Black Rose [Regulus Black]

Alessandra's fingers ghosted over the tattoo she had no recollection of getting as she approached Number 12 Grimmauld Place. She'd taken off the bandage too soon as she hadn't known it was a tattoo, and the magic she'd used only slightly soothed her irritated skin.

What had she even done last night?

When she'd gone back home earlier that day, she couldn't help but think that Reg might have been on to something that morning. There was a small voice insistently nagging her, ricocheting about in her head like a stray bullet. She'd done something, something she wouldn't have tried while she was sober, but it was something good because there was not a trace of regret present in her thoughts.

Reg's house appeared on the street, and she twisted the doorknob to open the door, slightly uncertain of herself. It was a chilly night, yet that wasn't why goosebumps were rising on her skin. Her intuition was conflicted, warning her that there was something terrible to come and something exhilarating, and she didn't know if she was waiting in anticipation or dread.

Her thoughts instantly halted, however, when her eyes landed on his mother.

There was something alive about the ghosts of the house as they flickered around Walburga Black menacingly, draping her in slivers of moonlight and shadows that wove together to form an exquisite cape. It was in her name and in her blood, both by marriage and birth, to be someone of the darkness, someone who reveled in the glorious caliginosity the night brought.

And she wore it well.

"You," she spat, the venom in her voice enough to kill a thousand soldiers.

A shiver ran down Alessandra's spine as she took in the sight of the formidable woman in front of her, as she noted down all the things that made Regulus and his mother so distinct yet akin. There were very few similarities, and they were painfully obvious. There were even more differences, but they were only noticed by anyone who bravely delved below the surface.

Walburga Black reminded Alessandra of a magpie, or perhaps even a dragon. Actually, Walburga and the dragon Smaug from the Lord of The Rings were terrifyingly identical. They both spent their days possessively guarding something that didn't belong to them in the first place, allowing their surroundings to turn to rubble and wastelands. Reg may have been her son, but it was fairly obvious at this point that she didn't care about his feelings or emotions, as any regular mother would've. He was a commodity in her eyes, a sort of card in a diminishing pack that she was desperately trying to salvage given the resources. She wasn't just being protective and looking out for her son, Alessandra would've respected that and perhaps even admired her for it. However, that wasn't the case. She was trying to use him for some sort of twisted plan, and was now under the impression that Alessandra was some sort of pest in the large garden that she had spent hours cultivating.

Everything in Sandra's body screamed at her to open that door and run right back out as Walburga took menacing steps towards her, but she held her ground with bated breath, waiting for the strikes to fall.

"HOW DARE YOU?"

It was a miracle Reg wasn't deaf after living with this woman for over fifteen years, because bloody hell was she loud.

"I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE THE MOMENT YOU WALKED IN THROUGH THAT DOOR. I KNEW YOU WERE SOME MUDBLOOD LOVING SLAG HELLBENT ON DESTROYING OUR FAMILY."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied quietly, her jaw clenched as her blood boiled over. She didn't want to say anything bad to or about his mother, not because of how he would react, but because she didn't want to overstep her boundaries and disrespect the woman in her own house. However, her self-restraint was painfully close to snapping every time they had an interaction, and she wasn't sure how long she'd hold out.

"DROP THE ACT, I KNOW ABOUT YOU AND YOUR FILTHY MUDBLOOD CULT. I SAW THE MARK ON HIS WRIST," Walburga screeched in her face, grabbing her hand and pressing a thin finger to the tattoo, causing Alessandra to let out a slight gasp as tendrils of pain shot up her arm due to the skin still being sensitive.

"Cult?" she asked incredulously, shoving Walburga off of her and rubbing her wrist. "I have no idea what you're talking about. And do not ever put your hands on me again."

"Are you threatening me in my own house? How much do you think you'll get away with? I could have you disappear from Regulus' life permanently. How do you think he'll react when he wakes up, when he finds out about your betrayal? Do you truly think he'll keep you around after you forced him into some Mudblood cult and force fed him disgusting Muggle poison?"

"When he wakes up? Poison? What happened to him?" she asked, instinctively trying to walk deeper into the house to find him. She began worrying. Was it as bad as his mother was describing it or was she overreacting? Had they somehow managed to join a cult while half drunk? Was he dead because of something she'd done?

Walburga scoffed, grabbing her shoulders aggressively. "Drop the act. We all know you're some good-for-nothing, common whore who's got my son under a love potion."

Alessandra forcefully removed the hands on her shoulders, getting extremely annoyed. The urge to just slap the woman into the next universe was growing, and her self-restraint was inches away from snapping. "I don't know what a love potion is, for your information. For someone who prides herself on being great and noble and intelligent, your conspiracy theories are ridiculous. I don't know what you expect us to do. You've already entered us into some agreement that won't let us marry anyone else, and now you're trying to stop us from seeing each other? It's not like we fancy each other, we're just good friends at this point. I don't get what your problem is, I haven't done a single thing to earn your distrust, and your paranoia is beyond idiotic." She let out a deep breath, glad to get all that off her chest, and then added, "No offence intended."

