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Bellatrix's Pov:
Bella lay in the blood, thick red blood, her own thick red blood.
It’s something she’s familiar with…more familiar than anyone should be with the insides of their own veins.
She lays on the drawing room floor, and bleeds from the cuts a violent man made.
The blood is warm and wet, its metallic taste coats her tongue. It’s not a bad taste, she thinks maybe she learnt to like it over the years, or maybe she just stopped caring about the way it turns her stomach.
She slowly moves her head to stare at her father, he stands towering tall over her almost corpse. She can’t quite focus her eyes, her vision goes black, blurry, then black again, in and out like a glitching muggle television, all she can see is a rough outline of her father.
He doesn’t feel guilty or sad about what he’s done, she doesn’t need eyes to know that. She thinks that red must be his favourite colour, the number of times he has ripped open her skin to see Bellatrix red.
It must be a very pretty red if he’s willing to sacrifice a daughter just to see it coat the floor boards. She wonders if he’ll use her blood to paint the walls too, if he likes the red so much, it’s a very Gryffindor-Ish thing to like the colour red. He would kill her more is she said that out loud, she almost laughs at the thought.
She lays in her blood. It hurts, it all hurts, it always hurts.
She wishes Rita were here, Rita would kiss her till the pain ran away, Rita would help her breathe, Rita wouldn’t mind the blood.
Bella wonders if she’s screaming, she thinks maybe she doesn’t have enough strength left to do anything but die.
Dying. she’s been here before, brink of death, end of her time, the clock runs out…tick tock tick tock.
It’s happened a few times, it’s inevitable in the house of black.
Their noble house…so much fear, so much blood.
She blinks sluggishly up at her father and strains her ears to hear the words dripping from his mouth, “you brought this on yourself Bellatrix.” Bella would laugh if she hadn’t lost the ability to breathe. “You stain the name of black, and now you pay in blood.” Where is Andy and Cissy? She wants her sisters. “What a failure you are Bellatrix.” It’s stopped hurting now. Now she just feels cold, numb even. “What did I do to raise something as monstrous as you.” Father’s voice cuts, her skin is numb, her bones are numb, and yet…it cuts. “Bellatrix the monster of the house of black.” How can she be the monster? Not me, she tries to make her lips say. I’m not a monster! She tries to scream.
Father’s voice is cold and cruel, smooth as a frozen lake as he says “if you survive, clean the bloodstains of the floor.”
He strides away, each step loud and sharp ringing through her brain and echoing through the walls of her skull, he leaves her to bleed out all her Bellatrix red blood. He leaves her to die on the drawing room floor.
Usually she would feel rage, fire in her soul willing her to live, all-consuming anger that waits to pounce on those who have wronged her. But now…now she has nothing. The rage bleeds out with her blood.
Maybe it’s ok that she has no more time. She thinks that maybe, just maybe a part of her is Glad that this is the end.
*~*~*~*
Andromeda’s Pov:
Andromeda knows violence.
She understands all its forms, and all the ways it can break and cut. She knows violence, violence knows her.
So why is it still so horrific every time? By now she should be used to it, Numb, Indifferent. But no…
She stares at the blood, and the horror of it soaks into her very bones, she collapses at her sister’s side and she feels the fear crash over like a tidal wave.
The violence still has an impact, even though she has seen things like this a thousand times.
Maybe violence is something you can’t become numb to. Maybe all she can do is understand why it breaks and cuts. Maybe all that can be done is…to stitch the wounds it leaves behind.
she heard Bella screaming, she should have come sooner but she was trying to keep Narcissa away. “Oh, Merlin Bella please don’t be dead.” The words escape her lips in the form of a sob, as she reaches up to her sister's neck to check her pulse.
She gasps in relief when she feels the pulse, it’s barely there, weak and sluggish, but it's better than nothing. She quickly starts healing her oldest sister, she forces potions down Bella’s throat and works spells through her skin. Over the years she’s gotten good at healing the things their parents damaged, she had to be good at it otherwise they would not have survived this long.
Once Andromeda is sure Bella is stable enough to move. She levitates her sisters unconscious but mercifully alive body through the house careful to avoid any creaking floorboards that might alert her parents to her being out of bed.
She sets Bella down on the bed, changes her sisters blood-soaked clothes and pulls a thick blanket over her cold almost grey skin. She looks so very lifeless and broken, it’s wrong so very wrong to see her older sister in this state, when she is usually so full of energy and fire.
Andromeda makes the choice she has been pondering for two days, she decides that enough is enough, she will not let them take any more blood, she will not let them cause more suffering, her parents deserve to die.
*~*~*~*
Bellatrix’s Pov:
Bella walks on legs that threaten to collapse towards the drawing room using Andy for support, it will take her a couple of days to recover from losing such a large amount of blood. Narcissa follows close behind them, she’s been stuck to Bella all day, like an anxious crup puppy and she keeps looking at her oldest sister as if she might drop dead at any given moment.
Bella keeps assuring her sisters that she is fine, but they won’t stop fussing.
They are currently at Grimmauld place, they usually come here every Sunday for dinner, their parents eat in the dining room, and the children eat in the drawing room.
