"Come out and play, ickle ones... The Dark Lord will forgive you breaking the windows if you ask him real nice like." Greyback hissed and a little breathy laugh slipped out with the false promises as he crept down the hallway at the top of the stairs. "You'll be just fine..." He licked his lips, a grin tracing over his face.

The full moon was two days away... he was starving, craving living flesh so much he could nearly taste it. Getting the command from Voldemort to go and secure the Riddle House had been the most blessed thing his ears had ever heard. He ran his tongue over his lips and teeth, feeling the sharpness he'd widdled them into.

He breathed deeply, smelling the dust and the life that was in the room, his senses heightened.

A grin played over Greyback's lips and he bared his teeth all the more. A low chuckle rose up from deep in his chest. "Ohhh... you little shit. You know he thinks you're dead, Regulus... Dunno how it is you're here, but I'm pleased. I was robbed my meal when he killed you, you know... I was supposed to get to gnaw on your bones and instead he wasted it, sending that body to the Ministry... waste of good meat... I don't know how you pulled it off, but I'm glad to know I ain't missed the meal I was promised after all. Perhaps you can tell me about it while I gnaw on some of your non-essential bits. Always did enjoy a bit of entertainment while I took my meals."

In the library, under the desk, Regulus hugged his knees and felt his blood running cold. If only Greyback were only talk... Regulus knew that Sirius and James joked a great deal about Greyback - many people did - but Regulus had personally seen more of Greyback's meals than he wanted to think about and it was not pretty. It was not pretty, it was cruel and cold and, Regulus reckoned that Greyback was meaner than any of the other death eaters. The other death eaters would run their mouths, sure, but they often spoke more ferociously than ever actually acted, even when they did catch and torture their prey it was usually quick - they bored of the screaming. Even Bellatrix Lestrange, as psychotic as she was, would grow bored and stop after a time.

Greyback took every moment and savored it.

The longer he could make it last, the more he enjoyed it.

Like right now.

Regulus was sure that Greyback knew exactly where he was, but he was taking his time, walking slowly through the door of the library, chuckling quietly, his laugh more like a growl that rumbled in the back of his throat. 

"Mmm," Greyback mused. "You know the full moon is in just two days? You know how perfect this timing is? How quick my reflexes are at the moment? How much I'm going to enjoy this?"

Regulus shivered.

The library door closed and there was a clicking of locks and Regulus recognized a spell that set a password to undo, rather than a simple alohamora.

"Ignati," Greyback hissed and there was a rush as the logs in the hearth caught fire. "Did you figure out yet that the Dark Lord made disapparation impossible here?" he laughed. "...even for the elf? 

Worse, thought Regulus, I haven't even been certified you dumb beast. He knew how to disapparate but only vaguely - he'd not yet been officially ministry trained, so he was shaky at best doing it without Mother or Kreacher's help. He felt panic rising up in him.

Greyback's footsteps were coming closer... meandering around the high-backed chair by the fireplace. "You might as well just come out from behind there, Regulus, we both know that you're behind the desk, don't we?" There came a chuckle, "You do enjoy hiding under desks, don't you? Isn't that where you were cowering the night you led your blood traitor brother and his little friends into Durmstrang to take away the Dark Lord's prisoner, isn't it? And the Dark Lord had to drag you out of there when he carried you off to Fingal's." Greyback laughed.

Fingal's? Regulus wondered, What's that?

"Come on, Regulus. Let's talk man to man, 'ey?"

Regulus took a deep breath and made a choice. He slid out from underneath the desk and pulled himself up by the edge of the desk.

Greyback's eyes flashed first with gleeful amusement, then with confusion. "Wait - who the hell're you?"  He looked around as though expecting Regulus to leap out at him from another hiding place in the room, as though he were being ambushed, and Regulus couldn't help but laugh at the pure panic that quivered over Greyback's face before he turned, looked square at Regulus again, and growled, "You think you're a right clever boy --" and he whipped his wand at Regulus faster than Regulus could even raise his arm up.

Regulus was thrown backward against the wall, hit his head on a pedestal holding a large marble globe, and fell to the floor, the marble orb barely missing striking his head. He cursed and rolled over as a second spell flashed and hit the wall just where his shoulder had been the second before. He scrambled to his knees and crawled quickly around the desk, popping up at the far end. 

"Diffindo!" he cried, and the shoulder of Greyback's shirt split, though Regulus hadn't cast it with enough strength to tear skin because he'd been hit with red sparks that pushed him back against the wall yet again just as he spoke the last syllable. Greyback looked at his torn shirt and flipped the desk over with a wave of his hand, and sent it soaring toward where Regulus was pressed back-to the wall.

"PROTEGO!" Regulus shouted.

The desk slammed into the shield charm, going so fast that the shield charm seemed to bend around it, only just holding on before breaking and the desk fell heavily to the floor less than a foot from Regulus. The floor made a sickening crack and Regulus pressed himself further against the wall, afraid the floor was about to give out.

