Welcome back! Glad to have you!

Thanks for all your awesome reviews!

So, some big drama went down last chapter. I'm pleased everyone was thrilled to see some real vulnerability in Simone for once. She can't be infallible and she can't be perfect-Dear God is she not perfect.

We've got some mixed feelings in the comments about Severus's reaction to Remus's inclusion. Some of you agree that Severus shouldn't have to share this part of his world with a former bully (or someone complicit to bullying) and some of you think Severus should be mature enough to recognize that his friends like him for a reason and that Remus isn't going to steal him away. Glad to hear your thoughts about it. :)

If Someone Cared Enough

Chapter Seventy-One: The Remus Rundown

Simone avoided Severus like the plague after they came to blows—figuratively for him, quite literally in Simone's case. Outside of classes, Simone kept mostly to her room, even the Slytherin common area lacking her presence. Occasionally, Severus caught a glimpse of Simone disappearing behind a corner or quickly fleeing a room when he entered. Other than that, she was a ghost.

Clearly, she was beating herself up over losing her temper. In retrospect, perhaps Severus was unfairly hostile to her that day. He knew Simone saw her temper as a shameful secret, regarding her past as a confrontational child with much remorse and deep rooted self-loathing. She probably saw every outburst of hers as doing herself and her family a disservice. Fighting for so long to rise beyond unkind stereotypes surrounding her heritage and skin, lashing out probably made Simone feel less in control, uncivilized like the bigoted would claim her to be. To lash out at a friend, probably made her feel even worse.

And so, Simone kept her distance. Most communication Simone had with their group came through Thea. Severus couldn't imagine what sort of conversation those two had, but he knew quite well Thea didn't believe his attempt to cover for Simone's actions. Whatever transpired, Thea appeared quite out of sorts each and every time she made an appearance at their table in the library. The fact that she came baring messages from Simone was the only indication that she was on speaking terms with the other girl.

This made it ironically convenient that Lupin had been let in on their secret. Being down one person, they needed some extra brainpower now that Simone was M.I.A. Loath as Severus was to admit it, Lupin's help could prove useful.

Of course, a day or two was spent relentlessly arguing with Lupin and following him around to ensure he didn't just run straight to a teacher the second their backs were turned. Lupin took the news of the Basilisk about as well as one would expect…in that he was instantly in fear of his life as well as everyone else's life. Adding to that the two cursed items in their possession and Lupin was thoroughly convinced they were all in over their heads and in desperate need of professor assistance.

At first, it was hard to get Lupin to budge on that stance. The need to ensure there were no other beasts in school capable of harming the students was great—he already lamented his inability to prevent himself from endangering anyone during the full moons, Dumbledore's 'secure' hiding place notwithstanding.

Attempts to coax him down from his position were initially met with understandable resistance. Under normal circumstances, Severus couldn't blame him; any rational wizard would seek authorities in matters such as these. However, it was this very expected reaction that was precisely why Severus didn't want to include Lupin in the first place.

"Look, Lupin," Seversu finally said through gritted teeth, massaging his furrowed brow after the fifth argument that day, "Let's make a deal: if you keep this secret—and help us solve it—I'll keep your old friends' little secret. Sound good? I don't think the Headmaster would be thrilled to hear there was three unregistered animaguses running about the school…nor that they've been letting you run loose from the shack for months."

Lupin paled, whatever argument he had dying on his tongue.

"Not too keen on seeing them arrested, are you?" Severus mused, "They'd probably think you were the one who told me, given how nicely you've integrated into our little group."

"Sev, that's low," Lily scolded.

"Do you want to risk him running to Dumbledore?" Severus challenged, "Or anyone else for that matter? Consider this is little assurance on our part. He keeps our secret; we keep his, or rather, his friends' secret."

"Fine," Lupin ground out, giving Severus a mild glare, "I don't appreciate being blackmailed, but if you really think it's safer not to get Dumbledore involved—"

"He lets you transform near the school with the weakest fail safes in place," Severus said simply, "Do you think his judgement is the best in matters of safety?"

Lupin faltered, "It's not like he knew James and the others would become animaguses…"

"No, but you would think a man holding the life of every student in his hands would plan for every possible risk instead of just locking you in a flimsy shack with the most basic of shields and spells to contain you," Severus drawled.

Lupin sighed, "Fine. You make a fair point. No Dumbledore. Though I hardly see why we can't go to any other professor for help. Or even an Auror."

