The Fall of Man
November 1st, 1981
“Have you brought him to me?” His eerie voice whispered.
A searing pain blazed in Regulus’ lower back as he felt himself coming to. He tried to move himself, but his entire body was restrained as if he’d been paralyzed from head to toe. His heavy eyes opened with far more force than he’d ever needed to use and came into focus as he blinked a few times.
The room he sat in was dark and damp. From what he could tell, it was entirely made from stone and smelled of must and mold. He couldn’t turn his head to look anymore, his eyes seemed to be all that could move as he tried to adjust them to the dark.
He could hear the sounds of footsteps from behind him, tapping on the wet stone floor. It seemed as though more and more people were filtering into the room, ready for the show.
As his eyes finally settled and adjusted to the room, his first instinct was to look for Sirius and James, but from all that he could see, they weren’t there. The Dark Lord stood over him, staring down at the paralyzed boy that had been making his life that much harder. He gently tilted his head as he gazed down at Regulus. It seemed as though he was trying to decide what it was that he wanted to do next.
“Hello, Regulus.” He hissed as he bent down closer to his face. “You’ve been quite the pain in my neck, haven’t you?”
Regulus tried to speak, he could feel his remark on the edge of his tongue, but his lips wouldn’t part.
“Don’t bother trying to say anything,” Voldemort said, “it won’t do you any good.”
Regulus could barely see the face of the Dark Lord in front of him. What tiny bit of light there was in this room, only seemed to form shadows over his face, hiding him from view. He was so close to him, yet he might as well have been miles away.
“You know,” Voldemort started again, “it really was quite a… spectacle … that you put on trying to… fake your death. I was really quite impressed that you would go to such great lengths just for me.”
Regulus watched as he stood up straight again. He realized that the Dark Lord had been playing with something in his hands, a wand that was certainly not his. It was Regulus’ wand.
“Of course, I’m sure you’ve gathered by now that I was aware of your ruse.” Voldemort began to slowly pace back and forth, still playing with the stolen wand in his hands. “Though, I would have assumed by now you would know you cannot fool me and yet… you still tried either way. A bold decision, I must say.”
Regulus had about a million things he wanted to say at that moment. Every word hung on the edge of his tongue, desperately screaming to be released, but no matter how hard he tried, his lips simply wouldn’t move.
He wanted to know how the Dark Lord knew he was still alive. He wanted to know where Sirius and James were. He wanted to know they were still alive. He couldn’t let more people down, not like this. But what was he to do?
“Now… while I must say you have impressed me, you ought to know that I can’t let your actions go unpunished.” As he spoke his last word, he raised Regulus’ wand in front of him with both hands and in one swift motion, snapped the wand in two. His fingers uncurled around the wand and let the wood drop to the floor with a clank. He then drew his own wand that had caused so much pain and damage and crouched down towards Regulus again. He pointed the tip of the wand at Regulus’ face, but Regulus did not close his eyes. He only stared back at the Dark Lord, daring him to do his worst. He poked the wand to his cheek and slowly dragged it up his face, using it to push Regulus’ hair out of his face.
The Dark Lord laughed.
“You.” He hissed, as he pointed his bony finger at a masked Death Eater. “Fetch the other one.”
The follower nodded and rushed out of the room followed by another. Regulus watched as they ran out, trying to decide who he thought the “other one” was. The Dark Lord stood up again and stepped back from Regulus, his serpent-like eyes never once leaving him.
The two Death Eaters came back a moment later, dragging a person between them with an arm slumped over each of their shoulders. Their long, black hair hung in front of their face and their feet dragged along the ground as if they couldn’t move them. If Regulus could have said anything, if he could have done anything at all, the first thing he would have screamed was his brother’s name.
All he could do was watch as they dragged Sirius in by his arms, unconscious as his head rolled from side to side. They dropped him on the floor a few feet away from Regulus. He was so close, close enough that Regulus could have grabbed his hand if he were able to move.
“It truly is a shame…” Voldemort said quietly. “All the hard work you’ve done to stop me, everything you must have gone through just to betray me and yet… it was for nothing.”
The Dark Lord pointed his wand at Sirius. Regulus could feel the scream ripping at his throat. The Dark Lord turned around and met Regulus’ eye for a moment before swiftly kicking his foot into Sirius’ chest, causing him to cough and sputter as his eyes pried themself open. He pointed the wand back at Regulus and gave one quick flick towards him. Suddenly, the scream that had been so desperate to escape, flew out of him.
“DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM!” Regulus screamed with as much force as he could muster.
The Dark Lord laughed again. A few Death Eaters laughed along with him.
“You don’t get a say in what I do.” Voldemort said coolly as he turned his wand on Sirius again. “Crucio!”
A jet of red light shot out at Sirius, hitting him in the chest. He let out a painful scream as his body convulsed and writhed on the stone floor. Regulus screamed and cried out for his brother, the tears running down the side of his face and blurring what vision he had. When the Dark Lord stopped, Sirius was gasping for air on the floor, his eyes fell on Regulus, but his expression didn’t change. He didn’t look scared or angry. He looked sad, exhausted, worn. But that wasn’t enough. The Dark Lord leaned over to a Death Eater standing over Sirius and whispered something to him that Regulus could not hear. The Death Eater nodded and left the room just as swiftly as the first two had and moments later, he returned with a cloaked figure whose face was hidden by the darkness. When they lowered their hood, Regulus saw the curly, long, black hair that flowed as wild as ever.
“Hello, Reggie.” She greeted in a mocking, baby voice. “How is my baby cousin doing? Must have really taken it out of ya, coming back from the dead and all.”
“Bellatrix, I do not have time for your pleasantries.” Voldemort said, annoyed.
“Yes, of course my Lord.” Bellatrix bowed and moved closer to the Dark Lord.
