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Tweak says, "how do I look"

Ron Weasley (no1cannonsfan) wrote in hogwarts_dawn,
@ 2021-02-12 21:41:00

Entry tags:

character: regulus black, character: ron weasley

RP: Ron & Regulus
Who: Ron & Regulus
When: midday, 12th February, 2038
Where: Hogwarts' grounds, specifically the Greenhouses
What: Practical things and Horcrux discussion

Ron and Regulus met outside the main entrance and headed towards the Greenhouses. Ron's arm was still aching, but less so than yesterday and not to any extent where it would be a detriment if they had to defend against any creatures. He really hoped they wouldn't have to, especially the Acromantulas, but it was easy to see even from the castle that the forest had gotten even wilder in the eight years since whatever had wiped wizards off the face of the Earth. Who knew what was in there now.

"I have to warn you, if one of Aragog's descendants comes lumbering out of the forest, I'm killing it and then running," he said, only half-joking. Spiders were the worst. "So, how do we want to tackle this? I hate to think what some of the plants could have done in the absence of wizards. Some of them were almost as dangerous as acromantulas." If Hagrid's gardens had gone over all wild, there was nothing to say the greenhouses hadn't as well. "So...you should know that I know what you did. About the locket."

Ron knew it was blunt, and likely came out of nowhere from Regulus' perspective, but he was of the opinion it was better to clear the air at the beginning, especially if they were going to be working together. There needed to be trust built, quickly, and what better way to start than to get everything out in the open at the beginning.

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te_regulus
2021-02-13 03:31 am UTC (link)

Regulus had enjoyed a night in the dungeon. It was like being home, in a way that Grimmauld Place wasn't since the death of his father. And maybe even in part with Sirius' departure. Now, he was back at Hogwarts, with Sirius, in the future.

"Who exactly is Aragog? And let's not kill centaurs and unicorns. That would be extremely bad." He almost wished that the centaurs were friendlier so they could talk to them. "I would say very carefully. We'll see what we can ascertain from outside, open the door and then wait for a moment. Even if they don't have tentacles, their gas could kill us, although I have a feeling that they won't be as bad. The house-elves have a weird attachment to buildings. They might neglect the grounds but the greenhouses are part of the school." At least he hoped that they thought like Kreacher.

He stopped and looked at Ron. "I see. From something Tonks said, my plan didn't work. There was more than one. He died for real and that means all of the horcruxes were gone. How many were there?" he asked as he started to walk again. "And who knows about them? Not that I think anyone here at the moment would rush to create one, but it's not something I shared with anyone." He sighed. "He wanted bloody immortality and we're only a few decades into the future and this is what there is. I almost wish that he were here to see what selling his soul gained him."

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no1cannonsfan
2021-02-13 03:46 am UTC (link)

"Oh, he was...King? I guess, of the Acromantulas. Friendly enough, because Hagrid raised him, but his children were not and tried to eat us on multiple occasions," Ron said, almost nonchalantly. With the number of near-death experiences he'd experienced, nonchalance was really the only approach to take. "Hmm..how long do Centaurs live, do you think? There's one that might talk to us if we could find him. If he's still alive. He was a Professor here for a while."

He nodded in agreement. "And I'm not betting against tentacles," Ron said grimly. Gas and tentacles would probably be the least of the problems. "And that's a good point. Hogwarts is their home, even the greenhouses, so they'd take care of it." He was quite fond of the Hogwarts house-elves, even if this was likely a whole other generation than the ones he'd fought alongside.

"It was a good plan, but even if you had succeeded it wouldn't have worked. He already had..." Ron thought for a moment. "Five, by that time. His diary, Hufflepuff's Cup, the Gaunt family ring, Ravenclaw's diadem, and of course, Slytherin's locket." He ticked them off on his fingers. "By the time Harry killed him in 1998, he'd made two more. So, seven total" He nodded in agreement. "I do, and Harry. Our friend Hermione. Dumbledore of course, but he's dead where I come from. Aside from us though, no one. We didn't even tell Kingsley or McGonagall." He paused for a moment. "Snape might have known, but I can't say for sure. He died before we could ask him. Oh, and Professor Slughorn knew some. He's the one who told Voldemort--then known as Tom Riddle--how to make them."

