FIC for: curia_regis 2/3 Title: Black Innocence Recipient:curia_regis Author/Artist: silveredaccents (LJ) Rating: HARD R Warnings: inappropriate nearly incestuous thoughts, graphic descriptions of torture, blood-play Summary: Regulus recounts his own history of the Black family and his aspirations to be a Death Eater beginning when Sirius leaves. Notes: This story took on such a life of its own! I hope you enjoy it! My Blacks always have inappropriate relationships, but doing that with Regulus spending most of this fic underage was difficult. However, I hope I satisfied your desire for Blackcest given that I managed to avoid chan.
Three parts instead of two because I could not in good conscience break it only once given the story line.
Thanks to my wonderful betas for helping and Brit-picking it!
The summer after I turned fifteen, my cousin Narcissa married Lucius Malfoy. For weeks, the only two topics in the house were the Dark Lord and the wedding.
The Death Eaters had gotten more bold since winter, attacking more frequently and with more venom. Since Christmas, I eagerly devoured each exploit, then took clippings of them, hoping to identify in which ones my future brother-in-law had been involved. It had become a rather extensive hobby, as I began to wonder if I could figure out who else of my circle had become one of His favoured.
I was not very successful, though that comforted me as I felt that if I could easily figure it out, then the Aurors certainly could, and that would spell disaster.
On the day of Cissy's wedding however, the outside world did not exist. Everything revolved around the Black country home which had been done up in silver and pale blue. The home had become the home to my great-grandfather Cygnus as his right as second son. When he died, grandfather Pollux kept it. It was always a lovely home, and I wondered if Sirius would have still left had we lived here instead of in London.
I pushed the thought away with force. Today was Cissy's day, and I wouldn't allow even the memory of him to ruin it for her.
That Narcissa was marrying Lucius wasn't any big surprise. The match was well-made for many reasons. The Malfoys were a proud, powerful pure-blood family. That the two had seemed to have true feelings for each other only made it more amenable. Cissy had the reputation for being an ice queen and a tease, though the last said only behind multiple secrecy hexes. Though, when we danced together, I could see in her eyes she truly did care for him. I would not say love, but then, I was always a poor judge of the deeper feelings. She was happy, and that was enough.
Cissy was very different from Bella. I always considered her light in a family of dark, but Cissy was never light in the way the Mudbloods and Muggle lovers would view it in their little self-contained worlds. She had a talent for making even the darkest deeds seem positive. Even Lucius never could match her abilities in diplomacy. I wondered how many nights she would suggest to him, for Cissy would never deign to order him, plans and paths of action.
When they danced, I saw the future of the pure-blood cause in them. If we were to succeed, they would need to lead us. Many of the people gathered likely thought Lucius the stronger of the two. That was never the case, and I could not imagine it becoming the case. Cissy just had a quiet strength that overwhelmed any obstacle with subtlety and grace, and she did it while making it look like Lucius the entire time.
"She made a good match," a lilting soprano comments beside me.
I turn to glance at Bella from the corner of my eye before smiling and looking back at Cissy briefly. "That she did; a good strong alliance, and he'll treat her well."
It was taken for granted that love wasn't necessarily important. At least not the foolish notion of overwhelming passionate love that burned out too fast. Love was created by mutual respect, by living a life together. Yes, Cissy would eventually love Lucius, and I knew he could not help but to love her. But it simply didn't matter if the love came now or later.
Bella nods, her eyes dancing with praise. I suppose I have shown again that I am growing up. It makes me stand taller, and she giggles in response.
"Shall we dance, cousin?"
Bella never cared for convention, unless it served her purposes, and so I accept the invitation and pretend it was me who was leading her to dance. She is gracious enough to allow the illusion.
In the past year, I have grown taller, able to look her in the eyes directly instead of up at them. It makes holding her a very different experience and inspires me to become the kind of man she would admire, adore. Cissy may be beauty personified, but Bella, Bella is a great and terrible beauty, and it is her brand of beauty that draws me.
