[Chapter Twenty-One]

Despite the morning getting off to a rough start, Éponine didn't find herself in a foul mood for very long. After joining Regulus for breakfast, it was almost as if her confrontation with Sirius didn't happen. She made sure not to mention it to Regulus, not wanting to add any more to the already festering and troubled relationship between the two. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she understood where Sirius was coming from and while he hadn't gone about it in the right way, Éponine found it sweet that he still cared about his brother in such ways. Enough that even after leaving the Grimmauld Place that he wanted to take Regulus with him. However, she knew very well that it wasn't what Regulus wanted, he only wanted Sirius to come home. 

It seemed neither one of them were going to get what they truly wanted, no one willing to cave into the other's demands. Unfortunately for her, she was caught in the middle of it as Sirius believed that she was part of the problem. But Regulus had reassured her that he was trying to make things work between them and if he was willing to do that, she realised that she wasn't a problem in his eyes and that was all that really mattered. 

The breakfast took on a playful nature where Regulus had a cup of black tea waiting for her, no milk or added sugar, and each time she reached for both additives, Regulus moved it out of her reach. 

"Regulus, I'm not drinking this without milk," she told him after the second time where he grabbed it before she did. "I like my tea, light and sweet."

Begrudgingly, Regulus handed it over eventually, but adding to the little battle between them, Éponine poured some of the milk into his tea, causing his eyes to widen. He stared at it long enough that she started laughing and to add to it, she also poured in a couple of spoonfuls of sugar. Suddenly, he was reaching for her tea, that remained black for the time being, but she threatened to pour milk into it as well, giving her control of the situation.

"No, wait," he quickly said, not wishing to see another cup ruined, " I give up."

"Do you?" She asked with a raised brow. "You're going to let me drink my tea in peace the way I like it?"

"Yes."

The look was promising as was his tone, leaving Éponine to lower her threatening milk and switch the cups of tea so that they each had the one to their personal liking. While Regulus grumbled to himself about her ruining a perfectly good cup, seconds later, he had a smile on his face. 

No one dared to interrupt them as they sat together, even Emmarentia took to sitting with others to give the two their alone time. It also seemed that Regulus' threat had made its rounds that morning as people that didn't even look in Éponine's direction before, nodded in her direction or greeted her with a good morning. As flattering as one would have believed it to be, it only left the girl suspicious and wary of their actions. Years of being taunted had left her paranoid that it was some sort of trick and that eventually, it would lead to her being ridiculed for falling for it all. 

However, Regulus watched each person carefully, almost daring them to say something offensive to the girl while he was sitting there.It didn't go unnoticed that Avery and Mulciber had taken to sitting further down the table that morning rather than joining him. Regulus assumed that Avery was probably still upset about the previous night. But it was his own doing that had led to Éponine finally retaliating. If he was upset, it should have only been with himself. Hopefully, it had been the turning point for him to realise that he needed to behave better and start making changes or things were only going to get worse. 

Once breakfast was over, it was time for students to attend their first class. During their breakfast, Professor Slughorn had circled the Slytherin table, handing out timetables to all of his house students. When Éponine looked down and saw that the first class was Herbology, she let out a thankful sigh of relief. At least her day would start off with a class that she knew she was strong in, it would leave her to feel much better.  As students were getting ready to disperse, Éponine picked up her bag from the table and stood up from the bench before turning to Regulus.

"I guess I'll talk to you after class, maybe?" 

Regulus suddenly appeared puzzled by her question, his head tilting to the side. " We both have Herbology, Éponine, remember? We're in the same year and in the same house, we share all classes together."

"I-I know that," she replied, " but I figured that you were going to sit with your friends."

Her eyes looked past his shoulder, bringing Regulus to follow the same direction, seeing Avery and Mulciber standing and getting ready to leave as well. They paused, watching them as well, probably wondering the same thing, was Regulus about to walk over and join them as he normally did?

"If they want to, they can sit by us," he answered, turning back to her. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to sit next to you in Herbology."

"You do?"

"Yes."

Honest to Merlin, it didn't seem like a joke anymore when Regulus claimed that he really wanted to work towards building a relationship with Éponine. Not even a romantic one, just a relationship where he could earn her trust and maybe, eventually, something more. Avery and Mulciber didn't seem to grasp that concept as they seemed more than surprised when Regulus left the Great Hall, walking alongside Éponine as they headed towards the greenhouses outside. 

