"Right," said Mulciber as the other Followers finished cleaning Dungeon Thirteen. He'd just led them through their latest bonding activity, which involved making Dark Curios and placing them around the school in the hopes that an unwitting student would touch one. Completely uninspired, in Severus' opinion. "I know how we're gonna get to Dearborn."

"How?" asked Wilkes as he used his wand to dust the gilded mantelpiece.

"The Halloween feast," said Mulciber. "Head students are tasked with cleaning up afterwards. The Great Hall will be empty except for Dearborn and Fernsby. And there aren't any portraits in the Great Hall," he added with a glare at Severus.

Severus didn't flinch. "You're suggesting we face off against the two most talented students in the school, then. Your plans just keep getting better."

"It'd be easy enough to get Fernsby out of the way," Evan Rosier pointed out. "We could bribe a student to pull him out of the Hall for a minute. Or we could slip something into his pumpkin juice."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "And when a teacher inevitably walks in and finds the Great Hall covered in Sally Dearborn's blood?"

"The Hall is just a start," said Mulciber impatiently. "If we can get her alone I can put her under the Imperius curse. Then we can go somewhere more… private."

"Right," said Severus sarcastically. "That won't look suspicious at all, a group of Slytherins parading through the castle with the Gryffindor Head Girl."

Mulciber's nostrils flared. "Funny how you don't propose any ideas of your own, Snivellus."

"Well, I'm not this year's mentor, am I?" said Severus, his voice dripping with venom.

Mulciber's lips twitched. "No. You're not." He looked around at the others, who had finished cleaning the dungeon and were watching their exchange warily. "Halloween. After the feast, we'll hide in the staircase that leads to the kitchens until the Hall is empty."

Mulciber dismissed the group, and Severus made for the library instead of following the others back to the common room. He'd been working on the annotations of his Potions text and needed to do some additional research on Bubotuber pus.

To his annoyance, Regulus followed him out of the dungeons. "Are we going to kill her?"

Severus grit his teeth. He didn't understand how the Blacks could have raised Regulus to be so sensitive. "Keep your voice down," he said as they ascended the marble staircase. "Would you be upset if we did?"

"I'm not a killer," said Regulus. "Are you?"

"Not as of yet," said Severus sourly. "But if the Dark Lord requires it, who am I to disobey his command?"

Regulus looked like he'd just been punched. "Do you really believe that? The Dark Lord says jump and you ask how high?"

"Keep your voice down," hissed Severus. The students around them were eyeing him strangely now. Severus sighed and dragged Regulus into an unused classroom on the first floor. "If you're having doubts, I advise you to write them down in that diary of yours," he told Regulus as soon as the door was shut. "I don't want to hear about your worries. I am not your therapist. I do not sympathize with you."

Regulus stood up a little straighter. "Yes, you do. You don't like Mulciber any more than I do. I can tell."

"My feelings for Mulciber are irrelevant to this discussion," said Severus. "Do you understand what I'm telling you? If you have objections to Following, keep it to yourself."

"I do keep it to myself," said Regulus, flushing a little. "I only talk to you because Bella said you'd help me with —"

"— With adjusting to being an Intent, yes, but I am not your confidant," snapped Severus.

"Right," said Regulus sarcastically. "We're supposed to be a brotherhood, but Lord forbid we actually talk about anything important —"

"If you keep Following half-heartedly, Mulciber is going to notice," said Severus, cutting him off. "You're not half as clever as you think you are. I saw what you did with your Dark Curio today."

Regulus' eyes darted towards the door. "I — I don't know what —"

"You slipped it into your journal instead of leaving it for someone to find," said Severus. "You're lucky it was only me who noticed. What if Mulciber had been nearby?"

"Mine had a blood-borne curse on it!" said Regulus. "It would have affected generations if someone had touched it. What was I supposed to do?"

"Then you ought to have mangled the curse when Mulciber wasn't looking!" said Severus. "That would have been believable enough, the incantation is incredibly complex, and Mulciber wouldn't have known the difference…" He trailed off. Regulus looked oddly smug. "Why are you making that face?"