"MY PARANOIA IS VALID SUSPICION," the woman screeched, drawing herself up to her full height (although Sandra was still considerably taller). "AND HOW DARE YOU YELL AT ME IN MY OWN HOUSE? I GIVE YOU SHELTER SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO STAY IN THAT MUDBLOOD HOVEL OF YOURS DOING MERLIN KNOWS WHAT, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?"

"I DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING!" Alessandra yelled back, understanding why Reg had fainted. If he was as hungover as she was and had come home to all this yelling, he probably collapsed due to the severe headache.

"DON'T RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME!"

"I must not kill Reg's mother. I must not kill Reg's mother. I. Must. Not. Kill. Reg's. Mother," she chanted in her head, summoning every last bit of self-restraint she had.

"Not even a little bit?" that tiny voice in her head whispered.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to lower her volume, while wearing a dazzling smile. "I know it's difficult for you because your son is all you have, but I don't intend on turning him against you, Mrs. Black," she said, trying her hardest to sound kind, supportive and understanding. "I don't intend on marrying him or ruining his life, or tearing him away from you and your society. I just want to remain on friendly terms with him, as our lives-"

"YOUR LIFE MEANS NOTHING TO ME," the woman ferociously roared, approaching Alessandra threateningly once again. "DO NOT TRY TO FOOL ME, I CAN SEE PAST THAT FACADE YOU'VE PUT UP."

Alessandra wanted to yell back that she had no facade, but before she could react, she was brutally shoved backward. She let out a soft cry of pain as her head hit the wall, cacophonous screeches echoing in her ears and vision blurred.

"Mother, what are you doing?"

Walburga turned to face her son, a manic gleam in her eyes, and Regulus almost felt afraid at the way his mother looked. He'd only seen someone look remotely close to the way she did, and that was his cousin, Bellatrix, the woman who killed and tortured humans ruthlessly as though it was some sort of party game.

"I am teaching her a lesson," Walburga spoke, her voice now soft instead of shrill with a loving caress to it. He wanted to run past her to see what had happened to Alessandra, but forced a stoic expression onto his face.

He'd learnt a long time ago that his mother was the kind of person that would get more and more aggravated if someone spoke back to her, so it was better to remain silent and only suffer for a few excruciating seconds than speak up and suffer for a few excruciating hours. Unfortunately, Alessandra had probably made the mistake of retaliating, and the situation had now escalated.

So now Regulus had to do what he'd become an expert at over the years: de-escalating.

He'd done it multiple times. He'd done it when Sirius got into fights with his parents and nearly got himself tortured. He'd done it when Barty Crouch and Bellatrix Lestrange had attempted to kill Kreacher for not serving the right-coloured tea set. He'd done it when the Dark Lord nearly had Severus Snape executed for consorting with a Muggle.

He could do it again.

"Mother," he raised his hands placatingly, and Alessandra spotted the same tattoo inked on his wrist. "It's not like Alessandra and I ever plan on courting. I can guarantee you that won't happen. We're just friends, and intend to be friends only. You have nothing to worry about."

Well, that hurt.

"But I do," Walburga's voice cracked as tears began leaking out of her eyes. "I just don't want my only remaining son to fall into her trap. She might ruin your life. I don't want to find out from the authorities one day, that my son's body was found dead in a ditch and that half our money is gone because of her."

"There is no trap," he insisted, "I understand your concerns, but there's no reason to worry."

Alessandra's eyes widened as she looked at the back of Walburga's head in disbelief.

He is fucking joking, right? That fucking bitch just assaulted me and now he's consoling her? Do I really mean so little to him?

Of course she did. Compared to his mother, she was nothing to him. Why did she expect otherwise from him?

"I will feel more reassured if you let her go," Walburga spoke in a shaky voice, "Reggie, dear, you need to decide. Do you not see how she's already trying to drive a wedge between us? I don't want to lose my last family member. It will get worse, she will continuously manipulate you to the point you actually believe her. You will have to make a choice."

He opened his mouth and snapped it shut, not knowing what to do. 

There was Alessandra, one of the few - actually, no, the only person he could be free around. She'd taught him what it was like to truly live.

But then there was his mother, the woman who'd been there for him before he could even walk. He was actually alive in the first place because of her.

He had only one mother who needed him. He would find someone else like Alessandra in his life.

"Alessandra," he said quietly. "Maybe you should..." he weakly gestured towards the door, swallowing the lump in his throat.

She slowly got to her feet, trying her hardest not to let the tears fall. What did she expect? He was never going to choose her or want her, he'd made it clear from the beginning, and especially not over his mother.

She felt humiliated. She felt degraded. She felt betrayed.

The only thing she could do was gather up the pieces of her shattered heart and run with them, hoping and knowing they would eventually be fixed. So she pulled open the door, not casting a single glance at the boy who was desperately trying to catch her eye and convey the regret he felt, and she fled, taking away the only source of light in his life.

⚜