December 1978

The moment Freya stepped off the Hogwarts Express with her bag, she was tackled in a constricting hug by her older brother. The eighteen-year-old man placed a sloppy kiss to his sister's cheek, causing her to scrunch up her face and pull away. Lily smiled at the pair as she, Sirius, and Remus watched from a few feet away. Sirius pulled James off his little sister with a laugh. James threw one arm around Freya's shoulders, tossing the other around his wife of only six months, and leading them away from the crowds of people. James exclaimed, "Freya, I've missed you, you pest! Why haven't you been answering my bloody owls?"

Freya shrugged. "Just kept forgetting, James. I've been too busy preparing for the N.E.W.T.s next term to really think about much else."

Freya thought she saw a flicker of a frown on James's face, but then the easy smile returned to his face. "Well, let's apparate home then!" James, Lily, and Freya all apparated back to the Potter house with a single pop, with Sirius and Remus following close behind them. The group walked into the house, and James plopped onto one of the sofas, pulling his sister down beside him. A house elf brought tea, and everyone had a cup as the group relaxed into joking and laughter. Sirius and Remus argued jovially over the decorating as they attempted to put together a Christmas tree in the living room. Freya smiled slightly at the two as they quarreled like an old married couple, then looked down at her tea. The drink had a slight aftertaste that she didn't quite recognize. Suddenly, Freya felt nervous, the way she did when she knew James was up to something, the feeling that was usually precursory to Freya being covered by a slime bomb or some other nonsense. James shook his head at Sirius and Remus, then grinned at Freya, turning his attention to her. "How's the tea?" he asked.

Freya watched him suspiciously. "It has a funny taste, actually," Freya replied. "What did you do to it?" James shrugged, and Freya couldn't help noticing that Lily's smile seemed to falter. "Lily," Freya said. "What has James done to my tea?"

Lily looked away nervously and answered quickly, "Nothing at all, Freya. Why would you think he'd done something to it?"

Freya noticed that Sirius and Remus had quieted down, and turning around, she found they were watching her intently. Freya turned on James again, and asked harshly, "What have you done to me, James?"

James placed his hands on his baby sister's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. After a moment, he said softly, "I had the house elf put Veritaserum in your cup of tea."

Freya's heart began pounding furiously in her chest as all the blood drained from her face. She was realizing that her brother hadn't believed the letters she'd compelled her best friends to write him saying that she was fine. Out of nowhere, Freya slapped her brother as hard as she could across the face, knocking his glasses askew. Jumping to her feet, backing away from James, Freya demanded, "How could you, James? What have I done? Why don't you trust me anymore?"

Freya felt strong hands grasp her upper arms tightly, and she fought against them viciously. It took her a moment to see that it was Sirius who had hold of her. Looking back at James, Freya saw her brother rubbing at the now-tender place on his jaw and cheek where she had hit him. Lily examined it gently, asking if he was all right. As James resettled his glasses on his face properly, he replied tensely, "Yeah, I'm fine. Her bark is worse than her bite." James stood up, then addressed Freya. "I don't trust you anymore because you've clearly started keeping secrets from me. If you're not going to trust me, then I'm not going to be able to trust you, Freya."

Freya kicked Sirius's shin as hard as she could, eliciting a groan from the man, but he still didn't release her arms. "James, hurry up," Sirius complained. "That one hurt."

James sighed. "All right, all right," James conceded. James took a couple steps closer to Freya, then asked, "Freya, what's been going on with you? Why haven't you been answering any of our owls?" Freya bit her lip hard, nearly breaking the skin, in an effort to remain silent, glaring at him defiantly. James groaned, "Ok, let's try something else. Your friends told me that you've seemed depressed and withdrawn ever since term started. Now, for some strange reason, a couple weeks later they owled me again, taking back what they'd told me, saying you were just overworked lately and tired. Now, by itself it might have made sense, but even before that, last summer, it seemed like you were keeping a secret from me that was eating away at you. You didn't seem like yourself. Combine that with people telling me you're hiding away from all of your friends and depressed, and I call that something to be suspicious of. So what is it, Freya? What are you hiding from everyone that's making you act so much unlike yourself?"

Freya's eyes scanned the room, desperate for a way out before she said something she shouldn't. She shook her head hard. James took a gentle hold of her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. Lily stood a step behind James, and she begged her sister-in-law, "Freya, please, just tell us. We only want to help you."

