[Chapter Thirty-Two]

While Éponine had found their first date to be exhilarating and liberating as she so put it, Regulus found it still to be a disappointment. He heard plenty of stories and heard plenty advice over the years when it came to the idea of taking a girl out on a date and unfortunately, he had been unable to execute that properly the first time around. Not that it was his fault, the forces of Emmarentia had worked against him, along with discovering that his brother along with his friends were illegal animagi and the idea that there was a werewolf on the castle grounds. It definitely made it difficult for anyone to work out a proper date with all of that drama around them.

But Regulus knew he had another chance, mainly because Éponine still wanted to talk to him and well, neither one of them really had a choice. Even if they didn't give dating a go, they would still find themselves locked in a marriage. Not to mention, Regulus wanted to make a good impression when it came to the girl. He had heard over time that first impressions were the most lasting, but Regulus didn't want to believe that entirely. He wanted to believe that while they did not get along, in the beginning, that people were allowed to grow and learn.

He had not been the kindest to Éponine in the past, but he was willing to prove to her that he could be kind. She had already seen some of what he was capable of, he just wanted to show her more. So in hopes of working on his own redemption, Regulus passed Éponine a note while they were in Potions class. Unfortunately, he had arrived later to the class and while he would have taken to sitting next to her, it seemed Emmarentia had beaten him to the spot as she was partnered up with Éponine that afternoon.

After listening to Professor Slughorn drone on about the Strengthening Solution for the majority of the hour, he had finally allowed them to start collecting the ingredients to get started. However, before Éponine could stand up from her stool, she caught sight of the parchment paper that landed before her on the table. Emmarentia had seen it as well and the two of them looked over in Regulus' direction, but the boy was already busying himself with the task of opening his potions book to the appropriate page. 

Turning to Emmarentia with a confused but curious look on her face,  Éponine held up the small piece of parchment paper as if Emmarentia would have any insight as to what it was.

"Well, don't just look at me," Emmarentia whispered to her, " open it!"

With a nervous twitch of her hands, Éponine began unfolding the paper slowly, unsure of what was going to be written on the inside. It wouldn't be the first note someone had passed to her, but in the past, they had been nothing nice, leaving her to feel anxious about it. However, as soon as she read over the first written line, she felt slightly silly for allowing herself to get so worked up over seemingly nothing.

It was an invitation and not just any old invitation, but one to go on a date with Regulus when the first trip to Hogsmeade came about. Perhaps she should have expected such a thing, especially since she knew that Regulus was not thrilled with how the first date had panned out between them, but it still caught the girl off guard. Enough that she became so excited and proceeded to knock over the potion ingredients that Emmarentia had just brought over.

" Éponine, what in the world are you-"

Emmarentia was suddenly dragged down to sit as Éponine leaned into her side and showed the small note. Of course,  Éponine was beyond thrilled but as Emmarentia peered down at the date invitation, she didn't share the same enthusiasm as her friend.

"What should I do?" Éponine asked her in a low whisper, leaving Emmarentia to state at her for a second.

"What do you mean what should you do? I thought you liked him!"

"I do," she answered, "I was just wondering if I should write back or give him my answer verbally."

"Oh."

Éponine waited for the answer but Emmarentia seemed too caught up in the idea that she thought she was witnessing the girl have second thoughts about Regulus. But it seemed Éponine was not practising her patient nature so much at that moment because when she didn't get a reply from Emmarentia, she proceeded to make her way over to where Regulus was. When Emmarentia finally looked over, she could see the two of them standing before each other, both of them wearing bright yet shy smiles on their faces as it seemed Éponine was confirming her acceptance of the date.

As the two turned red in the face, Emmarentia rolled her eyes and let her chin come to rest in her hand.

"Great."

It was hard to determine who was more excited about the upcoming date, but both Regulus and Éponine were trying to contain themselves and make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. However, Emmarenta, Avery, and Mulciber would have to be blind in order to notice that neither one of them had stopped smiling since they confirmed their plans. Avery and Mulciber teased the hell out of Regulus, although he didn't really care, in fact, he just laughed along while trying to figure out where the two of them would go in Hogsmeade.

"Why not take her to Shrieking Shack?" Mulciber suggested at one point while the boys were outside, leaving Regulus to come to an abrupt halt and look over at him. The look would be enough to kill him if looks could kill, leaving Mulciber to screech and run off to avoid the wrath of their fearless leader.

"I don't think it's a bad idea," Avery chimed in, bringing Regulus to look over at him. "And no, I don't mean it in the sense of you two making shrieks of your own. We all heard that the place is haunted by all sorts of things, and it's not like you can get in there. But you know, bring her around there, spook her a bit and she'll be holding onto your arm, trying to get close to you-"

Regulus suddenly felt someone link arms with him, bringing him to turn his head and see Mulciber holding onto him.

