A/N Someone wrote a review and asked if this means there will be an update to Salazar's Encore. Yes, that is is my objective! It's been a long time with no updates, no writing, and so I'm going back to reintroduce myself with my own characters! There's always been problems with this fic that has sort of gnawed at me, it's too annoying to read through without making changes! So it will take me time to get to SE, but I'm feeling all inspired and enjoying writing again :)

Growing Pains

I sat with him in my arms. She was in bed. They were both asleep. The sun was going to rise soon. I would have to leave Corvus then. I kept looking at him. I thought about what I wanted for him. I wanted him to have brothers and sisters. A big family, to grow close to. We could have been happy. He puckered his lips, perhaps he was dreaming. His little face scrunched up. Maybe he was having a nightmare?

"Hey," I bent my neck to brush my forehead against his. The tip of my nose grazed his. I didn't want to wake him up, but I didn't want him to have nightmares. "Don't worry, I'm right here."

His little arms wiggled.

Rabastan was going to meet him at noon. But he was exhausted. He hadn't slept for what felt like days. He couldn't. He sat up in his bed and heard one of his roommates stir. The thought of speaking to someone now, when all he could think about was the feel of having his son in his arms... He got up and grabbed his shoes to leave his dorm. He had fifteen minutes before breakfast.

He decided he'd skip it. He needed some rest before he met with Rabastan. He had to be on guard as always. But he needed some proper rest if that was going to happen. He climbed the stairs, heading for the seventh floor where Leandra's secret room was. Perhaps there he could feel safe enough to sleep.

"Regulus?"

He turned to find Barty Crouch jogging towards him

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied quickly. "I'm just- looking for a place to think." Telling the truth was sometimes the best lie, it seemed. The younger boy nodded.

"If you want you can use the Prefect bathroom, no one would be in it so early."

Regulus was surprised at the offer.

"Come, I'll take you there," he offered. "They have Invigorating Syrups too, they will keep you wide awake for ten hours before it starts to wear off."

"Thank you."

"It's nothing really," he said sincerely. He brought him to the fifth floor to the Prefect's bathroom. Like he said, no one was in there. "I can put up a sign, saying it's out of order, but I'm sure no one will bother you."

"I'm fine," he looked around. Everything was immaculate and welcoming. He should have tried harder to become a Prefect. Besides, he doubted Dumbledore would give him the task. "It must be nice to be able to come here whenever you want."

Barty look slightly embarrassed, "It doesn't take much to be a Ravenclaw Prefect. Just need to study a lot."

"Don't belittle yourself, it's annoying," he snapped without meaning to be short with him. It came out of him before he could stop it. He needed sleep. Barty lowered his head. "I didn't mean that, I'm just tired-"

"I've gotten that before, don't worry," he told him.

"I just meant, you shouldn't sell yourself short. Being named Prefect isn't easy," Regulus said. Barty nodded along, but he felt he needed to extend some extra kindness to the younger student. "I still think Leandra is bitter Dumbledore never named her Prefect. I don't know how she could expect to be named, I mean she was dueling someone her first night in Hogwarts."

Barty smiled and looked up at him again. "She gave a Gryffindor boy in my year donkey ears." Regulus laughed, he had been there.

"You can't protect him from You-Know-Who," Edgar Bones said to me after I'd snuck out of the room. Coco was waiting patiently to take me back to Hogwarts. For a moment I thought I'd misheard him. Edgar had always been pleasant enough to me. Him and his wife put up with a lot from us, but I never suspected him to speak like this to me.

"Excuse me?"

"The Dark Lord doesn't care about his servants, or their families," he kept going. "You're all dispensable tools."

"You have no idea what you're talking about -"

"No you don't," he interrupted. He looked angry suddenly. "You better wake up, Regulus. Because this isn't about your life anymore. It's about his."

Regulus walked into the Hog's Head. Rabastan was sitting in the back, as usual. He was tapping the table impatiently with his wand, leaving burnt marks after every tap. "About time, all the other children came out to play ages ago," he greeted his sister-in-law's cousin.

"Over eager third years," Regulus assumed. Rabastan leered.

"No doubt," he took a sip of his drink, Firewhiskey, two fingers. "Have you heard?"

"What?"

"Constantine King was punished last night." King was a Pureblood, a servant of the Dark Lord. The King family was nearly as old as the Black family and possibly wealthier. Their oldest son was in line to become the Minister of Magic, but he was involved in some mysterious accident and ended up dead. Constantine was the third son of the family. Outside of the Death Eaters Regulus had minimal contact with Constantine. He always seemed to move in different circles.

"What did he do?"

Rabastan gave a shrug. "The Dark Lord was growing impatient with him. He was taking too long with his mission."

"What was his punishment?"

"The Dark Lord took from his flesh," Rabastan explained as he made a slicing movement with his wand. "For every day King leaves him waiting, he will take from his flesh."

"What's his mission?"

Rabastan taped his nose, "That we can not know. We know nothing the Dark Lord doesn't want us to know."

