On the coldest day of November, Regulus Arcturus Black made Hogwart's history, by suffering one of the most devasting losses in Quidditch. It didn't matter how much he rallied his troops before the match against Ravenclaw, and it didn't matter how much Éponine cheered for them in the stands, the match had turned brutally embarrassing. Regulus had foolishly thought that because it was the first match, maybe Ravenclaw would go easy on them, perhaps sympathise that the team had nearly been formed overnight. But how wrong Regulus was because the moment they all stepped out onto the pitch, Ravenclaw made it clear, they were out for blood.

Gian had done his best as Chaser, managing to score a couple of times, but it was practically left on him to grab the Quaffle as his teammates, continued to get turned around. The Beaters, Regulus didn't even want to think about them. He had prayed that Avery and Mulciber would see their position turned to such mockery and appear to take their positions once more. Instead, the two Beaters left everyone exposed, only taking to hitting the bludgers when it was aimed in their directions.

And they screamed so bloody loud too.

In pure desperation, Regulus made it his life's mission to find the Golden Snitch and put his team out of their misery.

550 to 180.

Never had he faced such a humiliating loss, he couldn't even bring himself to head to the lockers after the match. Ravenclaw students were practically lining up to shake his hands and thank him for the win. And if Ravenclaw students wanted to shake his heads, he didn't want to know what his fellow Slytherin peers wanted to do with him.

Since the match, he decided to hide shamefully in his dorm room, where it was quiet and rather peaceful. Even though, he knew he couldn't hide away forever.

The sound of approaching footsteps made that more than clear and Regulus closed his eyes, wondering if it was Emmett Travers, coming to tell him he was nothing but a disgrace to the Slytherin Quidditch Team legacy. However, he didn't think in all of Travers' rage, that he would come and sit on Regulus' bed.

Opening one eye right away, Regulus nearly jumped in the air when he found Toulouse's face only a few centimetres from his own.

"Toulouse-"

Suddenly, the cat's paws were placed on the sides of Regulus' face and the two were forced to make direct eye contact.

"Don't be sad, Regulus, it was only your first match with a new team. It'll get better, you'll see!"

Regulus couldn't bring himself to laugh at Éponine's attempt to cheer him up, even with her little squeaky voice paired with Toulouse's flat expression. Instead, he gently grabbed Toulouse and placed the cat in his lap before facing Éponine.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He was happy to see her, of course, but as much as Éponine was a quidditch fanatic, he was surprised that she didn't appear upset with him.

"Coming to see how you were after the match," she said. "I waited outside of the locker rooms for you and Gian. But when Gian came out, he told me that you hadn't bothered. I figured you would end up here."

He didn't say anything, merely petting Toulouse's soft fur quietly as he shook his head.

"Regulus," she spoke his name so softly before running her hand gently through his hair, " it's not the end of the world, you know? So what? We lost a match, we've lost before. As Toulouse said earlier, it'll get better-"

"We don't have time to get better, Épi," Regulus told her, " We only have two matches left and we were just destroyed in the first. Gian has some natural talent and everything, but excluding him and myself, the rest of the team are complete novices. In all my years of playing, I have never heard of a Quidditch team composed in such a way. Normally, the experienced team members fade out as they graduate and are replaced with their reserved. We've completely started from scratch."

"Well, who better for them to learn from than someone like you," Éponine smiled, "I know they're new and inexperienced. Some of them are a little...um..."

"You can say stupid," Regulus said, "trust me, that's all I've been calling them inside my head."

Éponine giggled before playfully pushing his arm. "They're young, Regulus, that's all. Young and inexperienced. They will get better because they have someone like you willing to teach them. I know that wasn't what you were planning on doing, but even if you don't win a match this entire year, at least you helped them. And, not to mention, Gian was so happy that he made the team and you made that happen for him."

It seemed Éponine was not going to allow him to wallow in self-pity as she had something lined up for whatever he was going to say. He couldn't help but laugh at the worried expression in her eyes that she tried to cover up with a smile. Placing Toulouse on the bed, Regulus proceeded to grab Éponine and pull her back so she could lay with him.

"Thank you, Épi, I don't know what I would do without you," he said, kissing her forehead. "Now, I don't know if you want this but..."

Éponine watched as Regulus rolled slightly onto his back to grab something before he turned back to her. In his hand, he had the golden snitch from the match.

"I know the snitch didn't win the match, so I understand if you don't want it."

"You are so dramatic sometimes, it's unbelievable," she said before reaching for it, "of course, I want it."

"Oh really? How badly do you want it?" Regulus asked with a cheeky grin, bringing her to blush under his gaze. She went to reach for it again, but Regulus purposely held it out of her reach. Making a face at him, Éponine tried and tried again to grab it from him, but it was no use, he was a lot faster and a lot stronger.

