QLFC: Season 8, Round 1

Team: Kenmare Kestrels

Position: Chaser 3

Prompt: Entrapment

Additional Prompts:

(song) "Go to War" by Nothing More

(word) blaze

(setting) Black Lake

Word Count: 2567

Warning: Major Character Death

Regulus stared at his brother as they stood facing each other a few feet apart on the shore of the Black Lake. The lapping of the water would have calmed Regulus, if anything had been able to. The question that had been nibbling at the back of his mind for the past week was now clawing at his tongue to be let out. But there was no point in asking it, was there? The answer wouldn't change anything. Sirius had made his choice, nothing could change that now. Not magic, not logic, and definitely not whatever bond they had once had.

"If there's something you want to say, just spit it out," Sirius said.

"Why did you leave?" Regulus cringed internally at how reactionary the question sounded. He was the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black now, he couldn't let blood traitors like Sirius push him around so easily.

Sirius scoffed, and then let out a bitter laugh. "You know exactly why," he said.

"No I don't." Why did he sound so defensive? It was Sirius that had torn them apart, forced them to stand on opposite sides of the schism that divided the Wizarding World.

"It's because I wanted to be free to choose who my friends are."

"Well then maybe you should have chosen better friends, like I did."

"Better…" Sirius scoffed. "What, like Rabastan Lestrange? Some great friend he is. At least my friends and I encourage each other to be better."

"At least my friends and I don't chase after Muggleborns," he knew he shouldn't mock Sirius; it'd just make him angry, and he wasn't worth the Black heir's time anyway. Or even his notice. He had a role to fill, and it didn't include stooping to fight his former brother.

"Oh yes, 'cause being a Muggleborn is such a terrible thing, right? Surely it's no worse than being a perfect little puppet in Mother and Father's theater."

"Don't compare our parents to people below them. They…"

"Below them? Life isn't some giant pyramid where a few elect people make the top three layers! No matter how long a family's been 'pure-blooded,' they're still no better than some random Muggle living in a cardboard box. Even if it was, who would be at the top? The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black? The Lestranges? Voldemort himself?"

Regulus clenched his jaw. Sirius didn't know anything; if he ever had, he had willfully forgotten it. He could tell why Father always said that willful ignorance was worse than ignorance.

"Oh, let me guess! Now your thinking about some bigoted thing that Father told you once. Probably about how no one but the most stuffy Purebloods are worth your notice. Hate to break it to you, Reg, but he's wrong."

Stealing his emotions, Regulus drew himself up to his full height, which was still a good three inches shorter than Sirius. "Perhaps if you actually listened to Father, you'd hear the wisdom in his words. But instead you spend your time causing trouble with a blood traitor and a couple of half-bloods."

"That's exactly what I mean! You're such a mindless puppet that you can't see a single thing wrong with anything Father says," Sirius said. "Perfect little Regulus. You'd do anything to please Mother and Father, wouldn't you? You'd probably become a Death Eater if they so much as hinted that it'd make them proud."

Regulus forced his face to remain neutral as he pushed away the memories of his parents' conversation. He wasn't supposed to have heard it, but he couldn't help himself.

"The family needs a way to redeem itself. Perhaps we should accept Bellatrix's offer. He is rallying for a good cause after all."

Regulus mentally shook himself back to the present, ignoring the tightness in his throat.

"And of course, you're not even listening."

"Why should I listen?" Regulus's voice sounded weaker than he meant it to.

"Because I care about you!"

"THEN WHY DID YOU LEAVE?" Regulus drew back. He hadn't meant to say that, he hadn't even thought that. Another memory pushed its way to the front of his mind. A memory of a time when Sirius had cared; a time when he had snuck into his brother's room because he didn't want to go to bed early like Father had ordered.

He shook his head this time, focusing his gaze on Sirius' shocked expression. He couldn't let Sirius take advantage of his mistake. That's all it was, after all, a mistake. It was. He searched everything Father and Mother had taught him for what to do next. Maybe he could deflect the attention away from himself.

"If you really cared about us, you wouldn't have betrayed us," Regulus said, trying to sound calm.

This seemed to pull Sirius from his shock. "What choice did I have but to leave? With Mother and Father talking over breakfast about what great things Voldemort was doing. You know, noble acts like killing innocent people."

Regulus pushed back the feelings that were nagging at the back of his mind. Father and Mother would never force him to join the Death Eaters. Besides, he was safe here. Hogwarts was the safest place in Britain. Surely the Dark Lord wouldn't recruit a student, right?

"Careful, they start 'em young. If you don't want to join up, you better start watching who you're friends with now. Just look at Snape, he went from being a git to being a Death Eater in training. Then again, knowing you, you'd probably…"

Sirius' last words faded into white noise. Snape was only a year older than Regulus was. Maybe he was wrong, maybe the Dark Lord really would… His breathing was too fast. He needed to get somewhere hidden, he couldn't be seen like this.

He spun on his heel, ignoring Sirius' protests and focusing instead on slowing his breathing. Everything would be fine. Father knew what he was doing, he'd never been wrong before.

Weeks passed, and still Regulus ignored Sirius' attempts to make conversation. Maybe if he just waited, he would forget about the whole conversation. The weeks turned into months. Eventually Sirius stopped trying to get his attention in the halls, just like he had during first year. Regulus tried to convince himself that it didn't hurt. It was his own fault after all. Before he knew it, a year had passed, and again he was by the Black Lake, facing Sirius.

Regulus didn't know how Sirius had managed to corner him. It was early in the morning, and Regulus had come to the lake to calm himself and coax his mind away from how much his arm burned. He still didn't know why the Dark Lord had chosen to give him the mark. It wasn't like he could go to the meetings anyway.

"How was your summer?" Sirius asked.

"You didn't come here to make small talk," Regulus said. He had long since given up on being surprised at how emotionless his voice sounded since he'd joined the Dark Lord's ranks.

"No, I didn't."

Regulus raised an eyebrow at how calmly Sirius admitted that he was right. "So what are you doing here?"

"I want to know how you're doing. You're my brother, and believe it or not, I care about you."

"Then why did you leave?"

Sirius' shoulders drooped. "I've told you a hundr…"

"I know why you left Father and Mother. Why did you leave me?"

Sirius seemed speechless under Regulus' gaze.

"I needed you, Sirius. I needed you with me. I wanted to stand beside you through thick and thin. I wanted to whisper to you about whatever drama was happening in our Hogwarts house. I wanted you to help me study for exams, and tease me about girls. I wanted… needed you to be my brother. BUT YOU LEFT ME!" Regulus' voice cracked, he could feel tears that would never be shed burning in his eyes. "How could you do that to me?" he whispered.

"Why did you follow Mother and Father over me? That's what tore us apart, not me being sorted into Gryffindor. I never pushed you away. I wanted you to follow me."

"Don't pretend this is my fault, you know that's a lie! I've always followed Father and Mother. You're the one that changed course. You're the one that made the distance between us grow. Maybe you're right, maybe you didn't push me away, but you still walked away from me. You always knew where I was going. You're the one who left." He shook his head. "Maybe you do care. If so, you've got a funny way of showing it."

He turned to walk back towards the castle, away from his brother for a second time. He saw Sirius step forward quickly and reach out his hand.

"No!" Regulus cried, jerking his left arm back out of Sirius' reach. "Don't touch me." He could feel his heartbeat pounding harshly against his chest.

"Sorry," Sirius said, though he didn't sound sincere. "What's gotten into you?"

"I could ask the same thing," Regulus said.

Sirius scoffed. "What for? Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Stop patronising me; it won't work."

A strange look appeared on Sirius' face. "Reg, I'm serious. What's going on? Did something happen this summer?"

"Maybe if you actually cared, I'd tell you," Regulus hissed.

Sirius' expression changed again, but Regulus didn't care to figure out what it was. It was fake anyway. "I do care," Sirius said.

"Why, so you can find my weakness and hold it over my head for the rest of my life?" He didn't know why he was so angry, why he was lashing out at Sirius like this. Sirius didn't matter anyway. He deserved everything he was getting for betraying the family.

"I would never!" Sirius said, almost sounding genuinely offended. "You know what, keep your secrets. See if I care." With that, Sirius strutted past him.