They enter the room, Reg and Siri are already seated on the sofa waiting for them. Sirius looks up as they cross the threshold with a grin on his face that immediately drops when he sees her. “What happened.” He asks standing from his seat, the fear etched on his face makes him look decades older, Bella wishes she could turn back time, back to when he was merely a few days old, when he did not yet know fear, back when pain was a stranger.
Bella pushes away from Andy and sinks down onto the Sofa. “I am fine, stop fussing like mother dragons.” she rolls her eyes and sinks further into the cushions. She does not want them to worry, it makes her feel worse than she already does, she is supposed to be the oldest, the strongest, it’s her job to worry about them not the other way round. “I have plenty of blood left, I. Am. Fine.”
Andy shuts the door and throws up a silencing charm, and turns to look at them all, she looks absolutely enraged, it’s rare that Andy shows her anger so she must be really really pissed off.
Narcissa takes one look at Andy then turns into her Animagus form (a white fox) and trots across the room to curl up on Bella’s lap. She pets her soft white fur gently, it’s very comforting to have a fox sitting on your lap.
“What happened.” Regulus repeats his brother's earlier question.
“Father happened.” Andy says through clenched teeth. “She almost died. She is not fine.” Then she glares at Bella, “you were one minute away from death by the time I got to you.”
“Andy I am fine now, okay? I’m not dead.”
“I had to give you six blood replenishing potions Bella!” Andy snaps her voice getting louder.
“ Six .” Regulus says in a hushed voice, both of the black brothers are now staring at Bella with twin expressions of worry.
“Yes! Six. Father practically used her as a chopping block! I don’t even know how she’s still alive.” The white fox lets out a soft whine at Andy’s words. Andy doesn’t seem to notice as she paces the room in her rage.
“Andy, I don’t need you to tell me this.” Bella says in a hushed voice as she pets little flowers head softly. “The old bastard added plenty of new scars to my collection last night, if I need reminding all I need to do is look at my skin.” The room goes silent except for the sound of their collective breathing. “I know you’re worried, but please for the love of Merlin stop speaking about what happened I... I don’t want to think about it.”
She closes her eyes and tries to block the memory of her father's cold voice ‘ the monster of the house of black’ the words feel like they’re embedded in her mind, clear as day ‘ what did I do to raise something as monstrous as you’ l ouder than fear ‘now you pay in blood’ s harper than...knifes. She shakes her head roughly, and opens her eyes again.
Her cousins look at her with sad understanding, Andy has tears dripping down her cheeks, they all know too well what Bella feels...the need to forget. The desire to rip the Memory from your soul and never again think of the pain it caused. She knows they understand...the silence is proof of that.
Andy is the first to speak up after a few minutes of silence "I have made my choice. I want them dead. And I am going to be the one to kill Father.” Andy declares cold rage seeping into every word.
Narcissa’s fluffy fox head snaps up and stares at Andromeda intently.
“you’re in? you agree to the plan.” Regulus looks at her with something akin to excitement in his eyes.
“I agree to the plan.” Andy sits down on the sofa. “We will not get caught. All four of them will be dead and buried by the end of the month. Yes?” Andromeda looks terrifying, she is the picture of rage and Bella is certain that she could kill someone with a single glance, if Andy wasn’t on her side, she would sprint.
“Yes.” Regulus confirms.
Bella realized in that moment that Orion, Cygnus, Walburga, and Druella…might as well be dead already.
*~*~*~*
Narcissa’s Pov:
Narcissa hastily transforms back into a human so she can speak to Andy, forgetting she was still on Bella’s lap.
Her older sister lets out a yelp as Narcissa appears in her lap. “Sorry Bella.” she climbs of her sister eager to start going over the plan.
Bella chuckles, “it’s fine little flower.” usually she doesn’t use her fox form when their parents are nearby but she was worried about her sister and thought that the silky white fox could do a better job at comforting Bella than she could.
She admits it was also in part to comfort her self, Bella almost died, she almost lost her sister to fathers' violence. What would have happened if there was no one to call her little flower? It's easier not to think about it when she’s in her fox form...
It is safe to say that now more than ever she wants them dead, now that Andromeda has made the choice, she can finally make it happen. “We will do it next Sunday. At the next family dinner.” she surveys the room waiting for someone to object (no one does). “We will have a week to prepare.” this is the breaking point...now they made the choice, there is no turning back. “Are we agreed.”
“ Mum and dad dearest are going to be six feet under on Sunday.” Sirius grins.
“And so, the fun begins.” Reg mutters darkly, twirling his wand through his fingers.
“I will be promoted to mummy Bellatrix, Ha! I can’t say I ever wanted four children or any children for that matter...but you lot aren’t so bad. I expect presents on Mother's Day.”
“Please don’t call yourself that...it makes me want to throw up.” Andy scrunches her face up in disgust.
“We already get you gifts on Mother’s Day you idiot.” Sirius says with a dramatic eye roll.
“We were hardly going to give them to Walburga.” Reg grumbles. “Can we please focus. We have a murder to plan.”
“Reg is right we need to stay focused if we want to stay out of Azkaban, we have no room for error.” Narcissa says.
