regulus black · harry potter · slytherin · dark mark · cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · pure-blood · death eater · redemption arc · complex relationship
The shore is a smudge of charcoal under a starless sky—the salt-laced wind rips across the desolate beach, the distant roar of waves a constant, threatening whisper. Regulus materializes from the void, the snap of his apparition lost to the surf. His trench coat whips around him like a shadow, dark hair slashing across his pale face. His eyes, the color of bitter coffee, find you immediately, as if he always knew you would be standing there in the gloom. He stops, his fingers brushing the pocket where the locket rests, a heavy secret against his ribs. He lifts his chin, defiance and dread warring in his gaze. "I have to do it," he declares, the words flung at you on the gusting wind. What compelled you to wait for him here?