Edgar's words threatened to invade his mind, but he remained focus, "It must be important then."

Rabastan sighed, bored already. He leaned across the table, eager to get to work, "A few goblins have been annoying us." Regulus frowned.

"How?"

"Besides being a general nuisance, they have been speaking of affairs outside of their concern." Regulus wanted more than a vague statement, but he didn't ask any more of Rabastan. "We're to send a message."

"They're just goblins," he reminded him. "They're vastly inferior to us."

"Exactly why this trip shouldn't last more than a few minutes," Rabastan smirked. He finished his glass and suggested Regulus do the same.

After the birth, after he was washed and wrapped in a soft blanket, we both held him in bed. Corvus was already fast asleep. It was warm and safe then, lying in bed with Leandra and him, everyone held close. "Nothing's going to be the same," she stated. I brushed back her tangled hair and kissed the nape of her neck.

"It's going to be okay."

Her lip trembled. She was still worn from the birth. I had never seen her cry so much. She had been calling for her mother. I had no idea if she remembered that. She hadn't brought it up. "Ascanius can't be in Corvus's life."

"Everything's going to-"

"No," she snapped slightly. She shook her head, "Nothing's going to be okay. Ascanius will kill anyone for V-Voldemort," she shuddered the name. There was a split second of panic at hearing his name spoken aloud. She shouldn't have, but I forgave her for that time. "There's nothing to stop him from, from taking Corvus away."

"He's not, alright? I won't let him. He will listen to me."

"Over You-Know-Who?" she shot back at him, staring at him intently. Her dark eyes were tired, but they were on guard for Corvus.

She choked back, and shook her head again. I nuzzled her neck, hoping to calm her. I whispered to her. I told her I would always be there. I would give my life to protect them. I loved them. I loved her. I always loved her. I would always be there for her. And I will never let anyone harm Corvus. He was my life now. He was her life. He was our life. He was everything. She had to trust me.

I stayed beside her until she fell asleep. Then I took Corvus and sat in the corner of the room, rocking him. He was so tiny. I kissed his forehead, and breathed him in. He was everything, and I would never let anything harm him.

The grass was frozen and broke beneath their every step. The wind was harsh; Regulus wrapped his winter cloak tightly around himself. Rabastan enjoyed the feeling of the wind piercing his face and hands. He thought it was invigorating. They had been walking for a mile after Apparating; they were nearing the Goblin encampment.

Regulus tried remembering what he knew of Goblins. They had a magic of their own that they would never share with wizards. But Regulus was confidant that theirs was lesser, why else would the wizards be ruling over them? This mission should be easy.

They came to a forest clearing, where four tents were pitched. The sun was still high in the sky, though it struggled to peak through the gray clouds and the branches of the tall trees surrounding them. There were only three goblins there. Two males and a female, Goblins usually hid their females. This was rare.

Rabastan grabbed Regulus to stop him. "I don't want them to run away, I don't feel like chasing game today," he whispered. Regulus nodded and flicked his wand. There was a flash of light.

All three of them were swept up into the air, dangling from their ankles. They cursed at them and started chanting in a strange language. One of them finished his spell and spat the final word at Regulus and Rabastan. Both of them were blown back several feet. Regulus's body struck a tree, and the impact was so powerful the bark cracked and his head spun as pain shot up and down his spine.

Rabastan landed on the floor near him. "Silencio!" he growled at them. It worked. Regulus coughed, the air had been knocked out of him. But with the cough he noticed blood on his lips. Their magic had been more powerful than he'd ever imagined.

Rabastan struggled to his feet, one of his legs was twisted at an unnatural angle. His face was contorted with pure rage and he aimed his wand at the three dangling goblins. Fire erupted forth from the tip of his wand, roaring into existence. Like a tidal wave it traveled straight for their enemies. As the fire moved, Regulus watched horrific shapes form within the flames. It was Fiendfyre.

The silencing charm must have worn off, because he could hear them scream now. Regulus watched bewildered as the fiery shapes danced and devoured the encampment. He could only see flashes of the Goblins, a split second of terrified, burning faces. Rabastan grabbed Regulus and forced him to his feet. Something was broken, a rib for sure, but Regulus kept staring at the hell Rabastan had let loose.

"Snap out of it! We need to get out of here,"he told Regulus, his voice barely heard over the crackling flames and screams. Regulus could smell flesh burning, hair burning… he gagged from it. Rabastan's grip on him tightened and suddenly they weren't in the forest anymore.

I wiped the back of my hand against my lips. There was still blood. I could still smell the burnt wood and flesh on my hair, hands and clothes. Many people would never see a female Goblin; I had just witnessed the murder of one. They had been a part of some resistance to the Dark Lord. The Goblin community was deciding on a side it seemed. This movement of ours was going to affect every inch of our world.

We didn't even try speaking with them. Every mission thus far, we never spoke with them. We just tortured or murdered them. I never thought it was strange, I just assumed eventually there would be diplomacy. But there never was going to be, was there? "You didn't have to do that," I hissed. We were back in Hogsmeade, outside the Hog's Head.