"Stupefy!" Greyback shouted and the spell just barely missed again, as Regulus ducked down once more beneath the desk.

On the floor, Regulus could feel his heart racing. He drew a deep breath. Normally right about now, his hand would go to his pendant, to remind himself to be brave - to remind himself Maryrose thought he was brave once. But that pendant was far off, in Kreacher's garden, rather than 'round his neck where it belonged. He didn't have anything to bring him comfort.

Except the scent of the amortentia, he realized.

He reached into the pocket of his coat, shoving his hand way down in, fishing about to find the vial... and his hand closed on something else. 

He froze. 

It couldn't be. It couldn't. He'd kept it in there all this time? 

His mouth went dry.

Could he possibly --?

Should he --?

Greyback laughed and he waved his hand, again sending the desk flying away from Regulus, slamming right into and partially through the far wall. Regulus was sitting on the floor, hands over his head, and he scrambled backwards, crawling into the wall, his back pressing against the wainscoting. He stared up at Greyback as he came closer.

"Now - you little shit -" and Greyback lunged directly at Regulus, landing over him, and sinking his mouth onto the flesh of Regulus's arm, biting down and drawing the sweet blood that he'd been craving for days.

Regulus let out a scream that echoed off the ceiling as Greyback tore backward, taking a chunk of Regulus's skin and muscle with him. Greyback laughed as he wiped his mouth of the blood, staring into Regulus's face... Regulus felt light headed, like he would pass out for certain.

He had to get Greyback off of him, though, before he could use his only way out... 

He summoned all of his strength, kicked his legs and caught Greyback in the hips, sending him sprawling backwards by a mere couple feet. Greyback was quick. He sprung back up in a fraction of the time Regulus expected him to, or maybe Regulus's reflexes were less than what they ought to be - he was losing a good bit of blood...

Somehow, he managed to lift his other arm up, aiming at Greyback. "Stay back. I mean it," Regulus said. One hand on his wand, the hand of the injured arm tucked into in his pocket. Blood was pouring down his arm, soaking the coat sleeve. "If you do... I'll - I'll explode myself."

"Explode yourself?" Greyback chuckled, "What good'll that do?"

"Ruin the - the rest of your - your dinner, for one," Regulus panted, wincing through the pain. "I mean it, Greyback - one more move and I - I'm taking you right to the grave with me." 

Greyback laughed, then took the step...

Regulus cast a silent reducto at the wall directly behind himself, so that Greyback spun about to duck bits of wall that flew into the air, and, at the same time, Regulus tightened his grip as much as he could with the injured arm, his fingers around the golden snitch in the bottom of his pocket, and whispered, "Take me home."

Lily's eyes snapped opened.

"James."

"Mhmmmpmhhm..."

"James get up. Now. Right now." Lily leaped out of bed, kicking her feet into slippers she kept beside the bed, and she shoved James's shoulder with her palm - hard. "Get up!!!" She reached for her left shoulder, right about her bicep, then rushed for the bedroom door. "JAMES!" she yelled. She hurried down the hallway.

"Evans?"

She heard his voice carry after her, but she didn't pause as she rushed down the stairs.

Exactly as she'd expected, the body was laying on the floor in the foyer.

"JAMES!" she screamed.

She heard him fall out of the bed upstairs, heard his footsteps thundering down the hall. He tripped on the landing, actually falling and sliding down the second half, his face dazed when he got to the bottom. He was somewhere between sleep and panic. "What's happen'n?" he asked, utterly disoriented. Lily was on her hands and knees next to -- James had no idea who the hell it was. Somebody was passed out and bloody on the floor of their entry way. He stared, blinking, confused as hell. "What the --?"

"Muggle bandages. Hurry. And in the cupboard - I - any healing potions you can find. Hurry."

James stumbled into the kitchen, looking over his shoulder as he went, "Who the hell is that?"

Lily hesitated. "Freddie Jenkins."

"Who?"

"From the concert?"

"The weird bloke that kept talking to you in the lot?"

"Yeah."

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Because he's -- he's Regulus."

James almost dropped the muggle first aid kit he'd just taken out of the cupboard. "He's what?"

"Regulus," Lily said. 

James hurried back over to where she was using her wand to cut away the wool coat and the sleeve of the shirt that covered the wound to Regulus's arm. She looked up at James, her eyes wide at seeing the the size of the gouge missing.

"Bloody hell," James whispered. "That's got to be Greyback's work."

Lily nodded.

"Not good," James murmured.

"Mungo's," Lily said.

James nodded. "I'll get my wand and our coats."

"My shoes," Lily added.

James raced back up the stairs, catching himself on the railing so he wouldn't slip again, and hurried to get their things.

Lily pulled Regulus into her, wrapping the bandages around his arm as best she could, "Hang on, Regulus, honey."

"Should we get Sirius?" James asked as he returned.

"We need to get him to Mungo's first. Then we'll figure that out," Lily said.

James nodded. "C'mon," he said. "We'll have to take the Knight Bus."

Lily hated the Knight Bus.

But for Regulus, she'd do anything.