A/N: This chapter is dedicated to (who else?) Forever Siriusly Sirius, whose prompt responses keep me going, and whose quick review made me smile today even though my ankle is sore and stiff and NOT HAPPY. :D

-C

Jade sat through class that afternoon feeling more than a little bit numb inside, ignoring her professors and hoping that they would ignore her in return (which they gladly did), but there was no way to ignore the one person she wanted space from while she thought of the news Sirius had given her.

Regulus pulled her away from the dining hall during dinner and to an unused classroom, frowning at her.

"Ever since you had lunch with Sirius you've been acting strange," he said firmly. "I don't want to believe the worst of you, darling, but I have to admit you're terrifying me. You did promise to tell me what he had to say, and I'm begging you to tell me now so that I know what I'm supposed to be worried about so my mind can't come with all sorts of nightmares to eat at me."

Jade sighed.

She had every intention of telling him what Sirius had said, but it was still so unreal to her that she didn't like the thought of having to admit that it was real.

"He's heard through Andromeda, who heard from her Narcissa, who of course is connected to Bellatrix and Lucius and others, that... that... Voldemort wants to meet me."

Regulus's jaw tightened visibly and Jade barely had a moment to feel relieved at how much better saying it out loud to him made her feel before she became concerned with this hard silence.

"Are you all right?" she asked softly, moving to touch his arm, but he turned away from her quickly and moved to the window.

"The wedding," he said, and she could tell from the choked sound of his voice that he was fighting tears. She felt better at his turning because she knew it was because he didn't want her to see him cry, but she went up behind him anyway, resting her forehead between his shoulder blades as she wrapped her arms around him. "I... I can't keep you from this, can I?"

"No," Jade sighed. "The Marauders are still thinking on it, but it seems there's not much we can do."

"I'm so sorry," he choked out. "Jade, I... I would understand if you would rather not... rather not throw your lot in with mine. I know Sirius thinks the world is this grand place where people can just be lofty and noble and... I have to join him, Jade, it's the right thing to do, but if you-"

"Stop," she demanded. "Regulus, I am going to be with you and I will do whatever is required of me to do that. If I were to break this engagement, what would I do? Where would I go? I would have nothing left in my life but people I don't love. This is the right thing for both of us, strange as that seems."

Her voice sounded strange and strong to her ears, but she felt small and weak inside. Somehow, she was going to have to meet Voldemort, face to face, and not cry or show fear or her distaste for everything he stood for.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered, taking Regulus's hand and reassuring him. He held her hand tightly, clinging to her appearance of strength like it was a lifeline. If she could comfort Regulus, at least, it would be some sort of victory, albeit a small one.

He took both of her hands in his, bringing them to his lips and kissing them tenderly.

"If I could think of a way," he said softly, "if there is anything I can do..."

"I know," she sighed, pulling her hands out of his and walking back to the window. He followed her, wrapping his arms around her. "We'll all think. There's six of us, and there's a lot of clever. Someone's bound to come up with something, right?"

But even her self-assured voice couldn't sound convinced at this. It wasn't as if they had Dumbledore...

Dumbledore?

Was that the answer? Was it any kind of answer at all?

"There's maybe one thing we might try," she said nervously, "but I... I'm not sure it's the best idea."

"What's that?" he whispered, kissing her neck gently.

She tilted her head to give him better access, moving her hair out of the way.

"The only person who has any kind of power over Voldemort is Professor Dumbledore," she muttered, gripping the windowsill with one hand as he began to nibble the side of her neck. "I don't know what he could do, or if we'd want him to do it, but... I don't know."

Regulus paused for a moment, nuzzling his nose into her neck as they stood there in silence. Finally he said, "He won't give us the kind of help we want. He'll expect me to commit to things I can't, and I don't want to put you at risk by lying to him. There will be no way of keeping secrets from the man, anyway. No, we're better of praying the Marauders come up with something than going with that."

Jade could feel a flicker of something in her stomach go out as he came to this decision.

She realized it was probably hope. There was just something about Professor Dumbledore that inspired confidence, but now that the option was off the table, she felt just a little bit more hopeless than she had before.

"We'll think of something" Regulus whispered against her skin. "And if we don't, then we're going to make it through anyway. Because this is our life now, Jade. We really don't have any other choice."

She wanted to tell him that they had a choice, that he could run away like Sirius, but she knew she could never ask that of him, and that she didn't have the strength to follow through, either.

Jade had come to believe that the Marauders were truly capable of accomplishing anything, which was why she was so stunned when Sirius sat her down in the kitchens two days later with dullness in his usually mischievous grey eyes.

