Chapter Seven

It took four days before the Weasley Twins managed to track Holly down.

"You've been avoiding everyone," Fred accused, slipping one arm around her shoulder to keep her from moving away. "Upset, Holly-flower?"

"Wouldn't you be if most of the school considered you to be a liar and a cheat?" Holly asked, waving back at Neville as he headed on to Ancient Runes. "Have you gotten your gold back from Bagman?"

"No," the fierce scowl on Fred's face was quickly explained by his less temperamental half. "The man's been avoiding us for the last few weeks. We think he made a bad bet of his own with the goblins and doesn't have enough gold to pony up."

"You're definitely not getting your gold back then," the witch noted. "Sorry, boys, but the goblins are a heck of a lot scarier than you are."

"For now, maybe," Fred promised ominously. The Weasley's blue eyes focused on her then, a hint of the brotherly concern that they'd adopted after the mishap of Second Year returning. "Now come to our workshop, Hogwarts Champion, and tell good ol' Uncle Fred what the problem is."

"Well, it all started when I met these two devil-haired scamps on the Hogwarts Express," Holly said archly, a small grin breaking out as the twins bookmarked her on either side and dragged her to one of the hidden passages that they'd set their little workshop up in. She'd only visited once before when buying illicit potions ingredients for Polyjuice but it still had the same makeup as then.

Hidden behind heavy velvet curtains sewn over with the Ancient Runes equivalent of Notice-Me-Not and Obscurus charms was a workshop of wonders modelled a bit after the Headmaster's office. A crystal cabinet filled with tattered books and scores of notes stood far apart from a long table lined with half a dozen bubbling cauldrons of one potion or another. A cubby shelf held everything from a jar of shockingly pink slime to a tiny Blast-Ended Skrewt figurine that released multicolored bubbles from its stinger. There was even a phoenix plushie that was charmed to start squawking whenever anyone stepped on the pressure plates disillusioned on the floor outside. That last innovation had been the unintentional brainchild of Hermione, who was absolutely mortified after she learnt that her offhanded suggestion to improve security would aid in the twin's mischievous ways.

"We're thinking of a line of indestructible figurines to be tortured by frustrated students that can't turn their wands on the real deal," George explained, handing a skrewt figurine over. "They'll scream, bleed, cry, soil themselves and then promptly reassemble for future stress relief. Nothing better for when exam season comes around! The final line will include the entire Slytherin Quidditch team, of course, and maybe that French Veela chick for all the ladies in the castle."

"Keep off of Fleur. She's awesome," Holly ordered, fiddling around with the skrewt and hissing briefly in pain when those shimmering rainbow bubbles proved mildly acidic. George quickly swiped it from her hand. "Can you enlarge that one? Hagrid would love it."

"One giant-sized skrewt figurine for the only man not to follow intended use," Fred agreed. Holly's hand moved towards her robe pocket but was stopped by a shake of shaggy red hair. "No gold. We want answers."

"Normally that's Hermione's forte but knock yourself out," the dark-haired witch shrugged. "Fair warning. I don't know exactly what happened with that dragon either."

"Is that why you're using that invisibility cloak of yours to play keep away from the rest of the castle?"

"It's one of the reasons," Holly allowed. While public opinion of her had changed drastically since the end of the first task, the orphaned girl hadn't forgotten those that stood by her loyally and those that had not. She'd much preferred to spend her time with the former and all but shunned her housemates to take meals and lessons with the aloof Slytherin wizard hiding in her hidden chamber. A heartbeat later, her cheeks flushed red as she realized the dual meaning of her words.

Fred naturally pounced on that. "Are you blushing?!"

"I don't have a boyfriend. Your despicable habit of gambling on my love life's still safe," Holly assured. "Honestly, I'm upset because for the second time in four years, most of the school turned on me for something that was never my fault. Even my housemates, who should know better, think I cheated my way into that blasted tournament. Just because they're celebrating it instead of condemning me doesn't mean that I'm not being branded a liar by them too."

Fred and George exchanged sheepish looks and turned to her. "Sorry," they chorused.

"We knew you wouldn't have done that, Holly-flower-"

"Too well-behaved by half, really-"

"But we didn't think of how it would affect you."

"Too excited to be the House of the Hogwarts Champion, I suppose."

"Can you ever forgive us, oh, valiant-"

"Powerful."

"Awe-inspiring."

"Merciful dragon tamer?"

Holly laughed. "At least you two jokers apologized for it. I forgive you."

