'Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warning: Suggestive behavior, language and some sexual content.
Chapter 28 – Plans Executed
Sirius was the first to notice the arrival of the owls the following morning at breakfast. Swooping low over the four House tables, the birds dropped packages and rolled parchment to students receiving mail. Striving to appear disinterested, Sirius glanced over at where Ofelia was seated at the Slytherin table. He felt his heart skip a beat when one of the school owls slowed over her table. As he watched, however, the owl dropped a small package on the plate of the student to Ofelia's right, then rose majestically into the air and left the Hall.
Sirius turned his attention back to his untouched breakfast. "Bloody hell," he muttered.
"Padfoot?" James shot a sidelong glance at his friend.
"Bloody owl passed her by," Sirius said through gritted teeth. "I was sure she'd have gotten an answer from that bloke, Michael."
"Did," James confirmed around a mouthful of bacon. "Lily told me that his owl came directly to their dorm window just after dawn." He paused. Three … two … one…
"And?" Sirius spat, his voice louder than before.
"And he will meet her, as planned," James finished, smiling to himself and adding, "and you might want to keep your voice down."
"Bloody prat," Sirius muttered, but his voice held less malice than before. "I don't suppose you could have just told me that straight away, could you?"
James nodded his head. "Could have done, I s'pose. More fun to rile you up a bit, though."
Sirius landed a half-hearted kick to James' shin. "Did Miss Evans happen to tell you if 'big brother' shared his nocturnal adventures with Ofelia?"
James glanced over at the Slytherin table before answering. "He appears to be doing so as we speak. Looks like things are moving right along, mate."
Sirius followed his friend's gaze and saw Arturo in deep discussion with his sister. The Slytherin wizard's face was flushed and intense and he was obviously pressing his point quite adamantly. Ofelia, in contrast, was pale and silent as she sat, hands folded on the table, as her brother spoke.
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"Ingrate!" Arturo finished furiously. "He never had any intention of changing his ways!"
He waited for Ofelia to speak and when she did not do so, Arturo leaned toward her across the table. "Have you nothing to say to this?"
Ofelia lifted her eyes to look at him and finally spoke. "I do not doubt what you said you saw, Arturo," she said quietly. "But, he refused this witch's advances. Yes, they kissed, but you yourself said that he stopped her from going further. That seems to speak positively of his intentions."
Arturo's eyebrows rose and his face reddened even further in his anger. "Ofelia, how can you come to that conclusion? He made arrangements to meet with her today – in an out-of-the-way location. It is clearly a meeting for illicit purposes!"
Ofelia's pale face suffused with color. "And, as someone who has enjoyed the talents of Miss Hornsby, you would certainly be an expert on 'illicit meetings', would you not?" Holding up her hand to silence her brother, Ofelia continued, "That question does not require an answer. I will tell you this, Arturo: you were skulking about the Astronomy Tower, hoping to overhear information useful to you. Given your frame of mind and the distance between you, you could have easily misunderstood what they said to each other. You said that they were standing close together. It is possible that Sirius said something that you could not overhear. It is further possible that Sirius intends to end things with this young woman and suggested this little rendezvous as a ruse to get her to meet with him. Did you ever stop to think that he could have heard you moving around and set up this whole meeting to make you appear foolish? He isn't as stupid as you believe him to be, Arturo!"
"And I am not as gullible as you appear to be," the young man retorted. "Or perhaps you, too, have fallen for the Black charm!"
"Don't be ridiculous," Ofelia scoffed, taking a small sip of her tea before continuing. "I just don't believe in making assumptions when so many facts are still unclear. I will believe what you've said is true only after it has been proven to me."
Arturo's smile was triumphant. "Then you will not mind accompanying me to Black's chosen spot at 1 pm today, will you? After all, you've just said that I must prove these facts to you, did you not? How else can I do so?"
"Very well. Borrow Lucius' cloak again this afternoon and I will go with you – if only to prove that you are the one who is mistaken!" Ofelia paused. "Of course, you know where this room is located?"
Arturo flushed. "I do. I will meet you outside our Common Room at 12:30 pm. We will plan to arrive well in advance of Black to avoid detection." Ofelia nodded and rose from her place. Before she could quit the Hall, Arturo reached out and gently caught her wrist. "I assure you, Ofelia; you will know the truth about Black before the day is through. As a result, you will be spared being shackled to him for the rest of your life."
