A/N: Thank you all, as always. I do appreciate the reviews/PMs! :)


Dumbledore returned as Minerva had said on Monday. He summoned both Defence Against the Dark Arts Professors and the Transfiguration Professor to his office shortly after his arrival to discuss the matter of Katie Bell and the necklace. He didn't question their belief that it was Cora's doing, but watched Regina carefully while they discussed the matter.

The brunette witch worked hard to keep her expression neutral. She believed that she had succeeded in not giving anything away until the Headmaster requested she stayed for a moment when he dismissed the other two.

"Regina… when I offered you this job it wasn't merely to fill a position." He told her carefully. "You and I both know that Severus would have been able to juggle his responsibilities and cope with them all."

"So why…?"

"Severus asked me to get you out from under your mother's influence. I cannot say that I was aware of just how deeply she was controlling your life, but I believed that it would be beneficial to you, Henry and indeed many of us to have you on the staff."

The witch wasn't sure whether she should be angry at her friend for discussing her relationship with her mother with the Headmaster but, as he twinkled kindly at her, she found that her overriding emotion was relief.

"I…" Suddenly she felt uncomfortable. "Headmaster, I… while I am loyal to the school and I know very well who and what my family are–"

"You cannot betray them." Dumbledore finished for her. He nodded in understanding. "I would not expect anything less, Regina. Loyalty is one of the qualities I admire most in you. When the time comes for you to make a decision on the matter I believe that you will do the right thing."

"I hope so."

He nodded and smiled warmly. "So, Professor Mills, how are you finding your first term as a teacher?"

"Wonderful!" Regina smiled broadly at the man sitting opposite her. "I never thought I'd enjoy it anywhere near as much as I am. I thought I would be terrible at it and all the children would hate me…"

Dumbledore chuckled. "I think you are, possibly, the only person in this Castle who was of that opinion."

"I doubt that, Headmaster. Professor Swan, for one, was no doubt horrified at my appointment. Not to mention her friends…"

A highly amused look crossed Dumbledore's face for a moment as he observed her. Leaning forwards, the old wizard steepled his fingers together and rested his chin on them, watching her carefully. He was not stupid, he knew of the decades old antagonism between Emma Swan and Regina Mills that went back to when they were only eleven and twelve-years-old. He, however, had never believed that things between them were simple as first examination would lead one to believe.

As he watched the brunette, however, it seemed that Emma Swan had never lost the innate ability to irate Regina that she had possessed since their very first meeting.


Regina Mills was late for perhaps the very first time in her life. She was, of course, blaming Severus for her tardiness. It had been his inability to control his emotions concerning his friendship with Lily Evans, and James Potter and his cronies' constant ridicule of him, which had found her hurrying towards her Transfiguration class five minutes after it had begun.

No, the twelve-year-old conceded with a sigh, it was not entirely Sev's fault this time. She had left her friend making up his mind to go to the Hospital Wing, claiming he had a stomach ache, in time to ensure she would have made it to the classroom with moments to spare.

It was the fault of that idiot, Killian Jones. He, with all of his eleven-year-old charm, had blocked her exit from the Slytherin Common Room and insisted on bombarding her with a series of comments that caused the girl to blush profusely. When, after assuring him angrily that she had no desire to see his telescope, she had managed to barge past him and out into the Dungeon corridor, she was running late.

Rounding a corner with her books balanced precariously in her arms, she collided solidly with another body. The books, as well as Regina and the other person, tumbled to the ground with two loud exclamations of 'oof'. As the brunette glared up at her 'attacker' she was met by wild blonde curls and twinkling blue-green eyes which held none of the usual unease her glares usually garnered.

"Watch where you're going." Regina hissed as she began to gather her books into a neat pile beside her.

"You watch where you're going." The blonde had retorted instantly, raising her eyebrows as she climbed to her feet. For a moment she stared down at Regina's surprised face, then she grinned and held out her hand to help her up. "Emma Swan."

Ignoring the proffered hand, the brunette stood up, patting her uniform down primly. She took a moment to take in the other girl's quickly; Gryffindor robes and a uniquely dishevelled appearance for, what she assumed to be, a first year. Regina's hands itched to fix the Gryffindor tie that hung loosely around the other girl's neck, but she refrained, glaring at her instead.

"I suggest you concentrate on dressing yourself and getting to your classes on time rather than attacking innocent students in the corridors, Swan."

Emma laughed. "Like you, you mean?"

Regina ground her teeth. The second year was irritated beyond belief by this girl and she had known her for less than five minutes. With a haughty sniff, she shouldered her bag and clutched her books to her chest once more, striding along the corridor without a backward glance at the infuriating blonde.

A laugh followed her on her way, along with a cry of, "Catch you later!"


Soon after their brief conversation, Dumbledore had dismissed the brunette and Regina had made her way back through the corridors towards her classroom. She had a practical lesson with her second year Slytherin and Gryffindor class in less than twenty minutes and there was a bit of preparation to do before they arrived.

