Author: HatefulRodeo
Story: Only Black in Name
Notes: Well we have more plot and more slash this chapter! Enjoy Lovelies!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I will make no money from the posting of this story.
Previously:
Once inside they apparated back to their sanctuary in France. Regulus removed his white mask and looked at Severus' unmasked face; "Dumbledore needs to contact us soon. We need to inform him of our former Lord's goal." The potions apprentice nodded and began to remove his heavy Death Eater robes, Regulus followed suit and took both their robes and bone white masks back to their bedroom.
When he came back out of the bedroom he noticed Severus was nowhere in sight and figured the man was back in his lab; either his lover was working on something for his Potions Mastery or tinkering with viable serums to kill the Horcrux.
Deciding he may as well do some more searching for mentions of Horcruxes Regulus went back to the large library; hopefully the distraction of research would push the new orders from his former Lord out of his head. Sirius must have done something big to anger the Dark Lord, never before had his older brother's name even been brought up in a Death Eater meeting; Regulus wondered what it was his fool brother did?
~*~*~*~*~*~*Chapter 5*~*~*~*~*~*
The charmed book from Dumbledore finally arrived two days after their meeting with the Dark Lord; the book already had a message in it for them. The next Order meeting was scheduled for this evening at nine. The gathering was going to be held at Hogwarts in the Great Hall.
It was summer currently so no students would be there. The Black heir quickly scratched an affirmative reply into the book, letting Dumbledore know they would be there.
Regulus was relieved they would be able to find out who the traitor to the Light was. Until they were caught he and Severus were in constant danger of being found out. Traitors did not survive on the side of the Dark; you were loyal or you were dead. The Black heir wondered how many Death Eaters were actually loyal. It couldn't be many; how many liked being tortured and forced to maim and kill?
He knew Bellatrix, his psychotic cousin, adored the Dark Lord but Regulus felt she was, probably, in the minority. Maybe they could use the other's wavering loyalty to gain more information for the Light? Even simple information could be helpful to defeating the Dark Lord.
For example; they knew Sirius had a price on his head but if that little fact was unknown to the Light they couldn't make preparations to keep Sirius alive. If the Light lost the exiled Black they would lose a talented fighter and the Ministry would lose a dedicated Auror.
Regulus, also, wondered about Lucius' loyalty; the man seemed to support the Dark Lord but would that change now that the Malfoy Lord was married and trying to have a child? It was possible. What man wanted to put their family in danger unnecessarily? Being around the Dark Lord was like being next to a keg of unstable exposives; you never knew when it would explode and you didn't want to get caught up in the backlash.
That was exactly what Lucius was doing by staying with the crimson eyed snake. The man was a devil that would use anything against them to ensure he got his way and his bidding was done. Regulus would ask Severus to speak to the Malfoy Lord and see where the blonde stood; the potions apprentice was always closer to Lucius than Regulus was so his chances of success were better.
If they could get Lucius on their side maybe they could get the book Lucius was harboring for the Dark Lord. Of course, they couldn't request it until they knew how to destroy the damnable things. So far they had a theory but it was only that. Severus believed that Basilisk, or possibly Hydra, venom could be destructive enough to consume the Horcrux.
However, they needed to get their hands on a sample of both venoms to see what would happen when it was exposed to the cursed soul container. The problem was Hydra venom was hard to get, not to mention expensive, while Basilisk venom was not only incredibly rare but damn near impossible to afford.
But Regulus would purchase both toxins when they were successful tracked down; he would give all his gold to see his former Lord taken down. The Black heir knew sacrifices would need to be made for this war to end and if he had to part with some gold then so be it. Gold could be replaced; his and Severus' lives could not. Not to mention by bringing down the snakelike man they would be saving hundreds, maybe thousands, more.
Severus was looking at him from his chair in front of the fire; "What's on your mind, Regulus?" The Black heir smiled, his lover always knew when something was bothering him; "Sev, would you be up to speaking with Lucius about defecting from the Dark Lord? Of course, you wouldn't say it so bluntly but if we could get Lucius onside he would be invaluable."
"You know as well as I do, Severus, that the Dark Lord treats Lucius as his right hand. Even if we don't approach him about defecting you could still get a lot of useful information from Lucius just by spending time with him; you know the idiot almost never shuts up when he's amongst friends. Not to mention Lucius has another Horcrux in his home."
