A/N: Here's your regular weekly update! Good to see reviews ticking up for both parts… remember, reviews to any of the five parts of this story can help earn bonus chapters! Well over a hundred chapters out there to review, and more every week!

-C

Aldise strolled through the Easter event. Oliver Nott's family was hosting this year, and she tried to find someone she could catch eye contact with, someone she could talk to, as Isabel wanted nothing to do with her, and Rohesia was sulking in a corner still, waiting for Alphard to arrive.

So dull.

Walburga was telling anyone who would listen about her upcoming wedding date, and Orion grabbed Aldise's arm at the elbow, tugging her toward the music room.

"You've got to tell Rohesia to talk to me," he said earnestly, almost sternly, and Aldise blinked, not entirely certain it was Orion speaking to her like this. He was not usually so…pointed. "Please," he added abruptly, as if to soothe her surprise.

It didn't help.

"Why?" she asked, very perplexed.

"Because she won't speak to me," he said, eyes narrowed. "And I need her to speak to me if she's ever to understand."

Aldise looked him up and down, realizing he was talking about how he'd been hoping to marry Rohesia, but his engagement put an end to everything, abruptly. It might explain why Rohesia was still so sulky, and perhaps partly explained why Isabel was so high-and-mighty.

"I can't help you," Aldise said, raising an eyebrow. "You're better off without her anyway."

She was shocked when he squeezed her arm at this, and she gasped, backing away from him, feeling afraid for the first time.

Seeming to realize what he'd done, Orion let go of her arm as if her skin had burned him and he hurried out to the back of the ballroom, to follow the patio out to the garden. Aldise stared after him, frowning.

Surely, he would be happy to be spared the political scandal. His family would be kept pure. Yes, Rohesia was pretty, but there were things more important.

Alphard arrived, later than the rest of his family, strolling into the foyer and letting his eyes lazily graze the people. He frowned at his sister before looking toward the corner of the ballroom, pushing past his mother to go to Rohesia, who hadn't seen him arrive yet.

Aldise watched him greet Rohesia, putting his finger under her chin to coax her to look up at him. He said something softly and they walked out to the garden together, walking perhaps closer than was appropriate.

For one wild moment, Aldise thought about warning them Orion had already gone out to the garden, so they could avoid him, but then she told herself she'd let Rohesia dig her own grave. No one could have everything they wanted all the time, and if Rohesia had to learn this the hard way, then so be it. Aldise was doing her friend a favor, really, acquainting her with the facts of reality.

"Was that Alphard I saw?" Isabel asked Cygnus nearby.

"Yeah," Cygnus said, scratching his chin and glancing out to the garden. "Walburga told me he's hardly ever home these days. Seems to be in good spirits, though."

"Well, that's something," Isabel said thoughtfully.

But Aldise couldn't help hoping it turned out to be nothing.

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Adam, Denis, and Oliver sat in a corner of the party, quizzing each other for their upcoming exams. NEWTs were still a couple of months away, but Adam certainly felt the pressure.

"Cold brew," Denis said, rubbing his jaw as someone's little sister – a Bulstrode, Adam thought – danced by, giggling and shrieking as the eleven-year-olds sometimes did. "Erm. Cold brew? That's not right. What do we call it?"

"Infusion," Adam sighed. "Infusion of…wormwood. Look, can we do something else? Potions are giving me a pain in my head."

"No," Oliver said sternly, checking his watch to see if they'd been social long enough, yet. Apparently not, because he didn't lead them out of the hall. The idea was to hang around long as necessary, and then retreat up to Oliver's room for a more thorough revision session. "That's the whole reason we're starting with Potions. It's difficult. What do we do with the infusion when the heat's on, though?"

/-/

When Rohesia had cried herself out on Alphard's shoulder, giving him a full measure of hope for the first time when he pressed a kiss to her cheek and she leaned closer, he watched her walk back to the house with a sense of fullness in his chest that was warm, expanding, like conquering.

Not two minutes later, Orion approached him from the back of the garden, and Alphard pulled out and lit a cigarette.

"Walburga's set a date," Orion said, despairing.

"You don't have to marry her, you know," Alphard offered, frowning. "You're of age. You can cancel the contract, if you want."

