"Would you hurry it up, Severus?" Del requested as she stood by the exit of the Slytherin common room, "I have very little patience and I would like to get our patrolling over with."

"About that..." he trailed off as he approached the girl.

"Out with it," she demanded.

"Lily agreed to patrol with me," Snape explained.

"So?" Del replied in confusion.

"You're patrolling with James."

"Oh, hell no," she refused.

"Remember that favor you owe me?"

"Come on!" she exclaimed. "Anything else. Literally, anything else."

"Nope," he responded. "Have fun with Potter," he suggested before walking off.

"Severus!" she shouted after him but he was already gone. She groaned before turning around and making her way through the corridors. There was no way she was patrolling with James Potter.

"Delphinus," someone spoke up from behind her.

"Call me that again-" she suggested as she turned around to face the boy, "-and you'll lose a hand."

"Okay, fine, Black it is," he replied, his hands behind his back. "What are you doing out here alone? It's against the rules."

"Oh, since when do you care about the rules, Potter?" she inquired with narrowed eyes. "What are you doing out here alone?"

"Lily said she was patrolling with one of the Hufflepuff's today," he replied simply, "Something about studying together while they did it."

Del grew amused at this, "Is that what she told you?"

"Yes," he confirmed before eyeing her curiously, "Why?"

"No reason," she shook her head. "Now, if you'll excuse me." She started to walk away but he quickly spoke up.

"Wait, you're not supposed to be wandering the castle alone," he reminded her and she rolled her eyes as she turned to face him. "It's dangerous."

"Scared, Potter?" she mused.

"No, I'm not scared," he countered, "But it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Fine," she huffed. "Let's just get this done and keep the talking to a minimum." She began to walk again, "You can pull your map out, this will go a lot faster."

He remained silent for a moment, "You know about the map?"

She nodded. "Found it with Sirius's things in fifth year," she explained. "He didn't really make an effort at hiding it." All she had to do was dig through to the bottom of his luggage. She glanced back at the boy, "Let's see it then."

He pulled the map out of his back pocket reluctantly and opened it to reveal a detailed mapping of the school. They both stopped to examine it. James frowned slightly as he pointed at a spot on the map, "Lily is with Snape?"

Del couldn't help the pity that she felt for the boy. "No time to dwell on that," she responded simply as she scanned over the map. Her sight landed on two people who definitely weren't where they were supposed to be. She took the map from the boy, ignoring his protest and taking off.

"Where are you going?" he asked the girl in confusion.

"Are you coming?" she replied and he caught up to her. They were about to round a corner when Del stuck her arm out, preventing James from going any further. She peered around the corner to find Regulus and Bellatrix Black conversing. Del handed James the map.

"That's..." he trailed off as he looked at the map.

"That would be my dear cousin," she finished for him as they both remained out of sight.

"And-"

"My brother, yes," she agreed.

"You don't seem surprised."

"Neither do you," she countered.

"What do we do?" he asked.

"Why are you asking me?" she questioned, looking back at the boy. He moved to go toward the two but Del grabbed him and pinned him against the wall, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to see what they're up to," he explained.

"And get yourself killed?" she gaped. "Now is not the time to be all Gryffindor-esque, Potter. Take that bravery and shove it up your ass because you are not going to go over there."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" he inquired and the girl released him.

"We go find a teacher, like Dumbledore told us to."

"And if they're gone by the time we get back?"

"If who's gone?" someone spoke up and Del scowled upon hearing her brother's voice.

Del turned to James, her eyes narrowed, "What is he doing here?"

James glanced between the two siblings warily, "He usually tags along with Lily and I."

"And where is Lily?" the boy asked.

"With Snape."

"Lily's with Snivellus?" Sirius gaped.

"Would the both of you shut the hell up?" Del requested as she looked around the corner to see Regulus was still there. He was clearly talking to someone who was out of sight and she assumed it was still Bellatrix. "Go get a teacher."

"You're not supposed to be alone," James reminded her for the upteenth time.

"I'm not technically alone," she countered, "They're right there."

"Who's right there?" Sirius asked and he moved to look but James stopped them. He held up the map and handed it to the boy, "Find the nearest teacher and bring them back here."

"What's going on?"

"Just go, Sirius."

"Okay," he agreed in confusion before taking off.

"You should have gone with him."

"Yeah, right," he scoffed.