The others sober up and look between her and Reg waiting for their...instructions? “it’s your plan flower. You and star take the lead, we’ll follow.” Bella says with a smile, Meda and Siri nod in agreement.
Narcissa takes a deep breath and starts speaking, Regulus moves from the couch to stand by her side as they begin their parents ending.
“Now that everyone has agreed we can go over the plan in more detail...
Kreacher will place a sleeping draught in Walburga’s and Druella’s drinks before he serves them, so we can eliminate Orion and Cygnus without their interference. When they have fallen asleep Kreacher will send us a message, we will be waiting outside the dining room, we must enter seconds after they fall asleep otherwise, we risk our fathers waking them.” Narcissa clasps her hands behind her back and begins pacing.
“Next, we have to kill our fathers’. We are not making this look like an accident, we are making it look like two house wives went insane, took their husbands by surprise over dinner and murdered them in a blind rage.” Reg informs them in a calm but eerily detached voice.
“Meda, you want Cygnus?” she asks in confirmation.
“Yes. Yes I do.” her sister say in a voice so venomous it could melt through metal.
“Who wants Orion?” Narcissa ask the room.
“Me.” Reg says, his voice rings through the silence.
Sirius’s face turns sad. “I can do it Reg. You don’t need his blood on your hands.”
“I want his blood on my hands.” Regulus snaps. “it’s time the tables were turned.” he sighs and his expression softens. “Let me do this Siri, for you. For all of us.”
“Okay.” Sirius’ voice is quite and somewhat defeated. "But if it goes wrong. If he overpowers you. I will kill him.”
“Fine with me.”
“Meda kills Cygnus. Reg kills Orion.” Narcissa hums in satisfaction. “it’s best if we they are killed one on one, as it will match the story of Walburga and Druella killing one each.”
“When they are dead, we will scrub any evidence that we were in the room when it happened. Then we will wake our mother’s and give them the poison.”
“Sirius you’ll poison Walburga?” she asks.
“Yeah.” Siri flashes a shaky grin. “And I'll enjoy every second.”
“I’ll do Mother.” Bella says with a sinister smile. “it’s just a shame we won’t see the light finally leave the bitches eyes.” she sighs. “But I will sleep better knowing I was her doom.”
Narcissa nods in acceptance. “Once they’ve been dosed, Reg and I will make the necessary alterations to their memories. They will pass out for a few minutes whilst the memories settle, that will give us enough time to check the room for anything that would place the blame on us, and to leave the room for the final part.”
“We will go to the drawing room and I will send a patronus to the aurors. I will tell them that we are scared and we hear shouting and crashing in the other room, that we were too afraid to leave the drawing room and can they please come and help.” she tells them with a smirk.
“They will probably want to question us when they arrive, it is imperative that our stories align.” Reg looks at them sternly.
“When the aurors arrive, they will ‘break the News' to us that our fathers’ have been killed and our mothers are being put on trial for their murders.”
“We have to look shocked and devasted at the news-”
“that’s going to be tremendously difficult.” Andy says with a groan.
“Yes. But you will all do it any way. We cannot appear pleased about their deaths and imprisonments.” Reg says with a roll of his eyes.
Narcissa thinks it’s a little bit strange how unbothered they all are about the current topic of conversation.
“When they’ve been taken to the ministry, we will have to wait roughly twenty-four hours until they die. We will get a message from the head aurors informing us of their ‘suicides’ and hopefully we will get a separate message that the investigation has been closed. Once that happens it will be safe to say we’ve done it.” she goes to sit down on the sofa next to Bella.
“We will have to appear grieving to the public and Bella as the head of the house of black you might need to release a statement to the daily prophet about how distraught we are. But apart from that all that will be left is to plan their funerals.” Reg flops down on the sofa opposite her, the details of their plan fully relayed and ready to be put into action on the coming Sunday.
“Regulus?” Sirius asks a little uncertainly. “How long have you two been planning this?”
“Since third year.” Reg waves a hand dismissively. “It was a side project; Cissy and I were bored.”
“Third year!” Sirius shouts in astonishment, his eyes wide and slightly horrified. “Side project.” he mutters in disbelief.
Narcissa is slightly worried he will start shouting or maybe break into tears, one of the two she’s not sure which. Sirius does neither, surprising them all by bursting into laughter.
“Jesus Christ...Reggie! What the fuck! You started...planning murder because you were...bored!” he gasps through his hysterics. “I think there's something deeply wrong with our family.”
“You only just figured that out.” Reg deadpans.
“you’re insane! I'm insane. We're all fucking insane!” The laughter turns abruptly to sobs. “we're going to kill them.”
“Oh, for Salazars sake Siri.” Bella sighs and gets up unsteadily from the sofa to crouch down in front of Siri and takes his hands. “It’s not possible to be completely sane when you’ve lived a life like ours. It’s honestly a miracle were not more bonkers.” Sirius let’s out a wet laugh at Bella’s words. “we’ll be more sane than ever once they’re dead. And we’ll be free.” she smiles at him. “you’ll be able to bring your gang of marauders over in the holidays. We can throw parties; we won’t have to live in fear anymore.” Bella wipes the tears from his face. “we’ll be ok.”
