✧PROPER GESTURE✧
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Surprisingly enough it was a treat for Rabastan to find out that Orion and Walburga were dealing with a distant relative elsewhere. Which ultimately meant that Aurora and her siblings would be staying with him and his family.

Even though his brother was married and living with his wife, Bellatrix. He still lived with his parents. It wasn't the typical home that Rory has seen, that was their summer estate.

Part of him wanted to invite her into his room, but other parts of him wanted to...Well, do a few incriminating things with her as well. But that was more his friends egging him on. Not that he told them about walking into her bedroom when she was half asleep, or him wanking that same night.

On the plus side, Aurora had been getting along great with Clarisse, his mother. The women looked to her as a future daughter in law anyhow, so it was another major hint to the mix.

Yet seeing her brightening up his home was the best news of his holiday, and it wasn't halfway over. That night they would be hosting the party.

"Mother, have you seen Aurora?" The young son had entered the room, one of which he saw his mother dictating the decorations precisely as she saw fit and she smiled politely to her son.

"I haven't seen her since we had our nails done...And I invited her over to spend a few days with us during the summer. I expect your best behavior." She pointed her finger straight into his face, and the boy nodded in an instant.

"Of course mother...Mother? I had a question." The women turned back for a moment and saw that there was something visibly wrong and came over to take and took in his cheeks with her hold.

"What is it darling?" Rabastan suddenly found himself in conflict. "Er...I know you and father said that I was to marry after I graduate. Who—" 

"That is nothing you should find trouble over son...Why? Has someone caught your eye?" His mother had always been a sarcastic mess, something father scolds her over to this day.

"N-no I just—I was just asking that—" Her eyes narrowed, now even with her being affectionate and loving, she was the only women in the house of Lestranges, beside Bellatrix. And that would harden any soul rather quickly.

"I guess I have...Think I have for a while." His honestly spewed out within moments. A mothers work well done.

"And do I get a name or shall we keep her unnamed. It's not unheard of to change contracts, and I'm sure we can figure a solution if—" 

"Well I was sort of worried on who she was set to marry, leave it to Avery to put that in my head." His mother had pulled back a long strain of his hair back behind his ear as she smiled.

"And?... Is she worthy of my youngest son?" 

"Merlin mother she's in the manner now." That sparked her delight in the instant and she squealed. An action that Rabastan had only seen Aurora do in their youth and only if he had tickled her with some sort of altering knowledge that he discovered.

"I'll keep your secret darling, but now I understand your choice of Christmas gift for her. Be sure to dance with her tonight, get her a glass of wine." The boy had been utterly confused, hadn't courting been forbidden if it wasn't planned?

"Won't father or Aurora's parents be-" 

"Not at all, besides others will be here at our get together and it would be better if she was elsewhere." He nodded at the hint, that perhaps the Dark Lord was going to come to the festivities.

That he did not want Rory around either.

"Make sure she isn't lost darling, she hasn't been to this estate before." He nodded once again to his mother before departing towards the library where he knew all too well should've been his first instinct.

But he found her curled into her seat with two others stacked beside her. "Making yourself at home then?" Her eyes popped up, but her glasses made it difficult for him to see. 

"I have known you since I was what? One? And you've been hiding this library on me?" She pouted, marking her book and smiled further up to him with her glasses up top her head.

"Merry Christmas?" 

"Sly bastard..." She tisked her fingers in his direction before he too found himself beside her on the couch.

He was slightly in awe how she managed to feel comfortable here when he even felt the strain. Yet it took all of two moments before he remembered the likes of her own home. Something that even his parents vocally disliked.

Sirius found himself on the other side of the estate still in his room, seemingly was busy stressing over his words to James. He was basically in the snake hole instead of his lovable lion's den. Even if it was a birds nest he would've felt more comfortable.

But James knew what Sirius was getting at, Rabastan fanciyment to Aurora has been proven fact. And the two were attempting to distract her with anything, anyone. And their solution was Remus, to beg her to rush along the project of turning into animals.

They weren't afraid of the consequences, more so looking at the reward as a whole.

