IT'S CHANGED (SNILY)
CHAPTER 22 A little sneaking
He sat on his bed thinking of a plan to escape. His mother would very easily catch him if he went missing. And his brother had no sense in the such Slytherin plans. He shook his head. He would take his brother's help when he would decide to break through the wall in the house with a muggle car… or that is what it was called. Only if Severus or Selene or Charm would be with him. They were so much brilliant in these plannings that they could very easily make it their profession. He rolled his eyes.
At the present only one person could take him to anywhere he liked. After all he was his friend and -he sneered- his master. Kreacher.
"Kreacher!" he called out in a low voice.
"Master Regulus, sir, called Kreacher" the tiny creature popped up in the room out of nowhere.
Regulus nodded. "Kreacher, could you take me somewhere?"
"Anywhere Master Regulus, sir" Kreacher promised.
He smiled at his friend. "I want you to take me to Gringotts"
"Kreacher will take Master Regulus, sir. But Mistress Walburga would be angry at Master Regulus"
"We'll come before she wakes up, Kreacher. And leave Dippy till then to serve" he tried to make a deal.
Kreacher looked thoughtful for a while before bowing down.
Regulus clapped in excitement. "Great!" he went and peeked out of his room before locking it properly. "Now, we are ready to go, Kreacher"
Kreacher with a broad smile lent a hand to his master and they disappeared from 12 Grimmauld Place and soon appeared in front of Gringotts. The streets were clearly deserted as suspected. They would not be seen by anyone. And then what was to be afraid of. They weren't doing anything wrong in the eyes of the Ministry, though, yes, wrong in the eyes of his mother. But who cared, now. He waved a hand and dismissed the thought. Sirius would be so proud and a bit jealous too. He smirked.
"Mother must learn how to apparate from you, Kreacher. You're so swift and easy" he complimented.
Kreacher flushed under the praise.
"You are coming with me, Kreacher" Regulus pulled him in.
They approached a goblin and without hesitation Regulus asked. "Good morning, Bogrod. I would like to visit the Lestrange Vault"
Bogrod viewed him suspiciously and he also made sure not to lose composure. If you can greet people a 'Good Morning' at three in the morning, then it was fine.
He ran things through his head again.
Was he allowed in the Lestrange Vaults? Yes. Because Bella was married to Rudolophus.
Was he allowed without an adult? Yes. He was above thirteen years of age.
Was he holding any charms on himself that will be washed away? No.
Was he doing anything suspicious here? No.
Was coming so early morning skeptical? No.
Can he, do it? Yes.
Will he absolutely, do it? Yes.
Will he succeed? YES.
Inside he was bubbling up with the effects of Adrenaline but on the outside, he smiled politely at the goblin. The goblin nodded.
"The wand please, Mr. Black" he requested.
Regulus hesitated first but then took his wand out and kept it on the table for inspection. He of course didn't have the key. He wasn't the primary owner, but he could be allowed in, by the truthfulness of his wand. Though, he suppressed a sneer when his eyes fell on the wand. Tom Riddle had used the same wand to harm the others and he hated the idea.
The goblin nodded again and returned the wand. "You will have to follow me, Mr. Black"
Regulus nodded and compiled.
They reached a cart and Bogrod motioned them to take seats. He would be escorting them to the underground vaults. Scary, Regulus thought. I have no dirty secret from the goblins, he reminded himself.
The cart started moving underground and the darkness began to increase as the single shreds of light from the outside began to disappear.
Regulus knew what was next. The Thief's Downfall. The water washed through him while he remained stoic. He had nothing to hide.
Another wave of the same water. Again, nothing happened to him. He smirked internally. An insider does the maximum damage. He would play a role in the downfall. Who would suspect? He was anyways the favorite cousin of pretty Bella. Interesting.
They got off the cart safely.
A roar. He flinched. He had almost forgotten about the dragon. The goblin made a clanking sound that made the dragon to shrink back from the unknown fear of being punished brutally. Even the dragons knew, never to cross the goblins.
The goblin placed an entire palm of his on the door to unlock it. Good. Everything going swiftly. The doors melted away showing an entry to the next passageway.
