Let Me Live

Chapter 1: Another Attack

Pov Regulus Black-Prince, November 1982

The relentless autumn wind roared outside the window, reminding of the coming winter. Regulus sighed silently and looked from the flames dancing in the fireplace to his daughter, currently sleeping in his arms. Snow-white complexion, black wavy hair and long eyelashes hiding dark brown eyes. She was the perfect combination of her fathers. Severus was in love with her at first sight and Lilith became the center of his world together with his beloved husband. The little one was wrapped in her favorite blanket, which Uncle Sirius had given her for her first birthday just over a year ago. Her godfather and half-brother of Regulus was soon after that sentenced to the kiss of a dementor.

He was officially responsible for betraying the Potter family and handing over their whereabouts to a certain murderous Dark Lord. The truth, however, was completely different. He only restored the memory of their sister Arcturia and protected her from the attack of the old manipulator and headmaster of the Hogwarts school of magic, Albus Dumbledore. However, he was stunned and caught. Together with his stepfather, who wasn't all that murderous, they also tried to free her husband and Sirius' best friend, James, and their one-year-old son, Harrison. The old man unfortunately managed to kill Potter, which distracted the eldest Black completely and threatened the child with his wand. The Dark Lord grabbed his recovered daughter by the hand and Apparated straight to the family mansion. He had a lot to explain to a young woman who had been told for ten years that her name was Lily Potter. However, he had to beg for forgiveness at the same time. He failed to protect her son and his grandson and had to leave him to the mercy of the Order of the Phoenix with its leader at the helm.

Dumbledore immediately gave his version of events and the reason for the attack. Magical Britain was informed the next day, by a special edition of the Daily Prophet, that the boy's parents had been murdered by Lord Voldemort, aka He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who. Harry Potter was declared a hero, the Boy-Who-Lived when he was hit by the deadly Avada Kedavra spell and made the Dark Lord disappear. No one even suspected that it was the headmaster who started blackmailing the dark wizard into killing his heir if he started working again.

Arcturia was completely devastated and had been trying to find the place where her son had been placed for a year. She convinced Severus Snape to trick Albus into feigning remorse and love for his supposed dead friend, Lily Potter, and join the Order to spy on them for Voldemort. Unfortunately, subsequent attempts to obtain information about the boy's whereabouts were unsuccessful.

And now Regulus was waiting for his husband to come back from another meeting in the headmaster's office. The meeting lasted longer than usual and the young man allowed himself to hope that this time Harry would finally be found. He gently got up from his old favorite armchair, trying not to wake Lilith. It was getting late and he decided to take his daughter to her room. He cautiously climbed the stairs to the second floor and entered a small room adjacent to their bedroom.

He barely had time to put the baby in the crib when he felt his whole body stiffen and he fell flat on the ground. The burning pain in his temple and the warmth of the blood on his face indicated that he must have hit his head on one of the wooden toys as he fell. He was brutally turned with a kick to the back. He saw a hooded figure above him, illuminated only by a streak of light coming through the half-open door. The noise must have woken the little one up because he heard her crying and he wanted so badly to be able to hold her again and escape this nightmare. The stranger pointed his wand at Lilith with the other hand pulling down the hood.

"Did you think you could hide from me the fact that my spy had a child with faithful Death Eater?" Dumbledore asked, shifting his mocking gaze to Regulus. "Severus actually came to me with a beautiful story about loving Lily and going to the light side after her death. I didn't even sense the lie in his voice and now I know he was thinking of his daughter when he said those words. Pretty smart move. But then I discovered how close he was to the Dark Lord and would have known that Tom Marvolo Riddle hadn't disappeared at all."