In the middle of nowhere, there was a cave. It looked small from the outside, but the inside was vast, full of water and rocks. Usually, no one came there unless to hide some secrets or uncover them, as the now-drowning boy tried. The waves, usually calm, shook with fury as the inferi swallowed him deep down. Despite knowing his fate, he fought with all his might to reach the surface, losing every last breath from his lungs. Despair was tangible. Water filled his lungs and throat, coming through his nose and mouth.
Kreacher, who was supposed to have gone back to Grimmauld Place by then, watched as his master died, pain in his eyes. The elf knelt on the shore, trying to see where those horrific creatures took the young man.
Outside, with a click, she apparated to the cave entrance. Despite her fearless exterior, inside, her heart raced with anxiety. Nothing could go wrong; everything had to go smoothly. Too much was at stake, including her own life. The small heels of her boots clicked against the rocks as she walked inside. With another click, she apparated beside Kreacher, who looked both relieved and terrified.
"You were about to leave, weren't you?" she asked harshly.
"Yes, ma'am, that's what master said Kreacher should do," the elf said, twisting his long fingers. He looked at her with pleading eyes.
The woman snorted, not finding it funny at all. "So much for loyalty," she said, grabbing her wand. Walking close to where the inferi had sunk Regulus, she threw a spell at the boy. "Carpe Retractum!" She grabbed his feet and quickly pulled his body out of the water. The horde of inferi came after them, trying to pull Regulus back. With a "Depulso," she hit one, then another, and another, until she was beside Kreacher again.
"Be ready to take us back to the house!" she yelled as the elf nodded. Gathering all the rage she felt over the last three months, she swished her wand, casting "Partis Temporarius," as Albus had told her to do. Many inferi were thrown back to the lake while others crawled towards them, but before they could try anything, the woman grabbed Regulus by the waist with one arm and the elf's hand with the other and yelled, "NOW!"
Apparating seemed like the nicest thing in the world as a teenager. Going anywhere, in the blink of an eye… Who wouldn't love it? However, the movement was nauseating. In this kind of situation, apparating was always the worst. As they landed inside Regulus' room, she felt the dizziness and sickness of a labyrinthitis crisis. Holding onto the floor, she steadied herself and looked at the boy. He looked quite dead.
Desperate with the fear of failing, she began a tracheostomy procedure. On the thirtieth pull of his chest, he spat water all over his chest and her hand. The woman let out a big sigh of relief. She sat on her heels, breathing deeply, eyes closed in relief. Things weren't so messed up after all; they had a chance.
With a couple more coughs, Regulus sat up, scared. He was supposed to be dead; what went wrong? His throat and chest still burned; he could feel the sensation of water inside his lungs and larynx. He felt dizzy and sick. Looking at the woman's face, he didn't recognize her. Except for the eyes, he felt like he had seen those eyes before, but where? Pulling back until he hit his back on the bed, Regulus asked:
"Who are you? Why did you save me?"
The woman remained seated, looking as calm as a Buddha. The young man, however, began looking around for his wand.
"You don't waste time, do you? Just like your brother, straight to the point," she said, smirking. "Are you looking for this?" she asked, holding the wand up.
Regulus stopped his frantic movements, looking at her with fear. He breathed heavily. Taking a better look at her, he tried to gather more information from the way she dressed. It didn't look like wizard clothing, but Muggle attire.
"Do you know my brother?" Regulus asked.
"Yes, I do. Very well, in fact," the woman answered as she pulled her hair into a bun and tied it with her wand. Something very Sirius-like, Regulus noticed. "He taught me that," she said, pointing at her hair and smiling.
"That's why you know me? Did he say something about me? How does he know about the cave? And the horcrux? And what I was about to do? He could not possibly know any of that; he's too busy worrying about Potter and Lupin, and the other one, I forgot his name," the boy rambled quickly, tumbling word upon word, while rage and jealousy built up.
