Author's note: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, Titania Orion and friends belong to me.

Chapter 14: Busted

The great thing about always returning to Hogwarts on September 1st, regardless of the day of the week, was that some years turned out like this: One Friday of classes, and then the weekend. The summer had felt like one long, fucked-up version of schooling already, and I was about ready for a break.

"Goddammit," I grumbled as I snatched one of the new term schedules and gave it a once over. "We end the week with Charms? Well that's just fantastic."

"I'm sure it won't be any worse for you than any other year," Severus said reasonably.

"Oh, aren't you encouraging."

"And we get to waste our time with this Defense bullshit this morning," Avery said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

Mira stared at him with a look somewhere between affection and disgust.

"It's all a waste of time at this point, isn't it?" said Mulciber.

"I don't know; Titania could certainly brush up on her Charms skills," Severus said, as if I needed reminding again.

"God, Sev. I know. I can't be good at everything, you know. Charms just happens to be my one weakness."

"Of course," he said, rolling his eyes. "Your one weakness."

"Be nice, we're not all as brilliant as you are."

After grumbling about our schedules for the remainder of breakfast, we made our way back to the dormitories to relax before our late morning DADA class. I pulled out a hand mirror and began to put on my makeup, which I'd been too lazy to do before breakfast.

"I'm totally gonna figure it out," Mira said, as if we'd been in the middle of a conversation.

"What?"

"Who this boy is!" she said.

I stabbed myself in the eye with my eyeliner.

"Who is this mystery boy that's got talkative Titania tongue-tied?"

"No one you know," I lied.

"I'll figure it out," Mira said confidently.

"Mira, just…" I wanted to tell her to drop it, but I didn't need to act any more suspicious than I already was. "Just don't worry about it."

"I'm not worried. I just wish I knew why you were."

Good god, she better not find out…

It was impossible to focus on classes when they hardly even seemed like the real reason I'Dd returned to Hogwarts. I had a mission to complete. My plan was to avoid approaching Veruka again for the time being. Give her space. Act innocent. Not to mention buy myself some time to come up with a better plan. However, this was made difficult by th seventh years having all their N.E.W.T. level classes together. It was hard to give someone space when you were forced to see them in fairly close quarters multiple times per day. Occasionally, I attempted an acknowledging smile, but this was at best met with indifference, at worst, a scowl. I was already growing disheartened and we'd only been back a matter of days.

Friday morning at the end of our first full week, a letter arrived for me at breakfast. I recognized the sender's handwriting immediately: Lucius. My heart raced, though my feelings were mixed. The thought of Lucius's always set my head reeling, but this time the dizzy feeling was caused by the fear that the letter contained instructions for further impossible tasks.

It didn't.

Dear Titania,

I do hope your term is off to an excellent start. I just wanted to remind you that if you are ever in need of my advice or assistance, I am here for you. It could not have been more pleasurable having you as a trainee this summer. Your presence is missed. Expect to see me before your time at Hogwarts comes to an end.

~Lucius

I glanced up and down the table to see if any of my fellow new recruits had received any sort of well wishes from our mentor. It did not appear so. My heart began to speed up again, though this time it was purely for joy and not anxiety. I reread the letter. And I reread it again. Fuck, even his handwriting turned me on.

"Whatcha reading?" Mira asked slyly, noticing how engrossed I was in a note only a paragraph long.

"It's just Lucius checking in," I said, hoping I sounded nonchalant, even though my heart and my breakfast seemed to have found their way to my throat. "You know…training stuff."

"You didn't mention Lucius was the one who trained you," she said.

"Didn't I?" I said with a nervous laugh. "I'm sure I did."

Mira shrugged. "Wanna head back for morning break? I'm assuming you didn't finish your Charms homework."

"Fuck Charms. But you're right," I laughed. "Let's do this shit."

We wandered back to the dungeons and decided to hole up in the dormitory where it was a bit quieter. Mira hopped on her bed and fixed me with an accusing stare.

"What?" I said, laughing. "Don't give me that look — I never have my Charms homework done."

"This isn't about Charms…I've figured it out."

"What?" I repeated.

"I really hope my intuition is wrong for once, but I know who he is."

"Who…?"

"Your summer boy."

My heart hopped up somewhere past my throat where it had been residing all through breakfast, and started thundering in my ears so loudly I barely heard what Mira said next.

"Lucius."

"Why would you think…" I stuttered, looking shiftily around the room. "He, I, we — what?"

"Oh my fucking god, I am right!" Mira screeched. But it wasn't her usual delighted squeal at discovering some new boy gossip — it was total shock. "Titania, he's married."

"You knew he got married?" I asked.

"Everyone knew. Don't pretend you didn't."

"Not at first…" I said, hurt that I was the only one who had been in the dark. I wondered vaguely if anything would have been different if I had known right away. Probably not.

Mira shook her head.

"Are you judging me?" I snapped.

"Titania, I love you. I'm your best friend; it's not my place to judge."

"Kiiiinda feels like that's what you're doing, though," I said, crossing my arms.

"Look,I'm worried about you! You're playing with fire. No, ice! Lucius is cold, slippery. You need to be careful, girl."

"I thought you liked Lucius?" I said, crossing my arms.

"I'm not saying I don't! But don't pretend cheating on your wife isn't a slippery thing to do."

"Well what if he's not happy?"

"Did he say that?"

"No…but why would he be with me if everything was perfect with Narcissa?"

Mira gazed at me sympathetically.

"Titania, I know you've always been blindly in love with this guy. Every Slytherin girl at Hogwarts probably has been at some point. But you have to see he's the kind of guy who takes what he wants. Why not sleep with you for the summer if he's away from home and you're willing?"

"But —" I started, though I found myself with nothing to say. I felt nauseated. He obviously cared for me or he wouldn't have gone through all the trouble…right? Mira hadn't been there; she just didn't get it! "But that's not how it was! That's not how it felt to me."

"OK," Mira said, putting her hands up in surrender. "You're right — I don't know details. I didn't see it happen. You haven't told me what happened, and I understand why now. I just want you to be careful. I'd hate to see your reputation or future ruined, girl. I know you put everything on the line this summer."

"Yeah, I did. And partly for him, Mira."

"I figured. Well, your secret is safe with me. Just don't let the other girls find out, or it'll be all over the school by dinnertime."

"I mean, I hadn't even planned on telling you."

"I can read you too well."

"It kinda sucks sometimes," I laughed.

"I've got your back, girl. I don't support it, but I would never throw you under the Knight Bus. Promise." She held out her pinkie and I grasped it with my own.

"Thanks, Mira."

"Anytime. Now, let's get this Charms homework done. Confession: I didn't do mine either…"