Ron grimaced. "Let's not tempt fate now. The last thing we need is a Voldemort of any age coming here."

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te_regulus
2021-02-13 03:54 pm UTC (link)

"The Acromantulas have a king that was raised by Hagrid and they tried to eat you multiple times." He had to repeat this because it was mad. "Let me guess. You and your friends tried to beat Sirius and his friends in stupidity. That would make perfect sense." He shrugged. "I don't think anyone knows for sure. They don't exactly register as they are meant to do, but it's believed to be similar to a wizard. Let's put going into the forest something we don't do just now."

He nodded. "It's as good a theory as any. After all they have kept the castle going and with all the magic in that building, it would probably last for another few decades at the very least, especially when there hasn't been much magic used."

He shook his head. "Sweet Merlin, that definitely explains his appearance. And the Gaunt family ring? Why would he have that? The others make sense. He was obsessed with Hogwarts, wanted to feel this connection to the school. I never could understand it." Something still felt off. However, he smiled. "Severus always seems to know more than others. So... he was on your side? When did that switch come? If you know? I was thinking of going to Dumbledore, but I didn't trust him and there wasn't anyone else."

He smirked. "But there's be no horcruxes here. I would really enjoy killing him. Potter might have killed him, but he destroyed our society nonetheless, erasing families. You don't think that what we're seeing is the result of that war? With so many people dead and in Azkaban, how many families were there left? This is his doing as much as it is the Ministry's."

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no1cannonsfan
2021-02-13 04:06 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, that's about right. Once when Harry and I were twelve, and then the Acromantulas fought on Voldemort's side in the final battle." Ron laughed and shook his head. "In our defense, we usually went finding trouble because Voldemort was trying to kill Harry one way or the other. It wasn't usually trouble for trouble's sake." That made sense. "Well, if we get a chance we can look for a centaur named Firenze. He was always helpful--or as helpful as cryptic Seers could be."

Ron nodded. "It's sad, isn't it? Hogwarts should be teeming with kids and magic, and it's creepy seeing it so empty. And wrong." Hogwarts should be thriving; they'd all worked so hard to rebuild it after the battle, he hated seeing it like this.

"Yeah, he became less and less human the more Horcruxes me made," Ron agreed, thinking it surreal that he was the one giving a history lesson to someone who had died before he was born. "His mother was Merope Gaunt, and a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. She fell in love with a Muggle, had a kid with him. That kid was Tom Riddle, who grew up an orphan and fixated on Hogwarts as his home. Tom Riddle became Voldemort, and you know the rest." Ron returned the smile a little. "I don't know if you could frame it as him being on our side, but he was against Voldemort. He spied for the Order during the second war and was good at it. He killed Dumbledore, so Voldemort thought he was his most loyal supporter. But, Dumbledore told Snape to do it. He was dying anyway."

Ron frowned, thinking it through. "That's the thing though. What if he comes from a time where he's already created the Horcruxes? Would we be able to kill him? They're already destroyed in my time sure, but they wouldn't be in his time, and this is making my head hurt. I'm not used to being the one who has to think these things through," Ron said, with a shake of his head.

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te_regulus
2021-02-13 04:24 pm UTC (link)

"So your real mistake was not going back after you knew it wanted to kill you and set them all on fire before he could help the Dark Lord. Gryffindors, all bravery and no follow through," he said, but there was a tiny smile on his face. "I despise people like that, all about the stars and the moon. I'm all for word games, but at a certain point, you sound mad."

Regulus snorted. "It's not just Hogwarts, is it? There's no Hogsmeade, no Diagon Alley, no St. Mungo's, not even a Ministry. Those are all hubs of society."

He listened to the explanation and the implications smack him in the face. "He was a bloody half-blood. Now that makes sense! He talked about pureblood superiority, but he killed anyone. He had no idea about traditions we had." He huffed. "He was a little sad child that wanted what we - you and me - have just by our birth. How bloody ironic." The information about Severus sounded like Severus. "So no way to know if I could have trusted back in my day, and Dumbledore was always a cold bastard, so no surprise there."

