Deux
Regulus thinks of himself as a strategic person, he granted himself for it, and why he was the one who came up for attack strategies with the Death Eaters. He was 16 then, now with his 17th birthday coming in the matter of days, along with his final year at Hogwarts, he came to think that his skills are unmatched.
It is proven by the plan that he is currently writing on paper.
He knew that once he gets his hand on the Horcrux, there's no way he could possibly stay at Grimmauld. So his first order of business is to find somewhere to live while he builds his Order, a place that is secluded but can also be overlooked on maps, a place he could use for the members of his Order.
At first he thought of his cousin Andromeda's place, but then he realized he would've made too obvious and he can easily be found either one of his family members. whether it's his parents, Cissy, or the worst of them all Bellatrix.
Eventually, he found out about an abandoned manor somewhere in France. It was one of his uncle Alphard's manors as far as he knew, but after he was deemed "Blood traitor" and burnt off of tapestry, all of his remains have seem to be forgotten or ignored, like he never existed.
And judging by the time that it happened, it has been abandoned for nearly about 10 years.
As he puts the last of his clothing and necessities in his trunk, he grabs a parchment and begins to write to uncle Alphard and cousin Andromeda. He knows he can trust Alphard and Andromeda, as far as he could remember both Alphard and Andy always has a soft spot for the younger Black, even offering Regulus to go with them after Sirius ran away, but he initially refused, so if he tells them about his plan to run away they would certainly help him to some extent. He neatly folds the papers in their envelope and quietly calls for Kreacher, Kreacher appears in his room in seconds.
"Master Regulus is up late he is, what can Kreacher do for master Regulus?"
"Kreacher, I need you to deliver this to uncle Alphard and cousin Andromeda, quietly. You are forbidden to speak about this with mother and father, and make sure no one else sees you. Do you understand?" Regulus said in a commanding manor, he doesn't feel comfortable speaking to Kreacher like this, the house-elf has practically been his best friend since he was a small toddler, so it felt wrong commanding him, but it had to be done. Merlin, maybe Sirius is right, he is soft.
Kreacher didn't say another word before he disappears with a pop, Regulus got out a couple more parchments and write to his friends, he doesn't give much details about the Horcrux, just that he knows how to stop the Dark Lord and that he hates to admit it but can't to it alone, he folded the parchments into their own envelopes and gave it to his owl.
"Send them to Pandora, Dorcas, Barty, and Evan." With a final pet on the owl's head, the owl flew out the window and through the ward.
Now, he waits. He knew Pandora and Dorcas will go with him, they always have shown disagreements with the Dark Lord and Dumbledore, meanwhile Barty and Evan he's not sure. Barty will do anything to spite his father, and Evan is unpredictable most of the time, so he didn't really know if the two of them would agree or not. But one thing he's sure about, is that they're his nest friends since first year, and he has trust them for years.
Regulus lay in his bed and took a moment to compose himself and come to term of what he's doing, it's really happening, he's really doing this, he's betraying the Dark Lord and making his own group of trusted people, he's disobeying his parents, he's throwing away all of the things he was taught, out of the window.
He was always the good son, the son who doesn't talk back, the son who follow the rules, the son who is destined to be the Heir to the Noble House of Black after his brother ran away, the replacement, the spare, the quiet one. And now he is secretly rebelling, going rogue, going against his parents, against the Dark Lord, against the beliefs he was taught.
Maybe he is more similar to Sirius than he thought, what would Sirius think about this? Would his brother even notice? Would he even care?
With that final thought, Regulus closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
September 1st, 1979
Regulus watch as students wonder around the station, saying goodbye to their parents, laughing, screaming, and there's Regulus, shoulders square, back straight, and a grim mask he has develop over the years on his face. His mother puts her hand on his shoulder and grips it, feeling her nails from under his clothing and her gaze towards him, his father just stood there with a firm expression towards him. "Make us proud Regulus, as the heir of the Noble House of Black. Stay away from those mud-bloods and blood traitors, don't disappoint us like your wretched brother."
"Yes mother." was all that he said as a response towards his mother, short and firm, he was trembling on the inside, but he kept it well hidden under his mask.
With that, he turned away from his parents and walked towards the train, for a second, he searched the platform for his brother, but the realization came to him that Sirius had graduated so instead he just walks silently and looked for his friends. He passed the compartment that his brother would always use, Regulus can see some things scratched on the walls of the compartment, he can see an image of his brother and his friends laughing at Potter's stupid jokes, he remember how he would picture himself in there, laughing with him, but it was all an imagination, a naive thought, a child's dream. His thought was cut short by a body slamming into his, and a wave of pale blonde hair made him realize who it was, Pandora pulled away from him and looked him directly in the eye, her hand cupping his face as she kissed his forehead.
"We're all here Reg, come on." was all that she said before leading him to a compartment. True to her statement, everyone was already there, Dorcas, Barty, and Evan. It looks like they're having a silent conversation with each other, Regulus was used to it, but for some reason this time his heart was beating out of his chest and he wanted to jump out of the window, but before his panic thinking could continue, Pandora grabbed his hand and gave it a firm squeeze of reassurance, and then she opens the compartment door.
Eyes went to him as Pandora led him into the compartment and sat him down, saying a quiet "Wingardium Leviosa" to float his trunk to the compartment above them, then sat down next to him. They sat in silence for a while, uneasiness starts bubbling inside of Regulus's gut as they stare at each other.
But surprisingly, Barty was the one to break the silence.
"So... What's happening exactly?"
Regulus took a moment to compose himself and find his words, he let out a sigh an looked at his friends. They must've seen the anxious expression on his face, as they sat up straighter and Pandora squeezed his hand once more.
"The Dark Lord created a Horcrux, it's an object in which a Dark Wizard or Witch had hidden a fragment of their soul in order to become immortal. The Dark Lord had asked for a house-elf one night and I offered Kreacher, once he came back Kreacher looked so distraught and disturbed, I asked him about what had happened, he was hesitant but he told me anyway. I began my research and found out about Horcruxes, then one night I successfully made an exact replica of the Horcrux and asked Kreacher to take me to where it is.
It was in a cave near the ocean, you have to use blood to enter the cave, it weakens you from the beginning, the water is swarmed by Inferi and I crosed it with a boat that was hidden, the Horcrux is in a podium on small island and is hidden under a vat of poison. You have to drink the poison to get to the locket, so I did. It was horrible, but I ordered Kreacher to force me to keep drinking until the Horcrux appears, and he did so.
After the poison is all gone, I took the Horcrux and replaced it with the fake. I almost drowned, I was pulled under by the Inferi and if it weren't for Kreacher, I would've been dead. Kreacher apparated us back to my bedroom, that night I made up my mind that I want to stop him, but the thought of joining Dumbledore disgust me, so that's I decided to make my own group of trusted people, the people I would fight alongside with, the people who doesn't fit with either sides, the Morally Greys.
I have known you all since first year, you lot make me feel like I can be myself and not the person my parents wanted me to be, you lot were there when Sirius ignored my existence, there for me to cry to, to laugh with, I won't be surprised if you lot know me better than Sirius. I trust all of you since the beginning, and I don't want to be the villain anymore, that's not who I am, maybe Sirius is right, I am soft, too soft for my own good, so please. Will you lot fight with me until it's over?"
Regulus doesn't dare to look up, he was sure tears were coming out of his eyes, he doesn't dare see the looks on his friend's faces, he hates being seen as weak, he was always taught not to show weakness, but with them it was different, they're his friends, the people he would die for, the people he laughed with, the people who has seen him cry many times before, the people who comforted him in his moments of weakness, and right now he's scared of what they would say.
Then suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his body, then another, and another, and another. He feels something wet on his shirt, at that moment Regulus knew how lucky he was and how cruel the world was, how cruel fate is, how cruel life is, but he has people to share the pain with, to live with, people who loves him, people who care.
"Damn it Reg! You and you're sappy sob speeches always fucking gets me." said Dorcas, who pulled away first and wiped the remaining tears on her face.
"Seriously mate? Almost dying without us? You're so fucking stubborn sometimes mate." Evan said, with his signature smirk.
"You idiot! Did you even think about how we would feel if you didn't make it out of there?!" Pandora said with red puffy eyes.
"You really think you're doing this alone, mate? Wow, I'm wounded." Barty said while mockingly putting a hand over his heart.
"You'll join? Really?" Regulus asked in disbelief, "Of course mate! Why are we still here in the first place? We fuckin' love you so much Reg, you have no idea." Evan said while lightly smacking his knee. "I can already see it, "Order of the Morally Grey, the better and cooler Order", the burnt chickens wouldn't stand a chance!" Dorcas said while mimicking a newspaper headline, "Fighting Death Eaters and spiting my father? Count me in!".
Regulus looks around at his friends, his people, his family, his Order.
"I love you guys so fuckin' much." Regulus chocked out between sobs, a head rested on his, he didn't even care about the blonde hair tickling his face, he leans more into Pandora.
"We love you so fuckin' much, Reg." Evan said with grin.
"So.." Dorcas starts as she leans back, "What's the plan?".