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He expected to die.
More specifically, he expected to be pulled down into the dark lake by the Infiri, doomed to drown with nobody knowing where his body lay.
Instead, Regulus found himself surprised to find himself in a field of snow, almost as if—
For a moment, he thought death was a cold, snowy place, a suitable thing given the side he ’d chosen.
…
“I need you to stick with the boy,” Santa said. “Do not let him or anyone else see you, but you will know when the time comes to act and will act.”
Bernard wasn ’t sure what Santa meant, mainly when there were quite a few times he wanted to pull the warmhearted boy out of the place, away from the Death Eaters, who were obviously—
The boy didn ’t know what kind of darkness he’d stepped into, yet Bernard knew, knowing the history of the Black family and how Santa didn’t want this particular child to find themselves tainted by the darkness. And somehow, he never was, though Regulus—
He honestly didn ’t understand what he’d gotten himself into, that child, not until the House Elf that Regulus loved and adored was put into harm’s way and—
Bernard watched the boy break mentally, frustrated that the time to act hadn ’t yet come, wanting to step in so many times before that, but—
He couldn ’t.
Not when there was something important for Regulus to do, a matter of fate that would affect others later on.
Instead, he followed them, followed the House Elf—
The cave was a horrible place, smelling of—
“I’ll have to shower multiple times after this,” Bernard thought to himself.
And then—
As the House Elf disappeared and the Infiri started—
Bernard knew it was time to act, to use his magic, more so than he had ever used before.
…
Regulus pushed himself up from the ground, the palms of his hands stinging from the cold snow, his body in pain from where the Infiri attacked him.
But then—
He found himself moving into a sitting position, looking around.
“Huh.”
The place he found himself—
A hand reached up to his side, grimacing.
“Hey?”
Regulus looked up at the sky, recognizing the voice, having interacted with the elf in question. “Did you save me?”
There came a silence.
Regulus tilted his head, watching Bernard frown while the more miniature elves …
Bernard turned his head. “Someone fetch Dr. Hismus already.”
He kept a hand on his side, feeling his warmth pouring out, his mind blacking out, and—
…
“So, you’re a relative of Bernard’s?”
Regulus woke up, finding himself in a place that felt small, but looking at the Christmas Elf in question, who—
He wasn ’t sure, but—
“Why would you?”
“I know you’re not,” the elf said before handing Regulus a mirror. “You might not like what you see.” And then, “I’m Dr. Hismus, in charge of the health of the elves here. Which…”
There came a pause as Regulus looked at himself, seeing—
“Well,” Dr. Hismus said as Regulus said nothing. “I guess it includes you now.”
“How?”
“Christmas Magic?” Dr. Hismus said. “Honestly, nobody really knows how Bernard’s magic works. If it were simply a matter of teleporting you out of that place…”
Regulus shuddered, wrapping his hands around his arms, the mirror set in his lap as he looked at the facial changes. He took a deep breath. “There’s rumor—have Christmas Elves ever married humans?”
Dr. Hismus tilted his head. “Yes.” He took a deep breath. “Ah. Yes. Bernard and Santa did say you were of that family, and there was a couple in the distant past, before the statute of secrecy, where it happened. So that might explain it, that you’ve dormant Christmas magic that’s now awakened, possibly from interacting as you did with Bernard’s magic. And Santa’s.”
“Can’t go back,” Regulus said.
“Sorry about that.”
“Yes, well,” Regulus let out a humming sound. “I couldn’t go back even if this didn’t happen?”
“That bad?”
Regulus frowned, then said. “I don’t have a family anymore.” The words hurt, but—
Sirius hated him. The Black family was either on his side or in a position where siding with him would cause them trouble that Regulus didn ’t want to be brought down on them. “Mostly.”
“Well, as far as anyone here is concerned, you’re a relative of Bernards,” and then, “Which would be true.”
“What?” Regulus looked up.
“I believe one of the Christmas Elves married into your family; they were a relative of Bernard’s? So he’d be like your great by who knows how many Uncle?”
Regulus let out a laugh. “Are there records?”
“Ask Bernard.”
And then—
“Hey! No getting up yet! You need to rest and heal, right?”
“So, you’re a healer?”
“Ah. Yeah. Non-magic humans call us doctors, but I’ll go in and check with Bernard regarding what you inquired into.”
“Ah. Thanks,” Regulus said.