Regulus apparated into Grimmauld place with a crack, and looked around his room. There was a tapestry on one of the walls bearing the Slytherin crest, the house all his family had been in for decades. A wardrobe was against another wall, and he quickly hid his muggle clothes inside it. His bed was against the wall opposite the door. He pointed his wand at the knob and locked it, then turned to sit on his bed.

When he had first seen Zia in the bookshop, all he'd wanted to do was annoy her, since she was so serious. She didn't look very old, and he had wondered why she wasn't doing something more fun. It should have been easy to tease her. He raked his fingers through his hair, and laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Curiosity killed the cat…he thought to himself. He had been sure that when he met muggles it would be simply a confirmation of everything he had learned about them. Hundreds of years of pureblood tradition should have meant that much, right? Yet all his time around them had shaken him. Changed him. Zia had a family. A real one. Her little nephew, the two older muggles, they were all so happy together. So warm together. The boy's words came back to him.

"Auntie says that family is people who take care of each other and make each other happy, even if they're not all blood related…" If that was family, then his didn't fit the definition. He frowned as he thought about his parents, aunts, uncles, even his siblings. None of that warmth and kindness was there. To be honest, they didn't take care of each other, not really. Sometimes they looked out for each other, but he'd watched family members be disowned before for holding beliefs or opinions that weren't in line with the family values. If any of them knew about his own exploits, he would be out of the house faster than he could apparate. And as for making each other happy…if money made people happy then they would be rolling in it, but there wasn't any real joy. He smiled thinking of the kid, so fiercely defending his aunt and nana and papa. He didn't think he would have done that as a child talking to someone about his own parents.

He opened the little slip of paper the Mary and Charlie had given him, with Zia's address, and stared at it. He wanted to be part of that family. Even if it was just a cousin, as Tom had suggested. He wanted all of them, even the muggles. It felt strange to him—just a year ago he would have cursed anyone who said he'd like to be in a family with muggles. Now he was jealous. He wasn't sure what to do, how he would figure this out around his blood family. He didn't want any of Zia's little group getting hurt if his family found out. He fell asleep thinking about it, all of it.

Lycoris Black heard the crack that meant her brother apparated in, and wondered where he had been all day. Yet again. His friends said that he had gone somewhere with a girl, but none of them knew exactly where. Nobody knew who she was either. Her eyes narrowed, thinking about the description they had given of the stranger. Wearing muggle clothes, carrying muggle luggage, reading informational books about history. And apparently her brother was meeting this...thing...every couple weeks. She didn't like it. She waited a while, then went up to Regulus' room. Trying the door handle, she found it locked. Her brother only did that when something was bothering him. The girl?

Lycoris pulled out her wand, and quietly unlocked the door. It wasn't difficult to get into her brother's room, she'd had to wake him up before and finding the door locked was never a real obstacle. Slowly, carefully, she pushed open the door, managing to keep it from making a noise as she did. He was sleeping. She scrutinized him. He was wearing robes, he appeared to look normal. Going closer, she saw a little piece of paper on the floor next to his bed. It looked like he had been holding it, but it must have dropped down in his sleep. Stooping quickly, she snatched it up, frowning as she read it.

Zia Gaunt

176 Harton St.

Apartment 9

"Second floor, two doors in to the left."

An address. Zia Gaunt…it must be the girl. And the lovely set of instructions written below, how convenient. Smiling, she pocketed the little paper and left the room. Lycoris fingered her wand. She should pay the girl a visit. Someone had to make sure Regulus was staying with the right people. She rotated quickly and disapparated with the sound of a whip snapping.

A moment later, she was standing in the street near the address. A muggle street. She looked at the building, and entered it. The stench of muggle was everywhere. Second floor, two doors in to the left…she rapped on the door three times.

Zia turned as she heard the knock. They never had visitors except for Nana Mary and Papa Charlie, and she knew it couldn't be them. She stood and walked to the door, opening it a little. A woman was standing there, dressed in black, dark hair and light olive skin. She was a beautiful woman, but there was something about her that made Zia feel uneasy.

"It's late, we don't want anyth—" Zia began, but the woman pulled out a wand and pointed it at her forehead. As the stranger advanced into the apartment, Zia was forced to walk backwards, eyes staying on the woman's. There was cold there. Nothing but cold.

"I'm not selling." The woman looked around casually, keeping her wand pointed at Zia. It was very clear from her expression that she was disgusted with the place. She looked back at Zia. "Muggle house, muggle clothes…everything in here reeks of filth."

Zia's hand inched down to her wand as the woman inspected the apartment. In one swift movement, she drew it out and pointed it back at the woman. Their wands now pointed at each other. "It didn't reek until you walked in." The woman looked surprised, but only for a moment.

"Oh, so you really aren't a muggle. That's alright, it's good to weed out the blood pollution anyways," she said, smiling viciously. Zia was reminded forcefully of everything she had read about Bellatrix Lestrange. This woman seemed very similar in demeanor. "My brother…what was he doing with dirt like you all day?"

"Your brother?" Zia asked as if she didn't know, but it was already obvious who the woman was talking about. Regulus. Had he sent her? She'd thought he handled meeting her family well enough but...

"Yes." The woman's smile widened and she raised her wand. Zia wasn't sure what to do, she'd never been trained to duel. A tiny voice came from the hall.

"Mommy? Who is this lady?" Tom.

"Get back into your room and hide. Do not come out unless I am the one coming to get you, and I tell you it is safe in snake language. If I don't come, get to Nana Mary and Papa Charlie, using any means necessary. Now." Zia hissed the instructions to Tom in parseltongue. His eyes widened and he turned and ran back to his room.

"So you have a little boy? How cute. He must have seen his mommy about to get blasted and ran for it. Smart kid, really. Too bad it won't help him when I'm done with you." The woman said.