Hello everyone!

As usual, thanks so much for all of the reviews/follows/favourites! I can't believe how long this is getting, but I'm glad no one's bored yet :)

So, thanks so much to Cae-Leigh Anne, Arkeena, lizy200, MademoiselleRiddle, xXRosexScorpiusXx (welcome back!), Clove111, BlueOcean24124437, C.B. Weasley, creelluka, Senyuu, Blue Luver5000, Sunny and TenCents the Bir!

I will definitely expand on the Lucy/Rab thing in the future since people start to like them! I'll try to find a way to make some from Reg's point of view, but no guarantees... Not sure how to fit that in. Reg/Emma coming soon... maybe even next week!

'What the hell was that?' Rabastan hissed furiously, dragging Regulus into an alcove as soon as the other students were out of sight.

Emma followed, casting privacy and silencing charms around them. Rabastan was angry, Emma was just confused. She had never seen Regulus lose his cool like that before. Well, technically you still haven't, she thought. They had only seen the aftermath. It was clear to everyone except Slughorn what had happened, though.

'We're supposed to keep a low profile, Reg,' Rabastan reminded him. 'So whatever feud you've got going on with your brother, do it under wraps. I don't care if you kill the traitor; just make sure it doesn't fall back on us. We've got too much riding on this.'

'What, scared that people will notice us for who we really are?' Regulus sneered, yanking his robes out of the taller boy's grip. 'Soon it'll be evident anyway. Who are we kidding, trying to take down the Order of the Phoenix from the kids? What does Dumbledore care about not getting James Potter to join his cause?'

Emma started at the mention of her brother. Of course Regulus would read through the transparency of her actions. They were trying to stop the Order recruiting, yes, but for Emma it was the opportunity to see if her brother and his friends weren't too far in. Speaking of which, she had completely forgotten about her plan to talk to Remus Lupin. She hadn't spent as much time with him as she had in sixth year – now he was just another of James's friends, albeit the nicest one.

'I'd rather like to hang on to my life with Bones breathing down our necks,' Rabastan replied, the venom retreating from his voice. 'I never thought I'd need to remind you about how the Dark Lord treats his failures.'

Regulus flinched, as if Rabastan had physically hit him. The latter hadn't meant to wound him with his words, as seen by his regretful expression. Emma supposed that Bellatrix had rejoiced in recounting the story Orion Black to her husband, and in turn Rodolphus had told his brother.

'Reg, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -'

'It's fine,' Regulus brushed him off. 'You're right, anyway.'

Rabastan opened his mouth and then closed it again, at a loss for words. In the end, he just walked away, fists clenched in his robes. Emma watched him go, feeling sorry for him. He had just tried to warn Regulus – he probably hadn't known that Regulus had been there to watch the scene unfold. As soon as he disappeared around the corner, she turned to her remaining friend.

'What was that about?' she asked.

She knew better than to comment on the end of the two boys' conversation. Her real question was about her friend's brother. Still, Regulus kept his mouth clamped shut, unwilling to give her any information. They stood like that for a while, locked in a battle of wills, before Regulus eventually gave up, looking away. He pulled a piece of the crumbling stone away from the wall of the alcove.

'He needed to feel some of the pain,' he mumbled, both defiant and apologetic. 'He still doesn't know... He'll not get that satisfaction.'

Emma frowned. She could understand wanting to make Sirius feel what Orion must have felt in protecting him, but why didn't Regulus tell him about what had happened that night? Surely that would cause more pain than anything Regulus himself could inflict. She knew firsthand the burden of being the death of a parent.

Two, actually, the snide little voice reminded her.

What was satisfactory about that?

James was back on his rampage. Well, not quite a rampage. He wasn't throwing things around and yelling at the top of his voice. He was relieved Sirius was alright, but left him in the Hospital Wing with Peter. His fellow Gryffindor had ruined his chance of forcing a confession from Regulus and he could be sure the latter wouldn't be in the mood for emotional blackmail.

He was under no illusion that Regulus had attacked Sirius simply because of a crush. There was something underlying it, something that James instinctively knew he wouldn't want to get into. After seeing how far Sirius would go to force James into a prank, he didn't want to know anything about his relationship with his remaining family members. James had done his duty in helping him get out. Sirius himself would have to deal with the consequences of his actions.