"Pettigrew. The other one is Peter Pettigrew," she said with rage, but also disgust and pain. Being quiet for a while, she stared into nothing, looking extremely troubled. "Don't do that to yourself. And to him. Your brother loves you dearly. He just doesn't know how to show it after everything that happened between your family and the both of you. Besides, he thinks you hate him. Sirius can be quite blind when it comes to emotions, most of all his own. And even more so when he feels insecure," she finished, still staring at the wall.
"These are very deep thoughts. How do you know all of this so well? Are you his girlfriend? I've never seen you at Hogwarts," Regulus still had a suspicious look on his face, his shoulders tense. The woman laughed a little bit.
Obviously, she wasn't sent by the Dark Lord. Most of his servants were savage, he realized after some time as a Death Eater. They really looked like animals, eager to see their prey hurt. His cousin Bella was a clear example of this.
"What year is it? '79? Well, I haven't been to Hogwarts… yet," she looked at him, smiling sarcastically.
Even more confused and anxious to know who she was, the boy all but screamed. "Stop the theatrics and answer at once, who are you? What do you want with me?" The woman's features let slip a little of her frustration at this, and the air in the room turned dense. She visibly swallowed tight while Regulus looked infuriated at her. Their exchange was interrupted by the sound of Kreacher's hoarse and trembling voice.
"This is the future Mrs. Black, master Regulus," said the elf who had been standing there all the time, watching the development of their interaction. "Look at her hand; she carries the family ring."
Upon the said hand lay a silver ring with a big black stone on top of it. All three of them looked at her hand, which she began pulling up in front of her eyes. The woman stared at the ring fondly, as if remembering something very good. "Well, you got that right, I guess."
"What do you mean by you haven't been to Hogwarts yet?" Regulus asked, taking her out of her trance. "You mean… are you from the future?" Regulus asked, shocked.
""From 1996, to be more precise. I will only begin to attend Hogwarts by '81. By now, I must be nine years old," she said, counting on her own fingers. Math has never been her forte. As she stopped talking, she looked at Regulus, who still looked terrified. "Come on, you don't have to look like I am about to get your arse killed; I just saved your life." The woman said, rolling her eyes as she tried to play it cool. Deep down, she was utterly scared. She couldn't make him scared of her; otherwise, he might not help her, and things could end up a lot worse than they should.
After a moment of quiet, Regulus spoke again.
"If you are here, I bet things must have gone terribly wrong," he said.
"You have no idea how wrong they went", she said through a nervous laugh. "You are as smart as Severus told me you were".
"You know him as well? Will he be fine? I thought he was going to regret joining at some point and end up dead,". 'Like me', was the phrase that was left in the air.
The woman snorted. "Of course I know him; I wouldn't be here at all without him. And Lupin. But you were right about the regretting; he does regret, horribly so. He lives a life full of pain and repents for his mistakes. That's what I can tell," she said. Turning to Kreacher, she eyed the elf full of disgust. "What are you waiting for to get him a glass of water? Bring something for him to eat also. And don't let Walburga up at all costs," she said.
The elf obeyed as if she already were his owner. Regulus watched the interaction feeling uncomfortable, while fixed his posture to be more straight up, his back against his bed.
"Why does he obey you? Did Sirius make you hate him too? It's not his fault he is this way; he was made to be loyal to the family, he can't help but think the same way as all of us," Regulus said full of spite.
"I know that, and for a long time, I really tried to be good with him, most of all when we realized I was supposed to be the mistress of the house. It went quite well until he joined your cousin Bellatrix in a trap to get to Harry, my godson. This got Sirius killed" she said, looking him straight in the eyes. Regulus could feel her pain from where he stood. He also felt the pain of knowing his brother died. "Look Regulus, I don't know how to do things another way, but with sincerity. His death is one of the reasons I did this", at this, her attempt of playfulness went to the garbage. Her voice was sober and… serious.
