New beginnings
“yes, i promise, master.”
the youngest Black looked up from the floor, looking at the closed door he was standing in front of.
that voice.
the voice that belonged to one of his brother’s best friends.
there was shuffling in the other room, people talking; wormtail too, but it didn’t sound like people were listening to him, he was talking to… himself?
did Peter just…?
did he really?
Regulus still couldn’t believe it, the boy his brother and his friends had, and still, trusted, for many years now; had just stepped over to the dark lord’s side? all while he was also part of the order? it sounded too absurd to be true.
all those years of ‘fighting against lord Voldemort’ and ‘saving the muggleborns’, what kind of bullshit. had Peter been planning this all along? was everything he had been apart off fake? had he been giving information to the dark lord for long now?
the thoughts were running through his brain faster as those fast muggle trains, he felt like he wanted to cry; it wasn’t even like he was close with peter, but knowing he just did what he did, it was just hard to believe.
Peter Pettigrew, a short, kind of chubby, guy. he didn’t necessarily talk much, well maybe he did but it just depended on the people he was with. Regulus didn’t know him well, but never in his life would he have thought that good old Peter fucking Pettigrew would do something like this.
Regulus turned and walked away, as fast as he could, running out the doors of Malfoy manor, and as soon as he was off the grounds, apperated to the safety of his own home; 12 Grimmauld place.
the front door closed with a loud ‘bang!’ as he walked inside, luckily his mom was out for a couple of weeks, visiting some family members, she wouldn’t be returning until Regulus was already back at Hogwarts; who was going into his seventh, and last, year at school. He had way more important things on his mind than school though.
father had passed away earlier that year, Regulus couldn’t say he cared so very much though; of course he felt bad, since it was his father, and he had been sad at the beginning, but how much could one really care for someone who had basically abused them their entire life?
Regulus’s situation at the moment was, well, complicated. with his brother disowned and his father dead, he was now the heir of the Black family. Not only that, but he also lead a double life, he was a death eater, but he was also a part of the order. he joined the death eaters a little longer than a year and a half ago, not that it was his own choice, it was very much his parent’s’ choice, but he still had to do it. no one there questioned him, i mean, he was a Black after all, right? and he was nothing like his brother, especially not to them.
he had known about the order for years now, he always wanted to join, but for the reasons mentioned earlier, he obviously couldn’t. He still remembers the day he finally got up the courage to tell them about his plan; a cold November night, where he went to the potter’s house, mainly because he knew Sirius would also be there, and where he told them all about his plan. His plan to outsmart Voldemort, to kill him.
“that’s it, that’s what i want to do.” he had said. he was sitting on the edge of the couch in the potter’s lovely living room, Sirius and James sitting in front of him.
“what made you change?” James asked after a couple of quiet seconds, making Regulus look up from the floor.
“i always wanted to join, ever since i knew about it, but you know,” he looked at his older brother, who was fidgeting with his hair, that grew even longer since the last time Regulus had seen him. “mom and dad.”
that was what made Sirius look at him. “they’re not my parents.” he stopped and swallowed, Regulus had only seen him act like this on very rare occasions, seeing Sirius show emotion, was something that rarely ever happened.
Sirius was now standing in front of him, “how are we supposed to know you’re telling the truth, Reg?” he stopped again. “how are we supposed to know you’re not a spy for Voldemort?” now Regulus was standing too, he could understand that Sirius had his doubts about him, but he couldn’t possibly think he was an actual follower of the dark lord?
“i will do anything.” Regulus had said.
“we can try Veritaserum?” James spoke up, making Sirius turn his head towards him in a heartbeat.
“you don’t seriously want to use veritaserum on my little brother…?!” Sirius said, making Regulus smile to himself a little; he didn’t want to call Walburga and Orion his parents, but he still called Regulus his little brother, and that meant a lot to him.
James was slowly getting annoyed as well. “really Pads? you want to know if he’s telling the truth, right? Veritaserum is the only way to actually know. thank bloody Merlin we even have that stuff.” Regulus didn’t mind, at all. if Veritaserum was what it took to get James and Sirius, and eventually the rest of the order, to trust him, he would do it.
it took a while, but Sirius finally nodded, “okay.” after he said that, James instantly jumped up, running towards something Regulus could only assume was the storage cabinet. after James was already out of sight, Sirius slowly walked towards Regulus, and for what have must been the first time in almost seven years, hugged him. It didn’t last long, but it was obvious a hug was needed, for the both of them.
“i'm so so sorry for doubting you, but we can’t risk it. We can’t have something happen to you, or other members of the order.” Sirius said, making him nod.
“i understand. i really do, i’ve been quite shitty, haven’t i?” Regulus spoke, making Sirius snicker a bit. “yes. yes you have.” they were both giggling by now, neither of them knew why, but for some reason they were.
it was quiet for a while until Sirius started speaking again. “Reg? you can always, always look for me. i will always be there, if you need anything. actually,” he sat back down, Regulus sitting down next to him shortly after. “me and moony are moving into a new apartment in about three weeks.” Regulus looked up, “moony? as in Remus?” Sirius nodded. “well… are you guys like… dating?” he asked, kind of hesitantly, raising an eyebrow. “not as if that's a problem of course! i mean its great if you are-”Sirius stopped him, grinning. “yes we are. i thought you knew already, Reg. you’re always so smart and you can’t even figure that out!”
“hey, i found the serum! it was hidden behind some crackers, i don’t even know why they were there because-” James walked in, stopping when he saw the Black brothers sitting next to each other, genuinely smiling. “is this the wrong time, or?” he said, making both boys look up. Sirius looked back at Regulus and when he nodded, he walked over to James and grabbed the little flask out of his hand.
“sit down.” he said as he poured the liquid into his younger brother’s mouth.