Several weeks passed and Emma was almost dying with curiosity about who Regina had met in the Forbidden Forest and what she had given them. The brunette witch hadn't done anything out of the ordinary since that night and Emma was starting to question herself about whether she had just imagined it. Almost starting to feel like some kind of stalker, the Charms Professor had taken to keeping a log of her ex-girlfriend's movements. Ruby and Belle had arched their eyebrows at her when they found out what she was doing, not believing for a second that she was purely interested in Regina's movements for the purposes of keeping the Order informed.
"You're turning into some weird obsessive ex." Ruby told her, plucking the notebook Emma had been filling with notes about Regina's movements. "Mills is batshit crazy, but you're heading in the same direction."
"She's right, Em." Belle agreed, more gently. "This is just plain weird."
"Look, just go and ask Lady Mills who she was talking to."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, because Regina will just tell me what she's doing."
"You'll never know if you don't ask, Em." Belle reasoned.
"Right, I've gotta go… do a thing…" The blonde shook her head and grabbed her notebook back from Ruby with a scowl.
Ruby and Belle watched her stride away along the corridor, before taking the staircase three steps at a time in her hurry to get away from them. Exchanging a look, the two witches shook their heads and wandered in the direction of the Great Hall and dinner.
Emma, on the other hand, found herself roaming the castle. She was up on the seventh floor, wandering aimlessly along the Gargoyle Corridor, when she saw the statue that stood at the entrance to the Headmaster's Tower leaping aside. Hesitating, not wanting to be spotted by Snape, the blonde considered turning and walking as quickly as she could back along the corridor.
She hesitated for a split second too long, however, as footsteps on the staircase behind the Gargoyle alerted her to someone else's presence. Emma's mouth dropped open as she realised that, not only did the footsteps not belong to the Headmaster, they didn't even belong to a member of staff.
"Ginny!" Emma gaped at the redheaded sixth year who had just stepped out of the passageway, closely followed by two other students. "Neville? Luna! What in Merlin's name are you doing?"
With a broad grin, Ginny revealed what was hidden inside her robes. Emma's eyebrows nearly shot off the top of her head as she laid eyes on the silver sword the teenagers had stolen from Snape's office. It was unmistakably the sword of Godric Gryffindor; the rubies in the hilt catching the flickering candle light.
"Gryffindor's sword? But… why?"
"We're going to get it to Harry." Luna informed her, looking exceedingly pleased with herself. "It doesn't belong to Snape and it'll be much more use to him."
"This is mad." Emma told them in a low voice. "How are you planning to get it to Harry? They'll realise it's missing before you'll have a chance to do anything and they're going to start asking you questions; no one's got more of a motive than you three."
Ginny sent her a pleading look. "Please, Professor Swan, help us."
"I'll keep an eye out, but I can't do anything more than that. If anyone comes I'll distract them and give you a chance to get away."
Smiling and nodding their thanks, the trio headed away quickly, the sword still hidden from sight beneath Ginny's robes. Following at a safe distance behind them, Emma watched as they descended staircase after staircase heading for the front doors to the castle. Just as they were making their way down the final staircase into the Entrance Hall, the Headmaster swept through the door that lead from the Dungeon Corridor with a scowl twisting his features.
Emma swore under her breath and increased her pace, hoping to head him off or at least prevent him looking too closely at the teenagers. She was out of luck, however, when Regina appeared through the same doorway her friend had just walked through. The brunette glanced up and met Emma's eyes. The blonde was unable to mould her expression into one of anything other than shock and horror, which caused Regina to narrow her eyes thoughtfully, clearly trying to work out what had caused the expression.
"What are you three doing wandering around the castle at this time of night?" Snape demanded in a low voice, looking between the trio of students.
"We wanted to go and visit Hagrid." Ginny lied defiantly. "He was having trouble with some Bowtruckles earlier and we were going to see whether he'd managed to sort it out."
"Really, Miss Weasley?" The Head of Slytherin House arched an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest, thoroughly unconvinced.
"Yeah, really."
"What have you got hidden under your cloak?"
Ginny faltered. "What? Nothing."
"Please, do not make me search you, Miss Weasley." Regina demanded impatiently. "Whatever it is, we will find out."
Reluctantly, but with a defiant expression on her face, Ginny removed the sword from the protection of her cloak. Snape's eyeballs nearly rolled out of his head at the sight of the weapon, but Regina barely reacted at all, much to Emma's confusion. It was just something else that she would add to her list about the older witch's odd behaviour.
"Godric Gryffindor's sword?" Snape demanded, reaching out and taking it from her. "But this was locked in my office. Did you break into my office and steal this?"
"It's not yours to keep so it wasn't stealing." Neville told him bravely.
Snape ground his teeth angrily. "Dentention… all three of you." Beside him, Regina stiffened. Sensing it, the man nodded slowly. "You will all serve detention with Hagrid tomorrow night. He has some jobs to do in the Forbidden Forest. You can help him."
