Black Rose [Regulus Black]

Regulus' heart hammered and his breaths were unsteady as the tingling in his right hand grew steadily worse. Perhaps it was the conversation he'd just had with his mother, or the fact that he saw his brother after years, or that Alessandra could be in danger, but his entire body was wracked with this horrid sense of foreboding that seeped through all his blood vessels and caused this ringing sound to build up in his head.

He swore under his breath as he apparated in front of her residence and tried to squint through the dark window of her house, the panic in him rising with each passing second. It had taken a while for him to rip away from his mother, who was suspicious and had questioned him incessantly, refusing to let him go until he had provided her a satisfactory explanation. Despite every molecule of his being raging and screaming and itching, he had answered calmly, telling her that he had gone to see the Rosiers. It wasn't technically a lie, because it was Alessandra Rosier, so if his mother got mad, he could tell her that he did say he was going to visit a Rosier.

Of course, technicalities wouldn't stop his mother from wreaking havoc about it, but that wasn't his top priority then. His main concern was that Alessandra had been signaling him through their shared mark for half an hour now, and because of his incompetence and his mother's stubbornness, she could just be dead.

His mind raced with possibilities as he quickly climbed up the steps to her flat, his feet fueled by adrenaline and racing of their own accord. Had his mother found out and then decided to remove her from the picture? Worse, had the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord been told? He couldn't figure it out because it was so sudden and unexpected, and all rationality had abandoned him. He slowed down as he neared the landing to her flat, and cast a silencing charm on his shoes. He crept towards the door, tapping his wand on the doorknob to see whether it was cursed. Satisfied, he flicked his wand to make the door open, only to be greeted with a sight that looked like a scene straight out of a comedy show.

It looked like a natural disaster had hit the room, with a strange red substance smeared over the walls. A man with messy, dark hair was draped over the sofa, his limbs splayed out and tied to the four corners of the room with what Regulus presumed was a skipping rope. Pettigrew was whimpering under the table, covered in a variety of foods ranging from cakes to curries. The werewolf was pinned to the wall with two wooden sticks protruding out of its arms, and he realised that the dining chair was missing two legs. The best vision, however, was of his brother sprawled on the floor stomach-down with an egg cracked on his head and his limbs bent backward by Alessandra, who was sitting on top of him with a visibly enraged expression on her face.

"What is going on here?" he asked slowly, unable to prevent the smile spreading on his face. He was probably just being vindictive, but he didn't care, because it was the most enthralling thing he had ever seen.

"These halfwits," she snarled, pausing to tug Sirius' hair when he wriggled under her unyielding grip, "broke into my house, and then tried to assault me."

"We weren't trying to assault you," Lupin spoke up, his voice slightly strained. He wasn't really in pain because his werewolf genes were trying to heal him and minimize the ache, but it was mostly just uncomfortable, like an uncontrollable itch. It didn't help that he was slammed against the wall with no support to his head.

"You shut up!" she roared, her voice echoing with pure fury. "You fuckers even had the audacity to raid my fridge!" She pointed one finger at Pettigrew, who seemed unharmed but also looked like he was about to piss in his pants. Regulus slowly walked over to one of the smears on the wall and ran his finger through the substance, noticing that it was different in texture and smell and coming to the conclusion that it was probably jam and not blood.

"We weren't planning to," he countered weakly, trying to make himself appear as small as possible. "I just happened to see that you had nice food in your fridge."

Regulus snorted, walking around the shattered glass table in front of the sofa to approach his brother. He crouched down, taking the turn to yank his brother's head back by the roots of his hair. It was to rub salt in the wound, because everyone that knew Sirius Black knew that his hair was one of his most prized possessions. "What happened to being on the supposedly good side, huh? I suppose you limit yourself to theft and break-in? So much for being the virtuous ones."

"Let me guess," she interrupted Sirius mockingly before he could let out a word. "You think we're Death Eaters and decide to investigate us, just to be a good little citizen and help your fellow wizards."

"Yes!"

Her mocking smile evaporated, replaced by one of unbridled loathing. Her fingers clenched around his hair again, and before she could do anything, she was interrupted by a yell.

"Wait! Wait!"

She turned to face the man on the couch, who Reg had deduced was James Potter, because obviously he wouldn't travel without his cronies. Reg briefly admired the way Sandra had had the Potter boy trussed like a turkey, before snapping back. "What?"

"We're sorry that we broke into your house, we really are. We just thought you were a Death Eater, you know, because you were with-" He lowered his voice. "him."

"You do realise I can hear you, right?" Reg drawled, not bothered in the slightest about what had been said about him.

