And So It Went by The Pretty Reckless
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
And the wind begins to howl
And the wolf is at your door
You have so much of everything
But still, you wanted more
January 1st, 1978
The old-fashioned corset Avdima had made her wear was crushing her lungs, but apparently that was worth it if it made her small breasts look bigger. It made little sense to Ivy, since the reason for the corset was dinner with Regulus's extended family. They already had a marriage contract drawn up, and it wasn't like her future husband was taking notice of how admittedly stunning she looked in her dark blue beaded gown.
In fact, he hadn't looked at her once the entire night, despite sitting next to her and having been through five courses. What was stranger, however, was that it didn't seem pointed, as she could sense no air of reproach around him. If anything, he seemed uninterested, which was definitely worse.
"Yes," Avdima said from her left to Orion Black who was at the head of the long wooden table. "I do pride myself in having produced a very accomplished heir."
Taking the cue, she smiled at Regulus's father, who looked startlingly like Sirius in his crimson dress robes. "The dance and violin lessons have certainly paid off. Not to mention, I'm top of my class in Charms. Of course, I owe it all to my mother."
The words were like acid coming out of her mouth, but she kept her expression pleasant.
"Indeed," Avdima smiled arrogantly, bringing her curled white hair over the shoulder of her silver gown.
"I do enjoy the lack of false modesty," Bellatrix winked at Ivy. "Refreshing, don't you think?"
Rodolphus, who sat next to his wife, nodded. "It's rather unlike our Regulus."
"I think she will even him out," Narcissa piped up. "The best matches end up doing so."
Lucius, her husband of only five months, raised his beverage as though in a toast.
Ivy gave a simpering laugh, thinking how she would love to set nearly everyone in the room on fire. The vision of doing so in her head was the only thing making the night even remotely bearable.
"Wouldn't you agree, Regulus?" Walburga prompted. "That we've arranged a good match?"
"I guess," he grumbled, tugging at the collar of his black dress robes.
Ivy stared at him, wondering again why he was so off. He'd been crabby the entire night, giving short if not snobbish replies, even to the most respected people in the room. While she understood the urge and even respected him more for it, it was very unlike him to behave in such a manner around his family.
"You guess?" His mother raised a brow menacingly.
Regulus let out a loud groan, dropping his spoonful of Strawberry Fool in the saucer with a disruptive clatter. Everyone turned to look at him, some wearing expressions of embarrassment, while others seemed irritated or uncomfortable.
"Now, now," Orion said quietly. "Don't start behaving like your brother."
"Me?" He sounded outraged. "Ivy's the one who acts like Sirius! You don't even know the kind of things she-" Regulus stopped, his eyes losing focus as an expression of bewilderment crossed his aristocratic features.
Focus turning instead to Ivy, she let her confusion shine through, tightly restricting the horror and fear that coursed through her. Betrayal could wait for later, assuming she lived long enough to experience later.
"What do you mean?" Walburga narrowed her eyes.
"I mean that-" He stopped again, eyes unfocusing once more, before standing abruptly. "I mean that I don't want to marry her!"
The room was filled with horrified gasps.
Had Ivy not been extremely distressed, she would have reveled in the impropriety.
"Regulus!" Orion hissed angrily.
"No!" Regulus slammed a fist against the table, rattling the fine silverware, and making his family jump. "Ariadne is the one I want to be with!"
Ivy gaped at him, along with everyone else.
"You're talking nonsense!" Orion got to his feet with a deadly air. "Stop this at once!"
"I won't!" Regulus shouted. "I love her, and I will be with her! I don't care what anyone says!"
His father stalked around the table to grab his son roughly by the arm. Under the table, Ivy let her wand slide out of her sleeve and into her hand. As much as Regulus was behaving like an arse, she would not tolerate anyone laying a hand on him. If his father so much as squeezed his arm tighter, she would unleash hell on earth.
"Orion," Walburga barked, standing as her chair scraped unpleasantly against the wooden floor. "He isn't in his right mind. I know a love potion when I see one. Keep him here while I find an antidote."
Walburga departed at a brisk pace, leaving Orion and Regulus to shout at one another as the party looked on in shock and disbelief. Orion eventually procured his wand, making Ivy start, though he only used it to force Regulus into silence and his chair. His son glared daggers at him as he returned to his seat, looking greatly displeased.
