Hiya, folks!

Thanks for all the well wishes, it means a lot. Unfortunately I'm still sick and struggling through these antibiotics, What's worse, they'd killed off the good bacteria in my gut necessary for healthy digestion, so I'm having tummy troubles now too. Goody!

And to top it off, I've been without my computer since I got the kidney infection. My laptop charger died so I have a rapidly dwindling battery life on my computer until the replacement comes in. In order to have enough power to enter my chapters and upload, I've been avoiding using my computer at all until today to do the update. This means I've been using my phone for most every thing.

Which leads me to my next topic. If any guests who have left reviews find they haven't shown up, I apologize. I have to hit accept on those in the 'moderate review' section, which for some reason cannot be accessed in the phone format of . When I finally got on my computer today to approve them, they'd vanished.

If Someone Cared Enough

Chapter Eighty: What's More Than Double Trouble?

"There's more of them," Regulus declared quietly one April morning.

The others looked up from their class notes, sequestered away in one of the corners of the library.

Severus raised a brow, "More of what, exactly?"

"More of—," Reg paused, looking around their furtively before leaning in closer to hiss, "More of those cursed items Riddle made."

That perked everyone up.

Severus sat up straighter, waving his wand as the muffilato spell descended over them.

"We've had our suspicions," he said slowly, "But I take it you may have found something a tad closer to proof?"

Regulus nodded, casting glances around the library before he sat down, "I'll be in a heap of trouble if I'm found sitting with you."

Lily quickly and skillfully disillusioned him, "Charms are my specialty," she explained as Regulus stared at her in mildly impressed surprise.

"You were saying, Reg," Severus prompted.

"Oh right," Regulus focused on the moment at hand, "You know how you wanted to see what information I could pry out of Lucius next time I saw him?"

"We vaguely recall asking you to put your bum on the line for us," Nesme said in a disapproving tone, glaring at Simone and Severus."

"We're all playing with fire here, Nesme," Simone said tersely, "No one said it wouldn't come with any risks."

Regulus cleared his throat, calling everyone's attention.

"I received an owl from Lucius recently," he to his attentive audience, "He wanted to meet me at the next Hogsmeade trip; the one we just went to yesterday, in fact. So I went to meet him…"

{page break}

"You're late," Lucius's tone was short and clipped.

"My deepest apologies, cousin," Regulus said with an exaggerated humbleness, "There was a delay with the departure from Hogwarts. As you know, we can't leave without professor accompaniment and McGonagall we late to the Entrance Hall."

Lucius huffed, "That Shrew of a woman is still hanging on, I see. I was quite hoping she'd have put in for early retirement by now. Or died. Whatever came first." His gleeful tone indicated that he much preferred the latter.

Lucius turned on his heel, leaving Regulus with no choice but to follow after him.

"And of course that buffoon Dumbledore is still Headmaster," Lucius went on, disdain dripping heavily from his tongue, "If the Board of Governors had any sense, they would have listened to my father when he petition to have the old coot relieved of his position. The man clearly took leave of his sense years ago. I mean, really, allowing some half-breed giant to look after the school. That savage oaf is a bigger threat to the school than anything in the Forbidden Forest!"

Regulus just hummed his assent noncommittally. He'd never bothered much with getting to know their groundskeeper. If anything, he was merely baffled by how the man ever was conceived. A She-giant would be three times the size of any normal man; how would that even work?

Despite his rather mind boggling heritage, he truly did seem harmless, perhaps too much of a simpleton to entertain a thought of ill will towards others.

Lucius was content to carry on his one-sided conversation, probably preferring to have others to be seen and not heard. "I hope school hasn't been too difficult for you, dear cousin. What with all the half breeds and muggleborns running rampant in there."

"I've managed," Regulus said with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

"I can't imagine how," Lucius said in disbelief, "It must be maddening to have to have your education ruined by some bumble halfwit mudbloods; the lot of them stumbling around blindly without the simplest grasp on magic."

"Evans manages just fine," Regulus said before he gave it a second thought.

