Severus kept Avery in his secret room for the better part of the afternoon. It soon became apparent that although Avery's memory was scrambled, he hadn't lost everything: he could remember bits and pieces of his time at Hogwarts.

Severus was able to explain without too much difficulty that Avery was in his sixth year at Hogwarts and that he was part of a secret group of students who were loyal to a Dark Lord (Avery seemed particularly enthusiastic about the last bit).

"You fell victim to a curse," said Severus. "A hastily-cast Memory Charm. I tried to restore your lost memories, but was unable to lift the curse in its entirety." That was a half-truth at best, but Severus was not about to take responsibility for scrambling Avery's brains.

"A curse?" said Avery, blinking widely. "Why? Do I have enemies?"

"Of a sort. I suspect it was the work of a rogue group of Gryffindors." A lie, but a necessary one. Avery couldn't be trusted with the truth in his current state. He'd tip Regulus off.

"Gryf-fin-dor," repeated Avery, sounding out the word. "Gryffindor en-em-ies." He brightened. "Potter and Black!"

Severus' lips curled into a cruel smile. "That's right. Not to worry, Edmund — We'll make them pay."

That evening, Severus took Avery to rejoin the other Followers, who were gathered in Dungeon Thirteen for their weekly ritual. Mulciber stood in the centre of the room, arms crossed, as Regulus pointed his wand at Mulciber's chest. Some sort of duelling practice, perhaps. Rosier and Wilkes were lounging on the white couches, looking bored.

"About time," growled Mulciber as Severus shut the heavy golden door behind them. "Where have you two been?"

"Augustus!" exclaimed Avery. "Augustus Mul-ci-ber. Wow, you've gotten really big!" His eyes bugged out as he noticed the green trim on Mulciber's robes. "You're in Slytherin? Me, too!" He began to chant under his breath. "Slytherin, Slytherin… Salazar Slytherin…"

Mulciber's icy blue eyes narrowed. "Have you gone mad, Edmund?"

Severus stepped in front of Avery. "He's been cursed," he said flatly. "It's addled his mind. Removing the curse was beyond my capability."

"Cursed?" said Mulciber. Rosier and Wilkes sat up from the couch, looking alarmed.

"I suspect Potter and Black," said Severus. "Black's sense of humour can be… deranged. Wouldn't you agree, Regulus?"

Regulus had lowered his wand and was staring at Severus. He looked confused, and like he had half a mind to flee the room. Nothing out of the ordinary, then. "You think… you think my brother put a curse on Avery?"

"So it would seem," said Severus. "Unless you can think of someone else who would find it funny to scramble someone's mind?"

Regulus blanched. Severus held his gaze, feeling a grim sense of satisfaction. Betraying Avery, helping Sally Dearborn escape… Regulus probably thought he'd gotten away with it. It would be fun to watch him squirm.

Rosier and Wilkes made room on the couch for Avery to join them in a game of Exploding Snap, though it quickly became apparent that Avery could no longer tell a dangerous Manticore card from a harmless pair of Bowtruckles.

Mulciber was watching Avery with something that might have been labelled concern, had Muciber been capable of empathy. "I'll tell Slughorn. He'll see to it that Potter and Black are punished."

"As they should be," said Severus. "It is truly nauseating what they have done to poor Edmund. Spell damage, after all… I doubt even Madam Pomfrey will be able to put him right."

Mulciber shook his head. "Those bastards. We should have taken care of them long ago."

"Indeed," said Severus. "Incidentally, I hope you'll forgive me for missing the ritual. I had to do what little I could to save Edmund's mind."

"Of course," said Mulciber. "Don't worry. I thought you'd forgotten about us, but if you were taking care of Edmund…"

He trailed off. Across the room, Avery was holding his cards upside-down.

"Was the ritual a fruitful one?" asked Severus. He'd heard that Mulciber had plans for them to go unicorn hunting, a sport Severus found utterly distasteful. Maybe he'd been lucky enough to miss it.

"Fruitful?" Mulciber scoffed. "Hardly. Regulus and I are working on our Unforgivables. He's having a bit of trouble. Aren't you, Reg?"

Regulus' grey eyes, proof of his pedigree, were darting back and forth between Severus and Mulciber with such speed that Severus half-expected him to make himself sick. "Only a bit."