"You know how that would look," Orion said with a shiver. "I just wish…. Rohesia won't even speak to me. She doesn't understand. What did she say to you?"

Alphard hesitated. Rohesia was definitely furious, thinking Orion didn't love her enough to fight, so he couldn't love her at all. It was the kind of romantic outlook that really gave Alphard hope, because he'd fight for her, if he had to. His important family members would stand in his way, and once Orion was married in August…

"You need to promise me something," Orion said urgently.

Alphard didn't like the sound of that, narrowing his eyes.

"What?"

"Promise first. It's so important, Alphard. I'd never forgive you if you didn't promise."

"I can't make a promise if I don't know what I'm promising."

"You have to! You have to swear it!"

Alphard's stomach dropped, and he almost knew what his cousin was about to ask of him.

"I need you to promise," Orion said, near tears, "that no matter what happens, that no matter where we go from here, that you won't marry Rohesia."

Alphard knew where Orion was coming from – ultimate betrayal, knowing she was the girl they both wanted. It would be easier to marry Alphard's sister, no doubt, if Orion knew Alphard wasn't marrying Rohesia, either.

Just as quickly as Alphard had begun mentally planning the wedding, the honeymoon, the nice little summer cottage filled to the brim with their disgustingly attractive and hideously talented children, Alphard now saw a future empty, hollow, watching her be with someone else, some undefined stranger.

"Alright," he said through a throat so tight it stung. "Alright. I swear it. I swear I'll never marry Rohesia Fawley."

/-/

From the time Magnus saw Alphard enter the event to the time he saw him come in from the garden, he was a different man. He'd come in with confidence, like he was about to do something important and powerful, and when he came back in from whatever conversation he had with his cousin, he marched straight for the alcohol with lifeless eyes, as though someone had died in that garden. Maybe even Alphard himself.

Magnus crossed to where Alphard was, trying to think of a way to talk his best friend out of consuming far too much alcohol, but he hadn't found any words when Rohesia Fawley approached, and Magnus kissed her hand, unable to think of a better way to greet her. Alphard downed not his usual half, but a whole glass by the time it was his turn to greet her, in one gulp. Rohesia blinked at how quickly the firewhiskey was gone, and how swiftly Alphard swapped his empty glass for a full one.

"Excited for your exams, darling?" Alphard said, not looking directly at her, but over her shoulder, at a spot next to her ear, at a spot on the ground beside her feet, but never at her and certainly never at her face.

Rohesia seemed to sense something was wrong, and she gave Magnus a look he read as asking him to leave, but he couldn't. Because if he left, Alphard might do or say something stupid in front of her. And Alphard would never forgive him if he allowed that.

"I suppose so," she said, her musical voice laced with concern, and he took her hand, kissing not only the back of it, but the second knuckle of each finger on it.

"Why don't you tell Magnus about your projects, darling?" he said, forcing a smile that didn't reach his cheeks, much less his eyes.

She blinked, puzzled, but said nothing as he downed his glass in one, again trading for a full one. He didn't take his leave with words, but simply took his glass and walked out onto the patio. Magnus glanced at Rohesia with expectation, asking about her projects to distract her as he kept the corner of his eye on Alphard. She'd begun to tell him about her Herbology progress when he saw Alphard empty the glass in a smooth gulp and throw it at the patio, the glass shattering everywhere. Instead of walking into the garden, he took off for the open, grassy field in the back.

Rohesia must have seen it, because she looked up at Magnus, astonished.

"What's wrong?" she asked, horrified. "Is he alright?"

"If I knew," Magnus said, "I would tell you."

Although, if it was about what Magnus thought it was about, he almost certainly wouldn't tell her.

/-/

Walburga preened as younger women asked about her dress, what sort of cake she would have, was she thinking of a long or short veil, etc. She wanted her brothers to share in her joy, but Cygnus was too wrapped up in his own future spouse, and Alphard was nowhere to be seen. The one pleasing thing Walburga noticed as she glanced out across the party was that Rohesia Fawley looked near-tears as she spoke to the Greengrass girl and Selwyn by the wine. Selwyn took his leave as the Greengrass girl smoothed a stray strayed of Rohesia Fawley's hair, leading her away toward the toilet, perhaps to give them privacy, or maybe to have a quiet place to cry. It made no difference to Walburga, at this point.

