Black Rose [Regulus Black]

Alessandra could hear footsteps right outside her door the next evening after her shift, and before she even heard a knock, she shot out of her chair to open the door, making eye contact with grey eyes, just not belonging to the owner she wanted to see.

She sighed inwardly. Here we go again. It was futile resisting.

"It's my birthday."

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" she smiled, cheeks aching from how forced it was. She couldn't slam the door on Sirius because it was his birthday, but her hand still itched to do so. She couldn't help it, it was instinct for her at this point.

"You know what my ideal birthday present would be?"

She sighed, out loud this time. "Reconciling with your brother?"

"Reconciling with my brother."

She tilted her head back and groaned. She really wanted to shut the door on him, but it was his birthday! It would be too mean.

"Sirius. I can't be the buffer between you and Regulus all the time. It's not my job, I'm sorry."

If he was in his dog form, his ears would have drooped. She could see it, from the way his jacket-clad shoulders dropped and the brightness in his eyes dimmed just a little.

Still, she couldn't help it. She was done trying to help the brothers reconcile because every effort she had made had blown up in her face. If she kept trying, it would actually damage Regulus' trust in her and she wasn't willing to let that happen.

"But I was thinking about what he said the other day, and I just want to start this new decade of my life-"

"I get that," she interrupted. "But it's unfair of you to keep coming here and asking me to arrange a place to meet up for you guys. It's so difficult convincing him in the first place, which is honestly understandable, and then you blow it up by accusing him of- do not say he is a Death Eater, I will kill you if you do." Her nostrils flared when she saw him open his mouth.

"I know this is besides the point," Sirius said hesitantly. "But I wasn't wrong about that."

"No, but that's not the point, like you said! Firstly, I hardly think he had the choice, and he's been brought up that way. Also, you should be more supportive of the fact that he's actually choosing to help with the war, instead of being a stubborn prat determined to prove your stupid point. We get it Sirius, you were right, but how is that going to help? Why would he outright tell you he was a Death Eater, when you've given him no reason to trust him?"

Sirius looked stunned, eyes wide and mouth hanging as though he'd never expected her to lose her temper at him, but to be fair, he had it coming. She was tired of him making it her mess to deal with. He didn't have to convince someone who was hardly trusting to begin with, and then comfort the same person whose hopes were shattered over and over.

It was exhausting.

"I understand where you're coming from," Sirius told her softly, and she felt like he genuinely meant it. "Would you mind doing this just one last time?"

"Yes, I would mind," she exhaled, leaning against the doorframe. "I'm sorry, but you need to start putting in the effort to mend your relationship with your brother without any help from anybody or grand gestures. You need to do it by yourself."

There was a long pause as Sirius soaked up her words, and every beat of silence caused Alessandra's anxiety to spike a little more because God help her, if Sirius Black asked her to convince his brother for a restaurant rendezvous, she would murder him in plain daylight, eyewitnesses be damned.

"I understand, thanks," he said quietly, reminding her entirely too much of Regulus in that moment, which caused her heart to stir. She was still rooting for them despite everything that had gone down, because while they hadn't done much to help their situation themselves, Sirius and Regulus' relationship was a product of their circumstances. They were two brothers as different as day and night in a household where there was only one way to be, and while that had caused fractures in their fragile bond, part of her had always secretly hoped they would be together. It could be because she had no family of her own or because there was something so devastatingly appealing about two estranged brothers finally reconciling after years of hurtful conflict, but she had hoped.

Sirius was what Regulus needed. Regulus needed a source of light-heartedness for all the darkness in his life, and he needed at least one family member he could lean on.

Alessandra prayed that this would work out for them.

"Good luck," she replied, smiling gently at him. "Have a great day."

⚜

Thick clouds swirled around the endless expanse of the sky, tinting Regulus' surroundings a shade of grey that mirrored his eyes and his mood that evening. He'd hardly slept well, not even attempting to chase sleep, instead opting to fret over all his problems (there were so many of them that one entire night of fretting was not enough). The streets were cold and empty

That was why, when he heard a creak behind him, he didn't care about who was watching, blindly lunging for the person behind him and pinning them to the wall, wand below their neck. He'd expected some Muggle robber or maybe a Death Eater following him around, but he did not expect to be that idiot scum who was unfortunately related to him.

