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Chapter Four

A week after her conversation with Regulus Black in the library, the day of their next tutoring session arrived, to be had at eight o'clock that Friday evening. The morning of, Diana sat in the Great Hall with her friends, eating breakfast when the morning post arrived.

Dozens of owls streamed into the Hall, depositing letters and newspapers across the House tables. A handsome brown owl landed at Henrietta's elbow and hooted importantly. She took the copy of that morning's Daily Prophet and placed a Knut into the leather pouch tied to the owl's leg. The bird hooted again, dipped its beak into her tea, and took off again.

"Argh!" Henrietta exclaimed, shoving away her teacup. "Little buggers! I hate it when they do that!"

Diana didn't answer, her attention drawn by a familiar screech owl that flapped down in front of her, narrowly missing putting its feet in her porridge.

"Hullo, Pluto," she greeted, feeding the owl a strip of bacon in exchange for the letter it carried. Pluto was her family's owl, and sure enough, the letter addressed to Diana was posted by her sister. "Thank you. You can go on now and rest."

Pluto clicked his beak before soaring out the windows with the rest of the owls. Diana opened her letter and read.

Diana,

I hope this letter finds you well and adjusting comfortably to N.E.W.T. year. I remember my own sixth year and how challenging it was. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime away, but it was only two years ago—how quickly the time goes!

I'm writing to share some exciting news with you… Sullivan and I are expecting our first baby! You're going to be an aunt! Can you believe it?

I told Mum and Dad in person just a few days ago. Mum cried, of course, and Dad looked ready to fall out of his chair! They're beside themselves. Mum's already entered planning-mode, as I'm sure you could guess. I swear, that woman's more excited to be a grandmother than anything. Absolutely mental.

I've told Mum already that I want to plan the baby shower around your Easter holiday, so you can be here with us to celebrate. I miss you, Diana, and I wish you weren't in school right now, but you don't have much longer to go! Are you still thinking about a job at the Ministry? Sullivan has offered to get you in touch with various people from multiple departments. Isn't that so considerate of him?

Write me back ASAP! Try not to let N.E.W.T.s kill you!

All my love,

Carina

When she finished reading, Diana was beaming at the parchment, her eyes prickling with tears. She was going to be an aunt!

"D?" Gemma asked, looking at her in concern. "Everything all right?"

Diana thrust the letter at her friends with a breathy laugh. "Everything's fine! Look—just read!"

Her three friends crowded around the letter while Diana went back to her porridge, her spirits buoyed so high she felt like she might slip off the bench and float to the enchanted ceiling above. After several moments, her friends finished reading the letter and squealed.

"A baby!" Henrietta cooed. "How exciting!"

"That's awesome, D," Gemma said with a wide grin. "Still, it's weird imagining Carina pregnant…"

Jackie laughed. "She and Sullivan are both of age and living together. It's not that weird."

"Yeah, but I still remember her getting drunk with us in the girls' dormitories our entire fourth year," Gemma said. "That woman was an animal!"

Jackie sighed and leaned on her hand, gazing at Diana wistfully. "Carina is the coolest older sister. I'm jealous. If only Jennie could be more like her…"

Diana resealed the letter and placed it in her bag. "Jennie isn't that bad."

"She gave us detention because our skirts were one inch higher than the uniform code permits!"

Diana grimaced at the memory, "All right, fair point. Jennie was a nightmare."

"Come on," Henrietta said, standing from the bench. "We should get to class."

Gemma stood with a sigh. "The sooner this day is over with, the sooner it's the weekend." She stretched her hands toward the enchanted ceiling, sunny and blue that day. "Thank God."

"For the rest of you," Diana pointed out. "I still have my session with Black tonight."

"I still don't know what made you say yes to continue working with him," Jackie said disapprovingly as they walked toward the doors of the Great Hall.

Diana ignored Henrietta's look and said, "Consider it a change of heart, I guess."

