more insecure Anne dealing with normal teenage feelings after forgetting (once more) she still is one.

(i've started up another fanfiction, just drawing up the basic plot for now, but all based on the Romeo et Juliette musical from 2001 and i'm quite enjoying it lol)

THE USE OF MEMORIES

Anne held memories dearly close to her heart.

And she was sure the image of her mother and Severus sitting beside each other in the boat on their way back to the train was one of them; Lily had agreed to come with Anne in the boat with Severus and Regulus to give James the chance to go back in the same boat he had gotten to Hogwarts – him, Sirius, Remus and Peter. She had gotten to Hogwarts in a boat with Severus and two other boys who ended up in Hufflepuff, but she sat beside him to allow herself some closure.

"I'm truly sorry," was all he said.

And for the first time, Lily felt like he was truly honest and turned to him.

"I know," she said.

It wasn't complete forgiveness and it wasn't a promise towards forgetfulness or another chance, but it was the recognition that Severus had changed from the angry boy he had been the year before, and it was better than the nothing he had been receiving from someone who had been his best friend for all his childhood.

Another memory that Anne would hold dear was Peter putting his head out of the train when he got a pepper flavoured little bean from the box, face turning bright red as he opened his mouth and screamed.

Maybe the memory of Severus smiling a bit as he agreed to keep guard as Anne and Regulus wanted to have a private moment, walking away from the compartment's window and standing at the corner of the corridor, though he complained.

Graduation was never something big in her mind, she had never thought deeply of it and she had certainly not wished for it more than any other mediocre child in Hogwarts, but now she just couldn't see herself doing anything other than remembering the beautiful ceremony and the bittersweet sadness and pain she felt as she stepped into the boat to finally say her goodbye to the castle that had raised her.

Memories were always important to her. You need memories to be a human.

Good ones. Bad ones. That's what makes sure to tell you that you lived.

The goods ones are more than just comfort for hard times or reasons to make one laugh as they lie in bed, trying to sleep. They are useful, as well, many of the most powerful magics that exist use good memories and the feelings it usually brought up – Patronus, Control of Magical Core and several closed and family tied magics. Still, the bad ones are useful as well, they remind one of the reality and what it can do to a person, even the fear, anger, hatred and sadness can be useful in magic – all the Unforgivables need negative emotions to work completely.

But the memory Anne was sure she would forever use to make herself laugh would be the one she was forming at that very moment.

Severus Snape was sitting in the Potter Manor parlour stiffly, James sitting in front of him sipping firewhiskey in his best 'dad pose', as Sirius liked to call when he leaned forward while sitting. Sirius was sitting on the arm of the sofa, lounging lazily, Remus near the drink table, mixing wine and vodka as he laughed of something Sirius (who had just dared him to drink that awful mix) said.

She stood in the doorway.

"I hope you're not frightening my friend," she said.

James was the first to get up, looking at her and smiling.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart," he approved.

She couldn't deny that she felt beautiful. Though an odd colour, grey seemed to go great against her skin and hair, besides it was just a few tones darker than the Black's eyes. It seemed appropriate for the occasion. Once again, she had aimed for the slit on the leg and very full long sleeves.

"Thanks," she said, smiling a bit, brushing the long skirt.

"I'm sure Regulus will like it," Severus said.

"Just Regulus? Don't I look pretty?" she asked, teasing him.

"You're pushing your luck," he warned.

She smiled at him.

Turning to the rest of her family, she took the small bag Sirius had been holding onto for her.

"Mia will be back by midnight from her friend's granddaughter's birth, so please don't make too much of a mess," she warned. "And when Monty gets back, don't forget to remind him where I am. I'm not sure when I'm coming back."

James shifted uncomfortably.

"Anne, if you're going to spend the night, I don't mind too much, but do warn us," he said. He didn't want to think too much about it, if he did it, then he would end up feeling sick. "We'll wait you up."

"Don't," she said. "And I don't plan on spending the night. I have some sense of self-preservation." Severus ended up chuckling dryly with that, but after a glare from her, he stopped. "The thing is, I have a lot to do, I can't die just yet and Misses Black would be sure to kill me if I spend the night at all."

