⤞❅⤞❅⤝❅⤝
Chapter 12
⤞❅⤞❅⤝❅⤝
Pacing in the back of the wine bar, Regulus' worry only increases as the minutes pass by. 20 minutes late... why would they be 20 minutes late?
"Lord Black?" The familiar male voice speaks behind him. Turning he spots the man. Erik. Stepping closer he leans in to whisper. "If you know what's good for Miss Lupin then you will allow me to apparate you out of here without a scene." This bastard. Not willing to risk Grace's life he gives a nod. Gripping his arm harshly, they land in what looks like an abandoned house where Grace's body lays across the floor unconscious. Immediately ripping his arm away from the man, Regulus lifts his wand at Erik but the man remains unfazed. "You can't hurt me right now."
"Want to test that theory?" Regulus growls, ready to end this man for laying a hand on his partner.
Taking a small knife out of his pocket, Erik slowly cuts a line across his arm before gesturing toward Grace's body. Following his prompt, Regulus' stomach drops as he sees the same cut form across her arm. "A pretty simple binding spell. Temporary for only a few days, but effective for what I need done."
Regulus swallows, the reality of the situation hitting him. "And that is?"
"Your death, Lord Black..." His voice is unwavering and confident, nothing like the nervous man Regulus had seen behind the receptionist desk each day. "The way I see it, we have three options." He walks forward toward the Auror. "Option 1 and my personal favorite, I kill you then allow Grace to wake up and arrest me, launching her career forward with my capture... Option 2, you kill me, thus ending our beloved Graces life as well... Or Option 3, You attempt to arrest me, and I kill myself before you have the chance." He glances over to Grace with oddly soft eyes. "Taking my love with me."
"She is not your love." Regulus hisses wanting to rip out his throat.
"Mmmm so quick to anger when it comes to her... so possessive... We both know you won't risk her life." He raises the knife up to his own throat. "So tell me, how would you like to die tonight?"
Lowering his wand, Regulus takes a second to look over Grace carefully. I will keep you safe. He thinks, before finally looking back at the killer. "I need to be absolutely certain Grace is safe. Let me apparate her to her brother then I'll return."
Erik scoffs, pushing the knife closer to his own neck. "And how do I know you won't return with back up?"
"If I am not back in the 60 seconds it takes to apprate her away and return then you can kill yourself as you said... But I will return. I'm not going to gamble with her life."
Pausing to think it through, Erik has to agree that he does not see Regulus risking Grace's life, after all it is that very idea that his whole plan hangs upon. With a nod and a gesture towards her body. Regulus walks over and scoops her in his arms. "60 seconds. She's dead otherwise." He emphasizes, drawing a bit of blood from his neck.
Looking at her Regulus wishes he could get one last look at those eyes he's come to crave. I'm getting you out of here, Grace. You'll be safe. I'll make sure you are safe.
Apparating to the Potters, he is immediately met with looks of confusion from Remus, James, Lily, and Sirius who glance up from their various seats in the living room. Setting Grace down next to his brother, he looks into Sirius' eyes as he simply says, "Please tell her how much I love her." Without giving them a chance to react, he apparates back to the vacant home and once again sees Erik just as he left him, holding the knife against his own neck firmly.
Preparing for his own death, the Auror silently wishes to have had more time... to have properly been able to make Grace his Lady Black, to have let her fill the halls of 12 Grimmauld Place with never ending books, to have spent the rest of their days laughing and holding onto one another. In the next life. He silently promises. I swear it.
However, as the man contemplates all these thoughts and wishes for what his future could have been, he is unaware that back at the Potters his elder brother went into an immediate panic as soon as he left.
Having been friendly with a large number of ministry folks, Sirius has been made aware of a test charm that James' team has been approved to utilize. Without hesitating Sirius grabs James' wand as soon as Regulus vanishes and casts the charm that will allow him to track down someone who just apparated.
It is only around 8 seconds after Regulus returns to the vacant house before Sirius lands within the room, James' wand in hand.
As soon as Erik spots the elder Black, he begins slicing his neck. "NO!" Regulus screams as he launches forward toward the man followed by Sirius who isn't exactly sure what's happening, but assumes they do not want to see this random man slitting his own throat in front of them.
With Reggie tackling his body, and Sirius grabbing the knife, they disarm him before too much damage is done. "Knock him out gently!" Regulus screams to Sirius as he struggles pinning his body down. "He's linked to Grace!"
Casting the first offensive spell he can think of, the man is knocked out with a swift wave of power, or so it appears. Unbenounced to the Black brothers, the clever killer has placed wards throughout the abandoned home, one of which would neutralize basic attacks. Had Sirius used a more advanced spell it certainly would have hit and knocked the man unconscious, but no... As the simple spell was cast the killer was quick to act as if the spell actually had the intended effect, buying him time until Regulus loosens his grip once more.
