After recreating the visions she recovered from Abraxas's mind, Sophia restored their surroundings back to their beloved forest. She had been watching Regulus the entire time, not wanting to revisit the horror she had already witnessed. She couldn't bear to show him her last night with her family just yet. As it so happened, his reaction to Abraxas's memories was reassuring to her as much as it was torturous. She didn't think it was possible to become sick in a dream. It was, and he did. In the long moment of silence that followed, Sophia realized that time must be passing slower in this dream than in the waking realm. Those memories alone she knew lasted too many hours to fit sleep. While he collected himself, she filled him in on the ordeal at the hospital.

"So the Dark Lord sent Abraxas Malfoy to kill you if you didn't believe in his cause? The torture you saw in his mind.. The revels… that little girl couldn't have been older than three… this is his way?"

"Yes! Don't you see, Reggie? He's not going to ostracize purebloods who oppose him; his means are only to persuade or force, and to eradicate those who won't or can't be forced. No life has meaning for him aside from his own. His end game certainly doesn't revolve around just oppressing muggleborns and muggles. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't even believe in the ideals he promotes. Power and his supreme ruling are the only things I think he values. You saw what was in Abraxas's mind; the Death Eaters are little more than servants to the Dark Lord. Regulus you must believe me!"

"I believe you, love. It's just a bit of a shock," he stated, eyes blown wide in fear. Then, after a moment, when the fear was replace with unadulterated Black rage. "What are we to do? Even now that I don't want to, it seems I will be forced to follow him anyway. What am I going to do about Sirius? He's going to get himself killed! From what you're saying they might even make me kill him myself. And what about you? You're practically in their clutches right now! He won't take you from me!" Desperation began leaking into his voice as he spoke, although his eyes held no less fury. He grabbed her hands none-too-gently, and Sophia figured it might have hurt if they weren't in a dream, but she just let him continue. Her feeling aligned with his after all. "We're so close now. Don't you know? I've been to Malfoy Manor before. I know exactly where you are right now. I'm going to unknowingly read your name in The Daily Prophet, for fuck's sake! I want to help. I want to be there for you but I can't! It's not fair! It doesn't make sense! We've waited so long, Sophia. We planned on celebrating this. It's all wrong!"

Throughout his rant the sky began to swirl in thunderous clouds of gray and charcoal, reflecting their emotions and reminding Sophia of Regulus's eyes. He had been pacing but abruptly stopped next to a tree, which was about 20 meters tall, and kicked it hard. The tree erupted from the ground, and they watched as it climbed higher and higher before disappearing in the clouds. All at once, the fight left him just as the tree had, and he sank to his knees on the soft earth. Sophia came to stand in front of him and he collapsed against her chest. She tried to keep her voice soothing, despite the fact that she held the same fear and frustrations.

"I know. I wish things could be different. I wish for a lot of things right now, but wishing won't help us. I've got a plan. As long as we can keep ourselves composed outside of here, everything will be alright. You need to remember your new stance on this, above all else. If you don't, well, I'll just have to remind you when I see you, yeah?" She jokingly asked and gave him a weak imitation of a smile, for nothing about the situation called for a genuine one. Her voice, however, became firm. Her voice was what Regulus held onto throughout this mind-fuck of a revelation. "We need allies in our new stance, okay? I'm not saying we should outwardly show disloyalty to Him, but we definitely need to either weed out people of similar mindset, or find a way to secretly communicate to those who are in a position to openly oppose the Dark Lord. Call me mad, but I think it may be easier for the two of us to exploit their weak points from the inside anyway. I may not exactly blend in, but according to the Malfoys I'm a bit of a prize in pureblood circles. Oh! That's another thing. You have to get your parents to secure your marriage to me bef-"

"That won't be an issue. Mother has been scouting already since Sirius was blasted off the family tree. As soon as she hears your name she'll pay whatever's necessary to ensure it happens. At least on that front, we're lucky."