"Hello," Sirius grinned at him sheepishly.

Regulus didn't bother with a greeting, breathing heavily as he pulled back his wand (grudgingly), turning away to be on his way.

"It's my birthday," Sirius huffed, seemingly unfazed by the fact that his brother was practically breathing smoke as he followed him.

"How unfortunate for the world," Regulus bit out.

"Remember exactly a decade ago when our cousins from Ilvermony came over and Mother had the genius idea of having a turkey made? And then it ended up being filled with maggots."

Yeah, Regulus remembered that. He also remembered how Kreacher couldn't walk properly for weeks with lashes on his ankles that he'd done nothing to deserve.

"I'm twenty now, which means you're nineteen. How we've grown, huh? I honestly didn't expect to hit fifteen-"

That was depressing, because Regulus had planned not to touch nineteen, much less twenty.

"-but here I am, alive with my head on straight."

Regulus snorted.

"I will not lie, I was considering sending Mummy Dearest a card today for all her troubles, but I wasn't sure what to say. James came up with some vulgar shit that Lily immediately vetoed, but I think it was brilliant-"

"Do you plan on annoying me into making up with you?" Regulus interrupted, whirling around to glare at his brother who was clearly living with his head far too high above the clouds. "Because it's a terrible, inefficient idea and I only feel inspired to toss you into that dumpster."

Sirius squinted at the end of the street. "But which one? There's two of them, one on this street and one at the mouth of the alley right to our-"

Regulus rolled his eyes and turned away, wishing he could Apparate away but knowing he couldn't because Sirius would skew his concentration and cause him to get splinched.

And here he was, walking to work in the morning specifically so he could clear his head.

Five minutes later (and Regulus didn't think he was any closer to his destination), Sirius was still babbling on, something about goldfish and gags.

"Where do you plan on going?" Regulus asked, sounding extremely rude but he didn't care.

Sirius blinked, probably surprised that he'd actually been proper spoken to. "Huh?"

"Do you plan on just following me around like some aimless idiot with too much spare time?"

Sirius looked sheepish. "Well..."

"What if I'm going to a Death Eaters' meeting?" Regulus challenged. "What about then? Will you come then?"

"Are you?"

"Of course I am," he laughed sarcastically. "I'm the big, bad Death Eater, remember? I have nothing else going on."

He was sure he'd seen his brother's face fall but wasn't going to turn around to find out. He already knew where this was going - he was waiting for Sirius to break into his rehearsed speech about the foul Death Eaters and everything bad they were doing.

Regulus realised a few moments later that it never came, and he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. His mind began concocting all sorts of possibilities, none of them positive.

Sirius' idiot friends were probably lying in wait somewhere, about to jump him and leave him in a ditch covered in Hippogriff dung. It was their twisted version of a birthday present. They would probably go to Potter's house and laugh about it over Firewhiskey while his body rot somewhere in some corner of the planet.

The planet is spherical, his brother's voice popped up in his head to argue. Bloody hell, the wanker would simply not leave him alone.

Shut up.

He kept walking, hearing footsteps and meaningless chatter behind him...

...until he realised that he didn't.

He spun around and saw nothing but the empty street he'd walked down so far.

A bitter feeling rose up his throat and he scoffed, hardly surprised that his brother gave up that easily. Sirius was a self-righteous person who thought he had better things to do than fraternize with Death Eaters. Why would he stick around so long otherwise?

Regulus' gaze lingered on the cobbled street, parts where Regulus' feet would have landed, followed by Sirius'. That bitterness within him was spreading, spreading, until it gave way to a dark cloud within his body, unlike the ethereal clouds said to surround the frigid peaks of mountains.

He stayed in that position for seconds, minutes, until he shook his head, turning to be on his way. Precisely at that moment, there was a loud pop and Sirius appeared in front of him, holding two large cones filled to the brim with ice cream.

Sirius held out one. "Ice cream?"

