StarChaser// Jegulus||✔️

Regulus

TW: Mentions of child abuse in this chapter

After Dumbledore delivers his speech, we all tuck into dinner.
However, I'm scarcely able to enjoy my dinner because I'm approached by Bellatrix and Narcissa.
"Hello, Cousin" Bellatrix drawls
"Hello, Bella" I reply stiffly
"You need to come home for Easter" Narcissa states
"What for?" I ask
"Lucius has proposed to me!" Narcissa replies, a real smile spreading on to her face.
"Congratulations, Cissy" I reply "I suppose I would have had to come home for meetings anyway" I add
"Yes, well, now you have a better reason to return home" Narcissa retorts. I simply nod
"Is that all?" I ask. They nod
"That is all, just ensure Sirius doesn't come back for Easter" Bellatrix warns
"I don't think Sirius is coming back ever" I reply
"Good" states Bellatrix before her and Narcissa walk away.
"Looks like you're going home for Easter" Barty comments. I glare at him.
"Well spotted, Sherlock" I reply sarcastically and Barty simply grins at me, causing me to roll my eyes.
I keep thinking about the Daily Prophet.
Deadly Dartmouth
It's a sickening title, really, no class to it at all. People died, and Rita Skeeter saw it as a publishing opportunity, as a money grab, it's sick.
I'm torn away from my thoughts by my owl that lands on my shoulder. I take the letter off of his leg and feed him part of a roll, which he accepts gratefully before dipping his head into my goblet and having the last of my pumpkin juice.
I unfold the note and stare down at some cursive handwriting that I don't recognise:

Regulus Black,

You will meet me in the alleyway next to the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade on Saturday at 8:30AM. I have reason to believe that my recent attack has made news at Hogwarts and I am eager to know the reaction. Come alone and tell no one
- The Dark Lord

My heart jumps to my throat and my stomach churns reading that note. I swallow thickly before folding up the note and putting it into the inside pocket of my robes.
"What was that about?" Asks Arlo as we leave the Great Hall.
"Nothing, just my parents informing me of Narcissa's engagement" I lie. Arlo raises an eyebrow at me to signal that he doesn't believe me, and really, he shouldn't, because it's a lie.
"Don't lie to me, Regulus" Arlo warns
"I'm not" I lie
Arlo stops and stands in front of me, so close I can feel his breath on me. He holds my chin and forces me to look at him. I can feel my heart rate speed up as I admire him. He is unbelievably attractive. Beautiful, even. It's criminal, really.
"I don't appreciate lies, Regulus, am I clear?" He asks, his face so low we barely have an inch of space between us
"Crystal" I reply almost breathlessly.
"You're mine, remember that" Arlo warns lowly
"I'm yours" I confirm
Arlo closes the space between us and kisses me possessively. He let's me go, leaving me feeling hot under the collar and we continue on back to the Slytherin Common Room.
Today is my first lesson of Occlumency with Dumbledore, so I excuse myself from the Common Room and head to his office.
I get to the guarded staircase that leads to his office. The password has changed since last week, but Professor McGonnogall informed me of the new one. "Rhubarb Custard" I say. Apparently, Dumbledore likes to set his passwords as the names of Muggle sweets he enjoys, it's entertaining really.
I ascend the staircase and knock on the great oakwood doors that stand between me and Dumbledore's office. One of the doors is opened by Professor Dumbledore who offers me a small smile and moves to the side, gesturing for me to step inside, which I do.
"Regulus. Hello" Dumbledore says softly
"Hello, Professor" I reply
"Are you prepared for your first lesson?"
"I am, but first, I have something to inform you of"
"Oh?" Dumbledore raises an eyebrow at me as I hand him the note sent to me by the Dark Lord. He reads it and stares at the parchment for a minute before he hands it back to me with a sigh.
"I am afraid he is going to start using you to figure out how to defeat me" Dumbledore finally states.
"I don't understand" I reply
"No, I don't expect you to. Lord Voldemort is not my greatest fan, he sees me as a rival, the quicker I'm out of the picture, the easier achieving his endeavours"
"So what do I tell him?"
"Tell him the truth, admit that the situation has been made aware at Hogwarts, and that I've established the Order to the school"
I nod, deciding that that's a good enough response, and hopefully that will be enough. "Anyway, first I want to see how good your Occlumency is, I want to see how well you can hide your memories. Don't try and warp any memories, just try to hide the ones you don't want me to see, try and distract me" Dumbledore explains and I nod. "Are you okay with this?" Dumbledore asks. The question takes me aback, which is silly really, but the only legillimens I have encountered is my Mother, who has never asked if I was okay with it before she invaded my mind. "Yes" I reply after I get over the initial shock of the confirmation of consent.
"Legillimens" Dumbledore commands.
I can feel him invading my mind immediately. At first it shocks me, but I quickly recover from it as he starts to sift through my memories. He reaches for the memory of my most recent time with James and Lily. I certainly do not want him to see that. I move it away and bring forward a memory of me doing homework in the library. He swiftly moves on from that one and he moves on. I hide a few memories of James and I because those are for me, not for anyone else.
He lands on a memory of when I was younger before I can stop him and I find myself living through the memory with him: