Black Rose [Regulus Black]

A series of loud cracks rang out through the air, causing Alessandra to let out a gasp of horror.

For in front of them stood a strange creature with the most horrendous face she'd ever seen, he appeared more reptilian than human. His skin was pale with blue veins running through his bald pate, his eyes were the crimson shade of blood with visible insanity streaking through them, and his nose...what had become of his nose? It looked like someone had smashed it in with a rolling pin.

She quickly shut her mouth when she saw the strange expression of reverence on Reg's face as he bowed. "My Lord. Alessandra, he's the leader I told you about, the one who will bring greatness to our land and purge the world of all the Mudbloods."

His face was emotionless, making him look like a marble statue, but it somehow became clear to her that she had to play along.

"My Lord," she knelt, bowing her head with respect as she tried her hardest not to freak out.

"You may rise," the man spoke up, his voice smooth yet chilling, and shivers ran down her spine. "Why have you called the Dark Lord, Regulus?"

Reg was at a loss for words. He had no idea what to say that would explain this situation, and cursed the deities overhead for blessing him with such terrible luck that he managed to summon the bloody Dark Lord, of all people.

Thankfully, Alessandra took over, plastering a cheerful expression on her face. She had no idea what was going on, but was going to pretend that she was fully in charge. It worked at her school when she was called on, so it would probably work here.

"My Lord," she smiled brightly, her voice sickly sweet. "You see, darling Reggie and I had come back from a wonderful trip to the apothecary at Diagon Alley. When we apparated back, I saw your mark on his arm, and had to see it because I've heard such amazing things about this! Of course, he was only too happy to brag about it for it was such an honor for him, and I accidentally touched it. I apologize for pulling you away from your extremely important duties, it was an unfortunate accident." She smiled once again for good measure, trying to flatter him as much as possible.

Reg caught on to what she was trying instantly, and plastered a lovestruck smile on his face, rather like those couples at Madam Puddifoot's. "What she's said is absolutely true, my Lord. Alessandra is an amazing woman, she and I are courting. Of course, I had to show her my mark for it was one of the highest honours I have ever received. Please accept our apologies."

Sandra was smart, he'd have to give her that. Despite not knowing much about the magical world, she'd somehow managed to come up with a completely accurate excuse and sell it thoroughly.

"Lord Voldemort forgives you, for like you said, the Dark Mark is one I only bestow upon the most worthy. However, can I trust you not to broadcast your Dark Mark to every woman you meet, Regulus?"

"Of course, My Lord."

"Excellent," he leered, looking like the monsters she'd dreamt of as a child. "Aren't you going to invite me inside?"

Regulus' breath caught in his throat. "My Lord?"

"I need to be introduced with your acquaintance. I'm certain she'll be very useful to our cause, won't she?"

No, no, no, this wasn't good. If his mother saw the Dark Lord and told him everything, Alessandra wouldn't live to see the light of day again. But, it wasn't like he could refuse the man.

He could only pray that she would be smart enough to do what was right, and that his mother would be compliant for once in her life.

"Of course, My Lord." He stepped aside for the Dark Lord to walk forward, suppressing his revulsion. "After you."

The man stepped forward to enter Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and Alessandra's eyes widened with horror as she realised that there was a snake following him around too. Oh, how was she going to make it through this?

Also, could he read minds like Reg did? If Reg could read minds, and he looked at this revolting man with such reverence, surely the man could do so too?

What if he read her mind and found out everything? He could strike her dead and she didn't think anyone would do anything to help.

Also, did Regulus say the word Mudblood? Did he hate Muggles?

Wait, was this Lord the one he was trying to overthrow?

She had so many questions, it was insane.

"Alessandra." Reg swept his hand towards the door, indicating that she could move. As she walked past him, he knelt down to her height and whispered into her ear, sending nerve-wracking chills sweeping through her body. "Think quietly."

She didn't let any expression show on her face but was internally panicking. Think quietly? How the actual fuck am I supposed to think quietly? Thank you Regulus, that is so helpful.

Inhaling sharply, she entered the house, feeling like she'd crossed over from Heaven to Hell as her foot crossed the threshold. In a way, it was like that. Outside was paradise, where there was sunshine and wind, where there was more freedom. Inside, however...

There was no telling what was going to happen. And that was terrifying to her.

How was she supposed to stop him from reading her mind? She didn't even know how it worked. Now that she thought about it, she could feel a tingling at the back of her mind, so she pushed the first random thing she thought of to the front of her thoughts.

A song. She began singing a song in her head.

