Regulus was tired. He was tired of his mothers constant nagging. He was tired of his fathers indifference. He was tired of Bellatrix's increasing fanaticism to The Dark Lord. He was tired of Sirius' hatred. He was tired of The Dark Lord's hypocritical campaign which he was being forced into. He was tired of society's expectations from the now Heir Black. And most importantly, he was tired of living.
Everyday seemed to extend into an infinity. Classes seemed to last forever, each one seeming to last longer than the last. Social interactions were tiring, dinner, the Common Room, the Quidditch Team all of it was too much. Regulus just wanted some quiet and peace.
There were a few places where he felt at ease. Like the Astronomy Tower, offering a view of the skies and the stars reminding him of his family without all the bickering and the cold indifference. Like the Great Lake, with the gentle lapping of its waves against the ground acting like a gentle melody which soothed his soul. Like the clouds above the Quidditch Pitch with the air so cold that it made him feel alive. At night, when most of the residents were asleep, Regulus felt truly alive at these places. They brought joy and peace to his mind.
But this peace was no longer enough. It hadn't been for quite some time. That's why he'd taken to cutting himself. The rush of calm that he got after making a cut was addictive. However, that rush got smaller and smaller as time passed. He found that he had to make multiple cuts just for a few moments of calmness.
It wasn't enough and yet all of it was too much. Regulus had made up his mind. He would kill himself. He figured that a large enough cut would do the trick and it would also bring him a sea of calmness. It had to be perfectly planned, he couldn't have anyone accidentally running in on him. He didn't think anyone would go through the efforts of actually stopping him but he wanted to play it safe.
Before he killed himself, he had to do some things. He needed to thank the people who were his friends and tell them they were great, that included Severus and Barty. Obviously he also had to visit the Elves once before dying. He wished he could see Kreacher but that wouldn't be possible because then he'd have to face his mother. He also needed to write some some goodbyes.
Regulus had finally figured out his plan. He would go to the Astronomy Tower around morning, most students and staff were asleep by then and The Bloody Baron wasn't around the Tower so he wouldn't be caught. Then he would make a large cut and enjoy the calm that it brought until he finally died.
On the day of his suicide, Regulus was feeling better than he had in the last few years. His mind was quiet and there was an air of calmness and peace about him. As soon as he woke up, he penned six letters, three to his sisters, two to his only friends and one to his “brother”.
After midnight, he first went to the Greenhouse where he had potted a Narcissa plant, he took the plant and crept inside the Astronomy Tower. He cast a Disillusionment Charm and a Feather Foot Charm so that he would neither be seen nor heard.
As he reached the Tower, he looked at the clear night, he could see all of his family there. He could see Bellatrix, Andromeda, Sirius, Orion and Regulus. In the sky, Sirius and Andy wouldn't be fighting the rest of the Family, Bella wouldn't be a fanatic and Orion wouldn't be indifferent. In the skies his family would be together. He put the Narcissa plant on the edge of the Tower and stepped back. It felt good to be surrounded by family without all the hatred and the indifference.
Regulus shrugged off his robes as he drew his knife from its holster and took a deep breathe. This was it. This was what he had been waiting for, for weeks. He put the tip of the knife near his wrist lining up the tip with the radial artery and dragged it upwards, making a deep cut and drawing blood very quickly. He felt,what could be described as, a torrent of calmness come over him as he made the cut.
He looked at his handiwork, satisfied and sat down near one of the pillars. He gazed at the stars and the plant and remembered all the moments of his life where he, Sirius, Bella, Andy and Cissa had been family. He felt utter tranquility surround and blanket him as blood gushed out of his arm and as life was slowly drained out of his body.
Regulus Black was happy. Regulus Black finally was at peace.
Regulus’ body was found by the Hogwarts Elves when they were cleaning the Astronomy Tower. No note was found alongside the body for he wanted to say nothing to the world, what he had to say, he had said to the people who mattered to him. But a letter was found, crumpled in his pocket, addressed to his brother.
The elf panicked and immediately Heads of Houses and the Headmaster were summoned there and attempts to revive him were made. The attempts failed because the knife discovered near him was cursed. Such were the benefits of being from one of the most ancient Houses in the world, the knife in his hand was cursed such that any wound made by it could never be healed, no cut could be sealed.
And thus Regulus Arcturus Black, Heir to the Noble and the Most Ancient House of Black, son of Orion and Walburga Black, Slytherin Sixth Year was pronounced dead in the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on 31st October, 1977, on Samhain with his wrist slit by a cursed knife. The strange detail of his death was the presence of a previously absent Narcissa plant on the Astronomy Tower.
His funeral was arranged by Lord Arcturus Black, Head of the Noble and the Most Ancient House of Black, as his mother was too hysterical to be present in a public ceremony.
His sisters, Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa were all reunited there, all brought together in the memory of the brother they all loved. Bellatrix remained unusually silent and seemed deathly calm while Andromeda was crying quietly, seething and Narcissa was sobbing audibly. In his letters to them, he had told them how he loved playing with them as a child and how he loved them.
Regulus’ schoolmates and the fellow members of Quidditch teams were also present there, all seeming somber. His friends Severus Snape and Barty Crouch Jr. could be seen drinking heavily, saddened by the loss of their friend. In his letters to them, he had told them how much their friendship meant to him and how he cherished the time they spent together at Hogwarts.
Sirius Black was also in the funeral; uncharacteristically mature and silent. He did not talk to his sisters nor anyone else at the funeral. He only paid his respects to his brother and stayed back until the entire thing was over. In the unsent letter he had written to Sirius, Regulus apologised for not being a good enough brother, he apologised for succumbing to their parents' wishes to join the Dark Lord and he apologised for his existence. In his letter, he blamed Sirius for leaving, for abandoning him at the mercy of their parents and for replacing him with a new brother as soon as it was possible. In the letter, he told Sirius he hated him. In the letter, he told Sirius he loved him.
The members of the House of Black (who had to be there) at the funeral showed a range of reactions; from pity to contempt to disgust to disbelief. Some found it impossible to believe that their Heir would kill himself, so they insisted that he was murdered, as a part of the political attack to try and weaken the House of Black. But very few showed remorse over the loss of the boy.
Lord Arcturus Black, Head of the Noble and the Most Ancient House of Black, was one of the very few people who were saddened by the death of Regulus Arcturus Black. He mourned not reigning in Walburga and Orion, he mourned not intervening when the previous Heir ran away, he mourned letting the half-blood Riddle influence his family, he mourned the loss of his grandson. But there was not much he could do now, for the House had lost its second Heir, and he was too weak from his disease to change anything. The only hope he had left was Sirius, the brightest star in the dark future of the Noble and the Most Ancient House of Black.
As the ceremony came to an end, there was nobody but three people in the Black Manor graveyard, Lord Arcturus Black, Sirius Black and Andromeda Black and by the look on their faces, all of them had something to say to one another.