“I have other matters to attend to, so I shall entrust both of our guests to you.” Voldemort commanded.
Bellatrix bowed and nodded once more with a devilish smirk. At once, the Dark Lord exited the room with a few Death Eaters following behind him, but Regulus needed to know something, he needed to know how he knew.
“Wait!” Regulus called out, his voice hoarse and scratchy.
The Dark Lord stopped in his tracks and slowly turned back, looking at Regulus with disgust. He glared at him as he waited.
“How…?” Regulus panted. “How did you know… I was still… alive…”
The Dark Lord let out an amused huff.
“And I thought you were meant to be the smart one.” He laughed.
He raised his hand, pointing a finger at Regulus and at once, Regulus’ fingers on his bad arm began to curl and suddenly all bent backwards. Regulus yelped at the pain as they bent back so far he thought his fingers would break, but then they straightened back up only to slap him across his own face. The Dark Lord laughed once again as he turned away and left with the Death Eaters following him, only three remaining with Bellatrix at her command now.
Bellatrix had no hesitation in her command. She knew what she wanted to do to the blood traitors of her family and there was no stopping her now. She drew her wand out, crouching down to Sirius and bending herself over sideways so the only face he would see was her own.
Regulus laid there and watched in fear at what she would do to him, feeling more helpless and weak than he ever had. So many times had Sirius saved his brother, so many times had he been there to protect him and now this was how Regulus was to repay him? Any pain Bellatrix could have inflicted on him would never feel worse than helplessly watching as his brother was torn apart from the inside out in front of him.
“Bellatrix, please! Please! Just hurt me instead!” Regulus begged, desperately wishing he could reach out his arm to her. “Just kill me instead!”
Bellatrix looked back with him and the low glare from the torch lights glistened on her eyes like a spotlight on her cruelty.
“Don’t worry, Reggie.” She said in that same babyish tone. “You’ll get your turn soon enough.”
Sirius’ face was swollen around his eyes, blood poured from his nostrils and his eyebrow had been severely split. His body was still limp like every bone had been shattered, but his chest still slowly rose and fell. Sirius stared across the room at his baby brother who could only cry and scream and beg for them to hurt him instead. Sirius took in a breath and the words he quietly spoke were all Regulus could hear.
“I’m sorry.”
His eyes closed as his head rolled over on the ground. Regulus couldn’t tell if he was still breathing anymore.
“Sirius… Sirius please…” Regulus called out to him. “Sirius, please don’t do this… You can’t leave me…”
“Isn’t this precious?” Bellatrix mocked, as she watched Regulus plead for his brother.
She walked over to Sirius and nudged his leg with her foot. When he didn’t respond, she gave him a harsh kick in the stomach, forcing him to roll over on his back. He didn’t wince or grunt or cough at the kick. The panic seemed to completely overwhelm Regulus’ body.
“Hm.” She turned back to Regulus and smiled. “I told you you’d get your turn soon enough.”
Regulus watched as Bellatrix stepped over to him, leaving his brother splayed out on the floor. He didn’t care what she would do to him, he didn’t care what pain she would cause, or what game she’d make of all this. Nothing hurt more than the sight next to him.
Every jab of her wand, every spell and curse, every punch and kick; none of it hurt the same. It was painful, yes. It was completely agonizing, but he would do it all over again if it meant Sirius would just open his eyes.
“Sirius… please…” He whispered one last time.
His vision began to blur again and he could feel himself starting to slowly succumb to the pain. His mind started to drift and he thought of the cave. The cave where he had chosen to start all of this. Where he had nearly drowned to do the right thing just for once. Where Sirius had saved his life even though he had hated him. His whole body felt warm from the inside yet he shivered and as he thought of the cave and his brother rescuing him when they hadn’t spoken in years, he could have sworn he saw someone else enter the room.
At first, he thought it was Narcissa or Lucius. His blurred vision made it hard to see anything, but the person’s blonde, nearly white, hair. But then, they attacked Bellatrix and three more people burst into the room behind her, taking down the three other Death Eaters left with her.
Bellatrix let out a loud wail followed by a grunt as she crashed into the wall just out of Regulus’ sight. Flashes of light flew past him, just out of his view until finally the room was silent. The blonde person immediately dropped to their knees next to Regulus as the other three ran over to Sirius.
“He’s still breathing!” The blonde person said and he recognized her voice.
“Panda?” He whispered, out of breath.
“Hey, Reg…” She said calmly, gently brushing the hair out of his face again. “We’re gonna get you out of here, okay?”
She took a few minutes to evaluate his body as the other three kept their backs turned to him, all hunched over Sirius.
“Okay Reg, I’m gonna help you sit up and I’m gonna need you to drink this.” She held up a small glass vial filled with a golden liquid that swished around the glass. “All of it, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Count of three. One, two, three!”
“AGH!”
As soon as Pandora helped him up, all of the pain he had tried to ignore, flooded his body. It almost surprised him that he wasn’t dead yet.
Pandora was patient with him, giving him a moment to settle and take a breath before she continued on with anything else. As she waited, he could feel her gently rubbing his back as she glanced behind her and muttered something to someone who he thought might be Frank Longbottom. Next to him, Regulus was pretty sure it was Remus and leaning over Sirius and intently muttering incantations, he knew it was Marlene.
“Okay, Reg. I’m gonna need you to drink this now.” Pandora said, turning back to him and uncorking the vial. “It’s going to taste absolutely appalling, but you’ll feel much better.”
Regulus opened his mouth and let Pandora pour the liquid into his mouth. She was right. It tasted absolutely appalling and it burned as he swallowed it. He tried hard not to gag or throw the liquid back up. A minute or so passed and he took a few deep breaths as he started to feel his joints move back into place and his bones settle where they were meant to be. Then, everything began to unlock, like he had finally been cut free of the ropes he couldn’t see. He was able to sit up on his own again as he caught his breath and as soon as he settled, his head shot over to Sirius’ direction, but he hadn’t noticed, they were already gone. It was just him and Pandora left in the room.
