Motion Sickness

Back to school

Sixth year was the year to really get your act together and start planning your future, Regulus barely slept at all during the summer, but when he did, his dreams were plagued with images of people he loved dying, over and over again, he couldn't help them as he was simply an onlooker, he was trapped in his spot, by some magnetic force. He'd wake up drenched in sweat and his arm stinging in pain, he had proved himself worthy to the Dark Lorde rather quickly and in return he was given the dark mark. In a way he saw the dreams as warnings, warnings as to what might happen if he was to betray You-Know-Who or defied him in any way.

Once he got to the platform he took in his surroundings, he did this every year, assessing all the new students and analysing the old, seeing how much they changed over the last few months. He didn't see his brother or James and assumed they were running late or already on the train, Remus and Lily were in a corner discussing something important, by the looks of it, Peter was being scolded by - Regulus assumed - his mother. He made his way towards the train and was met with Evan who like him was sporting brand new dress robes and a pair of sunglasses, not long after Barty was with them. The three got a lot of attention, they weren't complaining of course, they looked great so why wouldn't they stare. Eventually they found a empty compartment, to Regulus it was clear that it would only be the three of them, for Dorcas and Pandora's safety they all agreed to slowly cut all ties, it would keep them safe, even if just for a while. Both Evan and Barty had joined the death eaters together, Regulus had expected Evan to without hesitation but Barty came as a bit of a surprise.

They didn't speak, they were all just caught up in their own worlds, Regulus had been assigned a task, at first he didn't understand what it was but as his dreams persisted it grew clearer, Voldemort wanted him to protect pieces of his soul, and that was exactly what he would be doing, well at least until he found a way to destroy them. There were six of them, presently, but there would be seven, eventually, a boy that rocked the same spectacles as James Potter, a boy with eyes as green as the grass and hair as black as coal, this boy would evidently be the saviour of the wizarding world, but at what cost? The loss of love, tragedy upon tragedy and the feeling that no one loved him. There that word was again, love, the word Regulus could not understand. He didn't know what it was that made a four letter word so special to some people, especially since the only times he's ever heard those words ever spoken was after his parents punished him. They'd always tell him how they were doing it for his own good, and how they truly love him even if they didn't always show it. And so he's learnt to associate the word with pain. But hearing it come from James Potter's mouth was a whole different experience, he didn't feel scared he felt warm. So why couldn't he say it back?

'You know exactly why.' A voice rung inside his head, he looked around the compartment to find Evan and Barty asleep, 'It's because he's a blood traitor.'  Regulus gritted his teeth at the words, 'He doesn't truly love you!' The voice sang, 'He's using you to get back at your brother.' He tried to shake the voice out of his head, nothing seemed to work, he recognised the voice, it was his own, his own subconscious warning him, but he didn't want to listen, he wanted to run to James and tell him about all his dreams, about his mission, and how he wanted to destroy everything, he wanted to show him the mark that now branded him as evil, but he couldn't. He couldn't because James would think he was crazy, and he was the last person who needed to know about the horrible things Regulus had endured over the summer.

*FLASHBACK* (Slight TW: Torture, blood, death)

"Do it Regulus. Give in to the Dark Lord." Bellatrix's voice rang through his head as he laid squirming on the floor. It's been hours since Regulus raised his doubts about getting the mark and Bellatrix has been trying to make his choice easier but he was resisting, it didn't matter how much he wanted to give in something inside of him always stopped him.

"I can't!" He cried, which made Bellatrix intensify her curse.

"The longer you fight it, the more it's going to hurt." To Regulus it sounded like Bellatrix was talking from experience, which would be crazy seeing as she follows You-Know-Who around like a lost puppy. He tried to fight off the thoughts of James's face if he ever learnt of Regulus accepting the dark mark and was able to regain himself, as he got up he could swear he heard someone let out a breath of relief but he couldn't make out who, it was only the two of them in the room. "Good now, I need you to do what we came here for in the first place, kill him" Bellatrix whispered into his ear as she showed him a picture of a man, he had no idea why the dark lord wanted him dead but didn't dare fight it this time, since he had turned seventeen a week ago he was able to apparate to his location, he tried to make it as peaceful as possible but the man put up a fight, he drew a dagger and struck Regulus's face, leaving a nasty scar on his face, it was clear from the start that the dagger was cursed with some dark magic so it was no surprise that the scar didn't disappear, Regulus wiped away as much blood as he could and fell into combat with the man.

After exhausting all other options, Regulus took out his wand and pointed it at the man, who dropped his dagger in surrender, Regulus took in a deep breath before he uttered the words: "Avada Kedavra."

*END OF FLASHBACK*

Regulus woke with a start as the train came to a halt, he changed into his school robes before exiting the compartment with Evan and Barty following, he made eye contact with Pandora, who gave him a sad smile, and Lily, who just nodded in greeting, before they got into a carriage with the rest of Lily's Gryffindor friends. Barty turned to look at Regulus but didn't dare say anything. The three eventually got into a empty carriage and rode up to the castle, dreading the year that laid ahead.

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A/N:

This will probably be the last post for a while, it all depends on how long it takes me to write the next one seeing as I am busy studying for finals.....