"As much as I hate to say it," he said darkly, "I don't think there's anything we can do. I've thought a hundred times of going to Dumbledore, of forcing someone, anyone, to help you, but I can't do that to Regulus or you. I know you wouldn't want adults involved."

Jade nodded, looking down at her hands.

"I wish there were something," he began, his voice thick, but the door swung open and in came Lily Evans, looking distraught.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about this!" she shrieked, sitting down at the side of the table, between Sirius and Jade. "Hi," she said to Jade, then turning back to Sirius. "You agreed with James to tell me everything I might be able to help with-"

"And you can't help with this," Sirius said sadly. "Look, Lily-"

So they were calling her 'Lily' now.

"I might not be able to come up with anything either," Lily said stiffly, "but I know what to say to help people deal with no-win situations! You have the sensitivity of a troll."

Jade wanted to ask if her experience came from talking with Severus about his home life, and how well that ended, but she said nothing. Lily Evans was being nice to her, and attempting to be helpful, and it seemed in poor taste to give her a verbal slap in the face as thanks.

"Fine, you want to play Psych Healer, you go right ahead," Sirius said, annoyed.

"All right," Lily said firmly, setting herself across from Jade directly. "So, you're going to have to face Voldemort."

"I won't be dueling him," Jade said, amused. "I'm just going to have to meet him."

"Still," Lily said with a frown, "this is a duel of sorts. You want to stay as minimally involved as possible. You have to find a way to convince him that you're not useful to his cause."

"How?" Jade asked, frowning. "I'm not handing him my test scores."

"Exactly," Lily said with a grin. "You're not handing him your test scores."

Jade just blinked at the Gryffindor, not comprehending. What was the point of that? Then comprehension dawned on Sirius's face and he grinned.

"Lily, I understand why James thinks you walk on water," he proclaimed. "That's brilliant."

"Would someone like to explain to me what brilliance is going on here?" Jade demanded. "I'm honestly at a bit of a loss."

"Basically," Lily said with a smile, "if he can't find any reason to use you, he won't bother. Narcissa isn't stupid, obviously. She's no genius, but she's got skills. But how does she stay out of action?"

"Because Lucius has influence," Jade said dully, thinking Lily must be dumber than people thought she was.

"And so does Regulus," Sirius said with a snort. "Lucius might be older and he might have had more time to curry favor, but if Regulus asked something of Bellatrix, she'd have as much a chance to get something than Lucius. And I know he's tried."

Jade blinked.

There was more to it?

"Narcissa acts stupid," Sirius said slowly, running his fingers along the grains of the table thoughtfully. "You've seen her in society. You'd never know she had a brain in that pretty little head."

"But she does," Jade argued dumbly.

"Of course she does," Lily said with a grin. "But she's mastered the art of social stupidity. Trust me, if Voldemort knew how good that girl is at dueling, he'd force her to join." Sirius winked, perhaps thinking of some of the childhood fights he'd gotten into with Narcissa when they were younger and she didn't have to pretend. Now that Jade was thinking of it, she remembered some of her own fights with Narcissa. The blonde beauty fought dirty, usually ended up on top, and while she wasn't nearly as sadistic as her sister, she did seem to like punishing people well for crossing her in the first place.

It was a good point. Narcissa Malfoy nee Black would have made an excellent Death Eater.

"I'm not sure I can do that," Jade admitted. "I mean, pretend to be that stupid."

"We just have to focus on masking things you're good at," Lily said kindly, "and accentuating things you don't do well. Narcissa never gets in fights in public, no matter how upset she is, right?"

"Right," Jade agreed. That was sort of common courtesy anyway, but now that she thought of it, Narcissa was always inexplicably sweet in public.

"Have you ever seen her make something?"

Jade blinked. What did that even mean?

Sirius brightened.

"She doesn't cook," he said with a grin. "She doesn't have to now because of the House-elves, but I remember when she was courting Lucius, she would try to cook for him, and her cooking is terrible. Charms and Potions."

Ah. The two things Narcissa had nearly failed. So why had she cooked for Lucius in the first place?

And then Jade realized that it was so Lucius and everyone else already knew her weaknesses, and that they knew them so well that no one recalled her strengths.

"I see," Jade finally said, smiling for the first time in ages, judging by how strange it felt to the muscles in her cheeks. "So," she sighed, relaxing, "what do you think we should do?"

The long planning session with Lily and Sirius was amazingly effective, and Jade found herself thrilled that she had friends who were so astute.

When she realized that she'd begun to think of not only Sirius, but the Marauders and now Lily Evans as friends she realized that for the first time in her life, she didn't feel lonely.

