Regulus didn't forget how Éponine had threatened him on the train with her wand, keeping his distance as he followed behind her in the corridors. Every so often, he would catch her looking over her shoulder to see if he was still behind her, and sure enough, he was still there. She would try to hasten her pace, but it did her no good as he continued to keep up.  He watched as her fists clenched by her side when she turned the latest corner. And when he finally came around it, Regulus came to a halt because Éponine blocked him from going any further.

"Stop following me!" she hissed at him. "Didn't I get my warning across to you on the train or do you need a reminder?"

He could see her reach for her wand that sat in the pocket of her robes, but before she could, he took a step towards her, closing the space between them. It seemed to catch her off guard, enough that he didn't find her wand pressed to his neck again.

"I wasn't following you," he lied, " did Professor McGonagall not give us instructions to patrol the corridors? I'm simply doing my duties as Head Boy. Don't flatter yourself, Rosier, and don't forget your own warning. We have nothing to talk about right? So, why are you talking to me?"

"Clearly, you want something from me," she countered, " otherwise, why else would you approach a blood-traitor on the train? Hmm? What would your dear old mother and father think if they knew that you approached me first?"

Regulus felt his throat tighten at the mention of his parents. The mocking tone to her voice left him shifting uneasily on his feet.

"Don't drag my parents into this, you put them through enough."

"HA!" Éponine scoffed loudly that her voice echoed in the corridors. "That's fucking rich! I put them through enough? Well, looks like you finally developed a good sense of humour. I can't wait to tell Sirius about that one. He'll get a good laugh out of that, I'm sure."

"Well, since you brought the topic of my brother up, how's it going between the two of you? Any discussion of a wedding date? I want to make sure  I know when to send a gift for the happy couple."

"Aww, how sweet," she replied, " I'll let you know when we decide on a date. But you could always send your gift to 17 Fuck Off Lane. Just make sure to sign your full name, Regulus A. Tosser, so we know exactly who it's from."

"Oh, such language, Épi," he laughed, watching as she turned red with anger as he used her old nickname, " You've developed quite the tongue over the years. The Éponine I knew never would have talked like that. You've changed a lot."

Regulus remained still as Éponine leaned closer to him, he could feel her hand lightly brush up against his, bringing him to look down. However, she wasn't looking to hold his hand affectionately, but more so, grab it and expose his left forearm as she pulled up the sleeve of his robe.

"So have you," she whispered to him, her voice cracking near the end, " because the Regulus I knew would have never done this. He was better than this."

Éponine released his hand roughly before turning to continue walking down the corridor. She had only made it a few steps away from him when Regulus called after her.

"I did this for you!"

Suddenly, she came to a full stop and quickly turned around. Her face said it all, questioning if she had heard him correctly. Regulus remained in the same spot as he looked directly at her.

"Everything, I have done since then has been for you. That's the truth."

Regulus hoped that such a confession would make her realise that he truly wasn't looking for a fight between the two of them. Perhaps he hadn't approached her in the best way possible, but Éponine wasn't the same girl from fifth year. It wasn't even her swearing, it was everything about her that had changed, most of it for the better.

He remembered at one time where Éponine believed him to be a god among the corridors of Hogwarts because of his reputation, but over the years, she had developed to be a goddess and he had become nothing but a mere mortal in her presence. He prayed that due to their past together that she would offer some mercy, long enough to hear him out. And finally, it seemed he had gotten his chance.

Only, in the pantheon of Éponine, she practised no mercy.

"No! No! No!" she yelled at him from across the way before approaching him rapidly. "No! You don't get to do this to me, Regulus!"

"Wh-"

"You don't get to hold this over my head!" Éponine poked her finger into his chest. "That's not fair! It's not fair at all! You made that decision to go through it, not because of me, but because you decided it. Don't you ever claim you did it for me! Because if you had done anything for me, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now! We wouldn't be standing on opposite sides, but together!"

"But Éponine," he said, reaching for her hand gently, mostly so that she could stop poking him so hard, " we don't have to stand on opposite sides. You made that decision, but we can work through all of that. If you just denounce everything you said, we can make this work."

As she looked up at him, Regulus could see the stream of tears that fell from her eyes. She looked over the entirety of his face before she used the sleeve of her robe to wipe the tears away.

"We can make this work?" she repeated.

Regulus nodded his head eagerly. "Yes, of course, we can. I don't care what my parents have to say or anyone else. I'll fight like hell for you. I'll do whatever-"

He stopped as he watched her shake her head at him. A laugh that sounded more like a sob escaped her lips.

