When Regulus Black had walked into the cave with the intention of destroying Salazar Slytherin's's locket, he had known that he was going to die. In fact, he had been prepared to do so. Which was why he had been surprised when he was pulled out of t...
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------------------> REGULUS' DARK MARK BURNED against his skin harshly and not for the first time, he cursed Tom Riddle in every single language he knew.
Ara was lip-biting again as she dabbed a pack of conjured ice on his left forearm.
"It's getting worse." She stated.
"He is punishing me for associating with the person who killed his basilisk and stole his horcruxes, Ara. Imagine what he would do when he finds out that I am part of the duo who completely destroyed them." Regulus replied and despite the immense pain, a sick sort of pleasure and pride coursed through him at that thought.
Ara bit her lips hard enough to draw blood. "We need to get that mark removed."
"No." Regulus said firmly. "The Dark Mark is our only way of knowing his mood swings. Without it, we'll have no way of knowing how he is feeling."
"He's angry. Always angry." Ara answered before adding, "And bipolar," as an afterthought. She sighed. "Regulus, his moods are always either angry or murderous. There is no in-between. You shouldn't have to suffer for information we already know."
"But Ara," Regulus started, "What if he calls a meeting with his Death Eaters? I thought we both agreed on me playing spy until we got the diary."
"We didn't agree, I didn't just necessarily protest, that's all." Ara objected. "It's not worth it, Regulus."
"It will save lives."
"But not yours." Ara said pointedly, dabbing more ice on his mark.
"I will gladly face death in hopes that when Tom Riddle meets his match, he will be mortal once more." Regulus said, his statement extremely similar to what he had written in his note a few hours prior to making the journey to Crystal Cave.
Ara stopped dabbing ice to look him dead in the eye. "I'm not going to let you die, so no." She averted her eyes back to his brand, dabbing it some more. "Besides, if things go bad, we have the basilisk eyes to save us."
"Not always."
"Yes always." Ara said. "Nothing says 'I am not entirely fond of your existence' like death or petrification."
He's lips formed an amused smile. "Can Tom Riddle die upon glancing at the basilisk?" Regulus mused.
"If he doesn't have his horcruxes, maybe, yes. But when he's still hiding behind their protection, I have a feeling that he will be petrified, actually." Ara replied. "But I will be sure to test that theory with pleasure."
Regulus let out a deep, throaty chuckle at that, and for some odd reason that she didn't entirely understand, Ara felt her cheeks get heated at that sound.
The moment was short-lived however, considering that the next second, Regulus was screaming in pain and clutching the ground with his fingers.
