Eventually, Antlia slipped out of Severus' dorm, her mood much brighter than what it had been in a while. Why wouldn't she be happy? After all, she had regained her best friend and spent the morning locked away in his arms. It had felt like a blissful dream, but she knew it wasn't. It was her reality and it filled her with warmth every time she thought about it.

After showering and changing into fresh clothes, Antlia strolled about the castle. Not many Slytherins were out and about. Most were still recovering from their long night or trying to study - a round of exams were coming. Severus had stayed back in his dorm to try and prepare himself for them. They had missed breakfast it seemed, and they were still too early for lunch. When Antlia finally made her way back to the common room, she plopped down into a comfortable arm chair and let the fire warm her.

"Antlia!"

She only had a few moments to rest her eyes before she heard her brother's familiar voice. "Yes, Regulus?"

He strolled over, holding two envelopes in his hand. "Good morning, sleeping beauty. You missed breakfast."

"Yeah, already found that out," she sighed quietly.

Regulus watched her carefully. "Find your dorm okay last night?"

The blonde haired girl nodded as she stretched in place. "Yes, Regulus. I'm fine. Severus took care of me until I sobered up."

He immediately raised an eyebrow. "So he found you?"

Antlia nodded lazily, trying to keep her joy contained. The last thing she needed or wanted was for her brother to know of her little adventure. "Apparently he wants to speak to me again. He did apologize and make sure I didn't drown in my own vomit, so that's something, I guess."

The teen boy broke out into a relieved smile. "Good, I'm glad you're alright." He paused, extending the letters towards her. "These came in at breakfast for you. I snagged them from the owls."

"Oh? Any idea who they're from?"

"Well," he began, hesitating. "Felix was carrying one and he's father's personal owl, so you do the math. A Hogwarts owl was carrying the other, so I have no idea on that one."

"Maybe Tom?" She mused as she took them.

Regulus scowled and shook his head. "Tom would never send you a letter. And even if he did start writing and sending owls, he wouldn't send it through a Hogwarts owl; he's far too cautious of Dumbledore."

Her gaze suddenly left the letters. "Dumbledore? Why worry over the Headmaster?"

Her brother stared at her for a few moments, trying to piece together words. "Did you ever know about Grindelwald?"

Antlia gave a small nod. "Mom mentioned him once or twice. Real dark wizard, right?"

"Yes and it was Dumbledore that brought him down. Tom thinks he's already been suspicious of him since he graduated. A mudblood died at Hogwarts when Tom was here. Even though they caught the responsible party, the old bat still thought it was Tom's fault. Some monster had been unleashed on the school, it was obviously that half giant oaf's fault. He had been known for keeping monsters as pets. It wasn't really good enough for Dumbledore though-he favored the half breed-so Tom says he's been going after him ever since. It wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't Dumbledore who took down Grindelwald."

She blinked, trying to take it all in. "A wizard powerful enough to defeat Grindelwald is the headmaster?"

"It seems he had nothing better to do."

Antlia shook her head. "I would have never known." Her mind immediately went to her attack on Jorkins as she began to fear Dumbledore might be able to piece things together. She had made her plan with the fact in mind that she would only have to worry about average teaching wizards trying to solve the mudblood's assault, not a powerful, intelligent wizard that had brought the darkest wizard of his age to his knees.

"Dumbledore may act daft, but he's not. You've got to watch out for him, Antlia," he warned, seeming to sense her thoughts.

"I will, I promise."

A soft smile crossed his features. "Good. And do let me know what Father has to say. He's not much of a writer so I'm awfully curious."

Antlia gave him a weak smile before dropping her gaze back down the the envelopes. "Alright, I will."

The blonde haired witch waited until she was alone again to read them. Once she heard the click of Regulus' room door, she tore into the envelope from her father. The message was short and rather straight forward. He had given her the option of spending Christmas with his household or staying at Hogwarts. He had made it very clear he didn't want her to spend the break alone in France. She hadn't planned on going to her home in Perouges, but it irritated her that he was trying to dictate her decisions. He hadn't been a father to her in years and she most certainly felt like he shouldn't be trying to parent her then. At the same time though, she could practically hear her mother scolding her over being disrespectful. She could oh so clearly imagine Darcy standing in front of her, chastising her because hew as still her father after all. Antlia couldn't help but to smile to herself. Even though the woman had lost all respect for Orion after finding out he was married and already had a family, she had never let her daughter speak an ill word about him. She would always just remind her that the man did love her, he was just a mislead, foolish adult.

Antlia carefully put the letter down and moved to the next envelope. This one was composed in completely unfamiliar handwriting, leaving her a bit puzzled.

Antlia,

I heard Slytherin threw quite the rager last night. Hope you're not too hungover, I was kind of hoping you would be able to hang out a bit today. You still owe me some stories, remember? Anyway, if you feel up to it, meet me at the end of the tunnel just before dinner. I've got a plan, trust me. Platonic dinner! It'll be fun. So be there! If you don't come, I'll give your half of the meal to Sirius. Your brother is a bottomless pit, you know.

-Remus

She couldn't help but to smile. She hadn't spent a bit of time with Remus since she had told him what she was - it really wasn't a surprise that he wanted to see her. Antlia wasn't going to complain about it either, but she most certainly wasn't going to tell Regulus who wrote her. It was common knowledge amongst the Slytherin students that Remus didn't share most of their beliefs. Even if her brother, like most other students, didn't know he was a werewolf, they still all frowned on anyone who hunt out with the teen. Her time spent with Remus was always their secret.

Lunch came and went rather uneventfully. Severus had sat by her and chatted calmly with her, but otherwise he gave no clue as to what transpired between them earlier. Antlia was thankful for it as well. Narcissa was already giving her enough confused but interested looks just over the fact that they were talking once more.

Regulus made small talk over the upcoming exams and holiday season. Most everyone seemed excited over the talk of winter break. Antlia tried to smile and act interested, but deep down she was dreading the break. It would be her first holiday without her mother. A break from school work would be nice, but she had come to rely on her lessons and the movement to keep her busy and well distracted.

"Antlia, are you coming over for the holidays?" Regulus asked over a bowl of soup.

She shrugged a little. "Father invited me but I really don't want to intrude. Not to mention its been years since I've seen him."

He kindly put a hand on her shoulder. "Nonsense. Father will be glad to see you, and that's saying something. That man is impossible to please but he always spoke highly of you. And besides that, I need you there. It'll just be me otherwise and I don't think I can deal with Father and Mum by myself."

Her face wrinkled in confusion. "Sirius won't be there?"

"Afraid not," he sighed. "He and Mum got into it so he's been staying with the Potters."

"Oh," she said with a twinge of disappointment. Christmas would have been the perfect chance for her to better get to know her other brother. They had hardly spoken at this point.

"Come on, Antlia. Say yes! I'll make sure we go visit Cissa too!" He pleaded with her, smiling a bit.

"I'll think about it," she finally resigned.

Narcissa grinned over at her. "It won't be so bad, you'll see. I'll make sure to spend as much time with you guys as I can."

Antlia couldn't help but to let herself relax and smile. A holiday with Narcissa and Regulus wouldn't be so bad, really. Sure, she was worried about actually seeing her father again, but she was more worried about dealing with Walburga. If she had her cousin and her half brother though, she didn't imagine that things would be too totally unbearable.