One witch and one wizard appeared, out of thin air, on the corner of a street Regulus was starting to know very well. Bellatrix walked before him quietly down the road and then pointed her wand at the gate and whispered a complicated string of spells. It noiselessly opened. She had explained this to him, the enchantments that had kept Rookwood and him out last time would only have been strengthened, and Lord Voldemort had used a couple of traitors that he had working in the Ministry to find out what they were and the best way to defeat them. Bellatrix had absolutely no chance of failure, Regulus knew. And he was glad that he was going to be there for the success. A Bella's nod, Regulus took a step forward and turned into the darkness, reappearing twenty feet ahead of where he had just been standing, Bella one pace behind him. The two of them crept to the kitchen door that opened onto the yard they were both standing in. Regulus kept himself behind the wall, watching carefully as Bella, as if in slow motion, took a step forward, directed her wand at the lock and sent green, glowing light shooting through it until it slammed open to smack against the bricks not three feet away from him. Alice appeared in the doorway, her expression of shock changing to one of fear as her husband appeared behind her, carrying the newborn Regulus had seen the last time.

Two swift Disarming charms rid the two Longbottoms of their wands.

'Put the baby down,' enunciated Bella, pointed at Frank.

'No!' he yelled, 'I won't! This is our…ah!' His hands shook and he fell to the floor as the Cruciatus curse hit him square in the chest. Alice dived for him, saving the baby from falling to the dirt, and then moved to put it down out of harm's way.

'Crucio!' yelled Bella, again, and no sooner had the baby touched the floor that Alice crumpled under the torture curse too, writhing on the ground next to her husband. She didn't let up the curse on either of the, and they both screamed and twisted on the ground, in the grip of their terrible pain. Finally, she flicked her wand skywards and the two of them stumbled shakily to their feet.

'Pick up the baby, Reg,' Bella demanded of Regulus, and he crossed the yard in four quick strides and pulled the baby roughly into his arms, hating it as he did so.

'Now,' Bella said delicately, twirling her wand between her fingertips as she spoke silkily to the Longbottoms,

'You will tell me what I want to know…you will…' She seemed to find it almost comical that she could expend such power over the two of them,

'…or I will torture you until you are too empty to say anything…to anyone…' she added, almost as an afterthought.

Regulus watched, holding the baby, as the two of them fell to the ground time after time, crying out, but not giving way under the increasing tortures that Bella was inflicting on them. They looked so pathetic that Regulus almost forgot who they were, and began to feel sorry for them. Almost. But,

'Fine!' snapped Bella, no longer speaking eloquently and smoothly,

'The baby is at stake. Regulus, point your wand at the snivelling thing…' He directed his wand at the baby's heart, but at that moment, the baby opened it's eyes and looked at him, almost pleadingly. Regulus told himself it was stupid, babies didn't plead…and who cared, they deserved no mercy.

'Regulus!' screamed Bella, 'Kill it!'

Regulus raised his wand, even opened his mouth, but…somehow, just couldn't do it.

'Idiot!' she hissed, 'I'll do it! Hand it –'

And that was the last he heard before he stepped and turned into the night and Apparated away from the scene, far away, to the only place that he knew where to go. His parent's house. He had to get out. He couldn't do what Bella, and the Dark Lord, and Rookwood and everyone wanted him to do. He just couldn't, he wasn't like that. Regulus had always thought he was, it had been bred into him, but…he couldn't explain it. And now he had a plan. He couldn't return to the Death Eaters, he couldn't just show up to the Order, he would have to fight on his own. But first, the infant.

He closed his eyes and Apparated onto Charring Cross Road, near the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.

'Excuse me, sir,' he grabbed the arm of the first person that walked by, a man with greying hair in a dapper suit that was hurrying along rather anxiously.

'Where is the nearest orphanage. Abandoned child, you see…' The man pointed down the road, and then hurried off. Regulus stated walking in the direction that he had been shown, until he came across what looked like a rundown townhouse, but which had a sign on the outside. Pushing open the door, Regulus handed the child to the first person he saw, an oldish woman in long robes. She told him that they would try and find the family, all the time looking at his travel-worn robes oddly, as if she couldn't quite figure him out.

Hurrying back out, Regulus debated what to do. He knew that he would soon be dead, the Dark Lord wouldn't tolerate a Death Eater simply walking away. Abandoning their duty. Bellatrix would never forgive him, his family would never speak to him again. He felt such a strong surge of hate for them all at that moment; Bella for being willing to kill the baby, the Dark Lord, on whose orders both the Longbottoms were probably dead by now. His family, for teaching him all his life that he was superior because of his 'pure blood'. All of it, he hated all of it. Almost running into the Leaky Cauldron, he made up his mind. He would stay there, and then the next morning he would go into Diagon Alley, take the shortcut into Knockturn Alley, and then research through the books on Dark Arts until he found something that could help him. It was the only plan he had, but at that moment, he felt so incredibly tired that it was all he needed.