~Jen's POV~

As I got up for the Quidditch match, I told myself that I really shouldn't have been surprised. Regulus was a Slytherin, after all, and therefore he was bound to go bad eventually. And the Blacks were notorious for being bullies (save for Sirius, and even he picked on people sometimes). Regulus was also rumored to be a part of a group that intended to serve Voldemort.

But he was so nice…

I pushed the thought away as I pulled on the clothes that I would wear under my Quidditch robes. The sooner that I accepted Regulus as the enemy, the better. I didn't need to keep giving myself a headache, trying to figure out how he could have been involved. His name was only on the "maybe" list, and only because he was known to run around with a couple of the people that had been named as positives for the attack. Still, he would be questioned.

What if he did do it? I just can't see Regulus doing something like that. He's been so nice… helping me find library books, showing me where the Snitch was, helping me up, healing my arm…

I brushed my hair back into a high ponytail and used bobby pins to keep the wisps out of my face. The last thing that I needed was a distraction during the Ravenclaw match.

Well… another distraction. I already had a distraction in the news of Regulus Black.

I grabbed my broom and left just as my roommates were beginning to stir. Hale was waiting for me in the common room, dressed in jeans and a crimson T-shirt. He smiled and stood to give me a quick kiss when I came in. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Yes," I lied. I had tossed and turned all night, thinking about Regulus. James had described what the group had done to the Gryffindor boy, and try as I may, I just couldn't picture Regulus doing any of that. I had occasionally slipped into unconsciousness, but dreams of Regulus woke me and set me to thinking all over again.

"Nervous?" he asked and took my hand once we were out of the portrait hole.

"Maybe a little," I said. "Especially with the last Snitch fiasco with Hufflepuff."

"It happens," he reassured me. "You'll do great today, I know it."

"Hopefully," I said and let him talk about the essay that he had written for Charms.

James and the other Marauders were already waiting at the Gryffindor table, and it was just a sign of how nervous James was that he didn't even comment on the fact that Hale still held my hand.

"He was talking about strategies in his sleep," Sirius informed me, pointing to the bags under his eyes. "None of us got any rest."

"I did," Peter said.

"You can sleep through anything," Remus retorted and sighed. "Toast anyone?"

"I'll have some."

He plopped some down onto my plate.

I didn't really feel like eating, but that had less to do with Quidditch and more to do with Regulus. I knew that I shouldn't have been letting it affect me that much, but it was like I couldn't help it. Something inside of me couldn't let it go.

Sirius suddenly growled, his eyes darkening in anger. "There he is."

"Who?" I asked, not bothering to turn around.

"My brother."

That did it. I turned in my seat to watch as Regulus came into the room, looking more exhausted than I'd ever seen him. He'd probably been questioned all night.

"Dumbledore questioned him," Sirius continued in a voice full of loathing. "But apparently, he wasn't there. That's the story, anyway. Of course he'd be able to get out of it."

My heart soared, strangely, when I heard that he wasn't found guilty. He would get to continue his education and…

I turned back around to face Sirius. "So, you think he did it?"

"No doubt about it," he said around a mouthful of sausage. "It's exactly the kind of thing he'd do; Mum and Dad are proud, no doubt."

"There's not a single doubt in your mind?" I asked. There was no brotherly love between them at all.

"Nope," he said and swallowed. "Everyone else thinks he's guilty, too."

I turned my head slightly and saw everyone staring at him as he got some food.

Well, at least the Slytherins will still be supportive of him.

James spoke up for the first time. "The ones that were positively identified were expelled. Good riddance."

"Too bad my brother wasn't among them," Sirius said and then turned his attention to a pretty girl that had just sat down beside him. Normally, he didn't notice girls all that much (even though they always fawned over him), but sometimes he liked them for a distraction.

Hale talked to me about all kinds of things and I tried to pay attention, but it really wasn't working out. My thoughts were on Regulus and how hard it was going to be for him. I chalked it up to my compassionate nature and tried to ignore everything else that my brain was trying to get me to realize.

James finally stood up and nodded at me. "Let's go."

Hale gave me a quick kiss for luck and then James and I left, brooms over our shoulders.

"Are you nervous?" he asked me as we walked through the front doors.

"Yes," I admitted. "I don't want what happened during the Hufflepuff match to happen again."

"It won't," he assured me and gave me a smile. "That was just a little mistake. We won in the end. Everything is going to go smoothly."

I managed a smile. "Are you trying to reassure me or yourself?"

"I don't know," he laughed. "Both, I guess."

We were the first ones in the locker room and he ran his pre-game speech by me. When the rest of the team arrived, he delivered it to them, and I fixed my gloves and shoes into place.

"It's time," Diego said finally.

It was only then that I noticed we'd all been deathly quiet.

"Come on," James instructed and stood up in front by me so that we could fly out. Right before we got on our brooms, he shot me a lazy grin and ran his hand through his hair. "Quick catch, Jen. Alright?"

"Deal," I smiled.

We flew out, Ravenclaw flew out, and then the captains shook hands.

I tensed on my broom, waiting for the Quaffle to be thrown up into the air.

Finally, it was, and James grabbed it before anyone else could. Like a rocket, he was off down the field.

I flew up into the air and immediately began my search for the Snitch. I pushed thoughts of Regulus aside, but of course I couldn't stop them completely. I kept seeing him smiling at me, or handing me the correct book in the library. I saw him helping me up and the gentle look on his face as he had healed my cut. They weren't things that I needed to be thinking about during an important Quidditch match, but I couldn't help myself.

We scored forty points before Ravenclaw snapped out of whatever trance they'd been in and began to play back. I flew interference whenever I could, but it wasn't quite enough. All of their Chasers and their Keeper were returners to the team. We had a lot of new people.

Snitch. I need the Snitch.

Almost instinctively, my eyes moved towards the Slytherin section.

No, stop! He's not going to help you!

I severely reprimanded myself for even thinking about letting Regulus help me again. I needed to catch the Snitch on my own.

"Come on, Jen!" Diego yelled encouragement as he flew past with the Quaffle under his arm.

I shot off in a random direction, hoping that maybe some luck would find me. I needed to catch the Snitch before Ravenclaw managed to tie the score with us. We needed as many points as possible.

And then I saw it.

Hovering so closely to the ground that I knew I was going to need to pull off a very impressive dive to catch it.

But I had been practicing dives all summer.

But dives that steep?!

I took a breath to calm myself and then dove.

"Jennifer Potter has spotted the Snitch!"

The crowd roared.

Too close to the ground! Too close!

I continued to dive, the ground coming closer and closer.

Too close!

I knew that I needed to pull up, but I needed to go just a bit further…

Right before my broom struck the ground, I managed to pull it up. Unfortunately, my weight didn't go with it and I went flying off, my hand outstretched. Somehow, my fingers managed to close around the Snitch as my head hit the ground too hard.

Tears blurred my vision and the whole world seemed to be spinning.

"Gryffindor wins!"

The chants began as I blacked out.