Orion exhaled when Lord Fawley announced the closure of the session.
After Hespera's face-off with Dumbledore, the minister and Lord Fawley rushed to set forth the motions that needed voting and urged the different Lords of the Noble families to give their voices.
Orion was aware that no one was paying attention to anything expecting his fiancée, who kept her head high while she discussed the different issues at hand and asked for recommendations that could influence outcomes with his father, Lord Fulcran and Abraxas Malfoy.
The latter didn't shy from joining them brazenly, making his stance clear as day.
Orion didn't miss the glint in his eyes as their gazes clashed and his lips twitched with repressed amusement.
Maybe he would get his old friend back too, thanks to Hespera.
He looked around for Alphard and noticed the way his face was glowing with satisfaction, which couldn't be said for Pollux.
Cygnus was surveying the whole debacle and Orion knew that his crafty mind was making sure that everything was sifted and stored for later use.
He didn't dislike him not really, not as much as Walburga at least, but he didn't respect him either for remaining idle while Pollux disregarded Alphard and planned to dethrone his father.
Orion was eager to know whether Hespera's unprompted intercession would change his standpoint.
He wished it would, remembering what would become of the man and how he would carelessly sell his daughters in the future for the sole reason of acquiring more power and more influence.
"It's time to leave this bedlam," Arcturus Black announced impassively and he couldn't agree more.
He offered his arm to Hespera and she took it, gifting him a satisfied little smile.
He knew that she was nervous and afraid but she showed him, and the whole Wizengamot, her true mettle.
She had little experience, yet she braved it and planted the first seeds of doubt in every head in attendance.
"Yes, let's depart from here. I can't take Dumbledore's piercing eyes anymore," Hespera murmured under her breath.
Orion stole a furtive glance at the man, who was pretending to talk to Lord Diggory, and shook his head.
The man had become his enemy the moment he left his son to wilt in Azkaban, the moment he used Grimmauld Place, the Black Ancestral home, as his camp and repressed the Dark magic weaved through the centuries-old stones.
House Black's noble grandsire served Wizarding Britain with honour, and so did every son and daughter after him.
The Blacks never bowed nor gave up and revenge ran deep in their veins, abreast of their blood and their magic.
"I'm sure that Mother and Lucretia are waiting to hear about your first official appearance," Orion shifted his gaze to Hespera who seemed eager to leave.
Without further ado, he gave his father a meaningful look and steered her toward the doors.
The time for socializing and getting to know more about the Noble families would come later, that moment however he knew how drained she was.
Fleamont and Charlus Potter met them near the chimneys.
"You did well Hespera, I'm proud of you. I can't wait to bring the memory of this session to Euphemia," Fleamont beamed at her.
"And don't forget Dorea, she's always ready for some disruption," Charlus chuckled.
Orion couldn't agree more, Dorea unlike Pollux who cared only for his gain and Cassiopeia, who was somewhere doing whatever she wanted, did in fact care about the family. She never abandoned her Black origins despite her shaky relationship with her father, the late Cygnus Black II.
He never agreed to her marriage, never saw the good in Charlus and considered him merely a footling Potter with no Heirship or power.
Charlus however was a very responsible man and a gifted wizard. After years of playing as a starting beater for the Puddlemere, Dorea threatened him with bodily harm if he didn't stop.
He joined his cousin and Euphemia in managing the line of hair care products first invented by Fleamont called Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and Scalp Treatment.
Dorea on the other hand, was an accomplished Healer, one of the best. After she married Charlus, she pursued her dream and started training at St Mungo's.
Orion led Hespera to the nearest chimney and didn't wait to steer her closer to his chest and step into the green flames.
He heard her gasp but it was swallowed by his words:'12, Grimmauld Place.'
They landed in her room, just like he intended for them.
There was a thick air of tension between them that he guessed could not be easily shaken.
His throat cinched around a scattered breath as he looked at her wide eyes.
"Orion, I…" she stuttered and he shook his head.
She was perfect, but most importantly, she was his.
The creature that lived deep inside him growled its agreement.
Both man and beast wanted to inundate her with lavish gifts, help her forget all her troubles, teach her the true meaning of love and make her understand what they were prepared to do for her.
The idea of a forever with Hespera seized him.
He could see himself relaxing in the evenings and watching her take care of their future children. Afterwards, he would steer her to their room, undress her slowly, and kiss every inch of her.