You're so hot, teasing me
So, you're blue, but I couldn't take a chance on a chick like you
That's something I couldn't do

She saw a subtle change in the man's expression, and if he had eyebrows, she was sure they'd be raised.

I can dance with you, honey, if you think that it's funny

She didn't know what was worse, the fact that she had to hum a catchy tune in her mind while paying attention to what was going on, or that the pressure in her head was growing more intense.

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB, LITTLE LAMB, LITTLE LAMB
MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB, HER FLEECE AS WHITE AS SNOW

Her head felt like it was seconds away from combusting or erupting from the pressure, and it felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her brain, turning it to mush. She had no idea what to do, but was freaking out. What was one thing people hated seeing?

An idea clicked in her mind.

"Reg, my love," she called out through the haze of pain, causing him to turn to her with a slightly confused expression. "Could you come up only for a second? If that's alright with you, My Lord."

The weirdo did not comment, merely gestured with his hand.

She grabbed his hand and tugged Reg into the other room, the pain in her head disappearing and providing her with temporary relief.

"We can't talk about anything right now, he might-"

She grabbed his face and kissed him, pulling away a few seconds later and leaving him disappointed for some reason.

"Why would you do that?" he asked feebly, gawking at her.

"Can't explain right now, we need to go," she started walking out the doorway, leaving a very bewildered Regulus behind. "Oh, and you have a bit of lipstick right there, might want to wipe it off."

"Sorry, my Lord," she plastered a dazzling smile onto her face. "I was worried that I'd left an object behind that might set the house on fire, so I was checking with Regulus."

"What's your blood status?" the creature demanded. She began feeling a sharp pain in her head, and instantly pushed the memory of her and Regulus kissing to the front of her mind. Almost instantly, she could feel the pain let up as she nearly breathed out a sigh of relief.

"She's pureblood, my Lord," Reg spoke up.

"Interesting. I've been to a lot of pureblood gatherings here, and I haven't seen you anywhere. If you came from a pureblood family, you would have been formally introduced at at least one of the events."

"That...is because... I am from America! The United States, as you Brits might call it," she said cheerfully, the smile on her face not dropping in the slightest.

"Why don't you have an accent then? Which wizarding family are you from?"

Regulus was pretty much ready to surrender his soul right then and there, he was terrified. If the Dark Lord was suspicious, then it was over for him.

She sighed, putting up the look of a bashful girl recollecting happy memories. "I am Alessandra...Vuitton. My parents actually didn't let me go out much because I had to complete my studies at home, and my teacher was from Britain so I kind of picked up the accent from there."

The man leaned forward, picking up the cup of tea Kreacher had placed on the table and taking a sip from it. "And why are you here then?"

"My parents died," she said dramatically. "In a car crash, because of those stupid Mudbloods."

Reg raised his eyebrows, impressed at her deceit.

The man practically threw the cup of tea down, causing both the teens to flinch slightly.

"Excellent. You will be a marvelous addition to the Death Eaters."

Death Eaters? That sounded like some kind of arcade game.

"She's very eager to serve, My Lord," Reg replied, taking the attention off of her, seeing brief confusion flicker over her face.

"Yes," he drew out the syllable, his serpentine voice further intensifying the impression of a snake. "I will be taking my leave now. Nagini, come."

Sandra's heart leapt to her throat as the snake spoke, "Yes, Master."

The snake spoke. And she understood it.

Was she hallucinating?

The moment the door clicked behind the man, they breathed out identical sighs of relief.

Seconds later, she turned to him, but he'd beaten her to it.

"Why did you kiss me?" he asked, and she felt slightly wounded by how annoyed he seemed at the mere thought of her lips on his.

"Because, I wanted to make him uncomfortable. I could tell he was prodding around my mind, he wasn't being subtle about it, so I kind of took that memory and showed him it so he'd get creeped out and leave."

"Smart," he nodded approvingly. "I didn't know you could lie so well."

"It's a skill you pick up. And, by the way, you didn't tell me we could talk to animals. You can lie too, huh?"

The look of relief on his face was replaced by one of confusion. "But we can't talk to animals..."

"But that thing spoke to the snake."

"That's a Parselmouth, he speaks the language of the snakes, known as Parseltongue."

"So all wizards are Parselmouths?" she asked, feeling disappointed now because all her hopes of talking to puppies had evaporated.

"No, it's rare."

"But I understood it," she insisted.

"Understood what?" he questioned.

"The snake, Reg, I understood the snake. It spoke English."

"It didn't speak English. It hissed like any normal snake and- oh Merlin, you're a Parselmouth."