Author's note:

Dear readers,

another long update for you to enjoy. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting and/or following my story. Your positive responses make my day.

Have a nice day,

Vani12

Chapter 4 – Heartbreaks can turn you into a bitter man!

Orion Black's Study, 12 Grimmauld Place, London, December 1978

Orion Black clutched his Firewhiskey tumbler with an iron grip. He needed some strong liquor to calm his buzzing nerves and shattered heart. Ten minutes ago, his majestic-looking, black owl, Salazar, had delivered him the newest edition of the Daily Prophet. Although it was a yellow press rag today that gossiped more about the love scandals of the upper Wizarding class and corruption scandals of the Ministry than informed every wizard and witch about the dire state of their politics and the threat of the maniac Lord Voldemort, Orion still subscribed to the newspaper to keep up to date about the stock market and the business dealings in the Wizarding world. Since his father, Arcturus Black, suffered from the early stages of Alzheimer's, he had been appointed as the CEO of Black Investment and was responsible for the growth of his inherited company.

He loathed his meetings with shark-like business associates in which he tried to persuade them to invest in new projects to build new headquarters for a magical security firm or to research new alternative methods for Wizarding communications. He longed to be eighteen again, happily in love with his beautiful girlfriend and studying to become a curse-breaker. Thankfully, his dad had permitted him to finish his training as a curse-breaker at Gringotts in a shortened course, for he needed to be installed as his deputy CEO till his first son with his manipulative harpy of a wife, Walburga Black, had arrived. Due to his shortened training, Orion hadn't been able to do many internships in the Gringotts branches around the world and not experienced as many adventures and difficult cases as he had hoped for. Orion had always been fascinated with Charms, Ancient Runes, and DADA, and loved his challenging, diversified training as a curse-breaker. But the crashing down of his romance with his one true love, Eileen Prince, and his forced imprisonment in a loveless, hellish marriage with his insane, cold-hearted fiancée, Walburga Black, had turned him into a bitter young man who couldn't feel happiness or love again and felt trapped.

Glancing at the magical picture of Eileen's aged beautiful face in the Daily Prophet, he still couldn't believe how Walburga had ripped his heart out days before he could run away with his lovely, intelligent girlfriend and blackmailed him into marrying her. Hell, he was only glad that he had managed to put his crazy, Lord Voldemort worshipping, wife into a St. Mungo's Institute for Psychological Diseases two years ago, because she would certainly be a risk to Eileen's life now. He had known that she had a sadistic streak and was fascinated with the Dark Arts since their childhood, for his older female cousin loved to torture her cuddly toys with her toy wand and absorbed every word in Dark Art tomes with relish. Orion had witnessed her cruel, inhuman experiments with house-elves as a teen and observed her obsession with the mystery, charismatic dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, with concern, for gossips in the Slytherin Common Room had circulated that he wanted to expunge every Muggle and Muggle-born in the Wizarding world, establish the rule of the Pure-bloods and enslave all magical creatures. He gathered young, manipulable followers of the noblest and most ancient Slytherin families with money, power, and connections around himself that he sent on Muggle-hunting or Muggle world-terrorizing missions.

Orion had loathed the rumors about the violent, inhuman and malicious attacks of his followers, the Death Eaters, and suspected to his horror that his fiancée Walburga was enmeshed in their dark actions. He had tried to convince his father that their marriage would end in a disaster, for there was no love lost between them, he feared their close relation would have negative impacts for their offsprings, and he questioned the mental sanity of his fiancée. But Arcturus hadn't taken any of his concerns into account and forced him to marry his insane female cousin under the menace of disinheritance. Orion took the newspaper in his hand and brushed with a tender smile on his face over the magical picture of his one true love. Eileen looked stunning at the wedding of her only son. Her ebony hair was cut in a fashionable bob that framed her heart-shaped face perfectly and accentuated her captivating, mysterious obsidian eyes. She was dressed in a beautiful, midi amber dress with a floral lace top and an elegant silk skirt that fitted her like a second skin and underlined her svelte figure. Orion sighed wistfully, kissed the smiling lips of her magical image and noticed with a shock that Eileen was wearing his promise ring.

