A/N: Wow! I can't believe this is already the tenth chapter of this story, that it's got 76 followers, 43 favorites and 32 reviews! You guys are amazing, and I'm so glad you like this story. I think we've pretty much reached the turning point now, where things start spiraling downwards, but trust me, there will be light in here too. I remember one of my lovely reviewers pointing out at the beginning of this story that it was either going to be super lovely or super mean, and I'm sorry to break it to you guys, but it will be both. Because I think that's reality, life is both lovely and painful, and somehow, that's the beauty of it. So while this story isn't going to be all fun and games, but stick around, it'll be worth it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Aurelia was in James' house. More specifically, in the bathroom of James' house. Now naturally, that notion would've been undoubtedly better had James been there too, and had she not been betrothed to her arsehole death eater ex-boyfriend.
Nevertheless, there she was, looking at her pitiful reflection in the mirror. The redness in her face and eyes refused to go down. She had been splattering cold water on her face for the better part of ten minutes, and while she had finally managed to stop the tears from uncontrollably escaping her eyes, she could not seem to rid herself of the redness.
Thankfully, Sirius had provided her with a t-shirt to sleep in, as her dress robes from the wedding were terribly uncomfortable. It was a large, black t-shirt, which presumably fit him just swell, but which on her looked more like an inappropriately short dress. The words on the t-shirt spelled out PINK FLOYD, and there was a triangular symbol with a rainbow going through it. She figured it was some kind of muggle-related thing, like most of his items, but she was left wondering who this Floyd-person was. It was a good distraction, though, reflecting upon muggle names rather than death eaters and betrothals.
She looked ridiculous in that t-shirt. Especially since her face was a right mess, and her hair was still up in a proper Edwardian roll hairstyle which her mother had insisted on. She felt ridiculous, too. She had been so blind not to see what was going on around her. She should've known weeks ago that something was up with Augustus and Lucius, she should've at least guessed what they were capable of… There weren't words to describe what they had done, now. Whenever it crossed her mind, it felt as though she was being stabbed in the stomach with a knife, and she had to bend over to dull the pain. Physical pain, coming from emotional wounds. It wasn't the first time she had experienced it, yet it still caught her by surprise.
With a few deep breaths, she straightened her back again, staring at the girl in the mirror. The pale sixteen-year-old, with freckles on her nose and terrified, dejected grey eyes. The girl who, after everything that had happened, still loved her family despite the fact that they were ripping away any chance she had at happiness. That was often her problem in life, loving people too deeply, too unconditionally. It was an utterly ridiculous problem to have, yet it was one which repeatedly left her heartbroken as the people she loved never seemed to return that love in the same manner. She was left caring for everybody, more than she cared for herself, yet there was nobody who seemed to care most for her.
After splashing her face again with the ice-cold water that had been running from the tap for several minutes, Aurelia undid her hair, surprised to find that the roll had left her normally lifeless hair in big, bouncy curls. Surely, it wouldn't last long, but it was rather enchanting, and yet another distraction from the terrors her mind so desperately wanted to wander off to.
Collecting herself for the moment, the girl attempted to stabilize her breathing before leaving the bathroom and finding herself back in the bedroom which, based on all the muggle items she didn't recognize, was more likely Sirius' than James'.
"I made you tea. I didn't know if you preferred herbal or earl grey, so I got you both," Sirius explained, rambling, with one large cup of tea in each hand, as she entered the room again. On one hand, he looked scared, as though he had no idea how to handle all the tears and emotions, and on the other hand, he stared at her as though she had come out of there utterly starkers.
"Thank you, Sirius," she managed, taking the cup of herbal tea out of his hand, and bringing it up to her face to inhale the fumes. In a sense, it was calming; another way for her to stabilize her breathing, and to keep the tears from falling yet again.
"Here, sit down," he continued, gesturing for her to sit down at the edge of the bed, and sitting down next to her as he did so. She had never expected Sirius Black to be so thoughtful, although upon thinking about it, he had always been, ever since James first crashed into her a few months back.
"Where is he?" she finally asked, after silently sipping her tea for a minute, her voice left raspy and weak from crying.
"Some quidditch game with his dad, he'll be back tomorrow."
It was late, she realized. It had been at least thirty minutes since she arrived at the house, and even then, it had been unforgivably late.
"I'm keeping you up. You should sleep, it's late," she mumbled, looking down at her tea, suddenly feeling terrible for having her issues weighing down on him.
"I don't mind, Fawley. What happened? You're not the only one who has showed up here past midnight in this state, you know. You can talk to me."
She silently remembered how Sirius had to have ended up there, in the Potter residence, although when the boys were talking of it, it always seemed so undramatic. As though he had just decided to move in one day, and now they were practically brothers. On the other hand, she had heard the talk, the rumours. He had been labelled a blood-traitor. His mother spoke of him with such resentment in her voice, declaring that he was no son of hers. She figured it had to have been a bloody mess, much like her life was now, but she couldn't imagine it. Sirius was lively, sarcastic and obscenely confident, and it seemed impossible that he had ever been broken or terrified – like her.
"Fawley? Please, talk to me."
"They're having me betrothed to Lestrange," she bluntly stated, no sign of the inner war between calm and collapse. Lestrange, who had tried to force himself on her just three months ago. Lestrange, who thought of her as a prized possession. Lestrange, who tortured and murdered innocent people for what was in their blood. A lone tear escaped her eye, but all energy had escaped her, and she did nothing but sit there in dejection, slowly and steadily breathing in the fumes of her tea.
"Rabastan," he responded, with comprehension in his low voice.
"He's vile, Sirius. He used to…"
"James told me about Easter, you don't need to explain."
"I didn't think it could get any worse. But… he took the mark. He's a death eater now. Your brother, Regulus, I think he was trying to warn me but I…"
She lost all her composition at the thought of actually marrying him, spending a lifetime in despair rather than happiness, with abuse rather than love, with Rabastan rather than James. The mere thought of it broke her down, and she wondered how she could possibly survive it in reality.
She had thought the tears had run out long ago, yet there they were again, pouring uncontrollably into her teacup, which was soon taken out of her hands and placed on the nightstand. Steady arms wrapped themselves around her, holding her together as the world crumbled around her.
"It'll be alright, Fawley. You're not marrying him. You hear me? It's not going to happen."
"Bu…but Augustus… Lucius… They're… They took it too!" she sobbed, breaking down, drowning in the realization that she had already lost them both; that she had lost her brother. She was alone, now. Her father, who had always had her back, had agreed to give her away to a death eater, probably much to her mother's delight. Her brother, who on odd occasions let her in completely, had willingly pledged his allegiance to a murderous monster. Her cousin, who had taken the blame and punishments for her since she was born, had chosen murder, torture and darkness. She loved them. She loved them with all of her being, with every inch of her body and whatever filled it. And yet, they were all filled with so much hate, it seemed they weren't capable of anything else.
She was trembling as he hushed her, rocked her in his arms, assuring her that she was not alone. That she had them; him, James, Remus and Peter. That she would be alright, no matter happened. That she wasn't defined by their actions, and that she had a choice. That she always had a choice. Ironically, it was that choice that scared her the most.
Aurelia finally fell asleep like that, in James' house, in Sirius' arms; in tears. For whatever reason, she felt safe there, in his arms. There was safety in him, too - home in him, too. There was no need to explain anything to Sirius, there was no need for making words out of emotions and neglectfully stutter them out. He understood. He had struggled with the same issues, felt the same way, fought the same fight. And so, he knew. He knew when to remain silent. He knew when to speak. He knew what words to say. He knew when to simply hold her, to keep her from falling apart.
For a moment, she wondered if he always had. She wondered if he had seen her far before even James had. Perhaps he had looked at her months ago when James ran straight into her, and seen someone like himself, someone lost. Perhaps he had seen right through her already then, and picked up her books only to help her with something.
Aurelia found herself ignoring a flutter in her stomach at the realization of just how close he was as they lay on his bed, his arms around her, his breath heavy on her neck. It was a small flutter, a soft one. An insignificant one. One which probably derived from pain, rather than anything else. And yet, she wasn't nervous, not anymore. She wasn't scared, not at the moment. She was safe.
"What the fuck, Padfoot?"
The familiar voice rung in her head as she slept, nearly making its way into her dream, but finally waking her up. It wasn't soft and sweet, the way she recognized it, yet it was there; his voice. She forced open the grey, bloodshot eyes, scanning the room and settling on hazel. Beautiful, deep hazel that brought tears to her eyes yet again.
"James," she sighed out in relief, and within seconds, the girl had flung herself off the bed, and onto the tall boy standing in the doorframe with a perplexed look on his face.
"Wha… Lia, are you alright?"
"She's far from alright, Prongs. You might just have another pureblood runaway on your hands."
He pushed her away, softly, only to take her face in his hands, wiping away the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.
"What happened?" He asked, his voice soft again like she remembered it. Soft in a way that made her want to melt into him, or just break down completely, or perhaps both at once.
"It's… Rabastan."
"What did he do? Did he hurt you? I swear to Merlin I will…"
"They're going to make me marry him."
"Not going to happen, Lia. I won't let it."
"Him… My brother, my cousin. They're all… death eaters."
He was silent at that, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and neck, kissing the top of her head, and so she melted into him. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face between his shoulder and his chest, wishing she could get away with staying there forever.
A/N: James came back! Aurelia is a wreck, and what about Sirius? What do you guys think? Will she have to marry Rabastan, or will she leave her family like Sirius did? As always, I am beyond grateful for all follows, favorites and especially reviews that let me know a little bit about what you're thinking! Please, don't hesitate to give me any feedback or thoughts over PM or in a review!