So here starts the interesting bit! Please leave a review with your opinion (even if you don't like it, I'd like to know why) and enjoy!

Beta-ed by Ash-Caro-Lynn

'Merlin, your brother got hot over the summer,' Alecto sighed, pretending to fan herself.

'And my, my, Sirius is quite a catch,' Lucinda murmured, looking over at the four boys caper about near the Great Lake.

'I thought you were interested in Regulus last year,' Emma said to Lucinda.

'Ah, but the forbidden fruit is always the sweetest,' they laughed, and Lucinda muttered. 'Besides, Regulus doesn't seem to notice.'

It was true that Regulus mostly kept himself to himself. Oh, he joked around on the Quidditch pitch and was always friendly, but his cool facade never slipped off. Of course, girls loved his mysterious aura, thinking that they could be the one to bring down his walls. When Emma mentioned this to him once he laughed, and she couldn't tell if he was pleased or annoyed. Maybe both. It probably reminded him of Sirius – the two brothers were barely on speaking terms, and he never told her why. She had grown to accept his silence: it was oddly comforting next to James and Sirius's constant stream of chatter.

A shadow fell over them, and they looked up to see Rabastan and Regulus exaggeratedly swaggering over. It's like he goes out of his way to prove me wrong, Emma thought, though it was probably Rabastan who had talked him into it.

'S'up?' Rabastan asked, raking a hand through his light brown hair. 'Name's Potter, but you can call me "Quidditch God".'

Emma giggled despite herself. Her brother had become slightly big-headed over the last few years. And though she quietly approved of his and Sirius's pranks, she was not impressed at how often they got caught. "Gotta live up to my reputation, darling," he had said when she asked him why he let himself get put in detention. "Give the ladies something to talk about."

Rabastan enchanted a rolled up ball of paper to fly around his head like a Snitch and made a show of arranging himself in a lounging position. Then Regulus gave a lop-sided grin – it was uncanny how much he looked like his brother when he did that – and slid into the seat next to Emma.

'Hey babe,' he said, wiggling an eyebrow. 'I'm Sirius Black. You might have heard of me, self-confessed ladies man. Want to... go somewhere a bit more private?'

'Careful there Black,' Emma shoved his face away, but smiled anyway. 'You wouldn't want to go provoking the wrath of the Quidditch God over there.'

'Oh I can take him,' he winked, pulling her closer. She shook her head, but swung her legs onto his lap. She knew it annoyed him. Lucinda shot her a look of reproach, but she didn't care. Merlin, that girl could be annoying, swaying between both brothers. She hoped Regulus didn't return her feelings, even if she was Emma's friend.

By this time Rabastan had noticed what was going on, and challenged Regulus to a duel, mostly consisting in sending flashes of light in each other's direction. Losing interest, Emma looked back across the Lake. James might be a bit of an idiot, but he was still her brother. At least she thought he was. Though he had confessed his secret to her, she felt like they were drifting further and further apart.

When they were little it was almost like they were the same person. Now he was an acquaintance she exchanged the Invisibility Cloak with. It didn't help that Regulus and Sirius couldn't stand to be in the same room as each other either. Regulus noticed the direction she was gazing in and frowned.

'Come on,' he said. 'I think the grounds are getting too crowded around here. Besides, it's getting late.'

Rabastan agreed with him, he always did, but it was true that the sky was darkening. They all trooped up to the Great Hall where a girl their age with bright red hair they recognised as Lily Evans pushed past them, looking like she was about to cry.

'Watch it Mudblood!' Alecto said angrily, brushing her robes where she had been touched.

'I think that's the girl James fancies,' Emma said without thinking, hoping that her brother hadn't messed up again.

'What?' Barty Crouch asked in a dangerously low voice. Emma hadn't seen him come up behind them. 'I thought his blood was pure.'

'Well yeah but that doesn't mean that -' Emma was cut off by Narcissa gliding over to them.

'Don't let Bella catch you saying that,' she warned.

'Bella ain't here anymore,' Alecto said in a sing-song voice. It was true that the middle Black sister had graduated at the end of their first year. 'Come on Emma, we're going to miss all the good lasagne!'

'Congratulations on getting Prefect,' Regulus said a couple of days later.

They had missed each other on the train and hadn't realised it until they were scheduled for patrols together. Emma didn't quite know how, since there was supposed to be a meeting in the prefect compartment. Maybe he had left before she had arrived. In any case, it was a pleasant surprise when she had checked the patrol roster and found his name next to hers.

'Congratulations yourself,' Emma grinned. 'We only have the fourth floor to patrol today.'

They walked around the halls in silence, checking empty classrooms and broom closets. It's odd to be on the other side of the rules, she thought. She was so used to exploring with James under cover, and later helped her friends get to their secret rendezvous without getting caught. None of them knew about the Invisibility Cloak, and she liked seeing their amazed faces when she managed to sneak up on them. She hadn't found any new passageways in Hogwarts for ages. James was always busy with the Marauders.

'Hey Regulus,' she said suddenly. He looked at her inquiringly. 'You like secrets, don't you?'

It wasn't a question, not really. She remembered how quickly he had found out about the little-known story of the Bloody Baron. And she always ended up telling him things she hadn't meant to leave her mouth.

