Since returning to Hogwarts, Regulus would confess he had never been more confused in all of his life. He had a plan all worked out over the summer, since ignoring Éponine the previous year hadn't worked, he would do anything to get her attention. At one point, she claimed that she thought she loved him, and that was enough for Regulus to try everything he could to win her back. He even tried to be flirtatious with her, thinking that would get her attention since that was how his brother managed to get girls to trip over themselves in the past. However, it only left Regulus feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed when he was left rejected.

Éponine remained firm that she wanted nothing to do with him most days. Only she could be so bold to walk right by him all the time in the Slytherin Common Room like he wasn't there. The last time they had spoken with one another was back in Care of Magical Creatures class two weeks prior where she had helped him groom a unicorn colt. He remembered how she looked at him though when he claimed he remembered that her hands were always so cold. How could he forget?

It was the way she looked at him that made his heart flutter in his chest. She didn't look angry, she didn't look sad, he didn't know how to describe it. Did she miss him as much as he missed her?

Maybe the answer was obvious since he had seen his brother kiss her back at the platform before term started, or maybe there was still hope.

He recalled one morning in the Great Hall, right before classes started, Éponine had been drinking what appeared to be a cup of tea. The bell rang and Regulus felt the urge to reach out and talk to her. However, he hesitated, realising he didn't have anything to talk about. She left the Great Hall and Regulus paused next to her half-empty teacup.

Only to see, she had been drinking her tea without any milk.

How was he supposed to ignore such an obvious sign?

Normally, he would have confided in Avery and Mulciber, since they knew the whole story, and while their advice hadn't always been sound in the past, they could at least offer some suggestions. But they still weren't talking to one another, and no matter how much Regulus tried to get one of them to tell him the truth about what really happened, they would quickly dismiss him and tell Regulus to just let it go.

Between Éponine and his friends, Regulus felt like he was losing everything, it was all just slipping through his fingers. Since Éponine's departure, everything was just falling apart and he didn't know how to get her back.

Or rather he did, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

And as if jealousy hadn't overwhelmed him enough with the possibility of Éponine developing a romantic relationship with his brother, Regulus had one more thing to worry about when their new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor finally arrived.

Professor Ewan Docherty showed up the first day of classes, and within an hour of being present had the majority of the female population in the castle talking all about him. They described as young, tall, and handsome, although Regulus didn't care until he saw the way Éponine looked at the professor in their first class with him. Like the other girls in their class, Éponine smiled and blushed as Professor Docherty introduced himself. He was polite, yet playful, as he went around the room to learn everyone's name.

When it got to Éponine, she stuttered out her name, and then bashfully looked at the floor. The other girls giggled, managing to do the same when it came to their turn to introduce themselves.

Regulus didn't even think the man to be that good looking to have all the girls in the class to be swooning over him. He seemed average, even if he did stand relatively tall, and his dark hair was cut neatly, even though it was considered long. He had green eyes too that Regulus heard the girls talk about while passing in the corridor, that were just "so gorgeous and dreamy!"

How was Regulus supposed to compete with both Sirius and Professor Dreamy around? Thankfully, Sirius wasn't in the castle, but he did write letters frequently to Éponine as Regulus overheard her talking about one of her many letters from him with Gian in the Common Room.

"He said he wants to ask you something important in person," Gian said at one point, causing Regulus to freeze on his way to the dorms, " I wonder what it is?"

"Who knows," Éponine replied, " it's Sirius. It could be anything."

Regulus felt like he was running out of time.

When Éponine entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom one afternoon, she found Regulus, Avery, and Mulciber already there, although none of them were sitting with each other. It was odd to see the group of them so divided, knowing how close they had been over the years. Something had obviously happened over the summer, leaving Éponine rather curious. However, she only took her seat at the back of the classroom after greeting Professor Docherty.

Normally, she would have gladly taken a seat at the front of the classroom but as of late it was becoming a heated competition to sit the closest to the professor during lecture time. Éponine found Professor Docherty to be handsome for an older adult, no doubt, but she wasn't willing to lose her life over sitting close to him. She thought him to be good-looking, but not that good-looking, it was just nice to have a younger professor since most of the other professors were quite up there in age.