Regulus stepped in after muttering a quick Lumos and lighting the place a little. The goblin followed.
Regulus hesitated. "Umm… Bogrod, I would like to be alone here, with Kreacher"
Bogrod gave him another suspicious glance before nodding and walking out.
He sighed in relief and then straightened to look around. Gold. Gold. Gold. Everywhere. He had to find what he was here for.
He turned his head in all directions to only find the treasure of the Lestrange family, filled from the top of the vault till the bottom, the goblets, the silver armors, different kinds of skins -some of them smelled too- vessels filled with weird potions and a… a skull wearing a crown. He scrunched his nose.
Now, how to find the cup? He remembered the appearance of it. There were gold goblets in one of the corners. He reached to hold one of them but shrunk back immediately.
"Ahhh" he groaned. It burned him, causing his skin to grow red blisters and his eyes to water. He cradled his hand to his chest, sniffling, while paying little attention to the goblet that just fell to the ground, doubling itself.
"Master Regulus!" Kreacher shrieked and ran to him. He took his hand in his worn-out ones and ran his long fingers on the wound, healing them.
Regulus gave a broad grin to him. "Thank you, Kreacher" he turned to the ground then. He understood that the things in the vault would burn the toucher and would multiply itself if dropped on the ground.
He had to be even more careful. He just hoped that the cup was here instead of the Lestrange Manor.
He took a step further only to shrink back once more with a half-burnt shoe and blistered toes. He moaned and sniffled again. Why the fuck?!
"Master!" Kreacher's fearful voice was heard again. He levitated Regulus in the air until the level that he could treat the toes without bending down. He held them in his hands and healed them once more in the same hour.
Regulus was grateful. He stayed in the air and looked around. There in the top-most corner something shone under the light of his wand.
"Kreacher, could you take me closer, please" he requested, pointing towards the corner.
Kreacher compiled. Regulus was soon floating very near to the thing. He eyed it critically. Did it have everything that he wants?
The golden one? Check.
Two finely-wrought handles? Check.
A badger engraved? He gasped. Check.
He got the cup. He felt overjoyed that he could have almost dance. But work first, he commanded himself.
He was about to touch it but then paused. What if it would burn him too? But couldn't he just take a tiny-mini risk? If it were Sirius, he wouldn't even have thought. And if Sirius could, then he could too. He took a deep breath, rousing the very small, almost non-existent Gryffindor part of himself.
It would only hurt a little, if it's fake, he kept saying in his head.
He brought his hand up again and touched it. He flinched before even feeling it. Nothing. It didn't hurt. He practically laughed at his stupidity.
"Kreacher" he called.
"Yes, Master Regulus, sir" Kreacher approached.
"Could you conjure a bag for me, please" he requested.
Kreacher nodded happily. Glad to be of use to his master. He waved his hand in the air and produced a small emerald green bag. He levitated it to Regulus, which he took hastily.
Regulus didn't want to hold the object any longer in his hands. He shoved the cup in the pouch and placed it in one of his robe pockets.
"Lower me, please, Kreacher"
Kreacher did and he was soon on the ground. He smiled.
"Bogrod!" he called out.
The loud clanking was heard and soon Bogrod was standing in front of him. Regulus smiled politely and escaped the fallen goblets on the floor to reach the door. He and Kreacher followed Bogrod in the cart and out of the Gringotts soon after.
He sighed. One work done. Now, to destroy the cup. He couldn't throw all the work on the others; they already had many things on their heads. He sighed once more and tilted his head to Kreacher who was looking at him curiously.
"Do you know the most destructive spell in the world, Kreacher?" he asked.
Kreacher gasped. "The Killing curse" he whispered, as if even saying it was a sin.
Regulus almost laughed at how naïve Kreacher was. He shook his head. "A bit less scary than that one?"
Kreacher looked thoughtful before pronouncing. "Fiendfyre"
Regulus slumped. "That is so much difficult to handle"
"That is, Master Regulus" Kreacher looked sad for him.
An idea lit in Regulus' head. "Could you take me to a forest where nobody lives, Kreacher?"
Kreacher bobbed his head. "Yes, Master Regulus, sir" he held out his hand that Regulus took and they disappeared from the street in Diagon Alley to a secluded forest.
Regulus fastened his hold on Kreacher's arm. I am not scared of anything, he said to himself. Just making sure that Kreacher is alright.
A howl was heard and he whimpered.
"Master Regulus, Kreacher can take him to any other place if this place is scary for him" Kreacher was worried for him.
Regulus straightened his robes with one hand, never living the hold of Kreacher's arm from the other.
The voice of footsteps on grass.
Regulus' heart beat fastened, his breath hitched and had to consciously control his frightened tears from falling. He couldn't back down now. He had to destroy the cup. What would Sirius think of him? He would be so disappointed, if he ran away. He sniffled again.
"Master Regulus, Kreacher can take him somewhere else" Kreacher desperately wanted his master to feel at ease.
But he shook his head, making some of the tears slip down. The next place could be even scarier.
The noise of the footsteps intensified, coming closer and he closed his eyes to face the unknown.
The footsteps were so close to him and then they stopped. He waited for whatever it was to leap on him but it never happened. He opened his eyes slowly.
He gasped. A girl wearing scarlet robes with flowing blonde hair and hazel eyes stood in front of him, looking confused.
"Que faites-vous ici?" she asked. "Et évidemment vous allez pleurer si vous êtes au milieu de cette forêt" she rolled her eyes.
Regulus whimpered and shrunk back. It could be a trick.
"Je ne vais pas te manger" the girl said, irritably.
Regulus opened his mouth but no words came out, just the frightened tears continued to slipped down his face.
The girl frowned and took a step closer. "Pourriez-vous s'il vous plaît me faire savoir ce qui ne va pas? Es-tu blessé quelque part?"
"I-I d-don't u-understand" Regulus fell back on the ground.
Th girl rolled her eyes. "Zis iz why you are crying"
He shook his head and tried to stand again, but dismissed the idea when the girl sat on the floor in front of him too.
"Are you 'urt zomewhere?" she asked. "Are you lozt?"
Regulus shook his head. "No. I had to come here to finish off something. Are you a… a…?"
The girl smiled and nodded her head. "I am a witch. Yez"
Regulus' eyes wandered to Kreacher. He was the reason she knew that he was a wizard too.
"Now, would you zell me why were you crying?" the girl sat up closer to him.
He cleared his throat and wiped the remains of the tears from his face, flushing. He felt like a fool, now. "I-I was s-scared. Thought, there w-was a w-werewolf"
The girl laughed and patted his cheek, making him redden even further. "You are blushing" she pointed out, laughing.
He choked on embarrassment. Why did all the awkward things happen with him? Sirius always made things look so easy and effortless.
"Who are you?" he asked to dismiss the former conversation.
"Oh, zo, zilly of me" she slapped her forehead. "I am from Beauxbatons, in the fourth year. Zis iz a forest, I come to explore. My father doezn't know about zis"
"I am here without my mother knowing, either. I am from Hogwarts fourth-year, by the way" he told her. She is beautiful in her own way, he thought to himself before blushing furiously.
She clapped her hands. "Wow. We are of the zame aze"
He nodded. "So, what's your name?"
She slapped her forehead again. "So zilly of me. Lea Michelle"
He extended his hand. "Regulus Black" he said in the most mature voice he could muster.
She took his hand and laughed. "Your voize iz funny, when you speak like that"
He deflated and flushed. "But it iz cute" she assured smiling.
He flushed even further. "So, may I call you, Lea?"
"You may and may I call you Reguluz?"
He grinned and nodded. "Of course, I would like that"
"Reguluz"
"Lea"
They laughed.
"Now, do you need any help with whatever you are 'ere for?"
Regulus thought. Could he ask her about this? Perhaps, he could. He wouldn't tell her everything. Just that the thing must be destroyed. He gave himself a satisfied nod to himself.
"You know how to cast Fiendfyre?" he asked carefully.
She clapped her hands, happily. "I do. My brother taught me 'ow to mazter it in zis very forest"
Regulus' eyes grew larger. "You actually know how to do it?!"
Lea rolled her eyes. "Did I just speak in French? Obviously, I know"
"Wow. You are brilliant" Regulus breathed, his eyes shining with astonishment.
