Regulus threw up a shield that blazed and blocked the curse Lucius had flung at him. It made his arm tremble to use that much magic, but he'd done it.
"Very good, Regulus. Again."
It was the first time Lucius hadn't given him a break between one spell and another. Regulus had to dodge this one. It broke apart in sharp slashes of silver light that looked like broken glass. Regulus shuddered.
"Not so good. Why didn't you block that one?"
Regulus swallowed and stood up. They were in the massive dueling training hall that Malfoy Manor hid between the cellars and the ground floor, and the stone all around them glowed grey, absolutely stainless and spotless. In other incarnations, it would contain targets, practice wards, spellbooks, and so on, as well as chipped stone and other marks left by those who had dueled here in the past. But Lucius had wanted to make it like this so that Regulus "wouldn't be distracted," as he had put it.
"Because I didn't have the magical strength left," Regulus said, meeting Lucius's eyes and projecting all the honesty he could.
Lucius frowned. "We'll have to speak to the Healer about increasing the strengthening potions that you're taking. Did Healer Cleanthos say anything about when you can begin drinking the Invigoration Draught?"
Regulus shook his head. "He thinks that I need to remain on the regular strengthening potions for a time."
"Perhaps wise," Lucius murmured. "Even if we do want you to get back up to full dueling strength as soon as possible."
Regulus gave a tight smile in response. Some of his weakness came from his years in the lake, hovering between life and death, but other "weakness" was just a normal symptom of what he would expect. He had been a clever duelist, but never a particularly strong one. He had always relied on that cleverness to end the conflict quickly, and been praised for it.
But Lucius and Narcissa both assumed that Sirius would rely on main strength, and perhaps he would. Regulus had rarely seen his brother duel seriously, only in practice when they both lived with their parents or in support of his Marauder friends.
"Are you ready?"
"A cup of water before we go back to it?" Regulus asked, shaking sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes. He didn't want to cast a Drying Charm, since it would use up some of the power he needed for the duel.
"A good idea. Mizzy!"
A house-elf appeared and offered Regulus a stone cup of sweet water that tasted like it had had something added to it. He drank, missing Kreacher. Kreacher could come to see him, but he didn't dare leave Grimmauld Place for too long in case Sirius noticed something amiss.
"Are you ready?"
Regulus raised his wand. It didn't matter that some of the magic he was learning was Darker than he would have preferred, he told himself. Sirius was in control of the house that Regulus needed to get back into, and for that, he would have to be able to duel his brother and take over the wards.
Do it for Kreacher. Think of it like that.
"Ready!"
"Confringo!"
Sirius twined the chain of the locket idly around his finger. He had finally thought of a path to get back into Narcissa's good graces, but it would require the cooperation of that stupid house-elf. "Kreacher!"
It seemed to take longer for the elf to appear than normal, which the locket whispered suspiciously about, but when he did, he looked no different than Sirius was used to seeing him. He bowed and croaked, "Master Sirius has a command?"
"Yes. I want you to take this gift to Narcissa Malfoy." Sirius extended the wrapped package.
Kreacher gave it a doubtful look. "Master Sirius is not giving away Black heirlooms to another family?"
Sirius laughed despite himself as he thought about what his mother would probably say. "No This is an apology, and something—her son might have inherited from me anyway, as my godson."
Kreacher transferred the doubtful look to him. "Master Sirius is not saying that Henry Malfoy is his godson."
"Not lately," Sirius agreed, keeping his voice mild. The locket whispered advice about that, too. His only chance to get close to Harry was to make it look like he had, in fact, given up most of his claim to the boy. "But whether or not he's my godson in truth, I would still like him to have this gift." He tilted his head at the box pointedly, then added, "If his mother approves, of course."
"Kreacher is taking the present to the Malfoy house-elves," Kreacher said, accepting the box and looking at it with the same scowl. "He cannot be taking it directly to Mistress Narcissa because of the wards on the Manor."
Sirius suppressed his own scowl. Putting it in Narcissa's hands directly would have been ideal, but he supposed it would end up in them anyway. She would certainly recognize it, and want to hold it. "All right. That's fine."
Kreacher bobbed his head and vanished with the gift. Sirius sat back on the couch and stared into the fire, twirling the locket around his finger again. It said softly, Do you think that the gift will poison her quickly enough?
"It's a first path back in," Sirius murmured. "It'll poison her the way we want eventually, but first, it'll just make her suggestible. Trust me, I was forced to handle that gift as a child. I know exactly what it does."
Perhaps we could have chosen another path.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "You were the one who came up with this one."
I suggested the general details. You were the one who chose the instrument, and we must make sure that instrument does not fail.
"It won't," Sirius said, and lounged back on the couch and reached for the book of necromancy he'd been reading. There were some truly interesting rituals there, ones that he was thinking of adapting to turn Harry back into a Potter rather than just using one of the existing ones.
I will guide you.
Sirius stroked the locket and tucked it under his shirt the way it had suggested he do. When he began going out in public and to Malfoy Manor again, it would be imperative to keep anyone from seeing it. They would try to snatch it away from him if they knew how useful it was.
Only useful legacy my bloody family ever left me.
....
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