Chapter Text
Meadowes’ house, 7th July 1977
“Honestly, it’s not too bad that my father ignores me.” Pandora takes a sip of her lemonade. “It means I get to do things, like this, and not get in trouble because he doesn’t miss me when I’m gone.”
“That’s like…really sad, Panda.” Dorcas tsks.
Pandora just shrugs. “It’s my life. Has been for the past nine years. Of course it’s depressing. And now I’m engaged.”
“Excuse me?” Marlene interjects, coming up behind the two. “Aren’t you like…sixteen?”
Pandora nods. “Two years from now, I’ll be married. It’s going to be with Regulus, thank Merlin, and so it will be announced next year, when he turns seventeen. I think my father and his parents are going to confirm it this evening at the Death Eater meeting. Evan is going too, of course, for his mission but I’m not allowed to know what it is.”
“When’s he leaving?” Dorcas accepts the ice pop handed to her from Marlene.
“Tomorrow at noon.” She sighs. “He’ll be gone for most of the summer, only back for a week before we go back to school. Merlin, I can’t believe we’re going into sixth year already, that’s actually crazy.”
Dorcas snorts. “Speak for yourself, I can barely comprehend that this will be my last year at Hogwarts.”
“Yeah, but you’re like…ancient.”
“Wow, thanks.”
“I mean, you’re going to be of age not even six days before we go back!”
“Marlene is literally right here.” Dorcas huffs. “She’s already of age.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah, the fifth of January.” Marlene plops herself down in Dorcas’ lap with no shame whatsoever. “I already have my apparition license since April. So does Lily. And Mary. And James and Remus and Sirius and Peter. Okay, nearly everyone in my year bar this one.” She pokes Dorcas’ cheek who grunts of mock offense.
“Lily has her apparition license?!” Pandora cries. “I never knew.”
“Honestly I don’t blame you for not noticing, April was quite a chaotic month for you.”
“You can say that again.” Dorcas mutters under her breath.
“So, Dorcas, any idea on what you’re going to do after Hogwarts?” Pandora licks the sticky fruit juice from her fingers.
Dorcas shoots a panicked look at Marlene, her throat constricting. Pandora, observant as ever, fails to miss this and her eyebrows raise in realisation. “Ah.” She nods. “Shouldn’t have expected anything else, to be honest.”
“Pandora-” Dorcas tries weakly but Pandora shakes her head with a sad smile.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell the others. That’s your decision on how and when to do so. And I know that there’s no point in trying to convince you to not fight, because you’re stubborn as fuck, and I love you for that just please, try not to get hurt. It’s all I ask. Keep yourself safe and alive and if you ever need me, I’ll always be there once you find me.”
Tears prick at her eyes unexpectedly and she blinks them away. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologise. I know you have your reasons, and I’m sure they’re as noble as ever.”
“It’s to help free Reg and Ev and Barty, because the sooner Voldemort is gone the sooner they can be happy. And we can be happy then too. Together. Again. And another part to avenge Maribel’s death and-”
“Dorcas.” Pandora cuts her off. “It’s okay. The best choice would to be to run away and not fight but then, as you pointed out, who will bring Voldemort to his knees? This is safer than being a Death Eater in your circumstances and it would be my choice too, had it not mean working for Albus Dumbledore.”
“I’m not working for him.” Dorcas defends immediately. “Just…it’s a consequence in the matter. Every choice has pros and cons and this is one of the latter.”
“Mhm.” Pandora nods. “Just…ask Reg to help you brush up your Occulumency. I’m not sure I would be much help helping you do so because my mind is different from yours, being a psyche seer and that.”
“Any more prophecies?” Dorcas changes the subject as Marlene takes her hand and holds it out, shaking the bottle of purple nail polish.
“Just the one from June.” Pandora sighs, clearing her throat. “A foe turned friend and ancient ritual, a life from death and task to fulfil, only by the little prince, fate a star and the strength of a spear with the damaged heart. Born of yew, death and rosebush to assist, the power of the universe he must resist. Secrets held and research delved shall uncover the answer to a riddle most foul. The mother is weary and battle worn and accepts the oncoming time of the calm before the storm.”
“That makes literally no sense.” Dorcas blinks, Marlene moving onto the next finger, blowing slightly on the first. “And what was the one before that? You never told us.”