It didn't seem possible that this vision of moonlight and goodness would be his but Fate and Death weren't without mercy.
Like rain on a cold window, these thoughts pattered against the hard surface of the incontrovertible truth that he was falling in love for the first time.
He loved his parents dearly, considered Alphard his brother and respected many a member of the Black family, yet this new flame burning hot in the deep recesses of his soul was something he feared and wanted to embrace at once.
Orion never played with the idea of sharing his life with someone he loved. The notion was foreign and farfetched. He knew that as the future Lord Black, his loyalty was only to his family.
"Hespera, you're an amazing woman, never let anyone tell you otherwise," he said, his voice hoarse but carrying the weight of his conviction in every letter he let out.
Her indrawn breath told him he'd stunned her with his bluntness.
He was not taught to act similarly; he was not a romantic whelp or a commoner.
It was ingrained in him, thanks to his grandfather and father's gruelling lessons, that as Heir Black he was to remain above all basic and inglorious needs at all times.
Since he took his first breath and his name was magically added to the Family Tapestry, his life wasn't his own.
However, Hespera wasn't anyone. She wasn't a mere pastime or a side character in his life;she was his past, his present and his future.
He closed the space between them, throwing property out the window, and pulled her into his arms.
Looking down at her, his heart ached with longing and affection.
She was a young woman, not yet twenty, with the countenance of an exotic angel. Her heart-shaped face had been created for sin…the enticing mouth, the perfectly-cut jaw, the emerald green eyes shaded by long straight lashes.
Gently, he kissed her forehead and smiled against her skin.
Her fingers tightened around his upper arms but she didn't push him away.
He gave a hiss of laughter at his stupidity. Finally, he understood his father's sly looks and his mother's muffled grins."This is strange and for the first time I feel so stupid..."
Her brows furrowed and her jaw went slack at the words, so unexpected.
He pressed on, his hands cradling her face making sure that her eyes never left his. "You are strong and beautiful and brilliant, and so passionate—it makes me ache to be near you," he placed his forehead to hers as he continued. "I don't know how or when it happened … but I seem to have fallen quite impossibly in love with you. I can't fathom the thought of a life without you, my Hespera."
A curious mixture of giddiness and despair ran through him as she looked at him with green liquid eyes and spoke. ''You know how my life was before I came here, you know everything about me from my childhood to my selfishness. I left my friends behind and doomed the whole Wizarding World to Voldemort's tyranny because I couldn't carry on. I'm tired Orion, I'm tired and angry and so done with people running my life for me. I wanted to chase the only person who loved me truly, Sirius. I can't say that I know what love is, never experienced it before. The only form of love I know is what Sirius gave me and how warm and fuzzy I felt inside every time he was near. Can you accept me with all my flaws? I'm broken Orion, so broken I'm not sure I can ever become whole again…"
The rest of her words trailed as he grabbed her face and ignored the rest of her pleas.
He didn't want to see her like this, the victim of Dumbledore's machinations. He wanted the Hespera from earlier, the storm that left nothing in its wake.
His head lowered, his mouth finding hers, and she closed her eyes at the careful, enticing pressure.
Gently his hand came up to cradle the back of her head, his mouth moving over hers with a softness he wasn't aware he possessed.
He wanted her more than life itself. He had tried to walk away earlier and leave her room before it was too late, but he couldn't. He just had to taste her, propriety be damned.
He whispered against her lips as he lifted his head. "Just kiss me," it came out more like a plea than a demand.
She brought her head up slightly as he lowered his head again. They met somewhere in the middle, and when his lips touched hers, a bolt of heat swept through him.
Heat and … recognition…like he found the home he missed for an eternity.
Her hands reached up and gripped his shoulders as her mouth opened and Orion surrendered for the first time.
He savoured the feel of his lips on hers, of his hands cradling her face, of his fingers trailing down to her neck as his thumbs stroked the skin of her cheeks, setting her aflame.
He held her firmly against him, his mouth playing over hers, sending wave after wave of sensation rocketing through them.
The caress gentled. He lifted his mouth until it was just barely touching hers and licked her bottom lip, his tongue warm and rough against the soft skin there, and she gasped. The sensation was so foreign, so wicked.
Somagnificent.
When the need for air became too great to ignore, he freed her soft lips but remained close.
''Sometimes," he whispered. "I'm so close to you and I'm still not close enough. I want to share your breath and every beat of your heart. You saved me but rest assured that you will always have me."
