Regulus followed the newlyweds through a door into a more private and luxurious sitting room with a balcony.
Standing right at the center in front of the balcony—the absolute visual focal point—was a tall man in black robes, draped in a dramatic green-trimmed cloak (in this summer heat).
His face was pale as silver moonlight. His cheeks were sunken, and his features blurred, as if covered by a thin mask, though one could faintly make out the traces of past handsomeness.
The whites of his eyes were tinged red, radiating a sinister, unnatural aura.
On his hand was that infamous ring—the black stone ring of the Gaunt family, engraved with the Peverell coat of arms. Apparently, it hadn't been turned into a Horcrux yet.
If it weren't for Bellatrix beside him, trembling with worship and murmuring to herself, slightly ruining the solemn atmosphere, the scene might have been even more striking.
So this was the aura of an absolute powerhouse? Ehm..
Regulus quickly studied him in detail, trying to absorb that commanding posture.
How to stand in a cooler way, how to carry oneself—presentation and bearing were part of personal development, after all.
If your looks weren't enough, you had to make up for it with presence.
Though to be honest—Yeah, his face really was ruined.
Not as handsome as Sirius.
…
Fortunately, Riddle didn't seem interested in using Legilimency on a twelve-year-old—otherwise, his already twisted features might have contorted even more...
"Dark Lord," Bellatrix's voice trembled, "the Malfoy couple is here."
"The newlyweds—" Voldemort's expression didn't change. His tone was utterly devoid of warmth, low and precise—fully in command of the classic villain aura.
"A union of pure-bloods. A continuation of honor. Congratulations."
He gave a proud, aristocratic smile—measured to perfection, not a trace more or less.
"Thank you for your blessing, Lord Voldemort," Lucius and Narcissa replied with a look of flustered awe, as if overwhelmed by the honor.
"We are at your service," Lucius said.
Merlin… that was so cringeworthy—Regulus lowered his head.
He mentally complained, then quickly reeled his thoughts back in.
Gotta say, the whole "Dark Lord" thing—so melodramatic…
After all, in this gamer-nerd's original world, all that feudal nonsense about "Lords" and "servants" had been smashed to pieces a century ago.
Sure, you'd still run into the occasional online idiot calling themselves "your humble servant" to some rich guy, bowing and scraping like they were in a period drama—Rotten to the core.
The general internet population—and he, a proud game nerd—were collectively just old man squinting at phone.jpeg.
For the sake of his and countless other underage wizards' mental health, breaking the feudal mindset and pure-blood superstition in the wizarding world was a necessary and inevitable trend.
Of course, that was all for the future.
In front of Voldemort, Regulus didn't think about any of that.
Just a little cowardly (crossed out)—cautious.
…
"This boy is…?" Voldemort asked in a casual tone, fully embodying the arrogance of someone in power.
"This is Regulus, the next male heir of the Black family. He's currently studying in Slytherin," Bellatrix quickly answered with reverence.
"Reg." Narcissa nudged Regulus, who was still pretending to be an innocent, clueless child.
Manners must be observed.
"Lord Voldemort. Regulus Black, at your service." Meeting Riddle's gaze, Regulus reluctantly placed his left hand over his chest, gave a deep bow, then straightened and kept his head respectfully lowered, avoiding eye contact.
He emptied his mind, stopped thinking, pushed away memories, and silently repeated in his head—
I am a cactus. I am a cactus. I am a cactus. I am a cactus.
He remembered Voldemort was a master of Legilimency. Even if the odds of him using it on a child in public were low, Regulus wasn't going to take that risk.
Voldemort scrutinized him with those deep, tunnel-like eyes for a moment, then looked away.
"Very good. The pure and ancient House of Black has a worthy successor."
It was clear Voldemort didn't think much of Regulus—just another ordinary child.
In fact, he had once been more interested in the other Black boy. That one had noble blood, dark hair, good looks, talent—he had seemed more like himself.
Pity the boy ended up in Gryffindor.
He went on to say a few vague, lofty-sounding things that could mean anything and be interpreted in every possible way.
"Hiss… hiss hiss hiss…"
Voldemort switched languages.
After a series of mysterious-sounding hisses, a massive green snake—thick as an adult's thigh—appeared out of thin air in the sitting room.
Its thick body slithered toward Riddle, glittering scales catching the light. The large, triangular head and narrow pupils gleamed, and its forked tongue flicked as it hissed in response.
Narcissa drew in a breath softly, clearly surprised. Regulus hurried to put on an equally stunned expression. The other two, however, had clearly seen the snake before.
Nagini.
Sleek, strong, powerful, elegant… the perfect pet for a true Slytherin.
Tsk.. If only he could speak Parseltongue.
…
Image management + rhetorical flair + Parseltongue + an audience of adoring fans—if Regulus had really been just twelve, he might've idolized Riddle on the spot.
Regulus resumed quietly repeating "I'm a cactus" in his mind.
"Hiss… hisss…" Voldemort gave another command.
Nagini slithered to the door and used her tail to push it open.
"Regulus, you can leave now!" Bellatrix ordered bluntly.
"My Lord… Rodolphus and the others will be arriving shortly…" As the door closed behind him, Regulus could still hear voices inside—the Death Eater meeting was about to begin.
…
While the adults were fully indulging in the wedding party—singing, dancing, and drinking—Regulus, having nothing left to do, summoned Kreacher and headed home early with Sirius.
Sirius, of course, agreed with all four limbs raised.
"That was boring as hell," Sirius said. "When I get married, I'm not doing anything like this."
Regulus patted his brother's shoulder. Don't worry. Even if you skip the ceremony, girls will still be lining up crying to marry you.
"By the way, where's the radio?" Sirius asked excitedly.
"What about it?" Regulus took the radio out and handed it to him.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Sirius said as he pulled out his wand and tapped the radio.
Suddenly, a voice came out of the radio: "Not bad, Sirius, thanks. But last year you only gave me a quill. This is a big improvement, looks like…"
It was his own voice.
"How's that? It's one of the radio's functions. I set it to record everything you said today," Sirius explained. "It's got more features—you'll see once we're back at Hogwarts."
Oh. So it's a magic radio with a voice recording function—Oh fuck!
Regulus's eyes widened—
"Sirius, can you fast forward?" he asked urgently.
Sirius, surprised, nodded—he rarely saw Regulus this flustered.
…
"Hisss… hissss…"
It was exactly what Voldemort had said to Nagini before she opened the door—snake language.
Oh, Merlin's girlfriend's underwear!
An excited Regulus lunged at a completely confused and baffled Sirius—
Caught off guard, Sirius was swept into a big hug!
"Thank you! Sirius, you're not a dog star, you're a lucky star!"
Looks like things were about to get interesting back at Hogwarts.