Annoyed by all the movement on the bed, Toulouse jumped off a few minutes later and settled inside of Regulus' open trunk, using the boy's clothing and robes as a bed and letting the two continue with their childish antics.

Suddenly, Regulus was caught off guard as Époninejumped on top of him, nearly straddling him and grabbed his arm that held the snitch. She didn't notice the wide-eyed expression on his face, nor could she hear how loudly his heart was pounding away in his chest from the position they were in. And while she would have normally taken the snitch from him in triumph, her eyes settled on something else.

The Dark Mark.

The playful fight came to an end as Éponine took advantage of his shocked stupor and took his arm, lowering it. The mark itself was red, almost as if it had been scratched into his arm like a tattoo of sorts. It looked painful, but she had never heard him complain about it, although he never dared to mention it in her presence either.

Cautiously, her fingers trailed over the mark itself and she watched as Regulus flinched, before he sat up, keeping her in his lap.

"Does it hurt?" she asked him.

She didn't know if he was going to answer the question as he remained silent for a minute or so but with a loud sigh, he shook his head.

"No, it doesn't hurt now," he whispered, "only when he activates it. It's the way he summons us. It burns more than anything."

"Well, maybe over the holidays, you could get it removed-"

"Éponine, something like this isn't easily removed, I think that's the point of it," Regulus said, " once you pledge your loyalty, he's not going to make it easy to back out of it and pretend like it never happened."

Éponine simply stared at the mark, a frown prominent as she didn't like the answer she had been given. Regulus was looking to better himself and leave a terrible life behind, but so far, she could only see something that was going to act as a permanent reminder. Sirius had brought it up that the Dark Mark had been the final straw in his eyes, the reason he wasn't willing to help his little brother anymore. If that were the case, was the rest of society going to condemn him just the same?

"Regulus," her voice cracked as her eyes still remained focus on the mark, " why did you do it? Why? We spoke about it, don't you remember? When Severus approached you the first time, I told you that no good could come from it. It wouldn't help you get the things you wanted. You agreed with me and then you...went and did it anyway?"

She watched as Regulus pulled his sleeve over it and looked away from her.

"I regret it, you know," he said, "I regretted it almost immediately after getting it. I wasn't thinking clearly. Everything was going downhill so fast, I didn't know what to make of things anymore. You were gone, still in front of me, but gone. My parents and family were going mental, calling it such a scandal. My mother kept trying to set up these other marriages to all these younger girls in the other families, I couldn't take it. I was angry, hurt, and confused. It's not an excuse, Éponine, I knew that, but I still thought that maybe I could get you and Sirius back. That man...he was so persuasive with everything he said."

Her heart sank as Éponine began to cry his confession into her shoulder, leaving her with no other option but to wrap her arms around him.

"He made us all these promises, telling us we could have the lives we desired. And during those moments, Épi, I wasn't thinking about a world without muggle-borns or muggles. I was thinking about a world where I had you back and I had Sirius. He told me I could have everything I wanted and I believed him. I wouldn't have to marry any other girl if I could still have you, I didn't have to embrace anyone else as a brother because I would have Sirius. When I say I got this for you, I meant it, I just...didn't think it through."

There was nothing left for him to say as Éponine just held onto him and allowed him to cry. However, he continued to say that he was sorry, begging her for her forgiveness over what he had done. He said he wanted to take it back, take it all back and do better, but it was too late. He already had the mark, but he promised he was going to make things better. Do whatever he had to do in order for Éponine to achieve her dreams.

"Regulus, you need to remember one thing," she said, making him look at her finally. His eyes were red and puffy, his face flushed red under her touch. " I do have all these dreams, but in my dreams, you're there too. So, please, don't do anything to take that part away."

"I'm going to figure this out, Éponine," he said in a promising tone, " I'll figure it out, whatever I have to do."

During their playful fight, Regulus had anticipated it turning into a snogging session, but it had taken a completely different turn that resulted in him crying on Éponine's shoulder. But he felt better after his confession, telling her the reason why he had gone through with such a stupid decision. He was so thankful that she remained with him, supporting him through all the difficult times because he hadn't done the same for her back then.

Eventually, Éponine fell asleep in his arms, as the two shared his bed. Toulouse returned to her side and curled up into a tight ball near his owner. In one of her hands, she had fallen asleep holding the golden snitch he had given her.

He had only closed his eyes for a few minutes, enjoying the idea of sharing a nap with Éponine, when he was startled by the familiar burning sensation in his arm. Careful to not wake her, Regulus slowly moved his arm to pull back on his sleeve. The once faded red had turned into a solid black, meaning he was being summoned.

However, the Dark Lord had to know he was at school and there was no way for Regulus to apparate from the castle, which made Regulus reconsider what was going on.

Maybe it wasn't a signal of being summoned, it was a warning.

A/N: