Chapter 5
“This is a horrible idea,” Mary stated, grimacing at the dirty shirt and mud Evan had smeared on her face. “I could just stay home on this one. It’s less risky.”
“You’re the sword holder,” Regulus said. “The sword picked you, you’re meant to be on this quest as much as we are.”
“Oh, I know that,” she said, smugly. “I just think pretending to kidnap your muggleborn ex-girlfriend to get into the Malfoy Manor is one of your less genius ideas.”
“They’ll never believe it otherwise,” he sighed. “And trust me, I don’t want to do it either.”
“Word of Reg’s deflection has already started to spread,” Evan explained. “Barty owled this morning. Voldemort doesn’t know yet, but your family sure does.”
“I don’t care if he knows or not,” Regulus straightened. “Or about any of them.” Briefly, his gaze flickered to Mary, who was adjusting her sleeves. “It’s worth it.”
Mary hoped her cheeks hadn’t flushed, and she folded her arms over her chest. “I still think it’s unnecessary.”
“Narcissa will have my back if it comes to that,” Regulus said. “But if Evan and I walk in there like the last two days haven’t happened, they’ll know something is up. If we go with you, they’ll think we’re trying to get back into the Dark Lord’s good graces. And unless anyone can think of another idea, this is the only plan that will work.”
Mary tried not to sigh—and Regulus caught her gaze, briefly reaching to squeeze her arm. “You know I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know,” she said, and she did.
“We can’t apparate there,” Evan told them. “The closest we can get is a three hour walk.”
Mary scrunched her nose. “I have to be covered in this shit for that long?”
Evan shrugged. “Honestly, it makes you look much better.” Mary and Regulus both reached forward and promptly whacked him in the head. Evan grunted. “Okay! Dicks.”
“Let’s get a move on.”
So they did just that—the apparating was the easy part, and the hike dragged. Other than Hogwarts and the occasional Order missions, Mary had never seen how wizards really lived. The Malfoy Manor, apparently, was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forest completely.
Mary gazed around curiously, spotting a few magical creatures she’d learned about in school, like a little kelpie in a small lake they passed, and a knarl that skittered past them.
“This brings back memories.”
“Being lost in the woods?”
“We are not lost,” Evan argued. “But yes. When Barty and I were friends we used to play in the forest by my house. Trying to find any sort of creature we could.”
“To torture, no doubt,” Mary mused, and Regulus snorted from behind her.
“Hilarious Macdonald. I’ve always found magical creatures fascinating. But anyway, that was before. Guess it doesn’t matter now.”
Mary knew that both of them mourned their old lives—Regulus before he got the mark and Evan when his only concern in life was sneaking to the Hufflepuff kitchens for a late night snack. They’d both lost a lot, Regulus had betrayed his entire family after years of brainwashing and Evan had followed after him without a second thought. Well, perhaps he had a second thought or a glimmer of regret, but Evan would never admit it. Point was, she struggled not to frown at the rare seriousness of his tone.
“Sounds nice,” Regulus sighed. “At my house, we used to play catch the knife.”
Mary took a swig from the water canister, and nearly spat it out. “The fuck was going on in the House of Black?”
“Merlin, Reg,” Evan shook his head, amusement growing. “Your mum’s a nutter.”
“Dad’s idea, actually,” Regulus corrected. “Said it’d make us into stronger men.”
“The patriarchy is good for no one,” Mary rolled her eyes. “Jesus Christ.”
A yelp sounded from Evan, and Mary whipped her head around to face whatever had attacked him, freezing at the sight of a squirrel darting across the ground and scurrying up a tree. “The fuck was that?”
“A squirrel,” Mary answered, simply and trying not to laugh. “You know magical creatures aren’t the only ones out there, right?”
Evan glared after the animal, then turned back to her. “Anyway, Didn't your mum leave you at a train station?”
“Oh, yes. She’s quite the sweetheart,” she snorted. “It’s fine, though. I’ve forgiven her. I mean, I never want to see her again, but I’ve forgiven her.”
