the bastard son and the devil himself

rcgulusblk | location: dervish and banges | date: morning, wednesday, january 18th

“How fortunate you are, Regulus.” Lucius utters, dry in tone as he flips the parchment in hand. The quick notes of the Order’s latest secretary were about all he could rely on, to keep tabs of the Order’s latestly plans. He peers up from the parchment, staring directly at the pop of pink that enters Narcissa’s storefront. “Were you still outside Hogwarts, the Death Eaters would arrest you on that embarrassment of hair alone.” It’s as warm a joke as one can get from Lucius, and it’s uttered with a quick smirk and an even quicker look of reverence. Unlike the Malfoy’s, the Black’s were a prosperous family. And by marrying into it, Lucius never lacked in accompaniment when he could make it to Hogwarts. 

“Any news worth mentioning? Frantic notes only gets one so far - and Draco seems sorely tired of my reading.” The scraggly haired, stark-eyed boy gurgles in the bassinet beside him. Huh. Looks like he was right.

–

Bookstores are supposed to be safe places, Regulus always thought. They were quiet and tucked nicely away from the rest of the world. But nowhere was safe from Lucius Malfoys snarking. He had learned that a long time ago. Regulus is rolling his eyes before he can stop himself, though thankfully he doesn’t feel any sense of embarrassment. It was his life. He was reclaiming it. 

“Call it my teenage rebellion, just five years late.” He drawls, slow and unaffected, though resisting the urge to run a hand over his much shorter hair. He had always worn it long before. Now he could do whatever he wanted to it. 

Regulus is distracted, anyway, because there’s a baby. Tiny little Draco in his tiny little bassinet. Regulus has never loved something so quickly as he loved Draco. But he took one look at that childs face and thought: oh, so this is the kind of thing we’re all fighting for. It was a possessive kind of love, but that was what the Blacks were best at. And Regulus had vowed that he would never let anything bad happen to Draco. He’s crouched down now, running a finger over the pudgy little baby cheek, and cooing out his words. “Everyone is tired of your fathers voice, little dragon. Because he loves to hear himself talk and talk and talk, isn’t that right? Yes it is. Oh, yes. No one can blame you for not listening to a word he says.”

James had truly tried his hardest to make it to the library on time. No, scratch that. He had been trying to get there early. Regulus Black had always made him nervous- not because of his past or how talented the boy was, but from what he could do. What everything he was stood for. Regulus was Sirius’s brother not in the way James was, but the way he pretended to be. For real. And the the jealousy that accompanied that coupled with the anxiety over the effect Regulus had the potential to have over them… Well, James had to get there on time.

Glancing at the watch he had been gifted for his seventeenth birthday, he squinted down at the numbers trying to figure out just how tardy he was. James had set the watch forward by fifteen minutes, hoping he could trick himself into leaving a bit earlier. But he knew the time was earlier than what was on his watch and instead of giving himself extra time he sat poking through the piece of text he had wanted to go over with Regulus when he got here. 

“I’m sorry.” He smiled sheepishly, bringing a hand up towards his hair and letting his figures mess with the strands. “I lost track of time. Thought is was earlier than it was, then later, it was this whole huge mess and-” He paused, shrugging slightly. “Well, anyway I didn’t mean to waste your time like that.” 

Regulus watches James carefully as he approaches. The sheepish smile, the hand that comes up to play with the shock of hair on his head. He looks bashful and genuine and more than a little bit frazzled, and Regulus tries very hard not to have a reaction to it, to keep himself carefully blank and any emotions tucked away. They’re here for research, not for Regulus to relive the six years of complex emotional reactions to James Potter he had at school. 

Besides, he didn’t have to be jealous of James anymore. He had Sirius back now. More or less. They were working on it, and not giving up on each other. That was the important part. It didn’t matter what anybody else thought about him, or who else was in their lives. James couldn’t take Sirius from him again. 

“Okay,” He says, with an arched eyebrow. He tries to make it not sound judgemental. “You can put the apologies away, Potter. Not as late as I expected is almost a compliment.” He presses his lips together into a thin line, gesturing for James to take a seat. He sits up a little bit straighter, shifting into refined pureblood nerd mode. 

“ we both know that we , blacks , are not known for our impromptu social visits or for simply wanting to enjoy one another’s company , “ her tone was light and held a teasing note but her words still rang true . neither of their parents were the kind of visit a family member without reason or wanting something . “ but if you simply came to check on draco and i , then thank you , “ narcissa nodded her head as she lifted her cup to her lips , taking a small sip . “ dragon , “ she hummed softly , “ it seemed fitting that he had a name as unique as mine or lucius’ . something grand . after all , the rest of my sisters have constellation based names . i am keeping the tradition alive , “ 

“We Blacks have always been made of stardust.” He says, softly musing on it. It was a legacy that set heavily on his shoulders sometimes. Most of them were named for the stars. It was proof that they were bigger and better and brighter than everybody else. They existed, literally, on a different plane of existence. Celestial beings. Some of them more than others, had been the implicit implication when he was a child. He could only claim half of that legacy. “It suits him. It suits you. This family of yours.”

“ i would like that . thank you , ” her words soft and kind as she moved towards the other , offering her hand out to him to take . it wasn’t strange for mary to try and hold one of her friends’ hands , especially when she could tell that the other could use some comfort . “ if you want to talk , i am here to listen . otherwise , we can talk about something else ? ” she offered with a warm smile before looking around and quickly back at him with a glint in her eyes . “ or we could forget about everything and make snow angels ? ”

Mary was an unexpected friendship, and one that Regulus still didn’t quite know how to cope with. It seemed like she was too soft for him. Like she should run away from his dark past and sharp edges. But he had a strange urge to protect her as well, and show her his own softness in return for hers. It seemed like people just reacted like that to Mary. She was like a Veela, no one could be blamed for their reactions to her.  Regulus takes her offered hand as they walk, even if it was an alien instinct for him. He wasn’t used to being touched. 

