Betrayal of the Black

forty-five

Hesitantly, the man began walking ahead of them, fearful that they might be the ones to attack him from behind instead. They let him take a couple steps before they began walking themselves.

She assumed the walk might be a bit awkward, but Regulus seemed to know exactly what pub she had been talking about, and walked confidently in that direction. But she saw how he kept glancing back at her, and didn't know if it was out of apprehension or something else.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Theo, not unkindly.

"No," she replied. "But I don't know. . . something in my gut says to give him a chance."

"We're putting our lives on the line because of a gut feeling?" mumbled Draco. "Right, well, if we die, I'm blaming you."

"We'll be dead. How'll you blame me?"

"My ghost will annoy the shit of your ghost. I won't ever let you forget it," he retorted.

"My ghost won't associate with your ghost. Ever," she shot back.

"I hate to break this to up and everything, but I think we need to get to the matter at hand," said Theo, gesturing to the man walking ahead of them, who probably wasn't far enough ahead of them to be completely out of earshot. "That either we're following after Celestia's uncle, someone who is planning to kill us, or some psycho pretending to be said uncle."

"I don't have any idea why someone would pretend to be Regulus, but I also don't understand how he could've survived that," she said, "and if he did survive, and this is him, why was he following me?"

"Well, we should probably ask him that," said Theo quietly as they finally arrived at the pub.

Regulus had reached the pub before them, and stood by the door as Muggles entered and exited. Above him, a small wooden sign advertised the tavern as The Hook.

As soon as Celestia approached, Regulus moved and opened the door for them. She eyed him oddly, but nonetheless entered the space and searched for a table.

The Hook was relatively crowded, all of the seats around the bar taken up. She settled into a booth, and both Theo and Draco sat down next to her, squishing her up against the wall. Someone cast a Muffliato Charm around them.

She had to ignore the electric current that shocked her body when Theo's entire side pressed against her. Now, though, was not the time to focus on the way he made her feel.

There was one thing she knew she could ask Regulus that she knew no one else would know. He could make up some fantastical lie about how he survived, about why he was following them, but not about this.

"Fourteenth of December, 1975," she said.

The man opposite the three teenagers had been glancing across the room looking as if he planned to order a drink — it seemed like she wasn't the only one who wanted some liquid courage — but at her words, his attention fully settled on her again.

"What?" he said.

"I'm afraid to go home," she quoted.

He stiffened, staring at her with slightly wide eyes. His voice had more of a rasp when he repeated, "What?"

"Twenty-sixth of December, 1975," she said again. "He left yesterday. He'd threatened it for a while, but they always had some kind of hold on him. Where would you go? they'd demanded. Who would care for you? they'd chastised. No one would take in a disowned blood-traitor like you, they'd said. You have nowhere to run, they'd scoffed."