“Yeah,” Regulus hummed, then came to a stop. “Okay, there’s the manor.”
Mary straightened immediately, inhaling deeply. “Fuck, okay. I’m nervous.”
“You’re nervous?” Evan echoed. “I just about shit my pants twenty feet back. Luckily it seems nobody is guarding the front gate.”
“Spoke too soon,” Regulus said, nodding as a man dressed in all black moved to stand outside.
“Do they have twenty-four hour security?” Mary wondered. “The fuck? I hate rich people.”
“All right,” Regulus grunted, just as Evan said: “Relax.”
“Looks like Yaxley.”
“No fucking way.”
“It would make sense,” Mary said. She vaguely knew who Yaxley was—one of Voldemort’s closest and most loyal followers. He was a big threat to the Order, and someone they’d been after for months. The boys turned to her, perplexed. “You know, having him here to stand guard. Considering there’s a horcrux inside.”
“Oh, yeah,” Evan nodded. “Guess that does make sense. So how are we doing this?”
“Yaxley will be easy to fool,” Regulus said. “He’s always been an idiot. It’ll be Lucius and whoever else is inside that’s the hard part. Mary and I will be the diversion. It’s your job to find the notebook, Evan.”
“Oh, great. More pressure.”
“Here,” Mary detached the sword from her hip, and quickly conjured it to look like a simple ring. “Don’t use it until it’s the right time. The spell will wear off.”
“Your girlfriend just proposed to me,” Evan said, smugly, and Mary rolled her eyes.
“I’m not his-” Mary should have finished defending herself, but Regulus’ smug smile had her closing her mouth. “Whatever. You guys ready?”
Regulus nodded, and Evan strayed back from them as they approached the gate. The nearer they got, the tighter his grip became on her. It didn’t really hurt, not really, but Mary writhed under it subconsciously, heart thundering.
Yaxley straightened immediately at the sight of them. She knew he didn’t recgonise her, and perhaps that was why he looked so intrigued, or perhaps it was because of Regulus.
“Black,” he drawled. “Well, well. Funny of you to finally show up.”
“Yaxley,” Regulus greeted just as coldly. “Found this one scouting the area. She’s an Order member, grabbed her before she could report back.”
“An order member, hm?” Yaxley narrowed his gaze, taking a step closer. Instinctively, Mary backed away, smacking right into Regulus’ chest. He silently squeezed her arm. Relax, it meant. I’ve got you. “How pitiful of them to still think they’ve got a chance at defeating the Dark Lord. Those blood-traitors and mudbloods will be extinct by the time the year ends.”
“Is the Dark Lord here?” Regulus wondered. Mary tried not to show her genuine shock—this was where Voldemort hid out? “I wanted to bring her straight to him. She’s caused quite the problem, you know. Close with my disgrace of a brother.”
“Ah,” Yaxley nodded. “One of Sirius’ little sluts, hm?”
Regulus’ hand compulsively clenched against hers, but Mary felt him nod. “Yeah,” he said, and if she hadn’t been so close, she wouldn’t have heard how raspy his voice was. “So is he here?”
“Dark Lord isn’t very happy with you, Regulus,” Yaxley circled them, slowly. “He says you’ve been skipping out on meetings. Your mother, you know, covers for you. I suspect it’s to keep your name dignified.”
“Is he here or not?” Regulus demanded, and she could sense his irritation.
“He’s not,” Yaxley replied. “But I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you took her to Bellatrix. He will find whatever she does to this.. Order member a suffice punishment. What’s her name?”
“Macdonald,” Regulus ground out. “Mary.”
“Ah. The mudblood. I remember, now. Mulciber bragged about his time with you.”
Mary glowered at that—the reminder wasn’t pleasantful at all. Mulciber cornering her in the halls, her yells for help, her week spent in the infirmary.
Regulus was clutching at her so tight she thought he might break skin, and her hand subtly brushed his. It’s fine. Don’t lose focus.
“Everyone will get their time,” Regulus said, jaw tight. “Mulciber won’t be the only one with bragging rights.”