"It's early in the morning. And cold," Regulus replied acerbically, getting even more irritated now. Did Sirius really think he would be bought with a few sugar treats, like some common creature? His brother truly lacked a brain.

"Ice-cream doesn't have a designated time or place," Sirius turned his nose up, not looking unlike Walburga in that moment.

"I'll be sure to give it away at your funeral then," Regulus muttered, barging past his brother and continuing. Sirius seemed to give zero shits about the fact that Regulus didn't want him there, because he kept following, icecreams still in hand.

Merlin, Regulus could sense his inane happiness without even looking at the bastard.

He hated him.

"My funeral is destined to be a party," Sirius announced grandly. "Nobody's allowed to cry that day."

"Oh, people will cry. Just tears of happiness."

"Yourself included?"

"I don't care enough."

"I like to think you do."

"You don't think."

Sirius was apparently oblivious to the tension in the air, catching up with Regulus and thrusting the ice cream cone in his hand. "It was melting all over my hand."

Regulus contemplated dumping it over his head. "What is the point of this?" he demanded.

"Oh, it's ice-cream. I don't suppose you've been introduced to it in the Muggle way, but it's just scoops bundled into a cone, and you're supp-"

"I know what ice-cream is," Regulus snapped. "Why are you here? Does Dumbledore need something?"

A flash of hurt passed over Sirius' face, quickly replaced with that smile that Regulus felt like punching off. "Is it so hard to believe I would like to spend my birthday with my brother?"

"Yes."

"Well, believe it! We are going to finish our ice-cream, and then go watch a movie-"

"We are not going anywhere. I'm sure you have plenty of friends who would take you to a movie, get off my back."

"We are going to a movie, and you will enjoy it."

"We are not, and I will not."

"But why?"

"Are you ser- stupid?!"

"You say stupid, I say unconvential genius."

"Do you believe half the shit that comes out of your mouth?"

"Fake it till you make it. Now, I was thinking action, but perhaps we should introduce you to romance first-"

"Are you delusional?" Regulus drew his wand in one hand, icecream precariously wobbling in the other. "Go away. I'm not spending time with you."

"But it's my birthday." Sirius looked almost pitiful.

"I do not care."

"What if I'm dying and this is our last birthday together?"

Regulus paused. "Are you?"

"No, but you considered it, so we're going."

"I'm not watching a movie with you or spending time with you in any form. This always ends in disaster and I think you've made it perfectly clear how you feel about me. We'll just stay away from each other and do what we want, this is for the best."

"No."

Sirius was the most frustrating person on Earth.

"What do you mean, no?" Regulus yelled, fingers flexing around the cone that was now dripping on his fingers.

"We are going to be mature adults and- hear me out, Regulus- I think we should put aside our differences."

"I have. You never did."

"I'm ready now! Why prolong this?"

"Because you didn't care when I was ready, or care about me at all, really. We've done this a million times and it has exhausted me. I'm done with this clown show. You're welcome to continue it on your own, but I will play no part in this." Regulus was fairly certain that his point was being undermined by the drop of icecream that fell on his shoe, but he didn't care.

"I get why you feel the way you do, but-"

"You've made me feel this way."

"And I'm sorry. Life's short. Why not let bygones be bygones?"

"You didn't let it happen, so why should I now that you've screwed your head on straight?"

Sirius exhaled through his nose. "Don't write me off altogether. I understand that things have been messy, but don't we owe it to ourselves to try? You're the only family I have, I want to make things right."

Sirius was persistent. Regulus had no energy.

Perhaps it would be fun to see Sirius bend over backwards to mend their relationship.

"I want another ice-cream," Regulus said, channeling his mother's attitude and trying to appear as snobbish and uptight as possible. "And I hate this flavour, so get me a better one."

Sirius' grey eyes flashed and he opened his mouth, as though to hurl an insult at the boy in front of him, who was looking at him with an eyebrow raised in challenge.

Then, his shoulders slumped and he sighed, apparating away to get ice-cream for them.

This was going to be fun.

⚜

Regulus was right. This was so fun.

In the half hour that he and Sirius had spent together, Regulus' shoelaces needed tying, Sirius stepped on dog poop and a woman threw her garbage out the window right on his head 'by mistake'.