"And not shirtless dancing, either," Sirius warned.

"Oh, yes, please," Remus said, turning around to glare at her.

Severus looked confused for a second before his eyebrows shot up.

"When I told you to enjoy yourself in that bloody party, I didn't mean go 'all out' with it, Anne, God," he said, clearly distasteful of her behaviour. "You took your shirt off and danced? How... Gryffindor of you."

"Well, professor, I was on the top of the table as well," she teased in clear annoyance. "And, either you like it or not, I am in Gryffindor this time around. Might as well act like one, you know? Fit in."

Severus clearly couldn't understand the appeal on fitting in with people such as those he was surrounded with at the moment, but he had the surprising decency of not saying anything out loud.

"Well, come on, then, you already made me late," Severus grumbled.

James rolled his eyes at how rude Severus could be even when uncalled for, but Anne smiled, much to his surprise. He knew Anne had no trouble with answering to the same level as Severus did, but she never seemed hurt by the things he said, often laughing them off or teasing him – it took him a moment to understand that those odd exchanges of sharp looks, sharp words and carefully worded sentences were their way of playing around like any other friend. It was an odd type of relationship and an even weirder type of humour, but he admitted that Severus seemed to make Anne happy.

"Go on, then, you two," James said, walking to the fireplace and getting the floo powder. "I'll be awake when you get here, Annie."

"Ok, love you," she said.

"Love you, too," he said.

Severus shifted behind her, taking a handful and going away first. Anne smiled to herself as she kissed the boys' cheeks and followed.

It was a lot harder to control her emotions and facial expressions there than it had been in the Malfoy wedding, since there was no Horcrux to look for and nothing to keep her mind occupied. Now, all she could see was Regulus Black dancing and laughing with a young, beautiful woman.

Jealousy, Anne found out to be called the name of the feeling eating her up from the inside, is loud and clear, unable to be hidden by an Invisibility Cloak, especially when one has nothing to concentrate the mind in.

"Glaring at them won't make them stop dancing," Severus said from behind the cup of wine he had been nursing for some time after he saw Anne go through three in rapid procession after Regulus was forced to talk to Bailey Ellaish by his mother, and now seemed to be having quite some fun. Severus shoved his anger down his throat, knowing his friend would never cross the line, but still quite aware of how insecure Anne surprisingly was. "He's being social. He's doing his duty as the Host."

"He's not the Host, his parents are. He didn't even want a party," she groaned, sipping her own wine and finally looking away. "She's pretty."

Severus was silent as he glanced at the girl. She was pretty, but he felt like agreeing with her wasn't what she wanted at the moment.

"She's very... Italian," was all he managed to say.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

That, Severus wasn't sure, so he just shrugged. The action brought a small smile to Anne's lips, though it wasn't his intention.

"You're a better friend than you think," she said.

He was silent once more.

"I understand how jealousy can feel, I felt my fair share of it before," he admitted. She turned to look at him and he frowned. "If you start talking about your feelings, I'll walk away and leave you alone."

"You wouldn't dare," she dismissed. She took a deep breath and looked away for a moment either way. "I don't want to feel it, though, it's quite pathetic of me, isn't it?"

"I suppose," he admitted.

"I mean, the boy practically asked me to marry him and here I am, trembling because he's dancing with someone under his mother's supervision. It's pathetic," she complained, leaning against the wall beside the windowsill Severus was sitting comfortably on. "And I'm in the corner, watching them."

Severus frowned even more.

"If that's your way of asking me to take you for a dance, I warn you now that I'm terrible at it and won't leave my window unless absolutely necessary," he warned. "I don't dance."

She ended up laughing at that.

"Not my plan either, I assure you," she said. "Rest easily about your drinks as well, Severus. I don't plan on getting drunk."

"No ditching your shirt and dancing on top of the table, then, good to know," he grumbled.

"I could try to convince you to go to the back gardens with me, though," she said.

"Absolutely not," he grumbled once more, looking over to where Regulus was standing now, no longer dancing. "I actually need to talk to Regulus, so I'll be over there if you need me. Run to me if anyone tries anything. Excuse me."