“Sirius? SIRIUS!?” Regulus shouted in a panic as he tried to pull himself to his feet. Pandora quickly moved to help him as he wobbled a little.
“Reg! Reg! It’s okay!” She shouted, trying to get his attention.
“Where is he!? Where’s my brother!?” He asked her, still panicked as he looked around the room as if it would magically make him appear again.
“It’s okay, Reg! Remus and the others took him out of here to safety!” She assured him.
“Is- Is he dead?”
“No, he wasn’t dead, he had a weak pulse, but he was alive.”
Regulus let out a sigh of relief, closing his eyes and falling into Pandora’s arms as he started to cry. It was the first time he could think of where he actually cried in front of her since that day in the Hogwarts library, but he didn’t care. He needed to cry and she held him as he did.
He took another breath and pulled away again, wiping his face as he sighed.
“Let’s get you out of here.” Pandora suggested softly.
He nodded and stood up with her, but stopped just before they were about to leave.
“Wait,” he said, “did you lot find James?”
“James?” Pandora repeated, confused. “No… no one’s seen him.”
“Oh Merlin… he’s still here somewhere.” Regulus realized. “We can’t leave without him. I promised Lily.”
The look Pandora gave him was one he could have only described as a mother’s sympathy.
“Regulus, just a minute ago you were seconds from death and now you want to search through this labyrinth full of Death Eaters for someone who may not even be here?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. “Alright.”
Regulus nodded as well and ran to the door, taking a quick look outside to make sure there was no one in sight. To his left was only a wall which made him assume, wherever he was, he was in the furthest part of this labyrinth. To his right was a very long corridor made of the same musty, wet stone in the room he had been in.
He quietly waved for Pandora to follow him and the two crept out into the corridor together. There wasn’t a single other door down this corridor as he walked which felt so out of place to him. With how small the other room had been and all of this space, how could there not be any other rooms?
But he continued on anyway, looking for any signs of James. Reaching the end of the corridor without a single person in sight, he quietly poked his head around the corner again and only saw more long, stone corridors on each end.
“How do we know where to go?” Regulus whispered back to Pandora.
“Well, from what I can remember, we came in from the left and saw nothing else, so maybe we try going right?” She suggested back quietly.
Regulus turned back and took another look before turning right down the corridor and continuing further down the way with Pandora close behind him. Walking further down the path, the stone walls seemed to stop, turning into metal bars with locked doors, each section another empty cell that looked dirty, damp, and most likely covered in mold. Not a single one had a person in it and as they reached the end of the corridor, there was only one door left at the very end.
“This feels like a trap, right?” Regulus asked, looking back at Pandora.
“It absolutely does.” Pandora agreed. “So, are you going in first or shall I?”
“Well normally I’d go first, but seeing as how I don’t currently have a wand…”
“Fair enough.”
Pandora stepped in front of him, her wand ready as she reached for the door in front of her and slowly opened it. As the door opened, a bluish white light began to shine out from in front of her. It wasn’t completely blinding, but it took a moment to adjust to the light after being in a dimly lit dungeon for so long.
As the light poured into the corridor, Pandora raised her arm over her eyes for a moment before lowering it again and leaning in a little closer to the light.
“Merlin…” She said in astonishment as she looked closer.
She didn’t wait another moment before she walked into the room towards the light, leaving Regulus at the door. He took a step in as well, getting a better look at the light. His eyes adjusted to the glare and as he stepped closer, he could see that the light was shining around a person who was suspended in air. Upon a closer look, it was James, floating in the air and surrounded by the light. His head hung low as he floated, his eyes closed as if in a deep sleep.
Regulus stepped closer to him, slowly leaning towards his face to see if he was still alive. James silently floated in the air in front of him, his breathing slow and steady. Just as Regulus stepped closer to him, his head suddenly shot straight up, startling Regulus as he jumped back. James’ eyes opened wide, but they were purely white like his eyes had been rolled into the back of his head. His mouth opened, but did not move yet a voice came out of him.
“When will you learn?” The voice hissed. “Regulus Black, you will not win. You will never win… but I can offer you a deal.”
Regulus glared at James, almost forgetting it wasn’t James who was speaking. His anger seemed to be the only thing fueling himself to continue.
“Give yourself up to me and I will let your friends go free. I’ll call off my followers and I’ll let them leave peacefully.” He offered.
Regulus glared a little longer, considering the offer for a second until he remembered who he was talking to. And as he continued to think, he swore he saw something move in the back of the room just for a moment. He assumed it to be Pandora, but he still chose to keep his eye on the area. Finally, he looked back up at James, suspended in the air in front of him and thought about his promise.
“Alright.” Regulus simply said.
Pandora’s head quickly turned to Regulus with a look of horror. He couldn’t look at her face.
“Good,” The voice said. “That wasn’t so hard, now was it? When you find your way out, I’ll be waiting in the tower.”
Before Regulus could say anything else, James’ eyes and mouth closed and his head fell forward again. His body was still suspended in midair, but he looked like he had returned to a peaceful sleep.
“Regulus, what are you doing!?” Pandora finally shouted at him.
“What needs to be done, I guess.” He said with a shrug.
“You guess!?”
“I need you to trust me on this, okay?” Regulus stepped closer to Pandora, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him. He lowered his voice and continued watching the room. “There is one horcrux left to destroy and he’s just told me where he is. And I think I know where the last horcrux is.”
“Really? Where?” Pandora asked.
Regulus looked back at her and with only his eyes, glanced back to the shadowy corner on the other side of the room. Pandora slowly looked in the direction and as soon as she looked, she was met with a pair of yellow serpent eyes.
Her gaze was broken in a matter of seconds as the large snake suddenly lunged out from the shadows towards her. Without a second thought, Regulus pushed her out of the way and found himself grappled on the ground. The snake lunged again, this time at Regulus who quickly rolled over, narrowly missing the snake’s fangs. There wasn’t much he could do as he continued to move and dodge the snake’s attacks, each time narrowly missing.
“Panda! I could really use some help here!” He shouted as he ducked out of the way again.
“I’m working on it!” She shouted back as she searched her coat pockets until she finally found what she was looking for. She pulled a velvet bag from her pocket and quickly opened it, pulling out a yellowed fang and dropping the bag.
Regulus managed to get his hands around the snake, holding her head back as she snapped her jaw at him, trying to bite at him.
Pandora raced over to him, the fang in hand as he wrestled with the snake. She tried to jump at the snake, but she wasn’t quick enough as her tail slammed into her arm, knocking the fang from her grasp.
“You bitch!” She shouted as she ran after the fang.
Regulus continued to wrestle with the snake, doing what he could to keep her off of him until finally a blast of light collided with the snake, throwing it off of him and into a nearby wall. The snake didn’t seem all too phased by the collision as she pulled herself out of the debris and began to slide across the floor again.
Pandora was ready this time as the snake slid past Regulus and directly towards her – her wand in one hand and the fang in her other. The snake hissed and snapped at her as it moved closer, but she didn’t back down. She held her ground.
Finally, the snake coiled back and shot herself towards her, lunging through the air again as she widened her jaw. Pandora’s face didn’t change once, if anything, she looked more confident as the snake lunged at her. Then, as the snake was only inches away from her, it collided into her, knocking them both back into the wall behind her.
Regulus quickly scrambled to his feet and raced over, ready to rip the snake from her and tear it to shreds. In front of him, there was so much blood. He couldn’t quite tell whose blood it was until he saw the point of the fang, piercing through the top of the snake's head. A second later, Pandora was rolling the corpse of the snake off of her. She laid on the floor, panting and taking deep breaths for a moment before sitting back up with a grin on her face.
“What would you do without me?” She asked, grinning directly at Regulus.
“Be dead most likely.” Regulus answered as he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “It is completely dead, right?”
Pandora nodded. “Seemed pretty dead.”
Regulus took a step towards the snake’s corpse and nudged it with his foot. He quickly stepped back as the body began to shake. Out from the serpent’s mouth flew a cloud of black smoke that resembled the Dark Lord’s face. Its smoke filled the room for a moment then just as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared again.
“Now I think it’s dead,” Pandora said. “But what do we do about James now?”
“Good question.”
Regulus walked a circle around James as he examined the light glowing around him. It was magic he wasn’t sure he had ever seen before. When he got too close to it, it would spark at him until he backed up again.
“Well… we’ve just killed what I’m assuming is the Dark Lord’s last horcrux,” Regulus said, thinking out loud. “And if that really was the last one, he’ll be weak. It’s just him and if this is his magic, then the magic may die with him.”
“How can you be sure?” Pandora asked.
“I can’t.” Regulus replied.
Regulus had absolutely no idea if his theory would work. There was plenty of magic in the world that still existed even with its caster long gone. But he hoped that maybe the Dark Lord would be arrogant enough to not solidify his magic, since he was so sure he was going to live forever.
“I’m going to go to the tower.” Regulus stated. “I want you to find some people to help you with James and as soon as you can, come help me.”
“You’re going to go alone!? Are you insane!?” Pandora half shouted.
“He’s weakened now and it’s just me who he wants. If I give him what he wants, I can get him while his guard is- AGH!” Regulus’ arm suddenly shot forward at Pandora as he was trying to speak. He looked down at his arm in horror as it began to move on its own.
“What the bloody hell are you doing!?” Pandora shouted again.
“I don’t know, it’s not me! It’s him! Shit!” Regulus’ arm shot forward again and Pandora managed to dodge it again as she pulled out her wand. “I don’t know how to stop it!”
Next thing he knew, Regulus had managed to knock Pandora back to the ground. Her wand flew from her hand in the process and was laying on the floor just out of reach. His hand wrapped around her throat and squeezed tighter and tighter. His free arm was pulling and prying at his other arm, desperately trying to pull it off of her, but he had no control of it anymore. Pandora clawed at his arm as she choked and gasped for air, but his grip only got tighter. He didn’t know what to do.
Regulus searched around the room for anything to help him, but all he could see was Pandora’s wand. In a last ditch attempt, he held out his free hand towards the wand.
“Accio wand!” He shouted and her wand flew straight to his hand.
He took a breath and looked one last time at Pandora who was starting to turn blue.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. I’m really about to do this.
He raised the wand at his arm and in one motion yelled, “Diffindo!” and he watched as his hand released Pandora’s neck and she gasped for air – his arm fell to the floor and he just stared at it.
Pandora breathed heavily as she finally started to sit up. For a moment, she hadn’t reacted to what he had done. That was until she looked down and saw his arm on the ground with him still staring at it in disbelief.
“Reg…” She said slowly.
“I just cut off my arm.” He said back.
“Reg… I need you to give me my wand.”
Regulus held out her wand to her and dropped it into her hands, not once looking at her. Blood poured from his arm and was beginning to pool on the floor next to him. It wasn’t until Pandora helped him sit down that he finally realized how dizzy he was feeling.
“Reg, don’t move, I’m going to stop the bleeding, okay?” Pandora said as calmly as she could.
Regulus just nodded and continued to stare at his arm, trying not to vomit or pass out. Pandora quickly worked away at his arm and soon enough she had stopped the bleeding and healed his arm enough to leave a stump in its place. It still hurt like hell, but the adrenaline surging through his body made it hard to notice. He was just grateful he hadn’t killed his best friend.