Mulciber stage-whispered to Severus. "His Cruciatus Curse feels more like being tickled. And he hasn't been able to perform the Killing Curse at all."

A corner of Severus' lip twisted into a sneer. "Let this be your motivation, Regulus: the Dark Lord needs us to fight a war. How much use do you think he will have for a Follower who is incapable of harming others?"

Regulus flinched. "That's… You make a valid point." He drew his wand once more and aimed it at Mulciber, though his hand was twitching.

Some time later, Mulciber declared the ritual over for the night. Regulus had finally managed to kill a mangy-looking rat in a cage, though he never did master the Cruciatus Curse, and he fled the room as soon as they were dismissed.

Rosier and Wilkes guided Avery towards the door, promising that he'd love the Slytherin common room. Severus turned to Mulciber, who was casually de-boning the rat carcass. "If I may. I have a suggestion, Augustus."

Mulciber's attention was on the puddle of fur in front of him. "Go on, then."

"Are you going to interrogate us with Veritaserum? Like we did last year?"

"Yeah," said Mulciber. "Weekend after next — we'll be hunting unicorns next Saturday, of course."

"I look forward to it," said Severus drily. "Bella will be providing the Veritaserum, I assume?"

Mulciber grunted. "Mmm. She and Lucius can't make it to the interrogation this time, though. She said something about being needed at headquarters."

"That's likely," said Severus. Lucius and Bella probably didn't want to risk sneaking into Hogwarts, considering all the security that had been added.

Mulciber missed the sarcasm in Severus' voice entirely. "Yeah. I guess the war is getting serious. My father nearly —"

"You should interrogate us next weekend," said Severus, cutting smoothly across him. He had no desire to hear Mulciber's anxiety about the perils his father found himself in.

Mulciber frowned. It looked like he was thinking hard. "But there'll be clear skies next weekend. The unicorn hunt…"

"Administer Veritaserum instead," said Severus. "Trust me."

After a moment, Mulciber nodded, and Severus relaxed. He needed to interrogate Regulus under Veritaserum as soon as possible. Considering Regulus was an Occlumens, Veritaserum would be the easiest way to weaken his mental defences. It would be the best chance Severus had to use Legilimency and figure out the truth.

"Sev," said Mulciber as Severus turned to leave.

"Yes?"

Mulciber squared his shoulders. "Thanks for looking after Edmund today," he said stiffly. "I couldn't have done it. I don't know the first thing about spell theory."

No, thought Severus. You couldn't have. Out loud, he said, "It was nothing. We look out for each other."

"We do," said Mulciber. He cleared his throat. "Sometimes I forget we're on the same side, you and I. I'm, er, glad we're not fighting, for once."

Surely he was joking. "I'm glad for it, as well," said Severus. It was true: having Mulciber's trust only made it easier for Severus to undermine him at the first chance he got.

The Gryffindors' double Transfiguration lesson that Tuesday went by particularly quickly, probably because Sirius slept through most of it. The night before had been the full moon, and a particularly exciting one, at that; the wolf had managed to slip out of the Shrieking Shack, and Sirius and James had had a hell of a time keeping it away from Hogsmeade.

Remus, upon transforming back, had had an inkling of what had happened, but seemed too tired to care. Sirius had found the whole thing exhilarating, though it had left him exhausted.

"Your rabbit, please, Black," said Professor McGonagall at the end of the lesson.

Sirius raised his head from the desk and gestured sleepily with his wand. A fluffy brown rabbit appeared on the desk with a small pop. Upon closer inspection, the rabbit didn't look as solidly real as the one James was holding, but at least it wasn't made of chocolate, like Peter's was.

Professor McGonagall lifted a thin eyebrow. "Impressive. Especially for a student who slept through the lesson."

Sirius yawned. "I learn best through osmosis."

The bell rang, but as the other students began to file out of the room, they were met with some resistance: Professor Slughorn had appeared in the doorway, and his ample stomach made it difficult to slip by.

"Pardon me," said Professor Slughorn genially, pushing his way into the classroom. "Minerva, if I may — I'd like a word with Potter and Black."

Professor McGonagall's eyes flashed dangerously behind her glasses. "Be my guest," she said archly, and she swept out of the room.

Sirius and James exchanged worried looks. It was never good when they couldn't remember what they were in trouble for.

"The tower, d'you reckon?" whispered James.

