At first, things were going well.
Sirius introduced Regulus to his friends and they started hanging out together more and more.
Regulus grew close to Remus Lupin, his brother’s boyfriend, who had the same obsession with books that Regulus had.
The two were often to be found hiding together in Hogwarts’ Libraries.
It was thanks to Regulus that Remus and Sirius even got together.
Ever so perceptive, the younger brother realized soon that the two liked each other but were afraid of admitting it to each other.
Regulus talked with Remus about it for weeks before the boy dared come to Sirius and show him his heart.
Sirius was first frozen in shock at the confession but threw himself at Remus soon afterwards, telling him how much he liked him too.
And James Potter- James was a delight to watch and be friends with. Not only was he beautiful, James was also incredibly kind to Regulus.
While the Slytherin boy knew James to be mean and vindictive with others, he was never mean to Regulus.
He often made sure to help Regulus with homework if the boy needed help.
They even hung out together a lot without their other friends present. It wasn’t long before Regulus fell for James.
He was certain the Gryffindor boy did not return his feelings hence where Remus came in. He did for Regulus what Regulus did for him.
He convinced him to confess his feelings. And Regulus did.
He could still remember how much of a mess and nervous wreck he was while he stumbled over his words only for James to interrupt him and confess instead.
Regulus had smiled and told him he liked him back and James smiled brighter than the sun itself.
Regulus Black could still remember Sirius giving them shovel talk, both of them, while Remus stood behind him, his face in his hand while he shook his head.
He never forgot how his own friends reacted to the news. At first, they were hesitant to support the relationship since James had been a Gryffindor, a Marauder nonetheless.
Barty Crouch Jr. was the one fully against it, swearing on his own family name that James Potter would break his heart one day.
Regulus didn’t believe him. He should have.
Only two months after that, Regulus returned to Hogwarts from the summer break.
He went straight to his dorm and started crying the second the doors closed behind him.
His forearm was still itching in pain and Regulus constantly tugged on his sleeve while he blinked his tears away.
He remembered Barty, Evan and Pandora coming to his room laughing, only to freeze at the sight of Regulus.
He remembered Evan forcing Regulus to talk. While Barty had been the scariest of the bunch, Evan was the most protective one.
“Something bad happened-” Regulus whispered and looked up at them.
Pandora immediately rushed up to him, her dress flowing behind her as she did so.
She crouched down before him as well and took note of how tightly Regulus was holding his left forearm. She frowned.
“Tell us what happened and we’ll fix it. We always do.” Barty said, calm like never before.
Regulus looked at him, knowing it to be true.
If Marauders were the ones to cause problems, Regulus’ friends were the ones to whom he could go for help if he needed to fix something.
“There is no fixing this, Barty.” Regulus had croaked out and they all frowned.
“Why don’t you tell us what happened?” Pandora asked, voice as kind and soft as ever.
Regulus sometimes thought her to be the glue of this friend group.
Despite her not being a Slytherin, neither of the three could be mean to her.
“I swear they forced me- they said we were going to- going to visit the Lestranges. I- I didn’t know he would be there- or that they would do this.” Regulus cried out and Pandora frowned, even more worried than ever before.
“What did they do?” Evan growled out, sensing where this was going.
Regulus in pain, holding his forearm and crying from pain?
He watched Regulus roll up his green sleeve and closed his eyes when he took notice of the Dark Mark still freshly cut into his skin.
Barty cursed and Pandora put a hand over her mouth, shock as clear as ever on her face.
Pandora took a hold of his forearm as gently as possible while she looked down at the mark. She sniffled and looked into Regulus’ brown eyes.
“Oh, Reg, I’m so sorry.” She whispered and sniffled again, making Regulus’ eyes tear up again.
“They held me down. My own parents held me down while he- while he-” He tried to talk but a sob left his mouth soon afterwards.
Barty growled, making Regulus look up at him.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” He said and Regulus nodded his head immediately.
“Did you tell your brother?” Evan asked.
“No. I don’t know how. Or if he’ll believe me.” Regulus answered.
“He has to believe you. That’s what brothers are for.” Evan said, certain of his answer. Barty, on the other hand, was not so sure of that.
“What will you do now?” Pandora whispered and Regulus sniffled.
“Can we keep this between us for now?” Regulus asked and they all immediately nodded their heads.
Sure, Slytherins could be evil, mean and vindictive. But not all of them were that way.
Barty and Evan were proof of that. Those two boys were the representation of loyalty and honesty.
“I need to go and talk to Professor Dumbledore first. He must know a way to free me from this.” Regulus said and he slowly erased his tears.
He remained sitting for a few more minutes to calm down before he stood up.
“Do you need me to come with you?” Barty asked, standing up as well, a wand already in his hand. Regulus simply shook his head and sniffled one last time.
“No, I need to do this alone.” He whispered before he walked away.
Regulus walked through the hallways, praying to whoever was listening to not let him come across his brother or James, his boyfriend.
He was not ready to face them now. He took a deep breath once he was in front of Dumbledore’s office before he knocked and went inside.
He was never before afraid of Dumbledore. Except for now.
His hatred for the Dark Lord was known to anyone who heard of either of them.
So, Regulus took a deep breath and started talking. He told him of the lie his parents told him, of where they went and what happened.
Dumbledore demanded to see the Dark Mark and when Regulus rolled up his sleeve, tears still streaming down his face, Dumbledore walked towards him.
He took a hold of the boy’s forearm and inspected it before he hummed.
“There is a way to get rid of it. But unfortunately, I cannot remove it.” Dumbledore said and Regulus sniffled, terrified of what was coming for him next.
“Can I? How? What do I have to do? I never wanted it, I swear!” Regulus had exclaimed and looked into Dumbledore’s eyes.
He saw the slight anger in those old eyes and Regulus gulped.
“You must kill the Dark Lord.” Dumbledore said and that was when it all started.
The younger Black brother became Dumbledore’s personal spy. Regulus rarely spent time with Sirius or his friends.
He even avoided James. He gave up on Quidditch and spent all of his free time in the libraries, researching.
He would go to Death Eater’s meetings and pretend he wanted to be there.
He must have been a good actor because the Dark Lord never doubted him.
Weeks passed before Regulus finally gathered the courage to talk to his brother, James and Sirius.
He had sat them all down and took a shaky breath, ignoring the confused looks they were all throwing his way.
“You must have been wondering why I have been ignoring you, I’m ready to talk now.” Regulus whispered and shook his hands to release some of the stress.
Evan and Pandora told him they would understand. So, they would, right?
“What’s going on, Reggie?” Sirius asked, a frown deeply etched on his face. Regulus gulped before he spoke.
“I didn’t want to do it, to get it or to join them. I swear it, Siri! I need you to believe me!” Regulus begged, his eyes tearful and sad.
James stood up and took a few steps towards him, putting his hands on Regulus’ shoulders, making the Slytherin boy look at him.
“What’s wrong, Reggie?” James asked, his voice as soft as ever before.
Regulus’ eyes widened and he gulped again. Here comes nothing.
“Our parents forced me to join the Death Eaters. They also forced the Dark Mark on me.” Regulus said and he watched James let go of him as if he had burned him the second Regulus rolled up his sleeve and showed them his mark.
Sirius’ eyes were wide open and Remus was pinching his nose bridge.
“I swear I didn’t want it! They forced me! I promise, Siri.” Regulus had said, needing his brother to react.
To tell him it was okay or to do something. Anything really.
When Sirius looked at him again, his eyes were cold and Regulus felt fear wash over him.
“Don’t call me that! I should have expected this!” Sirius exclaimed.
Regulus watched Remus pull him back when Sirius moved to take a step towards him.
James was still a few feet away from Regulus, his hands still in the air.
“I didn’t want this!” Regulus yelled, exasperated while he watched Remus whisper into Sirius’ ear.
Sirius seemed to calm down and Remus looked at him finally.
Confliction was clear in his eyes. He wanted to believe Regulus.
He really did. But for some reason he couldn’t.
