It was during Molly's obsession to clean the house that Sirius had found it, a dust-covered envelope whose author had never intended it to be found.

He'd been trying to catch a particularly nasty doxy that had taken refugee under one of the desks within the dark Black family library. The problem was, that the damn thing just kept escaping his grasp.

He had tried everything, from attempting to immobilize it with a rich vocabulary of well-practiced spells, to trying to catch it the muggle way. But no matter how hard he'd tried, nothing had worked.

At the moment, Sirius Black was lying flat on his stomach in the middle of the dusty library, reaching out under the desk he knew the little pest was hiding. He was going to capture that doxy even if it was the last thing he ever did. The moment that annoying winged menace had challenged him, it had started a full-out war.

And Sirius Orion Black was sure as hell not going to be out-smarted by a creature no bigger than a couple of inches.

It was however, as he touched something unfamiliar, something was was certainly not the floor, that the innocent prison escapee paused. He ran his hand over the surface, frowning. It was smooth, it felt almost like... parchment...!

Curiosity getting the better of him, Sirius pulled the thing towards him.

'A letter? ' He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Strangely enough, neither a sender's name nor a receiver's address had been written on the yellowing parchment, which, if the amount of dust on top of it was anything to go by, was indeed very old.

Deciding to give himself a break from doxy-hunting (the thing had taken the chance to escape earlier and was currently vandalizing books concerning pureblood genealogy and the dark arts), Sirius brushed the dust off the envelope before carefully opening it. He turned it upside down, giving the envelope a few good shakes so that all of its contents would be dropped in his awaiting hands.

Sure enough, something did roll out, two things, to be exact. A little flask and a piece of parchment.

Taking a look inside to make sure it was all it contained, Sirius tossed the envelope aside aside and took the parchment, spending a few seconds straightening it out before he could actually read it.

He recognized the neat script instantly, even if it had been over seventeen years. It was unmistakable, he'd seen it many times during his childhood, after all. It was his brother's handwriting, the handwriting of someone that had died years ago.

A sudden pang of nostalgia hit him as he remembered Regulus, the kid who used to practically worship the ground he walked on before they started Hogwarts, always following him around, being the annoying little pest he always was.

They'd been rather close before he went and got himself sorted into Slytherin, because since then everything had started going downhill…

Sighing, Sirius shook his head. It had been Regulus's own damn fault for joining Voldemort in the first place. It was his own fault he... he was... he wasn't around anymore.

It was curiosity and just a tiny bit of hope that led Sirius to look down at the note and read it instead of simply crumpling it up and chucking the thing away like garbage.

Just like the envelope had born no address, the letter did not seem to be addressed to anyone in particular either, just self-ramblings of his brother.

I'm probably going crazy, sitting here and writing to nobody in particular, moments before I go on my suicide mission.

But it's somehow easier, and since there's no one to tell my regrets to I just entrust them to an old piece of parchment I found in my brother's room. A piece of parchment won't criticize me, it won't rat me out and it won't betray me. If I am going to die I might as well get it all out.

Pureblood supremacy is rubbish. Crap. Bullshit.

The Dark Lord is a homicidal lunatic whom I should've never bothered to join.

Sirius was right.

Sirius blinked, rereading the note, not daring to believe what he'd just read. Had his brother, Regulus Arcturus Black, a corrupted Slytherin through and through, just called pureblood supremacy rubbish, crap and bullshit?

Regulus? The perfect pureblood son? He could hardly believe his eyes.

Glancing back at his brother's note, the elder Black paused to actually ask himself just how well he'd known Regulus. Because, if what was written on that paper was true, then his knowledge on his little brother had indeed been very poor.

In fact, it went against everything he knew about him.

Sirius was suddenly overcome by an urge to know more about the mysterious character that was his brother. There was a gnawing feeling inside him, what if Regulus hadn't been as bad as he'd always believed? What if... what if he'd actually seen the light in the end?

Taking a glance at the vial he was still holding in his other hand, Sirius instantly knew exactly what to do.

The dark-haired wizard got up, his brother's note and the small flask being held tightly in his hand. He lost no time leaving the library and running over to the only room he knew he could find what he needed in order to unravel the mystery that was Regulus. His father's study.

A single flick of his wand was all that was needed for the door to swing open, granting the Black heir access to the room.

Even now, years after his parents had died, Sirius couldn't shake off the feeling that he was trespassing. The house was legally his now, so, really, he shouldn't be bothered by entering a single room. But his father's study had always been off-limits to both Regulus and himself, so the times he'd been in there had been very few.

Usually after some of the more heated fights with his parents, or, to say the truth, his mother (for his father was never the kind to join his wife and son's screaming matches), he'd be called in there for a long and boring lecture.

Regulus never got those, because he was their perfect pureblood Slytherin son. Or well, that was the impression Sirius had always been under at least... until today...

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Sirius walked over to the cabinet in the corner of the room, if he remembered correctly, that was where he father used to keep his pensieve.

And sure enough, there it was, sitting innocently on top of the lowest shelf. Taking it out and placing it on the desk, Sirius uncorked the vial, pouting its contents inside. The liquid-like substance started swirling around, creating the image of something he had not seen in a long time.

The Hogwarts Express.

Regulus Black was short for his age, and that was a fact that he absolutely detested. Even now, at the age of eleven, it was something that refused to stop tormenting him.

The small black-haired child let out an annoyed huff of air as he crossed his arms in dejection, glaring at the trunk that he had been trying to heave into the overhead rack for the last twenty minutes now.

So far, he had been highly unsuccessful. He'd tried everything he knew, every single trick, and yet nothing had worked. Just what in Merlin's name had Kreacher put in there? Stones? Not only could Regulus not reach the overhead rack, but the thing was impossible to lift as well.

Just about when Regulus had been ready to give it another futile try, his compartment door was slid open, turning the eleven-year-old's attention to the newcomer.

'Sirius...!' He breathed in relief. Sirius was there! Surely his big brother would have a solution to this...!

The elder Black brother grinned at the smaller boy, ruffling his hair as he and chuckling as Regulus frowned, immediately starting to straighten out his black strands again. Regulus liked to be neat, and that annoying habit of his brother's to mess his hair up every time he saw him, could be seriously annoying.

'Hey Reg.' Sirius said, the grin apparently being permanently glued to his face. It made Regulus wonder, for his brother had hardly smiled at all during summer vacation. The only time he got that expression was when he told the younger boy of his guy... Potter one-or-the-other. Must be the excitement of seeing his friends again after two whole months... 'How's it going?'

'Um... alright... just-' Regulus turned to glance at his trunk, frowning '-you know...'

Sirius's bark-like laugh echoed through the compartment as he beamed down at his little brother, obviously amused by the younger's hardships.

'Here, let me.' He offered, pushing Regulus back and picking his trunk up, stumbling for a moment, the weight of the thing having taken him by surprise. Determined not to look lame in front of his brother though, Sirius refused to drop the trunk, forcing himself to push it on the overhead rack instead. 'Gee, Reg, I know it's going to be four months before you return home, but, Merlin, what did you pack?'

The two brothers laughed, Sirius briefly grinning at Regulus before patting him on the shoulder.

'Well, James will be waiting... see you later!' Giving his brother a quick wave, the older Black ran out of the compartment, leaving Regulus alone again.

Giving his surroundings an unsure look, he decided to just take a seat.

It wasn't long before the compartment door was slid open again, and Regulus had half-expected it to be Sirius again, but it wasn't.

'Hi.'

It was a girl.

She was smiling at him, her golden locks cascading down her shoulders and her blue eyes shining brightly. She didn't seem to be much older than himself.

'I'm sorry, would you mind if I joined you?'

Regulus simply shrugged.

'Sure.'

She smiled again, getting in and closing the door behind her.

'Thanks. I'm Amy by the way, Amy White.' She introduced herself as she sat down opposite of Regulus. This time he smiled back, oh the irony.

'Regulus Black.'

His heart was thumping like crazy, Regulus could practically hear it, heck, he wouldn't be surprised if the girl next to him could hear it...

He tried to reassure himself it'd be fine, surely the sorting wouldn't be anything too scary or difficult, right? Sirius had surely only been joking when he'd hinted at trolls and dragons and, he did not even dare think of it, werewolves... right...? They wouldn't put a bunch of eleven-year-olds up against something like that... yeah... his brother just liked exaggerating, that had to be it...

Shaking his head, Regulus turned his attention back to the stern-looking witch standing in front of them all, blinking when he suddenly realized she was no longer talking.

Oops... he'd zoned out again...

Telling them to "smarten themselves up" a bit, the woman had left the first-years to the mercy of their imagination, letting them all but worry themselves silly about what was to come. Regulus hadn't heard a lot of what the tall witch had said (his short attention span was something his mother always had said he should try to do something about), but he was certain he'd heard something about the sorting taking place in the Great Hall, in front of all of the rest of Hogwarts' population.

It was a thought that made even Regulus, who was used to big crowds, uncomfortable...

Some students were nervously whispering to one another while some others were desperately trying to flatten their hair (which, in some cases, was truly a lost cause), straighten their robes and/or adjust their ties. One or two students, obviously mudbloods, as mother always referred to them, were rehearsing all the spells they'd memorized under their breath.

Regulus stole a glimpse at Amy. She seemed considerably calm, and if it wasn't for her being this pale and fidgety Regulus would've thought she wasn't nervous at all.

The stern-looking witch returned some time later, regarding the first years for a few moments as she pursed her lips, instructing them to form a line. They were all quick to obey, Regulus getting in line just behind Amy and in front of a kid he vaguely remembered from some of the parties his parents had allowed (forced) him to attend.

Regulus, just like everyone when they entered the Great Hall for the first time ever, was mesmerized. Everything about the place was, for the lack of a better word for it, magical. With all the candles floating around, and the dark night sky above their heads... even kids that had brought up in the most rich and prestigious pureblood homes could not keep themselves from gaping.

Regulus looked around him, his eyes scanning the four tables quickly, but thoroughly, not resting until they found the person he was looking for. Sirius caught him staring and grinned at his little brother from his seat at the Gryffindor table, giving him the thumbs-up.

The younger Black smiled back, waving at the second-year before returning his attention back to the wonders of the Great Hall. He was so entranced by it, that he entirely missed the hat's start of the year song as well as the first few people to get sorted, only snapping back to reality when the stern-looking witch cried out his name.

Taking a deep breath, Regulus forced himself to remain calm as he stepped out from between the crowd of first-years, uncertainly making his way towards the stool on which the old, worn out hat was.

The younger Black brother sat down, sucking in a deep breath as he wore the hat, closing his eyes as it covered his eyes, Regulus so didn't like darkness...

There was a small chuckle from somewhere next to his ear, and the boy almost jumped in surprise.

Easy kid, I didn't mean to startle you... A raspy kind of voice whispered in Regulus's ear, causing the boy to relax as he realized it was merely the hat talking to him. It was kind of weird though... he'd never met a talking hat before... would it be the same as his mother's singing tea set?

Regulus hoped not, for the tea set never stopped singing once it started, and not only that, but it usually sounded horribly off-tune as well...

Another chuckle.

You're quite an amusing one, aren't you? The hat asked him, truly sounding amused. Well, enough chatting, lets get down to business now, shall we?

Could you please just put me in Slytherin, Mr. Hat? Regulus asked inside his mind, supposing that, since the hat had known what he was thinking earlier, he (it?) was some kind of a legimens. Hold on... could a hat even master legimency?

Obviously not, young Mr. Black, but I can assure you that I can, indeed, read your mind. The hat whispered to him again, before making a thinking sound. Slytherin, you say...? He finally murmured. I guess you wouldn't do bad there... though Gryffindor could be a good choice as well...

No, please put me in Slytherin.

Hmmm, if you insist, then... SLYTHERIN!' The last word was bellowed, earning a hefty applaud from the Slytherin table, as Regulus got up, taking the hat off his head and handing it to the stern-looking witch whose name she still did not know.

Taking his seat at the table of silver and green, Regulus smiled at Cissy as she congratulated him, smiling kindly and ruffling his hair before going back to sit with her boyfriend, Lucius Malfoy.

The younger Black boy frowned as he tried to sort his hair out again, disliking it when his relatives found that strange need to harass his hair in a way of congratulating him, uncle Alphard always did it too...

Turning to take a look at the Gryffindor table, he searched for the gaze of his brother, his smile dying down a notch when he realized Sirius wasn't smiling back at him. The older Black brother was instead focusing all his attention on the sorting, seeming to pointedly be ignoring Regulus.

But he wouldn't do that... right? Perhaps it was just Regulus's imagination.

Shaking it off, the young Slytherin turned his attention back to the sorting as well, zoning off again somewhere between the sorting of Bulstrode and Newton. Only when it was her turn, did Regulus pay attention again.

'White, Amelia.' The witch, whom had now been identified as professor McGonagall by one of the older Slytherins, called out.

Amy bit her lip, taking a deep breath to calm herself as she made her way onto the stool. Those twenty seconds of her sorting, were possibly the longest twenty seconds of Regulus's entire life. There was, after all, a 25% chance that she'd be Slytherin... that would really have been awesome... when the shout came though, Regulus was dissapointed.

'RAVENCLAW!'

Regulus walked down the hall, his silver and green badge gleaming proudly on his chest as he made his way over to the prefect wagon.

The now 15-year-old Slytherin had changed a lot since that day when he first met her. He was no longer the scrawny little first-year that had been torn between his loyalty to his parents and his admiration (hero-worship even) towards his brother.

Now, Regulus was solely devoted to his parents and the ancient and most noble house of Black, as he always should've. He had grown up quite a bit during the summer, having had a sudden growth spurt, he now looked much more like a man rather than a child.

With his silky black hair, pale skin and aristocratic features, what girl would fall head over heels in love with him?

Aurora Zabini, his fellow classmate and, apparently, prefect as well, smiled at him in a seductive kind of way. It wasn't a secret that she'd had an eye on the black-haired pureblood for a while now, but then again, the blonde had an eye on most of Hogwarts's male population.

Seeing no harm in being polite, Regulus nodded at her, taking a seat opposite of Aurora and tuning her out as she started to talk to him about something he couldn't really care less, for then, at that exact same moment, was when she stepped in.

Amy White, the girl she'd had a crush on for ages now.

Of course, Regulus was too much of a coward to tell her that. He wasn't sure what he'd do if she were to flat out reject him, they had, after all, never really shared a conversation after that one on their first meeting. She had no reason to like him back, Merlin... for all he knew, she might not even know his name...

That was just depressing.

Sighing, Regulus turned his gaze back to Amy, taking in her milky complexion and shining blue orbs, the golden hair that cascaded down her shoulders elegantly... even if she were to accept him... there was still no way in hell his family would.

Amy was, after all, a mud- no, a muggleborn.

The blonde smiled in Regulus's general direction, and the Slytherin prefect couldn't help but feel his heart rate increase, it most likely hadn't even been him she was smiling at... but Merlin, she was beautiful.

It was late in the afternoon and Regulus was sitting in the library, poured over a particularly hard essay he had to get done for Monday. Ugh, after potions, arithmency had always been his worst subject. Regulus Arcturus Black just wasn't one for numbers.

Groaning the Slytherin put down the quill and lightly banged his head against the wooden desk, not the most intelligent thing to do, but Regulus was too frustrated to care. That was, until he heard her voice.

'Do you need some help?' She asked, making Regulus jump up, his eyes wide as he stared at her. She was standing there, real and solid, Amy White. And she was talking to him. The blonde beamed at Regulus, and the feeling he always got in his stomach when she was around got stronger. He slowly nodded.

'Yeah, if you could…'

Regulus was happy, no, that didn't even begin to describe it, he was over the clouds.

Just this morning, the younger Black brother had received a letter from his cousin, Bella, informing him that the Dark Lord wanted to meet him. Him. Regulus Black. He could not wait to inform his mother of this.

She would surely be thrilled to hear of this, her youngest son (only son, as she had referred to him after the blood-traitor's disownment), would become a Death Eater at only the age of sixteen!

And what was more, word had it that Amy had broken up with her dork of a boyfriend, Damien McMillan, recently. Regulus knew that it wasn't something he should be happy about, but it wasn't like he could help it, the mere thought of the two of them fighting, brought a smile to his lips.

The stupid Hufflepuff didn't deserve Amy, she was just so sweet, smart, kind and beautiful, she could do much better than that idiot.

As he passed by McMillan in the Charms corridor, Regulus couldn't help but throw him a smug look.

It was the worst day of his entire bloody life.

First, he'd woken up with his hair bleached in the most hideous hues of red and golden, undoubtedly a birthday present from his dear brother, Sirius. The git. He had then managed to get detention for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, getting blamed for something Peeves did, and by the time he got to transfiguration, there was only half an hour class time left so McGonagall saw it only fitting that he lose house points for his tardiness.

So yeah, Regulus's day wasn't going particularly well, but it was what he saw on his way to the library, that really ruined his day.

Sirius. Snogging.

And that on its own wasn't such an unusual sight, Regulus had many times found himself thinking that Sirius was rather like a male whore to the Hogwarts female population, he didn't hold a girlfriend for more than a couple of weeks but had probably slept with all of them.

What really ticked him off wasn't the sight of his brother snogging, it was who he was snogging with.

Amy White.

The girl he had been in love with for years.

It figured he'd steal her, that black-haired Slytherin supposed, his stupid brother always had had more than him, no matter how hard he tried, Sirius was always superior to him in any and every way possible.

He was better-looking, had better grades and, if it wasn't for being disowned two years ago, would be the heir to the Black fortune. It figured the git would steal the only girl he ever loved. Clenching his fists so hard that his nails dug through his skin, Regulus turned around and walked off.

His only reassuring thought had been that Sirius would keep her for a week or two and then dump her, but that didn't happen. A month had passed, and they were still together.

It was now officially a taboo for Regulus to use the words "Amy", "Sirius", "girlfriend" or "boyfriend". He found himself hexing anyone he heard say them, it might not even have been about the particular topic, or the people in question, but he found he just didn't care.

People started avoiding him like the plague, the other Slytherins thinking that he was just upkeeping his Slytherin facade, something which led him to quickly rise through the ranks, even though that had in no way been his initial intention.

Soon, Regulus found himself sitting among the older, more popular Slytherins, but they didn't know about Amy… no one did.

He was sure that he wouldn't be nearly this popular if they knew the change in character had all been caused by his blood-traitor of a brother dating his life-long crush, who just happened to be a muggleborn.

Regulus had always thought that nothing good could come from fighting, it was always happening around his house and they never came to a civil agreement whatsoever.

This time though, he knew he'd won, no matter if he was the one in the hospital wing, covered in anti-burn potions, wounds and a broken arm.

Sure, Sirius had won the fight, but now Amy hated him, so frankly, this could be considered a win. Her shouts about Sirius being a git and a prat were music to his ears, he couldn't help but enjoy it, he couldn't help but smile, even if it hurt his split-up lip, she was standing up for him.

For once, Regulus was happy for his brother's stupid pride and stubbornness, he downright refused to come apologize to Regulus, which was perfectly fine with the youngest Black brother as Amy was angry about it. He felt his mood lighten a bit, maybe it would lead to their breakup, he thought hopefully.

Regulus looked around the quidditch pitch for the golden gleam of the snitch, his attention focused solely on the game, determined to make this game his win. The sky was clear, the sun shining brightly over their head, but it wasn't too cold, truly the perfect weather for quidditch. Today, he would try his best, because today he simply had to win. Of course, he always tried his best for his house, but today was simply different. Because she was there. Amy White had come to see his quidditch match, even though Ravenclaw wasn't even playing.

If it wasn't for Regulus still being angry at Sirius and despising him to the core of his very being, the Slytherin would've gladly ran over to his brother and hugged him, eternally grateful for ever making this miracle happen, even if ultimately that hadn't been the older Black's intention to begin with.

After their fight, Amy had come to see him, apologizing on his brother's behalf (who never did show up in the end) and striking up a conversation, trying to make him feel better. She had come back day after day until he had finally been healed and somewhere along all those shorts visits and smalltalk they had shared, Amy seemed to have taken a liking to him. Regulus couldn't possibly describe in words the sheer happiness he'd felt when she agreed to come watch him on his match against Hufflepuff that weekend.

And there she was, a speck of blue among the seas of green, he couldn't hear what she was saying for he was too far away, but Regulus knew she was cheering on him. And that made butterflies erupt in his stomach, what a weird feeling it was. So warm... and nice.

This win, Regulus decided, would be for her. And he dove.

The crowd was cheering, it was chanting his house's name over and over again as he held the snitch high up in the air, grinning happily at his success. They had won the quidditch cup, and together with it, the house cup. Cheering Slytherins were everywhere, jumping up and down and chanting something about them being the winners and the others being losers, but Regulus couldn't really bring himself to care about any of that now.

As he dismounted his broom, earning a slight pat on the shoulder from Montague, his team's quidditch captain, he didn't care about any of that. Quickly shooing his teammates who had all started to gather around him, holding the newly received quidditch cup and shooting fireworks up in the air (Regulus suspected that one would earn Rosier a detention from McGonagall, who was looking quite livid as she made her way over to the overjoyed Slytherins), he left the quidditch pitch, his eyes searching the large crowd rappidly.

His smile couldn't possibly get any bigger as he saw her, running over to him, her blonde curls bouncing up and down beautifully.

'You did it!' She exclaimed, throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Regulus staggered, surprised by such a bold move having come from Amy all of a sudden. Her hair smelled like strawberries, he noticed with a hint of surprise, how come he'd never noticed? He rather liked it though, it suited her.

Regulus wasn't sure what exactly overcame him that moment, but his body acted on its own accord, pushing her back and leaning in again to smash their lips together. She was surprised, and at first did nothing, but as Regulus started to curse himself, wondering if he could still pull away and beg her for forgiveness, she responded, kissing back as she deepened the kiss.

It that at that moment that he knew. He didn't care if she was a mudblood, he didn't care if he was a pureblood, the heir to the most noble and ancient house of Black. It didn't matter. For her, he realized, he'd gladly give up everything. To hell with blood purity, just this once, just for her, he'd make an exception.

No one ever knew of their relationship, not at Hogwarts, and most certainly not after it. They never told anyone, because it was too dangerous, it was too risky. Regulus had gone to great ends to keep what they had a secret, he had mastered the skill of occlumency so that no one could get into his mind, for if they found out that he, a Death Eater, was in love with a muggleborn, a mudblood, the Dark Lord would kill them both. And he could not live knowing that he put her in danger, but at the same time, he couldn't pull away either. She was like a drug. And he just couldn't get enough of her.

Looking around the shabby pub, Regulus immediately spotted her, sitting at a table on her own, sipping some butterbeer as she drummed her fingers against the wooden table rather nervously.

Waving at her, he hurried over to his girlfriend, smiling a little as he sat down, his gray eyes surveying the woman that he knew so well for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.

'Amy? Is something wrong?' The young wizard asked, leaning in to push a few of her loose strands of blonde hair behind her ear, worried eyes inspecting his lover. She shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze and preferred to fiddle with the cuffs of her robe.

'Reg... there's something I need to tell you.' Regulus blinked, her uncomfortable look making him nervous as well, his mind already starting to formulate plans in case things came to the worst. In the worst case scenario, they could just grab their wands (which they always carried on them anyways, these days being dangerous and all), get Kreacher to apparate them to that estate the Blacks had in France, make some fake muggle identities and-

'W-wait...! Calm down, it's- it's nothing like what you're probably thinking...!' Amy quickly interjected, pulling him out of his thoughts. 'I- I'm not danger... well, no immediate danger at least...'

'Oh...' Regulus nodded. 'That's good then... so no Death Eaters on your tail?'

'No.' Amy smiled.

'None?'

'None at all.' Nodding again, Regulus ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. He'd gone and jumped to conclusions again.

'Alright then... go on.' Amy swallowed once, putting her hand on Regulus's and closing her eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking up.

'I-I'm pregnant.'

It was a cold night as they all stood there, kneeling before the pale man that was their Lord. No one dared speak as he surveyed them all, looking unnaturally happy for some reason for which they did not yet know.

'Rise.' The Dark Lord's voice was cold, it chilled him to the bone, but nonetheless Regulus obeyed, getting up together with all of his fellow Death Eaters.

