Chapter 2
Regulus woke up in a good mood.
Something that was pretty common for most people but exceptionally rare for him. Usually he started his days with the dull resignation to the fact that it would be exactly like the day before. Except this day was different.
Because this was the day he was getting kidnapped.
Usually most people would express fear or distress at the prospect but to Regulus kidnapping had meant freedom. It was kind of an ingenious idea really. It had started pretty simply…
“Regulus,” His father called out to him as he had attempted to sneak past his study. A twenty-two year old man and yet he still tried to hide from his parents. Impossible task really, if the Blacks wanted to see you, they would see you.
Regulus walked in with his head held high, not out of defiance, but because he knew if he walked in with a slouch his father would most certainly extend the interaction by going on a lecture of how good posture was the making of a man. He had done it before.
Inside Regulus already knew it was going to be bad news, not only was his mother there standing proudly behind his father and watching him like a hawk but so was his cousin Narcissa.
Regulus loved Narcissa, he really did, she was probably the only person in his family who actually cared about who he was and not who everyone else wanted him to be. She was also the only other person apart from Kreacher who knew that he was gay.
“Regulus sit down,” His father said, and as always Regulus obeyed without hesitation. He saw his mother smile at that, it was small but it was there. He knew she would never love him as much as she loved Sirius but small acts like that did please, even if momentarily.
“Yes Father?” Regulus asked, waiting for the man to tell him what terrible thing he was to undertake now. He was already going to law school as promised, and had even begun attending the political meetings of Riddle and making the connections his parents had been desperate for Sirius to have. A pitiful part of him had hoped that that would have been enough but he should have known better. Nothing was ever truly enough for the most noble and ancient house of Black.
“Regulus, your mother and I have been talking,” His father started and already the pit of dread inside of Regulus started to grow even more “We believe it is time you started searching for a wife,”
Regulus didn’t say anything, couldn’t say anything. His ears were filled with static as his brain began to focus on what that meant for him. A wife, kids, a job at a respectable firm until his father died then becoming the face of the foundation. All while never truly being who he was and feeling like it could all come apart at any moment. It was almost too much, Regulus wanted to curl inside himself but before he got the chance his mother spoke.
“Regulus.” She said firmly in a voice that clearly said ‘pull yourself together’. Regulus straightened himself once more and looked directly at his father.
“Yes Sir,” His father gave a small nod at that, before pulling out a folder from one of his many desk drawers.
“Your cousin has been kind enough to compile a list of appropriate choices and your mother has starred the ones she thinks would be good at filling her role eventually,”
“Thank you,” Regulus said taking the folder and opening it.
His eyes scanned the list and saw the list of names, Mulciber, Lestrange, Vance, Abbott, Carrow… and on and on. He felt a brief flicker of appreciation for his cousin as he noted the name of his childhood friend Pandora Lovegood but that was quickly squashed by the fact that his mother had drawn a firm line through her name.
“Review the list and get back to us as soon as you have a choice,” His father said like it was some big favour. Choosing from a list of who to get married to. Although, looking at his parents he supposed he should be thankful he was never made to marry any of his cousins, although that might have been more to do with how inappropriate the age gap might have seemed.
“Thank you, Father, Mother,” Regulus said rising, he was thankful to see Narcissa already move to follow him out of the room as he tried to process exactly what was happening.
Once they were in the privacy of his room Narcissa spoke in a rush,
“I’m so sorry,” She said instantly and Regulus could tell she truly meant it
“It’s alright,” Regulus said, he was thankful she was there
“It’s not,” Narcissa said passionately. Regulus could understand her feelings. She actually loved her husband. Lucious hadn’t been her parents first choice, they had wanted both their acceptable daughters to be with the Lestrange boys but he was rich and had land stretching back centuries. The two of them had fallen in love and the story of it had been good press. Overall she was quite lucky as far as being a Black went.
A fact that she was so acutely aware of it made her feel sympathy for her cousin even more intensely than perhaps she should.
“When did they tell you?” Regulus asked, wondering how long this had been in the works. He hadn’t even noticed it but he was shaking so much that Narcissa basically pushed him to the bed.
“Last night,” Narcissa admitted, Regulus nodded, relieved that at the very least she hadn’t been keeping this a secret for ages.
“They’re moving quickly then,” Regulus said, still not really processing all that was really happening.
Narcissa, somehow sensing the beginnings of a dissociated state, grabbed him by the shoulders and actively shook until it began to settle into him that this meant the end of everything.
“They want me to get married,” Regulus said, his voice terrified, “What am I supposed to do? They want me to get married,”
He started pacing across the room rapidly, thoughts swirling so violently that he also missed Narcissa’s soft,
“You could run away,”
That was enough to stop him in his tracks. It hadn’t been the first time either of them had broached the subject. Ever since Sirius had abandoned them every time something bad happened one of them would say ‘You could run away’. When Regulus found out he was going to study law Narcissa offered him a head start. When Narcissa realised how painful childbirth was going to be, Regulus had offered to take her to a clinic. Up until that point neither of them had ever meant it. Narcissa had been happy in her life, or at least happy enough to never truly leave this world. Regulus on the other hand knew his parents would never let him get away. He was their redemption and the Blacks would be damned before facing the humiliation of having no heir.
Yet now, looking at his cousin intently he knew she was seriously considering the thought. And for the first time ever, so was Regulus.
“They’d never let me leave,” That was the first issue, no matter what delusions Sirius had had held about his own bravery Regulus knew the main reason he had been allowed to leave was because their parents didn’t see it worth chasing him. Regulus would never be so lucky.
“What if they didn’t know you wanted to go?” Narcissa had asked
It had taken a lot of convincing. Regulus had thought it was stupid at first, but the more they thought about it, the more they talked it out, the better it seemed.
Obviously they couldn’t just call someone up and ask them to kidnap Regulus, that would be too simple. And if they knew Regulus knew about it they would probably just try and bribe his parents instead.
Thankfully, as lovely as Narcissa found her husband to be, he was also less than a law abiding citizen. Which meant that he had more than a few contacts who would get the job done. Narcissa didn’t tell her husband as far as Regulus was aware, not that it really mattered. Lucious liked Regulus enough to not immediately betray him and was sensible enough to know that his wife would never forgive him and that no one would ever believe him.
Who would anyway? The heir to the Black family fortune orchestrating his own kidnapping? It sounded like something out of a badly written story.
Regulus could have started singing when Mr. Kreacher brought his breakfast in that morning. The man in question was in a sombre mood however.
“What’s wrong Mr. Kreacher?” Regulus asked thankful his parents were on a business trip to Germany. Otherwise he would have gotten an earful about showing concern for ‘the help’.
“Nothing Master Regulus,” Mr. Kreacher said with a sigh, Regulus waited a moment. Watching as he struggled to pour the tea, a sign that he was truly upset.
“I suppose I’m going to miss you,” And didn’t that just break Regulus’ heart.
Yes, that was the downside to this otherwise brilliant plan.
Conducting one’s own kidnapping meant being willing to cut off almost all of your former life. Regulus was fine with never seeing his so-called friends again, most of them were only connected because they had the right sort of families. He could admit that he would miss Pandora but she was always off travelling so it didn’t actually make much of a difference to him. It did also sadden him to know he would never see Narcissa again but he was comforted by the fact that she would know the truth, and that she would have her husband and child as company. Really, the only person who Regulus would genuinely miss that would miss him too was Mr Kreacher.
“I’ll write,” Regulus insisted, not for the first few months though, that had been the agreement. To give his parents enough time to lose hope of finding him or at least for the trail to go cold so they wouldn’t be suspicious of any of Mr Kreacher’s post.
Regulus had explained it all to him when he recruited Mr Kreacher to be part of his plan. It had taken just under two weeks to get it all sorted. He had a house in the Italian countryside, nice enough to spend his days but not fancy enough for people to start questioning how he could afford it. He had a new identity along with matching documentation, plus a new name to go with it all. He had explained it all to Mr Kreacher who had been kind enough to call his kidnapper and offer him the money for the job, and insist that Regulus not be harmed.
Which was a small fear of his, yes, he knew that since he would be complying the kidnappers had no real reason to harm him but he hadn’t wanted to risk starting his new life with bruises he couldn’t explain.
The only other thing left to do was transfer the money. Ten million pounds. A hefty sum yes, one that Mr Kreacher had helped him organise. Technically speaking, with the things registered in his name alone Regulus was worth closer to a hundred million but moving that type of money around would attract the attention of the authorities, or worse his parents. Instead he had solved the problem by having Mr Kreacher discreetly sell some of his most valued items. Possibly under the assumption that his family was having cash flow problems so people would pay more.
It didn’t matter, at least not to Regulus. He would be gone from this life in less than twenty four hours.
“I know, but I do worry,” Mr Kreacher added, a small glance to Regulus before serving himself his own cup of tea. Regulus would have offered to do it but he knew that Mr Kreacher was already going against all his butler training by drinking anything in Regulus’ presence at all. Instead he settled for drinking from his own cup in the presence of his life long friend.
“Are you sure you won’t need any more money?” Mr Kreacher asked for what felt like the thousandth time. Regulus didn’t begrudge him though, he understood the concern. Regulus had never worked a day in his life yet part of the plan required him to get a job at some point.
Mr Kreacher had been kind enough of course to give him a few thousand to get himself started in his new bank account but the two of them knew that it was a far cry from the life of luxury he had become accustomed to.
“I’ll be fine,” Regulus insisted, refusing to believe anything else. It was a big change yes, but if Sirius could do it so could he. It also helped that he believed himself to have thought out his plan a lot more than his former brother did.
“If you insist Master Regulus,” Mr Kreacher said eventually and Regulus could see the emotions he was trying to hide as he packed away the breakfast cart.
Just as he was about to leave though, Regulus remembered the package in his desk drawer. Rushing across the room he pulled it out and handed it to Mr Kreacher, who observed it gingerly before realising it was addressed to him. Regulus watched him open it to reveal a silk tie in a deep shade of blue.
“Thank you Master Regulus,” Mr Kreacher said with a smile, if Regulus had been allowed he would have hugged him but he had a feeling that would have been too much for the man. He left shortly after, allowing Regulus peace in what would be his last few hours in the only home he had ever known.
Looking around he can truly say the place never really felt like his. It was an artful blend of Victorian and modern furniture that would have surely made an interior designer swoon, but it was also dark, black and gloomy. It was not the sort of place Regulus looked forward to going to at the end of a long day. In some ways that was a blessing though.
Being kidnapped meant that he couldn’t take most of his possessions, for fear that it would alert his parents to what was really happening. Instead he would have opt for taking the few things he could carry on him without looking suspicious and the items his parents didn’t know he had in the first place.
He changed into his most comfortable pair of designer jeans which just happened to have fairly deep pockets before opening the loose floorboard under his bed. Regulus had discovered it when he was fairly young when his parents had locked him in his room for days while they dealt with Sirius. Over the years it had become a sort of hiding spot for anything he didn’t want used against him. Inside were a few letters he wrote to Sirius but never sent, a cassette tape that Sirius had once gifted him as a birthday present and crystal bracelet Pandora made for him.
A pitiful collection of lifetime possessions but it was Regulus’ and that made it special to him.
Into his pockets he stuffed the tape, he had never listened to it, but the image of the man on the cover had always made him feel warm on the inside and the bracelet. Regulus debated over taking the letters with him. He had never sent them to really they had no connection to his brother but they were also a reminder of all the reasons he was choosing to leave this world behind. He thought about taking them as a reminder, in case in those first few days he would try to delude himself into ever running back to his parents, but then he thought about all the negative emotions they would bring about.
He put the floorboard back in place.
Now came the hard part, waiting.
Regulus knew his kidnapper was coming that night, Mr Kreacher had told the man that Regulus would be fast asleep by eleven and to come around midnight. Regulus doubted he would be able to actually fall asleep but he felt he could fake it if need be.
He had considered being taken from a public place, but that left too many variables. If someone saw him putting up a fight he would have to make it look real and that risked him overpowering his kidnapper. Besides, it also helped that his parents would probably hesitate to call the police if they knew the break-in had happened in their own home. Lest other like minded individuals try the same thing once they realised their security wasn’t all it claimed to be.
Still Regulus also knew it was a good idea to be seen in public today. It would give him something to do, while also making sure it looked like he had been having a perfectly normal day. And if it stopped him spending all his time overthinking everything and doubting his own plan? That was just an added bonus.
Swiftly he grabbed his house keys and called out a goodbye to Mr Kreacher with a promise to be home soon before heading out. Regulus had no real desire to go anywhere, but he also knew that he needed to be seen. Without thinking he began to walk in the direction of Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley was one of those elite shopping streets that only the super rich knew about and only the uber rich could afford. Regulus was a frequent client of many of the stores there. Walking down the street he kept his head held high as every Black would and made sure to step into several stores of which friends of his family would most definitely frequent.
“Black,” Just as he had been expecting, Regulus turned to come face to face with Severus Snape. Possibly the only person on the entire street who couldn’t afford to be there yet felt comfortable approaching those who could.
“Snape,” Unlike his brother, Regulus didn’t hold any particular hatred for Snape, rather he felt a mild annoyance most days. Snape was a social climber, something Regulus would never be able to understand. Once you got close enough to their world Regulus would have been sure that would be enough reason to run, yet Snape kept coming back for more. However, his desire to inject himself where he didn’t belong suited Regulus quite nicely today.
“Nice to see you today,” Snape continued, always overly polite even though Regulus knew he disliked him due to his brother
“Same to you,” Regulus responded knowing he didn’t mean it, usually he would let the conversation end there but a part of him felt a bit reckless today. He was never going to see anyone again, sure he couldn’t let them know that or even give them any inkling that he was going to disappear but something about the excitement of it all made him feel alive.
“What brings you here?” Regulus asked, looking around, they were in Ollivander’s Shoe Emporium. Possibly the most expensive store on the street, his father had told him early on that a man could fake almost anything, except the quality of his shoes. A quick glance down told him that Snape’s shoes weren’t even worth the box they came in.
“Shopping for my new employer,” Snape answered succinctly “Mr Riddle,”
“Ah,” Regulus answered vaguely surprised that Snape had gone to work for a man like that “I didn’t know you were interested in politics,”
If Snape had been someone else Regulus would have mentioned his parents and how they had been in conversation with Riddle for some time now. However, that was way too out of character for that day. Besides, Regulus felt that the conversation had lasted long enough for him to leave an impression on Snape’s day.
Ending the conversation fairly easily Regulus exited the store with no new purchases and instead made his way to The Leaky Cauldron, if he was going to get kidnapped he was going to at least have a drink before he did so.
Regulus made his way inside the crowded space fairly quickly, not wanting to get spotted by some social climbing heiress who would try and get him drunk enough to sleep with her and claim she was carrying his child. He shuddered knowing that was how one of his second cousins ended up married at nineteen. Instead he went to the corner of the bar and waited patiently to be served.
However, before he could order a drink a man sat next to him and slid him a bourbon. Regulus examined the glass briefly before turning to look at the man it came from.
He was handsome, Regulus could admit that much and it was clear the man knew it. At least from the way he carried himself and watched Regulus in return. He had wavy brown hair and beautifully tanned skin, but it was eyes that caught Regulus’ attention. They were two different colours, one hazel the other a dark brown. It made him look interesting. It made him look insane.
Regulus loved it.
“Your name, gorgeous?” The man asked, Regulus kept his face schooled as he took a sip from the glass. The man was definitely rich, he personally knew that even his father considered this particular brand worthy of only special occasions.
Internally though he was panicking, Regulus had never been approached by another man before. Yes he had fantasised about it, placed the idea with his wildest dreams, but he had never thought it would happen. Especially not from a man who looked like that.
He wasn’t blind or stupid. He knew he wasn’t that attractive, his brother had always been the dazzling one, Regulus was just there to emphasize that by being incredibly plain. He had pasty skin, and curly hair that could be appealing if it wasn’t so lifeless and yes he wasn’t objectively hideous but he certainly didn’t deserve the attention this strange man was so willing to give him.
“Silent type,” The man said, looking Regulus up and down in a way that practically forced him into blushing. “I’ll have you screaming later don’t worry,”
Regulus choked on his drink looking at the man to conclude that yes he was in fact serious. Deadly it seemed as he placed a strong, warm hand on Regulus’ thigh before leaning in.
“I have a room upstairs, finish your drink then follow me,”
The man walked off quickly after that and Regulus felt that earlier sense of euphoria come rushing back in full force. Without thinking he downed the rest of the drink, feeling it burn down his throat and make him impossibly warmer before he got up and followed the man upstairs.
As he climbed each of those steps he couldn’t help but think that this was the first step into him living his own life. Into the freedom that would soon be afforded to him. The only thing he could do was ensure that he was home well before midnight.
When he reached the first floor he was internally delighted to find the man waiting for him in front of one of the rooms. Not wanting to appear too eager, Regulus slowed himself as he walked towards the man. Forcing himself to take measured controlled steps.
While this meant he didn’t feel like an out of control school girl it did also give the man the opportunity to essentially look him up and down like a piece of meat as he approached.
As soon as he was within arm’s length the man grabbed him and pressed his lips against his.
At first Regulus felt every nerve was on fire, he had never felt anything like this before he tried to move his arms, his hands, wanting to touch every part of this man and pull him closer.
Except he couldn’t, his arms felt like lead and soon his lips would barely respond. It was almost like he was shutting down. He tried to tell the man that something was wrong until he couldn’t feel his mouth either.
And then, almost as if he was falling asleep, the world went dark.