She blushed under the praise. "So, why do you want it?"
"Oh… I have to destroy something" he took the cup out of his robes and showed her.
"It'z beautiful. Why do you want to deztroy it?" she reached to touch it but Regulus pulled it back.
"It's dark and must be destroyed"
She nodded seriously. "Fine, Reguluz, I'll help you"
He smiled. "Thank you" he stood up and placed the cup on the ground. "We have to do it"
She nodded and pointed her wand at the cup after they were far enough from it with Kreacher.
Lea held the wand up high in the air and swished it downwards forcefully, chanting something in Latin, unintelligible to Regulus.
The fire rose up on the grasses and started to spread over, taking the form of a gigantic fiery beast, looking like a huge serpent. It turned towards them and with immeasurable speed raced towards them.
Regulus' hand flew to grab one of Lea's and before he knew it the fiery beast was moving in the totally opposite direction from them. He sighed in relief.
Lea laughed. "I know it could be a bit scary"
"I wasn't scared" he mumbled.
The fiery monster's head bend on the cup, engulfing it into itself, and an ear-piercing scream broke out of it. It caused all three of them to shut their ears forcefully with their palms.
Lea swished her wand for the last time and the fire died down into ashes and smoke.
She slumped down on the floor, tired, but Regulus caught her by one of her arms. He gently let her sit and sat beside her. She was breathing heavily and sweat was beading on her forehead.
"Are you alright?" he asked, worriedly.
She nodded and smiled at him. "I am. Fiendfyre just zake zoo much from you"
He nodded in return. "Will you be fine?"
"I will, Reguluz. Stop worrying" she sat properly.
"You are beautiful" he whispered before he could stop himself. Why him? Sirius can throw his charm so easily. Why couldn't him? Why did he have to make a fool of himself every time?
She looked him into his eyes and then blushed. "Why do you think you are not handzome enough?"
He smiled and shook his head. "You know, you are also weird"
She gave him a slight shove on the shoulder. "You are scared of thingz too"
He flushed, remembering his foolishness of only moments ago. Sometimes he hoped he was braver. "We all are scared of somethings" he defended.
She laughed. "Now, don't you 'ave to go back"
His eyes widened. He had almost forgotten about the time. Shit. "Kreacher, we need to go back home. Mother will be so mad" he muttered before scrambling up on his feet and pocketing the cup.
"Yes, Master Regulus, sir" Kreacher made his presence known, dutifully, though it made the other two blush knowing that their entire conversation was witnessed by him.
"Will we meet again, Lea?" Regulus asked worriedly.
Lea came to him and kissed his cheek. "We will. I am coming to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament"
He smiled and nodded. "Meet later then"
"Meet later" she whispered before he disappeared from view.
Kreacher apparated him to the front of the house. He hastily opened the door and walked to the dining area, after looking relaxed and composed.
His mother and father were sitting and having breakfast while Sirius was sitting in the farthest corner from them, sneering at his food.
"Where were you, Regulus?" his mother narrowed her eyes on him.
He simply smiled. "Just taking a stroll down the street, mother"
She nodded, looking almost convinced.
Sirius narrowed his eyes on him, not at all convinced by the poor excuse by his brother.
Regulus smirked and mouthed. "Later" he was so excited tell the entire tale to his elder brother.
*Page Break*
"… so, this is what happened" Regulus took a deep breath after completing the tale. The jaws of everyone hung agape. They didn't know what to say.
"Hell…" Sirius was the one to break silence. "I am happy that you are not a Gryffindor, if you go an all these expeditions being a Slytherin"
"Have all the self-preservation left you, Regulus?!" Selene growled at him.
"I-I thought you'll be proud of me, Siri" Regulus said timidly. He had thought they would be patting his back.
Sirius was caught off guard. "You wanted to make me proud? You don't have do all these idiocies to make me proud, Reggie. But if I must admit I am a bit jealous of you"
Remus swatted the back of his head. "Sirius you're not being helpful. And Regulus what you did was… impressive but also a bit unplanned, wouldn't you say so?"
"You all Gryffindors always do something impulsive and then have fun" Regulus shrugged.