"Walburga," Aldise Yaxley said insistently. "Please, we need to talk."

"I doubt it," Walburga said coolly. "You should be out there trying to catch a husband."

Aldise's eyes flashed, and the girl came far too close to Walburga, and she said, "Don't forget who furnished you with the information that procured your own fiancé, Walburga."

Walburga's nostrils flared, and for a small moment she thought she ought to hear out the girl, as the point was certainly a valid one. But then Walburga's wits helped her, reminding her this girl was a speck on the horizon.

"Recall you are speaking to a Black," Walburga said, narrowing her eyes at the girl. "And a Black who will forever be a Black, in the best possible sense. If you have any desire to marry well, to have your children be worthy of decent contracts, I strongly suggest you remember your place."

Aldise's eyes flashed again, but she took a small shuffle backward as her neck stiffened. Whatever she wanted to do or say, the reminder seemed sufficient to hold her tongue and stay her hand.

For the moment.

/-/

Isabel wiped away a few tears from Rohesia's lashes, trying to distract her.

"Hey, we graduate soon," she said brightly. "Exams, then you'll be crowned dux of the year, and we can all go out into the world, be treated as women instead of girls for a change."

"Alphard never treats me as a little girl," Rohesia said, raking fingers through her hair. "Even when we were children, he always treated me as an equal. Not like a fragile bit of glass. Damn it, these stupid Blacks! What do they want from me?"

Isabel didn't know what to say. Orion seemed to only want her forgiveness, which Rohesia was certainly not ready to give. But Alphard, who had seemed so promising when the day began, seemed to be in a whirlwind, maybe not even sure what he wanted.

After a few deep, sharp sniffles, Rohesia said, "I hate them. I hate them both."

"You're lying," Isabel pointed out weakly.

"I know."

Rohesia tried to take deep breaths, but they were interrupted by trembling, staggered sobs, causing her whole torso to spasm. Isabel sat beside her, trying to cuddle and calm her, like when they were little children, but this was totally different. Skinned knees were not broken hearts, and Isabel knew no remedy.

"He didn't even look at me," Rohesia managed to splutter.

Isabel was lost, not sure which of the cousins they were talking about now, but it was probably Orion. Alphard seemed incapable of looking at anything else when Rohesia in the room. That he would not look at her was laughable.

"It'll be okay," Isabel said weakly.

Rohesia didn't even dignify the poor effort with a response.

/-/

Aldise rubbed absently at her arms, and she held her breath as Randolph Lestrange approached her. She tried to perk up, smile, look a bit more pleasant and attractive, in hopes he would ask her to dance. It hadn't happened often before, but she had more hopes now.

"Miss Yaxley," he said, bowing his head slightly in a brief greeting, she smiled at him, nervous. "I wonder, have you seen Miss Fawley?"

Her stomach sank and she swallowed her frustrations, not wanting to say something she might regret later. But it was endlessly frustrating. Even a man who knew Rohesia's political leanings would rather be around her than Aldise.

"No," she said softly. "No, I haven't a clue where she is. Excuse me."

His eyes showed no concern for her as she took her leave of him, grabbed a glass of wine, and walked out onto the back patio, rubbing the flat area just below her collarbone for a long moment with two fingers, wishing she would stop aching.

A few younger adolescents – barely out of the music room – were running happily through the gardens, and Aldise watched one little boy, tugging on the plait of one of three girls gossiping. The girl turned to him, outraged, and he kissed her cheek, laughing as she squealed in horror.

Aldise frowned, seeing the scene and thinking how Alphard had done that to Rohesia once, when they were children about that age. They would have probably been about eleven, and Alphard would have been twelve – a horrid age for little boys. He'd always been buzzing around Rohesia when they were children, and for that one year when he was considered too old for the music room and she too young to leave it, it had been nice to have relative peace.

But as soon as they were out, he never left her alone, teasing her, tugging at her hair, and as they got older and older, dancing with her and standing perhaps too close, walking with her in the garden.

Why couldn't she just marry Alphard and leave everybody else alone? Aldise felt another rush of anger and frustration, and she held in a scream.