Hespera froze and he noticed the unshed tears swirling in the green depths.
He could scarce remember a thing but her didn't care in truth.
His mind was so filled with her that it wasn't able to think. And then, when he ought to move away, he kissed her hand, where his ring would shine forever telling the world what she was to him.
He meant no disrespect by it, but neither had it been a chaste kiss.
He needed it to believe that what he was feeling was real, that this splendid, stellar woman was his.
He knew he would feed on the memory of tonight for a long, long while. And then, when the glow began to ebb, he would remember it again.
"I know. I know and I believe you, Orion," Hespera caressed his cheek and her magic wrapped around him like the warmest of cloaks.
Hespera took a swallow of water washing down the last of her supper.
A feast in her honour was laid out before her thanks to Melania, Tilly and Kreacher's hard work.
The meal was served from authentic House Black silver platters and tureens set upon the huge dining table.
As she looked at the silver goblets, she remembered the day she caught Mundungus selling them. Never would she let the Black property fall again in filthy hands.
"Are you alright?" Orion, who was facing her asked softly.
She averted her gaze, feeling flustered all of sudden.
He surprised her earlier with his unexpected confession and then…the kiss.
Despite her limited experience with guys, Hespera wasn't ignorant of what transpired between people who fancied each other.
She spent long nights listening to Lavender and Parvati gushing over their flames and describing, rather explicitly, what went inside the abandoned Hogwarts classrooms.
Her action-filled school years never gave her the chance to explore these sweet feelings or experience with a guy.
She remembered how it felt when Cedric asked Cho instead of her or when Dean started dating Ginny, crushing yet another dream of hers.
But whatever feelings she harboured for Cedric and Dean never prepared her for the thunderstorm that was Orion Arcturus Black.
She never imagined Sirius' father to be so…overwhelming.
Orion was usually calm and poised. His words never betrayed his inner thoughts and his reactions were succinct and straight to the point.
The only thing he couldn't hide from her was his magic. Since she started this new journey, she became more sensitive to the magic surrounding her.
Her formal life never taught her that magic wasn't just a plethora of spells; it was the life that breathed in every Wiccan, creature and artifact or building blessed by Mother Magic's touch.
Once again, she cursed her idleness and isolation, the gilded cage that Dumbledore put her in. Thankfully, she was not a prisoner anymore.
She was Lady Hespera Peverell and she could do andfeelwhatever she wanted.
"I'm fine," she mumbled, ignoring Lucretia's snort.
Orion hummed and went back to his food, no wonder noticing her discomfort.
"Regulus and Lycoris will join us later," Arcturus drawled. "My sister is back from her trip to France and after stopping by Father's home in Devon, she'll spend the night with us." Looking at her, he smiled faintly. "It seems the news reached her and she's eager to meet you."
"Aunt Lycoris is back," Lucretia gasped. "I missed her. It had been months since she left England."
Melania hadn't been able to keep the grin from her face, that until she noticed her subdued state.
She murmured under her breath. "Don't worry, Lycoris will love you. She's an older version of Lucretia, the two are noisy and cumbersome."
Hespera chuckled and nodded.
Melania never failed to make her feel better, she was thankful to the kind-hearted woman.
She released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, feeling an undeniable swell of happiness and warmth.
Then, as if she'd known she had been watched, she lifted her head and met Orion's gaze.
His lips curved into a lopsided grin and she smiled back, her belly seeming to flip and her cheeks suddenly warm.
"Shall we, my lady?" he offered and she rolled her eyes and stood up.
Even Lucretia's whistle didn't bother her.
She never knew that being teased by 'an older sister' could feel so good.
Miss Lycoris Black was a charming lady to put it simply.
She was Sirius Phineas Black's middle child and his favourite according to Regulus.
Unlike Arcturus, who was groomed to take the Lord's mantle, and Regulus, who embraced his genius and started his own business, Lycoris was free to do as she pleased.
An exceptionally bright woman, Lycoris was taught to be sorted into Ravenclaw House, an unusual placement for a Black. But her Slytherin nature took over and she joined her older brother.
She was bold, boisterous and carefree, her vivacity spilling into the world around her.
She was also notoriously stubborn refusing all the betrothal proposals she received. Like Cassiopeia and Regulus, she remained single enjoying her life to the fullest.