"Just about everyone you can think of looks up to Dumbledore," Davis interjected, "Or opposes him, in which case they'd be a dark wizard and we don't exactly want them involved. But everyone else sees Dumbledore as some beacon for good and justice. They'd want to inform him right away. And if we get the ministry involved, Dumbledore could easily talk them into letting him handle the matter himself."

"At which point he'd find out about the items that led to you discovering the chamber," Lupin surmised, "And you already explained why you don't want him knowing about that."

Severus nodded, "So we have a deal? You will keep this secret to yourself and discuss it with no one."

"Other than us, of course," Nesme chirped.

Lupin sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face, "I have to admit, this is a lot to take in. I'm still trying to come to grips with it all," he looked at Lily, "I can see why you thought it better that I not be involved."

Lily smiled sympathetically, "I told you it was a lot to handle."

"You had a few days to mull this information over," Thea said primly. With Simone gone, the timid girl had taken on a more aloof, business-like approach, a coping mechanism if there ever was one, "Aside from your concerns have you had any time to think about ways we could solve this problem without professor involvement?"

"Actually yes, "Remus replied, "Given how dangerous the matter is at hand…we need to find out what opens the chamber."

Nesme cocked her head in curiosity, "So…you want to let the creature out?"

Remus shook his head, "No, far from it. I want to prevent it from ever escaping. We need to ensure that no one, not even a random student, can ever stumble upon the chamber. I say we find out how it opens, then destroy the means to use that method. Throw a wrench in the works, or what have you."

"Sound logic," Severus agreed diplomatically, "There really isn't any guarantee that we'll be the only ones to ever piece together the clues. Hagrid is terrible at keeping things to himself and Myrtle will talk to anyone who gives her the time of day. Either one of them could let slip to a student various details that could send the kid snooping."

"And we found the mark for the chamber entirely by accident," Mary pointed out, "That snake might be small and in an obscure place, but it wouldn't be impossible to find."

Nesme nodded, "McGonagall's got me scrubbing the sinks in there as part of the punishment for wrecking the place in that fight. Any random person assigned to that task would have found the symbol by now."

"So let's say someone came across some clues to the chamber," Remus suggested, "They get curious, more so when the Professors they ask about it have little to no information. No one in the school would know why there is a snake etched into one of the faucets, so they can't turn to anyone else for assistance on solving it. They go snooping, they start fiddling around with it, maybe start rattling out spells and trying out patterns completely at random…"

"And discover the chamber by fluke," Severus finished, "In all honesty the possibility is very unlikely, but still technically possible. Best be on the safe side and cover our bases."

"Well we can't just sit around trying random spells and patterns," Davis said crossly, "We'd be at it forever, and who knows if it is even a spell or sequence that opens the thing. For all we know there's a key or something."

Thea threaded her fingers together, "You're right. We may need to consult the diary for this." She pulled out the aforementioned item, wrapped tightly in thick cloth.

Davis blanched, raising his hands defensively, "Hey, let's not go that far. That thing is trouble."

"As much as I'd like a new lead in this case, I'm inclined to agree with Davis," Severus admitted, "It remains to be seen whether or not the diary is cursed the same as the diadem, but we can't deny that there is an unsettling…weight to that item."

Lily nodded, "It feels cold, unnaturally so."

"Even I feel less than comfortable around it," Remus revealed, "Though I can't say whether or not that because of the diary or because you told me to be wary of it."

"Davis, you said your mother is an empath," Thea pointed out, turning to the boy, "Can you gleam any information off of it?"

Davis shrugged, still warily eyeing the diary, "Technically, all I inherited was a slight sensitivity; I'm not a true empath like mum. But I get a weird feeling whenever I hold that thing."

Steeling himself with a deep breath, Davis picked the book up, eyes closed tightly as if waiting for something awful to happen.

When things remained relatively unchanged, Davis let out a breath.

"Okay," he began, "It feels…there's this underlying foreboding. Like a prickling at the back of my neck. I feel like I should be afraid of something, but not sure what."

Davis glanced down at the diary.

"It's like holding a mean cat," he described, "Sure it's not scratching and biting you like you expect it to, but you still feel like it's going to go mad on you any minute, once it's done feigning innocence."

"That's a good way of putting it," Mary agreed, "I always feel like something's going to jump out at me from the pages."

"There's also the matter of its ill effects," Severus ruminated, "For everyone who's written in the diary—Thea, Simone, myself, Davis—the same results have been observed. Severe fatigue and a hazy feeling."

Davis nodded, "I feel drained afterwards. Overly tired, or something, even in the middle of the day."