"You do have a conscience," said Regulus. "I knew it."

"Rarely," said Severus. "I prioritize self-preservation. Damage control is a secondary concern."

"Still," said Regulus. "It's something."

Severus' head began to ache, and he rubbed his brow. "I would urge you to remember why we are Following, Regulus."

Regulus' thin lips pressed into a line. "To survive."

"Exactly," said Severus. "The more you undermine our cause, the worse your chances of survival. And don't think for an instant I will come to your rescue when Mulciber finally catches on to you. I will place my well-being over yours every time."

Regulus didn't respond; his face was almost impressively impassive. Still, Severus thought he could feel disapproval radiating from every inch of Regulus' perfectly tailored robes.

"By the Baron, Regulus," said Severus, exasperated. He pulled open the door to the classroom and they stepped into the deserted corridor. "Spit it out."

"Nothing," said Regulus stiffly.

"Whatever you have to say, I've heard worse," said Severus. "You are not the first person I have disappointed." He tried very hard not to think of Lily.

"I don't have anything to say to you," said Regulus.

Severus grunted and let the conversation drop. He wasn't about to beg Regulus to insult him.

They walked in silence through the castle and into the dungeons. "My last piece of advice," said Severus at last. "The next time Mulciber commands you to do something, do it. The more he trusts you, the better off you will be."

Regulus said nothing. Severus glanced at him, trying to determine what he was thinking, but Regulus' expression was inscrutable. Well. There were other ways to discover a person's thoughts.

"What?" asked Regulus, finally meeting Severus' gaze.

Severus touched his wand and reached out briefly with his mind, using Legilimency. It was like entering a thick fog; Severus found nothing but hazy, insubstantial images in Regulus' mind, twisted this way and that by an undercurrent of worry.

"I know what you're doing," said Regulus.

Severus blinked, coming back to himself. "Ah. I —"

"I'm surprised you thought that would work on me. Bella taught you Occlumency, didn't she? Where do you think she learned it from?"

Severus grimaced. The Blacks probably trained all their children in Occlumency. It had been foolish of him not to consider that, and now he'd shown Regulus his hand.

"There're plenty of mind games in my family," said Regulus. "I know how to defend myself." He paused, seemingly waiting for an apology. Severus didn't offer one.

"Right," said Regulus, turning towards the stone wall that led to the common room. "If that's it, then —"

"We probably won't kill her," said Severus abruptly. "Dearborn, I mean. Not even Mulciber is that stupid. We'll rough her up a bit, send her to St. Mungo's. That will get the point across and get Bella off our back."

Regulus was still staring at the wall. He gave no indication that he had heard. Severus' headache was worse now; hopefully this was the last time he had to prod Regulus into Following. Finally, Regulus nodded a little and muttered the password to the common room. The stone wall slid open with a rumble, and Regulus entered the passageway. Severus trailed him inside.

The following Saturday was the new moon, and the grounds of Hogwarts were silent, save for the occasional far-off hoot of an owl. In Hagrid's vegetable patch, a rat with sandy-coloured fur scurried out from behind a pumpkin. It made several laps around Hagrid's hut before darting towards the Forbidden Forest, where James and Remus stood. They were frowning at the large piece of parchment hovering in the air in front of them. Beside Remus sat a large, shaggy black dog which somehow looked similarly concerned.

The rat squeaked as it reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and James turned towards the sound. The rat suddenly tripled in size, stretching upwards and becoming Peter. He jogged towards James, slightly out of breath. "Well?"

"No good, Wormtail," said James. "It's not picking up on your movement at all, not even in your Animagus form." He tapped a finger against one corner of the parchment, which contained a single, unmoving dot labelled Peter Pettigrew. There were no other dots on the map.

"Reckon it's something to do with the Homonculous Charm you cast?" asked Peter worriedly.

"I'm sure of it," said James. "Blasted charm's impossible to modify without making the whole thing useless."

Remus made a humming noise. "What do you think about using Homenum revelio instead?"