The potions apprentice nodded, looking thoughtful; "Why would Malfoy defect? He has it made right now; he's in the Inner Circle with us and the man has the Dark Lord's ear. Why would he consider defecting?"
Regulus cocked his head to the side; "That is true but Lucius also has a wife now and soon he will have a child. Do you think Lucius will be comfortable allowing the Dark Lord into his home when his child comes? Even if Lucius was okay with the Dark Lord's presence Narcissa wouldn't be."
"Severus, I know you think Cissa is a useless airhead but the one thing she believes in is family. She will not let anyone, or anything, harm her family; this includes the Dark Lord. Maybe I should approach her? She would probably be willing to help us in order to keep her child and husband safe."
Severus was tapping his chin with his pointer finger, something he generally did when he was working something out in his head; "I think you should speak to Narcissa first. I may find her useless but she was a Black and a Slytherin; she'll be able to keep a secret. Reg, if she agrees we'll need to plan to keep her safe in case she's found out."
The Black heir nibbled on his bottom lip; "Indeed, I'll write to Gringotts and ensure that Narcissa will never lose here dowry. Lucius allowed her to keep it when they were married but it is still up to the Head of House Black if she can access it. My dear mother would refuse Narcissa, leaving her broke and on the street."
"I can transfer the galleons to a new account in Narcissa's maiden name, only available to her and me. My banshee of a bearer wouldn't have a clue that Cissa's dowry was gone since she never checks those accounts. I'm grateful for her ignorance when it comes to our financial situation; it benefits us and makes our lives so much easier."
The onyx eyed man smirked; "I think Narcissa will be a very good source of information; she isn't a Death Eater but she is often privy to a lot of intimate conversations taking place between Lucius and his associates. We may even find out the names of some of the unmarked supporters through her."
"I, also, think it would be safer to approach her instead of Lucius. If he refused to switch sides he may relay to the Dark Lord I'm not trustworthy; which would make my life forfeit. The best part of using Narcissa as a spy is no one would suspect the airheaded ice queen of Slytherin."
Regulus smirked right back at his lover; "No, no, they wouldn't, would they? Narcissa isn't the most intelligent but she isn't stupid. I'll invite her to Grimmauld Place when I know my mother is out. I believe Cissa will be more comfortable meeting me there and I don't want to invite her here; if she is ever found out she can lead them back here."
A "Hmmm" was his onyx eyed lover's oh so eloquent reply. Regulus shifted in his chair across from Severus', finding a more comfortable position; "Sev, when I write the goblins about Cissa's dowry I'm also going to request they begin searching for Hydra and Basilisk venom. It may be awhile before they're able to acquire some for us so I think it best to get them working on locating it as soon as possible."
"That sounds agreeable, Regulus. Now, I think we should have dinner and prepare for the Order meeting tonight. We need our rest as we don't know which Death Eater is the traitor. The simpletons in the Order may not be equipped to deal with one of the Inner Circle Death Eaters."
"You know as well as I do that the traitor will probably have no issue using the Avada; we must be vigilant and ready to take them down if they notice us there." Regulus knew his love's words to be true. If it was an Inner Circle member they would not go down easy, or quietly; no, they would take as many Order members down with them as they could.
However, Regulus had a feeling this wasn't the case. The Black heir believed it was someone in the Outer Circle; someone no one would notice and someone who was trusted by the Light side, which no one in the Inner Circle was. He conveyed his thoughts to Severus and got another "Hmm" of agreement.
Smiling at his lover he rose from his seat and went to prepare dinner for them. Before he began to see Severus he never thought about cooking or how to do any form of household chores but now he recognized the need to know how to care for one's self; Regulus couldn't rely on House Elves all the time.
Not to mention he seemed to have a knack for cooking and cleaning; something Severus took great joy in pointing out. In return Regulus needled Severus about his complete incompetence in regards to cooking and cleaning.
Seriously, the man could brew some of the most complicated potions and master the most difficult curses but ask him to cook or clean anything and you would have disaster personified! Chuckling, he began to chop the chicken, and vegetables, into slices for a quick stir fry.
~*~*~Time Skip*~*~*~
The two former Death Eaters approached Hogwarts and, like the previous time, Sirius was waiting for them, fidgeting slightly when he saw the black cloaked figures approach. The three of them remained quite as they made the trek across the grounds, no one speaking a word until they reached the large main doors; "Look Regulus, Severus, Dumbledore asked me to relay something to you."
