirius was laughing.

While Rachel was glad to see the brothers getting along for once, she didn't think Regulus was doing a very good job of hiding his identity from Remus and James. For a moment she thought they might actually know who he was, but decided it too unlikely. Regulus and James, in particular, had never gotten along. Then again, James hadn't looked too pleased when Marcus showed up either. If she and Regulus were ever on speaking terms again she would have to ask him who all was in on his coverup.

"What were we discussing before we were interrupted? I forgot," James asked buoyantly.

"Rachel's relationship status," Sirius answered, "which she has claimed as single."

Rachel laughed nervously, "Right, so now it's everyone else's turn," she added before they could ask her anything else.

James answered, "I'm married. Remus, Sirius and Marcus are all single. Though unless I am mistaken, Marcus is gay."

'Marcus' looked at James in surprise but it was Sirius who reacted first,

"Actually, that was a mistake on my part," he replied hastily. "He is not gay anymore. Just a virgin, I think."

Rachel sniggered involuntarily, inadvertently drawing the attention of the marauders. 'Marcus' in contrast was decidedly not looking at her.

As much as being the one to initiate conversation with Regulus had not been her plan, she couldn't think of a way to get out of her current predicament without looking like a total jerk otherwise.

"What a fascinating concept," she stated clinically. "Would you have been considered a virgin while you were gay as well or only once your orientation changed?" As she was fairly certain she had just made herself sound like even more of a prat than before, she was officially cutting herself off from anymore alcohol for the rest of the night.

Regulus gave her an ironic look, "That's a valiant question. Does virginity cross the boundaries of one's orientation?" he asked philosophically, and as if the answer could genuinely affect him in any way.

Rachel looked down and hoped for somone else to change the subject quickly. _How could she have thought Regulus being here would make things better?_

"He's not really gay," Remus input quietly from beside her, "they are only messing with him."

"That's yet to be proven," James countered. "The only person I've seen him express interest in is Sirius."

"Well, you can hardly blame him for that," Sirius smirked. "Women and men alike have trouble resisting my charms."

"Except Rachel, of course," Remus grinned, "I still remember when she turned you down a few years back."

James laughed, "And never did give a proper reason why, if I remember correctly."

"I wouldn't think she should have to give a reason. The fact that she said 'no' should be enough," Regulus offered in a mostly neutral tone.

Unfortunately, it was obvious the marauders were still expecting an answer. Rachel shifted uncomfortably, "Well, with school and everything, I didn't have a lot of extra time for dating."

"I was among the best in my year without opening a book," Sirius grinned roguishly. "There are plenty of things I could have taught you if we would have ever studied togeth-" Sirius grimaced as if in pain before casting a filthy look at James and adding, "Not nearly as much as Remus though. He was the brains behind most of our pranks in school."

"Really?" she asked curiously, "It seemed like you and James were the ones who stayed in detention most of the time."

"Well Sirius and I envisioned the end result for most of our shenanigans. Remus was the one who worked through the details to ensure our efforts had the desired effect- and that we weren't caught," James answered.

"The fact that we didn't always listen to him is probably why we got detention more often than he did," Sirius laughed.

"That's good to know," Rachel answered, "If anyone ever questions whether Remus was as mischievous as the two of you, I will be able to set them straight," she teased.

Sirius and James shared a look of approval before James stood,

"As much as I hate to call it a night so soon, I hate to leave Lily at home alone even more," he said surprisingly sweetly. "Good night guys, Rachel," he nodded as he began to walk up the table to say goodbye to the others before leaving.

Once James was out of sight Sirius made a show of realizing the tempo of the music in the bar had slowed considerably.

"I think it is time to dance. Gentlemen, if you wait any longer the best looking girls will all be taken," he said before walking up the table towards Emmeline Vance. If Rachel had any sort of feelings for Sirius whatsoever, she might have been upset by his blatant disregard.

Regulus stood and walked towards her. Offering his hand he asked, "Would you care to dance?"

* * *

Evan sat in the back of the gathered death eaters listening as Walden McNair rambled through the report of their successful attacks over the past week. If any of their efforts had been unsuccessful they weren't being announced.

Each night they had attacked a seemingly random location, killing as many people and causing as much destruction in the process as possible. Without having a specific target in mind when they attacked, the casualties were high, even for them. The attacks had all been designed to be quick- ideal for avoiding the Order. Though why they were bothering to avoid the Order at all, Evan had no idea.

As the meeting was adjourned Evan caught Snape's eye. Snape had been avoiding him most of the week. Evan guessed that meant Dumbledore had not yet agreed to meet with him.

As he began to make his way towards him though, his left forearm began to burn painfully. Evan looked up to find the Dark Lord watching him, clearly in want of a conversation about only Merlin knew what.

"My lord," Evan merely bowed as he approached him since he had already knelt like a common beggar prior to the meeting.

"Rosier," he greeted him coldly. "How is our rat?"

"Not well, my lord. He has been pulling out his fur and hasn't been eating," _probably because I haven't actually given him any food, _Evan added to himself.

"I see, and have you offered him a variety of options? Perhaps as a rat he requires a different diet."

"That is an excellent suggestion. I shall stop for some rat food at the Magical Menagerie on my way home. Perhaps even a rat tonic for good measure." _Pettigrew will probably be willing to eat anything at this point. _

Voldemort smiled coldly, "Crucio."

Evan fell to his knees, catching himself with his hands to prevent falling on his face. After what seemed like forever the spell lifted.

"I expect better from you, Evan _Rosier._ I should not have to make such an obvious suggestion. You should have thought of it yourself."

"I apologize, Mil-"

"Crucio"

Not having fully recovered from the first curse, Evan had no choice but to collapse the rest of the way on the floor. Still, that's where he drew the limit. He would never give anyone the satisfaction of hearing him scream in pain. A few moments later the spell lifted.

"Keep in mind, Rosier, that the rat cannot recover if he is not cared for. Now get out of my sight," the Dark Lord said indifferently.

_If only I could move, _Evan thought sluggishly before forcing himself to his feet.

As he exited the room they had been gathered in, he was immediately met by Snape, who smirked at him as if he had just been let in a great secret. It was obvious that he had purposely stood right outside the door to eavesdrop.

"You wanted a word, Rosier? Or shall I wait until you've had time to convalesce?" he drawled.

Ignoring the subtle insult, Evan asked, "As eager as you were for the job, I've no doubt you have had a successful meeting with Dumbledore by now. How did it go?"

Snape's sallow cheeks reddened slightly but he gave no other indication of unease.

"Well enough. What is this about you keeping a rat? Surely you have not been appointed the job of pet-sitting Pettigrew-"

"My assignments from the Dark Lord are none of your concern. Your infiltration of the Order decides both of our fates. Has he agreed to meet with you yet?"

"He has in fact. You really did rely on Black's brains for everything, didn't you? I daresay he would have thought to try _pet _food."

"When is your meeting with Dumbledore?"

"To be determined. It seems he is too noble to search my mind with the thoroughness required given the circumstances. He seems to think one of his minions will be less sensitive to the need of such restriction."

"Any idea who that will be?" Evan thought he did.

"I think it unlikely to be anyone but Sirius Black. No one else of the Order grew up in a family that would have taught the mind arts at home. Considering he tried to kill me when I was sixteen, he should have no qualms about being less than gentle while searching my mind," he answered spitefully.

"If it is Sirius Black," _which I doubt,_ "we need to come up with a backup plan-"

"Dumbledore overestimates his abilities."

"Perhaps, but do you not think Sirius Black is above making things up if he can't find anything incriminating in his search? He would love nothing more than to see you thrown in Azkaban."

"Your concern is touching, but unwarranted. You should be more worried for the wellbeing of your rat-" Snape began but was unable to finish as Evan shoved him forcefully against the wall.

"You do not want me for an enemy, Snape. We are running out of time-"

"What do you suggest then? Have you any ideas for yourself or did you become so reliant on Black-?"

"Here's an idea of my own," Evan drawled, "Crucio."

Snape dropped to the floor and was clearly fighting with himself not to scream- which was a mistake in Evan's opinion. Whether Voldemort would be amused or irate by this interaction could go either way. His arrival would have inevitably interrupted Evan's concentration on the curse though, if nothing else.

After allowing a few more moments to pass, which also helped him to release some of his frustration, Evan ended the spell. Resisting the urge to literally kick him while he was down, he leaned in towards Snape and spoke in his perfected low and cruel voice,

"If you're looking to escape the negligible existence that is your life, just say the word. I would find it most… fulfilling to assist you in ending it. If for some unfathomable reason you hope to continue your pathetic existence though, I suggest you break the unfortunate habit you've developed of forgetting your place."

Evan stood rigid with anticipation to see how Snape would respond. He wasn't entirely surprised when Snape pushed himself to his knees but showed no obvious signs of retaliation. Given their proximity to the dark lord, starting an actual duel would have been unwise.

Seeing no reason to remain, Evan began backing away from Snape, towards the exit of the house they were currently occupying. Just before he reached the exit Snape taunted,

"You would do well to consider _your_ place, Rosier." Evan turned around to see Snape holding a portkey which had clearly already been activated. "Do remember Pettigrew's nourishments on your way home," he smirked before conveniently disappearing.

* * *

Regulus did his best to focus his thoughts on leading Rachel across the dance floor rather than his hands at her waist. He found himself wishing they were dancing according to pureblood custom, as the modesty of the dance then would have allowed some separation between them to be reasonable. By the standards of everyone around them, leaving any more space between them would have only drawn attention to themselves.

"I can't say I wasn't surprised when you asked me to dance," Rachel eventually said, just loud enough for him to catch over the music.

Considering their history of secrecy, he couldn't deny that dancing in public was unexpected, disguised or not.

"According to Sirius, all of the prettiest girls were about to be swept up. I didn't want miss my chance," he answered charmingly, though fighting a grimace the moment the words left his mouth. Not that it wasn't the truth. It was only a matter of time before Lupin would have worked up enough courage to ask her.

"Some would say you've had your chance and wasted it. I wonder what you would say to them," she remarked with a tone of indifference.

As he had suspected, Rachel had only acted civilly towards him in the company of those who believed them to be strangers. Now that they were alone, it was obvious she had not forgotten their recent argument any more than he had.

"I would have to agree," he said simply.

Rachel looked up at him in surprise as he leaned down to speak in her ear, "I have had my chance. Maybe it was more than I deserved even... For what it's worth, I'm sorry I left so abruptly the other night, before we were able to talk things through."

She scoffed, "Is that all?"

"I know it would have been easier on you if I could have told you who I was from the beginning, and I don't have the words to make that better. I can only hope that you understand it was necessary?"

After a moment of silence, Regulus let out a soft, slow breath before asking, "Are you angry that I am still alive?"

"Of course not. There's just… a lot of things," she answered vaguely.

"Our opinions of my family are unlikely to change anytime soon. Perhaps we can agree to disagree, at least for the moment. Is there anything else that is bothering you?"

After an impregnated pause Regulus tried again, "I won't know unless you tell me."

"That's everything," she answered a bit too quickly to be believable.

"Obviously…" Regulus answered in exasperation. After a moment he added more calmly, "We have so many unresolved issues."

"You realize you can't actually break up with me when we aren't together, don't you?" she snapped irritably.

"I hope you realize I am trying to make things better," he answered coolly. "Look at us, Rachel. We have so many issues even now. We never truly worked through most of them because we knew our time together was short and didn't want to waste it arguing."

She flinched slightly, reminding him of their breakup. Its imminence had been discussed numerous times throughout their time together, yet she had somehow seemed caught off guard when it actually happened.

"Maybe some things will work themselves out over time, or maybe we'll find they don't even need to be fully resolved... Whatever happens between us, I don't want you to think I don't care about you or that I'm not here for you-"

"Is this the speech that ends with you asking if we can still be friends?" she asked flatly.

Regulus studied her face for a moment before answering honestly, "I don't know if we can be friends. I mean we never were _friends_, were we? I think, starting over entirely is the best thing we can try to do. Otherwise we'll just keep getting into it over the same old issues."

Rachel's expression was unreadable. It was a habit she had picked up from him but was completely unhelpful at the moment. Unsure of how his words had been taken he asked,

"Does that sound reasonable?"

"Yes, I suppose I can live with that."

It was obvious she was displeased over something but as the song was going to end soon he thought it best to move on.

"As for what other people-"

She sighed, "Even after your supposed death you're still worried someone will learn we were together?"

"Despite what you think, hiding our relationship was never for my benefit. Your mother wouldn't have approved of me any more than mine would have approved of you. None of my housemates would have likely made an issue of it though. Can you say the same of your friends? Of the rest of the school? You would have been ostracized by three houses and only minimally tolerated amongst Slytherins. And only then if you pretended to share their beliefs. You certainly wouldn't have remained under the radar of the death eaters for as long as you have managed. In fact, if you hadn't joined the Order you would probably still be under their radar." _Apparently 'starting over' was going to be a challenge for both of them_, he thought with chagrin.

"I'm not sure why you bothered with asking me to dance," she answered as she began to pull away from him.

"Just listen, Rachel," he said catching her arms gently as she brought them from around his neck.

"If you want to bury every memory of us behind the strongest occlumency shields you can muster and never speak of it again, no one will hear about it from me. If you want to tell anyone who will listen about it… while I don't recommend it, I will support it. You shouldn't have to hide any part of who you are from the people you care about, certainly don't do it if you think it is only for my benefit."

Enough time had passed without a response that Regulus was just about to give up on getting one from her when she asked, "You aren't going to try to convince me to leave the Order?"

"I'd imagine it would be about as productive as when you tried to convince me to leave the death eaters," he answered softly.

"Perhaps even less so."

Regulus still couldn't gauge how she felt about any of what he had said. He couldn't see her face properly and he had never used legilimency on her aside from when she was practicing occlumency. He certainly wasn't going to start using it without her permission now.

The song changed to something more upbeat but Rachel seemed not to have noticed. Unsure of what to do, and not wanting her to be left with the impression that he was angry, he gently kissed her forehead, fleetingly enough that no one could have noticed in the dim lighting.

"Good night, Rachel," he said as he released her and left the dance floor. He was glad not to have passed any of the Order as he made his way outside.

* * *

"Ouch," Dorcas complained when Sirius once again stepped on her foot, "No offense, but I would have guessed you to be a better dancer."

When Sirius had suggested they all find dancing partners he hadn't intended to end up with Dorcas any more than he had intended for Regulus to end up with Rachel. Emmeline had apparently already agreed to dance with Fabian, or so she had said. She was probably only dancing with him because she felt sorry for him after being injured in the attack on the Hogwarts Express, Sirius mused. He liked to think she couldn't even tell him apart from his brother.

"Sorry, I'm just distracted."

Following his line of sight she smirked, "By Rachel Candor, it would seem."

"Hardly. I don't know what Marcus is playing at. He knows Remus likes her."

"Does he?" she laughed. "Did that start before or after she turned you down in school?"

"Why does everyone remember that?" he asked irritably. Reminding him of that incident was unlikely to improve his mood.

A moment later Dorcas smirked, "Don't fret, Remus is free to woo his girl now. Marcus is leaving."

"What?" Sirius asked as he turned to see Regulus walk out the door, "I can't believe he's leaving already."

"Are you sure you don't know Marcus any better than the rest of us do?" Dorcas asked skeptically, "You seem strangely invested in his whereabouts... Aw nuts, it looks like Rachel is going to leave now too."

Sirius whipped his head around to see Rachel was in fact making an exit.

"I swear I am going to kill him."

"Who? Marcus?" Dorcas asked confusedly.

"Yes, Marcus..." Sirius complained using a colorful assortment of insults to a thoroughly amused Dorcas before deciding to put his efforts to better use by convincing Rachel to stay. Unfortunately by the time he made his way through the throng of people and outside, she was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Regulus knocked on the door of his brother's house bright and early the next morning. After an indecent amount of time had passed and his hand was nearly sore from knocking, Sirius finally answered.

"I was beginning to think your sense of self-preservation managed to reason with your pride and that you left this hovel," Regulus greeted him disdainfully. "You do realize it's only a matter of time before Pettigrew tells everyone where you live, don't you? Assuming he hasn't already, of course."

"I am not going to be forced out of my house because of Peter bloody Pettigrew. And I believe 'Good morning, Sirius' was the greeting you were searching for."

"You're one to talk about manners," Regulus scoffed. "You haven't even discarded the trash yet this morning," he muttered as Marlene came walking in from where Regulus could only assume was Sirius' bedroom.

"Uh… that was..." Sirius started to say, but Regulus never did learn exactly what it was.

"I thought I heard voices. I don't think we've been properly introduced. It's Marcus, right?" Marlene greeted as if completely unconcerned with being caught in yesterday's clothing and what should have been a shameful situation.

"Yes," Regulus answered vaguely, subtly ignoring the hand she held out to him. Pureblood etiquette required him to kiss it. He had never been more glad to be believed a half-blood.

Rather than witnessing an undoubtedly nauseating goodbye between Sirius and Marlene, Regulus made his way into the kitchen. A few moments later Sirius joined him.

"She's gone," Sirius said with inexplicit embarrassment as he joined his brother at the table. "Remus didn't stay here last night so we are alone if there is anything left we need to discuss."

Regulus' expression darkened but he didn't comment, not that he had to. For the first time since Sirius could remember his brother's expression was plainly unmasked.

"Why are you so judgmental?" Sirius demanded.

"I haven't said a word," Regulus answered irritably.

"It's obvious what you are thinking. Your expression is exactly as mothers would be, only even more infuriating. At least she would be screeching at me for besmirching the name of Black or some other such nonsense. You just sit there quietly fuming."

"I couldn't care less about whatever disgusting arrangement you and McKinnon have going on."

"We're both adults-"

"Why are you trying to argue? I didn't even say anything."

"You don't have to say anything for me to know what you are thinking. You've always done this! You're the quiet seething to mother's blind fury, but the two of you are just alike in thought." At Regulus' surprised look he added, "That innocent act doesn't work for you anymore."

"I don't think it is my opinion of your situation that is bothering you," Regulus answered with an air of indifference."

"Why should I care about your opinion? You are the one who thought joining the death eaters was a good decision," Sirius retorted.

The moment the words left his mouth Sirius regretted them. Still, his desired effect was instantaneous. Regulus' usual blank expression returned, concealing all traces of the emotion he had previously displayed.

"I don't know what's going on with you, Sirius, but if you aren't prepared to go through with today's plan you need to tell me."

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "Just forget all of that. Marlene is completely irrelevant to this task anyway," Sirius answered impatiently, "I'm ready to leave whenever you are."

Regulus watched him for a moment, undoubtedly having second thoughts of whether he was the best person to have involved in the horcrux search or not.

He only hesitated momentarily though before activating the ready-made portkey, which Sirius immediately grasped as well. Both brothers anxiously awaited for it to pull them away, allowing them to begin the search for their next horcrux.


	40. Little Hangleton

Regulus' portkey delivered the Black brothers to a grove of trees just north of the Little Hangleton Cemetery. Regulus glanced at Sirius discreetly before taking in their surroundings. He hoped whatever had triggered Sirius' outburst was behind him now.

He was immensely glad they were doing this today. It seemed like far more than a couple of weeks had passed since the first horcrux was destroyed. As if the horcrux hunt wasn't important in its own right, Regulus was also grateful that the search would require his entire concentration, thereby distracting him from what he had actually been thinking before Sirius' outburst. Sirius had said Lupin didn't stay at his and Sirius' house the night before. Regulus certainly didn't want to think about that.

The more reasonable part of his brain knew Rachel wouldn't have had anything to do with his being out all night. It was far more likely that he had stayed gone only because Sirius took McKinnon back to their house. In that case, Regulus couldn't blame him.

Considering his current agitation though, it was probably a good thing he had left the bar when he did. As he had no claim on Rachel, he likely only would have made a further mess of whatever their relationship was if he had stayed.

"Is this where you intended?" Sirius asked, interrupting his thoughts as he took in the cemetery just visible through the trees.

"Yes," he answered simply. When Bella had brought him here before they had portkeyed to the area between the cemetery and the trees where they now stood. Regulus could remember thinking then that it would be unwise for them to regularly portkey into that location. Hiding in these trees would be ideal for an ambush.

He re-filed that information for later. He had been too nervous to make that suggestion to Bella when he was barely 16. It was possible the idea could benefit them at some point down the line if death eaters still frequented the area.

"If you wanted to wait until the death eater 'patrols' started, I think we are a bit early, aren't we?"

"I'm not sure how easily we will be able to find the shack. I think we should be able to see the Manor House once we get out of these trees, but obviously we aren't going to walk the path from the Manor House to the shack-" Regulus began.

"Why not? If we can determine no one is around-"

"It isn't worth the risk," he answered simply. "If memory serves, the shack we are looking for is nearly impossible to see before you are right up on it. It could take all day to find. Did Potter let you borrow his invisibility cloak?"

"He would have, but Dumbledore has it."

"Why does Dumbledore care about that invisibility cloak? He is arguably the most powerful wizard of our time." At Sirius' look of surprise Regulus continued, "What? I never denied he is extraordinarily powerful."

Sirius sneered, "Since he is_ arguably _the most powerful, whose side would you back in that argument?"

"As much as you don't want to hear it, Sirius, I have seen Voldemort perform far more impressive magic than Dumbledore. Whether he is more powerful or if Dumbledore is just more honorable- or a bit of both… who could say? That's why it is arguable. Can we focus now, please?"

"To answer your question, Dumbledore borrowed James' cloak because he wished to study it."

"Yes, I remember you told me he wanted to," Regulus replied wryly. "Any chance Potter bothered to find out why he wanted to study it before handing it over?"

"Why should he bother when he can get the highlights from Dumbledore once he's done with it?"

"Because in that case, Dumbledore is the only one with the information. He alone can discern what is useful."

"I think you're still sore he didn't trust you enough to tell you where this place was," Sirius remarked haughtily.

"Are you not?" Regulus asked as he walked to the edge of the trees, searching for the Manor house in the distance.

"It was you he refused to confide in. I think he would have told me the location if I had asked for it."

"Then why didn't you ask him?"

Sirius scoffed, "Can we focus now, please? It could take all day to find this place."

Regulus rolled his eyes, "That's the Manor house," he said pointing in the distance, "Let's disillusion ourselves first."

"Is that always your go-to?"

"Why shouldn't it be?" He asked rhetorically. He had always found it completely nonsensical to remain visible while trying to hide. As there was no crowd here to cause worry that someone would 'bump into' their invisible selves, Regulus saw no reason for them to remain visible in their search for the Gaunt Shack. If there were death eaters in the area, he was at least going to make it difficult for them to discover him and Sirius.

"I think we should stick together as much as we can. If we get separated, attempting something like patronuses would only draw more attention to us if there are other wizards around."

"Not to mention, you aren't capable of producing a patronus," Sirius remarked smugly.

"What makes you say that?" Regulus asked in bewilderment.

"It's common knowledge that no death eater can produce one. Even if you aren't a death eater anymore-"

"You saw me cast my patronus in the infirmary. I used it to summon the head of DMLE to arrest Pettigrew."

"I didn't see a corporeal patronus-"

"Well clearly one was produced, otherwise how do you explain Crouch's arrival?"

"What is your form then?" Sirius asked skeptically.

"How is that relevant?"

"It's ok that you can't produce one, Reg," Sirius answered condescendingly. "Maybe now that you're not a death eater I can teach you-"

"Seriously?" Regulus asked dryly, "I probably managed to produce one at a younger age than you could. Why would anyone believe a death eater is _incapable_ of producing _anything _just because they are a death eater?"

"I've never seen a death eater produce a patronus," Sirius replied stubbornly.

"Because they don't _need_ to fend off the dark creatures that patronuses are used to defend against. They also do not need them to communicate because they have more discreet ways to do so."

"Oh… well… in that case you should tell Dumbledore which death eaters can produce one, and what their forms are. It might be helpful at some point. Though to warn you, I think the only reason more members of the Order don't suspect you of being a death eater is because they know you produced a patronus to summon Crouch."

"Death eaters aren't _incapable _of producing patronuses simply because they are death eaters. Though if any current death eaters can produce one, I haven't seen it."

"I knew it!" Sirius laughed more loudly than Regulus' patience for noise in their current situation allotted.

"Be quiet!" he commanded though almost inaudibly. After a few moments of waiting in silence, fully expecting to be attacked, Regulus let out a breath, "I don't think anyone is near enough now, but Sirius we have to be careful."

Sirius glared at him, "If we find… what we're looking for, you are going to show me your patronus so that I know you can produce one. If you can't, I am going to teach you. You don't have the luxury of not needing to fend off dark creatures anymore."

Regulus vaguely considered if receiving the dementor's kiss could be better than Sirius knowing his patronus form.

Deciding they had wasted more than enough time talking about other things, Regulus focused more on the task at hand.

"I say we make a loop around the Manor House. We stay just close enough to keep the house in sight on the first loop. If nothing draws our attention we will make a smaller loop, and continue doing that until we find something that looks familiar."

"That's going to take forever," Sirius complained.

"Good thing we got here early then."

"It's the middle of winter… its freezing… We're going to be disillusioned. Why not just apparate to the nearby town and walk towards the _giant house_ on the hill until we find the shack?"

"I don't know how far away that town is. We may not be able to see the house from there. We also don't know what protections are in use."

"Let's disapparate to the town and ask the muggles how to get there-"

"Could you be any more obvious? What if the death eaters get curious and ask around-"

"_Obviously_-we would obliviate the muggles afterwards."

"Isn't obliviating innocent muggles against some moral code of yours? Besides, there are death eaters who specialize in removing memory charms. Voldemort certainly could."

"Fine, why don't we _walk_ to the Manor house and follow the _path_ that leads into the village-"

"The path was overgrown at best when I saw it two years ago. Anyway, I think we need to stake out the area first. As I've said, we don't know what protections are in use. Nor do we know if there are any death eaters nearby."

"There are tons of spells we could use to cut down on time, rather than walking in circles."

"We should limit our use of magic. We don't want to risk alerting anyone that magic is being cast so near the shack if we can help it. Besides, if what we are looking for is hidden in the shack it will have undoubtedly been made unplottable, causing any sort of tracking spell to be ineffective anyway."

"I suppose your use of a portkey was significant then?"

"Yes, when I was here before there were anti-apparition wards around both the Manor House and the Gaunt shack. I can only presume they are still in use, though I am not sure how far they extend. The Dark Lord is also quite fond of the caterwauling charm. It is possible one has been set up in the outlying areas to detect apparition from a farther distance. As he cares nothing of subtlety, it wouldn't be the first time he used that spell where muggles could hear. In short, we are being cautious because we don't know which protections are in use."

"Great, so we're basically muggles," Sirius remarked derisively.

Regulus couldn't help but to laugh a little. It was far more common for Sirius to praise the ways of muggles and save his disdain for their fellow purebloods.

After disillusioning themselves, they stepped out of their tree covering. Regulus began to walk west to begin their loop, but was stopped by Sirius.

"We'll be going this way," he said authoritatively as he began walking east and directly into the rising sun. Regulus started to point that out, but decided against it. Allowing Sirius to make some of their decisions could save him from having an outburst later. If walking towards what would soon be a nearly blinding sunrise would keep Sirius calm, it was worth the sacrifice.

Walking close enough to each other without getting into each other's way while disillusioned was annoying at first. Fortunately they naturally took similar strides which helped the pace to feel mostly normal for both of them.

In their first loop around, they saw nothing of value. The area seemed to be void of muggles and wizards alike. Being unwilling to take the unnecessary risk, Regulus insisted they re-cast their disillusionment spells as they proceeded to make their second loop. This time they had reigned in their perimeter significantly, but still saw nothing of consequence for three quarters of their way around.

"Maybe we should just go to the town and see what we can find out. I'm sure I could convince a waitress to tell us anything we want to know," Sirius suggested in exasperation.

"You just want to eat."

"Of course I do! We've been at this all day. You didn't even let me eat breakfast-"

"I didn't not let you eat breakfast," Regulus answered irritably. "You were too busy blubbering to remember to eat."

"I was _not_ blubbering. Besides, its dinnertime. Let's go eat. When we come back it will be late enough for the death eater patrols to have begun. With less risk of running into a stray death eater we could simply walk from the Manor house to the shack," Sirius said before adding under his breath, "as we should have from the beginning."

"I think that's it," Regulus interrupted, pointing to a scarcely distinguishable trodden of ground leading to the left of the direction they were currently walking. A chill that had nothing to with the weather went through him as he recognized it. "The path we took led in this direction. It would have taken us to the town if we had followed it far enough. Going the opposite direction from the town it should take us towards the shack before veering up towards the manor house.

"Forget staking out the area, Reg. It's taken us nearly all day to walk less than two laps around-"

Regulus looked up at the sun. With the short winter days, it wouldn't be much longer before darkness would fall.

"Alright, let's go," he said hesitantly. It would be even more difficult to find the path in the darkness.

"Really? I've never known _you_ to deviate from a _well thought out plan_," Sirius said derisively. He had made it well known throughout the day that he believed their 'circle walking' to be the worse idea he had ever agreed to go along with in his entire life.

"Yeah just… let's not talk." A path directly leading to the shack was bound to have a lot of protections, or so Regulus thought.

As they continued along their path however, it seemed Regulus was wrong in that regard. Despite their heightened level of alertness, they didn't encounter any obstacles or notice anything out of place. Still, Regulus felt a nearly palpable sense of foreboding as they continued to walk farther down the path.

"Either what we are looking for isn't there, or a certain dark wizard we all know and despise is exceedingly arrogant."

"The latter for sure," Regulus agreed. "The first is still to be determined."

The Black brothers continued on in silence for several more minutes. Sirius didn't know if something in the air was genuinely shifting or if it was his anticipation for what was ahead that added a sinister bearing to their landscape.

"Anti-apparition wards," Regulus commented.

"I guess that means we are close," Sirius said uncomfortably as he too could sense the feeling of claustrophobia that such wards induced.

They continued on even more cautiously than before. The only noise around them was the sound of their own footprints. Just as Sirius was all but certain they had completely lost track of the path, a dilapidated structure almost entirely camouflaged within the trees, seemed to proliferate from nowhere directly in front of them.

"That'll be it," Regulus whispered. Despite his quiet tone, Sirius heard the derisiveness in his voice.

Sirius chuckled, "How… humbling. Your master grew up _here_, of all places?"

"No. He didn't," Regulus answered simply. Sirius wished they weren't invisible so that he could see Regulus' expression. If the other death eaters knew the shambles in which Voldemort was raised, pride alone would have caused most of them to reconsider their loyalties.

"Well, clearly the Gaunt family was powerful," Sirius continued to chuckle, "For this hovel to still be standing must have required a fair bit of magic. How is the ceiling not caved in?" he asked taking in the enormous tree that had fallen atop the structure.

"Magic," Regulus answered dryly as he ended the disillusionment spell on himself. It was completely dark now that they were inside a thicket of trees. Sirius ended his own disillusionment before following Regulus towards the shack.

Sirius was struck not for the first time about the intense quiet of the landscape. While they had intended not to run into any humans, it wouldn't have been particularly surprising to have run into a stray fox or deer. It seemed even the birds weren't immune to the uninviting atmosphere of the area. Whether it was the cold winter weather or something more offensive, they hadn't seen or heard any signs of wildlife since they first began walking along this path. When they had been nearer to the cemetery there had been telltale signs of animal life. It was as if this area around the shack though was completely barren.

So immersed he was in their surroundings, Sirius hadn't noticed that Regulus was no longer near him. Looking around, Sirius was surprised to find him standing directly at the door of the shack. Even Sirius thought it would be reckless to walk in so quickly. He was about to advise Regulus against it when his eyes adjusted enough to the darkness and he was able to see Regulus' wand amid some kind diagnostic configuration.

Sirius walked towards him, as quietly as he could so as to not disrupt his concentration. He was unable to remain quiet though, when he reached the door of the shack,

"Seriously? They nailed a snake to the door… where's the subtlety?"

Regulus shook his head and to Sirius' confusion conjured a knife before answering with a question, "or the originality?"

Before Sirius could react, Regulus had sliced open his left hand. As his palm filled with blood, Sirius wondered if somehow standing so near the shack had caused his brother to lose his mind. Before he could ask something along those lines, Regulus pressed his bloodied palm to the area on the doorframe just below the mouth of the mounted snake.

For a moment nothing happened but it was not to last. A quiet yet distinct 'click' sounded from the door in the otherwise soundless night. Regulus pulled away his hand and healed his palm before opening the door to the shack and cautiously disappearing inside.

Sirius almost felt disappointed with the simplicity of it all. If the shack wasn't protected better than this, he thought the horcrux unlikely to be hidden there at all.

"Lumos," he cast as he followed behind his brother. He had expected Regulus to alight his wand as well, but the younger Black seemed immune to the darkness.

Upon walking farther into the house, Sirius thought perhaps Regulus knew what he was doing in not lighting his wand. Trash and dirty dishes littered the room exuding an overwhelming stench of rot that nearly forced him to step outside to avoid vomiting. Sirius could only imagine how much worse it would be to see the source of such a horrendous smell.

From what he was able to make out of Regulus' face, he somehow seemed immune to the discomfort of the smell too. Sirius realized he had never given what Regulus must have witnessed as a death eater much thought. It struck him now that he didn't want to know. Rotten food and filth was likely an improvement from the violence and gore he would have partook in as a death eater. Sirius certainly didn't want to consider any of the smells resulting from such violence.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he tackled the problem at hand. As far as he could tell there was nothing in this place that could possibly be considered valuable enough to turn into a horcrux.

"What say we just torch the whole place with a healthy dose of fiendfyre?"

"That would be a bit obvious, don't you think?"

"I think Voldemort might be grateful to us for ridding him of the humiliation this shack's existence must evoke."

"He never lived here. His mother did. She hoodwinked a wealthy muggle who lived in the manor house into marrying her. When she allowed herself to believe he loved her, she released her hold on him. He left her while she was pregnant."

"The leader of pureblood supremacy is a half-muggle," Sirius answered mockingly, "I suppose learning that is why you left them?"

"No, I wanted to leave long before I found that out... This isn't the time for a history lesson."

"You're the one who started the lecture."

Looking up from the table of junk he had been studying Regulus stated, "There is nothing of value in plain sight."

"I think nothing of value, period. There would have been stronger protections if it were here."

"Or else we are meant to think that, which would justify the lack of protection," Regulus said as he elegantly walked to middle of the room, sitting down in the center of the filthy floor and closing his eyes.

Sirius scoffed, "You wouldn't sit on my couch without first cleaning it, yet you do not hesitate to plop down in the center of this muck. What are you doing?"

"Concentrating. Sometimes you can just… sense the magic… its instinctive."

"How's that working out for you?" Sirius asked impatiently about five seconds later.

"Not even remotely with your interruptions. I think it's here, but hidden. Maybe in the rafters, or the walls-"

"Going with the theme of obviousness, I suggest it's buried."

"In the center of the room?" Regulus asked ironically as he stood up.

"Naturally," Sirius answered as he attempted a gauging spell through the ground where Regulus had previously sat, "Oh look, it's not just a dirt floor," he laughed as his spell moved enough dirt to reveal the rotting floor boards below.

"I don't think it's there," Regulus said as he lit his wand tip, "I think it'll be somewhere more precise than the approximate center of the room. I also don't think it would have actually been buried, though beneath the floor boards is an option."

Sirius ignored his speculations and continued digging beneath where the floorboards had been.

Regulus continued, "I think he would have chosen someplace easily discernable in case he needed to move it or check on it. I really don't think he would have worried with burying it."

"Six feet under is how muggles are buried though. Perhaps he was feeling nostalgia for his muggle roots," Sirius sniggered as he began refilling his hole of dirt. Once finished he stood up and began wandering around the opposite end of the shack from Regulus. "What would make it easily discernable, do you think?"

"Maybe it's discreetly marked, or in a corner-"

"Under the chair?" Sirius asked as pushed away the nasty furniture piece. "The floor is cleaner under here," he said as he crouched down to loosen the floor boards.

As Sirius removed the floor boards, he caught sight of a golden box. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to find what he knew now to be a ring from that box and wear it.

"Any luck?" Regulus called.

_I have to be the one to wear the ring_, he thought to himself. He was vaguely aware that Regulus was walking towards him, but all he could think about was how much better everything would be if he put on the ring.

"Sirius?" Regulus asked as he approached him.

Almost as if in slow motion, Sirius opened the box. He gingerly lifted what must have been the most beautiful piece of jewelry ever to be made from its golden box. As he held it between his fingers and moved to place it on his ring finger he was distracted by Regulus' shout,

"Do not put that on!"

Sirius looked at his pathetic little brother and smirked. Regulus had always been jealous of him. Just before his finger could be adorned with the exquisite ring though, Sirius was knocked onto his back by an unexpected force.

Regulus it turned out, was that force. He was now sprawled on top of him, reaching for the beautiful ring that had fallen from his grasp. _Regulus had stolen his ring. He must be punished_.

"It's cursed, Sir-" Regulus attempted to tell him as his fingers closed around the ring. Now that it was in his hand it was requiring an extraordinary amount of concentration to ignore the compulsion to put the ring on.

Before Sirius could be reasoned with, he forcefully removed Regulus from on top of him, throwing him onto his back, and knocking his head painfully on an iron table as he went. As Regulus tightened his fist around the ring, he felt some of the effects of the curse attempting to penetrate his flesh.

He lost his grip on the wand in his right hand and was pulled away from it by Sirius. Both wands now lay uselessly and unreachable in the dirt, as Sirius had dropped his the moment he caught sight of the golden box.

"Sirius, you have to fight the compulsion," Regulus instructed just before his nose was crunched under the force of Sirius' fist.

Sirius seemed to consider his words momentarily before changing his mind and attempting to wrestle the ring out of Regulus' hand. When he was unable to force open Regulus' hand to remove the ring, he began pulling Regulus' arm at an unbearable angle that was sure to cause it to break.

Unable to do much else, Regulus concentrated on freeing his legs from beneath Sirius. He succeeded enough that he was able to twist out from beneath him, though by then, his left hand was being held at an excruciating distance from his shoulder. The pain caused enough lapse in his concentration for his grip to loosen just enough for Sirius to take the ring from his left hand.

The moment Sirius stood up holding the ring, Regulus kicked his legs at his knees, forcing him to have to catch himself with his hands to prevent falling back down. Catching sight of Sirius' wand near the iron table, Regulus dove for it. Without thinking he cast a severing charm at Sirius' right hand, effectively cutting it off. The ring fell innocently to the ground beside Sirius' now severed hand.

As Sirius stared at his missing appendage, clearly too shocked and horrified to register the pain, Regulus cast a spell to lessen the effects of the compulsion. He then cast a healing spell on Sirius' arm, returning his hand to his wrist.

After an intense moment of silence Sirius stated matter-of-factly, "You cut off my hand."

"At least I knew how to fix it. Can you fix my nose or my arm?"

"You cut OFF my hand. That's far more imposing than a broken nose," Sirius said loudly as Regulus attempted to heal his injuries himself.

"Losing a hand is better than what would have happened if you'd put the ring on," Regulus answered feigning nonchalance. While he had managed to heal his bones, he was all but certain he had a concussion. He would need a potion to take care of that. He also desperately needed to find out what curse was on the ring. Considering how tightly he had held onto it, he didn't yet know if he was any better off than if he had actually put it on.

"So, when are you going to torch that thing?" Sirius asked as he crouched down to observe the ring, clearly unwilling to touch it again.

Regulus picked it up and without bothering to look at it more closely, wrapped it in a dragon skin bag to contain some of the effects of the curse and horcrux, before adding it to his pocket.

"I'm not sure if I can without removing the curse first," he lied. He thought it likely he could destroy the horcrux and curse alike with a healthy dose of fiendfyre. As his real plan was to save the horcrux for Evan's dark mark removal, he would have to find a way to remove the curse on the ring first.

As his left hand began to alternate between throbbing and going numb, Regulus stood up. "Let's get out of here," he said as he went to pick up his wand from the floor.

"Why did the compulsion affect me worse than you?" Sirius asked agitatedly.

"Hard to say… maybe because I am more used to Voldemort's magic. The fact that you are the one who opened the box could have contributed-"

"That'll be it." Sirius said much more happily, "If you had been the one to open the box, our reactions would have been completely reversed." As Regulus returned with his wand Sirius added, "I think you are forgetting something."

Regulus looked around the room, "I didn't bring anything else."

"Your patronus, please. I'd like to see it," Sirius smirked.

Regulus scoffed, and for a moment Sirius didn't think he would even attempt it. To his surprise though Regulus answered, "Anything to get you to hurry up. _Expecto Patronum_," he cast pointing his wand at the center of the room. Light erupted within the shack. Considering the thick layer of grime on the windows, the light likely would have been unnoticeable from the outside.

Sirius stood in shock as a fully grown and undoubtedly majestic lion, possibly even larger than his dog patronus, stood looking at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the irony," Regulus said irritably, "Can we please just go now?"

As they left the shack, Sirius fell into a fit of laughter.

"So…wait. If you were a marauder-"

"I am _not_ a marauder."

"But if you were though," Sirius said as he toned his barking laugh down to a chuckle, "you would need a name… The 'little prince' or the 'little king' and the lion combination-"

"Please stop."

"The possibilities are endless though."

Rather than listen to any of Sirius' ridiculous nicknames, Regulus silently summoned a portkey from his pocket. Unfortunately, the dark night made the portkey lighting up blue when he activated it, even more obvious than usual, drawing Sirius' attention. Sirius had just enough time to grab ahold of the portkey before it left, carrying both Black brothers away from Little Hangleton.

* * *

I suppose the **40th** chapter is early enough for the second horcrux to be acquired...

Sirius' dog animagus must have been really big if he was able to help control a werewolf...otherwise a lion would be much bigger than a dog, haha.


	41. Grass is Always Greener

Regulus' randomly selected portkey took them to the gates outside Hogwarts.

"Shouldn't we have bonded over the potential danger we just endured? I can't believe your first thought was to just leave me in that hellhole," Sirius complained. When Regulus didn't respond he continued, "You're going to have to get over your aversion to muggle methods of fighting and let me teach you. If I had died because of your poor fighting skills, I would have come back as a ghost so that I could kill you," he chuckled as he shoved Regulus mostly good naturedly.

To his surprise, Regulus had to take several steps back to catch his balance after the fairly gentle push.

Regulus was looking around them in mild confusion, "I hadn't intended to come here. I just wanted away from there. I'm going home," he mumbled almost incoherently.

"I think we came to the right place," Sirius answered apprehensively as he looked Regulus over with a critical eye. His skin was paler than usual, and despite the cold he looked as if he was sweating, "You need the hospital wing. What's happened to you?" Sirius asked as he grabbed his arm to help steady him.

Regulus shook his head, "You were- there…Don't tell- Dumbledore- anything," he panted.

"We'll worry about that later. For now, you need Madam Pomfrey," Sirius said as he helped Regulus towards the castle. He considered conjuring a stretcher to speed up the process but thought Regulus was just coherent and stubborn enough to refuse it.

"She won't- know what to do," Regulus answered eventually. His words were strewn together at a frustratingly slow rate.

"I'm sure she can handle a head injury."

"Not that. The ring-curse-"

"What? You didn't put it on! What kind of curse is it? Who _can_ help?" Sirius demanded anxiously. Whatever Regulus had been inflicted with, it was causing rapid deterioration in his cognition and strength. Sirius thought it only a matter of time before he wouldn't be able to answer his questions at all, never mind trying to walk.

"No one-here," Regulus muttered slowly. Knowing they could at least get help at Hogwarts, Sirius continued to guide him towards the castle. As they finally reached the steps leading into the entrance hall, Sirius thought Regulus too far gone to be concerned with pride. There was also no way he could have made it up all of the staircases leading to the infirmary without Sirius dragging him- which would have been even more humiliating than riding on a stretcher.

Fortunately, it was early Saturday morning by now, and too early for most students to be awake. They didn't pass anyone in the castle, and the few patients who were staying in the infirmary had the curtains surrounding their beds pulled shut.

Madam Pomfrey must have heard them come in, for she met them at the first bed Sirius came to. After laying the stretcher with Regulus on the bed, Sirius banished the stretcher and stepped back quietly.

After several minutes of diagnostic spells, Madam Pomfrey's eyebrows were once again at her hairline. She went to her store cupboard and returned with a potion, which she somehow managed to coax down Regulus' throat.

"The potion will take care of his concussion. Do you know what sort of curse he has encountered?" she asked bleakly.

"I don't know, his left hand… touched… something that had been cursed," Sirius answered slowly.

He realized with dawning horror that Regulus had been right about no one here being able to help him. What would happen if he went to St. Mungo's though? It was his left hand that had encountered the curse. The healer on the curse breaker unit was bound to raise his shirt sleeve to examine his arm.

What would happen if he was discovered to have the dark mark burned into his skin? Did Regulus still have a dark mark? Sirius hadn't seen it since right after Regulus retrieved the locket. It was unlikely to have healed entirely yet, but Sirius wasn't about to look at it now with Madam Pomfrey watching him.

"Yes, I deduced that he has been cursed," she answered impatiently. "He should not have exerted himself so much after the fact. It has allowed the curse to weaken him more quickly. While I do not think it is as serious as it could have been, I do think it is in his best interest to be transported to St. Mungo's for further treatment."

"I don't… I'm not sure that's a good idea," Sirius answered hesitantly and feeling distinctly guilty.

Regulus wouldn't have had nearly as much contact with the ring if Sirius had had more resistance to the compulsion. He also wouldn't have had to exert so much energy if not for Sirius trying to brawl with him, which subsequently forced Regulus to have to repair their injuries once their fight ended. Further exacerbating Sirius' guilt was the patronus he had goaded Regulus into producing.

Then again, when did Regulus ever do something just because Sirius wanted him to? The fact that he so willingly showed his patronus was probably a result of the curse. Or Regulus trying to get Sirius to hurry up with leaving the shack so that he could figure out what sort of curse was on the ring. _That'll be it_, he realized.

"Surely you want him to be treated," Madam Pomfrey remarked crossly.

At Sirius' hesitance, the matron seemed to intuit something of the cause for his hesitation and added, "I shall call the headmaster. He will know the best course."

"Wait," Sirius said authoritatively enough, it stopped the matron from sending her patronus.

Even knowing he had been cursed, Regulus hadn't wanted Sirius to tell Dumbledore they had the horcrux. While Dumbledore probably did know the best course of action, if he knew of Regulus' condition he would demand to know what happened.

If he hadn't procrastinated so much in looking for the horcrux, Dumbledore likely would have been with them in the shack. With an extra person, Regulus' getting hurt could have been prevented. Sirius wasn't going to volunteer any extra information to Dumbledore now. As far as Sirius was concerned, it was as much Dumbledore's fault as anyone's that Regulus was hurt. Besides that, Regulus was right, Dumbledore was the only one of them who seemed to be privy to all of the information. Perhaps being left in the dark on occasion would help him realize how irritating it was.

"If we go to St. Mungo's we will have to wait around all day to be seen. I know someone who can help more quickly," he said though unsure of whether or not it was the truth. He immediately sent his patronus before turning back to the matron,

"Please do whatever you can for him in the meantime."

Madam Pomfrey glanced at him guiltily before remarking, "I've done all I feel comfortable doing already. He is in an enchanted sleep which will prevent the curse from spreading more quickly than if he were awake."

Sirius nodded and did his best to conceal his disappointment. Times being as they were, they really needed someone more experienced with dark curses at their disposal. How unfortunate that the person among them most likely capable of countering the curse on the ring, was the person who had encountered it.

Much sooner than Sirius expected, the door of the infirmary opened, admitting the most disheveled version of Cassie Greengrass he had ever seen.

Cassie glanced around the room before her eyes found him. Walking in his direction she asked,

"This had better be every bit the emergency you said it was," she greeted him coolly.

Madam Pomfrey looked completely mystified as to why Sirius had summoned Cassie of all people. He couldn't blame her. Still, they both ignored her.

"Would you have preferred if I didn't summon you?" Sirius asked as he moved away from Regulus so as to not block her view.

Her eyes widened slightly as she came nearer and looked 'Marcus' over properly.

"What's happened?" she inquired hastily.

"It seems he has been cursed. It was from… an object he held in his left hand. Madam Pomfrey says he needs St. Mungo's."

She nodded grimly. Sirius was glad she seemed to immediately recognize the implications a trip to St. Mungo's could have. As he suspected, she knew about the dark mark already.

"What is it you hoped I could do?" she asked apprehensively. When he didn't answer immediately she added, "You assumed that because I was in Slytherin, I must have thoroughly studied deadly curses and dark magic?" she asked indifferently yet somehow causing Sirius to feel guilty.

"Well- no, I thought…" What did he think she could do? Watch Regulus die? Anything but that. "Considering the company you kept in school," he said pointedly, "you might have picked up a few things about healing; but if you can't treat him, find someone who can," he commanded.

She scoffed, "Not because _you_ told me to," she said as she removed a portkey from her pocket.

To Sirius' confusion, she moved towards Regulus as if planning to take him with her.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"No one who _could_ treat him would ever risk coming _here_," she snapped.

"Do you know someone who _can_ treat him then?" Sirius asked resentfully.

"Can, yes. Whether they are willing or not, we shall see. Either way, he will be better off than if he went immediately to St. Mungo's," she said as she casually brushed her hand across Regulus' left forearm before grasping his wrist.

If Madam Pomfrey somehow understood Cassie's implication, that she intended to conceal Regulus' dark mark away from prying eyes before sending him to St. Mungo's, she didn't react to it.

Sirius had enough time that he could have wrenched Cassie's hand away from his brother as her portkey activated, but refrained. While he didn't particularly like or trust any of the Greengrasses, Cassie had had plenty of time to cause trouble for Regulus by now and hadn't. He also knew Regulus, who rarely trusted anyone, trusted her more than most.

As the portkey carried them away, Sirius realized the horcrux was still in Regulus' pocket. He could only hope it stayed there. He had no idea where Cassie was taking him.

Sirius sat in a daze at the edge of the bed that Regulus had previously occupied. He wondered how long he should wait before looking for Regulus at St. Mungo's. Would Cassie even need to send him there or did she have someone she could convince to help.

While Sirius and Cassie had never gotten along particularly well, he had no doubt she could convince someone to help her if she was willing to use all of her… resources. Sirius shook his head to clear it of Cassie's disheveled appearance and his thoughts of what she might have been doing prior to coming to Hogwarts. Considering the hour, she had likely only been sleeping.

Maybe he should have just sent Regulus to St. Mungo's. Dumbledore would have ensured his dark mark didn't land him in Azkaban, wouldn't he? Who knew where Cassie Greengrass would have deemed appropriate to take him. Just as Sirius decided it would be better for him to wait at St. Mungo's, his thoughts were interrupted.

"You're here early."

He looked up to find Rachel watching him curiously.

"Yeah," he answered vaguely. He hadn't even had a chance to lecture Regulus for his interference between Rachel and Remus at the bar the other night. Whatever Regulus had said while they were dancing, she had left right after he did.

"Did you get hurt…?" she asked uncertainly as she looked him over. He looked down to find his robes were torn and filthy.

"No, I brought Marcus here. Madam Pomfrey couldn't do much for him though."

Rachel's demeanor changed enough that Sirius was rather curious about what her feelings towards 'Marcus' were. After looking around the infirmary to find Marcus nowhere to be seen, she asked,

"So… he went to St. Mungo's, and you didn't go with him?"

Sirius ran his hand through his hair, "Well, no, I didn't go with him."

"Why not?" she asked with poorly disguised annoyance.

"I… maybe I will go visit," he said standing up. "Good idea. Bye, Rachel!" he said before quickly leaving the infirmary.

Rachel watched Sirius leave before looking for Madam Pomfrey.

"Good morning, Madam Pomfrey," she greeted with false cheerfulness.

"Ah, I see you took your ban from working for the rest of the week to mean only through Friday?"

"Did you mean it differently?" Rachel asked innocently.

Madam Pomfrey was clearly about to chastise her but decided against it at the last moment, "I suppose you have rested long enough if you managed to get here so early on a Saturday."

"Yes, I am perfectly fine. I was wondering though, I ran into Sirius Black on my way in. He mentioned Marcus Atilius was being taken to St. Mungo's for treatment. Is he going to be okay?"

Madam Pomfrey looked at her in surprise,

"It was my wish to send him to St. Mungo's. Sirius thought he knew better though and sent him with someone else. Someone without an ounce of healing ability in her body… Someone who will only delay him getting to St. Mungo's. That is only my opinion, of course. But then, what do I know? I've only ran this infirmary and treated nearly every student who has come through this school for the past fifteen years," she answered testily.

"Who did Sirius send him with?" Rachel asked in bewilderment.

"Cassie Greengrass, naturally. She's a brilliant healer, didn't you know?" Madam Pomfrey said skeptically.

"Well… no," Rachel answered sulkily.

Cassie was undoubtedly intelligent, but if she had an aptitude for healing, Rachel was unaware of it. More interesting was that she clearly knew who 'Marcus' really was. Rachel wondered now more than ever how exactly Regulus had prioritized who he let in on that secret.

* * *

Evan watched with no small amount of trepidation as the Dark Lord observed Pettigrew through his cage.

"Release him," Voldemort commanded coldly.

Evan obliged, opening the cage and pulling a sleeping Pettigrew from his enclosure.

"His looks are better in this form, are they not?" Voldemort remarked before casting the spell to return Pettigrew to his human body.

Pettigrew opened his eyes blearily, before they widened in shock. _How did he sleep through his transformation?_ Evan wondered.

"Master," he fell to his knees, "it is an honor-"

"Enough. I trust you have been treated well during your visit with the Rosier's?" he asked as if Pettigrew had been their most prized guest.

Pettigrew glanced at Evan who only raised an eyebrow at him.

"Of course, Master. Very well. Very well indeed," he answered, clearly terrified of what Evan would do to him if he answered differently.

"_Legilimens_," Voldemort cast coldly.

And so the search for pertinent information continued. If Evan cared anything about Pettigrew he might have attempted to advise the Dark Lord against searching his mind again so soon. It was clear that Pettigrew had not yet recovered from his last mind-rape experience.

Finally, while Pettigrew was lying in the floor begging for it all to end, the Dark Lord looked once again as if he were ready to cast the life-ending blow. Again, at the last moment, he glanced at Evan and seemed to think better of it.

"You shall rest now, Pettigrew. Perhaps young Rosier will even remember to feed you regularly since you covered for his negligence," he said emotionlessly.

Voldemort glanced around as if about to leave, but seemed to think better of that too, "_Crucio_. You should know better than to hide things from me, Pettigrew."

As soon as the spell ended, Voldemort returned him to his rat form and commanded Evan to replace the debilitating necklace around his neck, preventing him once again from transforming.

Evan hoped Voldemort wouldn't linger, but instead of leaving he stood silently watching as Evan returned Pettigrew to his cage. After a moment the Dark Lord asked,

"Have you ever believed something to be impossible, only to find you are somehow mistaken?"

"I think everyone has done that on occasion, my lord," he offered affably, despite his reluctance. He doubted anything Voldemort discovered in Pettigrew's mind was good for him- certainly not good for Regulus.

"I am not _everyone_. I am The Dark Lord, Voldemort," he said harshly before casting a spell at Evan's mother's favorite vase, causing it to shatter.

"_Legilimens,"_ he cast at Evan, forcing him to recall the memories from the night of Regulus' 'murder'. Evan put forth his strongest defenses to hide their preconceived plans of the event, his retrieval of a dead body for Regulus to turn into an inferius, and every conversation he and Marcus had ever had.

When he was finished with his search, Voldemort commented vaguely, "As I suspected," before storming out of the room.

Evan waited several minutes to allow the Dark Lord enough time to leave their house before sliding down the wall to a sitting position. He had survived the mind raid this time, but if Voldemort was reviewing Regulus' murder,'it was obvious he was connecting the dots between Marcus and Regulus.

It would inevitably only be a matter of time before Voldemort reviewed enough other death eater's memories and realized what an anomaly Regulus had been amongst them. Regulus' morality in comparison to the rest of them had only gone undetected because of Evan. Inevitably, it was only a matter of time now before that cover was blown.

* * *

Cassie arrived with Regulus in a spare bedroom she occasionally stayed at in her brother's house. She quickly magicked him onto the bed before gently raising his left shirtsleeve. She was surprised to find his 'dark mark' was far less dark than the last time she had seen it. It was now far more pink and raw than black. She cast a strong glamour over his forearm before pulling his shirtsleeve back down.

"Cyrus," she called as she made her way towards the staircase. She didn't get very far though as her brother had apparently heard the disturbance their arrival had made and was on his way to check on things. He looked at her with his wand raised briefly, before recognizing her in the dark hallway and lowering it.

"Cassie," he said exasperatedly, "it's quite rude to portkey unannounced into someone else's house, you've interrupted breakfast," he reprimanded her before adding more gently, "I thought you were avoiding me."

"Clearly I haven't been missed since you are complaining about my means of arrival," she answered coolly.

"I am happy you have come to your senses, but-"

"Less talking, more helping," she interrupted irritably, "Come with me," she said as she turned on her heel to lead Cyrus into the guest bedroom.

Cyrus followed her bemusedly into 'her' bedroom. Catching sight of 'Marcus' he demanded, "Who is that and why is he here?"

"His name is…" _Would Cyrus have heard of Marcus?_ "Irrelevant. He has been cursed and needs help."

"You know, I put the fidelius charm on my house to keep strangers away-"

"He still cannot see your precious house, Cyrus! He doesn't know the address."

"Why is it that you only seek me out when you have some bizarre request for help?"

"All things considered, you should be glad I seek you out at all."

"Are you ever going to stop blaming me-"

"Are you going to help him, or not?" She demanded. Their family issues were unlikely to be resolved in her lifetime, certainly not in Regulus' at this rate.

Cyrus looked at Marcus carefully, before looking back at her, "If he is important to you, it would be better to let him die, Cass-"

"Do you even hear yourself anymore?" she demanded angrily, "Father must be so proud of his little clone."

"What is going on up here?" interrupted Cyrus' very pregnant wife, Jocelyn, as she joined them in the bedroom.

"Cassie has brought us a cursed stranger with questionable blood status," Cyrus answered dryly. "She reckons I should help him out of the goodness of my heart, completely disregarding the implications."

Jocelyn looked at Cassie's face. Cassie hated to think what it must have looked like.

"So long as no one finds out who helped him… why should it matter?" Jocelyn inquired of her husband.

"Where is the guarantee no one will find out? For all we know he is a member of the Order of the Phoenix. The last thing we need is to have death eaters turning on us-"

"Oh, but they won't do that, Cyrus," Cassie answered derisively, "You have done everything you can to align yourself with them apart from actually joining."

"We've been through this, Cassie. As the heir of the Greengrass family, my taking the mark would have discredited our family's status as neutral. With me not joining the death eaters, the only way for our family to retain alliances with the dark families is to marry you into a family of death eaters-"

"Making me the ultimate pawn of our society," Cassie finished angrily. "I see you still find nothing wrong with the arrangement."

Cyrus raised his hands as if to plead innocence. In a placating tone he answered, "I've done all I can do, Cassie. I convinced father to send the Black's a marriage contract as Regulus was by far the best candidate... I could not have prevented his death any more than you could have." Casting another wary glance at 'Marcus' he added slowly, "Even if Regulus was somehow alive, it wouldn't matter. He abandoned the death eaters and would be considered a traitor-"

Angry tears burned Cassie's eyes but she blinked them away quickly. In frustration though she lost her tone of detachment,

"Don't be stupid, Cyrus. Of course Regulus is dead. There's no reason for you to be so tactless about it." She scoffed, "Coming here was a mistake. Clearly you value your status in society above your own blood. I hope you at least realize that the people you are protecting yourself from with the fidelius charm is the same pool of applicants my future husband will be selected from. Amongst the same boys you felt the need to protect me from in our school days, you will now happily select someone for me to marry!"

Her tone had become a shout by the end of her rant but she couldn't care less. She reached for Regulus' wrist again, hoping her glamour was enough to keep anyone at St. Mungo's from noticing the remnants of the dark mark.

"Wait," Cyrus pleaded. "I'll help him if you will stop blaming me for everything. It's not my fault-"

"Just help him," she said closing her eyes in relief, "We can figure the rest out later."

Apparently Cyrus was watching her, "Will you at least tell me why it matters to you that he is helped? I've never even seen him before-"

"Less talking, more helping," she repeated.

"It would help if I knew what happened," Cyrus said as he looked Marcus over.

"All I know is he touched a cursed object with his left hand," Cassie answered honestly.

As if that had been an invitation, Cyrus wasted no time wrenching Marcus' left sleeve up his arm and examining it. After a moment, Cassie cleared her throat impatiently. Cyrus glanced at her before grasping Marcus' left hand and opening his fist.

His entire hand had a grayish hue as if it would have been more appropriate if attached to a dead body. Cassie withheld a gasp. In her hurry to hide his dark mark, she hadn't even looked at his hand.

She sat at the edge of a nearby chair as Cyrus set to work figuring out the curse that Marcus had been afflicted by. Several minutes later, she became aware of Jocelyn gently placing a cup of warm tea in her hands. She smiled at her gratefully, before setting it on the bedside table to cool, completely forgetting about it the moment it was out of her hands.

After what seemed like ages, Cyrus spoke up, "He's lucky he didn't have any more contact with the cursed item than he did," he said looking up at Cassie, "I am leaving him in his enchanted sleep for now as it is slowing his body's reaction to the poison. I think he will recover well enough with some potions," Cyrus finished as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Cassie asked in alarm as he made to leave the room.

"I don't keep every potion in stock, Cassie," he answered heavily and as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm going to raid our father's potion ingredients and then I will be back."

"You won't-"

"I won't tell him about any of this- but I think you should at least tell me," he said sternly, indicating Marcus before leaving.

Once she was alone in the room Cassie scooted her chair up closer to the bed. She pulled Regulus' left hand away to look at it, hoping to see some improvement. If anything his hand had only turned a darker shade of gray.

Cassie watched as Regulus winced as if in pain before scrunching his face as he sometimes did when he was trying to think of the best way to explain something. She startled a moment later when Jocelyn spoke from behind her- Cassie hadn't heard her enter the room.

"You know… enchanted sleep is not the same as dreamless. He looks restless, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he probably is dreaming," Cassie answered regretfully.

"Maybe we should ask Cyrus about giving him a dreamless sleep potion when he comes back."

"No," Cassie answered firmly. He had been completely unable to sleep without it during their sixth year. As far as she knew, he hadn't used it since. She didn't think it should be by her doing that he re-start the 'habit.'

* * *

Sirius went to St. Mungo's only to find Regulus hadn't been there. He hoped that meant Cassie had found him help- help that wasn't a double-edged sword.

Cassie would at least update him on his progress at some point, wouldn't she? Sirius was becoming increasingly more frustrated with his hastiness in calling for her assistance.

Unsure of how else to occupy himself, Sirius disapparated to the Potter's house. It was Saturday, after all. There would be pancakes.

Forgetting about their somewhat-newlywed status, he walked in the front door, unannounced. Seeing no one, he followed the voices and smell into the kitchen.

"We were beginning to think you weren't coming," James greeted him with a frown.

"I would never turn down the opportunity to eat Lily's fantastic cooking," he answered, smiling charmingly at her, while taking a seat beside Remus.

Lily rolled her eyes, "You wouldn't turn down the opportunity to eat _anyone's_ cooking," she countered.

"So long as it isn't mine," he grinned.

"So, where have you been?" James asked in a poor effort of sounding casual.

"Regulus and I got into a fight… of sorts. I had to take him to the infirmary."

"Well in that case, I think a toast is in order," James grinned happily as he began pouring them all more orange juice.

"James!" Lily reprimanded, "And Sirius, what is the matter with you? I thought the two of you were getting along better."

"It wasn't like that, I was… Trying to teach him _how_ to fight," Sirius lied. "Growing up as we did, he still thinks muggle methods of combat are beneath him. I was trying to show him, you know…"

"How not to get his arse kicked?" Remus supplied amusedly.

"Something like that," Sirius sniggered guiltily before their conversation drifted to other things.

As none of them had anything planned for the day, and it was raining, they wasted most of the day watching television- a contraption they had all thought Lily mad for insisting they have in their house, but that all of the marauders had grown to appreciate.

By mid-afternoon, Sirius was getting really worried about Regulus. Just as he was thinking he might try checking St. Mungo's again for him, Remus asked, "So, who is working in the infirmary today?"

"Unless you intend to do something with that information, I reserve the right to refuse answering," Sirius smirked.

Remus huffed, "I was just curious-"

"You were _not_ just curious," James laughed, "But is it Rachel?" At Sirius' nod, James continued, addressing Remus, "Either you ask her out. Today. Now. Or I never want to hear you talking about her again," he said with finality.

"To be fair, we heard you talk about Lily for five years," Sirius conceded.

"And look at how well that turned out," James smirked. "Besides I asked Lily out a minimum of twice per week for three years. Rachel doesn't even know Remus is interested."

Their conversation was interrupted by a feline-like patronus that Sirius didn't have time to specifically categorize before it dissipated. "He's going to be fine," it had said quickly, and without repeating as they usually did.

Sirius felt immensely relieved but did his best to hide it, just as he had hid his worry all day. Smirking he looked at Remus, "Yes, I agree that today is the day you ask Rachel out," he said before either of them had a chance to ask who the message had been from. "But you need to do it right. Any advice James gives you is rubbish-"

"Hey!" James yelled indignantly, "I'm the one who is married."

"Yes. In other words, James has been with exactly one woman in his life."

"I would guess Rachel to be more like Lily than some of the girls you've been with," James answered smugly. Hearing Lily in the kitchen he added tersely, "Not that anyone is as wonderful as my Lily."

"Women are women. At least be smooth about it. Go when you think she should be getting off work. Tell her you are looking for Dumbledore or something. She's nice, she will help you look. When you can't find who you are looking for, tell her the search has made you hungry and you need to refuel. Invite her to go eat with you."

"You would tell a girl you need to refuel?" James asked doubtfully.

"Does it matter? I'm Sirius Black," he laughed arrogantly.

"Well, I'm not," Remus answered in a defeated tone.

"Considering who you are asking out, I think that's a good thing," James chuckled before being hit in the face with a pillow. James retaliated against Sirius, initiating a pillow fight that was extremely immature yet reminiscent of their Hogwarts days.


	42. Jealousness

Regulus opened his eyes groggily to find Cyrus Greengrass looking at him disapprovingly. He closed his eyes again thinking he must be dreaming, before deciding that if he was dreaming about Cyrus Greengrass he really needed to wake up. Chuckling awkwardly, he opened his eyes again,

"I think you gave me some bad potion."

Cyrus smirked, "Hopefully it'll kill you. Now get out of my house."

Regulus looked around confusedly. _Why was he at Cyrus' house?_

"Could you be any more of a jerk?" Cassie asked from the other side of Regulus' bed, though without any real malice behind her words.

"Glad to see you've cheered up," Cyrus answered as he looked between the two of them appraisingly.

"I can see I've overstayed my welcome," 'Marcus' remarked tersely as he tried to sit up in bed.

"That, you certainly have," Cyrus answered. Noticing Cassie had moved to help Marcus sit up, he commented, "There's no reason for you to run off, Cassie. I believe you promised me an explanation."

"I don't think our guest is strong enough to disapparate on his own yet," she smirked. "Unless you want him walking out your front door where _anyone_ could see him-"

Cyrus sighed, "Fine, take him with you, but leave him directly after," he commanded. "What would people think if they saw you in such company? Do you care nothing of our family's reputation?" At Cassie's defiant look, Cyrus changed gears, "We will discuss this the next time I see you. I expect an explanation," he said before storming out of the room.

As Cyrus' retreating footsteps became more distant, Cassie held up a silver phoenix shaped pendant,

"So, how do you activate this little gem?"

"You searched my pockets," Regulus stated mildly despite his apprehension.

The pendant was a portkey all of the Order members carried. In case they were injured, it would take them to the Hogwarts infirmary. Whoever thought of the idiotic design pattern, Regulus could only guess. Could they have chosen nothing more obvious? Still, Cassie knowing he was associated with the Order was the least of his worries. The ring had been in his pocket. Seeing as both of her hands looked healthy though, he didn't think she had found it.

"Of course not. That would be an invasion of privacy," she grinned. Regulus rummaged through his pocket until he felt the horcrux, still wrapped in the dragon skin bag, and relaxed slightly. "All I did was Accio the portkeys from your pockets. And can I just say you are insanely paranoid if you need _that_ many portkeys. I was positively attacked when I summoned them."

"I'd say the attack was well-deserved then. You shouldn't summon things that don't belong to you," Regulus chastised her lightly. More hesitantly he indicated the phoenix, "Did Cyrus see that?"

"You're still alive, aren't you?" she asked, seemingly unfazed by his new partiality towards the light side.

For some reason her question prompted him to check his left forearm. He knew Cyrus would have looked at it, and was relieved to see someone, probably Cassie, had placed a glamour to conceal the remnants of the dark mark.

As he pulled his sleeve back down, he caught sight of his palm and had to fight off an involuntary shiver. His hand had taken on a slight grayish tinge, reminiscent of the inferi he had encountered in the cave.

"If I'm only alive because of Cyrus, then I would presume he did not see it, no."

Cassie had never been interested enough in curses to study them with any depth. The fact that Cyrus had agreed to help him, no matter how unwillingly, meant he hadn't seen the phoenix or the dark mark.

"Cyrus says you didn't have adequate contact with the curse, so it could not affect you properly. He said that while you likely wouldn't have died in your previous condition, a prolonged coma of sorts might have occured without his intervention. He was able to counteract the remnants of the curse that infected you. According to him, you should be relatively fine now, though you will feel weak... Come to think of it, it wouldn't hurt to get another opinion," she added more anxiously. "Cyrus wasn't exactly thrilled to have you here."

"Can't blame him for that," Regulus answered pointedly before taking the phoenix from Cassie. "I don't need to go to Hogwarts, I can already tell the curse has been lifted. Where are the other portkeys?"

"I'll return the other portkeys after you get a second opinion to confirm that the curse has been taken care of," she answered sternly.

Regulus smirked, "I can just make more portkeys to replace them."

Cassie fixed him with a stubborn look. Deciding it wasn't worth fighting over, Regulus activated the phoenix portkey. At the last moment, Cassie latched onto his arm and was pulled away with him as the portkey took them to Hogwarts.

* * *

Remus had been waiting behind a suit of armor near the infirmary entrance for about fifteen minutes feeling completely idiotic. _Is this what Sirius would do? _He eventually asked himself. To pull a prank, yes, to ask out a girl- not so much. Forcing himself to leave the safety of the dark corner, he straightened his robes, which were actually James' since all of his were too shabby for the occasion, and made his way towards the infirmary.

As he walked inside, Rachel was walking towards him with her hands full of vialed potions.

"Hi Rachel," he blurted out, far too eagerly to be considered natural.

"Hello Remus," she answered with a small smile as she continued towards a cupboard in the corner.

"Shouldn't you be off work soon?" he asked as he followed her towards the cupboard. "Sirius mentioned he saw you here early this morning."

"Yes, I am pretty much finished now actually," she answered with obvious relief of being able to leave soon.

"Ah, well it sounds like you need to refuel then," he said nervously. _Why did he say that?_ Forcing himself to continue through his invitation he quickly asked, "Would you like to have dinner with me?" For a moment he was unsure if his words had even been discernable.

"Um, now?" she asked after a brief pause.

"I understand if you have plans."

"It's not that exactly… I- well, there's no telling what is on my robes…or in my hair. I've been working all day."

"Nothing a few cleaning spells couldn't fix. Mind you, nothing of your current appearance bothers me," he grinned. He thought Sirius would be rather proud of his newly discovered charms.

"I had actually thought about going to St. Mungo's-"

"But you just got off work here," he objected. "You should relax."

Rachel hesitated for a moment weighing the options between going with him and letting him down gently. Before she could respond, a soft 'pop' indicated the infirmary had a new occupant. Identifying Marcus as that new occupant, Rachel quickly started towards him.

A moment later Regulus shifted his stance, revealing his arm was around Cassie Greengrass for support. Based on her discussion with Evan in the graveyard, she realized the two of them could have easily been betrothed by now, if not for Regulus' 'death.' A jealousness she hadn't known existed erupted inside her.

Turning back to Remus she called, "Just a moment and I'll be ready to go eat with you, Remus. I just need to look at this last patient while Madam Pomfrey is busy."

As she reached the former Slytherins, she pulled the curtains around the bed nearest to them closed. When she was finished she turned back to find them both staring at her with their matching expressionless masks firmly in place.

"I assume you are here to get checked out?" she greeted Regulus in the most apathetic tone she could muster.

"I can wait for Madam Pomfrey. I'd hate to keep you from anything you have planned," he answered tonelessly.

"Don't be silly. I've been expecting you to come back all day. To be honest I thought it would be sooner than now. I mean no offense, Cassie, but it never really made sense for you to take him anywhere."

Cassie raised a delicate eyebrow, "I never claimed to be a healer, but when, of all people, _Sirius Black,_ contacted me, I thought it must have been fairly emergent. He wouldn't have asked for _my_ help lightly."

"It is also thanks to Cassie, that the curse has been undone, at least we think it has. I'm only here for a second opinion, but the situation is not so dire that it should keep you from your date," Regulus answered neutrally.

Rachel fought not to roll her eyes. She was immensely glad she hadn't been in Slytherin if this coldness was how they routinely interacted with each other. Making things worse, was that she noticed herself adapting her own temperament to mimic theirs for the moment.

"Just lay down," she said indicating the bed. As Regulus did as he was told, Cassie looked away, clearly in effort to hide a smirk, much to Rachel's annoyance. _Did everything have to be taken as some stupid innuendo?_

After a moment of diagnostics, it was clear that the curse had been lifted as thoroughly as could be hoped. After she had made it look like she had done far more than she actually had, she stated, "It seems your survival isn't nearly the secret you led me to believe."

"You're the only person I've told," Regulus answered hesitantly.

Rachel glanced at Cassie who met her gaze, completely unabashed about listening in on their conversation, "How does anyone else know then?"

"Evan and Sirius helped me fake my death. Dumbledore knew the gist of what I planned to do beforehand. Mad Eye Moody can see through my disguise with his magical eye. Cassie figured it out on her own-" Regulus began ticking off on his fingers before being interrupted.

"How?" She demanded of Cassie. _How could Cassie have figured it out when she couldn't?_

"I've known him since I was eight. Well even before then, actually-"

"How is that relevant?"

"I saw him with Sirius and recognized his mannerisms. It helped that he didn't know I was observing him, otherwise he would have been more concerned with acting differently. You probably never saw him when he didn't know you were around, so he was better able to hide it from you."

Rachel scoffed, "Not that hiding things from me has ever been a problem before." She retracted her wand quickly so as to not be tempted to use it on either of them, "The rest of the curse has been lifted," she added hastily as if she had actually needed to do anything else for the curse to go away.

"What is it that you think I've hidden from you this time?" Regulus asked, the irritancy in his voice scarcely hidden.

"Well for one, in all of the time we were together, you never mentioned that you and Cassie were practically betrothed."

"If Cassie and I were 'practically betrothed,' this is the first I've heard of it. I certainly never thought that while you and I were together," Regulus answered sharply.

"Still, you acted as if someone awful would be chosen for you, you never mentioned it could be her."

"I didn't know Cassie's_ father_ was going to submit a contract until my father told me he had received one. That was _months_ after we had broken up. That's the thing about arranged marriages, Rachel, those involved rarely get much choice in the matter."

Rachel thought back to one of the few times they had discussed his likely impending betrothal.

"You told me your father might let you choose once he narrowed it down to the top candidates. If that's true, then the two of you might as well have been engaged-"

"You realize no one actually wants to be told who to marry, don't you?" Cassie interjected.

"You didn't seem to be too upset over the prospect," glancing between them, she added, "neither of you."

After an impregnated pause Regulus answered slowly, "No one aspires to enter a marriage of their parent's choosing, but I did have my entire childhood to become resigned to the idea. It would have been fulfilling my duty to my family-"

"You realize that remaining in the country discredits anything you've said or done in the past to protect your family, don't you? Nothing could be more dangerous for them, than the fact that you've survived only to change sides in the war. Once that becomes known, how will you protect them?" she asked, apparently not expecting an answer as she immediately left their curtained space.

* * *

Rachel sat across the table from Remus at a small café in Hogsmeade feeling tense and more than a little guilty. She had been relieved to see Regulus was unharmed by the curse. Once again, she hadn't given him the impression she cared about his well-being though. Why did she still feel angry whenever she was around him?

Another problem was quite literally looking her in the face at the moment. Did she agree to go out with Remus for the right reasons? Did she actually like him or did she agree to have dinner with him only to make Regulus jealous? She wasn't entirely sure either way. She knew she _didn't not_ like Remus. That had to count for something, didn't it?

"So, can I ask why you asked me out?" she asked with unexplained nervousness. Maybe knowing his reasons would help her sort out her own feelings.

"I think a better question might be what made you change your mind and decide to come out with me," he answered with a small smile.

So he had noticed her change in mannerisms after 'Marcus' showed up then. It was obvious that he was trying to seem less concerned with her answer than he actually was. She shouldn't have agreed to this. Unless she wanted to reveal more about herself than she was ready for, she was going to have to lie. The problem was, she didn't want to lie to Remus.

"You remember I said I might stop by St. Mungo's?" He nodded. "Marcus had been brought to the infirmary earlier in the day. He had been sent elsewhere when Madam Pomfrey didn't feel comfortable treating him. She doesn't know as much about dark curses-"

"Marcus was cursed," Remus stated flatly. Rachel didn't understand his agitation.

"Yes."

"Well, as he showed up with Cassie Greengrass, I think it's a good thing you didn't go to St. Mungo's. I'd hate for you to encounter the two of them alone." As if just realizing the peculiar pairing, he quickly asked, "It's odd the two of them know each other, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily. I mean none of us really know either of them, do we?"

"Why did you want to visit Marcus if you barely know him?" Remus asked curiously.

"He is in the Order."

"Yes, and if anyone else in the Order had caught him with a former Slytherin they would have labeled him a traitor. Instead you rushed over to help him-"

"Everyone in Slytherin can't be awful, can they?" she asked skeptically.

"I'd like to think not, but I don't know any of them well enough to say for sure. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Rachel laughed, "What makes you think there is more to tell?"

"Everyone has secrets," he answered mysteriously, "How about I'll answer one question, anything you want to know, if you'll then answer one of mine."

"Alright, why did you ask me out?" she asked without giving her question much thought.

His face reddened but he forced himself to answer, "I guess you could say I've liked you for... a while now."

"Oh," she answered with chagrin. What a stupid question. "A while as in, since I joined the Order?"

"More like since we were at Hogwarts together."

That was surprising to say the least. She had never drawn attention to herself at school. Regulus' description of her 'flying under the radar' didn't only apply to the death eaters. In fact there was only one time that she had ever had a lot of attention on her.

"Why did Sirius ask me out if he knew you liked me?"

Remus' face turned a nearly impossible shade of red, "I- um, well it wasn't until then that I really began to notice you. I mean turning down Sirius Black should have been like serious bragging rights for you, yet you seemed more uneasy about the attention."

"Well, it was extremely awkward," she answered honestly.

"Alright, my question for you is, "Why did you really turn him down?"

Rachel's jaw dropped slightly, "I thought for sure you were going to go back to asking about Marcus."

"It was obvious you didn't want to answer anything about him," he said watching her intently.

Rachel shrugged, "I had a boyfriend when Sirius asked me," she answered simply.

"Why didn't you tell him that when he asked. It might have saved you from some of the attention and Sirius the humiliation." Rachel looked at him skeptically. "Well, it would have saved you from the unwanted attention. Sirius was opportunistic enough to use your rejection to endear himself to the rest of the female population," he amended.

"Sounds more like it," she answered wryly.

"So why the need to hide the fact you had a boyfriend? Sirius wouldn't have made that big of a deal of it, unless of course it was a Slytherin. Was your boyfriend at the time not mad you hid your relationship?"

"He wasn't mad I didn't tell Sirius. He was more annoyed that he asked, I think."

"How could Sirius have known you had a boyfriend when you kept it a secret? Anyway, it can't hurt to say who it was now, since you've evidently broken up. Who was it?"

"Why does it matter?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"It might help me to understand you. The whole point of this was to get to know each other better.

"The answer wouldn't endear me to anyone in the Order," she answered sheepishly.

"Luckily, I can keep a secret," he answered earnestly. At Rachel's hesitance he chuckled, "I can gather it was a Slytherin by your reluctance to tell me. As a Ravenclaw, you wouldn't have inherited any the infamous Gryffindor prejudice against them. Obviously you were able to see something that most of us would have overlooked. Though, if you do not want to tell me, I will not ask again."

Rachel studied him for a moment. Regulus had told her he didn't mind if she told anyone. What could it hurt now that he was 'dead'? "I suppose there isn't a good reason not to tell you," she couldn't help but smirk slightly. "It was Regulus Black."

At Remus' obvious surprise she smiled tightly, "I guess we'll see how well you can keep a secret."

* * *

"I would suggest inebriation, but you look exhausted already," Cassie remarked as Regulus sat up on the edge of his bed. "You also aren't as prone to self-medicating as Evan."

"I can't see Evan being affected enough by an ex-girlfriend to bother with getting drunk either," Regulus answered dejectedly, intentionally evading a discussion about Rachel's departing sentiment.

"His limited concern for other's feelings might explain his lack of any long-lasting relationships."

"I guess I'm in the same boat, seeing as Rachel is going out with Lupin."

Cassie gave her equivalent of an eye roll. Clearly refraining from saying something more abrasive she answered, "She's not the only girl in the world... and you're not Evan," she added hesitantly. Taking in Regulus' tense demeanor she added, "I wouldn't worry too much about Lupin. Rachel probably only wanted to make you jealous- it was clear she was jealous that I was with you."

"Yes, because taking care of me while I'm gimpy must be such a delight."

"She is studying to be a healer, and you're- you. I'm sure she would prefer to take care of you herself rather than leave you in my incapable hands…" Cassie trailed off. "You also hadn't told her I knew you were alive," she added with a curious expression.

"You or anyone else who knew. We haven't spoken much."

"Maybe that's the problem."

"Just the one?" Regulus asked sardonically. "No one would deny she's better off, though I'll admit I didn't expect her to go for a werewolf."

"They're only going to dinner!" she smacked him a pillow. "Though unless his werewolf status is more widely known than I realize, she probably won't have any familial prejudice working against him."

"Is this you being helpful?" Regulus asked as Cassie grimaced.

After a moment Regulus scoffed, "Just being with who you want to be with, without worrying about family disposition? Sounds like one of those disgusting muggle concepts," he remarked sarcastically and rather disrespectful of both of their family's traditions.

Cassie was clearly amused by his current rebellious attitude, but quickly regained her aloof exterior as the curtains surrounding Regulus' hospital bed were pulled open, admitting Dumbledore.

"Ah, Miss Greengrass, what a pleasant surprise," he greeted with a passable effort of genuineness. "Mr. Atilius, I'm glad to see you in better health. I hoped to have a word with you before you left."

"Have you spoken with Sirius already?" Regulus asked impassively.

"No, I was away from the castle when the two of you came in this morning. Perhaps I could speak with you in private?"

Knowing Madam Pomfrey would have already filled him in on what she knew, he answered, "The curse was from an object Sirius found in the Black family's vault. The item has been destroyed."

"I'm glad to hear that no one else shall suffer the fate of being cursed by it. Now if you feel up to it, I would like to have a word with you in private."

"Cassie can keep a secret as well as anyone."

"I've no doubt you find her to be trustworthy-"

"Is there a reason everyone seems inclined to talk about me as if I cannot hear today?" Cassie asked impatiently.

Regulus withheld a smirk as Dumbledore tried to retain his composed façade, despite not having expected her assertiveness.

"My apologies Miss Greengrass. I'm afraid the nature of what I must discuss with the youngest Black is most confidential. So much so, that I do not feel it safe to discuss even amongst the rest of the Order."

Regulus glanced at Cassie, surprised the headmaster had mentioned both his name as well as the Order in front of her. As expected though, she didn't react- obviously she knew who he was. They had also arrived in the infirmary using the phoenix portkey. She had to have already figured out Regulus was somehow associated with them.

Despite gaining some satisfaction by annoying Dumbledore, Regulus knew it was likely better for Cassie not to overhear their discussion. If for no other reason, it would give her more information she would need to hide. Cassie seemed to have drawn the same conclusion, for she quickly excused herself and left the curtained area.

"What is it you wished to discuss?" Regulus asked without preamble.

"I have been approached by one of your former fellows. He tells me that he too has had a change of heart and wishes to change sides in the war. While I have searched his mind, I have found nothing to strongly suggest whether his loyalty is with us, or with Voldemort. I hoped you might take a look inside his mind to see what conclusions you draw."

"Who is it?" Regulus asked skeptically. He knew Evan wouldn't go to Dumbledore and didn't know of any other death eater whose loyalties might be wavering.

"I shall refrain from answering that until I can be sure of your willingness to help, he answered firmly.

Realizing it was the only way to find out who the death eater was, Regulus answered,

"I have no reason not to, I suppose."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore clasped his hands together before supplying the time and place of the planned meeting. He was then immediately assaulted with questions from Regulus, none of which he answered with any level of satisfaction, much to Regulus' annoyance.


	43. Through the Eyes of a Snake and Burning

"You called, my lord?" Evan asked reverently as he knelt before Voldemort in a sitting room at Malfoy Manor.

"Clearly. Have you brought Pettigrew?"

"Yes, my lord," Evan answered as he held up the cage holding Pettigrew, which should have been plainly visible already as it had been sitting directly in front of him.

"Good. Leave him here and follow me," Voldemort answered coldly as he left the room.

Evan left the rat in the floor as he stood to follow Voldemort deeper into the dimly lit house. At last, they reached the room used for meetings that only the senior-most death eaters were generally invited.

Waiting at the table were Lucius, Bellatrix, Thaddeus Nott and Walden Macnair, all of which stood to bow before Voldemort when he entered the room.

As Evan tried to wrap his head around the fact that he had undeservingly been invited to a meeting with some of the senior death eaters, Voldemort took his seat at the head of the table as if it were a throne.

Evan awkwardly stood in the doorway waiting for instructions for what felt like a full five minutes before Voldemort invited him to join them. He took the seat next to Macnair, which was the farthest away from Voldemort. He focused on taking deep, quiet breaths to help him remain calm without drawing attention to himself. Somehow he didn't think his invitation to the meeting had been a reward for good behavior.

* * *

As Regulus attempted to stretch out in bed, his half-conscious self acknowledged that it had been months since he had felt so well rested. That didn't stop him from feeling immensely embarrassed when he woke up to realize the apparent cause of his good night sleep.

Having felt a soft weight on his chest, he opened his eyes to find Cassie, using him as a pillow. Fortunately, he knew nothing explicit had happened between them, as it would have been unbearably awkward considering the circumstances. He did his best to remain still enough so as to not awaken her.

In the early morning light, he recognized the room he sometimes used at Evan's flat. As he could make out the outline of the only bed the room usually contained next to him, he recalled had happened to cause his current situation.

After discussing the meeting with a potential spy, Dumbledore had insisted Madam Pomfrey look him over for a second opinion. He seemed quite unimpressed that Regulus had deemed the opinion of a first year apprentice to be as good as the matron's.

Upon examining him, the overly-coddling Madam Pomfrey had felt disinclined to let him leave. She worried he would overly exert himself so soon after the incident and believed it in his best interest to remain there overnight for observation. After Regulus' objections had fallen on deaf ears, Cassie somewhat rudely pointed out that she could 'observe' him more easily than the matron could considering all of her other patients.

