InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Bring it on!"

Regulus Black (blacklionstar) wrote,
@ 2008-04-30 23:20:00

Who: Regulus Black and Amycus Carrow
What: Amycus is checking up on Regulus
When: Wednesday night
Where: A pub in Knockturn Alley
Rating: PG13
Status: Incomplete

Regulus knew this day was coming soon enough once the names were released in the paper. He was going to have to check in with someone as they returned to England. Part of him was glad that it was Amycus since he was closest to the older man than he had been to any of the others really. However, the nature of this relationship also made him wary as it meant Amycus was better at reading him than any of the others.

After work he apparated down to Knockturn to meet up with Amycus. He walked into the Blackfoot pub and looked around. Not seeing the other man, Regulus made his way over to a booth and let out a sigh of relief. Beating Amycus here gave him time to get his head on straight. This way he could organize his thoughts and not worry so much about the lying he was about to do. As long as he could clear his mind before the other man got there, he'd be completely fine.

He signaled to one of the waiters in the pub and ordered a whiskey neat. After a moment's thought, he couldn't remember Amycus's drink and let the man go while he waited for his old friend to arrive.

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sordidaffair
2008-05-01 08:51 am UTC (link)

Being back in England was brilliant, as far as Amycus was concerned. No more French food, no more French architecture, no more French people, and best off, he would probably get his job back. That, more than anything, was something he was exceedingly excited about. He'd missed his work.

Regulus, the little shite, had managed to sneak under the radar of the Ministry. How he'd managed, Amycus didn't know, and he was determined to find out.

Entering the pub, it took him a few moments to find Regulus. He'd changed over the past nine years, there was no doubt about that. As had Amycus, really, but he fancied that he'd stayed much the same. Spotting him, Amycus ambled over to him with his usual easy stride. Sliding into the opposite side of the booth, Amycus signaled to the server and quickly ordered a brandy. Turning to Regulus, he regarded the other boy - man now, he reminded himself - and chuckled.

"You've changed."

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blacklionstar
2008-05-01 09:43 am UTC (link)

Regulus very nearly got to his feet when he saw Amycus coming. He restrained himself only because he didn't want to give Amycus any sort of power over him by seeming submissive. So instead he gave a nod of welcome.

Amycus hadn't changed much since he'd last seen him outside of slight signs of aging. Regulus took note of the other man's drink order for future reference, just in case. He watched Amycus to try to pick up on any indicators of what this meeting could actually be about. When the fact that he'd changed was pointed out though, he couldn't help but smirk.

"Oh?" he questioned, "How so?"

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sordidaffair
2008-05-01 10:20 am UTC (link)

Amycus chuckled and reached out to pat Regulus' cheek. How had he changed? "Less baby fat." While he certainly meant in a physical way, it was also, in a way, quite metaphorical. Regulus was a man now, nearly thirty, like Amycus. He wasn't a little boy anymore. "It's good to see you again, Regulus," he said amicably, and for once he wasn't lying. "I've missed you more than the other ponces around here."

Clearing his throat, he thanked the barkeep when his drink was delivered. Taking a sip, he pursed his lips, not quite happy with it, but not unhappy enough to send it back. "So then," he said casually. "What've you been doing with yourself?"

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blacklionstar
2008-05-01 11:20 am UTC (link)

Regulus couldn't stop the flinch that happened when Amycus patted his cheek. It was more out of distaste than anything else but he still mentally kicked himself for that show of weakness.

"It's good to see you too, Amycus," he returned genuinely. As much as he had dreaded them all coming back, he missed having people around who understood what he had gone through. Sirius tried his best but most of the people he was friends with in school were either dead or had been deported when the Ministry had won.

Regulus nodded his thanks to the server. He didn't drink right away though but instead ran his thumbs over the rim of the glass. "Nothing terribly exciting, actually," he replied nonchalantly, "I do grunt work for the foreign relations branch of the ministry. They won't promote me because of this little mark on my arm." Thinking of that always left a bad taste in his mouth.

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sordidaffair
2008-05-01 11:55 am UTC (link)

Ah, a flinch. Amycus smiled slightly, knowing he shouldn't have expected anything less. He was, however, rather upset to see that Regulus still, on some level, feared him.

"Nothing to worry about, mate," he said easily, although anyone who knew him knew damn well there was everything in the world to worry about. "It's just me."

Regulus' body language said much, much more than Amycus reckoned would ever come out of his mouth. "That's a shame, isn't it? To have talents like yours wasted." Again Amycus took a sip of his drink, resisting the urge to blanch. "It still amazes me they even let you stay in the country, let alone hired you." He leaned in a little closer to Regulus. "Going to tell me your secret then?"