He was ignored by Lupin, who tried to smile reassuringly. "It's nothing personal, of course-"

"Nothing personal?" she bellowed. "You broke into my house for absolutely no reason and accuse me of being something I'm not, and then say it's nothing personal? STOP EATING MY FOOD!" The last part was directed at Pettigrew, who had discreetly began feasting on the crab eggs benedict she'd made.

Reg snickered, having too much fun with what was happening in front of him. "How pathetic," he cooed, his voice the perfect blend of patronizing and amused, just the way his brother hated it. "Aren't you lot supposed to be Aurors who uphold the law and maintain the Statute of Secrecy? What you did just broke the law and could've broken the Statute of Secrecy... I wonder what you dear Order would have to say about that. And Evans, of course, can't imagine she'd be too happy about this."

"Evans?" Sandra interrupted. "You lot know Petunia Evans?"

James, who had paled slightly, gaped at her. "How do you know her? Have you been tracking my wife?!"

It was her turn to gawk at him. "You're Vernon Dursley? You look absolutely nothing like you do in the pictures?"

He looked even more horrified. "No! That's my brother in law, he's an absolute wanker."

"Brother-in-law..." she murmured, and then a triumphant expression came over her face. "You're Lily Evans' husband."

"How do you know her?" he demanded, flailing about frantically now.

"I hardly think you're in the position to be doing the interrogation here, Potter," Regulus interjected.

Alessandra bit her lip, looking absolutely devious, and he felt thrill rush through him upon seeing that. "You know... I don't remember much of her, but she was a real stickler for the rules... I wonder what she'd say if she found out that her husband and his band of arseholes were breaking into an innocent, helpless woman's home."

"You aren't helpless," Sirius spoke furiously from underneath her, his voice muffled slightly by the floor. "You literally just proved that you're a Death Eater, or at least, on their side."

Sandra extended her arm, and a pair of scissors came flying into her outstretched palm. "Would you like to do the honours?"

"I would love to," Reg grinned, taking the scissors from her and spinning them between his slender fingers.

An expression of horror crossed Sirius' face. "Wait, please don't-"

"Shut up, Sirius."

"But, it's my hair, you know how much-"

"That's why I'm doing it, now shut up and stay still or you will end up getting your neck cut open."

"Perhaps we should stop for a second-" the sandy haired boy pinned to the wall began demurely.

"No," they both snapped.

Alessandra got up from her spot and walked around her apartment, skirting around the boys as she drummed her fingers on her chin, deep in thought. Her mind was at peace despite the chaos in her wrecked apartment, with the yells in the background providing a sweet symphony for her to think.

"Wait."

The screaming ceased and Reg paused, the scissors hovering over his brother's now considerably-shorter hair. She beckoned at him to come in the kitchen and he clambered to his feet, vanishing the strands of dark hair off the floor. He was sure to send body-binding charms at Pettigrew and his brother before joining her in the kitchen.

"What?"

"They're part of that Order you were telling me about."

"Yeah..."

"And you wanted to go against that Lord Moldywart-"

"That's not how you pronounce it but continue."

"You've basically already committed treason against him, and if he finds out about your betrayal, he will kill you. If it's confirmed you're a Death Eater, you could be looking at a prison sentence. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place now."

"Wow, Sandra, thanks for being such a wonderful friend and keeping my mind off my problems," he snarked.

"Don't you get it?" she urged. "You can enlist their help. You can blackmail them because what they just did is illegal, at least in my world. You can force them to listen to you and take your advice if they don't listen to you, but they will because they want to defeat him. You have knowledge on how to defeat Moldywart-"

"-again-"

"Hush. You have the knowledge, so you can barter to get a minimal prison sentence, and also get rid of him. It'd be killing two birds with one stone."

He paused. It was a great solution for him because it would eliminate most of his problems... but he also didn't want to ask them for help. They'd been the bane of his existence, especially his brother, who he vehemently disliked. He wanted nothing to do with them.

"Don't discard it because you don't like them," she added, almost as though she'd read his mind.

He sighed, folding his arms. "I don't want to be used."

"Everyone is used in war."

He huffed. "I'm going to do this, aren't I?"

"I know I'm coming off as pushy," she mumbled, looking at him with green eyes so earnest that he was already convinced he couldn't say no. "But think about it. It's for the better, you're in a very dangerous position right now, and I'm just looking out for you."

She was probably the only one.

He groaned, tossing his head back like it was the biggest inconvenience in the world for him, which it kind of was. Spinning around on his heel, he marched back into the room where they were contained, looking adorably like a gloomy child who'd been forced by his mother to apologize for hitting another child.

"I have a proposition."