"Couldn't be," said Sirius. "Maybe he figured out that we ruined Snivellus' Amortentia last week…"

He trailed off. Professor Slughorn approached them, unsmiling.

"My dear boys," he began, clasping his hands over his stomach. "I'm sure you are already aware of why I wish to speak to you."

"Erm," said James. "We did something wrong, I assume."

This was apparently not the response that Professor Slughorn wanted to hear. He frowned, which in itself was cause for alarm. Slughorn was not known for being stern.

"I was hoping you would have enough of a conscience to come clean without my prodding. I see now this is not the case."

Sirius racked his brains, trying to think of something he had recently done that merited feeling guilty about. Beside him, James looked as confused as Sirius felt.

"Sorry, Professor," said James slowly, "but I'm honestly not sure what you're referring to."

Professor Slughorn shook his head gravely. "I am speaking, of course, of the curse you have placed on Edmund Avery."

Sirius ran his hands through his hair, trying to think. He was fairly certain the last interaction he'd had with Avery had been a month ago, when they had taunted him with the Marauder's Map. But they hadn't cursed him so much as gotten him temporarily banned from the library.

James was apparently having the same thoughts. "Surely Avery's allowed back in the library by now, Professor?"

"Trust me, we have scoured the Restricted Section for a counter-curse," said Slughorn, apparently misunderstanding. "But despite our efforts, even Madam Pomfrey has admitted that he may never regain his complete mental faculties."

Sirius was fairly certain that he'd remember casting a curse that extreme. "No offence, Professor, but I think you're barking up the wrong tree," he said, ignoring James' warning look. "Whatever happened to Avery, we didn't do it."

"Come now, boys," said Slughorn seriously. "I have the word of no less than four Slytherin students that they were present when you cast the curse. Your own brother, in fact —"

"What?!" exclaimed Sirius. "Regulus said that? That lying, disloyal little —" And he called Regulus something foul enough to make James wince.

"Two points from Gryffindor for language," said Slughorn disapprovingly. "I am afraid that I must give the both of you" — he took a dramatic breath — "weekend detention. I shall see you in my office on Saturday evening."

Sirius snorted. He would have laughed out loud, except James elbowed him hard in the side. A single detention was Slughorn's way of coming down hard on them? No wonder burgeoning Death Eaters were running around Slytherin unchecked.

"Erm, Professor," said James. "I've already got detention on Saturday evening."

Professor Slughorn frowned. "Well. That certainly… well." He looked like he was short-circuiting. Apparently he found the thought of serving two detentions in one weekend inconceivable.

At long last, Slughorn said, "I expect you shall simply have to serve my detention on Sunday, then." He paused, clearly expecting James to protest.

"Two detentions!" said James, catching onto what a lucky break he was getting. "And on the weekend!"

"Yes," said Slughorn. He seemed glad to finally be getting somewhere with them. "No, Potter, do not beg; I will not budge on this. It is time you learned that there are consequences for your actions."

After Slughorn had gone, James turned to Sirius, pushing his glasses up his nose. "What in Merlin's name was that about? D'you really think someone cursed Avery?"

"I dunno," said Sirius darkly, "but I'm going to murder Reg."

James went to the Great Hall for lunch, but Sirius stayed in the Transfiguration classroom and unfolded the Marauder's Map on his desk. Regulus, apparently, was practising Quidditch with the rest of the Slytherin team.

Sirius stormed out of the castle so quickly he might have Apparated.

"Regulus!" he bellowed, striding across the Quidditch pitch.

Mulciber and Wilkes were hovering far above the grassy pitch. They smirked at each other, as if they'd known this was coming, and Sirius fought the urge to hex them.

Regulus nudged his broom downwards, gliding to a gentle stop in front of Sirius. Up close, he didn't look much better than he had over the Easter holidays; the circles under his eyes had grown even darker, as though he still wasn't sleeping.

"Yes?" said Regulus.

"Did you tell Slughorn I put a curse on Avery? That you saw me put a curse on Avery?"

Regulus glanced up. The other Slytherins were wheeling above them like vultures. "So you didn't, then?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"You tell me." Sirius advanced on Regulus, his fists clenched. "Considering you apparently saw me do it."

"Severus said —"

There it was. "And you believed him? Merlin's pants, Reg, if you took Snivellus' word for it, you're even stupider than Father thinks you are —"

Regulus shrank back, and Sirius broke off. He'd expected Regulus to retaliate, not grimace as if he'd just been punched. "Father doesn't think I'm stupid."

