The Black Boys Are Hawt

[lls_mutant]

Couldn't help it. A rec, a theory, and a question, all concerning the Black Boys.

The Rec

If you haven't already, get yourself over to shaggydogstail's journal and read Teenage Kicks, her Sirius-fanboying-Stubby fic. It's hysterical and true to life, but has a dark, mature undercurrent as well. It's absolutely darling and wonderful, well incorporated into the magical world and there need to be more fics like this- this sort of creative, haven't been there before type of thing.

The theory

Okay, I thought of this the other day. What did Voldemort do with the corpses of the people that were killed on his orders? Turned them into Inferi, right? (I assume that's why Caradoc Dearborn's body was never found.) Well, Regulus was killed, right? Wouldn't it be the ultimate irony if zombie!Regulus was guarding the false locket?

The question

How probable is it that Regulus is still alive and hiding under Stubby's name, or that Sirius was Stubby?

I'm gonna ignore the second for this paragraph, because that's up for debate, methinks. No one knows what Sirius did pre-war. I write him as an Auror because Fake!Moody tells Harry he thinks like an Auror when he's parroting Sirius, and writing Sirius as an Auror is FUN. But just because Sirius can think like an Auror doesn't mean he was one, in fact, there's a lot of good reasons why he wouldn't have been. But what about the first, that Regulus is Stubby?

If Regulus is alive (Stubby or not), there's something disconcerting about that. If he was, you'd think he would have told Dumbledore about the locket. There's two branches then: why is the locket still around (because we all know it's in the Black house and we saw it in OotP), and why did Dumbledore take Harry to go get the fake locket? You could argue that Dumbledore wanted to let Harry know about Regulus, but then why not just say, "Hey, Harry, there's this bloke you really should meet- Regulus Black. Pretty impressive, defied Voldie, etc."?

I know people have theories on this, and I'd like to hear them because I'm really in the mood to after reading Shaggy's fic. Of course, I still think Sirius is in the great window dressing in the sky (really, JKR, a CURTAIN!?), and zombie!Regulus was trying to bash Dumbledore's head in for being stupid, but I'd like to hear the other theories. So link me or comment me! :)

Comments

[aome.livejournal.com]

How probable is it that Regulus is still alive and hiding under Stubby's name

Did you read gehayi's recent fic?

I vote that he's dead, myself. It just doesn't seem likely that he escaped V's wrath after deserting, but JKR has pulled the "Hey, guess who isn't really dead?" thing before, so ... *shrug*.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I did read it- very good, and I don't often care for Bring Black Back. But yeah, there's a small chance Reg's alive, and I really wouldn't mind, but... I can't really see him being so. Poor Reg.

[shaggydogstail.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the rec! :D *happy dances*

Unsurprisingly, I'm sure that Stubby is Stubby, and that Regulus and Sirius are both dead. JKR has said explicitly 'Regulus is dead' and while I know some people don't consider interviews to be canon, it's just silly to ignore what the author says when coming up with theories like this. Regulus, Sirius or Peter bloody Pettigrew as a secret Stubby might make for a fun fanfic, but it's not happening in canon. (And, as you say, it really wouldn't make much sense for Regulus to be alive--too many inconsistancies to resolve, imo.)

[snorkackcatcher]

Agreed. If Regulus is still alive, JKR flat-out lied in the interview, and that's never been her style -- she just blocks the questions with a straight bat or occasionally snicks them to fine leg (sorry, cricket references there). Also, Remus seemed sure enough that he remembered Regulus being killed, so presumably they found the body and were pretty sure about the identification.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

True enough about JKR not lying! And she flat out said "he's dead," so it's not like she left a loophole. I still am now stuck on Regulus's body being an Inferius (yes, I am sick), but that's a good point too- Remus is positive that Regulus is dead.

[snorkackcatcher]

I do like the Inferius!Regulus theory (on the grounds that got the locket and that's what caused his corpse to jump out of the water when Harry tried to Summon it), but unfortunately I really like the theory that he switched the lockets and the one in 12GP is the real one, and the two theories are mutually exclusive ... :(

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Nope, not really. Here's how it goes...

1.) Regulus swipes the locket and replaces it with his resignation.
2.) Regulus leaves the cave, goes back to 12 GP.
3.) Voldemort realizes that Regulus's loyalty is waning, but clearly doesn't realize that Regulus took the locket. As a warning to Regulus, he kills Orion/has Orion killed. (Note on the tree how the death dates are the same year.)
4.) In an effort to protect his mother from the same fate, Regulus jumps out shouting "here I am!" (figuratively) and is killed by DEs for percieved disloyalty. The body is taken and enchanted to become an Inferius, but the locket remains at 12 GP. (Is it still a horcrux?) Inferi just jump out when someone tries to take the locket.