"What in the hell are you doing, Mulciber?"

"I'm not Mulciber," the boy said in a high-pitched voice, " I'm Éponine! And you're Regulus, my knight in shining armour that is going to save little old me from the mean ghosties and monsters from the Shrieking Shack!"

It was quiet for a few moments as Avery clapped his hand over his face to hide his smile while Regulus was speechless for just a couple of seconds.

"First off," he began, " let go of my arm. Second, Éponine doesn't sound like that, nor does she look like you, if she did, well, that would be terrifying. And I'm not taking her to the Shrieking Shack, that's weird. I was thinking about going to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop since we both like tea and-"

Suddenly, the two boys pretending to start snoring, falling to the ground as if they were sleeping.

"It's not boring!" Regulus protested. "It may not be the most exciting thing, but our first date was exciting enough!"

His friends certainly found that bit to be quite interesting as they both peered up at him. "From what you told us, it wasn't eventful at all, so what exactly happened that made it so exciting, Regulus?"

While Regulus would normally tell his best friends everything, he couldn't tell them about the incident that involved his brother and his Gryffindor friends.  He didn't think that Avery and Mulciber would spread rumours but it would probably cause problems for everyone if something happened.

"Well, I thought that was an exciting evening," Regulus quickly countered as he scratched the back of his head. "Look, it doesn't matter, I think the tea shop is a good idea and it doesn't matter if you two don't like it, you're not going on the date...unless you two take each other to the Shrieking Shack."

"Oh yeah?! Well, maybe we will!" Mulciber added, placing his hands on his hips as he stood up. "Then we'll see who has a better date because I'm sure that going to the Shrieking Shack is more exciting than going to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop! In fact, we're going to have so much fun that you're going to wish that you went on this date and Éponine is going to wish she went on that date too! And then-"

"Mulciber!" Avery shouted, causing the other boy to turn to him.

"What?!"

"He's gone," Avery pointed out to him, making Mulciber realise at one point that Regulus had walked away without him noticing. "He's been gone for a little while, you've been yelling at no one for the last thirty seconds. You look absolutely mental and made no point at all to Regulus because he's still going to take Éponine to Madam Puddifoot's."

"Oh, well, we're still going to the Shrieking Shack!"

"Why?"

"To prove a point, Avery!"

Avery let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, but you're not holding my arm like you were holding Regulus' arm earlier when we're there, do you understand?"

"Yes, but can I hold it now?" Mulciber asked him.

"What? Why?!"

Mulciber pouted slightly, his eyes wide as he made himself appear smaller. "Because I'm cold right now, it's freezing out here."

Regulus hadn't made it too far from where he had left the boys, but as he turned around to see if they would eventually follow, he could see Avery with a stoic expression as he allowed Mulciber to wrap his arm around his for the warmth that he craved. Mulciber looked all too pleased in that moment, bringing Regulus to laugh at the scene of polar opposites. His laughter carried enough that Avery heard it and looked up to spot him.

"Shut up, Regulus!"

Éponine had to admit that even though she had agreed and even though she was excited as it came closer and close to the time of her date, when it actually came time to it, she felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach. She and Regulus had agreed to meet outside of the Entrance Hall and the close she got to the double doors, she was practically rubbing her own hands raw. Under a knitted cap and jumper, a pink one that was one of her favourites, Emmarentia had told her that she looked beautiful and she hoped that she had fun.

She had also told her the most important thing and that was to relax which was much easier said than done. All Éponine could think of was what were they supposed to talk about or do? They practically spoke every day, so there was nothing new to really discuss, they were in all the same classes which didn't give them any new material. It would just be making small talk over something like they normally did in the Great Hall, so how was it considered a date?

As she arrived first at the Great Hall, she glanced around as she waited for Regulus, but as she looked around, Éponine spotted Remus making his way over. He wasn't paying attention as to where he was walking until the last minute and when he looked up, he came to a screeching halt. It seemed they were both told to meet their parties at the Entrance Hall and now they were stuck in the awkward predicament of waiting around each other.

The last time they had interacted, Remus was trying to bite her face off in his werewolf form and she wasn't sure if he recalled such a thing, but even if he didn't, he was well informed what happened that night from his friends.

Standing on either side of the doors, the two attempted to ignore each other but they couldn't help but steal glances in the direction of one another.

Éponine was well aware that she could simply ignore Remus, especially if he didn't say anything to her. She could have simply stood there and said absolutely nothing to him, pretending that he didn't even exist. However, she always found it difficult to be mean and flat out ignoring someone made her feel terrible especially since Remus had done nothing to her, at least, nothing out of his control.

Already, she was covering for a muggle-born in Slytherin, what difference was it going to make covering for a werewolf in Gryffindor?

