#auweek;

[toujoursrab]

back in black | 2002 | andromeda + regulus au

july 2002. tonks’ residence, sussex.  @call-me-andy

The first place Regulus thought to go after his escape from the cave was to the home of his cousin, Andromeda Tonks. Andromeda’s house was the safest place for him right now and would give him time to lie low before he sought out Kreature and the locket, hopefully his elf had destroyed the horcrux by now and if not, Regulus would spend however long finding a way to get rid of it. Betraying the Dark Lord was something the dark haired male never thought he would be able to do, but he had done it and he would continue to do it no matter how scared he was. He would die finally doing what’s right, but he wanted to make sure those he cared about wouldn’t pay for his betrayal.

It had been weeks since he last been to the Tonks home and as he stood at the gateway, he took note of a few subtle differences he hadn’t noticed last time he visited. Had he been that much in a rush that he just hadn’t paid attention or had the Tonks changed things around since he last been there? He looked around to make sure no one was around as he carefully staggered up the pathway. His mind was still hazy from when he awoke in the cave, and his balance was off as his legs shook with each step. He escaped the cave via boat but not without having a mild panic attack in the process. The events in the cave left him shaken up, and made apparition tricky but he managed to get to Andromeda’s eventually. He hoped she had a calming draught and some tea because he needed it.

Arriving at her door, he knocked hard enough so that she, or Ted, could hear him. He just hoped that they were home, but by now they should be used to him dropping by unannounced. It was hard to send out owls without the risk of them being intercepted and Regulus wasn’t willing to take that risk in such dark times. When nobody answers the door after his first knock, he knocks a little more this time. “Andromeda! It’s me!” he croaked, his voice still hoarse from earlier events.

[toujoursrab]

lost boy | 2002 | au self-para

→ in which regulus awakens in the cave. 

He remembered the grabbing; cold skeletal hands making contact with his porcelain skin in attempt to drag him down into their dark abyss. Regulus struggled, he remembered that as he went under the freezing waters, the taste of salt and the painful sting of water flowing into his eyes. There were too many inferi to fight off but he tried because he was Regulus Black and there was no way he was going to die like this, but the inferi only pulled him in deeper, cold and uncaring to his muffled pleas as his lungs filled with water until they were nothing. Until Regulus Black was no longer nothing. He had died tonight; or at least he thought he did, or was going to.

Nothing explained how he was currently sitting in the cave with his back against the wall after waking in a fit of sharp gasping breaths and water spluttering out of his mouth and onto the cave floor. His clothes were still wet, the cave still unnaturally dark and cold. Regulus wasn’t just freezing with his arms wrapped around his shaking body, he was exhausted and confused as he sat here, still trying to figure out how he survived. He ordered Kreature to go back to Number 12, an order his elf would never disobey. So why was he here? Why was he still alive? Something felt off and didn’t settle right with him.  He needed his wand, he had never gotten the chance to pull it out and defend himself. He had used a lantern for light; the less magic in the cave the better, he had decided when he entered with his elf by his side. He was a stupid boy, too confident in his abilities to think he wouldn’t need to have it at the ready. His fatal mistake.

Regulus searched his person, finding the wand on the inside of his robes and pulling it out; to him it had only been about an hour since he held it in his hand, but in reality it had been almost twenty-three years. The wand must have recognized the time difference because it lit up in sparks at being reunited with its master, a warm and oddly familiar electrifying shock cascading through his veins, causing Regulus to flinch in surprise, his eyes wide and alert because what if Voldemort sensed him here? The heir to the House of Black wasn’t sure what he would do then, probably die again. He had to get out of here, but how? The nineteen year old knew he couldn’t apparate from this point, but looking back out onto the waters he knew he couldn’t go by boat either. Regulus was scared. He was so scared to go back out there in case the inferi were to get to him again. Yet the lake was still as if there was nothing lurking beneath and as if he hadn’t just been pulled underneath it’s surface. Part of him wondered if maybe it was all in his head. That there were never inferi to begin with, that he hadn’t been pulled under and maybe he had simply fallen into the lake by accident, maybe he had pulled himself back onto the cave floor before blacking out. Everything was still hazy, anything could’ve happened and just because his broken memories of the inferi were so vivid doesn’t mean that it happened.

There was a potion; he remembered drinking it. He remembered the pain of reliving the horrors of his childhood and early adulthood. The potion made it come to him in flashes and there was no escaping. Number 12…Sirius… his parents… the arguing…the cruciatus curse… Sirius leaving… and… his mum... just his mum… Freddie’s intervention back in fifth year, the disappointment in his best friend’s eyes… and.. Aurora… abandoning her, disappointing her, missing her like hell… getting the dark mark…killing…torturing… murder… he was a murderer. Regulus smacked the back of his head against the cave wall, eyes falling shut as he groaned, willing the tears from his eyes to stay in place for once and not betray him by leaking out from the corner of his eyelids.

It was all so overwhelming and too much for him to take in his disoriented state. His wand hand fell to his side but his grip never slipped on the hazel wood. He would be ready if something were to happen this time. Regulus just had to get out of here, and he didn’t think calling his house elf would be the safest form; not when he just sent him back with the Dark Lord’s locket and orders to destroy it. The only way out was by boat, but Regulus wasn’t ready to go near the waters again. For now he was a confused, nineteen year old boy, trapped in a cave, too anxious and scared to face his fears and get out.

[toujoursrab]

sandcastles | 1977  | james + regulus

april 1977 fifth year quidditch pitch, hogwarts @magnificentprongs Regulus sat high in the quidditch stands, Potions book in his lap as he watched the Gryffindors’ practice. It was a closed practice, and technically Regulus wasn’t allowed since he was on an opposing team but that hadn’t stopped him for the past two practices. Nobody, save for the captain, had ever noticed him, and if they did they hadn’t said anything to him. He was thankful because the last thing he needed was confrontation. Watching the practices never hurt anyone and he didn’t use any of the information, or plays he seen to his advantage. They would lose to Slytherin, either way. He was more concerned with Gryffindor team Captain and Chaser, James Potter.

James Potter was by all means his boyfriend, his very secret boyfriend whom nobody knew about. His friends suspected that he was seeing someone because he had come back to the dorms late on more than one occasion with messy hair and swollen lips, but never in their wildest dreams would they expect it to be Gryffindor’s resident mischief maker. In all honesty, Regulus never would’ve suspected someone like James Potter to be into someone like him, either, but he was for reasons Regulus couldn’t even begin to explain.

And Regulus was into him. He didn’t know how it happened. It started with a joint detention in mid-December, and somehow ended up like this, with Regulus sneaking into Gryffindor practices to watch his boyfriend. It was funny to think about how he used to despise James and blamed him for taking his older brother away from him, but now his opinion couldn’t be any more different. James Potter was a God Send. He was funny and charming; surprisingly intelligent, always offering stimulating conversation and witty banter, and he was patient when it came to understanding and getting to know Regulus. He got Regulus to smile even when the other wanted to rip out his hair in frustration. The excellent kissing and gentle touches that left goosebumps on his skin and made his heart race was just a plus.

At some point Regulus had gotten lost in the book he was using to occupy his time, and when he looked back up all he could see was an empty pitch and a setting sun. Regulus guessed practice was over, and James had let them go before it got dark. How sweet. He carefully marked his page before shutting the text and holding it in his lap, eyes scanning the surrounding area for any trace of his Chaser boyfriend.

[toujoursrab]

the morning after | 1981 | open

The sun broke through the curtains entirely too early for Regulus’ liking, causing him to groan loudly and turn on his other side, his back away from his window although the new position did nothing. He reached for his duvet with the intentions of pulling the material over his head like he did every morning only his efforts were futile. He found the covers, but it wouldn’t budge as he pulled them to him. “What the hell,” he mumbled under his breath, clenching his eyes tight as his head began to pound. He was starting to feel the after effects of last night. Regulus didn’t remember much, it was rare for him to get pissed enough to black out the events, but it has happened on occasion. He had some hangover potion in his medicine cabinet for mornings like these, but he was not about to leave his bed to get it.  

He reached for the blanket again, except his hand came in contact with something warm and soft and—oh…naked. A human, hopefully. Another thing that was rare for the heir to the house of Black was to have one-night-stands. He wasn’t the type, but that didn’t seem to stop him last night. If they did anything that was, maybe the person next to him was just naked because it was hot in his room. Didn’t explain why they were in his bed and wrapped up in his blanket. What type of one-night-stand falls asleep in your bed, anyway? Weren’t they just supposed to leave right after the deed was done? Shit. He was going to have to ask Marlene about proper one-night-stand etiquette next time they met for tea. There was no way in hell this was normal.

Regulus turned from laying on his side to laying on his back, his forearm resting over his eyes. The idea of getting anymore sleep was completely ruined; he was too bothered by the current situation, and he wanted them to be bothered, too. Why were they still sleeping? He used his toe to repeatedly poke the person next to him on their leg (or what he hoped was their leg), in an attempt to wake them from their slumber. “How the hell are you still sleeping?” Regulus didn’t want to take a peek at whomever was next to him, honestly, he was afraid of what he was going to find, but their lack of response caused him to remove his arm from his face and turn in their direction completely. “Merlin, just give back my duvet and get the hell ou—“ he stopped his speech immediately, his eyes going wide.

[toujoursrab]

salvation | 1977 | andy + reg

august 1977 tonks’ residence, sussex  @call-me-andy

They say nobody refuses the Dark Mark and lives to tell the tale, but here Regulus was three hours later with a twisted ankle, a potentially broken wrist, a busted knee, and bruises decorating his skin. All-in-all, he made it out pretty okay. Though, to be fair he hadn’t gotten far enough to go face to face with Lord Voldemort. He didn’t even make it through the wards, and into Voldemort’s lair. He barely made it passed the apparition point before he decided this was a bad idea, that he didn’t really want to become a Death Eater, he was sixteen and would rather spend his time doing something else (his boyfriend, for example), and that he had friends who were one day going to be on Voldemort’s hit list and he didn’t want to see them hurt in anyway. Plus, he wasn’t that naïve, easily influenced, Dark Lord obsessed, purist that he was a year ago. He couldn’t destroy families, and takes lives... he wasn’t that person. But apparently his parents didn’t get the memo and had arranged for him to take the mark without consulting him. To be fair, they had thought it was what he wanted and he had never given them a reason to think otherwise.

 The plan was simple: Regulus would side-along with two of Voldemort’s Death Eaters to the apparition spot. From there they would walk through the forest and up the trail to Voldemort’s liar, and then he would be given a piece of paper with the address on it from Voldemort’s secret keeper. After that he would be lead into the liar and into a room with a few new recruits who were also going to get their marks that night. Simple enough. Except he ran in the forest, and the Death Eaters chased after him with the intention to kill. He had taken a couple falls, and some pretty bad stinging hexes, before he had lost them somewhere in the forest. It had taken him forever to get out of there, but he had somehow managed. He was alive, and for now he was safe and alive, but he didn’t know how long that would last.  

 Andromeda’s house looked like the gates of heaven when it came into view. Regulus had only been there twice in his life, the first time he had been overly critical (not aloud, mind you) because it didn’t compare to the manors they had grown up in. He had felt as if his cousin were settling, and wondered if she lived in this house because it was all she could afford. This time, however, the Tonks’ house looked so much better to him and it wasn’t just an external thing. It looked as if it were some type of glorious salvation. Maybe Regulus had grown up a lot in the past year and wasn’t the same overly critical and whiny snob he had always been. The whole year, more specifically these last three hours, had given him some since of clarity.

 He limped forward towards the gates, only to stop in his tracks because what would he actually say to her? When Regulus had successfully gotten away, he had gone through the list of places he could go because going back home to mummy and daddy wasn’t an option. They would probably throw him out once they got word of his stunt. He would end up like Sirius and burned off the family tree. If he wasn’t already, that is. The only place he could think of going where he wouldn’t be turned away was here with Andromeda. Regulus was worried, because what was he going to tell her? The truth? That he planned to take the mark, but didn’t? He wasn’t sure if he could. It was pretty heavy stuff, and he didn’t know if he could face it tonight.

 Somehow he found himself moving passed the gates and to her door. He took a shaky breath and knocked quietly. He wasn’t sure what time it was but it was dark outside, and he had left home around seven. Part of him hoped that she wouldn’t be home, because he really didn’t want her to see him like this. The other part of him wished that she would answer the door and allow him entry without any questions. He knew deep down that he wouldn’t be getting his way where those two wishes were concerned. If only he had thought to bring money with him, he could hitch a ride on the knight bus and not have to face anyone looking like this. But alas, the only thing he had with him was his wand and, somehow, his life.