Chapter 5
Diagon Alley was loud and crowded, voices echoing off close brick walls and hundreds of feet clattering along the cobbled street. Regulus, despite not being one for crowds, didn’t mind the chaos. The tight packing of shoppers was pressing their group of five into a huddle as they made their way down the street toward their destinations. There were a number of stores the group needed to stop at before returning home, so they were in quite a rush. Monty and Effie separated from the boys to go buy Monty’s new dress robes, leaving them to collect the things they needed for school. They had been given a shopping list. Effie, knowing how scattered James’s mind was and how easily Sirius was distracted, left it in Regulus’s possession. Their first stop was Gringotts. They withdrew money from both James’ account and the trust their uncle Alfred had left Sirius, so they had cash to shop with.
Regulus told the two he would wait out front for them and he did. Until they were out of the lobby, at which point he entered to subtly withdraw a small sum from the account Andromeda was secretly funding. Regulus and Andromeda had always had a special connection, an understanding that was formed over knowing what it was like to be born into the wrong body. When Andromeda ran away she had promised to help him escape one day. And she had. He wouldn’t have made it this far without her letters and the galleons she sent him monthly. It wasn’t a lot but it had saved him. He was in and out of the bank in under two minutes and he sat on the steps to wait for James and Sirius who exited the bank in their usual rowdy manner. Regulus could swear he heard a disgruntled goblin curse at them as they left.
The three of them passed through Madam Malkin’s so Regulus could get new robes for the upcoming school year. None of his old robes fit any longer, all too wide in the bust and tight in the waist for Regulus’ comfort so he really needed new ones.
“Hogwarts uniforms?” The seamstress asked, Regulus simply nodded, allowing Sirius to do most of the talking. Reg and Remus had already gone out during the holidays to buy him cheap muggle clothes at what Remus had explained was a thrift store. Apparently thrift stores were one of the best things muggles had ever created according to Remus. Regulus couldn’t really argue with him. Sirius explained that he needed all new uniforms and a set of dress robes.
“Oh, have a growth spurt did you deary?” The fine-boned woman asked and Regulus’ mouth twisted.
“Something like that.”
The robes took awhile to order and the birdlike woman who took his measurements made Regulus feel dreadfully awkward, never one for a lot of physical contact. Once the orders were placed, Malkin told them they would be delivered within a week, which meant they would arrive just in time for Regulus to pack them into his trunk.
They left the store and James grabbed both him and Sirius by the wrist, dragging them towards the gelateria next door. Regulus sighed, considered arguing but in the end, he accepted that James would either be going with them or without them and it was important someone kept him in line. Instead of fighting it he just snatched his wrist back and followed the two as James continued to drag Sirius behind him like a kid with a balloon.
The bell at the door rang as they entered and Sirius and James rushed to the counter, pressing their faces to the glass like small children to peruse the flavours.
“Come onnn Reggiiiieeee!” Sirius dragged the final syllable out in an annoying whiny tone. James turned and waved him over too and Regulus reluctantly stepped forward, feeling awkward as he stood behind them, clueless as to what tasted good.
“What are you getting Reg?” James asked and Regulus stiffened.
“Well… what would you recommend?”
“The great Regulus Black is asking for my opinion?” James gasped.
“I- I don’t know what tastes good, I’ve never had ice cream. Our enjoyment of food was never really a priority of our parents.” Regulus’ smile was mirthless, and James’ jaw dropped.
“Never had ice cream? Regulus. This is utterly disgraceful. We shall require multiple scoops to solve this.” He declared with a Shakespearean flourish and Regulus appeared to be trying his best to melt into himself.
In the end, they each got two scoops. Regulus went for lemon sorbet, preferring a less indulgent sweet, Sirius, of course, went for the one with an alcohol content – rum and raisin ice cream and raspberry tequila sorbet – despite Regulus cringing at the mixture of contradicting flavours. James, after much debate, settled on a triple chocolate and a hokey pokey. While Regulus may have hidden it, he thoroughly enjoyed the sorbet. The boys wandered for a while, stopping in at a Quidditch store to admire the latest model of broom, the store assistant frowned at their sticky fingers and dripping cones but said nothing as they wandered the store. James bought a new pair of gloves for his role as Keeper and Sirius considered buying a walnut beater’s bat before deciding against it.