"Now, bed." Regina ordered.
She received three scowls and the trio turned on their heels and stamped up the staircase, shooting Emma identical looks as they passed. The blonde nodded sharply at each, before making her way down into the Entrance Hall.
"Isn't Curse Practise a more popular form of detention these days?" Emma asked, making her tone as light and innocent as she could manage.
Snape's jaw clenched and his wand hand twitched, but he didn't answer. Instead, he headed up the flight of stairs with the sword clutched tightly in his other hand, leaving the two witches staring after him. When they were alone, Emma turned to Regina and reiterated her question.
The brunette rolled her eyes. "Grow up, Professor Swan."
"Grow up?" Emma snorted.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll–"
"I'll what?" She challenged. "I'll plan secret meetings in the Forbidden Forest?"
Regina's mouth dropped open. "What do you mean?"
"I saw you the other night, meeting someone in the Forbidden Forest. Who was it? What did you give them?" Emma demanded. "What are you planning, Regina?"
"I'm not planning anything." She hissed back, turning and starting to walk back down to the Dungeons, where her office was situated.
"Don't give me that, Regina! I know you better than that. Just tell me."
"There is nothing to tell!"
Grabbing the older woman's wrist, Emma yanked her backwards roughly. Regina stumbled slightly and the blonde caught her, pinning her against the wall and scowling at her. Struggling to free herself, Regina pushed at Emma's shoulders.
"Get off me!"
"Not until you tell me what you were doing out there. If you're plotting against the Order, the people who considered you as a friend, then–"
"I would never–"
"You tried to kill your own niece!" Emma raged, all of her hurt and suspicion and frustration crashing down on her and causing her to take her bad temper out on the brunette. "You're as bad as Cora and Bellatrix! Your own niece!"
"I would never harm a hair on Nymphadora's head!" Regina was unable to stop herself exclaiming, looking horrified at the thought.
The blonde snorted in disbelief. "I was there, Regina. I saw you."
"That wasn't… I… Fine!" Pushing Emma hard, Regina stepped away from the younger woman and folded her arms. Her eyes narrowed as she scowled. "Fine!" Then she leant forwards, jabbing her finger furiously at Emma. "But think about it properly. What did you actually see? Did you see me attack Dora or anyone else? No. You saw me deflecting curses but not casting any of my own."
"I…"
"Exactly! You come down here, throwing accusations at me without any evidence to back up your claims!"
"So what were you doing out in the forest if you're so innocent?" Emma demanded.
"That is none of your business, Professor Swan." Regina snapped.
"If you're so guiltless just tell me."
"Why should I?"
"Because at the moment I think that you're plotting against the Order."
Regina smirked. "And your opinion matters to me because…?"
"Because I know you well enough to know that you can't just turn your feelings on and off." Emma replied calmly. "I know how deeply you feel things. I know you loved me, Regina. I think you still do. I think you're just scared."
"Oh, really?" The Head of Slytherin laughed mirthlessly. "Well aren't I the lucky one having you to tell me how I feel?"
"Stop it, Gina. Just stop it, now. If you tell me what's going on I can help you!"
"You can't." Regina informed her bluntly. "So leave it alone."
Shaking off the hand that Emma still had on her arm, she stalked away along the Dungeon Corridor and disappeared into her office, slamming the door behind her. Growling, Emma punched the stone wall, before laying her forehead against it and exhaling sharply. She didn't believe Regina for a second, but knew that she had blown her chance to get through to the older woman.
As Regina's words about what had happened in the Weasley's garden came back to her, Emma decided to speak to Tonks about her take on the duel. Now she thought about it, she didn't actually remember Regina casting any curses, defensive or offensive, at all. Making up her mind to question her friend about the situation, Emma headed back up to the Entrance Hall, before leaving the castle and walking down the driveway in the direction of Hogsmeade.
Regina settled herself in the armchair in front of her fireplace and exhaled deeply. She rubbed the back of her neck tiredly, before a huge yawn forced itself out of her. The brunette closed her eyes and leant her head against the back of her chair, thinking hard about the many power plays that were going on around the castle and its inhabitants.
She was exhausted by the countless stupid, pointless attempts of the students to annoy, irritate and wear down their teachers. She knew that most of the staff were only too happy to look the other way or even encourage the teenager's reckless behaviour. While Regina would have been content to turn a blind eye to most of their actions, she was struggling to keep the wayward students in one piece. The Carrow twins were out for blood and even Severus was of the opinion they needed to make an example of the ringleaders to keep up their pretence and stop further trouble.
Standing up and stretching to remove the kinks in her back, Regina walked across to her desk and riffled through the papers piled on the surface. Moving aside the sixth years' essays, she struggled to find the information she was hunting for. Somewhere in the mess of parchment and books was a letter from her sister that Regina had been meaning to destroy ever since she had finished reading it. Communicating by letter had been a big risk and now Regina was relieved that they had found a safer method; one that would hopefully keep them both out of suspicion.
Finally laying her hands on the parchment, she cast her eyes over the smudged lettering for a moment, before crossing the flagstone floor and dropping the note into the fire. Regina watched with satisfaction, before turning her back and returning to her desk. She tapped the bottom drawer in her desk with her wand and then pulled it open. Regina rummaged inside until she drew out a sheet of parchment marked with a list of names and a large bag of money. Glancing at the time, the witch grabbed her cloak from the stand beside the door and pushed the two items she had liberated from her desk deep into the pockets. Magically locking the drawer once more, she headed outside.
Due to the strict rules put in place at the castle, her journey up from the dungeon basement and through the entrance hall was not witnessed. She left the castle behind and strode through the grounds, disappearing deep into the forest that bordered it. Stepping past the invisible boundary, Regina Disapperated before her second foot hit the ground.
"You're late."
Regina smiled wryly and leant in to press a kiss to her sister's cheek. "I'm sorry."
There was a pause as they cast numerous protective charms and anti-muggle spells around themselves, preventing them being detected by anyone who might either come looking or simply stumble across the two witches. It was unlikely, but neither of them were stupid enough to risk meeting without covering their backs quite substantially. There was far too much to lose.
"How are you?" Andromeda asked gently as soon as they were reassured they were safe, reaching out to squeeze the younger woman's shoulder reassuringly. "I've heard that things are tightening up at Hogwarts."
"They are. Severus is talking about reinstating several of Umbridge's rules and restrictions."
"Is it necessary?"
Regina chuckled. "It would definitely help to cut down my workload. Do you know what Ginny Weasley and the Lovegood girl did yesterday? They booby-trapped Amycus' office so that two dozen stink bombs went off as soon as he shut the door and he couldn't get out. I've never seen someone looking so outraged while retching into a plant pot before." Then the smile dropped from her face. "They were punished for it, though. I can't be seen to be going easy on them so I couldn't step in and do anything about it."
"You don't need to defend yourself to me, Regina." Her older sister reminded her calmly. "I know what you're doing."
"Mmmm… Any news of Ted?"
"No, nothing… that could be good, though. I'm trying to stay positive for Nymphadora's sake as much as anything."
"I'm sure he's fine." Regina tried to reassure her gently. "How is Dora?"
"Getting bigger! Remus still won't come near her, in case he affects the child."
The younger sister rolled her eyes. "Lupin has always been a martyr."
Andromeda chuckled. "I'm inclined to agree with you." She tilted her head, drawing the conversation round to the real reason for their meeting. "Do you have a new list for me?" Reaching into her pocket, Regina pulled out the parchment and handed it to Andromeda. She unfolded it, reading the names marked on it quickly. "This is a shorter list than usual."
"I know… most of the Muggle-borns have either already been chased down or they're being kept under control at Hogwarts."
"Or they're on to you and they're withholding evidence."
"Yes. There is that option." Regina smirked. "I'm trying not to think about that, though."
Andromeda nodded slowly, her eyes moving over the parchment again. "So we'll prepare for about two dozen newcomers? Hang on… Maribella Busby? She's not a Muggle-born? Isn't… isn't she Severus' aunt?"
"His mother's cousin, but they're not in contact. Maribella's halfblood but her son-in-law is Muggle-born… I think we'll need to bring in the whole family. They're related to the Weasleys, too, and they're down as blood traitors and Muggle sympathisers in the Ministry records. Maribella's got her two young grandchildren living with her, so I think it's safer if they all go into hiding."
"Of course…"
"Any… any news on Dean Thomas?"
The older woman shot her a compassionate look. "That's not your fault, Gina. You did what you could."
"It wasn't enough."
"Dean Thomas chose not to accept your offer. He chose to go on the run, rather than go to the safe house."
"Because he didn't trust me and, quite frankly, I don't blame him." Regina replied bitterly.
"It's still not your fault."
"Yes, well." Pulling her cloak more tightly around herself, the younger witch remembered the purse in her pocket and retrieved it quickly. "Here, this is the next instalment of the funds for the safe house. How're we looking, space wise?"
Andromeda chuckled. "We're getting a bit crowded. At the last count we had eighteen witches and wizards living there… all under the age of seventeen."
Regina nodded slowly. "I'll visit on Saturday and we can perform the Extension Charm. I think we're in danger of steadily increasing the number of those needing shelter, so we may have to perform the spell several times."
"How long do you think this is going to last?" Her older sister asked, her tone weary and defeated.
Smiling weakly at her, the brunette sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, Drom. There's no end in sight yet, but that's not to say there won't be a sudden change in circumstance."
As a cold wind whistled through the trees and both women shivered, Andromeda reached out to rub her younger sister's arm affectionately. "You'd better get back to the school before you're missed."
"Be careful, Dromeda." Regina urged. "Please…"
"You too, Gi." The older witch said, before removing the protective enchantments that surrounded them and Disapperating into the night.