"You don't trust me," she concluded as she looked over at where her younger brother stood.

She turned to face James after a moment and pulled up her sleeves, showing him her forearms, "Not that far gone just yet." There were rumors going around that members of the pureblood families - in Slytherin, to be exact - were joining the Death Eaters. And that they were distinguishable by a mark on their forearm, usually the left, depicting a skull and snake.

"But Regulus is?" he concluded and she sucked in a breath before turning back around.

"I did what I could for him," she explained simply. "It wasn't enough." Regulus nodded at the person he was talking to before walking off in the opposite direction. "She's going to get away." Del took off to where Bellatrix was and James gaped at the girl.

"What happened to waiting for a teacher?" he shouted after the girl. He glanced behind himself for a moment, hoping that Sirius would reappear but he didn't. James took off after the girl but as soon as he entered the room she had, the door slammed shut behind him and vanished.

James surveyed the room to find a clearly agitated Del standing in front of Bellatrix Black. He looked to the right of them and Narcissa Black stood there alongside who he was pretty sure was Lucius Malfoy.

Del looked back upon hearing the door shut and huffed when she saw James standing there.

"Two purebloods," Bellatrix observed, as she circled the two. "The Dark Lord will be pleased with your brother."

"He has nothing to do with this," Del pointed out as she stepped in front of James. "Let him go and we can keep this between us girls."

"I think he'd prefer the both of you," she countered, tapping her wand against her chin in thought.

"Yes, well, beggars can't be choosers," Del informed the women as she stepped back, her back pressed against James' chest. She carefully moved her hand to his waist, confusing him greatly. He jumped as she moved her hand until he realized what she was trying to do. "How about we just keep this a family matter?"

"Your parents should be so disappointed in you," Bellatrix tutted as she stared the girl down. "Associating with blood traitors."

"Yes, well," Del began as James grabbed her hand and guided it to his back pocket where his wand was settled. She grabbed a hold of it but didn't pull it out just yet. "They are beyond disappointed, so you got one thing right."

"That can be fixed," she reminded the girl, "And if you bring him with you, I'm sure the Dark Lord will have no hesitation in allowing you to join his ranks."

"I'm flattered, really," Del nodded as she pulled the wand from his pocket. "But not today." She raised the wand and pointed it at the women, "Stupefy!"

Del turned quickly and pointed her wand at Narcissa, "Expelliarmus!" Her wand along with Narcissa's flew from her hand and the women went flying backwards.

James managed to catch Del's wand and stepped between the girl and her cousin, "Protego!" A shield formed in front of the two, sending the next few spells shot their way back at the caster.

Del grabbed the door that had appeared and yanked it open before glancing behind her and pointing her wand at the approaching Lucius, "Locomotor Morris!" She turned to see her cousin, "Behind you, Potter!"

James was quick to whirl around and conjure a flimsy yet functional shield. "Impedimenta!"

Del and James quickly ran out of the room and stumbled into the hall. "Bombarda!" Narcissa exclaimed and the wall behind them exploded. They both ducked for a moment covering their heads. They stood back up immediately as Bellatrix and Lucius followed Narcissa out.

"Confringo!" Del shouted, her wand pointed at the wall next to Malfoy.

He jumped to the side but pointed his wand at the girl, "Expulso!" She held her wand up and blocked the spell before it could do any damage.

"What do we do?" James asked as he dodged yet another spell.

"Try not to get killed," she suggested and he couldn't help but roll his eyes as they both dodged a spell.

"Expelliarmus!" Narcissa exclaimed and Del's wand flew from her hand. James was preoccupied with dodging a spell from Lucius when Bellatrix sent a spell his way. Without even thinking about it, Del pushed the boy out of the way and the spell hit her in the chest.

She gasped as she felt the pain erupt throughout her body. James looked up at the girl with wide eyes but had very little time to react as he dodged another spell. He was severely outnumbered especially now that Del was no longer capable of fighting back.

There were footsteps from down the hall that sounded as though they were coming toward them. Narcissa, Lucius and Bellatrix glanced behind them before exchanging a look and disappearing.

James quickly crawled over to the girl who laid on the floor. He moved her head so she was looking at him, "Black, can you hear me?" She didn't respond and he grew worried. "Del, come on." She was breathing, which he took as a good sign but he didn't know what to do. He had never seen a spell do this to a person before and she was bleeding like crazy. There was no way someone could lose this much blood and survive, even with the assistance of magic.

