Inside the Room of Requirement, Regulus Black lay on his large bed, feigning sleep. Beside him were two already fast-asleep girls,
Inside the Room of Requirement, Regulus Black lay on his large bed, feigning sleep.
Beside him were two already fast-asleep girls, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood.
The two belonged to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw respectively. Today it was their turn to accompany Regulus Black—or rather, to watch over him.
By now, the harem group had grown quite large. To prevent its numbers from increasing too much, anyone outside the circle was generally kept out, unless Regulus Black himself gave permission.
The two girls had grown taller, dressed in thin silk pajamas, their limbs entwined as they clung to Regulus Black in the middle.
Suddenly, the Dark Mark on his left hand began to burn with heat. The searing sensation was painful but not harmful. It was clearly not Snape trying to reach him. At Hogwarts, there was only one other person tied to the Dark Mark.
Harry Potter! Having lost the Sixfold Soul Seal of Protection, it was no surprise that the two consciousnesses within him had started splitting apart again.
Regulus Black felt the Dark Mark burning on his arm. He let his magic flow against the current, tracing the source.
Within his awareness, a magic circle appeared—the origin of this Dark Mark's disturbance. The blazing hot array spread across a blood-soaked land, its scorched marks splitting the earth, etching out a complex design that revealed a sinister will buried within. That was the circle's primary purpose.
Collecting his thoughts, Regulus Black formed a guess based on what he had just seen. The Voldemort soul fragment inside Harry Potter had originally been stable, with Harry's side holding the dominant balance in their fusion.
But Dolores Umbridge's punishments were carried out through Dark Magic—bloodthirsty, cruel, or otherwise corrupting. Whatever the form, it was Dark Magic, and it provoked the Dark Lord's independent consciousness.
On the soul level, Harry remained the main host. But in terms of raw awareness, Voldemort's will was far stronger. With just this one chance, Voldemort seized it completely, crafting the magic circle to help preserve his consciousness.
As expected of the Dark Lord! As long as there was even the slightest chance, he would never let go—a hallmark of any true villainous mastermind.
What would happen next? Well, when the sky falls, the tallest shoulders bear the weight. That would depend on Dumbledore's skill.
Time would tell. Time would tell. Regulus Black reached out and gave a playful squeeze to the bodies lying at his sides, making the sleeping girls stir and twist. Taking advantage of the moment, he slipped free from their tangled embrace.
There was still a banquet to attend in America! Several actresses had insisted on his presence. After all, golden-eyed girls were exceedingly rare, and many had set their sights on her. Sarah Maedani was even begging him for help!
With a flash, Regulus Black stepped through the system's station and arrived in America.
At the old Black manor, Remus Lupin was looking after Sirius Black.
"I'd like to go outside for a walk, breathe some fresh air, and get a little sun," Sirius said weakly.
After the Dementors had drained so much of his life force, he had yet to recover.
"It's already nighttime. Drink this broth, and then you should sleep," Remus Lupin replied firmly.
There was no way he would agree to such an unreasonable request. The sky outside was already dark, and Sirius was still too frail. If he wanted to go out at this hour, surely it meant trouble. Besides, the Black manor had been reestablished as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. It had served that purpose before, but after the Dark Lord's fall it was abandoned for years.
Now, the gravely weakened Sirius lying in bed had been made the Keeper of the Secret here. That made the base safer, while also restricting his movements. Regulus Black had only one demand for his elder brother: he was forbidden to leave the manor grounds.
"I'm just so bored. Can't I even go out for a short walk? The one time I finally went outside, I was attacked."
As Sirius spoke, fear flickered in his eyes. It wasn't the Dementor attack that frightened him, but Harry Potter.
This attack had clearly been aimed at Harry.
To drive off Dementors, one had to use the Patronus Charm. Either Sirius himself would cast it, or Harry would. The mastermind had counted on this. There was a fifty percent chance that a minor wizard would be forced to use magic openly in front of Muggles. That alone would make Harry Potter violate the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery.
What a perfect reason, what a reasonable approach.
No wonder the moment the Dementor appeared back then, it immediately seized control of Sirius's wand. That alone increased the likelihood of Harry Potter casting a spell several times over.
Moreover, the Dementor's nature matched perfectly with the seal on Harry Potter's arm. That gave the Dementors the chance to find a magical artifact suited to them. There was no reason they wouldn't try to snatch it from a completely defenseless Harry Potter!
Sending out a Dementor once could achieve several different goals at the same time. Clearly, there was a mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Now, trapped inside the Black family's old house, Sirius Black could think of only one person capable of orchestrating all of this.
His younger brother, Regulus Black—a pure Slytherin, a pure schemer.
But all of this was just speculation. He had no evidence. Even if he spoke up, no one would believe him. Instead, they would accuse Sirius Black of being ungrateful.
After all, Regulus Black had worked tirelessly to clear Sirius of his charges. Everyone had seen his efforts. And in the end, his arrangements had left every party satisfied. No one had to take the blame, while all that remained was a guilt-ridden and overly emotional Sirius.
Yes, with Regulus Black having put in so much effort, who would ever suspect him? Besides, judging from his past behavior, even though everyone had been played in his schemes, in the end, no one suffered any real loss. On the contrary, they often gained something from it.
Now, if Sirius tried to expose Regulus's plot, it would be like slapping everyone in the face.
The real problem was that no one knew what Regulus Black's ultimate goal was. Would the outcome be good or bad? If Sirius intervened, he might end up causing more harm than good. Who knew what Regulus was really thinking?
"Remus! What do you think of my brother Regulus?"
Sirius Black no longer insisted on leaving. Instead, he decided to hear the opinion of the friend who had been taking care of him all this time.
"You mean Regulus? I think very highly of him. He got you out of Azkaban, found me a job, and even asked me to help look after you. I heard that back in Harry Potter's first year, he even saved Professor Quirrell! In my impression, he has always been a very clever person—elegant, gentle, and, well, quite the womanizer. The girls at Hogwarts were all infatuated with him, and as far as I know, he never turned anyone down."
Remus Lupin smiled as he spoke of Regulus Black. After all, he was Sirius's brother, and Remus did have a good impression of him, especially since Regulus had helped him so many times.
"You really think so highly of him? Maybe you've misjudged him."
Sirius Black gave a bitter smile and shook his head. Trying to convince anyone that Regulus Black was a deeply hidden villain was proving impossible.
"Sirius, he's still your brother. No matter what disagreements you have, you can't deny the good things he's done."
Remus Lupin spoke fairly. He knew the brothers were at odds. Not long ago, during some home renovations, Regulus had stripped down an entire room's decorations, leaving Sirius bedridden for days.
It seemed Sirius had never won in his interactions with his brother. He had always been the one suppressed.
No wonder Sirius resented Regulus! To be constantly overshadowed by one's younger brother was a humiliation for any elder sibling.
"By the way, I heard that this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is actually the Deputy Minister of Magic, and she has quite a notorious reputation."
Remus Lupin, having once served as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts himself, naturally paid close attention to such news.
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