Hello. This Holiday season was ridiculous. I quit. I would much rather be writing...

Thank yous to all who Followed, Favorited and Reviewed last chapter. DeadDelta, amrawo, Yoko Takara, MrHat'sFullOfStars, miskachick, Calimocho, Kaleigh Windelynn, and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx; you guys rock. I love you.

He had left dinner a bit early to make sure that the hallways were empty. The wizard needed to make sure to not be spotted so far away from the dungeons.

"Menelaus."

The intricate portrait of a heard of galloping horse swung open and Regulus quickly stepped through the opening.

"Hello, Regulus. You're a bit early. Sirius won't be here for at least an hour. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Hermione sat on one of the large overstuffed couches by the small fireplace in her private sitting room. The smile she wore on her face at her friend's entrance quickly fell away as she took in Regulus's uncharacteristic sullen appearance, "What's happened Reg? I thought you just wanted to catch up tonight?"

"Well, I did… I do. But I…" The wizard heaved a great sigh and dropped himself onto the other side of the couch Hermione had nested into, "I need to escape for a little while. Sorry to use you in such a way, but my dorm mates have been a bit more annoying than usual. And my mother just sent me this…" Regulus held out a roll of crisp parchment with a broken wax seal that she recognized immediately.

Hermione took the bit of paper and weighted it in her palm, "Ah, so I take it that your family now presumes that you and Marlene are a couple."

"Yes. And her reaction was a bit strange to say the leasrt," Regulus tilted his head onto the back of the sofa and glared at the ceiling. "I was prepared for her to go on about being disappointed or angry about dating without consulting her, since she always insisted that Sirius and I would have formally arranged marriages. But I think this is far worse…"

Hermione stared at the roll of parchment in her hand. She understood enough about Walburga Black to know that the matriarch would never send a howler; that would be airing their dirty laundry in public. And from Sirius's opinion at least, Regulus had been the prized and pampered son since he had not openly rebelled against the Black family's old time ideology. But what could the older witch had done to rattle her younger son this badly?

She cautiously unrolled the paper; half expecting a miniaturized portrait of the woman to begin berating her and calling her 'mudblood'… "That would be too similar to a howler though…"

"What?" Regulus asked, still looking pointlessly at the ceiling above him.

"Nothing, just talking to myself," Hermione muttered quickly as a slight warmth freckled her cheeks.

"Dearest Regulus,

Your father and I have heard some rather surprising news from your lovely cousin Narcissa. Our 'Cissa was asked, by an acquaintance of hers, if you had been betrothed before you had graduate Hogwarts. We had considered doing this some time ago, if you remember, when the Unfortunate Incident took place two years before. But your father and I agreed to allow you to remain free of that type of responsibility until after your graduation, with the understanding that you would not flaunt any dalliances around too publicly.

So, consider my surprise when I was asked such a question… you, my only son, betrothed without my knowledge? It simply could not be. Especially when I reminisce about how faithful and loyal you are to our family and the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

But, alas. I was wrong, wasn't I my darling son.

There are such scandalous rumors circulating about you and it simply breaks my heart that you did not see it fit to inform your mother and father what you have been up to.

I discreetly did some research though, and have found that your intended is a fine match indeed. I am still very disappointed in you not confiding in your family, but your father and I are simply delighted that you have found such a pure and proper candidate for betrothal.

Miss McKinnon comes from a well-established family. Though they are a decidedly neutral and very silent about the mudblood issue at hand, we cannot fault them for not wanting to be involved in politics since it is not a subject for the faint of heart.

I have heard some disturbing tidbits about the McKinnon family not introducing their daughter formally into our society though. And if you wish to continue your relationship, I must insist that this be corrected immediately. Your father and I require a proper pure lady to be your betrothed and that is one issue I will not bend on.

We hope to hear from you soon, Dear.

With all my love,

Mother"

Hermione had to read the letter twice to make sure she caught all the underhanded statements about Sirius and Marlene.

At the end of her second reading, the witch simply shook her head and smiled sadly at Regulus, "Well, isn't it a good thing that she approves of Marlene? That was the point of making her your contact."

"Yes, but now my mother wants her to have a formal introduction. I can't ask Marlene to go through one of those… And I wanted to keep my mother away from Marlene for as long as possible," Regulus closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. "I tried to give Marlene an out, you know; tried to convince her that this would be dangerous. Not just because of the Dark Lord but also because of my insane mother… but no, she didn't believe me."

Hermione covered her mouth to stifle a chuckle, "You seem to care an awful lot for your fake girlfriend."

Regulus's head snapped up and an intense glare was being thrown at the witch, but Hermione didn't even flinch.

"Marlene knew what she was getting into. She's your permanent contact person for a reason; who knows for how much longer you'll be free enough to sneak away to see me and Sirius?" Hermione reached over and clasped her hand around the wizard's forearm, "Your mother is a very... interesting woman and if she can so readily accept Marlene, than I'm fairly certain Voldemort won't be too hard to sway either."

"Has Sirius told you about our mother?"

Hermione chuckled lightly, "No, he actually doesn't mention your family much at all; except for you of course. But I have met your mother before… in a way."

Regulus knit his eyebrows together as he tried to decipher what the witch in front of him had said, "Is my mother alive still; in your future, I mean?"

"No, but…" Hermione didn't see the harm in revealing something like this, but it did seem like a strange concept when stating it out load to another person, "She might have had a portrait of herself made before she died, though… a bit of a outlandish thing. Very angry, always screaming… she's called me 'mudblood' several times."

"Ah…" Regulus shifted uncomfortably. He had never liked the derogatory word, but it had never caused him such discomfort to think of someone being called by the familiar term, "I am sorry… I am sorry about that. Mother never really has much tact when it comes to… things she doesn't agree with."

Hermione smiled sweetly at Regulus's compete embarrassment over his mother, "It's fine Reg. I've been called 'mudblood' on several occasions. I try to think of it as just a word; nothing that really defines my being. But… thank you."

Regulus nodded his head and leaned back on the sofa once again, "So how am I expected to ask Marlene to undergo an Introduction solely at my mother's insistence?"

"Well… what exactly is an Introduction?" Hermione asked with a bit of curiosity coloring her voice. She had always been a little fascinated by wizarding traditions, and she had read several books about them. None of the books had mentioned an 'Introduction' though. Hermione assumed that it must strictly be a Pureblood tradition.

"It's an outlandish party that the family throws just to show off to the society that their daughter has come of age and is now available to date. Or if the witch is already betrothed, it's a huge celebration to show off what wizard their daughter has been promised to," Regulus muttered as he rubbed his temple, "So that means, along with waiting for the next Death Eater meeting to be called, carrying out whatever asinine task the Dark Lord asks of me, and keeping up the façade that I'm some heartless arse… I now have to ask Marlene if I can parade her around like a show dog at a ridiculously big party where she probably will be expected to wear an outrageous dress while she smiles and never speaks."

Hermione felt her mouth fall open slightly as Regulus ranted.

She had never been happier about Sirius's falling out with his family.

It did make her feel a little guilty over the fact that she was silently rejoicing over Sirius's family issues… but the whole situation that Regulus had just described sounded a bit barbaric and extremely sexist.

"Well… if it will help keep your cover, I'm sure Marlene will understand," Hermione tried to offer a smile.

Regulus glanced at her with a skeptical expression, "Oh please. Would you ever subject yourself to something like that?"

The witch froze under the judgmental gaze that he threw, "I don't think… I'm sure I would… if it was…"

"Exactly," Regulus grabbed one of the throw pillows and covered his face.

The fireplace roared to life and bright green flames began to flicker as Sirius flooed into the sitting room. He brushed off the soot from his jacket before leaning over and capturing Hermione's lips in a quick kiss, "Hello, Love… why is Reg trying to suffocate himself?"

"Be nice, Sirius. Your mother just wrote to him… she found out about Marlene," Hermione explained as she offered him a cup of tea.

Sirius pulled up one of Hermione's dining chairs and positioned himself right across from the witch as he examined his younger brother, "Wasn't that the point of having that date out in Hogsmeade? I thought Walburga and everyone needed to believe that Marley and you are dating so that no one would question if you two were seen together."

"Apparently your mother has taken their dating as a sign of betrothal though, and she is now requiring a formal Introduction for Marlene," Hermione set her face into a stern expression as Sirius broke down in a fit of laughter.

He narrowly missed being pelted by the pillow that Regulus had been using to block out the surrounding world, "I'm… I'm so sorry… sorry Reg…" Sirius could not contain his chuckling so much that it was becoming difficult for him to breath.

"Right now, in this moment... I absolutely hate you, Sirius." Regulus stood from the sofa and began to circle the room as he thought of ways to broach the painful subject with Marlene.

Hermione cleared her throat loudly at her boyfriend and he tried desperately to control himself. "Well… I really am sorry, Regulus. But you should have seen this coming. I mean… you are the heir to the House of Black now. I don't even exist anymore according to dear old Walburga."

The younger wizard nodded his head, "I know that Sirius, but the least you could do is not laugh hysterically at the stupid complications that come up. Keeping Mum and Dad uninformed but remaining in their good graces is extremely important. I might not survive all this, but I intend on making sure Marlene does."

At these words, Sirius immediately sobered.

Hermione frowned, "Don't speak like that, Regulus. We might still be able to change that part of your future."

Regulus shook his head, "I've already come to terms with that issue, remember? There is no use wasting energy on arguing with me. This is the path I've chosen. I just need you both to help me make sure my actions make a difference for the better, before I meet my unfortunate end."

Hermione and Sirius shared a knowing look. They had already agreed to not give up on Regulus, no matter what he had already decided.

Sirius walked over to his younger brother and embraced him lovingly, "You've already made a difference Reg. You showed everyone in the Order that not all Slytherin's are evil gits." There was humor at the edges of the comment, but the older wizard still wore a look of concern.

Regulus playfully pushed his brother away, "You are an arse." He turned to Hermione with a small smile, "Count your lucky stars that you don't have to go through these outdated traditions."

"What? You don't think I would look good in a puffy dress?" Hermione asked with as innocent of a voice as she could muster.

"No, you do not seem like the puffy type of person," Regulus stated as he looked over the witch in her fuzzy socks, blue jeans and a rather large Gryffindor sweater that he was certain belonged to Sirius. "I would actually be more concerned with the notion of you not speaking your mind though. You know, with everyone expecting you to just smile as important subject matter was discussed all around you."

"Yes… well that one I will have to agree with you on," Hermione admitted as Sirius broke down into pearls of laughter again. "Oh shut it, Black, or I'll send you back to the Cottage."

"No you won't. You missed me as much as I missed you, Blondie," Sirius cocked an eyebrow suggestively, "And even if you are serious, I'm sure I can change your mind at least until tomorrow morning…"

Regulus rolled his eyes as Hermione turned a bright shade of crimson, "Merlin, Sirius… at least wait until I leave…"

Uhg... I really think I will be taking the holidays off next year. They are far too stressful...

Hope you all enjoyed a bit of bonding a fluff before we get into some undercover stuff. =)

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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.'