She rolled her eyes to him as he moved across the room through the corners of walls, not getting in anyone's ways.

Anne stood there for a second, feeling out of place and as if every effort she had put on her appearance had been in vain. Call her insecure, but she had expected Regulus to at least look at her for a little bit more before walking away and wishing her and Severus a good party. Still, she understood he was in unfamiliar territory as well.

The Black Townhouse certainly was a lot far from the Black Household. It was bigger, for starters, since there were more people living there at the start – with Andromeda married, Bellatrix married off and Narcissa married off as well, now there was no one else beside Cygnus and Druella living there. The house gained some loneliness in its walls, Anne could feel it, though the Dark Magic weight on her chest was a lot easier to deal with than in the Malfoy Manor.

She moved slowly across the corridor where several people had gone out for smokes. Opening the white door, she walked to the right, seeing a free seat on a stone-made bench. It was cold even through her dress, but her feet were hurting after so long standing beside Severus as he sulked.

If she liked cigarettes, she would have one of her lips that very moment.

She sighed, exhausted, and leaned forward; her face was hidden in her hands as she dissuaded herself from screaming her throat raw.

"Tired already, Miss Sage?" said a voice.

She looked up in surprise. She hadn't heard anyone coming.

She found why quickly. Orion Black had probably been sitting on the bench across from hers, obscured by a wide and tall brush of roses, before she had even walked out of the party for some alone time.

"Hello, Lord Black," she greeted, getting up from the bench in false-respect.

"Please, please, girl, stop with that pretence, we both know your anger towards me is as big as my wife's," he said in a good-natured tone. She just stared at him. "Couldn't deal with all the faking inside as well?"

"I don't understand, sir," she said.

"Come sit beside me," he asked. "I'd walk to you instead if I were in better condition, I'm sure you already know."

"Yes, Regulus did confide in me," she agreed.

Anne wanted to make sure he thought she hadn't shared anything to anyone.

"Yes, yes, Regulus," he mumbled to himself. Anne walked across the garden, carefully siting beside him, putting some space between them. She was hyper-aware that she was sitting alone in the dark garden with a man; though sick, she couldn't be sure just how powerful Orion still was. She could be in danger. "The little boy will be lost without me."

"You underestimate him, sir," she quickly disagreed.

"He's growing well for his age, but that doesn't make him any less of a child," Orion said. "Walburga needed to understand that, but she didn't in time – she forced him under the mark without my knowledge, though she made sure to tell him I was the one to ask such silliness from him. Absurd. Why would I make my son follow a violent man? Why would I dare to put my Heir's life in line in a war I wasn't sure I was going to win? Now I won't even be here to see the conclusion of this senseless shambles of what's left of my beliefs."

She just stared at him, trying to understand why he was telling that to her at all. They weren't close and he made sure to tell her that he didn't like her or the probable plans she had for Regulus.

"You must be confused," he said.

"I cannot say I'm not," she admitted. "You want a favour; I can see that. But why me?"

"Because I know where that necklace came from."

Anne felt her whole body freezing and she wondered how fast she could run to Severus to ask to go home in those shoes, but things were already done. Any reaction from her would only agree to Orion's story, so all she did was turn to stare at him.

"I like emeralds," as her blankest and most neutral answer.

"That was my mother's emerald," was his answer, which broke any composure she had kept. "Well, now that you allowed me to show you that I know the truth, there's another truth that I know, Miss Potter. Well, half a truth."

"I believe is for the best for this conversation to end here, sir," she said, starting to get up.

"Sirius isn't here to protect you, your... whatever it is that Euphemia Fraser-Potter is to you, she isn't here either," he warned. She stood in front of him, unable to move away from him in fear. "Listen, Anne Potter, you know things you cannot know, your eyes are a lot easier to read once I've seen you looking at my son."