Unfortunately for Sirius he was not seated next to his sister, instead it had been across from both her and Rabastan. Clarissa managed to switch the seating at the last minute for the sake of her son and future daughter in law.

Aurora was clueless at the switch, and the son assumed it was indeed his mother's doing. Which he was entirely right on.

Rabastan Lestrange had used up all his might and effort to be perfect that evening, kissing her cheek for the simplest of things. Even if that meant to go and fill up her drink. The young girl did not know what to make out of it, and as Flitwick had always told his students in his house is to identify the problem before researching.

But love wasn't something one could research.

"Thank you Raba...But this is my last glass, even if I pout and plead." He chuckled and hummed along, soon his mother came about and sought to see how the two younglings were doing. Then went off towards to report her findings to her husband as well as Aurora's parents.

"They look awfully cozy over there..." Clarissa cooed to Walburga and the women chuckled. "Unknowing to them that they've been engaged since they were two." Yet it was the knowing smile that caught Mrs.Black's eye that she leaned into Mrs.Lestrange to hear the verdict.

"It seems Rabastan already fancies Cassi...Told me just this morning, or rather he is worried as to who she is marrying. You should become a seer Walburga, honestly." That upped the mother's confidence to the brim as she saw the couple giggling and whispering to one another.

Yet of course, leave it to Sirius to cut in to dance with his own sister. "I swear I've had it up to here with that boy." Clarissa, a natural born Slytherin had to beg her husband to keep the marriage between their two children after his sorting. It seemed everywhere he walked there was a bit of damnation in his sted.

"Let us hope Cassiopeia knows her own views then." 

"I don't know if it's a Ravenclaw trait Clare, but I swear she finds a new topic to obsess herself over every other day. Her father sees it as nothing, but I wish there would be more of our traits in her." Their mother did indeed have a soft spot for the young girl, but it was never enough to branch off to her eldest sibling.

"Siri come on, Raba wasn't doing anything. Why don't you believe me?" That allowed his smirk to rise up. 

"Because my sweet little sister, he is of the same male alpha kingdom as I...He fancies you, and in truth I don't want him near you with those views." Aurora narrowed her eyes and looked between either of his to make sense of his accusation.

"Raba doesn't fancy me, what are you talking about?" She questioned and the boy smirked. 

"He doesn't? Or has it been the wine?...I'll give you an idea, look at him in three...Two...-" One had been turned into a small spin, and although Rabastan had been talking to his mates. His eyes had been still focused on her for the most part.

"So?... I told him I'd be back...That doesn't mean anything Siri." He rolled his eyes. 

"You know for a Ravenclaw you are a lil thick darling." Her pout had been caught by her 'date' as he huffed to the group of friends he had surrounded himself by.

"What do you think he's telling her? Something awful from the looks of it." McNair had dwelled, and Avery followed through with the offering of: "Perhaps he is trying to convert her views, you know, care for muggles and their rubbish contraptions they manufacture." Rabastan had almost lost his sequence in finishing his wine as he heard his friend's thoughts.

Aurora's thoughts, though they may be her own, did somewhat mirror that of Sirius. But she wasn't openly disrespectful. He had wronged her, overall rude to the mudblood that she had been partnered with. He loved her too much to see her targeted by her family like Sirius had.

Dinner was the worst of occasions as the families boasted back and forth of their children. But even with Sirius' grades, placement on the team and everything that follows, he was not mentioned once.

Aurora would not be able to handle that, the ignoring. Or that's how it starts at first as he assumes. Yet it was his mother's eye winking and having that damn knowing glint in her features that really rallied him.

She had told Aurora's mother.

"That is the biggest horror of it all, those two plotting. What are they scheming now?" Rabastan had wiped his nose for a moment and cleared his throat. 

"Probably my bloody wedding...Mother figured out that I fancy—" The laughter flooded through as Regulus was the only one who didn't see the actual humor in it.

"You fancy my sister?" He stated, more than just confused but also disgusted by the act. He knew what it meant, he knew what followed marriage or the basic idea of what an almost-thirteen-year-old would know.