“Oh right, A soul to slay a beast, a star to stay until life has ceased. To preserve the heart in crystal jar, to encourage the prince to go far. Man redeemed of moral crimes, to side and fight with one’s life. And secrets revealed, claims are to be believed. By rose, and by star, the strength will join with the presence of the preserved heart.” Pandora recites. “The soul to slay the beast was Tom killing the basilisk, and Regulus stayed with her as she died. Her heart wasn’t burned by the flames and Reg now wears it around his neck, in the vial. The rest I have no idea what its about, but the rose and star, surely has something to do with Regulus and Evan and most likely their quest and again, the basilisk’s heart.”
“Morbid.” She mutters. “How do you think this one will turn out? Like, do you get the feeling whether the outcome is good or not?”
“Nope. It’s not like a vision where I know what’s going on. Just…words. A riddle essentially. One that only makes sense after it’s happened.”
“Does your mum think anything about it?”
“She just advised me to start writing them down as well as the result when it happens. In case there’s any correlation between them, anything referenced that was the same as the one prior.” Pandora shrugs.
“How is Professor Nightingale, actually?” Marlene hums. “The last I heard was that she beat Dumbledore up.”
“She only slapped him across the face.” Pandora corrects and Dorcas snorts.
“Only. As if that isn’t badass enough as it is.”
“Anyways, she’s good I think. Me and Ev went to her house in Brazil last Friday for lunch. The difference in time zones made my head spin when I thought about it too much. But we met Felix, our little brother. He’s sweet. Said Evan was his favourite and gave him one of his toy dragons and then gave me a glittery orange gel pen because orange was his second favourite colour and I was his second favourite sibling.”
“Aw.” Marlene hums. “That is sweet.”
“Yeah.” Dorcas agrees pouting. She looks at her girlfriend. “Darling…”
Marlene laughs out loud. “I don’t think we have the right parts for that, Princess.”
“There are other ways.” She huffs.
“Yeah, but you’re sixteen and I’m seventeen.”
“But I want a kid.”
“Sure, love, we’ll get you a kid when the war ends.” She sniggers. “Promise.”
“Honestly he is the spitting image of Evan. The only difference is the hair and eye colour but the same everything else, skin tone, bone structure, the same shape of his face.” Pandora smiles. “Evan pretended to not like the dragon when we got back but we all know he’s going to bring it with him on his mission.”
Marlene smirks. “If I ever get the chance, can I use that as blackmail again? Since the whole ‘alpha-male’ thing with Remus has been used already.”
“I still can’t believe that happened.” Pandora laughs, raising the glass to her mouth. “But of course you can, and you know, if you ever get any other funny stories about him, we’ll trade the material to torment him.”
“Sounds like a deal.”
“Hello girls.” Sita yawns as she enters the kitchen, dropping her bag on the counter. “Oh hello, Pandora. I didn’t know you were coming over today. Are you staying for dinner?”
Pandora offers a sheepish shrug. “I mean, I probably won’t get another chance to eat today, if you don’t mind of course.”
“Of course not.” Sita smiles, shooting Dorcas a frown. “You’re more than welcome. Is Caesar salad alright? I’m vegetarian so I’ll be using tofu instead of chicken if that’s not a bother.”
“Oh no, that’s great actually. I don’t eat meat either.” Pandora nods, grinning.
“Since when the fuck are you vegetarian?” Dorcas frowns bewildered. “You were literally obsessed with chili con carne last summer.”
“Language.” Sita chides. “And to answer your question, about three weeks. I was bored with my life. I wanted to make a change, so I did. And you’ve been home for like a week already Dorcas, surely you should have noticed.”
“No because we only got takeout last week since you were working extra hours.”
“I noticed.” Marlene hums, holding Dorcas’ hand up to the light, before grabbing her other one. “Purple looks nice on you,” she mutters.
“I can’t keep up with you.” Dorcas sighs, shaking her head.
“Sounds like a you problem to me.” Sita sings, rifling through the fridge and plonking the lettuce down on the counter.
Dorcas scrunches up her face before getting a wicked glint in her eye, turning to Pandora. “So…Pandora. Will you be seeing much of your mother this summer?”
“Probably.” She shrugs. “I mean, Evan will be away and my father probably won’t even notice I’m gone so I’m planning to make the most of it. Manaus also looks really nice, and the weather is gorgeous over there.”
Dorcas grins at the way her mother begins cutting the lettuce much slower, attention grabbed. “You should invite her over sometime. I know mum, you’ve been dying to finally use that barbecue you got like two summers ago. Once the weather’s nice enough. That would be okay, right mum?”
“Hm?” It’s comical the way Sita pretends she wasn’t listening.