Lucius's lip curled in disgust at the mention of Lily, "Yes, well I'm sure she's spent much of her time being carried on Snape's coattails."

Lucius made a noise of derision, "The fool threw his entire future away just to get in between the legs of some classless, mudblood tart. He'll have to lay in that bed he made when the time comes."

"I take it you have something planned for him?" Regulus asked curiously.

Lucius shrugged, thought a smirk tugged at his lips, "Not in so many words."

Lucius stopped outside the Three Broomsticks, his glare sending some approaching first years scurrying the opposite direction.

After a few moments of watching Lucius tap his foot impatiently, it dawned on Regulus that his cousin-in-law was waiting for him to open the door.

"Allow me," Regulus said, quite put upon. As he tugged open the door, Lucius breezed past him without so much as a thank you, waltzing into the tavern with imperious entitlement.

"I thought we were going to the Hogs Head," Regulus noted, looking around at the merry making students and tipsy adults laughing raucously. It was a stark contrast to the dimly lit and often times foreboding atmosphere of the brooding pub down the lane.

Lucius scoffed, "The Hogs Head? Don't be foolish, cousin."

He wrapped an arm around Regulus's shoulders, guiding him across the floor to the nearby stairs, "The Hogs Head is hardly the most inconspicuous place to meet when so many eyes are on you. Might as well put a sign on your back that invites others to listen in on your conversations."

"Dumbledore no doubt has his minions' eyes on me," Lucius continued lowly, "As he does anyone else with aims to rebuild our world to something glorious. No, the Hogs Head is too suspicious; he'd doubtlessly have spies there."

"Besides," Lucius added as he pushed open the door to one of the upstairs rooms, "It's unfortunate that I can't summon you to my manor while school is in session. I'm settling enough as it is for these humble accommodations," he sniffed disdainfully at the cozy fireplace and homey, modest décor, "I'd be sitting in squalor at the Hogs Head."

Lucius sat down in the chair nearest to the fire, one leg crossed over the other and an elbow on the arm rest propping up his chin.

"Join me, won't you?" he beckoned of Regulus.

Regulus sat in the opposite chair, regarding Lucius carefully.

"Not that I don't enjoy speaking with my most esteemed extended family," Regulus said, "But is there a reason you called me here today?"

Lucius smirked, "Can't a man come to see how his youngest and favorite cousin-in-law is doing?"

"Pleasantries are beneath our kind," Regulus said, quoting the years of his mother's grooming, "It is up to our lesser to make nice to us."

Lucius's grin broadened, "Right you are, Regulus. I suppose this is a simple visit."

"Then may I inquire what need you have of me?" Regulus asked carefully.

Someone chooses that moment to knock on the door.

"Enter," Lucius commands.

A willowy slip of a boy enters with a tray, heavily laden with various cheese spreads and a bottle of wine complete with two glasses.

"That will be all," Lucius dismisses the young man once the tray is sent down between the two purebloods, "You may leave us."

The young man nods jerkily, being sure to shut the door firmly but quietly as he quickly departs.

"A squib," Lucius says in lieu of explanation, "The owner gave him a part time job here. Eager for coin, that one. Not that it's surprising; rarely do wizarding establishments want to hire a magic-less disgrace. He's good for discretion, not foolish enough to discuss our visit here for the amount I paid him."

Lucius looks over the spread before him, distaste curling his lips.

"Hardly a quality wine," he observes in displeasure, examining the bottle, "I would have expected such a popular tavern to have acquired a finer selection after so many years of good business. A pity."

Regulus saw a perfect opportunity, "If I may…I have been meaning to give you something that would fit just such an occasion."

He produced a bottle of deep crimson liquid from his robes, having made sure to snag it from his room and shrinking it down to carry with him before coming out today.

"Sanguine Sauvignon," Lucius noted approvingly, taken the proffered bottle, "And a remarkable vintage at that."

"A gift," Regulus stated, "As thank you for graciously joining your lineage with my family's."

"I find it unlikely that a student would be able to order wine delivered to their school," Lucius remarked casually.

