It's Friday, Friday, fanfiction on Friday! (Yes, that is a really bad song. No, I don't know why I have it stuck in my head.)

Hello everyone! Once again, I have forgotten to reply to reviewers via PM. So, the dedications for chapter 25 reviews go to...

Mysterious guest! You made me laugh, now I can't call everyone "mysterious guest". Thanks a lot for your review! :)GooseBerries18, don't worry. Binge-reads are fun! Glad I'm not just going crazy then. xXRosexScorpiusXx, glad to see I can still surprise you. Rabastan is - after all - Reg's best friend. Plus you can just imagine him annoying the hell out of Regulus until he snapped and then going silent all of a sudden. Really good idea with the special diplomatic thing, you'll see what happens next ;)

Unknown "guest", yes Reg needs to feel the love! I promise to try to stick to my routine, though I won't update for the two first weeks in August, since I won't have wifi on holiday! (Not even a phone :O )

Ash-Caro-Lynn: glad you liked the chapter so much and don't worry about Amos! Yup, things are going to take a turn for the worse... But there will probably still be some light heartedness included!creelluka, I have already PM-ed you when chatting about your story, which I am going to read later today!

alyssadavis25, RHatch89 and Nai, thanks for your consistant reviews, you are awesome!

Everyone who favourited/followed, sorry it's too hard to put you all down, but feel the love :)

'Did you just get back from a date?' Lucinda squealed at the sight of Emma dressed up.

After getting back from Hogsmeade she had gone in search of Amos Diggory to apologise for her brother's behaviour, and they had arranged to see each other in the library the following Tuesday, though Emma was uncertain about whether she even wanted to. Well I have nothing better to do, do I? Somehow that didn't really seem enough. But she was curious to see how it would turn out, and it would be a welcome distraction from the N.E.W.T homework piling up. She was damned if she was going to say all of this to Lucinda in the Quidditch changing rooms though.

'What's it to you?'

'I'm your friend! Come on, details!'

Lucinda was too excited about this, in Emma's opinion. Then she remembered that she supposedly fancied Regulus. Another reason to see Amos then, she thought. She was just about to comply when she noticed the conversations around them quieten down. Usually she had to yell for everyone to listen to the plan for the day. She rolled her eyes inwardly, why is everyone so curious? Besides, if Lucinda was right, then she had a fearsome reputation to uphold. One that didn't include gossiping about seventh year Hufflepuffs.

'I'll tell you after practice but I warn you, it involves James,' Emma eventually replied with a grimace. 'For now, I'm your Captain. In fact, I won't tell you at all unless you perfect the Dionysus Dive.'

'I thought we weren't doing that after the try-outs accident,' Cassandra Greengrass frowned.

'I've thought of a way we can use it,' Emma took out the demonstration paper. Regulus smirked at her, having done most of the drawing. Rabastan looked from one to the other, wondering what was so funny and if he could tease someone about it. She ignored both of them.

'So,' she tapped her wand on one of the Chasers. 'La di da, flying along with the Quaffle, opposing Chasers close in, sure of a victory because this person's alone.'

'Where are the other Chasers?' Barty asked, leaning on his broomstick.

'Don't do that Barty, you'll ruin your flying angle,' Emma said sharply. 'But good question. Our other Chasers will make sudden dives, distracting the Keeper, who needs to be on the lookout. Meanwhile, the lead Chaser - usually in this case, me - will jump from her broomstick and punch the Quaffle into the least defended goal. The other team will be expecting dives, swerves, anything to avoid the other Chasers.'

The other players contemplated the board in silence for a while, staring at the stick-men act out the play over and over again.

'What happens to our brooms?' Cassie asked interestedly. 'That's the problem.'

'The broom will distract the Chasers, who will try to avoid it. I need one of our Chasers to catch the broom, another one to keep trying to score, and that's where the Beaters will come in.

'So we leap forwards, with no regard to where our broom is, score, and then…what? Fall to the floor and break something?' Lucinda looked worried.

'That's the best part. Beaters have strong arms, everyone knows that. So what if we used them for something other than whacking Bludgers? Not that you guys aren't great at that,' she hastily added. 'But I think you'll have fun with this, and it'll be a good workout.'