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Adam pulled away from the group, wanting to get some air before they started in on Charms, and he stumbled into Rohesia Fawley in the corridor.

"Oh, apologies," he said, and he saw tears clinging to her eyelashes. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine," she lied, sniffing. "What are you doing up here?"

"Oh, a few of us are revising," he said, frowning. "What are you doing up here?"

"Have you seen Alphard?" she said, her voice tight.

He shook his head, puzzled. He'd never seen her at one of these events without Alphard somewhere nearby, if not right on her arm, then close enough to watch her.

"He's probably found somewhere to smoke one of those disgusting things," he said lightly, although he had a feeling there was nothing light about it. "You could…join our revision, if you'd like. We're about to start Charms. We've got some alcohol."

He shrugged, and she hesitated, but he was only mildly surprised when she agreed, following him into a room with three boys, closing the door behind them.

/-/

Alphard gripped tightly at his legs, biting his top teeth down on his knee through the fabric of his robes. He ignored Magnus, just fighting the urge to break something. He wanted to burn down the garden. He wanted to snap the tree across from him half. He wanted to reach out with his magic and rip the gates in two. Alphard had been so terribly close to happiness, and his stupid, selfish cousin had to ask something Alphard didn't feel he could deny.

And now she could never be his. No matter what he felt, no matter what she might feel in return, no matter how much pain it caused Alphard to think it, she could never, ever be his.

"You upset Rohesia, you know," Magnus said softly. "She thinks she's done something wrong."

Alphard gripped his legs more tightly, feeling his chest ache. He never wanted her to be unhappy, he just didn't know how to come to grips with the raging anger he felt, undirected and inconsolable. It was everything he could do not to let go, feel it all at once, and potentially have a dangerous outburst of accidental magic. Even at his age, something like this could cause a snapped tree or a burned down garden, and Alphard had never felt anything more strongly in his life.

He closed his eyes and tried to picture her face, but all he could see was her marrying some undefined stranger, and knowing that when the day came it would not be a stranger. It would be Lestrange or Greengrass, Malfoy or Magnus. Maybe one of the idiot boys her age.

But it wouldn't be Alphard. It couldn't be, and he didn't know what he had left to look forward to in the world. He didn't have anything he wanted to do, anything he wanted to accomplish. He had no passions except his own enjoyment, and watching Rohesia in a garden. Nothing was more exhilarating than watching her touch a plant and see it bloom and perk up with brighter beauty, as if it wanted to impress her. He loved nothing in the world except her, and cared for nothing but her, his best friend, his brother, and his cousin.

And somehow, none of those things connected, none of them aligned. Even if everybody else he cared about could be happy, Alphard never could be, and it happened so quickly, he wasn't sure he'd ever adjust to the idea.

A/N: So, Rohesia's all over the place, Alphard makes a very reluctant promise, and Aldise's plan hasn't worked out quite like she hoped.

Review Prompt: How do you think Alphard will deal with this? Will he bounce back somehow, or spiral downwards?

Q&A:

Q: How long have you been writing? (Amy)

A: Gosh, what a question. I started writing stories with friends when I was maybe ten, eleven. And I enjoyed it, and I was pretty decent. I kept trying to write after that, but it didn't really click. I have a story (LotR fanfic) that I've been percolating since then, but I'm not posting until it's perfect because LotR fans are a bit…scary. I started my first HP fan fic when I was twelve. It's actually a massive multi-gen I'm still working on, but I didn't share any of it for years. It evolved massively before I showed it to anyone—the main character had a new name and became a secondary character—but that was my senior year of high school. He convinced me to start writing and sharing. I was determined just to do that story, but about halfway through my freshman year of college, I started branching out, trying new things. At the time, I was planning on becoming a lawyer.

Somewhere along the way, I started writing original stuff again, sort of sophomore year. And I realized I was decent, and it was what I wanted to do. I switched to lit major, focused on my writing. Got a teaching degree. And now I'm working on my creative writing MFA and agonizing over how my novel gets longer every time I edit. That should surprise no one who reads my work on here, especially this piece. I get this small idea and as I work, it always fucking balloons.

So, long story short, I've been writing about…fifteen, sixteen years. In one form or another. In earnest, maybe six, seven years?

Cheers!

C