"I –"

"Quiet. I'm not done," he warned. He took his hand to her arm and Anne knew he was relying mostly on her fear on him, his hand had no warmth and no strength in it. "When you first came over to my home, you were polite and perfect, with a small mistake of not being well-bred. I could overlook that for you to be his Mistress, I could actually support him on it, but then I saw you again in Regulus' birthday where you frightened my wife. Believe me when I say, Miss Potter, that my wife is not easily frightened and you managed to get her in her dreams, give her nightmares."

"I did nothing to her," she defended herself.

"You protected your mind and I applaud you for that, and in that you made my wife feel like nothing," he explained. "Not the worthless type of nothing, but the empty of becoming nothing. You locked her in before pushing her out and locking her there, and inside your mind is terrifying by what she told me. Tall walls, dark walls, covered in the worst of feelings that made her mind dissolve into nothingness before becoming everything at once – traumatic. Taught her a lesson."

"I didn't plan on hurting Lady Black," she insisted.

"You should have, she's a terrible person," he dismissed. "I have no energy to waste to try and defend her at this point. There was a time in my life I loved her, but there's nothing but bitterness between us. I'm sure there was a time she loved me as well, but I made too many mistakes and I paid for each and every single one of them. When you're married to a Black, you pay for your sins and are kissed about them just as easily."

"Regulus isn't like that. He isn't like you," she said. "He makes sure of it. Of not being like the people that made him what he is."

He nodded to himself, looking around the garden as if deep in thought, but it didn't take too much before his lips started moving and words fell off.

"I suppose I made mistakes with Regulus as well," he admitted. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wasn't supposed to go so fast, I was supposed to have time to teach him everything and ease him into the politics – Walburga ruined it all and she forced herself to grieve what could have been with Sirius, though she doesn't admit. She has lost her mind. People say she will lose her mind, but not a single one of them noticed that she's too far gone already."

"Lady Black will... push through," she said.

He looked at her once more.

"And there you go, the certainty in your voice is there again," he said, amused as if she had told a joke. "How can you know?"

"How could I not? The worst of vases is the last to break," she mocked, getting her arm away from his hand.

"Those are not the words of angry certainty, those are the words of certainty of memory," he said. "But you're not a Seer, you don't have a single drop of Seer blood in you. So, you can either tell me the truth, or I can go and tell Walburga the truth about this emerald. Tell me, was is a proposal?"

If he said a single thing about it to Walburga, if a single word was breathed away, Regulus would be a dead man walking.

"No, sir," she mumbled. "It was not. I can tell you everything."

James would scream and shout, he would make a whole scene until the man looked away.

Sirius would have screamed and fought back until that man was black and blue.

Remus would talk his way out of it, he would vomit words and facts until the man was sure he was absolutely out of his mind.

Peter would have turned around and ran as fast as he could to the safety of his brothers in arms.

But Anne couldn't do anything. She was condemned. If she stayed, she would have to talk. If she went, Severus and Regulus would be in danger and she couldn't deal with them walking into harm blindsided because of her stubbornness.

Anne Potter wouldn't survive another person getting hurt for her.

So, she told Orion Black everything.

Orion have heard the most impossible stories from people trying to get out of trouble. He had been a Prefect in Hogwarts and Head Boy when time came, after that he worked in the wizarding-law area and had been in jury more than once. Not a single lying person that walked out of court had ever looked so honest as Anne Potter had been as she told him the outcome of the war.

Without a hitch, he believed everything.

"I believe I made another mistake I must atone before I go, Anne Potter," he said.

"Yes, sir?"

"I was a terrible judge of character. I don't think a single person could make my son a better person other than you," he said. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

"A thing you will learn as you grow closer and closer to death, my dear, is that death makes men honest and women angry. In life, I was taught it's the other way around," he laughed at some private little joke he had in his mind as he looked at the roses above their head. He pressed his lips and took a long, deep breath. "I don't have a lot of time. I don't think I will last the summer, but I'm trying to hold on to see my boy turn seventeen, make sure nobody tries to take anything from him before he can take it under his name, but it's hard."

"Don't think I forgot, sir, that you started this conversation searching for a favour," she said. "What do you need from me in exchange for your silence?"

He looked at Anne.

"I don't care what side you have to do go to, but make sure my son survives this, Anne, and there will be something for you," he said.