The other Slytherins were still watching them hungrily. Probably hoping he and Regulus would hex each other.

"Alright," said Sirius. "You're not stupid. But you are a disloyal prick for throwing me under the bus like that."

Regulus drew in a breath. "That's… fair."

Sirius pointed his wand at Regulus. He wasn't going to hex him, but Regulus didn't know that. Neither did the other Slytherins. Hopefully they'd stay far above, out of earshot. "What happened to poor, innocent Avery, anyway?"

Regulus stared at Sirius' wand. "I don't know. His mind's gone a bit funny."

"Funny how?"

"He's forgetful, for one. And he's been acting sort of… simple. It's like he's a child again."

"Well, that makes it easy," said Sirius. "Terrible memory, lowered intelligence, age regression… That's a textbook case. Surely you realize what happened to him."

Regulus gave a small, jerking shrug.

"Reg," said Sirius, exasperated, "your Defence O.W.L. is one month away, and you can't even recognize —"

"It can't be a broken Memory Charm!" said Regulus. "That's… It's impossible —"

"Yeah, sure sounds impossible," said Sirius sarcastically. He pocketed his wand and turned away, as if to leave. Then he whirled around, swinging a fist at Regulus.

There was a crack as his fist met Regulus' jaw. Regulus cried out in pain and stumbled backward, just managing to catch himself on his broomstick. He touched his jaw gingerly, looking horrified at the blood on his fingertips. "Muggle brawling. Really classy, Sirius. You —"

Sirius was unmoved. "Make better choices, Reg."

Regulus didn't respond; he worked his injured jaw carefully.

"Aren't you going to run to Slughorn?" asked Sirius. "I'll wait right here. You can tell him your troubled older brother is bullying defenceless Slytherins. Again."

Regulus pulled out his wand. For a moment, Sirius thought Regulus was going to hex him; instead, he touched the tip of his wand to his jaw and muttered a Cooling Charm.

"Are we done?" said Regulus at last.

"Eager to get back to your Death Eater friends, are you?"

"They don't hit me, at least."

"Right," said Sirius. "I'm sure they've never done anything to cause you harm. They say Voldemort's about on par with the Dalai Lama, don't they?"

Regulus frowned, unsure of how to respond, and Sirius barked a laugh. Of course Regulus didn't know who the Dalai Lama was. He'd never taken Muggle Studies.

When Severus saw Regulus the next day, a nasty bruise had bloomed on his jaw. The elder Black's work, Mulciber claimed. Regulus' encounter with his older brother seemed to have frayed his few remaining nerves: for the rest of the week, he couldn't so much as pass Severus in the corridors without staring nervously at him.

This was obnoxious, but Severus had been through worse. He just needed Regulus to drink the Veritaserum. So he pretended not to notice Regulus' obvious jumpiness while he counted down the days until Saturday.

Unfortunately, Saturday evening took an agonizingly long time to come. Severus had a particularly satisfying moment on Thursday, though, when Mulciber informed them that both James Potter and Sirius Black had been given detention for hexing Avery with an unknown curse.

Avery, for his part, was adjusting well to his new circumstances. He'd forgotten much of what it meant to be a Hogwarts student, and as a result, he retained the wonder he'd had as an eleven-year-old. Everything from the Great Hall to McGonagall's Animagus form caused him to gasp in awe.

The downside was that his mental capacities also seemed to be that of an eleven-year-old. As such, Severus and Evan Rosier had to do quite a lot of Avery's homework for him. Severus didn't mind the extra work as much as he thought he would; it was his penance for breaking Avery's mind in the first place.

Saturday night finally came, just when Severus was beginning to doubt it ever would. He followed the others to Dungeon Thirteen and took a seat at the long table, directly across from Regulus.

Regulus didn't seem surprised at the sight of the six glasses of clear liquid that had been placed around the table. On the contrary, he sighed, looking resigned.

Severus narrowed his eyes. Regulus had long since mastered the basics of Occlumency; was it possible Bella had given him additional lessons, the way she had Severus? That could complicate matters.

Mulciber gave a long, droning speech about the ritual of Veritaserum that he probably thought made him sound intelligent. Avery squirmed in his seat. After Mulciber finally finished talking, he nodded towards Regulus, who swallowed his Veritaserum in one gulp. He set the glass down carefully, as though afraid it would shatter. Mulciber followed suit, as did the rest of the Followers.

