The first month back at Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays passed relatively easily. There was a more subdued atmosphere in the castle and most of those students who had made it their mission to cause trouble for the staff seemed to have lost interest in most of their schemes and plans. Luna Lovegood's absence appeared to have hit the rest of the so-called Dumbledore's Army hard. From what Henry told his mother, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom were taking her disappearance the hardest.

With things cleared up between Regina and her son, finding information to pass onto her mother was much easier. Henry had been outraged that Cora had been demanding such information, but Regina had calmly explained that it had been the only way she could guarantee he would be left alone by the older witch. Reluctantly, he agreed that it was probably true, before promising her he would do what he could to help.

Emma's absence from the castle had been noted and was causing ripples of unrest amongst the staff and pupils alike. Apart from letting her best friend know that she was safe, Emma had refrained from getting in contact with anyone. She was even reluctant to speak to Regina, other than Regina's visits to Black Rock Farm, not wanting to be the cause of any suspicion that might fall on the older woman. Ruby had approached the Head of Slytherin on the second day of term and demanded to know whether she knew where Emma was, but Regina had fended her off, denying her accusations and telling her that if she had a problem then she should take it either to the Headmaster or the Ministry of Magic.

Plans were stepping up at the Ministry, too. With more and more Muggle-born witches and wizards and those deemed 'blood traitors' on the run, there was less open opposition to the Dark Lord's regime. Regina was battling daily demands from her mother on how to treat those students still left in school and dodging her requests to leave Hogwarts and take up a more prominent position within the Ministry. So far, Regina thought she had managed to avoid being appointed against her will, but she knew that it was only a matter of time before her mother got fed up and drafted her in anyway.

"This is ridiculous." Regina sighed, shaking her head and lowering her voice slightly.

She and Emma were in the hallway of the farmhouse. They had been intending to talk candidly about the situation at hand, but the inclement weather and the fact they were surrounded by curious, and incredibly nosy, teenagers meant that they'd had to limit the topics of their conversation.

Huddling together on the window seat for warmth, the two witches were long past keeping their relationship hidden from those living in the safe house. Without fail, students would disturb them at least every ten minutes during their conversations and, while the interruptions had been to completely innocent exchanges, word had quickly spread about the house that Professor Swan and Professor Mills were very much an item.

"I know, Gina, but you can't openly go against her." Emma soothed her gently. "If your mother even suspects that you are then your life won't be worth living, you know that."

"You have no idea how hard it is at the castle." The brunette told her. "I know I have no right to complain what with everything else that's going on, but I'm constantly looking over my shoulder and jumping at my own shadow. Apart from Henry… everyone else thinks I'm up to something devious. I've never felt so lonely."

"That's the problem, see." Emma deadpanned. "Once you get a taste of life with me, you're ruined."

Swatting at her gently, Regina chuckled. "Watch out or your head will get so big you'll get stuck in the doorways."

Emma laughed and glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. Then she sighed reluctantly and stroked a strand of hair away from Regina's face. "You'd better get back."

"Great…"

Laughing again, the blonde moved just enough to dislodge then both and received a petulant pout from her girlfriend. Poking her head around the door to the kitchen, where Andromeda was supervising the washing up, Regina called goodbye. She received a chorus in return, all the teenagers armed with dishcloths and sponges waving at her with warm smiles. Chuckling softly, Regina walked towards the door with Emma, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips as they stood on the doorstep.

Watching the brunette walk out into the night, Emma sighed as she always did, wondering whether this time would be the last. It was morbid, she knew, but the blonde wasn't stupid enough to take every moment they spent together for granted. It would only take a tiny indiscretion, a miniscule mistake, for someone to put one foot wrong or make a surprise discovery and everything would come crashing down around their ears.

Regina, too, was finding it harder and harder to leave the safe house and Emma behind each time. She knew that she had to, it was more than just her comfort at stake, but that didn't make the situation any easier. Henry, too, was growing more and more unsettled by the atmosphere at the castle and his mother regularly questioned her decision to keep him there.