"Seriously though, are you alright?" Worry was written across George's features. "That dragon was no joke. It could have eaten you in one bite and still have had plenty of room left in its mouth for more."

Holly eyed him suspiciously. "Is that another crack about my height?"

"You'll grow up eventually, moppet," the tall, gangly redhead ruffled her black locks.

"I'm doing as well as can be expected," the youngest Champion shrugged. "Hermione and Neville have both been great and Fleur's a lovely surprise. She's been glaring daggers at Bagman whenever he tries to act sketchy with me." At their alarmed looks, she quickly added. "Not that way! I think he's gambled on me winning this and wanted to slip some help on the side. Not that Fleur believes me."

"With how innocent you are, moppet, that might be for the best," Fred said seriously. "I didn't know you and the French Veela were friends though."

"We're not but I should look into changing that." The dark-haired witch made a mental note to invite the other witch to breakfast or something. She'd been taking most meals in the chamber but Neville had a key to the greenhouses and one of the smaller ones didn't have any dangerous plants inside. "Since I'm here though, I was wondering if I could ask for help with something?"

"You command, mistress, and we obey," was the cheeky answer. Holly rolled her eyes, took out the little pocketbook Regulus and Hermione had scribbled over and perched on one of the chintz armchairs. "Hermione decided that I needed a little Champion's Corner when dealing with the tasks. The next one will be in the lake stealing something, or likely, someone, back from the mermaids and while I'll be using my wand for most of it, a few inventions wouldn't hurt. Anything to keep me warm in the frigid waters of the Black Lake in February would be much appreciated."

"We can do that," Fred said after some contemplation. "Spells against water resistance, a reinforced bubble head on the hood, a spotlight charm added to your wrist, maybe, there are lots of options."

"Fantastic," Holly chirped. This time she did reach into her pockets and, ignoring their protests, shoved at least a dozen galleons into their hands. "This can be your initial research budget but you'll have to work with a partner on the project."

"No problem. Where can we expect the lovely Miss Granger?"

"Oh, not her," Holly deflected. "She's working on spells that I can use underwater. This partnership will have to be done by correspondence and Hedwig's the only owl that can reach the madman."

George's eyebrows crept up. "We're interested."

"His name is Padfoot," Holly revealed with a mischievous look in her own leaf-green eyes. "Not the easiest of men to work with but- Oomph!"

The dark-haired witch suddenly found herself plucked straight out of her armchair- damn, her slender form!- and tightly squeezed between two redhead teen wizards. Then she was suddenly spun around and around by whom she assumed was Fred as George cheerfully caterwauled his twin on. Finally, a rather dizzy green-eyed girl was dropped back on her chair. As she tried to get her scattered thoughts in order, Holly became aware of twin bookmarks bowing on the floor before her.

"We are not worthy! We are not worthy!"

"Idiots," Holly slurred head lolling back on her chair. She needed a less embarrassing support group.

x

Hermione Granger closed her eyes, reached deeply into her core for the last dregs of her magic, focused intently on the handkerchief before her and intoned, "Adspiro."

A light blue sheen crossing over the cloth showed that her spell had taken hold and when the brunette witch picked up the handkerchief and brought it to her mouth, she could breath in crisp cold oxygen unlike the stale air of the chamber. An unbidden smile crossed her mouth at the success. She wasn't as natural at charms as Holly or Neville were but she'd still successfully cast the spell on her first try!

"Hermione, you did it!" Neville's excited voice drew her attention and soon she was met with warm hazel eyes as her friend grinned brightly at her. She returned it with a smile of her own, stomach flipping a little in pleasure as he averted his gaze, a small blush on his cheeks. The brunette wizard's altruistic good will for whenever either of his friends succeeded in a spell had always been one of his best qualities in her opinion. She never forgot the time he rounded on one of their classmates, Ron Weasley, for berating her on her spellcasting in Halloween of their first year.

Hermione didn't quite know what… this, was between them but she wasn't the smartest witch of her year for nothing. She suspected that she did have a crush of sorts, a strong one, on her best male friend and that Neville reciprocated in some way. It wasn't entirely a surprise that he did, as studies did show that friendships were likely to escalate to romantic entanglements in adolescents but Hermione was a little guiltily thrilled that he'd chosen her. Holly, with her dark pixie locks, elfin features and impossibly bright green eyes, would have been a more likely target in most people's minds, especially considering the other witch's athletic prowess, mischievous nature and admirable courage for standing up for either of her friends. Houses Potter and Longbottom had been allied for generations too and Hermione knew that half the school was expecting the last two scions of those Houses, already best friends, to become the perfect Light couple in a few years.