"That won't work," said James, shaking his head. "I read Scamander's In the Field, Among the Fanged last week, and it said Revelio only detects human presence, not half-human or animals — including Animagi, mind you. What's the point of the map if we can't even keep track of each other? At least the Homonculous Charm can be altered to include all living beings."

"Right," said Remus. "In theory."

"Theory's all we've got at this point," said James. "Pete, mind going another round?"

Peter nodded and immediately began to shrink. The rat darted back towards the vegetable patch, and James lost sight of it among the grass. He tapped his wand against the corner of the parchment labelled Hagrid's Hut. "Forget the Homonculous Charm a moment. Let's try something new. Appare vestigium. Specialis revelio."

He and Remus watched the parchment intently — the dog had lost interest and was busy sniffing a tree — but the dot labelled Peter Pettigrew didn't budge. After a few minutes, James cupped his hands to his mouth and made a hooting sound, like an owl, and the rat returned to them.

"Nothing," said James in response to Peter's questioning look. Peter swore.

The dog wandered back over to them and reared onto its hind legs, becoming Sirius. "I've got an idea," he said with a grin. He drew his wand and pointed it at the map. "Revelio largus bloody ratus… Pettigrew apperio —"

"Padfoot —" said James warningly, but it was too late. The map began to glow brightly, casting blinding light in all directions like a miniature sun. Remus pulled his hand away from the parchment as if he'd been burned.

James groaned. "Merlin's arse, Sirius," he said. "Were you not listening in first year Charms when Flitwick told us not to mangle spells for a laugh? Because of the unforeseen consequences?" He turned away from the parchment, which was too bright to look at, and ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.

Sirius shrugged, unconcerned. "Thought you lot would think it was funny." He screwed up his eyes against the light being cast by the parchment. "I wouldn't have done it if I'd realized you've got a wand stuck up your —"

"Out of curiosity," said Remus. He was examining his hand, which was glowing as brightly as the parchment it had touched. "Do you happen to know the countercharm for 'Pettigrew apperio'?"

"Of course I do," said Sirius, pointing his wand at Remus' hand. "Finite incantatum."

Nothing happened.

"Bugger," said Sirius. "Looks like Flitwick had a point."

Peter rejoined them, shielding his eyes against the blinding light. "What happened? Why's the map glowing like that?"

"Bad joke," said Sirius quickly. He gave James an apologetic look.

James smiled in spite of himself. "You look like a dog that got caught pissing in the house."

"An adorable, lovable dog who is very sorry and won't do it again," said Sirius, batting his eyelashes at James. "You should see me make this face as Padfoot. Even my mum can't resist it."

James snorted. He fished the Invisibility Cloak out of his bag and flung it over the dazzlingly bright parchment. The light immediately vanished.

"How do we fix it?" asked Peter.

James lifted a shoulder. "I haven't the foggiest. Experimental Charms are something of an obscure subject, aren't they? We might have to make" — he sighed — "another trip to the library to figure this one out."

Sirius groaned. "We're starting to live there. People are going to get the wrong idea."

"Tell me about it," said James. "Madam Pince has started making eyes at me."

"You wish," said Sirius. "She's making eyes at me. You just happen to be nearby."

"Actually," said Remus, "I think it might be me she fancies. She complimented my jumper the other day."

James gaped at him. "She did not."

"She did," said Remus gravely. "Said it looked warm. Plus she lets me take out five books instead of four."

"Say no more, Moony," said Sirius, placing a hand to his forehead dramatically. "I'm starting to get jealous."

"Back to the castle, then?" asked James. He ducked under the Invisibility Cloak, screwing his eyes shut against the light of the map, and began to roll the parchment into a scroll. He stuffed the map into his bag, which began to glow as beams of light pierced through the fabric.

Once he had finished, the others joined him under the Cloak. "Who's up for a midnight snack in the kitchens?" asked Peter.

James examined his hands, which were now glowing faintly, and made a noncommittal noise. "I've got Quidditch tomorrow morning. If I get less than six hours of sleep my muscles won't grow."

