Regulus knew that something was very wrong. Well, other than the obvious 'evil wizard taking over the world' thing, that is.
He and Kirill had made some progress these past few years. Four Horcruxes found and destroyed, several Dark Creature wars sabotaged, countless innocent people transported to safety… and still they evaded detection. Regulus would pat himself on the back, but he knew that none of it would have been possible without a certain sandy-haired boy.
The same boy who now stood in front of him, watery trails running down his cheeks.
Kirill was thirteen now, but he looked ten. Years of malnutrition, terror and abuse had stunted his growth, turning him into a scrawny, hunched little creature. His pale face was bruised and lined with fatigue, and his hazel eyes were – as always – much older than the rest of him.
Tonight, they were filled with tears. Regulus felt his veins run cold. In the five years he had known Kirill, he had never seen the boy cry.
"What is it, mate? What's wrong?"
They hadn't been able to meet in over six months. Voldemort's war with the wizarding world was not going well – in large part due to the spies within his ranks – and consequently it was getting harder and harder for the two boys to communicate without raising suspicion. Kirill had managed to send Regulus the occasional telepathic message, but without eye contact it was a one-way communication. And even that was becoming risky as the Dark Lord became more and more paranoid.
Regulus tried not to think about all the horrible things he had been forced to do these past six months in order to maintain his cover. No matter how many people he saved, it would never make up for the ones he killed.
As bad as he had it, Regulus was well aware that Kirill had it far worse. Running with Greyback's pack allowed him to gather – and spread – vital information for the war effort. But it took a brutal toll on the boy. Every time the two spies met, Kirill's eyes were a little harder, his reflexes a little sharper, his words a little harsher.
Tonight, Greyback's pack had finally camped close to Voldemort's Romanian stronghold. Regulus hadn't received a message from Kirill in months, and he couldn't stand it any longer. Cold dread settled in his stomach as he crept from the castle in the dead of night. This was a bad idea.
They found each other quickly. They both knew they were horribly exposed here, in the small strip of forest between the werewolves and the Death Eaters. They had mere moments to talk… and yet Kirill just stood there, silent tears streaming down his face.
"Kirill, please, tell me what's wrong!"
Regulus's voice cracked with desperation, and he abruptly fell to his knees in front of the boy, reaching for him. But Kirill darted back, a choked sob escaping his throat. He was shaking his head.
"Make it stop, Regulus," he finally whispered. "Please. Just make it stop."
Regulus swallowed thickly.
"I can't, mate. I'm sorry. But you know I can't."
Kirill was still shaking his head.
"You- you always say we're the good ones, but – but I don't even know what that means anymore!" he choked out. "All I do is hurt people, all I do is kill…"
"That's not true. That's not true, Kirill," Regulus said, his voice shaking. "We're- we're making progress, we're helping people – "
"No, we're not!" the boy cried, and Regulus gestured frantically for quiet. They couldn't afford to be heard. Kirill wiped at his mouth, gasping for breath.
"We ARE helping, Kirill," Regulus hissed. "I understand how you feel, believe me. But we HAVE to maintain our cover. We have to find the last Horcrux – "
"You keep saying it's the last one," Kirill said, his voice now soft and angry. His eyes burned with a feral gleam.
"You keep saying that, and it's never true. He never dies, he's never GOING to die – "
"So what, you want to just GIVE UP?" Regulus hissed, reaching once again to grasp the boy's shoulders. Kirill evaded him. "Throw in the towel, join his side, let him kill everyone we love?"
"He's ALREADY killed everyone I love!" the boy cried. "What does it matter anymore?"
Regulus clenched his fists desperately. He had always known that there might come a day when this ragged little boy broke. He had been naïve to hope that Kirill's strength was infinite.
"I'm tired, Reg," the sandy-haired boy sobbed. "I'm so tired…"
The young man caught Kirill as he finally folded to the ground, his small body shaking. Regulus gathered him up in his arms, rocking him back and forth as tears of his own began to fall.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into the boy's hair. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
He felt a small hand grasp his sleeve. Kirill huddled into him, shuddering with every breath. He whispered something, and Regulus ducked his head.
"What did you say?"
"Kill me."
Regulus froze. He pulled back, staring at the boy in his arms with growing horror.
"Please," Kirill choked out. "Please, I just want it to stop."
After a long, horrible moment, Regulus finally remembered how to breathe.
"No. No, don't you even think about it. That is NOT an option!"
He grabbed the boy by the arms and hauled him to his knees, shaking him. Kirill simply stared at him, eyes blank.
"We're going to get through this, you and me, mate. Okay?" Regulus whispered, brushing Kirill's unruly hair out of his eyes. "We're going to take that bastard down, and then I'm going to bring you home. You hear me? You're going to be safe, you're going to be happy. You'll go to Hogwarts, and you'll play Quidditch and flirt with girls and eat as much food as you possibly can."