Ofelia smiled and pulled lightly away from her brother. "I am going along with you to prove a point, Arturo. Do not be confused, however. I am completely aware that it is not my lifelong happiness that concerns you the most; you are determined that our family never be linked to the Blacks. Delivering to Father proof of Sirius' bad behavior and thereby ending the contract has become more than your goal; it is your obsession. Given the lengths to which you are going, I wonder just how much Delilah Hornsby's involvement with Sirius is motivating you!" And, with that, the young witch walked swiftly toward the door.
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Sundays at Hogwarts most typically found students amusing themselves out on the grounds, finishing up homework assignments in the library or unoccupied classrooms or lounging about in their dormitories or Common Rooms. The Marauders – plus Lily, Kate and Ofelia – found themselves in a location that had truly become their 'home away from home': the Room of Requirement. Today, it had taken the form of a compact Common Room, appropriately sporting the colors of both Gryffindor and Slytherin in honor of those present.
"So, he took the bait, eh?" Sirius asked of Ofelia from his place on the floor at Kate's feet.
Ofelia smiled. "Indeed, he did. He plans to have us firmly tucked away well before your arrival."
"Do you know what he plans to do once Sirius and Delilah arrive?" Kate wanted to know.
"I suspect that he will wait to let nature take its course, as it were," Ofelia answered. "I would suspect that my brother will reveal our presence at the appropriate moment." She turned her attention back to Sirius. "Are you prepared for that moment?"
Sirius nodded, running his hand over his hair. "I am. How about you? Ready for a bit of high drama at your end of the stage?"
Ofelia returned his somewhat tentative smile. "I believe so. How do you think Delilah will respond?"
"Oh, I don't reckon it will be particularly attractive," Sirius replied. "However, given that she was two-timing me with Arturo – and he's the one who will discover our little tryst – she should lose her voice quickly enough. Well," he paused, a thoughtful look on his face, "perhaps she won't lose it, actually; she just might find herself more intent on justifying her actions to your brother than screaming at me. Should prove interesting, either way."
"Ofelia, Lily mentioned that you received a reply from Michael," Kate said.
Ofelia's face lit up and she smiled warmly at the other witch. "Yes; his owl came just this morning. He will meet me as we discussed."
"I'm so happy for you," Kate replied. "You must be very much looking forward to your visit."
For a moment, it seemed to Kate that Ofelia's smile slipped a bit and her face lost a touch of its confident appearance. The change was momentary, however and when the girl began to speak again, Kate wondered if it had happened at all.
"Oh, yes, I am; very much indeed. It seems like forever since I've seen him."
Kate knew what it was like to have the person you loved out of reach. Almost without thinking, Kate dropped her hand to Sirius' shoulder; he immediately reached up and covered it with his own.
Ofelia watched the easy affection between the two and once again resolved to do her part to make this plan work. As if I haven't reason enough on my own. Kate's voice brought her out of her reverie.
"How long has it been since you've spoken?" Kate asked, suddenly feeling a bit of kinship for the young woman before her.
"Just before I went home for the holiday," was the response. "We took horses for a ride on his family's estate. We stayed out for the entire afternoon; it was lovely." Ofelia's expression was wistful.
"You'll have the whole of the afternoon with him next Saturday as well," Kate reminded her, smiling. "And, hopefully, things will work out for you so you can have many more like that one."
To Kate's surprise, Ofelia's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. "I cannot dare to hope for that," she said, her voice tremulous. "It would be too difficult if it did not happen."
Sirius squeezed Kate's hand and rose. He walked over to the emotional young woman and sat next to her, patting her arm somewhat awkwardly "It will be ok, you'll see," he said in an attempt to bring her some degree of comfort. "Think positively."
"Yeah, think positively," James chimed in, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "It could be worse, after all; you could be going to Hogsmeade with Malfoy!"
Ofelia gave the messy-haired young wizard a crooked smile.
"Or James," Peter piped up, ducking the pillow his friend lobbed at his head. Everyone laughed and the more somber mood was, indeed, broken.
Eventually, Remus glanced at his watch and looked over at Sirius. "Lunch time, mate," he said, rising.
Sirius nodded. "Show time, more like," he replied. "Might just as well get going."
"Good luck," Kate said, walking over and kissing Sirius' cheek lightly. "I won't have the chance to do that after lunch."
Sirius smiled and brushed his lips against hers gently. "Later, perhaps," he whispered.
"Perhaps," Kate agreed, walking with him toward the door, where the others were gathered.
Peter stuck his head out side the door and peered down both ends of the corridor. There was no one to be seen. Motioning to his friends, the group hurried away from the Room and toward the staircases that would lead them down several floors to The Great Hall.
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Sirius slipped inside the darkened classroom at 12:45 pm. The light scent of Ofelia's perfume informed him of her presence – and, by association, Arturo's – when he passed a collection of classroom chairs pushed against one wall. The fat candle was where he had left it after his first meeting with Ofelia and he lit it with a wave of his wand. Turning back toward the two overstuffed chairs in the center of the room, Sirius closed his eyes and murmured a soft incantation. The two chairs were immediately transformed into an overly large, very squashy sofa. That should make Delilah happy, Sirius thought to himself. He shivered. Place could use a bit of warming up, he thought as he perched on the edge of the transformed sofa. Sirius murmured the appropriate incantation and smiled at the instant warmth that permeated his immediate area. Sorry, Ofelia, he thought to himself. I think old Arturo would suss it out if I cast one in your general direction.
"Sirius?"
The feminine voice from the direction of the doorway roused him.
"Back here," he called, standing.
"How…cozy," Delilah murmured, walking up to him as she had the night before. Glancing at the sofa, she brought a sultry gaze back up to Sirius' face. "And furnished to meet our needs."
"Convenient, isn't it? Well, really, it wasn't here at all; I had to transfigure a couple of …" Sirius trailed off, realizing that he was at risk of wandering dangerously off course. Get on with it, hissed a little voice in the back of his brain.
"A man who thinks of everything," Delilah purred, putting her arms around his neck and winding her fingers through his hair. "Lucky me." And with that, she pulled his face to hers, devouring his lips aggressively.
Here we go, Sirius thought, putting his hands on the girl's waist and guiding her backward until she fell onto the sofa. Standing over her, Sirius took in her slightly puffy lips and triumphant smirk for a single moment, then joined her, covering her body with his own. He lowered his mouth to hers and focused on the pure physical aspect of what he was doing; Sirius knew that if he allowed any thought to come into play, his ability to carry on the charade would be lost. As the kiss began to accelerate, Sirius felt Delilah shift to allow him to more comfortably fit against her. She raised her hips from the deep cushion in an effort to eliminate every sliver of space between their two bodies. Operating completely on autopilot, Sirius enhanced the friction by grinding his hips downward and, in response, earned a sharp cry from the witch beneath him. Sirius tore his lips from hers and began nibbling and teasing the side of her neck, allowing the rhythmic press of their bodies to further stoke his arousal. When Delilah's volume began to escalate, Sirius reestablished their previous lip lock; the sound of her voice was grating on his nerves – and having an extremely detrimental effect on his ardor. It wouldn't matter; moments later, the sound of a very different voice caused the couple to break apart.
"Traitorous bastard!"
As Sirius stood, he found himself staring into the very self-satisfied face of Arturo Bullstrode. In the space of a moment, the Black heir had fixed an expression of supreme haughtiness on his face. "Are you implying that I have, in some way, betrayed you, Bullstrode?"
"You betray all Purebloods, Black."
Sirius snorted disdainfully. "Spoken like a true Slytherin. I suppose now you'll go running off to find Ofelia and tell her all about my little indiscretion."
Smiling coldly, the Slytherin swept aside the remainder of the borrowed Invisibility Cloak to reveal his younger sister, whose face flashed hurt and embarrassment before she was able to clear her expression. Nice touch, Sirius thought appreciatively, realizing that Arturo was not their only audience; Delilah, too, had to be convinced that this playacting was, in fact, truth.
"Well, that was low – even for you," Sirius said to Arturo, allowing his arrogance to slip slightly as he spoke. Sirius watched Ofelia's gaze move toward the witch seated on the sofa behind him. He turned to find Delilah returning Ofelia's frank stare.