Not many people are aware that Bella can be this. That she soothes fear and dries tears. That she rocks you to sleep when you wake from horrific nightmares, and holds your hand when the monsters circle close. The way her mere presence brings a feeling of safety to the other children of the house of black. Or how her words can stich up the worst of wounds. No... not many people know that Bellatrix Black can be soft. But Narcissa knows, the other people in this room know.
Kreacher appears with dinner. “Your meal is served master’s and miss’s.”
“Thank you, Kreacher.” Reg mutters and the house elf disappears with a crack.
“We’ll talk more after dinner.” Meda says.
And with that they settle down at the table, and begin eating their meal.
This time next week her parents will be dead.
*~*~*~*
Regulus’s Pov:
“It’s time.” Andromeda declares standing from her seat.
Regulus follows suit and sees the others do the same. “Is everyone ready?” he asks.
“As I'll ever be.” Sirius graces them all with one of his signature grins.
“Let’s go save our futures.” Bella cackles raising her fist in the air.
“I really hope we stay out of Azkaban.” Cissa sighs, and rubs at her face.
He takes her hand. “We will.” his cousin nods in response. “The next few hours are going to be difficult. Brace yourselves.”
Andromeda leads them out of the drawing room and down the hall, until they come to a stop outside the main dining room of number twelve Grimmauld place.
They wait with bated breath for Kreacher's signal. His adrenaline is at an all-time high, in a few minutes Orion will be dead by Regulus’s wand. He is unsure how he feels about this reality, so he simply blocks the thoughts behind his occlumency shields and chooses to deal with his emotional problems at a later time, hopefully in a slightly less embarrassing way than Sirius did last Sunday. Regulus does not enjoy crying. Especially in front of other people.
Suddenly a green silk scarf appears floating down to the floor at his feet, the signal.
The five of them share a brief look of utter terror, and then Narcissa throws open the doors to the dining room and strides in not showing a shred of doubt or anxiety on her face.
They are greeted with the sight of Walburga and Druella fast asleep face down on the long table, Orion and Cygnus are staring at their wives in confusion.
They don’t notice their children until Bella slams and locks the door, “Hello uncle! Hello Father!” she says in a sing song voice.
“What.” Orion pauses, likely for dramatic affect. “Are you doing here.” His voice rings out harsh and sharp it seems to echo of the walls, Regulus restrains the instinct to flinch and run as far away as possible.
“We came to give our deepest condolences.” Andromeda tells them, false sympathy lacing her words.
“Yeah Dad, I'm seriously sorry for your loss.” Sirius grins at the men, baring all his white teeth.
“Insolent children. I expect this disobedience from you Sirius.” Orion takes out his wand. “But not from you Regulus. Or your cousins for that matter.”
“No one has died.” Cygnus says coldly. His voice cutting through the room. “We have no need of your condolences.”
“Oops!” Bella exclaims. “How silly of me! I forgot to tell you.” Regulus slips his wand from his sleeve and into his hand. “You’re dead.”
Andromeda and Regulus move forward towards their respective fathers at the exact same moment.
Regulus disarms Orion the wand that has caused Siri and him so much suffering goes flying across the room. His Father is so taken aback he doesn’t do anything but stare at his youngest son in shock.
He sees the moment the shock is replaced with rage. The rage of Orion, Regulus knows it well. “YOU DARE!” Father roars, spit flying from his mouth.
He does not give the man a chance to say more, he feels the hatred and years of anger and fear well up inside him. The spell escapes his mouth before he can stop it “Excaeco Aqua.” Orion drops to his knees, gasping and gurgling, clutching at his throat desperately, as the water flows from his mouth.
It’s his father's favourite spell to use on him. Regulus can’t count the number of times he knelt on the floor Infront of his father, drowning, choking, dying...because of Excaeco Aqua. “ Don’t you like it?” He asks coldly. tilting his head to the side in mock curiosity as he looks down at his father. “Your favourite spell.” Orion’s nails dig into the floor making scratch marks on the wood, as he desperately tries to expel the water from his lungs, Regulus knows from personal experience that it is not possible. His father will drown on the dining room floor unless he removes the spell. “I thought you’d like to experience it first hand, since you use it on me so much.” the man's eyes are practically bulging out of his head. “It doesn’t feel pleasant does it.”
Regulus understands the horror of this spell, he knows in intimate detail all the ways it makes you suffer. He would choose Crucio over this any day of the week. He hopes father is suffering as much as he did. If there is any justice left in the world, Orion's mind his screaming.
Regulus feels the anger and hatred fill him up to bursting point, he loses all semblance of calm, as is father doesn’t respond, instead only gurgling and gasping desperately for oxygen. “You BASTARD! You deserve worse than this Orion Black, you deserve so much WORSE.” He shouts the words or maybe he sobs them, Regulus isn’t quite sure. “You tortured us for as long as I can remember. You shed our blood in the name of discipline. You made me choke on this spell more times than I can count. You took our childhoods. You stole our peace. You. Fucking. Bastard!” He’s definitely sobbing now he feels the hot salty tears running down his face. He sinks down onto the wet floor, with his head in his hands, Orion lays dead in a puddle of water. “We’re your children. How could you.” his voice is small and feeble, a bare whisper.
