Hello everyone! Sorry for the longer wait than expected, exams are the only excuse I have for you today.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: Guest, Senyuu, Cae-Leigh Anne, 19irene96 and lizyeh2000, followed and favourited! And thanks everyone for being so patient.

Guest: your Rabastan comment made me laugh so much, you're right! Everyone does need a Rabastan in their life.

I give you the much awaited Christmas chapter!

'Stop worrying!' Regulus exclaimed, catching a hold of Emma's arm as she paced for the hundredth time in front of the fireplace.

She said nothing, but slowed to a halt for his benefit, checking her watch as she did so. Still too early, she thought to herself. She shouldn't be so nervous, it was just James, for Salazar's sake, but her stomach had been tying itself into knots all morning. Did she want to return to her parents' house? Didn't she?

Emma didn't know what to think. It was the house of so many happy memories, and yet tainted by the past few. Even though she was certain that her parents would never have returned as ghosts, they would still haunt the halls of her childhood home. James himself had only gone back the day before - if only to spruce up the house before the rest of them arrived.

She didn't care what Sirius had been doing.

'Won't it be weird? Christmas with just you, me, my brother and yours?' she asked Regulus abruptly.

He stopped halfway through knotting his tie to softly run a hand down her arm.

'Of course it will,' he replied truthfully. 'But James is your brother. I know how much that means to you. At least one of us deserves to have some kind of normal family, and if it means putting up with Sirius as a by product, then we'll just have to deal with it. Besides, Kreacher will be there, won't you Kreach?'

Regulus smiled fondly as the elf bounced up and down with excitement and trepidation. He had put on a red and green tea towel in anticipation of the festivities.

'Yes, Master Regulus. Kreacher very looking forward to meeting Miss Emma's brother.' He bowed, muttering under his breath. 'Not that ungrateful blood traitor, no sir, he's who broke poor Master's heart.'

'Ahem,' Regulus coughed embarrassedly. Emma stifled a laugh, but not without him noticing. 'Laugh it up, Ems. I'll let you get away with it this once.'

Emma laughed again, feeling her tension bleed out a little, but not much. Over the past few days, she had been wound as tightly as the watch on her wrist, what with mulling over their Muggle raid, what Regulus had been hiding, and today's meal.

She had decided to stay at Grimmauld Place for the time between the raid and Christmas Eve. She was worried about staying alone with her thoughts in her apartment in Diagon Alley, nice as it was. She supposed that she should consider herself lucky for the massive amount of N.E.W.T homework they had been buried under. Only at night did she have time to think about the Muggle raid, and she usually went flying under a disillusionment spell until she was ready to drop in order to avoid mulling over it.

Meanwhile, Regulus spent hours in the library on something that he was still vague about and apparently didn't want any help. Emma had gotten past her annoyance, but was now burning with curiosity. Was it a project from the Dark Lord? He had told her it was too dangerous for them both to be working on it, and had even insisted that they practice their Occlumency every night before going to bed.

Emma suppressed a grin at that thought. One good thing about staying at Regulus's house was the nights that she spent curled up next to him in bed after the Occlumency training. The two of them were usually fast asleep within five minutes, but whenever she would wake up in the night, the comforting warmth of her boyfriend's body in their duvet cocoon was enough to send her back to sleep. She had the feeling that her nights would be much more sleepless alone.

Walburga hadn't noticed, and maybe that was a testament to how bad the once formidable woman had become. Whereas once she was willowy and pale, now she was thin and wan. It seemed as though she had aged three years instead of three months, and Emma strongly suspected that Orion's death had its part to play, even if Walburga hadn't been innocent in that respect either.

She reminded Emma of Bellatrix - manic in a childlike manner - and the Slytherin was sure that she had loved Regulus's father very much. He was like a toy that Walburga had finally broken and now she wandered the halls of the house looking for him. Even Regulus's talk of the Dark Lord winning didn't seem to cheer her up, and after she picked at the food on her plate the first time he brought it up at dinner, their meals were taken in silence.

Sensing that she was lost in thought, Regulus released his girlfriend to finish knotting his tie, even though he knew that Sirius would probably appear dressed very casually. Once he was done, Kreacher tugged at his sleeve, the sudden movement breaking Emma's train of thoughts.

'Does Master Regulus um,' Kreacher glanced around, before whispering exaggeratedly. 'Want the letter Master Regulus wants for long long time?'

'No!' Regulus exclaimed, before glancing at Emma, his ears tingeing bright red. 'I mean, no thank you Kreacher. Did you only just remember now?' he asked skeptically.