Regulus choked back tears as he took Kirill's face in both hands, desperately willing him to hope.
"You're going to LIVE, little brother. It doesn't end here. Not like this. You may think he's killed everyone who loves you, but he hasn't. I'm still here. I'm STILL HERE."
"Well well. How very touching."
The cold voice turned the blood in Regulus's veins to ice. No no no no NO NO NO, after all this time, how could they have been so STUPID…
Kirill's eyes were wide and terrified. His nostrils flared, and Regulus knew before he turned around what he would see.
Lord Voldemort melted out of the darkness. Behind him trailed his newest sycophant – a mousy-haired teenager who had taken the Dark Mark a few weeks ago. A sniveling weasel of a man, Regulus had hated him on sight.
"See?" the teenager said smugly, pointing at the horrified pair. "I told you it was him."
"Very good, Tom," the Dark Lord said slowly. "Very good indeed."
Regulus stood. He would not die on his knees. A cruel little smile played across Voldemort's snake-like face as he stared down at them.
"Regulus Black," he finally hissed. "So you're the spy."
His eyes drifted to Kirill, and Regulus glanced down to find that the boy was also on his feet, wide eyes fixed on the Dark Lord.
"And my little werewolf mind reader. Hm. What a pity. You showed such promise."
Slowly, almost lazily, Voldemort raised his wand.
"Don't hurt the boy."
The sound of his own voice shocked Regulus. He moved instinctively, his body numb with fear as he pulled Kirill behind him.
"Please. It- it was my idea. Kirill had nothing to do with it, just- just let him go."
Voldemort's face slowly split into a horrifying grin. He threw his head back and laughed.
"He's just a child!" Regulus cried out. "Please, k-kill me instead!"
He was sobbing now, thoughts of home racing through his head. Of London, and Hogwarts, and all the places he would never see again. All the people… God, Sirius, he thought. He'll never know what happened to me, he won't understand…
Voldemort was still chuckling, and he waved his wand slowly back and forth.
"Oh, I will kill you, Black," he hissed. "And when this war is over, I will take great pleasure in torturing your entire family. But as for the boy…"
Voldemort glanced down at Kirill. He was pressed to Regulus's back, his small body trembling.
"Well…" Voldemort hissed, smiling. "I'm not quite done with him, yet."
The Dark Lord straightened his wand arm.
"Say goodbye, traitor."
There was no fighting back. There was no running. Against a wizard this powerful, any resistance was pointless. It was over. The only thing Regulus could do was keep his body between that monster and Kirill. He grasped the fabric of the boy's tattered shirt, holding him tightly behind him.
And Regulus Black closed his eyes.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
An eruption of green light, and a broken scream split the night. Regulus felt his body fall to the side, and he hit the ground with a painful thud… what?
"Regulus, RUN!"
Kirill had thrown them clear of the curse. Before Regulus could do anything, the boy launched himself bodily at Voldemort, latching onto the wizard's wand arm like a feral animal. It was an act of sheer desperation, of utter insanity, of pure courage. And somehow, against all the odds, it worked.
With surprise as his ally, Kirill pulled the Dark Lord's wand from his hand. With a cry of rage, he leapt forward and drove it straight into the man's eye socket. Regulus spared a split second to wonder if this was the first time anyone had dared to physically attack Lord Voldemort.
The dark wizard's furious screams echoed through the trees. If the others hadn't heard them already, they definitely would now.
"RUN!"
Kirill's voice broke as he screamed at Regulus. The young man stumbled to his feet, gaping as Kirill clung to Voldemort like a sea urchin, his scrawny arms wrapped around the man's windpipe. Blood flowed freely down the Dark Lord's face from his wounded eye, but Regulus knew they had mere seconds before Voldemort regained control. Already, the air was crackling with a menacing energy…
"They don't want you, Reg, they want me – GO! Finish this!" Kirill cried, kicking Tom in the face as the mousy-haired bastard lurched towards the struggling pair. Shouts and crashes echoed through the trees as the Dark Lord's servants descended upon them.
There was no time. No time to tell this crazy, stupid, BRAVE little werewolf everything he deserved to hear. No time to apologize, no time to argue. A thirteen-year old boy was fighting a battle he knew he couldn't win – just to buy the wizarding world a tiny sliver of hope.
Almost blinded by tears, Regulus Black turned and sprinted into the darkness.
A/N: Phew, that was quite a chapter. Went through about four different iterations, still not quite sure if I got it right. But there you are. Thank you all so much for the reviews! It makes me very happy to know that you're enjoying this :)