He feels a pair of strong arms wrap around him in a tight hug, the smell of leather and smoke overwhelms him. “It’s ok Reggie.” his brother whispers softly. “He’s gone now. He can’t hurt us anymore.”
He buries his head in his brother’s shoulder and cries like a little child. (So much for no embarrassing emotional displays) Siri holds him close, he thinks his older brother might be crying too.
Orion is dead. Regulus killed him.
*~*~*~*
Andromeda’s Pov:
Everyone else in the room disappears, Andromeda has eyes for only one person, the monster known as Cygnus Black.
She has no fear, she has no grief or sadness, no joy or love, in this moment in time all she can feel is red hot rage. The sheer power of the anger that she has suppressed and suffocated for her whole life, makes her feel like a god. She feels unshakeable, powerful, vengeful.
She takes one look at her father’s angry face and decides she won’t just kill him, first she wants to hear him scream.
She flicks her wand to disarm him, the wand flies from his slender fingers, icy fury floods his face as he prepares to shout at his daughter. Andromeda does not give him the chance to blink let alone utter a word.
To cast the Crutiatus curse you have to want to cause the victim pain. The caster must be ruthless in their desire to break the victims mind and body. The word slips through her lips with no trace of remorse “Crucio” She does not flinch when Cygnus starts screaming, her father writhes on the floor in agony and she stands over him with a smile on her face.
She has had this exact nightmare before, it doesn’t feel like a nightmare anymore, it feels like a dream.
He screams loud, piercing, shattering screams. She wonders if it makes him regret all the times he used it on his daughters. She releases the spell out of curiosity. Father stops writhing, he looks up at her panting harshly, there is no remorse on his face only anger. “ANDR-” he starts to shout in his cruel sharp voice that has embodied her worst fears since she was a child.
“Crucio.” She hisses cutting him of before he can speak. “No more words from you.” she is pleased to see fear start to leak into fathers' eyes. “Why do you deserve to speak, hmm?” she walks around him, circling him like a dragon hunting pray. “When you made Bella’s blood stain the floors.” He thrashes on the floor blood begins to drip from his nose. “When you made Cissy scream simply because she was kind to Kreacher.” His screams are turning hoarse. “When you made me writhe on the floor begging you to kill me, begging you to stop.” She tuts at him, as his thrashing grows weaker. “Why do you deserve to die peacefully.” she laughs cold and cruel, just like him. “I want you to know. I am not insane. I am in full control of my actions.” The man looks at her with eyes that beg for mercy, Andromeda finds she has none. “Every shred of pain you feel is my choice. And when I inevitably kill you. Know that you brought this upon yourself, Cygnus.”
She withdraws a silver knife from the folds of her robes and kneels down next to him.
“You deserve worse than this. If I wasn’t short for time, I would inflict worse.” The words are like poison dripping through her teeth. “Goodbye Father, suffer in the afterlife.”
She brings the knife to his throat.
The man shakes his head weakly, trying to move away from his death.
The knife cuts his throat like butter.
The blood spurts from his neck, she watches as he chokes on the crimson blood. She watches as the life bleeds from his eyes.
She drops the blade and stands up; Sound comes rushing back, Andromeda suddenly remembers that she is not alone in the dining room. For the last few minutes her world had narrowed down to her and her father. She had forgotten her sisters and cousins were here.
Her sisters stand together watching her calmly, Bella has a slight smile on her lips, Cissa has tears on her face and she’s holding Bella’s hand tightly. She approaches them slowly, part of her fears they will flinch away from her, maybe they will view her as a monster.
She stands Infront of them waiting for judgement. However, she finds none Narcissa flings herself forward and hugs her tightly. Bella joins in and they stand in the silent embrace for seconds, minutes, hours...Andy can’t quite tell.
When they eventually break apart Bella is the one to speak, “Thank you for making him suffer.” she says squeezing her hand softly.
Andromeda nods and blinks tears from her eyes.
“It’s not over.” Narcissa warns. “That was the easy part.”
She sighs, and looks over towards the two brothers, Reg is crying into his older brothers' shoulder, Orion lies unmoving in a puddle of water.
“I know.” she turns back to her sisters. “Time for stage two.”
*~*~*~*
Sirius’s Pov:
Andy’s words make him break away from Reggie. It's not over yet, this was only the beginning.
“Come on Reg, we still have a long night a head of us.” Sirius stands up and pulls his baby brother up of the wet floor. It’s...strange, seeing Orion so very dead. His father is dead and Reg killed him, Sirus realizes that he’s not sorry. What does that say about him? Does that make him as much of a monster as Orion?
He thinks that maybe it doesn’t matter, Maybe the only way to kill monsters...is to become one yourself.
“Siri.” Reggie's voice is small and unsure, Sirius hasn’t heard him speak like that in years. He sounds so young, so...broken, no trace of his usual grumpy, sarcastic self. It’s sometimes too easy to forget he’s only fifteen “Do you hate me now.”
He feels his heart shatter, physically break into a million tiny pieces. He feels like the world has spun back in time, all the way back to Regulus’s first year...
Reg looks up at him grey eyes darting back and forth between Sirius and the floor, his brother looks terrible, purple bags under his eyes, hair dishevelled, his skin pale as parchment. Sirius hasn’t seen him since the sorting, Reg has been avoiding him.
He has gotten pretty good at reading his little brother over the years, and he knows the look in Reggie's eyes...grief. It’s the same look he had when Walburga killed the stray cat that Reggie found when he was five, she made him watch...Reggie didn’t cry when she snapped its neck, he simply stood there and stared in Silence. But Sirius saw his eyes, his eyes showed the hollow grief, the terrible acceptance of what had happened, and yet still feeling every inch of the pain.
After he had tucked a silent Reggie into bed that night. Six-year-old Sirius had laid awake, staring into the darkness, hoping to Merlin and every other deity that he would never again see that look on his brothers' face.
Apparently, the deities didn’t hear him.
“Do you hate me now.” Reg whispers, it’s not said as a question despite the wording, the words are spoken with acceptance and trembling certainty.
It is in that exact moment that He realizes what his little brother is grieving. Regulus black believes that he has lost his big brother.
His brother, his baby brother, whom he has protected and loved, the little boy that has for as long as he can remember been the centre of the universe. Believes that Sirius has abandoned him.
Sirius stares at his brother in horror.
Regulus looks like someone has ripped out is heart, the eleven-year-old boy hangs his head and goes to turn away. He has clearly misinterpreted Sirius’s silence for conformation of hatred.
He snaps a hand out to catch Reggie's wrist before he can leave. The boy flinches harshly and looks at him with wide eyes. Sirius can’t stand it anymore; he has to fix it. “Reggie do you truly believe it is possible for me to hate you?” he takes his other hand, and looks him directly in the eyes “You are my baby brother. I cannot hate you; I will never ever hate you. I don’t care that you're in Slytherin. I. do. Not. Care. I know you Reggie and I love you. A stupid sorting hat won’t change that.”
Tears fall from Reg’s grey eyes, carving a path down his face and dripping onto the stone floor. “Oh.”
“Don’t hide from me like that again, you idiot.” Sirius says as he pulls his brother into a tight hug. “And you look terrible by the way, have you slept this week?” he chides softly.
Reg clings to him as if he’s afraid Sirius will be dragged away, shakes his head. “I was...”
“Thinking I would abandon you? Even though you know you could literally Crucio me insane, and I would still stick with you like a leech?”
“Shut up.” Reg mumbles.
Sirius laughs, “There’s my Reggie.”
Sirus shakes the memory away and blinks a few tears from his eyes. “Regulus. I have told you before and I will tell you again. I cannot hate you. You're my little brother, how could I possibly hate you.”
A small smile appears on his brothers tear stained face. “Just checking.” he scrubs at his face, and takes a deep breathe. “Okay we really need to begin stage two.”
“Yeah.”
Narcissa walks over to them, “Reg remember you need to do at least twenty spells, in case the ministry checks our wands. Andy’s already done hers.”
“I know, I'll do it now.” Reg says with a nod, and begins casting a series of random spells.
“Siri will you make sure whatever spells he used on Orion are on Walburga's wand? Bella is doing Druella’s wand.”
“Yeah sure.” Cissa hands him Walburga’s wand, and walks away to speak to Reg.
It feels wrong to hold his mother's wand. He quickly casts Expelliarmus and Excaeco Aqua, then places the wand on the table. It’s a relief to have the spiteful stick out of his hand. It’s the first time in his life that he hasn’t been on the receiving end of the stupid thing.
“Come here everyone! It’s time we wake the gargoyles.” Bella declares loudly.
He makes his way round the large dining room table, eventually coming to a stop next to Bella who stands next to Druella’s sleeping form.
He looks at his mother who is still sleeping face down on the table a few seats down from Druella. “Tie them to the chairs before we wake them up, unless you want them to tear your eyes out.” Reggie instructs, he’s pleased to see his brother back to his usual charming self.
Andy flicks her wand, ropes appear out of thin air, binding the two women to the chairs. “That should be enough to hold them.”
“Hopefully we will still have eyes by the end of the night.” Narcissa says drily.
Sirius lets out a bark of laughter. “Fingers crossed.” he grins.
Bella pulls a small vial of purple liquid from the pocket of her robes, and tilts her mother's head back pouring a few drops onto her lips.
“Let’s wake them one at a time.” Reg says, as Druella begins to stir.
They all watch as she wakes up, looking around in confusion, horror dawning on her face when she notices the bodies on the floor. “What have you done.” she tries to stand but the ropes hold her fast. His aunt looks around wildly at all of them, her usual decorum disappearing as she realizes her predicament. “Free me at once!” she demands in her typical shrill grating voice.
Bella stands behind her mother, grabs her hair and wrenches her head back. The batty middle-aged women let out a shriek, as she is forced to stare up at her eldest daughters grinning face. “Sorry Mummy. Not. Going. To. Happen.” Bella flicks her forehead to punctuate each word.
“How dare-” Druella begins to screech.
