A few months passed in relative peace, and life went back to its normal pace for Regulus. Well, almost. The one thing that changed was that Mother and Father were 'out' a lot. On 'business'. But they never said anything more about it, which Regulus thought wasn't exactly fair. They expected him and Sirius to do their lessons by themselves and to struggle through difficult arithmetic equations whilst they needn't even explain where they were?

But they were grownups, and sadly, he was not.

And neither was Sirius, who also had no patience to sit around and work on their assignments when there was little to no supervision; the portraits and Kreacher were all that remained, and neither were likely to tell Mother and Father about what they'd been doing—either out of lack of interest or because they simply didn't know.

Regulus soon found out that he was the target of Sirius' lack of patience, when he found himself running through the halls trying to escape his brother wanting to play tag for the fiftieth time that week. He hated playing tag because his brother was so much faster than he was, it just didn't make things fair.

He ducked into a spare bedroom and started to barricade the door with anything he could find that was easily moveable, which wasn't much. A chair, two nightstands... the desk was unfortunately too heavy to move.

Panting heavily, he sat down on the bed. This should work. Sirius had to leave him alone now. He let himself fall back and let the thoughts wash over him.

What would Mother and Father be up to now? What 'business' could they possibly have? They never went 'out'. Well, never together. Father left sometimes, and Regulus wasn't too sure where he went, come to think if it. Maybe he took Mother with him, this time?

But it kept gnawing at him. Something about his parents leaving so often, so suddenly, so immediately after Bellatrix appeared talking about that Lord... he wasn't blind. He could see the glances his parents shared, the way all grownups seemed to just stop talking whenever he entered the room. He knew they were up to something. He just didn't know what.

And he didn't understand why.

Why did everything have to change? Why couldn't things just stay the same as they always were, with everyone home during the holidays, with everyone having fun together. Not spending time at the stupid Malfoys, being in love yet miserable about it (Andromeda was probably still angry at him for listening in on the conversation), joining some man for some reason... his cousins had all lost their minds. No wonder Mother and Father decided to leave.

There was a rattle at the door.

"Please don't open it," he whispered, "I'm not here, please... please..."

Why did he have to be stuck with his stupid brother and his stupid idea of 'fun'?! Why couldn't Sirius just go for another sleepover at Uncle Alphard's, or was Uncle Alphard acting strangely now, too? All this change made his head hurt.

The chair and nightstands slowly moved as the door opened, a grinning Sirius appearing from the other side.

He yelped and instantly jumped up from the bed, looking for somewhere to hide as his brother cleared the way so he could reach him.

He had to think fast. There was no escape. His brother came closer and closer every second and the only way out of the room was through that very same door.

"KREACHER!!"

With a crack, Kreacher appeared in-between Regulus and Sirius.

Sirius tried to dart around him but Regulus was faster, yelling at Kreacher to take him away. The house elf grabbed hold of him and disappeared, leaving Sirius stranded.

They Apparated into the kitchen.

"Thank you," he breathed, taking a few steps back from the elf. That was close. Too close.

He sat down at the kitchen table whilst Kreacher got him some tea. He was relatively safe here. Sirius didn't like coming down here—not unless Kreacher was upstairs, at least.

"Everything's falling apart," he mumbled when the elf returned, "my family, my home... Everyone's gone. I don't know what to do."

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

"You have? What did you do then?"

Kreacher'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. They were literally bound to serve and here he was thinking one of them could offer him some advice! Stupid, stupid...

"Not all house elves are loyal, master," Kreacher said softly.

"Really?"

"Some betray their masters," he said, nodding for emphasis.

"I didn't know you could."

"Oh yes... with great difficulty..."

Was he planning something? But Kreacher seemed to read the suspicions in his eyes because he added, with a deep bow: "Kreacher lives to serve this family! 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 is it that keeps you going?"

The house elf looked startled for a moment, mumbled something, and said: "Kindness, praise, gratitude... lots of things..."

"Do you like this? Serving us?"

Kreacher's already big eyes grew even larger. "M-master Regulus," he gasped, "Kreacher... Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black!"

He leaned forward. "Yes, but do you enjoy it? Does it make you happy?"

"Kreacher... Kreacher is happy in fulfilling his duties, in doing what is expected."

Again, such a standard answer! Maybe if he phrased it differently...

"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 wall, away from him as if being in his very presence would clothe him.

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

He hadn't expected such an extreme reaction. And he still wasn't any wiser, since Kreacher just kept repeating what he had said before. But still, he shouldn't have scared him like this. He should've known the house elf would act like this. He was a house elf! House elves made no sense!

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kreacher. I didn't mean to upset you. I won't mention it again. I'm very happy to have you here," he added. He really did appreciate the elf for all he did (but especially his actions today. And that was one good cup of tea).

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

Regulus pushed the memory of that day far to the back of his mind. He didn't like seeing Kreacher that way, it made him feel... all bad inside. It was hard to put a word on in.

Time passed as usual and things stayed largely the same; Sirius played stupid games with him (if only Sirius liked playing real games, like cards, or chess...), his parents kept going away on 'business', and his cousins were away at Hogwarts.

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, into some kind of void.

"Help!" he called out. It felt funny, but he couldn't place it. He couldn't see anything in the pitch-black darkness that surrounded him, and it seemed as if the world was spinning before his eyes.

He called for help once more, and that's when he realised what was so strange—there wasn't any sound coming from his mouth. At least, none he could hear.

His heart was beating in his chest and he turned around, frantically looking for a way out. He still couldn't see anything. He couldn't feel anything. 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.

