Sooo, now we get to start seeing chapters that follow more than one character at a time. The transitions should be easy to follow. Let me know if you have trouble, though. Also, you're gonna get a romance fix with others while waiting for Hermione and Tom to get their shit together. So legoooo.

Chapter Fourteen

September 3rd, 1944.

Towards the end of fifth year every student goes through a career meeting with their Head of House to examine their future goals.

Professor Kettleburn thought Nina Fawley was strange when she'd told him she didn't have any ambitions.

All Nina wanted to do was spend her days in the Nordic mountains, living freely among her clan until she passed on to Helheim (or Valhalla if she was found deserving of it.)

Hogwarts, and by extension the rest of the magical world, only mattered because her parents had insisted she go lest she disgrace House Fawley.

As strange as it was, Nina's grandfather had been the Minister for Magic in Britain when she was eleven and he didn't care what Nina did as long as she was happy.

All Nina wanted was to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and practice seiðr full time on her way to becoming a Völva.

But Nina's father had rejected his mother's ways, rejected the gods as if they were a mere bedtime story; fun to listen to but ultimately just fiction.

He didn't respect the gods. He downright rejected seiðr, and Nina resented him for it.

Nina's mother was something else entirely. She'd been born in France. Nina had heard about it so much over the years; the woman was too bitter about having married Nina's father to let the story go. The two had been unhappy about marrying since the engagement was announced.

Nina believed that after she and Lucas were born her parents never even touched one another. Why bother? One pregnancy and they got an heir and a spare daughter, duty accomplished.

Nina didn't want that life for herself. She refused. She was engaged to Orion now and she would do what she could to make it work without compromising herself to do it. She had a few ideas on how she could get Orion on board, too.

Yes, other than being happy and free she didn't really want anything for herself. Her ambitions were for her friends; she wanted so much for them all. But above all, she wanted them to achieve their own goals.

She wanted Orion to be more confident in himself. He was so smart, and funny, with a streak of candor that sometimes made her just want to hug him (or punch him, depending.) And he was genuinely kind underneath his social mask. Sometimes he could be reckless, too, but that streak was mostly tempered by his very Slytherin sense of self-preservation. It was unacceptable that his father treated him like he wasn't worth anything but his ability to reproduce for the House of Black. She didn't have proof, Orion hadn't admitted to it, but she was fairly sure that Arcturus physically abused Orion.

If that turned out to be true, Nina would slit Arcturus's throat and laugh as the man choked on his own blood.

Nina wanted Abraxas to lead his family's business into a new age of all industries they involved themselves in. He was exactly the sort of man who could do it, too. He was focused, confident, knowledgeable and decisive. He had the uncanny ability to forecast more than one outcome from a single decision in a mere moment; and he could decide on the best course of action. With his father currently holding the reins of the company in a vice grip it was beginning to lag behind the competitors as the elder Mr. Malfoy refused to adapt to newer innovations.

She wanted Lytherial and Lysander to be happy, and capable of choosing their own destinies.

Lytherial was an exceptionally gifted artist, and if she had the opportunity Nina knows the other girl could make it to a gallery, not that there were many in the magical world but she knows of several pureblood families that wouldn't flinch at a high price for a quality custom painting.

Lysander was a talented musician, he could pick up any instrument and have it mastered in mere hours, and he was quite the poet. His music was original, and hauntingly beautiful. Nina would love to see him on a stage somewhere, earning the love of the magical community with his voice and the words of his soul.

Nina wanted people to notice Enoch more. He grasped onto complex topics with an ease she'd never be capable of. He was quietly brilliant; she'd never beaten him in a game of Wizard's Chess in all her years knowing him. Enoch was shy, and gentle, and sometimes when they were studying together she could see his eyes light up as she asked him a question that he knew the answer to. He was patient, enough so that he was able to help first years when they found something difficult to grasp that was easy to most others.

