"There he is!"

"What?"

"There! Quick!"

Piper threw her arms around Dirk, pulling him into a sudden embrace and nearly choking the boy as his chin jutted against her shoulder.

"Piper!" Dirk exclaimed, his voice raspy once she finally let go of him and he could sit up straight again, "What was that about?"

She glanced around the library - not many people were in sight as they sat at one of the tables in the far corner. "I thought I saw Darien." She mumbled sheepishly.

"Was it actually him?"

"No."

"Piper!"

"What?" She asked, quickly raising a finger to her lips to remind them to keep their voices low.

Dirk sighed, "You can't freak out every time a boy walks past. There's got to be a better way of doing this."

"He doesn't believe us." Piper hissed desperately, "Darien's already suspicious. I spoke to Ruby, in my Charms class, and she said he's been talking to people about us. He thinks we're lying, and soon he's going to start asking why."

"I don't really understand what the big deal is." He mumbled, looking down at his Potions essay, which was now scrunched up and slightly torn in the corner.

"If-if he finds out, he'll tell everyone. The whole school will know... About me. That's terrifying. Someone could... It wouldn't be safe for me." She whispered.

Grimacing, he replied, "You're right, sorry. I... I keep forgetting about how serious this is."

"Well what should we do?" She asked.

Dirk sighed, closing his book and turning to face the girl as he thought, "We just need to convince Darien and his friends that we're dating, so he completely leaves you alone? Well that's simple, surely."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we have to go on a date. That's what real couples do, isn't it?"

Piper smiled warmly, "Are you sure you'd want to?"

"Of course. We could go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop - where all the couples go. It would look like a date to everybody, but it would actually just be two friends hanging out." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh great!" She sighed happily with relief.

"Now, I really hope you don't mind but, I do need to get on with some studying. I'm sure Esmerelda and Regulus are around somewhere." He offered with a small smile, dipping his quill into the pot of drying ink.

"Ugh!" Piper groaned loudly, dramatically sinking down in her chair, "They're never around anymore! Seriously, when was the last time you saw them?"

Dirk shook his head, "Transfiguration. This morning. I sat next to Esmerelda. Regulus had moved to sit behind us."

"Well that doesn't count." She grumbled, "I mean properly seen them. Where do they go? Don't you wonder what they're up to?"

"Not particularly."

"Do you think they're... Excuse me, getting together? Maybe that's why they're never around anymore."

Dirk sighed, setting down his quill and finally looked up at Piper, "I don't think Esmerelda likes him that much. It wasn't that long ago that she hated his guts."

"Exactly! She hated him. She had other childhood friends that stopped speaking to her and she wasn't hung up on it." She pointed out.

"She only had one best friend though." He countered.

Piper laughed, "Oh you're so oblivious! Dirk, come on, be smart. She clearly hated Regulus so much because she cared for him so much. I'd bet money that Esmerelda was so upset about it because she loved a guy who had prioritised peer pressure above her."

"People can love their friends just as strongly as anything romantic. Boys and girls can be best friends and it can be perfectly platonic. There's not necessarily any romance. Look at us." Dirk argued.

"Dirk, I'm gay; this is always going to be platonic." Piper whispered with excitement.

"Well, I'm friends with Esmerelda. Nothing going on there."

Piper narrowed her eyes, "Fair point, I still think she fancies Regulus. Plus, Regulus so clearly worships the ground she walks on. Oh, this isn't the point though!"

"Piper, sh!" Dirk's eyes widened as her voice suddenly got louder. A couple students turned to look at them as Piper waved apologies back. The younger boy felt his cheeks heating up as he propped up a book to hide behind it.

"Sorry!" Her voice hushed now, "Before I got distracted, I was saying isn't it weird how they're always busy and never around anymore. They're definitely up to something."

"Up to something?" Dirk scoffed, "I doubt that."

"Seriously? This is Esmerelda. She turned that Slytherin player pink not long ago. Before that, she was brewing polyjuice potion. I keep trying to get her alone so I can tell her about what's going on with us, but she's always avoiding me." Piper reasoned.