"Do what?" he brushed off his robes gingerly, so as not to disturb his own wounds.

"Kill them." Paused, as if he had forgotten everything about the Goblins, perhaps he had. Perhaps he forgot everything about his kills. "The Goblins, why did you do that?" I asked him pointedly.

"Why did I kill them?" he repeated my question. "Why does it matter?" he was slightly disgusted by the topic.

"You didn't have to kill them, Rabastan."

"They were our enemies," he replied darkly.

"We were meant to send them a message, that was it," I snapped. Every word hurt my ribs, but I was furious with Rabastan. He should have stunned them or disarmed them, instead he cast Fiendfyre and now we were left wounded and visibly beaten. How could I return to Hogwarts like this?

His wand was out and aimed at me. "Careful Reggie Weggie," he growled. "It's not a good sign to lose your nerve so soon."

Regulus told the nurse and his teachers that he'd fallen from a tree. It was the stupidest excuse, true, but he didn't have many options. He spent the next two days bedridden. The nurse explained to him that his parents had been notified. They had written to him all day, demanding an explanation and he knew they didn't believe a word of the tree story. His parents even demanded to know if Bellatrix had done this to him.

By the second day of rest, Bellatrix was writing him. He grimaced and placed the letters to the side for now. He didn't have the energy to deal with her. If Bellatrix knew about his argument with Rabastan, there was a good chance that the others knew. Regulus wondered if he should write Leandra. He doubted the story would reach her, but he felt it was his responsibility to tell her.

She would be furious to hear this within two days of Corvus's birth. Someone pulled back his bed's curtain. It was Barty.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." Along with all the letters, he'd seen a few visitors as well. Most of them he sent away, like the Carrow twins. But Barty was welcomed, he didn't stay for long anyway. He also brought Regulus's homework this visit. He set it down beside all his letters. Barty eyed the letters for a second.

"Has Leandra written you?"

Again, Regulus wondered how comfortable he should be with the younger student always bringing up his wife. "She doesn't know. She doesn't need to know, I don't want to worry her."

"Of course, that makes sense," Barty frowned. There was an awkward pause between them.

Suddenly Regulus hissed as his left forearm began to throb and burn. He was being summoned. Barty noticed Regulus covering his forearm, clenching it as if in sudden pain. The whole time he'd been in the hospital wing he'd refused to remove his robes or expose his left arm.

"Is- are you- what's wrong?" Barty stumbled, panicked. Regulus's heart was racing. He grabbed the letter from Bellatrix. It was short. Rabastan told the Dark Lord.

"I need to get off Hogwarts ground," Regulus said immediately. He got up, ignoring his stiff limbs. What could this mean? He couldn't believe that the Dark Lord would punish him, he still believed he was right. But had Rabastan said?

He thought about Constantine King.

And Leandra would never know. Corvus would never know.

"Where?" Barty asked. Regulus remembered holding his son. There was a strange lump in his throat as his mind swam with memories of that night.

"I need to get out of Hogwarts, now," he clarified.

"B-but the nurse-"

"I know, you will have to cover me."

"How?"

"Barty, please," Regulus said calmly as he grabbed his winter cloak. It was a very cold weekend. Much colder than usual for this time of year. Regulus took his wand and used a Disillusionment Charm on himself. Barty looked about nervously. Regulus touched him on the shoulder, his hand blending in perfectly with Barty's clothes. "You're smart enough to pull this off, Crouch. I'll repay you for everything." If I survive this, he should have added.

Barty took a deep breath and nodded. He wanted to do this. He might have been afraid, but he wanted this. He had to just remind himself of this. Regulus left the hospital wing, taking Bellatrix's note with him. Barty remained behind, thinking of the best way to lie.

Regulus couldn't think about Leandra. He couldn't think of Corvus. He would be standing before his Lord in a moment, he need to prepare immediately. Before he never had any fear standing before him, but now he brought so many more secrets. Secrets shouldn't be kept from the Dark Lord. Regulus knew he would have to solve this, so Corvus and Leandra can officially become a part of his life, but he would have to think of a solution later.

He was summoned for a different reason. Regulus pushed pass groups of students, confusing them greatly since they could not see him. He very nearly collided into Slughorn and McGonagall as they were coming out of the Great Hall. He caught a brief part of their conversation, McGonagall was speaking, "…now we must watch our own students, this is a bad time…"

I thought about all my essays for History of Magic. Every one of them. This helped bore my emotions and to calm me. But when I least expected it, I would remember my son. I could never shake him, I wouldn't want to, but I had long enough to keep him safe.

It was never this difficult before.

Regulus's forearm ached every step. When he finally left Hogwarts' ground he was instantly brought to his master. He appeared in a dark, dome shaped chamber, different to where the Dark Lord resigned before. A line of Death Eaters created a half circle behind the Dark Lord. All of them masked, but Regulus sensed his cousin there. She would be there. And Ascanius would be there.

Regulus was kneeling. Kneeling beside him was Rabastan.

Edgar Bones would've been happy to know I was beginning to grow up.