"I've missed you," she whisperes in my ear and I nod my agreement. It has been far too long since we'd spoken in anything other than cryptic and code laden owls.
"It's been very busy for you with your sister's wedding plans and everything," I offer.
She laughs, and the sound sends shivers down my spine. "Yes, though there have been other things. Reg, I have fought so long to give you this chance, this hope, and now I can finally begin sharing everything with you."
I'm not sure if it was how she spoke them or the words themselves, but I had unconsciously pulled her closer to me as if to hug her, though positioned as we were, it was impossible. My heart filled and beat faster at what she could finally share with me.
"I see you are as excited as I to begin." Her breath tickles my ear, but I manage not to misstep this time. "Follow me."
I allow Bella to lead us off the dance floor and into the house. Her eyes twinkle in the light as she turns to me opening the door.
"I've been waiting for this for a year," she says in an excited whisper.
"What is it?"
"I'll show you. It's a surprise."
With that, she leads me through the house and down the stairs. I follow her quietly, eager and almost jittery. My fingers dance down the railing as we descende into the basement.
Once there, she sets her fingers on my lips, drawing her wand and casting some spell I couldn't catch. Bella smiles, pulling away slightly, her finger trailing down my chin before her fingernail flicks it.
"I get to teach you new spells," she whispers, and I can't mistake the excitement in her voice. Obviously, these weren't average spells, though I still didn't understand why it was so special that she would pull me away from her sister's wedding reception.
I smile at her and nod, though I suppose I haven't kept the confusion from my face. She shakes her head and laughs. "Reg, haven't you figured it out yet?"
I furrow my brow, no longer attempting to hide my emotions. "Figured what out?"
The sweet, intimate smile she reserved for me eases my concerns. I watch her roll her glove down her arm, then pull it off slowly, her eyes glittering. There, down her left forearm is His Mark. My jaw drop, slack in shock. My beautiful cousin, the one who promised to help me become the heir the Black family deserved, is a Death Eater.
"Bella," I breathed. My face slowly becoming a smile as I reach toward it. Her hand gripped mine, moving it slightly so that it wouldn't touch the tattoo when I finally touched her arm. I looked up at her eyes then, offering everything I was if she would only show me how to become one too.
She smiles at me, as if she read my thoughts. Part of me thought she could, the rest reminded me she knew me well enough, she wouldn't need to.
"Shall we begin?" She turns her hand and takes mine in her own. I nod, and she laughs more, pulling me towards the center of the basement.
Lying on the stone floor is a man dressed in Muggle fashion. I heard Bella say something, and he begins moaning.
"Have you ever cast an Unforgivable?" she asks all singsong and light.
I shake my head, "No," more an exhalation than a proper word.
The Muggle pulls himself up somewhat, then opens his mouth obviously preparing to scream. Bella shakes her finger at him, "No, it's not time to scream yet."
I've never seen her so glorious. She stood there, controlling him with a few simple words. She hadn't even needed to raise her wand at him.
Then Bella was facing me. "Today you learn the Cruciatus." Moving around, she takes my wand arm and shows me how to move my arm for the spell. I can feel her breath on my neck as she guides my movements.
I focus on my arm, intent on making her proud of me. I knew what the Cruciatus would require, and I wasn't going to let anything get in my way.
She nods to me, and steps aside.
It takes only a moment to draw upon all my hatred for the culture that had stolen my brother. Channeling it, I focus it into my feelings for the anonymous man before me.
"Crucio!"
The man begins screaming, convulsing on the floor.
I watch him, proud of myself. I hadn't failed her. A moment later, I feel Bella's hands on my shoulder, squeezing gently.
"You were magnificent, Reg."
Holiday Magic
"Are you ready, Reg?" she asks, eyes glinting.
I follow her avidly, wondering what today would bring. I expect it would be one of the other Unforgivables, as the last time we'd gotten together, she taught me the Cruciatus. I hoped I would prove an equally apt student when it came to the others.