Yaxley grinned, his teeth yellow and jagged, until he finally pushed the button on the gate. A loud pop went off to the side, and Mary knew it had been Evan. Yaxley whipped his head around. “What was that? You’re sure she was alone?”
“She might have run off,” Regulus told him. “But I only found her.”
“I’ll check it out, you two hurry inside.”
As Yaxley turned his back, Evan bolted through the gate in front of them, giving them a victory grin while they followed after. He quickly hid in the bushes until they passed, and Mary’s nerves only grew as they made it closer to the house.
“Mary,” Regulus said, lowly at her back. “Love, are you alright?”
“Fine,” Mary nodded, it wasn’t a lie, though it wasn’t the truth either, and she tried to ignore how his term of endearment also made her feel . “I knew it was coming. I’m fine.”
“Right.” Regulus seemed unconvinced, but he knew not to push her further, especially not now.
Mary’s eyes raked up the front of the manor, it was one of the largest buildings she’d ever seen. It trekked across the entire courtyard, seeming endless on either side, and it stood incredibly tall before them, flickering candles in every window, though instead of welcoming, they made her feel uneasy. The house was dark, with a pointed roof and nearly no movement inside.
Regulus pushed open the door, still holding onto her and leaving it cracked open for Evan so it wouldn’t attract too much attention with its movement.
The inside was even more unwelcoming, Mary could remember Sirius describing his own house the same way, dreary with little to no decorations, just carpet, family portraits and chandeliers. This was almost like that, though Mary could spot a few knickknacks that she assumed were Narcissa’s doing.
“Cousin, there you are.”
Mary would recgonise Bellatrix’s shrill voice anywhere. Her curls were tossed, eyes large and frantic, and her husband trailed closely behind, eyeing the two new faces like a cat watched a mouse.
“Here I am,” Regulus said, cold though not disrespectful.
This was it—they had to distract them all long enough for Evan to find the notebook. Mary tried not to shake under the stares of all these Death Eaters. She could only name a few, Lucius, the Lestranges, and Greyback.
“There have been rumours about you, little cousin,” Bellatrix stalked toward them, circling. “That you deflected. But here you are. Why is that, Regulus dear? You’ve missed quite a few meetings.”
“Her,” Regulus said simply, then he briefly squeezed her hands, and threw her onto the floor. Or perhaps gently tossed was the proper terminology, though Mary made it seem like it was much harder than it had been, skidding to her knees. “She’s an Order member. She disrupted my last mission. I’ve been on the hunt for her ever since.”
“You let a mudblood deter you from the Dark Lord?”
“Of course not. Though, I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know he can torture her at any time of desire. Do whatever he likes. I found her outside, ready to apparate and unravel everything. She’s basically Dumbledore’s sidekick, you know.”
“Is that so?” Bellatrix neared Mary, and she glared up at her. “How does it feel, mudblood? Not having your precious headmaster here to protect you?”
Mary’s throat went dry. Bellatrix hadn’t done anything—Dumbledore hardly meant a thing to her, but she was right. Even with Regulus behind her, the thought still shook her to her core. And it was why Bellatrix cackled out a laugh at her reaction.
“Wow, Regulus,” Bellatrix turned to her cousin. “She’s very good. You almost had me fooled.”
“What?”
Mary’s blood ran cold.
“Did you think you were genius enough to outsmart us? Did you really believe I didn’t see little Evan Rosier running up those stairs? I know what you did,” she stepped past Mary, sneering into his face. “And she’ll be the one to pay for it.”
At first, Mary thought she’d staggered to her feet on her own, then she thought it had been Regulus roughly yanking her upright, but with a fright, she realised it was one of the Lestrange brothers.
“Shame,” he murmured as Mary glowered at him, scrambling to find her wand, but his hold was so tight her vision started to blur. “You’re a pretty one, too.”
She felt sick, fighting against him as he dragged her back away from Regulus, and she struggled to dig her heels into the ground for any sort of control. The floors were hardwood and her attempts hardly had any effect.
