And we're back to the real plot! I'm back earlier than I expected and I still have one exam to go through, but the worst one is already over. My internships seem to be going well enough as well, though I'm exhausted in general

LEAVE COMMENTS! LET ME HAVE SOME FUN

PS: This chapter was one of the first ones I ever wrote, so I just had to fix it slightly to put some of the characters in place.

TW: Domestic Violence, Description of a Dead Body (second part of the chapter)

Marlene McKinnon was never one to dwell on her affairs and one-night stands, especially when so much of her mind was occupies with Dorcas Meadowes, still she had to admit that even Dorcas would forgive her for thinking twice about Luna Lupin.

"I swear, one of the best kisses I had in my life, even if she doesn't remember it," Marlene admitted to Dorcas that night, fixing her bra under her blouse. "She loses to you, of course, but so does everybody in the whole world when you have those lips and tongue of yours, Dorcas."

Marlene was wearing a pink blouse barely buttoned up, her black bra appearing at the very top just enough for it to be seen as stylish, even if some people would dare to call it vulgar. She didn't care – she had learned that people with breasts as big as her would be sexualised and mocked regardless of what she was wearing, hence why now she wore only what she liked. To match it, she had put on a miniskirt that Lily had bought her the summer before, it was black and tight; Lily had said it was all the rage in London, and Marlene was more than glad to make it all the rage in Hogwarts as well, after all she used to making things go into style just by wearing it and letting people copy her.

Dorcas laughed, swallowing down from bitterness from the back of her throat.

"You're just trying to get into my pants," she dismissed her compliments.

Dorcas was wearing a flowy light-blue dress – a rare sight, that was. Usually in fitted trousers, Dorcas wasn't one to let her legs show, so when she had showed up in a dress, Marlene couldn't look away. Someone had redone her braids and she had put on a white ribbon tying the top-portion of her braids at the back of her hair in an half-up, half-down style that Marlene thought framed her face so perfectly.

Marlene smirked, kissing Dorcas' lips softly.

"I don't need to compliment you to do that, all I have to do is ask," the blonde said, raising her eyebrows.

Dorcas made a little sound with the back of her throat, melting her body towards Marlene so easily trusting she would hold her that Marlene had to giggle to herself. Dorcas was dramatic in her interest in Marlene, completely hoping she would hold onto the feeling of being fawned over and would decide to stay. She knew that Marlene was someone that would search for comfort and pleasure before going on with her life as if nothing had happened, only coming back to her because she was willing. However, she did not know that there was no one else, and that Marlene would go back into her arms every time because there was no one else she would rather have.

Marlene pulled away.

At her birthday party, Dorcas and Marlene had kissed each other in public for the first time, ignoring the screams and wolf-whistles that came with it from the people celebrating around them. Almost a month since then and they had been trying their best to see where that would go.

Neither spoke of what they wished from it, but they both imagined each other late at night.

"Are you ready?" Marlene asked, tugging her own skirt down her legs, back into place.

Sirius' birthday party was quite the event in the Gryffindor Tower since the group's third year, when Sirius – turning fourteen – had managed to convince older students to score them alcohol and Remus had brought some of his (and his sister's) records to school, fortunately they had managed to convince McGonagall to find them a record player that would work around magic, even if she had been "unaware" there was a party to happen. Now, older and wiser, Marlene was quite sure she was aware there would be a party, but she had looked the other way because of how sad Sirius looked that year when he first got to Hogwarts.

Dorcas reached for her lipstick on the bedside table of Marlene's bed and quickly reapplied it. It was a deep brown that looked a lot like her own lip colour, just slightly reddish.

"Do you think Sirius and Remus will announce their relationship?" Dorcas asked.

Marlene looked at her through the corner of her eyes as she messed her hair slightly, making it look like she had just rolled out of bed – but in a pretty way.

"I think Remus is an arse for wanting to be a secret for so long. They went on two dates already, and still Remus wants to keep it quiet. And this is the first relationship that Sirius wants to shout about on the rooftops," Marlene said. "Had it been not for McGonagall screaming at him when he talked about jumping off the Astronomy Tower to his broomstick, I believe he would've tried climbing on the roof in reality."

