Chapter Title – The Other Black
Ginny was growing restless. Another month passed without any word from Harry or even Hedwig. Wherever she went, the mirror that Harry gave her was always with her. She constantly stole glances at it whenever she could, hoping that one time she would see Harry Potter's face. Instead, she only saw her worn self. She looked utterly different than she had the previous year. Huge bags resided under her dull brown eyes. Her red hair was always tousled and pulled back in a messy ponytail. Her skin was pale and sunken and there was no doubt that she lost a considerable amount of weight.
It was towards the end of April, during breakfast, when a snowy white owl came souring into the Great Hall and made its way towards Ginny. Hedwig launched her beak into Ginny's pumpkin juice. The redhead looked frantically for a note from Harry, but there was none. Why wouldn't Harry write her back? It was unconceivable, and it frustrated the hell out of her. A thousand thoughts started filling her head. Tortured. Captured. Injured. Hospitalized. Trapped. Stuck. Dead.
Ginny glanced up at the professor's table to notice that Remus and Aberforth Dumbledore were absent. Although, it wasn't surprising that Dumbledore failed to grace his presence, since he had not been at Hogwarts for nearly two weeks. It was announced that Dumbledore would be taking a holiday for an undisclosed amount of time and Hogwarts would be without a Transfiguration teacher until his return. It wasn't only Ginny who thought this was strange, but then again, Aberforth Dumbledore was bound to be the strangest person she met in her short life. The question was, where did he go when war was breaking out all over Europe?
Worry consuming her, Ginny left Hedwig and exited the Great Hall while well aware that everyone was staring at her as she went. She needed to tell Remus about Hedwig's lack of response. What if something happened to Harry? What if he was hurt… or worse? She couldn't think about it as something hard formed in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to scream, cry, and break something all at the same time just to make that feeling go away. If anything happened to him then she didn't know what she'd do. She didn't know how she could go on.
She arrived at Remus's office and knocked twice before letting herself in. There, in the middle of the room, was a man she thought she'd never see again. His posture was straight and rigid like it always was. His black hair was long and fell into his stark white face. His eyes were a darker gray than she had ever seen them. His face was contracted in what was anything but recognition. He seemed slightly nervous all of a sudden and his eyes darted around the room.
"You're not Lupin," the man said anxiously.
"Sirius?" whispered Ginny.
"Uh… no," he replied suddenly seemingly uncomfortable, "though I can guess why you thought that. I'm Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother."
"You're dead!" she objected.
"Oh, the wonder that is a conscious." Regulus smirked. "Always had one, and it always bit me in the backside."
Ginny slowly reached her hand into her robes and clenched her wand tightly in her hand. She lowered it out of her pocket and tucked it into the sleeve of her robe. Dropping her hand to her side, Ginny's eyes flickered from Regulus's face down to his hands to see if there was a wand. Confusion filled her as she noticed the man didn't seem to be interested if he was armed or not.
"I take it you are the werewolf's secret love child or something like that?"
The blunt comment made Ginny's insides freeze. How could he be so indifferent about something so serious? He made it sound like Remus was a monster, something that he was far from. It made her blood boil for some odd reason. She felt very protective not only towards Harry, but towards Remus as well. Remus had been there for her in the past year, fully understanding what she felt and what she was going through. Remus just wasn't any adult or professor to her… Remus and Ginny were friends.
"Ginny Weasley," she said callously. "Would there have been a problem if I was a werewolf?"
"It would not affect me, dear, so why would I care?"
"What do you want?"
"I am looking for Sirius Black," he said aloofly. "My brother, you know. There is something we need to discuss that is of the utmost importance."
He doesn't know. He doesn't know. He doesn't know. The words echoed in Ginny's head. How couldn't he know? It was all over the British papers, "Mass murderer Sirius Black was proved innocent shortly after his untimely death in the unspoken Department of Mysterious in the Ministry of Magic." How couldn't he have seen it?
"Sirius is dead…" she whispered.
"Pardon me?" Regulus's eyes opened wide and his body slumped slightly forward from his rigid position.
"He died in battle."
Regulus didn't say anything. He stood in the middle of the room looking as though he was remembering something horrible, something that was buried in the back of his mind. His eyes were glossy and his mouth hung slightly open. As though he realized what he was doing, he snapped back to his proper self.
As though on cue, Remus Lupin came strolling into the office. He abruptly stopped at the scene before him with a look of alarm on his face. His eyes shifted from Ginny to Regulus back to Ginny. Slowly, he closed the door and made his way into the room, his hand reaching down to grip his wand.
"What is going on?" he asked.
"Mister Lupin, long time no see. I am sure that you are well, due to the fact that you have a very well paying job. It has not been since you were the ripe age of seventeen. Remember, we both had obligations of the prefect position under the leadership of Potter and Evans."
Ginny was confused. It was as though Regulus was talking to Remus as though they were old friends, only in an unnecessary proper tone. Ginny felt a hand grip her shoulder and gently pull her backwards. She could feel her back hit Remus's chest. Ever so slightly, his grip tightened and his jaw locked. She'd never seen the look that graced Remus's face before. His eyes were narrowed and dark. His lips were pulled back in a slight sneer. His cool composure was gone and replaced what Ginny thought was anger.
"Vaguely," Remus replied coldly. "I heard you died."
"The illusions between life and death are shadowy if not impossible to see."
"You have always been so cryptic, Regulus. Your views on what was right and wrong have always and will always remain confused within your head. Tell me, why are you here blowing your nice cover of being a man who was pulled out of a river back in 1979."
"That was not me in the river." Regulus smiled softly. "Just one of the many delusions that I and a colleague of mine orchestrated."
"Colleague?" questioned Remus. "You mean fellow Death Eater, I'm sure."
"Fellow Death Eater who wanted what I wanted," Regulus corrected. "A way out of the mess we created for ourselves."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Would you believe me if I told you?" he challenged. "I think not, Mister Lupin. You see, my colleague and I have been in contact with each other since the events of last spring."
"Last spring? You mean when Severus Snape murdered Albus Dumbledore?"
"Precisely."
Ginny looked up at Remus and then towards Regulus. She was trying so hard to follow what the two were talking about. She could tell there was bitterness in the words that Remus spoke and there was a proper elegant in the words that emitted from Regulus. The two were so different, but yet both seemed to be lost and deprived.
"I heard of Sirius's demise." Regulus sighed.
"I am sure you have heard of many demises."
"Not really," he replied. "America really does not supply the news of the happenings of Europe. Though in the Daily Wizard's Tribune, they did talk about how the Dark Lord was back and reigning tyranny all over England."
"Who exactly is your colleague, Regulus?"
"Why Severus Snape, of course."
A silver mist emitted somewhere behind the two teens and dashed its way through the bars. Ginny turned her head – as a sharp pain shot through her whole body – to see that Snape was standing behind them with a very pale third year boy leaning up against his side.
Ginny's eyes drooped, but she fought to keep them open. The Gryffindor tried to speak to Snape, but found her throat oddly dry. Her whole body felt as though it were on fire. Ginny found the strength to ask, "What are you doing?" Snape turned towards her with a mild look of shock on his face, but it quickly left to be replaced with his usual sullen sneer.
"Saving your life, Weasley," he answered coldly as he shot another silver mist from his wand.
"You're a murderer," Ginny hissed in a low voice. "You murdered Dumbledore."
"Potter didn't see what he thought he saw," Snape retorted bitterly. "His mind cannot even begin to comprehend what he doesn't understand. Draco, leave her. We have to go. The Dementors should be arriving soon."
Every since that day when the annihilation of Hogsmeade occurred, Ginny couldn't help but think that maybe – just maybe – that Severus Snape really wasn't working with the Death Eaters. He saved her life. Why would a Death Eater want to save a sixteen-year-old girl labeled as a blood-traitor? It didn't make any sense.
"You think telling me that you are in good connections with Severus is going to make me believe you are a good man?"
"Believe what you want, Mister Lupin."
"So, you're saying that Snape was ordered to kill you but he didn't?" asked Ginny. "Because you two were the black sheep in the Death Eater circle. You two wanted out of the ranks so Snape gave you another chance to live?"
Regulus looked over at the small redhead, a slight glimmer shining in his yes. It was the same look that Sirius gave her so many times at Grimmauld Place when she was fourteen. It was unnerving but comforting at the same time. The two brothers were more alike than anyone ever gave them credit for.
"Severus was ordered to kill me. He told me of the plot. I took care of some unfinished business before I was to be killed. I knew that Severus would have to carry out the deed. There was no use for both of us to be dead." Regulus paused to take a glance at Remus. "Severus, however, had other plans. We murdered a Death Eater by the name of Brent Paddock. Severus found a way to prevent the Polyjuice Potion from wearing off – something about isolating several of the ingredients so that they could not react with others. Anyways, Mister Paddock became me. We threw him in the river and waited out for someone to find him. Luckily, we did not have to wait long."
