Oh man, I'm so sorry for the radio silence. Life has been kicking my butt this week.

Thank yous, of course, to everyone who Followed, Favorited and Reviewed this past chapter. crazedreader, Jily71102, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, Raven that flies at night, Navy Bow, and Kaleigh Windelynn; you all are absolutely wonderful.

The first Hogsmeade visit of the year was usually chaotic. Everyone was anxious to get back into the village and escape Hogwarts, even for just a few hours.

But this visit for Regulus was a bit different.

This was his last 'first of the year visit' to the small wizarding village.

And this was also his first date with Marlene in magical society.

It was actually slightly terrifying; he had been mentally preparing himself for the backlash from his peers, his house and his family for the past two weeks when Marlene had first suggested it.

The witch had originally said that it would probably make sense to hide themselves away for a period of time, so that they could get to know each other better and become more equipped to handle the questions that were sure to come their way. And it seemed like a logically enough way to keep their cover. They had owled each other every few days since their first meeting at the coffee shop, but now Marlene had suggested they meet in person.

Hogsmeade had really been the only logical option.

Regulus waved off some of his dorm mates as they extended an invitation for him to come along with them into the village. He simply stated that he had his own itinerary today and didn't offer any more information.

The trek down to the wizarding village felt longer than it had the previous years.

Regulus was anxious about meeting with Marlene, but he wasn't sure if he was more worried about actually seeing the witch or just apprehensive about how they were going to act together in public. They had to appear as a couple after all…

The Three Broomsticks was as crowded and as loud as she remembered.

Marlene had gotten there a bit earlier then Regulus had suggested just so that she could find a cozy table at the back of the pub. Dumbledore had given her a few questions to ask the wizard and she was looking forward to complete a mission for the Order; no matter how strange it may be.

It had nothing to do with Regulus himself, but Marlene was still getting used to the idea of having a fake boyfriend.

She had learned that the younger Black was much more than just his arrogant detached exterior. Marlene had actually been quite relieved that there was such a normal person underneath that turned up nose. She had learned quickly over the last month that Regulus was actually quite a considerate individual and very intelligent as well. They had easily corresponded over the last few weeks and Marlene would have gone as far as to say that they had become decent friends.

The witch was relaxed as she waited for her companion to arrive. She had been approached by a few of her old housemates already and had said quick greetings and well wishes before they had rushed off. One of her old teammates, Johnathan Smith, hadn't quite caught on to her short and direct answers though, and was still hanging around the table when Regulus finally arrived.

Marlene noticed him immediately when he entered the pub. She held back a chuckle as she took in his appearance. It was a startling difference from what she remembered him wearing in previous years. Instead of the Hogwarts School uniform or his traditional dark colors and black silk lined jacket with the dreary Black family crest; Regulus was wearing jeans, a white button down and a bottle green blazer that she actually found quite handsome on the young wizard.

Regulus entered the noisy pub and scanned the room; he had some trouble finding Marlene in the crowd. The witch had to smile and wave to call his attention. He returned her smile effortlessly until he saw that someone was seated beside her at the small two person table. Something pulled uncomfortable at his stomach as he wove his way through the other chairs and tables.

When he reached the back wall where Marlene had stationed herself, the witch hopped up and threw her arms around his neck. Regulus had to remind himself that this was not supposed to be an unfamiliar encounter and he quickly wrapped an arm around the witch's waist. "Just in time; now save me," she whispered against his ear. "Reg, this is John. We were teammates when I played for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team."

Regulus placed one of his practiced smiles on as he turned to the other wizard standing beside the table, "Regulus Black; it's a pleasure to meet you." But he made sure to use his most monotone and distant voice. Regulus wanted to make it completely clear that it was not a pleasure... even in the slightest. He didn't release the hold he had on Marlene's waist.

"Be nice Reg," Marlene giggled lightly and strategically draped her arm over Regulus's shoulder. She was only a few inches shorter than him and seemed to be the exact height needed to speak directly into his ear. He turned his head to find Marlene's sharp blue eyes glinting as she smirked.

"Well, I'm sorry Marlene but I haven't seen you in almost a month. I was hoping to have you to myself today," Regulus made a point of glancing over to Johnathan again to see if the point had finally gotten through.

"It was lovely catching up Marley. Hope you have a good day with…" Johnathan appeared to be having trouble finding the word, or maybe he just didn't quite believe the word was being used in the conversation, "… with your boyfriend."

Marlene smiled broadly, "Thank you John. I hope practice goes well tomorrow."

As soon as the other wizard was out of earshot, Marlene snorted and ducked her head down as she laughed. Regulus found himself laughing along as he pulled out her seat and sat down beside her.

"You didn't have to be quite so off putting you know."

