Regina threw her mask onto her bed and turned away, raising her hands to her hair and grabbing it in fistfuls. She inhaled sharply and let the breath out in a long stream, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, continuing to run her hands through her hair. The concrete mixer that had settled in her stomach earlier that morning had refused to shift and, if anything, was making her feel more and more nauseous.

She couldn't quite believe how quickly things had escalated. That morning she had been preparing to attempt to embed herself amongst the Dark Lord's supporters. Now, she was wondering just how she had managed it so well. Moving across to the washbowl on the dressing table she began scrubbing at non-existent marks on her hands, trying to wash them clean.

"Regina?"

Jerking at the sound of her mother's voice, Regina dropped the bar of soap. It bounced off the dressing table and landed on the floorboards with a thud. Attempting to compose herself, the younger witch calmly raised the towel and patted her face dry.

"Mother."

"How are you feeling?"

"W-What?"

"You looked a little green when we returned from… their… house." Cora said, distaste twisting her features as she thought about her daughter and son-in-law. "I don't blame you, darling, I find being in their presence repulsive too."

"You have no idea, Mother." Regina replied cryptically.

Turning away, Cora continued to prowl around the room, the heels of her court shoes tapping almost threateningly on the wooden floorboards. Regina forced herself to act nonchalantly, moving around under the pretence of tidying up. She knew that her mother was studying her critically; clearly trying to decide what game the younger witch was playing.

"Why is my grandson under the roof of those filthy blood traitors?" Cora ground out finally, voicing the question that had been on the tip of her tongue ever since Nott had informed her that he had spoken to the boy while interrogating those at the Weasleys' home. "He should be here with his family."

"It was Henry's idea." Regina told her calmly, not turning to meet her eyes. She had been thinking about what to tell her mother about Henry, knowing that Cora would demand that he joined them. She refused to put him in danger; he was better off with the Weasleys and thinking that she was a traitor. "He offered to stay there and pass me information about the Order and their plans." Cora arched an eyebrow, clearly unsure whether or not to believe her daughter's words. Regina merely shrugged. "I couldn't stay; ever since Dumbledore's death they have been suspicious of me. And now… but they would never suspect Henry, he's just a child. You know how doe-eyed those blood traitors get over their children. They would never believe he was capable of turning on them."

With a chuckle, Cora nodded, clearly deciding to trust her daughter. Evidently something she'd said had resonated with the older woman and Regina sent her a tight smile, internally breathing a sigh of relief that she had swallowed the lies. Making a mental note to speak to her niece and inform her of the tale she had spun for her mother, Regina turned around to face her.

"I'm tired, Mother." She announced bluntly. "I wish to rest."

"Of course." Cora smiled broadly. "You'll need to conserve your strength, my darling. The war is just beginning."

She turned and stalked out of the room, closing the door firmly behind her. Regina dropped onto her bed, kicking off her shoes and curling into a ball. She squeezed her eyes tightly closed, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill out from under her eyelids and down her cheeks. Pushing the heels of her palms into her eyes, she struggled to banish the image of her son's face – the horrified look that she had caught for a split second before she Disapparated from the Weasley's back garden – from her mind.

It was too risky to attempt to contact Nymphadora so soon, but Regina had to use all of her willpower to stop herself acting impulsively and doing so anyway. She told herself over and over again that it would put everyone in danger. Cora and Bellatrix, especially, were suspicious about her sudden U-turn and she knew that they were watching her carefully. For now, at least, she would have to keep her head down and play her part well.

Crawling under the covers, not bothering to change, Regina forced herself not to think. She forced herself to attempt to sleep, not expecting to be able to achieve it. Sleep didn't come easily, but it did eventually come. Somewhere in the early hours of the morning Regina fell into an uneasy slumber, tossing and turning and clutching at her sheets desperately.

It was another three weeks before she was able to contact her niece. Feigning a migraine, Regina had stayed at home while her mother and sisters went into the Ministry of Magic to discuss their latest plans. Once she was sure that she was alone, Regina had locked her bedroom door and cast the Muffliato Charm, ensuring that she would not be overheard. Then she had taken a pinch of the floo powder, which she had stolen from her mother's supply in the grand drawing room and hidden in a silver snuffbox on her dressing table, ready for the moment when she would be able to use it.

Throwing it into the fireplace, Regina clearly stated the name of the Tonks' home and stuck her head confidently into the emerald green flames. She rode out the strange feeling of being transported across the country, smiling as the familiar front room came into view. It hadn't occurred to her, until it was too late, that her sister and brother-in-law might not know about her double bluff.

Andromeda gasped and dropped her mug with a clatter as her younger sister's face came into view, swimming in the flames of her fireplace. She dropped to her knees on the hearth instantly, shuffling forward to get closer to Regina, smiling warmly at the younger witch. Reaching out, she laid one hand on her sister's cheek.

"Gina… are you alright? We thought we would hear from you before now. We were starting to worry that something had happened."

"I'm fine, Dromeda. Is Dora there?" Regina assured her quickly. Realising that the older woman hadn't seemed concerned by her appearance in the slightest, she guessed that the young woman hadn't kept the secret from her parents. "I assume she has told you about our last conversation?"

"She did… but she's not here, no. She spends most of her time at The Burrow these days." At her sister's words, Regina sighed, chewing her lip anxiously. "What's the matter, G?"

"I told Mother that Henry was staying at The Burrow in order to pass me information on the Order, so that she wouldn't drag him here to live with us. This is the first opportunity I've had to… she's starting to ask questions about why he hasn't told me anything yet. I'm worried that she'll try and contact him or…"

"Or ask him why he hasn't contacted you." Andromeda nodded understandingly. "And he won't know what she's talking about and, knowing Henry, he'll tell her exactly that. If Cora finds out you lied about why Henry stayed with Molly and Arthur..."

"I'm not bothered about what she does to me." Regina assured her hastily. "I'm worried about Henry."

"He misses you."

"But he doesn't know why I left." The younger woman sighed deeply. "I didn't explain, I just… I went and… he thinks…"

"He's confused." Andromeda agreed gently. "He doesn't understand. As far as Henry knows, you tried to kill Nymphadora. You went to Bill and Fleur's wedding with the Death Eaters and you attacked them. You disappeared without explanation and you haven't attempted to contact anyone for almost a month."

"Dora and I agreed to keep this between ourselves. I assumed she would have told you and Ted, but I hope it hasn't got further than that."

Andromeda shook her head. "No, she hasn't breathed a word of what you're doing outside this house."

"I am sorry, Dromeda." Regina told her sincerely, sighing. "I really am. I wish I could have kept you all out of this."

"Don't be ridiculous, Regina." Her older sister chided her impatiently. "You're my baby sister and I love you. We're worried about you, that's all. And you want to keep us out of all this? The Dark Lord has other ideas, darling. We're all in this up to our necks, whether you like it or not."

"Yes… I realise that." She agreed quietly. "I just wanted to keep everyone else out of this particular, Cora-shaped mess."

There was a long pause as they both considered the situation. Regina was just starting to get jumpy about the amount of time that she'd spent in the fireplace, when Andromeda spoke again.

"This is what we're going to do. We're going to go along with what Cora thinks is happening. But, instead of your information coming from Henry, it's going to come from Dora or me. You will give us information in exchange. Do you understand?"

"What if someone speaks to Henry?"

"Then he won't have any idea what they're talking about." She shrugged. "But that's fine because you will tell them that you've told him to act like that."

"What?"

Andromeda sighed, as though she thought Regina was being particularly slow. "Tell Cora that you've told Henry to deny all knowledge of the plan. If she says anything about being family or that Henry doesn't need to pretend around her, tell her that you thought it would be easier for Henry if he treated everyone the same."

Regina nodded slowly. "The Daily Prophet are planning to run a story about Potter being wanted by the Ministry for questioning over Dumbledore's death. I assume you already know that Thicknesse is under the Imperious Curse?"

"We do." Andromeda agreed with a nod. "The news story is new information, though."

"And…"

"Yes?"

The younger woman chewed her lip again. "They want to make a register of Muggle-borns. They're planning on creating a new Ministry Department, the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, in order to… I don't know, exactly, but it won't be for anything good."

"You're worried about Emma?"

"Of course I'm worried about Emma!" Regina almost exploded. "If being a Muggle-born wasn't bad enough, her connection to both the Order will make her a target for Mother and Bellatrix. Thank Merlin they don't know about her connection to me. Dromeda… if they get to Emma they won't just interview her… they'll make an example of her. Ted will be at greater risk, too."

"I'll tell Dora." Andromeda nodded, her face a mask of grim determination.

"They're also planning to make attendance at Hogwarts compulsory, although all children will have to have their blood status confirmed by the Ministry before they are allowed to go." Then Regina shook her head. "But they'll no doubt announce all of this before long."

