Hogwarts gang.
It’s thankfully a Saturday but because of the discussion they all had the day prior Barty snuck into the Slytherin dorms again, needing to see Regulus was alright. What he walked in on was a mess, he had to shut the door quickly so the noise wouldn’t wake anyone else.
“Regulus-”
“No- Evan, No.”
“Stop being stubborn! You can’t wake up like that and then ignore me!”
“Watch me!” Regulus stomped across the room to his draws.
“Mind filling a guy in?” Barty stepped forwards, Evan huffed as he turned to him. “You- you talk to him.”
“Not him- you can fuck off too.” He snarled as he leaned over the dresser, his chest heaving.
“I come in peace?” He held his hands up but get’s an unimpressed glare. “What’d you have a nightmare about?”
He pushes away from the dresser, “None of your business-” His words are clipped, as he tries to speak through shaky breaths.
“None of our business? We’re your friends" Evan shouts from behind Barty. He’s pretty sure that is not what Pandora meant when she said Regulus didn’t need comfort.
“Did you dream about who hurt you?” His friend stills, wide eyes looking back up at him. “Who are you afraid of?” It was the wrong question, Regulus was up and moving more erratically then before.
“You- you need to leave.” He moves until his back hits the wall. “Now!” He screams to the floor.
“No-” Barty sends a glance towards Evan, he can see the way he’s shaking, he’s scared. “You might not care Regulus but we do- we aren’t leaving-”
His words rip a laugh out of him, “You think I don’t care? I’m doing all of this because I care. I’m- I’m…”
“Emotionally constipated?” The insult came out unexpectedly. “What are you doing?” Barty steps closer, the movement making him flinch hard enough his head hits the wall.
“I’m fine.” He strains as he holds his arms out towards them.
At least Evan seemed to have calmed down now, the sight of his friend like that made Barty homicidal. “You aren’t fine,” He spoke softly this time, crouching down slightly. “You’re hurting yourself, Reg.”
Regulus, at least looks confused at the accusation. “I need to do this on my own- you don’t need to worry about me-”
Barty rolls his eyes, his patience running thin. “Shut up, ‘do this on my own’.” He mocks with a high pitched voice, making a strangled laugh come out of them all. “Fuck off you are. You think we’re here because we wanna be? No- it’s because you’re our friend. Family.” The word hung between them, Regulus’s resolve crumbling. “You’re our family.”
“So where do you get off saying we don’t need to worry huh?” Evan tries to shush him but he’s off. “Right- let me just go tell Pandora that everythings fine yea? Let me just go lie to her real quick-”
“Barty..” Regulus mumbles as he finally controls his breathing.
“Next time I’ll just leave you in the library to rot and age like the leather books! And Evan! Let’s just tell him now that there was no need to put Dittany in your food-” His jaw drops, “Because you’re fine right? No need to worry?” He doesn’t respond as Barty squints one eye at him.
“Barty…”
Both Evan and Regulus had since calmed but the other was still shouting, erratic arms moving everywhere. “I’ll just go tell Dorcas that you don’t like her at all and that's why you were being a bitch! Because everything's fine right?!” After heavy breaths in silence Barty stepped back, “I needed to get that off my chest.”
They all stared, the admissions hung in the air as Regulus shuffled. “I’m not a bitch.” Was the first he addressed. Evan snorted, “And you were putting Dittany in my food?” It’s not an accusation but a soft question as Regulus looked up at him.
Evan looked around awkwardly, “Technically your drink..” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal but it was. It was to Regulus.
“We aren’t leaving,” Barty crosses his arm. “I don’t care if I have to stick myself to the ceiling or go befriend the giant squid to give me lifts to the common room. I’m staying.”
His stubborn rant was comforting, although he wouldn’t admit it. In fact he’d call it annoying.
“Please, don’t.” Evan rolled his eyes, sitting on the edge of his bed with a sigh. “You gonna talk to us?”
Regulus looks between the two of them, his mind is like a storm of memories and knowledge. “I’m trying to protect you, this- this is dangerous.” He lets his body fall against the wall until he’s sat on the floor, he’s so tired.
“I’m not scared of a little fire.” Barty plops onto the floor opposite him.
