Regulus had been vain, once upon a time. He had been raised to take pride in his appearance. Everything about him was, after all, the calculated result of centuries of selective breeding.

Today, however, Regulus looked in the mirror and felt weakened by the atrophied reflection that stood before him. The curse that he had been afflicted with since that fateful day with the Dark Lord's horcrux was decimating him.

His skin was a sickly sallow colour. His loss of appetite was evident in his sunken cheeks. His left hand was permanently darkened, almost singed, from where he had dared to touch the locket. The only spark of life to be seen in his reflection was in his eyes. His icy blue eyes beheld a warmth that could only be sustained by love. The curse had progressed over the years taking everything from him but his spirit, his Cassiopeia.

Cassiopeia gave him a reason to fight, to live and to continue to struggle against his cursed body every day.

The reflection of the hollow man let a small smile pass its lips. He remembered the first time he had seen her.

Sirius had come to the Order meeting, brimming with pride. Sirius was still wary of him for his former loyalties to the Dark Lord but the joy of being a father had made him sentimental.

"Reg." Sirius had run up to him after the Order had dispersed. "I have a daughter now. Cassiopeia."

He pulled a picture out of the pocket of his worn leather jacket.

Regulus look down at the photograph, shocked. He knew that his brother was married to Potter's sister, Amelia, but he wasn't aware that they were expecting. His eyes softened at the sight of the little girl. She had big grey eyes, the same shade of steel grey as his brother's, which looked determinedly at the rattle clutched in her small hands.

"Sirius, she's beautiful." He said, his voice tightened by the knowledge that he was an uncle to this precious child.

For the first time in many years, Sirius touched his brother. He grabbed Regulus' shoulder, gently at first but then held it harder as his grey eyes met his blue ones.

"I… I won't raise her like us. She'll be nothing like us." Sirius said. His voice was steel, ready to cut off the shackles that tied him to their terrible family and its Dark legacy.

"No." Regulus had replied. "She won't be."

That was the first time and the last time that the two brothers had agreed on something.

He had been fully confident that Sirius and his wife would raise Cassiopeia perfectly. She would have been a wonderful, smart child with the capacity to distinguish between right and wrong – to be her own person. Unlike him.

But his brother's fairy tale hadn't worked out that way. That night when the Dark Lord had been defeated by little Harry Potter, while Sirius had gone mad with grief at the loss of his friends and torn through the streets of London in search of Pettigrew, Bellatrix Lestrange had sought vengeance of her own. She had jinxed and set fire to Sirius and Amelia's home, leaving Cassiopeia and her mother to burn. Amelia's final desperate act, before Bellatrix had jinxed the house and trapped her inside, had been to floo her child to safety, to the only person she thought could be trusted.

So it was that Regulus and Cassiopeia were left alone in the world, with only each other to call family. When he saw the small child crying in his fireplace, he had picked her up and held her close to his chest, his eyes narrowing in determination with Sirius' voice echoing in his ears.

She'll be nothing like us.

She would not repeat their mistakes.

He had been a weak child, impressionable and self-destructively obedient. So, he tried his best to raise her against the twisted values with which he had been brought up. He had been taught that muggles were scum, so he read muggle stories to her at night and took her on trips to the muggle world. Where he was suppressed into believing that children should be seen and not heard, he showed her respect, gently challenged her views and taught her the art of persuasion and respectful debate.

But Regulus' time was limited by the curse that came closer and closer to engulfing him every day. He was determined to spend what little time he had to make sure that Cassiopeia was an independent, powerful and smart witch who would be capable of protecting herself in this lonely world.

Regulus was pulled out of his reverie by someone politely clearing their throat. He smiled down at Cassiopeia.

"Have you cleaned all the dishes?" He asked.

"Yes." Cassiopeia replied, smiling sweetly.

"Did you use magic, Cassiopeia?" He asked with an arched eyebrow. Cassiopeia looked down at her feet and nodded.

"What have I told you about being overly reliant on your powers?" Regulus asked sternly.

"I don't understand why you spend all day teaching me wandless magic if I'm not allowed to use it." Cassiopeia sulked.

"Cassiopeia. If you can't fend for yourself without magic, you are vulnerable. I won't allow for that."

"Like my mother?" Her wide grey eyes looked up at his blue ones.

Regulus winced. He bent down and pulled her in for a small hug. Physical affection didn't come naturally to him, but he had learned that children sometimes required the comfort.

"Would you like to hear a new bed time story?" He asked, distorting his voice with an upbeat inflection. She nodded into his shoulder.

"This is the story of the Lonely Phoenix." He had started, sitting at the edge of her bed, in the dramatic storytelling voice that he had proudly honed over the years.

The Phoenix was best friends with Henry the Hippogriff and Millicent the Mandrake and they had many happy adventures together. One day, an evil cloud descended from the sky and engulfed Henry and Millicent, taking them away from the Phoenix. Cassiopeia had gasped and huddled closer to Regulus at this part of the story.

"The Phoenix was very sad and alone. She felt like she would never be happy again. Now, Cassiopeia, do you remember what is special about Phoenixes?" He asked his captivated audience.

Cassiopeia thought for a moment, biting her lip in thought.

"It rises from the ashes and regenerates." She recited, her mind thinking back to her beloved copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

"Exactly. Well done, my girl." He said and Cassiopeia basked in his pride.

"Now our Phoenix did just that. She felt like she could never recover from her loss, but she found the strength to rise from the ashes of her grief. Nobody could replace her friends and the Phoenix always carried their memories with her as she soared through the skies". Regulus conjured a red paper bird which flew around Cassiopeia's small room before eventually settling in her lap.

"But," Regulus continued, "because of her strength, our Phoenix was able to make new friends and new memories that she would one day share with Henry and Millicent when they met again".

Regulus quietly stepped out of Cassiopeia's room once she had drifted off to sleep. His eyes winced at the sudden exposure to the harsh, bright light of the muggle lightbulbs. Sighing, he flipped the light switched and cast the lumos spell to guide him down the staircase instead.

He did not like living in this small muggle house. But the last thing he wanted was to raise his precious Cassiopeia in the evil lair that was Grimmauld Place, with the polluting presence of his mother's portrait and Kreacher who would eagerly await the opportunity to corrupt her young mind. Nor could he live in another one of the Black estates, where his deranged relatives could appear and interfere. For his relatives, Cassiopeia would be nothing more than the heir to the Black fortunes and they would do their best to manipulate her to suit their interests. No, Regulus sighed dejectedly, he was destined to spend the last of his days in this cramped muggle house.


He allowed himself a small smile as he watched his niece absorb the vibrant energy of Diagon Alley. Their annual outing to Diagon Alley was a source of anxiety for Regulus. If it was up to him, he would hide her away forever and protect her from the Blacks and the unfathomable cruelties that his family left in its wake. But he didn't want to infect her with his fear. She was a remarkable child – so bright and courageous. She deserved to know the wizarding world she came from.

"Can we please visit Flourish and Botts, uncle?" She asked, her grey eyes peeking out from beneath the shawl that she had to wear when she visited the Alley. They certainly looked peculiar, her with the dark shawl and him with his wide brimmed hat which cast a shadow over his face, but he would rather look unfashionable than risk recognition.

He watched her run her fingers along the spines of the books at Flourish and Botts, whispering the titles to herself with an excited smile on her face. Moments like these, he thought to himself, made it all worth it.

The flickering candle flames which lit the shop suddenly became too much for him and he had to grip the wooden beam beside him to keep himself from falling. His vision blurred.

"Are you okay?" She quickly returned to him and held his arm.

"Yes, I'm fine. Do you remember how to apparate?" He asked quickly, forcing his eyes open to look at her. She nodded solemnly, not letting her fear show.

"We'll have to go somewhere discrete. No one can see you do it, you're underage." He said through gritted teeth. A slow and intense pain spread through his body, blooming like a cursed vine from his arm up towards his heart.

Cassiopeia gulped and took a deep breath before nodding her head and taking her uncle's arm over her shoulder. She guided him out of the shop and looked for a quiet looking place from which she could take them home. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a stone path which seemed to be shrouded in darkness. Perfect, she thought.

She struggled with the weight of pulling him forward. His arm felt heavy, like a python which pulled at the shawl she had draped over her head. She breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached the path. She registered a sign saying 'Knockturn Alley' and a shop door opposite them, but the alley was empty and she would be quick.

"Uncle, get ready, we're going to leave" She said, propping him up against the wall.

"Thank you, Cassiopeia, let's go." He mumbled.

Just then, the shop door opened and a couple walked out. A woman, with black and white hair like the muggle liquorice candies her uncle sometimes indulged her in, let out a gasp. The man's eyes widened.

"Regulus?" The woman's piercing voice was the last thing they heard before Cassiopeia shut her eyes and apparated them both away.


Cassiopeia rubbed the back of her neck as she stirred the pot of baked beans. Her uncle had taken a week to recover and she had slept on the floor by his bed every night, rising every few hours from her restless slumber to check that he was still breathing. He had always been sick for as long as she could remember, but the past few days had been the worst.

Her chest felt heavy, like it was being pulled down and pulled apart at the same time. A shard of darkness – of fear, of anxiety, of helplessness, of terror – had buried inside her heart and was twisting itself deeper with every day that she watched her uncle suffer.

She didn't know what she'd do if something happened to him. If she couldn't hug him and hear his breath rattle in his chest like it always did. If she couldn't hold his rough hands as they strolled through the streets of a new muggle city. If she could no longer see the dimples soften his gaunt cheeks when he smiled at something she did. If she couldn't have the experience of wincing as he brushed the knots out of her hair and attempt to plait it for her. If she couldn't watch his facial expressions shift from contemplative, to angry, to amused, to frustrated as he read the newspaper.

"Cassiopeia." A voice rasped from the doorway to the kitchen.

"Uncle! How are you feeling?" She was overjoyed to see him able to stand.

"Thank you for looking after me. You're such a kind and smart girl. You knew exactly what to do and you've been looking after me very well." He said, the closest to emotional he'd ever get.

She hugged him tightly. The hug spoke louder than words could. She wanted more than anything to protect him. And he wanted more than anything to protect her.

He stopped himself letting out a sigh of misery and forced his voice into a neutral tone. "We need to talk." He said.

He wanted to tell her everything and nothing. How could he convey the depravity of the Malfoys to this sweet and innocent child? How could he make her understand the danger that stood before them?

The Malfoys had seen them. Narcissus had called out his name. They had recognised them. They'd know, sooner or later, that the Black heiress lived. A feeling of anguish flooded him. As the head of House Black, he could protect her as long as he was alive. But afterwards, she would be at the mercy of Narcissus, who would be her legal guardian until she turned of age.

He swallowed hard. They'd corrupt her and make her a blood purist. He remembered Lucius's long held ambition of acquiring the title and prosperity of the House of Black. They'd marry her off to their little Draco at the earliest opportunity.

Suddenly, an idea blossomed.


She was scared. Her uncle had told her about the couple she had seen that day at the Alley and how they would try to gain control over her and turn her into a bad person at the first opportunity. He said that they would visit an old friend of his who would help them. That's how she found herself waiting on the marble steps outside of a large mansion.

Sentient looking gargoyles stared at her from above the intimidating doors and she tightened her grip on her uncle's hand. After a few moments of watching her and her uncle waiting at the front doors, the gargoyles snapped their heads back up and froze.

The front doors swung open and the most beautiful woman that Cassiopeia had ever seen stood before them. She had shimmering hazel eyes and chestnut brown hair that cascaded in soft curls below her shoulders. She was wearing an emerald gown decorated with forest green embroidery. She looked happy and sad at the same time.

"Coraline." She heard her uncle half-whisper, in a broken voice that she had never heard before.

The woman stepped forward, her eyes full with a profound sorrow that Cassiopeia would not understand until she was much older, and reached out towards her uncle as if to hold him but stopped herself.

"Regulus I… I've been expecting you." Coraline said and her eyes landed mournfully on Cassiopeia.

...

She gently shut the doors of the drawing room and turned to face the man that had roamed through the hallowed recesses of her mind for the past fifteen years.

"How did you know that I would come?" Regulus asked.

"Lucius. He came a few days ago to ask if I knew where you were. He said he'd seen you in Knockturn Alley with the girl. He was angry".

Regulus cursed under his breath and held his face in his hands as if he was broken and trying to force himself back together. She touched his shoulder lightly.

"You don't have much time left, do you?" It was a statement more than a question and it hung in the air like a bludger suspended mid-motion.

"No. They'll be her legal guardians when I die. I won't let that happen." He brought his head up to face her and the only source of life in his listless face was the fierce determination which lit his eyes.

Coraline sat down beside him. The last time she had seem him was when he was trying to get Sirius a trial to be proven innocent and was trying to rally all of the Order members he knew to support his cause. He had been in the early stages of the curse back then. It hadn't taken over him the way it had now. She remembered how devastated he was when Dumbledore forbade him from clearing his brother's name and proving his innocence.

"How can I help?"

"Your son, Oscar. He's around Cassiopeia's age, isn't he?" He asked.

"Yes, he's a year older." She replied slowly, trying to calculate where this conversation was going.

"I'd like to arrange a betrothal between Cassiopeia and Oscar. The match will be a beneficial one to your House. I know how keen your husband is to improve his social standing and the Black family is one of the oldest in Europe."

"I don't understand." Coraline stood up and walked towards the assortment of glass decanters which were arranged on the other side of the room.

"When I die, you will be Cassiopeia's legal guardian as her future mother-in-law. I don't trust anyone but you to look after her." He said, rising from his seat and following her.

"Regulus." She said sharply. "Of course, a marriage with the Black heiress would be a better match than I ever could have dreamed of for my son. Of course, I'd be honoured to look after Cassiopeia. But surely you can't mean a betrothal?"

"I'd make it a condition of the agreement that Cassiopeia can break it off when she's of age, if she wants to. Until then, it's important that someone I trust is watching over her and protecting her from my family."

She pulled herself away from him and poured a hissing liquid into a goblet. She watched the bubbles fizz. She thought about her sweet son, Oscar. She thought about the girl she had seen on her doorstep, Cassiopeia. Even at such a young age, it was clear that she would become a remarkable woman… Under the right supervision.

Finally, Coraline turned towards Regulus.

"Okay. I'll speak to Adolphus about this tonight. I'll have the paperwork sent to you by tomorrow… And Regulus, drink this, it looks like you need it." She said, handing him the goblet of pepper-up potion.