Black Rose [Regulus Black]

PROLOGUE

ALESSANDRA'S POV:

Alessandra hummed lightly as she entered her small apartment, flicking the lights on and carelessly dumping her bag on the table.

It was a regular Wednesday for her. She worked two part-time jobs, one as a waitress in a restaurant and another as an assistant in a pharmacy. She had a normal day at her culinary classes. She then came home, made cup noodles, and was currently sitting on the couch and listening to the radio.

It was an ordinary day.

Until there was a flash of lightning outside and a dark-haired boy came crashing through her window.

⚜

REGULUS' POV:

Regulus wouldn't admit to himself or anyone else that he was scared.

But if the truth was he'd never been more terrified his entire life.

He wasn't quite sure what had brought about his newfound bravery. Perhaps it was the fact that if Voldemort won, nobody, not even the purebloods, would be safe. Perhaps it was the fact that bringing down Voldemort would help save his brother, who was on the other side of the battle. Perhaps it was the fact that he could actually try to be courageous for once in his life.

It was too late to back out now.

He was so close. He had made it through the lake of inferi, had made a duplicate of the submerged locket, and was now consuming the sickly potion.

It burnt. His darkest memories were being pulled out of his head, bringing him to the brink of insanity. He saw the day his father died, the day his brother ran away, the day he was forced to kill someone on Voldemort's orders.

It hurt. It hurt to stay conscious, to try and stand upright, to consume more of the potion. But he propelled himself ahead with determination, his mind stubbornly set on his task. He would do whatever it took, no matter the costs.

He would die doing so, he already knew, but it was for a noble cause.

A boy from a Noble House working for a noble cause. It made perfect sense.

In his semi-conscious state, he swapped out the lockets as he collapsed to his knees. Slimy arms and legs began to emerge from the water, dragging him down, and he didn't have enough energy to resist.

"Kreacher!" he croaked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

With a crack, the faithful house-elf appeared. "Master!" He tried to reach out for Regulus, but he was too far away. Regulus tossed the locket at him.

"Make sure you destroy it. Now go."

He could see the struggle in the elf's eyes. But from the very beginning, house elves were taught to obey their masters no matter what, and Kreacher disappeared with a crack.

Regulus' eyes were fluttering open and shut, the horrid memories ingrained in his mind permanently, leaving a bleeding scar. He could feel the inferi pulling him under the water, and he involuntarily gasped for breath, but it was fruitless for he'd fallen in too deep.

Black silhouettes and white spots danced before his eyes, and it felt like his lungs were being shredded. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, and as he finally went fully under the water, he opened his arms to embrace death.

The last thing he heard was a crash and a scream.