"Kreacher! Kreacher help me hide, please," Regulus called out as he ran through the halls of 12 Grimmauld Place, ducking into a spare bedroom where the house elf appeared. It was a few months since Bellatrix was here and now their parents were mostly 'out' on 'business' they wouldn't tell them about, so Sirius had taken matters into his own hands and decided he and Regulus would play games every day—dumb games like tag, and Regulus hated it. His brother was faster and smarter and it was impossible for him to win.

"Please help me hide," he begged the elf once more. "Please, he won't stop, make it stop..."

Before he knew it, the elf had grabbed him and they disappeared from the room, reappearing in the kitchen.

"Kreacher is happy to help, young master. Master Regulus can hide in Kreacher's den, Kreacher will talk to Master Sirius."

The elf left again and Regulus opened the door to Kreacher's den, quickly closing it behind him, in case his brother came down. He curled up on the blankets, waiting for Kreacher to come back.

He had been in this room a few times before, but it never ceased to amaze him what the elf thought worthwhile to keep, from breadcrumbs to pieces of mouldy cheese and half-broken picture frames with pictures of members of the House of Black, some dating back decades.

It seemed to take forever for the house elf to come back to him, and as he lay there, Regulus' mind started to wander. His parents were gone most days. His cousins, all three of them rarely spoke to him; Bellatrix was too busy with this new Lord Voldemort stuff, Andromeda was probably still angry, and Narcissa spent all her time at the Malfoys. His brother was irrationally irritating and it was nearly punishment to have to spend so much time with just him and the house elf—at least the house elf listened to him and respected his boundaries, the elf's company was much better than that of his wild brother's, and his ideas of 'fun'.

And that was not all. Regulus could sense the changes going on. The way Mother and Father looked at each other when they thought he wasn't looking. The way the adults would abruptly stop talking whenever they noticed Regulus there. The way Sirius was both causing more trouble than ever before, and more silent than ever before. He knew his brother often had sleepovers at his Uncle Alphard's, which he envied because why did even his brother have to leave him alone? He knew his brother often spent time with Andromeda. His brother had people, he had company. All Regulus had was Kreacher while his family was falling apart.

"Master Regulus," Kreacher called as the door to the small bedroom opened. "Master Sirius will leave you alone now."

"Thank you..."

He didn't get up, he didn't change positions at all as he lay there, curled up on Kreacher's small bed.

"What troubles you, Master Regulus?"

Regulus looked up to see the elf staring at him with big, concerned eyes. He sighed. "Everything's falling apart. My family, my home... Everyone's gone. I don't know what to do."

"Family is important, Master Regulus, but sometimes, families loses their ways. Kreacher has seen it happen before."

Regulus slowly sat up, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Have you? What did you do then?"

The house-elf's voice trembled slightly as he spoke. "Kreacher always remains loyal, Master Regulus. Even when it becomes twisted and dark, Kreacher is always loyal."

"Yeah, you're a house elf. Of course you're loyal," he sighed. He had hoped Kreacher could give him some actual advice, but house elves weren't humans, they don't work like humans.

"Not all house elves is loyal, master. We serve, but not all for loyalty. There is things that keeps Kreacher going. There are many moments, Master Regulus, when Kreacher feels lost and alone. But even then, there is things that keeps Kreacher going."

"What keeps a house elf going?" Regulus wondered, out loud.

"Oh, all sorts of things, Master Regulus," the house elf spoke up, a glimmer in his eyes. "Kindness, praise, gratitude."

Regulus smiled slightly, and before he knew it, the next question was out. "Do you like serving us?"

The house elf's eyes widened. "Master Regulus, Kreacher... Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black!"

Regulus leaned forward. "Yes, but do you enjoy it? Is there any part of it that makes you happy?"

"Kreacher... Kreacher is happy in fulfilling his duties, in doing what is expected." His reply was hesitant, yet determined.

Regulus thought. If Kreacher truly just wanted to serve out of loyalty, why was he magically bound to the family? Or was it the magic that made him want to serve? "Don't you ever wish for something more? For... for freedom, maybe?"

Kreacher's face twisted into a mix of outrage and terror as soon as he had mentioned the word freedom. He backed up against the door, away from him as if being in his very presence would set him free.

"Freedom? No, no, Master Regulus, no! Kreacher knows his place, sir. Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black!"

Regulus shook his head. He didn't understand house elves at all, but he did know that whatever it was he had said had been the wrong thing to do, and he didn't want to lose his only companion, too. "I'm sorry, Kreacher. I didn't mean to upset you. I won't mention it again. Your loyalty and service mean a lot to me, and I'm very happy to have you here."

"Kreacher... Kreacher is honoured to serve you, Master Regulus. Kreacher is honoured to serve the Noble House of Black."

