[summary] - Regulus/Amelia [Snow White!AU] He still hadn't worked out whether she knew what she was doing, or whether she was simply ignorant. He told himself this was the reason he remained, even when there were more pressing matters which needed his attention.

A/N - This is written for Danie (TrueBeliever831). I know you asked for a fairytale AU, and this isn't quite that, but I went with my favourite fan-theory for Snow White (the prince being a representation of death). Not really what you asked for, but I tried. (I'm not entirely happy with this, so I might go back and edit at some point.)

I also realise now that Susan's parents didn't die - at least, I don't remember it being mentioned in canon.


The first time he came into contact with her, he paid her no mind. He was there for the parents, and the three children huddled together in the back of the closet were of no consequence to him.

He cut the lifelines of the two adults, leaving the children where they were.

Someone would come for them… probably. It didn't really matter to him.

.oOo.

It was years later, when he next encountered the girl - now a young woman. He vaguely recognised her life-force, though it would be some time yet before he made the connection.

This time it was the boy - now a man, with a wife and two children. He paid the grieving sister a cursory glance - more than he had offered anyone in centuries - before turning his attention once more to the recently deceased family.

.oOo.

It wasn't long after that he saw her for a third time. He paid her more attention this time - it was unusual for him to recognise humans, these days. There were so many of them, and they had such short lifespans - but this one seemed different.

Unafraid. As though she knew she had nothing to fear from him.

Usually, in the presence of his kind, humans, whilst not knowing what there was to fear, always felt something was wrong.

Perhaps they felt eyes on them, or could somehow sense that they were in the presence of a higher being.

He couldn't tell if this meant the girl was special, or if it was just stupidity.

.oOo.

He had stayed with her after that - something that he'd never before felt the urge to do.

She took in her niece - her only remaining relative, it would seem - and treated the girl as if she were her own daughter.

He watched, as she needlessly put herself in danger - not by going out and fighting, but simply by expressing her unpopular opinions in a time where such a thing was punishable by death.

He still hadn't worked out whether she knew what she was doing, or whether she was simply ignorant. He told himself this was the reason he remained, even when there were more pressing matters which needed his attention.

.oOo.

He didn't normally concern himself with such trivial details, but he found he could not keep referring to her as 'the girl'. Partly because she was no longer a girl - by the human measure of age, she was far from a child - but mostly because, although he had yet to gain a proper understanding of her, he found her fascinating.

"Amelia," he whispered, knowing that she could not hear him, and trailed ghost-like fingers through her long, red hair.

He couldn't suppress the feeling of satisfaction - something so completely alien to him - when she shivered at his touch.

.oOo.

He took to finding out all he could about her - following friends, colleagues, distant acquaintances, but he always came back to her.

He had yet to work out what drew him to her with such fervour. He felt that she was different - how could she not be? - but he could not distinguish any specific characteristics which made her so. He hated the feeling of confusion her very presence caused him, and yet…

And yet, it was this very confusion which drew him back, time and time again.

.oOo.

He knew the end was near when, one unassuming day, she turned around and… stopped.

They were alone, in an empty room of the Ministry, long past the time when most employees had returned home. There was no one else she could be staring at, mouth agape and eyes wide in shock.

But if she could see him…

That did not bode well for her, and some part of her must have known this. He had never seen such fear on her before.

There was no way for him to know how he appeared to her - it was different for each individual, but always someone they found comfort or safety in (he found himself picturing the tall, dark haired man who she had seemed to admire during her Hogwarts days, if her co-worker was anything to go by) - but he was certain that this was not the cause of her fear.

Perhaps she could feel something from him, some trace of death or something that distinguished him as being inherently different. Or, perhaps, there was simply some part of her that knew her time was coming to an end.

She dropped her glass and ran, looking younger even than his first sighting of her.

.oOo.

After that, he always ensured to remain out of her sight, but he could not escape the mounting sense of foreboding.

He should not be feeling this way - her death was inevitable - and yet…

And yet, if there was a way, he would have willingly changed all laws of nature for this one insignificant human.

That was what scared him the most.

.oOo.

When the day finally came, he was not prepared. He had left, finally unable to continue putting off his work.

He hadn't known it would be today - she wasn't on his list; there was no way for him to know - but he felt the guilt, nonetheless. He should have seen the signs - noticed her diminishing life-force - something.

But he hadn't, and she had suffered greatly for it.

He would have given her a quick death, ended her life before he time was fully up to save her from the suffering he could see she would endure, but his brother had not been so kind.

He arrived just as his brother was preparing to take her soul, and his sudden appearance startled the other being enough that he paused in his work.

"What are you doing here?" his brother asked, watching him with a wary suspicion. He was aware he was acting out of character, but he had come to think of this human as his.

"I will take this one," he said by way of response, not fully answering the question. His brother simply nodded, however, and stepped back, watching him for a few moments more before vanishing.

He reached her side as she was taking her last breaths. He grasped her cold hand in his, trying to ignore the obvious signs of torture that covered her body. He had failed her, he knew that, but he would make this last step an easy one.

Bending down, he placed a chaste kiss to help narrow lips, her very last exhale tapering off against his mouth. He pulled her up gently, still holding her hand, and helped free her soul.

He led her with him, out of that dismal room - on to the afterlife, and whatever that may bring her.