NOTES: Hello! Wow, it's been quite sometime since I updated this quick. There are a couple of things I'd like to say first before we begin with the story. Firstly, I know Cedric in this story is a bit OOC, but that's because I love Robert Pattinson so much teehee, I like the idea of a Cedric that kinda acts like him. Secondly, someone asked me about what was carved out on Sirius' chest during the torture scene in the first chapter of third year. Well, I just made some changes in the previous chapter, mentioning about those words. If you want to, you can go back to the previous chapter and read it. If you don't, I'll just tell you here that the words are 'BLOOD TRAITOR'. Alright, I think that's all. As usual, happy reading!

"That's Gillyweed for real?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I – "

"So you can guarantee that's not some poisonous, Tibetan roots instead?"

"N-no, I swear – "

"Because you wouldn't want to go to Azkaban for accidentally killing the Harry Potter."

"Back off, Malfoy," Harry grumbled, nudging at the blond's ribs roughly. His mood was terrible, he was nervous for his second task, and he couldn't find his best friend anywhere.

"Well, sorry for caring then," Malfoy replied, pouting immaturely as he crossed his hands in front of his chest. "I mean, it's nice that Regulus happens to remember his fourth year Herbology lesson. But couldn't you have asked someone who is not Longbottom? For all we know, he could have picked you some nightshade beries instead."

"Neville happens to be the best in our year when it comes to Herbology, Draco," Hermione replied. "He's even better than the both of us."

"All right, all right. I'll shut up now," the Slytherin said, waving his hand in mock-defeat.

"Thank you," Harry said. He looked over his shoulder back into the Gryffindor common, as if by checking for the umpteenth time, Ron would finally appear. When the ginger in question didn't show up, he sighed heavily and said, "Come on, then. Let's just go. We don't have much time."

"He's probably already there with Ginny and the twins," Hermione offered an explanation kindly. "Maybe he went with his siblings after breakfast. You know how hungry he can be in the morning."

"I suppose," Harry muttered half-heartedly, still feeling a bit glum over Ron's absence.

It was the day of Second Task. After Cedric Diggory told him to try dipping the egg into water, it didn't take him long to figure out that the Second Task was talking about the Black Lake. He came with the conclusion that he'd have to retrieve something from under the Black Lake, and he was given an hour to do so. He never tried asking for help from his Godparents, thinking that they'd disapprove the idea of cheating. But it was actually Sirius himself who asked him whether there was anything that he could help Harry with. When Harry told him about the Second Task, the Head Auror immediately asked all of the adults in the Manor for their help. Remus, Marlene and Dorcas suggested the Bubble Head Charm. But Harry after a few tries in the Manor's pool, Harry learned it the hard way that he had zero focus to keep the Charm going after fifteen minutes. Harry had even tried asking Irina, who told him that he could try using diving equipment, before bursting into giggles when she realised how hilarious it would be. It was actually Regulus who told him to use Gillyweed, remembering it from his fourth year Herbology lesson. Knowing that Neville was the best when it came to Herbology, he contacted the timid boy, asking whether he knew where Harry could get some Gillyweed.

Neville's response came immediately, just a day after Harry sent him a letter. He said that he saw Professor Sprout had them in her office. Neville promised that he'd try to ask the professor for some once they came back to school. Unfortunately, the professor ran out of her private stock of Gillyweed. It was a week before the Task and Harry was freaking out. He had resumed himself to the fact that he'd have to try the Bubble Head Charm instead, when Neville came bursting into the boy's dormitory the night before the Task, a little pale and out of breath, but he was grinning joyously. It turned out that when he was taking his extra lesson from Professor Moody, he overheard Sirius' boss talking to a visiting McGonagall about whether Harry would ever find out about Gillyweed to help him. The man then laughed aloud, saying that if Harry even knew about Gillyweed, the only way for him to get some was to steal from Snape's storage. Long story short, once Neville was done with his class, he quickly went to the dungeon to steal the Gillyweed.

Harry would always be greatful for the other boy's help.

"What do you suppose it is that they take from Harry?" he heard Hermione asked Malfoy when he was getting ready. Harry was standing beside Cedric, ready to jump into the water after swallowing the Gillyweed dryly.

"I don't know," came Malfoy's reply. "Must be something that's really important to him."

"His Firebolt, maybe? It is very important to him. He practically sleeps with it."

"I do not sleep with my Firebolt!" Harry yelled, glaring at Hermione and Malfoy, who laughed at him.

"Potter, focus!" Moody barked, literally spinning Harry's head around with a quick flick of his hand so he'd face the Black Lake again.

The canon blew, signaling the start. Harry quickly jumped into the water, feeling himself changing already, thanks to the Gillyweed. He remembered Marlene telling him that he should go east, because that was where the lair of the mermaids was. Using Point Me, Harry immediately went in the direction, his newly transformed physique helped him to swim faster than what was human. He made sure he took the safest route, away from the Giant Squid or Grindylows, the route that Sirius reminded him countless times. As he neared the lair about fifteen minutes later, he briefly wondered how in the world his Godfather knew where the lair was. He was about to enter the the territory of the mermaid when he saw a red flare shooting up into the open air. His insides clenched at the thought that someone could have been seriously injured. Steeling himself, he proceeded to swim forward. He thought his horrible eye-sight was playing games with him when he saw four familiar figures were hovering just fifty metres away from him, tied down around their ankles. But after blinking his eyes a couple times, he realised that he wasn't wrong.

The first one that he saw was his best friend. Beside Ron was Luna Lovegood, then it was Cho Chang, and lastly it was the little French girl who could only be Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle. For a moment, seeing Ron's unmoving and pale face, Harry thought his friend was dead. But then he snapped out of it, thinking that there was no way Dumbledore would let his students be harmed for real. Taking out his wand, Harry cut the ropes loose so he could help Ron. He turned to his right, wand at the ready to cut Luna's ropes. That was when a mermaid came to him, warning him that he could only save one. He was about to argue with the mermaid when a spell narrowly missed his nose, cutting loose Luna's ropes. Turning around, he saw that it was Cedric with a Bubble Head Charm. At the same time, he saw a half-shark and half-human creature coming in their way, snatching Luna's hand before Cedric could. It took Harry awhile to realise it could only be Krum. If it weren't for the fact that he was in the middle of a competition, Harry would probably laugh at the way Cedric glared venomously at Krum's retreating figure. With a scowl on his face, Cedric cut Cho's ropes before he quickly swam after Krum, seemingly determined to beat the Bulgarian.

Harry looked around for the last time, expecting for Fleur to show up. But there was no sign of the French girl anywhere. Checking his watch, he began to panic when he saw the one hour limit was almost up. He feared that once it was an hour already, the spell that put Ron and Gabrielle asleep would break, and they'd wake up under the water. Harry decided that he couldn't leave Gabrielle behind, so he quickly shot a warning spell toward the mermaids so he could free Gabrielle without their interferance. Grabbing both Ron's and Gabrielle's hands, he began to make his way out of the water. Harry realised the effects of the Gillyweed was waning when it began to feel hard for him to swim. He knew it would be impossible for him to try to swim all the way back. The first thing that came into his mind was to tie Ron and Gabrielle together with the ropes that still clung to their ankles, so it'd be easier for him to hold on to them. He then prayed that the rope was strong enough to hold the weight of two people, before using the Ascending Charm to get out of water. The three of them ended up shooting up onto the platform where he'd jumped the down in the beginning, landing roughly in front of a worried Hermione.

"HARRY, YOU'RE HERE!" Hermione screamed, hugging him tightly. "Draco! Draco, go get him a towel. For Ron and Gabrielle too. And tell Dumbledore that Harry's here!"

"I can see that already, Miss Granger," Albus Dumbledore said, standing behind Hermione with some thick towels, looking amused.

"Professor," the bookworm muttered, her face flushing red. Dumbledore smiled and passed the towels to Hermione.

"I believe you're more than capable to tend to Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, and Miss Delacour as well. And Mr Malfoy here can help you, of course," the Headmaster said, winking mischievously before leaving to talk to the mermaids.

Harry soon found himself wrapped in the thick towel Dumbledore gave by Hermione. Beside him, Malfoy was teasing Ron as he helped a trembling Gabrielle with her towel, after the Slytherin had made sure the ginger was properly bundled up in the towel. When Fleur came bounding toward them, tears falling profusely down her pretty face, she practically smothered her little sister with a bone-crushing hug, talking fast in French as she rubbed her hands up and down Gabrielle's smaller figure to warm her up. Harry's limited French was enough to help him understand that Fleur was attacked by Grindylow and was forced to quit early because her Bubble Head Charm broke. He was still trembling from top to toe, and was utterly taken aback when Fleur suddenly turned his attention to him, raining kisses all over his face as she told him countlessly how much she was thankful that he'd helped Gabrielle.

"Uh, o-okay," Harry stammered. "It's nothing, really. Ce n'est pas grave."

"I'm forever in debted to you," Fleur said, her accent thick. "Once again, merci. Merci beaucoup."

Harry nodded robotically, watching silently as the two sisters left to join the rest of the Beauxbatons. He had no idea how long he stared at Fleur, and he'd only snapped out of it when he felt Hermione slapped the back of his head. Glaring at his best friend, he said, "What was that for?"

Hermione shrugged casually. "Just doing you a favour."

Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend, who stuck her tongue out immaturely. It was Malfoy actually, who acted mature for once, and went on to inform him the chronology about who finished the task first. Harry was quite surprised to find that Cedric finished first, despite Krum being the one swam toward the surface before Cedric did. The young Gryffindor marvelled just how fast the Head Boy must have gone. Krum turned up just mere seconds after Cedric. According to Malfoy, the two young men were seen trading insults venomously to each other even once they were both out of water, going nose to nose as they had a glaring match. Cedric had the advantage of height, but what Krum lacked in height he made up with his broad shoulders. It took Moody's glowering presence for them to back off in the end, even though they still threw daggers at each other from afar. If Harry wasn't so disheartened by the fact that he finished third, he'd probably be a bit amused by the story.

There was a few minutes of waiting as Dumbledore translated for the other judges what the head of the mermaid tribe recounted. Ron and Malfoy were teasing him about his 'stupid hero complex', earning quite an earful of reprimanding from Hermione. Harry barely listened though. He knew both boys were right. It had been a matter of discussion between his Godparents about his hero complex, something that he inherited from his father, according to his Godfathers. He was too busy sulking over his loss that it took Ron and Hermione hugging him, and Malfoy slapping his back roughly, for him to realise the announcement Dumbledore made. It turned out that because he'd have finished first if it weren't for the fact that he tried to save everyone, the judges granted him second place instead of third, tying in with Krum. Everyone cheered loudly upon the decision, even Cedric and Fleur. In an instant, his mood brightened and he began laughing. After all, his stupid hero complex had turned out to be a good thing.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He just couldn't.

It couldn't be true. It was simply preposterous –

"Brother, do shut your mouth. It's very unbecoming for the Head of the Sacred Twenty Eight to gape like an imbecile. I get that your wife is pretty, although mine is definitely prettier, but I'm going to disown you if you keep the goldfish look for another second. Besides, Irina will think twice about going on the date with you when she sees your stupid face."

Normally, Regulus would punch his brother for being an annoying arse. But as he finally closed his mouth, the younger Black decided that he could care less about Sirius. At that moment, his wife – his love, his life, the reason he breathed – his Irina, was the center of his focus. Like it had always been. From the moment he laid eyes on her all those years ago, Regulus had always been convinced that she was an angel. It was the only explanation for someone so beautiful, so kind, so perfect, could only be an angel. As she exited the Main Bedroom that was Sirius' and Marlene's marrital bedroom, after spending the past two hours in there being dolled up by Marlene and Dorcas, Regulus was once again convinced of his belief that his wife was a celestial being. Her brown hair was styled in what he heard Marlene said was a 'chignon hairstyle' – not that he cared what it meant. All he knew was the style made his hand itched to run through her hair to unravel it as he did all kinds of pleasurable things to her. She was wearing an exquisite blue dress that not only matched her eyes, but also cost quite a fortune. It was a good thing that the Black vault in Gringotts, which was the biggest vault the bank could offer, was filled filled to the brim with gold. Even if Sirius one day decided to buy a small country, it wouldn't put a dent.

"Where are you taking her, Reg?" Remus inquired. The werewolf and the Black brothers were watching their wives giggling like teenagers as they asked Harry to take pictures of Irina.

"Le Gavroche," Regulus replied. "You know Irina's a Muggle. Back when we were still living as Muggles, we went passed it once and I saw how she looked at the place. But I didn't have the money back then. I mean, my art barely supported us. Especially when Astrid was born, and expenses got bigger, so…"

The Head of the Sacreds bowed his head as he trailed off, feeling embarrassed. He jerked a little bit when he felt his brother's hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he found Sirius giving him a smile. "You don't have to be ashamed about it. You did the best you could. And honestly? I am so proud of you, Reg. You were every bit the perfect Pureblood son. Yet you threw all that away so you could be with her, the woman whose heritage you should have despised. Even I wouldn't have been able to do that. I wouldn't dare to do that."

Regulus blinked his eyes a couple times as he hugged his brother, hoping that Sirius wouldn't notice the tears. "Thank you, Sirius. Thank you very much."

"Whatever for?" Sirius asked in return, sounding a little taken aback even as hugged Regulus.

"For forgiving me. For giving me a fresh start. For believing in me. For being my brother – the best brother in the whole universe. For everything."

When Sirius barked out his trademark laugh, it sounded like he was holding back his own tears. "Aw, you sentimental fool. You shouldn't think much about it. You're my brother. I'd move heaven and hell for you. It's us against the world, remember?"

"Us against the world," Regulus echoed as he nodded his head, feeling like he was little boy again.

"Quit it with the long face, kid. You're taking your wife on a long, overdue date to London's most expensive restaurant, for Merlin's sake!" Sirius said, giving him a wink that made Regulus laughed. "Go waste Orion's money for me. Think of it as money-laundry."

"Okay, okay," Regulus chuckled. Making his way to his wife, he gave her the standard-issue of a gentleman's bow, took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. "I saw it in one of those movies you like and I always wanted to do it."

Irina laughed, and Regulus knew she was remembering all the times she had to explain to a dumbstruck Regulus about the concept of movies. Tilting her head to the side with a mischievous smile, she said, "Care to escort a lady to dinner?"

Regulus winked and offered her his hand. "Certainly."

They took one of Sirius' expensive cars to the restaurant. Regulus actually preferred to just Apparate there, but as a Muggle, Irina always found Apparition to be uncomfortable. Besides, it would be suspicious for them if they suddenly just appeared out of nowhere. The younger Black was grateful that back when he was still living as a Muggle, he took up driving lessons, although he didn't own a car. He even took the driving license test and passed it. His license had expired since he had gone back to live in the wizarding world, but with a simple Glamour Charm, he had it taken care of. For someone who rarely ventured out of the wizarding world, Sirius owned quite a lot of cars. However, even though the man knew how to take care of his cars, the older Black didn't know much about the trend evolution of cars and the brands. The guy merely bought ones that were claimed to be the best and the most expensive car at the time of its purchase. That was why Sirius' indifferent shrug when Regulus gaped over the newly purchased Aston Martin DB7 was more scandalous to the younger Black than the fact that his brother owned one of the most expensive cars in the world. Regulus felt like kissing his brother's feet when Sirius offered him to take the car.

When they arrived at the restaurant, almost everyone stared at the car they were riding. Regulus couldn't help the smirk that made an appearance on his face as he entered the restaurant with Irina. Not because he was proud of his brother's expensive car, but because he knew everyone was stunned by his beautiful wife. The former nurse looked absolutely astonishing as she admired everything about the restaurant, the glint of excitement in her blue eyes made Regulus smiled. He caught the look on his wife's face when they looked at the menu, knowing exactly what she was thinking. Even though he'd been living with his brother for three years, it still took him sometime to adjust his eyes when he saw ridiculously expensive things. The prices were still high after he changed the currency into Galleons. But he shrugged the thought aside as he remembered that he was now Head of the Sacreds, second-born to one of the richest Pureblood families in all of Europe. Once he ordered his and Irina's food, also ordered their famous wine, Regulus reached out to hold Irina's hand, smiling fondly as the woman squeezed his hand gently.

"This is wonderful," Irina said. "Thank you very much, love."

"Anything for you," Regulus replied.

"So, what's the occasion? I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but why did you suddenly decide to take me here now?"

It took Regulus awhile to answer. "Seeing my brother and his wife coming back from their honeymoon last week made me realised that I'd never took you anywhere after our wedding. I'd have preferred us to go on a honeymoon too, but with the war coming and all…"

"This is more than enough," the brunette said quickly when Regulus trailed off. "You are more than enough, Regulus."

"I love you," Regulus said, giving a peck on her cheek.