"Why don't you head back to your Common Room, Delilah?" he said quietly. This should prove interesting.
Delilah didn't move, opting instead to cross her arms over her chest and thrust her chin out defiantly. "Why should I go? You and I planned this little get-together and, unless you've invited these two without telling me, I think they should be running along. Really, who do the two of you think you are?"
Sirius winced at her tone but before he could speak, Ofelia's voice cut through the thick air. "I am Sirius' fiancée," she said, her tone icier than Sirius could ever remember hearing it.
He heard Delilah suck in a sharp breath and then she was standing in front of him. While Ofelia's demeanor was cold as ice, Delilah's entire countenance was pure fire. "Fiancée?" she hissed. "You are engaged?"
Sirius met her furious gaze steadily. "It happened over the holidays, Delilah. Our families arranged it …"
"And you didn't think to mention it to me – even in passing? I'll bet you told those friends of yours! Tell me, what does Kate Morgan think of the news, eh?"
"I've no idea," he replied. "As you well know, that relationship has ended."
"Yes," Delilah bit back. "Ended because she wanted to have an exclusive relationship with you and, as you so bluntly told me, you weren't a one-witch sort of wizard!" She narrowed her eyes and looked beyond Sirius to where Ofelia stood. "Apparently, you weren't telling any of us the truth, were you, Sirius? You agreed…"
Sirius cut her off. "I agreed to nothing. You're right about one thing, though: I told you that Kate broke up with me because she was looking for someone who was ready to settle for a relationship with just one person. You're the one who said that you'd take what you could get and hope to convert me later on."
"But you never said anything about her," Delilah continued, pointing abruptly in Ofelia's direction. "You never said that there was no chance that we could…"
"Be together permanently?" Sirius finished, wryly. "Why would I have done? You were obviously fine with 'taking what you could get' …"
"… And you were certainly happy to go along with it, weren't you?" Delilah cried. "You're no better than your reputation paints you!"
Ofelia had been listening quietly and now stepped forward, shrugging off the hand Arturo placed on her arm to stop her. "Do you know, Miss Hornsby why I find your outrage particularly laughable?"
"Ofelia," Arturo's voice was quieter now, but held a distinct warning note.
Sirius watched Ofelia carefully. What are you on about, Ofelia?
The blonde witch continued as if Arturo had not uttered a word. "You knew of Sirius' reputation before you pursued him." She held up a hand to forestall the stream of words that were threatening to fall from the other girl's lips. "Yes, pursued him. I had occasion to observe you once before today. It was in the courtyard, I believe. While Sirius clearly enjoyed himself, you were hardly shy and retiring. You are also no first year and therefore have had ample opportunity to observe Sirius and to hear rumors of his reputation. That you would have expected to have an exclusive relationship is preposterous. But, that is not why I find your attitude amusing. I am struck by the irony of a situation in which you seem to prize fidelity; after all, have you not also been unfaithful to Sirius?"
Delilah's eyes widened and she was unable to stop herself from glancing at Arturo. Sirius had the same problem and, as his eyes turned to the other wizard, he saw him close his eyes as his face paled. Not something you necessarily wanted me to hear, eh, Bullstrode? This should be interesting, Sirius thought to himself.
"Delilah," Sirius said quietly, "is this true? Not that I care, mind; shag whomever you'd like. I have no claim on you. I do, however, resent being shrieked at for a lack of full disclosure when you're guilty of the same thing. And you, Bullstrode; daring to refer to me in such unkind ways when you, too, are guilty of – what was it? – 'betraying all Purebloods'?"
A strangled cry of indignation drew everyone's attention to Delilah who stood, wide eyed – apparently too angry to form sentences. Ultimately unable to produce anything intelligible, she snapped her mouth closed and lowered herself to the sofa, the three other students caught in her unrelenting glare.
"Sorry, Delilah, but technically, your mother's a Squib," Sirius said. "While I don't mind that, there aren't too many Purebloods who would agree with me. Old Arturo's family, for example, would probably go spare if they knew. After all, that's why this whole marriage thing has been arranged."