Neville didn't like Holly though, at least not as more than a little sister, he liked her! And she liked him. The question remained on where they'd go from there.

Judging from Holly's not-at-all subtle abandonment of them during trips to Hogsmeade, her best female friend's approval was won. The problem was that Hermione didn't know if she should try for anything more than a friendship there. No matter how supportive Holly was, this would significantly change the dynamics of the trio's friendship and, should the relationship not work out, make everything awkward for everyone. James and Lily Potter may have had that once-in-a-lifetime romance and Franklin and Alice Longbottom may have been childhood sweethearts but Hermione knew the statistics! She didn't want to lose one of her best friends for a date or two that could work out disastrously- and it's not like she had much knowledge of dating, so that would happen- and she didn't want to risk the closeness they all had. Besides this would be an awful time to date. Holly had all of her problems with the Tournament and Regulus Black, who was a lovely tutor but otherwise not a trustworthy figure at all, and Professor Babbling had already assigned Runes partners for the year. What if they broke up? Hermione couldn't just find herself a new partner!

"Are you worried about them too?" Neville whispered in her ear, making her jump. She blamed that shock for the sudden beating of her heart and not that those hazel eyes were now far too close.

The brunette nodded to where the dark-haired wizard was helping their friend work through the movements for the next step of the Bubblehead Charm. It turned out that the best way to learn was a process, involving a series of spells, each one step further to creating a miniature and contained atmosphere of stabilized oxygen around the caster. Holly accomplished the third step now, conjuring a glass fish bowl around her head and crossing her eyes in an attempt to mimic a goldfish. Regulus Black was staring at her, lips twitching, while attempting to project disapproval.

Holly pouted at the lack of laughter and stuck her tongue out at him. It was just adorable enough to break out a smile that transformed all of his features from forebodingly handsome wizard to one breathtakingly gorgeous and somehow even less accessible. 'If this is how Sirius looked before Azkaban, I now understand why Holly's sex talk included an entire half hour on contraceptives and potions to deal with the occasional scratchy crotch.'

Reminders of the informative magical sex talk, that he'd given to all three of them by the fire in the Gryffindor common room before the First Task, had the curly-haired witch peek at Neville again. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing against Black but Holly does get attached quickly," Neville reminded her.

"I'll talk to her tonight." Hermione answered in a low tone. Honestly, she could see a little of what had Neville concerned now. Their best friend was offering a shy grin to the Dark wizard that was returned by a smaller smile. She hoped this wasn't any indication of a crush. Regulus Black was a handsome wizard but even if his body didn't show it, he was much older than Holly, and more dangerous to boot. "At least it's not Malfoy."

There'd been a few rumors of sexual tension between the rivals that Hermione wasn't entirely certain wasn't true on the Slytherin's side of the equation. "Have you finished your spell?"

"Not yet. Help me?" Nevile's shy smile made that stomach-flipping sensation occur again. Being the sensible witch that she was, Hermione promptly shoved any warm feelings away and focused on teaching him. The Triwizard Tournament was a terrible time to start dating for either Holly or her.

x

'This is the man I model my behavior after now,' Regulus deadpanned, watching the older dark-haired wizard scarf down his chicken legs with embarrassing enthusiasm. It would have been acceptable had this been the first proper meal he had had in months but he'd been careful to feed, and overcharge, his brother for the fortnight since the Task ended. "Have you drawn up an identity for myself?"

A thumb's up was his response until the gaunt man could wipe the grease away from his lips. He was about to use his sleeve to do so until a sharp look from the younger Black had him turn to a tissue instead, as was proper. It hurt his heart to see Regulus' proud older brother reduced to this skeleton of a wizard but there was a thin strip of fat around his cheekbones now and form-fitting robes hiding skin that hadn't gotten proper sunlight for years. As for the atrocious manners… well, they weren't much different from Sirius' normal habits as a teenager in Gryffindor House as Regulus recollected.

'We were both frozen in time,' Regulus considered grimly. 'Neither of us allowed to mature for over a decade but where his scars are visible to the world, mine are not.'

"The goblins were the same right old bastards that they always are," Sirius said fondly. "At least that never changes. Charged me two whole galleons to add a family member to my own tree! Can you believe that?"