The woman smiled, even as she had a slight blush on her face. "Come on, let's talk about something in a much happier tone… Tell me about your childhood. In all the years I know you, and now your brother and his family, I only know so much about your past. I want you to tell me everything, Reg. I want to know what kind of shenanigans you and your brother got into."

Her request made him laughed. "Well, not much, really. When you have parents like mine, there's not much you can do. Up until the year I went to Hogwarts and got into Slytherin, Sirius was pretty much my only friend. He was the one who taught me how to fly, you know? He got into the Quidditch team as a Beater in his second year, with Neville's father, Frank Longbottom. Our mother wouldn't allow it but we always snuck out in the middle of the night to fly. It was amazing."

"And you were a Seeker? Like Harry and Draco?"

"True. Harry's so much better than me though. That kid is a natural. If he didn't grow up to be a professional Quidditch player, I'd be shocked… And Draco's actually a Chaser. A really good one, if you ask me. I've seen him as a Chaser. The fact that he's left-handed is the reason why he's a brilliant Chaser. Maybe next year he can try out as a Chaser, what with the previous one being expelled. Sad that there's no Quidditch this year."

"Oh right. Because of the uh…the Triwizard Tournament, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I have high hopes that Harry would win. With us helping him, and his friends too, I have no doubt that the kid will win." Taking a sip of his wine, it was Regulus' turn to ask questions. "What about you? How was your childhood?"

Irina shrugged. "Nowhere as interesting as yours, that's for sure. You know I'm an only child. And I told you I didn't really have friends growing up. Oh wait… Actually, I do have one. I went to secondary school with her. Her mother's a very popular actress, the one from that 1939 romance movie that won a lot of Oscars. She herself is an actress too, although nowhere the caliber of her mother. But she's very nice."

"Oh? Why are you no longer friends with her?"

Irina shrugged. "She moved out and I lost contact with her. The next time I saw her it was on the big screen. But other than her, I didn't have close friends. Nothing like Sirius and Remus have. Although I wish I had."

Regulus nodded his head. "Yeah, everyones wishes they have the kind of friendship like my brother and his friends. Even myself."

"It is rare… But do you really have no friends at all? Just acquaintances?"

("Once I'm out of this hellhole, I'll join the Dark Lord. I'll show my father just how wrong he is. Just like you'll show your brother how stupid he is for deserting his family.")

"Just one," Regulus said in a small voice. For the first time in a long time since he married Irina, he felt the Dark Mark on his inner left forearm began to itch.

"Really?" Irina said in surprise, thoroughly oblivious to the fact that Regulus tensely shifted in his seat. "Why didn't you tell me? What's his name? Is he…you know, still alive?"

"His name is Barty Crouch junior, and he's been dead for over a decade."

"Barty Crouch junior? You mean he's – "

"Yeah, he was Marlene's Deputy's son. He was in my year, in Slytherin too. He was my only friend."

"Oh wow… Why did you never tell me about him?"

At this point, Regulus couldn't help but to clench his jaw. "Barty was the reason I became a Death Eater. You see, his father was a great Minister, but an absolute arse when it came to parenting. To say that Barty junior hated his father would be an understatement of the century. He absolute despised his father. As a result, he went to look for other father figures to fill the hole. Unfortunately, his decision fell on Voldemort. Pretty much like how looked up to the psychotic bastard because I lost my brother. When were fourteen, we decided that we should be Death Eaters together. It was around the time Sirius left me, so in my…rage of being left behind with my horrible parents, I agreed. We were sixteen when took the Mark. After sometime though, I realised the errors of my believed. I tried telling Barty about it, but after a year, he'd changed. He was no longer the best friend I knew."

"Oh, God," Irina whispered, looking horrified.

"It was around the same time I found out about Voldemort being a half-blood, and that all of his propaganda was a big, hypocritical campaign. I decided that I should get out. Even though I knew chances of me surviving was small, I was sort of hoping that once I succeed in destorying one Horcrux, I'd be able to expose Voldemort, and by doing that, I'd get my friend back. It didn't happen that way though."

"No, it did not," Irina agreed in a small voice. "You met me instead."

"I don't regret it though," Regulus said quickly. "I've always known that Barty's a bit messed up in the head, thanks to his father's horrible parenting. So, if I had to choose between your or Barty, I'd always choose you. I know this paints a bad light on me, but I can't help it. You're my world, Irina."