"With all due respect, sir, but you will be dead before the worst of the war even starts," she said. "You can't promise me things and not be willing to fulfil them, I'm not a child to just believe it all you say."

"Never thought that of you. I'm sure that even when you were a kid, you weren't one," he laughed once more, but ended up wheezing in the end, coughing once to fix himself and taking a deep breath. "Give me your hand," he asked. She hesitated. "I won't hurt you, Miss Potter."

She did so.

"As a warning, I can scream very loudly," she said, sounding like a child.

"I imagine so," he dismissed. As he took her hands into his, she felt his magic going through her body. She winced with the feeling, trying to get her hand away from his, but he used his little strength to hold her in place – fearing hurting him, she froze. "Do you know what this was?"

"What did you do to me?"

"I'll take that as a no," he explained. "For a marriage to be recognized by our House, one needs the blessing of one of the parents, but permission of both, though the permission part can be easily skipped in a magical blessing is done. That was what it was. I, Orion Black, allow you, Anne Potter, to marry my Heir and son, Regulus Black, in the moment both of you want to do so and my magic shall outlive me and my memory."

Anne tried her best not to act odd as she sipped more wine, but the feeling of Orion's magic inside of her was something that she had never felt before – it wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't painful. It was the reminder that there was more to the world than her, it was the physical reminder that there was a lot about the wizarding world that she didn't know, especially unspoken rules of courting and marriage, something she had never had contact before Regulus.

"You look dreadfully pale, I thought the garden might have done you some good, but you look even more jumpy," Severus said from beside her, giving her some whiskey to see if it would bring colour to her cheeks.

"I suppose I'm tired," she said.

"Anne, you stayed in the gardens for almost an hour," he said, concerned. "Did something happen? Did someone do something to you?"

Her head snapped up at that. If only Severus knew what had happened. How could she tell him that someone had done something, indeed?

"It was dark and I ended up almost falling asleep. I was rather comfortable outside, away from all this heat," she said. She took a deep breath. Regulus was now talking to another girl, standing beside Narcissa, this time he looked a bit taken aback by how flirtatious she was being, looking like he was about to hide behind his cousin. "Do you think it would be awfully rude of me to go home?"

"It's midnight," he commented, glancing at the clock on the wall. "I do believe I could make up something about a curfew."

"That would be very kind of –"

"Severus! Come here!" called out.

Lucius Malfoy was standing not too far from where Regulus and Narcissa were, discreetly waving for Severus to come over, though he did smile to her as well. A clear double invitation that neither was in position to refuse to abide.

She sighed.

"There goes our chance," she said.

"You know, you're a lot more annoying when you're not enjoying yourself, jealous girl," he complained.

She glared at him sideways, but put her hands on his forearm as he led her through the people towards Lucius. He did put his hand around her shoulders when a man did come too close as he walked by, too distracted by his wife's brassiere slipping from under her dress to view to care who he was walking through.

"Hello, young lovers," he said. "Midnight already, can you believe? I'm having so much fun!"

"Lucius," Severus greeted simply.

"Indeed, quite the party," she answered, taking over from the clearly annoyed Severus. She must have been quite annoying to have him that way already. "Nothing to be surprised. Purebloods do know how to party by what I have noticed in my time here."

She smiled her best charming smile to the man standing beside Lucius in a clear way to get the blonde to present her to him. The man standing beside him was a bit older than him and quite clearly more sober than the smiling Malfoy and he had been looking at Anne for hours at that point.

"You are a lucky man, Severus," the stranger said. "Miss, nice to meet you, I am Loic Yaxley."

Loic Yaxley, he died in 1979. He didn't much time. He was a terrible person. Anne couldn't bring herself to care. All she knew was that he seemed to have hurt someone inside the Inner Circle and was killed, body sent to the Ministry in the same day as a warning about media or something like that. He was never really important, but he could be someone that could end up saying something before dying.

"The pleasure is mine, sir," she said. "I'm Anne Sage."

