Regulus Black paced up and down the hallways of the estate looking for Mira. Irritated though he was he felt a sly sense of importance being the one asked to find her.
As he walked he heard a slow English waltz begin to play and shook his head. There was no logic to it. No one was dancing, so why play a waltz? It was a signal, he knew that, but now that the seeds of doubt had been sown nothing was beyond suspect.
A dungeon and two long hallways away Mira turned back to Sirius cryptically, "You know what that music means don't you?"
He paused for a moment, letting it sink in, suddenly remembering all too well, "…Yes I do."
A frantic look overcame her features and her eyes darted from the door back to him, "Come with me?"
He narrowed his eyes at her and said nothing.
She pressed him further, "No one will know it's you."
Still he said nothing.
"Sirius...please come with me...it's so much better now we—
"Stop it!' he rounded on her angrily, 'You make it sound like a game."
"…It is a game don't you remember? For us it's a game."
He shook his head, "Until somebody gets killed."
"Someone always gets killed." She answered without hesitation.
It occurred to him that if he came with her tonight he'd be reneging on a promise he'd made to himself many years ago, that first day on the train to Hogwarts. He promised himself that he'd never go back…
The intensity in her glare was overwhelming as she waited for an answer, the music growing louder, increasing the level of anxiety in the room.
He hesitated, marking the spot on her lips with his thumb that he had kissed before to the point of bruising. He had already come this far, what was one more step backwards, "…Do me the honor then will you?"
Her eyes lit up instantly and she couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around his chest, embracing him in gratitude. She closed her eyes, her arms squeezing tightly around him, as if letting go would cause her physical pain. What was surreal only a few hours ago was now flesh and blood before her.
This made him weak, to be needed so terribly by someone he would kill and die for. He embraced her back, fully aware that he would never truly be free again. She felt the warmth of his body cause the ice that normally ran through her veins to melt and run warm.
When she finally let go he watched and waited as she took a step back and pulled out her wand, a gleam in her eye as she prepared herself for what was to come. She saw the ghost of half a smile fade as she cast and a mask, silver and etched with ancient markings, slowly appeared over his face.
When they were younger they didn't wear masks. Children were part of the ruse, there was no need to hide their faces. Now as a grown man though, a mask was very much necessary.
Raids had always been heavily encouraged but now with the Dark Lord ascending they were practically required whenever large groups got together like this. Woe be to any Muggle in the surrounding towns and areas of a Dark Wizard's home when one occurred.
The primary objective was to kidnap as many of them as possible, make an example out of them, and ensure a shoddy job was done wiping their memories clean after the fact. The memory would be well enough eradicated to fall out of the ever straying eye of the Ministry of course but preserved enough to leave its mark. Everything they did had a purpose and the Dark Lord knew all too well that emotional and psychological trauma scars permanently.
Regulus watched all of this through the crack in the door, hardly breathing lest he be heard, unable to believe what he was seeing.
With the sound of a crack like a gunshot both Mira and his brother apparated out of sight.
Mr. Lestrange had removed the enchantments on the estate that prevented apparition for the express purpose of what was about to take place. Whether it was the thought of that impending event that caused it or the shock of seeing his brother again Regulus suddenly felt ill.
Perhaps the stress had taken its toll and he had begun to hallucinate. Surely that was the only explanation for what he had just seen. Mira, all pain and beauty, much like Bellatrix though not half near as mad, implicitly more human, and…Sirius? There was no way.
Oh but if it was true…what power he now held.
He basked for a moment in the thought until a weight like a rock hit his stomach. Regulus was not blessed with his older brother's looks or charm, but he did share with him a softness of heart, something he often considered a flaw. This information if it got out would kill them both. He had seen the depths that Rodolphus Lestrange had already sunk, there was no telling what he'd do if he found out his sister was in cahoots with a blood traitor.
His mind was racing. The music was still playing and here he was standing in the recesses of the manor alone, deciding whether or not he was indeed mad. He didn't have time to process this. He gripped his wand tightly and made to don the mask as well, when a memory interrupted him. The last words his brother spoke to him…'be careful who you pretend to be. You might forget who you are.'
He stood there, the words haunting him. Who was he really?
That remained to be seen.
A/N: Thank you SO much for the reviews on my last chapter. I can't actually express how much they mean to me, so trust me when I say they mean A LOT. When I'm slow to post, it's because I care about what I write and I don't like posting something that I don't feel is true to the story or not of good quality. Mad mad love to all who've reviewed, followed, read, and so on. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.