“It’s more than a little fire.” He swallows through a dry mouth, “I’m talking about torture and murder.”
Barty pursed his lips, from the glint of his eyes Regulus could tell he was about to say something out of order.
“Be honest with me- who doesn’t want to get tortured a little?”
“Barty! This-”
“Yes yes, very dangerous. Very scary. My question was sincere.” Evan and Regulus share a glance, “I think i’d hold up quite well under torture, probably depends what they wanted to know? You know?”
The most concerning part? They kind of did understand.
“Like if it was something world ending, I might spill it just to see what happens. But if it was like what portrait told me, Bloody Baron and Saint Clawed slept together- I’m taking those to my grave.”
“So world ending- not important? But ghost gossip is?” Evan turned to him but that wasn’t the appropriate question to ask.
“It’d be fun, like a social experiment.”
“The Bloody Baron and Saint Clawed slept together?”
“Oh, yea.” He smirked.
“How?” Baffled, Regulus asked.
Barty shrugged, “Ask them. I wasn’t watching.”
“I think we’re getting off track.” Evan came over to sit on the floor with them. “Reg- although death isn’t in the cards for us right now- ”
“How do you know?”
He ignored Barty’s question. “We’ve got your back, whatever this is. We’re here for you-”
Barty gags, “What are we? Hufflepuffs? I’ll give you the short version- you either tell us your plans in that little black book or we spend the next day, week, month- figuring out what you’re up to. We join in anyway- we all die- plan failed because you didn’t let me create a better one. Choice is yours.” He waved a hand towards Regulus, acting like it was a negotiation.
“I was trying to be civil.” Evan defended with a sigh.
Regulus doesn’t say anything, he stands from the floor to take books hidden in his draws, coming back over he opens one of them. Barty and Evan lean forwards to read it, “Horcruxes?”
“Regulus…” Barty started slowly, “I’m sure there’s easier ways to become immortal. Why do you even want to be immortal in the first place? Need time to read every book on the planet?”
He stared at his friend, shocked.
“Have you been coming up with a plan to take over the world?- and didn’t tell me?!”
“That is not what is happening.” He moved his trunk from under the bed, unlocking it with his wand. “I didn’t make a horcrux- or want to.” He clarified, “Voldemort, you’ve heard of him?”
They both nodded slightly while Regulus pulled out a cloth, hidden under all of the clothes in there. “Voldemort.. I thought he wasn’t real?” Evan asks, looking over the book once more, reading its page.
“He’s very real.” Regulus put the cloth on the floor, “He’s who made horcruxes.” He unfolds the cloth to reveal the locket. They all stare at it for a while, Evan mumbling questions but never finishing them.
“Right- and this- this is his horcrux?” Barty asks, and gets a nod in return. Looking back over the pages, “That contains part of his soul?”
“Yea.”
“And you… just took it?”
Regulus didn’t answer, his eyes speaking for him as he looked at Barty.
“Would this be considered kidnapping?”
Evan, taken aback, turns to Barty. “Are you stupid?”
Barty sputters, “Wh- it’s a valid question! I was just wondering.” He put his hands up, “Oh Regulus- your first crime.” His nose scrunched as he squealed.
“Banned.”
“What?”
“You’re banned from joining, get out.”
“You can’t ban me, I'm an honorary member.”
The dagger appeared in his hand again, “Could you ever not joke around?”
“Again with the knife, this behaviour is concerning Reg.”
“It’s a dagger.” He corrected, Barty rolled his eyes in return.
“Are you guys seriously going to fight over a horcrux- from a man that many people don’t even believe exist- who, might I remind you, is supposed to be The Dark Lord. Said horcrux contains part of his soul.” Evan interrupts, shaking his slightly with raised eyebrows. “This is what you’ve been researching? Horcruxes? How did you even get it?”
Regulus nods back, “He was at Grimmauld place, Voldemort.” He clarified, sitting back down he took a deep breath. “He used Kreacher to try and hide it but Kreacher managed to swap the horcrux for a fake before hiding it.”
“An elf did?” Barty exclaims with pinched eyebrows.