Surprisingly, Sirius took it all in stride (with a bit of grumbling). Not once did he lose his temper, which shocked Regulus, because he'd expected his brother to throw a tantrum within the first five minutes.

However, the game was losing its fun. It was only fun when Sirius was irritated, but Sirius kept up his mindless chatter, looking like he wasn't planning on sticking to Regulus any time soon.

Finally, Regulus couldn't take it anymore. "Are you doing this on purpose?"

Sirius looked confused, as though he didn't know exactly what he was doing. "I haven't even done anything."

Regulus rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

The expression of confusion persisted. "I don't, really."

"Right," Regulus drawled.

"I'm serious."

"Yes, I know you are."

"No, I'm actually genuinely serious. I just wanted to hang out with you."

"Finding more evidence to send me to Azkaban?"

"Of course not!" Sirius looked horrified. "You're on our side, why would I do that?"

Regulus' head tilted sideways and he glared at Sirius, his jaw clenched, his eyes not unlike angry thunderclouds in that moment. "I don't understand why you're here," he said simply.

"I'm here because I want to be. I was thinking about it and I do think we should mend our relationship."

"Funny, I recall us having this conversation earlier. What exactly had happened? Oh yes, I remember. You sold me out when I explicitly told you multiple times not to. You accused me of being a Death Eater- I swear to Merlin, if you say that I am a Death Eater, I will stick your wand so far up your arse that you'll have a second minuscule-size dick-"

Wisely, Sirius chose to ignore the last comment. "I know I've made mistakes before, but-"

"That is it. No buts. No more. We've done this so many times, it's idiotic."

"This time will be different," Sirius stated firmly, his tone so convincing that Regulus felt compelled to believe him, just like all those times before. The only thing keeping him grounded was the rusty iron band around his chest, squeezing and reminding him of all that happened the past few times.

He would not make the same mistake.

"How so?"

"It just will."

"Excellent justification. Is this your reasoning when you solve cases an Auror?"

"Okay, you're being a drama queen-"

"I'm being a drama queen!" Regulus finally snapped. "Look who's talking! You left me at the mercy of that- that woman for years, knowing what the consequences would be, and the first sentence you uttered to me after all those years accused me of being a Death Eater. I'm your fucking brother, we were raised under the same roof, and yet you think my circumstances are my fault! You've disrespected me constantly in front of everybody - your friends and my friends. Shit, you broke into my friend's house out of some stupid dimwitted theory you cooked up in that tiny pea brain of yours."

Sirius' eyes widened, but Regulus wasn't done yet.

"What is wrong with you?! How do you expect me to believe you when you pull all this bullshit? How do you have the gall to stand there and act like a mighty benefactor when you're half the reason our relationship has turned to rubble and ashes? How absolutely stupid are you to think that after everything you've said to me in the past few months, years, I would still be fine with forgetting everything you've said when I've spent nights ruminating over it and feeling low?! Are you such a moron that you think we'll start playing Happy Family after you buy me fucking milk on a stick?"

There was absolute silence. Crickets could be heard chirping.

This is it, Regulus thought to himself. He's going to go off again, and we'll probably never see each other again.

"Technically," Sirius said surprisingly calmly (usually, Sirius would've either screamed or gone home plotting a revenge that involved broken furniture and humilation), "It's condensed milk on a stick."

"Oh-" Regulus lifted his arms and put them back down with a huff, doing an about turn and making his way back to his house. He'd given up on seeing Alessandra a while ago — there was no way he was leading Sirius to Alessandra, and Regulus was too upset now and didn't want to push his mood on Alessandra. He wanted to apparate away for dramatic effect, but he was too angry and would probably get Splinched.

He'd gotten Splinched once and he didn't like it. He had a scar to show for it, although it was hidden among the others...

"Where are we going now?" Sirius asked excitedly, like some child at a park.

"The house. Wanna come with?" Reg shot back, having no intention of letting Sirius step back in. There would be no survivors if Reg's mother and brother were in the same room, that was for certain.

"Not particularly, but we can have dinner together there."

"Go away, Sirius."