"He asked that when you locate the traitor you find him and alert him immediately. He doesn't want either of you to do anything to them." Regulus answered for both of them; "That's fine. We know our retribution against the traitor would make you all uneasy so you can have them." Sirius nodded and turned on his heal, walking into the castle, not waiting for his guests.
Regulus took his lover's hand and gave it a squeeze; "Ready love?" A curt nod from Severus was his only answer and with a deep breath the Black heir stepped into the school, his eyes and other senses wide open as he felt for the one they were looking for. Severus went left when they entered the Great Hall while Regulus went right; they would circulate the room separately to identify the Dark Lord's spy quicker.
The Order milled around, chatting amicably or arguing quietly. Regulus thought it was quite quaint to watch. Never would you see Death Eaters chatting happily or laughing together; that was not how things were on the Dark side. You served quietly and faithfully, taking the brunt of the Dark Lord's anger and curses before you went out and fulfilled the snakelike man's evermore insane orders.
Regulus appreciated the Order meetings atmosphere quite a bit more but he wasn't sure how they intended to win the war. The Death Eaters were ruthless and quick to cast the killing curse while the Order used spells to subdue; it was easy to realize who would win in a duel. The Black heir heard of many stories of one Death Eater decimating a group of Aurors, or Order members, just by using the Avada.
It wasn't fair but it was the way it was and unless the Ministry and Order got smart they would lose; this loss would doom them all to the Dark Lord's reign of insanity. A tingling in his forearm alerted him to the fact that he was near his mark. Many of the assembled people were looking at his and Severus' cloaked forms with barely disguised curiosity and unease.
Regulus just ignored them and continued on his hunt for a spy. His search led him to a group of people featuring James and Lily Potter, Remus Lupin, his brother, and that sniveling idiot Peter Pettigrew. The Black heir had never seen any of them at a Death Eater gathering which meant the Dark Lord met with them in private, which made sense. A spy was no good if their identity was widely known.
He wondered out of this little group who it could be? He knew it wasn't James or Sirius. Both were to fanatically loyal to Dumbledore; much like Bellatrix was to his former Lord. Lily was muggleborn and would sooner skin herself than join the Death Eaters. That left Lupin or Pettigrew; he favored Lupin as he was a werewolf. It would make sense that he would join the Dark; most of his kind had.
Getting closer he circled around the little gathering and focused. As he got closer his Dark Mark flared, letting him know he was getting closer to one of his Death Eater brethren. However, he was disappointed the he couldn't figure out if it was Lupin or Pettigrew. Deciding to improvise he moved across the Hall to Dumbledore's side.
The aged wizard was having a conversation with McGonagall but excused himself when Regulus got close to him. The Black heir went to Dumbledore's side and murmured quietly; "It's either Lupin or Pettigrew, I'm not sure which. Get them into a secure room. Severus and I know the counter to several spells and glamour's that Death Eaters use to cover their Marks." The revered Headmaster nodded and with a jovial smile made his way over to the two men.
Regulus located Severus; when he found himself next to his lover he explained what was going on. When he was done with his explanation both former Death Eaters silently followed Dumbledore from the Hall and through the school. Eventually, they made their way to the man's office; Regulus guessed this was as secure a location as they could get.
The two cloaked men held back until Dumbledore and his guests were up the stairs; when they heard the door closed they made their way up the stairs and listened intently. Once they heard Dumbledore intone; "Incarcerous" the two men made their move and entered the office, quickly silencing the two bound men. There was no need for their useless chatter and claims of outrage.
The aged Headmaster sat down and flicked his wrist, closing and locking the office door; no one would be interrupting. Severus made his way toward the two bound men, taking off the hood of his robe as he went. Lupin's and Pettigrew's eyes widened comically.
Severus ignored their looks of shock and outrage and began to speak; "Now, let's see which one of you have been filtering information to the Dark Lord." Regulus circled around so he could see the two men. He observed the two seated captives, taking in each of their facial expressions and their eyes. Lupin looked angry but unafraid, basically stating with body language that he had nothing to hide.
Pettigrew on the other hand was almost shaking with fear, his face white and sweaty, while his eyes were dilated in terror. Oh yes Regulus believed they found their leak. With a chuckle he stepped forward and removed his hood; "Severus, I think we should check Pettigrew first." His loved nodded before casting a body bind on the pathetic, little, man and removing the ropes that bound him.