On her delicate left ring finger sparkled his ring, a huge center amber stone lined by three diamonds on each side set on a simple, white-gold band engraved with their initials E.P. & O.B. and the vow Toujours l'amour, that he had gifted her in 1958. Why was she still wearing his ring, when she had broken his heart by having an illicit affair with this art-crazy, Muggle engineer, Tobias Snape, eloped with him in a secret ceremony and birthed his son? Merlin, he had been convinced that Eileen was his one true love. She had enchanted him with her stunning Snowhite looks, genius brain, charming personality and kind-hearted soul at Hogwarts. She had encouraged him to live out his dreams of becoming an independent curse-breaker, taught him the subtle art of potions brewing in a captivating, simple way so that he passed his Potions O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s with an "Acceptable", and loved the true Orion Black. In her company, he could show his vulnerable and romantic side. He didn't need to wear a mask and be the fun-loving, adventure-seeking and prank-throwing Slytherin Quidditch Captain and Hogwart's Duelling Champion. Instead, he could talk with her about his self-doubts, his strained relationship to his dad, his feelings of suffocating under the pressure of being the Black heir and his dreams of becoming a famous curse-breaker.

He could show her his love for poetry, his obsession with Muggle football and his fascination with Muggle technique. Their romance had been one of these fairytale love stories you read about in sappy novels or watch unfold in emotional Muggle movies until his crazy fiancée had destroyed everything before they could have their own happily ever after. Waking up naked, with no memories of the previous night, a splitting headache and the smell of sex and sweat in the air, in the bed of his sadistic, cold fiancée Walburga had been a nightmare. He had been utterly confused how he had ended up shagging his disgusting, deranged female cousin and cheating on the love of his life. He had realized quickly that she must have tricked him with some kind of Love Potion, Aphrodisiacs and Obliviation, for he wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole, was deeply in love with Eileen and had planned to call off his wedding to live a happy life with his girlfriend.

Merlin, he had bought them a little cottage in Windsor from the inheritance of his beloved grandma, Emilia Macmillan, transferred his money and shares into a Muggle bank account and stored his beloved possessions in a hidden vault at Gringotts to escape his arranged marriage. He knew that he would be burned from the Black family tree, disinherited from the noble and most ancient House of Black and lose his shares on Black Investment. But he had wanted to risk it all for love, happiness, and sanity. An angry Orion had lashed out at a self-satisfied smiling Walburga, called her a lying, manipulative whore and vowed that he would make her pay for her schemes. Hell, she had basically raped him. He would cancel their wedding, move in with the love of his life, Eileen Prince, and inform his father that she had drugged him with a Love Potion and lured him into her bed. She should thank him that he didn't call the Aurors and let them throw her sorry ass into Azkaban. Walburga had laughed at him in a deprived cackle, called him a love-crazy, blind fool who would be dealt with by the Dark Lord in the future and taunted him with the fact that her Love Potion, Aphrodisiacs, and Compulsion weren't verifiable in his blood anymore. Besides that, he wouldn't dare to call the Aurors, demasked himself as a weakling – for only a powerless, naïve, and weak wizard could fall prey to a Love Potion – and drag the House of Black in the mud.

Orion had replied in a furious tone that he didn't care about the reputation of the Blacks, her fate or the gossip columns in the Daily Prophet. He wouldn't marry her and make her life a living hell if she dared to bother him and his girlfriend. Walburga had approached him with a mad glint in her eyes and whispered in an ice-cold voice into his ear, "I'm looking forward to seeing how you are going to abandon your fiancé and your unborn child. Potions are really some helpful, little liquids if you want to make your runaway fiancée fall in love with you for one night and impregnate you. I'm sure that this sweet, little, Potions genius Eileen taught you everything about their powers in your private tutoring lessons. Before I have dosed you with the Love Potion, I had taken an infallible Fertility Potion. Congratulations, my love. We're going to be parents in nine months time. Isn't it ironic that potions destroyed your happily ever after with the Prince heiress?"

Orion had shivered on his entire body. He was fucked. His father would never allow him to leave a pregnant Walburga behind. Hell, this crazy bitch had turned his life into hell. He would need to marry her in May and parent his child with her. Merlin, how much he hated her right now. She wasn't fit to be a loving, kind mum. She would ruin their child's lives. He shuttered when he imagined one spoiled, unloved boy with unruly curls and sad sapphire-grey eyes. He vowed to be a loving dad to his child despite their conception and she-devil for a mum. They were innocent. He needed to protect them. Lost in his horror visions about a neglected, dark curses throwing toddler, he had pushed aside any thoughts on his lost love. Oh god, he would break Eileen's heart into a million pieces. Perhaps, he could explain everything to her: how Walburga had seduced him with a Love Potion and secured that she would be carrying his child. She would be furious at Walburga's actions and call him out for not detecting the Love Potion. Hell, she would most likely break off all contact with him, because it would be too painful for them to only be best friends while they loved each other.

His sweet, beautiful Eileen was lost to him. She would understand that he was forced to marry Walburga, step aside and throw herself in her Potions' research to forget him. Hell, he would miss her like a cursed mermaid missed her water, for she was his air to breathe. She made his life brighter and encouraged him to be the best version of himself. Without her, he would be a lost, heartbroken and bitter robot, who sealed deals for Black Investment without joy and forgot how to laugh with your whole heart. He had gathered his thoughts, pulled up his Occlumency shields and hissed in a lethal voice, "Congratulations, Walburga, you have won. I will marry you in May and we will raise our child as a family. But don't delude yourself. I will never love you. I will only look at you with disgust in my eyes and never forget how you have destroyed my life. You are a ruthless, mental dark witch who sells her own grandmother to get what she wants. I will never fall prey to your tricks and share your bed again. If you dare to fuck up our child with your delusions, cold nature and cruel personality, I will throw you in a Mental Health Facility. And if you dare to harm Eileen in any way, I will turn your life into hell after our child is born."

Walburga had kept a straight face, not intimidated at all by his threats and had mocked him in a shrill voice, "Oh, Orion, isn't it sweet how you are still deluding yourself with your epic love story. Believe me, I knew that our marriage wasn't going to be all rainbows and unicorns. But you won't dare to lock me away in an asylum, our son will need his dear mummy. And the longer I listen to your delusions about your sweet, perfect Eileen, I'm more convinced that you should be checked out by the St. Mungo's Mental Health Facility. Merlin, the Prince heiress with the captivating obsidian eyes did quite a number on you. I wonder if she has also seduced her Muggle lover and Abraxas Malfoy into her bed with her huge onyx eyes, porcelain skin and sweet love declarations. She must be quite the enchantress to bag Abraxas Malfoy. Perhaps, she used one of her beloved Potions on him. Damn, it's so sad that you wanted to throw everything away for a three-timing-whore like her."

Orion had nearly jumped into his fiancée's face, glared at her murderously and shouted in an enraged voice, "Don't call her by this despicable name. You only spray your poison and utter your lies. Eileen would never cheat on me. She is a loyal, good-hearted, sweet, young woman who means everything to me. If you weren't currently carrying my child, I would hex you into oblivion for your disrespect. Stop your lies right now or I will cast a Silencing Spell on you." Walburga looked at him unimpressed and started roaring in laughter. "Well, it seems that Eileen did play you well. Perhaps, I will ask her for some pointers. You see, my naïve Orion, I'm not lying to you. Eileen isn't sitting at home, dreaming about you and gushing about your handsome face right now. She is most likely rolling in the sheets with this brunette-haired Muggle engineer, Tobias Snape, or celebrating her engagement with Abraxas Malfoy at the moment."

She paused, accioed the Daily Prophet and some pictures with dramatic gestures and showed them to the pissed-off Black heir. "There. If you don't believe me, perhaps you will believe her engagement announcement in the Daily Prophet or these scandalous pictures my loyal house-elf Libby could shoot for me. She kisses Abraxas Malfoy so passionately, she is practically eating his face. No wonder that the two love-birds are rushing to the aisle now. But I guess that Eileen is only playing him to get some money, for her love letters to this filthy Muggle don't paint such a flattering picture of Abraxas Malfoy and contain some rather steamy content. I would have never picked Eileen for a girl who is into kinky sex. But I guess, still waters run deep," Walburga cackled and handed the Daily Prophet, some pictures and love letters out to an ashen-looking Orion with a triumphant smirk.

Orion didn't want to believe her lies. She had certainly instructed Libby to fake these pictures and letters. Eileen would never shredder his heart into a million pieces. She had promised him that they would live a happy life full of adventures and love. She didn't care about money and only ever had eyes for him. These photos and letters must be a ploy by Walburga. They were all snippets of a fabricated smear campaign to shame Eileen and break his heart. She wanted to drive him into a mental breakdown, destroy his love for his one true love and turn his love for Eileen into hate. But he wouldn't be played by her like this. He would detect the Manipulation Charms and prove Eileen's faithfulness to him. In a frantic voice, he uttered a Revealing Spell above the front page of the Daily Prophet. But the letters wouldn't budge, they remained the same and constructed the unbelievable words Prince Heiress delighted to announce her engagement to the aristocrat Abraxas Malfoy. - "He is the love of my life".