Besides, boundaries were definitely established in her mind, he was a professor and he was to remain as such. She already had enough drama going on in her mind and heart dealing with conflicted feelings for Regulus and Sirius. But it didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy the class either.

Professor Docherty liked to keep classes interesting, starting off his first couple with asking them questions so he could get to know his students well. Although when it came time for her to answer, Éponine kept her answers very limited. She wanted to keep her private life, just that, private. She didn't talk about who she lived with or what she liked doing over the summer holidays.

She gave her name and called it a day.

However, Professor Docherty wasn't in the complete dark when it came to his students. Dumbledore and the other professors filled him in when it came to students he needed to keep an eye on, whether it was for a good reason or a bad one. Among the students spoken about, Regulus Black and Éponine Rosier came up in conversation. After all, they were Head Boy and Head Girl of the school, top of their classes, and plenty of their drama had been exposed over the years.

Sue him for being a little curious.

After hearing about their talents, Professor Docherty wanted to see what the two were capable of.

So he designed the perfect lesson plan for the day.

"Duelling," Professor Docherty announced, " has always been a rather formal and traditional way of fighting in our world. There are many rules and customs that have over time defined how a proper duel is to be performed. Some of you, I'm sure, have been taught this since you were young. For many, if there was a huge dispute between two wizards or witches, they would challenge one another to a duel to solve their differences. Usually, boundaries are set of how far the duel can go when inflicting damage unless it is established that both are fighting to the death."

The entire class remained silent, wondering where the professor's train of thought was headed but he didn't leave them guessing for very long.

"Of course, the duelling I have described is very polite and very rarely, especially during these times, will you find someone who is willing to duel in such a fashion. But for the sake of this class, we are going to mind our manners today, and duel properly. I will be pairing you up and when you are called, I want you to come up to the front of the class and we shall begin. We're going to be keeping the damage to a minimum, non-lethal hexes, got it? I will intervene if it becomes too much. The goal isn't to win, I just want to see what you all are capable of."

His eyes scanned around the room, noting the nervous expressions on the faces of students that did not want to be selected first. And quickly, he selected his first pairing.

"Mr Avery and Mr Mulciber, if you would please come up to the front and we'll get started."

Éponine sighed in relief almost instantly. With the way her luck had been going since the start of term, she had been expecting to be called up first. However, the feeling of relief quickly vanished as she watched Avery and Mulciber stand before one another. Neither one of them looked pleased, Avery wouldn't even look at Mulciber as he studied the floor. And Mulciber, his frown was prominent as he briefly looked around the classroom.

At one point, he and Éponine made eye contact and she felt terrible.

The Avery and Mulciber she knew would have been more than ready to take part in a friendly duel where they could knock each other onto their arses. They would have seen it as a good old time and found it funny. But the Avery and Mulciber standing at the front of the class looked like they were being sentenced to their deaths.

If no one else had noticed, it almost looked like Mulciber was visibly shaking too.

"Professor," before Éponine even knew what she was doing, her hand shot into the air, " can I go first?"

Immediately, all eyes were on her, and Éponine scolded herself for opening her big mouth. She would have never done such a thing only a couple of years ago, and what the hell was she doing trying to save Avery and Mulciber? They hadn't spoken to her since fifth year either, why did she care?

"Impatient, are we, Ms Rosier?" Professor Docherty chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll get your turn-"

"I want to go first too!"

Éponine and Professor Docherty both looked over to see Regulus, standing up from his seat as he volunteered as well.

"What an eager group," Professor Docherty said, " well, I suppose if Mr Avery and Mr Mulciber don't mind-"

Before he could even finish, Avery and Mulciber hurried back to their respective seats, leaving the floor to Éponine and Regulus.

Slowly, she left her seat and made her way to the front of the classroom. She withdrew her wand, watching as Regulus did the same as he stood several lengths away from her. Professor Docherty came to stand in the middle of the two.

"Now, when I say 'go' I would like for both of you to take a bow to show sportsmanship. Remember what I said about keeping any damage to a minimum. We don't want anyone visiting Madam Pomfrey today. And remember, you're all Seventh Years, so I expect nonverbal spells. Got it?"

Regulus nodded his head and Éponine did the same.

"Very well."

Professor Docherty took a few steps back, leaving the floor clear, and Éponine and Regulus facing one another.

"Go."

A/N: