Say It, Say It Now
"Other than that, I must say that he was pleased with my work." Regulus' eyes glinted as he looked at his parents.
"Excellent, simply excellent," Walburga said and clapped her hands together. "You've done us proud, my son."
Orion could only dip his head in Regulus' direction, not fooled by the false smirk his son wore. Regulus wasn't telling them about his progress in the Pureblood cause, or how pleased his 'master' was; he was seeking approval, asking if one piece of praise from the self-proclaimed 'Dark Lord' would be enough to save him from the man's wrath in the event future mishaps occurred.
Tell him, a voice in Orion's head urged, Tell your son to quit while he is ahead.
Regulus turned his head his way, returning the nod. The boy's smirk grew as he seemed to take Orion's nod as a gesture of support.
Orion didn't correct him. Instead, he snapped his fingers at the house-elf to bring him a drink—a drink that would, hopefully, drown the voice out.
Ever since Regulus had announced that he would bring further pride to the Black name by joining the Pureblood cause, Orion's head had been filled with the nagging voice. It urged him to speak up with the truth, to tell his son that pride could not be found in blindly obeying a man who treated Purebloods as nothing more than his slave. Orion had done his best to ignore it, but as time passed and more details of The Dark Lord's plans emerged—the tamer, less confidential plans, at that—the more Orion feared that the voice was right.
"I think I made the right decision joining him," Regulus said, turning his smirk back to his mother.
You know he didn't. Remind him now that it's not too late to back out of this downward spiral.
"Of course you did," Walburga cooed, picking up a goblet. "You shall try your hardest to keep in his favour—you could be his right-hand man in no time."
The Dark Lord is never pleased for long. No one stays in his favour; it is hard enough to gain in the first place.
"Yes, Mother."
"Wouldn't you agree, Orion?" Walburga asked.
Blinking, Orion tried to shake away the insistent voice in his head. He focused on his son, seeing the same, approval-seeking look within his eyes. It was as though his son was asking him if he believed in his abilities, if he really could win the Dark Lord's favour.
Discourage him. Say no; say no now, before it really is too late and you lose another son.
Orion cleared his throat, the voice echoing around his head. "I think you need to practice your skills before trying to step foot in a man's job. Playing right-hand man is not a position for a boy."
The smirk disappeared from his son's face. "Yes, Father."
There you go; he will be safe now.
Orion felt uncomfortable, but the voice reminded him that he was right.
A/N: This story was written for the Star Gazer's Club on The Golden Snitch forum (which I encourage you to come and join ;)). Write about a character of your choice trying to save someone they deeply care for, but ultimately failing.
This challenge was designed by Dessie (desertredwolf):
Write about a character of your choice trying to save someone they deeply care for but ultimately failing.
Optional prompts: (word) spiral, (quote) "There are no safe choices. Only other choices.", (emotion) hope, (word) truth
Word count: 498 words
We all know Regulus' fate, but at this time, Orion is hopeful that he has put a stop to losing his son in his own, emotionless way.
I hope you enjoyed it!