❝ Maybe in another universe, she was easier to love.❞
_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐
｢ in which the siren darya swan is
forced to become a death eater,
and work alongside the infamous
regulus black. together, they decide
to destroy tom riddle from the inside...
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"You want to understand, Swan?"
Pure? What did it mean? Regulus' body hurt Darya as the world hurts God. Was this the price of being pure?
"Then have a look."
His back and stomach and legs and arms were a map, a map of scars and wounds and harm, and her head spun and spun and spun. It was a testament to the torment he had endured. How raw and exposed he was, almost naked before her, like a wounded animal caught in a trap, his clothes on the cold floor of the room he slept in while at Hogwarts. She felt her heart in her throat.
The scars and bruises looked so large on his skinny body. She shook her head, refusing to accept what she was seeing.
"Isn't it ugly?"
"No... It's not ugly, Regulus..." Darya's voice shook. No, no, no. No, it wasn't ugly. But she had seen a million scars in her lifetime at St. Mungo's, and this wasn't like anything she had seen before. It was so much, so hurtful, so beyond her, she didn't know if she could mend him even if he wanted. "It's... It's signs of your strength."
"Strength?" He scoffed bitterly. "You think this is strength? This is weakness, Swan. Weakness in its purest form."
She reached out tentatively as if to touch his scars, but stopped short. He tensed. "Regulus, I-I'm..."
"You Swans always insist on fixing things, on fixing people, on closing wounds. But look at me: I'm beyond saving." He paused. "You want to know why I do what I do? Why I'm like this, why I've joined the Dark Lord? Fine. I'll tell you."
His voice was low, like a growl, as if each word was being torn from his throat against his will. Darya had sensed that there was darkness in Regulus' past before, but she had never imagined this horror. It hurt to look at him and listen to him.
"The Noble House of Black is a family of darkness, Swan. A family that values blood purity above all else. A cruel lot of people, and my parents are no exception. This is their work. My mom, always reminding me of my failures, and my dad, hurting me and insisting it is making me stronger."
Darya started tearing up. How could anyone do such things to their own child?
"Of course, I had my brother, the only one who actually seemed to care for me. But Sirius turned his back on me."
Regulus teared up, as well. And then, slowly, he began speaking again.
"I joined the Dark Lord because I thought it was a way to escape the brutality of my family. To prove I was worthy of something more than the abuse they heaped upon me. To prove I was a proper Black. To prove I was good enough. But now..."
For a moment, he looked at her, and his eyes searched for any sign of sympathy.
"Now I realize I was wrong. The Dark Lord is... no better. And now I'm stuck here."
