"Lucius, I would like for you to meet our latest recruit," the Dark Lord spoke. "He'll be going with you and the others on the raid tonight."
"Yes, my Lord," Lucius replied as he followed his master into the main study at the Riddle House.
Lucius was taken completely by surprise when he saw who it was that was standing in the middle of the study.
Regulus Black.
Sixteen-year-old Regulus Black.
And apparently, he was now a Death Eater.
What had the boy been thinking?
"I believe you know him already, Lucius," the Dark Lord smiled. "He is, after all, your wife's cousin and a shining example of a proper Pureblood. Not like that treacherous brother of his."
The Dark Lord then directed his attention to the younger of the two Black brothers. "You are a good boy, aren't you, Regulus? And you want to redeem your family name, don't you?"
"My brother was a mistake, my Lord," Regulus replied. "I, on the other hand, am ready and eager to serve you. I will not rest until us Purebloods rule the world."
"Good answer," the Dark Lord laughed, but it was an unpleasant and chilling sound. "I will now leave you and Lucius to discuss the raid tonight. Lucius will be in charge, so you will follow his lead."
"Yes, my Lord," Regulus responded.
The Dark Lord nodded his head at Lucius before turning to leave the room.
Lucius barely had the presence of mind to acknowledge the Dark Lord's nod, but he managed to nod back at the last moment.
He couldn't believe what Regulus had done. What had the boy been thinking?
As soon as the Dark Lord was gone, Lucius looked at Regulus in disbelief. The younger man, however, was beaming with excitement.
"You can't imagine how excited I was when the Dark Lord actually accepted me, Lucius," Regulus said happily, "especially considering that I'm still in Hogwarts. I can't wait to tell my parents. They will be so proud of me. This will make up for all the disappointment and shame that Sirius has caused them.
"And, Lucius, I'm so glad that you're going to be in charge tonight. Please don't think less of me, but I am a little nervous. This is my first raid, after all, and my first mission for the Dark Lord. I know, though, that I can count on you. You don't have to worry about me causing you any problems, Lucius. I will gladly follow your lead. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it without any hesitation."
Lucius held up a hand to stop Regulus's excited chatter.
The smile on Regulus's smile faded when he saw the serious expression on the older man's face.
"What's wrong, Lucius?" Regulus asked. "I would think that you would be happy. We've always gotten along very well, after all."
"Yes, we have," Lucius admitted. "But because we have always gotten along so well, I know you. I know what's really deep inside you."
Lucius rolled up his left sleeve, exposing his Dark Mark.
"And this," Lucius spoke, pointing at his Mark, "is not you. You were never meant for this type of life, Regulus."
The younger man looked crestfallen at Lucius's words.
"How can you say that, Lucius?" Regulus asked in both disbelief and sadness. "I'm a proper Pureblood. I've always been a proper Pureblood. And you know that I've always looked up to you."
"You are a naïve little boy," Lucius hissed. "You don't know what it really means to be a Death Eater. You don't know what will be required of you. Why didn't you come to me first, you fool, before you got the brilliant idea of joining the Dark Lord? Now it's too late for you. They will be no backing out. Your fate is sealed, and there's not much I can do to protect you."
"I don't understand, Lucius," Regulus said. "Why are you speaking like this? You're a Death Eater. What's the problem with me being one as well? And what makes you think that I won't be able to handle whatever will be required of me? I'm ready, Lucius. I'm ready to take on the world. I really am. Why don't you believe me?"
"You and I are not the same," Lucius sighed. "I have no problem with doing what is required of me. Both the Dark Lord and my father destroyed my soul when I was a boy. You, on the other hand, may believe the ideas; but you don't truly embrace them. Look at how you treat your house-elf, for instance."
"What's wrong with how I treat Kreacher?" Regulus frowned.
"He's as bitter and as spiteful as my father's favorite house-elf Brenan," Lucius snarled, "yet you have always insisted on treating him like a friend. You're much too kind for your own good, Regulus. You don't have the heart for any of this. You won't be able to do what the Dark Lord commands."
"What's going to be required of me, Lucius?" Regulus asked, his youthful voice now reflecting nervousness instead of excitement.
"You're going to see tonight," Lucius replied sadly.
"What should I do?" Regulus asked fearfully.
"Stay close to me," Lucius responded. "I'll look after you as best as I can. But afterwards, Regulus, I don't know. You've taken the Mark. You now belong to the Dark Lord until the day you die."
Regulus gulped, his youthful, innocent face now the perfect picture of pure terror.
"Surely it won't be as bad as you're making it out to be," he tried to insist.
Lucius just shook his head.
"You should have come to me first," he said.
It was even worse than Lucius had said. All the screaming. All the chaos. There were houses on fire. There were dead bodies everywhere. There were Muggles (including women and children) running for their lives, only for them to quickly be cut down by a flash of green light.
And there was laughter as well, cruel laughter coming from the Death Eaters with them.
Even though it was loud, Regulus was still able to hear every body that fell to the ground, dead.
There were so many dead bodies.
Was this truly what the Dark Lord and his parents had meant whenever they had said that Muggles needed to be eliminated?
How could he have been so foolish?
Regulus felt like he wanted to be sick.
He wanted to just collapse to the ground himself.
Lucius, however, was by his side; and the older man caught him and supported him every time he was about to fall.
"Keep it together, Regulus," Lucius said, his voice somehow both gentle and sharp at the same time. "I got you."
"When will it be over?" Regulus gasped.
"It will never be over," Lucius answered darkly.
Regulus wanted to cry, but all his years of proper Pureblood training helped him to somehow keep his composure.
He truly had not been thinking when he had sought out the Dark Lord.
Regulus had just wanted to redeem his family name and to make his family proud after Sirius had disappointed and shamed them.
But he had not wanted any of this.
Why had he not gone to Lucius first?