"When the Ministry holds a legislative vote, cast the ballot we need. When the review expands, give us advance warning. And when necessary, say a few favorable words at the hearing."
Elder Burke's tone was casual. "A fair trade. We provide the goods. You provide the political capital."
Regulus didn't answer immediately. He was thinking.
All three items held genuine value. The Cursed Casket offered insight into ancient Blood Curse theory. The skull opened a window into soul magic. The cane... he couldn't say what it might teach, but instinct told him it mattered.
The risks, though, were enormous.
The Ministry review alone could be catastrophic.
Did the House of Black need to take that gamble?
That depended on his father's read of the political landscape, his assessment of the Burke family's worth, and his expectations for the depth of future cooperation.
"I'll pass along the message." Regulus kept his voice measured.
Elder Burke turned toward the door. "Time to head back. Lucretius will see you out."
They left the storeroom and returned to the shop floor. Lucretius was still standing by the counter. When he saw them emerge, the tension in his shoulders eased.
Elder Burke said nothing more. A wave of his hand dismissed them both.
Lucretius led Regulus to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. "Hogsmeade, Burke Residence."
The flames turned green. They stepped through one after the other.
Back in the grey stone house in Hogsmeade, Lucretius let out a visible breath.
He stood by the fireplace for a few seconds, something turning behind his eyes, then looked at Regulus. "What did you think?"
"Educational." Regulus kept it brief.
Lucretius's mouth twitched. He looked like he wanted to smile but couldn't quite manage it.
"My first time was at twelve." He glanced down at Regulus, his voice caught between nostalgia and something more earnest. "Father brought me to learn the route. The shop happened to be receiving a shipment of... special merchandise that day. What I saw gave me nightmares for two months."
His gaze drifted to the window. Laughter from Hogsmeade's main street filtered in. The sweet smell of Honeydukes candy mingled with the dust of the abandoned room, an odd collision of worlds.
"The Burke family has been in this business for five generations." Lucretius spoke low, almost to himself. "Starting with my great-grandfather, we've operated out of Knockturn Alley, dealing in dark magical objects. We've seen the worst things that exist. We've dealt with the most dangerous people alive. And we've learned how to survive in the gap between light and shadow."
He turned back to Regulus.
"That doesn't mean we enjoy the dark. It's the path the family chose. We were born onto it, and there's only one direction to walk."
Regulus listened without interrupting. He could hear the complexity threaded through every word: pride, resignation, weight, and a thread of exhaustion beneath it all.
A Pure-blood heir's identity wasn't glory alone. It was obligation and chain both, a life trajectory fixed before birth.
Sirius had refused.
He'd run, rejected the duty, broken free of the shackles.
Lucretius Burke would one day take over the family business, continue running that shop in Knockturn Alley, keeping company with darkness.
That was his fate.
He'd accepted it.
Whether he enjoyed it was another question.
"Let's go." Lucretius drew a deep breath and settled back into his usual composure. "Time to get back to school."
They stepped out of the stone house and onto Hogsmeade's main street.
Three in the afternoon. The village was busier than before.
A queue snaked out the door of The Three Broomsticks. Honeydukes was packed wall to wall. A cluster of Hufflepuffs crowded the Dervish and Banges window display, pointing and chattering over some new model of Sneakoscope.
Lucretius led the way toward the village entrance. Acquaintances greeted him along the route; he returned each nod without breaking stride.
Near Zonko's Joke Shop, Regulus felt it.
A ripple in the space behind him.
Faint, but real.
The precursor signature of an Apparition landing point.
Someone was about to materialize very close.
Less than ten meters.
Ordinary enough in Hogsmeade. No Muggles here, so wizards Apparated freely. But Regulus reacted anyway.
His stride didn't falter. Magic surged through him in an instant, an invisible barrier spreading tight against his skin, thin as insect wing, tough enough to hold.
His left hand flexed beneath his cloak, fingertips flickering with scarlet light. His right hand slid into his sleeve and closed around the handle of his wand, tip aimed at the ground, ready to snap upward and fire.
The air cracked open.
A figure materialized from nothing, staggering two steps before finding his footing.
Middle-aged wizard. Black robes, torn and filthy. Blood on his face. The wand in his right hand was snapped in half.
The man's eyes swept the street. They landed on Regulus and Lucretius, and something sparked in them. Not hope. Desperation edged with malice.
He lunged toward them. Not an attack.
