Christmas Day Had Been Entirely Chaotic As He Had Thought It Might Be. Magnus Was Old Enough Now To Be

Fenrir had finally escaped the heat of the kitchen after final orders for food had been called and had headed to the bar to pour himself a drink to cool down. Festive crowds were relentless and he'd barely had a moment to himself all day, never mind time to eat or drink something. He'd been in the middle of downing a pint of water when Thorfinn entered and made his way over to Fenrir with purpose.

Fen took the parchment and read it, committing the contents to memory before he tapped his wand against it to set the parchment alight. "Twenty minutes for me to change and eat something," he said, reaching for a bottle of vodka. He poured two shot glasses, handing one across the bar to Thorfinn. "Cheers," he said, throwing the shot back before he disappeared into the back of the pub to prepare for the mission.

where: the white wyvern who: @battle-scvrs (Fenrir Greyback) when: 19th of december, 2024

It appeared that Thorfinn was not going to be able to enjoy the rest of the night, a parchment sent that he and Fenrir had a task to handle for the Dark Lord. He knew how much of a savage the other could be, and between the two, he was certain there would be a trial of blood in their wake.

The blonde sauntered into the shop, making his way up to the bar where he sat down with Fenrir on the other side. "How much longer do you have?" He held out the parchment for him to read discretely.

" i know i will be dead long before you read this but i want you to know that it was i who discovered your secret. "

—REGULUS A. BLACK

Fenrir had a feeling that they would end up circling back to the subject of Anders Greyback later on in the evening. He'd expected further questions immediately, but equally he wasn't surprised that Pandora wanted to go straight from business to pleasure. "Oh, he deserved it all and more," Fenrir growled out, his heart black and bitter. Anders had shown Fenrir how not to be a father, and he was grateful that the man would never have a chance to know Magnus.

With hands firmly on Pandora's hips, Fen took the opportunity as she bared her neck to him to press hot kisses down her jawline. He was preparing to apparate them, wanting to get into the privacy of his own home otherwise they would end up just staying here - which, honestly, he wouldn't mind too much either. "My darling, what do we need to do? Can it not be done at home? I'm an impatient man.."

When it came to Fenrir, she had no desire to tame the beast that he was, she fully accepted all that he was. Body flushing against his, like two magnets drawn to each other, touch one of the ways they were able to express what they meant to each other. In moments like these, all around them faded into darkness, leaving the beast that enthralled her entirely at her mercy. Pandora did not miss the flash of desire that burned in his eyes. "Good," a single word that held his promise of what would come.

Pandora had made a mental note, tucked away in the back of her mind, to ask him more about his father. She wished not to spoil the moment they were sharing, but felt there was more to his story that perhaps he would share with her. The stories he would tell her about his life and pack, she could listen to endlessly, finding his voice soothing.

"Then he deserved to get what he had coming." The witch could only assume something terrible happened and she already had a hatred for the dead man. Her head lolled back against the tree trunk, wild hues drinking in the beast in front of her, breaking away from the heated, passionate, kiss. "Yours...." Desperate to find release for the growing anticipation of what was to come building inside of her, but at the mention of the clock, realising she had to protect him.

"We must do one thing first." She glances over to the clock.

All these years later, Regulus still harboured a deep rooted bitterness towards James Potter. It was a spot of darkness that had lodged itself deep in Regulus' soul, and he wasn't sure there was anything that James could ever do to make up for the deep feelings of betrayal that still needled at him after so much time. Rather than let on his feelings of hurt, he chose to school his expression into a cruel sneer. "Yes, I'd rather you go and speak to the staff...after all, I might be buying everything on this shelf. You don't know. They may have more stock in the back, and then you can be out of my way...out of sight, out of mind," Regulus said, growing more flustered as James appeared to not be moving. "How can I forget you're here when you're still talking? I would love nothing more than to forget about you, and yet here we are. I'm just looking for potions ingredients, nothing more."

He wasn't entirely sure what reaction he had been expecting. Maybe it was indeed this. Still, it hurt. If there was one person who had the power to make James Potter go from feeling like he was on top of the world to under it, it was Regulus Black, steely and cold to the point where James felt his sharpness bury itself deep in his chest. He couldn't even be angry. He probably deserved it. "You... want me to ask them to help me find something which I can already see on that shelf?" James repeated slowly. "Honestly, don't worry – take your time. I'm not in any rush. I'll get whatever I need to get after," he said gently, leaning against the wall behind him. "Forget I'm here. Unless you need a hand, of course," James added, standing back up. "In that case, I'm definitely here. Let me know if there's anything I can do."

The owl that he had sent to Alecto earlier in the day had returned without a reply, but Regulus had taken the silence as a yes rather than a no and had prepared enough dinner for two. If Alecto didn't show up then he would simply have enough leftovers to take for lunch to work, but it was rare that Alecto didn't answer a summons from him. At least this time he was offering dinner, rather than an ongoing crisis. If his mother could see him, she would look down her nose at Regulus cooking the 'muggle' way rather than using a house elf, but he found that the methodical nature of it soothed his mind. Two of the artefacts that Regulus had been experimenting on at work were on the sideboard, surrounded by protective enchantments. Alcott had been sniffing around his work too much, and Regulus didn't trust that these artefacts wouldn't go missing if they were left at work. His wards alerted him to Alecto's presence just as Regulus was removing dinner from the oven, and with a small grin, he shouted "I'm in the kitchen." @alectocarrowx

Taking Alecto’s lack of argument as her acceptance of his lie, Regulus turned his attention back to the food. Rather than manually plating the food up, Regulus waved his wand and made the utensils do the work for him. “I know, I’ve come to expect silence from you…and yet, you always show up,” he teased, a small smile on his lips. He levitated the two bowls over to the dining table, before grabbing a bottle of pumpkin juice from the fridge. “Mixed…we’re trying to strengthen my ability to use unforgivable. I can’t hold them particularly long. My other magical skill is up to scratch, I feel. I wanted your opinion actually after dinner, I’ve brought two artefacts home from the ministry. I want to know if they perhaps might be of use for our cause. I can duplicate them if so, send the false ones back to the department with a faked magical signature.”