“Panda, I’m so sorry.” Regulus finally said as she finished up.
“It’s not your fault, Reg,” she casually replied. “I’m just sorry you had to do this .” She gestured to his missing arm.
“I’d do it again if I had to.”
Pandora smiled at him. “Well, let’s just pray you never have to again.”
Regulus laughed.
Just as they started to settle, the door to the room burst open behind them and as quickly as she could, Pandora whipped around with her wand ready in front of her. She lowered it as soon as she saw Moody and Frank. The two looked around at the room, their eyes on James first, then down at the floor to Regulus’ severed arm, then back over to Regulus slumped against the wall with one less limb.
“What the bloody hell happened in here!?” Moody asked in his same old gruff voice.
“Is that a snake?” Frank asked, walking towards it.
“It’s a dead snake.” Pandora said casually.
“I see that now.” Frank responded, nudging the snake with his foot. “Hm.”
“To answer your question, Moody,” Regulus started, pulling himself upright a bit more. “I lost control of my arm and nearly suffocated Pandora, so I used her wand to cut it off.”
Moody blankly stared at Regulus for a moment, then to the arm, then back at Regulus.
“And James?” He asked, disregarding the arm.
“No idea, but definitely something the Dark Lord did.” Regulus began to try and stand up again, Pandora assisting him as he lifted himself up. “All I know is I need to find him and end this mess.”
“With the state you’re in?” Moody stated. “I bloody well think not!”
“With all due respect, Alastor, I don’t think that’s going to stop him.” Pandora pointed out.
Moody blinked at Pandora and turned his attention back to Regulus who nodded in agreement with Pandora. There was no way in hell he was going to stop now – not with everything he had put himself through.
“You Black brothers really are something.” Frank laughed, more out of astonishment than anything. “I mean, we find you two barely breathing and get Sirius back to safety and the first thing he asks is what he can do to help. He was barely even awake! And you, you just cut off an arm and you still want to face You Know Who!”
“Well, when you grow up with a family as lovely as ours…” Regulus shrugged. “But I’m going to find him. I’m who he wants.”
Regulus brushed himself off and took another deep breath, trying now to avoid looking at his severed arm on the ground.
“He’s weak now, I know it.” Regulus continued. “You guys can figure out how to get James free from this and when you do, I’ll be at the tower.”
“Reg, you don’t even have a wand.” Pandora pointed out. “Let me at least come with you.”
“I’ll get one.” He said quickly. “If you come with me, he’ll just try to kill you too.”
Pandora stared at him with a look of guilt creeping up in her eyes. She jumped at him, leaping into a tight hug with her arms around his neck. He was a little startled at first, but hugged her back tightly.
“I swear to Merlin, if you die…” She whispered to him.
“I won’t.” Regulus replied as he pulled back. “But if I do… you make sure Luna knows how brilliant her Uncle Reggie was.”
Pandora let out a single huff of amusement as she looked down at her feet. She wiped her face quickly as she looked back up and let out a sigh.
“Well then, don’t just stand around. You’ve got a meeting to attend.” She said with a small smile.
“Hopefully, it’ll be the last.” Regulus smiled back. “The pay is terrible.”
Pandora laughed again as Regulus nodded to Frank and Moody who nodded back as he left the room. He still wasn’t entirely sure where he was going. He remembered Pandora saying they had come from the other end of the corridor, so he assumed that was his best chance. He walked at a quick pace, trying to keep his footsteps as light as he could.
Coming to the end of the corridor, there were still barely any doors and it still felt odd to him. When he reached the end of the corridor, he came to the corner and stopped. He did his best to stay quiet and listen for anyone and realized he heard footsteps coming towards him. He knew this was his only chance to potentially get a wand and though he had no idea who was coming down the corridor, he knew he had to take it.
He quietly waited as the footsteps grew closer, readying his only fist and hoping like hell he had enough strength for this. As the person rounded the corner, Regulus didn’t hesitate for a second as he forcefully swung his arm and connected his fist with their nose. He felt the crunch against his knuckles as he bashed in their nose, knocking them on their back with a thud. The person had dropped their wand and was cradling their face as Regulus dived for the wand on the floor.
“Really sorry, mate!” Regulus quickly said as he pointed their wand at them. “Petrificus totalus!”
The person’s body suddenly stiffened as if turned into a statue and as their hands left their face, Regulus saw it had been Mulciber who he had hit. He was a little surprised at himself that he had taken down someone of his size, but he had to admit he was a little proud too.
“You should really watch where you’re going.” Regulus said as he wiped his hand on his shirt.
The wand definitely felt a bit uncomfortable to use as it wasn’t his wand, but it would just have to work. It wasn’t like he had many other options.
Carrying on further down the corridors, he knew he was getting closer to finding his way out as the sounds of screaming, crashing, and exploding grew louder. He hadn’t been able to hear any of it where he had been left and it made him wonder just how far down he had actually been. He passed what he thought may have been catacombs, covered in cobwebs and dust, that from what he could tell, were all emptied.
These corridors he ran through felt like a never ending maze and all he had was to hold onto hope that as the sounds grew louder, he grew closer. Finally, he came to a corridor he was sure he’d never seen before and turned himself on his heels as he raced down its path. He could see at the end an archway that sat tall in front of a set of stairs going up and he made a run for it directly to them. He approached the stairs and ran up them with his new found energy, following them as they twisted around and around. As he reached the top, the moonlight began to faintly light up the wet stone of the stairs and the sounds of people fighting echoed from every direction. Flashes of red and green and blue flew every which way, lighting up the area just a bit more.