"Miss Sage lived in Canada for most of her life," Lucius blabbered out. "Mister Yaxley lived there for a year, but spends most of his time in France. He was quite disappointed when he found you that you can't speak French."

"Language is not one of my talents, monsieur," she teased.

Yaxley laughed a bit too hard of her small joke.

Severus looked at her by the corner of his eyes, suddenly feeling like standing beside her was wrong just by the way he could feel Regulus' eyes travelling around the group in an odd shine of interest.

"How old are you, Miss?" he asked.

"Seventeen," she answered.

"An adult!" he seemed to celebrate.

She smiled once more.

Severus recognized her flirting smile and wondered if she had seen something more than the overly friendly man standing in front of him or if she was as immature as she seemed to be, flirting with another man because she was jealous of Regulus. Uncomfortable, he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Careful there, my friend, Severus here is her boyfriend and I'm sure he's as jealous as any man with a girl as beautiful as this," Lucius said in a polite warning.

Yaxley didn't seem to care.

"Severus has a good taste in women, indeed, and in jewels," he pointed at her neck. "An Emerald. It makes your hair even redder."

"Careful, sir, or I might take it as an offense," she said.

"Anne hates having red hair," Severus blurted out. He glanced at Anne, unsure of what to say next. "But she does look great in green. A pity she's not in Slytherin."

"Indeed, a pity!" Lucius said. "That would be the House I and most of your friends were at, Loic, however Miss Sage over here has the brain, but also the heart – a miracle, really. Ended up in Gryffindor, the red, courageous House."

"I must admit courage is something I lack," she lied.

"She's being humble," said another voice.

Regulus was standing to the side of Anne in a second, hands behind his body and posture slightly stiff, but it could easily be confused with exhaustion after so many turns in the dance floor.

"Oh, hello, Regulus," she said in a tone slightly off from her normal. Severus and Regulus recognized it as off, Lucius and Loic stood blissfully unaware of her shift.

"I did greet you when you came in," he said, looking at her finally. "I did, however, forget to congratulate Severus once more. You're a vision in this dress, as I'm sure you know by the way every man in this room seems to be looking at you. Severus needs to be careful, Anne-Girl, somebody might try to steal you away from him."

"I'm quite faithful and loyal. He doesn't have anything to worry about, your friend is quite safe in my hands, Regulus." she answered.

He turned to the older men watching the exchange.

"Another trait of Gryffindor, not all that surprisingly. Anne is a Gryffindor a lot of time, but when she wants to be a Slytherin, she can fit right in," he said with a bit of a forced smile. "The venom in her tongue is remarkable."

A feminine laugh made Anne relax as Narcissa took a step between Anne and Regulus.

"Come on Anne, let's leave the boys to have their talk. I have someone to introduce you to someone," she said, embracing her shoulders by the side. "Excuse us, boys, as we go to have fun as well."

"Of course, wife," said Lucius, smiling just in love with Narcissa as always, though quite more open about it in his alcoholic help.

Narcisa led her away with tranquillity only found in the wind as she passed through the guests a lot more smoothly than Severus.

"Mister Yaxley's sister wished to meet you since Regulus mentioned you," she explained. "He didn't mention any other woman, not even family and not she wants to meet you. He was careless."

"He seemed focused on others quite well enough this night."

"Now, now. Don't be petty, it's uncouth, Anne, dear," she elegantly scolded her. Anne tried not to sulk. "Deep breath. This girl is quite..."

"What?" Anne asked.

Too late.

"Anne Sage, this is Alexandria Yaxley, she's fourteen. Alexia, this is Anne," introduced Narcissa. "I was just about to tell Anne about Lucius' plans. I'm sure your brother will make part of it, my dear, why don't you help me."

"That would be wonderful!" Alexandria said. "Regulus talked about you. And he was right, you're dressed beautifully from up-close."

Anne blinked. Back-handed compliments; wonderful, she felt like she was back in fifth-year suddenly, looking right back at Pansy Parkinson at that odd month where there were rumours of Draco having a crush on Anne, it wasn't true of course, but Pansy had been unbearable to be nearby for the whole month.

"Thank you, it's an Ali Aayad," she said. "Unique."

"And expensive!" Narcissa said, looking at Anne as if to say 'see?'. "Anne is a Sage, but is with the Potters, her family here in England. She's originally from Canada."

"Canada, heard a lot about your home. I hope you had a better life over there than my brother did," she said.

If Anne was truly from Canada, that might have stung a bit, but all she did was chuckle a bit as if she had said a small intern joke between them.

"I'm sure I did," she said firmly once the chuckle was over.

Narcissa took a discreet deep breath and turned a bit away from Yaxley, smiling only to Anne.

"Well, Lucius has plans to get in the Ministry, can you believe it, Anne? Finally. He has been trying for months, but now has an inside," Narcissa said.

Anne suddenly understood that Narcissa didn't want silly conversations or company to try and survive the train-wreck Alexandria seemed to want to create with her wish for chaos. No, she wanted to pass information in a discreet way. To a stranger nearby was the best way. Alexandria had no way to know who the Potters were or what they were famous for in England, she would just go along, probably throwing more information to make her brother and herself look better.

Narcissa had always been smart, but sometimes she did overdo herself.

"You don't say!" Anne said.

"My brother is helping him as well, of course, but I must admit that Fawley is a nice man. His daughter is as well, though very quiet," Alexandria said.

"Since Elizabeth was engaged to Roddy's brother, Mister Fawley has been a lot closer. Almost family. A blessing, really, he's a wonderful man," Narcissa added. "They have been getting a lot of support to get Lucius inside of the Educational Department, maybe even having a Seat in the future since his father seems to want to keep his Seat for as long as he can stand."

"To have a Seat is a great honour. We cannot blame Lord Malfoy," Alexandria said.

What would she know of British honour? Anne wondered, but did hold back her tongue.

"Regulus did comment on the engagement, I thought it was an amazing idea," lied Anne. "Elizabeth is such a sweet girl. Let's hope she can put Mister Lestrange in good reins, am I right?"

"Indeed!" Narcissa laughed, a bit forcefully. "But did Regulus mention Mister Crouch's present of graduation?"

"We ended up not really talking much tonight," Anne dismissed, trying to muffle down her anger. "What happened?"

"Regulus has a knife collection, did you know?" Alexandria said as if she knew him better.

She turned to look at the girl.

"Yes, I've seen it in his bedroom," she lied. "Wonderful daggers, knives and swords. All types!"

It was silly, she knew. But her jealousy from all the girls (not the fourteen-year-old annoying her, though) was still getting to the back of her throat.

Alexandria closed her lips and seemed to look for something to say, but found nothing to throw back at her.

"Mister Crouch gave him a dagger he had been searching for quite some time, though Bellatrix has been trying to get him to sell it to her. Regulus seemed against it. Selfish boy, he is about his pointy things," Narcissa laughed. "I wouldn't dare to call it 'pointy things' in front of him, of course. I have some self-preservation left in me. Now, Mister Crouch seems to be getting into the family as well! What a ward can do!"

Mister Crouch, Yaxley and Fawley were now about to be marked as Death Eaters as well, Narcissa meant to say.

"Absolutely wonderful!" Anne said, trying her best to sound excited. She was exhausted and that conversation was tiring her out even more. "Things will get better for Lucius from now on, then, right? The whole Ministry thing will put your lives in comfort for the rest of several generations, I'm sure."

"Money is not a problem for them," Alexandria said.

Anne was about to snap at her when a hand on her shoulder made her look away from the little girl.

"Anne, my dear, forgive me, I forgot about your curfew," Severus said. "Come on, then. Potter is still waiting awake for you. Say your goodbyes."

She nodded at him.

"It was wonderful to see you once more, Narcissa, thank you for the wonderful talk. I wish nothing but the best for you and your family," she said, kissing her cheek. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Yaxley," she added. Regulus walked closer to the group. "Do thank your family for the invitation, Regulus. We'll see each other soon?"

"Write to me, please," he said.

"As soon as I can," she dismissed. She wouldn't. "Have a goodnight."

"Goodnight!" they answered together.

Anne didn't look back as she walked away.