“Pandora’s mum and brother can come over for a barbecue over the summer? It’s meant to be really nice in August sometime. I think the middle two weeks, we’re due a heatwave.”
“Oh, yes. That sounds lovely.” Sita presses her lips together in a smile, nodding. She bites the inside of her cheeks, turning back to the chopping board and Dorcas has to fight to not burst into laughter. Even Marlene struggles to hide her amusement and Pandora’s eyes sparkle with mischief.
“I’ll ask her. I’m sure she’d love to.”
Sita hums, though it sounds rather strangled as she rinses the lettuce leaves under cold water. Marlene finishes off the first coat of her right hand, moving back to the left to apply a second coat, this time with a more sparkly purple than before.
“Barty could come too. Might help ease his anxiety.” Dorcas nods. “And I would rather not go another whole summer without seeing him.”
“You think Ev and Reg will be able to send letters?”
“I don’t know. You could ask Ev later, and knowing him he’s already sent Barty an entire parchment worth’s of ranting about the whole scenario.”
“Most likely.” Pandora nods. “At least he will be with Regulus though, and vice versa. I wonder when he’ll find out we’re getting married in two years. Especially after our argument about my future.” She drains the rest of her lemonade, wiping the wetness from the condensation on her skirt. It was one Dorcas had often seen her wear, a khaki cotton with lace trimmings that fluttered around her ankles. Come to think of it, she had taken inspiration from one of her designs a few months ago, not that she had much time to be designing outfits with the whole ordeal with both Regulus and the Order training.
Not for the first time, she wishes her life was different. That she didn’t have to fight. And she knows that she can always opt out, but that would only put her on Dumbledore’s radar. Most likely, she would be arrested on suspicion by him and Moody or live constantly looking over her shoulder for the rest of her years. And then there was also no way Marlene would give up the fight, thus meaning there would have to break up and there was also no way that Dorcas would want to sit back in a different country with what little she had, hearing of deaths of her friends and peers through the daily prophet. She wouldn’t bear to live with herself if it came to that because of her poor choices. She could only hope that the war would end early enough in her years of fighting so she can get back to living out her dream and perhaps even open a fashion store or own her own label and brand.
She swallowed back the apprehension, bringing her back to the moment where Pandora was giggling over some joke that her mother said and Marlene was humming a song under her breath, touching up the top coat of her nails. Why think of the future when she could live in the present at that minute? She was happy there, with her mum, her girlfriend and her best friend. She just needed to remind herself to cherish the happiness when it was laid out in her hands before she inevitably had to give it back to fate.
***
Evan is apparated to number 12, Grimmauld Place on his father’s elbow, dressed in one of his most formal pair of robes whilst trying to douse the fire to his nerves beneath the perfect, fleshy exterior. He kept his face blank and his chin up as his father greeted Walburga and Orion who showed them into the dining room.
Regulus was already there, back stiff and face strait laced, hands clasped in his lap as he stared straight ahead at the opposite wall. His eyes flicker over to Evan briefly, who is instructed to take the chair across the way from him, before they quickly go empty and hollow again, no emotion shining through. It was eerie at how good he was at hiding his emotions just like that. To be able to snap it off within a split second. A part of Evan was strangely jealous at it too, it never really came naturally to him.
He mimicked Regulus’ posture, the clenched jaw and set shoulders that carried the weight of many expectations, each one piled onto the next like a consequential Jenga tower. He kept his eyes slightly downcast against the ebony table, the white lacy run a stark contrast to the black wood. He distantly wonders how many times the white had been dyed red, crimson forever seeping into the lace though it not be visible this day.
Regulus stiffens even more, if that was even possible as Orion’s distant voice echoes through the hallways. “Right this way, my Lord.”
Evan swallows, heart skipping a few paces and lodging in his throat as sharp footsteps click through the house. Orion takes the seat at one end of the table, the Dark Lord at the other end. The one, unfortunately, closest to Regulus and Evan.
“Good evening.”
Regulus flinches ever so slightly. Almost unnoticeable but Evan does, in fact, notice. It’s hard not to when he knows his friend inside and out at this point.
“Mister Rosier, Mister Black, did you hear me?”
“Yes my Lord.” Regulus murmurs. Evan echoes him.
“I said good evening.”
“Good evening my Lord.”
“Good evening my Lord, apologies.”
“Deepest apologies.”
“That’s better.” Voldemort muses. “As I am sure you both are aware, I have a mission for you both. This will count as your initiation test, a little different as a regular raid. But just as, if not more crucial for our cause.”
“Yes my Lord.”
“Of course, my Lord.”
“You will be sent to the Northern Austrian Alps for six weeks to complete this task.”
The Northern Austrian Alps. Why was that triggering something in the back of his mind? What could possibly be there?
“Nurmengard Castle to be precise, though it’s known more as Nurmengard Prison at this time.”
Nurmengard Castle. Nurmengard Prison. Prison. Prison…Nurmengard Prison. Now that was certainly familiar but the presence of Voldemort was all too distracting for him to think properly.
“Before I inform you of any more details, may I ask how willing you both are to serve me on this mission?”
“It is an honour, My Lord.” Regulus bows his head, looking at Evan through his eyelashes to do the same.
“I would be honoured, My Lord.”
“Very well. Your mission is to gather information on Albus Dumbledore from his ex-partner,” Voldemort sneers at that, as if the word is poison itself in acknowledging the existence of homosexuality, “Gellert Grindelwald.”
Well now Evan just felt very stupid.
But also…what the fuck?
He bites the inside of his lip, resisting the urge to summon Dante right there and then. He needed to speak to him, almost as soon as possible.
“You may be wondering what sort of information I want you to gather from Grindelwald.” Voldemort continues. Evan wasn’t actually.
Voldemort hums, red eyes flickering around the table. His voice sends shivers down Evan’s spine but not from fear but rather in the way velvet feels if you rub it the wrong way. Just…uncomfortable. It was too haughty and he was two full of himself. Evan doesn’t know how he will survive if he has to sit through a Death Eater meeting a week, if Voldemort loves to hear himself talk this much.
“I need to know what Albus Dumbledore’s greatest weakness is. In general, in battle, things we can use to bribe or threaten him. This information will only do us good in the war. If we can eliminate him, the mass extermination of those who taint our blood and the genocide of those who go against us will be much easier.”
Barty. Evan thinks desperately. He couldn’t let that happen yet he was powerless to do anything about it. Maybe there was a good side to Barty joining the Death Eaters, the protection it would give him from siding with Voldemort…but oh- Dorcas. Emmeline.
“The consequences of not completing this task the way I ask of you, are dire. Those who you love will never be safe for the rest of their lives, which, granted, won’t be much longer should you fail to bring back some useful material. Mister Rosier, you have a twin sister if I am not mistaken. And Mister Black it would be very easy to end your life and drag your brother back as the heir, since he has not been legally vanquished from the Black Family Empire. It would be even simpler to reclaim him as the heir, to undo his disownment.”
“Yes my Lord.” Regulus whispers. “I understand.”
“As do I.” Evan adds, his hands clenching in his lap.
“However if you complete this mission, and complete it well, then I may consider promoting you two to my highest ranks come December when you both shall get the Dark Mark.”
And Barty too.
The way Evan saw it, he only had two choices. Fail the mission and lose Pandora or accept the mission and bring Barty down with him. He doesn’t know which option is worse. Losing Pandora meant losing half of his blood, his soul. But losing Barty meant losing his heart and then himself. He can’t survive without his heart but he wouldn’t live without his soul.
“It would be an honour.”
“The greatest of achievements.”
“You will both be apparated to the prison tomorrow at noon by your respective parents, and there you will meet some of my soldiers who work full time to guard the castle. You will each be treated to your own room in the castle, where you will spend you time when you are not gaining information from Grindelwald. There is a library there too if you need it for schoolwork, blah blah blah. The house elves employed will be at your command for meals and Grindelwald is kept in the dungeons, beneath the wine cellar.”
A wine cellar. Evan thinks to himself. That might be nice.
“Now, before we wrap this meeting up, what do you two already know about the life of Gellert Ruel Grindelwald?”
Regulus clears his throat. “My Lord, to answer your question. He was born in 1883 in Austria. He attended Durmstrang Institute until he was sixteen when he was expelled for the practises of illegal spell work. He then embarked on a quest throughout Europe to deduce the myth of the Deathly Hallows and write a theory of the magical core and correlation of it with one’s soul. He met Albus Dumbledore in Godric’s Hollow in January 1899. He became close with the Dumbledore family and planned to travel with Albus that summer. Gellert and Albus got in an argument that resulted in them duelling with Aberforth Dumbledore as well, thus killing her with a stray curse. Gellert fled the country and lived on the run up until 1945 when Albus Dumbledore imprisoned him in his own castle.”
