high adventure! → regulus black ✓

[15] the plan

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THE DEATH EATERS WERE CLOSING IN. Two months had passed since the incident, and apparently that was enough of a "lay low" period in their minds seeing as they had started properly intimidating Regulus again. They couldn't get close enough to him or Stella to actually do any damage, but they weren't backing down and that made him nervous—hell, it made all of them nervous.

Regulus and Stella had practically moved into Sirius's flat at that point, staying together in the guest bedroom. They didn't talk about it, nor did anyone else mention it, but it was a big step for both of them. Neither had been in such a committed relationship before—or a proper relationship at all, really. Furthermore, it was comforting to each of them, sleeping by each other's side. Regulus could relax knowing she was safe in his arms, and with the Death Eaters coming round again, he needed that more than ever.

Regulus's main priority was to keep Stella safe. Taking down Voldemort and the Death Eaters could wait, and his own safety only mattered because he couldn't do any of that if he was dead. In an ideal situation, Stella was to feel and be as safe as possible, and so far he had been able to assure that much. He tried to play down the situation they were in, but she knew better; still, she seemed rather relaxed and calm as of late, and Regulus had a feeling Lily was the main reason for that.

Lily would stop by nearly every day, and she and Stella grew to be rather close friends. Their personalities were compatible and there was never a dull nor quiet moment with them unless it was a brief period of comfortable silence. It wasn't even just Lily she grew close with; Stella had, over the past few months, fallen in seamlessly with Sirius and all of friends. Regulus hadn't even been able to master that, but he wasn't surprised; Stella was amazing.

He was in love with her, he knew that for certain now. He had been attracted to people before, but never in the way he was to Stella. Maybe it was because of the personality change he had gone through since the cave, but Regulus was certain it was mostly because of her. She believed in him when no one else had; she was smart but sweet, kind but assertive, and she had no problem with putting him in his place, especially back in the beginning when he was still trying to find his way. She understood him and cared for him, and he was just positively enamored.

She deserved better.

Ever since she met him, her life had been filled with pain. She was forced to go on the run, tortured with the worst curse the wizarding world had to offer, and even now as things seemed to be getting better there was the possibility of her getting swept right back into the mess. Besides, what the hell did Regulus do to deserve someone like her? He had turned his life around, sure, but the things he had done before...they were unforgivable.

But Stella knew that. She knew what he had been, what he had done, and she still cared for him. She still decided to fight in a war that was way out of everything she had ever known, and she refused to back down even after everything that had happened. It was one of the many reasons he loved her...and also one of the many reasons the Death Eaters had their sights set on her as well as him.

She wasn't just leverage against Regulus anymore, she was so much more. She was a hero to the Order of the Phoenix and their allies. She was a symbol of what they were fighting to protect as well as a symbol of how muggles weren't just an inferior people. If they could capture her again, not only would she help them get to Regulus, but it would rock the boat for the entire rebellion.

Regulus knew this, for a Death Eater had told him so much outside Sirius's flat. That was where they had been showing up; they would be posted outside nearly every day, and some of those days he would go out to confront them. They couldn't do anything, not with several Order members ready to back him up at a moment's notice, but they could intimidate him with words and that was what they intended to do until they could do more. They had brought up Stella almost immediately, knowing that would hurt him the most.