"You feel it, too, don't you?"

"Yeah. The dream's ending. I'll find you. I swear."

"I love you."

"I love you."

Regulus reflected on his dream as he drank the medley of healing potions that Kreacher had left for him. He did retain the knowledge of the Dark Lord when he awoke. He also knew that Art's parents and sister had died. It took him a bit longer to get dressed than normal, as he was still processing it all. Dreading communicating with Sirius on the matter (him being the only possible outlet to the other side), he began to formulate his – their next move. Absently, he thought it odd that his mother hadn't screeched at him for not appearing at breakfast yet. He expected the berating and hexes the moment he entered the dining room, but instead warily met the sight of his mother smiling.

"Regulus, darling, sit down. The paper this morning was wonderful! Good breeding, wealthy, and you wouldn't have to worry about troublesome family members." His father winced at her last pronouncement while scanning The Daily Prophet before handing it over to him.

TRAGEDY STRIKES: LAST PEVERELL ORPHANED

His heart began pounding in his chest. There was a ringing in his ears as he read. Is this about Art?

The Ministry of Magic has just made a press release involving the mysterious attack on the 12th of July. This is what we know. Nineteen attackers (list of identified names found on page 7) entered the Peverell summer home, here in England, for an unknown purpose. It is speculated that they were after the secret products of the Peverell's franchise that were never released to the public. Whatever the reasons may have been will forever remain a mystery as all attackers were found dead at the scene as well as Mister Orontes Peverell, his wife – Juliet, and their youngest daughter – Seraphina. The only survivor was Orontes and Juliet's eldest daughter – Miss Sophia Artemis Peverell, age 15. Continue reading on page 3.

He turned the page to see a two picture spread. She was there, in both of them! He knew his parents were trying to gauge his reaction, and while he did keep his face carefully blank, he couldn't help but stare. Internally, he surged with triumph. Sophia. The first picture shown was one taken of the whole family. They must have had to track pretty far back to find it, because the sisters looked to be around eight and six years old. The second picture looked like it was taken at the atrium of the Ministry. Sophia looked beautiful but more closed off than he'd ever seen her, and she was walking next to Abraxas Malfoy. His stomach became unsettled as parts of last night's dream flashed in his mind. Blood. Pleas of mercy. A tiny body soiling herself while convulsing; later, her lifeless eyes frozen in a state of terror. Abraxas being praised by the Dark Lord for it. Sophia's voice chimed in his head, as long as we can keep ourselves composed. The sick that was crawling it's way up his esophagus settled back. He took a small breath, one that could have been interpreted as a sigh of boredom, and continued to read.

Sophia herself awoke at St. Mungos just yesterday – injuries untold to us – with absolutely no recollection of the events and is now in the temporary care of her cousin, Abraxas Malfoy.

Back to the attack: we have learned that a magical burst, most likely caused by major duress, took the lives of ten of the attackers with NO SPELL CAST. The investigation traced the source back to where Sophia was found on site. We knew once we heard that, we needed to do some digging on the illusive heiress. Unfortunately, readers, we only found two facts. She was registered as a metamorphmagus by the Ministry of Magic upon her birth in 1961, and she's the youngest witch to ever patent a charm; the newest charm is to be taught to Hogwarts seventh years: the bubble head charm, patented and released last year when the girl was only 14.

All of us here at the Prophet would like to express our deepest sympathies to Sophia… as well as our intrigue. How did she escape the fate of everyone else at the Peverell summer home? Could she really be the cause of the magical burst? Might she one day surpass the great Albus Dumbledore? We collectively wait on baited breath for further development.

Regulus wanted to say that he was disgusted with the article, or floo to Malfoy Manor and run far, far away with Sophia, but instead he simply said, "I quite agree, Mother. We should petition her hand as soon as possible. She'd be an excellent addition to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black."

.

The night before, Sophia had bypassed the house introductions and greetings with the excuse of exhaustion and mourning which she truly felt and asked Abraxas to personally escort her to her rooms where she fell straight to sleep.

