AN: Thanks to Losille2000 for her wonderful beta work! Also, a note of welcome to Darth Flamingos for the review. Enjoy the end of Regulus's tale!

III

Hogsmeade

As soon as I left Grimmauld Place, I realized that I really had no idea where I would go next. I was in the heart of London, a place teeming with people. One problem was that I had skirted too close to both sides in this war. A place that proved to be a haven for Death Eaters would be a literal snake pit for me, while a refuge for the Order of Phoenix would be just as disastrous.

Thus I decided to land myself right outside the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade.

Perhaps a good drink would calm my nerves. Also, any information about my brother's whereabouts was more likely to be obtained here simply because of the fact that ne'er-do-wells from all over wizarding society came here for drinks.

Not to mention the trade of illegal items, substances, and information.

The barkeep at the Hog's Head never tried to so much as deter any kind of criminal activity from taking place inside his domain, whether it was simply one drink too many or a plot to overthrow the Ministry.

The heavy summer air rested thickly over the village. Inside the pub, it was even more stifling. I shuffled up to the bar and flagged the old bartender down. I told him that I wanted a shot of firewhisky, and he grunted in acknowledgement. Eyeing the other patrons, I sat down.

Various shady characters were scattered in the pub's seats. Most of them I did not recognize, though not for lack of trying. Ignoring everyone, I turned back to the bar. A few seconds later the bartender came back and slapped my drink in front of me. Before I could give him his payment, he turned away and disappeared into what I assumed the kitchen must be.

I tossed back the firewhisky. It burned down my throat, making me cough a couple of times.

Over in the corner I recognized a particular wizard. One of the Fletchers, I believed, for at the moment I could not recall the fellow's first name due to the firewhiskey. He had a pinched look about him and wore dark, heavy robes. A large suitcase sat next to his chair. From one corner it oozed thick red goop. I got the distinct feeling I probably did not want to know from where that goop came.

I got out of my seat and headed over to the short man.

Mundungus.

That was his name. I remembered hearing it at Hogwarts. Whether he was in Sirius's year or not, I couldn't recall, but I knew that he had a definite penchant for the questionably legal.

His back was turned to me as he sat in the furthest booth from the door. Before he could turn around and face me I placed my hand on his shoulder. Leaning close to him I whispered in his ear, "I know who you're waiting for, Fletcher. Just pretend I'm your man and nothing…unpleasant will happen." It was a lie, of course. I had to keep my cover and letting him know I meant business might stall the trouble headed my way.

Fletcher's body tensed under my grasp. "You're one of the Blacks," he said as he glanced at me and gave me a small nod. "Sirius's little brother. I'd know that nose anywhere."

I didn't say anything as I sat down. Once I was nestled across from him, I spoke.

"Enough about my nose. If I were interested in having it altered I'd just blast it off my face."

"Of course." He glanced at the suitcase. "I'm afraid I can't let you have it, though. Special orders from–"

"Dumbledore?" I cut him off with a wave of my hand.

He gulped and pulled his hat down further over his face. I almost half expected him to squeak from fear. Part of me wanted to make him do so.

"I don't care about what's in that thing, Fletcher."

"Name's Mundungus."

My hand felt for my wand and I made sure that he could see the tip of it peeking out of my sleeve. I coughed.

"But what kind of interest would you have in me, Black?" he asked, trying to deflect the tension.

"Call me Regulus, since we seem to be on a first name basis. As for what you can help me with…I need to know where my brother is."

Fletcher buried his hands in his sleeves. "I, ah, wouldn't know anything about that. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you as you're likely to go blow him to smithereens."

I gave my wand a twitch. The wizard nearly ducked under the table.

"Well, that's the trick, now isn't it? No one knows where he is except that he's with the Potters. Find them, you find your brother."

"Don't toy with me. Or you'll find your nose in need of some repairing, and trust me I can put it so wrong not even the best healer at St. Mungo's can put it right. If you don't tell me where he is, though, you'll have to deal with my cousin. And I can guarantee you, she won't leave anything for the healers to put back together."

Fletcher shrugged.

"You don't know where they've gone?"

"I'm not important enough to know that."

"What about that werewolf friend of theirs? Do you know where I can find him?"

"Full moon. Good luck." He nodded his head in the direction of the window.

I ran my hand over my chin in thought.

"You know, you've never told me why you need to find Sirius. Why should I tell you anyway?" Fletcher crossed his arms and leaned back in the booth with an air of defiance. "Last I heard you were one of the Dark Lord's new favorites."

I snorted. "I'm hardly a favorite."

At least I won't be one after tonight if Bellatrix's words have any grain of truth.

"Let's just say that I have something of importance to pass on to your…side," I leaned forward and said. "Something that changes the whole aspect of the war – that he's going to be seventimes tougher to bring down than anyone imagines." I let Fletcher take that information as he pleased.

"I'm sorry, Regulus. I really don't know anything that would help you." He got up from the booth in a swish of robes. He grabbed hold of the suitcase and another drop of ooze fell to the floor with a wet squelch. The bartender glanced over at us and I'm surprised he didn't curse Fletcher for the mess.

As he turned to leave, Fletcher pushed his hand across the table towards me. His shoes thudded across the floor and the suitcase dripped – catching the eyes of the other patrons. On the table he left behind a piece of parchment. I reached for it and opened it up.

Inside was a name.

The fourth member of Sirius's little school group. A mouse of a man, if I remembered him correctly.

And best yet, he lived on the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

Memorizing the name I muttered "Incendio" under my breath to destroy the scrap of parchment. I got out of the booth, making my way out of the pub. I tossed the barkeep a Galleon as I passed in the hopes that would cover part of the mess that Fletcher made.

Outside the pub I made my way down the street toward the end of the village. A few streets with houses branched off from the main road and I wound down them. I had no idea if he would be home or not; it was entirely possible that he was with my brother.

From the outside, his house appeared perfectly normal. It was in medium upkeep – not too shabby but certainly not the best a wizard's house could be. The lot it occupied was alone at the end of the lane, a few trees scattered along the road. My mother would shriek at the sight of it and set Kreacher to fixing it right away. Tentatively, I knocked on the door in the hopes that I was not waking the poor man.

"Who is it?" called a nervous voice. "I know you're not him!"

"Peter, it's me – Regulus. Sirius's brother." I decided that fooling around was not likely to get me anywhere with him.

"What could you possibly want with me?" Peter hissed as the door opened just enough for me to see a sliver of his face. "Go back to your – your friends and leave me be."

Peter moved to shut the door and I put my hand on it, locking my arm so that it could not shut. Standing a few good inches taller than him, I leaned with all my weight on the door. Sensing that he was physically bested, he took a deep breath.

"I'm not here to kill you, if that's what you're afraid of. I really could care less about you – I just have to know where my brother is."

I put more pressure on the door. Peter made a sound akin to a whimper.

"I don't know – he's with – with the Potters. Or maybe you should look for him at home."

"He's not home, he's not lived at home for years and you know it. So where are the Potters?" I was tempted to pull my wand out and show the quivering little squat of a man just what Dark Magic could do. After all he was a blood-traitor, friends with the Potters and their mangy crew.

"I have no idea where the Potters are. Why don't you ask your brother?"

It was the bravest thing I'd ever heard Peter say. I let out a growl and tried to shove my way past him and into the house. Somehow he held it against me and I struggled for a second.

"Fine. Why don't you tell me the location of that nasty werewolf friend of yours?" I snarled. My patience was running out.

"Hand Lupin over so you can kill him, too? I think not! Why don't you ask your cousin where he is? I'm sure she would love to torture–"

"Shut up, Pettigrew! Just so you know, I'm trying to get out of that business!" I shouted. I grabbed hold of the door handle and, to my surprise, pulled it shut with such force that it shook the doorframe. From inside the house I heard Peter scampering away from me. Grinding my teeth, I left Peter's.

Stupid Fletcher. Sent me on a wild goose chase knowing it would get me nowhere.

In the street I rubbed my eyes furiously. At this rate, Bellatrix was going to catch up to me before I could get anywhere. Looking up, I realized I was near the top of the hill at the base of which sat the village. Through the haze of the night I could make out a few top spires of a castle.

Hogwarts.

Dumbledore.

Surely Dumbledore would know what to do with it.

"Damnit," I cursed when I realized that Dumbledore was not going to be at the school since it was summer. The only place I would have any luck finding him would be at the Ministry.

The Ministry.

Walking in there could just as well end my life.

Not that it mattered with Bellatrix after me.

With a chill going down my back, I turned from Pettigrew's cottage and made my way down the lane. Irritated, I kicked a large stone down the dirt path. It clacked against another rock and came to rest. A few steps caught me up to it so I kicked it again.

Pop.

I stopped in my tracks at the unmistakable sound of someone Apparating. Hearing nothing else I continued on my way, giving the same stone a third kick.

"Having fun kicking rocks around, Regulus? Tsk, tsk, always the child you were."

I whipped around. "Where are you, Bellatrix?"

"Relax, little cousin."

I heard her move off to my left. Silently I called my wand to my hand but did not aim it in the direction of her voice. I did not want her to think I was afraid of her. Crunching sounded as she stepped over some dead leaves and onto the path. I glanced around me.

The nearest house had to be several yards away – too far for me to run from her. A light went off in the main floor. People were too afraid of getting caught in business that wasn't theirs these days.

Not that I blamed them. Getting mixed up with me would likely get them killed.

At the very least, someone knew we were out here.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked her.

She let out a snort of disdain. "All your brother's little friends hang around here. It was the only logical place for you to start looking for him."

Damn, she was correct. I should have known that Hogsmeade would be too obvious.

"So are you going to kill me now?" I asked dully. Part of me was sick of the game.

Only a coward would sicken of it so fast. You've not even been on the run for half a day and already you're giving up. You're not even worth the risk to your brother had you managed to find him, I thought to myself.

"Always the coward." She shook her head. Her hair had been tamed back under her hood. With the night I could only make out her eyes because they were darker than the rest of her face. The full moon was to her back, casting her in shadow.

Definitely a sight to fear.

I swallowed, bringing my wand up.