Arturo's color had returned in a rush at Sirius' snide commentary and, unlike Delilah, he found his voice after only a few unsuccessful attempts. "How dare you compare my behavior to yours? It is not the same thing at all!"
"No, Arturo," Ofelia's voice rose slightly as she strove to regain control of the discussion. "Your behavior is much, much worse. You have – not once, but twice that I know of – deliberately concealed yourself, tracked Sirius down and spied on his activities with Miss Hornsby. You have told me that you did so in order to be able to report him to Father and terminate this agreement with the Blacks. An agreement that has nothing whatsoever to do with you – and everything to do with me."
The room had grown quiet in the face of Ofelia's comments. Sirius, for his part, was somewhat taken aback. This was not how this plan had been shaped. Ofelia was to have become a bit emotional about Sirius' apparent lack of interest in complying with the terms of the marriage contract. Delilah's involvement in the plot was exclusively as a ploy to get Arturo to the Astronomy Tower to overhear the plan for their meeting the following day. The fact that she and Ofelia's brother were involved at any level had also never come into play. Time to get this back on track, Sirius thought to himself.
"Ofelia," he said. "I haven't made any secret of the fact that I don't want to be forced into marriage – any marriage, but I'm sorry if I've hurt you or caused you any embarrassment. I will completely understand if your Father chooses to end the contract once you tell him about this."
Ofelia looked at him, her eyes glittering. "You have not hurt me, Sirius. You are quite correct; you made your position about this contract very clear right from the off. I, too, never envisioned being forced into marriage with someone my parents chose. However, I have no intention of bringing this unfortunate situation to my Father's attention."
"Ofelia, now that you've seen; now that you know that his behavior has not changed in any way, I can go to Father. This behavior is in direct violation of the terms of the marriage agreement; Father will contact the Blacks and this charade will be over." Arturo placed his hands on his sister's shoulders and gently turned her to face him. "You can be released from this arrangement. Our family will not be forced to affiliate with the Blacks!"
Ofelia shook her head. "You will stay out of this, Arturo. You will not go to Father with anything connected to this matter."
What in bloody hell is she doing? Sirius strove to keep his rapidly escalating temper from showing on his face. "Ofelia, can we talk for a moment?" He glanced around at Arturo and Delilah before turning his attention back to Ofelia. "Alone?"
Arturo advanced toward Sirius, hands clenched at his sides. "Anything you have to say to my sister can be said in front of me."
"Arturo, go," Ofelia said calmly. "I will catch you up later and we will speak further."
"Delilah, please," Sirius turned toward the other witch, who rose and, giving him a scathing look, left the room without further comment.
"Ofelia," Arturo began, obviously determined to do whatever he could to remain present for this discussion.
Ofelia would have none of it, however. "No. Leave. Please."
With one last malevolent look at Sirius, Arturo crossed the room. As he reached the door, Ofelia called to him once more. "One further word of advice, Arturo," she said. "Do not presume to send any owls to London. I can assure you that if you try to make Father aware of what has happened here tonight, I will send my own report – about your half-blood dalliances. Am I clear?"
Arturo's face drained of color and he nodded once before turning on his heel and exiting the room. Once the resounding slam of the door had abated, Sirius turned to the young woman in front of him.
"Would you mind telling me what in bloody fuck you think you're doing?" he growled.
Ofelia walked past him and sat down on the sofa, gesturing him to do the same. Sirius shook his head. "I prefer to remain standing. I would also prefer it if you would start explaining yourself. I trusted you. We all did. We had a plan. We neither of us wants this marriage. This whole mess was designed to get us both out of it with as little trouble as possible."
Ofelia sighed. "I know."
"And?"
"And I told you at the outset that I had begun to formulate a plan of my own, you will recall," Ofelia said quietly. "Sirius, it will still happen. My father will still be told;
"Really? And when will that take place?"
"After the Hogsmeade trip," she replied, rising. "It's only another week, after all. It's not that long."
Sirius' face showed his confusion and he reached out to catch her arm. "Why?"
"You'll have to trust me," Ofelia told him, pulling away gently.
"That's not good enough."
Ofelia looked back at him. "There's been a development; I need more time. It's only a week," she said again. "I promise that I'll owl my father myself after next weekend. Please."
Sirius searched her face for several moments. "Fine. But only until next weekend."