He ducked behind them, using their bodies as shields, and his left hand shot out to grab Regulus's shoulder.
Regulus was faster. Half a second before the hand made contact, he shifted his weight, angled his body, and the grab caught nothing but air.
He was about to counter when he stopped short. Two more spatial distortions rippled ahead of him, simultaneously.
The wizard blinked, clearly not expecting a child to dodge that easily.
Two figures Apparated in almost at the same moment.
The first was a tall, lean wizard in Auror uniform, a vicious scar slashing from forehead to chin. Both eyes intact, gaze razor-sharp. He stood upright, torso tilted slightly back, wand gripped in his right hand, left arm hanging loose at his side. Ready to strike from any angle.
Alastor Moody.
The second was a young female Auror, short blonde hair, wand already raised and leveled at the man behind Regulus.
"Finn, give it up!" she barked. "You're not getting away!"
The wizard called Finn panted hard, his fingers knuckled around the broken wand.
"Let me go!" His voice was raw, frantic. "Or I kill these two kids!"
Moody's eyes tracked from Regulus to Lucretius, then settled on Finn.
"Go ahead and try. Your wand's broken."
Regulus stood still, thoughts racing.
Finn was a dark wizard, clearly being pursued. He had fled here and tried to seize hostages.
Moody and the female Auror were the hunters. He and Lucretius were caught in the middle.
Finn's choice was not bold. It was foolish. Hogsmeade was full of students, professors close at hand. He might have thought to grab a young wizard as leverage, forgetting entirely where he had run.
Most dark wizards would avoid this place if they had any sense. He had charged straight into it.
Smart enough to survive this long. Not smart enough to think it through.
He had also chosen the wrong targets.
Regulus felt no fear. He could break away easily, even retaliate if necessary. Finn was not particularly powerful. But there were outsiders watching, so he chose to observe.
He glanced at Lucretius. The Slytherin Prefect stood straight, expression calm, his right hand already resting on his wand.
When he caught Regulus's eye, a silent question flickered there. Do we move?
Regulus gave the faintest shake of his head.
With Moody and another Auror present, Finn was not escaping. And right now, Finn's focus was entirely on the Aurors. He did not see the boys as threats.
Children? What could they possibly do?
Regulus, for his part, felt a strange flicker of interest. The situation was almost entertaining.
Finn's forehead beaded with sweat. His broken wand wavered between Regulus and Lucretius, as if he were deciding which would make the better shield.
"Back off!" he shouted at Moody. "Let me use Floo Powder and leave, or I'll—"
He did not finish.
Moody moved.
His wand flicked almost lazily. A streak of silver shot toward the ground at Finn's feet.
The earth softened instantly, sinking like a swamp. Finn's ankles plunged into it. His balance shattered. The broken wand jerked off target.
At the same time, the female Auror cast her spell. A red beam streaked toward Finn's chest.
He cursed and tried to Apparate, but with his wand snapped, the magic failed.
He forced the broken wand up to block, but his magic output faltered. The spell deflected only slightly.
The Stunning Spell struck his left shoulder.
Finn's body jerked. His eyes rolled back. He toppled backward.
The ground hardened again at once.
The entire exchange lasted no more than two seconds.
Moody stepped forward, checked Finn with a quick spell, and confirmed he was unconscious. Only then did he turn to Regulus and Lucretius.
He stared at them, voice curt. "Names."
"Regulus Black."
"Lucretius Burke."
Moody repeated them under his breath, something unreadable in his tone. "Black…"
"And you're from the Burke family," he said, looking at Lucretius. "The shop in Knockturn Alley?"
"Yes." Lucretius's voice did not waver.
Moody asked nothing further. He turned to the female Auror. "Take him back. Inform the Ministry of Magic that Finn's in custody. Some of the involved items have been recovered."
She nodded, levitated Finn with Wingardium Leviosa, seized a handful of Floo Powder, and vanished.
A crowd of students had already formed a circle around the scene, whispering and pointing.
Several professors Apparated in moments later, drawn by the commotion.
Moody's gaze settled on Regulus. "You didn't move just now. Why didn't you dodge? Or fight back?"
"He was behind me. I couldn't see him," Regulus replied evenly. "And with Aurors on the scene, I trusted the professionals to handle it."
Moody studied him as if committing his face to memory. He did not look convinced. At this age, most children would have panicked. Standing steady was rare enough. Remaining this calm was something else entirely.
A few seconds passed.
Then Moody turned and walked away.