Ruined
October 31st, 1981
“Lily, where’s James’ cloak?” Regulus asked as he rushed into the kitchen where she was now cradling a sleepy Harry who they’d accidentally woken up.
“I think Dumbledore has it! He asked James to borrow it the other day.” Lily said, clearly trying to hold a brave face for her son.
Remus rushed down the stairs, pulling a jacket over his sweater, his wand tucked behind his ear.
“Dumbledore has it? What could he possibly need it for?” Remus asked.
“He didn’t say, just that he needed to take a look at it or something?” Lily explained.
“Are you sure you two will be fine here? Are you sure you don’t want to go somewhere else? Anywhere else?” Regulus asked as Remus stood behind him. Regulus could feel his own urgency radiating off of him.
Lily nodded as Harry rested his head on her shoulder, nodding in and out of sleep, but Regulus still didn’t feel sure. He thought about it for a moment. He thought about why Dumbledore would possibly need the invisibility cloak - a powerful wizard like him surely wouldn’t need something like that. Lily was powerful as well, he knew that, but Harry was a baby. Regulus needed to make a stop before he could do anything else.
“Remus, go ahead and meet Moody, I’ll meet with you later. I need to make a stop first.” Regulus ordered.
Remus looked like he wanted to say something, but he held his tongue. He looked up at Lily then back to Regulus.
“Alright, but make it quick.” Remus agreed. “And don’t get killed before you join us.”
Regulus nodded and Remus quickly gave Lily a hug before running out the door and apparating from the street. Regulus turned back to Lily one more time.
“Stay here, I’ll be back.” Regulus ordered. “If anyone comes to the door that is not me. Do. Not. Answer.”
“Regulus, I know.” Lily assured him confidently. “I will not let a single person lay their hands on him.”
Harry had fallen asleep in her arms, still blissfully unaware of the danger their family was in. Lily held him tightly like he was the only thing in this world that mattered to her and he knew right then that she’d put her life on the line if it meant keeping Harry safe.
“I’ll be back as fast as I can.” Regulus reiterated as he left the house as well, apparating as close to the Shrieking Shack as he could. He no longer cared if anyone realized he was still alive, they were going to find out soon enough anyway.
He ran as fast as his body would carry him, sprinting up the path into the Shrieking Shack, slamming the cover to the tunnel entrance out of his way and running down its path. When he reached the end, he ran out so fast that the Whomping Willow didn’t even have time to react and swing a branch. He had no other thoughts on his mind as he ran except getting that damn cloak. He had no time to even wonder why Dumbledore needed it in the first place.
When he reached the door of the Headmaster’s office, Regulus pounded his fist on it without a care if anyone spotted him anymore. He banged his fists over and over again to no response and gave up on waiting, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the door. He blasted it open so it slammed against the wall, rattling its hinges. He stormed inside the office, looking around for the Headmaster that swore he’d always help his students.
Standing by his pensieve, holding a familiar, silver and thin cloak was Dumbledore whose eyes were fixed on the cloak he held.
“Life and death truly are terribly cruel.” Dumbledore said, tracing his finger along the seam of the cloak.
Regulus stared at him in confusion, his anger boiling just below the surface, ready to spill over at any moment.
“Dumbledore, please, I need your help.” Regulus pleaded, feeling tears try to fight their way out. “He’s going to kill them, Sirius and James. And I know he’ll be after Lily and Harry anytime now. I should have said something before, I know I should have at the meeting, but the Dark Lord must have something planned and if they’re already missing…” Regulus’ head felt like it was spinning, but he had to push through. He had to. “He always gets what he wants and what he wants is the Potter’s! Please, I need that cloak!”
Dumbledore looked up at Regulus, watching the boy plead in front of him. His face was so hard to read, you could never tell what he was thinking or what he was feeling. It always drove Regulus insane not knowing what Dumbledore was feeling.
Regulus felt the tears well up as one fell down his cheek. He tried so hard not to break and kept his chin held up, just wanting to get his way for fucking once - just wanting to save them.
“Please, Dumbledore… I’m begging you… he’s going to kill them.” Regulus pleaded once more.
“I know.” Dumbledore replied.
Regulus grew confused again. His eyebrows dropped as he slowly pulled back a little.
“You… know?”
Dumbledore nodded. “It’s all part of the prophecy - the new prophecy. Sirius, James, and Lily must all die to save our world. The boy will survive to end the war. That’s why I needed this cloak of James’. You may think it selfish, but it’s for the greater good.”
Regulus couldn’t seem to form any words to say. He stood with his jaw dropped and his anger starting to boil to the surface.