-

Regulus was on his way to the drawing room like most days, when something strange happened. It was as if an invisible force pulled him away from the house, pulling him into some kind of void. Disorientated in the pitch-black darkness that surrounded him, he called for help, only to realise there was no sound coming out of his mouth. None he could hear, anyway.

His heart was beating in his chest and he turned around, frantically looking for a way out, but he couldn't see anything. He couldn't feel anything either, it was as if he was floating, his feet kept him standing,but there was nothing they touched. He started to panic as tears welled up in his eyes, and he was still spinning around when he saw something in the distance. A small, white dot.

Before he could think about what the white dot might be, he felt his feet carrying him towards it, as he was desperate for something that wasn't this darkness, no matter what it was. The closer he got, the more the white light seemed to consume him, getting brighter and brighter until it blinded him as it consumed all darkness, leaving him stranded in the light. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered them with his hands but the light seemed to reach through it, and he started to wish he was back in the darkness forever as he sank through his knees, desperate to find some ground to hold onto, to bury himself in, but there was nothing.

He was falling. He was falling through the light, into more light. He fell for what felt like an eternity, and the worst went through his mind. This was the end of him, he knew it. He wouldn't come back from this.

Suddenly, there was a painful stinging in his nose as he reached something. There was a loud thud as he fell to the floor, and the light disappeared. There was darkness, but not the pitch-black darkness from before. This was more like the usual darkness of having your eyes closed.

Upon realising that, he carefully opened them.

His throbbing nose didn't help as he tried to figure out where he was, his surroundings slowly taking shape as he blinked a few time to adjust to the dim lighting. He recognised the familiar green wallpaper and dark wooden flooring, the old, black chandelier suspended in mid-air above him and the bed next to him—his own bed! He was in his own bedroom!

He let out a relieved sigh as he came to the realisation it had all been a dream. But as he realised that, his nose started to hurt ten times as bad. His hands flew up to his nose to touch it, but he quickly regretted that decision when a shot of pain soared through his entire body. He whimpered in pain as he curled up into a ball, silently crying over his painful nose.

He didn't know how long he had stayed there, curled up like that, before the throbbing seemed to get slightly more bearable. He took a few deep breaths and slowly sat up as the memories of the dream came back to him, and especially, how scared he had felt.

He steadied himself as he got to his feet, his mind racing as he did. He was mostly concerned about his parents' reaction in the morning, but also knew he wouldn't be able to sleep now. He decided to get Sirius. His big brother would know what to do.

He slowly opened his own bedroom door and tiptoed across the hall, knocking softly on his brother's door. "Sirius?"

There was no answer, and after a brief moment of hesitation, Regulus decided to peek inside. As he opened the door and looked around the corner, all he could see was his brother snoring in his bed, sound asleep.

Gathering his courage, because he really needed his big brother now, Regulus stepped inside the room and went over to his brother, gently touching his shoulder. "Sirius," he said again. "Sirius, are you awake?"

The snoring continued, and Regulus got a little frustrated. Shaking harder, he whispered in his ear. "Sirius, it's me... can you hear me?"

He stood there for a good few minutes, trying to wake up his brother, and failing. He felt a few tears falling and he quickly wiped them away. Even after having a nightmare and hurting your nose, a member of the House of Black was not to cry. Whatever would his parents think if they saw him in such a state? He was eight, far too old for such foolish things.

He left his brother's bedroom and went back to his own. He was ready to call for Kreacher, although he felt bad for most likely waking the elf, when he realised that his cousins were staying for Easter! Both Andromeda and Bellatrix had come to stay the entire Easter week, though unfortunately Narcissa had promised those Malfoys she would spend the holidays there.

He quickly hurried downstairs to where he knew the girls were staying in two of their many guestrooms. Andromeda had been quite distant since he overheard her love secret, and he hadn't really spoken to her since. Of course, it had been nearly a full year, and they had exchanged pleasantries, but they hadn't truly spoken about important matters. Not that they were ever particularly close, but this was the most distant they had been in his entire life. Regulus was scared she was angry at him for it, that she thought he was a sneak like Sirius had said, that she didn't like him anymore. So he knocked on Bellatrix's room and slowly opened it.

As he opened the door, he saw Bellatrix by the drawer, still in her nightshirt as she was hurriedly getting clothes to get dressed, seemingly stressed.

"Regulus!"

Regulus nearly choked. "I'm sorry, I-"

He didn't know where to look, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable. He hadn't expected her to be out of bed at this hour. However, as he tried averting his gaze, his eyes caught sight of something on his cousin's exposed left forearm. His mouth fell open as he took a mindless step forward, trying to get a better look at the skull and snake tattoo.

"Regulus, what are you doing here?"

Her words snapped him back to reality, although he couldn't tear his eyes away from her arm, still trying to see the full design. "I..."

"I'm afraid I have urgent matters to attend to. I don't have time for this." She crossed her arms, blocking the tattoo from sight.

Regulus looked back up at her face, and saw she was annoyed. He hesitated, but curiosity got the better of him. "Can I see?"

Bellatrix's lips curled up in a smile. "See what?"

"Y-your arm, I..."

"Speak up, Regulus! It's nothing to be ashamed of, some curiosity is good for you, keeps you sharp," she smiled as she unfolded her arms, beckoning him to come closer to her.

Regulus slowly walked up to her, and she put her other, bare, arm around his shoulders as they sat down on the bed. She suddenly didn't seem to be in such a hurry anymore as she held out her left arm for him.to see, staring at her own arm with what he could only describe as some sort of obsessed love. Regulus watched the pulsating tattoo, which seemed to be alive, the snake moving around the skull as if it was truly a snake. He lifted his hand, reaching out to touch it when Bellatrix slapped his hand away. "Don't touch it," she warned him. "You'll burn yourself if you touch it now."

"Burn myself?"

"It gets hot when we're summoned to our master."

"Oh," he said, but he didn't quite understand. He continued to stare at the design of the tattoo, until his thoughts were interrupted once more.

"Regulus, what happened to your nose?"

"I... I hit it..." he mumbled, embarrassed about what had happened earlier. The nightmare, him hitting his nose against the floor, the pain he was feeling now, all of it.

Bellatrix let go of his shoulder and reached out to touch his nose with both her hands. Regulus flinched back as her fingers brushed against it. "Ouch!" He pulled away from her, but she grasped his head.

"Let me take a look."

He held still as Bellatrix moved her fingers over his nose again. "You've certainly given yourself quite a bump, I think you broke it," she chuckled. "Hold on, let me fix it for you."

Bellatrix got up and grabbed her wand from the bedside table, muttering a healing charm. He felt a cool, soothing sensation wash over his nose, and the pain gradually went away. "You're amazing!"

Bellatrix chuckled softly. "Well, it's a good thing I know a thing or two about healing magic with a clumsy little cousin like you, isn't it?"

"Thank you."

"Of course, Regulus. You're family, and family looks out for each other."

Regulus nodded. "I know."

Bellatrix smiled at him. "Good boy," she said as she sat back down next to him.

"You have to leave now, don't you?" He muttered again, looking down at his fingers. He hoped she would stay, even if just a little while longer.

Bellatrix shook her head. "I'm already late. There is no rush in going now."

"Where were you going?"

"To my master."

Regulus frowned. "What do you mean?"

She smirked. "Lord Voldemort. My master, the saviour of the world!" She showed her his arm again. The tattoo wasn't as lively as it was before, but it was still just as beautiful. "This is more than just a tattoo, it also takes you to Him. It's an honour to have this Mark, the greatest honour to have this Mark."

"Can- can I touch it now?"

Bellatrix hovered over the mark herself, before gently taking his hand and tracing the outlines of the tattoo with his finger. It was warm, but not hot. It didn't hurt his finger, but it felt different, it felt important. It made his heart beat faster as he traced the design.

"It's so beautiful," he breathed. "I want one."

Bellatrix let go of his hand and cupped his cheek, her touch both affectionate and possessive. "Oh, Regulus. You're young, too young. Neither our world, nor you, are ready for you to join right now."

"Maybe in a few years?" He asked, hoping she would say yes. That design was just beautiful, and the feeling he got from touching it—it was as if he could do anything.

"Maybe in a lot of years," she smiled, letting go of him. "You don't even have your wand yet, you barely understand what this is about. You're far too young, and you shouldn't do anything just because of the Dark Mark."

"But I want to be like you!"

"I know you do. And I'm sure you'll go on to do great things, you'll make our family proud."

Regulus beamed. "Thank you, Bella."

"Of course," she smiled back, ruffling his hair. "Now, it's late, off to bed with you."

"Can I stay here with you?" He mumbled. "My nightmare, I'm a little scared..."

"Regulus, you're eight..."

He sighed, looking down at the floor again. "I know, I'm sorry."

"Okay, just this once, then.

"Really?"

She nodded and he flung his arms around her. "Thank you so much!"

His cousin laughed. "Come on, to bed."

He let go of her and climbed further into the bed he was sitting on, pulling the covers over him. His cousin made sure he was tucked in before she sat down on the nearby chair belonging to the desk. "Goodnight, Regulus," she said as she grabbed a book and started to read.

"Goodnight, Bella," he answered before closing his eyes, allowing sleep to take over once more.