Eventually, and with the promise that she would bring him in if anything seemed out of the norm in his condition, Regulus had been unofficially released to Cassie, though he was still supposed to check back in the next morning.

Regulus half-expected Cassie had only said what she did so that he could leave the ever-depressing infirmary without any actual intent of upholding her end of the bargain. He had been surprised to find she took her responsibilities rather seriously, insisting that he unequivocally should not stay by himself so quickly after having been cursed. Before he could object properly, she had disappeared into his room and conjured a cot next to his bed for her to sleep in. Once giving in to her persistence, he obviously insisted she take the actual bed as it would have been more comfortable than a conjured cot.

What had been immensely embarrassing and even predictable was that at some point in the night Cassie had interrupted his recurring drowning experience to inform him that he was keeping her awake with his thrashing. Noticing his condition, and likely deducing it wasn't the first time he had had whatever nightmare that caused it, she took pity on him and began attempting to sort through the tangled mess that was his bed covers.

As Regulus thought he would die from shame, _would he never outgrow nightmares?_ Cassie apparently decided it wasn't worth the effort to disentangle all of his blankets. She grabbed her wand and switched his blankets with what had been on her bed, and then climbed onto the cot with him. Much faster than he would ever have expected, Regulus had fallen back to sleep.

Interestingly, he hadn't had another nightmare after that. Maybe his subconscious recognized how humiliating the situation was and decided to grant him clemency, he mused. He thought the reprieve likely to be short lived as Cassie would be sure to insist he rehash the details of his dream, only further adding to his humiliation once she woke up.

Much to his relief and amusement though, when Cassie did wake up, she seemed more embarrassed to be somewhat cuddling with him than interested in discussing the circumstance that led to her being in his bed in the first place. She more or less jumped up, reminded him to go the infirmary and left, insisting she had to be back home before breakfast.

* * *

"Bella, would you like to tell your cousin why he has been invited here?"

"With respect my lord, I do not think my dear cousin has yet earned his place amongst us."

"Indeed, he has not," Voldemort answered agreeably.

Bellatrix, apparently mollified by this, announced grandly, "We are here to discuss the Order member, Marcus Atilius, and whether or not he is who he claims to be."

For a moment, Evan thought he might have a panic attack. He was saved oddly enough by Voldemort, who drew the attention to himself,

"There are certain mannerisms and spell selection that despite my desire to deny it, I cannot. It has become clear to myself and Bella who he truly is."

"There is no greater shame!" Bella said dramatically. "He has besmirched the name of Black and is responsible for the death of my brother-in-law." Despite her words, it was evident that she was mostly affected by the shame of undoubtedly having discovered her cousin was a traitor, rather than the loss of Rabastan.

"As well as Travers and Selwyn," Nott added tersely.

"They are of no consequence," Voldemort answered callously. "We are gathered to discuss the nuisance that is Marcus Atilius. He is not the half-blood aspiring to join our ranks as he told us. He is known to us by a different name. As Bella implied, his bloodlines are in fact purer than most, making him even more disgraceful for choosing to use his family's ancient magic against our cause."

"Who is he really, my lord?" Lucius asked carefully.

"Have you not recognized him, Lucius? I expect your wife would have been able to recognize her own cousin as Bella did."

"Surely you do not mean… Regulus _is_ _dead_, my lord-" Lucius began slowly.

"Of course he is dead. He could not have survived without my knowing. He made a lifelong commitment to me and died in his efforts, its regrettable, but we must carry on."

"I daresay he would have preferred death than to witness his traitorous brother using our family's magic against us!" Bellatrix added vehemently.

"Seriously?" Evan asked, under his breath, though still careless. Why had Voldemort looked at his memory of Regulus' death if he believed Marcus to be Sirius? Could he actually know it isn't Sirius but wants everyone else to believe it is? Regulus' survival could be damaging to his all-powerful aura. Voldemort certainly wouldn't want to give anyone hope that they could leave the death eaters safely. Evan did his best to clear his mind and focus on their biggest nemesis, Sirius Black.

"This is no time for a play on of words, Rosier," Macnair scolded him.

"Of course not… I only meant that it is surprising. With Black's history, his friends, I would not have expected him to resort to such… violence."

"Which would explain his disguise, would it not?" Voldemort asked coolly, almost as if daring him to contradict the claim.

While it was unlikely anyone present had seen Marcus and Sirius at the same time, those who had attacked Godric's Hollow would have. What would happen when they heard this theory? Evan realized it really didn't matter if others knew. No one without a death wish would dare contradict the Dark Lord.

* * *

Regulus sat alone at an old, wooden table in the private room above, The Hog's Head.

The fireplace in the smallish room was enough to keep it comfortably warm. Along with the warm tea he was drinking, it was taking more effort than it should to remain as alert as the situation warranted.

Despite having slept more soundly the night before than he had in recent memory, it seemed Cyrus had been right when he predicted the remnants of the curse would cause him to feel weak. Regulus would have preferred to have put this meeting off for a few days. Aside from allowing more time to recover, he would also prefer to spend his time studying the curse on the ring he and Sirius had removed from the Gaunt's shack.

He was for once relieved when Dumbledore turned up a few moments later. After a terse greeting, Regulus wasted no time changing subjects,

"How can you be certain this isn't a setup?" Regulus inquired, not for the first time.

Before Dumbledore could do much more than chuckle at his distrust, a slender man clad in black swept into the room. Regulus vaguely recognized that his robes billowed in a familiar sort of way, though he couldn't bother with trying to place it right away. He was more concerned with seeing the man's face which was mostly covered by his cloak.

Regulus was fairly certain by the man's rigid stance, that whoever he was, he hadn't expected Marcus to be the third member of their party.

"I believe introductions are in order," Dumbledore remarked pleasantly.

"Marcus Atilius, this is Severus Snape, Severus Snape, Marcus Atilius," he said as he indicated each of them accordingly.

Snape hesitated momentarily before pulling the cloak from around his face. He nodded at Dumbledore but didn't bother to greet Marcus. It was clear by his expression that he was trying to place him, as if he thought they should have met prior to their encounter on the Hogwarts Express.

Dumbledore began by reminding them of why they had been called together, which neither of them needed reminding of. As Dumbledore was talking, Marcus became aware that Snape was making an almost imperceptible attempt at legilimency on him.

Completely disregarding Dumbledore's plan that they keep the meeting peaceful, Regulus cast,

"_Expelliarmus," _sending Snape's wand across the room. "I believe you're a bit confused as to how this meeting is supposed to go," Regulus remarked.

"Marcus," Dumbledore said in a warning tone.

Ignoring the headmaster, Regulus cast, "Legilimens."

A mindscape that was clearly designed for the occasion was presented to Regulus. Rather than explore it to a pointless end, Regulus withdrew his spell.

"For someone hoping to appear innocent, you are certainly doing your best to hide things."

"On the contrary. I do not claim to be innocent. I only wish to make amends for my past. I see now that I was misled into corruption by those I once considered friends-"

"Legilimens" Regulus cast again interrupting the speech that was likely designed to tug at Dumbledore's heartstrings.

This time rather than the obviously devised mindscape, Regulus was presented with scenes of Voldemort punishing Snape and various interactions with the death eaters who, like Bellatrix, were quick to berate him for his blood status. Interestingly, it seemed he and Evan were on less friendly terms than he remembered. After reviewing Snape's memories with mixed feelings, Regulus again ended the spell.

Using one of Voldemort's own techniques of asking a question immediately prior to 'sneak attacking,' Regulus asked,

"What of these 'friends' of yours who supposedly misled you?"

"I-"

Regulus immediately cast, "Legilimens."

It was obvious Snape had practiced using this technique before as Regulus was only able to get brief glimpses of Wilkes, and Avery before Snape could better protect his mind. While he had only gotten glimpses, it was evident that Snape was still at least somewhat friendly with 'those he once considered friends.' While he had clearly studied the mind arts, he was not yet as good as Regulus when it came to hiding his emotions.

Between growing up in the Black family and having someone he actually trusted to practice occlumency with, Regulus doubted any other death eater was as good as him at protecting his mind. He doubted Snape had someone like Evan he could have practiced with when he seemingly trusted no one. Neither did Voldemort for that matter, though Regulus was doubtful anyone had ever dared attempt legilimency on him recently.

* * *

Apparently Sirius Black was going to be wanted for questioning in the attempted kidnapping of the minister's daughter as well as the disappearances of Selwyn and Travers. Rabastan's name would be left out of the article to be ran in _The Prophet_. As he was widely known to be a death eater, the idea of Sirius Black offing him could have gained him popularity, which was the opposite of Voldemort's plans.

According to him, it would not take much for the Order to turn against Black as they had done with Pettigrew. It would be even easier, because by having the surname of Black, most were reluctant to trust him to begin with.

While the senior death eaters were tasked with coming up with all of 'the facts' to provide to _The Prophet_, Voldemort commanded Evan to walk with him back towards the room they had left Pettigrew in.

As they walked slowly through the house, Evan worried Voldemort could hear his heart pounding as loudly as it was. The idea that Voldemort truly believed Marcus was Sirius was laughable, yet it was clear that he wanted everyone to remain oblivious to Regulus' survival.

"Rosier, it has not escaped my mind that you were… friendly with the Black's."

"Regulus and I were allies, my lord. I would not go so far as to say that I was ever _friendly _with any of them," he contradicted with obvious distaste, hopeful his response would not be the last words he ever spoke.

Voldemort remained silent for a moment as they continued their slow walk.

Eventually Voldemort answered, "One does not earn my trust easily, Rosier. Those who are in my inner circle did not get there without sacrifice. Nor do they remain there without continuing to prove their unwavering loyalty to me."

"I hope to prove myself worthy of invitation into your inner circle when the time comes, my lord."

Voldemort chuckled coldly, "As does everyone else. You have a long way to go yet. I do have a task that, assuming you are successful, will help you get that much closer."

"What would you have me to do, my lord?"

"Sirius Black has no respect for what it means to be a pureblood. Your mutual cousin, Bella, is especially put out by the fact that he is the head of the estate. While his death would end the male line, Bellatrix is next in line after Sirius to become the head of the Black family. It is always regrettable to allow an ancient family to die out, however, much of the Black family's integrity was damaged when Sirius was reinstated. Bella wishes to bring back honor to her family."

"Do you wish for me to kill Sirius Black, my lord?" Evan asked neutrally.

"You really did rely on Regulus' intelligence, didn't you?" he asked rhetorically. "We shall first ensure Black is cut off from the rest of the Order. As the head of the family, he has the power to name someone aside from Bella as his heir, after all. Is it not obvious to you that we should ensure the contents of the Black family vaults are left in Bella's possession rather than someone in Dumbledore's corner?"

From what Evan knew of Sirius from Regulus, Sirius had only ever received minimal training for taking up the Black family headship. If Regulus' opinion of his brother was accurate, there was no chance in hell that Sirius would have thought ahead enough to have already named an heir. He likely hadn't even realized he had the power to do so.

"Forgive me, of course it would be less prudent to kill Sirius if he has named someone aside from Bellatrix as his heir." Evan answered as respectfully as his pride would allow. It was clear Snape had shared his recent opinions of him with Voldemort, "What is it that you wish for me to do?"

"You shall first speak with Pettigrew. Convince him to tell you where he shared a residence with Black and the werewolf, Lupin. While it is doubtful that either of them would have been foolish enough to remain there once Pettigrew's loyalty to me was discovered, you have my permission to kill anyone you find in their house."

Deciding it best not to point out the contradiction in his orders, as Sirius could actually be killed in that case, he asked, "And if the house is empty?"

"I suggest the house be destroyed regardless of its occupancy. It is owned by a Black, after all, and shall send a powerful message at the least. Few will be eager to help hide Black once it becomes evident just how unsafe it is to do so. If other Order members are killed in the attack that is even better for us."

Deciding it best to get to get clarification rather than be killed later for making a mistake, Evan asked, "What if Black is killed in the attack?"

"If he is not resourceful enough to escape, he is undeserving of our efforts to turn his friends against him."

* * *

"I have not seen anything to make me think you have reformed your way of thinking," Regulus concluded at the end of his latest search through Snape's mind.

Despite the notion, Regulus couldn't deny he felt guilty. Snape was clearly exhausted and humiliated, as anyone would be after such an ordeal. After all, who wants all of their secrets shown to a stranger?

"It matters not what you think," Snape snarled before appealing to Dumbledore. "Headmaster, I have sacrificed a great deal in coming here. If the Dark Lord learns of this, I'll be worse than dead."

"You can't deny it's interesting timing," Regulus answered him. "With Pettigrew's duplicity having just been discovered recently. I should think it less likely anyone would want to become a spy now. Unless of course, Voldemort is behind this, seeking a replacement for Pettigrew."

"That is enough, Marcus," Dumbledore scolded.

Knowing he was likely about to be dismissed, Regulus attempted once more,

"_Legilimens,"_

Regulus saw glimpses of Snape pleading with Voldemort on Lily's behalf. He convinced him to kill her baby and James to satisfy the death eaters who were discontent, but to allow her to live for the time being- to properly suffer her loss.

Regulus strengthened his spell as Snape continued to try to clear his mind.

He watched as an adult Snape wept while writing a letter to Lily. He was harshly thrown from Snape's mind before he could do more than see it warned that she should go into hiding.

"You have no right to those memories!" Snape shouted at him.

"What did you expect to happen when you agreed to come here?" Regulus demanded. "Do you really think your precious Lily would be proud of the means you took to _protect_ her?" He asked with revulsion.

"It was the only way to keep her alive," Snape answered brokenly.

"And you think she would prefer her own life at the cost of her baby?"

Snape looked from Marcus to Dumbledore, willing the latter to understand, "I was only going to make it look as if I'd done what they asked," he pleaded. "I wrote her a letter to explain what I was supposed to have done, but couldn't. It told her to go into hiding and to keep her baby hidden. If it became known that I hadn't killed her child, I would have been killed. I was willing for that to happen. I could have never done something so appalling. Not to Lily."

"I'm sure that would be really comforting to her as she mourned James," Regulus answered dryly.

Snape's face contorted with anguish in such a way that Regulus thought he might actually have some sort of breakdown. While he was generally neutral when it came to Snape, some of the images he had seen throughout their encounter had been more than enough to turn his stomach.

"Thank you, Marcus. I think it is best if you leave us now," Dumbledore told him sternly.

In Regulus' exhaustion, he wasn't overly concerned with being dismissed. In fact, he was a bit surprised it hadn't happened sooner. Still, he felt inclined to leave Dumbledore with his own departing sentiment, even if the headmaster was unlikely to listen to it.

"I'm sure if you offer any of the other death eaters amnesty they too will present you with a tragic story of love and loss," he said in a tone mimicking Dumbledore's usual sereneness.

Snape blanched at his words, but didn't react further, which Regulus found surprising. When emotions were running high, Snape was usually his own worst enemy.

"Thank you, Marcus. I'll take it from here," Dumbledore told him dismissively.

"Anytime," he answered exaggeratedly as he left the two alone.

* * *

"Wait, so you've never seen anything on the telly before?" Remus asked in shock, completely disregarding the fact he hadn't ever watched it before James married Lily.

"I've seen them inside muggle shops," Rachel objected. "They appear to be wasteful of one's time."

"They never have anything good on at muggle shops!" Remus answered almost offended by her disregard for what he and the marauders had spent so much of their time…usefully watching. "Sirius has one at our house. I implore that you must come see it. You must learn what you are missing before you speak ill of it again!" Remus laughed.

"Alright. I'll concede that I should give it a chance before classifying it so harshly," she giggled. She vaguely realized that if she had resulted to giggling she had had too much to drink. Ignoring that little voice, she took yet another gulp of firewhiskey as Remus stood up.

"What are you waiting for?" His newly-confident-self asked.

She laughed nervously as she attempted to sober up quickly, "I didn't know you meant now."

"Why not?" He asked with a shrug.

She hesitated only slightly before realizing she didn't have any obligations preventing her from going with him. After swaying slightly as she stood up, she linked her arm through his for balance and the two of them made their way out of the pub.

* * *

Sirius kicked the blankets off of himself roughly. Despite the house's usual coolness, he found he had been sweating profusely in his sleep.

As he futilely attempted to fall back to sleep, his nostrils were assaulted by something… burning? _Would Remus be cooking at this hour? _He wondered.

As he unhappily accepted that he was going to have to get up and do _something_ to fix the problem before going back to sleep, the roof on the far side of his room collapsed. Emitting from the now open air left by the roof's collapse, were the fiery fiends and flames that only feindfyre could have produced.

Sirius jumped up, intent to leave his bedroom to ensure Remus made it out as well. Before he could reach the exit, his way became blocked with more flames. He was completely surrounded by fire with no exit in sight.

He attempted to disapparate but his efforts were in vain. Apparently whoever had set the fire was not acting alone, for someone else was upholding anti-apparition wards on the area. Just before he likely would have blacked out from smoke inhalation, he thought to cast the bubble head charm on himself.

After taking a couple of deep breaths of fresh air his brain became somewhat less clouded. It nearly didn't matter that he had fresh air at this point, he was sure to be burned alive at any moment.

As water proved useless in fighting off the cursed fire, Sirius cast various other spells to push back the flames with limited success.

Unable to come up with another plan, he dropped to the floor and began searching on his hands and knees for the phoenix portkey. Realizing his stupidity, he cast, "Accio Portkey."

Activating it on contact, Sirius escaped the house just as the rest of the roof collapsed. As he thought he might die from the pain of being burned, his last thought was that he hoped Remus had escaped.


	44. Confession-ish and Macnair

"Wait, Rosier. I think someone is leaving," Wilkes whispered.

Evan strained his eyes to examine the house more closely, but still could see nothing. Nor could anyone else it seemed, as they were all pressuring him to hurry up. Evan took a moment to consider the viewpoint of everyone else.

Wilkes had the best angle to see inside the house. While Evan had never dealt much with him in the past he knew Regulus believed him to be more reliable than most. Considering the other morons assigned to this 'mission' with him, Evan thought listening to him might be the most tolerable- at least for now.

A moment later he was immensely glad he did as the uneven sound of footsteps could be heard approaching them.

"Ugh, is there any girl that doesn't have sleeping with Sirius Black on their bucket list?" Alecto Carrow asked bitterly.

Evan was just about to tell them all to be quiet- in a less than civil manner, when a clearly inebriated Rachel, who was failing miserably in her effort to appear sober, came into sight. Evan was thankful for his mask so as to not have to worry about hiding his own surprise upon seeing her there.

"Well this could be fun," Mulciber grunted.

Amycus answered calculatingly, "Yeah. Yeah, I remember her. She was in Ravenclaw, right?"

"Shut up both of you. Do nothing," Evan commanded authoritatively. His companions complained quietly but otherwise watched in silence as she passed by them in the distance, ever nearer to the end of the road.

Evan vaguely wondered if Rachel would be able to dissapparate in her current condition without splinching herself. He decided he didn't much care, seeing as she had apparently turned into a slag with low standards overnight. If she had been with Regulus, there was no way he would have allowed her to walk home alone in such a state.

As they continued to watch her and the house in silence, Evan idly wondered which marauder she had taken up with. From an outside perspective, Evan thought Sirius to be more understandable. Sleeping with Regulus' brother would be a clearly calculated maneuver designed to devastate him with maximum impact. For her to have gone from Regulus to Lupin though- Evan was doubtful her standards could have fallen so low.

"What's the holdup?" Wilkes asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"We will wait a few more minutes in case anyone else from The Order is coming over. I'd hate for them to miss out on the fun," Evan chuckled coldly. Fortunately, no one else showed up.

"Pettigrew, which part of the house are the bedrooms located?" he demanded a few minutes later.

* * *

After leaving his meeting with Dumbledore and Snape, Regulus had gone to the infirmary at Hogwarts as he had promised the day before, to follow up with Madam Pomfrey.

After being looked over yet again, he was now officially released from her care- finally.

He managed to avoid anyone of consequence inside the castle. That changed as soon as he opened the door in the entrance hall however, finding himself face to face with a clearly upset Katherine Selwyn.

Realizing 'Marcus' shouldn't know her any more than he should be able to guess the cause of her distress, he silently held open the door for her to pass by him. Unfortunately, she didn't. Instead she stood just outside the door,

"Who are you?" She asked far less indifferently than Regulus would have anticipated if he had expected her to speak to him at all.

Plastering a look of forced disapproval on his face, he looked pointedly at the green and silver scarf she wore around her neck. Motioning for her to pass by him, he answered cordially, "No one you would be expected to know."

She stepped past him and inside the castle quickly before looking around them. As Regulus made to walk outside, she asked,

"Are you in the Order of the Phoenix?"

So much for the Slytherins' reputation of being discreet.

Regulus scoffed, "Are you a death eater?"

She winced, "I apologize for my forwardness," she answered distastefully. "Such uncouth behavior is normally only expected of Gryffindors."

When Regulus didn't respond she made an effort to smirk, "Ah, you were a lion. That would explain why I can't remember ever seeing you."

"Sorry Miss … is there something I can help you with? If not, I really must be going." Regulus answered as innocently as he could muster in spite of the well-deserved guilt he felt.

"I'm not sure if you can help, I've just received a letter from my mother. It seems my older brother is missing," she answered uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Regulus answered genuinely though he was unsure of why she was being so candid with a stranger. Especially when she would have known him if he was someone her family 'approved' of. "If he is older than you, is it not possible he simply has not checked in recently?"

"My mother does not seem to think that is the case."

"Well, I hope it all turns out… well for you," he nearly choked on his words as he again tried to leave.

"I thought you were offering to help," she said reproachfully.

"I- don't see how I can-"

"I do. There are members of the Order in the infirmary right now. While I should be able to just walk in there and ask if any of them know anything about my brother, most of them were Gryffindors who hate me on principle. Regretfully, they will automatically assume my brother and I are both death eaters just because we were sorted into Slytherin when we were eleven," she answered straightforwardly. "It's completely unfair of course. Yet, as I would prefer to at least finish school before meeting my untimely death by the almighty green light, you can surely see why I do not want to go in there without a body guard."

Regulus almost laughed before again feeling the weight of his guilt. Still, he was certain whichever Order members were in the infirmary wouldn't use a killing curse on her.

"And naturally the first person you see upon entering the castle is your best hope for a 'body guard'," Regulus remarked skeptically.

"Well, as all of my friends are in Slytherin, I expect I would have better luck using a guy who gives the impression of a rather unremarkable boy next door," she smirked.

"And to think, according to you, you actually have friends," he intoned.

She grinned mischievously, "Eh, more acquaintances I suppose. So, are you going to help me?"

"I won't escort you into the infirmary, no."

"Why the bloody hell not?" she asked indignantly. "It would take all of ten minutes of your day. Is it not worth that to prevent me from spoiling my breakfast every time I read of some unknown victim's tragedy in _The Prophet_?"

Ah, that was the Katherine he remembered.

Regardless, allowing her to read about her brother's death in the newspaper over breakfast in the great hall would be harsh, he realized. Considering the entire school would be watching to see her reaction and the notion became downright cruel.

"If you go into the infirmary, you'll only serve to make a spectacle of yourself." Katherine had a penchant for the dramatics.

Before she could object further, he asked dreadfully, "Who is your brother? Perhaps I have heard something."

For some reason she seemed put out by his question. After a pause she answered, "I should have introduced myself sooner, I suppose. You'll have to forgive me, but I'm not accustomed to people not already knowing who I am," she added rather conceitedly. "I'm Katherine Selwyn. My brother is Winston Selwyn. We look quite a bit alike. He's taller, of course. Our hair and eyes are the same color."

Regulus took a moment to look her over as if he actually needed to consider the question. He had never considered the siblings' similarities before. He felt a profound sadness to notice the resemblance she had to her brother. While her features were more delicate, they shared a similar facial structure and each had a straight nose that naturally turned up slightly. As she said, they had the same auburn hair and dark eyes.

"Even if you don't know, maybe you could find out?" she asked hopefully.

Regulus felt entirely conflicted. Admitting he had witnessed her brother's death would be immensely irresponsible, but giving her false hope that he was safe when he knew better seemed inhumane.

"I can ask Dumbledore to look into it. To be honest though, Dumbledore isn't one to tell everything he knows- I'm not sure how helpful he will be."

"Tell him I don't care about this stupid war! I just want to know my brother is okay. If you know anything… Would you want to find out someone you care about is dead by reading about it in, _The Prophet_?" she asked bitterly.

After an impregnated pause Regulus answered, "Come with me," before he began walking towards the basement and into the kitchens. He didn't turn back to see if she was following but knew she would. If it were him looking for information about Sirius in a similar situation, he would have followed a supposed 'Gryffindor' with little hesitance.

"House elves?" she asked as she entered the kitchen. Regulus directed her towards a table he had spent hours of his time at Hogwarts moping at.

"Mimzy," he called his favorite school elf. As the elf approached him, her eyes became as wide as saucers.

"You may call me Marcus, and this is Katherine," he answered more loudly than he would have normally so that all of the other house elves could hear him in case any of them recognized him too. In an instant he and Katherine were surrounded by dozens of Hogwarts house elves. All of them watching him with rapt attention.

He couldn't help but smile a little, "The rest of you may carry on with what you were doing."

Turning back to Katherine his smile faded, "Have a seat," he invited as he too sat down at the table.

"Mimzy, could you bring Ms. Katherine some tea, please?" He asked politely.

The small elf bowed deeply before popping away eagerly. She returned a moment later with two cups of warm tea and a plate of biscuits..

Regulus watched Mimzy fondly as she left them. When he looked up he found Katherine watching him expectantly, her tea left untouched.

Deciding there was no proper way to give someone news like this, he took a deep breath before stating detachedly, "I don't think there is anything that would make finding this out easier, but down here you are at least away from prying eyes."

As Katherine glanced around at the house elves skeptically, Regulus added, "The elves of Hogwarts are not required to answer to anyone except Dumbledore, and I know for a fact that he almost never asks about the students who visit here."

"You know where my brother is then. That's why you brought me down here, isn't it?" she asked slowly.

Realizing it would be pointless to even try to sugarcoat the situation, Regulus answered,

"To be blunt, your brother was killed in a battle. For the record I am really sorry, both that it happened and to be telling you about it like this." His apology in no way captured the true gravity of his remorse.

She stared at him for a moment, clearly stunned, "H-how do you-? We don't look _that _much alike-"

"Is there another Selwyn that is a death eater? He was wearing a mask, but I definitely heard him called Selwyn before-"

"Before you killed him?" she demanded as she stood up.

"No. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time… it was an accident. He was killed by one of his fellows," Regulus answered calmly from his seat.

"You're lying."

"Why on earth would I _want _to tell someone their brother is dead?"

"Maybe you're a sadistic bastard that gets off watching others suffer," she answered venomously.

"I am not sadistic. I certainly don't enjoy telling you this."

Katherine fell back down into her chair miserably. As tears streamed down her face, Regulus felt an equally strong impulse to try to comfort her as he did to run away. Katherine looked as if she was trying to decide if she wanted to ask anything else.

"It was a killing curse," Regulus added unprompted. "I don't think he even saw it coming so he didn't suffer at all. You're right not to want to read about it in _The Prophet._ If they ever print anything about it, it'll only be lies that were first approved by 'You Know Who'. He would never want to admit something like this happened within his ranks."

Regulus fought the urge to cringe at his own use of the horrifically annoying appellation. He knew Katherine would never approve of someone saying Voldemort's name aloud though, and if he, a suspected Order member, referred to him as 'The Dark Lord,' it was sure to draw her attention.

* * *

Sirius was miserable. The entire right side of his body had been scorched by fiendfyre. Only adding to his anguish was that Madam Pomfrey had been noncommittal when he asked her about scarring.

He tried to force himself to draw some comfort in the fact that not only was Remus unharmed, but he had successfully talked Rachel into spending time together the night before. Surprisingly though, the werewolf had been very guarded about what had transpired between the two of them.

From what little information Remus had given him, he had invited Rachel to go back to their place so that he could show her their television. Interestingly, Sirius too had offered to show various girls things in order to get them to go back to his place with him. His television had never been one of them.

As if their house being destroyed wasn't bad enough, the situation was further sullied by the fact that Rachel had likely either been killed- which would mean Sirius wouldn't be able to hassle Remus for details over his potential, and long overdue deflowering- or she had snuck out of the house after Remus had fallen asleep. As neither of them would do anything to help Remus' already dismal self-confidence, Sirius was beginning to think it would have been best for Remus to have never asked her out in the first place.

His silent boredom was interrupted some time later when Regulus entered the infirmary.

"What happened to you?" he demanded from the doorway as he began to approach him.

"House, Fiendfyre-"

"Death eaters," Regulus finished for him. "I told you that you should have moved."

"I'm glad you aren't overly worrying yourself over my condition," Sirius answered sarcastically.

"Let me guess, rather than consider why your house was attacked, you've been sitting here fretting over whether or not your burns will leave scars," Regulus answered sardonically.

"Of course not, I've been thinking things through."

"Have you drawn any conclusions to what could have instigated the attack then?" Regulus asked contemplatively. Somehow he was less surprised that Sirius' house had been burned than he probably should have been. Still, something seemed off about it.

As a death eater, Regulus had only been ordered to kill Sirius if he couldn't recruit him to their cause. Since then, no one had attempted to recruit Sirius, at least not that Regulus was aware of. Why would they be trying to kill him now? It seemed like they should be wanting him to join them now more than ever since he had become the head of the Black family.

"No, Remus and I were asleep at the time," he answered knowing Remus would prefer to keep his and Rachel's relationship quiet, at least until he figured out what their actual relationship was. Also, she could be dead.

Regulus glanced around the infirmary, "Was Lupin not home? I heard there were multiple Order members up here earlier."

"Heard from who?" Sirius asked curiously.

Regulus shrugged, "People talk," he answered vaguely.

"Yes, but not to you," Sirius smirked. "Remus, James and Lily were all here briefly. Remus was not injured so he was released."

"And you are being a good patient and staying here all by yourself?" Regulus asked skeptically.

Sirius bitterly recalled that he had been told to stay there by Madam Pomfrey due to his condition, which was seconded by a desperate Remus only because he wanted to be notified the millisecond anyone heard anything about Rachel.

"Yeah well, if there is anything I can do to prevent this mess from scarring," Sirius answered evasively, indicating his right arm with agitation.

Regulus laughed, "I knew you were sulking. For the record, the visible burns do not look bad enough to scar."

Sirius winced, "There are other burns besides what you can see," he answered.

"You look better from when I saw you last," Sirius observed. He realized he was looking for traces of his real brother hidden beneath Marcus' features. Even with his disguise, Sirius could tell Regulus had become thinner than he had been when he had first left the death eaters. If he hadn't already known it was hopeless, Sirius might have tried again to convince Regulus to leave Britain and stay away from the war. He wasn't going to get any healthier remaining in harm's way.

* * *

There was a fine line between being fashionably late and rude. Cassie wasn't exactly sure where that line was, but was hopeful her father at least did not notice her tardiness.

Upon entering the Parkinson family home, she was greeted by an elderly house elf who took her cloak and led her into a grand room in which tables had been set up. All of the ancient families were gathered for a charity brunch, though Cassie could not recall the cause they were supposedly supporting this time.

She had intended to sit with her mother, but upon seeing her sitting at a table with Walburga Black, she thought better of it. Knowing Mrs. Black believed Regulus was dead was one thing, lying to her face about it seemed much worse.

Looking instead for the Fawley family to sit with, Cassie was surprised when someone whispered into her ear from behind,

"Castalia?"

She jumped slightly and turned around quickly. Expecting to see her father, she was surprised and slightly appalled to find instead that it was Walden Macnair.

"Hello," she greeted as politely as she could muster despite the perverse way he was looking at her.

"Forgive me, Ms. Greengrass. I did not mean to startle you."

"What intent did you have then, Mr. Macnair?"

Apparently he was not to be deterred by sarcasm. Instead he grinned lightly, "Please call me Walden. To call me Mr. Macnair makes me sound like an old man," he chuckled.

Nearly panicked as to what his request implied, Cassie blurted out, "With respect Mr. Macnair, I think you are around the same age as my grandparents."

His expression turned sour, though he answered with a tone of feigned politeness, "Only one of your beauty could be forgiven for such deplorable arithmetic."

Cassie vaguely considered checking him on that comment. She was fairly sure at least one of her grandparents would have still been at Hogwarts when he started his education. Her desire to get away from him outweighed her desire to be right though.

"Thank you for the compliment. I really must find my father-"

"Your father is indisposed at the moment." At her look of confusion he added, "It was he who requested I meet with you. He hoped for us to build a repertoire-"

"In that case, I definitely need to find my father," she answered resentfully.

"Perhaps you will change your mind once we have gotten to know each other better. Would you like to sit with me?"

"No, I already have a seat," she lied. Rather than paying attention to him, she resumed her search for Farrah or anyone else she could tolerate sitting with at this point.

"Ah, your father warned me you might be… disagreeable, at first. He suggested you had your heart set on another." Cassie looked at him sharply, "Perhaps one who is no longer with us, hmm?"

"I don't know what my father has told you, but you can rest assured my desire to be away from you has far less to do with someone else, and far more to do with you."

Macnair grabbed her roughly and backed her into the nearest wall.

"I strongly advise you do not draw attention to us," he threatened quietly, as he jabbed what she actually did hope was his wand into her stomach.

Naturally, everyone else was far too concerned with upholding their own personas to look around enough to see them in the dimly lit corner of the room.

"I won't deny that I am a jealous man. For that reason, I shall take great pleasure in eliminating the rest of _his_ family-" he loosened his hold on her and attempted to sound more gentle, "Castalia, whether you like it or not, this deal between me and your father is going to happen. You and I are to be married."

"What about your late wife? Did you disclose the details of her untimely death to my father?"

"Ah, I have intrigued you then. This is exactly how you and I shall build repertoire. _Honesty_ is key to everything, isn't it? I loved her, truly. Regretfully, after years of trying, she was never able to produce an heir."

"You killed her. Are you even going to deny it?"

"_Death eaters_ killed her, Castalia. Death eaters killed her when she was no longer of an age that she could carry a child. How else can the Macnair family survive but for me to marry again? Divorce is never truly recognized in our world."

"Did you tell my father all of this?"

"He already knew," he answered simply. Resuming his almost pedophilic leering at her chest, he remarked, "You know, I generally prefer someone more voluptuous, but somehow with you I don't feel like I am settling."

"I hate to interrupt," Cyrus remarked coldly from behind Macnair, "but it's time to eat. Cassie, Jocelyn wanted me to ensure you sat with her," he said in an effort of lightheartedness as Macnair released his hold on her.

After the men tersely bid each other farewell, Cassie asked, "_Macnair_…did you know about this?" she demanded of Cyrus, completely flabbergasted that her own family would subject her to him.

"I only just learned of it," he answered with a forced effort to sound relaxed. "According to father, Winston Selwyn is dead," he whispered as he walked her back to his table. "If that is true, there is no one nearer to your age available that father deems suitable for you." After a moment he added, "Look at the bright side, Cassie, you will likely outlive Macnair."

"Oh, there's a happy thought. I can earn my freedom at the age of fifty. If only I didn't have to give birth to the spawn of Satan to do so-"

"Let us talk of happier things," Cyrus interrupted as they reached Jocelyn.

As everyone else ate breakfast, Cassie stonily sat in contemplation. While there was no one else 'living' that she herself approved of, she didn't see how her father could have ruled everyone else out so quickly.

She had never even heard all of her father's specifications for her betrothed. The list was ridiculously extensive, yet somehow Macnair of all people had fit the bill? She didn't know what she was supposed to make of that.

She knew her father's requirement included that he be death eater from an ancient family, but no one who was known to be a death eater. That way, if her future husband's loyalties were ever discovered, she could claim she didn't know beforehand, thereby living comfortably with her husband's wealth while he rotted in Azkaban. What a loving man her father was, she mused.

Because Regulus was either 'dead' or would be regarded as a traitor and Evan was widely assumed to be a death eater because of his father, there was no one available she had even a remote sense of fondness for. Still, with all of the other terrible options who were at least her age, how could her father have chosen Macnair?

As Cassie relived the conversation in her mind that had just taken place, she recognized the threat she had nearly missed before. She was just about to bolt for the door to warn Regulus when she caught sight of Macnair staring at her. Did he know what she had just realized or would he assume she was still in shock about learning they were to be betrothed?

Cassie took a piece of toast and attempted to look as natural and unconcerned as possible. As she casually glanced around the room she took some comfort in the fact that most of the death eaters were present at the brunch and thereby not hunting down the rest of the Black family. She glanced discreetly at Walburga Black. She realized it was likely Regulus' last chance to warn her about what was really going on.


	45. No News Was Good News

Knowing from experience how boring it was to wait around the infirmary alone, Regulus had taken pity on Sirius and stayed with him for much of the rest of the day. That was as far as his pity went though. Sirius had only been injured because of his own stubbornness for not having left his house in the first place. It was Regulus' quintessential right as a brother to remind him of that fact every chance he got.

"So, I know you've pretty well taken Uncle Alphard's place over," Sirius remarked mostly to interrupt Regulus' latest tirade over his 'nonsensical bravado,' "but Remus and I are going to need a somewhere to stay."

When Regulus didn't answer, Sirius continued, "And well… it is technically my house that you are living in."

When Regulus continued to look at him blankly, Sirius threw up his hands, "You're actually going to make me ask, aren't you? You can't just offer us a place to stay in MY own house, no less?"

"I'm not living with Lupin. He is your friend, not mine."

"And where would you have him to live if not with me?" Sirius demanded irritably.

"He's a grown man. Perhaps it's time for him to stop leeching off of his friends."

"Did you not 'leech' off of first Evan and now me?"

"Evan nor I were at his apartment often. We usually had to stay… other places. Where I am currently living would have been left to me in the first place, if you hadn't been disinherited."

"What makes you think that?" Sirius asked skeptically.

"Because it is a fact. Uncle Alphard changed his will after you were disinherited. You can check with the goblins if you don't believe me." Regulus answered before drawing the curtains around Sirius' bed. The change of setting distracted Sirius from his retort which had been Regulus' plan.

He conjured a table and placed it in between them. He then took out Gaunt's ring and uncovered it before placing it on the table for them to look at.

"What is that engraving about?" Sirius asked as he gingerly sat up in bed to better study the ring at his bedside.

"I don't know, but it's familiar, isn't it?" Regulus answered pensively.

"Dumbledore will know." Looking at his watch he added, "I think I should probably send him a message now anyway."

Regulus quickly snatched the ring off the table and returned it to its dragon skin packaging. "We do not need Dumbledore, we can research the symbol ourselves."

"Fine... While I don't understand your incessant desire to give yourself more work to do for the sake of independence, if that's how you want to spend your time-"

"It is, thank you," Regulus answered as he stashed the ring back into his pocket. He had been nervous someone would walk in unannounced and see the ring while it was out. It was a relief to have stowed it away again. "Dumbledore is probably with… someone right now," he added with mild bitterness. "What do you need to talk to him about anyway?"

"Well you and I _both_ need to talk to him about that ring you seem to have grown strangely attached to," Sirius answered shrewdly.

Regulus felt slightly abashed for his protectiveness over the ring. He wanted to keep it safe for the assurance that he could help Evan when the time came for him to leave the death eaters- if he ever chose to. Was he attached to the idea of a somewhat freed Evan? Yes. A soul piece of Voldemort? Not so much. Unfortunately, Sirius would approve of his trying to help Evan almost as much as he would approve if Regulus was trying to protect the horcrux for Voldemort's benefit.

"We have to protect the ring until we can destroy it," he answered simply.

"Bit of an oxymoron, isn't it?"

Regulus gave an uncharacteristic shrug, "I suppose anything is acceptable so long as the ends justify the means, this is war."

"Sounds like you are buying into Dumbledore's greater good concept-"

"I'm not buying into _anything_ Dumbledore is selling. He preaches of love against Machiavellian opposition. I don't see how love can possibly solve any of our problems. Our only chance is to be pragmatic and when there isn't another option-ruthless."

Still, when he thought back to the deaths of Selwyn, Travers and Rabastan, Regulus wasn't sure if he could justify his actions. He had done what he had to do to survive in a kill or be killed situation. But did the preservation of his life justify ending the lives of three others? The only way his life was worth more than any one of theirs was if he successfully restored Voldemort to a mortal existence.

Here he was though with a horcrux at his disposal, and he couldn't even bring himself to destroy it. Instead he was 'saving' it with the hope of helping someone who had tortured and killed far more people than any decent person could ever forgive.

Sirius smirked, "Well, I for one support Dumbledore's love will save the world theory, and I certainly intend to do my part," he stated proudly.

Regulus scoffed, "Yeah, I'm sure your plan for that is exactly what Dumbledore had in mind."

Sirius chuckled, "Think about it. What if instead of 'He Who Must Not Be Named' we had 'He Who Must Get Laid'? Not even you can deny the world would be a happier place."

"Did you have another reason for wanting to talk to Dumbledore?" Regulus asked, changing the subject. Before their conversation had drifted to nonsense, Sirius had looked far more apprehensive than telling Dumbledore of their successful retrieval of a horcrux should have warranted.

"No… listen, you can't tell anyone, but last night Rachel Candor was with Remus."

"That's not really a secret. I saw them leave the infirmary together," Regulus answered stonily.

"Oh, well… she hasn't been seen since."

Regulus shook his head unconcernedly, "You can't blame her for wanting to hide. I mean, she went out with Lupin."

"Actually…she _spent the night_ with Lupin," Sirius corrected him smugly.

"After an improvised first date? I doubt that's true... Lupin was probably just trying to make it sound as if he made out better than he did," Regulus answered as calmly as his rising temper would allow.

Sirius sighed in exasperation, "This again, Regulus? Just as there is nothing wrong with a man allowing an attractive female to touch them-"

"Do not finish that sentence," Regulus interrupted as he stood up.

"What's the big deal? Why should it matter if she spent the night?" Sirius asked confusedly.

"Are you really that thoughtless?"

"What is wrong with you? Calm down- Do you even know her? She was in Ravenclaw."

"It doesn't matter if I know her, no one with common decency would take someone unaware of the situation to that house. It was known by death eaters to be occupied by members of the Order."

"Well to be fair, I doubt that's what Remus was thinking about at the time," Sirius smirked as if unable not to.

"And next week, on the full moon? What if Rachel would have planned to surprise him with a visit then? He is a werewolf. He can't just deceive girls into thinking he is safe-"

"_You_ had better not finish _that_ sentence," Sirius answered angrily.

"Has it never occurred to you that your werewolf mate is not actually a cuddly pet but a dangerous predator? Even more so perhaps, because he gives the impression of someone who is harmless."

"Just when I begin to think you didn't inherit our parent's prejudice you say that!" Sirius nearly shouted at him as he reached for his wand, though Regulus had already left his 'room' before he could fire off a curse. He had no interest in engaging in a fight with Sirius when he was already injured.

* * *

Rachel awoke alone in her old bed at her parent's house. It had been months since she had last slept there and years since she had managed to sleep so late in the day. The nostalgia would have been nice if not for her splitting headache.

There was also a strange buzzing sound she was unable to identify immediately. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she followed the noise to her closet and found the noise to be coming from inside her old school trunk. She dug to the bottom of the trunk until she found the handsome silver plated mirror she had been given a couple of Christmases previously.

"Regulus?" she said quietly both in confusion as well as to activate the charm on the mirror. He hadn't called her using the mirror in nearly a year. She hadn't even known he still had his.

In the moment since she had identified the source of the noise, she had assumed something major must have happened. She was surprised therefore to find Regulus looking back at her with an expression of calm indifference.

"Hey…" she said uncertainly.

"Oh, Rachel," he said noticeably relieved about something. "I wasn't sure whose mirror I was ringing."

"Who else's could it have been?" she asked, more hurt by the implication than she cared to admit.

Regulus looked slightly vindictive for a moment, but as if he thought better of it, his expression softened. "Sirius," he answered, "We had mirrors like this when we were little."

"Yeah, I think you told me that once. Is everything okay?" He looked perturbed about something but she knew better than to expect him to tell her what it was.

"Yes, I was just hoping not to have to look for Sirius at the Potter's… Did you just wake up?"

Rachel's free hand flew to her hair in embarrassment. Attempting to smooth its wildness she answered, "Yeah, it's a good thing you called. I might have slept through the Order meeting otherwise."

"If you aren't feeling well you should rest," he said with some of the old warmth in his tone that she hadn't heard recently.

"Well I'd hate to miss anything-"

Regulus chuckled, "I'm sure you won't miss anything that you can't be updated on later. Besides, the meetings are rather pointless, aren't they?"

"Don't say that! We have had more luck against the death eaters than the ministry-"

"I know… If you want my advice, you should skip the meeting. You can't fight against the 'dark side' if you make yourself sick by trying to do too much… You aren't hurt are you?"

"No, I'm not hurt, just tired. You'll let me know what I miss?"

"Definitely. For now you are to rest," he instructed somewhat teasingly.

"Close enough to healer's orders for me," she answered before 'hanging up' guiltily.

Even with as innocent as it had been, Regulus would not have approved of her going to Remus' house the night before- especially after having drank as much as she had. As well as she could pretend not to care what he thought, she still cared.

She had dozed off on Remus' couch and when she woke up a short time later she had been startled to find herself more closely cuddled up to him than she had ever remembered getting. Panicking that not only Remus but also Sirius would find her in the morning and get the wrong impression, she had made her somewhat drunken exit.

In retrospect, stumbling home hadn't been a good decision, but as Regulus likely would have found out she had spent the night there from Sirius and undoubtedly gotten the wrong idea otherwise, her leaving had been for the best.

* * *

Regulus strode inside the home of Sturgis Podmore later on that evening and immediately went to find Lupin. The werewolf looked extremely frazzled, much to Regulus' satisfaction.

"May I speak with you in private?" he asked politely as several other Order members were within hearing range.

Remus barely even looked up at him before following him silently back outside.

As soon as the door had closed behind Remus, Regulus roughly shoved him against the brick of the house and held him there at wand point. For a moment Regulus just stared at him, waiting for him to… do something, anything. Instead he just stood there with his head hung low as if ashamed of himself. As he rightly should be.

"If Rachel is dead, it is your fault. You know that, don't you?"

Lupin nodded sadly in agreement, completely sucking any enjoyment Regulus might have gotten from the situation otherwise.

"Are you planning to tell everyone what happened?"

"I- yes. I've spent the entire day looking for her. I searched through the remains of the house, even. The rest of the Order has a right to know what happened," he answered shakily.

"And what did happen?"

"She- I don't know. With it being so near the full moon... I fell asleep more easily than usual and when I woke up she was gone."

"You must have left quite an impression for her to have left unannounced in the middle of the night," Regulus answered dryly.

"It- no, nothing like that happened! Rachel isn't like that- as you should well know," he answered accusingly.

Ah, so Rachel had entrusted Remus with the knowledge of their past relationship…how irritating.

"Yes, I know that, but none of them do," Regulus answered indicating everyone inside. "If you tell them anything of what happened, you will be doing nothing but tarnishing her reputation. I can say with certainty that this is not how she would want anyone to remember her."

"What if she isn't at the meeting? They will ask-"

"Why should anyone expect _you_ to know the answer? Just keep your mouth shut."

"But what if-"

"If she is dead, the full responsibility of it rightfully rests with you," Regulus interrupted in a cold and unforgiving tone. "You knew death eaters knew where you lived and you still took her there. If she left your house at any point through the night, it was your responsibility to ensure she made it home safely. If by some miracle she is alive and has such a lapse in judgement that she decides to give you a second chance, rest assured I will be less forgiving if you fail _again_ to ensure her safety. Do I make myself clear?"

"I don't deserve another chance- I just hope she is alive! I looked for her when the house was on fire- I tried- I couldn't-" he moaned.

Realizing the situation had likely been construed worse than it really was, Regulus refrained from hexing Lupin as he had originally planned. He was clearly suffering enough by his own volition.

As expected, the meeting was pointless. Dumbledore didn't mention Snape or any other potential spies or anything that Regulus didn't already know, period. Everyone was appalled to learn Sirius' house had been burned down. As both Sirius and Rachel were missing from the meeting, a couple of people suggested Rachel had been with Sirius during the fire, much to Regulus' and more obviously, Remus', annoyance.

True to his word though, Lupin did not comment on the subject unless asked directly. He would then answer that he either didn't know where Rachel was or that she had definitely not been with Sirius before the fire. It was evident to Regulus that the meeting was really difficult for Lupin to get through.

He had a fleeting impulse to tell him that Rachel was alive, but decided against it. He deserved to feel guilty for his negligence, and Regulus had brought his attention to that fact for Rachel's benefit, not Lupin's. If Regulus' relationship with her was any indication, she had a habit of overlooking some pretty major character flaws.

* * *

As Regulus was researching the symbol on Gaunt's ring the next morning, he was interrupted by one of the rented owls from the post office, delivering a parcel. Taking the parcel from the owl, he was confused to find a blue candle wrapped inside. After studying it for a moment and deeming it harmless, he resumed his research.

His mind kept drifting back to the candle until he realized where he recognized it from. He immediately went outside and disapparated to just outside the church where Cassie had found him before his father's funeral.

As he walked inside the church he nearly thought he had mistaken the message until he recognized the black haired girl he had seen Cassie disguised as once before.

Regulus began walking towards her, which turned into a run as a series of faint 'pops' could be heard from just outside the church. He reached her and cast a strong shield to encompass them as every door of the church was blown apart by various curses thrown at them by half a dozen death eaters.

Regulus had just enough time to activate the first portkey he could summon, and grab Cassie's arm before the different streams of light came flying towards them from all directions. Fortunately, the portkey carried them away before his shield charm was compromised.

As they landed a few moments later in a cave just outside Hogsmeade, Regulus demanded, "Would any of them have recognized that disguise?"

"No, I don't think so. I had been there for a while waiting... None of them showed up until you did. I think the real question is, how did they find you?" she asked as she handed him a copy of the morning's edition of _The_ _Daily Prophet_.

The front page was plastered with a picture of 'Marcus,' with a caption explaining the theory that Marcus was really Sirius in disguise. The article that followed stated that Sirius/Marcus was wanted for questioning in the attempted abduction of the minister's daughter and for the disappearances of Selwyn and Travers. Regulus skimmed the article with revulsion. They were trying to convince everyone that 'Marcus' was Sirius' death eater alter ego.

Naturally, there was no mention of Sirius' house having been burned down by death eaters the night before.

Regulus looked around them and was relieved to see there was still no one else in sight.

Cassie had turned her back to him as he read. Whether it was more to stand guard or in disgust for what she must have now thought of him, he didn't know.

"Sirius' house was burned down last night. He said it was fiendfyre."

When she didn't comment, he asked, "How did you get to the church?"

"I walked… why do you ask?" She inquired as she turned back to face him.

"The church is only a few blocks away from Grimmauld Place. I think it plausible that apparition into the area is being tracked."

Something akin to guilt seemed to flash across Cassie's face as she answered, "Between that article and Sirius' house…I think it stands to reason."

"Why did you contact me?" he asked her angrily. "If it is found out that you've known I'm alive-"

"The address of the Black ancestral home is Number Twelve Grimmauld Place," she interrupted somewhat tearfully before looking away from him again.

That was it then, he mused, his anger forgotten. She had made herself secret keeper to help someone she trusted, not a killer, and certainly not someone who had become the most wanted man in Britain overnight. He was lucky she even bothered trying to tie up the loose ends of their friendship.

"Cassie, if there had been another option- It's not like I wanted to kill anyone."

She looked at him incredulously for a moment before throwing her arms around him in a hug, much to his surprise, "Do what you have to do to stay alive."

She disapparated a moment later, bidding him, "good luck," as she left.

Good luck, indeed, he mused. With the Prophet, linking Marcus to his family, he had no choice but to warn his mother of what was going on now.

* * *

Sirius had just been released by Madam Pomfrey. The last thing he wanted to do was wait around for the emergency Order meeting that had just been called. As he missed the meeting the night before though, he thought it best to stick around for this one.

He was relieved when he was finally joined by James, Lily and Remus- who looked particularly distraught. For some reason, everyone else seemed to be avoiding him. They would not make eye contact with him, but were casting furtive glances in his direction when they didn't think he would notice. He kept looking around for Regulus but as the time grew nearer to meeting time, Sirius thought it likely he was skipping it.

"Um, Sirius… have you seen this?" Lily asked as she handed him the morning's edition of _The Daily Prophet_.

Ah, so that explains the odd looks he was getting. Could Regulus have killed Selwyn and Travers? Or was it all just something Voldemort had cooked up for some stupid reason.

So immersed he was in reading about his alter ego, he missed when Rachel joined them.

"Rachel! Where have you been?" Remus screeched at her, though clearly more out of relief than anger.

"I can't believe your house burned down. I just heard about it from Vesta on my way in. I'm glad to see you're both doing okay," she answered sheepishly.

"Yeah... well we didn't know what happened to you-"

"Sorry I missed the meeting yesterday. I didn't feel well... Didn't Marcus tell you I wasn't coming?" she asked clearly avoiding what Remus had actually been referring to.

"You talked to Marcus? When was that?" Sirius demanded.

"Yesterday afternoon… around an hour before the meeting I suppose," she answered unconcernedly which seemed to further irritate Remus.

"Have you seen this?" Sirius asked as he shoved the newspaper in Rachel's face in effort to keep Remus from saying something he would regret. To be fair though, she would have deserved it. It was obvious Remus had been beside himself with worry.

She pulled the paper down and began to read, "No, I don't bother reading _The Prophet_ anymore," she answered as she began skimming the front page.

About halfway through her reading her head shot up and she began looking around the room frantically.

"I'm right here," Sirius said warily.

"I'm not looking for you… and I don't expect Marcus will be here today," she said in a low voice. Still, the annoyance in her tone was evident.

"Where else would he be?" Sirius asked confusedly.

"After what happened to your house and this article… Don't you think he might have wanted to check on someone?" she asked irritably.

Sirius stared at her for a moment in confusion. Realizing Regulus would in fact be worried about someone, he stood up, "I am going to kill him," he said angrily as he began storming out of the infirmary, Rachel at his heels.

"Where are you going?" James demanded as he and Remus followed them into the corridor.

"If he went where we're thinking, there's a good chance someone will save you the trouble of killing him," Rachel answered Sirius' sentiment.

"What makes you say that? Do you know something about Marcus we don't?" Sirius asked feigning innocence.

"I know who he is as well as you do," Rachel answered as they raced out of the entrance hall and onto the grounds of the castle.

"And how would someone like you come to find out something like that?" Sirius asked skeptically. "Well?" He demanded when she didn't immediately answer.

"He told me."

Sirius chuckled darkly, "Somehow I don't see the two of you having a lot of heart to hearts."

"Shouldn't we be going?" Rachel asked irritably as they had reached the Hogwarts gates and would be able to disapparate. Aside from being in Islington, Rachel didn't know where exactly the Black's ancestral home was located.

"Where are you going?" Remus demanded as he and James caught up to them.

"To rescue my idiot brother from himself. Who's coming?" Sirius asked, holding out his arms.

Rachel latched onto his left arm which was nearest to her. Remus hesitated, but after confirming that Rachel was going, he latched onto Sirius' right.

James rolled his eyes, "I'll meet you there, though if not for you Pads, I'd just assume not stop his untimely yet overdue death," he stated ironically. As he had been there before- having met Sirius on occasion when he had snuck out, James knew where the house was.

Sirius turned on the spot and re-appeared a moment later standing outside of where number 12 Grimmauld Place should have been. Rachel and Remus stood on either side of him trying to see what they must have assumed he could see- though he suddenly could not recall the address to see it either.

All he could really concentrate on was the caterwauling charm their appearance had triggered, and the half dozen death eaters that had seemingly been waiting for them.


	46. Can't Go Home Again

Evan was exhausted. It was the middle of the day and instead of sleeping like any sensible death eater who had spent the previous night terrorizing a village, he was at a strip club. In the middle of the day. Only Mulciber could have found such a classless establishment as this.

"You're a lot more fun now that Black is dead," Avery laughed from his seat across the table.

Evan looked back at him neutrally, "Perhaps Mulciber should have been more sensitive to your preferences in choosing our meeting place."

Avery glanced around the table to ensure none of their companions were listening before answering tersely, "I do not understand the implication."

"Perhaps a different sort of strip joint would have better held your attention?" Evan asked unconcernedly. "I cannot see why else you would choose to make conversation with me when we are surrounded by half-naked witches."

Avery's retort died on his lips as their table was joined by Nott and Walden Macnair.

"Mind if we sit?" Nott asked before pulling out a chair and plopping down without bothering to wait for an answer.

After an awkward moment of silence, Mulciber addressed the latter, "I hear congratulations are in order, Macnair. I do not think I am alone in hoping your future children resemble their mother."

"Between Castalia's beauty and even more attractive blood, our children shall be forever in my debt," Macnair chuckled, "Few men have been as successful as I in assuring their future children have only the best."

Evan refrained from commenting, though he was curious what Macnair had been able to offer Cassie's father to convince him to 'sell' her to someone older than even himself- especially when Macnair was regarded as being especially sadistic even by death eater standards. Evan thought even he might have been more protective towards his children than that- not that he ever planned to have children of his own.

* * *

Regulus stood outside the front door of number twelve Grimmauld Place for quite some time. He had never planned to return here, and knowing the reception he was going to receive only made his childhood home that much less inviting.

He had discreetly apparated into King's Cross and then made the rest of the journey on foot, disillusioned of course, in effort to draw as little attention to himself as possible.

Now that he had arrived at the Black ancestral home, he was completely at a loss for how to proceed. Fighting every instinct, inclination and sense of better judgement he had, he forced himself to grip the metal door handle. As the ancient magic sized up his worthiness for entry, Regulus undid the glamours which hid who he truly was.

He had been born inside this house, the second child of Orion and Walburga. He had left it as the heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Regardless of consequence, returning to Grimmauld Place in disguise would have been insulting to where he came from.

As soon as he entered the house, he quickly looked around to ensure his mother was not around to attack him when he wasn't paying attention. He was relieved to find himself quite alone.

The gas lamps were alit along the hallway revealing the elegant wallpaper and expensive carpet. His eyes lingered momentarily on the overly extravagant chandelier. The house his mother had taken such pride in- he himself had taken pride in-was still familiar, yet felt completely foreign to him now.

For the first time, he could almost relate to how Sirius must have felt in their youth. Maybe he was only being paranoid, but he could somehow sense that he was unwanted in his childhood home. A home that had been filled with the best of every inanimate object in effort to fill the emptiness felt by all those who had ever resided here.

Back straight and proud, he avowed to at least carry himself in a way befitting of a Black as he made his way through the house in silent search for his mother. Before he made it to his first room to search he was joined by Kreacher. The small elf looked angry that someone had entered the home uninvited, before his expression became panicked as he recognized him.

"Master! What are you doing here-?"

"I need to speak with my mother. Do you know where she is?"

"Kreacher's mistress is not well… but Kreacher can take you to her," the house elf answered obediently. "But, Master-?" The usually eager to help house elf's hesitance was a testament to his protectiveness of Regulus. It was clear Kreacher was reluctant to allow him to reveal his survival to his mother.

"It's ok, Kreacher. Please lead the way," he commanded gently.

* * *

"Rosier, I do hope there are no hard feelings between us. Your father mentioned you and Castalia are friendly."

"We are more acquaintances really. Certainly, there are no hard feelings."

"Ah, but as lovely as she is, I cannot imagine you have not made efforts to progress your… otherwise platonic relationship," the older man answered as Avery and Mulciber chortled idiotically. Snape who was also in ear shot was clearly listening to them, despite pretending to be oblivious to their conversation.

"Less than you might think," he answered neutrally. Neither of us considered a future together likely. My family name would have tainted her family's status of neutrality just as her neutrality could have softened the alliances of the Rosier family."

"I'm glad to hear I am not ruining any of your future plans then. I wonder though if there was not another reason for why the two of you never considered each other. It has been brought to my attention that there was a presumed betrothal between Castalia and the youngest Black prior to his untimely death. Could this have contributed to your hesitance in pursuing more with her?"

Evan looked pointedly at Mulciber and Avery whose guilty expressions were easily evident. Fortunately, their memories of punishment from Bellatrix for Regulus' 'untimely death' was still etched in their minds enough that they were unlikely to comment on anything to do with Regulus anytime soon.

"You must know there are rumors about everyone of our society. Rumors of the more prominent members run especially rampant with little provocation. That said, there was never any sort of betrothal between Black and Greengrass assumed or otherwise, that I am aware of," Evan replied. At Macnair's skeptical look he added, "Regardless of rumors, their relationship truly was, to use your word, platonic," Evan answered, not particularly concerned with whether his answer was entirely truthful or not.

"I see," Macnair answered vaguely.

"Does it really matter? With Black being dead-"

"I suppose that depends on Castalia. Does she fancy herself marrying the head of a noble and ancient house of Black or will she be content to marry the head of another ancient house? I confess I am curious to know how she perceives the eldest Black now that the younger is gone."

"I'd imagine she perceives him to be just as obnoxious and unworthy of his title as the rest of us believe."

Macnair smirked, "It pleases me to hear we are likeminded in that regard. It would reflect better on Castalia's upbringing though if she could find contentment in our upcoming engagement. I think it prudent to recruit you-"

Evan chuckled coldly, "Need help warming her up, do you?" he asked more to preserve his reputation than because he was accustomed to referring to Cassie as such. Naturally, Mulciber and Avery added similar, albeit more graphic sentiments.

Macnair's expression hardened, "If she does not behave as a perfect pureblood maiden, content to marry into an ancient house, it will require me to force my hand. I suggest you do your part in _talking _Castalia into behaving accordingly, less her pretty face may come to be marred," Macnair challenged.

Evan forced his expression to remain neutral. He knew Macnair was not bluffing. Cassie was in a vulnerable position in their society. Perhaps the only thing worse than the pressure of being the heir of an ancient house, was being the second child or daughter of a neutral family. While Cyrus had been given some choice in who he married- Cassie was the leverage to settle the balance of his choice.

"I shall think about it," he answered vaguely.

Just as enough time had finally passed that Evan thought it would be acceptable to make his departure from some of the most repulsive death eaters, he along with Mulciber, Avery and three others were summoned back to their blasted master.

* * *

Realizing the immediate threat of death eaters, Sirius ducked. Having pulled Rachel down with him, the light of a purple spell shot over their heads just missing both of them.

Rachel's first spell choice to his surprise was a non-verbal, aimed away from everyone. For a moment he thought she had horrific aim before realizing it was likely a patronus meant for the rest of the Order. _Ravenclaws weren't particularly brave, were they_? He mused. A Gryffindor's first thought in battle was never to call for backup.

Instead of worrying about whether help was coming, he launched a blasting, followed by a gouging spell at the nearest death eater.

Remus, who had let go of Sirius more quickly than Rachel did, had already fired off his own combination of spells at their attackers.

James appeared moments after they did, and had already been pulled away from them in his battle with one of the death eaters.

A muggle who had lived across the street from his parents since before Sirius was born, came outside to find out what the commotion was about. Considering the caterwauling charm had reached a nearly unbearable level before one of the death eaters ended it, Sirius wouldn't be surprised if every other muggle in the area didn't come outside to do the same.

In the time it had taken for Sirius to think this attack was going to cause a horrendous amount of effort by the ministry to cover up, his former neighbor had fallen to a killing curse. Sirius had only ever known the muggle from sight, but knew that he was a father and had always seemed like a decent bloke. He had also only been killed because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time- just because he lived across the street from his mother, of all people.

At that realization, a fury raised within Sirius causing him to recall spells he had once been forced to study with no intent to ever use. As the oversize death eater who had killed his neighbor foolishly attempted to cast the dark mark, Sirius threw him onto the defensive with a series of spells that would have only been considered gray by death eaters.

* * *

"Mistress, you have… a guest," Regulus heard Kreacher nervously tell his mother as he waited outside her bedroom.

"Whoever it is, they were ill-bred. To have no better manners than to drop in unexpected…send them away. I am far too busy to associate with one of such loutish behavior."

"I- Kreacher thinks-"

"You insolent beast! You need not think when I have given you an order,"

Before she could punish Kreacher for attempting to voice his opinion, Regulus stepped into the room, "Mother," he greeted simply as he carefully walked towards the couch she occupied in the sitting area of the bedroom.

A look of utter shock flitted across her features before her blank mask returned to cover it.

"My only son has died," she answered coldly, "Who are you to call me mother?"

"Kreacher, you may leave us," Regulus directed not unkindly.

As Kreacher began to object, likely hoping to stay for moral support, his legs seemed to carry him out of the room of their own accord.

As if witnessing Kreacher's reaction was enough for her to recognize her son, Walburga stood and walked towards him. For a brief moment the closest thing to tenderness she was probably capable of appeared in her expression. Regulus forced himself not to flinch as she gently placed a frigid hand to his cheek.

She looked him over intently for a moment before seemingly coming to her senses. Removing her hand from his face, she elegantly returned to her position on the couch, before beckoning him forward.

"I see that you are who you say. Come and sit," she said indicating the place beside her on the couch. "I am eager to hear why you chose to cause your dear mother such torment. Tell me, why is it that you are believed to be dead?" she prompted somewhat detachedly, though Regulus could tell her tone did not sound nearly as detached as she would have liked.

That did little to ease Regulus' mind, as he was certain he had never been more nervous about anything in his life than he was now. As he took a seat beside his mother on the couch as composedly as he could manage, he felt about as big as he had the last time he had sat with her on that same couch. He supposed he would never grow too old to want her approval, regardless of how impossible gaining it had always been.

Despite having considered what he was going to say during his walk over, every inclination had left him as soon as he entered the house. Not that it mattered much, none of the words he had come up with had seemed right for the occasion.

Just as he was about to begin muddling through an explanation, she broke the silence and asked, "Are you still in-service of The Dark Lord, Voldemort?"

Not for the first time, Regulus had a fleeting thought to make up something. He could pretend to be a spy who had infiltrated the Order. In that case though, why had he bothered to come here at all?

His mother was no traitor. She was also one of the last who carried the surname Black. No one could target her without retribution from Bellatrix (and other family members as well, though Bella was by far the most intimidating). All things considered, his mother was relatively safe, wasn't she?

Common sense told him anyone would be foolish to target her, but what about the death eaters who were woefully lacking in that regard? An outsider might be unable to see her loyalty to The Dark Lord past the fact that both of her sons had fallen away from the old ways._ Clearly something was amiss in their household_, or so others of their society would surely think once Regulus' betrayal became better known. In that case, it was highly possible she would be targeted if someone believed it could win them favor with Voldemort

If his mother was targeted, he had no doubt his surviving family would seek retribution. Did it really matter if the culprits were punished though if the attack still resulted in her torture and subsequent death?

As imperfect as she was, his mother did not deserve to be targeted by an unknown threat. Without some sort of warning she would be a sitting duck at the next pureblood gathering for any rogue death eater hoping to make a name for himself. There was also a chance Voldemort would use her as bait to lay a trap for him. There were far too many 'what ifs' for him to work through anymore given his circumstance, but this was likely his only chance to warn her that she wasn't as safe as she might like to believe.

"I am not." His mother closed her eyes at his response, but he pressed on as if he did not notice, "When I joined the death eaters, I believed it to be the right decision. I believed it a cause worth fighting for. I was wrong about _him_, mother. All of us were. He does not stand for the values that drew me to him. Nor what drew you or father or even Bella to support his cause. He cares only of his own power, not blood. Nothing of family."

His mother looked away from him. He could almost take comfort knowing that if he had been Sirius, she would be shouting already. Almost. The root of her shouting at Sirius had always been that she cared about what would become of him.

When she did speak, her tone was cold and cruel,

"Perhaps it is not The Dark Lord who is not who we thought, but you. You, who have always honored family and tradition above all else. You are now here, undoubtedly seeking refuge from the Dark Lord for your betrayal. Have you no regard for what would become of me if I helped you?" she asked, her voice rising with her temper.

"Did you really think, foolish boy, that I would hide you? That I would allow the protections placed by my fathers to shield you from the fate you rightfully deserve? You have abandoned the worthy cause of The Dark Lord and his followers. You are a traitor, and certainly no son of mine, for no child of mine could be so wretched! A proper son of mine would have proudly died fulfilling orders from The Dark Lord rather than drag his family's good name in the dirt by traitorously faking his death!"

"I had no other choice than to fake my death if I wanted to live-" Regulus tried to explain though it only caused his mother to raise her voice so as to better drown him out.

"Yet here you are, pathetically cowering in the shadows, no doubt in wait for a defeat of The Dark Lord that will not come. You have abandoned the death eaters, and you shall be killed because of it- The Dark Lord and his loyal followers will see to that!" she finished dramatically as her voice had carried to a shout by the end of her speech.

As much as Regulus wanted to tell her none of that was true, he couldn't. All he could focus on was that some of what she had said was true, and that made it even more difficult for him to justify his being there.

He was going to be killed because of his betrayal. A betrayal that would greatly damage the Black's reputation. He had also further endangered his mother by telling her of his survival. As she clearly had no intention of helping him though, that probably wouldn't matter much.

Now that Regulus had a chance to speak, no words came to him. After an emotionally loaded pause Walburga added, "You are to leave this house," she said in an eerily calm voice as she stood and strode towards the exit of her bedroom, "Never darken my doorstep again. There is no place for you here," she said without emotion as Regulus leadenly followed her towards the room's exit.

He hesitated as he stood before her in the doorway. Knowing he was about to be dismissed again, likely more forcefully, he spoke urgently, "Have you never wondered why the Dark Lord goes by the appellation Voldemort?"

"How dare you speak his name in this house, you filthy traitor!" his mother screamed at him as she slapped him across the face.

Regulus stared back at her indifferently, showing no sign of the sting to his cheek or stab at his heart, "His surname is Riddle. If you can find that name in _Nature's Nobility_... you would have a very rare book. It would also be an inaccurate one," Regulus stated flatly. "His father was a muggle."

His mother took a deep breath and Regulus recognized it from her rows with Sirius that she was bracing herself before unleashing a fury of insults. Regulus attempted to head off her retort by adding quickly, "It is only a matter of time before my survival is discovered. When that time comes, I cannot guarantee that you will be safe outside of this house."

"I am not the one who should be worried-" she answered bitterly.

"Whether you choose to acknowledge us or not, you gave birth to a blood traitor, and a traitor of the Dark Lord," Regulus interrupted recklessly as his mother stared at him in shock for both his ill-manners and his bluntness. "Few will hold your pedigree to the esteem it deserves once my betrayal becomes known. It is possible you will be targeted- from either side, from both sides, even.

"This house has been placed under the Fidelius Charm. You are safe here so long as the secret keeper lives, but outside of these walls, there is no guarantee. It would be safest for you to leave the country, I can help-" Regulus trailed off as the all too familiar sound of a caterwauling charm was set off.

For a moment two sets of matching silvery eyes locked on each other, "The Dark Lord truly does know everything, doesn't he?" Walburga whispered.

"You knew apparition into this area was being monitored?" Regulus asked dubiously as he made his way towards the window of her bedroom.

She looked as if she might object to his refusal to leave, but as if unable not to brag, she exclaimed, "Of course I knew! The Dark Lord recognizes my ancient blood and its wholesomeness. _He_ set up detection charms ages ago to ensure I was safe here. _He_ seeks to preserve the purebloods who hold firmly to tradition, as I have. Especially I, in fact, as I have inherited the ancient magic of the Blacks from both sides. You nor your brother's best efforts to sully my good name will tarnish my reputation, for my loyalty to _him_ has never wavered." She indicated the window, "Now it shall be known that when you came to me for help, I turned you away… They will surely have you surrounded by now," she finished matter-of-factly.

As Regulus looked outside he saw not death eaters who were trying to lay a trap for him, but instead a battle of a dozen or so wizards. He was unable to give them enough attention to know who was involved. Turning back to his mother he stated calmly, "I knew that my betrayal would be my death sentence. I am no fool nor am I a coward. I did not come here to ask for your help, but to offer mine while I still can-"

"I do not need it, nor would I accept it if I did. My loyalty has and will always be with my family who uphold our traditions- and to the Dark Lord. Naturally, you will be disinherited-"

"Then why haven't you called him? Or Bella, or Lucius? Do you not think they would be exhilarated to take me off your hands? Do you intend to allow any of those minions into your house?" he asked indicating the death eaters fighting in the street, "Could it be that you still hold some small value for your family that do not support The Dark Lord's cause, or are your loyalties truly that conditional? If it is the latter, I implore you to research what I have told you. The Dark Lord's father was a muggle, Tom Riddle. His mother, pure though she was, may as well have been a squib. The Gaunt family-"

"Enough of this madness! Go away from here, and never sully the house of my father's again! If you have any honor left at all, you would offer yourself to the death eaters. At least then you may spare your friends-"

"I hope for your sake, _his_ _minions_ do not think to cast fiendfyre to the neighborhood. They do not have to see your house in order to destroy it," Regulus stated calmly as he made his way out of the room.

"Be quick about it! Away from here I say!" she screeched angrily. Regulus felt a curse being launched at him from behind and managed to avoid it as he entered the stairwell and quickly padded away from her and downstairs.

As he approached the front door, he quickly regained his 'Marcus' appearance before casting a disillusionment on himself- because considering the caterwauling charm and his supposed true identity, if anyone saw him enter the battle from this direction it would all but map out the exact location of the Black ancestral home. The death eaters had a close enough approximation of the house's location without him narrowing it down further.

* * *

After alerting the rest of the Order to the attack, Rachel had quickly glanced around at her surroundings. Sirius had almost immediately left her side to attack the largest death eater as if with an unsettled vendetta between them. Noticing his fellow's apparent ineptitude against Sirius, another death eater had gone to the oversized death eater's aid.

Remus was clearly reluctant to get too far away from her. As sweet as it kind of was, she also found it to be somewhat annoying as she was capable of handling herself. She also thought either of them could have taken on two of the death eaters that were currently attacking them at once, more easily than dodging curses from the three death eaters present who were indiscriminately aiming curses at both of them. Perhaps Remus was accustomed to fighting in this way, but she thought it only a matter of time before either she or Remus cursed the other.

By the way the death eaters were forcing them to maneuver, she thought that might actually be their intent as she and Remus were now almost facing each other. Knowing the anti-apparition wards were still in place, she began trying to put more distance between her and Remus again.

As she was forced to dive to avoid yet another killing curse, she rolled behind a parked car in the street and chanced another look around them. There was still no sign of anyone else from the Order. Her and Remus' combatants had drawn them far enough away from Sirius she couldn't tell who was winning their battle.

She quickly looked in the direction James had gone. As he was reputed to be a talented duelist, she thought it odd that only one death eater had challenged him. She assumed that meant said death eater was either very good himself or overconfident. She was surprised when she finally located James' form in the distance as, if anything, he seemed to be losing ground against his death eater.

She was violently reminded of her stupidity of becoming an observer in battle when she was struck from behind by a cruciatus curse.

As Rachel involuntarily screamed her head off on the curb of the street, she wondered if those who received the cruciatus often enough built up a tolerance to the pain. Regulus had said the cruciatus was regularly distributed to the death eaters by Voldemort. His nonchalance by that fact had seemed strange enough before she had ever received the torture curse. Now that she had experienced it firsthand though, she was downright angry that anyone would allow such pain to be regularly inflicted on themselves, let alone to stand by and watch as someone else was inflicted with such agony- even if they were death eaters.

As she pushed herself into a less compromising position in the grass, she had to force herself to remain calm as she glimpsed none other than Bellatrix Lestrange entering the area via portkey. For a moment, she did not seem to notice Rachel, but instead silently observed Remus as he took on all three of their assailants. Whether any of them had even noticed Bellatrix's arrival was unlikely.

* * *

Regulus didn't know who from the Order was present, but assumed Sirius had to be amongst them as few Order members would know where the Black's ancestral home was located. That didn't answer why Order members had shown up to begin with.

As his mother knew of the caterwauling charm's presence, he felt somewhat less concerned for her safety and more worried for Sirius'. It seemed Voldemort had expected someone- likely Sirius, unless he knew of Marcus' real identity, to show up at Grimmauld Place and laid a trap for him.

Fortunately, finding Sirius had been easy as it seemed everyone else had ventured away from their childhood home while Sirius remained nearest to it.

Regulus ran towards him to help in his battle against who appeared to be Mulciber and Avery. Realizing at the last second that approaching them from the direction of his mother's house might help them remember where it was located, he changed directions so that he was approaching them from the other side of the street.

As he ran, he watched the battle and felt somewhat in awe of what he was seeing. In all of the times he had watched Sirius fight, he had never had such versatile spell selection. Had he been battling lesser combatants, Regulus had no doubt Sirius would have taken them both down by now. Unfortunately, Mulciber and Avery- and Evan for that matter- had been dueling together for years, all being second generation death eaters and all.

Fortunately, Regulus knew their weaknesses and had no qualms about playing dirty. He immediately launched a non-verbal tongue tying spell at Mulciber's back more for the humiliation factor than anything else. As Mulciber was fairly useless in nonverbal spell work, all he could really do from then on was avoid the spells he and Sirius were throwing at him.

Thinking it best not to remain invisible when Sirius was so clearly out for someone's blood, Regulus cast the counter spell to his own disillusionment. Mulciber visibly looked from 'Marcus' to Sirius and back again in shock, before making a grab for his emergency portkey.

Regulus summoned Mulciber's portkey as it was activating and destroyed it midair with a 'reducto'.

While he could no longer claim to be a good little Order boy after his last encounter with the death eaters, he didn't trust himself enough not to fall back on all of the Black's family magic if he chose to 'go dark' either. He also didn't need much to defeat Mulciber in his current quieted state.

Regulus cast a series of bone breakers and cutting curses at Mulciber, who was left to jump around foolishly in his effort to avoid being hit. Unfortunately for him, his large size was a huge disadvantage when it came to dodging spells and he was hit by about half of everything Regulus sent his way.

In a last ditch effort for safety, Mulciber managed to magically unlock a car on the side of the street and attempted to start it. Having no key and likely no idea of how muggle vehicles were programmed, not to mention being unable to speak- his efforts resulted in him sitting uselessly in a now locked car, much to Regulus' amusement.

Regulus stood watching him for a moment unable to hide a smirk. He then cast a spell that put enough pressure on the vehicle to shatter all of the glass, and naturally forced all of the shards of glass into Mulciber's direction. Mulciber brought up his hands to cover his face, but given the force of Regulus' spell, his efforts were relatively useless at providing himself any protection.

Regulus considered setting the vehicle on fire using fiendfyre, but as so few people could control it as well as he could- he would be practically announcing his true identity to Avery and anyone else he recounted the fight to.

Regulus chose instead to disarm Mulciber before magically sealing him inside the vehicle. He vaguely wondered how long it would take for the older male to bleed to death from his injuries- or possibly even freeze considering the cold weather conditions. As he didn't much care, he turned his efforts back to Sirius and Avery, the latter of which looked much worse for the wear since Regulus had removed Mulciber from their battle.

"Oh look, there's two of me!" Sirius laughed as Avery got his first good look at 'Marcus.' The latter of which transfigured a nearby mailbox into half a dozen knives and launched them at Avery.

Clearly realizing he had no chance against both of them, Avery cast a strong shield around himself and summoned his own emergency portkey.

"Aren't you going to take your _friend_ with you?" Regulus asked scathingly just before the older wizard disappeared. It was a testament to how little 'friendships' meant amongst the death eaters that Avery left Mulciber so easily. The two of them were said to have been practically inseparable since birth. Yet, Avery barely even flinched at Regulus' taunt about leaving Mulciber behind.

"Fancy seeing you here," Regulus remarked to Sirius as the two of them made their way up the street to see if there were any other Order members they could assist.

"Yes, _Rachel_ seemed to think you would come here- after what was written about us in _The Prophet_, and all."

"How… insightful of her," Regulus answered uneasily.

"Yes, I found it to be extremely interesting myself. She implied the two of you were much closer than anyone knew… she seemed to know you _quite_ well actually. When she thought you came here she called you… what was it? A 'perpetual momma's boy,' I believe it was... does that sound right?"

Regulus bit his cheek in irritation, "That is not a term I have heard her use before, no."

"So…just how well do the two of you know each other then?" Sirius asked impatiently. "I mean, I've been trying to fix her and Remus up for months. In all of the time you've been around you've never once said anything to imply you even knew her…yet she knew where you would be today. Coming here was completely idiotic by the way."

Regulus remained silent for a moment. He knew Sirius would not let the topic of Rachel drop easily. Still, he thought he knew how to change the subject for now, "Interesting spell selection you were using back there…" he remarked.

Sirius grimaced, "If you could…not mention that to anyone…"

Regulus rolled his eyes, "If you didn't make such a big deal about being 'different' from our family, I doubt anyone else would give it much thought."

"You don't know James. He despises anyone who uses the dark arts," he answered simply.

Before Regulus could point out that James was only one person, an agonized scream echoed down the street. Regulus and Sirius took off at a sprint towards the direction it had came from.

* * *

"We meet again," Bellatrix cackled as she noticed Rachel, who had managed to stand only briefly before the nauseating effects of the cruciatus curse forced her to her knees.

As much as Rachel wanted to answer with something defiant, or at least witty, it was taking most of her concentration to keep from collapsing in a heap on the concrete. She was horrified a moment later when Bellatrix's cold hand grabbed her face, wrenching her chin up to look at her. _When had Bellatrix gotten so close to her_, she found herself wondering dumbly as the older witch snatched her wand away from her.

"Such flawless skin you have," Bellatrix said conversationally, "You really must be a new to the Order."

Rachel didn't bother answering as it was obvious the older woman was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to be concerned with her response.

"Why have you come here, of all places?" Bellatrix asked her a moment later. Rachel knew the time for her being allowed to remain silent had passed as she had now been asked a direct question. Doing her best to ignore the fact that Bellatrix was terrifying, she said the only lie she thought might save her,

"Dumbledore sent us. We were looking for Sirius Black."

"And what does Dumbledore want with my cousin?" Bellatrix asked her, attempting to make eye contact.

Rachel looked down quickly, pretending to be too afraid to meet Bellatrix's gaze. It didn't take much to fake it as there was no doubt Bellatrix was intimidating.

"I don't know. We were ordered only to capture him."

Bellatrix laughed coldly, "You expect me to believe that old coot intends to punish my wretched cousin? Should he not be pleased that ickle Sirius is finally using his true nature to oppose the 'dark side'?

"Dumbledore didn't tell us his reasons…only that we needed to find Sirius and bring him to Hogwarts."

Bellatrix nodded vaguely but remained silent for a moment while she again observed the battle going on near them. As much as Rachel wanted to help Lupin, she couldn't under Bellatrix's watchful eye- not to mention she no longer had a wand at her disposal. She glared angrily at Bellatrix. How Remus was still alive at this point she didn't know. Three against one was completely unfair. Any sane person would have called off the attack by now.

As if reading her mind, Bellatrix announced with a smirk,

"I think that'll do it, gents" she said to the three death eaters as they were joined by a fourth death eater, the one who had previously been battling with James.

"Ah, Rosier. How lovely of you to join us," she cackled.

Rachel looked at the death eater Bellatrix had called Rosier and had no doubt from his posture that it was Evan. She may have accepted that he had the potential to be decent in the past for Regulus' sake, but after seeing the destruction of the death eaters firsthand- she hated him, all of them.

She looked to Remus who had just been disarmed and now looked as if a strong wind could blow him over.

Drawing the attention back to her, Bellatrix asked, "It is Rachel, right?"

Rachel stared back at her defiantly. She and Remus were outnumbered five to two and were both unarmed. It was bad enough that she was going to be killed, the last thing she wanted to do before she died was help Bellatrix Lestrange in her schadenfreude antics.

"Well then, right or wrong, I shall be calling you Rachel," she giggled at Rachel's lack of response. "You know Rosier, I was just telling _Rachel _before you got here that her skin is flawless. Don't you agree?"

Evan pulled off his mask, the better to see her, "As only a pureblood's could be," he smirked. _Yes, she definitely hated Evan now._

"How interesting… a pureblood member of the Order who was not a Gryffindor." At Rachel's quizzical look Bellatrix added, "A friend of mine mentioned you were in Ravenclaw- yet you have joined the Order. I daresay you were improperly sorted. A smart girl like you should know the life expectancy for Order members is exceptionally low these days."

"Is there a point to this mindless chatter?" Rachel asked irritably.

Bellatrix placed a hand to her chest as if mortally offended, "Indeed you should have been a Gryffindor, shouldn't you? As Rosier pointed out though, your blood is pure. What a waste. I think something better than a killing curse for you is in order."

"No!" Remus shouted, "Kill me instead!"

All of the death eaters laughed at that sentiment. Predictably, Bellatrix smirked, "You, Lupin do not have the luxury of being a pureblood- or even a pure human, in fact. I suggest you remain quiet. We will get to you in a moment."

At Rachel's look, Bellatrix laughed, "You say a lot through your expressions, Rachel, my dear. So much so that I wouldn't have guessed you were a pureblood had Rosier not said as much. I think your friend, Lupin, has a confession he should make to you, since you have clearly been left in the dark.

"Rosier… I believe my cousin Regulus showed you some spells from our family's grimoires. While I did not agree with his decision to do so, I think it shall prove exciting for our big reveal," she cackled. "The rest of you are to leave us," she instructed.

Rachel felt the anti-apparition wards being lifted and the three death eaters that she and Remus had previously battled left immediately.

"Now Rosier, I think you know which spell I was referring to," Bellatrix grinned manically.

"I do, though I'm not sure I remember how… I haven't actually cast it before-" Evan answered more uncertainly than Rachel had ever seen him before.

"I hope for your sake that you do remember," Bellatrix replied irritably. "Now Rachel, love, as a pureblood I feel obligated to ask you to reconsider whether the cause of the Order is truly worth dying for-"

"If you are going to kill me, stop with the dramatic offerings of second chances and do it," she answered venomously.

"Who said anything about _me_ killing you?" Bellatrix chuckled darkly. "This was about your friend Lupin and the lies he has been telling you. Rosier?"

Apparently Evan had already been working on the previously discussed spell, for at that moment, Lupin began screaming in agony. When Rachel glanced from Remus, back to Evan in confusion, she saw Evan and Bellatrix were both disapparating.

"Remus?" she asked uncertainly as she approached him cautiously. His head was lengthening and his back hunching. Overall he was taking on a far more wolfish appearance than his usual, but as it was the middle of the afternoon and she never knew of any similarities he shared with wolves in the past, the pieces of what that should have meant to her weren't coming together.

"Run," he growled at her just before fully transforming into what she recognized only from books to be a full grown werewolf.


	47. Own Your Own Crazy

Sirius and Regulus sprinted in the direction the scream had sounded from. The source of the scream became evident as they approached Rachel. It was immediately apparent to Sirius that Remus had somehow transformed into a werewolf as his familiar silhouette now stood before them. Without giving it a second thought, he transformed into his animagus form and doubled the speed of his sprint towards Rachel by nearly double.

Before he could get to them, Rachel, who seemed to have been shaky on her feet to begin with, had gotten tripped up and fell. Ironically, her fall might have ended up being the best thing she could have done as Sirius was then able to pounce over her. Sirius the dog crashed into the werewolf, painfully knocking him away from her.

Sirius didn't know where James had gone but hoped he would come back quickly. While the bites and scratches he received from the wolf were less devastating than if he were in his human form, he could still easily be killed, especially without backup from Prongs.

_How could Remus have transformed into a werewolf in the middle of the day and three days before a full moon?_ Regulus marveled as Sirius' dog form ran past him towards the struggling pair.

He could think of only one explanation. In that case, he knew the counter curse to the spell. As a werewolf turning at any time other than a full moon was widely unheard of, his knowing the counter curse to the spell would make it obvious to Rachel where the spell had originated from. If Evan was directly responsible for her predicament then Regulus was almost as responsible as Evan was. Would he rather Rachel be alive and hate him or oblivious but dead?

Without giving it a second thought, (and realizing the lack of death eaters likely meant the anti-apparition wards had been lifted) he apparated to her side.

Just as he arrived, the werewolf was throwing the dog form of Sirius away from him and was again going after Rachel. Regulus grabbed her arm from behind and made to disapparate them far enough away for him to perform the counter curse of what he expected to be the cause of Remus' current predicament.

Unfortunately, Regulus didn't give enough thought to his approach considering that Rachel had been battling death eaters prior to Lupin's transformation. When he grabbed for her arm, she jumped away from him violently, preparing to face her presumed new assailant.

Before Regulus could do anything else the werewolf, who now had a much better angle on Rachel, had swiped an oversized paw across her shoulder and back, leaving a trail of blood and torn flesh in its wake. Sirius tackled the wolf again pulling it away from her.

Unsure of Rachel's ability to grip a portkey in her current state and unwilling to leave her to fend for herself, Regulus resigned himself to leave Sirius alone with Lupin. The only things that made him feel slightly better about that situation was that at least Sirius did have practice in dealing with the werewolf in his animagus form.

Too late for Regulus' liking, his phoenix portkey finally carried them both to Hogwarts infirmary.

* * *

Evan returned to the Rosier ancestral home with a profound sense of unease. He had gained the approval, for now, of first Bellatrix and then Voldemort for his spell on Lupin. He had also likely lost the trust of the only person he had ever bothered with maintaining the trust of.

Regulus certainly hadn't given him access to the Black family's grimoires with the intent that Evan would use them to sic a werewolf onto Rachel. He had told Bellatrix of Rachel's blood status thinking she would be less inclined to kill her without further provocation. If not for Rachel's contempt, and her inability to hide her emotions, Bellatrix might have considered being more lenient if she thought Rachel could become a future ally of The Dark Lord.

Rachel's predicament was largely her own fault. She was the one who joined The Order to begin with. Regardless of his opinion though, Evan doubted Regulus would agree.

Further complicating things was that The Dark Lord, who had previously been of the belief that he had access to all of the best books magic had to offer already, was now 'requesting' each ancient family to allow him access to their family's libraries.

Evan wasn't concerned about losing 'family secrets' to The Dark Lord, as he knew Voldemort had already been through their library decades ago.

The Black's library though… what little Evan had seen of it was enough for him to know they were all better off without Voldemort getting his hands on it. Bellatrix seemed confident that she could talk Walburga into giving him access to her home.

As Sirius despised the place, it was unlikely he would return again anytime soon to adjust the protections. Evan hoped Regulus had both the house and his mother better protected than Bellatrix realized. If there was one place Walburga might draw the line in her support of The Dark Lord, it was sharing family secrets.

He entered his house and began walking up the stairs towards his bedroom when a familiar voice called to him from the sitting room,

"I have to say, ignoring me entirely is rude, even for you."

"Cassie, what are you doing here?" he asked irritably.

"And getting politer by the minute, I see."

"Not everyone lives to cater to your every whim, Castalia," he drawled.

"Don't call me that!" she answered angrily.

"Sorry, I thought you must prefer being called by your proper name, as much as I've heard it lately."

"I'll bet you did," Cassie answered sarcastically. "What's with the attitude anyway?"

Evan fought the urge to bang his head against a wall, and relaxed his face. If Cassie thought he was brooding more than usual, she wouldn't leave him alone until he told her all about it- or until he was really mean to her- whichever came first.

"I'm just really tired, since I was up for most of the night. I was actually on my way to take a nap, if you'd like to join me..."

"I'm well rested, but thanks," she answered dryly. "Is there somewhere we can go to talk in private? That is, if you aren't too tired?"

"Lead the way," he answered obligingly as he held the door open to go back outside.

Once back on the grounds of the Rosier estate, Evan remained silent so as to allow Cassie to direct the conversation, as she usually did anyway. After an uncharacteristically long silence, she remarked vaguely,

"Interesting things they've been writing in _The Prophet_ lately."

"Let's not waste time with subtlety, Cassie. What do you really want to talk about?"

"Don't be a jerk, Evan… but fine. To be blunt, Regulus told me you helped him fake his death-"

"Of course he did," Evan interrupted irritably.

"I wondered if you had been in contact with him since, or if-"

"I think Regulus has enough problems of his own without you throwing yours in his lap too," he interrupted callously.

"What does that mean? I have no intention of 'throwing my problems in his lap,'" she retorted.

"Yes, but the next time you see him and he asks how you are doing, the first thing out of your mouth will be regarding your distaste with your upcoming proposal to Macnair, will it not?"

"How is that any of your business, or even relevant?"

"It's relevant because as I said, Regulus has enough to worry about without adding your discontent with your pending marital status to his list of problems."

"I wasn't planning to bring it up, but I really can't see why it should matter-"

"It matters because he needs to focus on whatever it is he is doing and not be distracted by you and your problems."

Cassie scrunched her eyebrows slightly, "Do you know what it is that he is trying to do?" she asked carefully.

"I don't nor do I care. If he is going to die though I would prefer it be for something he believes to be worth dying for and not just because he felt obligated to help you escape Macnair," at Cassie's look he added, "We all have our own burdens to bear Cassie. Your future isn't his."

"Actually… I came here because I heard Grimmauld Place was attacked today. Since I am fairly certain Regulus' presence is what triggered the attack there, and I don't have an easy way to contact him, I was going to ask you if you knew whether he and his mother were okay. Don't worry about answering though, I'll figure it out for myself. I'd hate to 'throw any of my problems' at you," she said before disapparating immediately, leaving Evan to feel even more uneasy than before.

As he hadn't seen Regulus at Grimmauld Place, he had no way to know whether he was okay or not. He did hope Regulus might at least have been able to use the counter curse on Lupin, if nothing else. Evan had no idea how long his spell would even last otherwise.

* * *

Sirius didn't know how long it would take before Lupin would transform back or how long he could distract the wolf by himself. He had already failed in keeping Rachel from being attacked and could only assume that if James had not yet made an appearance, he was not coming.

Fortunately, he had come up with some semblance of a plan. Taking off at a sprint, he led the werewolf back towards his mother's house.

* * *

As Regulus arrived with Rachel at the infirmary, he gently laid her on her stomach on the first bed he came to and drew the curtains. Trying his best to detach himself from her pitiful whimpers, he gently pulled her robes away from her back, knowing that allowing the blood to dry between her skin and the material of her robes would have been detrimental to any healing he could initiate.

He again had to fight to keep himself detached when he saw the mess of a condition Lupin had left her in. Her usual smooth skin had been replaced by mutilated and bloodied flesh. Not seeing any sign that she had been bitten, he set to work casting spells to alleviate the pain and heal the wounds as well as doing what he could to prevent scarring.

A few moments later, they were joined by Madam Pomfrey,

"What's going on? Why didn't you call me over? What has happened?"

"Werewolf…"

"It couldn't have been, silly boy. It's the middle of the day-"

At Regulus' look, she stopped, "Well you should have called me sooner! She needs a mixture of essence of dittany and silver."

"Yes, that will help with infection. The rest will help with the pain and healing… and maybe scarring."

"Nothing can be done to prevent scarring from a werewolf…" Madam Pomfrey began to lecture before deciding to make better use of her time by going to the store cupboard to obtain the before mentioned ingredients.

Their voices had apparently caused a mostly lethargic Rachel to rouse slightly though.

"Regulus," she whispered.

Regulus stopped what he was doing and went closer to her.

"Hey you…you're going to be fine. You may have a little bit of scarring but I think you are receiving treatment quickly enough that most of it will be prevented."

"That's… great," she answered sarcastically.

"Are you in a lot of pain still?" Regulus asked concernedly as he looked the worst of her injuries over again.

She scoffed, "I'd be a lot better off if you'd leave, I think."

Regulus looked at her face in surprise. She was barely moving except for her breathing. Her eyes were closed and she could be asleep if not for her talking. Still, he was certain he had heard her correctly.

"I was trying to help…"

"Yes, but as all of this is your fault… well Evan's actually. But according to your _dear_ cousin Bellatrix, you are the one who showed him the spell to make Remus turn… so it might as well have been you who cast the spell. I'd like for you leave, Regulus," she answered tiredly.

When Rachel opened her eyes what seemed like only a moment later, she found herself alone with Madam Pomfrey who was applying a foul smelling concoction to her back. Regulus was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

'Padfoot' was certain if he were knocked down again by the werewolf, he wouldn't be able to get back up. Worse was that he could feel the werewolf gaining on him. As the car Mulciber was stuck in came back into sight, he regained a fit of energy. With a great effort, he leapt onto the roof of the car.

The werewolf, either by having lesser capacity for jumping, or simply being drawn to the smell of Mulciber's blood, instead jumped inside of the car. Sirius immediately jumped off of the roof and transformed into his human form. He anticipated that he would need to strengthen Regulus' binding spell on the car, but was happily surprised when the wolf seemed to be compressed inside just as easily as Mulciber had been.

After a moment of watching the werewolf tuck into his meal of Mulciber and feeling satisfied that he had properly vindicated his innocent neighbor's murder, the reality of the situation began to set in. The idea of feeding Mulciber to the werewolf had seemed so perfect when he had the emotions of a dog. Now that he was human again, it was a lot like déjà vu, only much worse this time.

As Mulciber let out what Sirius hoped to be his last agonized sound all he could think was,

"Holy shit."

"Yeah… I think that pretty well sums it up," Regulus answered as he approached him from behind, "Isn't this kind of like that time at Hogwarts when you set Snape up to be attacked by Lupin, except then… well there was Potter and all of his self-righteousness to intercede."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, you said that."

"Did you just watch this happen and not even bother to try to stop it?" Sirius demanded as he turned on him. "Why didn't _you_ intercede?"

"Now, now Sirius," Regulus answered patronizingly, "Let's not go pretending _this_ is my fault. What could I have done? I wasn't going to stand between you and a werewolf. Besides that, I'm far from righteous… I thought the plan was brilliant and I can't even use the excuse that I had the lessened emotions of a dog," he grinned slyly… much like he used to when he was the perfect Slytherin and Sirius hated him.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked hesitantly, "How's Rachel?"

Regulus' blank mask returned, "She's fine," he answered tightly.

"Really? Because it looked to me like she was maimed by a werewolf. She can't really be fine after that-"

"Now don't you think it would have been grossly irresponsible for the heir of the Black family not to read up on all of the curses and counter curses of their ancestors?" he asked pointedly. "I've ensured she will be fine."

"Wait, so you're telling me it was a curse from the Black grimoires that caused Lupin to change? I am going to kill that crazy bitch!"

"I'll need you to be a bit more specific," Regulus deadpanned.

"Bellatrix! She's a complete psychopath, not even you can deny that." When Regulus didn't answer right away, Sirius' tone turned into more of a plea, "You can't deny that, Reg. She is certifiably bat-shit crazy! Tell me you know that."

"Eh, at least she owns it-"

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you a house elf? You are not magically bound to defend every one of the Black bloodline-"

"Nor will I, but maybe we'd all be happier if we didn't worry with keeping up a facade all of the time... The death eaters aren't the only ones who do it," Regulus answered as he unexpectedly removed the glamours that gave him the appearance of Marcus, leaving an undisguised Regulus Black standing in the middle of Grimmauld Place.

As if he hadn't just done something so foolish, Regulus remarked matter-of-factly, "Lupin is going to remember all of this when he returns to his human form."

Sirius blanched, "Yeah… I know. So… what's with the new look?"

"Marcus is homely and has a boring disposition."

Sirius snorted, "Regulus looks only slightly better and has an even worse disposition than Marcus."

Regulus grinned almost crocodile-like in that Sirius thought he could see every one of his teeth at the same time, "I'm not sure you know me as well as you think, brother" he answered to Sirius' bewilderment.

Both to distract himself from the sounds of Lupin enjoying his dinner, and because he was genuinely interested, Sirius asked, "You talked with mother I presume. How is she?"

"As loving as always," Regulus answered brazenly, his eyes never leaving the scene unfolding inside the car between the werewolf and Mulciber.

"And why did you feel the need to talk to her in the first place?"

"Remind her of how much better of a son I am than you."

"In my defense, _anyone_ is a better mother than _her_."

As Regulus continued to fixedly watch Mulciber be devoured by Lupin, Sirius impulsively looked up at them as well and immediately found himself trying not to vomit. He had barely even looked at the scene, how could Regulus watch them so intently?

"So… your chat with _mummy_ went well then?" Sirius asked.

Regulus laughed, "Sure, if a misfired curse from behind, a better aimed slap to the face and a permanent disownment from the family can be considered going well."

"Sounds like a success to me," Sirius laughed until he noticed Regulus' smile had faded. "I suppose that is why you are acting like this?"

"Like what? This is how I always act-"

"It's not- anymore. It's how you acted when we were in school when you mockingly agreed with anyone who said your life was perfect, while only ever subtly implying that things were not as they seemed… You did at least stand up for yourself to mother, didn't you? I mean, you're not a little kid anymore-"

"You willingly left the family, Sirius. Why are you pretending to care so much now?"

"I don't care about that old hag, I just want-"

"Look, the werewolf is trying to get out of the car but he's stuck. He looks really mad," Regulus said, which was actually understating the obvious, for anyone could hear the werewolf's displeasure with his current confinement from a mile away.

Lupin the werewolf took that moment to pull a large wheel-like thing from its attachment at the front of the vehicle with its teeth.

"That's definitely an understatement… you do know how to turn him back, right?"

"Yes… but are you sure you want-?" Regulus began before seeing the death glare Sirius was giving him. "Fine, but just to let you know, I haven't ruled out the prospect of returning that piece of shite's body to his family after this is over," Regulus answered referring to Mulciber as he set to work returning Lupin to his usual form, "I hope your wolf was gentle."

"That's… incredibly disturbing," Sirius answered though slightly amused.

A few minutes later, Sirius nearly had a panic attack as Remus was still a werewolf and a dozen Order members had just portkeyed onto the other end of Grimmauld Place.

Sirius hunkered down so as to not draw attention to himself. He thought Regulus' presence to be less obvious since he was leaning over the car to better aim his spell. Sirius had to chew his bottom lip to keep from yelling at Regulus to hurry up, which would likely only slow progress.

He desperately wanted to talk to Remus alone before everyone in the Order found out about what happened. He was ashamed to admit he almost hoped Rachel was incapable of speech at the moment as she would surely tell everyone who had caused her injuries otherwise.

Finally, Remus returned to his usual form. Unfortunate was that Frank and Alice Longbottom were now headed in their direction.

"Quick, we have to get out of here!" Sirius whispered to the other two urgently.

"Go where exactly? I can't imagine I'll be welcomed back into the Order after this," Remus said dejectedly.

"We need to go to the infirmary to talk to Rachel before anyone else does… we also should probably try to clean up this mess…" Sirius said indicating Mulciber's bloodied remains inside the car.

"I'll handle the latter," Regulus answered firmly. "You two should go and get your story lined out- Not to mention, Sirius, you look like hell."

"Thanks…"

"I'm not going to ask Rachel to lie for me after this- Oh, Merlin, I haven't even asked! How is she? She'll never forgive me. She didn't even know of my condition-"

"Stop blubbering, her situation is not life threatening," Regulus interrupted as if unconcerned himself. "As far as you asking her to lie for you? I doubt you will have to. She will most likely do it of her own accord in order to protect you," he said in a matter-of-fact tone that he was only able to pull off due to the guilt from the incident being more of his own fault than Lupin's. That didn't lessen the level of loathing he had had for the man-wolf recently. "You need to go and get your story lined out though, otherwise whatever she says will lose its credibility when the two of you contradict her."

"What are you going to do with this mess then?" Sirius asked uncertainly.

"I do know cleaning spells, you know. As for the body though…"

"You're not seriously going to take it to the Mulciber's house, are you? That would be like an invitation to start a blood feud."

"Eh, I don't think it matters much in my case, and as I am to be disinherited, it shouldn't fall back on the house of Black either."

"What body?" Remus asked self-loathingly, "There's only tendons and ligaments."

"I'll take care of it, just get out of here, both of you," Regulus answered shooing them both away.

All thought of unceremoniously leaving Mulciber at his parents estate had left him as Sirius and Remus portkeyed away. Was it because Mulciber or his family deserved better? Of course not. Mulciber had been part of the group that had delivered an equally undignified death to Regulus' inferius/imposter. He was inhumane and cruel. He was also twenty years old and had been taught from birth that his blood purity made him entitled to anything he wanted in life, and that he should treat others accordingly.

Most importantly, he was dead. Being disrespectful of his remains would speak more of Regulus' character than Mulciber's at this point.

Unsure of what else to do with the meager leftovers of Mulciber's body, Regulus incinerated them. He then conjured an urn and summoned the ashes inside before sealing it with a permanent sticking charm.

Next, he cast a series of spells to repair the broken glass of the car's windows, and repaired the torn seats. He quickly removed the worst of the blood stains from the dark interior of the vehicle. Looking over his progress, he determined the condition of the vehicle was sufficient aside from the atrocious smell.

Unfortunate was that Frank and Alice Longbottom were closing the distance on him. Deciding he would rather allow the owners of the vehicle to air out the scent rather than try to explain his prolonged presence there, he closed the car door as quietly as he could manage and immediately disapparated with the urn to avoid leaving any evidence of his presence.


	48. The Ties That Bind

Sirius and Remus arrived in the Hogwarts' infirmary and were easily able to locate Rachel by the trail of blood that had yet to be cleaned away entirely. Unthinkingly, Sirius grabbed the curtain surrounding her bed and pulled it open as Remus hung back. Sirius was fairly certain he had experienced hearing loss as Madam Pomfrey practically shouted in his ear,

"How dare you enter here without first announcing yourself! This young woman could have been in any state of indecency, away from here," she shooed them.

"My apologies, Poppy," Sirius chuckled. "I'd hate for my innocent eyes to have seen an indecent woman-"

"Could you be serious for once?" Remus snapped in frustration, "Rachel has been injured. I'm sure the last thing she wants is for us to be bothering her in the first place."

Sirius had the decency to look slightly abashed and remained silent.

Before they had walked away though, Madam Pomfrey returned to them with pursed lips, "Rachel has requested to see _you_, Remus. Just Remus," she directed at Sirius before walking away from them as if very put out with Rachel's decision.

Sirius clamped a hand on Remus' shoulder, "Good luck…" he said encouragingly.

* * *

Evan felt he had barely even drifted to sleep before he was being shaken awake by his father.

"You need to get up, son," he said roughly.

As he had not been summoned by The Dark Lord, Evan's sleepy self so no reason not to retort,

"I don't. Go away," as he pulled a pillow over his face.

His father ripped away the pillow before casting an 'aguamenti' spell in his face.

Evan tightened his grip on his wand that he had been holding in his sleep and sat up in bed with a curse on his tongue. He refrained from further action though when he saw his father's expression.

"Get up, now. Whether you have been summoned or not, you are to go with me to the Mulciber's," he demanded before storming out of the room without further explanation.

* * *

Rachel laid on her stomach in relative comfort, albeit she was extremely groggy. Madam Pomfrey had kept up a steady stream of conversation with her, but she didn't hear most of it as she was having difficulty staying awake. She had heard the matron comment that 'healing magic against injuries sustained from werewolves was deplorable in this day and age', and that 'she knew she was in too much pain to actually be asleep'.

Rachel could only assume her current relief meant Regulus had done something to her that the matron hadn't known about. Of course, he did, she mused. Wasn't that part of why she always felt drawn back to him no matter how badly he screwed up? In the end, he always managed to find a way to make things better. How messed up his upbringing must have been for it to be so difficult for him to just do the right thing to begin with.

Had she been too harsh with him for his role in what happened? Clearly telling Evan how to make a werewolf turn was a poor decision, but it was Evan who had cast the spell and Bellatrix who instigated it. Regulus certainly hadn't shown him how to do it with the intent that Evan would use it against her. Regulus probably hadn't even known her at the time he had shown the spell to Evan considering that he had joined the death eaters prior to when they had ever met.

It wasn't as if she didn't already know Regulus wasn't perfect either. He had been raised by some of the worst pureblood supremacists, and taught that he was better than everyone else because of his blood status. He was ingrained with an aversion to disappointing his family- no matter how undeserving of his efforts they were. He had been groomed from birth to be the perfect death eater, yet still he had never belonged with them. She thought it likely only because of his family and their connections that had been allowed to join while he was still a child himself.

Despite the toxic environment he had grown up in, past all of his half-truths, and flawed morals, beyond all of the mistakes he had made, despite everything, she knew he had a good heart. He was just incredibly restrictive in who he allowed to see it.

She ignored all of the questions Madam Pomfrey asked her about what happened. She couldn't answer any of them before she had spoken to Remus. Surely he wouldn't want this to be how he came out to everyone about his 'condition'. Was he really even a werewolf? Or was this something Bellatrix and Evan had somehow arranged to get the Order to turn against him?

As she thought back to how much school he was reputed to have missed in his Hogwarts days, she thought it did seem like he may have had more going on than simply having a sick mother- especially when he had spoken of his mother being in fine health only a few days ago.

She hadn't ever noticed him in school enough to determine whether his missed days corresponded with the moon cycle. How could she have been so inobservant? In that case though, how could so many others not have noticed either?

As light flooded into her 'room,' she heard Madam Pomfrey angrily telling off whoever it was that had attempted to intrude. Hearing Remus' voice she asked Madam Pomfrey when she returned,

"I really do need to speak with Remus," at the matron's look she added, "It's important."

Madam Pomfrey let out a sigh but seemed to have understood her desire to talk to Remus, which only added to her suspicion that he truly was a werewolf rather than that spell being a fluke. After ensuring she was 'modestly covered,' Madam Pomfrey stepped out of her curtained space. A moment later and an uncertain Remus entered in her place.

* * *

Evan stood in guard of his position along the perimeter of the Mulciber estate along with his father and Lucius Malfoy. Who they were supposed to be waiting for, he didn't know. His father kept casting furtive glances at him when he thought Evan nor Malfoy would notice; Evan refrained from commenting to avoid drawing more attention to his father's obvious unease.

Whoever they were expecting to show up, his father wanted Evan to be present. So much so that he had been willing to bring him along even though he had not been summoned. The other death eaters that Evan had caught sight of were all higher ranking members than him so it didn't seem particularly strange that Evan had not been summoned with the others.

Considering that his father had been asked to take Pettigrew to Voldemort earlier that morning, and that Cassie suspected Regulus' presence at Grimmauld to be the cause of it being attacked, Evan could piece together several ideas of what had happened. None of them were good.

His father knowing how close he and Regulus had been could explain his wanting him to be present if it was Regulus who was to be killed- both to appear more innocent in his previous survival, and to look unconcerned with his 'friend's' imminent murder. Why Regulus would show up at the Mulciber's though, Evan was having more difficulty figuring that one out.

As daylight settled in around them, Evan relaxed slightly in the realization that it was unlikely Regulus would be attending his apparently scheduled imminent murder.

* * *

Sirius was pulled away from trying to eavesdrop on Remus and Rachel when Mr. Potter arrived with a fuming James in tow. In all of the excitement of Remus' transformation, Sirius had somehow forgotten about James. As Sirius made his way over to his friend, he hoped James' anger wasn't directed at him.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," Sirius greeted in passing.

"Glad to see you made it out in one piece," the Potter patriarch greeted before nodding at Sirius and leaving the two marauders alone.

Sirius took in James' flushed complexion and visible agitation, "You alright?" he asked uncertainly.

"Sure, fine… now. My father and the other Order members found me... I see you made it out without any trouble," he said with a poor effort not to sound bitter.

"I wouldn't say it was without trouble. Bellabitch somehow managed to force Remus into _turning_," he said the last part under his breath.

"What?" James yelped, drawing the attention of several Order members including his father. Realizing his mistake he lowered his voice to a whisper, "What do mean he turned? It's not even the full moon yet."

"I don't know how… or why. I actually doubt there even was a why since its Bellatrix, but Remus changed. He attacked Rachel-"

"What?" James yelped again.

Sirius rolled his eyes in exasperation of James' lack of discreetness, "He's talking to her now. 'Marcus' reckons her condition is not life-threatening-"

"So he did show up, did he?" James asked tersely. "All of this is his fault, you know. Rachel getting hurt. I can only imagine Remus' guilt for that… all of it would have been prevented if your brother would have just stayed away from Grimmauld-"

"Maybe, but he didn't exactly invite any of us to go with him. Rachel and I wanted to stop him from doing anything stupid. You and Remus chose to go with us-"

"How did Rachel even know who he was? That seems… odd. Doesn't it?"

"Apparently they _knew_ each other in school better than we thought- according to Rachel. Regulus is never forthcoming with anything."

"That could explain her joining the Order… the timing of it anyway." He grinned mischievously for a moment, "And her rejection of you," he sniggered before his expression cleared. "I would have thought she would have better taste though."

"She could choose worse," Sirius answered firmly, leaving no room for dispute. "What happened to you anyway?"

"One of Voldemort's dirty boot lickers thought it would be clever to make me splinch myself every time I tried to curse him. It was completely unfair considering the first time I aimed a curse at him, it resulted in me severing my wand arm!" misinterpreting Sirius' guilty expression, James added, "It wasn't your fault for leaving me. If I had known what he was doing from the beginning he wouldn't have had a chance."

Sirius nodded vaguely. The spell James was referring to sounded like one Regulus had used against him in one of their last 'conversations' before Sirius moved out. Whether the spell was of Regulus' own creation or from the Black grimoires, Sirius felt annoyed it had been used against James. Deciding not to make James hate Regulus any more than he already did though, Sirius refrained from voicing his recognition of the spell.

"You are in better shape than I would have expected, considering the spell choice of your attacker."

James sneered but couldn't prevent himself from flushing slightly, "Yeah well, once I didn't have any arms, he seemed more content to watch me squirm rather than inclined to cause any more damage. We heard a girl scream-probably Rachel from the sound of it. He seemed to have gotten bored with me at that point and knocked me unconscious. Considering I was unarmed it was completely unfair, though I don't suppose death eaters ever worry about fairness.

"My father said the spell was more easily reversed than if I had been splinched in a poor effort of apparition so I am perfectly fine now, at least. If I find out who that arrogant prat was though-"

"Yeah… I don't know, Prongs," Sirius answered as he eyed James' wand in his hand. "Maybe you should just be glad he was immature enough to enjoy watching you squirm instead of killing you, or even bothering to take your wand with him," Sirius said, unable to keep from smiling slightly.

"As if he could have!" James retorted indignantly as Sirius burst into a rather inappropriate fit of laughter.

After a few minutes of James stubbornly refusing to talk to Sirius and Sirius' equal stubbornness of refusing to apologize for laughing at his former predicament, they were joined by Remus.

"How's Rachel?" James asked.

"Mostly out of it," Remus answered glumly. "Said she didn't recognize who attacked her. By the description it sounded like it could have been Fenrir Greyback, but as I said, she is pretty out of it. At least she wasn't bitten though."

Sirius and James nodded in unison, asserting that they understood these vague details to be all they were going with for an explanation. Sirius thought the fewer details the better, so as to not contradict what anyone else might have seen. Considering that Rachel really had been attacked by a werewolf, Sirius didn't think anyone should be surprised that she hadn't been more 'observant'. When faced with a werewolf, most people would turn tail and run, without ever looking back.

Sirius had just gotten all of his miscellaneous injuries from the day patched up by Madam Pomfrey. James was trying to convince Remus that there wasn't anything more he could do for Rachel and that he should go back to his and Lily's house to sleep.

As expected, Remus and James were barely on speaking terms with Sirius after James was filled in on the details of Mulciber's death. Sirius knew he should feel remorseful about feeding Mulciber to Lupin but somehow he couldn't bring himself to feel that bad that Mulciber was gone.

Mulciber would have given his fate to any one of them and watched with amusement as they were gobbled up by a werewolf. Sirius was glad Mulciber was dead. While he hadn't enjoyed watching Mulciber suffer, his death meant there was one less death eater for them to contend with. Was Regulus the only person besides him that would look at Mulciber's death in that way?

His thoughts were interrupted when Narcissa came bustling through the infirmary doors with none other than Walburga Black in her clutches.

Sirius shirked back against the nearest set of curtains so as to be able to observe them without confrontation if at all possible. He wasn't afraid of his mother, but as she always put forth a valiant effort to humiliate him on the rare occasions they met in public, he did prefer to avoid her. As his closest friends were mad at him, he didn't feel like his mother making a spectacle of him would be as easily laughed off as usual.

"Mrs. Black," Mr. Potter greeted her as no one else seemed inclined to, "to what do we owe the pleasure?"

Walburga scoffed, "Pleasure? Certainly you do not think I would come_ here_ in search of anything that could be remotely pleasurable-"

"We need a private meeting with the headmaster," Narcissa interrupted urgently.

"He is in a meeting right now-"

"If he cannot be pulled away to meet with ladies of our status, then it would serve him well to realign his priorities," Walburga answered self-importantly as Narcissa looked around the room at everyone watching them.

"I'm afraid the headmaster has quite a lot of responsibilities he must balance. Perhaps if you would schedule a time to come back to meet with him-"

Dumbledore took that moment to walk into the infirmary. Sirius would have done anything to wipe the arrogant smirk off of his mother's face in that instance.

"Mrs. Black and Mrs. Malfoy, what a pleasant surprise," the headmaster greeted them affably, "Did I hear correctly that you were in want of a meeting with me?"

"Yes, and in private, please," Narcissa answered.

"Very well, Sirius, would you like to accompany us?" Dumbledore asked drawing his mother and cousin's disapproving gaze on him. If not for their disdain, he would have declined joining them.

Smiling mockingly at his mother Sirius answered genially, "I'd love to."

* * *

Deciding there had been too much apparition around Grimmauld Place for anyone to be particularly interested anymore, Regulus apparated to the cemetery he was supposedly buried in.

He stayed in the shadows of a large oak tree for a few moments to ensure he was alone.

As it was getting dark outside, and because Regulus really was tired of portraying someone he wasn't, he didn't bother with regaining his Marcus disguise.

Just when he was about to come out from his tree covering, he saw a tall, slender figure several 'aisles' away from him headed in his direction. Regulus stayed where he was as the figure stopped near his 'burial site' briefly before turning in his direction as if to leave. It did not seem as if the female was aware of his presence at first, which became evident when she startled as he stepped out in front of her.

"What are you doing lurking in the shadows?" Cassie screeched abrasively.

Regulus couldn't help but chuckle at her indignation, "Sorry, I didn't expect anyone to be here... why are you here, anyway?"

Cassie squinted to better see him in the dark, "I thought you were Sirius. I hadn't known you intended to regain your old appearance so soon. What happened to Marcus?"

Regulus shrugged, "Gone- for now."

"Do you think it wise to keep your natural appearance given the current environment?" she asked skeptically.

Regulus exhaled loudly, "I don't suppose I can if I want to remain in Britain."

"Do you want to stay in Britain?"

"I can't say there is a lot keeping me here at the moment."

Cassie looked as if she might contradict him for a moment but remained silent. Instead, she lit her wand tip. "What's that?" she asked as the light reflected on the urn containing Mulciber's remains.

"Due to a series of relatively unavoidable events… Mulciber was eaten by a werewolf. What is left of him is in here," he said holding up the urn.

It was a testament to her upbringing that Cassie appeared unfazed by his comment, "And you thought dropping his remains off at a cemetery would be a proper sendoff for one of his character?"

"I didn't really know what else to do with him…"

Cassie bit her bottom lip in obvious effort to keep from smiling, "Very well. Would you like to say a few words then?"

"I think 'saying goodbye' might be more of your forte," Regulus answered a bit too quickly. In truth, he hadn't planned to do anything for Mulciber beyond finding an empty place in the cemetery and dropping the urn there. He hadn't felt the need to come up with anything more respectful for him- he couldn't see why Cassie should either.

Regulus sat the urn on the ground and stepped back to stand next to Cassie. Instead of holding his hand as she had done with his father, Cassie crossed her arms across her chest and stared almost angrily at the urn. After several moments, she stated indifferently,

"Goodbye Mulciber. You will be missed… just not by us."

Regulus looked at her in surprise, "What?" Cassie asked innocently. "Surely the last words I ever speak to him shouldn't be a lie."

* * *

Sirius had followed behind his mother and cousin up to the headmaster's office. Once there, Dumbledore had taken his usual post at his desk while Walburga and Narcissa each took a chair opposite him, sitting upon them as if they were thrones.

Sirius opted to stand near the back of the office, convinced nothing of what was said would pertain to him.

It was his mother who initiated the conversation.

"I apologize for my niece foolishly wasting our time today with her irrational concerns."

"I am not wasting anyone's time," Narcissa interjected. "I have heard whispers and rumors which have given me… concerns that my aunt's life could be in danger. With the Black's reputation being as it is, I hoped you might have a suggestion for how to keep her safe, discreetly, of course-"

"I am perfectly safe as it is," Walburga remarked irritably. "Asking Dumbledore for help is disgraceful, Narcissa. I find your lack of pride to be appalling. If Lucius found out about this-"

"He mustn't! If anyone finds out we are here it will be the end of all of us."

"All the more reason you shouldn't have dragged me here!"

"I see," Dumbledore answered in a placating tone as he steepled his fingers in front of him. "Can you tell me what it is that you've learned that has led you to believe Mrs. Black is in danger, Mrs. Malfoy?"

"I… suppose so. As long as I can be assured that what I tell you will be kept in confidence."

"Of course. Whatever you tell me will not leave the four of us."

Narcissa cast a furtive glance in Sirius' direction before beginning resignedly, "I hate to take up more of anyone's time than necessary, so I will try to keep my explanation short. My husband is well connected, of course. It has been brought to his attention that The Dark Lord believes my cousin, Regulus, to still be alive. If that is the case, there is no other explanation for his disappearance other than that he found a way to defect from the death eaters. While it seems unlikely that he could have done so… I'm sure you see how The Dark Lord's belief that he did, puts my aunt in danger."

"It matters not what he believes my son has done when I have upheld our family's traditions," Walburga answered unconcernedly.

"On the contrary, Mrs. Black, if Voldemort believes young Regulus to be alive, there is every possibility that he will target you- as either a punishment, or as a trap for Regulus." Ignoring how both women flinched when he said 'Voldemort', Dumbledore remarked, "I'll take it neither of you have been in contact with Regulus?"

"Of course not," Narcissa answered before looking at Walburga who had remained silent.

"And you, Mrs. Black?" Dumbledore prodded.

"I do not make a habit of contacting the deceased, no," she answered much to Sirius' surprise. When it came down to it, would she actually lie in effort to protect her youngest son? Or was her lie only to protect herself?

"I see. And what is it that you would like to do for increased safety?" Dumbledore asked his mother.

"There is no place safer than the Black ancestral home. How Narcissa even managed to drag me here, I still cannot fathom."

"If Narcissa has access to your home, what about your other family members? Bellatrix, for instance?" Dumbledore asked apprehensively.

"I do not have access…anymore," Narcissa contradicted, "New protections have been added to her house- protections in which no one claims to have added... I cannot even see it. I had no choice but to owl my aunt to request that she meet me for tea. I brought her to Hogsmeade via portkey as apparition isn't recommended in my condition," she answered directly. Looking at Dumbledore uneasily for a moment, she seemed to throw caution to the wind remarking, "Also, to warn you, Aunt Walburga, I am told The Dark Lord is seeking to gain access to each ancient family's library-"

"Why are you bringing this up in mixed company?" she demanded. After a pause she added, "He cannot just expect us to turn over century's worth of our family's secrets. Perhaps you misheard, Narcissa."

"I did not. Bellatrix intends to ask you herself-"

"Absolutely not. That is my answer. Feel free to save Bella the trouble of asking and let her know. I would buy the Dark Lord his own library before I shared centuries old secrets with anyone who does not bear the name Black," Walburga answered aggressively.

Narcissa stood and began pacing the floor in agitation. When it became evident that Dumbledore nor her aunt would continue their conversation without her input, she remarked, "Had you been as protective of Regulus as you are of our family's secrets, perhaps this meeting wouldn't have been necessary."

"Meaning what, exactly?" Walburga demanded, "I raised him to fight for his beliefs-"

"He was a child when he joined the death eaters! He didn't know what he was getting himself into-"

"I was proud of him when he joined as any mother should be. I hope the same for your son, Narcissa. There would be no greater honor for Draco-"

Narcissa stopped her pacing and closed her eyes, "Do not wish that life on an unborn child-"

"So… I think we got off track," Sirius interrupted. "The plan is to allow _Walburga_ to remain where she is living until she is eventually killed due to her own stubbornness, correct? In that case, I think we can call this meeting a success and be adjourned."

"Is that really how you want to refer to your own mother, Sirius?" Dumbledore reprimanded.

"I am no son of hers, or so I've been told. Besides, she clearly does not want to be protected-"

"Mrs. Black, while you might be safe inside your home- unless you want to be confined and secluded, perhaps it would be in your best interest to leave for a time. I am of the belief that isolation can be detrimental to anyone's mental state."

"There is no place in Britain safer than the House of Black," she answered stubbornly, "nor is there any place I would rather be."

"Beyond that, if it is true that Voldemort hopes to acquire books from your family's library and you are unwilling to give them to him, I'm afraid that will not further endear you to him or others of his cause."

"Are you suggesting that I should just hand over centuries worth of research of my ancestor's to the highest bidder?"

"I am suggesting no such thing. What I am suggesting is that it might be in your best interest to visit someplace outside of Britain. Someplace you would not be required to live as a recluse to be safe… Perhaps it could be a time for you and your son to reconnect as you get settled."

"What?" Sirius demanded in outrage.

Walburga smirked at her most hated son's indignation, "In that case, I shall think about it."

* * *

"You seem to have made a habit of visiting cemeteries more than expressly necessary," Regulus remarked casually.

"Why not? They're peaceful most of the time and those who do visit rarely want to make idle chit chat with a stranger."

Before Regulus could respond, a phoenix patronus approached them. In Dumbledore's voice, Regulus' presence to the headmaster's office was requested.

When Regulus failed to move, Cassie looked at him expectantly, "Don't you have to leave?"

"I don't _have_ to do anything," he answered irritably.

"Dumbledore's Order not all you hoped it would be then?" she smirked slightly.

"You probably shouldn't hang about the cemetery at night alone- or anywhere else for that matter," Regulus answered, changing the subject.

"I'm not alone, I'm with you," she countered.

"Yes, but you usually aren't," he said meeting her gaze briefly before reaching in his pocket and pulling out his phoenix portkey. After some finagling, he managed to transfigure the phoenix into a nondescript, silver bracelet.

"What are you doing? Will that even work anymore?" she asked concernedly.

He reached for her hand and gently pushed the bracelet onto her wrist, "Yes, it'll still work. You'll just have to grasp it tightly while saying the activation word- '_escape_'."

"And won't you need this yourself? As only Dumbledore could make a portkey to take someone directly to Hogwarts, I'd imagine few have been granted such access."

"Yes, probably only the other Order members and now you by default. If I need to get there I can just walk from Hogsmeade like anyone else."

"Not if you are injured-"

Regulus chuckled darkly, "If there are any debilitating injuries in my future I'd be better off allowing nature to take its course. The ministry would send me to Azkaban and Voldemort wouldn't allow me to die until I sufficiently begged to be killed- as any proper traitor deserves."

"Do you think he's figured out that you are alive?" Cassie asked uneasily.

"Not even his profuse amount of arrogance could allow him to deny it after Sirius and 'Marcus' were seen together today. I think he already knew though, why else would he have set up a trap at Grimmauld? He couldn't have been expecting Sirius to show up. Everyone knows he hates that place."

"So, I take this to mean you are leaving the country?" she asked as she held up her wrist, indicating her bracelet.

Regulus remained silent for a moment. He looked around at the tombstones around them, and then at the stars. Everywhere except at Cassie's face, "You're better off by far, not knowing where I am or what I am doing, Cassie. For all intents and purposes, I will be gone, yes."

"There must be a reason The Dark Lord hasn't been more up front about your survival… when he suspected it at first, he tried to blame Sirius... Has it occurred to you that you aren't the only one whose reputation will change with your defection from the death eaters? The Dark Lord is believed to be all-powerful... How was an eighteen year old 'kid' able to defy him so easily?"

"It was far from easy-"

"Yes, but unless you intend to do a tell-all interview anytime soon, no one will know that. Think about it, if The Dark Lord would have announced his suspicions about you to the masses, 'Marcus' could have been much more easily captured. It is obvious he is hesitant to do that though, because he doesn't want to risk drawing attention to your true identity- or of your successful defection. Joining the death eaters is supposed to be a life time commitment or death. Seeing as you are perfectly healthy and no longer under his control, more death eaters might rethink their position once they see their 'all-powerful' leader is human after all."

Regulus cringed slightly at her word choice. Voldemort wasn't actually human- that was still their biggest problem, wasn't it?

"What are you suggesting exactly?"

"Just be open to the idea…"

"Of what?" Regulus asked impatiently.

"What if your survival could be a rallying point for those who oppose The Dark Lord?"

Regulus looked at her in bewilderment but remained silent as any of his initial thoughts would have hurt her feelings if spoken aloud.

"It is said to be impossible to defy him- yet here you are, proof that it can be done-"

"Cassie…" Regulus laughed, "No one is going to 'rally' behind someone perceived to be a spoiled brat who got cold feet about what he was being asked to do for The Dark Lord-"

"No, but what about a 'perfect pureblood prince' who was destined to have the best of _everything _because of his blood status and family connections? All he had to do was follow the plan his family laid out for him, yet he walked away from all of it when he realized the leader he was following was wrong.

"You had _nothing_ to gain by leaving the death eaters, yet did it anyway. And you're still alive. Could that not be enough to give hope to those who oppose The Dark Lord's beliefs but have been too afraid to stand against him and his followers before now?"

"I really doubt it," Regulus answered flatly.

"Maybe, but if it's only a matter of time before your survival becomes widely known, perhaps you should think about 'coming out' on your own terms, rather than granting The Dark Lord full control in how your image is portrayed. He will present you as a threat to society and in whatever other way that best suits _him_. It's worth thinking about," Cassie remarked as another patronus approached them.

The second patronus was from Sirius and somehow his request came across much more intense than Dumbledore's had. Regulus scoffed, "I guess I better go."

"I'll bet you wish you hadn't made your portkey look so feminine now," Cassie smiled cheekily as she took off the bracelet and handed it back to him.

Regulus smirked, "As I said, I can apparate to Hogsmeade and walk to Hogwarts. You keep that in case of an emergency. Disillusion it if its looks are not to your liking". He then hugged her tightly, before unexpectedly disapparating them both to just outside the perimeter of the Greengrass estate.

"Good night, Cassie," he sniggered at her obvious disconcertion of being side-along apparated without warning, before disapparating alone to the gates outside Hogwarts.


	49. The Ties That Suffocate

Regulus apparated to the gates of Hogwarts and quickly made his way towards the castle. The almost full moon illuminated the grounds more brightly than usual, and he knew he should regain his Marcus disguise to avoid being recognized.

He entered the castle and crept through the shadows until he reached the corridor containing the entry to Dumbledore's office. Just as he rounded the corner, he saw a shadow of someone waiting and melted back into the hallway he had come from. Fortunately, it was Sirius who called to him,

"It's just me. What took you so long?"

Regulus looked around the corner and saw Sirius was now standing in plain view of the torch light.

Ignoring his brother's impatience, he remarked, "I thought we were meeting in Dumbledore's office. Why are you down here?"

Sirius shook his head in a very doglike manner, "Stifling up there… listen, Reg… I don't know how to tell you this..." he trailed off.

"Did someone die?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Has it escaped your notice there is a war going on?"

Regulus rolled his eyes, "Just tell me then. It can't be that big of a deal."

Sirius took a breath, but before he could answer the gargoyle blocking the entrance to the headmaster's office shifted, revealing Walburga Black in the flesh.

She looked Regulus over with obvious distaste at his current appearance. Apparently he should have looked more presentable after encountering death eaters and a werewolf.

He forced himself not to straighten his robes on instinct. Instead he remained still and stared back at her as if indifferent.

"Well are you just going to stand there all night or do you think you have made me wait long enough by now?" she demanded before turning on her heel and going back up to Dumbledore's office.

Sirius blew out a huff of air in exasperation and looked at Regulus who was staring fixedly in the direction their mother had disappeared.

"We could just leave-" Sirius began.

"Why is she here?" Regulus asked.

"Narcissa brought her. Reckons Voldemort figured out that you are alive-"

"Is Narcissa still here?" he asked in alarm.

"No, she didn't want to know the details of… whatever happens. She doesn't know that you are alive, as she thinks it more likely that Voldemort is mistaken- or so she said. _Your_ mother lied and said she had not been in contact with you."

Regulus scoffed, "Only _my _mother now, is she?"

"Yes, as you are the only who will claim her and vice versa, it's fitting."

"That's not true actually. You are the head of the family so she has no choice but to claim you. She also wishes for me to be just as disinherited as you used to be- though with you being the head now, I suppose that decision rests with you," Regulus answered quietly before dutifully walking up the stairs after his mother. He didn't bother with his Marcus disguise as it seemed everyone in on the meeting already knew he was alive.

Sirius followed with much more resignation. He supposed he really did need to look more into what all being the head of the family entailed. Aside from dealing with whatever important business there was, being able to re-inherit Andromeda would be nice.

Reviewing Regulus' former marriage contracts held value as well. Depending on how they were worded, all it might take to initiate his brother's engagement could be the head of the family's signature- _his_ signature. If Regulus' survival was soon to be well known anyway, threatening to sign his contract with Parkinson could be fun.

* * *

Evan was secretly amused to watch the Dark Lord angrily pacing outside the Mulciber's home. He elected to stand discreetly behind Malfoy in case Voldemort needed an outlet for his frustration and began casting killing curses. With the gathered death eaters being some of his most trusted followers, Voldemort seemed to be a bit more careful with his impulsiveness, but Evan wasn't taking any chances.

The death eaters who had been called to the estate, gathered around the Dark Lord, anticipating they would hear why they had been called there or at least hear something of what had happened that day. The explanation did not come. Evan knew this was not the first time Voldemort's plans had gone awry, but this was the first time he had not bothered to reassure his followers of his authority somehow. In the past he had always presented another plan for the 'wrongdoers' to be reprimanded in some way.

He had seen the Dark Lord angry. He had a blind rage that was second to none. This was different. If Evan didn't know any better, he would think Voldemort was truly puzzled over something. The idea made him more curious than ever about why they had been called there.

Thinking of the Mulciber's, Evan realized the death eaters had been gathered outside their house, yet none of their family was present amongst them. Evan chanced a look in his father's direction who answered with an almost imperceptible shake of his head. _Really? Did his father actually think he would need a reminder to remain quiet at a time like this?_ He supposed it must be difficult for him, after missing the past year in prison, to remember that he, Evan, was not new to being a death eater.

Evan noticed some of the other death eaters were beginning to get restless. He too, hoped they would be addressed soon.

When they finally were dismissed, it was abrupt and without any explanation.

While the higher-ranking death eaters were all experts at hiding their emotions, Evan knew most of them to be too self-important not to feel put out by their careless dismissal. None of them dared speak about it openly, of course. After a casual nod 'goodbye' to those nearest him, Evan, along with everyone else, disapparated.

* * *

Sirius followed Regulus into the headmaster's office. If given another option, he would have never summoned his brother. Dumbledore nor his mother seemed inclined to adjourn their meeting though, until after speaking with Regulus.

Sirius thought he might have literally suffocated from the silent tension in the room had he remained there any longer. He had excused himself to the corridor on the pretense of summoning Regulus, though he couldn't deny part of him had hoped his brother wouldn't show up.

Sirius didn't care how old Regulus was, the last thing he wanted was for him to be anywhere near their mother's influence again.

"Ah, Regulus. I trust your brother has updated you on why your presence has been requested this evening?" Dumbledore asked him as he entered the office and took the chair nearest his mother. Sirius grumpily took the seat on the other side of Regulus and fought the childish desire to push it even further away from who he believed to be the true shame of his flesh: his mother.

"Briefly," Regulus answered vaguely as he looked at the headmaster expectantly.

Noticing all three Blacks were watching him, Dumbledore smiled slightly. Sirius couldn't deny he was impressed by Dumbledore's composure. While he was nowhere near as arrogant as his mother or Regulus, he knew most would be intimidated when cornered by a trio of Blacks.

"Very well. As I am sure you have heard then, your cousin, Narcissa Malfoy, accompanied your mother here on the pretense of finding her better protection. Mrs. Malfoy suggested, as I too believe, that Voldemort is no longer unaware of your survival.

"I believe the only way to ensure Mrs. Black is better protected than she is currently is to have her leave the country. Your mother has just told me that you suggested similar sentiments, Regulus, and even offered to accompany her."

"What?" Sirius demanded, knocking his chair to the floor as he jumped to his feet in outrage.

"Perhaps you should use some of the wealth you undeservingly inherited to get your ears checked," his mother answered haughtily. "Regulus has offered to accompany me out of the country. While I admit that I refused his offer at first, I see now that it holds merit. I won't, however, go without him."

Sirius looked at Regulus in disbelief. Regulus, however, was looking at their mother.

"What changed your mind?" he asked.

"Narcissa expressed some of the same concerns that you did. As did Professor Dumbledore. While I am safe in our ancestral home I would be, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner there as a precaution in case The Dark Lord ever sought to retaliate against me for my sons'…. blunders."

"You are a manipulative bitch," Sirius accused irately. "You cannot guilt him into going with you because you are too pathetic to be alone-"

"That's enough, Sirius," Dumbledore interrupted as his mother acted as if she were scandalized. He couldn't see why she would be. He hadn't said anything that he hadn't told her before.

"And you," Sirius said turning on the headmaster, "You even suggested Regulus go with her, after he has finally gotten himself away from her. Can you not see how conniving she is-?"

"I said that is enough, Sirius," Dumbledore said more sternly as Regulus, who was unfazed by Sirius' outburst, magically stood his chair back up for him. "There is no need for raised voices while you are speaking amongst adults."

Sirius slumped back into his chair, quietly seething. Neither Dumbledore nor his mother were exactly treating him as an adult, were they?

"I am curious to hear your opinion, Regulus?" Dumbledore inquired.

Regulus remained silent for a moment in which Sirius stared him down angrily. Regulus glanced at him and away again before answering,

"I did offer to help her leave the country. It was only a few hours ago, and she was completely against it." Turning to his mother, he remarked, "I don't understand what could have changed your mind so drastically. Did Narcissa say anything that I didn't?"

In a rather impressive display of acting, Walburga closed her eyes and for a moment appeared too affected to speak. When she did, Sirius thought he might vomit.

"I had only just learned that you were alive… I couldn't- it is not my safety that I am worried for, Regulus. I want _you_ to leave the country for _your_ safety. If it is with the pretense of keeping _me_ safe that will get you to do what is best for _you_, then so be it."

Regulus shook his head slightly as if he didn't understand her words. Sirius wasn't sure how he could interpret what she had said as anything aside from what it really was: manipulation. It was clear she was playing with him.

"I offered to help you leave. I never intended to stay away."

"What reason could you possibly have to remain here? There is nothing here for you but imprisonment if the ministry catches you, and I can't even bear to think what The Dark Lord would do-"

Sirius gagged exaggeratedly as his mother appeared to get choked up again and began searching her pocket for a tissue.

"How can you even listen to this, Reg? Do you honestly think she gives a damn about _you_? She wants you to leave the country so that everyone will continue to believe you are dead. She doesn't want anyone to know you betrayed The Dark Lord, because imagine what _that_ would do to her precious reputation!"

Regulus let out a soft, slow breath. Unsurprisingly, his mother wasn't giving up that easily. She grabbed Regulus' hand nearest to her and gently held it within both of hers,

"What your brother fails to understand, Regulus, is that our relationship is different. You've always known that. How can I be expected to love a son who resents me?"

"Well there is this thing called unconditional love. I'm told all of the good families have it," Sirius answered dryly.

Regulus wrenched his hand out of his mother's clutches and stood, "What is wrong with the two of you?" he demanded. "Why must you always be so determined to be at each other's throats?"

When neither of them answered right away, he demanded, "Do you not agree, Sirius, that she would be safest away from here?"

"It's not a matter of where I think she is safest, but a matter of whether I care if she is safe." Looking to his mother, he added, "Which I don't."

"In that case, perhaps it would be best if you leave us," Dumbledore pronounced, clearly unimpressed by his apathy towards their mother. "We have many details to discuss which cannot be done if you continue to have these outbursts."

"Who are you to dismiss me from this discussion?" Sirius demanded, again rising to his feet. "If there is anyone that should be excused, it's you. This is a family matter."

Dumbledore's response was lost on Sirius as he had to strain to hear Regulus who was now standing beside him, "What could it hurt?" he asked quietly. "To accompany her and help her get settled. I'm eighteen- it's not like I would be moving in with her permanently."

Sirius felt as if part of him had died inside. How long could Regulus withstand his mother's influence before deciding she, 'wasn't as bad' as Sirius made her out to be. How long before she turned Regulus against him? Again.

He unequivocally refused to allow the latter to happen. He was willing to endure a lot of things. Losing his brother to his mother's manipulation was not one of them.

"Fine," Sirius answered through gritted teeth. "But I'm going with you."

Regulus looked at him in surprise, "I think I misheard you-"

"You didn't," Sirius sneered. "I just love family holidays," he added in a voice oozing sarcasm.

* * *

As Evan was unsure of where he stood with The Dark Lord at the moment, he opted to stand in the back of the next death eater meeting, trying his best not to draw attention to himself. He had been commended by Voldemort for his spell that forced Lupin into a werewolf.

That was before said werewolf ate one of his fellow death eaters.

While Mulciber was no loss as a person, he was well suited for the life of a death eater. He was ruthless and prided himself on it. If he lived with any remorse, Evan doubted it.

It had been two days since the 'stakeout' at the Mulciber's. No more had been said by Voldemort about why they had been called there or who had been expected to turn up. It was rumored amongst the death eaters that they had been waiting for Lupin. Evan had obviously refrained from contributing any of his speculations on the matter.

The majority of what was said in the meeting was boring- details of the number of muggles who had been killed in the previous night's attack, and the like. The loss of life amongst muggles meant nothing to Evan.

He was surprised anyone had been bothered enough to count their blood loss at all. Or at least he would have been surprised, had he not already known such miniscule things were considered a success amongst the other death eaters. Evan didn't really consider it an accomplishment to kill muggles when they were as defenseless as animals against a wizard.

Evan's interest grew as The Dark Lord began discussing their successful infiltration of The Order.

Evan looked around at the other death eaters until he found Snape. Despite everyone's mask, his reticent stance easily gave him away in current company. Nearly everyone else stood with pride bordering on arrogance either because they had been taught to do so from birth because of their pureblood status, or because they were trying to portray themselves as such.

Snape seemed to have felt his eyes on him for he looked in his direction a moment later. Evan nodded slightly so as to indicate he wanted a word with him following the meeting.

Voldemort mentioned their spy had been told the specifics for the next Order meeting. Obviously it would be too soon to set up an ambush at the meeting as it would likely ruin their new spy's position. They were instead going to be setting up several attacking points nearby in case any stray Order members happened by on their way to or from the meeting.

Not wanting to endure the indignity of being punished by the Dark Lord with Snape eavesdropping again, Evan was one of the first to leave the meeting once they had been dismissed.

He walked just outside of the Wilke's home and stood in wait. As expected, Snape was one of the last to leave, likely hoping Evan would have given up on waiting for him by then.

"Snape," he greeted from the shadows on the porch.

"What do you want, Rosier?" he asked as he removed his mask, but continued walking away from the house.

"How did you convince Dumbledore to trust you?" Evan asked, as he fell into stride with him.

"Why is that any of your business?" Snape asked sulkily. "He trusts me. That's all that matters."

"Yeah, that's all that matters," he agreed. "Was it Sirius?"

Snape rolled his eyes in exasperation, "You're insufferable."

Evan continued walking alongside him in silence for a moment. He was trying to be more agreeable so as to avoid wasting time with an argument. Why that would make him insufferable, he didn't know- aside from Snape generally hating everyone. Then it clicked,

"Black," he added.

"Very good, Rosier. It is quite dark out here."

Evan scoffed, "Did you meet with Sirius Black, or was it someone else?"

"Someone else."

"Well don't tell me everything, Snape. I'd hate for you reveal too much," he answered dryly.

"Why are you talking to me like this? It's not like we're friends. We don't even like each other."

"You're right, I don't like you," he answered honestly. "Though I'll admit I thought a different approach would be more conducive for getting information. It seems force is more productive with you though. Tell me, Snape, do you secretly enjoy pain?"

"Whatever you and Black did in your spare time, I'm not his replacement," Snape deadpanned.

After a rather awkward pause, Evan asked, "Was that an attempt at a joke?"

"Take it as you will," Snape answered dryly though his lips twitched slightly.

They walked the rest of the way to the designated apparition point in silence. Just as they reached it, Snape remarked, "I met with Dumbledore and that Marcus Atilius twit. The latter was not convinced of my change in loyalty. Dumbledore sent him away though. I have his trust. No one else of the Order matters."

Evan nodded vaguely, Regulus not believing Snape was unsurprising. Before he could make any further attempt to get details from Snape, the latter had disapparated without another word.


	50. To Parts Unknown

Rachel was incredibly bored. It had been three days since her attack by the werewolf. She refused to call the werewolf Remus.

He had told her the truth about his condition. She suspected he revealed more about himself in doing so than he had intended out of nervousness. It was like once he started talking everything just started spilling out. She doubted he realized that the effects of Regulus' spell work had left her more lucid than she had been able to portray.

He had been bitten when he was a young child. He had no control of what he did once he turned but he could recall everything once he returned to his human form. He had never attacked another human before her but there had been several near misses.

The idea of him having to endure any of it was sickening. She couldn't imagine what it must be like now- and didn't even want to think about how it must have been when he was too young to even attend Hogwarts.

As it was a full moon, she assumed Remus was trying to recover from the previous night's escapades. She had sent Regulus away days ago. None of her friends from school were in the Order to have even heard she had been injured.

She had had several people to visit her, Order members briefly and her fellow healing apprentices slightly longer.

No one else was likely to visit as no one else knew she had been injured.

She had moved out of her mother's house in favor of sharing a flat with Vesta.

Aside from discussing her apprenticeship, recent conversations with her mother had consisted of her only hastily glazing over the details of her life. Her mother worried enough without knowing Rachel had joined The Order.

Most of her friends from school were amidst their own apprenticeships, leaving them all too busy to have much contact with each other. She hadn't given much thought to having inadvertently secluded herself since leaving Hogwarts until now.

As she rested alone in the hospital wing, only to be visited by those who likely only did so out of obligation, she found herself wistfully pondering her glory days (which was an exaggeration as she was really only thinking back to when she and her friends had time for each other).

She realized she was almost nineteen now and had scarcely ever been able to enjoy being eighteen. School work, and then her apprenticeship and now The Order on top of it, had all weighed heavily on her time- so much so that she rarely even saw Vesta who was her flat-mate.

She was determined to make more time to have fun. If her friends from school were too busy doing their own thing, perhaps it was time she make some new ones.

As if on cue, she had a visitor.

* * *

Regulus was sprawled out in the sand, trying to allow the sound of the ocean to lull him to sleep. It was a feat that should have been easy, yet made impossible by the sound of his mother and brother's incessant bickering.

His mother was unhappy with him at the moment as well as he had elected not to lay under the canopy that she had conjured. Apparently for him to have tanned skin was unnatural and therefore improper for one of his standing.

As Regulus was a bit more realistic of what his true social standing was these days, he had chosen to ignore her- a feat Sirius remained unable to conquer.

Regulus had lost track of what they were even arguing about this time. He was content to enjoy the relative peace of being ignored while the sun permeated his skin. He had a theory that if he fell asleep in the sun like this, it would be too hot for him to drown in the freezing water of the cave in his dreams.

While his true goal in mind was to feel properly rested for the first time in months, he wasn't opposed to allowing his skin to become darker either.

As the trio of Blacks were currently living in southern India, it couldn't make them stand out any worse than they already did. The first time they had gone into the city, they might as well have been flashing neon for as inconspicuous as they had looked.

Regulus had insisted they purchase clothing that was more conducive to what everyone else was wearing to at least make some effort towards fitting in. He had also purchased books to learn to speak Hindi, among several other languages, to reduce the occurrence of embarrassing language barriers- as any sensible expat would do.

Naturally, he was the only one who had bothered looking at any of them yet. Since they had encountered several people who happened to speak English, his mother nor Sirius had believed learning the language to be a priority.

To be fair, Sirius didn't plan to stay there for very long. If he were honest, miscommunication between his mother and the country's citizens might not be such a bad thing either.

They _had_ first attempted to relocate to a city in the US that was regarded to be the most similar to London. Their first venture out had resulted in his mother offending nearly every person they had been in contact with- for not speaking proper English, or not selling the right kind of tea, among other ridiculous things.

Sirius had been content to allow their mother to receive her comeuppance after one particularly bad incident. Unfortunately, Regulus had been able to smooth it over with some sweet talking and a mild compulsion charm. After a heated discussion in which Regulus threatened to leave their mother to fend for herself, she had agreed to make more of an effort to be discreet about her discontentment with their 'change of scenery'.

The stint of hope was lost less than a day later though when a group of muggle tourists had come to take pictures of the intersection signs near where they happened to be standing. Their raucous laughter and crass jokes had led Sirius to point out that they were standing where Seaman Avenue met Cumming Street- which naturally led to him joining in with the muggles' banter and throwing in his own immature puns.

His mother had then unequivocally and loudly expressed they were much too noble to live among such an uncouth and poorly thought out society. As if London wasn't bound to have its own assortment of poorly named streets.

They had once again assembled to discuss where they would move from there, which again led to his mother and Sirius fighting as Sirius could not believe they were leaving for such a stupid reason.

His mother and brother's argument had led to them both stubbornly refusing to give any suggestions for where they should try next. While Regulus was somewhat against wasting time on another English speaking country where his mother would undoubtedly be reading every street name to assure she wasn't supposedly offended, he thought they could blend in most easily in such a place.

He had suggested Australia, but his mother rejected it due to everyone who was anyone in wizarding society knew they had ties there. They had visited Australia once. Nearly a decade ago.

France, along with much of Europe had been ruled out due to the close proximity to Britain.

He had briefly considered Canada but quickly ruled it out too after considering how cold it would be in January- which led him to ruling out a slew of other places that would be just as cold this time of year.

Since distance was a huge factor for safety and a warm climate simply for his own preferences, Regulus had eventually suggested India whose southern tip was more than a satisfying 5,000 miles/8,000 kilometers from London.

As the people of India were generally regarded to be more modest, Regulus thought his mother might have less reason to be as outspoken, less they would be leaving quickly.

While Regulus hadn't known an exceeding amount of information about India beforehand he hoped, if nothing else, his mother might appreciate the natural beauty of the country.

Regulus suspected his mother had been excessively difficult on their trip only so that he would feel disinclined to leave her. As annoying as it was, for the moment, he was laying in the sand on a beach instead of fighting a war.

Just as he was on the cusp of sleep, he felt a cold liquid douse his shoulders and lower back. Jumping up in surprise, he turned and found his mother with a bottle of only Merlin knew what,

"What are you doing?" he demanded, "What is that?"

"Since you seem to have developed a fondness for muggles, I thought you might like to try out one of their inventions. They call it sunscreen."

"There's plenty room in between being a death eater and a lover of muggles for me to be neither," he answered irritably as he grabbed a nearby towel to wipe the sliminess off of his back.

"Yes, but only muggles would put forth effort to change the color of their natural skin. You'll look like a common laborer if you get any darker," she answered distastefully.

"That's rather the point, mother. We do not _want _to stand out as wizards any more than we should be known as Blacks," he said as he shook the sand from his t-shirt and put it back on.

"Where did Sirius go?" he asked as he sat back down on his towel.

His mother gave him a pointed look before casting a disgusted glance towards the water. Regulus followed her gaze to find Sirius, who looked to be offering to put some of that sunscreen stuff on a girl who was almost certainly a muggle. They had not yet knowingly encountered anyone who was magical.

As if feeling his eyes on him, Sirius looked up at him and laughingly waved him over, much to his exasperation and to his mother's obvious irritation.

Regulus waved him off before taking the empty chair beside his mother, under the stupid canopy.

"I wondered if you might have looked more into what I said before. About Tom Riddle."

His mother made a show of taking another drink from her overly pretty and girly mixed drink before adjusting her long dark hair to ensure it fell just as she liked it. Despite knowing no one, she refused to allow anyone to see her looking anything less than her best.

"I did not," she answered eventually.

Regulus released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding,

"Would it make a difference to you if The Dark Lord's father was a muggle?"

Regulus could have sworn his mother looked distinctly guilty before her expression cleared and she answered, "It matters not what I know, or what you know. If he is in fact a half-blood, few others are aware of it and even fewer would believe it if anyone saw fit to enlighten them."

Regulus stared at her for a moment, trying to find a hidden message in what she was not telling him.

Before he could ask anything else, she had changed the subject,

"I don't know why you bothered with buying those books," she said indicating the book on Hindi language he had innocuously left beside her.

"Because if you are going to live here you need to embrace the culture."

She scoffed, "I will not embrace the culture of muggles!" she snapped, clearly affronted.

"I'm sure they have a wizarding community here as they do everywhere else. India wasn't exactly on my radar when we left Britain, less I would have read up on it beforehand. I ordered a book from a French bookstore in Sirius' name. We can lookup India's equivalent of Godric's Hollow when it comes in, if you'd like."

A sopping wet Sirius took that moment to grace them with his presence, "Are you talking about moving again?" he asked as he shook his hair out exaggeratedly, flinging water on their mother as he did so.

"It is a possibility we will move again, yes," she answered as she wiped away the water with obvious disgust.

Pointedly ignoring the fact that their mother was among them, Sirius remarked, "Well if we move again, I suggest Amsterdam. Your German is passable, it's far enough from Britain to be safe, and it's arguably the sex capital of the world. What's not to love?"

Ignoring Sirius' likely intentional miscalculation of distance designed to infuriate their mother, Regulus couldn't help but ask, "Aside from _Dutch_ being the official language there?"

"Eh, close enough."

"Are you a mindless baboon?" Walburga interjected, "Have you no more pride than to be openly willing to buy your next shag?"

Regulus cringed as Sirius answered with a smirk,

"Better to leave a willing girl with some gold than an unwilling one with a killing curse."

Regulus fought the desire to drown himself in the ocean, or cast a deafening spell on himself at the least.

"I suppose Regulus' penchant for nobility would make it difficult for him to appreciate the fine art of prostitution."

"Leave me out of this," Regulus snapped.

"If you had your brother's self-control-"

"I said he wouldn't approve of prostitution. I can't imagine he has anything against promiscuity in general," Sirius interrupted, effectively ending whatever his mother was about to say.

"You can't actually believe that he is still a virgin," Sirius added smugly, "He is my brother, after all."

Regulus stared out over the ocean, as if by appearing oblivious to Sirius' comments he could somehow look more innocent. If nothing else, he hoped to allow for a quick subject change. He certainly had no desire to choose a side in their current argument.

He also had his wand stashed away, and slightly out of reach for the sake of blending in with the muggles.

"How could I have been cursed with such a blundering disgrace for a son?" Walburga wondered aloud.

"What's the name of that girl you used to shag all of the time while we were at school, Reg? Jasmine, something or other?"

Regulus looked at him in bewilderment. He couldn't think of a single Jasmine that he had ever even met before.

"Jasmine, who?" his mother demanded.

"He's only making things up to make you angry," Regulus answered, while casting a filthy look at the idiot known as his brother.

Walburga wasn't to be redirected though, "_What_ is her surname?" she demanded.

"I don't even know what he's talking about. He's lying-"

"What is her blood status?"

"Oh, she was pure, mother. Don't worry," Sirius sniggered.

Regulus felt himself flush under the icy glare of his mother. Preferring not to prolong the conversation and his subsequent humiliation, he gritted his teeth and willed himself to remain silent.

"I expected better of you," she eventually said with obvious disgust. "Of course, considering the _exquisite_ example your brother set-"

"Don't go blaming Regulus' unquenchable desires on me-"

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Regulus demanded of Sirius as their mother stood.

"I've heard all I can stomach," she exclaimed indignantly, as she made her way back towards the place they were staying. As far as Regulus could tell, she kept up an impressive slur of insults the whole way.

"Well? Are you at least going to tell me what that was about?" Regulus demanded when Sirius did nothing but grin stupidly at their mother's retreating back.

"Someone had to cut the apron strings since neither of you seemed inclined to do it yourselves," Sirius answered unconcernedly before plopping down in the chaise their mother had vacated and turning to face him.

"She is never going to let her little Reggiekins go back to Britain if you continue to base every decision you make on what will make _her_ happy- you leaving will _not_ make her happy. And in case you haven't noticed, our dear, sweet mummy is only truly happy when she is making _me _miserable.

"You're wasting your efforts trying to appease her when you could be doing something more productive… or at least something more pleasurable," he said indicating the girl he had been 'helping' earlier. "It would serve you better to remind her that you have grown up so that she has less of an argument when it comes time for us to leave."

"And _that_ was the best you could come up with to show I've grown up?" Regulus asked, clearly perturbed.

"I was improvising," Sirius answered defensively. "It did accomplish what I hoped though. I don't think mummy will ever be able to see you as her little boy again," He laughed as Regulus rubbed his hands over his face miserably. He did not look forward to the awkwardness for when he next faced his mother.

* * *

"I'm so glad you're here!" Lily said, not for the first time since Rachel had arrived for breakfast that morning.

Earlier in the week Lily had visited her in the hospital and invited her to the apparently customary session of Saturday pancakes at the Potters.

"Yeah, me too. It was nice of you to invite me," she answered. She glanced at Remus who had been decidedly looking away from her since she had arrived, before looking back to Lily. "So you mentioned I am filling an empty spot. Who usually attends this?" she asked conversationally.

"Sirius, of course," James answered. "Peter use to… we've removed him from the guest list for obvious reasons."

"Good thinking," she answered awkwardly. "Is Sirius going to be here then?" she asked in effort to cover the slight tension that had built with Peter's mention.

"No, he is out of the country. Family emergency," James answered carefully, obviously curious of her reaction.

"Oh, I hope everything is okay," she answered neutrally, though it was most certainly an understatement. _What kind of family emergency did they have and why had no one mentioned it before now?_

As if reading her thoughts, Remus answered,

"He is helping to relocate his mother for her protection. It seems there was reason to believe she would be targeted by Voldemort otherwise."

"Sirius was concerned about that?" she asked before she could stop herself. She was personally more of the opinion that he and Regulus would both be better off with their mother as far away from them as possible. She was quite glad to know that Regulus had not gone alone.

Why did she even need help? She was a witch, wasn't she? As _old as her blood was,_ Rachel hoped she was capable of apparition and warding. Her incompetence would certainly discredit her beliefs on pureblood supremacy otherwise.

"No, but Regulus was," James answered. "Sirius was concerned about him going alone with their psychotic mother and volunteered to supervise them, or something stupid like that."

"Can't blame him for that," she muttered.

James gave a Cheshire grin, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Lily,

"So Rachel, do you have plans for today?" she asked loudly enough to drown out James' remark.

"Nothing big," she answered simply. According to Madam Pomfrey, she was still too 'delicate' to be exerting herself. "I thought I might go into Diagon Alley for a bit."

She wanted to buy some books to help occupy some of her time until Madam Pomfrey released her from said delicate status. If she were honest though, she was still quite sore.

"We can all go," Lily said brightly.

"Oh, no, I don't want to put anyone out," Rachel objected.

James laughed, "Lily could never be put-out by a shopping trip."

"It's also unsafe for anyone to be out alone these days," Remus chimed in, much to her surprise.

* * *

Rachel searched 'Flourish and Blotts' for books that looked to be the most promising for some light reading. Overall, she felt it had been a good day so far, though not nearly as good as it would have been if her back wasn't aching. If not for having already enlisted the others to accompany her, she would have postponed her trip to Diagon in favor of taking a nap and another dose of pain potion.

She had spent the morning at the Potter's house along with Remus. Lily had shown her baby Harry's future bedroom, which was mostly done already despite his arrival still being months away.

James had been nothing but nice to her which had surprised her a little. Regulus had never been fond of him and it seemed she may have unfairly judged him in the past because of it. She supposed there would likely always be some tension between the two of them because of Sirius.

Lily was wonderful and Remus… well she supposed if he didn't make an effort to talk to her soon she would have to take matters into her own hands. As she had already told him every time it had been brought up so far, there was nothing he could have done to prevent what happened. Considering his obvious guilt though, she thought it might prove beneficial to talk to him again about it in more detail as she hadn't given him much feedback while she was in the infirmary.

Deciding she had picked out enough books, she began making her way towards the check out. As she rounded the aisle she had been searching in, she found herself face to face with a visibly surprised Cassie Greengrass.

"Rachel," she greeted, "I'm glad to see you are doing well."

"Yes, do be sure to tell Rosier. I know his guilt must be keeping him up at night," she answered derisively.

Cassie glanced around them to ensure no one was in ear shot before answering quietly, "What else could he have done? You can't have expected him to ruin his position for _your_ sake, no offense."

Just as Rachel had expected, it seemed Cassie had already heard about her being attacked.

"I'm not really interested in hearing anyone's defense of him. What he did was wrong."

"If that's your opinion, you're entitled to it," Cassie answered in an infuriatingly superior tone.

"It's not just my opinion, but the opinion of any sane person!"

Cassie raised an irritatingly perfect eyebrow, "Perhaps in your world everything is as simple as right or wrong, but for others, it often comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils."

"Why do you insist on acting as if we live in different worlds? And in what world could what he did ever be considered 'a lesser evil.' It was devious and cruel," Rachel answered angrily.

"Where would Evan be now if he had chosen differently?"

"Probably the same place I would be if I had had another few seconds alone with a werewolf," she snapped a bit too loudly.

"Which transitions well with my next sentiment, I suppose. Given your current… affiliations, and mine- we shouldn't appear too friendly," Cassie remarked coolly before walking past her.

"Cassie!" a girl's voice called from just behind Rachel. She looked over her shoulder to find the raven-haired, Farrah Fawley, heading towards them. "There you are. Are you ready to go?" she asked as she approached them.

Noticing Rachel, she smirked, "I see the rumors were untrue."

"Unsurprising when you consider how easily rumors spread," Cassie answered pointedly as she made her way towards her friend.

Predictably, Remus and James took that moment to check in on her.

"Or perhaps they weren't rumors seeing as you're here with the wolf now," Farrah smirked as Cassie half-heartedly attempted to pull her away.

James scoffed, "As much as we would love to spend our day trading insults with snakes, we unlike you, have obligations. I suppose it might be nice to have unlimited time for recreation though, if not for your lives being so pointless otherwise."

"Oh, but you could have more time for 'recreation' too, Potter, if not for your insistence of playing hero. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to defend people who are too cowardly to stand up for themselves. It makes me wonder if perhaps they realize their blood status is inferior to ours after all."

James sneered, "Just be thankful you're a girl, less I would curse that smirk right off of your face."

Cassie's expression had turned sour, but whether it was due to Farrah's remarks or James' it was impossible to tell. She whispered something to Farrah before pulling her away from them with more force.

"Be careful with your wolf, Candor. Getting yourself bitten won't improve your looks any," Farrah called over her shoulder.

Remus inhaled sharply but quickly looked away when Rachel looked at him.

"Just ignore them," She told him gently.

"Ugh, I hate snakes," James answered once they were out of sight.

* * *

"Surely you can do better than that," Sirius laughed after knocking Regulus onto his back once again.

Rather than bother with trying to stand, Regulus continued to lay sprawled on the ground with his eyes closed. He was panting slightly and it was taking every bit of restraint Sirius had not to further taunt him for his lack of (muggle) fighting skills.

It had been almost two weeks since they had left Britain. Sirius had finally managed to convince Regulus to let him teach him to fight. As much as he enjoyed humiliating Regulus in general, Sirius did actually believe it to be for his own good.

"I think we're good for today," Regulus answered after he had caught his breath.

Sirius clenched his teeth to keep from saying anything that would cause him to get mad enough to discontinue their training altogether.

Since arriving in India, they had begun each morning with a jog. Sirius had been hoping they could add training in muggle fighting to their daily ritual, at least until Regulus could better hold his own.

It was not only because of Regulus' original aversion to muggle fighting that Sirius had not pushed him to learn sooner. Before they had begun their morning jogs, Regulus had been slight and ate very little.

After only a couple of days of running, Sirius could already tell a difference in Regulus' size which was by then bordering on frail, at least in his opinion. Since then he had begrudgingly enlisted Kreacher, who had come along with them, to ensure Regulus was getting nothing to eat that wasn't laced with extra protein and fattening ingredients.

Even their mother had somehow jumped onto the fatten-Regulus-up bandwagon, though Sirius had certainly never invited her to join. As she was now the one who more often insisted that Regulus eat more, his intakes had improved dramatically from when it had been Sirius. Why Regulus still felt the need to please their mother, Sirius couldn't fathom. At least for once her nagging was not to his detriment.

His brother looked healthier now than he had when they left Britain. At least he did before Sirius attempted to teach him to fight, which led to said little brother laying in an exhausted heap on the ground.

Sirius smirked, "Okay, but if you insist on laying there, I am going to have to get mother's canopy-"

"Shut it," Regulus answered feebly.

"I can't bear to watch my Reggiekins get sunburned, or worse, tanned."

Regulus answered with a rather impressive slur of cursing.

"Now, now, Reggiekins-"

"Why do you keep calling me Reggiekins? Who talks like that?"

"Such language is unfitting for one of your perceived position in our society... You know, because you're believed to be dead-"

"Yeah, I get it. You're incredibly witty," Regulus answered dryly.

"So if you are talking, it should be _really_ unfitting..." Sirius laughed, "because you are supposed to be dead."

In a burst of energy, Regulus kicked Sirius' legs out from under him, causing him to fall flat on his back.

"I'll remember that for our next session," Sirius retorted breathlessly as he rubbed the back of his head and winced.

They laid in the grass in a companionable silence for some time, Sirius was secretly worn out from their training as well, not that he was going to admit it.

The quiet was interrupted by the appearance of several owls. The first two carried the book Regulus had ordered on Indian wizarding customs bundled between them. Sirius removed it from its packaging and hastily tossed it at Regulus before relieving the other owl of his letter.

Sirius read his letter, which turned out to be from James, while Regulus eagerly began searching the book for a section about the wizarding communities of India.

There was nothing particularly interesting in his letter, aside from the fact that James sending him a letter to begin with likely meant he was getting over his anger towards him over the whole werewolf eating Mulciber fiasco.

The postscript at the bottom was from Lily, stating that he should let Regulus know Rachel was recovering very well from the injuries sustained when Lupin transformed.

"I reckon Rachel is nearly healed up," he remarked, watching Regulus' reaction closely, which of course gave away nothing.

"I would hope so, it's been like three weeks," he answered sardonically, not bothering to look up from his reading.

"Less than two weeks, actually. I'm glad to see you are so indifferent towards her since she is dating Remus now. That would have been awkward."

"What?" Regulus demanded jerking up into a sitting position. "He could have just as easily killed her as he did Mulciber." Catching sight of Sirius' expression, he added more calmly, "She isn't dating him."

"Why not?" Sirius inquired, "It would appear that she has been single for a while now. Maybe she got lonely."

"He isn't her type."

"Why, because he isn't_ you_?"

"Don't be stupid-"

"You stop being stupid. Just admit that you hooked up and be done with it. Do you really think I am going to judge? Hell, I'm just glad you actually have gotten laid before. I was going to have to seriously consider disinheriting you if you hadn't."

"Yes, because people with morals are _so _offensive."

"And former death eaters are _so_ moral," Sirius quipped.

"We should get back soon. Mother will be expecting us."

_No, she wouldn't, Sirius mused. She wasn't expecting them back at any certain time because Sirius had made it clear that they were both of age and it was none of her business when they returned. __Regulus was just trying to change the subject once again_. Sirius wouldn't be redirected this time.

"So was she a good lay then? Rachel?" he asked.

Regulus set his jaw before answering tightly, "I can't imagine how it could be any of your business."

"You did shag her though, right? I'll bet she was good."

"What Rachel and I- or anyone else- have or haven't done has nothing to do with you."

Sirius smirked, "I'll take your unexpectedly chivalrous desire to protect her reputation to mean it wasn't a random hookup?"

Regulus scoffed, "You're insufferable. Why should it matter now anyway, what with her dating Lupin and all."

"I thought that might get your attention," Sirius smirked. "So why haven't you staked your claim on her if you are interested?"

"She isn't a piece of land to own, for one," he answered sarcastically. "And even if I were interested, I am not exactly datable anymore."

"So when were you? Datable."

Regulus turned a page in the book without looking up as if it was an appropriate response.

"Tell me and I'll let it go. Keep trying to keep whatever it is a secret and you will hear of nothing else until we return to Britain where I can ask her myself."

"Why does it even matter?" Regulus asked in exasperation.

"Exactly. Why does it? Just tell me!"

"It matters because you feel that you are entitled to know just because you are my brother. If you want me to cut ties from mother, how is this any different?"

"How is this like that at all? Tell me, or so help me this is all we will discuss until you do. I don't know if mother can bear to hear about Rachel when she will think of her as another Jasmine, do you?"

Regulus dropped his head into his book, "Fine. We dated. Can you talk about something else now, or better yet, can you just shut up?"

"No. How long were you together?" Sirius asked conversationally. It had become too obvious by now for Sirius to have been surprised by the revelation of a former relationship of sorts, though he assumed it hadn't been anything serious.

Regulus bounced his head off of the book, "About a year."

"What?" Sirius demanded.

"I know you heard me."

"Yes, but… which year?"

"Seventh…part of sixth."

"You mean you hooked up sporadically throughout that time, or-"

"She's not Marlene," Regulus snapped.

"But that's like… almost as long as James and Lily were together before they got married."

"Which only proves the impulsiveness of Gryffindors."

"How does no one know this? I mean, if mother knew-"

"Why do you think no one knows? Or knew... since Lupin knows now, Rachel told him."

"She isn't actually dating Remus that I know of. Does it bother you that she told him?" Sirius asked, genuinely curious. He probably wouldn't have tried to push Remus and Rachel together if he'd known about her and his brother, depending on the details which he was yet to hear.

"What happened to you letting it drop if I told you?" Regulus demanded.

"Fine. Just one more question then."

At Regulus' resigned look, he smirked, "How was she?"

Regulus sighed dramatically before standing and hastily walking back to towards their rental in silence, obviously intending to ignore his brother until he could better get away from him.

Sirius followed, close on his heels, "Personally I like a bit more variety, but she must have been good to have kept you coming back for that long-"

Regulus turned abruptly on his heel and faced him, "Say one more word about it, and you actually will have to look into getting a prostitute should you ever hope to get laid again."

Despite having kicked Regulus' arse in training, Sirius recognized the potency of his threat. Regulus hadn't had his wand then.

As Sirius was quite fond of what he saw each time he looked in the mirror, he saw no reason to risk his good looks for such relatively inconsequential information. Especially when there was a chance he could find out the details from Remus-if he played his cards right and didn't attack Rachel again, obviously.

Sirius put up his hands, palms out in surrender, "Fine… fine. Keep your secrets," he answered, though unable to keep from smirking slightly as Regulus turned his back again.


	51. Avirodh

"Master should rest," Kreacher suggested not for the first time that night.

Regulus ignored his advice just as he had every other time it had been offered.

"I will in a bit," he answered vaguely as he brought the ring nearer to his face to study more closely.

It was the middle of the night, but instead of sleeping he was up trying to figure out a way to rid Gaunt's ring of its curse. Since they had arrived in India, he had been staying up well into each night to research variations of curses and even poisons that could be used on the ring. He had also spent a fair amount of time casting counter spells at random on it. So far he had been grossly unsuccessful in his efforts.

He wasn't exactly hiding what he was doing from Sirius, but as his brother had a habit of complaining incessantly about how much he hated research on the rare occasion he participated, it was easier for Regulus to concentrate in Sirius' absence.

He still thought it likely that fiendfyre could destroy the horcrux without need of removing the curse, but in doing so, he wouldn't be able to help Evan escape from the death eaters. Was helping Evan, who never actually asked for help, really his priority? Shouldn't he be more concerned with getting home so he could hunt more horcruxes?

Especially after Evan had taken a spell that he had shown him from his family's grimoires in confidence, and knowingly used it to the detriment of one of the few people he knew Regulus cared about.

He couldn't pretend that didn't bother him.

After nearly a week of being angry though, he realized that Evan wouldn't have chosen to use that spell in Rachel's presence if he had had another option. Since it was Evan's putting Rachel in danger that bothered Regulus worse than Evan's use of the spell- and because Sirius' letter had said Rachel was nearly recovered already, Regulus supposed he probably should get over it.

Rachel, on the other hand, would likely never forgive Evan. Not that Evan would care. Regulus wasn't sure if it even mattered as the only link between the two of them had always been him, and it wasn't as if Rachel was particularly thrilled with him at the moment either.

Besides, Regulus had told Evan to do whatever he had to do to survive without worrying about how it would affect him. He had also told him that he would help him leave the death eaters if he ever wanted to. That was the cause of his sleep deprivation. He wanted to remove the curse on the ring before returning to Britain, and he wanted to return to Britain as quickly as possible.

* * *

Regulus had been reading the book on Indian wizarding customs that he had ordered, but his mind kept drifting back to Gaunt's ring, and what he was going to do to get rid of the curse on it.

"You've had a day and a half to read through that book, Regulus," his mother chided him. "The information is not going to change. I think it is past time we move to live among our own kind."

Regulus exhaled slowly before answering. It wasn't exactly a small book that he was reading, and with this being the first time she had even acknowledged that he was reading about wizarding India at all, he thought she might have shown a bit more interest.

"This book is not entirely inclusive. It sites only one wizarding community in the whole of India. It is supposed to be quite large, bigger than Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade combined, but I suspect there are other communities that are not listed. The book does allude to the Indian School of Witchcraft and Wizardry being located somewhere in the Eastern Ghats with a small residential area of wizards nearby. With it being their version of Hogwarts, I don't suppose they can come right out and say exactly where it is located though."

"None of us are school aged anymore. Obviously we'll be going to the other place," Sirius answered unnecessarily.

"Right, so as I said, that community is quite a ways north of here. It's located in Madhya Pradesh, and while I agree that the sooner we get you settled the better, it might interest you to know that nearly every region in India has a different official language, especially in the south and east. From what I've read, English is spoken more often here than what we would necessarily find farther north."

Seeing Sirius and his mother's blank stares, Regulus rambled on, "In the south, English is often a second or third language of the people, allowing for those from different states to communicate amongst each other. Farther north, Hindi is the official language of much of the region, no longer necessitating the use of English."

"I tell you I wish to live among our kind, and you give me a history lesson of muggles," his mother remarked disdainfully.

"It's important because, as I've said, the only wizarding community that I've found in India is an area where Hindi is the primary language."

"India is the country of languages, is it not? I'm sure there will be plenty enough of the wizarding community who _can_ speak English as a second or third language… if not they can learn."

Regulus leaned his head against the couch he had been sitting on and closed his eyes as Sirius sneered,

"Loads of English is spoken to the north_ west_ of here, Regulus… _she _is not going to make an effort to fit in _here_ because she wants you to either stay with her or agree to take her back to Britain with you."

His mother looked scandalized, "You can't have expected me to learn a new language in two weeks."

