....HALLOWEEN AT HOGWARTS had rolled around once again. And for a school that housed ordinary witches and wizards all year round, they certainly made a big deal of it. As Jackie and Benny made their way to Ancient Runes, the groundskeeper, Hagrid passed by them, lugging several magically enlarged pumpkins along with him.

"It seems the Great Hall's getting its annual makeover once again." Muttered Jackie, nodding at the decorations in the hands of the groundskeeper.

"Speaking of pumpkins, little Cinderella, what's your costume plan for the big Hufflepuff Halloween get-together?" asked Benny, nudging the girl in the side to grab her attention.

"Benny, you know I have no idea who Cinder-whoever is," she sighed. "and I wasn't even planning on going to that, but Lizzie's insisting on cooking up a costume for me."

Benny grabbed both of her hands and stared pleadingly at her. "Jackie, I love you. But you are going to turn into a sad little recluse if you stay locked up in that dorm room any longer." The taller girl teased. "So, I'm forcing you to come. And wear a tiny little nurses costume to aid me during my hangover."

Jackie slapped the girl's hands away. "You're a horrible little flirt, do you know that?" she scowled, trying to turn her grin into a frown rather unsuccessfully.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Smirked Benny, knowing that she had won the argument with very little persuasion.

Jackie rolled her eyes upwards and sped up her steps, forcing Benny to jog to keep up with her on the stairs up to their classroom. "Would you slow down Roadrunner?!"

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Halloween night had rolled around in no time and soon two out of the four girls had found themselves in the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast. Elizabeth had decided that she wouldn't risk not fitting into her skin-tight costume and had foregone dinner in favor of perfecting her hair and makeup.

Benny hadn't bothered with any of her homework essays over the past weekend and was now in the library scribbling like a madwoman to get them all done before the night's events.

So that left Jackie and Cordelia occupying their usual spots at the Slytherin table and picking at their plates of dinner. They sat in a comfortable silence with Cordelia staring off into space, lost in her thoughts and Jackie reading a book over her dinner.

Jackie closed her book with a sigh and looked at the time. "C'mon Delia, its almost seven, We'd better get going." She told her, standing up.

"You go ahead, I'll be right along." She replied airily, her gaze still fixed on a spot behind her head. Jackie turned around to see what she could possibly be so entranced by, but she only saw Lucius Malfoy and his cronies, so she shrugged and went on her way.

She left the Great Hall and made her way back up to the dorms and was greeted by a very excited Elizabeth Dekker. "I did it!" she exclaimed. "I've outdone myself once again!" Jackie was assailed by a flying piece of fabric that could only be her Halloween costume as the blonde shooed her to the bathroom. "Go try it on right now. You're going to look absolutely ravishing my girl!" She squealed in her ear, obviously very proud of her work.

Jackie shut the door of the bathroom and finally got a good look at the dress. "Um Liz, what exactly am I meant to be again?" It was certainly a beautiful dress, but she had no clue what or who she was supposed to be portraying.

Elizabeth shouted her reply through the bathroom door. "I decided that considering you're all evil and impish, I'd make you into a fairy." She told her as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

Jackie gave a small little smile at the passion in her friend's voice. She certainly had an eye for detail. Jackie pulled the dress over her body and turned around to look in the mirror. Her breath left her in a little gasp. Elizabeth was truly a spectacular seamstress.

The dress fitted her like a glove, the bodice was a sage green velvet, as soft as a feather with sleeves to just below her elbows. But the true showstopper was the skirt. It cinched in at the perfect spot and made her waist look delicate and dainty. The skirt billowed out in a floaty layer of shredded white tulle to just below her knee. Elizabeth had laden intricate golden threads through it like rays of sunlight peeking through and she had embroidered the most painstaking details throughout the skirt. For a girl that had seen plenty of beautiful things in her life, this one was the most decadent.

She opened the door and stepped out to a little shriek of excitement. "Jackie you look gorgeous! That is so stunning on you."

Jackie gave her friend a wide grin of appreciativeness. "You are really an artist. Seriously." She told her in thanks.