"As you should," Regulus said with a grin, "Mother sent it at my request. I'm rarely denied by her."

Lucius chuckled, "Always happy to reward the one good child she bore. Can't say I blame her with that blood traitor brother of yours. Perhaps if she had given him more proper incentive like this, he wouldn't have forsaken his heritage and legacy for some muggle flight of fancy."

Regulus nearly bristled at the slight against his mother; there were some things one simply didn't say in civil conversation. Lucius, however, always had a knack for skating a precarious line on civility with his condescension, "Pity my brother couldn't be reasoned with."

"Indeed," Lucius said, pouring himself a glass of Regulus's wine.

"A fine bouquet," he stated, swirling the liquid in his glass just beneath his nose, "This isn't an easy wine to come by; they've banned the use of giant's blood in most liquors these days."

"No doubt the annoying endeavors of spineless humanitarians," Regulus cracked wryly.

"No doubt," Lucius agreed, taking a relishing sip.

"So tell me," Lucius said, leaning forward in his chair, "How are things really at my old alma mater? Anything…peculiar happening?"

"How do you mean," Regulus asked, accepting his own glass of wine. He tipped the glass to his lips, but kept his lips firmly shut. Lucius fortunately did not notice.

"Just curious," Lucius said innocently, "Are you sure nothing concerning has occurred as of late?"

"You mean aside from the Slytherin Dorms catching fire?" Regulus asked lightly, watching Lucius over the rim of his glass, "Something like that?"

Lucius's eyebrows raised in surprise, "A fire? That's all. There's been nothing more…noteworthy?"

"I'd say Fiendfyre in my dorms is noteworthy enough," was Regulus's clipped reply, "Cousin, is there perhaps something I should be expecting?"

Lucius sat back in his chair in disappointment, "Apparently not at the moment."

He waved off Regulus's questioning look, "Never you mind, dear cousin. It's business for far higher ranked followers than you."

"You've received orders from the—" Regulus shot a surreptitious glance to the door, "Him?"

"Maybe I have," Lucius said with evasive smugness, "I really can't say…"

"Lucius…"

"Rest assured, Regulus," Lucius soothed, "Whatever is or isn't to befall Hogwarts, no harm will come to you."

Regulus feigned indifference, his mind going to the diary Lucius once had in his possession. Clearly, Lucius had hoped whatever plans he held for that diary would already have been carried out.

"May I offer you another glass, cousin?" Regulus asked, "To celebrate our Lord's obvious favoritism of you."

Lucius preened under the compliment, his pride ever his Achilles heel, "I'd be much obliged."

It didn't take long to get Lucius suitably smashed after that, the braggart scion of the Malfoy line unwilling to admit he had never actually tried Sanguine Sauvignon before. He was hopelessly unaware of how strong it was and his penchant for overindulging in delicacies proved his downfall.

Regulus had long since switched to the weaker, less potent wine the staff had brought in; Lucius too inebriated to notice.

"So tell me, dear cousin," Regulus began, "What's it like being one of his most prized lieutenants? Only a select few have ever been deemed worthy of such."

Lucius puffed up like a prideful bird—a drunk one at that, "It's truly the highest honor one can have bestowed upon them; our lord sees me as the cream of the crop, one of the echelons that will usher in a grand new world order. One we grand be—hic—proud of."

Regulus raised his brows, doing his best to appear impressed, "That certainly does sound like an honor. I imagine our lord would have to trust you an awful lot to give you such responsibilities."

"Oh, he does," Lucius said with great relish, slurring his words, "He trusts me so much he would task me with missions of upmost importance."

Regulus cocked a brow, "Surely, you aren't that trusted."

Lucius was quick to rise to the bait, "But I am. He's given me the most crucial task, one no one else could possible possess the skill to fulfill."

"You'll see," Lucius insisted, leaning forward conspiratorially, "Soon, Hogwarts will be exactly as our lord intended it; mudblood free!"

"And how would you accomplish that?" Regulus inquired, feigning interest.