With Regulus falling for the act and removing his hold, Erik has no hesitation in lifting his wand. "Imperio!" Regulus's eyes turn a ghostly green as the curse used to kill so many of his victims corrupts the Aurors mind and he falls under the influence of the unforgivable curse.
"Fuck! Reggie!" Sirius screams toward his brother, taking in the fact that he cannot harm the attacker straight on without harming Grace. As Regulus begins a swarm of attacks, Sirius doges and blocks. "Reggie! Come on!" Sirius screams during a break in the wave of casts. "You can fight this!"
And with that phrase Erik laughs, believing that to resist and fight an unforgivable curse is pointless, after all he's killed enough women with it to know. Blast after blast are launched towards Sirius as he refuses to cast back at his younger brother. Causing even more damage to the already crumbling building, Sirius does everything he can to avoid the strong casts his little brother launches uncontrollably.
It's pointless to run forever. Erik thinks as he watches Sirius breathing heavily. However, what he does not know is that from a young age both Black brothers were trained to perform both Occlumency and Legilimency by their cruel parents.
Regulus was a natural at both mind skills while Sirius struggled, mostly from a lack of motivation to bother learning, but the elder brother possessed enough of the skill that as he dodged another blow from his younger brother, he launched an invisible hand straight into Regulus' mind. Hoping that the addition of another invasion would allow his brother to slip away from the curse, Sirius screams down the connection, "Come on Reggie! Wake up!" He yells over and over into his brother's mind. "Grace needs you! I need you! Now get it together and snap out of it!"
Seconds tick by as Regulus' out of control body continues to launch attacks, while Sirius continues to doge and try to reach his brother. Finally, using every ounce of strength left in his body, Regulus sends a mental pulse that launches both Sirius and Erik from his mind as his knees hit the floor and he pants searching for air.
Immediate concern once again overtakes him as the idea of Erik slitting his throat plays again. Grace! The Auror worries as he fears Erik taking his own life again. However, luckily for Regulus his act of casting Erik out of his mind has left the killer in a rage.
Eriks mind begins losing the sense of logic that his plan once had, and now has become consumed with the need to kill the man who has bested him... the man who has captured his obsessions heart... the man who rules with a pure blood status just like his father. You will not beat me! The killer screams internally as he begins launching a series of violent spells at Regulus.
Dodging as many spells as he can he lets his guard down for just a second to check on Sirius across the room trying to help, but within that second a red light shoots straight to the Auror. "Crucio!" The word echos in Regulus mind as he falls to the floor experiencing the brutal torture curse.
Pain fills every sense and he screams, wishing for death to take him over continuing this pain. With Sirius in a panic over his brother's state, he attempts to hit Erik with any spell he can think of, but his knowledge is just too limited. Releasing Regulus from the torture curse, Erik quickly hits Sirius with a simple spell that launches him across the room and knocks him out.
Turning back to the Auror who is now gripping his chest and panting as he tries to recover, Erik strolls over towards him and as he approaches he no longer sees Lord Black but now a crumpled version of his Father. The man who left his mistress and bastard son all alone. The man who refused to acknowledge him. The man who caused all of this... Raising his wand back, he casts the incantation that makes any wizards blood go cold, "Avada Keda-"
"Avada Kedavra!" Another voice cuts him off as the green power of the killing curse launches towards the insane man, crumbling him dead on the floor in the blink of an eye.
"NO!" Regulus screams, seeing the lifeless body fall before him and knowing the same fate awaits his love. "NO!" He screams again, readying to fight whomever just saved him only to doom Grace, but as he looks up to see where the cast came from he is met with the warm brown eyes of the Ravenclaw who has his heart.
Crying, the witch runs over and tackles Regulus back onto the ground. "I'm sorry!" She screams as she holds him. "I'm such an idiot!" Behind them, both Potters, Remus, and the on-call Aurors arrive to collect the body and assist Sirius' head wound.
"You're alive?" Is the only thing Regulus can whisper against Grace as she cries against him.
Finally taking a breath she pulls back to look at him in his wintery eyes that are red with fresh tears and nods her head. "Lily saw the mark on my neck forming and identified the binding spell before casting the counter."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Regulus pulls her into a rushed kiss. "Oh thank Merlin." He pulls her close, terrified she might disappear from his arms. "We need to name our first kid after her or something." He lets out a shaky laugh against her lips, tears of relief falling.
She joins in his laughter before kissing him again and whispers. "Our first kid huh?"
"Or the second?" He offers with another more confident laugh, pulling further back to look at her.
"You're missing some steps there, Reg."
He shakes his head, looking over at her as the relief of knowing she's safe fills his chest. "I love you, Grace."
New tears fall down her cheeks as she nods her head repeatedly. "I love you too. Oh gods, I love you so much." Pulling her back into a deep kiss, they fall into their own little world as the voices around them disappear.
⤞❅⤞❅⤝❅⤝
A/N:Hope you enjoyed this portion of the story, it's my first murder-mystery type story so I was hoping the reveal and motives came off well. Would love to hear what you think!
Mini Epilogue is next!