"It's like your brain's in a fog," Thea went on, "I always feel a bit muddled after writing to Tom."

"The same goes for me," Severus noted, "Whatever this thing is, clearly, it has some influence over its users, though what influence that is remains to be seen."

"Thankfully none of us has attempt to communicate through the diary by ourselves," Thea said, "We've always had at least one other member of our group present when attempting to contact Riddle."

"That's weird," Nesme said suddenly, "I tried writing in the dairy and I didn't experience any of that at all…"

Everyone stared at her.

"You what?" Severus asked, aghast.

Nesme looked at him in confusion, "I don't see what the big deal is. Lily and Thea let me try it. I was fine afterwards."

Severus turned accusingly to Lily, "Have you lost your mind?"

Lily glared at Severus, "Don't get so testy. Thea and I just wanted to see if it had that effect on anyone else."

"But Nesme," Severus said, "She'd the most trusting person here. You can't just let her play with an talking inanimate object; it'll tell her anything to get her on it's side."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Nesme said sarcastically.

"Don't blame Lily for this, Severus," Thea said sternly, "It was my idea and I take full responsibility for it."

"It was an asinine idea if there ever was one," Severus retorted.

"We had a legitimate reason for having her try, Severus," Thea said firmly, narrowing her eyes at him, "So I'd appreciate it if you'd trust me."

Severus snapped his mouth shut with a click, glaring at her.

Unfazed, Thea continued, "There has been a reoccurring factor in all of your experiences with the diary, including mine."

"And what factor is that," Severus sneered.

"We all come from magical families," Thea stated bluntly, "At least on one side of the family, if not both."

Lily nodded, eager to defend her reasoning, "Thea said there was a common occurrence with all your interacting with Riddle. At some point or another, he asks about your heritage."

He asked if your parents went to Hogwarts," Thea went on, "What your last name is, whether you are in the same house either of your parents were in. He was fishing for information on the background of whomever he spoke to."

"We all know Riddle is a fanatical blood purist at this point," Severus said, rolling his eyes, "It was pretty obvious even when he was questioning me. I fail to see how any of that is a ground breaking discovery."

Lily breathed deeply through her nose, trying not to lose her temper at Severus's impatience, "Well, when I used the diary—"

"You used it too?!" Severus cried, "Does anyone have any common sense?"

"If you'd let me finish," Lily said mockingly sweetly, narrowing her eyes at Severus, "I was going to say that your reaction to the diary may be entirely based on your blood."

Severus blinked, "What?"

"When Nesme revealed that her mother and biological father are in fact muggle," Thea explained, "The diary stopped responding to her. On top of that, she experienced no ill effects of writing in the diary the way we did."

"And that's how it turned out for me too when I revealed my lineage," Lily added.

"So what does that mean?" Lupin asked curiously.

Thea glanced around the table, "Severus already made it clear; this thing is trying to influence us, similar to the diadem. The muddled thoughts, the confusion, that's it trying to get something from us, or to get us to do something. But whatever its plan is, it doesn't want anything to do with muggleborns."

"It doesn't want our dirty muggleborn hands involved in its plans," Mary mused.

"It wants to reopen the chamber," Severus murmured, mystified.

Thea nodded gravely while everyone else looked on in shock.

"What was that, Sev?" Mary asked.

"The chamber," Severus elaborated, staring hard at the diary, "Riddle opened the chamber when he was in school. He probably saw his relation to Syltherin as a sign he must carry out his ancestor's work. But he couldn't succeed while in school, not with Dumbledore watching him."

"So he closed it down and made the diary to reopen it for him at a later date," Davis said, eyes wide in realization.

Thea nodded to Davis, "But he doesn't want muggleborns because only those 'worthy' may be used by him to open the chamber and carry out Salazar's work."

Nesme rubbed her chin in thought, "Funny, you almost think it would be more poetic to have a muggleborn open the chamber. You know, make them responsible for wiping out their own kind."

"Yes, but this is a task set by the Great Salazar Slytherin," Severus reminded her, "If Riddle is as proud of his heritage as we think he is, he wouldn't want just anyone to take on the task he viewed himself ordained for by fate. He's thinks highly of himself and lowly of muggles, despite his own paternal lineage. He wouldn't let some 'lowly' muggleborn bear the 'glory' of his grand plan. He'd rather use a pureblood or half blood."

Severus paused, furrowing his brow, "In fact, he seemed rather fixated on my own half-blood status."

