Eviction

Aries' only experience with girls was a failed effort with Cho Chang in his fifth year and despite his newfound confidence, it was starting to show. He was currently sitting in his second living room opposite his new fiancée, Daphne Greengrass, receiving a lecture on proper etiquette. He had expected her to react with scorn but instead her eyes had lit up and she had actually smiled at him, something that left his cheeks rather red. She was, after all, considered one of the most beautiful girls in the school. Daphne herself was rather nervous, something rarely seen by others. However, today after this etiquette lesson, Aries would be introducing her to everyone staying at Grimmauld Place. "If we are to be married, I want you to consider this house your home the same way I do. But that means meeting our guests." Aries had smirked after saying that, causing her to scowl. She knew full well who and what the Weasleys were, and she disapproved whole heartedly of them. Not that she would tell Aries that of course, after seeing how vehemently he stands up for them.

She pondered on everyone's reaction to their contract, wondering if they would approve. She doubted it, considering she was a Slytherin and her family were firmly neutral when it came to taking sides in the war. 'Well, at least we were before.' she thought to herself. They were a dark aligned family, however refused to side with the Dark Lord during the last war. Her father had already been approached by a Death Eater, specifically Lord Nott, who proceeded to bring forth the idea of a contract between Daphne and Theodore Nott, Lord Nott's son. By that time, the contract between herself and Aries had already been signed and their alliance sealed, so her father had flat out refused Lord Nott, going as far as to insult the man by calling his Heir an 'Unworthy parasite', something that had made Daphne snort in amusement.

"Daphne?" Aries called to her, waking her from her thought process with a start.

"My apologies Aries, I was thinking about how everyone will react to our engagement. I somehow doubt they will be thrilled with your choice." She replied, turning to face him. 'At least not as thrilled as I am.' She thought to herself, her facing turning slightly red.

Aries for his part, simply shrugged. "I'm not particularly fussed about whether they do approve or not. It's up to me at the end of the day, one of the perks of being Lord Black." He shot her a lopsided grin, making Daphne blush even more. "If I'm completely honest, I don't think I could have made a better choice, and I don't just mean as a political match either." he continued obliviously, making Daphne turn the same shade of red as the mug of tea she was currently holding. 'He must be doing this on purpose, he was never this charming with anyone at school' she said to herself in her mind.

She was about to lightly scold Aries for trying to embarrass her when they were both startled by a knock on the door. "Enter." Aries called out in a commanding voice. She had to admit, it gave her butterflies when he became more commanding. Those thoughts were quickly put to the back of her mind when one of Aries' Stormtroopers entered the room, this one wearing an orange shoulder pad. 'First Sergeant Garlan, a Squad leader' She reminded herself, remembering Aries' brief lesson in Imperial ranks and structure. She would never admit it, but she found the sight of their armour unnerving.

"My Lord, your guests have gathered in the kitchen as you requested and are waiting for you." The Sergeant said, his distorted voice caused by his helmet causing Daphne to shudder slightly.

Aries nodded to the Sergeant. "Thank you Sergeant Garlan, return to your duties." Sergeant Garlan clicked his heels together smartly before exiting the room, leaving them both alone once more. Aries turned to Daphne, smirking slightly. "Ready to go and face the music?"

She sighed. "I suppose so, we can't put it off much longer. From what you have told me, they are already suspicious about how secretive you have been hiding around the house and in the library, even with you having explained a good portion of it to them. I'm still surprised you told them as much as you did."

He shrugged, still smirking. "Some might say it was Gryffindor of me, throwing my weight around. But the truth is that by showing off a portion of the power I have at my command, they will hesitate in moving against me. And make no mistake, Dumbledore will make a move to have me back under his control, it's only a matter of time."

She nodded in agreement. Daphne, like her family and many other of the darker families, didn't trust Dumbledore one bit. She did however respect the power the man had, both politically and magically. After being proven correct about the Dark Lord making his return, more light sided noble houses than ever before are flocking to his banner, giving him a lot of voting power in the Wizengamot. Something she knew Aries was going to attempt to change, although if she were honest with herself, she didn't understand why. 'Why bother going through the trouble, when he could simply have his ships bombard anywhere on the planet?' She had asked herself the question more than once by now, but had yet to ask the young man himself.