Zephyrus wanted the government to mind their own business and adapt a more libertarian approach. This was mostly so he could practice his religion in peace and Nina quite agreed for her own personal reasons. She would stand up for him at any moment if someone began to berate him or otherwise disrespect him or his lifestyle. Zeph always became so passionate when he spoke of anything to do with the old magic and the Roman Pantheon and watching him blossom when he talked about Jupiter reminded her of the way she felt when she spoke about Loki and Skaði.

She wanted to see Thoros as the Minister and understood, more than most, why he was so concerned about muggles becoming a threat once again. She'd been in the middle of London when muggles were dropping explosives on people while innocent children were separated from their parents. And others, like Tom, were thrown about by the shockwaves.

What she'd portkeyed into when she went looking for Tom during the winter break of their fifth year still haunted her nightmares. She'd saved Tom, but she sometimes worried about how she almost hadn't.

Muggle weaponry was becoming more advanced and at an alarming rate. If nothing was done (either to advance themselves or stop the muggles) the muggles may be able to overpower the magicfolk, as they had nearly done hundreds of years ago.

That day she'd gone to save Tom was the first time she'd ever seen a dead body; a small child that was so mangled and bloody she'd barely recognized it as human.

She didn't want to see what a bomb could do to a family of magicfolk. It would make burning their people at the stake, or drowning them in a river, seem like child's play in comparison.

Nina suppressed the tremor in her body as she thought that Tom had been close to becoming a casualty of muggle weaponry.

As for what Nina wanted for Tom?

Oh, Tom was going to rule the world. He'd have all the governments and every player in the game simpering at his feet. It was one of the only things she was absolutely sure of. Nina had seen it.

"Fawley."

Nina looked over at the new voice, recognizing Orion as he came into the observation room.

If anyone wanted to find Nina at night (if she wasn't out doing some kind of ritual) she would likely be found in the astronomy tower, staring at the moon.

She smiled at him and patted the other side of the windowsill she was sitting on. "Evening, everything alright?"

He sat, mirroring her pose. "Yes, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. First day of head duties," she laughed a little, stretching her arms above her head, shoulders and back popping, "I'm a little tired but I caught sight of the moon on my way back from the library and decided to come up and sit a minute. What are you doing in this part of the castle?"

"Just came in from having a fag and I noticed you up here." Orion said, turning his head to stare out at the stars. He had just come in from smoking, but he'd not known she was up here, he'd only hoped.

It was a clear night and the sky was radiant. The full moon was just a few days past and the waning moon was still large; illuminating the grounds below and casting shadows over the courtyard.

Nina extended the leg she had pulled to her chest and gently pushed his foot with hers. After dinner she always changed into more comfortable clothing, she hated the Hogwarts uniform, so she was wearing trousers instead of the regulation skirt.

Good thing, too, else Orion would be getting an eyeful.

"You look a little melancholy, want to talk about it?"

Orion's jaw twitched and he swallowed. Nina knew Orion enough to know he was trying to work up to saying what was on his mind. Looking at the sky was his way of trying to seem confident and sure of himself, like he didn't care about what she said one way or another. When he finally spoke, his voice was detached.

"Is your grandfather forcing you to marry me?"

"No," Nina answered with soft eyes and a reassuring smile, "he asked if I would be okay with it first."

Orion's eyes widened a fraction, eyebrows scrunched a bit. His head swung around to look at her, forgoing the calm facade he'd previously portrayed. "You're okay with it? Nina, you're not even interested in men…"

"That's not true." Nina interrupted him. "I don't mind what parts people have. If I like someone, I just do."

"If you don't care either way, then why aren't you with Tom?" Orion bit out, eyes narrowed and teeth grinding together in frustration.

Nina recoiled, her head bumping against the stone wall. "Ouch," she cried, rubbing the back of her head.

Orion stood in a rush of movement and took a few steps forward, brushing Nina's hand away and gently cupping the side of her head in his hand, fingers sliding into her soft hair. He cast a lumos to look at the bump. "You're alright, you just bumped it a bit."

"'Kay," she mumbled as he backed away and retook his seat across from her, "bloody hurt though." She huffed and turned to observe the grounds, rubbing her head. "I'm not surprised you're asking, since Tom and I are very close. But the two of us… we're not meant to be romantically involved. Our relationship is quite familial… like siblings."

"I see," Orion said, processing the information. "Did you two ever…." He made a gesture with his hand. They'd all suspected there was something between Nina and their Lord but no one had the audacity to ask either of them about it. The only reason he did it now was because of the engagement. He wanted to check whether Nina was alright with marrying him, or if he needed to brace for Tom's eventual unpleasant reaction.

"Never." Nina shook her head, face scrunched in repulsion and it set him at ease.

Orion rubbed his hands (when had they gotten so sweaty?) on his trousers and wished he'd saved his fag. "I apologise If I'm making you uncomfortable, you can tell me to bugger off anytime."

"I'm not uncomfortable, I'm concerned you might be, though," Nina assured, biting at her lower lip in a way that made Orion's breath hitch. "It's best to have this conversation right away, in any case. What else do you want to know?"

Looking away from Nina, Orion inquired; "Do you have feelings for that MacDougal girl?"

Nina laughed, a dry sarcastic sound that wasn't right coming from her. "Absolutely not."

Orion looked at her with one eyebrow raised. Nina waved her wand to silence the tower, then leaned forward and extended a pinky.

"I'll tell you, if you want to know, but you'll have to take this with yours and be bound to secrecy with me. Not even Tom knows what I'm doing with Isolde. Well, I would tell him but he didn't ask; He doesn't care what I do so long as it doesn't interfere with something he may be planning."

Unable to resist being in on a secret with Nina that Tom Riddle wasn't, Orion looped his pinky with hers. He felt the magic of the promise settle over him. It wasn't nearly as strong as an unbreakable vow, one could always break this kind of promise without losing their life. Still, breaking a pinky promise wasn't recommended.

"Tom and I didn't tell anyone, but in the summer between fifth and sixth year I almost died." Nina delivered this with the same tone she might say they had pumpkin juice at dinner, but Orion felt his stomach drop and he took the hand that still had their pinkies joined and pulled away, only to grasp onto hers tightly. "I won't go into detail but essentially Lucas saw me with a girl for the first time and tattled to Father. I'm sure you can fill in the blanks."

As someone who was regularly beaten until bloody by his own father, he could surely fill in those blanks.

Orion scooted closer, arm feeling the strain of keeping it up to hold Nina's hand. He rested their hands against his thigh and, floundering for something to do with his other hand, wrapped it around her wrist; thumb absentmindedly brushing over the joint.

"I know all of you wondered what happened and why I wasn't around for society functions with my parents. They disowned me. Thankfully, Opa is the patriarch and my Father can't actually disown me from House Fawley. All he can do is banish me from the immediate household."

She squeezed his hand when his eyebrows snapped together and his lips pursed. "Lucas has made a pest of himself ever since. If he sees me, he makes awful comments about me. I'm glad to be in the Heads dorm with Tom now. Lucas has most of our year turned against me in the common room. He doesn't really say anything to the younger years but he has the girls I shared a dormitory with scared that I might touch them in their sleep." Nina frowned deeply with unshed tears pooling in her eyes. "Well, not Karin Macmillan, she doesn't believe Lucas, probably because she's grown up with me, but the others do believe him."

Orion felt his wrath sweep through him with a singular focus; Lucas Fawley. Most of the Magical community in Great Britain knew of the Blacks reputation for being exceedingly emotional. A lot of magic was tied to how deeply the practitioner's emotions ran and the Black's emotions were considered heightened, more volatile, than the general population.

Lucas Fawley was going to pay. Orion knew this. If Nina was right, and Tom viewed her as someone familial to him, Tom already had to have plans for Lucas and their parents. Tom himself, while heavily controlled, seemed to feel things in a more volatile way like a Black did.

Orion wanted in on whatever Tom planned. Nina would be his wife. His House's Matriarch. And above that, even without the engagement, Nina Fawley was his friend. It was probably for the best that the two of them had kept this from the Knights since it happened, because had Enoch or Zephryus, or fuck even Lytherial found out? The Knights looked out for each other, after all. And they'd all known each other since nappies.

Nothing short of an order from Tom could have saved Lucas Fawley. Even then, they may all decide it was worth Tom's ire just to be rid of the bastard.

"In anycase, I'm beyond angry with him. And I've been best friends with a Slytherin for a couple years now." Nina gave a more genuine smile, swallowing thickly as the tears receded, looking down at their joined hands. She squeezed the hand that held hers. "Well, several Slytherins, actually."

Now, she grinned devilishly and Orion suddenly had a feeling of malicious delight as she told him exactly what she was doing with Isolde MacDougal. "My father made the mistake of telling Opa who Lucas will be entering into a marriage contract with. I happened to overhear. How unfortunate that the poor girl has no idea quite yet."

Nina leaned forward so she was mere centimeters from Orion's face, and the smell of bergamot and vanilla (He'd never liked cream earl gray tea until he got to know Nina, and now the smell alone always brought him contentment, even when he was home for holidays and there was nothing to be content about.) wafting towards him somehow settled his raging emotions. He was still reeling from the revelation that his fiancée almost died and he'd not known about it.

"I might have taken it easier on her, but she upset me the other day; she judged Healer Gardner and myself for our hobbies, and our attire. So, I'm going to ensure she's been so thoroughly enthralled by me that even years down the line in their marriage she'll be wishing it was me she was with. That is her punishment. For Lucas? Isolde will feel compelled to remind him of how woefully inadequate he is in comparison to me every day for the rest of their lives."

Orion's breathing had become shallow, and his mouth ran dry as he tried to contain the thrill Nina's words sent straight to his cock. "What a rare gem you are, Nina Fowley." His words came out a little breathless. "You're quite wicked under that cheerful Hufflepuff exterior."

"Hufflepuffs are more than just loyal and hardworking societal cast offs, you know?" She said, smiling prettily at him. "Just like Slytherins are far more than evil, cut-throat, ambitious little tyrants."

He smirked a little at that and released a steady breath as his rage began to recede. Not gone, but controlled.

"So," Orion began as he let go of Nina's hand and cleared his throat, "you're available, then?"

"Of course not," she leaned back with an insincere scowl. "I'm engaged."

They both shared a smile and a light laugh. "Here," Nina said, lending down and fishing something out of the bag she'd left discarded on the ground. She tossed it over to him. "That's for you. Oh, and I need some more of your tobacco. I gave the last bit of it to Huginn and Muninn."

Orion snorted, unsurprised she needed more tobacco from him already though she'd just taken some on the train. All questions about who Huginn and Muninn were went unasked as he observed the velvet pouch she'd tossed him.

"C'mon Black, it's not going to kill you. Just open it." Nina wined impatiently.

With a huff, Orion opened the pouch and dumped its contents into his other hand. He lit his wand to observe the leather bracelet with gold plating and Norse runes written all over it. It practically vibrated with incredibly strong protective magic. "This is…" he trailed off, unable to continue as his throat grew sore and tight.

"An engagement gift. I made it for you when Opa told me negotiations were set. It's not a tradition in my culture but I wanted to do something for you. I went on an overnight hunt and was able to catch a hare, I made the leather out of that. I melted the gold as well, and carved the symbols. Oh, and I layered it with protective magic."

She scooted closer and pointed at one of the symbols, her hair brushing his arm causing goosebumps to rise as he shivered and hoped she didn't notice. "This one on the left, it's called Aegishjalmur, The Helm of Awe and Terror; it's an old viking symbol of protection. This one in the middle is Mjolnir, Thor's Hammer. It's the most important symbol in my culture; it's got a lot of meaning attached to it, but in this case I only wanted to convey that I'm making a claim."

Both of their faces went red and Orion's chest was tight. He was having trouble controlling the feelings that raced through him as his throat throbbed and his chest ached. He fought to control himself because all he really wanted to do was take the face of the beautiful woman right in front of him between his hands and kiss her until she couldn't speak. Orion knew that she didn't know, she couldn't possibly know that he'd had feelings for her for years and this was just too much. She was just too perfect and he was far, far, too lucky to have somehow managed to be engaged to her.

Especially after he'd resigned himself to having to marry his spoiled cousin and watch Nina live her life from afar.

Clueless to Orion's internal struggle Nina kept going, perhaps speaking more quickly than she had been. "This last one is called Vegvisir, The Runic Compass; it's meant to provide guidance to those who've lost their way." She stopped, and a few moments later when Orion hadn't spoken she began again. "If you don't like it, it's okay, you don't have to wear it or anything. I just thought…"

"Shut up Fowley," Orion said fondly, and she realized she'd been holding the top of his hand to steady it while he held the bracelet so she could explain the symbols. They were close, their faces less than a quarter meter apart. His breath smelt like cigarettes and firewhiskey and she suddenly realized her heart was pounding away in her chest. "Help me put it on."

September 4th, 1944.

"My Lord."

Tom shut the old Lestrange tome he'd been reading with a loud snap as he stared down at where Orion had entered the dorm and prostrated himself before him, head down in deference.

Now that he had his own dormitory, his Knights were able to show him proper respect without threat of prying eyes. This was the first instance of it since the change in living conditions and Tom was quite pleased Orion had done this automatically without having to be… reminded of who Tom was to him.

The leather of the black chair Tom had claimed as his own that first night creaked as he sat back, more comfortably. Tom haphazardly draped the arm he held the book in over his stomach, and observed the Black scion with critical interest, noting how tense the younger's shoulders were, and the way his cheek bounced as he ground his teeth together.

"What troubles you, Orion? You may speak freely here, I've raised my own wards against prying." Tom inquired, using a gentle tone; one he'd learned and adopted the tone from a since graduated Slytherin by the name of Henry Selwyn, who'd used it on his inconsolable sister. It had a calming effect on the girl that Tom had decided he would likely need one day. It's served him well.

He watched as Orion's tenseness began to recede and his head raised to meet Tom's eye. Tom saw Orion's determined look and decided his interest was piqued.

"I spoke with Nina last night, my lord. She mentioned a rather unfortunate happenstance between your fifth and sixth year. As her friend, and fiancé, I was hoping to offer myself in service to you in whatever current and future endeavors there may be towards remedying the situation."

Briefly, Tom wondered how much Nina had revealed about that day. They rarely spoke of it; Nina's near death became something of a taboo between them.

Nina's cheerful face, swollen and bruised and choking on her own blood, was something Tom hated remembering and with the memory came the deep rage that he'd felt that day just waiting to be unleashed upon those who'd wronged her, and him by extension.

"These endeavors you speak of; there's little that can be done while we remain shackled inside Hogwarts. Not without upsetting Nina. She gets rather cross when she thinks I'm getting up to trouble, especially so when in regards to her. Largely, those deserving have gone without recourse. However," Tom drawled, glancing over Orion's features once more, "as the newly involved fiancé I believe that may afford you a liberty I do not have. A single act borne of passion and affection, something she can overlook so long as you don't get caught."

Orion met Tom's eyes for a few seconds. Tom, deciding to help Orion because he would like to see the Fawley's suffer just as much if not more than the younger man, gave him a clue. "In any case; I've heard some students have begun working on extra credit in Potions already, something Professor Slughorn has devised to help with NEWT preparatory. He's offered a few sparsely stocked laboratories near the Potions classroom for seventh years who'd like to practice. I've considered booking one for myself this afternoon, before dinner."

A slow smile crept across Orion's aristocratic, dark features, his gray eyes lit with that infamous Black fury. "How thoughtful of Professor Slughorn."

Tom stood disillusioned around the corner from where Orion had carefully caused Fawley's cauldron to explode. Orion walked calmly past him, without realizing Tom had been standing there and Tom noted that he'd have to teach his Knights to be more aware of their surroundings. It wouldn't do for any of them to be caught simply because they'd not noticed someone hiding in the shadows.

Knowing the Black's reputation for being volatile, Tom wanted to ensure that Orion hadn't murdered Lucas Fawley while Tom's own plans had yet to be enacted. He'd decided to follow Black to the NEWT preparatory rooms. As it turned out, he hadn't needed to be so concerned. His lips curve into a sinister smile just listening to Fawley's pained wailing.