"You seem happier," Regulus said that night when they studied together in the library, his leg entwining with hers under the table. "Did Sirius come up with something?"

"Yes," Jade said with a grin, looking up at him. "Actually, Lily Evans did."

"The Muggle-born girl?" Regulus replied with surprise. "They're really dragging all of Gryffindor into this. Strange, isn't it? Are you sure he doesn't still want you, love?"

Jade laughed, thinking of the kiss Sirius had given her.

"I'm sure," she said firmly. "No, it was really helpful. Lily's really observant, and she's figured out your cousin perfectly."

Regulus raised an eyebrow, but Jade quickly and quietly explained the plan Lily Evans had come up with, Regulus's face growing more and more relieved with every word.

"Excellent," he said with a grin. "That's actually brilliant. I understand now why Se-"

He cut off, frowning, looking down at his things.

Jade put her hand over his.

Why Severus was in love with the girl, despite the fact that the whole school was abuzz with the news that Lily Evans and James Potter were finally together after years of her pushing him away in actually rather cruel and public ways.

"It's all going to be okay, Regulus," Jade said softly, but she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince herself or convince him.

They did quite a bit of homework, and then Regulus was supposed to get Potions help from Severus, so she said she'd see him in the morning and she left the library to go back to her dormitory, desperate for some sleep after so long a day.

"Miss Alexander," a kind, gentle, aged voice said behind her.

Jade turned around to see Professor Dumbledore looking at her over his half-moon glasses, blue eyes twinkling and silvery hair and beard flowing regally over his plum robes. It was hard for her to think of him as someone the Dark Lord feared. Sure, she knew he was a great wizard. Everyone knew that. But there didn't seem to be anything really frightening about him.

Well, apart from that ability his eyes had of seeming to see right through you, but Severus had that, too, and she didn't find him especially scary.

"Professor," Jade said softly, smiling at him, wondering if she'd done something she wasn't supposed to. She didn't often get in trouble, but she supposed it was possible she'd done something without realizing, or one of the girls in her dormitory had blamed something on her out of fear.

"Don't worry," he said gently. "You're not in trouble."

Was the rumor true? Could Professor Dumbledore truly read minds? She certainly hoped not, not with all the things plaguing her mind of late, coming to the surface with her fear that he would learn of them. She could feel her cheeks flushing under his twinkling blue stare.

"Is there something you need, professor?" she asked.

If she wasn't in trouble he couldn't keep her standing there like a fool.

"It is more about what you might need," he said softly. "I know that Voldemort is asking after you."

Jade swallowed.

How did this man know everything? How could he possibly know, and so soon? She just stared at him, not wanting him to think that she was afraid, not of him and not of Voldemort.

"If you wish to battle alone, Miss Alexander, that is your prerogative," he said gently. "I'm sure your friends have many ideas to help you in this endeavor, and your fiancé is eager to protect you."

She held his gaze, holding her ground.

"You obviously think you can protect me better," she said, not coldly but not with any confidence in her voice. "Otherwise you would not be standing here discussing it with me. I know you never do anything without a reason, professor. You have some motive in trying to get me to agree to your help. It's only fair you put it on the table if you want me to seriously consider your thinly veiled offer."

His blue eyes twinkled with amusement.

"I am not the monster your parents have raised you to believe, Miss Alexander," Professor Dumbledore said softly. "In fact, I am on your side in this endeavor. I don't believe you should be forced into the ranks of the Death Eaters merely because your blood is pure. Nor should your fiancé."

Jade took a step back, realizing what he wanted.

If she accepted Dumbledore's protection, she was not only defining herself politically, but she would be expected to pull Regulus along as well. Perhaps not even openly. She wouldn't put it past Professor Dumbledore to know Regulus would refuse open alignment with the Order. She wouldn't put it past him to expect Regulus to be some kind of double agent.

"I don't need your help, professor," she said softly, her eyes flashing with steely resolve. "If Regulus and I choose a different path than our parents chose for us it will be because we have considered our options and our ideals and made the choice we believe in, not because someone holds a wand to our throat on either end. Regulus wants to be a Death Eater. It is the right thing to do for his family. And I support him in that. Should he ever change his mind, I will support him in that too."

Professor Dumbledore just looked at her for a long moment and she felt as though her resolve was being tested. She did not back away, she did not look away, she did not flinch, she did not blink. Finally, he nodded and said, "Good night, Miss Alexander. I hope you are happy."

Despite the fact that his voice told her that he meant those last words, she had an unshakable feeling that he did not, in fact, mean a single word he had just said to her as he walked away down the corridor, leaving standing alone and feeling remarkably small.