The Veritaserum slid down Severus' throat easily. He had nothing to fear; he'd already survived one such interrogation last year, during which he had had far more to lose. Not to mention his Occlumency had been much poorer back then.

Mulciber directed his first question at Regulus. It was something utterly mundane about Regulus' loyalty to his brother. Severus barely listened to Regulus' response, which was predictably noncommittal. As Regulus asked Mulciber a reciprocal question — something about Mulciber's insecurities — Severus focused on formulating his own question. It had to be airtight. He couldn't afford to give Regulus any way out.

Evan Rosier was next to interrogate Regulus, followed by Wilfred Wilkes. Most of Regulus's answers were actually very boring: it seemed like his whole existence revolved around being noticed as little as possible.

There was a bit of a stir when Avery, giggling like a child, asked Regulus who he thought was the fittest girl at Hogwarts. Regulus began to blush furiously before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Lily Evans".

"Alright, calm down, Edmund," said Mulciber, smirking slightly. "Nothing to be ashamed of, Regulus. Even Mudbloods can have their charms, and she's a wily one. Wouldn't you agree, Severus?"

Severus rolled his eyes so hard he thought they'd fall out of his head. "I learned my lesson last year. Lily Evans is more viper than witch — she'll sink her fangs into you just to see how much it hurts when she lets go. She's an animal, like all Mudbloods." He shot Regulus a pitiless smile. "Keep pining after her and you'll learn eventually."

Regulus' neck was red. "I do not — I do not pine…"

"My turn," said Severus. He leaned forward, clasping his hands on the table. "I saw something quite interesting in poor Edmund's mind when I was attempting to undo your brother's curse. Have you got any idea what it was?"

Regulus swallowed. "I'm not sure."

"Let me enlighten you," said Severus. "Someone had modified Edmund's memory. Poorly."

Regulus ducked his head, not meeting Severus' eyes. "That does sound interesting."

"That's not all," said Severus. "I was able to recover the memory."

At the head of the table, Mulciber gaped at him. "Potter and Black Obliviated Edmund? When I get my hands on them —"

"The Obliviation was not their doing," said Severus. "That much became obvious as I viewed the memory. In it, I saw exactly what Edmund had gotten up to the evening of Halloween."

That reveal had exactly the impact he had hoped for. Mulciber's eyes bulged out of their sockets, while Rosier and Wilkes exchanged alarmed glances. Avery was not concerned at all: he was playing with his own hands, humming to himself.

"Edmund found Sally Dearborn," continued Severus. "They were alone. He took advantage of the opportunity to place a Full-Body Bind Curse on her. I think he planned to alert you, Augustus, but he never got the chance. Would you like to know why?"

Mulciber was nearly salivating. "Go on."

"What I saw next changed everything," said Severus. "Regulus came up the stairs. He confronted Edmund. He lifted the curse Edmund had placed on Sally and ordered her to hide."

Severus turned to Regulus, who was staring at Severus as if seeing him for the first time. "Do you deny this, Regulus?"

"I…" began Regulus. His knuckles were white where he gripped his glass. "Please. If you knew…"

"He doesn't deny it," said Severus. "It is as I suspected. Sally Dearborn escaped, thanks to the aid of one traitorous Regulus Black."

"I'm not a traitor," said Regulus automatically. "Edmund was going to… It wouldn't have worked. That's why I… please, I —"

Severus met Mulciber's gaze and dipped his head respectfully. "Augustus. If I may. I would like to peer into Regulus' mind. Veritaserum has weakened his mental defences — I think I may be able to determine how and where he managed to hide Sally Dearborn."

Mulciber's lip curled. He looked hungrily at Regulus, the way a dog looked at a slab of meat. "Be my guest."

"No," pleaded Regulus. "Severus, please, you don't know the whole story —"

"I will soon enough," replied Severus coldly.

Regulus looked towards the ceiling, as if he was praying. Severus drew his wand and pointed it across the table. "Legilimens."

Peering into Regulus' mind was like being underwater in the depths of the ocean. Even under Veritaserum, he resisted Severus' poking and prodding — or maybe that was just how Regulus' mind was organized. There was no light from above, and the murky profundity seemed to continue down, and down, to an unfathomable deepness. Severus thought he saw the occasional shadow in the corner of his eye, but these always vanished upon closer inspection.

It was hard to search these vast, empty depths. Surrounding him, pressing down on him like many tonnes of water, was an overarching heaviness, a fear. As if at any moment he would be swallowed into the belly of a beast.

Sally Dearborn, thought Severus, searching through the emptiness. Give me Sally Dearborn.

Something in the corner of Severus' eye caught his attention. He tried to swim closer, ignoring the mounting terror that was surely Regulus' best defence against Legilimency. You told her to hide. Where?

The murky depths of Regulus' mind pressed down on Severus with such heaviness that he thought he might drown. He forced himself to continue, though he couldn't breathe, and something enormous was coming closer, a gaping mouth —

He would surely drown, but there was no turning back. Severus dove into the mouth.

All at once, the pressure stopped. His surroundings grew lighter, and he caught a glimpse —

A dungeon corridor, lined with statues. Torches with snakes carved into the handles. A painting.

"She's here," gasped Severus, pulling out of Regulus' mind. "In the dungeons."

"Where?" demanded Mulciber.

"I don't know." Severus rubbed his forehead. He'd never been one to explore the castle, and even less so recently. "Some corridor. It looked like it was decorated with snakes —"

There was a crash. Regulus had stood up, knocking his chair over in the process. He glanced desperately around the table, casting one last, imploring look at Severus. "Severus. I can explain —"

"The time for explanations is over," said Mulciber. He drew his wand. "Take us to Sally Dearborn."

Regulus stared at Mulciber's wand. Then he ducked.

Severus thought at first that Regulus was trying to avoid a spell, but then something heavy collided with Severus' chair, nearly knocking him out of his seat. Regulus had flung himself under the table and was crawling out from under it.

Severus drew his wand, but Regulus was out from under the table and across the room before Severus could even get to his feet.

"Imperio," growled Mulciber as Regulus wrenched open the door to Dungeon Thirteen. But Regulus darted into the corridor, and the curse blasted into the door's gilded frame.

The room was silent. Severus shifted in his seat, waiting for Mulciber's instructions.

When Mulciber spoke, he barked orders like a drill sergeant. "Into the dungeons, then, what're you waiting for? Let's get her!" Wilkes cracked his knuckles, and Rosier nodded.

"We stick to our strengths," said Mulciber. "No fancy business this time. Unforgivables as soon as we see her."

Avery's chin was trembling. "B-but what about Regulus?"

Mulciber advanced on Avery, his expression dark. "Regulus has betrayed us." He looked at each of the Followers in turn. "Make sure he suffers the same fate as Sally."

When James arrived at the hospital wing for detention, the infirmary was blessedly empty, save for Lily. She was perched atop Madam Pomfrey's desk, perusing a small book with a paper cover and blindingly white pages. Some sort of Muggle novel.

"Alright, Lily?" said James. He nearly stuttered as her name tripped off his tongue. He still wasn't used to this whole first-name-basis thing.

Lily marked her place and shut the book. "Hi. You're late."

"Erm," he said. "Sorry." Why couldn't he think of something clever to say?

Lily shrugged. "Don't worry about it. If you could strip and replace the bed linens, that would be lovely."

Lovely. "Sure," he said, starting on the first bed. "Where's Poppy gone off to? Having tea?"

"She doesn't work on Saturday evenings," said Lily, returning to her book.

"Poppy taking time off? That's new."

"Yes, well." Patches of red bloomed on her cheeks. "She seems to think I'm capable of holding the fort a few hours a week."

"Godric's balls." James flung a set of dirty linens into a heap in the middle of the infirmary and started on the next bed. "You must be really good at Healing. She wouldn't trust just anyone to…" he trailed off. Lily's face had turned as red as her hair. For some reason, that made him feel embarrassed.

"Oh," said Lily, "I'm not… I mean, yes, but…"

"Yeah," said James quickly. "I'm sure she lets all her apprentices have a go at running the infirmary. That's great." He began to noisily remove a pillowcase to avoid having to say anything else. Lily probably didn't feel like having a chat. She'd brought a book, after all.

To his surprise, Lily spoke a few minutes later. "How're you getting on, then?"

"Oh, spiffing," said James. He tossed a greying blanket into the growing pile of linens. "Only a few beds left to strip, now."

"I meant with — you know." She sounded unusually hesitant. "How're you coping? After what happened on the train?"

"Ah," said James. He wished she were referring to anything else. He would rather have told her the details of his breakup with Parvana. "I'm good, yeah. Took some potions for about a week, and I was right as rain."

"That's good," said Lily.

"Yeah. It's good."

The hospital wing was suddenly far too quiet. He tried shaking out the last of the dirty linens, but that didn't help. "How're — how're you?"

Lily slid off the desk. "I'm alright." She looked like she wanted to say more. Instead, she bent to pick up an armful of the dirty linens.

"Oh — really, don't mind," said James. "You don't have to help."

"It's no trouble," said Lily, dragging the linens over to the large, battered copper cauldron in the corner. "If it gets us both out of here —"

There was a bang. The door to the hospital wing flew open, and a tall, dark-haired figure came sprinting in. "Oi!" said James. He'd thought Sirius was supposed to be in detention —

Lily's mouth fell open. She dropped the linens into the sink. "Regulus? What happened to your face?"

Regulus Black skidded to a halt, breathing hard. "Sirius punched me, but I deserved it, because I told Slughorn that he and Potter had cursed Avery, but that was a lie, because I didn't want anyone to find out about… something... But now they all know anyway, so that's why I came."

James was surprised at the number of words that had just tumbled out of Regulus' mouth. Wasn't he supposed to be the quiet one of the Blacks?

Lily frowned. "You're flushed. Are you feeling okay?"

"No," said Regulus. "I took Veritaserum."

"Veritaserum? Regulus, why —"

"Unimportant. Lily. I need — help. Can you come. Please."

Lily hesitated. "Now? I'm in the middle of overseeing…"

Regulus glanced at James, wearing the same dismissive expression he'd so often seen on Sirius' face. "Potter? Leave him. We have to go."

Something unspoken seemed to pass between them. Lily's eyes widened. "Of course. Should I — is there anything I should bring?"

"No time," said Regulus. "We have to go. Now."

Lily turned to James, pained. "Look, just — just finish washing the linens, alright? I'll be back soon."

"You can't go off alone with him," said James, drawing his wand. "I'm coming too."

"No," said Lily. "It's nothing to do with you. Stay here."

"He's part of Mulciber's gang. You can't trust him."

She bit her lip. "I —"

"Lily," said Regulus. "There's no time."

She drew in a breath. "I'm sorry," she told James. "Stay. Here."

The door of the hospital wing slammed shut behind them.

James immediately tried the handle. He swore loudly. The door had been bolted shut.

He rummaged through his bag and pulled out the two-way mirror. "Sirius Black," he muttered. Nothing happened.

"Sirius Black, damn it," said James. "Sirius Orion Black —"

Sirius' face swam into view. He appeared to be holding the mirror at an odd angle; all James could see was his neck and chin. "Yeah?" whispered Sirius. "Quickly, Slughorn just left his office, but he'll be back any minute. Had to explode one of his bottles of Ogden's Oldest to get him to step out —"

"Listen," said James urgently. "Your brother just burst into my detention with Evans, said he needed her help. And then they took off. Any idea why?"

Sirius' mouth twisted into a frown. "I haven't the faintest. Think he fancies her, but... he's not the type to convince her to skive off her prefect duties just for a snog. Can't you follow them on the Map?"

"Oh — right," said James. He scrambled to pull it out of his bag.

"Anything?" asked Sirius.

James scanned the Map. "Well, they're in the dungeons, though that's not too surprising —" He broke off. "Oh. Shit."

In the mirror, Sirius frowned. "What?"

Maybe what he'd seen had been a trick of the light. James hurriedly cleaned his glasses, then put them back on. The map hadn't changed. "Shit. I've got to go, Pads."

Sirius' voice was sharp. "James. What the hell is going on —"

James shoved the mirror into his bag and drew his wand before Sirius had even finished talking. There was no time for something as fiddly as Alohamora, so he sent a Reductor Curse at the infirmary door, which was blasted clean off its hinges.

He cast one last hurried glance at the map. Just in case what he'd seen earlier was a mistake, a trick of the light. Which was looking less and less likely by the second.

The dots labelled 'Lily Evans' and 'Regulus Black' were still in the dungeon corridor. Emerging from the wall, joining them, was a third, impossible dot. But its label was clear and unmistakable, and the Map never lied.

Sally Dearborn.