Regina and Jillian stood before the five third year students Regina and Professor Snape had discussed. Gryffindor Henry Jones, Peter Clearwater, a Ravenclaw, Thomas Little, a Hufflepuff, Gideon Flint, a Slytherin, and Alicia Warrington another Slytherin made up the class.
Regina nodded to Jillian who after a few days was already acting like her normal self.
"The Dark Arts," Jillian began, "Are like the Light arts in many ways, but the two have a parallel. For instance the Light Arts use your will. Can anyone tell me what the Dark Arts use?"
Clearwater's hand shot up in the sky, but Jillian ignored him. Regina smirked. She felt that Jillian was an excellent teacher. Jillian called on the quiet Hufflepuff.
"Little," she said.
"Um-" he said.
Regina narrowed her eyes at him.
"Crucio-" she shouted, pointing her wand at the Hufflepuff.
Suddenly Tom Little fell to the ground and started to twitch violently on the ground. Regina held him on the curse for thirty seconds and then released it.
Jillian snorted. "Anyone not want to answer the question?"
Everyone else's hand went into the air. Finally, Jillian called on Alicia Warrington.
"The Dark Arts rely on our passions, while the Light Arts rely on our will."
"Five points to Slytherin," Jillian replied.
Jillian continued. "Several charms are either light or dark by their natures. If you use the charm and the right motion, you are able to do a spell, but if you charge it with your passions, they are different."
She turned to Regina and pointed her wand.
She turned the wand intricately and said, "Flippendo," and Regina was pushed back.
Regina smiled and cleaned her clothes then stepped forward.
"Now," she said, "I will use my passion."
"Flippendo!" Regina flew backwards, and nailed into the wall. But Regina didn't bang her head, using a cushioning charm to protect herself.
"Next, each of you will pair up and practice the charm and then the jinx." Jillian stated.
Regina and Jillian walked among the students as they practiced. Little slowly started to sit up, but was not allowed to participate. When the class was nearly over, Jillian stated. "Each of you is to write an essay on the passions necessary to use the Knockback Jinx, the Oppugno Jinx, and the Revusion Jinx. Write the differences when using the motions rather than your emotions. It is due on Friday. Dismissed." Then Jillian opened the room.
Regina said quietly and smoothly, "Little," she said, "you will stay."
Little remained shivering behind while everyone else left the room. When it was just Regina, Jillian, and Tom Little, Regina spoke.
"Everything discussed in this class is covered in the reading assigned beforehand." Regina stared at him. "You will read the required reading and you will be prepared to answer every question. If there is trouble, you will tell me ahead of time. Am I being clear?"
Little nodded.
"Get out of here!" Regina said.
Thomas Little literally ran outside of the room.
Regina took a deep breath and walked over to Jillian. "Take my hand, Jillian," she told her with a smile.
Jillian took Regina's wand arm and touched it. She smiled as Regina's fingers grasped her fingers. She licked her lips.
"Next time punishment gets dished out here or in a Death Eater meeting," she said, "I want you to do it."
Jillian nodded.
Regina stood next to Astoria Greengrass as she wore her Junior Death Eater robes. In minutes everyone was walking inside of the Dark Arts room. There were fifteen total of them present for their first Junior Death Eater meeting.
Astoria stepped forward using a garbled male rasp to her voice.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts, Servants of the Dark. Are there any of you who has an inclination that serving the Dark Lord is too difficult?"
Regina moved from this point walking back and forth among them. She stood in front of Azure looking down at her.
No one responded.
"Then, we can continue," Astoria continued. "You will lay out your hand to offer my associate a single name."
Regina stood before Azure glaring down at her, waiting for her hand to reach out. Finally, it did. Regina took the piece of paper with her black gloved hand. She walked around the room gaining each slip of paper. Then, she nodded at Astoria.
"We are permitted only twenty. So, five from these names will be chosen. If the name you picked is chosen, you will be rewarded by our Lord."
She looked around for a minute keeping everyone in their position on their knees.
"One of you disappointed our Lord this summer," Astoria said. Regina walked over to Jillian, tapped her shoulder to stand.
"Sutton –" Greengrass shouted.
Suddenly, a whimper screeched, "No!"
Regina nodded at Jillian who pulled out her wand.
"Crucio," she shouted and suddenly Sutton started to shake and move on the floor. He twitched and moved.
Regina spoke with her rasp. "Sutton felt that he didn't have to report to his mentor this summer."