Regulus conveyed with his arched brows that yes, he did believe such outrageous knut-gouging could occur with the warrior race. "You have access to your accounts now, brother, and my gold. I'm sure you could afford the process."

If there was any bitterness to his tone over his lost monetary assets, they were dispelled quickly by a Gringotts key tossed to his hand. Regulus' eyes widened as a silver-toned gazed swiftly assessed the smooth metal and found etchings that amounted to full access of all Black accounts. "Brother?"

"Second cousin, actually," Sirius corrected lazily. He reached into his robe pockets and withdrew a scroll wrapped in a Gryffindor red ribbon. "I've already made you and Holly joint beneficiaries in my will, excepting for a few bequests to family, friends and of course, my newfound pranking proteges."

"For Gryffindors that consider pranking the finest art form in the world, they surprisingly capable with magic," Regulus murmured distractedly, as he unrolled the scroll. He was relieved to skim through and find that his Pureblood status remained with Hesper Licorus Black as his father and a witch of the Norwegian Halvorsen family as his mother. It wasn't until he landed on his own name that he remembered why he desired to throttle his brother half the time, even now. "Sirius Orion Black!"

"Leonis Marius Black!" Sirius gleefully shouted back. Scrambling back, he took out his wand and cast a Protego against the four or five splashes of light that were soon to hit him. "For the constellation, Leo, with its brightest star, Regulus, and after your grandfather, Marius Black!"

"You. Named. Me After. The Lion Star," Regulus snarled out, jumping up. "Entomorphis! Densaugeo! Redactum Skullus! Stand still, dammit!"

"Not if you're cursing me!" Sirius yelped out as the shoe-sticking hex took hold and then a curse to make him bald hit soon after. Regulus cast a pimple-faced curse next and then had all of them pop at once. "Not the face, not the face! Ow! Show mercy, Reggie!"

"Mercy," Regulus hissed indignantly. "You think that you deserve any mercy after saddling me with such a name?"

"Yes!" Sirius untangled himself from the biting vines cutting into his skin, banishing them a moment later. "I named you that for a joke, yes, but also because you're the bravest man I know, brother."

The dark-haired wizard stilled, features becoming perfectly blank under a mask of Pureblood hauteur. "What?" he whispered.

"Except for James and Lily and Holly," Sirius began, a grimace on his face as he recalled his fallen friends. "Except for them, you're the first one to strike an honest-to-Merlin blow against the Dark Tosser. You acidified a piece of the Dark Lord's soul, Reggie, can you believe that? My little brother, single-handedly weakened Great Britain's in a way that no one has done before or ever since really. I'm proud of you, Reggie."

"Oh." He felt terribly inadequate to respond to that. His older brother was proud of him. "Miss Potter did that same though."

"Yeah, she did," Sirius grinned warmly. "But she's my goddaughter. I expect awesome things from her. I just never thought you would…"

"Find my courage?" Regulus suggested, slowly returning back to his seat.

"Eh, not the kindest thing to say but pretty much," Sirius shrugged. "I didn't think you would ever find that sort of courage to attack the Dark Tosser directly but you did and I'm proud of you for it. That's the reason why I gave you that name, so you could always remember that underneath that snakeskin lies the heart of a lion too."

Unsure whether he should be touched or offended, Regulus Black merely nodded.

"And of course, it was hilarious," his brother snickered. "Mother must be rolling around in her grave now… OW!"

"Don't speak ill of the dead," Regulus intoned, taking a far more polite bite of his own meal as he addressed the oversized umbrella stand that his brother had become. Taking inspiration from their childhood, he felt that troll leg look really did serve the jester well. 'At least I have an identity of my own. With a public name and access to gold, these plans can move a lot more swiftly now.'

x

Omake

Regulus Black took in a deep breath, summoned the limited amount of courage that he had available to him and turned a dark stone over in his hands thrice. A minute trickle of his magic was drawn when two shimmering figures appeared before him. To the left was the tall, messy-haired and bespectacled James Potter, to the right, the slim, flame-haired and green-eyed Lily Potter and together, the two were the source of his anxiety today.

"Regulus Black," Lily Potter spoke first. "You called us?"

"I did." The dark-haired Slytherin bowed his head in respect. "I would like to have your blessings to marry your daughter."

There was a moment of silence before Regulus looked up to the ghostly apparitions. James Potter's face was inscrutable but Lily Potter's oval-shaped one had broken into a gentle smile. "You don't need our permission to ask for Holly's hand in marriage."