“The original prophecy changed that day… the day your brother saved your life. Regulus Black, I don’t think you were meant to survive in that cave, but because you did, a new prophecy was born.” Dumbledore explained as he gently wiped his hand along the cloak, smoothing it out. “It truly is very unfortunate and I’m sad to say that it must happen if we are to end the war.”
Suddenly, the tears of fear and pleading he felt were no longer there. All he felt was rage.
“YOU KNEW?” Regulus screamed, being encompassed by his rage. Without a thought, he quickly pointed the wand at Dumbledore’s face. “YOU KNEW AND YOU’RE GOING TO LET IT HAPPEN?”
“A part of you knew too and you said nothing either.” Dumbledore replied, unphased by the wand directly in front of his face.
“DON’T YOU DARE!” Regulus warned. “YOU KNOW WHY I COULDN’T SAY ANYTHING! YOU KNOW WHY! WE BOTH KNOW YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THIS!”
“Regulus, it is a tragic loss indeed, but it is our only known means to ending the war. It is no more than a few casualties of war.” Dumbledore reasoned, looking into Regulus’ eyes and ignoring the wand only inches from his face.
“Casualties of war!?” Regulus repeated, pulling back a little and feeling lost for words. “Are we all just pawns to you? You decide on a role for us and then what? You leave us for dead when we’ve completed what you need done? Do you not have any compassion for any of us? Any empathy?” Regulus jabbed his wand a little harder at him as he finally realized why he always felt a tad uneasy with Dumbledore. “You’re no better than him. You and the Dark Lord… you’re- you’re two sides from the same coin. You’re no help at all. All you offer are empty promises… We’re basically still kids for fuck’s sake!”
Regulus stared at Dumbledore for what felt like an eternity, deciding what he could do in that moment. But he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to save the Potters and his only brother and there was nothing that this inane, witless, old bastard could possibly do to stop him. He was done being a pawn in his game. Fuck the prophecy. It was his turn to decide who lives or dies.
“Give me the cloak.” Regulus said coolly, harshly pointing the wand at him.
“Regulus, you know I can’t-”
“GIVE ME THE CLOAK.”
Dumbledore continued to stare at him, holding the cloak close to him now. His face had barely moved a muscle, not showing even a sliver of remorse for what he was denying them.
A million thoughts ran through Regulus’ mind. Should he just kill him and take the cloak? Could he even kill him if he tried? Could he even win this? Was it even worth trying?
He slowly lowered his wand and raised his chin again, grinding his teeth as he stared down the old bastard.
“Fine,” he said coolly again, “if you won’t give me the cloak, then I will just have to change the plans again.”
For once, Dumbledore looked almost confused, but it was such a minor change in his face that it would have been easy to miss.
“You said it yourself, I survived and the prophecy changed. Clearly, I have more power than you all seem to give me credit.” Regulus straightened himself up and held himself just how his mother had always taught him. “Have a good night, Professor.”
Regulus turned around and strode out of his office, but he didn’t make it to the stairs before Dumbledore called after him.
“Regulus! Hold on just one moment.” Dumbledore called after him.
Regulus stopped at the door and turned back to look at him, holding his best poker face as he stared at him. Dumbledore looked down at the cloak then moved his hand over it, picking up the fabric and holding it up in front of him. The silvery fabric draped down in front of him, gently swaying as he held it out. He lowered it again and swung it over his forearm.
“Why do you care so much for them?” Dumbledore asked, looking up at Regulus.
Regulus looked down for a moment, but picked himself back up again.
“Because they are a family and a boy as young as Harry needs his parents. He needs their love a-and their warmth…” Regulus said quieter than he had intended. “He needs to know that they will be behind him no matter what… and you want to take that away from him because of what? A prophecy some lunatic told you? For someone who is regarded as such a highly respected wizard, I would have hoped you would have known that not all prophecies come true. They are just as uncertain as the rest of life.”
Dumbledore looked back down at the cloak again and ran his finger along the fabric.
“Let me have the cloak, Professor.” Regulus said calmly, slowly holding out his hand. “We can end this. I know it.”
He looked back up again and for once, Regulus could just barely tell what he was thinking. He could see the doubt in his eyes just this one time. Dumbledore slowly scooped up the cloak and held it out to Regulus’ outstretched hand. Regulus’ fingers wrapped around the cloak and Dumbledore let go.
“Thank you.” Regulus said, quietly. Dumbledore nodded just once.
Regulus took the cloak in his hands and wasted no more time as he ran out of the castle and back towards the Shrieking Shack, hoping he still had enough time. The moment his feet passed the outer perimeter of the school, he disapparated from the grounds and landed back at Godric’s Hollow.