“Does the potions master object to a trade of fox glove for antimony?” It was only Monday, and being in the castle felt much too much like being in school. Yet, she wouldn’t have come here, to the dungeons no less, if she didn’t have good reason. Auror training did leave her with a different sense of wits on how to get certain people to react better to her. She had learned quickly that not everyone was charmed by her smile and wrinkled nose, that didn’t mean she did not try it. But a trade of goods was always a good second option. Being this prepared something she wished a certain group of others would have seen.  “I swear its pretty fresh, too. Growing up by the edge of the forest.” She’d been tracking some steps for other purposes, gathering the perimeter with an approaching full moon when she saw the poisonous plant growing.  @rcgulusblk​

People like Marlene McKinnon were still very neatly organised in Regulus’s head. They sat in a box labelled “Sirius’s friends” that he very rarely felt the urge to touch or poke at. She was like Regulus’s sibling in all of the most chaotic ways, and he didn’t really know how to react to her. He never really knew what she wanted, what her priorities were. Part of him wanted to smile at the way she had greeted him after coming in to the potions room, part of him wanted to cringe away from company as he always did. 

Sometimes when the snow fell heavy over Hogwarts, Regulus fooled himself into thinking he could lead a normal life. That he had just grown up and avoided all of he pain that came with his life, that he never had the dark mark seared into his arm, that he was allowed to just stay at Hogwarts and be safe because he was clever. He was allowed to be someone with a life, who could build traditions for himself. 

None of that was true, but he was doing the tradition thing anyway. At least, he was being forced to. He’s scratching out notes in the lab when Remus comes to see him. The wolfsbane potion bottled carefully on his desk, waiting for the werewolf to come and get it. 

Not much makes Regulus feel young anymore. More often than not he feels ancient beyond his years, as if someone has stretched him thin and spread him too far. He thinks it may have something to do with the near death experience he had a few years back. Eighteen years old and facing death head on. It had a way of aging you. But he hadn’t died and mores the pity for that. It might have been better than waiting in the library to meet James Potter of all people, feeling like a foolish teenager again. 

James Potter. The man he used to hate more than anyone else in this world. With his earnest appearance and his bad habit of stealing other people’s families. James was the sinister figure that had taken Sirius away from him, once upon a time. But they were sharing Sirius now, and Regulus wasn’t supposed to hate James anymore. It had been a special request, and one he was struggling to remind himself he had given into. 

𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 : @rcgulusblk 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 : malfoy living room .

pouring them both a cup of tea , narcissa offered regulus what she hoped as a slightly comforting smile before offering the cup to the other . ever since she had become a mother , the wix had found herself becoming more maternal than she had been ; if she had told a younger narcissa that she would be having tea whilst in hiding , she would have made a snippy comment and laughed . she would have never dreamt of defying her parents but here she was . " here you go , " her words firm but soft , careful not to awake draco , " to what do i owe the pleasure of your visit ? "

Having tea with Narcissa felt like something that belonged in the days of old. Regulus hasn’t had the comfort of his family since that day in the cave. Until recently. More and more of them coming into his life and into Dumbledore’s little rebellion, fleeing from the same life he was running from with all of his might. It had been years since seeing Narcissa frequently was a possibility. And now she had a whole baby... it was a little bit scary. 

𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 : @rcgulusblk 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 : the vigil.

casualties were a part of war , it was almost certain that there would be what with voldemort currently in power . despite this simple fact , the information that he had been so close to where they are ; it was deeply unsettling . mary’s heart mourned for the lives lost , for the muggle - born wixen he had taken from the village . the part that unsettled her the most was that it could have been her in that situation .

following the ending of the vigil , the dark haired wix remained standing still , even long after everyone else had gone inside , lost in her own thoughts . mary hadn’t realised that she wasn’t alone until she saw regulus close to her , “ reggie , ” she attempted at a poor smile as she blinked away the tears she hadn’t realised were forming , “ what are you doing still here ? ”

Regulus had lingered at the edges of the vigil like a ghost. It wasn’t for him, it was for everybody else. The people more affected by this war than he was, the ones with friends, the ones that The Dark Lord would want to kill in the first place. Regulus was drawn to it like a moth to a flame, however. It made him feel... guilty, more than anything else. He couldn’t quite get to scared. It was a fact of life that people died, and that even more people died when you were fighting a war. He had accepted his own death a long time ago, it was just a matter of time at this point, a countdown on an invisible clock that ticked away the days until Voldemort killed him. 

–– is that EVAN MOCK? no, its actually REGULUS BLACK! according to HIS old hogwarts records, they are an TWENTY FOUR year old FORMER SLYTHERIN. they are back at hogwarts because they are working against lord voldemort and they believe in the light. that explains why they are so INTELLIGENT and DETERMINED. but i’ve found that they can also be CRUEL and MOODY, so i guess people can’t be all good! they always reminded me of INK STAINED FINGERTIPS AND OLD LEATHER NOTEBOOKS, THE FEELING OF STANDING ON A CLIFFS EDGE AND WANTING TO EXPERIENCE THE FALL, SHARP SMILES AND JUDGEMENTAL EYES. i heard from albus dumbledore that they are currently working as POTIONS MASTER. let’s hope that they have time to fight the dark alongside their work!