Growing more frantic with every passing moment, Freya finally did the only thing she could think of to try to get away to hide until the potion had worn off. Reaching into her pocket before Sirius could stop her, Freya pulled out her wand and pointed it over her shoulder, casting a Conjunctivitis Curse on Sirius. As pain exploded in his eyes, he let go of Freya so he could cover his eyes. In that second, Freya transformed into a fox and darted between James's legs and around Lily, making Lily squeal as James and Remus turned to chase after her. Freya raced up the stairs as quickly as she could, headed for her bedroom, but the two men behind her caught up to her too quickly. Remus cast the Animagus Reversal Spell on Freya, and the girl fell flat on her face on the staircase. James pulled her to her feet, demanding, "Freya, what the bloody hell are you doing? Is whatever you're keeping from me really worth hurting Sirius like that?"

Sirius's whimpers of pain could be heard as James and Remus took away Freya's wand and dragged her back down the stairs to the living room. Lily was returning from the potion cabinet with a bottle of Oculus Potion for Sirius as the three reentered the room. Lily glared at Freya as she walked past. Forcing Sirius's hands away from his eyes, Lily used a dropper to drip some of the potion into Sirius's swollen eyes. Quickly after the potion was administered, Sirius's eyes returned to normal, and the man could see again. Sirius snapped at Freya, "Bloody hell, Freya, what the hell are you hiding?"

Freya could feel tears building in her eyes, then blinked them away. "Don't make me do this, James, please," Freya begged.

James shoved her down onto the couch and stood over her. "Tough," James said severely. "Tell me the truth, now. No more games. Have you been depressed?"

Freya pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, curling up in a ball on the sofa. "Yes," she whispered. Then she shook her head. "But no. I don't know."

James's face softened slightly at seeing his little sister in so much pain. Sitting down on the couch beside Freya, James wrapped his arms around her as he pleaded, "Tell me what's going on, little fox. Let me help you out of whatever hole you've dug yourself in to."

Freya mumbled, "I don't need help, James. Leave me alone."

Remus sat on the arm of the couch on Freya's other side as he watched the two Potters. "Freya," Remus said soothingly. "Whatever this is, it's tearing you apart. Whoever you've gotten involved with is hurting you."

Freya retorted, her eyes snapping up to glare at Remus, "He's not hurting me." Catching herself a little too late, Freya continued, "No one is hurting me. I'm just depressed, and the only cause is me."

James shook her gently. "Damn it, Freya," James moaned. "Even under Veritaserum, you're not lying to us, but you're doing everything you bloody can to avoid answering the question."

Sirius murmured, "At least she didn't try to make your eyeballs explode." James, Lily, and Remus all turned to glare at Sirius. Turning a little red, Sirius mumbled, "Sorry."

Freya said softly, "I'm sorry, Sirius."

Sirius shrugged. "It's all right," he mumbled from where he still sat on the floor in the spot he fell down after she had cursed him.

James sighed. "Freya," he said, bringing her attention back to him. "Diana and Charlotte said they suspected Regulus Black was somehow involved in whatever was happening to you. They said you watch him constantly, that it's like for some reason your life is suddenly revolving around him, even without you two ever getting near each other. They think there's something more going on here. Is there something going on between you and Regulus Black?"

Freya stopped breathing at James's question. She couldn't allow herself to breathe, because if she did, she would answer James truthfully, and Freya could never allow him to know about the relationship that existed between her and Regulus. After a few moments, Remus sighed. "James, she's holding her breath," Remus said sadly, shaking his head.

James grinned suddenly. "Well, I know just how to make that stop," James said mischievously. Before Freya could realize what was happening, James had attacked his sister's stomach, tickling her until she had no choice but to let out the breath she had been holding with a shriek of laughter. James asked again, "Is there something going on between you and Regulus Black?"

Freya squealed, trying to climb over Remus to get away from James, but Remus merely grinned and grabbed onto her, joining James in the playful interrogation technique. Finally, Freya couldn't hold it in anymore, and exclaimed, "Yes! Ok? Let me go!"

The tickling instantly stopped, and the room grew very solemn. Sirius slammed his fist on the floor furiously, the suddenness of the action making Freya flinch. Remus continued to hold onto Freya where she was laying partially on his lap to keep her from falling to the floor as Sirius growled, "I knew that bloody snake was up to no good. I'm going to kill him."

Freya cried, "Sirius, no! Leave him alone!"

James stared at his sister, raising a questioning eyebrow at her. "Wait, Freya. Are you defending Regulus?" her brother asked sharply.

Freya squirmed in Remus's arms, but to no avail. "Yes," Freya snapped. "He's done nothing wrong; leave him alone."