"Your fiancée is more well-behaved than Pollux' uncouth daughter," Lycoris offered with a prim smile that was betrayed by the predatory glint in her light grey eyes.
Arcturus nodded absently and Orion chuckled. "You can't compare Hespera to Walburga Aunt Lycoris, it wouldn't be fair to both."
"I can attest to that, sister. My new niece is passionate and eager to learn," Regulus winked.
Lycoris nodded absently, her piercing eyes studying her. "I never agreed to that match, Arcturus. It was an unnecessary trial you put your only son through."
Arcturus traced his finger over his glass of Elven wine, idly. "Well, perhaps I shall be thankful for Hespera's sudden appearance."
"No need Arcturus, I'm glad that I met Orion before it was too late," she interjected, surprising herself.
Orion's eyes flared and she couldn't blame him.
Usually, she wasn't so forward with her thoughts and feelings, but what she went through since she died and started over made her realize that life was too short to keep things to herself.
Lucretia snorted. "I'm certain that Orion is well pleased with being saved. You should devote the rest of your life to thanking your future wife brother; being married to that harpy is a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."
''Walburga never failed to try my patience most of the time," said Lycoris from her seat on the chaise, her voice an infuriating tone Hespera knew people used when playing devil's advocate. "But you can't deny that the girl got it from her father. I blame you, Arcturus, for being so lenient with him, even after learning of his intentions."
"He's my blood and Blacks never harm their own," Arcturus tipped back his glass in a single, jerky motion that was so unlike him.
"Thanks to Mother Magic's mercy, my son was saved and that's all that matters," Melania said diplomatically, looking between a slyly amused Lycoris and an obviously peeved Arcturus, something it seemed, when paired, tended to result in disaster.
Hespera was surprised when Lycoris scoffed, not even deigning to acknowledge the pitiful attempt at diffusing the argument by her sister-in-law. ''Sweet Salazar, we are House Black; mercy does not exist in our vocabulary. It's not enough Melania, far from it."
Lycoris tapped her chin, scrunching up her face in mock-thought. ''And then, let's think about this from Pollux' perspective. I'm sure he's not feeling verygraciousafter being insulted publicly."
"You've made your point, Lycoris," Regulus ground out, looking between his siblings.
The middle-aged witch sighed at her brother, rolling her eyes at his feeble attempt.
"We will be ready for him Aunt Lycoris, we had it with his ploys and power-plays," Orion said coldly and Melania nodded in confirmation, lifting herself off the sofa and giving her son a light kiss on the cheek.
Arcturus took a sip of his drink, eyeing Lycoris coolly over the rim of his glass.
"I thought you were more interested in fashion and whatever crazy ventures Cassiopeia introduced you to, my dear sister," he smiled brutally.
Lycoris merely raised her glass toward him with a nod, acknowledging his comment. "I love fashion and I love accompanying Cassiopeia to her trips but I love my nephew and niece and I will never let an imbecile, greedy man harm them or theirs."
''I know, how much you love my children, I know," Arcturus spoke with a controlled dignity, though the pride and happiness were practically oozing off of him.
Hespera's head hurt from swivelling between the brother and sister.
What sounded like an argument at first was in fact a confirmation of loyalty. A pledge of sorts.
"They're always like this, don't mind them," Lucretia murmured under her breath and she nodded absently.
Arcturus shrugged, tossing back the last of his Elven wine. "Orion has a finacée now and he'll be wedded soon. He's secure in his role as Heir Black and no one can take his birthright from him. Moreover, with Hespera as a member of our family, we'll win more alliances and our combined power will be unrivalled. I believe it's time for Pollux, and any fool who thinks that they can hurt my family, to start learning what that actually entails," he smirked. "Besides, I will have much fun teaching the future Lady and Lord of House Black how our enemies are disposed of, it's what we excel at according to the journals of our ancestors.''
Lycoris and Regulus chuckled darkly, seeming satisfied with their brother's words and Hespera sucked in a breath, and willed herself not to shiver.
She wanted to laugh, with relief because she finally had the family that would accompany her to the darkest parts of the abyss and then more, and with satisfaction, because her day had gone so very well.
But she didn't dare make a sound now, for somewhere in the back of her mind lurked the peculiar thought that such undignified behaviour would draw attention to her and truth be told, the glint in the three pairs of grey eyes gleaming with savage mirth was quite terrifying. Even for the fabled Mistress of Death.
All Credits Go To: NinaMaya-AO3