The warmest place to be in Hogwarts during the winter was just off of the main staircase in front Boudica the Great's portrait. It was right above the kitchen's fireplace. It was were three boys sat cross-legged on a Saturday afternoon feeling safe and comfortable in their quiet little corner of such a big and chaotic place. Little Barty Crouch Jr bounced a quaffle off the opposite wall, dreaming of the day he would be Hogwarts's best Quidditch player and he'd finally step out of his father's shadow and make a name for himself. Maybe he'd make seeker, once Regulus graduated, of course, then he'd really get all the glory. Beside him was Lucas Nicnevin; with his head resting against the wall and his eyes unfocused, he looked quite serene despite supporting a black eye. Regulus was the only one who seemed to have an issue: He clenched and unclenched his fists he held safely under his arms, a muscle in his jaw convulsed as he glared, lost in angry thought, at poor St Justus's portrait. He was still in his Quidditch uniform. It would be the first time he would ever miss a game and probably not the last with the way things were going.

"I can feel how angry you are," Lucas Nicnevin said. He had a deep voice for his age and was naturally soft-spoken.

"It's not at you," Regulus said. Barty finally stopped bouncing his ball.

"It's not your problem," Luke said, his eyes on his fidgeting fingers.

Regulus turned his body to face him. He had known Luke now for three years and this was the most confrontational he had ever seen him. "How could you even say that?" Regulus demanded.

Luke looked back at him out of the corner of his eye, saw how intense his gaze was and quickly looked back at his fingers. He pulled the sleeves of his jumper over his hands and crossed his arms so tightly it was like he was hugging himself. "It's not your problem," he repeated.

"How so?" Regulus challenged. "You're my friend, everyone knows that here so what they say about you reflects on me. Your bad reputation hinders my reputation."

Luke sniffled and wiped his nose. "Maybe we shouldn't be," he said matter of factly.

"Shut the fuck up," Regulus said, returning to his initial position. Barty chose to take that to mean that he could resume bouncing his ball.

"No, seriously. If my friendship hurts you so badly then why -"

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Regulus hissed.

"I know. But… why?" Luke asked like it was a genuine question. It was a ridiculous question. They had known each other since before Hogwarts, each had heard how horrible the other was for years, it was like their parents had been begging them to be friends. "Why, if my friendship gets you kicked out of games and thrown in detention? Why if we have to be friends behind our parents back? Why is any of it worth it?" Luke continued.

"You're pulling away again," Regulus said. His comment only made Luke draw deeper into himself.

He never understood why Luke was the way he was. He had never asked but he had always assumed that something horrible had happened to him and caused him to be afraid of everything. That's why he was so quiet, why he always second-guessed their friendship, and why he always withdrew; Luke was always separate from everything, he never could quite get a handle on him.

Barty sighed heavily and maybe a little irritably. "Mate," he said, turning to Luke, "I'd much rather have seen that fight than the stupid Quidditch match." Regulus couldn't tell if he was telling the truth, especially knowing how much Barty like Quidditch, but he appreciated it all the same.

Luke sniffled again. "How are you going to hide this from your parents. McGonagall's writing to them right now."

"They think that McGonagall's an idiot just like Dumbledore," Regulus sighed. "I'll think of something."

When it came to his parents, it was easier to come up with the lie in the moment, that way he could know how much they knew. He story would be along the lines of him not fighting in favour of werewolves and certainly not getting physical because of it. It was one thing to have a calm and open discussion about it with his cousin (why would we not like werewolves when all they are is a product of strong magic?) and another thing entirely to feel so strongly about the issue to get violently upset. Their disappointment would be strong but he could get himself out of it easily. It didn't help that Sirius just attacked another pureblood. He was getting sloppy.

"Potter," Barty said.

"Pardon?" Regulus asked, blinking himself out of his deep thoughts.

"Potter is running through the entrance hall, up the stairs…" The sound of rubber-soled shoes hitting marble filled the silence.

James Potter rounded the corner, his shoelaces untied, as usual, his hands chapped from the cold, his face flushed from exertion, his glasses askew, and his hair… let's not even touch on that. He skidded to a halt when he saw them.

"You lot all right?" he said.

"Huh?" Barty asked.

They were all confused. Since when did James Potter come running from a Quidditch game to check on them?

"You all right?" Potter repeated. "We saw the fight. Well, the end of it, and wanted to make sure -"

"Draw the short stick, did you?" Regulus interrupted, suddenly angry again. If Sirius wanted to check on him he should do it himself.

"What? No, I just… what happened?" Potter asked, closing the distance between them. He didn't look like he was planning on going anytime soon.

"Oh, fucking hell," Regulus muttered. He hadn't taken Potter for a gossip but he supposed Hogwarts could give anyone the small town mentality.

"Nothing," Luke said.

"It was just a bet gone wrong," Barty added. "Right, Reg?
Regulus didn't say anything.

Potter sighed heavily. "Look, if there's ever anything you need, you can come to me, no questions asked," he vowed.

"Why?" Regulus asked, defensively.

"You're the brothers of my friends. That makes you kind of like my extended family, right?" Potter smirked, his expression strange to Regulus. "Anyway, just wanted to make sure you lot were okay and to tell you that. I'll leave you to your… whatever you were doing," he backed away, gave one last awkward chuckle and skipped back down the stairs.

"That was weird," Barty observed, his ball bouncing again.

Regulus nodded, trying to wrap his head around just how weird that really was.

"It's probably because of my sister," Luke mumbled.

"That makes sense," Regulus agreed. It made a heck of a lot more sense that Sirius sending him.

*** Thank you, Love Fiction 2018

****Jane Turnleaf, I'm surprised you're the only one to call me out on that. My only excuse is that I'm severely lacking time to properly edit. Anyway, to answer your question, I am a firm believer in mind over matter and Lily so very much wants to believe in Snape and that can cause people to act irrationally and lie to themselves when the truth is so plainly in front of them. It is shown a little in canon material, Lily herself points out that Snape has called people Mudbloods before and even that didn't stop her from being friends with him until it happens to her. I'm hoping to get to a point where I have enough chapters written ahead of time so I can spend my normal writing time to edit previous chapters and fix this issue. Thank you for the compliments though, I hope you continue to enjoy :)

*****Merrick Whitlock, thank you

***I've been wanting to do a Regulus chapter for a while. Hope you guys found it worthwhile :D

Thanks for reading.

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XO