✧THAT DAMN BASTARD✧

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"Imara! Slow down for your sister!" Aurora chided out into the field, having finally settled into the early summer months for the year. "She has a beautiful throw, think she's going to be a Chaser like her mother?" 

"Believe the kids will take up the whole Ravenclaw team." It caused Aidan to laugh, turning down to the smallest babe and lightly tap her nose.

Causing an erupted gurgle to spout.

"Romulus and Imara will surely be chasers. Cara...I don't know if she'll end up playing. She doesn't seem to like being on a broom." The small project that Aurora was doing for Regulus involved the family tree.

It caused Halsey to recognize her name, but not her middle one. She decided then and there she wanted to be called Imara, which caused Aurora to fall into a spiral of emotional distress, as she thought truly that Halsey—Imara liked her first name.

Regulus tried to compare it to when someone calls him Reggie, beside the children. And she denied it. She lived her life separating herself from Cassiopeia and Aurora. It took days for Rory to remember it, but the mother didn't want her daughter to feel the uncomfortable nature she did when growing up surrounded by her first name.

Currently she was simply biding her time before she truly needed to give this portrait up. "I thought you wanted this finished before Saros was born?"

"I tried, but lil Lori over here didn't want me leaving her even a moment. And now I have you to distract her." Aurora cheered, but of course she rolled her eyes at the idea of an astronomy given name.
It fit beautifully when she first met the lil lad.

Saros Orion Black or rather Saros Orion Blackwell, but here it would be a beautiful combination of the couple, Phoebe Halliwell turned into Phoebe Blackwell, and perhaps when the world fixed itself...

Phoebe could become Mrs.Black.

"The Lestrange family tree only identified the woman with flowers, I thought it was so unrecognizable that the girls would be given no name on the tree."

"The Lestrange is one of those fancy forty-six families right?" Aurora nodded.
"Twenty-eight, my mother and father were actually cousins." She caught a glimpse of shock and overall disgust, it's true and Rory nodded sadly.
"I learned my second year at Hogwarts, that my mother was always a Black."

Adian attempted to lighten her mood, and even went as far as posing so that she could get a modeled face for Regulus. She wanted everyone in the family to get a small spot on the family tree. Branching off to Liz and her children, and even the smallest dot in the presence for her mum.

And Sirius Blackwell had managed to gain his spot in front of the three siblings.

"What was it like, being the middle child?"

"I'm sure it's not the standard answer, but I was the only daughter when they assumed I'd be a lad. On top of that my mother surely shouldn't have been a mother." It caused unjust in Aidan's mind, and it aided Rory to be able to express to a new listener all that she had wracked up in guilt.

"I'm not proud of what I did, and I truly hope I could make some good with my potion."
"You will, and your friend will come around." Aurora smiled sadly as she also mentioned Remus amongst the story of her life.

Keeping her attention to the portrait did she continue the small outline. "No, I remained with my husband when I could've made sure that he was alright after the Potter's passed on. My energy was focused on the children and the wives." Aidan scoffed.

"They don't sound so friendly Rory, no offense."
"None taken, I fell out of most of my friendships. Though I did send Evelyn a gift when her child was supposedly born. Luckily the elves haven't shared where we all went. They have little to go off of, Blackwell is hiding us perfectly." Aidan smiled lightly as he gained her attention, solidifying a small blush to faintly grace her cheeks.

"Which one was Regulus warning me about?"
"Oh...That's Amelia, she married Rabastan's best mate and we had a falling out long before her own daughter was born. And her daughter is about two now I believe ." Rory shrugged it off but Aidan could see that she still felt the betrayal in it all, and just before he was about to question it.

She responded with an answer.

"Would reaching out to Evelyn be a statement? Because it sounds like Amelia isn't much of a friend."
"No, regrettably not. And I worried about the beginning of our friendship that she only ever befriended me because of my blood. Harper isn't a well-known name, and she married within the twenty-eight." He questioned if she truly thought that and Aurora turned from hesitation to a full-blown acceptance to the sudden thought.

"Isabella is kinder, though she sided with Amelia more times than not...Clem, she is a sweetheart...But holding onto them would be too much, especially when their husbands are with them." Or most of them are.

"You are not obligated to do anything, everyone is happy you're finally here." A wobbly smile managed onto her face, but she was no longer afraid to act in from of Aidan. She settled the conversation with a small kiss to his lips.

"I think you're speaking a bit loudly on behalf of that population."
"Not exaggerating, it's the truth." He leaned in for a second kiss, then a third.

"Aidan..."
"When you put it that way...Yes, I'd like a kiss Aurora." Was it wrong for her to seek comfort elsewhere? It wasn't as if that had pushed further than a normal few dates and snuck a few kisses...

It was an adolescent relationship as Aidan didn't push boundaries. However, it was time to put Lorelei for a proper nap. So she waved her wand to replace her art supplies back away into the study in the home as she bent down to pick up the already slumbering babe.

"Should I call the kids?"
"No, the twins are old enough to watch one another, see it's John's turn." She waved her hand across the grassland before heading into her little ranch.

"Ice tea?"
"That'd be lovely." He chuckled, still not getting used to the little terms of endearment for certain things. But he would soon be learning as she needed to pass it to her children.

He watched as she walked to put Lorelei into her nursery and lull her back to a peaceful sleep, even earning a soft toothless grin in response.

Remaining for another moment did she watch her little miracle of Rabastan before returning down the steps to the living room.

