StarChaser// Jegulus||✔️

Regulus

TW: depictions of violent murder, mentions of blood, heavily implied child abuse, depictions of drowning, mentions of death, depictions of grief
It's been three months since Evan died.
Barty has never recovered, I don't think he ever will. I think Barty's lost his mind.
There have been two big battles since Evan's death, Barty killed Emmeline Vance, and he made it brutal. He severed her legs first to make sure she couldn't run, and then he used a flaying curse on her and he watched as her skin cut itself to pieces, and he relished as she screamed and cried and begged. He stood and watched her until he knew she was dead, and then he turned what was left of her to ash, to ensure the Order had nothing left of her to give back, in the same way that there is nothing left of Barty to get back, he's well and truly gone.
The Dark Lord has called on me to come with him on a mission.
However, when I meet him in a small village off the side of Hogsmeade, I do not expect to see Arlo there. I don't show my surprise.
I've gotten good at hiding my emotions, at regulating and suppressing them.
"My Lord" I say in greeting, completely ignoring Arlo's existence.
"Regulus, good of you to join us, are you prepared to aid me?" Asks The Dark Lord.
"I am, My Lord, I am ever your servant" I reply with a dip of my head.
The Dark Lord smiles at me "Excellent" He states before holding out an arm to me and an arm to Arlo.
We apparate and end up in a dingy cave on a cliffside right next to the ocean.
The waves are crashing against the rocks just below.
Something about the water makes me feel uneasy.
I clench my jaw and follow the Dark Lord.
"I have been working on a project. This cave is going to hide one of my most prized possessions, as of right now there is a prototype in the spot where the real thing is hidden, I have brought you two with me to ensure my protections are working whilst also replacing the fake with the real thing. The first protection in place is a blood sacrifice to enter, it's designed to weaken the opponent before they've even started" The Dark Lord explains.
"That's terribly clever, My Lord, I would be honored to be your sacrifice" I volunteer
"How noble of you, Regulus, however, it is Arlo I wish to be my blood sacrifice" The Dark Lord replies
"M-me, My Lord?" Arlo stutters
"Is that hesitation I detect? Are you showing disloyalty?" Asks the Dark Lord
"Not at all, My Lord, it would be a great honor indeed" Arlo replies
"Excellent, give me your hand" The Dark Lord orders.
Arlo hesitantly stretches his arm out, giving his hand to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord holds up a knife and digs it into Arlo's palm, I watch Arlo bite down on the inside of his cheek as The Dark Lord drags the knife down Arlo's hand, drawing blood.
He waves Arlo's hand over a stone and the stone rumbles before it moves and reveals a dark room and a body of water surrounding a small island with a pillar-like statue.
The Dark Lord flicks his wand and summons a boat, we all step in and the boat begins to pull itself across the water. As I look over the edge I see something in the water and lean closer to get a look.
"I wouldn't lean to close, the inferi are restless for a new victim" The Dark Lord states casually.
Inferi.
There are inferi in the water.
I have a really bad feeling about this visit, and I fear that at least one of us isn't making it out of here alive.
A pit of anxiety grows in my stomach. I swallow hard and maintain a stoic expression.
When we reach the island and step off of the boat I notice that the pillar has a dip in the top that's filled with liquid and a clam shell.
"This is the last protection measure. Arlo, you will drink and Regulus you will deliver it to him" The Dark Lord explains.
Deliver it?
Neither of us question the orders. "You may want to sit, Arlo" The Dark Lord adds ominously.
Arlo looks fearful now.
I feel fearful for him, and I don't even like him.
Of course, I still have love for him, and I wouldn't wish horrible things on him, but I don't like him.
I fill the clam shell with the silvery liquid and bring it to Arlo who drinks it.
Almost immediately, Arlo begins to shake and writhe, and I feel panic building within me. "Don't stop" The Dark Lord states firmly.
I feel my legs taking me forward, I don't want to continue, but I'm scared about what will happen if I stop.
I slip some more of the liquid down Arlo's throat. He begins to scream out and the sound sends a shiver down my spine. I feel myself coated with a cold sense of fear and dread.
As I continue to coax Arlo to drink the liquid, he begins to say things, nonsensical things. It sounds like some sort of a memory.
"Please, I'm sorry, Father, I'm sorry" He cries
I frown, but I say nothing, coaxing another mouthful down his throat
"No, Father, please, don't hurt me, I'm sorry, it was an accident" Arlo cries
"Please, Arlo, just one more, I promise" I say quietly to him as I pour the last bit of the liquid into his mouth and he swallows it.
I turn to the Dark Lord who is pulling a chain with a locket out of the pillar and replacing it with an identical one. He then hands the fake locket to me "I have no use for this anymore, dispose of it" The Dark Lord states.
"Of course, My Lord" I reply.
Except, I don't dispose of it. I turn away and pocket the locket, deciding it could be important to me later. I turn back to Arlo, who is still shivering slightly but is no longer screaming and crying.
"Regulus?" Arlo croaks, he frowns and then turns and vomits.
Wrong move.
He leans in too far and a group of arms emerge from the water, latching on to Arlo. He tries to rip his arm away, he even tries to stand, but they seem to have an iron grip. They begin to pull him into the water with him. I watch his body slide on the ground.