Regulus would be the first to admit that he found Herbology to be dreadfully boring, not that he would voice it out loud, especially in Éponine's presence. She obviously seemed to like the class, a clear sign as she greeted Professor Sprout and listened to the woman talk about some of the Chinese Chomping Cabbage that they would be exploring that year. Regulus didn't find himself fascinated with the idea of plants, even if they were magical. His family members had told him that it wasn't really important for him to excel in such a class. They had only seen it as a waste of time, a class that was there for Muggle-borns to feel better about themselves he had heard over time. 

But while he didn't enjoy the class, he did enjoy seeing how dedicated Éponine was to the subject. She did seem highly aware and knowledgeable of everything Professor Sprout spoke of. Even if the girl didn't raise her hand to answer questions, Regulus could see that she had the correct answer written down before Professor Sprout confirmed it. He wondered for a moment as to why she didn't raise her hand if she knew what she was talking about, but then he quickly remembered how much she had been laughed at early on, and how other students were teased when they took a high interest in the class. Regulus remembered because he had been one of those that laughed. 

For the first class back, Professor Sprout was reviewing the fire-making spell, otherwise known as "Incendio." It was revision as the woman expressed that they would all need to know for the O.W.L.s when they finally took their exams at the end of the year. Glancing over in Éponine's direction, he could see the small smile reach her face and he had to think to himself that she was quite skilled in the spell. He wondered if she had used the spell to set his trunk on fire. 

One by one, the professor thought it was a good idea for the students to demonstrate the spell by casting it on a bunch of dead roots and weeds, clearing away the brush that she had gathered during her time over the summer. It was an easy enough spell, they had learned it back in their first year when discussing how to deal with Devil's Snare. When he was called up, he managed to perform the spell with ease, taking to clear the brush away before making his way back to his seat.

Éponine was called up next and she appeared nervous, which made Regulus feel nervous for her. She never enjoyed having any sort of attention to herself and she never enjoyed performing any spell in front of others, he had seen that within the other classes. Mainly because a lot of the times, she performed a spell wrong and it would lead others to laugh. She wasn't the only one, it was quite common in any class that if someone did something wrong that they were laughed at. Only some could brush off the laughter while others couldn't. 

Standing up from her stool, Éponine made her way to the front, but as she passed Avery and Mulciber, she could hear the two of them snorting to themselves. But before she could reach the front, Emmarentia reached out and grabbed her by the wrist gently, whispering something to her. It brought a small smile to her face and in return, Éponine gave a quick nod to her head. 

"Show them not to mess with you, just like you did last night," Emmarentia had advised her. 

Taking her spot up front, Éponine ignored everything around her, focusing her attention on the brush and aiming her wand. 

"Incendio..." She whispered under her breath, narrowing her eyes. A jet of flames erupted from the end of her wand, similar to all the other students, however, as the fire hit the dead roots and weeds, they all quickly went up in flames and within seconds, the fire had gone out, leaving the evidence of ash in its place and nothing more.

 Not even a hint of smoke lingered in the air. 

The greenhouse fell completely silent and for a few seconds, Éponine stood there, surprised by looking awfully pleased with her performance. Her smile only grew wider as Professor Sprout praised her with a job well done, offering ten points to Slytherin for her precise casting. 

Even if he hadn't been the one to cast the spell or receive the praise, Regulus couldn't help but feel a sense of pride swell in his chest as Éponine made her way back to her seat. Professor Sprout called up the next student, leaving the two a minute to speak quietly amongst themselves.

"How did you do that?" Regulus whispered to her. " I mean, the flames just vanished."

"I don't know," she said to him quietly, though her eyes were still bright, carrying the pride of her accomplishment. "I've never done that before. "

"You did it non-verbally too, didn't you? Just like you did last night with Avery?" Regulus questioned. "We're only about to learn that, how did you manage-"

"I didn't do it non-verbally," she cut him off, "I think I'm just so used to be quiet all the time, that I even do that when casting-"

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Regulus replied. "It's a good thing. It means you're probably close to doing non-verbal spells than anyone here in class."

"Well, it was only just the one spell...if I was able to do that in all my classes, maybe then I would consider that to be true."

Regulus wished he could have convinced her right then and there that she was wrong, as he hated when she would put herself down, but unfortunately, Herbology seemed to be the peak of Éponine's day. 

None of their other classes seemed to run as smoothly from that point on. In Potions, she managed to spill hellebore syrup everywhere, causing the usual level-toned Slughorn to raise his voice. It didn't get better in Transfiguration as Éponine stumbled over the review of Cross-Species Switches. By the end of the day, she was ready to dig a hole in the Forbidden Forest and hide away for the rest of the term. 

To start off the day on such a high and crash, it felt terrible. She would have cried, but she felt like it would just leave her to look as though she cried at everything. Not even having Regulus sitting next to her in every class could brighten her mood or Emmarentia's encouraging words. Instead, the girl retreated to the Common Room alone, making her way inside and heading over to her favourite spot.

Taking her chair by the aquarium-like window, Éponine leaned over the back of it and stared out into the green water. She could see fish swim by hurriedly as if they were being hunted or at least, trying to avoid any sort of predator. She hoped that her little mermaid friend would reappear to put on a little show like she had done the night before, but it seemed the creature was off tending to her own life below the surface of the water. 

 Reaching out her hand, her index finger trailed across the cold glass, following the path of a long crack that had been made on the other side. There was no telling how long she had been sitting there, repeating the same action over and over, and she wasn't sure how many students had passed the seen and shot a look in her direction. The only time she became distracted was when finally another boy made his way over and took the seat across from her.

He was a first year student, one of the ones that she had helped the night before and he seemed curious as to what she was doing.

"What made that crack in the glass?" He asked her.

Éponine quickly turned her head, pulling her hand away as he took the other chair across from her. "Was it the Giant Squid that the other students talk about?"

"No," she smiled at the younger student, watching as he pushed his glasses up his nose, " it was actually caused by the merfolk that are in the lake. It actually happened a very long time ago. Back when the castle was first built. You see, the lake was here long before the castle was built and the ancestors of the merfolk that are in there now, were the ones who lived in there. They weren't happy about the castle being built into their territory. They were furious, especially since they could see inside here and watch as the students walk around. The merfolk are very much like warriors and the castle was a threat to their home and people."

The boy pulled his chair closer to get a closer glimpse into the lake water.

"So what happened?" He questioned.

"Well, the merfolk saw it as an attack that their territory was being invaded and so they attempted to attack back. They created all sorts of weapons, sharp daggers carved out of rock. Only, it was very difficult for them to fight a castle made of stone, however, they noticed that the glass was weaker. It was where they often attacked especially when they saw students inside walking around. It was normally what set them off, thrashing and beating against the windows."

"Do they still try to attack now?"

"No, they don't," she answered, " mainly because there was a truce made. Back centuries ago, there was a student that arrived and was sorted into Slytherin, he was actually hard of hearing, learning to communicate with his hands..."

"Sign language, you mean?"

"Yes," Éponine nodded her head, " he established a form of communication between the merfolk and the students, allowing a form of harmony to fall upon both sides. But one the last attacks, one of the mermen managed to make a crack and it was left there, perhaps as a reminder of history or something along those lines. I'm not entirely sure."

"How do you know all this?" 

"Well, I guess I'm one of the few that somewhat pay attention during Professor Binn's class."

"He's the professor that's a ghost, right?"

Looking over at the boy as she replied with a "yes" he seemed awfully overwhelmed by all the information, leaving her to feel a bit sorry for him. It was always a lot to take in, especially within the first year. He seemed to be trying to make the best of it though, listening to her every word while trying to process it all.

"It's a lot, isn't it?" Éponine asked him in return. "Realising that there's so much you need to learn? I mean, you grow up surrounded by it all, it seems, but when you get here, you learn that there's so much more to it all."

"I'll say," he said, " I mean, up until a few months ago, I didn't even know magic existed, you know?"

Éponine froze, not even a blink escaped her as she stared at the boy. She remembered him from the night before, Gian Norton, he had been the last one sorted into Slytherin that evening. 

"You didn't know about magic? But how is that possible?"

"Professor McGonagall explained it to me when she came to my house over the summer," Gian told her as he ran his hand over his dark hair, smoothing it back, " she told me that I was what they call a muggle-born. My parents don't have magic, but I do. Guess that just means I'm lucky, right?"

It was rude to stare but Éponine couldn't help herself, the situation itself was practically unheard of. Others would scoff and write it off as a joke, but the boy in front of her didn't seem like he was trying to make her laugh. He was waiting for her to say something, but Éponine was speechless. What was she supposed to say, it went against everything she knew about the house, against Salazar Slytherin himself. 

A Slytherin Muggle-born.