"Sirius was devastated," Remus commented. "He and James went to the river that day. They saw your body. Sirius thought he had failed you in some way. That he failed to keep you safe and to keep you from making the worst decision in your life. Now, he will never know that he didn't fail you."
"Remember, remember, the fifth of November," Regulus quoted. "Ironic, is it not?"
"What do you want?"
"I know something about the Dark Lord that I am not sure anyone else does."
"The Horcruxes," Ginny supplied.
"Ginny!" Remus hissed.
"He knows. The necklace. R.A.B. It was all you. You were the one who destroyed it. I found it in Grimmauld Place."
"Smart girl." Regulus smiled a tight smile. "Where is the necklace now?"
"I don't have it." Ginny suddenly felt very insecure. "I sent it to Harry Potter."
"Harry who?" he questioned. "Potter? You don't mean to tell me James Potter had a son. Oh, good Merlin. What has the world come to?"
"Ginny…" Remus trailed off.
"It's okay, Remus. I trust him."
Ginny turned to look at Regulus, a small smile dancing on her face. If he knew about the necklace, then he probably knew about the other Horcruxes. He could destroy them. He could hurry up the process of getting rid of Voldemort. Regulus, Ginny concluded, would be the key asset that would bring down Lord Voldemort forever.
It was hours later that Ginny laid in her bed in the girl's dormitory thinking about everything that transpired earlier that day. The Order of the Phoenix was notified about Regulus Black, and it was decided to allow him entrance. He would be the newest member of many in the next several years. He – like Ginny suspected – would be a key asset in bringing down Voldemort.
She rolled over in her bed, clenching her pillow close to her. She didn't want to go to sleep. She didn't want to watch Harry dying in her head again. All she wanted was this horrible year just to end. So many people had died; so many lives had been ruined. She wanted to see Harry again, to be in his arms. She yearned for his lips and his shy boyish smile.
Jumping out of her bed, Ginny made her way out of Gryffindor Tower. Regulus was staying in the Room of Requirements for the night. The next day, he would be banished to Grimmauld Place just like his brother had been only a couple years before. Ginny finally made her way to the Room of Requirements, luckily not being caught. She knocked once to have the door open on its own.
The room showed no sign of life except the blazing flames in the fireplace. The room was decorated in heavy wood and Slytherin green. In the middle of the room was a small round table with two chairs surrounding it. In the center of the table was a stone basin which Ginny quickly recognized as a Pensieve. Curiosity filled her as she quickly made her way towards it. Bending over, Ginny found herself suddenly in a dark, smelly bar.
"A beer for me and a martini for the little lady," a tall man spoke with a smile on his face.
Ginny turned around to look for Regulus. Sure enough, he was sitting in a booth with a glass of alcohol. He twirled it and watched the liquid swooshing up the sides. His hair was shorter and kept in a tame fashion. His clothes were Muggle and clearly very expensive. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the top and the collar was smoothed perfectly. His black suit jacket barely had any wrinkles in it.
She made her way closer to the table to see another man was sitting in the booth across from Regulus. The man made her stop dread in her tracks. His black hair was shaggy and fell into his eyes. A 5 o'clock shadow graced his pale face. He wore jeans and a t-shirt that said Bombing Goblins on it with a picture of the band below it. A leather jacket hugged his torso. A half empty glass was clenched in his hand as an empty one sat idly on the table.
"You dug a hole for yourself, Reggie, that's all I got to say," Sirius said sarcastically. "I told you to stay away from Mother and her pureblood mania. Did you listen? Oh, of course not! As Mother says, 'Sirius is just an ungrateful nuisance that doesn't know what he's talking about.'"
"Siri, please, I am asking you, as your baby brother, to help me out."
"Reggie, it's too late to help you! You're already lost!" Sirius hissed. "Once you're in Voldemort's little circle of maniacs, you can't get out."
"Some great big brother you are," Regulus snapped. "A whole lot of dung you talk. I remember when you ran away. You told me that you would help me. You swore you would be there. You weren't though, were you?"
"I can't help someone who is already lost, Regulus."
"I am trying to make things right." Regulus sat the glass down on the table. "I do not know why I even bothered. Clearly, your new life of defiance is suiting you all too well."
"Oh, don't bring me into this."
"You have been in this for a long time!"
"I can't help you, Reg." Sirius stood up while throwing a few colored bills onto the table. "I offered help to you before you were marked. Now, you're marked and quite frankly I want nothing to do with you."