Charm groaned and wrapped her arms around his neck from the back. "Regulus! What you did was appreciated and we will never be able to thank you enough but only if you would have taken our help. We are not that useless, you know? By the way, Gryffindors are fools, we have got brains"
"Hey!" came from the offended Gryffindors while the others laughed.
"That means the cup is destroyed now?" Austin asked, the thing that was important.
Regulus smiled and nodded, taking the pouch out of his robes.
"Charm can keep it, just like all other she's been harboring" Shane suggested.
Regulus gave it to Charm and she pocketed it to later add it to her collection of destroyed Horcruxes.
"You got a girlfriend there, Regulus. Hmm?" Lily said in a sing-a-song voice, patting his cheek.
He flushed. "She is not my girlfriend. We don't even know each other"
"Well… she is coming here for Triwizard Tournament. You'll be able to meet her again" James winked.
Severus sucked in breath.
"What?" Lily looked at him concerned.
"What if this was a trick, Regulus, from You-Know-How, to know about things" he suspected.
That got some eye rolls.
"Why would you say so?" Regulus began worrying.
Severus shook his head. "Was she pretty?"
He blushed. "I-I mean, I can say so"
Severus banged the table as if his point is proven.
"You are making absolutely no sense, Severus" Selene gave him an exasperated look.
"Urghh… am I the only insightful one? The girl comes out of nowhere when Regulus needed help. She is pretty and tried to seduce him. He falls for her. She also helped in a supposedly small thing to probably, take the bigger picture in hand. And he was so comfortable with her. Doesn't that make sense?"
"I-I, Severus, I don't think…" Regulus didn't think about any of it. Was he actually a fool?
Selene groaned. "Severus answer one question. What were things you noticed when you met Lily?"
"How is that necessary?" he asked, annoyed.
"Just answer"
Severus shrugged and then looked at Lily, remembering the moment. He smiled and then blushed at his idiocy. "Umm… Lily was… well, I saw that she was a witch. I had been observing the two girls coming to the park for days, because I had nothing better to do" he rolled his eyes on himself.
"That is what was the main reason I confronted her" he continued. "Someone like me and then she was so beautiful…" he trailed off. He couldn't believe he let that slip.
Lily blushed. She knew he admired her but he had never said anything so openly.
"See Severus? You went to Lily because she was pretty… do you think she was a trick?" Shane asked casually.
Severus shook his head. "No. I would have never spoke to her again if she would have also treated me like Petunia did. She was understanding not pitying or disgusted"
Lily smiled. She loved him. She frowned. Where did that come from? But she did and then smiled at the thought.
She went and wrapped her arms around his neck from the back. "So, don't you see there are similar things in the tale, Sev?"
Severus broke her hands apart to look at her in the eyes. "No. We were just nine and what useful a filthy boy from Spinner's End would be to you?"
Lily laughed and kissed his nose, her hands still limply around his shoulders. "Let me guess. That boy whom you call filthy, I call special"- he flustered here, but didn't lose the composure- "He was the one who showed me magical world for the first time"- he was about to protest, but she kept a finger on his lips- "Then he is smart, he tells me stories from books which I would never imagine of reading and also, he is too handsome to be ignored"
Severus snorted, earning a swat from Lily on the cheek, that was a bit more forceful. She grabbed her jaw.
"Never. You are beautiful and accept that. People are mad behind you" she winked.
Severus' face went deep red. Was she genuine? Or was she saying all this just because he was her friend?
"And yes, I forgot to mention the most important one that he is my best friend" Lily kissed his nose again. Isn't that close to the lips?
Severus could have burnt down, now. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut by another yelling.
"Are we interrupting something?!" Remus shouted.
Severus and Lily broke apart, flushing. Why did every time they forget that they were in public?
"We can leave, you want us to…!" Sirius shouted back.
"I mean, why are you two such big simps!" Regulus yelled too.
"Just like Shane and Selene!" Charm screamed.
"We were not simps! Or perhaps, we were!" Shane and Selene shouted looking at each other.
"Why the hell don't you both just accept!" Peter bellowed.
"You've been like this since the starting of the year!" Austin shouted.
"Would you all please stop shouting!?" Lily asked, shouting herself.