Everyone he had ever known from both sides were fighting. Order members versus the Death Eaters who outnumbered them by a landslide, but the Order was fighting like hell. Regulus had never expected them all to fight as viciously as they did. He always knew the Death Eaters had no morals, they would fight dirty and they would fight to win, but the Order members? They had morals and they had rules to follow and technically, they were following them, bending the rules just enough to mercilessly destroy anyone with the mark.
A part of him wanted to continue to stand there, blend himself into the shadows to watch all of this play out, but he knew he couldn’t. He hadn’t come this far just to standby and watch everyone he knew fight each other. He came here to put an end to it.
He hid behind the archway that would lead him outside and carefully leaned around it, looking around for the tower the Dark Lord had claimed to be in. Amongst the ruins of what was once here, he barely spotted the tower at the other end of the ongoing battle. It was a little hidden behind the large trees of the forest and its same dark grey stone bricks were engulfed by vines and creeping plants – just another part of the ruins being reclaimed by Mother Nature.
It was the only tower in sight, everything else seemed to have toppled many years ago (or been destroyed further by rogue flying spells). He leaned back behind the archway again, thinking up a plan for how he was going to get himself to the other end of the ruins without being spotted.
“Pssst.” He heard in a whisper as he looked around. Then, he heard it again. “Pssst, Reg!”
From the outskirts of the forest, just barely out of sight, he spotted the familiar short blonde hair of Evan and his hand waving to him to come over to him. Regulus wasn’t entirely sure how much he trusted it, but Evan had helped him before even when it could have meant severe punishment.
Regulus knelt down and moved as quickly as he could towards where Evan had hid behind the tree. The two of them crouched behind the tree and the brush of the forest, hoping they were out of sight.
“Thank Merlin, you’re still alive.” Evan whispered in relief. Evan’s eyes kept glancing at the stump that was once where Regulus’ arm was but then quickly back up to his face.
“Had to cut it off… Would’ve killed Pandora otherwise.” Regulus quickly explained.
Evan didn’t seem to question it, but instead just accepted the answer. With the situation they were currently in, there really wasn’t time to question much.
“So, what’s the plan here?” Evan asked, changing the subject.
“Plan?” Regulus looked at him confused.
“Yeah! How are we ending all of this?” Evan asked, almost eagerly.
“You- you want to help?” Regulus asked, not sure if he was hearing things right.
“Have you seen the state the Dark Lord is in right now?” Evan asked. “I saw him just a few minutes ago. I’d be surprised if he made it out of this. Whatever you’ve done, it’s getting to him.”
Regulus' jaw dropped as if he couldn’t believe the work he had done was actually paying off. He imagined what the Dark Lord must currently look like, tired, weak, falling apart… And it was all because of his accidental discovery.
Evan stared at him for a moment, waiting for an answer from Regulus… or even just some acknowledgment.
“Wait, you saw him a few minutes ago?” Regulus finally asked, realizing what he had been told.
“Yeah, headed to that tower over there. He looked pretty bloody deranged and-” Evan cut himself off, his thoughts seemingly racing, “Are you about to go after him?”
“What other choice do I have?” Regulus asked.
From behind him, another voice he hadn’t heard in a while whispered to them causing Regulus to jump forward and turn, pointing his wand out with a jab. Barty stood behind him, crouching down to their level with his hands raised defensively.
“You have us to help.” Barty whispered as he slowly lowered himself.
“Barty?” Regulus whispered, a little surprised. “You too?”
“Oh please, Reggie,” Barty whispered, somehow still as cocky as ever, “you think I didn’t see you in that abandoned house? You think I didn’t know it was you the Dark Lord was after? I kept my mouth shut for you and now that I’ve seen all you’ve done… and all he’s done to you… I can’t just let him get away with that. It’s one thing when you don’t know the person, it’s another when they’re one of your best mates. It sorta makes you realize how fucked up you are.”
“Thanks? I think…?” Regulus said, though it came out more as a question.
“What he's trying to say is we're not on the Dark Lord’s side,” Evan interjected, “but we’re not on the Order’s side either.”
“We’re on your side.” Barty finished.
Regulus inhaled and let out a single sigh followed by a small laugh. And all this time he had thought Barty would have killed him at the first chance he had.
“So, what do you need from us?” Evan asked.
“I need to get to that tower over there.” Regulus pointed to the tower standing across the ruins from them. There were a few people around it, all mostly distracted as they fought each other, a few seemed to be defending the tower.
“Sure thing,” Barty nodded. “I think I’ve got an idea, but you’re gonna have to trust me.”
“Well, we’ve gone this long without fighting.” Regulus shrugged.
Barty explained his idea as quickly as he could while Evan continued to watch around them, making sure they were alone. When Barty finished explaining, Regulus just decided to go with it, he didn’t have many other options so this was about as good as it was gonna get.
“Ready?” Barty asked as the three of them stood up. Regulus nodded.
Barty bent down a little in front of him and scooped him up, throwing Regulus over his shoulder. It helped that Barty was much taller than Regulus so he had an easier time picking him up, but it didn’t make it any less uncomfortable.
Barty tossed him over his shoulder and Regulus did his best to slump over him, trying to become dead weight as if he had been knocked out entirely.
“Masks on.” Barty said to Evan and he nodded back.
The two slid their masks back on and began to walk out, pretending as though they had just come out of the catacombs below. No other Death Eaters seemed to question what they were doing, letting them pass without a word as they carried him towards the tower. A lot of people seemed too preoccupied with the ongoing fight to worry about the body of someone who was presumably already dead.
At the base of the tower, where an archway stood open, two Death Eaters stood outside, prepared to fight off anyone who came close. Barty approached them with Regulus over his shoulder and Evan alongside him and the two Death Eaters stopped him.
“Hold it,” he said, holding out his hand, “where do you think you’re going?”