"What better way for Riddle to spit on the relation to his father than to have another Half blood carry out his plan and besmirch their own muggle half," Thea said musingly, "It goes without saying that you're not going to be writing in this diary anymore, Severus. If he's most interested in you, then we need to keep you away from it."

"No arguments here," Severus said, "Though I would like to be kept informed if you do use it anymore."

"Agreed," Thea replied, "Admittedly though, we will probably be keeping the diary closed from now on. Too risky. Now that I think about it, asking too much about the chamber on our own would seem suspicious to Riddle if he does have a connection to the diary still."

"Right," Davis agreed, "He'd want to have us under some control by this thing before it revealed anything to us. Otherwise he might realize our goal is to thwart him."

"There's one thing I don't get," Lupin said suddenly.

"What's that, Remus?" Lily asked kindly.

"Well, you all said the diary was left in Thea's cloak by Malfoy," Lupin began, "If Riddle did make the diary with the sole purpose of reopening the chamber, wouldn't he have rather left it somewhere in the school where it can be found by someone? What connection does Lucius Malfoy have to Riddle that would lead to the latter possessing the diary?"

"That's…a very good question," Severus admitted, "Lucius attended school after Riddle already graduated. As of late, Lucius only surrounds himself with other purebloods and men of status. Riddle is neither, first for his blood and second for the fact that no one has apparently heard of him since he left school; not exactly the influential socialite Lucius would cling to."

"But they're both Slytherin's fixated on blood purity," Lily pointed out, "Maybe they met by chance once."

"Or they met through one very formidable source," Severus theorized, "You-Know-Who."

"That madman would probably jump at the chance to show up Dumbledore's claims on how safe the school is," Thea said nervously.

"And Riddle would provide him with the perfect way to do that," Severus said, "Given the circumstances, I'm sure he could overlook Riddle's muggle half if the man brought him something as useful and famed as the Chamber of Secrets."

"Which would be the perfect way for him to meet Lucius," Lily added, "Riddle is already suspected by Dumbledore, he probably gave the diary to Lucius so that he himself would not have any connection to the chamber reopening."

"And then Lucius stashed it on the first pureblood he wouldn't be opposed to framing," Thea said moodily, "What a lovely future in-law."

"Well he didn't count on his intended patsy already knowing of Riddle and therefore being wary of the diary," Davis said, "He really screwed the pooch on this one. If he'd stuck it with any of his half-wit friends still in school, he may have gotten one of them to fall under its spell and do Riddle's bidding. Instead, the pounce gave it to the one person most likely to be cautious of anything falling into her possession, especially after she'd recently visited him."

"His pride oftentimes leads way to arrogance," Severus drawled, sneering at the image of Lucius's pompous face. Then he frowned. Something about this conversation was prodding at the back of his mind. Something very familiar and forgotten.

"Wait," Severus dug around in his bag, "It's Lucius."

"What's Lucius?" Lily asked, raising a brow in confusion.

"The clue I got on Halloween," Severus declared, finally finding what he was looking for. He pulled out an old potion vial he had shrunken down. Pulling a small snippet of parchment from inside, he unrolled it carefully.

"Look familiar?" he asked, presenting it for the others to see.

"A secret is hidden among pompous pride," Thea read, "Vain arrogance loosens lips thought sealed…it does fit him to a tee now that I think about it."

"And he's an vain moron arrogant enough to give a valuable item away to someone he hoped to curse out of spite," Nesme said excitedly, "How did we not realize it before?"

"I think most of us thought maybe the diadem was the secret the note was talking about," Thea confessed, "I mean, Sim and I did find it right around the time Severus got this message. They correlated in timing."

"Except the message may not have been talking about the diadem after all," Severus said, "The question is: who knew Lucius had this thing and would warn us about it?"

"Well look at the other part," Mary said, "Those who serve unseen see all."

"And 'One who is silent hears whispers the loudest'..." Davis read, examining the note, "Could it be a house elf?"

"They'd be disobeying their master big time to sneak this note," Thea pointed out, "And any House Elf of Lucius has to be taught to punish themselves brutally for disobedience. I can't see one taking the risk."

"Besides, it was a wizard who slipped this into my pocket," Severus explained, "Too tall to be a House Elf."

"It could be stood House Elves standing on one another's shoulders," Nesme suggested.

"So two elves of the Malfoys risking extreme punishment to warn us," Severus said skeptically, "Unlikely."

"So why else would they mention house elves?" Davis asked.

"A house elf might have told them," Mary threw in.

Severus shook his head, "They would still be disobeying the master by speaking of it to outsiders."