Thankfully Bella claps a hand over her mouth before she can say anymore. “Ah, Ah, Ah.” His cousin wags a finger as if telling of a naughty child. “None of that nonsense.”
Bella pulls out another vial of potion, this time the liquid is a sheer grey colour. This is the poison that Reg and Cissa have been creating since third year.
“I wish we had time to play, Mother.” Bella sighs dramatically as she uncorks the bottle with her free hand, the other still firmly on Druella’s mouth. “But sadly, we’re on a bit of a time crunch.”
Bella forces her jaw open and tips the poison into her mother's mouth, Druella splutters and gasps as the potion goes down, her eyes wide with fear. “Drink up.” Bella laughs, and steps away.
“Your turn little flower.” she waves Cissa forward.
His youngest cousin walks slowly towards his aunt, her face is fixed into a blank mask. Her posture perfect. She brings her wand up to Druella’s temple. “Andromed killed Father. Regulus killed Orion. Bella Kiled you. Sirus will kill Walburga.” she says her voice cold her eyes harsh. “You will die. Your Children are what killed you. We are your Karma. We are your justice.” His aunt looks terrified, straining against the ropes, trying fruitlessly to escape. “When you rot in your graves, we will be here alive, and we won’t mourn any of you.” Narcissa smiles. “Goodbye mother. Obliviate.”
Druella’s face goes slack as silver light begins to pour from her wand, Covering her head in a hazy cloud of magic. Cissa has her eyes closed, frowning in concentration as she modifies the memories to suit their cover story.
When it is done Druella blinks blearily and then passes out, head lolling back against the chair. “We should have about fifteen minutes before she wakes up.” Cissa informs them, she looks a bit queasy, swaying slightly where she stands. Bella moves forward to steady her.
“Are you ok, Cissa?” Andy asks anxiously.
“I’m fine. It takes a lot of magic to alter memories to this extent. My magic just needs to rebuild I'll be back to normal in a few minutes.”
“We need to hurry up, we have little time left.” Regulus says looking directly at Sirius. “Are you ready Siri.”
“Yep. Let's go wake the bitch!” He replies, stuffing all his fear deep down in his chest, pulling on all of his Gryffindor bravery.
Regulus nods and hands him the potions.
The five of them move to surround Walburga. He takes a deep breath, pulls her head of the table and pours the purple potion into her mouth.
She wakes up almost instantly, her eyes snapping open, her body going stiff. She surveys her surroundings critically, inhaling sharply when she sees the two bodies and the passed-out form of Druella. When she realizes, she is bound to her chair, her cruel eyes find his.
“ You .” she spits. Glaring at him as if she wishes she could perform the killing curse with her eyes.
“Me.” Sirius replies, he meant to sound angry, but instead he just sound tired.
“I should have KILLED YOU when I had the chance.” He’s heard her use similar words before, it doesn’t really hurt him anymore, it used to- "YOU ARE A STAIN ON THE NAME OF BLACK. YOU ARE SCUM OF THE EARTH. A BLOOD TRAITOR.” -But he’s become numb to it over the years, prolonged exposure to the crazy hag leaves a person fairly hollow. “YOU ARE NO SON OF MINE.” Usually, his mother says this type of stuff while he writhes on the floor, so he supposes this is a small improvement. “HOW DARE YOU-”
“Shut your worthless mouth!” Bella’s voice cuts off Walburga’s shrieking.
Sirius realises he stands frozen and blank faced at his mother's side. He had almost forgotten there are other people in the room. He feels a hand on his shoulder, he twists his head to see Bella. “Don’t listen to her. If anyone is a stain on the name of black, she is. Give her the poison. Quickly now.”
He shakes the cobwebs from his head and focuses on Walburga, Bella’s words jolt him in to action. He looks down at his mother, the woman who has caused him so much pain, cracked him open and taken pieces of him that he won’t ever get back. It’s enough, he so tired of it, of her...
He can see her mouth moving, spittle flying everywhere as she rages. He blocks the noise and doesn’t hear a word she says as he tips the grey potion into her mouth, watching as she chokes on the poison as it slips down her throat. He moves away from her. “Reggie your up.” he says in an empty voice.
Sound returns in a rush as Regulus steps forward. Walburga is still screaming insults at him as Regulus presses his wand to her forehead. However, Reggie does not cast the spell, instead he looks into Walburga's furious eyes and starts speaking with a smile on his face. “Before I edit your memories, I have a few things to say.” Sirius notices the mischief on his brother's face. Oh, fucking hell this is going to be fun.
Reggie turns briefly to look at them. “Can I tell her?” He understands almost immediately what Reg means, Sirus feels a grin spread across his face, he nods at his brother. He sees their cousins do the same. “I want you to know I am dating Lily Evans and James potter.” Walburga for the first time in living history is rendered speechless. “One day I will marry them, I will marry a muggleborn and a blood traitor. Their names will be on our family tree and there is nothing you can do about it.”
“Sirius.” his little brother points at him. “Is gay and in love with a half-blood, Remus John Lupin.”
“Andy.” his finger moves to point at Andromeda. “Is in a relationship with Ted Tonks, he’s a muggleborn.”