Where Professor Dumbledore liked to use the names of various confectionaries as the password to his office, Severus preferred to use the names of potions ingredients. At the woman's firm utterance of, 'porcupine quills', the gargoyle sprang aside and Regina headed up the spiral staircase, before knocking on the door. She had to wait a couple of moments, before it was thrown open and the face of her best friend glared out at her.

"Regina? What do you want?"

"I… Sev? Are you alright?" She asked in concern, her eyebrows furrowing at him. While Severus' complexion was naturally that of someone who'd spent far too long avoiding sunlight, now he looked worse than ever. "Sev?"

"I'm perfectly fine." He replied in a flat tone. "But I am extremely busy, so…"

"I wanted to talk to you about–"

Severus cut her off abruptly. "I don't have time, Regina… I'm sorry."

As the office door was closed in her face, the witch blinked several times in complete shock. That reaction to her appearance in Severus' private quarters was so far from what she had ever experienced, or been expecting, that she didn't quite know what to do with herself. For several minutes she simply stood on the threshold and stared at the wood just inches from her nose.

Then, pulling herself together, she turned and strode down the stone staircase, glaring at the gargoyle who sprang back to guard the entrance as though it was all his fault. The statue stared back unflinchingly until the woman sighed deeply and turned to storm away along the corridor. She barely noticed where she was going until she found herself standing outside another office door.

Tentatively, Regina knocked and waited for an answer. When she heard a muffled response, the witch pushed open the door and stepped nervously over the threshold, unsure what kind of welcome she would receive.

"Professor McGonagall?" Regina hovered nervously in the older woman's doorway as Minerva looked up enquiringly from her desk. "Can I have a word with you? Please?"

"What's wrong?" There was an icy edge to the Head of Gryffindor's tone as she regarded the brunette.

Taking a deep breath, the younger woman stepped into the room and closed the door firmly behind her. Quickly casting the Muffliato Charm, Regina perched on the edge of the chair on the other side of the desk from Professor McGonagall, leaning forward and almost shaking with nervous energy. Her behaviour intrigued and worried Minerva in equal measure. She watched her for a moment until it became clear that there was something Regina wanted to say, but was reluctant to.

"What's wrong, Regina?" She asked again, this time her tone much gentler.

"I've done something… crazy."

Minerva arched an eyebrow. "Crazy?"

"Dangerous."

"Dangerous?" The Head of Gryffindor echoed. "I think you're going to have to start from the beginning."

Almost as though her words had been enough to break the dam, Regina started talking. Her words tumbled from her, almost as though they couldn't leave her mouth quickly enough. Minerva listened in silence, her fingers steepled together on her desk as she regarded the younger woman with a piercing stare.

"So Professor Swan and Professor Lucas were onto something when they came to me with suspicions that you were involved in the children's disappearances." Minerva mused once Regina had finally come to a stop. "But not for the reason they, or rather Ms Lucas, was expecting."

"No." Regina agreed, already having heard about the two younger witches' meeting with Professor McGonagall. "But I've never been able to hide much from Emma."

"So… you're working alone this end? It all falls on you? The protection of our at-risk students? Outside of what we can do here, that is."

The younger witch laughed mirthlessly. "I'm barely doing anything, Minerva. Nothing's going to change around here unless we do something drastic."

At that it was Minerva's turn to laugh. "Something drastic? What in Merlin's name are you suggesting? A riot?"

"Of course not!" Regina refuted, shaking her head hurriedly. "That would be an incredibly dangerous move. Something more… underhand." When Minerva simply arched an eyebrow at her and motioned for her to continue. "I don't know… maybe we should be encouraging the D.A."

"The D.A.?"