They trouped out onto the field and Emma made Rabastan and Anthony Nott hover near the ground - as a precaution. She told Cassie to practice jumping from her broom for them to catch her, and instructed Regulus to keep a close eye on them: if it looked like a Beater would miss, then he would have to perform "Arresto Momentum" on the falling girl and hope that it worked. Technically it was a second-year level charm, but the heavier/faster the object, the harder it would be to cast.

Satisfied that her Chaser was in minimal danger, she took the Quaffle out and took Lucinda and Barty to the goalposts. They practiced jumping from their brooms and shooting the Quaffle in, something they had been learning for the past two years from Avery. Neither of the girls jumped very far, and made sure the other's broomstick was always there to catch her

After about half an hour, Cassie and Lucinda swapped, and another half hour later Emma called them all back to the ground.

'So are you ready?'

Cassie nodded eagerly, but Lucinda still looked a little scared: her face was white and her hands were slightly shaking.

'Don't worry, Regulus will be here to catch you with a spell if something goes wrong,' Emma encouraged her, mercilessly using the other girl's affections. Lucinda gulped and nodded.

The first attempt was awful. Cassie fell face forwards as her foot tangled with the broom, not even making the jump. Emma flew off to fetch it as Rabastan caught her. The next was better, and the one after that, until both Chasers could get in one out of five goals - though Emma suspected that Barty was going easy on them. It was amazing how fast that boy's reflexes were. He had only improved over the past six months: adding skill to his pure talent. Now he knew most of the Chaser tricks, as well as the Keeper's. They're going to have to watch out for him, she mused, thinking of the Captaincy that would be free after her seventh year.

'Right, let's make this a little harder,' she said. Rabastan rubbed his hands together in glee, but was the only one to seem excited. Good old Rabastan.

'No, no Bludgers Bast, I think it's a little too early. No, I'm going to pretend to be the other Chaser.'

Emma flew towards Lucinda at a steady pace. The latter panicked and jumped a little too soon: Emma knew that the goal would go wide when she saw the blonde's body fall sideways instead of forwards. She had little time to think of anything else though, as the broomstick collided with her face. She went flying backwards, barely clinging to her broom as she blinked, her eyes watering from the impact. She was vaguely aware of a cheer that went up behind her.

'That was perfect Ems!' Cassie swooped down to meet her, grinning. 'I caught the Quaffle and sent it through the hoop before Barty realised what was going on!' She whooped again.

'Did de Beaters catch Lucinda?' Emma asked thickly.

'Why are you speaking weirdly?' Cassie flew closer to inspect her captain. 'Merlin's underpants, you're bleeding!'

'Boomstick too fast,' Emma wiped her nose with her sleeve and flew messily to the ground. Luckily she was able to land without much difficulty. 'D'you catch her?' she asked again, worried for her friend's safety.

'Yeah, that was so cool! I want to do that again!' Rabastan punched the air. 'Oh um…do we need to do something about that?'

'Episkey,' Barty tapped his wand on Emma's nose.

Lucinda flew down on Antony Nott's broomstick. She was still trembling, but there was a huge grin plastered to her face.

'That was some adrenaline rush,' she breathed, her eyes glassy with the memory of her achievement.

Emma took that as a good sign: each time would be easier, and the rush of doing something dangerous would become addictive. This was the real reason they played.

'Thanks Barty,' she said, unceremoniously wiping her nose again. 'Right, sorry about your broomstick Luce, but I think in an hour or so we'll get the hang of it.'

'You know, you lose a lot of your credibility when your face is all dirty,' Rabastan commented. 'Maybe you should work on that.'

Regulus snorted. Emma turned on him with an exasperated look. 'What, it was funny!'

'Congratulations, you're in charge of fetching broomsticks now,' Emma smirked at him, efficiently wiping off the grin on her friend's face. He pouted.

'Rabastan started it,' he pointed out.

'Rabastan is being useful in the plays,' she retorted.

He narrowed his eyes, but traipsed off to find the broom, flying this way and that. Easier than trying to find the Snitch, Emma thought, watching him looping through the stadium with practiced ease for a second. Sometimes she wondered if he didn't belong on a broomstick instead of on the ground. He was certainly most open and happy when they played Quidditch, though that might have just been the endorphins from the sport.

'Way to regain your authority, Ems,' Lucinda teased, looking slightly put out.

