Black Rose [Regulus Black]

65 - torn arms & certain death

Alessandra and Evan barely exited the courtyard when the world around them erupted, jets of light flying everywhere as unearthed soil and blasted stone rained down upon them. Alessandra cried out as a stone gashed her arm, but the scream was lost in the chaos.

She screamed again when she saw Bellatrix marching towards her with determination painting her harsh features. Normally, Alessandra wouldn't have been one to shy away from a fight, but the impact from just a few moments ago had done a number on her. Her ears were ringing, and she was barely able to stand up straight. Lily emerged from the rubble and shot a spell towards Bellatrix, engaging the Dark witch in a duel. Alessandra had no time to worry about this, however, as she had a bigger task on her hands.

She was aware that she was going to have to die, but her hands weren't completely tied. Her father didn't know that she knew that she was a Horcrux, and so long as it remained this way, he was confident in his chances of victory. He'd believe that he was winning, that he was invincible, and just when they found a way to kill Nagini... she'd take care of herself.

She rushed up the destroyed stairs, sending spells towards Death Eaters so she could help the members of the Order of the Phoenix. She wished she could take on the duel herself, but she had a bigger task to attend to: killing Nagini.

Sirius waved his wand to send a Death Eater flying into a tapestry and nodded at her. "Sup?"

She stared at him, a thousand emotions swirling within her. She wished she could tell him to take care of Reg, that she hoped he'd someday be able to repair his relationships with his brother and his friend. However, she just knew that if she let on that she was going to die, Sirius would do everything possible to prevent it. And if he told Regulus... this war would never end.

So she swallowed the bitterness down and grabbed his arm, pulling him into an untouched alcove. "We need to kill Nagini."

"I thought you'd say that," he said solemnly, taking out a dagger from his pocket.

She did a double take. "You're going to slice up the snake? Will that work?"

"I dipped it in the poison a few days ago," he told her. "It was a knife of goblin silver, and I wanted to experiment."

She blinked, suppressing all the questions she wanted to ask. There was one very important question. "How are you going to kill the snake?"

"I dunno. Just cut off her head, I guess?"

"Have you seen her?" she asked incredulously. "There's no chance of this working. That snake is deadly."

"Do you have any better ideas?" he snapped.

She realized she truly didn't. There was no other way.

"Okay," she whispered, deciding to cooperate. "Okay. I think I saw her on the grounds at some point. She's going to want to get to me. You lie in wait and when she's distracted by me, you kill her."

If the snake killed her in the process, she wouldn't complain. It'd be easier than having to brainstorm her own death. She left the alcove and scanned the grounds from a destroyed balcony, trying to pinpoint where the snake was. 

"There," Sirius whispered, a locator spell he'd cast swirling around a spot on the ground, and surely enough, there lay Nagini, poised to strike at some unsuspecting innocent. "There she is."

Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt the cowardly urge to flee. But she held her ground, taking a few deep threats to gather some scraps of courage before nodding and slowly approaching Nagini.

All the sounds of screaming and stone cracking to disintegrate the building, and yet all she could hear were her own footsteps. Thud. Thud. Thud. She felt like she was walking towards her own execution.