After the last class of the afternoon, Regulus stepped out of the classroom and stopped in the corridor, glancing back.

Cuthbert, Alex, and Hermes filed out behind him. Lina and Samuel trailed a few paces further back, and when they saw him standing there, they stopped too.

"With me." He looked at Lina and Samuel. "Both of you as well."

He turned and walked without waiting.

Cuthbert and the others fell in behind him. No one asked questions.

Lina and Samuel exchanged a glance and followed, though they kept a few steps’ distance, not crowding in. Lina walked slightly ahead, Samuel half a step behind and to her right. They had their rhythm by now: Lina took point, Samuel covered the rear.

Six of them crossed the castle grounds toward the Black Lake.

Slytherin’s second-year class wasn’t large to begin with, and this was most of it, moving together in a column that looked almost like a formation.

The wind hit harder once they reached the lakeshore.

Hermes turned up the collar of his robes, the fabric standing stiff against his neck.

Cuthbert rubbed his hands together, muttered something about the weather, and shoved them into his pockets.

Alex tightened his scarf and tugged it higher over his chin, then scanned the surroundings to confirm they were alone.

Lina stood a short distance away, chin tucked into her scarf. Samuel was beside her, hands buried in his pockets.

Regulus turned to face them, the lake at his back.

Cuthbert was puzzled.

Dead of winter, freezing cold. What were they doing out here?

He checked the sky. No snow. Checked the lake. Not frozen.

He looked at Regulus’s face. Same expression as always. Unreadable.

Alex glanced at Lina and Samuel behind him and put it together.

The Rabastan situation still hadn’t been wrapped up. Regulus had called them out here to talk about what came next.

Hermes waited, face blank.

Lina and Samuel looked at each other but said nothing.

A flicker of tension in Lina’s eyes, layered over something that might have been relief.

Samuel kept his head down, gaze resting on his shoes.

Regulus spoke first. His tone was no different from usual. "The Rabastan situation. Where does it stand?"

Alex stepped forward. The wind was loud, so he raised his voice to match. "Nearly done. Snape’s finished brewing. We’re just waiting to catch him."

Regulus looked at Samuel and Lina. "Who?"

Alex fell silent, turning with the rest of them.

Four pairs of eyes landed on the two at the back. Cuthbert, Hermes, Alex, Regulus.

Lina stood up straight, took a step forward, and lifted her chin clear of the scarf. Her expression was serious.

The wind had reddened her cheeks, but her eyes were bright and steady. No hesitation.

"Me."

Samuel stood behind her, head lowered, saying nothing.

Regulus swept a glance over them both.

They’d treated this as an opportunity. Whoever contributed more would gain more.

Lina had been the one to step up. He was fairly certain of that, and she’d probably made some arrangement with Samuel. This one’s mine. Next time is yours.

He nodded once and left it there.

Then he looked at Alex, then Cuthbert, then Hermes, each in turn.

"This doesn’t end here."

When he’d first been called outside, Cuthbert had been confused, half-thinking the holidays were close and Regulus was dragging them out for fresh air.

Now, hearing those words, something settled in his chest.

He’d known it wasn’t over. He’d been hoping it wasn’t. He’d been waiting for exactly this.

He just hadn’t expected it today, in this spot, standing by a frozen lake in the dead of winter getting his face carved up by the wind.

The whole thing from start to finish: Rabastan made the first move, Costa and Vance served as bait, Snape came in to coordinate, and the Lestranges handed over their own leverage. Cuthbert knew exactly what this was.

His father had told him once. The people you can truly rely on are the ones who’ve stood beside you against a common enemy. That’s what makes someone yours.

He’d carried those words a long time. And here they were, playing out in front of him.

He didn’t rush to speak. If anything, he stood straighter than usual. This was a serious moment. He ought to look the part.

Hermes just glanced at Regulus and said nothing.

He wasn’t as thoughtless as he seemed. After the Astronomy Tower, his father had spoken to him briefly a handful of words.

Dumbledore... Black.

The gist was clear enough: follow Regulus. And he was following. More than that, Regulus had earned it.

As for how the Lestranges might react afterward, whether his family could get dragged in, he didn’t spend much time on those questions. What was done was done. What were they going to do about it?

If it came to a real fight... he’d figure that out when it happened.

Lina and Samuel exchanged another look behind the others, neither speaking.