Walburga pales with every word, she looks horrified,
“Bella has been dating Rita Skita for two years.”
“Narcissa is dating Alice Fortescue.”
Regulus chuckles. “In twenty-four hours, you and Druella will be dead. Do you know what that means?” He pauses briefly. “The only living members of the house of black will be blood traitors. Your noble name will be carried on by a bunch of Queer blood traitors.”
Sirius lets out a snort of laughter. “You failed in your mission, Walburga. We all stain the name of black.”
“Burn in Hell mother...Obliviate.” The silver light floods Walburga's disgusted face, after a minute Reg steps away, her body goes limp.
Regulus takes a deep breath; Sirius puts an arm around his brother so he doesn’t collapse from magical exhaustion.
“We have about two minutes before Druella wakes up.” Andy says. “We need to check the room.”
It's almost done now, soon it will all be over.
They set about scrubbing any evidence of their involvement from the room, removing the ropes from their mothers, and setting things in the correct places.
He looks around the room. Once they’re done. “Time for stage three.” he says to no one in particular. They file out of the room and towards the drawing room leaving their parents to their fate.
*~*~*~*
Narcissa’s Pov:
She holds her wand out, ready to cast her patronus, to send to the ministry. “This it. Stage three.”
“Tread carefully, one wrong move and we are Azkaban's newest residents.” Andy says looking around the room sternly.
“We’re all brilliant at lying thanks to our happy childhoods.” Sirius says with a wide lopsided grin that is not at all appropriate for the situation. “We were basically born for this moment; the room will be our stage!”
“Or a more likely scenario, this room will be where the put us in chains and drag us off to the dementors.” Reg scoffs.
“Oi! don’t dampen the vibe, I'm trying to build group moral.” her older cousin exclaims in mock offence.
Before Reg can reply with some morbid or sarcastic comment, Bella cuts in. “Shut up you pair of morons; we are trying to not be convicted murders! Your squawking does not help.”
Once they both appear chastised and mercifully silent, Narcissa clears her throat and addresses the room. “All of you stay silent, whilst I send the message.”
She takes a moment to fortify herself, preparing to put on a show to keep them out of prison, and brings a happy memory to the forefront of her mind...
Narcissa is on the outskirts of the forbidden forest, an array of flowers litter the ground around them, the sun is warm on her face.
Her back is leaning against the trunk of a tall oak tree, a book about advance rune magic in her hands.
Alice lays with her head in Narcissa’s lap, she runs her free hand through her girlfriend's short brunet hair, enjoying the feel of the silky strands at her finger tips.
She looks away from her book briefly, to find Alice gazing up at her as if she is the universe and all its many stars, reverent and soft as if Narcissa is the most precious thing in the world.
She feels her heart stop in her chest, as she meets her girlfriend's beautiful hazel eyes. The other girl reaches a hand up to cup Narcissa’s cheek, she leans into the touch.
“I love you.” Alice whispers the words, a warm smile on her face.
Narcissa has been thinking those exact words for months, over and over again...I love you Alice Fortescue, I love you, I love you, I love you. It has been true for a long time now, longer than either of them knew. Narcissa had never been brave enough to say it, never having quite enough courage to utter the words that would lay her heart and soul out to her most precious person.
But how could she possibly keep the words hidden any longer? The words flow from her lips as easy as breathing. “I love you too. Alice, I love you so much, I don’t even know how it’s possible to love someone as much as I love you, but...I do.”
Alice’s face lights up, pure joy dancing on her perfect features. “Oh, I wanted to say that for so long, I love you Narcissa Black. I love you so much.”
Narcissa’s heart soars with happiness, she thinks this might be the most joy she has ever felt in her life, it fills her up from head to toe, she feels it in her very soul...
“ Expecto Patronum.” The form of a fox burst from the end of her wand, made of pure glowing white magic. The beautiful creature bounds once around the room before coming to a stop at her feet.
She takes a deep breath and then begins the message. “Please send help.” her voice comes out in a sob though her eyes are bone dry. “My mother and aunt have gone crazy, we can hear screaming, I think they are attacking my father and uncle.” She lets out a whine of fear. “Please send aurors.” she lets out another full body sob. “We are too scared to leave the drawing room, please send help.” she gasps a shuddering breath. “To Number twelve Grimmauld place, the black family residents.”
She sends the patronus free it bounds through the window and out into the night a blur of light in the darkness.
Then she turns her focus to her family. Her oldest cousin and two sisters stare at her in open disbelief. Regulus is smirking with a smug glint in his eye. “They will be here in about five minutes.” her voice is calm and level, void of the false hysterics that filled her every word only moments ago.
“Jesus Cissa, your acting is terrifyingly realistic.” Sirus says, a bit of awe creeping into his voice.
She rolls her eyes, then waves a hand to dismiss the complement.
“Our mothers should wake up and start screeching any minute now.” Reg says, a smirk still on his face.
Right on cue they can hear indistinct wails and screeching from the other room. “And... there they go.” Meda says with sigh of utter exasperation.
Bella laughs, and then claps her hands together to call their attention. “Get your ‘I am a terrified child’ faces on. It’s time to fool the ministry!