Angelina drove home with them, for extra wand power, and when they got to Privet Drive, she bid her farewells, following Aquila - who gave the Dursley's back their bags - to her home.
Aquila was hit with spells as soon as she walked through the door, and her mother was positively livid with the results. "Sex, Aquila?"
"Oh, you're probably picking up me," Angelina grinned, as though embarrassed. "Sorry, Mrs. Black. Mum says those spills pick up the scent from about a twenty feet radius."
"We're going to go upstairs," Aquila said, glancing at Angelina. "I've got loads of work to do for Muggle Studies, and Angelina agreed to help." It was always the excuse. They escaped and as soon as they were in Aquila's room, a silencing charm up, Angelina burst out into laughter.
"You didn't!" Angelina accused.
"We didn't," Aquila promised. "It was just..."
"Touching?" Angelina teased. "I knew it. When you came back from the pitch today... Oh, my God! Fred and George are going to freak out-"
"No, please," Aquila said immediately giggling. "Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about..." She bit her lip, sitting at the foot of her bed. "You heard what Lucius said at the pitch yesterday."
"About what? How he didn't look Russian? I agree-"
"No, Simon Otterburn," Aquila interrupted. "He mentioned Simon Otterburn. He seemed surprised to see me with Dudley... thought he was Otterburn... Why?"
"The Otterburns turned a few weeks ago," Angelina said after a minute. "Dad says they started to support the Dark Lord at work."
Aquila chewed on her lip. "Do you think... you don't think Mum signed it, do you? I mean, we fought over it for hours, Evan fought with her about it... You don't think she actually signed it, right?"
"She couldn't of. She needs your consent. You're of age," Angelina insisted. "Even if she did, it wouldn't work without your signature."
"You're right," Aquila said, biting her lip. "But... what if she's waiting until last minute? Until... I don't know, a curse makes me unable to control my actions?"
"You think she's imperio you?" Angelina asked. "You think she's that far gone?"
"She hasn't written me all year," Aquila informed her quietly. "Over Christmas, she was always gone, always attending social events... And... and Remus thinks she's compromised."
"Shit, Aquila," Angelina whispered. She shook her head, running her hands through her curly hair as she peered out the window, looking over the street. "What does that mean for you? Is it safe here?"
"It's safe, I mean, she wouldn't hurt me, right? You know mum," Aquila insisted. "She's safe, right?"
"I don't know," Angelina insisted. "I don't know her well!" She turned to face Aquila suddenly. "That means she's not protecting, doesn't it?"
Aquila dropped her face in her hands, shaking her head. "She hates them. Bloody hell, I'm all they got here."
"What if I move in?" Angelina asked. "I'll be here, even when you're at school. I haven't even found a flat yet, so that's no problem. And, if something happens, instant Order access."
"What if she brings someone here?" Aquila asked. "Like, Evan Rosier or... or Bellatrix or someone dangerous? You could get hurt?"
"Yeah? And so could you," Angelina countered. "Besides, she wouldn't even know I'm here. I'll just hang out in your room all the time I am here, and when I'm at practice, I'll have another Order member fill in. Does the Order know?"
"I'm going to tell them next meeting I go to. If they have a better solution, then... that will work. . . I just... I've never thought she'd actually turn Dark, you know? Especially after what happened to dad... but.."
"Maybe that's why she's going dark," Angelina offered. "She doesn't want to lose you like she lost your dad."
"That's stupid," Aquila muttered. "She'll only get herself killed." She sighed, falling back on her bed. "If you move in, what am I going to tell mum?"
"Why do you need to tell her?" Angelina asked. "I mean, we can share a bed. It's plenty big. I won't bring George over. He has his own flat for that. And I can apparate there to take a shower and stuff, so I don't need to use yours. Silencing charms will hide the apparation sounds."
She bit her lip. "This is so risky, Ang. I don't know."
"Tell you what, I'll go talk to Mum and Dad, see what they think. And then I'll be back. It'll probably take an hour at most. And we'll go from there."
Aquila considered it, before nodding. "Alright... I'll see you then."
She apparated in a flurry and Aquila flopped on her bed, sighing. She began to think of possible places a contract would be hiding - where her mother hid things. The hiding places were different than the ones she had in London, no doubt. Aquila could find everything in the London house, from keys to chests to secret documents.
But here, well, space was limited to hide things.
Angelina arrived only ten minutes later. "They aren't fond of it," she admitted. "But they can't stop me. So, I'm moving in. I'll pack my stuff tonight, bring it tomorrow morning, and we can hide it around the room."
Aquila nodded, sighing. "If you were hiding a marriage contract, where would you hide it?"
"Under my pillow. I'd want it somewhere you wouldn't find it on accident," Angelina admitted. "Especially if I was going to wait last minute to tell you."
"While you're gone, I'm going to look for it. She'll probably be gone too."
Angelina sighed. "Be careful? She could booby trap it or something."
"Ravenclaw, remember?"
With Angelina once more gone, Aquila waited until she heard her mother leave the house before creeping downstairs, checking to make sure the coast was clear. "Polly?" she called to the house-elf. The elf appeared immediately, wringing his hands. "I need your help."
The elf was pleased with her statement and his ears twitched. "With what, Mistress Black?"
"I need you to help me find a marriage contract. But we can't tell mum, okay? Because she can't know I found it until after I read it through."
Polly nodded immediately. "Polly will check downstairs. Mistress Black can check upstairs." She agreed and mounted the stairs, heading towards her mother's room. Once she was sure it wasn't warded, she began to lift up pillows, search under the mattress, trying to find anything resembling a piece of parchment. She even searched in her mother's jewelery box, but didn't find anything. Turning to go to the guest room, the armoire caught her eye and she paused, narrowing her eyes at the many drawers that held her mother's multitude of seasonal clothing. She opened the first drawer, lifting the pieces of clothing, mostly sweaters, feeling along the wooden bottom. Nothing yet.
She made it through three drawers when she got a papercut, jerking her hand out of the drawer with a hiss. But then it was immediately replaced with a grin as she felt again and found a piece of parchment, thick, with a few seals on it. The contract. She pulled it out, shutting the drawer and glancing up before moving towards the stairs. "Polly?"
"Mistress?" Polly said immediately appearing.
"Found it," she said with a smile. "Keep watch and tell me when Mum gets home... I want whatever she usually demands when she returns on statis so that it's ready when she gets back."
"Yes, Mistress."
Aquila sat down in the sitting room, placing the contract on the coffee table, where she began to read. And she so hated research.
It was a thick contract with many rules and regulations - the most striking being that she had to get married within eighteen months of its signing and the signature for her would automatically be signed once she read the entire contract - she stopped herself from reading the last paragraph, which she knew from reading many others, that it would simply restate who it was for.
"Mistress is returning," Polly said suddenly, popping into the kitchen.
"Thank you," Aquila murmured. She heard the crack outside and then the sound of keys turning in the lock. Aquila dimmed the lights slightly, so her mother wouldn't notice her, and took slow breaths, listening. Her mother's heels clicked along the hallway, opening the doorway to the kitchen.
"My coffee, Polly."
"Of course, Mistress Black," Polly said immediately, removing the stasis on the drink Aquila had him keep at the ready. He presented it to her, as well as a book, from what Aquila could see. Poetry. She hadn't read that since... since her father died. She waited as her mother sat at the table, sipping from her cup, and then stood slowly, gathering the parchment in her hands.
"Oh! Aquila, I didn't know you were in there," her mother said, jumping at the sound.
Aquila approached her slowly, the anger building as she noticed her mother's nonchalance. She slammed the parchment on the table, enjoying the fact that her mother flinched. "Did you read this?"
"Of course I did," she said, swallowing. "How did you find that?"
"By tearing this place apart," Aquila said stiffly. "Are you sure you read it? Before you signed it?" She closed the poetry book, seeming to sense the argument. "It's quite an interesting read, you know," Aquila said sarcastically.
"Aquila, calm down," Euryale requested. "It's simply a piece of parchment. It means-"
"They've taken the Mark," she told her, thrusting the parchment at her mother, causing a flurry of papers to scatter around the room. "The Otterburns. Did you know that before you signed it? They're as dark as the Zabinis now, the Malfoys... the Rosiers." Her mother swallowed. "Did you know that, when you got your gold? Your wardrobe? The chateau in France you've always wanted-"
"Aquila, it wasn't like that at the time."
"Oh, I'm sure everything wasn't," Aquila hissed. "You told me they were done. You promised me. I should have known not to trust you. I thought, when you were talking to me, that you were trying to connect, to get to know me because you always failed to do so - you were finally listening to what I had to say because I wasn't listening to what you were. But no, you were trying to butter me up, get me on your side of things, so that I'd be single. So, where's it happening?" Aquila snapped. "Where's this glorious wedding to a Death Eater? Same place as you and dad? Fitting. Since, he was a Death Eater too, and now he's dead."
"Aquila!" her mother cried.
"Of course you did," Aquila laughed bitterly. "Because your marriage to him was cut so short, you want to live out a love marriage with a man you think will be like father was to you, for me. Are you ever going to understand? Will you ever get it? Or will you keep pretending to listen, and then do the compete opposite?"
"I'm looking out for you," Euryale said strongly. "And that includes doing something you may not agree to."