Alecto studied Regulus, taking a moment to see if he was speaking the truth. There was the worry that he would follow after his brother and she would not allow that to happen. "If you say so." The witch had no interest in debating with the young wizard, or simply using her magic to learn the truth. Silent steps moved around the kitchen effortlessly, the pad of her finger running across the surface of the island counter. The thought of cooking herself was insanity, and she was one that danced on that fine line repeatedly. "When have I ever sent an owl back, hmmm?" Both palms splayed across the counter top on the other side. "How is your mentoring going?"

The brief flash of guilt in Caradoc's eyes that quickly got masked by pain once more made Regulus frown, but he would press for more information on that once he had dealt with the more immediate issues. "You're hurt, that is a big deal," he said, kicking the door closed behind them as soon as Caradoc was in from the cold.

Regulus settled Caradoc onto the couch, pressing a kiss to his forehead before he stood again to look his boyfriend over with an analytical eye. "Don't be daft. I can brew more potions, I can't find another Caradoc," Reg said, his tone stern enough to let Caradoc know that he wouldn't take no for an answer on this. "I think....let's deal with the splinching first, unless you have anything more serious? There's too much blood, I can't tell what's what," he said, rifling through the bottles he'd summoned to find his essence of dittany.

Kneeling before Caradoc, Reg moved the scraps of his trousers aside to get a clear look at the wound. Being unable to go to St Mungos after Death Eater missions had led Regulus to learn some basic healing, but he wasn't sure how much good he'd be here. "It might sting, okay?" he said, pulling the stopper out of the bottle before he dropped two drops of the essence on Caradoc's leg.

And here, the guilt was seeping in. One didn’t have to be a genius to tell that Regulus had been asleep, or at the very least planning to go to bed soon. Here Caradoc was, interrupting and bleeding out. “‘S no biggie,” he mumbled as he leaned against his boyfriend, thankful for the assist. It was only when he was inside that he realized just how cold it had been out there.

“Mission. It went sideways. I was with a couple other Aurors — told them to apparate and get help and I stayed behind . . .” He trailed off, trying to spare Regulus anymore of the details. Plus, he didn’t particularly want to think about it himself.

As they reached the living room, Caradoc let out a sigh of relief and leaned his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “This is enough, Reg. Don’t waste any of your potions on me,” he said, just happy to be here.

Though Fenrir didn't mind doing the Death Eaters dirty work for them, sometimes he wished that they would give him a little more notice before they demanded his time. He'd barely had time to bundle Magnus up and send him to Nancy's house, determined he would not be caught up in whatever business Alecto was about to bring to his home. The Dark Lord would not grant Fenrir a mark, and it seemed his marked followers valued Fenrir's time about as much as he did.

Arms crossed as he waited outside for Alecto, he stared silently as she waddled towards his door. "I do not. Werewolves run hot, I thought this was common knowledge. You are a witch, are you not? It'll take two seconds to get a fire going," Fenrir said, unwilling to raise his wand for something she could do herself.

Opening the door, he held it open long enough for Alecto to enter before he kicked it shut behind him. "What do you need now, Carrow? Or is it Lestrange now? I seem to have missed my invite to celebrate the happy nuptials."

where: the woods who: fenrir greyback ( @battle-scvrs )

Even with things settled with Angus and the Scotland werewolves back the Dark Lord, Alecto had a few questions that she wished to ask another that was their kind. She cared little for Fenrir, but at times he had his uses and since he supported their vision, she would accept him; for now.

Alecto knew where to find him, the outskirts of his cottage, always sending another to advise him of her arrival. This no apparating made transporting a little more difficult, but she promised Rabastan that she would not.

Amber hues rested on the werewolf outside his cottage door waiting for her. "I do hope you have a fire waiting for me." Even though she was a constant heater, there was a chill in the air.

If it were anyone other than Alecto, the silence in return to his owl may have irritated Regulus. He was nothing if not meticulous with his life and his plans - he liked to have every minute of his day planned down to the second, and being left guessing whether his friend would appear at all didn't slot in with a well planned evening, yet Regulus could never truly be annoyed by Alecto. If he'd timed it better, he might've been able to get food on the table before Alecto appeared so she would have no reason to suspect it was made by anyone other than an elf. For now, all he could do was back track slightly. There were a few people who knew of Regulus' preference for muggle cooking, and he wasn't sure that Alecto wouldn't take that knowledge straight to his parents...or worse. Any hint of muggle sympathy was a risk these days, even if it was merely cooking. "Kreacher was here, he made the dinner but had to return to Grimmauld to prepare food for my parents...I'm only getting it out of the oven," he shrugged, grateful that he had cleaned up the rest of the dishes as he went along. "I'm glad I don't have to replace my owl. I was afraid that he was losing letters halfway along his journey."

Alecto had received an owl from Regulus, contemplating whether she should attend or not. No message would be returned, leaving the wizard in a state of guessing on if she would attend or not. It was with Rabastan busy with work that would keep him later than expected, that she decided that she would make the visit over to the youngest Black. Growing up together, he had been one that she was rather fond of, even more so with the departure of Sirius and Andromeda, knowing that it was important to keep him with on the right side of the cause. She would never admit her soft spot for him. Her nose wrinkled when he mentioned the kitchen, making her inside to witness his muggle ways. "Regulus," biting back a remark. "You did not have to do this for me." She would be more pleased to see the house elf doing the work.