She was distracted once more from her thoughts by Aries, who was now standing in front of her with a hand extended to help her up. Taking it, she rose gracefully to her feet and gave him a small smile. "Well, let's go make a statement then shall we, my Lord Black?" Aries simply returned the smile warmly and nodded, leading her out of the room.

- - - - - - - - - -
Scene Break

Dumbledore, Hermione and the Weasleys were all waiting in the kitchen, sitting almost silently at the dinner table. Not for lack of things to talk about, but they were all unnerved by the Stormtroopers that seemed to be everywhere in the house, four of them currently standing guard at various places in the kitchen. Well, all of them except for the Headmaster, who seemed to be humming to himself at the head of the table with a benign smile on his face. The silence was broken by the door to the kitchen opening and two of Aries' black-clad guards entering the room, followed by Aries himself escorting a young blonde girl whom quite a few of them recognised almost instantly.

Ron got to his feet right away, looking furious. "What the hell is she doing here?!" He shouted, glaring at Daphne. "She isn't welcome here! Bloody Slytherins can't be trusted Harry!"

Aries narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "First of all Ron, this is my home, not yours. I will decide who is welcome here and who is not. Secondly, I trust her completely, so do keep your own trust issues to yourself. And thirdly, do watch how you speak to my fiancée, you might be my friend but I will not tolerate anybody speaking to her that way. Oh, and surely if you are my friend, you would remember that I have changed my name."

Most of the people sitting at the table either gaped or gasped at Aries calling Daphne his fiancée. "Fiancée?!" Came the shocked cry from Ginny. She looked pale as a ghost, her lip quivering slightly. "But… she can't…" Aries simply cut her off with a raised hand. "Yes, my fiancée. It is not up for discussion or negotiation, the contract has been signed."

Even Dumbledore looked surprised by this revelation. "Mr-Pott- I mean, Mr. Black, when did you leave the house to sign such a document?"

Aries raised an eyebrow at the question. "I didn't. I invited Lord Greengrass and Daphne here to negotiate."

Dumbledore, for his part, looked alarmed and raised his voice slightly. "Now my boy this has gone on long enough. You have made your point, not end this childish behaviour. Hand me the address note immediately, it is clear to me that you cannot be trusted."

Aries' eyebrows raised even further. "You seem to be under the impression that this has anything to do with you, Headmaster. Let me assure you, it does not. You also seem to think that I shall allow you to control who comes and goes from my own home. I will not. Assume so once more and I shall have you out of this house quicker than you can say Merlin." At this last sentence, the Aries' personal guards and the Stormtroopers in the room all lowered and aimed their blaster rifles at Dumbledore, who looked around quickly, no doubt trying to figure out what to do.

"I see…" Dumbledore muttered quietly. "Well considering that you have compromised the security of this house, I am afraid we must vacate and find another place to use as Headquarters. I am most disappointed in you-" Aries once more raised a hand, interrupted the Headmaster.

"Yes, I'm sure you are." he drawled, giving even Draco Malfoy a run for his money. "But you see the truth is that just lately… I find that I don't quite care that much. Fairweather friends and incompetent order members who are supposed to be fighting Voldemort's forces, and yet you all only seem to react, instead of thinking about preventive measures. I, on the other hand, shall see them vanish from the face of the earth when I am ready."

At this point, Daphne spoke up. "Considering the events during Aries' years at Hogwarts, I highly doubt any of you have his safety in mind. If anything, I'd say you actively place him in danger."

At this, many at the table opened their mouths to speak, but were cut off once more by Aries.
"You see? Even people who have not known me as long as you lot can see the truth of it. I have had enough of it, and I have had enough of this conversation as it clearly isn't going to lead anywhere other than a fight."

Dumbledore sighed deeply, rising to his feet, at which the rest of the guests followed suit. "You are walking down a dark path, my boy…"

"A lumos spell should be in order then." Aries' quipped, smirking slightly. Daphne held in a laugh, but the amusement was clear for anyone to see.

Dumbledore scowled slightly before turning and leaving the room, leading the rest of the guests out. Ron simply scowled back at them before following the headmaster out, whilst Hermione simply looked sad. Aries half expected to feel bad when he saw that look on Hermione's face yet disturbingly, he only felt more amusement. Turning to Daphne, he shrugged.

"That went well."