Bright Lion and a Stag (Regulus Black, James Potter, Marauders)

Chapter 6

A quick CW for self harm and internalized hatred. Read with caution. 

October 1975

Regulus Black avoided opening the letter from his cousin and her husband. The letter felt as if it was burning a hole in his Slytherin robes, but he didn't want Barty or Evan to be there when he decided to open it, although they both seemed very interested. 

Although Evan had family apart of the Dark Lords following, none of them could dream of being as elite as Lucius Malfoy was. Him and Bellatrix were two of the Dark Lords most elite, and both were closely related to Regulus. 

And of course, Barty had no relation to the Dark Lord from his family. Quite the opposite actually as Bartemius Crouch Sr. was one of the biggest enemies to Voldemort next to Dumbledore. 

A year before, Regulus was an entirely different person. He was thrilled every time a letter from Lucius or Bellatrix came for him. They would write telling him about Voldemort and what he was doing and how brilliant he was. At the time Regulus was a mere 13 year old with no concept of good and bad yet. 

Around Christmas however a letter came for Regulus telling him the Dark Lord was hosting a rally in Knockturn ally. That day was when everything Regulus Black had been taught for 13 years changed, and it continued to change. 

It got even worse at the beginning of summer just after his birthday when Bellatrix promised him that he too could become one of Voldemort's most important followers when he turned 16 if he chooses. But even worse than that, she told him that next summer, Sirius would get some sort of mark. The mark she had on her inner left forearm. 

That same day, Lucius told him something similar, and it seemed that everyone in the House of Black was aware of what would happen to Sirius. Well everybody except Sirius evidently. 

But that was the last he heard from Lucius over summer holiday. According to his mother Lucius was extremely busy the entire summer. Regulus could only assume what he had been up to, but Walburga Black seemed almost envious. And of course, there were attacks. Large attacks leaving hundreds of muggles dead in the Daily Prophet. 

It made Regulus sick to think about the poor people who had died. It made him even more sick to remember the clippings of Death Eater attacks he put up in his room with a permanent sticking charm so he couldn't even remove them. 

Regulus spent the summer in agony thinking about what a horrific person he was, and when his parents threatened to harm him, he wasn't even scared. He felt he deserved the pain that the Death Eaters, that the people he was related to, were inflicting on people. 

He wondered how Sirius felt about all of this. But of course Regulus had fucked up their relationship too much that he could never ask his brother. He wished he could. He knew Sirius would understand.

So yes, overall Regulus wanted to pretend it didn't exist. Except he couldn't because Barty recognized the owl and wanted to know what they had written to him. Barty spent the day nagging Regulus, and Evan even attempted at guilt tripping Regulus to find out what they had said. 

"I want to read it alone." Regulus told them the entire day. 

"But we deserve to know too. We all wanna work for the Dark Lord." Barty would argue. 

"Yeah and we just made up, you don't fancy getting in another argument already do you?" Evan would add. 

So Regulus said he would tell them what he had written after he read it first. Neither of them proved to be convinced but they shut up after a dramatic scream match in transfiguration that earned Regulus a detention with McGonagall the next evening, which he was positively dreading.