Regina snorted. "Yes, I know about the D.A. My son is a member." She waved aside the older witch's bemusement. "I'm also aware that their enthusiasm seems to have dropped slightly since Miss Lovegood's… absence."

"What are you suggesting?"

"I'm not sure, yet." Regina admitted. "But they would never trust anything that came from me, anyway."

Minerva considered her for a moment, before pushing back her chair and standing up. Rounding her desk, she paused in front of the portrait of Dumbledore that hung on her wall. "Albus may have been an old fool, but I rarely questioned his judgement. When I did, it often turned out that there were extenuating circumstances that I was unaware of and he was right anyway." She smiled fondly at the painting, before turning back to Regina. "Albus truly believed that you were 'a good one'. He refused to hear anything against you. While I was hesitant to take his words as truth for a while, I believe this may be one of the times when he was right, against the odds."

"I promise you, Minerva, I am on your side."

"I very much believe that you are." She nodded.

"So…?"

"We'll see how things pan out before we do anything that might draw attention to ourselves." Minerva suggested. "Perhaps something might… pop up."

Frowning lightly, not really understanding what the older woman might be getting at, Regina nodded. She recognised that she was being dismissed and stood. Removing the Muffliato Charm, she walked towards the door. Pausing with her hand on the handle, Regina turned to look at Minerva, who was watching her thoughtfully.

"Thank you."

Rather than answering, the older witch simply inclined her head towards her colleague, before retaking her seat and shuffling through the essays on her desk. Regina pulled the door gently closed behind her. Leaning against the wall beside the door for a moment, the brunette sighed, letting her eyes slip closed for a moment.

When she opened them, it was just in time to see Neville Longbottom and Michael Corner using their wands to write derogatory slogans the wall at the opposite end of the corridor. Swearing under her breath, Regina pushed away from the surface behind her and almost ran towards the teenage boys. They glanced over their shoulders at the sound of footsteps, lowering their wands immediately.

"Get rid of it, quick." Regina ordered, trying to keep her tone cold rather than panicked.

"Why should we?" Michael demanded.

"If you don't want Professors Snape or Carrow to get involved then I would do as I've asked."

Exchanging a look, the boys seemed to hold some kind of silent conversation, before Neville raised his wand and cast the Scouring Charm, effectively removing the writing with very little effort. Regina didn't even look, not wanting to know what it said. The less she knew, the better as far as she was concerned. If anyone learnt of this incident, she wanted to be able to say that she didn't know what was going on, knowing that her mother wasn't averse to using Veritaserum.

"Get back to the Gryffindor Common Room now." She commanded as soon as the lettering had disappeared.

"Aren't… isn't… aren't you going to punish us?" Neville asked, glancing sideways at his friend in confusion.

Regina arched an eyebrow. "Would you like me to punish you?"

"Well… no, but…"

"Then go."

Not wishing to push their luck, the two seventh years exchanged another look before fleeing in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Regina sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she considered her next move. Letting Longbottom and Corner off without any form of punishment had been a mistake; she'd known that before the words even left her mouth. Regina, however, couldn't bring herself to regret her actions or do anything to change them. Instead, she turned and stalked away back along the corridor in order to warn the Head of Gryffindor House what two of her elder students had been up to in case they didn't heed her warning and decided to have another go.


January rolled seamlessly into February and then March. The chill in the air was gradually lessening, but the atmosphere was still decidedly cold. After Regina's leniency, Dumbledore's Army had taken a back seat on the graffiti campaign and Neville had even sent the Head of Slytherin a couple of smiles when they'd passed in the corridors, much to the witch's surprise. Henry had later told her that Neville had mentioned the incident to him privately, telling him that perhaps Regina wasn't quite as bad as the rest. Laughing, the fourteen-year-old had informed his mother that he'd corrected Neville, telling him that she was the worst.

Regina's trips to the safe house had been put on hold for a while after Amycus Carrow had spotted her leaving the castle and demanded to know where she was going. Informing him haughtily that she had a headache and just wanted some air, Regina had been forced to make a lap of the lake before returning to her rooms. After that, she noticed the Carrows watching her more closely and had sent word to her sister and Emma that she would visit when she could.

They, however, were getting on fine at Black Rock Farm. Emma spent part of her time working with those students who wanted to keep up with her studies even while they were in hiding, part of it helping Andromeda running the house and the rest of her time attempting to track down missing witches and wizards. It transpired that she had a talent for tracking people down and the population of the farmhouse had grown even more. Andromeda pretended to curse the blonde every time she returned with exhausted, terrified and hungry witches and wizards in tow, but in reality she was as proud of Emma as if she had been her own flesh and blood.

As the Easter holidays approached, Regina decided that she couldn't face another two weeks in her mother and eldest sister's company. She opted, instead, to stay at Hogwarts, claiming that there was a lot to do before the students returned. Henry wanted to stay with her as well, but his mother wasn't sure whether that was the best option. As far as anyone else knew, they were still not really speaking and she felt that he would be far safer at The Burrow with Molly and Arthur. There, at least, he wouldn't run the risk of running into Cora or Bellatrix or anyone else Regina was attempting to keep Henry away from and he would be surrounded by powerful witches and wizards who were members of the Order of the Phoenix at all times.

"Why?" Henry whined petulantly for about the twelfth time since his mother had put her foot down about her decision to send him to the Weasleys' for the holidays.

"You love spending time with Molly and Arthur." Regina reasoned, determined to steer clear of her real reasons. "Tonks will be there and so will the twins and Ginny. You'll have a much better time there than here with me. All I'm going to be doing is marking essays, planning for next term and thinking about an action plan to get my fourth and sixth years through their exams."

"You just want to send me off somewhere safer." The boy complained, folding his arms and scowling at his mother. "I'm not a little kid, Mom."

"I know that, sweetheart." Regina told him firmly. "I am well aware that you're not my little baby anymore. But you are my son and I will do what I feel is best for you and your safety. I… I don't want you here, with me, in case…"

"You think something's going to happen? To you?"

"No, Henry! No!" The witch leapt to reassure him, grasping his hand tightly in hers. "I'll be fine. I'll be safer if I don't have to keep an eye on you all the time."

"Mom…"

She smiled, pulling him into her for a tight hug. "Please, Henry. For me?"

"I suppose if I'm with the Order I can keep an ear open for information…" He reasoned slowly, apparently coming round to the idea. Regina smiled, glad that his face was still pressed into her shoulder and he couldn't see her expression. "OK, Mom. As long as you promise to be careful."

"Of course I promise."

"Mom… where's Emma?"

"I don't know, sweetheart." She lied instinctively. "She went into hiding… it's safer that I don't know. But if I do know one thing, it's that Emma is safe. She's clever and she's resourceful and she's a powerful witch. She'll be OK."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Nodding in acceptance, the boy gave his mother a final hug, before heading out of her office to pack his things. Regina escorted the students down to the train station with the rest of the staff, meeting her son's eyes as he climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express with his friends. He didn't wave and neither did she, but they did exchange a small, secret smile.

Doing their duty and waiting until the train had left the station, the teachers made their way slowly back up to the castle. Severus went ahead with the Carrows, sweeping up the long driveway to the castle and leaving the rest of the staff to walk behind them in their wake. No one seemed particularly keen to walk with Regina, not that she could blame them, so she walked alone. Wrapping her arms around herself, the brunette made her way back towards the castle slowly, deep in thought.

Ruby, still blaming the older witch for Emma's disappearance, barged her with her shoulder as she passed, not pausing to apologise. Regina sighed deeply because, although they had never been friends, they had reached a state of civility because of the blonde that they both cared about. She had worked so hard to gain the acceptance of everyone that Emma loved, not that she had got it from everyone, but all that was gone now and Regina had no one to blame but herself.