Regulus fought to keep his expression neutral and ignored his impulse to add to Sirius' sentiment. For once, his brother was right. Their mother had made no effort to adapt to their new surroundings in India. Unfortunately, she was unlikely to do so anywhere else either.

It was beyond frustrating, as Regulus had found learning about the history and culture of India to be fascinating and thought his mother, and even Sirius, would too if they had not already decided to remain purposely ignorant of it all.

"If someone approached you in London and began speaking Malayalam to you as if you should understand them, would you not secretly think they should put forth the effort to speak English?"

Sirius chuckled, "Mother has never thought anything secretly in her life."

"You've said the official language of Belize is English. Perhaps we should try there next?" Walburga asked a bit too innocently.

Regulus set his jaw, "You are staying here whether you fit in or not!"

"Now Regulus," Sirius reprimanded mockingly, "You don't want to be too harsh with mother, less she might rebel and find herself in trouble."

"She is a Black and will behave as such once we're gone," Regulus answered ironically, "pride alone should ensure it."

Mrs. Black straightened her already rigid position in the armchair she occupied, "I don't know who taught you it was acceptable to ship your only mother off to live in India alone, but I would have thought you had a bit more concern for my well-being," she remarked haughtily.

"This isn't the first you've heard of this plan. I've told you we will ensure you are settled well enough in the wizarding community here before we leave," Regulus answered.

"Well, I just don't know if India is safe for a single woman like myself-"

"I pity anyone who underestimates you," Sirius answered absentmindedly. Realizing his remark could have been taken as complimentary, he added harshly, "If you do something foolish enough to get yourself killed, it's your own fault. You're too old to be considered attractive, you're abrasive and in case it's escaped your notice- you're a witch."

Regulus winced slightly at Sirius' choice of words but as he didn't feel the need to debate any of what he had said, remained quiet. He did hope her sense of self-preservation would kick in once she was away from him though- whether in India, or any place else.

Interrupting his mother's shrieks of indignation, Regulus remarked loudly, "Alright then… whenever you are ready to check out the wizarding community, we can go. We'll call Kreacher to bring our stuff once we have somewhere to stay."

* * *

Evan stood with Augustus Rookwood between two nondescript muggle warehouses in Manchester. According to Snape, the residential area nearby was home to one of the Order members, and the location of the scheduled meeting for the night.

"Are we really meant to just attack any stray Order members who wander by?" Rookwood asked him skeptically, "Could this not be a test of Dumbledore's to ensure Snape is trustworthy?"

Evan sighed inwardly. Rookwood was content when he was able to work in the ministry and secretly pass information to Voldemort. He either thought himself too good to do anything aside from that, or was inherently petrified of being caught with his other affiliations.

"Don't be thick. Our orders are to kill any known Order members that we see. How could you interpret that as anything differently?" he asked gruffly.

Rookwood looked at him in surprise but Evan couldn't be bothered to care. He didn't know Rookwood well, but suspected he knew the only reason why the latter could be surprised by his callousness.

_Regulus_ had had a bad habit of indulging some of the lesser cruel death eaters by offering them explanations when they wanted reassurance. As nearly everyone had associated Regulus and Evan together, it had seemingly given Evan, who refused to mollycoddle anyone- a softer reputation than he deserved- certainly more than he wanted.

They resumed their vigil in silence after that. Around a quarter until meeting time, they heard obnoxious cackling from who could only be James Potter. A softer male's voice chimed in as did a female's who he assumed was Lily Potter's.

None of them bothered him until he heard what sounded like Rachel's voice and was filled with dread. _Why did she always seem to find him when he was supposed to be killing people?_

Noticing Rookwood was ready to pounce into action, Evan whispered, "We are only supposed to attack if it is a stray Order member. If it's a group we'll have to let them pass."

"There are other death eaters not far from here. We can call them for back up-"

"No, it would be too obvious we were waiting for them. We'll have to let them go, less our infiltration of the Order will have been for nothing," Evan answered as he pressed himself into a doorframe as much as he could so as to avoid drawing attention to himself.

Rookwood looked at him as if he were going to contradict him before thinking better of it and ducking behind a dumpster just as the Potters followed by Rachel and Lupin unknowingly passed them.

He couldn't prevent Rachel from getting killed, but at least he had avoided doing it himself- this time. He knew Regulus must be angry over his contribution to her being attacked, especially considering the spell choice. He liked to think there was a chance he might get over it since she had obviously recovered. If Evan actually killed her though, well that might change things.

It was a pity for the next Order member who passed, as Evan was left with no choice but to kill them.

* * *

Regulus apparated his mother and Sirius into the Indian wizarding community, Avirodh.

He felt his eyes widen slightly as he tried to take it all in. It was bright and colorful- everything Diagon Alley used to be, before the Dark Lord began gaining power.

These days Diagon Alley was covered in wanted posters of known death eaters and littered with abandoned businesses which had closed due to its owners having fled the country or having been killed. Shoppers in Diagon Alley were constantly paranoid of an attack and made sure not to dally after dark.

In contrast, the shops of Avirodh gave a cheery atmosphere. Flocks of people shopped at their leisure amongst the multitude of shops and various vendors who were set up along the cobblestone street. The people in the street gave a far more relaxed impression than the ever present anxiousness in Britain of late. He suspected the shoppers here were less concerned about making it home before dark.

There seemed to be a modest representation of diversity among the people beyond those of Indian descent. The majority of men were dressed in wizarding robes, while the women were pretty evenly divided between wearing witch's robes and saris.

"We'll have to wait to explore until later," Regulus told them regretfully as it seemed for once they had both taken an interest in their surroundings. "We need to first see about housing before the ministry closes."

The trio of Blacks immediately found their way to the Indian equivalent to the Ministry of Magic, where they met with a wizard (who spoke English well, only adding to his mother's smugness) who assigned them to a standard flat along with much of the rest of wizarding India.

His mother had a rather difficult time with accepting that she was to live among 'the majority,' but Regulus and Sirius ignored her rants as they pretty well had them memorized by now.

"Being a Black means nothing here, mother. That's _why_ we are here, remember?" Regulus asked as he led her and Sirius towards the white apartment building that had been indicated to them.

Sirius looked across the road from them and saw a neat row of stone houses. He wasn't sure what it would cost to get their mother into one of them, but had no doubt Regulus would be finding out.

Upon entering the apartment complex, Sirius was surprised at how much bigger the place was on the inside than it had appeared from outside. He had nearly gotten used to living without magic in the past couple weeks, what with as worried Regulus had been about getting caught using it. For a former death eater, his brother was a bit more concerned about the statute of secrecy than Sirius would have expected.

"What's the room number?" he asked as his mother and brother followed him inside.

"Lower Level 828," Regulus answered as he passed Sirius and pulled open a door to their left, revealing a set of stairs which led downward.

Regulus held open the door for their mother, who was oddly quiet, before following her down ahead of Sirius. It was as if Regulus expected him to trip their mother down the stairs or something.

"How can this go so far below the ground? Aren't there monsoons here or something? Won't we get flooded?" Sirius wondered aloud.

"There's this thing called magic…" Regulus began before answering seriously, "It gets too hot here in the summer for anyone to want to live more than a few floors up. Cooling charms can be exhausting if you have to do them all the time. By building underground the inside temperatures are more bearable, and as I said, _magic_ keeps being underground from being an issue."

Upon arriving at their apartment's entrance, Regulus pushed open the door and again held it open for his mother. As he followed in behind her, Regulus remarked, "It feels bigger once inside, doesn't it?"

"I'll bet you've asked _that_ question before," Sirius commented under his breath.

Regulus rolled his eyes and placed a hand over his chest as if wounded, mocking what he suspected Sirius would have done. Not realizing his mother had overheard Sirius, he missed the profound look of disapproval she gave him as he summoned Kreacher.

Mrs. Black was holding court in her newly conjured armchair as she looked disdainfully at everything in the room,

"I don't see why we can't pay to live somewhere bigger-?"

"If you want to live in a wizarding community there is limited space. You can't have a manor house in the middle of a shopping area. We can adjust this place to look more to your liking-"

"Let's go eat and then explore," Sirius beckoned to Regulus before he could get too invested in their mother's discontentment.

"Would you like to come with us?" Regulus invited their mother.

"No, I'll remain here where I belong," Walburga answered contemptuously. "Alone with only a house elf for company."

"Enjoy," Sirius sniggered before dragging Regulus back out into the hall and slamming the door behind them.

"We won't be gone long," Regulus called over his shoulder just before the door shut.

* * *

As James and Lily were leading their group through Manchester, Rachel purposely hung back. When Remus turned to ensure she was still near them, she remarked,

"You know I don't blame you for what happened, don't you?" She asked him.

"I know you've said that a time or twenty," he answered hesitantly.

"Yes, and I meant it. Rosier is the one who cast the spell," she answered distastefully. "There was nothing you could have done. Please don't feel guilty and stop thinking I'm mad at you. I just want things to go back to the way they- I just want us to be friends," she amended, which seemingly caught his attention better than anything else had.

"Of course. I could never have expected you to want anything more than friendship with someone like me," he answered sadly.

"It has nothing to do with that," she said firmly.

"I find that hard to believe. Unless, is it because of _Black?_" he asked in a poor effort of sounding neutral.

"No, why would it be? He's gone…" she trailed off before pleading, "please don't blame him for what happened either." Remus looked at her in surprise at the change of her tone. Before he could object, she added, "It was… a poor choice for him to have shown that spell to Rosier, but it was Rosier who cast the spell. I wouldn't have healed nearly as quickly without Regulus helping me. I sent him away because I was mad at him, but Evan is his best friend. He probably didn't think Evan would actually use the spell when he showed it to him or else he would have shown better judgement…and besides if Rosier hadn't cast the spell, I'm sure Bellatrix would have."

"Why are you defending him? I could have killed you-"

"I know but you didn't. And I _know_ Regulus. Maybe not the Regulus who showed that stupid spell to Evan, but the person he has been for the better part of the last two years. He would have never wanted that spell used against me, or on you, or anyone else."

By then they had arrived at the meeting place for the evening. Remus and Rachel followed James and Lily up the path to the house. When they arrived at the entrance, Remus paused with his hand on the door knob,

"Perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to forgive him, Rachel. I'd hate to see you get hurt," he cautioned before pushing open the door and holding it open for her to enter ahead of him.

When she turned back to look for him, he had already engaged one of the Prewett twins who had been the nearest to the door in conversation.

* * *

Sirius sat in a booth across from Regulus in a restaurant on the outskirts of Avirodh. He stared at the menu in front of him despite having no idea what any of it said. He had intended to copy whatever Regulus said, but as he wasn't even bothering to look at his menu, Sirius hated to think what he was going to end up ordering.

"Do you really think mother will be okay here? I mean… I know she isn't trying… but once we're gone-?" Regulus asked awkwardly.

"Why do you care? She's a horrible person and she wouldn't have done any of this for you if your situations were reversed."

"If our situations were reversed… her situation is _because _of me. I'm the reason she is in danger, and she doesn't have anyone else to look after her."

"You found yourself in the position you were in to begin with because of her, because again, she is a horrible person."

"No, she is in this position because I willingly took the mark, and backed out later… and because her husband died and her other son hates her."

"No argument on the part about me hating her-"

"You can say what you want about her deserving your resentment, but when have you ever made an effort to get along with her? It works both ways."

Sirius had been trying not to argue with Regulus since they'd left Britain as it would only give opportunity to their mother to further manipulate his brother. Argument or not though, Sirius would never see Regulus' point of view when it came to their mother.

Before the silence had gotten too awkward, they were approached by a rather pretty Indian waitress around their age who spoke some gibberish at them.

Regulus answered back in carefully articulated gibberish which Sirius suspected sounded nothing like how it was supposed to.

The girl smiled slightly. Sirius couldn't wait to see what he had accidentally ordered.

Rather than copy his poor example, he found the drink section of the menu and selected one at random.

The waitress raised an eyebrow and left without another word. Sirius looked to Regulus expecting him to be smug about his inability to speak the lingo, but Regulus seemingly hadn't noticed as he was frowning over something behind him. Sirius turned in his seat and followed his gaze, but whatever sign posting that Regulus was reading, Sirius couldn't.

"What?" Sirius asked him. Instead of answering, Regulus gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head as the waitress had returned to their table. She placed a cup of tea in front of Regulus, and a deep red colored beverage in front of Sirius.

"What is that?" Regulus asked as Sirius took a drink.

"No idea, but its good," Sirius answered as he took a much bigger drink now that he knew what it tasted like.

The waitress, Amala, answered, "Mamajuano." At both of their blank stares, she added in nearly perfect English, "It is a drink that originates from the Dominican Republic. We have a very diverse population here in Avirodh. We try to be as accommodating as possible."

"So, what's in this mama-ju-ano?" Sirius asked, laughing at her unexpected ability to speak English before taking yet another drink of what tasted like wine only better.

"Rum, red wine and honey, soaked in a bottle with tree bark and herbs along with…a special ingredient," she said almost as if a question.

"Can you tell us what the special ingredient is, or is it a secret?" Regulus asked as he was considering ordering one himself since it tasted good enough for Sirius to have already drank most of his already.

"Grated sea turtle penis," she answered uneasily.

"Oh, no wonder you like it so well," Regulus quipped before seeing the repulsed expression on Sirius' face and letting out the bark of laughter that was more commonly heard from his brother.

After a brief moment of horror, Sirius grabbed the tea that had been too hot for Regulus to drink yet and chugged it, profusely burning his mouth and throat as he did so.

* * *

After they had finished eating their happily unadventurous meal, Sirius chuckled,

"You made such a big deal about learning Hindi, and almost everyone here speaks English."

"If we left the populous areas, I bet they don't," he answered touchily.

"Why would we ever leave the populous areas?" Sirius asked rhetorically before grinning, "Amala seems nice...Maybe she could introduce us to Avirodh properly. "

Regulus gave him a stern look, "Don't."

"Don't what? Ask her to show us around? All she can say is 'no,' though I can't see any reason for why she would. I mean look at us," he said arrogantly.

"Well for one, she just watched you swallow a turtle's chub… and enjoy it," Regulus deadpanned. Seeing Amala making her way back towards their table, he added quickly, "There's no recovering from that."

Regulus wouldn't have objected to having someone to show them around, if not for knowing Sirius well enough to know he had more in mind.

Cleary not discouraged by Regulus' warning, Sirius' entire demeanor changed as Amala presented them with their meal fare. Glancing at the bill unconcernedly, Sirius began in what he must have thought was a charming voice,

"Amala," Regulus kicked him under the table in effort to get him to shut up before making an arse of both of them. As always, Sirius ignored him and continued on, "I wondered if you might take pity on us woefully inexperienced newcomers-"

Regulus discreetly drew his wand, casting a silent '_Langlock_,' which left Sirius unable to speak and looking like a displaced fish trying breathe on dryland.

In effort to distract a bemused Amala from Sirius as he was still trying, unsuccessfully to talk through the spell, Regulus remarked,

"I've read that the wizarding populations of Asia generally hold a bit more regard for muggle practices than in other parts of the world. I believe in India the principles of Ayurveda is particularly important. I found the concept to be intriguing."

For a moment Regulus wondered if she had heard him, for she had begun clearing their table in a very muggle fashion, and without comment. Regulus might have suspected she was a squib if not for having read the sign that stated the wait staff was not allowed to carry wands out of respect for those who were dining.

"The muggle principles of Ayurveda are believed to dictate the efficiency of our magic. When there is balance, we are empowered to better use our magic… If you do not intend to remain in India for long, there are a few books that might prove helpful to take with you."

"If you have recommendations, that would be great," he answered thankfully. "I'm also really interested to learn more about the history of poisons in this country, if you happen to know of any good books on that." At her look of surprise he amended, "Or perhaps directions to the bookstore most likely to have a selection on that topic. We've not had much of a chance to explore yet."

Amala pulled out a quill and parchment and scribbled out the names of the books she recommended as she gave him directions to the best bookstore in the village. Regulus didn't undo his spell on Sirius until they were safely back outside.

"Poisons? Really? Of all of the things you could have asked her, you chose poisons?" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"What was I meant to ask her? I was only trying to distract her from you. We aren't going to be here for long and the least attention we draw to ourselves while we're here the better."

"Which brings me back to the point of you asking about poison of all things. In a restaurant-"

"What? She might have known something..." Regulus said innocently despite realizing it had been an incredibly stupid thing to ask.

* * *

Regulus would have found it difficult to pull himself away from the oversized and diverse bookstore that Amala had recommended, if not for Sirius following him around with a copy of the _Kama Sutra_. Apparently the only version Sirius had ever seen before had been muggle and without the moving images of wizarding books.

After grabbing the first book he saw on Amala's list that was written in English, Regulus made his way over to the books on poisons. After making his selections there, he realized Sirius was no longer with him.

Inexplicably feeling as if he was missing something about, _The Tale of the Three Brothers, _children book of all things, he made his way towards the children's section of the store.

Sirius found him a few minutes later, his eyes alight for reasons Regulus didn't want to think about. Seeing Regulus holding a copy of, _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_, Sirius looked back to his copy of the _Kama Sutra_ frowning,

"Sometimes… it's really hard to believe that I'm only one year older than you."

Regulus scoffed as he hurriedly put the book back on the shelf before making his way to the checkout counter, "Yeah, usually it's difficult to believe that you're older at all."

They quickly checked out and left the store, intent to return to their temporary home at Regulus' insistence. As they walked they discussed a timeframe for which they could offer their mother. They agreed they would be skimping on their obligations if they stayed away from Britain for much longer.


	52. Goodbye, Avirodh

After giving Rachel and the other Order members enough time to round the corner, Evan stepped out of the doorframe he had been partially hidden in. Looking up at the sky, he didn't see the dark mark anywhere in sight. Whether that actually meant anything or not, he didn't know. While it would have been rather foolish for anyone to conjure the dark mark so near where an Order meeting was taking place, the mentality of some of his fellow death eaters was not lost on him either.

"The other death eaters have probably already left by now," Rookwood remarked a few moments later. Evan was too busy straining his ears to answer. It sounded as if more footsteps were coming.

"Do you have patrols tonight?" Rookwood asked.

"_Expelliarmus,_" came a shout from around the corner. Evan ducked in just enough time to avoid being hit by the red beam of light. It was fortunate their attacker, who turned out to be Dedalus Diggle, hadn't thought to cast something non-verbally.

"_Crucio_," Rookwood answered with flourish as Diggle dropped into a heap on the concrete.

_So much for Rookwood being 'less cruel,_' Evan thought wryly as Diggle continued to scream and his fellow death eater showed no signs of lifting the spell anytime soon.

"Are you about done?" he asked after nearly a minute as his ears were practically splitting from the sounds of Diggle's anguished screeches.

Rookwood lowered his wand grudgingly, "The little bugger thought he could sneak up on us. He deserves to be taught a lesson for that."

"Yes, but would it not be better to get information from him? He's not _just_ an Order member. He's also close with Dumbledore," Evan answered indifferently.

"Yeah, I'll bet you and Dumbledore are close," Rookwood sneered. Evan interrupted, having no doubt the other death eater was about to ask something entirely useless.

"What is tonight's Order meeting about?" he demanded, as was the first question that came to mind.

"I… don't… I" Diggle attempted, breathless still from the cruciatus.

"Speak up!" Rookwood taunted, "We can't hear you," he paused for mere seconds before casting again, _Crucio_!"

As minutes ticked by this time and Rookwood showed no signs of letting up, Evan looked away and fought the urge to cover his ears too. Diggle's pitiful screams echoing loudly through the alley they stood in left him surprised that no one had come to investigate.

As the screams finally seemed to lessen slightly, Evan looked back at Diggle. He thought perhaps the spell had weakened, causing Diggle's lessened response. One look between him and Rookwood told him differently.

Rookwood looked ecstatic, completely exhilarated to inflict such suffering on someone else. Diggle was wet with sweat and drool from screaming and a questionable mixture of other bodily fluids.

"_Avada Kedavra," _Evan cast with little hesitation_._ He felt he was putting himself and Diggle both out of their misery by this point. Once the yelling had stopped he succumbed at last to the impulse to rub his ears. It seemed unlikely they would stop ringing anytime soon.

At Rookwood's questioning look for why he had intervened, Evan remarked indifferently, "If you'd taken any longer I wouldn't have had time to eat anything before patrols." That was a lie. He was in far more in need of a drink than anything, as the idea of food didn't appeal to him in the slightest after witnessing that. "You can take care of the corpse, I presume?" he asked, disapparating before Rookwood had time to respond.

* * *

Regulus left the Apothecary after having spent a small fortune on some potion ingredients that were more difficult to acquire in Britain. As expected, darkness seemingly held less significance here than in Diagon Alley, as the streets of Avirodh were still relatively full of people.

As this was Sirius and his last intended night in India, Regulus had ventured out to do a few last minute errands before attempting one last discussion with his mother.

On their first night in Avirodh, Sirius had found a bar in a more questionable area of the village, and had elected to spend most of his evenings there. Regulus hadn't returned to the bar with him since they discovered it in favor of spending his time acclimating their mother to the wizarding community.

As Regulus made his way down the steps of the apothecary, a voice called from behind him,

"Find what you were looking for in there?"

Regulus stopped and turned back to find Amala, their waitress from the restaurant they had eaten at their first night, walking towards him. Judging by her wary expression, she remembered his asking about poisons last time they had spoken,

"Amala," he greeted as he adapted his pace to walk alongside her. "Yes… I needed some things that are more difficult to find back home. We are leaving tomorrow."

"Glad to hear you are taking what you bought with you then," she answered amusedly.

"So, where are you going?" Regulus asked both to change the subject and because he was genuinely curious. She looked quite stunning, dressed in turquoise and with her hair pulled into something entirely too elegant for a simple stroll through the village. He found it a bit odd to see her dressed as she was though. He had yet to see any place in Avirodh where such extravagance would have been expected.

"Home now. And you've volunteered yourself to walk with me it seems," she answered with a trace of a smile.

Ignoring that he wouldn't have seen her if she hadn't drawn attention to herself, he smiled charmingly,

"It would be a shame not to when you look as lovely as you do."

She looked away from him without comment.

"So where were you, anyway?" he asked after a moment, hoping to ease any awkwardness by changing the subject from her appearance.

"Oh, you really don't want to know," she answered, looking even more flustered than she had before to his amusement.

"I do actually," he smirked. "I've not had enough time here to see everything. There must be countless things in Avirodh I have missed."

Amala took a somewhat labored sounding breath, "You're from somewhere in Britain, right? I would guess England." He looked at her in mild surprise. "Your accent gives you away," she answered his unspoken question. "You're like a refugee from their war. You've likely been through… some things. I worry telling you where I was wouldn't help you feel welcomed here in Avirodh when you actually are welcomed, so long as you are peaceful."

They walked along in silence for a moment. As they walked, Regulus glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Now that he was paying attention to her properly, there was something familiar in the graceful yet almost imperceptible cautiousness in the manner she carried herself. Despite looking innocently unconcerned with her surroundings, he knew she was acutely aware both of how she was portraying herself as well as everything else around her.

Deciding things couldn't be much more awkward and that it scarcely mattered as this was his last night in a foreign country, he remarked,

"You were at some sort of elitist pureblood function then?" At her look of horror, he smirked, "just a guess."

"It wasn't like that- I mean only purebloods are invited, yes. But we gather more for the preservation of tradition rather than because anyone believes themselves better than anyone else."

"Of course," Regulus answered wryly.

"Don't think badly of me. I can't help that I'm pureblood any more than someone else can help being a muggle."

Regulus looked away from her guiltily without comment. Rachel had said something similar to him in one of their first real conversations. Thinking about Rachel somehow made him equally glad to be returning to Britain as he was apprehensive about it. As much as the uncertainty of how she felt about him gnawed at him, it was nothing to what finding out she truly hated him would be.

Lost in his thoughts, Regulus continued towards the residential area of the village with Amala in silence for a few moments. Eventually she remarked,

"You know… if you hadn't come from Britain I might have guessed you to be a pureblood yourself. As it is only those said to have 'lesser' blood status who are forced to flee the country, that must include you, right?" When Regulus didn't answer immediately she added, "That's how little difference blood status makes then, isn't it? I mean it's not like you can tell by looking at someone."

"You're probably right," Regulus answered vaguely. While he didn't entirely agree, he didn't see any harm in Amala believing as she did. Especially when comparing the peace of Avirodh with the lack of it back home. Deciding it best to change the subject, he remarked,

"Thanks again for your book recommendations on Ayurvedic medicine, by the way. The book I bought is quite interesting."

"I didn't know if you would actually buy any of the books when you asked to be honest. What did you find most interesting?"

"Ah, hard to say..."

"So, you haven't read any of them?"

"No, I did. But as you've mentioned, there is a war going on. As such, I can't imagine my… energies? Being balanced anytime soon."

" I'd imagine it's quite stressful where your from right now."

"Yes," Regulus agreed, "and of course conflict only adds strain to everyone's relationships," he added. Realizing she was expectantly waiting for him to elaborate, he added offhandedly, "It also rains a lot in Britain."

Amala's eyebrows scrunched slightly, "I can't tell if you are being serious or not," she remarked quizzically.

"I _am_ being serious, but it's complicated, isn't it? It's like everything contributes to how healthy someone is or isn't- it just seems like an awful lot of maintenance."

"I believe the muggles find chronic illness to be fairly high maintenance as well," she countered.

"Fair enough," Regulus conceded, "but I think it must be easier to maintain balance from the beginning rather than try to correct it later on."

By then they were approaching the residential portion of the village. Amala revealed her family lived in one of the stone houses, much to his secret amusement.

"So… my mother intends to remain in Avirodh, after I leave," Regulus felt the need to confide just before they separated.

"Won't she miss you?"

"Any mother would miss her child I should think," he answered evasively rather than lying. Aside from not knowing anyone else, he wasn't sure how much his mother would actually miss him. "She hasn't gotten out much since we've been here. I'm worried she is destined to become a hermit."

Amala nodded vaguely, "I'd imagine it's tough to move to a new place. Perhaps I could introduce her to my mother?" she asked before seemingly regretting it and backtracking. "I mean… if you think it would help… I can try to."

Regulus smiled, "I think that'd be great, only I should warn you that my mother can be a bit… opinionated."

"I'm sure it's nothing she can't handle." Amala shrugged, "I can't see what it could hurt."

Regulus shook his head. Surely his mother would at least be kind to those who were nice to her in a foreign land. He could hope at least.

* * *

"You know James used their two-way mirrors to contact Sirius. I think he plans to be at today's meeting," Lily said from her perch near the window of her and James' cottage. James had left a half hour ago to run an errand for Dumbledore. Lily had scarcely left the window since.

Rachel gave a noncommittal, "Mm," in response.

"I assume that means Regulus will be coming back as well. Are you excited to see him?" she asked, looking away from the window to better see her reaction.

"Excited probably isn't the word," Rachel replied, ignoring the slight leap she felt in her stomach at his mention.

Lily glanced once more at the window before walking across the room and taking a seat at the kitchen table across from her. Green eyes met green with a look of determination in Lily's.

"What word would you use?" She asked simply, yet in a tone that Rachel knew she wouldn't be able to evade answering the question. Aside from the fact that she and Regulus had dated while at school, Rachel had given Lily very few details. She didn't know what Remus might have said about her though.

"I… don't know," she answered lamely. At Lily's look, she added hastily, "Honestly! I mean I had nearly convinced myself that I was over him, or at least that I was better off without him, and he showed up in the infirmary half-dead with Sirius."

"What? When was that?" Lily asked confusedly though Rachel ignored her question.

"I knew his being with Sirius must have meant something had changed in his status with the death eaters, but when I tried talking to him, he gave me some cryptic line about still being a part of them. He then left in the middle of the night without telling anyone. The next thing I heard about him was that he had been killed.

"As much as I wanted to be over him, it felt as if a part of me had died with him. And then Marcus showed up and I was too caught up in 'acting normal' to even notice what was right in front of me- that he was Regulus. I'm glad he is still alive, of course, but it was just…torture to believe him dead." She closed her eyes and rested her elbows on the table in ill-manners as she rubbed her temples.

"So how do you feel about him now?" Lily prodded with a trace of a smile at the mild outburst.

"Weren't you listening? I don't know." she answered in mild exasperation. "He isn't how people perceive him. I know that he wouldn't do anything to _intentionally_ hurt me, but it's like every time I allow myself to… There's always another shoe to drop with him. Look at what happened to Remus-"

"Regulus didn't cast the spell. You've said he is probably the only reason you are alive."

"He's certainly the only reason I healed as quickly as I did," she agreed.

"It sounds to me as though you still have feelings for him." Seeing her expression, Lily added, "Reluctant feelings… not unlike how I used to feel about James."

Rachel scoffed, "At least with James there was never any question if he knew the difference between right and wrong. You knew he had good morals."

"You must not have seen some of those pranks he got up to at school," Lily countered.

"Still… those were pranks. He was never a death eater."

"No, but he didn't grow up in the house of Black either. As much as I love Sirius, he didn't leave that house unscathed either."

Rachel nodded slightly rather than answering. It was hard for her to imagine how growing up must have been for Regulus when he had so rarely talked about it. He had seldom mentioned anything about his family to her, likely because it usually led to her saying something about them that angered him- because she just didn't understand what it was like, so she had heard.

"I think its good you ended things with Remus when you did, before anything really got started I mean."

"He hates me."

"No… he doesn't. Though he likely would have if things would have continued. It would have been unfair to him if you haven't yet worked out your feelings for Regulus."

"In that case it could be years before I am dateable again," she answered sardonically. "Figuring out anything to do with Regulus is no small task."

"That sounds high maintenance…" Lily answered vaguely, "Maybe you should just shag him." Rachel's eyes widened slightly as she stared at the redhead in shock. "What? If he's anything like his brother I can't imagine he would object."

"He's not like Sirius-"

Lily smirked, "He's still a guy. Maybe it'll help to clarify some things for you. Help you to relax if nothing else," she laughed.

"You at least realize that's horrible advice, don't you?"

"Yeah… maybe. I've spent too much time with the marauders over the years I think, sorry," she answered completely unapologetically. "It got your attention though, didn't it? Just imagine how much more so it would for Regulus."

"Yeah… throwing myself at him would get his attention alright," she answered self-consciously as Lily jumped up from her seat. Turning around Rachel saw that James had returned, signaling it was time for them to leave for the Order meeting.

* * *

"Mother, is there anything else you need before we leave?" Regulus asked hesitantly.

She refused to look at him, instead pretending to read the book she held before her. She had taken to ignoring him as much as possible in the couple of days since they'd arrived in Avirodh. When he had returned to their apartment the previous night she had already been in bed.

After an impregnated pause, Sirius chimed in from the doorway, "Just leave it, Reg. We need to get back."

Regulus glanced at him before turning his attention back to their mother. From the corner of his eye he saw Sirius roll his eyes before stepping out into the hallway.

Regulus knelt in front of the chair his mother was occupying and pulled the book away from her. She stared stubbornly at her lap rather than protest, which only further proved his theory that she hadn't been reading to begin with.

He remained there, watching her expectantly until she looked at him. When she finally did he remarked,

"I'm sorry that you don't want to be here."

"Then why do you insist that I remain here- alone?"

"You know why. You know it is unsafe for you in Britain."

"It is no safer for you-"

"No, but I signed up to partake in the war. You didn't. And you don't have to be a recluse. Amala said she would be happy to introduce you to her mother. She is a pureblood-"

"Her blood is nowhere near as old as mine!"

"Maybe, but she is pure, and there is nothing to be gained by you purposely offending her. Amala thinks her mother might be able to help you adjust here. She invited you to have tea with them this afternoon."

"Should you not stay to ensure I do not inadvertently offend-?"

"I must be done with this, mother. I've done all I can do to get you away safely from Britain, but I cannot stay away indefinitely. The Dark Lord has likely only gotten stronger while we've been away."

Regulus stood to leave. He vaguely thought he should kiss her cheek or hug her goodbye or do _something_ to show affection towards his mother, but didn't. That had never been their relationship. She had rarely physically touched him as a child, and he had learned well over a decade ago not to attempt to elicit any affection from her.

He used to think some sort of affection from his parents would have been nice- something to show they genuinely cared whether he lived or died. Instead, they preferred to look at him from a distance.

Unless they wanted him to do something. In his mother's case, she often became a bit more affectionate then. Never anything extravagant, of course, a brief holding of his hand or pat on his head. Likely due to the deprivation of human contact he had been accustomed to, he had welcomed it- craved it even.

Likely due to his detached upbringing, there were few people Regulus could touch even now without it feeling unnatural. If he were honest, his mother wasn't one of them. He cared for her, and even valued her opinion to some degree. He would certainly protect her as best he could, but he knew she tried to manipulate him at every opportunity, and that was unlikely to change anytime soon. Not the heartless sense of manipulation that Sirius or maybe even Rachel would accuse, but there was no doubt she was deviant towards him and everyone else.

"Goodbye mother. Please do be sensible while you are here."

* * *

Sirius waited just outside the door of their mother's apartment. He didn't bother with saying goodbye to her as he had nothing to say. Their interactions had ranged from hostile to ignoring each other entirely on this trip. Sirius would have preferred to argue rather than ignore but as it had been made clear that their quarrelling was grating on Regulus' nerves, Sirius had resolved to remain quiet for more of their trip that he would have liked- at least while in their mother's presence.

As soon as Regulus cleared the threshold, Sirius grabbed his arm and began pulling him away towards the stairs. He wasn't taking any chances of Regulus being drawn back into staying with their mother, though surprisingly, it seemed she had put up less of a fight to keep him there than she had in recent days.

"I think you can let go now," Regulus said irritably as they made their way up their stairs towards the ground level.

"Not yet," Sirius answered with a smirk, "I'm not taking any chances."

Regulus rolled his eyes before forcefully pulling his arm out of Sirius' clutches and bolting up the stairs two at a time. Sirius took off after him and made it outside just moments after Regulus.

"That was mature," he said breathlessly.

"You act as if I don't want to go home myself."

"You don't, do you?" Sirius asked skeptically.

"It would be more reasonable to stay away, but as I am obligated to go back, there is no sense in prolonging the inevitable."

"You'll have to forgive me for doubting your desire to return," Sirius answered dryly. "I don't know how I could have when you sound so eager about it."

"How could anyone find returning to a warzone enjoyable?"

"Well, I miss my friends. So… there's that. I don't suppose you have anyone you miss… unless you count Evan who should kill you on sight by your affiliations and Rachel who…well she might want to kill you as well considering what happened to her because of you."

"Thanks for the reminder," Regulus answered sardonically.

"No problem! Though I suppose with Valentine's Day coming up," Sirius began before seeing Regulus' expression and changing subjects, "Where are you planning to live now anyway?" he asked in a would-be casual tone.

Regulus gave him an exasperated look before asking resignedly, "Why shouldn't I return to Uncle Alphard's?"

"Well… as it was _our_ fault that mine and Remus' house was burned-"

"It was you and Lupin's fault because you should have known better than to continue living there."

"And because it was _our_ fault that Remus ate Mulciber…. I might have offered Remus Uncle Alphard's house to live in to make up for…. you know. Setting him up to eat someone as disgusting as Mulci-"

"You did what?" Regulus demanded. "You gave him a house? _My _house?"

"Actually it was _my_ house," Sirius corrected him.

"Why can't he find his own damn place to live like anyone else?"

"Why can't you?" Sirius countered.

"_I_ had a place. _You _gave it away."

"It was my house! And I didn't say you couldn't live there… just that… well, I should probably clear it with Remus first."

"Clear it with Lupin… you are such a hypocrite! All I've heard for weeks is how I shouldn't care what mother thinks. You are _continuously_ unable to do _anything_ without the approval of your friends- especially when it's at my expense, I might add."

"You have more money than Remus does. His family isn't as well off as ours and you've harbored the money from your trust… which if you think about it, that money is only yours by my grace," at Regulus' look of contempt he added, "I am the head of the family."

Regulus scoffed, "Glad to see you finally taking ownership for that title," he answered dryly. "I'll be sure to repay you. I'd hate for you to go without anything," Regulus answered before disapparating without another word.

Sirius rubbed his hands over his eyes. He wished he had a time turner to take him back to the start of that horrendous conversation. He didn't care anything about the money from Regulus' trust. It had been allotted to him by their father and technically was his. Sirius' point had been that both he and Regulus had plenty of money- and Remus didn't. It would be easier for Regulus to come up with another place to live rather than Remus. Why had that been taken so negatively?

Realizing the time, he began a succession of disapparition, making his ways towards Hogsmeade for the Order meeting.


	53. Unwelcoming Return

Sirius walked purposely towards the infirmary of Hogwarts to join the Order members who were already gathered. Due to several of the older members being hospitalized following a brush with some snatchers, Dumbledore decided to have them meet in the infirmary to allow those injured to listen in.

Upon entering the infirmary, he distinctly wished he had stayed away. Having mostly forgotten about what had been written about him in, _The Prophet _prior to leaving the country, it hadn't occurred to him that his fellow Order members might actually place some stock in the garbage printed in the newspaper.

That fact was forced in his face as he realized nearly every Order member seemed unable to look away from him.

"I'm back," he grinned roguishly at them all.

"Where' Marcus?" Benjy Fenwick asked.

Sirius made a show of looking around them, "He isn't here?" he asked innocently.

"No, you both disappeared-" Fabian began.

"And according to, _The Prophet, _you're the same person," Gideon added.

"So it was assumed that the two of you were at least together," Fabian finished.

"No, I haven't seen Marcus," Sirius answered. _Only Regulus _he added silently to himself. "Has your sister had that baby yet?" he asked in effort to change the subject.

"No, should be anytime now though," Gideon answered.

"Another redhead, do you think?" Sirius asked as he made his way past the twins towards a vacant seat near Remus, James, Lily and interestingly- Rachel.

"What else could he be?" Fabian smirked.

"Illegitimate?" Sirius suggested as he sat down. As the twins made a show of feigned outrage, Sirius was relieved to have at least made it to a seat before the worst of the backlash from the article-or perhaps articles by now, had started.

Seizing the opportunity to ignore the majority of the room, he turned to Rachel, "I'm back," he informed her with a grin.

"So you are," she agreed before adding more seriously, "I'm glad you made it back safely."

"Careful, Rach," he chuckled under his breath, "Don't want to give anyone the wrong idea about which brother you're into." At her startled look he added more loudly, "I'm glad to see you have recovered from your ordeal."

Rachel gave him an indecipherable look before nodding slightly, "Thanks for that," she answered vaguely before striking up a conversation with Lily in hushed tones. Sirius supposed his making any sort of comment about her health was odd. He wouldn't have done so if not for Regulus- which she likely realized.

As much as he wanted to badger her for details about her past relationship with his brother, he decided against it. Regulus was mad enough at him already about the whole house situation.

James said something to him, but he ignored it as he was straining his ears to try listening in on Rachel and Lily's discussion. He was pulled from his eavesdropping when the double doors at the entrance of the infirmary were forced open with exceeding force.

Sirius stood, immediately on the alert. He had just enough time to glimpse Barty Crouch, the head of the DMLE, before his line of sight became blocked by a middle-aged, burly man in red auror robes. That man was followed by two other figures in red that he wasn't able to look at properly before having his arms forcefully pulled behind his back by the first auror.

"What the hell?" he demanded.

"I would have thought you smart enough to leave the country, but clearly I was wrong," Crouch answered him. "Sources informed me you were spotted in Hogsmeade less than a half hour ago. It didn't take long to figure out where you were headed. In case you have not yet figured it out, you are being arrested for the murders of Winston Selwyn and Broughton Travers."

"What?" James yelped in indignation.

"Where is the proof I killed them?" Sirius groaned. The position his arms were being held in was incredibly uncomfortable.

"I suppose we will find out during your trial," Crouch answered.

Sirius saw from the corner of his eye that Remus was seemingly leaving, though where he would be going now he couldn't fathom. He hoped he was going to find Dumbledore.

"Selwyn and Travers were both death eaters. Killing them should be without legal consequence-"

"If you were an auror that would be true. You, however, will find it difficult to prove whether their affiliations are as you claim. I also suspect both of their surviving family members will have much objection to your libel if you cannot support your claim."

"You can't arrest me without more evidence than what is printed in a newspaper controlled by Voldemort. Ironically, it is thanks to his influence at the ministry that I have more rights than most. I am a pureblood, in case you've forgotten," Sirius said superiorly and sounding every bit as arrogant as the head of the Black family had come to be expected over the centuries.

"Which only means you are not required to take Veritaserum. Fortunately, I've come up with another means to acquire evidence," Crouch smirked. "Expelliarmus," he called eagerly.

Sirius felt his wand leave his pocket but there was nothing he could do to prevent it. His heart was racing and he couldn't think of any way out of his situation if Dumbledore didn't return soon.

Glancing around the room, he saw that James was trying to call the aurors off, asking them to at least wait for the headmaster, but no one from the ministry paid him any mind.

Sirius did manage to relax some as he realized it wasn't only James who was voicing his displeasure with his arrest. James' father, Professor McGonagall, the Prewett's and Marlene were being particularly outspoken about it. Lupin still hadn't returned from wherever he had disappeared to.

Regulus had once said that he believed all of the Order to be sheep. Sirius would have to remember to bring this incidence up to him, should that conversation ever be re-addressed.

Crouch was now examining Sirius' wand carefully. As disinterested as he wanted to appear, he couldn't deny he was curious,

"What are you doing with that?" he demanded.

"As you've said, I cannot give you veritaserum. In response to that recurring hiccup we have experienced, I have developed a spell, not unlike 'priori incantatem,' in that it will allow me to see your past spell selection. Rather than revealing every spell in reverse sequence of when they were cast, it shall start from the beginning, displaying only those that were illegal."

"Good. As I've never cast anything that was illegal, this should be over quickly," he answered scathingly. "I can't imagine that spell being commended by-" Sirius began.

"When Voldemort finds out about it, perhaps his influence in the ministry will see to it being outlawed. As of now, it is perfectly legal," Crouch answered, before prodding Sirius' ebony wand with his own.

* * *

Regulus apparated to the front stoop of Grimmauld Place. Seeing no one, he quickly made his way inside. He wasn't planning to remain at Grimmauld Place, he simply needed somewhere to create a potion and thought the basement of his childhood home would be ideal. After preparing the potion he could figure out where best to get his own place.

He supposed he could just move back into Grimmauld Place. It was safer by far than anywhere else he could stay. Unlike his mother, he could come and go as he pleased and wouldn't be any less safe than he would be anywhere else. He wasn't particularly safe anywhere.

After having Sirius divulge the location of his last two residences, Regulus preferred to have a place of his own that Sirius didn't know about. With Cassie being the secret keeper for Grimmauld Place, that could almost apply to his childhood home.

Not for the first time, Regulus wondered if even Sirius knew exactly what he expected from him. First he wanted Regulus to stay and fight, and then he wanted him to leave and be safe. When Regulus decided to leave briefly with their mother, Sirius had insisted on going with him. Now that they were back, Sirius informed him he had given his house to Remus because he needed it more?

Giving away their Uncle Alphard's house wasn't a move that in any way sustained his safety. In fact, it left him homeless.

Seeing nothing out of place as he walked through the house, Regulus made his way downstairs to set up work on concocting his poison. He felt at this point he had little to lose in attempting the use of poison on the ring as everything he had attempted thus far had been entirely ineffective.

He also hadn't forgotten about what _The Prophet _had been writing about 'Marcus' and Sirius before they had left the country. He thought allowing Sirius to handle the brunt of whatever the rest of the Order's reaction was to be fitting. After all, he had his friends to back him up. Regulus didn't even have a place to live.

Before he had done little more than set up his work station, however, he was interrupted by a patronus.

Judging by the wolfish appearance as the patronus approached him, he presumed it to be the ex-girlfriend wooing, house confiscating marauder. Regretfully, his suspicions were proven true when the patronus spoke in Remus' voice.

Apparently Regulus' presence at the Order meeting had not gone amiss. Since it was Lupin who was requesting his presence, he would have felt more tempted to attend the meeting if the poison had already been made.

Considering the werewolf's recent fondness for everything Regulus had had first, it likely wouldn't have taken much to convince him to taste the potion, had it been ready.

* * *

After several minutes in which the auror holding onto Sirius forced him to his knees, Dumbledore remained absent, and Crouch prodded several odd puffs of air to come out of his wand, Sirius was beginning to get really frustrated.

Eventually, Crouch remarked, "You've clearly used a multitude of dark spells. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize many of them. They were from your family's collection, I take it?"

Sirius recalled the rage he had felt, and subsequent sequence of potentially lethal spells that followed after watching his parent's muggle neighbor be killed, and was filled with shame. Decidedly not looking at James, he answered, "I've used nothing that was illegal."

"I can assure you they would be, if the ministry was more familiar with them," Crouch answered wryly. "Are you certain that you've never cast anything illegal that you would like to fess up to? Perhaps if it can be explained beforehand-"

"Of course I haven't!" Sirius interrupted indignantly, "I've never cast anything that wasn't perfectly legal." He vaguely wondered if Crouch's spell could reveal he was an animagous. Since he had already attested his innocence so strongly though, he wasn't about to retract it for something as relatively innocent as becoming an illegal animagus.

* * *

Regulus arrived just outside Hogwarts and made his way towards the infirmary. As he had given his phoenix portkey to Cassie, his progress to the meeting was impeded more than it should have been. As he was unsure of how invested he actually wanted to be with the Order anymore, he didn't regret it.

The only Order member who didn't hate him was likely Sirius, and even that depended on what sort of mood he was in. He thought he might prefer to correspond with his brother individually and stay away from the Order altogether.

As Remus had sent him multiple summons though, each one more frantic than the last, he decided to find out what it was all about.

When he arrived just outside the infirmary, he was surprised to find the corridor empty, as he had half-expected Lupin to be waiting for him. Hearing voices he made his way towards the infirmary doors and opened them just enough to peer inside, unnoticed.

Seeing Sirius in a rather compromising position, Regulus wondered what Lupin thought he could possibly do to help. The only thing he could think was that perhaps Crouch would be more inclined to arrest him over Sirius. Realizing that Crouch was far more likely to simply arrest them both, Regulus took a step away from the door to avoid the risk of being seen.

"Hmm," Crouch answered as he stalked towards Sirius. When he stood just before him, he asked menacingly, "Not even once? Not even one little _imperio, perhaps_?"

Sirius' face fell visibly enough for anyone to have noticed, "That… wasn't what you think."

"Oh, really? Because I was thinking that the casting of an unforgivable curse meant a lifetime sentence in Azkaban."

"I'm sure Dumbledore-"

"Despite what you think, Dumbledore has no say in the doings of the ministry. As he was not the one who cast an unforgiveable, this conversation has nothing to do with him. If you have nothing else to say to reasonably defend yourself, then I'm afraid you're under arrest."

Regulus knew Sirius had only ever cast an imperius curse to give him a chance of escaping the death eaters. Unwilling to let him take the fall for it, at least if he could help it, he braced himself for the inevitable. Setting his jaw, he pushed the door to the infirmary open, and walked inside.

* * *

"An imperio is only punishable when performed on a living human," a familiar voice called from the doorway. As whispers broke out around him, Sirius looked in the direction of the voice and thought he might vomit.

Regulus was walking towards them as if entirely unconcerned with his inevitable arrest nor the fact that he was supposed to be dead and hadn't even bothered with a disguise.

"Regulus Black," Crouch remarked as he approached them. "I thought for sure I heard you were dead. Could this perhaps explain the similarities between Sirius and the elusive _Marcus_?"

Regulus shrugged disinterestedly, "I've always found it comical how quickly rumors can spread," he answered noncommittally.

Crouch studied Regulus for a moment without comment. Smirking slightly, he remarked, "Looks like I will have two Blacks to arrest today."

"As I've already reminded you, an unforgivable is only punishable when cast on a _living_ human," Regulus corrected him.

"I don't have time for games, Black. It was plain enough to see from the regurgitating spell I cast that your brother performed an unforgivable on another human. Furthermore, it's quite obvious that, whether your loyalties have since wavered or not, you were at one time a death eater."

"On the contrary, if you would have studied the scene more carefully, I'm sure you would have noticed the target in which Sirius cast his spell to have been for less sentient than any living human.

"_Furthermore_, I was only ever suspected of being a death eater because of my family connections. I was supposedly killed only a few months after leaving Hogwarts. Surely Voldemort was not so desperate for followers that he would have had any use for someone as young as I was then."

"Faking your death doesn't paint the best picture of innocence. Though I suppose we shall find out easily enough." Turning to the other male auror, Crouch commanded, "Jones, cast a barrier spell between us and the others," he said indicating the Order members who did not bear the surname Black. "Baker," he called, addressing the last of his aurors, "I require Black's wand."

Regulus watched as a girl he vaguely recognized to have graduated a couple of years previously approach him rather timidly. Her name was something dreadfully muggle, Cadence or Candice, she was seldom called anything aside from 'mudblood' by anyone he knew. As she had endured quite a lot of ridicule from the older Slytherins, he suspected becoming an auror and arresting former Slytherins must be most satisfying for her.

It seemed her only 'weakness' was not being muggleborn though, as she seemed entirely too nervous to be an auror. Regulus wondered if she might still be training, for her apprehension was easily seen in her mannerisms. Like why she hadn't already thought to summon his wand, for instance. Instead, she looked to be considering the prospect of simply reaching her hands into his robes, and extracting the wand in distinctly muggle fashion.

Regulus raised an eyebrow but remained still, making no efforts to help or deter her from whatever she intended to do.

"Um, c-can I see your wand?" she asked hesitantly.

Regulus smirked, likely a consequence of spending too much time with Sirius lately, "I don't know about that," he answered nonchalantly. "We should at least be introduced first, don't you think?"

"Quit clowning around, Black!" Crouch barked irritably as a couple of the Order members sniggered. Rather than waste more time, Crouch cleanly summoned Regulus' wand from inside his robes.

Regulus noticed the Baker girl's face was burning crimson before he turned his attention back to Crouch. Seeing him prepare to cast a spell on his wand, he inquired lazily,

"And what are you doing with that?"

"Less confident now are you?" Crouch mocked. "Can't say I blame you. This spell will recant any illegal spells your wand has cast." Looking Regulus over appraisingly, he added, "We shall start from the beginning."

* * *

Rachel was seething. Regulus just came waltzing into the infirmary as if he owned the place. Did he want to be arrested? Could he not have thought of a plan first? Did he really even think 'saving' Sirius to be necessary? There was no way Dumbledore would allow Sirius to go to Azkaban. As she couldn't say the same for Regulus, she thought he had far more to lose by coming here than Sirius had to lose with Regulus staying away.

Despite Regulus' infuriatingly blasé attitude about the situation, that wasn't what angered her most. After the initial commotion that had been caused by Regulus' arrival, undisguised and unequivocally disproving the belief that he was dead, the room had grown mostly silent around them. Now that it was Regulus being investigated and Sirius was being left alone, the righteous indignation of everyone else had seemingly died out.

"If not for Marcus, who was obviously Regulus all along, none of us would know about Pettigrew. He would still be among us, selling us out one by one," she reminded those around her.

"Kind of like what happened to Diggle, do you mean?" Fenwick asked.

"Regulus and Sirius were gone for weeks. Knowing he was out of the country, did anyone bother telling Sirius about the meeting times while they were gone?"

When everyone looked at James, he shrugged, "I told him about this one because I knew he was coming back. I never mentioned the time or locations of any of the other ones we've had since he left."

"Exactly. And no one would have told Regulus either, seeing as he was believed to be dead."

"How do we know you didn't tell him about the meeting?" Marlene asked.

"I've had no more contact with either Black than you have. Probably less actually-"

"Rachel didn't tell either of them, Marlene" Lily interrupted. "We can't be divided amongst each other. If we can't trust each other, who can we trust?"

As the others half-heartedly agreed with Lily, Rachel relaxed slightly, hopeful that she would now have some backup from the Order while she pleaded Regulus' case. Before she could speak up though, she became mesmerized as Crouch forced images out of Regulus' wand.

* * *

Regulus gritted his teeth as Crouch went through his wand's memories for lack of a better word. Depending on whether the spells from the Black grimoires, that should have been unknown to the ministry, would register he realized he hadn't cast anything illegal until after having left the death eaters. Knowing Crouch, he expected that would make little difference.

His thoughts were interrupted as the '_morsmordre_,' spell erupted from his wand, causing the eerie glow to light up the room.

_Perhaps he had forgotten one_.

Crouch chuckled, "And I suppose _that _is a coincidence?" he asked indicating the serpent.

"I bribed my cousin Bellatrix to show me once," _right_ _after I had taken the mark._

"And she just showed you without contest? I would have thought such secrets from one's _master_ to be better kept. By Bellatrix Lestrange of all people."

"I suppose you could ask her why she showed me yourself, if you ever manage to catch her," Regulus drawled.

Crouch set his jaw, and turned back to his wand, "I think your friends here might like to see what else you've been up to," he answered before resuming the spell.

Hundreds of spells passed rapidly, not coming to fruition because they were either legal, or unrecognized by the ministry.

At some point someone had cast a silencing spell on Sirius because of all of the insults he was throwing Crouch's way. Regulus wasn't sure whether it had been an auror or Order member who had cast it. He thought whomever it was had been doing Sirius a favor as he would only get himself into more trouble otherwise.

Eventually his creating the inferius showed, which was met with a suffocating silence.

"I suppose that is whom the elder Black cast his imperius on?" Crouch asked. At Regulus' nod, Crouch signaled for his auror to back off of Sirius slightly before continuing on.

A relatively short time passed this time before the scene between him, portraying Rodolphus, with Lily and Snape unfolded. Regulus ignored the loud whispering that took place around him from the other Order members as they tried to disentangle their thoughts for what they had seen.

"I believe that puts us at one conjuring of the dark mark, the creation of one inferius and the use of one cruciatus curse. As that alone is enough cause for more than one lifetime in Azkaban, I see little reason to continue. Do you?"

"You're the Head of the DMLE," Regulus answered dryly and feigning indifference, despite his heart pounding hard enough for him to feel it in his ears and throughout the rest of his body.

Crouch chuckled lightly, "You want to know the best part about arresting arrogant pureblood elitists who believe themselves better than everyone else?" He asked conversationally. At Regulus' blank expression, he answered, "They're too proud to put up a fight. You would rather risk Azkaban than suffer the indignation of having to defend yourself. You expect to receive a free pass because of your pedigree. You think your family's supposed status will protect you from actually going to prison. As such, you will not bother to defend yourself while you have the chance. While I find it ironic, it is also quite fitting."

"Ah, so no trial for me then? How disappointing."

Crouch looked somewhat surprised with his quick grasping of the implication. Before any more could be said though, they were interrupted by Rachel, "You can't lock him up without a trial!"

"I daresay I know better than you, who is required to be given a trial. Death eaters, for example, are not required to receive one-"

"All you have proven is that Regulus cast the dark mark one time. As no murder was shown prior to the casting of the spell it is entirely possible that what he said was true, that it had only been experimental. His casting of the cruciatus was on a known death eater, Severus Snape, and according to Lily , it likely saved her and her child from a different fate."

"That's true," Lily agreed, but stopped as Crouch held up his hand to stop them both from talking.

Rachel was less easily deterred, "The little Minchum girl is likely only alive because of him. As for the inferius, I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation, though if you lock him up without a trial, you would be forfeiting your chance to find out what his reasons were for anything."

Crouch smirked, "I think I'll take my chances. The apple never falls far from the tree, after all."

Regulus watched as Rachel began to say more but was pulled back by one of the Prewett twins, and rightfully so. It wouldn't take much for Crouch to arrest her too. Between Rachel attempting to stand up for him and Crouch insulting his family, Regulus was feeling a strong desire for vengeance.

"It's a shame I couldn't have had someone like you as a father. Your son… he earned twelve OWLS, did he not?" Regulus asked in a would-be innocent tone.

"He did," Crouch answered simply.

"I suppose that wasn't surprising though, was it? He was sorted into Ravenclaw and does have you as a father. What are his plans after graduating?"

"How is that any of your concern?" Crouch asked irritably.

"I suppose it isn't. As I stand on the brink of imprisonment though, I just can't help but wonder what could have been. You're such an inspiration to those who wish to live in a world free of prejudice. Your son, Barty… I suppose he is who I could have been had I grown up with better influences in my life."

Catching Rachel's eye, he added, "Perhaps a comparison between the two of us could serve as a reminder to others how much better it is to stand by what you believe to be right, rather than unquestioningly supporting the ideas of the family you happen to be born into. If he were here-"

Regulus chanced another look at Rachel and his heart sunk to see her look entirely bewildered as to what he was on about.

"I can't imagine I need to compare the two of you when all of that should go without saying. Come now," he summoned his aurors. "We have wasted enough time here. The eldest Black is free to go, the younger is to come with us."

Regulus was then roughly jostled between the two male aurors. As they made it about halfway to the door though, their way became impeded as Dumbledore, followed by Lupin, entered the infirmary.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to take the youngest Black, Bartemius, Dumbledore remarked calmly, "neither Black, in fact.

"As I've said before, Albus, your opinion means little in the matters of known death eaters."

"Regulus is no longer a death eater," Dumbledore answered serenely. Regulus cringed inwardly at his word choice, as it clearly implied that he had in fact been a death eater at some point. "He has since come to realize the beliefs of Voldemort to be different from his own and has sought to reconcile with his past affiliations."

"You should be more concerned I do not have you arrested for knowingly concealing a death eater from the ministry, Dumbledore. You can no longer protect him as you never should have from the beginning."

"Bartemius, I am telling you, there is no doubt in my mind that Regulus Black is against Voldemort. He has done more in this war to oppose him than the majority of your aurors."

"What has he done to oppose Voldemort? What do you know, Dumbledore, about defeating _him_ that you are not sharing with me and my aurors?"

"Regretfully, I cannot say."

"Then you must know I cannot allow a known death eater to remain free!"

"Be reasonable, Bartemius. You must realize that locking him up in Azkaban would be his death sentence. Need I remind you that Voldemort has free reign of the prison?"

Their conversation was interrupted as a new presence entered the infirmary in the form of Barty Crouch, Jr., who was looking around apprehensively, "I was summoned here," he stated almost as a question.

Regulus, who had been partially concealed by the burliest auror had to stop himself from laughing. Apparently Rachel had figured out what he was trying to convey. Taking advantage of the relatively lax hold the aurors had on him, as they too seemed not to have expected him to put up a fight, he quickly moved away from them.

Before they noticed his absence, he had slipped behind them and moved to stand beside Barty. As their wands were quickly redirected at him, Regulus turned and embraced the younger wizard, essentially using him as a human shield. Naturally, the younger wizard's horror could only be rivaled by his humiliation at being embraced by another male, and publicly, no less.

"It's so good to see you," Regulus chuckled in his ear. Barty made to grab his wand, which was exactly what Regulus had hoped for. With the location of his wand being identified, Regulus quickly grabbed for it too, managing to wrestle it out of Barty's right hand with both of his.

Regulus then had to duck to avoid a ray of blue light, and cast a shield strong enough to deflect two more beams of light, this time red, as he stood up. Apparently deciding not to mess around, Crouch Sr. chose then to cast a killing curse at him. Considering that Regulus could have easily grabbed his son again to use as a shield, this only further infuriated him.

Choosing instead to throw himself to the ground, he avoided the spell. Using his new fighting skills, compliments of Sirius, he intentionally tripped Crouch Jr. before forcing him to his stomach with his arms behind his back, just before casting another protective shield between him and the aurors.

Ignoring his own feelings of guilt, he clutched Barty's left hand in his and severed the sleeves of his robes and shirt. Ignoring Barty's protests and careful not to make the 'big reveal' too soon, Regulus chuckled,

"Perhaps you should have made more time for your son, Crouch. Even I could have told you what his plans for after graduation were," he remarked as he quickly turned Barty's detached sleeves into a portkey.

Pausing just long enough for dramatic effect, he pulled away his new portkey, revealing the dark mark etched in Barty's forearm to the room at large.

Anticipating that he would be attacked before his portkey left, Regulus stood up and backed away from Barty who was clearly petrified. Regulus considered at least returning Barty's wand to him so that he wouldn't be so defenseless. As he wasn't feeling any particular sense of good-will towards anyone at the moment, nor did he think Barty above cursing him, especially after this, he held onto the confiscated wand.

Fortunately, it seemed everyone was too shocked to react right away. Barty hesitantly stood up, his expression somehow equally comical as it was gut-wrenching as his father stared back at him unforgivingly.

It was the elder Crouch that was the first to react, casting a powerful killing curse at his only son.

Instead of diving to the ground as instinct should have enforced, Barty made a nearly suicidal dash and low dive towards Regulus, latching on to his leg with a vice-like grip just as his portkey carried him away from Hogwarts.


	54. Alliance or Liability

Sirius watched the scene between the Crouch patriarch and son unfold with wide eyes. As furious as he had been at Regulus for divulging his true identity so carelessly, his anger had momentarily dissipated in light of the new revelation.

The head of the DMLE's son was a death eater.

Sirius supposed he should be less surprised than most that the younger Crouch had rebelled so entirely from his family's beliefs. He had done the same in his youth, with the end result of joining the Order.

Still, for all the times Sirius had enraged _his_ parents and all of the hate between them, they had never actually attempted to murder him_. _They had even had a 'spare' in Regulus to account for the unforeseen circumstances of needing to murder their firstborn.

While Sirius disapproved of pureblood tradition, he understood the preeminence of the firstborn in an ancient family. It was the reason he had been disinherited at sixteen and not eleven.

As Crouch Jr. made his desperate dive at Regulus just before the portkey carried them away, Sirius wished whatever idiot had placed a silencing charm on him would lift it.

He vaguely wondered if someone had placed a silencing charm on the entire room, for the silence had become nearly deafening. Interestingly, nearly all of the gathered Order members were now looking at the head of the DMLE with what could only be disdain.

Dumbledore was furious and it showed in his expression, yet when he spoke his tone was eerily calm,

"This is an institute for learning. More specifically, it is an institute for _children_ to learn. In order for them to do that, they must feel safe."

"You would willingly teach death eaters then, would you? House them here, feed them. Allow them to use the magic the professors teach them to conveniently harm the muggleborns while all under the same roof?"

"Of course we do not allow that to happen," Professor McGonagall interjected, rising to her feet. Sirius recognized from personal experience that by the set of her jaw she was about to tear Crouch a new one. Unfortunate for his hopes of watching the entertainment though, Dumbledore headed her off,

"That'll do, Minerva," he told her sternly. Obediently, she slunk back into her stool though the scowl never left her face. Turning back to Crouch, Dumbledore continued, "Perhaps we should discuss this further in my office."

"Perhaps, we can discuss it more at some point, however as the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I demand that every person here present to me their forearms," Crouch commanded authoritatively. "If it is true that every death eater bears the dark mark on their arm it would be abhorrently irresponsible not to check. After clearing this room, we shall move on to the rest of the school."

"I do not think that will be necessary-" Dumbledore began before Crouch slammed his fist onto the table in front of him,

"Enough of this Dumbledore! Our enemies await their opportunity to ambush and you wish to allow them to remain hidden? We must be more proactive in our fight against Voldemort, less there will be precious little left for us to fight for."

"There is no one of the Order who is a death eater. Perhaps more important is that you wish to invade the privacy of children. I am afraid I cannot allow it."

"No one who has decided to become a death eater should be protected as a child."

"As the headmaster of this school-"

"I shall have to stop you there, Albus. You are the headmaster of a school. Regardless of what the rest of the wizarding world may think of you, you are in no way qualified to reprimand death eaters. Furthermore, when you were appointed as headmaster, I can't imagine it was given with a lifetime guarantee. Continue to interfere with the business of the ministry and your employment will become jeopardized."

"As you've said, Bartemius, I am responsible for the students of Hogwarts," Dumbledore answered icily. Sirius felt as if the temperature in the room had just dropped significantly. "As such, it is I who has the authority to determine the punishment of _students._ Certainly the use of unforgivable curses is an unacceptable practice."

"Being a death eater takes precedence over any leniency one would otherwise have been given because of youth."

"Clearly being a death eater takes precedence over a lot of things," Dumbledore answered pointedly, obviously referring to the near-murder of Crouch's son. "Ministry officials do not have authority over my students while they are in school."

Crouch's exasperation at that statement was nearly comical, "The ministry has jurisdiction of _every _witch or wizard in Britain. You will cooperate with this investigation, Dumbledore, or I will return with far more than three-" looking up he smirked, "or shall I say _five _of my aurors. That is, if Moody and Longbottom hope to remain employed."

Finding James in the crowd, Crouch added, "Potter, I suggest you cooperate as well unless you want the last two years of your training to have been for nothing." Turning back to Dumbledore, he asked with a smirk, "Now will you be cooperating in this search or shall I call for more aurors?"

Sirius knew, as did everyone else, that Dumbledore would never want more from the ministry brought into Hogwarts. It was impossible to know everyone's true loyalty in the current climate. Voldemort had eyes and ears…and wands everywhere. Besides that, Crouch had pretty much been given free reign in his mission to reprimand death eaters. There was little doubt that he was within the rights of his position to search anyone he wanted to.

Dumbledore seemed to have realized this. Sirius suspected he had actually known from the beginning that he couldn't legally prevent Crouch from his search, but had hoped he could intimidate Crouch against it.

Dumbledore shook his head in resignation, "There are better ways to go about this, Bartemius. And far more dangerous death eaters on the loose in which your efforts could be better focused. There is no one you will find to arrest at Hogwarts apart from a few misled children. After seeing what you were willing to do to your own son though, I suppose I am wasting my efforts to convince you to be reasonable."

Something flashed in Crouch's eyes at Dumbledore's accusation. Seemingly deciding to ignore it though, Crouch ordered them to all lay their wands aside and form a line before giving more orders to his aurors and James.

* * *

How could Barty be a death eater? Rachel asked herself in bewilderment. She tried halfheartedly to summon up some self-righteous anger at Regulus for using Barty to save himself, but couldn't quite manage it. As unfortunate as it was for Barty, the head of the DMLE had certainly been asking to be knocked off his high horse. Nothing could have done so more effectively than the ousting of his son's apparent affiliations.

She couldn't deny that she was glad Barty managed to escape with Regulus. She only hoped Regulus would be lenient with him.

Considering his father's current vendetta, Barty likely would have been arrested even without Regulus' big reveal. She wondered how many other unsuspecting baby death eaters would soon find themselves in a similar predicament.

Dumbledore had already been warned by Crouch against trying to hide anyone. She had extremely mixed feelings on the matter if she were honest. While most of the baby death eaters turned into the adult Avery or Mulciber, what about those like Regulus? Were there others like Regulus? She thought there must be some who regretted their decision to join once they got so far in, but it wasn't as if any of them could make any pronouncements about it.

When it was her turn to be checked, Crouch Sr. roughly grabbed each of her arms before casting detection and concealment spells on her.

The Prewett twins, one of which had already warned her to keep her mouth shut, and Lily were all watching for her reaction with apparent apprehension. Sirius was watching as well, but he couldn't exactly judge her earlier outburst when the only thing that had kept his mouth shut was the silencing spell Lily had cast on him. Rachel had pointedly moved away from Lily after she had cast it.

Even with keeping her teeth determinedly clenched, it took a surprising amount of restraint not to insult Crouch Sr. Given the choice between a 'death eater' and his own father, Barty had chosen to take his chances with Regulus. That didn't paint the best picture of the morals amongst the light side, did it?

When Crouch had finally made it through all of them and deemed them innocent enough, he ordered that they either remain in the infirmary or else leave Hogwarts altogether. They were to tell no one about what they had witnessed nor the search that was to take place within the castle.

Obviously Crouch had taken the three aurors who had arrived when he did with him. He had also taken Mad-Eye, Frank Longbottom, and James Potter. Professor McGonagall had been sent to gather her lions and Dumbledore had elected to supervise Crouch's inspections of the students. There wasn't enough people to attempt having an Order meeting after that.

"So… Sirius… did you know your brother was still alive?" Benjy asked.

Sirius looked at him and blinked as if that was an appropriate answer.

"Forget that! What was Dumbledore talking about? What has your brother done against Voldemort that not even the aurors know about?" Fabian demanded.

Sirius rolled his eyes and shrugged, and then pointed to himself in a way to indicate he couldn't speak.

"Oh, that's a shame," Gideon remarked in a regretful tone.

"Ay, it would be unwise for anyone aside from the caster to lift that silencing spell," Fabian added.

"No doubt it was one of the aurors," Lily remarked a bit too innocently. "We don't want to tempt Crouch's ire further."

In effort to redirect Sirius' accusing look from Lily, Rachel suggested brightly, "Drinks, I think. Hogsmeade, anyone?" she asked the room at large, and to the surprise of seemingly everyone. And yet, all of the usual crowd agreed to go.

Rachel knew she didn't have a right to be happy, what with Regulus' survival being officially out now. After watching him and Barty escape from right beneath Crouch's nose though, she was in an oddly good mood. It didn't hurt that Dumbledore had stood up for Regulus either. Despite what Crouch had said otherwise, she knew the headmaster had more influence than most. His backing would prove invaluable if Regulus ever was brought to trial. She briefly remembered Crouch's promise that Regulus wouldn't be given a trial, but pushed that from her mind for the time being.

Instead she walked beside the silenced Sirius the entire way into Hogsmeade, chatting away about whatever struck her. Most of it was purposefully random and she could tell by the exasperated looks he was giving her that he wanted her to at least talk about something that would interest him if she wasn't going to undo the silencing spell. She didn't know where his wand was, but his lack of speech made it apparent that he had yet to be reunited with it.

"You know…. I don't think people give you enough credit, Sirius. You're really a great listener," she told him as they neared the outskirts of Hogsmeade. She smirked slightly at his grimace before linking her arm in his, pointedly ignoring the murderous look she was getting from Marlene.

It wasn't until later that she realized Remus hadn't made the trip into Hogsmeade with them.

* * *

Regulus fell into a heap in the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place.

He mentally cataloged that a simple portkey could in fact allow someone directly inside a place protected by the Fidelius Charm. He was extremely hopeful that it only worked depending on who had been the creator of the portkey, and if they already had access to the location. He should have realized the Fidelius could be circumvented in such a way after Cassie had taken him to Cyrus' house, though his mind hadn't been functioning quite right then, likely due to the effects of the curse on Gaunt's ring.

He had previously assumed Cassie had done something special to her portkey to somehow bypass the Fidelius, as nothing he had ever read before indicated any such aperture in the charm's protection. How had Cassie known a simple portkey could in some ways override the charm?

All of this ran through his head instantly, and if not for his unwelcomed guest, he might have allowed himself a moment to relax after only narrowly escaping being arrested. Instead, he immediately began kicking his legs at Crouch, forcing him to release him. Once he was disentangled enough, he stood to his full height and looked down at Crouch who was rising to his feet much more slowly, clearly trying to look as cooperative as possible.

For a moment they stood in silence, each appraising the other. Regulus knew Barty must be furious at him for ousting him as a death eater, yet he had also allowed him to safely use his portkey rather than cursing him or leaving him stranded someplace else. Even now that they were on solid ground again, he was still unarmed. Theoretically there was little keeping Regulus from killing him.

Barty's current affability was a clear indicator that he understood the precariousness of his situation. Had Crouch immediately begun to berate him for his actions, Regulus would have found the situation to be less disconcerting and perhaps more easily dealt with. Crouch was intelligent and calculating, and Regulus had never expected to find himself solely responsible for the fate of any of the baby death eaters.

There were also wands stashed all throughout Grimmauld Place. Unwilling to give Crouch any chance to level the playing field by happening upon one, Regulus cast a quick 'incarcerous' at the younger wizard.

Barty looked down at the ropes in surprise. "I wouldn't have taken you for someone who was into bondage," he remarked in an effort of sounding nonchalant.

Regulus was rather proud to have been able to keep a neutral expression at his remark despite his surprise,

"Don't flatter yourself. You're nothing like my type," he answered indifferently. "I am curious what exactly you were expecting to happen after borrowing my portkey without asking like that," he added as he lazily rolled the handle of the wand in his fingers.

"I wouldn't say I'm _nothing_ like your type," Crouch smirked. "I mean at least I'm a Ravenclaw."

"And why would you think I care anything about someone being in Ravenclaw?"

"Please, as if the oh-so-subtle looks weren't enough… I've seen you snog Rachel Candor at least a dozen times. In the library-"

"What?" Regulus asked indignantly. "No, you haven't!" He and Rachel had accidently initiated a snogging session in the library on two occasions, though he hadn't thought anyone had actually seen them.

"-and on the astronomy tower, in Greenhouse two _and_ four, in the potions classroom- and I couldn't even tell you how many times I've seen the two of you sneak up to the seventh floor only to disappear. Where is there to hide up there anyway?"

Regulus stared at him. Perturbed though he was, he was also oddly impressed, "Do a lot of lurking at school, do you?"

Crouch sneered slightly and Regulus didn't miss the bitterness in his tone, "Advantages of being overlooked."

"You aren't going to have that luxury anymore. What were you thinking tagging along with me?" he asked again.

"What was I thinking," Barty repeated incredulously. "I was thinking I didn't want to die. What were _you_ thinking dragging me into the infirmary with my father?"

"I was thinking your father in all of his self-righteous glory deserved to be knocked down a peg."

"You ruined my life because you were angry with my father?" Barty asked, clearly struggling to keep his anger under control.

"I suppose I followed your example," Regulus smirked unconcernedly.

"Meaning what? You said you would be there if I ever wanted to talk. Instead you used me for your own ends!"

"You effectively ruined your own life when you became a death eater, which I can only presume you did as a way to rebel against your father in the first place. And I, unlike him, by the way, have never claimed to live by some high standard of morals."

"You shouldn't have dragged me into your problems! Not even someone with an average standard of morals would have done what you did," Barty accused.

Regulus felt a twinge of what could only be guilt, and did his best to quash it back down before it caused him to do something foolish.

His instincts should have valued his own life enough to just kill Crouch and be done with it. He was a Black, after all, he should be merciless. Somehow Regulus couldn't find it in himself to kill an unarmed seventeen year old in his family's entrance hall.

He tried to tell himself it was only because it would be ending an ancient pureblood line, and not because he actually felt sympathy for Crouch after watching his father attempt to kill him.

"You and I were no better friends in school than you and 'Marcus' were after. How could you possibly be surprised that I _used you for my own ends_?"

Barty scoffed, "I thought you must not be as heartless as you let on. What could someone like Rachel see in you otherwise? Apparently I was wrong about you though, her too I would guess."

Regulus pursed his lips but otherwise kept his face neutral. He wondered vaguely what Rachel must think of his using Barty as the sacrificial lamb for his diversion to escape, and the part she had unknowingly played in the plan. Somehow he doubted she would be impressed.

As if the reality of his predicament was only just setting in, Barty attempted to cover his face with his hands, though the incarcerous charm hindered his efforts. "What am I supposed to do now?" he asked desperately. "I was only allowed to join the death eaters because The Dark Lord wanted me to spy on my father. I am of no use to him if my father is willing to kill me on sight. My loyalty was meant to stay hidden."

Regulus silently agreed with him in that he was quite screwed at the moment- and even more helpless without a wand.

He looked down at the wand in his hand and remembered the loss he felt when Crouch Sr. had summoned his Cypress wand from him. Even with a replacement, it felt as if he had somehow been stripped of some of his magic without the wand that had chosen him. Regulus absently hoped Dumbledore would somehow convince Crouch to return it.

He looked back to the owner of the wand he was now holding and felt torn on what he should do with the young death eater. He could 'set him free' but it wouldn't be long before Voldemort found out what happened and tracked him down through his connection and killed him.

Barty was right about the reason he had been allowed to join the death eaters in the first place. If he returned to Voldemort on his own and told him what happened, it was likely he would be killed. Voldemort in all of his anger at losing a spy on such a high ranking ministry official would undoubtedly focus on his loss, and Crouch's failure, rather than consider any other potential a seventeen year old could have. Even if he was temporarily responsible for recruiting new death eaters at school, that position was hardly indispensable. It also wouldn't be long now before he graduated and would have to be replaced anyway. Knowing Voldemort and his narrow-mindedness, he would deem Crouch useless in his new predicament.

If he didn't return to Voldemort, it was also possible that his father would find him before Voldemort and chuck him into Azkaban, making it all the more easy for him to be killed.

Regulus still had Gaunt's ring. While he was hoping to save it for Evan, he wouldn't feel nearly as obligated about removing the curse on it beforehand if it was going to be used on Crouch. What was the worst that could happen in that case? Barty also should have more motivation to leave the death eaters than Evan did at the moment.

Deciding that finding out more about Barty might help him make his decision, he asked, "So, given the choice, would you have done it all over again? Join the death eaters?"

"Why wouldn't I?" At Regulus' look, he added, "Before now I mean… It's where I fit in. Bellatrix and Rodolphus treat me the same as they did Rabastan. Better perhaps, since Rab had a bit of a hot temper-"

Regulus was unable to hold in a derisive laugh, "Bit hypocritical, don't you think?" he asked darkly as Barty glared at him. "Rabastan's temper was nothing to Bella's."

"Maybe, but Bellatrix shows restraint when it is necessary," Barty defended, almost reverently before his expression became somewhat disdainful, "Rabastan was far too much of a loose cannon to have ever been a favorite of the Dark Lord's. He often brought shame to Bellatrix."

Regulus frowned slightly, "She told you that?" he asked doubtfully.

"She didn't have to."

Regulus shook his head slightly. He knew Bella well enough to know that whatever she had done to win Crouch's loyalty, he didn't want to know the details.

"As fascinating as this is, we need to figure out what to do with you."

"Can't find it in yourself to kill me?" Barty asked somewhat amusedly.

"It wouldn't take much to change my mind," Regulus lied, though it served its purpose in that it wiped the smirk off Barty's face.

Apparently his curiosity was less easily restrained, "What made you want to leave?" he asked abruptly.

Regulus fixed him with a glare, "Did you miss the part where I pointed out we aren't friends?"

"No… I just thought it might help, you know, decide what to do."

Regulus considered his words for a moment. While trying to convince Barty to change sides held merit, he didn't think he could convince him without sharing more about himself than he was willing to. The only other option was to tell him about the horcruxes, which he obviously wasn't going to do either.

"Do you even know where your true loyalties lie?" Regulus asked in a neutral tone, "Can you honestly say you didn't join the death eaters out of spite?"

Regulus felt strangely accountable for Barty. He wasn't much older than Regulus had been when he joined the death eaters. And despite their conflicting views, Barty's father clearly hadn't been any better of an influence on Barty than the majority of Regulus' family had been on him. When Barty didn't answer immediately, Regulus added,

"Your best option is probably to go to Dumbledore and beg him to let you return to school. You would be safest from Voldemort and your father inside Hogwarts…"

Barty closed his eyes briefly and shook his head. After a moment he asked resignedly, "And you think everyone else at school will just allow that? What about the other death eaters who are still students?"

Regulus gave a half-shrug, "Be thankful you're in Ravenclaw. It shouldn't be too difficult for you to avoid them."

"And the other Ravenclaws? I'll be a pariah once _The Prophet_ catches wind of this."

Regulus smirked, "Between your father and Voldemort, I don't think anyone will be too eager to accuse you of anything for fear of the consequences that would await them."

"And after I finish school? I can't rely on Hogwarts for protection indefinitely."

"That's over four months away," Regulus answered simply. Considering how many people were being killed daily, thinking that far ahead seemed pointless to him. Barty seemed to have understood what he meant for he had turned slightly green but didn't ask any more on the subject.

After a moment Barty took a deep breath, solidifying his resolve, "How did you make it so that the Dark Lord cannot track you?"

"There are ways. If you are at Hogwarts though-"

"I don't want to go back," he answered firmly. At Regulus' look of surprise, he added, "I don't want my fate resting in Dumbledore's hands."

Regulus nodded vaguely, he felt the same way if he were honest. Fortunately it was only if he planned to live out the rest of his life in Britain that reliance on Dumbledore was likely necessary- hopefully. After their encounter with Crouch Sr. though, Regulus had his doubts as to how much protection Dumbledore could realistically offer anyway.

"I don't want to die and I don't want to go to Azkaban," Barty continued. "My father will never allow me to continue my education at Hogwarts now."

"Perhaps he wouldn't find out," Regulus suggested.

"He would be sure to. As for my loyalties… as I've said, I don't want to die and I don't want to go to prison. I'll do whatever it takes to ensure neither of those things happen. But in order to do that I need the trace removed from me as well."

"That's all well and good, but none of what you have said has in any way convinced me that you are worth the effort it would take to remove the trace. You are fickle and selfish and thirty seconds ago you were praising Bellatrix as though she were some infallible goddess. What would she think of your decision to remove the dark mark?"

Barty cringed slightly at his words but when he spoke it was with resilience, "She would kill me, if Voldemort doesn't first… I'm seventeen. I'll do whatever it takes to survive."

Regulus thought back to everything he knew about Crouch. What stood out most was that he was an impeccable actor when properly motivated. He was also intelligent, competent and disturbingly observant.

He was an impeccable actor when properly motivated, he recalled a second time.

"If you want my help, I require insurance. Nothing short of an unbreakable vow. Though if you want to live, it's probably your only chance."

Barty set his jaw, clearly displeased with the proposition but thinking it over.

"Will you return my wand?"

"In time," Regulus smirked.

"Are you certain you can remove the trace?"

The goblins would either remove the trace or kill him, though the curse made it a bit of a wild card,

"Of course," he answered unconcernedly.

"If I am taking a vow to ensure I don't betray you, how do I know you won't betray me?"

"When have I ever steered you wrong?" Regulus asked innocently. At Barty's look, he added, "You're hardly in a position for bargaining."

"And if I refuse?"

Regulus shrugged. He was fairly impartial of Barty's choice. Now that he had at least offered to help him, he didn't feel quite as bad for contributing to his predicament,

"You might die no matter what you choose. In exchange for an unbreakable vow to me though you could remove Voldemort's ability to instantly find you. That's bound to help your odds of surviving."

"What is to stop you from killing me?"

"I would have already done it," Regulus answered impatiently. "So what's it going to be?"

For a long time there was silence between them. Part of Regulus hoped Crouch would choose to return to Hogwarts and leave him alone. He knew it was only a matter of time before Crouch's being a death eater became common knowledge. He would be targeted from both sides when his unintended betrayal to Voldemort got out.

Overall, it would save Regulus a lot of trouble if Crouch chose to figure things out for himself. Just when Regulus was beginning to think Crouch's silence was meant to reflect that choice, Crouch asked resignedly,

"What do I have to do?"


	55. Definite Liability

Sirius was annoyed. It was his first night back home and he was already in the all too familiar situation of being surrounded by drunks. Scratch that, he wasn't even remotely used to it unless he was drunk along with everyone else, which he wasn't. The only entirely sober person around him was Lily and for how giddy she was over his inability to talk, it didn't show.

It seemed everyone was in need of a distraction over what was going on inside the castle right now, and the hilarity of Sirius being unable to speak along with the alcohol, served as a good one. Due to his lack of speech, Sirius had been unable to order anything for himself and it seemed no one else was inclined to order enough for him to share in their same level of distraction.

James still hadn't returned from ridding Hogwarts of its population of student death eaters. Sirius was torn between believing the little buggers were getting what they deserved and feeling sorry for the ambush that Regulus had inadvertently caused.

Remus, hadn't come with them at all, presumably having gone home. Sirius hadn't heard what his intentions had been in summoning Regulus to the infirmary, but he knew Remus wasn't spiteful enough to have wanted Regulus arrested.

Deciding it would be a bad idea to underestimate Crouch Jr., Sirius thought he should check on Regulus. Unfortunately, he didn't know where he would have gone now that he was homeless, nor did he have any quick way of getting anywhere without a wand.

He was surrounded by supposed friends, though they refused to undo the surprisingly long-lasting silencing charm that had been bestowed upon him. He took a quick glance around the table to decide who was the least sober, so that he could attempt to steal their wand. As everyone seemed to be on a fairly level playing field, his eyes settled on Rachel. It was either her fault or Lily's that he couldn't speak. He would allow Lily a pass because she was pregnant. Rachel didn't have that luxury.

She was also conveniently perched on the stool two down from his. Emmeline, who had previously occupied the stool between them, had moved to the other side of the table and was practically sitting in Benjy's lap- apparently they had become a couple while he was babysitting Regulus in India. Sirius glared at them briefly before realizing what he was doing and looked away quickly.

Emmeline was easily the best looking girl in the Order now that Lily was knocked up. He was making an effort to think of Rachel as a sister or cousin or something since a past relationship with his brother made her off limits. A relationship that explained so much really. He was still quite happy to know he had never been turned down by anyone who was available when he asked them.

From the corner of his eye, he discreetly watched her. She didn't seem to be especially drunk but he didn't want to give away his intentions before locating where she had stashed her wand either, less she could get assistance from the others.

One of the Prewett twins said something that made her laugh, causing her chest, which had been just out of his line of sight before, to draw his attention. He supposed without the use of one of his senses he should at least make the most of those he still had faculty over.

Turning his head to better watch her, he noticed that she had apparently removed her wizarding robes at some point and was now dressed in a muggle shirt and jeans which closely hugged her smallish curves. He couldn't blame her, it was stifling inside the crammed, smoke cloud of a bar.

Something was different about her though. And while he had rarely seen her dressed in muggle clothing, he didn't think that in itself was it. While she had always been petite, he couldn't remember her having the almost too-thin figure that she had now.

As he took a sweep around the table, he realized she wasn't the only one who seemed less like their usual healthy selves. While chatting up the tourists on an Indian beach, it had been easy for him to forget that he had left his friends to fight a war. The Order had suffered several causalities while they were gone, and the impact of conflict had clearly left its toll on those who survived. They had stayed gone too long.

Unable to talk and having no one better to look at for the moment, his eyes drifted back to Rachel. As far as he was aware, she hadn't been a target of the death eaters prior to joining the Order.

Whether he had joined or not, Sirius still would have been a target because of his deviance from his family. For different reasons, the same applied to James, Lily and Remus. All of them would have been targets of the death eaters, so they might as well fight back. Rachel had willingly joined the Order knowing that she would become a target. Past humiliation aside, he couldn't help but respect her for that. There were far more people doing all they could to stay out of the conflict.

Rachel turned rather abruptly, catching him looking at her in what must have looked like the nether region. He immediately raised his eyes to meet hers and did his best to look as innocent as possible.

Rachel gave him a bit of a suspicious look, before scooting over to Emmeline's former chair. Sirius prepared himself mentally for a defense, momentarily forgetting he couldn't talk, and was relieved when she seemed disinclined to mention his apparent wandering eyes.

"I've been thinking," she remarked in a low, conspiratorial voice, "If you really want your voice back, perhaps you should find someone less resistant to your charms."

Sirius looked at her in confusion. Who did she think he had been trying to charm while stuck in the role of a sullen mute?

She laughed slightly at his blank look, before nodding towards a table on the far left side of the room.

Following her line of sight, he spotted Marlene through the crowd, chatting up some bloke who was at least a decade her senior. As he had no intention of looking like a jealous prick, least of all over Marlene, he gave Rachel a careless shrug as if to ask 'so what?'

"She is probably only talking to him to make _you _jealous, but as it has taken you _this _long to notice her, she has since started taking shots and I think it's pretty obvious that she is about to leave with him."

Ignoring the slight twinge in his chest, Sirius scrunched his nose and gave another shrug as if unconcerned with the events that were transpiring.

"Oh you really don't care?" Rachel asked doubtfully as Sirius shook his head slightly. "That's good to know." Lowering her voice to a whisper she added, "Because from the treatments I have witnessed at St. Mungo's, I can assure you, that you don't want to share her with _him, _less she won't be the only thing you'll be sharing."

Sirius looked at her in surprise only to find her expression unreadable. "It looks excruciating," she added rather ominously before abruptly standing and walking away.

Sirius looked in the direction she had gone, but she quickly disappeared into the crowd and to who knew where. If she meant what he thought she did, she should have at least given him his voice back. How was he supposed to warn Marlene of some presumably ghastly disease that her intended conquest possessed when he couldn't speak?

Turning his attention back to Marlene, he watched as she downed a shot of liquor before the guy Rachel had indicated placed his hand on her waist as if intending to lead her- somewhere. He would have thought only to get another drink but considering that Rachel somehow knew they were about to leave, he thought that to be unlikely. Before he knew what he was doing, he was halfway across the room. As he reached Marlene, he grabbed her by the elbow and began to pull her away from the disease carrying perpetrator.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Marlene barely managed to withhold a smirk as she demanded, "Sirius, what are you doing?"

He continued to pull her away ignoring the question since he had no way of answering anyway. The man made to follow them until Marlene turned back to him,

"I'm sorry about this, Alec. This is my ex-boyfriend, Sirius. He gets _very_ jealous when he sees me with other men," she answered smugly, clearly having realized he had no way of refuting anything she claimed.

"Well _Sirius_, I don't think Marlene wants to leave with you." Sirius turned abruptly and faced him, happily noting he towered over the other man.

Apparently disease guy hadn't noticed that before either as he took an involuntary step back. Thankfully he was either dimwitted or decent enough not to draw his wand on an unarmed stranger in a bar. Sirius' lack of wand would have made a duel problematic.

"Maybe you should work things out with him, Marlene. I'd hate to…cause problems," he told her uncertainly.

Marlene made a half-hearted effort to change his mind as Sirius grabbed her other arm irritably and frog marched her outside. Once clearing the doorway, he made an about-face to better glare at her.

"Something you want to say, _Siri_?" she mocked. Her smirk broadening into a grin as he continued to remain silent, "Cat got your tongue?"

None too carefully, he backed her the short distance that separated her from the brick wall of the bar. Now partially concealed in the shadows, he began trailing light kisses across her neck. She let out a breathless gasp, clearly having been taken off guard by his change of approach.

It was fortunate he was unable to speak, less he wouldn't have remembered not to taunt her. Still, he found the ease in which he could make her lose any pretense of bravado laughable. In all of the time he had known her, she had rarely shown any semblance of self-control around him. Not that he minded.

Careful not to get too carried away so as to forget his true intentions, he undid the front of her robes with practiced hands and groped her hips with purpose. All of it happened rather quickly, though as he had never gotten the impression Marlene minded too much before, he didn't think much of it.

"Umm… this is a bit public, isn't it?" she asked in a strained voice as she pulled away ever so slightly. Abruptly he let go of her, having found what he had really been after anyway.

Marlene stared at him with dawning horror as he stepped back, her wand now in his hand. He quickly cast a nonverbal spell removing the silencing charm on himself.

"You're right. This is much too public," he answered with a roguish grin.

Coming to her senses, Marlene hastily reaffixed her robes as Sirius watched avidly.

Once nothing interesting was left uncovered, he gave her wand a slight wave and remarked casually, "Thanks for this, but I'm afraid I _must_ be going."

"Are you- have you lost your mind? What was all of that about before?" she demanded only just managing to disguise the hurt in her voice.

Damn, he hadn't considered that his little stunt might actually hurt her feelings. He had been going for anger, intent to meet up with her after checking on Regulus. Angry Marlene generally made for excellent company. Hurt Marlene- not so much.

"I- it was nothing."

Marlene raised an eyebrow, "nothing," she repeated.

"Well… nothing that we have time to talk about right now," _or ever_, he added to himself. "I just really need to check on Regulus and I didn't have a way to do it without a wand," he told her before casting a patronus to ask Regulus where he was.

Marlene watched him create the patronus and its departure without comment. _Yep, hurt Marlene was definitely not his favorite_, he thought as they waited in an awkward silence.

"So… to be clear, it is your intention to leave me here without a wand?"

Sirius gasped and feigned his best wounded act, "Do you really think so little of me, Marlene? I hoped you would go with me," he invented.

Marlene looked at him skeptically, "Why didn't you say that from the beginning?"

"I want you to go with me, but not if it's going to put you in a dangerous situation. My brother left with Crouch Jr., remember? I was trying to find out what's going on before inviting you along."

"There is still the issue of only having one wand between us since the aurors took yours. How do you intend to account for that?"

Changing tactics, he pleaded, "I've only just gotten Reggie back, Marlene. I can't just leave him to Crouch and his devices."

"Your brother was the one who had a wand," she began disbelievingly, before considering the rest of his words and wrinkling her nose, "Reggie?"

He smiled slightly, "That's what we used to call each other when we were young. Reggie and Siri. He's the only person besides you that's ever called me, Siri." _Not that anyone else has ever wanted to, _he thought to himself, as he rubbed her arms in effort to warm her up after her brief striptease in the middle of winter._ "_Did you know that?"

Marlene smiled softly, "No, I didn't know that," she answered quietly before pulling his face down towards hers to kiss him.

He managed to forget his escalating guilt as he became tempted to leave Regulus after all, in favor of taking Marlene somewhere more private.

When Regulus' patronus arrived a moment later, he retained just enough presence of mind to be relieved that he was safe rather than annoyed with being interrupted.

* * *

"Are you at least going to untie me?" Barty whined from his perch at the head of the table, the farthest away from where Regulus was concocting his potion.

"Of course not, you've not yet made the vow and I don't trust you," Regulus answered as he finished adding the last ingredients.

As the poison was more of a last ditch effort to remove the curse than anything more definite, he hoped he could convince Barty to talk to Dumbledore. While what had happened in the infirmary would not stay quiet indefinitely, Regulus suspected Dumbledore would be inclined to take some pity on Barty's situation, especially after witnessing his father's not-so loving behavior. Barty wasn't in Slytherin, after all.

Regulus also preferred not to accidently kill Crouch in his effort to remove the dark mark, as could easily happen if the curse remained intact. With Dumbledore's involvement, he thought he might have a bit more time to either find another horcrux or remove the curse from the ring. He didn't necessarily worry for Crouch's welfare so much as he did his own sanity if he killed more people than what was absolutely necessary. The death eaters who had been trying to kill him had been bad enough. Crouch was relatively innocent as far as he was aware.

He had nearly concluded that the curse was bound to the integrity of the ring and that it couldn't be destroyed without also destroying the ring. He did wonder what would happen to the curse if someone tried on the ring. Would it transfer entirely to the person who wore it, or would some of the curse remain with the ring?

Regulus speculated that Dumbledore must have found Gaunt's shack by now if he had truly been looking for it. Assuming he had found it, he would have either ruled out that a horcrux had been hidden there, or that it had already been removed. While Regulus wasn't thrilled with giving more information to someone who rarely reciprocated the favor, they were all supposed to be working with the same goal in mind. Perhaps it was time to show the ring to Dumbledore. After all, there was a chance he would have some insight about the curse.

Regulus spent a few more minutes ensuring the beginnings of his potion were as it should be. Once satisfied, he set it aside to allow it to percolate for what would be several days before the next ingredients could be added.

Looking up, he saw Crouch watching him and was immediately asked,

"How did my father figure out who you were?"

Regulus scoffed, "I think it was when I walked into the infirmary completely undisguised that gave it away."

Barty's jaw dropped ever so slightly, "What were you thinking?"

"Your father would have arrested Marcus just as easily as he would me. Given the choice between being discovered hiding behind a useless disguise, or announcing I was alive on my own terms... which would you have chosen?" Regulus asked rhetorically.

"Why did you bother going in there at all if you had a choice?"

"Why did you?" Regulus countered.

"I, unlike you, didn't know what was going on before I walked in. If I would have known what awaited, rest assured I would have stayed away."

"Lucky for me you aren't quite as observant as you like to portray then. Are you ready to go?"

"Wha-? Ready to go where?" he asked in alarm.

"Back to Hogwarts, of course. Until the mark is removed, you can be tracked. While Voldemort shouldn't need to track you while you are presumably in school, I'm not taking the chance of him tracking you here."

"That wasn't the agreement! I don't want to return to school. I told you that already-"

Regulus turned his wand in his hand, drawing Crouch's attention to it, "Do I need to remind you are in no position for bargaining? Anyway, you won't be going to classes, you just need to be inside Hogwarts in case Voldemort checks up on you."

"How can I be inside the castle and not be sent to class… or worse. There's no way Flitwick would allow me to hide in my room."

"I'm told there's a really great place to hide on the seventh floor," Regulus drawled, despite his unhappiness to do so. He didn't want to show the room of requirement to anyone, least of all Crouch who already seemed to know too much for his own good. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a better option at the moment.

The house elves had told him about the hidden gem in his fourth year when he wanted a more private place to uh- study with Farrah Fawley. Thankfully he had had the foresight not to tell her how the room worked. As such, he had seemingly been the only student in school to know of both its existence and how to make the room appear during his time at school, until he told Rachel.

Finding a place that even the marauders didn't know about had been a feat in itself, though all of the credit for his knowing about it belonged to the house elves.

"You might as well just kill me if that is your plan. Between my father and Dumbledore I will be either killed or arrested anyway."

"They won't be able to get to you once you are inside the room I am taking you to. The potion I am brewing will be finished in about a week, and then we will have the means to remove the trace and you will be less confined to the castle. Although… do you actually have any place to go? You are halfway through your final year at Hogwarts. You will have wasted the past year and a half since taking the OWLs if you're going to quit now."

"Will you stop with the, 'I'm older than you therefore must give advice' nonsense? I don't want it, and I don't need it."

"Yes, you were doing just fine on your own, weren't you?"

"I was! If not for you I was doing perfectly well for myself. Have you already forgotten it was you who dragged me into this?"

"You know, now that you can't be a death eater anymore, you should really work on getting over this 'I'm a pureblood and therefore anything adversarial that happens to me is someone else's fault,' mindset," Regulus told him condescendingly, both because it was true, and because he knew it would irritate him. "Take accountability for yourself or you won't last long on your own."

Flicking his wand in Barty's direction, he cast, "_Accio_, invisibility cloak," smirking as the silvery cloak flitted towards him.

"Explains quite a lot about you," he remarked.

Crouch may be discreet, but there was no way Regulus had ever been inobservant enough that he wouldn't have seen him in as many of the situations he had referred to earlier, no matter how distracted he had been otherwise.

Crouch let out an exasperated sigh, "Anything else of mine you plan to steal?" he asked resignedly.

"Accio wand," he cast a couple of times, but when nothing turned up he conceded that Crouch hadn't been carrying a spare and moved on.

He briefly considered summoning everything from Barty's pockets, but decided against it. There was no question that Crouch's current predicament was his fault, and Barty hadn't yet been uncooperative enough to warrant him encroaching on his privacy. Thinking of the horcrux, Regulus knew he didn't want anyone going through his things.

"Don't be so dramatic, it was obvious you must have had one, and it would be useless for anyone to own an invisibility cloak and not carry it with them. Besides, unless you want to be caught sneaking into Hogwarts, you're going to need it."

He realized with mild chagrin that he really had made a terrible death eater. No one else would have thought twice about going through their 'victim's' things. Judging by the way Crouch was looking at him, he was thinking along the same lines. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut.

"We are going now then?"

Regulus nodded slightly, the rest of his response was forgotten as Sirius' patronus approached him, demanding to know where he was.

Annoyed with Sirius or not, he knew him to be the best option as bonder in Crouch's unbreakable vow to him. He attempted to cast his own patronus, asking Sirius to meet him at Hogwarts. Due to the fidelius charm on Grimmauld Place, Sirius couldn't meet them inside and he was fairly certain death eaters would have been stationed outside the home.

After his second attempt at the message he wanted, Regulus was dismayed to find that when using Barty's wand, he couldn't conjure his patronus followed by the spell to obscure his patronus' form in quick enough succession to hide his patronus form from Crouch.

On his third attempt, he cast the spell, and gave the message for Sirius to meet him on the seventh floor of the castle in front of the Barnabas the Barmy tapestry. He then obscured the image, slowly enough that Crouch was given a good view of his lion form. He did his best to act as if it had been the patronus he struggled with, using a different wand, and not the obscurity spell. If people were going to find out his patronus form, he was going to at least pretend to own it, rather than act embarrassed over the cruel irony.

Looking at Crouch as he led him towards the stairs, he didn't seem convinced.

"A lion… Explains quite a lot about you," he answered, his eyes clearly mocking him, though his tone suggested it was meant as a compliment.

"And what form does your patronus take again?" Regulus asked, fairly certain that Crouch had never managed one. When he didn't answer for a moment, Regulus smirked, "What, no happy memories at home with daddy?"

"Please," Barty scoffed. "I've never bothered with trying for one."

"Because the dark creatures would _never_ turn on anyone who was supposedly their ally, right?" Regulus asked derisively. "You might want to work on that."

Barty muttered something else about unsolicited advice that he didn't quite catch and chose to ignore. Just inside the front door, he threw the invisibility cloak over them both and stepped onto the front stoop where he disapparated them to outside the gates of Hogwarts.

They immediately began their trek towards the castle. Regulus found it to be incredibly awkward walking under the cloak with another fairly tall male- both because they had to crouch down to ensure their lower bodies were hidden, and because Crouch had apparently developed a habit of saying things for the sole purpose of making him uncomfortable.

Regulus would have cast a disillusionment charm on them rather than bother with the cloak if he didn't suspect that was the real purpose for Crouch's slew of inappropriate comments. Should Regulus become distracted for any reason, Crouch could break away from him while under the cloak. If he were a separate invisible entity, Crouch would have a huge advantage at getting away from him altogether.

Regulus decided to endure his comments rather than take the risk of separating himself, or even give Crouch the satisfaction of knowing he was irritating him by casting a silencing charm.

Finally the light from the castle was upon them. Just as Regulus reached his hand to open the door leading into the entrance hall, it swung forward forcefully, only to slam back shut upon the impact of hitting him. Regulus bit down on his lip hard enough to make it bleed to keep from yelling out any obscenities.

To his surprise, Barty immediately grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the door, rather than attempting to run off on his own. When they were just out of the way of the door, Regulus readjusted the cloak to ensure they were fully covered, and just in the nick of time too, as Crouch Sr., Frank Longbottom, and the other two aurors he had already forgotten the names of, all came barreling out of the entrance hall.

"What was that?" Crouch Sr. demanded.

"Could it not have been the wind?" the male auror that he had never seen prior to today asked.

"No, the door hit something solid."

"Whatever it was, it's gone now," Longbottom answered, clearly exhausted from the events of the evening.

"I'm not so sure about that. It was almost certainly a person. It's unlikely an animal would have been so near the door."

"Finite Incantatem," the female auror began casting around the area at random. The largest male auror joined in a moment later.

Regulus and Barty began backing away as quickly as they could without drawing attention to themselves. Regulus considered wrenching the cloak off of Crouch and making a break for it while the aurors were distracted arresting, or more likely, killing, Barty. He had no doubt Crouch was considering doing the same to him.

As Barty hadn't made any sudden movements, and seemed unwilling to set off on his own without a wand, not to mention with this hands still bound, the two of them continued to inch away slowly from the group of aurors.

"Let's split up and look. Whoever it was can't have gone far," Crouch instructed.

"We've arrested six death eaters tonight, and Dumbledore ensured us we didn't miss any of the students in our search. If someone was outside the door, it was probably just a scared kid who snuck out past curfew," Longbottom tried again to reason with Crouch Sr.

"We can't rule out that it wasn't someone more malevolent than some rule-breaking adolescent," Crouch chastised him rather condescendingly.

In an impressive display of magic, he then began transfiguring various items throughout the Hogwarts campus into bright spotlights until the entire grounds was lit up as bright as if it were daytime.

Regulus felt a stray _finite incantatem_ spell hit him in the chest and froze, hoping none of the aurors noticed how the spell light had fizzled upon impact.

Regulus looked up and directly into the eyes of the male who had cast the spell. He thought Crouch Sr. may have called him Jones earlier. Regulus suspected the man noticed the discrepancy in the spell that had hit him, but was questioning if it couldn't have been a trick of the light.

After a moment in which Regulus nor Barty dared move as the man stared directly at them, the auror cast a silent stunner spell, in the place his last spell had fizzled. Regulus leapt out of the way, while Barty bolted from the area, not even bothering with the invisibility cloak.

"I've found-" the man began to shout before Regulus stunned him. After checking to ensure none of the other aurors were within firing range of him, Regulus turned and ran in the same direction Barty had disappeared.


	56. Plight of Crouch

'_Decent people are easy to manipulate,'_ echoed through Regulus' mind as he made his way in the direction Crouch had gone. Barty had been referring to his staged almost-kidnapping by Bellatrix on the Hogwarts Express when he had said that, of course. He had managed to convince Rachel to stand aside on the pretense that he wanted to sacrifice himself for the rest of the students. For Rachel to have been deceived was excusable, she had always been a bit trusting. For Crouch to have deceived him though? How could he have possibly allowed that to happen?

Crouch must have realized running off on his own like that, unarmed and in plain sight was a suicide mission. It would have been, if not for Regulus. Yet he had risked it. Why would he have risked his life so carelessly? He was either entirely unfazed by the prospect of death, or he was overestimating of Regulus' moral character. Regardless of how Crouch had managed to anticipate his reaction, Regulus had more pressing matters at hand.

In the otherwise quiet night, the disturbance caused by the auror yelling out was bound to have drawn the others to the area. Regulus' view of the direction the other aurors had gone was blocked by the contours of the castle. Realizing he wouldn't see them before they saw the immobile Auror Jones, he quickly disillusioned him. He then levitated the invisible man to the center of the vegetable garden, where he hoped he wouldn't be found anytime soon.

In the time it had taken for him to relocate the auror, Barty had seemingly vanished into thin air. Taking a moment to evaluate the grounds surrounding the castle, he determined that the Forbidden Forest offered the best camouflage. Without a wand, Crouch could take refuge near the tree line and, unless provoked, wouldn't have to go deeper into the forest. He would certainly be safer there than remaining in the open. Regulus suspected it would have been Crouch's first choice to hide.

Unfortunately for Crouch, they had been inching their way to the north of the castle entrance before they were separated and there was a lot of open space between them and the forest. Crouch would have to take a very roundabout way to get there, if the forest was his goal.

Crouch's immediate thought in his panic to escape had to have been to get to the shadows as quickly as possible. Whether he would then risk seeking out the forest or settle for a less remote shelter to wait out the search, Regulus didn't know.

If it were him, he would have chosen the latter. The aurors who were still on the hunt had no proof there was really a person they were searching for and trying to make it all the way to the forest would likely only draw more attention to himself. Regulus thought Crouch would likely draw the same conclusion that he did.

In that case, he had either chosen to circle behind the castle towards the greenhouses or made his way towards the quidditch pitch- though he had also been headed in the same direction as the Whomping Willow. Regulus knew from Snape that there was a path of sorts beneath the tree which led to a place where Remus hid as a werewolf. What he didn't know was how to access it without upsetting the tree and drawing unwanted attention.

Fortunately, Snape had likely only shared the vague details of that particular near death experience with him so that he could better berate him for his brother's 'murderous tendencies'. It was less likely that he would have told Barty about it as the two of them were never close, at least not that Regulus was aware of. He couldn't rule out that Barty hadn't discovered it on his own though.

As Regulus made his way in the general direction Barty had gone, he overheard the female auror addressing Longbottom as they approached the area Jones had been before. Because of the attention auror Jones had drawn, they were now both searching in the same direction that Barty, and subsequently he, had gone.

He let out a quiet sigh of frustration and quickened his pace, though careful to tread lightly. The aurors couldn't see him, but they could hear him if he wasn't careful.

Considering the available options, Regulus initially thought Crouch would feel less drawn to visit the Quidditch pitch than Regulus would, as Regulus couldn't remember ever seeing him on a broom. Also, unless he had made an incredibly lucky guess when he spoke of seeing him and Rachel together near the greenhouses, then it was obvious he had a habit of lurking somewhere near there.

The more he thought about it though, Crouch didn't have a wand to break into any of the greenhouses, and without an invisibility cloak there would be few good places in the area to hide.

It was becoming apparent to him that the Quidditch pitch was a much better option over the greenhouses- possibly even better than the forest. While it might prove difficult to break into the broomshed without magic, if he could manage it he could steal a broomstick and be well on his way to escaping both him and the aurors. Regulus quickened his pace to a sprint, no longer worried with the noise he was making. If Crouch got his hands on a broom, he will have returned to Voldemort by morning.

* * *

Rachel returned to her seat at the table across from a beaming Lily,

"Well done," the redhead congratulated. "I think Sirius might have even been a little jealous before it was all said and done."

"I don't care about that. Did he go check up on Regulus?"

Lily chuckled darkly, "If he didn't, it's your own fault. You could have just asked him to go check on him, instead of involving Marlene-"

"I didn't ask her to be involved," Rachel defended. "She overheard us talking, interrupted our conversation, and it somehow led to her telling us about how turned on she gets when Sirius is jealous. I'd have done anything to get her to shut up by then," she shuddered slightly. "Though I admit I was expecting more ridicule from her about Regulus."

Lily seemed to shake slightly and her face was beginning to turn red from the strain of suppressed giggles.

"What's so funny?" Rachel asked bemused.

"Nothing, nothing."

"Tell me," Rachel prodded. "If it's about me you can't not tell me."

"It's not about you, not really," Lily answered shaking her head. At her curious look, Lily added, "According to Marlene, one's past can be overlooked when," she glanced at Rachel with a bit of a nervous look before continuing, "Let's just say Marlene finds Regulus almost as attractive as she does Sirius."

"He'd be so thrilled," Rachel answered dryly. "More importantly though, she said if I first helped her get Sirius' attention she would ensure that he checked on Regulus. And if I would have asked Sirius to check on Regulus myself, he would have told him that it was me who was worried."

"And you don't think it'll be obvious something more is going on when Marlene wants Sirius to check on his brother who she's likely never met before?"

Rachel shrugged, "It would defeat the purpose of me helping her if she were obvious about it."

"Maybe," Lily conceded, "But would it really be such a bad thing if Regulus knew you worried about him?"

Rachel fought the urge to roll her eyes, "If you really have to ask, then it's lucky you are married."

"What does that mean?" Lily asked indignantly.

"Don't be offended," Rachel answered in a placating tone, "but think about Marlene. As far as I can tell, she's always available when it comes to Sirius; it's like her entire world revolves around him. Maybe some guys like that, but from where I'm sitting the only appreciation she has gained from Sirius is in that he knows she's a reliable shag."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Ouch."

"Sorry," Rachel answered slightly chagrinned. "Perhaps Marlene isn't the best comparison. My point though, is that Regulus hasn't shown any particular interest in me since we broke up. Unless that changes, I'll be doing my best to look as unconcerned with him as possible."

Lily smirked, "Ah yes, mind games… the foundation for all happy relationships."

"Who said anything about mind games? I'm just not going to pathetically wait around for him to throw some attention my way. Why would I chase someone who broke up with me in the first place?"

"Why would Regulus Black have broken up with you, period?" James asked, as he took a seat beside his wife, after seemingly having appeared from nowhere. He gave Lily a kiss on the cheek before looking back to Rachel intently, "While he could do no better, you certainly can. There are a lot of guys who would be more than happy to have you on their arm," he said pointedly, "and I daresay most have more to offer you than Regulus Black ever could."

Rachel looked away in embarrassment, not having expected anyone else to be listening in on their conversation. Then there was the added discomfort of his words.

Lily shoved James lightly, "I would have thought that after what we just witnessed, you might have changed your mind about him a bit."

James rolled his eyes, "Yeah great, he's done one good thing… And he couldn't even manage it without casting an unforgivable curse." Chuckling he added, "I'll admit watching Snape drop like a stone was pretty satisfying though."

Lily visibly tensed at Snape's mention, and James put his arm around her protectively.

"Is the search over then?" Rachel asked, as eager for information as she was for a less awkward subject matter.

"Yes, six students were found to have been branded. I helped Mad-Eye portkey them to the ministry before apparating here. Crouch was right about them not putting up much fight. I kept expecting them to attack me or try to escape but they didn't… it was a bit unsettling."

"They must have been terrified," Lily intoned.

James scoffed, "I don't know about that… they might as well have been wearing death eater masks for all their expressions gave away. I reckon Crouch is right about them believing their families' money will buy their way out of trouble."

Lily glanced at Rachel before promptly altering the direction of the conversation, "Which students were they?"

"Nearly the entire male population of Slytherin who is of age. I honestly can't understand why Dumbledore allows that house to continue."

"Hogwarts is nothing without its traditions," Rachel answered as neutrally as she could manage. "What I can't understand is why Dumbledore, and all of the professors for that matter, don't do more to promote interhouse unity. Slytherin can be a separate house, but why should its members be ostracized by everyone else?"

James shrugged unconcernedly, "Perhaps if they weren't disdainful towards the other houses they would be better accepted."

Rachel had the distinct impression he would have said something far more insulting if not for being in the sole company of her and Lily.

She recalled an incident from several years back, on her first ever trip on the Hogwarts Express. Snape and Lily had been in the compartment across from hers and some other girls. Lily had asked if she could change into her school robes in their compartment because there was a boy in hers.

After all of them had changed, Lily pulled open the door to return to her compartment. Rachel had followed her out, intent to use the restroom. Immediately upon leaving the compartment, they had been met by three black-haired boys with varying levels of guilt in their expressions.

Rachel had vaguely recognized James Potter, who had flushed considerably upon catching sight of Lily. Sirius Black had grinned at them roguishly, and attempted to wrap his arm around the miniature version of himself. Regulus Black, visibly perturbed, had pushed away from his brother and stormed down the train, disappearing into one of the compartments near the back.

"That's what happens to dirty snakes," Sirius had called after him.

To his own brother- who was from a family that was nearly always sorted into Slytherin and who was only hours away from being sorted himself.

A moment later, and Lily's shrieking had alerted the rest of the train to what had happened. Apparently Snape had been attacked 'three against one'- though based on what she had witnessed, Rachel had her doubts about how much Regulus had participated. Either way, Snape rode the rest of the way to school with some incredibly painful looking boils that seemed to cover his entire body.

As Snape had obviously been friendly with Lily- who had already told them she was a muggleborn, Rachel knew Snape hadn't been picked on because of the prejudice often associated with the house of Slytherin.

If not for Sirius' departing sentiment to his brother, Rachel might have been more inclined to think Snape had done something to warrant the boys' retaliation. And maybe he had, but she would never know. All that she had known as an eleven year old who wanted to make friends at school, was that she didn't want to be what others would consider a 'dirty snake' after witnessing the incident.

"To be fair though, most of the Slytherins grew up in very traditional households. And it's obvious to anyone that the majority of the rest of the school dislikes them. So, they stick together, feeding off of each other's prejudice-"

"So you at least admit they are prejudice then?" James asked victoriously.

"Yes, but no more than those who are blindly prejudice against them," Rachel answered feeling her temper beginning to rise.

"But Rachel," James remarked slightly condescendingly, "Six students were arrested tonight and all of them were from Slytherin. That prejudice is not unfounded."

Rachel closed her eyes and willed herself to be patient, after a moment she asked, "But if most of them grew up in a household that believes in pureblood supremacy and they are surrounded by people who grew up in similar households... and the rest of the school ostracizes them… how are they going to realize they are wrong? Have you ever actually made an effort to reason with any of them with words or has it always been with disdain and curses _on both sides_?"

James scoffed and remained silent for a moment. Eventually he asked, "What's your excuse for Regulus joining the death eaters then? I know for a fact that Sirius tried, more than once, to reason with him. Sirius also grew up in the same household as Regulus, by the way."

"He did leave them though, James," Lily answered softly from beside him- which was a good thing since it took his attention away from Rachel whose calm demeanor had all but left her for the moment. "And we might have lost Harry if not for his change of mind."

James nodded feebly and seemed to finally be considering their words. After a few moments he answered,

"Well for the record, I still say you are better off without him, Rachel."

Rachel smirked, "Funny, he used to tell me the same thing."

"See? The two of you have loads in common," Lily chimed in cheerfully.

James grimaced, "What besides agreeing that Rachel is better off without him?"

Lily and Rachel exchanged looks before making a fairly short list of important things James and Regulus shared in common. Rachel knew they were grasping at straws when Lily began comparing their blood status and hair color. Still, it was a start. Even if she and Regulus were never more than friends again, she did hope for him to be better accepted by the other Order members, and especially James since he was important to Sirius.

* * *

Arriving at the Quidditch pitch without incident, Regulus immediately went to the broomshed. He was careful to be on the lookout for Barty or anyone else lurking nearby, though he seemed to be quite alone.

Unlocking the shed, he selected the best looking school broom available, and then locked the door back immediately. Doing his best not to linger on how many people of questionable cleanliness had ridden his selected broom before him, he mounted it quickly and adjusted the invisibility cloak to cover as much of himself and the broom as possible.

He then pulled the broom into the air just high enough for his feet not to brush the earth below and began a quick sweep of the area surrounding the pitch.

* * *

Sirius stood with Marlene on the seventh floor, exactly where Regulus had directed him. It had been obvious when they entered the castle that the last of the search for death eaters had been concluding. Knowing that Crouch Sr. and his cronies were still in the castle made him incredibly nervous to know Regulus was on his way there himself.

Sirius checked his watch every few seconds and he could tell Marlene was quickly growing tired of his harried behavior. He slunk down into a sitting position and leaned his head back against the wall, attempting to look as calm as he could manage as he did so.

Marlene followed suit a moment later without comment. Any thought of resuming their former activity before Regulus' patronus interrupted them had left him once he realized Crouch had not yet left the premises. He was immensely thankful that Marlene seemed to have sensed his current attitude, and sat in silence with him rather than attempt to initiate anything.

After several more minutes, Marlene seemed to have worked up enough courage to speak,

"Maybe you should tell him not to come, or tell him we'll let him know when the coast is clear."

"And how do you suggest I do that? Owl him? In that case perhaps we will have an answer by sometime next week," he snapped irritably.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a patronus, but if you are going to bite my head off for making a suggestion, you can wait alone," she answered standing up.

Sirius lightly smacked the back of his head against the wall behind him in frustration of his own idiocy. He shouldn't be taking anything out on Marlene.

Before she moved away, he grabbed her hand, which she tried half-heartedly to pull away from him.

"Don't go. I didn't mean to take anything out on you. I just wish I knew what was keeping Regulus so long." At her expression, he added, "If he doesn't show up in a few more minutes I will take you up on your suggestion. A patronus is a good idea."

Marlene looked at him resignedly, though when he pulled her hand towards the floor beside him, she sat back down with little hesitation.

* * *

After having circled the premise several times, Regulus determined Crouch had not ventured in the direction of the Quidditch pitch. He found it to be quite odd that he wasn't there if he were honest. While Crouch did not give the impression of being particularly agile, even flying with poor skills would be better than any other option Regulus could think of.

Regulus supposed if he managed to break into one of the greenhouses, Crouch might encounter some poisonous plants he could defend himself with, though it was a tactic that could be easily undone by a quick banishing charm. Without a wand, Crouch was a sitting duck. The problem was that Regulus didn't know where he had chosen to hide.

Deciding he should at least glimpse the Whomping Willow on his way through, he gained a bit of elevation and steered his broom in that direction on his way to the greenhouses.

Upon reaching the tree, he stopped mid-air to observe it for a moment, trying to make out what he could of its secrets. A moment later, he witnessed a small squirrel begin to climb its trunk only to meet its violent end as a branch immediately snatched the squirrel up, and delivered a skull crushing blow against the very trunk he had been attempting to climb.

_Not worth it_, Regulus mused as he made his way around the tree, careful to give it a wide berth.

Just as the greenhouses, were coming into sight, Regulus saw Longbottom and the female auror leaving the area, apparently having gave up on finding anyone there. Beginning to grow frantic that Crouch would manage to escape after all, he waited until the aurors were just out of sight before turning back towards the greenhouses and casting, _'Homenum revelio._'

A ray of red light shot of out his wand and illuminated his silhouette. Two other rays of red light shot from his wand, though neither headed towards the greenhouses as expected, but instead illuminated the silhouette of two others amidst the center of the vegetable garden. The first had obviously belonged to the currently invisible and stunned auror, Jones, while the second figure was found to be laying amongst the deciduous plants of the garden.

Regulus immediately zoomed towards the garden. Barty, clearly realizing he had been discovered and aware of his vulnerability, attempted to free himself of his entanglement of decayed vegetables. Whether by magic or coincidence, the feat had seemingly become impossible, and it certainly lacked any grace. Looking around frantically and seeing no one, Crouch stopped fighting with the plants and visibly relaxed, much to Regulus' annoyance.

"Little help here?" He asked expectantly.

Regulus scoffed at his presumptuousness, though his retort died on his lips as a patronus took that moment to approach him. It was Sirius' though whatever message he felt the need to pass along, Regulus scarcely heard it. The patronus had come from the direction of the castle- undoubtedly having passed the aurors on its way through.

Regulus began casting 'Relashio' at random, hitting Barty's bare skin with more than a few of the spells.

"Can't you be any more careful?" Barty whined as he was hit with yet another fiery purple flame.

"If I were any more careful, I'd leave you for the aurors and save myself," Regulus answered irritably.

Not a moment after Barty was freed from his vegetation captivity, the other three remaining aurors became visible from around the corner of the castle.

Regulus immediately grabbed for Barty, hiding him beneath the cloak as best he could as he mounted the broom behind him. The number of 'relashio' spells he had cast managed to sever enough of the rope binding Crouch that he was able to pull his hands free as Regulus flew upwards.

Regulus heard the aurors talking amongst themselves but couldn't make out their words. He had a pretty good idea what they were saying at any rate, as they began to cast spells into the night at random again, one of the 'finite incantatem' spells inadvertently hitting auror Jones. Once he became visible the other aurors made their way towards him in obvious outrage.

Regulus was already halfway to the astronomy tower when Crouch yelled in his ear,

"If you want your wand back, now is the time."

Regulus was torn on what he should do. While he wanted to get away from the aurors and possibly kill Sirius for his idiocy in sending a patronus at such an inopportune moment, he also wanted his wand. His uncle's wand, which he knew would work for him better than Barty's, was still stashed away in his pocket- biding its time for his most desperate moment to be called upon. While it would work well enough in a pinch, no hand-me-down wand could remotely compare to having his own. He also quite liked having a spare.

Abruptly turning the broom in the opposite direction, Regulus went back towards the aurors. When he thought it most likely to go unnoticed, he cast, "Accio Regulus' and Sirius' wands."

He was rewarded a moment later when the two wands came zooming towards him from Crouch's pocket. Not so much so when the head of the DMLE noticed his loss and turned quickly to accost the culprit thieving the wands. Regulus turned the broom upward to avoid the curse Crouch Sr. had semi-blindly aimed at them. In what must have been an impressive grab, Crouch Jr. managed to catch his and Sirius' wands, nearly unseating himself in the process.

Regulus, in a mild panic of having an armed Barty, who seemingly held no true loyalty behind him, abruptly turned his broom down and entered a series of barrel rolls. While he successfully managed to unseat Barty, the invisibility cloak was also lost in the process.

Without having his own wand and likely being a bit disoriented on top of it, Regulus thought Barty unlikely to survive the fall without a bout of accidental magic. Realizing this, he cast a cushioning charm on the ground below him before summoning his and Sirius' wands to him once more. Just before the wands dispelled from Barty's hand, a white light exuded from them, directed towards the ground. As Regulus closed the distance between himself and the wands, he saw that Crouch's spell must have been a bouncing spell of sorts for he was now flailing through the air- again exhibiting very little grace.

Without the cloak, curses had begun to rain upon them from all four of the aurors below. Regulus grabbed ahold of Barty, knowing that if he went back down he would not be allowed back up, and awkwardly helped him back onto the broom.

"If you could not do that again... it would be appreciated," Barty remarked breathlessly as he wrapped his arms around Regulus' middle- a bit more tightly than expressly necessarily.

"I'd watch your wandering hands in that case," Regulus answered dryly.

While Barty loosened his grip slightly, Regulus looked down to find that a couple of the aurors were making their way towards the trampoline of sorts that Barty had created. Casting a quick, 'finite incantatem,' at the location in question, he then shot the broom upwards again, putting enough air between them that most of the aurors' spells were off point. The few that did make it to them he avoided or deflected until they finally made it onto the astronomy tower.

As if unable not to, Regulus and Crouch immediately went to the edge and looked down. Crouch Sr. was motioning furiously for the aurors to go inside the castle- to head them off, no doubt. He himself was waiting outside, apparently intent to intercept them should they attempt to leave.

Regulus with his three wands in hand, motioned for Crouch to follow him,

"Come on, we need to get to the room before they get up here," Regulus instructed as he made his way to the door.

"_Avada Kedavra_," Barty cast in a voice that oozed with undeniable hatred.

Regulus dropped to the ground immediately, half expecting it to be the last thing he'd ever do. After determining that he was still alive a moment later, he turned to face Crouch as he leapt to his feet in one fluid motion. Rather than having to dodge another curse, he found Barty leaning low over the wall of the tower. Brushing off his robes as he went, he warily approached Crouch, surprised to see a mokeskin pouch no longer hidden beneath his robes. His eyes then fell to the wand in his hand.

Regulus vowed to never be so trusting of his 'victims' again, and to hell with allowing them to keep the contents of their pockets private. Due to the nature of the mokeskin pouch, Regulus couldn't summon or extract anything from it- no one aside from Crouch could. He could certainly take the pouch away from Crouch altogether - which he did, immediately after disarming him yet again. To his surprise, Barty seemed entirely unconcerned.

Instead he stood up to his full height and grinned at him rather manically, "Got him," he informed him.

Regulus calmly looked down over the wall to find Crouch Sr. lying in a heap on the ground, dead.

Sometimes Regulus surprised even himself with how well he had learned to keep his emotions in check, though perhaps he should have been more concerned with how easily he could slip back into death eater mode,

"We should move the body," he remarked as if commenting on the weather.

Barty smirked, "Care to do the honors?"

While Regulus was far from thrilled to be an accomplice in the head of the DMLE's murder, he hadn't been given much of a choice in the matter. More important was that he knew it didn't matter which of them was more responsible. If what happened to Crouch Sr. was in any way linked to either of them, both of their fates would be sealed. He was also not about to return Barty's wand anytime soon.

After perhaps the most powerful 'levicorpus' he had ever cast, Regulus managed to have the former head of the DMLE's body delivered to the top of the astronomy tower. He wasn't sure whether seeing his father's corpse up close would bother Barty or not. Seeing as he had been the one to kill him, Regulus couldn't be bothered to care much either way,

"Any requests?" he asked as he prepared to transfigure the body.

"I think Hagrid's boarhound might appreciate some pork to snack on for a change," Crouch remarked.

"Good on the hat for not placing you in Slytherin then," Regulus remarked derisively as he transfigured the corpse into a dead bird and relocated it to the castle's west tower, near the Owlery.

At Crouch's questioning look he added, "You clearly lack the subtlety."

Barty scoffed, "You're feeding him to the owls. How would the mutt have been any different?"

"How many wild boars have you seen at Hogwarts?"

"It was just a suggestion-"

"Incarcerous," Regulus interrupted, binding Barty's hands once again before leading him towards the door that led to the rest of the school. Pulling open the door, he held it open for Barty to walk through first.

Barty hesitated at the doorway briefly, before meeting his eyes,

"In case you haven't noticed, I haven't done anything to warrant your distrust. If you were not so paranoid, perhaps we could even be considered allies."

Regulus nodded his head in the direction of the doorway indicating for Barty to hurry through it, which he obliged. As they scurried towards the room of requirement, Regulus couldn't help but think that the sooner Crouch was contained by an unbreakable vow the better off he was, potential ally or not.


	57. The Burden of Pride

Sirius, Marlene and Regulus, who had insisted upon disillusioning himself, made their way through the castle later that night- perhaps too near sunrise to truly be considered night anymore.

Sirius and Marlene had both been caught by surprise when Regulus and Barty had approached them on the seventh floor corridor from the apparent direction of the astronomy tower. Regulus had immediately directed them through a door Sirius had never seen before, where he had always believed to be a solid wall. The 'Room of Requirement,' as Regulus had referred to it, was a mystery that Sirius was determined to find out more about.

Once inside the Room, Sirius had been asked to cast an unbreakable vow binding Barty's life to the promise that he wouldn't betray Regulus. Sirius had been hesitant at first, knowing it would be risky to pull off without an appropriately matched wand of his own, and secretly because he had always been a bit leery of unbreakable bonds in general.

After determining that his lack of matched wand was the only thing keeping him from casting the spell, Regulus had procured his wand from his pocket. How he had managed to get it back from Crouch Sr., he had no idea. Without any excuse not to at that point, Sirius reluctantly obliged to cast the bonding spell.

Having been thrown into the position of bonder for the spell unexpectedly, Sirius felt entitled to gain something for his trouble in their arrangement. Mid-spell, he had taken the liberty of adding his name along with a few others to the list of people Barty couldn't betray. Barty had looked extremely uncomfortable with the added specifications, unsurprising considering how risky it would have been for him to back out of the spell by then.

Regulus nor Crouch had been forthcoming with any details of what had happened since they left the infirmary on Regulus' portkey. Crouch was currently sealed inside the Room of Requirement and wandless.

As the trio exited the entrance hall, Marlene commented that the grounds appeared to be deserted. From the other side of him, Sirius heard Regulus audibly sigh as if in relief, causing him to wonder all the more what had happened since they last separated. Barty had looked quite smug during Sirius' interrogation of Regulus- who had been stubbornly reticent.

Sirius was hopeful that Regulus' insistence that they had, 'waited until the coast was clear,' meant that he would tell him what really happened later when Marlene wasn't around.

"Accio Barty's invisibility cloak," Regulus muttered under his breath as they walked. A moment later and a silvery material came zooming towards them from somewhere around the side of the castle. It disappeared before it quite reached Sirius- either because Regulus was now beneath it or he had stashed it in his pocket.

"So… did you get much use out of that requirement room while in school?" Sirius asked in a would-be casual tone.

"Not now, Sirius," Regulus answered quietly though the tension in his voice was evident.

"What are you so paranoid about?"

"Nothing, I just want to get out of here."

"Mm," Sirius answered vaguely. "Well you can go with me to Marlene's house. And then you and I are going to talk."

Regulus scoffed, "You must be drunk if you think I'm going with you to McKinnon's place. I have better things to do than wait around for you to fit talking to me into your schedule."

"What could you possibly have to do right now?"

"Sleep, Sirius. It's what normal people do at 5am… if they aren't already waking up."

"I refuse to believe that anyone has ever sought to find a room such as the one that you apparently _required_ for the purpose of sleeping- You can't be that tired."

"Considering we started the day in a different country, today has probably been the longest ever."

"Don't be such a baby, the time change wasn't that much different. Besides, Marlene lives with her parents. I am quite literally dropping her off and nothing else. You are acting far more anxious than tired anyway."

"Oh please do come with us, Regulus." Marlene pleaded. "I'll only worry about Sirius being alone if you don't."

"Oh- fine," Regulus answered tersely rather than arguing. Under his breath, he added, "Though I'm surprised you're bothering to escort her home at all if it's only a drop-off."

Sirius shot an elbow in Regulus' direction, which contacted somewhere in his ribcage by the sound of it.

Apparently not having properly heard what he had said, Marlene answered conversationally, "Sirius saw me talking to another man at the bar and became insanely jealous. I am curious why that is, Siri. Care to enlighten us?"

"I don't need to hear this," Regulus answered quickly. "I'll just-"

Sirius felt around until he was confident he had a good hold on Regulus. He then ripped the invisibility cloak off of him, and cast, "_Finite Incantatem_," making him visible once more. "I just cast an unbreakable vow for you. The least you can do is answer my questions. And _why_ are you acting so paranoid?" he demanded as Regulus had instantly began scanning the area around them.

"No reason," Regulus shrugged nonchalantly after apparently determining they weren't going to be attacked by some unknown threat.

Sirius was tempted to disarm Regulus to ensure he didn't attempt to escape before his second attempt of interrogation for the night. Regulus' body tensed and his eyes narrowed at the wand in Sirius' hand. Sirius knew Regulus was armed as well, though he had not yet directed aim at him. Realizing that, Sirius released his grip on Regulus slightly.

His comparatively relaxed brother while in India was gone now, having been replaced by the much more uptight version of himself. Sirius realized that being attacked by one of the few people he might actually trust wasn't going to help his brother's paranoia.

Deciding not to attack him didn't mean he was willing to let him leave without answering the questions he had been avoiding though. Instead of keeping Regulus with him by force, he released his grip in favor of linking his arm through his brother's as he might have if he were James. Not for the first time he got the impression Regulus disliked people touching him,

"Could you be anymore awkward?" Regulus demanded as he attempted to pull his arm away.

"What's so awkward?" Sirius asked blankly as Marlene laughed at Regulus' obvious discomfiture.

After a moment in which Regulus seemed to have decided it not worth the fight and stopped struggling as much, Sirius linked his free arm through Marlene's. Catching sight of her expectant look, he recalled her question. Using the same tone he would have used to explain a difficult concept to a child, he answered,

"I wasn't _just_ saving you from a humiliating walk of shame when I stopped you from leaving with that sleazy bloke, Marlene, but also from whatever disease you would have undoubtedly contracted from the encounter."

Regulus' steps faltered momentarily at his statement, but Sirius barely noticed as Marlene extracted her arm from his rather violently.

"So what, you just assumed that I would sleep with some random guy I met in a bar?" she demanded angrily.

"We should be able to disapparate from here," Regulus chimed in.

Realizing too late that he was offering him an out from answering the question, Sirius blurted out,

"It was pretty clear where your night was headed from where I was sitting."

Marlene recoiled at his statement and even in the dark it was clear that her skin had flushed considerably. Despite the cold air of the night, the silence between them felt nearly suffocating. That is, until the silence was interrupted by the sound of Marlene slapping him across the face.

Rather than the shrieking Sirius had come to expect from her, she remarked coldly,

"I really don't know why I ever liked you."

Sirius had been too stunned that she had actually slapped him to respond right away. Her deviance from the usual hysterics only added to his confusion. Before he had fully processed what had just happened she disapparated.

Rubbing his cheek, he discovered that it felt unnaturally hot where her hand had made contact. Turning back to Regulus, he found him watching him curiously and with only the slightest hint of amusement in his expression. James would have been in stitches if he would have witnessed what had just happened, as would Sirius if it had happened to anyone else.

Shrugging unconcernedly, Sirius explained, "She's always been a bit moody."

To that, Regulus was unable to hold back a smile, "Yeah, I'm sure that's the problem."

When Sirius did nothing but stare at the place Marlene had disapparated from, Regulus added, "For future reference if anything ever was contracted like_ that_\- it could easily be cured by a potion… whoever told you otherwise was either grossly misinformed or lying."

Narrowing his eyes, Sirius answered accusingly, "It was Rachel the-soon-to-be healer, so lying, I'd expect."

"Is Marlene suddenly in less need of an escort home then? Or was that code for something else?"

"I'm not forgetting that Rachel is a liar just because you changed the subject! And I already told you Marlene lives with her parents," Sirius remarked as he abruptly grabbed Regulus' arm and apparated them to the street Marlene and her family lived.

* * *

Regulus was livid at having been dragged by Sirius to Marlene's, though his anger quickly subsided as he recognized the emerald snake in the sky hovering over the house.

"Marlene!" Sirius shouted.

All warnings Regulus gave him to wait were ignored as Sirius went running full speed into the house.

Regulus resignedly cast his patronus to summon someone from the DMLE. He realized they were unknowingly leaderless for the time being, as he followed Sirius inside. As idiotic as it was to enter a house that death eaters had clearly attacked recently, he wasn't trusting enough of Sirius' judgement when there was a prospect of valiantly rescuing a damsel in distress, even if it was just Marlene.

Unlike Sirius, Regulus proceeded through the house cautiously, looking for any of the tell-tale signs of an ambush along the way. Some of the more enthusiastic death eaters had a tendency to leave that sort of thing when they didn't manage to kill off an entire family as planned. With Marlene being in the Order, Regulus thought it almost a guarantee that a surprise would have been left for her somewhere.

"We don't even know if Marlene is here," Regulus quietly called to Sirius as he made his way down the hallway.

His remark was answered by a hysterical scream from upstairs. Sirius nearly crashed into Regulus as he came bolting out of a room to his left, before rushing up the stairs. Regulus willed himself not to berate him for being so careless. Despite how Sirius acted, Regulus thought he must have some feelings for Marlene.

Regulus followed Sirius up the stairs and found Marlene lying in a heap in the floor of the corridor. She was collapsed in on herself between the bodies of her parents and brother, who had been a year ahead of Sirius in school.

As Sirius pulled her into a hug, Regulus looked into each of the vacant stares of her family members. Despite the surprise in each of their expressions, they somewhat managed to look at peace, or maybe that was only his imagination. He almost thought they were better off now. What were any of them waiting for if not to be hunted down and killed?

He allowed those hopeless thoughts to simmer for another moment before quashing them back down and hardening his resolve. He was going to die. He wasn't going to let it happen without first destroying the horcruxes.

"There's nothing we can do here, Sirius," he remarked as he extracted a selection of portkeys from his pocket and chose one.

"Have some sympathy, Regulus," he snapped at him irritably.

"We need to get her out of here- now." Glancing at her elderly parents pointedly, he added quietly, "they weren't the target."

As his meaning sank in, Sirius set his jaw and nodded grimly. After a bit of coaxing he managed to help Marlene into a standing position. Though when he suggested apparating them to _his_ house, which Regulus presumed he was referring to their Uncle Alphard's, she seemed to realize she had been allowing Sirius to comfort her and was now strictly against it.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," she told him firmly.

_Wonderful_, Regulus thought dejectedly. _After all of this time of practically obsessing over his brother, she had taken this moment to grow a backbone. How incredibly unhelpful._

The delay of anyone from the DMLE showing up was a bit ominous as well. Regulus did his best to swallow his feelings of guilt about the former head of that particular department. How could he have known Barty would kill his own father? He had felt sorry for him after his father had attempted to kill him. He hadn't known the attempted murder would be reciprocated- with success.

After another minute of Sirius and Marlene bickering, Regulus interrupted,

"Argue somewhere else. We need to get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere with Sirius," she answered stubbornly, before beginning a rant for all of the reasons to support why she was better off without him. It seemed she had given a surprising amount of thought to the sentiment.

After allowing her to continue for another moment, Sirius interrupted with forced calmness, "Fine. You can stay with Regulus."

"What?" Regulus demanded. "How can you possibly be the one to decide that?"

"Grimmauld Place belongs to me. That is where you were planning to go, is it not?"

"Only because I haven't had time to look for anything else yet," he answered through gritted teeth.

"My house means my guests. You're only welcome to stay if you take Marlene with you. Besides, there's plenty of rooms that you won't even have to see each other." His eyes flitted between them quickly, "Unless that's what you want, of course."

Regulus rolled his eyes at the disgusting implication as Marlene retorted angrily, "Of course, Sirius. I was a sure thing for the random guy in a bar, just imagine how 'lucky' your brother is going to get."

Regulus was astounded by how incredibly inappropriate, and immature they were being while her deceased relatives lay at their feet. The sentiment only worsened as Marlene added, "I want you take me, Regulus."

Sirius took that moment to disapparate, not that Regulus was surprised. Leaving had been his usual response when he was in an argument he couldn't win. Their 'holiday' had only reiterated to Regulus how little Sirius had truly changed over the years. His ideologies may have morphed, but the intricacies that made him who he was had not.

The moment Sirius disapparated, Regulus had activated his portkey. Silence was a much safer option than trying to follow up Marlene's ludicrous statements.

The uncomfortable situation Sirius left them in actually proved helpful as it had given Regulus a head start in activating his portkey. For the moment Sirius disapparated, the floor, ceiling and everything around them began to collapse.

Regulus immediately grabbed Marlene's wrist and they managed to leave the house before enduring any significant damage to themselves.

Upon landing inside the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place, tears were freely flowing down Marlene's cheeks. While Regulus did feel sorry for her, the situation was awkward enough already without throwing in his ill-practiced skills at comforting a near-stranger.

"Did you apparate directly inside your family's home?" he asked after a moment, more from lack of anything else to say than because it actually mattered.

"No, to just outside. When I saw the mark, I ran in," she answered detachedly.

"Apparition must have been what activated the implosion then. If you would have apparated directly inside the house, you wouldn't have reacted quickly enough to get back out."

Marlene glanced around the entrance hall without comment.

"The second floor is generally used for guests, though there is a spare bedroom on this floor as well as other rooms on the third. You can choose whichever you'd like."

To which she said nothing.

Feeling distinctly foolish for thinking she would be remotely concerned with where she would be sleeping after everything that happened, Regulus showed her to the biggest spare room on the second floor. He then conjured a cup of tea which he thought was likely go untouched and bid her a goodnight.

He wasn't sure if she really needed to be left alone, but as a former death eater himself, he couldn't imagine she would welcome his company any more than he cared to offer it. Considering how overloaded his mind was at the moment, it seemed impossible they had only been back in Britain for one day.

* * *

Sirius stormed into his Uncle Alphard's house and slammed the door behind him. He was halfway across the room before an acrid stench caught up with him. Searching for the source of the smell, he noted the coffee table and its rather eclectic blend of opened liquor bottles. His eyes then fell to the couch where he found Remus- laid face down in his own vomit.

Sirius was tempted to try his hand at conjuring a camera. While he had been in Remus' current situation before, as had James and Peter, Remus hadn't. Sirius felt a flare of anger at his involuntary recall of Peter before focusing back on Remus.

Taking a moment to consider how much Remus must have drank to reach his current level of sickness, and Sirius felt slightly abashed for his initial amusement over the situation.

He quickly made his way into the kitchen and put together the rather disgusting anti-hangover concoction the marauders had mastered years ago. Rather than attempt to wake up Remus who was in a deep sleep by the look of it, he banished the worst of the vomit mess and left the anti-hangover potion on the table.

He was tempted to leave the liquor bottles out- some which looked to have been quite old and valuable from his uncle's collection- as a tribute to Remus' valiant effort to get good and properly drunk. But then he worried Remus might take his anti-hangover concoction only to begin drinking again. On a particularly bad night, Sirius had suffered the same ill-advised inclination. While Remus generally wasn't one to attempt to drown his sorrows, Sirius hadn't been around much since the feast of Mulciber. He wouldn't be surprised if Remus never felt clean again- hence the alcohol. In case his night of drinking was something more than a simple night of drinking, Sirius banished the remaining liquor to the kitchen to be dealt with later.

More worried than he cared to admit about his friend whom he had never actually seen properly drunk before, Sirius conjured a blanket and made his own bed in the recliner across from Remus' couch. He eventually fell into a restless sleep after worrying alternatively about Remus and Marlene.

* * *

Regulus found himself awake after not nearly enough rest, yet unable to return to sleep. He couldn't decide if his lack of drowning made up for the tiredness he felt. Did he dare hope the nightmares might be becoming less frequent? He doubted it.

Sluggishly getting out of bed, he took a scolding hot shower before going downstairs. He almost called for Kreacher before remembering his mother needed him more. Once he reached the kitchen and found the breakfast options, or lack thereof, he questioned his original assessment of who needed a house elf worse.

Remembering he wasn't the only person in the house, he abandoned his efforts to come up with anything acceptable to eat. Throwing on a quick disguise, he apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. Not seeing anyone of interest there, he bought far more breakfast than could possibly be necessary and returned home. After eating what he wanted of it, or rather forcing himself to eat some of it as had become his habit, he placed a charm on the remaining food to keep it warm for Marlene, before disapparating to Hogsmeade.

Regulus arrived in the Room of Requirement, expecting to have to wake Barty up. Instead he found him sitting at a table that hadn't been there the day before, devouring a breakfast fit for a king.

"And to think, I almost felt bad for not bringing you breakfast," Regulus said by way of greeting.

"Gotta love house elves," Barty grinned briefly before his expression turned more somber, "Did you decide I didn't sell my soul adequately enough last night?"

"No-"

"Because your brother is going to be the death of me, adding in all of that extra crap at the end. We were too far into the vow for me to back out and he just kept adding people-"

"Don't betray anyone in the Order and you should be just fine," Regulus answered unsympathetically. "We need to talk about what happened with your father."

"He's dead. What is there to talk about?"

"Who killed him?"

"It was difficult to tell from the angle I had."

"I see… well in that case, I'll be back with Dumbledore in a few minutes."

"Why? No one will ever even know what happened if we keep our mouths shut. He won't even be considered missing yet."

"If neither of us talk we'll both be blamed. Don't you think the others from the ministry might have gotten a fair look at us last night? They certainly did while in the infirmary. Even if we are bound for Azkaban already-"

"Exactly. We're bound for Azkaban already. Why should we worry with giving the ministry, Dumbledore, or anyone else any more information than they already have?" Barty asked unconcernedly. "I do wish it could have waited until after Thursday to happen though. Being stuck in here is going to be most depressing."

Regulus raised an eyebrow as he recalled the date, "Did you have big plans for Valentine's day?"

"Shows how out of the loop you've become," he smirked. "Bellatrix has insisted upon throwing a gathering. I'm told there will be house elves dressed as cupid to ensure no one is left lonely for the holiday."

"That's… repulsive. And yet, oddly Bellatrix."

"Yeah, I wonder if Rodolphus actually expects Bellatrix to match herself up with him for the evening," Barty chuckled fondly.

Not understanding why that would be remotely interesting to Barty, Regulus changed the subject,

"I just wanted to stop in to ensure you hadn't found a loophole out of here yet. Now that I've done so… I have other things I need to do."

"Well don't be a stranger," Barty answered mockingly. "I don't expect I'll be having much other company while I'm here."

Regulus sealed Barty back into the room as he left. Leaning against the place the door had disappeared from, he pondered what he should do next.

He had put forth a lot of effort the night before, not only to keep Barty from escaping, but also to keep him from being captured by the aurors. He had repaid him by killing his father unnecessarily and putting him in an even more difficult position because of it. Making matters worse was that Regulus had no doubt Barty would do or say anything to keep himself out of trouble if an opportunity presented itself, including blaming his father's murder on him.

A betrayal to Regulus would result in his death, but evidence of an unbreakable vow between them would only put the proverbial nail in the coffin of whatever crimes against humanity Regulus would eventually be trialed with- and that was only if the new head of the DMLE believed in allowing trials, since it was obvious Crouch had not.

Did he trust anyone enough to divulge what had happened? Would anyone actually believe he hadn't intended for Crouch to be killed? Considering he had been the one to conceal the body in the end, he couldn't exactly claim innocence.

There were very few people that he would even consider telling of Crouch Sr's murder without fear of rebuke. As none of them would be able to do anything with the information, he wasn't feeling particularly motivated to share what he knew.

He did think perhaps a meeting with Dumbledore was in order. While confessing to being an accessory to the murder of a ministry official wasn't a high priority of his, getting an update on what had happened in the war effort during his and Sirius' absence certainly was.

With that thought in mind, Regulus took off towards Dumbledore's office. After guessing the candy of the week, he made his way up the Gargoyle's steps. He stopped momentarily at the door to listen for anyone from the ministry or any other voices. Hearing nothing, he knocked on the door.

After several moments of not receiving a response, Regulus pushed the door open, just as Dumbledore and Severus Snape were extracting themselves from Dumbledore's pensieve.

"Ah, Mr. Black," Dumbledore greeted slowly. "Eager to speak with me I presume?"

"No, I can come back," he answered as Snape appraised him coldly. He wondered if Snape already knew of his survival, or if he assumed 'Mr. Black' was Sirius in disguise since he hadn't bothered to remove the glamour from earlier. He wasn't surprised Dumbledore had recognized him as he seemingly had his own ways of detection. Crouch had likely just known not to expect anyone else.

"It must have been important for you to have come barging in here as if you own the place," Snape remarked callously.

"I was simply checking to see if Professor Dumbledore was in his office before looking elsewhere for him," Regulus answered in a perfected self-important tone.

"Would he not have answered the door if he wanted company? Or are you so arrogant to presume that the headmaster vies for your attention alongside the other brainless Gryffindors?"

Regulus tilted his head slightly, "No, I've never thought that," he answered honestly.

"Perhaps rather than exchange insults, our time would be better spent making proper introductions. Mr. Black, if you please," Dumbledore bid Regulus forward.

Regulus did as he was told and slowly approached them, though unable not to, he asked, "Is this really necessary?"

"It is your decision of course. But perhaps you should consider that Severus is risking his life for the Order. Don't you think the least we can do, those of us who know of his contribution, is to trust him?"

Regulus scoffed quietly but refrained from further argument. Aside from thinking Dumbledore wouldn't give up easily on this request, he also thought Voldemort must already know he was still alive. If he were even a fraction as clever as Regulus once thought, he would almost have to.

If Snape had truly changed allegiance, it would surely be more of a burden for him to learn the secret of his identity, rather than remain in the dark. Knowing only gave him more to hide from Voldemort. Was this Dumbeldore's way of testing Snape's reliability? If so, it was certainly at his expense.

It scarcely mattered that his instincts told him not to agree with Dumbledore's plans. Refusing to agree in his current situation would be the equivalent of admitting he was afraid of the consequences. Whatever gratitude he felt towards Dumbledore for defending him against Crouch Sr. erased as he realized Dumbledore had likely made this proposition for that very reason. Pride would surely be the destruction of the Black family,!he thought bitterly.

"As you wish then," he answered with resignation. "It can scarcely be considered a secret anymore."

Dumbledore made a movement with his hand, and Regulus felt his features return to their norm.

"Regulus," Snape sneered though not quite as hatefully as Regulus might have expected.

"And Marcus?" he demanded angrily.

Ah, there it was.

"I'd prefer to be called Regulus," he couldn't help but smirk.

Whatever Snape's undoubtedly colorful response would have been, Dumbledore interrupted, "As I said, we are to trust one another. Severus and I were just discussing the McKinnon's. I'm not sure if you've heard yet that their home was attacked."

"I saw it. Sirius and I escorted Marlene home last night. We found the dark mark over the house and her parents and brother dead inside. I summoned the DMLE, but the house began to collapse. I'm not sure what its condition would have been by the time anyone from the ministry got there."

"Where is Marlene now? How is she handling everything?"

"Regulus shrugged, "She's at Sirius' house," he answered vaguely.

"And Barty Crouch? Do you know what has become of him?"

"No, though if Voldemort finds out what happened yesterday, I've not doubt he will locate him quickly." Regulus' eyes drifted to Snape at the mention of Voldemort's name. If not the unmistakable flinch then certainly the rubbing of his left forearm made him feel even more annoyed that Dumbledore had suggested their introduction.

Despite his irritation, a very Sirius scheme was developing in his mind, one that would be incredibly reckless to let Snape in on, yet even more dangerous to attempt without an accomplice inside the death eaters.

Normally Evan would have been his only choice for something like this. Though given that Evan would have only talked him out of something so foolish as to crash a party at the Lestrange's to search for horcruxes, or at least a clue as to where one might be hidden, it was just as well that Evan wasn't involved. Snape wouldn't need to know the details, if only he be there to create a diversion should one be needed.

Regulus was reasonably confident that Snape wouldnt test Dumbeldore's trust so early in his espionage, regardless of whom he was really spying for.

He must have missed something that was asked of him during his mental assessment of the situation. Both Snape and Dumbledore were looking at him expectantly. Ignoring them, he asked,

"What does the Dark Lord know about what happened at Hogwarts yesterday?" he phrased his question so as to not alienate Snape further, though the appellation felt like bile in his throat.

Snape studied him with an unfathomable look for a moment before answering, "Whatever Crouch Sr. feels the need to alert _The Prophet_ of, I suppose. Though it seems not to be a priority. The arrests of students nor anything to do with his son was reported in this morning's edition."

"And what do you intend to tell him?"

"Nothing unless asked. What concern is it to you?" he inquired in an equal tone of likely forced amicableness.

Second guessing himself, Regulus turned back to Dumbledore, "What makes you certain he will not betray us?"

"How can we be certain that you won't?" Snape countered.

"Betray you to who? I don't expect Voldemort would welcome me back. I think most have at least drawn the conclusion that I'm loyal to Sirius."

"Most would have thought you more loyal to Rosier than the scum you call your brother…of course that was before you supposedly died."

"I think what Severus was trying to say, is that we can't always know for certain who we can trust. We must have faith that because we all share a common goal, we will look beyond our own biases and grudges. Whether we approve of each other's past choices or not, we look beyond them in favor of the advancement of our common mission."

Regulus was pretty sure that was not what Snape had been trying to say.

"An unbreakable vow would go a long way towards earning my faith," he answered dryly.

"In doing so you would be taking away his freewill. Severus cannot reasonably be expected to return to Voldemort under such a restriction, less he would be unable to deceive him, allowing his true loyalty to be found out."

Regulus realized he wasn't going to get anywhere by refuting Dumbledore's decision to trust Snape. Aside from Evan, there wasn't a death eater Regulus would trust any more or any less than Snape anyway. Considering the gryffindorishly-foolish scheme he was coming up with, and it was probably for the best that Evan would not be running the risk for being caught up in it.

Casting another furtive glance at Snape, he remarked tentatively,

"There is said to be a gathering of sorts to be held at my cousin's house on the fourteenth."

"Sadly I don't think cupid will be able to salvage your former place in society," Snape answered witheringly.

Ignoring him, Regulus told Dumbledore pointedly, "I believe paying a visit to my cousin's manor could be in the interest of our mutual greater good. There will likely not be any other opportunities as inviting as a party anytime soon."

"And you know your way around the protections well enough?"

"Unless they've changed-"

"Have you lost your mind?" Snape demanded. "There is no way they're going to let you inside that house."

"You're right, they wouldn't let me in for sure," Regulus answered, giving Dumbledore a pointed look.

"No, you certainly couldn't go as yourself," Dumbledore agreed, obviously curious about what he had in mind.

Deciding it best not to reveal his plan in front of Snape, Regulus excused himself a moment later, after informing Dumbledore they needed to speak soon regarding a 'personal' matter. Giving a slight nod to Snape, and ignoring the scowl it was answered with, he left Dumbledore alone with his spy.


	58. Conflict of Interest

Sirius awoke with a terrible ache in his neck. Remembering where he was and why, he shifted in the recliner so that he could better see the couch. Remus was still there, though now awake and staring at the ceiling.

Sirius hesitated before speaking, unsure if making a joke about the state he had found him in would be appropriate or not. He was saved from making the decision when Remus spoke first,

"That chair can't be comfortable," he remarked blandly, his eyes never leaving the spot on the ceiling that he seemed to be transfixed by.

"It isn't," Sirius confirmed.

After what seemed like a long time, but was likely only a couple of minutes, Sirius couldn't take the silence anymore,

"Why didn't you come out with us last night? It would have been better than drinking alone."

Remus scoffed, "I don't know about that. How was your trip to… well I don't suppose you should tell me where you went."

Sirius chuckled, "We left Walburga Black in the wizarding community of Avirodh, in India," he announced grandly. "If you have any desire to hire a hit wizard to go after her, or turn her location over to Voldemort- be my guest. I'm afraid what I can't allow, is for you to change the subject. Why did you decide to go home alone rather than come out with the rest of us?"

"I don't want to talk about it-"

"Fine, but it will be all I talk about until you tell me what's going on," Sirius answered matter-of-factly as Remus grimaced slightly. Sirius' knack for obnoxious persistence was no secret.

When Remus remained stubbornly quiet, Sirius prompted, "Would you prefer if I try to guess what is wrong?"

"Aren't you mad at me after yesterday-?"

"Mm, that depends. Were you the one who summoned Regulus to the infirmary?"

"Yes, but-!"

"And did you summon him with the intent that he would be arrested?" Sirius asked bluntly.

"Of course not! But I knew you must have thought that. I left to summon Dumbledore, but when he didn't answer, I summoned Regulus. It was more in desperation than anything, hoping he might have an idea for what to do since everyone else was in the meeting already. I didn't know if he would even show up or not. While I was waiting for him, Dumbledore sent me a patronus, asking me to meet him in his office. I missed Regulus getting there entirely-"

"So then, no. If you weren't trying to get him arrested then I'm not mad. Though if he had been sent to Azkaban… it might be a different story."

Sirius winced as he recalled The Head of the DMLE finding out about Regulus' survival. It was only marginally better than Voldemort- and not much different considering all of the spies within the ministry. And to think, he had spent his time before falling asleep worrying mostly about Remus and Marlene.

"Okay, so if you won't tell why you skived off going with us last night, I'll just have to guess. Did you stay home because you thought everyone was mad at you because of Regulus?"

Remus' lip twitched involuntarily, "Don't take this the wrong way… but not too many people would have been upset if he had gotten arrested."

"Which transitions well with my next question. Was it to do with a certain girl?"

"Not everything is to do with girls," he answered in a bored tone.

"A certain boy?" Sirius suggested with a smirk. When Remus didn't bother to dignify his suggestion with an answer, Sirius sighed,

"So Mulciber then."

Remus inhaled sharply and gave the slightest of nods.

"His death was Rosier's fault… or you could make a case for Bellabitch." He purposely left Regulus' name out, despite knowing some guilt could be assigned to him too. "There was nothing you could have done-"

"And what about the next time?"

"What next time?" Sirius asked confusedly.

"They forced me to turn, Sirius," Remus answered as he stood up and began to pace the floor. "I'm a ready-made weapon to be used against you- against all of the Order. I'm a ticking time bomb just waiting to be forced to change again at the most inopportune time. What then? Will it be so easily dismissible if I 'eat' James, or Regulus or _you_ when it happens again?"

Somehow Sirius hadn't considered the possibility of his forced-transformation happening again.

After pondering the possibility for a moment, he answered with as much reassurance as he could manage, "Regulus knows how to reverse the spell. We just need him to show the rest of us how to do it."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm a liability to the Order, and a murdering-" he began dejectedly.

"You are not a liability or a murderer- or evil or a monster or whatever else you are about to say!" Sirius interrupted heatedly, rising to his feet as well. "You would be one of the biggest assets to the Order if you would wake up and realize how much you have to offer. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and stop trying apologize for who you are! You should be glad Mulciber is dead- The alternative would have been allowing him to kill one of us!"

"How can you possibly expect me to be glad I killed someone?"

"Mulciber killed the muggle who lived across the street from my parents without hesitation. Do you think it would have been any different for him to kill you or James or me or anyone else? I can already tell you that he wouldn't have thought twice about it. He _has_ tried to kill all of us. People die in war, Moony. You should be proud that you prevented it from being one of us."

Realizing Remus didn't look particularly cheered up after the pep talk, Sirius added more sympathetically, "I doubt anyone besides Rosier- and maybe Bellatrix know how to complete the spell that made you turn. And Bella would never willingly give up any 'family secrets-' I'm a little surprised she allowed Regulus or Rosier to live after she discovered the breach in our oh-so-precious grimoires to be honest. At any rate, once Regulus shows the rest of us how to reverse the spell, everything will be fine."

"Do you think Regulus will give away family secrets just because you ask him to?" Remus asked doubtfully.

Sirius shrugged, "He showed Rosier… And I know for a fact that he wouldn't want you to eat anyone who wasn't a death eater," Sirius laughed before immediately trying to pass it off as a cough.

* * *

Regulus had spent much of his day subtly interrogating Barty about his past interactions with the other death eaters. As Barty's accounts coincided with his past speculations, Regulus was hopeful most would continue to casually disregard 'Barty,' should Regulus attempt to portray him at his cousin's gathering. Barty's family was too well-connected with the 'wrong' people for any of the death eaters not to be wary of him- of course that was only if they didn't know by then that Barty had murdered his own father.

He had made his second departure from the Room of Requirement that day after being summoned by Sirius, whose patronus insisted that he meet him right away. Recalling that Marlene was alone at Grimmauld Place, and that Sirius could not easily access their ancestral home due to the Fidelius Charm, he had left Crouch rather abruptly.

After the events of yesterday, he thought someone should have checked in on her before now- though he didn't feel any particular competency nor obligation to do so himself. For a moment he hoped Sirius' summons meant that he had found a means to relocate Marlene- before remembering that he was the one who should leave Grimmauld Place in the first place.

Between Sirius' fondness of reminding him that everything of the Black estate belonged to him, and his habit of taking in strays without a home, Regulus thought finding someplace new was likely his only chance to maintain a relatively peaceful residence.

Not ruling out the prospect that ministry officials and others of varying offense could be entering the castle, he elected to use one of the staircases that would lead him to the lesser used third floor Clock Tower entrance rather than the main entrance hall.

Entering the Clock Tower courtyard, he caught sight of someone just ahead of him wearing the emerald green wizarding robes that identified one as a healing apprentice. It wasn't terribly odd as the infirmary was located on the third floor, though he vaguely thought it seemed early for any of them to be leaving work.

As his eyes better adjusted to the bright sun following the darkness of the castle, he recognized who was ahead of him and immediately slowed his pace.

The last time he had spoken to Rachel properly she had told him to leave her alone. That wasn't a good sign that she would want him to approach her now. Then again, that had been weeks ago and while her anger towards him had been justifiable- she had seemingly healed with no long-lasting effects.

Surely it would be alright to approach her now when he only wanted to thank her for the day before, wouldn't it? Despite the poor judgment of her outspokenness, he couldn't deny it had been nice to have _someone _in the room of crickets to speak up against Crouch on his behalf.

He hesitated as he recalled the events leading up to the head of the DMLE's murder and the role he had played in covering it up.

He knew Rachel was tired of his half-truths, and he wasn't going to lie to her. Knowing that telling her about the incident wouldn't do anything to endear him to her, the best thing he could do was honor the request she had made of him the last time they had spoken, and stay away from her.

Just as he slowed his pace to near tortoise-status, to allow her to unknowingly further the distance between them, a girl shrieked loudly behind him. Regulus stopped and turned in time to see the Hufflepuff run past him, closely followed by a boy chasing her with what looked like something from the jars Slughorn kept in his office.

Turning back dreadfully, Regulus saw that Rachel's attention had also been drawn to the scene, though she was now looking at him rather calculatingly.

"Rachel," he greeted. As going unnoticed was no longer and option, he walked at his regular pace towards her, "I thought that might have been you. How have you been?" he asked, out of interest but mostly in case any of the students who were now flooding into the courtyard could hear them.

"Very well, and you?" she asked as she glanced around at the gathering students. Regulus slowed his pace slightly as she fell into stride with him and they continued walking away from the castle together.

"I've been doing very well also, thank you for asking," he answered in an overly formal tone as they approached the wooden bridge. If there was any doubt of whether Rachel recognized him with his glamour charms, they were erased when she glanced at him just before making her way onto the somewhat dilapidated structure- clearly wanting more distance between them and anyone who could overhear.

After a moment of walking in silence, Regulus determined they were unlikely to be overheard and remarked, "I'm glad I ran into you."

At Rachel's surprised look, he added hastily,

"I wanted to say thank you- for yesterday. You could have gone along with everyone else and said nothing to Crouch in my defense and it would have been perfectly understandable… and I'm also sorry about Barty. I wouldn't have involved you in that if there had been a conceivable way around it… though you wouldn't believe how glad I was that you managed to understand what I was so poorly trying to convey."

Rachel looked as if she might ask about Barty but thought better of it. Instead she smiled slightly, "I didn't do much. I had actually hoped to talk to you too- weeks ago actually. I wanted to apologize for how I acted in the infirmary, after Remus..."

Regulus shook his head, "You've nothing to apologize to me for."

"No, really. I'm sorry for taking what happened out on you like that. I was just angry and hurt and… you were there. Obviously Evan and Bellatrix weren't going to feel any remorse for what happened. I think I just wanted someone to take some of the blame away from Remus- but it wasn't your fault either, and if not for your help… I'm not sure if I would have even recovered by now."

Regulus did his best to mentally negate her concern over the werewolf, "So, how are you really?" he asked again now that they were far enough from anyone who could eavesdrop.

"Much better than when you last saw me," she smiled though it didn't quite reach her eyes, "Welcome back, by the way. Your return was certainly memorable."

Not quite understanding how she felt about his return, he remarked offhandedly, "I suppose you probably didn't expect to see me again."

"I did actually." At Regulus' skeptical look, she elaborated, "I wasn't sure of how long it would take… I mean it's not as if you could have missed anything about Britain in its current state, but I knew you wouldn't be content to stay away indefinitely either."

"Just because there is a war going on doesn't mean there weren't things I've missed," he answered quietly. "So, where were you going before I interrupted?" he asked more for a quick subject change than because it was any of his business.

Rachel was looking at him with an indecipherable look and he momentarily worried it was his comment that had prompted it rather than his question, until she asked, "Have you not heard last night's Order meeting has been re-scheduled for tonight?"

"No, I didn't know that," he answered vaguely. He supposed that had been the real reason Sirius summoned him. The meeting had probably been scheduled after he had seen Dumbledore this morning. He thought it too optimistic that Dumbledore wouldn't entrust Snape with the meeting specs otherwise, "I haven't been around anyone who would have known about the meeting all afternoon."

"Oh, I had assumed you were probably with Dumbledore before I ran into you."

Regulus thought about how best to answer. Would he really lie to Rachel for Barty's safety? Especially when Rachel knew about the Room of Requirement, and there was a small chance she could manage to get into the room Crouch was currently in.

"No, I was in the Room of Requirement. Crouch Jr. is staying there until something more permanent can be figured out for him."

"I still can't believe he is a death eater… or that his father tried to kill him- and you… how is he doing?"

"It's always hard to tell with him," Regulus answered vaguely.

They walked together in silence for a moment before Rachel asked what Regulus suspected she had wanted to ask earlier, "Why didn't you tell me about him?"

"I should have," he answered simply.

"But why didn't you?" she prodded, "Don't say it was for my protection," she cautioned.

Regulus sighed, "Beyond the fine line between keeping you informed and telling you more than you need to know-"

"I could have easily been hurt by trusting Crouch-" she interjected.

"Yes," he agreed. "Beyond _that_ fine line- there is another with perhaps even more ambiguity. I know the name of nearly every death eater. I know the location of a handful of their safe houses… among other things. Where is the line between doing all I can to defeat Voldemort and betraying everyone I've ever known?" When Rachel didn't answer immediately, he continued, "In regards to Crouch, he's only a year younger than me, but at one time he seemed more innocent and even more misled somehow. He used to remind me of Sirius… doing stupid things for the sake of some ill-advised rebellion… I've since learned he is far from innocent. I definitely should have told you about him."

"What did you learn about him to change your mind?" Rachel asked curiously as they reached the Sundial Garden and made their way onto the footpath that led into Hogsmeade. As they had to walk single file down the narrow steps of the footpath until they reached the ground level of the castle, Regulus intended to wait to answer until they were beside each other again so as to maintain speaking in hushed tones. As they walked down the steps, Regulus tried to mentally gauge what her reaction would be if he told her about the head of the DMLE's demise. He was spared from finding out when she seemed to have taken his momentary silence to mean something else,

"I suppose I can see how telling me that might cross the line you mentioned," She commented over her shoulder, "Especially when he isn't much older now than you were when you joined."

As they reached the bottom of the steps and Regulus could better see her face, he discovered that she had not yet kicked the habit of biting her lip when nervous, though what she was nervous about he couldn't fathom.

"A part of me is screaming that you need to pick a side in the war," she remarked a moment later. Before Regulus could object she added, "But I know you already have. You're the only one who can decide what information you should share with the rest of the Order. As I can't imagine that anyone else has any particularly good memories with death eaters, none of us can relate to your situation. Lily might have been an exception before everything that happened with Snape- but even before then, her opposition in the war was ensured by her blood status."

Her words hung between them briefly as he considered what she had said. Her lack of advice was completely unhelpful, yet oddly reassuring. Anything he did for the 'light side' was a betrayal to nearly everyone he had grown up with. No one else had that particular burden of conscience to contend with. Her acknowledging that his situation was more complicated than simply choosing between what most would consider right and wrong gave him some hope that they might eventually be able to reconcile some of their differences.

"So, is there anything that happened last night that you can tell me?" she asked after a moment.

Regulus grimaced, "Have you heard about the McKinnon family?"

"No, I haven't heard much of anything today- aside from the message about the meeting."

"Her parents and brother were murdered inside their home… Marlene was with Sirius or else she probably would have been there too."

Rachel's face fell, "How is she doing with it all?"

"I couldn't say… she is staying at our ancestral home at Sirius' insistence," he felt the need to disclose, "but aside from showing her to one of the guest rooms last night, I haven't seen or heard anything from her."

Rachel's eyes narrowed slightly, "Why did Sirius insist she stay there if he couldn't even be bothered to show her to a room?"

"Well, he only insisted she stay there because she refused to stay with him," he told her before recanting the story of what had happened.

"Are you and Marlene friends now?" he asked at the conclusion as he remembered the two of them had evidently conspired at Sirius' expense."

"Not really," she answered simply. "How long is she staying at your house?"

"Ah, as Sirius pointed out, it is _his_ house. I don't know about Marlene, but I suspect I will be spending tomorrow finding a place of my own."

Rachel frowned, "It's not like he can live in more than one house at once… and doesn't he hate the house you grew up in?"

"I'd prefer to leave on my own rather than be _allowed_ to stay by Sirius' supposed grace," he answered darkly. "You should be able to disapparate to the meeting now," he added as they had reached the edge of the Hogwarts grounds.

"Aren't you coming with?"

"If yesterday was any indication, I think I'm better off staying away… the only reason I even went last night was because Lupin summoned me, urgently."

"Remus summoned you?" she asked confusedly, "I thought he went to find Dumbledore."

Regulus shook his head as if unconcerned, "Maybe he did both. I'm surprised he didn't tell you," he intoned with feigned nonchalance.

Rachel's frown deepened, "I haven't spoken to him much lately… He seems to have a hard time accepting that I'm not angry with him."

Regulus did his best to keep his expression neutral despite his displeasure that she was so worried with Lupin- not wanting him to feel guilty or be blamed for almost killing her and whatever else she felt the need to do in regards to the man-wolf.

Apparently realizing that discussing Lupin was a bad idea, she remarked, "There won't be any ambushes like yesterday. The meeting is at James' parents' house. Dumbledore is said to have been the one to place the security enchantments there- Crouch won't have access," Glancing at her watch, she missed Regulus' slight grimace at Crouch's mention, "We need to leave now if we are going to make it in time."

Regulus wasn't sure of the exact time of the meeting, but if Rachel was only just now worried with being late he predicted they had a solid fifteen minutes before they actually needed to leave. More important was that he hadn't planned on attending anymore Order meetings in the near future, and the previous night had done little to change his mind.

But then there was Rachel and the expectant way she was looking at him before her expression seemingly dissolved into disappointment at his hesitance, "You really aren't coming?"

"I can't... without knowing where the Potter's live," he found himself changing his answer mid-sentence.

"Well... There is this thing called side-along apparition, though I wouldn't advise you showing up there in disguise."

"How could that possibly matter?" Regulus asked in surprise.

"Everyone is on edge… more so than usual. There were quite a few casualties while you and Sirius were gone… anyway, everyone in the Order knows you are alive now. It would be better to show up as you are, rather than risk being attacked on accident because you are unrecognized."

Regulus vaguely wondered if his actual presence wouldn't be more likely to provoke an attack than if he appeared to be someone unknown.

Apparently having decided he was unlikely to do so himself, Rachel cast,

"Finite incantatem."

Regulus felt his face return to its natural features but before he could protest, Rachel smirked, "It's for your own protection if you're going to the meeting."

Regulus recalled a similar conversation they had while he had been portraying Marcus,

"I still say the Order would be better off if _they_ disguised themselves."

"It's kind of symbolic when you think about it… are you ready to go?"

"Just tell me where they live and I'll meet you. There's no reason for you to alienate yourself from-" the rest of his comment went unheard as Rachel grabbed his hand in hers, and immediately turned on the spot to disapparate.

* * *

Deciding Remus shouldn't be left alone in his bordering on depressive state, Sirius managed to coax the werewolf into going to James and Lily's house with him.

Unfortunate was that he had forgotten James was at work. Between him and Lily, they did manage to cheer Moony up some, though not nearly as well as they could have if James had been there. Sirius thought mentioning the fate of the McKinnon's would have been counterproductive to their efforts and had conveniently left it out. It wasn't as if they wouldn't hear about it soon enough at the Order meeting anyway.

Just after lunch, he decided it was time to check in on Marlene. He mused that if Regulus had left her alone she would want company, and if Regulus had stayed, she would need a break from his dry humor. Either way, Sirius hoped she had gotten over some of her misdirected anger from the night before.

Sirius' attempts to make amends with Marlene were thwarted by the fact that she was clearly ignoring his messages. Even without being about to see number twelve, it was evident she was there as each of his patronuses would go directly between number eleven and thirteen before disappearing.

He was currently disillusioned so as to not have to explain his presence to any of their muggle neighbors and to avoid the death eaters who were conveniently only staking out the street side of the house. After sending several messages, Sirius gave up on Marlene answering for the moment and levitated himself high enough to sit on the stone wall that currently separated number 11 from number 13.

He stayed perched there for quite some time. Sporadically enough that he hoped none of the muggles could notice, he alternated sending patronuses to Marlene and casting warming charms on himself.

As the meeting time loomed ever nearer, Sirius hopped off the wall and back into what should have been his backyard- if only it would appear. Annoyed beyond measure that he had wasted hours there, all because he couldn't see his own house, he sent a message to Regulus. It was past time for him to share the address of their former childhood home- especially considering he was the one who owned it now.

* * *

Regulus arrived with Rachel outside of a large stone house and to an audience of half the Order. Normally he would have preferred to show up right before the meeting started to avoid the potential of being drawn into any obligatory small talk- not that many of the Order would want to talk to him. Considering he had shown up with Rachel, it actually would have been better if they had arrived earlier as fewer people would have seen them together in that case. As there was little point in trying to put more separation between them now, beyond releasing her hand- which he did immediately, Regulus resignedly followed her to a smirking Lily, and whispering James and Remus.

"Hi," the redhead greeted them brightly, "I see Sirius didn't need to worry with letting you know about the meeting."

"No," Regulus answered as he looked around the yard. He noticed several sets of curious eyes on him, though who he was looking for was not among them, "Where is Sirius?"

"He left our house to find you. He worried you wouldn't know about the meeting."

"And… Marlene?"

Lily's gaze shifted to Rachel briefly before answering him hesitantly, "I haven't seen her today."

"Sirius probably went back to his house to get her so they could come to the meeting together… if she felt up to it after last night," Rachel supplied.

"What happened last night?" Lily asked before flushing, "or do I even want to know?"

As much as Regulus despised giving information to James Potter on principle, not to mention a werewolf with questionable affections and a muggleborn- he didn't want to force Rachel to be the bearer of bad news either,

"Marlene's parents and brother were killed by death eaters," he answered bluntly.

"What?" James yelped as he and Remus came nearer to them, obviously intent to hear the details though Regulus had no intention of sharing with them.

"What happened? Where is Marlene? Is she okay?" Lily demanded.

Regulus shrugged, "I wasn't there to know what happened and I haven't seen Marlene today," he answered vaguely.

He could feel Rachel's disapproving gaze on him but refused to acknowledge it. He wasn't obligated to tell them anything, and it wasn't as if he had ever had a reputation for being nice.

Unfortunately, James and Lily were content to draw as much attention to them as possible with their raised voices. Noticing the few who hadn't been watching them before were now, Rachel interrupted just loud enough to be heard, "Sirius was with Marlene when it happened. He would know more of the details-"

Despite her attempt to mollify them, hearing Sirius had known about the incident only seemed to distress them further. It was difficult to listen to any of them though as they were all three talking at once. From what Regulus could pick up, they had seen Sirius earlier and he had not been with Marlene, nor had he even mentioned the incident.

