Chapter 14

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter

Also, last chapter I received a lot of guest reviews, so I would like to clear a few things up before I go on. Firstly, I've moved the timeline of the story to be more modern, instead of starting in the eighties, because this is an AU story and I didn't feel like doing research for the points in the story I utilize 'muggle' technology. (Although I'm not quite sure how not making the story historically accurate has anything to do with me reading the books or not, considering that the timeline my story takes place in is not covered in the books)

A big thanks to all the readers and reviewers!

"The Deathly Hallows? That's just a tale in Beedle and the Bard, Reg!" Sirius cried, looking down at the small stone in his hands.

"Normally I'd agree with you Black, but seeing as Reg's here..."

"But he hasn't been resurrected, he's just a normal ghost!" Sirius waved his hand through Regulus to prove it. Regulus rolled his eyes.

"Did you really think Death would let people actually come back from the dead? Don't you remember what happened to the second brother?"

"Er, mostly, it was a long time ago."

"Couldn't bear to watch his love waste away under the stone's power," Severus said

softly.

"You knew it was the Resurrection stone all along!" Sirius turned to Albus, waving his arms about.

"What do you want with the stone, Albus?" The older man looked like a guilty

schoolboy for a moment.

"He wants to be master of Death, of course," Regulus said smoothly.

"Of course I don't-"

"You've already got the wand." Severus' eyes widened, darting to the innocuous

looking wand Albus was holding. The greatest wizard in England would be the best candidate to control the Elder Wand, but it still made him nervous.

"Does your master know?" Albus asked harshly, clutching the wand a little tighter in his hand. Regulus smirked.

"I didn't even know for sure until you just told me. Gryffindors." Regulus shook his head while rolling his eyes, "There have been rumors floating around since you defeated Grindelwald."

"You never told him about your suspicions?"

"Of course not. Just because my family agreed with his political goals didn't mean we all had the same blind, stupid loyalty as cousin Bella." Albus nodded absently.

"What about the cloak from the story?" Sirius said quickly. Regulus shrugged, moving his hand through Fawkes' cage.

"Invisibility cloaks are rare, but there's hardly only one as with the ring or the wand," Severus mused.

"Moody has at least one and of course there's the old Potter cloak we used to use to pull pranks," Sirius agreed, "It probably got caught up in the explosion at Godric's Hollow."

"Lily told me about it a few weeks ago when I told her I couldn't imagine how you snuck into McGonagall's office to shrink all her furniture. Said it was a Potter family heirloom James wasn't supposed to take to Hogwarts."

"His dad went a bit spare when James let slip he used it once, kept going on and on about how it had been in the family for generations and he didn't want to lose it because of some adolescent prank. It was about the only time I ever saw his dad raise his voice," Sirius laughed at the memory.

"How many generations could it be, invisibility cloaks start losing their efficacy after about a century," Severus scoffed.

"I know where Potter's cloak is." Regulus said lightly, floating near the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black. Sirius and Severus turned to look at him, while Albus began to study the various instruments on his desk.

"That's nice, Reg, but not exactly the cloak we're looking for right now."

"Why else would Dumbledore want to examine it? Took it before Potter went into hiding. It's in the cabinet next to the one that has his pensieve." He pointed to the stone basin which emitted a soft blue glow."

"You took James' invisibility cloak when he was hiding from You Know Who? He needed it! He might not have died if he'd been able to make himself and Harry invisible-why the hell would you take his bloody cloak?" Sirius yelled.

"The same reason he made to take ahold of the ring before we scanned for enchantments in the Gaunt hovel, mutt. He wants to be master of death." Severus scoffed, "Do you deny it?" Albus said nothing, but closed his eyes.

"I wanted you to see that the world is much more complicated than it seems, Sirius," Regulus floated back to stare into his brother's eyes, "The Dark Lord must be defeated, but consider why he existed." His form seemed to shimmer with a silver mist before dissipating.