"No. I've done it before but I'm not doing it this time. Let's leave the movie. You will listen to me, we will have dinner together like grown, mature men, and we'll go back to being brothers."

Regulus groaned and tipped his back. "That is never going to happen."

"Just one night of dinner?" Sirius pleaded.

"Fine. Fine," Regulus' nostrils flared. He and Sirius would have dinner for half an hour, tops, and then Sirius would remember he was comitting treason by dining with the big bad Death Eater and would bolt, and they'd never have to see each other again. "You're paying."

"Yay!"

Regulus shook his head. "Where are we going?"

Sirius held out his hand, and Regulus warily took it, grasping his brother's hand like it was a sprig aconite.

Next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of some... place decked in yellow lights and red decorations... there was a lot of red, it was blinding.

"I present to you... McDonalds!" Sirius said gleefully, as though he'd come up with a cure for Dragon Pox.

"Mary MacDonald became a cook in the Muggle world?"

Sirius snorted. "No. Come, let's order."

A few minutes later, they were seated in the middle of the hullabaloo. Regulus noticed that more than adults, there were children in that area, all ripping into red boxes like men starved after a bloody war.

"So, how have you been?" Sirius said cheerfully, as though this was an everyday occurrence.

 Regulus blinked. "I have been... decent."

"That makes me so happy."

"It...does?"

"Yes. We're both thriving."

"You are way too cheerful," Regulus snorted.

"You are not cheerful enough. How does Alessandra even put up with you?"

"We're not talking about her," he warned.

"But we are," Sirius wiggled his eyebrows, "I know there's something going on between you."

"There's nothing going on there."

"I'm not stupid."

"I mean-"

"I'm not that stupid. You guys give each other looks."

"Excellent intuition. Do you make arrests based on 'looks'?"

This time, it was Sirius' turn to roll his eyes. "You know it's obvious when you lie right?"

"Really?" Regulus asked, alarmed. His arm jerked against the table as a tingle spread through it. "Is it?"

"Not really, but you get all defensive when you're lying, and- are you alright?"

He shut his eyes when a familiar burn spread through his forearm, bending over and groaning a little. "It's him. He's calling."

He wanted to kill himself for feeling bad when a disappointed look crossed Sirius' face. "Oh."

"I really should go," Regulus stumbled to his feet, clutching his arm. Sirius looked so much like a kicked puppy in that moment that Regulus felt pity for him, and blurted out, "We will do this some other time though."

His brother's face lit up. "Really? I mean, sure. I'll just ambush you the next time you're walking to your girl's house."

Regulus was in too much agony to correct Sirius (he wasn't technically wrong though), but the agony faded away when Sirius abruptly stood up and wrapped his arms around him. He stiffened, the pain momentarily forgotten while the voices in his head freaked out. He was torn between pushing Sirius away and hugging him back, and his arms rose and then fell a little, which meant he was hugging Sirius with his...elbows.

Two screaming children ran past them, their hands smeared with ketchup.

⚜

He sprinted through the driveway of Malfoy Manor, not caring how stupid he looked because he'd prefer looking like an idiot running than an idiot dead on the floor.

The Dark Lord did not appreciate tardiness — he'd made it clear in the past.

Thankfully, Regulus wasn't very late, because when he barged into the massive sitting room, the chair at the head of the table was empty. He breathed out a sigh of relief...

...and then remembered that this meeting was very last minute and very late, which could only mean one thing...

Shit.

At that moment, the Dark Lord entered, and words could not describe the absolute gloom that cast over the room when he did, as if it wasn't already depressing enough. Regulus bowed his head down, putting on a blank mask for show and trying to Occlude the whirlwind of thoughts (all bad) in his head.

"The last time we were here," the Dark Lord said softly, his voice like scratchy silk. "We'd talked about recruiting the Potters, among other things."

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

"Yaxley has brought it to my attention that they refused," the last word was practically whispered, and goosebumps rose on Regulus' skin when the other Death Eaters (save for a few like Narcissa and Audrey) booed and hissed.

"We should dispose of them," Bellatrix cackled, and for what seemed like the millionth time, Reg questioned how she and Narcissa were related.