"Go ahead and kill me. I don't care. The secret's gotten to the right people."

"You filthy traitor!" Bellatrix screeched. "You've sold us all out!"

I opened my mouth to protest then suddenly realized that she had made a grievous mistake. She had no idea, no idea at all, about the locket. She had no idea what I had stolen, what the Dark Lord's secret was.

My heart began to beat just a little faster as it dawned on me that I might have a way out of this.

Deciding to dispense of lame tactics first, I said, "Bellatrix. I'm family. I'm your cousin – you couldn't possibly–"

"You couldn't possibly know, Regulus. You have no idea. I should never have brought you to him because you are too weak. I have to kill you. Not simply because He will kill my husband, my family, but because if I don't, then the death He deals to you will be worse than anything I could ever dream up."

I had to admit her words certainly had merit. Bellatrix was a nasty, vengeful piece of work, but I knew that she paled to the point of transparency in comparison to the Dark Lord. The only wizard that had a chance of comparison was Malfoy, simply because of his hatred for magical creatures, Muggles, and mixed-bloods.

The statement "Then why haven't you killed me already?" passed through my head. I pushed it from my mind knowing that I had only a short amount of time and toying with my cousin was likely to make her angrier.

"And it's mighty fine of you to beg me to not kill you because you're family when you've sold us all out to the Ministry," she hissed. "You should know that I hate hypocrites. You filthy Mudblooded bastard."

"Yes, but you don't know who I sold out to the Ministry."

I took a step back from her.

She faltered. "What's that supposed to mean? You know what I am. You know what my husband, what our friends are."

Except they're not your friends, Bella. And they're certainly not my friends.

"I knew getting mixed up with you would be a bad idea, Bella!" I shouted the words at her. She'd pushed me too far – this was all her fault. She brought me to the Dark Lord, pressed me to go into his service. "I hope Sirius gets to finish you off!"

A nasty grin spread onto her face. "Oh he will, cousin. When he learns what I did to his little brother…I can't wait. Because he'll suffer more than you will…"

She raised her wand.

With a yell I dove at her myself at her. I wanted to tear her eyes out, do anything that might harm her. She did not even deserve the use of magic – only the most brutish form of pain could be applied to her.

"Impedimenta!" she shouted.

I dropped to the ground like a boulder dropped off a cliff. One of my ribs, still sore from the Cruciatus curse I had endured earlier, crunched as it fell against one of the rocks in the road. I took a deep breath, wincing against the pain as I stood up.

"It'll take more than that to drop me."

"Not without Sirius here to save you."

I grinned, raising my wand against her. "Fractus!"

At the same time she waved her wand, drawing an invisible "X" in the air.

A sickening crack sounded in the air and I felt my ankle snap as the spell bounced off her shield and back to me. Instantly I dropped back to the ground.

"Don't try to best me. And most certainly do not use my favorite spells against me!"

Bellatrix stepped over to me. Her wand waved and I felt another bone snap, this time in my arm.

Merlins' beard, I had forgotten how good with that she was. Such spectacular aim.

"You can tear me apart. You can tear Grimmauld Place apart. But you won't find it," I whispered.

"Find what?" she leaned down close. I could almost feel the breath coming from her mouth. In a sick twist of irony it smelled almost sweet – as if she had just gorged herself on sugar quills down at Honeyduke's.

I shook my head.

"Do I need to persuade you? You know the Dark Lord has taught me a great deal about persuasion…"

You're already a great trickster, if that's what you mean. You're simply trying to toy with me before you kill me. I know that I have no way out, but hell if I let you have the pleasure of me begging you to finish me off.

"I know his tricks."

"No, I don't think you do. I wanted to use Avada Kedavra, but I think something a little slower might suit you better. So you can know what you did to your family. I want to watch you die knowing who you betrayed."

"Pulmorragias," she whispered.

A dull ache started in the center of my chest and quickly turned into a blinding pain. I gasped for a breath as the air was knocked out of me. Fire ran into my lungs, filling them with a hot flood. I coughed, and blood splattered on the street. I couldn't see it, but I could taste the bitter iron flavor of it in my mouth. I coughed again.

It was only a matter of a few minutes before I died, drowned in my own blood. The healers at St. Mungos could cure me – if my lungs were not turned to mush by the time I reached them.

My heart tried to pump faster to send blood to the other parts of my body as more and more of it seeped into my lungs. I gasped for breath.

The strange thing was that there was no pain. Just a sharp pinch where my lungs should have been, where they should have been filled with air. I tried to think of a spell to say, something to stem the damage, something to lash out at my cousin, but I did not have the air to mutter a word. Even thinking was hard now.

Amid a fit of coughing I was vaguely aware of my cousin stepping back from me.

Perhaps she's afraid of soiling her precious robes with the dirty work that she's done.

"Bella," I managed to croak. "They'll find you. They know the secret."

Another sputtering cough came out of my throat. The world was mostly black and my head sank to the ground. Dirt was the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes.

I had failed.

I hadn't told Sirius my true secret.

I could only hope that one day someone, someone on the right side, found the locket and removed it from its hiding spot to destroy it.