“I should have expected nothing else from the perfect mama’s boy!” Sirius had spat out before Remus slapped a hand over his mouth, stopping him from saying anything else.
There was still a chance that Regulus was telling the truth. Remus knew only that much.
“I’m telling the truth. Why won’t you believe me?” He asked, tired of repeating himself.
“You’re a Slytherin.” James had whispered and Regulus froze.
He looked to his left at where his boyfriend was standing, disappointment clear in his eyes.
“James, please-” Regulus tried but Sirius stopped him. He had managed to pull Remus’ hand down somehow.
“Don’t talk to him! Leave, Regulus!” Sirius yelled, using his full name for the first time in years.
Regulus looked at all three of them one last time before he sniffled, raised his chin up and left the room without another word.
He refused to cry in front of them. He made his way to his own dorms and slammed the doors shut once he was inside.
Evan, Barty and Pandora were already there, sitting on Barty’s bed while they talked.
They looked up and frowned when they saw the state Regulus was in.
“They didn’t believe me!” Regulus exclaimed and that was all it took for Pandora to stand up and immediately pull him into a hug.
Evan’s eyes were wide in disbelief. And Barty looked like he was raging.
“Want me to deal with them?” He asked and Regulus shook his head while Evan turned to look at Barty now, wondering how his boyfriend would have dealt with the Marauders.
“It’s okay, Reggie. We believe you.” Evan whispered and Regulus finally let a sob out.
Waterfalls fell and curses fell from his lips, cursing his own brother and now ex boyfriend.
They only saw him as a Slytherin this entire time?
Fine, he would be the picture perfect Slytherin now!
From then on, Regulus ignored the Marauders completely.
Even if they tried talking to him, he would not utter a word towards them.
If something needed to be said, Barty, Evan or even Pandora were there to say it.
Sirius, his own older brother, had kind of become his bully. Every time Regulus could come across him, Sirius would use sign language to insult him.
The sign language that Regulus learned in case they had to communicate to each other after their parent’s torture but were unable to speak.
They used it for comfort once. Now, Sirius used it to call him names.
A coward, snake, liar, idiot, traitor, mama’s boy etc.
Regulus never reacted. He swore to himself he would not give them the satisfaction by reacting to their provocations.
And James Potter, his once kind boyfriend, completely ignored him. If he looked his way, his eyes were mixed with longing and anger.
Hatred came afterwards. Regulus’ eyes though were empty now.
One morning, Barty and Regulus were sitting together near the balcony in the hallway when Sirius emerged with James around the corner.
They both stopped talking and Barty and Regulus watched Sirius sign something again, anger still fully present in his eyes.
Regulus heard Barty growl before the boy leaned down to whisper into Regulus’ ear. Regulus could see James’ eyes darken a bit, not like Regulus cared now.
“Just tell them the truth, Reggie.” Barty had told him.
Regulus only rolled his shoulders and shook his head, his legs still crossed while he held the book in his hands.
He only signed something towards Sirius once, telling them to fuck off, shocking the older brother. Regulus never before responded to his taunting.
“No, I tried doing that once, remember? They saw the mark and refused to believe me.” Regulus said before he stood up, closed his book and pulled Barty towards their classroom.
It was to prevent his best friend from doing something stupid. Still, Barty managed to glare at James and Sirius before Regulus walked into the classroom.
Only a week later, Regulus disappeared. Sirius and James couldn’t notice it at first since they did not share any of the classes.
But once two weeks passed with them not seeing Regulus even once, they started to get suspicious.
The two friends went looking for him when they stumbled across Regulus’ friends in the garden, sitting around a round table.
All three of them looked worried sick. Barty was pacing with his hands on his waist and a want in his pocket.
Evan was sitting but his face was in his hands and his leg was moving nervously up and down.
And Pandora was sitting next to him, while he continued to bite her nails.
“Where is Regulus?” James was the one to speak first, making all three heads snap into his direction.
Sirius flinched a bit when Evan’s gaze fell on him.
All three friends were glaring at them. No one responded to his question.
“Come on! Fess up! Where is my brother?” Sirius called now and Evan raised an eyebrow.