The fall term had gone by without incident. Sirius and his friends were now seventh years, and I managed to avoid the attentions of the Head Boy. More than once, however, I was tempted to hex them senseless. It was only the looming threat of Dumbledore's Gryffindor bias that kept me from doing so, that and the lack of my own cronies bold enough to take on the golden boys of the school.
I spent most of December looking forward to the holidays to the point of counting down the days. Bella had written me, promising more private tutelage. Now, I followed her down the winding stairs once again to the basement of her parents' home.
"How is dear Hogwarts?" she asks. "Still filled with Mudbloods and other filth?"
"Always," I answer.
I wasn't as against half-bloods as my cousin was, though perhaps that was because I'd become rather close friends with one. Of course, he hardly counted as a half-blood, having turned on his own father and vowing himself to the cause of purity. I know he was friends with a Mudblood once, and secretly, I think he still misses that friendship and wishes he had more.
I never told him, and I would certainly never tell Bella. It didn't escape my notice that it was hypocritical of me to not want to tell her about it since I wanted her to have everything her heart desired, and that included a place at the Dark Lord's right hand. Still, it seemed that we were both allowed a secret or two, so long as it didn't threaten the family. My secret was how much I respected and admired Severus. He overcame impurity and foulness of birth to understand why isolation from Muggles and their wretchedness was so important.
Bella was nodding, so I smiled a bit. "Though of late, most of the filth has learned to lie a bit low. May learn their place yet."
She chuckles, and I can see appreciation for my commentary etched into the smirk she delivered. "Good. If they remain appropriately humble, some might be of use."
I knew of what use she meant. I fully agreed, of course. Having seen what Muggle filth and idiocy had done to my family, I wanted nothing more to do with any of the lot. They should never have been allowed to touch a family as noble as ours, and they never would again. Bella and I would see to it. We would protect our future, and the future of the Black family.
Together.
First, though, I had to learn. I look at the woman before me, bound by magical rope and silenced. Bella put on gloves and begins stroking the woman's tear-stained face.
"Filthy Muggle," she croons as if the words are sweet nothings.
The woman shakes her head violently.
Bella picked up a piece of wood from a nearby table, caressing it, then twirling it in her fingers. A wand. I knew Bella's was in her robes. She had never been out of arm's reach of it since she'd gotten it so far as I was aware. In that instant, I knew that today I would cast an Unforgivable against a witch.
The knowledge should have offended me. Or at least, that's what part of me said. Though I think that part was just the scared little second son talking. I couldn't be him though. I had to be the heir. I had to be Bella's pride. It was that thought, that desire and wish that pushed the little voice down, silencing it as effectively as the Mudblood before me had been.
"She stole magic, you know, cousin. She stole it from some proper witch or wizard." Again, the Mudblood shakes her head. I almost smile wondering if she would torque her neck out in the process. Though if she broke her own neck, it would rather force us to go find someone else for me to practice on.
"Then she must be punished," I offer, noticing that Bella had paused and was waiting on me to comment.
The eyes which had been trained on Bella turn to me, frightened and pleading. She was asking for mercy from the wrong person.
"See," Bella's baby voice begins, "Even my cousin knows better. And you are so much older than him. You really should know your place." She sets the wand down on the table. "Have you ever practiced the Imperius, Reg?" she asks without turning around.
"On animals."
"Good, then this filth will be easy."
I look at the woman, who must have been Mum's age or better. Her eyes were back to frightened. Funny, she should have realised how horrible my cousin could be. Didn't she know that once taken into custody by a Death Eater, she would never see light of day again? Apparently the woman wasn't all that smart. Or she was some stupid idealist, like the one who took my brother from me.
Anger wells up inside me and I speak with conviction, allowing my fury to show. "What can I make her do?"
I can see the woman trying to curl up in her bonds, unable to move more than millimeters at a time. Bella is chuckling, though at me or the witch, I can't tell.
"Anything you like. Though I dare say, be creative. It is far more entertaining."
Bella wants entertainment; she would have it. She smiles at me, and I know I would do whatever it took to keep it that way. I will be her pride.
Smirking at the witch, I raise my wand and whispered, "Imperio."
The tension went out of her arms as my mind took control of hers. Stepping toward her, but careful not to touch, I whisper to her, "You are going to take your wand and break it. There are shackles against that wall behind you. Take your wand and put it through, then pull with all your might."
I step back to see the results of my order. I can see the fight briefly before she begins to struggle against the bonds again. In her eyes, hatred and resignation mingle, and I smile sweetly.
"If you would be so kind, Bella, as to release her?"
I keep my wand trained on the witch as the bonds disappeared and she makes her way woodenly to the table with her wand.
"Reg?"
"You asked for me to be creative. Just watch, I've got my wand on her."
I'd never been as confident in my Imperius as other curses until this. Thinking about how they were stealing from us, magic, culture, brothers, cousins, had been enough. Family pride and the pride I held in myself for being a wizard overcame all sense that she might have been one of us. She was an outsider and a thief.
Tears fall freely from the witch's eyes as she follows my instructions, turning to uncontrollable sobs when the wood gave in a satisfying crack. She fell to the floor, clutching the two halves of what had been her wand.
"Oh, Reg, that was brilliant!" Bella beams, clapping her hands. The woman just continues to stare at the wood in her hands, sobbing.
I smile brightly at my cousin. She looked to me then the picture of a child at Christmas having gotten exactly the present she'd asked for. I know she prefers the Cruciatus herself, and I have a long way to go before I could possibly compete with her startling delicacy with the curse, but to see her so happy over my use of the Imperius delighted me. She was proud, exceptionally so, and it was something I'd done for her all on my own.
Looking around the room, I see various implements of Muggle torture. I don't imagine my cousin ever used them, except for visual aids in intimidation, which I suppose is quite effective. However, today I decided I would give my Bella a gift better than I ever had before. And for this, she was my Bella. My cousin, my inspiration.
She had her wand up, I realise nearly a moment too late, "Wait!" She turns to me, confusion quickly masked by irritation. That isn't the reaction I want. "No, I wasn't done with her is all. I had more to do for you." Her face softens into an indulgent smile. She nods silently, lowering her wand.
I'd seen a heavy looking hammer on the table. The mallet was large and appeared to be metal. I imagined it would be quite painful, and perhaps even break bones. I had to prove I could do this. I wanted to be more than adequate. I wanted to be exceptional, and I would be, for her.
Crouching near the woman, my wand at her throat, I begin a second curse. "Imperio." It takes less than a blink for the fight to die out this time. I'm not sure if it is because I was getting better, or if she'd given up already. Not that it mattered. "I want you to go to the table and pick up the hammer. I want you to hit your legs with it as hard as you can, repeatedly."
She rises silently, tears flowing and breathing coming in heavy silent sobs as she retrieves the hammer. I risk a glance at Bella who had raised her eyebrow quizzically. I nod reassuringly. It would be worth it, I silently promise.
As the woman retrieved the hammer, I saw the fight flicker in her eyes once more before she brought it crashing down on her leg, smashing her knee and knocking it out from under her.
I hear a gasp off to the side and turn towards Bella. Her hand had gone to her mouth, but her eyes gleamed with joy. Unable to make sound, the woman's mouth opens in pain as she smashed her other leg, the hammer breaking the bones in her calf this time.
Bella was practically giggling as each hammer stroke brought either a crunch or a squish. Each sound made her bounce slightly, her eyes filled with obvious glee. I watched her as opposed to the woman forced to torture herself, reveling that I had brought her that joy. That it was due to me that she was so happy.
The sound of the hammer stops, and I look over at the woman, wondering what was so powerful that it overrode my Imperius. She was there, slumped over, mostly in half, her hair lying in a pool of blood. She had done a magnificent job of torturing herself into shock; bruises and bone fragments mingled with flesh and blood.
I stare at the lump before me, darkly fascinated with the destruction she had caused herself. I had done this. My will had been strong enough to force her to bodily harm beyond healing. Even had the woman been fated to live beyond today, she would not have been able to walk again.