Once she awoke in the guest suite at Malfoy Manor, she was greeted by a rather meek, scared looking house elf. A bandage that looked well in need of changing was wrapped around one of her wide little feet; the pillow case she wore looked stained and old. As the elf rushed to help the healing girl out of bed, Sophia noticed – with a great deal of righteous fury – the poor creature was limping. While this was quite a disturbing sight, it wasn't exactly a surprise. Her father told her that her mother had once ordered their house elf, Cali, to self punish when the pair were newly married. He forbade further orders of the like from his new bride and she never did it again. Cali always remained skittish around her though.

Cali! She's back in the States! She'd be able to retrieve everything Sophia would need for what would surely transpire soon. Cali was also specially trained to safeguard the Peverell secrets – a job which was now more essential than ever.

"I is called Dilly. Mistress sends Dilly to help Missy Peverell in her bad state. Mistress is not being well. She tells Dilly to send her apologies to Missy Peverell for her absence. Young Master Lucius and Master is waiting for Missy Peverell in the dining room."

"Thank you, Dilly."

The little elf patiently waited for Sophia to dress and began leading her across the house. The place was huge, grander than her family's main house, even though she knew the Malfoys had less money. Malfoy Manor screamed opulence, and Sophia fought to keep her features schooled as she concluded that the Malfoy men must be overcompensating for something that might not be quite as big as it ought to be.

Dilly popped away as they entered through the tall French doors leading to the dining room, Sophia immediately made eye contact with the ever so obvious son. Same white-blonde hair. Same cold blue eyes. The difference in them was all she needed to set her at ease, though, if only a little. There was a question in her mind as to someone close to Malfoy Senior suspecting foul play or the Imperius Curse. She had never attempted to alter someone's emotional senses before. However, the young man in front of her wouldn't notice treachery if it slapped him in the face. He was so self-assured in his status and mediocre abilities that he sensed no possible threat in her whatsoever. She'd already seen that Abraxas held no love for his wife, so she wouldn't be a problem either.

Both stood upon her arrival and Abraxas beckoned her to the table.

"I hope you rested well. I can't possibly imagine the ordeal you're going through. My deepest condolences. I'd like to explain what's going to happen while we get your situation sorted."

"Your kindness means a lot to me. Right now it feels like they've just stepped away; like they'll be back any time now." She didn't know if it was what she was meant to project when she said it, but it sounded detached, just like she felt. She got an added bonus out of it as well, as both men shifted uncomfortably before her.

Introductions and pleasantries were exchanged, as well as a sugar-coated brief of what was to occur concerning Sophia's residence in Wizarding Britain. Due to the fact that Lucius wasn't yet married, she could only stay with the Malfoys temporarily. There would be a meeting of officials to determine her best placement. She would also have a meeting with the DMLE that afternoon for any information she could provide for the investigation. When the patronizing drivel finally concluded, breakfast was over and the elves disappeared their plates.

"Mr. Malfoy, I've only just realized that my house elf, Cali, is back in Louisiana. Would you mind arranging a portkey for her? I'll be more than happy to pay whatever fees there are. She can bring my effects along, as well."

Abraxas gave her an odd look and she realized she had spoken of Cali with familiarity, namely referring to "her" instead of "it". She once again tuned into his thoughts and found he simply chalked it up to cultural differences. "There's no need to worry about the cost, my dear. I'll have the elf here in two hours, and I'll just need a note with an order from you to come. However, I thought you might consider attaining a new wardrobe. Forgive me, but the last time I saw someone dressed as you are, I was looking at photographs from my mother's youth."

She genuinely cracked a smile at that. "While I might conform to the styles of modern Wizarding Britain eventually, I've been dressed this way my whole life and I don't feel the need to change that at this precise moment. You'll forgive me for saying so, but your attire may, in fact, be stranger to me than mine is to you."