#or worse: regulus will attempt to purchase them For Evan

[birlwrites]

what's your opinion on regulus/lily? i love them, but i honestly don't like the fics because they often make snape not a bad person, but i digress. i tend to read the fanfic because if you don't get pro-snape things, you don't get anything at all with that ship.

(or, what about, for fun, regulus/lily/evan)

i think regulus/lily can be very cool, AS LONG AS it doesn't turn into 'dramione but make it marauders.' (this is actually a caveat i have with a lot of marauders' era ships - that the potential is there, but the dynamic is often just like it is in a popular golden trio era ship. i'm down for a LOT of ships as long as the characters and dynamics don't feel recycled)

i think if i were to write a regulus/lily fic, it would probably be grounded in the war, because i feel like they need very high stakes to really push them together (see ttdl LMAO) - unless they're in the same house or year or something like that where they naturally run across each other a lot

like (and this is just off the top of my head - if someone wants to take this premise and run with it, go ahead! i already have far too many wips afjlshgskdf), this would be my go-to:

due to various scheduling issues, regulus and lily are assigned to do prefect rounds together (a combination that would normally NEVER fly because they try not to put muggleborns and People With Close Personal Ties To Death Eaters on patrol together)

lily goes into it hackles up, in the direct wake of sirius's disownment, expecting the worst from regulus black

regulus goes into it mildly curious about this lily evans who he has only ever heard about in the context of a) snape or b) potter, but honestly he's preoccupied with Sirius Angst and Family Pressure Angst and lots of things like that

slow burn the fuck out of it. regulus will probably be the one who has to actually break the ice because just b/c lily is no longer expecting him to blow up at her for blood purity reasons it doesn't mean she expects him to be worth befriending

bond over being younger siblings with very complicated relationships with their older siblings

become close friends (and here you get the joys of the secret relationship trope before a romantic relationship even develops, because War and also Sirius)

(side note - much character work for sirius would be necessary to make sure he's not just Regulus's Shouty Dramatic Brother)

and then i don't know where it would go from there but i do really like the idea of them working together in the war. either as an 'they're on their own side' thing or as a 'infiltrated both sides, using them for their own agenda' thing. like let them have a safehouse that lily has stocked with hand grenades, that's my vision

regulus/lily/evan would be A HOT MESS (in a fun way afjslghskdjf i just mean i'm laughing thinking about it) - triple the complicated relationships with older siblings. evan 'flirting is my middle name' rosier vs regulus 'pine until i either have to confess my undying love or fake my death' black vs lily 'historically people have just fallen all over themselves to ask me out and i don't actually know how to demonstrate interest in someone' evans. lots of lighthearted bickering. lily introducing regulus and evan to modern muggle technological marvels (disco ball). they have 'study dates' which are actually just lily and regulus studying and evan being distracting. they have a black and white cat named oreo (evan thinks this is the most original cat name ever). regulus is tormented constantly by lily and evan attempting to invent new household charms whenever the mood strikes. he and oreo often retreat to the library (spare bedroom full of books and one (1) disco ball) for safety. lily has a secret diary in which she keeps track of Definitely Totally Very Real Muggle Inventions that regulus and evan don't know she lied about yet. they have GREAT photo albums

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day 26 - Prompt: Question @pandalilymicrofics

February Daily Series - 729 words

<<<Previous Part OR Start Here

Anticipating Lily’s tendency toward overthinking, Pandora wriggled out of Lily’s jacket and linked their hands together. She led the way toward the winding path that led to the shore while she texted Regulus the change in plans. The last thing she needed was him panicking and blowing up her phone tonight.

“Wait, shouldn’t we talk about this first?” Lily asked cautiously, tugging on her hand.

“If we do, will you talk yourself out of it or overthink it to death?”

“I don’t know.”

Pandora abruptly stopped mid-step and spun around with a scoff. Lily inhaled sharply when she narrowly missed colliding with her and swayed a bit as they stood toe to toe in the middle of the path.

“Lily, be honest,” Pandora said, meeting her gaze and holding it. “Without analysing the details or questioning the consequences, do you want to stay with me tonight?”

“But what does that mean?”

Pandora lifted her eyebrows and tipped her head forward. “Does it matter? Will that information change your answer?”

“It could.”

“How?”

Lily waved a hand vaguely at the path. “I’m not prepared. I didn’t pack a bag or make any arrangements or…I just like to know what to expect.”

“Well, I like surprises. So, come along and surprise me, Lily Evans,” Pandora announced, spinning on her heel and leading the way.

“Surprise you? Are you saying that you don’t have a plan?”

“Correct.”

Lily hummed thoughtfully as she lengthened her stride to keep up with Pandora’s purposeful steps. After a brief silence, Lily squeezed her hand. “Would you say that we’re improvising?”

“Sure. Let’s go with that and see what happens,” Pandora agreed, swinging their joined hands between them.

“Good! Then, I think that we should enjoy a romantic walk back to the Inn.”

Pandora stumbled when Lily suddenly slowed her steps, then lost her balance entirely when her shoe slid off the edge of the pavement. Their hands slipped free as Lily flailed in an attempt to catch her. A startled yelp caught both of them by surprise as her ankle turned sideways and she fell down…down…down.

Falling in the dark was so much worse than during the day. Instead of watching the ground rise up to meet her, Pandora was surrounded by inky night as she tumbled down a hill blindly. She gasped when her back hit the grass, then squealed when her body rolled of its own accord.

“Pandora! Oh…oh no. How do I…ffyc.” Lily’s voice sounded panicked and was quickly muffled.

Pandora curled into a ball and threw out her arms to protect her head as she crashed through the tall grass. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched loudly beneath her in a cacophony of sound that drowned out everything else. She couldn’t think, couldn’t catch her breath, and couldn’t stop.

Eventually, the ground levelled out and her momentum slowed. Pandora sprawled out as her chest heaved with the desperate need for air. When her mind stopped spinning, she gingerly checked for injuries. Fingers wriggled fine, arms and legs were sore, but not broken. Her back was probably bruised though, it ached every time she tried to turn over.

“Pandora? Can you hear me?” Lily called. A bright light appeared at the top of the hill. It’s halo encircling the woman who held it over her head. “Are you alright?”

“Define alright.”

Lily’s relieved sigh echoed in the night. “You’re conscious. Thank goodness.”

“Ouch!” Pandora cried, rubbing her shoulder after she tried — and failed — to sit up. “I’m going to need a minute, I think.”

“No, no! Don’t move! I’m coming to you.” Heavy, careful footsteps crunched through the grass and leaves. “Just stay where you are, cariad. Wait for me…to…climb down.”

Pandora fumbled for purchase amid the dry foliage around her, then hissed through clenched teeth when a sharp pain rushed over her hip. “Merde! That hurts.”

“Stop moving! You could…still have a concussion…or a broken…tailbone.” Lily’s stilted speech matched the long, intentional strides she took in the shaking beam of light from her phone. “Where does…it hurt?”

“Lily?”

“Yes?”

“No spiralling. I’m fine.”

Lily huffed derisively. “I’m not—”

“You’re listing worst case scenarios to a trauma victim,” Pandora said, giggling at the absurdity of it. “Take a deep breath, then another one.”

“But you’re-I’m not…alright, I am a…little worried.”

“You think?”

“Hush, you.”

Next Part>>>

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 39: The Knight Bus

BANG!

A sensation he was sadly familiar with but still not quite accustomed too, Regulus still wasn't expecting to be launched out of his seat the second he'd found himself stable again. There was a rushing sensation all around him, as if he were trying to find purchase at high speeds even if he felt no actual wind on him. Forcing one foot after the other back to his feet, he caught a glimpse out the window to a neighborhood he had no hope of identifying, because the second he realized it, there was another tremendous BANG! and he was right back on the floor having to start all over again.

The Knight Bus, his mind helpfully supplied as he began the arduous process again of stumbling back to his feet now in search of something with purpose. Though he'd never been on it himself, tales from others at school left him in no doubt, even as he spotted Evans at the far end of the bus in the same circumstances muttering obscenities with their current location mixed in. The two of them must be on the top floor, with only four available beds, two on each end clinking together like pendulums, and a staircase visible leading down.

