6 MONTHS LATER

Regulus was hiding something from me and whatever it was, it kept waking him in the middle of the night and pulling him from my bed. He wasn't being summoned away from our bed to go and fulfil the work of the Dark Lord. The same Dark Lord who still had no idea that Regulus was no longer loyal to him. And I knew that he wasn't being summoned because he wasn't in pain from the mark and he wasn't clutching it to his side as he did whenever he was summoned.

Now my husband wasn't a dull man but it seemed that whatever was occupying his mind was serious enough to affect his general level of intelligence. He knew that I was a shockingly light sleeper and so knew that I would wake whenever he left the bed. But he seemed to have forgotten about all of that as he snuck out to complete whatever it was that he was doing, only to return to our bed before morning broke as if he'd never left it in the first place.

I had followed him one night and to my surprise he hadn't travelled far, he hadn't even left the house. Regulus was making nightly trips to the library and it seemed that Kreacher was brought along to keep him company and acted as a springboard for whatever ideas Regulus was speaking of. Regulus had a habit of murmuring nonsense to himself as he pondered over a problem and I, from my spot outside the library, could only hear muttered words which made little to no sense.

That was until he said, clear as day, "The Dark Lord has horcruxes."

I had waited until morning broke, until Regulus was called away for business to make my own trip to the library. Summoning Kreacher to the attic, I had asked him to retrieve the book my husband had been reading and the elf had been reluctant until I had been forced to order him to do it. Once I got my hands on the book, I asked him what Regulus had been researching only to be told that he had been researching how to destroy horcruxes.

Dismissing the elf, I settled down on one of the armchairs and pondered over what I knew. According to Regulus, the Dark Lord had horcruxes and Regulus wanted to destroy them. Had he no idea what the risk of destroying one of the Dark Lord's possessions would do? It was no news to me that Regulus no longer followed him, but to risk his death in such a manner –

I shook my head to dismiss the thoughts and looked back to the tome. Now to find out what exactly a horcrux was.

The answer horrified me. Splitting the soul was, well it was inhuman and according to the book it was a means to gain immortality. Regulus really was risking his life by trying to destroy the horcruxes and the chances of him surviving and managing to get past the Dark Lord after doing so were little to none. And yet the frustrating man was going to keep this from me till the very end, till I had been left behind as his widow.

The thought unsettled me and I shut the book slowly. Distantly, I heard Kreacher welcome Regulus back home and left the library, making my way to our room. Upon entering our bedroom, I shut the door behind me and my eyes drifted to Regulus who was shrugging out of his outdoor robes. He turned at the sound, approaching me to press a quick kiss to my lips.

"How have you been?"

I stared up into his eyes; how could he act as if he wasn't practically contemplating suicide? "We need to talk, Regulus."

He frowned, searching my eyes, "What's the matter?"

"Sit down." He hesitated to do as I ordered but did so more out of curiosity when I cast a silencing charm on the room. Letting out a deep breath, I cleared my throat and said firmly, "I know you're planning to destroy the horcruxes."

"How did you find out?" He wasn't shocked and faced my question with a quiet one of his own.

"Why does that matter?" I demanded, "You know that this is like walking to your death and you were going to do this without telling me!" He couldn't even bring his eyes to mine and I sat down beside him, taking his hands in mine, "Please Regulus, there has to be another way. Any other way."

"One small sacrifice for the greater good," he murmured, turning his eyes to mine. I let out a sharp breath, turning my gaze away from him.

"How can you say that your life is one small sacrifice!"

"In the grand scale of things, it is," he spoke softly, placatingly as he pressed his forehead against my temple. "Right now, he's not a man and he won't die like one. If doing this is how I make sure he meets his inevitable end, then so be it."

My eyes began to fill with tears as I shook my head, "Regulus –"

"I don't fear it anymore. I don't fear my death." I took a deep shuddering breath, rising to my feet. "I want to be brave, like Sirius always was. And maybe, one day, you'll remember me as being just as brave as my brother, maybe even more. My death doesn't need to be the end of your life. You're already a Mrs Black, you could just as easily become one again."

"Don't you dare," I hissed, feeling my bottom lip tremble. Turning to him, I met his eyes and shook my head firmly, "Don't you dare Regulus Arcturus Black."

He stared at me in silence and I found myself unable to stay in the same room as him. It was like the walls were caving in around me, boxing me in during this horrendous moment. With a shaking hand, I removed the silencing charm and left the room. I briefly heard him call out for me but I paid him no heed. Running down the stairs, I ignored Kreacher's concerned call and headed to the floo with only one destination in mind.

I stumbled out on the other side, startling the couple who quickly had their wands drawn, aimed at me. They lowered them upon recognising me.

"What are you doing here?" James asked stepping towards me.

"I didn't know where Sirius would be," I explained, sounding on the brink of tears. Lily brushed past her husband to rub at my back soothingly, "Where is he? Please, I need to see him."

"What's going on?" Lily asked gently, "We'll call him over instantly."

"He's going to die."

James stiffened drastically, approaching me with long strides and to take a hold of my shoulders, "Who? Who's going to die?"

"Regulus," I whispered, closing my eyes and allowing the tears to fall.

When I opened them again, James was apparating away to wherever Sirius was currently living. A few minutes later, Sirius apparated into the cottage followed shortly by James. He came to a stop in front of me and demanded answers which I gladly gave him. The two best friends shared a look and less than an hour later I found myself explaining everything to my old headmaster. Dumbledore had accepted my words with nothing more than a solemn nod and had assured me that he would seek out Regulus before telling me to return home.

Placing all of my trust in him, I had returned home as though nothing had happened. Regulus hadn't questioned where I had disappeared off to, he had simply embraced me and thanked me for coming back. I returned his hug, content that Dumbledore would sort everything out.

But how wrong I had been.

Dumbledore's definition of sorting it out was him escorting Regulus and Kreacher to the location of the horcrux. My mother-in-law still grieving over the loss of her husband had gone to spend some time abroad and so there was no need for secrecy within Grimmauld Place. There was no need to explain why I was pacing anxiously in the sitting room as I waited for any news. Was no news a bad or good thing?

My answer came over an hour later when the two Black brothers had apparated into Grimmauld Place. Regulus was leaning heavily on his older brother, and I hurriedly gestured him towards one of the sofas. After sitting Regulus down, Sirius moved out of the way so I could take over. Sitting at Regulus's side, I frowned when he took my hand in his and pressed a kiss to it.

"What happened?" I asked looking to my brother-in-law.

"He had a run in with some inferi," Sirius answered, looking around Grimmauld Place as thought it was the worst haunted house he had ever been to. But, that was understandable considering what he had suffered within its walls.

"Inferi," I muttered horrified, turning to my husband who was trying to stand up. Pushing at his shoulder, I made sure he remained seated. "Don't."

"Dumbledore dealt with them," Regulus assured me, "He's dealing with the horcrux right now."

"What happens now?" I asked into the silence.

"We think there's more horcruxes." Trying to sit up straight, Regulus winced and leaned against me. "We need to figure out what the others are and where they're hidden."

"As for now, it'll pay to have a spy within the death eater side." Clearing his throat, Sirius approached his younger brother and sat at his side, "How do you feel about joining the Order of the Phoenix?"