Tom wanted to have a look, and waited a minute for the two Hufflepuff girls who were using the other prep room just beside Fawley's to round the corner. Once they had, Tom canceled his disillusionment and swept out from the corner, plastering upon his face a look of concern.

"What is going on here?" He questioned the girls as he stalked towards the room, Fawley's wailing growing louder as he neared.

"We don't know!" One of the girls, Karin Macmillan, exclaimed. "We just heard him screaming and came, same as you."

Tom opened the door to the prep room, concealing the pride and excitement he felt as he took a look at what remained of Lucas Fawley's face. Oh yes, Orion had done quite well. He would deserve a reward for this.

"I'll retrieve Professor Slughorn, the two of you shouldn't be seeing this." Tom directed the two girls, who'd both begun crying when they saw Fawley's face. Weak fools, he thought. "Wait outside."

He followed the procession to the hospital wing, simply because he was relishing in the sound of Fawley's anguished cries. No one had thought to silence the boy and Tom wasn't going to deny himself the satisfaction of hearing it.

Tom stood outside with feigned concern, waiting to see what Healer Gardener's prognosis would be. When she'd come out of the double doors a few minutes after the Hufflepuff's joined him in the hall their eyes briefly met and Healer Gardner's eyes narrowed at him in suspicion.

Ah, he thought, so this one truly hasn't fallen for my charm at all has she? Quite the curious little kitten she was turning out to be.

Tom had figured Fawley would be alright, magical burns would only scar badly if they were untreated or if they'd been caused by dark magic. Still, the hour of unrestrained pain Fawley had endured, while a mere fraction of the pain he'd caused Nina, was enough to tide Tom over until his plans could be brought to fruition. And with Orion as a newfound ally on that front he was certain they could make Fawley suffer greatly.

Fawley should've been a better brother to Nina.

He made his way down to dinner, intent on returning to the hospital later that night. He'd like to see just how talented a healer their new mediwitch was.

In the Great Hall, Tom took his usual seat with his back to the stone wall; a strategic position so he'd never have his back turned on the student population, and in between Mulciber and Avery. He noted, with faint amusement, that Nina had walked into the hall and headed straight for them instead of to the Hufflepuff table.

She didn't always sit with them, but every so often she decided to.

He eyed her as she pushed herself into the narrow space between Black and Nott so that she was directly in front of him, the two boys jumping because they hadn't noticed her approach. Lysander snagged a plate and cutlery from the empty space beside him and handed it down the table to her, passing through a few hands before it was placed in front of her.

"Afternoon everyone!" Nina said cheerfully, ignoring her pumpkin juice in favor of the goblet of water beside it. "How were classes?"

When she didn't start filling her own plate, instead staring at Tom with a serene smile, Orion and Thoros started piling it with food.

"Dull classes, same dull people begging for treats when they get an answer correct." Lytherial sighed from the right of Mulciber. "I, for one, am ready to leave this place. But I suppose, since we're stuck for the year, I should acknowledge that Lysander already got us ten points for his proactive approach to Charms. I had to hear about it when the seventh years piled in for class just after the sixth years left."

"Nice job, Sander!" Nina congratulated while the younger boy's face darkened with a blush.

Malfoy scoffed. "This isn't your house, Fawley. Even if you insist on burdening us with your presence."

She waved him off. "I'm a bloody delight, so stop complaining or I'll lunge over this table and hug you, Brax. Besides; I can be happy if you guys win the house cup again, even if it means we Puffs lost."

Malfoy gave her a furious glare but otherwise said nothing.

With a roll of his eyes at their antics, Mulciber nodded at her untouched plate. "Eat your dinner, Fawley."

"Oh," she said, looking down at it, then up to Thoros and Orion both with a smile. She reached both hands up and mussed their hair. "Thanks boys." She picked up her fork and ate one bite of chicken before she started talking again while Orion and Thoros patted their locks down with twin looks of indignation. "So, I heard something interesting a bit ago. According to one of my old roommates my brother was involved in a Potions accident this afternoon."

