Atheyas

𝟐𝟑: 𝖇𝖊𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖚𝖗𝖙𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘

"Looks like we have to do this the hard way."
"No, Orion. You don't want to do this. Trust me," the figure, begged.
"Forgive me."
"I'm begging you. Ple-"

             A blinding flash woke Sirius up in a jolt— the usual overwhelming grief washed over him in a method he couldn't explain. His heart frantically pounded against its cage of ribs as he vividly remembered the vicious sweep of his father's wand. It refuted the soft touch on his back. He turned to look at a pair of warm deep-set eyes. The way they stared through him in worry made him fall onto her lap and cry out the gut-wrenching sobs that escaped his lips. She embraced him in her arms. She needed to say nothing. Though she never knew what those dreams were about, Sirius had made it clear to her he never wanted to talk about it and she had left it at that. When he was ready, he would talk about it.

            This nightmare Sirius caught himself in, had been going on for approximately 4 years, almost every day without fail. They started when he was 15. It put a strain on their relationship when Laav first found out about it. He had hurt her countless times by pushing her away when she offered him comfort. Shaking, trembling, and quivering, her voice had become his companion. Convulsing through the night, her words had become his consolation. She enfolded him in her arms and lulled him to sleep. What was once his pillow, was now her lap. Whether she was awoken or asleep, she absorbed the pain in his soul and comforted him during his darkest moments, listening intently to the whispers of his heart. In the fullness of time, it had become their nightly routine and this night was no different. Or so he thought it was.

            Laav looked at the clock that hung on the wall by the right side of their bed. Tick tock. Tick tock. 12:30. Exactly a minute from now she was going to hear the lock on Regulus' door click and the window creak open. Three minutes later she would hear a thud and leaves rustling. From the day she found her mother's picture on his wall, everything about him seemed ambiguous. She had been monitoring his movements for the past week in hopes there would be a pattern and voila, she figured it out. 12:31. Click. Now, it was all up to her. "I'm sorry," she whispered and kissed Sirius on the forehead. Laav took out her wand and bewitched her lover with a sleeping spell that would enchant him into a deep slumber for some time. Enough to buy her time to track his younger brother. Carefully she placed his head on the pillow, her fingers lingered on his lips and she smiled to herself. A soft thud intruded her moment. 12:34. That was her cue.

            She put on her coat and looked out the window. He was nowhere to be seen. Casting a silencing spell around the room, she slid the window open and stepped on the ledge. Their room was a floor above Regulus' so there'd be a much louder noise made when she jumped yet that wasn't the reason that was stopping her, was it? It was her acrophobia. But she wasn't afraid of heights. Instead, what she was really afraid of was the fall. She took the staircase instead. Some would say it was cowardly, she'd say it was sensible. They form a spiral, but it was in an inefficient shape. The staircases in the Order constantly moved and changed shapes. There was no end to the illusion. Upon reaching the first floor, Laav went out through the front door and turned to her left, where their bedrooms were located. 

            Thereon, she quietly casted Appare Vestigium. The gold swirl illuminated traces of Regulus' recent activity and tracked his footprints below their window. She slipped her wand in her coat and retraced them. The more she followed, the more muddled her thoughts got. He wasn't going anywhere far. They came to a dead-end right behind the Order's building. She stared blankly at the gigantic wall of bricks in front of her. There was no way he just penetrated through a wall, she justified. Could he have apparated from here? Or was one of the bricks a portkey? She strode up and down the alley, her wretched hand tried to find an answer as it swept the blocks of hardened clay. "This is fatuous!" She bit the inside of her cheeks, preventing her screams from reverberating through the alley. Desperate to release her frustration, she picked up a rock and hurled it at the wall. She was surprised at how good it felt but even surprised when she heard a hollow sound. Seconds later, Laav found herself tossing another rock. 

            This time, not only was a hollow sound heard but one of the bricks moved forward, triggering the voluntary movement of its other friends. Laav stared in awe as a pathway of stairs were formed. Still wary, she casted another round of Appare Vestigium, and sure enough, Regulus' footprints resurfaced. Without a second thought, she walked into the darkness. "Lumos." The tip of her wand lit up for guidance. She raced down the creaky steps. Below in the darkness, she searched for a light switch and upon discovering one, she flicked it. Despite the dim light that radiated from the filament, a piece of majestic furniture overshadowed her.

            She recognized it instantly. It was the Vanishing Cabinet from Borgin & Burkes. There were initially 2 pairs, making it 4 cabinets but a pair went missing 3 years ago. This must've been it. The cabinets allowed objects placed in one cabinet to appear in the other. Or people in this case. Much as she wanted to take her time to admire it, she couldn't. With absolutely no knowledge of where the passage might take her, she stepped in. 

***

            "Gladly, my lord." Clear voices amongst a discussion were heard. She peeked out of the hole, a sheer black material hazed her view. She made out of what looked like a courtroom? Possibly at a manor. Her eyes followed the trail of a dark green carpet that led the way to a throne. The figure seated on it continued to speak. The Dark Lord. A bit over the top, isn't it? she teased. "Once Barty switches this Vanishing Cabinet for the one at Hogwarts," he paused, his eyes flickered to the cabinet behind the curtain. Her breath pulled on her throat, a tiny gasp with hardly any noise associated with it. Could he see her? His menacing gaze stalled on the cabinet for a while before he turned his attention back to his followers. "We will discuss this further."

           "Meeting adjourned. Regulus, I would like you to stay back." She watched as rows of seats emptied- Deatheaters vanished into thin air, leaving remnants of their atramentous black vapor. Once the last Deatheater was gone, the Dark Lord declared. "I'm afraid your father has passed." His tone honeyed, feigning empathy but the act didn't last long. He stepped down from his throne, stalking his way towards the boy. "Your father defied me. He refused to be a part of us, Regulus and you know what I do to traitors." The boy nodded his head quietly. It didn't come as a surprise to her when she saw Regulus seated in the front row, close to the Dark Lord. It's no wonder he refused to partake in any of the Order's activities no matter how much she and Sirius persuaded him. 

             He dared not say a word against his lord. Not even against his father's death. Orion was dead and he took no action in opposition of it. She had only met Orion once but he never really came around much after that. She just assumed he didn't like her due to her blood status. How weak did he have to be to have his head hung low while a wizard explained his father's death like it meant nothing? she wondered. "Now that I've gotten rid of a potential member, let's talk about your brother." Regulus finally voiced out, his voice hoarse. "My Lord, I beg-" But the leader turned a blind eye to his follower's almost plea. "Would you have preferred it if he shared the same fate as your father, instead?" 

            A deep voice was heard from the back of the room. "Or would you prefer someone a little more loyal?" Silence. Regulus' ears perked at the familiarity of the voice but the Dark Lord did not budge. The voice spoke once more. "A little more insane, perhaps?" She hit the spot, he held back a smirk. Insanity was a luxury and it attracted him like a magnet. "Show yourself." A swift movement was detected behind the curtains. The eyes of the Dark Lord followed the figure that walked along the narrow path between the manor walls and the curtains that hung from the ceiling. He was intrigued to get a view on the bold but the translucency of the fabric shadowed her figure, merely giving him a hint of her features. Once the figure stopped at the opening, he questioned.

"Who are you?" 

"A half-blood. Just like you."

***

The above picture is the Dark Lord. 
Film: The House of Gaunt
Cast: Maxence Danet-Fauvel as The Dark Lord