Dorcas chuckled.

"Sirius is certainly a character," she mused.

"And Remus is learning to deal with it," Marlene said.

Together and holding hands they walked down the stairs from the female dormitory into the Common Room where people were beginning to gather and songs were sounding loudly, just still not loudly enough to be considered a Marauder's Party.

Sirius was standing on the coffee table between the sofas, Remus seemed to be scolding him to get down because a sixth year had to take his notebooks off the table before they were stomped by Sirius. James was lying on one of the sofas, pretending to pay attention to what Peter was talking about when, really, he was looking at Lily Evans talking to Mary McDonald near the windows, rolling her hair on her fingers and giggling happily at whatever her friend was telling her.

"LAST BIRHTDAY IN HOGWARTS!" Sirius screamed from the table, getting everybody's attention. "As I'm feeling terribly selfless, know that all alcohol is on me," he added, voice lower, but people still paid attention to him. "And any weed that people have, smoke it near the windows, please. No cocaine! I don't want cocaine in my fucking party – if you can't have fun without it, turn your arse around and leave the bloody place."

Someone near the doors, a seventh-year Ravenclaw, made a loud annoyed and disappointed noise, but didn't leave the party.

Sirius glared at him from where he stood.

Remus rolled his eyes, stepping up the table as well and opening his arms, giving out his best charming smile.

"LET THE PARTY BEGIN!" he yelled.

The cheering was so loud that Marlene felt her heart speeding up in pace. Had they not been in a castle as old and as sturdy as the one they were standing, she knew that she would've felt the ground shake beneath her as more people continued to pour into the cozy Common Room, now accepting of wild thoughts and actions of teenagers that wanted one night of peace before the real world ate them up.

No thought of jobs. No thought of family.

Just happiness, just pleasure. Just friendship. Nothing else seemed to matter for tonight.

And when Marlene kissed Dorcas on the mouth, in front of everybody in the party – almost everybody in the last two years of school – she didn't fear anything but her own capacity of dealing with how fast her heart would beat when she was close to her lover.

When Remus pulled Sirius by the waist and kissed him, ignoring the loud clapping and yelling (which James started, pulling Peter by the back of the shirt to pay attention to what was happening), Remus knew that he – too – needed not to pay attention to fear, because inside the school and within the arms of his best friends, he was safe. And he was loved, in every possible and important way, he was loved.

No matter how exciting the conversation about the two couples loudly and publicly snogging in Sirius' party was, there were more important news that took over just as the news of the couples were dying.

The conversation went from love to hatred in less than a month.

Severus Snape was obviously not sitting in his usual place at Slytherin table that morning, neither was Dumbledore looming over the students at his place at the High-Table. Even Slughorn was quietly eating his breakfast in complete silence, no jokes and no silly smiles from his last night's drinks. McGonagall spoke in hushed tones with Madame Pomfrey, who hid her face into her hands discreetly and shook her head.

Regulus Black knew something was wrong before the newspapers was shoved into his hands by a trembling Evan Rosier, who stared at him in clear nervousness and expectation, watching his expression for his reaction.

Daily Prophet Exclusive: Muggle Kills Witch in the English Countryside

By Erik A.

In a tragic and unsettling incident, a Muggle named Tobias Snape, 56, has been arrested for the murder of his own wife, Eileen Snape (nee Prince), a witch of 35, in a quiet town in the English countryside. According to the reports, Tobias, a Muggle school teacher, fatally stabbed Eileen ten times after accusing her of infidelity – an accusation that has since been proven false and ludicrous.

Muggle witnesses and neighbours described Tobias exhibiting erratic and paranoid behaviour in the days prior, leading up to the murder. Several local Muggle men reported that Tobias made violent and disturbing comments on a local pub, while nearby neighbours observed that Eileen had been appearing outside of their family home less frequently, often showing visible signs of injuring and appearing fearful, even being described and "flighty" by one of the women. It is now believed that she had been enduring a violent situation for several years, which had been becoming worse for the last few weeks.