Orion felt a painful stab in his heart. How was this possible? How could Eileen betray him like this? He must be living out some freakish nightmare and wake up any minute. He pinched himself, but nothing happened. The words remained the same. Eileen was engaged to this pompous, wealthy and ruthless widowed bastard? It couldn't be real. In trance, he looked closely at the attached pictures and saw Eileen and her fiancé in various loved-up positions. In one picture, Eileen snogged the blonde haired widow senseless. In another, Abraxas Malfoy stroked Eileen's sexy back in a backless dress with sexy eyes. In the last picture, Eileen and Abraxas were walking hand-in-hand through Diagon Alley, smiling at each other happily. Orion felt like he would suffocate. This couldn't be happening to him. Eileen wasn't some heartless bitch, she loved him. Perhaps, Walburga had exchanged the face of one of Abraxas's flings with Eileen's. But every spell or charm he had used to demask the alterations on the pictures and show him the originals, didn't change the pictures. They were real.

An ice-cold feeling settled inside of his heart. How could he have been so wrong about Eileen? Their romance had been a dream come true. Deep down in his bones, he had always suspected that it was too good to be true. But he would have never guessed, that Eileen had played him like a fool. She really deserved an Oscar for her performance, if all of her love declarations, encouraging speeches, gentle touches and passionate kisses in the last three years had been fake. A tiny voice inside his head screamed that Eileen would never betray him like this. He knew her gentle soul and true self. She could never hurt him like this. But he didn't listen to his inner voice.

Blinded by his feelings of betrayal, anger, and heartbreak, he had scanned to the attached letters to demask her diabolical double-life. His eyes had nearly jumped out of his sockets and his heart shattered into a million pieces. My love Tobias – How much I miss the feeling of your kisses on my breasts. – Orion is such a fool. He believes that you are stalking me. Which stalker gets blowjobs from his victim? – I can't wait to elope with you and be called Mrs. Snape. – It's so easy to manipulate Orion with an emotional love declaration and lustful moans. – I can't wait to shag you senseless after our next art vernissage. – Your love for art really turns me on. – Orion is such a bore – In endless love, Eileen.

Orion had torn the offending love letters into shreds. They were authentic, for Eileen's swinging, steady script had graced their pages and each letter ended with her unique signature. Walburga wouldn't have been able to fake them. Besides that, how the hell should Walburga know anything about Tobias Snape? He had been a charming, brown-haired Muggle engineer who they had met on one of Eileen's beloved visits to an Art gallery. He had complimented Eileen for her beautiful purple dress and talked shop with her about the paintings. Orion had tightened his grip around Eileen's waist, glared murderously at this upstart Muggle and kindly asked him to focus his eyes on Eileen's face instead of her neckline. This Muggle had creeped him out, especially after he could sneak a peek into his thoughts. He had fantasized about Eileen in various sexual situations and called her his beloved. Orion had wandlessly and non-verbally hexed him with a Stinging Hex and confounded him before he guided a confused Eileen out of the gallery and urged her to never speak to this creep again. He guessed now that she must have been attracted to him thanks to their art obsession and fallen in love with him. Merlin, how could he have been so blind?

Orion had tried to contact Eileen via owls and his Patronus messenger, although he had only managed to produce some pathetic looking featherball instead of his Thunderbird. He wanted to confront her with her lies, ask for her motivations to string him along and question her if their romance had been a huge farce on her part from the beginning. In one desperate message, he had begged her to be honest with him, disclose her reasons for marrying Abraxas and reassure him that everything was a network of intrigues orchestrated by Walburga. But Eileen had ignored him and played the happy fiancée of Abraxas Malfoy until she vanished into the Muggle world like a ghost to elope with Tobias Snape in the summer of 1959. After that, the name Eileen Prince had disappeared completely from the Magical world. He had heard whispers by her Hogwarts friends that she didn't practice magic anymore and lived a simple life with her husband and son in the Muggle world.

Orion brushed delicately over the facial features of his only love. If she had been happy in the Muggle world, why has she returned to her parents' Manor sixteen months ago? And if she had played him like his crazy wife made him believe, why was she wearing his ring at her son's wedding? It dawned on Orion, that not everything was as it seemed. Perhaps, Walburga had somehow forced Eileen to accept Abraxas Malfoy's marriage proposal, run away into the Muggle world and elope with this creep. He didn't know what this deranged harpy had done to Eileen, but he would uncover her schemes and reunite with his love. For he felt for the first time in nearly nineteen years that Eileen loved him.