Regulus wasn't stupid, soft maybe, but not stupid. He was one of the
smartest people I've ever known.
On an intellectual level, he agreed with You-Know-Who. We all did at first. Regulus was the sort of great mind that can believe in terribly lofty ideals, even if they could easily lead to the deaths of thousands of people. And so He sold it to Reggie- just a set of ideas and a tattoo. Regulus had no splendid indoctrination ceremony like the rest of them. It didn't appeal to him, and so He didn't order it.
I had the dubious honor of being there the first time his Mark burned. Nothing at first- a little tingle, a slight itch- but it grew. I had to watch him writhing in agony, rolling on the ground and trying to tear the flesh from his arm. He finally apparated to Him, more to find out about his botched tattoo than obeying orders.
Regulus didn't return.
Thus began the terrible speculation of What Happened To Regulus. Some say the Dark Lord simply and quickly killed him. It was the height of His power, and he would brook no dissent. But that is too simple for Him. The vast list of the tortures that He is willing to inflect has no end.
I wasn't there when my cousin's body appeared on the kitchen floor at Grimmauld Place. I didn't see Sirius carry him to his parents. I refused to be told what had happened to him.
That's all she wrote. Regulus made his one great mistake, and it cost him everything.
It terrifies me that it can be that simple.
On an intellectual level, he agreed with You-Know-Who. We all did at first. Regulus was the sort of great mind that can believe in terribly lofty ideals, even if they could easily lead to the deaths of thousands of people. And so He sold it to Reggie- just a set of ideas and a tattoo. Regulus had no splendid indoctrination ceremony like the rest of them. It didn't appeal to him, and so He didn't order it.
I had the dubious honor of being there the first time his Mark burned. Nothing at first- a little tingle, a slight itch- but it grew. I had to watch him writhing in agony, rolling on the ground and trying to tear the flesh from his arm. He finally apparated to Him, more to find out about his botched tattoo than obeying orders.
Regulus didn't return.
Thus began the terrible speculation of What Happened To Regulus. Some say the Dark Lord simply and quickly killed him. It was the height of His power, and he would brook no dissent. But that is too simple for Him. The vast list of the tortures that He is willing to inflect has no end.
I wasn't there when my cousin's body appeared on the kitchen floor at Grimmauld Place. I didn't see Sirius carry him to his parents. I refused to be told what had happened to him.
That's all she wrote. Regulus made his one great mistake, and it cost him everything.
It terrifies me that it can be that simple.