Chapter 122: Fiendfyre
Back in his room, Regulus shut the door and went to the window.
A few Muggles passed along the street beyond the square, hurrying even on Easter, always somewhere to be.
His father's words echoed in his head.
The lines had been drawn long ago. The House of Black stood publicly with Voldemort. Every pure-blood family in Britain knew it.
Switching sides now meant open betrayal, and Voldemort's stance on betrayal was something no one in the wizarding world misunderstood.
Regulus didn't need to study Voldemort closely. He only needed to look at the evidence.
The wizards who had vanished. The Ministry of Magic officials who'd reversed their positions overnight. The dissenters who had simply ceased to exist.
At the core of how Voldemort built his authority was a single, non-negotiable clause: disloyalty would not be tolerated.
Gone was the leniency of his early recruitment days. What he showed now, more and more openly, was his true face.