Finally in a voice that drowned out everyone else's, Lily demanded, "Where is Marlene?"

"It is my understanding that Marlene was not involved in the attack that killed her parents and brother," Dumbledore answered calmly after seemingly appearing from nowhere. For once Regulus was glad to see him as it seemed inevitable that other Order members were about to join the inquisition. "As the elder Black is not among us, I think we can be assured she is being tended to. Unless I am mistaken, it is time for our meeting. If you will all follow me inside, we shall begin."

Rachel glanced around them apprehensively before obediently following the headmaster inside. Regulus hesitated in following her in effort to help everyone forget they had shown up together. When the Prewett twins immediately began walking towards her, no doubt to bombard her with questions that she either wouldn't know or wouldn't want to answer, Regulus threw caution to the wind and caught up with her.

Unsurprisingly, no one seemed inclined to ask her questions with a less-than-inviting former death eater by her side. As they took seats in the corner of the meeting space, Regulus inwardly cringed that he had allowed exactly what he hadn't wanted to happen.

* * *

After determining Regulus wasn't going to answer his summons, which had done nothing to improve his mood, Sirius apparated to his second home while growing up for the meeting. Not having realized how late it was, he snuck into the meeting just as it was beginning and stood in the back so as not draw attention to his tardiness. Before he could do more than raise an eyebrow at the looks he was being given by those who noticed his arrival, Dumbledore raised his hands for silence at the front of the room.

To the surprise of nearly everyone, Dumbledore began the meeting with making an announcement that the McKinnon family were one of three families with connections to the Order who had been attacked the night before, Marlene being the only survivor. Further adding to the ominousness was that the Head of the DMLE had not checked back in with the ministry after the search of Hogwarts and subsequent arrest of six students.

As Sirius looked around at the rest of the Order's reactions, he was surprised to spot Regulus at the front of the room. He had not expected him to even know about the meeting as it had been scheduled that morning and Sirius hadn't seen him all day. Since Regulus had supposedly thrown his phoenix portkey out after discovering it no longer worked, and he was sitting beside Rachel- Sirius thought that might explain how he had found out.

As interested as Sirius normally would have been at how their being together had transpired, for the moment he had more pressing matters. With the momentary lag in Order business, Sirius made his way towards his brother.

* * *

Several conversations had broken out around them as Rachel remarked quietly, "If we are just now hearing about these attacks, imagine how misinformed the general public is."

"_The Prophet,_ corresponds with death eaters to ensure they don't print anything that would paint Voldemort in an unforgivable light," Regulus answered somewhat guiltily.

"Most recognize _The Prophet_ for what it is by now at least. The few reliable reporters who used to write the truth are either in hiding or have been dealt with otherwise."

They were pulled from their brief conversation as James Potter declared to the room at large,

"We stand no chance against the death eaters if we can't even keep our own protected."

"The death eaters don't have to worry about being hunted down in their sleep," one of the Prewett twins added bitterly.

"No, they can sleep soundly in their manors, under the layers of ancient protections their ancestors have added over the centuries," said the other Prewett.

Sirius looked around him at all of the people who were fighting against Voldemort. He realized none of their homes came close to the protections of the home he had grown up in, which had been exemplified perfectly by his inability to get to Marlene today.

Without giving it a second thought, he announced,

"James is right. Nearly all of us have been ambushed on our way to meetings and even in our houses in some cases. We could have all of our meetings at Hogwarts, but with the ministry having access there I don't think any of us want to do that.

"Given the circumstances, I think it's past-time for the Order to have a place to go they can feel safe, besides just Hogwarts. Now that... Other issues have been addressed, I think the time is right to offer the Black ancestral home to the Order. We can have meetings there. There is plenty of room if anyone feels unsafe in their homes and wants to move in-"

"Sirius," Regulus interrupted from his corner of the room, "We need to talk about this first, before just-"

"You don't have a say in the matter, Regulus. It's my house," Sirius snapped, still angry he had been locked out in the cold all day.

"Well, before you get too carried away then, I think it prudent to at least point out that you have no way to follow through with what you are offering."

Sirius fixed him with a look that would have intimidated most, "I am the head of the family," he answered firmly. "G-… the house is mine to do with as I wish."

Regulus smirked, "You can't even say the address aloud, nor can you see it. Even if you could, you can bet there are protections to ensure no one with less-than-pure blood can enter."

"It is a most generous offer," Dumbledore interrupted their quickly escalating argument, "but I think perhaps the two of you should discuss the details after the meeting. Now, if we are ready to continue?" Dumbledore asked in a tone that indicated they had better let him proceed.

Regulus shrugged as if unconcerned, which only added to Sirius' discomfiture as he had intended to give the same response. He settled for a sort of half-nod towards the headmaster before drifting back towards James, who was giving him a surprisingly unreadable look.

Sirius did his best to focus on the meeting but it was difficult when Regulus was in his line of sight. Sirius was the head of the family again. The choice of what to do with their childhood home should be his.

* * *

And let us all hope that Euphemia and Fleamont Potter won't contaminate the entire Order with their dragon pox...


	59. Undercover Brother

Regulus could feel Sirius glaring at him as he pretended to listen to Mad-Eye's reminder of remaining vigilant and of all of the safety precautions they should be taking. The only reason he was bothering to pretend to be listening at all was because he knew Sirius was watching him. The distraction of Mad-Eye helped him keep his expression neutral.

Even without Sirius' unexpected announcement of housing everyone, he felt immensely frustrated with the Order at the moment. He knew that his and Sirius' absence had strained them, but the absence of two people regardless of who they were, should not have left them so helpless. And why? Why were they all so intent to do damage control rather than initiate an offensive attack?

Despite his mixed feelings for some of the death eaters, Regulus felt a more aggressive approach was necessary if they stood any chance in leveling the playing field between the Order and the death eaters. In the current climate, each passing day seemingly brought with it more incentive to join Voldemort all the while making the Order look more like a death sentence. It was no wonder their numbers were dwindling as death eaters' were multiplying.

It wasn't as if finding death eaters was particularly difficult. Most frequented the seedier bars of Knockturn Alley regularly. Bellatrix was one of several arrogant enough to enjoy casual strolls through Diagon Alley, gaining some satisfaction in the dramatic reaction her presence triggered. Others, such as Lucius Malfoy, had little reason to hide himself at all as his affiliations were not yet officially known.

So immersed he was in his own thoughts, he didn't immediately notice the meeting had concluded until Rachel spoke from beside him,

"Here comes Sirius," she warned.

Regulus looked up in time to find Sirius halfway across the room already, followed closely by Potter and Lupin. He stood without comment and made his way towards Sirius. It was not because he had any desire to finish their conversation so publicly, but because he didn't want it to look as if Rachel were in anyway involved. It was bad enough that they had shown up together.

Before Sirius had quite reached him, Lily, who had seemingly come from nowhere, had Sirius cornered and was berating him for all things relating to Marlene.

Regulus hesitated briefly, almost as amused by the scene as he was appalled by the conniption itself. As he begrudgingly thought Lily to be the most tolerable of Sirius' friends, he couldn't help but hope her behavior was brought on by the pregnancy hormones he used to hear Lucius complain of Narcissa having. Recalling Lily from their Hogwarts days, he had his doubts.

Realizing that nearly everyone was watching them, he decided to make better use of the momentary distraction and made his way towards the exit.

He had nearly cleared the threshold when Sirius demanded,

"Where do you think you're running off to?"

Regulus turned back to him resignedly,

"Is this really where you want to have this conversation?" he asked, just loudly enough for those nearest to hear.

"If the alternative is waiting for you to come out of hiding after pouting for three days like you did last time, then yes," Sirius answered loud enough for most of the room to hear despite having closed the distance between them.

Regulus balked slightly as he recognized that Sirius was referring to the events following their father's death, "If I had been hiding I would have chosen someplace better than our Uncle Alphard's house, which _you_ inherited-"

"Considering that you were the only one with access to our Uncle's house at the time, you were definitely hiding like a baby," Sirius answered smugly.

"Well… our ancestral home _is_ yours to do with as you please. Perhaps one day you will even figure out how to access it," Regulus answered in a tone of indifference before turning on his heel and making his way out the door and into the yard.

As much as he knew they needed to discuss Grimmauld Place and its protections, Regulus wasn't going to provide further entertainment to the Order while they did so. Noticing with some relief that Sirius hadn't followed him outside, he disapparated to Diagon Alley.

* * *

Sirius refrained from following Regulus and even withheld most of the insults he wanted to shout at him upon noticing that much of the Order was watching his reaction with interest. It seemed James and Remus had anticipated he wouldn't mind drawing the extra attention to himself as they had each grabbed one of his arms as if to restrain him. Sirius immediately wrenched his arms free of their grasps.

"Easy," James cautioned.

"I'm not going after him, but it is my house," Sirius seethed. "He knows that."

"That is not our biggest concern right now, Sirius," Lily answered, clearly still fuming. "Weren't you listening? Marlene's family died yesterday and she has been alone all day. How could you not have said anything sooner? Or better yet, why didn't you bring her to our house in the first place?"

"It was late, you would have been sleeping," he answered lamely. For some reason the idea of taking her to a friend or family member's house hadn't even crossed his mind the night before. Then again, if it would have been his idea, Marlene probably wouldn't have gone along with it anyway.

"Why didn't you stay with her?" James asked in bewilderment, "I mean of all the people to put in charge of comforting someone... Your brother would rank only marginally ahead of Voldemort." Realizing Rachel had joined them he added, "Uh- no offense."

Rachel fought the urge to roll her eyes at his lack of discretion, though as she had arrived to the meeting with Regulus, she supposed James' lack of subtlety was nothing to hers.

"We just need Marlene to leave the Black ancestral home and then we can talk to her," she attempted to reason.

"She won't come outside!" Sirius whined. "She's holed herself up in there-"

"Maybe she just doesn't want to talk to you right now," Rachel answered. "After what she's been through I mean… she might come out for Lily or someone like that."

"Glad to have you as a volunteer," Sirius answered brightly, as he patted her on the back. It was evident that he was glad to be turning the responsibility over to someone else.

"What? No, someone like Lily would be someone who is actually friends with Marlene… good friends, I mean."

"Well you had no problem lying for her," Sirius answered pointedly, "And you're a pureblood so there will be fewer protections to get around."

Rachel shifted uncomfortably, "There's still the issue of no one knowing their way around the protections aside from your brother," she answered slowly. "Who you've ensured isn't going to help anytime soon. I think our best bet is to try to convince her to leave the house and relocate her from there."

"There are death eaters staking out the neighborhood and Lily can't apparate in her condition. You'll have to either lure her out or convince that_ brother _of mine to let you in on his secret… the house is under the Fidelius charm, in case you haven't already heard."

Rachel glanced around but couldn't find Dorcas, Emmeline, or anyone else who could have been considered close to Marlene aside from Lily,

"Regulus isn't going to let any of us into your ancestral home before the two of you talk things through… which won't be tonight. Marlene isn't going to come outside to talk to me... we may not have another choice but to wait for her to come to us, or to Lily more likely, when she's ready."

"My house is full of potions, elixirs, deadly artifacts… not to mention goblin-made weaponry-"

"I've never gotten the impression Marlene was prone to self-harm if that's what you're implying, though you all know her better than I do," Rachel answered looking around at them.

"No," Lily answered quickly, "That isn't an issue."

"That's not even what I meant," Sirius tried again. "She could accidentally get into something and none of us would be able to help her."

"She grew up in a pureblood household. Surely she knows better than to touch anything that she doesn't know is safe," Lupin reasoned.

Sirius scoffed, "She didn't grow up anywhere like I did. Besides, being alone can't be good for her right now-"

"I'll send her a patronus," Lily answered wearily. "If she doesn't make any indication of wanting to see anyone… I don't think we have much choice but to wait for her to come to us. You can try talking things through with Regulus tomorrow, in regards to Marlene. I'd recommend not springing any more half-baked plans regarding your inheritance on him if you want his assistance anytime soon."

"What? You can't possibly be on his side. It's not even _his_ inheritance!"

"It does seem like you might have mentioned your plans for the house to him beforehand, rather than just announcing it to everyone with him in the audience," Remus remarked. "Was it something you thought of before or did it occur to you to do so only after hearing everyone complaining about feeling unsafe in their homes?"

Sirius ran his hand through his hair, immensely uncomfortable with the subject matter. While he had briefly considered offering their house after managing to ship their mother off to India, he had refrained from mentioning it because he thought some, such as James, would have adverse feelings about meeting in a location more fitting for death eaters. After hearing the concerns of the others tonight though, it had just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

It probably didn't hurt that his and Regulus' interactions with the head of the DMLE the night before had served as a harsh reminder of what the wizarding world as a whole still thought of them because of their surname- though admittedly Regulus' past affiliations actually supported his reputation.

Their father was dead, their mother gone, even all of their cousins had been married off. Whether he ever wanted it or not, he was the rightful head of the Black family. If he was forced to take ownership of them, Sirius was determined to at least do all he could to redefine their family's reputation. Surely opening the Black's ancestral home to the Order of the Phoenix as headquarters would go along way to show his commitment to changing their unscrupulous reputation.

Had he known Regulus would be so perturbed by the announcement, he might have at least forewarned him before making the invitation, especially since his reaction worked against his desire to change their reputation. If he were honest, he still didn't know why Regulus was against it to begin with. If his brother understood anything, it was tradition. Why should he object to Sirius claiming his birthright?

Realizing everyone was waiting for him to respond, and that his current thoughts were too awkward to say aloud, he answered vaguely, "I just didn't think he would mind."

James sniggered, "Where would your mother live if she came back?"

Sirius shrugged unconcernedly, "_The Leaky Cauldron_ has plenty of rooms."

* * *

Regulus pulled his cloak more tightly around himself as he headed up the shoddy set of stairs leading into _The White Wyvern. _Though he had returned his glamour, he knew hiding his face in present company was not only acceptable but expected. The bar should have been too filthy for anyone whose standards of living involved any sort of bathing, yet here he was.

Glancing at his watch, he realized it would be awhile before anything of interest took place and settled into a booth near the back of the bar. He was immediately approached by a rather unfortunate looking witch from whom he ordered a drink and resigned himself to wait.

He contemplated Sirius' offering of Grimmauld Place to the Order. He wondered what had caused him to make the decision. There would be no words for how angry their mother would be if she knew his plans.

Then again, it was technically his house and their mother was on another continent. They were also the only family amongst the Order who owned a residence that could offer such a high caliber of protection. Despite how his reaction must have looked to the rest of the Order, it was not the idea of 'sharing' the house that bothered him. The more Order members killed, the less opposition to Voldemort, after all.

The house was under the Fidelius charm with Cassie assigned as secret keeper. Regulus couldn't share the address with Sirius or anyone else, without Cassie's involvement. From his previous research on the Fidelius charm, he knew the role of secret keeper couldn't be transferred without the manipulation of the person who had cast the spell originally. Cyrus may have been an ally-bordering-on-friend in school, but Regulus knew better than to expect that to mean anything in the current political climate.

Inevitably, Cyrus would learn the fate of Grimmauld Place. Whether Regulus managed to find a way around Cassie being secret keeper or not, Cyrus would think she was. What would be his reaction when he realized he had not just made Cassie the secret keeper of the Black's ancestral home when she asked, but had unknowingly made her the secret keeper for the headquarters of the Order of Phoenix?

Because of Sirius' announcement and their subsequent exchange, every moment that Grimmauld Place wasn't available to the Order made him look all the more selfish, jealous and unwilling to turn over the inheritance meant for the proper heir of the family. Sirius likely assumed Regulus had made himself the secret keeper, but was that not all the more reason he should have mentioned his plans before making such an open invitation?

He supposed the situation wouldn't make many in the Order like him any less than they already did, aside from maybe Rachel. Given their recent interactions, he didn't think telling her the real reason he had objected to Sirius' plans would help. Cassie being made secret keeper, even if only by her own volition, was unlikely to be well-received. It was also safest for Cassie if no one else knew of her involvement.

Sometime in the wee hours of morning, his sullen thoughts were interrupted by a gruff voice approaching from behind him,

"Have you ever heard anything like her scream though?" he chuckled.

"I'd have much preferred if she had been taught to restrain her emotions," the unmistakable voice of Evan Rosier answered. "I think I'll be partially deaf before this is all over."

"Before what is all over?" another male demanded, "this is just the beginning for us-" the rest of his words were drowned out by the scuffling of chairs as they settled at a table a couple of rows away from where Regulus was sitting.

From the corner of his eye, Regulus saw the four males had settled down and resumed conversation though he was unable to hear any of it anymore. Between the poor lighting and their partially covered faces, it was pointless to attempt to read lips. It was obvious one of them had thought to cast a spell to prevent being overheard. Regulus mused it was likely the 'muffliato.' For as much as some mocked Snape for his blood status, it never bothered anyone enough not to adopt his spell creations.

He momentarily considered giving up the effort and leaving the bar with his life, before remembering his previous frustration with the Order's lack of progress. How could he justify being angry with those who had been risking their lives while he had been safe on a different continent entirely?

Despite Rachel's neutral façade, even she had suggested he had not yet chosen a side in the war. Regardless of his apprehension, he had to be done with this middle-of-the-road approach. Too many people were dying. Too many people were still at risk. And he had done far too little to complain about anyone else's lack of contribution.

As drinks were being delivered to the table of death eaters, Regulus cast the counter-spell to the 'muffliato,' ending it, before immediately replacing the spell, this time with broadened limitations so as to include where he was seated.

Despite being subtle, he thought his sudden movement might have caught the attention of the death eater who was faced in his direction, though when the barmaid placed a drink in front of him, his gaze shifted back to her.

Regulus held his breath, almost certain he had blown his cover as the lull in conversation continued even after the barmaid left their table. As discreetly as possible, he felt around in his pocket for a portkey. He wondered if he had enough time to activate it or if he should throw himself to the floor immediately before making a mad dash for the exit.

His heart-rate calmed marginally as one of the death eater's asked,

"So what's really going on with the rat, Rosier? Why is it staying at your house?"

"Why should there be anything going on?" Evan asked mildly. "He couldn't very well go back to living with a werewolf and Sirius Black, could he?"

One of the death eaters guffawed, "I'm not sure if it would have mattered much. Now that Lupin has a taste for people and all…. It's not as if Pettigrew would be any great loss."

"I think a better question is, what's it going to take to get you to show us how to use that spell?" the broadest death eater among them asked.

Evan scoffed, "It would take very little for that spell to go wrong and be turned against us. Considering how many missions you and I are sent on together, you'd have a better chance of getting Bellatrix to show you how to do it."

Regulus leaned back in his booth and forced himself to relax as he settled into listening for anything that could be useful.

* * *

After nearly an hour of eavesdropping, Regulus thought it best not to press his luck further. Early on in the death eaters' conversation there had been talk of an upcoming meeting and he thought he might have deduced when the next 'patrol' was scheduled though most of the details were too vague to be certain.

In result of their increasing drunkenness, the conversation had descended into a less pertinent series of complaints of the last time they'd had a proper shag. In effort to keep a blank face, Regulus bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to taste blood as who he suspected was Yaxley outlined a recent night of desperation and alcohol which led to his waking up to Alecto Carrow.

After the derisive laughter had died down, a voice Regulus hadn't yet been able to place, announced rather self-importantly, "Dolohov mentioned that I am to be a part of a raid in Falmouth tomorrow night."

"Are you expecting to be congratulated?" Evan asked a bit more angrily than what the situation warranted. "Your lack of discretion demonstrates your inexperience."

"Be easy on the kid, Rosier," Yaxley chuckled, "he's done well enough so far."

After a brief exchange of insults, their conversation drifted back into irrelevance from there. Regulus finished his current drink over the next few minutes before cautiously making his way towards the barmaid and handing her more money than his drinks could have possibly cost and quickly exiting into the cold night air.

Pulling his cloak more tightly around himself, he made his way back towards Diagon Alley. Just as he was passing the last shops in Knockturn Alley, he was grabbed from behind and thrown against the nearest wall. Before he could do more than try to maintain his balance, he was scuffled around the corner and into the alleyway between the nearest shops, before being slammed into yet another wall.

Now able to face his attacker, he found it to be Evan who was holding his wand at his throat,

"Hear anything interesting?" he demanded.

Regulus began to speak but was unable to form words as Evan drove his wand painfully into his larynx.

"I thought to myself, 'what idiot could this be?'" He mocked before casting, "Finite Incantatem," causing Regulus' glamour to dissolve. "I never actually expected my suspicion to be right," he added, backing off only slightly. "What the hell were you thinking? Do you realize I would kill anyone else in this situation? What do you think any other death eater would have done?"

"You don't think I would be putting up more of a fight if you were any other death eater-?"

"Why should that matter?" Evan demanded angrily, "And what is going on with you that you find yourself in such dangerous situations? First the Hogwarts Express and now this? You never used to be so careless. Did you at least accomplish what you hoped in spying?"

"I was having a drink and you showed up. What makes you think I intended to spy? Anyway, if you were the only one who noticed it's not-"

"What if I wasn't the only one to notice? If one of them had found you out I wouldn't have backed you up. You know that, right? This is a war… and you've chosen the losing side."

"It may be the losing side, but at least it's _worth_ fighting for."

Evan scoffed, "I hardly think being Dumbledore's lap dog is worth fighting for."

"Though it sounds as if you are the one keeping pets-" Regulus began before being cut off by Evan's wand at his throat again,

"Do not act as if you know anything," he answered dangerously.

Regulus pushed himself off the wall and away from Evan's wand, "I know you should be doing something more useful-"

"_Crucio_."

_Seriously?_ Regulus thought as he dropped to ground, gritting his teeth to ensure no sound escaped.

When the spell lifted a moment later, he looked up to find Evan standing over him,

"We aren't on the same side anymore, _Black._ It would be… unwise for you to continue expecting special treatment."

Regulus couldn't withhold wincing as his limbs seized up in result of Evan's cruciatus. When he looked up again after what he thought had only been a moment later, he found himself alone in the dark alley- Evan nowhere in sight.

* * *

Regulus woke up the next day determined to have someplace new to sleep by that night. After attempting to get out of bed before more or less falling back into it, he recalled the events from the night before.

Between almost killing Rachel by forcing Lupin's transformation and using the cruciatus on him, Regulus begrudgingly agreed that he and Evan were on opposing sides in the war. He had already known that, of course, but the reality of their divide had not fully sunk in before last night. Only to be reiterated this morning as he struggled through an inordinate amount of discomfort to get out of bed and into the bathroom for a shower. It seemed his recent break from being semi-regularly tortured had lessened his tolerance for pain a bit.

After his shower he managed to find a stash of anti-cruciatus potion, which he drank down greedily. Feeling a bit more optimistic about his situation, he packed up what he wanted from his room. He then sealed his bedroom shut and made his way down the stairs.

He was passed on the second floor by a dog patronus that made its way towards the guest room he had shown Marlene to nearly two days before. He strained his ears but was unable to make out most of what the message said.

After waiting a few moments to see if Marlene would make an appearance, he decided it was probably time someone checked on her, which unfortunately would have to be him.

He knocked on the door for several minutes without hearing any sort of response before announcing that he was coming in. As no objection or any other response was issued, Regulus hesitantly pushed open the door.

Despite the hour, the room was dark. Regulus made his way towards the window and pulled open the curtains, allowing the morning light to illuminate the room.

Marlene was lying in the bed with her eyes closed, though clearly only pretending to be asleep. It was also clear even from across the room that she was unshowered and most likely wearing the same clothes from two days ago though he hadn't paid much attention at the time.

"It seems Sirius wants to talk to you," he remarked casually.

"Mm," she grunted noncommitally.

"I'm sure you've noticed that Sirius tends to get whatever he wants," Regulus answered, "Meaning he will find a way to talk to you," he added quickly. "Evans is worried about you as well."

"Evans," she scoffed, "You should at least call her Potter."

"That name's already taken," he answered just before casting a spell to cleanse her greasy hair.

That got her attention, which had been his intent. Her eyes flashed towards him as she jerked up in bed, hands flying to her hair. Realizing he hadn't done anything overly offensive, she answered, "Maybe it's time to start calling people by their first names then, you little weirdo. No one likes being referred to by their surname.

"I'll keep that in mind. Are you ready to go?"

"Go? Go where?"

"Anywhere but here. I'm leaving and no one else has access at the moment. It would be irresponsible to allow you to stay here, what with all of the dangerous heirlooms and whatever else that you could unknowingly encounter."

"I grew up in a pureblood household. It's not as if I don't know better than-"

Seemingly registering her own words, her eyes welled with tears.

Ignoring her reaction, Regulus changed the subject, "_Lily_ mentioned she would like for you stay with her, if you have no objections?"

Marlene shook her head almost imperceptibly and Regulus made his way for the door, "In that case, meet me downstairs when you are ready."

He went down the rest of the stairs and into the backyard. Upon seeing no one, he immediately cast, "Homenum Revelio," followed up with a "Finite Incantatem," revealing Sirius who was now standing right before him.

Regulus held up his hands in a placating manner to stop Sirius' outburst,

"Just listen. Marlene is willing to go to the Potter's house. You are their secret keeper, correct?"

"She should be able to stay here and I could bring Lily to her- along with everyone else," he answered angrily.

"There are reasons to prevent that from being done at the moment… things I would have taken care of sooner if I would have known your plans."

"Why would I consult you over this? You're welcome to keep your old room if you want, but it's _my_ house. I am the head of the family in case you've forgotten."

"How could I forget with you reminding me every time I turn around?" Regulus drawled. "What I can't remember is you ever showing any indication before two days ago that you wanted anything to do with our ancestral home- or your title for that matter. Are you going to petition to take over father's seat on the Wizengamot, or are your interests limited to real estate? I suppose now is a good time to mention that I've asked the goblins to manage your investments until further notice."

"And they just did it? When did you even arrange that?"

"It doesn't matter, the goblins will turn it back over to you as soon as you tell them to. Can you just write down the address to the Potter's? Marlene will be coming downstairs any minute."

"Marlene now is it?" Sirius sneered, "I'll take her to Uncle Alphard's house-"

"She doesn't want to go there."

"What makes you the expert on what Marlene wants?"

"She said she would go to the Potter's. Why wouldn't you just let her go where she wants without making a big thing out of it?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't, but if she wanted to see you I expect she would have responded to one of your patronuses-"

"I guess the two of you have been discussing my messages over tea then, have you? While I've sat outside in the cold-"

"Get over yourself, Sirius. Not everyone spends their days thinking about you."

Sirius gritted his teeth before conjuring parchment and a quill. After scribbling out an address, he thrust it into Regulus' hand.

"There is something I wanted to talk about-" Regulus began.

"If it isn't the address to the house right in front of me, I don't care."

"Give me a few days and you can do whatever you want with it-"

"Why do you need a few days? What is going to change in that time?"

"Just meet me later," Regulus answered as he looked distrustfully at the stone walls surrounding them. "I need to talk to you about some things… but I don't want to be overheard."

Sirius glared at him momentarily, torn between not wanting to agree to do anything Regulus said at the moment and wanting to know what he would tell him if he agreed. Curiosity eventually won out,

"Alright," he answered after a moment, "James should be home from work around six. Have a looksee at that paper in your hand and meet me there around then."

Regulus hesitated, unsure of who else he was willing to share what he had learned with. Considering that Evan knew what he had overheard, it could easily be turned against him. Then again, Evan couldn't very well tell Voldemort that he had known an Order member was eavesdropping on them, and decided to let them go with a warning.

Glancing at the address on the parchment in his hand, Regulus shook his head,

"I really don't know what Potter was thinking in making you secret keeper," he muttered as he turned around and disappeared, returning to inside the house Sirius couldn't see.


	60. Falmouth Part 1

Regulus checked his watch and found it to be around two minutes from the last time he had checked it. It was as if the cold morning air was enough to freeze time to the point that it wasn't moving at all.

After another extremely long six minutes of waiting, Regulus was confident that the head of the Greengrass family should have left to make his usual rounds within the ministry. Casting his patronus, he quickly obscured its form and then watched as it disappeared through the extravagant fencing surrounding the Greengrass estate.

Regulus was surprised a few moments later when he was joined not by Cassie but by a house elf, whom he knew to be named Darcy. The house elf bowed immediately and stared at the ground as if ordered not to look at him,

"Mistress Castalia knows not why Sirius Black is here, but she wishes for him to leave. Mistress Castalia knows Sirius Black is abysmal in all things magical, and took pity by supplying a portkey for his safe travel away from here," the house elf announced in a somewhat apologetic tone before offering the portkey to Regulus.

Regulus reached to accept the portkey in mild confusion, unsure of how he was meant to activate it or why Cassie had sent a house elf to meet him to begin with. He needn't worry as Darcy activated the portkey just before placing it in his palm, giving him no choice but to go wherever Cassie had intended immediately upon contact.

A few moments later Regulus' feelings of apprehension heightened when he found himself in where he vaguely recognized as Cassie's bedroom. The only other time he had seen this particular room had been during a holiday party that the Greengrasses had held during Sirius' first year of Hogwarts.

Regulus had rarely ever been seen without Sirius at any pureblood functions by that time. Since Sirius had not come home for the holiday, Cassie had insisted it was her responsibility as his friend to ensure he didn't get into trouble without his brother's 'guidance'.

Her plan had proved counterproductive when her father later caught them playing gobstones in the floor of her bedroom. The subsequent threat that he had received following that particular incident had left him with some lingering feelings of uneasiness anytime he found himself in the Greengrass home in the eight years since. He certainly hadn't attempted to enter Cassie's bedroom again.

He forced himself not to dive into the closet or make any other graceless effort to hide as the door handle began to turn. He had just enough time to recognize Cassie as she entered the room, before being engulfed in a hug.

Doing his best not to linger on any feelings elicited by the rare-of-late physical contact, he remarked offhandedly,

"It's kind of funny… I actually don't know if Sirius _can_ make a portkey."

Cassie laughed softly as she released him, though refrained from commenting. Regulus shifted uncomfortably under her piercing gaze as she looked him over.

Deciding it was time to interrupt her scrutiny, Regulus asked, "Why didn't you meet me outside? Please tell me your father is gone."

Cassie smiled a bit mischievously, "Considering his reaction when we were ten, I'm not sure if you'd make it out of here alive if he caught you in my bedroom at eighteen, especially with everything else… yes, he's gone. My mother is downstairs, as is Jocelyn. If they saw me leaving the house at this hour they would never believe it was by my own volition."

"Jocelyn is here... Does that mean you're an aunt yet?"

Cassie smiled slightly, "No, but Daphne should be here any day now."

"Daphne," Regulus repeated as he tried to decide whether he liked the name or not.

"Before you pass judgement you should remember that your name is Regulus," she suggested.

Regulus smirked, "We can't all be named to inspire the genius of poetry, Castalia," he answered, referencing the water nymph for which she had been named.

Cassie's eyes snapped to his with a look he didn't quite recognize for a moment before she changed the subject rather abruptly,

"You look as if you've been some place warm. I don't think I've seen you so tan since the start of our third year," she remarked in a tone that almost sounded as if she were congratulating him.

"That's oddly specific," he laughed, "but, yes, I just got back a couple of days ago. How have things been here?"

Cassie hesitated momentarily before answering rather vaguely, "Same as always." Regulus gave her a look clearly indicating he wanted her to elaborate though she somehow seemed to miss it, "So you just got back and naturally seeing me was one of your first priorities."

"Naturally. Though part of it is business. You're the secret keeper of the Black ancestral home," Cassie nodded in agreement. "Well, Sirius has offered it to the Order of the Phoenix for their meetings…lodging, whatever anyone needs really."

Cassie's face fell immediately as she didn't even bother with trying to hide the anxiety from her expression, "Cyrus will find out…" she trailed off as she sat on the edge of her bed.

Slightly taken aback that she was so openly upset by the situation, Regulus hesitated briefly before moving to sit beside her on the edge of the bed. Resting a hand on her shoulder he remarked softly,

"The responsibility of secret keeper for the headquarters of the Order won't fall to you, Cassie. I will see to it that that doesn't happen… We'll figure something out."

"Even if something can be figured out, even if I'm not the secret keeper, Cyrus will think I am."

Regulus let out a slow breath as he wrapped his arm more securely around her, "I will see to it that he doesn't remember anything. It'll be fine," he told her soothingly despite his own apprehension, and the fact that his words of 'comfort' implied that he was going to use memory charms on her only sibling.

After several moments of Regulus attempting to calm Cassie's nerves with minimal success, he found himself wondering if it was entirely the situation of Grimmauld Place that had her so distressed or if there was something more involved. He thought it likely that she wasn't thrilled by the idea of him performing a memory charm on Cyrus, but even that seemed unlikely to cause her current level of unhappiness. Either way, he hated for the most secretly cheerful Slytherin he knew to be so downcast.

Placing his hand under her chin, he gently turned her face until her eyes met his. Doing his best not to laugh at her expression over the gesture, he remarked seriously, "I'll do everything I can to ensure you're safe. No matter what happens."

Cassie looked down at his hand in bemusement by way of response and he immediately released her face.

"How do you plan to do that, knowing that no one is really safe anymore? Least of all, you," she answered sadly. "You should concentrate on making sure you're safe."

"I can take care of myself," seeing her expression he added hastily, "I know you can too, but a little extra help never hurt anyone, especially when its because of me that you are involved in this at all. If you're willing, I think we should discuss the Fidelius charm with Dumbledore."

"I can't be seen meeting with Dumbledore," she objected.

"I know. We'll need to schedule a time to meet with him to ensure he is alone rather than risk running into anyone. If he would meet us outside of Hogwarts it might be better. Maybe we could meet at Grimmauld Place since only you and I have access."

Cassie considered his suggestion for a moment before proceeding over to her bureau on the other side of the room. After finding parchment and a quill, she scribbled out the address and handed it to him,

"Here's this, just in case. I wonder how long before he could meet with us."

"It won't be today," Regulus answered with certainty. Dumbledore had announced at the meeting that he would be spending most of the day following up with the ministry regarding Crouch Sr's disappearance. Judging by Cassie's demeanor, the last thing she needed was for him to share details of Crouch's 'disappearance'- especially when she didn't have a clear side in the war to stand with. Deciding distraction to be his best chance at cheering her up and possibly convincing her to tell him what else was bothering her, he remarked,

"As sharing living quarters with the Order of the Phoenix is not exactly on my bucket list, I am intending to look for a new place to live this morning… If you don't already have plans, I'm sure your insight could prove valuable in my house hunt."

Cassie seemed to brighten slightly at his words, "There isn't _anyone_ in the Order you would want to share living quarters with?"

Regulus looked at her blankly as if not understanding the question before asking, "Are you coming or not?"

"As I doubt anyone in the Black family has purchased real estate this century, I think I'd better," she answered with a trace of her usual humor in her tone.

Rather than risk her improved disposition, Regulus chose not to point that she had no more experience in purchasing a new home than he did. Instead he prodded her to hurry up and get ready so they could leave. As she added the finishing touches to her disguise, Regulus created a portkey for the two of them to use to begin their search.

* * *

Sirius apparated into Godric's Hollow and proceeded towards where he knew James and Lily's cottage to be. As he approached, he glanced around him to make sure he was alone before recalling the address to their house. As it appeared, he wasted no time in pushing open the gate surrounding their yard, and making his way up the walkway towards the house.

As Regulus wasn't expected for another half hour or so, Sirius was determined to smooth things over with Marlene before his brother arrived. Before he had quite reached to knock on the door, however, he was accosted by Regulus. Sirius realized with chagrin that he must have thought to disillusion himself and had been waiting for him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sirius demanded after only narrowly managing to stop himself in time from cursing him, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "Were you really going to use a spell that could have killed someone here, without first identifying them?" he asked indicating the Potter's house.

"I wouldn't advise testing me on it," Sirius answered ominously. "Why are you here so early?"

"Oh right, how silly of me not to have waited until the time you said. They aren't even expecting me, are they?"

"What does that have to do with anything? That doesn't explain why you are early."

"Do you really think a former death eater wouldn't know what time the aurors change shifts? It was obvious what you were doing when you asked me to meet you here. You were going to use it as an excuse to see Marlene. You told me to come later than necessary so that you could talk to her beforehand. As I suspect that conversation will not be a short one... I decided to have ours first."

"Don't be ridiculous, I came here for dinner," Sirius answered with a dramatic wave of his arm, accidently knocking James' rather gaudy statue of a lion from its perch in the process, "I thought it would go without saying that your company wasn't welcomed at the dinner table."

"Are you even sure _your _company is welcome at every meal? Maybe you should invest in a house elf rather than expect-" Regulus began as the front door swung open, revealing James Potter.

"I thought I heard something out here," he remarked. His eyes lingered on Regulus momentarily before noticing the broken statue at their feet. Sirius could tell that he had only managed to withhold his usual act of being morally offended by the lack of respect for his school house due to Regulus' presence.

Even without his usual theatrics, James looked more than a little put out as he cast the spell to repair the lion and returned it to its pedestal near the front door. Casting another wary glance in Regulus' direction he stowed his wand, "Well you might as well come in, I guess."

"After you," Sirius smirked, shunting Regulus through the door ahead of him.

Regulus opened his mouth to object but stopped as he caught sight of Lily, Marlene, Dorcas Meadowes, Emmeline Vance and Lupin just inside, all of them watching their exchange.

"Marlene," Sirus greeted brightly as he cleared the threshold. "What a happy surprise to find you here," he remarked charmingly, seemingly oblivious to the collective sigh of exasperation that his behavior elicited.

"Sirius, I am the one who wants to talk to you-" Regulus began.

"Of course," he answered brilliantly. "If you all don't mind to excuse us for a moment, my dearest little brother needs an understanding ear," he announced. "Harry's room is available, I take it?"

"For the next few months it should be," Lily answered dryly.

"Or we could go someplace else," Regulus suggested before Sirius grabbed his arm and apparated them both up the upstairs.

As Regulus took in his new surroundings he vaguely heard Sirius tell him to hurry up and get on with whatever he wanted to tell him.

Regulus peeled his eyes away from the bordering wallpaper of broomsticks he had been studying and looked back to the yellow paint that was several shades too bright for their parents to have ever allowed inside Grimmauld Place. His eyes had just caught sight of a magical alphabet near the crib when Sirius shook him,

"Well, what is it?" he demanded.

"I can't take you seriously in this room," Regulus answered distractedly.

"Don't be jealous of an infant, Reg, it's unbecoming."

Regulus scoffed, "Their kid is going to be unable to tell the difference between night and day in this fluorescence."

Sirius smirked, no doubt about to insult him further though his humor faded as Regulus rushed into recanting his excursion from the night before and told him the gist of what he had overheard. He was careful not to mention his run in with Evan afterwards- or Evan's presence at all for that matter.

Sirius scrunched his eyebrows slightly as Regulus finished his tale, naturally having made it sound as if he had escaped completely unimpeded rather than endure any sort of lecture at being semi-caught.

"What happened to you being opposed to spying? You should have at least taken me with you for backup-"

"It would have been too obvious, and how is that relevant right now?" Regulus asked in exasperation as he gestured outside. "We don't have much time if we want to ambush their attack."

Sirius grinned broadly at that remark, "_You_ want to ambush death eaters?" he asked, clearly amused. "Well in that case, why didn't you say so? I thought you were just throwing out tidbits of information without any intent to do anything with it because it's too dangerous… like usual."

"If you're about finished with mocking me, we should work on a plan. We probably have a couple of hours before they attack but I couldn't say for sure-"

"Who are you and what have you done with my overly-cautious little brother? You must know setting up an ambush will be exceedingly dangerous. If you haven't at least spent the day at the library researching ambush tactics, I'll be convinced you're a pod person."

"Since when do you turn down an opportunity to fight death eaters?" At Sirius' scrutinizing look, he added angrily, "Fine, but don't come crying to me when the entirety of Falmouth is wiped out by sunrise."

"Well that's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Sirius laughed at his indignation despite the sudden gleam in his eye and the fact that he was rubbing his hands together in obvious excitement. Without waiting for a response he added, "Alright, let's run this by the others to see if anyone else wants in, then we'll plan our defense."

Regulus schooled his features back to casual disinterest as he followed Sirius back downstairs. He vaguely thought his brother's hesitation to be a bad sign as Sirius was generally the far more impulsive of the two of them. He forced away his doubts as he recalled Sirius' habit of looking down upon any ideas that weren't his with disdain.

As they rejoined the others downstairs, Regulus' doubts returned with a vengeance as he caught sight of a new arrival while they had been upstairs in the form of Rachel. She gave him a curious look, likely trying to figure out why on Earth he was there, but he directed all of his attention back to his brother.

"Wait, Sirius-" Regulus began anxiously, as he reconsidered the danger of their lack of plans and limited timeframe.

Sirius waved him off before announcing grandly, "If any of you are hoping to become more effective in our fight against the death eaters, join my brother and me in the kitchen. Now, please."

Those gathered began looking from one brother to the other in confusion. Regulus ignored their questions as Sirius began herding them into the next room as if they were common sheep,

"Go on now, to the kitchen everyone," he kept repeating.

* * *

Sirius sat at the head of the table looking very self-important as Lily, Remus, Marlene, Dorcas and Emmeline filed into chairs around the middle of the table with James at the opposite end from Sirius. Rachel had expected Regulus to sit with Sirius but as if unsure if he should sit at all, he stood hesitantly in the back of the room.

After taking inventory of the seating arrangements she thought his hesitance was likely due to the fact that in sitting beside Sirius he would also be next to Remus. There was an empty chair beside her, but at the opposite end of it was James. Deciding it best not to draw further attention to them, she settled for sending an apologetic glance in his direction, which he probably didn't see. She was happily surprised a moment later when Dorcas remarked good-naturedly,

"I won't bite, you know," as she indicated the only other empty chair at the table between her and Emmeline.

Regulus waited a moment as if to see if anyone would object before accepting her offer and joining the table.

As he settled into his chair, he froze as Dorcas moved to whisper into his ear, "Or if I do, I'll at least ensure that you like it," before bursting into laughter.

Emmeline turned and gave her a disapproving look, though smiling slightly as she saw his expression, "Ignore her. She was dropped on her head as a child."

"Before we get on with this little meeting, this pregnant lady is going to have to be fed," Lily announced a bit crossly.

"Oh," Rachel jumped up and cast a quick succession of spells bringing forth several boxes as Lily happily summoned plates from the cabinet and passed them around. "Sorry, I'd nearly forgotten I had stopped for pizza," Rachel added apologetically.

Regulus had heard of pizza before but as it wasn't a traditional wizarding food, and was almost certainly always prepared by muggles, it wasn't something he had ever ventured to try. As he was looking around for silverware he was surprised that no one else seemed concerned that none had been offered.

A moment later he understood why as everyone began to manhandle their pizza with their barehands in varying degrees of starving caveman style.

Noticing Regulus had made no move to eat the slice of pizza that had been placed in front of him, Dorcas remarked,

"Expecting silverware for pizza is a bit pretentious, don't you think?" she asked, as she tore a piece of sausage off of the pizza on _his_ plate and popped it into her mouth with a grin.

Regulus quirked an eyebrow, "Better pretentious than nauseating. Anyway, I ate before I came," he lied.

Dorcas smirked but before she could comment further, Sirius called for their attention,

"Regulus and I have reason to believe the death eaters plan to attack the wizarding community in Falmouth tonight. We thought perhaps rather than wait to be called in for cleanup, we might arrive early and be proactive for once."

"How did you hear of this?" James asked curiously, "Did you only just find out?"

"Regulus heard about it yesterday-" Sirius began rather unhelpfully.

"And we're only just now hearing about it?" James demanded.

"The Order has been betrayed before," Regulus answered tonelessly. "There wasn't a foreseeable benefit in mentioning it before now when it could cause our efforts to be sabotaged."

James scoffed, "I see leaving the country hasn't made you any less paranoid."

"Nor has the betrayal of one of your closest friends made you any less naïve."

"Are you two incapable of getting along?" Sirius demanded, slamming his hand on the table and causing everyone except for Regulus and James to jump. "Get over yourselves! We have no choice but to work together."

Regulus smirked at Sirius' recycling of the advice he had given him earlier that morning. He could vaguely hear Lily reprimanding James in hushed tones as he continued with the meeting himself,

"We don't have time to assemble the entire Order and Dumbledore has been tied up with the ministry all day. If everyone in this room goes we'll be equally matched at best, though I expect we'll still be outnumbered by quite a bit." Catching Rachel's eye, he added, "Don't make your decision lightly."

"And what exactly is your plan of attack?" Lupin asked apprehensively.

"Divide and conquer," Sirius improvised. "Split into pairs, and guard along the perimeter of the village. We'll need a way to contact each other for when the action starts, something more discreet than the patronus charm would be ideal, but for now let's choose our pairs,

"Marlene?"

Marlene looked at him coldly, "This is about paying retribution to the death eaters. We should all be paired with whomever we work best with. In that case, I choose Dorcas."

"Naturally," Meadowes consented.

"I'm going to summon Benjy to go with us," Emmeline announced as she stood from the table, "We need all the help we can get."

Regulus glanced at Rachel and thought they might have made an agreement to work together if not for the outburst erupting at the end of the table.

"I'm a liability! I have no business showing up someplace where I can be turned into a weapon," Lupin shouted.

"You'll just have to exhibit self-control. Now that you know what to expect they won't be able to make you turn," Sirius answered as if it was the obvious thing in the world.

"If it was a matter of choosing not to turn, don't you think I would have found a way to avoid it on a monthly basis?" Remus snarled.

"That's the full moon though. This is more like the spell that forces someone into their animagus form, isn't it?"

"It isn't when done properly," Regulus interrupted. "The spell mimics the effects of a full moon. No amount of willpower is going to ward off its effects."

Sirius sighed in exasperation, "Well there's still the counter spell. Are you willing to show us how to perform it?" he asked of Regulus, "or am I going to have to summon the grimoires from our ancestral home?"

"I have no objection to showing you how to do it, but it isn't anything we have time for tonight." Forcing himself not to look at Rachel, he added, "I'll stay close enough to ensure he doesn't get cursed, and reverse it if it happens."

Sirius looked at him skeptically before looking around at the other pairings and finding that Benjy had already arrived and was obviously going with Emmeline, and that James and Lily were together, as expected.

"That's going to leave me with Rachel," he pointed out though it was clear by the meaningful look Regulus was giving him that he had already figured that out. "Which is fine with me," Sirius added, giving his brother an odd pat on the shoulder. "That is, if you have no objections, Ms. Candor?" he asked more loudly. "Before you reject me, I'd like to point out that both Marlene and Remus have already turned me down. I'd hate to think what a third rejection tonight could do for my confidence."

"Lucky you have plenty to spare," she smirked before hesitating slightly, "I think the current pairings are probably in everyone's best interest," she answered quietly though looking warily between Regulus and Remus.

After everyone had reassembled at the table, Regulus drew a map of the general layout of the wizarding community in Falmouth and discussed the most likely areas that death eaters would enter from. He then selected the locations that they should concentrate on staking out before seemingly assigning the pairs to those locations at random.

* * *

Regulus apparated to the northernmost region of the Falmouth wizarding community and was immediately glad he had assigned himself as far from the coast as possible. Even from where he stood the scent of brine mixed with the near freezing temperature stirred memories from his time in the cave.

The sound of a soft 'pop' signaled an apparition nearby and he glanced to verify it was Lupin before continuing his surveillance of the area.

Remus approached him and let out a deep sigh as he joined in his silent vigil. Regulus knew they should probably be discussing how to ensure he stayed in human form, but couldn't be bothered enough to initiate the conversation. He was confident that he could always immobilize the werewolf until the skirmish was over if he had to.

The sound of multiple apparitions echoed from just west of them and with only the slightest hesitation on Remus' part, they silently scurried in that direction as stealthily as they could manage.

* * *

Rachel realized with an odd mixture of guilt and relief that she and Sirius had been assigned to the farthest location away from Regulus and Remus. Despite the assurance that no one who knew how to turn Remus would likely be there, she felt guilty for the relief she felt in being able to start the fight as far away from him as possible.

As all of the other pairings disapparated, Rachel found herself alone in the Potter's kitchen with Sirius. Realizing everyone else had left she looked at him questioningly only to find him watching her rather shrewdly. Without warning, Sirius grabbed her arm and apparated them to where she assumed would be just outside the harbor at Falmouth as planned.

Her eyes widened slightly as they reappeared, having expected to have plenty of time to prepare, "I think we're a little late to the party," she remarked as the sky lit up in the distance with various spells.

Sirius cursed under his breath as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a sprint heading directly towards the fray. As they passed houses along the way, all of which had their lights turned out and curtains drawn, she wondered if they could have convinced any of the inhabiting wizards to defend themselves if they would have given them prior warning of the attack.

Realizing there weren't any anti-apparition wards in place, she suspected many of the residents may have left the vicinity altogether.

"We could attempt to evacuate the area," She remarked somewhat breathlessly.

Sirius, who was clearly capable of running much faster than her but had kept her pace, answered as if they had merely been walking for the past several minutes,

"No, as soon as any death eaters realized what we were doing they would just expand the anti-apparition wards," he answered a bit condescendingly, "More people will escape if they figure out what is going on for themselves, or maybe a few will even join the fight."

She nearly suggested calling the rest of the Order in now that they knew there was definitely an attack rather than just suspicion. Before she could catch her breath enough to get the words out, a house to her left burst into flames. Hearing a distinct scream from within the house, Rachel focused her efforts on putting the flames out, as Sirius fired off a succession of spells at the death eater who had caused it.

* * *

"Rosier," Dolohov barked at the younger male as he walked past the drawing room at Malfoy Manor where the senior death eater was currently holding court.

Evan wordlessly entered the room, casually glancing around at the other occupants before turning his attention to Dolohov,

"You called?" he asked dryly.

"Indeed. Due to a nasty strain of the dragon pox going around, we're a bit short on a mission planned for this evening. You will be standing in," he informed him.

Evan withheld a sigh as he thought of Regulus in all of his reckless glory, and the conversation he had subsequently overheard the night before,

"Very well. I don't know how much help I will be though as I have prior orders from the Dark Lord."

"I am aware of your orders for later. I wasn't exactly assigned the dream team for tonight, I'll take whatever assistance you can offer in the meantime. Do be sure to stay alive though," he chuckled coldly as he indicated for Evan to join the assembly of newer recruits and older rejects for further instruction, "I'd hate to have to deal with those filthy blood suckers myself."

* * *

After a short run, Regulus caught sight of more than a dozen death eaters who had wasted no time in wreaking havoc on the most residential area of wizarding Falmouth. After identifying a death eater standing off to the side and away from the others, Regulus realized that he was attempting to erect anti-apparition wards, trapping any of the residents who didn't have an alternative method of escape.

Sticking to the shadows as best he could, he made his way towards that death eater, having to avoid a half-dozen or so stray curses along the way.

Managing to get into striking range undetected, he cast a stunning spell at the unsuspecting death eater followed by a _confringo_ aimed mostly at his wand, though it effectively blasted part of his hand into smithereens along with it. The shock of losing his hand had seemingly canceled the stunning spell on the death eater, which was exemplified as he screamed out in agony, drawing the attention of several other death eaters.

Regulus dove to the ground to avoid a _cruciatus_ aimed at him, and immediately rolled onto his knees before casting another blasting curse at the nearest death eater. He realized with no small amount of relief that despite having forgotten Lupin, the werewolf had stuck by him and was now engaged with two of the four death eaters whose focus they had acquired.

It was a small comfort, however, when he was hit in the ribs with what must have been a _bone breaker _as breathing had suddenly become an exceedingly difficult task. Quickly casting a shield charm around himself, he intended to repair his broken ribs, only to have to dive out of the way of yet another cruciatus, which predictably shattered his shield.

Regulus heard Remus yell in anguish, but he had enough of his own problems without checking on him as he fought to get into a less compromising position. Whatever had happened to the werewolf must not have been too bad as a moment later one of his combatants let out a screech of indignation at his partner for using a portkey to bail on the fight.

Regulus used the moment of distraction to finally repair his ribs though he felt like disapparating himself if not dying of shame as one of his opponents moved in what he thought was an effort to help the death eater against Remus.

Furious at having been underestimated, Regulus went on a rampage of casting everything he could think of shy of an unforgivable.

A few moments later he saw in his peripheral that the death eater who had left him had not actually gone to help with Remus as he had originally thought, but to the aide of yet another death eater who had been working against Marlene and Dorcas alone.

Whether it was his new spell choices or the rate at which he was casting, his change in approach caused his opponent to no longer wish to mess around with him. This was evident by the death eater's spell repertoire having dwindled to include only that which would kill on contact.

Regulus couldn't spare much thought to who he was even fighting as he was continuously scrambling to dodge and then counter the attack.

Both were bloodied and newly scarred, yet neither of them a clear winner when their battle was interrupted by the death eater still working against Lupin,

"Uh, Dolohov…. I think maybe you should see…?"

Dolohov spun away from Regulus' cutting curse, before answering with his favorite purple spell of death, which Regulus blocked as Dolohov answered,

"It can wait-"

"Not unless you want to die," the death eater answered frantically, which effectively got the senior death eater's attention. Unfortunately for him, it was at the cost of losing concentration and being hit in the chest with Regulus' variation of Snape's _sectumsempra_.

Regulus chanced a look to see what the death eater had been so worried about and saw that the death eater who had been battling Dorcas had attempted a fiendfyre spell which had gone awry. As Dorcas was weaving and diving to avoid the flames, all the while fruitlessly casting water at the cursed fire to keep it from burning her, Regulus saw that on the other end of the curse, the fire was spreading ever nearer to the houses and the rest of the battling Order members and death eaters.

Glancing at Dolohov, he saw the death eater was far more interested in the alarming amount of blood that was pooling around his now prone body. Despite the blood loss, he attempted to laugh though it came out more as a gurgle,

"Let's see what the Order can do with that," he wheezed, "_Retreat_," given the emphasis on his last word and Dolohov's disappearance following it, 'retreat' had been the activation word of his portkey.

As each of the death eaters around them began to disappear, the cursed fire continued to rage on, ever closer to Dorcas.

"Dorcas," Regulus barked as the rapidly increasing smoke filled his lungs, "disapparate."

As if being pulled from a haze caused by the fire, Dorcas seemed to come to her senses and apparated to a spot between where Regulus and Remus currently stood. Given the ever increasing fire and no one left to anchor it, her new position was only marginally safer than the last.

* * *

The first death eater attacked had been the one attempting to place the anti-apparition wards. Evan had little doubt about who had been responsible for the rare showing of intelligence within the Order. He vaguely thought he should place the wards himself, but as he had grown quite fond of having two working hands, he decided to see if any of the others thought of it.

Having no desire to duel with Regulus, he took off in the opposite direction of him. Glancing at his watch he thought his presence to be a bit ridiculous to begin with. They had attacked earlier than originally planned because Evan was supposed to meet with some of the vampires who were supposedly supporters of Voldemort later that night. Even with the earlier time, if he were engaged in any decent battle, he would likely end up late for his meeting.

Deciding he would much rather face the wrath of Dolohov than Voldemort, he pulled out his portkey, only to put it back away as he saw one of the new recruits being humiliated by Sirius in their duel.

After watching them for a moment it was clear that Sirius was playing with the young death eater, rather than putting him out of his misery. Evan would rather be killed ten times over than suffer the indignity of being played with as if unworthy of being killed.

Only adding to his discomfiture was when he saw Rachel, watering a house as if hoping to help it grow. He hoped the people inside drowned if they had no more self-preservation than to remain inside a burning house.

If these were Regulus' closest confidantes within the Order, they needed a serious reality check. He supposed if he were going to leave the battle so early he should at least leave a parting gift.

He picked up a rock off the ground and transfigured it into the best replica of Lupin's werewolf form that his memory would allow and immediately stunned it. He then enlarged the wolf to Lupin's approximate size, and ended his stunning spell just before disapparating. His replica was only a regular wolf and not a werewolf, of course. Given recent events, he thought it still might be enough to arouse some interest.


	61. Falmouth Part 2

The moment Dorcas apparated, the flames shifted, forming a gigantic pack of fiery beasts headed directly at the three Order members.

Realizing there were only moments before all three of them would be engulfed in the inferno, Regulus cast, _Partis Temporus_, creating a gap within the flames just large they weren't burned alive. As the pressure of the flames built on either side, Regulus' spell nearly buckled. Dorcas yelped as fiery chimaera nipped at her.

"Where's Marlene?" Remus asked frantically, having just realized she should have been nearby.

Even in their current situation, a hint of pride was evident in Dorcas' voice as she answered,

"She took her death eater down and then summoned his portkey before he could escape. She used her portkey to take him to Hogwarts before the bloke bled to death."

"He wouldn't have lasted long enough to bleed to death if she would have left him with this-" Remus began, indicating the flames surrounding them.

"This partition isn't going to last indefinitely," Regulus reminded them in a strained voice.

"Well water doesn't help-" Dorcas answered, clearly befuddled about what could be done, "_Finite incantatem…maximus, _perhaps?"

"Interesting that you find the prospect of being burned alive so amusing," Lupin answered dryly as he cast a series protective charms around them, throwing in an occasional flame- freezing charm, though each seemed less productive than the last.

"Scatter," Regulus instructed them. They didn't need telling twice, both of them disapparating. The moment they were gone, Regulus disapparated to a clear patch of ground, certain he couldn't have held off the flames a moment longer.

The flames were already mutating, but less cohesive, confused. It didn't seem to know which victim to focus on and its progress towards each of them slowed. Not enough to no longer be dangerous, but enough to give them more time.

Regulus raised his wand and cast a charm to encapsulate the fiendfyre. For a moment he thought it hadn't worked. He took several steps back as the fiery chimaeras, dragons and serpents rose and fell and rose again on their rapid approach towards him. He closed his eyes in relief when at last they abruptly stopped, as if having hit a wall that that blocked them. Slowly the magic of the flames was exhausted and the fire burned down. Regulus banished the remnants of the fire as Remus and Dorcas joined him.

"Don't the two of you have portkeys?" he asked blandly.

Dorcas exchanged a look with Remus, the latter answering,

"Of course, but what about everyone else? Should we have just left them?"

Regulus answered with a noncommittal "Mm." After scrutinizing the scorched landscape around them and realizing the possibility that if someone had been caught in the inferno, there wouldn't necessarily be any trace of a body left, he asked, "Was Marlene planning to come back here after dropping off her injured death eater?"

Dorcas shifted uneasily, obviously realizing there was a chance that Marlene could have managed to apparate directly into the flames without them even realizing it, "I don't- I think I'll try to catch up with her. She may need help anyway." She told them as she took out her portkey.

Regulus looked around them. If the raucous of their battle had not managed to draw the attention of the inhabitants in Falmouth first, the fiendfyre should have. And where was the rest of the Order? How was it that no one else seemed to be around?

As Dorcas disapparated, Regulus and Remus set off in the direction Dorcas had told them she had last seen James and Lily. The night was eerily absent of the tell-tale signs of any dueling taking place. Given the recent episode of uncontrolled fiendfyre, they were both eager to find out what had become of the others.

* * *

Upon leaving Falmouth, Evan apparated to the outskirts of Essex near to the place he was scheduled to meet with one of the oldest vampires currently residing in Britain. Double checking his watch again, he found he still had quite a bit of time before their meeting and set out to find somewhere to have a drink.

As he took a seat inside a seedy bar that he could vaguely recall visiting once before, he rubbed his left forearm in agitation. While the skin beneath his dark mark had always been irritable, it seemed to have gotten worse lately. Rather than the occasional annoying prickle he used to receive in between summons, it now seemed to induce a deep throb every couple of hours. He had nearly asked his father if he had felt the same, but had decided against it rather than risk him telling the Dark Lord that he had inquired about it. He supposed there was also a possibility that it could cause his father to worry if he was in fact being more closely monitored than usual.

Noticing the stool in which he was seated was shaking slightly, he immediately stilled his leg that he had been bouncing with no small amount of agitation. _Since when did he have nervous habits?_

The moment a muggle ale was sat down in front of him, he downed most of it in one go. The aged owner of the pub scarcely batted an eyelash as he moved to pour another glass from the tap and brought it to him.

Evan had met with the vampire patriarch, Lorenzo before, but never by himself. The idea of doing so now felt a bit ominous given that the vampire was said to never travel alone. The Dark Lord told him recently that since his father had been his primary liaison with the giants for years now, Evan had always been intended to perform the same task when it came to the vampires. Evan refrained from asking if that meant it had always been intended for Travers to be killed, seeing as he had been the primary liaison with the bloodsuckers up until his untimely death a few weeks ago.

The door of the pub opened letting in a cold gust of air with the new occupant. Given that his cloak mostly concealed his identity and that few would expect him in a muggle bar anyway, Evan hadn't bothered to identify the newcomer who had taken the seat beside him. He was therefore quite surprised to recognize the voice of Lucius Malfoy as he greeted him tersely,

"Rosier," Evan did his best to look unaffected as he verified he had in fact been joined by his cousin's husband. Lucius was currently taking in their surroundings with a look of utmost disgust, "Interesting company you keep these days."

Evan glanced around them and was relieved to see that the owner was mid-discussion with another tenant and that no one else seemed to be paying attention to them.

"And your presence is a surprise as well… to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It was brought to my attention that Dolohov requested your assistance this evening."

Evan gave a vague nod before finishing off the rest of his first drink and pulling the second one towards him.

"And yet instead of battling bravely with your fellows, I find you here. While Dolohov nearly bled to death from the injuries he sustained, you were amongst muggles filling up on their spirits."

"I was there until only a few moments ago. I had to leave when I did, less I might have missed the opportunity. I didn't want to be delayed for my meeting."

Evan felt his mind being prodded with Lucius' efforts at legilimency and it was all he could do to keep his expression neutral. Only his father, The Dark Lord, and occasionally Bellatrix, had ever dared to be so invasive with him. Regulus too he supposed, though that had only been in the months after they joined the death eaters, back when he was determined to help him improve his occlumency skills whether he wanted the help or not.

If not for the fact that Lucius had sought him out, inside a muggle pub, and that Voldemort had almost certainly sent him to do it, Evan would have ended Lucius' sloppy effort at legilimency immediately. Instead he resigned himself to protect only his most treacherous acts of duplicity of late. After a moment in which Evan was certain Lucius couldn't have seen anything incriminating, Evan ended his spell for him.

Lucius blinked, clearly surprised he had managed to dispel his intrusion so easily. In a slow, deliberate tone he remarked, "After speaking with some of the others who were involved in the attack that you abandoned, and seeing the condition that some, such as Dolohov, have been left in as a result, the Dark Lord no longer wishes to reward you with the opportunity to meet with the vampires tonight."

Evan snorted at the jibe, it wasn't as if he had been considering his meeting with the vampires to be any sort of reward, "Very well. What am I to do instead?" He asked as unconcernedly as he could manage. He was doubtful that inquiring about the others' injuries would endear him to anyone as he would have known about them if he hadn't left early. He was also far more concerned with his own fate than theirs at the moment.

"You were to meet with the vampires to learn what incentive they require in exchange for their continued support. Admittedly, the meeting was more of a formality. It is no secret what the vampires want most. _Freedom_. The opportunity to hunt without fear of the repercussions.

"A disaster for muggles can equate to a feast for the vampires when they behave opportunistically. The Dark Lord plans to arrange for such an event soon. The vampires will stuff themselves of the victim's blood before returning to their life of rations and happy servitude to Lord Voldemort for another several more months. That is, until they become dissatisfied again, at which point another disaster for muggles will be arranged and the cycle shall repeat. Once wizards rule over muggles their feasts will become more regular, of course."

"Okay," Evan answered bemusedly, "And what am I meant to do now?"

"Mulciber is most displeased with you over Dolohov's condition," Lucius began before chuckling, "Though to be fair, he was displeased with you long before this. It was your spell that lost him his son, after all." At Evan's silence, he added, "The Dark Lord is of the opinion that your insolence this evening deserves punishment. At Mulciber's request, he will be the one carrying it out."

Evan chuckled despite the implication of his imminent torture, "Dolohov couldn't handle himself against the Order, and I'm the one to be punished?"

Lucius smirked involuntarily, "One could argue Dolohov has been punished already. I wondered if you happened to see who he was fighting? The spell choice seemed… unusual for the Order."

"No idea," Evan answered vaguely before downing the rest of his drink. Noticing Lucius was watching him impatiently, he stood quickly, "I'm to find Mulciber at his house, I presume?"

"Glad to see you haven't entirely lost your presence of mind," Lucius answered derisively. "Yes, he is waiting for you there… and considering the amount of time you have wasted, I would suggest you hurry."

* * *

"_Avifors_," Sirius cast at the death eater he was currently battling, transfiguring him into a bird. As the death-eater-bird made to fly away, Sirius cast, "_Anteoculatia_,"causing the feathers on its head to turn into antlers and for the bird to sink like a stone due to the excess weight. He then sent a cutting curse at one of the antlers, cutting it off. The birds head fell at an odd angle, possibly breaking his neck due to the weight distribution.

"Will you stop messing around?" Rachel asked irritably from beside him as she sent one last stream of water at the burning house before apparently deciding it was good enough.

Sirius quickly conjured a jar and attempted to stuff the death eater-birdlike creature inside, though quickly finding its antlers were too big to fit through the small opening. After trying for several moments to force the pitiful bird into the too-small jar, Sirius gave up and stunned the bird before returning it to its human form.

He then cast a _diminuendo _spell, causing the death eater to shrink until he more closely resembled the size of a muggle figurine. After shoving the shrunken death eater into the jar and sealing it, he added an assortment of spells to the jar to ensure the death eater wouldn't be able to magic himself out of it.

Giving the jar a shake, Sirius laughed as the death eater lost his balance and fell face first to the bottom of the jar.

At the sound of Rachel clearing her throat, he looked up to find her watching him in bemusement.

"Pocket-sized death eater," he explained.

"Yes, I gathered that. What I haven't figured out is why-? Rachel began before Sirius grabbed her arm, and pulled her behind him. He then quickly transformed into a large, black dog and ran into the darkness without explanation.

She let out a sigh of exasperation as she looked in the direction he had disappeared in. She waited a moment to see if he would return. 'So much for partners,' she thought, giving up on him. She took one last look at the house and decided to leave it for now. She could still hear the sounds of duelling in the distance.

Before she had taken more than a few steps, she heard a rustling sound and stopped to listen. She heard growling and turned towards the sound. She squinted in the darkness, certain she wasn't seeing could Remus have been transformed into his werewolf form again? And how could she fight it when she knew it was Remus?

She began to panic, reliving the last time she had met a werewolf. Her body moved on autopilot and she found herself inside the house that had been on fire only moments ago. She slammed the door, leaning against it, inexplicably out of breath which was only made worse by the amount of smoke in the air.

The sound of an animal running could be heard just outside. More than one animal by the sound of it. Sirius had assured her he could detain Remus if it came to it. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

She thought she might feel less cowardly if she could at least be productive. Looking around, she found the condition of the inside to be worse than she expected. As the walls continued to flicker with sparks and sporadic flames, she knew it wouldn't take much for the weakened structure to collapse. She cast, "_Homenum Revelio,"_ from the doorway.

Before she could react, the door behind her was blown apart, sending her further into the house along with the wood blasted from the door. She crashed into a wall on the far side of the room. Upon hitting the ground and feeling an intense heat along her side, she immediately rolled away, putting out any potential flames on her robes as she went before they had managed to do much damage.

Her impulse to avoid being burned alive had forfeited her chance to quickly counter her attacker's spell. As she rolled onto her back, she saw the partially blown apart door open, and her attacker step inside.

Hopeful that the darkness was efficient enough to cover her, she rolled back to her stomach and crawled into a less exposed location, putting the couch between her and the death eater.

"I know you're in here, sweetheart," the death eater taunted as he made his way towards her at a painstakingly slow pace.

Waiting until the death eater was just far enough away not to see her, she fired off a blasting spell, followed by a bone breaker in his direction.

The death eater's attention was immediately drawn to the light from her wand and he easily avoided both spells by ducking the first and blocking the second. He then cast a banishing spell at the couch. Having anticipated what he would do, Rachel was already on the move towards the door and missed the flurry of spells he sent in the direction of where she had previously hid.

She aimed a cutting curse in the death eater's direction as she ran. Halfway to the exit, she had to stop abruptly to avoid running into a cruciatus curse. Though she successfully missed the spell, the wall behind her began to collapse from the impact. As large chunks of the ceiling began to rain down from above, Rachel bolted for the exit.

A portion of the ceiling between her and the door began to fall, she quickly banished it towards the death eater that had attacked her. Just as she made it to the exit, she looked back to see how much distance was between them. She therefore had no way of knowing that a second death eater had been waiting just outside the door for her, that is, until she ran right into him and was immediately stunned and then disarmed.

Even despite being stunned, the death eater apparently felt the need to embrace her tightly as he held her in front of him,

"All that work to escape was for nothing… how frustrating that must be," he chuckled into her hair as she mentally struggled under the effect of the spell.

The other death eater joined them outside a moment later, taking a massive breath of fresh air as he exited the smoke-filled house. Clearly lacking in the art of subtlety, he wasted no time before looking her over carefully. After much longer than necessary, he moved so that his face was within inches of hers,

"It'd be a shame to kill her before finding out all of her secrets," he jeered. "Rachel, isn't it?"

Unable to do anything else, Rachel stared back at him blankly, feeling incredibly foolish and angry. "Oh, I like her very much. Knows men don't actually give a damn about what she has to say and all of that," he taunted.

"Shall we leave then?" the death eater behind her asked, prompting the other to procure a portkey from his pocket with more enthusiasm than anyone sensible could have ever deemed appropriate.

"Yes, to miss such an opportunity would be unforgivable," the death eater answered. The amount of emphasis he placed on his last word turned her stomach worse than anything previously had managed. She felt a slight glimmer of hope as the stunning spell began to lessen.

Sadly, it was short lived as the death eater holding her re-cast the spell before shoving her towards his fellow. As neither made any effort to catch her and she was immobile, she fell to the ground nearly face first, though her arm caught the brunt of the impact. The pair of death eaters guffawed at her situation before one of them lifted her up and unceremoniously threw her over his shoulder, much to the agony of her arm and humiliation in general.

"Be sure to find a good place to grab on to," the one carrying her chuckled.

Doing her to best to ignore the ignorant banter between the two death eaters, and not think about whatever was coming, she focused her thoughts on how she might find a way out of her current situation. Nothing had yet came to her as she felt the familiar pull that only traveling by portkey could elicit.

* * *

Sirius felt equally perturbed as he was relieved upon finally catching up to the wolf he had seen and realizing it hadn't been Remus. Deciding a wolf this big could cause enough problems, especially with its resemblance to Remus, he transformed into his human form and sent a cutting curse to slit its throat, before returning to where he had left Rachel.

Not finding her where he had expected, he cast a 'homenum revelio' charm and followed it inside the somewhat crumpled house and gingerly up the stairs.

"Rachel?" he called into the darkness.

As the first light from his 'revelio' had died out by then, he re-cast the spell at the top of the stairs and followed the light into a room at the far end of the hallway.

Upon entering the room he nearly vomited as he was hit by the potent smell of burned hair, among other things. Looking farther into the room, it was obvious this had been where the fire had started. Catching sight of the charred remains of at least one person near the window, he bolted from the room and back downstairs, no longer worried with unsettling the house further.

Upon reaching the outdoors he took several deep breaths of the night air and tried to think of anything aside from what he had just seen.

After a few moments he felt better able to analyze the situation. Rachel had been trying to save someone from within the house. Obviously she had seen the remains before Sirius had. As women were infinitely more sensitive than men and Sirius himself was having trouble distancing himself from what he had seen, Sirius was sure Rachel must have aborted their mission.

Even despite his keen sense of hearing, he couldn't hear anything aside from the wind that had picked up considerably since he had transformed into Padfoot. Deciding he must have missed the good parts of the fight, he focused his thoughts on where the others would have met afterwards. If no one was hurt they would avoid the Hogwarts infirmary, less they would have to explain to Dumbledore where they had been. Since they had congregated at the Potter's house first, he thought that to be the most likely place they would have gone and apparated there.

* * *

Following the general direction that Dorcas had indicated led Regulus and Remus into a thick grove of trees. They walked in silence for several minutes without seeing anyone. Just as Regulus was about to suggest they try a different approach, such as look for Rachel and Sirius instead of people he didn't care anything about, they heard muffled voices.

They continued down the makeshift path with only the light from their wands to guide them. A few moments later, they quite literally stumbled over three death eaters on the ground, who had been bound together and silenced. It was clear by their awkward predicament that they had been put together in a standing position but had since fallen, likely while attempting to escape.

The moment Regulus caught his balance, he cast a spell to occlude the vision of the death eaters, hopeful they hadn't already recognized him. Newer recruits though they were, they had been at Hogwarts around the same time.

"The others must be nearby-" Remus began.

"Do you have your portkey?" Regulus interrupted, "To take them to Hogwarts?"

"James can take them to the ministry once we find him."

"Accio portkey," Regulus aimed at him impatiently. Upon catching the phoenix he immediately fastened it to the nearest death eater with a permanent sticking charm and activated it. The sooner his former housemates were away from him the better as far as he was concerned. It was only a matter of time before Remus or someone else did something foolish like say his name aloud. And unless they were killed, it would only be a matter of time before the new recruits were reunited with Voldemort.

The more he thought about it, the more senseless their fight seemed. If they weren't prepared to kill the death eaters, they were going to have to find a better way to contain them once captured.

Regulus was vaguely aware that Remus had been chastising him ever since he stole his portkey, but hadn't paid much attention. The moment the death eaters disappeared, he resumed walking along the path, Remus following behind sullenly.

As a clearing ahead of them became visible, it was as if someone had turned the noise back on. Suddenly they could both see and hear exactly what had kept the others.

James, Lily, Emmeline and Benjy were all standing with their backs to each other, wands drawn as a dozen of other people stood around them.

At first Regulus assumed they were death eaters but as their conversation became clearer it was obvious they were not,

"Vampires," he whispered, though by Lupin's rigidity it was obvious he had already drawn the same conclusion.

As they watched the scene unfold before them, one of the vampires seemed unable to contain themselves any longer and made a dive for the feast before them.

"Stop," Regulus shouted authoritatively. At the same moment four spells were cast from the Order members and two of the vampires moved to stop their attacking vampire.

After a moment of tension in which no one dared move aside from the trio of vampires who were backing away from the center of the circle, all eyes turned to Regulus as he made his way towards them. After a moment of hesitation, Remus followed him at a distance.

"Ah, a familiar face at last," a vampire with papery skin stepped forward. His smile faded slightly as he seemed to sense an unpleasant scent and glanced at Lupin warily.

"Lorenzo," Regulus inclined his head. Following his line of sight, he remarked with practiced indifference, "Don't mind the mutt. He's well trained not to bite. More so than you, I daresay."

The aged vampire's eyes gleamed as he formed his pearly whites of terror back into a smile. As Regulus approached the circle in which everyone was gathered, it was as if in sequence, the vampires all began to squirm. The eldest vampire's smile faded again as he closed the distance between them,

"You wreak of death," he informed him, inhaling deeply, "Yet it becomes you."

"Yes, it's delicious," a female vampire who had seemingly appeared from nowhere to stand directly in front of him added. Regulus watched in bemusement as she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, as if somehow becoming intoxicated by his proximity to her. Looking around Regulus saw that most of the other vampires seemed to be inching their way towards him as well.

"It's more than that," the leader of the group answered. "It's as if you have actually died. What a shame that you were not found by one of us. You could have been great-"

"Yet you use your supposed greatness to serve wizards," Regulus countered, causing the nearest vampires to jump back as if burned, while the others hissed and snarled.

Not having much semblance of a plan before interrupting the gathering, he didn't really know where he was going with all of this. He didn't know what the vampires would have heard about him, but as they rarely ever gave anyone their names, he hoped nothing. Showing up with a werewolf would either play into his portraying a death eater well, or be suicidal.

He did wonder which death eater was supposed to meet the vampires though. It had been a primary job of Travers before he had been killed. Regulus had accompanied him to meet them on several occasions before, but none of that helped with this situation. He was already regretting his decision not to leave the Order members to fend for themselves.

"Are you not here to settle the debt of your master?" Lorenzo asked shrewdly. Indicating the Order members, "Are these not some of the carcasses meant for us to feast on?"

"Four bodies for twelve vampires could hardly be considered a feast, especially with how scrawny and pale they are- they can't have much blood," he rambled. "We can do much better than that," He added brazenly. "These people who you hoped to feed on were actually intending to find you your… compensation," Regulus invented. "They have already prepared three people-"

"Excellent. Add those three to these four and it's a fair start. Something for our other brothers and sisters must be discussed, of course. The wolf should leave… your master knows better than to send them."

"It's not for us to know the ways of the Dark Lord," Regulus answered as he absentmindedly turned the handle of his wand in his hand. "It was _he_ who asked one of the wolves to join me here. Perhaps it was to ensure your cooperation with his plan." Indicating James, Lily, Emmeline and Benjy, he added, "They are here to gather your feast, certainly not to become a part of it."

Regulus smirked slightly at the disgusted expression on James' face. Fortunately none of them had openly objected yet. He did hope one might think to use a portkey to escape, should an opportunity present itself. And if so, he hoped the opportunity would be soon as he was clearly not the death eater who was supposed to be meeting the vampires- he again wondered who else was coming.

The leader of the vampires remained fixated on him while several of the younger vampires were clearly more concerned with Lupin and growing more restless by the moment. Despite their apprehension, a werewolf was not anymore harmful to them than any other wizard while in their human form.

Regulus caught sight of movement in the corner of his eye, and quickly summoned the thick chain of shiny metal that had been flung at Lupin, silver no doubt,

"This is meant to be a meeting to retain peace," he rebuked them angrily as the chain wrapped around his arm.

"No, it was a meeting for payment. And one that you are clearly unprepared for," Lorenzo answered bitingly.

"But becoming better prepared by the moment," James announced as he indicated a freshly conjured contraption that was clearly designed to launch some variety of sharpened wood. A quick assessment of the others revealed that they had all brandished some form of wooden stakes as well.

Lorenzo raised an ancient eyebrow, "Is it no longer the dark lord's wish to retain peace?"

Regulus saw one of the vampires in his peripheral make a move for Lily, only to be turned into dust an instant later as James proved the efficiency of his new weapon.

As all hell broke loose around them, Regulus prepared to join in the battle only to find himself surrounded by three vampires in an instant. Between their lightning speed and superhuman strength, he was easily overpowered and restrained by the chain he had previously summoned.

"You may as well allow yourselves to be killed," Lorenzo announced to the fighting Order members. "While my fighters will be quick, your lord will seek punishment. Initiating an attack on us at the cost of one his most promising young warriors… he'll have you begging for death."

Regulus might have laughed if he could better breathe. No one gathered would care anything about saving him and certainly not about pleasing Voldemort. There was also the fact that none of them had ever actually been a death eater, as they were now pretending, except him- and he was supposed to be dead.

It was impossible to tell exactly what was going on as the female vampire from before had blocked most of his view of the fight as she incessantly teased and pretended she was going to bite him. Between her antics and the increasingly tight chains that bound him, he was quite surprised to realize how the fight between the Order and vampires had changed.

The Order members had clearly changed their approach to only defensive in nature. After another few moments of scuffling and the Order members and vampires were separated entirely by an invisible shield, preventing the fight from continuing, much to the agitation of the vampires.

"Perhaps we can call a truce for tonight and arrange a meeting for another time," Benjy proposed.

"A truce? Lorenzo asked doubtfully, though clearly not overly worried with the situation as he casually picked up a stray wooden stake that had rolled towards him. "You have killed three of my men."

"Technically they were already dead," James answered impishly.

"They also attacked us first. It was self-defense," Benjy attempted to reason.

Lorenzo examined the wooden stake for a moment as he pondered how to proceed. After a moment he spoke, his words clipped, "It is clear the dark lord meant for this to be a test of our loyalty. What a pity when it has never been our loyalty that has wavered. Still, I cannot let you go without some amount of retribution."

Everyone stood tense, waiting for him to elaborate. If there was going to be a sacrificial lamb amongst them, Regulus had a pretty good idea of who it would be.

"This once… I shall spare you. Be warned, I expect Voldemort to meet with me himself, and soon, less this is the end of our alliance. We shall also hunt each and every one of you down and kill you in your beds if this is not made right."

"I shall be the one to kill you in your bed," the female vampire whom Regulus had learned was called Sorina whispered to him with a toothy grin.

As Lorenzo turned back to them, Sorina made herself scarce, "I'm not so naïve as your lord seems to think. I have half a mind to keep at least you, if not all of you, as prisoner. I've certainly no intention of just letting you go though. Not without punishment."

Before Regulus had quite registered his words through his current state of limited oxygen supply, the chains were removed, only to be replaced with an intense pain through his chest. In the moment before Regulus lost consciousness, he realized that he had actually been staked. By a vampire.


	62. Unlikely Rescue

Rachel was crouched in the corner of a dirty bedroom she had certainly never seen before. Dirty as in whoever lived here must have never done laundry in their life and hadn't yet been introduced to the idea of at least keeping the mess contained in a hamper until they got around to it. Not to mention the smell.

The thugs who had kidnapped her were currently having a bit of an identity crises it seemed. Not over whether they were evil enough to go through with their plans, as that answer was pretty obvious. From what she had gathered, she wasn't the first person they had attempted something like this with. The problem was that she wasn't a muggle. Worse was that she was in the Order.

It was generally acceptable to kill any member of the Order, but in the event one was 'captured' they were to be taken to a senior death eater. They would then endure questioning and other such un-pleasantries, complete with a meeting with Voldemort when deemed appropriate.

Here she was with her hands and feet bound in the corner of a shabby room, stripped of her wand and portkey- though thankfully of nothing else- waiting for them to conclude which senior death eater would be most agreeable to their interests. And what their chances of not being punished would be, should they claim their 'reward' early based on which death eater they selected.

She was mentally paraphrasing all of this, of course. If their conversation was any indication as to how men talked about women when they weren't around, she thought a life of celibacy looked pretty good right about now. Actually considering the circumstances, any form of abstinence sounded good. She sniggered a bit deliriously at the thought.

After another minute of their bickering, she was forced to her feet by one of the death eaters as the other unceremoniously pulled on her robes, causing the sleeve to rip. She felt a cloth with some unknown but potent potion being rubbed against her skin, and a moment later felt herself drift into unconsciousness.

* * *

Regulus groaned as he attempted to roll into a more comfortable position before realizing he was unable to move what felt like the majority of his body. Taking inventory of which movements he still had faculty over, he found it to include his neck, right arm and feet, while his left arm, chest and mid-section had all been immobilized.

"I hoped you would stay asleep a while longer," Madam Pomfrey remarked from beside him.

He felt a slight pang of disappointment at who was tending to him before realizing Rachel might not even be back from Falmouth yet as he had no idea of the time. There was also the strong possibility that she would rather be doing anything else besides taking care of him in his supposed time of need- but he tried not to think about that. More important that she was at least safe,

"Where is everyone else?" he asked the matron somewhat groggily.

"You should be resting," she answered sternly.

"I'd rest better if I knew what happened to everyone-"

"I would have to first know who was involved in this ill-advised plan to even begin to answer that. As the only other people I know to have been involved were James and Lily Potter, who brought you here, and then quickly disappeared to see the headmaster-"

"Mr. Black," Dumbledore greeted as he joined them as if on cue, "I'm glad to see your injuries weren't as serious as they might have been."

"Dumbledore," Regulus greeted him somewhat agitatedly.

"We certainly have much to discuss. Perhaps you can first enlighten me as to what exactly happened this evening. How did so many of the Order end up in Falmouth when the rest of us knew nothing about the apparent arrangement?"

Regulus glanced at Madam Pomfrey, "Aren't you supposed to be insisting I be allowed to rest?" he muttered.

The matron's lip twitched slightly, "Sorry but as you're no longer a child, and the headmaster issues my paycheck... You should be fine to answer a few questions," she answered before quickly disappearing in the direction of her office.

"Would you like for me to repeat my question?" the headmaster asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"No, I heard you. But can't I at least be allowed to sit up-?"

"I wouldn't dare undo a spell Poppy has placed on a patient," he answered with a maddening twinkle in his eyes. "Unless I am much mistaken, there are several hours yet between you and being able to sit up, less it will undo the healing that is taking place."

Regulus exhaled deeply, "As the Potters have already met with you, can we at least discuss something important?"

"The Potter's told me of some death eaters who had been detained and wanted assistance in arresting them. What is it that you consider to be more important?" Dumbledore asked in an odd tone of amusement.

"Finding a more efficient way to keep our captured death eaters detained, perhaps, or even better-how to make the Black ancestral home accessible to the rest of the Order."

"Sirius managed to talk you into it?" Dumbledore asked with interest.

Regulus winced slightly knowing he was going to have to first admit Cassie's involvement before he could detach her from the situation, "Convincing me was never the issue as it's not my house. The problem lies in the enchantments currently protecting it," he remarked as he used his wand to summon the parchment she had written Grimmauld Place's address on from his pocket. Awkwardly passing it to the headmaster, he added, "I wondered if you might be able to meet me… and the current secret keeper there to discuss."

* * *

Evan was mildly surprised to be greeted at the Mulciber's estate by a former Hufflepuff whom he would have expected to still be tied up with the mess in Falmouth.

"What are you doing here?" Johnny no-name demanded.

"You mean no one told _you_? That must have been a mistake. You being… what's your name again?" Evan asked derisively as he brushed past him and down the hall towards the basement dungeon.

He half-hoped Mulciber would be waiting for him there. He would prefer that rather than to go back upstairs and undoubtedly have his real reason for being there announced to the likes of Puffs who actually believed they were all fighting for the same cause. It was a shame where their infamous loyalty had been placed, he mused. While no saint himself, at least he was looking out for his family's interests.

Upon inspection, Mulciber wasn't waiting for him in the dungeon. As he turned to go back upstairs to find him, Evan caught sight of a prone figure in the corner. He wasn't at all surprised to see it was some scantily clad bird, though as there seemed to be more than enough fabric around for her to be covered otherwise, he suspected she was unconscious. She would be mad not to better cover herself given how frigid the dungeon was otherwise.

Before he entirely registered what he was doing, he entered the dungeon- effectively locking himself inside as the door closed behind him.

He crouched beside the familiar witch and was about to pull her torn robes back over her shoulder to better cover her when he caught sight of the skin beneath her long hair. Pushing the rest of her hair to the side, he flinched slightly so see that angry gashes still mutilated a portion of her back.

While he hadn't given much thought to the physical injuries she had sustained from Lupin's attack, he supposed she was actually in a lot better condition than she should have been, all things considered. The fact that her skin appeared to be healing at all, albeit slowly, suggested Regulus had probably been involved.

While it could have been Snape, or Madam Pomfrey who had worked their magic on her, he had his doubts. Snape, because Rachel was unlikely to know of his status as a supposed spy. Madam Pomfrey because, at least in the opinion of Slytherins, she was useless with countering anything worse than minor quidditch injuries. It was in part because of this that Regulus and Snape had become as efficient in healing as they had. That and because their dueling club would have been quickly discovered if they would have had to explain all of the odd injuries they encountered on a weekly- and sometimes daily basis.

Pulling her robes back around her, Evan then shook Rachel gently in effort to wake her up. When she showed no signs of life, he attempted various reviving spells until he finally found one that worked. When she blearily turned to look at him, he smirked as he backed away to the opposite wall,

"Fancy seeing you here," he greeted.

Rachel propped herself up enough to rub her aching forehead before realizing the state of her robes. Doing her best to right them quickly as best as she could, she then sat up and leaned against the wall behind her.

