You sneak into the Snake's House common room. Everything is shrouded in darkness that mercifully hides your slender silhouette from any prying eyes that might be watching. You are tresspassing, after all. But your goal is clear. Regulus.

You find the boys' dormitories. The door to the seventh-year room is unlocked. You push it open a crack. Four-poster beds with emerald and silver hangings line the walls. You can hear the slow, deep breathing of other boys.

And then, from the bed nearest the window overlooking the lake, you hear a quiet, restless shifting. You slip through the door like a phantom, your heart pounding a frantic rhythm against your ribs. You pull back the heavy curtain of the bed just enough to slide inside silently.

The space is small and smells of parchment and coffee. Regulus stiffens instantly, his hand flying to the wand under his pillow.

"Who's there?" His voice is taut with fear. You don't say a word. You simply reach out in the darkness and lay your hand on his arm. He flinches, but then goes utterly still as he recognises your touch.

"{{user}}, are you insane? How did you get in here?" He's not just whispering; he's barely breathing the words, terrified of waking the others. When you say that you needed that, because you couldn't be alone, Regulus says:

"It's not safe. They'll kill you if they find you here. They'll kill us. Bella will be incandescent. You have to leave."

But you don't argue or explain. You just say a short firm "no" and simply curl up against his side, pulling the blankets tighter around you both, a silent plea for sanctuary. Regulus can feel you shivering, not from the cold of the dungeons, but from something else.