James wasn't particularly worried about Regulus anyway. Though he had shown himself capable of dangerous intent, James doubted he would be the cause of Emma's behaviour. Instead, James had a new target in mind.

'Lestrange,' James plastered a grin onto his face, clapping the Slytherin on the back with a little more force than a friendly hand.

'Potter,' Lestrange managed a feeble smile in return.

Interesting, James thought. Lestrange was tall, with the Beater muscles to back him up. Not only that, but he was pretty good overall with a wand, quick to master silent spells. What had ruffled his feathers?

'Let's have a chat,' he said aloud, steering Lestrange into a courtyard.

'But it's snowing,' the Slytherin pointed out.

James cleared a bench with a warming spell.

'Good as new,' he proclaimed, sitting down. He waited for Lestrange to join him 'Now, let's cut to the chase. What are your intentions towards my little sister?'

'I thought you were twins,' Lestrange replied unhelpfully.

'Answer the question.'

'You've got the wrong Slytherin,' Lestrange smirked, brushing the snow off of his cloak. 'Now, if you'll excuse me...'

'Sit,' James ordered. To his surprise, Lestrange did as he said. Why were the Slytherins so accommodating and so infuriating at the same time? 'I know you're up to something.'

'Yes, we are,' Lestrange said, the smirk now firmly stuck in place.

James waited, but the smirk just grew wider and more crooked.

'I suppose you think you're charming,' James said.

The Slytherin shrugged. 'I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to say it myself.'

He winked.

James had had enough.

'What exactly are you doing that's made Emma forget about even Quidditch?'

'You know, it's rather funny,' Lestrange said, ignoring the question. 'You're here, quizzing me on the health of your sister, when she herself asked me to get close to you to verify the exact same thing. Huh,' he gave a short laugh. 'Like brother, like sister, I guess.'

'What?' James was nonplussed. Ever since venturing into the Slytherin world, it seemed like he just met surprise after surprise. 'But I'm fine.'

'So is she,' Lestrange replied, taking his wand out and twirling it. 'I guess you're even then.'

'She doesn't look alright,' James replied dubiously.

'Neither do you,' Lestrange pointed out. 'James – may I call you James? You've been orphaned, lost both orphans in the space of a year. I'd say that's enough for anyone to not look alright. Add that to the fact that Emma's been taking some slack for her views on Muggleborns...'

Rabastan let his voice trail off, allowing James to finish weaving the web.

'Why? Who?' James's mind was working like clockwork. Much easier than those pesky Aurors. 'Wait, you hate Muggleborns. Wasn't it you torturing "Mudbloods" just last year?'

Rabastan yawned languorously, cat-like.

'Let's say I'm reformed,' he said, 'for conversational purposes. Let's say... I'm keeping my opinions on the quiet side, since to show compassion for Mud... Muggleborns is death in Slytherin. Let's say... Mulciber and Snape have been keeping an eye on Emma, making sure she tows the line.'

He paused, feeling no guilt whatsoever about throwing Mulciber to the Gryffindor's mercy. After all, his time as Hestia the Hufflepuff had hurt quite a bit. Plus, he didn't especially like Snape – mostly because Snape didn't like him. Did Snape even like anyone?

James was hanging onto his every word. Rabastan realised he had mused on Snape's likes and dislikes for too long now. He sighed dramatically, unfolding his legs from under the bench.

'If only there was some way of being certain the Dark Lord wouldn't find her and hunt her down after graduation.'

It was a gamble, mentioning the Dark Lord's name. Any spies within the courtyard would now know that Mulciber and Snape were Death Eaters, or at least had the intention of joining up. Not to mention only Death Eaters seemed to call Voldemort by his title. Plus, James would never join the Dark Lord if he thought his sister was in danger, though Rabastan thought it was safe to bet that as a Gryffindor, he wouldn't join anyway.

Before the Slytherin had even reached the inner corridor, James had called out to him.

'Wait!'

