A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I hope that you all had a great holiday if you celebrated! So, I've been getting some questions, and I just wanted to make clear that Hermione and Regulus will not be headed to Hogwarts in this story. Regulus has already graduated and I see no reason to subject Hermione to it. Hopefully that's not a deal breaker for any of you! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter eight and be on the lookout for chapter nine soon!
Hermione poured herself and Regulus another cup of tea each before beginning to describe what she'd learned about the horcruxes thus far. "Well, as I said, I am almost confident that there are only five horcruxes. When Voldemort reappeared, he had this giant snake that he takes around with him everywhere. I would nearly bet my life that Nagini is his sixth horcrux."
"A giant snake?" Regulus questioned, a shiver running up his spines.
"What, aren't you Slytherins supposed to like snakes?" Hermione countered, never particularly liking the creeping creatures, though she wasn't afraid of them. Now, Nagini on the other hand was quite terrifying.
Regulus shook his head. "Small snakes I can handle, but giant snakes give me the creeps. There was one too many pranks in my dorm," he told her with a scowl, making her wonder if the Marauders might have been the source of the practical jokes. "Also, what do you mean you Slytherins? What house were you in?"
Hermione bit her lower lip, knowing that he wasn't going to like it. "Gryffindor, I am afraid," she replied, ignoring his muttered words about typical Gryffindors under his breath. "So, in my time, the first horcrux we discovered was a diary that belonged to Voldemort when he was at school. My friend Harry destroyed it using a basilisk fang," Hermione said, rather matter-of-factly. "I believe that it will be in the possession of Lucius Malfoy at this time."
He pushed his wavy hair back out of his eyes. "Well, that should be easy enough to try and figure out. My cousin Narcissa - Lucius's wife - and I are still rather close, so I could probably figure out a way to coax it out of him."
The brunette made a little noise of displeasure. "I mean, we need to keep our searching very subtle. I can't have anyone suspecting what we are doing, least of all any of the Death Eaters," she explained, before continuing on. "The other horcrux we are aware of was a ring that was in the possession of the Gaunt family, but I have no idea where-" Hermione barely caught herself from saying Dumbledore's name. Although she thought she could trust Regulus, she didn't want to give him any unnecessary details of the future if she could help it. "I don't know where it was located before it was destroyed."
Regulus pursed his lips together. "Well, that's a little difficult," he said with a sigh. "Most of the old families have properties that are heavily enchanted with family wards that stretch back centuries. If we look back far enough into the record, though, we might be able to track down the general area."
Unable to stop herself, Hermione smiled at her new companion. She wasn't used to having a friend who suggested research as an option. It seemed that Regulus had a good head on his shoulders. "And then we have the locket, but we don't know how to destroy it."
"Didn't you say that your friend used a basilisk fang?" Regulus questioned, his mind obviously thinking rapidly. "Couldn't we just get another one?"
"Well, short of killing the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets and retrieving a fang," Hermione said with a shrug, only to blush when she noticed Regulus's eyebrows disappear towards his hairline at her casual mention of the Chamber of Secrets, "I suppose we could try to breed our own basilisk and then kill it once it's hatched? I don't know when they get their venom in, and I don't fancy nurturing a creature that could turn me to stone with a glance."
Regulus snorted in amusement. "We could always use fiendfyre. It's much more powerful than typical fire and its cursed nature might do more to destroy the horcrux than a regular spell. I've tried just about every other spell I can think of," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"That would be incredibly dangerous!" Hermione chided him. "Fiendfyre is nearly impossible to control, even if it would work to kill the horcrux."
"Only if you are untrained," Regulus said with a grin. "It is dangerous, but I happen to know several casters who are quite competent and can control it, which means that we can learn to be competent casters. Besides, it sounds like it's our only option right now, unless...you know, you want to explain the whole Chamber of Secrets thing to me."
Hermione blushed harder, but shook her head, thinking that was a story for another day. Still, she could appreciate Regulus's reasoned approach to the fiendfyre issue. "It would give us time to puzzle out the other two horcruxes," she conceded.
"Well, my cousin Bellatrix has been bragging to anyone who will listen about the great honor that the Dark Lord has just bestowed on the Lestrange family," Regulus said, rubbing his hand across his face. "She won't shut up about it. Doesn't that kind of sound like looking after a horcrux?" he questioned.
Hermione could agree that that was sound logic. "Yes, that sounds promising...only, doesn't that wording seem odd to you? The Lestrange family?"
"Maybe they are keeping it in their Gringott's vault?" Regulus offered, sounding hopeful.
She shook her head. "Well, if that is where they are keeping it, it will be nearly impossible to get it out. It's not as if the pair of us could break into the Lestrange vault, and I doubt that the goblins are likely to help us out on this one."
"Do you have any hint of what the last one could be?" he questioned, his face looking more and more tired by the moment. Seeing her apologetic shake of the head, Regulus deflated further into his chair. "I would have hoped you would have had some idea," he condescended.
Hermione grit her teeth together in annoyance, trying not to snap at him. "Well, sorry I didn't arrive with a game plan. It wasn't exactly my choice to come back here," she snarled. "Besides, you know the guy! Shouldn't you have a better idea of what he'd be likely to hold a bit of his soul in?"