'I just felt like making him do some work,' Emma replied, before an idea occurred to her. 'But I probably need to practice catching the Quaffle as quickly as possible. Would you mind Regulus flying at you from now on?'

Lucinda's face brightened, but she quelled the smile. 'I think that would be okay,' she said carefully.

'Good, because we've got another couple of hours ahead of us.'

'What?' Rabastan complained. 'But tomorrow's the game!'

'Practicing in the dark!' Emma explained. 'Don't worry, we'll be back in time for dinner.'

'Better be,' he muttered darkly.

Several hours - and a few broken noses and split lips - later, Emma watched the team troop tiredly back to the castle as she buckled the Quaffle back into the box. She would probably never admit it, but she liked this part of practice. It was soothing, the slight smell of sweat mixed with leather, the chill starting to set in at night, the different touch of every ball - even the Snitch. It was amazing how something so small, so fragile-looking could be the most dangerous in the game. After all, it was often the deciding factor for the winning side, and made the Seeker the most injured player on the field. Even Regulus, who was as agile as any player she knew, often got hit and would have been incapacitated five minutes into the match if the Beaters weren't there to protect him.

Hopefully this training was enough, she thought as she started walking. Gryffindor had massacred them in the first match, but she hoped that that was because of the new players on her team and her new tactics as captain. This time would be different. As she shut the shed door, she jumped.

'Merlin, Regulus, don't do that!'

Regulus was lounging, cool as a cucumber, on the side of the shed. Obviously he had gone to get changed with the others, since he was in his school robes, his hair freshly wet from his shower. It made Emma realise just how muddy she was.

'So I noticed that you haven't been practicing the dive,' he said conversationally.

'I've been using cushioning charms on the grass in my spare time,' she said, walking back to the changing rooms.

Did he honestly think I wouldn't have trained just as hard? No. This was Regulus: ultimate observer - the reason why he had been chosen as Seeker in only his second year. There had to be something more to it.

'Uh-uh,' he stared at her.

'You know I can do that dive with my eyes shut,' she tried again, taking her Quidditch robes and guards off. There was a sinking pit in her stomach, a dread of where this conversation might be going.

He still stared at her. This is starting to get uncomfortable. Give him a good excuse. A believable one. Close to the truth.

'Fine, I don't like having to rely on other people to get back into the game.'

'Do you not trust your team?' he asked.

'Of course I do! I just don't...'

'Like feeling out of control,' he finished for her.

Her face darkened and she turned her back on him, making sure her Nimbus was in pristine condition for the following day. Why did Regulus have to press her? Weren't they friends because they didn't force each other to share things that were too personal? Didn't he have the decency to respect her privacy?

'Sorry,' he sat on the bench next to her. She could almost sense his hesitation, but he continued anyway. 'I knew, you know.'

'Knew what,' she snapped.

'You always get angry when you're unsure,' he said. 'I think I'm the only one who's realised, because you seem to get angry a lot.'

'Is there a point to this conversation?'

'I already knew about the Mudblood at the Yule Ball before the Occlumency,' he admitted. 'You don't need to hide it from me. You're allowed to be scared once in a while.'

'I'm not scared!' she said a bit too loudly, a bit too quickly. 'Besides, it's just a stupid reaction.'

The sinking pit in her stomach had spread to her throat. One of her worst fears realised. She felt her heart beating as though it was trying to escape her ribcage. Don't panic, she told herself, growing angry, though she didn't know whom with.

'Like the way you jump every time somebody catches you by surprise? Like the way you made Diggory wait half an hour before going on your date?' Regulus insisted.

'What the hell Regulus?' Emma stood up, half-drawing her wand. How dare he talk to me like that?

'What I didn't understand was how you didn't mind kissing people when the slightest touch on your arm has you jumping back,' he continued, unperturbed, as though this was just another puzzle to solve. This is why he never gets close to people: he acts as though they're mysteries to unravel. 'I thought that maybe you had forgotten it, even after Avery...' he trailed off.

'That kind of thing is hard to forget,' Emma hissed through clenched teeth, but she tried to force herself to calm down. Regulus would not see this vulnerable, affected side of her. Obviously, he didn't think her so weak that she would still be terrified whenever someone unknown came too close. I can do this. She took a hold of her feelings, forcing them to disappear. Apathy came over her, replaced only by a contempt for her friend's prying. 'But to answer your question, kissing is... Well, it's an exchange, isn't it? It's useful. I can put my feelings aside to be useful to the team.'

