xxxi. the meeting - silks of heaven, chapter thirty one -
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THE ROOM REEKED OF death. Everything about it made Regulus want to topple over and throw up. He sat next to his mother and father, both of his hands interlocked with the other.
"Regulus Black. We meet again," the Dark Lord hissed.
His high-pitched voice rang in Regulus's ear and he did all he could to resist the urge to cover his hands with his ears.
It's like a snake, he thought to himself. His voice sounds exactly like a snake.
"You understand that I trust you, Black. Very deeply," the Dark Lord whispered. Regulus nodded. "Do I trust you enough? Enough to assign you with a task?"
"I hope you do, my Lord," Regulus said. His voice was shaky and he almost let out a whimper. He locked eye contact with his cousin, Narcissa, and she looked down at the table immediately.
"Yes, I trust you enough," the Dark Lord decided. "Now. Rumours fly. Yes?"
The table of Death Eaters gave out noises and gestures of agreement.
"Rumour tells me that Dumbledore is starting a club against me," the Dark Lord let out a hoarse laugh. "This is war, my child. Who? Who let that man believe he can go against us?"
"The fool!" Bellatrix shrieked. The Dark Lord nodded at her.
"Exactly, Lestrange. Now, I trust you enough to ask you to kill Albus Dumbledore. But, no. I want to be the one to murder him myself."
Regulus nodded, his hands shaking.
"So, why not start with a smaller task, hm? Make him trust you, Regulus," the Dark Lord smiled with all his teeth visible. Regulus nearly shuddered at the sight of them. He wanted to gag at the view of them. "Make him trust you enough to let you join his group!"
Narcissa gasped. The Dark Lord's head shot towards her. She visibly panicked.
"What an intelligent plan, my Lord! Young Regulus here could feed us information!" she said, trembling.
"Yes, Malfoy. Let them believe you are good. Let them believe you are on their side."
That'll be easy, Regulus thought. I bloody want to be.
"And if he doesn't succeed?" Walburga spoke up. "I know he will, my son is extremely intelligent and gifted! Nearly top of his class, my Lord. Just below that blood-traitorous Potter girl."
"Oh, yes, I believe he will succeed. Dumbledore is a foolish, foolish man. He'll believe anything. But if you don't succeed, Regulus, consequences will be laid out."
"What — what kind of consequences?" Regulus choked.
"You're a smart boy, hm? But you work alone. I found out, through my sources, you have no close friends at your school. That's the way to live. That's how I became so powerful. But you do care for someone, yes?"
Jasmine. Shit. Jasmine, Regulus panicked in his mind. Please don't say Jasmine.
"Your mother informed me that you seem to care a lot about that house-elf you own."
The whole table burst out laughing. Even Narcissa, though Regulus thought her laugh looked very forced.
The Dark Lord flashed his evil smile at Regulus again. "I understand. You can never mistrust a house-elf. Besides, in that house of yours, with your brother becoming a blood-traitor, I would rather be friends with a house-elf than him!"
Another round of laughs. Regulus forced a laugh.
"The consequences will come down to that house-elf of yours. But I doubt you will fail me, young Regulus! I have trust in you."
Good. Have trust in me. Because one day, I'm bringing you down, you sick motherfucker.
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author's note: short chapter, i'm sorry. this was like rllly short oops! just wanted to get this part out of the way bc it's very crucial to the story.
