Chapter Three

Ruby lay awake in her dormitory, listening to the snores of the other girls around her. The image of the black skull with a snake coming from its mouth had burned itself into her eyes and when she closed them, it burned red. Bellatrix suddenly gave a particularly loud snore, startling Ruby out of her reverie. Flinging her covers back from her, she tiptoed out of the room and returned back down to the common room.

It was empty, its fire burning low, so Ruby lowered herself into one of the armchairs closest to it.

"Can't sleep, huh?"

Ruby jumped and a figure rose up out of the shadows, their black eyes glittering from the firelight. "Hard to forget what we saw tonight, isn't it? I myself never thought that Regulus would be the first to get Marked."

"Is he really the first though, Severus? The first of us?"

"To be truthful, I don't know, Rubith," Snape replied, sitting beside her and staring into the fire.

"If the Dark Lord went to the Black's, why not choose Bellatrix? She has more talent than Reg, and she certainly has more...er...excitement for his cause," Rubith said worriedly.

"Maybe he can use Regulus more to his advantage. Look at what Bellatrix did tonight, blabbing about something that was meant to be secret. Imagine if she had one herself; she'd threaten everyone with it and then Dumbledore would find out about it," Snape commented.

"He already knows that she's dedicated, Severus, he's no fool."

Snape said nothing and suddenly turned to look at Rubith, his mouth forming a tiny smile as he whispered excitedly, "Our time is coming, Rube, can you feel it? Soon we'll be free from Dumbledore and we can really join the fight and make a change! No more fear from Muggles, a world ruled by those who were meant to rule! With the Dark Lord leading us to glory... We can't lose. Regulus getting the Dark Mark is proof that what we've been dreaming of is becoming true!"

Ruby looked into Severus's exhilarated face and reached out to touch his hand with the tips of her fingers. "Change is coming, Sev, but be careful. The Muggles have allies, powerful ones at that and this won't be a fight easily won, even with the Dark Lord leading us. Remember Grindelward? My grandparents do. They fought alongside him and know the real truth and sacrifice of a wizarding war. It's like every other war, people die and someone must lose for it to end."

Snape gripped her hand tightly and said, "The Muggles will lose! Grindelward was only defeated because Dumbledore was young like him; he no longer has that advantage. The Dark Lord has more power than any wizard alive or dead, you know that. If Regulus Black is worthy of a Dark Mark, how can we not be? You and I are two of the best in our year, together we will fight alongside our true brothers and sisters and reclaim our place above the creatures and filth."

He smiled at her properly and said even more quietly, "Our families will finally see us for ourselves, Rubith. For our power. Don't you want that?"

Rubith looked down, a crease forming between her eyes. She agreed with him, even though part of her wished she didn't. The Muggles should come second to us, she thought fiercely, trying to convince herself. Wizards deserved better than hiding in the dark, we deserve to live as we want with no fear of showing our magic to the outside. But was that really what the Dark Lord wanted? In his eyes, she knew Muggleborns were considered as low as Muggles. And what of the creatures who weren't classified as beasts? Centaurs and goblins deserved to be free just as much as wizards, didn't they?

Ruby shook her head and said, "Part of the filth you say we're better than are some of our friends, Severus. What about Lily? And what about people like Sirius? Purebloods who don't agree with us? Who would choose to hide from the Muggles and protect them? Do we spare them? Or do we destroy them and what we say we're fighting for?"

Snape stared at her in disbelief and said, "Those 'purebloods' aren't real purebloods, Rubith. If they are with the Muggles, they'll be treated the same as them. I, for one, wouldn't mind giving Black back some of what he's been given, plus a bit more. And as for Lily... Well, she can look after herself well enough. She doesn't need our help anymore."

Silence passed between the two, as the fire died and red hot coals remained. A green glow surrounded them and soon enough the black of the windows began to turn lighter as the rising sun's rays filtered down through the outside lake. Faint outlines of fish swimming by could be seen, and Ruby was pretty sure she spotted a wandering Grindylow bobbing in the distance before it disappeared.

"Sev?"

"Hmm?"

"I do want my family to see me for who I am. I do want them to recognise my power."

Snape looked at her and nodded.

"Me too."