Tom was pleased to note (also noting in the prereferral that the younger man now wore a new bracelet he seemed to recall Nina spending hours crafting over the summer) that Orion didn't even pause as he spooned some mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"How unfortunate," it was Thoros who answered, glancing at Nina with an empathetic smile, "is he expected to recover?"

"From what I understand; yes. With minimal to no scarring. But I've heard all this from rumors, so it's difficult to tell. Perhaps Tom could shed some light, though," she said, glancing back at him with the serene smile that didn't fool him at all, "I'm told you're the one who found Lucas?"

Tom nodded with solemnity. "I'd been on my way to see Professor Slughorn about acquiring one of the preparatory rooms for myself for extra practice when I heard the wailing. I entered to see him lyin' on the ground. Your brother was grievously injured when I found him. I'm only glad I was able to retrieve Professor Slughorn in a timely manner, lest the injuries become worse."

"I see." Nina hummed, taking another bite of chicken as she formulated a response. She'd noticed right away that he'd used informal speech. So had Orion, whose name rhymes with 'lyin' and this time the younger man had stiffened. "Would've been a shame, had you not shown up, so thank you for being in the right place at the right time."

He smiled. She couldn't prove he was involved, but she wasn't foolish.

Nina took a few more slow bites of dinner and the tension began to ease. Tom, who was waiting gleefully for the other shoe to drop, observed his Knights as they all came to the same realization as Nina had. Orion had gone back to eating, mistakenly thinking Nina had dropped the subject.

"Would you like to take a walk around the lake with me after dinner, Orion?"

Tom almost laughed when Orion's knife stopped mid stroke through his chicken and made a dreadful screeching noise on his plate. Instead, he'd allowed an amused half smile to grace his features for a moment, then carefully went back to eating his own dinner.

"Yes, I'd like that."

"We'll need a chaperone, of course." Nina chirped, looking back at Tom. "You'll do that for us, won't you Tom?"

Damn. Tom thought, though he didn't let Nina get to him enough to make him stop his knife from gliding through his own chicken. "Of course."

Thirty minutes later the three of them walked around the lake, chatting amicably about nothing really. Nina suddenly veered off into the forest, trudging along a narrow path.

"Nina, what is this?" Tom asked with a scathing look as he slapped a branch away from him.

"My jogging trail. No one else takes it, other than Healer Gardner now." Filing that tidbit about Healer Gardner away, Tom watched Nina stop moving just as they came upon a boulder and she hopped onto it, sitting so that she was in front of them but in the more dominant position of being above them both. At the bottom of the boulder, hardly visible under the overgrowth, were a ring of elder futhark runes that reminded him of the ones Nina had tattooed on her ribs that summer.

This must be a safe place to speak plainly, then.

"She's very sweet, hyper inquisitive too. . I suppose she'd have to have been to become a full fledged healer by twenty; all while traveling the world. Then she comes to Britain and works at St. Mungo's for two years followed by a position at Hogwarts? She's only twenty-two! I'm in awe of her. After I met her I found myself thinking she's a little like you, Tom." Nina laughed. "In any case, she jog's about the same time as me so I showed her my trail yesterday morning."

"How long have you been jogging in the forest alone, Nina?" Orion asked with a concerned frown.

Tom was busy working through everything Nina had said about Healer Gardner. He hadn't really thought about the woman's accomplishments as much as he should have. Nina had a point, the woman was only twenty-two and was already more accomplished than most Healers would be in their lifetime. Almost exceedingly so.

Perhaps he should begin to look deeper in regards to Mia Gardner.

Nina shrugged. "Since third year."

"Nina!" Orion groaned, running a hand over his hair. "Anything could happen to you out here."

"Don't act like I'm the one in trouble right now, Orion Black." Nina's voice and features sharpened in an instant. A change that Tom had seen often, but this was the first time Orion was seeing the more dominant side of his fiancée and Tom relished the sight of Orion stiffening.