And he’s a necromancer, Evan was tempted to add but he kept his mouth shut. Necromancy was rather rare and ancient in today’s world, so admitting Grindelwald was one would lead questions which he would inevitably crack under and spill his own secrets. But Grindelwald was a necromancer and Evan was about to talk to him for the next six weeks starting the day after and he really didn’t know how to feel about it. A small part of him was excited, believe it or not. But the rest was just a big tangle of knots to represent his emotions.
“Very well said, Regulus. Your knowledge is admirable. And Mister Rosier? Do you have anything to add?”
“Nothing that hasn’t already been stated, My Lord.”
“Well then. I suppose there is no need for me to stay much longer, is there? Meeting adjourned. And boys? Do not fail me. Understood?”
“Yes My Lord.”
“Thank you My Lord.”
Voldemort nodded one last time and Orion showed him out. Evan and Regulus didn’t move from their seat, barely resisting the urge to meet each other’s eyes.
“Evan.” His father said gruffly. Evan looked over at him. “You may be excused. I need to discuss your sister’s engagement with Walburga and Orion.”
“You too Regulus.” Walburga snapped, jerking her head towards the door. “This is a private matter.”
Regulus nodded, standing up from the table, Evan following. “Private matter.” He grumbles under his breath. “It’s literally my engagement.”
“What?” Evan blinks.
“I’m marrying your sister.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry. It’s not for another two years, but it’s going to be publicly announced on my birthday next year. Happy seventeenth to me, I guess. I have to marry Pandora. A wonderful gift.” He drawls sarcastically.
“Hey, that’s my sister.” Evan frowns.
“Respectfully? I would rather claw my own eyes out than marry her, if it wasn’t to protect us both. I’d much rather marry James.”
“Regulus-”
“Look, Evan, be the protective older brother all you want. I did it to save us both. To protect her from some paedophile who only wants her body and to protect myself from someone else knowing about my own body. And my mother said that there were certain measures that could be taken to create an heir and-”
“She’s older actually.”
“What?”
“You said I was being a ‘protective older brother’. She’s older than me by two minutes.”
“Why does that matter?” Regulus sighs. “I’m marrying Pandora and I want to kill myself but what else is new? At least it’s her, out of all other pureblood women.” He flops down on the armchair in the library.
“So…we’re going to be stuck with only each other for company for the next six weeks.”
“Beats sitting around at home and risking punishment. And you’re not the worst, I suppose.”
“Thanks.” Evan snorts. “Love you too Reg.”
Regulus elbows him in the ribs to the best of his ability, but he misses so he resorts to kicking his shin. Evan grumbles, annoyed, sitting down on the armrest of the chair and propping his feet up in Regulus’ lap.
“Ugh, move.” Regulus huffs, shoving at his ankles.
“No.”
“You’re such a wanker- is your pocket moving or am I finally going crazy?”
“Oh, Archibald’s in here. Sup Archie.” Evan reaches his hand into his pocket and pulls out the toy dragon which snorts in his hand, holding it out slightly to Regulus.
“I thought you were over your dragon phase since second year?” Regulus mutters, eyeing the dragon warily.
“I am. But Felix isn’t, evidently.”
“Who the fuck is Felix?”
“My brother.”
“Huh?” Regulus stares at him as if he had grown an extra head.
“My younger brother. When Seraphine ran away, she was pregnant with him. He’s nine now and I met him last week when Pandora dragged me to her house in fucking Brazil. Brazil? Can you believe that? It was fucking sweltering there, I swear to Merlin. But anyways Felix came into the kitchen and straight away asked us both if we liked dragons and then Pandora ratted me out. She thought I was having a bird phase and in what universe are dinosaurs fucking birds?”
“I would hope none. The poor birds don’t deserve that, save for the fact dinosaurs are extinct.”
“Oh you know what I mean.”
“What I know is that you need to get better at wording things. Anyways, you were saying?”
“So after that dreadful exposal, Felix ran out of the kitchen and then back in five minutes later. And he told us both who we are and then said to me that I was his favourite so I get a dragon and thus Archibald came into my possession.”
Regulus snorts.
“And then he ran back out after saying that he supposes Pandora could have a gift too and came back with an orange glitter pen because orange is his second favourite colour and she was his second favourite sibling. And then he ordered her that she had to use it forever.”
“And she’s going to use it religiously now, isn’t she?”
“Oh absolutely.”
Regulus sighs. "On a scale of one to ten, how entertaining is this summer going to be?"
"Either eleven fucking million or minus three."