Sweet Narcissa, sitting there with her head bowed, delicate features and delicate voice, taking whatever was doled out to her. Jagged Bellatrix, head held high, harsh features and harsh voice, going against everything expected of her. One a porcelain doll on a high shelf, another a doll that had been broken and haphazardly stuck back together with mismatched edges

"We will. Today. Now."

Oh, fuck.

The sound levels in that room were at an all-time high, with people banging their hands on the table and jeering and booing, and every sound was echoing within Regulus' head, coinciding with his furious heartbeat as though the thing within his chest was trying to escape. He tried his best to control his breathing and appear calm, while glancing at other people who were also silent.

Narcissa Malfoy's shoulders were shaking and her head was bowed.

Severus Snape looked like he was sick, and Regulus held back his scoff of derision. What did he expect all those months ago, when he recommended that a Muggle-born join the ranks of the Death Eaters?

His eyes slid from Severus and bounced around the table until they landed on Audrey Shafiq, who was staring at him calmly as though she could sense the turmoil within him. He narrowed his eyes when she arched an eyebrow.

She was confusing, and he had no time to question her motives at that moment. He needed to do something, to stall them, to stop them.

The Dark Lord held up his hand, and the cacophony died down in less than a second. "Bella, Lucius, Rodolphus, Dennis, Regulus, Bartemius, you will all go to the Potters' house tonight and carry out this task."

More than the sinister expression of glee on Bellatrix's face, the broken look on Sirius' face when he found out that his best friends were dead killed Regulus on the inside. He was in a somewhat catatonic state, all the voices around him bouncing off of his skull and failing to make sense to him... he had to do something, but what?

Kreacher, Alessandra's voice whispered in his head.

But how?

Regulus' gaze darted back to the chair at the head of the table, which was now empty, and he realised that half of the Death Eaters had left already. He cleared his throat and stood up, excusing himself to use the bathroom, which was on the first floor.

The moment he stepped foot, he locked himself inside and cast a Muffliato charm on the door, and then whispered. "Kreacher!"

There was a crack and Regulus jumped even though he was used to the sound. "Master?" Kreacher croaked.

"Kreacher," he whispered. "I expect you to never tell anybody what I'm going to tell you, not even my mother. Your allegiance lies with me first, am I clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. I need you to go and tell Sirius that the Death Eaters will attack the Potters tonight. If my mother asks where you went, say that I called you to let you know that I was going to stay out late tonight for a Death Eater meeting."

Kreacher's eyes widened, which was something Regulus didn't even consider possible. "But- but Mistress ordered me never to speak to...him again. She said that if I ever did, she would chop-"

"No, no," Regulus snapped, instantly feeling bad for his rude behaviour towards his house-elf. It wasn't like this was his fault. "Remember, your allegiance is first and foremost towards the heir, which is me. My orders take precedence, not hers. You do what I say. Whatever she's said is null and void if I tell you something."

He felt a twinge of guilt as he spoke, because he sounded so cruel and he hated it. Thankfully, Kreacher only nodded and took off. Regulus undid the Muffliato charm and washed his hands, giving himself a moment before slipping back the cool, bored mask back on his face and going outside, where Lucius eyed him suspiciously.

"Lucius."

"Regulus."

"When do we leave?"

"In ten minutes. Bellatrix wants to bring her knives."

They both winced at that.

⚜

The night was ordinary. No howling wind, no pouring rain.

The houses in some ordinary Muggle town in the middle of nowhere had no idea what was going on outside.

Five or so black shadows crept closer to one house, which was suspiciously silent.

The moment one shadow's hand raised, there was an explosion of colour and light and screaming.

To anybody, it seemed like a fireworks' show, but it was more than that. It was two sides fighting for their lives.

They all made it out with their lives, for another day.

At the end, nothing remained in the place of the house.

"The house," a redhead whispered, tears pooling in her green eyes, "Everything, everything, it's all gone."

"I'll build you a new one," the man whispered, holding his wife close, his voice cracking at the end.

When midnight cracked, nobody in the Muggle town remembered.

When midnight cracked, there was nobody in another Muggle town left to remember because everything had been razed by an angry man.

⚜