James frowned. "Freya," he said gently. "The Aurors suspect that Regulus may have been branded with the Dark Mark sometime last year. He's a suspected Death Eater. He's most likely in league with Voldemort already. He's dangerous."

Freya shook her head. "He's never hurt me," Freya mumbled as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Sirius shouted, "He might not have to physically hurt you! Maybe just the threat of being hurt is enough for you, yeah? Maybe you can't even see what he's doing to you. He'll destroy you in the end. He'll pull you into that demented pureblood bullshit of his and their Death Eater mess, and you'll be trapped. Can't you see what he's done to you already? You're lying to your brother, the one person you love more than anyone else in the world, you're keeping secrets from your family and friends and won't talk to any of us. I bet he even made you cast the Imperius Curse on Diana and Charlotte to make them write that second batch of letters to James, didn't he?"

Freya screamed back, "Regulus didn't force me to do anything! I was protecting them; they were asking too many damn questions! They had to shut the hell up before they got hurt."

The other Gryffindors surrounding Freya looked stunned. "Freya," James said gently, as though he thought she had lost her mind. "Are you saying that you really did Imperius your best friends into writing those letters?"

Choking on tears, Freya could only nod in answer. Remus pulled her closer to him and hugged her tightly as she sobbed. Lily quietly left the room, and Sirius fumed where he sat on the rug. James sat back, too shocked to say anything. A few minutes later, Sirius stood up, wand in hand. "That's it; he's taken this thing way too far," Sirius snarled. "He's going to pay for this."

Freya saw Sirius stomping over to the fireplace and shrieked, trying to break out of Remus's grip. "Sirius, stop! Don't you dare hurt him! Leave him alone!"

Remus struggled to keep Freya from attacking Sirius. James eyed his best friend, who stopped and turned around. "James, are you coming with me?" Sirius asked.

James nodded and stood up, readying his own wand. At this point, Freya lost her senses. "James, don't, please!" Seeing her pleading was getting her nowhere, Freya threatened, "If either of you touch him, I'll kill you!" James froze mid-step, and Sirius seemed to pause, contemplating if it was worth it. Freya shouted again, "I mean it, James Charlus Potter, do you bloody hear me? Whatever you do to Regulus, I'll do it to you and make it ten times worse. Don't you dare touch him. That goes for you, too, Sirius Orion Black!"

James's shoulders slumped under an invisible weight at her words. Sirius turned back around, walking back over to Freya, placing his wand in his pocket and cupping her face in his hands, staring deep into her eyes, making Freya squirm nervously. Pushing the now-wild auburn hair out of Freya's face, she was surprised to see what looked like tears in his eyes. He took a deep breath, then said softly, "What hurts the most, Freya, is knowing that every word of what you just said is the truth. If you're threatening James and me like this, then Regulus has twisted you inside so much that you're not even you anymore, because the Freya I know would never even hurt a flobberworm."

Freya tried her best not to cry as James slowly turned back, collapsing into a nearby armchair across the room from his sister. She whispered through the tears, "I'm sorry. James, I'm so sorry."

James just sat there, dropping his head into his hands, breathing heavily to keep his temper even. Remus slowly stood up, forcing Freya to her feet. "Come on," Remus said softly. "Why don't I take you up to your bedroom?"

James suddenly sat up straight, his eyes red from holding back tears. "No," James commanded. "She's staying here. I haven't got all the answers I want yet, and the Veritaserum will wear off soon." James stood up and walked over to Freya, towering over his much shorter sister. "What's going on between you and Black?" James demanded.

Sighing, Freya answered in frustration, "Don't you get that I can't tell you yet? Knowing will put everyone in danger. You already know too much."

James grabbed her arm suddenly. "Oh yeah?" James snapped. "Well, I don't know if you would for me anymore, but I would gladly die if it meant keeping you safe. Or is it too late for you? Did Black give you the Dark Mark already?"

Freya's eyes grew wide as James rolled up her left sleeve. "What?" she exclaimed. "No, of course not! Blood purity is total rubbish; I'd never become a Death Eater. It's not like that."

James muttered several spells over Freya's bare left forearm, making sure she didn't have a Dark Mark hidden under some enchantment. "Fine, then if it's not like that, what is it like?" James said roughly.

"If I tell you and Regulus finds out, there's no telling what he'll do to protect us from being exposed," Freya mumbled.

James raised his voice at her. "I don't care. He picks a fight with us, he'll only be getting himself hurt. So tell me the truth. Now."

Freya flinched at the venom in her brother's voice. "He – He's my boyfriend," she whispered. "We started dating the first week of summer."

