𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 - regulus black

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐

Regulus got woken up by bursts of laughter. He opened his eyes, felt the sharp pain of his wounds and the nausea in the pit of his stomach that had a hard time vanishing. He tried listening to what the three others were saying. When he straightened up, he saw them sitting all together, laughing over their cup of coffee, probably having forgotten about him. Regulus couldn't remember having shared such a moment with anyone.

"Good morning," said Valentina, as her eyes fell on him and she waved her hand in his direction, making the boys turn around to look at him. "I made food for you."

"You made food for him?" asked Sirius in disbelief.

"Of course, I did. He can't eat anything after being poisoned."

"Go wash up, someone is coming to see you," ended up saying his brother.

"Who?"

"You'll see, now go!"

He left the living-room under some chuckles.

Regulus came back after a few minutes, fresh out the shower, not knowing who he was meeting. And the guest was already present. He froze when entering the living-room.

"You wanted me to meet Dumbledore?"

"I prefer Professor Dumbledore, thank you," said the old man, a smile making its way on his lips as he observed Regulus.

"I could be killed for that."

"We can provide you protection, I think you need it," replied the man.

"No, why would I need it?" snapped Regulus already on the defensive, trying to hide in his confusion as best as he could. Whatever he knew, nobody else was supposed to know.

"You put yourself in danger the other day. I don't know what happened but from what I heard you were close to die. I suspected you might have turned your back against Voldemort and maybe you were seeking for revenge because of his acts or you were looking for a way to protect yourself," said the man calmly, his keen blue eyes watching Regulus and how he visibly turned paler.

"I didn't turn my back against the Dark Lord!" exclaimed the boy. His hands started shaking and sweat started pearling on his forehead. His agitated eyes reflected the panic of his mind which seemed to confuse everyone in the place.

"Regulus are you okay?" asked Valentina as she approached him. "He's clearly not in a fit state to speak about what happened."

As she said that, she came close to him, fearing he wouldn't be able to stay on his feet for long. She grabbed his hand and passed one of hers around his waist, guiding him to the couch. He was very fragile and trembling in her hold. He sat as she gave him a glass of water.

"I didn't want to turn my back against the Dark Lord..." he finally murmured.

"Did you defect then?" asked instantly Sirius.

"No, I didn't."

"Then what?"

"It's... complicated," he murmured again, looking down at his feet, trying to find the right words but he had a hard time speaking about what happened.

"Regulus, you do understand that now that you're here, we can't let you go, anymore?" spoke Dumbledore after a while. "Considering the situation and your... mixed feelings, this could turn to be a great advantage for the Order."

Regulus looked up at him and thought about his words and what they meant. It was clear he wanted him in the Order but Regulus was a Death Eater and didn't want to be part of the Order. But he also didn't want to be a Death Eater anymore.