September 1978

Freya sat down beside Diana as Professor Slughorn began his Potions class. "Good morning, students," Slughorn said cheerily. "Let's start today by assigning permanent partners for the year, as today we will be working in pairs." Working his way down a list, Slughorn finally got to Freya. "Freya Potter and Regulus Black." Freya jumped a little at the mention of their names together, and a moment later, Freya felt a strong, familiar hand brush against the small of her back as Regulus replaced Diana in the seat beside Freya. Regulus winked at Freya as Professor Slughorn said, "Now, we will be working on an especially complex potion today, and it is highly doubtful that any of you will get it perfect on the first attempt, so don't be upset if it turns lavender instead of deep violet. The potion for the next week will be the Antidote to Veritaserum. So students, let's gather up our ingredients and begin. You'll find the recipe on page 57 of your textbooks."

Freya started to stand up to retrieve the ingredients from Slughorn's cabinet, then felt Regulus's hand heavy on her shoulder. "Stay," Regulus said softly in her ear. "I'll get it."

Regulus crossed the room to gather the ingredients, and for the next two hours, Regulus and Freya worked side by side on their potion assignment. When the class reached it's end, their potion was a beautiful shade of violet. Regulus poured the potion into a container and handed it to Freya, who turned it in to Professor Slughorn at his desk as Regulus cleaned up their work station. Slughorn looked both surprised and delighted. "Why, Miss Potter, this potion is perfect! It would appear that pairing you with Mr. Black was a stroke of brilliance on my part. You two make perfect partners," Slughorn exclaimed. "Twenty points to Gryffindor for you, Miss Potter," Slughorn said. Then, calling across the classroom, Slughorn continued, "And twenty points to Slytherin for you, Mr. Black, for this excellent potion."

Freya smiled as she returned to her seat, gathering her things. Diana walked over to her, clutching her potions book in her arms, giving Freya a questioning look. Freya shrugged. "What?"

Slughorn announced, "Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Two feet of parchment on my desk by Monday morning on the Antidote to Veritaserum that we have been working on today. Class dismissed; have an wonderful day!"

Freya walked out the door of the classroom, surprised that she was followed not only by Diana and Charlotte, but also by Regulus. Diana and Charlotte were quick to turn on the Slytherin and proverbially bare their teeth at him. "What do you want, Black?" Diana demanded.

Regulus smirked at the two Gryffindor girls as they sought to protect their friend from what they seemed to consider a threat. Freya smiled playfully at the Slytherin boy, resting her arms on one shoulder of each of her friends. "Oh, come on now, Diana," Freya said easily. "Play nice with the little snake."

Diana and Charlotte frowned at Freya as Charlotte said worriedly, "But Freya, there's clearly something up…"

Freya teased, "Charlotte, don't be paranoid." Freya looked at Regulus with her best bedroom eyes, and loved the reaction in the Slytherin's muscle tension that only she noticed. "Regulus, is there something I can help you with?"

Regulus grinned at her, shaking his head. "I'm sure there is," he said, taking a step closer to Freya, only to find his path block by Charlotte and Diana. "But I don't have anything specific in mind, so I guess there's nothing to be done about it." Winking at Freya, he moved around the three girls and headed in the direction of the Great Hall for lunch.

Diana frowned at Freya. "Ok, I need you to be honest with us. What the hell is going on between you and Black?" Diana snapped.

Freya rolled her eyes. "Diana, there's nothing going on," Freya insisted, turning around and heading up towards the main part of the castle.

Charlotte and Diana struggled to keep up with her as Charlotte said, "You two seemed awfully familiar with each other while you worked on your potion, though. The only other person I've seen you seem that familiar with was Sirius, and you two snogged."

Diana's eyes widened. "Hey, wait a minute! Freya, have you been sneaking around with Regulus Black?" Diana asked.

Freya retorted, "Absolutely not, and if I were it would be none of your business." Turning towards the Great Hall, Freya went inside and sat down at the Gryffindor table for lunch.

October 1978

From across the pub, Freya watched as Regulus laughed at the bar of the Three Broomsticks with Barty Crouch, Jr. Although she was managing to overlook Regulus's Dark Mark and pureblood beliefs, Freya still found herself deeply disliking and disapproving of the company the Slytherin kept. Diana was babbling excitedly about the Halloween party that was going to be thrown in the Gryffindor common room that night. "You are going to be there for the party, aren't you, Freya?" Diana asked.

Freya turned her attention to her best friend and smiled. "Of course."

Diana frowned. "Is everything all right? You're staring at Black again. Are you sure that there's nothing going on between you two? I mean, is he bullying you or something?"

Freya shook her head. "No, no, I keep telling you, there's nothing going on with Regulus Black. So just stop asking about it, ok? What's so wrong with me looking at a cute guy for no reason?" Freya snapped.

Diana looked a little hurt, and Freya immediately regretted getting upset with her. "All right, fine, sorry," Diana mumbled.

Freya sighed. "Diana, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that."

Diana shrugged, still upset. "Whatever, it's ok. Forget about it." Freya looked down at her butterbeer, mentally kicking herself.

November 1978

Pushing Freya on top of the desk in the abandoned classroom, Regulus attacked her shoulder and collarbone with nips and kisses as he pushed her button-up shirt off her, baring her shoulder. Gripping his black hair, Freya tugged Regulus closer to her as she wrapped her legs around his hips. Regulus pulled his lips away from her shoulder, brushed a sweet kiss to her lips, then said softly, "You're friends are getting suspicious again."

Freya sighed. "I don't think they ever really stopped suspecting, Regulus. They just stopped asking for a little while."

Regulus frowned. "If we want to continue on in secret like this, they have to stop asking questions for good. I don't really care how you make them stop, just make it happen."

Freya raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Are you telling me to put them under the Imperius Curse to shut them up?"

Regulus shrugged. "If that's what it takes."

Freya dropped her legs from around the Slytherin's waist, leaning back slightly on the desk to put space between them. "Now, wait a minute. I know you're a Death Eater, but I'm not. I'm not going to be putting anybody under any Unforgiveable Curses. I don't use dark magic."

Regulus sighed heavily, seeming to grow impatient. "Freya, if our relationship comes to light, either you would have to become a Death Eater, or I would die for being with you. You know this; it's why we've kept things between us a secret for so long. But if my life means so little to you that you aren't willing to do what it takes to protect our secret, then by all means, please, let them find out what we've been hiding. If they find out, it will only put them in danger."

Freya asked angrily, "What, you mean from you? Are you threatening to hurt my friends if they find out?"

Regulus cupped her face in his hands, compelling her to look into his eyes as he stared hard at her. "I'm not threatening," Regulus said in a low, sinister voice. "I'm telling you. Protect your relationship; protect your friends. Because I'm only going to protect us. Understand?" Freya frowned, but nodded. Regulus's face softened, and he planted a loving kiss on her lips, her chin, her nose, her forehead, then back to her lips. Pulling away, he smiled gently at Freya and said, "Good. I love you, Freya. I don't want to lose what we have."

Freya smiled herself at that, and replied softly, "I love you too, Regulus."

Freya sat quietly by the fireplace of the empty Gryffindor common room, staring at the wand in her hands. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Freya contemplated what she was considering doing. As the term had progressed, Freya could feel herself slowly withdrawing from her friends and family. She spent considerably less time with her two best friends, and she had sending fewer and fewer owls to her brother as the term continued. She'd been receiving tons of owls, especially lately, from James, Sirius, and Remus, but she'd put off answering any of them. Freya could feel something inside her twisting, changing, shifting. That summer, she had managed to keep her rendezvous with Regulus a secret from her brother and his friends. It was the only secret she had ever kept from her brother, and Freya could feel it eating away at her. She heard Diana and Charlotte enter the common room through the portrait hole, laughing. The laughter died away when they saw her. Coming and sitting down on either side of her, Diana and Charlotte looked at her with obvious worry. Diana asked softly, "Freya, are you ok?"

Freya nodded, not looking at either of the two girls. Charlotte asked, "Are you sure? What's going on with you? You're getting more and more distant every day; you've got us worried."

Diana nodded her agreement. "Freya, please, you're our best friend. We care about you. Ever since you started flirting with Regulus all the time, you've been pulling away from us. When you first got to school, you used to send James owls all the time. When was the last time you sent him an owl?"

Freya shook her head, then muttered, "I don't know."

Charlotte said gently, "He's started sending the two of us owls because you weren't answering him. He's really worried about you. We've had to tell him that the only thing we know is that you seem depressed, and you're not really talking to anyone anymore. You seem so different."

Diana asked quietly, "What is Regulus Black doing to you? This isn't like you…"

Freya shook her head. "He's doing nothing to me. Please, please, stop asking me about him."

Diana furrowed her brow in confusion at her best friend. "What's going on with you? Please, talk to us, we just want to help you."

Freya insisted, "I don't need any help. Please, just leave it alone. Don't ever bring it up again, ok? And stop talking to my brother about me behind my back."

Charlotte argued, "We're not going behind your back, Freya. We're just trying to help."

"Well, stop," Freya hissed. "I don't need any help. I need you to stop asking so many damn questions."

As Freya stood up, Diana declared, "No, Freya. We won't just let this go. Something's happening to you, and until you tell us what it is, we won't stop asking about it."

Freya sighed, dropping her head in defeat. "Fine," Freya muttered. She turned her wand on her two best friends. "Imperio," she murmured, the white mist encircling Diana and becoming absorbed into her mind.

Charlotte jumped up, her mouth open in shock as she stared at Freya. "Freya, what the hell are you doing?" Charlotte demanded. "She's your best friend; how can you do that to her?"

Casting another Imperius Curse over Charlotte, Freya stuttered, "Shut up and sit down." Charlotte sat back down, and both girls were silent. Freya ran a hand threw her auburn hair, tugging at it nervously. "Umm, ok," Freya continued. "Never mention Regulus Black to me again, understand? Don't ask about him or me or the two of us together or anything like that. Write James and tell him it's a false alarm, that I've just been busy and overwhelmed with schoolwork. Tell him that I'm fine, that I'm happy and healthy. Then never mention any of this again, and don't tell anyone ever that I cursed you guys. Got it?" The two seated Gryffindors nodded, causing Freya to breathe a sigh of relief. "Ok, then go to bed I guess, and act like everything's normal in the morning." The blonde and brunette stood up and went upstairs to the dorm room. Freya collapsed onto the couch as tears started building in her eyes. "Damn it, what have I done?" Freya whispered to herself.