The night was quiet apart from the chirping of crickets and the gentle autumn breeze. All of the lights in the Potter’s residence were out and Regulus just hoped to the gods that they were still safe. He carefully approached the door, the cloak in one hand and his wand outstretched in the other as stepped up to the door. He didn’t know if he should knock or if he should just go in, but as he tried to open the door, he found it was locked. He knocked a few times to no reply and finding that his patience was far gone, he pointed his wand at the lock.
“Alohomora.” He whispered and the lock clicked open. He slowly crept inside, his wand as his only protection as he began to look through the house.
“Lily? Lily?” He called out in a hushed voice.
He crept up the stairs and checked in each room for any sign of them until he reached Harry’s room and put his hand on the door handle. He quietly opened the door and stepped inside, but the moment his foot crossed into the room, he was blinded by a light that hit him, throwing him back into the wall behind him. He slid down the wall and landed on the floor with a thud as tried to catch his breath. Each breath sent a sharp pain through his shoulder as he looked up to see Lily standing over him.
“Oh Merlin! Regulus, I’m so sorry!” Lily apologized frantically as she kneeled down to him. “Are you alright? I didn’t know it was you, I swear!”
Regulus held a hand up to her as he took another deep breath.
“It’s okay, Lily. I know.” He panted. “It’s my fault really. I should have expected you’d be just a bit guarded.” Regulus felt around on the ground next to him, slowly turning to look for what he was reaching for. He felt the fabric of the cloak under his hand and he picked it up, holding it out to Lily. “I got the cloak back…”
Lily took the cloak from him and smiled for a moment before she dove down and pulled him into a tight hug. He winced a little and hissed from the pain still in his shoulder, but threw his one good arm around her to hug her back.
He thought about what Dumbledore had said about the prophecy, how it had changed and now Lily, James, and Sirius were all meant to die and he wondered if by giving her the cloak, if it would change again. Lily finally let go of him and helped him to his feet as she threw the cloak over her shoulder.
“I hope this will be enough to keep you both safe.” Regulus said.
“Regulus, you have done more than enough for my family. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” Lily said, brushing his shirt and smoothing it out. “Now, please, go rescue my idiot of a husband.”
Regulus laughed a little at her remark and nodded.
When he was back out in the street, the air felt heavy, but it was a weight he was willing to carry to end this. He disapparated again, feeling his body twist and pull much farther than he had ever apparated before. As he steadied himself and did his best to let his stomach settle, he gazed around at the scenery before him. Moody had told them very specific directions and said nothing more than “It’s an Albanian forest.” when he told them where to go.
Of course, no one seemed to be around. No one had waited for him to arrive, but he couldn’t blame them. It wasn’t like they had all the time in the world. Who knows what could have possibly happened in the few minutes he ran off to confront Dumbledore. All he knew was he had to continue on, marching into the large forest in front of him. He didn’t know how far he needed to walk and he didn’t entirely know what he was looking for, but still he marched on, wand in hand as he scanned every square inch in front of him.
The forest itself was dense and dark, but Regulus could feel the magic that permeated the air. He could easily sense why the Dark Lord would spend his time here, it made him feel stronger, his magic felt stronger.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been walking for, he didn’t think it could have been more than 15 or 20 minutes, but in the time he walked, he didn’t hear or see anything. Aside from the odd creature here and there, scampering through the trees. He was sure he had the right directions and he had followed them just how Moody had explained, but there wasn’t a single sign of life anywhere.
Then, he heard it. A faint sound in the distance that he was almost sure he recognized. He could have sworn he heard Sirius scream. His head quickly turned to his right and he immediately broke into a sprint in the direction of the sound. Trees whipped past him as he ran faster than he had ever run before, their branches lashing across his body as he pushed past them. He swore he heard something tear, but didn’t even take a second to check as he just kept running.
Soon enough, in the distance, he spotted what looked like the ruins of an old church, hidden by the dense trees clustered together. There was a little light shining out from inside and instantly, Regulus knew he had found the right place. He stood at the edge of the trees, keeping his head ducked down as he tried to get an idea of how many people he was about to go up against. There were Death Eaters pacing along the outskirts of the ruins and presumably plenty more just inside as well that he couldn’t see.
Regulus did a quick head count of the ones he could see and gathered that there were at least 6 of them outside. As he continued to scan, a hand slapped down on his shoulder. He wanted to hiss at the pain in his shoulder, but he froze, knowing if he was caught, he really would be dead this time.