Regulus thought for a momeht, before shaking his head. "I don't think it'd be a problem. The horcruxes have to exist for him to have immortality. They have been destroyed. But assuming that what I know is wrong, then what? We can still kill him and he vanquishes. Then someone needs to bring him back. Do you see many people with the inclination and skills to do that? Do you really think even a Death Eater would see this destruction and think 'oh let's bring him back so we can kill all the Muggleborns'. The only one crazy enough would be Bella and she wouldn't have the knowledge."

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no1cannonsfan
2021-02-13 11:28 pm UTC (link)

"I wish we'd have thought of that," Ron said, with another shudder. He might be able to handle the little spiders now, but Acromantulas would always haunt his nightmares. "Firenze was alright. Not quite as cryptic or 'wizards are awful' as the rest of his clan."

Ron sighed. "I don't think there's any sort of Wizarding society anymore," he said, and it was still so hard to fathom. How could something like this have happened, and in such a relatively short amount of time?

"Yeah, he was. It's why he went after Harry, and not Neville Longbottom. There was a prophecy that could have meant either of them, but he chose the half-blood most like him." Ron had never thought of it in those terms, but Regulus wasn't too off-base. "That sad little child killed a lot of wizards and inspired three generations of purebloods to kill a lot of wizards." He glanced around the empty grounds. "And that all led to this. No more wizards."

Ron didn't comment about Dumbledore. He and Hermione had spent a lot of time talking about the man. Harry avoided talking about him at all. But Regulus wasn't all wrong. Dumbledore couldn't have done a lot of what he'd done without being at least a little cold about it.

"That...makes a certain amount of sense. So, new plan: if Voldemort or Tom Riddle comes through, we kill him and worry about him coming back later." It seemed like a good enough plan to Ron. "And I don't know. There were quite a few batshit crazy Death Eaters by the time the war ended. Some of them almost as crazy as Bellatrix herself. But, none of them would know how to bring him back, and even so all the necessary ingredients to the spell aren't here either. So, point in our favor."

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te_regulus
2021-02-13 11:55 pm UTC (link)

"You should have had a Slytherin in your group. He would have thought of it. I find that Gryffindors are murderous only in the heat of the moment. If it makes you better, we can go in once we're more prepared and turn them all into potion ingredients," he teased. "That is indeed a very different centaur."

He nodded. "Exactly and to stand here and think of ways to kill each other should not be our priority. Not that I was ever interested in killing anyone in particular," he said with a shrug, before snorting. "He really was predictable once you knew what to look for, wasn't he? He totally ignored Kreacher, thought he'd die. The man didn't even know that the house-elves aren't stopped by anti-apparition jinx. I should have known."

He looked at Ron. "I'm not justifying it. He is definitely to blame, directly and indirectly, but knowing who he is gives us an advantage if he returns." He grinned. "Although I still want to kill him on the spot, so we can go with your plan about forgetting about motivations and horcruxes." He couldn't really picture what Ron was saying, but then something came to mind. "How many were in Azkaban? Also I wager that the smart, non crazy ones were able to hide and never get caught." He gave Ron a darker look. "If you know how to make that potion, I would forget. You might not tell, but there are plenty of legilimens."

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no1cannonsfan
2021-02-14 01:10 am UTC (link)

"Well, it's a good thing I have a Slytherin in my group now to think of things like that," Ron said, and though he didn't think of himself as particularly murderous, he understood what Regulus was saying. "And that does make me feel better. I'm sure they'd be much more useful chopped up for potions than wandering about the forest."

Ron nodded in agreement. "I definitely don't want to kill anyone here, or in general. There's been too much of that for me. There's a lot of other things we need to make our priority." Ron wasn't sure predictable was the right word for Voldemort, but again he got where Regulus was going. "You can't blame yourself. He did a good job of separating Voldemort from Tom Riddle. I don't think anyone knew he was a half-blood except Dumbledore." Why Dumbledore had kept Voldemort's identity a secret was still beyond Ron. Apparently, knowing that simple fact might have made him less attractive to the Death Eaters.

"I have no problem with killing him on the spot if it comes to that," Ron said because it wasn't time to be squeamish about it. "Of his closest followers? Bellatrix for one, her husband and brother-in-law. They were arrested shortly after Voldemort was defeated the first time, spent fourteen or so years there. There were others, I can make you a list if you want. But if you're talking about after the final battle in '98? Pretty much all of them were dead or in prison." He paused, deciding how to phrase this.

