Rewriting destiny

Prologue

𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠!
𝐼'𝑚 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
𝐴𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦?
𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑢𝑝 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑠𝑢*𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒, 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑏*𝑠𝑒, 𝑎𝑑𝑑*𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡*𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼'𝑚 𝑎 𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ - 𝑝𝑙𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 <3

Regulus swallowed hard, grimacing as the cold acidic liquid slipped down his throat.
His heart was beating so fast he wondered if it would give out before the potion even took effect.

He half prayed it would, because heart failure sounded more peaceful then whatever torture the potion would no doubt put a person through before death.
He mentally cursed himself for thinking he deserved a painless death, though his insides still quaked with fearful apprehension when he thought about the alternative.
Then he cursed himself again for his cowardice.

"Master Regulus should not be drinking the poison, no - Kreacher should be taking it in place of kind master Regulus.
Kreacher must protect master-"

"Kreacher."
Regulus flinched at the unexpected sharpness of his tone, intentionally gentling it before he continued.

"This is not your fault, old friend.
You have your job to do and I have mine.
It's alright."

He raised the cup to his lips and took another long draught.
It slid down his throat like shards of glass, left him reeling and raw.
His head began to pound quite unpleasantly.
It would've been unpleasant, that is, if not for the relief flooding through Regulus as he realized the potion was taking effect.

"Sweet master Regulus is not listening to Kreacher.
Noble master is putting himself in danger for Kreacher's sake but Kreacher will protect him. Kreacher would never let harm come to his good master."

Regulus choked down another cupful of the horrid stuff.
Focused resolutely on the elf's anguished muttering.

"Kreacher must be saving his kind master."
The words sent a thrill of fear through Regulus. He imagined waking up in the morning in his own bed, Kreacher hovering anxiously.
Just like he had after the last two failed attempts. His stomach curled in shame.

"Kreacher, once I retrieve the locket you are to take it right home and get to work destroying it. No matter what, you must leave at once.
You must leave me here."

Regulus hated ordering the old elf around but he had no choice.
This was his moment- his opportunity to go out on his own terms, doing something right for once.
He forced another swallow down his throat.

"Kreacher will of course be doing what master Regulus commands."
Regulus tried not to notice the quaver of tears in Kreacher's voice.

The world was tilting drunkenly, everything blurring in and out of his vision.
Flashes of memory, both good and bad, were flitting through his mind at a rather alarming rate.
He swallowed again.