Bella approaches me, stepping between me and the vision now etched into my mind. She is smiling at me with a warmth and openness I've never even imagined possible from her. Her eyes smoldered with unrestrained desire, and for a moment, I wasn't sure if she knew who I was.
Leaning close to me, she strokes my cheek, her fingers gently cupping my chin. "Regulus," she breathes, "That was absolutely lovely. You will make a fine Death Eater, and together we shall avenge the good name of Black."
I try to smile, though my own breath was hitched quite tight due to the gentleness, the intimacy we were sharing.
When she pulled her hand away, I saw blood on the glove. I touch my face, brows furrowing. When had that happened? I hadn't thought I was standing close enough to get splattered.
She chuckles, "Yes, we'll have to clean you up before we head back upstairs." Her voice caresses me, and calm any reserve I may have had about what I'd done. No, I'd done well, and I would make them proud. Maybe I'd never actively seek out causing pain the way Bella did, but I would not shirk from it either.
The Last Time
I had just closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun in the shade, when my post-O.W.L. relaxation was interrupted by voices I knew far too well.
"So she really said yes?" My brother is asking someone, likely Potter. I open my eyes to verify and immediately wish I hadn't. There, to my left, not thirty feet into the clearing is Potter, Lupin, my brother, and the short one.
I stand up, knowing full well it would announce my presence, but deciding not to be caught at a disadvantage when they did discover me. Their easy banter ceases as I dust off my robes. Well wasn't that telling?
"Black."
"Potter."
"Regulus."
I reply perhaps harsher than I should have. "Sirius."
He takes a few steps forward, then turns to face his friends. I don't understand what he says then, but Potter nods and leads the other two away. Sirius faces me once more, and I stare into a face so like my own, and yet, the man behind it was nothing like me. Not anymore. Maybe he never had been.
"Reg, how are you?" he asks, concern that I felt was misplaced, evident in his voice.
Something in the way he seemed to care bothers me. I am Regulus Black. Of course I am all right. Of course everything is fine.
"I'm doing well. I see you're doing well."
He steps toward me, arms out at his sides. Sirius the supplicant was never a good look. Knowing that he'd once had me at that very point hardened my resolve.
"Reg, I miss you."
"Funny way of showing it. You run off, and for the past two years, you've barely pretended I exist."
I see hurt flash across his eyes. We were both responsible for not speaking. I could have gone to him at any point. He'd made that clear once. If I could have gotten over my own pride, I could have gone to him, he would have spoken with me. I was the wronged brother, however. I was the one who had to find solace elsewhere. I was the one doing his duty, doing his job. He was the one who needed to apologize.
"That's not fair, Reg. I told you why I had to leave."
"You didn't have to do anything, Sirius. You chose to leave."
"I couldn't stay there anymore."
"And you couldn't love me enough to try. You didn't care enough to be there." My eyes harden more, and I see him look at me like he used to look at Bella. "You say you couldn't stay, but the real answer is you took the coward's way out. You left because you weren't strong enough to stay and watch out for me."
Something flickers in his eyes, a fire of some sort, and he steps up to me, putting his arms on my shoulders.
"Reg, why didn't you tell me you needed me to protect you? I would have come back. I would have brought you with me. Reg, it isn't too late."
Sirius was never the best big brother. Maybe he could have been, had things been different, but he was always just enough of one to lead me into trouble. But getting out of trouble had never been his strong point.
I had confided in Bella about my misgivings, my regrets over Sirius. It had been after my spectacular display using the Imperius curse. She'd had me lay down in her lap while she stroked my hair. She hadn't been angry, or even disappointed. She told me it was always hard losing someone, but it was better if I thought him dead. He had chosen his path, and I could not choose it for him.
Now, I understand why she never spoke of Andi. I can see how he made my resolve soften, how he made me want to give a it on my principles because he is my brother. Even more so, I saw why I could not.
It took everything I had at that moment, though he never knew. I step away from him calmly. "I don't want to be saved. You made your choice. I made mine. Rather, you made the choice for both of us."
He shakes his head as if to deny the truth. There is no denying it. It is real. It was there.