Really, he'd done Orion a service in making him face this side of Nina early on.

"What were you thinking?" Nina questioned, her eyes betrayed her rage while the rest of her looked calm and composed.

"He deserves worse…" Orion began.

Nina huffed, interrupting him. "Of course he does, but did you consider that you may have been seen? Been caught? What would you do if you were expelled from school for viciously attacking another student? Or if you'd been arrested? You can't go around punishing Lucas while in school, Orion."

Orion seemed to take a moment to comprehend that Nina wasn't berating him for attacking her twin, but rather berating him for doing it while he could face repercussions. He'd not quite caught up by the time Nina shifted her ire onto Tom.

"And you!" She pointed a finger at Tom, making his smile go from small and polite to large and vicious as he prepared for whatever chastising he would receive. "Why, oh why would you go to the scene? Dumbledore's going to be more suspicious of you now than ever. And after all I did to get him off your back last year when you nearly killed Myrtle Warren."

Nina stopped to take a breath and rubbed the heels of both hands against her temples. When she spoke again her voice was much softer. "Tom, I know you think you're taking calculated risks but no risk is better than any risk at all while you're still under Dumbledore's thumb. What if he tries to get you locked into Azkaban? I've only got one plan ready to break you out and it's not fleshed out enough for it to be plausible. If you go to prison it could take over a year for me to rescue you."

Tom took a step closer to Nina, his vicious smile still in place. He could see Orion stiffening where he stood, see the debate in his Knight as Orion worried between having to protect his fiancée and having to attack his master.

Tom wondered what Orion's decision would be, should Tom actually attempt to harm Nina.

Tom raised an arm up to Nina, being above him on the boulder he had to stretch but it wasn't uncomfortable, and wrapped his hand around the side of her neck. He pulled her down just enough to gain control over her movements, she grit her teeth and kicked at him. He moved just in time for her foot to miss and used a sticking charm to keep her legs exactly where they were against the rock.

"My dear Nina, how you worry for me. One day you'll trust that nothing I do is miscalculated," he gave her a devastating smile that would've worked on any other woman and released her, "you should've seen the damage Orion wrought upon Lucas' face. You would have loved it."

She seemed to deflate a bit and glanced over at Orion. "Was it truly impressive?"

Tom laughed, a real one, the sound was dark and deep in his chest. Nina once told him that it sounded almost like when thunder boomed over the mountains in Norway, except softer and more human. She smiled at the sound, now.

Nina canceled the charm Tom had placed on her legs and slid off the stone. She took a few steps toward a nearly petrified Orion and looked him in the eye. The younger man's body was ridgid, like he was worried she'd attack him and was braced for it.

After seeing her try to kick Tom, of all people, Tom supposed Orion had a reason to be worried.

Instead, she stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around Orion's shoulders, the fingers of one hand carding through his thick hair. Tom could hear a soft 'thank you' muffled against the other boy's shoulder. With wide-eyes, Orion placed a tentative hand on Nina's upper back and seemed to melt into the embrace.

Tom looked away, a slight look of disgust on his face.

Then Nina broke away and looked between them. A mere second later she'd leveled a punch to both of their upper arms with both of her hands at the same time and each of them cried out. Not because it hurt ( she hadn't put any real force into it) but because of the shock.

"Don't do stupid things!" Nina yelled. "It makes me worry and I'm too bloody young for the wrinkles."

Note: This chapter is really meant to express the dynamics between the baby Death Eaters, Tom, and start showing how Nina fits in. (And as I said at the top of the chapter, add some romance while we wait for Tom/Mia to stop dancing around each other. They are inevitable.) Orion has now been unceremoniously dumped into seeing how Nina/Tom work as siblings, a dynamic he hadn't been privy to observing before as is now solely because of his engagement to Nina. There's a stark difference between how Tom and Nina talk to and treat each other in public and how they do it alone.

It's also meant to show that just because Hermione assumes Tom did the bad thing, doesn't mean Tom actually did the bad thing. Re: Lucas Fawley. Tom is far more sinister than simply blowing up a cauldron is someone's face. Child's play, really.