RISE OF THE FALL | R.B.

XXXIII.

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter World belongs to J.K. Rowling.

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CHAPTER XXXIII.

They gave the locket to Professor Dumbledore, and he was shocked, to say the least, when Reia carried an unconscious Regulus Black into his office, with the boy muttering about how he had retrieved one of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes.

Reia had explained the rest—of how she'd gone with Regulus to the cave, and how Regulus had drunk some sort of potion.

By the time she'd finished, it was almost morning. She hadn't realised how late it was when they'd left the castle for the cave.

So the boy was good, Dumbledore thought to himself with a smile, Perhaps Reia is wiser than us all. She was the one who believed that Regulus was good, even after he joined the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore had healed Regulus enough so that he wouldn't be in pain anymore, and Reia carefully healed the cuts on her arm from making the blood sacrifice.

The Headmaster found it truly touching how caring Reia Lupin was towards the younger Black brother. She was so gentle and kind, so unlike how he'd always seen Slytherins behave and act.

And he watched as the girl pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead, before standing up and asking Dumbledore, "Will he be alright?"

"He will be," The Headmaster replied, "And I will take good care of the locket. I should inform you that it is strictly prohibited for students to leave the school grounds without permission—but due to the circumstances, I will let this incident go...just this once."

Dumbledore had to admit that he had doubted Reia's goodness, due to many factors, and one of them was her House. He had been aware of the Death Eaters in the school for a while now—and he knew which students had become Death Eaters based on their interactions with each other and the changes in their personalities.

He had always known that Regulus Black, the boy that Reia Lupin loved, was one of them.

That was one of the reasons Dumbledore had hesitated in allowing Reia to join the Order of the Phoenix.

He had decided that while Reia was surrounded by Death Eaters, it was, in short, simply too dangerous for her, and the entire Order, if she was involved in the business of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Thank you, Professor," Reia said quietly, "Should I take Reg to the Hospital Wing, or just...take him back to his dorm?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "Take him to Madam Pomfrey."

"And what should I tell her?" Reia bit her lip anxiously, "I can't—I won't tell them where we've been..."

"Tell her that I will speak to her about the matter later," Dumbledore said, in an attempt to lessen Reia's worries.

But the girl's frown deepened, and her stress seemed to increase as she said, "But—you can't tell anybody about what Reg did! He'll—the Dark Lord will hurt him—and I—I don't—,"

"Don't worry," Dumbledore reassured her, "I will not. You have my word. Now, get some rest, Miss Lupin. Do not worry yourself with matters like these."

"Okay, Professor. Thank you." Reia awkwardly lifted Regulus and put one of his arms over her shoulders, and she shifted uncomfortably in an attempt to gain better balance.

"Of course, Miss Lupin," Dumbledore replied politely, "If you would like help..."

"No, Professor, it's quite alright," Reia responded smoothly, "I haven't gotten much help from anybody with much else, anyway. I'll be fine carrying Reg to the Slytherin Common Room alone." Her tone turned bitter towards the end, even though she obviously tried to hide it.

Dumbledore sighed. He wished he could do more to help her...but he couldn't. Reia clearly believed that her friends would never do anything bad, but though they may not want to, if Voldemort ordered them to do something, they'd have to follow through, with no other choice.

He'd help her soon. Soon.

"Goodnight, Miss Lupin."

Reia left without another word, and Dumbledore watched her go.

Author's Note:

A bit of a short chapter, but I hope you all liked it anyways <3

Thanks for reading, do vote and comment if you enjoyed. It's a bit of a change from the usual scenery, since this was mainly Dumbledore's thoughts rather than Reia's, but I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks~

-lilia