Regulus shrugged at the comment, "You were the one who asked to be saved. And that's how I would be expected to act with a girlfriend anyway."

"What, possessive and arrogant?" Marlene giggled again as she openly teased him.

"Of course," Regulus felt himself smile widely, "don't you know anything of pureblood society? We're selfish and egotistical; it's how we're bred."

The witch rolled her eyes and gently slapped his arm. They had spoken briefly about the pureblood teachings, and Marlene had admitted that she actually knew very little about the upper crust decorum. Though she was also a pureblood, with a fairly respectable lineage, her parents had not forced society onto her or her brothers. The witch had joked about needing a handbook on the subject if she was going to survive in his world.

"What other forms of pureblood ridiculousness are in store for me?"

Regulus chuckled at the witch's reaction, "Are you really sure you want to know?"

"Well, I'm hoping to work with you for a while, Regulus. So yes… tell me all about the crazy pureblood traditions that I might have to put up with," he eyes flashed with excitement at the possibility of going under cover, so to speak.

But at Marlene's playful promise, the cheery expression fell from Regulus's face, "You don't have to do this you know. It's going to become dangerous before too long. My mother isn't the most pleasant creature… and all joking aside, there is the You-Know-Who issue."

The witch smiled sweetly and leaned in, making them look very comfortable together and also allowing no chance for others to overhear, "You're my friend and we're in this together, Regulus. This is just as important to me as it is for you." Marlene pressed her lips lightly to his cheek, "And I don't scare easily. Bring on Voldemort, the Death Eaters and your mother; we'll take them all on."

"Alright, but I want it noted that I tried to give you an out… twice in fact," Regulus stood up from the table, "What would you like to eat?"

The fake date went surprisingly well. Marlene and Regulus discussed everything from quidditch to strategies for N.E.W.T.'s studying. He even told the witch some of the old traditions that the Black family lived by.

"… No, I'm absolutely serious. We had to take dance lessons every summer until my second year," Regulus chuckled as he took a sip of butterbeer.

"What made the lessons stop?" Marlene was leaning forward, lightly bracing her elbows on the table. The witch was beginning to anticipate the laughter that Regulus brought out of her, and she found that she enjoyed it very much.

"Oh, Sirius threw a tantrum. Screamed something about how knowing how to properly dance was useless and also that he wasn't going to allow my mother to decide every second of his life. Then he promptly blew up all the Black family china," Regulus swirled the remaining amber liquid around in his bottle, "It was accidental magic of course, but very powerful. Mum's favorite dishes were reduced to shards."

Marlene's eyes widened and a hand came up to cover her mouth, "Merlin, you're kidding. What did your Mum do?"

Regulus shifted in his seat, "Well… she took away Sirius's wand and locked him in his bedroom for several days." The shocked look on the witch's face made him even more uncomfortable. He remembered that he hadn't done anything to help Sirius when he had been punished. It had just felt like a regular occurrence back then. He tightened his hold on the butterbeer bottle.

"Reg? What is it?"

He looked at the witch and was surprised to find real concern in her eyes. "I never did enough to help my brother when he got himself into trouble like that."

A strange expression crossed the witch's face. Regulus thought it looked a bit like pity but when Marlene spoke her voice was laced with kindness and understanding, "That's why you're doing this, isn't it? I mean you are a good person and you hate the horrible things that are being done to the non-pure bloods; but Sirius is the reason you became involved in all this… isn't he?"

Regulus turned the thought over in his head a few times before answering. He admitted that the knowledge of the future had a bit to do with his decision to turn double agent for the Order and Hermione herself had cemented all his speculations that what the Death Eaters believed of muggleborns was false. But if he was asked to pick one specific thing that pulled him toward the light side, it had to be Sirius. He always knew that his brother was a good person. Sirius was the person he had looked up to for so many years, and it had nearly killed Regulus when they had been at odds the last few years. Having his brother back again was making this whole turbulent endeavor worth it.

"Yea, Sirius may have been the tipping point when deciding which path I was planning on taking," he smirked as Marlene narrowed her eyes and glared; she knew that he was glossing over his true answer.

"You better be careful Black; I'm starting to see through your mask," she brushed her hands off on her jeans and stood from the table. The witch offered him her hand, "Come on then."

Regulus stared at her outstretched hand with confusion, "Where are we going?"

Marlene scoffed playfully and grabbed him by the elbow, "For a walk around the village of course. No one just meets up for a meal at the Three Broomsticks."

"Oh, they don't? I rather like it here," the wizard chuckled at the exasperated sound coming from the witch.

"Merlin… all blokes are the same. No matter their house or their age."

When they stepped out into the semi crowded streets of Hogsmeade, Regulus cleared his thought and offered Marlene his elbow with a sharp bow of his head.

"Is that the proper way to walk around the village?" The witch's lopsided grin made Regulus laugh.