James cast a cleaning charm over their hands and they headed into Ollivanders to finally collect Regulus’ new wand. The smell of hundreds of different woods and years of dust mingled into a peaceful sort of fragrance. Regulus couldn’t have placed it if he tried but it made him feel safe. It reminded him of getting his first wand, the knowledge that he held all the power and potential in the world at his fingertips. The bell rang out, echoing through the stacks and hurried footsteps sounded, followed by muttering as Ollivander came to the front.
“Ah! Mister Potter and Messrs Black. Eleven inches, mahogany and phoenix feather, pliable. Twelve and a half inches, ash and unicorn hair. And you Mister Black. Regulus I believe?” Regulus jolted at the old man’s knowledge of his name. Despite having been known as Regulus his entire time at Hogwarts, when buying his first wand, his mother had used his dead name to introduce him. Once he regained his wits Regulus nodded slowly. James was watching him in confusion.
“I don’t believe your original wand is quite fitting any longer. It has passed on from this realm but I believe I have just the wand for you.” He gave an odd smile, it felt like something that should cause chills, but Regulus found himself warming instead. Ollivander disappeared back into the stacks and Sirius turned wide eyes on Regulus.
“How in the world did he know? I swear that man gives me the creeps.” James slapped a hand over Sirius’ mouth, mortified.
“Shut up Pads! He’ll hear you.”
Ollivander emerged with a dark box in hand. He opened it slowly, as if cautious of the wand within.
“This one is an extremely volatile wand, Mr Black. I warn you to take care when handling it.” He offered Regulus the box. Regulus’ hands closed around the cardboard, and he felt a surge of power, a longing to claim the wand. His wand. “Eleven and a half inches, quilted maple with a thestral bone core. Pliable and good for curses.”
Regulus reached into the box to withdraw the polished wood. It felt as if the moment was frozen and he sensed a zap of power shoot up his arm to wrap around his chest, a friendly shock. The tip glowed and then settled and the three others in the room released their breath as one. James’ face stretched into a grin and Regulus stamped down his own overflowing emotions which were trying to bubble out of his chest, preventing his own face from reflecting James.
The wand felt so natural in his hand, an extension of his own magic. Ollivander was murmuring about how interesting it was that that were the wand to choose Regulus. Apparently, the thestral whose bone shard was embedded in the wood was one from the estate of a very famous old witch by the name of Babbity. Regulus had pondered over the connection between his wand and the stories of his youth, the old lady who disguised herself and fooled her enemies before fleeing to safety. The irony was not lost on him.
After paying Ollivander with his own money, Regulus pocketed his wand, and they continued down Diagon Alley in search of the next stop on their list. The boys stopped at a pet shop where Sirius and James bought some new feeder mice for their owls and Regulus admired the snakes. He required a new familiar too, his owl – Terin – had been loyal to the Black family and had turned on him rather brutally when he tried to take him with the night he escaped. There was scarring on his finger where the dastardly bird had taken a chunk out.
He found himself debating between a glossy raven who had cocked its head in a manner that felt slightly too observant for the average bird and a small hognose serpent that had taken an immediate liking towards Regulus. Sirius was complaining about how much he could be getting done while they stood around the pet shop.
“Oh, shove off Sirius. If you’re so impatient just go ahead to Flourish and Blotts and I’ll meet you there.” Sirius huffed and ducked out the door, disappearing into the crowd. Regulus turned to come chest to chest with James Potter. “What are you still doing here Potter? If you don’t hurry you’ll lose Sirius completely.”
“Hmmm. No, I think I’d rather stay here, perhaps we can bond and you can stop referring to me using my last name despite the fact you’re living under the same roof as me.” The smile James shot him was absolutely catastrophic. It tore straight through Regulus’ walls, cutting down his defenses in a matter of moments. He may not have realised it then, but he never truly stood a chance.
… James Potter POV …
Regulus settled for the raven. They were going to return to pick it up on the way home after they got Monty and Effie to sign the necessary paperwork. In the meantime, him and James were slowly meandering towards Flourish and Blotts, James trying his dam hardest to make Regulus laugh and Regulus trying just as hard not to give him the satisfaction. They were so caught up in their battle of wills that they didn’t notice how the influx of afternoon shoppers had pushed them towards the shadier end of the street until they were standing just past the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Before them rose the menacing structure of Borgin and Burkes. It was a rather dreary place in James’ opinion, but Regulus was already hurrying towards the front door.