Sirius slammed his fist against the wall. "Of bloody course," Sirius growled. Turning on Freya, he shouted, "What the bloody hell is the matter with you? Regulus is a damn Death Eater! He's dangerous; he's tearing you apart. What, did you want to date me after all and decide that you couldn't have me, so you'd take Regulus instead? He's nothing like me on the inside, Freya; hell, you should've known that! What were you thinking?"

James held up a hand. "Wait a damn minute," James yelled. "What the bloody hell do you mean, Sirius, about her wanting to date you?"

Freya, seeing a chance to direct her brother's anger away from her, jumped in. "Sirius slept with me twice last year and never told you," she said quickly. "He never took me out on a proper date, he just slept with me and walked away. He said he didn't want to have a relationship with anyone."

Sirius pointed a finger at Freya, yelling, "Now hold on there! You said you didn't want a relationship either; don't try to put all of this off on me."

"That's it!" James shouted. "I can't take any more of either of you right now. Freya, go to your room. Now! Sirius, go home to your flat. I don't care, just get out. I don't want to see you again before tomorrow."

"Fine," Sirius snapped, walking out the front door and slamming it behind him.

Freya let Remus lead her out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom. The pale purple walls of the room that normally made Freya feel happy and safe suddenly felt constrictive. Remus started to leave, then Freya turned to him. "Remus?" He paused, watching her with a sad but curious look. "I'm really sorry," she said, feeling lame that it was all she could think of.

Remus shrugged. "It's not me you ought to be apologizing to," he said softly. "but if it makes any difference, I forgive you." Freya nodded, and Remus left her alone, shutting the door behind him.

It was early the next morning when James slipped into Freya's bedroom, where she lay in bed, pretending to be asleep, hoping to avoid another fight with him. James sat on the foot of the bed, rubbing her leg soothingly through the quilt. "I'm not angry anymore, Freya," James said softly.

Freya rolled over to face her brother, she reached out and took hold of James's hand. James squeezed her hand tightly. "I'm sorry, for everything," Freya whispered.

James smiled slightly down at her. "It's ok. I forgive you," James replied. "Do you mind?" he asked. Freya nodded her consent and scooted over to make room for him in the bed. Crawling under the covers beside his sister, he gave her a tight hug. "I'm sorry for the way that whole thing went," James mumbled into Freya's hair. "It wasn't supposed to be like that. It was supposed to go a whole lot more smoothly."

Freya shrugged. "I was never going to react well to that line of questioning," she mumbled. "Sirius is right; Regulus is changing me. Six months ago, I'd have never done anything like any of this." Freya paused. "James, you know I'd never hurt you, right? I just – I got so angry when I thought Regulus could be in danger, I didn't want anything to happen to him."

James frowned. "Let's just not talk about that, ok? We both know you were being honest when you said that."

Freya said sadly, "I know, but I'm just saying, I wasn't in my right mind. James, I love him. I'm really really sorry, but if I was threatening Lily, wouldn't you jump to protect her? Wouldn't you be more concerned in that moment about her safety than mine?"

James said, "Yes, but I wouldn't have hurt you to keep her safe. I'd have stunned you, but I certainly wouldn't have threatened to kill you."

Freya rolled her eyes. "Maybe, but you can't really know that without being in that situation, can you?"

James sighed. "Fine, I guess you're right." Freya cuddled closer to her older brother. "Why do you love him? He's clearly not any good for you. How can you be so attracted to him?"

Freya shrugged. "I don't know; I just am."

The next morning, Freya came down the stairs to find Sirius and James sitting together at the kitchen table, reconciled after the fight of the night before. She held her wand behind her back, wishing she didn't have to do what she was about to do. Sneaking up on the two wizards, Freya whispered, "Obliviate." Instantly, she had erased all of the two men's memories of the fight from the night before, the fact that Regulus had anything to do with her, and the fact that she seemed withdrawn and depressed. As far as the two men were concerned, everything was perfectly fine. Slipping away, she sneaked back upstairs and cast the same spell on Lily as she slept in James's bedroom. Finally, she flooed over to Remus's house. Before he could say anything, she erased his memory as necessary, including of the fact that she had been in his flat that morning.

Returning to the Potter family home, James caught sight of Freya and smiled. "Hey, baby sis, how'd you sleep last night?" James asked cheerily.

Freya smiled slightly. "Fine," she lied. Freya breathed a sigh of relief when James and Sirius accepted that response and began joking around with each other again. She hated having to put the people she loved most under Memory Charms, but it was for their own safety, as well as hers and Regulus's, and that was all that mattered. They were all safe.