"Yeah... You're right." Dirk massaged his temples, "They're definitely up to something."

Esme and Regulus were up to something.

"You're an idiot! What would you have said if you'd been caught?" Esme laughed with disbelief as Regulus straightened out his robes. He combed through his hair, purposely allowing one strand to fall down over his forehead.

He sighed, his breathing steady now, "You're making it sound more serious than it was."

"Regulus," Esme shook her head, "If Piper had recognised it was you dashing past in the library, she would have bombarded us with a million questions about where we've been. I can see it in her eyes that she's waiting to pounce and interrogate me."

"Esme, I think you've misinterpreting how much of an interest Piper has in our lives. She probably has her own worries to deal with. We're not at the centre of her universe." He shrugged as they walked down the dimly lit corridor.

She stopped to punch him in the arm.

"Ow!"

"Well don't make me sound so self-centred." She grumbled as Regulus rubbed his arm.

"Trust me, she's suspicious. Before we know it, she'll have Cresswell hunting us down too." Esme warned as Regulus looked at her, one eyebrow raised in scepticism. "They do have a right to be suspicious. We have been avoiding them." He reminded her.

"For good reason!"

"Yes. Don't get me wrong, I completely support not getting them involved in any shape or form." Regulus admitted, "But they do deserve some form of explanation. We need to come up with an excuse so they don't get probing into this big mess and causing a commotion."

"What do you mean?" Esme asked as she noticed Regulus stick his hands in his pockets. She slyly slipped her arm around his, linking them together as they continued to walk - bringing a smile to the boy's face.

He explained, "There's a massive spotlight on us right now. Everyone involved with the Death Eaters is going to be watching our moves with a magnifying glass to make sure we're not traitors like they suspect. If Piper and Dirk start snooping around, somebody is going to notice. That could put them in real danger, especially if they stumble across any sort of Death Eater plans or secrets."

"You're right." She sighed, leaning into his side slightly as they came to a natural stop with nobody else around, "I'll come up with some sort of story to tell them."

Regulus hummed in response, turning to face Esme directly as he unlinked their arms, "On a different note, are you doing okay?"

"Of course. Why would I be?" She shrugged, pulling an expression of fake confusion as she kicked her foot against the floor.

"I just want to make sure. Hearing that news from your father... In a letter... Must have been-"

"Are you talking about the OWL exams? As it turns out, I do not think they're going to go well." She laughed lightly.

Sighing, he spoke, "Esme."

"There is no way any human being is capable of learning this much stuff. It's impossible. Although, I suppose it doesn't matter how the exams go because I'm destined to be a Death Eater. Can't wait for the careers talk with Flitwick - I'm becoming a criminal!"

"Esme." Regulus' calming voice finally snapped the girl out of her deliberate ramblings as she looked up at him.

"Yes?"

"Take a breath."

"I don't need to take a breath. Regulus! What I need... What I need is to do some pointless studying for exams that, in the end, mean nothing. My soul has been sold but I might as well get some nice grades before I get arrested."

"Esme."

"Alright!" She held up her hands in surrender, "I just-I'm scared."

He reached forward, taking her hand in both of his and holding it between them, "I'm scared too. We're in this together."

"I know." She mumbled, "I don't want to talk about it though. At least, not yet. Let me continue to make light of it for now."

"Okay." Regulus nodded once with a sad smile tracing his lips.

Esme looked around them, making note of the completely empty corridor. She smirked, "Also, guess what?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, "Have you got me a present? That would be nice."

"Sure."

"Really?"

"No, idiot."

"Wow, thank you." He held a hand over his heart, "I'll cherish that forever."

"Shut up!" Esme complained, but couldn't stop the smile emerging on her face as she reached up to cup Regulus' face in her hands.

Regulus chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Sure thing."

"See, if you'd guessed correctly, you would have known I was going to kiss you. But you guessed wrong, so I won't." She smirked, leaning in to prod him in the cheek.