"No one disobeys us –" Greengrass growled. "We represent the Dark Lord. If you don't like it, take it up with him. Now go!"
Slowly everyone left, with Regina and Astoria nodding to each other and walking down to the Slytherin Common Room.
Regina smirked as she turned a corner and took a shortcut she knew of down to the basement. She didn't have to run, but she did, down the hallway of the hidden corridor, down a hidden staircase and she made it out of there before any of the Junior Death Eaters made it down. With her mask and robes put away, she climbed back through the Slytherin Common Room portal, and was changed and lying in bed when first Azure and then Jillian arrived.
Azure glared at Regina's form laying on the bed, knowing that Regina was the last one to leave. Jillian as she came in smirked. The two ladies got ready in the dark, taking off their robes and getting into their nightgowns, then they climbed into bed.
After fifteen minutes of darkness and after hearing the still breathing of her roomates, Regina disillusioned herself and quietly climbed out of bed, then she slinked into bed with Jillian. She held her close as Jillian opened her eyes and smiled at her. They both felt the crackle of the Dark Magic still lingering all over Jillian. They held each other late into the night again, until Regina early in the morning slinked out of bed and back into her bed.
September was a busy flurry of activity. Regina split her time between classes, studying for classes and working with Jillian to prepare the Dark Arts class. For the most part, Regina allowed Jillian to plan the lessons and execute the lessons. Regina during the classes themselves always was there as a silent deadly presence. Regina felt little need to interfere with Jillian's efforts to teach.
Regina spent a large chunk of time planning her personal Dark Arts growth. While she had tested for the equivalent of a Ministry Newt that last summer already, Bellatrix had given her the strong warning that her studies in the Dark Arts should continue. Bellatrix studied deeply into torture and the Dark Arts – not just how to torture but what could Bellatrix gain through torture. Regina had several tomes on Soul Magic, but she had not considered that. Instead Regina had something else in mind – something that her former life would be abhorred over, the Hatching of a Basilisk.
So, during the first Hogsmeade weekend, she bought a fresh egg at the local market. Graham thought it absurd that she was bringing an egg back, but thought nothing else of it. That night, Regina used the Marauder's Map and found her way outside and snuck to the Forbidden Forrest. She went in deep enough to find a pond and was able to capture a female toad. Then she brought the toad back to the castle.
It was close to midnight as Regina stood quietly before the faucet of the Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She thought back carefully. She remembered the sound and texture of the words, then hissed, "Open."
She smirked. Even though she was no longer Harry Potter, she was able to still do Parseltongue. The door opened and the slimy slide appeared. Regina thought about using the slide, but then hissed, "Stairs," suddenly, the slide turned into stairs going down. She lit her wand with a Lumos and started walking down deep into the Chamber as the door closed behind her. She walked down the hallway until she stood before the gate to Slytherin's chamber.
She hissed in parseltongue, "Open," and the doorway to the Chamber was open for the first time in years. Regina walked in marveling again at everything around her. Then, she made a nest, laid the chicken egg in the nest, cast a gentle twenty-four hour warming charm. Then, she laid the toad on the egg.
The toad continually tried to get off the egg, so finally, Regina pointed her wand at the toad and glared and said, "Imperio."
Once the toad was where she wanted it, she made further charms to prevent the toad from moving and a gentle field around the nest to keep the basilisk once hatched from escaping.
Regina walked around the Chamber, taking it in for truly the first time ever. She spoke the words that she remembered Harry hearing Diary Tom Riddle speaking, "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four." Regina saw the mouth of Salazar Slytherin open and she walked inside. At the bottom of the steps was another door. "Open," she hissed and she walked inside to a private study. There were books inside, books of Dark Magic. Regina carefully looked through each. For now, she focused on Basilisk breeding and control.
After doing some reading and conjuring a Muggle notebook from her chest to begin copying Slytherin's book on breeding and controlling, basilisks, she put everything back carefully, closed the room, the statue then the Chamber and went to bed.
As the weeks followed she made daily trips into the Chamber to feed the frog. She also took rats that she had caught and taken them to a cage she transfigured in the Chamber. She fed these scraps and food every day as the egg continued to warm and change.
As October began she continued to go many sleepless hours between hatching the basilisk, preparing the Junior Death Eaters for the Samhein celebration and finishing up her plan to keep Jillian MacDougal in the fold. Everything would lead up to an exciting Samhein.