"No, Reggie."
"Do not call me that. I am Regulus Black, heir to the Black family."
That seems to change him. The softness fades into resignation as he calls upon the Black family traits he tried to deny. He pulls away from me and nods.
"So that's how it is then."
"That is how it is. It is what you called upon yourself, Sirius."
Holding strongly to Bella's advice, I won't give, I'm not going to budge, but oh how it hurts. I know I'll never see him again, and if I do, one of us will be hexing the other.
In truth, I hope we never meet again. I don't want to hurt him, but I will not let him hurt me.
"Last chance, Reg."
"That chance passed the day you left home. Good bye, Sirius."
I turn my back on him again, though this time, I feel no need to hurry. The tears had long ago dried up. My brother, Sirius Black, no longer existed.
The Last Dance
I'd known since Christmas. Last year, Cissy became a Malfoy, leaving two of us with the Black name. This year, Bella would become a Lestrange. I think she settled.
Rodolphus isn't good enough for her. She, even as a witch, is wealthier than he. She is more powerful. She is far better connected. True, Cissy had married Lucius, which was perhaps the closest either of them would have gotten in terms of comparable status. That didn't mean I feel she should have bowed to any man.
Well, save one.
He is different though. The Dark Lord is above us all. He had learned magic the rest of us had only dreamed about. He is far more talented in the dark arts than any I had ever heard about. Of course, Bella's own obsession with her private tutor rivaled mine. She told me that over the holidays too. She was learning from the Dark Lord himself and promised to help me learn. The Blacks would reign supreme. Just under Him.
The ceremony was lovely. Bella outshone even her sister as a bride in glittering jewels and gloves concealing her arms and the Mark perhaps half the congregation knew for a fact was there. The one thing I noted while I attempted to pretend to be happy for her, was that she wasn't overwhelmed with emotion. Where Cissy had been beside herself in love, Bella was observant and triumphant.
Jealousy warred with relief as I turned over the thought in my head. She'd married for convenience, or for some other equally mundane reason. She hadn't married for love. I wasn't sure what he brought to this marriage aside from pure-blood lineage and a loyalty to the Dark Lord. Though, maybe for the queen of the warriors, that was enough. Love would have weakened her. I knew well that she loved Cissy and me, but beyond that, I wasn't even sure she loved her own parents.
They themselves seem pleased, perhaps relieved with the match. I knew many didn't think she would ever marry. I couldn't help thinking perhaps that was why she had. Another stereotype broken. Another illusion shattered.
All I could think of was that he was going to take her away from me. She'd never had all that much time for me and now she'd have even less. Rodolphus would interfere with my relationship with her, and he didn't likely even care.
She found me during the reception, frowning into a glass of wine. A gentle touch and a smile that didn't reach her eyes followed.
"Reg?"
I plaster a smile for her, "Best wishes, Bella."
She rolls her eyes, exhaling loudly in a sigh. I furrow my brow, then gape as she takes the wine out of my hand and sets it down.
"Don't start that with me, Reg. Dance with me." Her voice is far more harsh than is appropriate for her wedding day, which only makes me comply faster. I try not to stumble in my confusion. Taking her into my arms, I note that over the spring I had surpassed her in height. "Don't be one of those stupid saps who wants to congratulate me on my match. You and I both know I'd not have given up my name had there been much choice."
I can't keep the grin from my face. She hadn't wanted to marry. My heart soared in pride for the witch before me. She was so proud of being a Black, so sure of herself that it was, in fact, the best family, that she had planned to remain unwed in order to maintain her name. For good measure, I spin her a little faster than strictly necessary, but not enough to raise any concern or question.
Her smile returns as I move her nearly playfully around the dance floor. "Yes, well, he's not good enough for you. No man is."
Bella laughs, the sound filling me with warmth and love for the force of nature I know her to be. "You are too sweet, Reg. I'm sorry I haven't been able to come by recently. We still have more lessons that need to happen."