Sources reveal that Eileen, who was estranged from her pureblood family due to this very marriage, had been forbidden from practicing magic in her own home, a cruel rule for a witch. Letters discovered by the Aurors and other Ministry investigators indicate that her husband had broken her wand and isolated her from the wizarding world. Any communication between her and the Ministry had ceased three years before her death, causing concern that Eileen had been cut off from all forms of communication, and yet nothing had been done to protect the secrecy of the Wizarding World amongst the Muggle.

On the day of the murder, neighbours reported hearing a heated argument between husband and wife after Eileen returned home slightly later than usual from her grocery shopping. Local Muggle law enforcement had been summoned, but by the time that they had arrived, Eileen was already dead.

Tobias Snape has confessed to the crime and was taken into custody without resistance.

Muggle authorities have been alerted to the situation, but the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement is working hard to ensure that the true nature of the case remained undiscovered by the Muggle public.

Their only child, a boy whose name shall not be shared, was not at home at the time of the incident, being at school. He has been taken into the care of the Ministry and is currently to be put in a secure, temporary housing arrangement.

This case serves as a reminder of the dangers faced everyday by witches and wizards residing in Muggle environments, particularly when cut off from magical protection such as family wards and their own wand. The Ministry and this author urges all magical citizens to be cautious and seek help in they ever find themselves in dangerous or abusive situations, especially in similar situations.

Further updates shall follow as the investigation continues.

"Rumour has it that Snape was housed by a pureblood family," Evan said, leaning towards Regulus so nobody but him and Barty could hear his words. "And my family's rumours has it that it's our side of the family."

Regulus folded the newspaper and put it on the table, turning to Evan with a sharp movement.

"Our?" he asked. "One of our cousins?"

Barty scoffed.

"Which one?" Barty asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, the Malfoys were always great advocates for the pureblood cause. It's no surprise that they reach for the martyr before anybody else can," Evan said with a nonchalant shrug. "Snape is about to become as popular as our Regulus here, and we better be on his good side when he comes back. We should write to him our condolences."

Barty took a deep breath, shaking his head in something similar to disappointment in his face.

"We should write to him, indeed, but not to get on his good side, but because we are sorry that his mother was killed by his own father, Evan," Barty said. "That's an awful and very traumatic situation."

Regulus shook his head.

"There's no love lost there, Barty," Regulus said.

Barty turned to him. "It's his mother!"

"There was nothing left of her by the time she was killed, I can assure you this much," Regulus said, cutting him off. "If this article is right, she has been cut off magic for years. You're a smart one, Barty, tell me what happens after the first year that a witch or wizard is cut off his own natural ways."

"They start..."

"Wasting away," Evan finished when Barty wouldn't. "Three years, at the very least, is enough to make her a shell of herself. If she was all beaten and bruised for the last few years, you can be sure that so was Snape and she was doing a load of nothing to protect him from it."

Regulus look at the newspaper.

The moving picture was of Eileen in her early adulthood. She wasn't ugly. Her hair was deep black, thick and shining under the sunlight, which looked beautiful with her tanned skin and sharp angles on her face and shoulders. Her nose was big and angled, just like her son's – it took Regulus a moment to think that, had Snape taken good care of his appearance, he might have been... handsome.

His stomach churned at the thought of his father as much as hitting his mother, let alone killing her while he was at school, thinking that everything was fine back at home and... - well, Snape probably didn't think she was fine. Contrary to Regulus, his family was openly a mess and he knew that his mother was unsafe while he was at school, which was most likely why he was always in such a bad mood, scowling at anybody being remotely happy, especially after whatever it was that happened between him and Lily Evans.

Regulus looked at the Gryffindor table, searching for the red hair amongst the people and felt a tip of pity when he saw Lily Evans crying, head lying on Marlene's shoulder.

"I bet she's terrified," Evan said.

Regulus turned to him.