All their eyes flicked to him but they didn't speak because they were frozen by his spell, and he rolled his eyes before waving his wand. Sandra sucked in a breath as everything went back to normal. The mess on the walls disappeared, her furniture repaired itself, and the fridge door slammed itself shut. The men went soaring through the air onto the fixed dining chairs, and ropes were tightly bound around them. Finally, he healed whatever minor injuries they had to prevent them from bleeding onto Sandra's furniture, before undoing the body-binding charm he'd put on them. Surprisingly, they all stayed silent for a while after that, and he enjoyed it, because it proved that they'd all been given a good dose of humility, something they'd all needed from their days of strutting around the Hogwarts castle.

"Go on," Lupin spoke up, looking clearly resigned.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, contemplating whether to tell all of them or not. He dragged Sirius up by what was left of his hair into the kitchen.

"I want you to take me to the Order."

Silence. Then, Sirius' raucous laughter pierced the air, the mannerism eerily reminding her of his mother. "You want us to take you to the Order? Do you think we're idiots?"

"Yes," she replied automatically, not putting a single thought into the answer.

His mouth twisted up into a sneer, yet another trait he'd inherited from his mother. "We're not going to bring you to the Order, you're a Death Eater."

Regulus' jaw clenched and exasperation rose up in her, she was tired of hearing the phrase 'Death Eaters'. She flicked her wrist, causing a knife to come sailing and stop right in front of Sirius, the tip of it pointing straight at his forehead.

"Say the phrase 'Death Eater' again, and I will boil your teeth and feed them to you," she threatened, her patience running low. "Now, do you want to hear what Reg has to say, or should I send you all to the authorities?"

"I know how to defeat him."

His reaction was almost comical. His eyes widened, his mouth sagged open and he was momentarily at a loss for words. Reg's lips twitched up.

"And why would we believe you?"

He shrugged, the insouciant movement sending warm shivers down her spine. "I don't know. I will be offering it once, take it or leave it."

Sirius mulled it over. "I want proof that you know."

Sandra and Reg locked eyes and seemed to have a silent conversation, causing Sirius to look up at them with curiosity and wonder just what was happening between the two.

"Swing by tomorrow at eight in the evening, over here. Do not tell anyone, not even your friends."

Sirius scoffed. "Why, so you can kill me in cold blood and not tell anyone?"

"You do realise we could've just killed you all by now and disposed of your bodies, right?" she spoke up, not bothering to hide her hatred for him, and he also didn't understand why she hated him so much. Sure, he and his friends had broken into her house, raided her fridge and accused her of being a Death Eater numerous times, but it was small stuff.

He remained silent, ruminating over what to do. Finally, he spoke up. "Fine. But just so you know, if you do kill me, I'll haunt you both for the rest of your lives as a ghost."

"I don't doubt it," Reg rolled his eyes and flicked his wand, causing the knife to clatter to the side and the ropes to disappear. "Now get the fuck out of her apartment and take your loser friends. And remember, you tell any of them about this, I will know, and you will be screwed."

They watched as he went to grab his friends and untie them. A few moments later they staggered out and mumbled apologies as they left, looking like a bunch of drunken loons, and she turned to face him with folded arms.

"Doesn't your mother suspect you're with me because you're out so late?"

He inhaled sharply and rubbed his forehead, dreading the prospect of having to make a trip to Evan Rosier's house. It had been a long, mentally exhausting day and he just wanted to go home and take a nap, but he knew that his mother would be suspicious if she contacted his friend and found out that he hadn't actually visited the Rosiers'.

"I made up an excuse, I think she believed it."

She decided not to press it further, seeing the clear toll the events of the day had taken on him, although she was in the dark about what was actually bothering him. "Are you alright?"

"Perfect as ever," he muttered. "Do you mind?" He gestured to her fridge and she nodded.

Minutes later, they were sitting on the floor and attacking the homemade strawberry cake with forks, enjoying the sweet taste and the delightful sound of silence. The silence there was different compared to the kind at Grimmauld Place — the one back at his house was less relaxed and more ominous while at Sandra's house, it was less heavy and more comfortable. The atmospheres in both the houses were drastically dissimilar, although both were equally charged: one with the silent promise of torment and the other with something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"I was thinking," he began, slightly uncertain of himself. "The Lestranges are holding a ball tomorrow night, and I thought you'd like it. They're generally fun, as long as you don't attract too much attention."

She swallowed the cake before replying. "That's wonderful, but I have nothing to wear. And I don't know anyone. What if your mother finds out?"

"I'll take care of it," he reassured her, "Besides, my mother doesn't pay attention to them much. As long as we remain inconspicuous, she won't know."

"Okay..." She toyed with the idea in her mind, slightly interested in what his world was like beyond his home, but also wary because if Walburga found out this time, she'd probably never get to see Regulus again.

He sighed in relief, before taking a large bite of cake. She noticed that he looked like something was bothering him, but didn't have the heart to bring it up when everything was going so well. She'd ask him about it eventually, but for now, they had all the time in the world, so she wanted to savor it.

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