“You lost your brother the day you refused to believe him!” Evan spat out and Pandora put her hand on his knee, calming him when Barty was a bit further away, glaring daggers at the two Gryffindors.
“I vouched for you, Black! I told Reggie, his brother and boyfriend would hear him out and believe him! That’s what brothers are for, I had told him. You didn’t believe him.” Evan continued speaking and James gulped, knowing that they were right to be angry with him.
“You left us to pick up his pieces. We did. Now you come here demanding answers from us when he was ready to give them to you if you had just listened?” Pandora asked and Sirius gulped.
This was the first time the Hufflepuff girl was mean to any of them.
Sirius didn't even think she was capable of being mean.
Turns out she was if it came to her friends, especially Regulus.
“He told you the truth back then, you know?” Barty said and everyone turned to look at him.
His hands were crossed at his chest and he stood across the table, in front of Evan.
“What?” Sirius asked
“Barty, don’t.” Pandora begged but Barty only shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t care anymore. They should suffer the way they made him suffer.” He said and turned to look at James and then at Sirius.
“Your parents told him they were going to visit Lestranges during the summer break. They didn’t. They visited the Dark Lord and they held him down while he engraved that Mark into his arm.” Barty started and Sirius’ eyes widened in disbelief while he shook his head.
He took a step back, refusing to believe he had shunned his little brother who was innocent in all of this.
“He asked Professor Dumbledore to help him. Dumbledore said that the only way to get rid of the Mark was to kill the one who gave it to you. That is why Regulus is missing every once in a while. He joined the Death Eaters and became Dumbledore’s personal spy.” He spoke again and James’s eyes widened.
He shook his head and looked at Pandora who only nodded her head, confirming all of this to be true.
“You’ve been destroying the Dark Lord’s Horcruxes so that you could kill him. Where do you think Dumbledore got the idea of them? Who told him of their existence?” Barty asked and Sirius took a shaky breath.
“Are you telling me my little brother has been in danger this entire time and I didn’t believe him?” He asked and Evan snorted but nodded his head.
Sirius took a shaky breath and gulped. He was afraid of even looking at James now.
“Where is he now?” James whispered, his voice terrified and broken.
“He has been gone for two weeks now without a single letter. He was on his final mission. He wanted to be the one to destroy the last Horcrux.” Pandora said and James let out a small sob.
“Where is he? Please just let me go and help him. Let me go and keep him alive.” He whispered and Barty shook his head.
“I don’t know where he is. He only said he would visit some cave.” Barty said and silence fell upon them.
Evan bit his tongue so that he would not say anything stupid. Did these two really think that Regulus’ friends would not have gone to help him if they knew where he was?
Evan would give his life for Regulus.
Barty would kill for Regulus.
And Pandora would do just about anything for her best friend.
Suddenly though, James took a deep breath, realization settling in.
“I know where he is.” He whispered and opened a portal with a single move of his wand.
He walked through with others running in right after him. Damn these Gryffindors if they thought that Slytherins would let them taunt their friend again.
And then there it was. A dark and big cave right next to the angry sea. James was the first to rush inside.
Others followed only to find an empty cave. No one was there. James looked around, confused as hell when he saw something glistening on a rock next to the water.
He rushed to it and picked up a broken locket and a piece of paper underneath it.
James took a shaky breath and started crying when he read through it only for the letter to be snatched from his hands by Sirius.
The second he read through it, he fell on his knees and started weeping with James doing the same.
They were too late. The truth had found its way to them too late and they were too late to save Regulus, Sirius’ younger brother and James’ boyfriend.
It was Pandora’s voice that snapped them out of thought.
James was now hugging Sirius while he cried and while Pandora read, her voice breaking midway through.
‘To the Dark Lord.
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.
I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.
I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B.’
It was too late. They were all too late to save him.
Regulus Black was gone. He didn't manage to break free from the Dark Lord but he made him Mortal. He gave others a fighting chance.
Regulus Black was dead. And Sirius’s last words were him calling him a coward.
James’ last words were him calling him a liar because he was a Slytherin.
They were both wrong. Regulus Black died a hero.