Regulus closed the broom cupboard once he had taken one. He jumped above his skin and his skin jumped higher than his heart when four of his friends showed up just behind the door of the cupboard.
He rolled his eyes to the sky, finally feeling his soul back after a jump scare. Sirius beside him watched and shrugged away the look Evan was giving him. He didn't really care. But he wished Regulus would stop hanging out with these aspiring Death Eaters while they were still aspiring.
"There's no quidditch practice," said Barty, pointing at the broom Regulus had in his hand. He didn't even seem to care about the answer to that, but rather to the underlying question, "What are you doing?"
He sighed. He really wished to keep things secret a little longer. Just a few more, just until after defeating the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, they were caught.
"And you," he pointed a finger at Sirius, "are not a quidditch player."
He, too, was holding a broom.
"Care to explain, Black?" Dorcas asked behind the two boys.
"Which one?" Sirius' answer earned glares from the opposing house, except for Pandora.
"I got this, brother." Regulus knew if he did not intervene, blood might be shed on the wooden cupboard. He didn't have the time to clean up their mess. "I have no time to explain. But Barty, Evan, don't be Death Eaters."
"What?" Both girls asked seeming to have no idea about it whilst the two boys stood frozen, wide-eyed at Regulus.
They had talked about how they wouldn't tell the girls about their intention to follow the Dark Lord. But he just did.
"Regulus," Pandora began but she couldn't search for words to say.
"The Dark Lord may want to purge our world from muggles and we wanted that and we wanted to follow him. But I don't anymore."
"Is it because of that girl?" Barty asked straight away.
Even if he didn't mention any name, Sirius looked back at his brother. His playful, smug expression earlier washed away. Barty and Evan's tensed shoulders shifted to them. Naturally, after barging into the castle with no Invisibility Cloak she would be seen by anyone. Literally. And they just saw them.
"Dorcas and Pandora saw a girl talking to Dumbledore with his friends," Evan looked at Sirius, "and is saying something like killing the Dark Lord and asking Aurors for help except the students," said Evan.
Regulus sighed in frustration. Not from Callie but from the fact that they saw and heard her plan against Voldemort.
"Can we first go back to when Reg said you are planning to be Death Eaters?" Dorcas' voice went higher with every word. Disbelief and upcoming disappointment waited for them before it exploded right before their faces.
"Evan?" she looked at him. And even though she was at their back, he looked down and away. "Barty?" She did the same and so did he.
Dorcas didn't need them to open their mouths. She sighed as disappointment cleared the room for explanation.
"Just get out of the way." Regulus took their attention back. "Let us do what we'll do."
"What will you do?" Pandora asked, a sharp, knowing tone in her voice.
Regulus stared at her. He knew how would they react if he said it, he knew they wouldn't like it, and most of all, he knew they wouldn't let him. But he had to keep Barty and Evan safe from the Dark Lord. And if that means going through the path he chose, then so be it.
"End the Dark Lord."
"Regulus—"
"Please, Evan. Listen to me." He swallowed, searching for the next words. He wanted to make them believe that they were wrong about the Dark Lord, but he didn't know what to tell them. "That girl Dorcas and Pandora saw, she's my girlfriend. And she's a muggle-born—"
"Regulus-"
"Let me finish, Barty. Yes, I despised muggles because that's what is taught to me. That's what I believed. But Callie, she...." Oh, how would he even begin? "Her blood doesn't define who she is. If anything she's better than us Pure Bloods. And I love her. And I won't let the Dark Lord or anyone harm her. It's a lot to explain but the Dark Lord mustn't be trusted.
"I know I asked you to join me and be his follower too—"
"Regulus—"
"Not now, Dorcas. Save the lecture after this. I asked that because I was scared. Now, I ask the both of you to step back, do not follow him as you planned and keep yourselves safe."
"Do not follow him?" Evan repeated.
Regulus nodded. He looked at both his friend, expecting an agreement. And he got it when Barty nodded.
"But step back? Aside? No can do, Black." Barty grinned. "We're coming with you."
He didn't know which one is worse. Regulus wanted to slap himself but he knew that would do nothing.
"No," he disagreed firmly.