"Unless," Lupin said thoughtfully, "It…wasn't an outsider…"

"If you know something, I suggest you spit it out, Lupin," Severus demanded tartly.

Lupin scratched the back of his neck, "I'm just tossing the idea out there but…according to Sirius," he grimaced at mentioning his old best friend, "The Black family House Elves technically now are required to obey the Malfoys and Lestranges as well, as a result of the union of Narcissa to Lucius and Bellatrix to Rodolphus. So, logically, one can assume the Malfoy's elves are under the same orders to obey all three families. Meaning someone within those families could have been informed of the diary by an elf without it being a true sign of disobedience."

"The only one who didn't turn out as mad as Bellatrix or as evil as Lucius is Sirius Black and he's been disowned," Davis pointed out, "So who remaining within any of those families would willing warn us so that we could try and stop it?"

Lupin turned an expectant gaze upon Severus, "I'm sure you could think of someone, Snape…"

Snape raised a brow, "You can't mean Regulus?"

"The little Black?" Nesme gasped.

Lupin shrugged, "You'd know him better than any of us since you used to run in the same circles, but from what Sirius told me, Regulus has always been rather close with the family house elves. In all honesty, he treats them far better than Sirius or anyone else in his family."

"He does have a soft spot for them," Severus noted.

"He does?" Thea asked in surprise.

Severus nodded, "He keeps it very well hidden at school—I doubt his housemates would be thrilled to find he treats his servants like people instead of property—but it's true. His family's oldest living house elf, Kreacher, has always been his closest companion. It wouldn't be that farfetched for him to have bonded with Malfoy's elves when the families merged."

"The little one I encountered at Malfoy manor was unexpectedly concerned for my safety," Thea recalled, eyes going wide, "He didn't want me in the room the diary was hidden in. He clearly knew it was dangerous."

"Then given his attempts to keep it from you, he doesn't like the evil within his master's house," Severus summed up.

"You think that little elf told Regulus about the diary?" Lily asked, "Even if that is true, why would Regulus help us? He's well on his way to joining You-Know-Who."

"He's on the fence," Severus revealed, "Whenever I talk to him it is clear he has mixed feelings about where his allegiance should lay. He might think purebloods are superior, but it doesn't sound like he feels muggles should be harmed or mistreated. He just wants more freedom with his magic, outside of the statue of secrecy."

Severus looked down, "That was one of the appeals for many of us who feel trapped."

Lily nearly reached out to take Severus's hand, but stopped short when Mary rested her head on Severus's shoulder.

"Either way," Severus went on, oblivious to Lily's inner conflict, "Regulus may not know what to think about muggles, but he does feel strongly about house elves. He's starting to realize that whatever future You-Know-Who is promising his followers, it doesn't include better treatment for his beleaguered friends."

"All the more reason for a house elf to warn him about the diary," Lupin stated, "Because it knows he might be willing to put a stop to this."

"Well done, Remus," Davis praised, "It would seem recruiting you was the right idea."

Lupin flushed under the attention as everyone smiled at him, with the exception of Severus who continued to glower stubbornly.

"If Regulus is having second doubts we need to keep that to ourselves," Thea announced, "Do not seek him out."

"What?" Nesme asked, "Why not? If he's one of the good guys, he should be helping us."

"He's our in to the happenings of the Death Eater recruits," Thea explained patiently, "Right now, what he learns in there could prove very useful, especially where Lucius and this chamber are concerned. If we approach him openly as a friend, he's allies will grow suspicious. Severus turned his back on their cause and none of us were never supportive of that cause to begin with. We want them to think we hate him and he hates us; that way they are more inclined to share information with him believing it will be well kept."

"It is my suggestion," Thea went on, "That Severus meet with him discreetly. We are only mostly sure he's the one who sent this message, so play it close to the vest, Severus."

"You can count on me," Severus said seriously.

"But be careful, Sev," Lily urged, "If it turns out Regulus isn't on our side..."

Severus smiled at Lily, "I'll be careful."

"See to it that you do," Mary butt in, slipping her arms around Severus's arm to give it a squeeze, "You mean a lot to me. To all of us, really."

"Even to Simone," Thea added quietly, "If she'd just get her head out of her ass and apologize."

Davis craned his head, looking past their group, "We've got company."

Standing several shelves away, Marlene stood beside a very meek and sad faced Peter. Peter was more behind Marlene than next to her though, peering around her shoulder at their group nervously.