Evan watched her, somewhat amused, as she took in the various chains affixed to the walls and other objects he guessed she had never seen before.

"This seems to be a pretty fancy place in general," she answered dryly.

"Yes, which begs the question, _why are you here_?" he asked.

"Why are you?" she countered derisively. "Please tell me I am not _your_ _reward_ for good behavior."

"You shouldn't flatter yourself… though given the state of you, I wouldn't be surprised to hear if something like that has happened-"

"It hasn't," Rachel answered firmly.

Evan scrutinized her carefully before asking, "Are you sure about that?"

Rachel scoffed, "Really? I think I would know."

Deciding it best not to contradict her by pointing out all of the tactics that could have been used to ensure she didn't actually know what happened, Evan gave a vague nod before changing the subject,

"So who brought you here then? I can't imagine you came willingly."

"Oh you know, couple of guys in black robes... masked, of course, so impossible to identify. Though I can attest they were complete imbeciles."

Evan chuckled darkly, "Glad to see you have such a clear grasp on the situation."

"Are you here for any reason apart from mocking me? There must be something better you could be doing."

"Like what?" Evan asked curiously.

Rachel shrugged, "Penance?"

Evan snorted, "I think we're a bit late for that. Anyway, I'm locked in here with you, so anything I do, you'll likely be doing with me. Any other suggestions?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "In that case, why not play _The Quiet Game_."

"That sounds like fun," Evan jeered.

"I doubt it's what you think then," Rachel answered, clearly trying not to look as uneasy as she felt and causing Evan to have to look away from her to keep from laughing.

"Why are you locked in here, anyway?" Rachel asked, likely in effort to change the subject.

"I saw you and couldn't resist," he smirked, hoping to unsettle her further but it seemed she had either already grown immune to his antics, or was at least doing a better job of hiding her unease.

"A better question is why did you join the Order?" he asked, rather than allow her to direct the conversation.

"Why not? If more of the people who opposed Voldemort joined, none of you would stand a chance."

"That's where you're wrong, actually. It would only make a difference if the_ right_ people joined. One thousand Rachel Candor's could join and it would scarcely make a difference."

"It must be miserable being so unpleasant all the time," she answered bitterly.

She was surprised when he locked eyes with her, speaking softly enough to ensure no one else would overhear, "Actually I'm being honest. You're like Regulus only much worse- meant to heal, but settling for destruction because you think it's what is expected of you. Regulus trained for years in preparation for the life his family actually did expect of him.

"In comparison, it's as if you simply woke up one day and thought, 'I think I'll join the Order today.' Even if you joined for the right reasons, which I doubt, you're no fighter. You will always seek to rescue the innocent before fighting the aggressor. You will never be willing to attack first and will therefore always be forced to defend yourself rather than do any real damage to the death eaters. You should give up this charade while you still have the chance."

"You don't know anything about me-" Rachel began angrily.

What felt like hundreds of random things Regulus had told him about her crossed his mind instantly. What resonated most though, was that Regulus had apparently helped her heal from the werewolf attack Evan himself had instigated. He had previously assumed Regulus no longer cared anything about her.

"You'd be surprised," he interrupted her as he extracted a ready-made portkey from his pocket. Activating it, he grabbed her arm and the two of them left the dungeon together.

After reappearing in a dark corner of Knockturn Alley, Evan immediately apparated back to the Mulciber estate, leaving Rachel alone without another word.

* * *

Regulus stared at the wall opposite of him in the infirmary, certain he could heal just as well if he were allowed to leave. Not that he would actually rest if he did. He now had a flat of his own that needed furnishing. He also hoped to interrogate Crouch again before his cousin's mockery of Valentine's Day. He needed to check on the poison that was still brewing, along with a dozen of other things that were weighing on his mind.

He still hadn't heard anything from Sirius or Rachel- or anyone else for that matter. As he was barely on speaking terms with anyone else in the Order that was hardly surprising. He had sent a patronus to Sirius as soon as Dumbledore had left though, which had been over an hour ago, and he still hadn't heard anything back. He had arranged for Dumbledore to meet him and Cassie at Grimmauld Place and had sent Cassie a patronus to let her know the time. That had been the extent of his excitement for the day.

As tempted as he had been to send a patronus to Rachel as well, to ensure she was safe, he resisted. The idea of doing so had felt distinctly wrong- as if it would be checking up on her when he had no proper reason to do so. As had been established before, they had never been friends. What they had been, they certainly weren't now. Their current lack of any sort of relationship, friendship or otherwise, left little reason for him to contact her. So he stubbornly and miserably stared at the wall, awaiting an update that seemed ever-less likely to come the more time that passed.

Eventually he gave up on Sirius answering his patronus. Oddly enough, any harm coming to his brother from the battle didn't cross his mind. He thought it more likely that he had either patched things up with Marlene or had set his sights on someone else for the evening and was therefore ignoring his messages.

What he found he couldn't do, was assume that Rachel had left the battle just as unscathed as Sirius presumably had, without hearing as much. Hating himself even as he did so, he eventually sent a patronus to her.

At some point Regulus had fallen asleep without having heard back from Rachel or Sirius. He suspected the extensive amount of pain relieving potion he had managed to ingest had something to do with his sudden lethargy.

Madam Pomfrey had given him enough potion to manage the worst of his pain, yet when he had threatened to undo the immobilizing spell himself, she had threatened to take away his wand. As such, he hadn't felt bad about convincing the apprentice working to give him more potion to knock out the rest of his pain.

He might have felt guilty about the additional pain potion he had later summoned from the store cupboard when no one was looking, except that he hadn't been feeling much of anything after drinking it. He wasn't entirely certain of what the exact effect would be of the mixture of potions, but was happy all the same when he could scarcely keep his eyes open anymore. Anything to escape his unwilling confinement to a bed and subsequent helplessness.

When he woke up again, he was relieved to find the immobilizing spell had been lifted. While his chest and left shoulder felt uncomfortable, he suspected it was nothing to how he would feel later if Madam Pomfrey decided to cut him off from analgesics entirely after his earlier behavior.

When he finally summoned enough energy to open his eyes, he found that nighttime had fallen outside and that he had a visitor.

"Sirius, what's wrong?"

Sirius who had been resting his head in his hands, sat back as he was brought out of his reverie,

"Poppy took your wand," he answered after a moment. "I reckon she thinks you've become a bit of a nutter."

"Where've you been all day? Where's Rachel?"

"That's… what I've been doing all day. Trying to find her. I've looked every place I could think of... I even enlisted Vesta- she hasn't been back to their flat-"

"How could you have- misplaced her, when not even _you_ could possibly be careless enough to let her out of your sight?" Regulus asked coldly.

"I- there was what I thought was a werewolf… She was putting out a fire on one of the houses and I went to investigate. When I got back she was gone. I looked everywhere but it was clear she had left-"

"It was clear she had left," Regulus repeated. "You thought she would just leave a battleground without telling her supposed partner-?"

"How was I supposed to know-?" Sirius began before having the wind knocked out of him as he was flattened beneath Regulus who attacked him completely unexpectedly.

"You are the most selfish, irresponsible arsehole alive," Regulus informed him just before crushing his nose beneath his fist.

"I'm the one who taught you how to fight, you ungrateful bastard," Sirius answered angrily as he managed to toss his smaller and weakened-from-injury brother off of him, despite his nose oozing blood over the both of them.

As their scuffle continued on the floor, one of the female apprentices shrieked and a moment later they were both immobilized before being pulled apart.

As Regulus stemmed the blood seeping from his lip, he was almost amused that Madam Pomfrey's ire seemed to be reserved for Sirius, whom she had expected better of. However, to be properly amused he would have had to have forgotten the reason for their fight,

"Where's my wand?" he interrupted her berating of Sirius for attacking a patient.

She let out of a huff of air as she turned on him, "Never you mind about that, young man. You are to get back into bed this instant! If you haven't already undone all the progress we made on you today it will be a miracle! Never in my life, have I ever- Where are you going?" she demanded as Regulus turned away from her and made his way towards her office.

"My wand is in your office," he answered matter-of-factly.

"You take one more step towards my office, Mr. Black, and I will have no choice but to immobilize-"

"This is an infirmary, not a prison-" Regulus began to object but the rest of his argument was lost as the matron made good on her promise.

* * *

Rachel snuck up the stairs of her mother's house with no small amount of guilt. While she hated the idea of worrying her mother of an intruder, if her mother saw her in her current condition she would likely be even more worried.

She didn't know what to think of Evan. He was still an arse, no doubt, but if he hadn't taken her to Knockturn Alley she knew her fate would have much worse. That was saying a lot considering that she had just walked through cold rain for about forty minutes from Knockturn Alley to her mother's house- in torn robes and without the reprieve of a warming charm.

The deep bathtub of her youth was calling her name far more than the shower in the flat she shared with Vesta. There was also just something about her childhood home that felt so much safer than anyplace else.

After possibly the longest soak of her life, she forced herself to let the drain down and got out of the bathtub. Doing her best to ignore the ugliest of bruises that marred her skin, she wrapped up in a towel. She tied her ruined robes into a sack and tossed them into the bin on her way out of the bathroom. Her mother might have been curious about robes if they had been atop the trash, but she certainly wouldn't look through a sack of presumed rubbish in the bin, making it unlikely she would find them.

Finding the least embarrassing clothes that had been left when she moved out, she threw them on before running a brush through her hair. Deciding to allow her hair to air dry, she turned to make her way downstairs to find her mother. As she was about to open the door of her bedroom, she jumped back as a patronus in the form a lion spoke in Regulus' voice.

Closing her eyes, she leant against the wall allowing her breath to even out for a moment. She might have thought it was sweet that he was checking on her if he hadn't just nearly given her a heart attack. She also thought it unlikely that she was the only person he would have attempted to contact as it wasn't like him to be so overt about such things.

Fully intending to borrow her mother's wand when she got downstairs to answer him, she made her way in that direction.

"Mum," she called from halfway down the stairs.

"Oh, I hoped that was you, Rachel. I hated to think of what sort of burglar would be foolish enough to take a bath before robbing me."

"Haha," she answered, rolling her eyes.

"I've made soup for lunch if you want some? It's so cold and rainy outside, nothing else seemed appealing."

Rachel took her favorite chair at the table and allowed her mother to happily wait on her as if she were still a little girl. As she devoured the soup her mother brought her, looking as determinedly uninjured as possible, she concluded that her mother's cooking was every bit as good as the house elves at Hogwarts- though she was likely a bit biased.

Looking up from her bowl she saw her mother was evaluating her closely. Rachel gave her a questioning look in response.

"Perhaps you should have a second bowl of soup," her mother remarked simply.

"I've not been very hungry lately."

"I'd have never guessed," her mother answered with a grim smile before taking away her bowl and refilling it.

After catching up for a few minutes while stuffing herself beyond what was comfortable, solely for her mother's benefit, Rachel wearily excused herself to the nearest couch and fell asleep almost instantly- completely forgetting about her need to answer Regulus' message.

Several hours later she was awoken by another patronus, this time from Sirius.

* * *

Regulus awoke some time later, yet again back in his hospital bed. He was surprised to find he wasn't immobilized, even more so when his eyes met familiar green ones looking back at him. Certain he must have been dreaming, he unthinkingly reached out and tucked back the strands of hair that were hanging in Rachel's face.

"I was given strict instruction to keep you restrained- for my own safety," she remarked. Despite her words, she didn't pull away from his touch.

Regulus dropped his hand, "It's been a weird day," he answered by way of explanation as he recalled the highlights, and what she must have been told upon arriving, "What happened to you?"

Rachel broke her gaze from him as she leaned back into the chair at his bedside, "I spent most of the day with my mother," she answered simply.

"Did you just leave Falmouth- without telling anyone?" he asked skeptically.

"I lost my wand," she answered as she held up the wand Madam Pomfrey had confiscated from him earlier. "Hope you don't mind that I'm borrowing yours... as you said, it's been a weird day."

Regulus chuckled darkly, "She gave you my wand to defend yourself… against me? That's brilliant. How did you even get here if you're wandless?"

"Sirius sent me a patronus earlier, asking me to meet him here, though Madam Pomfrey told me he had already left by the time I arrived... I didn't mean to ignore the patronus you sent me earlier, by the way… but as I didn't have a wand at the time, I couldn't exactly answer. Anyway, I used the floo to get to Hogsmeade and then walked here."

"You walked from Hogsmeade without a wand?" he asked in alarm.

"Yes, and I'm sure you want to tell me off for it, but as nothing happened, please, just don't. Not today."

Regulus exhaled slowly as he propped himself up in bed. He then extracted his uncle's old wand from his pocket none-too-quickly so as to prevent himself from saying something he would regret. Instead of inquiring why she hadn't taken her mother with her to get another wand, or at least borrowed an extra one from somewhere, he answered,

"Well let's go then. You can borrow that wand while we go to Ollivander's-"

Rachel laughed, "Its three o'clock in the morning. I doubt Mr. Ollivander is interested in selling any wands at this hour."

Regulus glanced around them at the curtains which effectively blocked the windows. It was then that he noticed that his 'room' was only halfway illuminated because of lamps that someone, likely Rachel, had conjured. It really was amazing how quickly one's perception of day and night could be altered, he mused.

Standing up gingerly, he pulled open the curtains on one side of his bed- the side opposite of Madam Pomfrey's office. If not for Rachel being there, there was no way he would willingly stay in the infirmary the rest of the night after what she had done.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked as he summoned one of the cots nearer to them.

"I don't need a babysitter, Rachel. Get some sleep and we'll get you another wand in the morning."

Rachel looked from the bed back to his face. Wincing slightly, she remarked, "Madam Pomfrey said she wouldn't be comfortable releasing you for several more days."

Regulus scoffed, "I'm being released in about four hours, to hell with what that b- _woman_ is comfortable with."

Rachel smirked and laid a hand on his head as she made her way around his cot to the one he had summoned for her, "I guess that will be determined in the morning then. Good night, Reg."

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked a bit apprehensively as she climbed into the bed more tentatively than expressly necessary.

"Of course," she answered. "Some of these beds aren't very sturdy though."At his skeptical look, she added, "I also hurt my arm a bit earlier." Seeing him getting out of bed, she added quickly, "It's not a big deal, I'll have Madam Pomfrey look at it in the morning."

Ignoring her, Regulus began to cast a diagnostic spell on her. Panicking slightly, she thrust her arm into the air, forcing his arm upwards and causing his spell to hit the wall across the room.

"What-?" he asked, looking at her incredulously.

"That spell isn't going to be accurate with your uncle's wand. Anyway, my shoulder is just dislocated, there's no need for diagnostics- I could fix it myself if not for distrusting someone else's wand to do it."

Rachel flinched as Regulus reached down to pickup his wand that was lying on the bed beside her leg. After the slightest hesitation, he cast the spell that would fix her arm if it was in fact a simple dislocation.

Rachel smiled in relief as she raised her arm and found it no longer hurt,

"So much better," she answered as cheerfully as she could manage.

Regulus wordlessly dropped the wand back onto the bed beside her and climbed back into his own bed,

"Let's just try to get some sleep," he answered a bit grumpily, turning away from her and her secrets.


	63. Chapter 63

Thanks to everyone that's following this story and especially for your feedback. Hope you enjoy chapter 63!

* * *

Evan apparated back to the Mulciber's estate, and immediately disillusioned himself. He would have done so prior to leaving Rachel if not for his pride.

'_How the hell was he going to sneak back into the house without anyone noticing,' _he wondered_. _The moment they realized Rachel was gone and that he had left would likely be the last moment in which he would ever breathe.

As the weight of his situation set in more fully, he realized that what had seemed so simple while talking to Rachel had just caused him a nightmare of problems. No prisoner could have escaped from that dungeon without inside help. Evan himself was supposed to be there now, receiving his own comeuppance for his insolence. He was supposed to be inside the chamber. With Rachel. And they were both gone. Clearly he had a death wish he had not yet acknowledged.

He could announce his presence and have someone let him back inside the gate. He would need a brilliant excuse as to why he had left only to return a few minutes later- staying gone just long enough to help a prisoner escape, in other words, or he could attempt to cover his tracks, making it look as if he had never been there the first time. He was reasonably certain the only person who had seen him had been the obnoxious Hufflepuff who had let him in. So long as Rachel's escape hadn't yet been discovered, it was unlikely he would have bothered to mention Evan's arrival to anyone.

In the off chance someone might turn up that he could follow inside in the next few minutes, he moved to stand at the tree line bordering the path that led to the entrance of the estate. Taking in the hedge that surrounded the majority of the grounds, and the ominousness of the other barriers in place, the ones that he could actually see, his situation felt all the more hopeless.

He didn't have his broom with him, nor did he expect flying to be a particularly safe option even if he did. With so few other options, did he dare attempt to levitate himself over the gate? There would surely be protections in place to ensure he wouldn't land safely. After several more moments of impractical ideas, he briefly thought this must be the anti-climactic end of his life as a death eater, life in general, in fact.

Perhaps it was time to contact Regulus. He had offered to help him should he ever need it. Of course, that was before he dropped the ever-friendly cruciatus curse on him. He had also nearly killed Rachel, using a spell that he had been sworn to secrecy on when Regulus had shown it him. Was that enough to negate the former offer of help? _Probably_. Then again, he never would have helped Rachel to begin with if not for Regulus. That had to count for something. Of course, that was only assuming Regulus even knew what situation Evan had helped her out of before he cursed him into oblivion.

What could he even realistically expect Regulus to do in his current situation? Leaving the death eaters was far too high maintenance for Evan's tastes, and would likely only result in his father's death in addition to his own. Everything had its cost, after all. All he really needed was to ensure he wasn't linked to Rachel's escape. There had to be a way to do that without overreacting to the situation.

* * *

Rachel laid in her cot, straining her ears to listen for the sound of Regulus breathing. After what must have been a half-hour without any signs that he was yet asleep, she decided to rest her eyes, just for a moment. Soon she was being lulled to sleep as she subconsciously imitated her breathing with Regulus' slow even breaths. On the cusp of sleep herself, she jolted awake, realizing that Regulus was finally asleep.

Having sat up in bed too quickly, the long span of time since she had had any pain relieving potions was more evident than ever. She felt exactly like someone who had been banished into a burning wall the day before only to be handled none-too-gently afterwards.

Her arm felt much better, thanks to Regulus. She was confident he could have alleviated some of her other discomfort too if she would have allowed it. In another situation she might have, however this was not a normal situation. She had been unconscious and, pretend as she might otherwise, had no way to know exactly what happened to her during that time.

While she didn't _feel_ as if anything worse than what she knew about had occurred, she wasn't so naive to think there weren't ways to cover such things up. If she hadn't already known, the almost pitying way Evan had looked at her had told her as much.

She knew it would be most logical to have Madam Pomfrey look at her before Regulus woke up, but that likely would have meant time off from her supposed training if not a stay in the infirmary. No matter what had happened, it would be at least a week before the matron would stop babying her. She had no interest in allowing any of those things when she knew she could be seen and released from St. Mungo's without nearly as much hassle.

Removing her watch from her wrist, she closed her eyes as she recalled everything she knew about how to create a portkey. Opening her eyes, she cast the spell, causing the watch to glow brilliantly before returning to its usual appearance. Turning the watch over in her hand and seeing nothing about it had changed, she apprehensively attempted to activate the portkey.

As her watch again glowed blue, her heart began to race, both in anticipation of whether she was actually going where she intended and what she would find out once she got there.

* * *

"It's quite the list, but that includes all of the injuries we found and have corrected," Healer Vaisey reported somberly at the conclusion of Rachel's exam at St. Mungo's.

"That's it?" Rachel asked, thoroughly relieved, if not slightly embarrassed she had come to the hospital when Vesta or even Regulus could have healed her just as easily.

"Isn't that enough?" the healer asked bemusedly. "I'd suggest whatever you've been doing that inflicted those injuries, you take some time, if not a permanent break, from it. For your own benefit."

* * *

Evan had drawn the conclusion that his only hope to survive his catastrophic screw up was to create a scapegoat. Thinking it best not to over-think the situation, he managed to lure the former Hufflepuff to him by sending him a written message, supposedly from Lucius. It had stated that he was to leave the Mulciber estate immediately and to tell no one. Naturally Evan had been waiting for him, disillusioned.

Not knowing where else to go, he had taken his captured Hufflepuff to his old apartment. After ensuring the Hufflepuff was restrained, unarmed and unconscious, he was confident that he wouldn't be going anywhere by his own volition.

He then apparated once again to the Mulciber estate. This time he announced his presence and was greeted by the very impatient Mulciber patriarch himself. His soon-to-be torturer escorted him personally to the dungeon. It was only then that anyone realized Rachel was gone.

Mulciber shoved Evan into the cell and sealed him inside while the senior death eater presumably went to give orders to the other minions. Just as he thought Mulciber must have decided to leave him for the time being in favor of searching for the missing Order member, he returned.

"Who else was supposed to be here?" Evan asked as he re-joined him in the dungeon. While he wasn't normally one to ask questions, he thought a complete lack of interest in the situation would draw suspicion.

"Foolish girl from the Order," he grunted. "No doubt she had a portkey, no other way out of here. The negligent swine."

Evan scoffed derisively, about to ask who had managed to overlook such a basic precaution. Before the words were formed though, he was knocked to the ground by an overpowered cruciatus.

* * *

After having been deemed sufficiently punished, which is to say, barely able to move, Evan was released by Mulciber. Drawing a galleon from his pocket, he quickly turned it into a portkey to carry him his parent's house. Thankfully his father hadn't decided to wait up for him this time. Evan wasn't sure how he would take his current appearance knowing it was one of his oldest 'friends' who had caused it. He also didn't have time for any parental advice at the moment.

After stacking up every book he could find on memory charms, he shrunk them to fit inside his pocket. He then used another portkey to carry him to near his apartment in London. He didn't feel he was quite in the right condition to disapparate.

When he finally returned to his flat, all he wanted to do was pass out. Forcng himself to stay up, he sat at the kitchen table and began thumbing through the pages of the first book.

Admittedly, he had never been much on reading. He had learned enough to get by and while he had been perfectly capable of doing well in school, was rarely properly motivated. When he did voluntarily read, he preferred topics that were off-limits within Hogwarts' curriculum. There had never been any question what his future would entail.

A few hours into his research, he couldn't help but laugh. It was almost as if he actually thought he could learn how to deposit false memories into someone's mind just by reading a book. He realized now that it had been hopeless from the start.

He accepted there was nothing left for him to do now but get tanked.

If Voldemort was going to torture him, he was determined to feel as little of it as possible. Now that he was thinking properly, he realized it had been extremely poor form on Lucius' part, having interrupted any chance he had earlier of getting plastered before sending him to Mulciber's torture chamber.

He knew it to only be a matter of time now before either he, or perhaps his Hufflepuff, would be summoned and eventually traced by Voldemort. The fact that it hadn't happened already was a rare reprieve.

Deciding he should at least ensure there was nothing incriminating to his family before biting the dust, he made a sweep of the apartment. It was at the bottom of his cluttered closet that he found a familiar mirror Regulus had given him years ago, that he thought he'd lost sometime around the time he had moved in.

* * *

Sirius woke up to the unpleasant sound of clanging dishes. Forgetting he had slept on the couch at the Potter's, he nearly rolled into the floor as he made to stand. Confident Lily would have something good for breakfast, he made his way into the kitchen to investigate.

"Good morning, Sirius," Lily greeted as she haphazardly stacked the pans that had fallen. "Breakfast is-" she stopped, wide-eyed for a moment upon looking at him more closely, "James should be down any minute… sorry, I'd forgotten about your face. Perhaps if you go back to see Madam Pomfrey she will be able to do more for the bruising," she suggested tentatively.

"I should hunt down Rachel and make _her_ fix it," he answered bitterly, knowing it would be days before the dark circles under his eyes healed. "_Sorry for the confusion_, her patronus had said. _Really?_ After I wasted a day of my life _and_ had my nose broken because she didn't bother to check in, that was the best she could do for an apology?"

"Well at least Madam Pomfrey fixed your nose," Lily shrugged. "In Rachel's defense-"

"Do _not _defend her," Sirius warned as he plopped down at the table and hastily buried his face in the morning's edition of _The Daily Prophet._

"Well do let me know if there is anything interesting in the paper," Lily answered pointedly as she continued to prepare their breakfast. "I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, you know."

James joined him a few moments later but Sirius scarcely noticed, so enthralled he was in an article written by the slime reporter, Rita Skeeter.

"What's up, Pads?" James asked, not used to being ignored.

Sirius smirked slightly, unsure of whether to laugh or be sick, "It seems her royal majesty of Slytherin, Cassie Greengrass, is engaged to one, Walden McNair."

James dribbled a bit of pumpkin juice down his chin as he made a revolted face. All he could manage to ask was, "Why?"

"You know why," Sirius answered darkly. In another situation it might have been assumed that the Greengrass family was struggling financially and they were selling their daughter as a means to maintain their social standing. However, given the current political climate, it was much more likely they were offering her as a trade to settle the debt incurred when her older brother opted not to join the death eaters. A son who could carry on the family name was far more valuable to any pureblood family than a daughter, after all.

Just as Sirius was about to make a lewd joke about their wedding night, Lily sat a bowl of what looked to be something from a failed potion experiment in front of him. Deciding she didn't look to be in the best of moods he refrained from commenting that the kitchen table probably wasn't the best place to leave such things. As she made her way back towards the stove, he resumed reading the rest of the article.

When she returned with another bowl, which she sat in front of James, and summoned two spoons from within the cutlery, he could remain quiet no more,

"So… what is it that you expect us to do with this?" he asked.

Across from him James immediately shoveled a spoonful of the muck into his mouth and made a face as if to attest it was the best thing he had ever tasted.

"What do I want you to do with the _breakfast_ I gave you in a bowl with a spoon?" Lily asked slowly. "Why, I thought that should be obvious, Sirius."

"It doesn't really look like food to me," he answered doubtfully as he pushed the spoon around in the bowl. "I think… are the two of you having me on?" he asked looking between them.

"This isn't Saturday, Sirius," Lily snapped, her voice rising. "Sometimes we have to eat _mundane_ things like porridge through the week because we don't have _time_ for something more- _extravagant."_

Sirius looked down at the bowl in front of him as if embarrassed. When Lily turned her back, he non-verbally banished most of the muck. He didn't want to hurt her feelings by not eating it, but he would definitely be having breakfast elsewhere.

"Aren't you going to at least try some?" James asked nervously.

"Mrs. Potter never made anything like this for breakfast. Not even weekdays," he complained under his breath.

Unfortunately James took that moment to snort into his glass of juice. Sirius had just enough time to wonder if his table manners would ever improve before the wrath of Lily was upon him.

"Oh really? You can honestly say in all of the time they've been married, Mrs. Potter has _never _made porridge? Never?"

"She prepares a full breakfast every day and has since before James was born, ask him."

"I'm so sorry that I can't live up to her standards then. But guess what?" her voice rose to a near shout, almost as if deranged. "James doesn't remember _what_ his mother did _while_ she was _pregnant_ with him. For all either of you know she made porridge. Every. Single. Day. Because maybe she didn't sleep well the night before. Maybe she was up most of the night listening to her husband's best mate rant about something that was actually _his_ fault, yet he didn't _want_ to take the responsibility for it. Did you ever think of that?"

Sirius looked from Lily to James, who only winced before taking another bite of whatever that porridge shite was, not daring to look up again.

Sirius nodded awkwardly before standing. He felt a little guilty that his comments had upset Lily, but was too annoyed by James' silence to stay there any longer. Not to mention, no one in their right mind wanted to be around Lily when her pregnancy hormones were raging as they seemingly were now.

After a sort of half-hearted apology to Lily, he made to leave, muttering, "Coward," under his breath as he passed James.

Between Marlene, Rachel, Regulus and now James, the last thing Sirius wanted was to be around anyone he knew. After a quick breakfast at a muggle diner, he apparated to his former residence. After taking a moment to look over the remnants from the fire and determining there was nothing worth attempting to salvage, he made his way inside the detached garage.

He immediately sought his most prized possession, his flying motorbike. He couldn't help but feel some appreciation for the ineptness of the death eaters. Not only had no one died in the fire, but they hadn't even taken away anything he felt any particular attachment to.

As the engine of his motorbike roared to life, he thought the best way to ensure he avoided everyone today was to spend his time in the air.

* * *

"Where are you?" the most pompous, oversized housecat on the planet demanded of a sleeping Regulus for the second time.

Rachel glared at the dissipating patronus from the edge of her bed. As she didn't see any reason that Cassie should need to know where Regulus was this early in the morning, she didn't bother to wake him up on her way to the bathroom.

Freshly showered and with her hair fixed just right, she quietly tiptoed back to her cot a short time later. She had half-expected Regulus would still be asleep when she got back, considering how much more soundly his sleep was with the help of the excess pain potion he had gotten into.

She was deeply perturbed to find him sitting up in bed with Cassie Greengrass beside him, the latter laughing at his apparent discomfiture. By Cassie's standards, her laughter was probably considered hysterical, though to anyone else's it was more of the repressed giggles in an inappropriate situation sort. How fitting, given their current situation.

"Good morning, Cassie," She greeted neutrally, as if the two of them weren't in the same bed.

"Don't mind her," Regulus answered in a tone of annoyance, "she thinks pouncing on someone is the best way to wake them up."

Rachel's attention was immediately drawn to Cassie's wrist as she stood from the bed and hastily covered a silver bracelet beneath her sleeve. Any curiosity about it was lost though, as Cassie seemed to cotton on to the fact that Rachel had slept in a bed so near to Regulus'.

"I probably _should_ apologize," she smirked at Regulus. "That was quite ill-mannered of me, wasn't it?" Looking at Rachel she added more seriously, "Though I do hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"Only any hope for a decent lie in," Regulus answered dryly. "It's as if you've lost all respect for sleep lately."

Cassie smiled slightly at his word choice but didn't comment on it, "Well I did agree to help you look for furniture today."

"Yes, but why so early?" Regulus protested as he extracted himself from his bed covers and stood. Catching sight of Rachel watching them, he added apologetically, "Actually, I'll have to postpone getting furniture. Rachel and I made plans last night for this morning- it was really late or I would have contacted you."

"Plans that are more important than furniture?" Cassie asked in mock-hurt.

"It's nothing I can't do alone," Rachel interjected. "I just need to buy a new wand. We didn't actually make plans for it. If the two of you have plans already, you really should go ahead with them."

Cassie studied Regulus' stony expression for a moment. Forcing herself to shrug, she turned back to Rachel, "Not even I would go to Diagon Alley alone these days. The two of you should go… now."

"But-" Rachel began to object.

"Why the rush?" Regulus asked suspiciously.

"It's obvious, isn't it? The matron is going to be determined to keep you here for another several days because... well, you were staked by a vampire," she sniggered. At Regulus' murderous look she added hastily, "I think the better question is what's with your hesitance? You need to go before she can stop you."

"That's actually a fair point," Regulus conceded as he straightened his bed covers with a flick of his wand.

"That's right, off you go," Cassie shooed them towards the door. Regulus gave her a questioning look, wondering why she was so concerned with them leaving quickly. He then stopped walking altogether and began searching through his pocket much to her annoyance.

"Now what?" Cassie asked impatiently.

Rather than answer, Regulus removed something shiny from his pocket. Using his wand, he resized a two-way mirror not unlike the one he had given Rachel.

Regulus looked between Cassie and Rachel uncertainly before excusing himself and rushing out into the corridor.

Not wanting to look like she was trying to eavesdrop on whoever else wanted to talk to Regulus before sunrise, Rachel moved to sit back on the cot she had slept on for maybe an hour the night before. To her surprise, Cassie followed her and took a seat on the edge of the bed opposite of hers. Before Rachel could do more than acknowledge the awkward situation, Regulus was back.

"I have to go, it's…" glancing at Rachel, he finished with, "_really_ important. But shouldn't take long. Can you wait in the castle? You can borrow my uncle's wand," he told her as he handed it to her. Rachel obligingly took it. She then extracted the wand he usually carried, which she still had from the night before, and handed it back to him.

Wherever Regulus was going, he wanted the wand that was the better match for him, she silently mused.

"We'll go to Ollivander's as soon as I get back, okay?" he asked, though leaving before she answered one way or the other.

As soon as he was out of sight, Rachel stood.

"You are going to wait for him, aren't you?" Cassie inquired warily.

Rachel scoffed, "Why should I?" she asked, though she hadn't really made her mind up either way.

"He actually did have plans with me, you know. For today. He wouldn't have left you just then if it had been anything that could have waited."

Rachel plopped back onto the bed again, uncaring that Cassie would never have sat down so inelegantly. She had a dozen questions she thought about asking the other witch, some more relevant than others. For instance, she was extremely curious how much of what went on in the lives of death eaters she actually knew, and how much she only pretended. Somehow it was the least significant question that seemed most important.

"Do you have one of those mirrors too?"

Cassie's expression was unreadable for a moment before she gave the slightest shake of her head, "No, I don't. But I do suggest for Regulus' sake that you wait for him to go to Diagon Alley. He has enough on his mind without adding - guilt of your death to his conscience."

"Oh, that's heartwarming," Rachel answered derisively.

She could have sworn Cassie almost smiled, but instead answered coolly, "It's funny, but I don't actually remember you hating me while we were at school."

"If I would have seen you in bed with Regulus then, you can be sure I would have," she answered truthfully. Involuntary mental images of the two of them curled up by the fire in the Slytherin common room infiltrated her mind. She quickly summoned what little occlumency shields she had to block them.

"It started before that," Cassie answered matter-of-fact. "What changed?"

Rachel glared at the tile on the floor as she worked through what she should tell her- if anything. Meeting Cassie's gaze, she decided she didn't have any good reasons not to be honest,

"I always tried to think of the two of you as being more sibling-like before, while we were in school. And then I saw you at the graveyard shortly after Regulus' supposed death. I had ran into Evan before you arrived. He disillusioned us, when he saw you and Snape were both headed in our direction. After you'd left, I asked about Snape's implication, as it seemed Regulus' death somehow put you in a bad situation. Before Evan told me, I hadn't ever even considered the possibility that you and Regulus could have become betrothed," she shrugged. "It seemed to suggest your relationship was far less… platonic than I'd thought."

"Despite what you think, I'm no competition to you," Cassie answered dourly.

For a moment the two of them sat in silence, though Rachel considered it to be slightly more relaxed than before Cassie's assertion. Adding to her confusion though was when Cassie added,

"I never have understood wanting to be with someone you hope to change everything about."

By her decidedly neutral tone it could have been taken that Cassie meant the statement in general rather than something towards Rachel directly. Though in that case, why mention it?

"Meaning what exactly?" she attempted to clarify as Cassie moved to the window to greet an owl carrying the morning's edition of _The Prophet._

Cassie tucked the newspaper under her arm without bothering to look at it as she moved back towards Rachel. After regarding her for a moment, she answered, "I meant… exactly what I said. Good luck with Ollivander later, he's always creeped me out."

And just as abruptly as she had seemingly arrived, Cassie was gone. She had also taken the infirmary's only copy of _The Prophet_ with her. Given the quality of that rag recently, Rachel didn't consider it to be any great loss.

* * *

Regulus entered the elevator of Evan's former residence with a profound sense of apprehension. While he certainly hadn't approved of Evan instigating Lupin's attack on Rachel, he begrudgingly understood it. He also knew Evan well enough to think his use of the cruciatus curse on him had been an over-reactive effort to remind him to be more careful, rather than anything more malicious.

Neither of those attacks were the cause of his apprehension.

While he didn't think Evan would willingly have any part in laying a trap for him, he couldn't entirely rule out that Voldemort might be manipulating him to do so, unwillingly.

Regardless of what was going on, Regulus couldn't ignore his request for help even if it would be his own end. He wouldn't be alive now if it weren't for Evan and he had already chosen to do whatever he could to help him.

Wand out and ready to strike, just in case, Regulus pushed open the door to Evan's flat.

Finding a young death eater he vaguely recognized passed out in the floor, Regulus made his way around him and into the kitchen cautiously.

He was surprised to find Evan face down in a book, as if he had actually been attempting to read before losing the fight against sleep.

Regulus pulled the book out from under him and glanced at the title, smirking slightly when he only shifted into a more comfortable position but remained asleep.

No longer having to worry about ruining an ancient text, Regulus' next attempt at waking Evan involved an 'aguamenti' spell shot directly at his face. A little water was far less uncomfortable than a cruciatus, after all.

As Evan's head shot up in alarm, Regulus ducked in just enough time to avoid being cursed. Evan's spell ricocheted off the wall behind him and crashed into a bottle of liquor atop the fridge, shattering it.

Evan cursed, as Regulus repaired the damage, ignoring the additional slew of obscenities exerted from Evan all the while.

"What's going on? You look like hell," Regulus remarked once he was finished.

"Why are you here?" Evan asked irritably.

Regulus quirked an eyebrow, "You're the one who asked me to meet you."

Evan wracked his brain but a friendly conversation with Regulus recently, he couldn't recall.

"You contacted me on the two-way mirror…" Regulus added, "Did you hit your head or something?" he asked as he cautiously began to cast healing spells at some of his worst injuries out of habit.

"Have you spoken to Rachel?" Evan asked tiredly.

Regulus paused in his diagnostics before answering, "Yes, I saw her just before coming here- in the infirmary. What does she have to do with anything?"

"Are you kidding me?" Evan demanded, "I'm only in this mess because of her. She was captured by death eaters. I helped her escape and now I'm trying to cover my arse. What is unclear about that?"

Regulus shook his head as he tried to make sense of Evan's less-than-concise explanation, "I was unaware Rachel had been captured," he answered carefully, "Was this from Falmouth?"

"Yep. She was with your brother but they got separated I guess," he answered a bit guiltily. "And what's with your brother playing with death eaters instead of taking them out? I mean its like something we might have thought funny as second years, but-"

"What happened to Rachel? Who took her? What'd they do to her?" Regulus demanded.

"I've no idea, but I'd expect a lot less than if she would have stuck around awhile longer."

"Who did it?" Regulus seethed. "You must have some idea."

"I don't know, okay? Maybe the better question is why you're hearing this from me when you just saw her right before coming here. More pressing at the moment is our Hufflepuff."

Regulus shook his head slightly in effort to clear it. It was true whatever Evan had called him for, they had a limited timeframe, "What do need from me?"

"Mulciber's been biding his time for an opportunity to get back at me, ever since Lupin... I suppose he finally found means to justify me being punished. I escorted myself down to the dungeon, Rachel was there. In a moment of idiocy I used my portkey and took her to Knockturn Alley.

"I didn't think about it until it was too late, how obvious it was that I must've been the one to help her. I'm at least fairly certain that Puff in there is the only one who saw me at the Mulcibers' the first time around. Instead of waiting for him to figure out the truth, I thought I'd create a bit of insurance for myself."

Regulus glanced at the unconscious death eater in the next room, "You're wanting to use a memory charm?" He asked bemusedly. Evan was perfectly capable of memory charms.

"To make him forget he saw me at the Mulciber's before Rachel escaped, absolutely. But what if anyone digs deeper? He needs to know what Rachel looks like, how she got there. I want him to have memories of helping her escape."

Regulus let out a slow, quiet breath as he considered Evan's plan. He thought there must be a better option available without imminitely ruining the Hufflepuff's life in the process. As Evan glanced at his watch though, it served to remind him that time was always of the essence in times of such duplicity.

"Pass me a book," he answered resignedly as he pulled out the chair across from Evan.


	64. Chapter 64

Deciding to give Regulus a reasonable amount of time to return before giving up on him entirely, Rachel went to visit Dumbledore. Not so much for a visit, but to inform him that she no longer had a portkey, and that her old one was likely in the hands of death eaters. She thought it would be best to gauge his reaction before asking to have another portkey made for her.

She was relieved to find the headmaster didn't seem overly concerned with the 'misplacement,' as apparently no one with ill intent could make the phoenix portkeys work properly. She wasn't sure how that worked exactly, but for the sake of keeping conversation to a minimum, she didn't ask questions.

It was only after preparing her replacement portkey that Dumbledore became more inquisitive, asking how she was getting on with the rest of Order, if she was glad she had joined, and the like. Never having had any particular bond with Dumbledore beyond giving a passing greeting, she gave just enough information not sound rude and excused herself at the first opportunity with the pretense that she had somewhere else to be.

Having no choice but to leave the castle, less risk being caught in her lie, she made her way back down the stairs towards the entrance hall. As she neared the exit, she checked her watch and saw that it had been around an hour since Regulus left. By her estimation, that exceeded the 'not very long,' timeframe he had suggested. While she was far from thrilled with the apparent lack of value he placed on her time, it at least kept her from feeling much guilt over not waiting for him to return.

She had his uncle's old wand, and already knew it would work reasonably well for her. As she wasn't some helpless child who needed protection, she felt no obligation to waste her day waiting on Regulus, nor did she see any reason in bothering anyone else with her situation.

Pushing open the oak door in the entrance hall, she shivered from the burst of cold air that struck her. Pulling on the hood of her cloak and wrapping the rest more securely around herself, she exited the castle into the light snow that had begun falling. Head down to keep the snow from blowing into her face, she didn't immediately see the black haired figure approaching the castle until she was right up on him,

"Sirius," she greeted apprehensively, seeing his face had not healed from his apparent scuttle with Regulus the day before.

"Rachel," he greeted tersely. "Aren't you supposed to be waiting for my _brother_?"

"How do you know about that?" she asked curiously.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Magic. Looks like I'm going with you to get a new wand. Second chances and all of that."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked in surprise. "You didn't actually come here to find me, surely."

"I'm here at Regulus' request," he answered with exaggerated grandeur. Seeing her look of confusion he added dryly, "He didn't seem to think you had yet grasped the danger in traveling alone, and asked me to check in. Here I was thinking he must have underestimated you, but it turns out for a Ravenclaw, you aren't very bright."

Rachel scoffed, "I don't need your help. Why doesn't Regulus just mind his own business-?"

"I would think the answer to that is obvious," Sirius answered, raising a hand to his face as if its condition somehow supported his claim.

Rachel looked away from him quickly. She didn't know what had led to Regulus 'attacking' Sirius but wasn't about to ask now, especially given Sirius' implication.

"Well… sorry again for yesterday, about not contacting you sooner and-"

"Hardly matters now," Sirius interrupted sullenly. "Just stick close today. I'm missing out on my favorite pastime for you right now."

Rachel cringed to think of what his favorite pastime likely was, which unfortunately didn't go amiss. Sirius let out a bark of laughter, "Flying... I have a motorbike, you know. It's been a while since I've had time to ride it."

"Yeah… I remember that now," she answered, feeling heat rise to her face as Sirius continued to laugh. His mood had improved drastically from when he arrived, and even after his laughter subsided, the smirk didn't leave his face. Rachel shifted uncomfortably as he evaluated her rather calculatingly.

"What?" She finally asked in exasperation.

"Nothing," Sirius answered a bit too quickly. At her doubtful look, his smirk broadened to a grin, "It's just… _cute. _How innocent you are."

"Okay," Rachel answered disinterestedly, "I'm going to disapparate to _The Leaky Cauldron_ now. Don't feel obligated to join me."

* * *

Regulus watched as Rachel ran out of a house and into the waiting arms of a death eater. He saw flashes of her in the corner of a shabby bedroom as the Hufflepuff, whose memories he was currently seeing, argued with what sounded like Amycus Carrow. They disagreed on which senior death eater would be most agreeable to allowing them to have their way with her instead of claiming her for himself or killing her as Bellatrix would.

Regulus found himself with his hand around the Hufflepuff's throat before he realized he had even withdrawn his spell.

"And I worried this would become complicated," Evan drawled before lazily casting a revulsion jinx at Regulus, forcing him to release his hold on the Hufflepuff. "I suppose we've discovered one of the culprits involved with Rachel then. Sadly, killing him would be counterproductive."

"Just because he's dead is no reason he can't be blamed for her escape," Regulus answered harshly.

"What's this?" Evan asked amusedly. "Regulus Black is condoning cold-blooded murder? Perhaps you should have remained a death eater."

"It isn't cold-blooded when the cause is warranted," Regulus answered as he focused to calm his breathing.

"Mm, I don't know if my luring him away from a- _relatively_ peaceful gathering only to murder him later can exactly be considered justified…. Revengeful, maybe," Evan answered, indicating the two of them, "But clearly this isn't self-defense."

"What do you think he's going to do if he meets Rachel again?"

Evan quirked an eyebrow, "A better question is, 'what is Rachel going to do if they meet again?' You've surely realized you can't protect her anymore. Anything you've ever done to ensure she doesn't draw attention to herself was forfeited when she became a known member of the Order."

"Yeah I'm aware, but thanks," Regulus answered stiffly.

"I think it's obvious what you have to do now."

"Yeah, I'm definitely not leaving her in a duel, sure as hell not to supervise the wolf… Speaking of-"

"To hell with that," Evan answered angrily. "Leave the damn country and take her with you!"

Regulus scoffed, "Do you really think I'm going change my mind _now_, or is this just your attempt to keep me from bringing up the spell you used on Lupin?"

"If Lupin would have attacked anyone else as a werewolf would you have even minded about that spell?" Evan asked pointedly. "James Potter? A Prewett? Would you care then?" When Regulus hesitated to answer, Evan did for him, "No. The only reason you care is because it was _Rache_l… And I saved her tonight. Whatever my debt, it's been accounted for."

"I wasn't implying you had any sort of debt with me-" Regulus began as Evan polished off the rest of his drink and tossed the glass in the general direction of the sink. Regulus knew he missed entirely by the sound of glass shattering in the floor behind him.

As Evan left the kitchen, presumably to go pass out on the couch, Regulus couldn't help but scoff at the irony when he heard him shout in a bit of slur, "Kill the Puff! What do I care? Just don't make a mess."

* * *

Rachel left Ollivander's shop and Sirius immediately fell into step with her.

"So, what'd you get?" he asked conversationally.

"Hawthorn and Unicorn hair… ten and half inches," she answered, holding it up slightly.

"Excellent for healing," he smirked.

"Clearly you've studied wandlore, then," she grinned. "However else could you have guessed?"

"You would be astounded to know what I know," he answered, putting his arm around her as they walked back towards the Leaky Cauldron.

Rachel flinched slightly at the touch and glanced at him warily. It seemed each time she began to feel more relaxed around him, he would do something to make her uncomfortable. As he seemed to be looking for some sort of reaction out of her, she thought making her uncomfortable might actually have been his intent for some reason. Deciding not to play into whatever he had in mind, and because they were about to leave anyway, she allowed his arm to stay.

Just as they were reaching the entrance of the _Leaky Cauldron_, he whispered in her ear, "You know… my wand is _much_ bigger than Regulus'."

Rachel shoved his arm off of her instantly as he feigned innocence, "What's wrong?" he asked, holding up the wand in question, "Thirteen inches," he explained proudly. "I remember as if it were yesterday when Regulus got his… a mere twelve and three-quarters. Between you and me, my _little_ brother has never quite measured up," he smirked.

"Are you ever serious?" Rachel asked, "Or is safe to assume that no matter what you say I should just ignore it?"

Sirius looked at her bemusedly for a moment before grinning as if only just realizing what she was on about, "Ohh, did you think I meant…? Rachel! Not even I'm _that_ forward," he laughed. "I suppose I should be flattered that you've given it some thought and everything, but-"

"Please just stop talking," she answered irritably as she turned on her heel and continued walking.

"Well don't be embarrassed, Rachel," he answered in a placating tone as he caught up with her. "I told you I was flattered-"

"How is anyone supposed to respond when you say things like that?"

"Well, some girls choose to flirt," he smirked as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'll admit the more innocent ones are occasionally offended, but most have reactions somewhere in between." After a moment, he added, "I didn't actually expect that you would try to seduce me or anything… but you're not exactly acting within the majority either."

"Whatever that means," she answered dismissively. "Can't you just go back to pretending you're somewhat normal? You were doing really well with it before I went inside Ollivander's."

Sirius sniggered, "You are surprisingly easy to embarrass."

"Awkward statements yield awkward situations," she answered before lowering her voice, "You're also Regulus' brother."

"And what does he have to do with anything?" Sirius asked, apparently happy that she had brought up Regulus.

Rachel glanced around them nervously, "Forget it. As we're in Diagon Alley, perhaps a subject change?"

"Are you suggesting we go somewhere more private?" Sirius asked before attempting to apologize, though he was unable to keep from laughing. At her incredulous look, he added more somberly, "Truly, I am. It's just hard to turn it off sometimes... Let me make it up to you, I'll buy you lunch."

"No thanks."

"What? Why not? You're a poorly compensated apprentice and I'm the head of one of the wealthiest families in Britain. Let me buy you lunch."

"In that case, definitely no, and props to Marlene for ignoring you," Rachel answered coolly, as she tapped the brick to allow them admittance to the _Leaky Cauldron_.

"That was a bit… uncalled for, don't you think?" Sirius asked once he passed through the archway.

"Not when you just implied that I should be more than happy to have a meal with you, because you have a lot of money and I'm of a comparatively lower class."

Sirius scoffed, "What? I did not!" Remembering his words he amended, "It certainly wasn't how I intended it. Besides, nearly everyone has less money than me."

"And everyone already knows that," Rachel told him. "Why should you feel the need to remind us?" Letting out a sigh as if it pained her to say it aloud, she remarked, "Thanks for coming with me," as she made to part ways with him.

Sirius smirked, "The best way to repay me is by doing something I want to do now."

* * *

Given Evan's condition of drunkenness and post-multiple cruciatus curses, Regulus thought it for the best that he had left him alone to deal with the Hufflepuff. It had been nearly impossible to concentrate with his constant outbursts. Once alone, he had been hesitant to search through any more of his memories as it was already taking every bit of restraint he had not to deviate from Evan's instructions.

Not knowing the extent of what happened didn't matter. Regulus was determined that if Voldemort didn't kill the Hufflepuff, he would the next time they met. The same went for Amycus.

Following Evan's instructions, Regulus transfigured the Hufflepuff into a rodent and confined him to a cage before stashing the cage into his pocket and disapparating to the _Leaky Cauldron_. After renting a room under a made up name, Regulus unceremoniously tossed the rodent onto the bed and returned him to his human form. Having been placed under a sleeping draught, it would be several hours before he would awaken and would be confused when he did. As far as plans went, this wasn't their best, he mused as he left the room.

As he made his way back downstairs, he thought he might look for Rachel in Diagon Alley. As he crossed the dining area of the _Leaky Cauldron_ though, he was surprised to find her having lunch with Sirius. Even more so that, of the two of them, Sirius looked to be more uncomfortable with whatever they were discussing.

As he approached them, Sirius immediately stood and laid out money to cover their meal, "I should check in with Remus, he had a job interview today," he explained. "Hopefully this one went better than the last two."

"Thanks for-"Regulus began but stopped as Sirius left abruptly. "Well, he's in an awfully big hurry," he remarked as he turned back to Rachel. He had expected there might be a lecture waiting for him when saw him again, if not worse.

Rachel smiled slightly, "I don't think he wanted to continue our conversation with you around to hear."

"Oh," he almost apologized for interrupting but focused instead on what was more pressing. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I wouldn't have left you if it hadn't been urgent."

Rachel shrugged as if entirely unconcerned, "The end result was the same as I still got my wand. Sending Sirius really wasn't necessary though."

Regulus looked her over with an inscrutable expression, "Do you have anywhere you need right now?" he asked after a moment.

Rachel shook her head, "I should probably try to make up some hours at St. Mungo's… but nothing I have to do. Why?"

"I need to talk to you for a bit," Catching sight of the witch at the nearest table looking their way, he added, "Someplace more private than this."

"Where did you have in mind?" Rachel asked, standing from the table.

Regulus held out his hand in response. She took it tentatively, gripping more tightly when he disapparated.

* * *

Rachel opened her eyes when she felt her feet on solid ground again. They were in an empty, high-ceilinged room she'd never seen before. She started to give Regulus a questioning look before catching sight of the far wall and gravitating towards it. There was a floor to ceiling window in the center taking up most of the wall, flanked on either side was a large bay window. The trio of glass was enough to ensure the room was brightly lit, despite the gray skies outside.

"This reminds me of where my grandparents used to live… the windows were almost exactly like that, and the fireplace too," she said indicating the stone hearth located to the left of them. "I loved that house," she reminisced for a moment before asking curiously, "Is this where you're going live? You found it awfully quick, if so."

"After Sirius' charitable offering of our childhood home to the Order, I thought the sooner I moved out, the better," he answered quietly in effort to keep his voice from echoing throughout the bare room. "Living there with my parents wasn't exactly ideal but it was home, you know? With Sirius as the head of the family, and the 'Order of the self-righteous' moving in…I don't know if I could have stomached the transition."

Rachel remained silent, waiting for him to elaborate. Instead, he added, "As I can hardly relate to being a child anymore, I suppose it was time for me to move on from there anyway."

Thinking it best not point out that he was a member of the group he had just referred to with disdain, and knowing better than to expect him to say any more than he wanted to about his family, Rachel walked towards the window to look outside. She was happy to see they were high enough not to have another building immediately blocking the view. Even through the snow, which had started falling in London only since she and Sirius had eaten lunch, she was able to recognize after a moment that they weren't far from St. Mungo's,

"Seems like a nice place, though I suppose I'm basing that only on one room. I really do love this wall of windows though."

"It isn't as big as you would think walking in," Regulus disclosed, almost as if embarrassed. Pointing at the farthest window from the fireplace he explained, "That's actually meant to be a dining area. The kitchen is just across from it," he said as he indicated an archway that was partially blocked by the wall opposite of them. "It seems adequate, though apparently there wasn't enough space elsewhere, so the muggles put what they call a washing machine in there… seems a bit odd to do laundry in the kitchen, doesn't it?"

Rachel might have laughed had he not seemed genuinely disconcerted by the situation. Managing to smile only slightly, she answered, "I actually think that's pretty common. It has to be somewhere water is available and with electricity guidelines, most places in the city won't have another option."

"Oh, well I suppose that's alright then," he nodded. "I'd offer to give you a tour, but as it's all just as empty as this room at the moment, it's hardly worth seeing."

Rachel almost objected as she actually was curious about what the rest of the flat looked like. She noticed a hallway leading off of the living room from the opposite end of the kitchen and surmised the bed and bath areas would be in that direction. Realizing that she would essentially be asking to see his bedroom in insisting on a tour, she decided against it.

Based on what she had seen though, she definitely preferred Regulus' flat over the one she currently occupied. While there was nothing wrong with hers, it hadn't been anything she had picked out either.

Vesta had previously shared it with her older sister who had gotten married the spring before she finished Hogwarts. When Rachel ran into Vesta at the start of her apprenticeship, she had mentioned that she was looking for a flat mate to share expenses with.

While Rachel hadn't necessarily been planning to move out of her mother's house at the time, it had just felt right, especially when Vesta had been struggling with expenses on her own. Standing in Regulus' flat, she thought she might have chosen a place for herself a lot like his, had she chosen for herself.

"So, now that the mysterious placement of your washing machine has been sorted out," she sniggered slightly, "You're happy with the rest of it?"

"I think it should serve my needs well enough," he agreed. "It does seem a little _too_ bright maybe… and perhaps a bit exposed with the windows, but nothing that can't be fixed with some curtains and a few more protective charms."

"For no longer than you intend to be here, I'm sure you'll manage," she answered, surprising them both with a somewhat patronizing tone. More neutrally, she explained, "You intend to leave Britain as soon as the war is over."

She knew Regulus was looking at her but pretended to have developed a great interest in what was happening outside rather than acknowledging it.

After a moment, he answered, "I don't intend to leave anytime in the near future."

Rachel glanced at him then, unexpectedly finding that he was still watching her. Before she could comment he remarked lightly,

"I'd invite you to sit, but I'll have to conjure something first." Brandishing his wand, he asked, "Any requests?"

Rachel smiled slightly as she took out hers, "Perhaps it'd be a good opportunity to practice with my new wand," she suggested. At Regulus' nod, she conjured a cushion to fit over the seat board of the nearest bay window before repeating the gesture on the other.

"Am I to take that to mean you aren't very confident with your new wand selection?" Regulus teased when she looked back at him as if finished.

She shrugged, "It's just that conjured furniture doesn't last very long, so why bother with it?" Her thoughts involuntarily drifted to his apparent plans to shop for furniture with Cassie, but did her best not to linger on them. "Anyway, no matter what furniture you add, those will still be the two best places to sit," she answered confidently, indicating the windows.

"Do you need anything else while I'm practicing?" she asked. "This place should feel a bit more… _cozy_ if you're going to be living here, don't you think?"

A ghost of smile graced Regulus' features briefly as he answered, "If we're going for _cozy_, I think any of your choices would be better than mine."

"You must have some preferences," she countered.

Regulus shook his head. Rachel assumed he would just change anything he didn't like after she left. When she hesitated to do anything more though, Regulus remarked, "Just keep it light."

A few minutes later, the windows were clad from the ceiling with elegant yet unimposing curtains. A portion of the wood floors had been covered by an area rug in neutral tones and sounds from the now lit fireplace interrupted the silence with the cracks and popping sounds of burning wood. They were only small changes but had done wonders to tone down the echoing in the room.

Once she was finished with the additions, Rachel stood momentarily looking at the fire and thinking of the burning house in Falmouth. That is, until she felt Regulus' hand on back, guiding her towards the window seat nearest to the fireplace.

She crossed her legs in front of her as she sat to at least look comfortable despite dreading whatever Regulus wanted to talk about. She watched him sit much more rigidly beside her a moment later,

"I brought you here, hoping you might tell me what really happened the other night," he remarked after a moment. "The real reason you left Falmouth without telling anyone," he added carefully.

Rachel could tell by the way he was looking at her that he was already thinking the worst. There also weren't many people he would have answered so quickly after being contacted this morning. She knew Sirius had a two-way mirror and suspected Evan did as well. As she had seen both Cassie and Sirius since Regulus had disappeared, she was almost certain he had left to help Evan- who clearly had a big mouth,

"Despite whatever Evan told you, nothing happened."

"You were captured by death eaters," Regulus answered bluntly. "How can you consider that to be nothing?"

"Nothing beyond losing a few hours of my life while being held captive, and having to replace my wand." At Regulus' skeptical look she added reluctantly, "I've been… checked out by a healer at St. Mungo's. It is thanks to Evan, of course, but nothing else happened."

"When did you go to St. Mungo's?" he asked with forced calm.

"While you were sleeping last night-"

She stopped as Regulus stood, and at first Rachel thought he was going to pace before he turned to her angrily, "What part of this being a war- that you are a member of the Order- that you shouldn't be going places by yourself, do you not understand?" he demanded. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? I don't understand what you could be thinking. Why are you acting like this?"

Rachel sighed wearily, having felt like she should have given this answer multiple times today already, "I have no reason to answer to you."

Regulus narrowed his eyes at her, causing his forehead to scrunch slightly, Rachel begrudgingly found his expression incredibly attractive, and looked away rather than linger on such dangerous thoughts.

"You have no reason to lie to me either," he answered sincerely. "You didn't just leave Falmouth yesterday because you suddenly wanted to visit your mother or whatever other reason you would have me to believe. Why didn't you just tell me what happened from the beginning?"

"Honestly, I didn't see how it was any of your business," she answered flatly. Regulus set his jaw as she added, "It was also embarrassing."

Regulus' expression softened slightly, though it inexplicably made her angry. Rather than listen to him make up some rubbish about not wanting to see her get hurt or some other nonsense, she stood,

"What does it matter anyway?" she demanded. "Whether I tell you the truth or not, whether I live or die… even whether Voldemort is defeated - None of it should make any difference to you. You made your decision about the rest of your life _months_ ago. Regardless of anyone else's fate, you're only here biding your time until your conscience _allows_ you to leave Britain- you've all but said as much. Rather than trying to be noble you might as well just leave. At least then you could have the life you want someplace else rather than worrying yourself further over a matter of guilt."

"You actually think I'm trying to be _noble_ by remaining in Britain," he pointed out somewhat derisively. "It would be less selfish of me to leave, you know. My family would be safer- their alignment with Voldemort more secure." He shook his head, "The fiasco in Falmouth was my idea, and you could have been killed because of it, or worse.

"Let us not sugarcoat this situation, Rachel," he patronized. "If it is _only my guilt_ keeping me in Britain, you can't honestly say it benefits anyone besides me to be here. It puts everyone I care about at more risk. It's far more selfish than it is noble."

With Cassie's implication about her death and Regulus' conscience still fresh on her mind, Rachel answered, "I suppose that is why you wanted to know what happened to me in Falmouth then. To know how much more guilt you should assign yourself based on how badly I was injured?"

"If you're hurt, rest assured _guilt_ will be the least of my concern," he answered coolly. Sighing deeply, he added resignedly, "I only want you to be safe, Rachel. After everything… I hope you can at least see that. We can't always travel in packs or- whatever Moody's constant vigilance suggests, but we can use common sense." Seeing she was about to object, he added quickly, "I'm not trying to insult you, but I don't think it's asking too much for you not to go into the wizarding world alone… few people do anymore, especially among the Order. It wouldn't even be difficult to get someone to go with you. Sirius was easily convinced today and that was even with _me_ asking. I'm here… Lily. Any of us would go if only you would ask."

"I don't actually have a _habit_ of going into the wizarding world alone, unless you count Hogwarts and St. Mungo's. Going to both of those places is mandatory for my training," she answered, content to ignore that she would have gone to Ollivander's alone earlier if not for Sirius showing up when he did.

"You didn't go to Hogwarts in the middle of the night after Sirius summoned you for work, nor did you go to St. Mungo's to see a healer for training either. In fact, you left the infirmary to go to the hospital when you could have let Madam Pomfrey take a look at you for a lot less trouble. Why didn't you?"

"Because… every ailment anyone receives treatment for in the infirmary becomes common knowledge among the Order. Everyone already thinks I'm weak," she admitted dejectedly. "I didn't really need to give them another reason to add to the speculation."

"No one thinks you're weak-" Regulus began.

"I doubt they'd feel the need to tell you about it if they did," she interjected. Despite her earlier judgment of Evan's lack of discretion, it seemed he hadn't mentioned to Regulus the 'advice' he had given her about quitting the Order before she got herself killed. Evan was the one person's advice he usually took.

Regulus nodded, "You're probably right." Rachel felt her face fall slightly at his agreement, prompting him to add, "They wouldn't tell me. I'm not exactly a high priority among the gossipmongers of the Order."

"That's not true. They love talking about you," she countered.

Regulus smirked, "About me, maybe. But no one ever talks _to _me," he answered in a tone of feigned melodramatics. "I find it incredibly irrelevant," he added more seriously.

Rachel sat back down on the window bench and rubbed her hands over her face, "I know it must sound stupid to you… to worry what they think." She vaguely thought he might care more if the majority of the Order members weren't of mixed blood status and blood traitors. "I just hate when I'm not good at something. As it turns out, I suck at dueling."

"No, you're an average duelist battling death eaters who have had years of training… they also thrive on inflicting pain on others- using spells you'd never dream of using."

"Thanks for the pep talk," she answered dryly as she diverted her gaze back to the fire. "I feel much better now."

The bench creaked slightly as Regulus sat down beside her, though she continued her study of the flames.

"In my experience, naïve ideologies clash with harsh reality," he admitted, matter-of-fact. "The Order isn't what you expected. Nothing much can be said to make it better, but there's nothing stopping you from improving a less-than-ideal situation.

"It's unlikely that you'll ever become better at dueling than every death eater. Some of them have been training since before you were born. Of the most proficient though, I'd wager that you're smarter than all of them. If you can find a way to better merge that intelligence with your dueling, it'll give you an advantage."

Rachel looked at him warily, "What if I can't just figure out a way to make it work to my advantage? I mean, realistically how many more opportunities do you think I'll have before it's too late? I don't even know if I _can_ figure it out on my own-"

"Why should you have to do it alone?" Regulus asked pointedly.

Rachel looked at him incredulously, eliciting a wry smile from him in response.

"I'll try not read too much into your surprise," he answered.

"I'm not surprised that you want to help me in general so much that you aren't insisting I leave the Order- even Evan suggested as much," she admitted.

"I won't pretend I was ever thrilled with you becoming involved in the war effort," he intoned in a bit of a detached voice. "As it is though, the death eaters already know you as an Order member. Unless you go into hiding, you aren't going to be much safer now, even if quit the Order. You could cease to seek out the death eaters if you choose, but they would still seek to find you." Rachel felt a chill run down her spine at his words. Clearly not wanting to think about them himself, Regulus continued,

"Perhaps the most irritating part of this situation, is that I'm not sure you were ever given much of a chance… Did Dumbledore do an assessment of your skills when you joined, or teach you anything?" he asked doubtfully.

She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze,

"Teach?" she asked a bit self-consciously. "That's funny. He taught me about as much as Madam Pomfrey has I guess."

Regulus knitted his eyebrows, "You've looked to be on your own anytime I've seen you working in the infirmary," he answered calmly though Rachel noticed he had bit the inside of his cheek immediately after. That typically meant he was refraining from saying something more abrasive.

As his ire seemed to be directed elsewhere she wasn't terribly concerned. Looking back, it would have been nice if someone such as Dumbledore would have given her some sort of advice before she had been sent into her first ever battle as an Order member. Any advice since would have been equally welcomed, seeing as they hadn't exactly been trained for war throughout their schooling.

After a moment, Regulus asked tentatively, "Will you allow me help you?"

She shrugged, somewhat embarrassed because she knew she needed the help but hated that someone else had suggested it. Even if it was Regulus, "I don't see how it can hurt," she answered eventually, "So long as it isn't putting you out too much?"

Regulus shook his head slightly before locking eyes with her, "What happened in Falmouth_ can't_ happen again."

Rachel nodded in agreement before looking away quickly. While she couldn't necessarily prevent being captured, it was certainly the last thing she ever wanted to go through again,

"I wonder where the best place to train would be?" she asked, glancing outside at the snow and hoping that wasn't their only option.

"Sirius and I used to duel in the basement of our house… that was before either of us could do much damage though. I suppose there is always The Room of Requirement, if we can find something different to do with Crouch first."

Rachel fought to keep her expression indifferent despite the sinking feeling evoked from his casual mention of that particular room. To be fair, there weren't many other places they could duel without worry of drawing unwanted attention or causing irreparable damage. She realized she had even once used the room without Regulus' knowledge, so perhaps his mentioning it shouldn't have been a big deal.

"We wouldn't necessarily have to move Crouch," she remarked just as casually as his tone had been. "On prefect duty last year, Terrence Boot and I confiscated all sorts of potential chaos in the form of Zonko's products from a fifth year Gryffindor. It turned out the prat was Terrence's younger cousin. Unsurprisingly, he managed to convince Terrence not to give him detention. In exchange he agreed to forfeit all of the products to us. While Terrence escorted the boy back to his dormitory, I took the box, intending to give it to Filch.

"As I made my way down the corridor I passed the would-be entrance to the room and realized what a shame it was to waste so much potential, er- well, to be honest I didn't even know what half of it was meant to be, but there's just a certain wrongness in making Filch happy, isn't there?"

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "Do you mean to say that you stashed infantile joke products in the Room of Requirement?" he asked drolly, "Whatever did you intend to do with them?"

"Probably nothing, but that's the thing," she smiled slightly, "I'd forgotten about it. When I asked the room to give me a place to hide the stuff, it brought forth a room filled to the ceiling with junk that people must have wanted to hide over the years. Century's worth of junk, I would guess.

"And then… the next time we used the room," she added a bit awkwardly, "It worked the same as always, without me ever removing the box."

Regulus glanced away from her as he speculated aloud, "In that case the room could potentially be used to hide Crouch, and after concealing the entrance, we could bring forth another room fit to practice in."

"Unless it works differently when there is an actual person inside rather than inanimate objects. It's certainly worth trying though-"

A sudden noise from just outside the flat drew their attention. Regulus moved towards the door, wand in hand, and careful to ensure Rachel was behind him. He lowered his wand a moment later when the door opened and Cassie emerged.

"Hey," she greeted brightly, "I was hoping to surprise you." Her smile faded slightly as Rachel stepped out from behind Regulus.

"Well, I am surprised to see you, though I somehow doubt you being here is the surprise," Regulus answered.

"Of course not," she smirked. "I went furniture 'shopping' without you- in your parent's attic."

"I thought your parent's house was under the Fidelius charm?" Rachel asked bemusedly.

"It is, but Cassie-" he began hesitantly.

"I'm the secret keeper," she finished for him brightly. "We can trust you not to tell anyone though, right?" she asked dismissively as she brought forth a satchel from within her robes. As if only just noticing the uneasiness between them then, she asked, "Is this a bad time? I can just leave this here," she said looking between them uncertainly. "If it would be better?"

"Not at all," Rachel answered in a false cheery voice. "We were just discussing how to make this place look more comfortable… Regulus wants to keep it light," she added as she looked over the shrunken pieces Cassie was busy laying out before them. "Your choices look to be a bit more depressing than what he was looking for."

"Sadly, anything coming from my family's house will be depressing," Regulus answered from beside her. It was obvious by his mannerisms that he was unhappy about something. Cassie laughed at his comment as if it were part of some private joke between them. The blonde then directed them to step back as she began to resize the living room furniture pieces to their normal size.

"You'll see what I mean about the house if the next Order meeting is there," Regulus told her quietly. "If it is, you can be sure Cassie won't be the secret keeper anymore though. It wouldn't be safe."

Rachel didn't know if he meant safe for Cassie or safe for the Order. Either way, she felt almost nauseated with how much faith he had placed in her.

At the sight of the black leather couches, Rachel groaned emphatically, "Just as I was afraid of. They're much too dark for the rest of the room."

Cassie glanced around them for a moment, "They'd look fine if we change the window coverings and the rug to something a bit darker."

"If he wanted this to look like a replica of the Slytherin's common room, that would be fine. Regulus and I discussed something that sounds more like what you would find in The Hampton's. Light colors, bright and airy."

Cassie looked between them doubtfully, "Somehow when I think of Regulus, laid back and beachy aren't the first things that come to mind."

"I have no idea what either of you are talking about right now," Regulus admitted bemusedly. "Is Hampton much different from the rest of London?"

Cassie looked at him as if torn between amusement and disgust at his comment as Rachel instructed,

"Forget that. It's your flat, it should look how you want it to. If you want it to be pleasant and warm, I can help you. If you prefer unwelcoming and cold, Cassie has it down to a science."

Regulus looked between them oddly, though neither of their expressions gave anything away. After a moment, he answered uncertainly, "Well… the trim is white, the curtains are light… the furniture just needs to be… adjusted so that it doesn't… err- clash, or am I missing something?"

"Ugh, Regulus, bumbling does not suit you," Cassie informed him, matter-of-fact. "Sadly, it's unlikely you will have it together before I'm due to meet my family. Just let Rachel have her way and I can fix it later if you want," she smiled cheekily at them before disapparating.


	65. Chapter 65

Regulus arrived at Grimmauld Place early enough to check on his potion brewing in the basement before Cassie and Dumbledore were scheduled to meet him. As he suspected this would be the last time he saw the house before it became forever changed under Sirius' ownership, he took extra care to take in all of its details as he made his way through it.

He couldn't help but smirk as certain items caught his attention. He suspected Sirius would enlist Potter and Lupin to 'sterilize' the house before opening it up to everyone else. After all, what would the little do-gooders of the Order think of their childhood home if they saw it like this, he thought derisively. As he felt little concern about offending anyone with his family's heritage while in, of all places, their ancestral home, he felt no obligation to help.

Hearing the doorbell ring, earlier than expected, he swiftly went to answer it.

"Good morning, Regulus," Cassie greeted him a bit formally, and making no effort to move forward.

Assuming this was something to do with their interaction the day before but unwilling to delve into whatever_ it_ was with Dumbledore's impending arrival, he decided it best just to play along.

"Won't you please come inside, Miss Greengrass?" he invited, moving aside to give her a wide berth. As she entered the house, he inquired, "And may I take your cloak?"

Glancing at him and seeing his exaggerated earnestness, Cassie's scowl faltered slightly, "It's indecent how easily you adapt into the role of a house elf," she answered haughtily.

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "Some find that quality to be endearing."

Cassie smirked, "Who, Kreacher?"

Regulus gave a noncommittal shake of his head as he led her into the dining room, as it was the most suitable room on the ground level for a meeting. He would leave the awkward showing Dumbledore around the place, if it was ever deemed necessary, to Sirius. Pulling a chair out for her, he remarked as she sat, "Sorry but, as you're early, you'll have to excuse me for a moment."

"You're leaving me here?" she asked in surprise, "That's quite rude."

"So is showing up early," he smirked, as he turned on his heel.

"I hope this means you're going to do something about that acrid smell," she answered scathingly as she stood and followed him towards the stairs leading into the basement.

He couldn't deny Cassie was right about the stench. The farther they ventured down the stairs, the more pungent it became. While she stood in the doorway, Regulus went to stir the percolating potion. Green fumes promptly erupted from the cauldron, causing his eyes to water.

As he had to wait approximately ninety seconds before adding the final ingredient, he looked up and saw that Cassie was using the neck of her robes to cover her mouth and nose in effort for clearer air. He couldn't help but smirk slightly. It wasn't as if he had invited her down here.

After checking to ensure the root of aconite had fully dissolved, he added the final ingredient, armadillo bile. From his reading he had gathered this addition would serve little purpose beyond neutralizing the worst of the smell. He was relieved to find the effect to be almost instant.

As he began to carefully bottle up the poison, Cassie came closer to better see what he was doing.

"You realize this is a kitchen, right? Why are you preparing poison in a kitchen? Why are preparing poison at all? And where's the subtlety? Of all the poisons that are undetectable, you've chosen the most obvious."

"I didn't need it to be undetectable, only quick to brew."

"Why didn't you just buy some in that case? If you were going to be this obvious about it-"

"Unless things have changed drastically since the last time I've been there, even Knockturn Alley requires some form of registration before one can just _buy_ poison. That or a lot of gold." Cassie gave him a look that clearly suggested that cost shouldn't have been an issue. "It was just as easy to make it myself," he shrugged.

"But why do you need it-?"

Before either could comment further the doorbell rang, reminding them of why they were there in the first place. Regulus hastily bottled up the poison and banished the mess before making his way upstairs.

Cassie made herself scarce as he went to meet Dumbledore. Casting the necessary enchantments as quickly as he could, Regulus invited Dumbledore inside. As the headmaster calmly crossed the threshold into the house, Regulus looked around them anxiously. When it was clear nothing more dramatic was going to happen, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

It was the first time to his knowledge that any non-pureblood had ever entered the house since it came into the possession of the Blacks. As well-versed as he was in the house's protections, he hadn't been entirely convinced something sinister wouldn't happen to anyone impure attempting to enter. Regulus almost would have welcomed it considering the oversight he believed Dumbledore had made when he allowed Rachel to join the Order without offering her any sort of training.

"Thank you for coming," he greeted tersely, determined to stay on topic. Dumbledore nodded and attempted idle conversation as he followed Regulus towards the dining room.

Regulus interrupted him after a moment, in a bit of a rush, "I should remind you that I am not the current secret keeper of Grimmauld Place. Does that in any way change your decision to help?"

To his surprise, Dumbledore chuckled slightly, "You've already told me that, though to answer-I don't see why it should. I can already tell this house is much safer than any other available to the Order. Opening it up to the other members should certainly help with their safety. Am I right to assume the current secret keeper is here as well?" he asked as he followed Regulus into the dining room.

His question was answered as Cassie was sitting at the head of the table; divvying freshly conjured tea among three cups as if she owned the place.

Regulus wondered if it was only his imagination that Dumbledore seemed less than thrilled to find her there as they each took seats on either side of her. Sure, Cassie's family wasn't light, but it wasn't as if she was a death eater either.

"Ah, Miss Greengrass. I must say I didn't expect that you would have been named secret keeper," Dumbledore remarked in a bit of an odd tone. "I don't suppose I should be surprised though. After all these years, there likely aren't many things you and Mr. Black don't know about one another."

She nodded slightly, "He knows me about as well as anyone does," she agreed as she passed him a cup of tea before taking a sip of her own.

Regulus almost laughed at her intentional lack of etiquette. No pureblood would ever drink tea after being presented with it in such a way. If not poison then at least something to unsettle one's stomach would be expected in such an arrangement. There was also the ominous scent of poison that still lingered in the air.

With a mixture of awe and disgust, Regulus watched as Dumbledore graciously accepted his cup from Cassie and took a drink without the slightest hesitation.

"That's very good," he complimented after setting the cup back down.

"Have a biscuit," she instructed sweetly as she passed him a plate of baked goods. After Dumbledore obligingly selected one, she passed the plate to Regulus, smirking slightly when Dumbledore took a bite of the cookie just as trustfully as he had tasted the tea. Her antics ended however, when Dumbledore remarked,

"I understand 'congratulations' are in order."

Cassie inhaled sharply, all traces of her former amusement fading quickly.

"Thank you," she answered in a forced tone. Ignoring Regulus' questioning look, she added quickly, "I'm not sure if congratulations is quite the right sentiment, but I do think its time we get on with the reason we have gathered here. I don't have long before I will be missed."

"Of course," Dumbledore answered. "Though I'm sure your family must be quite proud. To marry into the Macnair family-"

"It's a dream come true," she interrupted flatly. "Can you please just tell us what we need to do to transfer the role of secret keeper onto someone else? I have a prior engagement I should be getting ready for."

Cassie was looking anywhere but at Regulus, just as he was keeping his expression decidedly neutral. He didn't know anything about Cassie and Macnair, but could only assume there was some truth to it. He did his best to ignore his inner turmoil. He wasn't going to give Dumbledore the satisfaction of knowing he had only just learned this piece of information- and from him of all people. Despite his desire to appear disinterested, his blood was positively boiling: at the irresponsibility of the Greengrass patriarch; the depravity of Walden Macnair; at Cassie for deeming it necessary to keep him in the dark. There was no way he shouldn't have already heard about the development considering Dumbledore already knew.

After observing his former pupils for a moment, Dumbledore remarked serenely, "If Miss Greengrass no longer wishes to be secret keeper, we simply need to reverse the spell that binds her as such."

"Is there any way for the spell to be reversed without the person who cast the Fidelius Charm originally?" Regulus asked, dreadfully anticipating his answer.

"It would be inadvisable to attempt," Dumbledore confirmed. The countercharm should be performed by the person who cast the spell. Am I correct to assume that person was you, Regulus?"

Cassie looked at him then, but he ignored her gaze in favor of meeting Dumbledore's. Occlumency shields firmly in place, he nodded in agreement. "I've been thinking, and tonight is probably going to be our best chance to make the adjustment. The majority of death eaters will be at my cousin's house."

"Very well," Dumbledore agreed. He then pulled out a tattered tome from within his robes. After opening it to the section that outlined the properties of Fidelius Charm, he passed the book to him. Regulus almost declined the book as he had already reviewed the spell, but accepted at the last second. There was bound to be something else interesting an old book Dumbledore had kept for so long.

After escorting Dumbledore out a short time later, Regulus returned to the dining room. Standing just inside its entrance, he silently observed the blonde.

Cassie met his gaze, but any excuse she might have offered about Macnair left her when she saw the way he was looking at her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked in the same aloof tone he would have used on almost anyone else.

Cassie grimaced, "My family's willingness to trade me off to the highest bidder isn't one of my proudest moments," she answered wryly.

"But why didn't you tell _me_? Don't you think I would have understood? I would have had the same fate… if things had been different."

"If things had been different, you and I might have become betrothed to each other," she pointed out.

"All the more reason you should have told me. It could just as easily have been me in your position... As far as my parents choosing someone awful for me to marry, that is."

Cassie raised an eyebrow, "Were your options really so terrible?" she asked coolly. "You would place them on the same level as Macnair?"

"Of course not. My point is that I would have tried to get you out of it, and you've delayed the process."

"How? There's nothing you or anyone else can do."

Regulus scoffed, "So that's it then? You've accepted this as your fate and have decided to go along with whatever your parents tell you to do? Even if it means marrying someone old enough to be your grandfather?"

Cassie's eyes widened slightly as she looked at him, "Do you think I want this? What other choice do I have? This was my father's decision. There's nothing I can do about it."

"You can't be serious, Cassie. You can't marry him. You would be… you wouldn't survive it."

"I would be fulfilling my duty to my family. You of all people should understand that."

"I understand perfectly well- the cost of doing what is expected. I also understand that what your parents want from you and what is right for you aren't always the same thing. In fact, with our families, I'm pretty sure they are the opposite."

"Maybe what's best for my family _is_ what's best for me. Have you thought of that?"

"Do you honestly expect me to believe you aren't freaking out over this? Why are you pretending like it isn't a big deal? And what about the responsibility of your parents to do what's best by you, Cassie? What about that?"

"I have to marry a death eater to retain my family's status of neutrality," She answered stubbornly, despite the angry tears burning her eyes.

"You don't _have_ to do anything," he nearly shouted causing her to flinch. Lowering his voice several octaves, he added, "Macnair is respected in the ministry, but he isn't the only way for your family to appear neutral. Why did your father choose him?"

"He had to choose someone," Cassie answered bitterly.

"There are a lot of other death eaters who would have been more bearable."

"Not many who met my father's criteria. Why do you think he sent a marriage contract your way?"

"I like to think even I would have been more bearable than Macnair," he answered uncomfortably. "But I find it difficult to believe that Macnair is the only living prospect. What exactly was the criteria again?"

She sighed, "The same as when you asked before, Regulus," she answered tersely. "Right after you just couldn't believe my father had sent your father a marriage contract."

"Was Evan considered?" he asked suddenly. "Or Wilkies?" He could think of several death eaters who would meet the criteria she had told him and be better than Macnair. Nearly all of them, in fact.

"Evan's father is a known death eater. No one with an ounce of common sense would ever believe he isn't. And Wilkies?" She scoffed. "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."

Regulus clenched his jaw, "You have no idea of what you are getting yourself into if you've already resigned yourself to this. Did you even stand up for yourself? Tell them you wouldn't do it? That you would rather be disowned? There are dozens of scenerios I can think of that would keep your family in the dark lord's graces without you marrying Macnair. Cyrus could join the death eaters," he began to name them off.

"He's the heir of the family. If he were found to be a death eater, we could no longer be considered neutral. And you left the death eaters. How can you suggest Cyrus join?"

"But why Macnair, Cassie?" He prodded. "What reason did they give you for choosing him rather than anyone under the age of thirty? Forty, even? Macnair was not your only option, he's just the person your family chose. Why did they choose him?"

"Why does it matter? It's done."

"It matters because finding out the reason he was chosen is the only way for it to be undone. That, or killing Macnair."

"I wouldn't ask you to do that," she insisted.

"I know you wouldn't," he answered, though maybe with the slightest hint of skepticism. "Do you want to know why I know that?"

Cassie furrowed her brow in confusion. Did she really need a reason not to ask someone to commit murder?

"Because killing Macnair wouldn't fix the problem," he answered for her. "It might buy you more time, but if your father is determined that you must marry a death eater like Macnair, and you're determined to do whatever your father says, then killing him would do nothing more than force him to choose someone equally bad in his place," he reasoned.

"I'm just... Only going along with it until I come up with a way around it," she answered. It sounded feeble, even to her.

"We need to find out why Macnair was really chosen. Find out that, and we can find a way out of it."

He had a couple of theories, but none that made much sense at the moment. Seeing how visibly distressed she already was and recalling it would be a long night, he made assure they would think of a way of her betrothal and then changed the subject to more pressing matters.

* * *

Evan struggled to keep a straight face as he stood before his mother, dressed in his newly acquired dress robes, and allowing her to dote over her only child. He blocked out most of what she said as it was referring to what a handsome and respectable man he was becoming. It was not terribly surprising that she held him in such high regard, but as she was growing almost weepy that 'she had simply blinked and now he was grown,' he thought her opinion of him to be a bit skewed. It seemed she had blocked out any account she had heard of him joining a murderous cult, and partaking in everything that generally involved.

He couldn't help but smirk when she remarked,

"Any witch would be lucky to catch your attention, Evan."

"I'll be sure to tell them my mother told me so."

"Ah, but they won't need to hear it from me to know it is the truth," she answered as she unnecessarily straightened his collar for what must have been the fourth time. "Tell me, my son, is there anyone who has caught your eye?"

Evan furrowed his brow. His future betrothal was almost never brought up in their household. It was something known to be imminent but scarcely acknowledged. Compared to Regulus' parents, his had seemingly never felt any immediate urgency to extend the family's bloodline.

Regulus had once commented on the peculiarity of it, seeing as he was an only child. As Evan thought it likely for the best if he never had children, and certainly none anytime soon, he hadn't given it much thought at the time. Now that he was thinking about it though, it did seem a bit odd, especially given the current war. It wasn't as if he were living any sort of low-risk lifestyle.

"Was our reputation tarnished so badly from father's imprisonment, that there aren't any candidates for a betrothal?" he asked, far more out of curiosity than concern.

His mother looked at him in surprise. "There are applicants, yes," she answered slowly. "And some perfectly acceptable ones at that. However, between you and me, it's always been my wish for you to choose for yourself."

"Out of the list of contracts you've received," he answered knowingly.

His mother smiled slightly. "If that is your wish, then it can be arranged. Though as I can't imagine your own standards differing much from ours, I don't see any reason not to trust your judgement in the matter. It is your life, after all," she told him as she kissed his cheek before turning to leave. "Have fun tonight," she beckoned from the doorway.

"You aren't coming?" he asked, causing her to laugh.

"I've endured many things since marrying into your father's family. His niece's idea of how to spend what must be the stupidest holiday in creation, shan't be one of them."

* * *

Just before their meeting time, Regulus stood in the second floor bedroom that Marlene had used when she stayed at Grimmauld and watched the front stoop. The moment two figures appeared there, he apparated to the ground level to meet them.

He involuntarily acknowledged that Cassie looked even more stunning than usual, dressed in deep purple, before focusing his attention on Cyrus.

Placing him under an imperius curse, Regulus walked Cyrus through the counter spell for the Fidelius, before forcing him to cast it on Number twelve. Once the house became far more visible than he cared to think about, Regulus then summoned a chair into the entryway for Cyrus to rest in. It was evident that between whatever Cassie had put him through before their arrival and Cyrus' obvious attempts to fight off the imperius, he was quickly exhausting himself. This of course didn't go amiss from Cassie's notice, but Regulus ignored her protests that he should allow him to rest in favor of getting it all over with before Cyrus became more successful in his defense.

After helping Cyrus to conveniently forget the things that were in Cassie's best interest for him not to know with a series of memory charms, he then apparated an unconscious Cyrus to just outside the Greengrass estate, where Cassie met them.

"Are you sure you have a means to explain this?" Regulus asked her, indicating Cyrus and his current condition.

"Yeah… it'll be fine," she answered far less confidently than he would have liked.

"Well, if he'll take it, this should help him," he told her as he handed her a vial of pepper-up potion.

She nodded her thanks before insisting he should hurry in case anyone found them. He almost attempted to reassure her that what they had done was for the best, but decided against it. She wouldn't feel better about the situation until she knew that Cyrus had no long-lasting complications. Instead he settled for giving her an awkward sort of pat on the back before disapparating, leaving her alone to deal with Cyrus.

* * *

Regulus hadn't bothered to buy poison when it could be made in a matter of a few days, even less time when made in certain failed potions. Polyjuice was a different matter as it took nearer to a month to create and much more precision. He didn't have that kind of time, and so purchased it in Diagon Alley.

He had taken robes from when he was fifteen from Grimmauld Place, thinking they would best account for the few inches of height difference between him and Crouch. He had chosen the simplest black set he could find to avoid any identifying features being unwittingly noticed. Essence of Crouch, which is say a handful of hair, had been safely procured from the room of requirement. All that was left was drinking the nasty muck and hoping to survive the night.