So, tada! An explanation that both can be true. Um, maybe kind of influenced by my own personal canon, but hey, it's fun :)

[snorkackcatcher]

Ah, right. I didn't make that clear. What I meant was that the idea that Regulus drunk the potion, switched the lockets and then was dragged into the lake and drowned with the real Horcrux (hence why it popped up when Harry did Accio Horcrux!) is incompatible with the idea that the one in 12GP is the real one. It seems unlikely even so (because it would mean a reprise of the cave scene in Book 7).

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Yeah, JKR was pretty clear in her interview. Personally, I've decided your Stubby is totally canon, especially since JKR seems to think Remus belongs with Tonks or something like that. (And I suspect Tonks would be intensely jealous that Sirius lost his viriginity to a rock star in the back of a tour bus. Beats however she did it!) I suspect we aren't going to hear anything more about Stubby in canon. Although I thought we'd never hear more about Regulus, either....

[cloudlessnights.livejournal.com]

Grr ... computer crashed and I lost my comment, but I'll try again ...

I have to agree with the comments above - I don't think the JKR interview leaves much hope for Regulus to be alive. Mind you, I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong on that, but ... I don't think so.

If he was, you'd think he would have told Dumbledore about the locket.

Actually, I've been wondering about that even before hearing any theories about whether he might still be alive - why didn't he let anyone know what he was doing? Given that the text of his note makes it clear that he wants Voldemort destroyed, you might think he'd want to pass this information on to others. (I'm still trying to figure out how long exactly Dumbledore has know about the existence of the Horcruxes, by the way, but all I could find so far him telling Harry that the diary in CoS 'confirmed his suspicions', but no indication how long he has been suspecting something like that. Meh.) However, there's nothing in the text to indicate whether Regulus actually knew that there was more than one horcrux - according to Dumbledore, no-one had ever done something like that before. If he had believed to locket to be the only one, there would have been no real need to let anyone know so that they could continue to search for the others, as with the destruction of the locket-horcrux the job would have been done, so to speak.

The fact that he didn't let anyone know what he had done also makes me wonder about what his final motivation for actively defying Voldemort and thereby more or less committing suicide was - he's clearly not interested in making his actions publicly known, thereby gaining some postmortem recognition or fame, but the wants to make sure that Voldemort knows. Sounds ... personal, in my opinion.

There's two branches then: why is the locket still around (because we all know it's in the Black house and we saw it in OotP)

Well, strictly speaking, the fact that the locket still exists doesn't necessarily mean that it's still a horcrux, doesn't it? After all, Dumbledore is wearing Marvolo's ring, and states at some point (I've forgotten which scene that was in) that it is no longer a horcrux. So there must be some way to de-horcruxify (which is officially the worst word I've ever made up) without physically destroying it. Pity Dumbledore never told Harry how to do it; it might come in useful in the final book ...

zombie!Regulus is a very creepy thought, really - I think the poor boy's fate is already sad enough ...

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Amazing how, with so few mentions, Regulus became such a freaking fascinating character, isn't it? I agree that it's personal between Voldie and Reg, and I'd LOVE to see JKR's take on all that. And the fact he does essentially commit suicide... god, I love this boy.

You know, I never, EVER considered that the locket might not be a horcrux anymore, but you are 100% right. And another interesting question is WHY is DD wearing Voldemort's ring? MAybe you need to suck the bit of soul into you, and then kill yourself, and that's how you destroy a horcrux? So the ring horcrux was destroyed when Dumbledore actually died, and the locket when Regulus died? Oooh- which would mean if Harry or his scar is a horcrux, someone needs to make the contact with him and then die?

Hmmm. The diary doesn't fit into that though. :P

[cloudlessnights.livejournal.com]

Amazing how, with so few mentions, Regulus became such a freaking fascinating character, isn't it?

*g* Someone once commented on my LJ with 'minor characters need love, too', so I guess that also goes for characters who only get mentioned in passing a few times ;-) For me personally, my own interest was sparked with his very first mentioning in OotP, mostly because I'm slightly obsessed with astronomy and was curious about the name JKR has chosen for him - the fact that she had named a character who had just gotten a rather less than favourable description after a star that is also called cor leonis ('heart of the lion') made me think that there must be more to him than just a random character thrown in to add a bit to Sirius's family background.

I agree that it's personal between Voldie and Reg, and I'd LOVE to see JKR's take on all that.