It was the first time he'd found himself alone with her, but even given their circumstances, he found it a rather inconsequential thing. Maybe it was the fact that he still hadn't come to terms with everything he'd grown up with being shaded in a lie, maybe it was surviving multiple life threatening attempts in her presence, but whom he once would have considered a mortal enemy and someone to hold nothing more than contempt over, he instead found himself struggling to her side and offering a hand up.

She didn't accept, and he wasn't surprised. He couldn't even be angry, he wasn't even sure himself how he would have reacted letting her do something as casual as brush skin with him. Every part of him should have told him how repulsive that was, but really how was that any worse than the Dark Lord being a fraud? What was the truth anymore?

BANG!

Now the two were a tangle of limbs upon each other, and he more than happily disentangled himself and made his way past her to the staircase, she right behind him now without any discomfort of her own to the proximity. Whatever her problem with him was, a streak of pride or something of her own personal vendetta, he was well aware he had no room to judge her for it after he'd let himself be so easily swayed to judge everyone else the last fourteen years of his life.

On the next flight he found Smith and Longbottom supporting each other and trying the impossible feat themselves of navigating past rows of beds swishing this way and that on wheels, several colliding with them frequently, to the next set of stairs. Neither had the book, and with no echoing words around them they all assumed the Marauders hadn't yet managed to come across it in the chaos either, so down below they went.

With another obnoxious BANG! he finished his decent by crash landing below, and so viewing upside down Sirius at the wheel and trying with maddening inaccuracy to drive the bus in some semblance of a direction, Lupin beside him shouting something at the top of his lungs that were both profanities and unhelpful directions, while Potter and Pettigrew were trying desperately to stay stable long enough to draw their wands.

"This is insane," Longbottom spoke clearly beside him what they were all thinking.

"It's driving itself, I swear I'm not doing it!" Sirius snapped back, or at Lupin, or at the steering wheel itself for all he knew. It seemed true, as Regulus righted himself but stayed on all fours for now which seemed safest, that his brothers white knuckled grip had no sway in the maddening jerk that sent them all crashing into the same side of the bus.

"I found it!" Smith called in relief, having fallen hard into the last available bed on the row and pulling herself free with the book.

"Get on with it then," Potter pleaded as he was forced to magically repair his glasses from the last fall.

The chapter title was self explanatory, as if anyone needed clarification of where they were this time.

Harry's panic over his situation seemed laughable in comparison to theirs. Even as the delusional kid thought he was going to go to Azkaban for some underage magic of all things there was yet another BANG! and they were hurtling across an open valley, one lone house in the distance that still had to be moved from their path as Sirius kept trying in vain to do anything about the steering wheel unsuccessfully.

Alice shivered slightly as she kept on to Harry feeling threatened in that innocent Muggle neighborhood. Perhaps their circumstances, while far from pleasant, were to be hailed as much a good thing as the bus arriving for Harry in that moment as well. The kid had enough prior experience that she certainly believed something more was watching him than the stray dog he described. The Marauders were likely thinking the same, Black even let go of the wheel as he and his friends exchanged uneasy and confused looks.

A massive dog being mentioned in the exact same time frame as a Black was being mentioned in Harry's life? If James hadn't just had his head knocked into another window by this infernal bus, he would have done so himself just to make sure it was still attached. The four friends kept exchanging very worried looks as Smith kept going on, and then he swore his heart stuttered to a complete stop when an article from the Daily Prophet ruined their life.

Not Sirius. It was the only thought that mattered as there was yet another tremendous BANG! and this time he had to grasp onto Sirius to stay upright, and of course he caught him. The two were now grasping the steering wheel, his best mate looking dazed as if the words never quite sunk in.

Remus listened to Alice read the article with a detached horror. One part listened to every detail stuttered out, cataloging everything like he would any stupid rumor he heard in school. He couldn't look away from Sirius through it.

As Alice fumbled through the rest of the article and finished, the most silence this bus could contain managed to linger. The engine still revved in their ears, the beds all crashed together like cymbals, and the presence of magic in the air filling yet another BANG! could not be unheard, but none was louder than the stillness of the eight of them as this news sunk in.

Regulus burst out laughing. It was more empty noise really, his eyes were buggered practically out of his head and it was very clear he was now clinging to a bed-frame for more support than their mad journey required with that white-knuckled grip.

"Err, Alice, how about we ah, continue this back upstairs-" Frank began, already trying to make his way there.

Prongs immediately surged forward, anger blistering off of him with such intensity Peter wondered if the windows would implode. "What the bloody hell does that mean?"

"That we'd like to not have to spend anymore time around you lot than we have to," Alice snapped back at once, only half his size but crossing her arms and backing to where her boyfriend was now, though she'd hesitated to follow him a mere second ago.

Clearly sensing danger and always trying to diffuse it first, Remus stepped forward and tried to pull him back, "let it go Prongs, if they think-"

"That damned paper doesn't mean anything!" James was red in the face now, more angry than any of them had ever seen him. "And I don't appreciate the insinuation you think otherwise! Sirius has never, would never-"

"What?" Evans snapped, getting in between him and Alice with her own fiery glare that was much more familiar. "Tried to blow his way out of a problem? Attacked others to get what he wants?"

Peter's heart actually stuttered in his chest with fear as a muscle started ticking in Prongs jaw, he looked for a second like he'd quite like to hit something, and he'd certainly never looked that way at Evans.

BANG!

The new location outside only succeed in tossing them all about again, but of course the tension only grew worse the more chaos their surroundings offered. Remus grasped James' shoulder firmly now and actively tried to pull him away from the three.

Sirius still hadn't moved.

"Come on Prongs, it's a bloody stupid article, probably some misunderstanding-"

"People don't get sent to Azkaban for misunderstandings!" Frank shot back, his hand twitching uncomfortably for his wand.

BANG!

"Can someone please finish the ruddy chapter and get us off this bus!" Regulus interrupted, a gray pallor to his skin as he watched the lot. He'd made no move to intervene in the fight, but it was as clear to him as anyone that's what was about to happen.

"Happily," Alice pacified by sitting down where she was for whatever stability that could give her.

Nobody really took in another word, not Harry's childish worry about whatever trouble he'd caused and certainly little care for whatever the Minister was doing arriving. Frank and Evans remained tense and right beside Alice as if fearing an attack any second. Moony alternated between keeping his hand on Prongs who never stopped glaring at the lot, and watching Sirius, who seemed to have locked down.

Peter and Regulus were left to stand across from each other, to watch and wonder not for the first time if they were going to get out of this alive.

HPHPHPHP

Ah chaos, the best friend a writer needs to advance the plot in awkward silence. I regret nothing! Hope you enjoyed!

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 34: The Chamber of Secrets

The sensation of falling wasn't unknown to a Quidditch player, but James usually had control of it! Instead he was left a screaming, flailing mess as something hard slid along his back, and there was minimal lighting at best as pockets of air kept shooting in his face like he was being spun past whirlpools. He was sure he screamed, and it wasn't just him.

There was an unsavory crack upon his landing, and the shooting pain of landing on his rear led him to the fearful belief at first he'd cracked a bone in his arse. Scrambling madly to his feet to detect any damage and deny any such thing lest his friends die of laughter, his hands scraped over something that too cracked and shifted beneath him, something even digging into his palm as he got upright. The pain lingered, but no worse than usual, so he let out a final gust of relived breath he not only could stretch as much as need be, but there was plenty of space around, even if it was all pitch black.

Then he shivered and swallowed loudly upon realizing this same thing. "Guys?" He called hoarsely, from dust hovering about the place he assured himself, not any sort of fright of what could be lurking around this unknown area.

Seven calls came back in varying degrees of pain, then one pitched higher than the rest. "Eww, get it out!"

"Evans?" He called quickly, stumbling in his haste to try and pinpoint her voice and flaming hair in the gloom.

"There's something in my hair," she insisted as he slowly came into sight, indeed swiping at her long locks. He could just make out something gossamer indeed tangled in, and so desperate was she to get it out, she didn't even argue the point as he stepped forward and helped her.

"Here, I got a light," Smith popped up beside them and did as such as James pulled off something long and white clinging to her.

"It's on you too," she wretched, stepping away from him and still batting at herself in disgust. "What is that stuff?"

James knew from his many escapades deep in the forest, but didn't want to tell her.

"Think it's spiderweb," Regulus called, his voice still far enough away in the gloom it was echoing, but his tone was almost semi-conversational. Between Evans being more repulsed by her situation than being near him and the young Black's gratitude of being able to stretch again, everyone seemed in an almost pleasant mood. "I'm guessing we were just in Aragog's cupboard Hagrid kept him in."

"Well, I guess I count that as the lesser of two evils, considering where we could have ended up," Peter said from close behind him. He was trying to shuffle around much more carefully than anyone else, but the sharp snapping noise every time he moved his foot still echoed about them.

"Great, now we know where we were, let's have a chat about this place," Longbottom sighed, lighting his wand too and raising it as high as he could. Still farther off in the distance, James could only make out the source of the brightness, but everyone made little gasping noises of surprise that finally had him looking down too.

Eight sharp sounds of rat bones now snapping beneath them filled the chamber at once. None succeeded as the floor was absolutely littered with them.

"Did we find where Mrs. Norris stashes her meals?" Peter demanded in a wobbly voice, and James really couldn't blame him for being a little extra sick at the idea of this.

"This place is huge," Sirius disagreed. "There's no way we're on Hogwarts grounds and we don't know of this area."

"So conceded, the lot of you," Evans huffed, crossing her arms and glaring up at James as if he'd said the words. Though he hadn't exactly disagreed with his best mate either. "You think you know every inch of this entire castle and it's grounds."

James bit down on his lip to stop himself pointing out their map of the place should be evidence enough, but instead offered her a saucy smile and opened his arms invitingly. "I'd gladly search them all with you Evans."

She rolled her eyes and walked away, James watched her go in the dim light for a moment with an incorrigible smile before turning to Peter and whispering softly, "keep your eyes up mate, I do not like to think what led Harry down here."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Peter agreed, his face still a bit green around the edges as he reached over and plucked a little rat bone out of James' palm.

More than ready to get out of this place, James summoned the book to him. The sound of yet more bones scattering around them as it flew to his hand sent shivers up his spine, where he hoped it stayed, instead of splayed out around him. The second he flipped the book open to where the chapter began, his breath stopped cold in his heart.

"James? Prongs? What's wrong?" Remus and Sirius were suddenly surrounding him, and the cascade of noise beneath their feet should have made that much more obvious. It was hard to hear anything over the sudden pounding of his heart though when he answered.

"I think I know where we are." Taking one more shallow breath, he managed to get out the chapter title in barely more than a whisper.

He swore the air around them got colder, even as everyone tried to step a bit closer to each other.

"How, why is Harry in here?!" Evans's voice echoed more than ever in their surroundings as no one even seemed to be breathing anymore in fear of attracting anythings attention.

"I'm more concerned with getting us out, I'm sure we'll get your answer as we do," Longbottom called. James took another uneasy breath, but readily agreed with that.

Thankfully the beginning of the chapter didn't start with anything too harrowing, just the boys rehashing everything. Nothing of interest happened at all really until Ginny arrived acting like a suspicious little thing, but James excused that as a first year acting as scared as the rest of the school was. Merlin, Evans still was, and she was the toughest person he knew. Yet he saw it every time he looked out of the corner of his eye at her, the way her hands shook, the way she stood ready to run at a moments notice since these attacks had begun, how she was actually seeking out companionship from someone other than Snivellus in Longbottom and Smith.

Peter had to jab him in the side to remind him to continue, and he dragged his eyes back to Percy acting like a shifty git. They were all eternally grateful Moony hadn't let his Prefect status change anything about him.

McGonagall catching the boys trying to sneak off and see Myrtle, and the exchange that instead caused them to go visit Hermione was at first the highlight of his day.

"She always was a sucker for our sob stories the most," Sirius agreed with chipper.

"You know, after she took away fifteen points each for catching us in the first place," Peter rolled his eyes.

The boys were having so much fun reminiscing James was hardly paying attention to a word he was reading, and almost glossed right over the detail of what Hermione had in her hand.

"A, a basilisk?" The demanded question came out in such a soft hiss, the others all shifted around in unease waiting for the beast to show its face. Frank couldn't even attempt to keep going without that same panic in his voice. "How, that's not possible- a basilisk!"

"It makes sense though," Remus managed in just as low a whisper, crowding closer to his friends and eyes peeling through every shadow. "All the clues Harry just spelled out were right there the whole time." He was kicking himself now for not thinking about this more, every time the stray thought occurred to him to investigate and put together the same his friends distracted him, as usual.

"We really need to start paying more attention to this stuff," James managed in a hoarse voice he still tried to make lighthearted.

"It's not as if there's one down here," Sirius made a brave stab and a much better attempt at sounding casual. "If Slytherin put it down here, I mean, even those snakes can't live as long ago as that."

"But there's something prowling around the school now," Peter reminded, eyes flickering in so many directions he was worried they were going to fall free of his head. "And whoever's opening the Chamber now could have just as likely put one down there, especially if it's the same person who done it fifty years ago. Basilisks live a couple hundred, yes?"

Regulus watched from the mouth of the tunnel as the lot of them debated this with disbelief. He'd had his suspicions it was some sort of monstrous snake for ages, and here they were arguing the point even when that little Muggleborn good as confirmed it. He could only watch the back and forth for so long before he finally burst, "would you get on with it! What does it matter, we're still stuck down here until you bloody finish!"

There was an odd silence as everyone turned to him in surprise, before he managed to spot Sirius' flashing smile. "Mother would be so disappointed, you speaking out of turn like that."

"Shove it Sirius! I just want to go home!" His voice had managed to remain calm and collected this entire time, but the force of his words he was sure must be impactful. He could swear even the ceiling let out a trickle of dust.

Potter continued anyways, clearly eager now to at least admit to the fact getting out of this place would be the better option. He'd barely managed to get to the revelation of McGonagall summoning all the teachers though when the ceiling began to more than sprinkle dust, it suddenly became a flood, and before anyone had time to process more, the whole Earth seemed to be shaking around them. He was sure someone shouted out the command to run, as if that weren't obvious enough. Jumping back into the tunnel as the first bit of safety his mind latched onto, he clung to the hard metal that barely allowed him to rise off the ground it was so slick, the curve that had shot them all out impossible to actually find purchase on. He felt right through his bones the shattering of the ceiling behind him.

He tried to take a breath, but all that came up was a sharp, painful cough as dust continued to settle around him. Refusing to let himself stay curled up in here a moment longer, he poked his head back out and swore his heart stopped in surprise.

"Sirius?" The uneven croak could have come from anyone, surely it hadn't been his voice to crack like that upon seeing the wall that had bombarded them from nowhere.

There was more coughing now, he was sure it wasn't his own! Fighting his own legs refusing to uncurl from his position, he eased back onto the leveled ground and demanded his eyes to focus in this new gloom, the dust still lingering at all levels in the air like he was trying to see through mist.

Movement, and he was stumbling forward, still fighting back his own cough just to get a glimpse, yes! Sirius was doubled over, holding his chest in discomfort for coughing so hard even as he was still trying to stagger about like a drunkard. Potter was right beside him, patting his back and alternately glancing at Evans, whom he barely recognized now. Her shock of red hair looked as if it had aged a couple hundred years in the span of the few seconds. He was sure none of them looked any better.

He heard voices as if from a long ways off, his ears still ringing so loud it was hard to distinguish who was shouting for who, but at least someone else had survived on the other side of the wall. Sirius caught himself then, eyes darting back to awareness in a panic and at once latching onto his brother. The relief that actually flew onto his face was too much for Regulus to process all at once, and he sat down on the spot, too tired to fight back his own coughing.

"Hey, hey, it's fine. Come on Reg, let it all out," Sirius promised, his voice probably not as soothing as he was going for as restricted as it still was, but patting him roughly on the back had the same effect.

"We're fine, hey Wormtail, don't do anything stupid! Yes, all four of us, we are fine."

Potter's voice sure could carry, even managing to make itself heard through the pounding of his head, surely the others on that side heard as well. Still eyeing his best mate, he directed towards Evans now, "you sure you're alright?"

"I, ah, yes," she muttered, carding her fingers through her hair without purpose, looking him full in the face with pure shock. Regulus didn't know what had happened there, but he could imagine it. Everyone else had made a run for the other side, the opening none of them had wanted to go near. Potter and his own brother though, hadn't. What had Evans been doing to have her unwanted admirer seek her out? What had Sirius been thinking coming back!

Mother was on the verge of disowning him if he did one more thing to disgrace their name, and he'd given no uncertain emotion he was okay with that. Sirius had been avoiding him the entire time they'd been to school together and they'd had little to no contact even during the holidays.

So what had possessed him to come charging this way? Aside from backing up his best mate...

"Look, if everyone's still breathing, I'm going to bloody finish this before the rest of the roof goes!" Potter called out. He had to clear his throat several times, and still only managed some painful coughs for his efforts.

"Here, cup your hands," Evans suddenly said. Potter gazed at her for a second before tucking the book under his arm and doing as asked. With a wave of her wand and a quiet uttered word, a fresh pool of water appeared. He took a tentative sip, spilling most of it down his chin.

"Thanks," he finally said in a clear voice again. She just nodded once, crossing her arms defensively again once more and turning her attention back to the wall, brushing her fingers across the rough surface.

Potter finally went on reading, and the horrifying news there was a little girl dragged down here all on her own was enough to make him wish the ceiling had caved in the rest of the way, blocking anyone from ever being down here again. Ginny, a little pureblood who'd never done anything to anyone.

"Reg, here, would you put these on already." He startled, not having realized Sirius had even stayed beside him this whole time. He felt so out of it the basilisk could probably appear at this point and his head was still so stuffy he wouldn't even be able to run. This could be remedied by the shoes his brother was holding out.

"Where did you get those? You really been toting them around with you this whole time?"

"Nah, I've always been good at transfiguration," Sirius rolled his eyes without care. Regulus felt his mouth open in surprise as he glanced down at the piles of rocks now all around, his mind still drawing a blank at such advanced magic when most students in his brothers year were still struggling to turn mice invisible, let alone into something completely other.

"Thanks," was the only thing he could manage to whisper. Regulus knew he was many things, but not a fool. Knowing when to accept something had always been one of his biggest attributes, his mother had always praised, so he accepted the boots while bunching up a handful of his dusty robes and trying to wipe up several scrapes of blood across his feet. The stinging didn't even start until after the first few swipes, proving just how numb he'd been to the world.

"Oh here, let me," Sirius quickly waved his hand away, and a few quick utterances later with his wand and Regulus' feet were bare of anything except skin once more.

"Have a secret talent for healing charms as well?" He muttered curiously as he slipped the socks and shoes on.

"Practice," was the only vague answer he was going to get, as Sirius was no longer paying him any attention, his entire focus suddenly back on Potter and the book.

Regulus understood why. He'd only been half listening to the poor Weasley family's suffering and the boys attempts to right the wrong, and really what had they been thinking going to a fool like Lockhart for help? Now here that old fraud was, being even more of a bastard than any of them could have predicted.

"I swear when we get out of this, I'm going to make sure that fool doesn't have a head to use, let alone a hand to write those lies with," Potter hissed, his hands fisting along the books bindings.

"Oh this can't be good!" Evans groaned in protest as the boys next leap of logic was to take that neanderthal with them to this very place. Their presence down here left none of them in doubt Harry and Ron would find a way down to where they currently were.

Indeed they did, with a little help from Myrtle pointing them in the right direction of a tap, with a snake on it.

It didn't take long after that to find out what had caused the cave to collapse, and every one of them had the urge to do something much stronger than just kick Lockhart in retaliation.

James clung to as much relief as he did fear in these last pages as Harry forged on ahead, alone. At least he could still rely on his friends around him as they were plunged into the next unknown.