"I know it's not your fault," her little voice carried and in the silence of the corridor, Remus could hear it clear as he looked over at her as she continued. "I understand the dynamics of what...happens to you on those nights. So I know that it wasn't your fault with what happened there. I don't hold that against you, if that's what you think."

For a moment, Remus was silent and while her words sounded sincere, it had brought a question to his mind. "But you don't think I should be here, right? You don't think I belong at this school? My kind shouldn't be here..."

Biting the inside of her cheek, Éponine cursed herself for starting up the conversation, realising she was better off keeping her mouth shut. " You can try to turn the tables on me, but I'm not the danger here," she began, " you are. Perhaps it is not in your normal nature to act hostile towards others or anything along those lines, but under those circumstances, you are not in control and you pose a danger. Perhaps not to your friends, but to others..."

"Even if it wasn't for that, you still wouldn't like me being here," he claimed, leaving Éponine with a puzzled expression. She honestly really didn't have anything against the boys that was at a personal level, perhaps Regulus did but that was soley on him and not her. "You wouldn't want me here anyways because my mother is a muggle. My blood isn't pure enough...even if it wasn't for the lycanthropy that taints it!"

"I have my own reasons and my own opinions and just because they differ from yours it doesn't make them wrong, it doesn't make me wrong," Éponine said. "I did not open the discussion in order to discuss such things. I was trying to tell you that I'm not holding your attack on me, against you. So you and your bloody friends can stop staring me down every time I walk through the corridors or into the Great Hall! I for one find a lot of what you four do wrong and while you might be prized tokens among your friends and classmates, I don't agree with it at all but you don't see me calling any of you out, do you?"

"What is there to call us out on?" Remus asked, the hosility fading as he seemed rather curious actually.

"Perhaps the fact that you don't want people bothering or teasing the likes of you, you don't want to be judged for being different, you don't stand for bullying, yet all four of you take part of it. You all have dirty hands, you especially, you are a prefect and you let your friends get away with behaviours that you condemn others for. I was attempting to make peace with you in this moment, despite what happened that night but if you wish to spit it back in my face, so be it. I'll tell you what I told Sirius, if I catch any of you again, placing other students in harm, I will do what I can to make sure the four of you are expelled and trust me, it won't take much."

It was probably one of the politest arguments that Remus had taken part in but as much as he wanted to respond and call her out on her nonsense, he didn't get the chance to do so as Regulus arrived. He eyed the two of them suspiciously, giving Remus a dirty look.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," Éponine answered, " he was just telling me who was on prefect duty for this evening. That's all, we should get going. Did you decide where we were going?"

The two younger students walked outside, heading in the direction of the Hogsmeade path, leaving Remus inside to wait for his friends, going over the conversation between the two.

Éponine was pleasantly surprised as she and Regulus ended up at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, ready to sit down and warm her hands with a cup of chai. Regulus sat across from her and for several passing minutes, neither one of them said anything. Regulus didn't know what to say and Éponine's mind had wandered to the conversation that had taken place earlier. However both of them came to the conclusion at the same time that something needed to be said. She had a fear that he would think that she wasn't interested and Regulus feared that she would find it all boring.

The two opened their mouths and blurted something out at the same time, leaving them to suddenly smile and share in a small laugh.

"I'm sorry, you go first," Éponine told him, but Regulus insisted that he was just going to ask if she liked her tea but she had yet to take a sip, so it was pointless, telling her to go first.

"Well, I was going to say that you all should be ready for the first match, " she said, " I'm really excited.  I just hope the weather holds up, I hate watching all of you play in the rain. I know it must be freezing."

"It's not so much cold during the match, you know, I guess because your blood is pumping and you're so focused on everything else. It's when you land that you finally feel it," Regulus admitted.

"They shouldn't make you all play in that weather, there's nothing wrong with postponing a match. Honestly, I highly doubt you all like being cold..."

"Well, I'm naturally always warm so it doesn't bother me as much as it would with the others."

"Lucky, I'm always freezing, here feel," she reached her hand out to touch his and immediately, Regulus jerked his hand back with a tiny yelp. The coldness had been abrupt even if he had received a fair warning.

"You have tea right there in your hands, how can you possibly be that cold?" Regulus asked her, before placing both of his hands back on the table. "Here, give me both of your hands."

Éponine wore a cautious look. "Why?"

"So I can warm you up."

Maybe Regulus didn't see it as a big deal but Éponine was screaming internally at the idea of him actually offering to hold her hands, in a public place. Perhaps that's what set it apart as an actual date from all the other times they sat and spoke together. Slowly, she reached out one hand first, the other gripping her tea cup strongly to cover up her nerves. The inside of his hand was so warm that her other hand followed shortly after, craving the warmth and just like that, the two of them were holding hands.

It went smoother than Regulus had initially planned.