"I was entrusted with an item," Lucius attempted ineffectually to whisper, "Something only I and the dark lord know of. With it, I shall open…the Chamber of Secrets."

Regulus chuckled mockingly, knowing Lucius would take it as a challenge, "You've been tasked with finding a chamber from an old ghost story?"

"The chamber is real!" Lucius hissed.

Regulus smirked behind the rim of his glass, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because it spoke to me," Lucius stated shakenly, no doubt referring to the diary, "I wrote in it…and it wrote back!"

"And dare I ask what it said?" Regulus inquired nonchalantly.

"That the chamber exists!" Lucius growled in frustration, "I'm telling you the truth, Reggie. It has the power, and I alone was trusted with it's safe keeping." He preened like a prized peacock.

"So where is this mythical item?" Regulus queried sardonically.

Lucius waved the question away as if it were a fly, "At Hogwarts of course. Can't open the chamber from here, now can I?"

Lucius leaned back in his chair, lazily swirling the amber liquid in his glass as if mesmerized by it's movements.

"You'll see," he slurred, "The dark lord trusts me…just like he trusts Bellatrix with that stupid cup…"

"Cup?" Regulus asked, sitting up straighter, "There are other items? Lucius?"

Regulus cursed when Lucius began snoring, the later slumped in his chair and a drunken stupor.

"The hell with this," Regulus growled, standing up. He strode over to Lucius prone form and pushed Lucius's head back with impatience.

Using two fingers to hold Lucius's eyelids open, Regulus pulled out his wand with his free hand.

"Legilimens," he incanted lowly, secretly praying this worked.

Instantly he was dragged into the sleepy, incoherent mess that was a slumbering Lucius's mind. Without an alert and focused consciousness, Lucius head was a jumble of random thoughts, some bordering on abstract.

Regulus shifted through the images before him, searching for the lingering trace of Lucius once conscious thoughts.

"Got it," Regulus said to himself, diving into the unknown.

The diary flashed in front of his eyes, a voice whispering high and sinister in and incomprehensible tongue.

A cup appeared before him, cradled reverently in slim, feminine hands with all the care of a lover.

A badger sat emblazoned on the front in fine layers of golden filigree.

Pulling himself out of Lucius mind, Regulus shook off the chill that came with unwarranted rummaging through people's heads.

"Obliviate," he intoned hollowly, pointing his wand at his cousin-in-law's head.

Summoning a Black house elf to bring Lucius safely home, Regulus departed to the crowded streets of Hogsmeade.

{page break}

"So I'm telling you, there's more than one of these cursed things," Regulus finished seriously.

Everyone mulled over this new piece of information carefully.

Severus frowned; it would seem their concerns were proven quite valid.

He looked at Regulus, "As I said, we'd been given reason to believe that Riddle sought other items to corrupt. It would seem now we know he actually accomplished such a feat."

Severus folded his hands over one another, "I believe the cup you saw in Lucius mind was the cup of Helga Hufflepuff."

Regulus blinked, "You're kidding, right? That thing has been missing for centuries, rumored to be hidden away by her descendants. I get that it has a badger on it, but that could have been inspired by her cup. It doesn't actually mean the one I saw was hers."

"Helena Ravenclaw made mention that Riddle had inquired to her about the other founder's most famed possessions," Severus revealed, "The cup in particular."

Regulus shook his head, "That still doesn't mean he found it."

"Riddle worked at Borgin and Burkes for some time after graduation," Remus pointed out, "He had access to people claiming to possess priceless valuables. It wouldn't have been hard for him to eventually find a collector claiming to have one of the founders' prized possessions."

"He also suddenly vanished without a trace," Thea added, "Not even leaving a note of resignation."

"He's been missing ever since," Lily said, "Would it really be so wide a jump to make that he found what he was looking for and ran off with it?"

Regulus worried his lip between his teeth, "A cursed object is bad enough, but one as powerful as a founders'? That's just asking for trouble. How can we be certain he has it?"

"Well the dumbest choice would be to find out from Bellatrix," Severus drawled, "Though with her skill in the mind arts, you'd be caught in a second and flayed alive."