“Come along Potter. I want to see if they have any new antiques.” James followed him into the creaking store, through a maze of objects piled high in unsteady towers. It reminded James of a more sinister version of the Room of Requirement. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the stacking, but Regulus navigated his way through quite easily like he had been there a thousand times before. Perhaps he had. Borgin and Burkes was known for catering to the higher-class blood supremacists, with its wide array of cursed and forbidden magical objects. There were also rumours of them selling illegal potion ingredients and even dabbling in the magical exotics trade.
James nearly ran into Regulus when he came to a sudden halt before a glass display case. The shelves of the case were crammed with different pieces of jewelry. Rings and bracelets with warnings of curses, tiaras with stories of great witches through time, folded sets of armour formed of thin chain links imbued with protective charms, and then there was the shelf for the necklaces. The platform was the only one not coated in cobwebs. Each box or display model cleaned to perfection, notes in a scrawling hand accompanied the variety of necklaces and chokers and pendants. And in the center sat a locket. That was the thing Regulus couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from.
It rested on a satin cloth in a box, the space beside it empty, still retaining the indent of a similar piece, like it had only recently been sold. Regulus was admiring the octagonal cut of the dark glass, the engraving within of a serpent.
“Aaah. I see you have good taste young man.” James jumped at the hissing voice that had materialised beside him, the hunched old woman had seemingly appeared from nowhere.
“Slytherin’s Locket that is. Two of a kind. One was owned by Salazar himself, the other – that one – was worn by Godric Gryffindor. I’m afraid the other was sold just this morning.” Regulus turned his back on the locket, his brows furrowing. He patted at his pockets and sighed when only a slight jingle replied.
“Another day perhaps, sorry to say I have used my spendings for today.” Regulus sounded terribly disappointed by the fact and the old woman merely nodded before vanishing back into the maze of products. “I’m going to have a look around for a while longer I think, then we can go okay Potter?”
James nodded. As soon as Regulus was gone James reached for the handle of the cabinet. It was small, what looked like a skeletal hand carved of silver. The moment James touched it the hand grabbed onto his fingers with a crushing grasp. James panicked, drawing his wand and hitting the knob with a number of stinging jinxes which honestly did him more harm than the metal hand. Just like before the woman appeared again. She reached forward and placed a hand on the side of the cabinet. Just like that it released him.
“We should probably get about putting warnings on these things.” She muttered before turning malicious, watery eyes on James, “And what is it you wanted deary? The locket perhaps?” he nodded mutely, his pulse still racing from the shock of the animate handle. The smile that stretched her face was uncanny. Thin lips peeled back to reveal crooked teeth that were sharp at the points like those of a nixie. James assumed she may have water sprite heritage. Her spindly hand reached forward, passing straight through the glass which rippled around her reedy arm to close around the locket, withdrawing it from the cabinet. She held it out to James, and he asked the price. Her dark eyes glistened with something primal, a wicked greed as she closed his fingers around the cool glass.
“I have a feeling it will do good with you, boy. The magic of this locket calls to you, just like the magic of that boy. Take it.” Her entire body shuddered as something happened and she seemed to reset. “You should probably find your companion, people are looking for you, not all of them friendly.” With that, she once again disappeared.
James slipped the locket into the pocket of his robes, the hairs on the back of his neck raising. Something felt wrong. The old woman’s raspy words were echoing in the back of his head. He needed to find Regulus. They had to get back to the others.
The doorbell rang out again and James froze as he heard a voice belonging to a woman he’d hoped he’d never have to meet again. He had only seen her once, at platform nine and three-quarters when she had arrived alongside her husband and a grizzled old house elf to pick up her sons. She had a voice like vaulted ceilings that was filled with constant disgust. When James first heard her speak she had been berating Sirius when she saw that he’d allowed his hair to grow out. Her yell had been familiar by then from the howlers she would send to inform Sirius of the disgrace he was to the Black name. That day at the train station it had been punctuated by the sickening crack of her hand against Sirius’s face.
And now she was here. And so was Regulus. And James didn’t know where Regulus was, only that he was in danger now that his mother was in the store. Walburga Black.