Regulus visibly shuddered. "I may have...joined the Death Eaters, but even I don't like thinking about splitting my soul. The process of creating a horcrux is frankly disturbing and I could never imagine willingly putting myself through the agony," he said, sharply. Obviously, he was aware that she found his Death Eater status a fault, but he was also embarrassed about it, which could mean that he regretted it.
Despite herself, Hermione found herself grasping at the knowledge he seemed to suggest that he had. "You know the process for making a horcrux? Even Magick Moste Evile claimed that the process was too vile to discuss," she asked, finding herself incredibly curious.
"It's in the book Secrets of the Darkest Art. It was pulled from Hogwarts shelves years ago, but my family still has a copy in our library at my great-grandfather's estate," Regulus explained. "I don't want to go into the details, but I could lend you the book if you'd like."
Seeing how disturbed he was about the process made Hermione second guess herself. Maybe there were somethings worth not knowing. "I'll think on it. Well, hopefully once we figure out what horcrux Bellatrix has, we will be able to work out what the fifth one is. It's likely something personally important to Voldemort, like the other ones are, so keep your ears open," she instructed, before standing.
It was clear that they'd reached their limits of cooperation for the day, so Hermione moved to guide Regulus to the floo like a good hostess. Plus, she was itching to get some proper robes for herself so she didn't have to keep borrowing from Cassiopeia's outdated wardrobe. When the two teens entered the library where Cassiopeia was working on some embroidery, her head snapped up to review them for any ruffled clothing, kiss bruised lips, or a hair out of place. When they passed muster, the women said goodbye to Regulus, watching him walk through the floo.
Regulus was surprised to see his mother waiting eagerly by the floo for his return. She hopped up from her spot on the couch immediately, only to guide him to sit back next to him. "How was your visit with Miss Dagworth-Granger? Did you make a good impression on her? Does she feel welcome with Aunt Cassiopeia?" her questions tumbled from her mouth in a rush.
He was flustered for a moment, being bombarded and badgered by his mother. "Hermione was fine. It seems as if Aunt Cassiopeia and she are getting along, smashingly, if I'm honest," he explained, thinking it was rather unfair how quickly the pair of them had bonded. Already they were teasingly arguing with one another, and it seemed as if the two of them had a great rapport.
The young man was glad that Hermione was settling in, though. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to be transported back, away from all your friends and family on the whim of a house-elf. She did leave him with a lot more questions than answers, but he hoped that she would open up to him as they got a bit closer...if they could stop annoying one another eventually. Sometimes, she was rather lovely to talk to and then the next minute she was snapping at him, clearly annoyed with something he'd done. Or telling him that his mother was dead.
Speaking of his mother, he looked up to see her staring like him like the kneazle who caught the fwooper. "I am so glad that you are getting along with Hermione," she said, with a sweeter than treacle voice.
Feeling suddenly suspicious, he turned to face his mother fully. "Mother, why are you so concerned with making Hermione feel welcome? And if I am getting along with her?" he asked, feeling a bit of dread settling in his stomach.
"Don't you see?" his mother asked, eagerly. "It is nearly time for you to select a wife of good standing. The legacy of the Black family, of generations of pureblood breeding rest on your shoulders, especially after Andromeda has also chosen to snub our family and marry a mudblood. I've found that most of the girls your age are severely lacking, but Hermione is a wonderful new addition to our society, and aren't we just lucky enough to snap her up before any other families get their eyes on her," she explained, clearly excited at the prospect on getting one over on the other pureblood families. "I've recently heard that Theodore Nott is looking to marry finally."
Regulus blanched at the idea of marrying Hermione, even though he could admit that he found her quite pretty. He'd only just met her, for one. But, on the other hand, his mother's words about Andy marrying the mudblood reminded him of the secret that Hermione herself was keeping. What would his mother think if she found out the true nature of Hermione's blood status? Having already decided to keep her secret, he bit his tongue now from sharing with his mother. She might already be hearing wedding bells, but Regulus was positive that it would never get so far as a formal betrothal.
The image of Hermione biting her lip to stop from laughing flashed through his brain, Regulus pushed down his feelings to slip into a mask of indifference. "I don't see what's so important about her. She's got no dowry to speak of and it's not as if she has any male relatives to negotiate for her. She should be crawling to us - we shouldn't be bending over backwards for her."
"Of course, my darling. If she turns out not to be good enough for you, we need not enter into a contract," she replied with a sweet smile, her hand resting against his cheek. "But, I insist that we get a first look, since we've been taking care of her. The Malfoys are hosting the next ball of the season, and I insist that you take her as your date. Understood?"
The thought of showing up to the ball with Hermione on his arm made his heart squeeze a bit tightly. Would she behave when he showed her off to all of his friends? Pushing those thoughts away, Regulus knew he should be thanking his lucky stars for the opportunity to look around Malfoy Manor for the horcrux. Nodding solemnly to his mother, he stood up from the couch. "Of course, mother. I will go owl her now."
