When I was younger—naïve and oblivious to the ways of the Wizarding world—I would dream of marrying a price.
He would be gorgeous, chivalrous. He would save me from dragons.

Then I grew up.

And the man I'd actually marry is an arrogant boy who runs around with other childish boys.

The most unchivalrous boy on the face of the planet. Only a prince in his entitled ways. He had gorgeous going for him, but that meant nothing to me.

The crisp white of the letter crumpled in my hands as I finished reading it.

Sirius Black… are betrothed… wedding… Christmas eve.

The words echoed around my skull, deafening my footsteps as I rushed down from the Owlery and toward the Great Hall.

He was coming out from breakfast with the rest of his posse, and the moment his gray eyes landed on mine, his face paled.

I raised my wand and muttered a few words that pushed him into an empty broom closet, and silenced his cries of protest. Lupin and Potter only stared; Pettigrew shrunk back, cowering into a slouch.

Before I entered the room, I turned back to the Gryffindors. "I need a quick word with Black."

"Don't kill him," Potter sighed.

I sent a brief smile. "Don't tempt me." Then the door slammed behind me and the tip of my wand rested against Black's neck.

The silencing spell disappeared and Black sputtered a few times before he could croak anything out. "What in Merlin's name was that for, Wallace?" He glanced down at my wand and visibly gulped.

"Don't pretend to be coy, Black," I snarled, reaching into my cloak pocket to grab the crumpled letter. "A letter my mother sent me this morning: 'Cassiopeia, your father and I are pleased to tell you that you and Sirius Black are betrothed. The wedding will be held on Christmas eve.'"

I looked back up at his face, watching emotions fight for dominance. Anger won and his cheeks turned cherry red. "I had nothing to do with this," he seethed.

His eyes showed me nothing but pure contempt, no playful teasing found. I waved my wand, and he turned away.

"I can't believe this," he muttered, rage barely hidden beneath shaky words.

He had nothing to do with this. I deflated against the cool wall, hiding my face in my palms. At least if he had something to do with it, it could be stopped.

Glass shattered against the opposite wall and I imagined how terrifyingly angry Black looked. I kept my face hidden, trying to find someway I could get out of this trap my parents had tossed me in.

Running away was my first choice, then I realized how impossible that would be. My parents would find me. They'd punish me, then I'd be back to where I was now. Albeit, with a lot less freedom.

Black threw a few more things against the wall.

"Would you quit throwing a tantrum?" I snapped, finally looking at him. His hair was disheveled, even more so than usual. Knots made the black strands stick up in odd places; his expression reminded me of that of a madman. "My two-year-old niece acts more mature than you."

He glared at me from his spot against the wall. "I don't want to marry you."

"At least we can agree on one thing."

"I won't marry you."

It took all my self-control to not roll my eyes. "Unless you have a way to stop this, I don't know how you can get away with that. Monday is a week from Christmas eve."

Black rubbed a hand down his face, eyes staring up at the ceiling. "I can run away."

I raised my brows, watching him work through the scenario. He shook his head after a moment. He stared into my eyes, hatred swirling in their cool depths.

"You're the smart one," he said. "Why don't you think of something?"

"Because I tried. And it didn't work. Our parents obviously waited until the last minute to tell us and—"

"Your parents," Black corrected. "Mine haven't spoken to me since the beginning of term."

"Well, whatever," I snapped, waving his words away. "We very well can't run—they'll track us down. We can't say no—they'll force us into it anyway."

"Blah, blah, blah," Black mocked, opening and closing his hand. "And we can't go against them because we aren't of age yet. I get it, Wallace. We're doomed."

I glared at him. "There has to be something in it for my parents. I can't see how it would do anything for yours, except for getting you away."

He said something, but my mind was trying to remember any difference in my parents' actions over the summer. Now that I was actually thinking, Mother had gone shopping less… Father had been all but absent. 'Picking up extra hours at the Ministry' is what Mother said, but the worry in her tone had been there.

"Oh, Merlin," I breathed, suddenly much more concerned with my future than I ever had been. My eyes trailed up to the ceiling, tracing the copious amounts of cobwebs dangling above. "We are broke."

"Your family?" Black scoffed. "The great Wallace family has finally spent their last knut. Whoo-hoo. Good for you."

"Black, unless my family somehow regains all our wealth, we're part of a transaction. Your family gets rid of you in exchange for… however much they sold me for." It hurt, a deep ache in my chest. I should have expected it. The logic made sense. I cleared my throat, looking back at the boy before me.

Annoying, arrogant, righteous Gryffindor.

What a cruel thing to do to their only daughter.


"I've done some thinking," Black began as he slid next to me at the Slytherin table. In the Great Hall. For all to see.

"Have you really?" I asked. "Was it hard?"

He rolled his eyes, taking my unused plate and filling it with breakfast. A moment later, the rest of his posse stormed the table and made their own plates.

I closed the book reading and glanced across the table. Severus's narrowed eyes prompted me to get them away, and down the row, Regulus looked between his brother and me with questions I couldn't answer.

"We sabotage it," Black whispered, buttering a slice of toast.

"And how do you suppose we do that? Destroy the cake, ruin my dress, magic a glass of wine to douse my mother?" My nose wrinkled in disgust as I spotted Pettigrew shoveling porridge down his throat.

"We blackmail your family."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because, unlike you, I care about my family's reputation. I won't give you any information about us."

Black shook his head as he took a gulp from my stolen goblet. "Only way."

"No, it isn't." I attempted a calming breath—it came out more ragged than I intended. "Just… let me… figure something out."

Black stood up and leaned close enough that his warm breath washed across my cheek. "It better include sabotage or else I'll be calling you wife in one week. And let me make myself very clear, I will make your life a living hell until death do we part."

Then he and his threats were gone, along with his posse. I sneered at his uneaten food before looking back at Severus. He raised a brow, a silent demand to tell him what had just happened. "Common room," I muttered, before grabbing my book and standing.

Regulus joined me in silence as we left the Great Hall, with just about every girl staring daggers at my head.

"What was that all about?" Regulus asked once we had made it out of earshot.

"Your brother and I are betrothed."

"What?"

I exhaled, already worn down by all of this insanity. I couldn't marry Black, yet I was clueless about how to sabotage my wedding. When I glanced to the side, I saw Regulus staring at me with wide eyes. "Yes. Betrothed. We're getting married on Christmas eve."

Our footsteps echoed as we made our way to the dungeons.

Regulus stayed silent until we had made it into the Slytherin common room. "You're sixteen," he said, tone bewildered.

"I realize that, Reg," I said, plopping down on the sofa closest to the hearth. I sunk back into the soft velvet and closed my eyes. Sleep was the only way I could escape the terrifying fantasies of a life together with Black. And even then, the nightmares crept in.

"He won't be happy about it," Regulus said, sitting down next to me.

I forced my eyes open and stared into the fireplace. The flames licked the edges of the stone, no doubt wishing they could consume more than just the logs of wood the house elves would toss in. I imagined my mother as fire then. Wanting more and more to where she would even consume her own daughter's freedom to get what she wanted. "I need to stop this," I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers to hold a migraine at bay.

Regulus shuffled to turn towards me and his gray eyes twinkled, reminding me a lot more of his brother. "I can help," he said.

I blinked at my friend. At only fourteen, he was almost as tall as Black and looked—and acted—more mature. He was sneaky too, which I needed.

"Alright. We need to figure out what to do, though. Black mentioned blackmail, but I can't ruin my family's reputation, especially among their crowd." I sent Regulus a pointed look, and he nodded.

"Let me do some digging, Cass," Regulus said, standing and stretching. "We can do this."

He left me sitting on the sofa, slowly drowning in my own doubts. No matter how much I trusted Regulus and his abilities, a nagging voice in the back of my head told me that in a week I'd be married and I'd have no say in it.


A/N: I know it's been a minute - trust me lol. I recently decided that this story could never become an original story that I could self-publish. It banks too much on Sirius and the world of Harry Potter. I really wanted to rewrite it because I didn't really like Cass's personality... and abilities (Metamorphmagus, really?). Too Mary Sue for me, ngl. Anyhow, I got back into it and rewrote the first chapter! So, here it is and here's to a much better plotline than what I had previously (never got past chap 10 because I had no idea where I was going). Hope y'all enjoy it and any constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated!