The evening after Henry's return, Regina headed to Wales to visit the safe house. She crossed the scrubby grass that covered the uneven ground and stepped through the invisible barrier, thinking about the building that she knew was on the other side. By the time Regina reached the door of the farmhouse the walls had rebuilt themselves and the soft glow from the other side of the frosted glass cast a comforting light over the concrete yard.
"Regina." Andromeda pulled her into a tight hug on the doorstep, before ushering her inside and closing the door firmly behind them. "You've just missed dinner, but if you're hungry–"
"No, no." She shook her head and smiled warmly. "I'm fine, thank you."
"Emma's in her room." The older woman informed her knowingly.
"Oh, no, I–"
Andromeda chuckled. "Don't be silly, I know you come to see me too. Emma's in her room."
Reaching out and squeezing her sister's forearm, Regina nodded and wandered along the hallway. She poked her head around the various doors that lined the walls, greeting the inhabitants cheerfully and pausing a while to speak to those who struck up a conversation with her. It took her longer than normal to find the blonde, unable to bring herself to end the exchanges she was drawn into.
Finally she found herself on the third floor outside the room that Emma had made her own. Raising a hand, she rapped sharply on the wood with the backs of her knuckled and waited for the door to be opened. Initially she was greeted with a confused frown, but then a bright smile blossomed over her girlfriend's face.
"Gi!" Emma cupped the brunette's jaw and pressed their lips together. "What are you doing here?"
"If I'm not wanted, I'll–"
"Don't be stupid." Pulling her inside by the hand, Emma closed the door behind them to give them some privacy and led her over to sit on the bed. "I didn't think you would manage to make it here for another week at least."
"I wanted to tell you what's happened before you found out from someone else." Regina informed her, ignoring the warmth spreading from where the blonde's hand was resting lightly on her thigh. "Potter, Granger and Weasley were captured by a gang of Snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor. They managed to escape, along with the other prisoners being held there; Mr Ollivander, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas and a goblin by the name of Griphook."
Emma furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head slowly, trying to get her mind around what Regina was saying. "What?"
"Mmm… I don't know where they are, but they're safe and well. Neville Longbottom told Minerva that he'd had a message from Luna to reassure him that they were fine."
"That's not gonna go down well."
Regina shook her head and let out a derisive snort. "Narcissa came to warn me that there was a plan to retaliate. The easiest targets were the Weasleys, so I sent a message demanding Henry's return to Hogwarts."
"But then…"
"I warned Arthur and Molly about a possible attack… whether they heeded my warning or believed it, I don't know." Regina sighed. "There's been no word that they've been targeted, though."
"That explains this, then…" Emma stood and walked across to the chest of drawers in the corner of her room and pulled open the top drawer. Holding out a folded piece of parchment in the older woman's direction, the blonde settled herself on the blanket once more. "It arrived at Dromeda's house sometime between her visits yesterday and this morning. We didn't really understand it, but after what you've said it makes sense."
'We've left TB for somewhere more secure. Don't go there. Not safe. AW.'
"Have you passed on the message to Dora and the others who may go to The Burrow?" Regina asked curiously.
"Not yet, because we didn't really understand it." Emma admitted, almost sheepishly. "We can now, though."
"Good. I think it's best to do it as soon as possible so that–"
The door was flung open dramatically and a Hufflepuff third year stood in the doorway, her eyes widening at the sight of both Professors sitting side by side on the bed. "Umm… sorry, Professors… it's just… Potterwatch is on. Password's Albus."
"Thanks, Indira." Emma smiled warmly as the girl retreated. She slid off the bed and fiddled with the radio on top of the chest of drawers. "Albus."
The radio crackled into life, the unmistakable voice of Lee Jordan meeting their ears as Emma slid back onto the bed beside her girlfriend, the device cradled on her lap. They listened in silence as he spoke, knowing that the broadcast was always started with a list of those witches and wizards who were missing or dead.
"… let's take a moment to report those deaths that the Wizarding Wireless Network News and Daily Prophet don't think important enough to mention. It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and–"
"No!" Regina heard the scream from downstairs at the same time as her disbelief was vocalised.
Without thinking, the brunette shot off Emma's bed and sprinted from the room. She skidded around the corner and leapt down the staircase, heading instinctively for the kitchen in search of her sister. Students, who were fussing over her, surrounded Andromeda who looked incredibly pale. One girl set a glass of water beside her on the table as Regina pushed through the teenagers and knelt in front of her sister, taking her hand in hers.
"Dromeda… Drom?"
"I can't… I can't believe it…"
"I know, I know…" Kneeling up, Regina pulled Andromeda into her arms, holding her tightly as the older woman finally gave in to her tears.
Emma quietly ushered the students out of the kitchen and closed the door, leaving the sisters alone to grieve in peace. There was a hushed atmosphere over the farmhouse after the announcement. Most of the inhabitants had gathered in the sitting room to listen to the rest of the broadcast, while Maribella and her elder daughter went to see whether they could help Regina with her grieving sister.
As time ticked on, Emma barely registered the rest of the Potterwatch broadcast, only taking note of the new password at the end out of habit. As the static sound of dead air filled the room, someone switched the radio off and stillness fell once more. No one spoke, afraid of breaking the silence. They could still hear the sobbing from the kitchen and it made them all realise just how fragile life really was. Mortality hadn't crossed most of their minds before; they'd been hidden away before things got too dangerous. The death of someone so closely connected to them came as a hard blow.
"I think an early night is a good idea." Emma suggested finally, her voice sounding wrong as it broke through the stillness.
Mumbling goodnight to the blonde witch, most of the assembled teenagers headed upstairs to their dormitory bedrooms. Instinctively Emma knew that there would be none of the usual chattering and night-time wandering around the hallways that night.
Making her way towards the kitchen, she paused with her hand on the wooden panel, waiting to see if there was any sound from inside that would give her some indication as to what was going on on the other side of the door. Turning the handle, Emma peered inside, spotting Regina placing the kettle on the hob while Maribella and Kimberley sat with Andromeda.
Turning, Regina met Emma's gaze and smiled weakly. Her eyes looked much more tired than they had just half an hour earlier when they'd been sitting together in the blonde's room. Emma sent her a soft smile and made to back out of the room, but Regina shook her head and motioned for her to join them.
"Mari, can you help me get her to bed?" Regina asked the older woman softly. "Kim, can you bring some tea up?"
Both women nodded, following the brunette witch's directions. Emma hung back, feeling useless, as they moved around the room. Regina and Maribella supported the still sobbing witch towards the staircase, helping her up the steps and towards her bedroom. Waiting for them to return, Emma busied herself finishing the tidying up that Andromeda had been in the middle of when she'd heard the terrible news about her husband.
"Emma…"
Turning at the exhausted tone of her girlfriend's voice, the blonde found Regina crossing the room quickly towards her and opened her arms in readiness. Falling into them, the brunette allowed her own tears to fall, burrowing her face into the crook of Emma's neck and clinging on tightly. Just as their own mortality had finally occurred to most of the teenagers living in the farmhouse, it appeared that the full force of reality had just hit Regina.
"I'm so sorry, love." Emma whispered into her hair. "I am so, so sorry."
"Andromeda is going to need a lot of help." The brunette said, pulling back and wiping away her tears. "I'm sorry to ask, but–"
"Whatever she needs, I'll be here." The younger witch promised, knowing that Regina was reverting to her more business-like persona in order to get through the current events. "Regina, you don't have to ask. I want to help."
"Thank you."
Emma cupped her face gently, her eyes locking with Regina's. "Don't thank me. I love you. She's your sister. Of course I'm going to help, however I can."
Regina was relieved, rather than surprised, when the summer term started and there was no sign of Ginny Weasley. She hoped that, considering she hadn't heard anything about an attack, the Weasleys had followed her advice and gone into hiding. Henry was sure that they would have listened to what she had to say and done as she'd suggested, but the woman wasn't quite so sure that they would be thinking positively about her.
Ginny's absence didn't mean that things had died down at the school, though. Neville Longbottom and Michael Corner seemed determined to keep the D.A. at the forefront of everyone's minds and Regina was running out of patience. With the exams looming she didn't have the time to run around after them and keep them out of trouble. Minerva shared her frustration but, however many times they spoke to the teenagers, they seemed determined to get themselves into trouble.