'Very Slytherin of you,' he remarked. 'While that kind of thinking might help you in Occlumency, how do you think the team's going to react when they realise that you're not doing any of the plays you're making them do? You can't rationalise your instincts.'

'Well, Mr Know-it-all, what do you suggest?' she asked coldly.

'Come on Emma, you just need to fall,' Regulus encouraged. Her broom was twenty feet up in the air and he was waiting ten feet below. 'Easy.'

'Easy,' Emma muttered.

She carefully stood up on her broom, arms splayed out for balance. It was going to be a cold night, her broomstick was already slippery with frost. But there was no way to back down now. Maybe there was more Gryffindor in her than expected, though she knew that she was mostly doing this to prove a point. She hated the fact that she felt like she needed to prove herself to Regulus, but who else was worthy of trying to impress?

It was impossible to summon up her anger now, however. She was giddy with the adrenaline and for a moment it felt like she was floating, weightless. Then she moved a foot, and suddenly her balance was lost and she was hurtling towards the ground at an alarming rate. With no broomstick to guide her. Dear Merlin, she prayed, shutting her eyes tightly. Her heart was in her throat now, the rest of her insides tied in knots so tightly that she felt like she was becoming detached from her body, but that couldn't be true because she was trapped inside, unable to move. He wasn't going to be there. She was completely at his mercy and now she was going to fall, alone and...

She landed in Regulus's outstretched arms with a soft thump, the extra weight forcing the broom down another couple of feet before he managed to right it. He reflexively tightened his grip, lest she slip outwards and fall the rest of the distance.

'There, was that so hard?' he asked.

He flew up to where her Nimbus was waiting, but Emma made no move to get onto it. It was then that he realised just how tightly she was gripping his shirt and that her whole body was trembling. He manoeuvred them back to the ground, not even bothering to try to get off and flying straight into the changing rooms where he put her broomstick on the bench. He then sat down on the bench next to it, unable to loosen the vice-like grip she had on him.

'Emma,' he said. 'Emma, you need to let go.'

'Don't make me,' she shook her head tearfully, clutching even tighter, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

She couldn't breathe. No matter how much oxygen she inhaled, it felt like it was never enough for her lungs. Her head was spinning, so she kept her eyes tightly shut, focussing on the shirt intertwined in her fingers.

'You need to calm down,' he sighed and unzipped his jacket, forcing her to let go. She immediately put her feet on the bench and curled her arms around her knee. She was no longer shaking, but shivered from the cold, so as an afterthought he put the jacket on her. After that though, he didn't know what to do. He just waited as she slowly stopped rocking and her shivering transformed itself into one last shuddering breath. Regulus wondered if he should say something. Luckily, that was the moment the black-haired girl chose to speak.

'Thanks,' she said dully. After a moment she continued. 'Sorry about that.'

'No worries,' he said lightly, inwardly sighing with relief. 'I know girls always threaten to never let go, but you're the first one to physically attempt it.'

She shot him a black look with eyes were still slightly wild. He quietened.

'I'm sorry,' he said, though whether it was for the joke, or forcing her into something that induced a panic attack, she didn't know.

So that's what happens when I let myself go. I'll never lose control again. she vowed. She had thought that her freezing up in front of Avery had been a one-time thing, but apparently not. She supposed that this kind of thing had never happened in fifth year because they were all too concentrated on the O. to party after Christmas. But that thought, meant to be comforting, only served to remind her that Regulus had known that a Gryffindor Muggleborn had come so close to... A shiver went up her spine and her cheeks flushed with the shame of it. How could she bear to look at him again? If the Inter-House ball hadn't been enough, surely this deserved his disdain.

'We should probably go to the Great Hall, eat before it's too late,' she said eventually, trying to brush it off. 'Can't have a starving Seeker on the field tomorrow.'

She stretched, and Regulus saw that her eyes were red-rimmed. She noticed the look of worry before he had time to compose his features. It's already started.

'Sorry for biting your head off... It's just it,' she hesitated, 'makes me feel like a Muggle.'

'Trust me, Emma Potter,' Regulus said on their way up to the castle. 'No one would ever mistake you for a Muggle.'