Regulus tried to digest the information of his elder brother death. Although he rated his brother for leaving him in this hell role they had to call home, he still loved Sirius. He defended him whenever he needed to and even took the blame for things Regulus did, tanking also the punishments.
"How long has it been? Since he died, that is? How old was he", the boy asked after some time.
"It's been three months. He was 35" she answered, throat tight.
After a moment of silence, Regulus spoke again.
"You mean that Severus helped you come back to the past? To try and save my brother? The same one he loathed?"
The woman snorted again.
"I am telling you, Regulus. Things were really dire. Besides, he is not the only one I am trying to save. Otherwise, I could just turn back to the moment he died and save him and not come and save you first. You should feel honoured; you are the first I saved, you know?" she said, trying to joke. "Too many died, Regulus, you among them. You died as a hero, and most don't know that; I don't think that's fair. I know you are a good person; you've proved that yourself just about now", she completed, right hand pointed to him.
"Thank you for the flattery, but I know you want something from me", he said after facing her for a moment. Things were never that simple. Most of all involving war. "Who else died and what do you want me to do?", the boy said straight to the point.
The woman swallowed.
"Well, Lily and James died. The Longbottoms are as good as dead. The McKinnons died, so did the Prewett twins. The Bones family was nearly obliterated, Benjy Fenwick is gone and so is Dorcas Meadowes. Those were the ones closest to the people I know, there must be a lot more", she paused for a moment. After catching her breath she countinue."In the future, a boy, Cedric Diggory, died at Pettigrew's hand. Then, Sirius was killed by Bellatrix", the last phrase was said in a near whisper, as if it didn't want to come out. She then looked unsure, mouth moving as if to find the best choice of worlds. "And… our baby… I guess," it finally came out, while the woman had tears in her eye.
Regulus digested the information of having lost a nephew or niece. A baby. He looked at the ground indignantly, before looking at his future sister-in-law again. She stared at the dark wood floor, the stuck tear rolling down her eyes. As soon as she realised, she swiped then quickly. Right after that Kreacher entered the room with a tray of food and water. Regulus thanked and dismissed him.
"How old was he? The baby?" Regulus asked.
"Oh, he was unborn; I was two months along. I lost him a month after his father passed", she said slowly. After a pause, she completed. "Sirius didn't even know he was going to be a dad", the unexplainable disappointment on her face was clear, along with the sorrow. Unconsciously, she covered where should be her womb with a hand.
Even though Regulus could tell she was only telling this to convince him to help, he had never felt so sorry for someone. The woman looked purely helpless for an instant. Cleaning her tear-stained face, she got up. She tried hard to put on a mask and not let the pain show, that was visible.
"Well, I've spent a lot of time here, but there is a lot to do, a lot of people to save, ya know?" She tried making him laugh, but it didn't quite work. "You are right, I wanted to ask something. But it's ok if you don't do it", she said, nodding her head positively. "Try to help the Order, please. Look for Dumbledore; he will give you a chance. I mean, he always wants to use people, so you come in hand for him. But as he pretends to be a good guy, and people trust him, he will make it easier for them to trust you", the woman breathed in deeply through her nose. "But if you don't want to do it, just stay out of trouble, please. I really want you to stay alive. If I get the chance to marry Sirius again, I will be more than happy to know that my kid will have his uncle Reg," she said.
As she said the last part, the image of himself with a little kid who looked like his brother appeared in his mind. At that, Regulus gave a small laugh. "We'll see about that. I promise to think about it".
"And for now that, will be enough", she said seeming satisfied.
Getting the time-turner from under her shirt, she heard Regulus say before spinning it once, "I didn't think they went that far back in time".
"They don't, but as I said, I had a lot of help. From the smartest. Bye, Reg, see you around," she said, looking between Regulus and the object. When she gave enough turns, she looked only to Regulus. "By the way, my name is Ella. Ella Evans."
Shock seemed to fall upon his features. He even opened his mouth to ask if she was Lily Evans relative, but it was too late for that. She was gone, literally lost in time.