A/N: Thank you, guys, for the many reviews and interesting guesses and theories! Let's see if anyone was right :)


Chapter 29 - It's Best that You don't Scream

Although most of the ward believed Thorfinn was the killer and that they were therefore safe, the safety rules had not been slackened. Regulus was glad that they hadn't, because he wasn't so sure about Thorfinn. He still feared that the cult was behind the murders. The rest of the patients knew nothing of this theory because Doctor Dumbledore had asked him to keep quiet about it. He didn't want paranoia to spread among the patients. Regulus understood and didn't feel like telling, anyway. It would put him in the centre of everyone's attention. He had only told Sirius and he had just laughed it off. "That's far out, Reggie," he had said. "That's just your guilt trip messing with your head. They have much bigger things to worry about than punishing you." The police had yet to find anything that could indicate that the cult could be involved, and Regulus had recognised no one from the pictures they had showed him of the recently employed hospital staff or remember any names that weren't on the list of arrested cult members.

"What do you want to do?" asked a bored Regulus as he and Remus sat in the common room. The patients were asked to spend almost all their waking hours there so they could be supervised.

Remus shrugged. "I don't know... Maybe draw?"

"Yeah, alright," said Regulus. He got up and went over to the large cabinet by the window to find some drawing material. "Arthur?" he asked. "Do we have some more colour pencils somewhere? The scarlet and green ones are nearly worn down."

"There are some in the storage room at the end of Corridor B," Arthur said and looked up. He was sitting debating with Miles about one of his conspiracy theories. "Can you lads get them yourselves or do you need my help? Then you just have to wait 10 minutes."

"That's okay. We'll get them ourselves," said Regulus.

"Okay. Stay together, now. You know the rule."

Corridor B was where the isolation cells were located. Remus found this part of the ward a little creepy so he took Regulus' hand as they walked down the corridor towards the storage room. Suddenly they heard a low moaning sound from one of the cells. They both stopped and looked at the door that stood slightly ajar.

"Who's in that cell?" asked Regulus. "Nobody is supposed to be in isolation."

"Maybe it's a ghost," Remus whispered nervously. James and Sirius had told him about a white lady that walked the halls after she had killed herself in one of the cells a long time ago.

"Of course not. Ghosts don't exist," said Regulus. He listened for another moment and then moved over to the cell and pushed the door open.

The sight that met him was more than unexpected. Severus was lying by the opposite wall, unmoving and with his eyes closed. Without thinking, Regulus hurried into the room and crossed the floor to check if Severus was dead. A clonk sounded behind him. He spun around to see Remus crash to the ground, unconscious. Over him stood an old man with a piece of metal in his hand (which he had obviously used to knock Remus out). At first Regulus' brain didn't recognise the man, because it couldn't be who it looked like. His senses must be mistaken; because the old man looked exactly like Doctor Dumbledore.

Dumbledore pushed the door closed. "It's best that you don't scream, Regulus," he said in his normal kind voice, "because if you do, Remus is dead." He pulled out a scalpel from his pocket and peeled the protective cover off the blade. "Besides, as you might know, the cells are nearly sound proof, so I doubt they would hear you."

Regulus just stood staring at him in shock, unable to process what was happening.

"I am sorry you had to see this, my boy," Dumbledore said, sounding and looking truly sad.

"S-sorry?" stammered Regulus, confused.

"Yes. I am very fond of you and it was never my plan to kill you; but I can't leave witnesses, you see."

"You're... you're the killer!" gasped Regulus.

"Apparently," nodded Dumbledore.

"But… why?"

"Why?" Dumbledore repeated. "I did tell you about my sister and brother, yes? Well – I also told you about my friend who is the reason my brother and I became estranged. You see," Dumbledore continued, his voice calm and pleasant as if he were explaining something in a session. "My friend, Gellert, killed my sister. Why? Because he was mentally ill, Regulus. I didn't think it mattered and I paid for that ignorance with my sister's life." He pointed at Severus with the scalpel. "Gellert was like him," he muttered. "Schizophrenics are ticking time bombs."

"But... but Frank and Dorcas? They were not schizophrenic and Frank never even spoke!"

"Severely depressed people are unpredictable," Dumbledore explained. "They often commit suicide and occasionally take others with them, either intentionally or unintentionally. And often the suicide traumatises those who find them or see it happen. I have spent quite some time crisis counselling. Imagine what somebody jumping in front of a train does to the driver. Many become so traumatised that they never drive a train again. And that is just one example of many. Severely depressed patients are so caught up in their own self-loathing that they forget to consider others. And Dorcas? You heard her threaten Miles and saw her throw a book in Sirius' face. It was a matter of time before she hurt someone badly. She was gravely unstable."

"But Rita? She wasn't dangerous!"

"Her death was unfortunate," Dumbledore sighed. "She suspected me of Dorcas' death and tried to blackmail me into giving her special attention. So you see, I couldn't let her live."

"So... so you want to rid the world of the mentally ill?" asked Regulus, barely able to fathom what the old man was saying.

"Only the dangerous ones. The delusional, the severely depressed, the ones with self-control issues. I do realise that I cannot save the whole world, but I can do my part and have done so for quite a while."

"You sound like my family! Like the cult!"

"On the contrary!" said Dumbledore angrily, his calm demeanour suddenly broken. "They strived to cleanse the world of all they deemed bellow their standard - which meant most of the human population! I only kill a few and I do it to protect the majority. The greater good, Regulus. That is what I believe in. The greater good. A few must suffer for the safety of the many."

Regulus suddenly laughed. "Gilderoy was right. He said you were behind this from the start!"

"Yes. I should have got rid of him too but he was so rarely alone. And due to his delusion about me I would never have been able to get him to come with me quietly. I was not worried about anyone believing him, of course, but he is potentially very dangerous. I regret that I did not take care of him when there was time. Can you imagine if he gets hold of a sword someday and goes orc slaying?"

"What about Sirius? Why haven't you killed him? In your logic he should be high on your list, with his temper."

"I kept him off my list for your sake, Regulus. You needed him. And as I said, it grieves me deeply to have to kill you. I truly wanted to help you. You have been a victim of insane killers most of your life."

And now I will be, once again, Regulus thought bitterly. He looked at his friend on the floor. "You don't have to kill Remus. He didn't see you. You knocked him down before he did." He hoped to God it was true.

"Sadly, I cannot afford to risk it," Dumbledore sighed. "Although the poor boy doesn't deserve it."

"He didn't see you!" said Regulus desperately, feeling tears well up in his eyes and his heart pick up a galop in his chest. "What kind of man are you? Murdering innocent children! What would your brother say?"

Dumbledore seemed to hesitate for a moment but then stepped over Remus and moved towards Regulus. "He is dead and has nothing more to say to me."

Suddenly Regulus heard someone shouting. What were they saying? Were they calling his name? The door was closed so the sound was muffled, but Regulus was pretty sure he recognised the voice. "SIRIUS!" he screamed as loudly as his lungs allowed. "SIRIUS! HELP!"

o0o0o

Sirius ran down the hallway. He had started at a normal walk but when he had arrived at the storage room and found neither Regulus nor Remus there he had panicked.

"Has anyone seen Regulus?" Sirius' eyes scanned the common room. People shook their heads. He went over to Lily. She was Regulus' nurse, after all.

Lily looked around a little worriedly. "No… He was sitting with Remus over there, earlier."

"They went to the storage room to get some colour pencils," Arthur said. "Aren't they back yet?"

"Sirius, wait!" Lily called. She had trouble catching up with the teen who was searching frantically for his brother.

"They have to be here!" Sirius snapped. "REGULUS!"

"SIRIUS! SIRIUS! HELP!"

They both stopped when they heard the muffled cry. They exchanged looks and then ran for the door they thought the scream had come from.

o0o0o

Dumbledore stood frozen for a second but then rushed forward and grabbed a hold of Regulus.

"SIRIUS!" Regulus screamed again.

An arm around Regulus from behind, Dumbledore pressed the scalpel to the boy's throat, turning to face the door.

The door slammed open and Sirius stumbled into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the old man with the knife to his brother's throat.

Lily arrived seconds later and – like Sirius – stared at the scene in shock.

"Let go of my brother!" Sirius finally exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down," said Dumbledore and flexed the scalpel to underline what was going to happened if Sirius didn't.