"Do you know what happens when an Order member marries a Death Eater?" Aquila demanded. The woman shrank back into her seat at her daughter's anger. "When happens when I'm broken like some toy, expected to have sex with him whenever he wants me to, because I'm the obedient trophey wife? What happens when after he has his way with me, breaks me, he decides he's done? Murders me. Or better yet, I have fourteen children and I smile and nod, and I'm happy, because I know secretly I'm not the only one he's raping every night. Or is that too sugar coated for you?" She advanced towards her mother, a wand pressed to her collarbone.
"He'll rape me until I can no longer fight back. Until I'm broken, bleeding, begging for him to just kill me. And he'll keep raping me until I give him as many children as he wants, as many children as he paid you to give him." She flinched. "And once he's broken my ability to fight back - maybe he'll snap my wand, maybe he'll just cut all of my fingers off, he'll have the obedient wife that's pretty, graceful, and raised with all the pureblood etiquette he paid so much for. And when I get old, he'll add on a mistress or two, or seven. And they'll live in the manor, mocking me, pointing at me as they have their own eight bastards. And I'll be stuck caring for them all, because we can't let scandal get out. And the grandchildren. And one day, he may decide to marry them. And where will I be? Dead. Because my mother decided to sell me to some man, as a personal sex slave, for the rest of her life, knowing he would kill her when he got bored."
"That's not what would happen," Euryale insisted, shaking. "The Otterburns are good people. The Minister's right had men-"
"Oh, really? And who else is the right hand man to the Minister? Let's think here, mother? Hmmm, how about, Lord Voldemort." Euryale flinched harshly at the name. "So don't even try to tell me they're good people. Because they are nothing but Death Eaters."
"Aquila, you're being hasty," Euryale said smoothly. "Let's put the wand down-"
"Don't you dare, Polly," Aquila snapped. "I want you to stay right there and stop her from reaching for her wand... in fact, take it from her right now so we don't have to worry about it." Polly hesitated. "Now, Polly," Aquila said sharply.
The elf snapped his fingers and Euryale narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "He didn't have the Mark when I signed it. None of them did."
"And when did you sign it?" Aquila snapped. "Three years ago? Before I was even of age?"
"Last summer. The night before the match you played in."
She sucked on her teeth. Who knew Lucius was telling the truth. "See, I have friends, if you can call it that. And do you know what Lucius Malfoy told me? The truth. Who knew?" She gave her mother an acidic smile. "Have you taken the Mark, mother? Have you forsaken the Order already? The war hasn't even begun."
"It's too late. The contracts signed. You read it."
"Not all of it," Aquila smirked. "Which is required, for it to be signed by me." She gave her mother a smirk. "Have you read it, for certain? You can't lie to me, because I don't think you'd like with what's inside."
"It's a normal contract."
Aquila laughed, snapping her fingers so the parchment was on the table, and the section was visible. "Your Slytherin self was satisfied with the simple promise that you'd be getting every cent promised." Aquila stepped away from her mother, pointing at the paragraph. "Why don't you read article three, section four." She let her mother find it before reading along, summarizing. "All money in transaction, selling me to Simon Otterburn, basically, is to be forfeit to the Malfoy Estate, in loyalty to the Dark Lord. In turn, I will be branded with the Dark Mark. That's what three million galleons is getting you - loyalty to the Dark Lord. And it's not even going into your pocket, because you're dragging your daughter into it as well. Which is funny, since you say they didn't have the mark when you signed this."
Euryale's face contorted, so Aquila continued. "Let's keep going. I am to be publically evaluated through very traditional methods - seen in the medieval era. In otherwords, if you read the fine print, in section five, the radio, the newspaper, and multiple photographs will be taken of my naked body as I stand in the middle of the Ministry, being evaluated for diseases, purity, etc. All ofthe medieval circumstances. Furthermore, consummation of the marriage is to be made in a public gathering - a Death Eater gathering. Who knew they were so interested in my body? And, with permission of Simon Otterburn, I'm allowed to have a go with them. Isn't that just lovely? All they have to do is force themselves upon me." The smile she was giving her mother must have turned a tad sadistic because she dropped it into a very dark glare.
"This wasn't what they told me when I signed," Euryale promised.
"You probably should have read it then, huh?" Aquila said sarcastically. "Now, do you know how to get out of this contract? Turn to article eight, shall we, section one? In order to void this contract, the bride, groom, or their parental authority is to die without informing their child of this contract. Or, I have to carry another man's child by the time of the wedding. Or, I have to die. Or, and get this, he gets to kidnap me and force me into marriage. Isn't this all the joyous marriage we've always dreamed of?"
"Aquila, I-" Euryale gasped, standing. "I had no idea!"
"Yes, well, that's what I've been trying to tell you all along. It will only do more harm than good to be in an arranged marriage," Aquila snapped. "I told you anyone can turn bad. Well, he did. And if I hadn't have known? I'd be married to a Death Eater. When was the wedding supposed to take place?"