“I have Regulus Black here,” Barty said confidently. “Tried to escape when he knows the Dark Lord wants him. We caught him and knocked him out. The Dark Lord wishes for us to bring him his body.”
“I don’t remember the Dark Lord asking for him.” The one Death Eater said.
“Do you really want to be the one who questioned the Dark Lord?” Barty asked, his voice nearly menacing.
The Death Eater paused for a moment. Regulus couldn’t see his face, but he was sure he would have seen panic otherwise.
“No… no, you’re absolutely right.” He said, stepping out of Barty’s way.
Barty didn’t say anything else, but stormed past the two Death Eaters, Evan following right behind him as they entered the tower. He carried Regulus part of the way up the stairs before he finally stopped and let him down.
“Alright, I’m not carrying you to the top of this tower.” Barty said, stretching out his shoulders.
“Ah, what a shame.” Regulus joked, shaking his head with a small smirk.
“Don’t push it,” Barty warned him, “I just risked my life for you.”
Regulus half smiled at him before patting a hand down on his shoulder.
“And now I’m going to risk my life for all of you.” Regulus replied.
Barty let out an amused huff and looked away from him. Evan crossed his arms and stared at him.
“Just… if you’re gonna die, can you at least make it look cool?” Evan asked, a smirk growing on his face too.
“I make everything look cool.” He replied.
Regulus gave them a single nod before taking another deep breath and checking his stolen wand was still in his back pocket as he began to ascend the stairs, leaving the two standing there and watching him.
As he ascended the stairs, he went over all the scenarios that might play out when he reached the final step. The first (and most obvious) one was that once he stepped off the final stair, the Dark Lord would simply kill him without a second thought, giving him no time to react at all. The second, he would reach the top to find that the Dark Lord had never actually been there to begin with and this had all just been one big ruse to draw Regulus away from everyone else as the Death Eaters slaughtered all his friends. The third (his personal favourite) was that he would reach the top and the Dark Lord would be there, waiting for him to arrive and deciding to let Regulus duel for his life. It wasn’t the most impossible scenario, Regulus knew how much the Dark Lord liked to play with his food before eating it, but would he be so willingly patient with Regulus? Would he feel confident enough that even in the state he was in, he’d be able to win a duel? To be fair, neither of them were really in the best state, but Regulus liked to think that even after everything, he still had some fight left.
Then finally, the last step was in front of him, just above it, a dark wooden door made of planks that seemed to be holding on to the hinges for dear life. Whatever he was about to face when he opened this door would either mean his death or the end of a war… and he was so sick of facing death.
He stood on the stairs, his eyes staring forward at the old wood and he took a moment to gather himself.
Eyes closed. Deep breath. Back straight. Chin up.
Regulus reached out to the door in front of him, pressing his palm to the almost rotted wood then pushed as he opened his eyes. A figure stood at the other side of the tower’s observation deck, facing out towards the forest that surrounded the battle raging on below. It would’ve taken an idiot not to recognize the man standing before him. Even with his back turned, the sight of a man who was really no longer much of one, was one that you would not forget.
“Regulus Black…” Voldemort hissed, his back still turned on him. “Never did I think that you would be my greatest… problem…”
The Dark Lord turned around. The moonlight illuminated his face and though Regulus did his best to remain neutral, the destruction that had ravaged the Dark Lord’s face was worse than he had expected.
His eyes were no longer human at all, red serpent like slits that had taken their place. His skin was pale, ghostly and cracking in places like an antique doll someone had dropped. Dark magic had completely taken over his body, he was dark magic now.
“Hello, Tom.” Regulus greeted him, remaining cool and unmoved.
The Dark Lord snarled at him.
“How dare you use that name, you worthless blood traitor!” He hissed at him.
Without even raising his wand, the door behind Regulus slammed shut and the Dark Lord raised his chin with a malicious grin. Regulus didn’t flinch.
“Now… amongst my men, I expect a certain level of loyalty.” Voldemort said more calmly. “I expect that you will do as you’re told and you will not disobey me… However, you seem to have forgotten this.”
“Forgetting would imply that I did not know what I was doing.” Regulus simply stated, trying to contain a smirk only Sirius could replicate. “I knew exactly what I was doing. I don’t forget.”
“Your arrogance is your downfall, Regulus Black.”
“I could have sworn the same about you.”
The Dark Lord narrowed his eyes, grinding his teeth as he stared back at Regulus.
“I can be a forgiving man,” Voldemort stated, “I could have let you rejoin us. You could have had so much power and yet… you still choose yourself.”
“See… that’s where you’re wrong again,” Regulus said, laughing a little. “You don’t get it. Not once have I done everything I have because I chose myself. I have never chosen myself. I have and always will, choose my family. End of story.”
The Dark Lord let out a single laugh, louder than Regulus would have expected as he raised his wand to his other hand and began to spin it between his fingers.
“How… heartwarming…” He said sarcastically. “Choosing love… you weak, spineless boy.”
Before Regulus had a moment to think, the Dark Lord had glided across the floor as if his feet weren’t touching the ground and pointed his wand directly at Regulus’ throat, jabbing it into his skin. The force of his movement knocked Regulus back into the door which rattled on its hinges.
Regulus gulped once, but held his eye contact with the Dark Lord, raising his chin from the wand just beneath it.
“I should have killed you at Malfoy Manor.” Voldemort hissed at him.
As he jabbed the wand into his throat, Regulus did his best not to choke. The Dark Lord was taking far longer to kill him than he had expected. Maybe he had been right, maybe he wanted a duel. Then he realized why the Dark Lord felt so confident that he could do whatever he wanted. He had snapped Regulus’ wand himself. He didn’t know Regulus had stolen another one. He believed Regulus was powerless. His guard was down.
“And yet, here I stand.” Regulus said, feeling the wand jab into his neck even harder.
