Regulus turned sharply on Avery to face him, his jaw clenching upon hearing those words escape his mouth. He was suddenly filled with a desire to punch him in the face, but Regulus couldn't understand why he was feeling this way. He hadn't felt this protective toward a girl in a very long time.

     "What is it? Cat got your tongue?" Avery sneered as he watched Regulus closely, seeing how his expression had changed. "I thought you were smarter than to fall for such a shallow girl, Black."

      "Watch your mouth, Avery," Regulus snapped, but he ignored him.

      "Or what, Black?" Avery smirked. "I mean, she's not even worth that much —"

     He was trying to say, but in a quick motion Regulus suddenly took out his wand and pointed it at him, his whole body shaking in fury.

      "Say another word about her, and it would be the last thing you ever do," Regulus snarled dangerously.

     And then, with his deadly glare upon Avery, he placed his wand back in his pocket and said the password, walking into the Slytherin common room without another word.

***

As the following morning proceeded, everyone was rushing around to get ready to leave Hogwarts for Christmas break and go back home to their families. Although it was obvious that many were scared of what fate awaited them outside the castle, with the war going on.

The number of people being killed or kidnapped was growing in the Daily Prophet and everyone had to fearfully read the newspaper every single day, just to make sure the names that they knew wouldn't show up in there. But now that they were leaving Hogwarts as well, the youngsters had to worry about themselves too, specially if they were Muggle-borns.

Although for some reason, Regulus was more worried than anyone else for returning back, even though he came from a bloodline of Pureblood witches and wizards.

Last summer when he had joined the Dark Lord, Regulus had thought that their main goal was to rule Pureblood supremacy over all others. But as he spend more and more time among them, he was now starting to see their true agendas.

Their plan was to kill all Muggle-borns and rule over Muggles by torturing them and all in all bringing an era of terror among everyone who were against them or simply didn't believe in this cause.

Regulus's peers in Slytherin were fascinated with Dark Arts and practiced them all the time. For now, Regulus knew that they couldn't force him to do anything and bring anyone harm outside school, because he was still underage.

But he would be seventeen in a short time, and there was no escaping Lord Voldemort and his followers after that, now that he himself had become one of them.

Regulus was left alone in his dorm that day as the others had gone down to the train. He was sitting at the edge of his dark green bed with his sleeve rolled up as he stared down at the Dark Mark on his left forearm.

With his finger, he slowly trailed it up and down, feeling the regret surge from within him as he stared down at the mark, knowing that it was carved into his skin forever.

Cursing under his breath, Regulus angrily pulled down his sleeved and got up from his bed, pacing around the room as he pulled at his hair in frustration.

But trying to shake the thought away, Regulus went out of the Slytherin common room and down toward the carriages, which would get them to the Hosmeade train station and the Hogwarts express.

The morning light struggled through the murky cloud. The Hogwarts grounds were covered in a thick blanket of white, the castle peeked out under their new white caps, footsteps and cats' paw prints crisscrossed each other around the labyrinth of paths, and the owls hooted in their cages.

Regulus was just about to get into one of the carriages that he stopped in his tracks when he heard his name being called.

Turning around, a smile crept through his face as he saw Alexandra waving at him and walking toward him. Although Regulus also spotted Mike Williams, Ravenclaw's quidditch captain and Alexandra's best friend, standing a few feet away from them, looking rather grim as he waited for her.

"Hey, Reggie." Alexandra smiled at him as she reached him.

"Hey — AARGH!" Regulus was saying, but then he yelped when he backed away and suddenly bumped into something behind him. "What the hell was that!?"

Alexandra chuckled in amusement. "That was probably a Thestral."

Regulus turned to look at her with a raised brow. "I beg your pardon?"

"Thestrals," Alexandra repeated herself. "They are fleshless and horse-like creatures with wings. They are what carry these carriages around."

"Okay..." Regulus gave her a look, as if she had gone mad.

"They are invisible to us, though. That's how everyone's always bumping into them, but they don't really question the matter," Alexandra explained. "Thestrals can only be seen by those who have seen someone die."

Regulus gulped, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "And can you — you know — see them?" he asked awkwardly, thinking that this was how Alexandra knew about them, because she had probably seen someone die.

But she shook her head in response. "No, I can't see them, thankfully. I've only seen drawings of them in different books. But they are rather nice and tender, unlike what people expect of them, because of their nature."

Alexandra then raised her hand and slowly walked forward, but she came to a stop when her hand reached something invisible. So she closed her eyes, trying to see with her touch. With that, she started stroking the Thestral's head gently.

"Here, you do it," she said, opening her eyes. "I'll guide you."

Regulus hesitated at first, looking around to see that a few people were staring at their direction, probably thinking that they were mental.

But at last he sighed and nodded at Alexandra. So she gently took his hand in hers by the wrist, causing sparks to rush down in both their bodied as she raised it up and guided it forward.

"Whoa!" Regulus suddenly flinched when his hand touched something solid yet invisible in mid air.

"Go on, stroke her. She likes it," Alexandra said with glee, nodding at him encouragingly. So Regulus obeyed, stroking the head of the Thestral gently, even though he couldn't see it. He then laughed with delight as he pulled away.

"I sometimes go and visit them in the Dark Forest," said Alexandra. "Hagrid told me where they live. All you have to do is to throw a meat down and when you see it being eaten, that means they are there. The smell of blood attracts them."

A short silence followed her words as they both stood there, facing one another.

"I... um... came to say goodbye," Alexandra finally said after a little pause.

"Right." Regulus's lips twitched up into a grin. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Reggie." Alexandra smiled and then suddenly, without even thinking twice about it, she went on her tiptoes and placed a small kiss on Regulus's cheek before turning on her heels and walking away, her cheeks pink and flushed.