Stars and Mist | Regulus Black

c h a p t e r. e i g h t e e n

Evan Rosier hadn't wanted to choose sides. A trained occlumens, he also hadn't expected that the gift would be handy, but a quick offer changed his mind. His parents, of course, wanted him to pick the Dark Lord's side; that was a given, as Voldemort preached blood purity and the destruction of 'magic thieves'. Regulus, Evan's best friend, seemed to agree, and for a long time, he'd thought that was a good idea.

That all changed when Anabel Greengrass started talking to him. Although she was officially Regulus's fiance, the younger girl had never seen the appeal of the Dark Lord and didn't support him in the least, unlike his friend who idolized the Dark Lord. Anabel also, coincidentally, didn't like Regulus all that much.

It'd started in his fifth year, when the idea of joining the Dark Lord had actually become a thing. Evan had agreed halfheartedly, unsure if he actually wanted to. Then, he'd given Regulus the task to find new friends- Evan had needed some alone time then, and it would've been good for Regulus anyway. The real questioning began when he'd spotted Anabel crying sometime before the Easter holidays and asked her about it.

It turned out the younger Greengrass liked girls.

In hindsight, it made a lot of sense, but Evan hadn't really expected this kind of breakdown on his hands. Anabel confessed everything; that Gryffindor girl that she'd had feelings for rejected her, telling her that she was just 'another Slytherin wanting to wipe out the fields of mudbloods infiltrating the school'. Anabel had mimicked the Gryffindor with such venom in her voice that Evan almost felt sorry.

In Evan's personal opinion, the Gryffindor had every right to say that- just not to Anabel. The Greengrass family was actually pretty tame in terms of prejudices, muggle-hating, and other things, though not to the extent of the Ollivanders, Lovegoods, or Weasleys. But then Anabel gave the plot point that sold Evan against Voldemort.

"It doesn't even make sense why other people support him- he's a half-blood. One of his parents was of muggle descent. Aren't we purebloods supposed to associate with only each other?"

"How do you know all that?"

"A letter. Not mine, of course, but it was from a person. The initials were M.G, sent to my father. Something about 'owing a huge favor' and 'promises a lifetime ago'. Apparently, this M.G. person has connections, followers, basically Voldemort with a moral sense."

At the time, Evan had stayed silent as Anabel continued explaining.

"I reached out to the M.G. person a few days later, and she responded, and..." Anabel closed her eyes almost peacefully, giving her the innocent look that she should've had. The girl then stood up abruptly, pulled out a spare piece of parchment and a quill from her bookbag, and scribbled something down. She then looked at Evan expectantly.

"It's your decision, not mine, but I have a feeling you'll agree with M.G. Trust me," She said and handed Evan the parchment. Then Anabel skipped away as if nothing had happened- but in reality, a lot had.

Iinformation came to Evan like a waterfall feeding its pond, and tasks quickly ensued for him as his contact with M.G. grew and grew. He felt a sense of duty, of importance, and sometimes he wondered if that was what the Death Eaters felt like when they got their assignments. The Dark Mark wasn't part of the plan, but Evan was able to make it work. But for how long?

Evan wasn't usually given clear instructions, an attribute he found to be quite helpful as he worked as a double agent. Sometimes he got worried, like when Regulus started questioning him, but Evan was confident in his ability. But maybe he shouldn't have, because the Dark Mark was shown as a brand of loyalty, so what place does it have on a traitor?

***

"Irmine." Anabel shook her friend worriedly, the former staring out into blank space. Anabel hadn't seen Irmine blink in the whole two minutes that she'd been trying to alert her. She glanced around, spotting her distant cousin, a seventh year, in the distance.

"Acer! I need you-" Anabel was cut off by Acer's sheer speed as he raced to grab Irmine, picking her up deftly. He raised an eyebrow at Anabel.

"Hospital wing. It's like she's frozen, but..." Anabel let her voice trail off and Acer nodded, taking Irmine Crouch to the hospital wing.

Later, Anabel found herself sitting alone by the door to the Slytherin common room. It wasn't that she forgot the password; it was that she was confused. She'd sat there for so long that when she went to get up, people jumped and Anabel resolved to only sit by corners. So that was where she was.

Sitting by the wall, Anabel closed her eyes and tried to envision a path where there wasn't a war, where there was just her and the rest of the world was irrelevant. Too bad even that imagination couldn't last because Anabel had a job to do, and she had to do it well. There was no space for imagination.

"Anabel Greengrass?"

"Gabiel Ollivander."

Anabel had heard rumors about the Ravenclaw boy, like how he was strangely clairvoyant, quite gossipy, and seemed to know everything about everyone. He sounded a bit like some kind of comedy they'd show in the movie theaters.

"You're not prejudiced, are you?"

How strange that this would be his first question, Anabel thought as she sat up to look at him. The Ollivander boy had silvery eyes, blond-brown hair, and an easy smile on his face. Anabel could tell she wasn't meant to answer the question, and Gabiel answered it for her.

"You're not. You don't like people who think you're prejudiced, because they're being stereotypical, right?"

This time, Anabel looked up in shock because he was right. How was this even possible? Ollivanders were known for their wandlore, not their clairvoyance and Divination skills. Gabiel smiled at her and she scowled, wanting to know what he was actually there for.

"You're not prejudiced. You're also not interested in your arranged marriage. So, Anabel Greengrass, why do you let your sister think as such?"