Rabastan allowed himself a victory smirk. He turned to the Gryffindor, noting that James had gone from potentially dangerous to frightened in the space of a conversation.

'What if there was a way?'

Well done Rabastan, he inwardly patted himself on the back. Why, thank you Rabastan, another voice purred in his head.

He had just bagged himself an Order of the Birds member.

'So, let me get this straight,' Lucinda said, pointing her fork in Rabastan's direction. 'Regulus went total badass on his brother and tried to poison him in the middle of Potions class.'

'Yes,' Rabastan said, sighing over his toad-in-the-hole. 'Of course, I had to miss the fun part.'

'Way to go, Reg!' Alecto reached over to high five their silent friend.

He grimaced, half-heartedly returning the favour. 'It was a mistake.'

'Yeah, a badass mistake,' Alecto chuckled.

'Even I have to admit, I didn't think you had it in you, Black,' Mulciber said from across the table, his grin more of a leer.

Regulus's grimace grew wider. Obviously, his poker face powers weren't quite back yet. Mulciber didn't seem to take any offense though, instead imitating Sirius choking. Emma didn't find it funny, though she found some satisfaction in seeing that Sirius himself hadn't quite returned to his normal colouring.

'Emma, do you mind if I have a word with you after dinner?' Rabastan asked, surprising her. 'In private.'

There was a low whistle from Barty Crouch's direction, along with a heartfelt sigh from Cassandra Greengrass. Emma had forgotten about her crush on Rabastan. With a pang of guilt, she realised that she had barely paid attention to the Quidditch practice on Friday. They were going to get creamed by Gryffindor.

'Um... sure,' she replied, wondering what he wanted.

A glance over to Lucinda reinforced her suspicions that the blonde didn't know about Rabastan's affections. She was happily eating her fish, berating Regulus on the dangers of poisoning people in public. Regulus's eyes met Emma's, though when she gave him a conspiracy smile, he didn't wink as he usually would during a lecture. Instead, he looked as serious as their conversation earlier that day.

The smile falling from her face, Emma realised that she didn't have much appetite left. Rabastan had consumed vast quantities of food at his usual rate, so she offered to leave early.

She didn't notice the pair of grey eyes that followed them to the exit.

'Alright, Bast, what is it?' Emma asked.

'Have you ever realised that I have two nicknames, whilst Alecto has none?' Rabastan asked thoughtfully. 'I suppose "Aly" doesn't really suit her, does it?'

'Not really,' Emma replied. '"psycho", on the other hand...'

'She has developed a taste for torture, hasn't she?' Rabastan mused. 'And you two used to be so close... What changed?'

Emma raised an eyebrow.

'Oh come on Ems,' Rabastan said. 'Between you and me, we know you like hexing people for the fun of it, don't you?'

'Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?' Emma asked, deflecting the question.

It was true that Emma didn't mind shedding a bit of blood. But only for defensive purposes. Even then, the memory of the Auror she and Regulus had attacked sometimes made her feel sick to the stomach. Besides, it was one thing to require violence. It was another to voluntarily kill a man in his sickbed.

'Not really,' Rabastan dropped the subject, to Emma's relief. 'I thought you'd want to know this before I told anyone else. It won't stay a secret for long.'

'What is it?' Emma asked dubiously, a foreboding feeling starting to eat away at her.

'You're not going to like it,' Rabastan said, a serious expression on his face. 'Your brother's a part of Dumbledore's rebel group.'

Emma closed her eyes for a second, blood rushing to her ears. It had been a futile hope, anyway.

'Sorry,' Rabastan said, placing a hand on her shoulder. 'Is there anything you want me to do?'

For once, Emma welcomed the contact. It steadied her, and the knowledge that Rabastan came to her first made her feel better about her brother's chances. She racked her mind for something, anything, useful. The only thing that came to mind was to tell the Dark Lord about James's talents. Make him seem indispensible, so that the Dark Lord would think twice about killing him.

Being a Pureblood wasn't going to cut it anymore.

'I don't think so,' she replied. 'But thanks anyway, Rabastan.' A thought occurred to her. 'How did you find out without revealing anything?'

'Well, this is the part that makes it a bit awkward...'