Never taking her eye off the group at the table, Marlene muttered something out the corner of her mouth, to which Peter shook his head frantically. Rolling her eyes with a sigh, Marlene took hold of Peter's arm and yanked him out from behind her. With a push between the shoulder blades, she shoved Peter forward, causing the timid boy to stumble.

Peter turned his watery eyes back to Marlene pleadingly, but the girl only shook her head and pointed at the table sternly. She then turned hard eyes to Lupin.

Lupin sighed, "I should probably go deal with this. I'll catch you all later."

He gathered his things carefully into his bag and slung it over his shoulder, walking over to meet Peter and a glaring Marlene halfway.

"She's been trying to get them to make up," Mary whispered, "Marlene, I mean. She hates how sad Peter's been since the falling out."

Severus scoffed, "What did she expect to happen from him cavorting with idiots? He chose to work with Potter and Black, now he gets to rue his choices."

Mary shook her head, "Marlene doesn't think Peter can really be blamed for going along with everything those two say. Peter's always been a follower; James and Sirius just shouted orders the loudest."

"Still to try and bring that wretched group back together," Severus growled.

"Marlene doesn't care about the other two," Mary admitted, "They made their beds; they can lie in them. That's what she says, anyway. But she doesn't want Peter to lose the closest friend he's ever had over the other two's schemes. From what Peter told her, James had him pretty convinced that Remus was only refusing to prank you anymore because you were blackmailing him with his secret."

Severus rolled his eyes, "Really?"

Mary nodded, "James told Peter that with you being considered a hero for saving me and Lily, Dumbledore wouldn't be able to save face if he expelled you for blabbing Remus's secret. The other two may be acting maliciously, but I think Peter might have honestly though his best friend was in danger."

"And Marlene believes this?" Severus snorted.

"Peter's not a very good liar," Lily pointed out, "It's the reason he hardly talks at all when they get in trouble; he can't come up with plausible excuses like James and Sirius can."

Severus huffed, "Don't tell me you believe this story too?"

Lily gave a half smile, "Would it really be so bad if Peter managed to befriend Remus again? The little guy probably needs a friend."

"Someone Lupin can blab to," Severus groaned, "Brilliant."

"Lupin won't tell him," Thea assured, "I've already sworn him to secrecy on this matter."

Severus looked at Thea skeptically, "Like an unbreakable vow?"

Thea shook her head, "Nothing that serious. Hell, I don't even know how to do that. No, I just weaseled who his crush was out of him and threatened to tell them if he ever spilled the beans."

Severus blinked, "Why that's…downright Slytherin of you…"

Thea grinned, "I didn't get sorted there without good reason."

"Ooh!" Nesme squealed, "Who does Remus like?"

Thea leveled Nesme with a bland look, "I'm not telling you. It's personal."

Nesme pouted, "Spoilsport."

"Well I certainly hope your blackmail is as embarrassing as you say," Severus stated, watching Remus navigate a rather awkward and stilted conversation with a stammering Peter, "Because we can't afford to involve anyone else."

Sure they say that now, but here they are talking about confronting Regulus, so...

So Thea's not so passive without Simone around. That isn't because Simone keep Thea meek or anything, but that Thea is so accustom to never having to worry about things with Simone around. Giving how much she walks on eggshells within her own house, it's a relief to come to school and have the freedom to relax while someone else does the worrying and problem solving. But without Simone around, Thea doesn't want to let her friend down, so she has to bring forth a little more hiss and bite like a good little Slytherin.

Thea's got dirt on Remus. Ooh the mystery! Who could he like?

I can't remember if anyone guessed it would be Regulus who sent the note on Halloween during Slughorn's party. He seemed perfect for the role due to how close he'd be to several of Voldemort's most devoted and fanatical followers, like Bellatrix and Lucius. Being that the latter is both an ass kisser and incredibly arrogant and proud, Regulus would at least have been given some cryptic bragging from his cousin-in-law that he'd been entrusted with something important. That would certainly perk his curiosity. And given the way Kreacher obeyed Bellatrix despite her not being his Mistress or the children of his Mistress and Master, presumably the house elves of the Black family are required to obey ALL family members and extended family-hell Kreacher is required to obey Sirius as the last heir of the House of Black, even though the latter was disowned. So this would give Dobby the loophole to work with on seeking help to stop Voldemort without disobeying Lucius; Lucius trusts Regulus to be on his side, he's now extended family, Dobby could pick up on Regulus waning loyalty and seek him out.

I originally wanted to sign Regulus's note as R.A.B., but I didn't want to give away who it was so easily.

Review folks!