"Christmas this year," Euryale murmured, staring at the parchment in her hands. "I had no idea, Aquila-"
"Yes, well... now you do." Aquila moved towards the front door. "It's a good thing I'm not coming back after I try out for Ireland, huh?"
"What?" Euryale whispered, staring at her daughter with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, haven't you heard?" Aquila asked her. "Once I try out, I'm automatically on the team. And that means a year of intensive training, barely seeing any faces but those of my trainer and my professors. I'm not coming back here after that. No need to."
"What about me?" Euryale demanded. "You can't just leave me all alone."
"Why? Because when I come back, what am I coming home to?" Aquila demanded. "A marriage? A Dark Mark? Public humiliation? I'm already getting fingers mailed to me by your dear brother. I don't want anything else." Euryale looked confused, almost lost. Aquila snorted, shaking her head in disbelief. "Polly, don't let her leave this house, write any letters, contact anyone. She is to remain on lockdown until I figure out what to do with this contract. And no matter what she says, don't give her back her wand. In light of these events, she's unfit to be Head of Black House, endangering the members of said house, and therefore since I'm the only one living here, I'm acting Head. And I say, she's on house arrest."
"Yes, Mistress," Polly said immediately. Aquila smirked at her mother.
"That's what happens when you read the rules, mother." She turned. "I'm getting some air. Don't wait up for me, because I know you're so concerned."
"Where are you going?"
Aquila laughed, turning around in the hall to meet her mother's eye. "I'm going to have sex with my boyfriend because I want to." Euryale's jaw dropped. "And you know what?" Aquila continued. "He's so good with his hands."
"Aquila!" her mother gasped. "Don't you dare! I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry about the contract, it won't happen again-"
"Yet you say that every time, Euryale, and it never changes," Aquila said sharply. She slipped on her shoes, opening the front door. "I won't hear it anymore. You're not sorry, and the only reason you're furious is because you aren't getting the money you were promised."
"You know that's not-" Aquila slammed the door shut behind her. Aquila sank down on the front steps, the strong resolve she had during the fight melting and she began to cry, all of the frustration and anger getting out.
And it felt good. Aquila had perhaps expected a letter of correspondence, a few terms thrown back and forth, but a signed contracting - a legally binding contract that Aquila had very little control over... it was terrifying. If she had read the last paragraph, if she hadn't had stopped herself? She would be tied to a bloke that couldn't even tie his shoelaces and tie a tie.
"I hope you don't make a habit of this," a cheery voice piped up. Aquila looked up, wiping at her eyes to see a dark SUV parked in front of her house, and a bubbly blonde in the drivers seat, grinning at Aquila. "It's dangerous for girls to sit around at night. Totally sexist," Amber admitted, "if you ask me, bt well, you don't see many teen guys being kidnapped off the streets."
"Amber?" Aquila questioned, getting up. "What are you doing here?"
"Can I take you somewhere?" she asked. "You look mad at the world and like you're going to light a kitten on fire," Amber admitted. "You and Dudley didn't break up, right?"
"What? No," Aquila said immediately. "Nothing like that. I fought with Mum, and it got a bit out of hand..."
"Need someplace to go? You don't want to go home, do you?"
"Anywhere but," she snorted. She walked towards the car, leaning into the window and looking around. No one else was in it except for Amber. "Where are you headed?"
"Made the wrong turn," she admitted. "I'm heading on out to a party at that hot bloke you know - Theo Notts." Aquila swallowed at the name. "Wanna come?"
"No, thanks," Aquila admitted. "I might head on over to Dudley's. See if he's available. If not, the park seems like a good idea."
Amber grinned. "I can give you a ride?"
"It's only a few feet. I think I'll manage," Aquila laughed. "Be careful tonight."
She snorted, her hands gripping the steering wheel. "Please, I'm always careful. Can you start bloody walking, though? It's bloody hot as balls out here and you're letting my air conditioning out."
"Are you drunk?" Aquila snorted, getting out of the window. It slowly began to roll up.
"Nope. On my way to be drunk. I took the wrong turn switching cassettes... maybe I had a few pre-party shots. But I'm good to drive." Aquila wasn't so sure. "Right, well, get walking."
"Have fun at the party," Aquila sighed. "Don't get too drunk."
"You always tell me that and I always give you the same answer." Amber rolled her eyes. "Besides, Dudley ditched it and said he was going to hang out with you."
Aquila frowned. "He never mentioned anything."
"Then I'd get moving."
"Have fun," Aquila told the girl good naturedly and then the window was being rolled up and the teen was driving off, doing the circle drive quickly before honking as she passed again. Aquila gave a single wave and then headed to Dudley's. It was dark, after dinner, but she didn't want to wake anyone. So she hesitated on the front steps for a moment until she heard the sounds of the tv in the living room. They were awake. Or someone was.