"You say that like you're a bodybuilder instead of a scrawny git," said Sirius. He flexed for emphasis, and James shoved him good-naturedly.

"Let's go to the kitchens," said Remus. "I feel decent tonight."

James realized he was outnumbered. "Fine. But if we lose against Slytherin I'm holding you lot personally responsible."

This late at night, the Hogwarts kitchens were dark and nearly empty; James guessed that even house-elves needed sleep. A low fire crackled in the hearth at the end of the room, where a pair of house-elves appeared to be making soup in a large cauldron. One of the house-elves turned at the sound of the door creaking open.

James and the others froze under the Cloak as the house-elf looked around the kitchen, squinting. After a moment, it gave a tiny shrug and resumed stirring the cauldron.

Sirius nudged James as they approached their usual table at the back of the kitchens. Someone was already sitting there, resting their head on the table as they scribbled on a piece of parchment.

James came to a halt as he saw who it was. Lily, he mouthed to the others. He was out from under the Invisibility Cloak before anyone could stop him. "Alright, Evans?"

Lily's head shot up, and she began scrambling to roll up her parchment. "Potter? What — how did you — I didn't hear you come in…" Her eyes narrowed. "It's after curfew. You're not supposed to be out of bed."

"Neither are you," said James, waggling a glowing finger at her.

"I'm a prefect," said Lily, giving his hand a strange look. "I'm allowed to be out. Just finished my rounds, in fact."

She was wearing pyjamas. "Has anyone ever told you you're a terrible liar?" asked James. Lily opened her mouth to protest but he looked pointedly at her nightgown and then at the half-eaten piece of cake sitting on the table.

Lily flushed. "I have a lot on my plate this year, alright?"

"Literally," said Sirius. He strode towards them, followed by Remus and Peter, who was holding the Invisibility Cloak. "Tell me you're not planning on letting that cake go to waste, Evans."

Lily startled a bit at their sudden appearance. "Where did you lot come from?"

"We can be very quiet when we want to be," said Sirius. He slid into the chair beside her and helped himself to a bite of cake. "What're you working on so late at night?"

"Nothing," said Lily. She made to stuff the scroll of parchment into her bag. James reached for the parchment, trying to grab it, but Lily glared at him. "Don't you dare, Potter."

James drew back at once. "Er, sorry, Evans. Just curious…"

"Lily," said Remus quietly, "if you told us what you're working on, we might be able to help."

Lily looked at him, biting her lip. "It's not for a class," she said finally. "I'm writing a letter."

"I'm great at writing letters," said Peter. "I had calligraphy lessons until I was twelve."

"Really?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, Pete here's got better handwriting than the Queen, I expect," said Sirius. "Atrocious grammar, though…" Peter stuck out his tongue, and Sirius grinned.

"What's your letter about, then, Lily?" asked Remus.

"Ah," said Lily. "Right. Well, er, I don't suppose any of you read the Daily Prophet?"

"Moony does," said James, clapping Remus on the back.

"Of course you do," said Lily. She gave Remus a small smile. "Have you been following the stuff about Dearborn's Muggle-born Protection Act?"

Remus nodded. "It passed the House of Mages, didn't it?"

"Right," said Lily. "It's up for a vote in the House of Lords next week. The Prophet's predicting it will pass there as well."

"What's the Act about?" asked Peter.

"Protecting Muggle-borns, obviously," said Sirius. "Use your brain, Pete."

"Yeah," said Peter, "but what do they mean by 'protection'?" He turned to Lily. "Will you get your own bodyguard or what?"

"Nobody knows," said Lily. "They've been really hush-hush about the details. But since it'll probably pass, my family will be affected. So I'm sort of… trying to figure out the best way to write to my mum about the whole situation. To fill her in about what's been going on."

James whistled. "Bit of a heavy topic, that."

"Exactly," said Lily. "There's no good way to bring it up. Like, 'Hi Mum, don't you think changing your name and going into hiding would be a laugh?'" She looked down at her parchment, shaking her head. "I must have written fifty different drafts at this point."

"We can help," said James firmly. He reached into his bag for a quill, but as soon as he opened his bag a beam of bright light hit his face, blinding him.

