INFERI (REGULUS BLACK)

85

"Are you telling me," Aletheia's voice was awfully calm. "That you let them roam around oblivious as to what exactly's going on here?"

"That is not what I meant to say, Theia," Belladonna said calmly. "I was about to tell them ... but now is not the time."

"Can you hear yourself?" Aletheia shook her head in disbelief. "They can die, my niece can die, Bella. Does that mean nothing to you?"

"If she dies, you'll be free of your curse," she answered matter-of-factly, knowing exactly what reaction she'll get. Aletheia's fist tightened, her knuckles whitening.

"There are other ways to free myself, Belladonna," Orion looked to and fro the two women, clueless of what exactly was going on. It was wiser to keep his mouth shut. Interfering between two quarrelling women was never wise.

"Have you ever even cared for her, Theia?"

"And you say you're not like your brother." The words held no meaning for Orion, but the look on Belladonna's face made it clear that it was quite a low blow indeed.

The Quirod fell silent, and the sorceress spun of her heel, exiting the kitchen. Orion weighed his options. Either he could stay with Belladonna and maybe find out about what just happened, or follow the strangely familiar lady and rescue his younger son.

Deciding to go with the latter option, he sped out of the door, barely catching up to Aletheia as she rounded the corner.

"Wait!" She was incredibly fast.

The woman stopped and  watched him approach her with an amused look on her face. As if she knew something he didn't.

Orion never liked those type of people. But if he wanted to make sure his son would come out safe, it would be unwise to say something rude.

"Do you know where they are?" Orion asked her after a few minutes of silent walking.

She snorted. "Of course I do. Your son made sure. The way's through the tapestry down the hall. As soon as I near them, hopefully I'll be able to pin down their exact location."

"And how exactly does that work?" He knew the lady was a sorceress - or that's what Belladonna had told him. Having one of her kind as his friend - granted, they never spoke too much - and knowing how their powers worked, he wanted to make dure he wasn't dealing with some dummy.

Aletheia waggled her fingers, smirking at him. "Magic."

What could he say to that now?

The tapestry turned out to be further that 'down the hall.' A few minutes later and Orion's thoughts were already wandering.

It had been years since he'd entered his sister's manor. Approximately 15 years, and it hadn't changed a bit.

Lucretia was always an old soul, and her taste of decor proved that. The old pantings by famous Wizarding artists still hung the wall, no doubt eligible to rest in a museum, alongside it's brother-in-arms.

Nostalgia flared in his heart, and he tried to keep a firm lid on it. Lucretia was probably dead. She is - or rather was - his only sister. He remembered her clearly, but did not wish to bring up suppressed memories again. His older sister was dead, surely dead, having been missing ever since the incident.

"How much longer? This house isn't that big," Orion said abruptly, not allowing his thoughts to wander any longer. He was on a mission, being distracted would only be costly.

"We're here," Aletheia replied. "They've entered through here, that's for sure. Let's go."

They blasted the tapestry apart, Orion more than satisfied to see it burning and smouldering at his feet.

*****

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my fucking - Merlin!" Shafiq fretted, pacing to and fro on the dirt floor. Aoife was leaning against the wall of her cell, trying to keep herself upright.

Regulus's mind was moving at a mile per minute. There had to be a way to get Aoife out of the cell. There was always a way.

Then why wasn't he able to think?

He was panicking, just like Shafiq and Aoife. The latter had slid to the floor, hugging her knees while her friend paced and muttered like a madman, his voice fluctuating, agitated beyond human levels.

Deep breaths. He needed to rationalize his mind. Hands clasped on his wand, head bowed, his chin touching his chest, his mind ran a million of different scenarios, none of them having a remotely victorious ending.

He would not have Aoife fading or whatever it was, when he was here. That creepy voice might be her mother, but he was Regulus Arcturus Black, and he wasn't about to be undermined by a disembodied voice belonging to a batshit crazy lady (if she even was human).

What he needed to do was make sure Aoife didn't die. Aletheia would be on her way, but a backup plan was still needed there. He felt nothing, the mild panic kept at bay by balant and purposeful ignorance. His mother would've been proud to see him like this.

Shaking his head lightly, he rid his head of those thoughts. Jostling his memory, he tried to find any sort of enchantment or spell, dark or otherwise, which could help slow down whatever was happening. The more translucent Aoife turned, the very walls seemed to pulsate.

He could try the incredibly tough enchantment to freeze time entirely, but to focus it on only one person - Aoife - so that they could extract her one way or the other while her mother's spell was stupefied, might be easier than using the spell over a large area.

The scorch marks on Aoife's skin were reappearing, and growing larger with each passing second. Her magic was trying to protect her, but could ultimately burn her inside out. Her face was buried between her knees, making it impossible to gauge her reaction. They needed to act fast.

Regulus shook Shafiq by his shoulder, causing him to stop abruptly and stare into his eyes, looking lost. Not trusting whether Aoife's mum could not hear them, he used his limited legilimency skills to try and project his idea to Shafiq.

It couldn't be that hard.

Oh, but it was.
The pounding headache he was feeling was a proof of that.

Shafiq's mental barriers were ridiculously high up, and when he sensed Regulus's intentions, he created a crack small enough for him to wiggle through. The mental power required was enormous, especially if you were as out of practice as Regulus was, but his willpower was not to be taken lightly. Transmitting messages was harder than he though. The mental strain almost made a blood vessel pop, and he wasn't able to hold it long enough for an entire, coherent briefing. Thankfully, Shafiq understood.

Time spell. You guard.

"Are you sure? Time is not something to be played with," Shafiq looked at him with worry-filled eyes. Regulus hated that look.

"Do you have a better plan?"

Shafiq fell silent. Admittedly, there were thousands of plans marginally better than the one he'd concocted, but they were running low on time. With a reluctant nod, he relented.

"Just ... be careful."

Regulus dismissed Shafiq's words, kneeling down to cast the spell. Both his wands were out; the new one from Olivander's and the one from Potter Manor.

He was ready.