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—mouth hung open—
“There is so much to say, yet how to say it, and who to trust…”
—the silence hung there like his open mouth—
And nothing came out, as much as Regulus wanted something to come out, the lack of knowledge regarding whether he should trust Evan, or even Barty getting to him.
His mouth finally snapped shut, the anxiety gnawing at the pit of his stomach, his lips pressing together as he looked right at Barty. “ In all honesty … ”
Barty twisted his head slightly, his head tilting before walking over and hanging an arm over Regulus ’ shoulder. “Something bothering you. Like an ex-older brother, you want me to take care of?”
Regulus took a deep breath, quickly pushing Barty ’s arm away, snapping at his cousin. “Don’t you dare touch Sirius, Barty? ”
“Why?” Barty let out a sniff. “He’s not family, remember?”
And there came the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach growing worse, as Regulus understood at that moment, “ I can ’t trust Barty, but his creepy tendencies seem to have gotten worse once he joined the Death Eaters. That should have perhaps been a clue, I guess, but I always thought things were my side, Sirius’ side, and then there are those like Bella, but… ”
“Don’t,” Evan said, shaking his head. “You’re an only child, Barty so that you wouldn’t understand the intricacies of family, let alone sibling relationships.”
“Which sounds more complicated than it really is,” Regulus thought to himself.
Barty let out a huff. “I understand that troll dung…”
“Barty,” Evan said, his voice firm, shaking his head. “You really don’t get it.”
“That he upsets Regulus by existing?”
“Not by existing,” Evan corrected. “By being absentee.”
“It’s not as if his morals match ours.”
“Says the person who’s offering to take care of my older brother when the last thing I’d ever want is for Sirius to be dead,” Regulus thought, but then, from his mouth, the words slipped. “Do they?”
“We’ve all joined the Death Eaters, right?” Barty plopped down in a nearby chair, placing his hands behind his neck and rolling his eyes. “That’s an obvious yes answer, isn’t it.”
Regulus felt—
There was no putting into words how he felt beyond, “ No. Our morals don ’t match, but I should never have joined. That was the biggest folly on my part, wasn’t it. ”
He felt the arm around his shoulders tighten, and then, after a moment, Evan said, “Barty. Perhaps. " There came a pause as if Evan were carefully contemplating how to word things with Barty, and then, “Perhaps I should have a word with Regulus privately? As someone who has an understanding of having siblings?”
Barty let out a sniff, indicating he disagreed.
“Because it’s rather obvious you’re just going to step in it,” Evan snapped. “Or do I need to remind you that you just threatened to kill Regulus’ older brother, something Regulus definitely doesn’t want.”
“He’s just scared of taking on the task of being family head, and Sirius is…”
“Shut your mouth, Crouch!” Evan snapped, his voice growing louder, his grip on Regulus’ shoulder tightening. “There would have been a time when you’d never have thought to threaten to kill Sirius, particularly in front of Regulus! What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong? Nothing. Nothing,” Barty muttered. “You’re talking like the old man.”
“You’re talking like Bella,” Regulus said.
Barty ’s head snapped around, looking at Regulus, his eyes widening, then he muttered, leaving the room, sending a glare back, letting them both know he didn’t appreciate being removed from the room.
Yet, Regulus made his point, and his body relaxed.
Evan didn ’t.
“So…”
“Uh,” Regulus realized another of his companions, his cousin-by-marriage, was still there. “Hi.”
“So you say when you don’t know what to say to somebody,” Evan said, motioning to one of the chairs. “Sit.”
Regulus tilted his head, then groaned, rolling his eyes before sitting, resting his chin in the palms of his hands. “You’ve something to say, don’t you?”
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Evan said. “I can’t blame you for not saying anything in front of Barty…”
Regulus let out a humming sound and sat back, his fingers tapping the top of the table. “Barty?” He took a deep breath. “That was uncomfortable.”
“Obviously, because it’s finally clicked in that head of yours that you and Barty don’t share the same values,” Evan said, sitting across from Regulus.
“And what about you?”
Evan stared, remaining silent.
“I—yeah,” Regulus sighed.
“I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, you know.”
Regulus frowned, crossing his arms and sliding down slightly, not responding.
“Even if it meant turning on our Dark Lord.”
Regulus ’ eyes snapped up, his breath drawing in, unsure of what to say, uncertain if what Evan said was a trap. “That.”
Evan gave him a cheeky grin then. “You’ve always been my Dark Lord, Reggie.”
“Are you trying to flirt with me?” Regulus felt slightly ill.
“Flirt—bloody, when did you,” Evan sighed. “You accuse me of flirting with you when Barty—oh, never, never mind.”
“What? What did I…”
“Regulus, don’t,” Evan held up a hand. “I’m not flirting with you.” Then Evan’s eyes closed, a hand reaching up to run through his locks of sandy blond hair. “Of course, the way I approached things.”
“Not interested.”
“Tell that to bloody Barty!”
“Barty?”
“Regulus!” Evan let out a sigh. “How can you be so clueless? The only reason we joined…”
Then came a pause that made Regulus straighten up; his curiosity perked. “Hold on. The reason we joined?”
Evan leaned back, taking a deep breath. “I’d like to take back what I just said.”
“But you aren’t wrong, I think,” Regulus said. “About me being clueless. About a lot of things, actually. Books, they only take you so far.”
“Yes. That,” Evan said, taking a deep breath; he lifted his arms and crossed them on top of the table. “I guess it’s time we have a serious discussion. About why you joined?”
“And what about your reason?” Regulus swallowed, looking away.
“I told you. I joined because of you.”
“Why would you…”
“Because,” Evan said. “It would have been bloody wrong to let clueless you join alone.”
Regulus ’ eyes widened, his stomach churning. “Evan, I didn’t mean…”
“You didn’t mean,” Evan took a deep breath, shaking his head. “I know all too well how altruistic you are, Regulus Black. And that’s not a bad thing. It’s like…”
He paused, not finishing. Regulus shook his head. “Had I known, I would never have…”
“I know. I know all too well, Reggie. Barty doesn’t, though.”
Regulus ’ mouth opened like a fish; then he shook his head. “Barty is…”
“Barty is a creep. I won’t hesitate to say that, but like Bella, he’s been a little worm in your ear, hasn’t he?”
“You’re not someone I want to put in danger,” Regulus said, looking at the table.
“Made up my mind a long time ago,” Evan said. “I’d follow you to the end of the world, remember?”
Regulus frowned.
“That means even the dangerous places, Reggie.”
“That…”
“Very different than that older brother of yours,” Evan said, glancing at the window. “To be honest, I do understand being frustrated at Sirius, though not to the point I want to wish any harm on him. As I told Barty, it’s something one understands better if they have siblings, I think.”
“Why is Sirius coming up again?”
“Because I made up my mind a long time ago,” Evan said, the corner of his mouth twitching. “You know I’m an older brother, but as an older brother, I can’t help but feel frustrated with the way he acts towards you. I know because of that you don’t understand what his relationship with you should be like, but an older sibling should be willing to go to the ends of the earth for their younger siblings.”
Regulus ’ eyes blinked, his mouth opening. “Wait?”
“Yes. I decided a long time ago to do what Sirius should be doing. It’s as simple as that, nor do I regret it. I’ll never regret it.”
“The Dark Lord,” Reggie said. “Nobody leaves.”
“Yet we both know you can’t stay.” The corner of Evan’s mouth twisted. “It wouldn’t be that difficult, I think, to fake your death, but…”
“That’s the least of my worries right now,” Regulus said, sighing. “I can’t leave things the way they are. Him being immortal and…”
“Are you really buying into that garbage your cousin Bella spews?” Evan asked
Regulus glanced up, his entire body stiffening—
“Wait?” Evan muttered. “You found out something. You…”
Regulus smiled. “I can’t rightly go back, knowing what I do, and expect to live. I’m a horrible liar, as you know.”
“What do you want me to do? What exactly…”
Regulus opened his mouth, wondering what to say regarding the Horcruz and how much to involve Evan with his plans. The decision—
—not something to be taken lightly--