You Will Be Mortal Once More (Regulus Black Lives AU)

Chapter 2 ~ The Locket

The sound of the spells Regulus was using, echoed through the empty manor, that being the only noise it has heard in years. The young man went along spell after spell, trying to find one that found damage to the locket, but none worked. Each spell simply absorbed into the locket or flitted past it. The occasional left burn marks or dents in the old wood flooring. 

"Come on... something has to work." Regulus growled under his breath in frustration. He knew the Dark Lord wouldn't make it easy, but he really thought that he had gotten past all the challenges. 

Regulus pulled on the sleeves of his jacket, taking a moment's break from the locket. He had been able to find clothing in a dusty closet, so he now wore simple dress pants and a white button-up with black robes over top. The fit hadn't been perfect at first, but after a couple of spells, it formed to his body. 

It had to of been at least a day since he arrived in the manor, and around five hours since he had started on the locket. Kreacher had been kind enough to bring him some food and water in the beginning, but Regulus was quick to send him away. He wouldn't want the poor house elf to get in trouble with his mother on Regulus' accord. Now Regulus was a Slytherin at heart, and never one to give up, but he was feeling pretty hopeless at this point. He had tried every spell his mind could think of and the locket still laid completely intact on the flooring. 

There was only one person the young Black could think of that might know more about Horcruxes than Regulus himself... but that wasn't someone he wanted to turn to. Dumbledore. The man was known as a great figure, but Regulus never quite agreed. In his eyes, the man would only care if you were some headstrong Gryffindor. Something Regulus was obviously not. He remembered only a couple of years ago at Hogwarts when Sirius had found the mark on his arm and said something that made Regulus laugh aloud. 

"Dumbledore can help you."

How funny, indeed. In all his years at Hogwarts, it had never seemed that Dumbledore would be of any help to him. The old man pretty much ignored the whole of Slytherin. He had to of known how likely it was for Regulus and his friends to be shoved down the death eater path and never once reached out to help. If the Slytherins hadn't felt so secluded all of their years, maybe things could have been different. But no. All they had was themselves and their family, so death eaters they became.

But Regulus found that he never listened to Sirius as much as he should have. Maybe he should now...

Regulus ran a hand through his hair, sighing as he headed into his Grandfather's old office in search of parchment. He supposed that sending a letter to Dumbledore was a safe enough bet. The worst that could happen was just not getting a response, which wouldn't bother Regulus in the slightest. He opened the top drawer of the desk, pulling out a sheet of parchment and carefully brushing the dust off of it. On the desk happened to be a quill already and some ink. Regulus gave the container of ink a good shake, praying that it wasn't too dried up from sitting around all of these years. He then opened it up and began to write his letter. 

Albus Dumbledore,

I never thought I might be coming to you for help, especially after my graduation, but the world can be very surprising in some ways. I know that you have never shown much interest in me and I really wouldn't be surprised if you don't remember me at all. But I still write to you. I will also have to apologize in advance for how vague this letter might turn out to be. The information I have is not something that would do well if intercepted. 

Now it is very known that you are against the rising power of the Dark Lord, which is why I think the object I have will be quite an interest to you. As you might know, I am in the Dark Lord's ranks and have been for the past two years or so. It is not something I am proud of, but it is still a fact. Because of this, I have been able to come into contact with such an item and take it. This item needs to stay out of the Dark Lord's grasp and be destroyed, which is where I have run into a problem. I have tried spell after spell and none have worked. This is why I am writing to you, in hope that you will either be able to provide me with a better spell to try or be able to destroy it yourself.

If you want or need more information, it will be imperative that we discuss this in person. If you want no part in this, feel free to ignore and burn this letter. 

Either way, I do wish your side the best,

-Regulus A. Black

Regulus folded the letter and sealed it, sending it off not too long later and hoping for some sort of reply. He had seemed indifferent in his words, but the longer he thought on it, the more he realized just how impossible destroying the locket was by himself.

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Authors Note~

Hi! Chapters are a bit short right now while I am fleshing out the beginning backstory, but keep with me and it will get longer! Thank you so much for reading! 
Also, if you would be willing to drop some votes or comments so that I know that you are enjoying it, that would be great! Constructive criticism is welcome as well!

Much love,
-Al