"The Malfoys provided a lot of very appealing evidence against a lot of people, even the smart ones who might have gotten away it. There are probably some who evaded because I don't trust that Lucius actually gave up all his information, but I'd say the vast majority of Voldemort's supporters are in Azkaban now."

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te_regulus
2021-02-14 01:27 am UTC (link)

"Good thing indeed, although you have two. Narcissa is quite the Slytherin herself." He nodded. "We can certainly do that. After all, we don't want these things going into the Muggle world. I wonder who's been taking care of keeping the magical creatures hidden? Did the other ministries send people to clean up? Where are the dragons from the reserves? What will they do if they find out that we're screwing with time? We need to thread carefully." He stopped as they reached the greenhouse. "You know, if Dumbledore had trusted all houses, things would have been a lot different. We all work better when we put our heads together."

He smiled. "What we need is a Ravenclaw who starts writing everything down and make lists so we can prioritize." Not that Regulus couldn't do it himself, but he had committed to this theory of house blending. "This would not be a good time to mention how much I hate Dumbledore, would it? Why not leak that? It would have stopped his ascent before things got out of hand. Sometimes I feel like his driving force was pushing away the Slytherins regardless of the cost."

Regulus couldn't believe that he was agreeing with a Weasley, but then this particular Weasley was different. "It's funny, you're more Black than Weasley. Rather ironic, isn't it? I still think there's a reason why so many Blacks." There was so much he didn't know. "A list would help for future arrivals, but it's not urgent. Is there anything you think I should know now? Especially about the people here?"

That answered the question about trusting Narcissa. "No, they wouldn't have given all the names. You keep leverage; it's the smart thing to do. Still, it seems that everyone here seems to be firmly on the side of killing him on sight. I doubt Narcissa would want to explain about her change of heart."

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no1cannonsfan
2021-02-14 01:56 am UTC (link)

"Yes. She is. She lied to the Dark Lord you know. Right to his face, about Harry being alive. Ballsy of her," Ron said, with true admiration. He wasn't sure he liked the woman, but she'd saved Harry's life so he was more than willing to cut her a little slack. "And those are very good questions.Hopefully, there will be some kind of information in Diagon Alley when we get there. I suppose eventually we might want to go into the Muggle world as well. Their newspapers would be full of headlines if dragons were suddenly seen all over the country." Ron sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I wonder if things changed at all up until everything went to shit here."

Ron laughed. "No, we need Hermione for that. The Ravenclaws I know would make the lists, but they'd be more excited to just start experimenting by throwing magic at things just to see what happens." Ravenclaws were crazy, in a good way. "It's as good a time as any. Dumbledore was...complicated." It seemed the best word to describe him. "Well, he also liked to use Gryffindors as sacrifices. He mostly ignored Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff though. Maybe they were the lucky ones." A lot might have been different if Dumbledore had just been honest with people.

"You know, a few years ago I'd have resented that, but knowing what you did, and knowing Sirius, I'm okay with being a little bit Black," Ron said with a grin. "Well, you should know that your brother spent thirteen years in Azkaban for crimes he didn't commit. Pettigrew was the spy, not him. I should probably tell Remus that." There was just so much, and they hadn't been here all that long. "Sirius escaped in 1993 when he realized Pettigrew wasn't dead and had been living as my family's pet rat for all those years." He paused to let that set in. "What else? Bellatrix killed Sirius in 1995. Remus and Tonks got married, had a baby, and then both died in '98." He took a breath. "There's more, but that's the highlights of who's here. The rest can probably wait."

Ron let out another laugh. "Well, I'm glad I'm not just being paranoid about that," he said, though to have Regulus confirm his suspicions wasn't much of a surprise. "No, I don't expect she would."

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te_regulus
2021-02-14 02:21 am UTC (link)

"Almost Gryffindorish. It's a good thing our parents felt that occlumency and legilimency were necessary skills." He wasn't sure that she could, but Bella could and if she lied, she had to know that the Dark Lord could see it. "Yes, those newspapers will be very important. We should collect as many as possible, even of the same edition. We'll probably need spells to preserve them." He raised an eyebrow. "Is it really advisable? I didn't even know how to dress properly in 79, what would we know of Muggles today? Their money? It's too risky until we know more."

He chuckled. "Well, I can make a list until then." He snorted. "Spoken like a true Gryffindor, always protecting your own." Not that it didn't apply to all the house. "He liked Gryffindors because he knew that if he pushed the right buttons, you'd respond."

Regulus laughed. "You're a lot Black. By my count, you're 25% Prewett, 25% Weasley and 50% Black. You have more Black blood in you than Dora." He frowned. "Why in Merlin's name would anyone think that Sirius was a spy with his background? Were they totally idiots? And you shouldn't. If he thought my brother could betray them, he's an idiot. And Pettigrew? I barely remember him, used to trail after the other three like a lost puppy." He snorted. "I didn't think marriages and babies were that crucial, but I think you should tell them. Or maybe give them some time."

He shook his head. "You aren't; you're thinking like a Slytherin. It's good. We might need that." Just like they would all need to find the traits of all the houses when it was just them here. "All right, let's see what we have," he said using his wand to open the door of the greenhouse and waiting in case anything tried to kill them.

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no1cannonsfan
2021-02-14 02:45 am UTC (link)

"Don't let her hear you say that. I don't think she'd be particularly amused," Ron said, though he was amused by the thought of Narcissa Malfoy being called Gryffindorish. "Well, I can't say as I know of any newspaper-specific preservation spells, but I know plenty of food preservation spells and they can't be that different." Ron sighed. "It's maybe not advisable, but it might be unavoidable sooner or later. Not right away, and hopefully we'll have more of an idea of what's going on out there before we do." He wished he had Harry's invisibility cloak, at least then they might be able to sneak one person into a small town to gather intel. "But right now, we can focus on the important things: food, potions ingredients, and those newspapers."

Ron grinned back. "That's good, because my list would be pretty short, and would start and end with food." He shrugged. "Manipulating people into volunteering as sacrifice was a specialty, but I think we can at least agree that we need to work together and forget about old school rivalries. We don't have Dumbledore to deal with here." He felt somewhat disloyal, talking about Dumbledore like this, but it was hard to ignore in hindsight just how manipulative Dumbledore had been in so many ways.

"I guess when you put it like that, it does seem like a lot," Ron said, bemused. He'd always thought of himself as a Weasley first and foremost. "There was a lot of distrust between the Order. Secrets and lies, missions where no one knew all of the information. Sirius didn't even get a trial, just straight to Azkaban. And everyone forgetting Pettigrew existed is why no one could fathom he was the spy. How could he have gotten the better of James Potter?" There was a lot that could have been fixed just by people talking to each other, Ron thought. "Yeah, I'll give them some time. It's a lot of information all at once, and I feel like I've just dumped it all on you."

Ron scowled, but there wasn't a lot of heat behind it. "I'm thinking like an Auror. Constant vigilance, trust no one, that kind of thing," he said, then drew his wand as Regulus opened the door to the greenhouse from a small distance. Smart, who knew what was lurking behind the door, ready to kill them.

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te_regulus
2021-02-14 03:14 am UTC (link)

"I can get away with lots more. I am- was the head of the Black family," he said, chuckling. "I do know spells to preserve books. I'm sure they can't be different, even if the paper is slightly different. Although food preservation seems rather important at the moment." He nodded. "Let's make it later. We should figure out how things have changed in the magical community worldwide before we attempt to go somewhere with no knowledge of their customs, clothes, money." He nodded. "That sounds reasonable."

Regulus chuckled. "Again, a definite priority for us." He hated to agree with a Gryffindor, but- "You're right, on both fronts. I'm still going to talk about the insanity of using Muggle methods. If only because it gets Sirius all upset," he said with a grin.

"When I put it like that, it's accurate. You have as much Black blood as me and Sirius. Bella would hate it." Of course, Bella hated plenty of things. "I still think that people lost their mid if they thought that Sirius betrayed Potter, but besides his crush on Potter, he wouldn't have been a spy for the simple fact that it's something my parents would have approved of. It's that simple." He grinned. "I'm fine. I like information."

Regulus looked at the other man for a moment. "Good, because thinking like a Gryffindor gets people killed, and now, let's go fight some plants."

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