"Why would she be?" Regulus asked.

"Well, she's a..." he hesitated, glancing at Barty, who raised his eyebrows in clear warning and daring, "...muggleborn. People won't look at her very kindly."

Regulus scoffed and shook his head.

"People wouldn't be so stupid to think that she had anything to do with it," he dismissed.

Evan raised his eyebrows, leaning away from Regulus to watch his face a bit better. He seemed curious with whatever it was that was happening inside of Regulus' mind, because he – clearly – didn't agree with it.

"Muggles hate magic, this is just another case proving it," Evan said.

Barty took the newspaper from the table and shook it.

"This is a case of domestic violence. A jealous husband with a wife that was more powerful than him, prettier than him and younger than him," Barty disagreed.

"Why did he forbid her from magic, then?"

"Because it made her able to defend herself," Regulus said, nodding to himself. "I don't think it has much to do with magic, Evan. I think this is just stupid men being stupid men."

"Can you assure that he didn't kill her because of her magic?" Evan asked, grabbing the newspaper away from Barty.

Barty huffed, rolling his eyes at his friend's insistence.

"The newspapers say that he was jealous, that he accused her on cheating on him – and he was wrong!" Barty said.

Regulus hesitated.

"Can you truly believe everything that is written on the Daily Prophet, Barty?" Regulus questioned. Barty glared at him, betrayed with his siding. "I'm not saying this was a magic related crime, Evan, stop smiling like that – yes, like that! And I'm not saying that it wasn't, either. We need more information before just taking sides. Attacking Muggles or defending them is just too much."

"They're blameless on this!" Barty said.

"Not all of them!" Evan said.

Regulus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

If the conversation between his friends was already like that, he completely dreaded going back into the Common Room just to hear worse versions of the same conversation happening in loud volumes.

Slowly, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, looking around the room for comfort. His eyes automatically searched for Luna across the Great Hall to see her reaction to the news only to find her already looking at him, eyebrows scrunched together and deep in thought, clearly worried over something.

Regulus' stomach dropped.

Luna was a half-blood, publicly living only with her muggle mother who had no idea of what was happening in the wizarding world, completely happy inside her bubble of healing muggles from their bad decisions. And while Hope Jensen had made a few bad decisions by what Luna had spoken, she didn't deserve to be seen as a murder when her whole job was making sure people didn't die.

"Perhaps it's a case to case thing, Evan. We can't blame all of them at once," Regulus said to his friend, not looking away from his girlfriend.

Evan shook his head.

"I've been telling you two for years that they will kill us," Evan said.

He couldn't understand why his friends weren't believing and siding with him when he was just trying to save them.

Regulus got up from the table and ignored Evan's words.

"I'll go to Luna," he announced.

Barty nodded and gave him a tiny smile, though he clearly didn't appreciate how things were left between all of them, all too aware that Evan wouldn't want to keep the conversation going just between the two of them. Evan scowled and rolled his eyes dramatically, crossing his arms in front of his chest like a petulant child who had been refusing something that he truly wanted, upset that the conversation was cut short over something so frivolous.

By the end of the day, Evan Rosier's hands were stained with ink from all the letter he had been writing and Barty had at least three newspapers and was reading every retelling of the crime in obsessive interest.

Regulus read Narcissa's letter with attention.

"Go on, then, Reggie, tells us what it says," Evan said from the bathroom, where he was washing his hands.

The stains remained through water and soap.

Evan was so focused on washing his hands that he didn't even notice Regulus glaring at him over the letter for the nickname he had used again.

"The Malfoys are taking Snape as Ward," Regulus explained. Barty looked up from the newspapers, interest. "They had been hearing of his abilities in Potion and agreed to house him temporarily and pay for his Academy studies until he's graduated into a job or internship. Lucius and Narcissa are the main hosts."

"You mean that Narcissa is practically adopting Severus Snape?" Barty asked, lip curling in disgust.