I'm rather reluctant to put too much faith in the dates on the Black family tree, given that it seems to be full of thirteen-year-old fathers, but I do wonder about the fact that both Regulus and his father died in 1979 (and his father wasn't exactly very old at that time, so chances are that he didn't die of natural causes). There's nothing to indicate whether Orion died before of after Regulus's defection, but there's a quote from Sirius in OotP where he says that his parents, while never Death Eaters themselves, were convinced of Voldemort's ideology at first but then 'got cold feet when they saw what he was prepared to do to gain power'. I suppose it's possible that it was this 'getting cold feet' and whatever that would have entailed (lack of cooperation?) that had led to Orion's death and might have either caused Regulus's change of heart, or, if he'd already had doubts himself at this point, strengthened his resolve. Though of course that's a lot of speculation on my part here.

MAybe you need to suck the bit of soul into you, and then kill yourself, and that's how you destroy a horcrux? So the ring horcrux was destroyed when Dumbledore actually died, and the locket when Regulus died?

Hm ... I checked with my copy of HBP, and DD clearly statest that 'the ring is no longer a horcrux', and while he got severely injured while destroying it, he's still alive. So I suppose there must be a way to completely and irrevocably destroy the piece of soul while leaving the object it was hidden in intact. Dumbledore (and I suppose Regulus too?) must have found it, but of course Dumbledore seems to have some strange condition that makes it physically impossible for him to be forthcoming with important information, so poor Harry will probably have to figure it out on his own in book 7. (Or perhaps with Hermione's help, at least ;-)

The only thing that bothers me about this is the diary, which really doesn't quite seem to fit with all that, since all it took to destroy it was ramming the Basilisk's fang into it, which seems far too simple for me. I mean, can a piece of soul be poisoned the same way a body can? And besides, if it was really that easy to destroy a horcrux, then the whole business seems terribly risky to me ... I believe it would make far more sense that the actual destruction of the piece of soul inside would be more difficult and involve some sort of advanced magic. (Which leads to the question of DD's arm got injured in the process of retrieving the horcrux, or of actually destroying it?) The wording of Regulus's note - 'I intend to destroy it as soon as I can'- also suggests to me that said destruction would be more complicated (and possibly time-consuming) than just blasting the damn thing into oblivion.

Without the diary, it would all make perfect sense, but as it is, I must admit I'm a bit confused ;-)

[cranberry-crash.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm new. :-)

If Regulus is alive...you'd think he would have told Dumbledore about the locket.

I'm not so convinced of that. Our heroes tend to put an awful lot of trust in Dumbledore, but why should Reg? Unless he'd been previously singled out (ie, ego-stroked) by Dumbledore as super-special (or, super-special-adjacent), I'd think that Regulus would want to keep his cards close to his chest, as it were. I could see how those who haven't been indoctrinated into the "Dumbledore is Always Right" program might be a bit more suspicious of DD's motives, and so I could also see Regulus being hesitant to just hand over the horcrux. From his note in the fauxcrux, it sounded to me like he wanted to personally see it destroyed. Besides that, when have characters in the HPverse ever communicated effectively about the important things? ;-)

Although I do quite like the image of zombie!Reg bashing Dumbledore's head in for being thick. :-)

[yma2.livejournal.com]

Isn't it possible that Regulus did this and went into hiding without telling Dumbledor? It might be that he does believe in Pure Blood superiority, but just not the way Voldemort believes it.

[maglors-finch.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs - this one and the previous ones. Good stories, and a great pic.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello
I've never actually commented in LJ but have been reading your fics for a while and this Regulus question interested me so I thought I'd pitch in with a wacky theory.
I remember reading whatever interview that was where JKR said something like "ummm ... no, he's dead", in response to if we'll see Reg again, but something about it sounded like a half answer (probably the umm part) so I still always wondered. After reading an interesting mugglenet article on who the "other" metamorphmagus is - on the assumption that part of Tonks' function was to introduce us to the concept - where the author considered that it might be Regulus I got to thinking about how he could have possibly faked his death.
I came up with the idea that since his death date and that of Orion's was the same year, maybe Orion was the metamorph and he sacrificed himself by disguising himself as Reg - possibly over guilt at having maybe pushed or encouraged his son into it (the Blacks first thought LV was just grand and then changed their minds after he got extra nasty). We do have precedence for this type of switcheroo thing with Crouch Jr and his mom.

So my wacky theory would be that Orion died as Regulus, thereby everyone thought Reg was dead (and maybe why JKR's answer could be a half truth) and then Reg disapeared in the wizarding world. Perhaps as a rock star or perhaps not.

In any case, wacky theories are fun.

Keep up the good work on AIL!! It is much enjoyed!

C