Chapter 12: Regulus's Story: Part 1

Unknown

After the man's surprising introduction, the three had stood in shocked silence for several long moments. It seemed no one knew quite what to say.

"Sirius said his brother was killed by death eaters," revealed Harry thinking back to the brief comment that his godfather made when asked about the name on the family tapestry. His wand was drawn and pointed at the other man as he also remembered that Sirius's brother had been a death eater.

"That explains some things," Regulus remarked thinking over the statement. Part of him had clung to a hope that his older brother would figure out what had happened, and try to find him. "I can assure you that I mean you no harm." He added almost as an afterthought.

"You're a death eater," replied Harry, keeping his wand at the ready.

"Was a death eater," Regulus assured them.

"It's not something you can stop being once you've taken the mark, as I am sure you know," Tonks spoke considering the man before her. Regulus Black had been presumed dead since before the last war ended.

"I was a boy wanting desperately to please his parents when I took the mark. It wasn't until later that I discovered the extent of the Dark Lord's madness. Unfortunately, my attempt to stop him resulted in my being banished here." It was the longest speech he'd made in some time. He shuddered to think of what he had discovered so many years ago. He mentally shook himself to stop the memories of that time from overtaking him. It was a long time ago.

"Where are we?" Harry questioned his curiosity outweighing even his caution, though he did not put his wand away.

"I don't know," and with those grim words, Harry felt real fear grip at him. Regulus Black had been gone since the first war against Voldemort. Would he and Tonks be stuck here with him forever? Regulus recognized the look that passed across the young man's face, and wished again he knew more about the spell that lead to this hateful place that had become his home. Unfortunately, he didn't, but he did know the genius of distraction.

"Come, you must be famished, and we can discuss this more at my home," invited Regulus. The woman, Tonks, stared at him long and hard for several moments before acquiescing. Her expression was unreadable. She seemed vaguely familiar, but she wasn't old enough for him to be someone he remembered from his past. Deciding to ponder more about who she was and why she might look familiar later, he checked his pack and then began the trek home.

"Alright," Tonks agreed aloud. "Stay alert," she whispered near Harry's ear. He lowered his wand slowly, but kept it gripped firmly in his hand. The walk to Regulus's home took a couple of hours. He didn't say anything as they walked and Harry and Tonks remained silent as well, each lost in their own thoughts and observations of the woods through which he led them.

When they emerged from the trees Tonks found that they were in a large field. The home was small and obviously pieced together from a variety of the local trees and other materials. A garden flanked the left side of the small wooden structure, and a line of trees flanked the right. Regulus waved them into the house and Harry's stomach grumbled loudly as he stepped into what was obviously the kitchen. Regulus walked directly to what looked like an ice box and pulled out several items setting them carefully on the counter.

"It's not the same as what your used to, but I've learned to manage," he informed them stepping away from the now full counter. When neither Harry nor Tonks moved, he sighed and began fixing himself a sandwich, and grabbed something that resembled an apple from a basket he kept full of these on the counter. He had planted several trees near his home on the opposite side as his garden. Not only did they provide much needed shade in the evenings, but they also bore food such as the apple like creations, while another held something more like a coconut. He generally kept some of each in a blue bowl on his counter.

Tonks and then Harry followed his example filling plates of their own with the strange food, before settling in at the table across from Regulus to eat. The meal was spent in tense silence as the three ate slowly, both Tonks and Harry examining the strange food before taking a bite. Regulus couldn't help but stare as they were the first people he had seen in years. 'Apparently, even more years than I thought,' he thought as he guessed the age of James Potter's son. He remembered something about Lily Potter being pregnant back when he disappeared. It was odd to think he had been gone so long. He had given up long ago, trying to keep track of how many days he had been here.

Regulus finished his own meal and washed his plate in the sink. He tucked the rest of the food back into the ice box and wiped the counter down with a wet cloth. He liked the neatness of his little home. He'd never have imagined growing up that he would end up cleaning up after himself, let alone keeping his own home clean and neat. Of course, he also hadn't expected to be banished to some other world or plane or wherever he was and left to live out the rest of his days alone. 'Although,' he thought, 'perhaps that had changed.' At least now he would have someone to talk to with the appearance of his two guests.

"I've managed a working bathroom, if you'd like to clean up when you're finished eating," he offered hanging the wet cloth up to dry and leaning back against the counter nonchalantly. Tonks perked up at the thought of being able to actually clean up some. She'd wiped off a little while Harry slept, but the thought of a working bathroom with a shower or bath sounded wonderful. Regulus did not seem to pose a threat, but he had been a death eater and he certainly knew more about their current surroundings than she or Harry did.

"Thank you," she said finishing the last of her sandwich. She took her plate to the sink, and was soon followed by Harry.

"Just leave them, I'll get to them in a little while," Regulus told them striding across the room. "Follow me," he threw over his shoulder just before exiting the kitchen. Tonks and Harry followed as he lead them through his living room and then into his bedroom. The living room contained a sofa and chair with a small coffee table, and a bookshelf which held some books and other knick knacks. A blanket was folded and lay along the back of the sofa. It would seem Regulus had stopped at fashioning for himself the basics. She wondered about the books and how he managed to get them. There were lots of questions she wanted answered, but the idea of getting clean first made her hold her tongue.

The bathroom was a small room just off from his bedroom which held a small bed made of the same wood as the home. A matching dresser with four drawers was the only other piece of furniture in the room. The walls in the home were all the same smooth wood as the outside walls. Several candles sat on the dresser, only nearly gone. The bathroom was as simple as the rest of the home, consisting of the necessities, a toilet, sink, and bathtub. Apparently, he hadn't gotten the hang of fashioning a shower or perhaps he preferred baths. A small closet held three towels and he pulled two from it.

"My skills at sewing and making cloth are woefully lacking despite my continued practice, but these should do nicely," he informed them as he handed each a towel. "Ladies, first," he suggested backing out of the room. Tonks seemed ready to protest though one look at Harry brought her up short. She had to trust him to take care of himself. He closed the door behind him and followed Regulus back into the living room to wait his turn.

The two sat in silence for awhile. Regulus, unused to talking, was not sure what to say, although hundreds of questions flashed through his mind. He wanted to know more about his brother, his family, what had happened to the world? He wasn't even certain how long he'd been gone, though obviously it was long enough for James Potter to have had a son who was at least a teenager. Finally, Regulus broke the silence.

"How did Sirius…how did he die?" The words were difficult, more so then he would have thought considering he hadn't seen or spoken to his brother in so long. Harry tensed at the question. His guilt over his godfather's death was a palpable weight. He knew that Bellatrix had cast the spell, but his godfather wouldn't have gone there that night if he hadn't been stupid enough to fall for Voldemort's trap. He had been working on coming to terms with things, but he knew he wasn't there yet.

"Harry?" Regulus prompted. Harry looked up then at the younger brother of his godfather. Tears sparkled in his emerald green eyes, but didn't fall.

"He came to rescue me. He was dueling with Bellatrix Lestrange. She hit him with a stunner and he fell through the veil at the Department of Mysteries. Excuse me," he managed to choke out and fled back through the kitchen and out of the house wanting nothing more than to be alone for a moment. He forced himself to walk to the line of trees beside the house, and took several deep breaths as he looked out over the mostly barren field before him. He focused on the occlumency exercises that Tonks had been working with him on over the last several weeks. Now wasn't the time to give in to his fears or his guilt. He had a job to do. To do that, he had to get home somehow. He could not leave his friends to be killed one by one by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. As he focused on his breathing, he resolved to tell Tonks the prophecy. He had almost told her several times, but had always been either distracted by her flirting with him or uncertain of how to broach the subject. Resolved, he felt a certain amount of peace settle over him.

Regulus remained in his seat in the chair, stunned. His searched his mind for a reference to a veil. And then it hit him, the veil of death. His brother had fallen through the veil of death. The very one used hundreds of years ago for wizard executions. Legend had it that the veil was a gateway to death. He wracked his mind for any other reference to the veil. He seemed to remember something about no one ever returning from behind the veil, and that the voices from behind it were the souls of those wizards and witches who had passed through it, pleading to be set free so they could move on to whatever came after death. He barked a laugh almost of madness. If his brother had fallen into the veil of death, he would truly never see him again, not even in death. Not if the stories were true about the veil. Then again no one had ever returned from death or the veil to dispute the claims. Tears slid down his face then as he mourned his brother, and all that he had lost.

Author's Note: I did finally finish this story…so I am going to try to post the rest now. Sorry about the long delay between chapters. I also meant to revise this chapter some more, but it's been so long…hope you like it.

P.S. - Some minor changes and edits made on November 18, 2012.

Disclaimer: Still not mine, obviously. All the characters etc belong to JKR. No money is being made from this fic, just personal enjoyment.