'Yes, stupid, stupid Kreacher, bad Kreacher,' Kreacher shouted, punching his ears. 'Kreacher only remembers because he sees Master Regulus's pocket with mmfmmhph.'

Regulus had once again put a hand over Kreachers mouth, grabbing the flailing fists with the other.

'It's fine, Kreacher, really, it's *fine,' he sighed in exasperation. 'Just, don't mention it, when...'

'When I'm here?' Emma asked, raising an eyebrow. 'So your secret project is something that you're sending letters about? As in, you've told someone who is sending letters to you?'

'No, it's not at all about that,' Regulus started, glancing away from Emma's furious gaze. His eyes stopped on her watch. 'Look, we're going to be late, I'll tell you later!'

Without waiting for a response, he dragged her into the fireplace, shouting out the name of the house in Godric's Hollow as he did so. Before she knew what was happening, Emma was dragged through the magical chute, barely managing to recognise her house in time to get back out. They burst into the Potter living room in a cloud of spectacular dust, Kreacher appearing alongside them with a large crack.

'I'll say this for you, Potter, you know how to make an entrance,' a familiar voice drawled.

Emma groaned inwardly. Of course, Sirius Black just happened to be lounging in the sitting room five minutes before he was even supposed to get there. She straightened herself and brushed the dust off of her dress in as dignified a manner as she could.

'Sirius,' she said cordially, just as James repeated her words in a warning manner.

Sirius rolled his eyes, before exaggeratedly getting up to stand in front of Regulus, trying to intimidate his younger brother. 'Reggie, nice to see you brought the help with you. What, think that Prongs can't handle a simple Christmas dinner?'

'Sirius!' James reprimanded again, reminding Emma oddly of Lily. If only, she thought wishfully. Lily Evans would know exactly how to defuse the tension and act as a buffer for the antagonising between siblings.

'Thanks for coming Ems,' James said warmly, embracing his sister. 'For a minute, I wasn't sure you would. The house is…different, this Christmas, isn't it?'

Emma took a look around. The house looked exactly as she had left it, but the atmosphere did seem…cooler. And it didn't have anything to do with the frost emanating from Sirius and Regulus.

'The important thing is that we're spending it with family,' Emma replied quietly, so that the Black brothers wouldn't hear her.

Sensing the awkwardness of the situation with a tact that he hadn't possessed before going out with Lily, James broke into a grin and steered his sister to the French doors leading to the backyard. 'How about a game of Quidditch, then, hey?'

'Sure,' the three of them replied in chorus.

For a brief moment, they all looked at each other, thrown back to the time they spent New Year's in a tent at the bottom of the garden. Then the moment was gone, and Emma went to grab the Quaffle from their Quidditch shed. Two on two didn't really call for Beaters or Seekers, so Regulus and Sirius were on equal footing.

She paused in the doorway, taking in the view of her house and lawn. Or rather, James's house and lawn, though he would never admit it. She hadn't been back in over a year, and something rose up in her throat that she couldn't quite place. It wasn't sad, exactly, just a sense of…misplacement. As though she had replaced a missing chess piece with one of another set.

She scoffed at herself, shaking her head. Lou had been right - the Potters were too melodramatic for their own good.

'Catch!' she shouted, determined not to think about it.

'Thanks,' Regulus grinned, looping around the lawn to chuck it through the hoop.

'Hey, that's not fair!' Sirius cried from the other side of the pitch. 'We hadn't even started playing yet!'

'You know us Slytherins,' Emma replied, Accio-ing her broom. 'Take every advantage you can.'

To her surprise, Sirius just harrumphed and carried on playing. Evidently, James must have been blackmailing him with something.

Two hours later, it was too dark to pretend they could see one another, let alone the goalpost or the Quaffle. Emma was disappointed. Quidditch made everything simpler, reduced to the player, the ball and the broom. They hadn't even kept count, although all of them were extremely competitive.

Now, they were awkwardly standing around the too-large table waiting for James to bring in the food - Regulus had refused to let Kreacher do any work whatsoever, much to Sirius's disdain - and Emma found herself opposite a family portrait she hadn't even noticed before. Rounding the table, her fingers were tracing the edges of the frame before she even quite knew what she was doing.

'I like that one,' James said, coming through with a plate of turkey and vegetables.

The two Black brothers wisely kept quiet. Emma didn't turn, unable to turn her face from the laughing people on the paper. Charles was lifting her in the air, and Emma was pretending to beat him off with her new broomstick. James was being tickled by their mother, his broomstick hovering unnoticed above the family. The present James placed the turkey in the centre of the table, before coming to stand beside her.

'We look so happy,' he said. 'It's one of the rare times that...' he trailed off, glancing behind him. 'Well, the war's affected most families, whether we knew about it or not. I wish…I wish that it hadn't touched *us* as much as it had. '

Sirius and Regulus's eyes met across the turkey in a rare moment of understanding, before Regulus's hardened and he turned away. He never had forgiven or understood Sirius, just as Sirius had never forgiven or understood Regulus.

The meal passed by quietly, Kreacher having decided to Apparate to Malfoy Manor to sneak some food to Dobby, who was probably slaving away on a seven course meal. The only sound was the clatter of cutlery and for her part; Emma was lost in thought over the Black brothers. She wished James hadn't brought Sirius and Regulus together, but she hadn't the heart to tell him. Her twin's optimism was unfailing, and she wasn't going to be the one to bring it crashing down. Evidently, Sirius was of the same opinion, for he looked almost forlorn as he ate.

After dinner, they found themselves lounging around the fireplace, James having brought them together to play a game of Wizarding Cluedo, a game which consisted in finding out who murdered the host, where, and how. The Wizarding version enacted the scenarios, creating random plots which the players had to follow.

'Aha! It was the son in the kitchen with Wingardium Leviosa!' Sirius exclaimed, putting his cards down triumphantly.

'How can someone die from Wingardium Leviosa?' James asked sceptically.

'Easy,' Emma said. 'Lift him high enough and then just let him drop.'

The other three turned to her, speechless, and Emma felt her stomach take a plunge. Of course I would know that, she thought viciously. I'm the son in real life. I'm the one who killed that girl. Suddenly, the room felt too stuffy.

'I'm... I'm going to check that the brooms are safely locked up. After all, a lot of people must think this house has been abandoned by now,' she stammered, jumping up.

The excuse seemed flimsy, even to her ears. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she chanted the mantra in her head, stumbling out of the room just in time to miss Regulus's remark.

'I know a son that killed his father without a single spell.'

'Take that back!' Sirius was the one to jump up this, time, his wand whipped out in record time.

James took a deep breath, looking from one brother to the other, before deciding that this was a mess that Sirius needed to confront. Besides, he had a sibling of his own to confront.

Tearing out of the room, James stopped in the doorway just in time for an Accio and the two's wands flew out of their hands. Ignoring the protests that followed him, he ran out of the house, locking them in for good measure.

I want Sirius back on speaking terms with his brother, James thought. That doesn't mean that the house has to burn down for it.

Sirius and Regulus were left standing opposite each other, the door slamming in James's wake. The audible click of the latch confirmed the fact that they were stuck there, alone together for the first time since Sirius had sent Snape into the Forbidden Forest, or so Regulus had been told. He suspected that it hadn't been the entire truth, but was unable to pry with Dumbledore sitting opposite them.

'Can't you just…' Sirius sighed, trying to convey his thoughts through a nondescript gesture. He dropped his arm back to his side with a thud in resignation. 'Give it a rest?'

'Oh, like our dearly departed father is now at rest?' Regulus asked, hating the fact that Sirius had gotten under his skin so easily.

The worst part was that some part of him knew that Sirius didn't mean to, but it was quashed by the bubbling resentment that had festered within his heart for the past seven years. His skin crawled with energy, every fibre of his being wishing for his wand so that he could channel a satisfying curse in his brother's direction. Secretly, he understood Bellatrix's need to wipe the arrogant jerk off of the face of the earth, although their reasons probably differed slightly.

'See!' Sirius rolled his eyes, before looking at Regulus in earnest. 'This is exactly what I mean.'

Regulus couldn't stand the thousand emotional changes that were always prominently displayed on Sirius's face, proclaiming them for all the world to see, as the true Gryffindor that he was. This was the root of all of our problems, Regulus thought vehemently. If only the fool would have learnt to keep his mouth shut at home, to not attract so much attention at school, then none of this would have happened. Noticing that his brother apparently required a response, he narrowed his eyes, but kept his face in an impassive mask, the Black mask that he knew his brother the Gryffindor hated so.

'I didn't mean for that to happen, Reg,' Sirius added, trying to emphasise his point. Regulus bit the inside of his cheek to keep from retorting. 'It's our family that's messed up. It's Mother - Merlin, she's crazy!

'Listen,' Sirius was leaning towards him, his eyes bright with concern. 'I know it must have been hard, having to deal with them twenty four seven, even in Hogwarts. I know why you could never have run away, the way I did, because you didn't have the support, the friends that I have. I've been talking about it with James, and he's willing to help. You and Emma both, we'll get you out of there. I promise I won't abandon you this time.'

Regulus concentrated on evening out his breathing, giving Sirius the same flat stare, but on the inside, his mind was awhirl. Of course, fate would have it that the words he had been dying to hear when he was young would make their way out of his brother's mouth two years too late. There was no running from the Death Eaters, everybody knew that, even the idiot of a Gryffindor standing in front of him. It was a little sad to think of how naive his brother really was. Did he truly believe that Regulus would drop everything to come running after him?

Another part of him just hated Sirius all the more for it. "I won't abandon you this time." Did that mean that Sirius knew what he had consigned Regulus to when he decided to leave home? A life of being second best to his darling brother, only to be second best to a darling brother's memory in his father's eyes. In a way, Regulus understood Emma more than she would ever know. Regulus knew what it was like to have everything taken from him by Sirius, who seemed to breeze through life without a second thought about the consequences.

And that was it. Regulus could never follow Sirius's lifestyle, even if he did take his brother up on his offer. He would always be one step behind, the shadow cast by Sirius's bright light. Ironic, isn't it? he thought to himself. Regulus is the brightest star in the Leo constellation. Even with my name, Sirius is more deserving of it. He found himself shaking his head, allowing the emotion to seep into the marble of his face the tiniest bit. Whatever Sirius deserved, he hadn't deserved the way he had been treated by Walburga, and it was Regulus's fault that it went on for so long.

'It's too late, Sirius,' he replied wearily, feeling as though he had aged five years. 'I've sacrificed too much for this already. Who knows what would be left if you took these past years away?'

Sirius's face crumpled at that, the tears flowing shamelessly down his cheeks. He launched himself at Regulus, pulling him into a tight hug. The latter stiffened, before letting out a deep breath and patting him on the back, rubbing circles. In some ways, it felt as though Sirius was the younger brother, the one to be protected.

'Don't say that Reg,' Sirius cried, drawing away and gripping Regulus's arms. 'I won't accept -'

The words were cut off as Regulus winced, automatically withdrawing the left forearm.

'You didn't...' Sirius breathed; the rest of the sentence unnecessary. Once again, the emotion contorted his face in full force, this one of rage and disappointment. 'They would never have forced you to do this, not before you left school! You must have wanted this, you must have worked for this! And here I am, apologising like an idiot, when you should be sent back to Azkaban! You're just as bad as the rest of them!'

'Yeah,' Regulus said heatedly, unable to prevent himself. 'You know what, you are an idiot! Did you think that Mother went easy on you during the holidays because she had relaxed? Did you think she didn't know about your Muggle posters, your secret conversations with James and the rest of them? Why do you think that is, huh, Sirius?'

He stopped speaking as a wave of uncontrolled magic hit him in the chest, sending him flying into the wall. He scrambled up immediately in disbelief, and yet cursing himself for thinking that Sirius could be anything but a hot-headed Gryffindor.

'I'm sorry, should I be thankful that she burned a hole in Father's hand instead of mine, Reg?' Sirius asked furiously, advancing on his brother. 'What, Father wasn't there to protect you, so you joined the Death Eaters in advance in the hopes of buying their affection? Even for you Regulus, that's pathetic.'

'It wasn't Father who was protecting you all that time, Sirius, you arse!' Regulus yelled back, Levitating a chair and throwing it at his brother.

Sirius merely ducked, sending another, more powerful wave at him.

'So what, I'm supposed to believe that you, who couldn't even stand up for yourself to a Sorting Hat, that you were the one protecting me?' Sirius snorted, his lip curling into a sneer. 'You know what, little Reggie, I think that the only one you're protecting is the only one you've ever protected in your life: You! But I'm not going to fall for any of your Slytherin tricks anymore, you hear? You're dead to me. If I catch you, I'm handing you over to the Dementors myself!'

James found Emma by the broom shed, or more precisely, sitting with her back to it, staring at the stars. Remembering that she had taken Astronomy as an O.W.L., he searched the heavens, wondering what she saw there that he didn't.

