The Godmother || Sirius Black

━ 16. Dark days

"Not even Sirius?"

"... no."

"Why not?" He frowned.

She avoided his eyes. "He wouldn't understand. He never does."

Regulus sighed. There was something definitely going on between them but Diana always refused to share them with him. Even though he became a little upset when she kept it a secret from him, he knew very well why she did that. Because he was his brother, even after everything that had happened.

"Why didn't you tell Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore has enough on his plate already. And honestly he is prioritising Harry's well being above everything and I totally support and understand it but cruelly speaking, the impending deaths of my muggle parents would be the least of his problems right now."

Regulus knew that sometimes Diana didn't really like Dumbledore's plans and how he worked around everything. But even after everything her loyalty for their ex headmaster was beyond any doubt.

"Where are your parents right now?" Regulus asked.

"At our vacation house. I didn't tell them anything and I'm intending to keep it that way," she said quietly. "But I think they're suspecting something is going on."

Regulus thought for a while. "I don't really understand why only your parents are going to die."

"Neither can I. But I think I might have a general idea." She said with a troubled look. "Maybe because I became Lily and James's secret keeper, Voldemort is going to decide to hunt down my parents in order to gain information from me. Or worse he might torture them until they die if I refuse to betray my friends."

Regulus's eyes widened but he wasn't quite surprised. He knew what Voldemort was capable of doing and what Diana just said absolutely made sense. If Voldemort figured out that Diana was James's and Lily's secret keeper then he wouldn't hesitate to kill Diana's loved ones in order to know their location; after all, their son, Harry would be the one who'd defeat the dark lord according to the prophecy.

Regulus felt revolted just by thinking that he joined the ranks of such a vile wizard under the influence of his parents.

"I knew I'd be endangering my close ones when I became their secret keeper. I knew who I was up against. I thought I knew what I was up for. I thought I could do this for my friends. But- but now that I've finally faced my worst fear- I don't think-- I don't think I can do this, Reg! I don't want my parents to d-die..." Tears rolled down her cheeks and Regulus felt her heart break in pieces hearing her. "I'm a coward, Reg. No wonder I'm not a Gryffindor."

Regulus said nothing in return; he simply held her hand tighter. And that was the only comfort she needed rather than some words of comfort.

Wiping her tears hastily she suddenly looked up at him with a determined gaze as if she came up with a solid plan. "I've decided what I'm going to do."

He frowned. "What is it?"

"There's no way I'm going to betray James and Lily, not even if the hell freezes over. So the only way I can protect everyone is if I don't be their secret keeper anymore. I'll tell Lily and James to make Peter the secret keeper. That would be the safest option for everyone. But we're gonna do it secretly. We will not even tell this to Dumbledore- that we're changing the secret keeper. Because I know for a fact that he'd reject this." She said calmly. "Then I'll go into hiding with my parents. I will protect them like they've always protected me. I won't let them die because of me."

"Are you sure about Peter?" Regulus scrunched his brows slightly. "He always seemed a bit..."

"Yes, I trust him with all my heart." She said firmly. "Peter is trustworthy, I can assure you that. I would've picked Remus or Sirius. But Sirius being the godfather will put him to even more danger. And Remus is not a safe option either because even though I trust him with my life, everyone including Sirius has suspicions about him because he's a werewolf."