All Right, Evans?

Chapter 5

Monday, 9:03 P.M.

The Slytherin common room was almost empty, save for the three figures sitting in front of the fireplace.

"Your cousin's a blood traitor if I ever saw one," Lestrange said roughly to Bellatrix.

She scowled. "You don't have to tell me, Rodolphus, I've seen the sort he hangs around with. Traitors and Mudbloods, the lot of them. My cousin was never known for his family loyalty."

"You reckon Regulus is on the same path?"

"He's in Slytheirn, at least, isn't he?" Bellatrix said. "I don't think he's got friends at all, really, but better that than mingling with the kind of riffraff Sirius got himself involved with. Have you noticed anything, Snape?"

Snape shook his head. "Regulus keeps to himself. He won't be hexing us any time soon."

"If that's what you call it," Lestrange scoffed. "At least Sirius remembered his place, unlike Potter. What kind of pureblood resorts to Muggle dueling? It's pathetic, an embarrassment."

"Weak," Bellatrix agreed, "but Potter's desperate about that Mudblood girl." A twisted smile began to snake its way across her mouth at the thought. "Lost his head. No wonder, since I doubt she's got enough magic in her to hold a candle to us... What are you scowling about, Snape?"

"I'm not," Snape protested as he made an unsuccessful attempt to smooth out his features.

"Oh, that's right," Bellatrix said. She took her time with the words, drawing them out, her smile widening with every syllable. "You were friends with that Mudblood, weren't you, Severus? Fancied her, too, I bet, and now she's cozied up to Potter -"

"I never fancied her!" Snape interjected angrily. "Not that I care, but she's not 'cozied up' to anyone, either, least of all Potter. She hates him."

"You didn't see them at dinner?" Bellatrix antagonized him. She was sore about that afternoon's events, and Snape was an easy target on which to release her frustration. "Didn't seem too hateful to me. She was even laughing at the blood traitor's jokes -"

"Shut it, both of you," Lestrange ordered before Snape could retort. The first considered the other for a moment before continuing. "You're awfully defensive, Severus. Having second thoughts about the Evans girl, are you?"

"No," Snape said through gritted teeth. "What do I care about some filthy Mudblood?" He felt a slight pang in his chest as the slur escaped his lips, but he did his best to ignore it. Now was not the time to recount his wrongs.

Bellatrix snorted disbelievingly. "Prove it," she muttered.

"All in good time, Bella," Lestrange conceded.

Snape felt his stomach constrict painfully, wondering what exactly he'd be forced to prove, and he cursed himself. His fellow Slytherins had all been wary of him, testing his loyalty to see if it lay with them or his now estranged Gryffindor friend. He knew better than to let his guard down, even in the slightest, even for a moment. And now it seemed that he would be put to the test, whenever "all in good time" was.

"In the meantime, though," Lestrange was saying, "Severus, you should extend a hand to Regulus."

Snape nodded, hoping that reaching out to Regulus might mean they would forget about testing his loyalty when it came to Lily Evans. He ignored the part of him that told him his hopes were useless.

Oblivious to Snape's inner turmoil, Lestrange stood from his chair, ready for bed now that the wheels in his head were turning. Planning would start soon enough, and he knew he should get his rest while he could.

"There's a war going on outside," he added, looking pointedly at Snape as if he suspected that the younger Slytherin had forgotten. "Let the dirty blood distract themselves with how very clever and romantic they all are; they'll be all the weaker when this comes to a head."

"They'll be the first to go," Bellatrix said with a laugh. "Sirius among them."

"Let him," Lestrange said, knowing that Sirius was too far gone to be retrieved. It didn't matter, as long as they stopped Regulus from following in those footsteps. "But we can't afford to lose another Black to the wrong side."