After wishing Gian a 'goodnight' in the Common Room, Éponine retreated to the girls' dormitory with Toulouse in her arms. While she hadn't done much physically throughout the day, mentally, she was exhausted. Just when she thought most of the drama in her life was gone, it came back to remind it that it never left.

Placing Toulouse on her bed, she gathered her pyjamas from her trunk and decided she was going to make her way to the fifth floor to use the Prefect's bathroom. While it seemed out of the way, in her already tired state, she really wanted to take a bubble bath, and where better to do so than a tub that was the size of a swimming pool?

It felt like she was trekking through the mountains with how long it took for her to get there, but as she passed the statue of Boris the Bewildered, Éponine let out a little sigh of relief. Making her way to the fourth door on the left, she delivered the password 'squeaky clean' before the door opened, allowing her inside.

It was completely silent inside, not even the slightest sound of a faucet dripping. Placing her clothing and belongings down, Éponine used her wand to turn on all the bath taps before adding her own assortment of bath bubbles and oils to the water. It didn't take very long at all, perhaps a minute or two before the bath was completely filled and she was able to get undressed.

There was always a slight hesitation Éponine felt when she used the Prefects' Bathroom with how open the area was. She was very private about her body, partially from all the insecurities she had of her body image while growing up. Not to mention, all the fear she had of Ernest Nott walking in on her while she was exposed since he never knocked before entering her room. Taking one look around the area, Éponine could see that she was alone before she slipped off her clothes and entered the warm water.

She chose a side of the tub to rest against, leaning her head back and closing her eyes in an attempt to relax, but all she could think of was Regulus.

Madam Pomfrey had reassured her that Regulus was going to be fine. He had sustained a serious amount of damage that required more than a simple healing spell, but after a night in the Hospital Wing, he was going to make a full recovery. She warned Éponine that for the first few days, he was probably going to feel a bit stiff and maybe some residual soreness would arise, but with some rest and taking it easy, he would be back to his usual self.

The Matron of Hogwarts didn't understand how relieved and overjoyed Éponine had been at the moment, while also struggling with the conflicting emotions of being terribly upset and confused.

After all, Gian had informed Éponine of what he had witnessed in the air. He made it very clear that it wasn't Regulus getting caught up in an accident, but him purposely positioning himself in front of Gian to take the hit.

"What are you doing, Regulus?" she whispered among the bubbles that covered her. "What are you thinking right now?"

She wanted to believe more than anything that Regulus was starting to see the error of his ways and was looking to do the right thing. But she remained somewhat paranoid that perhaps it was nothing of the sort.

"Éponine?"

The sudden sound of someone calling her name caused Éponine to jump and immediately, her eyes shot open. She went to look around to see who had invaded her personal space, only to spot Emmarentia standing by the opposite side of the tub.

"Emmarentia? Emma, just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Éponine screeched. "I'm in the bath...how did you even get in here?"

"I followed you," Emmarentia told her, " I heard what the password was after you said it and made my way in here. Just relax, I'm not here to do anything besides, talk to you."

"Couldn't this have waited until after I was finished in here? You could have said something back in the dorms-"

Emmarentia shook her head. "I knew you probably would have brushed me off in there, and I didn't want to make a scene. This place is definitely a lot more private-"

"Because it's a bathroom! It's supposed to be private!"

Reaching out her arm, Éponine grabbed the bath towel to cover herself, thinking back to the times where Emmarentia had confessed that she found her to be attractive and wanted to pursue something of a relationship. Éponine was incredibly uncomfortable, knowing that Emmarentia had attempted to sabotage her relationship with Regulus in the past, in hopes of forming a relationship with her. She had been too naive and stupid to see it at first, but Emmarentia's manipulative ways were something to be very cautious of.

"I already said I'm not here to do anything besides talk-"

"Emma, you also told me that you were going to help me develop confidence, but instead manipulated me into sharing my first kiss with you while trying to ruin my relationship with Regulus. Not to mention, last time we spoke, you said that we would support each other, leave the world of Toujours Pur behind, and be there for one another. What did you do? You called me a blood-traitor. So forgive me, if I'm not up to the task of believing anything you have to say."

"Manipulated you into sharing your first kiss?!" Emmarentia let out a harsh laugh. "I did no such thing-"

"Yes, you did because you wouldn't accept no as an answer!" Éponine spat at her as the towel dipped into the water so she could cover herself before standing. "I thought back on it multiple times over the years. And I remember how uncomfortable I was, but you took advantage of that. You did multiple things that made me uncomfortable, like exposing your body to me. You tried to make things seem like friendly gestures when you had other motives behind it. So yes, we're going to call it manipulation! I have learned a lot since leaving all this rubbish behind-"

"Yeah, while also forgetting where you came from."