Regulus watched his lover rip Pettigrew's left sleeve up, exposing his unmarked forearm; this display meant very little to the two former Death Eaters. Both knew the Mark could be concealed. However, the sniveling idiot thought he'd won something and seemed to radiate triumph.
The tall, onyx eyed, man sneered in derision; "You think this means anything you insignificant little worm? Do you not think that I don't know how to cover the Mark?" This apparently had not occurred to Pettigrew and once again he was white with fear. Severus laughed darkly before pointing his wand at the offered forearm; "Revelare."
When the simple Revealing charm didn't work Severus continued to cast a variety of Revealing spells, there was no success until he intoned; "Secreta Expositi." Once the onyx eyed man finished his incantation the Dark Mark began to appear in all its horrid glory. Regulus watched Pettigrew's face lose all color completely and if he wasn't frozen in place he would be shaking in absolute terror.
Lupin looked disgusted and enraged but was unable to speak or move to hurt Pettigrew. Dumbledore was looking at the now exposed Death Eater with such malice Regulus never would have thought the normally kind man capable of showing. Severus stepped back to Regulus' side and looked quite pleased with himself; both former servants of the Dark Lord waited for Dumbledore to act.
The aged man continued to stare at Pettigrew before he drew his wand and cast the counter to the Silencing spell. The ratman began to babble; "Please sir, please, I didn't want to! I was forced and he would have killed me! Please you have to believe me!" It was at this point that the man broke down and began to blubber in earnest.
Dumbledore looked disgusted; "You say you had no choice. If that's so why did you not come to me, or one of the other Order members, and tell us what happened to you? Why did you conceal your misfortune? I can only conclude it was due to you willingly taking the Dark Mark and feeding Voldemort information on our movements."
"For this, Peter Pettigrew, I will never forgive you. Because of you we have lost several Order members to severe injury or death. Before the pathetic man could speak he was silenced again and Dumbledore unbound and un-silenced Remus Lupin, an apologetic look on his wrinkled face; "I must apologize, my boy. This was the only way to know who the traitor in our ranks was."
Remus grimaced, still looking angry; "I understand, Headmaster. What made you think the traitor was me? Is it because I'm a filthy Werewolf? Since I'm a Werewolf it must be me, right?" Regulus rolled his eyes at the rant full of self-pity; could anyone be more dramatic?
Clearing his throat he stepped forward and effectively cut off Lupin's rant; "If you must know you were asked to be here since I couldn't figure out who out of the two of you had the Dark Mark on their arm. But if I'm honest you were the better choice. As you said you are a Werewolf on the Light side of the war."
"That in itself is suspicious but I can see now that I was wrong and I apologize for suspecting you. However, until we figured out who the Dark Lord's spy was I, along with Severus, would be suspicious of any Order members." Severus shifted behind Regulus but said nothing, content to let the silver tongued Black heir deal with the situation.
Quashing the exasperated smile he wanted to send his lover he looked at Dumbledore; "What will be done with Pettigrew?" The aged man stroked his beard before speaking; "I will turn him directly over to Madam Bones. Once he's in Ministry custody Pettigrew will be dosed with truth serum and questioned. If he is found responsible for any crimes he will be punished according to our laws."
Regulus nodded; "Sir, we must speak with you, it is urgent." The Headmaster stood and made his way over to Pettigrew's seated form. The aged man drew his wand and mutterd; "Obliviate, you will not remember us interrogting you. You came to me to confess your crimes since you were overwhelmed with guilt." The other men in the room were shocked; never in a million years did Regulus believe that Dumbledore, the symbol of the Light, would Obliviate someone!
The old man stopped before the floo and called for Madam Bones' office; the Black heir wondered if the revered woman would still be in her offices at this time of night. It seems she was since the tall woman stepped out of the floo not three minutes after Dumbledore started the call.
The exchange between the woman and Dumbledore was brief. Once their conversation was finished Pettigrew was placed under a strong sleep spell, removed from his chair, and then rebound with magic suppressing shackles courtesy of Madam Bones. With little preamble the blonde woman sent Pettigrew through the floo with her following shortly after.
Once only Lupin, Dumbledore, and the two former Death Eaters remained the aged man spoke directly to the Werewolf; "Remus, would you excuse us? I also have to ask that you not speak of what you saw, or heard, here. I will be informing the others about it tonight after I finish speaking to Severus and Regulus."
