Regulus Black: The Prequel

Chapter 12 - The Dark Lord

Waking up at the ass crack of dawn was not in Regulus' plans.

"Oh come on, it's midnight. It's hardly dawn. It's not our fault you fall asleep at nine." Barty scoffed.

Regulus rubbed the three hours of sleep from his eyes as Evan kept him upright.

"It'll be an hour tops." Evan assured.

"But then we have to walk all the way back." Regulus whined.

"I will literally carry you back if you stop whining." Barty spat.

Regulus wasn't going to object to that.

He didn't even want to go to this thing.

Regulus didn't want to be in a room with future death eaters or the dark lord.

He didn't want to be anywhere incriminating, but he didn't have a choice.

Regulus managed to avoid most meetings. Mostly because he hid in the Room of Requirements.

The one night he went to bed early and now he was trapped.

He just had to keep his head down and get through the meeting. He could do that.

The meeting took place in a abandoned cabin deep in the Forbidden Forrest.

Regulus wasn't necessarily afraid of the forrest at night, but he wouldn't willingly enter it.

He figured if anything were to eat them, they'd probably eat Barty first.

"Hey!" Barty exclaimed.

Evan chuckled from beside him, agreeing with the statement.

Regulus really needed to stop speaking his thoughts.

They entered the cabin and settled in towards the corner.

Regulus recognized most people in the room. People his mother would approve of.

He just needed this to be over.

Out of the darkness a man appeared.

He had dark brown hair and a sculpted face.

But his eyes were what set Regulus off, the eyes his mother had.

Eyes that revealed insanity deep within.

Regulus had dealt with enough crazy people. He refused to make that one more.

Beside him, a woman stepped out and Regulus' breath caught in his throat.

Crazy curly hair, a thin mouth, and long eyelashes.

Bellatrix.

Regulus was so screwed, so utterly screwed.

Her eyes fell upon him and she smiled wickedly.

Bellatrix had been nothing but evil his whole life. She'd hexed him one too many times to be playful.

She was the craziest of them all.

"Regulus. How wonderful to see you here." She greeted, her voice was screechy and dramatic.

She waved for Regulus to step forward, but he stood frozen.

Evan gently pushed him and he stepped out from the crowd.

Bellatrix pulled him in for a hug, crushing his bones and knocking the air from his lungs.

"Regulus, the Dark Lord", She introduced as she pulled away, "Dark Lord, my little cousin Regulus."

The man smiled a squirrelly smile, making Regulus' heart skip a beat in the worse way.

He held his hand out for Regulus.

"It's nice to meet you, Regulus." The man spoke.

His name on the man's lips was wrong. It was all wrong.

Regulus wanted to spit in his hand and refuse it, but James would bring him back to life and kill him again for being so stupid.

He took the man's hand and shook it firmly.

After he let go he mustered up a fake smile and returned to his friends to hide.

It took Regulus all of twenty minutes just to remember how to breathe again.

The man known as the Dark Lord spoke of his plans as the group nodded excitedly.

Regulus wanted to die.

The things he talked about- the complete genocide of muggleborns. The destruction of all the magic rules. A world where one man ruled.

It was all horrifying.

After it was over, Regulus stepped out, emptying his stomach in the bushes after he distanced himself from the cabin.

The leaves ruffled and Regulus shot towards the sound.

He'd realized his mistake once he couldn't see the cabin. He was too distraught to even think about how bad it was to be alone in the Forbidden Forest at night.

A head peaked around a tree and Regulus relaxed.

It was just a stag.

The animal moved closer to Regulus, sniffing the boy.

Regulus reached his hand out, hesitantly, before petting the animal on the head.

The stag seemed to like it and pushed into Regulus' grasp.

"I'm kinda lost", Regulus muttered, "You wouldn't happen to know the way back, would you?"

The stag seemed to nudge Regulus to walk and the boy complied.

He rested a hand on the stag's back and let the animal guide him through the forest.

The stag stopped as they reached the edge of the forrest.

"Thank you." Regulus gleamed, kissing the stag's head.

The stag huffed happily before disappearing back into the woods.

"Regulus!" Evan called.

Regulus turned towards the sound ad Evan and Barty stepped out of the woods.

"There you are." Barty jeered.

"Sorry, I needed some air. The forrest is stuffy." Regulus muttered.

Neither boy questioned him and they began their walk back to the dorm.

Regulus couldn't do this.

He couldn't get the mark- he couldn't be a death eater.

But he would lose his friends.

But if he went through with it- he'd lose James.

Regulus didn't want to be a bad guy. He didn't want to fight in the war at all.

He wanted to go far away and forget everything.

Regulus' life had always been planned out.

He would marry a rich pure blood girl, have lots of children, and serve the dark lord once he was old enough.

Regulus never got to do what he wanted, but he was starting to.

He had James and he was everything.

Regulus didn't want to think about the mark. He didn't want to think about the future.

So instead as he collapsed into bed, he thought about the present and how he couldn't wait to see James when he woke.

He couldn't wait for the boy to hold him and assure him that everything was okay.

He was gonna be okay.