the sun, the moon, and the fall of stars || marauders era

As the World Caves In

Author's note:

hellloo <3 this fic idea is a result of a sleep deprived night i shared with my best friend rav, after having finished art heist, baby! and completely bowling my eyes out.
i stress on the sleep deprived, and knowing me, there will be a lot of updates done after other sleep deprived nights.

enjoy!! <3

content warning:
- guns, violence, blood
- description of severe wounds
- death
we are starting off strong,,,
lmk if i missed any!

Accompanying song: As the World Caves In by Matt Maltese

Regulus had an awful feeling something was amiss.

He looked around him, his senses heightened and a chill running down his spine. Something was wrong, and he couldn't pinpoint what exactly.

The building was one of the few that remained intact in the area they were in after the earthquakes. Debris was everywhere. It was long abandoned, and all the colour was dulled due to the years it has witnessed. Even though this building remained standing, Regulus thought that any sudden moves would put them in danger. He chose his footing carefully.

One look at his father made him realise that he wasn't imagining it. Orion Black's eyes were darting around the room quickly, he wasn't his usual, at-ease self. His mother, Walburga Black, looked her same, poised self, except she kept glancing at Regulus and the girls from the corner of her eyes.

Narcissa wasn't as good at hiding her worry as her sister, Bellatrix. The council back home had decided that it was important to meet up with the highest authorities the Death Eaters would offer. Of course, when they were told that they could meet up with the families right under Riddle's command, the council was pleasantly surprised. The Death Eaters, however, demanded the Black family, with all its politically active members, to be the ones carrying the Underground's side of the meeting.

Walburga and Orion tried to negotiate their stance, but it was a unanimous vote; the benefits outweighed the odds, it was a risk they had to take, or else everyone would die within the year.

As such, Regulus, Narcissa, and Bellatrix found themselves packing one night and leaving the safety of the bunker. On one of the seemingly endless car rides on the way to the meeting place halfway between the two camps, Narcissa had whispered to Regulus that this felt as close to being shunned away from their society as anything.

Regulus understood where she was coming from. The Black family were notorious for their extreme stances since before the earthquakes; during the 100-year war, the Black family were single-handedly responsible for many of the devastating blows on their side. When the infection happened following the earthquakes, and the war abruptly stopped, and right before the first Death Eater was created, The Black family, along with many other reigning families in the past, had a hard time proving their loyalty to the human cause.

When the Death Eaters were formed, humanity witnessed many of the extremist families side with the New World Order ideologies, choosing to lose touch with everything that made them human. Families like the Malfoys, Lestranges, Carrows, and the Dolohovs all took the Death Eaters' side. The Blacks were always expected to be next. They fought tooth and nail to prove they are trustworthy, even becoming presidential candidates and favourites to run, yet they never gained the trust of the council members.

This meeting was a trust test as much as it was one to determine if the Underground would survive the year to come.

They heard footsteps echoing from the staircase in front of them. Regulus tried to count them, but he couldn't pinpoint how many exactly. He just knew they were a lot, and he didn't enjoy the fact that his back was to a wall. They couldn't run away if they decided to attack.