Lessons with Bella were what fueled my desire to excel at school. When we were younger, I remember her studying hard while Cissy tried to get her to play with the rest of us. She would always reply that she had to study harder, that what she had to master the spells from school before she could work on the spells she wanted to learn. One night in particular, I heard her telling Cissy that the Dark Arts were far more complicated than what was taught at Hogwarts, so she had to study harder.
Since she began tutoring me, I have pushed myself harder at school, intent on learning as much as I could so that nothing would stand in my way. Certainly nothing so ordinary as my brother's shadow.
"I've been studying hard," I offer, sounding far more childish than I'd planned.
She chuckles, her hand straying from my shoulder to touch my cheek briefly. "Reg, you are a magnificent wizard, and I should never have even been willing to consider marriage had I not trusted your abilities in being the leader for the next generation of Blacks."
I flush. My heart begins to race at the caress of words. While I hadn't wanted her to marry, I had wanted her to be forever with me as Blacks, side by side to victory, this was by far the most amazing compliment I could ever imagine being given.
I must have stumbled finally, because we were suddenly much closer and she was laughing, pulling up her dress just enough to miss the ground.
"Bella," I breathe, trying to find something to tell her, trying to find some way to thank her, to let her know she had always been, would always be my inspiration.
She stops me with a touch of her finger on my lips. She shakes her head, "It's all right, Reg. I have something I want to share with you. My wedding present to myself."
I raise an eyebrow. A wedding present to herself? Then why would she want to share it with me? None of that made sense. I see her glance around, then pull me off the dance floor.
"They won't miss us for a few minutes," she offers, and I agree, though I'm not as convinced as she. A third time she pulls me down the stairs to the basement.
In the dim light are two people, huddled together, a boy and a girl. He is holding her close in their defensive crouching in the corner. Neither one look to be older than twenty, though they both look well into their teen years.
Bella is twirling her wand casually, and the couple's eyes get larger. Obviously, she'd already played with them a bit. The boy pulls the girl behind him, trying to shield her. Admirable. Stupid, but admirable.
"I promised you I'd teach you all three, remember?" she says, and my gaze turns to Bella who is smiling, the light in her eyes returning now that we were spending out time together without interruption.
I nod, my breath catching as I realise that her wedding present to her is my final lesson in the Unforgivables. The only problem is, I'm not sure I am ready. I can feel my palm sweat against my own wand making the wood slick against my skin. My discomfort and insecurity must have shown because she steps toward me, blocking me from the view of the two fated to die.
She cups my face in her hands, her wand between her palm and my cheek. "Reg. You are a pure-blood wizard. You are Regulus Black. They are nothings. I believe in you."
That is all she needed to say. I take a breath, releasing it slowly as I feel colour return to my face. Nodding, I smirk slightly. "I won't let you down, Bella. Though for this, you're still Bellatrix Black."
My eyes twinkle, then shine brighter as she laughs and shakes her head. "My dear cousin, I shall always be Bellatrix Black." She moves to stand right in front of me and whispers in my ear. "You take her. I'll take him." With that, she turns around, allowing me to hold her from behind as she'd held me while I learned the movements for the other two Unforgivables.
We must look an odd sight, Bella in her wedding gown, eyes alight with mischief and me in my more sedate dress robes, so obviously relatives and embracing nearly as lovers. Wands held aloft at the same time, she nods. I feel her move more than see, and we cast our spells simultaneously.
"Avada Kedavra."
Having her in my arms did wonders for my confidence. I could accomplish anything with her there believing in me. As the words fell into silence, green jets of light shot out from both wands. Our aim was true and the pair died holding each other.
We watch them slide to the ground, limp as dolls. It is only then that she turns back to me, smiling proudly. She leans in and her lips sear my cheek leaving a spreading warmth.
"You will make a fantastic Death Eater, Reg. I cannot wait for next month." I was going to ask what she'd meant by that, but she was caressing my left arm.
My eyes widen as I try not to reveal too much of my shock. I hadn't asked for it. I hadn't thought the Dark Lord would notice me. He may never have, except my cousin was Bellatrix Black, His right hand.