Next to him, his cousin Bellatrix stood. She was a beautiful young woman, and as she gazed at the man in front of them adoringly, Regulus couldn't help but ponder over how much she'd changed. Sure, she might've never been the good little girl type, but she had never been this. She might've been selfish and mean sometimes, more often than not condescending of anyone that wasn't related to her by blood (anyone who wasn't a pureblood in other words, for all of them were related somehow), but she had never been downright evil. Not like she was now.

The Bellatrix he knew might've done little to help out a man in pain (no matter if that man was her comrade or enemy), but the old Bellatrix would never raise her wand and purposely inflict him more pain, just for her own sadistic amusement. Not because she was compassionate of course, but most likely simply because she didn't care.

It scared Regulus sometimes, how she could kill as if it was something easy, enjoyable even. How she would run back to her Lord then, to announce him the good news. He'd seen the changes in many of his fellow classmates and Slytherins, and if he had to be honest about it, then yes, it did scare him.

It scared him a lot.

And he was starting to think that... that maybe, just maybe, joining the Dark Lord had not been that good of an idea. But he couldn't let that show. Not now. Not now that Amy needed him more than ever, now that his son or daughter would need him more than ever.

'Snape informed me of something most... interesting the other day...' Voldemort spoke softly, surveying all of his followers with a cold smile... all of his servants, slaves, was more like it, Regulus thought then, frowning. 'A prophecy has apparently be made... and it seems that I will be defeated by a child born this July...'

There was a roar of protests from his followers, but the man silenced them with a wave of his hand. 'What we will do is simple,' He went on 'We will eliminate the obstacle before it can become an obstacle. I want you all to keep your eyes and ears open, any family with an unborn child due in July might be the one. Go now, and return with good news.' There was a collective murmur of "yes my lord"s before they all disapparated.

Regulus felt sick as he collapsed down in an armchair in Grimmauld Place, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The Dark Lord wanted to kill a child... he wanted to kill and unborn baby. That was just sick.

But it was then that it suddenly hit him. Amy.

She was due in July.

Without another word he dissaparated.

'I'll protect you, both of you. I promise.' Regulus said kissing Amy on her lips, squeezing her hand reassuringly as to offer her some sort of comfort. Her belly had grown a considerable amount in the past few months and she couldn't help but smile as she placed a hand on top of it. 'I'm onto something,' Regulus said then, turning to his lover again, his face serious 'I think I've found out something very important about the Dark Lord… I just need to make sure.'

'I know…' She sighed smiling sadly. 'Just don't… do anything rash, okay? Be careful, take whatever information you have to Dumbledore, he'll know what to do with it.'

Regulus nodded.

'I will, once I'm sure.' He sighed then, running a hand through his black hair. 'It sounds unbelievable though, even for the Dark Lord… such magic… it's downright evil.'

'Well, he is evil.' Amy reminded him

'Yes, of course. But still…' They stayed in silence for a while until Amy suddenly let out a squeal of delight, making Regulus jump ten feet in the air and turn to look at her bewildered, his wand already halfway out of his cape. 'Wha-'

'Oh Reg, he's kicking…!' She exclaimed, grabbing his hand before he could protest and pushing it against her belly. Regulus thought he felt nothing, but then suddenly the baby kicked and a smile got formed on his lips.

'I bet he's going to be just like Sirius…' He said, grinning in amusement and imagining a mini-Sirius running around the house, playing on his toy broomstick and stealing cookies out of the cookie jar. His black hair combined with Amy's curls... and her eyes... yes. Those beautiful blue eyes, always sparkling with energy and happiness. Amy smiled as couple shared a look.

They were sitting in Amy's house that evening, or well, the safe house Regulus had set up for her anyway. It was one of those few rare evenings that they got to spent time together and currently Regulus was toying with a sneakoscope that had gone bonkers, trying to fix the thing but it kept going off as he tried to hold it. Amy sat next to him, a thick book opened up in her lap.

'How about Dean then? I've always liked the name…'

'Hmm, it's definitely better than being named after some star in a constellation Merlin -knows-where... half of the time people can't even pronounce your name correctly...' Regulus said absentmindedly as he tried to get the stupid sneakoscope to shut up. It was truly a lost case though, for the thing just refused to shut down.

'I suppose so… but it's not really such a bad custom though you know... it's rather interesting actually...'