"Nonetheless, I would like to have it," the Black said firmly. He had great respect for courtship traditions and even more so for the brave martyrs before him. Holly Potter may indeed marry him with or without her family's permission but temporary death, tricky rituals and magic-enforced vows aside, he wanted to do this right.

"I mean that we have observed you from the afterlife and already know how much you love our daughter," Lily corrected. "You have our blessings."

"Speak for yourself," James Potter interjected. "I'm not satisfied with him yet."

"James!" His wife looked scandalized.

The ghostly man merely folded his arms stubbornly. "As her father, it's my right to choose whether or not I'll give my blessings, Lily."

"Is there any way that I can change your mind, Lord Potter?" Regulus inquired. Holly would be heartbroken to know that her father disapproved of their relationship and the Slytherin was determined to prevent that. Some way or another, he would earn James Potter's approval.

The evil grin on the man's face when he turned to look at him lessened that firm belief though.

"As a matter of fact, you can," James Potter chirped. "You just need to perform twelve minor tasks to prove that you have the qualities admired most in House Potter!"

"James Charlus Potter!"

"Don't be jealous that you didn't think of making him run errands for you first, darling."

"Like Hercules' Twelve Labors?" Regulus interjected, not wanting his appeal to be lost in a fight.

"Exactly like that," the Marauder beamed, "Only instead of twelve pointless jobs, you'll have to prank twelve targets of my own choosing."

The Slytherin looked at him bemusedly. This adhering to tradition business appeared more and more troublesome by the minute. "You want me to… prank people for you?"

"It shows cleverness, ingenuity, daring and magical skill," his hopefully future father-in-law insisted.

"I see," Regulus sighed, "Tell me about the targets, Lord Potter."

(...)

Holly Potter wrinkled her nose as she felt cool air tickling her cheeks. Had Regulus left the window open again? She tried to roll around to nuzzle further into the warm body of her boyfriend- if he left the damn window open then he could deal with her stealing his body heat- when she found that she couldn't move. A thick fabric was pressed around her arms and when she opened her eyes, it was to her panic that she saw complete darkness.

Holly Potter did not like the dark. The ceiling of their bedroom was painted with softly glowing stars for that exact reason.

Holding her breathing still, the witch attempted to move her head around and peer through slits in her eyes. To her confusion, the encompassing darkness seemed to give away to… leather?

"Holly?" Regulus' familiar voice added to her confusion, as she felt his hands readjust her body. Leaf-green eyes blinked up to a handsome wizard with raven-dark hair and silver-grey eyes.

"Regulus? Where are we?" She had been laid on something hard but warm. It felt almost living the way it thrummed beneath her.

"We're on my brother's blasted motorcycle," Regulus' face withdrew from her sight but then her body was pulled up into a mostly upright position against his chest. "I apologize but I couldn't safely secure you to my broom when you were unconscious."

"Why are we on Sirius' motorcycle?"

"Ah, well, I used the stone to ask your parents for their blessing," Regulus said, as if that explained anything. "Your mother gave it to me rather easily but your father wanted to complete a list of tasks before he would bless our relationship."

"Okay?" It was sweet that he would ask her parents but that still didn't clear her confusion.

"I wanted to do this right." For some reason, her boyfriend's tone sounded apologetic. "As strange as our relationship is, I didn't want to deprive you of the proper traditions that should follow a courtship."

The Gryffindor's cheeks felt hot and she knew that if it was daylight, it'd look like she consumed six Pepper-ups in quick succession. "You- you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to," Regulus assured, "Except the tasks themselves were rather absurd and I refused to prank the Chief Auror on your father's say-so. Instead I decided that the traditions I was following were too modern for us."

"I don't think I follow."

"Were you aware that historically the stolen daughters of feuding clans would become the brides of their enemies following a raid?"

"Then you're planning to-"

"Kidnap you from your home, sweep you off to a Scottish druid and force you to marry me at wand point? Yes, but only if you're willing to accept it."

"I see," Holly closed her eyes. "Okay. Fine. Whatever. Just wake me up when we get there."

(...)

Two figures watched them from above.

"Are you happy with yourself now?"

"Absolutely."

"Really James? You pushed our daughter into an elopement!"

"Exactly! I forced a list of prank targets on him and my future son-in-law brilliantly turned around and decided to prank me instead. I'm so proud of him."

"Are you going to pretend that this was part of your plan all along to save face?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Lily-flower."

x