“He wasn’t just an elf.” Regulus snapped, “Kreacher gave his life getting this locket!”
“Wait does that..” Evan thought for a second, “Regulus you’re- you’re trying to take down Voldemort?”
He didn’t look at his friends, his eyes focused on the locket, the green shine that haunted his mind.
“Wait, you're actually planning to go against him?” Barty sat up straight. “I thought- I thought you agreed with everything your family believed?” He questioned, surprised.
Regulus took a moment to think, it was just another storm in his mind. “I- my mother and father constantly told us when we were younger about blood purity and family, being on the right side of magic. I was a child, I didn’t really understand so I just agreed. Sirius- after his first months in Hogwarts came back and would constantly fight with them, he’d tell me what bullshit our parents were saying. How.. how stupid their ideals were.”
They were patient, watching him talk, but he couldn’t look them in the eyes. He couldn’t truly confront what he was talking about.
“That’s- that’s when they started to get.. physical.” Neither of them moved to touch him, comfort him, he was glad. His skin itched. “I saw what they did, when he disagreed… and I kinda just got used to it you know? The anger, the shouting, throwing things and slamming doors. It just all didn’t feel real at the time. I don’t know, I was told a lot of different things about half-bloods and muggleborns that I just stopped listening to what people were saying. When I got to Hogwarts- people, they just assumed, they were scared or wary I’d say something so only the Slytherins came near me.”
“And you didn’t correct them.” Evan nodded slowly, Regulus hoped they were similar in that aspect.
“People were scared of me, left me alone and I- I didn’t mind it. If they thought I was a horrible person then I was left alone, plus I met you guys so I didn’t have the capacity to deal with anyone else.”
Evan rolled his eyes but Barty sat up, “Because you care about us.” He held a hand to his chest.
Regulus stared at him, “No.”
“You said it already actually, no need to back track now.” His smile was incredibly wide, incredibly annoying.
He ignored him, “Magic is magic, I don’t care for the intricacies of where it comes from.”
“That-” Evan had a thoughtful look on his face when Regulus looked up.
“Well- as annoying as they are,” Barty started. “Dr Ostatious conducted a research about what the difference is between muggles and wizards. Turns out there isn’t one, everything is the exact same. DNA, social norms, economics, politics. The only difference is wizards can use their magic, muggles don’t have what we do to unlock it. Like the inner eye in Divinity.”
“What the fuck.” Evan whispered, staring at Barty.
“I thought there’d at least be a DNA difference.” Regulus asked.
“So did I- but it turns out muggles have the magic gene, they just can’t access it. So technically, muggles also have magic. They just can’t use it.” He shrugged, as if he hadn’t just told Regulus the centuries worth of beliefs his family has followed has been knocked down by a documentary.
“That's… weird. That goes against everything the sacred 28 stands for.” Regulus stared at the ceiling.
“Makes sense why they don’t know about it all.” Barty shrugged, Evan hadn’t stopped staring at him. “It’s a psychological construct, purebloods thinking they are better from their heritage, anyone that went against these beliefs were left out. Cast away. So they made a tight-knit community of people with the same beliefs- why you’re all inbred too.” He added on the end, leaning against the bedpost.
“Don’t bring that up.” Regulus shook his head, “I have to convince myself everyday not to think about it.”
“Blame your parents.” He argued back, “Or your cousins- uncle maybe?”
His smirk was wiped off as Regulus threw a pillow at his head. “You know,” He pulled the pillow into his lap. “Muggles are like penguins.”
“What-”
“Well- think of magic being like wings. Muggles have magic deep in them- like penguins have wings. Yet they can’t use magic- penguins can’t fly. Think about it, muggles are the penguins of the wizarding world.”
Regulus went to share a glance with Evan, to find him staring at Barty with what looked like a look of despair… He should be sharing that look with him. “Analogy aside, why were you looking at papers about wizards and muggles?”
“I’m taking muggle studies- before I did I wanted to know how different we were to see how easy the class would be.” He half lay on the floor, completely unbothered by the conversation. “Plus my dad said I couldn’t do all 12 O.W.L’s.” His face scrunched at the mention.
‘There is it.’ Regulus thought, “So out of spite.”