"Regulus, help" Arlo says pleadingly.
I move to help him, but The Dark Lord clamps his hand down on my shoulder to stop me. "Don't" The Dark Lord orders.
"Regulus, please, help!" Arlo cries. The inferi have his legs now, they're pulling his legs in first, his feet are in the water, there is fear in his voice, in his face, desperation. He's scared.
He's scared because he knows he's going to die.
He's going to die.
Arlo is going to die.
"He's going to die, My Lord" I reply
"Regulus" Arlo whimpers, his waist now in the water as he struggles against the restless hands that grip on to him so tightly.
"That is the point. Those that are disloyal do not deserve to continue to trick me. I do not tolerate disloyalty" The Dark Lord states, almost bored as he watches Arlo, now neck deep in the water, trying so hard to keep his body afloat, trying so desperately to keep his head above water.
Disloyalty
"Regulus, please"
Disloyalty
"Regulus"
Disloyalty
This is all my fault
"Reg-"
He never gets to finish, because his head is pulled under the water, and he never resurfaces.
Arlo is dead.
It's my fault.
I put the idea into the Dark Lord's head that Arlo was a traitor, because Arlo had tried to set me up.
Logically, I know that if I hadn't have diverted the attention away from me that it would be me under the water, that I would be dead, but that doesn't stop the guilt that eats away at me from the inside out.
I stare at the spot in the water in which Arlo was dragged into.
I was the last person he saw, my name was the last word he spoke, and the terrible thing is I wanted to save him, I would have if I wasn't being held down, if I wasn't being held in place. I wanted so badly to help him, to save him, because despite everything, part of me still loves him, despite how he has treated me, I still care about him, but he drowned thinking I didn't care, thinking I didn't want to save him, he drowned thinking I stood there and did nothing out of choice.
I hope so badly that he knew, that part of him understood that I couldn't do anything about it, I had no choice in the matter, that if it were up to me, I would have done everything in my power to save him.
If it were up to me, he would be leaving this cave with me right now.
But it wasn't up to me, and now he's dead.
Arlo is dead.
He's dead and it's my fault.
It's my fault he'll never leave this cave.
It's my fault that he'll remain at the bottom of the water, never to reach the surface again.
Arlo is dead.
I don't even notice that I've reached the entrance doors to Hogwarts until I walk into them. I open them mindlessly. I don't even know where I'm going until I reach Gryffindor Tower.
I don't know the password.
Who am I here to see?
I don't realise it, but I'm only at the Gryffindor Tower because I can't face the dungeons.
It doesn't feel the same without Evan, without Barty as himself, and it'll only feel emptier without Arlo.
Because Arlo is dead.
"Reg?" I hear James ask.
I turn around, and the instant I see him, I burst into tears.
"Hey, hey, hey, what happened? What's wrong?" James asks, holding onto me as I press myself into his chest and he strokes my hair as a comfort. I don't answer him, I just cry harder.
"Reg, I can't make it better if you don't tell me what's wrong" James says softly.
"Arlo died" I reply
"What?" Asks James, making sure that he had heard me right, which is understandable, because my statement is unbelievable. How can it be that someone is alive and breathing one minute, and drowning and dead the next?
"Arlo died and it's my fault. I didn't, I- I couldn't save him" I reply, heaving a sob into James' chest
"Do you want to talk about it?" Asks James.
Those words are so simple, such a simple question, but him asking it means so much to me, because at least someone can hear my side, and know that I didn't want to just stand and watch, to know that I wanted to help, to know that I didn't mean for things to go this far.
So, James leads me to his dorm room, sits me on his bed and listens as I explain from start to finish how Arlo ended up at the bottom of the water in the cave. I told him about the false memory, about my overbearing guilt.
"Regulus, I'm so sorry, you should never have had to see that. This wasn't your fault. I know you feel like it is, and me telling you it isn't won't make the guilt go away, but you didn't kill him. He was killed by You Know Who, none of this is your fault, you're a pawn in his game and you shouldn't be, but you need to know that so that you can accept that this wasn't your fault" James reassures me. I rest my head on his shoulder.
A pawn in his game.
I'm a pawn in his game.
In that moment, I realise that I don't want to be someone's pawn, I don't want anyone to control me the way I've been controlled in this war.
I want to be something more, I want to do something on my own accord.
I'm going to use the locket.

__________________________________

Hello there my lovelies!

Okay so another rough one....I know not many of you liked Arlo but like I don't think any of you wanted him dead and his death was kinda rough tbh, pulled at the heart strings a wee bit. However, he had to die for the plot so rip Arlo x
Also, I just wanna say that yes, Arlo was abusive to Regulus, he wasn't a good person, but Regulus never wanted him dead, Regulus did still have love for him because he did love him once and he never really stopped loving him, he just wasn't in love with him the way he is with James so that's why he talks about loving Arlo in this chapter.
Also James is so sweet like I love him so much. Please James, just give me one chance xoxo
Anyways, I hope yous enjoyed this one? Not sure I can say that here this one was kinda angst galore but I'll definitely catch you in the next one! Until then, have a great day my loves!

Stay wonderful!

All my everlasting love,
Blue<3