"Confounded, probably," Gemma muttered under her breath.

Diana rolled her eyes. "I think I'd know if I was Confounded, Gem."

"No, you wouldn't," Gemma argued. "That's the point of the spell."

"You're thinking of the Imperius Curse—"

They cut off abruptly when their group nearly trampled two people walking into the Hall, forcing them to swerve out of the way at the last second. Diana nearly groaned when she realized that one of the people was Regulus Black—naturally—escorting one of the Slytherin girls from their year, Magda Travers. Though Diana and Black hadn't spoken since the week before, Diana couldn't help feeling that Black was suddenly everywhere—as evidenced by their current predicament.

"Sorry," Diana said quickly. Her eyes darted to Black, whose elbow was crooked so Magda Travers could hold onto it with a dainty hand.

Diana had never had any dealings with Magda Travers, but she knew of the icy Slytherin witch. Another pure-blood, Magda Travers radiated wealth and privilege, and it didn't hurt that she was one of the most beautiful witches in the school. Her black hair stopped just shy of her shoulders, perfectly straight and framing her oval face nicely. Her eyes were a peculiar but remarkable shade of brown that reminded Diana of sunlight on autumn leaves, and her tall, willowy frame was the kind that made men ogle in lust and women weep in envy.

"Er, c'mon," Diana said to her friends, ushering them along. She didn't look at Black; though they had agreed to work together, she was sure he wouldn't want her speaking to him in public.

So she was shocked when Black said, "Morning, Fairchild."

She stumbled at the unexpected greeting, accidentally stepping on the back of Gemma's shoe and tripping the other girl on their way out of the Hall.

"Diana!" Gemma complained. "Watch where you're going!"

Diana didn't hear her, her face going red at Black's amused smirk and Travers's bored expression.

"Morning!" she chirped in a voice that didn't sound like her at all. She cringed. "Er, see you later!"

She nearly shoved her friends into the entrance hall. When she turned, she sighed in relief when Black and Travers had gone.

"Smooth, D," Henrietta said, fixing her robes.

"Ugh, of course he'd be involved with that cow," Jackie said, glaring after the two Slytherins as they walked arm-in-arm to their table. "As if he could get any worse."

Gemma made a face. "How do you know Travers is a cow? She doesn't talk to anyone."

"Exactly," Jackie said. "She thinks she's so much better than everyone else, so she doesn't speak unless she deems you worthy." She made air quotes around the word, derisive.

"Whatever," Diana said. Her face had stopped burning, but the embarrassment still lingered. She had no problem facing Black last week, so why was she suddenly fumbling around like a fool? "Let's just get to class."

She'd rather not think about Slytherins at that moment, especially if their name was Regulus Black.

The day passed in an uneventful swirl of lectures, notes, and readings. Diana was sure she hadn't used her wand once in any of her classes that day, so intent were her professors on theory. It annoyed her; what was the point of being a witch if she couldn't even practice magic? Wasn't that what Hogwarts was all about?

She knew she was only complaining because of her session with Black that night. Despite the Slytherin's sudden attention of her—however cool it was—the thought of having another session end the way the last one did dragged her mood down.

Therefore, it was with a despondent wave to her friends akin to that of someone before the gallows that she set off for the dungeons at a quarter to eight, leaving her cozy common room behind.

The classroom was empty when she arrived. She set about grabbing a cauldron and kindling the fire to heat it while she waited. She took out her book and checked her watch: 8:50. She sighed and slumped on her stool. Hopefully, Black would arrive soon, so she didn't have to sit in the drafty dungeon alone.

As the minutes passed with agonizing slowness, she reached into the inside pocket of her robes and pulled out her sister's letter. She read it over again, unable to keep the smile from her face.

"Good news from home?"

She flinched involuntarily at Black's voice. He came and sat beside her, keeping a respectful distance while still gazing at her curiously.