All of that training, all of those missions, and she couldn’t even get free from a Lestrange.
Regulus’ shouting was the only thing audible from her ringing ears—she’d never heard his voice so graveling, it echoed off of every wall and even the Lestrange paused for just a moment.
Evan’s announcement that he’d found the book was supposed to be a small pop—and it sounded from somewhere to Mary’s right. He must’ve seen the commotion, because the rest of the plan went straight to hell as he charged into the room.
“Let her the fuckgo, Rab-”
“Reg’s always been soft,” the Lestrange sneered. “I should’ve expected this from him. But from you, Rosier? You’re a fucking disgrace.”
“I said let her go-”
Mary used the distraction to her advantage, and promptly leaned up and elbowed the Lestrange in the chin, and he staggered back. Mary hadn’t even noticed the blood dripping from her neck at the firmness of his wand until she coughed violently, nearly gasping for breath, and Evan clutched at her.
“Bellatrix’s got Reg,” she managed to spit out.
Evan’s head whipped around, and Mary peered over his shoulder to see Bellatrix and her husband cornering him.
Lucius was nowhere to be seen—and Greyback was watching with great amusement.
“Dobby! Tell Lucius to summon him, now! He’ll be quite proud of our-”
“Master Malfoy has left the estate, Mistress Black.”
“Coward,” she swore.
“What’s wrong?” Evan taunted. “Malfoy is the only one with the mark, isn’t he?”
“No,” Bellatrix seethed, but by her reaction, Mary could tell it was the truth. “Reggie, you’re marked, aren’t you?”
“If you touch a fucking hair on her head-”
“Give me your arm.”
Regulus writhed against her, and Mary could hardly see him from where they stood. She fumbled for her wand, her fingers shaking and she nearly clumsily dropped it. Something warped in the air before she even got the chance to raise it, and she watched in genuine shock as Bellatrix and her husband were casually tossed back, thrown onto the floor and skidding to the far wall. Regulus rose to his feet unsteady, and his gaze frantically searched to meet hers.
Her and Evan still clutched at each other, but she found his eyes immediately. Did they hurt you?
No.
Everything else was momentarily forgotten—Mary’s legs felt too weak to move, but Regulus saved her from that, too. He strided quickly across the room, and Mary briefly glanced to see that the others had been tossed like ragdolls, too. When she faced forward again, Regulus was enveloping her into a tight hug that nearly had her collapsing into him like a fragile child.
It took everything in her not to sob as she clutched him back, fingers tightening in the back of his shirt. She forgot where they were, the Malfoy Manor and all of its events forgotten, just as long as she was there with him, nothing mattered.
Until Evan cleared his throat. “I’m okay, too. Thanks for asking.”
Regulus pulled back, though he still kept his arm around her waist. “Do you want a hug, Ev?”
“Wouldn’t say no.”
He sighed heftily, but opened his other arm for Evan to step in. Mary was only somewhat surprised that he did, and she tried not to giggle at it, because that would be mental.
“Did you destroy it?”
“Did I destroy it?” Evan scoffed, pulling a crumbled old leather notebook from his pocket. Its pages were tainted with ink. “Of course I destroyed it. Malfoy’s such a knob he had it in plain sight. Might keep this sword, too, Macdonald.”
Mary didn’t have the energy to argue back, and the pad of Regulus’ thumb briefly brushed her cheek. She blinked at the burn there, and realised there must have been another unknown cut on her face. He gnawed at his lower lip, then dropped his gaze to scan the rest of her.
“This place sucks,” Evan said.
“Yeah,” Regulus agreed. “Let’s get out of here.”
Nobody could debate with that, and Mary spared one last glance over her shoulder at the unconscious Death Eaters. Wandless magic was incredibly tough to master, and the fact that Regulus wielded it so casually was genuinely impressive. And hot, but that wasn’t the point.
He squeezed her hand three times as they exited the manor. He didn’t have to explain what it meant, she knew.
“I hope we don’t see another squirrel on our way back,” Evan mused, cutting through the silence and emitting a snort from Mary.