"What have you got in there?" asked Lily. "A miniature sun?"

"More or less," said James, blinking dazedly in her direction. "Sirius thought he'd try his hand at spell invention. Things went a little sideways." He waved his glowing hands at her and continued to rummage through his bag. Finally, his fingers closed around the quill he was looking for, and he thrust it at Peter. "If you'll do the honours, Pete? Seeing as I've gone temporarily blind…"

"Of course," said Peter, taking the quill, which was black and elegantly plumed. He tapped it with his wand and murmured a couple of spells before unrolling Lily's piece of parchment and beginning to write. "'Dear… Mum'…" He stopped and looked around the table. "What next?"

Lily jumped in. "'How are you? How's the garden? Has Tuney brought her new boyfriend over yet? Have you —'"

"Okay, that's enough pleasantries," Sirius interrupted. "Let's get on with it."

Lily gave Sirius a withering look. "Being interested in my mum's life is different from pleasantries, Black."

Sirius blinked, looking as if he'd never considered that. "Er, right. Of course. Carry on then." He tilted his chair back on its legs and closed his eyes, pretending to be sleeping.

"'How're the dahlias you've been growing?'" said Lily as Peter dutifully continued to write. "'Has Mrs Roberts given you permission to sell your flowers at the market yet? If she drags her feet I can make her precious lilac bush wilt, if you'd like'…"

James leaned forward on his elbows, fascinated. Lily's letter to her Muggle mum sounded so… normal. "Our mums would get along," he said as Lily paused for breath. "My mum's been growing dahlias too. Though she can never get them to flower through the season."

Lily glanced at him, surprised. "Really?" He nodded. "Weird," she said. "I would've thought she'd prefer magical plants, like Flutterby bushes…"

"Well, she's got those too," admitted James. "But she also does regular flowers." He paused as he was struck by a thought. "She knows some great gardening spells, actually. Maybe I could get her to teach me over Christmas, and then I could show you next term."

Lily stared at James as if she was seeing him for the first time. "That would be nice," she said at last before turning back to Peter. "Ready to get to the good bits?"

Peter cracked his knuckles. "Let's go."

James kicked the leg of Sirius' chair to wake him up. Sirius startled and nearly fell over but managed to catch himself in time. "Are we finally at the interesting part?" asked Sirius. "Excellent. How much does your mum know about what's going on?"

"Erm, not a lot," said Lily, looking sheepish. "I mean, she knows there's some prejudice against Muggle-borns, but that's about it."

Sirius snorted. "That's putting it lightly."

Lily flushed. "Well, what was I supposed to tell her? 'By the way, Mum, a Dark Lord and his followers want people like us dead. Tra la la, back to my magic school I go.'" James and Peter laughed, and Lily looked slightly gratified.

"Well, better late than never," said Remus. "We can break the news to her gently. How does this sound: 'I've noticed anti-Muggle prejudice increasing lately. A new law has been proposed in the Ministry of Magic to keep families like ours safe.'"

Sirius leaned over to ruffle Remus' hair. "You're brilliant, Moony. Such a diplomat."

Finishing the letter took the better part of an hour, during which they munched on cakes and tea provided by the two house-elves who were still awake. "That's it, then," said Peter, ending the letter with a flourish. "What do you think?" He held the parchment out to her.

Lily's eyes widened as she scanned the letter. "What the — this is in my handwriting!"

"Oh, yeah," said Peter. "I charmed our Smart-Arse Quill to write like you. Hope you don't mind."

"You…" Lily trailed off. "I've never heard of a Smart-Arse Quill before. Is it a new Zonko's product?"

"Nah," said Sirius, snatching the quill out of Peter's hands and twirling it between his fingers. "This beauty is one of our own inventions."

Lily tilted her head to the side as if she was remembering something. "Is that the same quill you used to grade the E.V.I.L.s last year?"

Sirius nodded. "Tricky bit of magic to get right, but worth every minute we spent on it. It can write independently, too, if you give it a topic — it does all my essays now."