"Having a head's up is better than finding out last minute." Andromeda reminded her. "Maybe we can do something about it… or at least prepare."

"I wish I could be of more use." Her sister said softly.

"You are a great help."

"I'm not really, am I?"

"Regina… having you on the inside is invaluable. I am not ignorant to the dangers you're putting yourself under. Simply being there shows a true strength of character that I'm not sure many possess, let alone allowing your friends and loved ones to believe that you're doing it by choice; that you betrayed them."

"I leave for Hogwarts in a few days." Regina said, not showing any sign that she had heard her sister's words. "There is much to prepare before the students begin to arrive. Mother did suggest that I head up the new Muggle-Born Registration Commission, but Severus impressed upon He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named that I was invaluable to the school and he refused to allow me to leave." She shrugged. "I doubt that communication will be any easier there… it may even be more difficult, but at least I won't have mother looking over my shoulders every two minutes."

"I'll try and find some information that you can use. Try and contact us next Wednesday; I'll make sure Dora is here."

"I'll do my best." Regina promised. For a moment she hesitated and then she smiled weakly. "Look after yourself, Dromeda."

"You too, G."

Retreating from the fireplace, Regina sat heavily on the stool at her dressing table. She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long while, wondering when she had become the woman staring back at her. There were lines on her face that she didn't recognise and she was sure that the almost permanent frown had crept up on her when she wasn't paying attention.

Touching her cheek lightly, she let out a long breath and turned away. It would do no good to waste her time on regrets or what if's. There was too much to do and too much at stake to worry about things that hadn't happened or couldn't be changed now.

Instead she continued packing her trunk ready to make the journey to Hogwarts. With only a little over a week left until the students would be arriving at the castle for the start of the new academic year, there was a lot to be prepared. Regina had not been surprised in the least when Cora had demanded that she be released from her contract at the school in order to head up the new Ministry department, but Severus had been equally firm in his declarations that her presence at Hogwarts was necessary. The Dark Lord had reminded Cora how important it was for them to shape the minds of the next generation of witches and wizards and that Regina would play an integral part in that in her capacity as Arithmancy Professor and Head of Slytherin. Grudgingly Cora had agreed and, since then, had said nothing more on the subject.

As Regina had expected, two days after her conversation with Andromeda, the Ministry of Magic had announced the news of the new Muggle-Born Registration Commission. As joint heads of the commission, Cora and Dolores Umbridge had been photographed, side-by-side, on the steps of the Ministry. Their smiles had been equally wide and equally unnerving. Regina shuddered as she stared at it in the copy of the Daily Prophet that was open on her knees.

Along with that announcement came the news that attendance at Hogwarts was becoming compulsory for all school-age witches and wizards in the United Kingdom who had been given 'Blood Status' by the Ministry. Growling with irritation, Regina closed the newspaper forcefully and threw it onto the seat opposite.

Severus looked up, almost in amusement, at the sound. He arched an eyebrow at her, before reaching sideways and picking up the paper, opening it to the page she had just been reading and scanning it quickly. With a chuckle, Severus returned the paper to the seat and his gaze to his friend's face. Regina scowled back at him for a moment and then turned to look out of the window, refusing to meet his eyes again.

"Come on, Gina." He soothed. "There is nothing we can do about those parts of His plans."

"I know that."

"Let's focus our attentions on what we can change." Severus reasoned. "We're in charge of the young minds that will be attending Hogwarts. It is our duty to shape the next generation."

"Yes… and we both know how we're expected to shape them." She reminded him bluntly. "How are we going to go against the tide without being caught?"

"We don't draw attention to ourselves for one thing. Ostensibly we must be seen to be following orders, even if it's only to keep ourselves out of trouble. If anyone suspects…"

Regina nodded and exhaled sharply. "I know."

"I think perhaps the best way to do that is to ensure that the underground resistance to the Dark Lord is kept going."

"How do you suggest we do that, Severus, without drawing attention to ourselves?"

"Cleverly." He smirked. "We turn a blind eye, when possible. If we know that something is happening in one area of the castle, we divert attention somewhere else. They may not know it, but we'll be enabling them as much as we possibly can and, hopefully, it will allow them to create something worthwhile and useful."

"Do you honestly think that's going to work?" Regina asked. "Is it enough?"

"At the moment it's all we can do, Regina." Severus reminded her with a sigh. "We keep the others in line as much as possible, protect the students from harm and do what we can to help those who are fighting against the darkness."

Nodding slowly, Regina returned her gaze out of the window. "I just hope it's not in vain."