"Turn your back on me like you turned your back on Mother and Father then!" Regulus rose out of his seat. "That is what you are good at! Whenever something gets a little hard, you make a rash decision and shut everyone out."
"Piss off, Reg!"
"You know it is true! Look at how you treat everyone around you! You do not even let your best friend in. He goes around trying to pick up the mess you always seem to make. If it were not for Potter, I doubt you would even still be here. I would not be surprised if you find yourself in jail in the near future."
"Oh, don't even pretend like you know what I'm going though, Reggie!"
"Well, whatever it is, it is not as bad as the position I am in now. I could be dead tomorrow for all you know. Then how would you feel?"
Sirius didn't say anything. He stood there for several seconds looking his little brother up and down. Taking a huge breath, Sirius turned around and walked out of the bar with the door slamming behind him. Ginny stood next to Regulus, watching as tears burned his eyes. She wanted nothing more than to reach out a hand to comfort him when she was suddenly thrown into a new memory.
She was standing next to a man with a hood on so that his face was barely visible. They were standing by a river with a small boat out in the waters. There were several men pulling a body from the water. Ginny heard something curse to the right of her only to find out it was Sirius Black standing next to a man that looked almost exactly like Harry.
"Son of a bitch," Sirius hissed. "This is all my fucking fault."
"Padfoot, let's go," James Potter pressed.
"I told him I wouldn't help him because he was already marked. Now the bloody bastard is dead!"
"Calm down, Sirius."
"No, you calm down!" Sirius shot back.
"I am calm!" James retorted. "Look, let's just go. He's dead and there's nothing that you can do now."
Sirius turned his back on his best friend. His eyes were narrowed and his face was ghastly pale. His lips were drawn into a thin line. His hands were in fists as his shoulders slumped forward. All of a sudden, his leg came swinging out and kicking over a bench. He grabbed the trashcan and threw it across the ground.
"Having fun?"
Ginny spun around to see Regulus Black standing behind her. He grasped her arm. Soon enough, Ginny stood in the Room of Requirements with the Pensieve gleaming with Sirius attacking everything in sight. She turned to Regulus who was standing calmly next to her with his back straight.
"They're both dead for the same reason," blurted Ginny. "You can stop this – all the murders and the torturing. You know where the Horcruxes are! You can help Harry!"
"Miss Weasley, I do not claim to be an expert in Horcrux destroying."
"How'd you get the necklace?"
"The Black family house elf, Kreacher, was a great advantage that I had."
"Kreacher?"
"How much do you know about the cave that the necklace was taken from?" Regulus questioned.
"I didn't know where it came from. I didn't even know it came from a cave."
"My dear girl, the necklace was highly protected by Inferi and a potion that causes you to relive horrifying memories. To get the necklace, you must drink that potion. Kreacher drank the potion and became more… deranged than he already was. The person, or house elf in my case, would became very weak and experience things that happened that they would never want to remember. I am not quite sure what Kreacher saw, but it seemed to have traumatized him more than I had anticipated it would."
"You can stop this war."
"Like I said, Miss Weasley, I do not claim to be an expert."
"You know more about destroying them and the dangers that they hold than anyone else still alive that would be willing to help us."
"Miss Weasley, I only know a couple of the Horcruxes."
"That's more than nothing!" Ginny protested. "Please, you don't know how much you could do. You want to be redeemed and actually live your life? Help us get rid of Voldemort."
"I will soon be in the Order, Miss Weasley, and I will help the Order to the best of my abilities." Regulus grabbed the Pensieve. "I will do nothing less nor nothing more. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
"I suggest you scamper off to your dormitory. I am sure that the other Gryffindors are wondering where you have gotten to."
As Ginny left the room, a weight lifted off her shoulders. The worry she felt for Harry seemed to decrease. She knew that he would be safe. She knew he was alive. Even though Hedwig returned without a reply, even though Voldemort was out for Harry's blood, even though everything that could go wrong was going wrong, Ginny suddenly had hope. Not just hope for herself and Harry, but hope for the whole Wizarding community.
Author's Notes – Okay, so I know that it has been ages since I last updated, but I tell you school is the most tedious task out there. We've just started scheduling for next year – eek, AP English. That's going to be a treat. However, enough of excuses, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. I was… hesitate to post this for the longest time. I don't know if the addition of Regulus, but I felt he was necessary. So please, tell me what you think of the new developments. Also, excuse the horrible grammar. I wanted to get it up for you as quickly as possible. So, please, do leave a review because you did take the time to read it.