"You know you can't stop us, right?" said Pandora, taking her wand and gripping it. No matter which side he was on, Regulus would receive help from all of them, especially on the side of peace.
"It's dangerous!"
"And?" Dorcas asked.
"You're mad."
"Like you're the one to talk. You're the one who's in the plans of killing You-Know-Who. Which one of us is mad?"
Regulus rolled his eyes.
Sirius leaned to him for a whisper. "We can't waste time. We have to get there before them."
His brother nodded and faced his friends. He raised a forefinger at them. "Don't do anything stupid. You're not coming with me. You're staying in the Common Room, finishing your homework."
Regulus didn't wait for their disapproval. The Black Brothers ran to the Chamber of Secrets to get Basilisk fangs. And the four watched.
"So?" Pandora asked, waiting for their plan to be laid out.
"Get change, find that girl or Black's friends, and go with them," Evan said as the four of them watched the brothers disappear from their eye shots.
"Which Black?" Dorcas asked, earning a glare from Evan and a snicker from the two.
°°°
The rotting smell of the basilisk, flying to the Lestrange Manor in secret, and getting in wasn't the hardest part of the Black Brothers' mission.
Sirius just had to keep himself together not to throw up with the smell of the dead basilisk. They already had the broom and both were experts in flying, especially Regulus. Being in Slytherin's Quidditch Team Seeker had lots of its perks.
"Show off," said Sirius playfully when his brother evaded an obstacle.
And finally, the getting in. As if really Regulus was meant to be a Death Eater to help them. He knew there was a hole that Bellatrix blasted in one of her fit episodes. They hadn't fixed it. Thanks to that knowledge, the brothers were able to get in, undetected.
"Backdoor," Regulus whispered to his brother as he led the way. He had Sam's wand in his hand, ready to shoot anyone with the intention of capturing them. And Sirius had his fist ready to make someone's nose bleed.
It was the kitchen, dimly lit. And no one was inside. But the brothers could hear echoes coming from the hall.
"They're not in the woods, my lord," said an unrecognizable voice but Regulus knew that man was a Death Eater.
"No one had seen them anywhere we asked," another one said.
Callie's hunch was right; they were searching for them. Of course, they would. After the Killing Curse, no body turned up. Voldemort would've known they were alive one way or another, however possible.
They got out of the kitchen but they walked through the hallway towards the hall.
"And in Hogwarts?" Voldemort asked, voice rising. He tried to control himself, but all his followers were standing on thin ice. Another failed attempt at finding them and he'd kill them himself.
"We cannot enter Hogwarts, my lord," said a third different voice.
"We will." That was an announcement, an announcement of charge.
Regulus looked back at Sirius as though asking if he heard that too. Sirius nodded with wide eyes. They had nothing to warn the others at Hogwarts that Voldemort would come just to find them. Or...
He wouldn't have to come to Hogwarts if they were already there. Both brothers harboured the same idea in their minds.
Regulus turned his head back. "We've got to go in."
"Not yet." Sirius craned his head when he heard footsteps.
"I know. We've only got one wand. And we have to destroy the locket first."
"Any idea how?"
"I do."
The Black Brothers jumped from their skin. Regulus turned around, pointing the wand. Sirius swung his fist. But both brothers stopped when they saw who it was.
Peter.
The traitor.
Sirius grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground. Peter's feet barely touched the floor and horror filled his gaze but he never closed his eyes looking at Sirius.
"I know what I did!" he cried in a whisper. "It was wrong. I was wrong. I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have betrayed you. I shouldn't have betrayed her!" His terrified gaze softened, falling off of Sirius' intense one.
"You trusted me. And I broke that trust. I was just... I was scared. I am scared. When Callie said You-Know-Who might have known what we did, I panicked. I went to him hoping he'd spare me. He said he would protect me, only if I tell him everything."
"And you did," Sirius spat through gritted teeth.
"I did. Sorry isn't enough. I almost killed you. He hurt all of you. She hurt Callie."
"Because of you." Regulus par Sirius' anger.
Peter nodded in acceptance. "I know you'd all hate me after what I did. I know. But Callie, she..." A smile crooked up his lips. "She didn't. She pointed out I was wrong. But I'm brave. Not because I'm brave enough to betray you, but because I'm brave enough to do the right thing. That's when I knew that I'm stupid and she was right. But I don't know how. Until I saw you two in the backyard. I can help."