Lily dropped to her knees next to Remus, putting a finger on his neck to check for a pulse. Then she looked up at Dumbledore. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Close the door and move over to the window if you don't want to see his throat cut open," Dumbledore ordered, ignoring her question. "Both of you." He saw Lily's eyes fall on Severus. "He's not dead yet, so you need not bother check," he said. "Now close the door and get over to that window!"

"Sirius, run!" Regulus gasped but shut up when he felt the scalpel press harder against his throat and a thin line of warmth trickling down his skin.

Sirius clenched his teeth but did as he was told. "Just… just don't hurt him!"

Lily grudgingly left Remus on the floor and followed Sirius.

"Now - stay there until I'm gone," said the doctor.

"Okay," said Lily, holding her hands up in an appeasing gesture. "Let Regulus go and we will let you get away."

"Oh, no - I'm taking the boy with me. He will be my insurance."

"You're not taking my brother away from me!" Sirius screamed, taking a step forward.

"Quiet!" warned Dumbledore. "I will let him go once I'm far enough away from here. I have no desire to kill him. He was never on my hit list."

"Wait!" said Sirius, making the old man hesitate for a second. "Take me instead. I promise I will go quietly."

"No!" croaked Regulus. Sirius fit Dumbledore's type and he might very well kill him when he had gotten out, especially if Sirius tried fighting him, which was very likely. Regulus didn't think he would be able to live with the guilt of being responsible for his brother's death as well as Kreacher's.

But Dumbledore looked like he was considering the offer. "All right. Go to the door, turn around and place your hands on the wall."

Sirius did as instructed and Dumbledore edged closer with Regulus and suddenly pushed the boy hard, sending him stumbling into Lily's arms.

When Sirius heard his brother stumble forward he made a snap decision and spun around, grabbing the arm that was about to go around his neck. The old man was faster than Sirius had expected. He saw the scalpel come rushing towards his throat, and he just managed to make a quarter-turn, blocking with his shoulder.

Regulus and Lily screamed in unison as they saw the blade sink into Sirius' shoulder, blood spurting out. Then everything went really fast. As Sirius and Dumbledore fell the floor struggling over the scalpel, the door slammed open and Kingsley rushed inside. He stopped for a second, eying the pair on the floor.

"It's Dumbledore! He's the killer!" yelled Lily, afraid the guard would draw the wrong conclusion and go for Sirius instead.

Kingsley dropped to the floor and skilfully disarmed Dumbledore and pulled him away from Sirius. Before getting to his feet Sirius landed a hard blow in the old man's face. "That's for my brother, you bastard!"

Lily was at Severus' side in an instant, checking if he was indeed alive. Arthur took his radio and called for medics to come attend to the four patients.

Now that the danger was over, Regulus' legs turned to jelly and he sank to his knees. He watched as Kingsley pulled Dumbledore to his feet and secured his hands behind his back and cuffed him. There was a look of utter disbelief and shock on his normally stoic face that Regulus had never seen there before.

Knowing that the battle was lost, Dumbledore had turned back into his normal calm self. He looked like someone who had accepted his fate and perhaps even welcomed it. He made eye contact with Regulus and sent him a sad smile as Kingsley turned to guide him out of the room.

Ignoring his own injury Sirius rushed over to his brother, kneeling in front of him to inspect the cut on his neck.

"I'm okay," said Regulus. "It's not deep. What about your shoulder?"

Sirius didn't answer but threw his arms around his brother in a fierce embrace, erupting in sobs of relief.


A/N: We're so excited to hear what you all thought!

The subtle clues hidden in previous chapters are following:

- In Chapter 18 Dumbledore hints at the motive, telling Regulus about Grindelwald causing him and Aberforth to fall out.

- In Chapter 22 Molly tells Lily that Dumbledore has only worked at the ward a few years, and has moved a lot around, working in many different places. This is how he could get away with murder for so long, because he moved on to a new job before anyone got suspicious about suicides at their ward.

- In Chapter 28 Dumbldore cleverly plants the idea in Regulus' head that the cult is behind the murders, knowing that he will tell the police and they will start putting their focus on that.

We don't blame anyone for not picking up on the clues - as said, they are pretty subtle.