"Now you need to put on the wings." Lizzie demanded, shoving a pair of netted fairy wings into her hands and ordering her to put them on. As much as Jackie thought they were childish, she pulled them onto her shoulders anyways, to keep Lizzie happy.

In the meantime, Elizabeth had changed into an airy white angel costume, complete with her own wings of real feathers and a magically elevated halo. Although a costume was altogether unnecessary to recognize that the girl was really an angelic soul.

By the time Elizabeth had completed Jackie's look with some dark eye makeup that made her hazel irises striking and a potion that charmed her brown ringlets into submission, the others had arrived.

Benny had opted for what could only be described as a slutty muggle pirate costume. She had donned a white blouse unbuttoned as much as was advisable and tight brown leather trousers. She had mussed up her short dark hair, smudged black makeup around her eyes and strapped a little plastic sword to her hip by the time they were ready.

Cordelia hadn't strayed far from her usual gothic tastes and had chosen a dramatized, rather ironic witch. Her costume was completed with a black corseted dress, tightly laced up her back, a pointy hat, and a rather formidable looking pair of black heeled boots.

All the girls linked arms as they giggled and shrieked on their way along the halls to the Hufflepuff party. Usually parties were strictly reserved for house members, but this certain annual festivity was a legendary affair among all the houses. For timid little badgers, they could certainly throw a raucous party when given the challenge. And for a girl who had to be convinced to come, Jackie certainly looked like she was having fun already.

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Regulus couldn't believe he had been dragged to yet another one of these childish little functions. The silver-tongued git that had managed to convince him to be in attendance was currently draped over a certain Singh girl in some hidden alcove. Typical Malfoy. Betrothed and still acting like a rake. He wondered how Jackie would feel about one of her own half-bloods slumming it with the biggest blood purist there was. And there she was again. Constantly invading his mind like a rather witty parasite.

He had yet to see her tonight and maybe it was for the best. Things had been rather tense since their last encounter over the Potion's assignment. There wasn't any point in saying that he had no clue why he had done that because he had several clues. He had felt the pull to protect her from having her prospects ruined by his dog of a brother. What he would be less inclined to admit is that it had stemmed more from the deep-down utterance that said she was his.

He had to clench his jaw as he recalled the memory of how his brothers filthy blood traitor hands had slipped around her waist. The waist that he had not yet been given the chance of laying his touch upon yet. Sirius could never win her affections the way he could, he was simply too dull, too dim-witted.

As if the thought of his impending betrothal wasn't enough for the teenaged mind to worry about, he also had the issue of his mother's most recent piece of correspondence. Since the exile of his brother from the Black family, the Dark Lord was in need of a new subject. He knew it was only a matter of time before his Marking ceremony and his first almost impossible mission that he would surely fail.

The Dark Lord did not take displeasure lightly. Regulus would be stepping into Sirius' shoes all too heavily. And that included bearing his punishments. Regulus had always known that his mother was self-preserving, that much was obvious, but he did not think that she would really sacrifice her only heir to being the Dark Lords puppet to reinstate the Noble House of Black back into good graces. Maybe he had undervalued exactly what lengths she would go to, to make up for her eldest son's mistakes.

And after all that he was to endure, he still did not hate his brother. He only felt a detachment, a shroud of isolation maybe. He and Sirius had always been close as boys, Regulus had not grown in a shadow, but more a light. He had admired Sirius' headstrong attitude and his carefree demeanor. Regulus had always been the more grounded boy. He was serious and wise beyond his years and yet he had always wished to grow into the reckless man that Sirius was. He never did and it was on the moments that he realized this that he wished for the shadow instead.

Had he not broken out of his brooding at that moment he might have missed her. She had sauntered past him, with her arm hooked with her blonde friends. She looked ethereal. Her head was thrown back in laughter at something the other girl had said, and the sound was surprisingly pleasant.

She had done something new to her hair. And to her eyes. And Sweet Salazar that dress. He was going to burn all those baggy school robes that she hid in if she continued to deny society of such a sight.

For some reason this spurred him on to dart out a hand and grab her elbow before she could pass. She turned with a little light inhale of breath at the sight of him there. He was in his usual dark tailored suit, forgoing any sort of dressing up but Nott had charmed a jet-black crown to his head at last moment, proclaiming him the king of sullenness. He realized that he had been staring for far too long and offered up a greeting. "Hello." He addressed, much less than suavely.

Jackie gave her friend that look that girls often do, that somehow conveyed that she should move along and so she did. "Hi." She replied back, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else on the planet at this moment in time.

He decided that it was probably best to tackle the situation that had been looming over them ever since its occurrence. "Maybe I should apologize. For the other night. It was needless of me to scare you like that." He told her, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

For some reason, what seemed like the right thing to say was obviously not. A frown creased her forehead, and he had the oddest urge to reach out and stroke it away. "I wasn't scared. I'm a witch. If you had posed any real threat, you would be still be feeling the effects of whatever hex had taken my fancy at that particular time." She scolded, with a huff.

He didn't know whether it was the vicious little look on her face or her immediate reaction of aggression to her courage being questioned but he somehow found it just hilarious. He burst out into a mellow sound of laughter that was entirely unfamiliar to him. Jackie looked at him in shock, having not known the boy to be capable of laughter, letting out a few nervous chuckles of her own. "A regular little Godric Gryffindor you are." He teased, as his laughter subsided.

His comment earned him a smack on the arm from her and then another when the first made him let out one last laugh. "Comparing me to a Gryffindor, Black? You've got some nerve." She glowered, trying to suppress the confused little smile that was arising from his odd display of merriment.

He told hold of her wrist before she could land another smack and that ever-present tension that seemed to linger over their heads settled again. The feeling of her bare wrist dwarfed in his hand was searing as she avoided his avid gaze. He hoped she felt the burn too.

"Harmon?" he called to her, trying to bring her attention to him.

"Yes?"

"Let us be friends."

She looked up at him with an air of confusion. Regulus didn't have friends. Only allies. And his allies certainly didn't seem to hold a place for a woman with a talent for backtalk and sarcasm.

Except the last thing was Regulus wanted to be assigned to was a friendship. But she was a difficult woman, stubborn and hard to please. She would discard him easily enough at this point if he didn't meet her expectations. Regulus would not allow himself to be discarded. She was nothing if not loyal and securing a place in her heart even under the ruse of a friendship would be enough to defer him from being expendable in her eyes. And the rest he could work on.

"You really want us to be friends Black? I thought such intimacies were not to your taste?"

"Only if you drop the formalities and decide to call me Regulus."

He knew why this was a request. He thought back to that night in the hospital ward and the way her lips had sounded calling him his given name. Everyone called him by his family name. It almost felt like a tangible desire to hear her whispers of Regulus again. She pondered over his request for a second.

"Can I call you Reggie?" She offered with a sly grin.

"Absolutely not."

"I see you are still a spoilsport, even to your friends."

"Oh, you have no idea how I intend to treat my friends."

She quieted considerably as she heard the odd tone in his voice. There was something yearning about it and she found she quite liked it. Regulus realized that he was still gripping her wrist from earlier on and yet he felt no pressure to let go.

He turned to watch the crowd of partygoers as she did, their backs against the wall. As he stood there, he decided to solidify his intentions towards their so-called friendship. His fingers traced a path down her wrist, sliding across her knuckles and the grooves of her palm. His touch was feather-light and gentle and yet it contained multitudes of longing vehemence. She stood beside him as if she didn't even notice but he felt the way her hand curved over his when his fingers reached their destination. Interlocked with hers.

"If I am to call you Regulus, then it's only fair that you get to call me Jackie." She broke the silence in a voice so quiet that it was barely heard over the noises of music and inebriated teenagers.

"Whatever you wish Jackie."

He didn't miss the way shivers rose to her skin at the sound of her name.

It seemed that it had the same effect on her that it did to him.

( happy late christmas to anyone who celebrates it! it has been a busy christmas season and so this story wasn't being given as much dedication as i had planned but now that i have some free time i hope i'll be putting out chapters pretty quickly. im not sure what ratio of regulus and sirius airtime i should give but do let me know who you like to see more of!! thats all for now, as always thanks for keeping up with this story if you're enjoying it!! )