'Would you like our son to be called Pollux?' Regulus deadpanned, raising an eyebrow at the blonde, who simply giggled.

'No thanks, I think I'll pass.' With that she returned her attention to her book again and they sat in silence for a while longer, the only sound being that coming from the crazy sneakoscope. 'Imagine naming your child Dudley,' Amy spoke up at one point, snorting. 'I'd pity the child.' Rolling her eyes, she turned the book's page over.

There was another silence only interrupted by the shrieking sneakoscope. And it went on for a while... and a while longer... and-

'Ugh. I give up. Just buy a new one, this one's useless.' Regulus grumbled finally, throwing the damn thing to the ground, letting out an exasperated sigh and folding his arms over his chest.

'How about Sirius, Reg?'

'Sirius?' Regulus blinked, lifting his head to look at the girl sitting next to him. She shrugged.

'Well, only if you want of course, but-'

'Sirius, Alexander from your father, Black… could be worse…'

'So you're okay with it?' The young man grinned.

'Sure, why not?'

When Regulus returned to Amy's house that Friday night, he wasn't ready for the sight he was met with.

He felt as if his heart stopped beating right then and there as his eyes met the the big green skull that was hovering over her house, a snake coming out of its mouth. He knew that mark. He knew it all too well, and as he looked at it, cold sweat drenching him and a nasty feeling arising in the pit of his stomach, Regulus could only pray to the gods that he wasn't right. That this was the wrong house. Or that she had not listened to him and had recklessly gone out in the middle of the night for whatever the reason.

'Amy!' He cried out as he ran into the house, his heart thumping fast as tears gathered in his eyes. Please, please, please. Anything, just not Amy. 'Amy!' He could hardly force his voice to call out her name, it was becoming hard for him to do anything.

Please. Please. I beg you.

'Amy!'

He found her lying in the bedroom and his heart froze over painfully as he stared at the motionless woman just lying on the floor. Her eyes were empty, open in horror as she looked at what had undoubtedly been a flash of green before she died. Her wand was still on the bed, and Regulus knew that they hadn't even given her the chance to protect herself. They had just killed her.

Regulus's legs gave in and he fell on the floor, she was gone, she was dead and he hadn't been there to protect her and their unborn child, Voldemort had gotten to her first.

Regulus hadn't cried in years, he was no child, but now he just couldn't hold them back any longer. He crawled over to Amy and held her, he held her tight and he cried, he cried all night. He'd lost everything that was important to him, he'd lost Sirius when he was a child and now he'd lost not only Amy but their child as well, for all that he cried. He cried until there were no more tears left to shed and until his throat was hoarse from screaming.

And then... then he got up, a determined look crossing his features. The Dark Lord would pay. He'd pay for all the misery he'd caused, all the families he'd ripped apart, Regulus would make sure of it, even if he had to sacrifice himself in order to do so.

You just wait Riddle... I'm going to destroy you.

He was going to avenge Amy and their baby.

Gently picking up Amy and putting her on the bed, he dissaparated without looking back.

Regulus was ready.

Fifteen years later, back in Grimmauld place, Sirius stumbled back, his eyes wide as he clutched the vial that was still in his hand. He had to lean against his father's desk for support as he breathed in and out heavily, still in a shock from everything he had just found out.

He really hadn't known his little brother at all, had he? Sirius choked back a sob as he remembered the aurors finding Amy White's body in her bed on that morning in June, just a months before Harry's birth. He had been called to identify her.

He remembered being surprised to find out she was pregnant, but never, ever, had the thought of the child being his brother's ever passed his mind. He felt disgusted with himself, he felt sick as he thought of how... how he'd suspected Reggie...

He'd always thought he was the typical Slytherin, a git and a pureblood maniac, but he was so much more like himself, and he saw that now. He wondered how he'd never seen it, the kid was a Gryffindor deep down, a true one. And for a moment Sirius allowed himself a smile, the heart of the Leo constellation, huh? It really did suit his little brother.

He hadn't died trying to back out of the Death Eaters, as Sirius had always thought, he'd died trying to bring Voldemort down, he'd died the death of a hero. Sirius slid down to the ground and did what he should've done years ago, when he received the news of Regulus's death.

He cried for the death of his baby brother.