Ok, so this chapter is very much like the one in Reggie's story, but it was such an important night in both their lives I couldn't bring myself to change much of it, although I tried to.

Chapter twenty- A Hero Is Born, An Exile Created, And A Villain Is Conceived

Song: Don't Wanna Think About You – Simple plan

After that, time become more confusing. There was no real definition of fun and fear. I couldn't say, well yesterdays was fun, today will be full of fear. I learned that as an adult, particularly one living such a dangerous life as a spy, even one that pretends to be a spy like myself, time worked differently. It was spontaneous, and a fun morning with Reggie could end in the capture and sentencing of one of our friends.

Patricia had a child, or at least she announced that she had a child, when the little girl was already two or three years old. The Potters had a baby boy not yet born but would be soon, and Narcissa was near the end of her pregnancy. I was announced the godfather of the little boy, Bellatrix the godmother. Regina was offered the position as the godmother of the Potter's child, but denied it for she had never been the motherly sort. She detested the little boy from the start. Everyone else seemed to see something special in him, even I had to admit he was destined for greatness, but Regina thought he would never be anything more then a whinny child, no matter how old he would grow.

But now I am getting to the part of my story I least enjoy telling. The part where my character arc comes; the part that changes my life.

I can't remember the exact date, but I got hold of news, big news. It came from a mediocre prophet, a girl that even I, the bottom of the popularity chain, had made jokes about. Sybill Trelawney. I don't know what possessed me to believe it, but I herd it, listening at doors again, and tried my best to keep it to myself. But with news such as this one it is hard to hide, even with a skill at Occlumency. Malfoy found out, not the first person I had wanted to tell, yet the first all the same. He persuaded me to go to the dark lord about it; that I would be rewarded, and still I did not go. It was only until he told me that I would be killed if I didn't take this news to the dark lord did I go forward.

But alas that isn't the day I regret the most. It was October thirty-first, a Halloween night, that I regretted. The night that Peter Pettigrew betrayed his friends, the night Sirius Black was arrested, the night the Potters died, I had the ultimate falling out with Reggie. And lucky me got to witness most of it first hand. The night proceeded closely to what follows.

It was a pleasant teatime with Cissy and the two-year-old chewing on whatever he could get his hands on. Fun. Then Malfoy entered, obviously had been drinking since he was so loose with his tongue, with news that the dark lord was going to destroy the Potters tonight, Peter had reveled the secret. Fear.

My immediate thoughts were of finding Reggie, keeping her out of this mess. Her rashness would make her want to intervene, and I loved her still too much to let her die. And all because of the prophecy and me.

I went to her house, and she was not to be found, the whole place was empty, I went to Sirius's house, but the same was to be said. It was only a matter of luck that as I was on my way back to Cissy's that I stumbled across a scene. Twelve muggles were dead, and a man named Peter Pettigrew had been killed as well, I gathered from one of the onlookers. And there in the middle of the crowd stood Sirius, being hauled away by the ministry for murder, but my eyes didn't fall on his resisting form, they fell on Reggie.

I had arrived just in time to hear her scream.

"It wasn't him. He's not a death eater, I am, and Peter Pettigrew isn't dead!"

I watched in horror as she pulled up her sleeve for all to see, trying to push my way to the front of the crowd, trying to get to her, but I couldn't just yet. I could feel tears sprinkle my own eyes as the poured out of hers, as she fell to the ground, as her body went limp. Sirius too was having trouble watching the scene and began to struggle more, trying to get back to his girlfriend. But I was the one who finally made it towards her; I was the one who took her home, because I wasn't the one who was sent to Azkaban for life.

Once I felt she was home safe and tucked into her bed I went down to her kitchen to make a pot of coffee.

When I returned to her room with the mug for her she was slicing at her arm with her wand, pail and fragile, yet filled with that strange willpower she had always had.

In panic and frustration I dropped the mug running over to stop her. As I sewed up the wounds she had caused she had explained she was attempting to get rid of the dark mark on her arm. I managed to clean away the snake, but the skull would be a reminder of the death eaters, and the trouble we were all in, for years.

She was delusional, I knew this, yet her words stung just as much as she accused me with them, they were just as horrible as if she hadn't been so emotionally distressed. I had tried to cheer her, but that only caused her to turn on me more.

"Don't be like that Reggie, I'm so sorry you lost him, but there will be others. You're too young to think of yourself as a widow, he was just a silly boy, Reggie."

"You only say that because you wish to be one of the others, but if you were a true friend you would be morning his loss as I am. We both know he is as good as dead in that horrible prison," she said, her words stinging like poison. I hated Sirius even more then usual now for doing this to her. But still, how could she push me away?

"Don't shut your emotions off like that Reggie, don't be callous," I said, fighting back tears of my own, but I don't think she realized how much this was hurting me.

"Severus, only the weak were their emotions on their sleeves, only the weak let someone know how they truly feel. Those controlled by ignorance, by anger, they are weak. I shut my emotions off for my own pleasure, not to spite you, but if you were wise you would do the same."

"Reggie…" I pleaded, not knowing how much those words would affect my life.

"Don't argue with me. You know as well as I that it's all your fault! If you had never uttered a word about that stupid prophecy then Tom wouldn't have wanted to kill the Potters and Sirius wouldn't have needed to be angry with Peter. You're a rat, just like Pettigrew! I have stayed a spy to help the order, you know this, but you, you're on both sides for one reason Severus! You are on both sides because you are too much of a coward to pick one! Because as it currently stands you have a place to stay no matter which side wins, and why would you give that comfort up?" she said, her voice dripping with unadulterated malice and hatred. How could she not see that I was trying to help her? I was only trying to help her.

"Reggie, please, I would never wish this upon any one, I regret it I do…"

"Don't you dare lie to me," she said, her voice shaking as she choked back a fresh batch of tears, "Don't you dare. This is just as much your fault as it is Tom's and Pettigrew's. And you can't even honestly say you didn't want this. So don't try to say you feel just as much sorrow as me, because after all these years as your friend I think I deserve the courtesy of honesty!"

And that's when I lost it, that's when I spilled the words I never should have said. The words that I can only assume were the ones that pushed her away.

"Reggie, there you go again jumping to conclusions," I said, no longer caring how my words affected her, I just needed to clear my case. "I think you disserve honesty too, so here it is! I will admit to telling the dark lord about the prophecy, I will admit to doing this out of anger towards James, but I feel just as much remorse over this as you do! Two people died tonight because of my decision. A child was orphaned, and a man was thrown in jail for a crime he didn't commit. While I admit that I hated this man, that I cannot possibly compare my loss to yours, at least let it be said that I am sorry for what I did. My decision ruined five lives tonight, if not more, and I regret that. How's that for the honesty you disserve?"

" I'm leaving," she said suddenly jumping from her bed and bolting out the door. Of course she was running away. She had never been a big fan of listening to reason she didn't want to hear. I waited until I heard her slam the front door behind her, and then I left. When she returned tonight she would want to be alone.