Making her way along the corridors, she rounded a corner and nearly walked straight into someone who was bending to tie up their boot lace. Regina sighed and put her hands on her hips, instantly recognising the mass of blonde hair that was pulled messily up into a ponytail that fell over the woman's shoulder, blocking her face from view.

"Trust you to almost cause me to fall and injure myself, again, Professor Swan."

Emma didn't rise at once, but when she did and turned to face the brunette, there was a broad grin on her face. "Maybe I'm just giving myself a reason to catch you."

"Honestly, you sound just like your friend Jones." The older woman told her with a sigh. "It didn't work for him and it definitely won't work for you."

"We'll see." The blonde told her confidently. "No one can resist my natural charm for long."

"Really, Professor Swan?"

"Yup."

The younger woman folded her arms and grinned broadly, leaning casually against the wall. She allowed her gaze to travel slowly up Regina's body, completely unabashed. Her grin widened as she realised that, far from looking irritated by the action, the brunette seemed to be trying to hide a smirk of her own.

"See something you like, Professor Swan?" Regina challenged.

"Maybe… I've never been able to resist a challenge."

Almost as though realising just who she was flirting with, Regina cleared her throat and stepped back, creating more space between the two of them. Then she frowned irritably at the other woman.

"Professor Swan, I–"

"You are allowed to call me Emma, you know, Regina." The blonde said with a chuckle. "We are colleagues, so it's fine."

"Professor Swan, I wanted–" Regina tried again.

Once more she was cut off. "I think you just like saying my last name. I mean, you always used to call me Swan when we were students here, didn't you, Regina? Especially when you were uncomfortable..."

Regina shivered slightly and stepped backwards again, even further away from Emma. The blonde laughed softly but didn't follow her across the stone floor. She continued to lean nonchalantly against the wall of the corridor, regarding Regina with amusement.

"That's exactly the expression you had on your face when you caught me sneaking out of the Hufflepuff common room that night in my sixth year. Sort of... stunned embarrassment. I thought it was jealousy for a minute... or maybe I wished it was. You totally knew what I'd been doing and you were dying to bust me for it. But you didn't... I've always wondered why."

Regina inhaled sharply and scowled at her. "A momentary lapse of judgement; it wouldn't have happened again."

"If you say so, Professor Mills." Emma teased. "So, what can I help you with?"

"My son, Henry, came to me earlier to say he hadn't received his Charms homework marks with the rest of his class. I was wondering whether you could correct that oversight as soon as possible. He is rather anxious to get the results."

Emma furrowed her forehead in confusion. "Of course. I wasn't aware he hadn't had them; he never said anything. I never thought he'd be upset about something like that…"

"No, I don't expect that he did say anything." Regina agreed with a nod. "Doubtless he would not have wanted to draw attention to the fact that you managed to overlook him. Although, Professor Swan, it is rather a talent of yours, isn't it? Underestimating people's feelings?"

Emma's mouth dropped open at the accusatory tone Regina employed before turning and stalking away, the brunette's heels clicking loudly on the flagstones.


The only part of being a Prefect that Regina hated was the fact that she was required to patrol the corridors at night. With a few exceptions who always seemed to be attempting to push the boundaries, rarely any students ventured out into the corridors at night and so the whole thing was incredibly boring and Regina would far prefer to be tucked up in bed in the Slytherin Girls' Dormitory.

Finally managing to shake Killian off – she had no idea what had possessed Professor Slughorn to make him a Prefect in the first place – Regina found herself patrolling the corridors near the kitchens by the Hufflepuff Common Room. Whether it was a coincidence or whether she was secretly hoping that Daniel would be patrolling near his own Common Room, the Slytherin wasn't sure. That was the sole reason she didn't leave and make her way back up to the main floors of the Castle.

As she approached the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room, Regina saw a figure emerging. In the near-darkness of the corridor she had no idea who it was and hung back, waiting until they came closer before revealing herself and serving them with a detention for breaking curfew. As the student came closer and stepped into a pool of light from one of the wall-mounted torches, Regina clenched her fists at her sides and scowled.

"Swan!" She barked, striding forward. "What on earth do you think you're doing down here?"

Emma blinked at her for a moment, before gathering her wits and grinning. "My boyfriend's in Hufflepuff, so what do you think I was doing in there, Regina?"

"I…" For once the brunette was completely lost for words. Sneaking off to do Merlin knew what with her boyfriend in the middle of the night was one thing, but being so brazen about it was something completely different. "Get back to Gryffindor Tower, Swan."

Unable to believe Regina wasn't taking her usual great pleasure in giving her detention or docking house points, or both, Emma headed quickly for the steps leading up to the main part of the Castle. As she reached the doorway, the blonde turned briefly. She frowned as she spotted Regina leaning heavily against the stone wall with her head bowed and a strange expression on her face. Staring at the older girl for a moment, Emma contemplated what that, along with the lack of punishment, might mean. As the Slytherin moved, however, the blonde rushed out of sight, not wanting to push Regina's strange behaviour and receive a punishment after all.