"What in the name of Merlin are you doing here?" Regulus hissed. He'd dragged Shafiq into one of the many deserted rooms in the manor. It was dusty and dilapidated, causing Shafiq to dissolve into a fit or sneezing, rushing back out of the room.
Regulus followed him out, bemused. Oh, his dust allergy. Not that he cared. Even a tiny bit.
"Let's just talk in the library or something. Your room? No?"
"There's another parlour around the corner," Regulus said. "We can go there. Aletheia's holding some sort of conference with Belladonna in the library, and I'm sure Sirius and Aoife are hogging the smaller one."
"Fine by me. Lead they way, Regulus."
He briskly walked towards the third parlour he'd seen in the entire Manor. It was secluded, perfect for a private conversation, and furnished quite comfortably.
"How long have you been here?" Regulus exhaled irritably at the question.
"Few months."
"Where'd you go after leaving Brighton?"
"Paris."
A few moments silence.
"Where is your bloody parlour? We're walking in circles."
" 'Round the corner."
Pushing open a pair of ornate doors, Regulus quickly flicked his wand, causing the lights to turn on at once.
"You know, the Muggles have this ingenious invention called switches. Ever heard of them?" Shafiq entered the room, flinching at the harsh lights.
"Can't say I have," Regulus gave a small smile. He strode over to the large, emerald green sofa in the corner and sat down. Shafiq collapsed on the armchair adjacent to it.
"You got some tea? Biscuits?"
"Do I look like a house-elf?" Regulus snapped, not in the mood to indulge in small talks.
Shafiq chuckled. "Tootsie!"
To Regulus's disbelief, a small house-elf popped in front of them.
"What do the young sirs require of Tootsie?" she asked in a squeaky voice.
"Just a pot of tea and biscuits, Tootsie. That's all."
"Sure, sirs."
A small pop! and the house-elf disappeared.
"You know what, Shafiq, this is once of the reasons why I don't trust you. What other secrets are you hiding?" Regulus snapped.
"Look, Regulus, there are reasons behind everything someone does. Even I have them. One thing I can tell you is that after I left Scotland when I was 15, I camped out here, in this Manor. Why? because my aunt - my father's brother's wife - was a Prewett, and since they had no heir, I got the key to this old house. The git was after me, and what's a better place to hide than an abandoned magical Manor surrounded by the strongest wards known to Wizard-kind?"
"Why are you here?"
"Belladonna asked me to fetch something, and now that I have it, I came to meet her. And help you, of course."
"In what?"
"Blowing up the Inferi."
"But, didn't you tell me during your 7th year that, 'I've had enough of this madness. I'm not going to choose sides. I'll just hightail to Australia when things get shit.' Then what changed?" Regulus asked curiously.
Shafiq smiled grimly. "The Inferi took something of mine; I'm not going to leave without it. Australia can wait."
"What, your plane ticket?"
"Sirs, your tea," Tootsie's squeaky voice came.
"We'll talk after tea."
*****
Her life was crazy now, and she loved it.
If somebody had told her 6 months ago that a pair of wizards were going to turn her life upside down and she had life-threatening powers,she would've laughed at their face while secretly praying everyday for it to come true. Now that she had, she was going to relish every moment of it.
It was hard to believe that 6 months ago, her idea of heaven was to get excepted in the University she'd applied to, far away from Scotland.
Now, she was traipsing around a large, magical Manor, with a mad wizard and a bunch of corpses after their lives, going to the library to read up her aunt Annelise's diary. She honestly wouldn't have it another way.
"Do you not understand ..." Aletheia's muffled voice reached her as she approached the bigger library. The doors were open just a crack.
"I don't trust him," this was Belladonna.
Why am I always at the wrong place at the wrong time? Aoife groaned inwardly.
"What if his claims are true? We are not going to stay here if they are."
Aoife decided to come back later when Belladonna's voice froze her:
"He's affiliated with the Death Eaters, Theia. Do you still want him to come? Do you really trust him that much? A tiger never changes it's stripes."
Death Eaters? Aoife's mind was running a mile a minute. But didn't Reg say they were that evil wizard's minions?
"There is a possibility of an Inferi bunker under this house. Are you just going to let that slide because he's rumoured to be affiliated with Death Eaters."
Aoife now really regretted her thought process. Even though her life was totally wicked now, she really did not want an underground bunker filled with Inferi right were she was. Her thoughts went to that weird old man and her stomach lurched.
"Fine, bring him. But if something goes wrong, I'm taking it out of your paycheck."
"You don't even give me one," she heard Aletheia chuckle.
There was a faint pop! and Aoife deemed it safe to enter. What she hadn't expected, however, was a sobbing Belladonna.
"What's wrong?"
"Everything."
YOU ARE READING
INFERI (REGULUS BLACK)
Fanfiction"If you ever need me, I'll be at the Potter's." These were the words that kept on rolling around Regulus' head. His brother's last words before he left the house, bloodied and bruised. He didn't blame him of course. It must've been hell living as th...