Regulus blanched, "Any other options?"

"We're going to have to find out more about Borgin and Burkes," Nesme stated, "Maybe there's something that happened to coincide with Riddle's departure, perhaps a clientele list or items bought or sold at the shop."

"I think I know someone who could help," Remus confessed, "Mundungus Fletcher."

Severus sneered, "That filthy scoundrel?"

Remus raised his hands, "Hear me out. James and Sirius used to pay him to buy adult restricted items in Diagon Alley; things they were too young to get away with purchasing. Mundungus will do anything for money. And his reputation is so bad, no one would bat an eye at him going into Borgin and Burkes; they'd just assume he was trying to sell off something he stole as some rare relic or something."

Simone rubbed her chin in thought, "It isn't like any of us could waltz down Knockturn Alley without raising a few questions."

"Not with polyjuice potion," Davis muttered, "And that takes months to brew."

"Months we don't have," Severus said sourly, "Alright, Lupin, we'll go with your idea. I suppose it's our best shot right now. Besides, if we're so worried about being found out, we could just Obliviate Mundungus afterwards."

Simone scowled, "I get that this time is important, but in the future, let's try to not get too wand-happy with that spell. Healers still haven't fully discovered the extent of damage obliviation actually does to a person. Mundungus might be a shrewd and greedy bloke, but I'd rather we not be responsible for giving him brain damage."

"Trust me," Regulus assured, "I'm well equipped in obliviating in the most discreet and non-invasive fashion. I've been…unfortunately trained rather well in the subject."

He cleared his throat awkwardly at the looks on everyone's faces.

"My," he began embarrassedly "…my mother favored the practice. Her way of doing what she wanted without being held responsible for it. She used it a few time on Sirius growing up so he wouldn't remember punishments she doled out."

"I'm not sure how to feel about that," Severus confessed finally, "Disgusted? Upset?"

"How about appalled?" Davis suggested.

Severus nodded, "Appalled sounds good. Everyone for appalled."

There were several muted head nods from the group.

"Sorry you had to grow up like that, Regulus," Lily said sympathetically. She wanted to pat his arm, comfort him in some way, but she resisted because she didn't know if he'd be comfortable with that. Regulus may have changed his views because of his love of house elves, but that didn't mean he was one hundred percent okay with muggleborns yet.

"It is rather…disturbing for an upbringing," Severus agreed.

"Though not completely unheard of," Thea said sadly.

Simone wrapped an arm around her in concern, letting Thea leaned into her embrace.

"Well," Remus said with forced cheer, trying to break the tension, "It sounds like we've got a general plan in order for now. I'll see what I can scrounge up to pay Mundungus…"

"Don't bother," Simone said, "I've got plenty of cash to buy his silence and compliance."

Remus smiled, relief spreading across his face as he absentmindedly smoothed down his ratty, old school robes, "Thanks, Simone."

"Well," he added, standing up, "I'd better go find Peter. He's been a little out of sorts lately, so I don't want him to be alone." He left with a wave to them all.

Nesme stood up next, gathering her things, "Davis and I should go fill Mary in on everything."

"Where is she, anyway?" Regulus asked, looking around the group as though the brunette would magically reappear, "I haven't seen her around you all lately."

"She wanted to jump Snape's bones, but Lily beat her to it," Simone said crassly, pulling out Thea's chair and helping gather her things.

Severus went the color of a ripe tomato.

"We haven't done anything!" Lily sputtered indignantly.

"Only a matter of time," Simone singsonged waltzing away with Thea in tow.

Regulus looked back and forth between the remaining pair, "So you two really are together? I thought you were hung up on that Gowan fellow from Ravenclaw? Everyone's been whispering about it. Isn't that what Potter keeps harassing him?"

Lily buried her face in her hands, "It's all one big complicated mess."

"That's seems to be par the course with this group," Regulus mused.

"You have no idea," Severus muttered.

Not really feeling the energy for an author's note here, being sick and all. So just enjoy and review, please :)