"Mom?" Henry burst into Regina's office one evening a couple of weeks after his return to Hogwarts, breathing heavily as though he'd run all the way. "You need to come, now!"
Staring at him for a moment, the witch leapt into action. She followed him up to the Entrance Hall where she could hear a commotion. Pushing her way through the assembled students who had also been drawn to the spectacle, Regina found herself staring at the Carrow twins who were supporting Michael Corner between them.
Gasping slightly, the Head of Slytherin was shocked to see the state of the teenager. He had a split lip and his face was swollen and bloody, as though he had been physically attacked. Michael's head was lolling forward, as though he didn't have the energy to hold it up for himself and Regina had no doubt that if the Carrows let go of his arms, the boy would have crumpled to the ground.
Anger flared up inside her and she stepped forward determinedly, her eyes flashing dangerously. "What in Merlin's name is going on?"
"We caught this one trying to free one of the first years who was being punished." Alecto told her, almost giggling with glee.
"This is no way to deal with–"
"Actually, Professor Mills, this is exactly the way to deal with students who think they can go against us and the rules." Amycus informed her in a low, threatening tone. "If you've got a problem with that–"
"What I have a problem with is you parading him around like this." Regina hissed in his ear. "You're giving them a martyr, someone to look up to. Take him to the hospital wing and get him out of sight… now!"
Considering her for a moment, contemplating her words, the man nodded. He and his sister dragged Michael through the crowd of students, scattering them left and right as they made their way up the stairs towards the Hospital wing. Staring after them, Regina ran a hand through her head in frustration. She glanced sideways and spotted Minerva entering the Entrance Hall from the Great Hall and moved towards her quickly.
Leaning closer, the younger woman lowered her voice to a much quieter tone. "You need to speak to Longbottom and get him to drop this inflammatory nonsense. Someone is going to get seriously hurt."
"I fear it won't be easy to convince him to stop."
"Maybe not… but surely the state Corner's in will make him think, at least."
Minerva sighed deeply. "I'll see what I can do."
Nodding sharply, Regina turned and made her way back to her office. She was spending more and more time on her own as the days passed, shutting herself away and trying to work out what to do for the best.
She threw herself into work for the next few weeks, doing what she could to keep herself distracted. When several messages came, via Henry and Emma, to say that Nymphadora and Remus' baby had been born, Regina was unable to feel much other than fear. She was scared for the child, being born at such a dangerous time. With darkness all around them she could not see what kind of future awaited her great-nephew and she wished there was something she could do to change that.
Leaving a meeting of the Heads of House, Regina lagged behind the others. She leant heavily against the wall and let out a long, low breath. Rubbing her forehead agitatedly, the brunette thought deeply about what to do about the D.A. and their actions. Things had calmed down since Michael Corner's beating, but the Carrows were still sensitive about their authority being challenged. Severus was far too busy to deal with any behavioural issues, choosing to leave that up to his right hands.
It seemed as though Neville asking Alecto how much Muggle blood she had was the last straw. They had decided that something drastic needed to be done to keep the teenager in line and Amycus had come up with the idea of using his grandmother to make him behave. Regina had argued vehemently against that idea, pointing out that Augusta Longbottom was an old lady and that it was too heavy-handed. The Carrows had apparently disagreed and set out to intimidate her anyway.
Regina smirked to herself as she remembered what she'd heard about Augusta's reaction to being attacked. Amycus was still sulking and the pair of them were licking their wounds after she had managed to escape them and gone on the run. That, though, had made the Carrows more eager to get control of Neville and, spotting him heading in the direction of the Great Hall, completely unsuspecting an attack, Regina had tipped him off. The teenager had stared at her with wide eyes, unsure whether to believe that she was trying to help him. The sight of the Deputy Headmaster and Headmistress striding along the hallway behind her was enough to convince Neville that she was genuine and he turned and sprinted away.
"Why are you just standing there?" Amycus screamed at her as he rushed after Neville. "Get him!"
"In these shoes?" Regina snapped back, showing him her heels. "Get after him yourself or he'll get away!"
The Carrows hesitated for a moment, clearly considering arguing with her, before they sprinted off in the direction Neville had run. Regina knew that she would have some explaining to do later, but for now she simply wanted to inform Minerva of the latest developments. The Head of Gryffindor advised her to go and join the hunt for appearance's sake.
Nodding in understanding, Regina left her office and headed up in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower, assuming that was where the boy would go. Making her way swiftly upwards, the Head of Slytherin heard a commotion coming from the left corridor on the seventh floor and swiftly changed direction to see what was going on.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Regina demanded, striding towards the small group made up of the Carrows and some of their supporters, who were apparently staring at a spot in the wall opposite a rather interesting tapestry of ballet dancing trolls.
"He vanished into the wall!" Alecto cried out in fury.
"Ah…" Regina's eyes widened slightly as she stared at the spot with sudden realisation.
She had heard, while she was a student, about the Room of Requirement, but she had never actually witnessed it for herself. Assuming that it was where Neville had gone and that he had been clever enough to protect himself from being followed, Regina knew that they were wasting their time. She sighed deeply, shaking her head.
"This is useless." She informed the others bluntly. "He's not coming out anytime soon."
"What do we do, then?" Amycus demanded in clear frustration.
"We monitor the situation and wait." Regina advised them, looking around and meeting everyone's eyes unwaveringly. "He has to come out sometime."
As the others exchanged a look, she nodded firmly and turned on her heels, heading back down in the direction of the dungeons. Regina let her eyes slip closed and breathed deeply as she strode along the corridor. As much as she didn't want to, the brunette knew she needed to speak to Minerva again, to update her on the situation and ask her what to do next. Regina was out of ideas and everything she could think of would put her in danger of being discovered as a double agent and, while that might benefit others in the long run, she couldn't bring herself to make such a dangerous move.
"Now's the time to speak to Aberforth again." Minerva advised her after hearing what Regina had to say. "Tell him that we need to get help to Neville; the entrance to the tunnel into Hogsmeade could be repositioned to allow us to get supplies into the Room of Requirement."
"You think he'll listen to me this time?" Regina asked, clearly doubting the outcome of such a visit. "Perhaps it would be better if you went?"
"No, I think you're the best person to speak to him." The older witch disagreed, shaking her head firmly. "Aberforth will respect you more if you demand he listens to you and considers your proposition."
That was how, half an hour later, Regina found herself perching on the edge of an armchair in the back room of The Hog's Head. She had pointedly ignored all the looks and snide comments from Killian behind the bar, pushing past and knocking on the door. She blanked out his demands that she leave, smiling at Aberforth as he greeted her in the doorway.
"Ah, so you're back, Ms Mills?" He asked, offering her a tankard of Hog's Head Brew. When she shook her head, he shrugged and took a long gulp of the liquid himself. "What do you want?"
"I want to discuss our previous conversation… the tunnel between here and Hogwarts?"
"Which tunnel?"
Inhaling deeply, the witch just about managed to keep her frustration at his feigned amnesia under control. "There is a student up at the school who has been forced into hiding. Have you heard of the Room of Requirement?"
Aberforth chuckled. "That I have."
"That's where we believe he's hiding. Minerva thought that if the tunnel from here into the castle could be used, so that the entrance would be in the Room of Requirement–"
"I could keep that student supplied with food and anything else he required." The man finished her sentence with ease. "Why should I?"
"You don't have to, obviously." Regina shrugged. "But… he's innocent in this. He won't be the only one. That room is going to full up with students who run up against the regime. They'll end up paying for the opinions and prejudices of witches and wizards that don't even know their names or care about it. I don't know about you, Mr Dumbledore, but I can't just sit back and watch them suffering." When the man stared at her, but stubbornly refused to answer, she moved back to the door and laid her hand on the handle. "I'll leave that with you, then."
Standing up, she turned and left the room, closing the door with a bang. Neal looked at her with an expression that she couldn't read, his head tilted to one side as he scrutinised her closely. Regina felt as though he was looking straight through her, reading her innermost thoughts.
"What?" She snapped, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze.
"I don't know what you're trying to do," Neal admitted with a shrug, his voice so low that she had to strain to hear him, "but we will stop you."
"And how, exactly, do you propose doing that?" Regina asked, arching an eyebrow.
"We'll find a way." He replied calmly, jerking his shoulders in an approximation of a shrug. "We always do."