Adding some of Barty's hair, which was completely disgusting to even think about, he waited just long enough to see the potion change into a steel gray before downing as much as he could in one gulp, while standing in a stall of a Hogwarts boy's bathroom.

He hadn't given much thought to how uncomfortable changing would be. As his body morphed itself into Barty's, he tightened his grip on the flask of Polyjuice potion to keep from dropping it.

Fortunately, his discomfort was short-lived. It was also nothing in comparison to the pain caused by the potion of Voldemort's creation left to protect the locket horcrux.

Looking down, he was quite pleased to see how well his old robes seemed to fit Barty's stature. Leaving his stall, he was about to go and practice a few of Crouch's more common facial expressions in the mirror when he caught sight of a young Ravenclaw standing in the doorway. Given that his expression was somewhere between amusement and alarm, Regulus realized he hadn't endured his transformation as silently as he should have considering his apparent audience. Given that he was currently portraying Barty Crouch Jr. and not himself though, he wasn't too bothered.

Making his way towards the exit, he couldn't help but smirk as the second year commented something to do with handwashing under his breath.

Turning back to the boy who looked slightly horrified, Regulus remarked, "You know, it's terrible because we're in the same house, but I don't believe we've actually met." Proffering his hand, he announced rather self-importantly, I'm Barty Crouch Jr."

* * *

Cassie made her way through the throng of people in the Lestrange's living room, fuming.

She and Regulus had managed her situation with Cyrus admirably. It had been concise and efficient, exactly what they needed. Not only did Cyrus not have any noticeable memory issues, he hadn't even seemed suspicious that anything had gone amiss earlier in the day. The problem had been since his recovery.

Since returning to 'normal,' he had kept up a constant stream of reminders for how proper pureblood maidens were expected to behave. Because he had so much experience with that. She had ditched him the moment they arrived at the Lestranges.

Finding Farrah standing near the fireplace in the mostly empty drawing room, she made her way in that direction. As she drew nearer she couldn't help but feel bad for the former Hufflepuff attempting to talk to her as she was so clearly not interested.

"Well, hello sunshine," Farrah drawled as she caught sight of her, dismissively turning her back on the potential suitor.

Mostly out of habit, Cassie sneered at the Hufflepuff as he looked her over appraisingly before scampering into the next room. "I hate Cyrus," she admitted once he was out of earshot.

"Me too," Farrah answered. "Ever since he married Jocelyn." Seeing Cassie's look she smirked, "What? He's fine. Not even you can deny it."

"I can absolutely deny that… on the grounds that he's my _brother_."

"When you consider some of the 'eligible bachelors' we have to choose from, incest almost seems like a viable option though, doesn't it? Not that _you're _particularly eligible at the moment."

Cassie scrunched her nose without comment.

"Your family is still upholding the ancient traditions too, I take it?"

"My wand was confiscated before coming here as always. I was even patted down for good measure."

"Of course you were," Farrah scowled. "Being easy prey is far more ladylike than being able to defend yourself at a gathering such as this."

"I wouldn't worry too much if you stick by me. Someone in my family will undoubtedly be stationed near enough to ensure I don't convince any house elves to bring me alcohol… Though considering nothing _but _alcohol could make this night more bearable, you would think they might at least grant me that one reprieve."

To her surprise Farrah sniggered, "Sometimes I wonder how you managed to get into Slytherin." Cassie watched in bemusement as she crouched down, and revealed the bordering on scandalous high heeled wedges she was wearing. Unfastening a portion of the heel, she somehow procured a too-large-to-have-fit-without-magic bottle from within.

The bottle literally said, 'water,' and nothing else, Cassie noted.

Farrah smirked. "You lack ambition."

* * *

'Barty' entered the headmaster's office and was greeted with a scowl from Katherine Selwyn and obnoxious eye twinkling from Dumbledore.

"Ah, Mr. Crouch, I was beginning to worry about you," the headmaster greeted.

"Wait, this is who we've been waiting on?" Katherine demanded. "I'm going to my great-grandmother's birthday celebration, why on Earth is he going?"

"You had already asked for special permission to attend the _celebration _when I did," 'Barty' answered pointedly. "Obviously Dumbledore knew we would be going to the same place- it would be too much of a coincidence otherwise," he answered tightly as if in warning.

Katherine nodded slightly, "Right… my family has always admired the influence yours has," she answered more neutrally before turning her attention to Dumbledore. "It makes sense that he was invited, of course. Sometimes daddy outdoes himself with how well connected he manages to be," she smiled sweetly.

Regulus assumed that meant she had figured out that 'Barty' was a death eater. If not for the student death eaters who had been captured a few days ago, there might have been a lot more students with excuses to leave Hogwarts for the evening.

With a knowing smile, Dumbledore directed them to his fireplace, as the majority of other fireplaces in the castle had been disconnected from the floo due to the current conflict. Regulus made a gesture to Katherine to suggest she go first, but as if worried he would try to follow her, she waved him on ahead.

In the moment between tossing in the floo powder before the onslaught of spinning began, Regulus shared a meaningful look with Dumbledore. He hoped the headmaster would go immediately to replace the Fidelius Charm. The next time he saw Grimmauld Place it would either be the new headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, or in shambles. The longer Dumbledore waited to replace its protections, the more likely the latter became. Either way, it would never be the same.

Regulus departed the floo using the Three Broomsticks' fireplace. He didn't know where Katherine was headed, but knew with certainty it couldn't have been directly to the Lestrange's. He thought it likely she would be going to her parent's house first, but as she and Crouch didn't appear to be particularly friendly, he thought it best not to look as if he were waiting for her, just in case. He apparated to just outside his cousin's manor without giving her a second thought.

Finding the gate surrounding the manor to be momentarily open, he was conveniently able to fall in line with some partygoers already marching their way up to the manor. As this allowed him to avoid several of the safety measures he knew to be placed on the house, it only served to confirm his suspicions that leaving would likely prove more difficult for him than arriving.


	66. Chapter 66

She was fighting a losing battle. That was what Healer Williams told her as she had tried to help the man who had somehow brought himself to St. Mungo's before collapsing in the lobby. He had lost so much blood, so quickly. Rachel had lost count of how many vials of blood replenishing potion she had coaxed down his throat already. It was almost as many times as she had healed the horrific gashes that marred the majority of his body. His face had been one of the few areas that had been spared. It was a face that she was sure would haunt her for the rest of her life.

She could vaguely remember him from Hogwarts. He was a few years older than her, and if she remembered correctly, had been in Gryffindor. Beyond that, she knew very little about him. He had been too weak to answer any of her questions when she attempted to distract him with them earlier. As such, it was impossible to know what curse he had been hit with. She had little doubt it had been death eaters though. Few others would have used a spell so obscure.

After changing the bandages around his torso which soaked through at record speed this time, she again healed the wounds, and wrapped them as tightly as he could tolerate. Just as she reached for another vial of blood replenishing potion, Healer Williams returned.

She glanced at him briefly, expecting to be told off. To her surprise, he quietly sat down in the seat beside the patient's bed. It was the chair that should have been occupied by one of the patient's loved ones, if only anyone at the hospital could have made contact with them. Ignoring the healer for now, she announced to the patient it was time for his 'medicine'.

He groggily opened his eyes to look at her, though given their glassy appearance, she wondered how much he could actually see. She knew he wasn't going to make it much longer no matter what she did. Still, he obediently opened his mouth when she asked, and took down as much of the potion he could manage- before aspirating on it.

Rachel cleared his airway with a quick, "Anapneo."

Whatever he had been cursed with, his attacker ensured he wouldn't survive. All three of them in the room knew as much. When Healer Williams had last checked over the patient, he instructed Rachel to call in the end-of-life team before leaving. They were the first instructions Rachel had been given at St. Mungo's that she hadn't followed, and she had no doubt she would be reprimanded for it.

There was something about the man that made her think he had known he wasn't going to make it even before turning up at St. Mungo's. He seemed to have accepted it, yet with provisions. You could sense the anxiety about him. Not that he was afraid of death necessarily, but that something first had to happen before he would give into it. She had seen it in the almost fearful way he had refused the pain relieving potions that had been offered, and how he warily inspected the blood replenishing potion each time she offered it in the beginning. He wanted to be as conscious as possible in his final hours, even if it meant suffering through them.

She had convinced herself that this was what the man had wanted when he brought himself to St. Mungo's. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't deny that by seeking treatment, he had done nothing more than prolong the inevitable. He would have died long before now without intervention. Despite her earlier certainty of the man's wishes, Rachel couldn't help but second-guess herself now. She had disobeyed orders from one of the most esteemed mediwizards still working at St. Mungo's. What if she had only prolonged the former Gryffindor's misery because she was too stubborn to accept that he was meant to die alone? If she had kept him alive for this long against his wishes, she deserved to be thrown out of the healing program. She didn't have to look at Healer Williams to know he must be thinking the same.

She chanced another glance at the healer before guiltily reaching for the patient's hand, which seemed colder even from the last time she had felt it. As she examined his ever-paler nailbeds, Healer Williams interrupted the sounds of rattled breathing,

"We've managed to contact his family," he remarked in a surprisingly gentle tone. "They're on their way now, though it may take them a bit… they are muggles. Would you like for me take over until they get here?"

Rachel gaped at him, having expected his tone to be much harsher. If he was angry he was hiding it well, though perhaps it was for the dying man's benefit, she mused.

She felt an almost imperceptible pressure on her hand and realized it was the former Gryffindor attempting to latch onto her, as if to keep her from leaving. She shook her head slightly,

"I'm fine here," she answered without thinking. If she had made the man survive this long, the least she could was stay with him until the end, she thought with an odd mixture of self-loathing and purpose.

* * *

Regulus skirted his way through the throng of people, attempting to draw as little attention to himself as possible as he made his way through Lestrange Manor. As expected, no one was terribly eager to talk to the Crouch heir, which worked in his favor. The majority of death eaters were either too leery of his familial ties or simply saw no reason to acknowledge him. It wasn't as if a Hogwarts student could have adequately proven themselves on their own merit in this crowd.

Knowing nothing of interest would be left on the main level of the home, he found the least obtrusive place in the drawing room that offered a view of the stairs in the reception hall, and waited there. He had to wait for the majority of the guests to arrive before he could sneak his way up them. He daren't attempt to apparate to the upper levels in case the manor's protections had been upgraded since the last time he visited.

He was soon approached by the house elf most commonly referred to as Whoagain, and inwardly cringed at the absurd appellation. The elf had been a wedding gift to Bella and Rodolphus from Regulus' parents. Bella had been unable, or perhaps more accurately unwilling, to learn the house elf's given name, and had subsequently renamed her, Whoagain- in reference to the question that commonly followed any mention of the elf by her given name.

After accepting a drink from the house elf, he sent her away quickly. He doubted Barty would have been as brusque, but the last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself- especially from a house elf who had known him for her entire life.

Since Barty seemed to have a knack for going unnoticed while silently observing others, Regulus hoped his wallflower act would be perceived as normal. As the number of guests trickling in became ever-less frequent, he took a sweeping glance around the room. He was unhappy to find he wasn't being ignored by everyone.

"Rodolphus," he greeted in Barty's voice as the older male joined him.

"_Crouch_," Rodolphus answered curtly, causing Regulus to want to forget his task and leave immediately. Clearly Barty wasn't on quite the first name basis with Rodolphus that he had implied. "If I didn't know any better, I might think you are waiting for something, or perhaps someone?" Rodolphus inquired suspiciously.

Regulus let out a nervous chuckle, "Isn't everyone waiting for someone?" he asked awkwardly, recalling the theme of the evening. Rodolphus quirked an eyebrow, prompting him to add hastily, "I mean, those who are unattached. Not you, of course."

As it turned out, it took far less effort to embody Crouch's nervous mannerisms than Regulus had anticipated. He simply had to 'forget' to hide his emotions and he became nearly as babbling as Barty on his worst night. He couldn't decide whether he should be appalled by his own behavior or relieved he had chosen someone like Crouch to imitate. His current twitchiness should only make his act more believable.

Rodolphus smirked, "You are including yourself though, I suppose."

Regulus offered a vague nod. He wasn't sure if it would even be the correct answer in Barty's case but he didn't expect Rodolphus to actually care either way.

When he met Rodolphus' gaze, it was evident that he was peeved by something. Regulus had an inexplicable feeling that it had to do with the vagueness of his answer. From his past dealings with him, he knew Rodolphus was often just as interested in someone's reaction to a conversation as their verbal response.

He thought it best to keep the other male on task.

"I can't imagine that you've troubled yourself over something as trivial as my lack of love life," Regulus commented, a bit more amusedly than Barty would have. "Is there something more important you wished to discuss?"

Rodolphus gave him an indecipherable look. Despite his prompt, he didn't bother to change the subject matter much.

"It will be interesting to see who your father hopes to set you up with, should he have the chance to arrange your betrothal," Rodolphus remarked in what would have been a casual tone if not for how closely he was watching him. "At first I thought it might be McKinnon. That is, until her family became a target of the Dark Lord. I don't expect she will survive long enough to wed. Another pureblood from the Order could prove just as interesting though. Have any of _them_ caught your attention?" he asked with an odd glint in his eye.

"Anyone in the Order?" 'Barty' asked distastefully. "I couldn't name one who is even interesting."

"Uninteresting is best since you would be expected to kill her," Rodolphus answered roughly. "Although, with pureblood children being the minority that they are, some are willing to do almost _anything_ to continue their bloodlines. The Dark Lord might very well consider allowing the spawn of a blood traitor to live- provided you agreed to do whatever it takes to ensure the child doesn't repeat his mother's mistakes, of course."

"Of course," 'Barty' agreed halfheartedly. "Though if my future betrothed is not only in the Order but also manages to turn up pregnant, you can be assured it isn't mine. I'd never lay with someone tainted by the influence of mudbloods."

"If your father chooses for you as mine did for me, your future wife may very well be in the Order," Rodolphus goaded.

"You seem to be under the illusion that I would _allow_ my father to choose a wife for me," Regulus answered haughtily. Recalling that he was not Rodolphus' favorite in-law at the moment- and even as himself never would be anyone's favorite again, he adjusted his tone to sound more respectful, "Though if it is the Dark Lord's wish for me to marry a witch of my father's choosing, I am confident it will not be some vigilante from the Order. My father despises the group's existence. After all, for what other reason could the Order of the Phoenix exist, if not because of the ineptness of the ministry against _us?"_

"Is it not possible your father simply does not know everyone in the Order? He could unwittingly assign you one of its members." At Barty's look of faux horror, Rodolphus smirked, "Fear not, Crouch, there is a silver lining. When your future wife, with undoubtable loose-virtue, is revealed as a member of the Order, you may not even need sully yourself for her to become pregnant... Sirius Black is a member of the Order, after all." Regulus looked at him sharply as he tightened his hand around the handle of his wand. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if more than one Order member ends up carrying his child," Rodolphus added drolly before his expression hardened and he lowered his voice, "Black's aren't exactly known for their faithfulness to any one person… but you already knew that, didn't you Crouch?"

"It's not something I've given much thought to," Regulus answered hesitantly as he released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"Ah," Rodolphus answered skeptically. "You never did say why you were waiting here, so curiously near the entrance hall."

"I thought it might be beneficial to come here tonight in effort to become better connected among the right sort of people. I am not so naïve, however, to expect everyone in a gathering of death eaters and sympathizers to welcome the head of DMLE's son."

Rodolphus looked from him to the entrance hall before his eyes found the staircase leading upstairs and lingered there momentarily. "Having a planned escape route is clever for someone in your position," Rodolphus answered slowly, "but not for the reasons you would have me to believe." As Regulus regretfully pieced together his implication, Rodolphus closed in on the space that separated them. "My wife may think I am oblivious to her experiments," he added lethally, "but I know perfectly well she has taken an interest in you."

Regulus looked around at the guests surrounding them, but it seemed everyone had politely turned a blind eye as the master of the house dealt with one of his guests.

"I don't... think you have the right idea," 'Barty began before being silenced by Rodolphus' hand around his throat.

"It is you who does not have the right idea if you think Bellatrix's intentions are as they seem."

Regulus gasped for air, and willed himself not to draw his wand. It would be a death wish in current company- which he suspected had been Rodolphus' intent with confronting him so publicly.

* * *

"Cassie, it's good to see you," Narcissa Malfoy greeted her warmly. "Farrah," she added as if an afterthought, and with the slightest trace of a sneer in the brunette's direction.

It wasn't a secret that Farrah had dated Regulus briefly while they had been at Hogwarts. Those who knew them best only used the term 'dated' loosely. As they had been friends before and after their brief relationship, most simply thought of them as friends at times, or more often, allies. Contrarily, Narcissa would forever assume any sort of breakup between them must have been Farrah's fault. So much so, her disdain seemed to have transcended Regulus' death.

The two blond women spent some time exchanging the fake flattery expected of them. All the while Narcissa did everything but actually tell Farrah to go away, while Farrah stubbornly stayed put just to annoy her, offering her own slew of subtle insults each time the opportunity presented itself.

Realizing just how long it had been since they had last spoken, Cassie initiated a more authentic conversation,

"I was so sorry to hear about Regulus," she remarked sincerely. She had, in fact, been miserable prior to learning the truth.

Narcissa appeared momentarily unsettled before answering quietly, "It's difficult to believe he's gone." She regarded Farrah with distaste for a moment before again addressing Cassie, "I know his death must be difficult you as well, Cassie. Perhaps your betrothal to Walden could have been avoided if he were still here-"

"Well that paints a disturbing picture," Farrah interrupted, causing Narcissa and Cassie both to look at her in surprise. "Regulus and Cassie... he and I had managed to reconcile our differences shortly after finishing school. We were going to tell our families but he…" she trailed off, apparently too at risk of becoming weepy to finish the sentence, "Excuse me," she whispered before disappearing into the crowd, leaving the two blondes to stare after her in bewilderment.

* * *

By the time the former Gryffindor's family arrived at St. Mungo's, it was past the end of Rachel's shift- and not long before he died. Not even bothering with the usual cleaning charms, she chucked her robes into the bin on her way to the showers. She stood under the hot spray long enough that several other apprentices had come and gone by the time she left.

She anticipated that she would be exhausted after leaving St. Mungo's. A day in that building was by far more challenging than a day of work in Hogwarts' infirmary. Typically it was the unknowing of what she would encounter next that caused her the most anxiety. Would she be able to recall the best treatment for whatever ailment was thrown her way? Would the mediwizard overseeing her get mad if she asked too many questions? And if so, would they notice if she slipped off to consult a text book instead?

Today it was an exhaustion of a different kind.

After drying off and getting dressed in a daze, she apparated home miserably. She planned to go straight to bed, never mind that she hadn't eaten since breakfast. The idea of food made her nauseous.

Upon entering her flat, she was surprised to see Sirius sitting on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table.

"There she is," he announced with a grin. "I was beginning to worry."

"Why would you worry?" she asked in bemusement. "And how did you get in here?"

"I ran into Vesta earlier and invited her out tonight. It is Valentine's Day, you know."

Rachel shook her head slightly. She had noticed several bouquets of flowers being brought into the hospital earlier that morning but hadn't given much thought to the date since then.

"That doesn't answer why you were waiting for me," she pointed out. "Did Regulus ask you check on me again?" she asked more irritably. She might have secretly welcomed a visit from the younger Black, but if Sirius was there to 'babysit' her while Regulus was out with Cassie, she was going to be furious.

"I don't know what my brother is doing tonight, only that I'm not to bother him." Rachel felt a surge of anger rise in her stomach but fortunately Sirius must have realized how his words could be taken and amended them quickly, "Those were Dumbledore's orders. He's doing something for the Order, I don't know anything else."

Rachel's feelings quickly shifted from jealousy to worry as she thought of all the danger he might be in.

"To answer your other question," Sirius continued, "Vesta and I are going out to celebrate. There will be other people there. Vesta went to get ready." Rachel was too numb to even feel self-conscious as Sirius looked her over in the sweatshirt and jeans she had picked out in the dark that morning. She had changed into her robes only after arriving at St. Mungo's. Sirius smirked slightly, "Perhaps you should change too."

"I never agreed to go anywhere with you," she objected. "What makes you think I don't have plans already?"

Sirius smirked, "According to Vesta, you've never once had a male visitor who wasn't a relative. Unless your preferences have changed…?"

"Shocking as it might be for you, it's actually quite possible to date _without _taking anyone home."

Sirius furrowed his brow as if genuinely perplexed by her statement, "Possible, maybe," he answered slowly. "But why would you want to?" he chuckled as if they had just exchanged an amusing joke.

Rachel rolled her eyes as she made her way towards her room to change clothes. She didn't want to go out. She didn't even know what they were supposed to be celebrating. As her original plan for the night would have likely resulted in her tossing, turning, and unable to sleep as she worried about Regulus, she thought Sirius' distraction to be a slight improvement. She also knew that if something went awry in Regulus' mission, Sirius would be among the first contacted.

As she looked through her closet for something more presentable, she couldn't help but think that this almost felt like the time she had dated Regulus, and spent most of the time they were apart worrying about whether he was safe. She wondered if even thinking about opening herself up to that again was such a great idea. Of course, it wasn't as if she had ever had much control over how she felt about him in the first place.

* * *

Evan sat alone on a sofa in a scarcely used room of Lestrange manor, trying to remember if he had ever actually seen the room he currently occupied in use. The majority of guests were gathered either in the drawing room or the back parlor by his estimation. He knew most wouldn't dare visit other rooms of the house, and so for the moment he could relax.

He had a good view of the drawing room from his current perch. He knew he should go and join the other guests rather than wait to be found by Bellatrix or someone who would be equally displeased with his antisocial behavior, but couldn't quite find the motivation.

He had no desire to talk to anyone. Given the nature of the party, he knew he was expected to attempt to chat up some of the better looking witches. Yet, due to the early hour and all of the liquor yet to be drank, in doing so he would only make a spectacle of himself- regardless of whether he was successful or not. From his viewpoint, most of the guests were trying to look as self-important as they could manage, while silently watching with disdain anyone who tried to secure an adequate shag for the evening. He saw no reason to add to their viewing pleasure.

Either due to reality or only his perception, Cassie and Farrah appeared to be the prime objectives among the males, especially of those he had gone to school with. Given Cassie's sullenness and that Farrah was clearly enjoying herself more than she would likely admit, Evan surmised that Farrah was receiving most of the attention. It was unsurprising considering Cassie's engagement to Macnair, but she looked to be unhappy about the situation all the same.

After watching several of his former housemates approach Cassie and Farrah, only to be turned away, Evan noticed some of Regulus' former classmates had briefly reconvened in the corner. It was really no wonder why they hadn't been able to capture either witch's attention.

Farrah's affections tended to correlate with how influential she deemed an individual to be. Whatever it was that Cassie sought in a mate scarcely mattered if Macnair wasn't dealt with. As he couldn't imagine any of them standing up to her father or Macnair on her behalf, they didn't have any business trying to win her affections as far as Evan was concerned.

Stood together as they were now, Evan felt an inexplicable sense of contempt for Regulus' former classmates. He thought it likely because he knew of the tendency most young death eaters had to want to prove themselves. It was often a desire that led them to behave even more cruelly than some of the oldest death eaters.

Amycus was the worst. He constantly bumbled on about the superiority of purebloods, while every aspect of his magical existence remained distinctly mediocre. Wilkies and Jugson were far less disappointing magically than Amycus, but lacked Regulus' finesse. From what Evan had gathered, they were good allies to have.

He knew less about Gibbon, but as Regulus had once compared him to the primates in which his surname referenced, Evan assumed he was only slightly better than Amycus. They were both in agreement the Carrows performed best when given only the simplest of instructions, and a wide berth so as to avoid the excess of destruction that followed them.

Evan soon caught sight of his father talking to Macnair like the old friends that they were and felt his stomach roil. As much as hadn't wanted Regulus to become a part of the death eater circle, he had grown so accustomed to him being there that he wasn't sure where he fit in without him. Even now, weeks after he had 'died' he felt an inclination to look for him.

Bellatrix sauntered into the drawing room and gave an overly dramatic speech. From what he got out of it, she believed lust was the key to extending their pureblood legacy. Then again, as he ignored at least half of everything she said, he may have missed some of the finer points of her speech.

Despite his being in a dark room across the hall, he had no doubt that she knew where he was. As her eyes seemed to find him, he knew it was his last chance to enter the 'party' on his own terms. Resignedly, he downed the rest of his drink and prepared to rejoin civilization- or at least the closest thing to it available at the moment.

While he vaguely tried to find someone else interesting to talk to as he walked among the other guests, his eyes kept returning to Cassie and Farrah. He had initially become friendly with them through Regulus, and he couldn't deny there was something oddly satisfying in knowing they wouldn't dismiss him as they had everyone else. Smirking slightly to himself, he made his way through the other guests towards them.

* * *

Rachel couldn't help but stare at the sight before her. She might have been embarrassed to be so fascinated by the scene if she weren't so transfixed at the moment.

Even amidst the horrifically awkward sounds coming from across the table, she found herself unable to look away. It was as if coming out of starvation, almost animalistic- the way Remus looked to be eating Vesta's face.

"That could have been you," Sirius whispered in her ear and any restraint she had managed before was instantly lost.

"I can't-" she began, unable to finish her sentence. She tucked her head and discreetly covered her mouth with her hand in effort to hide the silent giggles she couldn't quite contain. They were supposed to be out celebrating Remus getting a job, she reminded herself, as she took a calming breath. They should not be laughing at his expense. Her sudden guilt was sobering enough to end most of her amusement.

Unfortunately when she looked up she saw Dorcas and the Prewett's were also watching Vesta and Remus, none of them making any effort to hide their mirth. She chanced another glance in the 'new couple's' direction. By then their actions were far less fascinating to her as Vesta's blouse was scarcely covering anything.

Looking around the rest of the room, it seemed no one aside from those at their table had yet noticed them. Her eyes then fell on Sirius who was seated on the other side of her. It seemed Remus working Vesta out of her shirt had piqued his interest more than their sloppy snogging had managed before. Rachel nudged him lightly with her elbow and more forcibly when he didn't look at her. When he finally did, it was only to smirk and offer a shrug.

Feeling very much like a parent scolding a child, she loudly called out,

"Vesta," causing the witch in question to extract herself from Remus, giving her a startled glare as she did so. Rachel merely raised an eyebrow at her flat mate, until that moment when she realized she was half naked in a public place and promptly adjusted her blouse.

As if witnessing nothing out of the ordinary, Sirius remarked lazily, "Perhaps the two of you should go somewhere more private."

"That's not a bad idea," Remus answered in a tone Rachel almost didn't recognize as his. "Your place or mine?"

In the next instance the two of them were gone.

Rachel stared with her mouth slightly open at the seat the two had shared prior to disapparating as Sirius threw a fist in the air as if having accomplished some personal victory. She looked at him in bemusement, though she could hear that at least the Prewett's were celebrating with him behind her back.

"I trained him up on that last bit," he explained. "I'll admit, I didn't know if he had it in him. I think he's had more to drink than I realized."

"You trained him up on that," Rachel repeated. "How did you even know he would be in a situation to use that line?"

Sirius smirked as he casually picked up an oyster that must have been on the table for several hours by now. Rachel fought to keep a straight face as he ate one in what he must have thought was a seductive manner, though there was really no getting around that he had just slurped the slimy mollusk from its shell.

"You know that's disgusting, right?"

"Ugh, now you're just uncultured, they're delicious… they're also an-"

"If you say aphrodisiac, you'll lose all credibility," Rachel warned. "That's probably a myth. More importantly, just because the muggles suck them down like that is no reason you can't find a better method."

Sirius blinked in surprise at her response before continuing unfazed, "Whether they are an aphrodisiac for everyone or not, they are for Vesta. She once told me-"

"What?" Rachel yelped. "Whatever she told you, you shouldn't be telling anyone else. You certainly shouldn't have used it to help Remus-!"

Sirius chuckled, "And people think James is self-righteous? I simply told Remus to sit beside Vesta, drink until his heart's content, and I ordered them oysters in case they got hungry. If Vesta chose not to hold herself to _your_ moral standard, then more power to her I say. Long hours at work are probably getting to her," he smirked.

"Whatever Vesta and Remus do is their business-"

"Really?" Sirius interrupted. "Because if I didn't know any better, I might think you're jealous. Having second thoughts about Remus now, are you? Now that he's desired by someone else?"

"Is this real?" Rachel asked wonderingly. "This whole situation right now? Because it feels like one of those dreams that you're relieved to finally wake up from. No, I'm not jealous of Vesta. Though I admit, I do find it disturbing that you felt the need to intervene so much on Remus' behalf."

"I didn't even do anything," Sirius objected. "All I did was set the scene-"

"Using information you acquired from when Vesta was one of your… conquests"

Sirius smirked, "Is that really how you want to refer to one of your friends?"

"Don't think your supposed charms are going to help you turn this back on me," Rachel answered, annoyed that she could almost find humor in the situation despite her best efforts. "You know you shouldn't have done that."

Sirius gave her one last disparaging look before focusing his attention on a miserable-looking Marlene at the other end of the table. Following his line of sight, Rachel remarked,

"You're supposed to be giving her space," she reminded him.

"So you told me," Sirius answered condescendingly. "Though I'm not sure yours is the advice I should be taking." At Rachel's questioning look, he grinned triumphantly, "Tell me, how is giving my brother 'space' working out for you so far?"

Rachel shook her head, "Our situations are completely different. Also, unlike you, I haven't professed a desire to win anyone back-"

"Good thing, because you're doing a terrible job of it so far," Sirius sneered. "Don't worry though, I'm sure he doesn't mind allowing Cassie Greengrass to occupy his free time."

Sirius silently reveled in about two seconds of satisfaction with his word choice before remembering that he had actually asked Rachel for her opinion on how to make things better with Marlene. He winced slightly. It was probably for the best that Rachel didn't give him a chance to muddle through any ill-attempt at an apology.

"Next time either of your personalities want my advice, you should save yourself the trouble and ask someone else," Rachel scolded. Before Sirius could answer, she was halfway to the chair Remus had vacated beside Dorcas, leaving him alone at his end of the table.

* * *

"I guess Crouch Jr really is a death eater," Cassie remarked as she spotted him in the crowd. "I'm surprised he left school for this."

"He came here the same time I did," Katherine Selwyn added in a bored tone. She had joined them after finding no one 'better' to talk to, or so she had told them. Farrah had been quick to correct her, stating she was only allowed to stay because they were feeling charitable. While Katherine was tolerable in small quantities, she wasn't someone Cassie ever sought to spend time with, nor did Farrah usually, despite the two being cousins.

Cassie had gone looking for Farrah the moment she had separated from Narcissa. It had been remarkable how quickly the brunette had pulled herself together after her convincing display of grief over Regulus. Cassie suspected she knew the real reason Farrah had allowed Katherine to stay with them for as long as she had. Her behavior in front of Narcissa had been nothing short of a performance. Naturally she wouldn't want to ruin it by having to admit it was all a lie.

Farrah followed Cassie's line of sight to find Crouch in the crowd. It wasn't difficult with his straw-colored hair and its stark contrast to his dark dress robes. "I wonder what daddy would think if he saw him here?" she wondered aloud as they were joined by Evan.

"He wouldn't think, he'd just ship him off to Azkaban along with the rest of us by affiliation," he answered, apparently having overheard part of their conversation.

Farrah glanced at Evan before returning her focus to Crouch, "He's grown up a lot since last year," she remarked calculatingly.

"I know that look," Cassie answered warily. "You can't be serious."

"What? At least he's intelligent. And it's not like we're swimming in better options," she cast an ironic glance at Evan, "No offense."

Evan gave an indifferent shrug as Katherine sniffed haughtily, "Really Farrah. Nothing speaks of desperation more than a woman pursuing a man. If I were less considerate, I might point out that the situation becomes utterly wretched when it is a _younge_r man."

"Be gone, little cousin," Farrah waved her off. "You've long-exceeded your welcome here."

Evan glanced at the auburn-haired seventh year whom he'd scarcely noticed before. He was surprised to see she looked entirely unconcerned by the dismissal, offering only a slight shrug before sauntering into the next room. Evan watched her go for a moment, thinking she too had grown up since the last time he had seen her. It was only after she had disappeared around the corner that he was drawn into Cassie and Farrah's conversation.

"Did you hear me?" Cassie asked him. "Apparently Farrah and Regulus were dating before he died," she repeated in a would-be conversational tone. "In case you talk to Narcissa."

Evan looked between them bemusedly before smirking slightly at Cassie as it dawned on him what she was referring to. "Finally worked that one out, did you?" he asked with a derisive chuckle before turning to the brunette, "Though really Farrah, _dating_?"

"If my embellishment can help deflate even just one Black's opinion of themselves, it'll have been worth the effort," she answered mockingly. "Besides, _someone_ had to keep him from running back to the brunette-who-can't-be-named. I don't recall either of you doing anything to prevent a pathetic relapse to his 'drug' of choice."

"Somehow I don't think I would have been as convincing," Evan answered dryly eliciting a laugh from Farrah and a deeper frown from Cassie.

"If only Regulus could see her now," Farrah remarked. "A member of the Order and shacking up with a werewolf-half blood to boot. He would be rolling over in his grave- wherever that is."

"Farrah... as delightfully irreverent as always," Evan chastized. If not for the subject matter, it might have been a compliment.

"Just trying to keep things in perspective," she answered, unabashed with how insensitive she sounded.

The two of them carried on with a fairly light banter for a few minutes, halfheartedly attempting to bring Cassie into the conversation on occasion without success. Their conversation was halted abruptly as Crouch Jr. attempted to pass them. His poorly disguised shock when Farrah grabbed his arm was almost comical.

"Err… May I… help you?" he asked awkwardly, looking from Farrah to Cassie and Evan.

"I just wanted to commend you for not following the ways of your father. I know it takes a lot of courage to go against the wishes of your family."

"You've no idea," he answered pointedly.

Farrah laughed softly, "Perhaps not," she conceded. "But I think I speak for everyone here when I tell you that a second generation version of your father is the last thing any of us wanted. If we have nothing else in common, we can at least agree on that. Would you like to join us?" she asked in a perfected innocent tone that suggested none of the manipulation she was capable of.

Barty stared at her as if she had grown a second head, "Why?" he asked eventually.

Farrah looked back and saw Cassie wearing the same scowl she had sported all evening and a thoroughly amused Evan. Shaking her head slightly as she turned back to face Crouch, she answered simply,

"I thought maybe we could be friends."

When he made no effort to respond immediately, she raised an eyebrow and asked in an exaggeratedly slow manner, "Do you know what friends are, Barty? Or do you still spend all of your time at school alone?"

Crouch looked as if he might laugh but quickly turned it into a scowl that could rival Cassie's, "I think I might have read about that friendship thing once," he answered sardonically. "If you'll excuse me, I have something to do now. Maybe I'll see you around," he answered amicably, though his mannerisms clearly implied he hoped not to run into any of them again.

Farrah stared after him for a moment before looking back at Evan and Cassie, "What just happened?" she asked bemusedly.

"I wouldn't overthink it," Evan chuckled. "Bellatrix has made it her personal mission to ensure he doesn't turn out gay… I'm pretty sure she's fighting a losing battle."


	67. Chapter 67

After his near-strangulation, complimentary of the host, Regulus felt it reasonable to be feeling tense. The unexpected encounter had drawn more than a few curious eyes on him which he was trying his best to ignore. He didn't dare do anything to bring more attention to himself, though a quick calming charm would have been nice. Doing his best to look natural, he requested something stronger to drink to help calm his nerves.

As the staunch liquor burned the back of his throat, he reassessed his surroundings. With Rodolphus now stationed at the base of the stairs in the reception hall, leaving wasn't an option for the time being. He knew better than to think Rodolphus' remarks had been inconsequential. He found his reference about what some were willing to do to extend familial lines particularly nagging and instinctively looked for Narcissa. She was nowhere in sight.

Since his encounter with Rodolphus, he could feel more eyes on him than he wanted. He casually made his way towards the exit of the drawing room, hopeful a change in scenery might help.

Of all of the people there, Farrah had been the last he expected to confront him. A part of him wished he could be himself for just a moment. Considering the amount of derision he had endured from her after she discovered his relationship with Rachel, the impulse to taunt her apparent interest in Crouch would have almost been overwhelming. _Almost_, he grimaced.

He idly wondered if anyone there missed him, even just a little. He blamed the liquor for the idiotic thought, though he hadn't drank enough for his mind to be altered. He really would be dead soon if he didn't concentrate on the mission at hand.

He was distracted. He felt claustrophobic. He caught sight of Barty's pallor refection in a mirror hanging on the wall facing him. He blinked and the serpentine frame around the mirror seemed to move, inexplicably giving the impression it had done so to look at him more closely.

He unnecessarily straightened his collar to justify looking at the mirror any longer. The encrusted emeralds reflected the light from the room, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Deciding it must have been a trick of the light he moved on, though still feeling uneasy. He tried to remember if the mirror had been there when he last visited. If it had, he hadn't noticed it.

No sooner than Regulus sensed someone approaching him from behind, his shoulder was smashed inside what he recognized as the metal mouth of a snake. He knew even without turning around that he had been accosted by Lucius and his prized wand holster.

"Brave of you showing your face here, Crouch." He snarled in his ear, while painfully forcing his shoulder around. As if he wouldn't have turned around on his own. Regulus hastily shuffled his feet awkwardly to keep from dislocating a shoulder and knew he looked like a fool to anyone watching. He had seen Lucius do this plenty of times before, but had never felt the humiliation of it himself.

"Mr. Malfoy," he inclined his head, "It's nice to see you," he remarked as if his means to get his attention had been perfectly normal. He didn't know what reaction Malfoy expected, but if he was surprised by his nonchalance, it didn't show.

"I see you've recovered from your encounter with Rodolphus."

"Indeed, I am quite well. I should thank you for the reminder to stay steer clear of him today."

"Rodolphus is… a special case, but perhaps the least of your worries in present company. I feel it prudent to remind you there are few here who have not felt the influence of your father. Why, the elder Rosier has only recently escaped from Azkaban," he remarked while subtly indicating the sofa where Durant Rosier was seated.

"I'm aware of what my father's interference has done," 'Barty' snapped a bit too defensively. "The Dark Lord saw fit for me to join his cause. That should be enough for everyone else."

"You misunderstand me. I am only looking out for the Dark Lord's interests. You are well placed to pass information from the ministry, but you risk your position by announcing your loyalties."

"The ministry is incompetent," 'Barty' answered feebly. He knew Lucius was right, of course, but Regulus wasn't terribly bothered about the long-term impact of Barty's affiliation becoming known. Neither was Lucius for that matter. No doubt he would have an ulterior motive for bringing the danger to his attention.

"Imagine the leverage any death eater here will have if they are arrested," Lucius warned. "Your presence among us could indicate nothing but your alignment with the Dark Lord. You have put yourself at risk in coming here."

Regulus sighed inwardly. It was a risk to talk to Lucius disrespectfully, but as he was wasting time he didn't have to spare, "You could save us both time if you just let me know what it is you want me to talk to my father about. Is there a pending law that displeases you? If so, we can add it to the ever-growing list of things I have no control over. I don't hold any influence over my father." _Not to mention, he's dead, _Regulus thought wryly. "If I had my way, I would never again be associated with him."

Lucius narrowed his eyes, leaving Regulus with the feeling he was trying to decide which insect he could transfigure him into that would leave the least residue on his boot when stepped on. "It seems to have escaped your notice then, that your father is the only reason you were allowed to join the Dark Lord," Lucius sneered. "But you are right. You _are_ insignificant. By all means announce that you have joined the death eaters. Tell, _The Prophet_. You will be counted as no great loss when the Dark Lord decides you have nothing left to offer him." He made a show of indicating to someone across the room that he needed to speak with them before adding, "I advise you show less impertinence the next time we meet," he warned before disappearing into the crowd, leaving him alone.

Regulus supposed it was a sign of how insignificant Lucius thought him to be that he didn't curse him right then. Not that it bothered him particularly, but he was greatly under-estimating Barty as he actually did possess much of what the dark lord sought in his followers even without his father's position. He should have felt relieved to have gotten away as easily, but checking his watch, he realized how much time he had already wasted.

His plan of flying under the radar had failed miserably. Unless he wanted to admit the entire trip had been a worthless effort, he needed to get upstairs immediately. He was nearly due for another dose of polyjuice already. He didn't have the time or energy for any more death threats.

* * *

"Evan will be looking for Katherine," Farrah remarked the moment he was out of earshot. Cassie ignored her. She pursed her lips, "It's bad enough we have to be here, you're only making it worst by sulking."

Cassie glared at her, "Tonight has been nothing if not awkward."

"Awkward for you?" Farrah asked wryly. "I've practically been talking to myself since you've decided to become selectively mute."

"Between your bizarre confession to Narcissa and your failed effort to seduce Crouch Jr, you've said enough for both of us."

"I'd almost forgotten how shrewish you can be," Farrah laughed humorlessly. "I asked Crouch to join _us_. It was far from an effort to seduce him. Are you really going to act like that is what you are mad about?"

"I won't pretend to know what you mean," Cassie answered as she studied her perfectly manicured nails.

"Evan was just… being Evan. His implication-"

"You were the one who brought up Regulus. Don't blame Evan."

"I brought him up to Narcissa. Between her incessant bragging of Lucius' accomplishments and her obvious disdain for anything to do with me, she is insufferable."

"So you brought up her deceased cousin, who she's likely still grieving, in retaliation? It is no wonder why she doesn't like you."

"Am I supposed to care about her feelings? She acts as if I am of ill repute for no other reason than because her 'perfect cousin' and I decided we were not right for each other."

"You brought out the worst in each other," Cassie corrected. "Regulus told me that."

Farrah smirked, "His perception of worst was an improvement in his case. He would not have looked twice at a blood traitor back then."

Cassie summoned together all of her years of training to appear indifferent. "What happened between the two of you after we left school?" she asked against her better judgement.

"Nothing much that hadn't happened before."

Cassie raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Snogging was enough to keep him from going back to Rachel?"

"Do you actually believe I could have stopped him from going back if he wanted to? I would not have bothered trying."

"Why did you say that to Evan then?" Cassie asked irritably. It was bad enough she hadn't known something had gone on between the two of them. The fact that Evan knew only served to incense her further, realizing how foolish she must have looked.

"I was drawing his attention away from you," Farrah answered dryly. "You had the same expression as when your favorite owl died… in third year."

"Oh, I see," Cassie answered sardonically. "You were being a good friend... Just as you were a good _friend_ to Regulus," her derision ruined any effort of sounding amused.

Farrah furrowed her brow momentarily before again making her face impassive for the benefit of anyone who might be watching them, "What is with you?" she asked quietly. "Why does this matter now?"

"It doesn't. Which is why I don't see any reason for you to be so evasive about it. Why did you bother hiding it from me in the first place?"

"It was never a topic that came up."

"Do you not think that might be because _you_ never brought it up? How could I have possibly known to?"

"Should I keep a detailed report of everything I do? Or perhaps I should run things by you first, to ensure you approve-?"

"I didn't realize your exploits with men were so abundant you would need to write them down," Cassie answered coolly.

Farrah's expression hardened. Cassie thought it was probably a good thing she didn't have her wand.

"Would you be so patronizing if it had not been Regulus?" she asked. Her voice sounded indifferent, but she was watching her too intently not to be curious. Her face must have given away a more accurate emotion than what Farrah initially guessed. "You never once said _anything_-"

"I just can't understand what you were thinking," Cassie interjected, ignoring her last comment. "You must have known by then you wouldn't end up together. Did you not realize it would be awkward at some point to see each other when you were married to someone else?"

She thought of the last few times she could remember them all being together. It had been an increasingly rare occurrence after they finished school. She had been preoccupied, worried about how Regulus would interpret the marriage contract her father had sent. It occurred to her that this had probably been going on around the same time. She didn't bother to hide her disgust.

As if reading her mind, Farrah answered hastily, "It was over before we heard about the contract. It wasn't even a thing to be over. We didn't talk about it. We had been happily avoiding each other when... you know."

When he died, she hadn't bothered to finish. Cassie raised an eyebrow at her ineloquent explanation.

Farrah pursed her lips, "I might have expected you to be a bit more understanding, given that you are betrothed to Macnair."

"What could that possibly have to do with anything?"

"You don't need me say it aloud, surely."

Cassie stared at her in bewilderment. Farrah visibly flushed, a rare occurrence.

"Can you imagine the smug look on Macnair's face if he thought you 'saved yourself' for him?"

Cassie felt an inexplicable taste of vomit rise in her mouth and swallowed hard. "Never reference anything like that again," she scowled.

"Well, I obviously wasn't going to have some wanker of my parent's choosing be my first_,_" she concluded as if it had been the most logical decision of her life.

"You're not even betrothed to anyone," Cassie reminded her irritably. "Your parents could very well choose someone decent for you."

"They could also choose a murdering sadist," she countered.

_Like Macnair_, Cassie thought.

Apparently deciding a subject change was in order, Farrah remarked, "I was almost betrothed to Davis, before his parents mysteriously lost interest… right after that holiday party at the Malfoy's. I wasn't even there. I can only imagine what Narcissa must have said about me to them."

As expected, it sounded like Farrah's parents were still doing everything they could to remain neutral in the war. Having only one child, their best option was to marry her into one of the few remaining neutral families. There weren't many left for them to choose from, and the idea of them being unsuccessful cheered her for a moment. She immediately felt ashamed of herself. She should be happy Farrah was unlikely to share her fate. She tried to summon some encouragement for her best friend, but what came what out was,

"You should thank her. Davis is a twit." The bitterness was obvious, even to her.

"Are you kidding? At least he thinks before he speaks. That's more than I can say for most of the other eligible goons. I think Narcissa has made it her personal mission to ensure I marry someone from the lowest rungs of society."

_Get over yourself_, Cassie wanted to tell her. _Narcissa has other things to worry about_. Instead she pointed out the number of guys who had shown interest in her tonight. She might have felt a twinge of jealousy earlier that Farrah had gotten more attention than she had.

"If I would have allowed any one of them to stay longer than five minutes, Narcissa would have tracked down their parents, I'm sure of it," she insisted.

"Now that you've set her straight about you and Regulus, I'm sure you'll be back in her good graces in no time," Cassie reassured mockingly.

Farrah gave her an unreadable look, and for once didn't respond.

A surge of the newest latecomers made their way in from the entrance hall. Among them were Basil Zabini and his wretched wife, Cordelia. Cassie inched towards the wall hoping they would overlook her on their way to any place else. No doubt they would want to 'congratulate' her good fortune of snatching up Macnair when they saw her. She was certain no other Slytherin in recent history had endured anything more humiliating than being peddled by their family to someone as ancient as him.

She grudgingly noticed that Cordelia looked exquisite as ever. It was common knowledge she recently had a baby, though no one could have ever guessed by looking at her.

Farrah went to congratulate them on their new addition- too eagerly for Cassie not to notice she was glad for an excuse to leave her. Etiquette indicated she should offer her own similar sentiments but she was hesitant. Despite barely knowing each other, she had a bad feeling Cordelia wasn't fond of her. She also had a reputation for vindictiveness, another reason Farrah would have been keen not to offend her.

Farrah. If it hadn't been for her, she might have avoided being made into a spectacle. Unfortunately, Cordelia looked in the direction Farrah had come from, and spotted her in the otherwise secluded corner.

"Why Castalia!" she exclaimed much too loudly as she made her way towards her, Farrah following resignedly. "If anyone should be congratulated, it's you!"

Cassie might have pointed out the classlessness of her volume, if not for the sight of Basil cowering behind his wife. She watched with distaste as he quickly struck up a conversation with the nearest person. It happened to be Amycus Carrow- someone he had possibly never spoken to before in his life.

Realizing she had the attention of everyone in the room, sans Cordelia's husband, some bit of self-preservation kicked in.

"Yes, I'm quite pleased," she forced out more loudly than necessary to allow those nearest to hear.

"You should try saying that with a bit more conviction next time," Cordelia simpered with false sweetness. "After all, Macnair may be older than you- by fourfold, but imagine all of the life experience that comes with that. You really are getting quite the package."

Cassie started to comment on the misfortune of Cordelia having to marry a younger man in that case, but Farrah was faster.

"It's a shame the same could not be said for you," she answered sympathetically. "Your husband is trying to blend in with the illiterate right now to avoid coping with real life."

Cordelia followed Farrah's gaze and watched as her husband and Amycus were joined by the latter's twin, Alecto. Apparently deeming her husband's new friends to be a threat to her reputation, she turned as if to go rescue him.

Cassie hadn't even let out her sigh of relief yet when she called back, using her overly sweet, loud voice,

"Try not to worry yourself about the financial strain this wedding will cause your family, Castalia. You deserve to be happy, even if your family can no longer afford to-"

"You've no idea what you are talking about," Cassie cut her off angrily. She would have given anything to have had her wand right then. The nerve of her to make insinuations about her family angered her more than even Farrah had managed with her confession.

She expected Cordelia would say something to suggest Cassie had admitted otherwise, or perhaps that she had no reason to be embarrassed, it wasn't her fault, that sort of thing. That would have been better as it could have been refuted. Instead she gave her a convincingly curious look and answered apologetically,

"I must have misunderstood the situation. Enjoy your evening." And with that, she turned, looped her arm through her husband's and together they left the room. Leaving everyone else to stare at her. Including Farrah.

"What?" she demanded of her.

"Nothing," Farrah shrugged nonchalantly. "Cordelia's a bitch, nothing new."

Cassie didn't respond.

"And what she said…obviously you would know if-"

"I didn't need you to come to my defense, you know. You're always interfering in things that have nothing to do with you. You should have just stayed out of it. Stay out of my life."

Farrah blinked, scarcely hiding her surprise. "Yeah, okay," she answered sarcastically. "I'll be sure to remember that next time you ask for my help." With that she turned on her heel and left Cassie alone with the gossipmongers and their avid interest.

* * *

Regulus thought he might slip out to the balcony, or some other deserted place and disillusion himself there rather than draw attention by waltzing up the stairs in the back hall. He knew anyone in the parlor would have a clear view of the stairwell if only they cared to look.

As he drew near the staircase, he found that an enormous heart-shaped wreath of entwined roses had been placed in the hallway in the spirit of the holiday. It had been placed in a manner that would block the view of the stairs from the majority of those in the parlor. He couldn't help but think it was a bit too convenient.

Thinking it must be a trap, he walked into the parlor. No one gave him more than a passing glance. The area was void of any Lestranges, or even many death eaters yet. If Rodolphus were truly worried about being dishonored by Bellatrix, he wouldn't have involved anyone who wasn't immediate family to either stop her or catch her in the act. He felt he had no choice but to take advantage of the opportunity before it was gone.

After verifying that everyone with a clear view was adequately absorbed in themselves, he made his way to the stairs with a purpose, as if he had received a personal invitation. A sick thought entered his mind that perhaps Barty _had_ received an invitation of that nature. The mental image made stomaching his next dose of polyjuice nearly impossible.

Getting up here had been too easy, he realized. That ghastly flower arrangement almost had to have been placed to intentionally allow someone coverage going up the stairs. Surely, it had been for someone besides Barty, he thought. He would just have to avoid whoever it was.

It occurred to him that Evan had been right about him. He wasn't himself and hadn't been since their time in India. He was behaving too rashly, and there was a reason he preferred to be stealth. He and Sirius were nothing alike. Stealth, was his game. Crashing a death eater party? That was definitely more Sirius' style.

He would deal with whatever happened when it happened, he tried to calm himself. Seeing that the next flight of stairs bore a row of picture frames along the wall, he cast a disillusionment charm on himself before passing the Lestrange ancestors. They were some ugly blokes.

"Whose there?" One of them called, but he kept going, trying his best not to make a sound as he passed. If they were concerned about his invisible presence, it didn't show. Their expressions couldn't have been anymore blank if their portraits had been made after their deaths.

After some searching, Regulus could admit the Lestrange's collection of illegal effects was admirable. Their ability to arrange said possessions in a way that made them passable as home décor? Downright impressive. He would have been terrified even entering some of the rooms on the third floor, had he not been raised a Black. As it was, he had removed his dragon skin gloves from his pocket early in the search. The possibility of accidently killing himself after managing to sneak into his cousin's house was too real not to acknowledge.

He had been successful in at least not killing himself, when he rounded the corner into what he assumed would be another guest room, and nearly skewered himself upon entry on glittering, golden horns.

They were horns from a Romanian Longhorn dragon, he thought he recognized from pictures. It took him a moment to regain his concentration. His search officially seemed hopeless.

He closed his eyes and willed himself to recall the feeling of nearly being overtaken by the soul piece inside the locket. He focused on the evil he knew to belong to a horcrux. He thought of the Hufflepuff cup Bellatrix had described to him. He opened his eyes, half-expecting he would know where to search. He felt nothing.

He wasn't terribly surprised. He was inside the home of the Lestrange's, after all. Zeroing in on any one cursed item here would be only slightly less impossible than it had proven inside the Gaunt's shack- and the Lestrange's home had much more space to search through. Sadly, he had no choice but to continue to rely heavily on searching manually.

Carefully making his way around the giant horns that had no business being in the doorway in the first place, he found himself in an office. There was parchment piled on the desk and in various crevices. In another situation he might have been inclined to sift through some of it, but he tried to remain focused on the task at hand.

He opened a drawer on the desk that he expected to contain files, and was proven correct. He was about to shut it back when something gleamed between the filed records in his wand light. He reached for it. It was a key. A key to a vault at Gringotts, unless he was mistaken. He put it closer to his face and was just able to make out the engraving on it to verify as much.

He had been about to put it back, but hesitated. He had been searching for over an hour and had turned up nothing. At this rate, if Hufflepuff's cup was still in the house, there was no way he was going to find it before running out of Polyjuice potion.

If the cup wasn't here, there was only one other place it could reasonably be.

'Geminio,' he cast silently at the key. Immediately it radiated heat, burning a hole through his glove. He instinctively flung the burning object away from him, accidently sending it halfway across the room.

Of course he expected that the key couldn't be copied, but the temptation had been too much not to try. He ripped off his glove in frustration, making the burn feel around a thousand times worst. He hastily stashed away his now useless gloves, cast a cooling charm on his hand and then closed the filing drawer to avoid tripping over it as he went to retrieve the key.

It took a few moments but he eventually found it near the dragon's horns. He had underestimated the trajectory. He stood, intent to return the key when he heard… something. He extinguished his wand light and stood quietly. He waited a moment but everything was silent.

He took a hesitant step towards the door to peer out, and then another one. He cautiously made his way into the hall and back towards the portraits, but not even they looked disturbed when he checked in on them.

Thinking it had been his imagination, he turned back, planning to return the key.

Suddenly, the outline of his silhouette glimmered, revealing his location to whomever had cast the spell. Instinctively, he flung himself to the ground, just as a second spell from his invisible attacker sailed over his head.

* * *

Evan had thought it best to part ways from Cassie and Farrah, rather than be dragged into their issues. He was anxious for the night to be over, ending the required socialization. He had a drink. He pretended to listen as Narcissa chastised him for being seen with Cassie and Farrah, who were either unavailable or unsuited for him. He had another drink.

He saw his father again but ignored him. They could talk at home. He saw older death eaters he had no reason to address. He saw others nearer to his age, whom he either had nothing to say to, or knew would not appreciate being interrupted from what they were doing.

An unfortunate looking girl from his year in school attempted to draw him into conversation. He scowled at her and walked away. He had another drink.

He caught sight of Snape, trying his best to be inconspicuous. Nothing out of the ordinary there. He was about turn away when Snape suddenly looked to his right and stared long enough to rouse Evan's curiosity. He followed his gaze to, _the staircase_? Nothing interesting there. He moved on.

He eventually found Katherine Selwyn standing alone on the balcony. He hadn't exactly been looking for her, but as there were so many people he hoped to avoid, it was really only a matter of time before they ran into each other again, or so he figured.

It was too cold to be outside. He had kept a steady warming charm on her, but did not offer his cloak. Doing so would have been predictable, expected even. In not doing so, he had been mysterious. Different. Forget that. He felt like a bloody icicle _with_ his cloak on. He wasn't going to freeze his family jewels because she chose to stand out there rather than go back inside as any sane person would do. His lack of chivalry might not impress many, but who could argue the logic?

He excused himself from her when a frozen drizzle began to fall.

He found Farrah sporting a look that clearly indicated she didn't want to be bothered.

"I'm a bit surprised to see you here at this hour. _Alone_," he smirked at her. He had no idea what time it was.

"Don't get fresh with me, Rosier. I know perfectly well that you plan to meet up with my cousin- _who is barely of age_. I should warn my aunt and uncle," she answered in a bored tone.

"That'd be a happy conversation," he speculated.

"You're lucky Winston isn't here." She grimaced as if saying her deceased cousin's name aloud pained her. "Where is Katherine?"

Evan shrugged as if he had no idea, though he knew she was just in the next room, having finally admitted it was cold outside. "Where's Cassie?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Looking for someone to blame all of her problems on, I expect. Or maybe crying to Cyrus, begging him to take her home…. Or better, blaming Cyrus for all of her problems _while_ crying for him to take her home."

Evan smirked. It wasn't that women weren't allowed consume alcohol at gatherings such as these, but the scrutiny they received for it kept most of them sober- or at least away from the spirits provided by the host. He had no doubt the clear substance in Farrah's glass was not water.

"Did you two have an argument?" he asked innocently.

"_Cor-Deelia_ was here," she articulated the name exaggeratedly. "You know with Cassie's former beaux. The two of them exchanged words- or rather, Cordelia made some scathing remarks to Cassie while Cassie stared at her- as if that could somehow be offensive." Evan stifled a laugh. "You would think she might appreciate me coming to her defense, rather than leave her standing there, gaping like a fish out of water."

"No such luck?" Evan inquired.

Farrah shook her head sadly, "And you know, Cordelia isn't a good person to make an enemy of. Here I was putting my neck on the line for a friend. Do you know what she told me the moment the Zabini's were out of earshot?"

Feeling inclined to be a good audience, Evan asked, "What did she say?"

"That I need to stop interfering with her life. Do you even know how ironic that is?"

He did.

"She takes no accountability for _anything _bad that happens to her. And then she just expects everyone else to fix her problems as if they're _our_ fault. But don't be surprised if she gets mad when you cross that invisible boundary of going too far to help her. I mean at some point, speak up for yourself, right? And if you like a guy, damn it, Evan. Tell your friend so she knows he's off limits!"

"I'll be sure to," he promised solemnly. She had managed to be so animated without raising her voice. It was the least he could do.

Farrah glanced at him and laughed unexpectedly.

"Why Macnair?" she asked after a moment. "I mean, I get there were not many suitable men who met the Greengrasses requirements, but Macnair? He's so old."

"No idea," Evan answered distastefully.

"You must have _some_ idea," Farrah prompted.

The truth was that he tried not to think about the two of them together. No matter what the reasoning had been- it wasn't a good enough reason.

"The Macnair family is not a part of the sacred twenty eight. Marrying into the Greengrass family could give him certain privileges he hasn't had in the past."

"Yes, and Cassie is young, reasonably attractive," she rolled her eyes. "It's obvious why he wants to marry her, but why would the Greengrasses choose _him_?"

"Gold?" Evan suggested because it seemed the most obvious explanation. "The traditional dowry may have been negotiated since Macnair is technically marrying up. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he is paying loads of galleons to them in exchange."

Farrah furrowed her brow, "That can't be the reason when they initially sought to have her marry Regulus. His parents wouldn't have offered them anything but the _honor_ of allowing her to marry into the Black family and only that at a steep price."

Evan shrugged, "The Blacks and Greengrasses have- I should say, used to have, a lot of shared investments, interests, business dealings in general… I would guess a marriage between their families could have proven beneficial to both sides."

Farrah opened her mind to say something but closed it again. It was obvious her mind was fast at work over something, but he had never found the intricacies of marriage contracts to be interesting enough to feign interest.

He noticed some of the guests were beginning to leave. It would be nice to think everyone present was above preying on an obviously distracted, slightly intoxicated girl.

"You should probably be getting home," he mentioned. He regretted it when he saw her expression, and quickly amended, "I mean, do whatever you want, but-"

"How… thoughtful," she answered in a serious tone, though her amusement was evident in her eyes. He started to protest but she ignored him, "You don't have to worry about me telling anyone you aren't completely awful," she reassured him with a smirk. "Top secret."

Her moral compass didn't exactly point due north either, he thought amusedly. "No one would believe you if you did," he pointed out.

"That's true," she agreed, matter-of-fact.

He almost asked if she could make it home alright on her own but stopped himself. He wasn't _that_ decent. He had also never known Farrah to be unable to take care of herself. She proved him right by extracting a portkey from within her robes.

"Sweet dreams," he smirked as she activated it.

"Make sure Katherine makes it back to school."

Those had been her parting words to him as she disappeared. They made him cringe. Not just because Farrah had given him an order. He could easily ignore that. Katherine still being in school made him feel older than their age difference suggested.

He needed a distraction.

Unfortunately, he almost immediately spotted Katherine on his way to look for one. He thought she might have been looking his way but didn't check.

He saw Eleanor Vaisey, a former housemate he hadn't seen in a while and thought about catching up with her. Someone moved in his peripheral, drawing his attention. It was Snape. He had barely moved since Evan last saw him. He watched him for another moment, just long enough to verify his suspicion. When Snape again checked the staircase, he made his way towards him. He had done enough Snape-stalking on Bellatrix's orders to bother with being discreet.

"Hoping Lily Evans is hiding up there?" he inquired.

Snape flinched. Seeing Evan, he sneered, "What do you want?"

"A good place to view the staircase. It must be fascinating from this angle- enough that one could spend hours looking at it."

Snape glowered at him, "There are plenty of other places that wouldn't obstruct your view of the stairs. Another staircase in the entrance hall, if you're so inclined."

Evan shrugged. He might have left if not for catching sight of Katherine, now chatting with Wilkies like old friends, "I like this one," he answered blandly.

He summoned a house elf and requested another drink. Snape glanced at him irritably but didn't comment as Evan stationed himself nearby, having decided to find out for himself what Snape was waiting for.

He had nearly decided that whatever it was, wasn't worth the wait when the noise level audibly dropped around him. He glanced around for the source, but nothing had visibly changed. People were still gathered in small groups or coupled off, talking mostly in hushed tones. The occasional clink from china could be heard- nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

He glanced at Snape. He had noticed the change too, his attention now averted from the stairs. Evan followed his gaze to the direction of the entrance hall. They didn't have a clear view from their angle, but Evan realized that had been it. He could no longer hear any sound coming from the front of the house. Someone must have cast a silencing charm, he thought.

The voices around him began to die down as more people realized something was amiss. When the room became nearly silent, he could hear the sound of footsteps echoing towards them. Slow. Measured. Evan anticipated his presence just before seeing him. He knelt warily as the Dark Lord appeared in the doorway. Snape did the same beside him, and the sound of shuffling suggested the others gathered had followed suit.


	68. Chapter 68

_Suddenly the outline of Regulus' silhouette glimmered, revealing his location to whoever had cast the spell. Instinctively, he flung himself to the ground, just as a second spell from his invisible attacker flew over his head._

Regulus cast a succession of stunning spells into the dimly lit hallway, followed by a shield charm.

He didn't dare cast anything else as he moved from the center of the hall, less it would give away his location. His attacker couldn't have avoided being struck by at least one of his stunners if they had been in the hall at the time. They could have either blocked it or ducked into one of the rooms for cover. He took a tentative step towards the office. Nothing.

He knew their brief exchange of spells could have easily made enough noise that someone from downstairs would have noticed if not for the obvious sound barriers in place.

He took another step forward, and then another. He was halfway there when he heard a loud pop. The sound of apparition. He turned towards the sound, wand poised to strike. The air shimmered and he saw Bellatrix. Not once, but half a dozen times. She had cast a charm to replicate herself so that he was now surrounded by images of her. He stared at the one directly in front of him. That was where the sound of the apparition had come from.

That was the real Bellatrix. The others, reflections. Mirages. She smiled. All of the other Bella's mimicked her. His curse was on the tip of his tongue when she raised her arm. All of the Bellas fluttered about, rotating before resettling around him.

He was hit from behind by the countercharm to his disillusionment. The Bellas reshuffled. Regulus darted in the direction the last spell had come from. He ran through the Bellatrix that now stood there. Instead of knocking into her, he went through the image.

Bellatrix laughed from behind him, "Having second thoughts, are we?" She conjured a wall directly in front of him. Regulus threw his hands up to lessen the impact as he wasn't quite able to stop his momentum before crashing into it. "It's too late for that," she purred. Regulus yelped as he felt something brush his leg. A moment later the contents of his pocket spilled from his robes. A severing charm.

"No more portkeys," she tittered. "No more wand," she reached to grab it from him.

He swatted her arm away.

She drew herself up to her full height, "You will do this by my rules," she warned.

"Or what?" Regulus asked derisively. "It doesn't happen?" It wasn't going to happen.

"I will tell everyone how you viciously forced yourself on me. _Me_. A lady of the house of Black."

"Perhaps more notably a house of Lestrange," he answered pointedly.

She punched him in the jaw.

Regulus blinked in surprise. On impulse, he kneed her in the crotch. He was glad to note it wasn't entirely limited to males who could be hurt by such an offense. He tossed her away from him and ran back towards his portkeys.

He felt a curse coming from behind and dove to the ground. The cruciatus curse hit the wall ahead of him, sending dust and debris into the air. He looked behind him and saw Bellatrix back on her feet, clearly outraged.

He flung an impediment charm at her but she blocked it with a lazy flick of her wand. He felt the claustrophobic feeling of anti-apparition wards being formed and glanced back at Bella. She seemed surprised by the development but continued to stalk towards him.

He transfigured the rug she was standing on into a pit of sinking sand. She banished it towards him.

He transfigured the sand into snow and hovered it over her head. Before he could bury her beneath the avalanche, she volleyed it back towards him, this time in the form of molten rock.

It would take too long to transfigure for him not to be burned. He threw his arm up to protect his face as he changed the rock into water, dousing himself and flooding the hallway.

"Was that it?" Bellatrix cackled as she stepped towards him. "Consider me unimpressed."

Regulus swayed slightly seeing the impact the lava had made on his arm before he could feel it. Nerve damage.

"The alternative to not playing by your rules is to be killed, I take it?" he asked angrily.

"Don't be such a wittle baby Crouch," she mocked as she continued her approach.

"Just let me go. I'm not into... Whatever this is."

Bella smirked as she launched a cutting curse at him, "You couldn't have expected it would be easy."

"I don't want to fight you," he admitted, blocking the curse. He certainly didn't want know the spoils of victory.

"I don't recall asking what you wanted," she answered, sending another spell at him.

He sidestepped the curse, "You at least know mentally stable people don't act like this, right?" he asked, unable to keep it in. "I mean I know you were young when you were betrothed to your _husband_\- respectable man, by the way, Rodolphus…" he thought to remind her, "but this isn't generally how the whole courting thing works."

"You mistake my intentions if you think it courtship."

By now she stood at arm's length. She reached towards him and he stepped back only to remember the wall she created was right behind him. She knew she had him trapped and smiled.

He aimed his wand at the wall, careful to keep Bellatrix in sight and cast 'confringo.' The wall was blown apart, giving him an exit. Unfortunately, the force of the explosion with their close proximity sent both of them airborne.

* * *

"Rise," The dark lord called to the room at large. Evan noticed Voldemort had been followed by Rodolphus, Nott, and Dolohov, each of them poised as if his personal guards.

"Where is Bellatrix?" he inquired, noticing her absence. Evan glanced to Rodolphus and saw his composure slip ever so slightly.

"I shall find her," Rodolphus answered after ensuring the dark lord didn't intend to summon her using the dark mark.

Voldemort's lips curled slightly, "It would be in poor taste for me to have you leave your guests unattended."

"I will go, my lord," Snape answered with a bow. Much too eagerly, Evan mused. Whatever his cousin had found to entertain herself, he wanted no part of it.

"Rosier," Voldemort commanded. "Go with him."

"Of course," he answered, much more sarcastically in his mind than aloud.

The two of them bowed and scurried off as quickly as people in a hurry but still trying to look dignified could manage.

They exchanged a glance when they overheard Voldemort order Wilkies to erect anti-apparition wards.

"What is going on?" Evan demanded as Snape swept past the guests in the drawing room and made a bee-line for the stairs in the entrance hall.

"I was told as much as you were," he answered impatiently.

"Did you know the dark lord was going to be here?"

Snape gave him an exasperated look, "Does anyone ever know when he is going to show up?"

"You were obviously waiting for something," Evan pointed out. Snape didn't answer. "Someone could just send Bellatrix a patronus."

Snape gave him an odd look, "Well, go ahead then."

Evan hesitated. "I expect there is a reason the dark lord didn't summon her himself."

"To humiliate Rodolphus?" Snape suggested. Evan gave him a questioning look. "Crouch went up here earlier. Your cousin not far behind."

* * *

Regulus picked himself up from the rubble; Bellatrix was doing the same nearby. Taking advantage of being unburied a fraction of a second before her, he bonded together the biggest pieces of the wall he could find and flung them in her direction, knocking her flat.

He cast a shield charm and bolted for the stairs as she let out a shriek of outrage. He made the mistake of looking back at her and tripped down the first flight of stairs to the next landing. Bellatrix seized the opportunity, pouncing on him like a cat.

Regulus grabbed her by the neck. She pulled at his arm with one hand and thrust her wand at his throat with the other. He forced the wand out of her hand but not before feeling a jolt of the cruciatus she had fired at him before being disarmed. He glanced at her and saw pure hatred in her eyes as he put a knee on her chest to keep her down.

He immobilized her and tossed her wand up to the landing above. He probably should have killed her while he had the chance, but then how could he explain that if he were caught?

He ran down to the next landing and decided to change staircases to be closer to the entrance hall. He pulled out his flask of polyjuice as he went and drained it. He wouldn't have enough for another dose. He had to get out now. He could disillusion himself to get past Rodolphus. He almost made it to the stairs when a loud crack sounded in the quiet hallway ahead of them.

He darted into the nearest bedroom. There wasn't any good place to hide. He could fight her but as they were so near to the entrance hall now it was bound to draw someone's attention even with sound barriers in place.

He heard footsteps approaching and Bella's horrific singsong voice,

"Come out, come out wherever you are."

Suddenly Regulus felt five years old. Bellatrix had agreed to babysit him to appease her aunt but had clearly been unhappy about it. She told him to go hide and she would find him. For two hours he waited without anyone looking for him. He finally heard his parents and Sirius come home and went downstairs only to learn that Bella had discovered an enchanted music player in their drawing room that made her fall asleep. If only he had that music player now.

"You know, I never did give my little cousin enough credit when he was alive. You would be amazed at how well house elves take care of you when you make them feel appreciated."

That explained how she caught up with him so fast, Regulus thought miserably. He raised his wand as she appeared just outside the guest bedroom where he stood.

"Bellatrix, whatever you are doing, do not make us see it." Evan called from down the hall. "Come out here."

Bella glanced at 'Barty', clearly having known which room he had been in all along. He was just about to curse her when to his bewilderment, she whispered, "I would advise that you not say a word."

Regulus stared after her as she was met by Evan and Severus Snape just outside the door.

"Why Bella, what ever could you be doing up here?" Evan asked drolly.

"I was feeling ill. What do you want that couldn't wait?"

"The Dark Lord wishes to see you," Severus answered. At the same time, Evan remarked,

"Is this your bedroom? I've never seen it." Bella tried to block him from going in, but Evan brushed past her easily. Regulus had disillusioned himself just in time.

"Happy now?" Bella asked irritably. "It's a bedroom. Now get out of here."

She left them to go downstairs, obviously expecting they would follow right behind her, what with the dark lord waiting and all.

She underestimated Evan, "homenum revelio," he cast.

Regulus ended the disillusionment charm himself rather than wait for it to be done for him.

"Crouch," Evan acknowledged him tersely.

"This isn't what it looks like," he answered automatically.

"It never is. Nonetheless, the dark lord is here. I would advise you come down on your own now rather than wait for him to find you."

Regulus didn't need to imitate Crouch's mannerisms to appear nervous.

"I actually need to be getting back to Hogwarts. Perhaps I should just make a portkey-" he locked eyes with Snape before being cut off by Evan.

"No. We are not going to have to explain finding this and letting you leave. You will come with us."

Regulus chanced another glance at Snape but he was already into the hallway and making his way back towards the staircase.

Evan grabbed the scruff of his neck and pushed him out the door towards the stairs. Regulus couldn't wrap his head around the irony. After everything, he was going to be given to Voldemort by Evan.

By the time they made it to the top of the stairs, Snape was already at the bottom. He turned and waited for them which Regulus thought was odd. Out of nowhere, Evan tripped spectacularly, rolling down the stairs and falling in a heap at the base.

Regulus looked back at Snape thinking he must have caused it, but he was no longer in sight. Evan wasn't moving but before he could even gauge how foolish it would be to make sure he was alive, Narcissa came out of the drawing room to find out what had caused the commotion.

She saw 'Barty' standing halfway to the bottom of the stairs and pursed her lips.

Regulus tentatively made his way down the rest of the steps as she tended to Evan.

"What happened to him?" She inquired coolly.

Barty shrugged, "He just tripped," he answered as he quickly brushed past them as if entirely unconcerned.


	69. Chapter 69

Regulus had two options. He could attempt to sneak out of Lestrange Manor and hope Voldemort didn't notice – if he were caught leaving he would likely end up killed, or he could follow Snape and hope his last dose of polyjuice would endure the encounter – and end up worse than dead if it wore off too soon. His best chance to survive the night was to get out of there immediately. Unfortunately, all of his portkeys were scattered along an upstairs corridor. The only thing he had managed to hang onto was his wand and a vault key that would almost certainly prove to be useless.

Ignoring that Narcissa must know he should be meeting with Voldemort along with the other death eaters, he silently appreciated that she chose not to make such an obvious statement as he made his way towards the exit. Halfway there he felt a cool presence behind him and instinctively turned, drawing his wand. What must have been a spell swished past him, harmlessly hitting the door without making a sound. No one was present aside from an unconscious Evan and Narcissa though she was seemingly oblivious to his presence as she looked over Evan. He knew her though. He knew she would be perfectly aware of where he was and that he was watching her. There's no way she would have missed the spell.

He didn't have time to dwell on it. He had only moments before someone more threatening would discover him and if nothing else gave him away, his body returning to his usual form in less than an hour certainly would. He turned on his heel, paused just long enough to verify nothing too traumatic would happen to him when he opened the door, before pulling it open and plunging himself into the night. As he passed through the threshold he realized exactly what the spell had been and had no doubt it had been Narcissa who had cast it.

It had been a barrier spell – designed that only a Black could pass through. Anyone else would have been trapped by the invisible obstruction. Why would she have even thought to cast something like that? Would she alert the others that a Black – possibly Sirius since he was supposed to be dead, had been portraying Crouch? No longer worried with drawing attention to himself, Regulus sprinted for the apparition point at the edge of the yard.

* * *

Evan awoke groggily with something tickling his face. Hair, he thought. He opened his eyes enough to see a curtain of blonde and promptly shut them. The person who came to mind was Cassie. Not waking up would be better than dealing with the consequences of spending the night with her. He pretended to still be asleep. She would leave eventually, he thought.

And then he realized it would be impossible to sleep. His entire body ached, and his head was throbbing. What had happened to him? He forced himself to focus. Stairs, he recalled from the recesses of his mind. He had fallen down stairs. That could explain why he felt like he had been hit by the Knight Bus. He forced his eyes open again.

"Narcissa," he identified before closing his eyes again. The lighting though dim, seemed too bright. He was lying on a couch in the Lestrange's drawing room. He saw Lucius standing in the doorway pretending like he wasn't eavesdropping on them as he peered into the entrance hall. He wasn't sure how long he had been out but expected most of the guests had left by now. No one else was within earshot of them.

"Just try to relax," she told him quietly. "What are you thinking about right now?" she asked after a moment.

"I was wondering why no one has thought to give me a pain potion," he drawled. "Why?"

She gave him an unreadable look. They heard screaming in the next room. Narcissa didn't even flinch, suggesting it had been going on for some time.

"What is going on?" he demanded.

"Nothing to do with you, at least as far as I know. Most of the death eaters were dismissed. The Dark Lord's business was with Bella. Though you should know that while you were unconscious the Dark Lord… ah, did go through some of your memories. Your father interrupted him. He said he had something urgent to discuss. I haven't seen either of them since."

Evan made to stand but Narcissa pushed him back down, "He's not punishing Uncle Durant, foolish boy," she chided, sounding far more resentful than the situation should have warranted."

Evan pushed her aside and sat up.

He shouldn't have been unconscious long enough for all of that to have taken place. Not unless someone had wanted him that way. He watched as Lucius made a gesture to someone in the entrance hall and was joined by Rodolphus. He thought he knew what Rodolphus would want to discuss.

"Clear your mind," Narcissa told him under her breath before standing to meet her husband.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Why couldn't he have just believed Bellatrix when she said she went upstairs because she felt ill? And why did Narcissa seem so unsettled? It wasn't a secret that Bellatrix was unfaithful to Rodolphus – it was mutual.

He was surprised when a much softer voice than expected interrupted his thoughts,

"You're awake, _finally," _He looked up to find Katherine Selwyn standing before him. "It's late. Are you feeling up to accompanying me to the gates of Hogwarts now? You said you would earlier, but I suppose given the circumstances-"

He saw in his peripheral that Rodolphus and Lucius had halted their approach towards him and Narcissa had taken the opportunity to draw them into discussion.

"I told you I would," he lied, more loudly than necessary. "Shall we go now?"

Katherine smirked and linked her arm through his as he stood. He dragged Katherine with him as he bid farewell to the host. Rodolphus obviously wasn't thrilled but didn't dare bring up anything to do with Bellatrix in mixed company.

* * *

There was a time, a week ago in fact, that Marlene had been fun to be around. Sirius could only tolerate being near her in small spurts back then. Now, unless there was a prospect of hunting down death eaters, she was the most depressing and sad person he had ever encountered. She was miserable to be around, yet he inexplicably didn't want to let her out of his sight.

Rachel's great advice had been to keep his distance while she processed what had happened – losing her family. Marlene had her friends to look after her and she didn't need Sirius 'messing with her emotions,' on top of everything else, especially when he clearly didn't know how he felt about her to begin with.

He was beginning to question the wisdom of listening to Rachel. It didn't help that she had disappeared with some of her former Ravenclaw friends who had shown up and wasn't there to keep him accountable. Nor were the rest of their friends as they were either dancing or had already left.

He himself had been asked to dance by no fewer than three witches and was pointedly ignoring several others had been trying to catch his eye. Instead he was sitting alone at the table with Marlene- four empty chairs separating them. _This is ridiculous_, he thought as he scooted down the table next to her. If she noticed him, she didn't react.

"Uh, how are you?" he asked dumbly. _Really? That was the best he could come up with?_

Marlene fixed him with a cold glare, "My entire family was murdered by Voldemort. How do you think I'm doing?"

"You're right. That was a terrible question to ask."

Marlene turned away from him.

"Listen, Marlene," he told the back of her head. "I know you don't want to hear this right now, but I just- I feel terrible about what I said before, and the timing of it couldn't have been any worse, and I'm just… I'm really sorry."

Marlene glanced at him, "Is that it?" she asked in a bored tone.

Sirius sighed, "I guess that means you don't forgive me."

Marlene shook her head slightly, "You could not possibly be any more arrogant."

"What?" Sirius asked indignantly. "I was trying to make you feel better!"

"Do you honestly expect that admitting you feel bad for what you said before will make me feel better right now? My entire family is _dead_, Sirius. There is _nothing_ anyone could ever say to me that would compare to that. The fact that you believe the great Sirius Black apologizing to me after everything that's happened – that you think _that_ is going to make everything better… is a little insulting."

"I didn't mean it that way. I just… feel bad, and I don't know how to act around you right now. I don't want it to be this way."

Marlene laughed humorlessly, which couldn't be a good sign. "_You _don't know how to act right now? Sirius, I _hate_ sitting here. I want to be out _there _rounding up death eaters, and I don't mean so they can be sent to Azkaban only to have Voldemort release them again. I want to _kill_ every last one of them. I want to rip them limb from limb. But I can't, because Marlene is _damaged_ and requires constant babysitting. Her aunt who she hasn't spoken to since she was a child had to floo in to take care of the arrangements for the funeral because _Marlene_ couldn't possibly handle that! She had to be dragged here- where she's forced to listen to your narcissistic babbling about how bad _you_ feel about what happened- when frankly, she could not possibly care less about how bad _you_ feel about _anything_! Does that give you some indication as to how you should act around me right now?"

Sirius blinked, "I'll just uh- find someone else to sit with you-"

"I don't _need_ a babysitter!" Marlene screeched. "And I don't need your guilt-induced apology either. Just leave me alone," she warned, drawing her wand as she pushed herself up from the table and left him sitting alone.

Sirius stood, half-heartedly planning to go after her but found he couldn't. He stared after her long after she disappeared.

* * *

Rachel watched as Sirius stared after Marlene and couldn't help but feel bad for – well, mostly Marlene, but both of them. Before she could dwell on it, Terrence Boot had returned to her side, bringing her the water she had requested.

"Don't get too wild with it," he smirked as he handed it to her.

She pulled a face, "Yeah, this is for the best," she answered.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Bad experience?" he guessed amusedly.

"No, no – just with their being a war and all… Do you ever feel like you're just waiting to be attacked or something?"

Terrence looked at her oddly, "Not really, no."

"Oh, well… I guess it just makes me anxious sometimes. I feel like I should be ready – just in case. I mean, people are being killed every day, so…"

"It is a war," he agreed. "Maybe I should be more on edge… but then I feel like that's all the more reason to live in each moment and enjoy it, rather than worry about what is going to happen tomorrow – or consequences of-" he trailed off.

Rachel jumped as someone right behind her spoke in her ear, "I sincerely hope he is not putting the moves on my baby sister."

She abruptly turned and found herself looking at her brother, whom she hadn't seen in nearly a year.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, nearly in a state of shock. So adamant her brother had been that their family remain neutral in the war, he had moved abroad almost immediately after finishing Hogwarts. He had only rarely returned home over the past four years and even then it was only for the most obligated occasions – their father's funeral, to celebrate Rachel finishing Hogwarts, their mother's birthday. A minor holiday in February didn't fit the bill.

"Can't I just want to see my baby sister?"

"On Valentine's Day," Terrence laughed quietly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Rachel answered tersely. "Will, do you remember Terrence? He was in my year at Hogwarts – also a Ravenclaw; Terrence, this is my brother, William," she introduced them hurriedly. "He was in his seventh year during our fourth."

As the two of them made idle chit chat, Rachel began to feel ill. There weren't many reasons she could think of to warrant her brother's unexpected visit. She expected she must have worried her mother more than she realized with her recent visit home.

Hiding that she had joined the Order from her mother was one thing; hiding it from her brother who was likely only in town to find out what exactly she was hiding from them would be infinitely more difficult.

* * *

Regulus' night at the Lestrange's had not gone as planned. He had gone hoping to find some indication of where a horcrux could be. He left with a key he couldn't use – and a nauseated feeling when he thought of his cousin. Oh, and there was a possibility Narcissa had figured out he was alive.

"You look like hell," Sirius greeted him at the door of their Uncle Alphard's house.

Regulus followed him into the sitting room, "Is it okay for me to be here?" he asked sardonically. "I'd hate to upset Lupin."

"Remus shouldn't be easily upset today," Sirius answered amusedly. "Nor is he here. Where were you last night?"

"Uh- secret mission for the Order," he grimaced. "And I can't believe I just said that."

Sirius snorted, "If it helps, it doesn't sound right coming from you. What kind of mission was it that you couldn't tell me about it?"

"The secret kind," Regulus answered tersely. The last thing he wanted was to listen to Sirius berate him for how stupid the plan had been. He was already aware it had been reckless. "That isn't what I wanted to talk to you about. The secret keeper for our ancestral home has been transferred to Dumbledore." He passed him a slip of paper. Sirius looked at it and found their former address written in the headmaster's elegant script.

"Nice. You can help me get it ready for everyone while they are at the McKinnon's funeral."

Regulus furrowed his brow, and not just because he refused to have any part of purging his family's fortune. "Shouldn't you be attending the McKinnon's funeral?"

"Uh, no… Marlene has made it clear she doesn't want me around," Regulus raised an eyebrow. "It's better this way," he quickly rationalized. "I hate funerals."

"You could still _go_ to the funeral – sit somewhere away from Marlene. Even if she doesn't want to talk to you right now she would probably… appreciate knowing you're there. Aren't you supposed to be friends?"

"You were the first to say I should stay away from her! When she stayed with you-"

"Stop saying she stayed _with me _at Grimmauld Place_; s_he did not stay _with me_," Regulus interrupted. "We were both just there – very separately."

"Why are you so worried about her feelings all of a sudden?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"She has good bloodlines," Regulus shrugged casually, secretly amused. Seeing Sirius' ire and remembering there would likely be some retaliation from when he deservingly attacked Sirius in the infirmary, he reasoned quickly, "She just lost her entire family, Sirius. Not even I am so insensitive not to realize she needs her friends right now." As if it were an afterthought rather than an idea that had occupied most of his thoughts all morning, he remarked, "Andromeda used to babysit Marlene occasionally when she was little. I wonder if she will be at the funeral."

"I'd forgotten about that," Sirius answered hopefully. "Andy has been nearly impossible to reach for the past year – but there shouldn't be much of a presence of death eaters at the McKinnon's funeral, unlike yours," he winced apologetically.

"Only one way to find out - unless you would prefer to spend the day desensitizing our estate by yourself."

"You could help me."

"Could maybe, but definitely won't."

"Why? It isn't like you have anything better to do."

"Even if I didn't I wouldn't help you with that. Besides, I plan to attend the McKinnon funeral myself- in disguise, of course," he answered honestly. If there was even a slim hope of making his excursion the previous night worthwhile he needed to talk to Andromeda. The McKinnon's funeral was as good of a place as any to begin narrowing down where she lived. He glanced at Sirius, who looked like he might hit him. "What?"

"What is going on with you and Marlene?" he demanded.

"Don't be disgusting, Sirius," Regulus chided. "Her parents used to be friendly with mum and dad. I expect they would attend the funeral themselves if they were able. Who is planning to move into Grimmauld once you have it ready?" he inquired for a quick subject change.

Sirius shrugged, "It's as much for the meeting place as it is for lodging. James and Lily won't, nor will Remus. I think the Prewetts will, Dorcas might. I don't know about Rachel yet," he grinned. "She disappeared with some older guy before I could ask her last night."

"Why were you out with her last night?"

"I was at her flat to pick up Vesta when she showed up. Being the good guy that I am, I invited her to go out with us. I don't think anyone should be left alone on Valentine's Day… apparently Rachel feels the same way," he smirked.

"Thanks for the update, though I don't recall asking for one," Regulus answered dryly. "You did at least – who was it?" he asked irritably, hating himself that it actually bothered him.

"I vaguely recognized him from Hogwarts. He is older than me, medium height – medium build."

"_Brilliant_ assessment of detail. Is that it?"

Sirius was enjoying this too much. He closed his eyes as if in deep concentration. "Oh, I remember something else!" he exclaimed as if having had an epiphany. "He's _not_ a death eater, I asked. He actually seems like a really nice guy."

"She introduced you to him – when they had just met?"

Sirius gave him a sympathetic look, "Actually, I think they've ah- known each other for a long time."

"Oh. Right," Regulus answered in a horrible attempt at sounding nonchalant, "Well, I'll just find you at the funeral if you're there." He told his brother before seeing himself out.


End file.

Harry Potter, Adventure