★゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜☆゜・。。・゜゜・。★
As The Dark Lord gains power the Karkaroff family's loyalty grew. Moving to England to support Lord Voldemort, Valentina is forced to move schools, landing in Hogwarts. When approached by Walburga Black with a favour, her ye...
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Valentina knocked on the large wooden dark door to Grimmauld Place. She took in a deep breath, preparing for an extremely boring conversation with Walburga Black, a woman she could not stand whatsoever.
"What do you want?" the women barked as she flung the door open aggressively
Valentina took a step back and smiled at the women.
"Hello Walburga" she smiled, "I'm terribly sorry if this is a bad time for you, I am more than happy to return another time".
Valentina wrapped her coat tighter around her stomach in an attempt to try and conceal her growing bump. She didn't want the news to get out without speaking to Casper.
"Oh Valentina dear, no please, do come in" She corrected her tone and allowed Valentina inside.
As Valentina stepped inside she couldn't believe anyone as bright as Sirius could have come from a place as dark as 12 Grimmauld place.
Finally looking to Walburga she noticed her appearance. Valentina hadn't seen the women in perhaps a year and she had aged terribly. Her hair had greyed and was tied up atop of her head in a tight neat bun and her face seemed more grey and sullen. However her face still had the same expression she always wore; one as if she had just bitten into a sour lemon.
"Is Regulus perhaps in?" Valentina asked looking around, "I would love to have a talk with him" she smiled
Walburga's face dropped and she turned sheet white, taking a seat in the parlour where the two women were stood. She clutched her pendant necklace on her chest and guided Valentina to sit beside her.
Valentina felt suddenly extremely alarmed.
"My dear" she said gently, taking her hand. It wasn't very comforting at all, and Valentina wanted to shrivel away at her forced act of comfort, "haven't you been told?"
"Been told?" Valentina asked tilting her head in confusion, hating the feeling of her warm hand in Walburga's cold one.
Walburga had always liked Valentina and the very things she had represent and her image. Valentina had wanted to retract away and leave immediately.
Walburga looked away from her, to out the window, "Regulus is dead"
Valentina's breath caught in her throat, "No, he can't be. I saw him, at Diagon Alley"
Walburga shook her head at the thought of her perfect son, in mourning, "Regulus is gone"
Valentina felt her hands shaking, "But, But... how?" She asked eyes glossing over
Regulus had not been one of Valentina's closest personal friends over the years but he was the first person she met at Hogwarts that had actually treat her as an actual person rather than a just another pureblood doll.
She liked Regulus, very much.
Walburga sighed, "For that we are not sure, perhaps in a duel or mission against the order of he Phoenix"
Valentina stared to her shoes, "Did...did they ever find his body"
Walburga remained silent and it had given Valentina her answer.
Valentina remained silent herself. She should have done more for Regulus. She had seen him in Borgin and Burkes and he had looked awful. Like a heavy weight was laying upon his shoulders in which he could not escape. She should have pressed him further and stressed her homes hospitality and her guidance and willingness to help.
"May, I go up?" Valentina asked, gesturing upstairs to where Regulus room lied, "To say my goodbyes"
Walbruga nodded solemnly and allowed Valentina to walk up the stairs alone.
The floor boards, covered in old worn carpet, creaked under her feet and Kreacher, the Blacks's house elf, shuffled past mumbling to himself busily and anxiously. Valentina pushed open the heavy door, the initials R.A.B engraved upon it.
It opened with a creak and she stepped inside.
The room was cold and looked as if it hadn't been lived in for some time. It was clear that Walburga and Orion had started to use the room as more of a storage space and it was filled with some extremely peculiar objects. Valentina ran her finger over the bare bed frame and flicked the dust off that gathered on her finger tips. Sighing she walked over towards the bookcase that stood against the far wall. She scanned the titles on the spines and a gasp fell past her lips.
It couldn't be.
"Dark magic, soul magic and the art of immortality" She whispered to herself in disbelief.
The same book she had seen at Hogwarts. The same book she had tried to buy at Borgin and Burkes but had given to Regulus.
She reached out and ran her fingers down the spine. It wasn't covered in such a thick layer of dust as the other books surrounding it leading Valentina to believe that Regulus had read it often.
Valentina pulled it out of the shelf turning it over in her hands to study the cover. It was heavy in her hands. A single page corner had been turned down.
A small scrap of paper fell from it's pages and fluttered down to Valentina's feet.
She picked up it and turned it around, looking at the scrawly writing dark black ink.
For V.A.K,
a gift to you from I,
R.A.B
Valentina had let a tear slip from her eye, it hit the floor, cleaning the dust around it on the ashy floorboards.
Was she really that predictable that Regulus would have known she would come looking for him? That she would have been intrigued by the book and picked it up?
Valentina had a feeling Regulus had known more about her doings in which he had ever revealed. She wouldn't be surprised, Regulus was terribly perceptive and intelligent. She always wondered what was going on inside his head.
Folding the note back up and placing it back into the book in which she placed within her bag, she wrapped her coat around her tighter and closed the door shut behind her.
Kreacher was still scuttling around upstairs, mumbling and Valentina couldn't properly tell what he was saying. She heard snippets of his murmur.
Master Regulus, Kreacher has failed , impossible, impossible.
She paused on the stairs, turning to look at him with intrigue.
Walburga had noticed her pause at the bottom of the stairs, "Don't mind Kreacher, he has a terrible habit of mumbling rubbish" Walburga said with a sour face, "Though he means well. Kreacher!" she called up to the house elf, "make yourself scarce"
"Yes Mistress" Kreacher said with a bow of his head before disappearing into the shadows.
Valentina turned back around to face Walbruga, "Thank you for your hospitality this afternoon Walburga. My thoughts are with Orion and yourself at this hard moment in time"
"Thank you Valentina, I wish you all the best"
As Valentina walked back through the darkening streets her mind was racing. None of it made sense.
Did Sirius know? If so he hadn't mentioned it at all
