Disclaimer : I don't own Harry Potter, all of it is property of the lovely J.K, whom I am so jealous of. 3
He couldn't breathe. The air was entering his lungs, but it was burning its way in, catching the organs on fire... And he was already gasping for another gulp of the fiery oxygen.
Regulus could still hear the screaming echoing behind him. He wasn't going to be able to outrun them. They were going to catch him. They were going to kill him.
They would torture him first; he would have to watch his blood drip from his veins, separating him from life. He would have to feel the little air he had left being squeezed out of his lungs like snakes squeezing their prey to death...
That's what he was.
Prey.
Footsteps echoed close by his head as he let out a shuddery breath, eyes slamming shut in fear. His fingers clenched into the moist dirt surrounding him as though it could sustain him from being forced to leave this world.
The person passed, and relief flooded Regulus' heart as he let his dark head fall against the mud he was packed up against.
He was hiding under a tiny, child made bridge.
When the Dark Lord had cupped his face tenderly in those long white fingers of his, kissing on him on the forehead, and whispering that he was sad to make such a precious child die, a thrill of fear the likes of which Regulus had never experienced before had ran through his body.
His instincts overcame, and he ran. Ran as fast as he could, breaking through the circle of Death Eaters that had tumbled after him as though they were one body moving separately.
He could still hear his cousin, Bella, shrieking and arguing her protests with the Dark Lord, who would not change his mind.
So, oddly enough, he had ended up here. In the forest that he, Sirius, Bella, Andromeda, and even Narcissa had once tromped about in. He could see the tree house they had built dimly lit by the stars a few yards away. And they had worked on this bridge too, just over a small, muddy trench that didn't need a bridge; it could be crossed in one step.
But when he had seen it, he had fled underneath it, his teenage body pressing up uncomfortably on the muddy banks.
Regulus' heart was pounding in his throat as he pressed his forehead to his knees, fighting back tears. He didn't know how to get out of this.
He could hear Sirius's voice echoing eerily in his mind. The words he had screamed at Regulus when he had discovered that he had taken the mark. He could feel Sirius pushing him, his hands slapping cruelly at his unwanted younger brother's body.
The tears slipped out of Regulus' eyes, slipping to disappear in the dark fabric of his Death Eater robes. He stifled the noises that were threatening to slip out of his mouth.
Footsteps pounded overhead, crossing the bridge. It creaked ominously; it had never been designed to hold more then the fragile weight of small children. Dirt and bugs were slapped from the bottom of the bridge, landing in Regulus' dark and already dirty hair. He rubbed at his eyes, smearing the dirt across his cheek.
More feet making their way...
And then there was a pause.
"Keep going on, I need to have a look at that tree house." A voice from directly over Regulus commanded in a silky tone that dared any of the surrounding Death Eaters to argue.
Lucius.
Regulus' heart leapt a little, as he looked up at the bridge, without thinking. He could see the pointed toe of the boots that Lucius loved to wear through a gaping crack that had developed in the precious bridge.
He heard retreating voices as the followers scurried to obey Lucius. The blonde however, remained standing on the bridge, not moving. His keen smoky silver eyes, rather like a moon covered in clouds, watched the Death Eaters until he was sure that there were no more lingering in the area.
Only then did he take a casual step off the bridge.
"Regulus." he called calmly into the now silent night that was threatening to suffocate Regulus.
The younger boy wanted to crawl out from his dingy hole, he wanted to move towards Lucius and let the blonde embrace and wipe away his tears, promising to make everything all better.
But the terror of the chase was still pounding a haunting beat in his ears, and he didn't dare move.
"Regulus," Lucius called in a softer, tender voice, as he made the light from the tip of his wand flare brighter so that he could see.
He didn't move, but Lucius was walking in a patient circle, and eventually the magical light fell onto one of Regulus' poorly hidden feet.
"There you are," he commented as though Regulus had been childishly playing a game instead of running for his life.
Lucius stepped down into the tiny-ditch like area, giving no thought to the loud noise the mud made when he stepped in, sucking at his precious boots.
Regulus gave a whimper of alarm, and tried to scoot away, for a very rare moment in his life, wanting to get away from Lucius Malfoy.
"Regulus, it's all right, it's me," Lucius spoke, kneeling to the ground, staining his Death Eater robes, as he removed his mask.
He was speaking to Regulus as if he were a frightened animal that Lucius was trying to soothe.
"You poor thing, you're a mess," Lucius continued, his eyes sweeping over Regulus' disheveled appearance.
Indeed, Regulus had numerous scrapes and cuts covering his face, the only visible area of his body, from running blindly through the trees, the branches reaching out to ensnare him, ripping hungrily at his skin. His robes were ripped and stained everywhere, so badly that one could question what their original color had been. His long black hair had been whipped wildly everywhere, a good chunk of it was sticking heavily to his face where he had sweated. Dark eyes were glitteringly madly with fear and distrust. His skin was tearstained from those same eyes; the glittering liquid had left trails through the dirt and mud plastered on Regulus' pale skin.
Lucius reached out slowly, Regulus' body stiffened at the motion, but he had nowhere to move. The blonde's hand brushed away the dark hair carefully. He was still wearing his coal black gloves and the fabric felt strangely comforting against Regulus' torn and mangled face.
He tilted his head slightly into the touch, his neck cracking audibly as he did so.
"There we go," Lucius said softly, smiling in his strange way, as though he were forcing himself to smile, because he had never quite learned how.
He moved his hand to Regulus' lower back, urging him out from underneath the bridge, the other gloved hand embracing one of Regulus'.
The boy let out a moan of pain as soon as Lucius touched his hand, and he looked down, seeing that three of Regulus' fingers were broken. He ignored it, as he continued to help bring Regulus out of the hiding space he had fashioned for himself.
Not very far, just enough so that Regulus was now laying down the opposite way, his head resting in Lucius' lap. Malfoy caressed his once perfect skin softly.
"My darling Regulus," he whispered in a purring voice. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all this."
Regulus shut his eyes, feeling safe finally, as he turned his head for more comfort against Lucius' clothed legs.
"Don't let them kill me, Lucius," Regulus pleaded, blood trickling from his lower lip and disappearing into Lucius' black fabric. "Don't let them, please,"
He was whimpering pathetically, but he hardly cared.
"I won't, Regulus. I won't let them kill you." Lucius promised. "Rest now, Regulus, you've earned it."
His thumb made a gentle arc underneath Regulus' eye, smoothing away dirt and tears. The long black eyelashes were clumped together from tears, but they still looked so oddly delicate as they pressed against the white skin.
Regulus' breathing had calmed slightly, his lungs no longer close to explosion. His heart had returned to beating a steady rhythm in his chest, and he almost felt as though he could sleep here... with Lucius protecting him.
"But..." the motion of the thumb on his face suddenly stopped. "I'm afraid, I will have to kill you, Regulus."
The blonde barely seemed to realize the horror the statement had inflicted on his companion. Lucius was now watching the trees that dotted the horizon, interrupting the pattern of stars that filled the inky sky.
"I will make it painless, just rest." Lucius commanded.
Regulus was panicking, his dark eyes searching his lover's face for a jest. Surely, Lucius wouldn't kill him. He was trying to sit back up, but his body wasn't responding, he was too tired.
Lucius bent slowly, kissing him lightly on the forehead just as the Dark Lord had done only a few hours ago.
"Still, it's a shame to have to kill such a precious child such as you," Lucius whispered, his warm breath washing over Regulus' cold skin.
"Lucius, please, don't-" Regulus was begging, his fingers were clawing at the dark earth surrounding him, trying to hoist himself from Lucius' lap.
He couldn't believe this, not Lucius. Not after all this. He would have believed that even Bella would have killed him before Lucius. The perfect Malfoy that had taken him in, shown him everything, loved him, cared for him.
"Good night, Regulus," Lucius said in his usual, calm voice, his grey eyes meeting Regulus' black ones as he leveled his wand at the teenager's throat.
"Avada Kedavra."