"There you go again with your romantic words, Romeo," Irina laughed, squealing a bit when Regulus stole a kiss from her. "Regulus! We're in a public place."

"I don't a give a damn," the young Black replied, grinning. He was tempted to steal another kiss when the waiter came with their food, and he was forced to sit back in his chair. They waited until the waiter had left before they dug in.

"What was he like?" Irina asked as she took a bite of her Scottish beef.

"Who?" Regulus asked, a little distracted because he was busy cutting his salmon.

"Your friend Barty. What was he like?"

"He was… Well, except for his obsession with Voldemort, he was quite normal. He was very talkative, especially when he was arguing with me about anything Potions-related. It was his favourite subject. He was very good at Potions. The only one who was nearly as good as I was, actually. He smiled a lot, and if I hadn't known him, I wouldn't have guessed he had it rough at home. His smile was so carefree, you know?"

"A lot of people with domineering parents were like that."

"No wonder… He was very normal, like any other kid. Rarely got angry too, except when he received anything from his father. And oh, if I were surrounded by my fellow Quidditch mates. He didn't like Quidditch, you see. He would always scowl at the way people approached me after a game, especially if there were girls. He found girls especially annoying. Wouldn't talk to me for three days when he was in a mood."

"Huh… It's almost like he's jealous of the girls or something."

Regulus almost choked on his drink upon hearing his wife's comment.

"I'm sorry. I beg you pardon?" Regulus coughed out, eyes watering a bit.

Irina shrugged, although there was a contemplating look in her eyes. "You know what I mean, Reg. You do. I mean, he acted like a jealous girlfriend. You must be either blind or ignorant for you not to notice that."

The Head of the Sacred fell silent. The truth was, he really didn't notice anything wrong with Barty's dramatics. He was so used to his own brother's threatrics, that he didn't think much about anything his best friend did. Not to mention, Barty was a hateful person. He found the most trivial things to be grating on his nerves on a daily basis. Anything that wasn't Voldemort-related or Potions-related was considered to be a total waste. But even as Regulus dug deep into his mind, going through old memories that he'd tried so hard to forget, he had to admit that Irina was right. Back when Regulus was still in Hogwarts, although he'd only dated a couple of girls, one of them being Pansy Parkison's older sister, who was the oldest of five and two years Regulus' junior, the younger Black did have quite a few female admirers. It was nowhere the number of Sirius' admirers, but there were enough to probably set Irina into a jealous rage if she ever found out about it. Regulus remembered that all those times he dated those girls, Primrose Parkison as an example, Barty would act coolly the whole Regulus was in a relationship. Barty would also throw mean insults at the girls Regulus dated. He'd even prank them to the point to almost hurting the girls. Back then, Regulus always thought Barty was extra cranky because of something his father did.

He never thought it was because the guy had feelings for him.

His own very Pureblooded, extremely antiquated best friend…

"Oh, Salazar," Regulus groaned out, face in his hands. "I felt really bad about it now. I mean, he used to prank the girls I dated, some of those pranks he did even put the girls into the infirmary. And I did absolutely nothing."

"Wow, you really didn't know," Irina said, looking amused.

"He could have killed them with his pranks, and I merely reprimanded him as if all he did was break a cauldron. Gods, I feel terrible."

"It's not your fault, Reg. You really didn't realise. And hey, nobody's killed, right?"

"Still though – "

"Love, don't worry about it. Like I said before, it's not your fault. Besides, as terrible as it is for me to say this, but the guy's dead. He can do no more harm."

Regulus looked at Irina, feeling grateful for the umpteenth time since he met her for her presence in his life. Ignoring the woman's protests, he planted a deep kiss on her mouth before speaking again. "I love you. I love you so much, Irina Black. I can't imagine my life without you."

"Well, I'm right here with you, and I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to."

"Like hell, I would."

"That settles it then. You're stuck with me till the end of time, buddy."

"I can totally live with that," Regulus said.

"Yeah, me too." Then, like a switch, the woman let out a small laugh. "I can only imagine the lengths he'd do to me if he was still alive. I mean, I'm your wife. He'd probably kill me."

As Irina laughed again, Regulus forced himself to laugh with her. But he really couldn't.

Because he knew how Barty wouldn't only kill Irina if he were still alive, he'd make Irina's death as painful as anyone could possibly imagine.