"Sirius was right...You—" 

"Oi, Reg. Come on mate. Nothing to fear with this one, he's too soft." The boy's eyes continued to go back and forth between Rabastan and his friends before he shook his head on off and walked away.

Aurora had caught sight of it and she sighed. "Reg walked off from that group, usually he's the better one at keeping quiet and going with the flow...Should I check on him?"

Sirius had taken the front of it as she distracted herself with Cissy and Bellatrix. It instantly had Rabastan's heart sink, and his friends had seen it in the moment.

"Well would you look at that, sucking up to your two sister in laws aye?" 

"Shut your bloody trap, you had to blab your mouth in front of Regulus?" His anger had showcased clearly. Even in front of a few random guests of their family, causing them to turn and question.

"So? He's been helpful since the start when he thought the two of you were going to be mates. Now if you shut your bloody trap to her other brother well...Perhaps then we wouldn't have had that much of a problem on our hands would we?"

With that Avery handed up his last few sips of scotch and it allowed Rabastan the given ounce of confidence between then and his strying steps forward towards Aurora. Who had switched to talking to her mother and cousins as well.

"Ah, Rabastan we were just talking about you. Cassiopeia says you have been her potions partner this semester." Her eyes looked desperate as she couldn't tell her parents about the mudblood she was working with and so he smiled. Still a bit off guard whenever hearing her proper first name. 

But he could see why she chose her middle name for school and friends.

"As much of a partner as I could be, this one works at the speed of light." It was fake laughter, not the same laughter that one's parents would give to their children. But here they were, at least Rabastan had the given memories of his parents being at the very least kind. Demanding, but not as much as these poor siblings.

"Cassiopeia where are your brothers?" Rory looked around for a moment and frowned. "I don't know, I—" 

"Cassi and I will find them." He offered, reminding himself properly to use the birth given name, and that allowed the mother and sisters to smile to one another and nod for them to be excused.

Rabastan gripped her hand and steered her towards the door, only to see that her expression had changed. "What did you say to Regulus?" Once again her anger sounded like a hiss and he sighed.

"N-nothing just Avery and—" Aurora's ear had heard his heartbeat quicken and she closed her eyes as she was sure that her anger and stress we're going to enact Salem.

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"Regulus doesn't just walk away like that Rabastan." The use of his full first name had him sigh. So he used an even worse means of an excuse. 

"Alright, Avery said in-inappropriate things and I doubt his mates every say things like that...Wait Rory—!" He shouted, seeing her walk forward in hopes of having her stop, which she had.

"Why? I don't like being lied to, esp—especally to people close to me..." When he took a step closer she flinched and shook her head.

"Don't...Because I will defend my brothers to the ends of the earth and if you so—" 

"Rory stop, no, this isn't what I wanted...I lo-value you, that's why I didn't say anything to your mother or-" Her face contorted and she was on the verge of crying so she held her hand up...

"I—I can't—" Her body had been hurting for a bit, cramping coming and going all night. She had hoped that her period stopping would end the cramps but that wasn't the case.

On the other side of the manner were Regulus and Sirius, the boy opened up in the instant spewing more than enough of the truth. And at the end of it had he looked up to his brother and asked... 

"Do you think he really does fancy her? The truth Siri, this is Rory we're talking about. Not one of your—" He hitched his next breath as he didn't necessarily want his family members to know about his time in the broom closets.

"That's why I don't want him near her, if it is the truth...Rory is going to get hurt Reg. Ruined if he plays too deeply. Please Reg, tell me—Tell me everything." And so the boy did just that, as many details as the boy who had been at the school for two years could possibly know or think of.

But it didn't help, it only held the truth of Rabastan love for her. And it scared Sirius breathlessly as it meant even worse intentions, more perminate intentions.

"Ever since we were little Reg, he'd watch her...I don't like this. I don't like this at all." The boy nodded, they've had a pack since they were little about their sister. And it wasn't going to get ruined by this lad in their grade or house.

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Date Posted: 02-20-19

Time: 10:09

Words: 2709

Had inspiration, new cover! <3