Lily shook her head. "Imagine what you lot could do if you actually applied yourselves."

James grinned. "The wizarding world isn't ready for that." Sirius handed him the quill and he shoved it back into his bag, screwing his eyes tightly shut against the light coming from the inside.

Lily was watching him thoughtfully. "Give me that," she said at last, gesturing towards the bag. "Let me see if I can put it right."

"Absolutely," said James. He pushed the bag towards her, heedless of the looks Sirius and Peter were giving him.

Lily opened the bag, shielding her eyes from the light. She prodded the inside with her wand and murmured a string of countercharms so complex that James only recognized a handful. After a moment, her face brightened. "Tenebrio," she said, and the light immediately vanished.

"Merlin's tits, Evans," said James appreciatively. "I always knew you were a dab hand at Charms, but that was bloody impressive."

The tips of Lily's ears turned pink. "Don't mention it. Now…" She held her hand out towards James, watching him expectantly.

James had no idea what she wanted from him. Payment for fixing the map, maybe? But she was still holding his bag.

"Potter," said Lily. "Give me your hand."

"Ah," said James. Muggles shook hands all the time. She probably wanted a handshake as thanks for a job well done. He stretched out his arm and gave her hand a firm shake. "Many thanks, Evans. Much obliged."

He tried to pull away, but her hand tightened around his wrist. "Er," said James, completely bewildered. He shot a panicked glance at Sirius, who was giving him a strange look.

"Why are you being so weird?" asked Lily. "Don't you want me to stop your hands from glowing as well?"

"Oh," said James, feeling stupid. He'd misread the situation entirely. His face was oddly hot all of a sudden, and he was certain he'd just gone as red as Lily's ears. "Er, right."

He held both arms out and she took his hands gently. Her hands were so small and soft compared to his own, her nails unpainted and neatly trimmed. He suddenly felt like a bit of a gorilla compared to her.

Lily touched the tip of her wand to each of his palms and performed the same sequence of countercharms. The light faded from his hands.

"Thanks, Evans," said James. He gave her hand a quick squeeze and pulled away.

A corner of Lily's lips turned upward as if she were trying very hard not to smirk. She turned to Remus, who dutifully held out his hand towards her.

"You know," said Lily later, as the five of them climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor tower, "I'm still giving you lot detention the next time I catch you out of bed."

"Ah, but you'd have to catch us first," said Sirius, stretching and yawning. "And we're planning on making that very difficult."

"I'm not going to ask," said Lily.

"Good strategy," said Peter. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and Lily bid them good-night, heading up the stairs to her dormitory.

"You two were very civil," Remus said to James as they entered their own dormitory. "I think that might be a first."

James shrugged, trying to look casual. "I guess we're both maturing."

Sirius let out a bark of a laugh. "You mean you're maturing, mate. She's always been leagues ahead of you."

"And I expect she always will be," said James, climbing under the sheets on his bed. There was a rustle at his side, and a large black dog jumped onto the bed, curling up at his legs. James rolled over and pulled the sheets up to his chin. "Night, Pads."

The dog woofed.

On Halloween evening, Severus slunk down to the feast with the other Followers. He took his place next to Regulus at the Slytherin table, which was covered in an orange tablecloth trimmed with black embroidery. Clouds of bats fluttered about the enchanted ceiling, and the corners of the Great Hall were thick with cobwebs.

Mulciber craned his beefy neck towards the Gryffindor table. "Can any of you lot see Dearborn?"

Severus followed Mulciber's gaze. Sally Dearborn was chatting with several other seventh-year girls, her blonde hair pulled back into a plait and a pointed witches' hat atop her head. Sally's eyes flicked towards them, and Severus dipped his head hastily, busying himself with the platter of pumpkin pasties in front of him.

He was so preoccupied with looking convincingly enthused about the pasties that he nearly missed the sound of clicking heels on the floor. Mulciber elbowed him so hard in the side that Severus nearly dropped the platter.

"What?" he snarled. Mulciber jerked his head, indicating something behind them, and Severus turned to look.

Sally Dearborn had just strode out of the Great Hall, pointy hat and all.

The other Followers looked as confused as Severus felt. "Well?" asked Wilkes finally, looking at Mulciber.

"She probably needed the loo or something," said Mulciber. "I'll see where she's gone. You lot stay here." He gave them all a glare that he probably thought looked menacing before getting up from the table and lumbering away.

Ten minutes passed, and Mulciber didn't return. Neither did Sally.

"Should we —" started Avery. "Maybe we should, I dunno, check on Augustus? If he's run into trouble…"

"By trouble, do you mean the wrong end of Dearborn's wand?" asked Wilkes. He'd finished his meal and was playing with a deck of cards.

"More or less." Avery was bouncing his leg up and down so quickly that Severus could feel the vibrations on his end of the bench. "I'll go look for him, shall I? Would anybody else like to come?"

Nobody responded.

"Seriously, you lot?" said Avery. "He's our mentor —"

"I'll go," said Regulus. He sounded deeply unenthusiastic, as if he'd just volunteered himself for a date with the Giant Squid.

"Great, thanks," said Avery. "It'll look better if it's me and you, since we're prefects — We can say we've been patrolling…"

Avery scurried out of the Hall with Regulus trailing several yards behind him.

"And then there were three," said Rosier ominously, gesturing between Severus, Wilkes and himself.

Wilkes began to deal out the cards. "Who wants to play Cribbage? Let's take advantage of the peace and quiet for once."

After three rounds of Cribbage (Severus won two, but he'd been cheating), Mulciber returned, followed by Regulus and Avery.

"Took you long enough," said Wilkes, turning over a card. "What happened?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" said Mulciber. He sat down and began to saw through a slice of roast pork. "Figures, while we've been out risking our necks, you all have been playing cards. Useless, the lot of you."

Severus made a jot on the parchment they were using to keep score. "You told us to stay here. I wasn't aware that you actually intended us to do the opposite."

"You —"

"Augustus," said Avery tonelessly. A vein in Mulciber's forehead bulged, but Avery was focused on the card game. Apparently even he had a limit for Mulciber's tantrums. "There's no need to be cross."

"We couldn't find Dearborn," Regulus told the group. He glanced nervously at Mulciber. "We met up with Augustus on the seventh floor, but he hadn't seen her either."

Severus glanced up from his cards. Something was off about Regulus' tone of voice. Was he helping Mulciber cover something up?

"She probably went back to her common room," said Rosier. "She had a few minutes' head start on you lot."

"Pity," said Wilkes indifferently.

Severus looked at Regulus a moment longer, then went back to scoring his hand. "Shame you couldn't catch up to her. By the way, Wilfred — looks like I've won again." Wilkes squinted suspiciously at him, and Severus responded with what he hoped was an innocent shrug. "I wonder what tipped Dearborn off?" said Wilkes as he reshuffled the cards. "Think someone said something? Emma Vanity's always trying to listen in on our conversations, think she's still a bit peeved Lucius passed her over…"

"I wasn't aware that thinking was part of your job as a Follower," said Mulciber savagely. "Let's go. I want to see what Fernsby does after the feast. We can watch him from the hidden stairs that lead to the kitchens."

Severus trailed the others to the hidden staircase. He kept eyes on Mulciber's back, wishing he didn't need eye contact to perform Legilimency. Why did Mulciber care about Fernsby? Was he worried Fernsby would go looking for Sally Dearborn?

In the staircase, Severus kept watch through the keyhole of the door as hundreds of students filed out of the Great Hall, ushered back to their dormitories by the teachers. Finally, Professor Dumbledore exited the Hall, waving jovially over his shoulder at Chester Fernsby, who was rolling up the sleeves of his robes and eyeing the massive flock of bats with apprehension.

"Fernsby's trying to vanish the bats," Severus said to the others as the sound of Dumbledore's footsteps faded. "Stupid if you ask me, a Freezing Charm has a wider range and would —"

"Enough magical theory," snapped Mulciber. "What about Dearborn? Does he look worried about her?"

Severus didn't bother keeping the disdain from his voice. "The bats seem to be his primary concern."

Mulciber jabbed a finger at Regulus and Avery. "You two. Prefects. Go talk to Fernsby. Tell him you want to speak to Dearborn and see what he says."

Avery blinked, seemingly startled at being singled out. Regulus tensed; he looked towards Severus as if hoping Severus would bail him out. Severus met his gaze, impassive. He'd warned Regulus to solve his conflicts on his own.

"Why are you looking at him like that?" barked Mulciber, and Regulus jumped.

"I don't know how you mean —"

"Severus Snape is not your mentor," growled Mulciber as he drew his wand. "Am I clear?"

Regulus' voice was as brittle as shattered glass. "Yes."

"Go talk to Fernsby. Now."

Regulus' expression was unreadable. "As you wish, mentor." He gave Mulciber an ironic little bow and pulled open the door to the Entrance Hall. Severus quickly shut the door behind them and pressed his eye to the keyhole. Regulus was striding into the Great Hall, followed by Avery. Regulus raised a hand in greeting, and Fernsby turned around. After a minute of talking, Regulus nodded and drew his wand to help Fernby Vanish the swarm of bats. As they worked, Avery leaned against the wall and watched, looking bored.

Half an hour later, the Great Hall had regained its normal appearance. Fernsby bounded up the marble steps of the Entrance Hall, and Regulus and Avery rejoined the Followers in the flight of stairs that led to the kitchens. "Fernsby's got no idea where Dearborn is," Regulus announced. "He said he'd look for her this evening, though."

Mulciber's thick neck began to redden. Interesting, thought Severus.

"If you squealed to him," said Mulciber, "or showed him our hand —"

Avery frowned. "I don't —"

"Not you, you dolt," said Mulciber. He advanced on Regulus, who swallowed audibly. "Let me spell this out for you. If I find out you spoke a word — one word — of our plan to him, if you gave anything away, I'll make sure you vanish too."

Regulus took a step backwards, his hands shaking. Mulciber advanced on him, his voice growing louder. He sounded just like Severus' father, Tobias, and the thought filled Severus' mouth with a bitter taste.

Regulus' tall, lanky form seemed to shrink as Mulciber continued to pelt him with insults. "You think you're indispensable because of your last name? You're worth nothing, and you will never —"

"Augustus," said Severus. He deeply regretted intervening, but if he had to listen to Mulciber's tirade for another second he might actually curse someone. "You're being ridiculous. Threatening our newest Intent will get us nowhere."

His voice seemed to pull Mulciber out of his fixation on Regulus. Mulciber clenched his fists, looking as if he dearly wanted to snap Severus' neck. He took several deep breaths. "Back to the dungeons, all of you," he gritted out between his teeth. "The common room still needs cleaning."

The next morning, the sun had barely risen when Severus heard a knock on the dormitory door. Professor Slughorn entered without waiting for a response, squeezing his considerable gut past the doorframe. "Morning, lads," said Professor Slughorn. There was no hint of the usual cheer in his voice. "Mulciber, I must ask you to come with me for a moment."

Mulciber rolled over in bed, rubbing his eyes blearily. After a moment, he realized who was speaking to him and sat up straight. "Is everything alright? Sir?"

"That remains to be seen," said Professor Slughorn gravely. "You're familiar with the Head Girl, Sally Dearborn, I believe?"

Mulciber had the good sense to try and look sheepish, at least. "You know I am, sir."

"Then I'll see you in my office in ten minutes," said Professor Slughorn, turning to leave.

Severus spoke without thinking. "Did something happen to her?"

Professor Slughorn paused, one meaty hand on the doorframe. "That is what we are trying to determine, Sliverus. I'm rather hoping this is all a misunderstanding, but given the political affiliations of her father… Yes, it's for the best that we pursue all avenues, no matter how unlikely they might be…"

"Sir?"

Professor Slughorn sighed heavily, fixing his watery eyes on Severus. "Sally Dearborn has not been seen since the Halloween feast last night. I'm afraid we must assume the worst."