Regulus sat stiffly on the couch at number twelve, Grimmauld Place pretending to listen to his aunt's empty words of comfort to his mother. It seemed as though there was a heavy weight on his shoulders, the weight of tradition declaring him the head of his father's branch of the Black family. It only seemed to make the weight of serving the Dark Lord heavier. All part of the job, he supposed.

A small part of him, a part he tried to ignore, wished that Sirius was there with them. Of course Regulus knew that was ridiculous. Sirius had made his choice. There was nothing that could change that.

Looking around the room, Regulus dared to imagine what it would have been like if Sirius had stayed. Would he be sitting next to him on the couch? No, he'd probably be leaning against the fireplace like Father always had. He'd stand up and take Father's place. After all, Sirius was born to lead.

He looked back down at his hands, mentally scolding himself. There was no point in thinking about what might have happened. Father always said that this was the life they were born into, and sometimes it required sacrifices. Besides, maybe it was better this way. Maybe it was better they were apart. That way Sirius couldn't hurt Mother with his insensitive words, he couldn't try to trick Regulus into believing that centuries of tradition were wrong. Maybe it was better.

"I don't understand, how could he just leave him there?" Regulus asked himself, running his hand through his hair and pacing back and forth in his room.

"Don't ask questions, just obey," Bellatrix's voice reminded him in the back of his mind.

"Why not ask questions?" he argued with Bellatrix's voice. "He can't make decisions about my servant without consulting me."

He knew why the Dark Lord had done it. Or at least he suspected he knew why. He'd heard rumors. Rumors that he had found a way to tie his life to an object, thus making him undefeatable. But he had to be defeated.

Regulus stopped short, surprised at the thought. He didn't believe that, did he? Sirius did, but not him. Besides, even if he did, what could he do? He had seen the state Kreacher had been in when he returned. Any fight so directly against the Dark Lord was suiside. He had everything to live for and nothing to die for. The thought was surprisingly discomforting. Sirius had something to die for. He had friends that cared about him.

Regulus shook his head. He had to stop thinking like that. His family did care, right? He looked in his mirror, then carefully pulled up his left sleeve. The mark was ugly. The Black family always prided themselves on being perfect, unmarred. Never did they use a spell against one of their own that would leave a permanent scar. Not even when they disowned Sirius had they scarred him. Now here Regulus was, the 'perfect son' with a permanent stain on his skin.

He dropped his sleeve and caught his eyes in the mirror. If he was going to die, he needed a reason. Maybe he could do it for Sirius. Sirius wouldn't stop fighting until the Dark Lord was defeated, or he was dead. Sirius was the only unmarked Black son, blood traitor or not. And he was his brother. He had to, no, he wanted to protect him.

"Kreacher," Regulus called. The house elf appeared with a crack and a whimper. "I have something I need you to do, but you can't ever tell any member of my family. Not Mother, not Bellatrix, not even Sirius."

He needed water, but he had none. Kreacher was gone too, and he'd told him never to come back. But there was the lake. He stumbled towards the water's edge, his mind flooding with memories of conversations beside the Black Lake. Conversations long past. Conversations with Sirius. This lake wasn't like the Black Lake, though. The Black Lake was always moving, this one was deathly still. He knelt down beside the water and reached out his hand. The water was icy cold as he swiped it toward the shore. He had always loved the sound of water lapping on rocks. He reached out again to scoop up some water. A hand reached out to grab his, and he scrambled back, but the hand and body that followed it kept coming. There were more, more waterlogged corpses. Inferi, his brain offered. He pulled his wand out and muttered a spell. The blaze of fire that resulted was weak, hardly touching the fast approaching creatures. He tried again with the same result.

Fear bubbled up in his chest, cutting through the haze of the poison like a knife. A dripping hand reached out and grabbed his leg, pulling it out from under him. He fell to the ground, his wand flying out of his hand. He didn't know how many inferi were dragging him towards the water, but he knew there was no point in resisting. He knew he was going to die. He had accepted it the second he made up his mind to attempt this dangerous task. He hadn't known how though. It was clear now.

The water was freezing around him, but burned his lungs. Blackness filled his sight and began to consume his mind. Sirius would be safe now.