"Why should we trust you?" For goodness sake this rat (no pun intended) already betrayed them! He told Voldemort about them, and now Callie had that scar and her perfect plan was messed up!
"Because I'm brave now, Sirius. I'm brave now to do the right thing."
"Do you think that's enough?" asked Regulus.
Peter hoped it was. But they didn't seem convinced. He had no one to blame but himself. And he knew that. But he got one more card to play. He slowly said his hand on his back pocket but Sirius tightened his grip.
"Don't. Move."
"Okay! Okay. In my back pocket. Your wands are in my back pocket."
"Reg."
Regulus nodded. He slid to his back, pointing the wand still at him. He craned his neck to see five wands sticking out from one pocket and another one in the other. The five are theirs just as Peter said.
"I took them when they didn't see it. Callie's things are in a room. James' Invisibility Cloak was with them. They didn't know what it was so I kept it a secret."
Regulus took the wands. He gave his brother his and he took his own. He set aside Sam's wand and then, both brothers were pointing their wands at Peter. Sirius took the rest and hid it.
"I can turn into a rat—"
"Literally or figuratively?"
"Literally, Sirius. Please, listen to me first. I can turn into a rat, take the locket off of You-Know-Who, and you can take it from there. His followers weren't in the hall and he was alone there."
Neither brother moved. That was a sign clearly for Peter.
"Please. We have to destroy that one last Horcrux. Help me prove myself to Callie. That she was right about me. Because she is!"
"What do we do if you crossed us again?"
"Send me to Azkaban."
Sirius swallowed. Peter had told him how he'd rather die than go to Azkaban. He even had a dream once where he was there and he wasn't able to sleep for days. But now, he just told them to put him in a place worse than death.
"You have my word, Sirius."
He nodded. They gave Regulus a second chance once he decided to choose his side. Now, he'd do the same to Peter.
"All right."
He finally let him go.
Peter pulled a small smile. But he deemed that inappropriate at the moment so he pulled it down right after. As he said, he transformed into his animagus. Regulus watched for the first time. He might have seen them transform back into being humans but never going to their animagus form. This was the first.
When the transformation was done, he went out of the pile of clothes he once was wearing and ran out to the hall. Sirius and Regulus followed quietly. Before showing themselves, they hid by the wall but they kept their eyes on the rat climbing up to Voldemort.
Voldemort was on a chair with closed eyes. Regulus could only guess he was planning the things he'd do to them.
When Peter was already on Voldemort's nape, he looked at the two. And quietly, while the Dark Lord was still closed eyes, they took that as a signal and walked out, wands pointing at the sitting figure.
They didn't know how it happened. But in a second, Voldemort opened his eyes, took his wand, and Sirius was on his knees.
"No!" Regulus cried as Sirius did too under the Cruciatus Curse.
Voldemort sighed and Peter fell off to the chair. With his wand still pointed at the tortured Sirius, he walked.
Regulus wouldn't know what to do. He wanted to make Voldemort stop but he didn't know how but to cry out, "Stop!"
Tears didn't bother gathering in his eyes. They fell fast watching his brother undergo again the same curse he already escaped two years ago.
Sirius screamed. It wasn't loud to be deafening, but Regulus wished he was deaf. He didn't want to hear those cries again. He thought they both were past that after he left their house. He never knew he'd hear his brother scream in pain again.
"Regulus, my boy," Voldemort called. "Come. Join me. All your betrayals will be forgiven. Just take my hand." He opened his free hand whilst the other kept his wand on Sirius.
"Reg— AH! NO!" Even if his voice cracked, he yelled still under the curse.
"I understand that it was all a mistake. Isn't it?" He stopped the torture and Sirius fell to the floor.
"Reg... no...." Even his voice left him. But he didn't care. Not when he just got his brother back and he was turning against Voldemort.
"That girl just convinced you the wrong way, didn't she?"
He nodded, looking down and remembering what Callie said before. He kept his hand in his pockets.
"But I understand that they can be deceiving. And you just made a forgivable mistake."
