parasite
Regulus looked down at his arm like it was a parasite eating away at his flesh. He inspected the intricate detail in the ink that had cut through his skin and embedded itself into his very soul. He traced the lines in the tattoo gently and contemplated how he could possibly get out of his current predicament. The time he once looked forward to he now dreaded. He couldn’t possibly face James and Sirius like this, he couldn’t look his brother in the eye and tell him what he had done because he knew that it wouldn’t matter to Sirius whether he was forced to take it or not. He knew that Sirius would have never done what he did, he would have rather died than taken the dark mark and become just like the rest of his family.
Regulus put a small black jacket on before transforming into his animagus form in hopes to cover the mark up. He knew that they would end up seeing it eventually but he hoped that this would buy him enough time to let him hug his brother one last time before his world would burst into flames. Regulus tapped on the window gently and James quickly opened it letting Regulus in. Regulus transformed back into a human and began slowly walking over to Sirius who was sitting on James’s bed. Before Regulus could take more than two steps Sirius flew off of James’s bed and hugged Regulus tightly. Regulus wrapped his arms around Sirius in response. As Regulus stood there hugging his brother who he knew he may never see again he felt his emotions begin to spill out of him as he began to softly cry.
“It’s ok Reggie. I’m right here and I’m never gonna let you go again.” Sirius said, trying to comfort Regulus as best he could. Regulus knew that Sirius’s promises were all in vain but even so he felt inclined to believe that somehow Sirius would stay true to his word. Sirius slowly let go of Regulus as a small tear rolled down his cheek. “Merlin! Now you’ve got me crying too.” Sirius said. The two brother’s both wiped their eyes with smiles on their faces. Sirius’s gaze drifted to Regulus’s arm. The sweater Regulus had on had rolled up a little revealing a small bit of black pigment on his arm. “What’s that?” Sirius asked, pointing at Regulus’s arm with a confused look on his face. “Nothing!” Regulus said quickly, pulling his sleeve down to cover the mark fully and pulling his arm close to his chest with a scared expression on his face. Sirius reached for Regulus’s arm and forcefully pulled it towards him, rolling up his sleeve to see what was underneath. When Sirius saw the mark on Regulus’s arm his face changed first to shock and then to anger.
“Comment oses-tu!” Sirius yelled at Regulus. “Sirius, écouter moi. J’ai pas le choix!” Regulus yelled back in a pleading tone, tears forming in his eyes. “Il y a toujours un choix!” Sirius shouted back. “Guys, calm down. What’s going on?” James asked, trying to mediate the situation. “I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Sirius said, tears forming in his eyes, “What’s going on is your boyfriend is a death eater.” Then Sirius began walking towards the door as tears streamed down his face. “Sirius, s’il vous plaît!” Regulus yelled desperately. Sirius stopped with his hand grasping the door knob and turned around to get one last look at the person he once called his brother. “Tu est exactement ressembler à notre mère.” Sirius said before turning the door knob and leaving the room. “Regulus, is that true?” James asked with a concerned look on his face. “Jamie, you have to understand, I didn’t have a choice.” Regulus said pleadingly. “Answer the question, Regulus.” James said in a stern tone. “Yes. Sirius was telling the truth.” Regulus said reluctantly. James looked down for a moment before opening his mouth to speak again. “I think you should go.” James said with a look of betrayal on his face. “But James I-” Regulus started before James interrupted him, “Regulus! Just leave before you do more damage than you’ve already done.” James said coldly.