“Don’t say a word.” The familiar voice whispered slowly. “Is she safe?”
Regulus knew instantly who was behind him as he swallowed and silently nodded, still keeping his eyes forward.
“Come with me.” He whispered and Regulus slowly stood up and turned around to face Severus who seemed awfully pleased with himself. He didn’t say anything else as he turned away from the ruins and Regulus followed him.
“Where are we going?” Regulus whispered. “James and Sirius are in there! I have to go get them out!”
“No, they’re not.” Severus simply said as he kept walking.
Regulus stopped in his tracks.
“What do you mean ‘they’re not?’” Regulus asked.
“James and Sirius are not in there.” Severus repeated. “The Dark Lord doesn’t have them, but he wants you to think they do.”
Regulus shook his head in confusion at what Severus was telling him. How did he know he could even trust him?
“He wants me to think they’re in there?” Regulus repeated. “Wait… he knows I’m alive?”
“Of course he does!” Severus blurted out a little loudly. “You thought you could fool the Dark Lord? Don’t ask me how he knows because I couldn’t tell you, but he does and you’re who he wants.”
“He… wants… me…?” Regulus repeated slowly, still processing the words. He couldn’t understand why the Dark Lord needed him.
“I didn’t realize it until after I told Dumbledore of the Dark Lord’s plans. Until after everything… but I had my suspicions that you were alive and he confirmed them.” Severus explained as he began to walk again, Regulus jogging a little to catch up to him. “For a while I thought the Dark Lord had lost interest in the boy. He never seemed to focus on the Potters anymore and then he ordered us all to stand down. No more action, not until his plan is complete… and if you go in there, it will be.”
“What the hell are you talking about!?”
“Your arm, you imbecile!” He said as he harshly grabbed Regulus’ arm and yanked it forward. “This! Whatever you did to your arm trying to stop him, whatever this is, it is all he has focused on.”
Severus let go of his arm as Regulus pulled it away and stared at him.
“You’re lying.” Regulus said accusingly.
Severus shook his head. “How would you know?”
“How do I know you’re not just pulling me away from rescuing my brother and… and his friend!” Regulus asked accusingly again. “You hate them!”
Severus shrugged as he turned and began to walk away again. Regulus let out an exasperated sigh and caught up to him again, this time just following him in silence until they reached a small clearing where a few people were waiting in a huddle. He could clearly see Remus and Moody along with Marlene, Dorcas, and Frank Longbottom who all looked up the moment Severus stepped forward.
“Good, you made it.” Moody said abruptly.
“Hope Sniv- Severus didn’t give you too hard of a time.” Remus said, his face looking a little red.
Regulus barely had any time at all to ask any questions before Moody was giving orders to everyone. Everything was moving so quickly and Regulus felt like his head was still spinning from what Severus had tried to tell him. He wasn’t entirely sure he knew what was happening until everyone had split off and moved in different directions into the trees. Moody stepped towards him, placing a hand on his good shoulder which relieved him a little.
“Stay here, kid.” He demanded. “We’ll be back soon, but it’s for the best that you stay here.”
Suddenly, Regulus felt himself shaken out of his daze as he looked at Moody.
“What? Wait, but Severus said it’s me he’s after!” Regulus argued. “If it’s me he wants then I should-”
“You should stay put.” Moody demanded, cutting him off. “Don’t move a muscle. I mean it.”
Moody didn’t stick around much longer to let Regulus argue as he too disappeared into the forest, leaving Regulus by himself in the small clearing. He paced back and forth angrily, wanting nothing more than to go and join the others. He knew Moody was probably right, that going in there was probably a bad idea, but he didn’t care. He was over waiting for other people’s permission. He was gonna end this, even if he went down swinging the entire way.
Turning back the way he came, he marched back into the forest, moving straight towards the ruins he had seen earlier with a new sense of purpose, a fire burning within him. As he marched up to the ruins, he saw the Death Eaters each in their positions and without a second thought, he approached them.
Maybe it was the adrenaline still pumping through his veins, maybe it was the anger and the rage fuelling him, but something had finally snapped as he raised his wand and spoke. A green flash of light shot from his wand at the nearest Death Eater, hitting him square in the chest as he flew back, landing limp on the ground.
He should have expected it would immediately alert the others of his presence and almost instantly there were flashes of light flying around him. He fought back, sending curse after curse in their direction until finally he felt a sharp pain shoot up his arm and as if he had no control over his arm, he dropped his wand. He looked down and dove for it, but his arm just kept pulling him away until finally he felt something slam into his back, knocking him forward into the ground. With another slam, everything went black.