Love, Life, And Lies- Regulus Black

.tumult of words and opinions.

.i met evil when i was only a child.

The air in the chamber was thick and dense. Almost as if there was no oxygen left in the room. These meetings, which had started as small councils with elite families, had turned into war councils with too many people to count.

I took my seat next to my father. Everyone was once again shrouded from head to toe in black. The only color in the room was the glint of silver masks reflecting in the occasional lightning strike that would light the chamber.

I always could identify my family. Masks of silver roses. It didn't take much to put two and two together. I sat quietly, refusing to talk to anyone.

Every meeting started the same way. There had to be a show of power. Today, six people lost their lives. One, Robert McGonagall's face was all too familiar to me. It was the same face I saw in my Transfiguration class every day for six years. A face I would never be able to look at again without feeling intense shame, and guilt.

He didn't even plead for his life. And that I was grateful for. Grateful that they just let him die without playing with their prey.

The remainder of the lives taken were from a muggle family. A man, completely terrified for the lives of his three beautiful girls.

He never pleaded for his own life. Just for theirs. His pleas fell on deaf ears, and they were swiftly executed. They made him watch as each of his daughters lives were ended, and he could do nothing but sob and plead.

Then loud, garish laughter echoed through the chamber as his body hit the ground, his life having been robbed from him.

My breakfast threatened to come back up at the callousness of everyone in the room. There was clapping, and even laughter as an innocent family was slaughtered. They were so beyond feeling, and it was terrifying.

"Muggles." The clear tenor voice of Voldemort rang out across the room. "They're weak, all of them. They have no place, nor any right to exist in this world we will create. In my world."

The applause was as instantaneous as it was deafening. I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to get the image of the crumpled bodies out of my mind. Desperate to hear anything but the sadistic cheers that resonated through the chamber.

"My friends, our work has progressed. There isn't a man, woman, or child in our world who does not know the name of Lord Voldemort, or quake in fear at the mere mention of his loyal Death Eaters." The Dark Lord bellowed, causing the cheers and clapping to die out.

I wondered how many of them had even seen his face. He wore a dark heavy cloak in every interaction he had with the large group of Death Eaters. I wondered how many would tremble in fear if they saw the face beneath the hood.

"We are not alone in this noble fight. We have friends in high places. And soon we will be joined by the strength of the giant, and werewolf community." His voice crooned, the smooth tenor sound reverberating around the spacious chamber.

"No more my friends, will you be looked down upon by the scum of the wizarding world. Today begins a new era. A new alliance, where the creatures of this world have a place among us. Come forward, Greyback." he gestured to a figure that lurked in the back corner of the chamber.

When the figure stepped into the light, the room broke out into a buzz of whispers. No one was quite sure what to make of a werewolf standing in the honored walls of Rosier Manor.

Greyback growled as he neared the front of the chamber. It was as usual. A massive table extended the length of the room. Only the closest and most valued Death Eaters were given the honor of a seat at the table. The closer to the head of the table- where Voldemort stood- the higher the honor.