He was still spinning around when he saw something in the distance.

A small, white dot. Maybe a star? Was this space?

He felt his feet carrying him towards the small, white dot that might be a star. The closer he got, the more the white light seemed to consume him. It got brighter and brighter until it blinded him as it consumed all darkness, leaving him stranded in the light in much the same way as he had been stranded in darkness moments before.

He squeezed his eyes shut and covered them with his hands but the light seemed to reach through it. Oh, why had he gone towards it? There was no way back now. He sank to his knees, desperate to find some ground to hold onto, to bury himself in... but there was nothing.

He fell. He fell through the light, into more light. He was falling 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. He couldn't. The fall would kill him.

His face hit something hard. The light disappeared, making place for the blinding pain that shot through his body. The pain seemed to come from his nose, and he felt something trickling down over his lips.

There was darkness, but not the pitch-black darkness from before. This was more like the usual darkness of having your eyes closed, with all the differently coloured shapes dancing around...

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 took their shapes and 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 was his own bed! He was in his own bedroom!

He was alive and 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 at least 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 and 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 caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror as he wanted to get back in bed, and saw his bloodied up nose. Oh no. What would his parents think?! He had to fix this, now. Only, he had no idea how to.

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

Please be awake, he thought as he opened the door and looked around the corner. All he could see was his brother snoring in his bed, sound asleep.

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

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

He stood there for a good few minutes, but Sirius just wouldn't wake up. Disappointed and on the brink of tears he left his brother's room again. He couldn't cry. He just couldn't. He was eight!

OK. He had to think. Maybe Kreacher could help...? He didn't want to wake him up for something silly like this, though, and he'd probably tell Mother and Father...

He was about to just slip back into bed – maybe he'd try and wake up early, ask Sirius what to do before anyone else woke up? – when he realised that it was Easter. And Easter meant: more options. Especially since Andromeda and Bellatrix were both staying over for a few days!

He quickly hurried downstairs. He knew the girls were staying in two of their many guestrooms, and they weren't hard to find. Two adjacent rooms on the floor below his. It was perfect.

It would have been even more perfect if Narcissa was here, but unfortunately, Narcissa was at those Malfoys again... so he'd have to make do with Andromeda—who had been quite distant since he overheard her love secret, and although he hadn't really spoken to her since, he just knew she was still angry at him... of course, it had been nearly a full year, but still, Blacks could hold grudges like no other.

Bellatrix was his other option. It didn't seem like a good plan, but still; he knocked.

He didn't wait for her to answer, expecting her to be asleep like Sirius had been, so when he opened the door ut came as a great surprise to see her standing by the wardrobe, pulling out different sets of black robes and tossing them over her shoulder. She was in a hurry, and didn't notice him until he took a step inside, the sound of his feet against the floorboards startling her.

"Regulus!" she fumbled her nightshirt, but Regulus was happy to see her wand lying on the other side of the room, still on the nightstand. Still, she could reach it in seconds if she knew where to look...

He quickly looked away from the wand, back at his cousin. He didn't mean to startled her, honest. Why was she even out of bed?

He took another step forward when he spotted something on her arm. He tried to get a better look as Bellatrix stopped her frantic search for her wand and resorted to glaring at Regulus.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Regulus stared at her arm. She moved it slightly – revealing more of the thing on her arm – and he recognised it to be a snake, and... was that a skull?

"Regulus!"

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

He tried his best to look innocent as he took another step closer to her. "M-may I...?"

"Yes...?"

"Y-your arm, I..."

"Speak up, Regulus," she said, sitting don't on the bed. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, some curiosity is good for you, keeps you sharp."

"May I see your arm?" he said, a little more confident.

She beckoned for him to come closer.

He sat down on the bed next to her and she held out her left arm for him to see. The snake seemed to be alive, pulsating on the skin.

He lifted his hand, reaching out to touch it when Bellatrix slapped his hand away. "Don't touch it," she hissed. "You'll burn yourself if you touch it now."

"Burn myself?"

"It's no regular mark," she said, "it burns whenever he summons us."

"Who?"

"The Dark Lord, of course," she smiled, stroking his hair with her other hand. "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 reached out to touch his nose with both her hands. He flinched back as her fingers brushed against it — "Ow!" He pulled away from her, but she grasped his head.

"Let me take a look."

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

Bellatrix got up and grabbed her wand from where he had seen it earlier. She pointed it at him and he felt a cool, soothing sensation wash over him, the pain gradually going away.

"You're amazing!"

She smiled. "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. You're family, and family look out for each other."

"I know."

"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.

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

"Where were you going?"

"To my master."

Regulus frowned, but didn't get to ask what she meant, for she showed her her arm again. The black tattoo was starting to lose its colour, but it still looked very impressive.

"The Dark Lord; my master, the saviour of the world! This Mark takes you to him."

"May I- 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 felt hot against his fingers (though it didn't necessarily hurt) and the mark was slightly raised above the skin, more closely resembling a vivid black scar instead of a regular tattoo...

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

She 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?"

"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. No, you're far too young, and you shouldn't do anything just because of the Dark Mark, no matter how breathtakingly beautiful it may be."

He hated being young. He hated being young so much.

"May I stay here with you? I had a nightmare, I'm a little scared..."

"Regulus, you're eight..."

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

"OK, just this once, then. Come on."

He beamed and climbed into the bed, pulling the covers over him. Bella made sure he was tucked in before she sat down on the nearby chair belonging to the desk. "Goodnight, Reggie," she said, grabbing a book off the desk.

"Goodnight, Bella."