"My privacy charm isn't there so that you all can shout!" Severus yelled.
"Are you both together?!" James bellowed, who had been quiet for long.
He wanted to know. He needed to know. Was he actually on the wrong path? Here, everyone seemed to know they loved each other that was more than just platonic. He truly had seen both of them ease around each other and a little self-conscious too, just like Peter had mentioned. They come so close to kissing each other but seem scared to scare the other away.
Severus and Lily were caught off guard. "We are not together" they mumbled.
"Drop the spell, Severus" James requested.
Severus swished his wand and James left, feeling disappointed in himself.
"What was up with him?" Austin asked Sirius.
Sirius simply waved a hand in dismissal. "He is just going through a thoughtful phase of his life"
"A very, very thoughtful one" Remus added.
"His head hurts sometimes when he thinks so much before acting upon" Peter said soberly.
The others shrugged.
Sirius held his hands up. "There is a good news though"
"What?" Selene asked.
"Well…" Sirius rubbed his palms. "That dementors are being removed from here because Wilkes is caught again"
They all sighed in relief.
"This will get James' mood up" Shane smiled.
*Page Break*
Severus entered his dorm, tried after a very dramatic day. He threw his robes on his bed and was about to slump down himself before which he heard a suppressed sniffle. He frowned and looked around his dormitory, making sure he hadn't stepped into the first-year dorm rooms by mistake. No. His own dorm rooms.
Who would be sniffling here? Sixteen-year-old Slytherins knew better than to look weak in among even there owns. Perhaps, someone had a cold. He shrugged and dismissed it.
A strangled sob.
His face jerked up. This was unmistakably a sob. What could be so distressing, forcing a Slytherin to sob in his bed without being aware that there is no silencing charm around their bed. Severus followed the noise.
The very corner one. Afroze? What had happened to him?
The realization dawned on him. Afroze's family was attacked too. He forgot that Charm and Selene's family being safe doesn't meant all the evils of the world were defeated. Was Afroze's parents… dead? Shivers ran down his spine. He didn't even want to imagine his mother dead. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before approaching the four-poster bed.
He very slyly tore open a very slight part of the curtain, enough to peek and have a look inside.
It was dark inside, but it was could have been said in more than the sense of the absence of light. Afroze had his knees drawn to his chest and his head buried in them. It was evident that he was more than a little upset.
Severus cleared his throat before considering the option to escape. Afroze's head shot up. He wiped his tears hastily by the sleeves of his robes.
"Whose there?" he asked, sounding very different from his normal-self.
Severus opened the curtain a bit more to show himself, trying not to scare him. He himself didn't know why the hell was he doing it. He knew that while under a vulnerable state, a Slytherin likes to be left alone.
Afroze motioned him to sit. Severus hesitantly took the seat, again without even giving it a thought. He was being a fool and he knew he would make any conversation that proceeds very, very awkward. But wasn't he known to make the worst decisions, sometimes? He restrained from rolling his eyes on himself.
"A-Andrew" he tried to break the silence. "A-Are you f-fine?" he kicked himself mentally. Of course, he wasn't fine.
More tears slipped down Andrew's face and Severus could do nothing other than watch awkwardly. His friends had comforted him many times, couldn't he learn a thing or two from them?
"My parents are dead" Andrew spoke threw his tears.
Severus' eyes closed involuntarily. The thing he dreaded to hear.
"T-They were l-lying on the f-floor, when I-I got there" Andrew broke into another sob, hiding his face in his hands.
Severus' breathing quickened. Without thinking he went and sat beside Andrew, rubbing his back.
"I-I couldn't believe t-they are g-gone. W-Wasn't it b-better to join You-Know-How? T-They anyways a-are d-d… W-Why did t-they had to go so e-early? I wanted to l-live with t-them forever… N-Now when t-they are n-not h-here I-I feel empty…" Andrew wept on Severus' shoulder and he did nothing to stop him.
Andrew was in agony and he couldn't just shove him off.
He kept on muttering something intelligible in between his sobs and Severus let him. After a moment Severus noticed that he was asleep. He gently got up from the bed and straightened Andrew, covering him with the blankets and leaving.