The Last Gryffindor (Sirius Black)

Chapter XXVII: Milestones Into Headstones Change

• — • — •

As life runs long, the road grows strange
with faces new - and near the end.
Milestones into headstones change,
'Neath every one a friend.
- JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

• — • —

When Aeliana came to, it was to crying downstairs. She sat up, groggily, only just realizing that she had been tucked into Regulus's bed, alone in his room, and suffocated with Slytherin green and silver plastered across each wall. It took her a second, but when she managed to recall the events leading up to her premature sleep, she leapt to her feet.

Regulus hexed me!

Taking the stairs three at a time, the portraits on the walls cursing her unrefined "jumping about like a common hare", Lia barreled into the kitchen, only to have her worst fears realized.

"Kreacher!" She threw herself at the weeping house elf, holding him straight up against his cupboard. "Where's Regulus?" she demanded, shaking him violently. "WHERE IS HE?"

"Master Regulus is..." he stopped short, wailing even harder, great tears leaking from his bulbous eyes. "Kreacher didn't want to leave Master Regulus, but Master gave Kreacher an order. Master gave an order, so Kreacher couldn't refuse. Master told Kreacher to go home."

The elf's tremors grew in magnitude until they forced Lia to let go, watching him crumple in on himself.

"Tell me what happened, Kreacher," she ordered. Her tone frightening even herself. "What happened to Regulus? Why isn't he here?"

She would have been surprised if Kreacher could even hear her over the sound of his own misery.

She wasn't sure why she decided to inflict that torture upon the two of them. Even without him saying, Lia knew what had happened, she could see it, as if she were there myself, sitting upon the island in the middle of the black lake. A hoard of undead rising up to drag her friend to the bottom. Hundreds of freezing arms everywhere, clawing, grasping, pulling, and the cursed water forcing its way down his lungs-

"Master Regulus is never coming back! What will Kreacher tell the Mistress?" Kreacher sobbed, miserably.

A horrible, vain thought struck her: What will I tell Sirius? I killed his little brother!

Lia closed her eyes, pressing the palms of her hands firmly against them, and let the hysterics take her over. Each sob forcing its way out her throat hurt more than the last, yet they kept on coming, until her throat was rubbed raw and tasted of iron and regret.

"Dammit, Regulus," Lia said in between haggard breaths.

"Regulus?" a familiar voice from behind her asked.

Lia froze. In the best of times that voice filled her soul with dread, and these weren't the best of times.

"What are you doing here?" Mrs. Walburga Black barked. "Where's Regulus? What's going on?"

Words wouldn't come. Lia turned to face her, but couldn't muster the will to tell her that she'd gotten her favorite son killed.

Lia pushed past her, up the stairs and back into Regulus's room, Walburga's screams chasing her the whole way. Lia threw the silver and green duvet off his bed, searching frantically for her wand so she could leave, but instead of a wand, a small enveloped tumbled from the covers.

Lia picked it up with trembling hands, ripping it open.

_______________

Dearest Lia,

First things first, you're a terrible excuse for a liar. Its a miracle the Dark Lord hasn't found you out yet, because when you told me that you believed you would survive the journey to get the Horcrux, even a deaf mountain troll would have been able to tell the truth. I'm sorry for cursing you, but you wouldn't have let me go in your place any other way and yours is a sacrifice the world isn't quite ready for. I face my end for you, for my brother, and for the day when Voldemort is once again mortal. I'm certain you still have a part to play in that day.

I should have known you were never truly on our side. You were always better than us Death Eaters, I only wish I had known sooner. Bring Sirius the happiness that my family never could.

I give you my love,
R. A. B.

P.S. Just let the memory of me fade away, like the eerie fog before a new dawn. A new day is coming. A brave new world.

______________

Aeliana's hands shook so thoroughly she could barely read the last words of his letter. Her biting anger itched to crumple the paper into a ball and scream, but she couldn't. That was the last thing Regulus would ever say to her, so instead she settled for hugging it close to her chest.

Why did everyone she love have to die?

No one else but her and a house elf would ever know of his sacrifice. No one else would mourn him.

Taking several deep breaths, Lia searched through misty eyes for her wand. Regulus placed it on the nightstand when he carried her up to his room.

Pocketing both items, she dried her eyes and walked out his door, closing it firmly. Who would next open it, she wondered. Certainly not Regulus, and Sirius would likely not set foot in this house again, if he could help it. Perhaps it would remain like this, undisturbed, forever, a testament to his life, and the fact that a brave boy named Regulus had existed once.

In a peculiar state of mind, Lia glided down the stairs, not even hearing Mrs. Black screaming or Kreacher wailing. The door to number 12 Grimmauld Place hadn't even slammed shut behind her before she Apparated away. It didn't occur until much later that Regulus never said in his letter what he did with the locket.

*A/N*
Really short chapter this time, and a little bit of a downer, but you can't say you didn't see it coming. I always wished we got to know more about Regulus in the original works. 😭