A/N: Thank you so, so much to everyone who's reading, reviewing, favouriting and following this! I have been incredibly rude in not thanking you all before, but it really does mean a lot to know that you're enjoying it! Fingers crossed that continues!
Regina felt like she was in some kind of waking nightmare. Most of the staff, apart from the newly appointed Carrow siblings and Severus, had taken to avoiding her like the plague, sending her evil glares and spreading rumours about her. She couldn't blame them, but it hurt all the same.
Somehow, Emma had managed to get around the stringent checks by the Muggle-Born Registration Committee and was allowed to return to work as Charms Professor. Regina had almost dropped the stack of books she was carrying when she had caught a glimpse of familiar blonde curls and heard the woman's laughter echoing through the Entrance Hall, relief and longing mixing together as she realised who it was. For her part, Emma had barely spared the brunette a glance before heading up the staircase with Ruby and Belle.
Severus outlined the new curriculum and expectations and the punishments for going against the Dark Lord's wishes were explained clearly and forcefully. Regina had no doubt that no one in the room was planning to adhere to the new rules; in fact she had no intention of doing it either.
The first couple of days of term flew past surprisingly quietly. None of the students had made trouble so far, but Regina was sure that they were plotting and planning something big. Henry was purposefully avoiding his mother and, with him being in Ravenclaw and not having chosen to take Arithmancy, there was no reason for their paths to cross. Regina had attempted to speak to him in the Great Hall at meal times or in the corridors, but he had pointedly refused to acknowledge her.
"Regina!"
"Mother!" The brunette jumped. She had barely set foot over the threshold into her office when the sound of the older witch's voice met her ears. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to inform you that the tip you gave us paid off."
"What tip?"
"That the Order would be holding a meeting at the Leaky Cauldron."
"Oh…" Regina sighed, remembering the information her sister had told her to pass on.
"We broke up the meeting, but they managed to get away." Cora said, looking disappointed. She didn't notice the small smile twisting her daughter's lips at the news. "How is Henry?"
"Fine."
"And how are you?"
"Also fine." Regina nodded, moving across to her desk and taking a seat. "But I'm very busy, Mother. As pleasant as this has been, I have to get on…"
"Before I go… have you heard about what happened at the Ministry yesterday?"
Against her better judgement, the younger witch found herself interested in what her mother was about to tell her. "No?"
"Potter, the blood traitor and their little mud-blood friend used Polyjuice Potion to take on the likenesses of three Ministry workers and infiltrate the Ministry."
"No?" Regina repeated with a gasp. "Who did they become?"
Cora arched an eyebrow. "Does it matter?" Wafting her hand around impatiently, she spoke with a bored tone. "Albert Runcorn, Mafalda Hopkirk and some maintenance wizard… as I said, that is unimportant."
"Then what is important, Mother?"
"Potter was inside the Ministry! He walked straight into our midst… he was standing under my nose… and he escaped!" Her fists clenched and a vein throbbed unpleasantly on her forehead in her fury at being outsmarted by the teenager. Regina barely managed to conceal her smirk of amusement. "We had him and he escaped!"
"How is that possible? How did three teenagers manage to evade capture by the entire Ministry of Magic?"
Cora scowled. "They were too slow sealing the exits. They got away through a fireplace. Yaxley nearly caught them… they went to Grimmauld Place as we had expected, but then they Apparated and we lost them."
"And you suspect they will come here?" Regina asked, reading between the lines.
"They are stupid enough to do something like that."
Privately Regina disputed that claim, but said nothing on the matter. "You wish me to inform you the moment we suspect they are trying to gain entrance or make contact with someone inside the castle?"
"I do, my darling."
"Very well."
"Good… I'll be in touch." Cora told her in a business-like tone.
Pretending to be engrossed in her planning, Regina watched out of the corner of her eye as Cora moved across to the fireplace and threw a handful of Floo Powder into the flames. Without a backward glance, she said the name of her home and stepped into the fire. Breathing a sigh of relief as her mother vanished, Regina leant back in her chair and folded her arms, thinking deeply.
Emma grunted as she hoisted her trunk onto her four-poster bed. Putting her hands on her hips and catching her breath as she looked around her room. She hadn't been away that long and yet it felt like a lifetime had passed. Towards the end of the last school year she had spent barely any time within these walls, spending most of her time in Regina's chambers instead.
Now, though, she would never take her surroundings for granted again. When she had been called in front of the Muggle-Born Registration Committee Emma had thought that she might never step foot in the castle again. It had been nerve-wracking as Cora and Umbridge had gone over her forged family tree with fine toothcombs, obviously hoping to find something incriminating. Emma had practiced and prepped for the interview, roping in her friends to help her prepare. Thankfully her fabricated family history had held up and she was grudgingly awarded Blood Status by the Committee.
Over the past month Emma had found herself struggling more and more with Regina's actions. Her unwavering faith in the older witch had been tested to its limits when, as more and more time passed, there was no word from her. The blonde had been sure that, when things died down a little, Regina would attempt to contact her to let her know what was going on. When no word had reached them, Emma began to doubt that there was an innocent explanation for her ex-girlfriend's behaviour.
"Em?"
Glancing up, the blonde returned her friend's smile weakly. "Hey, Rubes."
"Are you coming down for dinner?"
"I want to unpack."
Ruby laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "We've been here for a week and you still haven't unpacked?"
Emma shrugged. "I felt like it was testing fate..."
"What? You were worried that they were about to storm in here and revoke your Blood Status?"
"It's not impossible, is it?"
"Chill, Emma. You're home, OK? We've got to hold it together for the kids." She dropped onto the bed and lay back, clasping her hands over her stomach. "I've already had to step in twice to stop Ginny getting herself into deep shit."
"What did she do?"
"Tried to curse Malfoy." Ruby shot her a look. "He said something about Harry and she snapped. Luckily I deflected the stunner and kept her ass out of detention."
"Rubes..."
"I know, I know... but I couldn't bear the thought of her having the Crutiatus Curse practised on her. Molly would kill me, anyway, if I saw what was about to happen and didn't try to prevent it!"
"We're not going to be there every time, are we?"
"No." The brunette grudgingly admitted. "But we have to do what we can." She rolled over and climbed to her feet. "Come on, you need food. I know that expression. You're getting hangry."
"Hangry?" Emma raised her eyebrows and chuckled.
"Hunger fuelled anger." Her friend explained with a giggle.
Swatting her on the arm, Emma allowed herself to be pulled out of her room and along the corridor. They met Belle down in the Entrance Hall and went in to the Great Hall together. Emma noticed, as she always did, that Regina was not present. Her seat, beside that of the Headmaster, was noticeably empty. As the meal continued, it remained that way and when the students began to file out and the room cleared there was still no sign of the brunette.
It wasn't unusual for Regina not to appear for meals, but Emma still couldn't help herself wondering, as she did every time, if something was wrong when there was no sign of the brunette. Realising what she was thinking about, Belle nudged her gently in the ribs and sent her a soft smile. Rolling her eyes and smirking in return, Emma threw herself back into the conversation and soon forced her mind away from the woman that she couldn't seem to shake.
As they headed through the four House tables, Emma felt someone's hand on her arm and she whirled round sharply. Her expression faltered when she met Henry's eyes and the frown was quickly replaced by a warm smile.
"Hey, kid. Are you OK?"
"Yeah, fine. Are you?"
"Yeah." She assured him firmly. "What's up?"
"Have you seen my mom?" Henry asked, looking as though he wished he wasn't. "She hasn't been to any meals today. I'm not worried about her or anything," he told her quickly, "I'm just wondering if she's up to something."
Emma felt a pang in her chest at the boy's words and the hardened expression on his face. She knew that he was struggling to come to terms with Regina's apparent deflection to the dark side as much as she was. Part of her wanted to reassure him that his mother was fine and that her absence was definitely innocent. But another part of her couldn't even reassure herself that that was the case.
"I'm sure she's alright, Henry. She's probably just busy with planning and marking and stuff."
He snorted. "Yeah, OK."
He turned and strode away, the anger radiating off him in waves. Emma shook her head slowly and closed her eyes for a moment, wishing that she could do something to make him feel better but knowing that there was nothing she could possibly do. The only thing that would help Henry was his mother giving him an explanation that would set his mind at ease.
Returning to her chambers, Emma threw herself into her unpacking with full force, wanting to take her mind off everything else.