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blacklionstar
2008-05-01 12:30 pm UTC (link)

He smirked at Amycus's reassurances. "I think that's exactly the problem," Regulus said lightly. It was meant as a joke though it was partly the truth. Regulus had seen first hand what Amycus could and would do to people he didn't trust.

The younger man finally took a sip of his drink in hopes it would ease his nerves. He could only nod his agreement as he swallowed. "It is but at least I'm inside," he said after a moment. Even though I can't relay any information at all.

At the last remark, Regulus shrugged. "My mother threw a fit before the Ministry could find me and forced my father to slip them some money to force a pardon," he admitted, "It's a good thing they are unaware that you were the one who trained me."

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sordidaffair
2008-05-01 12:45 pm UTC (link)

Amycus smiled, but it was an empty, dangerous smile. Perhaps it was only because Regulus knew him so well that he feared him, but it irked Amycus quite a bit that Regulus still hadn't grown out of it.

"Yes," said Amycus in a deceptively pleasant voice. "Perhaps you'll be in a position to be useful and pass along information." But if Regulus wasn't able to advance in nearly a decade, Amycus was beginning to have serious doubts about his own chance at a career.

He nodded him, eyeing him closely. "I heard the Malfoys tried that as well," he said blandly. "Funny how you should succeed and they didn't."

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blacklionstar
2008-05-01 12:55 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't that Regulus hadn't grown out of his fear. The initial fear he had of Amycus had quickly gone away. This new fear had developed as time had progressed after he had been pardoned and developed a slight paranoia in regards to the Death Eaters in general.

"I'll let you know of anything I hear," he replied dutifully. That was a habit that wasn't going to break easily. He was still used to being at the bottom of the ranks everywhere that he was almost immediately submissive.

"It had a lot to do with my age," he said diplomatically, "I was underage when I took the mark so they were less inclined to hold it against me where Malfoy was much older." That much had been true. The sparse amount of unforgivables that appeared on his wand had also been a rather large help to keep him in the country.

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sordidaffair
2008-05-01 01:10 pm UTC (link)

"Of course you will," said Amycus with a toothy smile. He took another sip of brandy, wrinkled his nose, then down the glass in one gulp. It burned going down, and not in a pleasant way. Refusing to cough, he managed to choke it down, although his eyes watered somewhat. Waving to the barkeep, he ordered another round for both of them.

"Perhaps," said Amycus with a shrug. "The Ministry seems to think we're all reformed. Learned our lesson, having to stay away from the Motherland for a decade." He sneered. "Idiots, the lot of them. All they did was solidify our feelings toward the current administration and the Mudbloods who run it. Can't wait until..." He gripped his hands into a fist so tight that for a moment, his hand shook.

After a moment, he relaxed and flashed Regulus a genial smile. "So then. Married, I presume?"

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blacklionstar
2008-05-01 01:19 pm UTC (link)

Regulus hated that he was so willing to do whatever it took to stay in Amycus's good graces. He was grateful for the new drink though. It would give him something else to concentrate on for a few moments at least.

"Naïve is what they are," he nodded in agreement as a look of displeasure settled on his features. That was one aspect that he did still honestly agree with. The way the administration had been infiltrated by those filthy Mudbloods and drove the pureblooded families out. It was disgusting.

Regulus had to bite back a laugh at that question though he did grin a bit. "No, can't say that I am, actually," he replied amicably, "Once they see the mark on my arm they generally run the other way these days." He gave a small chuckle and shook his head. "How about you?"

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sordidaffair
2008-05-01 01:32 pm UTC (link)

"Mm." Amycus fiddled with his empty glass, his shoulders hunched as he contemplated what to say. He didn't quite trust Regulus as much as he once did, although it was of no fault of Regulus' own. Rather than leaving the country with the rest of them, he had chosen to stay in England, a move that spoke volumes. It was a something Amycus would have to deal with, but he was relatively certain that he wasn't the only one with these sorts of problems.

"It works to our advantage," he finally said in a low, slow voice. "Eventually they will falter, and we will be there to take advantage of every crack in the administration. We will still prevail, Regulus, even if we have been gone for ten years. The Ministry is still as inadequate as ever - they've proved that, with the pardons they've issued." They were practically begging to be taken advantage of, as far as Amycus was concerned.

Eyeing Regulus closely, Amycus frowned. "Oh? Just the Dark Mark? Perhaps you haven't been looking in the proper circles. There aren't many pureblooded girls from good families - who you ought to be looking at in the first place - who'd turn you down for a silly little thing like that." He touched his own dark mark, hidden underneath the sleeve of his dark robes. "Wear it proudly, not as a symbol of shame." When Regulus rounded the question on him, he shrugged. "Not yet. Can't stand the French, and sure as sin didn't want to marry one. Thinking about it though, if I can find someone here. Alecto will throw a fit, but that's her problem. But I have to provide my family with an heir eventually, so I'll figure something out."

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blacklionstar
2008-05-01 06:04 pm UTC (link)

The brief silence that settled between the pair made Regulus unbearably uncomfortable. There was something about the silence that radiated from Amycus but being out of contact with his old mentor for so long had put him out of habit of reading it. Had he known it was mistrust he wouldn't have been terribly surprised, though his discomfort level would have likely risen a bit higher than it already was.

"That what I was hoping when I took the position," he said reassuringly. Of course, that was about as far from the truth as it got. He had originally taken the position to prevent this exact situation from happening. In the decade it had been since his pardon, he was hoping that he would gain enough power and influence in the department to keep the Death Eaters out of the country for good. It's incredibly ironic how things work out in the end.

He could only raise an eyebrow and smile a bit sadly at the remarks about his still being single. "You'd be surprised how many girls from good pureblooded families have no desire to be associated with someone with a mark," Regulus told Amycus, "Especially with the scrutiny we've been under the last ten years or so." His smile only twisted a bit as his friend talked about his own marital misfortunes.

"As long as it happens eventually," he said raising his glass to his friend and taking a sip.

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sordidaffair
2008-05-02 12:36 pm UTC (link)

Amycus eyed Regulus for a long moment as he swirled his drink around his glass. Yes, there was something else, something Regulus wasn't telling him, but after nine years, Amycus would have expected nothing less. They were all entitled to their secrets, after all. His only concern was whether or not this particular secret of Regulus' affected him and their loyalties.

"I see. Yet it hasn't paid off yet." Amycus frowned, mulling this over. "Perhaps we'll have to use you to make other contacts higher up within the Ministry. Or perhaps we can somehow...convince them that promoting you would be beneficial to us all, especially to their health."

Again Amycus raised an eyebrow. "I see. That'll soon change, Regulus. Don't worry your pretty little head over it." Flashing him a wicked grin, he took a long drink of his new brandy, not quite finishing off the glass. "Soon we'll be swimming in pureblooded virgins just dying to take their clothes off for us."

Nodding in agreement, Amycus wondered exactly how long continuing on the Carrow line would have to wait. If there was another war brewing, he'd have to act fast, on the chance he'd be killed or persecuted.

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blacklionstar
2008-05-03 07:43 am UTC (link)

Regulus knew he was being regarded carefully by the other man. He wasn't sure what was going through Amycus's head exactly but on the other hand he had to ask himself if he really wanted to have the answer to that question. All Regulus could do is hope that he could manage to keep his mouth shut long enough to keep him alive.

As Amycus began to talk about getting him promoted, he bit back the fear he felt over the situation. If he agreed to letting it happen, he wouldn't have changed at all and everything he told Nymphadora would have been a lie. Though on the other hand, being honest this early would only be detrimental to his health. "I'll see what I can do about it, give me a week or so," he acquiesed. That way he could try to warn the Ministry about what was going on and maybe get a promotion that way. Kill two pixies with one stone so to speak.

"I haven't been, Amycus," he said as politely as he could manage when talking about his sex life, "And I'm sure it will be brilliant." It wasn't that he didn't have sex or like it or anything like that, he just never thought it was something to be discussed in public. He took a long sip from his whiskey to try to avoid any further discussion of said topic.

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sordidaffair
2008-05-03 10:51 am UTC (link)

"If you haven't been promoted in ten years, I doubt they'll change their minds in a week," said Amycus with a raised eyebrow. Leaning back into his seat, he took a sip of brandy, eyeing Regulus closely over the lid. "Anything you'd like to tell me, Regulus? Or are we going to dance around whatever it is you're not saying for another hour or so before I squeeze it out of you?"

He smirked, sensing some form of discomfort from Regulus. Figured. Despite being separated by only a few years, Amycus would never be able to shake the feeling that Regulus was so much younger than he was, not with the way he was acting. "Prefer blokes then?"

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blacklionstar
2008-05-03 10:11 pm UTC (link)

"That's true," Regulus agreed silently cursing himself for thinking that Amycus would be so naive to let him take care of it himself, "We'll see what you lot can do then." Of course, the next question out of Amycus's mouth was the one he was actually dreading. Regulus forced himself to at least appear to be calm. His calm facade could buy him some time to figure everything out.

"Come now, Amycus, what could I possibly be hiding from you?" he said coolly. He held his breath unwittingly while he waited for a response. Amycus believing him was critical to him staying around for any length of time.

However, the next question left him spluttering for a moment. "NO!" he all but yelled. He reigned himself in after moment and took a deep breath. "No," he said calmly, "I have always and will."

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