They’d discussed this privately. More than once, in detail every time.

They knew where they stood. They knew what accepting Black’s protection meant. They knew the role they’d played in all of this.

They were gambling. Gambling that Black wouldn’t use them up and discard them.

And now Black had brought them here with everyone else, discussing the whole affair openly, no information withheld, no one shut out.

That gesture, by itself, was the answer.

They’d been made insiders. Allowed to know. Which meant they wouldn’t be abandoned.

The weight Lina had been carrying in her chest eased. She lifted her chin a fraction and stood a little taller.

Regulus looked around the group once and had a fair read on all of them. They’d each thought it through, and they’d each arrived at the right conclusions.

No one falling behind. No one panicking.

Good enough.

He continued, tone still even. "Rabastan started it. He moved on Costa and Vance. To him, it was nothing. A bit of sport with two half-bloods, hardly worth thinking about."

A pause.

"But they’re mine. He touched my people. That makes it between him and me."

He went on. "As for the rest of you, you’ve been part of this from the beginning. If there’s fallout, it’ll be between Black and Lestrange. From that level up, it won’t reach you."

He didn’t drop his voice for gravity or raise it for emphasis. He was simply laying it out, making sure all five of them heard it clearly.

Cuthbert took it in without surprise. He’d expected this trajectory exactly. If anything, a small thrill ran through him.

He’d participated on behalf of the Averys, drawn into a clash between Black and Lestrange.

Someday he’d be able to say he’d been part of a real move between Houses.

His father would be pleased when he heard. By any measure, this was significant.

Hermes didn’t react much either, though he felt a twinge of regret.

If the Lestranges actually retaliated, could he hold his own?

He wanted to find out.

But thinking honestly, what he had in his arsenal was enough for Hogwarts. Scaled to that kind of conflict between families, it probably wasn’t.

If it came to blows... he’d deal with it then.

Alex stayed quiet. He’d seen this coming, and he’d thought further ahead than the rest.

He’d led the operation. He’d placed Lina and Samuel, coordinated the handoff between Snape and Rabastan, managed every step. He knew Regulus well enough by now. Regulus might speak up over something small, but he wouldn’t invest real effort unless the stakes justified it.

Even Rabastan, even the Lestrange name, wouldn’t be enough on its own.

If Regulus was pushing this forward, the goal extended well beyond one incident.

Regulus was going after the Lestranges. Rabastan was simply the pretext, the opening, the justification that put the moral high ground on his side.

Alex had worked that out. But he was also thinking about the worst case.

His family was a branch of the Rosiers. No standing to speak of, no cushion against collateral damage.

But the decision had been made. He’d chosen to follow, and he wasn’t looking back. He trusted that Regulus, having brought them in, would not leave them hanging.

That wasn’t blind faith. It was the conclusion he’d reached through careful observation since the Astronomy Tower, tested against every interaction, and finally confirmed.

Regulus never used people and threw them away.

Regulus looked at the five faces in front of him.

Cuthbert’s expression said: Finally. Hermes’s said: Bring it. Alex’s said: Here we are.

Costa and Vance visibly relaxed, and then their expressions shifted to something sharper, almost eager.

He’d watched each of their reactions. A single nod. "That’s what this is. If you’re part of it, you should understand what you’re part of."

Cuthbert spoke first. Light tone, carrying a whiff of that’s it? As if Regulus had spent all this time telling them something they’d already figured out.

Whatever he thought, he said. "That’s it?"

Alex, beside him, gave a small nod. Brief, but clean.

Hermes was quiet for a beat, then looked away toward the lake.

"No objections."

Lina and Samuel glanced at each other. Lina went first, chin lifted, voice clear. "Understood."

Samuel followed, steadier. "No problem."

That settled it. The rest was just waiting for the operation to close out. Regulus was about to turn and head back when...

"Regulus."

Cuthbert caught something in his peripheral vision, along the far side of the lakeshore. He tilted his chin in that direction. "Look."

Regulus followed his gaze.

On the opposite stretch of the bank, a group of figures was heading their way.

The one in front was unmistakable even at a distance. Dark hair, slightly curled, tall, long stride, a looseness to the walk that bordered on swagger. No scarf, robes flaring behind him with each step.

Sirius.

Behind him came James Potter, and behind James, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

Heading straight for them.