Recovering herself, she waved the letter in her hand. "Er, yes. My sister. She's having a baby. I just found out today."

He nodded slowly. "Congratulations—both to you and her."

Surprised but befuddled by his civility, Diana smiled. "Thank you. That's very kind."

He dipped his head graciously. "Of course. If you don't mind me asking, when did she graduate?"

"Two years ago." She glanced to him, wary. "Why?"

"Hm. I don't recall another witch at Hogwarts with the surname Fairchild," he mused.

"Well, her name's Carina. She was in Hufflepuff too."

"And she's two years older?" When she nodded, he hummed again. "She must've known my cousin, then. Narcissa Black. Well, Malfoy now," he amended. "She wed Lucius Malfoy last summer. Good man; good family." He drummed his fingers on the table. "I should write Narcissa and let her know. If she and your sister were classmates, I'm sure she'll want to say her congratulations as well. Narcissa loves children."

Diana shifted on her stool. "Your cousin Narcissa…she has an older sister, right? Bellatrix?"

He nodded, not seeming to notice her hesitation in speaking his cousin's name. "Yes. There's Andromeda, too, but…" He cleared his throat. "Best not speak of her." His grey eyes slid to her. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, er…no reason."

But she knew all about Bellatrix Black—or, Lestrange now, she supposed. She'd seen their wedding announcement in the Daily Prophet a few years ago. However, rumor had it that after Bellatrix graduated Hogwarts, she was immediately recruited into the ranks of the Dark Lord. Diana wouldn't be surprised at all if the rumor proved true; despite the gap in their ages, Bellatrix's streak of cruelty was legendary, and she was as pure-blooded as they came.

Black must have sensed her lie, but he just gave her a cold, sardonic smile. "Perhaps we should stop the small talk and start with our lesson."

"Yes, good idea." She nodded vigorously. Anything to get away from the topic of his notoriously Dark family. "So, for this session, I thought we could do an advanced version of the Wiggenweld Potion…"

Despite Diana's initial hesitation and doubt, the lesson went much smoother than the last. Black seemed to have taken her words in the library to heart, for he actively participated this time around, asking her questions and prompting for clarification when she didn't explain something fully. By the end of the hour, Diana had relaxed, and Black had produced a potion two shades off from its needed peridot-green hue, but a successful attempt all the same.

Diana clapped when she saw the results. "Excellent! Slughorn's a stickler for proper shades, but I'm sure he'll give you a pass since he's your Head of House. I'll grab a vial so we can take a sample to give him, and then we're done for the night."

Black corked some of the potion and placed it on Slughorn's desk for the professor to mark it the next day. After helping her clean in silence, he gestured to the door. "Ready?"

She stopped in the middle of shouldering her bag. "What?"

He spoke as if she were an uncomprehending child. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes," she said, flustered, "but I—I mean…with me?"

Now he looked at her as if she suffered from brain damage. She backtracked quickly.

"It's just—you're a Slytherin, and you made it pretty clear that you're not my biggest fan…"

His face slipped from the neutral expression he'd worn for the last hour into a scowl. "Yes, I'm a Slytherin. Are you afraid of being seen with the likes of me?"

She blinked. "N-no—"

"Can't be known for associating with a Slytherin, especially a Black, right?" he said, speaking over her. "How typical—"

"It's not that!" she said, shocked. "Merlin, do you always jump this quickly to conclusions?" She shook her head. "Okay, look, I thought you wouldn't want to be seen with me. Like, I'm not exactly one of your fellow Sacred Twenty-Eight members, am I? And after what you said last week, I just didn't know where you stood. Okay? That's all."

The hand clutching his bag strip loosened slightly, but he still looked displeased. "I told you already: last week was not…me."

She nodded quickly. "I know. I remember." She waved her hand. "Let's just…get out of here, yeah? Maybe the fumes are getting to us."

He smirked as they walked to the door. "The fumes?"