"You're insane," Éponine said quietly, backing away from him, " you're actually insane. If you think for a second that I'm going to denounce my beliefs, so we can 'work things out.' I'm not the one who is in the wrong here, Regulus. It's you! My views aren't hurting anyone, yours involves attacking, torturing, and killing! You made the decision to support that-"

"You once told me that you would support me no matter what, not my decisions, but me!"

"That was before you actively supported murder!"

"I don't actively support murder!" he snapped at her. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I'm not the one with the mark on my arm, Regulus, you are. And the wizard that gave you that mark is all over the news, killing muggles and muggle-borns. You joined in on that, not me. You don't know what you're talking about because you're so far up your parents' arses that you can't hear how ridiculous you sound! Don't you remember when you said you would do it for Sirius and I told you it wouldn't guarantee him his safety? What makes this any different?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled as they heard someone coming around the corner down the opposite end of the corridor. She looked at him once more.

"I will not be your reason that you go down this path, Regulus. Come up with a better excuse."

After the heated argument in the corridor, Regulus seemed to take the hint that Éponine no longer wanted him in her company. When she checked over her shoulder, she could see that he wasn't following her anymore. She helped a few students find their way back to their respective Houses and once the corridors seemed quiet enough, she retired to her own dorm.

Upon walking in, Éponine felt the exhaustion settling in faster than anything. Her emotions had gotten the best of her while arguing with Regulus, especially when he claimed that she was the reason he had gotten the Dark Mark. Part of her, at least the part he witnessed, was furious that he would use her as an excuse. He had become a Death Eater for her, but Éponine was not willing to carry around such guilt on her shoulders if something were to happen to him.

She had never asked or pressured him to become one, in fact, he knew very well before she deflected that she was against becoming one.

And while it hurt more than anything, Éponine also felt conflicted. By telling her he had become a Death Eater for her, Regulus practically admitted that he still had feelings for her. He wanted to make their relationship work. It made it sound like there was still hope and it was just when Éponine was willing to give up and let him go.

Every time she tried to let him go, Regulus made his way back into her mind.

No, she wasn't willing to give in, denounce her beliefs as he said, and go back to him. That was never going to happen. She hadn't come all this way, only to turn back. Even without Regulus, Éponine was happier with her new life and new freedoms, she wasn't going to give all of that up for a boy. No matter how much she thought she loved him.

However, she didn't want to give up on him either.

Sirius told her time and time again that if Regulus wasn't willing to listen, there was nothing they could do. But maybe there was something, something she could do to open his eyes. Of course, Éponine wasn't exactly sure what that something was and she had pretty much told him earlier in the night that she wanted nothing to do with him.

"It's going to be a long year."

Thankfully, her dormmates, including Toulouse and Emmarentia were all asleep, leaving Éponine alone to ponder her thoughts in the silence of the room. There had to be a plan to wake Regulus up before it was too late.

Meanwhile, in the boys' dormitory, Regulus had returned long before Éponine even stepped foot in the Common Room. With Avery and Mulciber no longer on speaking terms, he wasn't even sure how he was supposed to talk to them. Instead, he figured it was just better if he went to bed early. He didn't feel like walking all the way to the prefect's bathroom, settling to use the bathrooms in the dorms instead to take a late shower and brush his teeth before bed.

But as he brushed his teeth, someone entered the bathrooms, and that someone happened to be Gian Norton.

Immediately, the two of them made eye contact. Regulus looked away first, feeling the awkwardness already settling in. And to make matters worse, Gian decided to use the sink next to Regulus' to brush his own teeth. All the while, he glared at Regulus in the mirror.

Little did Regulus know that earlier in the day, Éponine had told Gian that he was going to have to start standing his ground. He had to make it look like he wasn't one to be messed with and Gian guessed he had to go big or go home by starting with Regulus.

After spitting the contents of his toothpaste into the sink, Gian turned to Regulus, leaving the older student to face him with a curious look.

"Don't hurt her."

Regulus couldn't help but choke on the toothbrush in his mouth before he decided to spit in the sink and turn back to Gian. "What did you say-"

"I said don't hurt her!" Gian stated more firmly. "You may not like the fact that she supports me being here at this school or in the House, but I don't think I'm reaching when I say that you still like her. So if you still like her, don't hurt her. You weren't there to pick up the pieces the first time, you didn't see how much you hurt her. All of you that were her so-called friends. You didn't deserve her then and I sure don't believe you deserve her now. That being said, don't hurt her or I'll punch you in the face."

Gian gave Regulus no opportunity to respond, leaving him in the bathroom, completely stunned.

A/N: