Pride and Prejudice | James Potter

Chapter Twenty Two

Scouting

"Elizabeth, I have a serious problem." Henry said, sitting down at the Ravenclaw table. Elizabeth looked up.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't talk about it here. Can we go to your common room?"

Elizabeth saw the panic in Henry's eyes and nodded, standing up.

"Let's go."

They walked up to the Ravenclaw tower, Henry growing more agitated with every step. When they were safely in the common room, Henry cast the muffliato charm around them, casting a glance at the students reading in the corner.

"Henry, what's going on?"

"They're scouting Slytherins." Henry said, the fear evident on his face.

"Who is?"

"The death eaters. Regulus is basically promised to them, along with a lot of my friends. Only a few Slytherins actually want to, but their families are tied to the Dark Lord, so they have to. Severus Snape and a couple other seventh years are going to be branded with the dark mark when they graduate. They're trying to recruit the other Slytherins, and I don't want to join them, Lizzie. I'm scared. They're not exactly kind to people that turn them down."

Elizabeth took a deep breath. She had always been nervous that Henry would get close with death eaters, but she had never thought that they would try to recruit him. It had always been a fear in the back of her head, but being presented with it so bluntly, before Henry had even graduated, was hard for her.

"They can't make you do anything, Henry. Mum and Dad will let you transfer schools if you're in danger. I'll make them." She insisted. Henry shook his head.

"I can't just leave Regulus, Elizabeth. He can't leave like I can, he's stuck. He has to become a death eater. He doesn't have a choice like I do. I can't abandon him."

"He could." Elizabeth said. Henry furrowed his eyebrows.

"What?"

"He could have a choice. It would be hard, but from what I've heard from Sirius, their mother treats them terribly. If we can get evidence, we could take her to court. If they lose custody of him, assuming that he's of age when this happens, you could both go to a different school next year, along with Anne, and potentially leave it all behind."

"Would that work?" Henry asked. "I can't imagine Mrs. Black treats Regulus badly. It would be really hard to get evidence against her. And he could just get adopted by a family member, couldn't he?"

"Not if he's of age. If he chooses to stay on his own, he wouldn't have to see them again. I'll have to do some research, maybe talk to Professor Flitwick. He'd help me figure out the logistics of it."

Henry hugged Elizabeth tightly, surprising her. He didn't often show physical affection, and it was incredibly out of character for him to be the one to initiate contact.

"Thank you, Elizabeth."

"Of course. I'll do anything to help you."

"Keep me updated, please?"

"Sure."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Elizabeth closed her book and stood up, packing her bag. A slip of paper fell out of her charms book, and she picked it up, unfamiliar with it. She opened it up, reading the messy scrawl on it.

Meet me in the Astronomy Tower at 8:30

She immediately recognized James's handwriting, and smiled, tucking the note in her pocket. She checked her watch. 6:30. She had enough time to talk to Professor Flitwick and grab dinner quickly. She hurried to her Head of House's office, wanting to catch him before he left for dinner as well. As she ran down the halls, she ran into none other than Regulus Black. When he saw her face, he smiled warmly.

"Elizabeth, it's nice to see you. Henry was just telling me about you." He said rather pointedly. "I also heard about you and James, congrats, by the way."

"Thanks. How have you been?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm doing well. I won't be going home for Easter holidays, unfortunately. I have a few things going on at school during the break, so I've discussed it with my parents and we decided it was easiest for me to stay here. Anyway, I have to get to dinner, but I'd love to catch up with you later. Maybe before breakfast tomorrow?" He said, looking at her strangely.

"Sounds good to me." Elizabeth said, catching his meaning.

"Great! I'll see you then."

He waved quickly and hurried off, Elizabeth going in the opposite direction. She stopped in front of the Flitwick's office, knocking on the door. When it swung open, Flitwick standing a few feet below her, she smiled.

"Professor, I have a few things I'd like to discuss with you. Privately, that is."

Flitwick nodded and ushered her into his office. She took a seat and put her hands in her lap.

"What is it you need to talk to me about?" Flitwick asked.

"I have a few questions about law, Professor. There's a student I'm worried about in their current family situation, and I think charges could be pressed against their parents, and they could be removed from the home. I'm just not sure if they have to go to another family member if they're of age. I'm also concerned about the evidence we have against their parents for this particular child. There's evidence for other children in the home, but that's no longer relevant, and I don't think it can be used anymore."

Professor Flitwick nodded solemnly.

"I'm assuming you mean Mr. Regulus Black?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"Well, if you have evidence from Sirius, it can be used as proof of abuse, in which case all children would be removed from the home. I would advise waiting until Regulus is of age, to ensure he isn't placed in the care of a family member, which, I'm sure, would be counter-productive."

"Right, but what if Sirius has left the home? I've been looking in the library, and I haven't found anything that applies to this situation specifically."

"Well, it is a strange situation. And I believe that Sirius being forced to leave the home is strong evidence. If he's willing to submit to a veritaserum witness, that evidence alone could get Regulus out of the house."

"Thank you, Sir."

"I must ask you to keep this conversation private, of course, unless you believe telling someone would be helpful."

"Of course, Sir. Thank you again." Elizabeth said, standing up and grabbing her bag. She left the office and headed towards the Great Hall.

They could save Regulus.