Barty had gotten the message on a Tuesday night. He had been reading up on the mechanics of creating a new spell when a familiar owl came to his window.
“Why the hell is Reg’s owl here at this time?” he muttered under his breath as he opened the window. The owl, Cassiopeia, perched right on Barty’s headboard. He grabbed the letter tied onto the owl's foot. As he had the letter in hand he was filled with a sense of dread, he knew something was off. He glared at the paper, willing himself to open it. That's all Barty had to do, just open the letter. Regulus would be fine, he knew Regulus would be okay. They were strong.
With one last deep breath he opened the letter.
Help me killer.
Those three words.
Help.
Me.
Killer.
With three simple words Barty’s world came crashing down on him.
No. No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.
He gasped for air, vision blurring and his surroundings disappearing. He was trapped, he couldn't breathe but he needed to focus and find Regulus. His Regulus. But he couldn't see anything. Everything was blurred. All his senses were dull. He can't fucking breathe but he needs to to be able to find Regulus. He kept choking on his own breaths. He couldn't calm down and he needed to get himself together. His heart felt like it was exploding and his hands wouldn't stop shaking and he couldn't move.
What if I was too late? What if what if what if what if what if what if what if.
No. He needed to calm the fuck down. “Get yourself together.” he grunted. He needed to put Regulus first. Regulus was always first, him second. He grabbed his wand and took deep breaths as he walked outside. The darkness surrounding him didn't make his panic settle anymore but he pushed it into the back of his mind. Focus on Reg.
As he looked around he heard a soft voice. It sounded like they were..laughing? No, no it was someone crying, and it was a sound he knew all too well. Without thinking he ran to the source of the noise. As he approached he heard splashing underneath his boots. His stomach filled with dread. There was a smell in the air, the smell of iron.
“Lumos” he spoke softly, causing there to be a small amount of light around him. He was starting to calm down before he looked to see what the liquid under him was.
“W..what. What the fuck.” Barty whispered. His face quickly paled and his breath became haggard. Next to the huge puddle of blood was a body. The body of someone he loved dearly. “No..what the fuck” he yelled.
“Reg..hey what happened Reg?” he laughed with hysteria, this couldn't be real. Barty was just imagining Regulus seizing in a pool of his own blood. He crouched down next to Regulus and cupped his face in his hands. Blood soaked Barty’s clothes, shoes, hands, face everywhere was just red. He tried not to scream, it took all of his willpower to not scream. He didn't know what to do. What was he supposed to do?
“Barty..” Regulus gasped, “Make it stop hurting, please make it stop Barty I need it to stop.” she cried. Tears were streaming down their face as they squirmed and writhed in agony.
Barty nodded “Of course Reg, I’ll make it stop for you. It won't hurt anymore and you'll be fine I promise.” His voice was thick with tears but he had to be strong. For Regulus.
He couldn't stop the tears from forming as he spoke. “You know I love you right Reg? I love you so much.” his voice cracking as he spoke to the younger.
“Of course idiot.” Regulus laughed. “I know you love me, and I love you just as much so don't ask stupid questions.” she tried to smile but instead she ended up wincing. Barty was just so painfully angry seeing his lover struggling so much.
“Okay, we’re gonna get you help, so just stay awake?” Barty pleaded. “For me, please stay awake.” He looked into Regulus’ silver eyes and held back a sob. This was so unfair and Regulus was so tragically beautiful it hurt him.
Regulus mumbled something under his breath that Barty couldn't make out. “What did you say?” Barty asked, desperately wanting to know, he knew it was something important. He could feel it. Regulus’ eyes were slowly closing but Barty knew he couldn't let her pass out.
“No no no, you've gotta stay awake for me Star. I know it hurts but you've gotta stay awake.” He desperately rambled. Please I can't lose you. I can't lose anyone else.
The last thing Regulus heard before welcoming the darkness was Barty swearing he would save her. And the last thing Barty heard before Regulus passed out was something that broke his heart.
“You'll always be mine, killer.”
Barty cried a lot that night, harder than he had ever cried before, harder than anyone had ever cried in his opinion. And he cried for days and weeks and months after.