Someone pushed him out of the way and he tried to protest but another person placed their hand on his shoulder. He pointed Del's wand at the culprit and looked up to see Lily looking down at him and she shook her head. He looked back at who had pushed him out of the way and saw that it was only Severus Snape.

He moved his wand over the girl, mumbling what was most likely a counter-curse of sorts as the blood that had coated the floor around her soaked back up into her. He continued and the wounds seemed to seal themselves off.

"Is she okay?" James finally asked after a moment. "Why isn't she waking up?" He tried to go toward the girl but Lily stopped him as Sirius arrived with Dumbledore and McGonagall.

Sirius's eyes widened upon seeing his sister's state. He made his way over and knelt down by the girl, taking her hand in his.

Lily helped James to his feet and he looked around in a dazed state. Pieces of the building cluttered the floor and the previous events played on repeat in his mind. "It happened too fast," he shook his head as he backed away from the girl. "One second we were...and then..."

"James," Lily tried but the boy shook his head, shaking the redhead's hand off his arm.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall spoke up, stepping toward the boy. "Can you tell me what happened?"

James shook his head after a moment and looked down at the girl who still laid on the floor. Dumbledore was observing the girl and James looked back at McGonagall. "I don't-" he cut himself off, shaking his head. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked around the hall, "It happened too fast...I don't - I don't know."

"Come with me," the Professor suggested and he shook his head again.

"Del," he tried, "She's-"

"She's being taken care of," McGonagall informed him. She placed her hand on his back and began to guide him away. He looked behind himself at the girl but allowed the Professor to lead him through the hall.

"She'll be fine," Dumbledore announced. "Head back to your houses."

"I want to stay with her," Sirius requested.

"You can visit her in the morning," the Headmaster replied. He waved his wand and the mess in the hallway vanished. "Ms. Evans, Mr. Snape, we'll be having a meeting as soon as Ms. Black feels up for it to avoid another situation like this one," he explained to the pair. They both nodded and he added, "Let the other heads know this as well."

"The two of you should walk with Severus back to the Slytherin common room before heading toward the Gryffindor common room," he suggested. "Mr. Potter will be along soon."

The three of them, Sirius rather reluctantly, left a short while later, doing as they were told and Dumbledore took Del to the hospital wing for Madam Pomfrey to take care of her.

James sat down across from Professor McGonagall in her office and she handed him a cup of what was most likely tea. He took it reluctantly and stared down at it for a moment before raising the liquid to his lips. He felt himself relax significantly as the beverage made its way down his throat. He placed the cup down and rested his head in his hands.

"We were patrolling," he explained as he looked up, his chin now resting in his hands. "And we stumbled upon people talking." He was tempted to mention Regulus but only for a moment. "Sirius showed up so we sent him to find a teacher. Del thought that whoever it was, was going to get away so she went after them. I wasn't just going to let her go by herself."

He ran a hand over his face and shook his head, "I, um...I guess it was a trap? It was her cousins, Bellatrix and Narcissa along with Lucius Malfoy." He leaned back in his chair, "They came on his orders."

"His as in-"

"Who else?" he snapped but he frowned after a moment. "They had disarmed her before I entered the room. She ended up getting my wand and then we got hers back but we weren't fast enough to get out." He ran a hand through his hair as the memory flooded into his mind. "She lost her wand - or my wand, I guess," he explained, "And she pushed me out of the way before the spell could hit me."

McGonagall nodded understandingly and he looked up at her, "How did they even get in? I thought it was supposed to be safe?"

Her lips were pressed into a line as she nodded in agreement, "It is if they were to try and break in."

"So someone let them in?" James inquired and he could feel the anger boiling inside himself.

"I assure you, James, we will be doing some investigating to find out how this happened," she informed him. "But if you would like to head home, along with any other student who no longer feels safe, that can be arranged."

James shook his head, "No, I just-" He huffed, "I don't understand how this could happen."

"You should get some rest," the Professor suggested and he stood up reluctantly. "I'll walk you to the common room."

They walked in silence, side by side. Once they arrived at the portrait, McGonagall nodded at the boy, "Goodnight, Potter."

"Goodnight, Professor," he replied before entering the common room, allowing the door to close shut behind him.