The tawny haired man looked like he wanted to protest having to keep silent but in the end gave his word and left the circular office. Once the three men were alone Dumbledore sat behind his desk and motioned for the two younger men to sit. Before the Black heir could say anything the Headmaster spoke again; "I asked Madam Bones to not mention that you and Severus were here in her report. I won't take the chance of anyone finding out about you two. And I mus ask that you not say anything about what happened here tonight."
Regulus and Severus both agreed to be silent about the Obliviate. With Dumbledore satisfied about their silence Regulus cut to the chase; "We were called to the Dark Lord's side and given a mission. He asked us to take out Sirius, saying he was becoming too big of an inconvenience. Of course, Severus and I have no interest in carrying out the order but we cannot let it appear that we are reluctant to do so."
"If our former Lord found out we were shirking his directive he would be most displeased." Dumbledore merely nodded, understanding that if Voldemort found out about Severus and Regulus' insubordination they would be tortured, possibly even killed. Seeing the Headmaster understood the Black heir continued; "That being said I must ask that Sirius stay out of sight."
The elder man looked thoughtful before his facial expression cleared; "I understand and will ask that Sirius take time off work and lay low. However, we may have to coordinate an attack on your brother to make it seem like you and Severus are trying to follow through with you orders."
"I know it is unpleasant but Voldemort must believe you are both still loyal to him." Severus looked like he wanted to jump for joy at the prospect of attacking Sirius but Regulus could only grimace in distaste. But no matter how distasteful he found the idea he knew they would have to do it as they didn't want to end up tortured to insanity, or killed, at the end of the Dark Lord's wand.
"I understand; we can coordinate something between us later tonight when Sirius is there." Dumbledore stood again and made to leave the office; "Well then if there is nothing else we should get back to the Great Hall so I can explain what transpired tonight." Both former Death Eaters rose, raised their hoods and followed their former Headmaster out of the office and back toward the Hall.
The Order members were looking at theit cloaked forms with even more curiosity when they walked into the Hall behind Dumbledore. However, Regulus did not acknowledge them and continued to follow the elder man until they reached the raised platform where the staff table was.
Once the three men were on the platform, Regulus and Severus standing behind the old man, Dumbledore began speaking; "Tonight I found out some disturbing information. Tonight I found out who the Dark Lord's spy was; Peter Pettigrew was the one funneling information to the Dark. I, myself, saw the Dark Mark on his arm. He has since been turned over to Madam Bones and will face punishment if it is merited."
"This revelation could not have been possible without the two men who stand behind me now. These two men have joined the Light side at great risk to their lives. They will be our eyes and ears inside the Death Eaters and will be sending valuable information on to me."
"They have already given me information in regards to an assassination order on one of our members. Sirius Black has been integral in disrupting Voldemort's plans, as well as arresting several Death Eaters. This has not gone unnoticed by Voldemort and an execution order was given for his life."
Several voices piped up, expressing their fear and anger; all were silenced by Dumbledore's raised hand; "Fortunately, for us this information is known to us and we can make plans to keep Sirius safe. After the meeting I would like Sirius Black, James and Lily Potter, Remus Lupin, Frank and Alice Longbottom as well as the two men behind me to stay behind to discuss this turn of events."
Regulus watched the requested members nod their agreement before Dumbledore rattled on about the goings on in the Ministry and the wizarding world at large. He didn't hear any valuable information and wondered what the hell the Order members were doing to stop the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters.
If it was up to him they would be staging raids on suspected Death Eaters, taking them in for questioning, and if they were guilty handing them over to the Ministry for a formal investigation before sentencing them to Azkaban for their crimes. It appeared that all the Order did was respond to attacks, arriving, most of the time, after the main attack force was gone and the damage was done.
Sighing lightly Regulus decided he would give Dumbledore the names of a few lower ranked Death Eaters when he returned home; he knew most of the newer members were pressured to join by their families and were redeemable. All they needed to do was question the person under truth serum to find out if the person in question was willing to join the Death Eaters or if they were coerced.
If the person under questioning was truly loyal to the Dark Lord they would be Obliviated, making them forget they were ever interrogated by the Order, and sent to the Ministry for official questioning. If they were not loyal then Dumbledore may gain another spy or if the person wasn't willing to spy they could offer sanctuary to them.
It was a sticky situation either way but not impossible; no one deserved to be forced to torture and kill. Regulus felt like he was one of those coerced into joining. He truly wanted to please his mother but now realized he never should have, he should have told his mother to go to hell but that was in the past.
All he could do now was help those who didn't want to serve the Dark Lord and turn in those who did. He wouldn't turn in the Malfoys quite yet and he possibly never would. Only time would tell how he would deal with the Malfoy family. However, Narcissa, and any children she had, would always be safe with Regulus.
A loud clap and the sound of shuffling feet alerted him to the ending of the Order meeting. Taking a deep breath and grasping Severus' hand he left the platform to join the remaining Order members and Dumbledore in the center of the massive room.
Hopefully, they could devise a sound plan to keep Sirius, and themselves, from getting killed. The Potters, Longbottoms, Lupin and Sirius still looked shell-shocked by the news of Pettigrew; Regulus couldn't blame them. It was precisely this reason why the Black heir only trusted Severus completely; everyone else was suspect until proven otherwise.
He and his lover stopped walking when they were standing in front of the others and removed their hoods, both enjoying the wide eyed shock on most of their faces; James, Sirius, and Remus already knew who they were but the others had no clue. Regulus would have to ask for an Unbreakable Vow from all of them; no one could open their mouth and blab that they were working for the Light. He and Severus had no plans to die; they were Slytherins and all Slytherins had a distinct sense of self-preservation.
When the group quieted Dumbledore turned to Severus and Regulus; "Now, I think we should speak about that staged attack. Do you have any ideas? How would you normally execute an attack?" Severus spoke for them this time; "Usually, we would shadow the target, learn their movements, and when we identified a weak point we would exploit it."
"I have to warn you when we stage this battle Regulus and I will not hold back. We have to make it look real or we will be punished by the Dark Lord. Rest assured we won't use the Avada or any curses that cannot be reversed. Regulus and I just need to know when and where to stage it and we'll carry it out." The Order members looked disturbed, staring at Dumbledore as if he betrayed them.
James, of course, began squawking; "Headmaster! You're just going to let these two filthy Death Eaters attack Sirius! I'm sure Snivellus is looking forward to killing him! No Avada my arse..." The rest of his words were cut off when the Potter heir yelped in pain after Regulus sent a Stinging hex at his chest.
Stepping forward until he was invading the now wounded Potter's space the Black heir spoke, knowing Severus was behind him with his wand drawn, backing him up; "Listen here you fucking arrogant twat! As I said before you will respect Severus and me. If you cannot manage to act like an adult I will have no issue punishing you like a child."
"Also, need I remind you that if it wasn't for us, these two filthy Death Eaters as you called us, you'd still have a little spy in your ranks? One of your best friends as I recall. So pardon me if I don't find your character judgment all that sound. Oh and how could we forget that without Severus and I Sirius would be clueless about the order to kill him?"
"So watch your words you arrogant arse or maybe we'll forget to mention when it's your life on the line. Don't fuck with us, James Potter, you will lose." His words were quiet and serious but also filled with loathing. Done giving his warning Regulus moved away from the now red faced James, smirking at the gathered Order members who just stood there looking dumbstruck.
Seriously this people were pathetic. They hadn't even tried to intervene and pull him away from Potter while he was speaking. Hell they hadn't even tried to retaliate when he'd sent the Stinging hex! They just remained standing there, looking gormless. Useless, the lot of them were totally useless!
Dumbledore, evidently, decided to stop the confrontation between James and Regulus before it went too far. It was quite a departure from their school days where the Headmaster would let them carry on until one of them, usually Severus, came away bruised and bloody.
With a smile the Headmaster spoke; "I will have to ask that you respect Mr. Snape and Mr. Black. They risked a lot to help us tonight and will continue to risk themselves. I believe it is time to let childish grudges go and move on; we all need to work together to win this war."
The Longbottoms, Lupin, Lily, and even Sirius looked alright with this suggestion. James was the only one who looked mutinous by the suggestion but Regulus ignored him; he had no doubt he could wipe the floor with the Potter heir if push came to shove.
With the people in attendance calmed Dumbledore continued; "Sirius, when is the best time for you? We should plan for this attack to take place soon. Afterwards you will take time off work to heal and go into hiding until such a time where it is safe for you to come out." Sirius did not look happy about hiding but understood it was for the best; it seemed his older brother was getting smarter, shocking!