Opening his eyes Barty side eyes him, “Right- which one of us here is betraying a supposed powerful, dark, evil wizard because he killed an elf.” The bastard started to look around the room.
“He was my friend and there’s more to it than just spite.”
“Yes?”
“My parents want me to join him.” He had to whisper it, his shoulder stung.
“Like- like actually join him?”
Regulus nodded to Evan, who had finally stopped staring at Barty. “I was talking to Kreacher-” His mind went blank as he stared at the hardwood floor, the swirls occupying his mind. “About leaving..”
It was quiet, uncomfortable.
“Leave?” Barty questioned, “Leave to where?”
“Paris- France maybe-”
“Were you gonna tell us this?” He sat up straight, hands tightening around the pillow.
“I-” Regulus looked between his friends, “We didn’t- there wasn’t much of a plan before he…” He didn’t need to finish explaining, “Just- November. We were going to do it after November.”
“So- so what. You were going to try and destroy this horcrux?” Evan spoke up. “Go after the rest of them and then just disappear? Leave? Are you actually suicidal?”
“I don’t have all the steps worked out. Okay?” He lifted the book from the floor, “I just need to do this- after November I just need to be out of reach, horcruxes aside.”
“Why November?” Barty asked, he didn’t really want to say it out loud. Make his reason known. “Come on- we’re in like a suicide pact now-” Evan’s eyes bulged out as he turned to him. “No secrets in the suicide pact.” He made a point to look at both Regulus and Evan.
Evan lifted his hand, “I am the only non suicidal one here?”
They both ignored him, Evan was crazy, but he only showed it in certain instances. Somehow, he thought that made him sane?
“I don’t want to say it because I know you won't like it.” He said, mainly to Barty.
“This is only a slightly judgmental zone.” Barty said, he had moved closer towards them. Evan hit his arm with the back of his hand sloppily, “Fine- you may be judged-”
“Barty!-”
“But- But-” He held a defensive arm to Evan, “I will support it no matter what it is.” He spoke diplomatically.
Regulus said it just to see if he was lying, “They wanted to force Sirius back- for him to join Voldemort.”
Bartys eyes popped, before he could say anything he looked away, took a breath and then looked back. He had to look away again.
He rolled his eyes at the dramatics.
“You’re doing this for him?!” He exclaimed, his face scrunched together.
“Not all of it for him- just, just-” He had to take a breath. “They can’t force him back- he’d be 17 in November. Then I can just leave.”
“Why the horcruxes then, we could all just run away after Hogwarts is done. We could go camping.”
“Kreacher died getting this horcrux, I want to deal with this one at least. To weaken him.”
“The plans for the rest of them?” Evan asked, reading the book about the other horcruxes Voldemort has.
“I want to stop regretting everything that I do.” His eyes flicked over to the locket, “Doing things because it’s expected and wanted by other people. I- I’m tired of not, not being a person.”
Barty was awfully quiet after his admission. He let out a slow breath, “Okay.” Regulus looked up from the locket. “I mean I don't like that you're doing that for him but- but I’d do that for you.” His eyebrows furrowed together, “If you ran away to somewhere and someone came asking, I’d try and keep them away from you.”
“We both would.” Evan spoke softly, “I mean Barty would probably find where you were just to give them wrong directions.” They laughed unexpectedly.
“Like you wouldn’t.”
“Oh, no, I’d find him to just drag him back to Pandora.” He sighed, “Could you imagine the uprising she’d cause?”
It was as if Regulus wasn’t in front of them. He was speechless, to be honest. He didn’t think a lot about his friends when he thought about all of this. He regrets that a lot. While Evan and Barty continued to talk and smile, he watched. He felt… comfortable. Barty would do the same for him, he doesn’t know if he realises what that implied, maybe he did.
He had called them family before, with Barty’s awful one, Regulus figured he would call anyone he was close to family. But maybe he could make a new family, one he’s proud of. Barty’s howl of a laugh filled the air after something Evan said, they really had changed his life.
No matter how annoying, pestering, they are, he couldn't imagine a day without them. Before Sirius left for Hogwarts, he felt the same about him. So maybe they could be his family, his brothers.