"What should I make for dinner? I was thinking of—" Aurora had lost her breath as though it was an exceeding force punching her into her lower gut, and the abrupt silence from her end made Aidan peek from the kitchen.
Only to see her hunched over the couch.

"Rory, what is it sweetheart?" Her mouth was still open and gripped her heart further. Fear washed over her face, was this it?

Was Rabastan dying?

Aidan couldn't think properly, but threw his Patronus to alert Regulus. Who appareneted straight to the front door within a few seconds after the alert.

"Rory?!" He shouted, bending down to her feet beside Aidan as they were trying to coax her to speak.
"He—He's d-dying...Isn't he?" Regulus ran a stressful hand through his hair before he rushed into the kitchen to retrieve a vial.

John had finally found aid to the hand fastening, leaving it to a monthly dose. Though anything severe as this would be nulled just the same.

"R-Reg—"
"Rory. Look at me. It's for the better. That bastard isn't allowed, no more pain. Take it." He urged, and she nodded and downed the potion in a short two gulps only to immediately regret it as another strike of pain erupted into a scream.

"Father!" Regulus shouted not daring to wait for an answer and grabbed his father's portrait to take him into the living room.

"Father what do we do, it hasn't turned this badly! Even Sirius is—" Orion took a long look at his daughter and turned darkly back over to Regulus with his arms crossed.

"It seems the bastard is finding interest in another inmate. Curious, who do you think he would be incarcerated with?" A painful sob fell into Aidan's shoulder as he attempted to soothe her.

Of all the dates they had been on, he knew that Rabastan was the main reason besides the children that she wouldn't allow herself anything further in the relationship. But now logic had flown out the window, especially when Rabastan had been caught cheating thousands of miles away.

"That fucking bastard!" Regulus chided, only to be scolded by Orion in a moment's notice.

"My little light, isn't this reason enough to seek an annulment? He—"
"I can't!" She cried once again, her loyalty going so far as to kill her.

"Cassi if this pain is unbearable it will only be worse when he does meet his end, and the in-between from there and now will only block your life. He will die eventually, there is no denying it now Cassiopeia. Call for an annulment." Orion hated himself for directing her to such a damnable thing, but the uplifting feeling that will be at the end of the signature and blessing will make it worth it all.

Her being tethered and played with was probably cause enough, not to mention that Rabastan had committed adultery with Bellatrix out of everyone!

Aurora took her wand from her belt and rose it on an unsteady wrist, that shot out her once strong and brightly lit Leopard.

Only to come out in a static mess, this would be the last time she could onto the memory as a happy one...

Salem leaped from her position out into the air and managed in record time to peek into Sirius' cell. Although Rory could not see her brother, part of her was thankful in that regard, though she surely wished they could talk through this link.

Yet it was about to be disconnected.

Sirius had caught the blue light joining him in his cell, though he rightly didn't want to move his hands from his ears. As he could only have the sick thoughts of that bastard doing the same to his sister.

Then it clicked.

"Rory...I'm—I'm sorry." He mumbled, reaching out and noting the weakened state of the patronus before him. He watched it ward off the lurking dementors before she trailed into the hallway and a ways across to taunt.

Rabastan was in half his mind when he agreed, course it was this or hear the two go at it once again. And whilst he was at it, he could indeed pretend that Bella was Rory in the short time it would last.

Yet it had barely been a few minutes in before he caught the lurking light of a patronus, and he was met with an enraged sense of his wife hating him—As well as her losing the means of her happiness to unlock said magic.

Yes, Rabastan Lestrange indeed committed the biggest offense to his wife...But one thing was for sure as Rory slept in her bed that night, and Aidan just in the guest room...That she shouldn't feel guilty, what has her faith in Rabastan Lestrange done for her prior?

It just left her in a world of hurt and an actual means of a broken heart.

After gaining the courage, she grabbed her wits and her wand to knock on the door of the guest bedroom. Aidan didn't hesitate in coming to check on who would be there at close to four am. But he greeted her with a tired smile.

"Sweetheart, is everything alright?" She shook her head, and he watched her hold herself unsurely at his doorstep.

"May I join you?" Her question escaped his grasp, and it brought an array of happiness to his expression as he well indeed led her to where he had been resting.

The man didn't expect anything from her, and instead allowed her to get comfortable under the covers and enjoy his company before wrapping a protective arm around her.

"I'm sorry you've been treated like this, I promised to help...I'm yours." It was so difficult to deny him further, especially when she made the decision to join him. And so she turned her position to face him, almost like a second greeting as this pillow talk would be anything but Devine.

"I'm sorry for stringing you along all this time."
"That doesn't sound promising."
"I'm going to the priestess tomorrow, I..." She fell short on what she was going to say, and so he brought his hand to relinquish a lock from her face and back behind her ear.

Gods did it enlight a burn in her stomach.

"I do have feelings for you Aidan Proctor, but what do I have to offer but a runaway name and a boatload of children?"
"You are all I need, and your children are angels. I offered my aid, let me offer my love." She couldn't control the shock that etched out on her face now, and he chuckled.

"Love?" He stopped her overthinking with a kiss. "It's the truth, for a while now."
"That's not fair when you know I love him too." Aidan also knew it was a losing battle, so he simply pulled her closer into his embrace and shushed her to sleep.

This could be a conversation for tomorrow.

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Date Posted: 01-13-20

Time: 3:45

Words: 2331