Éponine looked at Emmarentia as if the girl had sprouted two additional heads within the span of three seconds.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Éponine," Emmarentia sighed, "your life has gotten so much better on the outside, that you completely forgot what you did to get there. Have you forgotten that you used to think like the rest of us? That you once shared the same beliefs as us? And now that you determined that it's wrong, you want to look down on the rest of us. The same way that Sirius used to look down on you when you didn't agree with his views."

"That's not true, "Éponine said. "I haven't forgotten anything. I just know that my previous beliefs were wrong and I was trying to get all of you to see that for yourselves. At least, I've been trying to get Regulus to understand."

"And when he doesn't agree, you get angry and upset with him, and that's it. That used to be you, but you completely lack sympathy-"

"Don't you fucking start!"

Emmarentia immediately fell silent because the Éponine she was talking to, was not the quiet and mousy Éponine she had been used to. The one that had been so easily silenced if someone dared to raise their voice or one that wasn't so sure of herself that she didn't argue.

"I do not lack sympathy," Éponine practically growled, " but I will not share in a polite debate over matters that involve people losing their lives. Lack of sympathy? Why don't we talk about the lack of sympathy towards muggle-borns? Innocent people who are doing absolutely nothing and being attacked and killed for it. Yes, I used to think muggle-borns didn't have a place in our world, but I learned otherwise. I learned how terrible I was being and I changed. I changed and not because someone held my hand and told me that everything was going to be okay. I don't even understand what you're trying to get at right now."

"You make it sound like it was so easy to just change beliefs, you know that? Like, all we had to do was tell our parents they were wrong and everything was going to be okay."

"I never did that! Don't you try to put this on me because I never said that. You above all people knew how terrified I was. I confided in you that I was already threatened. You're the one who told me that we were going to be there for each other. Did you forget that conversation entirely?"

"That was all hypothetical at the time!" Emmarentia shook her head. " I didn't know that you were going to turn around the next day and decide to jump ship. You were only talking about it, you looked terrified because of what Bellatrix said to you. I was trying to comfort you and that night, you didn't look so convinced. Then you came back the next day, like, let's run away together! You put me on the spot!"

"But if you felt the same way as I did, why did you call me a blood-traitor? You exposed everything I said to Regulus after you told me I could trust you."

Folding her arms, Emmarentia looked away first, staring at her feet for a moment. "You don't get it, do you, Éponine? There's no place in this world for me unless I submit in some way. My family may be purebloods, but we're not part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, so already we come across inferior. So that means, we have to take every opportunity that families like yours and Regulus' give to us. When your families say jump, we have to say how high? Be thankful for what is to be given to us. Now that it's just me and my mother, it's even worse. A home without a man being head of the household, it's like complete blasphemy in the eyes of these families-"

"So, why not leave that behind?"Éponine questioned. "Our families are still so stuck in the past, but the world around us is changing. Things are changing in the world. Look at the strides muggles are taking. Feminism is-"

"For women like you, not women like me."

Judging by the furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, Éponine was confused, but Emmarentia decided she was going to clear the air for her.

"The fight for women's rights is for women like you," she said. "For women with your skin colour, your background, and your sexuality. I have dark skin, if you haven't noticed, Éponine, and I like women. Ask your muggle friends how they treat people with my skin colour and ask them how they feel about homosexuals. Let me tell you, it's not a pretty world out there. As much as you benefit from it, not everyone does. Why do you think Avery and Mulciber aren't on speaking terms with each other?"

"You know what happened between them, then?"

"Of course, I do! Mulciber and I found ourselves arranged to one another. We thought about it, you know, clearly, he's attracted to men and I'm attracted to women. We thought we could get away with getting married to satisfy our parents and then going off and doing our own things on the side. But Mulciber didn't want to do that. He was fully convinced that because Avery is also a pureblood that his parents would be fine with their relationship. What do you think happened there, Éponine?"

"They didn't approve-"

"They beat the living shit out of both of them. Beat them until they didn't have thoughts of being with men or however they put it. Me? I escaped that punishment, but my mother knows, I told her. She saved me from that humiliation, arranging me with another boy. Now I have to wait until he's of age before we get married. And guess what, it's no different out there. At least the wizarding world doesn't discriminate against me because of my skin colour, but do I even stand a chance out there?"

"I would have helped you-"

"You're just one person, Éponine. What can you even accomplish? What have you done since leaving all of this behind? Got yourself a new boyfriend, that's it. Congrats, you've made such an impact in the world-"

Suddenly, Emmarentia found herself knocked into the bathtub and when she resurfaced, Éponine stood above her, glaring down at her. She knelt down to almost reach Emmarentia's eye level.

"You want to talk about discrimination, while actively supporting people who treat others the same way you fear of being treated. I understand that you're scared, and I don't know the struggles you face because of your skin colour or your sexuality, I'll probably never understand that. But I'm working to change the world, and I didn't just go out there to get myself a boyfriend. I went out there and tried to form a life so that I could help others like you and Regulus, escape this one. And I'm going to do so much more than that, you'll see."

A/N: