origami. . . REGULUS BLACK

ten.

CHAPTER TEN
Tortured Souls
March 30th, 1979.

          Regulus now hated the darkness of his own manor, but he found the Malfoy manor even worse. There was not a single ray of sunshine, the whole manor felt like a dungeon as it was made of polished rock. The material made the manor feel cold and almost—haunted. It was as if he could hear water drops hitting the cobble floor.

He didn't know why he had been invited today. There wasn't a ball that he was aware of, or any kind of event. To his surprise, he stumbled upon Rodolphus and Bellatrix in the parlour.

"Oh, little Reggie is here," Bellatrix cooed happily, rising to her feet so she could go to him. Reaching him, she let her finger drag itself on his chest and back.

He cleared his throat, straightening his posture so he could be slightly taller than her, "What is it, Bella?"

"I've heard that you were bad to Rodolphus," she whispered behind him, sending chills down his spine. "He told me your sweet little girlfriend of yours was disrespectful as well."

Regulus scoffed despite the fear, "Your husband was the one being disrespectful," he argued, even though he knew he was in no place to argue against his older cousin. "Mallory has done nothing wrong."

"Mallory is it? What a beautiful name," she breathed out, following her words with a machiavellian cackle that used to scare Regulus when he was younger. "Cissy seems to fancy her," she then commented with a shrug.

"Mother does too."

The grandeur of the manor's parlour was engulfed in an unsettling silence as Bellatrix paced back and forth, her dark eyes blazing with fury. Regulus stood tense but somehow ready to defy her if needed, he knew well what had happened and would not let his mad cousin act on her rage towards Mallory. Though, he knew her rage was ready to be unleashed.

"Bellatrix, I won't let you harm her," he added quietly.

Her lips curled into a sneer, her want now pointed directly at him, "You dare defend her? A mere girl you've met in Scotland? Your loyalty has always been questionable, little Reggie, but this–this is beyond pale."

"You're blinded by your devotion to your husband, Bella!" He argued.

Her voice dropped to a dangerous whisper, her eyes narrowing to slits, "Do not presume to lecture me on my loyalty, Regulus. You know nothing of it."

Before he was able to reply, he found himself falling down as his knee hit the floor loudly. His whole body was painful as he yelled in pain. His eyes were shut as he tried to convince himself that it was all in his head–Sirius had taught him that when their mother used to punish them.

"It is all in your head, Reggie, alright?" He would whisper in his ear as he hugged his little brother tightly.

After Sirius ran away, the torture or punishement became more regular and Regulus had grown used to them. But, he couldn't get over the awful pain that he went through during it and the instant exhaustment that came afterwards. Kind of like the aftermath of it all.

He didn't know why but he thought of Mallory. He had promised her to meet her later in the afternoon and there he was, stuck on his cousin's hard wooden floor. The palm of his hands were pressed flat on the floor as he started crying at the immense pain. If only he had someone to rely on, in his head, so he could get through it.

Regulus loathed feeling so petite. He felt like a pawn in Bellatrix's life, it reminded him that she would be able to hurt him or Mallory if it pleased her.

His torture was interrupted by the arrival of Narcissa. She hurried into the room, her elegant features etched with concern, "What is going on here?"

Regulus finally opened his eyes, releasing a soft breath as he remained on the floor, "Cissa," he pleaded softly. "Rodolphus almost assaulted Mallory at the ball and he lied about it to Bella," he explained.