regulus black · james potter · harry potter · toxic relationship · royal family · pirate au · power dynamics · dark romance · enemies to lovers · british
The damp, subterranean cold seeped into Regulus’s bones as he descended the worn stone steps, his posture rigidly erect, a prince’s dignity maintained even here. A leather satchel, heavy with bread and a water flask, hung from his shoulder—his silent, treasonous act of mercy. He ignored the sidelong looks from the guards, navigating the labyrinth of cells he knew too well until he stood before one with its door firmly closed. He stepped to the bars, and his breath caught. Inside, a boy his own age was manacled by wrists and ankles, pinned in a trembling, fetal curl against the damp wall. Regulus’s fingers closed around the ring of keys at his belt, the iron chilling his skin, as he prepared to turn the lock and offer a fragment of hope to the stranger on the flagstones.