"Possibly. I might have to consult my Pureblood Handbook to be sure."

Marlene gasped and punched his arm with some force, "Mocking is very unbecoming you know; didn't they teach you that in Pureblood class?" She took his still offered elbow and laughed along with the wizard.

Regulus leaned over and spoke in a softer tone then before, "So what did we need to speak about that you weren't comfortable saying inside?"

They were now strolling through the magical village, no one was paying them much attention as they passed. Marlene had almost forgotten about what Dumbledore had asked her to address with Regulus. She quickly collected her thoughts and smiled tightly, "Well, to be fair. I honestly just wanted to get away from the pub. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to be in a more private setting as we spoke about Order things."

There was a few paces of silence before either spoke again.

"Have they asked you to any meetings since school began?"

"No. I would have told you if I had gone to a meeting," Regulus hadn't meant for the edge to creep into his voice, but thankfully the witch seemed unfazed by his tone.

"Any communication at all?" Marlene pressed; she had slipped into a serious persona as they spoke business.

Regulus shook his head, "Nothing official. But the mark has burned from time to time."

The witch's mouth slacked and she quickly pulled them down a less occupied road. Marlene led them slightly into the shadows, "Bloody hell… doesn't that mean he's calling you to his side or something?" She looked terrified, but somehow completely livid at the same time.

"No, these were different," Regulus felt a strange urge to console the witch in front of him, "These were more like emotional surges. It was definitely not a summons; those are difficult to ignore…"

The look on her face was hard to discern, but Regulus guessed it was mixture of rage and concern, "Yea… alright. I think I want you to tell me about when you have these surges though. I'll let Dumbledore know. He might have an idea of what You-Know-Who is so upset about."

Since there wasn't much more to report on from the Death Eater side of things, Regulus felt it necessary to change the subject. They quickly scheduled their next meeting time for the following Hogsmeade visit and made a slight show of walking around hand in hand while they explored some of the shops together.

When it was time for Regulus to return to the castle, he walked the witch to an apparition point within the village and flaunted her a bit as he kissed her hand to say goodbye.

"You're a bit ridiculous, Black," Marlene chuckled and pulled a confused face, but didn't remove her hand from his grasp.

"I've been called much worse, I assure you," Regulus returned her chuckle and waved as she turned on the spot and disappeared.

Hermione had her nose buried in a book as she walked around the grounds, so it shouldn't have been a surprise when she bumped into someone without even seeing them.

"Good Lord… I'm so sorry. I didn't even see…" Hermione stopped short as she recognized the student she had run into, "Regulus?"

The wizard looked around to make sure that no one was within earshot. He squared his shoulders and took a small step back from the brunette. Regulus made sure to slip his best arrogant expression over his face before speaking, though he did make sure to adjust his voice so it held the usual pleasantness that they had used throughout the summer, "Are you alright Hermione? I didn't see you there; I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine, Reg," Hermione tried not to laugh at the extreme display that he had worked up just to make sure that people wouldn't think they were actually friends, "How did your meeting with Marlene go?"

"Well enough, I suppose." Regulus pulled his arms behind his chest, just to look even more pompous, "It's actually been quite fun getting to know her, though it still feels strange to have a fake girlfriend that I'm going to have to defend to my friends and family now."

Hermione covered her mouth with her fingers, "I can't imagine. Though I'm sure things will work out. And you know where to find me if you need anything."

"Thank you, I really do appreciate it," Regulus offered a small smile, "it might be a good idea if you storm off now. Maybe even gesture at me in an unpleasant way."

"Really? In an unpleasant way?" Hermione snorted and bit her tongue to keep from laughing. "Is it strange that I find this whole silly act we have to do entertaining?" She threw up a hand and scowled.

"Maybe a little," Regulus waved his hand sharply like he was dismissing a servant, "Tell Sirius hello for me."

Hermione tried to look utterly offended, "Of course." She stomped off toward the castle trying desperately to hide her smile. Hermione knew that she shouldn't find these interactions funny, but even though they were in the middle of the First Wizarding War… they were still teenagers.

Again... Sorry all. I actually scrapped the original chapter 47 because I hated where it was going. I'm having a little trouble figuring out how I want the story to get where it needs to go, and I'm trying not to use time jumps too much... so yea. Lots of rewrites happened this week on top of life issues. Please forgive me!

I wanted this chapter to show off Regulus and how he's handling the whole Death Eater and fake girlfriend thing. Also the idea of him interacting with Hermione pleasantly but with rude hand gestures just popped into my head yesterday. Tell me what you think!

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Always,

Misha

Ps. Check out the other stories by me: 'Begin Again,' 'The Bookworm and The Prankster' and 'Penelope Jackson: The Lightning Thief.'