“Not for much longer.” Voldemort said with a cruel smile.
“Are you sure?”
“What?”
Regulus’ hand slid behind his back as the Dark Lord glared at him, analyzing his face as he tried to figure out what he meant, but by the time he realized what was happening, Regulus’ hand flew up with a wand firmly grasped in it. He didn’t exactly have a spell in mind as he quickly raised the wand, but he knew he needed to do something. Without any hesitation, a spell shot from the end of his wand and collided directly with the Dark Lord’s stomach, sending him backwards a few steps with a grunt.
The Dark Lord looked up at him through his brow, a snarl across his face as he stood up straight. Regulus pointed his wand again, this time readying a spell in his mind and as he shot it towards the Dark Lord, he suddenly burst into black smoke and the spell flew out above the trees, passing through the smoke as if it weren’t there. The black smoke flew directly at Regulus who just barely managed to jump out of its way as it slammed into the old wooden door, splinters of wood flying in every direction. His stolen wand slipped from his hand, rolling across the floor and down the stairs of the tower. The smoke formed back into Voldemort who turned back to Regulus again.
“Give up now, Regulus,” he said calmly, “you and I both know you won’t win this.”
“I won’t stop ‘til one of us is dead.” Regulus panted as he turned himself over on the ground.
“Then let me make this easy.” Voldemort said as he raised his wand. “Avada Keda-”
“Expelliarmus!” A streak of red light flashed behind Voldemort from the stairs and connected with his back. The wand in his hand flew into the air as he stumbled forward and from behind him stood a sight Regulus would forever be grateful for.
James stood with his wand outstretched as he moved further out onto the top of the tower. Behind him, Pandora, Lily, and Remus came in, wands in hand and they surrounded the Dark Lord.
“James! You’re alright!?” Regulus exclaimed as he scrambled to his feet.
“Thanks to this one here,” he replied, nodding to Pandora who smiled widely.
“And Lily? Lily, what are you doing here?” He asked.
“Remus told me what was happening, I couldn’t just stay there anymore. Don’t worry, I left Harry in good hands.” Lily assured him, keeping her eye on the Dark Lord. “But we can talk later, we have a war to win.”
Regulus smiled at them, but his eyes went back to the Dark Lord who stood frozen. His eyes kept darting in the direction his wand had gone and Regulus watched him a moment as he realized what he was thinking. Regulus quickly dove for Voldemort’s wand, he was at a disadvantage being down an arm, but he wouldn’t let it stop him now. Not when he was so close.
He stretched out his arm and leaped for the wand, just narrowly grabbing it before Voldemort as the others quickly scrambled to stop him. The Dark Lord, realizing he was out of a wand, angrily swung his arm back towards the four and as if an invisible force collided with them, they all flew back into the air and each landed with a thud.
“ENOUGH!” Voldemort shouted, his voice booming through the air. “I WILL NOT LET YOU STOP ME NOW!”
Regulus watched as the Dark Lord stepped towards the four on the ground and felt that panic rise in him once more. A cloud of black smoke formed around the Dark Lord’s feet as he moved towards them. Even without his wand, his power was obvious. Even with how weak he was, he still held power.
No… No… No! NO!
Pandora and Remus both seemed to be knocked out, lying unconscious on the ground as Voldemort moved closer. He seemed to ignore the two, clearly unconscious people were no fun to him. The Dark Lord raised his hand and with one quick twist, Lily and James both rose to their feet, then rose in the air. The two were gasping for air, choking on nothing which they could see as they were both held by their necks above the ground. Regulus could see the light leaving their eyes, he could see what he feared would happen. He felt as though he was watching the sun as it burned out.
NO! NO! NOT THEM!
“NOT THEM!” Regulus screamed, enraged and filled with fire.
The Dark Lord did not turn to look at him. He merely laughed as he tightened his fist and James and Lily both looked to be fading out of consciousness. Regulus didn’t think. He fought.
Holding the wand that had hurt so many, that had killed so many, that had nearly killed him time and time again, he knew it was time to put an end to it all, no matter what he had to do.
Moving faster than he had ever moved, the wand zigzagged through the air as he shouted, “AVADA KEDAVRA!”
The green light of the spell blasted from the end of the wand and Regulus watched as it collided with the Dark Lord’s back and he froze for a moment. His fist unclenched and Lily and James fell to the ground again as he stumbled for a moment. Then, he fell to his knees and in that moment, Regulus finally saw that the monster in front of him was no greater than any other man.
The Dark Lord collapsed in a heap just at the feet of James and Lily and Regulus just stared for a moment, his wand still held out in front of him and his breathing growing more and more shallow, afraid he might suddenly stand again.
Pandora seemed to stir for a moment and Regulus, feeling as though he was being pulled from a daze, finally broke his stare at the body in front of him and watched Pandora for a moment. She groaned as she started to open her eyes and rubbed the back of her head, trying to pull herself up a little bit. The moment her eyes fell on the Dark Lord’s body, she seemed startled as she quickly backed up against the wall.
“Is- Is he…”
“He’s dead… I hope.” Regulus took one last look at the body.
Pandora pulled herself to her feet, taking a moment to breathe before she walked towards Regulus. She gently patted her hand down on his shoulder and looked down at the others.
“And what about them?” She asked, nodding to the three still lying unconscious.
“Alive… I hope.” Regulus responded.
The sun began to rise over the horizon, just barely starting to peak over the trees as the sounds of war below began to quiet down. Everything in that moment felt quiet as the wind rustled over the trees and the early morning air sent a shiver through Regulus. He leaned his head over onto Pandora’s hand and let out a sigh.
It would be only an hour later he’d find himself playing with Harry who kept calling him Uncle Reggie while Remus and James fussed over Sirius and Lily couldn’t help but take a few pictures.