"Doesn't you kissing me count as a present? I feel like it does." He complained, and was just about to pull her closer when a sharp sound spooked them. Regulus and Esme recoiled quickly from each other, turning to the direction of the noise.

"Merlin..." Regulus sighed as they spotted Ignatius stood at the end of the corridor, one hand on his hip and the other clutching his wand.

Esme laughed at the sight of her brother as he started to march towards them. "I can't believe I'm related to that drama queen."

"Yeah, you're not dramatic at all." Regulus mumbled under his breath.

"Oi!" Esme exclaimed, elbowing him sharply in the stomach. "Ow!" Regulus complained, leaning over as he clutched where he'd just been hit.

"I'll let Ignatius stun you, if you're not careful." Esme grinned.

He rolled his eyes, "Might take him some time to actually learn to cast a half-decent spell."

"He wouldn't even know which was round his wand should point!"

Regulus laughed in response as Ignatius finally came to a stop in front of them.

"What are you two up to?" He sneered.

"Nothing." Regulus quipped quickly, earning another elbow in the side from Esme. "What was that for?" He grumbled.

"We're wondering why you're following us around the castle. Don't you have first years to terrorise?" Esme scoffed, narrowing her eyes sceptically at her brother as she ignored Regulus.

Ignatius glanced between the two younger students, "You two better not have been doing anything."

"Of course not. We were just stood here in complete silence, not moving. Like statues." She retaliated. Regulus coughed slightly, poking Esme in the back as a signal go reign it in.

"That's like Reg's natural state - still and dull." Ignatius chuckled.

"Oi!"

This caused Esme to laugh as well as Regulus folded his arms disapprovingly.

"What is it you want, Ignatius?" Regulus asked, causing the siblings to both fall quiet.

He sighed, "I've been looking for you all over the place. Firstly, I'm fairly certain I said you two needed to keep a distance of at least five inches."

"Ignatius, I don't know what your problem is. Nothing is going on here." Esme rolled her eyes with ease.

He did not believe it for a second. "Oh really?"

"You really think I'd have any interest in this guy? You've seen his hair. Quite frankly, the only person I really like is myself." She shrugged.

Regulus pouted as he ran a hand through his hair, "My ego is really taking a battering today."

"Good point Esmerelda - I have seen his hair and it's not a patch on mine. Okay, I'll pretend I believe you." Ignatius rolled his shoulders back, almost shaking off the concern as he rubbed his chin in thought, "There is something I meant to tell you."

"Which is?"

"You really need to keep your distance from the mudbloods you associate yourselves with. Regulus, I don't know why you're suddenly buddies with those freaks, but it stops now. Something is coming and you both need to be on the right side of this. It's too late to do anything else."

Snap!

All three whipped around, peering down the corridor as they tried to locate the source of the noise. Nobody appeared to be there, but they couldn't trust that.

"I need to go. See you around." Ignatius modded once before brushing past them and striding towards where the noise had come from, turning at the end of the corridor and disappearing from sight.

Regulus blinked hard, "What was that about?"

"I wish I knew." Esme stared across at the dimly lit wall, "Maybe my brother has finally lost the plot. The Zabini girl's rejection could have finally broken him."

Regulus chuckled lightly, placing a hand on Esme's hip as she turned back to face him, "Do you really hate my hair? What's wrong with it?"

She grinned up at the boy, "The only thing that's wrong is how much I like it. It's embarrassing, really. How is your hair actually better than mine?"

"I think it's genetic, you've seen my father." He shrugged, his cheeks tinted red as Esme ran her fingers through his dark hair and combed it back out of his eyes.

She nodded with a laugh, "That man has a full mane of hair. I'm going to ask him for his secret. I bet he has a really expensive conditioner. Or do you think it's magic? Does magic shampoo exist?"

"Shut up." Regulus laughed, raising his hand to the side of her neck and guiding his lips down to meet hers in a soft kiss. He couldn't hide his smile as Esme's fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck.