Chapter 2
Elian took a deep breath. This was it,his first death eater meeting. He had to remind himself what he was doing it for. He wasn't one of them,he was doing it for Dumbledore and his brother and and sister and sister-in law, and nephew and unborn niece. He was immediately met by the eyes of two people he really,really didn't want to see there.
"What are you doing here?" Elian stopped next to Peter and Regulus' chairs. They looked up at him.
"We may ask you the same thing" Regulus responded.
"I'm here as a spy. What about you?" Elian answered, taking the last empty seat beside Regulus.
"Same. Dumbledore sent me here. Peter?" Regulus turned to the blonde boy.
"Same" His answer was quieter. Regulus didn't know it but Elian did,Peter was lying. Elian glared at him, trying to search for the real reason Peter was there. He was becoming quite a master at Occlumency but even he knew there was much more to learn,like how to reach into people's minds even when he was being blocked out. He couldn't find anything,but he did plan on telling James and Sirius and Remus that their best friend was trying to betray them. He didn't need proof of that. The meeting passed,Elian was nervous the entire time. As soon as he was out of The Black manor,he apparated to his parents house,where he knew James and Lily were staying until it was time to go into hiding. The couple was in the dining room, Euphemia was making some tea behind them, most likely to help with Lily's second pregnancy.
"James! Where's Sirius and Remus?" Elian knelt down next to James' chair. He was a complete mess and he knew it. Euphemia turned around,startled at the urgency in her younger son's voice.
"Elian! Calm yourself" James pulled out a chair,gently pushing Elian into it.
"Where are they? Its important,I need to talk to you three. Please!" Elian insisted. Lily looked at him worried,wondering what's so important?
"What is this about?" She wondered. Elian had barely even acknowledged that she was in the room.
"Its about Peter,and Regulus too,but mostly Peter. Please,I can't say anything until your all here" Elian had to tell them, he had to. They could be in danger.
"Okay, okay. I'll bring them here. Just calm down" James gave in. Whatever it was Elian needed to say,it was causing him a lot of panic. Remus and Sirius arrived within the hour. James,Sirius,Remus,Lily, and Elian gathered in the parlor. Even Fleamont and Euphemia were there.
"Now what has you so worried?" James questioned.
"Peter is going to betray you. He has the dark mark" Elian answered.
"What?" James couldn't believe what he was hearing. Peter wouldn't do that,at least he didn't think so.
"Don't be ridiculous. Peter is our friend, I don't know what kind of game your trying to play but its not working" Sirius didn't want to believe it.
"No game. I'm telling the truth. You can give me a truth syrup if you really don't believe me" Elian suggested.
"How do you know?" Euphemia wondered. Elian suddenly felt embarrassed, he couldn't tell them how he knew.
"What?" He hoped she wouldn't ask again,he couldn't handle his parents' disappointment, or James. Even seeing the disappointment in Sirius or Remus or Lily's eyes would be too much.
"How do you know he has the dark mark? Did you see it?" Euphemia repeated. Fleamont stared at his son,he could tell something wasn't right. Elian caught his eye,he looked nervous.
"I don't just know he has the dark mark, he was at a death eater meeting" Elian added. Something in Remus' mind suddenly clicked,it all made sense now.
"The only way you would know that is if you were at one too. And the only way to get into one is to have the dark mark" Remus stated. James glared at Elian. He understood now.
"Let me see your arm" James demanded. Elian held his arm with the mark on it to his chest. James stood up and came over to him.
"Let me see your arm" James repeated. Elian shook his head,he was too scared. Even as an adult, James still managed to scare him when he was angry. His arm was pulled forward and his sleeve pushed up,revealing the skeleton with a snake twisted around it on his forearm.
"Elian..." There it was. The disappointment, Elian could hear it in his mothers tone.
"I was going to tell you. It wasn't my choice,and I'm not one of them. I'm with the Order,you know I am!" Elian pleaded. James dropped his arm, and moved back to Lily.
"Then why do you have it?" He questioned.
"Dumbledore selected a few of us,ones he knew he could trust. Even people who weren't in the Order to be spies" Elian rebuttoned his sleeve,hiding the mark.
"You said this had to do with Regulus too? He was there too,I'm guessing?" Sirius wondered. Elian nodded.
"They both were. But I know Regulus isn't one of them. Its just Peter I'm worried about. I asked what they were doing there and Regulus answered first,he was a spy for Dumbledore. He asked me and my answer was the same. Peter said the same thing but I knew he was lying. When he lies he gets really quiet and his voice goes really high" Elian explained. James and Lily looked at each other,this was not looking good for them. Sirius noticed.
"What's wrong?" Sirius wondered,bringing everyone else's attention to the couple.
"We made Peter our secretkeeper" Lily answered.
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In all of Hogwarts, over dozens of years there was known to be some of the fiercest witches or wizards, the ones who would do anything for those they cared about. Among these few was Abigail Lupin. Now unlike the rest of these few witches or wizards,Abigail was different than the rest. She wasn't just one of the fiercest witches ever,she was also the smartest,highest in her year and protective. She was willing to go against teachers and higher authority than her if it meant protecting her brother and his friends. That didn't change even after she was graduated.
"You what?!" Abigail couldn't believe what she was hearing. Remus felt bad for Dumbledore,if she was angry at her brother now, he couldn't imagine how she would be when he told her Dumbledore sent him on a dangerous mission.
"Went on an Order mission and joined a pack of werewolves" He repeated. Abigail stared at him, processing that information. Hearing it a second time didn't make it any easier. Abigail refused to touch him, she didn't want to hurt him.
"I warned you about this" She stood up,gathering supplies and potions to clean up Remus' cuts. Since graduating Hogwarts she had practically cast magic out of her life entirely, except for the few potions or spell books or magic plants around her and Remus' tiny apartment.
"I know" He nodded. She came back over to him and started cleaning him up.
"You didn't listen" She added. Again he nodded.
"I know" Remus repeated. Abigail didn't respond. Remus tried to be still as she cleaned his scratches,but it wasn't easy. When she was done,she looked at him. She was trying to find her brother, the one she knew before the Order missions and constant stress. The one with no care in the world. Remus stared back at her,waiting for her to say something first. Abigail stood up, and turned to leave. Something stopped her though and she turned back.
"Next time,be more careful" She planted a kiss to his forehead and left the room. Remus understood,that was as much of an 'I forgive you' that he would get from her. He heard her apparate. It was Dumbledore’s turn to feel the wrath of an angry sister.
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Avaritia screamed,dead hands clawing at her clothes and pulling her down. She couldn't breathe,water filled her mouth. The stupid golden trio had abandoned her. They were on this mission together and she had even offered to be the one that drank from whatever the big pillar in the middle was to get the horcrux. Now they had it,and she was left for dead. She should've taken her cousins advice and brought Draco along. A figure appeared in front of her and pulled her out of the water,away from her death. She was surprised to see Draco staring at her,a few feet away was Regulus but he stayed in the back.
"Draco!" Avaritia didn't even think of how or why he was there,she just hugged him. He pushed her away.
"What were you doing here?! Are you crazy?" Draco shook her,a little too hard. She stared at him,confused. Her eyes then went to her cousin.
"Oh" Something clicked in her mind. Even though her brother just saved her,he wasn't there to be nice.
"Yeah,oh. Answer me,what were you doing here?" He repeated.
"I was helping. I was only trying to help,we were getting horcruxes and I knew they didn't trust me so I had to prove myself and I drank from that so we could get the locket and then they took it and left me here and there were these things,they were grabbing me and pulling me underwater and then you showed up" She rambled. Draco only caught a few things she was saying but he heard enough.
"Who else was here?" He demanded. She didn't answer.
"Ava! Who else was here?" He repeated.
"Potter,Granger and Weasley" She mumbled. It was just loud enough for him to hear.
"Come on,we're leaving" He led her out of the cave. Regulus followed behind them silently.
"Where are we going?" Avaritia climbed into the boat. Draco let Regulus on first and then started back to wherever.
"Home" He answered. Avaritia shook her head,even Regulus looked unsure.
"I can't go home!" She insisted. Draco huffed,he didn't feel like listening to her demands.
"Hogwarts then,that's where you should've been in the first place" He decided. There was no argument, Avaritia didn't want to push her luck with how angry her brother was. If she did,she wouldn't be surprised to find herself thrown out of the boat. They got to Hogwarts,it was clear Draco was still angry. He demanded that Regulus go with Avaritia and see her to her dorm room.
"Draco,I can't do that. I'm still legally dead. It'll raise suspicions if I just show up at Hogwarts" Regulus reminded the younger boy.
"You've been legally dead for 13 years" Draco argued.
"Exactly why I can't go in there. What about you? She's your sister" Regulus suggested. Drack looked at him like he was crazy.
"I can't go in there. They'd kill me" He insisted. Avaritia shook her head. Sometimes the conversations between her brother and cousins were just ridiculous.
"I'll go by myself,I don't need a bodyguard" She climbed out of the boat and started for the entrance to Hogwarts. They watched her until she was inside the castle.
"We're going to find Potter and his little minions" Draco stated.
"Wait,now I understand your anger but think rationally" Regulus begged him. The look Draco gave him was enough to say that wasn't happening.
"They tried to kill her!" Draco reminded his cousin. Regulus nodded,he understood that. And there had been many times he wished he could get revenge on the people who hurt him. But that would do no good for anyone.
"I know. Just,don't go overboard. You might kill them and then you'll be proving everyone right about you being a death eater" Regulus advised. Draco would take it into consideration. With that, the two cousins began searching for the golden trio.