"Abraxas is a widow, it's harder for formal paperwork involving underage people to go through, especially wardings – being a ward of the government is horrid, and Snape would be one until the paperwork went through. However, if it's a couple wanting a ward, then it's quick," Evan asked, coming back into the bedroom, he was frowning at his hands. His fingernails were still blackish. "It's a smart move. And one that will help Lucius' career as soon as his father steps down."

"He's still in the Academy," Regulus reminded his friend.

"Regardless. One must think ahead," Evan said, shrugging. "Soon enough, you'll understand it as well, Reggie."

Regulus narrowed his eyes, lowering the letter with suspicion blooming within his chest, the heartbeat quickening. The tone...

"What do you mean by that, Evan?" Regulus asked. "Do you have something interesting to share with us?"

It was Regulus' tone, not Evan's, that made Barty suspicious as well, turning to the blonde friend and raising his eyebrows as if urging him into an honest answer or at least to have a genuine reaction to Regulus' veiled accusation of omission.

"Who were you writing to, Evan?" Barty asked.

"Friends. Home. Connections," Evan answered vaguely, a big shrug as he threw himself back into his bed. "I'm networking since last year, and the results are appearing. I have received more information about what happened before it came out in the night newspapers," he pointed at the newspapers in Barty's bed.

Regulus crossed his arms, putting the letter to the side.

"And?" Regulus asked.

"And I'm not wrong, Regulus. It was magic related, everybody thinks so," Evan said.

"Who is everybody?" Barty asked.

Evan turned to his friend. "The Sacred Twenty-Eight," he said. "My family."

Regulus felt dread at the pit of his stomach, and he wasn't sure of what had triggered such a deep reaction that made his blood turn cold from one moment to the other. Still, as soon as he exchanged a look with Barty, he knew that he wasn't the only one that could see his childhood friend slipping away from him faster than anybody could've predicted.

Evan reached under his pillow.

"They sent me pictures of it as well," he said, searching through the five or so slips of moving images. "She really was brutally –"

Barty jumped off the bed, shaking his head and staring at his friend in clear disgust and... fearful realisation.

"Stop!" Barty exclaimed.

"What? It's just –"

"No! Enough!" Barty continued, stepping back towards the door.

Barty's face was a few tones paler than his usual skin; his hands were trembling, and his eyes were wide. He couldn't seem to recognise the blonde boy that he had been so in love and so interested in for so long. That wasn't the Evan that he knew so well, like the back of his hand. That Barty in front of his made him feel like he needed to run away from that situation at any moment.

Regulus slowly got up from his own bed and made a movement with his hand, clearly dismissing Barty's presence from the room. Evan looked between them, seemingly confused until Barty stepped out of the room.

"You know that Barty has a weak stomach around blood. Why would you offer to show crime-scene photographs?" Regulus asked, disappointed.

Evan's eyes widened.

"I forgot," he admitted.

"Then don't forget about it again," Regulus said, taking the photographs from Evan's hands.

It was horrible, but Regulus forced himself not to look away from it.

Eileen's body was lying stomach up and she wore a knee-high light sage-green dress that had the skirt bunched around her hips and the buttons torn apart, her muggle underwear clear to view. Her tanned skin was stained with her blood from the several stab wounds. One of her legs were folded at an odd angle, her ankle touching her hip. Her face was pale, eyes open and unseeing.

"Would you be happy with someone seeing your own mother at this state?" Regulus asked, jaw threatening to lock in place.

Evan rolled his eyes.

"My mother wouldn't be in this place and –"

"Would you like someone to have Pandora's photograph in anything remotely looking like this?" Regulus insisted on the question. Evan's face went blank for a moment before he looked down, seemingly understanding Regulus' point. "I really don't want these photographs here, Evan. Please, get rid of it."

Evan took the slips from Regulus' hands.

"I thought it would make you two realise how dangerous it's becoming," Evan admitted.

Regulus didn't answer.

Before Barty was back into the dormitory, still uncomfortable and clearly hesitant around Evan, the photographs were burning in the bedroom's boiler that was being fed more often than necessary that one night to make sure nothing would be left by the morning light.