Exhaling quietly, she inconspicuously tucked her wand back up her sleeve.
"You all have my sincerest apologies," Orion said calmly. "We will have this sorted momentarily. In the meantime, can anyone tell me who this Adriana girl is?"
"Ariadne Zabini," Avdima corrected disdainfully before Ivy could open her mouth. "That little beast has been after your son for years. She would do anything to sully my daughter's respectable reputation and get the marriage contract revoked so she can have the Black heir to herself."
"That doesn't surprise me," Regulus's aunt Druella piped up. "I hear from my nephew Evan that her reputation is so abysmal, she nearly had to settle for a marriage contract with Lyonel Abbott's son."
Murmurs of distaste floated around the room.
"I can confirm that," Regulus's grandmother Irma shook her head. "The Zabini girl was only able to secure an arrangement with the Avery boy because his family may lose their wealth to Gringotts."
For the first time, Ivy was grateful for how easily gossip circulated in the pureblood community.
"I also know for a fact," Rodolphus added, folding the cloth napkin in his lap. "That the Zabini girl associates with Vivienne Parkinson. My brother Rabastan saw them together constantly when he was at Hogwarts."
"Are you referring to Sebastian's daughter?" Regulus's grandfather Pollux chimed in.
"No," Rodolphus's lip curled. "Erik's daughter."
Sounds of loathing burst forth around the table.
Ivy couldn't believe her luck - reputation was saving her arse.
Walburga swept back into the room, black gown swishing as she approached Regulus. Vial in hand, she uncorked it and forced his head back in a way that made Ivy want to strangle her. Restraining herself, she watched his mother pour the potion down his throat, some of it dribbling down his chin.
Regulus felt the haze lift from his mind.
When his father spoke an incantation, his rigid body relaxed, and his jaw untightened. Gazing down at his half-finished Strawberry Fool, he grasped the cloth napkin beside the dish and wiped his chin, humiliated.
"I'm so sorry." He spoke to the room, unable to look at any of them. Especially Ivy, since he had nearly outed her for being a Muggle sympathiser and blood traitor.
Not only that, but Ariadne had essentially drugged him. He'd slept with her, many times, and not of his own volition. He'd told her he loved her, a phrase he'd been saving for the white-haired witch beside him.
"The Zabini family will be hearing from me," Walburga said gravely. "As will the Averys."
"Indeed," Orion growled. "That girl will be hard pressed to find a marriage contract anywhere in Europe. Or the whole world, if I have anything to do with it. Son, now that your mind is clear, what did you mean about your betrothed being like your brother?"
"That was the love potion talking," Regulus announced, still unable to meet any of their gazes. "I've known Ivy for years and she has never been associated with anything unseemly."
The room broke into sounds of indignant assent.
"I figured as much," he heard Bellatrix say. "I can't think of a single other respectable pureblood girl who is more devoted to the Dark Lord. Myself aside, of course."
"We are in agreement on that," Walburga said firmly. "Now, I think the New Year has been celebrated long enough. Kreacher!"
Regulus heard a pop.
"Yes, Mistress?"
"Fetch our guests' belongings and assist them in their departure."
Staring at his unfinished dessert, Regulus remained where he was as his family bustled about and left the dining room to head home. No one spoke to him on the way out, though whether it was for his benefit or due to secondhand embarrassment, he didn't know.
After several moments of silence, while under the impression that he was alone, he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch.
"Regulus," Ivy's voice was soft. "Is there anything I can do?"
He thought back to how he had been about to take The Secrets of Darkness from the Restricted Section when Ariadne's love potion had kicked in. Everything had been a haze of euphoria after that, but looking back with newly discovered clarity, all he felt was violated beyond comprehension.
Regulus placed his hand over hers and shook his head.
February 19th, 1978
Regulus laughed uncontrollably, the sound loud and feverish, as there was little he could do to contain his victorious excitement. Carried on the shoulders of Severus and Lucinda Talkalot, the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, he allowed himself a moment of merriment. His Housemates cheered riotously around him, clapping and hollering. None were louder than Ivy and Theya, despite him having barely spoken to either of them in months.
He had just won them the match against Ravenclaw, which involved a tactful escape from a Parkin's Pincer manoeuvre. Emmeline Vance and Amelia Bones, the opposing team's Chasers, were furious.
When they set him down, he felt Severus clap him on the back.
Grinning, he followed his mate to the outskirts of the celebration. Leaning against an emerald-draped wall beside the mantle and its accompanying portrait of Slytherin's sigil, he sighed in contentment.
"I've never seen Bones that mad before," Severus smirked, taking a swig from the black leather flask Regulus had gifted him the year before. "Did you see her after you landed?"
"Throwing her broom at Vance?" He smirked. "It was bloody brilliant."
"Never thought I'd see those two get in a fistfight."
"Seriously. Bones has always been hotheaded, but Vance?"
"I'd hate to be on the other end of her fist," Severus snickered. "You saw Rookwood last month, right? I heard Vance broke his jaw."
"Must've said something pretty stupid to tick her off."
"Agreed," Severus nodded, simultaneously doing a double take when his eyes locked on something across the room. "Heads up. Zabini."
Regulus followed his gaze to watch Ariadne enter the Common Room, something shiny holding her dark hair back. Panic ringing through him, he ducked out of sight, using Severus as a shield to keep her from spotting him.
"She still stalking you?" Severus asked contemptuously.
"Yep," he scowled, trying to calm his racing heart as he peeked around Severus. "The Prefect's Bathroom is sounding pretty good right about now… She can't get in there. I gotta leave before she sees me."
"It's almost after hours," he said under his breath. "Just go upstairs."
"You remember what happened last time I tried to dodge her up there?"
"Unfortunately," he drawled. "Go now, she's looking the other way."
Regulus didn't need to be told twice, and thus began urgently skirting the edge of the room towards the door. Watching the back of her head as she drew further away from the entrance, he felt a spike of relief upon grasping the door handle.
Ignoring Ivy and Theya's stares, he slipped into the cold passage, closing the door quietly behind him. Hurrying down the corridor, he ignored the jars of pickled animals that haunted the place. Thankful he was still wearing his Prefect badge, as he could use patrolling as an excuse for being out late if necessary, he jogged in the direction of the fifth floor.
On the staircase, he passed the seventh year Gryffindor Prefects, Remus Lupin and Alice Fortescue. When they narrowed their eyes suspiciously at him, he tapped his Prefect badge with a smirk and hastened his pace before they could question him.
Upon reaching the statue of Boris the Bewildered, he murmured sassafras leaves, and stole inside.
One look told him the place was vacant, as the torches lit when he stepped further into the bathroom. Tugging at the collar of his Quidditch uniform, he approached the massive tub and withdrew his wand, giving it a flick. Within seconds, the golden taps were flooding the pool with all colours of water. He removed his socks and shoes, setting them aside so he could let his feet soak.
It was only when he was about to put his wand away that he heard footsteps.
Spinning round in a frenzy, he watched Ariadne halt at the far end of the room near the stalls, the door swinging shut behind her.
"How'd you get in here?" He snapped in hopes of seeming aggressive rather than scared.
"You told me the password last fall."
"What do you want?" Regulus strengthened his grip on his blackthorn wand.
Ariadne stared at his wand. "I just want to talk."
"Why? I've made myself clear. So has my family." He wanted to calm himself but couldn't think how, as his brain was muddled with memories of them being intimate. If he could call it that.
"I know," she continued to watch his wand. "I just want to explain and fix things."
"I don't want to hear it." Regulus's voice trembled and he subsequently hoped the tremor came off as due to anger instead of the petrifying fear destabilising his mind.
"Come on," Ariadne took a step forward.
He automatically stepped back, despite the four metres already between them.
"Stay away from me," his voice wobbled traitorously.
"You're not scared of me?" She smiled alarmingly, as though she was pleased. "It's just me."
"Yes," he said quietly. "It's just you."
"I know you're upset-"
"That doesn't even begin to cover it," he hissed.
Ariadne narrowed her eyes at him. "I really think you're overreacting."
"Do you now?" His temper flared. "What part of you taking advantage of me, then me never wanting to see you again, is me overreacting?"
"Take advantage of you?" Ariadne laughed in a way that told him she knew exactly what he meant. "Sure, I gave you a love potion, but that's just because I knew you were going to break up with me. I wanted to give you time to reconsider – to realise that you loved me too."
She took another step forward and he raised his wand with a shaking hand.
"You don't love me," he spat. "You as good as Imperius'd me."
"Don't you know how ridiculous you sound?" She laughed lightly. "I loved – love you very much."
"If you loved me, you would have cared about what I wanted. You would have cared about what I didn't want. Which was you."
"That's absurd," something in her gaze sharpened. "I've always cared about you. Far more than you know."
"Not enough to give me the option of saying no," he snarled. "We never had sex before your love potion because I didn't want to. If I hadn't been forced, I would have said no. I would have said no every time, but you took away that choice. That is unforgivable."
Ariadne's expression changed, the doe-eyed peacemaker look morphing into one of bone-chilling instability. It was a look he'd never seen on her face before, one that he associated with the crazed and obsessive. She looked ready to wind herself around him and squeeze like a boa constrictor if only so she could possess him.
"Regulus," she spoke softly like a warning. "You have no idea what it's been like for me, what I've lost over this. Not even Vivienne will talk to me anymore."
"Good! I never thought you were capable of-" His throat tightened, and he choked on his words. "Of what you did to me. But you're plenty capable, and everyone should know that. It's what you deserve."
Ariadne cocked her head with an unnatural leer and crept forward.
"Regulus," she sounded as though she was trying to be soothing, but the tone to him sounded lethal. "You don't want to know what will happen if you don't-"
Hearing the entrance open once more, he watched Ivy and Theya burst inside.
Ivy's murder face was more vicious than ever as she stalked towards Ariadne, who backed up rapidly with wide eyes.
"I'm going to kill you," Ivy hissed. "And it will look like an accident."
With a feral shriek, Ivy lunged at Ariadne and tackled her to the ground. They landed with a slap, and Ivy burst into an onslaught of incomprehensible insults, yanking viciously at Ariadne's hair.
"What happened?" Theya stepped casually around the fight and walked to Regulus, prodding at him as though to find pain points. "Are you alright? Did she hurt you? How can I help?"
"I'm fine," he assured her, though he was far from it. "I'm fine."
A loud scream of pain bounced off the stone walls.
Regulus and Theya looked over to see Ivy getting off Ariadne with her Thestral hairpin in hand, a large chunk of dark hair having come with it. As Ivy headed over to them, angrily removing the hair, Ariadne got to her feet and ran at her. Before Regulus could react, Ivy sidestepped without looking up, sending Ariadne into the tub with a loud splash that sprayed them all. Continuing to pluck at her pin, she tossed the chunk of hair in the pool with Ariadne, who resurfaced sputtering.
As Ivy secured the pain back in her bun, Theya withdrew her wand, nailing Ariadne in the chest with what sounded like a modified Bat Bogey Hex. Bats indeed flew out of her nose as she sloshed back into the water. The threesome stared at her as she remained face down and unmoving, bubbles and nearly drowned bats rising to the surface.
"We'd better get her out of there before she drowns," Theya sighed, putting her wand away.
"Why?" Ivy asked icily. "She can drown for all I care."
"Want to go to Azkaban?" Theya moved to the edge of the tub.
"She's the one that should go to Azkaban," Regulus said shakily.
"I know," Theya began fishing her out. "But nobody else sees it that way. You know that love potions aren't even illegal? I've always thought they should be considered the fourth Unforgivable."
Regulus and Ivy watched as she tugged Ariadne out, slipping a bit as she did, and laid the girl next to the tub. Theya placed two fingers on her neck, checking her pulse before nodding.
"Right," she stood, wiping her hands on her uniform. "We should leave before we get caught. We passed Lupin and Fortescue on the way up and we're probably already breaking curfew."
"Wait," he said as they made a move for the door. "I need to tell you that… I've thought long enough about our conversation last year. I don't know that I see everything the way you two do, but I'm willing to try."
"That's all we've wanted," Ivy glanced at Ariadne, who was still out cold. "There's a lot I'm not ready to tell you about, but hopefully we can get there one day."
"Alright," he smiled a little.
"While we're clearing the air," Theya rubbed her eyes. "Can we please be done with all the bloody oscillating? I'm sick of going from being close to not and then back again. I just want us to be friends and for it to stay that way from now on."
"Absolutely," Ivy said.
"Agreed," Regulus nodded.
The two girls beamed and pulled him in for a hug. Smelling lavender on Ivy and mangoes on Theya, he felt distinctly like he was coming home.