The odd dance seemed to continue for a while. It proved impossible to keep Ginny and Neville and Henry and many of the others who rebelled against the new regime out of harm's way. Emma, Ruby and Belle had all volunteered to oversee detention, hoping to stop the use of the Crutiatus Curse on those who were being punished, but their applications had been denied. It did reach their ears, however, that Regina refused point-blank to allow the practice when she was overseeing detention. Emma knew exactly why that was and the information allowed a small flame of hope to reignite in her chest.
"Professor Mills?" Emma gulped and did her best to remain professional. She had been handed a message that she needed pass on to the Head of Slytherin and, despite begging her friends to go instead of her, she had found herself knocking on the door of the older witch's office. "I've got a message for you."
Regina's disinterested expression slipped for a split second at the sight of the blond in her doorway, but she quickly regained control of her features. It was not quick enough, however, to stop Emma spotting it. The blonde smiled internally, the glow in her chest warming her significantly.
"Thank you." Regina said in an empty voice, taking the folded scrap of parchment from the blonde. "If that's all you may leave."
"Regina?" Emma hesitated and then took a step towards her, into the office. "Are you alright? What's going on?"
"I'm perfectly well, Professor Swan."
"Regina..."
"That is all. See yourself out." Regina snapped, turning away and signalling that the conversation had come to an end.
Sighing and shaking her head, Emma retreated, leaving the brunette alone. As soon as the door was closed, Regina leant heavily on her desk, her head so low that her chin was almost tucked into her chest. Her hands curled into fists and she had to take several deep, steadying breaths, to regain her control.
Breaking the wax seal and unfolding the note, she quickly read the two words scrawled on the parchment in familiar handwriting. Tonight, 8pm. She knew exactly what it meant and who the note was from. Glancing at the clock set over the fireplace, she saw that it was almost half past seven.
Plucking her cloak off the hook on the back of the door, Regina let herself out of the office and stalked quickly through the deserted dungeon corridors. She made her way up into the Entrance Hall, falling back into the shadows as she spotted Amycus and Alecto Carrow heading out of the Great Hall, deep in conversation. Her stomach turned as she watched Neville and Ginny stumbling out after them, each supporting a younger student carefully.
Regina felt rage build inside her once more. She had been beyond furious when Severus had announced that the Cruciatus Curse was to be practiced on students who had received detention. They had argued fiercely, with Severus telling her that she was right and he agreed that it was barbaric, but the Dark Lord wished it so they couldn't refuse. She, however, had refused and was perfectly happy to stand in front of Voldemort, explain her decision and face the consquences if he so desired it. Luckily for her, Severus had managed to persuade the Carrows not to mention the disagreement and so, for now at least, Regina had been spared that.
As soon as the Entrance Hall was deserted, the witch made her way across the flagstone floor and disappeared out into the night. She hurried across the lawns and paused at the edge of the forest, glancing over her shoulder before picking her way between the trees.
Emma frowned as she watched Regina heading down the lawns and into the Forbidden Forest. Jerking back quickly as the brunette looked over her shoulder, Emma hid behind one of the stone pillars at the entrance to the castle. As soon as Regina had stepped into the darkness of the trees, Emma jogged after her, determined to find out what was going on.
As she passed through the first row of trees, the blonde slowed. She could hear the murmur of a hushed conversation taking place, but couldn't quite manage to distinguish what was being said. Creeping closer still, as close as she dared, Emma strained her ears to listen in.
"Did you bring them?" A voice, which belonged to a woman that was definitely not Regina, asked.
"Yes." Regina replied quickly. "You have no idea how difficult it was."
The other woman chuckled throatily. "I can take an educated guess. Thank you."
"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean... It's incredibly risky. Look what happened last time someone tried it. It was only by luck that–"
"It'll be fine. We have to try. I need to do something, Gina."
"I can understand that... has there been any news?"
"No..."
"No news is often good news." Regina said in her most reassuring tone. "Besides, it's possibly wise that he's not made contact. It's too dangerous."
"I hope you're right."
"So do I." There was a shuffling noise and Emma hid quickly behind a tree trunk to avoid being spotted. "Be careful."
"You too."
Staying behind her tree, Emma held her breath as Regina strode past. Then she poked her head out of the other side in an attempt to catch a glimpse of whoever the brunette had been meeting in the forest. All she managed to see, however, was the back of a cloak as its owner disappeared in the opposite direction.