'As much as the next person,' Regulus said carefully, but she had caught the glint in his eye. One of the reasons he was so respected in Slytherin was because he had dirt on everyone.

'What do you say to taking a few detours on our next patrol?'

He looked at her, puzzled. 'What are you suggesting?'

'Nothing,' she said. James had agreed to lend her the Marauder's Map the next week. It would be easier to explain then, though she wasn't allowed to show him.

'You're a strange one Emma, you know that?' Regulus said as he opened the next closet.

Whatever Emma was about to say next died in her throat as the girl inside shrieked and dove for her clothes. It wasn't so much as the what, but the who.

'Alecto?' Regulus asked incredulously. 'And who's this? I don't recognise him.'

But Emma did. 'Regulus, I'll take care of this. You can go back to do the report.'

Regulus narrowed his eyes. He didn't take to being sent to bed like a child. 'If you think you can get her out of this just because she's your friend -'

'I'm not trying to get her out of this!' Emma said, her temper flaring. 'Just do it.' She softened her tone. 'Please.'

It wasn't that she didn't trust Regulus, but she didn't trust him with this. Everyone had a way of surviving in Slytherin: Regulus dealt in secrets, and this was a juicy one.

'Fine,' he said stiffly, brushing past her. 'But you owe me one.'

'Thanks,' Alecto said weakly when he had gone.

'Don't thank me yet,' Emma said, turning on her. 'Get him dressed.'

'But I -' the boy started to protest, fully-clothed.

'Silencio,' Emma murmured, pointing her wand at him.

Alecto still looked confused, so Emma cast the illusion charm on him herself. The t-shirt and trousers shimmered and turned into black robes with yellow lining. Now it was the boy's turn to look confused. He was still opening and closing his mouth, trying to speak.

'A Hufflepuff?' Alecto asked disgustedly, pulling on her shoes.

'You're lucky I'm not as good at transfiguration as my brother or right now he'd be a toad,' she replied shortly, shoving the boy towards the hunched witch. 'I can't believe you'd be so stupid as to bring him here. What if your brother saw him? Worse, a teacher? You could have been expelled!'

Alecto had the grace to look shameful, all the way down the passageway, but she still kissed the Muggle when they left him in Hogsmeade and wiped his memory. Emma didn't bother removing the Silencing charm; it would wear off and she was still annoyed at her friend – mostly because she had used the passage without telling Emma – but also because she was worried about her. What would people say if Alecto Carrow, whose parents were staunch believers in keeping blood pure, was dating a Muggle? No wonder she went overboard with the whole "Mudblood" thing.

She fumed all the way down to the Great Hall where she found a second year Hufflepuff trying to hide under a statue. She grabbed the frightened boy by the scruff of his neck and gave him detention before shoving him in the direction of the kitchens. She then deducted twenty points from Slytherin and threatened to take away more if her friend didn't go straight to the dungeons. Alecto knew better than to protest when her friend was in a bad mood and rushed down the corridor.

Emma was about to follow, but instead slipped through the double door outside and made her way to the stadium. Lying spread eagled on the Quidditch pitch, she felt the breeze cool her cheeks and stared at the stars. She could make out Orion – barely – but she didn't know any other constellations. Note to self: pay more attention in Astronomy lessons. A million other thoughts zipped through her mind, and she jumped when she heard the crunch of boots on the ground next to her.

'Hey,' Regulus said, sitting down next to her.

She groaned and pulled herself into a sitting position. She didn't bother to ask him how he found her.

'You never left,' she said, guessing. He blinked in reply. She sighed.

'What's so important about blood anyway?' she asked.

'Well,' Regulus said slowly. 'My parents think that Muggles are dirty scum that need to be eliminated. They say that Muggleborns stole their magic somehow, and many pure-bloods agree with them.'

'What do you think?'

For a second her black-haired friend blinked in surprise, and she was oddly reminded of James. Then his features smoothed the way Walburga's did when she hid something, and Regulus was back.

'The way I see it, Muggles led witch hunts whenever they found out about wizards. So it's natural for us to want to get our revenge. I mean, skulking in the shadows? Having to refuse to use magic because their minds can't cope with it? I've been collecting newspaper clippings about this guy that's rising in power. He calls himself "Lord Voldemort". A bit pretentious, but it catches your attention. He wants to educate Muggles. Think about how we could help them with our superior abilities, instead of them bumbling around like idiots and destroying our home. Why should we have to hide from Muggles when we're better equipped to make life easier for both us and themselves?'

'You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?' Emma asked quietly.

'Look, I'm not saying that calling Muggleborns "Mudbloods" is okay. But statistically, they've been known to do poorly in exams, and magic doesn't come as naturally to them. Most don't like flying, simply because they're not used to the idea of magic.'

'I think Lily Evans would beg to differ!' Emma joked, but then grew serious. 'But I do understand what you mean. Lots of magical creatures have been forced into nearly uninhabitable places because Muggles would hunt them down. Unicorns became nearly extinct when their properties were found out.'

'Exactly!' Regulus said.

'What would you say if I was dating a Muggle-born?' she asked abruptly, thinking of Alecto.

'Are you?' Regulus smiled. 'Come on, Emma. I wouldn't care about their blood. They're proper wizards. Now if you were dating a Muggle...'