After a few seconds, he realised that the stars wouldn't reveal their secrets to them this night, any more than they would have the last. So instead, he slid down the side of the wall to join Emma. She still hadn't acknowledged his presence, face turned upwards. The only thing distinguishing her from a statue was her eyes, flitting from one side of the sky to the other, as though she were reading a great book.

Just to be sure, James glanced up again. Still nothing. He wondered what she was thinking, how she knew to kill someone with a levitating charm without a second's thought. He wondered whether she was scared of the future, and remembered what Rabastan had told him. The Slytherin might be a git, but he would have no reason to seek James out and then lie to him.

She must be wondering if she's next, he concluded. Of course, we found out that Mulciber was a Death Eater only a few days ago in the Daily Prophet. His dad went on the run the next day. It must be a shock to realise that they're only sitting seconds away from you, in the safety of your own common room.

'It's alright, you know,' he found himself saying, not knowing where he was going with this. 'I know you're always trying to prove that you're brave, that you aren't scared of anything. But you can't be brave without being scared. And you can't be brave all the time.'

He paused, but Emma only pressed her mouth into a thin line, biting one side of her bottom lip the way she did…or used to…when she didn't believe him. A wave of affection overtook him, the protective feeling, the one that he had developed the moment he realised that she only did dangerous things to keep him company, washing over his body like water.

'I mean it, Ems,' he said earnestly. 'I can only imagine how it must feel, living in the same quarters as a Death Eater. I don't think I'd sleep at all, ever. Just try to remember, they might seem invincible now, with Voldemort at his height," Emma cringed, "sorry, You-Know-Who, but...' James paused again, trying to convey his point with more than just words. 'Look at me, Ems.'

Emma's eyes slowly swivelled to look at her brother, a depth and despair to them that James had never noticed before, not even when their mother died. On impulse, he grabbed her hand between his - it was trembling.

'Listen to me carefully. I'm…I'm not allowed to say this, since it's not official, in fact it won't be official until I'm out of school,' James realised he was rambling and took a deep breath, calming himself and lowering his voice, even though there was no one around. 'I…Dumbledore…I've decided to become a part of this war. I've decided I'm going to join the Order of the Phoenix.'

'No, James, you can't!' Emma gasped, breaking her silence and turning fully to face her brother, her eyes beseeching. 'It's too dangerous!'

James chuckled, relaxing. 'I knew you would say that. But I'm ready, Ems, and I'll protect you if needs be.'

'James,' Emma shook her head. 'You don't understand. You don't know what they're capable of.'

'You don't know what I'm capable of, Ems! I'm ready for this! I can't just sit by and let the world burn without doing something to help!' James glanced at her. 'You know what I mean. Rabastan told me that you've been standing up for Muggleborns in Slytherin all this time, despite the threats!'

And instead of blushing and feeling pleased or proud, James watched in confusion as his sister burst into tears.

Emma couldn't take it anymore. She had to tell James, come what may. Anything to keep the loving look off of his face, the one she did not deserve, especially now. She pulled away from the warmth of the hug and exhaled.

'James,' she tried, her voice breaking with the sobs. 'James, I've messed up.'

She took in a shuddering breath, but before she could continue, a voice cried from the house.

'Emma! Emma, where are you?'

The twins looked up to see Regulus jogging across the garden towards them. After a moment, James manoeuvred himself into Emma's line of sight, his face filled with concern.

'Emma,' he said urgently. 'What is it? What could possibly be this bad?'

Emma just shook her head, knowing that there would be no time. The weight of the Muggle girl would be a burden for her soul to bear. James gazed searchingly into her eyes one more, before turning away, accepting the fact that he wasn't going to get out any more information. He got up and turned to Regulus.

'How did you even get out?' he asked impatiently, searching his pockets for Regulus's wand.

'Wandless magic,' Regulus replied without a second glance towards the Gryffindor.

'Of course,' James said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. 'So obvious.'

Regulus wasn't paying attention though. He held Emma's gaze urgently. 'Look, I know how much this means to you, but I really can't stay here anymore. I just thought you ought to know.'

'No, no, it's fine,' Emma replied, getting to her feet. 'I'm sorry James, but there's no place for me here anymore. Not in Godric's Hollow. I'll see you at school.'

James looked as though he might cry.

'But...' he started, his voice trailing into nothing. He shrugged helplessly, conveying through the motion everything that he couldn't say with words.

Emma gave him one last, tight, smile and *Accio-ed Regulus's wand wordlessly.

'Bye James,' she said. 'Thanks for tonight.'

'But...' James repeated, before falling silent.

There was no point. They had already Disapparated.