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"What else would you have me do!? I have almost died!" Regulus shouted. There seemed to be more shouting everytime him and Marella talked to each other. More than there had ever been. Sirius had been leaning against the doorway, Marella and Regulus hadn't even realized he was listening.
"Stop being overdramatic" She scoffed. Regulus stared at her, confused by her sudden coldness towards him.
"I almost died. I'm lucky James and Sirius knew where I was or I would not be standing in front of you right now" Regulus got in her face. Sirius understood now, he knew now just where his brother got the idea of searching for horcruxes.
"It was you!" Sirius glared at Marella. She tensed,the question of how much he'd heard ran through her head. He knew,she sent their baby brother to his death,knowing what would happen.
"Sirius,its okay. I'm fine" Regulus tried to defend Marella. He thought she hadn't known what would happen though he was still upset with her.
"You hush! I still can not believe that you would put yourself in danger like that! You ran off by yourself and that,I cannot forget! Like you said,your lucky James and I knew where to find you" Sirius gave him a scolding look. It was enough to get Regulus to stand back and let his older brother and sister argue.
"And you,I can not believe you would put such a ridiculous idea in his head and for what? What did you want him to prove? What was it all for?! Tell me!" Sirius demanded.
"He had to prove himself! The little traitor,with his stupid pureblood beliefs and our parents influence! I had to know where his loyalties lie before trusting him with anything" Marella was losing her composure,her patience was thinning by the second.
"He's our brother!" Sirius shouted.
"And they were our parents!" She shot back. The room went quiet. Regulus had momentarily taken his attention off of the bickering siblings but his eyes found their way back to Sirius and Marella at his sisters sudden outburst. Sirius had a response ready on the edge of his tongue but it died there. Marella realized what she said and tears sprung up in her eyes.
"Ella...is that what this is about? You sent Regulus to his death to prove he wasn't like them? Are you crazy?" Sirius moved closer to her. Marella moved away.
"What else would you have me do? He was vulnerable,and easily swayed. I had to make sure" Marella gave a haughty response. Sirius stared at her.
"Bloody hell! Are you stupid?" Sirius shook her. Suddenly,he turned her around so she was facing Regulus.
"Look at him. Does that look like a killer? A death eater? A pureblood maniac? Does he have any resemblane at all to our disgusting,foul,vile family?" Sirius waited for her answer. Regulus was clearly nervous for an answer as well,he maintained eye contact with Marella until she looked away first.
"Yes" She whispered,averting her eyes. Sirius was surprised,he had always thought Marella would be on his side,more than Regulus as much as he hated to admit it. He looked at Regulus,there was hurt written all over the younger boys face.
"Then perhaps Regulus isn't the one we should be worried about. A mark on his skin means nothing,and if you don't believe that,then I was wrong for trusting you" Sirius reached around Marella and grabbed Regulus' arm,pulling him out of the room. Marella stood there, that had gone differently than she expected. Her and Sirius had always been the closest,and that became even more true after they were both disowned from the family,but seeing him choose Regulus over her, hurt deep down. She felt as if her insides had been ripped out and all that was left was this hollow empty feeling.
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"You knew?" James stared at his sister. Evita looked around the room,she knew what happened. Elian's secret was out.
"Yes,but it was not for me to tell you. You know Elian wouldn't do it on purpose" She nodded. James glared at her, questions ran through his head. What other secrets had his brother and sister been keeping from him?
"I don't know anything about him" James spat out. Elian looked away, he deserved James' anger. He was ashamed of himself.
"James! Elian is our brother. You know better than anyone that he would never betray us" Evita reminded him. James put his head in his hands,she was right. He was taking his anger at Peter out on his brother.
"Your right" He admitted. Evita hadn't expected that,she had expected him to argue more.
"Huh?" She waited. James didn't want to repeat himself.
"Your right. I guess I am just worried about Peter now that he's our secretkeeper and a traitor" James admitted. It was Evita's turn to question him.
"But I thought you were going to make me secretkeeper. I have been waiting for you to reach out to me so we could perform the spell" Evita reminded James.
"Yes but you never really gave me an answer. Besides your...priorities currently lie somewhere else" James motioned to Evita's stomach as a reminder. Sirius smirked, he knew what it was about. Regulus had already told him the big news.
"What does he mean?" Fleamont wondered. Evita glared at James. Seven pairs of eyes were on her and only her.
"Hehe,um. Regulus and I are expecting a child" She announced. Everyone's reactions were different. Sirius and James started laughing. Elian's mouth dropped open,Remus took a minute to process that. Fleamont was surprised,of all the things to come out of his daughters mouth he had not expected that. It had been hwrd enough for him to accept that his daughter was getting married to a member of the Black family, something the parents on both sides weren't entirely okay with,but now she was carrying the next generation of the Black family. Euphemia held back a laugh,she had known. Evita didn't tell her but James was never able to keep a secret for long.