Regulus slowly walked to him, eyes on the floor as though he was weighing options. "I'll be forgiven? From everything?"
"Yes." Voldemort nodded. "Everything my child."
"My family won't be of disgrace for what I've done?"
"Yes. Yes, they won't. Everything will be just as they were before."
"Reg don't listen to him!" Sirius hadn't even finished the sentence when he yelled under the Cruciatus Curse.
Regulus looked back. His eyes broke watching his brother suffer. But his face remained stern, unwavering, just as they were before.
He turned around and walked to Voldemort. He finally let go of Sirius as he slumped down on the floor, tired. Every bone in his body was in powder pieces. His nerves, whenever touched another, electrocuted him. But none of that was as painful as seeing his brother enter the opened arms of Voldemort.
"Regulus, please...." He couldn't cry out even if he wanted to. Even his voice had left him.
"Come, my child," said Voldemort, opening his arms wider.
Regulus closed into him. He was nowhere but mere centimetres away from Voldemort. His gaze fell to his hand; the wand. Then to his chest; the locket.
He could feel the wretched breath of the Dark Lord in front of him. How it pierced him like the tip of a sharp wand. But he didn't mind it. He closed in further. Further. And further.
Until his hands took the wand and the locket.
The world slowed spinning.
Regulus pulled them off of Voldemort.
He turned to his kneeling brother, trying to get up after the curse.
"Sirius!" he yelled as he threw the locket.
It took Voldemort a minute to realize what happened.
Regulus held Voldemort's wand with both his hands. He was ready to break it.
Sirius caught the locket. He fished the fang from his pocket.
But before either the brothers could do their next move, they stopped when Regulus felt the beyond-death pain striking his body and he yelled in pain.
Bellatrix had her cousin under Cruciatus Curse, marching down the stairs.
"No!" Sirius yelled, gripping the fang tight and watching his brother fall to his knees and let go of the wand he had in his hand.
More Death Eaters entered the room. They took Sirius and held him down. But he was Sirius, holding down is not applicable to him. He kept resisting with life.
Bellatrix ended the curse for a moment and let the Dark Lord take his wand. Regulus fell to his hands, elbows almost buckling if not for the remaining energy he had in store.
"You've exhausted my patience," Voldemort told Regulus, walking around him with his pent-up anger trailing behind. "I have given you every consideration I can give. You had been my favourite disciple, my favourite follower. You had been devoted to me. So, I expected you to come back to me, to your family. But as it seems, you are not, after all, the Golden Child of Orion Black. I am disappointed. You are a disappointment."
Regulus didn't know what was more of a torture, the curse or his words. The tears gathered in his eyes fell to the floor where his dishevelled face mirrored him.
All his life, every moment of it, from the moment he was born, he did everything he could not to be a disappointment. Especially to his mother.
But what could he do? He was wrong. They were wrong. Callie was right. And she showed that to him. He loved her. And loving her would disappoint his parents. But did that matter?
"I have nothing else to give you, Regulus. Nothing but death."
"No!"
Voldemort raised his wand.
Regulus closed his eyes.
Not yet. He prayed. Not yet. He hadn't given Callie her pendant. He hadn't said his last goodbye to her, his last embrace, his last I love you.
He wasn't scared to die. He was scared to leave her. Not yet.
"Avada-"
Voldemort couldn't finish the curse. He jumped on his feet. Once more. Then again. And then again. And then again!
Sirius watched in confusion as Voldemort seemed to be dancing. Then, like a speck, he saw a mousy rat biting his feet- Is that Peter?!
That was Peter!
Using everyone's state of confusion, Sirius took the locket and poke one Death Eater with his wand, the other with the fang. He rose from the floor and grabbed his brother.
Bellatrix pointed her wand towards her cousins, ready to kill them. But instead of the Killing Curse, they heard a different one.
Breaking of the window.
And then, "Expeliarmus!"
Witches and wizards entered from the broken window and barged into the door. In front of everyone was Callie, on a broom with Dumbledore.
°°°
A/N: Wow... 70k+ reads... Ending a few chapters away... Wow...
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But, wait! A BIG, MASSIVE THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR REACHING ANOTHER MILESTONE WITH ME! Thank you for reading TTFW and see you at the last chapter soon!