The day she felt the mark on her arm move for the first time was the day she truly regretted the whole thing. Because it was time to prove her loyalty.
If she thought she had regretted her decision before, she was wrong. Now she regretted it.
Regulus found her within minutes and he grabbed her arm, pulling her off to the side. "Now," he hissed. "Now? It's a Hogsmeade weekend!"
"You don't think I know that," she replied sharply. "Look, if you play sick, claim that you were throwing up and go spend the day with Pomfrey, you'll be fine."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to go," she huffed. "I don't have a choice, remember?"
"Merlin, how did this happen?" he ran a hand over his face.
She narrowed her eyes, "How do you think, Reg?"
He huffed, "I'm not going to let you go on your own."
"I'll be fine," she informed him. "If I get caught, I'll manage. I'm basically done with school so it doesn't matter. You need to be here for two more years. It's better - and safer - if you stay here."
Regulus opened his mouth to reply but something seemed to catch his eye. "Incessant brother in three, two..."
Del turned around to come face to face with Sirius. She flashed a smile, "Hello, brother."
His eyes were narrowed and he did not look happy with her. Not that that was new as of late, "We need to talk."
"See, I'm sure you have a good reason for that," she nodded, "But as of right now, I have somewhere I need to be. You...just stay here, in the castle. You know, where it's safe. Do a prank or something. But stay here."
He raised an eyebrow and was about to comment but she cut him off, "I'll find you later. Probably." She took off without another word and a very confused Regulus followed shortly after.
Sirius watched after them in confusion but he knew one thing. He was definitely not staying at the school today.
Regulus and Del made their way to the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade, the latter trying to convince the former to go back the whole way there.
"I already told you, I'm not leaving you alone," he said pointedly as they exited the carriage. "Besides we're already here."
Del looked around and sucked in a sharp breath. There were a lot of people here. A lot of innocent children.
She stuffed her hands into the pocket of her hoodie and looked around. It wasn't noticeable at a first glance but as she looked around, she saw them.
Hidden throughout Hogsmeade, blending in with students, were Death Eaters. Regulus tensed up beside her, clearly noticing what she had.
"Just keep your head down," she suggested. "As soon as the fighting starts, put your hood up and make sure it stays."
"There are so many of them." Of us, Del wanted to correct him but refrained. "This is going to be bad."
She shook her head slightly, "It'll be fine." No, it wouldn't.
It started off small, impossible to see coming. There was a shout and screaming erupted, immediately followed by spells being shot left and right.
Del pulled up her hood and gestured for Regulus to do the same before she waved her wand, sealing their hoods into place. "Miss your target. Hit around them, scare them. You don't have to hurt anybody if you don't want to Reg. Be careful."
He nodded slowly before the two separated. It was best if they weren't near each other.
Del had her wand held tightly in her hand and she felt the tattoo on her arm move. She let out a breath before she focused on the chaos around her.
There was Death Eater who was aiming for two clueless third years. Del sent a spell at a nearby trash can, sending it flying in front of them. Their eyes widened and they quickly ran away.
She felt herself being yanked backwards and into an alleyway between two buildings. She turned around swiftly, her wand pointed at the perpetrator but she paused upon seeing four boys staring back at her.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, glancing over at where the fighting was continuing on.
"What are you doing?" Sirius countered, anger clear in his expression. "After everything, how could you do this?"
"I thought I told you to stay at the school!" she exclaimed. "I don't have time for this right now," she shook her head quickly. "I need to get out there and-"
"Hurt innocent people?" he concluded.
"No, you moron," she replied. "If you were paying attention, you would have noticed that anything I've done has been to protect people. I never hit a person with a spell." His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she huffed, "I need to go. Now would you four get out of here?"
"What's going on?" Remus inquired.
"I will explain it to you later if you would leave," she stated. "Go back to the school where it's safe."
She turned away from them, ignoring the look on James's face, and left without another word. There was no way they would be going back to Hogwarts. Not when people needed help.
It felt like it had been a lifetime before the fighting finally died out, the Death Eaters vanishing left and right. Del immediately made her way to where she told Regulus to meet her after, leaving her hood up.
She waited anxiously for her brother to show up and soon as he did, she threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist, "That was-"
She nodded, "I know."
They pulled apart, both of them removing their hoods. "Let's get back to the school," she suggested, "Quickly."
He nodded in agreement before they both took off, following the crowd of panicking Hogwarts students. It was chaos.
"I have to go find Sirius," she explained as they entered the school. "I'll find you later, okay? Just report to your other Prefect and lay low."
He nodded quickly before they parted ways.
Del navigated her way through the school.
"Did you hear?" someone said and Del couldn't help but overhear.
The other in the group shook their head. One spoke up, "Hear what?"
"In Hogsmeade," they explained. "A kid died."
"Who was it?"
"The Hufflepuff kid-"
Del's head snot up at this and she immediately made her way over to the group of gossiping students. "Sorry, you said there was a Hufflepuff who was killed?" she asked, her head spinning. "Who was it? What was their name?"
"Harry Tonks."
A faint gasp escaped her lips and she backed away from the group slowly. It was like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. Harry? She shook her head as the room around her began to spin. No, not Harry. He was supposed to be safe. He was-
"Black," someone spoke up from behind her and she turned around, half expecting it to be Harry. It was James. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she looked around. Behind him stood an equally worried Sirius, Remus and Peter.
"I - I have to go," she explained quickly and she started to walk away. "I just - I have to."
"Del," he tried but she took off at a sprint before he could figure out what had happened. He took after her within seconds but he wasn't fast enough and she managed to get away. "Del!"
Del rounded the corner quickly, pressing her back to the wall. This wasn't happening. She let out a shaky breath before she pushed herself off the wall and made her way to Dumbledore's office. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.
Yes, it was inevitable that people would get hurt but no one was supposed to die. Nobody.
As soon as she said the password she ran down the stairs, yanking the door open without a knock. "Ms. Black," he greeted.
"You are looking scarily calm after what happened today," she informed him. "A kid died."
"Have a seat," he suggested and she narrowed her eyes. "The others will be joining us soon."
"Others?" she inquired but he said nothing, merely returning to the papers on his desk.
Del sat in the chair across from the Headmaster with her head in her hands. She hadn't the slightest clue as to what to do. Harry was dead and it was all her fault.
"Thank you for joining us," Dumbledore spoke up and she looked up in confusion. She glanced back at the door to find Sirius, James, Remus and Peter at the door. "Have a seat," he suggested as he waved his wand, four more chairs appearing next to Del's, "We have much to discuss."