The Grim - PoA

Prologue

Regulas Black had made a mistake. He'd made plenty in his life, starting with the day he pledged himself to the Dark Lord, but this was by far the worst of them — and undoubtedly the most life-threatening. He had always been ambitious, and admittedly selfish, but he'd never labeled himself as foolish. At least, not until now.

He knew what would happen, knew his older brother would never forgive him, much less help him. Regulas couldn't be trusted, especially not with the dark mark permanently tainting his skin. But he had to try, didn't he? He had to try, because it wasn't for his own benefit any longer, it was for the child — his child.

Regulas didn't have long. They'd never suspect him, of course, not at first. He'd done everything possible in the past months to please his master, and the thought made him shudder.

Still, they were watching his brother, waiting for the right moment (it would only make sense that Sirius Black would know where the Potters were hiding), and should they find Regulas here, he'd surely be dead. And that simply wasn't an option, not with so much left to sort out.

So he found himself in Sirius Black's living room at midnight, waiting. Should he sit? No, certainly not. Well, on second thought, perhaps he should. If Sirius found him standing in the dark, unannounced, he'd surely stu-

"Stupefy!"

Regulas is knocked forwards, ears ringing, cracking his head into the wall opposite of him. He groans, and rolls into his back. When he opens his eyes again, Sirius is standing over him with his wand pointed at his throat. Despite everything, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Sirius—"

"Fancy seeing you here, Regulas." He growls. "Come to kill me yourself?"

His words slur together, head still spinning, "What? No! No, Sirius, I'm not here under his orders, you have to listen to me, I'm here to—"

"I know why you're here, Regulas! I won't give them away. You'll have to kill me." Sirius says lowly, grey eyes blazing with anger.

"Sirius, just listen to me, please!" Regulas' head is pounding, and he feels blood start to run down the side of his face, where he'd hit the wall. "I'm not here to kill you, or your friends!"

"And why should I believe that? What makes you think I could ever trust you?" Sirius is yelling now, face turning red with anger.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Sirius, who had taken the hard road and done everything right, was the one in pain now. Regulas knew that, and he knew this was a weak attempt, but still, he tries, "I-I'm your brother. Sirius, I'm your brother, and I need your help."

Sirius laughs humorlessly, "You are no brother of mine, Regulas. You made that clear enough, remember?"

"I'm sorry," He whispers, "I was foolish." Sirius let's out another barking laugh. "I am a fool, Sirius, I will never forgive myself for what I've done. You may have trusted me once, loved me even, and I betrayed you. But please... please just listen to me. Just this once and you'll never have to see me again, I can promise you that. This isn't about me, or the Dark Lord! I've made a grave mistake—"

"Yes, you have. You should have never come here, Regulas." Despite his cold demeanor, Regulas can see how much this hurts Sirius.

"No, probably not," Regulas admits, "Please, Sirius, you're my last chance."

"I..." Sirius closes his eyes tightly. "I can't help you, Regulas, with anything. I'm sorry, brother. You made your bed a long time ago, now you must lay in it."

"I know," Regulas whispers.

The silence that envelopes them now is deafening. With a sinking heart, Regulas knows it's done. Sirius won't listen to him, won't help him. He should have known better, should have gone straight to Kreacher and saved his time. But he had hoped. Regulas should know by now that hope never changes anything.

Sirius lowers his wand, stepping back. He turns his head away from him, "Go."

"Sirius—"

"Get out, Regulas. I won't kill you," His voice is quiet. "But you have to go."

Regulas stands on shaky legs, trying hard not to cry. "Okay."

Before he leaves, he turns around one last time. "Sirius, you shouldn't be here alone. They're watching you."

Sirius turns to him in confusion, "You think I don't know that?"

"You should go into hiding. I've never seen him so... so desperate before. They'll do anything. They'll torture you." Regulas voice is urgent now. If nothing else, he can warn him.

"Let them come." Sirius says, head down, twisting his wand between his fingers.

"Sirius—"

"Get out, Regulas." He says roughly.

And with one last, final look at his brother, Regulas Black dissaperates.