The former Black heir looked thoughtful; "I guess it would be best to get me when I leave for work in the morning. My building doesn't allow for a floo connection, or offer a designated apparition zone inside the building, so I have to go outside to apparate to the Ministry. And I warded my flat to the teeth so getting me while I'm inside there isn't going to happen and I'd like to do it outside so we do less damage."
Regulus nodded; "What time do you usually leave for the Ministry?" Sirius looked at his little brother; "Between seven thirty and eight; I'll be on the lookout for you and give you a fight but once I whistle back off so I can make my great escape; alright?" The two former Death Eaters nodded in agreement.
Dumbledore clapped his hands and concluded their meeting with an odd twinkle in eyes and a smile on his face; "Very good! Now, Sirius, you won't know the exact day the attack will happen we need to make it look realistic. Be on your guard and act as you normally would when confronting Death Eaters."
The former Black heir smirked; "Oh, I plan on giving these two a run for their money. But Headmaster where should I apparate to after the battle?" The Headmaster stroked his beard; "Well my boy apparate to James and Lily's house and Lily will remain home until nine and if you don't arrive she'll go to work at St. Mungo's."
Done speaking to Sirius the old man turned to Lily; "My dear, I'm asking you to do this as you are the only one somewhat qualified to treat Sirius if he is injured." The red head squinted; "But Headmaster I just began Healer training. If Sirius comes in with a life threatening injuries I may not be able to save him!"
Dumbledore looked thoughtful; "Well then I'll inform Poppy to be on the alert for your call. If you cannot handle the injuries contact me and I'll send Poppy to assist you." Lily nodded, looking relieved; "Thank you Headmaster."
With a smile the aged man turned toward the rest of the assembled people; "Now Frank, Alice, James, and Remus, I want you all to go to Sirius' apartment and setup before seven fifteen; you'll be repsonsible for shielding any innocent bystanders from the hexes being thrown."
"And you all should be on your guard. If Voldemort is calling for Sirius' life for being in the way of his plans he will no doubt call for yours as well at some point. Be smart and stay well. If there isn't anything else I call this meeting to an end. Of course, if you need me I'm always available through owl or the floo."
Before anyone could leave Regulus stepped forward; "I apologize but I must ask for all of you to give me an Unbreakable Vow. No one can know Severus and I are working for the Dumbledore. We would be dead within a week and I don't trust any of you to keep your mouths shut."
The Order members looked like they wanted to protest but quieted when Dumbledore spoke; "I see nothing wrong with that request. Will I be required to take the Vow as well?" The Black heir snorted; "No, Headmaster I think you can shield your mind adequately and I doubt any Death Eaters could capture you to get the information out of you." The aged man chuckled; "Well then wands out everyone and repeat after Regulus; I will be the bonder."
The gathered people drew their wands and Regulus began; the vow was simple and straightforward, essentially they would not betray him, or Severus, knowingly, or unknowingly. They would not speak about Regulus', or Severus', allegiances to anyone, not even between themselves. Basically they couldn't say anything about the two former Death Eaters if it involved the war or whose side they were fighting for.
Regulus was quite proud of his wording. It would keep him and his lover safe and that was what mattered. James Potter was the type to spout off at the mouth when he was angry and that could have disastrous consequences for Severus and Regulus.
When the Vow settled they moved to leave the Hall, not stopping to bid anyone goodbye. Their work was done for the night and they were both tired. It was quite taxing to stand in a room full of people who would like nothing more than to hex you if they found out who you were. Pulling their hoods over their raven heads they left the Great Hall and exited the castle.
They heard footsteps following them and when Regulus stopped and turned his brother almost ran smack into him; "Sorry, Reg, but Dumbledore asked me see you both out."
Sirius looked a bit nervous, and irritated, as if he didn't want to say what he was about to say; "I, also, wanted to thank you both for helping us. I mean we never would have thought Peter was the spy and I would never know that there was a price on my head."
"I guess I'm trying to say thank you." The two former Death Eaters nodded and continued their trek to the gates. No other words were spoken and that suited the cloaked men just fine; though Sirius looked nervous, almost as if he was waiting for verbal scolding from Regulus. The Black heir had no need to speak to his brother at present and just wanted to get back to their sanctuary.
Once the gates were closed, and secured, behind them Severus hugged Regulus close to him and with a crack they were gone.
Translations:
Revelare = Reveal
Segreta Expositi = Secrets Exposed
Alright, so next chapter more Horcruxes and the plot moves on.