"Yeah. Like when potions simmer, they give off fumes." She wiggled her fingers to demonstrate her point, but she blushed when he only seemed more amused. "You know what? Never mind. I just need sleep, I think."

Something like a chuckle escaped him as they pushed open the door and stepped into the dungeon corridor together. "Has your week been that terrible?"

"Not terrible. Just long," she said, stopping when she realized that she was yet again making small talk with the Slytherin. "Anyway, I won't keep you. Have a good night."

"It's fine," he said. He motioned for her to walk up the staircase leading back to the ground floor. "I'll escort you to the entrance hall."

She didn't move, frozen. "Why?"

He frowned at the sudden apprehension in her voice. "It's the proper thing to do."

Though his angular face was vaguely annoyed, she didn't sense anything off in his tone or expression. She hesitated briefly before nodding. "All right, then."

She walked up the stairs, acutely aware of the boy at her back. His footsteps echoed with her own as they ascended, and she silently prayed that she wouldn't do anything stupid, like trip and faceplant.

No sooner had she thought it then her shoe slipped on a step, though instead of pitching forward, the weight of her bag carried her backward. She yelped, but Black caught her, gripping her elbows from behind and preventing her from falling. He gave her a little push to get back her balance on the step, and she reached for the wall, clutching her chest where her heart pounded beneath her skin.

"Are you all right?" Black asked, coming to stand on the same step as her and gazing at her intently.

"Fine." She gave a weak laugh, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I promise I know how to walk properly."

He gave her the same little smirk he'd given her earlier. Instead of the cruel sneer he'd bestowed upon her the week before, this small smile held no malice or disgust. It crinkled the corners of his dark grey eyes and made the dimple on his chin stand out more. "I believe you. You should be more careful though. One might think this is Hufflepuff's way of sabotaging Slytherin for the match this weekend by taking out their star Seeker."

To her surprise, she laughed. "Oh, that's right! Now that you mention it, I do seem to remember Barnabas saying something like that…"

He snorted. "He'll have to try harder than that to keep me from playing."

They began walking again. This time, Diana focused harder on her feet. "I forgot that you played Quidditch." She shrugged. "Then again, I hardly turn up for matches anyway. If school spirit was a grade, mine would be a T."

"I've been Seeker since my second year," he said. "I love Quidditch."

"Your brother plays too, right? Obviously not for Slytherin, but…"

This had been the wrong thing to say. Instantly, his face shuttered, and all trace of humor from it vanished. In fact, it looked like she'd just kicked his favorite puppy.

He stopped walking when they reached the ground floor and faced her. She waited cautiously, wondering when she should start running. He breathed deeply through his nose, his mouth still a flat line. "Do me a favor, Fairchild?" When she nodded, he met her gaze squarely. "Don't speak of my brother. Ever."

She nodded again. A part of her wanted to pry, but his words… She'd never heard anyone say something filled with so much anger and hurt all at once. Instead, she took a step back toward the entrance to the basements.

"Er, I should get going," she said. "Thank you, for, ah, walking me back—and, er, catching me, I guess." She scratched the base of her scalp, where her wand rested amidst her sloppy bun. "I'll see you next week."

She didn't even wait for his reply before bolting for the basement. The last thing she wanted was to get tangled up in family drama, especially between Regulus Black and his brother.

Still, as she went to bed that night, she couldn't help wondering if there was more to the story of the Black brothers than a simple falling out.

It doesn't matter, she thought. She pulled the yellow duvet over herself and turned on her side, snuggling deeper into her covers. You won't get close enough to Regulus Black anyway to find out.

For some reason, a part of her was disappointed at this revelation. She shrugged it off. One decent conversation isn't a sign of growth.

Not knowing how to feel about that, Diana gave up on all thoughts of Regulus Black that night and went to sleep.

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I know not a lot has happened yet, but next chapter some plot stuff will be introduced, so I hope you all stick around for that!

(Also, feel free to check out my other stories if you haven't already!)